I do not wonder that the patriarchs lived to the good old age which they attained. I do not wonder that they counted by hundreds where we count by tens. Sparsely scattered over the face of the earth, with their flocks and their herds and their servants; living a frugal and a homely life; inheriting a constitution unbroken by many generations of vice, indulgence, and luxury; with constant but gentle activity of body, and rare and scanty excitement of mind--there was little in the whole course of their existence to wear down the frame and to impair the health. The sword was so seldom drawn--in short--only enough to keep it from rusting--that it did not fret the scabbard. With us, how different is the case! The pursuit of wealth, of pleasure, of fame; the constant exertion of mind and of body; the struggles of an overpacked population, each man like the cuckoo whose offspring tried to shoulder the other out of the nest; the wearing and fretting of continual disappointments; the musquito-bites of small cares; the everlasting thought for the morrow--all these things break us down and shorten life, "Et corpore frangitur curis et laboribus." Nevertheless, in this troublesome and toilsome existence--troublesome and toilsome even to those whom fate and fortune have most favoured--come lapses, either of calm and pleasant tranquillity or of dull and heavy inactivity. Such was the case with me for several weeks. My wound would have healed, probably, at once, had it not been for the slight injury to the bone of the arm. That, however, produced a long train of unpleasant, though not dangerous, symptoms, for which there were no remedies but patience and perfect tranquillity. Anything like exercise was actually forbidden; and I found to my cost when, once or twice, I broke through the rule, that violent irritation and even inflammation followed. There was nothing for it but to submit quietly to a sort of life which was not at all congenial to my habits or my taste. But there were many mitigations to a state which would have been dull and wearisome enough in ordinary circumstances. I suffered very little as long as I was perfectly quiet. I was allowed to rise and go down to the drawing room with my arm in a sling; and I had constantly the society which was most delightful to me, with very little of that which might have annoyed or irritated me. Sometimes there was a little business to break monotony; sometimes a little cheerful society from without. But I had always Bessy Davenport near me; for, by some arrangement, made between her and Mrs. Stringer, she had agreed to stay at Beavors and keep her friend company, while Mr. Stringer, his boys, and the tutor, went up into the interior of Virginia to visit the natural bridge, Weir's cave, and the Peaks of Otter. Perhaps my situation had some share in deciding her to stay; at least, she said so; for Bessy had a habit of always putting the most open and straightforward construction upon her actions, depriving others of the power to insinuate motives by boldly avowing her own. One day, when Mrs. Stringer was saying how kind it was of her to stay with her during Mr. Stringer's absence, she answered laughing,--

"I should always be glad to stay with you, my dear friend, at any time when I could be of comfort or assistance to you; but you must not thank me on the present occasion; for the truth is, I am staying to nurse and amuse my cousin Richard there." And she did so, untiringly. I do not intend to enter into many details of the next month's events, if indeed events they could be called; but some must be slightly touched upon. The day after the duel, I had several visitors--Mr. Henry Thornton, Billy Byles, the sheriff of the county, and others. Mr. Thornton continued to come, two or three times every week, and once or twice brought Mr. Hubbard with him, when some little matters of business were talked of. Mr. Wheatley returned to Norfolk on the morning of the third day; and I should certainly have felt his loss much, had not Bessy Davenport been there. From Dr. Christy I heard every day of the progress of Robert Thornton, and glad indeed I was to find that the surgeon's favourable anticipations were likely to be verified. It is true the unfortunate man struggled for his life during nearly ten days; but from that time, his convalescence, though slow, was steady. It is true, that he was somewhat thrown back at one time by the decision of a court in regard to Aunt Bab's slaves. My claim was admitted; and though an appeal was taken, the slaves were placed in the hands of the sheriff, till the case could be finally decided.

"There can be no doubt whatever upon the question," said Mr. Hubbard, when he communicated the facts to me; "and the poor people, in the end, will be put at your disposal. But with regard to the landed property," he added, shaking his head, "we shall have more difficulty. They are trying to get it escheated, and I fear we shall not be able to prevent it. I think, nevertheless, I see a course of proceeding to frustrate their ultimate object of getting possession of it themselves, though we cannot place it absolutely in your hands."

"How is that, my dear sir?" I asked.

"Oh, a little legal fiction," he answered, "a little legal fiction; but you must let me mature my scheme, and then I will tell you all about it." I was well contented to let the question remain in abeyance; for, to say the truth, I did not care how it was decided. Having fully as much as I wanted, and a surplus for any contingencies which might involve increased expenditure, I was not anxious for an augmentation of fortune, although I will confess that I felt no little desire to frustrate those land-sharks, always desirous of preying upon the inheritance of others, which swarm in the southern states of this union. It is quite extraordinary, how many, how voracious, and how dexterous they are. With the execution of these visits of courtesy or business, few events occurred to interrupt the perfect tranquillity of Beavors, especially after the departure of Mr. Stringer and his sons. One day was a complete pattern of the other, except that a little variation crept in as I improved in health. After a time, I was permitted by the doctor to take a short walk out in the cool of the morning, and another in the evening, with a strenuous recommendation not to carry exercise to the length of fatigue. I had learned to know exactly the sound of the opening of Bessy Davenport's door on the great corridor. Her maid always went in and out the back way; but she had seldom got on the veil which she usually wore over her head, nor raised her parasol from the seat in the hall, before I was at her side; and then we had a short dreamy walk in the shady parts of the plantation. which afforded some of the pleasantest moments I have yet known in life. It may seem very strange that we who, in the early part of our acquaintance, had talked a great deal of love and marriage, and the mistakes that are made in both, now seldom touched upon such topics at all. Nothing had been said, nothing had been done, to bind us in any shape to each other; and a certain tranquillity was in the minds of both, I am assured, which seemed as if all had been spoken and all was understood. We walked along, side by side. We conversed on various topics, some strange and new, at least to one of the parties--of Europe and its monuments--of customs, of scenes, of enjoyments, all different from those of the land in which we then were--nay, of a still older world in the far East, the cradle of the human race, where, as if for the purpose of preserving a connecting link between the past and the present, God had implanted in the mind of man a tenacious adherence to ancient habits, which gives us, to the present day, living pictures of those early times when His word was first revealed to a chosen nation separated from all other people, to preserve, amongst struggles and contentions, and errors and follies, the knowledge of the one true God. Then she would tell me strange tales of the aboriginal inhabitants of this vast continent; of the Indians, which, even in her young days, had been numerous in Virginia; and we would deviate together into some of the by-paths of thought, leading us afar into discussions of art and science, on the state of society, and what was good and what was bad in the present artificial condition of man. A great change appeared to have come over her, I knew not how or why. Her opinions seemed softened--perhaps I may call it weakened. At all events, they were put forward with less decision. A more calm, a less cutting spirit seemed to animate her; and she would often laugh gaily at her former harsh opinions upon some subjects, and say,--

"My dear Richard, I have all my life been acting on the defensive, and been obliged to show a bold front to the enemy; especially," she added, with a quiet smile, "when I feared there might be treachery in the garrison." Then we would walk home again, and take our early breakfast, often without the company of Mrs. Stringer, who was in delicate health; and if Werter fell in love with Charlotte cutting bread and butter, I might surely feel my love increased, when I saw those beautiful hands tending to all my wants, and cutting the food which I was still unable to cut for myself. She would trust nobody else to do it; and certainly she did it better than any one. Oh those little marks of kindness and tenderness! how they sink into the heart, and how peculiarly they are woman's! After breakfast, she would often read to me for an hour or more; and then we would sit side-by-side in the shady part of the house--for now the full heat of summer was upon us--speaking very little; but both feeling very deeply, I do believe. Our evening walk was shorter than that of the morning; for every one seemed to have a horror of the dews of sunset; but the after hours, till bed time, passed very pleasantly; for Bessy now had no coquetry about her singing, and her store seemed inexhaustible. Yet there were some songs which, though perhaps neither so rich in melody nor so scientific in composition, pleased me more than others; and I would have them over and over again. Perhaps it was that there seemed some fanciful relation between them and our mutual fate. One I remember especially:--

Thus passed the time; and day by day I grew better in health. The wound in my arm began to heal. I recovered strength, and even thought of some day mounting on horseback and taking a ride for exercise.

About this time, Mr. Hubbard and Mr. Henry Thornton came together to see me. I was sitting with Bessy in the drawing-room; but although the two gentlemen came on business, they did not seem to think her presence any impediment.

"My scheme is now pretty well matured, Sir Richard," said Mr. Hubbard; "and as I think it may be as well to take our measures at once, I wish to explain it to you. No alien can hold real estate in Virginia; and the real property of any person dying without heirs in this state is subject to escheat. The legislature can then grant the lands to whom it will; but this is always regulated by a certain vague sense of justice; and those who have been serviceable personal friends to, or nearly connected with, the deceased, can usually obtain the grant, if they apply in proper form and show good cause. You are an alien; and we do not suppose that the object of dear old Aunt Bab's property would induce you to become an American citizen, even if your declaration of such an intention would save it, which is doubtful. But we think that your conveyance, regularly drawn up, of your right, title, and interest in the property, to a person having as near a connection with the original American proprietor as yourself--indeed nearer, for your claim is peculiarly under your aunt's will--would be conclusive with the legislature against the intrigues of Mr. Robert Thornton and his father."

"Besides," remarked Mr. Henry Thornton, bluntly, "we have more influence with the legislature than he has by a great deal; and that is the principal thing in Virginia and everywhere else, my good friend Hubbard."

"Perhaps so," said Mr. Hubbard, quietly. "But let me explain the whole matter to Sir Richard fully. We do not propose that you should lose the property; but an honourable understanding can be entered into with the party to whom you assign, that he or she, as the case may be, holds it as in trust for you. Do you understand me?"

"Perfectly," I replied. "The assignment, I suppose, is in reality invalid, and only useful as giving a direction to the operations of the legislature." Mr. Hubbard nodded his head.

"But pray," I continued, for I had already arrived at my own conclusion, "have you fixed upon the person to whom the assignment should be made?"

"We know of no one who fulfils all the conditions," answered Mr. Hubbard, "except Miss Davenport. She is full niece to Colonel Thornton, half niece to Aunt Bab; and though the half blood does not inherit, it gives a good claim. Thus, in fact, she is nearer in every sense than Robert Thornton; and your assignment will, we think, remove every obstacle."

"Besides, she is a girl," observed Mr. Thornton; "and our Virginia legislature is very fond of girls." Bessy's face had been in a glow for several minutes, and I never saw her look more lovely.

"I do not understand this," she observed, with marked emphasis. "Richard, I will not take your property from you. Though it is the home of my youth, and I would buy it willingly if it were to be sold, it is yours, and I will not have it."

"Be quiet, my dear, be quiet," interposed Mr. Hubbard, with a kindly smile. "We only want him to give it to you to secure it for him. You can give it back to him again in various different ways, and a great number of valuable things to boot, if you like."

"Well, well," returned Bessy, laughing and sitting down, "if that is the case, manage it as you like. I would not have that Robert Thornton possess Beavors for anything I possess myself." It may easily be conceived that I consented readily; and as it was judged advisable that the assignment should be made before any active steps were taken towards the escheat, Mr. Hubbard promised to bring me the deed next day. It is strange how dissimilar things connect themselves. This mere matter of business seemed to me to afford an opportunity for doing and saying that to Bessy Davenport to which my mind had been for some time made up. I was very little doubtful of what her reply would be. I was sure she was not a coquette at heart; and words and looks and acts had told me she was mine. When the two gentlemen were gone, I seated myself beside her, and put my arm over the back of her chair. It was nearly round her waist, but she did not shrink from it.

"Let us talk over this matter, Bessy," I said, quietly; "for there are two or three points which these friends of ours have not considered, as, indeed, how could they, for they know nothing about them----" But just at that moment Mrs. Stringer entered the room--I never heard of its happening otherwise in my life,--and the words, almost spoken, died away upon my lips.