Although the burgher had
often seen the supposed sister of the Skimmer in her female habiliments,
she never before had struck him as a being of so rare beauty as at that
moment. The silken whiskers had been removed, and in their places were
burning cheeks, that were rather enriched than discolored by the warm
touches of the sun. The dark glossy ringlets, that were no longer artfully
converted to the purposes of the masquerade, fell naturally in curls about
the temples and brows, shading a countenance which in general was
playfully arch, though at that moment it was shadowed by reflection and
feeling. It is seldom that two such beings are seen together, as those who
now knelt at the feet of the merchant. In the breast of the latter, the
accustomed and lasting love of the uncle and protector appeared, for an
instant, to struggle with the new-born affection of a parent. Nature was
too strong for even his blunted and perverted sentiments; and, calling his
child aloud by name, the selfish and calculating Alderman sunk upon the
neck of Eudora, and wept. It would have been difficult to trace the
emotions of the stern but observant free-trader, as he watched the
progress of this scene. Distrust, uneasiness, and finally melancholy, were
in his eye. With the latter expression predominant, he quitted the room,
like one who felt a stranger had no right to witness emotions so sacred.
Two hours later, and the principal personages of the narrative were
assembled on the margin of the Cove, beneath the shade of an oak that
seemed coeval with the continent.
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