ul attitude, like one in the habit of communing much with
himself. During this silence, the aid-de-camp stood in expectation of
orders. At length the general raised his eyes, and spoke in those low,
placid tones that seemed natural to him:

"Has the man I wished to see arrived, sir?"

"He waits the pleasure of your excellency."

"I will receive him here, and alone, if you please."

The aid bowed and withdrew. In a few minutes the door again opened,
and a figure, gliding into the apartment, stood modestly at a distance
from the general, without speaking. His entrance was unheard by the
officer, who sat gazing at the fire, still absorbed in his own
meditations. Several minutes passed, when he spoke to himself in an
undertone:

"To-morrow we must raise the curtain, and expose our plans. May Heaven
prosper them!"

"Harvey Birch," he said, turning to the stranger, "the time has
arrived when our connection must cease; henceforth and forever we must
be strangers."

The peddler dropped the folds of the great-coat that concealed his
features, and gazed for a moment earnestly at the face of the speaker;
then, dropping his head upon his bosom, he said, meekly:

"If it be your excellency's pleasure."

"It is necessary. Since I have filled the station which I now hold, it
has become my duty to know many men who, like yourself, have been my
instruments in procuring intelligence. You have I trusted more than
all; I early saw in you a regard to truth and principle that, I am
pleased to say, has never deceived me. You alone know my secret agents
in the city, and on your fidelity depend, not only their fortunes, but
their lives."

He paused, as if to reflect in order that full justice might be done
to the peddler, and then continued:

"I believe you are one of the very few that I have employed who have
acted faithfully to our cause; and, while you have passed as a spy of
the enemy, have never given intelligence that you were not permitted
to divulge. To me, and to me only of all the world, you seem to have
acted with strong attachment to the liberties of America."

During this address, Harvey gradually raised his head from his bosom,
until it reached the highest point of elevation; a faint tinge
gathered in his cheeks, and, as the officer concluded, it was diffused
over his whole countenance in a deep glow, while he stood, proudly
swelling with his emotions, but with eyes that modestly sought the
feet of the speaker.

"