Page:Once a Week June to Dec 1863.pdf/473

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Oct. 17, 1863.]
ONCE A WEEK.
463

THE HEIRLOOM.

IN TWO PARTS.

PART II.

During the night which preceded our pleasure trip in the Calypso, and which also preceded the public announcement on the part of Mrs. Digby of what was a secret to none, her daughter’s betrothal to me, I had no sleep, no rest. The crescent moon kept watch, but my vigilance outlasted hers; the stars shone golden and peaceful in the clear evening sky, and they burned white through the darkness, and they paled and vanished before the dawn, as day came stealing on, and I watched still.