
TO MY FATHER - A PREFACE
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
ROUND ANVIL ROCK - 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
In the shadow of the winding Ohio, a young woman named Ruth lives on the banks of a river brushed by towering cottonwoods, while the fledgling community of Cedar House gathers around a modest log chapel. The story opens in autumn of 1811, when the wilderness road brushes the frontier and the Sisters of Charity begin their quiet work among the settlers. Against this backdrop of untamed forest and hopeful pioneers, everyday life hums with the songs of parrots, the rustle of reeds, and the distant toll of the Angelus.
Ruth’s world collides with that of Tom, a spirited boy raised among the same timbered hills, and their budding affection blossoms amid camp meetings, moonlit dances, and the ever‑present danger of river floods. With the guidance of Father Orin and the steady presence of Toby, the pair confront family expectations, frontier hardships, and the lingering legend of the outlaw Philip Alston. Their journey captures the tender struggle of love trying to steady itself on the shifting rocks of early Kentucky.
Language
en
Duration
~8 hours (473K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2004-02-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1849–1934
A Kentucky writer with a reporter’s eye and a novelist’s feel for place, she built a career that stretched from literary journalism to historical fiction. Her best-known books draw deeply on Kentucky life while her work in magazines and newspapers gave her a wider national reach.
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