happy; and as he
leaned upon his staff and mused, a bright smile overspread his face, and
none but cheerful visions floated into his brain.

Had he no thoughts of her, whose sole delight he was, and whom he had
unconsciously plunged in such bitter sorrow and such deep affliction?
Oh, yes. She was at the heart of all his cheerful hopes and proud
reflections. It was she whom all this honour and distinction were to
gladden; the joy and profit were for her. What delight it gave her
to hear of the bravery of her poor boy! Ah! He would have known that,
without Hugh's telling him. And what a precious thing it was to know she
lived so happily, and heard with so much pride (he pictured to himself
her look when they told her) that he was in such high esteem: bold among
the boldest, and trusted before them all! And when these frays were
over, and the good lord had conquered his enemies, and they were all at
peace again, and he and she were rich, what happiness they would have
in talking of these troubled times when he was a great soldier: and when
they sat alone together in the tranquil twilight, and she had no longer
reason to be anxious for the morrow, what pleasure would he have in the
reflection that this was his doing--his--poor foolish Barnaby's; and
in patting her on the cheek, and saying with a merry laugh, 'Am I silly
now, mother--am I silly now?'

With a lighter heart and step, and eyes the brighter for the happy tear
that dimmed them for a moment, Barnaby resumed his walk; and singing
gaily to himself, kept guard upon his quiet post.

His comrade Grip, the partner of his watch, though fond of basking in
the sunshine, preferred to-day to walk about the stable; having a great
deal to do in the way of scattering the straw, hiding under it such
small articles as had been casually left about, and haunting Hugh's
bed, to which he seemed to have taken a particular attachment. Sometimes
Barnaby looked in and called him, and then he came hopping out; but
he merely did this as a concession to his master's weakness, and soon
returned again to his own grave pursuits: peering into the straw with
his bill, and rapidly covering up the place, as if, Midas-like, he were
whispering secrets to the earth and burying them; constantly busying
himself upon the sly; and affecting, whenever Barnaby came past, to
look up in the clouds and have nothing whatever on his mind: in short,
conducting himself, in many respects, in a more than usually