ground safely and stood
resting a moment, while a sigh of relief escaped him.

"Esau, put the end of the torch sideways in Hero's mouth,--mind, so
that it will not burn him; and lay the cushion on the plank.
No!--that is wrong. Turn the torch the other way, so that as he
walks, the wind will blow the flame in the opposite direction, away
from his face. Take it, Hero! That's a noble fellow! Now home, Hero."

When the cushion had been adjusted on the broad plank brought for the
purpose, Mr. Lindsay laid Regina upon it, threw a blanket over her,
and, bidding the sexton take one end of the plank, he lifted the
other, and they began the march.

"Not that way, Hero, although it is the nearest. Truly the 'longest
way round is the shortest way' home this time; for we could not twist
about among the graves, and must go down the avenue, though it is
somewhat obstructed by fallen boughs. Come here, Hero, and walk ahead
of us. Now, Regina, you can shut your eyes and imagine you are riding
in a palankeen, as the Hindustanee ladies do when they go out for
fresh air. The motion is exactly the same, as you will find some day
when you come to Rohilcund or Oude, to see Padre Sahib--Lindsay. You
shall then have a new dooley all curtained close with rose-coloured
silk; but I can't promise that the riding will prove any more easy
than this cushioned plank."

What a stab seemed each word, bringing back all the bitter suffering
his departure would cause,--the reviving the grief, from which the
storm had temporarily diverted her thoughts.

"You are not going to-night? You will not try to start, after this
dreadful storm?" she said, in an unsteady voice.

"Yes, I am obliged to go, in order to keep an appointment for
to-morrow night in New York; otherwise, I would wait a day to learn
the extent of the damage, for I am afraid the hurricane has made sad
havoc. Esau tells me the roof and a portion of the market house was
carried away, and it was the most violent gale I have ever known."

They had reached the street and were approaching the gate of the
parsonage, where Hero turned back, dropped the torch at Mr. Lindsay's
feet, and shook his head vigorously, rubbing his nose with his paw.

"Poor fellow! can't you stand it any longer? It must nave scorched
him, as it burnt low. Brave fellow!"

"Oh, Douglass! is that you?" cried an eager voice at some distance.

"Yes, mother."

Mrs. Lindsay ran to meet them.

"Did you find her?"

"Yes