to plead Butler's cause herself to the British
general. Her soul rebelled at the gross calumny which had been invented
to bring down vengeance upon Arthur's head; and she had no thought of
thwarting the accuser's wickedness, but by an appeal to the highest
power for that redress which an honorable soldier, in her opinion, could
not refuse, even to an enemy. As to the personal hazard, inconvenience,
or difficulty of her projected enterprise, no thought of either for a
moment occupied her. She saw but her purpose before her, and did not
pause to reckon on the means by which she was to promote it. She
reflected not on the censure of the world; nor on its ridicule; nor on
its want of sympathy for her feelings: she reflected only on her power
to serve one dearer to her than a friend, upon her duty, and upon the
agony of her doubts. If her father had been at hand she might have
appealed to him, and, perhaps, have submitted to his counsel; but he was
absent, she knew not where, and she was convinced that no time was to be
lost. "Even now, whilst we debate," she said, "his life may be forfeited
to the malice of the wicked men who have ensnared him."

Her conduct in this crisis is not to be weighed in the scale wherein the
seemly and decorous observances of female propriety are ordinarily
balanced. The times, the occasion, and the peculiar position of Mildred,
take her case out of the pale of common events, and are entitled to
another standard. She will be judged by the purity of her heart, the
fervor of her attachment, and her sense of the importance of the service
she was about to confer. And with the knowledge of these, I must leave
her vindication to the generosity of my reader.

When the morning came and breakfast was over, the horses were brought to
the door. Henry was active in all the preliminary arrangements for the
journey, and now bestirred himself with an increased air of personal
importance. Isaac, a grey-haired negro of a sedate, and, like all his
tribe, of an abundantly thoughtful length of visage, appeared in a suit
of livery, ready booted and spurred for his journey. A large
portmanteau, containing a supply of baggage for his mistress, was duly
strapped behind his saddle, whilst a pair of pistols were buckled upon
the pummel. Henry's horse also had all the furniture necessary to a
campaign and the young martialist himself, notwithstanding his sister's
disapproval, was begirt with a sword-belt, from which depend