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 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OR 
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 7 
 
 V/J
 
 THE 
 
 BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON 
 A Romance of New York 
 
 BY 
 
 AMELIA E. B^RR 
 
 Airraoa OP * JAN VBDDBR'S WIFE," M ^L DAUGHTER OP Ftes," ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1886, 
 Br DODD, MEAD & COMPANY,
 
 g permission, 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE 
 
 DollanD Society of flew Eotfu *
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. THE VAN HEEMSKIBKS .... 1 
 
 II. LOVE'S HOUR 12 
 
 III. ORANJEBOVEN ...... 25 
 
 IV. JOY IN THE HOUSE 41 
 
 V. THE BEGINNING OF STRIFE 54 
 
 VI. AT THE SWORD'S POINT .... 71 
 
 VII. AT "THE KING'S ARMS" .... 84 
 
 VIII. " THE SILVER LINK, THE SILKEN TIE . . loa 
 
 IX. KATHERINE'S DECISION . . . .126 
 
 X. POPULAR OPINION 144 
 
 XI. AT HYDE MANOR, AND BRAM AND MIRIAM . 161 
 XII. LONDON LIFE 178 
 
 XIII. THE TURN OF THE TIDE . . . .193 
 
 XIV. THE Bow OF ORANGE EIBBON . . . 203 
 XV. TURNING WESTWARD 214 
 
 XVL FOR FREEDOM'S SAKE 232, 
 
 Til
 
 THE Bow OF ORANGE RIBBON-. 
 
 A ROMANCE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 THE VAN HEEMSKIRKS. 
 
 " The tender grace of a day that is dead.'* 
 " Love, that old song, of which the world is never weary." 
 
 IT was one of those beautiful, lengthening days, 
 when May was pressing back with both hands the 
 shades of the morning and the evening; May in 
 New York one hundred and twenty-one years ago, 
 and yet the May of A. D. 1886, the same clear air 
 and wind, the same rarefied freshness, full of faint, 
 passing aromas from the wet earth and the salt sea 
 and the blossoming gardens. For on the shore of 
 the East River the gardens still sloped down, even 
 to below Peck slip ; and behind old Trinity the apple- 
 trees blossomed like bridal nosegays, the pear-trees 
 rose in immaculate pyramids, and here and there 
 cows were coming up heavily to the scattered 
 houses; the lazy, intermitting tinkle of their bells 
 giving a pleasant notice of their approach to the 
 waiting milking-women. 
 
 In the city the business of the day was over ; but at 
 the open doors of many of the shops, little groups of 
 apprentices in leather aprons were talking, and on 
 the broad steps of the City Hall a number of grave- 
 looking men were slowly separating after a very sat- 
 isfactory civic session. They had been discussing 
 the marvelous increase of the export trade of New 
 York ; and some vision of their city's future great- 
 ness may have appeared to them, for they held them-
 
 2 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 selves with the lofty and confident air of wealthy 
 merchants and " members of his Majesty's Council 
 for the Province of New York." 
 
 They were all noticeable men, but Joris Tan 
 Heemskirk specially so. His bulk was so great that 
 it seemed as if he must have been built up : it was 
 too much to expect that he had ever been a baby. 
 He had a fair, ruddy face, and large, firm eyes, and 
 a mouth that was at once strong and sweet. And he 
 was also very handsomely dressed. The long, stiff 
 skirts of his dark-blue coat were lined with satin, his 
 breeches were of black velvet, his ruffles edged with 
 Flemish lace, his shoes clasped with silver buckles, 
 his cocked-hat made of the finest beaver. 
 
 With his head a little forward, and his right arm 
 across his back, he walked slowly up Wall Street 
 into Broadway, and then took a northwesterly direc- 
 tion toward the river-bank. His home was on the 
 outskirts of the city, but not far away ; and his face 
 lightened as he approached it. It was a handsome 
 house, built of yellow bricks, two stories high, with 
 windows in the roof, and gables sending up sharp 
 points skyward. There were weather-cocks on the 
 gables, and little round holes below the weather- 
 cocks, and small iron cranes below the holes, and 
 little windows below the cranes, all perfectly use- 
 less, but also perfectly picturesque and perfectly 
 Dutch. The rooms were large and airy, and the 
 garden sloped down to the river-side. It had paths 
 bordered by clipped box, and shaded by holly and 
 yew trees cut in fantastic shapes. 
 
 In the spring this garden was a wonder of tulips 
 and hyacinths and lilacs, of sweet daffodils and 
 white lilies. In the summer it was ruddy with roses, 
 and blazing with verbenas, and gay with the labur- 
 num's gold cascade. Then the musk carnations and 
 the pale slashed pinks exhaled a fragrance that 
 made the heart dream idyls. In the autumn there 
 was the warm, sweet smell of peaches and pears and 
 apples. There were morning-glories in riotous pro- 
 fusion, tall hollyhocks, and wonderful dahlias. In 
 winter it still had charms, the white snow, and the
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 3 
 
 green box and cedar and holly, and the sharp de- 
 scent of its frozen paths to the frozen river. Coun- 
 cillor Van Heemskirk's father had built the house 
 and planted the garden, and he had the Dutch rever- 
 ence fora good ancestry. Often he sent his thoughts 
 backward to remember how he walked by his father's 
 side, or leaned against his mother's chair, as they 
 told him the tragic tales of the old Barneveldt and 
 the hapless De Witts; or how his young heart glowed 
 to their memories of the dear fatherland, and the 
 proud march of the Batavian republic. 
 
 But this night the mournful glamour of the past 
 caught a fresh glory from the dawn of a grander day 
 forespoken. " More than three hundred vessels may 
 leave the port of New York this same year," he 
 thought. " It is the truth ; every man of standing 
 says so. Good-evening, Mr. Justice. Good-even- 
 ing, neighbors; " and he stood a minute, with his 
 hands on his garden-gate, to bow to Justice Van 
 Gaasbeeck and to Peter Sluyter, who, with their 
 wives, were going to spend an hour or two at Chris- 
 topher Laer's garden. There the women would 
 have chocolate and hot waffles, and discuss the new 
 camblets and shoes just arrived from England, and 
 to be bought at Jacob Kip's store; and the men 
 would have a pipe of Virginia and a glass of hot 
 Hollands, and fight over again the quarrel pending 
 between the governor and the Assembly. 
 
 "Men can bear all things but good days," said 
 Peter Sluyter, when they had gone a dozen yards in 
 silence: "since Van Heemskirk has a seat in the 
 council-room, it is a long way to his hat." 
 
 " Come, now, he was very civil, Sluyter. He bows 
 like a man not used to make a low bow, that is all." 
 
 "Well, well! with time, every one gets into his 
 right -place. In the City Hall, I may yet put my 
 chair beside his, Van Gaasbeeck." 
 
 "So say I, Sluyter; and, for the present, it is all 
 well as it is." 
 
 This little envious fret of his neighbor lost itself 
 outside Joris Van Heemskirk's home. Within it, 
 all was love and content. He quickly divested him-
 
 4 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 self of his fine coat and ruffles, and in a long scar- 
 let vest, and a little skull-cap of orange silk, sat 
 down to smoke. He had talked a good deal in the 
 City Hall, and he was chewing the cud of his wis- 
 dom over again. Madam Van Heemskirk under- 
 stood that, and she let the good man reconsider 
 himself in peace. Besides, this was her busy hour. 
 She was giving out the food for the morning's 
 breakfast, and locking up the cupboards, and list- 
 ening to complaints from the kitchen, aad making 
 a plaster for black Tom's bealing finger. In some 
 measure, she prepared all day for this hour, and 
 yet there was always something unforeseen to be 
 done in it. 
 
 She was a little woman, with clear-cut features, 
 and brown hair drawn backward under a cap of lace 
 very stiffly starched. Her tight-fitting dress of blue 
 taffeta was open in front, and looped up behind in 
 order to show an elaborately quilted petticoat of 
 light blue camblet. Her white wool stockings were 
 clocked with blue, her high-heeled shoes cut very 
 low, and clasped with small silver buckles. From 
 her trim cap to her trig shoes, she was a pleasant" 
 and comfortable picture of a happy, domestic 
 woman ; smiling, peaceful, and easy to live with. 
 
 When the last duty was finished, she let her bunch 
 of keys fall with a' satisfactory " all done " jingle, 
 that made her Joris look at her with- -a smile. " That 
 is so." she said in answer to it. " A woman is glad 
 when she gets all under lock and key for a few hours. 
 Servants are not made without fingers; and, I can 
 tell thee, all the thieves are not yet hung." 
 
 " That needs no proving, Lysbet. But where, 
 then, is Joanna and the little one ? And Bram should 
 be home ere this. He has staid out late more than 
 once lately, and it vexes me. Thou art his mother, 
 speak to him." 
 
 " Bram is good : do not make his bridle too short. 
 Katherine troubles me more than Bram. She is 
 quiet and thinks much; and when I say, 'What art 
 thou thinking of?' she answers always, 'Nothing, 
 mother.' That is not right. When "a girl says,
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 5 
 
 'Nothing, mother,' there is something perhaps, in- 
 deed, somebody on her mind." 
 
 " Katherine is nothing but a child. Who would 
 talk love to a girl who has not yet taken her first 
 communion ? What you think is nonsense, Lys- 
 bet ; " but he looked annoyed, and the comfort of his 
 pipe was gone. He put it down, and walked to a 
 side-door, where he stood a little while, watching 
 the road with a fretful anxiety. 
 
 " Why don't the children come, then ? It is nearly 
 dark, and the dew falls ; and the river mist I like not 
 for them." 
 
 " For my part, I am not uneasy, Joris. They were 
 to drink a dish of tea with Madam Semple, and Bram 
 promised to go for them. And, see, they are com- 
 ing; but Bram is not with them, only the elder. 
 Now, what can be the matter? " 
 
 " For every thing, there are more reasons than 
 one : if there is a bad reason, Elder Semple will be 
 sure to croak about it. I. could wish that just now 
 he had not come." 
 
 " But then he is here, and the welcome must be 
 given to a caller on the threshold. You know that, 
 Joris." 
 
 " I will not break a good custom." 
 
 Elder Alexander Semple was a great man in his 
 sphere. He had a reputation both for riches and 
 godliness, and was scarcely more respected in the 
 market-place than he was in the Middle Kirk. And 
 there was an old tie between the Semples and the 
 Van Heemskirks, a tie going back to the days when 
 the Scotch Covenanters and the Netherland Confes- 
 sors clasped hands as brothers in their "churches 
 under the cross." Then one of the Semples had fled 
 for life from Scotland to Holland, and been sheltered 
 in the house of a Van Heemskirk; and from gener- 
 ation to generation the friendship had been contin- 
 ued. So there was much real kindness and very 
 little ceremony between the families ; and the elder 
 met his friend Joris with a grumble about having to 
 act as " convoy " for two lasses, when the river mist 
 made the duty so unpleasant.
 
 6 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " Not to say dangerous," he added, with a forced 
 cough. " I hae my plaid and my bonnet on ; but a 
 coat o' mail couldna stand mists, that are a vera 
 shadow o' death to an auld man, wi' a sair shortness 
 o' the breath." 
 
 "Sit down, elder, near the fire. A glass of hot 
 Hollands will take the chill from you." 
 
 " You are mair than kind, gudewife ; and I'll no 
 say but what a sma' glass is needfu', what wi' the 
 late hour, and the thick mist " 
 
 " Come, come, elder. Mists in every country you 
 will find, until you reach the New Jerusalem." 
 
 " Vera true, but there's a difference in mists. Noo, 
 a Scotch mist isna at all unhealthy. When I was a 
 laddie, I hae been out in them for a week thegither, 
 ay, and felt the better o' them." He had taken off 
 his plaid and bonnet as he spoke ; and he drew the 
 chair set for him in front of the blazing logs, and 
 stretched out his thin legs to the comforting heat. 
 
 In the mean time, the girls had gone up-stairs 
 together ; and their footsteps and voices, and Kath- 
 erine's rippling laugh, could be heard distinctly 
 through the open doors. Then madam called, " Jo- 
 anna!" and the girl came down at once. She was 
 tying on her white apron as she entered the room ; 
 and, at a word from her mother, she began to take 
 from the cupboards various Dutch dainties, and 
 East Indian jars of fruits and sweetmeats, and a 
 case of crystal bottles, and some fine lemons. She 
 was a fair, rosy girl, with a kind, cheerful face, a 
 pleasant voice, and a smile that was at once inno- 
 cent and bright. Her fine light hair was rolled high 
 and backward; and no one could have imagined a 
 dress more suitable to her than the trig dark bodice, 
 the quilted skirt, and the white apron she wore. 
 
 Her father and mother watched her with a loving 
 satisfaction ; and though Elder Semple was discours- 
 ing on that memorable dispute between the Caetus 
 and Gpnferentie parties, which had resulted in the 
 establishment of an independent Dutch church in 
 America, he was quite sensible of Joanna's presence, 
 and of what she was doing.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 7 
 
 "I was aye for the ordaining o' American minis- 
 ters in America," he said, as he touched the finger- 
 tips of his left hand with those of his right; and 
 then in an aside full of personal interest, " Joanna, 
 my dearie, I'll hae a Holland bloater and nae other 
 thing. And I was a proud man when I got the 
 invite to be secretary to the first meeting o' the new 
 Caetus. Maybe it is praising green barley to say 
 just yet that it was a wise departure; but I think 
 sae, I think sae." 
 
 At this point, Katherine Van Heemskirk came 
 into the room; and the elder slightly moved his 
 chair, and said, " Come awa', my bonnie lassie, and 
 let us hae a look at you." And Katherine laugh- 
 ingly pushed a stool toward the fire, and sat down 
 between the two men on the hearthstone. She was 
 the daintiest little Dutch maiden that ever latched a 
 shoe, very diminutive, with a complexion like a 
 sea-shell, great blue eyes, and such a quantity of 
 pale yellow hair, that it made light of its ribbon 
 snood, and rippled over her brow and slender white 
 neck in bewildering curls. She dearly loved fine 
 clothes ; and she had not removed her visiting dress 
 of Indian silk, nor her necklace of amber beads. 
 And in her hands she held a great mass of lilies of 
 the valley, which she caressed almost as if they 
 were living things. 
 
 " Father," she said, nestling close to his side, 
 " look at the lilies. How straight they are ! How 
 strong! Oh, the white bells full of sweet scent! In 
 them put your face, father. They smell tof the 
 spring." Her fingers could scarcely hold the bunch 
 she had gathered ; and she buried her lovely face in 
 them, and then lifted it, with a charming look of 
 delight, and the cries of " Oh, oh, how delicious! " 
 
 Long before supper was over, Madam Van Heems- 
 kirk had discovered that this night Elder Semple 
 had a special reason for his call. His talk of Mennon 
 and the Anabaptists and the objectionable Luther- 
 ans, she perceived, was all surface talk ; and when 
 the meal was finished, and the girls gone to their 
 room, she was not astonished to hear him say,
 
 8 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " Joris, let us light another pipe. I hae something 
 to speak anent. Sit still, gudewife, we shall want 
 your word on the matter." 
 
 " On what matter, elder? " 
 
 " Anent a marriage between my son Neil and your 
 daughter Katherine." 
 
 The words fell with a sharp distinctness, not un- 
 kindly, but as if they were more than common 
 words. They were followed by a marked silence, a 
 silence which in no way disturbed Semple. He knew 
 his friends well, and therefore he expected it. He 
 puffed his pipe slowly, and glanced at Joris and 
 Lysbet Van Heemskirk. The father's face had not 
 moved a muscle ; the mother's was like a handsome 
 closed book. She went on with her knitting, and 
 only showed that she had heard the proposal by a 
 small pretence of finding it necessary to count the 
 stitches in the heel she was turning. Still, there 
 had been some faint, evanescent flicker on her face, 
 some droop or lift of the eyelids, which Joris under- 
 stood; for, after a glance at her, he said slowly, 
 " For Katherine the marriage would be good, and 
 Lysbet and I would like it. However, we will think 
 a little about it; there is time, and to spare. One 
 should not run on a new road. The first step is 
 what I like to be sure of; as you know, elder, to the 
 second step it often binds you. Say what you think, 
 Lysbet." 
 
 " Neil is to my mind, when the time comes. But 
 yet the child knows not perfectly her Heidelberg. 
 And there is more : she must learn to help her 
 mother about the house before she can manage a 
 house of her own. So in time, I say, it would be a 
 good thing. We have been long good friends/' 
 
 " We hae been friends for four generations, and 
 we may safely tie the knot tighter now. There are 
 wise folk that say the Dutch and the Lowland 
 Scotch are of the same stock, and a vera gude stock 
 it is, the women o' baith being fair as lilies and 
 thrifty as bees, and the men just a wonder p' ever 
 thing wise and weel-spoken o'. Forbye, baith o' us 
 Scotch and Dutch are strict Protestors. The Lady
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 9 
 
 o' Home never threw dust in our een, and neither o* 
 us would put our noses to the ground for either 
 powers spiritual or powers temporal. When I think 
 o' our John Knox "- 
 
 " First came Erasmus, elder." 
 
 " Surely. Well, well, it was about wedding and 
 housekeeping I came to speak, and we'll hae it oot. 
 The land between this place and my place, on the 
 river-side, is your land, Joris. Give it to Katherine, 
 and I will build the young things a house; and the 
 furnishing and plenishing we'll share between us." 
 
 " There is more to a wedding than house and land, 
 elder." 
 
 " Vera true, madam. There's the income to meet 
 the outgo. Neil has a good practice now, and is like 
 to have better. They'll be comfortable and respect- 
 able, madam ; but I think well o' you for speering 
 after the daily bread." 
 
 " Well, look now, it was not the bread-making I 
 was thinking about. It was the love-making. A 
 young girl should be wooed before she is married. 
 You know how it is ; and Katherine, the little one, 
 she thinks not of such a thing as love and marriage. ' r 
 
 " Wha kens what thoughts are under curly locks 
 at seventeen ? You'll hae noticed, madam, that 
 Katherine has come mair often than ordinar' to 
 Semple House lately ? " 
 
 " That is so. It was because of Col. Gordon's wife, 
 who likes Katherine. She is teaching her a new 
 stitch in her crewel- work." 
 
 "Hum m m! Mistress Gordon has likewise a 
 nephew, a vera handsome lad. I hae seen that, he 
 takes a deal o' interest in the crewel-stitch likewise. 
 And Neil has seen it too, for Neil has set his heart 
 on Katherine, and this afternoon there was a look 
 passed between the young men I dinna like. We'll 
 be haeing a challenge, and twa fools playing at 
 murder, next." 
 
 "I am glad you spoke, elder. Thank you. I'll 
 turn your words over in my heart " But Van 
 Heemskirk was under a certain constraint : he was 
 beginning to understand the situation, to see ia
 
 10 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 what danger his darling might be. He was appar- 
 ently calm ; but an angry fire was gathering in his 
 eyes, and stern lines settling about the lower part of 
 his face. 
 
 " You ken," answered Semple, who felt a trifle un- 
 easy in the sudden constraint, "I hae little skill in 
 the ordering o' girl bairns. The Almighty thought 
 them "beyond my guiding, and I must say they are a 
 great charge, a great charge ; and, wi' all my in- 
 firmities and simplicity, anent women, one that 
 would hae been mair than I could hae kept. But I 
 hae brought up my lads in a vera creditable way. 
 They know how to manage their business, and they 
 hae the true religion. I am sure Neil would make a 
 good husband, and I would be glad to hae him set- 
 tled near by. My three eldest lads hae gone far off, 
 Joris, as you ken." 
 
 " I remember. Two went to the Virginia Col- 
 ony " 
 
 " To Norfolk, tobacco brokers, and making 
 money. My son Alexander a wise lad went to 
 Boston, and is in the African trade. I may say that 
 they are all honest, pious men, without wishing to 
 be martyrs for honesty and piety, which, indeed, in 
 these days is mercifully not called for. As for Neil, 
 he's our last bairn ; and his mother and I would fain 
 keep him near us. Katherine would be a welcome 
 daughter to our auld age, and weel loved, and much 
 made o' ; and I hope baith Madam Van Heemskirk 
 and yoursel' will think with us." 
 
 " We have said we would like the marriage. It is 
 the truth. But, look now, Katherine shall not come 
 any more to your house at this time, not while 
 English soldiers come and go there ; for I will not 
 have her speak to one : they are no good for us." 
 
 "That is right for you, but not for me. My wife 
 was a Gordon, and we couldn't but offer our house 
 to a cousin in a strange country. And you'll find 
 few better men than Col. Nigel Gordon ; as for his 
 wife, she's a fine English leddy, and I hae little 
 knowledge anent such women. But a Scot canna 
 kithe a kindness : if I gie Col. Gordon a share o' my
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 11 
 
 house, I must e'en show a sort o' hospitality to his 
 friends and visitors. And the colonel's wife is much 
 thought o', in the regiment and oot o' it. She has a 
 sight o' good company, young officers and bonnie 
 leddies, and some o' the vera best o' our ain peo- 
 ple." 
 
 " There it is. I want not my daughters to learn 
 new ways. There are the Van Voorts : they began 
 to dine and dance at the governor's house, and then 
 they went to the English Church." 
 
 "They were Lutherans to begin wi', Jons." 
 
 "My Lysbet is the finest lady in the whole land: 
 let her daughters walk in her steps. That is what I 
 want. But Neil can come here : I will make him 
 welcome, and a good girl is to be courted on her 
 father's hearth. Now, there is enough said, and also 
 there is some one coming." 
 
 "It will be Neil andBram;" and, as the words 
 were spoken, the young men entered. 
 
 " Again you are late, Bram ; " and the father 
 looked curiously in his son's face. It was like look- 
 ing back upon his own youth ; for Bram Van Heems- 
 kirk had all the physical traits of his father, his 
 great size, his commanding presence and winning 
 address, his large eyes, his deep, sonorous voice and 
 slow speech. He was well dressed in light-colored 
 broadcloth ; but Neil Semple wore a coat and breeches 
 of black velvet, with a long satin vest, and fine 
 small ruffles. He was tall and swarthy, and had a 
 pointed, rather sombre face. Without speaking 
 much in the way of conversation, he left an im- 
 pression always of intellectual adroitness, a young 
 man of whom people expected a successful career. 
 
 "With the advent of Bram and Neil, the consult- 
 ation ended. The elder, grumbling at the chill and 
 mist, wrapped himself in his plaid, and leaning on 
 his son's arm, cautiously picked his way home by 
 the light of a lantern. Bram drew his chair to the 
 hearth, and sat silently waiting for any question his 
 father might wish to ask. But Van Heemskirk was 
 not inclined to talk. He put aside his pipe, nodded 
 gravely to his son, and went thoughtfully up-stairs.
 
 12 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 At the closed door of his daughter's room, he stood 
 still a moment. There was a murmur of conver- 
 sation within it, and a ripple of quickly smothered 
 laughter. How well his soul could see the child, 
 with her white, small hands over her mouth, and 
 her bright hair scattered upon the white pillow ! 
 
 " Ach mijn kind, mijn kind! Mijn liefste kind!" 
 he whispered. " God Almighty keep thee from sin 
 and sorrow 1 " 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 LOVE'S HOUR. 
 
 "To be a sweetness more desired than spring, 
 This is the flower of life." 
 
 " Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragon-fly 
 Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky: 
 
 So this winged hour is dropped to us from above. 
 Oh, clasp we to our hearts, for deathless dower, 
 This close-companioned, inarticulate hour 
 
 When twofold silence was the song of love ! " 
 
 JOEIS VAN HEEMSKIKK had not thought of prayer; 
 but, in his vague fear and apprehension, his soul 
 beat at his lips, and its natural language had been 
 that appeal at his daughter's closed door. For 
 Semple's words had been like a hand lifting the 
 curtain in a dark room: only a clouded and un- 
 certain light had been thrown, but in it even 
 familiar objects looked portentous. In these clays, 
 the tendency is to tone down and to assimilate, to 
 deprecate every thing positive and demonstrative. 
 But Joris lived when the great motives of humanity 
 stood out sharp and bold, and surrounded by a relig- 
 ious halo. 
 
 Many of his people had begun to associate with 
 the governing race, to sit at their banquets, and 
 even to worship in their church ; but Joris, in his
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 13 
 
 heart, looked upon such " indifferents " as renegades 
 to their God and their fatherland. He was a Dutch- 
 man, soul and body; and no English duke was 
 prouder of his line, or his royal quarterings, than 
 was Joris Van Heemskirk of the race of sailors and 
 patriots from whom he had sprung. 
 
 Through his father, he clasped hands with men 
 who had swept the narrow seas with De Euyter, and 
 sailed into arctic darkness and ice-fields with Van 
 Heemskirk. Farther back, among that mysterious, 
 legendary army of patriots called " The Beggars of 
 the Sea," he could proudly name his fore-goers, 
 rough, austere men, covered with scars, who fol- 
 lowed Willemsen to the succor of Leyden. The like- 
 ness of one of them, Adrian Van Heemskirk, was in 
 his best bedroom, the big, square form wrapped in a 
 pea-jacket; a crescent in his hat, with the device, 
 " Rather Turk than Papist; " and upon his breast one 
 of those medals, still hoarded in the Low Countries,, 
 which bore the significant words, " In defiance of 
 the Mass." 
 
 He knew all the stories of these men, how, forti- 
 fied by their natural bravery, and by their Calvin- 
 istic acquiescence in the purposes of Providence, 
 they put out to sea in any weather, braved any 
 danger, fought their enemies wherever they found 
 them, worked like beavers behind their dams, and 
 yet defiantly flung open their sluice-gates, and let in 
 the ocean, to drown out their enemies. 
 
 Through his mother, a beautiful Zealand woman, 
 he was related to the Evertsens, the victorious 
 admirals of Zealand, and also to the great mercan- 
 tile family of Doversteghe ; and he thought the en- 
 terprise of the one as honorable as the valor of the 
 other. Beside the sailor pictures of Cornelius and 
 Jan Evertsen, and the famous " Keesje the Devil," 
 he hung sundry likenesses of men with grave, calm 
 faces, proud and lofty of aspect, dressed in rich 
 black velvet and large wide collars, merchants 
 who were every inch princes of commerce and 
 industry. 
 
 These lines of thought, almost tedious to indicate,
 
 14 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 flashed hotly and vividly through his mind. The 
 likes and dislikes, the faiths and aspirations, of past 
 centuries, colored the present moments, as light 
 flung through richly stained glass has its white 
 radiance tinged by it. The feeling of race that 
 strong and mysterious tie which no time nor circum- 
 stances can eradicate was so living a motive in 
 Joris Van Heemskirk's heart, that he had been quite 
 conscious of its appeal when Semple spoke of a mar- 
 riage between Katherine and his own son. And 
 Semple had understood this, when he so cunningly 
 insinuated a common stock and a common form of 
 faith. For he had felt, instinctively, that even the 
 long tie of friendship between them was hardly 
 sufficient to bridge over the gulf of different nation- 
 alities. 
 
 Then, Katherine was Van Heemskirk's darling, 
 the very apple of his eye. He felt angry that 
 already there should be plans laid to separate her in 
 any way from him. His eldest daughters, Cornelia 
 and Anna, had married men of substance in Esopus 
 and Albany: he knew they had done well for them- 
 selves, and had become contented in that knowl- 
 edge ; but he also felt that they were far away from 
 his love and home. Joanna was already betrothed 
 to Capt. Batavius de Vries ; Bram would doubtless 
 find himself a wife very soon : for a little while, he 
 had certainly hoped to keep Katherine by his own 
 side. Semple, in speaking of her as already mar- 
 riageable, had given him a shock. It seemed "such a 
 few years since he had walked her to sleep at nights, 
 cradled in his strong arms, close to his great, loving 
 heart; such a little while ago when she toddled 
 about the garden at his side, her plump white hands 
 holding his big forefinger; only yesterday that she 
 tad been going to the school, with her spelling-book 
 and Heidelberg in her hand. When Lysbet had 
 spoken to him of the English lady staying with 
 Madam Semple, who was teaching Katherine the 
 new crewel-stitch, it had appeared to him quite 
 proper that such a child should be busy learning 
 something in the way of needlework. " Needle-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 15 
 
 work " had been given as the reason of those visits, 
 which he now remembered had been very frequent ; 
 and he was so absolutely truthful, that he never 
 imagined the word to be in any measure a false 
 definition. 
 
 Therefore, Elder Semple's implication had stunned 
 him like a buffet. In his own room, he sat down on 
 a big oak chest; and, as he thought, his wrath 
 slowly gathered. Semple knew that gay young 
 English officers were coming and going about his 
 house, and he had not told him until he feared they 
 would interfere with his own plans for keeping Neil 
 near to him. The beautiful little Dutch maiden had 
 been an attraction which he was proud to exhibit, 
 just as he was proud of his imported furniture, his 
 pictures, and his library. He remembered that 
 Semple had spoken with touching emphasis of his 
 longing to keep his last son near home ; but must he 
 give up his darling Katherine to further this plan ? 
 
 "I like not it," he muttered. "God for the 
 Dutchman made the Dutchwoman. That is the 
 right way ; but I will not make angry myself for so 
 much of passion, so much of nothing at all to the 
 purpose. That is the truth. Always I have found 
 it so." 
 
 Then Lysbet, having finished her second locking 
 up, entered the room. She came in as one wearied 
 and troubled, and said with a sigh, as she untied 
 her apron, " By the girls' bedside I stopped one 
 minute. Dear me! when one is young, the sleep is 
 sound." 
 
 " Well, then, they were awake when I passed, 
 that is not so much as one quarter of the hour, 
 talking and laughing: I heard them." 
 
 " And now they are fast in sleep : their heads are on 
 one pillow, and Katherine's hand is fast clasped in 
 Joanna's hand. The dear ones! Joris, the elder's 
 words have made trouble in my heart. What did 
 the man mean? " 
 
 " Who can tell ? What a man says, we know ; but 
 only God understands what he means. But I will 
 say this, Lysbet, and it is what I mean : if Semple
 
 16 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 has led my daughter into the way of temptation, 
 then, for all that is past and gone, we shall be un- 
 friends." 
 
 "Give yourself no kommer on that matter, Joris. 
 Why should not our girls see what kind of people 
 the world is made of? Have not some of our best 
 maidens married into the English set ? And none 
 of them were as beautiful as Katherine. There is 
 no harm, I think, in a girl taking a few steps up 
 when she puts on the wedding-ring." 
 
 " Mean you that our little daughter should marry 
 some English good-for-nothing? Look, then, I 
 would rather see her white and cold in the dead- 
 chamber. In a word, I will have no Englishman 
 among the Van Heemskirks. There, let us sleep. 
 To-night I will speak no more." 
 
 But madam could not sleep. She was quite sensi- 
 ble that she had tacitly encouraged Katherine's 
 visits to Semple House, even after she understood 
 that Capt. Hyde and other fashionable and notable 
 persons were frequent visitors there. In her heart, 
 she had dreamed such dreams of social advancement 
 for her daughters as most mothers encourage. Her 
 prejudices were less deep than those of her husband ; 
 or, perhaps, they were more powerfully combated 
 by her greater respect for the pomps and vanities 
 of life. She thought rather well than ill of those 
 people of her own race and cla-ss who had made 
 themselves a place in the .most exclusive ranks. 
 During the past ten years, there had been great 
 changes in New York's social life: many families 
 had become very wealthy, and there was' a rapidly 
 growing tendency to luxurious and splendid living. 
 Lysbet Yan Heemskirk saw no reason why her 
 younger children should not move with this current, 
 when it might set them among the growing aristoc- 
 racy of the New World. 
 
 She tried to recall Katherine's demeanor and 
 words during the past day, and she could find no 
 cause for alarm in them. True, the child had spent 
 a long time in arranging her beautiful hair, and she 
 had also begged from her the bright amber neck-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 17 
 
 lace that had been her own girlish pride ; but what 
 then ? It was so natural, especially when there was 
 likely to be fine young gentlemen to see them. She 
 could not remember having noticed any thing at all 
 which ought to make her uneasy ; and what Lysbet 
 did not see or hear, she could not imagine. 
 
 Yet the past ten hours had really been full of dan- 
 ger to the young girl. Early in the afternoon, some 
 hours before Joanna was ready to go, Katherine was 
 dressed for her visit to Semple House. It was the 
 next dwelling to the Van Heemskirks' on the river- 
 bank, about a quarter of a mile distant, but plainly 
 in sight ; and this very proximity gave the mother a 
 sense of security for her children. It was a different 
 house from the Dutchman's, one of those great 
 square, plain buildings, so common in the Georgian 
 era, not at all picturesque, but finished inside with 
 handsomely carved wood-work, and with mirrors 
 and wall-papering brought specially for it from 
 England. 
 
 It stood, like Yan Heemskirk's, at the head of a 
 garden sloping to the river; and there was a good 
 deal of pleasant rivalry about these gardens, both 
 proprietors having impressed their own individuality 
 upon their pleasure-grounds. Semple's had nothing 
 of the Dutchman's glowing prettiness and quaint- 
 ness, no clipped yews and hollies, no fanciful 
 flower-beds and little Gothic summer-house. Its 
 slope was divided into three fine terraces, the de- 
 scent from one to the other being by broad, low 
 steps ; the last flight ending on a small pier, to which 
 the pleasure and fishing boats were fastened. These 
 terraced walks were finely shaded and adorned with 
 shrubs; and on the main one there was a stone sun- 
 dial, with a stone seat around it. Van Heemskirk 
 did not think highly of Semple's garden ; and Sem- 
 ple was sure, "that, in the matter o' flowers and 
 fancy clippings, Van Heemskirk had o'er much o' a 
 gude thing." But still the rivalry had always been 
 a good-natured one, and, in the interchange of 
 bulbs and seeds, productive of much friendly feel- 
 ing
 
 18 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 The space between the two houses was an enclosed 
 meadow ; and this afternoon, the grass being warm 
 and dry, and full of wild flowers, Katherine followed 
 the narrow foot-path through it, and entered the 
 Semple garden by the small side gate. Near this 
 gate was a stone dairy, sunk below the level of the 
 
 f round, a deliciously cool, clean spot, even in the 
 ottest weather. Passing it, she saw that the door 
 was open, and Madam Semple was busy among its 
 large, shallow, pewter cream-dishes. Lifting her 
 dainty silk skirts, she went down the few steps, and 
 stood smiling and nodding in the doorway. Madam 
 was beating some rich curd with eggs and currants 
 and spices; and Katherine, with a sympathetic 
 smile, asked delightedly, 
 
 "Cheesecakes, madam ? " 
 
 "Just cheesecakes, dearie." 
 
 " Oh, I am glad ! Joanna is coming, too, only she 
 had first some flax to unplait. Wait for her, I could 
 not. Let me fill some of these pretty little patty- 
 pans." 
 
 "I'll do naething o' the kind, Katherine. You'd 
 be spoiling the bonnie silk dress you hae put on. 
 Go to the house and sit wi' Mistress Gordon. She 
 was asking for you no' an hour ago. And, Kather- 
 ine, my bonnie lassie, dinna gie a thought to one 
 word that black-eyed newhew o' her's may say to 
 you. He's here the day and gane to-morrow, and 
 the lasses that heed him will get salr" hearts to them- 
 sel's." 
 
 The bright young face shadowed, and a sudden 
 fear came into Madam Sernple's heart as she watched 
 the girl turn thoughtfully and slowly away. The 
 blinds of the house were closed against the after- 
 noon sun ; but the door stood open, and the wide, 
 dim stairway was before her. All was as silent as if 
 she had entered an enchanted castle. And on the 
 upper hall the closed doors, and the soft lights fall- 
 ing through stained glass upon the dark, rich car- 
 pets, made an element of mystery, vague and charm- 
 ful, to which Katherine's sensitive, childlike nature 
 was fully responsive.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 19 
 
 Slowly she pushed back a heavy mahogany door, 
 and entered a large room, whose richly wainscoted 
 walls, heavy friezes, and beautifully painted ceiling 
 were but the most obvious points in its general 
 magnificence. On a lounge covered with a design 
 done in red and blue tent stitch, an elegantly dressed 
 woman was sitting, reading a novel. "The Girl of 
 Spirit," " The Fair Maid of the Inn," " The Curious 
 Impertinent," and other favorite tales of the day, 
 were lying upon an oval table at her side. 
 
 "La, child! " she cried, " come here and give me 
 a kiss. So you wear that sweet-fancied suit again. 
 You are the most agreeable creature in it; though 
 Dick vows upon his sword-hilt that you look a hun- 
 dred times more bewitching in the dress you wore 
 this morning." 
 
 "How? This morning, madam? This morning 
 Capt. Hyde did not see me at all." 
 
 " Pray don't blush so, child ; though, indeed, it 
 is vastly becoming. I do assure you he saw you 
 this morning. He had gone out early to take the 
 air, and he had a most transporting piece of good 
 fortune : for he bethought himself to walk under the 
 great trees nearly opposite your house ; and when 
 you came to the door, with your excellent father, he 
 noted all, from the ribbon on your head to the 
 buckles on your shoes. His talk now is of nothing 
 but your short quilted petticoat, and your tight 
 bodice, and beautiful bare arms. Is that the Dutch 
 style, theo, child ? It must be extremely charming." 
 
 "If my mother you could see in it ! She is beauti- 
 ful. And we have a picture of my grandmother in 
 the true Zealand dress. Like a princess she looks, 
 my father says ; but, indeed, I have never seen a 
 princess." 
 
 " My dear, you must allow me to laugh a little. 
 Will you believe it, princesses are sometimes very 
 vulgar creatures ? I am sure, however, that your 
 grandmother was very genteel and agreeable. I 
 must tell you that I have just received my new 
 scarf from London. You shall see it, and give me 
 your opinion."
 
 20 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " O madam, you are very kind ! What is it like ? " 
 
 "It is all extravagance in mode and fancy. I be- 
 lieve, my dear, there two hundred yards of edging 
 on it ; and it has the most enchanting slope to the 
 shoulders. I am wonderfully pleased with it, and 
 hope it will prove becoming." 
 
 " Indeed, I think all your suits are becoming." 
 
 " Faith, child, I think they are. I have always 
 dressed with the most perfect intelligence. I follow 
 all the fashions, and they must be French. La, here 
 comes Richard! He is going to ask you to take a 
 sail on the river; and I shall lend you my new green 
 parasol. I do believe it is the only one in the 
 country." 
 
 " I came to sit with you, and work with my 
 worsteds. Perhaps my mother might not like me 
 to go on the river with any one." 
 
 "Pray, child, don't be affected. 'My mother 
 might not like me to go on the river with any 
 one ; ' " and she mimicked Katherineso cleverly that 
 the girl's face burned with shame and annoyance. 
 
 But she had no time to defend herself; for, with 
 his cavalry cap in his hand, and a low bow, Capt. 
 Hyde entered the room; and Katherine's heart 
 throbbed in her cheeks, and she trembled, and yet 
 withal dimpled into smiles, like clear water in the 
 sunshine. In a few minutes afterward she was go- 
 ing down the terrace steps with^ him ; and he was 
 looking into her face with shining eyes, and whis- 
 pering the commonest words in such an enchanting 
 manner that it seemed to her as if her feet scarcely 
 touched the low, white steps, and she was some sort 
 of glorified Katherine Van Heemskirk, who never, 
 never, never could be unhappy again. 
 
 They did not go on the river. Capt. Hyde hated 
 exertion. His splendid uniform was too tight to 
 row in. He did not want a third party near, in any 
 capacity. The lower steps were shaded by great 
 water beeches, and the turf under them was green 
 and warm. There was the scent of lilies around, the 
 song of birds above, the ripple of water among 
 pebbles at their feet. A sweeter hour, a lovelier
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 21 
 
 maid, man could never hope to find; and Capt. 
 Hyde was not one to neglect his opportunity. 
 
 "Let us stay here, my beloved," he whispered. 
 " I have something sweet to tell you. Upon mine 
 honor, I can keep my secret no longer." 
 
 The innocent child ! Who could blame her for 
 listening to it ? at first with a little fear and a lit- 
 tle reluctance, but gradually resigning her whole 
 heart to the charm of his soft syllables and his 
 fervent manner, until she gave him the promise he 
 begged for, love that was to be for him alone, love 
 for him alone among all the sons of men. 
 
 What an enchanted afternoon it was! how all too 
 quickly it fled away, one golden moment after an- 
 other! and what a pang it gave her to find at the 
 end there must be lying and deception! For, some- 
 how, she had been persuaded to acquiesce in her 
 lover's desire for secrecy. As for the lie, he told it 
 With the utmost air of candor. 
 
 "Yes, we had a beautiful sail; and how enchant- 
 ing the banks above here are! Aunt, I am at your 
 service to-morrow, if you wish to see them." 
 
 " Oh, your servant, captain, but I am an indiffer- 
 ent sailor ; and I trust I have too much respect for 
 myself and my new frocks, to crowd them into a 
 river cockboat! " 
 
 In a few minutes Joanim and the elder came in. 
 He had called for her on his way home; for he 
 liked the society of the young and beautiful, and 
 there were many hours in which he thought Joanna 
 fairer than her sister. Then tea was served in a 
 pretty parlor with Turkish walls and colored win- 
 dows, which, being open into the garden, framed 
 lovely living pictures of blossoming trees. Every 
 one was eating and drinking, laughing and talking: 
 so Katherine's unusual silence was unnoticed, ex- 
 cept by the elder, who indeed saw and heard every 
 thing, and who knew what he did not see and hear 
 by that kind of prescience to which wise and obser- 
 vant years attain. He saw that the cakes Katherine 
 dearly loved remained upon her plate untasted, and 
 that she was usually, suspiciously quiet.
 
 22 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 After tea he walked down the garden with Col. 
 Gordon. The lily bed was near the river; and he 
 made the gathering of some lilies for Katherine an 
 excuse for going close enough to the pier to see ho\v 
 the boat lay, and whether the oars had been moved 
 from the exact position in which he had placed them. 
 And he found the boat rocking at its moorings, 
 tied with his own peculiar knot. It told him every 
 thing, and he was sincerely troubled at the dis- 
 covery. 
 
 " Love and lying," he mused. " I wonder why 
 they are ever such thick friends. As for Dick Hyde, 
 lying in his native tongue; but if Katherine Van 
 Heeinskirk has been aye one thing above another, it 
 was to tell the truth. It ought to come easy to her 
 likewise, for I'll say the same o' the hale nation o' 
 Dutchman. I dinna think Joris would tell a lie to 
 save baith life and fortune." 
 
 He looked at Katherine almost sternly when he 
 went back to the house; though he gave her the 
 lilies, and bid her keep her soul sweet and pure as 
 their white bells. She was sitting by Mistress Gor- 
 don's side, in one of those tall-backed Dutch chairs, 
 whose very blackness and straightoess threw into 
 high relief her own undulating roundness and mo- 
 bility, the glowing colors of her Indian silk gown, 
 the shining amber against her white throat, and the 
 picturesque curl and flow of her fair hair. Capt. 
 Hyde sat opposite, bending toward her; and his 
 aunt reclined upon the couch, and watched them 
 with a singular look of speculation in her half- 
 shut eyes. 
 
 Joanna was talking to Neil Semple in the recess 
 of a window ; but Neil's face was white with sup- 
 pressed anger, and, though he seemed to be listen- 
 ing to her, his eyes full of passion were fixed upon 
 Hyde. Perhaps the young soldier was conscious 
 of it; for he occasionally addressed some trivial re- 
 mark to him, as if to prevent Neil losing sight of the 
 advantages he had over him. 
 
 "The vera air o' this room is gunpowdery," 
 thought the elder; "and ane or the other will be
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 23 
 
 flinging a spark o' passion into it, and then the deil 
 will be to pay. O'er many women here ! O'er many 
 women here! One is enough in any house. I'll 
 e'en tak' the lasses hame myseP ; and I'll speak to 
 Joris for his daughter, as good now as any other 
 time." 
 
 Then he said in his blandest tones, "Joanna, my 
 dearie, you'll hae to tell Neil the rest o' your tale the 
 morn ; and, Katherine, put awa' now that bit o' busy 
 idleness, and don your hoods and mantles, baith o' 
 you. I'm going to tak' you hame, and I dinna 
 want to get my deathe wi' the river mist." 
 
 "Pray, sir," said Hyde, "consider me at your 
 service. I have occasion to go into town at once, 
 and will do your duty to the young ladies with in- 
 finite pleasure." 
 
 "Much obliged, captain, vera much obliged ; but 
 it tak's an auld wise-headed, wise-hearted man like 
 mysel' to walk safely atween twa bonnie lasses; " 
 then turning to his son, he added, "Neil, my lad, 
 put your beaver on, and go and find Bram. You 
 can tell him, as he didna come to look after his sis- 
 ters afore this hour, he needna come at a'." 
 
 "Do you know, father, where Bram is likely to be 
 found?" 
 
 "Hum-m-m! As if you didna know yoursel'! 
 He will dootless be among that crowd o' young wise- 
 acres wha are certain the safety o' the Provinces is 
 in their keeping. It's the young who ken a' things, 
 ken mair than councils and assemblies, and king 
 and parliament, thegither." 
 
 Col. Gordon laughed. "Never mind, sir," he 
 said, " they let the army alone, and the church: so 
 you and I need hardly alarm ourselves " 
 
 "I'm no sure o' that, colonel. When it comes to 
 the army, it's a mere question o' wha can strike the 
 hardest blows; and as to kirk matters, I'm thinking 
 men had better meddle wi' the things o' God, which 
 they canua change, than wi' those o' the king, wi' 
 which they can wark a deal o' mischief." 
 
 While he was speaking, Neil left the room. The 
 little argument struck him as a pretext and a.cover,
 
 24 THE BO W OF ORANGE EIBBOX. 
 
 and he was glad to escape from a position which he 
 felt to be both painful and humiliating. He was in a 
 measure Capt. Hyde's host, and subject to traditions 
 regarding the duties of that character : any display of 
 anger would be derogatory to him, and yet how dif- 
 ficult was restraint! So his father's interference 
 was a welcome one; and he was reconciled to his 
 own disappointment, when, looking back, he saw 
 the old gentleman slowly taking the road to Van 
 Heemskirk's, with the pretty girls in their quilted 
 red hoods, one on each side of him. 
 
 The elder was very polite to his charges ; he never 
 once regretted to them the loss of his pipe, and chat 
 with Col. Gordon. But he noticed that Katherine 
 was silent and disappointed, and that she lingered 
 in her own room after her arrival at home. Her sub- 
 sequent pretty cheerfulness, her delight in her lilies, 
 her confiding claims upon her father's love, noth- 
 ing in these things deceived him. He saw beneath 
 all the fluttering young heart, trembling, and yet 
 happy in the new, sweet feeling, never felt before, 
 which had come to it that afternoon. 
 
 But he thought most girls had to have this initia- 
 tive: it prepared the way for a soberer and more 
 lasting affection. In the end, Katherine would per- 
 ceive how imprudent, how impossible, a marriage 
 with Capt. Hyde must be; and her heart would turn 
 back to Neil, who had been her lover from boyhood. 
 Yet, he reflected, it would be well to have the matter 
 understood, and to give it that " possibility " which 
 is best attained on a money basis. 
 
 So while he and the Van Heemskirks discussed the 
 matter, a little reluctantly, he thought, on their 
 part, Katherine talked with Joanna of the Gordons. 
 Her heart was so full of her lover, that it was a re- 
 lief to discuss the people and things nearest to him. 
 And her very repression excited her. She toyed 
 with her cambric kerchief before the small looking- 
 glass, and imitated the fashionable English lady 
 with a piquant cleverness that provoked low peals 
 of laughter, and a retrospective discussion of the 
 evening, which was merry enough, without being in 
 the least ill-natured.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. '25 
 
 But, oh, in what strange solitudes every separate 
 soul dwells! When Katherine kissed her sister, and 
 said simperingly, with the highest English accent, 
 " La, child, I protest it has been the most agreeable 
 evening," Joanna had not a suspicion of the joy and 
 danger that had come to the dear little one at her 
 side. She was laughing softly with her, even while 
 the fearful father stood at the closed door, and lifted 
 up his tender soul in that pathetic petition, " Ach, 
 mijn kind I mijn kind ! mijn liefste kind ! Almighty 
 God preserve thee from all sin and sorrow ! " 
 
 CHAPTEB III. 
 
 OEANJE BOVEN. 
 
 " The proverb holds, that to be wise and love 
 Is hardly granted to the gods above." 
 
 " Sow an act, and you reap a habit ; 
 Sow a habit, and yon reap a character ; 
 Sow a character, and you reap a destiny." 
 
 " WELL, well, to-day goes to its forefathers, like all 
 the rest ; and, as for what comes after it, every thing 
 is in the love and counsel of the Almighty One." 
 
 This was Jons Van Heemskirk's last thought ere 
 he fell asleep that night, after Elder Semple's cau- 
 tious disclosure and proposition. In his calm, me- 
 thodical, domestic life, it had been an " eventful 
 day." We say the words often and unreflectingly; 
 seldom pausing to consider that such days are the 
 results which months, years, perchance centuries, 
 have made possible. Thus, a long course of reckless 
 living and reckless gambling, and the consequent 
 urgent need of ready money, had first made Capt. 
 Hyde turn his thoughts to the pretty daughter of 
 the rich Dutch merchant. 
 
 Madam Semple, in her desire to enhance the im- 
 portance of the Yan Heemskirks, had mentioned
 
 26 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 more than once the handsome sum of ready money 
 
 fiven to each of Katherine's sisters on their wed- 
 ing-day ; and both Col. Gordon and his wife had 
 thought of this sum so often, as a relief to their 
 nephew's embarrassments, that it seemed almost as 
 much Hyde's property as if he had been born to in- 
 herit it. At first, Katherine, as its encumbrance, 
 had been discussed very heartlessly, she could be 
 left in New York when his regiment received march- 
 ing orders, if it were thought desirable ; or she could 
 be taken to England, and settled as mistress of Hyde 
 Manor House, a lonely mansion on the Norfolk fens, 
 which was so rarely tenanted by the family that 
 Hyde had never been there since liis boyhood. 
 
 "She is a homespun little thing," laughed the 
 colonel's fashionable wife, " and quite unfit to go 
 among people of our condition. But she adores you, 
 Dick ; and she will be passably happy with a house 
 to manage, and a visit from you when you can spare 
 the time." 
 
 " Oh, your servant, aunt ! Then I am a very indif- 
 ferent judge: for indeed she has much spirit below 
 her gentle manner; and, upon my word, I think her 
 as fine a creature as you can find in the best London 
 society. The task, I assure you, is not easy. When 
 Katherine js won, then, in faith, her father may be 
 in no hurry of approval. And the child is a fair, 
 innocent child: I am very uneasy .to do her wrong. 
 The ninety-nine plagues of an empty purse are to 
 blame for all my ill deeds." 
 
 " Upon my word, Dick, nothing can be more com- 
 mendable than your temper. You make vastly 
 proper reflections, sir; but you are in troubled 
 waters, admit it, and this little Dutch-craft may 
 bring you respectably into harbor." 
 
 It was in this mood that Katherine and her prob- 
 able fortune had been discussed ; and thus she was 
 but one of the events, springing from lives anterior 
 to her own, and very different from it. And causes 
 nearly as remote had prepared the way for her ready 
 reception of Hyde's homage, and the relaxation of 
 domestic discipline which had trusted her so often
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 27 
 
 and so readily in his society, causes which had 
 been forgotten, but which had left behind them a 
 positive and ever-growing result. When a babe, she 
 was remarkably frail and delicate ; and this circum- 
 stance, united to the fact of her being the youngest 
 child, had made the whole household very tender to 
 her, and she had been permitted a much larger por- 
 tion of her own way than was usually given to any 
 daughter in a Dutch family. 
 
 Also, in her father's case, the motives influencing 
 his decision stretched backward through many gen- 
 erations. None the less was their influence potent 
 to move him. In fact, he forgot entirely to reflect 
 how a marriage between his child and Capt. Hyde 
 would be regarded at that day ; his first thoughts 
 had been precisely such thoughts as would have oc- 
 curred to a Van Heemskhk living two hundred 
 years before him. And thus, though we hardly re- 
 member the fact, it is this awful solidarity of the 
 human family which makes the third and fourth 
 generations heirs of their forefathers, and brings 
 into every life those critical hours we call " eventful 
 days." 
 
 Joris, however, made no such reflections. His age 
 was not an age inclined to analysis, and he was still 
 less inclined to it from a personal stand-point. For 
 he was a man of few, but positive, ideas ; yet these 
 ideas, having once commended themselves to his 
 faith or his intelligence, were embraced with all his 
 soul. It was this spirit which made him deprecate 
 even religious discussions, so dear to the heart of 
 his neighbor. 
 
 " I like them not, elder," he would say ; " of what 
 use are they, then ? The Calvinistic faith is the true 
 faith. That is certain. Yery well, then: what is 
 true does not require to be examined, to see if it be 
 true." 
 
 Semple's communication regarding Capt. Hyde 
 and his daughter had aroused in him certain feel- 
 ings, and led him to certain decisions. He went to 
 sleep, satisfied with their propriety and justice. He 
 awoke in precisely the same mood. Then he dressed,
 
 28 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 and went into his garden. It was customary for 
 Katherine to join him there; and he frequently 
 turned, as he went down the path, to see if she were 
 coming. He watched eagerly for the small figure in 
 its short quilted petticoat and buckled shoes, and the 
 fair, pink face shaded by the large Zealand hat, with 
 its long blue ribbons crossed over the back. But 
 this morning she did not come. He walked alone to 
 his lily bed, and stooped a little forlornly to admire 
 the tulips and crocus-cups and little purple pansies; 
 but his face brightened when he heard her calling 
 him to breakfast, and very soon he saw her leaning 
 over the half-door, shading her eyes with both her 
 hands, the better to watch his approach. 
 
 Lysbet was already in her place; so was Joanna, 
 and also Bram ; and a slim black girl called Dinorah 
 was handing around fricasseed chicken and venison 
 steaks, hot fritters and johnny-cake; while the rich 
 Java berry filled the room with an aroma of tropical 
 life, and suggestions of the spice-breathing coast of 
 Sunda. Joris and Bram discussed the business of 
 the day ; Katherine was full of her visit to Semple 
 House the preceding evening. Dinorah was no re- 
 straint. The slaves Joris owned, like those of Abra- 
 ham, were born or brought up in his own household : 
 they held to all the family feelings with a faithful, 
 often an unreasonable, tenacity. 
 
 And yet, this morning, Joris waited until Lysbet 
 dismissed her handmaid, before 'he said the words he 
 had determined to speak ere he began the work of 
 the day. Then he put down his cup with an emphasis 
 which made all eyes turn to him, and said, 
 
 " Katryntje, my daughter, call not to-day, nor call 
 not any day, until I tell you different, at Madam 
 Semple's. The people who go and come there, I 
 like them not. They will be no good to you. Lys- 
 bet, what say you in this matter ? " 
 
 "What you say, I say, Joris. The father is to be 
 obeyed. When he will not, the children can not." 
 
 "Joanna, what say you ? " 
 
 "I like best of all things to do your pleasure, 
 father."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 29 
 
 " And you, Bram ? " 
 
 " As for me, I think you are very right. I like not 
 those English officers, insolent and proud men, all 
 of them. It would have been a great pleasure to 
 me to strike down the one who yesterday spurned 
 with his spurred boot our good neighbor Jacob 
 Cohen, for no reason but that he was a Jew "- 
 
 " Heigho ! go softly, Bram. That which burns thee 
 not, cool not." 
 
 " As he passed our store door where I stood, he 
 said ' devil,' but he meant me." 
 
 "Only God knows what men mean. Now, then, 
 little one, thy will is my will, is it not ? " 
 
 She had drawn her chair close to her father's, and 
 taken his big hand between her own, and was strok- 
 ing and petting it as he spoke ; and, ere she answered, 
 she leaned her head upon his breast. 
 
 "Father, I like to see the English lady; and she 
 is teaching me the new stitch." 
 
 " ScJioone Lammetje ! There are many other things 
 far better for thee to learn ; for instance, to darn the 
 fine Flemish lace, and to work the beatiful ' clocks ' 
 on thy stockings, and to make perfect thy Heidel- 
 berg and thy Confession of Faith. In these things, 
 the best of all good teachers is thy mother." 
 
 "I can do these things also, father. The lady 
 loves me, and will be unhappy not to see me." 
 
 " Then, let her come here and see thee. That will 
 be the proper thing. Why not ? She is not better 
 than thou art. Once thy mother has called on her ; 
 thou and Joanna, a few times too often. Now, then, 
 let her call on thee. Always honor thyself, as well 
 as others. That is the Dutch way ; that is the right 
 way. Mind what I tell thee." 
 
 His voice had gradually grown sterner; and he 
 gently withdrew his hand from her clasp, and rose 
 as a man in a hurry, and pressed with affairs : 
 "Come, Bram, there is need now of some haste. The 
 ' Sea Hound ' has her cargo, and should sail at the 
 noon-tide; and, as for the 'Crowned Bears,' thou 
 knowest there is much to be said and done. I hear 
 she left most of her cargo at Perth Amboy. Well,
 
 30 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 well, I have told Jerome Brakel what I think of that. 
 It is his own affair." 
 
 Thus talking, he left the room; and Lysbet in- 
 stantly began to order the wants of the house with 
 the same air of settled pre-occupation. " Joanna," 
 she said, " the linen web in the loom, go and see 
 how it is getting on; and the fine napkins must be 
 sent to the lawn for the bleaching, and to-day the 
 chambers must be aired and swept. The best parlor 
 Katherine will attend to." 
 
 Katherine still sat at the table ; her eyes were cast 
 down, and she was arranging without a conscious- 
 ness of doing so her bread crumbs upon her Delft 
 plate. The directions roused her from her revery, 
 and she comprehended in a moment how decisive her 
 father's orders were intended to be. Yet in this mat- 
 ter she was so deeply interested that she instinctively 
 made an appeal against them. 
 
 " Mother, my mother, shall I not go once more to 
 see Madam Gordon ? So kind she has been to me! 
 She will say I am ungrateful, that I am rude, and 
 know not good manners. And I left there the cush- 
 ion I am making, and the worsteds. I may go once, 
 and bring them home ? Yes, mother, I may go once. 
 A young girl does not like to be thought ungrateful 
 and rude." 
 
 " More than that, Katherine ; a young girl should 
 not like to disobey a good father. You make me to 
 feel astonished and sorry. Here is the key of the 
 best parlor; go now, and wash carefully the fine 
 china-ware. As to the rose-leaves in the big jars, 
 you must not let a drop of water touch them." 
 
 " My cushion and my worsteds, mother! " 
 
 " Well, then, I will send Dinorah for them with a 
 civil message. That will be right." 
 
 So Lysbet turned and left the room. She did not 
 notice the rebellious look on her daughter's face, 
 the lowering brows, the resentment in the glance 
 that followed her, the lips firmly set to the mental 
 purpose. " To see her lover at all risks " that was 
 the purpose; but how best to accomplish it, was not 
 clear to her. The ways of the household were so or-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 31 
 
 derly, so many things brought the family together 
 during the day, Lysbet and Joanna kept such a lov- 
 ing watch over her, the road between their own house 
 and the Semples' was so straight and unscreened, 
 and she was, beside, such a novice in deception, 
 all these circumstances flashing at once across her 
 mind made her, for a moment or two, almost despair. 
 
 But she lifted the key given her and went to the 
 parlor. It was a large, low room, with wainscoted 
 walls, and a big tiled fireplace nearly filling one end 
 of it. The blinds were closed, but there was enough 
 light to reveal its quaint and almost foreign charac- 
 ter. Great jars with dragons at the handles stood in 
 the recesses made by large oak cabinets, black with* 
 age, and elaborately carved with a marvelous nicety 
 and skill. The oval tables were full of curious bits 
 of china, dainty Oriental wicker-work, exquisite shells 
 on lacquered trays, wonderfully wrought workboxes, 
 and fans and amulets. The odors of calamus and 
 myrrh and camphor from strange continents mingled 
 with the faint perfume of the dried rose-leaves and 
 the scent-bags of English lavender. 1M any of these 
 rare and beautiful things were the spoils brought 
 from India and Java by the sea-going Van Heems- 
 kirks of past generations. Others had come at long 
 intervals as gifts from the captains of ships with whom 
 the house did business. Katherine had often seen 
 such visitors men with long hair and fierce looks, 
 and the pallor of hot, moist lands below the tan of 
 wind and sunshine. It had always been her delight 
 to dust and care for these various treasures ; and the 
 room itself, with its suggestive aromas, was her fav- 
 orite hiding-place. Here she had made her own 
 fairy tales, and built the enchanted castles which the 
 less fortunate children of this day have clever writers 
 build for them. 
 
 And at length the prince of her imagination had 
 come! As she moved about among the strange 
 carven toys and beautiful ornaments, she could think 
 only of him, of his stately manner and.dark, hand- 
 some face. Simple, even rustic, she might be ; but 
 she understood that he had treated her with as much
 
 32 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 deference and homage as if she had been a princess. 
 She recalled every word he said to her as they sat 
 under the water beeches. More vividly still she re- 
 called the tender light in his eyes, the lingering clasp 
 of his hand, his low, persuasive voice, and that 
 nameless charm of fashion and culture which per- 
 haps impressed her more than any other thing. 
 
 Among the articles she had to dust was a square 
 Indian box with drawers. It had always been called 
 "the writing-box," and it was partly filled with 
 paper and other materials for letter-writing. She 
 stood before the open lid thoughtfully, and a sudden 
 overwhelming desire to send some message of apol- 
 *ogy to Mrs. Gordon came into her heart. She could 
 write pretty well, and she had seen her mother and 
 Joanna fold and seal letters ; and, although she was 
 totally inexperienced in the matter, she determined 
 to make the effort. 
 
 There was nothing in the materials then to help 
 her. The letter-paper was coarse and unruled ; en- 
 velopes were unknown. She would have to bring a 
 candle into the room in order to seal it ; and a candle 
 could only be lit by striking a spark from the flint 
 upon the tinder, and then igniting a brimstone 
 match from it, unless she lit it at the kindled fire, 
 which would subject her to questions and remon- 
 strances. Also, the quill pens must be mended, and 
 the ink renewed. But all these difficulties were 
 overcome, one by one; and the following note in- 
 trusted to the care of Diedrich Becker, the old man 
 who worked in the garden and milked the cows, 
 
 To MISTRESS COL. GORDON. 
 
 Honored Madam, My father forbids that I come to see you. 
 He thinks you should upon my mother call. That you will judge 
 me to be rude and ungrateful, I fear very much. But that is not 
 true. I am unhappy, indeed. I think all the day of you. 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 KATHERINE VAN HEEMSKIRK. 
 
 "The poor child," said Mrs. Gordon, when she 
 had read the few anxious sentences. " Look here, 
 Dick;" and Dick, who was beating a tattoo upon
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 33 
 
 the window-pane, turned listlessly and asked, 
 " Pray, madam, what is it? " 
 
 " Of all earthly things, a letter from that poor 
 child, Katherine Van Heemskirk. She has more wit 
 than I expected. So her father won't let her come 
 to me. Why, then, upon my word, I will go to her.'* 
 
 Capt. Hyde was interested at once. He took the 
 letter his aunt offered, and read it with a feeling of 
 love and pity and resentment. "You will go to- 
 morrow ? " he asked ; " and would it be beyond 
 good breeding to accompany you ? " 
 
 "Indeed, nephew, I think it would. But I will 
 give your service, and say every thing that is agree- 
 able. Be patient: to-morrow morning I will call 
 upon our fair neighbor." 
 
 The next morning was damp, for there had been 
 heavy rain during the night ; but Capt. Hyde would 
 not let his aunt forget or forego her promise. She 
 had determined to make an unceremonious visit; 
 and early in the day she put on her bonnet and pe- 
 lisse, and walked over to the Van Heemskirks. A 
 negro woman was polishing the brass ornaments of 
 the door, and over its spotless threshold she passed 
 without question or delay. 
 
 A few minutes she waited alone in the best parlor, 
 charmed with its far-off air and Eastern scents, and 
 then Madam Van Heemskirk welcomed her. In her 
 heart she was pleased at the visit. She thought 
 
 grivately that her Joris had been a little too strict, 
 he did not really see why her beautiful daughters 
 should not have the society and admiration of the 
 very best people in the Province. And Mrs. Gor- 
 don's praise of Katherine, and her declaration that 
 " she was inconsolable without the dear creature's 
 society," seemed to the fond mother the most proper 
 and natural of feelings. 
 
 "Do but let me see her an hour, madam," she 
 said. " You know my sincere admiration. Is not 
 that her voice? I vow, she sings to perfection! 
 And what a singular melody ! Please to set wide the 
 door, madam." 
 " It is the brave song of the brave men of Zealand,
 
 34 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 when from the walls of Leyden they drove away the 
 Spaniards ; " and madam stood in the open door, 
 and called to her daughter, " Well, then, Katherine, 
 begin again the song of ' The Beggars of the Sea.' " 
 
 " We are the Beggars of the Sea, 
 Strong, gray Beggars from Zealand we ; 
 We are fighting for liberty : 
 Heave ho ! rip the brown sails free ! 
 
 Hardy sons of old Zierikzee, 
 Fed on the breath of the wild North Sea. 
 Beggars are kings if free they be: 
 Heave ho! rip the brown sails free! 
 
 ' True to the Wallet,'' whatever betide; 
 'Long live the Gueux,'t\\e sea will provide 
 Graves for the enemy, deep and wide: 
 Heave ho! rip the brown sails free! 
 
 Beggars, but not from the Spaniard's hand ; 
 Beggars. ' under the Cross ' we stand ; 
 Beggars, for love of the fatherland: 
 Heave ho! rip the brown sails free! 
 
 Now, if the Spaniard comes our way, 
 What shall we give him, Beggars gray ? 
 Give him a moment to kneel and pray: 
 Heave ho ! rip the brown sails free ! " 
 
 At the second verse, Mrs. Gordon rose and said, 
 " Indeed, madam, I find my good-breeding no match 
 against such singing. And the tune is wonderful : 
 it has the ring of trumpets, and the roar of the 
 waves, iu it. Pray let us go at ofice to your daugh- 
 ters." 
 
 "At work are they; but, if you mind not that, 
 you are welcome indeed." Then she led the way to 
 the large living, or dining, room, where Katherine 
 stood at the table cleaning the silver flagons and 
 cups and plates that adorned the great oak side- 
 board. 
 
 Joanna, who was darning some fine linen, rose 
 and made her respects with perfect composure. She 
 had very little liking, either for Mrs. Gordon or her 
 nephew; and many of their ways appeared to her 
 utterly foolish, and not devoid of sin. But Kather- 
 ine trembled and blushed with pleasure and excite-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 35 
 
 ment, and Mrs. Gordon watched her with a certain 
 kind of curious delight. Her hair was combed 
 backward, plaited, and tied with a ribbon ; her arms 
 bare to the shoulders, her black bodice and crimson 
 petticoat neatly shielded with a linen apron ; and 
 poised in one hand she held a beautiful silver flagon 
 covered with raised figures, which with patient labor 
 she had brought into shining relief. 
 
 "Oh," cried the visitor, "that is indeed a piece of 
 plate worth looking at! Surely, child, it has a his- 
 tory, a romance perhaps. La, there are words also 
 upon it! Pray, madam, be so obliging as to read 
 the inscription ; " and madam, blushing with pride 
 and pleasure, read it aloud, 
 
 " ' Hoog van Moed, 
 Klein van G9ed, 
 Een zwaard in de hand: 
 Is 't vvapen van Gelderland." 
 
 " Dutch, I vow! Surely, madam, it is very sonor- 
 ous and emphatic; vastly different, I do assure you, 
 from the vowelled idioms of Italy and Spain. Pray, 
 madam, be so civil as to translate the words for me." 
 
 " ' Of spirit great, 
 Of small estate, 
 A sword in the hand : 
 Such are the arms of Guelderland.' 
 
 "You must know," continued Madam Van Heems- 
 kirk, " that my husband's father had a brother, who, 
 in a great famine in Guelderland, filled one hundred 
 flat boats with wheat of Zealand, in all the world it 
 is the finest wheat, that is the truth, and help he 
 sent to those who were ready to perish. And when 
 came better days, then, because their hearts were 
 good, they gave to their preserver this flagon. Joris 
 Van Heemskirk, my husband, sets on it great store, 
 that is so." 
 
 Conversation in this channel was easily main- 
 tained. Madam Van Heemskirk knew the pedigree 
 or the history of every tray or cup, and in reminis- 
 cence and story an hour passed away very pleasantly 
 indeed. Joanna did not linger to listen. The visitor
 
 36 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 did not touch her liking or her interest; and besides, 
 as every one knows, the work of a house must go on, 
 no matter what guest opens the door. But Kath- 
 erine longed and watched and feared. Surely her 
 friend would not go away without some private 
 token or message for her. She turned sick at heart 
 when she rose as if to depart. But Mrs. Gordon 
 proved herself equal to the emergency; for, after 
 bidding madam an effusive good-by, she turned sud- 
 denly and said, " Pray allow your daughter to show 
 me the many ornaments in your parlor. The glimpse 
 I had has made me very impatient to see them more 
 particularly." 
 
 The request was one entirely in sympathy with the 
 mood and the previous conversation, ancl madam 
 was pleased to gratify it; also pleased, that, having 
 fully satisfied the claims of social life, she could 
 with courtesy leave her visitor's further entertain- 
 ment with Katherine, and return to her regular 
 domestic cares. To her the visit had appeared to be 
 one of such general interest, that she never sus- 
 pected any motive beneath or beyond the friendli- 
 ness it implied. Yet the moment the parlor-door 
 had been shut, Mrs. Gordon lifted Katherine's face 
 between her palms, and said, 
 
 " Faith, child, I am almost run off my head with 
 all the fine things I have listened to for your sake. 
 Do you know who sent me here ? " 
 
 "I think, madam, Capt. Hyde." 
 
 " Psha! Why don't you blush, and stammer, and 
 lie about it ? 'I think, madam, Capt. Hyde,' " mim- 
 icking Katherine's slight Dutch accent. " 'Tis to 
 be seen, miss, that you understand a thing or two. 
 Now, Capt. Hyde wishes to see you : when can you 
 oblige him so much ? " 
 
 "I know not. To come to Madam Semple's is 
 forbidden me by my father." 
 
 "It is on my account. I protest your father is 
 very uncivil." ' 
 
 " Madam, no ; but it is the officers : many come 
 and go, and he thinks it not good for me to meet 
 them."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 37 
 
 " Oh, indeed, miss, it is very hard on Capt Hyde, 
 who is more in love than is reasonable! Has your 
 father forbidden you to walk down your garden to 
 the river bank? " 
 
 'No, madam." 
 
 ' Then, if Capt. Hyde pass about two o'clock, he 
 might see you there ? " 
 
 " At two I am busy with Joanna." 
 
 ' La, child ! At three then ? " 
 
 'Three?" 
 
 The word was a question more than an assent; but 
 Mrs. Gordon assumed the assent, and did not allow 
 Katherine to contradict it. "And I promised to 
 bring him a token from you, he was exceedingly 
 anxious about that matter : give me the ribbon from 
 your hair." 
 
 " Only last week Joanna bought it for me. She 
 would surely ask me, ' Where is your new ribbon ? '" 
 
 " Tell her that you lost, it." 
 
 " How could I say that ? It would not be true." 
 
 The girl's face was so sincere, that Mrs. Gordon 
 found herself unable to ridicule the position. " My 
 dear," she answered, "you are a miracle. But, 
 among all these pretty things, is there nothing you 
 can send ? " 
 
 Katherine looked thoughtfully around. There 
 was a small Chinese cabinet on a table : she went to 
 it, and took from a drawer a bow of orange ribbon. 
 Holding it doubtfully in her hand, she said, " My 
 St. Nicholas ribbon." 
 
 " La, miss, I thought you were a Calvinist ! What 
 are you talking of the saints for ? " 
 
 " St. Nicholas is our saint, our own saint; and on 
 his day we wear orange. Yes, even my father then, 
 on his silk cap, puts an orange bow. Orange is the 
 Dutch color, you know, madam." 
 
 "Indeed, child, I do not know; but, if so, then it 
 is the best color to send to your true love." 
 
 " For the Dutch, orange always. On the great 
 days of the kirk, my father puts blue with it. Blue 
 is the color of the Dutch Calvinists." 
 
 " Make me thankful to learn so much. Then when
 
 38 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 Councillor Van Heemskirk wears his blue and orange, 
 he says to the world, ' I am a Dutchman and a Cal- 
 vinist'?" 
 
 " That is the truth. For the Vaderland and the 
 Moeder-Kerk he wears their colors. The English, 
 too, they will have their own color ? " 
 
 " La, my dear, England claims every color! But, 
 indeed, even an English officer may now wear an 
 orange favor; for I remember well when our Prin- 
 cess Anne married the young Prince of Orange. Oh, 
 I assure you the House of Nassau is close kin to the 
 House of Hanover! And when English princesses 
 marry Dutch princes, then surely English officers 
 may marry Dutch maidens. Your bow of orange 
 ribbon is a very proper love-knot." 
 
 " Indeed, madam, I never " 
 
 " There, there! I can really wait no longer. Some 
 one is already in a fever of impatience. 'Tis a 
 quaintly pretty room : I am happy to have seen its 
 curious treasures. Good-by again, child ; my serv- 
 ice once more to your mother and sister; " and so, 
 with many compliments, she passed chatting and 
 laughing out of the house. 
 
 Katherine closed the best parlor, and lingered a 
 moment in the act. She felt that she had permitted 
 Mrs. Gordon to make an appointment for her lover, 
 and a guilty sense of disobedience made bitter the 
 joy of expectation. For absolute tEuthf ulness is the 
 foundation of the Dutch character; and an act of 
 deception was not only a sin according to Katherine's 
 nature, but one in direct antagonism to it. As he 
 turned away from the closed parlor, she felt quite 
 inclined to confide everything to her sister Joanna; 
 but Joanna, who had to finish the cleaning of the 
 silver, was not in that kind of a temper which in- 
 vites confidence; and indeed, Katherine, looking 
 into her calm, pre-occupied face, felt her manner to 
 be a reproof and a restraint. 
 
 So she kept her own counsel, and doubted and 
 debated the matter in her heart until the hands of 
 the great clock were rising quickly to the hour of 
 fate. Then she laid down her fine sewing, and said,
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 39 
 
 " Mother, I want to walk in the garden. When I 
 come back, my task I will finish." 
 
 " That is well. Joanna, too, has let her work fall 
 down to her lap. Go, both of you, and get the fine 
 air from the river." 
 
 This was not what Katherine wished ; but nothing 
 but assent was possible, and the girls strolled slowly 
 down the box-bordered walks together. Madam 
 Yan Heemskirk watched them from the window for 
 a few minutes. A smile of love and pleasure was on 
 her fine, placid face ; but she said with a sigh, as she 
 turned away, 
 
 "Well, well, if it is the will of God they should 
 not rise in the world, one must be content. To the 
 spider the web is as large as to the whale the whole 
 wide sea; that is the truth." 
 
 Joanna was silent ; she was thinking of her own 
 love affairs: but Katherine, doubtful of herself, 
 thought also that her sister suspected her. When 
 they reached the river-bank, Joanna perceived that 
 the lilacs were in bloom, and at their root the beau- 
 tiful auriculas; and she -stooped low to inhale their 
 strange, nameless, earthy perfume. At that moment 
 a boat rowed by with two English soldiers, stopped 
 just below them, and lay rocking on her oars. Then 
 an officer in the stern rose and looked toward Kath- 
 erine, who stood in the full sunlight with her large 
 hat in her hand. Before she could make any sign 
 of recognition, Joanna raised herself from the 
 auriculas and stood beside her sister; yet in the 
 slight interval Katherine had seen Capt. Hyde fling 
 back from his left shoulder his cloak, in order to 
 display the bow of orange ribbon on his breast. 
 
 The presence of Joanna baffled and annoyed him; 
 but he raised his beaver with a gallant grace, and 
 Joanna dropped a courtesy, and then, taking Kath- 
 erine's hand, turned toward home with her, saying, 
 " That is the boat of Capt. Hyde. What comes he 
 this way for ? " 
 
 "The river way is free to all, Joanna." And 
 Joanna looked sharply at her sister, and remained 
 silent.
 
 40 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 But Katherine was inerry as a bird. She chattered 
 of this and of that, and sang snatches of songs, old 
 and new. And all the time her heart beat out its 
 own glad refrain, " My bow of orange ribbon, my 
 bow of orange ribbon ! " Her needle went tft her 
 thoughts, and her thoughts went to melody ; for, as 
 she worked, she sang, 
 
 " Will you have a pink knot ? 
 
 Is it blue you prize ? 
 One is like a fresh rose, 
 
 One is like your eyes. 
 No, the maid of Holland, 
 
 For her own true love, 
 Ties the splendid orange 
 
 Orange still above! 
 O oranje boven I * 
 
 Orange still above. 
 
 Will you have the white knot? 
 
 No, it is too cold. 
 Give me splendid orange, 
 
 Tint of flame and gold ; 
 Kich and glowing orange, 
 
 For the heart I love ; 
 Under, white and pink and blue ; 
 
 Orange still above! 
 O oranje boven ! 
 
 Orange still above ! " 
 
 "How merry you sing, mijn Katrijntje ! Like a 
 little bird you sing. What, then, is it ? " 
 
 "A pretty song made by the schoolmaster, mijn 
 moeder. ' Oranje Boven ' the name is." 
 
 " That is a good name. Your father I will remind 
 to have it painted over the door of the summer- 
 house." 
 
 " There already are two mottoes painted, ' Peace- 
 ful is my garden.' and ' Contentment is my lot.' " 
 
 "Well, then, there is always room for two more 
 good words, is there not?" And Katherine gayly 
 sung her answer, 
 
 " Tie the splendid orange, 
 
 Orange still above! 
 O oranje boren .' 
 Orange still above." 
 
 * Pronounced O-ran-ya boven.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 JOY IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 11 The trifles of our daily lives, 
 The common things scarce worth recall, 
 Whereof no visible trace survives, 
 These are the mainsprings, after all." 
 
 " The little waves make the large ones, and are of the same 
 pattern." 
 
 " HONORED gentleman, when will you pay me my 
 money ? " 
 
 The speaker was an old man, dressed in a black 
 coat buttoned to the ankles, and a cap of silk and 
 fur, from beneath which fell a fringe of gray hair. 
 His long beard was also gray, and he leaned upon an 
 ivory staff carved with many strange signs. The in- 
 quiry was addressed to Capt. Hyde. He paid no at- 
 tention whatever to it, but, gayly humming a stave 
 of " Marlbrook," watched the crush of wagons and 
 pedestrians, in order to find a suitable moment to 
 cross the narrow street. 
 
 " Honored gentleman, when will you pay me my 
 moneys ? " 
 
 The second inquiry elicited still less attention; 
 for, just as it was made, Neil Semple came out of the 
 City Hall, and his appearance gave the captain a 
 good excuse for ignoring the unpleasant speaker. 
 
 "Faith, Mr. Semple," he cried, "you came in an 
 excellent time. I am for Fraunce's Tavern, and a 
 chop and a bottle of Madeira. I shall be vastly glad 
 of your company." 
 
 The grave young lawyer, with his hands full of 
 troublesome-looking papers, had little of the air of a 
 boon companion ; and, indeed, the invitation was at 
 once courteously declined. 
 
 " I have a case on in the Admiralty Court, cap- 
 tain," he answered, " and so my time is not my own. 
 It belongs, I may say, to the man who has paid me 
 good money for it."
 
 42 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " Lawyer Semple ? " 
 
 " Mr. Cohen, at your service, sir." 
 
 " Capt. Hyde owes me one hundred guineas, with 
 the interests, since the fifteenth day of last Decem- 
 ber. He will not hear me when I say to him, ' Pay 
 me my moneys : ' perhaps he will listen, if you speak 
 for me." 
 
 " If you are asking my advice in the way of busi- 
 ness, you know my office-door, Cohen ; if in the way 
 of friendship, I may as well say at once, that I never 
 name friendship and money in the same breath. 
 Good-day, gentlemen. I am in something of a hurry, 
 as you may understand." Cohen bowed low in re- 
 sponse to the civil greeting; Capt. Hyde stared in- 
 dignantly at the man who had presumed to couple 
 one of his Majesty's officers with a money-lender and 
 a Jew. 
 
 " I do not wish to make you more expenses, cap- 
 tain;" and Cohen, following the impulse of his 
 anxiety, laid his hand upon his debtor's arm. Hyde 
 turned in a rage, and flung off the touch with a pas- 
 sionate oath. Then the Jew left him. There was 
 neither anger nor impatience visible in his face or 
 movements. He cast a glance up at the City Hall, 
 an involuntary appeal, perhaps, to the justice sup- 
 posed to inhabit its chambers, and then he walked 
 slowly toward his store and home. 
 
 Both were under one roof, a two-storied building,' 
 in the lower part of Pearl Street, dingy and unat 
 tractive in outward appearance, but crowded in it** 
 interior with articles of beauty and worth, Flemish 
 paintings and metal work, Venetian glasses and vel- 
 vets, Spanish and Moorish leather goods, silverware, 
 watches, jewelry, etc. The window of the large room 
 in which all \vas stored was dim with cobwebs, and 
 there was no arrangement of the treasures. They 
 were laid in the drawers of the great Dutch presses 
 and cabinets, or packed in boxes, or hung against 
 the walls. 
 
 At the back of the store, there was a small sitting- 
 room, and behind it a kitchen, built in a yard which 
 was carefully boarded up. A narrow stairway near
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 43 
 
 the front of the store led to the apartments above. 
 They were three in number. One was a kind of him- 
 ber-room ; a second, Cohen's sleeping-room ; and 
 the largest, at the back of the house, belonged to 
 the Jew's grandchild Miriam. There was one serv- 
 ant in the family, an old woman who had come to 
 America with Jacob. She spoke little English, and 
 she lived in complete seclusion in her kitchen and 
 yard. As far as Jacob Cohen was concerned, he pre- 
 served an Oriental reticence about the women of his 
 household: he never spoke of them, and he was 
 never seen in their company. It was seldom they 
 went abroad ; when they did so, it was early in the 
 morning, and usually to the small synagogue in Mill 
 Street. 
 
 He soon recovered the calmness which had been 
 lost during his unsatisfactory interview with Capt. 
 Hyde. " A wise man frets not himself, for the folly 
 of a fool ; " and, having come to this decision, he en- 
 tered his house with the invocation for its peace and 
 prosperity on his lips. A party of three gentlemen 
 were examining his stock: they were Gov. Clinton 
 and his friends Golden and Belcher. 
 
 "Cohen," said Clinton, "you have many fine 
 things here; in particular, this Dutch cabinet, with 
 heavy brass mountings. Send it to my residence. 
 And that Venetian mirror with the silver frame will 
 match the silver sconces you sold me at the New 
 Hear. I do not pretend to be a judge, but these 
 things are surely extremely handsome. Pray, sir, 
 let us see the Moorish leather that William Walton 
 has reserved for his new house. I hear you are to 
 have the ordering of the carpets and tapestries. You 
 will make money, Jacob Cohen." 
 
 " Your Excellency knows best. I shall make my 
 just profits, no more, no more." 
 
 " Yes, yes; you have many ways to make profits, 
 I hear. All do well, too." 
 
 "When God pleases, it rains with every wind, 
 your Excellency." 
 
 Then there was a little stir in the street, that pe- 
 culiar sense of something more than usual, which
 
 44 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 can make itself felt in the busiest thoroughfare, 
 and Golden went to the door and looked out. Joris 
 Van Heemskirk was just passing, and his walk was 
 something quicker than usual. 
 
 " Good-day to you, councillor. Pray, sir, what is 
 to do at the wharf ? I perceive the bustle comes 
 thence." 
 
 "At your service, Councillor Golden. At the 
 wharf there is good news. ' The Great Christopher ' 
 has come to anchor, Capt. Batavius de Tries. So a 
 good-morrow, sir; " and Joris lifted his beaver, and 
 proceeded on his way to Murray's Wharf. 
 
 Bram was already on board. His hands were 
 clasped across the big right shoulder of Batavius, 
 who stood at the mainmast, giving orders about his 
 cargo. He was a large mau, with the indisputable 
 air of a sailor from strange seas, familiar with the 
 idea of solitude, and used to absolute authority. He 
 loved Bram after his own fashion, but his vocabulary 
 of affectionate words was not a large one. Bram, 
 however, understood him ; he had been quite satis- 
 fied with his short and undemonstrative greeting, 
 
 " Thee, Bram ? Good! How goes it ? " 
 
 The advent of Joris added a little to the enthusi- 
 asm of the meeting. Joris thoroughly liked Bata- 
 vius, and their hands slipped into each other's with 
 a mighty grasp almost spontaneously. After some 
 necessary delay, the three men,, left the ship to- 
 . gether. There was quite a crowd on the wharf. 
 Some were attracted by curiosity; others, by the 
 hope of a good job on the cargo; others, again, not 
 averse to a little private bargaining for any curious 
 or valuable goods the captain of the " Great Chris- 
 topher " had for sale. Cohen was among the latter; 
 but he had too much intelligence to interfere with a 
 family party, especially as he heard Joris say to the 
 crowd with a polite authority, " Make way, friends, 
 make way. When a man is off a three-years' cruise, 
 for a trifle he should not be stopped." 
 
 Joanna had had a message from her lover, and 
 she was watching for his arrival. There was no se- 
 crecy in her love-affairs, and it was amid the joy and
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 45 
 
 smiles of the whole household that she met her af- 
 fianced husband. They were one of those loving, 
 sensible couples, for whom it is natural to predict a 
 placid and happy life ; and the first words of Bata- 
 vius seemed to assure it, 
 
 " My affairs have gone well, Joanna, as they gen- 
 erally do ; and now I shall build the house, and we 
 shall be married." 
 
 Joanna laughed. " I shall just say a word or two, 
 also, about that, Batavius." 
 
 "Come, come, the word or two was said so long 
 ago. Have you got the pretty Chinese has I sent 
 from the ship ? and the Javanese cabaya, and the 
 sweatmeats, and the golden pins ? " 
 
 " All of them I have got. Much money, Batavius, 
 they must have cost." 
 
 "Well, well, then! There is enough left. A man 
 does not go to the African coast for nothing. Katri- 
 jntje, mijn meisje, what's the matter now, that you 
 never come once ? " 
 
 Katherine was standing at the open window, ap- 
 parently watching the honey-bees among the locust 
 blooms, but really perceiving something far beyond 
 them, a boat on the river at the end of the garden. 
 She could not have told how she knew it was there ; 
 but she saw it, saw it through the intervening space, 
 barred and shaded by many trees. She felt the slow 
 drift of the resting oars, and the fascination of an 
 eager, handsome face lifted to the lilac-bushes which 
 hedged the bank. So the question of Batavius 
 touched very lightly her physicial consciousness. A 
 far sweeter, a far more peremptory voice called her ; 
 but she answered, 
 
 " There is nothing the matter, Batavius. I am 
 well, I am happy. And now I will go into the gar- 
 den to make me a fine nosegay." 
 
 "Three times this week, into the garden you have 
 gone to get a nosegay; and then all about it you 
 forget. It will be better to listen to Batavius, I 
 think. He will tell us of the strange countries where 
 he has been, and of the strange men and women." 
 
 " For you, Joanna, that will be pleasant ; but "
 
 46 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBttUN. 
 
 " For you also. To listen to Batavius is to learn 
 something." 
 
 "Well, that is the truth. But to me all this talk 
 is not very interesting. I will go into the garden ; " 
 and she walked slowly out of the door, and stopped 
 or stooped at every flower-bed, while Joanna watched 
 her. 
 
 "The child is now a woman. It will be a lover 
 next, Joanna." 
 
 "There is a lover already; but to any thing he 
 says, Katrijntje listens not. It is at her father's 
 knee she sits, not at the lover's." 
 
 " It will be Eem Verplanck ? And what will come 
 of it?" 
 
 "No, it is Neil Semple. To-night you will see. 
 He comes in and talks of the Assembly and the 
 governor, and of many things of great moment. 
 But it is Katherine for all that. A girl has not been 
 in love four years for nothing. I can see, too, that 
 my father looks sad, and my mother says neither 
 yes nor no in the matter." 
 
 " The Semples are good business managers. They 
 are also rich, and they approve of good morals and 
 the true religion. Be content, Joanna. Many roads 
 lead to happiness beside the road we take. Now, 
 let us talk of our own affairs." 
 
 It was at this moment Katherine turned to observe 
 if she were watched. No : Batayms and Joanna had 
 gone away from the window, and for a little while 
 she would not be missed. She ran rapidly to the end 
 of the garden, and, parting the lilac-bushes, stood 
 flushed and panting on the river-bank. There was a 
 stir of oars below her. It was precisely as she had 
 known it would be. Capt. Hyde's pretty craft shot 
 into sight, and a few strokes put it at the landing- 
 stair. In a moment he was at her side. He took 
 her in his arms ; and, in spite of the small hands 
 covering her blushing face, he kissed her with pas- 
 sionate affection. 
 
 " My darling, my charmer! " he said. " How you 
 have tortured me ! By my soul, I have been almost 
 distracted. Pray, now, let me see thy lovely face."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 47 
 
 He lifted it in his hands and kissed it again, kissed 
 the rosy cheeks, and white dropped eyelids, and red 
 smiling mouth ; vowed with every kiss that she was 
 the most adorable of women, and protested, " on his 
 honor as a soldier," that he would make her his 
 wife, or die a bachelor for her sake. 
 
 And who can Iplame a young girl if she listens and 
 believes, when listening and believing mean to her 
 perfect happiness ? Not women who have ever stood, 
 trembling with love and joy, close to the dear one's 
 heart. If they be gray-haired, and on the very shoal 
 of life, they must remember still those moments of 
 delight, the little lane, the fire-lit room, the drifting 
 boat, that is linked with them. If they be young and 
 lovely, and have but to say, " It was yesterday," or, 
 " It was last week," still better they will understand 
 the temptation that was too great for Katherine to 
 overcome. 
 
 And, as yet, nothing definite had been said to her 
 about Neil Semple, and the arrangement made for 
 her future. Joris had intended every day to tell her, 
 and every day his heart had failed him. He felt as 
 if the entire acceptance of the position would be 
 giving his little daughter away. As long as she was 
 not formally betrothed, she was all his own ; and 
 Neil could not use that objectionable word " my " in 
 regard to her. Lysbet was still more averse to a 
 decisive step. She had had "dreams" and "pre- 
 sentiments " of unusual honor for Katherine, which 
 she kept with a superstitious reverence in her mem- 
 ory ; and the girl'"s great beauty and winning man- 
 ners had fed this latent expectancy. But to see her 
 the wife of Neil Semple did not seem to be any real- 
 ization of her ambitious hopes. She had known 
 Neil all his life ; and she could not help feeling, that, 
 if Katherine's fortune lay with him, her loving 
 dreams were all illusions and doomed to disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 Besides, with a natural contradiction, she was a 
 little angry at Neil's behavior. He had been coming 
 to their house constantly for a month at least; every 
 opportunity of speaking to Katherine on his own be-
 
 48 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 half had been given him, and he had not done so. 
 He was too indifferent, or he was too confident; and 
 either feeling she resented. But she judged Neil 
 wrongly. He was an exceedingly cautious young 
 man ; and he felt what the mother could not per- 
 ceive, a certain atmosphere about the charming 
 girl which was a continual repression to him. In 
 the end, he determined to win her, win her entirely, 
 heart and hand ; therefore he did not wish to embar- 
 rass his subsequent wooing by having to surmount 
 at the outset the barrier of a premature " no. " And, 
 as yet, his jealousy of Capt. Hyde was superficial and 
 intermitting; it had not entered his mind that an 
 English officer could possibly be an actual rival to 
 him. They were all of them notoriously light of 
 love, and the Colonial beauties treated their homage 
 with as light a belief; only it angered and pained 
 him that Katherine should suffer herself to be made 
 the pastime of Hyde's idle hours. 
 
 On the night of De Yries's return, there was a 
 great gathering at Van Heemskirk's house. No 
 formal invitations were given, but all the friends of 
 the family understood that it would be so. Joris 
 kept on his coat and ruffles and fine cravat, Batavius 
 wore his blue broadcloth and gilt buttons, and 
 Lysbet and her daughters were in their kirk dresses 
 of silk and camblet. It was an exquisite summer 
 evening, and the windows looking into the garden 
 were all open ; so also was the door ; and long before 
 sunset the stoop was full of neighborly men, smoking 
 with Joris and Batavius, and discussing Colonial and 
 commercial affairs. 
 
 In the living-room and the best parlor, their wives 
 were gathered, women with finely rounded forms, 
 very handsomely clothed, and all busily employed in 
 the discussion of subjects of the greatest interest to 
 them. For Joanna's marriage was now to be freely 
 talked over, the house Batavius was going to build 
 described, the linen and clothing she had prepared 
 examined, and the numerous and rich presents her 
 lover had brought her wondered over, and com- 
 mented upon.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 49 
 
 Conspicuous in the happy, chattering company, 
 Lysbet Van Heemskirk bustled about, in the very 
 whitest and stiffest of lace caps; making a sugges- 
 tion, giving an opinion, scolding a careless servant, 
 putting out upon the sideboard Hollands, Geneva, 
 and other strong waters, and ordering in from the 
 kitchen hot chocolate and cakes of all kinds for the 
 women of the company. Very soon after sundown, 
 Elder Semple and madam his wife arrived; and the 
 elder, as usual, made a decided stir among the group 
 which he joined. 
 
 "No, no, councillor," he said, in answer to the in- 
 vitation of Joris to come outside. " No, no, I'll not 
 risk my health, maybe my vera life, oot on the stoop 
 after sunset. 'Warm,' do you say? Vera warm, 
 and all the maur for being warm. My medical man 
 thinks I hae a tendency to fever, and there's four- 
 fourths o' fever in every inch o' river mist, that a 
 man breathes these warm nights." 
 
 "Well, then, neighbors, we'll go inside," said 
 Joris. "Clean pipes, and a snowball,* or a glass of 
 Hollands, will not, I think, be amiss." 
 
 The movement was made among some jokes and 
 laughter; and they gathered near the hearthstone, 
 where, in front of the unlit hickory logs, stood a tall 
 blue jar filled with feathery branches of fennel and 
 asparagus. But, as the jar of Virginia was passed 
 round, Lysbet looked at Dinorah, and Dinorah went 
 to the door and called, "Baltus;" and in a minute 
 or two a little black boy entered with some hot coals 
 on a brass chafing-dish, and the fire was as solemnly 
 and silently passed round as if it were some occult 
 religious ceremony. 
 
 The conversation interrupted by Semple's entrance 
 was not resumed. It had been one dealing out un- 
 sparing and scornful disapproval of Gov. Clinton's 
 financial methods, and Clinton was known to be a 
 personal friend of Semple's. But the elder would 
 perhaps hardly have appreciated the consideration, 
 if he had divined it; for he dearly loved an argu- 
 ment, and had no objections to fight for his own side 
 * Snowball, gin mixed stiff with sugar.
 
 50 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 single-handed. In fact, it was so natural for htm to 
 be "in opposition," that he could not bear to join the 
 general congratulation to De Vries on his fortunate 
 voyage. 
 
 " You were lang awa', captain," was his opening 
 speech. " It would tak' a deal o' gude fortune to 
 mak' it worth your while to knock around the high 
 seas for three years or mair." 
 
 " Well, look now, elder, I didn't come home with 
 empty hands. I have always been apt to get into 
 the place where gold and good bargains were go- 
 ing." 
 
 " Hum-m-m ! You sailed for Rotterdam, I think?" 
 
 " That is true ; from Rotterdam I went to Batavia, 
 and then to the coast of Africa. The African cargo 
 took me to the West Indies. From Kingston it was 
 easy to St. Thomas and Surinam for cotton, and then 
 to Curafoa for dyeing- woods and spices. The ' Great 
 Christopher ' took luck with her. Every cargo was 
 a good cargo." 
 
 "I'll no be certain o' that, captain. I would hae 
 some scruples mysel ' anent buying and selling men 
 and women o' any color. We hae no quotations from 
 the other world, and it may be the Almighty holds 
 his black men at as high a figure as his white men. 
 I'm just speculating, you ken. I hae a son--my 
 third son, Alexander Semple o' Boston wha has 
 made money on the Africans. I hae told him, likewise, 
 that trading in wheat and trading in humanity may 
 hae ethical differences; but every one settles his ain 
 bill, and I'll hae enough to do to secure mysel'." 
 
 Batavius was puzzled; and at the word "ethical 
 differences," his big brown hand was " in the hair" 
 at once. He scratched his head and looked doubt- 
 fully at Semple, whose face was peculiarly placid 
 and thoughtful and kindly. 
 
 "Men must work, elder, and these blacks won't 
 work unless thev are forced to. I, who am a bap- 
 tized Christian, have to do my duty in this life ; and, 
 as for pagans, they must be made to do it. I am 
 myself a great lover of morality, and that is what I 
 think. Also, you may read in the Scriptures, that
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON 51 
 
 St. Paul says that if a man will not work, neither 
 shall he eat." 
 
 "St. Paul dootless kent a' about the question o' 
 forced labor, seeing that he lived when baith white 
 and black men were sold for a price. However, sil- 
 ler in the hand answers a' questions ; and the domi- 
 nie made a vera true observe one sabbath, when he 
 said that the Almighty so ordered things in this 
 warld that orthodoxy and good living led to wealth 
 and prosperity." 
 
 " That is the truth," answered Justice Van Gaas- 
 beeck : "Holland is Holland because*she has the true 
 faith. You may see that in France there is anarchy 
 and bloodshed and great poverty: that is because 
 they are Koman Catholics." 
 
 It was at this moment Katherine came and stood 
 behind her father's chair. She let her hand fall 
 down over his shoulder, and he raised his own to 
 clasp it. " What is it, then, mijn Katrijntje Tdeintje ? " 
 
 "It is to dance. Mother says 'yes, 'if thou art 
 willing." 
 
 "Then I say 'yes,' also." 
 
 For a moment she laid her cheek against his ; and 
 the happy tears came into his eyes, and he stroked 
 her face, and half-reluctantly let Batavius lead her 
 away. For, at the first mention of a dance, Batavius 
 had risen and put down his pipe ; and in a few min- 
 utes he was triumphantly guiding Joanna in a kind 
 of mazy waltzing movement, full of spirit and 
 grace. 
 
 At that day there were but few families of any 
 wealth who did not own one black man who could 
 play well upon the violin. Joris possessed two; 
 and they were both on hand, putting their own. gay 
 spirits into the fiddle and the bow. And oh, how 
 happy were the beating feet and the beating hearts 
 that went to the stirring strains! It was joy and 
 love and youthen melodious motion. The old looked 
 on with gleaming, sympathetic eyes; the young for- 
 got that they were mortal. 
 
 Then there was a short pause; and the ladies 
 sipped chocolate, and the gentlemen sipped some-
 
 52 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 thing a little stronger, and a merry ripple of conver- 
 sation and of hearty laughter ran with the clink of 
 glass and china, and the scraping of the fiddle-bows. 
 
 " Miss Katern Van Heemskirk and Mr. Neil Sem- 
 ple will now hab de honor of 'bliging de company 
 wid de French minuet," 
 
 At this announcement, made by the first negro 
 violin, there was a sudden silence; and Neil rose, 
 and with a low bow offered the tips of his fingers to 
 the beautiful girl, who rose blushing to fake them. 
 The elder deliberately turned his chair around, in 
 order to' r watch the movement comfortably; and 
 there was an inexpressible smile of satisfaction on 
 his face as his eyes followed the young people. 
 Neil's dark, stately beauty was well set off by his 
 black velvet suit and powdered hair and gold 
 buckles. And no lovelier contrast could have faced 
 him than Katherine Van Heemskirk: so delicately 
 fresh, so radiantly fair, she looked in her light blue 
 robe and white lace stomacher, with a pink rose at 
 her breast. There were shining amber beads around 
 her white throat, and a large amber comb fastened 
 her pale brown hair. A gilded Indian fan was in her 
 hand, and she used it with all the pretty airs she had 
 so aptly copied from Mrs. Gordon. 
 
 Neil had a natural majesty in his carriage; Kath- 
 erine supplemented it with a natural grace, and with 
 certain courtly movements whicjti, made the little 
 Dutch girls, who had never seen Mrs. Gordon practic- 
 ing them, admire and wonder. As she was in the very 
 act of making Neil a profound courtesy, the door 
 opened, and Mrs. Gordon and Capt. Hyde entered. 
 The latter took in the exquisite picture in a moment ; 
 and there was a fire of jealousy in his heart when he 
 saw Neil lead his partner to her seat, and with the 
 deepest respect kiss her pretty fingers ere he re- 
 signed them. 
 
 But he was compelled to control himself, as he was 
 ceremoniously introduced to Councillor and Madam 
 Van Heemskirk by his aunt, who with a charming ef- 
 fusiveness declared " she was very -uneasy to intrude 
 so far; but, in faith, councillor," she pleaded, "I am
 
 TEE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 53 
 
 but a woman, and I find the news of a wedding be- 
 yond my nature to resist." 
 
 There was something so frank and persuasive 
 about the elegant stranger, that Joris could not re- ' 
 fuse the courtesy she asked for herself and her neph- 
 ew. And, having yielded, he yielded with entire 
 truth and confidence. He gave his hand to his visi- 
 tors, and made them heartily welcome to join in 
 his household rejoicing. True, Mrs. Gordon's per- 
 suasive words were ably seconded by causes which 
 she had probably calculated. The elder and Madam 
 Semple were present, and it would have been impos- 
 sible for Joris to treat their friends rudely. Bram 
 was also another conciliating element, for Capt. 
 Hyde was on pleasant speaking terms with him ; and, 
 as yet, even Neil's relations were at least those of 
 presumed friendship. Also, the Van Gaasbeecksand 
 others present were well inclined to make the 
 acquaintance of a woman so agreeable, and an of- 
 .ficer so exceptionally handsome and genteel. Be- 
 sides which, Joris was himself in a happy and genial 
 mood : he had opened his house and his heart to his 
 friends; and he did not leel at that hour as if he 
 could doubt any human being, or close his door 
 against even the stranger and the alien who wished 
 to rejoice with him. 
 
 Elder Semple was greatly pleased at his friend's 
 complaisance. He gave Joris full credit for his vic- 
 tory over his rational prejudices, and he did his very 
 best to make the concession a pleasant event. In this 
 effort he was greatly assisted by Mrs. Gordon : she set 
 herself to charm Van Heemskirk, as she had set her- 
 herself to charm Madam Van Heemskirk on her pre- 
 vious visit; and she succeeded so well, that, when 
 "Sir Roger de Coverly " was called, Joris rose, of- 
 fered her his hand, and, to the delight of every one 
 present, led the dance with her. 
 
 It was a little triumph for the elder; and he sat* 
 smiling, and twirling his fingers, and thoroughly 
 enjoying the event. Indeed, he was so interested in 
 listening to the clever way in which " the bonnie 
 woman flattered Van Heemskirk," that he was quite
 
 54 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 oblivious of the gathering wrath in his son's face, 
 and the watchful gloom in Bram's eyes, as the two 
 men stood together, jealously observant of Capt. 
 Hyde's attentions to Katherine. Without any words 
 spoken on the subject, there was an undestobd com- 
 pact between them to guard the girl from auy private 
 conversation with him ; and yet two men with hearts 
 full of suspicion and jealousy were not a match for 
 one man with a heart full of love. In a moment, in the 
 interchange of their hands in a dance, Katherine 
 clasped tightly a little note, and unobserved hid it 
 behind the rose at her breast. 
 
 But nothing is a wonder in love, or else it would 
 have been amazing that Joanna did not notice the 
 rose absent from her sister's dress after Capt. Hyde's 
 departure; nor yet that Katherine, ere she went to 
 rest that night, kissed fervently a tiny bit of paper 
 which she hid within the silver clasps of her Kirk 
 Bible. The loving girl thought it no wrong to put it 
 there : she even hoped that some kind of blessing or 
 sanction might come through such sacred keeping; 
 and she went to sleep whispering to herself, 
 
 "Happy lam. Me he loves; me he loves; me only 
 he loves ; me forever he loves /" 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF STRIFE. 
 
 "All pleasure must be bought at the price of pain. The true 
 pay the price before they enjoy it ; the false, after they enjoy it. : ' 
 
 " The future does not come from before to meet us, but conies 
 streaming up from behind, over our heads." 
 
 " Who is free ? The man who masters his own self. 
 "Who is powerful ? He who can control his passions." 
 
 "MY dear Dick, I am exceedingly concerned to 
 find you in such a taking, a soldier who has known
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 55 
 
 some of the finest women of the day, moping about 
 a Dutch schoolgirl! Pshaw! Don't be a fool. I 
 had a much better opinion of you." 
 
 " Tis a kind of folly that runs in the family, aunt. 
 I have heard that you preferred Col. Gordon to a 
 duke." 
 
 " Now, sir, you are ill-natured. Dukes are not 
 uncommon : a man of sense and sensibility is a 
 treasure. Make me grateful that I secured one." 
 
 " Lend me your wit, then, for the same consum- 
 mation. I assure you that I consider Katherine 
 Van Heemskirk a treasure past belief. Confess, 
 now, that she was the loveliest of creatures last 
 night." 
 
 " She has truly a fine complexion, and she dances 
 with all the elegance imaginable. I know, too, that 
 she sings to perfection, and has most agreeable and 
 obliging manners." 
 
 " And a heart which abounds in every tender feel- 
 ing." 
 
 " Oh, indeed, sir! I was not aware that you knew 
 her so well." 
 
 " T know that I love her beyond every thing, and 
 that I am likely so to love her all my life." 
 
 "Upon my word, Dick, love may live an age if 
 you don't marry it." 
 
 " Let me make you understand that I wish to 
 marry it." 
 
 "Oh, indeed, sir! Then the church door stands 
 open. Go in. I suppose the lady will oblige you so 
 far." 
 
 "Pray, my dear aunt, talk sensibly. Give me 
 your advice; you know already that I value it. 
 What is the first step to be taken ? " 
 
 " Go and talk with her father. I assure you, no 
 real progress can be made without it. The girl you 
 think worth asking for; but it is very necessary for 
 you to know what fortune goes with her beauty." 
 
 " If her father refuse to give her to me " 
 
 " That is not to be thought of. I have seen that 
 some of ftie best of these Dutch families are very 
 willing to be friendly with us. You come of a noble
 
 56 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 race. You wear your sword with honor. You are 
 not far from the heritage of a great title and estate. 
 If you ask for her fortune, you offer far above its 
 equivalent, sir." 
 
 "I have heard Mr. Neil Semple say that Van 
 Heemskirk is a great stickler for trade, and that he 
 hates every man who wears a sword." 
 
 " You have heard more than you need listen to. 
 I talked to the man an hour last night. He is as 
 honest as a looking-glass, and I read him all 
 through with the greatest ease. I am sure that he 
 has a heart very tender, and devoid of anger or 
 prejudice of any kind." 
 
 " That is to be seen. I have discovered already 
 that men who can be very gentle can also be very 
 rough. But this suspense is intolerable, and not to 
 be borne. I will go and end it. Pray, what is the 
 hour ? " 
 
 " It is about three o'clock ; a very suitable hour, I 
 think." 
 
 " Then give me your good wishes." 
 
 "I shall be impatient to hear the result." 
 
 " In an hour or two " 
 
 " Oh, sir, I am not so foolish as to expect you in 
 an hour or two ! When you have spoken with the 
 father, you will doubtless go home with him and 
 drink a dish of tea with your divinity. 1 can imag- 
 ine your unreasonable felicity, Dick, seas of milk, 
 and ships of amber, and all sails set for the desired 
 haven ! I know it all, so I hope you will spare me 
 every detail, except, indeed, such as relate to 
 pounds, shillings, and pence." 
 
 It was a very hot afternoon ; and Yan Heemskirk's 
 store, though open to the river-breezes, was not by 
 any means a cool or pleasant place. Bram was just 
 within the doors, marking "Boston" on a number 
 of flour-barrels, which were being rapidly trans- 
 ferred to a vessel lying at the wharf. He \vas ab- 
 sorbed and hurried in the matter, and received the 
 visitor with rather a cool courtesy ; but whether the 
 coolness was of intention or pre-occupatfbn, Capt. 
 Hyde did not perceive it. He asked for Councillor
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 57 
 
 Van Heemskirk, and was taken to his office, a small 
 room, intensely warm and sunny at that hour of the 
 day. 
 
 "Your servant, captain." 
 
 " Yours, most sincerely, councillor. It is a hot 
 day." 
 
 "That is so. We come near to midsummer. Is 
 there any thing I can oblige you in, sir ? " 
 
 Joris asked the question because the manner of 
 the young man struck him as uneasy and con- 
 strained ; and he thought, " Perhaps he has come to 
 borrow money." It was notorious that his Majesty's 
 officers gambled, and wore often in very great need 
 of it; and, although Joris had not any intention of 
 risking his gold, he thought it as well to bring out 
 the question, and have the refusal understood be- 
 fore unnecessary politeness made it more difficult. 
 He was not, therefore, astonished when Capt. Hyde 
 answered, 
 
 "Sir, you can indeed oblige me, and that in a 
 matter of the greatest moment." 
 
 " If money it be, captain, at once I may tell you, 
 that I borrow not, and I lend not." 
 
 " Sir, it is not money, in particular." 
 
 "So?" 
 
 " It is your daughter Katherine." 
 
 Then Joris stood up, and looked steadily at the 
 suitor. His large, amiable face had become in a 
 moment hard and stern ; and the light in his eyes 
 was like the cold, sharp light that falls from drawn 
 steel. 
 
 " My daughter is not for you to name. Sir, it is a 
 wrong to her, if you speak her name." 
 
 "By my honor, it is not! Though I come of as 
 good family as any in England, and may not un- 
 reasonably hope to inherit its earldom, I "do assure 
 you, sir, I sue as humbly for your daughter's hand 
 as if she were a princess?' 
 
 "Your family! Talk not of it. King nor kaiser 
 do I count better men than my own fore-goers. 
 Like to like, that is what I say. Your wife seek, 
 captain, among your own women."
 
 58 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 "I protest that I love your daughter. I wish 
 above all things to make her my wife." 
 
 " Many things men desire, that they come not 
 near to. * My daughter is to another man promised." 
 
 " Look you, councillor, that would be monstrous. 
 Your daughter loves me." 
 
 Jons turned white to the lips. " It is not the 
 truth," he answered in a slow, husky voice. 
 
 " By the sun in heaven, it is the truth ! Ask her." 
 
 " Then a great scoundrel are you, unfit with hon- 
 est men to talk. Ho! Yes, your sword pull from its 
 scabbard. Strike. To the heart, strike me. Less 
 wicked would be the deed than the thing you have 
 done." 
 
 " In faith, sir, 'tis no crime to win a woman's 
 love." 
 
 " No crime it would be to take the guilders from 
 my purse, if my consent was to it. But into my 
 house to come, and while warm was yet my wel- 
 come, with my bread and wine in your lips, to take 
 my gold, a shame and a crime would be. My daugh- 
 ter than gold is far more precious." 
 
 There was something very impressive in the 
 angry sorrow of Joris. It partook of his own mag- 
 nitude. Standing in front of him. it was impossible 
 for Capt. Hyde not to be sensible of the difference 
 between his own slight, nervous frame, and the fair, 
 strong massiveness of Van Heem-skirk; and, in a 
 dim way, he comprehended that this physical differ- 
 ence was onlj 7 the outward and visible sign of a 
 mental and moral one quite as positive and un- 
 changeable. 
 
 Yet he persevered in his solicitation. With a 
 slight impatience of manner he said, " Do but hear 
 me, sir. I have done nothing contrary to the cus- 
 tom of people in my condition, and I assure you 
 that with all my soul I love your daughter." 
 
 "Love! So talk you. You see a girl beautiful, 
 sweet, and innocent. Your heart, greedy and cov- 
 etous, wants her as it has wanted, doubtless, many 
 others. For yourself only, you seek her. And what 
 is it you ask then ? That she should give up for you
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 59 
 
 her father, mother, home, her own faith, her own 
 people, her own country, the poor little one ! to a 
 cold, cheerless land among strangers, alone in the 
 sorrows and pains that to all women come. Love! 
 In God's name, what know you of love ? " 
 
 " No man can love her better." 
 
 "What say you? How, then, do I love her? I 
 who carried her mijn witte lammetje* in these arms 
 before yet she could say to me, 'Fader!'" His 
 wrath had been steadily growing, in spite of the 
 mist in his eyes and the tenderness in his voice ; and 
 suddenly striking the desk a ponderous blow with 
 his closed hand, he said with an unmistakable pas- 
 sion, " My daughter you shall not have. God in 
 heaven to himself take her ere such sorrow come to 
 her and me! " 
 
 " Sir, you are very uncivil; but I am thankful to 
 know so much of your mind. And, to be plain with 
 you, I am determined to marry your daughter if I 
 can compass the matter in any way. It is now, 
 then, open war between us; and so, sir, your serv- 
 ant." 
 
 " Stay. To me listen. Not one guilder will I give 
 to my daughter, if " 
 
 "To the devil with your guilders! Dirty money 
 made in dirty traffic " 
 
 "You lie."' 
 
 "Sir, you take an infamous advantage. You 
 know, that, being Katherine's father, I will not 
 challenge you." 
 
 " Christus ! " roared Joris, "challenge me one 
 hundred times. A fool I would be to answer you. 
 Life my God gave to me. Well, then, only my God 
 shall from me take it. See you these arms and 
 hands ? In them you will be as the child of one 
 year. Ere beyond my reason you move me, go ! " 
 and he strode to the door and flung it open with a 
 passion that made every one in the store straighten 
 themselves, and look curiously toward the two men. 
 
 White with rage, and with his hand upon his 
 sword-hilt, Capt. Hyde stamped his way through 
 *My white lamb.
 
 60 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 the crowded store to the dusty street. Then it 
 struck him that he had not asked the name of the 
 man to whom Katherine was promised. He swore 
 at himself for the omission. Whether he knew him 
 or not, he was determined to fight him. In the 
 mean time, the most practical revenge was to try 
 and see Katherine before her father had the oppor- 
 tunity to give her any orders regarding him. Just 
 then he met Neil Semple, and he stopped and asked 
 him the time. 
 
 " It will be the half hour after four, captain. I 
 am going home : shall I have your company, sir ? " 
 
 "I have not so much leisure to-night. Make a 
 thousand regrets to Madam Semple and my aunt for 
 me." 
 
 Neil's calm, complacent gravity was unendurable. 
 He turned from him abruptly, and, muttering pas- 
 sionate exclamations, went to the river-bank for a 
 boat. Often he had seen Katherine between five 
 and six o'clock at the foot of the Van Heemskirk 
 garden ; for it was then possible for her to slip away 
 while madam was busy about her house, and Joanna 
 and Batavius talking over their own affairs. And 
 this evening he felt that the very intensity of his 
 desire must surely bring her to their trysting-place 
 behind the lilac hedge. 
 
 Whether he was right or wrong, he did not con- 
 sider; for he was not one of tho^e potent men who 
 have themselves in their own power. Nor had it 
 ever entered his mind that " love's strength stand- 
 eth in love's sacrifice," or that the only love worthy 
 of the name refuses to blend with any thing that is 
 low or vindictive or clandestine. And, even if he 
 had not loved Katherine, he would now have been 
 determined to ntarry her. Never before in all his 
 life had he found an object so engrossing. Pride 
 and revenge were added to love, as motives; but 
 who will say that love was purer or stronger or 
 sweeter for them ? 
 
 In the meantime, Joris was suffering as only such 
 deep natures can suffer. There are domestic fatali- 
 ties which the wisest and tenderest of parents seem
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 61 
 
 impotent to contend with. Joris had certainly been 
 alarmed by Semple's warning; but in forbidding his 
 daughter to visit Mrs. Gordon, and in permitting 
 the suit of Neil Semple, he thought he had assured 
 her safety. Through all the past weeks, he had 
 seen no shadow on her face. The fear had died out, 
 and the hope had been slowly growing ; so that Capt. 
 Hyde's proposal, and his positive assertion that 
 Katherine loved him, had fallen upon the father's 
 heart with the force of a blow, and the terror of a 
 shock. And the sting of the sorrow was this, that 
 his child had deceived him. Certainly she had not 
 spoken false words, but truth can be outraged by si- 
 lence quite as cruelly as by speech. 
 
 After Hyde's departure, he shut the door of his 
 office, walked to the window, and stood there some 
 minutes, clasping and unclasping his large hands, 
 like a man full of grief and perplexity. Ere long he 
 remembered his friend Semple. This trouble con- 
 cerned him also, for Capt. Hyde was in a manner 
 his guest; and, if he were informed of the marriage 
 arranged between Katherine and Neil Semple, he 
 would doubtless feel himself bound in honor to re- 
 tire. Elder Semple had opened his house to Col. 
 Gordon, his wife and nephew. For months they had 
 lived in comfort under his roof, and been made 
 heartily welcome to the best of all he possessed. 
 Joris put himself in Hyde's place ; and he was cer- 
 tain, that, under the same circumstances, he would 
 feel it disgraceful to interfere with the love-affairs 
 of his host's son. 
 
 He found Semple with his hat in his hand, giving 
 his last orders before leaving business for the day; 
 but when Joris said, " There is trouble, and your 
 advice I want," he returned with him to the back of 
 the store, where, through half-opened shutters, the 
 sunshine and the river-breeze stole into an atmos- 
 phere laden with the aromas of tea and coffee and 
 West Indian produce. 
 
 In a few short, strong sentences, Joris put the 
 case before Semple. The latter stroked his right 
 knee thoughtfully, and listened. But his first words
 
 62 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 were not very comforting: "I must say, that it is 
 maistly your own fault, Joris. You hae given Neil 
 but a half welcome, and you should hae made a' 
 things plain and positive to Katherine. Such 
 skimble-skamble, yea and nay kind o' ways willna 
 do wi' women. Why didna you say to her, out aod 
 out, ' I hae promised you to Neil Semple, my lassie. 
 He'll mak' you the best o' husbands ; you'll marry 
 him at the New Year, and you'll get gold and plen- 
 ishing and a' things suitable ' ? " 
 
 " So young she is yet, elder." 
 
 "She has been o'er auld for you, Joris. Young! 
 My certie ! When girls are auld enough for a lover, 
 they are a match for any gray head. I'm a thankfu' 
 man that I wasna' put in charge o' any o' them. 
 You and your household will hae to keep your e'en 
 weel open, or there will be a wedding to which nane 
 o' us will get an invite. But there is little good in 
 mair words. Hame is the place we are baith needed 
 in. I shall hae to speak my mind to Neil, and like- 
 wise to Col. Gordon ; and you canna put off your 
 duty to your daughter an hour longer. Dear me! 
 To 'think, Joris, o' a man being able to sit wi' the 
 councillors o' the nation, and yet no match for a 
 lassie o' seventeen! " 
 
 There are men who can talk their troubles away : 
 Joris was not one of them. He was silent when in 
 sorrow or perplexity ; silent, and ever looking around 
 for something to do in the matter. As they walked 
 homeward, the elder talked, and Joris pondered, 
 not what was said, but the thoughts and purposes 
 that were slowly forming in his own mind. He was 
 later than usual, and the tea and the cakes had 
 passed their prime condition ; but, when Lysbet saw 
 the trouble in his eyes, she thought them not worth 
 mentioning. Joanna and Batavius were discussing 
 their new house then building on the East River 
 bank, and they had forgotten all else. But Kather- 
 ine fretted about her father's delay, and it was at 
 her Joris first looked. The veil had now been taken 
 from his eyes ; and he noticed her pretty dress, her 
 restless glances at the clock, her ill-concealed im-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 63 
 
 patience at the slow movement of the evening- 
 meal. 
 
 When it was over, Joanna and Batavius went out 
 to walk, and Madam Yan Heemskirk rose to put 
 away her silver and china. "So warm as it is!" 
 said Katherine. " Into the garden I am going, 
 mother." 
 
 " Well, then, there are currants to pull. The dish 
 take with you." 
 
 Joris rose then, and laying his hand on Kather- 
 ine's shoulder said, " There is something to talk 
 about. Sit down, Lysbet : the door shut close, and 
 listen to me." 
 
 It was impossible to mistake the stern purpose on 
 her husband's face, and Lysbet silently obeyed the 
 order. 
 
 " Katherine, Katrijntje, mijn kind, this afternoon 
 there comes to the store the young man Capt. Hyde. 
 To thy father he said many ill words. To him thou 
 shalt never speak again. Thy promise give to me." 
 
 She sat silent, with dropped eyes, and cheeks as 
 red as the pomegranate flower at her breast. 
 
 " Mijn kind, speak to me." 
 
 " O wee, O wee!" 
 
 <s Mijn kind, speak to me." 
 
 Weeping bitterly, she rose and went to her mother, 
 and laid her head upon Lysbet's shoulder. 
 
 "Look now, Joris. One must know the 'why* 
 and the 'wherefore.' What mean you? Wliish* 
 mijn kindje!" 
 
 " This I mean, Lysbet. No more meetings with 
 the Englishman will I have. No love secrets will I 
 bear. Danger is with them ; yes, and sin, too." 
 
 " Joris, if he has spoken to you, then where is the 
 secret ? " 
 
 " Too late he spoke. When worked was his own 
 selfish way, to tell me of his triumph he comes. It 
 is a shameful wrong. Forgive it ? No, I will not,. 
 never! " 
 
 No one answered him ; only Katherine's low weep- 
 ing broke the silence, and for a few moments Joris- 
 paced the room sorrowful and amazed. Then he
 
 64 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 looked at Lysbet, and she rose and gave her place 
 to him. He put his arms around his darling, and 
 kissed her fondly. 
 
 " Mljn kinclje, listen to me thy father. It is for 
 thy happy life here, it is for thy eternal life, I speak 
 to thee. This mail for whom thou art weeping is not 
 good for thee. He is not of thy faith, he is a Luth- 
 eran ; not of thy people, he is an Englishman; not 
 of thy station, he talks of his nobility; a gambler 
 also, a man of fashion, of loose talk, of principles 
 still more loose. If with the hawk a singing-bird 
 might mate happily, then this English soldier thou 
 might safely marry. Mijn beste kindje, do I love 
 thee ? " 
 
 "My father! " 
 
 "Do I love thee?" 
 
 " Yes, yes." 
 
 " Dost thou, then, love me ? " 
 
 She put her arms round his neck, and laid her 
 cheek against his, and kissed him many times. 
 
 " Wilt thou go away and leave me, and leave thy 
 mother, in our old age ? My heart thou would 
 break. My gray hairs to the grave would go in sor- 
 row. Katrijntje, my dear, dear child, what for me, 
 and for thy mother, wilt thou do ? " 
 
 " Thy wish if I can." 
 
 Then he told her of the provision made for her 
 future. He reminded her of NeilVlong affection, 
 and of her satisfaction with it until Hyde had wooed 
 her from her love and her duty. And, remember- 
 ing the elder's reproach on his want of explicitness, 
 he added, "To-morrow, about thy own house, I will 
 take the first step. Near my house it shall be ; and 
 when I walk in my garden, in thy garden I will see 
 thee, and only a little fence shall be between us. 
 And at the feast of St. Nicholas thou shalt be mar- 
 ried ; for then thy sisters will be here, thy sisters 
 Anna and Cornelia. And money, plenty of money, 
 I will give thee ; and all that is proper thy mother 
 and thee shall buy. But no more, no more at all, 
 shalt thou see or speak to that bad man who has so 
 beguiled thee."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 65 
 
 At this remark Katherine sadly shook her head ; 
 and Lysbet's face so plainly expressed caution, that 
 Joris somewhat modified his last order, " That is, 
 little one, no more until the feast of St. Nicholas. 
 Then thou wilt be married; and then it is good, if it 
 is safe, to forgive all wrongs, and to begin again 
 with all the world in peace and good living. Wilt 
 thou these things promise me ? me and thy mother ? " 
 
 " Richard I must see once more. That is what I 
 ask." 
 
 "Richard! So far is it ? " 
 
 She did not answer; and Joris rose, and looked at 
 the girl's mother inquiringly. Her face expressed 
 assent; and he said reluctantly, "Well, then, I will 
 as easy make it as I can. Once more, and for one 
 hour, thou may see him. But I lay it on thee to tell 
 him the truth, for this and for all other time." 
 
 " Now may I go ? He is anigh. His boat I hear 
 at the landing; " and she stood up, intent, listening, 
 with her fair head lifted, and her wet eyes fixed on 
 the distance. 
 
 "Well, be it so. Go." 
 
 With the words she slipped from the room ; and 
 Joris called Baltu to bring him some hot coals, and 
 began to fill his pipe. As he did so, he watched 
 Lysbet with some anxietj^. She had offered him no 
 sympathy, she evinced no disposition to continue 
 the conversation ; and, though she kept her face 
 from him, he understood that all her movements ex- 
 pressed a rebellious temper. In and out of the room 
 she passed, very busy about her own affairs, and ap- 
 parently indifferent to his anxiety and sorrow. 
 
 At first Joris felt some natural anger at her atti- 
 tude ; but, as the Virginia calmed and soothed him, 
 he remembered that he had told her nothing of his 
 interview with Hyde, and that she might be feeling 
 and reasoning from a different stand-point from him- 
 self. Then the sweetness of his nature was at once 
 in the ascendant; and he said, " Lysbet, come then, 
 and talk with me about the child." 
 
 She turned the keys in her press slowly, and stood 
 by it with them in her hand. " What has been told
 
 66 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 thee, Joris, to-day ? And who has spoken ? Tongues 
 evil and envious, I am sure of that." 
 
 " Thou art wrong. The young man to me spoke 
 himself. He said, ' I love your daughter. I want 
 to marry her.' " 
 
 " Well, then, he did no wrong. And as for Kat- 
 rijntje, it is in nature that a young girl should want 
 a lover. It is in nature she should choose the one 
 she likes best. That is what I say." 
 
 " That is what I say, Lysbet. It is in nature, also, 
 that we want too much food and wine, too much 
 sleep, too much pleasure, too little work. It is in 
 nature that our own way we want. It is in nature 
 that the good we hate, and the sin we love. My 
 Lysbet, to us God gives his own good grace, that 
 the things that are in nature we might put below 
 the reason and the will." 
 
 " So hard that is, Joris." 
 
 "No, it is not: so far thou hast done the right 
 way. When Katherine was a babe, it was in nature 
 that with the fire she wanted to make play. But 
 thou said, 'There is danger, my precious one ; ' and 
 in thy arms thou carried her out of the temptation. 
 When older she grew, it was in nature she said, ' I 
 like not the school, and my Heidelberg is hard, and 
 I cannot learn it.' But thou answered, 'For thy 
 good is the school, and go thou every day ; and for 
 thy salvation is thy catechism, and I will see that 
 thou learn it well.' Now, then, it is in nature the 
 child should want this handsome stranger ; but with 
 me thou wilt certainly say, ' He is not fit for thy hap- 
 piness: he has not the true faith, he gambles, he 
 fights duels, he is a waster, he lives badly, he will 
 take thee far from thy own people and thy own 
 home.' " 
 
 " Can the man help that he was born an English- 
 man and a Lutheran ? " 
 
 " They have their own women. Look now, from 
 the beginning it has been like to like. Thou may 
 see in the Holy Scriptures, that, after Esau married 
 the Hittite woman, he sold his birthright, and be- 
 came a wanderer and a vagabond. And it is said
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 67 
 
 that it was a ' grief of mind unto Isaac and Kebekah. ' 
 I am sorry this day for Isaac and Kebekah. The 
 heart of the father is the same always." 
 
 11 And the heart of the mother, also, Joris." She 
 drew close to him, and laid her arm across his broad 
 shoulders ; and he took his pipe from his lips, and 
 turned his face to her. " Kind and wise art thou, 
 my husband ; and whatever is thy wish, that is my 
 wish too." 
 
 "A good woman thou art. And what pleasure 
 would it be to thee if Katherine was a countess, and 
 went to the court, and bowed down to the king and 
 the queen? Thou would not see it; and, if thou 
 spoke of it, thy neighbors they would hate thee, and 
 mock thee behind thy back, and say, ' How proud is 
 Lysbet Van Heemskirk of her noble son-in-law that 
 comes never once to see her!' And dost thou be- 
 lieve he is an earl ? Not I." 
 
 " That is where the mother's love is best, Joris. 
 What my neighbors said would be little care to me, 
 if my Katherine was well and was happy. With 
 her sorrow would I buy my own pleasure ? No ; I 
 would not so selfish be." 
 
 " Would I, Lysbet ? Eight am I, and I know I am 
 right. And I think that Neil Semple will be a very 
 great person. Already, as a man of affairs, he is 
 much spoken of. He is handsome and of good mor- 
 ality. The elders in the kirk look to such young 
 men as Neil to fill their places when they are no 
 more in them. On the judge's bench he will sit 
 down yet." 
 
 " A good young man he may be, but he is a very 
 bad lover ; that is the truth. If a little less wise he 
 could only be! A young girl likes some foolish 
 talk. It is what women understand. Little fond 
 words, very strong they are! Thou thyself said 
 them to me." 
 
 " That is right. To Neil I will talk a little. A man 
 must seek a good wife with more heart than he seeks 
 gold. Yes, yes ; her price above rubies is." 
 
 At the very moment Joris made this remark, the 
 elder was speaking for him. When he arrived at
 
 68 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 home, he found that his wife was out making calls 
 with Mrs. Gordon, so he had not the relief of a 
 marital conversation. He took his solitary tea, and 
 fell into a nap, from which he awoke in a querulous, 
 uneasy temper. Neil was walking about the ter- 
 race, and he joined him. 
 
 "You are stepping in a vera majestic way, Neil: 
 what's in your thoughts, I wonder ? " 
 
 " I have a speech to make to-morrow, sir. My 
 thoughts were on the law, which has a certain maj- 
 esty of its own." 
 
 "You'd better be thinking o' a speech you ought 
 to make to-night, if you care aboot saving yoursei' 
 wi' Katherine Van Heemskirk ; and it will be an ex- 
 traordinar' case that is worth mair, even in the way 
 o' siller, than she is." 
 
 The elder was not in the habit of making unmean- 
 ing speeches, and Neil was instantly alarmed. In 
 his own way, he loved Katherine with all his soul. 
 " Yes," continued the old man, " you hae a rival, sir. 
 Capt. Hyde asked Van Heemskirk for his daughter 
 this afternoon, and an earldom in prospect isna a 
 poor bait." 
 
 "What a black scoundrel he must be! to use 
 your hospitality to steal from your son the woman 
 he loves." 
 
 "Tak' your time, Neil, and you won't lose your 
 judgment. How was he to ken that Katherine was 
 your sweetheart ? You made little o' the lassie, 
 vera little, I may say. Lawyer-like you may be, 
 but nane could call you lover-like. And while he 
 and his are my guests, and in my house, I'll no hae 
 pou righting him. Tak' a word o' advice now, 
 I'll gie it without a fee, you are fond enough to 
 plead for others, go and plead an hour for yoursei'. 
 Certie! When I was your age, I was aye noted for 
 my persuading way. Your father, sir, never left a 
 spare corner for a rival. Audi can tell you this : a 
 woman isna to be counted your ain, until you hae 
 her inside a wedding-ring." 
 
 " What did the councillor say ? " 
 
 " To tell the truth, he said ' no,' a vera plain ' no,' 
 
 I
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 69 
 
 too. You ken Van Heemskirk's * no ' isn't a shilly- 
 shallying kind o' a negative ; but fora' that, if I hae 
 any skill in judging men, Eichard Hyde isna one o' 
 the kind that tak's 'no ' from either man or woman." 
 
 Neil was intensely angry, and his dark eyes glowed 
 beneath their dropped lids with a passionate hate. 
 But he left his father with an assumed coldness and 
 calmness which made him mutter as he watched 
 Neil down the road, " I needna hae 'fashed mysel' 
 to warn him against fighting. He's a prudent lad. 
 It's no right to fight, and it would be a matter for 
 a kirk session likewise ; but Bruce and Wallace ! was 
 there ever a Semple, before Neil, that keepit his 
 hand off his weapon when his love or his right 
 was touched ? And there's his mother out the 
 night, of all the nights in the year, and me want- 
 ing a word o' advice sae bad ; not that Janet has 
 o'er much good sense, but whiles she can make an 
 obsarve that sets my ain wisdom in a right line o' 
 thought. I wish to patience she'd bide at home. 
 She never kens when I may be needing her. And, 
 now I come to think o' things, it will be the warst 
 o' all bad hours for Neil to seek Katharine the 
 night. She'll be fretting, and the mother pouting, 
 and the councillor in ane o' his particular Dutch 
 touch-me-not tempers. I do hope the lad will hae 
 the uncommon sense to let folks cool, and come to 
 theirsel's a wee." 
 
 For the elder, judging his son by the impetuosity 
 of his own youthful temper, expected him to go di- 
 rectly to Van Heemskirk's house. But there were 
 qualities in Neil which his father forgot to take into 
 consideration, and their influence was to suggest to 
 the young man how inappropriate a visit to Kath- 
 erine would be at that time. Indeed, he did not 
 much desire it. He was very angry with Katherine. 
 He was sure that she understood his entire devotion 
 to her. He could not see any necessity to set it 
 forth as particularly as a legal contract, in certain 
 set phrases and conventional ceremonies. 
 
 But his father's sarcastic advice annoyed him, and 
 he wanted time to fully consider his ways. He was
 
 70 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 no physical coward : he was a fine swordsman, and 
 he felt that it would be a real joy to stand with a 
 drawn rapier between himself and his rival. But 
 what if revenge cost him too much? What if he 
 slew Hyde, and had to leave his love and his home, 
 and his fine business prospects ? To win Katherine, 
 and to marry her, in the face of the man whom he 
 felt that he detested : would not that be the best of 
 all " satisfactions " ? 
 
 He walked about the streets, discussing these 
 points with himself, till the shops all closed, and on 
 the stoops of the houses in Maiden Lane and Liberty 
 Street there were merry parties of gossiping belles 
 and beaux. Then he returned to Broadway. Half 
 a dozen gentlemen were standing before the King's 
 Arms Tavern, discussing some governmental state- 
 ment in the "Weekly Mercury;" but though they 
 asked him to stop, and enlighten them on some 
 legal point, he excused himself for that night, and 
 went toward Yan Heemskirk's. He had suddenly 
 resolved upon a visit. Why should he put off until 
 the morrow what he might begin that night? 
 
 Still debating with himself, he came to a narrow 
 road which ran to the river, along the southern side 
 of Yan Heemskirk's house. It was only a trodden 
 path used by fishermen, and made by usage through 
 the unenclosed ground. But coming swiftly up it, 
 as if to detain him, was Capt. Hyde. The two men 
 looked at each other defiantly ; and Neil said with a 
 cold, meaning emphasis, 
 
 " At your service, sir." 
 
 " Mr. Semple, at your service," and touching his 
 sword, " to the very hilt, sir." 
 
 "Sir, yours to the same extremity." 
 
 "As for the cause, Mr. Semple, here it is ; " and he 
 pushed aside his embroidered coat in order to ex- 
 hibit to Neil the bow of orange ribbon beneath it. 
 
 "I will dye it crimson in your blood," said Neil 
 passionately. 
 
 "In the mean time, I have the felicity of wearing 
 it;" and with an offensively deep salute, he ter- 
 minated the interview.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 71 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AT THE SWORD'S POINT. 
 
 "Kevenge is but a frailty incident 
 To crazed and sickly minds ; the poor content 
 Of little souls, unable to surmount 
 An injury, too weak to bear affront." 
 
 Oldham. 
 
 " Love and a crown no rivalship can bear. 
 Love, love ! Thou sternly dost thy power mantain, 
 And wilt not bear a rival in thy reign." 
 
 Dryde.ii. 
 
 " There comes my mortal enemy ; 
 And either he must fall in fight, or I." 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 NEIL'S first emotion was not so much one of anger 
 as of exultation. The civilization of the Semples 
 was scarce a century old; and behind them were 
 generations of fierce men, whose hands had been on 
 their dirks for a word or a look. " I shall have him 
 at my sword's point : " that was what he kept saying 
 to himself as he turned from Hyde to Yan Heems- 
 kirk's house. The front-door stood open; and he 
 walked through it to the back-stoop, where Jons 
 was smoking. 
 
 Katherine sat upon the steps of the stoop. Her 
 head was in her hand, her eyes red with weeping, 
 her 'whole attitude one of desponding sorrow. But, 
 at this hour, Neil was indifferent to adverse circum- 
 stances. He was moving in that exultation of spirit 
 which may be simulated by the first rapture of good 
 wine, but which is only genuine when the soul takes 
 entire possession of the man, and makes him for 
 some rare, short interval lord of himself, and con- 
 temptuous of all fears and doubts and difficulties. 
 He never noticed that Joris was less kind than 
 usual ; but touching Katherine, to arouse her atten- 
 tion, said, "Come with me down the garden, my 
 love." 
 
 She looked at him wonderingly. His words and 
 manner were strange and potent ; and, although she
 
 72 THE SOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 had just been assuring herself that she would resist 
 his advances on every occasion, she rose at his re- 
 quest and gave him her hand. 
 
 Then the tender thoughts which had lain so deep 
 in his heart flew to his lips, and he woo'd her with a 
 fervor and nobility as astonishing to himself as to 
 Katherine. He reminded her of all the sweet inter- 
 course of their happy lives, and of the fidelity with 
 which he had loved her. "When I was a lad ten 
 years old, and saw you first in your mother's arms, 
 I called you then ' my little wife.' Oh, my Kather- 
 ine, my sweet Katherine! "Who is there that can 
 take you from me ? " 
 
 "Neil, like a brother to me you have been. Like 
 a dear brother, I love you. But your wife to be! 
 That is not the same. Ask me not that." 
 
 " Only that can satisfy me, Katherine. Do you 
 think I will ever give you up ? Not while I live." 
 
 "No one will I marry. With my father and 
 mother I will stay." 
 
 " Yes, till you learn to love me as I love you, with 
 the whole soul." He drew her close to his side, and 
 bent tenderly to her face. 
 
 "No, you shall not kiss me, Neil, never again. 
 No right have you, Neil." 
 
 " You are to be my wife, Katherine ? " 
 
 " That I have not said." 
 
 She drew herself from his embrace, and stood lean- 
 ing against an elm-tree, watchful of Neil, full of 
 wonder at the sudden warmth of his love, and half 
 fearful of his influence over her. 
 
 " But you have known it, Katherine, ay, for many 
 a year. No words could make the troth-plight truer. 
 From this hour, mine and only mine." 
 
 " Such things you shall not say." 
 
 " I will say them before all the world. Katherine, 
 is it true that an English soldier is wearing a bow of 
 your ribbon ? You must tell me." 
 
 " What mean you ? " 
 
 "I will make my meaning plain. Is Capt. Hyde 
 wearing a bow of your orange ribbon ? " 
 
 "Can I tell?"
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 73 
 
 'Yes. Do not lie to me." 
 
 * A lie I would not speak." 
 
 * Did you give him one ? an orange one ? " 
 
 ' Yes. A bow of my St. Nicholas ribbon I gave 
 him." 
 'Why?" 
 
 ' Me he loves, and him I love." 
 ' And he wears it at his breast ? " 
 ' On his breast I have seen it. Neil, do not 
 quarrel with him. Do not look so angry. I fear 
 you. My fault it is; all my fault, Neil. Only to 
 please me he wears it." 
 
 " You have more St. Nicholas ribbons? " 
 
 "That is so." 
 
 " Go and get me one. Get a bow, Katherine, and 
 give it to me. I will wait here for it." 
 
 " No, that I will not do. How false, how wicked I 
 would be, if two lovers my colors wore! " 
 
 " Katherine, I am in great earnest. A bow of that 
 ribbon I must have. Get one for me." 
 
 " My hands I would cut off first." 
 
 " Well, then, I will cut my bow from Hyde's 
 breast. I will, though I cut his heart out with it." 
 
 He turned from her as he said the words, and 
 without speaking to Joris, passed through the 
 garden-gate to his own home. His mother and Mrs. 
 Gordon, and several young ladies and gentlemen, 
 were sitting on the stoop, arranging for a turtle 
 feast on the East River; and Neil's advent was 
 hailed with ejaculations of pleasure. He affected to 
 listen for a few minutes, and then excused himself 
 upon the " assurance of having some very important 
 writing to attend to." But, as he passed the parlor- 
 door, his father called him. The elder was casting 
 up some kirk accounts; but, as Neil answered the 
 summons, he carefully put the extinguisher on one 
 candle, and turned his chair from the table in a 
 way which Neil understood as an invitation for his 
 company. 
 
 A moment's reflection convinced Neil that it was 
 his wisest plan to accede. It was of the utmost im- 
 portance that his father should be kept absolutely
 
 74 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 ignorant of his quarrel with Hyde ; for Neil was 
 certain, that, if he suspected their intention to fight, 
 he would invoke the aid of the law to preserve 
 peace, and such a course would infallibly subject 
 him to suspicions which would be worse than death 
 to his proud spirit. 
 
 " Weel, Neil, my dear lad, you are early hame. 
 Where were you the night ? " 
 
 " I have just left Katherine, sir, having followed 
 your advice in my wooing. I wish I had done so 
 earlier." 
 
 "Ay, ay; when a man is seventy years auld, he 
 has read the book o' life, 'specially the chapter 
 anent women, and he kens a' about them. A bonnie 
 lass expects to hae a kind o' worship ; but the service 
 is na unpleasant, quite the contrary. Did you see 
 Capt. Hyde ? " 
 
 " We met near Broadway, and exchanged civili- 
 ties." 
 
 " A gude thing to exchange. When Gordon gets 
 back frae Albany, I'll hae a talk wi' him, and I'll 
 get the captain sent there. In Albany there are 
 bonnie lasses and rich lasses in plenty for him to try 
 his enchantments on. There was talk o' sending 
 him there months syne : it will be done ere long, or 
 my name isna Alexander Sernple." 
 
 " I see you are casting up the kirk accounts. Can 
 I help you, father?" 
 
 " I hae every thing ready for the consistory. Neil, 
 what is the gude o' us speaking o' this and that, and 
 thinking that we are deceiving each other? lam 
 vera anxious anent affairs between Capt. Hyde and 
 yoursel'; and I'm 'feared you'll be coming to hot 
 words, maybe to blows, afore I manage to put twa 
 hundred miles atween you. My lad, my ain dear 
 lad ! You are the Joseph o r a' my sons ; you are the 
 ,iy o' your mother's life. For our sake, keep a 
 calm sough, and dinna let a fool provoke you to 
 break our hearts, and maybe send you into God's 
 presence uncalled and unblessed." 
 
 "Father, put yoursel' in my place. How would 
 you feel toward Capt. Hyde ? "
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 75 
 
 " Weel, I'll allow that I wouldna feel kindly. I 
 dinna feel kindly to him, even in rny ain place." 
 
 "As you desire it, we will speak plainly to each 
 other anent this subject. You know his proud and 
 hasty temper; you know also that I am more like 
 yourself than like Moses in the way of meekness. 
 Now, if Capt. Hyde insults me, what course would 
 you advise me to adopt? " 
 
 " I wouldna gie him. the chance to insult you. I 
 would keep oot o' his way. There is naething un- 
 usual or discreditable in taking a journey to Boston, 
 to speir after the welfare o' your brother Alex- 
 ander." 
 
 "Oh, indeed, sir, I cannot leave my affairs for an 
 insolent and ungrateful fool! I ask your advice for 
 the ordinary way of life, not for the way that 
 cowardice or fear dictates. If without looking for 
 him, or avoiding him, we meet and a quarrel is in- 
 evitable, what then, father?" 
 
 " Ay, weel, in that case, God prevent it! But in 
 sic a strait, my lad, it is better to gie the insult than 
 to tak' it." 
 
 " You know what must follow ? " 
 
 " Wha doesna ken ? Blood, if not murder. Neil, 
 you are a wise and prudent lad: now, isna the 
 sword o' the law sharper than the rapier o' honor? " 
 
 " Law has no remedy for the wrongs men of honor 
 redress with the sword. A man may call me every 
 shameful name ; but, unless I can show some actual 
 loss in money or money's worth, I have no redress. 
 And suppose that I tried it, and that after long suf- 
 ferance and delays I got my demands, pray, sir, tell 
 me, how can offences which have flogged a man's 
 most sacred feelings be atoned for by something to 
 put in the pocket ? " 
 
 " Society, Neil " 
 
 "Society, father, always convicts and punishes the 
 man who takes an insult on vieiv, without waiting 
 for his indictment or trial. 
 
 " There ought to be a law, Neil " 
 
 " No law will administer itself, sir. The statute- 
 book is a dead letter when it conflicts with public
 
 76 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 opinion. There is not a week passes but you may 
 see that for yourself, father. If a man is insulted, 
 he must protect his honor ; and he will do so until the 
 law is able to protect him better than his own 
 strength." 
 
 " There is another way a rnair Christian way "- 
 
 " The world has not taken it yet ; at any rate, I am 
 very sure none of the Semples have." 
 
 " You are, maybe, o'er sure, Neil. Deacon Van 
 Vorst has said mair than my natural man could 
 thole, many a time, in the sessions and opt o' them ; 
 but the dominie aye stood between us wi' his word, 
 and we hae managed so far to keep the peace, 
 though a mair pig-headed, provoking, pugnacious 
 auld Dutchman never sat down on the dominie's left 
 hand." 
 
 " Then, father, if Capt. Hyde should quarrel with 
 me, and if he should challenge me, you advise me to 
 refuse the challenge, and to send for the dominie to 
 settle the matter ? " 
 
 " I didna say the like o' that, Neil. I am an auld 
 man, and Van Vorst is an aulder one. We'd be a 
 bonnie picture wi' drawn swords in oor shaking 
 hands; though, for mysel', I may say that there 
 wasna a better fencer in Ayrshire, and that the houses 
 o' Lockerby and Lanark hae reason to remember. 
 And I wouldna hae the honor o' the Semples doubted : 
 I'd fight mysel' first. But I'm ina- sair strait, Neil ; 
 and oh, my clear lad, what will I say, when it's the 
 Word o' the Lord on one hand, and the scaith and 
 scorn of a' men on the other ? But I'll trust to your 
 prudence, Neil, and no begin to feel the weight o' a 
 misery that may ne'er come my way. All my life 
 lang, when evils hae threatened me, I hae sought 
 God's help ; and he has either averted them or turned 
 them to my advantage." 
 
 " That is a good consolation, father." 
 
 "It is that; and I ken nae better plan for life 
 than, when I rise up, to gie mysel' to His direction, 
 and, when I lay me down to sleep, to gie mysel' to 
 his care." 
 
 " In such comfortable assurance, sir, I think we
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 77 
 
 may say good-night. I have business early in the 
 morning, and may not wait for your company, if you 
 will excuse me so far." 
 
 " Right, vera right, Neil. The dawn has gold in 
 its hand. I used to be an early worker mysel' ; but 
 I'm an auld man noo, and may claim sonie privi- 
 leges. Good-night, Neil, and a good-morning to fol- 
 io wit." 
 
 Neil then lit his candle; and, not forgetting that 
 courteous salute which the young then always ren- 
 dered to honorable age, he went slowly up-stairs, 
 feeling suddenly a great weariness and despair. If 
 Katherine had only been true to him ! He was sure, 
 then, that he could have fought almost joyfully any 
 pretender to her favor. But he was deserted by the 
 girl whom he had loved all her sweet life. He was 
 betrayed by the man who had shared the hospitality 
 of his home, and, in the cause of such loss, com- 
 pelled to hazard a life opening up with fair hopes to 
 honor and distinction. . 
 
 In the calm of his own chamber, through the 
 silent, solemn hours, when the world was shut out 
 of his life, Neil reviewed his position ; but he could 
 find no honorable way out of his predicament. 
 Physically, he was as brave as brave could be; mor- 
 ally, he had none of that grander courage which 
 made Jpris Van Heemskirk laugh to scorn the idea 
 of yielding God's gift of life at the demand of a pas- 
 sionate fool. He was quite sensible that his first 
 words to Capt. Hyde that night had been intended 
 to provoke a quarrel, and lie knew that he would be 
 expected to redeem them by a formal defiance. 
 However, as the idea became familiar, it became 
 imperative ; and at length it was with a fierce satis- 
 faction he opened his desk, and without hesitation 
 wrote the decisive words : 
 
 To CAPT. RICHARD HYDE OF HIS MAJESTY'S SERVICE. 
 
 Sir, A person of the character I bear cannot allow the treach- 
 ery and dishonorable conduct of which you have been guilty to 
 pass without punishment. Convince me that you are more of a 
 gentleman than I have reason to believe, by meeting me to-night 
 as the sun drops in the wood on the Kalchhook Hill. Our seconds
 
 78 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 can locate the spot: and that you may have no pretence to delay, 
 I send by bearer two swords, of which 1 give you the privilege to 
 make choice. 
 
 In the interim, at your service, 
 
 NEIL SEMPLE. 
 
 He had already selected Adrian Beekman as his 
 second. He was a young man of wealth and good 
 family, exceedingly anxious for social distinction, 
 and, moreover, so fastidiously honorable that Neil 
 felt himself in his hands to be beyond reproach. 
 As he anticipated, Beekman accepted the duty with 
 alacrity, and, indeed, so promptly carried out his 
 principal's instructions, that he found Capt. Hyde 
 still sleeping when he waited upon him. But Hyde 
 was neither astonished nor annoyed. He laughed 
 lightly at " Mr. Semple's impatience of offence," and 
 directed Mr. Beekman to Capt. Earle as his second ; 
 leaving the choice of swords and of the ground 
 entirely to his direction. 
 
 "A more civil, agreeable, handsome gentleman, 
 impossible it would be to find ; and I think the hot, 
 haughty temper of Xeil is to blame in this affair," 
 *was Beekman's private comment. But he stood 
 watchfully by his principal's interests, and affected 
 a gentlemanly disapproval of Capt. Hyde's behavior. 
 
 And lightly as Hyde had taken the challenge, he 
 was really more disinclined to fight than Neil was. 
 In his heart he knew that Semple-had a just cause 
 of anger; " but then," he argued, " Neil is a proud, 
 pompous fellow, for whom I never assumed a friend- 
 ship. His father's hospitality I regret in any way to 
 have abused ; but who the deuce could have suspected 
 that Neil Semple was in love with the adorable 
 Katherine ? In faith, I did not at the first, and now 
 'tis too late. I would not resign the girl for my life ; 
 for I am sensible that life, if she is another's, will be 
 a verv tedious thing to me." 
 
 All day Neil was busy in making his will, and in 
 disposing of his affairs. He knew himself well 
 enough to be certain, that, if he struck the first 
 blow, he would not hesitate to strike the death- 
 blow, and that nothing less than such conclusion
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 79 
 
 would satisfy him. Hyde also anticipated a deathly 
 persistence of animosity in his opponent, and felt 
 equally the necessity for some definite arrangement 
 of his business. Unfortunately, it was in a very 
 confused state. He owed many debts of honor, and 
 Cohen's bill was yet unsettled. He drank a cup of 
 coffee, wrote several important letters, and then 
 went to Fraunce's, and had a steak and a bottle of 
 wine. During his meal his thoughts wandered be- 
 tween Katherine and the Jew Cohen. After it he 
 went straight to Cohen's store. 
 
 It happened to be Saturday ; and the shutters were 
 closed, though the door was slightly open, and 
 Cohen was sitting with his granddaughter in the 
 . cool shadows of the crowded place. Hyde was not 
 in a ceremonious mood, and he took no thought of 
 it being the Jew's Sabbath. He pushed wider the 
 door, and went clattering into their presence; and 
 with an air of pride and annoyance the Jew rose to 
 meet him. At the same time, by a quick look of 
 intelligence, he dismissed Miriam ; but she did not 
 retreat farther than within the deeper shadows of 
 some curtains of stamped Moorish leather, for she 
 anticipated the immediate departure of the intruder. 
 
 She was therefore astonished when her grand- 
 father, after listening to a few sentences, sat down, 
 and entered into a lengthy conversation. And her 
 curiosity was also aroused ; for, though Hyde had 
 often been in the store, she had never hitherto seen 
 him in such a sober mood. It was also remarkable 
 that on the sabbath her grandfather should receive 
 papers, and a ring which she watched Hyde take 
 from his finger; and there was, beside, a solemn, a 
 final air about the transaction which gave her the 
 feeling of some anticipated tragedy. 
 
 When at last they rose, Hyde extended his hand. 
 "Cohen," he said, "few men would have been as 
 
 fenerous and, at this hour, as considerate as you. 
 have judged from tradition, and misjudged you. 
 Whether we meet again or not, we part as friends.'* 
 "You have settled all things as a gentleman, cap- 
 tain. May my white hairs say a word to your heart
 
 80 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 this hour?" Hyde bowed; and he continued, in a 
 voice of serious benignity : " The words of the Holy 
 One are to be regarded, and not the words of men. 
 Men call that ' honor ' which He will call murder. 
 What excuse is there in your lips if you go this 
 night into his presence ? " 
 
 There was no excuse in Hyde's lips, even for his 
 mortal interrogator. He merely bowed again, and 
 slipped through the partially opened door into the 
 busy street. Then Cohen put clean linen upon his 
 head and arm, and went and stood with his face to 
 the east, and recited, in low, rhythmical sentences, 
 the prayer called the "Assault." Miriam sat quiet 
 during his devotion ; but, when he returned to his 
 place, she asked him plainly, " What murder is there 
 to be, grandfather ? " 
 
 " It is a duel between Capt. Hyde and another. It 
 shall be called murder at the last." 
 
 " The other, who is he ? " 
 
 " The young man Semple." 
 
 "I am sorry. He is a courteous young man. I 
 have heard you say so. I have heard you speak 
 well of him." 
 
 " O Miriam, what sin and sorrow thy sex ever 
 bring to those who love it! There are two young 
 lives to be put in death peril for the smile of a 
 woman, a very girl she is." 
 
 " Do I know her, grandfather ? " 
 
 " She passes here often. The daughter of Van 
 Heemskirk, the little fair one, the child." 
 
 "Oh, but now I am twice sorry! She has smiled 
 at me often. We have even spoken. The good old 
 man. her father, will die; and her brother, he was 
 always like a watch-dog at her side." 
 
 " But not the angels in heaven can watch a 
 woman. For a lover, be he good or bad, she will 
 put heaven behind her back, and stand on the brink 
 of perdition. Miriam, if thou should deceive me, 
 as thy mother did, God of Israel, may I not know 
 it!" 
 
 "Though I die, I will not deceive you, grand- 
 father."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 81 
 
 " The Holy One hears thee, Miriam. Let Him be 
 between us." 
 
 Then Cohen, with his hands on his staff, and his 
 head in them, sat meditating, perhaps praying; and 
 the hot, silent moments went slowly away. In them, 
 Miriam was coming to a decision which at first 
 alarmed her, but which, as it grew familiar, grew 
 also lawful and kind. She was quite certain that her 
 grandfather would not interfere between the young 
 men, and probably he had given Hyde his promise 
 not to do so ; but she neither had received a charge, 
 nor entered into any obligation, of silence. A word 
 to Van Heemskirk or to the Elder Semple would be 
 sufficient. Should she not say it ? Her heart an- 
 swered " yes," although she did not clearly perceive 
 how the warning was to be given. 
 
 Perhaps Cohen divined her purpose, and was not 
 unfavorable to it ; for he suddenly rose, and, putting 
 on his cap, said, " I am going to see my kinsman 
 John Cohen. At sunset, set wide the door: an hour 
 after sunset I will return." 
 
 As soon as he had gone, Miriam wrote to Van 
 Heemskirk these words : " Good sir, This is a mat- 
 ter of life and death : so then, come at once, and I 
 will tell you. MIRIAM COHEN." 
 
 With the slip of paper in her hand, she stood with- 
 in the door, watching for some messenger she could 
 trust. It was not many minutes before Van Heems- 
 kirk's driver passed, leading his loaded wagon ; and 
 to him she gave the note. 
 
 That day Joris had gone home earlier than usual, 
 and Brain only was in the store. But it was part of 
 his. duty to open and attend to orders, and he sup- 
 posed the strip of paper to refer to a barrel of flour 
 or some other household necessity. 
 
 Its actual message was so unusual and unlocked 
 for, that it took him a moment or two to realize the 
 words; then, fearing it might be some practical 
 joke, he recalled the driver, and heard with amaze- 
 ment that the Jew's granddaughter had herself 
 given him the message. Assured of this fact, he 
 answered the summons for his father promptly.
 
 82 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 Miriam was waiting just within the door; and. 
 scarcely heeding his explanation, she proceeded at 
 once to give him such information as she possessed. 
 Bram was slow of thought and slow of speech. He 
 stood gazing at the beautiful, earnest girl, and felt 
 all the fear and force of her words; but for some 
 moments he could not speak, nor decide on his first 
 step. 
 
 " "Why do you wait ? " pleaded Miriam. " At sun- 
 set, I tell yon. It is now near it. Oh, no thanks! Do 
 not stop for them, but hasten away at once." 
 
 He obeyed like one in a dream; but, before he 
 reached Sem pie's store, he had fully realized the sit- 
 uation. Semple was just leaving business. He put 
 his hand on him, and said, " Elder, no time have 
 
 you to lose. At sunset, Neil and that d English 
 
 soldier, a duel are to fight." 
 
 " Eh ? Where ? Who told you ? 
 
 " On the KaJchhook Hill. Stay not for talk." 
 
 " Kun for your father, Bram. Run, my lad. Get 
 Van Qaasbeeck's light wagon as you go, and ask 
 your mother for a mattress. Dinna stand glowering 
 at me, but awa' with you. I'll tak' twa p' my am 
 lads and my ain wagon, and be there instanter. 
 God help me ! God spare the lad ! " 
 
 At that moment Neil and Hyde were on their road 
 to the fatal spot. Neil had been gathering anger all 
 day ; Hyde, a vague regret. The folly of what they 
 were going to do was clear to both ; but Neil was 
 dominated by a fury of passion, which made the 
 folly a revengeful joy. If there had been any 
 thought of an apology in Hyde's heart, he must 
 have seen its hopelessness in the white wrath of 
 Neil's face, and the calm deliberation with which he 
 assumed and prepared for a fatal termination of the 
 affair. 
 
 The sun dropped as the seconds measured off the 
 space and offered the lot for the standing ground. 
 Then Neil flung off his coat and \vaistcoat, and stood 
 with bared breast on the spot his second indicated. 
 This action had been performed in such a passion of 
 hurry, that he was compelled to watcli Hyde's more
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 83 
 
 calm and leisurely movements. He removed his 
 fine scarlet coat and handed it to Capt. Earle, and 
 would then have taken his sword ; but Beekman ad- 
 vanced to remove also his waistcoat. The suspicion 
 implied by this act roused the soldier's indignation. 
 " Do you take me to be a person of so little honor ? " 
 he passionately asked ; and then with his own hands 
 he tore off the richly embroidered satin garment, 
 and by so doing exposed what perhaps some deli- 
 cate feeling had made him wish to conceal, a bow 
 of orange ribbon which he wore above his heart. 
 
 The sight of it to Neil was like oil flung upon 
 flame. He could scarcely restrain himself until the 
 word " go " gave him license to charge Hyde, which 
 he did with such impetuous rage, that it was evi- 
 dent he cared less to preserve his own life, than to 
 slay his enemy. 
 
 Hyde was an excellent swordsman, and had fought 
 several duels; but he was quite disconcerted by the 
 deadly reality of Neil's attack. In the second thrust, 
 his foot got entangled in a tuft of grass; and, in 
 evading a lunge aimed at his heart, he fell on his 
 right side. Supporting himself, however, on his 
 sword hand, he sprang backward with great dexter- 
 ity, and thus escaped the probable death-blow. But, 
 as he was bleeding from a wound in the throat, his 
 second interfered, and proposed a reconciliation. 
 Neil angrily refused to listen. He declared " he had 
 not come to enact a farce ; " and then, happening to 
 glance at the ribbon on Hyde's breast, he swore 
 furiously, "He would make his way through the 
 body of any man who stood between him and his 
 just anger." 
 
 Up to this point, there had been in Hyde's mind 
 a latent disinclination to slay Neil. After it, he 
 flung away every kind memory ; and the fight was 
 renewed with an almost brutal impetuosity, until 
 there ensued one of those close locks which it was 
 evident nothing but "the key of the body could 
 open." In the frightful wrench which followed, the 
 swords of both men sprang from their hands, flying 
 some four or five yards upward with the force.
 
 84 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 Both recovered their weapons at the same time, and 
 both, bleeding and exhausted, would have again re- 
 newed the fight; but at that moment Van Heems- 
 kirk and Semple, with their attendants, reached 
 the spot. 
 
 Without hesitation, they threw themselves be- 
 tween the young men, Van Heemskirk facing 
 Hyde, and the elder his son. " Neil, you dear lad, 
 you born fool, gie me your weapon instanter, sir! " 
 But there was no need to say another word. Neil 
 fell senseless upon his sword, making in his fall a 
 last desperate effort to reach the ribbon on Hyde's 
 breast; for Hyde had also dropped fainting to the 
 
 f round, bleeding from at least half a dozen wounds, 
 hen one of Semple's young men, who had probably 
 divined the cause of quarrel, and who felt a sympa- 
 thy for his young master, made as if he would pick 
 up the fatal bit of orange satin, now dyed crimson in 
 Hyde's blood. 
 
 But Joris pushed the rifling hand fiercely away. 
 " To touch it would be the vilest theft," he said. 
 " His own it is. With his life he has bought it." 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 AT "THE KING'S ARMS." 
 
 " All these inconveniences are incidental to love, reproaches 
 jealousies, quarrels, reconcilements, war, and then peace." Ter- 
 ence. 
 
 " I know I felt Love's face 
 
 Pressed on my neck, with moan of pity and grace, 
 Till both our heads were in his aureole." 
 
 Rossetti. 
 
 THE news of the duel spread with the proverbial 
 rapidity of evil news. At the doors of all the public 
 houses, in every open shop, on every private stoop, 
 and at the street-corners, people were soon discuss-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 85 
 
 Ing the event, with such additions and comments as 
 their imaginations and prejudices suggested. One 
 party insisted that lawyer Semple was dead ; an- 
 other, that it was the English officer ; a third, that 
 both died as they were being carried from the 
 ground. 
 
 Batavius, who had lingered to the last moment at 
 the house which he was building, heard the story 
 from many a lip as he went home. He was bitterly 
 indignant at Katherine. He felt, indeed, a,s if his 
 own character for morality of every kind had been 
 smirched by his intended connection with her. And 
 his Joanna ! How wicked Katherine had been not 
 to remember that she had a sister whose spotless 
 name would be tarnished by her kinship ! He was 
 hot with haste and anger when he reached Van 
 Heemskirk's house. 
 
 Madam stood with "Joanna on the front-stoop, 
 looking anxiously down the road. She was aware 
 that Bram had called for his father, and she had 
 heard them leave the house together in unexplained 
 haste. At first, the incident did not trouble her 
 much. Perhaps one of the valuable Norman horses 
 was sick, or there was an unexpected ship in, or an 
 unusually large order. Bram was a young man who 
 relied greatly on his father. She only worried be- 
 cause supper must be delayed an hour, and that de- 
 lay would also keep back the completion of that ex- 
 quisite order in which it was her habit to leave the 
 house for the Sabbath rest. 
 
 After some time had elapsed, she went upstairs, 
 and began to lay out the clean linen and the kirk 
 clothes. Suddenly she noticed that it was nearly 
 dark ; and, with a feeling of hurry and anxiety, she 
 remembered the delayed meal. Joanna was on the 
 front-stoop watching for Batavius, who was also un- 
 usually late; and, like many other loving women, 
 she could think of nothing good which might have 
 detained him, but her heart was full only of evil ap- 
 prehensions. 
 
 "Where is Katherine ? " That was the mother's 
 first question, and she called her through the house.
 
 86 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 From the closed best parlor, Katherine came, white 
 and weeping. 
 
 " What is the matter, then, that you are crying ? 
 And why into the dark room go you ? " 
 
 "Full of sorrow I am, mother, and I went to the 
 room to pray to God ; but I cannot pray." 
 
 " 'Full of sorrow.' Yes, for that Englishman you 
 are full of sorrow. And how can you pray when you 
 are disobeying your good father? God will not 
 hear you." 
 
 The mother was not pitiless ; but she was anxious 
 and troubled, and Katherine's grief irritated her at 
 the moment. " Go and tell Dinorah to bring in the 
 tea. The work of the house must go on," she mut- 
 tered. "And I think, that it was Saturday night, 
 Joris might have remembered." 
 
 Then she went back to Joanna, and stood with 
 her, looking through the gray mist down the road, 
 and feeling even the croaking of the frogs and the 
 hum of the insects to be an unusual provocation. 
 Just as Dinorah said, "The tea is served, madam," 
 the large figure of Batavius loomed through the 
 gathering grayness ; and the women waited for him. 
 He came up the steps without his usual greeting; 
 and his face was so injured and portentous that 
 Joanna, with a little cry, put her arms round his 
 neck. He gently removed them. 
 
 " No time is this, Joanna, for embracing. A gpreat 
 disgrace has come to the family; and I, who nave 
 always stood up for morality, must bear it too." 
 
 "IMsgrace! The word goes not with our name, 
 Batavius ; and what mean you, then ? In one word, 
 speak." 
 
 But Batavius loved too well any story that was to 
 be wondered over, to give it in a word ; though 
 madam's manner snubbed him a little, and he said, 
 with less of the air of a wronged man, 
 
 "Well, then, Neil Semple and Capt. Hyde have 
 bought a duel. That is what comes of giving way 
 *o passion. I never fought a duel. No one should 
 make me. It is a fixed principle with me." 
 
 "But what ? And how ? "
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 87 
 
 " With swords they fought. Like two devils they 
 fought, as if to pieces they would cut each other." 
 
 " Poor Neil! His fault, I am sure, it was not." 
 
 "Joanna! Neil is nearly dead. If he had been 
 in the right, he would not be nearly dead. The 
 Lord does not forsake a person who is in the right 
 way." 
 
 In the hall behind them, Katherine stood. The 
 pallor of her face, the hopeless droop of her white 
 shoulders and arms, were visible in its gloomy 
 shadows. Softly as a spirit she walked, as she drew 
 nearer to them. 
 
 " And the Englishman ? Is he hurt ! " 
 
 " Killed. He has at least twenty wounds. Till 
 morning he will not live. It was the councillor him- 
 self who separated the men." 
 
 " My good Joris, it was like him." 
 
 For a moment Katherine's consciousness reeled. 
 The roar of the ocean which girds our life round 
 was in her ears, the feeling of chill and collapse at her 
 heart. But with a supreme will she took possession 
 of herself. "Weak I will not be. All I will know. 
 All I will suffer." And with these thoughts she 
 went back to the room, and took her place at the 
 table. In a few minutes the rest followed. Batavius 
 did not speak to her. It was also something of a 
 cross to him that madam would not talk of the 
 event. He did not think that Katherine deserved 
 to have her ill-regulated feelings so far considered, 
 and he had almost a sense of personal injury in the 
 restraint of the whole household. 
 
 He had anticipated madam's amazement and 
 shock. He had felt a just satisfaction in the suffer- 
 ing he was bringing to Katherine. He had determ- 
 ined to point out to Joanna the difference between 
 herself and her sister, and the blessedness of her 
 own lot in loving so respectably and prudently as 
 she had done. But nothing had happened as he ex- 
 pected. The meal, instead of being pleasantly 
 lengthened over such dreadful intelligence, was 
 hurried and silent. Katherine, instead of making 
 herself an image of wailing or unconscious remorse,
 
 88 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 sat like other people at the table, and pretended to 
 drink her tea. 
 
 It was some comfort that after it Joanna and he 
 could walk in the garden and talk the affair thor- 
 oughly over. Katherine watched them away, and 
 then she fled to her room. For a few minutes she 
 could let her sorrow have way, and it would help 
 her to bear the rest. And oh, how she wept! She 
 took from their hiding-place the few letters her 
 lover had written her, and she mourned over them 
 as women mourn in such extremities. She kissed 
 the words with passionate love; she vowed, amid 
 her broken ejaculations of tenderness, to be faith- 
 ful to him if he lived, to be faithful to his memory 
 if he died. She never thought of Neil; or, if she 
 did, it was with an anger that frightened her. In 
 the full tide of her anguish, Lysbet stood at the 
 door. She heard the inarticulate words of woe, and 
 her heart ached for her child. She had followed her 
 to give her comfort, to weep with her ; but she felt 
 that hour that Katherine was no more a child to be 
 soothed with her mother's kiss. She had become a 
 woman, and a woman's sorrow had found her. 
 
 It was near ten o'clock when Joris came home. 
 His face was troubled, his clothing disarranged and 
 blood-stained ; and Lysbet never remembered to 
 have seen him so completely exhausted. " Bram is 
 with Neil," he said : ".he will not be home." 
 
 "And thou?" 
 
 " I helped them carry the other. To the ' King's 
 Arms' we took him. A strong man was needed 
 until their work the surgeons had done. I staid ; 
 that is all." 
 
 " Live will he ? " 
 
 " His left lung is pierced through. A bad wound 
 in the throat he has. At death's door is he, from 
 loss of the blood. But then, youth he has, and a 
 great spirit, and hope. I wish not for his death, my 
 God knows." 
 
 " Neil, what of him ? " 
 
 "Unconscious he was when I left him at his 
 home. I staid not there. His father and his mother
 
 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 89 
 
 were by his side ; Bram also. Does Katherine 
 know ? " 
 
 "She knows." 
 
 " How then ? " 
 
 " O Joris, if in her room thou could have heard her 
 crying ! My heart for her aches, the sorrowful one ! " 
 
 " See, then, that this lesson she miss not. It is a 
 hard one, but learn it she must. If thy love would 
 pass it by, think this, for her good it is. Many bit- 
 ter things are in it. What unkind words will now 
 be said ! Also, my share in the matter I must tell in 
 the kirk session ; and Dominie de Ronde is not one 
 slack in giving the reproof. With our own people, 
 a disgrace it will be counted. Can I not hear 
 Van Vleck grumble, ' Well, now, I hope Joris Van 
 Heemskirk has had enough of his fine English com- 
 pany ; ' and Elder Brouwer will say, ' He must marry 
 his daughter to an Englishman ; and, see, what has 
 come of it;' and that evil old woman, Madam Van 
 Corlaer, will shake her head and whisper, ' Yes, 
 neighbors, and depend upon it, the girl is of a light 
 mind and bad morals, and it is her fault ; and I shall 
 take care my nieces to her speak no more.' So it 
 will be: Katherine herself will find it so." 
 
 " The poor child ! Sorry am I she ever went to 
 Madam Semple's to see Mrs. Gordon. If thy word 
 I had taken, Joris! " 
 
 " If my word the elder also had taken. When first 
 he told me that his house he would offer to the Gor- 
 dons, I said to him, 'So foolish art thou! In the 
 end, what does not fit will fight.' If to-night thou 
 could have seen Mistress Gordon when she heard of 
 her nephew's hurt. Without one word of regret, 
 without one word of thanks, and in a great passion, 
 she left the house. For Neil she cared not. ' He 
 had been 'ever an envious kill-joy. He had ever 
 hated her dear Dick. He had ever been jealous of 
 any one handsomer than himself. He was a black 
 dog in the manger; and she hoped, with all her 
 heart, that Dick had done for him.' Beside herself 
 with grief and passion she was, or the elder had not 
 borne so patiently her words."
 
 90 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 "As her own son, she loved him." 
 
 "Yea, Lysbet; but just one should be. Weary 
 and sad am I to-night." 
 
 The next morning was the sabbath, and many 
 painful questions suggested themselves 'to Jorisand 
 Lysbet Van Heemskirk. Joris felt that he must not 
 take his seat among the deacons until he had been 
 fully exonerated of all blame of blood-guiltiness by 
 the dominie and his elders and deacons in full kirk 
 session. Madam could hardly endure the thought 
 of the glances that would be thrown at her daughter, 
 and the probable slights she would receive. Bata- 
 vius plainly showed an aversion to being seen in 
 Katherine's company. But these things did not 
 seem to Joris a sufficient reason for neglecting 
 worship. He thought it best for people to face the 
 unpleasant consequences of wrong-doing; and he 
 added, " In trouble also, my dear ones, where should 
 we go but into the house of the good God ? " 
 
 Katherine had not spoken during the discussion ; 
 but, when it was over, she said, " Mljn vader, mijn 
 moeder, to-day I cannot go! For me have some 
 pity. The dominie I will speak to first ; and what 
 he says, I will do." 
 
 " Between me and thy moeder thou shalt be." 
 
 "Bear it I cannot, I shall fall down. I shall be 
 ill ; and there will be shame and fear, and the service 
 to make stop, and then more wonder and more talk, 
 and the dominie angry also! At home I am the 
 best." 
 
 " Well, then, so it shall be." 
 
 But Joris was stern to Katherine, and his auger 
 added the last bitterness to her grief. No one had 
 said a word of reproach to her ; but, equally, no one 
 had said a word of pity. Even Joanna was shy and 
 cold, for Batavius had'made her feel that one's own 
 sister may fall below moral par and sympathy. " If 
 either of the men die," he had said, "I shall always 
 consider Katherine guilty of murder ; and nowhere 
 in the Holy Scriptures are we told to forgive murder, 
 Joanna. And even while the matter is uncertain, is 
 it not right to be careful ? Are we not told to avoid
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 91 
 
 even the appearance of evil?" So that, with this 
 charge before him, BataVius felt that countenancing 
 Katherine in any way was not keeping it. 
 
 And certainly the poor girl might well fear the 
 disapproval of the general public, when her own 
 family made her feel her fault so keenly. The kirk 
 that morning would have been the pillory to her. 
 She was unspeakably grateful for the solitude of the 
 house, for space and silence, in which she could have 
 the relief of unrestrained weeping. About the mid- 
 dle of the morning, she heard Bram's footsteps. 
 She divined why he had come home, and she shrank 
 from meeting him until he removed the clothing he 
 had worn during the night's bloody vigil. 
 
 Bram had not thought of Katherine's staying, 
 from kirk; and when she confronted him, so tear- 
 stained and woe-begone, his heart was full of pity 
 for her. " My poor little Katherine ! " he said ; and 
 she threw her arms around his neck, and sobbed 
 upon his breast as if her heart would break. 
 
 " Mijn Jcleintje, who has grieved thee ? " 
 
 " O Bram ! is he dead ? " 
 
 "Who? Neil? I think he will get well once 
 more." 
 
 " What care I for Neil ? The wicked one ! I wish 
 that he might die. Yes, that I do." 
 
 " Whish ! that is wrong." 
 
 " Bram ! Bram ! A little pity give me. It is the 
 other one. Hast thou heard ? " 
 
 " How can he live ? Look at that sorrow, dear 
 one, and ask God to forgive and help thee." 
 
 " No, I will not look at it. I will ask God every 
 moment that he may get well. Could I help that I 
 should love him ? So kind, so generous, is he ! Oh, 
 my dear one, my dear one, would I had died for 
 thee!" 
 
 Bram was much moved. Within the last twenty- 
 four hours he had begun to understand the tempta- 
 tion in which Katherine had been ; begun to under- 
 stand that love never asks, ' What is thy name ? Of 
 what country art thou ? Who is thy father ? ' He 
 felt that so long as he lived he must remember
 
 92 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 Miriam Cohen as she stood talking to him in the 
 shadowy store. Beauty like hers was strange an-d 
 wonderful to the young Dutchman. He could not 
 forget her large eyes, soft and brown as gazelles ; 
 the warm pallor and brilliant carnation of her com- 
 plexion ; her rosy, tender mouth ; her abundant 
 black hair, fastened with large golden pins, studded 
 with jewels. He could not forget the grace of her 
 figure, straight and slim as a young-palm tree, clad 
 in a plain dark garment, and a neckerchief of white 
 India silk falling away from her exquisite throat. 
 He did not yet know that he was in love; he only 
 felt how sweet it was to sit still and dream of the 
 dim place, and the splendidly beautiful girl standing 
 among its piled up furniture and its hanging drap- 
 eries. And this memory of Miriam made him very 
 pitiful to Katherine. 
 
 " Every one is angry at me, Bram, even my father ; 
 and Batavius will not sit on the chair at my side ; 
 and Joanna says a great disgrace I have made for 
 her. And thou ? Wilt thou also scold me ? I think 
 I shall die of grief." 
 
 " Scold thee, thou little one ? That I will not. 
 And those that are angry with thee may be angry 
 with me also. And if there is any comfort I can get 
 thee, tell thy brother Bram. He will count thee 
 first, before all others. How could they make thee 
 weep ? Cruel are they to do so. A-nd as for Bata- 
 vius, mind him not. Not much I think of Batavius ! 
 If he says this or that to thee, I will answer him." 
 
 "Bram! my Bram! my brother! There is one 
 comfort for me, if I knew that he still lived ; if one 
 hope thou could give me! " 
 
 " What hope there is, I will go and see. Before 
 they are back from kirk, I will be back ; and, if there 
 is good news, I will be glad for thee." 
 
 Not half an hour was Bram away ; and yet, to the 
 miserable girl, how grief and fear lengthened out 
 the moments ! She tried to prepare herself for the 
 worst ; she tried to strengthen her soul even for the 
 message of death. But very rarely is any grief as 
 bad as our own terror of it. When Bram came back, 
 it was with a word of hope on his lips.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 93 
 
 "I have seen," he said, "who dost thou think ? 
 the Jew Cohen. He of all men, he has sat by Capt. 
 Hyde's side all night ; and he has dressed the wound 
 the English surgeon declared 'beyond mortal skill.' 
 And he said to me, ' Three times, in the Persian 
 desert, I have cured wounds still worse, and the 
 Holy One hath given me the power of healing; and, 
 if He wills, the young man shall recover.' That is 
 what he said, Katherine." 
 
 "Forever I will love the Jew. Though he fail, I 
 will love him. So kind he is, even to those who 
 have not spoken well, nor done well, to him." 
 
 "So kind, also, was the Son of David to all of us. 
 Now, then, go wash thy face, and take comfort and 
 courage." 
 
 "Bram, leave me not." 
 
 " There is Neil. We have been companions ; and 
 his father and his mother are old, and need me." 
 
 "Also, I need thee. All the time they will make 
 me to feel, how wicked is Katherine Van Heems- 
 kirk!" 
 
 At this moment the family returned from the 
 morning service, and Bram rather defiantly drew his 
 sister to his side. Joris was not with them. He had 
 stopped at the " King's Arms " to ask if Capt. Hyde 
 was still alive; for, in spite of every thing, the 
 young man's heroic cheerfulness in the agony of the 
 preceding night had deeply touched Joris. No one 
 spoke to Katherine ; even her mother was annoyed 
 and humiliated at the social ordeal through which 
 they had just passed, and she thought it only reason- 
 able that the erring girl should be made to share the 
 trial. Batavius, however, had much curiosity ; and 
 his first thought on seeing Bram at home was, 
 "Neil is of course dead, and Bram is of no further 
 use ; "and, in the tone of one personally injured by 
 such a fatality, he ejaculated, 
 
 " So it is the end, then. On the sabbath day Neil 
 has gone. If it should be the sabbath day in the 
 other world, which is likely, it will be the worse 
 for Neil." 
 
 " What mean you ? "
 
 94 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " Is not Neil Semple dead ? " 
 
 " No. I think, also, that he will live." 
 
 " I ain glad. It is good for Katherine." 
 
 "I see it not." 
 
 "Well, then, if he dies, is it not Katheriners 
 fault ! " ' 
 
 "Heaven and hell! No! Katherine is not to 
 blame." 
 
 " All respectable and moral people will say so." 
 
 " Better for them not to say so. If I hear of it, 
 then I will make them say it to my face." 
 
 "Then? Well?" 
 
 "I have my hands and my feet, for them to 
 punish their tongues." 
 
 "And the kirk session ? " 
 
 "Oh, I care not! What is the kirk session to my 
 little Katherine ? Batavius, if man or woman you 
 hear speak ill of her, tell them it is not Katherine, 
 but Bram Van Heemskirk, that will bring every 
 thing back to them. What words I say, them I 
 mean." 
 
 "Oh, yes! And mind this, Bram, the words I 
 think, them words I will say, whether you like them 
 or like them not." 
 
 "As the wind you bluster, on the sabbath day, 
 also. In your ship I sail not, Batavius. Good-by, 
 then, Katb^rine ; and if any are unkind to thee, tell 
 thy brother. For thou art right, and not wrong." 
 
 But, though Bram bravely championed his sister, 
 he could not protect her from those wicked inuendos 
 disseminated for the gratification of the virtuous; 
 nor from those malicious regrets of very good people 
 over rumors which they declare to "be incredible," 
 and yet which, nevertheless, they "unfortunately 
 believe to be too true." The Scotch have a national 
 precept which says, "Never speak ill of the dead." 
 Would it not be much better to speak no ill of the 
 living? Little could it have mattered to Madam 
 Bogardus or Madam Stuyvesant what a lot of silly 
 people said of them in Pearl Street or Maiden Lane, 
 a century after their death ; but poor Katherine Van 
 Heemskirk shivered and sickened in the presence of
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 95 
 
 averted eyes and uplifted shoulders, and in that 
 chill atmosphere of disapproval which separated her 
 from the sympathy and confidence of her old friends 
 and acquaintances. 
 
 "It is thy punishment," said her mother; "bear it 
 bravely and patiently. In a little while, it will be 
 forgot." But the weeks went on, and the wounded 
 men slowly fought death away from their pillows, 
 and Katherine did not recover the place in social 
 estimation which she had lost through the ungovern- 
 able tempers of her lovers. For, alas, there are few 
 social pleasures that have so much vital power as 
 that of exploring the faults of others, and comparing 
 them with pur own virtues! 
 
 But nothing ill lasts forever; and in three months 
 Neil Semple was in his office again, wan and worn 
 with fever and suffering, and wearing his sword arm 
 in a sling, but still decidedly world-like and life- 
 like. It was characteristic of Neil that few, even of ' 
 his intimates, cared to talk of the duel to him, to 
 make any observations on his absence, or any in- 
 quiries about his health. But it was evident that 
 public opinion was in a large measure with him. 
 Every young Provincial, who resented the domineer- 
 ing spirit of the army, felt Hyde's punishment in the 
 light of a personal satisfaction. Beekman also had 
 talked highly of the unbending spirit and physical 
 bravery of his principal; and though in the Middle 
 Kirk the affair was sure to be the subject of a re- 
 proof, and of a suspension of its highest privileges, 
 yet it was not difficult to feel that sympathy often 
 given to deeds publicly censured, but privately 
 admired. Joris remarked tjiis spirit with a little 
 astonishment and dissent. He could not find in his 
 heart any excuse for either Neil or Hyde ; and, when 
 the elder enlarged with some acerbity upon the 
 requirements of honor among men, Joris offended 
 him by replying, 
 
 "Well, then, elder, little I think of that 'honor* 
 which runs not with the laws of God and country." 
 
 "Let me tell you, Joris, the 'voice of the people is 
 the voice of God,' in a measure; and you may see
 
 96 THL- BOW OF ORAXCE HiniiOX. 
 
 with your ain e'en that it mair than acquits Neil o' 
 wrong-doing. Man, Joris ! would you punish a fair 
 sword-fight wi' the hangman ? " 
 
 "A better way there is. In the pillory I would 
 stand these men of honor, who of their own feelings 
 think more than of the law of God. A very quick 
 end that punishment would put to a custom wicked 
 and absurd." 
 
 " Weel, Joris, we'll hae no quarrel anent the ques- 
 tion. You are a Dutchman, and hae practical ideas 
 o' things in general. Honor is a virtue that canna 
 be put in the Decalogue, like idolatry and murder 
 and theft." 
 
 " Say you the Decalogue ? Its yea and nay are 
 enough. Harder than any of God's laws are the 
 laws we make for ourselves. Little I think of their 
 justice and wisdom. If right was Neil, if wrong was 
 Hyde, honor punished both. A very foolish law is 
 honor, I think." 
 
 " Here comes Neil, and we'll let the question fa' to 
 the ground. There are wiser men than either you or 
 I on baith sides." 
 
 Joris nodded gravely, and turned to welcome the 
 young man. More than ever he liked him ; for, apart 
 from moral and prudential reasons, it was easy for the 
 father to forgive an unreasonable love for his Kath- 
 arine. Also, he was now more anxious for a mar- 
 riage between Neil and his daughter. It was indeed 
 the best thing to fully restore her to the social es- 
 teem of her own people ; for by making her his wife, 
 Neil would most emphatically exonerate her from all 
 blame in the quarrel. Just this far, and no farther, 
 had Neil's three months' suffering aided his suit, 
 he had now the full approval of Joris, backed by the 
 weight of this social justification. 
 
 But, in spite of these advantages, he was really 
 much farther away from Katherine. The three 
 months had been full of mental suffering to her, and 
 she blamed Neil entirely for it. She had heard from 
 Bram the story of the challenge and the fight; heard 
 how patiently Hyde had parried Neil's attack rather 
 than return it, until Xeil had so passionately re-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 97 
 
 fused any satisfaction less than his life ; heard, also, 
 how even at the point of death, fainting and falling, 
 Hyde had tried to protect her ribbon at his breast. 
 She never wearied of talking with Bram on the sub- 
 ject; she thought of it all day, dreamed of it all 
 night. 
 
 And she knew much more about it than her parents 
 or Joanna supposed. Bram had easily fallen into 
 the habit of calling at Cohen's to ask after his pa- 
 tient. He would have gone for his sister's comfort 
 alone, but it was also a great pleasure to himself. At 
 first he saw Miriam often ; and, when he did, life be- 
 came a heavenly thing to Bram Van Heemskirk. 
 And though latterly it was always the Jew himself 
 who answered his questions, there was at least the 
 hope that Miriam would be in the store, and lift her 
 eyes to him, or give him a smile or a few words of 
 greeting. Katherine very soon suspected how mat- 
 ters stood with her brother, and gratitude led her to 
 talk with him about the lovely Jewess. Every day 
 she listened with apparent interest to his descrip- 
 tions of Miriam, as he had seen her at various times; 
 and every day she felt more desirous to know the 
 girl whom she was certain Bram deeply loved. 
 
 But for some weeks after the duel she could not 
 bear to leave the house. It was only after both men 
 were known to be recovering, that she ventured to 
 kirk; and her experience there was not one which 
 tempted her to try the streets and the stores. How- 
 ever, no interest is a living interest in a community 
 but politics ; and these probably retain their power 
 because change is their element. People eventually 
 got weary to death of Neil Semple and Capt. Hyde 
 and Katherine Van Heemskirk. The subject had 
 been discussed in every possible light; and, when it 
 was known that neither of the men was going to die, 
 gossipers felt as if they had been somewhat de- 
 frauded, and the topic lost every touch of specula- 
 tion. 
 
 Also, far more important events had now the pub- 
 lic attention. During the previous March, the Stamp 
 Act and the Quartering Act had passed both houses
 
 98 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 of Parliament; and Virginia and Massachusetts, 
 conscious of their dangerous character, had roused 
 the fears of the other Provinces ; and a convention 
 of their delegates was appointed to meet during Oc- 
 tober in New York. It was this important session 
 which drew NeilSemple, with scarcely healed wounds, 
 from his chamber. The streets were noisy with 
 hawkers crying the dectected Acts, and crowded with 
 groups of stern-looking men discussing them. And, 
 with the prospect of soldiers quartered in every 
 home, women had a real grievance to talk over ; and 
 Katherine Van Heemskirk's love-affair became an 
 intrusion and a bore, if any one was foolish enough 
 to name it. 
 
 It was during this time of excitement that Kath- 
 erine said one morning, at breakfast, " Bram, wait 
 one minute for me. I am going to Kip's store for 
 my mother." 
 
 "It is a bad time, Katherine, you have chosen," 
 said Batavius. " Full of men are the streets, angry 
 men too, and of swaggering British soldiers, whom 
 it would be a great pleasure to tie up in a halter. 
 The British I nate, bullying curs, every one of 
 them ! " 
 
 " Well, I know that you hate the British, Batavius. 
 You say so every hour." 
 
 "Katherine! " 
 
 "That is so, Joanna." 
 
 Madam looked annoyed. Joris rose, and said, 
 "Come then, Katherine, thou shalt go with me and 
 with Bram both. Batavius need not then fear for 
 thee." 
 
 His voice was so tender that Katherine felt an un- 
 usual happiness and exaltation; and she was also 
 young enough to be glad to see the familiar streets 
 again, and to feel the pulse of their vivid life make 
 her heart beat quicker. 
 
 At Kip's store, Bram left her. She had felt so free 
 and unremarked, that she said, " Wait not for me, 
 Bram. By myself I will go home. Or perhaps I 
 might call upon Miriam Cohen. What dost thou 
 think ? " And Bram's large, handsome face flushed
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 99 
 
 like a girl's with pleasure as he answered, " That I 
 would like, and there thou could rest until the din- 
 ner-hour. As I go home, I could call for thee." 
 
 So, after selecting the goods her mother needed 
 at Kip's, Katherine was going up Pearl Street, when 
 she heard herself called in a familiar and urgent 
 voice. At the same moment a door was flung open ; 
 and Mrs. Gordon, running down the few steps, put 
 her hand upon the girl's shoulder. 
 
 "Oh, my dear, this is a piece of good fortune past 
 belief! Come into my lodgings. Oh, indeed you shall! 
 I will have no excuse. Surely you owe Dick and me 
 some reward after the pangs we have suffered for 
 you." 
 
 She was leading Katherine into the house as she 
 spoke; and Katherine had not the will, and there- 
 fore not the power, to oppose her. She placed the 
 girl by her side on the sofa ; she took her hands, 
 and, with a genuine grief and love, told her all that 
 " poor Dick " had suffered and was still suffering for 
 her sake. 
 
 " It was the most unprovoked challenge, my dear; 
 and Neil Semple behaved like a savage, I assure you. 
 When Dick was bleeding from half a dozen wounds, 
 a gentleman would have been satisfied, and ac- 
 cepted the mediation of the seconds; but Neil, in his 
 blind passion, broke the code to pieces. A man who 
 can dp nothing but be in a rage is a ridiculous and 
 offensive animal. Have you seen him since his re- 
 covery ? For I hear that he has crawled out of his 
 bed again." 
 
 " Him I have not seen." 
 
 "Gracious powers, miss! Is that all you say, 
 * Him I have not seen ' ? Make me patient with so 
 insensible a creature ! Here am I almost distracted 
 with my three months' anxiety ; and poor Dick, so 
 
 fone as to be past knowledge, breaking his true 
 eart for a sight of you ; and you answer me as if I 
 had asked, ' Pray, have you seen the newspaper to- 
 day ? ' " 
 
 Then Katherine covered her face, and sobbed with 
 a hopelessness and abandon that equally fretted
 
 100 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 Mrs. Gordon. " I wish I knew one corner of this 
 world inaccessible to lovers," she cried. " Of all 
 creatures, they are the most ridiculous and unrea- 
 sonable. Now, what are you crying for, child ? " 
 
 "If I could only see Richard, only see him for 
 one moment! " 
 
 "That is exactly what I am going to propose. 
 He will get better when he has seen you. I will call 
 a coach, and we will go at once." 
 
 "Alas! Go I dare not. My father and my 
 mother! " 
 
 " And Dick, what of Dick, poor Dick, who is dy- 
 ing for you ? " She went to the door, and gave the 
 order for a coach. " Your lover, Katherine. Child, 
 have you no heart ? Shall I tell Dick you would 
 not come with me ? " 
 
 " Be not so cruel to me. That you have seen me 
 at all, why need you say ? " 
 
 "Oh! indeed, miss, do not imagine yourself the 
 only person who values the truth. Dick always 
 asks me, 'Have you seen her? ' 'Tis my humor to 
 be truthful, and I am always swayed by my inclina- 
 tion. I shall feel it to be my duty to inform him 
 how indifferent you are. Katherine, put on your 
 bonnet again. Here also are my veil and cloak. No 
 one will perceive that it is you. It is the part of 
 humanity, I assure you. Do so much for a poor 
 soul who is at the grave's mputh-.'^ 
 
 " My father, I promised him " 
 
 "O child! have six pennyworth of common feel, 
 ing about you. The man is dying for your sake. 
 If he were your enemy, instead of your true lover, 
 you might pity him so much. Do you not wish to 
 see Dick?" 
 
 " My life for his life I would give." 
 
 " Words, words, my dear. It is not your life he 
 wants. He asks only ten minutes of your time. 
 And if you desire to see him, give yourself the 
 pleasure. There is nothing more silly than to be 
 too wise to be happy." 
 
 While thus alternately urging and persuading 
 Katherine, the coach came, the disguise was as-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 101 
 
 sumed, and the two drove rapidly to the " King's 
 Arms." Hyde was lying upon a couch which had 
 been drawn close to the window. But in order to 
 secure as much quiet as possible, he had been 
 placed in one of the rooms at the rear of the tavern, 
 a large, airy room, looking into the beautiful gar- 
 den which stretched away backward as far as the 
 river. He had been in extremity. He was yet too 
 weak to stand, too weak to endure long the strain 
 of company or books or papers. 
 
 He heard his aunt's voice and footfall, and felt, as 
 he always did, a vague pleasure in her advent. 
 Whatever of life came into his chamber of suffering 
 came through her. She brought him daily such in- 
 telligences as she thought conducive to his recovery ; 
 and it must be acknowledged that it was not always 
 her "humor to be truthful." For Hyde had so 
 craved news of Katherine, that she believed he 
 would die wanting it; and she had therefore fallen, 
 without one conscientious scruple, into the reporter's 
 temptation, inventing the things which ought to 
 have taken place, and did not. " For, in faith, 
 Nigel," she said to her husband, in excuse, "those 
 who have nothing to tell must tell lies." 
 
 Her reports had been ingenious and diversified. 
 " She had seen Katherine at one of the windows, 
 the very picture of distraction." "She had been 
 told that Katherine was breaking her heart about 
 him;" also, "that Elder Semple and Councillor 
 Van Heemskirk had quarrelled because Katherine 
 had refused to see Neil, and the elder blamed Van 
 Heemskirk for not compelling her obedience." 
 Whenever Hyde had been unusually depressed or 
 unusually nervous, Mrs. Gordon had always had 
 some such comforting fiction ready. Now, here was 
 the real Katherine. Her very presence, her smiles, 
 her tears, her words, would be a consolation so far 
 beyond all hope, that the girl by her side seemed a 
 kind of miracle to her. 
 
 She was far more than a miracle to Hyde. As the 
 door opened, he slowly turned his head. When he 
 saw who was really there, he uttered a low cry of
 
 102 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 Joy, a cry pitiful in its shrill weakness. In a mo- 
 ment Katherine was close to his side. This was no 
 time for coyness, and she was too tender and true a 
 woman to feel or to affect it. She kissed his hands 
 and face, and whispered on his lips the sweetest 
 words of love and fidelity. Hyde was in a rapture. 
 His joyful soul made his pale face luminous. He 
 lay still, speechless, motionless, watching and listen- 
 ing to her. 
 
 Mrs. Gordon had removed Katherine's veil and 
 cloak, and considerately withdrawn to a mirror at 
 the extremity of the room, where she appeared to 
 be altogether occupied with her own ringlets. But, 
 indeed, it was with Katherine and Hyde one of those 
 supreme hours when love conquers every other feel- 
 ing. Before the whole world they would have 
 avowed their affection, their pity, and their truth. 
 
 Hyde could speak little, but there was no need of 
 speech. Had he not nearly died for her ? Was not 
 his very helplessness a plea beyond the power of 
 words ? She had only to look at the white shadow 
 of humanity holding her hand, and remember the 
 gay, gallant, handsome soldier who had wooed her 
 under the water-beeches, to feel that all the love of 
 her life was top little to repay his devotion. And so 
 quickly, so quickly, went the happy moments! Ere 
 Katherine had half said, " I love thee," Mrs. Gordon 
 reminded her that it was near the noon ; " and I 
 have an excellent plan," she continued: "you can 
 leave my veil and cloak in the coach, and I will 
 leave you at the first convenient place near your 
 home. At the turn of the road, one sees nobody 
 but your excellent father or brother, or perhaps 
 Justice Van Gaasbeeck, all of whom we may avoid, 
 if you will but consider the time." 
 
 " Then we must part, my Katherine, for a little. 
 When will you come again ? " 
 
 This was a painful question, because Katherine 
 felt, that, however she might excuse herself for the 
 unforeseen stress of pity that all unaware had hur- 
 ried her into this interview, she knew she could not 
 find the same apology for one deliberate and pre- 
 arranged.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 103 
 
 "Only once more," Hyde pleaded. "I had, my 
 Katherine, so many things to say to you. In my 
 joy, I forgot all. Come but once more. Upon my 
 honor, I promise to ask Katherine Van Heemskirk 
 only this once. To-morrow? 'No.' Two days 
 hence, then ? " 
 
 " Two days hence I will come again. Then no 
 more." 
 
 He smiled at her, and put out his hands ; and she 
 knelt again by his side, and kissed her " farewell " 
 on his lips. And, as she put on again her cloak and 
 veil, he drew a small volume toward him, and with 
 trembling hands tore out of it a scrap of paper, and 
 gave it to her. 
 
 Under the lilac hedge that night she read it, read 
 it over and over, the bit of paper made almost 
 warm and sentient by Phcedria's tender petition to 
 his beloved, 
 
 "When you are in company with that other man, 
 behave as if you were absent; but continue to love 
 me by day and by night ; want me, dream of me, 
 expect me, think of me, wish for me, delight in me, 
 be wholly with me : in short, be my very soul, as I 
 am yours." 
 
 CHAPTER VIH. 
 
 "THE SILVER LINK, THE SILKEN TIE." 
 "Love's reason's without reason." 
 
 " Let determined things to destiny 
 Hold unbe wailed their way," 
 
 " A very merry, dancing, drinking, 
 Laughing, quaffing, and unthinking time.'* 
 
 IF Katherine had lived at this day, she would 
 probably have spent the time between her promise 
 and its fulfilment in self-analysis and introspective
 
 104 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 reasoning with her own conscience. But the women 
 of a century ago were not tossed about with winds 
 of various opinions, or made foolishly subtile by 
 arguments about principles which ought never to be 
 associated with dissent. A few strong, plain dic- 
 tates had been set before Katherine as the law of 
 her daily life ; and she knew, beyond all controversy, 
 when she disobeyed them. 
 
 In her own heart, she called the sin she had de- 
 termined to commit by its most unequivocal name. 
 "I shall make happy Bichard ; but my father I shall 
 deceive and disobey, and against my own soul there 
 will be the lie." This was the position she admitted, 
 but every woman is Eve in some hours of her life. 
 The law of truth and wisdom may be in her ears, 
 but the apple of delight hangs within her reach; 
 and, with a full understanding of the consequences 
 of disobedience, she takes the forbidden pleasure. 
 And if the vocal, positive command of Divinity was 
 unheeded by the first woman, mere mortal parents 
 surely ought not to wonder that their commands, 
 though dictated by truest love and clearest wisdom, 
 are often lightly held, or even impotent against the 
 voice of some charmer, pleading personal pleasure 
 against duty, and self-will against the law infinitely 
 higher and purer. 
 
 In truth, Katherine had grown very weary of the 
 perpetual eulogies which Batavius delivered for 
 every thing respectable and conservative. A kind 
 of stubbornness in evil followed her acceptance of 
 evil. This time, at least, she was determined to do 
 wrong, whatever the consequences might be. Bata- 
 vius and his inflexible propriety irritated her: she 
 had a rebellious desire to give him little moral 
 shocks; and she deeply resented his constant in- 
 junctions to " remember that Joanna's and his own 
 good name were, in a manner, in her keeping." 
 
 Very disagreeable she thought Batavius had 
 grown, and she also jealously noted the influence he 
 was exercising over Joanna. There are women who 
 prefer secrecy to honesty, and sin to truthfulness ; 
 but Katherine was not one of them. If it had been
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 105 
 
 possible to see her lover honorably, she would have 
 much preferred it. She was totally destitute of that 
 contemptible sentimentality which would rather in- 
 vent difficulties in a love-affair than not have them, 
 but she knew well the storm of reproach and disap- 
 proval which would answer any such request ; and 
 her thoughts were all bent toward devising some 
 plan which would enable her to leave home early on 
 that morning which she had promised her lover. 
 
 But all her little arrangements failed ; and it was 
 almost at the last hour of the evening previous, that 
 circumstances offered her a reasonable excuse. It 
 came through Batavius, who returned home later 
 than usual, bringing with him a great many pat- 
 terns of damask and figured cloth and stamped 
 leather. At once he announced his intention of 
 staying at home the next morning in order to have 
 Joanna's aid in selecting the coverings for their new 
 chairs, and counting up their cost. He had taken 
 the strips out of his pocket with an air of importance 
 and complaisance; and Katherine, glancing from 
 them to her mother, thought she perceived a fleet- 
 ing shadow of a feeling very much akin to her own 
 contempt of the man's pronounced self-satisfaction. 
 So when supper was over, and the house duties done, 
 she determined to speak to her. Joris was at a town 
 meeting, and Lysbet did not interfere with the 
 lovers. Katherine found her standing at an open 
 window, looking thoughtfully into the autumn gar- 
 den. 
 
 " Mijn moeder." 
 
 " M'ijn kind." 
 
 "Let me go away with Bram in the morning. 
 Batavius I cannot bear. About every chair-cover 
 he will call in the whole house. The only chair- 
 covers in the world they will be. Listen, how he 
 will talk : ' See here, Joanna. A fine piece is this ; 
 ten shillings and sixpence the yard, and good 
 enough for the governor's house. But I am a man 
 of some substance, Gode zij dank /and people will 
 expect that I, who give every Sunday twice to the 
 kirk, should have chairs in accordance.' Moeder,
 
 106 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 you know how it will be. To-morrow I cannot bear 
 him. Very near quarreling have we been for a 
 week." 
 
 " I know, Katherine, I know. Leave, then, with 
 Bram, and go first to Margaret Pitt's, and ask her if 
 the new winter fashions will arrive from London this 
 month. I heard also that Mary Blankaart has lost 
 a silk purse, and in it five gold jacobus, and some 
 half and quarter Johannes. Ask kindly for her, and 
 about the money; and so the morning could be 
 passed. And look now, Katherine, peace is the best 
 thing; and to his own house Batavius will go in a 
 few weeks." 
 
 "That will make me glad." 
 
 " Whish, mljn kind! Thy bad thoughts should be 
 dumb thoughts." 
 
 " Mijn moeder, sad and troubled are thy looks. 
 What is thy sorrow ? " 
 
 " For thee my heart aches often, mine and thy 
 good father's, too. Dost thou not suffer ? Can thy 
 mother be blind ? Nothing hast thou eaten lately. 
 Joanna says thou art restless all the night long. 
 Thou art so changed then, that wert ever such a 
 happy little one. Once thou did love me, Katri- 
 Jntie." 
 
 " Ach mljn, moeder, still I love thee! " 
 
 " But that English soldier ? " 
 
 " Never can I cease to love him. See, now, the 
 love I give him is his love. It never was thine. 
 For him I brought it into the world. None of thy 
 love have I given to him. Mijn moeder, thee I 
 would not rob for the whole world ; not I ! " 
 
 "For all that, kleintje, hard is the mother's lot. 
 The dear children I nursed on my breast, they go 
 here and they go there, with this strange one and 
 that strange one. Last night, ere to our sleep we 
 went, thy father read to me some words of the lov- 
 ing, mother-like Jacob. They are true words. 
 Every good mother has said them, at the grave or 
 at the bridal, 'En mij aangaande, als ik van kind- 
 eren beroofd ben, zoo ben ik beroofd ! ' "* 
 
 * " If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 107 
 
 There was a sad pathos in the homely old words 
 as they dropped slowly from Lysbet's lip, a pathos 
 that fitted perfectly the melancholy air of the fad- 
 ing garden, the melancholy light of the fading day, 
 and the melancholy regret for a happy home gradu- 
 ally scattering far and wide. Many a year after- 
 ward Katherine remembered the hour and the words, 
 especially in the gray glooms of late October even- 
 ings. 
 
 The next morning was one of perfect beauty, and 
 Katherine awoke with a feeling of joyful expecta- 
 tion. She dressed beautifully her pale brown hair; 
 and her intended visit to Mary Blankaart gave her 
 -an excuse for wearing her India silk, the pretty 
 dress Richard had seen her first in, the dress he had 
 "so often admired. Her appearance caused some re- 
 marks, which Madam Van Heemskirk replied to; 
 and with much of her old gayety Katherine walked 
 between her father and brother away from home. 
 
 She paid a very short visit to the mantua-maker, 
 and then went to Mrs. Gordon's. There was less 
 effusion in that lady's manner than at her last inter- 
 view with Katherine. She had a little spasm of 
 jealousy ; she had some doubts about Katherine's 
 deserts; she wondered whether her nephew really 
 adored the girl with the fervor he effected, or 
 whether he had determined, at all sacrifices, to pre- 
 vent her marriage with Neil Semple. Katherine 
 had never before seen her so quiet and so cool ; and 
 a feeling of shame sprang up in the girl's heart. 
 " Perhaps she was going to do something not exactly 
 proper in Mrs. Gordon's eyes, and in advance that 
 lady was making her sensible of her contempt." 
 
 With this thought, she rose, and with burning 
 cheeks said, " I will go home, madam. Now I feel 
 that I am doing wrong. To write to Captain Hyde 
 will be the best way." 
 
 "Pray don't be foolish, Katherine. I am of a 
 serious turn this morning, that is all. How pretty 
 
 g3u are! and how vastly becoming your gown! 
 ut, indeed, I am going to ask you to change it. 
 Yesterday, at the 'King's Arms,' I said 'my sister
 
 108 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 would arrive this morning with me ; and I bespoke 
 a little cotillion in Dick's rooms. In that dress you 
 will be too familiar, my dear. See here, is not this 
 the prettiest fashion ? It is lately come over. So 
 airy! so French! so all that! " 
 
 It was a light blue gown and petticoat of rich 
 satin, sprigged with silver, and a manteau of dark 
 blue velvet trimmed with bands of delicate fur. 
 The bonnet was not one which the present genera- 
 tion would call "lovely;" but, in its satin depths, 
 Katherine's fresh, sweet face looked like a rose. 
 She hardly knew herself when the toilet was com- 
 pleted; and, during its progress, Mrs. Gordon re- 
 covered all her animation and interest. 
 
 Before they were ready, a coach was in waiting; 
 and in a few minutes they stood together at Hyde's " 
 door. There was a sound of voices within ; and, 
 when they entered, Katheriue saw, with a pang of 
 disappointment, a fine, soldierly looking man in full 
 uniform sitting by Eichard's side. But Richard ap- 
 peared to be in no way annoyed by his company. 
 He was looking much better, and wore a chamber 
 gown of maroon satin, with deep laces showing at 
 the wrists and bosom. When Katherine entered, he 
 was amazed and charmed with her appearance. 
 "Come near to me, my Katheriue," he said ; and as 
 Mrs. Gordon drew from her shoulders the mantle, 
 and from her head the bonnet, ajid revealed more 
 perfectly her beautiful person and dress, his love and 
 admiration were beyond words. 
 
 With an air that plainly said, " This is the maiden 
 for whom I fought and have suffered : is she not 
 worthy of my devotion ? " he introduced her to his 
 friend* Capt. Earle. But, even as they spoke, Earle 
 joined Mrs. Gordon, at a call from her; and Kather- 
 ine noticed that a door near which they stood was 
 open, and that they went into the room to which it 
 led, and that other voices then blended with theirs. 
 But these things were as nothing. She was with her 
 lover, alone for a moment with him; and Eichard 
 had never before seemed to her half so dear or half 
 so fascinating.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 109 
 
 "My Katherine," he said, "I have one torment- 
 ing thought. Night and day it consumes me like a 
 fever. I hear that Neil Sernple is well. Yesterday 
 Capt. Earle met him; he was walking with your 
 father. He will be visiting at your house very soon, 
 He will see you ; he will speak to you. You have- 
 such obliging manners, he may even clasp this hand, 
 my hand,. Heavens ! I am but a man, and I find my- 
 self unable to endure the thought." 
 
 " In my heart, Kichard, there is only room for you. 
 Neil Semple I fear and dislike." 
 
 "They will make you marry him, my darling." 
 
 "No: that they can never do.'" 
 
 " But I suffer in the fear. I suffer a thousand 
 deaths. If you were only my wife, Katherine! " 
 
 She blushed divinely. She was kneeling at hi& 
 side: and she put her arms around his neck, and 
 laid her face against his. " Qnly your wife I will be. 
 That is what I desire also." 
 
 " Now, Katherine ? This minute, darling ? Make 
 me sure of the felicity you have promised. You 
 have my word of honor, that as Katherine Van 
 Heemskirk I will not again ask you to come here. 
 But it is past my impatience to exist, and not see 
 you. Katherine Hyde would have the right to 
 come." 
 
 "Oh, my love, .my love! " 
 
 "" See how I tremble, Katherine. Life scarcely 
 cares to inhabit a body so weak. If you refuse me 
 I will let it go. If you refuse me, I shall know that 
 in your heart you expect to marry Neil Semple, 
 the savage who has made me suffer unspeakable 
 agonies.'' 
 
 "Never will I marry him, Richard, never, never. 
 My word is true. You only I will marry." 
 
 "Then now, now, Katherine. Here is the ring. 
 Here is the special license from the governor ; my 
 aunt has made him to understand all. The clergy- 
 man and the witnesses are waiting. Some good for- 
 tune has dressed you in bridal beauty. Now, Kath- 
 eri n e ? Now, n ow ! ' ' 
 
 She rose, and stood white and trembling by his
 
 110 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 side, speechless, also. To her father and her 
 mother her thoughts fled in a kind of loving ter- 
 ror. But how could she resist the pleading of one 
 whom she so tenderly loved, and to whom, in her 
 maiden simplicity, she imagined herself to be 
 so deeply bounden ? That very self-abnegation 
 which forms so large a portion of a true affection 
 urged her to compliance far more than love itself. 
 And when Richard ceased to speak, and only be- 
 sought her with the unanswerable pathos of his 
 evident suffering for her sake, she felt the argument 
 to be irresistible. 
 
 " Well, my Katherine, will you pity me so far ? " 
 
 "All you ask, my loved one, I will grant." 
 
 " Angel of goodness ! Now ? " 
 
 " At your wish, Richard." 
 
 He took her hand in a passion of joy and grati- 
 tude, and touched a small bell. Immediately there 
 was a sudden silence, and then a sudden movement, 
 in the adjoining room. The next moment a clergy- 
 man in canonical dress came toward them. By his 
 side was Col. Gordon, and Mrs. Gordon and Capt. 
 Earle followed. If Katherine had then been sensible 
 of any misgiving or repentant withdrawal, the influ- 
 ences surrounding her were irresistible. But she 
 had no distinct wish to resist them. Indeed, Col. 
 Gordon said afterward to his wife, " he had never seen 
 a bride look at once so lovely and -so happy." The 
 ceremony was full of solemnity, and of that deepest 
 joy which dims the eyes with tears, even while it 
 wreathes the lips with smiles. During it, Katherine 
 knelt by Richard's side; and every eye was fixed 
 upon him, for he was almost fainting with the fa- 
 tigue of his emotions ; and it was with fast receding 
 consciousness that he whispered rapturously at its 
 close, "My wife, my wife! " 
 
 Throughout the sleep of exhaustion which fol- 
 lowed, she sat watching him. The company in the 
 next room were quietly making merry " over Dick's 
 triumph," but Katherine shook her head at all pro- 
 posals to join them. The band of gold around her 
 finger fascinated her. She was now really Richard's
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. Ill 
 
 wife ; and the first sensation of such a mighty 
 change was, in her pure soul, one of infinite and 
 reverent love. When Kichard awoke, he was re- 
 freshed and supremely happy. Then Katherine 
 brought him food and wine, and ate her own morsel 
 beside him. "Our first meal we must take to- 
 gether," she said ; and Hyde was already sensible of 
 some exquisite change, some new and rarer tender- 
 ness and solicitude in all her ways toward him. 
 , The noon hour was long past, but she made no 
 mention of it. The wedding guests also lingered, 
 talking and laughing softly, and occasionally visit- 
 ing the happy bride and bridegroom in their blissful 
 companionship. In those few hours Kichard made 
 sure his dominion over his wife's heart; and he had 
 so much to tell her, and so many directions to give 
 her, that, ere they were aware, the afternoon was 
 well spent. The "clergyman and the soldiers de- 
 parted, Mrs. Gordon was a little weary, and Hyde 
 was fevered with the very excess of his joy. The 
 moment for parting had come; and, when it has, 
 wise are those who delay it not. Hyde fixed his 
 eyes upon his wife until Mrs. Gordon had arranged 
 again her bonnet and manteau ; then, with a smile, 
 her shut in their white portals the exquisite picture. 
 He could let her go with a smile now, for he knew 
 that Katherine's absence was but a parted pres- 
 ence; knew that her better part remained with 
 him, that 
 
 " Her heart was never away, 
 But ever with his forever." 
 
 The coach was waiting; and, without delay, Kath- 
 erine returned with Mrs. Gordon to her lodgings. 
 Both were silent on the journey. When a great 
 event has taken place, only the shallow and unfeel- 
 ing chatter about it. Katherine's heart was full, 
 even to solemnity; and Mrs. Gordon, whose affecta- 
 tion of fashionable levity was in a large measure 
 pretence, had a kind and sensible nature, and she 
 watched the quiet girl by her side with decided ap- 
 proval. "She may not be in the mode, but she is
 
 112 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 neither silly nor heartless," she decided; "and as 
 for loving foolishly my poor, delightful Dick, why, 
 any girl may be excused the folly." 
 
 Upon leaving the coach at Mrs. Gordon's, Kath- 
 arine went to an inner room to resume her own 
 dress. The India silk lay across a chair; and she 
 took off, folded with her accustomed neatness, the 
 elegant suit she had worn. As she did so, she be- 
 came sensible of a singular liking for it; and, when 
 Mrs. Gordon entered the room, she said to her, 
 " Madam, very much I desire this suit: it is my 
 wedding-gown. "Will you save it for me? Some 
 day I may wear it again, when Eichard is well." 
 
 "Indeed, Katherine, that is a womanly thought; 
 it does you avast deal of credit; and, upon my 
 word, you shall have the gown. I shall be put to 
 straits without it, to out-dress Miss Betty Lawson ; 
 but never mind, I have a few decent gowns beside 
 it." 
 
 "Kichard, too, he will like it? You think so, 
 madam ? " 
 
 " My dear, don't begin to quote Richard to me. I 
 shall be impatient if you do. I assure you I have 
 never considered him a prodigy." Then, kissing 
 her fondly, "Madam Katherine Hyde, my entire 
 service to"yu- Pray be sure I shall give your hus- 
 band my best concern. And now I think you can 
 walk out of the door without mucn notice: there is 
 a crowd on the street, and every one is busy about 
 their own appearance or affairs." 
 
 " The time, madam ? What is the hour? " 
 
 "Indeed, I think it is much after four o'clock. 
 Half an hour hence, you will have to bring out your 
 excuses. I shall wish for a little devil at your 
 elbow to help them out. Indeed, I am vastly 
 troubled for you." 
 
 " Her excuses" Katherine had not suffered herself 
 to consider. She could not bear to shadow the 
 present with the future. She had, indeed, a happy 
 faculty of leaving her emergencies to take care of 
 themselves; and perhaps wiser people than Kath- 
 erine might, with advantage, trust less to their own
 
 THE BOW OF OEANGE RIBBON. 113 
 
 planning and foresight, and more to that inscrutable 
 power which we call chance, but which so often ar- 
 ranges favorably the events apparently very unfav- 
 orable. For, at the best, foresight has but probabil- 
 ities to work with ; but chance, whose tools we know 
 not, very often contradicts all our bad prophecies, 
 and untangles untoward events far beyond our best 
 prudence or wisdom. And Katherine was so happy. 
 She was really Kichard's wife; and on that solid 
 vantage-ground she felt able to beat off trouble, and 
 to defend her own and his rights. 
 
 "So much better you look, Katherine," said 
 Madam Van Heemskirk. " Where have you been 
 all the day ? And did you see Mary Blankaart ? 
 And the money, is it found yet? " 
 
 The family were at the supper-table; and Joris 
 looked kindly at his truant daughter, and motioned 
 to the vacant chair at his side. She slipped into it, 
 touching her father's cheek as she passed ; and then 
 she answered, "At Mary Blankaart's I was not at 
 all, mother." 
 
 "Where, then?" 
 
 "To Margaret Pitt's I went first, and with Mrs. 
 Gordon I have been all the day. She is lodging with 
 Mrs. Lanier, on Pearl Street." 
 
 " Who sent you there, Katherine ? " 
 
 " No one, mother. When I passed the house, my 
 name I heard, and Mrs. Gordon came out to me; 
 and how could I refuse her? Much had we to talk 
 of." 
 
 Batavius saw the girl's placid face, and heard her 
 open confession, with the greatest amazement. He 
 looked at Joanna, and was just going to express his 
 opinion, when Joris rose, pushed his chair a little 
 angrily aside, and said, " There is no blame to you, 
 Katherine. Very kind was Mrs. Gordon to you, and 
 she is a pleasant woman. For other's faults she 
 must not answer. That, also, is what Elder Semple 
 says ; for when past was her anger, with a heart full 
 of sorrow she went to him and to Madam Semple." 
 
 " The sorrow that is too late, of what use is it ? A 
 very pleasant woman ! Perhaps she is, but then,
 
 114 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 also, a very vain, foolish woman. Every person of 
 discretion says so ; and if I had a daughter " 
 
 " Well, then, Batavius, a daughter thou may have 
 some day. To the man with a tender heart, God 
 
 fives his daughters. Wanting in some good thing I 
 ad felt myself, if only sons I had been trusted 
 with. A daughter is a little white lamb in the house- 
 hold to teach men to be gentle men." 
 " I was going to say this, if I had a daughter " 
 ''Well, then, when thou hast, more wisdom will be 
 
 fiven thee. Come with thy father, Katrijntje, and 
 own the garden we will walk, and see if there are 
 dahlias yet, and how grow the gold and the white 
 chrysanthemums." 
 
 But all the time they were in the garden together, 
 Joris never spoke of Mrs. Gordon, nor of Kather- 
 ine's visit to her. About the flowers, and the rest- 
 less swallows, and the blue-birds, who still lingered, 
 silent and anxious, he talked ; and a little also of 
 Joanna, and her new house, and of the great wed- 
 ding feast that was the desire of Batavius. 
 
 " Every one he has ever spoken to, he will ask," 
 said Katherine ; " so hard he tries to have many 
 friends, and to be well spoken of." 
 
 "That is his way, Katrijntje; every man has his 
 way." 
 
 "And I like not the way of Batavius." 
 
 " In business, then, he has a good name, honest 
 and prudent. He will make thy sister a good hus- 
 band." 
 
 But, though Joris said nothing to his daughter 
 concerning her visit to Mrs. Gordon, he talked long 
 with Lysbet about it. " What will be the end, thou 
 may see by the child's face and air," he said : "the 
 shadow and the heaviness are gone. Like the old 
 Katherine she is to-night." 
 
 "And this afternoon comes here Neil Semple. 
 Scarcely he believed me that Katherine was out. 
 Joris, what wilt thou do about the young man ? " 
 
 "His fair chance he is to have, Lysbet. That to 
 the elder is promised." 
 
 " The case now is altered. Neil Semple I like not.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 115 
 
 Little he thought of our child's good name. With 
 his sword he wounded her most. No patience have 
 I with the man. And his dark look thou should 
 have seen when I said, * Katherine is not at home/ 
 Plainly his eyes said to me, ' Thou art lying.' " 
 
 " Well, then, what thought hast thou ? " 
 
 " This : one lover must push away the other. The 
 young dominie that is now with the Rev. Lambertus 
 de Ronde, he is handsome and a great hero. From 
 Surinam has he come, a man who for the cross has 
 braved savage men and savage beasts and deadly 
 fever. No one but he is now to be talked of in the 
 kirk ; and I would ask him to the house. Often I 
 have seen the gown and bands put the sword and 
 epaulets behind them." 
 
 " Well, then, at the wedding of Batavius he will 
 be asked ; and if before there is a good time, I will 
 say, 'Come into my house, and eat and drink with 
 us.' " 
 
 So the loving, anxious parents, in their ignorance, 
 planned. Even then, accustomed in all their ways 
 to move with caution, they saw no urgent need of 
 interference with the regular and appointed events 
 of life. A few weeks hence, when Joanna was mar- 
 ried, if there was in the meantime no special oppor- 
 tunity, the dominie could be offered as an antidote 
 to the soldier; and, in the interim, Neil Sempte was 
 to honorably have such " chance " as his ungovern- 
 able temper had left him. 
 
 The next afternoon he called again on Katherine. 
 His arm was still useless ; his pallor and weakness so 
 great as to win, even from Lysbet, that womanly 
 pity which is often irrespective of desert. She 
 brought him wine, she made him rest upon the sofa, 
 and by her quiet air of sympathy bespoke for him 
 a like indulgence from her daughter. Katherine sat 
 by her small wheel, unplaiting some flax; and Neil 
 thought her the most beautiful creature he had ever 
 seen. He kept angrily asking himself why he had 
 not perceived this rare loveliness before; why he 
 had not made sure his claim ere rivals had disputed 
 it with him. He did not understand that it was love
 
 116 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 which had called this softer, more exquisite beauty 
 into existence. The tender light in the eyes ; the 
 flush upon the che > ek ; the lips, conscious of sweet 
 words and sweeter kisses ; the heart, beating to pure 
 and loving thoughts, in short, the loveliness of the 
 soul, transfiguring the meaner loveliness of flesh 
 and blood, Neil had perceived and wondered at; but 
 he had not that kind of love experience which di- 
 vines the cause from the result. 
 
 On the contrary, had Hyde been watching Kath- 
 erine, he would have been certain that she was mus- 
 ing on her lover. He would have understood that 
 bewitching languor, that dreaming silence, that 
 tender air and light and color which was the phys- 
 ical atmosphere of a soul communing with its be- 
 loved; a soul touching things present only with its 
 intelligence, but reaching out to the absent with in- 
 tensity of every loving emotion. 
 
 For some time the conversation was general. The 
 meeting of the delegates, and the hospitalities of- 
 fered them ; the offensive and tyrannical Stamp 
 Act; the new organization o/ patriots who called 
 themselves "Sons of Liberty; " and the loss of Miss 
 Mary Blankaart's purse, furnished topics of mild 
 dispute. But no one's interest was in their words, 
 and presently Madam Van Heemskirk rose and left 
 the room. Her husband had said, "Neil was to 
 have some opportunities ; " and the words of Joris 
 were a law of love to Lysbet. 
 
 Neil was not slow to improve the favor. " Kath- 
 erine, I wish to speak to you. .1 am weak and ill. 
 Will you come here beside me ? " 
 
 She rose slowly, and stood beside him ; but, when 
 he tried to take her hands, she clasped them behind 
 her back. 
 
 "So?" he asked; and the blood surged over his 
 white face in a crimson tide that made him for a 
 moment or two speechless. " Why not ? " 
 
 " Blood-stained are your hands. I will not take 
 them." 
 
 The answer gave him a little comfort. It was, 
 then, only a moral qualm. He had even no objec-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 117 
 
 tion to such a keen sense of purity in her; and 
 sooner or later she would forgive his action, or be 
 made to see it wijth the eyes of the world, in which 
 he moved. 
 
 " Katherine, I am very sorry I had to guard my 
 honor with my sword ; and it was your love I was 
 fighting for." 
 
 " My honor you cared not for, and with the sword 
 I could not guard it. Of me cruel and false words 
 have been said by every one. On the streets I was 
 ashamed to go. Even the dominie thought it right 
 to come and give me admonition. Batavius never 
 since has liked or trusted me. He says Joanna's 
 good name also I have injured. And my love, is it 
 a thing to be fought for? You have guarded your 
 honor, but what of mine ? " 
 
 " Your honor is my honor. They that speak ill of 
 you, sweet Katherine, speak ill of me. Your life is 
 my life. O my precious one, my wife! " 
 
 " Such words I will not listen to. Plainly now I 
 tell you, your wife I will never be, never, never, 
 never! " 
 
 " I will love you, Katherine, beyond your dream 
 of love. I will die rather than see you the wife of 
 another man. For your bow of ribbon, only see 
 what I have suffered." 
 
 "And, also, what have you made another to suf- 
 fer?" 
 
 " Oh, I wish that I had slain him ! " 
 
 "Not your fault is it that you did not murder 
 him." 
 
 "An affair of honor is not murder, Katherine." 
 
 "Honor! Name not the \yord. From a dozen 
 wounds your enemy was bleeding: to go on fighting 
 a dying man was murder, not honor. Brave some 
 call you : in my heart I say, * Neil Semple was a sav- 
 age and a coward.' " 
 
 " Katherine, I will not be angry with you." 
 
 " I wish that you should be angry with me." 
 
 " Because some day you will be very sorry for 
 these foolish words, my dear love." 
 
 " Your dear love I am not."
 
 118 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 "My dear love, give me a drink of wine, I am 
 faint." 
 
 His whispered words and death like countenance 
 moved her to human pity. She rose for the wine, 
 and, as she did so, called her mother; but Neil had 
 at least the satisfaction of feeling that she had min- 
 istered to his weakness, and held the wine to his 
 lips. From this time, he visited her constantly, un- 
 mindful of her frowns, deaf to all her unkind words, 
 patient under the most pointed slights and neglect. 
 And as most men rate an object according to the dif- 
 ficulty experienced in attaining it Katherine became 
 every day more precious and desirable in Neil's 
 eyes. 
 
 In the mean time, without being watched, Kath- 
 erine felt herself to be under a certain amount of re- 
 straint. If she proposed a walk into the city, 
 Joanna or madam was sure to have the same desire. 
 She was not forbidden to visit Mrs. Gordon, but 
 events were so arranged as to make the visit almost 
 impossible ; and only once, during the month after 
 her marriage, had she an interview with her hus- 
 band. For even Hyde's impatience had recognized 
 the absolute necessity of circumspection. The land- 
 lord's suspicions had been awakened, and not very 
 certainly allayed. " There must be no scandal 
 about my house, captain," he said. " I merit some- 
 thing better from you ; " and, after this injunction, 
 it was very likely that Mrs. Gordon's companions 
 would be closely scrutinized. True, the "King's 
 Arms " was the great rendezvous of the military and 
 government officials, and the landlord himself sub- 
 serviently loyal ; but, also, Joris Van Heemskirk was 
 not a man with whom any good citizen would like to 
 quarrel. Personally he was much beloved, and so- 
 cially he stood as representative of a class who held 
 in their hands commercial and political power no one 
 cared to oppose or offend. 
 
 The marriage license had been obtained from the 
 governor, but extraordinary influence had been used 
 to procure it. Katherine was under age, and yet 
 subject to her father's authority. In spite of book
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 119 
 
 and priest and ring, he could retain his child for at 
 least three years; and three years, Hyde in talking 
 with his aunt called " an eternity of doubt and de- 
 spair." These facts, Hyde, in his letters, had fully 
 explained to Katherine ; and she understood clearly 
 how important the preservation of her secret was, 
 and how much toward allaying suspicion depended 
 upon her own behavior. Fortunately Joanna's wed- 
 ding-day was drawing near, and it absorbed what at- 
 tention the general public had for theVan Heemskirk 
 family. For it was a certain thing, developing into 
 feasting and dancing; and it quite put out of con- 
 sideration suspicions which resulted in nothing, 
 when people examined them in the clear atmosphere 
 of Katherine's home. 
 
 At the feast of St. Nicholas the marriage was to 
 take place. Early in November the preparations for 
 it began. No such great event could happen with- 
 out an extraordinary house-cleaning; and from gar- 
 ret to cellar the house-maid's pail and brush were in 
 demand. Spotless was every inch of paint, shining 
 every bit of polished wood and glass ; not a thimble- 
 full of dust in the whole house. Toward the end of 
 the month, Anna and Cornelia arrived, with their 
 troops of rosy boys and girls, and their slow, sub- 
 stantial husbands. Batavius felt himself to be a 
 very great man. The weight of his affairs made him 
 solemn and pre-occupied. He was not one of those 
 light, foolish ones, who can become a husband and 
 a householder without being sensible of the respon- 
 sibilities they assume. 
 
 In the midst of all this household excitement, 
 Katherine found some opportunities of seeing Mrs. 
 Gordon ; and in the joy of receiving letters from, and 
 sending letters to, her husband, she recovered a gay- 
 ety of disposition which effectually repressed all urg- 
 ent suspicions. Besides, as the eventful day drew 
 near, there was so much to attend to. Joanna's per- 
 sonal goods, her dresses and household linen, her 
 china and wedding gifts, had to be packed; the 
 house was decorated ; and there was a most amazing 
 quantity of delicacies to be prepared for the table.
 
 120 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 In the middle of the afternoon of the day before 
 the marriage, there was the loud rat-tat-tat of the 
 brass knocker, announcing a visitor. But visitors 
 had been constant since the arrival of Cornelia and 
 Anna, and Katherine did not much trouble herself 
 as to whom it might be. She was standing upon a 
 ladder, pinning among the evergreens and scarlet 
 berries rosettes and bows of ribbon of the splendid 
 national color, and singing with a delightsome 
 cheeriness, 
 
 " But the maid of Holland, 
 
 For her own true love, 
 Ties the splendid orange, 
 
 Orange still above ! 
 O oranje boven ! 
 Orange still above I " 
 
 "Orange still above! Oh, my dear, don't trouble 
 yourself to come down! I can pass the time tolera- 
 bly well, watching you." 
 
 It was Mrs. Gordon, and she nodded and laughed 
 in a triumphant way that very quickly brought 
 Katherine to her side. " My dear, I kiss you. You 
 are the top beauty of my whole acquaintance." Then, 
 in a whisper, " Richard sends Ids devotion. And put 
 your hand in my muff: there is a letter. And pray 
 give me joy: I have just secured an invitation. I 
 asked the councillor and madam point blank for it. 
 Faith, I think I am a little of a favorite with them ! 
 Every one is talking of the bridegroom, and the 
 bridegroom is talking to every one. Surely, my 
 dear, he imagines himself to be the only man that 
 will ever again commit matrimony. Oranje boven, 
 everywhere!" Then, with a little exultant laugh, 
 " Above the Tartan, at any rate. How is the young 
 Bruce ? My dear, if you don't make him suffer, I 
 shall never forgive you. Alternate doses of hope 
 and despair, that would be my prescription." 
 
 Katherine shook her head. 
 
 " Take notice, in particular, that I don't under- 
 stand nods and shakes and sighs and signs. What 
 is your opinion, frankly ? " 
 
 "On my wedding-day, as I left Richard, this he
 
 TEE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 121 
 
 
 
 said to me, 'My honor, Katherine, is'now in your 
 keeping.' By the lifting of one eyelash, I will not 
 etain it." 
 
 " My dear, you are perfectly charming. You al- 
 ways convince me that I am a better woman than I 
 imagine myself. I shall go straight to Dick, and 
 tell him how exactly proper you are. Really, you 
 have more perfections than any one woman has a 
 right to." 
 
 " To-morrow, if I have a letter ready, you will take 
 it?" 
 
 "I will- run the risk, child. But really, if you 
 could see the way mine host of the ' King's Arms ' 
 looks at me, you would be sensible of my courage. ; 
 I am persuaded he thinks I carry you under my 
 new wadded cloak. Now, adieu. Return to your 
 evergreens and ribbons. 
 
 ' For your own true love, 
 
 Tie the splendid orange, 
 Orange still above ! ' " 
 
 And so, lightly humming Katherine's favorite song, 
 she left the busy house. 
 
 Before daylight the next morning, Batavius had 
 every one at his post. The ceremony was to be per- 
 formed in the Middle Kirk, and he took care that 
 Joanna kept neither Pomine de Ronde nor himself 
 waiting. He was exceedingly gratified to find the 
 building crowded when the wedding party arrived. 
 Joanna's dress had cost d guinea a yard, his own 
 broad cloth and satin were of the finest quality, and 
 he felt that the good citizens who respected him 
 ought to have an opportunity to see how deserving 
 he was of their esteem. Joanna, also, was a beau- 
 tiful bride; and the company was entirely composed 
 of men of honor and substance, and women of irre- 
 proachable characters, dressed with that solid mag- 
 nificence gratifying to a man who, like Batavius, 
 dearly loved respectability. 
 
 Katherine looked for Mrs. Gordon in vain : she 
 was not in the kirk, and she did not arrive until 
 the festival dinner was nearly over. Batavius was
 
 122 THE BOW OF ORANGE &IBBON. 
 
 then considerably under the excitement of his fine 
 position and fine fare. He sat by the side of his 
 bride, at the right hand of Joris; and Katherine 
 assisted her mother at the other end of the table. 
 Peter Block, the first mate of the " Great Christo- 
 pher," was just beginning to sing a song, a fool- 
 ish, sentimental ditty for so big and bluff a fellow, 
 in which some girl was thus entreated, 
 
 " Come, fly with me, my own fair love ; 
 
 My bark is waiting in the bay, 
 And soon its snowy wings will speed 
 To happy lands so far away. 
 
 ' And there, for us. the rose of love 
 
 Shall sweetly bloom, and never die. 
 Oh, fly with me ! We'll happy be 
 Beneath fair Java's smiling sky." 
 
 " Peter, such nonsense as you sing," said Bata- 
 rius, with ail the authority of a skipper to his mate. 
 "How can a woman fly when she has no wings? 
 And to say any bark has wings is not the truth. 
 And what kind of rose is the rose of love ? Twelve 
 kinds of roses I have chosen for my new garden, but 
 that kind I never heard of; and I will not believe in 
 any rose that never dies. And you also have been to 
 Java ; and well you know of the fever and the blacks, 
 and the sky that is not smiling, but hot as the place 
 which is not heaven. No respectable person would 
 want to be a married man in Java. I never did." 
 
 " Sing your own songs, skipper. By yourself you 
 measure every man. If to the kingdom of heaven 
 you did not want to go, astonished and angry you 
 would be that any one did not like the place which 
 is not heaven." 
 
 " Come, friends and neighbors," said Joris cheer- 
 ily. " I will sing you a song; and every one knows 
 the tune to it, and every one has heard their vaders 
 and their moeders sing it, sometimes, perhaps, on 
 the great dikes of Vaderland, and sometimes in their 
 sweet homes that the great Hendrick Hudson found 
 out for them. Now, then, all, a song for
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 123 
 
 MOEDER HOLLAND. 
 
 ' We have taken our land from the sea, 
 Its fields are all yellow with grain. 
 Its meadows are green on the lea, 
 And now shall we give it to Spain ? 
 No, no, no, no! 
 
 *We have planted the faith that is pure, 
 That faith to the end we'll maintain; 
 For the word and the truth must endure. 
 Shall we bow to the Pope and to Spain? 
 No, no, no, no! 
 
 Our ships are on every sea, 
 
 Our honor has never a stain, 
 Our law and our commerce are free : 
 Are we slaves for the tyrant of Spalnt 
 No, no, no, no! 
 
 'Then, sons of Batavia, the spade, 
 
 The spade and the pike and the main, 
 And the heart and the hand and the blade: 
 Is there mercy for merciless Spain? 
 No, no, no, no!'" 
 
 By this time the enthusiasm was wonderful. The 
 short, quick denials came hotter and louder at every 
 verse; and it was easy to understand how these 
 large, slow men, once kindled to white heat, were 
 both irresistible and unconquerable. Every eye 
 was turned to Joris, who stood in his massive, 
 manly beauty a very conspicuous figure. His face 
 was full of feeling and purpose, his large blue eyes 
 limpid and shining; and, as the tumult of applause 
 gradually ceased, he said, 
 
 " My friends and neighbors, no poet am I; but al- 
 ways wrongs burn in the heart until plain prose can- 
 not utter them. Listen to me. If we wrung the 
 Great Charter and the right of self-taxation from 
 Mary in A.D. 1477; if in A.D. 1572 we taught Alva, 
 by force of arms, how dear to us was our maxim, 
 * No taxation without representation,* 
 
 " Shall we give up our long-cherished right ? 
 
 Make the blood of our fathers in vain ? 
 Do we fear any tyrant to fight ? 
 Shall we hold out our hands for the chain? 
 No, no, no, no!"
 
 124 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 Even the women had caught fire at this allusion 
 to the injustice of the Stamp Act and Quartering 
 Acts, then hanging over the liberties of the Prov- 
 ince; and Mrs. Gordon looked curiously and not 
 unkindly at the latent rebels. " England will have 
 foemen worthy of her steel, if she turns these good 
 friends into enemies," she reflected; and then, fol- 
 lowing some irresistible impulse, she rose with the 
 company, at the request of Joris, to sing unitedly 
 the patriotic invocation, 
 
 "O Vaderland, can we forget thee, 
 
 Thy courage, thy glory, thy strife ? 
 Moeder Kirk, can we forget thee ? 
 No, never! no, never! through life. 
 No, no, no, no! " 
 
 The emotion was too intense to be prolonged ; and 
 Joris instantly pushed back his chair, and said, 
 "Now, then, friends, for the dance. Myself I think 
 not too old to take out the bride." 
 
 Neil Semple, who had looked like a man in a 
 dream during the singing, went eagerly to Kath- 
 erine as soon as Joris spoke of dancing. " He felt 
 strong enough," he said, " to tread a measure in the 
 bride dance, and he hoped she would so far honor 
 him." 
 
 " No, I will not, Neil. I will not take your hands. 
 Often I have told you that." 
 
 "Just for to-night, forgive me, Katherine." 
 
 " I am sorry that all must end so : I cannot dance 
 any more with you ; " and then she affected to hear 
 her mother calling, and left him standing among 
 the jocund crowd, hopeless and distraught with 
 grief. He was not able to recover himself, and the 
 noise and laughter distracted and made him angry. 
 He had expected so much from this occasion, from 
 its influence and associations ; and it had been al- 
 together a disappointment. Mrs. Gordon's presence 
 troubled him, and he was not free from jealousy re- 
 garding the young dominie. He had received a call 
 from a church in Haarlem ; and the Consistory had 
 requested him to become a member of the Coetus,
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON" 125 
 
 and accept it Joris had interested himself much 
 in his favor ; Katherine listened with evident pleas- 
 ure to his conversation. The fire of jealousy burns 
 with very little fuel ; and Neil went away from Jo- 
 anna's wedding-feast hating very cordially the 
 young and handsome Dominie Lambertus Van 
 Linden. 
 
 The elder noticed every thing, and he was angry 
 at this new turn in affairs. He felt as if Joris had 
 purposely brought the dominie into his house to 
 further embarrass Neil; and he said to his wife after 
 their return home, "Janet, our son Neil has lost 
 the game for Katherine Yan Heemskirk. I dinna 
 care a bodle for it now. A man that gets the woman 
 he wants vera seldom gets any other gude thing." 
 
 " Elder !" 
 
 "Ah, weel, there's excepts! I hae mind o' them. 
 But Neil won't be long daunted. I looked in on him 
 as I cam' up-stairs. He was sitting wi' a law 
 treatise, trying to read his trouble awa. He's a 
 brave soul. He'll hae honors and charges in plenty ; 
 and there's vera few women that are worth a gude 
 office if you hae to choose atween them." 
 
 " You go back on your ain words, elder. Tak' a 
 sleep to yoursel'. Your pillow may gie you wisdom." 
 
 And, while this conversation was taking place, 
 they heard the pleasant voices of Yan Heemskirk's 
 departing guests, as, with snatches of song and 
 merry laughter, they convoyed Batavius and his 
 bride to their own home. And, when they got there, 
 Batavius lifted up his lantern and showed them the 
 motto he had chosen for its lintel; and it passed 
 from lip to lip, till it was lifted altogether, and the 
 young couple crossed their threshold to his ringing 
 good-will, 
 
 "Poverty always a day's sail behind us!"
 
 126 TEE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 KATHEKINE'S DECISION. 
 
 44 The hours of love fill full the echoing space 
 With sweet coufederate music favorable." 
 
 *' Now many memories make solicitous 
 The delicate love lines of her mouth, till lit 
 With quivering fire,'. the words take wing from it; 
 As here between our kisses we sit thus 
 Speaking of things remembered, and so sit 
 Speechless while things forgotten call to us." 
 
 JOANNA'S wedding occurred at the beginning of 
 the winter and the winter festivities. But, amid all 
 the dining and dancing and skating, there was a 
 political anxiety and excitement that leavened 
 strongly every social and domestic event. The first 
 Colonial Congress had passed the three resolutions 
 which proved to be the key-note of resistance and of 
 liberty. Joris had emphatically indorsed its action. 
 The odious Stamp Act was to be met by the refusal 
 of American merchants either to import English 
 goods, or to sell them upon commission, until it was 
 repealed. Homespun became fashionable. During 
 the first three months of the year, it was a kind of 
 disgrace to wear silk or satin or broadcloth ; and a 
 great fair was opened for the 'sale of articles of 
 home manufacture. The Government kept its hand 
 upon the sword. The people were divided into two 
 parties, bitterly antagonistic to each other. The 
 "Sons of Liberty "were keeping guard over the pole 
 which symbolized their determination ; the British 
 soldiery were swaggering and boasting and openly 
 insulting patriots on the streets ; and the " New- 
 York Gazette," in flaming articles, was stimulating 
 to the utmost, the spirit of resistance to tyranny. 
 
 And these great public interests had in every 
 family their special modifications. Joris was among 
 the two hundred New-York merchants who put their 
 names to the resolutions of the October Congress; 
 Bram was a conspicuous member of the " Sons of
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 127 
 
 Liberty;" but Batavius, though conscientiously 
 with the people's party, was very sensible of the an- 
 noyance and expense it put him to. Only a part of 
 his house was finished, but the building of the rest 
 was in progress ; and many things were needed for 
 its elegant completion, which were only to be 
 bought from Tory importers, and which had been 
 therefore nearly doubled in value. When liberty 
 interfered with the private interests of Batavius, he 
 had his doubts as to whether it was liberty. Often 
 Bram's overt disloyalty irritated him beyond en- 
 durance. For, since he had joined the ranks of 
 married men- and householders, Batavius felt that 
 unmarried men ought to wait for the opinions and 
 leadership of those who had responsibilities. 
 
 Joanna talked precisely as Batavius talked. All 
 of his enunciations met with her "Amen." There 
 are women who are incapable of but one affection, 
 that one which affects them in especial, and Joanna 
 was of this order. " My husband " was perpetually 
 on her tongue. She looked upon her position as a 
 wife and housekeeper as unique. Other women 
 might have, during the past six thousand years, 
 held these positions in an indifferent kind of way; 
 but only she had ever comprehended and properly 
 fulfilled the duties they involved. Madam Van 
 Heemskirk smiled a little when Joanna gave her 
 advices about her house and her duties, when she 
 disapproved of her father's political attitude, when 
 she looked injured by Bram's imprudence. 
 
 "Not only is wisdom born with Joanna and 
 Batavius, it will also die with them : so they think," 
 said Katherine indignantly, after one of Joanna's 
 periodical visitations. 
 
 A tear twinkled in madam's eyes; but she an- 
 swered, "I shall not distress myself over much. 
 Always I have said, ' Joanna has a little soul. Only 
 what is for her own good can she love.' " 
 
 " It is Batavius ; and a woman must love her hus- 
 band, mother." 
 
 " That is the truth : first and best of all, she must 
 love him, Katherine ; but not as the dog loves and
 
 128 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 fawns on his master, or the squaw bends down to 
 her brave. A good woman gives not up her own 
 principles and thoughts and ways. A good woman 
 will remember the love of her father and mother and 
 brother and sister, her old home, her old friends ; 
 and contempt she will not feel and show for the things 
 of the past, which often, for her, were far better than 
 she was worthy of." 
 
 " There is one I love, mother, love with all my 
 soul. For him I would die. But for thee also I 
 would die. Love thee, mother ? I love thee and my 
 father better because I love him. My mother, fret 
 thee not, nor think that ever Joanna can really for- 
 get thee. If a daughter could forget her good 
 father and her good mother, then with the women 
 who sit weeping in the outer darkness God would 
 justly give her her portion. Such a daughter could 
 not be." 
 
 Lysbet sadly shook her head. "When I was a 
 little girl, Katherine, I read in a book about the old 
 Romans, how a wicked daughter over the bleeding 
 corpse of her father drove her chariot. She wanted 
 his crown for her own husband ; and over the warm, 
 quivering body of her father she drove. When I 
 read that story, Katherine, my eyes I covered with 
 my hands. I thought such a wicked woman in the 
 world could not be. Alas, mijnMnd! often since 
 then I have seen daughters over the bleeding hearts 
 of their mothers and fathers drive ; and frown and 
 scold and be- much injured and offended if once, in 
 their pain and sorrow, they cry out." 
 
 " But this of me remember, mother: if I am not 
 near thee, I shall be loving thee, thinking of thee ; 
 telling my husband, and perhaps my little children, 
 about thee, how good thou art, how pretty, how 
 wise. I will order my house as thou hast taught 
 me, and my own dear ones will love me better be- 
 cause I love thee. If to my own mother I be not 
 true, can my husband be sure I will be true to him, 
 if comes the temptation strong enough ? Sorry 
 would I be if my heart only one love could hold, and 
 ever the last love the strong love."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 129 
 
 Still, in spite of this home trouble, and in spite of 
 the national anxiety, the winter months went with a 
 delightsome peace and regularity in the VanHeems- 
 kirk household. Neil Semple ceased to visit Kath- 
 erine after Joanna's wedding. There was no quarrel, 
 and no interruption to the kindness that had so long 
 existed between the families : frequently they walked 
 from kirk together, Madam Semple and Madam 
 Van Heemskirk, Joris and the elder, Katherine and 
 Neil. But Neil never again offered her his hand ; 
 and such conversation as they had was constrained, 
 and of the most conventional character. 
 
 Very frequently, also, Dominie Van Linden spent 
 the evening with them. Joris delighted in his 
 descriptions of Java and Surinam ; and Lysbet and 
 Katherine knit their stockings, and listened to the 
 conversation. It was evident that the young min- 
 ister was deeply in love, and equally evident that 
 Katherine's parents favored his suit. But the lover 
 felt, that, whenever he attempted to approach her as 
 a lover. Katherine surrounded herself with an at- 
 mosphere that froze the words of admiration or en- 
 treaty upon his lips. 
 
 Joris, however, spoke for him. "He has told me 
 how truly he loves thee. Like an honest man he 
 loves thee, and he will make thee a wife honored of 
 many. No better husband can thou have, Kather- 
 ine." So spoke her father to her one evening in the 
 early spring, as they stood together over the bud- 
 ding snowdrops and'crocus. 
 
 " There is no love in my heart for him, father." 
 
 " Neil pleases thee not, nor the dominie. Whom 
 would thou have, then ? Surely not that English- 
 man now ? The whole race I hate, swaggering, 
 boastful tyrants, all of them. I will not give thee to 
 any Englishman.*' 
 
 "If I marry not him, then will I stay with thee 
 always." 
 
 " Nonsense that is. Thou must marry, like other 
 women. But not him : I would never forgive thee; 
 I would never see thy face again." 
 
 " Very hard art thou to me. I love Eichard : can
 
 130 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 I love this one and then that one ? If I were so 
 light-of-love, contempt I should have from all, even 
 from thee." 
 
 "Now, I have something to say. I have heard 
 that some one, very like to thee, some one, went 
 twice or three times with Mrs. Gordon to see the 
 man when he lay ill at the ' King's Arms.' To such 
 talk, my anger and my scorn soon put an end ; and 
 I will not ask of thee whether it be true, or whether 
 it be false. For a young girl I can feel." 
 
 " O father, if for me thou could feel ! " 
 
 " See, now, if I thought this man would be to thee 
 a good husband, I would say, ' God made him, and 
 God does not make all his men Dutchmen;' and I 
 would forgive him his light, loose life, and his 
 wicked wasting of gold and substance, and give thee 
 to him, with thy fortune and with my blessing. But 
 I think he will be to thee a careless husband. He 
 will get tired of thy beauty; thy goodness he will 
 not value; thy money he will soon spend. Three 
 sweethearts had he in New York before thee. Their 
 very names, I dare say, he hath forgotten ere this." 
 
 " If Richard could make you sure, father, that he 
 would be a good husband, would you then be con- 
 tent that we should be married ? " 
 
 " That he cannot do. Can the night make me sure 
 it is the day ? Once very much I respected Batavius. 
 I said, ' He is a strict man of business ; honorable, 
 careful, and always apt to make a good bargain. 
 He does not drink nor swear, and he is a firm mem- 
 ber of the true Church. He will make my Joanna a 
 good husband.' That was what I thought. Now I 
 see that he is a very small, envious, greedy man ; 
 and like himself he quickly made thy sister. This 
 is what I fear: if thou marry that soldier, either 
 thou must grow like he is, or else he will hate thee, 
 and make thee miserable." 
 
 "Just eighteen I am. Let us not talk of hus- 
 bands. Why are you so hurried, father, to give me 
 to this strange dominie ? Little is known of him 
 but what he says. It is easy for him to speak well 
 of Lambertus Van Linden." '
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 131 
 
 "The committe from the Great Consistory have 
 examined his testimonials. They are very good. 
 And, I am not in a hurry to give thee away. What I 
 fear is, that thou wilt be a foolish woman, and give 
 thyself away." 
 
 Katherine stood with dropped head, looking appar- 
 ently at the brown earth, and the green box borders, 
 and the shoots of white and purple and gold. But 
 what she really saw, was the pale, handsome face of 
 her sick husband, its pathetic entreaty for her love, 
 its joyful flush, when with bridal kisses he whispered, 
 ' Wife, wife, wife!" 
 
 Joris watched her curiously. The expression on 
 her face he could not understand. " So happy she 
 looks ! " he thought, " and for what reason ? " 
 Katherine was the first to speak. 
 
 "Who has told you any thing about Capt. Hyde,, 
 father?" 
 
 " Many have spoken." 
 
 " Does he get back his good health again ? " 
 
 "I hear that. When the warm days come, to En- 
 land he is going. So says Jacob Cohen. What has- 
 Mrs. Gordon told thee ? for to see her I know thou 
 goes." 
 
 " Twice only have I been. I heard not of England.'* 
 
 " But that is certain. He will go, and what then ? 
 Thee he will quite forget, and never more will thou 
 see or hear tell of him." 
 
 " That I believe not. In the cold winter one would 
 have said of these flowers, 'They come no more.' 
 But the winter goes away, and then here they are. 
 Eichard has been in the dead valley, der schaduwe 
 des doods. Sometimes I thought, he will come back 
 to me no more. But now I am sure I shall see him 
 again." 
 
 Joris turned sadly away. That night he did not 
 speak to her more. But he had the persistence 
 which is usually associated with slow natures. He 
 could not despair. He felt that he must go steadily 
 on trying to move Katherine to what he really be- 
 lieved was her highest interest. And he permitted 
 nothing to discourage him for very long. Dominie
 
 132 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 Van Linden was also a prudent man. He had no 
 intention in his wooing to make haste and lose speed. 
 As to Katherine's love troubles, he had not been left 
 in ignorance of them. A great many people had 
 given him such information as would enable him to 
 keep his own heart from the wiles of the siren. He 
 had also a wide knowledge of books and life, and in 
 the light of this knowledge he thought he could 
 understand her. But the conclusion that he delib- 
 erately came to, was, that Katherine had cared 
 neither for Hyde or Semple, and that the unpleasant 
 termination of their courtship had made her shy of 
 all lover-like attentions. He believed that if he 
 advanced cautiously to her he might have the felicity 
 of surprising and capturing her virgin affection. 
 And just about so far does any amount of wisdom 
 and experience help a man in a love perplexity; 
 because every mortal woman is a different woman, 
 and no two can be wooed and won in precisely the 
 same way. 
 
 Amid all these different elements, political, social, 
 and domestic, Nature kept her own even, unvarying 
 course. The gardens grew every day fairer, the air 
 more soft and balmy, the sunshine warmer and more 
 cherishing. Katherine was not unhappy. As Hyde 
 grew stronger, he spent his hours in writing long 
 letters to his wife. He told her every trivial event, 
 he commented on all she told him. And her letters 
 revealed to him a soul so pure, so true, so loving, 
 that he vowed " he fell in love with her afresh every 
 day of his life. " Katherine's communications reached 
 her husband readily by the ordinary post; Hyde's 
 had to be sent through Mrs. Gordon. But it was 
 evident from the first that Katherine could not call 
 there for them. Col. Gordon would soon have 
 objected to being made an obvious participant in his 
 nephew's clandestine correspondence; and Joris 
 would have decidedly interfered with visits sure to 
 cause unpleasant remarks about his daughter. The 
 medium was found in the man tu a- maker, Miss Pitt. 
 Mrs. Gordon was her most profitable customer, and 
 Katherine went there for needles and threads and
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 133 
 
 such small wares as are constantly needed in a 
 household. And whenever she did so, Miss Pitt was 
 sure to remark, in an after- thought kind of way, 
 "Oh, I had nearly forgotten, miss! Here is a small 
 parcel that Mrs. Gordon desired me to present to 
 you." 
 
 One exquisite morning in May, Katherine stood at 
 an open window looking over the garden and the 
 river, and the green hills and meadows across the 
 stream. Her heart was full of hope. Richard's re- 
 covery was so far advanced that he had taken sev- 
 eral rides in the middle of the day. Always he had 
 passed the Van Heemskirk's house, and always 
 Katherine had been waiting to rain down upon his 
 lifted face the influence of her most bewitching 
 beauty and her tenderest smiles. She was thinking 
 of the last of these events, of Eichard's rapid exhi- 
 bition of a long, folded paper, and the singular and 
 emphatic wave which he gave it toward the river. 
 His whole air and attitude had expressed delight 
 and hope : could he really mean that she was to meet 
 him again at their old trysting-place ? 
 
 As thus she happily mused, some one called her 
 mother from the front hall. On fine mornings it 
 was customary to leave the door standing open ; and 
 the visitor advanced to the foot of the stairs, and 
 called once more, "Lysbet Van Heemskirk! Is 
 there naebody in to bid me welcome ? " Then 
 Katherine knew it was Madam Semple ; and she ran 
 to her mother's room, and begged her to go down 
 and receive the caller. For in these days Katherine 
 dreaded Madam Semple a little. Very naturally, 
 the mother blamed her for Neil's suffering and loss 
 of time and prestige; and she found it hard to for- 
 give also her positive rejection of his suit. For her 
 sake, she herself had been made to suffer mortifica- 
 tion and disappointment. She had lost her friends 
 in a way which deprived her of all the fruits of her 
 kindness. The Gordons thought Neil had trans- 
 
 gressed all the laws of hospitality. The Semples 
 ad a similiar charge to make. And it provoked 
 Madam Semple that Mrs. Gordon continued her
 
 134 TEE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 friendship with Katherine. Every one else blamed 
 Katherine altogether in the matter: Mrs. Gordon 
 had defied the use and wont of society on such occa- 
 sions, and thrown the whole blame on Neil. Some- 
 how, in her secret heart, she even blamed Lysbet a 
 little. "Ever since I told her there was an earldom 
 in the family, she's been daft to push her daughter 
 into it," was her frequent remark to the elder; and 
 he also reflected that the proposed alliance of Neil 
 and Katherine had been received with coolness by 
 Joris and Lysbet. "It was the soldier or the 
 dominie, either o' them before our Neil;" and, 
 though there was no apparent diminution of friend- 
 ship, Semple and his wife frequently had a little 
 private grumble at their own fireside. 
 
 And toward Neil, Joris had also a secret feeling 
 of resentment. He had taken no pains to woo 
 Katherine until some one else wanted her. It was 
 universally conceded that he had been the first to 
 draw his sword, and thus indulge his own temper at 
 the expense of their child's good name and happi- 
 ness. Taking these faults as rudimentary ones, 
 Lysbet could enlarge on them indefinitely; and 
 Joris had undoubtedly been influenced by his wife's 
 opinions. So, below the smiles and kind words of a 
 long friendship, there was bitterness. If there had 
 not been, Janet Semple would hardly have paid that 
 morning visit ; for before Lysbet was half way down 
 the stairs, Katherine heard her call out, 
 
 " Here's a bonnie come of. But it is what a' folks 
 expected. 'The Dauntless' sailed the morn, and 
 Capt. Earle wi' a contingent for the West Indies 
 station. And who wi' him, guess you, but CaptT 
 Hyde, and no less ? They say he has a furlough in 
 his pocket for a twelve-month: more like it's a 
 clean, total dismissal. The gude ken it ought to 
 be." 
 
 So much Katheriue heard, then her mother shut to 
 the door of the sitting-room. A great fear made her 
 turn faint and sick. Were her father's words true? 
 Was this the meaning of the mysterious wave of the 
 folded paper toward the ocean? The suspicion
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 135 
 
 once entertained, she remembered several little 
 things which strengthened it. Her heart failed her : 
 she uttered a low cry of pain, and tottered to a chair, 
 like one wounded. 
 
 It was then ten o'clock. She thought the noon 
 hour would never come. Eagerly she watched for 
 Bram and her father; for any certainty would be 
 better than such cruel fear and suspense. And, if 
 Richard had really gone, the fact would be known 
 to them. Bram came first. For once she felt im- 
 patient of his political enthusiasm. How could she 
 care about liberty poles and impressed fishermen, 
 with such a real terror at her heart? But Bram 
 said nothing ; only, as he went out, she caught him 
 looking at her with such pitiful eyes. " What did 
 he mean ? " She turned coward then, and could not 
 voice the question. Joris was tenderly explicit. He 
 said to her at once, "'The Dauntless' sailed this 
 morning. Oh, my little one, sorry I am for thee ! " 
 
 " Is he gone ? " Very low and slow were the 
 words; and Joris only answered, "Yes." 
 
 Without any further question or remark, she went 
 away. They were amazed at her calmness. And for 
 some minutes after she had locked the door of her 
 room, she stood still in the middle of the floor, more 
 like one that has forgotten something, and is trying 
 to remember, than a woman who has received a 
 blow upon her heart. No tears came to her eyes. 
 She did not think of weeping, or reproaching, or 
 lamenting. The only questions she asked herself 
 were, " How am I to get life over ? Will such suf- 
 fering kill me very soon ? " 
 
 Joris and Lysbet talked it over together. " Cohen 
 told me," said Joris, "that Capt. Hyde called to bid 
 him good-by. He said, 'He is a very honorable 
 young man, a very grateful young man, and I re- 
 joice that I was helpful in saving his life.' Then I 
 asked him in what ship he was to sail, and he said 
 'The Dauntless.' She left her moorings this morn- 
 ing between nine and ten. She carries troops to 
 Kingston, Capt. Earle in command ; and I heard 
 that Capt. Hyde has a year's furlough."
 
 136 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 Lysbet drew her lips tight, and said nothing. The 
 last shadow of her own dream had departed also, 
 but it was of her child she thought. At that hour 
 she hated Hyde ; and, after Joris had gone, she said 
 in low, angry tones, over and over, as she folded the 
 freshly ironed linen, " I wish that Neil had killed 
 him!" About two o'clock she went to Katherine. 
 The girl opened her door at once to her. There was 
 nothing to be said, no hope to offer. Joris had 
 seen Hyde embark ; he had heard Mrs. Gordon and 
 the colonel bid him farewell. Several of his brother 
 officers, also, and the privates of his own troop, had 
 been on the dock to see him sail. His departure was 
 beyond dispute. 
 
 And even while she looked at the woeful young 
 face before her, the mother anticipated the smaller, 
 festering sorrows that would spring from this great 
 one, the shame and mortification ; the mockery of 
 those who had envied Katherine; the inquiries, 
 condolences, and advices of friends; the complacent 
 self-congratulation of Batavius, who would be cer- 
 tain to remind them of every provoking admonition 
 he had given on the subject. And who does not 
 know that these little trials 6f life are its hardest 
 trials ? The mother did not attempt to say one word 
 of comfort, or hope, or excuse. She only took the 
 child in her arms, and wept for her. At this hour 
 she would not wound her by even -an angry word 
 concerning him. 
 
 " I loved him so much, moeder." 
 
 " Thou could not help it. Handsome, and gallant, 
 and gay he was. I never shall forget seeing thee 
 dance with him." 
 
 " And he did love me. A woman knows when she 
 is loved." 
 
 " Yes, I am sure he loved thee." 
 
 " He has gone ? Really gone ? " 
 
 " No doubt is there of it. Stay in thy room, and 
 have thy grief out with thyself." * 
 
 " No ; I will come to my work. Every day will 
 now be the same. I shall look no more for any joy ; 
 but my duty I will do."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 137 
 
 They went down-stairs together. The clean linen, 
 the stockings that required mending, lay upon the 
 table. Katherine sat'down to the task. Kesolutely, 
 but almost unconsciously, she put her needle 
 through and through. Her suffering was pitiful; 
 this little one, who a few months ago would have 
 wept for a cut finger, now silently battling with the 
 bitterest agony that can come to a loving woman, 
 the sense of cruel, unexpected, unmerited desertion. 
 At first Lysbet tried to talk to her; but she soon 
 saw that the effort to answer was beyond Kather- 
 ine's power, and conversation was abandoned. So 
 for an hour, an hour of speechless sorrow, they sat. 
 The tick of the clock, the purr of the cat, the snap 
 of a breaking thread, alone relieved the tension of 
 silence in which this act of suffering was completed. 
 Its atmosphere was becoming intolerable, like that 
 of a nightmare; and Lysbet was feeling that she 
 must speak and move, and so dissipate it, when 
 there was a loud knock at the front-door. 
 
 Katherine trembled all over. " To-day I cannot 
 bear it, mother. No one can I see. I will go up- 
 stairs." 
 
 Ere the words were finished, Mrs. Gordon's voice 
 was audible. She came into the room laughing, with 
 the smell of fresh violets and the feeling of the brisk 
 wind around her. "Dear madam," she cried, "I 
 entreat you for a favor. I am going to take the air 
 this afte'rnoon : be so good as to let Katherine come 
 with me. For I must tell you that the colonel has 
 orders for Boston, and I may see my charming 
 friend no more after to-day." 
 
 " Katherine, what say you ? Will you go ? " 
 
 " Please, mijn moeder." 
 
 "Make great haste, then." For Lysbet was 
 pleased with the offer, and fearful that Joris might 
 arrive, and refuse to let his daughter accept it. She 
 hoped that Katherine would receive some comfort- 
 ing message ; and she was glad that on this day, of 
 all others, Capt. Hyde's aunt should be seen with 
 her. It would in some measure stop evil surmises ; 
 and it left an air of uncertainty about the captain's
 
 138 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 relationship to Katherine, which made the humilia- 
 tion of his departure less keen. 
 
 "Stay not long," she whispered, "for your 
 father's sake. There is no good, more trouble to 
 give him." 
 
 " Well, my dear, you look like a ghost. Have you 
 not one smile for a woman so completely in your in- 
 terest ? When I promised Dick this morning that I 
 would be sure to get word to you, I was at my wits' 
 end to discover a way. But, when I am between the 
 horns of a dilemma, I find it the best plan to take 
 the bull by the horns. Hence, I have made you a 
 visit which seems to have quite nonplussed you and 
 your good mother." 
 
 " I thought Kichard had gone." 
 
 " And you were breaking your heart, that is easy 
 to be seen. He has gone, but he will come back to- 
 night at eight o'clock. No matter what happens, be 
 at the river-side. Do not fail Dick : he is taking his 
 life in his hand to see you." 
 
 " I will be there." 
 
 "La! what are you crying for, child ? Poor girl! 
 What are you crying for ? Dick, the scamp ? He is 
 not worthy of such pure tears ; and yet, believe me, 
 he loves you to distraction." 
 
 " I thought he had gone gone, without a word." 
 
 " Faith, you are not complimentary ! I flatter my- 
 self that our Dick is a gentleman'; I do, indeed. 
 And, as he is yet perfectly in his senses, you might 
 have trusted him." 
 
 " And you, do you go to Boston to-morrow ? " 
 
 "The colonel does. At present, I have no such 
 intention. But I had to have some extraordinary 
 excuse, and I could invent no other. However, you 
 may say any thing, if you only say it with an assur- 
 ance. Madam wished me a pleasant journey. I 
 felt a little sorry to deceive so fine a lady." 
 , " When will Eichard return ? " 
 
 " Indeed, I think you will have to answer for his 
 resolves. But he will speak for himself; and, in 
 in faith, I told him that he had come to a point 
 where I would be no longer responsible for his ac-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 139 
 
 tions. I am thankful to own that I have some con- 
 science left." 
 
 The ride was not a very pleasant one. Katherine 
 could not help feeling that Mrs. Gordon was distrait 
 and inconsistent; and, toward its close, she became 
 very silent. Yet she kissed her kindly, and drawing 
 her closely for a last word, said, " Do not forget to 
 wear your wadded cloak and hood. You may have 
 to take the water; for the councillor is very sus- 
 picious, let me tell you. Kemember what I say, 
 the wadded cloak and hood ; and good-by, good-by, 
 my dear." 
 
 " Shall I see you soon ?" 
 
 " When we may meet again, I do not pretend to 
 say: till then, I am entirely yours; and so again 
 good-by." 
 
 The ride had not occupied an hour; but, when 
 Katherine got home, Lysbet was making tea. " A 
 cup will be good for you, mijn kind." And she 
 smiled tenderly in the face that had been so white 
 in its woeful anguish, but on which there was now 
 the gleam of hope. And she perceived that Kather- 
 ine had received some message, she even divined 
 that there might be some appointment to keep ; and 
 she determined not to be too wise and prudent, but 
 to trust Katherine for this evening with her own 
 destiny. 
 
 That night there was a meeting at the Town Hall, 
 and Joris left the house soon after his tea. He was 
 greatly touched by Katherine's effort to appear 
 cheerful; and when she followed him to the door, 
 and, ere he opened it, put her arms round his neck, 
 and kissed him, murmuring, " My father, mijn 
 vader ! " he could not restrain his tears. 
 
 " Mijn kind, my liefste kind ! " he answered. And 
 then his soul in his great emotion turned affection- 
 ately to the supreme fatherhood ; for he whispered 
 to himself, as he walked slowly and solemnly in the 
 pleasant evening light: * Gelijk zich een vader out- 
 fermt over de kinderen!'* Oh, so great must be 
 Thy pity! My own heart can tell that now." 
 *" Like as a father pitieth his children."
 
 140 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 For an hour or more Katherine sat in the broad 
 light of the window, folding and unfolding the pieces 
 of white linen, sewing a stitch or two here, and put- 
 ting on a button or tape there. Madam passed 
 quietly to and fro about her home duties, sometimes 
 stopping to say a few words to her daughter. It was 
 a little interval of household calm, full of household 
 work; of love assured without need of words, of 
 confidence anchored in undoubting souls. When 
 Lysbet was ready to do so, she began to lay into the 
 deep drawers of the presses the table-linen which 
 Katherine had so neatly and carefully examined. 
 Over a pile of fine damask napkins she stood, with a 
 perplexed, annoyed face ; and Katherine, detecting 
 it, at once understood the cause. 
 
 " One is wanting of the dozen, mother. At the last 
 cake-baking, with the dish of cake sent to Joanna it 
 went. Back it has not come." 
 
 " For it you might go, Katherine. I like not that 
 my sets are broken." 
 
 Katherine blushed scarlet. This was the opportu- 
 nity she wanted. She wondered if her mother sus- 
 pected the want; but Lysbet's face expressed only a 
 little worry about the missing damask. Slowly, 
 though her heart beat almost at her lips, she folded 
 away her work, and put her needle, and thread, and 
 thimble, and scissors, each in its proper place in her 
 house-wife. So deliberate were all. her actions, that 
 Lysbet's suspicions were almost allayed. Yet she 
 thought, " If out she wishes to go, leave I have now 
 given her; and, if not, still the walk will do her some 
 good." And yet there was in her heart just that 
 element of doubt, which, whenever it is present, 
 ought to make us pause and reconsider the words we 
 are going to speak or write, and the deed we are 
 going to do. 
 
 The nights were yet chilly, though the first 
 blooms were on the trees, and the wadded cloak 
 and hood were not so far out of season as to cause 
 remark. As she came down-stairs, the clock struck 
 seven. There was yet an hour, and she durst not 
 wait so long at the bottom of the garden while it was
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 141 
 
 early in the evening. When her work was done, 
 Lysbet frequently walked down it : she had a moth- 
 erly interest in the budding fruit-trees and the grow- 
 ing flowers. And a singular reluctance to leave 
 home assailed Katherine. If she had known that it 
 was to be forever, her soul could not have more sen- 
 sibly taken its farewell of all the dear, familiar 
 objects of her daily life. About her mother this 
 feeling culminated. She found her cap a little out 
 of place ; and her fingers lingered in the lace, and 
 stroked fondly her hair and pink cheeks, until 
 Lysbet felt almost embarrassed by the tender, but 
 unusual show of affection. 
 
 " Now then, go, my Katherine. To Joanna give 
 my dear love. Tell her that very good were the 
 cheesecakes and the krullers, and that to-morrow I 
 will come over and see the new carpet they have 
 bought." 
 
 And while she spoke she was retying Katherine's 
 hood, and admiring as she did so the fair, sweet face- 
 in its quiltings of crimson satin, and the small, 
 dimpled chin resting upon the fine bow she tied 
 under it. Then she followed her to the door, and 
 watched her down the road until she saw her meet 
 Dominie Van Linden, and stand a moment holding 
 his hand. " A message I am going for my mother," 
 she said, as she firmly refused his escort. "Then 
 with madam, your mother, I will sit until you re- 
 turn," he replied cheerfully; and Katherine 
 answered, "That will be a great pleasure to her, 
 sir." 
 
 A little farther she walked ; but suddenly remem- 
 bering that the dominie's visit would keep her 
 mother in the house, and being made restless by the 
 gathering of the night shadows, she turned quickly,, 
 and taking the very road up which Hyde had come 
 the night Neil Semple challenged him, she entered 
 the garden by a small gate at its foot, which was 
 intended for the gardener's use. The lilacs had not 
 much foliage, but in the dim light her dark, slim, 
 figure was undistinguishable behind them. Long- 
 ingly and anxiously she looked up and down the
 
 142 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 water-way. A mist was gathering over it ; and there 
 were no boats in the channel except two pleasure- 
 shallops, already tacking to their proper piers. "The 
 Dauntless " had been out of sight for hours. There 
 was not the splash of an oar, and no other river 
 sound at that point, but the low, peculiar " wish-h-h " 
 of the turning tide. 
 
 In the pettiest character there are unfathomable 
 depths ; and Katherine's, though yet undeveloped, 
 was full of noble aspirations and singularly sensi- 
 tive. As she stood there alone, watching and wait- 
 ing in the dim light, she had a strange consciousness 
 of some mysterious life ante-dating this life ; and of 
 a long-forgotten voice filling the ear-chambers of 
 that spiritual body which was the celestial inhabi- 
 tant of her natural body. "Bichard, Richard," she 
 murmured ; and she never doubted but that he heard 
 her. 
 
 All her senses were keenly on the alert. Suddenly 
 there was the sound of oars, and the measure was 
 that of steady, powerful strokes. She turned her 
 face southward, and watched. Like a flash a boat 
 shot out of the shadow, a long, swift boat, that 
 came like a Fate, rapidly and without hesitation, to 
 her very feet. Richard quickly left it, and with a 
 few strokes it was carried back into the dimness of 
 the central channel. Then he turned to the lilac- 
 trees. 
 
 "Katherine! " 
 
 It was but a whisper, but she heard it. He opened 
 his arms, and she flew to their shelter like a bird to 
 her mate. 
 
 " My love, my wife, my beautiful wife! My true, 
 good heart! Now, at last, my own: nothing shall 
 part us again, Katherine, never again. I have come 
 for you come at all risks for you. Only five min- 
 utes the boat can wait. Are you ready ? " 
 
 "I know not, Richard. My'father my mother" 
 
 " My husband ! Say that also, beloved. Am I not 
 first ? If you will not go with me, here I shall stay ; 
 and, as I am still on duty, death and dishonor will be 
 the end. O Katherine, shall I die again for you?
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 143 
 
 Will you break my sword in disgrace over my head ? 
 Faith, darling, I know that you would rather die for 
 me." 
 
 " If one word I could send them ! They suspect 
 me not. They think you are gone. It will kill my 
 father." 
 
 " You shall write to them on the ship. There are a 
 dozen fishing-boats near it. We will send the letter 
 by one of them. They will get it early in the morn- 
 ing. Sweet Kate, come. Here is the boat. 'The 
 Dauntless' lies down the bay, and we have a long 
 pull. My wife, do you need more persuasion ? " 
 
 He released her from his embrace with the words, 
 and stood holding her hands, and looking into her 
 face. No woman is insensible to a certain kind of 
 authority; and there was fascination as well as 
 power in Hyde's words and manner, emphasized by 
 the splendor of his uniform, and the air of command 
 that seemed to be a part of it. 
 
 " It is for you to decide, Katherine. The boat is 
 here. Even I must obey or disobey orders. Will 
 you not go with me, your husband, to love and life 
 and honor; or shall I stay with you, for disgrace 
 and death ? For from you I will not part again." 
 
 She had no time to- consider how much truth there 
 was in this desperate statement. The boat was 
 waiting. Richard was wooing her consent with 
 kisses and entreaties. Her own soul urged her, not 
 only by the joy of his presence, but by the memory 
 of the anguish she had endured that day in the ter- 
 ror of his desertion. From the first moment she 
 had hesitated ; therefore, from the first moment she 
 had yielded. She clung to her husband's arm, she 
 lifted her face to his, she said softly, but clearly, " I 
 will go with you, Richard. With you I will go. 
 Where to, I care not at all." 
 
 They stepped into the boat, and Hyde said, 
 "Oars." Not a word was spoken. He held her 
 within his left arm, close to his side, and partially 
 covered with his military cloak. It was the boat 
 belonging to the commander of " The Dauntless," 
 and the six sailors manning it sent the light craft
 
 144 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 flying like an arrow down the bay. All the past was 
 behiud her. She had done what was irrevocable. 
 For joy or for sorrow, her place was evermore at her 
 husband's side. Richard understood the decision 
 she was coming to ; knew that every doubt and fear 
 had vanished when her hand stole into his hand, 
 when she slightly lifted her face, and whispered, 
 " Richard." 
 
 They were practically alone upon the misty river ; 
 and Richard answered the tender call with sweet, 
 impassioned kisses ; with low, lover-like, encourag- 
 ing words; with a silence that thrilled with such 
 soft beat and subsidence of the spirit's wing, as 
 
 "When it feels, in cloud-girt wayfaring, 
 The breath of kindred plumes against itsfeet." 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 POPULAR OPINION. 
 
 "Good people, how they wrangle! 
 
 The manners that they never mend, 
 The characters they mangle! 
 
 They eat and drink, and scheme and plod, 
 And go to church on Sunday ;, . 
 And many are afraid of God, 
 And some of Mrs. Grundy." 
 
 Blackie.. 
 "The waste and solitary space that girdles round our daily life." 
 
 DURING that same hour Joris was in the town 
 council. There had been a stormy and prolonged 
 session on the Quartering Act. " To little purpose 
 have we compelled the revocation of the Stamp 
 Act," he cried, " if the Quartering Act upon us is to 
 be forced. We want not English soldiers here. In 
 our homes why should we quarter them ? " 
 
 All the way home he was asking himself the que- 
 tion; and, when he found Dominie Van Lindens 
 talking to Lysbet, he gladly discussed it over again
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 145 
 
 with him. Lysbet sat beside them, knitting and 
 listening. Until after nine o'clock, Joris did not 
 notice the absence of his daughter. "She went to 
 Joanna's," said Lysbet calmly. No fear had yet en- 
 tered her heart. Perhaps she had a vague suspicion 
 that Katherine might also go to Mrs. Gordon's, and 
 she was inclined to avoid any notice of the lateness 
 of the hour. If it were even ten o'clock when she 
 returned, Lysbet intended to make no remarks. 
 But ten o'clock came, and the dominie went, and 
 Joris suddenly became anxious about Katherine. 
 
 His first anger fell upon Bram. " He ought to 
 have been at home. Then he could have gone for 
 his sister. He is not attentive enough to Katherine ; 
 and very fond is he of hanging about Miriam Co- 
 hen's doorstep." 
 
 "What say you, Joris, about Miriam Cohen ? " 
 
 " I spoke in my temper." 
 
 He would not explain his words, and Lysbet would 
 not worry him about Katherine. " To Joanna's she 
 went, and Batavius is in Boston. Very well, then, 
 she has stayed with her sister." 
 
 Still, in her own heart there was a certain uneasi- 
 ness. Katherine had never remained all night be- 
 fore without sending some message, or on a previ- 
 ous understanding to that effect. But the absence 
 of Batavius, and the late hour at which she went, 
 might account for the omission, especially as Lysbet 
 remembered that Joanna's servant had been sick, 
 and might be unfit to come. She was determined 
 to excuse Katherine, and she refused to acknowl- 
 edge the dumb doubt and fear that crouched at her 
 own heart. 
 
 In the morning Joris rose very early and went 
 into the garden. Generally this service to nature 
 calmed and cheered him ; but he came to breakfast 
 from it, silent and cross. And Lysbet was still dis- 
 inclined to open a conversation about Katherine. 
 She had enough to do to combat her own feeling on 
 the subject; and she was sensible that Joris, in the 
 absence of any definite object for his anger, blamed 
 her for permitting Katherine so much liberty.
 
 146 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 11 Where, then, is Bram ? " he asked testily. " When 
 I was a young man, it was the garden or the store 
 for me before this hour. Too much you indulge the 
 children, Lysbet." 
 
 " Brain was late to bed. He was on the watch last 
 night at the pole. You know, councillor, who in 
 that kind of business has encouraged him." 
 
 " Every night the watch is not for him." 
 
 " Oh, then, but the bad habit is made! " 
 
 "Well, well: tell him to Joanna's to go the first 
 thing, and to send home Katherine. I like her not 
 in the house of Batavius." 
 
 "Joanna is her sister, Joris." 
 
 "Joanna is nothing at all in this world but the 
 wife of Batavius. Send for Katherine home. I like 
 her best to be with her mother." 
 
 As he spoke, Bram came to the table, looking a 
 little heavy and sleepy. Joris rose without more 
 words, and in a few moments the door shut sharply 
 behind him. " What is the matter with my father ? " 
 
 "Cross he is." By this time Lysbet was also 
 cross ; and she continued, " No wonder at it. Kath- 
 erine has stayed at Joanna's all night, and late to 
 breakfast were you. Yet ever since you were a little 
 koy, you have heard your father say one thing, 
 ' Late to breakfast, hurried at dinner, behind at 
 supper;' and I also have noticed, .that, when the 
 comfort of the breakfast is spoiled, then all the day 
 its bad influence is felt." 
 
 In the meantime Joris reached his store in that 
 mood w r hich apprehends trouble, and finds out an- 
 noyances that under other circumstances would not 
 have any attention. The store was in its normal 
 condition, but he was angry at the want of order in 
 it. The mail was no later than usual, but he com- 
 plained of its delay. He was threatening a general 
 reform in every thing and everybody, when a man 
 came to the door, and looked up at the name above 
 it. 
 
 "Joris Van Heemskirk is the name, sir;" and 
 Joris went forward, and asked a little curtly, " What, 
 then, can I do for you ? "
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 147 
 
 " I am Martin Hudde the fisherman." 
 
 " Well, then ? " 
 
 "If you are Joris Yan Heemskirk, I have a letter 
 for you. I got it from ' The Dauntless ' last night, 
 when I was fishing in the bay." 
 
 Without a word Joris took the letter, turned into 
 his office, and shut the door; and Hudde muttered 
 as he left, " I am glad that I got a crown with it, 
 for here I have not got a ' thank you.' " 
 
 It was Katherine's writing; and Joris held the 
 folded paper in his hand, and looked stupidly at it. 
 The truth was forcing itself into his mind, and the 
 slow-coming conviction was a real physical agony 
 to him. He put his hand on the desk to steady , 
 himself; and Nature, in great drops of sweat, made- 
 an effort to relieve the oppression and stupor which 
 followed the blow. In a few minutes be opened and 
 laid it before him. Through a mist he made out 
 these words, 
 
 My Father and my Mother, I have gone with ray husband. I 
 married Richard when he was ill, and to-night he came for me. 
 When I left home, I knew not I was to go. Only five minutes I 
 had. In God's name, this is the truth. Always, at the end of the 
 world, I shall love you. Forgive ine, forgive me, mijn fader* 
 mijn moeder. 
 
 Your child, 
 
 KATHERINE HYDE. 
 
 He tore the letter into fragments; but the next 
 moment he picked them up, folded them in a piece 
 of paper, and put them in his pocket. Then he went 
 to Mrs. Gordon's. She had anticipated the visit, 
 and was, in a measure, prepared for it. With a smile 
 and outstretched hands, she rose from her chocolate 
 to meet him. "You see, I am a terrible sluggard, 
 councillor," she laughed ; " but the colonel left early 
 for Boston this morning, and I cried myself into 
 another sleep. And will you have a cup of choco- 
 late ? I am sure you are too polite to refuse me." 
 
 " Madam, I came not on courtesy, but for my 
 daughter. Where is my Katherine ? " 
 
 "Truth, sir, I believe her to be where every woman
 
 148 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 wishes, with her husband. I am sure I wish the 
 colonel was with me." 
 
 " Her husband ! Who, then ? " 
 
 "Indeed, councillor, that is a question easily an- 
 swered, my nephew, Capt. Hyde, at your service. 
 You perceive, sir, we are now connections; and I 
 assure you I have the highest sense imaginable of 
 the honor." 
 
 " When were they married ? " 
 
 "In faith, I have forgotten the precise date. It 
 was in last October; I know it was, because I had 
 just received my winter manteau, my blue velvet 
 one, with the fur bands." 
 
 " Who married them ? " 
 
 "Oh, indeed! It was the governor's chaplain, 
 the Kev. Mr. Somers, a relative of my Lord Somers, 
 a most estimable and respectable person, I assure 
 you. Col. Gordon, and Capt. Earle, and myself, 
 were the witnesses. The governor gave the license ; 
 and, in consideration of Dick's health, the ceremony 
 was performed in his room. All was perfectly cor- 
 rect and regular, I " 
 
 " It is not the truth. Pardon, madam : full of 
 trouble am I. And it was all irregular, and very 
 wicked, and very cruel. If regular and right it had 
 been, then in secret it had not taken place." 
 
 "Admit, councillor, that then it had not taken 
 place at all ; or, at least, Eichard w'buld have had to 
 wait until Katherine was of age." 
 
 "So; and that would have been right. Until 
 then, if love had lasted, I would have said, 'Their 
 love is stronger than my dislike ; ' and I would have 
 been content." 
 
 " Ah, sir, there was more to the question than 
 that ! My nephew's chances for life were very indif- 
 ferent, and he desired to shield Katherine's name 
 with his own " 
 
 " Christus ! What say you, madam ? Had Kath- 
 arine no father? " 
 
 "Oh, be not so warm, councillor! A husband's 
 name is a far bigger shield than a father's. I assure 
 you that the world forgives a married woman what
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 149 
 
 it would not forgive an angel. And I must tell you, 
 also, that Dick's very life depended on the content- 
 ment which he felt in his success. It is the part of 
 humanity to consider that." 
 
 " Twice over deceived I have been then " 
 
 " In short, sir, there was no help for it. Dick re- 
 ceived a most unexpected favor of a year's furlough 
 two clays ago. It was important for his wounded 
 lung that he should go at once to a warm climate. 
 ' The Dauntless ' was on the point of sailing for the 
 West Indies. To have bestowed our confidence on 
 you, would have delayed or detained our patient, or 
 sent him away without his wife. It was my fault 
 that Katherine had only five minutes given her. Oh, 
 sir, I know my own sex! And, if you will take 
 time to reflect, I am sure that you will be reason- 
 able." 
 
 "Without his wife! His wife! Without my con- 
 sent ? No, she is not his wife." 
 
 "Sir, you must excuse me if I do not honor your 
 intelligence or your courtesy. I have said ' she is 
 his loife.' It is past a doubt that they are mar- 
 ried." 
 
 " I know not, I know not O my Katherine, my 
 Katherine! " 
 
 " I pray you, sit down, councillor. You look faint 
 and ill ; and in faith I am very sorry, that, to make 
 two people happy, others must be made so wretched." 
 She rose and filled a glass with wine, and offered it 
 to Joris, who was the very image of mental suffer- 
 ing, all the fine color gone out of his face, and his 
 large blue eyes swimming in unshed tears. 
 
 " Drink, sir. Upon my word, you are vastly foolish 
 to grieve so. I protest to you that Katherine is 
 happy ; and grieving will not restore your loss." 
 
 " For that reason I grieve, madam. Nothing can 
 give me back my child." 
 
 "Come, sir, every one has his calamity; and, 
 upon my word, you are very fortunate to have one 
 no greater than the marriage of your daughter to 
 an agreeable man, of honorable profession and 
 noble family."
 
 150 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " Five minutes only. How could the child think ? 
 To take her away thus, was cruel. Many things a 
 woman needs when she journeys." 
 
 "Oh, indeed, Katherine was well considered! I 
 myself packed a trunk for her with every conceiva- 
 ble necessity, as well as gowns and manteaus of the 
 finest material and the most elegant fashion. If 
 Dick had been permitted, he would have robbed the 
 Province for her. I assure you that I had to lock 
 my trunks to preserve a change of gowns for my- 
 self. When the colonel returns, he will satisfy you 
 that Katherine has done tolerably wel] in her mar- 
 riage with our nephew. And, indeed, I must beg 
 you to excuse me further. I have been in a hurry 
 of affairs and emotions for two days; and I am 
 troubled with the vapors this morning, and feel my- 
 self very indifferently." 
 
 Then Joris understood that he had been politely 
 dismissed. But there was no unkindness in the act. 
 He glanced at the effusive little lady, and saw that 
 she was on the point of crying, and very likely in the 
 first pangs of a nervous headache ; and, without fur- 
 ther words, he left her. 
 
 The interview had given Joris very little comfort. 
 At first, his great terror had been that Katherine had 
 fled without any religious sanction ; but no sooner 
 was this fear dissipated, than he became conscious, 
 in all its force, of his own personal-loss and sense of 
 grievance. From Mrs. Gordon's lodgings he went 
 to those of Dominie Yan Linden. He felt sure of 
 his personal sympathy; and he knew that the dom- 
 inie would be the best person -to investigate the cir- 
 cumstances of the marriage, and authenticate their 
 propriety. 
 
 Then Joris went home. On his road he met Bram, 
 full of the first terror of his sister's disappearance. 
 He told him all that was necessary, and sent him 
 back to the store. " And see you keep a modest 
 face, and make no great matter of it," he said. " Be 
 not troubled nor elated. It belongs to you to be 
 very prudent ; for your sister's goodxiame is in your 
 care, and this is a sorrow outsiders may not ffieddle
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 151 
 
 with. Also, at once go back to Joanna's, and tell 
 her the same thing. I will not have Katherine made 
 a wonder to gaping women." 
 
 Lysbet was still a little on the defensive ; but, when 
 she saw Joris coming home, her heart turned sick 
 with fear. She was beating eggs for her cake-mak- 
 ing, and she went on with the occupation ; merely 
 looking up to say, "Thee, Joris; dinner will not be 
 ready for two hours ! Art thou sick ? " 
 
 " Katherine she has gone! " 
 
 " Gone? And where, then ? " 
 
 " With that Englishman ; in * The Dauntless ' they 
 have gone." 
 
 " Believe it not. ' The Dauntless ' left yesterday 
 morning : Katherine at seven o'clock last night was 
 with me." 
 
 "Ah, he must have returned for her! Well he 
 knew that if he did not steal her away, I had taken 
 her from him. Yes, and I feared him. When I heard 
 that ' The Dauntless ' was to take him to the West 
 Indies, I watched the ship. After I kissed Kath- 
 erine yesterday morning, I went straight to the pier, 
 and waited until she was on her way." Then he told 
 her all Mrs. Gordon had said, and showed her the 
 fragments of Katherine's letter. The mother kissed 
 them, and put them in her bosom ; and, as she did 
 so, she said softly, " It was a great strait, Joris." 
 
 "Well, well, we also must pass through it. The 
 Dominie Yan Linden has gone to examine the rec- 
 ords; and then, if she his lawful wife be, in the 
 newspapers I must advertise the marriage. Much 
 talk and many questions I shall have to bear." 
 
 " ' If,' ' if she his lawful wife be ! ' Say not ' if ' in 
 my hearing; say not 'if ' of my Katherine." 
 
 " When a girl runs away from her home " 
 
 " With her husband she went; keep that in mind 
 when people speak to thee." 
 
 " What kind of a husband will he be to her? " 
 
 " Well, then, I think not bad of him. Nearer home 
 there are worse men. Now, if sensible thou be, thou 
 wilt make the best of what is beyond thy power. ' 
 Every bird its own nest builds in its own way. Nay,
 
 152 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 but blind birds are we all, and God builds for us. 
 This marriage of God's ordering may be, though 
 not of thy ordering; and against it I would no 
 longer fight. I think my Katherine is happy ; and 
 happy with her I will be, though the child in her joy 
 I see not." 
 
 " So much talk as there will be. In the store and 
 the streets, a man must listen. And some with me 
 will condole, and some with congratulations will 
 come ; and both to me will be vinegar and gall." 
 
 "To all friends and unfriends say this : ' Every 
 one chooses for themselves. Capt. Hyde loved my 
 daughter, and for her love nearly he died ; and my 
 daughter loved him ; and what has been from the crea- 
 tion, will be.' Say also, * Worse might have come ; 
 for he hath a good heart, and in the army he is much 
 loved, and of a very high family is he.' Joris, let 
 me see thee pluck up thy courage, like a man. Bet- 
 ter may come of this than has come of things better 
 looking. Much we thought of Batavius " 
 
 " On that subject wilt thou be quiet ? " 
 
 "And, if at poor little Katherine thou be angry, 
 speak out thy mind to me; to others, say nothing 
 but well of the dear one. Now, then, I will get thee 
 thy dinner; for in sorrow a good meal is a good 
 medicine." 
 
 While they were eating this early dinner, Joanna 
 came in, sad and tearful; and with loud lamentings 
 she threw herself upon her mother's neck. " What, 
 then, is the matter with thee ? " asked Lysbet, with 
 great composure. 
 
 " O mother, my Katherine! my sister Katherine! " 
 
 " I thought perhaps thou had bad news of Bata- 
 vius. Thy sister Katherine hath married a very fine 
 gentleman, and she is happy. For thou must re- 
 member that all the good men do not come from 
 Dordrecht." 
 
 " I am glad that so you take it. I thought in very 
 great sorrow you would be." 
 
 "See that you do not say such words to any one, 
 Joanna. Very angry will I be if I hear them. Bata- 
 vius, also; he must be quiet on this matter."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 153 
 
 " Oh, then, Batavius has many things of greater 
 moment to think about ! Of Katherine he never ap- 
 proved ; and the talk there will be, he will not like 
 it. Before from Boston he comes back, I shall be 
 glad to have it over." 
 
 " None of his affair it is," said Joris. " Of my 
 own house and my own daughter, I can take the 
 care. And if he like the talk, or if he like not the 
 talk, there it will be. Who will stop talking because 
 Batavius comes home ? " 
 
 "When Joris spoke in this tone on any subject, no 
 one wished to continue it; and it was not until her 
 father had left the house, that Joanna asked her 
 mother particularly about Katherine's marriage. 
 " Was she sure of it ? Had they proofs ? Would it 
 be legal ? More than a dozen people stopped me as 
 I came over here," she said, " and asked me about 
 everything." 
 
 " I know not how more than a dozen people knew 
 of any thing, Joanna. But many ill-natured words 
 will be spoken, doubtless. Even Janet Semple came 
 here yesterday, thinking over Katherine to exult a 
 little. But Katherine is a great deal beyond her to- 
 day. And perhaps a countess she may yet be. That 
 is what her husband said to thy father." 
 
 " I knew not that he spoke to my father about 
 Katherine." 
 
 "Thou knows not all things. Before thou wert 
 married to Batavius, before Neil Semple nearly mur- 
 dered him, he asked of thy father her hand. Thou 
 wast born on thy wedding-day, I think. All things 
 that happened 'before it have from thy memory 
 passed away." 
 
 " Well, I am a good wife, I know that. That also 
 is what Batavius says. Just before I got to the 
 gate, I met Madam Semple and Gertrude Van Gaas- 
 beeck; they had been shopping together." 
 
 " Did they speak of Katherine ? " 
 
 " Indeed they did." 
 
 " Or did you speak first, Joanna ? It is an evil 
 bird that pulls to pieces its own nest." 
 
 " O mother, scolded I cannot be for Katherine's
 
 154 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 folly! My Batavius always said, 'The favorite is 
 Katherine.' Always he thought that of me too 
 much was expected. And Madam Semple said and 
 always she liked Katherine that very badly had 
 she behaved for a whole year, and that the end was 
 what everybody had looked for. It is on me very 
 hard, I who have always been modest, and taken 
 care of my good name. Nobody in the whole city 
 will have one kind word to say for Katherine. You 
 will see that is so, mother." 
 
 " You will see something very different, Joanna. 
 Many will praise Katherine, for she to herself has 
 done well. And, when back she comes, at the gov- 
 ernor's she will visit, and with all the great ladies; 
 and not one among them will be so lovely as Kath- 
 erine Hyde." 
 
 And, if Joanna had been in Madam Semple's par- 
 lor a few hours later, she would have had a most de- 
 cided illustration of Lysbet's faith in the popular 
 verdict. Madam was sitting at her tea-table talk- 
 ing to the elder, who had brought home w r ith him 
 the full supplement to Joanna's story. Both were 
 really sorry for their old friends, although there is 
 something in the best kind of human nature that 
 indorses the punishment of those things in which 
 old friends differ from us. 
 
 Neil had heard nothing. He had been shut up in 
 his office all day over an important, suit ; and, when 
 he took the street again, he was weary, and far from 
 being inclined to join any acquaintances in conver- 
 sation. In fact, the absorbing topic was one which 
 no one cared to introduce in Neil's presence; and 
 he himself was too full of professional matters to 
 notice that he attracted more than usual attention 
 from the young men standing around the store- 
 doors, and the officers lounging in front of the 
 King's Arms Tavern. 
 
 He was irritable, too, with exhaustion, though he 
 was doing his best to keep himself in control; and 
 when madam his mother said pointedly, " I'm fear- 
 ing, Neil, that the bad news has made you ill ; you 
 arena at a' like yoursel'," he asked without much 
 interest, " What bad news ? "
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 155 
 
 " The news anent Katherine Van Heemskirk." 
 
 He had supposed it was some political disappoint- 
 ment, and at Katherine's name his pale face grew 
 suddenly crimson. 
 
 " What of her ? " he asked. 
 
 " Didna you hear? She ran awa' last night wi' 
 Capt. Hyde ; stole awa' wi' him on ' The Daunt- 
 less.' " 
 
 " She would have the right to go with him, I have 
 no doubt," said Neil with guarded calmness. 
 
 " Do you really think she was his wife ? " 
 
 " If she went with him, / am sure she was." He 
 dropped the words with an emphatic precision, and 
 looked with gloomy eyes out of the window ; gloomy, 
 but steadfast, as if He were trying to face a future 
 in which there was no hope. His mother did not 
 observe him. She went on prattling as she filled 
 the elder's cup, "If there had been any wedding 
 worth the name o' the thing, we would hae been 
 bidden to it. I diuna believe she is married." 
 
 " Are you sure that she sailed w r ith Capt. Hyde in 
 ' The Dauntless,' or is it a pack of women's tales ? " 
 
 "The news cam' wi' your fayther the elder," an- 
 swered madam, much offended. "You can mak' 
 your inquiries there if you think he's mair reliable 
 than I am." 
 
 Neil looked at his father, and the elder said 
 quietly, "I wouldna be positive aneut any woman : 
 the bad are whiles good, and the good are whiles 
 bad. But there is nae doubt that Katherine has 
 gone with Hyde ; and I heard that the military at 
 the King's Arms have been drinking bumpers to 
 Capt. Hyde arid his bricfe ; and I know that Mrs. 
 Gordon has said they were married lang syne, when 
 Hyde couldna raise himseP or put a foot to the 
 ground. But Joanna told her mother she had 
 neither seen nor heard tell o' book, ring, or minister; 
 and, as I say, for mysel' I'll no venture a positive 
 opinion, but I think the lassie is married to the man 
 she's off an' awa' wi'.' 1 
 
 " But if she isna ? " persisted madam. 
 
 In a moment Neil let slip the rein in which he had
 
 156 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 been holding himself, and in a slow, intense voice 
 answered, " I shall make it my business to find out. 
 If Katherine is married, God bless her! If she is 
 not, I will follow Hyde around and around the world 
 until I cleave his false heart in two." His passion 
 gathered with its utterance. He pushed away his 
 chair, and put down his cup so indifferently that it 
 missed the table and fell with a crash to the floor. 
 
 "Oh, my cheeny, my cheeny! Oh, my bonnie 
 cups that I hae used for forty years, and no' a piece 
 broken afore! " 
 
 "Ah, weel, Janet," said the elder, "you shouldoa 
 badger an angry man when he's drinking from your 
 best cups." 
 
 "I canna mend nor match it in the whole Prov- 
 ince, elder. Oh, my bonnie cup! " 
 
 "I was thinking, Janet, o' Katherine's good 
 name. If it is gane, it is neither to mend nor to 
 match in the whole wide world. I'll awa' and see 
 Joris and Lysbet. And put every cross thought 
 where you'll never find them again, Janet; and tak' 
 your good-will in your hands, and come wi' me. 
 Lysbet will want to see you." 
 
 " Not her, indeed ! I can tell you, elder, that Lys- 
 bet was vera cool and queer wi' me yesterday." 
 
 "Come, Janet, dinna keep your good-nature in 
 remnants. Let's hae enough to make a cloak big 
 enough to cover a' bygone faults." 
 
 "I think, then, I ought to stay'wi' Neil." 
 
 " Neil doesna want anybody near him. Leave him 
 alane. Neil's a' right. Forty years syne I would 
 hae broke my mother's cheeny, and drawn steel as 
 quick as Neil did, if I heard a word against bonnie 
 Janet Gordon." An4 the old man made his wife a 
 bow; and madam blushed with pleasure, and v/ent 
 up-stairs to put on her bonnet and India shawl. 
 
 "Woman, woman," meditated the smiling elder; 
 " she is never too angry to be won wi' a mouthful o* 
 sweet words, special if you add a bow or a kiss to 
 them. My certie ! when a husband can get his ain 
 way at sic a sma' price, it's just wonderfu' ho 
 doesna buy it in perpetuity."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 157 
 
 Joris was somewhat comforted by his old friend's 
 sympathy ; for the elder, in the hour of trial, knew 
 how to be magnanimous. But the father's wound 
 lay deeper than human love could reach. He was 
 suffering from what all suffer who are wounded in 
 their affections; for alas, alas, how poorly do we 
 love even those whom we love most! We are not 
 only bruised by the limitations of their love for us, 
 but also by the limitations of pur own love for them. 
 And those who know what it is to be strong enough 
 to wrestle, and yet not strong enough to overcome, 
 will understand how the grief, the anger, the jeal- 
 ousy, the resentment, from which he suffered,, 
 amazed Joris ; he had not realized before the depth? 
 and strength of his feelings. 
 
 He tried to put the memory of Katherine away, but 
 he could not accomplish a miracle. The girl's face 
 was ever before him. He felt her caressing fingers- 
 linked in his own ; and, as he walked in his house 
 and his garden, her small feet pattered beside him. 
 For as there are in creation invisible bonds that da 
 not break like mortal bonds, so also there are cor- 
 respondences subsisting between souls, despite the 
 separation of distance. 
 
 " I would forget Katherine if I could," he said to- 
 Dominie Van Linden; and the good man, bravely 
 putting aside his private grief, took the hands of 
 Joris in his own, and bending toward him, answered, 
 " That would be a great pity. Why forget ? Trust 
 rather, that out of sorrow God will bring to you joy." 
 
 " Not natural is that, dominie. How can it be ? 
 I do not understand how it can be." 
 
 "You do not understand! Well, then, och mijn 
 jongen, what matters comprehension, if you have 
 faith ? Trust, now, that it is well with the child." 
 
 But Joris believed it was ill with her; and he 
 blamed not only himself, but every one in connec- 
 tion with Katherine, for results which he was cer- 
 tain might have been foreseen and prevented. Did 
 he not foresee them ? Had he not spoken plainly 
 enough to Hyde and to Lysbet and to the child her- 
 self ? He should have sent her to Albany, to her
 
 158 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 sister Cornelia. For he believed now that Lysbet 
 had not cordially disapproved of Hyde ; and as for 
 Joanna, she had been far too much occupied with 
 Batavius and her own marriage to care for any other 
 thing. And one of his great fears was that Kather- 
 ine also would forget her father and mother and 
 home, and become a willing alien from her own 
 people. 
 
 He was so wrapped up in his grief, that he did not 
 notice Bram was suffering also. Bram got the 
 brunt of the world's wouderings and inquiries. 
 People who did not like to ask Joris questions, felt 
 no such delicacy with Bram. And Bram not only 
 tenderly loved his sister: he hated with the unrea- 
 soning passion of youth the entire English soldiery. 
 He made no exception now. They were the visible 
 marks of a subjection which he was sworn, heart and 
 soul, to oppose. It humiliated him among his 
 fellows, that his sister should have fled with one of 
 them. It gave those who envied and disliked him 
 an opportunity of inflicting covert and cruel wounds. 
 Joris could, in some degree, control himself; he 
 could speak of the marriage with regret, but without 
 passion; he had even alluded, in some cases, to 
 Hyde's family and expectations. The majority be- 
 lieved that he was secretly a little proud of the alli- 
 ance. But Bram was aflame with indignation ; first, 
 if the marriage were at all dourtoted ; second, if it 
 were supposed to be a satisfactory one to any mem- 
 ber of the Van Heemskirk family. 
 
 As to the doubters, they were 'completely silenced 
 when the next issue of the "New-York Gazette" 
 appeared; for among its most conspicuous adver- 
 tisements was the following: 
 
 Married, Oct. 19, 1765. by the Rev. Mr. Somers. chaplain to his 
 Excellency the Governor. Richard Drake Hyde of Hyde Manor, 
 Norfolk, son of the late Richard Drake Hyde, and brother of 
 William Drake 'Hyde, Earle of Dorset and Hyde, to Katherine. the 
 youngest daughter of Joris and Lysbet Van Heemskirk, of the 
 <5ity and province of New York. 
 
 Witnesses : NIGEL GORDON. H. M. Nineteenth Light Cavalry. 
 GEORGE EAKKE, H. M. Nineteenth Light Cavalry. 
 ADELAIDE GORDON, wife of Nigel Gordon.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 159 
 
 This announcement took every one a little by sur- 
 prise. A few were really gratified; the majority 
 perceived that it silenced gossip of a very enthrall- 
 ing kind. No one could now deplore or insinuate, 
 or express sorrow or astonishment. And, as rejoic- 
 ing with one's friends and neighbors soon becomes 
 a very monotonous thing, Katherine Van Heems- 
 kirk's fine marriage was tacitly dropped. Only for 
 that one day on which it was publicly declared, was 
 it an absorbing topic. The whole issue of the " Ga- 
 zette " was quickly bought ; and then people, having 
 seen the fact with their own eyes, felt a sudden 
 satiety of the whole affair. 
 
 On some few it had a more particular influence,. 
 Hyde's brother officers held high festival to their 
 comrade's success. To every bumper they read the 
 notice aloud, as a toast, and gave a kind of national 
 triumph to what was a purely personal affair. Joris 
 read it with dim eyes, and then lit his long Gouda . 
 pipe and sat smoking with an air of inexpressible 
 loneliness. Lysbet read it, and then put the paper 
 carefully away among the silks and satins in her 
 bottom drawer. Joanna read it, and then immedi- 
 diately bought a dozen copies and sent them to the 
 relatives of Batavius, in Dordrecht, Holland. Neil 
 Semple read and re-read it. It seemed to have a, 
 fascination for him; and for more than an hour he- 
 sat musing, with his eyes fixed upon the fateful 
 words. Then he rose and wer^t to the hearth. There 
 were a few sticks of wood burning upon it, but they 
 had fallen apart. He put them together, and, tear- 
 ing out the notice, he laid it upon them. It meant 
 much more to Neil than the destruction of a scrap 
 of paper, and he stood watching it, long after it had 
 become a film of grayish ash. 
 
 Bram would not read it at all. He was too full of 
 shame and trouble at the event; and the moments 
 went as if they moved on lead. But the unhappy 
 day wore away to its evening; and after tea he- 
 gathered a great nosegay of narcissus, and went to 
 Isaac Cohen's. He did not " hang about the steps,'* 
 as Joris in his temper had said. Miriam was not one
 
 160 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 of those girls who sit in the door to be gazed at by 
 every passing man. He went into the store, and 
 she seemed to know his footstep. He had no need 
 to speak : she came at once from the mystery behind 
 the crowded place into the clearer light. -Plain and 
 dark were her garments, and Bram would have been 
 unable to describe her dress ; but it was as fitting to 
 her as are the green leaves of the rose-tree to the 
 rose. 
 
 Their acquaintance had evidently advanced since 
 that anxious evening when she had urged upon 
 Bram the intelligence of the duel between Hyde and 
 Neil Semple ; for Bram gave her the flowers without 
 .embarrassment, and she buried her sweet face in 
 their sweet petals, and then lifted it with a smile at 
 once grateful and confidential. Then they began to 
 talk of Katherine. " She was so beautiful and so 
 kind," said Miriam: "just a week since she passed 
 here, with some violets in her hand ; and, when she 
 saw me, she ran up the steps, and said, 'I have 
 brought them for you ; ' and she clasped my fingers, 
 -and looked so pleasantly in my face. If I had a 
 sister, Bram, I think she would smile at me in the 
 -.same way." 
 
 " Very grateful to you was Katherine. All you 
 did about the duel, I told her. She knows her hus- 
 band had not been alive to-day, but for you. O 
 Miriam, if you had not spoken ! >r 
 
 " I should have had.the stain of blood on my con- 
 science. I did right to speak. My grandfather 
 said to me, 'You did quite right, my dear.' " 
 
 Then Bram told her all the little things that had 
 grieved him, and they talked as dear companions 
 might talk; only, beneath all the common words of 
 daily life, there was some subtle sweetness that 
 made their voices low, and their glances shy and 
 tremulous. 
 
 It was not more than an hour ere Cohen came 
 home. He looked quickly at the young people, and 
 then stood by Bram, and began to talk courteously 
 of passing events. Miriam leaned, listening, against 
 a magnificent " apostle's cabinet " in black oak,
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 161 
 
 one of those famous ones made in Nuremburg in 
 the fifteenth century, with locks and hinges of ham- 
 mered-steel work, and finely chased handles of the 
 ,same material. Against its carved and pillared 
 background, her dark drapery fell in almost unno- 
 ticed grace ; but her fair face and small hands, with 
 the mass- of white narcissus in them, had a singular 
 and alluring beauty. She affected Bram as some- 
 thing sweetly supernatural might have done. It 
 was an effort for him to answer Cohen : he felt as if 
 it would be impossible for him to go away. 
 
 But the clock struck the hour, and the shop-boy 
 began to put up the shutters; and the old man 
 walked to the door, taking Bram with him. Then 
 Miriam, smiling her farewell, passed like a shadow 
 into the darker shadows beyond ; and Bram went 
 home, wondering to find that she had cast out of his 
 heart, hatred, malice, fretful worry, and all unchar- 
 itableness. How could he blend them with thoughts 
 of her ? and how could he forget the slim, dark- 
 robed figure, or the lovely face against the old black 
 has, crowned with its twelve sombre figures, or the 
 white slender hands holding the white fragrant 
 flowers ? 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 AT HYDE MANOR, AND BEAM AND MIRIAM. 
 
 *' Each man's homestead is his golden milestone, 
 Is the central point from which he measures 
 
 Every distance 
 Through the gateways of the world around him." 
 
 "And if we will one Guide obey, 
 The dreariest path, the darkest way, 
 Shall issue out in heavenly day." 
 
 THERE are certain months in every life which seem 
 to be full of fate, good or evil, for that life ; and 
 May was Katherine Hyde's luck month. It was on 
 a May afternoon that Hyde had asked her love ; it
 
 162 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 was on a May night she fled with him through the 
 gray shadows of the misty river. Since then a year 
 had gone by, and it was May once more, an English 
 May, full of the magic of the month ; clear skies 
 and young foliage, and birds' songs, the cool, woody 
 smell of wall-flowers, and the ethereal perfume of 
 lilies. 
 
 In Hyde Manor House, there was that stir of prep- 
 aration which indicates a departure. The house was 
 before time; it had the air of early rising; the at- 
 mosphere of yesterday had not been dismissed, but 
 lingered around, and gave the idea of haste and 
 change, and departure from regular custom. It was, 
 indeed, an hour before the usual breakfast-time ; but 
 Hyde and Katherine were taking a hasty meal to- 
 gether. Hyde was in full uniform, his sword at his 
 side, his cavalry cap and cloak on a chair near him ; 
 and up and down the gravelled walk before the main 
 entrance, a groom was leading his horse. 
 
 "I must see what is the matter with Mephisto," 
 said Hyde. "How he is snorting and pawing! And 
 if Park loses control of him, I shall be greatly in- 
 convenienced for both horse and time." 
 
 The remark was partially the excuse of a man who 
 feels that he must go, and who tries to say the hard 
 words in less ominous form. They both rose to- 
 gether, Katherine bravely smiling away tears, and 
 looking exceedingly lovely in hsr-. blue morning- 
 gown trimmed with frillings of thread lace; and 
 Hyde, gallant and tender, but still with the air of a 
 man not averse to go back to life's real duty. He 
 took Katherine in his arms, kissed away her tears, 
 made her many a loving promise, and then, lifting 
 his cap and cloak, left the room. The servants were 
 lingering around to get his last word, and to wish 
 him " God-speed; " and for a few minutes he stood 
 talking to his groom, and soothing Mephisto. Evi- 
 dently he had quite recovered his health and 
 strength ; for he sprang very easily into the saddle, 
 and, gathering the reins in his hand, kept the restive 
 animal in perfect control. 
 
 A moment he stood thus, the very ideal of a fear-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 163 
 
 less, chivalrous, handsome soldier; the next, his 
 face softened to almost womanly tenderness : for he 
 saw Katherine coming hastily through the dim hall, 
 and into the clear sunshine, and in her arms was his 
 little son. She came fearlessly to his side, and lifted 
 the sleeping child to him. He stooped and kissed it, 
 and then kissed again the beautiful mother; and 
 calling happily backward, "Good-by, my love; God 
 keep you, love ; good-by," he gave Mephisto his own 
 wild will, and was soon lost to sight among the trees 
 of the park. 
 
 Katherine stood with her child in her arms, listen- 
 ing to the ever fainter beat of Mephisto's hoofs. 
 Her husband had gone back to duty, his furlough had 
 expired, their long, leisurely honeymoon was over. 
 But she was neither fearful nor unhappy. Hyde's 
 friends had procured his exchange into a court regi- 
 ment. He was only going to London, and he was 
 still her lover. She looked forward with clear eyes 
 as she said gratefully to herself, "So happy am I! 
 So good is my husband ! So dear is my child ! So 
 fair and sweet is my home ! " 
 
 And though to many minds Hyde Manor might 
 seem neither fair or sweet, Katherine really liked it. 
 Perhaps she had some inherited taste for low lands, 
 with their shimmer of water and patches of green ; 
 or perhaps the "gentle beauty of the landscape spe- 
 cially fitted her temperament. But, at any rate, the 
 wide brown stretches, dotted with lonely windmills 
 and low farmhouses, pleased her. So also did the 
 marshes, fringed with yellow and purple flags; and 
 the great ditches, white with water-lilies ; and the 
 high belts of natural turf; and the summer sun- 
 shine, which over this level land had a white brill- 
 iancy to which other sunshine seemed shadow. 
 Hyde had never before found the country endurable, 
 except during the season when the marshes were full 
 of birds; or, when, at the Christmas holidays, the 
 ice was firm as marble, and smooth as glass, and the 
 wind blowing fair from behind. Then he had liked 
 well a race with the famous fen-skaters. 
 
 The Manor House was neither handsome nor pic-
 
 164 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 turesque ; though its dark-red bricks made telling 
 contrasts among the ivy, and the few large trees sur- 
 rounding it. It contained a great number of rooms, 
 but none were of large proportions. The ceilings 
 were low, and often crossed with heavy oak beams; 
 while the floors, though of polished oak, were very 
 uneven. Hyde had refurnished a few of the rooms ; 
 and the showy paperings and chintzes, the fine satin 
 and gilding, looked oddly at variance with the black 
 oak wainscots, the Elizabethan fireplaces, and the 
 other internal decorations. 
 
 Katherine, however, had no sense of any incon- 
 gruity. She was charmed with her home, from its 
 big garrets to the great wine-bins in its underground 
 cellars; and while Hyde wandered about the fens 
 with his fishing-rod or gun, or went into the little 
 town of Hyde to meet over a market dinner the 
 neighboring squires, she was busy arranging every 
 room with that scrupulous nicety and cleanliness 
 which had been not only an important part of her 
 education, but was also a fundamental trait of her 
 character. Indeed, no Dutch wife ever had the 
 nethied, or passion for order and cleanliness, in 
 greater perfection than Katherine. She might al- 
 most have come from Wormeldingen, " where the 
 homes are washed and waxed, and the streets 
 brushed and dusted till not a straw lies about, and 
 the trees have a combed and brushed appearance, 
 and do not dare to grow a leaf out of its place." So, 
 then, the putting in order of this large house, with 
 all its miscellaneous, uncared-for furniture, gave her 
 a genuine pleasure. 
 
 Always pretty and sweet as a flower, always beau- 
 tifully dressed, she yet directed, personally, her lit- 
 tle force of servants, until room after room became 
 a thing of beauty. It was her employment during 
 those days on which Hyde was fishing or shooting; 
 and it was not until the whole house was in exquisite 
 condition, that Katherine took him through his ren- 
 ovated dwelling. He was delighted, and not too 
 selfish and indifferent to express his wonder and 
 pleasure.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 165 
 
 "Faith, Kate," he said, "you have made me a 
 home out of an old lumber-house! I thought of 
 taking you to London with me ; but, upon my word, 
 we had better stay at Hyde and beautify the place. 
 I can run down whenever it is possible to get a few 
 days off." 
 
 This idea gained gradually on both, and articles of 
 luxury and adornment were occasionally added to 
 the better rooms. The garden next fell under Kath- 
 erine's care. " In sweet neglect," it no longer 
 flaunted its beauties. Roses and stocks and tiger- 
 lilies learned what boundaries of box meant; and, 
 if flowers have any sense of territorial rights, Kath- 
 erine's must have found they were respected. En- 
 croaching vines were securely confined within their 
 proper limits, and grass that wandered into the 
 gravel paths sought for itself a merciless destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 All such reforms, if they are not offensive, are 
 stimulating and progressive. The stables, kennels, 
 and park, as well as the land belonging to the manor, 
 became of sudden interest to Hyde. He surprised 
 his lawyer by asking after it, and by giving orders 
 that in future the hay cut in the meadows should be 
 cut for the Hyde stables. Every small wrong which 
 he investigated and redressed, increased his sense 
 of responsibility; and the birth of his son made 
 him begin to plan for the future in a way which 
 brought not only great pleasure to Katherine, but 
 also a comfortable self-satisfaction to his own heart. 
 
 Yet, even with all these favorable conditions, 
 Katherine would not have been happy had the 
 estrangement between herself and her parents con- 
 tinued a bitter or a silent one. She did not suppose 
 they would answer the letter she had sent by the 
 fisherman Hudde; she was prepared to ask, and to 
 wait, for pardon and for a re-gift of that precious 
 love which she had apparently slighted for a newer 
 and as yet untested one. So, immediately after her 
 arrival at Jamaica, Katherine wrote to her mother; 
 and, without waiting for replies, she continued her 
 letters regularly from Hyde. They were in a spirit
 
 166 'THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 of the sweetest and frankest confidence. She made 
 her familiar with all her household plans and wifely 
 cares ; as room by room in the old manor was fin- 
 ished, she described it. She asked her advice with 
 all the faith of a child and the love of a daughter; 
 and she sent through her those sweet messages of 
 affection to her father, which she feared a little to 
 offer without her mother's mediation. 
 
 But when she had a son, and when Hyde agreed 
 to the boy being named George, she wrote a letter to 
 him. Jons found it one April morning on his desk, 
 and it happened to come in a happy hour. He had been 
 working in his garden, and every plant and flower 
 had brought his Katherine pleasantly back to his 
 memory. All the walks were haunted by her image. 
 The fresh breeze of the river was full of her voice 
 and her clear laughter. The returning birds, chat- 
 tering in the trees above him, seemed to ask, 
 " Where, then, is the little one gone ? " 
 
 Her letter, full of love, starred all through with pet 
 words, and wisely reminding him more of their own 
 past happiness than enlarging on her present joy, 
 made his heart melt. He could do no business that 
 day. He felt that he must go home and tell Lys- 
 bet : only the mother could fully understand and 
 share his joy. He found her cleaning the " Guild- 
 i-rhmd cup," the very cup Mrs. Gordon had found 
 Katherine cleaning when she brought the first love 
 message, and took back that fateful token, her bow 
 of orange ribbon. At that moment, Lysbet's 
 thoughts were entirely with Katheriue. She was 
 wondering whether Joris and herself might not 
 some day cross the ocean to see their child. When 
 she heard her husband's step at that early hour, 
 she put down the cup in fear, and stood watching 
 the door for his approach. The first glimpse of his 
 face told her that he was no messenger of sorrow. 
 He gave her the letter with a smile, and then 
 walked up and down while she read it. 
 
 " Well, Joris, a beautiful letter this is. And thou 
 has a grandson of thy. own name, a little Joris. 
 Oh, how I long to see him! I hope that he will
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 167 
 
 grow like thee, so big and handsome as thou art, 
 and also with thy good heart. Oh the little Joris ! 
 Would God he was here ! " 
 
 The face of Joris was happy, and his eyes shin- 
 ing; but he had not yet much to say. He walked 
 about for an hour, and listened to Lysbet, who, as 
 she polished her silver, retold him all that Katberine 
 had said of her husband's love, and of his goodness 
 to her. With great attention he listened to her de- 
 scription of the renovated house and garden, and of 
 Hyde's purposes with regard to the estate. Then he 
 sat down and smoked his pipe, and after dinner he 
 returned to his pipe and his meditation. Lysbet 
 wondered what he was considering, and hoped that 
 it might be a letter of full forgiveness for her be- 
 loved Katherine. 
 
 At last he rose and went into the garden ; and 
 she watched him wander from bed to bed, and stand 
 looking down at the green shoots of the early 
 flowers, and the lovely inverted urns of the brave 
 snowdrops. To the river and back again, several 
 times he walked ; but about three o'clock he came 
 into the house with a firm, quick step, and, not rind- 
 ing Lysbet in the sitting-room, called her cheerily. 
 She was in their room up-stairs, and he went to 
 her. 
 
 " Lysbet, thinking I have been, thinking of 
 Katherine's marriage. Better than I expected, it 
 has turned out." 
 
 "I think that Katherine has made a good mar- 
 riage, the best marriage of all the children." 
 
 "Dost thou believe that her husband is so kind 
 and so prudent as she says ? " 
 
 "No doubt I have." 
 
 " See, then : I will send Katherine her portion. 
 Cohen will give me the order on Secor's Bank in 
 ThreadneedSe Street. It is for her and her children. 
 Can I trust them with it ? " 
 
 " Katherine is no waster, and full of nobleness is 
 her husband. Write thou to him, and put it in his 
 charge for Katherine and her children. And tell 
 him in his honor thou trust entirely ; and I think
 
 168 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 that he will do in all things right. Nothing has he 
 asked of thee." 
 
 " To the devil he sent my dirty guilders, made in 
 dirty trade. I have not forgot." 
 
 " Joris, the Devil speaks for a man in a passion. 
 Keep no such words in thy memory." 
 
 "Lysbet ?" 
 
 "What then, Joris?" 
 
 " The drinking-cup of silver, which my father 
 gave us at our marriage, the great silver one that 
 has on it the view of Middleburg, and the arms of 
 the city. It was given to my great-grandfather 
 when he was mayor of Middleburg. His name, also, 
 was Joris. To my grandson shall I send it ? " 
 
 " Oh, my Joris, much pleasure would thou give 
 Katherine and me also! Let the little fellow have 
 it. Earl of Dorset and Hyde he may be yet." 
 
 Joris blushed vividly, but he answered, " Mayor 
 of New York he may be yet. That will please me 
 best." 
 
 " Five grandsons hast thou, but this is the first 
 Joris. Anna has two sons, but for his dead brothers 
 Kysbaack named them. Cornelia has two sons ; but 
 for thee they called neither, because Van Dora's 
 father is called Joris, and with him they are great 
 unfriends. And, when Joanna's son was born, they 
 called him Peter, because Batavius hath a rich uncle 
 called Peter, who may pay for the name. So, then, 
 Katherine's son is the first of thy grand-children 
 that has thy name. The dear little Joris! He has 
 blue eyes too ; eyes like thine, she says. Yes, I would 
 to him give the Middleburg cup. William New- 
 man the jeweler will pack it safely, and by the next 
 ship thou can send it to the bankers thou spoke of. 
 I will tell Katherine so. But thou, too, write her a 
 letter ; for little she will think of her fortune or of 
 the cup, if thy love thou send not with them." 
 
 And Joris had done all that he proposed, and 
 done it without one grudging thought or doubting 
 w r ord. The cup went, full of good-will. The money 
 was given as Katherine's right, and was hampered 
 with no restrictions but the wishes of Joris, left to
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 169 
 
 the honor of Hyde. And Hyde was not indifferent 
 to such noble trust. He fully determined to de- 
 serve it. As for Katherine, she desired no greater 
 pleasure than to emphasize her reliance in her hus- 
 band by leaving the money absolutely at his discre- 
 tion. In fact, she felt a far greater interest in the 
 Middleburg cup. It had always been an object of 
 her admiration and desire. She believed her son 
 would be proud to point it out and say, " It came 
 from my mother's ancestor, who was mayor of Mid- 
 dleburg, when that famous city ruled in the East 
 India trade, and compelled all vessels with spice and 
 wines and oils to come to the crane of Middleburg, 
 there to be verified and gauged." She longed to re- 
 ceive this gift. She had resolved to put it between 
 the baby fingers of little Jpris as soon as it arrived. 
 " A grand christening-cup it will be," she exclaimed, 
 with childlike enthusiasm ; and Hyde kissed her, 
 and promised to send it at once by a trusty mes- 
 senger. 
 
 He was a little amused by her enthusiasm. The 
 Hydes had much plate, old and new, and they were 
 proud of its beauty and excellence, and well aware 
 of its worth ; but they were not able to judge of the 
 value of flagons and cups and servers gathered 
 slowly through many generations, every one rep- 
 resenting some human drama of love or suffering, 
 or some deed of national significance. Nearly all 
 of Joris Van Heemskirk's silver was "stored:" it 
 was the materialization of honor and patriotism, of 
 self-denial or charity; and the silversmith's and en- 
 
 f raver's work was the least part of the Van Heems- 
 irk pride in it. 
 
 As Joris sat smoking that night, he thought over 
 his proposal ; and then for the first time it struck 
 him that the Middleburg cup might have a peculiar 
 significance and value to Bram. It cost him an 
 effort to put his vague suspicions into words, be- 
 cause by doing so he seemed to give shape and sub- 
 stance to shadows ; but when Lysbet sat down with 
 a little sigh of content beside'him, and said, "A 
 happy night is this to us, Joris," he answered,.
 
 170 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " God is good ; always better to us than we trust him 
 for. I want to say now what I have been consider- 
 ing the last hour, some other cup we will send to 
 the little Joris, for I think Bram will like to have 
 the Midclleburg cup best of all." 
 
 " Always Bram has been promised the Guilderland 
 cup and the server that goes with it." 
 
 " That is the truth ; but I will tell you something, 
 Lysbet. The Middleburg cup was given by the 
 Jews of Middleburg to my ancestor because great 
 favors and protection he gave them when he was 
 mayor of the city. Bram is ver}' often with Miriam 
 Cohen, and " 
 
 Then Joris stopped, and Lysbet waited anxiously 
 for him to finish the sentence; but he only puffed, 
 puffed, and looked thoughtfully at the bowl of his 
 pipe. 
 
 " What mean you, Joris ? " 
 
 " I think that he loves her." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " That he would like to marry her." 
 
 " Many things that are impossible, man would like 
 to do : that is most impossible of all." 
 
 " You think so ? " 
 
 " I am sure of it." 
 
 " Not impossible was it for Katherine to marry one 
 not of her own race." 
 
 " In my mind it is not race so much as faith. Far 
 more than race, faith claims." 
 
 " Hyde is a Lutheran." 
 
 " A Lutheran may also be a Christian, I hope, 
 Joris." 
 
 "I judge no man, Lysbet. I have known Jews 
 that were better Christians than some baptized in 
 the name of Christ and John Calvin, Jews who, 
 like the great Jew, loved God, and did to their 
 fellow-creatures as they wished to be done by. And 
 if you had ever seen Miriam Cohen, you would not 
 make a wonder that Bram loves her." 
 
 "Is she so fair? " 
 
 " A beautiful face and gracious ways she has. 
 Like her, the beloved Rachel must have been, I
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 171 
 
 think. Why do you not stand with Bram as you 
 stood with Katherine ? " 
 
 " Little use it would be, Joris. To give consent in 
 this matter, would be a sacrifice refused. Be sure 
 that Cohen will not listen to Bram ; no, nor to you, 
 nor to me, nor to Miriam. If it come to a question 
 of race, more proud is the Jew of his race than even 
 the Englishman or the Dutchman. If it come to a 
 question of faith, if all the other faiths in the world 
 die out, the Jew will hold to his own. Say to Bram, 
 ' I am willing ; ' and Cohen will say to him, ' Never, 
 never will I consent.' If you keep the ' Jew's cup ' 
 for Bram and Miriam, always you will keep it ; yes, 
 and they that live after you, too." 
 
 Why it is that certain trains of thought and feel- 
 ing move to their end at the same hour, though that 
 end affect a variety of persons, no one has yet ex- 
 plained. But there are undoubtedly currents of 
 sympathy of whose nature and movements we are 
 profoundly ignorant. Thus how often we think of 
 an event just before some decisive action relating to 
 it is made known to us! How often do we recall 
 some friend just as we are about to see or hear from 
 him ! How often do we remember something that 
 ought to be done, just at the last moment its suc- 
 cessful accomplishment was possible to us! 
 
 And at the very hour Joris and Lysbet were dis- 
 cussing the position of their son with regard to 
 Miriam Cohen, the question was being definitely 
 settled at another point. For Joris was not the only 
 person who had observed Bram's devotion to the 
 beautiful Jewess. Cohen had watched him with 
 close and cautious jealousy for many months ; but 
 he was far too wise to stimulate love by opposition, 
 and he did not believe in half measures. When he 
 defined Miriam's duty to her, he meant it to be in 
 such shape as precluded argument or uncertainty ; 
 and for this purpose delaj r was necessary. Much 
 correspondence with England had to take place, and 
 the mails were then irregular. But it happened, 
 that, after some months of negotiation, a final and 
 satisfactory letter had come to him by the same post
 
 172 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 as brought Katherine's letter to Joris Van Heems- 
 kirk. 
 
 He read its contents with a sad satisfaction, and 
 then locked it away until the evening hours secured 
 him from business interruption. Then he went to 
 his grandchild. He found her sitting quietly among 
 the cushions of a low couch. It seemed as if 
 Miriam's thoughts were generally sufficient for her 
 pleasure, for she was rarely busy. She had always 
 time to sit and talk, or to sit and be silent. And 
 Cohen liked best to see her thus, beautiful and 
 calm, with small hands dropped or folded, and eyes 
 half shut, and mouth closed, but ready to smile and 
 dimple if he decided to speak to her. 
 
 She looked so pretty and happy and careless, that 
 for some time he did not like to break the spell of 
 her restful beauty. Nor did he until his pipe was 
 quite finished, and he had looked carefully over the 
 notes in his " day-book." Then he said in slow, even 
 tones, "My child, listen to me. This summer my 
 young kinsman Judah Belasco will come here. He 
 comes to marry you. You will be a happy wife, my 
 dear. He has moneys, and he has the power to make 
 moneys ; and he is a good young man. I have been 
 cautious concerning that, my dear." 
 
 There was a long pause. He did not hurry her, 
 but sat patiently waiting, with his eyes fixed upon 
 the book in his hand. 
 
 " I do not want to marry, grandfather. I am so 
 young. I do not know Judah Belasco." 
 
 " You shall have time, my dear. It is part of the 
 agreement that he shall now live in New York. He 
 is a rich young man, my dear. He is of the sephar~ 
 dim, as you are too, my dear. You must marry in 
 your own caste ; for we are of unmixed blood, faith- 
 ful children of the tribe of Judah. All of our 
 brethren here are Ashkenazem : therefore, I have had 
 no rest until I got a husband fit for you, my dear. 
 This was my duty, though I brought him from the 
 end of the earth. It has cost me moneys, but I gave 
 cheerfully. The thing is finished now, when you 
 are ready. But you shall not be hurried, my dear."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 173 
 
 " Father, I have been a good daughter. Do not 
 make me leave you." 
 
 " You have been good, and you will be good 
 always. What is the command ? " 
 
 ' Honor thy father and thy mother." 
 
 ' And the promise ? " 
 
 ' Then long shall by thy days on the earth." 
 
 ' And the vow you made, Miriam ? " 
 
 ' That I would never disobey or deceive you." 
 
 * Who have you vowed to ? " 
 
 ' The God of Israel." 
 
 ' Will you lie unto him ? " 
 
 ' I would give my life first." 
 
 ' Now is the time to fulfil your vow. Put from 
 your heart or fancy any other young man. Have you 
 not thought of our neighbor, Bram Van Heems- 
 kirk?" 
 
 " He is good ; he is handsome. I fear he loves 
 me." 
 
 " You know not any thing. If you choose a hus- 
 band, or even a shoe, by their appearance, both may 
 pinch you, my dear. Judah is of good stock. Of a 
 good tree you may expect good fruit." 
 
 " Bram Van Heemskirk is also the son of a good 
 father. Many times you have said it." 
 
 *' Yes, I have said it. But Bram is not of our peo- 
 ple. And if our law forbid us to sow different seeds 
 at the same time in the same ground, or to graft one 
 kind of fruit-tree on the stock of another, shall we 
 dare to mingle ourselves with people alien in race 
 and faith, and speech and customs ? My dear, will 
 you take vour own way, or will YOU obey the word 
 of the Lord ? " 
 
 " My way cannot stand before his way." 
 
 "It is a hard thing for you, my dear. Your way 
 is sweet to you. Offer it as a sacrifice; bind the 
 sacrifice, even with cords, to the altar, if it be neces- 
 sary. I mean, say to Bram Van Heemskirk words 
 that you cannot unsay. Then there will be only one 
 sorrow. It is hope and fear, and fear and hope, that 
 make the heart sick. Be kind, and slay, hope at 
 once, my dear."
 
 174 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " If Judah had been my own choice, father " 
 
 " Choice ? My dear, when did you get wisdom ? 
 Do not parents choose for their children their food,- 
 dress, friends, and teachers ? What folly to do these 
 things, and then leave them in the most serious 
 question of life to their own wisdom, or want of wis- 
 dom! Choice! Eemember Van Heemskirk's daugh- 
 ter, and the sin and suffering her own choice cause d . " 
 
 " I think it was not her fault if two men quarreled 
 and fought about her." 
 
 "She was not wholly innocent. Miriam, make me 
 not to remember the past. My eyes are old now : 
 they should not weep any more. I have drunk my 
 cup of sorrow to the lees. O Miriam, Miriam, do 
 not fill it again! " 
 
 " God forbid ! My father, I will keep the promise 
 that I made you. I will do all that you wish." 
 
 Cohen bowed his head solemnly, and remained for 
 some minutes afterward motionless. His eyes were 
 closed, his face was as still as a painted face. 
 Whether he was praying or remembering, Miriam 
 knew not. But solitude is the first cry of the 
 wounded heart, and she went away into it. She was 
 like a child that had been smitten, and whom there 
 was none to comfort. But she never thought of dis- 
 puting her grandfather's word, or of opposing his 
 will. Often before he had been obliged to give her 
 some bitter cup, or some disappointment; but her 
 good had. always been the end in view. She had 
 perfect faith in his love and wisdom. But she suf- 
 fered very much ; though she bore it with that un- 
 complaining patience which is so characteristic of 
 the child heart, a patience pathetic in its resigna- 
 tion, and sublime in its obedience. 
 
 And it was during this hour of trial to Miriam, 
 that Joris was talking to Lysbet of her. It did him 
 good to put his fears into words, for Lysbet's assur- 
 ances were comfortable ; and as it had been a day 
 full of feeling, he was weary, and went earlier to his 
 room than usual. On the contrary, Lysbet was very 
 wakeful. She carried her sewing to the candle, and 
 sat down for an hour's work. The house was op-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 175 
 
 pressively still ; and she could not help remembering 
 the days when it had been so different, when Anna 
 and Cornelia had been marriageable women, and 
 Joanna and Katherine growing girls. All of them 
 had now gone away from her. Only Bram was left, 
 and she thought of him with great anxiety. Such a 
 marriage as his father had hinted at filled her with 
 alarm. She could neither conquer her prejudices 
 nor put away her fears ; and she tormented herself 
 with imagining, in the event of such a misfortune, 
 all the disagreeable and disapproving things the 
 members of the Middle Kirk would have to say. 
 
 In the midst of her reflections, Bram returned. 
 She had not expected him so early, but the sound of 
 his feet was pleasant. He came in slowly; and, 
 after some pottering, irritating delays, he pushed 
 his father's chair back from the light, and with a 
 heavy sigh sat down in it. 
 
 " Why sigh you so heavy, Bram ? Every sigh still 
 lower sinks the heart." 
 
 " A light heart I shall never have again, mother." 
 
 "You talk some foolishness. A young man like 
 you ! A quarrel with your sweetheart, is it ? Well, 
 it will be over as quick as a rainy day. Then the 
 sunshine again." 
 
 "For me there is no hope like that. So quiet and 
 shy was my love." 
 
 "Oh, indeed! Of all the coquettes, the quiet, shy 
 ones are the worst." 
 
 " No coquette is Miriam Cohen. My love life is at 
 the end, mother." 
 
 " When began it, Bram ? " 
 
 " It was at the time of the duel. I loved her from> 
 the first moment. O mother, mother! " 
 
 " Does she not love you, Bram ? " 
 
 "I think so: many sweet hours we have had 
 together. My heart was full of hope." 
 
 " Her faith, Bram, should have kept you prudent.'*' 
 
 " 'In what church do you pray ? ' Love asks not 
 such a question. And, as for her race, I thought a 
 daughter of Israel is the beloved of all the daughters- 
 of God. A blessing to my house she will bring."
 
 176 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " That is not what the world says, Bram. No, my 
 son. It is thus, and like it : that God is angry with 
 his people, and for that he has scattered them 
 through all the nations of the earth." 
 
 "Such folly is that! To colonize, to ' take posses- 
 sion ' of the whole earth, is what the men of Israel 
 have always intended. Long before the Christ was 
 born in Bethlehem, the Jews were scattered through- 
 out every known country. I will say that to the 
 dominie. It is the truth, and he cannot deny it." 
 
 "But surely God is angry with them." 
 
 " I see it not. If once he was angry, long ago he 
 has forgiven his people. ' To the third and fourth 
 generation ' only is his anger. His own limit that 
 is. Who have such blessings ? The gold and the 
 wine and the fruit of all lands are theirs. Their in- 
 crease comes when all others' fail. God is not angry 
 -with them. The light of his smile is on the face of 
 Miriam. He teaches her father how to traffic and to 
 prosper. Do not the Holy Scriptures say that the 
 blessing, not the anger, of the Lord maketh rich ? " 
 
 "Well, then, my son, all this is little to the pur- 
 pose, if she will not have thee for her husband. But 
 be not easy to lose thy heart. Try once more." 
 
 " Useless it would be. Miriam is not one of those 
 who say * no ' and then ' yes.' " 
 
 " Nearly two years you have known her. That 
 was long to keep you in hope,and doubt. I think 
 she is a coquette." 
 
 " You know her not, mother. Very few words of 
 love have I dared to say. We have been friends. I 
 was happy U> stand in the store and talk to Cohen, 
 and watch her. A glance from her eyes, a pleasant 
 word, was enough. I feared to lose all by asking too 
 much." 
 
 "Then, why did you ask her to-night? It would 
 have been better had your father spoken first to Mr. 
 Cohen." 
 
 " I did not ask Miriam to-night. She spared me 
 all she could. She was in the store as I passed, and 
 I went in. This is what she said to me, 'Bram, 
 dear Bram, I fear that you begin to love me, be-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 177 
 
 cause I think of you very often. And my grand- 
 father has just told me that I am promised to Judah 
 Belasco of London. In the summer he will come 
 here, and I shall marry him.' I wish, mother, you 
 could have seen her leaning against the black kas; 
 for between it and her black dress, her face was 
 white as death, and beautiful and pitiful as an an- 
 gel's." 
 
 " What said you then ? " 
 
 " Oh, I scarce know! But I told her how dearly I 
 loved her, and I asked her to be my wife." 
 
 " And she said what to thee ? " 
 
 " ' My father I must obey. Though he told me to 
 slay myself, I must obey him. By the God of Israel, 
 I have promised it often.' " 
 
 " Was that all, Bram ? " 
 
 " I asked her again and again, I said, 'Only in 
 this one thing, Miriam, and all our lives after it we 
 will give to him.' But she answered, ' Obedience is 
 better than sacrifice, Bram. That is what our law 
 teaches. Though I could give my father the wealth 
 and the power of King Solomon, it would be worth 
 less than my obedience.' And for all my pleading, 
 at the last it was the same, ' I cannot do wrong; for 
 many right deeds will not undo one wrong one. 1 So 
 she gave me her hands, and I kissed them, my 
 first and last kiss, and I bade her farewell; for my 
 hope is over, I know that." 
 
 "She is a good girl. I wish that you had won 
 her, Bram." And Lysbet put down her work and 
 went to her son's side; and \vith a great sob Bram 
 laid his head against her breast. 
 
 " As one whom his mother comforteth! " Oh, ten- 
 der and wonderful consolation! It is the mother 
 that turns the bitter waters of life into wine. Bram 
 talked his sorrow over to his mother's love and 
 pity and sympathy; and when she parted with him, 
 long after the midnight, she said cheerfully, " Thou 
 hast a brave soul, mljn zoon, mijn Bram; and this 
 trouble is not all for thy loss and grief. A sweet 
 memory will this beautiful Miriam be as long as 
 thou livest; and to have loved well a good woman, 
 will make thee always a better man for it."
 
 178 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 LONDON LIFE. 
 
 "The town's a golden, but a fatal, circle, 
 Upon whose magic skirts a thousand devils, 
 In crystal forms, sit tempting Innocence, 
 And beckoning Virtue from its centre." 
 
 Lee. 
 
 "Where Vice not only has usurped the place, 
 But the reward, and even the name, of Virtue." 
 
 THE trusting, generous letter which Joris had 
 written to his son-in-law arrived a few days before 
 Hyde's departure for London. With every decent 
 show of pleasure and gratitude, he said, " It is an 
 unexpected piece of good fortune, Katherine. and 
 the interest of five thousand pounds will keep Hyde 
 Manor up in a fine style. As for the principal, we 
 will leave it at Secor's until it can be invested in 
 land. What say you ? " 
 
 Katherine was quite satisfied ; for, though natur- 
 ally careful of all put under her own hands, she was 
 at heart very far from being either selfish or merce- 
 nary. In fact, the silver cup was at that hour of 
 more real interest to her. It would be a part of her 
 old home in her new home. It was connected with 
 her life memories, and it made a portion of her 
 future hopes and dreams. There was also some- 
 thing more tangible about it than about the bit of 
 paper certifying to five thousand pounds in her 
 name at Secor's Bank. 
 
 But Hyde knew well the importance of Catherine's 
 fortune. It enabled him to face his relatives and 
 friends on a very much better footing than he had 
 anticipated. He was quite aware, too, that the 
 simple fact was all that society needed. He expected 
 to hear in a few days that the five thousand pounds 
 had become fifty thousand pounds ; for he knew that 
 rumor, when on the boast, would magnify any kind 
 of gossip, favorable or unfavorable. So he was no 
 longer averse to meeting his former companions: 
 even to them, a rich wife would excuse matrimony.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 179 
 
 And, besides, Hyde was one of those men who re- 
 gard money in the bank as a kind of good con- 
 science : he really felt morally five thousand pounds 
 the better. Full of hope and happiness, he would 
 have gone at a pace to suit his mood ; but English 
 roads at that date were left very much to nature and 
 to weather, and the Norfolk clay in springtime was 
 so deep and heavy that it was not until the third 
 day after leaving that he was able to report for 
 duty. 
 
 His first social visit was paid to his maternal 
 grandmother, the dowager Lady Capel. She was 
 not a nice old woman ; in fact, she was a very spite- 
 ful, ill-hearted, ill-tempered old woman, and Hyde 
 had always had a certain fear of her. When he 
 lauded in London with his wife, Lady Capel had 
 fortunately been at Bath; and he had then escaped 
 the duty of presenting Katherine to her. But she 
 was now at her mansion in Berkeley Square, and 
 her claims upon his attention could not be post- 
 poned ; and, as she had neither eyes nor ears in the 
 evenings for any thing but loo or whist, Hyde knew 
 that a conciliatory visit would have to be made in 
 the early part of the day. 
 
 He found her in the most careless dishabille, wig- 
 less and unpainted, and rolled up comfortably in an 
 old wadded morning-gown that had seen years of 
 snuffy service. But she had outlived her vanity. 
 Hyde had chosen the very hour in which she had 
 nothing whatever to amuse her, and he was a very 
 welcome interruption. And, upon the whole, she 
 liked her grandson. She had paid his gambling- 
 debts twice, she had taken the greatest interest in 
 his various duels, and sided passionately with him 
 in one abortive love-affair. 
 
 " Dick is no milksop," she would say approvingly, 
 when told of any of his escapades; "faith, he has 
 my spirit exactly ! I have a great deal more temper 
 than any one would believe me capable of," which 
 was not the truth, for there were few people who 
 really knew her ladyship who ever felt inclined to 
 doubt her capabilities in that direction.
 
 180 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBOX. 
 
 So she heard the rattle of Hyde's sword, and the 
 clatter of his feet on the polished stairs, with a good 
 deal of satisfaction. " I have him here, and I shall 
 do my best to keep him here," she thought. " Why 
 should a proper young fellow like Dick bury himself 
 alive in the fens for a Dutchwoman ? In short, she 
 has had enough, and too much, of him. His grand- 
 mother has a prior claim, I hope, and then Arabella 
 Suffolk will help me. I foresee mischief and amuse- 
 ment. Well, Dick, you rascal, so you have had to 
 leave America! I expected it. Oh, sir, I have 
 heard all about you from Adelaide ! You are not to 
 be trusted, either among men or women. And pray 
 where is the wife you made such a fracas about. Is 
 she in London with you ? " 
 
 " No, madam : she preferred to remain at Hyde, 
 and I have no happiness beyond her desire." 
 
 " Here's flame ! Here's constancy ! And you have 
 been married a whole year! I am struck with 
 admiration." 
 
 "A whole year, a year of divine happiness, I 
 assure you." 
 
 " Lord, sir! You will be the laughing-stock of the 
 town if you talk in such fashion. They will have 
 you in the play-houses. Pray let us forget our 
 domestic joys a little. I hear, however, that your 
 divinity is rich." 
 
 "She is not poor; though if 
 
 "Though if she had been a beggar-girl you would 
 have married her, rags and all. Swear to that, Dick, 
 especially when she brings you fifty thousand 
 pounds. I'm very much obliged to her: you can 
 hardly, for shame, put your fingers in my poor purse 
 now, sir. And you can make a good figure in the 
 world ; and as your cousin Arabella Suffolk is stay- 
 ing with me, you will be the properest gallant for her 
 when Sir Thomas is at the House." 
 
 "I am at yours and cousin Arabella's service, 
 grandmother." 
 
 "Exactly so, captain; only no more quarreling 
 and fighting. Learn your catechism, or Dr. Watts, 
 or somebody. Remember that we have now a bishop
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 181 
 
 in the family. And I am getting old, and want to be 
 at peace with the whole world, if you will let me." 
 
 Hyde laughed merrily. "Why, grandmother, 
 such advice from you ! I don't trust it. There never 
 was a more perfect hater than yourself." 
 
 " I know, Dick. I used to say, ' Lord, this person 
 is so bad, and that person is so bad, I hate them! ' 
 But at last I found out that every one was bad : so I 
 hate nobody. One cannot take a sword and run the 
 whole town through. I have seen some very relig- 
 ious people lately; and you will find me very 
 serious, and much improved. Come and go as you 
 
 E lease, Dick: Arabella and you can be perfectly 
 appy, I dare say, without minding me." 
 
 " What is the town doing now ? " 
 
 "Oh, balls and dances and weddings and other 
 follies! Thank the moon, men and women never 
 get weary of these things ! " 
 
 " Then you have not ceased to enjoy them, I hope." 
 
 " I still take my share. Old fools will hobble after 
 young ones. I ride a little, and visit a little, and 
 have small societies quite to my taste. And I have 
 my four kings and aces ; that is saying every thing. 
 I want you to go to all the diversions, Dick; and 
 pray tell me what they say of me behind my back. 
 I like to know how much I annoy people." 
 
 "I shall not listen to any thing unflattering, I 
 assure you." 
 
 " La, Dick, you can't fight a rout of women and 
 men about your grandmother! I don't want you to 
 fight, not even if they talk about Arabella and you. 
 It is none of their business ; and, as for Sir Thomas 
 Suffolk, he hears nothing outside the House, and he 
 thinks every Whig in England is watching him, a 
 pompous old fool! " 
 
 "Oh, indeed! I had an idea that he was a very 
 merry fellow." 
 
 " Merry, forsooth ! He was never known to laugh. 
 There is a report that he once condescended to 
 smile, but it was at chess. As for fighting, he 
 wouldn't fight a dog that bit him. He is too 
 patriotic to deprive his country of his own abilities.
 
 182 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 No, Dick : I really do not see any quarrel ahead, 
 unle.^ you make it." 
 
 " I shall think of my Kate when I am passionate, 
 and so keep the peace." 
 
 " ' I shall think of my Kate.' Grant me patience 
 with all young husbands. They ought to remain in 
 seclusion until the wedding-fever is over. By the 
 Lord Harry! If Jack Capel had spoken of me in 
 such fashion, I would have given him the best of 
 reasons for running some pretty fellow through the 
 heart. Hush! Here comes Arabella, and I am 
 anxious you should make a figure in her eyes." 
 
 Arabella came in very quietly, but she seemed to 
 take possession of the room as she entered it. She 
 had a bright, piquant face, a tall, graceful form, and 
 that air of high fashion which is perhaps quite as 
 captivating. 
 
 She was " delighted to meet cousin Dick. Oh, 
 indeed, you have been the town talk!" she said, 
 with an air of attention very flattering. "Such a 
 passionate encounter was never heard of. The clubs 
 were engaged with it for a week. I was told that 
 Lord Paget and Sir Henry Dutton came near fight- 
 ing it over themselves. Was it really about a bow 
 of orange ribbon ? And did you wear it over your 
 heart? And did the Scotchman cut it off with his 
 sword ? And did you run him through the next 
 moment! There were the most extraordinary 
 accounts of the affair, and of the little girl with the 
 unpronounceable Dutch name who " 
 
 " Who is now my wife, Lady Suffolk." 
 * " Certainly, we heard of that also. How romantic ! 
 The secret marriage, the midnight elopement, and 
 the man-of-war waiting down the river with a 
 broadside ready for any boat that attempted to stop 
 you." 
 
 "Oh, my lady, that is the completest nonsense! " 
 
 "Say 'cousin Arabella,' if you please. Has not 
 grandmother told you that I, not the Dutch girl, 
 ought to have been your wife ? It was all arranged 
 years ago, sir. You have disappointed grandmother ; 
 as for me, I have consoled myself with Sir Thomas."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 183 
 
 "Yes, indeed," said Lady Capel; "though Dick 
 was entirely out of the secret of the match, my son 
 Will and I had agreed upon it. I don't know what 
 Will thinks of a younger son like Dick choosing 
 for himself." 
 
 Then Arabella made Hyde a pretty, mocking cour- 
 tesy, and he could not help looking with some inter- 
 est at the woman who might have been his wife. 
 The best of men, and the best of husbands, are 
 liable to speculate a little, under such circum- 
 stances, and in fancy to put themselves into a posi- 
 tion they have probably no wish in reality to fill. - 
 She noticed his air of consideration ; and, with a toss 
 of her handsome head, she spread out all her finery. 
 "You see," she said, "I am dressed so as to make 
 a tearing show." She wore a white poudesoy gown, 
 embroidered with gold, and the prettiest high-heeled 
 satin slippers, and a head-dress of wonderful work- 
 manship. " For I have been at a concert of music, 
 cousin Dick, and heard two overtures of Mr. Han- 
 del's, and a sonata by Corella, done by the very best 
 hands." 
 
 "And, pray, whom did you see there, my dear? 
 and what were they talking about ? " 
 
 " Of all people, grandmother, I saw Lady Susan 
 Eye and the rest of her sort; and they talked of 
 nothing but the coming mask at Kanelagh's. Cousin, 
 I bespeak you for my service. I am going as a 
 gypsy, for it will give me the opportunity of telling 
 the truth. In my own character, I rarely do it: 
 nothing is so impolite. But I have a prodigious 
 regard for truth ; and at a mask I give myself the 
 pleasure of saying all the disagreeable things that I 
 owe to my acquaintances." 
 
 Katherine was almost ignored ; and Hyde did not 
 feel any desire to bring even her name into such a 
 mocking, jeering, perfectly heartless conversation. 
 He was content to laugh, and let the hour go past in 
 such flim-flams of criticism and persiflage. He re- 
 membered when he had been one of the units in such 
 a life, and he wondered if it were possible that he 
 could ever drift back into it. For even as he sat
 
 184 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 there, with the memory of his wife and child in his 
 heart, he felt the light charm of Lady Arabella's 
 claim upon him, and all the fascination of that gay, 
 thoughtless animal life, which appeals so strongly 
 to the selfish instincts and appetites of youth. 
 
 He had a plate of roast hare and a goblet of wine, 
 and the ladies had chocolate and rout cakes ; and he 
 ate and drank, and laughed, and enjoyed their 
 
 bright, ill-natured pleasantly, as men enjoy such 
 piquant morsels. Thus a couple of hours passed ; 
 and then it became evident, from the pawing and 
 snorting outside, that Mephisto's patience was quite 
 exhausted. Hyde went to the window, and looked 
 into the square. His orderly was vainly endeavor- 
 ing to soothe the restless animal; and he said, 
 "Mephisto will take no excuse, cousin, and I find 
 myself obliged to leave you." But he went away in 
 an excitement of hope and gay anticipations ; and, 
 with a sharp rebuke to the unruly animal, he vaulted 
 into the saddle with soldierly grace and rapidity. 
 A momentary glance upward showed him Lady 
 Capel and Lady Suffolk at the window, watching 
 him ; the withered old woman in her soiled wrap- 
 pings, the youthful beauty in all the braver} 7 of her 
 white and gold poudesoy. In spite of Mephisto's 
 opposition, he made them a salute; and then, in a 
 clamor of clattering hoofs, he dashed through the 
 square. 
 
 "That is the man you ought to have married, Ara- 
 bella," said Lady Capel, as she watched the young 
 face at her side, which had suddenly become pensive 
 and dreamy : " you would have been a couple for 
 the world to look at.!' 
 
 "Oh, indeed, you are mistaken, grandmother! 
 Sir Thomas is an admirable husband, blind and 
 deaf to all I do, as a good husband ought to be. 
 And as for Dick, look at him, bowing and smiling, 
 and ready to dp me any service, while the girl he 
 nearly died for is quite forgotten." 
 
 "Upon my word, you wrong Dick. His love for 
 that woman is beyond every thing. I wish it wasn't. 
 What right had she to come into our family, and
 
 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 185 
 
 spoil plans and projects made before she was born. 
 I should dearly love, to play her her own card back. 
 And I must say, Arabella, that you seem to care 
 very little about your own wrongs." 
 
 "Oh, I am by no means certified that the woman 
 has wronged me! I don't think I should have 
 loved Dick, in any case." 
 
 "Ha!" Lady Capel looked in her grand-daugh- 
 ter's musing face, and then, with a chuckle, hob- 
 bled to the bell and rang for her maid. "You are 
 very prudent, child, but I am not one that any 
 woman can deceive. I know all the tricks of the 
 sex. Oh, heavens! what a grand thing to be two 
 and twenty, with a kind husband to manage, and 
 lovers bowing and begging at your shoe-ties ! Well, 
 well, I had my day ; and, thank the fools, I did some 
 mischief in it! Yes, there were eight duels fought 
 for me; and, while Somers and Scrope were wetting 
 their swords in the quarrel, I w r as dancing with Jack 
 Capel. Jack told me that night he would make me 
 marry him ; and, when I slapped his cheek with my 
 fan, he took my hands in a rage, and swore I should 
 do it that hour. And, faith, he mastered me ! Your 
 grandfather Capel had a dreadful temper, Arabella." 
 
 " I have heard that Cousin Dick Hyde has a tem- 
 per too." 
 
 " Dick is vain ; and you can make a vain man 
 stand on his head, or go down on his knees, if you 
 only vow that he performs the antics better than 
 any other human creature. The town will fling 
 itself at Dick Hyde's feet, and Dick will fling him- 
 self at yours. Mind what I say: my prophecies 
 always come true, Arabella, for I never expect sin- 
 ners to be saints, my dear." 
 
 And during the next six months Lady Capel found 
 plenty of opportunities for complimenting herself 
 upon her own penetration. Society made an idol of 
 Capt. Hyde; and, if he was not at Lady Arabella's 
 feet, he was certainly very constantly at her side. 
 As to his marriage, it was a topic of constant doubt 
 and dispute. The clubs betted on the subject. In 
 the ball-rooms and the concert-rooms, the ladies
 
 186 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 positively denied it; and Lady Arabella's smile and 
 shrug were of all opinions the most unsatisfactory 
 and bewildering. Some, indeed, admitted the mar- 
 riage, but averred, with a meaning emphasis, that 
 madam was on the proper side of the Atlantic. 
 Others were certain that Hyde had brought his wife 
 to England, but felt himself obliged, on account of 
 her great beauty, to keep her away from the con- 
 queriug heroes of London society. It was a signifi- 
 cant index to Hyde's real character, that not one of 
 his associates ever dared to be familiar enough to 
 ask him for the truth on a question so delicately 
 personal. 
 
 "Hyde is exactly the man to invite me to meet 
 him in Marylebone Fields for the answer," said a 
 young officer, who had been urged to make inquiries 
 because he was on familiar terms with his comrade. 
 "If it comes to a matter of catechism, gentlemen, 
 I'll bet ten to one that none of you ask him two con- 
 secutive questions regarding the American lady." 
 
 And perhaps many husbands may be able to un- 
 derstand a fact, which to the general world seems 
 beyond satisfactory explanation. Hyde loved his 
 wife, loved her tenderly and constantly; he felt him- 
 self to be a better man whenever he thought of her 
 and his little son, and he thought of them very fre- 
 quently; and yet his eyes, his actions, the tones of 
 his voice, daily led his cousin. Lady Suffolk, to im- 
 agine herself the empress of his heart and life. Xor 
 was it to her alone that he permitted this affectation 
 of love. He found beauty, wherever he met it, pro- 
 vocative of the same apparent devotion. There were 
 a dozen men in his own circle who hated him with 
 all the sincerity that jealousy gives to dislike and 
 envy ; there were a score of women who believed 
 themselves to have private tokens of Hyde's special 
 admiration for them. 
 
 Unfortunately, his military duties were only on 
 very rare occasions any restraint to him. His days 
 were mainly spent in dangling after Lady Suffolk and 
 other fair dames. It was auctions at Christie's, and 
 morning concerts, and afternoon rides and plays,
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 187 
 
 and dinners and balls and masks at Banelagh's. It 
 was sails down the river to Bichmond, and trips to 
 Sadler's Wells, and one perpetual round of flirting 
 and folly, of dressing and dancing and dining and 
 gaming. 
 
 And it must be remembered that the English wo- 
 men of that day were such as England may well 
 hope never to see again. They had little education: 
 many very great ladies could hardly read and spell 
 properly. Their sole accomplishments were dress- 
 ing and embroidery; the ability to make a few deli- 
 cate dishes for the table, and scents and pomade for 
 the toilet. In the higher classes they married for 
 money or position, and gave themselves up^to in- 
 trigue. They drank deeply ; they played high ; they 
 very seldom went to church, for Sunday was the 
 fashionable day for all kinds of frivolity and amuse- 
 ment. And as the men of any generation are just 
 what the women make them, England never had 
 sons so profligate, so profane and drunken. The 
 clubs, especially Brooke's, were the nightly scenes 
 of indescribable orgies. Gambling was their serious 
 occupation ; duels were of constant occurrence. 
 
 Such a life could not be lived except at frightful 
 and generally ruinous expense. Hyde was soon em- 
 barrassed. His pay was small and uncertain ; and 
 the allowance which his brother William added 
 to it, in order that the heir-apparent to the earldom 
 might live in becoming style, had not been calcu- 
 lated on the squandering basis of Hyde's expendi- 
 tures. Toward Christmas bills began to pour in, 
 creditors became importunate, and, for the first time 
 in his life, creditors really troubled him. Lady 
 Capel was not likely to pay his debts any more. The 
 earl, in settling Hyde's American obligations, had 
 warned him against incurring others, and had 
 frankly told him he would permit him to go to jail 
 rather than pay such wicked and foolish bills for him 
 again. The income from Hyde Manor had never 
 been more than was required for the expenses of the 
 place ; and the interest on Katherine's money had 
 gone, though he could not tell how. He was desti-
 
 188 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 tute of ready cash, and he foresaw that he would have 
 to borrow some from Lady Capel or some other ac- 
 commodating friend. 
 
 He returned to barracks one Sunday afternoon, 
 and was moodily thinking over these things, when 
 his orderly brought him a letter which had ar- 
 rived during his absence. It was from Katherine. 
 His face flushed with delight as he read it, so sweet 
 and tender and pure was the neat epistle. He com- 
 pared it mentally with some of the shameless scented 
 billet-doux he was in the habit of receiving; and he 
 felt as if his hands were unworthy to touch the ^hite 
 wings of his Katherine's most womanly, wifely mes- 
 sage. -"She wants to see me. Oh the dear one! 
 Not more than I want to see her. Fool, villian, that 
 I am : I will go to her. Katherine ! Kate ! My dear 
 little Kate! " So he ejaculated as he paced his nar- 
 row quarters, and tried to arrange his plans for a 
 Christmas visit to his wife and child. 
 
 First he went to his colonel's lodging, and easily 
 obtained two weeks' absence ; then he dressed care- 
 fully, and went to his club for dinner. He had de- 
 termined to ask Lady Capel for a hundred pounds ; 
 and he thought it would be the best plan to make 
 his request when she was surrounded by company, 
 and under the pleasurable excitement of a winning 
 rubber. And if the circumstances proved adverse, 
 then he could try his fortune jn the hours of her 
 morning retirement. 
 
 The mansion in Berkely Square was brilliantly 
 lighted when he approached it. Chairs and coaches 
 were waiting in lines of three deep; coachmen and 
 footmen quarreling, shouting, talking; link-boys 
 running here and there in search of lost articles or 
 missing servants. But the hubbub did not at that 
 time make his blood run quicker, or give any light of 
 expectation to his countenance ; for his heart and 
 thoughts were near a hundred miles away. 
 
 Sunday night was Lady Capel's great card-night, 
 and the rooms were full of tables surrounded by 
 powdered and painted beauties intent upon the game 
 and the gold. The odor of musk was everywhere,
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 189 
 
 and the sound of the tapping of gold snuff-boxes, 
 and the fluttering of fans, and the sharp, technical 
 calls of the gamesters, and the hollow laughter of 
 hollow hearts. There was a hired singing-girl with 
 a lute at one end of the room, babbling of Cupid and 
 Daphne, and green meadow and larks. But she was 
 poorly dressed and indifferent looking ; and she sang 
 with a sad, mechanical air, as if her thoughts were 
 far off. Hyde would have passed her without a 
 glance ; but, as he approached, she broke her love- 
 ditty in two, and began to sing, with a meaning look 
 at him, 
 
 " They say there is a happy land, 
 
 Where husbands never prove untrue ; 
 Where lovely maids may give their hearts, 
 
 And never need the gift to rue : 
 Where men can make and keep a vow, 
 
 And wives are never in despair. 
 I'm very fond of seeing sights, 
 
 Pray tell me, how can I get there ? " 
 
 The question seemed so directly addressed to Hyde 
 that he hesitated a moment, and looked, at the girl, 
 who then with a mocking smile continued, 
 
 " They say there really is a land, 
 
 Where husbands never are untrue, 
 Where wives are always beautiful, 
 
 And the old love is always new. 
 I've asked the wise to tell me how 
 
 A loving woman could get there ; 
 And this is what they say to me, 
 ' If you that happy land would see, 
 
 There's only one way to get there: 
 Go straight along the crooked lane, 
 
 And all around the square.' " 
 
 The scornful little song followed him, and con- 
 veyed a certain meaning to his mind. The girl 
 must have taken her cue from the gossip of those 
 who passed her to any fro. He burned with indig- 
 nation, not for herself, but for his sweet, pure Kath- 
 erine. He was determined that the world should in 
 the future know that he held her peerless among
 
 190 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 women. In this half-aggressive mood he ap- 
 proached Lady Capel. She had been unfortunate 
 all the evening, and was not amiable. As he stood 
 behind her chair, Lord Leffham asked, 
 
 " What think you, Hyde, of a party at picquet ! " 
 
 " Oh, indeed, my lord, you are too much for me! " 
 
 "I will give you three points." Then, calling a 
 footman, "Here, fellow, get cards." 
 
 Lady Capel flung her own down. "No, no, Leff- 
 ham. Spare my grandson : there are bigger fish 
 here. Dick, I am angry at you. I have a mind to 
 banish you for a month." 
 
 " I am going to Norfolk for two weeks, madam." 
 
 "That will do. It is a worse punishment than I 
 should have given you. Norfolk ! There is only one 
 word between it and the plantations. At this time 
 of the year, it is a clay pudding full of villages. 
 Give me your arm, Dick : I shall play no more until 
 my luck turns. Losing cards are dull company." 
 
 "I am very sorry that you have been losing. I 
 came to ask for the loan of a hundred pounds, 
 grandmother." 
 
 "No, sir, I will not lend you a hundred pounds; 
 nor am I in the humor to do anything else you 
 desire." 
 
 " I make my apology for the request. I ought to 
 have asked Katherine." 
 
 " No, sir, you ought not to have asked Katherine. 
 You ought to take what you want. Jack Capel took 
 every shilling of my fortune and neither said, 'by 
 your leave,' nor ' thank you.' Did the Dutchman tie 
 the bag too close ? " 
 
 "Councillor Van Heemskirk left it open, in my 
 honor. When I am scoundrel enough to touch it, 
 I shall not come and see you at all, grandmother." 
 
 " Upon my word, a very pretty compliment ! Well, 
 sir, I'll pay you a hundred pounds for it. When do 
 you start?" 
 
 " To-morrow morning." 
 
 " Make it afternoon, and take care of me as far as 
 your aunt Julia's. The duke is of the royal bed- 
 chamber this month, and I am going to see my
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 191 
 
 daughter while he is away. It will make him su- 
 premely wretched at court to know that I am in his 
 house. So I am going there, and I shall take care 
 he knows it." 
 
 " I have heard a great deal of his new house." 
 
 "A play-house kind of affair, Dick, I assure you, 
 all in the French style ; gods and goddesses above 
 your head, and very badly dressed nymphs all 
 around, and his pedigree on every window, and his 
 coat-of-arms on the very stairs. I have the greatest 
 satisfaction in treading upon them, I assure you." 
 
 " Why do you take the trouble to go ? It can give 
 you no pleasure." 
 
 " Imagine the true state of things, Dick. The 
 duke is at court, say he is holding the royal gold 
 wash-basin; but in the very sunshine of King 
 George's smile, he is thinking, ' That snuffy old 
 woman is lounging in my white and gilt satin chairs, 
 and handling all my Chinese curiosities, and asking 
 if every hideous Hindoo idol is a fresh likeness of me.' 
 I am always willing to take some trouble to give 
 pleasure to the people I like ; I will gladly go to any 
 amount of trouble to annoy the people I hate as cor- 
 dially as I hate my good, rich, noble son-in-law, the . 
 great Duke of Exmouth." 
 
 " Will you play again ? " 
 
 " No : I lost seventy pounds to-night." 
 
 " I protest, grandmother, that such high stakes 
 go not with amusement. People come here, not for 
 civility, but for the chance of money." 
 
 "Very well, sir. Money! It is the only excuse 
 for card-playing. All the rest is sinning without 
 temptation. But, Dick, put on the black coat to 
 preach in, why do they wear black to preach in ? 
 and I am not in a humor for a sermon. Come, to- 
 morrow at one o'clock : we shall reach Julia's before 
 dinner. And I dare say you want money to-night. 
 Here are the keys of my desk. In the right-hand 
 drawer are some rouleaus of fifty pounds each. 
 Take two." 
 
 The weather, as Lady Capel said, was " so very 
 Decemberish " that the roads were passably good,
 
 192 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 being frozen dry and hard ; and on the evening of 
 the third day Hyde carne in sight of his home. His 
 heart warmed to the lonely place ; and the few lights 
 in its windows beckoned him far more pleasantly 
 than the brilliant illuminations of Vauxhall or Al- 
 macks, or even the cold splendors of royal recep- 
 tions. He had given Katherine no warning of his 
 visit, partly because he had a superstitious feeling 
 about talking of expected joys (he had noticed that 
 when he did so they vanished beyond his grasp) ; 
 partly because love, like destiny, loves surprises; 
 and he wanted to see with his own eyes, and hear 
 with his own ears, the glad tokens of her happy 
 wonder. 
 
 So he rode his horse upon the turf, and, seeing a 
 light in the stable, carried him there at once. It 
 was just about the hour of the evening meal, and 
 the house was brighter than it would have been a 
 little later. The kitchen fire threw great lustres 
 across the brick-paved yard ; and the blinds in 
 Katherine's parlor were undrawn, and its fire and 
 candle light shone on the freshly laid tea-table, and 
 the dark walls gleaming with bunches of holly and 
 mistletoe. But she was not there. He only glanced 
 inside the room, and then, with a smile on his face, 
 went swiftly up-stairs. He had noticed the light in 
 the upper windows, and he knew where he would 
 find his wife. Before he reached the nursery, he 
 heard Katherine's voice. The door was a little open, 
 and be could see every part of the charming domes- 
 tic scene within the room. A middle-aged woman 
 was quietly putting to rights the sweet disorder in- 
 cident to the undressing of the baby. Katherine 
 had played with it until they were both a little 
 flushed and weary; and she was softly singing to 
 the drowsy child at her breast. 
 
 It was a very singular, chiming melody, and the 
 low, sweet, tripping syllables were in a language 
 quite unknown to him. But he thought he had never 
 heard music half so sweet and tender; and he lis- 
 tened to it, and watched the drowsy, swaying move- 
 ments of the mother, with a strange delight,
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 193 
 
 11 Trip a trop a tronies' 
 De varkens in de boonjes, 
 De keojes in de klaver, 
 De paardeen in de haver, 
 De eenjes in de waterplass, 
 So groot mijn kleine Joris wass." * 
 
 Over and over, softer and slower, went the mel- 
 ody. It was evident that the boy was asleep, and 
 that Katherine was going to lay him in his cradle. 
 He watched her do it; watched* her gently tuck in 
 the cover, and stand a moment to look down at the 
 child. Then with a face full of love she turned 
 away, smiling, and quite unconsciously came toward 
 him on tiptoes. With his face beaming, with his 
 arms opened, he entered; but with such a sympa- 
 thetic understanding of the sweet need of silence 
 and restraint, that there was no alarm, no outcry, 
 no fuss or amazement. Only a whispered " Kather- 
 ine," and the swift rapture of meeting hearts and 
 lips. 
 
 CHAPTEKXIII. . 
 
 THE TURN OF THE TIDE. 
 
 "Death asks for no man's leave, 
 But lifts the latch, and enters, and sits down." 
 
 4i Each hour brought her its sunny task, its busy hope." 
 
 " The faults of love by love are justified." 
 " It takes two to tell a lie, one to speak, and the other to listen." 
 
 THE great events of most lives occur in epochs. A 
 certain period is marked by a succession of import- 
 ant changes ; but that tide of fortune, be it good or 
 ill, culminates, recedes, goes quite out, and leaves 
 
 * Mrs. Vanderbilt of Flatbush says this was the common lullaby 
 In all the Dutch settlements on the Hudson. A free translation is, 
 that the mother's knee is for a little child a little throne, where he 
 can be as happy as pigs in beans, or cows in clover, or horses 
 among oats, or ducks in the water.
 
 194 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 life on a level beach of commonplaces. Then, sooner 
 or later, the current of affairs turns again ; some- 
 times with a calm, irresistible flow, sometimes in a 
 tidal wave of sudden and overwhelming strength. 
 After Hyde's and Katherine's marriage, there was a 
 long era noticeable only for such vicissitudes as 
 were incident to their fortune and position. But in 
 May, A. D. 1774, the first murmur of the returning 
 tide of destiny was heard. Not but what there had 
 been for long some vague and general expectation 
 of momentous events, which would touch many in- 
 dividual lives; but, this May night, a singular 
 prescience of change made Hyde restless and impa- 
 tient. 
 
 It was a dull, drizzling evening; and there was an 
 air of depression in the city, to which he was unus- 
 ually sensitive. For the trouble between England 
 and her American Colonies was rapidly culminating ; 
 and party feeling ran high, not only among civilians, 
 but throughout the royal regiments. Recently, also, 
 a petition had been laid before the king from the 
 Americans then resident in London, praying him 
 not to send troops to coerce his subjects in America ; 
 and, when Hyde entered his club, some members 
 were engaged in an angry altercation on this sub- 
 ject. 
 
 " The petition was flung upon the table, as it 
 ought to have been," said Lord Pa'get. 
 
 "You are right," replied Mr. Hervey: "they 
 ought to petition no longer. They ought now to re- 
 sist. Mr. Dunning said in the House last night that 
 the tone of the Government to the Colonies was, 
 'Resist, and we will cut your throats; acquiesce, 
 and we will tax you.' " 
 
 " A kind of ' stand and deliver' government," re- 
 marked Hyde, whistling softly. 
 
 Lord Paget turned upon him with hardly con- 
 cealed anger. "Captain, you, sir, wear the king's 
 livery." 
 
 "I give the king my service: my thoughts are 
 my own. And, faith, Lord Paget, it is my humor 
 to utter them when and how I please! "
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 195 
 
 " Patience, gentlemen," returned Mr. Hervey. 
 " I think, my lord, we may follow our leaders. The 
 Duke of Eichmond spoke warmly for Boston last 
 night. ' The Bostonians are punished without a 
 hearing,' he said; 'and, if they resist punishment, 
 I wish them success.' Are they not Englishmen, 
 and many of them born on English soil ? When 
 have Englishmen submitted to oppression ? Neither 
 king, lords, nor commons can take away the rights 
 of the people. It is past a doubt, too, that his 
 Majesty, at the levee last night, laughed when he 
 said he would just as lief fight the Bostonians as 
 the French. I heard this speech was received with 
 a dead silence, and that great offence was given by 
 
 " I think the king was right," said Paget passion- 
 ately. " Rebellious subjects are worse than open 
 enemies like the French." 
 
 " My lord, you must excuse me if I do not agree 
 with your opinions. Was the king right to give a 
 government to the Canadians at this precise time ? 
 What can his Protestant North American subjects 
 think, but that he designs the hundred thousand 
 Catholics of Canada against their liberties? It is 
 intolerable; and the king was mobbed this after- 
 noon in the park, on the matter. As for the bishops 
 who voted the Canada bill, they ought to be un- 
 frocked." 
 
 " Mr. Hervey, I beg to remind you that my uncle, 
 who is of the see of St. Cuthbert, voted for it." 
 
 "Oh, it is notorious that all the English bishops, 
 excepting only Dr. Shipley, voted for war with 
 America ! I hear that they anticipate an hierarchy 
 there when the country is conquered. And the fight 
 has begun at home, for Parliament is dissolved on 
 the subject." 
 
 "It died in the Roman-Catholic faith," laughed 
 Hyde, " and left us a rebellion for a legacy." 
 
 " Capt. Hyde, you are a traitor." 
 
 " Lord Paget, I deny it. My loyalty does not 
 compel me to swear by all the follies and crimes of 
 the Government. My sword is my country's ; but I
 
 196 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 would not, for twenty kings, draw it against my 
 own countrymen," then with a meaning glance at 
 Lord Paget, and an emphatic touch of his weapon, 
 " except in my own private quarrel. And, if this 
 be treason, let the king look to it. He will find such 
 treason in every regiment in England. They say 
 he is going to hire Hessians : he will need them for 
 his American business, for he has no prerogative to 
 force Englishmen to murder Englishmen." 
 
 " I would advise you to be more prudent, Capt. 
 Hyde, if it is in your power." 
 
 " I would advise you to mind your own affairs, 
 Lord Paget." 
 
 " It is said that you married an American." 
 
 " If you are perfectly in your senses, my lord, 
 leave my affairs alone." 
 
 "For my part, I never believed it; and now that 
 Lady Suffolk is a widow, with revenues, possibly 
 you may" 
 
 "Ah, you are jealous, I perceive!" and Hyde 
 laughed scornfully, and turned on his heel as if to 
 go up-stairs. 
 
 Lord Paget , followed, and laid his hand upon 
 Hyde's arm. 
 
 "Hands off, my lord. Hands off all that belongs 
 to me. And I advise you also to cease your imper- 
 tinent attentions to my cousin Lady Suffolk." 
 
 "Gentlemen," said Mr. Hervey, " this is no time 
 for private quarrels; and, captain, here is a fellow 
 with a note for you. It is my Lady Capel's footman, 
 and he says he comes in urgent speed." 
 
 Hyde glanced at the message. " It is a last com- 
 mand, Mr. Hervey ; and I must beg you to say what 
 is proper for my honor to Lord Paget. Lady Capel 
 is at the death-point, and to her requests I am first 
 bounden." 
 
 It was raining hard when he left the club, a most 
 dreary night in the city. The coach rattled through 
 the muday streets, and brought, as it went along, 
 many a bored, heavy countenance to the steaming 
 windows, to watch and to wonder at its pace. Lady 
 CJapel had been death-stricken while at whist, and
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 197 
 
 she had not been removed from the parlor in which 
 she had been playing her last game: She was 
 stretched upon a sofa in the midst of the deserted 
 tables, yet covered with scattered cards and half- 
 emptied tea-cups. Only Lady Suffolk and a physi- 
 cian were with her ; though the corridor was full of 
 terrified, curious servants, not unkindly gloating 
 over such a bit of sensation in their prosaic lives. 
 
 At this hour it was evident, that, above every 
 thing in the world, the old lady had loved the wild, 
 extravagant grandson, whose debts she had paid 
 over and over, whom she had for years alternately 
 petted and scolded. 
 
 "O Dick," she whispered, "I've got to die! We 
 all have. I've had a good time, Dick." 
 
 " Shall I go for cousin Harold ? I can bring him 
 in an hour." 
 
 "No, no. I want no priests; no better than we 
 are, Dick. Harold is a proud sinner; Lord, what a 
 proud sinner he is ! " Then, with a glint of her usual 
 temper, "He'd snub the twelve apostles if he met 
 them without mitres. No priests, Dick. It is you I 
 want. I have left you eight thousand pounds, all 
 I could save, Dick. Every thing goes back to Wil- 
 liam now; but the eight thousand pounds is yours. 
 Arabella is witness to it. Dick, Dick, you will think 
 of me sometimes ? " 
 
 And Hyde kissed her fondly. Ugly, heartless, sin- 
 ful, she might be to others ; but to him she had been 
 a double mother. "I'll never forget you," he an- 
 swered, "never, grandmother." 
 
 " I know what the town will say : ' Well, well, old 
 Lady Capel has gone to her deserts at last.' Don't 
 mind them, Dick. Let them talk. They will have 
 to go too: it's the old round, meat and mirth, and 
 then to bed a long sleep." 
 
 "Grandmother?" 
 
 "I hear you, Dick. Good-night." 
 
 " Is there any thing yon want done ? Think, dear 
 grandmother." 
 
 " Don't let Exmouth come to my funeral. I don't 
 want him grinning over my coffin."
 
 198 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " Any other thing ? " 
 
 " Put me beside Jack Capel. I wonder if I shall 
 seek Jack." A shadow, gray and swift, passed 
 over her face. Her eyes flashed one piteous look into 
 Hyde's eves, and then closed forever. 
 
 And while in the rainy, dreary London twilight 
 Lady Capel was dying, Katherine was in the garden 
 at Hyde Manor, watching the planting of seeds that 
 were in a few weeks to be living things of beauty 
 and sweetness. It had ceased raining at noon in 
 Norfolk ; and the gravel walks were perfectly dry, 
 and the air full of the fragrance of innumerable 
 violets. All the level land was wearing buttercups. 
 Full of secrets, of fluttering wings, and building 
 nests were the trees. In the apple-blooms the bees 
 were humming, delirious with de*light. From the 
 beehives came the peculiar and exquisite odor of 
 virgin wax. Somewhere near, also, the gurgle of 
 running water spread an air of freshness all around. 
 
 And Katherine, with a little basket full of flower- 
 seeds, was going with the gardener from bed to bed, 
 watching him plant them. No one who had seen 
 her in the childlike loveliness of her early girlhood 
 could have imagined the splendor of her matured 
 beauty. She had grown " divinely tall," and the 
 exercise of undisputed authority had added a gra- 
 cious stateliness of manner. Her complexion was 
 wonderful, her large blue eyes shining with tender 
 lights, her face full of sympathetic revelations. 
 Above all, she had that nameless charm which comes 
 from a freedom from all anxious thought for the 
 morrow; that charm of which the sweet secret is 
 
 generally lost after the twentieth summer. Her 
 asket of seeds was clasped to her side within the 
 hollow of her left arm, and with her right hand she 
 lifted a long petticoat of quilted blue satin. Above 
 this garment she wore a gown of wood-colored 
 taffeta, sprigged with rose-buds, and a stomacher of 
 fine lace to match the deep rufflings on her elbow- 
 sleeves. 
 
 Little Joris was with his mother, running hither 
 and thither, as his eager spirits led him ; now paus-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 199 
 
 ing to watch her drop from her white fingers the 
 precious seed into its prepared bed, anon darting 
 after some fancied joy among the pyramidal yews, 
 and dusky treillages, and cradle walks of holly and 
 privit. For, as Sir Thomas S waff ham said, " Hyde 
 garden looked just as if brought from Holland;" 
 and especially so in the spring, when it was ablaze 
 with gorgeous tulips and hyacinths. 
 
 She had heard much of Lady Capel, and she had 
 a certain tenderness for the old woman who loved 
 her husband so truly ; but no thought of her entered 
 into Katheriue's mind that calm evening hour. 
 Neither had she any presentiment of sorrow. Her 
 soul was happy and untroubled, and she lingered in 
 the sweet place until the tender touch of gray twi- 
 light was over fen and field. Then her maid, with a 
 manner full of pleasant excitement, came to her, and 
 said, 
 
 " Here be a London peddler, madam ; and he do 
 have all the latest fashions, and the news of the king 
 and the Americans.** 
 
 Now, for many reasons, the advent of a London 
 peddler was a great and pleasant event at the Manor 
 House. Katharine had that delightful and excus- 
 able womanly foible, a. love of fine clothing; and 
 shops for its sale were very rare, even in towns of 
 considerable size. It was from packmen and hawk- 
 ers that fine ladies bought their laces and ribbons 
 and gloves ; their precious toilet and hair pins, their 
 paints and powders, and India scarfs, and fans, and 
 even jewelry. These hawkers were also .the great 
 news-bearers to the lonely halls and granges and 
 farmhouses; and they were everywhere sure of a 
 welcome, and of such entertainment as they re- 
 quired. Generally each peddler had his recognized 
 route and regular customers; but occasionally a 
 strange dealei called, and such, having unfamiliar 
 wares, was doubly welcome. "Is it Parkins, Let- 
 tice ? " asked Katherine, as she turned with interest 
 toward the house. 
 
 "No, ma'am, it isn't Parkins; and I do think as 
 the man never showed a face in Hyde before ; but he 
 do say that he has a miracle of fine things."
 
 200 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 In a few minutes he was exhibiting them to Kath- 
 erine, and she was too much interested in the wares 
 to notice their merchant particularly. Indeed, he 
 had one of those faces which reveal nothing ; a face 
 flat, hard, secret as a wall, wrinkled as an old ban- 
 ner. He was a hale, thick-set man, dressed in 
 breeches of corduroy, and a sleeved waistcoat down 
 to his knees of the same material. His fur cap was 
 on the carpet beside his pack ; and he had a fluent 
 tongue in praise of his wares, as he hung his silks 
 over Lettice's outstretched arm, or arranged the 
 scarfs across her shoulders. 
 
 There was a slow but mutually satisfactory ex- 
 change of goods and money ; and then the peddler 
 began to repack his treasures, and Lettice to carry 
 away the pretty trifles and the piece of satin her 
 mistress had bought. Then, also, he found time to 
 talk, to take out the last newspapers, and to describe 
 the popular dissatisfaction at the stupid tyranny of 
 the Government toward the Colonies. For either 
 from information, or by some process rapid as in- 
 stinct, he understood to which side Katherine's 
 sympathies went. 
 
 * " Here be the ' Flying Postman,' madam, with the 
 great speech of Mr. Burke in it about the port of 
 Boston; but it won't do a mossel o' good, madam, 
 though he do tell 'em to keep their hands out o' the 
 Americans' pockets." 
 
 " The port of Boston ? " 
 
 "See you, madam, they are a-going to shut the 
 port o' Boston, and make Salem the place of entry ; 
 that's to punish the Bostonians ; and Mr. Burke, he 
 says, 'The House has been told that Salem is only 
 seventeen miles from Boston ; but justice is not an 
 idea of geography, and the Americans are condemned 
 without being heard. Yet the universal custom, on 
 any alteration of charters, is to hear the parties at 
 the bar of the House. Now, the question is, are the 
 Americans to be heard, or not, before the charter 
 is broken for our convenience. . . . The Boston bill 
 is a diabolical bill.'" 
 
 He read aloud this bit of Mr. Burke's fiery elo-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 201 
 
 quence, in a high, droning voice, and would, accord- 
 ing to his custom, have continued the entertain- 
 ment; but Katherine, preferring to use her own in- 
 telligence, borrowed the paper and was about to 
 leave the room with it, when he suddenly remembered 
 a scarf of great beauty which he had not shown. 
 
 " I bought it for my Lady Suffolk," he said ; " but 
 Lord Suffolk died sudden, and black my lady had to 
 wear. It's forrin, madam ; and here it is, the very 
 color of affradiles. But mayhap, as it is candle- 
 teening, you'd like to wait till the day comes again." 
 
 A singular look of speculation came into Kath- 
 erine's face. She examined the scarf without delay ; 
 and, as she fingered the delicate silk, she led the man 
 on to talk of Lady Suffolk, though, indeed, he 
 scarcely needed the stimulus of questioning. With- 
 out regard as to whether Katherine was taking any 
 interest or not in his information, he detailed with 
 hurried avidity the town talk that had clung to her 
 reputation for" so many years ; and he so fully de- 
 scribed the handsome cavalry officer that was her 
 devoted attendant, that Katherine could have had 
 no difficulty in recognizing her husband, even with- 
 out the clews which her own knowledge of the parties 
 gave her. 
 
 She stood in the gray light by the window, finger- 
 ing the delicate satin, and listening. The peddler 
 glanced from his goods to her face, and talked 
 rapidly, .interloping bits of news about the court and 
 the fashions ; but going always back to Lady Suffolk 
 and her lover, and what was likely to take place now 
 that Lord Suffolk was out of the way. "Though 
 there's them that do say the captain has a comely 
 wife hid up in the country." 
 
 Suddenly she turned and faced the stooping man : 
 " Your scarf take : I will not have it. No, and I will 
 not have any thing that I have bought from you. 
 All of the goods you shall receive back; and my 
 money, give it to me. You are no honest ha\vker : 
 you are a bad man, who have come here for a bad 
 woman. You know that of my husband you have 
 been talking I mean lying. You know that this is
 
 2U2 THE BOW OF ORANGE EIBBOX. 
 
 his house, and that his true .wife am I. Not one 
 more word shall you speak. Lettice, bring here all 
 the goods I bought from this man ; poisoned may be 
 the unguents and scents and gloves. Of such things 
 I have heard." 
 
 She had spoken with an angry rapidity that for the 
 moment confounded the stranger; but at this point 
 he lifted himself with an insolent air, and said, 
 " The goods be bought and paid for, madam; and, 
 in faith, I will not buy them back again." 
 
 " In faith, then, I will send for Sir Thomas S waff- 
 ham. A magistrate is he, and Capt. Hyde's friend. 
 Not one penny of my money shall you have ; for, in- 
 deed, your goods I will not wear." * 
 
 She pointed then to the various articles which Let- 
 tice had brought back ; and, with the shrug of a man 
 who accepts the inevitable, he replaced them in his 
 pack, and then ostentatiously counted back the 
 money Katherine had given him. She examined 
 every coin, and returned a crown. " My piece this 
 is not. It may be false. I will have the one I gave 
 to you. Lettice, bring here water in a bowl ; let the 
 silver and gold lay in it until morning.'* And, turn- 
 ing to the peddler, " Your cap take from the floor, and 
 go." 
 
 "Surely, madam, you be not so cruel as to turn 
 me on the fens, and it a dark night. There be bogs 
 all about j and how the road d lay for the next 
 house, I know not." 
 
 " The joad to my house you could find ; well, then, 
 you can find the road back to the woman who sent 
 you here. With my servants you shall not sit ; under 
 my roof you shall not stay." 
 
 " I have no mind to go." . 
 
 " See you the mastiff at my feet ? I advise you 
 stir him not up, for death is in his jaw. To the gate, 
 and with good haste ! In one half-hour the kennels 
 I will have opened. If then within my boundaries 
 you are, it is at your life's peril." 
 
 She spoke without passion and without hurry or 
 alarm ; but there was no mistaking the purpose in 
 her white, resolute face and fearless attitude. And
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 203 
 
 the peddler took in the situation very quickly ; for the 
 dog was already watching him with eyes of fiery 
 suspicion, and an occasional deep growl was either 
 a note of warning to his mistress, or of defiance to 
 the intruder. With an evil glance at the beautiful, 
 disdainful woman standing over him, the peddler rose 
 and left the house; Katherine and the dog so closely 
 following, that the man, stooping under his heavy 
 burden, heard her light footsteps and the mastiff's 
 heavy breathing close at his heels, until he passed 
 the large gates and found himself on the dark fen, 
 with just half an hour to get clear of a precinct he 
 had made so dangerous to himself. 
 
 For, when he remembered Katherine's face, he 
 muttered, "There isn't a mossel o' doubt but what 
 she'll hev the brutes turned loose. Dash it! women 
 do beat all. But I do hev one bit o' comfort, high- 
 to-instep as she js, she's heving a bad time of it now, 
 by herself. . I do think that, for sure." And the 
 reflection gave him some gratification, as he cau- 
 tiously felt his steps forward with his strong staff. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 "Let me not to the marriage of true minds 
 
 Admit impediments : love is not love 
 Which alters when it alteration finds." 
 
 44 There's beggary in the love that can be reckoned." 
 "The end crowns all." 
 
 IN some respects, the peddler's anticipations were 
 correct. Katherine had ' a bad time by herself ' 
 that night ; for evil has this woful prerogative, it 
 can wound the good and the innocent, it can make 
 wretched without provocation and without desert. 
 But, whatever her suffering, it was altogether her
 
 204 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 own. She made no complaint, and she offered no 
 explanation of her singular conduct. Her house- 
 hold, however, had learned to trust her; and the 
 men and women servants, sitting round the kitchen- 
 fire that night, talked over the circumstance, and 
 found its very mystery a greater charm than any 
 possible certainty, however terrible, could have 
 given them. 
 
 "She be a stout-hearted one," said the ostler ad- 
 miringly. " Tony and I a-watched her and the dog 
 a-driying him through the gates. With his bundle 
 on his back, he was a-shuffling along, a-nigh on his 
 all-fours; and the madam at his heels, with her 
 head up in the air, and her eyes a-shining like 
 candles." 
 
 " It would be about the captain he spoke." 
 
 The- remark was ventured by Lettice in a low 
 voice, and the company looked at each other and 
 nodded confidentially. "For the captain was a per- 
 son of great and mysterious importance in the 
 house. All that was done was in obedience to some 
 order received from him. Katherine quoted him 
 continually, granted every favor in his name, made 
 him the authority for every change necessary. His 
 visits were times of holiday, when discipline was re- 
 laxed, and the methodical economy of life at the 
 manor house changed into festival. And Hyde had 
 precisely that dashing manner, that mixture of 
 frankness and authority, which dependents admire. 
 The one place in the whole world where nobody 
 would have believed wrong of Hyde was in Hyde's 
 own home. 
 
 And yet Katherine, in the secrecy of her chamber, 
 felt her heart quake. She had refused to think of 
 the circumstance until after she had made a pre- 
 tense of eating her supper, and had seen little Joris 
 asleep, and dismissed Lettice, with all her accus- 
 tomed deliberation and order. But, oh, how grate- 
 fully she turned the key of her room! How glad 
 she felt to be alone with the fear and the sorroxv that 
 had come to her! For she wanted to face it hon- 
 estly; and as she stood with eyes cast down, and
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 205 
 
 hands clasped behind her back, the calm, resolute 
 spirit of her fathers gathered in her heart, and gave 
 an air of sorrowful purpose to her face and attitude. 
 At that hour she was singularly like Jons Van 
 Heemskirk; and any one familiar with the councillor 
 would have known Katherine to be his daughter. 
 
 Most women are restless when they are in anxiety. 
 Katherine felt motion to be a mental disturbance. 
 She sat down, and remained still as a carven image, 
 thinking over what had been told her. There had 
 been a time when her husband's constant talk of 
 Lady Suffolk had pained her, and when she had 
 been a little jealous of the apparent familiarity 
 which existed in their relations with each other; but 
 Hyde had laughed at her fears, and she had taken a 
 
 ride in putting his word above all her suspicions, 
 he had seen him receive letters which she knew to 
 be from Lady Suffolk. She had seen him read and 
 destroy them without remark. She was aware that 
 many a love-billet from fine ladies followed him to 
 Hyde. But it was in accord with the integrity of 
 her own nature to believe in her husband's faithful- 
 ness. She had made one inquiry on the subject, and 
 his assurance at that time she accepted as a final 
 settlement of all doubts. And if she had needed 
 further evidence, she had found it in his affectionate 
 and constant regard for her, and in his love for his 
 child and his home. 
 
 It was also a part of Katherine's just and upright 
 disposition to make allowances for the life by which 
 her husband was surrounded. She understood that 
 he must often be placed in circumstances of great 
 temptation and suspicion. Hyde had told her that 
 there were necessarily events in his daily experience 
 of which it was better for her to be ignorant. " They 
 belong to it, as my uniform does," he said ; "they 
 are a part of its appearance : but they never touch 
 my feelings, and they never do you a moment's 
 wrong, Katherine." This explanation it had been 
 the duty both of love and of wisdom to accept; and 
 she had done so with a faith which asked for no 
 conviction beyond it.
 
 206 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 And now she was told that for years he had been 
 the lover of another woman ; that her own existence 
 was doubted or denied; that, if it were admitted, it 
 was with a supposition which affected both her own 
 good name and the rights of her child. In those 
 days, America was at the ends of the earth. A war 
 with it was imminent. The Colonies might be con- 
 quered. She knew nothing of international rights, 
 nor what changes such a condition might render 
 possible. Hyde was the probable representative of 
 an ancient noble English family, and its influence 
 was great : if he really wished to annul their mar- 
 riage, perhaps it was in his power to do so. She 
 knew well how greedy rank was of rank and riches, 
 and she could understand that there might be pow- 
 erful family reasons for an alliance which would add 
 Lady Suffolk's wealth to the Hyde earldom. 
 
 She was no craven, and she faced the position in 
 all its cruel bearings. She asked herself, if, even for 
 the sake of her little Joris, she would remain a wife 
 on sufferance, or by the tie of rights which she would 
 have to legally enforce; and then she lifted the 
 candle, ana passed softly into his room to look at 
 him. Though physically like the large, fair, hand- 
 some Yan Heemskirks, little Joris had certain tricks 
 of expression, certain movements and attitudes, 
 which were the very reflection of his father's, the 
 same smile, the same droop of the hair on the fore- 
 head, the same careless toss of the arm upward in 
 sleep. It was the father in the son that answered 
 her at that hour. She slipped down upon her knees 
 by the sleeping boy, and out of the terror and sorrow 
 of her soul spoke to the Fatherhood in heaven. Nay, 
 but she knelt speechless and motionless, and waited 
 until He spoke to her; spoke to her by the sweet, 
 trustful little lips whose lightest touch was dear to 
 her. For the boy suddenly awoke; he flung his 
 arms around her neck, he laid his face close to hers, 
 and said, 
 
 " O mother, beautiful mother, I thought my father 
 was here ! " 
 
 " You have been dreaming, darling Joris."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 207 
 
 " Yes ; I am sorry I have been dreaming. I 
 thought my father was here, my good father, that 
 loves us so much." 
 
 Then, with a happy face, Katherine rose and gave 
 the child cool water, and turned his hot pillow, and 
 with kisses sent him smiling into dreamland again. 
 In those few tender moments all her fears slipped 
 away from her heart. " I will not believe what a 
 bad man says against my husband, against my 
 dear one who is not here to defend himself. Lies, 
 lies ! I will make the denial for him." 
 
 And she kept within the comfort of this spirit, 
 even though Hyde's usual letter was three days be- 
 hind its usual time. Certainly they were hard days. 
 She kept busy ; but she could not swallow a mouth- 
 ful of food, and the sickness and despair that 
 crouched at the threshold of her life made her light- 
 est duties so heavy that it required a constant effort 
 and a constant watchfulness to fulfil them. And 
 yet she kept saying to herself, " All is right. I shall 
 hear in a day or two. There is some change in the 
 service. There is no change in Eichard, none." 
 
 On the fourth day, her trust had its reward. She 
 found then that the delay had been caused by the 
 necessary charge and care of ceremonies which 
 Lady Capel's death forced upon her husband. She 
 had almost a sentiment of gratitude to her, although 
 she was yet ignorant of her bequest of eight thou- 
 sand pounds. For Hyde had resolved to wait until 
 the reading of the will made it certain, and then to 
 resign his commission, and carry the double good 
 news to Katherine himself. Henceforward, they 
 were to be together. He would buy more land, and 
 improve his estate, and live happily, away from the 
 turmoil of the town, and the disagreeable duties of 
 active service in a detestable quarrel. So this pur- 
 pose, though unexpressed, gave a joyous ring to his 
 letter; it was lover-like in its fondness and hopeful- 
 ness, and Katherine thought of Lady Suffolk and 
 her emissary with a contemptuous indifference. 
 
 " My dear one, she intended that I should make 
 miserable with reproaches, and from his own home
 
 208 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 drive him to her home for some consolations ; " and 
 Katherine smiled as she reflected how hopeless such 
 a plan of separation would be. 
 
 Never, perhaps, are we so happy, as when we have 
 just escaped some feared calamity. That letter 
 lifted the last fear from Katherine's heart, and it 
 gave her also the expectation of an early visit. " I 
 am very impatient to see you, my Kate," he wrote ; 
 " and, as early as possible after the funeral, you may 
 expect me." The words rang like music in her 
 heart. She read them aloud to little Joris, and then 
 the whole household warmed to the intelligence. 
 For there was always much pleasant preparation for 
 Hyde's visits, clean rooms to make still cleaner, 
 silver to polish, dainties to cook; every weed to 
 take from the garden, every unnecessary straw from 
 the yards. For the master's eye, every thing must 
 be beautiful. To the master's comfort, every hand 
 was delighted to minister. 
 
 So these last days of May were wonderfully happy 
 ones to -Katherine. The house was in its summer 
 draperies, all its windows open to the garden, 
 which had now not only the freshness of spring, but 
 the richer promise of summer. Katherine was al- 
 ways dressed with extraordinary care and taste. 
 Little Joris was always lingering about the gates 
 which commanded the longest stretch of observa- 
 tion. A joyful " looking forward." was upon every 
 face. 
 
 Alas, these are the unguarded hours which sor- 
 row surprises! But no thought of trouble, and no 
 fear of it, had Katherine, as she stood before her 
 mirror one afternoon. She was watching Lettice 
 arrange the double folds of her gray taffeta gown, so 
 as to display a trifle the high scarlet heels of her 
 morocco slippers, with their scarlet rosettes and 
 small diamond buckles. 
 
 " Too cold a color is gray for me, Lettice: give me 
 those scarlet ribbons for a breast knot;" and as 
 Lettice stood with her head a little on one side, 
 watching her mistress arrange the bright bows at her 
 stomacher, there came a knock at the chamber door.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 209 
 
 " Here be a strange gentleman, madam, to see 
 you ; from London, he do say." 
 
 A startled look came into Katherine's face: she 
 ' dropped the ribbon from her hand, and turned to the 
 servant, who stood twisting a corner of her apron 
 at the front-door. 
 
 " Well, then, Jane, like what is the stranger ? " 
 
 " He be in soldier's dress, madam " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 She asked no further question, but went down- 
 stairs ; and, as the tapping of her heels was heard 
 upon them, Jane lifted her apron to her eyes and 
 whimpered, "I think there be trouble; I do that, 
 Letty." 
 
 " About the master ? " 
 
 " It be like it. And the man rides a gray horse 
 too. Drat the man, to come with news on a gray 
 horse ! It be that unlucky, as no one in their seven 
 senses would do it." 
 
 "For sure it be! When I was a young wench at 
 school " And then, as she folded up the loose 
 ribbons, Letty told a gruesome story of a farmer 
 robbed and murdered ; but, as she came to the part 
 the gray horse played in it, Katherine slowly walked 
 into the room, with a letter in her hand. She was 
 white, even to her lips ; and, with a mournful shake 
 of her head, she motioned to the girls to leave her 
 alone. She put the paper out of her hand, and 
 stood regarding it. Fully ten minutes elapsed ere 
 she gathered strength sufficient to break its well- 
 known seal, and take in the full meaning of words 
 so full of agony to her. 
 
 " It is midnight, beloved Katherine, and in six 
 hours I may be dead. Lord Paget spoke of my 
 cousin to me in such terms as leaves but one way 
 out of the affront. I pray you, if you can, to pardon 
 me. The world will condemn me, my own actions 
 will condemn me ; and yet I vow that you, and you 
 only, have ever had my love. You I shall adore 
 with my last breath. Kate, my Kate, forgive me. 
 If this comes to you by strange hands, I shall be 
 dead or dying. My will and papers of importance
 
 210 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 are in the drawer marked " B " in my escritoire. 
 Kiss my son for me, and take my last hope and 
 thought." 
 
 These words she read, then wrung her hands, and 
 moaned like a creature that had been wounded to 
 death. Oh the shame! Oh the wrong and sorrow! 
 How could she bear it ? What should she do ? Capt. 
 Lennox, who had brought the letter, was waiting 
 for her dicision. If she would go to her husband, 
 then he could rest and return to London at his 
 leisure. If not, Hyde wanted his will, to add a 
 codicil regarding the eight thousand pounds left 
 him by Lady Capel. For he had been wounded in his 
 side; and, a dangerous inflammation having set in, 
 he had been warned of a possible fatal result. 
 
 Katherine was not a rapid thinker. She had little, 
 either, of that instinct which serves some women in- 
 stead of all other prudences. Her actions generally 
 arose from motives clear to her own mind, and of 
 whose wisdom or kindness she had a conviction. 
 But in this hour so many things appealed to her, 
 that she felt helpless and uncertain. The one 
 thought that dominated all others was that her hus- 
 band had fought and fallen for Lady Suffolk. He 
 had risked her happiness and welfare,' he had forgot- 
 ten her and his child, for this woman. It was the 
 sequel to the impertinence of the peddler's visit. She 
 believed at that moment that thle.man had told her 
 the truth. All these years she had been a slighted 
 and deceived woman. 
 
 This idea once admitted, jealousy of the cruellest 
 and most unreasonable kind assailed her. Incidents, 
 words, looks, long forgotten, rushed back upon her 
 memory, and fed the flame. Very likely, if she left 
 her child and went to London, she might find Lady 
 Suffold in attendance on her husband, or at least be 
 compelled for his life's sake to submit to her visits. 
 She pondered this supposition until it brought forth 
 one still more shameful. Perhaps the whole story 
 was a scheme to get her up to London. Perhaps she 
 might disappear there. What, then, would be done 
 to her child ? If Eichard Hyde was so" infatuated
 
 TEE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 211 
 
 with Lady Suffolk, what might he not do to win her 
 and her large fortune ? Even the news of Lady 
 Capel's death was now food for her suspicions. Was 
 she dead, or was the assertion only a part of the con- 
 spiracy ? If she had been dead, Sir Thomas Swaff- 
 ham would have heard of the death; yet she had 
 seen him that morning, and he had made no mention 
 of the circumstance. 
 
 " To London I will not go," she decided. " There 
 is some wicked plan for me. The will and the papers 
 are wanted, that they may be altered to suit it. I 
 will stay here with my child. Even sorrow great as 
 mine is best borne in one's own home." 
 
 She went to the escritoire to get the papers. When 
 she opened the senseless chamber of wood, she 
 found herself in the presence of many a torturing, 
 tender memory. In one compartment there were a 
 number of trout-flies. She remembered the day her 
 husband had made them, a long, rainy, happy day 
 during his last visit. Every time she passed' him, 
 he drew her face down to kiss it. And she could 
 hear little Joris talking about the work, and his 
 father's gay laughter at the child's remarks. In an 
 open slide, "there was a rude picture of a horse. It 
 was the boy's first attempt to draw Mephisto, and it 
 had been carefully put away. The place was full of 
 such appeals. Katherine rarely wept ; but, standing 
 before these mementos, her eyes filled, and with a 
 sob she clasped her hands across them, as if the 
 sight of such tokens from a happy past was intoler- 
 able. 
 
 Drawer B was a large compartment full of papers 
 and of Hyde's personal treasures. Among them 
 was a ring that his father had given him, his 
 mother's last letter, a lock of his son s hair, her own 
 first letter," the shy, anxious note that she wrote 
 to Mrs. Gordon. She looked sadly at these things, 
 and thought how valueless all had become to him at 
 that hour. Then she began to arrange the papers 
 according to their size, and a small sealed parcel 
 slipped from among them. She lifted it, and saw a 
 rhyme in her husband's writing on the outside,
 
 212 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 "Oh, ray love, ray love ! This thy gift I hold 
 More than fame or treasure, more than life or gold." 
 
 It had evidently been sealed within a few months, 
 for it was in a kind of bluish-tinted paper which 
 Hycle bought in Lynn one day during the past 
 winter. She turned it over and over in her hand, 
 and the temptation to see the love-token inside be- 
 came greater every moment. This was a thing her 
 husband had never designed any human eye but his 
 own to see. Whatever revelation there was in it, 
 much or little, would be true. Tortured by doubt 
 and despair, she felt that impulse to rely on' chance 
 for a decision which all have experienced in matters 
 of grave moment, apparently beyond natural eluci- 
 dation. 
 
 "If in this parcel there is some love-pledge from 
 Lady Suffolk, then I go not ; nothing shall make me 
 go. If in it there is no word of her, no message to 
 her or from her; if her name is not there, nor the 
 letters of her name, then I will go to my own. A 
 new love, one not a year old, I can put aside. I will 
 forgive every one but my Lady Suffolk." 
 
 S'o Katherine decided as she broke the seal with 
 firmness and rapidty. The first paper within the 
 cover made her tremble. It was a half sh^et which 
 she had taken one day from Brain's hand, and it 
 had Bram's name across it. On it she had written 
 the first few lines which she had had the right to 
 sign "Katherine Hyde." It was","' indeed, her first 
 "wife" letter; and within it was the precious love- 
 token, her own love-token, the bow of orange ribbon. 
 
 She gave a sharp cry as it fell upon the desk ; and 
 then she lifted and 'kissed it, and held it to her 
 breast, as she rocked herself to and fro in a passion- 
 ate transport of triumphant love. Again and again 
 she fed her eyes upon it. She recalled the night she 
 wore it first, and the touch of her mother's fingers 
 as she fastened it at her throat. She recalled her 
 father's happy smile of proud admiration for her ; the 
 afternoon, next, when she had stood with Joanna at 
 the foot of the garden and seen her lover wearing it 
 on his breast. She remembered what she had heard
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 213 
 
 about the challenge, and the desperate fight, and 
 the intention of Semple's servant to remove the 
 token from her senseless lover's breast, and her 
 father's noble interference. The bit of fateful ribbon 
 had had a strange history, yet she had forgotten it. 
 It was her husband who had carefully sealed it away 
 among the things most precious to his heart and 
 house. It still kept much of its original splendid 
 color, but it was stained down all its length with 
 blood. Nothing that Hyde could have done, no 
 words that he could have said, would have been so 
 potent to move her. 
 
 " I will give it to him again. With my own hands 
 I will give it to him once more. O Richard, my 
 lover, my husband! Now I will hasten to see thee." 
 
 With relays at every post-house, she reached Lon- 
 don the next night, and, weary and terrified, drove 
 at once to the small hostlery where Hyde lay. There 
 was a soldier sitting outside his chamber-door, but 
 the wounded man was quite alone when Katherine 
 entered. She took in at a glance the bare, comfort- 
 less room, scarcely lit by the sputtering rush candle, 
 and the rude bed, and the burning cheeks of the 
 fevered man upon it. 
 
 "Katherine!" he cried; and his voice was as 
 weak and as tearful as that of a troubled child. 
 
 "Here come I, my dear one." 
 
 " I do not deserve it. I have been so wicked, and 
 you my good pure wife." 
 
 "See, then, I have had no temptations, but thou 
 hast lived in the midst of great ones. Then, how 
 natural and how easy was it for thee to do wrong! " 
 
 " Oh, how you love me, Katherine! " 
 
 " God knows." 
 
 " And for this wrong you will not forsake me ? " 
 
 She took from her bosom the St. Nicholas ribbon. 
 " I give it to thee again. At the first time I loved 
 thee ; now, my husband, ten thousand times more I 
 love thee. As I went through the papers, I found it. 
 So much it said to me of thy true love ! Sp sweetly 
 for thee it pleaded ! All that it asks for thee, I give. 
 All that thou hast done wrong to me, it forgives."
 
 214 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 And between their clasped hands it lay, the bit of 
 orange ribbon that had handseled all their happi- 
 ness. 
 
 "It is the promise of every thing I can give thee, 
 my loved one," whispered Katherine. 
 
 "It is the luck of Kichard Hyde. Dearest wife, 
 thou hast given me my life back again." 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 TURNING WESTWARD. 
 
 "Wise men ne'er sit and wail their woes, 
 But presently prevent the ways to wail." 
 
 "Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just; 
 And he but naked, though locked up in steel, 
 Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted." 
 
 "Let determined things to destiny 
 Hold unbewailed their way." 
 
 IT was a hot August afternoon ; and the garden at 
 Hyde Manor was full of scent in all its shady places, 
 hot lavender, seductive carnajum, the secretive 
 intoxication of the large white lilies, and mingling 
 with them the warm smell of ripe fruits from the 
 raspberry hedges, and the apricots and plums turn- 
 ing gold and purple upon the southern walls. 
 
 Hyde sat at an open window, breathing the balmy 
 air, and basking in the light and heat, which really 
 came to him with "healing on their wings." He 
 was pale and wasted from his long sickness; but 
 there was speculation and purpose in his face, and 
 he had evidently cast away the mental apathy of the 
 invalid. As he sat thus, a servant entered and said 
 a few words which made him turn with a glad, ex- 
 pectant manner to the open door; and, as he did so, 
 a man of near sixty years of age passed through it,
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 215 
 
 a handsome, lordly-looking man, who had that 
 striking personal resemblance to Hyde which affec- 
 tionate brothers often have to one another. 
 
 "Faith, William, you are welcome home! I am 
 most glad to see you." 
 
 "Sit still, Dick. You sad rascal, you've been 
 playing with cold steel again, I hear! Can't you let 
 it alone, at your age ? " 
 
 " Why, then, it was my business, as you know, 
 sir. My dear William, how delighted I am to see 
 you!" 
 
 " 'Tis twelve years since we met, Dick. You have 
 been in- America ; I have been everywhere. I con- 
 fess, too, I am amazed to hear of your marriage. 
 And Hyde Manor is a miracle. T expected to find it 
 mouldy and mossy, a haunt for frogs and fever. 
 On the contrary, it is a place of perfect beauty." 
 " And it is all my Katherine's doing." 
 
 " I hear that she is Dutch ; and, beyond a doubt, 
 that people have a genius that develops in low lands. " 
 
 "She is my angel. I am unworthy of her good- 
 ness and beauty. 
 
 "Why, then, Dick, I never saw you before in such 
 a proper mood ; and I may .s well tell you, while 
 you are in it, that I have also found a treasure past 
 belief of the same kind. In fact, Dick, I am married, 
 and have two sons." 
 
 There was a moment's profound silence, and an 
 * inexplicable shadow passed rapidly over Hyde's face ; 
 but it was fleeting as a thought, and, ere the pause 
 became strained and painful, he turned to his brother 
 and said, " I am glad, William. With all my heart, 
 I am glad." 
 
 "Indeed, Dick, when Emily Capel died, I was sin- 
 cere in my purpose never to marry; and I looked 
 upon you always as the future earl, until one night 
 in Rome, in a moment, the thing was altered." 
 
 "I can understand that, William." 
 
 " I was married very quietly, and have been in 
 Italy ever since. Only four days have elapsed since 
 I returned to England. My first inquiries were 
 about you."
 
 216 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 ''I pray you, do not believe all that my enemies 
 will say of me." 
 
 " Among other things, I was told that you had left 
 the army." 
 
 "That is exactly true. When I heard that Lord 
 Percy's regiment "was designed for America, and 
 against the Americans, I put it out of the king's 
 power to send me on such a business." 
 
 "Indeed, I think the Americans have been ill- 
 used ; and I find the town in a great commotion 
 upon the matter. The night I landed, there had 
 come bad news from New York. The people of that 
 city have burned effigies of Lord North and Gov. 
 Hutchinson, and the new troops were no sooner 
 landed than five hundred of them deserted in a body. 
 At White's it was said that the king fell into a fit of 
 crying when the intelligence was brought him." 
 
 Hyde's white face was crimson with excitement, 
 and his eyes glowed like stars as he listened. "That 
 was like New York ; and, faith, if I had been there, I 
 would have helped them ! " 
 
 "Why not go there? I owe you much for the 
 hope, of which my happiness has robbed you. I will 
 take Hyde Manor at its highest price ; I will add to 
 it fifty thousand pounds indemnity for the loss of 
 the succession. You may buy land enough for a 
 duchy there, and found in the New World a new 
 line of the old family. If there, is war, you have 
 your opportunity. If the colonists win their way, 
 your family and means will make you a person of 
 great consideration. Here, you can only be a mem- 
 ber of the family ; in America, you can be the head 
 of your own line. Dick, my dear brother, out of real 
 love and honor, I speak these words." 
 
 " Indeed, William, I am very sensible of your 
 kindness, and I will consider well your proposition ; 
 for you must know it is a matter of some conse- 
 quence to me now. I think, indeed, that my Kath- 
 erine will be in a transport of delight to return to 
 her native land. I hear her coming, and we will 
 talk with her; and, anon, you shall confess, William, 
 that you have seen the sweetest woman that ever 
 the sun shone upon."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON' 217 
 
 Almost with the words she entered, clothed in a 
 white India muslin, with carnations at her breast. 
 Her high-heeled shoes, her large hoop, and the 
 height to which her pale gold hair was raised, gave 
 to the beautiful woman an air of majesty that 
 amazed the earl. He bowed low, and then kissed 
 her cheeks, and led her to a chair, which he placed 
 between Hyde and himself. 
 
 Of course, the discussion of the American project 
 was merely opened at that time. English people, 
 even at this day, move only after slow and prudent 
 deliberation ; and then emigration was almost an ir- 
 revocable action. Katherine was predisposed to it, 
 but yet she dearly loved the home she had made so 
 beautiful. During Hyde's convalescence, also, other 
 plans had been made and talked over until they had 
 become very hopeful and pleasant ; and they could 
 not be cast aside without some reluctance. In fact, 
 the purpose grew slowly, but surely, all through the 
 following winter; being mainly fed by Katherine's 
 loving desire to be near to her parents, and by 
 Hyde's unconfessed desire to take part in the strug- 
 gle which he foresaw, and which had his warmest 
 sympathy. Every American letter strengthened 
 these feelings ; but the question was finally settled 
 as many an important event in every life is settled 
 by a person totally unknown to both Katherine and 
 Hyde. 
 
 It was on a cold, stormy afternoon in February, 
 when the fens were white with snow. Hyde sat by 
 the big wood-fire, re-reading a letter from Joris Van 
 Heemskirk, which also enclosed a copy of Josiah 
 Quincy's speech on the Boston Port Bill. Katherine 
 had a piece of worsted work in her hands. Little 
 Joris was curled up in a big chair with his book, 
 seeing nothing of the present, only conscious of the 
 gray, bleak waves of the English Channel, and the 
 passionate Blake bearing down upon Tromp and De 
 Euyter. 
 
 " What a battle that would be ! " he said, jumping 
 to his feet. " Father, I wish that I had lived a hun- 
 dred years ago."
 
 218 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " What are you talking about, George ? " 
 
 "Listen, then: 'Eighty sail put to sea under 
 Blake. Tromp and De Euyter, with seventy-six 
 sail, were seen, upon the 18th of February, escorting 
 three hundred merchant-ships up the channel. 
 Three days of desperate fighting ensued, and Tromp 
 acquired prodigious honor by this battle; for, 
 though defeated, he saved nearly the whole of his 
 immense convoy.' I wish I had been with Tromp, 
 father." 
 
 "But an English boy should wish to have been 
 with Blake." 
 
 " Tromp had the fewest vessels. One should al- 
 ways help the weakest side, father. And, besides, 
 you know I am half Dutch." 
 
 Katherine looked proudly at the boy, but Hyde 
 had a long fit of musing. " Yes," he answered at 
 length, "a brave man always helps those who need 
 it most. Your father's letter, Katherine, stirs me 
 wonderfully. Those Americans show the old Saxon 
 love of liberty. Hear how one of them speaks for 
 his people: 'Blandishments will not fascinate us, 
 nor will threats of a halter intimidate. For, under 
 God, we are determined that wheresoever, whenso- 
 ever, or howsoever we shall be called to make our 
 exit, we will die free men.'* Such men ought to be 
 free, Katherine, and they will be free." 
 
 It was at this moment Lettice came in with a bun- 
 dle of newspapers : " They be' brought by Sir 
 Thomas Swaffham's man, sir, with Sir Thomas's 
 compliments ; there being news he thinks you would 
 like to read, sir." 
 
 Katherine turned promptly. "Spiced ale and 
 bread and meat give to the man, Lettice ; and to Sir 
 Thomas and Lady Swaffham remind him to take 
 ,our respectful thanks." 
 
 Hyde opened .the papers with eager curiosity. 
 Little Joris was again with Tromp and Blake in the 
 channel ; and Katherine, remembering some house- 
 hold duty, left the father and son to their private 
 enthusiasms. She was restless and anxious, for she 
 
 * Josiah Quincy's (jun.) speech on the Boston Port Bill, 1774.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 219 
 
 had one of those temperaments that love a settled 
 and orderly life. It would soon be spring, and there 
 were a thousand things about the house and garden 
 which would need her attention if they were to re- 
 main at Hyde. If not, her anxieties in other direc- 
 tions would be equally numerous and necessary. 
 She stood at a window looking into the white gar- 
 den. Something about it recalled her father's gar- 
 den ; and she fell into such a train of tender mem- 
 ories, that, when Hyde called quickly, " Kate, Kate ! " 
 she found that there were tears in ner eyes, and that 
 it was with an effort and a sigh her soul returned to 
 its present surroundings. 
 
 Hyde was walking about the room in great excite- 
 ment, his tall, nervous figure unconsciously throw-, 
 ing itself into soldierly attitudes; his dark, hand- 
 some face lit by an interior fire of sympathetic feel- 
 ing. 
 
 " I must draw my sword agkin, Katherine," he 
 said, as his hand impulsively went to his left side, 
 "I must draw my sword again. I thought I had 
 done with it forever; but, by St. George, I'll draw it 
 in this quarrel! " 
 
 " The American quarrel, Richard ? " 
 
 " No other could so move me. "We have the intel- 
 ligence now of their congress. They have not sub- 
 mitted ; they have not drawn back, not an inch ; 
 they have not quarreled among themselves. They 
 have unanimously voted for non-importation, non- 
 exportation, and non-consumption. They have 
 drawn up a declaration of their rights. They have 
 appealed to the sympathies of the people of Canada, 
 and they have resolved to support by arms all their 
 brethren unlawfully attacked. Hurrah, Katherine! 
 Every good man and true wishes them well." 
 
 " But it is treason, dear one." 
 
 " Soh ! It was treason when the barons forced the 
 Great Charter from King John. It was treason 
 when Hampden fought against 'ship-money,' and 
 Cromwell against Star Chambers, and the Dutch- 
 man William laid his firm hand on the British Con- 
 stitution. All revolutions are treason until they are
 
 220 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON, 
 
 accomplished. We have long hesitated, \\e will 
 waver no more. The conduct of Sir Jeffery Amherst 
 has decided me." 
 
 "I know it not.'* 
 
 " On the 6th of this month the king offered him 
 a peerage if he would take command of the troops 
 for America; and he answered, 'Your Majesty must 
 know that I cannot bring myself to fight the Amer- 
 icans, who are not only of my own race, but to whose 
 former kindness I am also much obliged.' By the 
 last mail, also, accounts have come of vast deser- 
 tions of the soldiers of Boston ; and three officers 
 of Lord Percy's regiment are among the number. 
 Katherine, our boy has told me this afternoon that 
 he is half Dutch. "Why should we stay in England, 
 then, for his sake ? We will do as Earl William ad- 
 vises us, go to America and found a new house, of 
 which I and he will be the heads. Are you will- 
 ing?" 
 
 " Only to be with you, only to please you, Richard. 
 I have no other happiness." 
 
 " Then it is settled ; and I thank Sir Jeffery Am- 
 herst, for his words have made me feel ashamed of 
 my indecision. And look you, dear Kate, there shall 
 
 i you be ready ] 
 
 " You are too impatient, Richard. In a week it is 
 impossible." 
 
 " Then in two weeks. In short, my dear, I have 
 taken an utter aversion to being longer in King 
 George's land." 
 
 " Poor king ! Lady Swaffham says he means well : 
 he misunderstands, he makes mistakes." 
 
 "And political mistakes are crimes, Katherine. 
 Write to-night to your father. Tell him that we 
 are coming in two weeks to cast our lot with America. 
 Upon my honor, I am impatient to be away." 
 
 When Joris Van Heeinskirk received this letter, 
 he was very much excited by its contents. Putting 
 aside his joy at the return of his beloved daughter, 
 he perceived that the hour expected for years had
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 221 
 
 really struck. The true sympathy that had been so 
 long in his heart, he must now boldly express; and 
 this meant in all probability a rapture with most of 
 his old associates and friends, Elder Semple in the 
 kirk, and the Matthews and Crugers and Baches in 
 the council. 
 
 He was sitting in the calm evening, with unloos- 
 ened buckles, in a cloud of fragrant tobacco, talking 
 of these things. " It is full time, come what will," 
 said Lysbet. " Heard thou what Batavius said last 
 night?" 
 
 " Little I listen to Batavius." 
 
 " But this was a wise word. IThe colonists are 
 leaving the old ship,' he said; 'and the first in the 
 new boat will have the choice of oars.' " 
 
 " That was like Batavius, but I will take higher 
 counsel than his." 
 
 Then he rose, put on his hat, and walked down 
 his garden ; and, as he slowly paced between the 
 beds of budding flowers, he thought of many things, 
 the traditions of the past struggles for freedom, 
 and the irritating wrongs that had imbittered his 
 own experience for ten years. There was plenty 
 of life yet in the spirit hfs fathers had bequeathed 
 to him ; and, as this and that memory of wrong 
 smote it, the soul-fire kindled, glowed, burned with 
 passionate flame. "Free, God gave us this fair 
 land, and we will keep it free. There has been in 
 it no crowns and sceptres, no bloody Philips, no 
 priestly courts of cruelty; and, in God's name, we 
 will have none! " 
 
 He was standing on the river-bank; and the 
 meadows over it were green and fair to see, and the 
 fresh wind blew into his soul a thought of its own 
 untrammelled liberty. He looked up and down the 
 river, and lifted his face to the clear sky, and said 
 aloud, "Beautiful land! To be thy children we 
 should not deserve, if one inch of thy soil we yielded 
 to a tyrant. Truly a vaderland to me and to mine 
 thou hast been. Truly do I love thee." And then, 
 his soul being moved to its highest mark, he an- 
 swered it tenderly, in the strong-syllabled mother- 
 tongue that it knew so well,
 
 222 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " Indien ik u vergeet, o Yaderland ! zoo vergete 
 mijne regter-hand zich zelve ! " 
 
 Such communion he held with himself until the 
 night came on, and the dew began to fall; and 
 Lysbet said to herself, " I will walk down the gar- 
 den : perhaps there is something I can say to him." 
 As she rose, Joris entered, and they met in the 
 centre of the room. He put his large hands upon 
 her shoulders, and, looking solemnly in her face, 
 said, " My Lysbet, I will go with the people ; I will 
 give myself willingly to the cause of freedom. A 
 long battle is it. Two hundred years ago, a Joris 
 Van Heemskirk was fighting in it. Not less of man 
 than he was, am I, I hope." 
 
 There was a mist of tears over his eyes, a mist 
 that was no dishonor : it only showed that the cost 
 had been fully counted, and his allegiance given 
 with a clear estimate of the value and sweetness of 
 all that he might have to give with it. Lysbet was 
 a little awed by the solemnity of his manner. She 
 had not before understood tne grandeur of such a 
 complete surrender of self as her husband had just 
 consummated. But never had she been so proud of 
 him. Every thing commonplace had slipped away : 
 he looked taller, younger, handsomer. She dropped 
 her knitting to her feet, she put her arms 
 around his neck, and, laying her head upon his 
 breast, said softly, "My good Jpris! I will love 
 thee forever." 
 
 In a few minutes Elder Semple came in. He 
 looked exceedingly worried ; and, although Joris 
 and he avoided politics by a kind of tacit agreement, 
 he could not keep to kirk and commercial matters, 
 but constantly returned to one subject, a vessel 
 lying at Murray's Wharf, which had sold her cargo 
 of molasses and rum to the " Committee of Safety." 
 
 " And we'll be haeing the custom-house about the 
 city's ears, if there's ' safety ' in that, the born 
 idiots," he said. 
 
 Joris was in that grandly purposeful mood that 
 
 * If I forget thee, O Fatherland ! let ray right hand forget her 
 cunning. Ps. cxxxvii. 5.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 223 
 
 takes no heed of fretful worries. He let the elder 
 drift from one grievance to another; and he was 
 just in the middle of a sentence containing his 
 opinion of Sears and Willet, when Bram's entrance 
 arrested it. There was something in the young 
 man's face and attitude which made every one turn 
 to him. He walked straight to the side of Joris, 
 
 " Father, we have closed his Majesty's custom- 
 house forever.'' 
 
 " We ! Who, then, Bram ? 5J 
 
 " The Committee of Safety and the Sons of Lib- 
 erty." 
 
 Semple rose to his feet, trembling with passion. 
 '* Let me tell you, then, Bram, you are a parcel o' 
 rogues and rebels; and, if I were his Majesty, I'd. 
 gibbet the last ane o' you." 
 
 " Patience, elder. Sit down, I'll speak " 
 
 "No, councillor, I'll no sit down until I ken what 
 kind o' men I'm sitting wi'. Got wi' your maist- 
 secret thoughts. Wha are you for ? " 
 
 " For the people and for freedom, am I," said 
 Joris, calmly rising to his feet. " Too long have we 
 borne injustice. My fathers would have spoken by 
 the sword before this. Free kirk, free state, free 
 commerce, are the breath of our nostrils. Not a 
 king on earth our privileges and rights shall touch ; 
 no, not with his finger-tips. Bram, my son, I am 
 your comrade in this quarrel." He spoke with fer- 
 vent, but not rapid speech, and with a firm, round 
 voice, full of magical sympathies. 
 
 " I'll hear nae mair o' such folly. Gie me my bon- 
 net and plaid, madam, and I'll be going. The King 
 o' England needna ask his Dutch subjects for leave 
 to wear his crown, I'm thinking." 
 
 "Subjects!" said Bram, flashing up. "Subjec* 
 tion! Well, then, elder, Dutchmen don't understand 
 the word. Spain found that out." 
 
 " Hoots ! dinna look sae far back, Bram. It's a far 
 cry, to Alva and Philip. Hae you naething fresher ? 
 Gude-night, a'. I hope the morn will bring you a 
 measure o' common-sense." He was at the door as 
 he spoke ; but, ere he passed it, he lifted his bonnet
 
 224 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 above his head and said, "God save the king! God 
 save his gracious Majesty, George of England ! " 
 
 Joris turned to his son. To shut up the king's 
 customs, was an overt act of treason. Bram, then, 
 had fully committed himself; and, following out his 
 own thoughts, he asked abruptly, "What will come 
 of it, Bram ? " 
 
 " War will come, and liberty, a great common- 
 wealth, a great country." 
 
 " It was about the sloop at Murray's Wharf ? " 
 
 " Yes. To the Committee of Safety her cargo she 
 sold ; but Collector Cruger would not that it should 
 leave the vessel, although offered was the full 
 duty." 
 
 " For use against the king, were the goods ; then 
 Cruger, as a servant of King George, did right." 
 
 " Oh, but if a tyrant a man serves, we cannot suf- 
 fer wrong that a good servant he maybe! King 
 George through him refused the duty: no more du- 
 ties will we offer him. We have boarded up the 
 doors and windows of the custom-house. Collector 
 Oruger has a long holiday." 
 
 He did not speak lightly, and his air was that of a 
 man who accepts a grave responsibility. "I met 
 Sears and about thirty men with him on Wall Street. 
 I went with them, thinking well on what I was go- 
 ing to do. I am ready by the deed to stand." 
 
 " And I with thee. Good-night, Bram. To-mor- 
 row there will be more to say." 
 
 Then Bram drew his chair to the hearth, and his 
 mother began to question him ; and her fine face 
 grew finer as she listened to the details of the ex- 
 ploit. Bram looked at her proudly. " I wish only 
 that a fort full of soldiers and cannon it had been," 
 he said. " It does not seem such a fine thing to 
 take a few barrels of rum and molasses." 
 
 "Every common thing is a fine thing when it is 
 for justice. And a fine thing I think it was for these 
 men to lay down every one his work and his tool, 
 and quietly and orderly go do the work that was to 
 be done for honor and for freedom. If there had 
 been flying colors and beating drums, and much
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 225 
 
 blood v spilt, no grander thing would it have been, I 
 think." 
 
 And, as Bram filled and lighted his pipe, he 
 hummed softly the rallying song of the day, 
 
 " In story we're told 
 
 How our fathers of old 
 Braved the rage of the winds and the waves ; 
 And crossed the deep o'er, 
 For this far-away shore, 
 
 All because they would never be slaves brave boys ! 
 All because they would never be slaves. 
 
 "The birthright we hold 
 
 Shall never be sold. 
 But sacred maintained to our graves ; 
 And before we comply 
 We will gallantly die, 
 
 For we will not, we will not be slaves, brave boys ! 
 For we will not, we will not be slaves." 
 
 In the mean time Semple, fuming and ejaculating, 
 was making his way slowly home. It was a dark 
 night, and the road full of treacherous soft places, 
 fatal to that spotless condition of hose and shoes 
 which was one of his weak points. However, before 
 he had gone very far, he was overtaken by his son 
 Neil, now a very staid and stately gentleman, hold- 
 ing under the government a high legal position in 
 the investigation of. the disputed New-Hampshire 
 grants. 
 
 He listened respectfully to his father's animadver- 
 sions on the folly of the Van Heemskirks ; but he 
 was thinking mainly of the first news told him, 
 the early return of Katherine. He was conscious 
 that he still loved Katherine, and that he still hated 
 Hyde. As they approached the house, the elder saw 
 the gleam of a candle through the drawn blind ; and 
 he asked querulously, " What's your mother doing 
 wi' a candle at this hour, I wonder ? " 
 
 "She'll be sewing or reading, father." 
 
 "Hoots! she should aye mak' the wark and the 
 hour suit. There's spinning and knitting for the 
 night-time. Wi' soldiers quartered to the right 
 hand and the left hand, and a civil war staring us in
 
 226 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 the face, it's neither tallow nor wax we'll hae to 
 spare." 
 
 He was climbing the pipe-clayed steps as he spoke, 
 and in a few minutes was standing face to face with 
 the offender. Madam Semple was reading; and, as 
 her husband opened the parlor-door, she lifted her 
 eyes from her book, and let them calmly rest upon 
 him. 
 
 "Fire-light and candle-light, baith, Janet! A 
 fair illumination, and nae ither thing but bad news 
 of it." 
 
 "I'm reading the Word, elder." 
 
 " For the night season, meditation, Janet, medita- 
 tion ; " and he lifted the extinguisher, and put out 
 the candle. " Meditate on what you hae read. The 
 Word will bide a deal o' thinking about. You'll hae 
 heard the ill news ? " 
 
 ' I heard naething ill." 
 
 'DidnaNeil tell you ? " 
 
 * Anent what ? " 
 
 ' The closing o' the king's customs." 
 
 'Ay, Neil told me." 
 
 'Weel?" 
 
 'Weel, since you ask me, I say it was gude 
 news." 
 
 " Noo, Janet, we'll hae to come to an understand- 
 ing. If I hae swithered in my. loyalty before, I'll do 
 sae nae niair. From this hour, .me and my house 
 will serve King George. I'll hae nae treason done 
 in it, nor said ; no, nor even thocht o'." 
 
 " You'll be a vera Samson o' strength, and a vera 
 Solomon o' wisdom, if you keep the hands and the 
 tongues and the thochts o' this house. Whiles, you 
 canna vera weel keep the door o' your ain mouth, 
 gudeman. What's come o'er you, at a' ? " 
 
 "I'm surely master in my ain house, Janet." 
 
 " 'Deed, you are far from being that, Alexander 
 Semple. Doesna King George quarter his men in 
 it? And havena you to feed and shelter them, and 
 to thole their ill tempers and their ill ways, morn- 
 ing, noon, and night? You master in your am 
 house! You're just a naebody in it! "
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 227 
 
 " Dinna get on your high horse, madam. Things 
 are coming to the upshot: there's nae doot o' it." 
 
 " They've been lang aboot it, too lang." 
 
 " Do you really mean that you are going to set 
 yoursel' among the rebels ? " 
 
 (( Going? Na, na; I have aye been amang them. 
 And ten years syne, when the Stamp Act was the 
 question, you were heart and, soul wi' the people. 
 The quarrel to-day is the same quarrel wi' a new 
 name. Tak' the side o' honor and manhood and 
 justice, and dinna mak' me ashamed o' you, Alex- 
 ander. The Semples have aye been for freedom, 
 Kirk and State, and I never heard tell o' them 
 losing a chance to gie them proud English a set- 
 down before. What for should you gie the lie to a* 
 your forbears said and did ? King George hasna 
 put his hand in his pocket for you ; he has done 
 naething but tax your incomings and your out- 
 goings. Ask Van Heemskirk : he's a prudent man, 
 and you'll never go far wrong if you walk wi r 
 him." 
 
 "Ask Van Heemskirk, indeed! Not I. The 
 rebellious spirit o' the teji tribes is through all the 
 land ; but I'll stand by King George, if I'm the only 
 man to do it." 
 
 " George may be king o' the Semples. I'm a 
 Gordon. He's no king o' mine. The Gordons were 
 a' for the Stuarts." 
 
 " Jacobite and traitor, baith ! Janet, Janet, how 
 can you turn against me on every hand ? " 
 
 " I'll no turn against you, elder; and I'll gie you 
 no cause for complaint, if you dinna set King George 
 on my hearthstone, and bring him to my table, and 
 fling him at me early and late." She was going to 
 light the candle again ; and, with it in her hand, she 
 continued : " That's enough anent George rex at 
 night-time, for he isna a pleasant thought for a 
 sleeping one. How is Van Heemskirk going? And 
 Bram ? " 
 
 " Bram was wi' them that unloaded the schooner, 
 and closed the custom-house, the born idiots ! " 
 
 " I expected that o' Bram."
 
 228 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 " As for his father, he's the blackest rebel you 
 could find or hear tell o' in the twelve Provinces." 
 
 " He's a good man ; Joris is a good man, true and 
 sure. The cause he lifts, he'll never leave. Joris 
 and Bram, excellent! They two are a multitude." 
 
 "Humff! " It was all he could say. There was 
 something in his wife's face that made it look un- 
 familiar to him. He felt himself to be like the 
 prophet of Pethor, a man whose eyes are opened. 
 But Elder Semple was not one of the foolish ones who 
 waste words. "A wilfu' woman will hae her way," 
 he thought; " and, if Janet has turned rebel to the 
 king, it's mair than likely she'll throw off my ain law- 
 fu' authority likewise. But we'll see, we'll see," he 
 muttered, glancing with angry determination at the 
 little woman, who, for her part, seemed to have put 
 quite away all thoughts of king and Congress. 
 
 She stood with the tinder-box and the flint and 
 brimstone matches in her hands, " I wonder if the 
 tinder is burnt enough, Alexander," she said; and 
 with the words she sharply struck the flint. A spark 
 fell instantly and set fire to it, and she lit her match 
 and watched it blaze with a singular look of triumph 
 on her face. Somehow the trifling affair irritated 
 the elder. " What are you doing at a' ? You're 
 acting like a silly bairn, makin' a blaze for naething. 
 There's a fire on the hearth : whatna for, then, are 
 you wasting tinder and a match ? " 
 
 " Maybe it wasna for naething, elder. Maybe I 
 was asking for a sign, and got the ane I wanted. 
 There's nae sin in that, I hope. You ken Gideon 
 did it when he had to stand up for the oppressed, 
 and slay the tyrant." 
 
 "Tut, woman, you arena Gideon, nor yet o' 
 Gideon's kind ; and, forbye, there's nae angel speak- 
 ing wi' you." 
 
 " You're right there, elder. But, for a' that, I'm 
 glad that the spark fired the tinder, and that the 
 tinder lit the match, and that the match burnt sae 
 bright and sae bravely. It has made a glow in my 
 heart, and I'll sleep well wi' the pleasure o' it." 
 
 Next morning the argument was not renewed.
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 229 
 
 Neil was sombre and silent. His father was un- 
 certain as to his views, and he did not want to force 
 or hurry a decision. Besides, it would evidently be 
 more prudent to speak with the young man when he 
 could not be influenced by his mother's wilful, 
 scornful tongue. Perhaps Neil shared this prudent 
 feeling; for he deprecated conversation, and, on the 
 plea of business, left the breakfast-table before the 
 meal was finished. 
 
 The elder, however, had some indemnification for 
 his cautious silence. He permitted himself, at 
 family prayers, a very marked reading of St. Paul's 
 injunction, "Fear God and honor the king;" and 
 ere he left the house he said to his wife, " Janet, I 
 hope you hae come to your senses. You'll allow 
 that you didna treat me wi' a proper respect yest'r- 
 een? " 
 
 She was standing face to face with him, her hands 
 uplifted, fastening the broad silver clasp of his 
 cloak. For a moment she hesitated, the next she 
 raised herself on tiptoes, and kissed him. He pursed 
 up his mouth a little sternly, and then stroked her 
 white hair. " You heard what St. Paul says, Janet ; 
 isna that a settlement o' the question ? " 
 
 " I'm no blaming St. Paul, Alexander. If ever St. 
 Paul approves o' submitting to tyranny, it's thae 
 translator's fault. He wouldna tak' injustice him- 
 seP, not even from a Roman magistrate. I wish St. 
 Paul was alive the day: I'm vera sure if he were, 
 he'd write an epistle to the English, wad put the 
 king's dues just as free men would be willing to pay 
 them. Now, don't be angry, Alexander. If you go 
 awa' angry at me, you'll hae a bad day; you ken 
 that, gudeman." 
 
 It was a subtile plea ; for no man, however wise or 
 good or brave, likes to bespeak ill-fortune when it 
 can be averted by a sacrifice so easy and so pleasant. 
 But, in spite of Janet's kiss, he was unhappy ; and, 
 when he reached the store, the clerks and porters 
 were all standing together talking. He knew quite 
 well what topic they were discussing with such eager 
 movements and excited speech. But they dispersed
 
 230 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 to their work at the sight of his sour, stern face, and 
 he did not intend to open a fresh dispute by any 
 question. 
 
 Apprentices and clerks then showed a great deal 
 of deference to their masters, and Elder Semple 
 demanded the full measure due to him. Something, 
 however, in the carriage, in the faces, in the very 
 tones of his servants' voices, offended him ; and he 
 soon discovered that various small duties had been 
 neglected. 
 
 ** Listen to me, lads," he said angrily; " I'll have 
 nae politics mixed up wi' my exports and imports. 
 Neither king nor Congress has aught to do wi' my 
 business; and if there is among you ane o' them 
 fools that ca' themselves the 'Sons o' Liberty,' I'll 
 pay him whatever I owe him now, and he can gang 
 to Madam Lit3erty for his future wage." 
 
 He was standing on the step of his high counting- 
 desk as he spoke^and he peered over the little 
 wooden railing at the men scattered about with pens 
 or hammers or goods in their hands. There was a 
 moment's silence ; then a middle-aged man quietly 
 laid down the tools with which he was closing a box, 
 and walked up to the desk. The next moment, 
 every one in the place had followed him. Semple 
 was amazed and angry, but he made no sign of 
 either emotion. He counted to the most accurate 
 fraction every one's due, and leUthem go without 
 one word of remonstrance. 
 
 But, as soon as he was alone, he felt the full bit- 
 terness of their desertion, and he could not keep the 
 tears out of his eyes as he looked at their empty 
 places. " Wha could hae thocht it ? " he exclaimed. 
 " Allan has been wi' me twenty-seven years, and 
 Scott twenty, and Grey nearly seventeen. And the 
 lads I have aye been kindly to. Maist o' them have 
 wives and bairns, too; it's just a sin o' them. It's 
 no to be believed. It's fair witchcraft. And the 
 pride o' them ! My certie, they all looked as if their 
 hands were itching for a sword or a pair o' pistols ! " 
 
 At this juncture Neil entered the store. "Here's 
 a bonnie pass, Neil ; every man has left the store. I 
 may as weel put up the shutters."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 231 
 
 "There are other men to be hired." 
 
 " They were maistly a' auld standbys, auld married 
 men that ought to have had inair sense." 
 
 "The married men are the trouble-makers; the 
 women have hatched and nursed this rebellion. If 
 they would only spin their webs, and mind their 
 knitting! " 
 
 " But they willna, Neil ; and they never would. If 
 there's a plot o' rebellion brewing between the twa 
 poles, women will be dabbling in it. They have aye 
 been against lawfu' authority. The restraints o' 
 paradise was tyranny to them. And they get worse 
 and worse : it isna ane apple would do them the noo ; 
 they'd strip the tree, my lad, to its vera topmost 
 branch." 
 
 "There's mother " 
 
 "Ay, there's your mother, she's a gude example. 
 She's a Gordon ; and thae Gordon women cried the 
 'Slogan' till their men's heads were a' on Carlisle 
 gate or Temple Bar, and their lands a' under King 
 George's thumb. But is she any wiser for the les- 
 son ? Not her. Women are born rebels ; the ' powers 
 that be ' are always tyrants to them, Neil." 
 
 "You ought to know, father. I have small and 
 sad experience with them." 
 
 " Sae, I hope you'll stand by my side. We twa can 
 keep the house thegither. If we are a' right, the 
 Government will whistle by a woman's talk." 
 
 " Did you not say Katherine was coming back ? " 
 
 " I did that. See there, again. Hyde has dropped 
 his uniform, and sold a' that he has, and is coming 
 to fight in a quarrel that's nane o' his. Heard you 
 ever such foolishness? But it is Katherine's doing; 
 there's little doot o' that." 
 
 " He's turned rebel, then ? " 
 
 "Ay has he. That's what women do. Politics 
 and rebellion is the same thing to them." 
 
 " Well, father, I shall not turn rebel." 
 
 "O Neil, you take a load off my heart by thae 
 words! " 
 
 " I have nothing against the king, and I could not 
 be Hyde's comrade."
 
 232 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FOR FREEDOM'S SAKE. 
 
 "How glorious stand the valiant, sword in hand, 
 In front of battle for their native land! " 
 
 " Force and right rule all things in the world ; force arrives first* 
 then right." 
 
 "Justice is truth in action." 
 
 IT was into this thundery atmosphere of coming 
 conflict, of hopes and doubts, of sundering ties and 
 fearful looking forward, that Richard and Kather- 
 ine Hyde came, from the idyllic peace and beauty 
 of their Norfolk house. But there was something in 
 it that fitted Hyde's real disposition. He was a 
 natural soldier, and he had arrived at the period of 
 life when the mere show and pomp of the profession 
 had lost all satisfying charm. He had found a quar- 
 rel worthy of his sword, one that had not only his 
 deliberate approval, but his passionate sympathy. 
 In fact, his first blow for American independence 
 had been struck in the duel with Lord Paget; for 
 that quarrel, though nominally concerningLady Suf- 
 folk, was grounded upon a dislike engendered by 
 their antagonism regarding the government of the 
 Colonies. 
 
 It was an exquisite April morning when they sailed 
 up New York bay once more. Joris had been watch- 
 ing for the "Western Light; " and, when she came 
 to anchor at Murray's Wharf, his was the foremost 
 figure on it. He had grown a little stouter, but was 
 still a splendid looking man ; he had grown a little 
 older, but his tenderness for his daughter was still 
 young and fresh and strong as ever. He took her in 
 his arms, murmuring, "Jfjjjn Katrijntje, mijn Kat- 
 rijntje! Ach, mijn kind, mijn kind!" 
 
 Hyde had felt that there might be some embarras- 
 ment in his own case, perhaps some explanation or 
 acknowledgment to make; but Joris waved aside 
 any speech like it. He gave Hyde both hands ; he
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 233 
 
 called him "mijn zoon;" he stooped, and put the 
 little lad's arms around his neck. In many a kind 
 and delicate way he made them feel that all of the 
 past was forgotten but its sweetness. 
 
 And surely that hour Lysbet had the reward of 
 her faithful affection. She had always admired 
 Hyde ; and she was proud and happy to have him in 
 her home, and to have him call her " mother." The 
 little Joris took possession of her heart in a moment. 
 Her Katherine was again at her side. She had felt 
 the clasp of her hands ; she had heard her whisper 
 " mijn moeder " upon her lips. 
 
 They landed upon a Saturday, upon one of those 
 delightsome days that April frequently gives to New 
 York. There was a fresh wind, full of the smell of 
 the earth and the sea; an intensely blue sky, with 
 flying battalions of white fleecy clouds across it; a 
 glorious sunshine above every thing. And people 
 live, and live happily, even in the shadow of war. 
 The stores were full of buyers and sellers. The doors 
 and windows of the houses were open to the spring 
 freshness. Lysbet had heard of their arrival, and 
 was watching for them. Her hair was a little whiter, 
 her figure a little stouter; but her face was fair and 
 rosy, and sweet as ever. 
 
 In a few hours things had fallen naturally and 
 easily into place. Joris and Bram and Hyde sat 
 talking of the formation of a regiment. Little Joris 
 leaned on his grandfather's shoulder, listening. 
 Lysbet and Katherine were unpacking trunks full 
 of fineries and pretty things; occasionally stopping 
 to give instructions to Dinorah, who was preparing 
 an extra tea, as Batavius and Joanna \vere coining 
 to spend the evening. " And to the elder and Janet 
 Semple I have sent a message, also," said Lysbet; 
 "for I see not why anger should be nursed, or old 
 friendships broken, for politics." 
 
 Katherine had asked at once, with eager love, for 
 Joanna ; she had expected that she would be waiting 
 to welcome her. Lysbet smiled faintly at the sup- 
 position. " She has a large family, then, and Bata- 
 vius, and her house. Seldom comes she here now."
 
 234 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 But about four o'clock, as Katherine and Hyd< 
 were dressing, Joanna and Batavius and all thei 
 family arrived. In a moment, their presence seemeq 
 to diffuse itself through the house. There was t 
 sense of confusion and unrest, and the loud crying 
 of a hungry baby determined to be attended to 
 And Joanna was fulfilling this duty, when Kath- 
 erine hastened to meet her. Wifehood and mother- 
 hood had greatly altered the slim, fair girl of ten 
 years previous. She had grown stout, and was un- 
 tidy in her dress, and a worried, anxious expression 
 was continually on her countenance; for, though 
 Batavius kept an eye on the children, there were 
 five of them beside the baby, fat, rosy, round-faced 
 miniatures of himself, all having a fair share of his 
 peculair selfish traits, which each expressed after | 
 their individual fashion. 
 
 Hyde met his brother-in-law with a gentlemanly 
 cordiality; and Batavius, who had told Joanna " he 
 intended to put down a bit that insolent English- j 
 man," was quite taken off his guard, and, ere he was i 
 aware of his submission, was smoking amicably 
 with him, as they discussed the proposed military 
 organization. Very soon Hyde asked Batavius, "If 
 he were willing to join it ? " 
 
 " When such a family a man has," he answered, 
 waving his hand complacently toward the six chil- 
 dren, "he must have some prudence -and considera- 
 tion. I had been well content with one child ; but 
 we must have our number, there is no remedy. And 
 I am a householder, and I pay my way, and do my 
 business. It is a fixed principle with me, not to 
 meddle with the business of other people." 
 
 " But, sir, this is your business, and your chil- 
 dren's business also." 
 
 " I think, then, that it is King George's business." 
 
 " It is liberty " 
 
 " Well, then, I have my liberty. I have liberty to 
 buy and to sell, to go to my own kirk, to sail the 
 ' Great Christopher ' when and where I will. My 
 house, my wife, my little children, nobody has 
 touched."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 235 
 
 " Pray, sir, what of your rights ? your honor ? " 
 
 " Oh, indeed, then, for ideas I quarrel not! Facts, 
 they are different. Every man has his own creed, 
 and every m*an his own liberty, so say I. Come 
 here, Alicia," and he waved his hand imperiously to 
 a little woman of four years old, who was sulking at 
 the window, " what's the matter now ? You have 
 been crying again. I see that you have a discon- 
 tented temper. There is a spot on your petticoat 
 also, and your cap is awry. I fear that you will 
 never become a neat, respectable girl, you that 
 ought to set a good pattern to your little sister 
 Femmetia." 
 
 Evidently he wished to turn the current of the 
 conversation; but, as soon as the child had been 
 sent to her mother, Joris resumed it. 
 
 "If you go not yourself to the fight, Batavius, 
 plenty of young men are there, longing to go, who 
 have no arms and no clothes : send in your place 
 one of them." 
 
 " It is my fixed principle not to meddle in the 
 affairs of other people, and my principles are sacred 
 to me." 
 
 " Batavius, you said not long ago, that the colon- 
 ists were leaving the old ship, and that the first in 
 the new boat would have the choice of oars." 
 
 " Bram, that is the truth. I said not that I would 
 choose any of the oars." 
 
 "A fair harbor we shall make, and the rewards 
 will be great, Batavius." 
 
 " It is not good to cry 'herrings,' till in the net 
 you have them. And to talk of rowing, the colon- 
 ists must row against wind and tide; the Eng- 
 lish will row with set sail. That is easy rowing. 
 Into this question I have looked well, for always I 
 think about every thing." 
 
 " Have you read the speeches of Adams and Han- 
 cock and Quincy ? Have you heard what Col. Wash- 
 ington said in the Assembly ? " 
 
 "Oh, these men are discontented! Something 
 which they have not got, they want. They are 
 troublesome and conceited. They expect the cen-
 
 236 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 tury will be called after them. Now, I, who punctu- 
 ally fulfil my obligations as a father and a citizen, 
 / am contented, / never make complaints, J never 
 want more liberty. You may read in the Holy 
 Scriptures, that no good comes of rebellion. Did 
 not Absalom sit in the gate, and say to the discon- 
 tented, ' See, thy matters are good and right; but 
 there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee ; ' 
 and, moreover, 'Oh, that I were made a judge in 
 the land, that every man which hath any suit or 
 cause might come unto me, and I would do him 
 justice'? And did not Sheba blow a trumpet, ar.d 
 say, ' We have no part in David, neither have we 
 inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his 
 tents, O Israel ' ? Well, then, what came of such 
 follies? You may read in the Word of God, that 
 they ended in ruin." 
 
 Hyde looked with curiosity at the complacent 
 orator. Bram rose, and, with a long-drawn whistle, 
 left the room. Joris said sternly; "Enough you 
 have spoken, Batavius. None are so blind as those 
 who will not see." 
 
 " \Vell, then, father, I can see what is in the way 
 of mine own business; and it is a fixed principle 
 with me not to meddle with the business of other 
 people. And look here, Joanna, the night is com- 
 ing, and the dew with it, and Alida had a sore throat 
 yesterday : we had better go. 'Past in sleep the 
 children ought to be at this hour." And he bustled 
 about them, tying on caps and capes; and finally, 
 having marshalled the six children and their two 
 nurses in front of him, he trotted off with Joanna 
 upon his arm, fully persuaded that he had done him- 
 self great credit, and acted with uncommon wisdom. 
 " But it belongs to me to do that, Joanna," he said : 
 "among all the merchants, I amknownforniy gieat 
 prudence." 
 
 "I think that my father and Bram will get into 
 trouble in this matter." 
 
 "You took the word out of my mouth, Joanna; 
 and I will have nothing to do with such follies, for 
 they are waxing hand over hand like the great
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 237 
 
 winds at sea, till the hurricane comes, and then the 
 ruin." 
 
 The next morning was the sabbath, and it broke in 
 a perfect splendor of sunshine. The New World 
 was so new and fresh, and Katherine thought she 
 had never before seen the garden so lovely. Joris 
 was abroad in it very early. He looked at the gay 
 crocus and the pale snowdrop and the budding pan- 
 sies with a singular affection. He was going, per- 
 chance, on a long warfare. Would he ever return to 
 greet them in the coming springs ? If he did return, 
 would they be there to greet him ? As he stood pen-- 
 sively thoughtful, Katherine called him. He raised 
 his eyes, and watched her approach as be had been 
 used when she was a child, a schoolgirl, a lovely 
 maiden. But never had she been so beautiful as 
 now. She was dressed for church in a gown of rich 
 brown brocade over a petticoat of paler satin, with 
 costly ornaments of gold and rubies. As she joined 
 her father, Hyde joined Lysbet in the parlor; and 
 the two stood at the window watching her. She had 
 clasped her hands upon his shoulder, and leaned her 
 beautiful head against them. " A most perfect pic- 
 ture," said Hyde, and then he kissed Lysbet; and 
 from that moment they were mother and son. 
 
 They walked to" church together; and Hyde 
 thought how beautiful the pleasant city was that 
 sabbath morning, with its pretty houses shaded by 
 trees just turning green, its clear air full of the 
 grave, dilating harmony of the church-bells, its 
 quiet streets thronged with men and women, both 
 sexes dressed with a magnificence modern Broadway 
 beaux and belles have nothing to compare with. 
 What staid, dignified men in three-cornered hats 
 and embroidered velvet coats and long plush vests! 
 What buckles and wigs and lace ruffles and gold 
 snuffboxes ! What beautiful women in brocades and 
 taffetas, in hoops and high heels and gauze hats ! 
 Here and there a black-robed dominie ; here and 
 there a splendidly dressed British officer, in scarlet 
 and white, and gold epaulettes and silver embroid- 
 eries! New York has always been a highly pictur-
 
 238 TEE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 esque city, but never more so than in the restless 
 days of A. D. 1775. 
 
 Katherine and Hyde and Bram were together; 
 Joris and Lysbet were slowly following them. They 
 were none of them speaking much, nor thinking 
 much, but all were very happy and full of content. 
 Suddenly the peaceful atmosphere was troubled by 
 the startling clamor of a trumpet. It was a note so 
 distinct from the music of the bells, so full of terror 
 and warning, that every one stood still. A second 
 blast was accompanied by the rapid beat of a horse's 
 hoofs ; and the rider came down Broadway like one 
 on a message of life and death, and made no pause 
 until he had very nearly reached Maiden Lane. 
 
 At that point a tall, muscular man seized the horse 
 by the bridle, and asked, " What news ? " 
 
 " Great news ! great news ! There has been a bat- 
 tle, a massacre at Lexington, a running fight from 
 Concord to Boston! Stay me not!" But, as he 
 shook the bridle free, he threw a handbill, contain- 
 ing the official account of the affair at Lexington, to 
 the inquirer. 
 
 Who then thought of church, though the church- 
 bells were ringing ? The crowd gathered around the 
 man with the handbill, and in ominous silence lis- 
 tened to the tidings of the massacre at Lexington, 
 the destruction of stores at Concord, the quick gath- 
 ering of the militia from the hills and dales around 
 Reading and Eoxbury, the retreat of the British 
 under their harrassing fire, until, worn out and dis- 
 organized, they had found a refuge in Boston. 
 "And this is the postscript at the last moment," 
 added the reader: " ' Men are pouring in from all 
 the country sides; Putnam left his plough in the 
 furrow, and rode night and day to the ground; 
 Heath, also, is with him.' " 
 
 Joris was white and stern in his emotion ; Bram 
 stood by the reader, with a face as bright as a bride- 
 groom's; Hyde's lips were drawn tight, and his eyes 
 flashing with the true military flame. " Father," he 
 said, "take mother and Katherine to church; Bram 
 and I will stay here, for I can see that there is some- 
 thing to be done."
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 239 
 
 " God help us ! Yes, I will go to Him first ; " and, 
 taking his wife and daughter, he passed with them 
 out of the crowd. 
 
 Hyde turned to the reader, who stood with bent 
 brows, and the paper in his hand. " Well, sir, what 
 is to be done ? " he asked. 
 
 " There are five hundred stand of arms in the City 
 Hall ; there are men enough here to take them. Let 
 us go." 
 
 A loud cry of assent answered him. 
 
 "My name is Eichard Hyde, late of his Majesty's 
 'Windsor Guards;' but I am with you, heart and 
 soul." 
 
 " I am Marinus Willet." 
 
 " Then, Mr. Willet, where first ? " 
 
 " To the mayor's residence. He has the keys of 
 the room in which the arms are kept." 
 
 The news spread, no one knew how, but men 
 poured out from the churches and the houses on 
 their route, and Willet's force was soon nearly a 
 thousand strong. The tumult, the tread, the animus 
 of the gathering, was felt in that part of the city 
 even where it could not be heard. Joris could 
 hardly endure the suspense, and the service did him 
 very little good. About two o'clock, as he was walk- 
 ing restlessly about the house, Bram and Hyde re- 
 turned together. 
 
 "Well?" he asked. 
 
 "There were five hundred stand of arms in the 
 City Hall, and I swear that we have taken them all. 
 A man called Willet led us ; a hero, quick of thought, 
 prompt and daring, a true soldier." 
 
 " I know him well ; a good man." 
 
 " The keys the mayor refused to us," said Bram. 
 
 "Oh, sir, he lied to us! Vowed he did not have 
 them, and sent us to the armorer in Crown Street. 
 The armorer vowed that he had given them to the> 
 mayor." 
 
 " What then ? " 
 
 "Oh, indeed, all fortune fitted us! We went ere 
 masse down Broadway into Wall Street, and so to 
 the City Hall. Here some one, with too nice a sense
 
 240 THE BO W OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 of the sabbath, objected to breaking open the doors 
 because of the day. But with very proper spirit 
 Willet replied, ' If we wait until to-morrow, the 
 king's inen will not wait. The arms will be removed. 
 And as for a key, here is one that will open any 
 lock.' As he said the words, he swung a great axe 
 around his head ; and so, with a few blows, he made 
 us an entrance. Indeed, I think that he is a grand 
 fellow." 
 
 " And you got the arms ? " 
 
 " Faitn, we got all we went for! The arms were 
 divided among the people. There was a drum and 
 fife also found with them, and some one made us 
 very excellent music to step to. As we returned up 
 Broadway, the congregation were just coming out 
 of Trinity. Upon my word, I think we frightened 
 them a little." 
 
 " Where were the English soldiers ? " 
 "Indeed, they were shut up in barracks. Some 
 of their officers were in church, others waiting for 
 orders from the governor or mayor. 'Tis to be 
 found out where the governor might be ; the mayor 
 ^was frightened beyond every thing, and not capable 
 of giving an order. Had my uncle Gordon been still 
 in command here, he had not been so patient." 
 " And for you that would have been a hard case." 
 " Upon my word, I would not have fought my old 
 comrades. I am glad, then, that they are in Quebec. 
 Our swords will scarce reach so far." 
 " And where went you with the arms ? " 
 " To a room in John Street. There they were 
 stacked, the names of the men enrolled, and a guard 
 placed over them. Bram is on the night patrol, by 
 nis own request. As for me, I have the honor of as- 
 sisting New York in her first act of rebellion ; and, 
 if the military superstition be a true one, 'A Sunday 
 fight is a lucky fight.' And now, mother, we will 
 have some dinner: ' the soldier loves his mess.' " 
 
 Every one was watching him with admiration. 
 Never in his uniform had he appeared so like a sol- 
 dier as he did at that hour in his citizen coat and 
 breeches of wine-colored velvet, his black silk stock-
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 241 
 
 ings, and gold buckled shoes. His spirits were in- 
 fectious : Bram had already come into through sym- 
 pathy with him, and grown almost gay in his com- 
 Eauy ; Joris felt his heart beat to the joy and hope 
 i his young comrades. All alike had recognized 
 that the fight was inevitable, and that it would be 
 well done if it were soon done. 
 
 But events cannot be driven by wishes: many 
 things had to be settled before a movement forward 
 could be made. Joris had his store to let, and the 
 stock and good-will to dispose of. Horses and ac- 
 coutrements must be bought, uniforms made ; and 
 every day this charge increased : for, as soon as 
 Van Heemskirk's intention to go to the front was 
 known, a large number of young men from the best 
 Dutch families were eager to enlist under him. 
 
 Hyde's time was spent as a recruiting-officer. His 
 old quarters, the " King's Arms," were of course 
 closed to him ; but there was a famous tavern on 
 Water Street, shaded by a great horse-chestnut tree, 
 and there the patriots were always welcome. There, 
 also, the news of all political events was in some 
 mysterious way sure to be first received. In com- 
 pany with Willet, Sears, and McDougall, Hyde 
 might be seen under the chestnut-tree every day, 
 enlisting men, or organizing the "Liberty Regi- 
 ment" then raising. 
 
 From the first, his valorous temper, his singleness 
 of purpose, his military skill in handling troops, and 
 his tine appearance and manners, had given him in- 
 fluence and authority. He soon, also, gained a won- 
 derful power over Bram; and even the temperate 
 wisdom and fine patience of Joris gradually kindled, 
 until the man was at white heat all through. Every 
 day's events fanned the temper of the city, although 
 it was soon evident that the first fighting would be 
 done in the vicinity of Boston. 
 
 For three weeks after that memorable April Sun- 
 day, Congress, in session at Philadelphia, had rec- 
 ognized the men in camp there as a Continental 
 army, the nucleus of the troops that were to be 
 raised for the defense of the country, and had com-
 
 242 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 missioned Col. Washington as commander-in-chief 
 to direct their operations. Then every heart was in 
 a state of the greatest expectation and excitement. 
 No one remembered at that hour that the little army 
 was without organization or discipline, most of its 
 officers incompetent to command, its troops alto- 
 gether unused to obey, and in the field without en- 
 listment. Their few pieces of cannon were old and 
 of various sizes, and scarce any one understood their 
 service. There was no siege-train and no ordnance 
 stores. There was no military chest, and nothing 
 worthy of the name of a commissariat. Yet every 
 one was sure that some bold stroke would be struck, 
 and the war speedily terminated in victory and in- 
 pendence. 
 
 So New York was in the buoyant spirits of a young 
 man rejoicing to run a race. The armorers, the 
 saddlers, and the smiths were busy day and night; 
 weapons were in every hand, the look of appre- 
 hended triumph on every face. In June the Van 
 Heemskirk troops were ready to leave for Boston, 
 nearly six hundred young men, full of pure purpose 
 and brave thoughts, and with all their illusions and 
 enthusiasms undimmed. 
 
 The day before their departure, they escorted Van 
 Heemskirk to his house. Lysbet and Katherine 
 saw them coming, and fell weeping on each other's 
 necks, tears that were both joyfcri and sorrowful, 
 the expression of mingled love and patriotism nnd 
 grief. It would have been hard to find a nobler 
 looking leader than Joris. Age had but added dig- 
 nity to his fine bulk. His large, fair face was serene 
 and confident. And the bright young lads who fol- 
 lowed him looked like his sons, for most of them 
 strongly resembled him in person ; and any one 
 might have been sure, even if the roll had not shown 
 it, that they were Van Brunts and Van Eipers and 
 Van Eensselaers, Koosevelts, Westervelts, and Ter- 
 hunes. 
 
 They had a very handsome uniform, and there had 
 been no uncertainty or dispute about it. Blue, with 
 orange trimmings, carried the question without one
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 243 
 
 dissenting voice. Blue had been for centuries the 
 color of opposition to tyranny. The Scotch Cove- 
 nanters chose it because the Lord ordered the chil- 
 dren of Israel to wear a ribbon of blue that they 
 m^gni, " look upon it, and remember all the com- 
 mandfnents of the Lord, and do them ; and seek not 
 after their own heart and their own eyes, and be 
 holy unto their God." (Num. xv. 38.) Into their 
 cities of refuge in Holland, the Covenanters carried 
 their sacred color; and the Dutch Calvinists soon 
 blended the blue of their faith with the orange of 
 their patriotism. Very early in the American strug- 
 gle, blue became the typical color of freedom; and 
 when Van Heemskirk's men chose the blue and 
 orange for their uniform, they selected the colors 
 which had already been famous on many a battle- 
 field of freedom. 
 
 Katherine and Lysbet had made the flag of the 
 new regiment, an orange flag, with a cluster of 
 twelve blue stars above the word liberty. It was 
 Lysbet's hands that gave it to them. They stood in 
 a body around the open door of the Van Heemskirk 
 house ; and the pretty old lady kissed it, and handed 
 it with wet eyes to the color-sergeant. Katherine 
 stood by Lysbet's side. They were both dressed as for 
 a festival, and their faces were full of tender love and 
 lofty enthusiasm. To Joris and his men they repre- 
 sented the womanhood dear to each individual heart, 
 Lysbet's white hair and white cap and pale-tinted 
 face was " the mother's face ; " and Katherine, in her 
 brilliant beauty, her smiles and tears, her shining 
 silks and glancing jewels, was the lovely substitute 
 for many a precious sister and many a darling lady- 
 love. But few words were said. Lysbet and Kath- 
 erine could but stand and gaze as heads were bared, 
 and the orange folds flung to the wind, and the in- 
 spiring word liberty saluted with bright, upturned 
 faces and a ringing shout of welcome. 
 
 Such a lovely day it was, a perfect June day; 
 doors and windows were wide open ; a fresh wind 
 blowing, a hundred blended scents from the garden 
 were in the air; and there was a sunshine that
 
 244 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 warmed everything to the core. If there were tears 
 in the hearts of the women, they put them back with 
 smiles and hopeful words, and praises of the gallant 
 men who were to fight a noble fight under the ban- 
 ner their fingers had fashioned. 
 
 It was to be the last evening at home for Joris and 
 Bram and Hyde, and everything was done to make 
 it a happy memory. The table was laid with the 
 best silver and china ; all the dainties that the three 
 men liked best were prepared for them. The room 
 was gay with flowers and blue and orange ribbons, 
 and bows of the same colors fluttered at Lysbet's 
 breast and on Katherine's shoulder. And, as they 
 they went up and down the house, they were both 
 singing, singing to keep love from weeping, and 
 hope and courage from failing; Lysbet's thin, sweet 
 voice seeming like the shadow of Katheriue's clear, 
 ringing tones, 
 
 'Oh for the blue and-the orange, 
 
 Oh for the orange and the blue! 
 Orange for men that are free men, 
 
 Blue for men that are true. 
 Over the red of the tyrant, 
 
 Bloody and cruel in hue. 
 Fling out the banner of orange, 
 
 With penantand border of blue. 
 Orange for men that are free men, 
 
 Blue for men that are true." 
 
 So they were singing when Joris and his sons came 
 home. 
 
 There had been some expectation of Joanna and 
 Batavius, but at the last moment an excuse was 
 sent. "The child is sick, writes Batavius; but I 
 think, then, it is Batavius that is afraid, and not the 
 child who is sick," said Joris. 
 
 " To this side and to that side and to neither side, 
 he will go; and he will miss all the good, and get all 
 the bad of every side," said Bram contemptuously. 
 
 "I think not so, Bram. Batavius can sail with the 
 wind. All but his honor and his manhood he will 
 save." 
 
 "That is exactly true," continued Hyde. "He
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 245 
 
 
 
 will grow rich upon the spoils of both parties. Upon 
 my word, I expect to hear him say, 'Admire my pru- 
 dence. While you have been fighting for an idea, 
 I have been making myself some money. It is a 
 principle of mine to attend only to my own affairs." 
 
 After supper Bram went to bid a friend good-bye ; 
 and, as Joris and Lysbet sat in the quiet parlor, 
 Elder Semple and his wife walked in. The elder was 
 sad and still. He took the hands of Joris in his 
 own, and looked him steadily in the face. "Man 
 Joris," he said, " what's sending you on sic a daft- 
 like errand? " 
 
 Joris smiled, and grasped tighter his friend's hand. 
 "So glad am I to see you at the last, elder. As in 
 you came, I was thinking about you. Let us part 
 good friends and brothers. If I come not back " 
 
 " Tut, tut! You're sure and certain to come back ; 
 and sae I'll save the quarrel I hae wi' you until 
 then. We'll hae mair opportunities ; and I'll hae rnair 
 arguments against you, wi' every week that passes. 
 Joris, you'll no hae a single word to say for yoursel' 
 then. Sae, I'll bide my time. I came to speak 
 anent things, in case o' the warst, to tell you that if 
 any one wants to touch your wife or your bairns, a 
 brick in your house, or a flower in your garden-plat, 
 I'll stand by all that's yours, to the last shilling I 
 hae, and nane shall harm them. Neil and I will 
 baith do all men may do. Scotsmen hae lang mem- 
 ories for either friend or foe. O Joris, man, if you 
 had only had an ounce o' common wisdom ! " 
 
 " I have a friend, then ! I have you, Alexander. 
 Never this hour shall I regret. If all else I lose, I 
 have saved mijn jongen." * 
 
 The old men bent to each other : there were tears 
 in their eyes. Without speaking, they were aware of 
 kindness and faithfulness and gratitude beyond the 
 power of words. They smoked a pipe together, and 
 sometimes changed glances and smiles, as they 
 looked at, or listened to, Lysbet and Janet Semple, 
 \vho had renewed their long kindness in the sympa- 
 thy of their patriotic hopes and fears. 
 * My fiuiiiliiir friend.
 
 246 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 
 
 Hyde and Katherine were walking in the garden, 
 lingering in the sweet June twilight by the lilac 
 hedge and the river-bank. All Hyde's business was 
 arranged : he was going into the fight without any 
 anxiety beyond such as was natural to the circum- 
 stances. While he was away, his wife and son were 
 to remain with Lysbet. He could desire no better 
 home for them : their lives would be so quiet and 
 orderly, that he could almost tell what they would be 
 doing at every hour. And, while he was in the din 
 and danger of siege and battle, he felt that it 
 would be restful to think of Katherine in the still, 
 fair rooms and the sweet garden of her first home. 
 
 If he never came back, ample provision had been 
 made for his wife and son's welfare; but and he 
 suddenly turned to Katherine, as if she had been 
 conscious of his thoughts " The war will not last 
 very long, dear heart ; and when liberty is won, and 
 the foundation for a great commonwealth laid, 
 why then we will buy a large estate somewheie upon 
 the banks of this beautiful river. It will be delight- 
 ful, in the midst of trees and parks, to build a 
 grander Hyde Manor House. Most completely we 
 will furnish it, in all respects ; and the gardens you 
 shall make at your own will and discretion. A hun- 
 dred years after this, your descendants shall wander 
 among the treillages and cut hedges and boxed 
 walks, and say, ' What a sweet taste "our dear great, 
 great grandmother had ! ' ' 
 
 And Katherine laughed at his merry talk and fore- 
 casting, and praised his uniform, and told him how 
 soldierly and handsome he looked in it. And she 
 touched his sword, and asked, " Is it the old sword, 
 my Eichard ? " 
 
 " The old sword, Kate, my sweet. With it I won 
 my wife. Oh, indeed, yes! You know it was pity 
 for my sufferings made you marry me that blessed 
 October day, when I could not stand up beside you. 
 It has a fight twice worthy of its keen edge now." 
 He drew it partially from its sheath, and mused a 
 moment. Then he slowly untwisted the ribbon and 
 tassel of bullion at the hilt, and gave it into her
 
 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 247 
 
 hand. " I have a better hilt-ribbon than that," he 
 said ; " and, when we go into the house, I will re- 
 trim my sword." 
 
 She thought little of the remark at the time, 
 though she carefully put the tarnished tassel away 
 among her dearest treasures ; but it acquired a new 
 meaning in the morning. The troops were to leave 
 very early; and, soon after dawn, she heard the 
 clatter of gallopping horses, and the calls of the 
 men as they reined up at their commander's door. 
 Bram, as his father's lieutenant, was with them. 
 The horses of Joris and Hyde were waiting. 
 
 They rose from the breakfast-table and looked at 
 their wives. Lysbet gave a little sob, and laid her 
 head a moment upon her husband's breast. Kath- 
 erine lifted her white face and whispered, with 
 kisses, " Beloved one, go. Night and day I will 
 pray for you, and long for you. My love, my dear 
 one! " 
 
 There was hurry and tumult, and the stress of 
 leave-taking was lightened by it. Katherine held 
 her husband's hand till they stood at the open door. 
 Then he looked into her face, and down at his 
 sword, with a meaning smile. And her eyes dilated, 
 and a vivid blush spread over her cheeks and throat, 
 and she drew him back a moment, and passionately 
 kissed him again ; and all her grief was lost in love 
 and triumph. For, wound tightly around his sword- 
 hilt, she saw though it was brown and faded her 
 first, fateful love-token, The Bow of Orange Ribbon. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 [QUOTATION FROM A LETTER DATED JULY 5, A. D. 1885.] 
 
 " YESTERDAY I went with my aunt to spend ' the 
 Fourth' at the Hydes'. They have the most de- 
 lightful place, a great stone house in a wilderness
 
 248 THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON. 
 
 of foliage and beauty, and yet within convenient 
 distance of the railroad and the river-boats. Why 
 don't we build such houses now ? You could make 
 a ball-room out of the hall, and hold a grand recep- 
 tion on the staircase. Kate Hyde said the house is 
 more*than a hundred years old, and that the fifth 
 generation is living in it. I am sure there are pic- 
 tures enough of the family to account for three hun- 
 dred years; but the two 'handsomest, after all, are 
 those of the builders. They were very great people 
 at the court of Washington, I believe. I suppose it 
 is natural, for those who have ancestors, to brag 
 about them, and to show off the old buckles and 
 fans and court-dresses they have hoarded up, not to 
 speak of the queer bits of plate and china; and, I 
 must say, the Hydes have a really delightful lot of 
 such bric-a-brac.' But the strangest thing is the 
 'household talisman.' It is not like the luck of 
 Eden Hall : it is neither crystal cup, nor silver vase, 
 nor magic bracelet, nor an old slipper. But they 
 have a tradition that the house will prosper as long 
 as it lasts, and so this precious palladium is care- 
 fullv kept in a locked box of carved sandal- wood ; 
 for it is only a bit of faded satin that was a love- 
 token, a St. Nicholas Bow of Orange Ribbon" 
 
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