During the time only when the gates were closed, or when some
one of strength and activity sufficient to control his movements was
present, was the lad permitted to stroll, at will, among the buildings of
the border fortress. This liberty he never failed to exercise, and often
in a manner that overcame the affectionate Ruth with a painful excess of
sensibility.
Instead of joining in the play of the other children, the young captive
would stand aloof, and regard their sports with a vacant eye, or, drawing
near to the palisadoes, he often passed hours in gazing wistfully at those
endless forests in which he first drew breath, and which probably
contained all that was most prized in the estimation of his simple
judgment. Ruth, touched to the heart by this silent but expressive
exhibition of suffering, endeavored in vain to win his confidence, with a
view of enticing him into employments that might serve to relieve his
care. The resolute but still quiet boy would not be lured into a
forgetfulness of his origin. He appeared to comprehend the kind intentions
of his gentle mistress, and frequently he even suffered himself to be led
by the mother into the centre of her own joyous and merry offspring; but
it was only to look upon their amusements with his former cold air, and to
return, at the first opportunity, to his beloved site at the pickets.
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