Project Gutenberg's Rodman the Keeper, by Constance Fenimore Woolson

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Rodman the Keeper
Southern Sketches

Author: Constance Fenimore Woolson

Release Date: September 26, 2010 [EBook #33813]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RODMAN THE KEEPER ***

Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

RODMAN THE KEEPER

_SOUTHERN SKETCHES_

CONSTANCE FENIMORE WOOLSON

AUTHOR OF "EAST ANGELS" "ANNE" "FOR THE MAJOR" ETC.

NEW YORK AND LONDON
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS

DEDICATED

TO THE MEMORY OF

MY MOTHER.

PREFACE.

The sketches included in this volume were written during a residence in
the South, which has embraced the greater part of the past six years. As
far as they go they record real impressions; but they can never give the
inward charm of that beautiful land which the writer has learned to
love, and from which she now severs herself with true regret. Two of
these sketches have appeared in the "Atlantic Monthly," four in
"Appletons' Journal," and one each in "Scribner's Monthly," "The
Galaxy," "Lippincott's Monthly," and "Harper's Magazine."

C. F. W.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

RODMAN THE KEEPER 9

SISTER ST. LUKE 42

MISS ELISABETHA 75

OLD GARDISTON 105

THE SOUTH DEVIL 139

IN THE COTTON COUNTRY 178

FELIPA 197

"BRO." 221

KING DAVID 254

UP IN THE BLUE RIDGE 276

RODMAN THE KEEPER.

The long years come and go,
And the Past,
The sorrowful, splendid Past,
With its glory and its woe,
Seems never to have been.
--Seems never to have been?
O somber days and grand,
How ye crowd back once more,
Seeing our heroes' graves are green
By the Potomac and the Cumberland,
And in the valley of the Shenandoah!

When we remember how they died,--
In dark ravine and on the mountain-side,
In leaguered fort and fire-encircled town,
And where the iron ship