her, Ursula, as I
Have known her, wisely good and true, thou wouldst
Have wondered more.

_Ursula._ Know her, sir! I nursed her!

_Butts._ Thou, Ursula?

_Ursula._ None but I!

_Butts._ Where were her friends?

_Ursula._ Where, but at home! Dear heart,
They shunned her like the plague--though if the truth
Were known, many that shun her now would keep
Her company perforce. None came near
But pious Master Dimsdell, and even he
Came only out of duty to her soul;
He told me so.

_Butts._ The Reverend Master Dimsdell
And thou her only comforters?

_Ursula._ Nay,
The little bairn was her greatest comfort, sir.

_Butts._ How doth she bear her trouble, Ursula?

_Ursula._ Like a good woman, sir.

_Butts._ She yet is that!
But have you never learned her lover's name?

_Ursula._ Nay, I never have.

_Butts._ 'Tis strange that she
Should fall; and then endeavor to conceal
Her lover! Noble, wise and beautiful,
No other than a man of mark could win her!

_Ursula._ A three years widow, baby three months old,
A coward run-a-gate of a lover, sir--
Tell me, is there no exception made
By law for widows?

_Butts._ None, of which I know.

_Ursula._ The law is hard indeed!

_Butts._ I wonder if
A rough sea-dog like me might speak a word
For her?

_Ursula._ Aye, that you might! Go seek the good
Old Doctor Wilson, mercy dwells with him,
And he will aid you, sir.

_Butts._ I'll go at once.

[_Exeunt severally, Butts up street, Ursula in tavern._

_Enter ROGER PRYNNE, travel stained._

_Roger._ We are not masters of our paths, although
Our wills do seem to guide our faltering steps:
Ship voyagers are we, and roam at will
Within the narrow confines of the deck,
But neither plot nor steer the destined course.
I may have passed her house--I'll ask my way
Here at the inn. Long live King Boniface!
What ho! some wine!

_Ursula._ [_Within_] Your patience, Captain, I'll be there anon.

_Roger._ At your leisure, hostess; I've learned to wait. [_Sits._
A bachelor at sixty, I found myself
Encumbered with a ward--nay, not that--
Enriched with female loveliness and grace
Bequeathed unto me by a dying friend.
Volition had no part in that, nor i