Horse-Shoe Robinson: A Tale of the Tory Ascendency

by John Pendleton Kennedy

  CHAPTER XXXIX.

  MILDRED BEGINS HER JOURNEY.

  The man who writes the history of woman's love will find himselfemployed in drawing out a tangled skein. It is a history of secretemotions and vivid contrasts, which may well go nigh to baffle hispenetration and to puzzle his philosophy. There is in it a surface oftimid and gentle bashfulness concealing an underflow of strong and headypassion: a seeming caprice that a breath may shake or a word alarm; yet,all the while, an earnest devotion of soul which, in its excited action,holds all danger cheap that crosses the path of its career. Thesportive, changeful, and coward nature that dallies with affection as ajest, and wins admiration by its affrighted coyness; that flies andwould be followed; that revolts and would be soothed, entreated, and onbended knee implored, before it is won; that same nature will undergothe ordeal of the burning ploughshare, take all the extremes of miseryand distress, brave the fury of the elements and the wrath of man, andin every peril be a patient comforter, when the cause that moves her isthe vindication of her love. Affection is to her what glory is to man,an impulse that inspires the most adventurous heroism.

  There had been for some days past in Mildred's mind an anxious misgivingof misfortune to Butler, which was but ill concealed in a quiet andreserved demeanor. The argument of his safety seemed to have little torest upon, and she could perceive that it was not believed by those whouttered it. There rose upon her thoughts imaginings or presentiments ofill, which she did not like to dwell upon, but which she could notbanish. And now when Horse Shoe had told his tale, the incidents did notseem to warrant the levity with which he passed them by. She was afraidto express her doubts: and they brooded upon her mind, hatching pain andsecret grief. It was almost an instinct, therefore, that directed herresolve, when she announced her determination to go in person in questof Cornwallis, and to plead Butler's cause herself to the Britishgeneral. Her soul rebelled at the gross calumny which had been inventedto bring down vengeance upon Arthur's head; and she had no thought ofthwarting the accuser's wickedness, but by an appeal to the highestpower for that redress which an honorable soldier, in her opinion, couldnot refuse, even to an enemy. As to the personal hazard, inconvenience,or difficulty of her projected enterprise, no thought of either for amoment occupied her. She saw but her purpose before her, and did notpause to reckon on the means by which she was to promote it. Shereflected not on the censure of the world; nor on its ridicule; nor onits want of sympathy for her feelings: she reflected only on her powerto serve one dearer to her than a friend, upon her duty, and upon theagony of her doubts. If her father had been at hand she might haveappealed to him, and, perhaps, have submitted to his counsel; but he wasabsent, she knew not where, and she was convinced that no time was to belost. "Even now, whilst we debate," she said, "his life may be forfeitedto the malice of the wicked men who have ensnared him."

  Her conduct in this crisis is not to be weighed in the scale wherein theseemly and decorous observances of female propriety are ordinarilybalanced. The times, the occasion, and the peculiar position of Mildred,take her case out of the pale of common events, and are entitled toanother standard. She will be judged by the purity of her heart, thefervor of her attachment, and her sense of the importance of the serviceshe was about to confer. And with the knowledge of these, I must leaveher vindication to the generosity of my reader.

  When the morning came and breakfast was over, the horses were brought tothe door. Henry was active in all the preliminary arrangements for thejourney, and now bestirred himself with an increased air of personalimportance. Isaac, a grey-haired negro of a sedate, and, like all histribe, of an abundantly thoughtful length of visage, appeared in a suitof livery, ready booted and spurred for his journey. A largeportmanteau, containing a supply of baggage for his mistress, was dulystrapped behind his saddle, whilst a pair of pistols were buckled uponthe pummel. Henry's horse also had all the furniture necessary to acampaign and the young martialist himself, notwithstanding his sister'sdisapproval, was begirt with a sword-belt, from which depended a lightsabre, with which he was in the habit of exhibiting himself in the corpsof the Rangers. His bugle hung gracefully by his side, and his carbinewas already provided with a strap to sling it across his back. StephenFoster was lost in wonder at these sudden preparations, of the import ofwhich he could gain no more intelligence from Henry than that a movementtowards the army was intended, of a portentous character.

  Horse Shoe sat quietly in the porch looking on with a professionalunconcern, whilst his trusty Captain Peter, bearing a pair ofsaddle-bags, now stuffed with a plethora of provisions, slouched hishead, in patient fixedness, waiting the order to move. A bevy ofdomestics hung around the scene of preparation, lost in conjectures asto the meaning of this strange array, and prosecuting an inquiry tosatisfy themselves, with fruitless perseverance.

  When Mildred appeared at the door she was habited for her journey. Thehousekeeper, an aged dame, stood near her.

  "My travel, Mistress Morrison," she said, addressing the matron, and atthe same time putting a letter into her hand, "I trust will not keep melong from home. If my father should return before I do, be careful togive him that. Mr. Foster, you will not forget your promise," she added,as she delivered the second letter, which, notwithstanding her ownexpedition, she had prepared for Butler, in the hope that opportunitymight favor its transmission by Stephen.

  "The gold," said Stephen, putting his hand in his pocket; "you will wantit yourself, Miss Mildred, and I can do without it."

  "Never mind that," interrupted Mildred. "Keep your promise, and I hopeto be able to reward you more according to your deserts."

  "Heaven and the saints protect you, Miss Mildred!" said the housekeeper,as the lady bade her farewell. "You leave us on some heavy errand. Godgrant that you come back with a gayer face than you take away!" Thenturning up her eyes, and raising her hands, she ejaculated, "This is anawful thing, and past my understanding!"

  Mildred took leave of the rest of the group around the door, and wassoon in her saddle. This was a signal for the rest to mount, and asStephen Foster delivered Henry his rifle, the latter took occasion towhisper in the hunter's ear--

  "It is not unlikely, Steve, that we may meet each other again over herein Carolina; so remember to make inquiries for us as you go along, andtell the men I hope to join them before they fire one shot in spite. Butmum, Steve, not a word about our route."

  Stephen shook hands with his young comrade; and Henry, seeing that therest of the party had already left the door and were some distance downthe hill, called out with an elated tone of good humor--"Farewell, Mrs.Morrison, and all the rest of you!" and putting spurs to his horsegalloped off to join his sister.

  The route pursued by the travellers lay due south, and during the firstthree or four days of their journey they were still within the confinesof Virginia. To travel on horseback was a customary feat, even forladies, in those days of rough roads and scant means of locomotion: andsuch a cavalcade as we have described was calculated to excite noparticular inquiry from the passer-by, beyond that which would now bemade on the appearance of any party of pleasure upon the high-roads, inthe course of a summer excursion. Mildred experienced severe fatigue inthe first stages of her journey; but by degrees this wore off, and shewas soon enabled to endure the long day's ride with scarcely lessinconvenience than her fellow-travellers.

  At that period there were but few inns in these thinly-peopleddistricts, and such as were already established were small and butmeagrely provided. This deficiency was, in some degree, compensated bythe good will with which the owners of private establishments in thecountry received the better class of travellers, and the readyhospitality with which they entertained them. Henry took upon himself toobtain information of the gentlemen's seats that lay near the route ofhis journey, and to conduct the party to them whenever his sister'scomfort required better accommodation than the common inns afforded.

  As our travellers had thus far kept along that range of country whichlay immediately u
nder the mountains, they were not annoyed by theintense heats which, at this season, prevailed in the lowlands. Theweather, ever since their departure, had been uncommonly fine, and as isusual in this district, the month of September had brought its cool,dewy nights, whilst the early hours of the morning were even marked by alittle sharpness, almost approaching to frost. The effect of this onMildred was to recruit the weariness of travel, and better enable her toencounter the noon-tide fervors of the sun; and she had so far enduredthe toils of her journey with an admirable spirit. Actual trialgenerally results in demonstrating how much we are prone to exaggeratein advance the difficulties of any undertaking. Accordingly, Mildred'spresent experience strengthened her resolution to proceed, and evencommunicated an unexpected increase of contentment to her feelings.

  On the fifth day the party crossed the river Dan, and entered theprovince of North Carolina. A small remnant of Gates's shattered armylay at Hillsborough, at no great distance from the frontier; and asMildred was anxious to avoid the inquiry or molestation to be expectedin passing through a military post, she resolved to travel by a lowerroute, and Horse Shoe, therefore, at her suggestion, directed hisjourney towards the little village of Tarborough.

  Cornwallis, it was understood, since the battle of Camden, had removedhis head-quarters into the neighborhood of the Waxhaws, some distance upthe Catawba, where he was supposed to be yet stationary. The wholecountry in the neighborhood of either army was in a state of earnestpreparation; the British commander recruiting his forces for further andimmediate operations--the American endeavoring to reassemble his feebleand scattered auxiliaries for defence. At the present moment, actualhostilities between these two parties were entirely suspended, inanxious anticipation of the rapidly approaching renewal of the struggle.It was a breathing time, when the panting combatants, exhausted bybattle, stood sullenly eyeing each other and making ready--the one tostrike, the other to ward off another staggering blow.

  The country over which Mildred was now to travel was calculated to taxher powers of endurance to the utmost. It was a dreary waste of barrenwilderness, covered with an endless forest of gloomy pine, through whicha heavy, sandy road crept in lurid and melancholy shade. Here and therea miserable hut occurred to view, with a few ragged inmates, surroundedby all the signs of squalid poverty. The principal population were onlyto be seen along the banks of the rivers which penetrated into thisregion, some twenty or thirty miles distant from each other. Thealluvial bottoms through which these streams found a channel to theocean, were the only tracts of land of sufficient fertility to affordsupport to man--all between them was a sterile and gloomy forest.

  Still, these regions were not deserted. Bodies of irregular troops, illclothed and worse armed, and generally bearing the haggard features ofdisease, such as mark the population of a sickly climate, were oftenencountered upon the road, directing their wearied march towards thehead-quarters of the republican army. The rigors of the Southern summerhad not yet abated; and it was with painful steps in the deep sand, amidclouds of suffocating dust, that these little detachments prosecutedtheir journey.

  Mildred, so far from sinking under the weariness and increasinghardships of her present toils, seemed to be endued with a capacity forsustaining them much beyond anything that could have been believed ofher sex. Her courage grew with the difficulties that beset her. Shelooked composedly upon the obstacles before her, and encountered them,not only without a murmur, but even with a cheerfulness to which she hadhitherto been a stranger. The steadiness of her onward march, herunrepining patience, and the gentle solicitude with which she turned thethoughts of her companions from herself, and forbade the suppositionthat her powers were over-taxed, showed how deeply her feelings wereengaged in her enterprise, and how maturely her mind had taken itsresolution.

  "One never would have guessed," said Horse Shoe, towards the close ofthe second day after they had entered North Carolina, "that a lady sodaintily nursed as you was at home, Mistress Mildred, could have everborne this here roughing of it through these piney woods. But I havemade one observation, Miss Lindsay, that no one can tell what they arefit for till they are tried; and on the back of that I have another,that when there's a great stir that rouses up a whole country, it don'tmuch signify whether they are man or woman, they all get roused alike.'Pon my word, ma'am, I have seen men--who think themselves sodgerstoo--that would be onwilling to trust themselves at this time o' yearthrough such a dried up piece of pine barren as we have been travellingover for two days past."

  "You remember the fable of the willow and the oak, Mr. Robinson,"replied Mildred, smiling; "the storm may bring down the sturdy tree, butthe supple shrub will bend before it without breaking."

  "I'm not much given to religious takings-on," said the sergeant, "butsometimes a notion comes into my head that looks a little that way, andthat is, when God appoints a thing to be done, he gives them that's todo it all the wherewithals. Now, as Major Butler is a good man and abrave sodger--God bless him!--it does seem right that you, MistressLindsay,--who, I take on me to understand enough of your consarns andhis'n, without offence, to say has a leaning towards the major,--I sayit does seem right and natural that you should lend a hand to help himout of tribulation; and so you see the cause being a good cause, theLord has given you both wisdom and strength to do what is right."

  "We owe, sergeant, a duty to our country; and we serve God and ourcountry both, when we strengthen the hands of its defenders."

  "That's a valiant speech, young lady, and it's a noble speech," saidHorse Shoe, with an earnest emphasis. "I have often told the major thatthe women of this country had as honest thoughts about this here war,and was as warm for our cause as the men; and some of them, perhaps, alittle warmer. They could be pitted against the women of any quarter ofthe aqueous globe, in bearing and forbearing both, when it is for thegood of the country."

  "Henry is asleep on his horse," said Mildred, looking at her brother,who now, jaded and worn with the effort of travel, was nodding anddropping his head forward, and almost losing his seat. "What, Henry,brother!" she added, loud enough to rouse up the young horseman. "Mytrusty cavalier, are you going to fall from your horse? Where is allthat boasted glorification upon which you were disposed to be soeloquent only a week ago? I thought a man on horseback was naturallyproud: I fear it was only on holiday occasions you meant, Henry. Hav'n'tyou a word for a sunny day and a dry journey? You lag more like amiller's boy with his bag of meal, than a young soldier setting out onhis adventures."

  "Ah, sister," said Henry, waking up, "this is nothing butpine--pine--and sand, without end. There is no game in the woods to keepa man on the look-out, except here and there a herd of wild hogs, thatsnort and run from us, like a squadron of cavalry, with their bristlesset up on their backs as fierce as the back fin of a sunfish. There isnot even grass to look at: you might see a black snake running half amile amongst the trees. And then there are such great patches of burnttimber, every trunk staring right at you, as black as thunder. I'm tiredof it all--I want to see the green fields again."

  "And, in truth, brother, so do I: but not until we can bring merry facesto look upon them. How far are we from Tarborough?"

  "We should be drawing nigh to the town," replied Horse Shoe, "for youmay see that we shall soon be out of these woods, by the signs of opencountry ahead. The last squad of sodgers that passed us, said that whenwe came to the farms, we shouldn't be more than five miles from thetown, and the sun isn't above an hour high."

  "In the hope of being soon housed, then, Mr. Robinson, I may confess toyou I am somewhat weary; but a good night's rest will put me in faircondition for to-morrow's ride again."

  After the lapse of an hour, the party were safely sheltered in atolerably comfortable inn at the village: and Mildred, aided by thesedulous care of Henry, found herself well bestowed in the best chamberof the house.