CHAPTER CCLVIII.
THE APPOINTMENT KEPT.
It was the 10th of July, 1843.
The bell upon the roof of Markham Place had just proclaimed the hour of nine, and the morning was as bright and beautiful as the cheerful sun, the cloudless sky, and the gentle breeze could render a summer-day,—when a party of eight persons ascended the hill on which stood the two trees.
Those emblems of the fraternal affection of early years were green, verdant, and flourishing; and on the one which had been planted by the hands of the long-lost brother, were the following inscriptions:—
Eugene.
Dec. 25, 1836.
Eugene.
May 17th, 1838.
Eugene.
March 6, 1841.