There had been a sort of merriment while this was doing, but when it
was over, and the moment came when the brother and sister must set
off, there was lingering, sorrow, and reluctance. Edmund felt
severely the leaving his mother in the midst of peril, brought upon
her for his sake, and his one brief sight of his home had made him
cling the closer to it, and stirred up in double force the affections
for mother, brothers, and sisters, which, though never extinct, had
been comparatively dormant while he was engaged in stirring scenes
abroad. Now that he had once more seen the gentle loving countenance
of his mother, and felt her tender, tearful caress, known that noble-
minded Rose, and had a glimpse of those pretty little sisters, there
was such a yearning for them through his whole being, that it seemed
to him as if he might as well die as continue to be cast up and down
the world far from them.
Rose felt as if she was abandoning her mother by going from home at
such a time, when perhaps she should find on her return that she had
been carried away to prison. She could not bear to think of being
missed on such a morning that was likely to ensue, but she well knew
that the greatest good she could do would be to effect the rescue of
her brother, and she could not hesitate a moment.
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