The father was obdurate, and too much dreaded by the members of his family to admit of much prayer or pleading on their part.

Apart from this, his reason, though a stern, was a wise and strong one.

The intercession of Colleton, warmly made, proved equally unavailing; and after a brief but painful parting with the maiden, Forrester remounted his horse, and, in company with the youth, departed for the village.

But the adieus of the lovers, in this instance, were not destined to be the last.

In the narrow passage, in which, removed from all sight and scrutiny, she hung droopingly, like a storm-beaten flower, upon his bosom, he solicited, and not unsuccessfully, a private and a parting interview.
"To-night, then, at the old sycamore, as the moon rises," he whispered in her ear, as sadly and silently she withdrew from his embrace..