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A storm below the highlands of the Hudson, if
if it be introduced with an easterly wind, seldom
lasts less than two days. Accordingly, as the inmates
of the Locusts assembled, on the following
morning, around their early breakfast, the
driving rain was seen to strike, in nearly horizontal
lines, against the windows of the building,
and forbad the idea of exposing either man or
beast to the tempest. Harper was the last to appear:
after taking a view of the state of the weather,
he apologized to Mr. Wharton for the necessity
that existed, for his trespassing upon his
goodness for a longer time. To appearances,
the reply was as courteous as the excuse; yet Harper
wore a resignation in his deportment that
was widely different from the uneasy manner of
the father. Henry Wharton had resumed his disguise
with a reluctance amounting to disgust, but
in obedience to the commands of his parent.
No other communications passed between him and
the stranger, after the first salutations of the
morning had been paid to him by Harper, in
common with the rest of the family. Frances
had, indeed, thought there was something like a
smile passing over the features of the traveller,

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when, on entering the room, he first confronted
her brother; but it was confined to the eyes,
seeming to want power to affect the muscles of the
face, and was soon lost in the settled and benevolent
expression which reigned in his countenance,
with a sway but seldom interrupted. The eyes
of the affectionate sister were turned, in anxiety,
for a moment, on her brother; and, glancing again
on their unknown guest, met his look as he offered
her, with peculiar grace, one of the little
civilities of the table; and the heart of the maiden,
which had begun to throb with violence, regained
a pulsation as tempered as youth, health, and
buoyant spirits could allow. While yet seated at
the table, Cæsar entered, and, laying a small parcel
in silence by the side of his master, modestly
retired behind his chair; where, placing one hand
on its back, he continued in an attitude half familiar,
but profoundly respectful.

“What is this Cæsar?” inquired Mr. Wharton,
turning the bundle over in examination of its envelope,
and eyeing it rather suspiciously.

“The 'baccy, sir; Harvey Birch, he got home,
and bring you a little good 'baccy from York.”

“Harvey Birch,” rejoined the master, with
great deliberation, stealing a look at his guest.
“I do not remember desiring him to purchase
any tobacco for me; but as he has bought it, he
must be paid for his trouble.”

For an instant only, as the negro spoke, did
Harper suspend his silent meal—his eye moved
slowly from the servant to the master, and again
all remained in its impenetrable reserve.

To Sarah Wharton, this intelligence gave unexpected
pleasur; rising from her seat, with impatience,
she bid the black shew Birch into the
apartment; when, suddenly recollecting herself,
she turned to the traveller with an apologizing

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look, and added, “if Mr. Harper will excuse the
presence of a pedlar.”

The indulgent benevolence expressed in the
countenance of the stranger, as he bowed in silent
acquiescence, spoke more eloquently than the
nicest framed period, and the young lady repeated
her order with a confidence in its truth, that
removed all embarrassment.

In the deep recesses of the windows of the cottage,
were seats of panneled work; and the rich
damask curtains, that had ornamented the parlour
in Queen-street, had been transferred to the
Locusts, and gave to the room that indescribable
air of comfort, which so gratefully announces
the approach of a domestic winter. Into one of
these recesses Captain Wharton now threw himself,
drawing the curtain before him in such a
manner as to conceal most of his person from
observation; while his younger sister, losing her
natural frankness of manner in an air of artificial
constraint, silently took possession of the other.

Harvey Birch had been a pedlar from his
youth; at least, so he frequently asserted, and his
skill in the occupation went far to prove the truth
of the declaration. He was supposed to be a native
of one of the Eastern Colonies; and, from something
of superior intelligence which belonged to
his father, it was thought they had known better
fortunes in the land of their nativity. Harvey possessed,
however, the common manners of the
country, and was in no way distinguished from
men of his class but by his acuteness—and the
mystery which enveloped his movements. Ten
years before they had arrived together in the
valc, and, purchasing the humble dwelling at
which Harper had made his unsuccessful application,
continued peaceful inhabitants, but little
noticed and but little known. Until age and

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infirmities had prevented, the father devoted himself to
the cultivation of the small spot of ground belonging
to his purchase, while the son pursued with
avidity his humble barter. Their orderly quietude
had soon given them so much of consideration in
the neighbourhood, as to induce a maiden of five
and thirty to forget the punctilio of her sex, and
to accept the office of presiding over their domestic
comforts. The roses had long before vanished
from the cheeks of Katy Haynes, and she had
seen in succession, both her male and female
acquaintances forming the union so desirable to
her sex, with but little or no hope left for herself,
when, with views of her own, she entered the
family of the Birch's. Necessity is a hard master—
but still Katy was not wanting in some qualities,
which made her a very tolerable housekeeper.
On the one hand, she was neat, industrious,
honest, and a good manager.—On the other,
she was talkative, selfish, superstitious, and inquisitive.
By dint of using the latter quality with
consummate skill, she had not lived in the family
but five years when she triumphantly declared,
that she had heard, or rather over heard, sufficient
to say what had been the former fate of her
associates.—Could Katy have possessed enough
of divination to pronounce upon their future lot,
her task would have seemed comparatively easy.
From the private conversations of the parent and
child, she learnt that a fire had reduced them
from competence to poverty, and at the same
time diminished the number of their family to
two. There was a tremulousness in the voice of
the father, as he touched lightly on the event,
which affected even the heart of Katy; but no
barrier is sufficient to repel vulgar curiosity. She
persevered, until a very direct intimation from
Harvey, by threatning to supply her place with a

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female a few years younger than herself, gave her
awful warning, that there were bounds beyond
which she was not to pass. From that period,
the curiosity of the housekeeper had been held
in such restraint, that, although no opportunity
of listening was ever neglected, she had been
able to add but little to her stock of knowledge.
There was, however, one piece of intelligence,
and that of no little interest to herself, which she
had succeeded in obtaining; and, from the moment
of its acquisition, she had directed her energies
to the accomplishment of one object, aided by the
double stimulus of love and avarice.

Harvey was in the frequent habit of paying
mysterious visits, in the depth of the night, to the
fire-place of the apartment, that served for both
kitchen and parlor. Here he was observed by
Katy; and, availing herself of his absence and
the occupations of the father, by removing one of
the hearth-stones, she discovered an iron pot,
glittering with a metal that seldom fails to soften
the hardest heart. Katy succeeded in replacing
the stone without discovery, and never dared to
trust herself with another visit. From that moment,
however, the heart of the virgin lost its obduracy;
and nothing interposed between Harvey
and his happiness, but his own want of observation.

The war did not interfere with the traffic of the
pedlar, who seized on the golden opportunity which
the interruption to the regular trade afforded, and
appeared absorbed in the one grand object of
amassing money. For a year or two his employment
was uninterrupted, and his success proportionate;
but, at length, dark and threatening hints
began to throw suspicion around his movements,
and the civil authority thought it incumbent on
them to examine narrowly into his mode of life.

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His imprisonments were not long, though frequent;
and his escapes from the guardians of the law
comparatively easy, to what he endured from the
persecution of the military. Still Birch survived,
and still he continued his trade, though compelled
to be very guarded in his movements, especially
whenever he approached the northern boundaries
of the county; or, in other words, the neighbourhood
of the American lines. His visits to the Locusts
had become less frequent, and his appearance at
his own abode so seldom, as to draw forth from
the disappointed Katy, in the fullness of her heart,
the complaint we have related, in her reply to
Harper. Nothing seemed to interfere with the
pursuits of this indefatigable trader; and, with a
view to dispose of certain articles which could
only find purchasers in the very wealthiest families
of the county, he had now braved the fury of the
tempest, for the half mile between his own residence
and the house of Mr. Wharton.

In a few minutes after receiving the commands
of his young mistress, Cæsar reappeared, ushering
into the apartment the subject of the foregoing
digression. In person, the pedlar was a man of
middle height, spare, but full of bone and muscle:
at first sight, his strength seemed unequal to manage
the unwieldy burden of his pack; yet he
threw it on and off with great dexterity, and with
as much apparent ease as if it had been feathers.
His eyes were gray—sunken, restless, and, for the
flitting moments that they dwelt on the countenances
of those with whom he conversed, seemed
to read the very soul. They possessed, however,
two distinct expressions, which, in a great measure,
characterized the whole man. When engaged
in traffic, the intelligence of his face appeared
lively, active, and flexible, though uncommonly
acute; if the conversation turned on the

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ordinary transactions of life, his air became abstracted
and restless; but if, by chance, the revolution
and the country were the topic, his whole
system seemed altered—all his faculties were
concentrated—he would listen for a great length
of time, without speaking, and then would break
silence by some light and jocular remarks, that
were too much at variance with his former manner,
not to be affectation. But of the war, and of
his father, he seldom spoke, and always from some
apparent necessity.

To a superficial observer, avarice would seem
his ruling passion—and, all things considered, he
was as unfit a subject for the plans of Katy Haynes
as can be readily imagined. On entering the
room the pedlar relieved himself from his burden,
which, as it stood on the floor, reached nearly to
his shoulders, and saluted the family with modest
civility. To Harper he made a silent bow, without
lifting his eyes from the carpet; but the curtain
prevented any notice of the presence of Captain
Wharton. Sarah gave but little time for the
usual salutations before she commenced her survey
of the contents of the pack; and, for several
minutes, the two were engaged in bringing to light
the varied articles it contained. The tables,
chairs, and floor, were soon covered with silks,
crapes, gloves, muslins, and all the stock of an
itinerant trader. Cæsar was employed to hold
open the mouth of the pack, as its hordes were
discharged, and occasionally aided his young lady,
by directing her admiration to some articles of finery,
which, from their deeper contrast in colours,
he thought more worthy of her notice. At length,
Sarah having selected several articles, and satisfactorily
arranged the prices, observed in a
cheerful voice—

“But, Harvey, you have told us no news.—Has
Lord Cornwallis beaten the rebels again?”

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The question could not have been heard; for
the pedlar, burying his body in the pack, brought
forth a quantity of lace of exquisite fineness, and,
holding it up to view, required the admiration of
the young lady. Miss Peyton dropped the cup she
was engaged in washing, from her hand; and
Frances exhibited the whole of that lovely face,
which had hitherto only suffered one of its joyous
eyes to be seen beaming with a colour that
shamed the damask, which enviously concealed
her figure.

The aunt quitted her employment; and Birch
soon disposed of a large portion of this valuable
article. The praises of the ladies had drawn the
whole person of the younger sister into view; and
Frances was slowly rising from the window, as
Sarah repeated her question, with an exultation in
her voice, that proceeded more from pleasure in
her purchase, than her political feelings. The
younger sister resumed her seat, apparently examining
into the state of the clouds, while the
pedlar, finding a reply was expected, answered
slowly—

“There is some talk below about Tarleton
having defeated General Sumpter, on the Tyger
river.”

Captain Wharton now involuntarily thrust his
head between the opening of the curtains into the
room; and Frances, in turning her ear, in breathless
silence, noticed the quiet eyes of Harper
looking at the pedlar, over the book he was affecting
to read, with an expression that denoted him
a listener of no ordinary interest.

“Indeed!” cried the exulting Sarah, “Sumpter—
Sumpter—who is he? I'll not buy even a pin,
until you tell me all the news;” she continued
laughing, and throwing down a muslin she had
been examining.

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