retched himself again on the
straw, and in spite of the prospect of liberty and the scenes he had
just passed through, was soon asleep.

CHAPTER V.

"Wherefore adew, my owne Herte true,
None other red I can;
For I must to the greene Wode goe,
Alone, a banishyd man."

THE NUT-BROWN MAID.

The uppermost desire in the heart of Philip Joy upon being liberated
in the morning by the order which, while it opened his prison door,
exonerated him from no other part of his sentence, was to see
Prudence; but his late experience of the wiles of Spikeman, although
he could think of no motive, for his hostility, had taught him
caution, and he determined to advance warily to gratify his wishes.

The occupation of Philip was that of a blacksmith and armorer, in
which capacities he had been of some utility to the colony. Between
whiles, also, whenever any desperate service was required in order to
strike terror into the savages, he had been employed in his military
character, and always with credit to himself. In consequence of his
skill in his handicraft and bravery, he had at first been a man of no
little consideration, but as the population of the settlement
increased, and fears of the Indians diminished, and blacksmiths and
armorers became more numerous, the importance of the stout soldier
gradually waned. To this result contributed, in no small degree, the
fact that he had never joined the congregation, and sometimes indulged
in a freedom of speech on interdicted topics, which was unpalatable to
those around him. Hence it happened that slight offences, which were
at first overlooked in consideration of his usefulness, were no longer
passed by when that usefulness was no longer prized, and there were
even some who were disposed to visit him with punishment for
transgressions of the kind, of years previous. Spikeman, who by his
wealth and cunning, had lately succeeded in getting himself for the
first time elevated to the dignity of an Assistant, had always
appeared to be a friend, and indeed had truly been so, until he sought
to pluck the apple of discord, the too fascinating Prudence, out of
the soldier's hand. So deep was the impression of the Assistant's
good-will to him, and so long had he been in the habit of regarding
the magistrate as a patron, that without exactly disbelieving, he
found it difficult to give full credence to the jailer's
representations. His mind was so confused that he hardly knew