agement, I know not but I might have turned
coward at the thought of exposing the dear girl to the dangers and
privations of such a campaign; but the knowledge that I possess such a
treasure will nerve my arm and give me courage to fight manfully to
preserve her from danger, and to end this dreadful war with the
relentless savages." After repeated but vain efforts to see her
father, she bade farewell to her friends, and those to whom she had
clung during her days of trial and suspense accompanied her to the
steamer which was to carry her from her home. The day was a cheerless
one; the sun veiled his face behind dark, ominous clouds, and the wind
sighed mournfully, as if moaning out a requiem. We felt oppressed with
foreboding; we knew she was going into the midst of real danger; her
father had refused to see her; her mother had parted with her in
anger; nearly all her old friends had frowned upon her, and now nature
seemed to give signs of displeasure, though we who loved her felt that
the heavens were weeping in full sympathy with the dear girl. The
young husband and wife strove to be cheerful, she smiled sweetly
through her tears, as she spoke of returning in the spring, expressing
the hope that by that time her parents would have forgiven them and
would welcome them into the beloved family circle.

We stand on the wharf as the boat pushes off, waving our last
"good-byes" and breathing prayers for their safety and welfare, while
she leans on the arm of him for whom she has forsaken all but God; the
great wheels revolve, the boat moves on her way, and that girlish
form, on whom our eyes are fixed, grows fainter and fainter, till it
fades out of sight. We heard from them immediately on their arrival at
Fort Adams, and the Lieutenant wrote that Lizzie was well and would be
perfectly happy but for the thought of her parents' displeasure. Her
young sister, Carrie, a sweet girl of thirteen, had shed many tears
for her, and had used all her eloquence to bring about a
reconciliation, apparently in vain, but finally she had so far
prevailed with her mother as to extort a promise from her that she
would write to her, which fact she straightway communicated to Lizzie,
who was, at the opening of our story, looking anxiously for this
promised letter, which might contain words of love, perhaps
forgiveness. But she had looked so long and had been so often
disappointed, that suspense, that worst of all trials to a wounded
spirit, ha