e neighborhood."

Alice said this in a peculiar tone, as she glanced at the
sorrow-stricken visage of the young man.

A desultory conversation ensued, after which William Dulan arose to
take his leave, which he did in a choking, inaudible voice. As he
turned to leave the room, his ghastly face and unsteady step attested,
in language not to be misunderstood, the acuteness and intensity of
his suffering. Alice did not misunderstand it. She uttered one word,
in a low and trembling tone:

"William!"

He was at her side in an instant. A warm blush glowing over her bosom,
cheek and brow, her eyes were full of tears, as she raised them to his
face, eloquent with all a maiden may not speak.

"Angel! I love! I adore thee!" exclaimed the youth, sinking at her
feet.

"Love me, William, only love me, and let us both adore the Being who
hath given us to each other."

* * * * *

It was a cold night on the shores of the ice-bound Rappahannock. A
storm of wind and snow that had been fiercely raging all day long, at
length subsided. At a low cabin, which served the threefold purposes
of post-office, ferry-house and tavern, an old gray-haired man was
nodding over a smoldering fire. His slumbers were disturbed by the
blast of a stage horn and wheels of the coach, which soon stopped
before the door.

Two travelers alighted and entered the cabin. The old ferryman arose
to receive them.

"Any chance of crossing to-night, Uncle Ben?" inquired the younger
traveler.

"He-he! hardly, Mr. William; the river has been closed for a week,"
chuckling at the thought that he should be saved the trouble of taking
the coach across.

"Oh, of course, I did not expect to go on the boat; I was thinking of
crossing on the ice."

"I think that would scarcely be safe, Mr. William; the weather has
moderated a great deal since nightfall, and I rather think the ice may
be weak."

"Pooh! nonsense! fiddle-de-dee!" exclaimed the other traveler,
testily; "do you think, old driveler, that a few hours of moderate
weather could weaken, effectually, the ice of a river that has been
hard frozen for a week? Why, at this moment a coach might be driven
across with perfect safety!"

"I shouldn't like to try it, though, sir," said the driver, who
entered at this moment.

"The gentleman can try it, if he likes," continued the old man, with a
grin, "but I do hopes Mr. Dulan won't."

"Why, the ice will certainly bear a foot-p