ROUND ANVIL ROCK _A ROMANCE_ BY NANCY HUSTON BANKS AUTHOR OF "OLDFIELD" 1903 [Illustration: "The Angelus was pealing from the bell of the little log chapel."] TO MY FATHER A PREFACE In weaving a romance round a real rock and through actual events, this tale has taken no great liberty with fact. It has, indeed, claimed the freedom of fiction only in drawing certain localities and incidents somewhat closer together than they were in reality. And it has done this notably in but three instances: by allowing the Wilderness Road to seem nearer the Ohio River than it really was; by anticipating the establishment of the Sisters of Charity; and by disregarding the tradition that Philip Alston had gone from the region of Cedar House before the time of the story, and that he died elsewhere. These deviations are all rather slight, yet they are, nevertheless, essential to any faithful description of the country, the time, and the people, which this tale tries to describe. The Wilderness Road--everywhere--came so close to the life of the whole country that no true story of the time can ever be told apart from it. The Sisters of Charity were established so early and did so much in the making of Kentucky, that a few months earlier in coming to one locality or a few years later in reaching another, cannot make their noble work any less vitally a part of every tale of the wilderness. The influence of Philip Alston over the country in which he lived, lasted so much longer than his life, and the precise date and manner of his death are go uncertain, that his romantic career must always remain inseparably interwoven with all the romance of southern Kentucky. And it is for these reasons that this story of nearly a hundred years ago, has thus claimed a few of the many privileges of fiction. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE GIRL AND THE BOY II. THE HOUSE OF CEDAR III. "PHILIP ALSTON, GENTLEMAN" IV. THE NIGHT RIDE V. ON THE WILDERNESS ROAD VI. THE CAMP-MEETING VII. A MORNING IN CEDAR HOUSE VIII. THE LOG TEMPLE OF JUSTICE IX. PAUL'S FIRST VISIT TO RUTH X. FATHER ORIN AND TOBY MEET TOMMY DYE XI. THE DANCE IN THE FOREST XII. THE EVE OF ALL SOULS' XIII. SEEING WITH DIFFERENT EYES XIV. A SPIRITUAL CENTAUR XV. THE WEB THAT SEEMED TO BE WOVEN XVI. LOVE'S TOUCHSTONE XVII. THE ONCOMING OF THE STORM XVIII. THE GENTLEST ARE THE BRAVEST XIX. UNDER THE HUNTER'S MOON XX. BALANCING LIFE AND DEATH XXI. THE EAGLE IN THE DOVE'S NEST XXII. "A COMET'S GLARE FORETOLD THIS SAD EVENT" XXIII. LOVE CLAIMS HIS OWN XXIV. OLD LOVE'S STRIVING WITH YOUNG LOVE XXV. THE PASSING OF PHILIP ALSTON ILLUSTRATIONS "The Angelus was pealing from the bell of the little log chapel" "A dark, confused ... writhing mass of humanity" "'I wanted to shake the hand of a man like you'" Father Orin and Toby "For she also was riding a great race" "She was making an aeolian harp" ROUND ANVIL ROCK I