The Broken Sword

at was very beautiful in the landscaping of nature, at eleven a. m. of the 12th of November, would

tion, indeed against the ordinances of secession, the irony of fate, through this great man, projected an argument whose logic was irrefutable in its last analysis. Foreshadowed events put into the mouth of Mr. Webster a menace, whose uninterpretable meaning in 1833 was clearly understood when the baleful power of the storm swept from the high seas the last privateer with its letter of marque, disbanded the last armed scout south of the breakwater of the Delaware, and broke the heart of the greatest warrior since Charlemagne; a chieftain more honored in defeat than Hannibal, or Napoleon, or Sobieski, or the great Frederick. This master craftsman in the construction corps of the Republic; whose resourceful intellect engrafted a principle as fixed and inviolable into the Constitution as fate, propelled against the equity of 'peaceful separation' the weight of an over

in the tree boughs with a strange and melancholy rhythm. A sailor passing up the forward ladder from the forecastle to observe the weather would say, with a shudder, that it was a "greasy day," and that the sky and shrouds and storm-sails were leaky. Col. Seymour, upon ordinary occasions, was a gentleman of discrimination, and his judgment of character was fairly correct. Like the true Scotch Southron, as he was, he had his own ideals, his own loves and his own idiosyncrasies. He loved Scotland and her people, her memories, her history, her renown, her trossachs, her lakes, her mountains; they were his people, and Scotland

consumed, resting upon the antiquated brass andirons in the fire-place, giving warmth and cheer to the whole room. The stranger, rubbing

these inflictions are for other folks, whose liberty i

e the naygurs," laughingl

y are hunting cattle not their own. You can see dru

free America? May-be ye hae no goovernmen

sixes and sevens, and the negroes now held the mastery over th

e laws for sic as you?" he

ed the Colonel,

here there is not o'ermuch siller, but where ivery mon is his ain laird, ond his hoose is his ain hame. Ye ken fine that I am a stranger hereaboot. Ond will the nayg

again asked, with his fears still unsubdued. The amiable host, shaking from an effort at self-control, again remarked that the carpet-bag government had

continued, as the conversation changed into more agreeable channels. "Ye hae na moontains ond bonni

r awhile you will quite forget your mountains, for there is a charm

me. What wad a man do in th' Soothland wi' his beezeness in Edinboro?" And the Scotchman smiled as he asked

thot?" asked

r from early mo

on, "The meenister in holy kirk wad discipline a puir body, ond the deil wad b

-fact Scotchman, in a sense, a type and representative of his own people, an

e wife ond bair

the Colonel, as tears began to gather in his eyes. "

e hae noo, that ye gaed up your bonnie

and he walked across the room and looked out upon the murky sky-a

of grief that had quite overcome him, and, availing himself of the earliest opportunity to excuse himself, withdrew from the room. To Mr. McAden the moment was fraught with sincere sorrow. He had unwittingly ope

in the love of his gude wife ond the bairn. Haed I thocht thot the lad ha

d been done to his feelings, and presently he returned with a smili

is my daugh

tended hand, "The lassie is like the sire,

r mither in all except the

their puir bodies are laid, but our men ond weemen still are vera fayre ond gentle, ond we niver put our een upon a naygur. Ond, now thot I can abide nae langer wi' ye, will ye nae tell me a wee bit o'

Southland took a higher delight in imparting such information as he could command, than Colon

of man; nor did they enjoy the aristocracy of the recognized power of wealth. They cared nothing for mammonism, that some philosophical crank has defined to be a physical force that makes men invertebrates. Here was life with the struggle of pioneers; a struggle for place rather than for position; for homes rather than castles, that prepared the intellect for a higher development, and man for ultimate power. The victory of the axe and plow were the pre-ordained antecedents to the victory of the forum and pulpit, and the triumph over the crude obstructions of nature was the divine prophecy of undisciplined toil. Out of the ruggedness of such an epoch came forth a condition of virtue and integrity; of honest and honorable convictions; of sincere patriotism; of a race of men who looked to themselves only, and originated within this scant domain the literature of economic life. It was here that the domestic sentiment displayed its captivating charm. Nowhere on earth was there a more generous love for children, and whenever this attribute of the heart appears, the prophetic benediction of Christ, as childhood lay in His hallowed arms, is fulf

e hielands, and yoor knowledge of the gude fauk in yoor ain coontry quite surprises me. Di

they lie buried side by side in the little cemetery ove

s tranquilly," said the Scotchman with feeling, "ond when I dee my sepulchre shall be near the auld hame wh