Dulcibel | Page 7

he had an immemorial right as it were, could it be
wondered at that he was incensed beyond all calculation? Was he, after
having Europe, Asia and Africa, to be driven out of North America by a
small body of steeple-hatted, psalm-singing, and conceited Puritans?
No wonder his satanic ire was aroused; and that he was up to all
manner of devices to harass, disorganize and afflict the camp of his
enemies.
I am afraid this seems a little ridiculous to readers nowadays; but to the
men and women of two hundred years ago it was grim and sober
earnest, honestly and earnestly believed in.
Who, in the face of such wonderful changes in our religious views, can
venture to predict what will be the belief of our descendants two
hundred years hence?
CHAPTER V.
Leah Herrick's Position and Feelings.

I have classed Leah Herrick among the domestics; but her position was
rather above that. She had lived with the Widow Sands, Jethro's aunt,
since she had been twelve years old, assisting in the housework, and
receiving her board and clothing in return. Now, at the age of twenty,
she was worth more than that recompense; but she still remained on the
old terms, as if she were a daughter instead of a servant.
She remained, asking nothing more, because she had made up her mind
to be Jethro's wife. She had a passion for Jethro, and she knew that
Jethro reciprocated it. But his aunt, who was ambitious, wished him to
look higher; and therefore did not encourage such an alliance. Leah was
however too valuable and too cheap an assistant to be dispensed with,
and thus removed from such a dangerous proximity, besides the widow
really had no objection to her, save on account of her poverty.
Leah said nothing when she saw that Jethro's attentions were directed
in another direction; but without saying anything directly to Dulcibel,
she contrived to impress her with the fact that she had trespassed upon
her rightful domain. For Leah was a cat; and amidst her soft purrings,
she would occasionally put out her velvety paw, and give a wicked
little scratch that made the blood come, and so softly and innocently
too, that the sufferer could hardly take offence at it.
Between these sharp intimations of Leah, and the unpleasant
revelations of the innate hardness of the young man's character, which
resulted from the closer intimacy of a betrothal, Dulcibel's affection
had been gradually cooling for several months. But although the
longed-for estrangement between the two had at length taken place,
Leah did not feel quite safe yet; for the Widow Sands was very much
put out about it, and censured her nephew for his want of wisdom in
not holding Dulcibel to her engagement. "She has a good house and
farm already, and she will be certain to receive much more on the death
of her bachelor uncle in England," said the aunt sharply. "You must
strive to undo that foolish hour's work. It was only a tiff on her part,
and you should have cried your eyes out if necessary."
And so Leah, thinking in her own heart that Jethro was a prize for any
girl, was in constant dread of a renewal of the engagement, and ready to

go to any length to prevent it.
Although a member of the "circle" that met at the minister's house,
Leah was not so regular an attendant as the others; for there were no
men there and she never liked to miss the opportunity of a private
conversation with Jethro, opportunities which were somewhat limited,
owing to the continual watchfulness of her mistress. Still she went
frequently enough to be fully imbued with the spirit of their doings,
while not becoming such a victim as most of them were to disordered
nerves, and an impaired and confused mental and moral constitution.
CHAPTER VI.
A Disorderly Scene in Church.
If anything were needed to add to the excitement which the condition
of the "afflicted children," as they were generally termed, naturally
produced in Salem village and the adjoining neighborhood, it was a
scene in the village church one Sunday morning.
The church was a low, small structure, with rough, unplastered roof and
walls, and wooden benches instead of pews. The sexes were divided,
the men sitting on one side and the women on the other, but each
person in his or her regular and appointed seat.
It was the custom at that time to select a seating committee of judicious
and careful men, whose very important duty it was to seat the
congregation. In doing this they proceeded on certain well-defined
principles.
The front seats were to be filled with the older members of the
congregation, a due reverence for age, as well as