Thus in the sacred psalm, that came from the heart of the maiden,

Silent before her he stood, and gave her the flowers for an answer,

Finding no words for his thought. He remembered that day in the winter,

After the first great snow, when he broke a path from the village,

Reeling and plunging along through the drifts that encumbered the doorway, Stamping the snow from his feet as he entered the house, and Priscilla

Laughed at his snowy locks, and gave him a Grateful and pleased to know he had thought of her in the snowstorm.

Had he but spoken then! perhaps not in vain had he spoken ;

Now it was all too late; the golden moment

had vanished !

So he stood there abashed, and gave her the flowers for an answer.

Then they sat down and talked of the birds and the beautiful Spring-time, Talked of their friends at home, and the Mayflower that sailed on the mor

row.

"I have been thinking all day," said gently the Puritan maiden,

"Dreaming all night, and thinking all day, of the hedge-rows of England,

They are in blossom now, and the country is

all like a garden ;

Thinking of lanes and fields, and the song of the lark and the linnet,

Seeing the village street, and familiar faces

of neighbors

Going about as of old, and stopping to gos

sip together,

And, at the end of the street, the village

church, with the ivy

Climbing the old gray tower, and the quiet graves in the churchyard.

Kind are the people I live with, and dear to

me my religion;

Still my heart is so sad, that I wish myself back in Old England.

You will say it is wrong, but I cannot help it: I almost

Wish myself back in Old England, I feel so lonely and wretched."

Thereupon answered the youth : "Indeed I do not condemn you;

Stouter hearts than a woman's have quailed in this terrible winter.

Yours is tender and trusting, and needs a

stronger to lean on;

So I have come to you now, with an offer and

proffer of marriage

Made by a good man and true, Miles Standish the Captain of Plymouth!"

Thus he delivered his message, the dexterous writer of letters,

Did not embellish the theme, nor array it in

beautiful phrases,

But came straight to the point, and blurted

it out like a schoolboy;

Even the Captain himself could hardly have

said it more bluntly.

Mute with amazement and sorrow, Priscilla the Puritan maiden

Looked into Alden's face, her eyes dilated

with wonder,

Feeling his words like a blow, that stunned her and rendered her speechless ; Till at length she exclaimed, interrupting the ominous silence :

"If the great Captain of Plymouth is so very

eager to wed me,

Why does he not come himself, and take the

trouble to woo me?

If I am not worth the wooing, I surely am

not worth the winning!"

Then John Alden began explaining and smoothing the matter,

Making it worse as he went, by saying the

Captain was busy,

Had no time for such things; - such things! the words grating harshly

Fell on the ear of Priscilla; and swift as a

flash she made answer:

"Has he no time for such things, as you call it, before he is married,

Would he be likely to find it, or make it,

after the wedding?

That is the way with you men; you don't understand us, you cannot.

When you have made up your minds, after thinking of this one and that one,