As I rode up the hill, the staff came out to welcome me. I had known
these brave gentlemen well, when with Stuart, and they were good
enough, now, to give me the right hand of fellowship,--to receive me
for old times' sake, with "distinguished consideration." The general
was as cordial as his military family--and in ten minutes I was seated
and conversing with him, beneath the great oak.
A charming cordiality inspired the words and countenance of the great
soldier. Nearly four years have passed, but I remember still his
courteous smile and friendly accents.
All at once, the figure of a young woman appeared in the doorway. At a
glance I recognized the golden ringlets of Katy Dare. She beckoned to
me, smiling; I rose and hastened to greet her; in a moment we were
seated upon the portico, conversing like old friends.
There was something fascinating in this child. The little maiden of
eighteen resembled a blossom of the spring. Were I a poet, I should
declare that her azure eyes shone out from her auburn hair like
glimpses of blue sky behind sun-tinted clouds!
I do not know how it came about, or how I found myself there, but in a
few moments I was walking with her in the autumn woods, and smiling as
I gazed into the deep blue of her eyes. The pines were sighing above
us; beneath our feet a thick carpet of brown tassels lay; and on the
summit of the evergreens the golden crown of sunset slowly rose, as
though the fingers of some unseen spirit were bearing it away into the
night.
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