crown of the monument, and two smiling angels appeared upon the tablet, bearing the maiden to heaven, while she was gazing eagerly to spy the pearly gates, and seemed actually rising from the marble; and the epitaph said: "SHE IS NOT HERE; FOR SHE IS RISEN."

We lingered till sundown, and passing out of the gate, we met Friend Buxton, who invited us to visit his house the next day. On the corner of Summer and Essexstreets we met little William Knowlton, the Crazy Juror, and found that in his fits of madness, which still continued to return, he was full of projects that were going to reform and bless mankind. He was now in that mood, and he told me he had just invented a medicine, with which he would raise Merrill Clark from the dead, and by the sale of which he would get money enough to turn every prison into an asylum, and give a home to every poor forsaken orphan child. I almost wished that every man who had offended his own conscience would show such a spirit of repentance, even if others called him mad.

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XV.

AUNT DORCAS set a fine breakfast before us, and we would have relished it on any common occasion, but we were so eager to get to Friend Buxton's, we took it in less than ten minutes, and were tripping across the fields, and through "Paradise," before the dew was off the grass. We received a hearty welcome at my dear old home. The Quaker reserve was laid aside all day, and Nathan, Lydia and Hannah vied with each other in quiet inquiries and genial talk.

After the greetings and first questions and answers were exchanged, and while I still wore my shawl, I ran over the house; took a peep into the garden and orchard, and tasted apples from my favorite trees, to renew my early memories. Then with a pippin in my hand, and my hair all over my face, I romped through some of the rooms again, and reviewed the pictures, and went to the barn and looked at " Sammy" and "Pidey," the old horse and cow which had often taken food from my hand; and finding (as I fancied) that the kind old creatures remembered me, I gave each of them an apple, and heard them craunch down the luxury with the heartiest zest, and returned and threw myself into Nathan's easy chair and

repeated all my questions and answers, as if a word had not been said.

Then who should steal up the steps as softly as a cat, and peep her smiling face into the door, but our old friend, Bessie Plympton !

“Walk along in, Bessie, never wait for an invitation, when thee comes here; thee's always welcome, walk in ; here's a girl that wants to see thee," said uncle Nathan, smiling, crossing his legs, and smoothing back his hair.

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I know'd she was here, and I could'nt wait a mite longer. I's lookin to see ef she's altered a great sight since I seen her last. Good! She looks more like her mother'n ever, now, but she needn't be proud, she'll never look haff so well. I guess Maircy's forgot old black Bess, it's so long sin she seen me, but I could'nt wait a mite longer, I wanted to see her so bad."

We were soon shaking hands, and saying "how do you do?" a dozen times.

Then said Bessie, "Go'n set down agin yender, and let me look at ye. Ye'r jist as big as I thort ye'd ebber be, and now ye laughs agin, I see more of yer mother about ye,-there! that was yer mother right out! how good it is to look at ye; but don't be proud, ye'll never look haff so well as yer mother did when she was a gal, nor when she hild ye in her lap. too!

And if here aint Waltie

him, but he wouldn't Ah, that perty face!

Waltie ought ter let me kiss like to kiss a poor colored wench. it's lookin a heap too handsome for his own good, I's afeared; and them crinklin locks!-nice to look at, but unfort'nit, I's afeard for Waltie. But if he does dew

wrong, I hope they'll remember he was left a little orphin baby, and nobuddy could larn him and watch him as a mother could. And here's Jesse, too!-what made ye sly behind the door when old Bess come? ye wasn't afeard of her once, if she was black; and many and many a time she's ketched ye up when ye was black in the face a squalin, and rocked ye till ye laughed and whooped, and then sobered ye down into a snorin sleep. That indeed she has many a time.-Thank ye, Jesse, for rememberin old Bess, and givin her such a good shakin hands."

And thus Bessie passed around and talked until Hannah reminded us of something else we had to do. So, while we were engaged, Bessie went out to the garden where she had caught a glimpse of some yellow sunflowers, and stood and admired them, and wondered if they were not smaller, and not so yellow as her own. The Buxtons remembered my predilection for pic-nics, and though they sometimes called it foolish, and one of the vanities Solomon condemned, they had prepared to indulge it this time, and now proposed that we should spend the day on the Juniper. The very word Juniper was music to my ears, and it revived a train of delightful recollections; but, I confess, I was a little crossed for once by the proposition, for I wanted to spend all the day in my Quaker home. I knew not how long it might be before I should re-visit it, and, as I could only remain a day and night at most, the time seemed too short to divide between that and even as tempting a place as the Juniper.

But of course I assented to their proposition, and the carriage was brought up, and with a full load in it, and a small train behind, smiling and chatting like children, we started for the pic-nic grounds. Bessie begged to go along and wash dishes, so we gladly accepted her request for her company, and she was with us all day. It was the same old Juniper, with every tree still standing in its familiar verdure, and every stone and tuft remaining as I saw it last. The day was quite warm, yet a cool seabreeze was blowing when we arrived. Two fishermen had been despatched at daybreak to procure a supply of cod for a chowder, and cunners for a fry, and we were expecting a rare supper. My brothers were in their glory. Jesse remembered the afternoon we spent there years ago with mother; and Walter remembered our descriptions of the time. The one was soon fishing from the rocks, and the other was tumbling about the fort and taking great enjoyment. Nathan laid off his hat, and Lydia her bonnet, and sitting down under one of the trees, gazed off upon the water, and conversed in their quaint way, while Hannah and I went down on the rocks where the waves were dashing, and read Whittier awhile, and renewed our early memories.

At noon we took a lunch and enjoyed an hour's conver sation, and heard Nathan describe a court-scene which had recently come off, where by the greatest efforts he had rescued a poor girl from destruction, led her away weeping tears of penitence, and given her a situation where, by easy exertions and the price of good works, she could redeem her character and resume her peace.