l
with a delightful sensation. "A king is but a man and no better than the
poorest in the realm."

"Ha! young cavalier from Virginia, dare you utter those words in your
own colony?"

"No; I left my colony because I could not abide there."

"What! a fugitive?"

"I escaped prison by the aid of friends and fled to Boston."

"And wherefore, pray, were you imprisoned?"

"On the charges of my mother's husband and a false friend in whom I
trusted."

General Goffe shook his white locks and said:

"So young, and made to feel the grinding heel of the despot! Verily the
suffering race of Adam will claim their rights some time."

They reached the home of Mathew Stevens, a large old-fashioned New
England house, and were admitted at once.

Robert was conscious of being in the presence of several strange but
kindly faces. There was an old man and woman with some young people of
his own age. Then he noticed among them a beautiful, fairy-like little
creature, some four years younger than himself, who, at sight of the
white-haired man, rushed toward him and, placing her arms about his
neck, cried:

"Father, father, father!"

"Ester, my child," the swordsman returned, "have you been happy?"

"Happy as one could be with father away."

"Now that I have returned, you need sorrow no more."

All the while Robert Stevens was standing on the threshold waiting an
invitation to enter. The aged patriarch at last seized the arm of
General Goffe and asked:

"Whom have we here?"

The general, in the joy of meeting his daughter from whom he had been
separated, had forgotten Robert.

"This is Robert Stevens, your relative from Virginia."

"Robert, I knew your father; I heard he was lost at sea."

"He was," Robert answered sadly.

"And your mother?"

"Has married Hugh Price, a cavalier."

Robert told a part of his story, ending with the announcement that he
was forced to fly from home to escape prosecution for treason. This he
told with much reluctance, for it was a poor recommendation that he was
an escaped prisoner.

When all was known, Robert found an abundance of sympathy, and was told
that he might make his home with his relatives, until he could be
provided for.

Then followed long weeks, months and years of the most delightful period
of his life. His relatives were kind. Their home was attractive; but
kind relatives and an attractive home were not the chief magnets which
attracted him to the spot. It was the joy