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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:33:59 -0700 |
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diff --git a/10149-h/10149-h.htm b/10149-h/10149-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0fda57e --- /dev/null +++ b/10149-h/10149-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,17092 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Home as Found, by James Fenimore Cooper</title> +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + h1,h2,h3,h4 { text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-variant: small-caps } + h1,h2 { margin-top: 2em } + .smallcaps { font-variant: small-caps } + img { border-style: none } + hr ( margin: 2em 0% 2em 0% } + --> +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10149 ***</div> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Home as Found, by James Fenimore Cooper</h1> +<br /> +<center><b>E-text prepared by Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders</b></center> +<br /> +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> +<h1>Home as Found.</h1> + +<h2>Sequel to "Homeward Bound."</h2> + +<h2 class="author">By J. Fenimore Cooper.</h2> + + + +<p align="center"> "Thou art perfect."<br /> + PR. HON</p> + + + +<p align="center">Complete in one volume.</p> + + + +<p align="center">1871.</p> + + + + +<h2>Preface</h2> + + + +<p>Those who have done us the favour to read "Homeward Bound" will at once +perceive that the incidents of this book commence at the point where those +of the work just mentioned ceased. We are fully aware of the disadvantage +of dividing the interest of a tale in this manner; but in the present +instance, the separation has been produced by circumstances over which the +writer had very little control. As any one who may happen to take up this +volume will very soon discover that there is other matter which it is +necessary to know it may be as well to tell all such persons, in the +commencement, therefore, that their reading will be bootless, unless they +have leisure to turn to the pages of Homeward Bound for their cue.</p> + +<p>We remember the despair with which that admirable observer of men, Mr. +Mathews the comedian, confessed the hopelessness of success, in his +endeavours to obtain a sufficiency of prominent and distinctive features +to compose an entertainment founded on American character. The whole +nation struck him as being destitute of salient points, and as +characterized by a respectable mediocrity, that, however useful it might +be in its way, was utterly without poetry, humour, or interest to the +observer. For one who dealt principally with the more conspicuous +absurdities of his fellow-creatures, Mr. Mathews was certainly right; we +also believe him to have been right in the main, in the general tenor of +his opinion; for this country, in its ordinary aspects, probably presents +as barren a field to the writer of fiction, and to the dramatist, as any +other on earth; we are not certain that we might not say the most barren. +We believe that no attempt to delineate ordinary American life, either on +the stage, or in the pages of a novel, has been rewarded with success. +Even those works in which the desire to illustrate a principle has been +the aim, when the picture has been brought within this homely frame, have +had to contend with disadvantages that have been commonly found +insurmountable. The latter being the intention of this book, the task has +been undertaken with a perfect consciousness of all its difficulties, and +with scarcely a hope of success. It would be indeed a desperate +undertaking, to think of making anything interesting in the way of a +<i>Roman de Société</i> in this country; still useful glances may possibly be +made even in that direction, and we trust that the fidelity of one or two +of our portraits will be recognized by the looker-on, although they will +very likely be denied by the sitters themselves.</p> + +<p>There seems to be a pervading principle in things, which gives an +accumulating energy to any active property that may happen to be in the +ascendant, at the time being.--Money produces money; knowledge is the +parent of knowledge; and ignorance fortifies ignorance.--In a word, like +begets like. The governing social evil of America is provincialism; a +misfortune that is perhaps inseparable from her situation. Without a +social capital, with twenty or more communities divided by distance and +political barriers, her people, who are really more homogenous than any +other of the same numbers in the world perhaps, possess no standard for +opinion, manners, social maxims, or even language.</p> + +<p>Every man, as a matter of course, refers to his own particular experience, +and praises or condemns agreeably to notions contracted in the circle of +his own habits, however narrow, provincial, or erroneous they may happen +to be. As a consequence, no useful stage can exist; for the dramatist who +should endeavour to delineate the faults of society, would find a +formidable party arrayed against him, in a moment, with no party to +defend. As another consequence, we see individuals constantly assailed +with a wolf-like ferocity, while society is everywhere permitted to pass +unscathed.</p> + +<p>That the American nation is a great nation, in some particulars the +greatest the world ever saw, we hold to be true, and are as ready to +maintain as any one can be; but we are also equally ready to concede, that +it is very far behind most polished nations in various essentials, and +chiefly, that it is lamentably in arrears to its own avowed principles. +Perhaps this truth will be found to be the predominant thought, throughout +the pages of "Home As Found."</p> + + + + + +<h1>Home as Found.</h1> + + + + +<h2>Chapter I.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Good morrow, coz.<br /> +Good morrow, sweet Hero."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> SHAKSPEARE.</blockquote> + + +<p>When Mr. Effingham determined to return home, he sent orders to his agent +to prepare his town-house in New-York for his reception, intending to pass +a month or two in it, then to repair to Washington for a few weeks, at the +close of its season, and to visit his country residence when the spring +should fairly open. Accordingly, Eve now found herself at the head of one +of the largest establishments, in the largest American town, within an +hour after she had landed from the ship. Fortunately for her, however, her +father was too just to consider a wife, or a daughter, a mere upper +servant, and he rightly judged that a liberal portion of his income should +be assigned to the procuring of that higher quality of domestic service, +which can alone relieve the mistress of a household from a burthen so +heavy to be borne. Unlike so many of those around him, who would spend on +a single pretending and comfortless entertainment, in which the +ostentatious folly of one contended with the ostentatious folly of another +a sum that, properly directed, would introduce order and system into a +family for a twelvemonth, by commanding the time and knowledge of those +whose study they had been, and who would be willing to devote themselves +to such objects, and then permit their wives and daughters to return to +the drudgery to which the sex seems doomed in this country, he first +bethought him of the wants of social life before he aspired to its parade. +A man of the world, Mr. Effingham possessed the requisite knowledge, and a +man of justice, the requisite fairness, to permit those who depended on +him so much for their happiness, to share equitably in the good things +that Providence had so liberally bestowed on himself. In other words, he +made two people comfortable, by paying a generous price for a housekeeper; +his daughter, in the first place, by releasing her from cares that, +necessarily, formed no more a part of her duties than it would be a part +of her duty to sweep the pavement before the door; and, in the next place, +a very respectable woman who was glad to obtain so good a home on so easy +terms. To this simple and just expedient, Eve was indebted for being at +the head of one of the quietest, most truly elegant, and best, ordered +establishments in America, with no other demands on her time than that +which was necessary to issue a few orders in the morning, and to examine a +few accounts once a week.</p> + +<p>One of the first and the most acceptable of the visits that Eve received, +was from her cousin, Grace Van Cortlandt, who was in the country at the +moment of her arrival, but who hurried back to town to meet her old +school-fellow and kinswoman, the instant she heard of her having landed. +Eve Effingham and Grace Van Cortlandt were sisters' children, and had been +born within a month of each other. As the latter was without father or +mother, most of their time had been passed together, until the former was +taken abroad, when a separation unavoidably ensued. Mr. Effingham ardently +desired, and had actually designed, to take his niece with him to Europe, +but her paternal grandfather, who was still living, objected his years and +affection, and the scheme was reluctantly abandoned. This grandfather was +now dead, and Grace had been left with a very ample fortune, almost +entirely the mistress of her own movements.</p> + +<p>The moment of the meeting between these two warm-hearted and sincerely +attached young women, was one of great interest and anxiety to both. They +retained for each other the tenderest love, though the years that had +separated them had given rise to so many new impressions and habits that +they did not prepare themselves for the interview without apprehension. +This interview took place about a week after Eve was established in Hudson +Square, and at an hour earlier than was usual for the reception of visits. +Hearing a carriage stop before the door, and the bell ring, our heroine +stole a glance from behind a curtain and recognized her cousin as she +alighted.</p> + +<p>"<i>Qu'avez-vous, ma chere</i>?" demanded Mademoiselle Viefville, observing +that her <i>élève</i> trembled and grew pale.</p> + +<p>"It is my cousin, Miss Van Cortlandt--she whom I loved as a sister--we now +meet for the first time in so many years!"</p> + +<p>"<i>Bien</i>--<i>c'est une très jolie jeune personne</i>!" returned the governess, +taking a glance from the spot Eve had just quitted. "<i>Sur le rapport de la +personne, ma chere, vous devriez être contente, au moins</i>."</p> + +<p>"If you will excuse me, Mademoiselle, I will go down alone--I think I +should prefer to meet Grace without witnesses in the first interview."</p> + +<p>"<i>Très volontiers. Elle est parente, et c'est bien naturel."</i></p> + +<p>Eve, on this expressed approbation, met her maid at the door, as she came +to announce that <i>Mademoiselle de Cortlandt</i> was in the library, and +descended slowly to meet her. The library was lighted from above by means +of a small dome, and Grace had unconsciously placed herself in the very +position that a painter would have chosen, had she been about to sit for +her portrait. A strong, full, rich light fell obliquely on her as Eve +entered, displaying her fine person and beautiful features to the very +best advantage, and they were features and a person that are not seen +every day even in a country where female beauty is so common. She was in a +carriage dress, and her toilette was rather more elaborate than Eve had +been accustomed to see, at that hour, but still Eve thought she had seldom +seen a more lovely young creature. Some such thoughts, also, passed +through the mind of Grace herself, who, though struck, with a woman's +readiness in such matters, with the severe simplicity of Eve's attire, as +well as with its entire elegance, was more struck with the charms of her +countenance and figure. There was, in truth, a strong resemblance between +them, though each was distinguished by an expression suited to her +character, and to the habits of her mind.</p> + +<p>"Miss Effingham!" said Grace, advancing a step to meet the lady who +entered, while her voice was scarcely audible and her limbs trembled.</p> + +<p>"Miss Van Cortlandt!" said Eve, in the same low, smothered tone.</p> + +<p>This formality caused a chill in both, and each unconsciously stopped and +curtsied. Eve had been so much struck with the coldness of the American +manner, during the week she had been at home, and Grace was so sensitive +on the subject of the opinion of one who had seen so much of Europe, that +there was great danger, at that critical moment, the meeting would +terminate unpropitiously.</p> + +<p>Thus far, however, all had been rigidly decorous, though the strong +feelings that were glowing in the bosoms of both, had been so completely +suppressed. But the smile, cold and embarrassed as it was, that each gave +as she curtsied, had the sweet character of her childhood in it, and +recalled to both the girlish and affectionate intercourse of their younger +days.</p> + +<p>"Grace!" said Eve, eagerly, advancing a step or two impetuously, and +blushing like the dawn.</p> + +<p>"Eve!"</p> + +<p>Each opened her arms, and in a moment they were locked in a long and +fervent embrace. This was the commencement of their former intimacy, and +before night Grace was domesticated in her uncle's house. It is true that +Miss Effingham perceived certain peculiarities about Miss Van Cortlandt, +that she had rather were absent; and Miss Van Cortlandt would have felt +more at her ease, had Miss Effingham a little less reserve of manner, on +certain subjects that the latter had been taught to think interdicted. +Notwithstanding these slight separating shades in character, however, the +natural affection was warm and sincere; and if Eve, according to Grace's +notions, was a little stately and formal, she was polished and courteous, +and if Grace, according to Eve's notions, was a little too easy and +unreserved, she was feminine and delicate.</p> + +<p>We pass over the three or four days that succeeded, during which Eve had +got to understand something of her new position, and we will come at once +to a conversation between the cousins, that will serve to let the reader +more intimately into the opinions, habits and feelings of both, as well as +to open the real subject of our narrative. This conversation took place in +that very library which had witnessed their first interview, soon after +breakfast, and while the young ladies were still alone.</p> + +<p>"I suppose, Eve, you will have to visit the Green's.--They are Hajjis, and +were much in society last winter."</p> + +<p>"Hajjis!--You surely do not mean, Grace, that they have been to Mecca?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all: only to Paris, my dear; that makes a Hajji in New-York."</p> + +<p>"And does it entitle the pilgrim to wear the green turban?" asked Eve, +laughing.</p> + +<p>"To wear any thing, Miss Effingham; green, blue, or yellow, and to cause +it to pass for elegance."</p> + +<p>"And which is the favourite colour with the family you have mentioned?"</p> + +<p>"It ought to be the first, in compliment to the name, but, if truth must +be said, I think they betray an affection for all, with not a few of the +half-tints in addition."</p> + +<p>"I am afraid they are too <i>prononcées</i> for us, by this description. I am +no great admirer, Grace, of walking rainbows."</p> + +<p>"<i>Too</i> Green, you would have said, had you dared; but you are a Hajji too, +and even the Greens know that a Hajji never puns, unless, indeed, it might +be one from Philadelphia. But you will visit these people?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, if they are in society and render it necessary by their own +civilities."</p> + +<p>"They <i>are</i> in society, in virtue of their rights as Hajjis; but, as they +passed three months at Paris, you probably know something of them."</p> + +<p>"They may not have been there at the same time with ourselves," returned +Eve, quietly, "and Paris is a very large town. Hundreds of people come and +go, that one never hears of. I do not remember those you have mentioned."</p> + +<p>"I wish you may escape them, for, in my untravelled judgment, they are +anything but agreeable, notwithstanding all they have seen, or pretend to +have seen."</p> + +<p>"It is very possible to have been all over christendom, and to remain +exceedingly disagreeable; besides one may see a great deal, and yet see +very little of a good quality."</p> + +<p>A pause of two or three minutes followed, during which Eve read a note, +and her cousin played with the leaves of a book.</p> + +<p>"I wish I knew your real opinion of us, Eve," the last suddenly exclaimed. +"Why not be frank with so near a relative; tell me honestly, now--are you +reconciled to your country?"</p> + +<p>"You are the eleventh person who has asked me this question, which I find +very extraordinary, as I have never quarrelled with my country."</p> + +<p>"Nay, I do not mean exactly that. I wish to hear how our society has +struck one who has been educated abroad."</p> + +<p>"You wish, then, for opinions that can have no great value, since my +experience at home, extends only to a fortnight. But you have many books +on the country, and some written by very clever persons; why not consult +them?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! you mean the travellers. None of them are worth a second thought, and +we hold them, one and all, in great contempt."</p> + +<p>"Of that I can have no manner of doubt, as one and all, you are constantly +protesting it, in the highways and bye-ways. There is no more certain sign +of contempt, than to be incessantly dwelling on its intensity!"</p> + +<p>Grace had great quickness, as well as her cousin, and though provoked at +Eve's quiet hit, she had the good sense and the good nature to laugh.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we do protest and disdain a little too strenuously for good +taste, if not to gain believers; but surely, Eve, you do not support these +travellers in all that they have written of us?"</p> + +<p>"Not in half, I can assure you. My father and cousin Jack have discussed +them too often in my presence to leave me in ignorance of the very many +political blunders they have made in particular."</p> + +<p>"Political blunders!--I know nothing of them, and had rather thought them +right, in most of what they said about our politics. But, surely, neither +your father nor Mr. John Effingham corroborates what they say of our +society!"</p> + +<p>"I cannot answer for either, on that point."</p> + +<p>"Speak then for yourself. Do <i>you</i> think them right?"</p> + +<p>"You should remember, Grace, that I have not yet seen any society in +New-York."</p> + +<p>"No society, dear!--Why you were at the Henderson's, and the Morgan's, +and the Drewett's; three of the greatest <i>réunions</i> that we have had in +two winters!"'</p> + +<p>"I did not know that you meant those unpleasant crowds, by society."</p> + +<p>"Unpleasant crowds! Why, child, that <i>is</i> society, is it not?'</p> + +<p>"Not what I have been taught to consider such; I rather think it would be +better to call it company."</p> + +<p>"And is not this what is called society in Paris?"</p> + +<p>"As far from it as possible; it may be an excrescence of society; one of +its forms; but, by no means, society itself. It would be as true to call +cards, which are sometimes introduced in the world, society, as to call a +ball given in two small and crowded rooms, society. They are merely two of +the modes in which idlers endeavour to vary their amusements."</p> + +<p>"But we have little else than these balls, the morning visits, and an +occasional evening, in which there is no dancing."</p> + +<p>"I am sorry to hear it; for, in that case, you can have no society."</p> + +<p>"And is it different at Paris--or Florence, or Rome?"</p> + +<p>"Very. In Paris there are many houses open every evening to which one can +go, with little ceremony. Our sex appears in them, dressed according to +what a gentleman I overheard conversing at Mrs. Henderson's would call +their 'ulterior intentions,' for the night; some attired in the simplest +manner, others dressed for concerts, for the opera, for court even; some +on the way from a dinner, and others going to a late ball. All this matter +of course variety, adds to the case and grace of the company, and coupled +with perfect good manners, a certain knowledge of passing events, pretty +modes of expression, an accurate and even utterance, the women usually +find the means of making themselves agreeable. Their sentiment is +sometimes a little heroic, but this one must overlook, and it is a taste, +moreover, that is falling into disuse, as people read better books."</p> + +<p>"And you prefer this heartlessness, Eve, to the nature of your own +country!"</p> + +<p>"I do not know that quiet, <i>retenue</i>, and a good tone, are a whit more +heartless than flirting, giggling and childishness. There may be more +nature in the latter, certainly, but it is scarcely as agreeable, after +one has fairly got rid of the nursery."</p> + +<p>Grace looked vexed, but she loved her cousin too sincerely to be angry, A +secret suspicion that Eve was right, too, came in aid of her affection, +and while her little foot moved, she maintained her good-nature, a task +not always attainable for those who believe that their own "superlatives" +scarcely reach to other people's "positives." At this critical moment, +when there was so much danger of a jar in the feelings of these two young +females, the library door opened and Pierre, Mr. Effingham's own man, +announced--</p> + +<p>"Monsieur Bragg."</p> + +<p>"Monsieur who?" asked Eve, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Monsieur Bragg," returned Pierre, in French, "desires to see +Mademoiselle."</p> + +<p>"You mean my father,--I know no such person."</p> + +<p>"He inquired first for Monsieur, but understanding Monsieur was out, he +next asked to have the honour of seeing Mademoiselle."</p> + +<p>"Is it what they call a <i>person</i> in England, Pierre?"</p> + +<p>Old Pierre smiled, as he answered--</p> + +<p>"He has the air, Mademoiselle, though he esteems himself a <i>personnage</i>, +if I might take the liberty of judging."</p> + +<p>"Ask him for his card,--there must be a mistake, I think."</p> + +<p>While this short conversation took place, Grace Van Cortlandt was +sketching a cottage with a pen, without attending to a word that was +said. But, when Eve received the card from Pierre and read aloud, with the +tone of surprise that the name would be apt to excite in a novice in the +art of American nomenclature, the words "Aristabulus Bragg," her cousin +began to laugh.</p> + +<p>"Who can this possibly be, Grace?--Did you ever hear of such a person, and +what right can he have to wish to see me?"</p> + +<p>"Admit him, by all means; it is your father's land agent, and he may wish +to leave some message for my uncle. You will be obliged to make his +acquaintance, sooner or later, and it may as well be done now as at +another time."</p> + +<p>"You have shown this gentleman into the front drawing-room, Pierre?"</p> + +<p>"Oui, Mademoiselle."</p> + +<p>"I will ring when you are wanted."</p> + +<p>Pierre withdrew, and Eve opened her secretary, out of which she took a +small manuscript book, over the leaves of which she passed her fingers +rapidly.</p> + +<p>"Here it is," she said, smiling, "Mr. Aristabulus Bragg, Attorney and +Counsellor at Law, and the agent of the Templeton estate." This precious +little work, you must understand, Grace, contains sketches of the +characters of such persons as I shall be the most likely to see, by John +Effingham, A.M. It is a sealed volume, of course, but there can be no harm +in reading the part that treats of our present visiter, and, with your +permission, we will have it in common.--'Mr. Aristabulus Bragg was born in +one of the western counties of Massachusetts, and emigrated to New-York, +after receiving his education, at the mature age of nineteen; at +twenty-one he was admitted to the bar, and for the last seven years he has +been a successful practitioner in all the courts of Otsego, from the +justice's to the circuit. His talents are undeniable, as he commenced his +education at fourteen and terminated it at twenty-one, the law-course +included. This man is an epitome of all that is good and all that is bad, +in a very large class of his fellow citizens. He is quick-witted, prompt +in action, enterprising in all things in which he has nothing to lose, but +wary and cautious in all things in which he has a real stake, and ready to +turn not only his hand, but his heart and his principles to any thing that +offers an advantage. With him, literally, "nothing is too high to be +aspired to, nothing too low to be done." He will run for Governor, or for +town-clerk, just as opportunities occur, is expert in all the <i>practices</i> +of his profession, has had a quarter's dancing, with three years in the +classics, and turned his attention towards medicine and divinity, before +he finally settled down into the law. Such a compound of shrewdness, +impudence, common-sense, pretension, humility, cleverness, vulgarity, +kind-heartedness, duplicity, selfishness, law-honesty, moral fraud and +mother wit, mixed up with a smattering of learning and much penetration in +practical things, can hardly be described, as any one of his prominent +qualities is certain to be met by another quite as obvious that is almost +its converse. Mr. Bragg, in short, is purely a creature of circumstances, +his qualities pointing him out for either a member of congress or a deputy +sheriff, offices that he is equally ready to fill. I have employed him to +watch over the estate of your father, in the absence of the latter, on the +principle that one practised in tricks is the best qualified to detect and +expose them, and with the certainty that no man will trespass with +impunity, so long as the courts continue to tax bills of costs with their +present liberality.' You appear to know the gentleman, Grace; is this +character of him faithful?"</p> + +<p>"I know nothing of bills of costs and deputy sheriffs, but I do know that +Mr. Aristabulus Bragg is an amusing mixture of strut, humility, roguery +and cleverness. He is waiting all this time in the drawing-room, and you +had better see him, as he may, now, be almost considered part of the +family. You know he has been living in the house at Templeton, ever since +he was installed by Mr. John Effingham. It was there I had the honour +first to meet him,"</p> + +<p>"First!--Surely you have never seen him any where else!"</p> + +<p>"Your pardon, my dear. He never comes to town without honouring me with a +call. This is the price I pay for having had the honour of being an inmate +of the same house with him for a week."</p> + +<p>Eve rang the bell, and Pierre made his appearance.</p> + +<p>"Desire Mr. Bragg to walk into the library."</p> + +<p>Grace looked demure while Pierre was gone to usher in their visiter, and +Eve was thinking of the medley of qualities John Effingham had assembled +in his description, as the door opened, and the subject of her +contemplation entered.</p> + +<p>"<i>Monsieur Aristabule</i>" said Pierre, eyeing the card, but sticking at the +first name.</p> + +<p>Mr. Aristabulus Bragg was advancing with an easy assurance to make his bow +to the ladies, when the more finished air and quiet dignity of Miss +Effingham, who was standing, so far disconcerted him, as completely to +upset his self-possession. As Grace had expressed it, in consequence of +having lived three years in the old residence at Templeton, he had begun +to consider himself a part of the family, and at home he never spoke of +the young lady without calling her "Eve," or "Eve Effingham." But he found +it a very different thing to affect familiarity among his associates, and +to practise it in the very face of its subject; and, although seldom at a +loss for words of some sort or another, he was now actually dumb-founded. +Eve relieved his awkwardness by directing Pierre, with her eye, to hand a +chair, and first speaking.</p> + +<p>"I regret that my father is not in," she said, by way of turning the visit +from herself; "but he is to be expected every moment. Are you lately +from Templeton?"</p> + +<p>Aristabulus drew his breath, and recovered enough of his ordinary tone of +manner to reply with a decent regard to his character for self-command. +The intimacy that he had intended to establish on the spot, was +temporarily defeated, it is true, and without his exactly knowing how it +had been effected; for it was merely the steadiness of the young lady, +blended as it was with a polished reserve, that had thrown him to a +distance he could not explain. He felt immediately, and with taste that +did his sagacity credit, that his footing in this quarter was only to be +obtained by unusually slow and cautious means. Still, Mr. Bragg was a man +of great decision, and, in his way, of very far-sighted views; and, +singular as it may seem, at that unpropitious moment, he mentally +determined that, at no very distant day, he would make Miss Eve Effingham +his wife.</p> + +<p>"I hope Mr. Effingham enjoys good health," he said, with some such caution +as a rebuked school-girl enters on the recitation of her task--"he enjoyed +bad health I hear, (Mr. Aristabulus Bragg, though so shrewd, was far from +critical in his modes of speech) when he went to Europe, and after +travelling so far in such bad company, it would be no more than fair that +he should have a little respite as he approaches home and old age."</p> + +<p>Had Eve been told that the man who uttered this nice sentiment, and that +too in accents as uncouth and provincial as the thought was finished and +lucid, actually presumed to think of her as his bosom companion, it is not +easy to say which would have predominated in her mind, mirth or +resentment. But Mr. Bragg was not in the habit of letting his secrets +escape him prematurely, and certainly this was one that none but a wizard +could have discovered without the aid of a direct oral or written +communication.</p> + +<p>"Are you lately from Templeton?" repeated Eve a little surprised that the +gentleman did not see fit to answer the question, which was the only one +that, as it seemed to her, could have a common interest with them both.</p> + +<p>"I left home the day before yesterday," Aristabulus now deigned to reply.</p> + +<p>"It is so long since I saw our beautiful mountains and I was then so +young, that I feel a great impatience to revisit them, though the pleasure +must be deferred until spring."</p> + +<p>"I conclude they are the handsomest mountains in the known world, Miss +Effingham!"</p> + +<p>"That is much more than I shall venture to claim for them; but, according +to my imperfect recollection, and, what I esteem of far more importance, +according to the united testimony of Mr. John Effingham and my father, I +think they must be very beautiful."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus looked up, as if he had a facetious thing to say, and he even +ventured on a smile, while he made his answer.</p> + +<p>"I hope Mr. John Effingham has prepared you for a great change in the +house?"</p> + +<p>"We know that it has been repaired and altered under his directions. That +was done at my father's request."</p> + +<p>"We consider it denationalized, Miss Effingham, there being nothing like +it, west of Albany at least."</p> + +<p>"I should be sorry to find that my cousin has subjected us to this +imputation," said Eve smiling--perhaps a little equivocally; "the +architecture of America being generally so simple and pure. Mr. Effingham +laughs at his own improvements, however, in which, he says, he has only +carried out the plans of the original <i>artiste</i>, who worked very much in +what was called the composite order.</p> + +<p>"You allude to Mr. Hiram Doolittle, a gentleman I never saw; though I hear +he has left behind him many traces of his progress in the newer states. +<i>Ex pede Herculem</i>, as we say, in the classics, Miss Effingham I believe +it is the general sentiment that Mr. Doolittle's designs have been +improved on, though most people think that the Grecian or Roman +architecture, which is so much in use in America, would be more +republican. But every body knows that Mr. John Effingham is not much of a +republican."</p> + +<p>Eve did not choose to discuss her kinsman's opinions with Mr. Aristabulus +Bragg, and she quietly remarked that she "did not know that the imitations +of the ancient architecture, of which there are so many in the country, +were owing to attachment to republicanism."</p> + +<p>"To what else can it be owing, Miss Eve?"</p> + +<p>"Sure enough," said Grace Van Cortlandt; "it is unsuited to the materials, +the climate, and the uses; and some very powerful motive, like that +mentioned by Mr. Bragg, could alone overcome these obstacles."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus started from his seat, and making sundry apologies, declared +his previous unconsciousness that Miss Van Cortlandt was present; all of +which was true enough, as he had been so much occupied mentally, with her +cousin, as not to have observed her, seated as she was partly behind a +screen. Grace received the excuses favourably, and the conversation was +resumed.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry that my cousin should offend the taste of the country," said +Eve, "but as we are to live in the house, the punishment will fall +heaviest on the offenders."</p> + +<p>"Do not mistake me, Miss Eve," returned Aristabulus, in a little alarm, +for he too well understood the influence and wealth of John Effingham, not +to wish to be on good terms with him; "do not mistake me, I admire the +house, and know it to be a perfect specimen of a pure architecture in its +way, but then public opinion is not yet quite up to it. I see all its +beauties, I would wish you to know, but then there are many, a majority +perhaps, who do not, and these persons think they ought to be consulted +about such matters."</p> + +<p>"I believe Mr. John Effingham thinks less of his own work than you seem to +think of it yourself, sir, for I have frequently heard him laugh at it, as +a mere enlargement of the merits of the composite order. He calls it a +caprice, rather than a taste: nor do I see what concern a majority, as you +term them, can have with a house that does not belong to them."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus was surprised that any one could disregard a majority; for, in +this respect, he a good deal resembled Mr. Dodge, though running a +different career; and the look of surprise he gave was natural and open.</p> + +<p>"I do not mean that the public has a legal right to control the tastes of +the citizen," he said, "but in a <i>republican</i> government, you undoubtedly +understand, Miss Eve, it <i>will</i> rule in all things."</p> + +<p>"I can understand that one would wish to see his neighbour use good taste, +as it helps to embellish a country; but the man who should consult the +whole neighbourhood before he built, would be very apt to cause a +complicated house to be erected, if he paid much respect to the different +opinions he received; or, what is quite as likely, apt to have no house at +all."</p> + +<p>"I think you are mistaken, Miss Effingham, for the public sentiment, just +now, runs almost exclusively and popularly into the Grecian school. We +build little besides temples for our churches, our banks, our taverns, our +court-houses, and our dwellings. A friend of mine has just built a brewery +on the model of the Temple of the Winds."</p> + +<p>"Had it been a mill, one might understand the conceit," said Eve, who now +began to perceive that her visiter had some latent humour, though he +produced it in a manner to induce one to think him any thing but a droll. +"The mountains must be doubly beautiful, if they are decorated in the way +you mention. I sincerely hope, Grace, that I shall find the hills as +pleasant as they now exist in my recollection!"</p> + +<p>"Should they not prove to be quite as lovely as you imagine, Miss +Effingham," returned Aristabulus, who saw no impropriety in answering a +remark made to Miss Van Cortlandt, or any one else, "I hope you will have +the kindness to conceal the fact from the world."</p> + +<p>"I am afraid that would exceed my power, the disappointment would be so +strong. May I ask why you show so much interest in my keeping so cruel a +mortification to myself?"</p> + +<p>"Why, Miss Eve," said Aristabulus, looking grave, "I am afraid that <i>our</i> +people would hardly bear the expression of such an opinion from <i>you</i>"</p> + +<p>"From <i>me!</i>--and why not from <i>me</i>, in particular?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it is because they think you have travelled, and have seen other +countries."</p> + +<p>"And is it only those who have <i>not</i> travelled, and who have no means of +knowing the value of what they say, that are privileged to criticise?"</p> + +<p>"I cannot exactly explain my own meaning, perhaps, but I think Miss Grace +will understand me. Do you not agree with me, Miss Van Cortlandt, in +thinking it would be safer for one who never saw any other mountains to +complain of the tameness and monotony of our own, than for one who had +passed a whole life among the Andes and the Alps?"</p> + +<p>Eve smiled, for she saw that Mr. Bragg was capable of detecting and +laughing at provincial pride, even while he was so much under its +influence; and Grace coloured, for she had the consciousness of having +already betrayed some of this very silly sensitiveness, in her intercourse +with her cousin, in connexion with other subjects. A reply was +unnecessary, however, as the door just then opened, and John Effingham +made his appearance. The meeting between the two gentlemen, for we suppose +Aristabulus must be included in the category by courtesy, if not of +right, was more cordial than Eve had expected to witness, for each really +entertained a respect for the other, in reference to a merit of a +particular sort; Mr. Bragg esteeming Mr. John Effingham as a wealthy and +caustic cynic, and Mr. John Effingham regarding Mr. Bragg much as the +owner of a dwelling regards a valuable house-dog. After a few moments of +conversation, the two withdrew together, and just as the ladies were about +to descend to the drawing-room, previously to dinner, Pierre announced +that a plate had been ordered for the land agent.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter II.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "I know that Deformed; he has been a vile thief this seven year he goes + up and down like a gentleman."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.</blockquote> + + +<p>Eve, and her cousin, found Sir George Templemore and Captain Truck in the +drawing-room, the former having lingered in New-York, with a desire to be +near his friends, and the latter being on the point of sailing for Europe, +in his regular turn. To these must be added Mr. Bragg and the ordinary +inmates of the house, when the reader will get a view of the whole party.</p> + +<p>Aristabulus had never before sat down to as brilliant a table, and for the +first time in his life, he saw candles lighted at a dinner; but he was not +a man to be disconcerted at a novelty. Had he been a European of the same +origin and habits, awkwardness would have betrayed him fifty times, before +the dessert made its appearance; but, being the man he was, one who +overlooked a certain prurient politeness that rather illustrated his +deportment, might very well have permitted him to pass among the <i>oi +polloi</i> of the world, were it not for a peculiar management in the way of +providing for himself. It is true, he asked every one near him to eat of +every thing he could himself reach, and that he used his knife as a +coal-heaver uses a shovel; but the company he was in, though fastidious in +its own deportment, was altogether above the silver-forkisms, and this +portion of his demeanour, if it did not escape undetected, passed away +unnoticed. Not so, however, with the peculiarity already mentioned as an +exception. This touch of deportment, (or management, perhaps, is the +better word,) being characteristic of the man, it deserves to be mentioned +a little in detail.</p> + +<p>The service at Mr. Effingham's table was made in the quiet, but thorough +manner that distinguishes a French dinner. Every dish was removed, carved +by the domestics, and handed in turn to each guest. But there were a delay +and a finish in this arrangement that suited neither Aristabulus's +go-a-head-ism, nor his organ of acquisitiveness. Instead of waiting, +therefore, for the more graduated movements of the domestics, he began to +take care of himself, an office that he performed with a certain dexterity +that he had acquired by frequenting ordinaries--a school, by the way, in +which he had obtained most of his notions of the proprieties of the table. +One or two slices were obtained in the usual manner, or by means of the +regular service; and, then, like one who had laid the foundation of a +fortune, by some lucky windfall in the commencement of his career, he +began to make accessions, right and left, as opportunity offered. Sundry +<i>entremets</i>, or light dishes that had a peculiarly tempting appearance, +came first under his grasp. Of these he soon accumulated all within his +reach, by taxing his neighbours, when he ventured to send his plate, here +and there, or wherever he saw a dish that promised to reward his trouble. +By such means, which were resorted to, however, with a quiet and +unobtrusive assiduity that escaped much observation, Mr. Bragg contrived +to make his own plate a sample epitome of the first course. It contained +in the centre, fish, beef, and ham; and around these staple articles, he +had arranged <i>croquettes, rognons, râgouts</i>, vegetables, and other light +things, until not only was the plate completely covered, but it was +actually covered in double and triple layers; mustard, cold butter, salt, +and even pepper, garnishing its edges. These different accumulations were +the work of time and address, and most of the company had repeatedly +changed their plates before Aristabulus had eaten a mouthful, the soup +excepted. The happy moment when his ingenuity was to be rewarded, had now +arrived, and the land agent was about to commence the process of +mastication, or of deglutition rather, for he troubled himself very little +with the first operation, when the report of a cork drew his attention +towards the chaimpaigne. To Aristabulus this wine never came amiss, for, +relishing its piquancy, he had never gone far enough into the science of +the table to learn which were the proper moments for using it. As +respected all the others at table, this moment had in truth arrived, +though, as respected himself, he was no nearer to it, according to a +regulated taste, than when he first took his seat. Perceiving that Pierre +was serving it, however, he offered his own glass, and enjoyed a delicious +instant, as he swallowed a beverage that much surpassed any thing he had +ever known to issue out of the waxed and leaded nozles that, pointed like +so many enemies' batteries, loaded with headaches and disordered stomachs, +garnished sundry village bars of his acquaintance.</p> + +<p>Aristabulus finished his glass at a draught, and when he took breath, he +fairly smacked his lips. That was an unlucky instant, his plate, burthened +with all its treasures, being removed, at this unguarded moment; the man +who performed the unkind office, fancying that a dislike to the dishes +could alone have given rise to such an omnium-gatherum.</p> + +<p>It was necessary to commence <i>de novo</i>, but this could no longer be done +with the first course, which was removed, and Aristabulus set-to, with +zeal, forthwith, on the game. Necessity compelled him to eat, as the +different dishes were offered; and, such was his ordinary assiduity with +the knife and fork, that, at the end of the second remove, he had actually +disposed of more food than any other person at table. He now began to +converse, and we shall open the conversation at the precise point in the +dinner, when it was in the power of Aristabulus to make one of the +interlocutors.</p> + +<p>Unlike Mr. Dodge, he had betrayed no peculiar interest in the baronet, +being a man too shrewd and worldly to set his heart on trifles of any +sort; and Mr. Bragg no more hesitated about replying to Sir George +Templemore, or Mr. Effingham, than he would have hesitated about answering +one of his own nearest associates. With him age and experience formed no +particular claims to be heard, and, as to rank, it is true he had some +vague ideas about there being such a thing in the militia, but as it was +unsalaried rank, he attached no great importance to it. Sir George +Templemore was inquiring concerning the recording of deeds, a regulation +that had recently attracted attention in England; and one of Mr. +Effingham's replies contained some immaterial inaccuracy, which +Aristabulus took occasion to correct, as his first appearance in the +general discourse.</p> + +<p>"I ask pardon, sir," he concluded his explanations by saying, "but I ought +to know these little niceties, having served a short part of a term as a +county clerk, to fill a vacancy occasioned by a death."</p> + +<p>"You mean, Mr. Bragg, that you were employed to <i>write</i> in a county +clerk's office," observed John Effingham, who so much disliked untruth, +that he did not hesitate much about refuting it; or what he now fancied to +be an untruth.</p> + +<p>"As county clerk, sir. Major Pippin died a year before his time was out, +and I got the appointment. As regular a county clerk, sir, as there is in +the fifty-six counties of New-York."</p> + +<p>"When I had the honour to engage you as Mr. Effingham's agent, sir," +returned the other, a little sternly, for he felt his own character for +veracity involved in that of the subject of his selection, "I believe, +indeed, that you were writing in the office, but I did not understand it +was as <i>the</i> clerk."</p> + +<p>"Very true, Mr. John," returned Aristabulus, without discovering the least +concern, "I was <i>then</i> engaged by my successor as <i>a</i> clerk; but a few +months earlier, I filled the office myself."</p> + +<p>"Had you gone on, in the regular line of promotion, my dear sir," pithily +inquired Captain Truck, "to what preferment would you have risen by this +time?"</p> + +<p>"I believe I understand you, gentlemen," returned the unmoved Aristabulus, +who perceived a general smile. "I know that some people are particular +about keeping pretty much on the same level, as to office: but I hold to +no such doctrine. If one good thing cannot be had, I do not see that it is +a reason for rejecting another. I ran that year for sheriff, and finding I +was not strong enough to carry the county, I accepted my successor's offer +to write in the office, until something better might turn up."</p> + +<p>"You practised all this time, I believe, Mr. Bragg," observed John +Effingham.</p> + +<p>"I did a little in that way, too, sir; or as much as I could. Law is flat +with us, of late, and many of the attorneys are turning their attention to +other callings."</p> + +<p>"And pray, sir," asked Sir George, "what is the favourite pursuit with +most of them, just now?"</p> + +<p>"Some our way have gone into the horse-line; but much the greater portion +are, just now, dealing in western cities.</p> + +<p>"In western cities!" exclaimed the baronet, looking as if he distrusted a +mystification.</p> + +<p>"In such articles, and in mill-seats, and rail-road lines, and other +expectations."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Bragg means that they are buying and selling lands on which it is +hoped all these conveniences may exist, a century hence," explained John +Effingham.</p> + +<p>"The <i>hope</i> is for next year, or next week, even, Mr. John," returned +Aristabulus, with a sly look, "though you may be very right as to the +<i>reality</i>. Great fortunes have been made on a capital of hopes, lately, in +this country."</p> + +<p>"And have you been able, yourself, to resist these temptations?" asked Mr. +Effingham. "I feel doubly indebted to you, sir, that you should have +continued to devote your time to my interests, while so many better things +were offering."</p> + +<p>"It was my duty, sir," said Aristabulus, bowing so much the lower, from +the consciousness that he had actually deserted his post for some months, +to embark in the western speculations that were then so active in the +country, "not to say my pleasure. There are many profitable occupations in +this country, Sir George, that have been overlooked in the eagerness to +embark in the town-trade--"</p> + +<p>"Mr. Bragg does not mean trade in town, but trade in towns," explained +John Effingham.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, the traffic in cities. I never come this way, without casting +an eye about me, in order to see if there is any thing to be done that is +useful; and I confess that several available opportunities have offered, +if one had capital. Milk is a good business."</p> + +<p>"<i>Le lait!</i>" exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville, involuntarily.</p> + +<p>"Yes, ma'am, for ladies as well as gentlemen. Sweet potatoes I have heard +well spoken of, and peaches are really making some rich men's fortunes."</p> + +<p>"All of which are honester and better occupations than the traffic in +cities, that you have mentioned," quietly observed Mr. Effingham.</p> + +<p>Aristabulus looked up in a little surprise, for with him every thing was +eligible that returned a good profit, and all things honest that the law +did not actually punish. Perceiving, however, that the company was +disposed to listen, and having, by this time, recovered the lost ground, +in the way of food, he cheerfully resumed his theme.</p> + +<p>"Many families have left Otsego, this and the last summer, Mr. Effingham, +as emigrants for the west. The fever has spread far and wide."</p> + +<p>"The fever! Is <i>old</i> Otsego," for so its inhabitants loved to call a +county of half a century's existence, it being venerable by comparison, +"is <i>old</i> Otsego losing its well established character for salubrity?"</p> + +<p>"I do not allude to an animal fever, but to the western fever."</p> + +<p>"<i>Ce pays de l'ouest, est-il bien malsain</i>?" whispered Mademoiselle +Viefville.</p> + +<p>"<i>Apparemment, Mademoiselle, sur plusieurs rapports."</i></p> + +<p>"The western fever has seized old and young, and it has carried off many +active families from our part of the world," continued Aristabulus, who +did not understand the little aside just mentioned, and who, of course, +did not heed it; "most of the counties adjoining our own have lost a +considerable portion of their population."</p> + +<p>"And they who have gone, do they belong to the permanent families, or are +they merely the floating inhabitants?" inquired Mr. Effingham.</p> + +<p>"Most of them belong to the regular movers."</p> + +<p>"Movers!" again exclaimed Sir George--"is there any material part of your +population who actually deserve this name?"</p> + +<p>"As much so as the man who shoes a horse ought to be called a smith, or +the man who frames a house a carpenter," answered John Effingham.</p> + +<p>"To be sure," continued Mr. Bragg, "we have a pretty considerable leaven +of them in our political dough, as well as in our active business. I +believe, Sir George, that in England, men are tolerably stationary."</p> + +<p>"We love to continue for generations on the same spot. We love the tree +that our forefathers planted, the roof that they built, the fire-side by +which they sat, the sods that cover their remains."</p> + +<p>"Very poetical, and I dare say there are situations in life, in which such +feelings come in without much effort. It must be a great check to business +operations, however, in your part of the world, sir!"</p> + +<p>"Business operations!--what is business, as you term it, sir, to the +affections, to the recollections of ancestry, and to the solemn feelings +connected with history and tradition?"</p> + +<p>"Why, sir, in the way of history, one meets with but few incumbrances in +this country, but he may do very much as interest dictates, so far as that +is concerned, at least. A nation is much to be pitied that is weighed down +by the past, in this manner, since its industry and enterprize are +constantly impeded by obstacles that grow out of its recollections. +America may, indeed, be termed a happy and a free country, Mr. John +Effingham, in this, as well as in all other things!"</p> + +<p>Sir George Templemore was too well-bred to utter all he felt at that +moment, as it would unavoidably wound the feelings of his hosts, but he +was rewarded for his forbearance by intelligent smiles from Eve and Grace, +the latter of whom the young baronet fancied, just at that moment, was +quite as beautiful as her cousin, and if less finished in manners, she +had the most interesting <i>naiveté</i>.</p> + +<p>"I have been told that most old nations have to struggle with difficulties +that we escape," returned John Effingham, "though I confess this is a +superiority on our part, that never before presented itself to my mind."</p> + +<p>"The political economists, and even the geographers have overlooked it, +but practical men see and feel its advantages, every hour in the day. I +have been told, Sir George Templemore, that in England, there are +difficulties in running highways and streets through homesteads and +dwellings; and that even a rail-road, or a canal, is obliged to make a +curve to avoid a church-yard or a tomb-stone?"</p> + +<p>"I confess to the sin, sir."</p> + +<p>"Our friend Mr. Bragg," put in John Effingham, "considers life as all +<i>means</i> and no <i>end</i>."</p> + +<p>"An end cannot be got at without the means, Mr. John Effingham, as I trust +you will, yourself, admit. I am for the end of the road, at least, and +must say that I rejoice in being a native of a country in which as few +impediments as possible exist to onward impulses. The man who should +resist an improvement, in our part of the country, on account of his +forefathers, would fare badly among his contemporaries."</p> + +<p>"Will you permit me to ask, Mr. Bragg, if you feel no local attachments +yourself," enquired the baronet, throwing as much delicacy into the tones +of his voice, as a question that he felt ought to be an insult to a man's +heart, would allow--"if one tree is not more pleasant than another; the +house you were born in more beautiful than a house into which you never +entered; or the altar at which you have long worshipped, more sacred than +another at which you never knelt?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than to answer the questions of +gentlemen that travel through our country," returned Aristabulus, "for I +think, in making nations acquainted with each other, we encourage trade +and render business more secure. To reply to your inquiry, a human being +is not a cat, to love a locality rather than its own interests. I have +found some trees much pleasanter than others, and the pleasantest tree I +can remember was one of my own, out of which the sawyers made a thousand +feet of clear stuff, to say nothing of middlings. The house I was born in +was pulled down, shortly after my birth, as indeed has been its successor, +so I can tell you nothing on that head; and as for altars, there are none +in my persuasion."</p> + +<p>"The church of Mr. Bragg has stripped itself as naked as he would strip +every thing else, if he could," said John Effingham. "I much question if +he ever knelt even; much less before an altar."</p> + +<p>"We are of the standing order, certainly," returned Aristabulus, glancing +towards the ladies to discover how they took his wit, "and Mr. John +Effingham is as near right as a man need be, in a matter of faith. In the +way of houses, Mr. Effingham, I believe it is the general opinion you +might have done better with your own, than to have repaired it. Had the +materials been disposed of, they would have sold well, and by running a +street through the property, a pretty sum might have been realized."</p> + +<p>"In which case I should have been without a home, Mr. Bragg."</p> + +<p>"It would have been no great matter to get another on cheaper land. The +old residence would have made a good factory, or an inn."</p> + +<p>"Sir, I <i>am</i> a cat, and like the places I have long frequented."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus, though not easily daunted, was awed by Mr. Effingham's +manner, and Eve saw that her father's fine face had flushed. This +interruption, therefore, suddenly changed the discourse, which has been +recreated at some length, as likely to give the reader a better insight +into a character that will fill some space in our narrative, than a more +laboured description.</p> + +<p>"I trust your owners, Captain Truck," said John Effingham, by way of +turning the conversation into another channel, "are fully satisfied with +the manner in which you saved their property from the hands of the Arabs?"</p> + +<p>"Men, when money is concerned, are more disposed to remember how it was +lost than how it was recovered, religion and trade being the two poles, on +such a point," returned the old seaman, with a serious face. "On the +whole, my dear sir, I have reason to be satisfied, however; and so long as +you, my passengers and my friends, are not inclined to blame me, I shall +feel as if I had done at least a part of my duty."</p> + +<p>Eve rose from table, went to a side-board and returned, when she +gracefully placed before the master of the Montauk a rich and beautifully +chased punch-bowl, in silver. Almost at the same moment, Pierre offered a +salver that contained a capital watch, a pair of small silver tongs to +hold a coal, and a deck trumpet, in solid silver.</p> + +<p>"These are so many faint testimonials of our feelings," said Eve--"and you +will do us the favour to retain them, as evidences of the esteem created +by skill, kindness, and courage."</p> + +<p>"My dear young lady!" cried the old tar, touched to the soul by the +feeling with which Eve acquitted herself of this little duty, "my dear +young lady--well, God bless you--God bless you all--you too, Mr. John +Effingham, for that matter--and Sir George--that I should ever have taken +that runaway for a gentleman and a baronet--though I suppose there are +some silly baronets, as well as silly lords--retain them?"--glancing +furiously at Mr. Aristabulus Bragg, "may the Lord forget me, in the +heaviest hurricane, if I ever forget whence these things came, and why +they were given."</p> + +<p>Here the worthy captain was obliged to swallow some wine, by way of +relieving his emotions, and Aristabulus, profiting by the opportunity, +coolly took the bowl, which, to use a word of his own, he <i>hefted</i> in his +hand, with a view to form some tolerably accurate notion of its intrinsic +value. Captain Truck's eye caught the action, and he reclaimed his +property quite as unceremoniously as it had been taken away, nothing but +the presence of the ladies preventing an outbreaking that would have +amounted to a declaration of war.</p> + +<p>"With your permission, sir," said the captain, drily, after he had +recovered the bowl, not only without the other's consent, but, in some +degree, against his will; "this bowl is as precious in my eyes as if it +were made of my father's bones."</p> + +<p>"You may indeed think so," returned the land-agent, "for its cost could +not be less than a hundred dollars."</p> + +<p>"Cost, sir!--But, my dear young lady, let us talk of the real value. For +what part of these things am I indebted to you?"</p> + +<p>"The bowl is my offering," Eve answered, smilingly, though a tear +glistened in her eye, as she witnessed the strong unsophisticated feeling +of the old tar. "I thought it might serve sometimes to bring me to your +recollection, when it was well filled in honour of 'sweethearts and +wives.'"</p> + +<p>"It shall--it shall, by the Lord; and Mr. Saunders needs look to it, if he +do not keep this work as bright as a cruising frigate's bottom. To whom do +I owe the coal-tongs?"</p> + +<p>"Those are from Mr. John Effingham, who insists that he will come nearer +to your heart than any of us, though the gift be of so little cost."</p> + +<p>"He does not know me, my dear young lady--nobody ever got as near my heart +as you; no, not even my own dear pious old mother. But I thank Mr. John +Effingham from my inmost spirit, and shall seldom smoke without thinking +of him. The watch I know is Mr. Effingham's, and I ascribe the trumpet to +Sir George."</p> + +<p>The bows of the several gentlemen assured the captain he was right, and +he shook each of them cordially by the hand, protesting, in the fulness of +his heart, that nothing would give him greater pleasure than to be able to +go through the same perilous scenes as those from which they had so lately +escaped, in their good company again.</p> + +<p>While this was going on, Aristabulus, notwithstanding the rebuke he had +received, contrived to get each article, in succession, into his hands, +and by dint of poising it on a finger, or by examining it, to form some +approximative notion of its inherent value. The watch he actually opened, +taking as good a survey of its works as the circumstances of the case +would very well allow.</p> + +<p>"I respect these things, sir, more than you respect your father's grave," +said Captain Truck sternly, as he rescued the last article from what he +thought the impious grasp of Aristabulus again, "and cat or no cat, they +sink or swim with me for the remainder of the cruise. If there is any +virtue in a will, which I am sorry to say I hear there is not any longer, +they shall share my last bed with me, be it ashore or be it afloat. My +dear young lady, fancy all the rest, but depend on it, punch will be +sweeter than ever taken from this bowl, and 'sweethearts and wives' will +never be so honoured again."</p> + +<p>"We are going to a ball this evening, at the house of one with whom I am +sufficiently intimate to take the liberty of introducing a stranger, and I +wish, gentlemen," said Mr. Effingham, bowing to Aristabulus and the +captain, by way of changing the conversation, "you would do me the favour +to be of our party."</p> + +<p>Mr. Bragg acquiesced very cheerfully, and quite as a matter of course; +while Captain Truck, after protesting his unfitness for such scenes, was +finally prevailed on by John Effingham, to comply with the request also. +The ladies remained at table but a few minutes longer, when they retired, +Mr. Effingham having dropped into the old custom of sitting at the bottle, +until summoned to the drawing-room, a usage that continues to exist in +America, for a reason no better than the fact that it continues to exist +in England;--it being almost certain that it will cease in New-York, the +season after it is known to have ceased in London.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter III.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful!"</blockquote> + +<blockquote> SHAKSPEARE.</blockquote> + + +<p>As Captain Truck asked permission to initiate the new coal-tongs by +lighting a cigar, Sir George Templemore contrived to ask Pierre, in an +aside, if the ladies would allow him to join them. The desired consent +having been obtained, the baronet quietly stole from table, and was soon +beyond the odours of the dining-room.</p> + +<p>"You miss the censer and the frankincense," said Eve, laughing, as Sir +George entered the drawing-room; "but you will remember we have no church +establishment, and dare not take such liberties with the ceremonials of +the altar."</p> + +<p>"That is a short-lived custom with us, I fancy, though far from an +unpleasant one. But you do me injustice in supposing I am merely running +away from the fumes of the dinner."</p> + +<p>"No, no; we understand perfectly well that you have something to do with +the fumes of flattery, and we will at once fancy all has been said that +the occasion requires. Is not our honest old captain a jewel in his way?"</p> + +<p>"Upon my word, since you allow me to speak of your father's guests, I do +not think it possible to have brought together two men who are so +completely the opposites of each other, as Captain Truck and this Mr +Aristabulus Bragg. The latter is quite the most extraordinary person in +his way, it was ever my good fortune to meet with."</p> + +<p>"You call him a <i>person</i>, while Pierre calls him a <i>personnage;</i> I fancy +he considers it very much as a matter of accident, whether he is to pass +his days in the one character or in the other. Cousin Jack assures me, +that, while this man accepts almost any duty that he chooses to assign +him, he would not deem it at all a violation of the <i>convenances</i> to aim +at the throne in the White House."</p> + +<p>"Certainly with no hopes of ever attaining it!"</p> + +<p>"One cannot answer for that. The man must undergo many essential changes, +and much radical improvement, before such a climax to his fortunes can +ever occur; but the instant you do away with the claims of hereditary +power, the door is opened to a new chapter of accidents. Alexander of +Russia styled himself <i>un heureux accident</i>; and should it ever be our +fortune to receive Mr. Bragg as President, we shall only have to term him +<i>un malheureux accident</i>. I believe that will contain all the difference."</p> + +<p>"Your republicanism is indomitable, Miss Effingham, and I shall abandon +the attempt to convert you to safer principles, more especially as I find +you supported by both the Mr. Effinghams, who, while they condemn so much +at home, seem singularly attached to their own system at the bottom."</p> + +<p>"They condemn, Sir George Templemore, because they know that perfection is +hopeless, and because they feel it to be unsafe and unwise to eulogize +defects, and they are attached, because near views of other countries have +convinced them that, comparatively at last, bad as we are, we are still +better than most of our neighbours."</p> + +<p>"I can assure you," said Grace, "that many of the opinions of Mr John +Effingham, in particular, are not at all the opinions that are most in +vogue here; he rather censures what we like, and likes what we censure. +Even my dear uncle is thought to be a little heterodox on such subjects."</p> + +<p>"I can readily believe it," returned Eve, steadily. "These gentlemen, +having become familiar with better things, in the way of the tastes, and +of the purely agreeable, cannot discredit their own knowledge so much as +to extol that which their own experience tells them is faulty, or condemn +that which their own experience tells them is relatively good. Now, Grace, +if you will reflect a moment, you will perceive that people necessarily +like the best of their own tastes, until they come to a knowledge of +better; and that they as necessarily quarrel with the unpleasant facts +that surround them; although these facts, as consequences of a political +system, may be much less painful than those of other systems of which they +have no knowledge. In the one case, they like their own best, simply +because it is their own best; and they dislike their own worst, because it +is their own worst. We cherish a taste, in the nature of things, without +entering into any comparisons, for when the means of comparison offer, and +we find improvements, it ceases to be a taste at all; while to complain of +any positive grievance, is the nature of man, I fear!"</p> + +<p>"I think a republic odious!"</p> + +<p>"<i>Le republique est une horreur!</i>"</p> + +<p>Grace thought a republic odious, without knowing any thing of any other +state of society, and because it contained odious things; and Mademoiselle +Viefville called a republic <i>une horreur</i>, because heads fell and anarchy +prevailed in her own country, during its early struggles for liberty. +Though Eve seldom spoke more sensibly, and never more temperately, than +while delivering the foregoing opinions, Sir George Templemore doubted +whether she had all that exquisite <i>finesse</i> and delicacy of features, +that he had so much admired; and when Grace burst out in the sudden and +senseless exclamation we have recorded, he turned towards her sweet and +animated countenance, which, for the moment, he fancied the loveliest of +the two.</p> + +<p>Eve Effingham had yet to learn that she had just entered into the most +intolerant society, meaning purely as society, and in connexion with what +are usually called liberal sentiments, in Christendom. We do not mean by +this, that it would be less safe to utter a generous opinion in favour of +human rights in America than in any other country, for the laws and the +institutions become active in this respect, but simply, that the +resistance of the more refined to the encroachments of the unrefined, has +brought about a state of feeling--a feeling that is seldom just and never +philosophical--which has created a silent, but almost unanimous bias +against the effects of the institutions, in what is called the world. In +Europe, one rarely utters a sentiment of this nature, under circumstances +in which it is safe to do so at all, without finding a very general +sympathy in the auditors; but in the circle into which Eve had now fallen, +it was almost considered a violation of the proprieties. We do not wish to +be understood as saying more than we mean, however, for we have no manner +of doubt that a large portion of the dissentients even, are so idly, and +without reflection; or for the very natural reasons already given by our +heroine; but we do wish to be understood as meaning that such is the +outward appearance which American society presents to every stranger, and +to every native of the country too, on his return from a residence among +other people. Of its taste, wisdom and safety we shall not now speak, but +content ourselves with merely saying that the effect of Grace's +exclamation on Eve was unpleasant, and that, unlike the baronet, she +thought her cousin was never less handsome than while her pretty face was +covered with the pettish frown it had assumed for the occasion.</p> + +<p>Sir George Templemore had tact enough to perceive there had been a slight +jar in the feelings of these two young women, and he adroitly changed the +conversation. With Eve he had entire confidence on the score of +provincialisms, and, without exactly anticipating the part Grace would be +likely to take in such a discussion, he introduced the subject of general +society in New-York.</p> + +<p>"I am desirous to know," he said, "if you have your sets, as we have them +in London and Paris. Whether you have your <i>Faubourg St. Germain</i> and your +<i>Chaussée d'Antin;</i> your Piccadilly, Grosvenor and Russel Squares."</p> + +<p>"I must refer you to Miss Van Cortlandt for an answer to that question," +said Eve.</p> + +<p>Grace looked up blushing, for there were both novelty and excitement in +having an intelligent foreigner question her on such a subject.</p> + +<p>"I do not know that I rightly understand the allusion," she said, +"although I am afraid Sir George Templemore means to ask if we have +distinctions in society?"</p> + +<p>"And why <i>afraid</i>, Miss Van Cortlandt?"</p> + +<p>"Because it strikes me such a question would imply a doubt of our +civilization."</p> + +<p>"There are frequently distinctions made, when the differences are not +obvious," observed Eve. "Even London and Paris are not above the +imputation of this folly. Sir George Templemore, if I understand him, +wishes to know if we estimate gentility by streets, and quality by +squares."</p> + +<p>"Not exactly that either, Miss Effingham--but, whether among those, who +may very well pass for gentlemen and ladies, you enter into the minute +distinctions that are elsewhere found. Whether you have your exclusive, +and your <i>élégants</i> and <i>élegantes</i>; or whether you deem all within the +pale as on an equality."</p> + +<p>"<i>Les femmes Americaines sont bien jolies!</i>" exclaimed Mademoiselle +Viefville.</p> + +<p>"It is quite impossible that <i>coteries</i> should not form in a town of three +hundred thousand souls."</p> + +<p>"I do not mean exactly even that. Is there no distinction between +<i>coteries;</i> is not one placed by opinion, by a silent consent, if not by +positive ordinances, above another?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, that to which Sir George Templemore alludes, is to be found," +said Grace, who gained courage to speak, as she found the subject getting +to be more clearly within her comprehension. "All the old families, for +instance, keep more together than the others; though it is the subject of +regret that they are not more particular than they are."</p> + +<p>"Old families!" exclaimed Sir George Templemore, with quite as much stress +as a well-bred man could very well lay on the words, in such +circumstances.</p> + +<p>"Old families," repeated Eve, with all that emphasis which the baronet +himself had hesitated about giving. "As old, at least, as two centuries +can make them; and this, too, with origins beyond that period, like those +of the rest of the world. Indeed, the American has a better gentility than +common, as, besides his own, he may take root in that of Europe."</p> + +<p>"Do not misconceive me, Miss Effingham; I am fully aware that the people +of this country are exactly like the people of all other civilized +countries, in this respect; but my surprise is that, in a republic, you +should have such a term even as that of 'old families.'"</p> + +<p>"The surprise has arisen, I must be permitted to say, from not having +sufficiently reflected on the real state of the country. There are two +great causes of distinction every where, wealth and merit. Now, if a race +of Americans continue conspicuous in their own society, through either or +both of these causes, for a succession of generations, why have they not +the same claims to be considered members of old families, as Europeans +under the same circumstances? A republican history is as much history as a +monarchical history; and a historical name in one, is quite as much +entitled to consideration, as a historical name in another. Nay, you admit +this in your European republics, while you wish to deny it in ours."</p> + +<p>"I must insist on having proofs; if we permit these charges to be brought +against us without evidence, Mademoiselle Viefville, we shall finally be +defeated through our own neglect."</p> + +<p>"<i>C'est une belle illustration, celle de l'antiquité</i>" observed the +governess, in a matter of course tone.</p> + +<p>"If you insist on proof, what answer can you urge to the <i>Capponi</i>? +'<i>Sonnez vos trompettes, et je vais faire sonner mes cloches</i>,'--or to the +<i>Von Erlachs</i>, a family that has headed so many resistances to oppression +and invasion, for five centuries?"</p> + +<p>"All this is very true," returned Sir George, "and yet I confess it is not +the way in which it is usual with us to consider American society."</p> + +<p>"A descent from Washington, with a character and a social position to +correspond, would not be absolutely vulgar, notwithstanding!"</p> + +<p>"Nay, if you press me so hard, I must appeal to Miss Van Cortlandt for +succour."</p> + +<p>"On this point you will find no support in that quarter. Miss Van +Cortlandt has an historical name herself, and will not forego an honest +pride, in order to relieve one of the hostile powers from a dilemma."</p> + +<p>"While I admit that time and merit must, in a certain sense, place +families in America in the same situation with families in Europe, I +cannot see that it is in conformity with your institutions to lay the same +stress on the circumstance."</p> + +<p>"In that we are perfectly of a mind, as I think the American has much the +best reason to be proud of his family," said Eve, quietly.</p> + +<p>"You delight in paradoxes, apparently, this evening, Miss Effingham, for I +now feel very certain you can hardly make out a plausible defence of this +new position."</p> + +<p>"If I had my old ally, Mr. Powis, here," said Eve touching the fender +unconsciously with her little foot, and perceptibly losing the animation +and pleasantry of her voice, in tones that were gentler, if not +melancholy, "I should ask him to explain this matter to you, for he was +singularly ready in such replies. As he is absent, however, I will attempt +the duty myself. In Europe, office, power, and consequently, +consideration, are all hereditary; whereas, in this country, they are not, +but they depend on selection. Now, surely, one has more reason to be proud +of ancestors who have been chosen to fill responsible stations, than of +ancestors who have filled them through the accidents, <i>heureux ou +malkeureux</i>, of birth. The only difference between England and America, as +respects family, is that you add positive rank to that to which we only +give consideration. Sentiment is at the bottom of our nobility, and the +great seal at the bottom of yours. And now, having established the fact +that there are families in America, let us return whence we started, and +enquire how far they have an influence in every-day society."</p> + +<p>"To ascertain which, we must apply to Miss Van Cortlandt."</p> + +<p>"Much less than they ought, if my opinion is to be taken," said Grace, +laughing, "for the great inroad of strangers has completely deranged all +the suitablenesses, in that respect."</p> + +<p>"And yet, I dare say, these very strangers do good," rejoined Eve. "Many +of them must have been respectable in their native places, and ought to be +an acquisition to a society that, in its nature, must be, Grace, <i>tant +soit peu</i>, provincial."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" cried Grace, "I can tolerate any thing but the Hajjis!"</p> + +<p>"The what?" asked Sir George, eagerly--"will you suffer me to ask an +explanation, Miss Van Cortlandt."</p> + +<p>"The Hajjis," repeated Grace laughing, though she blushed to the eyes.</p> + +<p>The baronet looked from one cousin to the other, and then turned an +inquiring glance on Mademoiselle Viefville. The latter gave a slight +shrug, and seemed to ask an explanation of the young lady's meaning +herself.</p> + +<p>"A Hajji is one of a class, Sir George Templemore," Eve at length said, +"to which you and I have both the honour of belonging."</p> + +<p>"No, not Sir George Templemore," interrupted Grace, with a precipitation +that she instantly regretted; "he is not an American."</p> + +<p>"Then I, alone, of all present, have that honour. It means the pilgrimage +to Paris, instead of Mecca; and the Pilgrim must be an American, instead +of a Mahommedan."</p> + +<p>"Nay, Eve, <i>you</i> are not a Hajji, neither."</p> + +<p>"Then there is some qualification with which I am not yet acquainted. Will +you relieve our doubts, Grace, and let us know the precise character of +the animal."</p> + +<p>"<i>You</i> stayed too long to be a Hajji--- one must get innoculated merely; +not take the disease and become cured, to be a true Hajji."</p> + +<p>"I thank you, Miss Van Cortlandt, for this description," returned Eve in +her quiet way. "I hope, as I have gone through the malady, it has not left +me pitted."</p> + +<p>"I should like to see one of these Hajjis," cried Sir George.--"Are they +of both sexes?"</p> + +<p>Grace laughed and nodded her head.</p> + +<p>"Will you point it out to me, should we be so fortunate as to encounter +one this evening?"</p> + +<p>Again Grace laughed and nodded her head.</p> + +<p>"I have been thinking, Grace," said Eve, after a short pause, "that we may +give Sir George Templemore a better idea of the sets about which he is so +curious, by doing what is no more than a duty of our own, and by letting +him profit by the opportunity. Mrs. Hawker receives this evening without +ceremony; we have not yet sent our answer to Mrs. Jarvis, and might very +well look in upon her for half an hour, after which we shall be in very +good season for Mrs. Houston's ball."</p> + +<p>"Surely, Eve, you would not wish to take Sir George Templemore to such a +house as that of Mrs. Jarvis!"</p> + +<p>"<i>I</i> do not wish to take Sir George Templemore any where, for your Hajjis +have opinions of their own on such subjects. But, as cousin Jack will +accompany us, <i>he</i> may very well confer that important favour. I dare say, +Mrs. Jarvis will not look upon it as too great a liberty."</p> + +<p>"I will answer for it, that nothing Mr. John Effingham can do will be +thought <i>mal à propos</i> by Mrs. Jared Jarvis. His position in society is +too well established, and hers is too equivocal, to leave any doubt on +that head."</p> + +<p>"This, you perceive, settles the point of <i>côteries,</i>" said Eve to the +baronet. "Volumes might be written to establish principles; but when one +can do any thing he or she pleases, any where that he or she likes, it is +pretty safe to say that he or she is privileged."</p> + +<p>"All very true, as to the fact, Miss Effingham; but I should like +exceedingly to know the reason."</p> + +<p>"Half the time, such things are decided without a reason at all. You are a +little exacting in requiring a reason in New-York for that which is done +in London without even the pretence of such a thing. It is sufficient that +Mrs. Jarvis will be delighted to see you without an invitation, and that +Mrs. Houston would, at least, think it odd, were you to take the same +liberty with her."</p> + +<p>"It follows," said Sir George, smiling, "that Mrs. Jarvis is much the most +hospitable person of the two."</p> + +<p>"But, Eve, what shall be done with Captain Truck and Mr. Bragg?" asked +Grace. "We cannot take <i>them</i> to Mrs. Hawker's!"</p> + +<p>"Aristabulus would, indeed, be a little out of place in such a house, but +as for our excellent, brave, straight-forward, old captain, he is worthy +to go any where. I shall be delighted to present <i>him</i> to Mrs. Hawker, +myself."</p> + +<p>After a little consultation between the ladies, it was settled that +nothing should be said of the two first visits to Mr. Bragg, but that Mr. +Effingham should be requested to bring him to the ball, at the proper +hour, and that the rest of the party should go quietly off to the other +places, without mentioning their projects. As soon as this was arranged +the ladies retired to dress, Sir George Templemore passing into the +library to amuse himself with a book the while; where, however, he was +soon joined by John Effingham. Here the former revived the conversation on +distinctions in society, with the confusion of thought that usually marks +a European's notions of such matters.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter IV.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Ready."<br /> + "And I."<br /> + "And I."<br /> + "Where shall we go?"</blockquote> + +<blockquote> MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM.</blockquote> + + +<p>Grace Van Cortlant was the first to make her appearance after the retreat +from the drawing-room. It has often been said that, pretty as the American +females incontestably are, as a whole they appear better in +<i>demi-toilette,</i> than when attired for a ball. With what would be termed +high dress in other parts of the world, they are little acquainted; but +reversing the rule of Europe, where the married bestow the most care on +their personal appearance, and the single are taught to observe a rigid +simplicity, Grace now seemed sufficiently ornamented in the eyes of the +fastidious baronet, while, at the same time, he thought her less obnoxious +to the criticism just mentioned, than most of her young countrywomen, in +general.</p> + +<p>An <i>embonpoint</i> that was just sufficient to distinguish her from most of +her companions, a fine colour, brilliant eyes, a sweet smile, rich hair, +and such feet and hands as Sir George Templemore had, somehow--he scarcely +knew how, himself--fancied could only belong to the daughters of peers and +princes, rendered Grace so strikingly attractive this evening, that the +young baronet began to think her even handsomer than her cousin. There was +also a charm in the unsophisticated simplicity of Grace, that was +particularly alluring to a man educated amidst the coldness and mannerism +of the higher classes of England. In Grace, too, this simplicity was +chastened by perfect decorum and <i>retenue</i> of deportment; the exuberance +of the new school of manners not having helped to impair the dignity of +her character, or to weaken the charm of diffidence. She was less finished +in her manners than Eve, certainly; a circumstance, perhaps, that induced +Sir George Templemore to fancy her a shade more simple, but she was never +unfeminine or unladylike; and the term vulgar, in despite of all the +capricious and arbitrary rules of fashion, under no circumstances, could +ever be applied to Grace Van Cortlandt. In this respect, nature seemed to +have aided her; for had not her associations raised her above such an +imputation, no one could believe that she would be obnoxious to the +charge, had her lot in life been cast even many degrees lower than it +actually was.</p> + +<p>It is well known that, after a sufficient similarity has been created by +education to prevent any violent shocks to our habits or principles, we +most affect those whose characters and dispositions the least resemble our +own. This was probably one of the reasons why Sir George Templemore, who, +for some time, had been well assured of the hopelessness of his suit with +Eve, began to regard her scarcely less lovely cousin, with an interest of +a novel and lively nature. Quick-sighted and deeply interested in Grace's +happiness, Miss Effingham had already detected this change in the young +baronet's inclinations, and though sincerely rejoiced on her own account, +she did not observe it without concern; for she understood better than +most of her countrywomen, the great hazards of destroying her peace of +mind, that are incurred by transplanting an American woman into the more +artificial circles of the old world.</p> + +<p>"I shall rely on your kind offices, in particular, Miss Van Cortlandt, to +reconcile Mrs. Jarvis and Mrs. Hawker to the liberty I am about to take," +cried Sir George, as Grace burst upon them in the library, in a blaze of +beauty that, in her case, was aided by her attire; "and cold-hearted and +unchristian-like women they must be, indeed, to resist such a mediator!"</p> + +<p>Grace was unaccustomed to adulation of this sort; for though the baronet +spoke gaily, and like one half trifling, his look of admiration was too +honest to escape the intuitive perception of woman. She blushed deeply, +and then recovering herself instantly, said with a <i>naiveté</i> that had a +thousand charms with her listener--</p> + +<p>"I do not see why Miss Effingham and myself should hesitate about +introducing you at either place. Mrs. Hawker is a relative and an +intimate--an intimate of mine, at least--and as for poor Mrs. Jarvis, she +is the daughter of an old neighbour, and will be too glad to see us, to +raise objections. I fancy any one of a certain--" Grace hesitated and +laughed.</p> + +<p>"Any one of a certain--?" said Sir George inquiringly.</p> + +<p>"Any one from this house," resumed the young lady, correcting the intended +expression, "will be welcome in Spring street."</p> + +<p>"Pure, native aristocracy!" exclaimed the baronet with an air of affected +triumph. "This you see, Mr. John Effingham, is in aid of my argument."</p> + +<p>"I am quite of your opinion," returned the gentleman addressed--"as much +native aristocracy as you please, but no hereditary."</p> + +<p>The entrance of Eve and Mademoiselle Viefville interrupted this +pleasantry, and the carriages being just then announced, John Effingham +went in quest of Captain Truck, who was in the drawing-room with Mr. +Effingham and Aristabulus.</p> + +<p>"I have left Ned to discuss trespass suits and leases with his +land-agent," said John Effingham, as he followed Eve to the street-door. +"By ten o'clock, they will have taxed a pretty bill of costs between +them!"</p> + +<p>Mademoiselle Viefville followed John Effingham; Grace came next, and Sir +George Templemore and the Captain brought up the rear. Grace wondered the +young baronet did not offer her his arm, for she had been accustomed to +receive this attention from the other sex, in a hundred situations in +which it was rather an incumbrance than a service; while on the other +hand, Sir George himself would have hesitated about offering such +assistance, as an act of uncalled-for familiarity.</p> + +<p>Miss Van Cortlandt, being much in society, kept a chariot for her own use, +and the three ladies took their seats in it, while the gentlemen took +possession of Mr. Effingham's coach. The order was given to drive to +Spring street, and the whole party proceeded.</p> + +<p>The acquaintance between the Effinghams and Mr. Jarvis had arisen from +the fact of their having been near, and, in a certain sense, sociable +neighbours in the country. Their town associations, however, were as +distinct as if they dwelt in different hemispheres, with the exception of +an occasional morning call, and, now and then, a family dinner given by +Mr. Effingham. Such had been the nature of the intercourse previously to +the family of the latter's having gone abroad, and there were symptoms of +its being renewed on the same quiet and friendly footing as formerly. But +no two beings could be less alike, in certain essentials, than Mr. Jarvis +and his wife. The former was a plain pains-taking, sensible man of +business, while the latter had an itching desire to figure in the world of +fashion. The first was perfectly aware that Mr. Effingham, in education, +habits, associations and manners, was, at least, of a class entirely +distinct from his own; and without troubling himself to analyze causes, +and without a feeling of envy, or unkindness of any sort, while totally +exempt from any undue deference or unmanly cringing, he quietly submitted +to let things take their course. His wife expressed her surprise that any +one in New-York should presume to be <i>better</i> than themselves; and the +remark gave rise to the following short conversation, on the very morning +of the day she gave the party, to which we are now conducting the reader.</p> + +<p>"How do you know, my dear, that any one does think himself our <i>better</i>?" +demanded the husband.</p> + +<p>"Why do they not all visit us then!"</p> + +<p>"Why do you not visit everybody yourself? A pretty household we should +have, if you did nothing but visit every one who lives even in this +street!"</p> + +<p>"You surely would not have <i>me</i> visiting the grocers' wives at the +corners, and all the other rubbish of the neighbourhood. What I mean is +that all the people of a certain sort ought to visit all the other people +of a certain sort, in the same town."</p> + +<p>"You surely will make an exception, at least on account of numbers. I saw +number three thousand six hundred and fifty this very day on a cart, and +if the wives of all these carmen should visit one another, each would have +to make ten visits daily in order to get through with the list in a +twelvemonth."</p> + +<p>"I have always bad luck in making you comprehend these things, Mr. +Jarvis."</p> + +<p>"I am afraid, my dear, it is because you do not very clearly comprehend +them yourself. You first say that everybody ought to visit everybody, and +then you insist on it, <i>you</i> will visit none but those you think good +enough to be visited by Mrs. Jared Jarvis."</p> + +<p>"What I mean is, that no one in New-York has a right to think himself, or +herself, better than ourselves."</p> + +<p>"Better?--In what sense better?"</p> + +<p>"In such a sense as to induce them to think themselves too good to visit +us."</p> + +<p>"That may be your opinion, my dear, but others may judge differently. You +clearly think yourself too good to visit Mrs. Onion, the grocer's wife, +who is a capital woman in her way; and how do we know that certain people +may not fancy we are not quite refined enough for them? Refinement is a +positive thing, Mrs. Jarvis, and one that has much more influence on the +pleasures of association than money. We may want a hundred little +perfections that escape our ignorance, and which those who are trained to +such matters deem essentials."</p> + +<p>"I never met with a man of so little social spirit, Mr. Jarvis! Really, +you are quite unsuited to be a citizen of a republican country."</p> + +<p>"Republican!--I do not really see what republican has to do with the +question. In the first place, it is a droll word for <i>you</i> to use in this +sense at least; for, taking your own meaning of the term, you are as +anti-republican as any woman I know. But a republic does not necessarily +infer equality of condition, or even equality of rights,--it meaning +merely the substitution of the right of the commonwealth for the right of +a prince. Had you said a democracy there would have been some plausibility +in using the word, though even then its application would have been +illogical. If I am a freeman and a democrat, I hope I have the justice to +allow others to be just as free and democratic as I am myself."</p> + +<p>"And who wishes the contrary?--all I ask is a claim to be considered a fit +associate for anybody in this country--in these United States of America."</p> + +<p>"I would quit these United States of America next week, if I thought there +existed any necessity for such an intolerable state of things."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Jarvis!--and you, too, one of the Committee of Tammany Hall!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Mrs. Jarvis, and I one of the Committee of Tammany Hall! What, do +you think I want the three thousand six hundred and fifty carmen running +in and out of my house, with their tobacco saliva and pipes, all day +long?"</p> + +<p>"Who is thinking of your carmen and grocers!--I speak now only of genteel +people."</p> + +<p>"In other words, my dear, you are thinking only of those whom you fancy to +have the advantage of you, and keep those who think of you in the same +way, quite out of sight This is not my democracy and freedom. I believe +that it requires two people to make a bargain, and although I may consent +to dine with A----, if A---- will not consent to dine with me, there is an +end of the matter."</p> + +<p>"Now, you have come to a case in point. You often dined with Mr. Effingham +before he went abroad, and yet you would never allow me to ask Mr. +Effingham to dine with us. That is what I call meanness."</p> + +<p>"It might be so, indeed, if it were done to save my money. I dined with +Mr. Effingham because I like him; because he was an old neighbour; because +he asked me, and because I found a pleasure in the quiet elegance of his +table and society; and I did not ask him to dine with me, because I was +satisfied he would be better pleased with such a tacit acknowledgement of +his superiority in this respect, than by any bustling and ungraceful +efforts to pay him in kind. Edward Effingham has dinners enough, without +keeping a debtor and credit account with his guests, which is rather too +New-Yorkish, even for me."</p> + +<p>"Bustling and ungraceful!" repeated Mrs. Jarvis, bitterly; "I do not know +that you are at all more bustling and ungraceful than Mr. Effingham +himself."</p> + +<p>"No, my dear, I am a quiet, unpretending man, like the great majority of +my countrymen, thank God."</p> + +<p>"Then why talk of these sorts of differences in a country in which the law +establishes none?"</p> + +<p>"For precisely the reason that I talk of the river at the foot of this +street, or because there is a river. A thing may exist without there being +a law for it. There is no law for building this house, and yet it is +built. There is no law for making Dr. Verse a better preacher than Dr. +Prolix, and yet he is a much better preacher; neither is there any law for +making Mr. Effingham a more finished gentleman than I happen to be, and +yet I am not fool enough to deny the fact. In the way of making out a bill +of parcels, I will not turn my back to him, I can promise you."</p> + +<p>"All this strikes me as being very spiritless, and as particularly +anti-republican," said Mrs. Jarvis, rising to quit the room; "and if the +Effinghams do not come this evening, I shall not enter their house this +winter. I am sure they have no right to pretend to be our betters, and I +feel no disposition to admit the impudent claim."</p> + +<p>"Before you go, Jane, let me say a parting word," rejoined the husband, +looking for his hat, "which is just this. If you wish the world to believe +you the equal of any one, no matter whom, do not be always talking about +it, lest they see you distrust the fact yourself. A positive thing will +surely be seen, and they who have the highest claims are the least +disposed to be always pressing them on the attention of the world. An +outrage may certainly be done those social rights which have been +established by common consent, and then it may be proper to resent it; but +beware betraying a consciousness of your own inferiority, by letting every +one see you are jealous of your station. 'Now, kiss me; here is the money +to pay for your finery this evening, and let me see you as happy to +receive Mrs. Jewett from Albion Place, as you would be to receive Mrs. +Hawker herself."</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Hawker!" cried the wife, with a toss of her head, "I would not cross +the street to invite Mrs. Hawker and all her clan." Which was very true, +as Mrs. Jarvis was thoroughly convinced the trouble would be unavailing, +the lady in question being as near the head of fashion in New-York, as it +was possible to be in a town that, in a moral sense, resembles an +encampment, quite as much as it resembles a permanent and a long-existing +capital.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding a great deal of management on the part of Mrs. Jarvis to +get showy personages to attend her entertainment, the simple elegance of +the two carriages that bore the Effingham party, threw all the other +equipages into the shade. The arrival, indeed, was deemed a matter of so +much moment, that intelligence was conveyed to the lady, who was still at +her post in the inner drawing-room, of the arrival of a party altogether +superior to any thing that had yet appeared in her rooms. It is true, this +was not expressed in words, but it was made sufficiently obvious by the +breathless haste and the air of importance of Mrs. Jarvis' sister, who had +received the news from a servant, and who communicated it <i>propriâ +personâ</i> to the mistress of the house.</p> + +<p>The simple, useful, graceful, almost indispensable usage of announcing at +the door, indispensable to those who receive much, and where there is the +risk of meeting people known to us by name and not in person, is but +little practised in America. Mrs. Jarvis would have shrunk from such an +innovation, had she known that elsewhere the custom prevailed, but she was +in happy ignorance on this point, as on many others that were more +essential to the much-coveted social <i>éclat</i> at which she aimed. When +Mademoiselle Viefville appeared, therefore, walking unsupported, as if she +were out of leading-strings, followed by Eve and Grace and the gentlemen +of their party, she at first supposed there was some mistake, and that her +visitors had got into the wrong house; there being an opposition party in +the neighbourhood.</p> + +<p>"What brazen people!" whispered Mrs. Abijah Gross, who having removed from +an interior New-England village, fully two years previously, fancied +herself <i>an fait</i> of all the niceties of breeding and social tact. "There +are positively two young ladies actually walking about without gentlemen!"</p> + +<p>But it was not in the power of Mrs. Abijah Gross, with her audible whisper +and obvious sneer and laugh, to put down two such lovely creatures as Eve +and her cousin. The simple elegance of their attire, the indescribable air +of polish, particularly in the former, and the surpassing beauty and +modesty of mien of both, effectually silenced criticism, after this +solitary outbreaking of vulgarity. Mrs. Jarvis recognized Eve and John +Effingham, and her hurried compliments and obvious delight proclaimed to +all near her, the importance she attached to their visit. Mademoiselle +Viefville she had not recollected in her present dress, and even she was +covered with expressions of delight and satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"I wish particularly to present to you a friend that we all prize +exceedingly," said Eve, as soon as there was an opportunity of speaking. +"This is Captain Truck, the gentleman who commands the Montauk, the ship +of which you have heard so much. Ah! Mr. Jarvis," offering a hand to him +with sincere cordiality, for Eve had known him from childhood, and always +sincerely respected him--"<i>you</i> will receive my friend with a cordial +welcome, I am certain."</p> + +<p>She then explained to Mr. Jarvis who the honest captain was, when the +former, first paying the proper respect to his other guests, led the old +sailor aside, and began an earnest conversation on the subject of the +recent passage.</p> + +<p>John Effingham presented the baronet, whom Mrs. Jarvis, out of pure +ignorance of his rank in his own country, received with perfect propriety +and self-respect.</p> + +<p>"We have very few people of note in town at present, I believe," said Mrs. +Jarvis to John Effingham. "A great traveller, a most interesting man, is +the only person of that sort I could obtain for this evening, and I shall +have great pleasure in introducing you. He is there in that crowd, for he +is in the greatest possible demand; he has seen so much.--Mrs. Snow, with +your permission--really the ladies are thronging about him as if he were a +Pawnee,--have the goodness to step a little this way, Mr. Effingham--Miss +Effingham--Mrs. Snow, just touch his arm and let him know I wish to +introduce a couple of friends.--Mr. Dodge, Mr. John Effingham, Miss +Effingham, Miss Van Cortlandt. I hope you may succeed in getting him a +little to yourselves, ladies, for he can tell you all about Europe--saw +the king of France riding out to Nully, and has a prodigious knowledge of +things on the other side of the water."</p> + +<p>It required a good deal of Eve's habitual self-command to prevent a smile, +but she had the tact and discretion to receive Steadfast as an utter +stranger. John Effingham bowed as haughtily as man can bow, and then it +was whispered that he and Mr. Dodge were rival travellers. The distance of +the former, coupled with an expression of countenance that did not invite +familiarity, drove nearly all the company over to the side of Steadfast, +who, it was soon settled, had seen much the most of the world, understood +society the best, and had moreover travelled as far as Timbuctoo in +Africa. The <i>clientèle</i> of Mr. Dodge increased rapidly, as these reports +spread in the rooms, and those who had not read the "delightful letters +published in the Active Inquirer," furiously envied those who had enjoyed +that high advantage.</p> + +<p>"It is Mr. Dodge, the great traveller," said one young lady, who had +extricated herself from the crowd around the 'lion,' and taken a station +near Eve and Grace, and who, moreover, was a 'blue' in her own set; "his +beautiful and accurate descriptions have attracted great attention in +England, and it is said they have actually been republished!"</p> + +<p>"Have you read them, Miss Brackett?"</p> + +<p>"Not the letters themselves, absolutely; but all the remarks on them in +the last week's Hebdomad. Most delightful letters, judging from those +remarks; full of nature and point, and singularly accurate in all their +facts. In this respect they are invaluable, travellers do fall into such +extraordinary errors!"</p> + +<p>"I hope, ma'am," said John Effingham, gravely, "that the gentleman has +avoided the capital mistake of commenting on things that actually exist. +Comments on its facts are generally esteemed by the people of a country, +impertinent and unjust; and your true way to succeed, is to treat as +freely as possible its imaginary peculiarities."</p> + +<p>Miss Brackett had nothing to answer to this observation, the Hebdomad +having, among its other profundities, never seen proper to touch on the +subject. She went on praising the "Letters," however, not one of which had +she read, or would she read; for this young lady had contrived to gain a +high reputation in her own <i>coterie</i> for taste and knowledge in books, by +merely skimming the strictures of those who do not even skim the works +they pretend to analyze.</p> + +<p>Eve had never before been in so close contact with so much flippant +ignorance, and she could not but wonder at seeing a man like her kinsman +overlooked, in order that a man like Mr. Dodge should be preferred. All +this gave John Effingham himself no concern, but retiring a little from +the crowd, he entered into a short conversation with the young baronet.</p> + +<p>"I should like to know your real opinions of this set," he said; "not that +I plead guilty to the childish sensibility that is so common in all +provincial circles to the judgments of strangers, but with a view to aid +you in forming a just estimate of the real state of the country."</p> + +<p>"As I know the precise connexion between you and our host, there can be no +objection to giving a perfectly frank reply. The women strike me as being +singularly delicate and pretty; well dressed, too, I might add; but, while +there is a great air of decency, there is very little high finish; and +what strikes me as being quite odd, under such circumstances, scarcely any +downright vulgarity, or coarseness."</p> + +<p>"A Daniel come to judgment! One who had passed a life here, would not have +come so near the truth, simply because he would not have observed +peculiarities, that require the means of comparison to be detected. You +are a little too indulgent in saying there is no downright vulgarity; for +some there is; though surprisingly little for the circumstances. But of +the coarseness that would be so prominent elsewhere, there is hardly any. +True, so great is the equality in all things, in this country, so direct +the tendency to this respectable mediocrity, that what you now see here, +to-night, may be seen in almost every village in the land, with a few +immaterial exceptions in the way of furniture and other city appliances, +and not much even in these."</p> + +<p>"Certainly, as a mediocrity, this is respectable though a fastidious +taste might see a multitude of faults."</p> + +<p>"I shall not say that the taste would be merely fastidious, for much is +wanting that would add to the grace and beauty of society, while much that +is wanting would be missed only by the over-sophisticated. Those +young-men, who are sniggering over some bad joke in the corner, for +instance, are positively vulgar, as is that young lady who is indulging in +practical coquetry; but, on the whole, there is little of this; and, even +our hostess, a silly woman, devoured with the desire of being what neither +her social position, education, habits nor notions fit her to be, is less +obtrusive, bustling, and offensive, than a similar person, elsewhere."</p> + +<p>"I am quite of your way of thinking, and intended to ask you to account +for it."</p> + +<p>"The Americans are an imitative people of necessity, and they are apt at +this part of imitation, in particular. Then they are less artificial in +all their practices, than older and more sophisticated nations; and this +company has got that essential part of good breeding, simplicity, as it +were <i>per force</i>. A step higher in the social scale, you will see less of +it; for greater daring and bad models lead to blunders in matters that +require to be exceedingly well done, if done at all. The faults here would +be more apparent, by an approach near enough to get into the tone of mind, +the forms of speech, and the attempts at wit."</p> + +<p>"Which I think we shall escape to-night, as I see the ladies are already +making their apologies and taking leave. We must defer this investigation +to another time."</p> + +<p>"It may be indefinitely postponed, as it would scarcely reward the trouble +of an inquiry."</p> + +<p>The gentlemen now approached Mrs. Jarvis, paid their parting compliments, +hunted up Captain Truck, whom they tore by violence from the good-natured +hospitality of the master of the house, and then saw the ladies into their +carriage. As they drove off, the worthy mariner protested that Mr. Jarvis +was one of the honestest men he had ever met, and announced that he +intended giving him a dinner on board the Montauk, the very next day.</p> + +<p>The dwelling of Mrs. Hawker was in Hudson Square; or in a portion of the +city that the lovers of the grandiose are endeavouring to call St. John's +Park; for it is rather an amusing peculiarity among a certain portion of +the emigrants who have flocked into the Middle States, within the last +thirty years, that they are not satisfied with permitting any family, or +thing, to possess the name it originally enjoyed, if there exists the +least opportunity to change it. There was but a carriage or two before the +door, though the strong lights in the house showed that company had +collected.</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Hawker is the widow and the daughter of men of long established +New-York families; she is childless, affluent, and universally respected +where known, for her breeding, benevolence, good sense, and heart," said +John Effingham, while the party was driving from one house to the other. +"Were you to go into most of the sets of this town, and mention Mrs. +Hawker's name, not one person in ten would know there is such a being in +their vicinity; the <i>pêle mêle</i> of a migratory population keeping persons +of her character and condition in life, quite out of view. The very +persons who will prattle by the hour, of the establishments of Mrs. Peleg +Pond, and Mrs. Jonah Twist, and Mrs. Abiram Wattles, people who first +appeared on this island five or six years since, and, who having +accumulated what to them are relatively large fortunes, have launched out +into vulgar and uninstructed finery, would look with surprise at hearing +Mrs. Hawker mentioned as one having any claims to social distinction. Her +historical names are overshadowed in their minds by the parochial glories +of certain local prodigies in the townships whence they emigrated; her +manners would puzzle the comprehension of people whose imitation has not +gone beyond the surface, and her polished and simple mind would find +little sympathy among a class who seldom rise above a common-place +sentiment without getting upon stilts."</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Hawker, then, is a lady," observed Sir George Templemore.</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Hawker is a lady, in every sense of the word; by position, +education, manners, association, mind, fortune and birth. I do not know +that we ever had more of her class than exist to-day, but certainly we +once had them more prominent in society."</p> + +<p>"I suppose, sir," said Captain Truck, "that this Mrs. Hawker is of what is +called the old school?"</p> + +<p>"Of a very ancient school, and one that is likely to continue, though it +may not be generally attended."</p> + +<p>"I am afraid, Mr. John Effingham, that I shall be like a fish out of water +in such a house. I can get along very well with your Mrs. Jarvis, and with +the dear young lady in the other carriage; but the sort of woman you have +described, will be apt to jam a plain mariner like myself. What in nature +should I do, now, if she should ask me to dance a minuet?"</p> + +<p>"Dance it agreeably to the laws of nature," returned John Effingham, as +the carriages stopped.</p> + +<p>A respectable, quiet, and an aged black admitted the party, though even he +did not announce the visiters, while he held the door of the drawing-room +open for them, with respectful attention. Mrs. Hawker arose, and advanced +to meet Eve and her companions, and though she kissed the cousins +affectionately, her reception of Mademoiselle Viefville was so simply +polite as to convince the latter she was valued on account of her +services. John Effingham, who was ten or fifteen years the junior of the +old lady, gallantly kissed her hand, when he presented his two male +companions. After paying the proper attention to the greatest stranger, +Mrs. Hawker turned to Captain Truck and said--</p> + +<p>"This, then, is the gentleman to whose skill and courage you all owe so +much--<i>we</i> all owe so much, I might better have said--the commander of the +Montauk?"</p> + +<p>"I have the honour of commanding that vessel, ma'am," returned Captain +Truck, who was singularly awed by the dignified simplicity of his hostess, +although her quiet, natural, and yet finished manner, which extended even +to the intonation of the voice, and the smallest movement, were as unlike +what he had expected as possible; "and with such passengers as she had +last voyage I can only say, it is a pity that she is not better off for +one to take care of her."</p> + +<p>"Your passengers give a different account of the matter, but, in order +that I may judge impartially, do me the favour to take this chair, and let +me learn a few of the particulars from yourself."</p> + +<p>Observing that Sir George Templemore had followed Eve to the other side of +the room, Mrs. Hawker now resumed her seat, and, without neglecting any to +attend to one in particular, or attending to one in a way to make him feel +oppressed, she contrived, in a few minutes, to make the captain forget all +about the minuet, and to feel much more at his ease than would have been +the case with Mrs. Jarvis, in a month's intercourse.</p> + +<p>In the mean time, Eve had crossed the room to join a lady whose smile +invited her to her side. This was a young, slightly framed female, of a +pleasing countenance, but who would not have been particularly +distinguished, in such a place, for personal charms. Still, her smile was +sweet, her eyes were soft, and the expression of her face was what might +almost be called illuminated As Sir George Templemore followed her, Eve +mentioned his name to her acquaintance, whom she addressed as Mrs. +Bloomfield.</p> + +<p>"You are bent on perpetrating further gaiety to-night," said the latter, +glancing at the ball-dresses of the two cousins; "are you in the colours +of the Houston faction, or in those of the Peabody."</p> + +<p>"Not in pea-green, certainly," returned Eve, laughing--"as you may see; +but in simple white."</p> + +<p>"You intend then to be 'led a measure' at Mrs. Houston's. It were more +suitable than among the other faction."</p> + +<p>"Is fashion, then, faction, in New-York?" inquired Sir George.</p> + +<p>"Fractions would be a better word, perhaps. But we have parties in almost +every thing, in America; in politics, religion, temperance, speculations, +and taste; why not in fashion?"</p> + +<p>"I fear we are not quite independent enough to form parties on such a +subject," said Eve.</p> + +<p>"Perfectly well said, Miss Effingham; one must think a little originally, +let it be ever so falsely, in order to get up a fashion. I fear we shall +have to admit our insignificance on this point. You are a late arrival, +Sir George Templemore?"</p> + +<p>"As lately as the commencement of this month; I had the honour of being a +fellow-passenger with Mr. Effingham and his family."</p> + +<p>"In which voyage you suffered shipwreck, captivity, and famine, if half we +hear be true."</p> + +<p>"Report has a little magnified our risks; we encountered some serious +dangers, but nothing amounting to the sufferings you have mentioned."</p> + +<p>"Being a married woman, and having passed the crisis in which deception is +not practised, I expect to hear truth again," said Mrs. Bloomfield, +smiling. "I trust, however, you underwent enough to qualify you all for +heroes and heroines, and shall content myself with knowing that you are +here, safe and happy--if," she added, looking inquiringly at Eve, "one who +has been educated abroad <i>can</i> be happy at home."</p> + +<p>"One educated abroad <i>may</i> be happy at home, though possibly not in the +modes most practised by the world," said Eve firmly.</p> + +<p>"Without an opera, without a court, almost without society!"</p> + +<p>"An opera would be desirable, I confess; of courts I know nothing, +unmarried females being cyphers in Europe; and I hope better things than +to think I shall be without society."</p> + +<p>"Unmarried females are considered cyphers too, here, provided there be +enough of them with a good respectable digit at their head. I assure you +no one quarrels with the cyphers under such circumstances. I think, Sir +George Templemore, a town like this must be something of a paradox to +you."</p> + +<p>"Might I venture to inquire the reason for this opinion!"</p> + +<p>"Merely because it is neither one thing nor another. Not a capital, nor +yet merely a provincial place; with something more than commerce in its +bosom, and yet with that something hidden under a bushel. A good deal more +than Liverpool, and a good deal less than London. Better even than +Edinburgh, in many respects, and worse than Wapping, in others."</p> + +<p>"You have been abroad, Mrs. Bloomfield?"</p> + +<p>"Not a foot out of my own country; scarcely a foot out of my own state. I +have been at Lake George, the Falls, and the Mountain House; and, as one +does not travel in a balloon, I saw some of the intermediate places. As +for all else, I am obliged to go by report."</p> + +<p>"It is a pity Mrs. Bloomfield was not with us, this evening, at Mrs. +Jarvis's," said Eve, laughing. "She might then have increased her +knowledge, by listening to a few cantos from the epic of Mr. Dodge."</p> + +<p>"I have glanced at some of that author's wisdom," returned Mrs. +Bloomfield, "but I soon found it was learning backwards. There is a +never-failing rule, by which it is easy to arrive at a traveller's worth, +in a negative sense, at least."</p> + +<p>"That is a rule which may be worth knowing," said the baronet, "as it +would save much useless wear of the eyes."</p> + +<p>"When one betrays a profound ignorance of his own country, it is a fair +presumption that he cannot be very acute in his observation of strangers. +Mr. Dodge is one of these writers, and a single letter fully satisfied my +curiosity. I fear, Miss Effingham, very inferior wares, in the way of +manners, have been lately imported, in large quantities, into this +country, as having the Tower mark on them."</p> + +<p>Eve laughed, but declared that Sir George Templemore was better qualified +than herself to answer such a question.</p> + +<p>"We are said to be a people of facts, rather than a people of theories," +continued Mrs. Bloomfield, without attending to the reference of the young +lady, "and any coin that offers passes, until another that is better, +arrives. It is a singular, but a very general mistake, I believe, of the +people of this country, in supposing that they can exist under the present +régime, when others would fail, because their opinions keep even pace +with, or precede the actual condition of society; whereas, those who have +thought and observed most on such subjects, agree in thinking the very +reverse to be the case."</p> + +<p>"This would be a curious condition for a government so purely +conventional," observed Sir George, with interest, "and it certainly is +entirely opposed to the state of things all over Europe."</p> + +<p>"It is so, and yet there is no great mystery in it after all. Accident has +liberated us from trammels that still fetter you. We are like a vehicle on +the top of a hill, which, the moment it is pushed beyond the point of +resistance, rolls down of itself, without the aid of horses. One may +follow with the team, and hook on when it gets to the bottom, but there is +no such thing as keeping company with it until it arrives there."</p> + +<p>"You will allow, then, that there is a bottom?'</p> + +<p>"There is a bottom to every thing--to good and bad; happiness and misery; +hope, fear, faith and charity; even to a woman's mind, which I have +sometimes fancied the most bottomless thing in nature. There may, +therefore, well be a bottom even to the institutions of America."</p> + +<p>Sir George listened with the interest with which an Englishman of his +class always endeavours to catch a concession that he fancies is about to +favour his own political predilections, and he felt encouraged to push the +subject further.</p> + +<p>"And you think the political machine is rolling downwards towards this +bottom?" he said, with an interest in the answer that, living in the quiet +and forgetfulness of his own home, he would have laughed at himself for +entertaining. But our sensibilities become quickened by collision, and +opposition is known even to create love.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bloomfield was quick-witted, intelligent, cultivated and shrewd. She +saw the motive at a glance, and, notwithstanding she saw and felt all its +abuses, strongly attached to the governing principle of her country's +social organization, as is almost universally the case with the strongest +minds and most generous hearts of the nation, she was not disposed to let +a stranger carry away a false impression of her sentiments on such a +point.</p> + +<p>"Did you ever study logic, Sir George Templemore?" she asked, archly.</p> + +<p>"A little, though not enough I fear to influence my mode of reasoning, or +even to leave me familiar with the terms."</p> + +<p>"Oh! I am not about to assail you with <i>sequiturs</i> and <i>non sequiturs</i> +dialectics and all the mysteries of <i>Denk-Lehre,</i> but simply to remind you +there is such a thing as the bottom of a subject. When I tell you we are +flying towards the bottom of our institutions, it is in the intellectual +sense, and not, as you have erroneously imagined, in an unintellectual +sense. I mean that we are getting to understand them, which, I fear, we +did not absolutely do at the commencement of the 'experiment.'"</p> + +<p>"But I think you will admit, that as the civilization of the country +advances, some material changes must occur; your people cannot always +remain stationary; they must either go backwards or forward."</p> + +<p>"Up or down, if you will allow me to correct your phraseology. The +civilization of the country, in one sense at least, is retrogressive, and +the people, as they cannot go 'up,' betray a disposition to go 'down.'"</p> + +<p>"You deal in enigmas, and I am afraid to think I understand you."</p> + +<p>"I mean, merely, that gallowses are fast disappearing, and that the +people--<i>le peuple</i> you will understand--begin to accept money. In both +particulars, I think there is a sensible change for the worse, within my +own recollection."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bloomfield then changed her manner, and from using that light-hearted +gaiety with which she often rendered her conversation <i>piquante</i>, and even +occasionally brilliant, she became more grave and explicit. The subject +soon turned to that of punishments, and few men could have reasoned more +sensibly, justly or forcibly, on such a subject, than this slight and +fragile-looking young woman. Without the least pedantry, with a beauty of +language that the other sex seldom attains, and with a delicacy of +discrimination, and a sentiment that were strictly feminine, she rendered +a theme interesting, that, however important in itself, is forbidding, +veiling all its odious and revolting features in the refinement and +finesse of her own polished mind.</p> + +<p>Eve could have listened all night, and, at every syllable that fell from +the lips of her friend, she felt a glow of triumph; for she was proud of +letting an intelligent foreigner see that America did contain women worthy +to be ranked with the best of other countries, a circumstance that they +who merely frequented what is called the world, she thought might be +reasonably justified in distrusting. In one respect, she even fancied Mrs. +Bloomfield's knowledge and cleverness superior to those which she had so +often admired in her own sex abroad. It was untrammelled, equally by the +prejudices incident to a factitious condition of society, or by their +reaction; two circumstances that often obscured the sense and candour of +those to whom she had so often listened with pleasure in other countries. +The singularly feminine tone, too, of all that Mrs. Bloomfield said or +thought, while it lacked nothing in strength, added to the charm of her +conversation, and increased the pleasure of those that listened.</p> + +<p>"Is the circle large to which Mrs. Hawker and her friends belong?" asked +Sir George, as he assisted Eve and Grace to cloak, when they had taken +leave. "A town which can boast of half-a-dozen such houses need not accuse +itself of wanting society."</p> + +<p>"Ah! there is but one Mrs. Hawker in New-York," answered Grace, "and not +many Mrs. Bloomfields in the world. It would be too much to say, we have +even half-a-dozen such houses."</p> + +<p>"Have you not been struck with the admirable tone of this drawing-room," +half whispered Eve. "It may want a little of that lofty ease that one sees +among the better portion of the old <i>Princesses et Duchesses</i>, which is a +relic of a school that, it is to be feared, is going out; but in its place +there is a winning nature, with as much dignity as is necessary, and a +truth that gives us confidence in the sincerity of those around us."</p> + +<p>"Upon my word, I think Mrs. Hawker quite fit for a Duchess."</p> + +<p>"You mean a <i>Duchesse</i>" said Eve, "and yet she is without the manner that +we understand by such a word. Mrs. Hawker is a lady, and there can be no +higher term."</p> + +<p>"She is a delightful old woman," cried John Effingham, "and if twenty +years younger and disposed to change her condition, I should really be +afraid to enter the house."</p> + +<p>"My dear sir," put in the captain, "I will make her Mrs. Truck to-morrow, +and say nothing of years, if she could be content to take up with such an +offer. Why, sir, she is no woman, but a saint in petticoats! I felt the +whole time as if talking to my own mother, and as for ships, she knows +more about them than I do!"</p> + +<p>The whole party laughed at the strength of the captain's admiration, and +getting into the carriages proceeded to the last of the houses they +intended visiting that night.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter V.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "So turns she every man the wrong side out;<br /> +And never gives to truth and virtue, that<br /> +Which simpleness and merit purchaseth."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.</blockquote> + + +<p>Mrs. Houston was what is termed a fashionable woman in New-York. She, too, +was of a family of local note, though of one much less elevated in the +olden time than that of Mrs. Hawker. Still her claims were admitted by the +most fastidious on such points, for a few do remain who think descent +indisputable to gentility; and as her means were ample, and her tastes +perhaps superior to those of most around her, she kept what was thought a +house of better tone than common, even in the highest circle. Eve had but +a slight acquaintance with her; but in Grace's eyes, Mrs. Houston's was +the place of all others that she thought might make a favourable +impression on her cousin. Her wish that this should prove to be the case +was so strong, that, as they drove towards the door, she could not forbear +from making an attempt to prepare Eve for what she was to meet.</p> + +<p>"Although Mrs. Houston has a very large house for New-York, and lives in a +uniform style, you are not to expect ante-chambers, and vast suites of +rooms, Eve," said Grace; "such as you have been accustomed to see abroad."</p> + +<p>"It is not necessary, my dear cousin, to enter a house of four or five +windows in front, to see it is not a house of twenty or thirty. I should +be very unreasonable to expect an Italian palazzo, or a Parisian hotel, in +this good town."</p> + +<p>"We are not old enough for that yet, Eve; a hundred years hence, +Mademoiselle Viefville, such things may exist here."</p> + +<p>"<i>Bien sûr. C'est naturel.</i>"</p> + +<p>"A hundred years hence, as the world tends, Grace, they are not likely to +exist any where, except as taverns, or hospitals, or manufactories. But +what have we to do, coz, with a century ahead of us? young as we both are, +we cannot hope to live that time."</p> + +<p>Grace would have been puzzled to account satisfactorily to herself, for +the strong desire she felt that neither of her companions should expect to +see such a house as their senses so plainly told them did not exist in the +place; but her foot moved in the bottom of the carriage, for she was not +half satisfied with her cousin's answer.</p> + +<p>"All I mean. Eve," she said, after a pause, "is, that one ought not to +expect in a town as new as this, the improvements that one sees in an +older state of society."</p> + +<p>"And have Mademoiselle Viefville, or I, ever been so weak as to suppose, +that New-York is Paris, or Rome, or Vienna?"</p> + +<p>Grace was still less satisfied, for, unknown to herself, she <i>had</i> hoped +that Mrs. Houston's ball might be quite equal to a ball in either of those +ancient capitals; and she was now vexed that her cousin considered it so +much a matter of course that it should not be. But there was no time for +explanations, as the carriage now stopped.</p> + +<p>The noise, confusion, calling out, swearing, and rude clamour before the +house of Mrs. Houston, said little for the out-door part of the +arrangements. Coachmen are nowhere a particularly silent and civil class; +but the uncouth European peasants, who have been preferred to the honours +of the whip in New-York, to the usual feelings of competition and +contention, added that particular feature of humility which is known to +distinguish "the beggar on horseback." The imposing equipages of our +party, however, had that effect on most of these rude brawlers, which a +display of wealth is known to produce on the vulgar-minded; and the ladies +got into the house, through a lane of coachmen, by yielding a little to a +<i>chevau de frise</i> of whips, without any serious calamity.</p> + +<p>"One hardly knows which is the most terrific," said Eve, involuntarily, as +soon as the door closed on them--"the noise within, or the noise without!"</p> + +<p>This was spoken rapidly, and in French, to Mademoiselle Viefville, but +Grace heard and understood it, and for the first time in her life, she +perceived that Mrs. Houston's company was not composed of nightingales. +The surprise is that the discovery should have come so late.</p> + +<p>"I am delighted at having got into this house," said Sir George, who, +having thrown his cloak to his own servant, stood with the two other +gentlemen waiting the descent of the ladies from the upper room, where +the bad arrangements of the house compelled them to uncloak and to put +aside their shawls, "as I am told it is the best house in town to see the +other sex."</p> + +<p>"To <i>hear them</i>, would be nearer the truth, perhaps," returned John +Effingham. "As for pretty women, one can hardly go amiss in New-York; and +your ears now tell you, that they do not come into the world to be seen +only."</p> + +<p>The baronet smiled, but he was too well bred to contradict or to assent. +Mademoiselle Viefville, unconscious that she was violating the +proprieties, walked into the rooms by herself, as soon as she descended, +followed by Eve; but Grace shrank to the side of John Effingham, whose arm +she took as a step necessary even to decorum.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Houston received her guests with ease and dignity. She was one of +those females that the American world calls gay; in other words, she +opened her own house to a very promiscuous society, ten or a dozen times +in a winter, and accepted the greater part of the invitations she got to +other people's. Still, in most other countries, as a fashionable woman, +she would have been esteemed a model of devotion to the duties of a wife +and a mother, for she paid a personal attention to her household, and had +actually taught all her children the Lord's prayer, the creed, and the ten +commandments. She attended church twice every Sunday, and only staid at +home from the evening lectures, that the domestics might have the +opportunity of going (which, by the way, they never did) in her stead. +Feminine, well-mannered, rich, pretty, of a very positive social +condition, and naturally kind-hearted and disposed to sociability, Mrs. +Houston, supported by an indulgent husband, who so much loved to see +people with the appearance of happiness, that he was not particular as to +the means, had found no difficulty in rising to the pinnacle of fashion, +and of having her name in the mouths of all those who find it necessary +to talk of somebodies, in order that they may seem to be somebodies +themselves. All this contributed to Mrs. Houston's happiness, or she +fancied it did; and as every passion is known to increase by indulgence, +she had insensibly gone on in her much-envied career until, as has just +been said, she reached the summit.</p> + +<p>"These rooms are very crowded," said Sir George, glancing his eyes around +two very pretty little narrow drawing-rooms, that were beautifully, not to +say richly, furnished; "one wonders that the same contracted style of +building should be so very general, in a town that increases as rapidly as +this, and where fashion has no fixed abode, and land is so abundant."</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Bloomfield would tell you," said Eve, "that these houses are types +of the social state of the country, in which no one is permitted to occupy +more than his share of ground."</p> + +<p>"But there are reasonably large dwellings in the place. Mrs. Hawker has a +good house, and your father's for instance, would be thought so, too, in +London even; and yet I fancy you will agree with me in thinking that a +good room is almost unknown in New-York."</p> + +<p>"I do agree with you, in this particular, certainly, for to meet with a +good room, one must go into the houses built thirty years ago. We have +inherited these snuggeries, however, England not having much to boast of +in the way of houses."</p> + +<p>"In the way of town residences, I agree with you entirely, as a whole, +though we have some capital exceptions. Still, I do not think we are quite +as compact as this--do you not fancy the noise increased in consequence of +its being so confined?"</p> + +<p>Eve laughed and shook her head quite positively.</p> + +<p>"What would it be if fairly let out!" she said. "But we will not waste the +precious moments, but turn our eyes about us in quest of the <i>belles</i>. +Grace, you who are so much at home, must be our cicerone, and tell us +which are the idols we are to worship."</p> + +<p>"<i>Dîtes moi premierement; que veut dire une belle à New-York?</i>" demanded +Mademoiselle Viefville. "<i>Apparemment, tout le monde est joli.</i>"</p> + +<p>"A <i>belle</i>, Mademoiselle," returned John Effingham, "is not necessarily +beautiful, the qualifications for the character, being various and a +little contradictory. One may be a <i>belle</i> by means of money, a tongue, an +eye, a foot, teeth, a laugh, or any other separate feature, or grace; +though no woman was ever yet a <i>belle</i>, I believe, by means of the head, +considered collectively. But why deal in description, when the thing +itself confronts us? The young lady standing directly before us, is a +<i>belle</i> of the most approved stamp and silvery tone. Is it not Miss Ring, +Grace?"</p> + +<p>The answer was in the affirmative, and the eyes of the whole party turned +towards the subject of this remark. The young lady in question was about +twenty, rather tall for an American woman, not conspicuously handsome, but +like most around her of delicate features and frame, and with such a +<i>physique</i>, as, under proper training, would have rendered her the <i>beau +idéal</i> of feminine delicacy and gentleness. She had natural spirit, +likewise, as appeared in her clear blue eye, and moreover she had the +spirit to be a <i>belle</i>.</p> + +<p>Around this young creature were clustered no less than five young men, +dressed in the height of the fashion, all of whom seemed to be entranced +with the words that fell from her lips, and each of whom appeared anxious +to say something clever in return. They all laughed, the lady most, and +sometimes all spoke at once. Notwithstanding these outbreakings, Miss Ring +did most of the talking, and once or twice, as a young man would gape +after a most exhilarating show of merriment, and discover an inclination +to retreat, she managed to recall him to his allegiance, by some remark +particularly pertinent to himself, or his feelings.</p> + +<p>"<i>Qui est cette dame?</i>" asked Mademoiselle Viefville, very much as one +would put a similar question, on seeing a man enter a church during +service with his hat on.</p> + +<p>"<i>Elle est demoiselle</i>," returned Eve.</p> + +<p>"<i>Quelle horreur!</i>"</p> + +<p>"Nay, nay, Mademoiselle, I shall not allow you to set up France as +immaculate on this point, neither--" said John Effingham, looking at the +last speaker with an affected frown--"A young lady may have a tongue, and +she may even speak to a young gentleman, and not be guilty of felony; +although I will admit that five tongues are unnecessary, and that five +listeners are more than sufficient, for the wisdom of twenty in +petticoats."</p> + +<p>"<i>C'est une horreur!</i>"</p> + +<p>"I dare say Miss Ring would think it a greater horror to be obliged to +pass an evening in a row of girls, unspoken to, except to be asked to +dance, and admired only in the distance. But let us take seats on that +sofa, and then we may go beyond the pantomime, and become partakers in the +sentiment of the scene."</p> + +<p>Grace and Eve were now led off to dance, and the others did as John +Effingham had suggested. In the eyes of the <i>belle</i> and her admirers, they +who had passed thirty were of no account, and our listeners succeeded in +establishing themselves quietly within ear-shot--this was almost at +duelling distance, too,--without at all interrupting the regular action of +the piece. We extract a little of the dialogue, by way of giving a more +dramatic representation of the scene.</p> + +<p>"Do you think the youngest Miss Danvers beautiful?" asked the <i>belle</i>, +while her eye wandered in quest of a sixth gentleman to "entertain," as +the phrase is. "In my opinion, she is absolutely the prettiest female in +Mrs. Houston's rooms this night."</p> + +<p>The young men, one and all, protested against this judgment, and with +perfect truth, for Miss Ring was too original to point out charms that +every one could see.</p> + +<p>"They say it will not be a match between her and Mr. Egbert, after every +body has supposed it settled so long. What is your opinion, Mr. Edson?"</p> + +<p>This timely question prevented Mr. Edson's retreat, for he had actually +got so far in this important evolution, as to have gaped and turned his +back. Recalled, as it were by the sound of the bugle, Mr. Edson was +compelled to say something, a sore affliction to him always.</p> + +<p>"Oh! I'm quite of your way of thinking; they have certainly courted too +long to think of marrying."</p> + +<p>"I detest long courtships; they must be perfect antidotes to love; are +they not, Mr. Moreland?"</p> + +<p>A truant glance of Mr. Moreland's eye was rebuked by this appeal, and +instead of looking for a place of refuge, he now merely looked sheepish. +He, however, entirely agreed with the young lady, as the surer way of +getting out of the difficulty.</p> + +<p>"Pray, Mr. Summerfield, how do you like the last Hajji--Miss Eve +Effingham? To my notion, she is prettyish, though by no means as well as +her cousin, Miss Van Cortlandt, who is really rather good-looking."</p> + +<p>As Eve and Grace were the two most truly lovely young women in the rooms, +this opinion, as well as the loud tone in which it was given, startled +Mademoiselle Viefville quite as much as the subjects that the belle had +selected for discussion. She would have moved, as listening to a +conversation that was not meant for their ears; but John Effingham quietly +assured her that Miss Ring seldom spoke in company without intending as +many persons as possible to hear her.</p> + +<p>"Miss Effingham is very plainly dressed for an only daughter" continued +the young lady, "though that lace of her cousin's is real point! I'll +engage it cost every cent of ten dollars a yard! They are both engaged to +be married, I hear."</p> + +<p>"<i>Ciel!</i>" exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville.</p> + +<p>"Oh! That is nothing," observed John Effingham coolly. "Wait a moment, and +you'll hear that they have been privately married these six months, if, +indeed, you hear no more."</p> + +<p>"Of course this is but an idle tale?" said Sir George Templemore with a +concern, which, in despite of his good breeding, compelled him to put a +question that, under other circumstances, would scarcely have been +permissible.</p> + +<p>"As true as the gospel. But listen to the <i>bell</i>, it is <i>ringing</i> for the +good of the whole parish."</p> + +<p>"The affair between Miss Effingham and Mr. Morpeth, who knew her abroad, I +understand is entirely broken off; some say the father objected to Mr. +Morpeth's want of fortune; others that the lady was fickle, while some +accuse the gentleman of the same vice. Don't you think it shocking to +jilt, in either sex, Mr. Mosely?"</p> + +<p>The <i>retiring</i> Mr. Mosely was drawn again within the circle, and was +obliged to confess that he thought it was very shocking, in either sex, to +jilt.</p> + +<p>"If I were a man," continued the <i>belle</i>, "I would never think of a young +woman who had once jilted a lover. To my mind, it bespeaks a bad heart, +and a woman with a bad heart cannot make a very amiable wife."</p> + +<p>"What an exceedingly clever creature she is," whispered Mr. Mosely to Mr. +Moreland, and he now made up his mind to remain and be 'entertained' some +time longer.</p> + +<p>"I think poor Mr. Morpeth greatly to be pitied; for no man would be so +silly as to be attentive seriously to a lady without encouragement. +Encouragement is the <i>ne plus ultra</i> of courtship; are you not of my +opinion, Mr. Walworth?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Walworth was number five of the entertainees, and he did understand +Latin, of which the young lady, though fond of using scraps, knew +literally nothing. He smiled an assent, therefore, and the <i>belle</i> +felicitated herself in having 'entertained' <i>him</i> effectually; nor was she +mistaken.</p> + +<p>"Indeed, they say Miss Effingham had several affairs of the heart, while +in Europe, but it seems she was unfortunate in them all."</p> + +<p>"<i>Mais, ceci est trop fort! Je ne peux plus écouter.</i>"</p> + +<p>"My dear Mademoiselle, compose yourself. The crisis is not yet arrived, by +any means."</p> + +<p>"I understand she still corresponds with a German Baron, and an Italian +Marquis, though both engagements are absolutely broken off. Some people +say she walks into company alone, unsupported by any gentleman, by way of +announcing a firm determination to remain single for life."</p> + +<p>A common exclamation from the young men proclaimed their disapprobation; +and that night three of them actually repeated the thing, as a well +established truth, and two of the three, failing of something better to +talk about, also announced that Eve was actually engaged to be married.</p> + +<p>"There is something excessively indelicate in a young lady's moving about +a room without having a gentleman's arm to lean on! I always feel as if +such a person was out of her place, and ought to be in the kitchen."</p> + +<p>"But, Miss Ring, what well-bred person does it?" sputtered Mr. Moreland. +"No one ever heard of such a thing in good society. 'Tis quite shocking! +Altogether unprecedented."</p> + +<p>"It strikes me as being excessively coarse!"</p> + +<p>"Oh! manifestly; quite rustic!" exclaimed Mr. Edson.</p> + +<p>"What can possibly be more vulgar?" added Mr. Walworth.</p> + +<p>"I never heard of such a thing among the right sort!" said Mr. Mosely.</p> + +<p>"A young lady who can be so brazen as to come into a room without a +gentleman's arm to lean on, is, in my judgment at least, but indifferently +educated, Hajji or no Hajji. Mr. Edson, have you ever felt the tender +passion? I know you have been desperately in love, once, at least; do +describe to me some of the symptoms, in order that I may know when I am +seriously attacked myself by the disease."</p> + +<p>"<i>Mais, ceci est ridicule! L'enfant s'est sauvée du Charenton de +New-York.</i>"</p> + +<p>"From the nursery rather, Mademoiselle; you perceive she does not yet know +how to walk alone."</p> + +<p>Mr. Edson now protested that he was too stupid to feel a passion as +intellectual as love, and that he was afraid he was destined by nature to +remain as insensible as a block.</p> + +<p>"One never knows, Mr. Edson," said the young lady, encouragingly. "Several +of my acquaintances, who thought themselves quite safe, have been seized +suddenly, and, though none have actually died, more than one has been +roughly treated, I assure you."</p> + +<p>Here the young men, one and all, protested that she was excessively +clever. Then succeeded a pause, for Miss Ring was inviting, with her eyes, +a number six to join the circle, her ambition being dissatisfied with five +entertainees, as she saw that Miss Trumpet, a rival belle, had managed to +get exactly that number, also, in the other room. All the gentlemen +availed themselves of the cessation in wit to gape, and Mr. Edson took the +occasion to remark to Mr. Summerfield that he understood "lots had been +sold in seven hundredth street that morning, as high as two hundred +dollars a lot."</p> + +<p>The <i>quadrille</i> now ended, and Eve returned towards her friends. As she +approached, the whole party compared her quiet, simple, feminine, and yet +dignified air, with the restless, beau-catching, and worldly look of the +belle, and wondered by what law of nature, or of fashion, the one could +possibly become the subject of the other's comments. Eve never appeared +better than that evening. Her dress had all the accuracy and finish of a +Parisian toilette, being equally removed from exaggeration and neglect; +and it was worn with the ease of one accustomed to be elegantly attired, +and yet never decked with finery. Her step even was that of a lady, having +neither the mincing tread of a Paris grisette, a manner that sometimes +ascends even to the <i>bourgeoise</i> the march of a cockneyess, nor the tiptoe +swing of a <i>belle</i>; but it was the natural though regulated step, of a +trained and delicate woman. Walk alone she could certainly, and always +did, except on those occasions of ceremony that demanded a partner. Her +countenance, across which an unworthy thought had never left a trace, was +an index, too, to the purity, high principles and womanly self-respect +that controlled all her acts, and, in these particulars was the very +reverse of the feverish, half-hoydenish half-affected expression of that +of Miss Ring.</p> + +<p>"They may say what they please," muttered Captain Truck, who had been a +silent but wondering listener of all that passed; "she is worth as many of +them as could be stowed in the Montauk's lower hold."</p> + +<p>Miss Ring perceiving Eve approach, was desirous of saying something to +her, for there was an <i>éclat</i> about a Hajji, after all, that rendered an +acquaintance, or even an intimacy desirable, and she smiled and curtsied. +Eve returned the salutation, but as she did not care to approach a group +of six, of which no less than five were men, she continued to move towards +her own party. This reserve compelled Miss Ring to advance a step or two, +when Eve was obliged to stop Curtsying to her partner, she thanked him for +his attention, relinquished his arm, and turned to meet the lady. At the +same instant the five 'entertainees' escaped in a body, equally rejoiced +at their release, and proud of their captivity.</p> + +<p>"I have been dying to come and speak to you, Miss Effingham," commenced +Miss Ring, "but these <i>five</i> giants (she emphasized the word we have put +in italics) so beset me, that escape was quite impossible. There ought to +be a law that but one gentleman should speak to a lady at a time."</p> + +<p>"I thought there was such a law already;" said Eve, quietly.</p> + +<p>"You mean in good breeding; but no one thinks of those antiquated laws +now-a-days. Are you beginning to be reconciled, a little, to your own +country?"</p> + +<p>"It is not easy to effect a reconciliation where there has been no +misunderstanding. I hope I have never quarrelled with my country, or my +country with me."</p> + +<p>"Oh! it is not exactly that I mean. Cannot one need a reconciliation +without a quarrel? What do you say to this, Mr. Edson?"</p> + +<p>Miss Ring having detected some symptoms of desertion in the gentleman +addressed, had thrown in this question by way of recal; when turning to +note its effect, she perceived that all of her <i>clientelle</i> had escaped. A +look of surprise and mortification and vexation it was not in her power to +suppress, and then came one of horror.</p> + +<p>"How conspicuous we have made ourselves, and it is all my fault!" she +said, for the first time that evening permitting her voice to fall to a +becoming tone. 'Why, here we actually are, two ladies conversing together, +and no gentleman near us!"</p> + +<p>"Is that being conspicuous?" asked Eve, with a simplicity that was +entirely natural.</p> + +<p>"I am sure, Miss Effingham, one who has seen as much of society as you, +can scarcely ask that question seriously. I do not think I have done so +improper a thing, since I was fifteen; and, dear me! dear me! how to +escape is the question. You have permitted your partner to go, and I do +not see a gentleman of my acquaintance near us, to give me his arm!"</p> + +<p>"As your distress is occasioned by my company," said Eve, "it is +fortunately in my power to relieve it." Thus saying, she quietly walked +across the room, and took her seat next to Mademoiselle Viefville.</p> + +<p>Miss Ring held up her hands in amazement, and then fortunately perceiving +one of the truants gaping at no great distance, she beckoned him to her +side.</p> + +<p>"Have the goodness to give me your arm, Mr. Summerfield," she said, "I am +dying to get out of this unpleasantly conspicuous situation; but you are +the first gentleman that has approached me this twelvemonth. I would not +for the world do so brazen a thing as Miss Effingham has just achieved; +would you believe it, she positively went from this spot to her seat, +quite alone!"</p> + +<p>"The Hajjis are privileged."</p> + +<p>"They make themselves so. But every body knows how bold and unwomanly the +French females are. One could wish, notwithstanding, that our own people +would not import their audacious usages into this country."</p> + +<p>"It is a thousand pities that Mr. Clay, in his compromise, neglected to +make an exception against that article. A tariff on impudence would not be +at all sectional."</p> + +<p>"It might interfere with the manufacture at home, notwithstanding," said +John Effingham; for the lungs were strong, and the rooms of Mrs. Houston +so small, that little was said that evening, which was not heard by any +who chose to listen. But Miss Ring never listened, it being no part of the +vocation of a <i>belle</i> to perform that inferior office, and sustained by +the protecting arm of Mr. Summerfield, she advanced more boldly into the +crowd, where she soon contrived to catch another group of even six +"entertainees." As for Mr. Summerfield, he lived a twelvemonth on the +reputation of the exceedingly clever thing he had just uttered.</p> + +<p>"There come Ned and Aristabulus," said John Effingham, as soon as the +tones of Miss Ring's voice were lost in the din of fifty others, pitched +to the same key. "<i>A present, Mademoiselle, je vais nous venger</i>."</p> + +<p>As John Effingham uttered this, he took Captain Truck by the arm, and went +to meet his cousin and the land agent. The latter he soon separated from +Mr. Effingham, and with this new recruit, he managed to get so near to +Miss Ring as to attract her attention. Although fifty, John Effingham was +known to be a bachelor, well connected, and to have twenty thousand a +year. In addition, he was well preserved and singularly handsome, besides +having an air that set all pretending gentility at defiance. These were +qualities that no <i>belle</i> despised, and ill-assorted matches were, +moreover, just coming into fashion in New-York. Miss Ring had an intuitive +knowledge that he wished to speak to her, and she was not slow in offering +the opportunity. The superior tone of John Effingham, his caustic wit and +knowledge of the world, dispersed the five <i>beaux</i>, incontinently; these +persons having a natural antipathy to every one of the qualities named.</p> + +<p>"I hope you will permit me to presume on an acquaintance that extends back +as far as your grandfather, Miss Ring," he said, "to present two very +intimate friends; Mr. Bragg and Mr. Truck; gentlemen who will well reward +the acquaintance."</p> + +<p>The lady bowed graciously, for it was a matter of conscience with her to +receive every man with a smile. She was still too much in awe of the +master of ceremonies to open her batteries of attack, but John Effingham +soon relieved her, by affecting a desire to speak to another lady. The +<i>belle</i> had now the two strangers to herself, and having heard that the +Effinghams had an Englishman of condition as a companion, who was +travelling under a false name, she fancied herself very clever in +detecting him at once in the person of Aristabulus; while by the aid of a +lively imagination, she thought Mr. Truck was his travelling Mentor, and a +divine of the church of England. The incognito she was too well bred to +hint at, though she wished both the gentlemen to perceive that a <i>belle</i> +was not to be mystified in this easy manner. Indeed, she was rather +sensitive on the subject of her readiness in recognizing a man of fashion +under any circumstances, and to let this be known was her very first +object, as soon as she was relieved from the presence of John Effingham.</p> + +<p>"You must be struck with the unsophisticated nature and the extreme +simplicity of our society, Mr. Bragg," she said, looking at him +significantly; "we are very conscious it is not what it might be, but do +you not think it pretty well for beginners?"</p> + +<p>Now, Mr. Bragg had an entire consciousness that he had never seen any +society that deserved the name before this very night, but he was +supported in giving his opinions by that secret sense of his +qualifications to fill any station, which formed so conspicuous a trait in +his character, and his answer was given with an <i>àplomb</i> that would have +added weight to the opinion of the veriest <i>élégant</i> of the <i>Chaussée +d'Antin.</i></p> + +<p>"It is indeed a good deal unsophisticated," he said, "and so simple that +any body can understand it. I find but a single fault with this +entertainment, which is, in all else, the perfection of elegance in my +eyes, and that is, that there is too little room to swing the legs in +dancing."</p> + +<p>"Indeed!--I did not expect that--is it not the best usage of Europe, now, +to bring a quadrille into the very minimum of space?"</p> + +<p>"Quite the contrary, Miss. All good dancing requires evolutions. The +dancing Dervishes, for instance would occupy quite as much space as both +of these sets that are walking before us, and I believe it is now +generally admitted that all good dancing needs room for the legs."</p> + +<p>"We necessarily get a little behind the fashions, in this distant country. +Pray, sir, is it usual for ladies to walk alone in society?"</p> + +<p>"Woman was not made to move through life alone, Miss," returned +Aristabulus with a sentimental glance of the eye, for he never let a good +opportunity for preferment slip through his fingers, and, failing of Miss +Effingham, or Miss Van Cortlandt, of whose estates and connections he had +some pretty accurate notions, it struck him Miss Ring might, possibly, be +a very eligible connection, as all was grist that came to his mill; "this +I believe, is an admitted truth."</p> + +<p>"By life you mean matrimony, I suppose."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Miss, a man always means matrimony, when he speaks to a young lady."</p> + +<p>This rather disconcerted Miss Ring, who picked her nosegay, for she was +not accustomed to hear gentlemen talk to ladies of matrimony, but ladies +to talk to gentlemen. Recovering her self-possession, however, she said +with a promptitude that, did the school to which she belonged infinite +credit,--</p> + +<p>"You speak, sir, like one having experience."</p> + +<p>"Certainly, Miss; I have been in love ever since I was ten years old; I +may say I was born in love, and hope to die in love."</p> + +<p>This a little out-Heroded Herod, but the <i>belle</i> was not a person to be +easily daunted on such a subject. She smiled graciously, therefore, and +continued the conversation with renewed spirit.</p> + +<p>"You travelled gentleman get odd notions," she said, "and more +particularly on such subjects. I always feel afraid to discuss them with +foreigners, though with my own countrymen I have few reserves. Pray, Mr. +Truck, are you satisfied with America?--Do you find it the country you +expected to see?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, marm;" for so they pronounced this word in the river, and the +captain cherished his first impressions; "when we sailed from Portsmouth. +I expected that the first land we should make would be the Highlands of +Navesink; and, although a little disappointed, I have had the satisfaction +of laying eyes on it at last."</p> + +<p>"Disappointment, I fear, is the usual fate of those who come from the +other side. Is this dwelling of Mrs. Houston's equal to the residence of +an English nobleman, Mr. Bragg?"</p> + +<p>"Considerably better, Miss, especially in the way of republican comfort."</p> + +<p>Miss Ring, like all <i>belles</i>, detested the word republican, their vocation +being clearly to exclusion, and she pouted a little affectedly.</p> + +<p>"I should distrust the quality of such comfort, sir," she said, with +point; "but, are the rooms at all comparable with the rooms in Apsley +House, for instance?"</p> + +<p>"My dear Miss, Apsley House is a toll-gate lodge, compared to this +mansion! I doubt if there be a dwelling in all England half as +magnificent--indeed, I cannot imagine any thing more brilliant and rich."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus was not a man to do things by halves, and it was a point of +honour with him to know something of every thing. It is true he no more +could tell where Apsley House is, or whether it was a tavern or a gaol, +than he knew half the other things on which he delivered oracular +opinions; but when it became necessary to speak, he was not apt to balk +conversation from any ignorance, real or affected. The opinion he had just +given, it is true, had a little surpassed Miss Ring's hopes; for the next +thing, in her ambition to being a <i>belle</i>, and of "entertaining" +gentlemen, was to fancy she was running her brilliant career in an orbit +of fashion that lay parallel to that of the "nobility and gentry" of Great +Britain.</p> + +<p>"Well, this surpasses my hopes," she said, "although I was aware we are +nearly on a level with the more improved tastes of Europe: still, I +thought we were a little inferior to that part of the world, yet."</p> + +<p>"Inferior, Miss! That is a word that should never pass your lips; you are +inferior to nothing, whether in Europe or America, Asia or Africa."</p> + +<p>As Miss Ring had been accustomed to do most of the flattering herself, as +behoveth a <i>belle</i>, she began to be disconcerted with the directness of +the compliments of Aristabulus, who was disposed to 'make hay while the +sun shines;' and she turned, in a little confusion, to the captain, by way +of relief; we say confusion, for the young lady, although so liable to be +misunderstood, was not actually impudent, but merely deceived in the +relations of things; or, in other words, by some confusion in usages, she +had hitherto permitted herself to do that in society, which female +performers sometimes do on the stage; enact the part of a man.</p> + +<p>"You should tell Mr. Bragg, sir," she said, with an appealing look at the +captain, "that flattery is a dangerous vice, and one altogether unsuited +to a Christian."</p> + +<p>"It is, indeed, marm, and one that I never indulge in. No one under my +orders, can accuse me of flattery."</p> + +<p>By 'under orders,' Miss Ring understood curates and deacons; for she was +aware the church of England had clerical distinctions of this sort, that +are unknown in America.</p> + +<p>"I hope, sir, you do not intend to quit this country without favouring us +with a discourse."</p> + +<p>"Not I, marm--I am discoursing pretty much from morning till night, when +among my own people, though I own that this conversing rather puts me out +of my reckoning. Let me get my foot on the planks I love, with an +attentive audience, and a good cigar in my mouth, and I'll hold forth with +any bishop in the universe."</p> + +<p>"A cigar!" exclaimed Miss Ring, in surprise. "Do gentlemen of your +profession use cigars when on duty!"</p> + +<p>"Does a parson take his fees? Why, Miss, there is not a man among us, who +does not smoke from morning till night."</p> + +<p>"Surely not on Sundays!"</p> + +<p>"Two for one, on those days, more than on any other."</p> + +<p>"And your people, sir, what do they do, all this time?'</p> + +<p>"Why, marm, most of them chew; and those that don't, if they cannot find a +pipe, have a dull time of it. For my part, I shall hardly relish the good +place itself, if cigars are prohibited."</p> + +<p>Miss Ring was surprised; but she had heard that the English clergy were +more free than our own, and then she had been accustomed to think every +thing English of the purest water. A little reflection reconciled her to +the innovation; and the next day, at a dinner party, she was heard +defending the usage as a practice that had a precedent in the ancient +incense of the altar. At the moment, however, she was dying to impart her +discoveries to others; and she kindly proposed to the captain and +Aristabulus to introduce them to some of her acquaintances, as they must +find it dull, being strangers, to know no one. Introductions and cigars +were the captain's hobbies, and he accepted the offer with joy, +Aristabulus uniting cordially in the proposition, as, he fancied he had a +right, under the Constitution of the United States of America, to be +introduced to every human being with whom he came in contact.</p> + +<p>It is scarcely necessary to say how much the party with whom the two +neophytes in fashion had come, enjoyed all this, though they concealed +their amusement under the calm exterior of people of the world. From Mr. +Effingham the mystification was carefully concealed by his cousin, as the +former would have felt it due to Mrs. Houston, a well-meaning, but silly +woman, to put an end to it. Eve and Grace laughed, as merry girls would +be apt to laugh, at such an occurrence, and they danced the remainder of +the evening with lighter hearts than ever. At one, the company retired in +the same informal manner, as respects announcements and the calling of +carriages, as that in which they had entered; most to lay their drowsy +heads on their pillows, and Miss Ring to ponder over the superior manners +of a polished young Englishman, and to dream of the fragrance of a sermon +that was preserved in tobacco.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter VI.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Marry, our play is the most lamentable<br /> +Comedy, and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisby."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> PETER QUINCE.</blockquote> + + +<p>Our task in the way of describing town society will soon be ended. The +gentlemen of the Effingham family had been invited to meet Sir George +Templemore at one or two dinners, to which the latter had been invited in +consequence of his letters, most of which were connected with his +pecuniary arrangements. As one of these entertainments was like all the +rest of the same character, a very brief account of it will suffice to let +the reader into the secret of the excellence of the genus.</p> + +<p>A well-spread board, excellent viands, highly respectable cookery, and +delicious wines, were every where met. Two rows of men clad in dark +dresses, a solitary female at the head of the table, or, if fortunate, +with a supporter of the same sex near her, invariably composed the +<i>convives</i>. The exaggerations of a province were seen ludicrously in one +particular custom. The host, or perhaps it might have been the hostess, +had been told there should be a contrast between the duller light of the +reception-room, and the brilliancy of the table, and John Effingham +actually hit his legs against a stool, in floundering through the obscurity +of the first drawing-room he entered on one of the occasions in question.</p> + +<p>When seated at table, the first great duty of restauration performed, the +conversation turned on the prices of lots, speculations in towns, or the +currency. After this came the regular assay of wines, during which it was +easy to fancy the master of the house a dealer, for he usually sat either +sucking a syphon or flourishing a cork-screw. The discourse would now have +done credit to the annual meeting and dinner of the German exporters, +assembled at Rudesheim to bid for the article.</p> + +<p>Sir George was certainly on the point of forming a very erroneous judgment +concerning the country, when Mr. Effingham extricated him from this set, +and introduced him properly into his own. Here, indeed, while there was +much to strike a European as peculiar, and even provincial, the young +baronet fared much better. He met with the same quality of table, relieved +by an intelligence that was always respectable, and a manliness of tone +which, if not unmixed, had the great merit of a simplicity and nature that +are not always found in more sophisticated circles. The occasional +incongruities struck them all, more than the positive general faults and +Sir George Templemore did justice to the truth, by admitting frankly, the +danger he had been in of forming a too hasty opinion.</p> + +<p>All this time, which occupied a month, the young baronet got to be more and +more intimate in Hudson Square, Eve gradually becoming more frank and +unreserved with him, as she grew sensible that he had abandoned his hopes +of success with herself, and Grace gradually more cautious and timid, as +she became conscious of his power to please, and the interest he took in +herself.</p> + +<p>It might have been three days after the ball at Mrs. Houston's that most +of the family was engaged to look in on a Mrs. Legend, a lady of what was +called a literary turn, Sir George having been asked to make one of their +party. Aristabulus was already returned to his duty in the country, where +we shall shortly have occasion to join him, but an invitation had been +sent to Mr. Truck, under the general, erroneous impression of his real +character.</p> + +<p>Taste, whether in the arts, literature, or any thing else, is a natural +impulse, like love. It is true both may be cultivated and heightened by +circumstances, but the impulses must be voluntary, and the flow of +feeling, or of soul, as it has become a law to style it, is not to be +forced, or commanded to come and go at will. This is the reason that all +premeditated enjoyments connected with the intellect, are apt to baffle +expectations, and why academies, literary clubs, coteries and dinners are +commonly dull. It is true that a body of clever people may be brought +together, and, if left to their own impulses, the characters of their mind +will show themselves; wit will flash, and thought will answer thought +spontaneously; but every effort to make the stupid agreeable, by giving a +direction of a pretending intellectual nature to their efforts, is only +rendering dullness more conspicuous by exhibiting it in contrast with what +it ought to be to be clever, as a bad picture is rendered the more +conspicuous by an elaborate and gorgeous frame.</p> + +<p>The latter was the fate of most of Mrs. Legend's literary evenings, at +which it was thought an illustration to understand even one foreign +language. But, it was known that Eve was skilled in most of the European +tongues, and, the good lady, not feeling that such accomplishments are +chiefly useful as a means, looked about her in order to collect a set, +among whom our heroine might find some one with whom to converse in each +of her dialects. Little was said about it, it is true, but great efforts +were made to cause this evening to be memorable in the annals of +<i>conversazioni</i>.</p> + +<p>In carrying out this scheme, nearly all the wits, writers, artists and +<i>literati</i>, as the most incorrigible members of the book clubs were +styled, in New-York, were pressingly invited to be present. Aristabulus +had contrived to earn such a reputation for the captain, on the night of +the ball, that he was universally called a man of letters, and an article +had actually appeared in one of the papers, speaking of the literary +merits of the "Hon. and Rev. Mr. Truck, a gentleman travelling in our +country, from whose liberality and just views, an account of our society +was to be expected, that should, at last, do justice to our national +character." With such expectations, then, every true American and +Americaness, was expected to be at his or her post, for the solemn +occasion. It was a rally of literature, in defence of the +institutions--no, not of the institutions, for they were left to take care +of themselves--but of the social character of the community.</p> + +<p>Alas! it is easier to feel high aspirations on such subjects, in a +provincial town, than to succeed; for merely calling a place an Emporium, +is very far from giving it the independence, high tone, condensed +intelligence and tastes of a capital. Poor Mrs. Legend, desirous of having +all the tongues duly represented, was obliged to invite certain dealers in +gin from Holland, a German linen merchant from Saxony, an Italian +<i>Cavaliero</i>, who amused himself in selling beads, and a Spanish master, +who was born in Portugal, all of whom had just one requisite for +conversation in their respective languages, and no more. But such +assemblies were convened in Paris, and why not in New-York?</p> + +<p>We shall not stop to dwell on the awful sensations with which Mrs. Legend +heard the first ring at her door, on the eventful night in question. It +was the precursor of the entrance of Miss Annual, as regular a devotee of +letters as ever conned a primer. The meeting was sentimental and +affectionate. Before either had time, however, to disburthen her mind of +one half of its prepared phrases, ring upon ring proclaimed more company, +and the rooms were soon as much sprinkled with talent, as a modern novel +with jests. Among those who came first, appeared all the foreign corps, +for the refreshments entered as something into the account with them; +every blue of the place, whose social position in the least entitled her +to be seen in such a house, Mrs. Legend belonging quite positively to good +society.</p> + +<p>The scene that succeeded was very characteristic. A professed genius does +nothing like other people, except in cases that require a display of +talents. In all minor matters he, or she, is <i>sui generis</i>; for sentiment +is in constant ebullition in their souls; this being what is meant by the +flow of that part of the human system.</p> + +<p>We might here very well adopt the Homeric method, and call the roll of +heroes and heroines, in what the French would term a <i>catalogue +raisonnée</i>; but our limits compel us to be less ambitions, and to adopt a +simpler mode of communicating facts. Among the ladies who now figured in +the drawing-room of Mrs. Legend, besides Miss Annual, were Miss Monthly, +Mrs. Economy, S.R.P., Marion, Longinus, Julietta, Herodotus, D.O.V.E., and +Mrs. Demonstration; besides many others of less note; together with at +least a dozen female Hajjis, whose claims to appear in such society were +pretty much dependent on the fact, that having seen pictures and statues +abroad, they necessarily must have the means of talking of them at home. +The list of men was still more formidable in numbers, if not in talents. +At its head stood Steadfast Dodge, Esquire, whose fame as a male Hajji had +so far swollen since Mrs Jarvis's <i>réunion</i>, that, for the first time in +his life, he now entered one of the better houses of his own country. +Then there were the authors of "Lapis Lazuli," "The Aunts," "The +Reformed," "The Conformed," "The Transformed," and "The Deformed;" with +the editors of "The Hebdomad," "The Night Cap," "The Chrysalis," "The Real +Maggot," and "The Seek no Further;" as also, "Junius," "Junius Brutus," +"Lucius Junius Brutus," "Captain Kant," "Florio," the 'Author of the +History of Billy Linkum Tweedle', the celebrated Pottawattamie Prophet, +"Single Rhyme," a genius who had prudently rested his fame in verse, on a +couplet composed of one line; besides divers <i>amateurs</i> and +<i>connoisseurs</i>, Hajjis, who <i>must</i> be men of talents, as they had acquired +all they knew, very much as American Eclipse gained his laurels on the +turf; that is to say, by a free use of the whip and spur.</p> + +<p>As Mrs. Legend sailed about her rooms amid such a circle, her mind +expanded, her thoughts diffused themselves among her guests on the +principle of Animal Magnetism, and her heart was melting with the tender +sympathies of congenial tastes. She felt herself to be at the head of +American talents, and, in the secret recesses of her reason, she +determined that, did even the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah menace her native +town, as some evil disposed persons had dared to insinuate might one day +be the case, here was enough to save it from destruction.</p> + +<p>It was just as the mistress of the mansion had come to this consoling +conclusion, that the party from Hudson Square rang. As few of her guests +came in carriages, Mrs. Legend, who heard the rolling of wheels, felt +persuaded that the lion of the night was now indeed at hand; and with a +view to a proper reception, she requested the company to divide itself +into two lines, in order that he might enter, as it were, between lanes of +genius.</p> + +<p>It may be necessary to explain, at this point of our narrative, that John +Effingham was perfectly aware of the error which existed in relation to +the real character of Captain Truck, wherein he thought great injustice +had been done the honest seaman; and, the old man intending to sail for +London next morning, had persuaded him to accept this invitation, in order +that the public mind might be disabused in a matter of so much importance. +With a view that this might be done naturally and without fuss, however, +he did not explain the mistake to his nautical friend, believing it most +probable that this could be better done incidentally, as it were, in the +course of the evening; and feeling certain of the force of that wholesome +apothegm, which says that "truth is powerful and must prevail" "If this be +so," added John Effingham, in his explanations to Eve, "there can be no +place where the sacred quality will be so likely to assert itself, as in a +galaxy of geniuses, whose distinctive characteristic is 'an intuitive +perception of things in their real colours."</p> + +<p>When the door of Mrs. Legend's drawing-room opened, in the usual noiseless +manner, Mademoiselle Viefville, who led the way, was startled at finding +herself in the precise situation of one who is condemned to run the +gauntlet. Fortunately, she caught a glimpse of Mrs. Legend, posted at the +other end of the proud array, inviting her, with smiles, to approach. The +invitation had been to a "<i>literary fête</i>," and Mademoiselle Viefville was +too much of a Frenchwoman to be totally disconcerted at a little scenic +effect on the occasion of a <i>fête</i> of any sort. Supposing she was now a +witness of an American ceremony for the first time, for the want of +<i>representation</i> in the country had been rather a subject of animadversion +with her, she advanced steadily towards the mistress of the house, +bestowing smile for smile, this being a part of the <i>programme</i> at which a +<i>Parisienne</i> was not easily outdone. Eve followed, as usual, <i>sola</i>; Grace +came next; then Sir George; then John Effingham; the captain bringing up +the rear. There had been a friendly contest, for the precedency, between +the two last, each desiring to yield it to the other on the score of +merit; but the captain prevailed, by declaring "that he was navigating an +unknown sea, and that he could do nothing wiser than to sail in the wake +of so good a pilot as Mr. John Effingham."</p> + +<p>As Hajjis of approved experience, the persons who led the advance in this +little procession, were subjects of a proper attention and respect; but as +the admiration of mere vulgar travelling would in itself be vulgar, care +was taken to reserve the condensed feeling of the company for the +celebrated English writer and wit, who was known to bring up the rear. +This was not a common house, in which dollars had place, or <i>belles</i> +rioted, but the temple of genius; and every one felt an ardent desire to +manifest a proper homage to the abilities of the established foreign +writer, that should be in exact proportion to their indifference to the +twenty thousand a year of John Effingham, and to the nearly equal amount +of Eve's expectations.</p> + +<p>The personal appearance of the honest tar was well adapted to the +character he was thus called on so unexpectedly to support. His hair had +long been getting grey, but the intense anxiety of the chase, of the +wreck, and of his other recent adventures, had rapidly, but effectually, +increased this mark of time; and his head was now nearly as white as snow. +The hale, fresh, red of his features, which was in truth the result of +exposure, might very well pass for the tint of port, and his tread, which +had always a little of the quarterdeck swing about it, might quite easily +be mistaken by a tyro, for the human frame staggering under a load of +learning. Unfortunately for those who dislike mystifications, the captain +had consulted John Effingham on the subject of the toilette, and that kind +and indulgent friend had suggested the propriety of appearing in black +small-clothes for the occasion, a costume that he often wore himself of an +evening. Reality, in this instance, then, did not disappoint expectation, +and the burst of applause with which the captain was received, was +accompanied by a general murmur in commendation of the admirable manner in +which he "looked the character."</p> + +<p>"What a Byronic head," whispered the author of "The Transformed" to +D.O.V.E.; "and was there ever such a curl of the lip, before, to mortal +man!"</p> + +<p>The truth is, the captain had thrust his tobacco into "an aside," as a +monkey is known to <i>empocher</i> a spare nut, or a lump of sugar.</p> + +<p>"Do you think him Byronic?--To my eye, the cast of his head is +Shaksperian, rather; though I confess there is a little of Milton about +the forehead!"</p> + +<p>"Pray," said Miss Annual, to Lucius Junius Brutus, "which is commonly +thought to be the best of his works; that on a--a--a,--or that on +e--e--e?"</p> + +<p>Now, so it happened, that not a soul in the room, but the lion himself, +had any idea what books he had written, and he knew only of some fifteen +or twenty log-books. It was generally understood, that he was a great +English writer, and this was more than sufficient.</p> + +<p>"I believe the world generally prefers the a--a--a," said Lucius Junius +Brutus; "but the few give a decided preference to the e--e--e----"</p> + +<p>"Oh! out of all question preferable!" exclaimed half a dozen, in hearing.</p> + +<p>"With what a classical modesty he pays his compliments to Mrs. Legend," +observed "S. R. P."--"One can always tell a man of real genius, by his +<i>tenu</i>!"</p> + +<p>"He is so English!" cried Florio. "Ah! <i>they</i> are the only people, after +all!"</p> + +<p>This Florio was one of those geniuses who sigh most for the things that +they least possess.</p> + +<p>By this time Captain Truck had got through with listening to the +compliments of Mrs. Legend, when he, was seized upon by a circle of rabid +literati, who badgered him with questions concerning his opinions, +notions, inferences, experiences, associations, sensations, sentiments and +intentions, in a way that soon threw the old man into a profuse +perspiration. Fifty times did he wish, from the bottom of his soul, that +soul which the crowd around him fancied dwelt so nigh in the clouds, that +he was seated quietly by the side of Mrs. Hawker, who, he mentally swore, +was worth all the <i>literati</i> in Christendom. But fate had decreed +otherwise, and we shall leave him to his fortune, for a time, and return +to our heroine and her party.</p> + +<p>As soon as Mrs. Legend had got through with her introductory compliments +to the captain, she sought Eve and Grace, with a consciousness that a few +civilities were now their due.</p> + +<p>"I fear, Miss Effingham, after the elaborate <i>soirées</i> of the literary +circles in Paris, you will find our <i>réunions</i> of the same sort, a little +dull; and yet I flatter myself with having assembled most of the talents +of New-York on this memorable occasion, to do honour to your friend. Are +you acquainted with many of the company?"</p> + +<p>Now, Eve had never seen nor ever heard of a single being in the room, with +the exception of Mr. Dodge and her own party, before this night, although +most of them had been so laboriously employed in puffing each other into +celebrity, for many weary years; and, as for elaborate <i>soirées</i>, she +thought she had never seen one half as elaborate as this of Mrs. Legend's. +As it would not very well do, however, to express all this in words, she +civilly desired the lady to point out to her some of the most +distinguished of the company.</p> + +<p>"With the greatest pleasure, Miss Effingham," Mrs. Legend taking pride in +dwelling on the merits of her guests.--"This heavy, grand-looking +personage, in whose air one sees refinement and modesty at a glance, is +Captain Kant, the editor of one of our most decidedly pious newspapers. +His mind is distinguished for its intuitive perception of all that is +delicate, reserved and finished in the intellectual world, while, in +opposition to this quality, which is almost feminine, his character is +just as remarkable for its unflinching love of truth. He was never known +to publish a falsehood, and of his foreign correspondence, in particular, +he is so exceedingly careful, that he assures me he has every word of it +written under his own eye."</p> + +<p>"On the subject of his religious scruples," added John Effingham, "he is +so fastidiously exact, that I hear he 'says grace' over every thing that +goes <i>from</i> his press, and 'returns thanks' for every thing that comes +<i>to</i> it."</p> + +<p>"You know him, Mr. Effingham, by this remark? Is he not, truly, a man of a +vocation?"</p> + +<p>"That, indeed, he is, ma'am. He may be succinctly said to have a newspaper +mind, as he reduces every thing in nature or art to news, and commonly +imparts to it so much of his own peculiar character, that it loses all +identity with the subjects to which it originally belonged. One scarcely +knows which to admire most about this man, the atmospheric transparency of +his motives, for he is so disinterested as seldom even to think of paying +for a dinner when travelling, and yet so conscientious as always to say +something obliging of the tavern as soon as he gets home--his rigid regard +to facts; or the exquisite refinement and delicacy that he imparts to +every thing he touches. Over all this, too, he throws a beautiful halo of +morality and religion, never even prevaricating in the hottest discussion, +unless with the unction of a saint!"</p> + +<p>"Do you happen to know Florio?" asked Mrs. Legend, a little distrusting +John Effingham's account of Captain Kant.</p> + +<p>"If I do, it must indeed be by accident. What are his chief +characteristics, ma'am?"</p> + +<p>"Sentiment, pathos, delicacy, and all in rhyme, too. You no doubt, have +heard of his triumph over Lord Byron, Miss Effingham?"</p> + +<p>Eve was obliged to confess that it was new to her.</p> + +<p>"Why, Byron wrote an ode to Greece, commencing with 'The Isles of Greece! +the Isles of Greece!' a very feeble line, as any one will see, for it +contained a useless and an unmeaning repetition."</p> + +<p>"And you might add vulgar, too, Mrs. Legend," said John Effingham, "since +it made a palpable allusion to all those vulgar incidents that associate +themselves in the mind, with these said common-place isles. The arts, +philosophy, poetry, eloquence, and even old Homer, are brought +unpleasantly to one's recollection, by such an indiscreet invocation."</p> + +<p>"So Florio thought, and, by way of letting the world perceive the +essential difference between the base and the pure coin, <i>he</i> wrote an ode +on England, which commenced as such an ode <i>should</i>!"</p> + +<p>"Do you happen to recollect any of it, ma'am?"</p> + +<p>"Only the first line, which I greatly regret, as the rhyme is Florio's +chief merit. But this line is, of itself, sufficient to immortalize a +man."</p> + +<p>"Do not keep us in torment, dear Mrs. Legend, but let us have it, of +heaven's sake!"</p> + +<p>"It began in this sublime strain, sir--'Beyond the wave!--Beyond the +wave!' Now, Miss Effingham, that is what <i>I</i> call poetry!"</p> + +<p>"And well you may, ma'am," returned the gentleman, who perceived Eve could +scarce refrain from breaking out in a very unsentimental manner--"So much +pathos."</p> + +<p>"And so sententious and flowing!"</p> + +<p>"Condensing a journey of three thousand miles, as it might be, into three +words, and a note of admiration. I trust it was printed with a note of +admiration, Mrs. Legend?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, with two--one behind each wave--and such waves, Mr. Effingham!"</p> + +<p>"Indeed, ma'am, you may say so. One really gets a grand idea of them, +England lying beyond each."</p> + +<p>"So much expressed in so few syllables!"</p> + +<p>"I think I see every shoal, current, ripple, rock, island, and whale, +between Sandy Hook and the Land's End."</p> + +<p>"He hints at an epic."</p> + +<p>"Pray God he may execute one. Let him make haste, too, or he may get +'behind the age,' 'behind the age.'"</p> + +<p>Here the lady was called away to receive a guest.</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack!"</p> + +<p>"Eve Effingham?"</p> + +<p>"Do you not sometimes fear offending?"</p> + +<p>"Not a woman who begins with expressing her admiration of such a sublime +thing as this. You are safe with such a person, any where short of a tweak +of the nose."</p> + +<p>"<i>Mais, tout ceci est bien drôle!</i>"</p> + +<p>"You never were more mistaken in your life, Mademoiselle; every body here +looks upon it as a matter of life and death."</p> + +<p>The new guest was Mr. Pindar, one of those careless, unsentimental +fellows, that occasionally throw off an ode that passes through +Christendom, as dollars are known to pass from China to Norway, and yet, +who never fancied spectacles necessary to his appearance, solemnity to his +face, nor <i>soirées</i> to his renown. After quitting Mrs. Legend, he +approached Eve, to whom he was slightly known, and accosted her.</p> + +<p>"This is the region of taste, Miss Effingham," he said, with a shrug of +the jaw, if such a member can shrug; "and I do not wonder at finding you +here."</p> + +<p>He then chatted pleasantly a moment, with the party, and passed on, giving +an ominous gape, as he drew nearer to the <i>oi polloi</i> of literature. A +moment after appeared Mr. Gray, a man who needed nothing but taste in the +public, and the encouragement that would follow such a taste, to stand +at, or certainty near, the head of the poets of our own time. He, too, +looked shily at the galaxy, and took refuge in a corner. Mr. Pith +followed; a man whose caustic wit needs only a sphere for its exercise, +manners to portray, and a society with strong points about it to +illustrate, in order to enrol his name high on the catalogue of satirists. +Another ring announced Mr. Fun, a writer of exquisite humour, and of +finished periods, but who, having perpetrated a little too much sentiment, +was instantly seized upon by all the ultra ladies who were addicted to the +same taste in that way, in the room.</p> + +<p>These persons came late, like those who had already been too often dosed +in the same way, to be impatient of repetitions. The three first soon got +together in a corner, and Eve fancied they were laughing at the rest of +the company; whereas, in fact, they were merely laughing at a bad joke of +their own; their quick perception of the ludicrous having pointed out a +hundred odd combinations and absurdities, that would have escaped duller +minds.</p> + +<p>"Who, in the name of the twelve Caesars, has Mrs. Legend got to lionize, +yonder, with the white summit and the dark base?' asked the writer of +odes.</p> + +<p>"Some English pamphleteer, by what I can learn," answered he of satire; +"some fellow who has achieved a pert review, or written a Minerva +Pressism, and who now flourishes like a bay tree among us. A modern +Horace, or a Juvenal on his travels."</p> + +<p>"Fun is well badgered," observed Mr. Gray.--"Do you not see that Miss +Annual, Miss Monthly, and that young alphabet D.O.V.E., have got him +within the circle of their petticoats, where he will be martyred on a +sigh?"</p> + +<p>"He casts tanging looks this way; he wishes you to go to his rescue, +Pith."</p> + +<p>"I!--Let him take his fill of sentiment! I am no homoepathist in such +matters. Large doses in quick succession will soonest work a cure. Here +comes the lion and he breaks loose from his cage, like a beast that has +been poked up with sticks."</p> + +<p>"Good evening, gentlemen," said Captain Truck, wiping his face intensely, +and who having made his escape from a throng of admirers, took refuge in +the first port that offered. "You seem to be enjoying yourselves here in a +rational and agreeable way. Quite cool and refreshing in this corner."</p> + +<p>"And yet we have no doubt that both our reason and our amusement will +receive a large increase from the addition of your society, sir," returned +Mr. Pith.--"Do us the favour to take a seat, I beg of you, and rest +yourself."</p> + +<p>"With all my heart, gentlemen; for, to own the truth, these ladies make +warm work about a stranger. I have just got out of what I call a +category."</p> + +<p>"You appear to have escaped with life, sir," observed Pindar, taking a +cool survey of the other's person.</p> + +<p>"Yes, thank God, I have done that, and it is pretty much all," answered +the captain, wiping his face. "I served in the French war--Truxtun's war, +as we call it--and I had a touch with the English in the privateer trade, +between twelve and fifteen; and here, quite lately, I was in an encounter +with the savage Arabs down on the coast of Africa; and I account them all +as so much snow-balling, compared with the yard-arm and yard-arm work of +this very night. I wonder if it is permitted to try a cigar at these +conversation-onies, gentlemen?"</p> + +<p>"I believe it is, sir," returned Pindar, coolly. "Shall I help you to a +light?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! Mr. Truck!" cried Mrs. Legend, following the chafed animal to his +corner, as one would pursue any other runaway, "instinct has brought you +into this good company. You are, now, in the very focus of American +talents."</p> + +<p>"Having just escaped from the focus of American talons," whispered Pith.</p> + +<p>"I must be permitted to introduce you myself. Mr. Truck, Mr. Pindar--Mr. +Pith--- Mr. Gray--gentlemen, you must be so happy to be acquainted, being, +as it were, engaged in the same pursuits!"</p> + +<p>The captain rose and shook each of the gentlemen cordially by the hand, +for he had, at least, the consolation of a great many introductions that +night. Mrs. Legend disappeared to say something to some other prodigy.</p> + +<p>"Happy to meet you, gentlemen," said the captain "In what trade do you +sail?"</p> + +<p>"By whatever name we may call it," answered Mr. Pindar--"we can scarcely +be said to go before the wind."</p> + +<p>"Not in the Injee business, then, or the monsoons would keep the +stun'sails set, at least."</p> + +<p>"No, sir.--But yonder is Mr. Moccasin, who has lately set up, <i>secundum +artem</i>, in the Indian business, having written two novels in that way +already, and begun a third."</p> + +<p>"Are you all regularly employed, gentlemen?"</p> + +<p>"As regularly as inspiration points," said Mr. Pith. "Men of our +occupation must make fair weather of it, or we had better be doing +nothing."</p> + +<p>"So I often tell my owners, but 'go ahead' is the order. When I was a +youngster, a ship remained in port for a fair wind; but, now, she goes to +work and makes one. The world seems to get young, as I get old."</p> + +<p>"This is a <i>rum litterateur</i>," Gray whispered to Pindar.</p> + +<p>"It is an obvious mystification," was the answer; "poor Mrs. Legend has +picked up some straggling porpoise, and converted him, by a touch of her +magical wand, into a Boanerges of literature. The thing is as clear as +day, for the worthy fellow smells of tar and cigar smoke. I perceive that +Mr. Effingham is laughing out of the corner of his eyes, and will step +across the room, and get the truth, in a minute."</p> + +<p>The rogue was as good as his word, and was soon back again, and contrived +to let his friends understand the real state of the case. A knowledge of +the captain's true character encouraged this trio in the benevolent +purpose of aiding the honest old seaman in his wish to smoke, and Pith +managed to give him a lighted paper, without becoming an open accessary to +the plot.</p> + +<p>"Will you take a cigar yourself, sir," said the captain, offering his box +to Mr. Pindar.</p> + +<p>"I thank you, Mr. Truck, I never smoke, but am a profound admirer of the +flavour. Let me entreat you to begin as soon as possible."</p> + +<p>Thus encouraged, Captain Truck drew two or three whiffs, when the rooms +were immediately filled with the fragrance of a real Havana. At the first +discovery, the whole literary pack went off on the scent. As for Mr. Fun, +he managed to profit by the agitation that followed, in order to escape to +the three wags in the corner, who were enjoying the scene, with the +gravity of so many dervishes.</p> + +<p>"As I live," cried Lucius Junius Brutus, "there is the author of +a--a--a--actually smoking a cigar!--How excessively <i>piquant!</i>"</p> + +<p>"Do my eyes deceive me, or is not that the writer of e--e--e--fumigating +us all!" whispered Miss Annual.</p> + +<p>"Nay, this cannot certainly be right," put in Florio, with a dogmatical +manner. "All the periodicals agree that smoking is ungenteel in England."</p> + +<p>"You never were more mistaken, dear Florio," replied D.O.V.E. in a cooing +tone. "The very last novel of society has a chapter in which the hero and +heroine smoke in the declaration scene."</p> + +<p>"Do they, indeed!--That alters the case. Really, one would not wish to get +behind so great a nation, nor yet go much before it. Pray, Captain Kant, +what do your friends in Canada say; is, or is not smoking permitted in +good society there? the Canadians must, at least, be ahead of us."</p> + +<p>"Not at all, sir," returned the editor in his softest tones; "it is +revolutionary and jacobinical."</p> + +<p>But the ladies prevailed, and, by a process that is rather peculiar to +what may be called a "credulous" state of society, they carried the day. +This process was simply to make one fiction authority for another. The +fact that smoking was now carried so far in England, that the clergy +actually used cigars in the pulpits, was affirmed on the authority of Mr. +Truck himself, and, coupled with his present occupation, the point was +deemed to be settled. Even Florio yielded, and his plastic mind soon saw a +thousand beauties in the usage, that had hitherto escaped it. All the +literati drew round the captain in a circle, to enjoy the spectacle, +though the honest old mariner contrived to throw out such volumes of +vapour as to keep them at a safe distance. His four demure-looking +neighbours got behind the barrier of smoke, where they deemed themselves +entrenched against the assaults of sentimental petticoats, for a time, at +least.</p> + +<p>"Pray, Mr. Truck," inquired S.R.P., "is it commonly thought in the English +literary circles, that Byron was a developement of Shakspeare, or +Shakspeare a shadowing forth of Byron?"</p> + +<p>"Both, marm," said the captain, with a coolness that would have done +credit to Aristabulus, for he had been fairly badgered into impudence, +profiting by the occasion to knock the ashes off his cigar; "all incline +to the first opinion, and most to the last."</p> + +<p>"What finesse!" murmured one. "How delicate!" whispered a second. "A +dignified reserve!" ejaculated a third. "So English!" exclaimed Florio.</p> + +<p>"Do you think, Mr. Truck," asked D.O.V.E. "that the profane songs of +Little have more pathos than the sacred songs of Moore; or that the +sacred songs of Moore have more sentiment than the profane songs of +Little?"</p> + +<p>"A good deal of both, marm, and something to spare. I think there is +little in one, and more in the other."</p> + +<p>"Pray, sir," said J.R.P., "do you pronounce the name of Byron's +lady-love, Guy-kee-oh-<i>ly</i>, or, Gwy-ky-o-<i>lee</i>?"</p> + +<p>"That depends on how the wind is. If on shore, I am apt to say 'oh-lee;' +and if off shore, 'oh-lie.'"</p> + +<p>"That's capital!" cried Florio, in an extasy of admiration. "What man in +this country could have said as crack a thing as that?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed it is very witty," added Miss Monthly--"what does it mean?"</p> + +<p>"Mean! More than is seen or felt by common minds. Ah! the English are +truly a great nation!--How delightfully he smokes!"</p> + +<p>"I think he is much the most interesting man we have had out here," +observed Miss Annual, "since the last bust of Scott!"</p> + +<p>"Ask him, dear D.O.V.E.," whispered Julietta, who was timid, from the +circumstance of never having published, "which he thinks the most ecstatic +feeling, hope or despair?"</p> + +<p>The question was put by the more experienced lady, according to request, +though she first said, in a hurried tone, to her youthful sister--"you can +have felt but little, child, or you would know that it is despair, as a +matter of course."</p> + +<p>The honest captain, however, did not treat the matter so lightly, for he +improved the opportunity to light a fresh cigar, throwing the still +smoking stump into Mrs. Legend's grate, through a lane of literati, as he +afterwards boasted, as coolly as he could have thrown it overboard, under +other circumstances. Luckily for his reputation for sentiment, he mistook +"ecstatic," a word he had never heard before, for "erratic;" and +recollecting sundry roving maniacs that he had seen, he answered +promptly--</p> + +<p>"Despair, out and out."</p> + +<p>"I knew it," said one.</p> + +<p>"It's in nature," added a second.</p> + +<p>"All can feel its truth," rejoined a third.</p> + +<p>"This point may now be set down as established," cried Florio, "and I hope +no more will be said about it."</p> + +<p>"This is encouragement to the searchers after truth," put in Captain Kant.</p> + +<p>"Pray, Hon. and Rev. Mr. Truck," asked Lucius Junius Brutus, at the joint +suggestion of Junius Brutus and Brutus, "does the Princess Victoria +smoke?"</p> + +<p>"If she did not, sir, where would be the use in being a princess. I +suppose you know that all the tobacco seized in England, after a deduction +to informers, goes to the crown."</p> + +<p>"I object to this usage," remarked Captain Kant, "as irreligious, French, +and tending to <i>sans-culotteism</i>. I am willing to admit of this +distinguished instance as an exception; but on all other grounds, I shall +maintain that it savours of infidelity to smoke. The Prussian government, +much the best of our times, never smokes."</p> + +<p>"This man thinks he has a monopoly of the puffing, himself," Pindar +whispered into the captain's ear; "whiff away, my dear sir, and you'll +soon throw him into the shade."</p> + +<p>The captain winked, drew out his box, lighted another cigar, and, by way +of reply to the envious remark, he put one in each corner of his mouth, +and soon had both in full blast, a state in which he kept them for near a +minute.</p> + +<p>"This is the very picturesque of social enjoyment," exclaimed Florio, +holding up both hands in a glow of rapture. "It is absolutely Homeric, in +the way of usages! Ah! the English are a great nation!"</p> + +<p>"I should like to know excessively if there was really such a person as +Baron Mun-chaw-sen?" said Julietta, gathering courage from the success of +her last question.</p> + +<p>"There was, Miss," returned the captain, through his teeth, and nodding +his head in the affirmative. "A regular traveller, that; and one who knew +him well, swore to me that he hadn't related one half of what befel him."</p> + +<p>"How very delightful to learn this from the highest quarter!" exclaimed +Miss Monthly.</p> + +<p>"Is Gatty (Goethe) really dead?" inquired Longinus, "or, is the account we +have had to that effect, merely a metaphysical apotheosis of his mighty +soul?"</p> + +<p>"Dead, marm--stone dead--dead as a door-nail," returned the captain, who +saw a relief in killing as many as possible.</p> + +<p>"You have been in France, Mr. Truck, beyond question?" observed Lucius +Junius Brutus, in the way one puts a question.</p> + +<p>"France!--I was in France before I was ten years old. I know every foot of +the coast, from Havre de Grace to Marseilles."</p> + +<p>"Will you then have the goodness to explain to us whether the soul of +Chat-<i>to</i>-bri-<i>ong</i> is more expanded than his reason, or his reason more +expanded than his soul?"</p> + +<p>Captain Truck had a very tolerable notion of Baron Munchausen and of his +particular merits; but Chateaubriant was a writer of whom he knew nothing. +After pondering a moment, and feeling persuaded that a confession of +ignorance might undo him; for the old man had got to be influenced by the +atmosphere of the place; he answered coolly--</p> + +<p>"Oh! Chat-<i>to</i>-bri-<i>ong</i>, is it you mean?--As whole-souled a fellow as I +know. All soul, sir, and lots of reason, besides."</p> + +<p>"How simple and unaffected!"</p> + +<p>"Crack!" exclaimed Florio.</p> + +<p>"A thorough Jacobin!" growled Captain Kant, who was always offended when +any one but himself took liberties with the truth.</p> + +<p>Here the four wags in the corner observed that head went to head in the +crowd, and that the rear rank of the company began to disappear, while +Mrs. Legend was in evident distress. In a few minutes, all the Romans were +off; Florio soon after vanished, grating his teeth in a poetical frenzy; +and even Captain Kant, albeit so used to look truth in the face, beat a +retreat. The alphabet followed, and even the Annual and the Monthly +retired, with leave-takings so solemn and precise, that poor Mrs. Legend +was in total despair.</p> + +<p>Eve, foreseeing something unpleasant, had gone away first, and, in a few +minutes, Mr. Dodge, who had been very active in the crowd, whispering and +gesticulating, made his bow also. The envy of this man had, in fact, +become so intolerable, that he had let the cat out of the bag. No one now +remained but the party entrenched behind the smoke, and the mistress of +the house. Pindar solemnly proposed to the captain that they should go and +enjoy an oyster-supper, in company; and, the proposal being cordially +accepted, they rose in a body, to take leave.</p> + +<p>"A most delightful evening, Mrs. Legend," said Pindar, with perfect truth, +"much the pleasantest I ever passed in a house, where one passes so many +that are agreeable."</p> + +<p>"I cannot properly express my thanks for the obligation you have conferred +by making me acquainted with Mr. Truck," added Gray. "I shall cultivate it +as far as in my power, for a more capital fellow never breathed."</p> + +<p>"Really, Mrs. Legend, this has been a Byronic night!" observed Pith, as he +made his bow. "I shall long remember it, and I think it deserves to be +commemorated in verse"</p> + +<p>Fun endeavoured to look sympathetic and sentimental, though the spirit +within could scarcely refrain from grinning in Mrs. Legend's face. He +stammered out a few compliments, however, and disappeared.</p> + +<p>"Well, good night, marm," said Captain Truck, offering his hand cordially. +"This has been a pleasant evening, altogether, though it was warm work at +first. If you like ships, I should be glad to show you the Montauk's +cabins when we get back; and if you ever think of Europe, let me recommend +the London line as none of the worst. We'll try to make you comfortable, +and trust to me to choose a state-room, a thing I am experienced in."</p> + +<p>Not one of the wags laughed until they were fairly confronted with the +oysters. Then, indeed, they burst out into a general and long fit of +exuberant merriment, returning to it, between the courses from the +kitchen, like the <i>refrain</i> of a song. Captain Truck, who was uncommonly +well satisfied with himself, did not understand the meaning of all this +boyishness, but he has often declared since, that a heartier or a funnier +set of fellows he never fell in with, than his four companions proved to +be that night.</p> + +<p>As for the literary <i>soirée</i>, the most profound silence has been +maintained concerning it, neither of the wits there assembled having seen +fit to celebrate it in rhyme, and Florio having actually torn up an +impromptu for the occasion, that he had been all the previous day writing.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter VII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "There is a history in all men's lives,<br /> +Figuring the nature of the times deceased,<br /> +The which observed, a man may prophesy<br /> +With a near aim, of the main chance of things,<br /> +As yet not come to life."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> KING HENRY VI</blockquote> + + +<p>The following morning the baronet breakfasted in Hudson Square. While at +table, little was said concerning the events of the past night, though +sundry smiles were exchanged, as eye met eye, and the recollection of the +mystification returned. Grace alone looked grave, for she had been +accustomed to consider Mrs. Legend a very discriminating person, and she +had even hoped that most of those who usually figured in her rooms, were +really the clever persons they laid claim to be.</p> + +<p>The morning was devoted to looking at the quarter of the town which is +devoted to business, a party having been made for that express purpose +under the auspices of John Effingham. As the weather was very cold, +although the distances were not great, the carriages were ordered, and +they all set off about noon.</p> + +<p>Grace had given up expecting a look of admiration from Eve in behalf of +any of the lions of New-York, her cousin having found it necessary to tell +her, that, in a comparative sense at least, little was to be said in +behalf of these provincial wonders. Even Mademoiselle Viefville, now that +the freshness, of her feelings were abated, had dropped quietly down into +a natural way of speaking of these things; and Grace, who was +quick-witted, soon discovered that when she did make any allusions to +similar objects in Europe, it was always to those that existed in some +country town. A silent convention existed, therefore, to speak no more on +such subjects; or if any thing was said, it arose incidentally and as +inseparable from the regular thread of the discourse.</p> + +<p>When in Wall street, the carriages stopped and the gentlemen alighted. The +severity of the weather kept the ladies in the chariot, where Grace +endeavoured to explain things as well as she could to her companions.</p> + +<p>"What are all these people running after, so intently?" inquired +Mademoiselle Viefville, the conversation being in French, but which we +shall render freely into English, for the sake of the general reader.</p> + +<p>"Dollars, I believe, Mademoiselle; am I right, Grace?"</p> + +<p>"I believe you are," returned Grace, laughing, "though I know little more +of this part of the town than yourself."</p> + +<p>"<i>Quelle foule</i>! Is that building filled with dollars, into which the +gentlemen are now entering? Its steps are crowded."</p> + +<p>"That is the <i>Bourse</i>, Mademoiselle, and it ought to be well lined, by the +manner in which some who frequent it live. Cousin Jack and Sir George are +going into the crowd, I see."</p> + +<p>We will leave the ladies in their seats, a few minutes, and accompany the +gentlemen on their way into the Exchange.</p> + +<p>"I shall now show you, Sir George Templemore," said John Effingham, "what +is peculiar to this country, and what, if properly improved, it is truly +worth a journey across the ocean to see. You have been at the Royal +Exchange in London, and at the <i>Bourse</i> of Paris, but you have never +witnessed a scene like that which I am about to introduce you to. In +Paris, you have beheld the unpleasant spectacle of women gambling publicly +in the funds; but it was in driblets, compared to what you will see here."</p> + +<p>While speaking, John Effingham led the way upstairs into the office of one +of the most considerable auctioneers. The walls were lined with maps, +some representing houses, some lots, some streets, some entire towns.</p> + +<p>"This is the focus of what Aristabulus Bragg calls the town trade," said +John Effingham, when fairly confronted with all these wonders. "Here, +then, you may suit yourself with any species of real estate that heart can +desire. If a villa is wanted, there are a dozen. Of farms, a hundred are +in market; that is merely half-a-dozen streets; and here are towns, of +dimensions and value to suit purchasers."</p> + +<p>"Explain this; it exceeds comprehension."</p> + +<p>"It is simply what it professes to be. Mr. Hammer, do us the favour to +step this way. Are you selling to-day?"</p> + +<p>"Not much, sir. Only a hundred or two lots on this island, and some six or +eight farms, with one western village."</p> + +<p>"Can you tell us the history of this particular piece of property, Mr. +Hammer?"</p> + +<p>"With great pleasure, Mr. Effingham; we know you to have means, and hope +you may be induced to purchase. This was the farm of old Volkert Van +Brunt, five years since, off of which he and his family had made a +livelihood for more than a century, by selling milk. Two years since, the +sons sold it to Peter Feeler for a hundred an acre; or for the total sum +of five thousand dollars. The next spring Mr. Feeler sold it to John +Search, as keen a one as we have, for twenty-five thousand. Search sold +it, at private sale, to Nathan Rise for fifty thousand, the next week, and +Rise had parted with it, to a company, before the purchase, for a hundred +and twelve thousand cash. The map ought to be taken down, for it is now +eight months since we sold it out in lots, at auction, for the gross sum +of three hundred thousand dollars. As we have received our commission, we +look at that land as out of the market, for a time."</p> + +<p>"Have you other property, sir, that affords the same wonderful history of +a rapid advance in value?" asked the baronet.</p> + +<p>"These walls are covered with maps of estates in the same predicament. +Some have risen two or three thousand per cent. within five years, and +some only a few hundred. There is no calculating in the matter, for it is +all fancy."</p> + +<p>"And on what is this enormous increase in value founded?--Does the town +extend to these fields?"</p> + +<p>"It goes much farther, sir; that is to say, on paper. In the way of +houses, it is still some miles short of them. A good deal depends on what +you <i>call</i> a thing, in this market. Now, if old Volkert Van Brunt's +property had been still called a farm, it would have brought a farm price; +but, as soon as it was surveyed into lots and mapped--"</p> + +<p>"Mapped!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; brought into visible lines, with feet and inches. As soon as it +was properly mapped, it rose to its just value. We have a good deal of the +bottom of the sea that brings fair prices in consequence of being well +mapped."</p> + +<p>Here the gentlemen expressed their sense of the auctioneer's politeness, +and retired.</p> + +<p>"We will now go into the sales-room," said John Effingham, "where you +shall judge of the spirit, or <i>energy</i>, as it is termed, which, at this +moment, actuates this great nation."</p> + +<p>Descending, they entered a crowd, where scores were eagerly bidding +against each other, in the fearful delusion of growing rich by pushing a +fancied value to a point still higher. One was purchasing ragged rocks, +another the bottom of rivers, a third a bog, and all on the credit of +maps. Our two observers remained some time silent spectators of the scene.</p> + +<p>"When I first entered that room," said John Effingham, as they left the +place, "it appeared to me to be filled with maniacs. Now, that I have +been in it several times, the impression is not much altered."</p> + +<p>"And all those persons are hazarding their means of subsistence on the +imaginary estimate mentioned by the auctioneer?"</p> + +<p>"They are gambling as recklessly as he who places his substance on the +cast of the die. So completely has the mania seized every one, that the +obvious truth, a truth which is as apparent as any other law of nature, +that nothing can be sustained without a foundation, is completely +overlooked, and he who should now proclaim, in this building, principles +that bitter experience will cause every man to feel, within the next few +years, would be happy if he escaped being stoned. I have witnessed many +similar excesses in the way of speculations; but never an instance as +gross, as wide-spread, and as alarming as this."</p> + +<p>"You apprehend serious consequences, then, from the reaction?"</p> + +<p>"In that particular, we are better off than older nations, the youth and +real stamina of the country averting much of the danger; but I anticipate +a terrible blow, and that the day is not remote when this town will awake +to a sense of its illusion. What you see here is but a small part of the +extravagance that exists, for it pervades the whole community, in one +shape or another. Extravagant issues of paper-money, inconsiderate credits +that commence in Europe; and extend throughout the land, and false notions +as to the value of their possessions, in men who five years since had +nothing, has completely destroyed the usual balance of things, and money +has got to be so completely the end of life, that few think of it as a +means. The history of the world, probably, cannot furnish a parallel +instance, of an extensive country that is so absolutely under this malign +influence, as is the fact with our own at this present instant. All +principles are swallowed up in the absorbing desire for gain; national +honour, permanent security, the ordinary rules of society, law, the +constitution, and every thing that is usually so dear to men, are +forgotten, or are perverted, in order to sustain this unnatural condition +of things."</p> + +<p>"This is not only extraordinary, but it is fearful!"</p> + +<p>"It is both. The entire community is in the situation of a man who is in +the incipient stages of an exhilarating intoxication, and who keeps +pouring down glass after glass, in the idle notion that he is merely +sustaining nature in her ordinary functions. This wide-spread infatuation +extends from the coast to the extremest frontiers of the west; for, while +there is a justifiable foundation for a good deal of this fancied +prosperity, the true is so interwoven with the false, that none but the +most observant can draw the distinction, and, as usual, the false +predominates."</p> + +<p>"By your account, sir, the tulip mania of Holland was trifling compared to +this?"</p> + +<p>"That was the same in principle as our own, but insignificant in extent. +Could I lead you through these streets, and let you into the secret of the +interests, hopes, infatuations and follies that prevail in the human +breast, you, as a calm spectator, would be astonished at the manner in +which your own species can be deluded. But let us move, and something may +still occur to offer an example."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Effingham--I beg pardon--Mr. Effingham," said a very +gentlemanly-looking merchant, who was walking about the hall of the +exchange, "what do you think now of our French quarrel?"</p> + +<p>"I have told you, Mr. Bale, all I have to say on that subject. When in +France, I wrote you that it was not the intention of the French government +to comply with the treaty; you have since seen this opinion justified in +the result; you have the declaration of the French minister of state, +that, without an apology from this government, the money will not be paid; +and I have given it as my opinion, that the vane on yonder steeple will +not turn more readily than all this policy will be abandoned, should any +thing occur in Europe to render it necessary, or could the French ministry +believe it possible for this country to fight for a principle. These are +my opinions, in all their phases, and you may compare them with facts and +judge for yourself."</p> + +<p>"It is all General Jackson, sir--all that monster's doings. But for his +message, Mr. Effingham, we should have had the money long ago."</p> + +<p>"But for his message, or some equally decided step, Mr. Bale, you would +never have it."</p> + +<p>"Ah, my dear sir, I know your intentions, but I fear you are prejudiced +against that excellent man, the King of France! Prejudice, Mr. Effingham, +is a sad innovator on justice."</p> + +<p>Here Mr. Bale shook his head, laughed, and disappeared in the crowd, +perfectly satisfied that John Effingham was a prejudiced man, and that he, +himself, was only liberal and just.</p> + +<p>"Now, that is a man who wants for neither abilities nor honesty, and yet +he permits his interests, and the influence of this very speculating +mania, to overshadow all his sense of right, facts plain as noon-day, and +the only principles that can rule a country in safety."</p> + +<p>"He apprehends war, and has no desire to believe even facts, so long as +they serve to increase the danger."</p> + +<p>"Precisely so; for even prudence gets to be a perverted quality, when men +are living under an infatuation like that which now exists. These men live +like the fool who says there is no death."</p> + +<p>Here the gentlemen rejoined the ladies, and the carriages drove through a +succession of narrow and crooked streets, that were lined with warehouses +filled with the products of the civilized world.</p> + +<p>"Very much of all this is a part of the same lamentable illusion," said +John Effingham, as the carriages made their way slowly through the +encumbered streets. "The man who sells his inland lots at a profit, +secured by credit, fancies himself enriched, and he extends his manner of +living in proportion; the boy from the country becomes a merchant, or what +is here called a merchant, and obtains a credit in Europe a hundred times +exceeding his means, and caters to these fancied wants; and thus is every +avenue of society thronged with adventurers, the ephemera of the same +wide-spread spirit of reckless folly. Millions in value pass out of these +streets, that go to feed the vanity of those who fancy themselves wealthy, +because they hold some ideal pledges for the payment of advances in price +like those mentioned by the auctioneer, and which have some such security +for the eventual payment, as one can find in <i>calling</i> a thing, that is +really worth a dollar, worth a hundred."</p> + +<p>"Are the effects of this state of things apparent in your ordinary +associations?"</p> + +<p>"In every thing. The desire to grow suddenly rich has seized on all +classes. Even women and clergymen are infected, and we exist under the +active control of the most corrupting of all influences--'the love of +money.' I should despair of the country altogether, did I not feel certain +that the disease is too violent to last, and entertain a hope that the +season of calm reflection and of repentance, that is to follow, will be in +proportion to its causes."</p> + +<p>After taking this view of the town, the party returned to Hudson Square, +where the baronet dined, it being his intention to go to Washington on the +following day. The leave-taking in the evening was kind and friendly; Mr. +Effingham, who had a sincere regard for his late fellow-traveller, +cordially inviting him to visit him in the mountains in June.</p> + +<p>As Sir George took his leave, the bells began to ring for a fire. In +New-York one gets so accustomed to these alarms, that near an hour had +passed before any of the Effingham family began to reflect on the long +continuance of the cries. A servant was then sent out to ascertain the +reason, and his report made the matter more serious than usual.</p> + +<p>We believe that, in the frequency of these calamities, the question lies +between Constantinople and New-York. It is a common occurrence for twenty +or thirty buildings to be burnt down, in the latter place, and for the +residents of the same ward to remain in ignorance of the circumstance, +until enlightened on the fact by the daily prints; the constant repetition +of the alarms hardening the ear and the feelings against the appeal. A +fire of greater extent than common, had occurred only a night or two +previously to this; and a rumour now prevailed, that the severity of the +weather, and the condition of the hoses and engines, rendered the present +danger double. On hearing this intelligence, the Messrs. Effinghams +wrapped themselves up in their over-coats, and went together into the +streets.</p> + +<p>"This seems something more than usual, Ned," said John Effingham, glancing +his eye upward at the lurid vault, athwart which gleams of fiery light +began to shine; "the danger is not distant, and it seems serious."</p> + +<p>Following the direction of the current, they soon found the scene of the +conflagration, which was in the very heart of those masses of warehouses, +or stores, that John Effingham had commented on, so lately. A short street +of high buildings was already completely in flames, and the danger of +approaching the enemy, added to the frozen condition of the apparatus, the +exhaustion of the firemen from their previous efforts, and the intense +coldness of the night, conspired to make the aspect of things in the +highest degree alarming.</p> + +<p>The firemen of New-York have that superiority over those of other places, +that the veteran soldier obtains over the recruit. But the best troops can +be appalled, and, on this memorable occasion, these celebrated firemen, +from a variety of causes, became for a time, little more than passive +spectators of the terrible scene.</p> + +<p>There was an hour or two when all attempts at checking the conflagration +seemed really hopeless, and even the boldest and the most persevering +scarcely knew which way to turn, to be useful. A failure of water, the +numerous points that required resistance, the conflagration extending in +all directions from a common centre, by means of numberless irregular and +narrow streets, and the impossibility of withstanding the intense heat, in +the choked passages, soon added despair to the other horrors of the scene.</p> + +<p>They who stood the fiery masses, were freezing on one side with the +Greenland cold of the night, while their bodies were almost blistered with +the fierce flames on the other. There was something frightful in this +contest of the elements, nature appearing to condense the heat within its +narrowest possible limits, as if purposely to increase its fierceness. The +effects were awful; for entire buildings would seem to dissolve at their +touch, as the forked flames enveloped them in sheets of fire.</p> + +<p>Every one being afoot, within sound of the alarm, though all the more +vulgar cries had ceased, as men would deem it mockery to cry murder in a +battle, Sir George Templemore met his friends, on the margin of this sea +of fire. It was now drawing towards morning, and the conflagration was at +its height, having already laid waste a nucleus of <i>blocks</i>, and it was +extending by many lines, in every possible direction.</p> + +<p>"Here is a fearful admonition for those who set their hearts on riches," +observed Sir George Templemore, recalling the conversation of the previous +day. "What, indeed, are the designs of man, as compared with the will of +Providence!"</p> + +<p>"I foresee that this is <i>le commencement de la fin</i>," returned John +Effingham. "The destruction is already so great, as to threaten to bring +down with it the usual safe-guards against such losses, and one pin +knocked out of so frail and delicate a fabric, the whole will become +loose, and fall to pieces."</p> + +<p>"Will nothing be done to arrest the flames?"</p> + +<p>"As men recover from the panic, their plans will improve and their +energies will revive. The wider streets are already reducing the fire +within more certain limits, and they speak of a favourable change of wind. +It is thought five hundred buildings have already been consumed, in +scarcely half a dozen hours."</p> + +<p>That Exchange, which had so lately resembled a bustling temple of Mammon, +was already a dark and sheeted ruin, its marble walls being cracked, +defaced, tottering, or fallen. It lay on the confines of the ruin, and our +party was enabled to take their position near it, to observe the scene. +All in their immediate vicinity was assuming the stillness of desolation, +while the flushes of fierce light in the distance marked the progress of +the conflagration. Those who knew the localities, now began to speak of +the natural or accidental barriers, such as the water, the slips, and the +broader streets, as the only probable means of arresting the destruction. +The crackling of the flames grew distant fast, and the cries of the +firemen were now scarcely audible.</p> + +<p>At this period in the frightful scene, a party of seamen arrived, bearing +powder, in readiness to blow up various buildings, in the streets that +possessed of themselves, no sufficient barriers to the advance of the +flame. Led by their officers, these gallant fellows, carrying in their +arms the means of destruction, moved up steadily to the verge of the +torrents of fire, and planted their kegs; laying their trains with the +hardy indifference that practice can alone create, and with an +intelligence that did infinite credit to their coolness. This deliberate +courage was rewarded with complete success, and house crumbled to pieces +after house under the dull explosions, happily without an accident.</p> + +<p>From this time the flames became less ungovernable, though the day dawned +and advanced, and another night succeeded, before they could be said to be +got fairly under. Weeks, and even months passed, however, ere the +smouldering ruins ceased to send up smoke, the fierce element continuing +to burn, like a slumbering volcano, as it might be in the bowels of the +earth.</p> + +<p>The day that succeeded this disaster, was memorable for the rebuke it gave +the rapacious longing for wealth. Men who had set their hearts on gold, +and who prided themselves on their possession, and on that only, were made +to feel its insanity; and they who had walked abroad as gods, so lately, +began to experience how utterly insignificant are the merely rich, when +stripped of their possessions. Eight hundred buildings containing fabrics +of every kind, and the raw material in various forms, had been destroyed, +as it were in the twinkling of an eye.</p> + +<p>A faint voice was heard from the pulpit, and there was a moment when those +who remembered a better state of things, began to fancy that principles +would once more assert their ascendency, and that the community would, in +a measure, be purified. But this expectation ended in disappointment, the +infatuation being too wide-spread and corrupting, to be stopped by even +this check, and the rebuke was reserved for a form that seems to depend on +a law of nature, that of causing a vice to bring with it its own +infallible punishment.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter VIII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "First, tell me, have you ever been at Pisa."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> SHAKSPEARE.</blockquote> + + +<p>The conflagration alluded to, rather than described, in the proceeding +chapter, threw a gloom over the gaieties of New-York, if that ever could +be properly called gay, which was little more than a strife in prodigality +and parade, and leaves us little more to say of the events of the winter. +Eve regretted very little the interruption to scenes in which she had +found no pleasure, however much she lamented the cause; and she and Grace +passed the remainder of the season quietly, cultivating the friendship of +such women as Mrs. Hawker and Mrs. Bloomfield, and devoting hours to the +improvement of their minds and tastes, without ever again venturing +however, within the hallowed precincts of such rooms as those of Mrs. +Legend.</p> + +<p>One consequence of a state of rapacious infatuation, like that which we +have just related, is the intensity of selfishness which smothers all +recollection of the past, and all just anticipations of the future, by +condensing life, with its motives and enjoyments, into the present moment. +Captain Truck, therefore, was soon forgotten, and the literati, as that +worthy seaman had termed the associates of Mrs. Legend, remained just as +vapid, as conceited, as ignorant, as imitative, as dependent, and as +provincial as ever.</p> + +<p>As the season advanced, our heroine began to look with longings towards +the country. The town life of an American offers little to one accustomed +to a town life in older and more permanently regulated communities; and +Eve was already heartily weary of crowded and noisy balls, (for a few were +still given;) <i>belles</i>, the struggles of an uninstructed taste, and a +representation in which extravagance was so seldom relieved by the +elegance and convenience of a condition of society, in which more +attention is paid to the fitness of things.</p> + +<p>The American spring is the least pleasant of its four seasons, its +character being truly that of "winter lingering in the lap of May." Mr. +Effingham, who the reader will probably suspect, by this time, to be a +descendant of a family of the same name, that we have had occasion to +introduce into another work, had sent orders to have his country residence +prepared for the reception of our party; and it was with a feeling of +delight that Eve stepped on board a steam-boat to escape from a town that, +while it contains so much that is worthy of any capital, contains so much +more that is unfit for any place, in order to breathe the pure air, and to +enjoy the tranquil pleasare of the country. Sir George Templemore had +returned from his southern journey, and made one of the party, by express +arrangement.</p> + +<p>"Now, Eve," said Grace Van Cortlandt, as the boat glided along the +wharves, "if it were any person but you, I should feel confident of having +something to show that <i>would</i> extort admiration."</p> + +<p>"You are safe enough, in that respect, for a more imposing object in its +way, than this very vessel, eye of mine, never beheld. It is positively +the only thing that deserves the name of magnificent I have yet seen, +since our return,--unless, indeed, it may be magnificent projects."</p> + +<p>"I am glad, dear coz, there is this one magnificent object, then, to +satisfy a taste so fastidious."</p> + +<p>As Grace's little foot moved, and her voice betrayed vexation, the whole +party smiled; for the whole party, while it felt the justice of Eve's +observation, saw the real feeling that was at the bottom of her cousin's +remark. Sir George, however, though he could not conceal from himself the +truth of what had been said by the one party, and the weakness betrayed +by the other had too much sympathy for the provincial patriotism of one so +young and beautiful, not to come to the rescue.</p> + +<p>"You should remember, Miss Van Cortlandt," he said, "that Miss Effingham +has not had the advantage yet of seeing the Delaware, Philadelphia, the +noble bays of the south, nor so much that is to be found out of the single +town of New-York."</p> + +<p>"Very true, and I hope yet to see her a sincere penitent for all her +unpatriotic admissions against her own country. <i>You</i> have seen the +Capitol, Sir George Templemore; is it not, truly, one of the finest +edifices of the world?"</p> + +<p>"You will except St. Peter's, surely, my child," observed Mr. Effingham, +smiling, for he saw that the baronet was embarrassed to give a ready +answer.</p> + +<p>"And the Cathedral at Milan," said Eve, laughing.</p> + +<p>"<i>Et le Louvre</i>!" cried Mademoiselle Viefville, who had some such +admiration for every thing Parisian, as Eve had for every thing American.</p> + +<p>"And, most especially, the north-east corner of the south-west end of the +north-west wing of Versailles," said John Effingham, in his usual dry +manner.</p> + +<p>"I see you are all against me," Grace rejoined, "but I hope, one day, to +be able to ascertain for myself the comparative merits of things. As +nature makes rivers, I hope the Hudson, at least, will not be found +unworthy of your admiration, gentlemen and ladies."</p> + +<p>"You are safe enough, there, Grace," observed Mr Effingham; "for few +rivers, perhaps no river, offers so great and so pleasing a variety, in so +short a distance, as this."</p> + +<p>It was a lovely, bland morning, in the last week of May; and the +atmosphere was already getting the soft hues of summer, or assuming the +hazy and solemn calm that renders the season so quiet and soothing, after +the fiercer strife of the elements. Under such a sky, the Palisadoes, in +particular, appeared well; for, though wanting in the terrific grandeur of +an Alpine nature, and perhaps disproportioned to the scenery they adorned, +they were bold and peculiar.</p> + +<p>The great velocity of the boat added to the charm of the passage, the +scene scarce finding time to pall on the eye; for, no sooner was one +object examined in its outlines, than it was succeeded by another.</p> + +<p>"An extraordinary taste is afflicting this country, in the way of +architecture," said Mr. Effingham, as they stood gazing at the eastern +shore; "nothing but a Grecian temple being now deemed a suitable residence +for a man, in these classical times. Yonder is a structure, for instance, +of beautiful proportions, and, at this distance, apparently of a precious +material, and yet it seems better suited to heathen worship than to +domestic comfort."</p> + +<p>"The malady has infected, the whole nation," returned his cousin, "like +the spirit of speculation. We are passing from one extreme to the other, +in this, as in other things. One such temple, well placed in a wood, might +be a pleasant object enough, but to see a river lined with them, with +children trundling hoops before their doors, beef carried into their +kitchens, and smoke issuing, moreover, from those unclassical objects +chimnies, is too much even of a high taste; one might as well live in a +fever. Mr. Aristabulus Bragg, who is a wag in his way, informs me that +there is one town in the interior that has actually a market-house on the +plan of the Parthenon!"</p> + +<p>"<i>Il Cupo di Bove</i> would be a more suitable model for such a structure," +said Eve, smiling. "But I think I have heard that the classical taste of +our architects is any thing but rigid."</p> + +<p>"This <i>was</i> the case, rather than <i>is</i>" returned John Effingham, "as +witness all these temples. The country has made a quick and a great <i>pas, +en avant</i>, in the way of the fine arts, and the fact shows what might be +done with so ready a people, under a suitable direction. The stranger who +comes among us is apt to hold the art of the nation cheap, but, as all +things are comparative, let him inquire into its state ten years since, +and look at it to-day. The fault just now, is perhaps to consult the books +too rigidly, and to trust too little to invention; for no architecture, +and especially no domestic architecture, can ever be above serious +reproach, until climate, the uses of the edifice, and the situation, are +respected as leading considerations. Nothing can be uglier, <i>per se</i>, than +a Swiss cottage, or any thing more beautiful under its precise +circumstances. As regards these mushroom temples, which are the offspring +of Mammon, let them be dedicated to whom they may, I should exactly +reverse the opinion, and say, that while nothing can be much more +beautiful, <i>per se</i>, nothing can be in worse taste, than to put them where +they are."</p> + +<p>"We shall have an opportunity of seeing what Mr. John Effingham can do in +the way of architecture," said Grace, who loved to revenge some of her +fancied wrongs, by turning the tables on her assailant, "for I understand +he has been improving on the original labours of that notorious Palladio, +Master Hiram Doolittle!"</p> + +<p>The whole party laughed, and every eye was turned on the gentleman alluded +to, expecting his answer.</p> + +<p>"You will remember, good people," answered the accused by implication, +"that my plans were handed over to me from my great predecessor, and that +they were originally of the composite order. If, therefore, the house +should turn out to be a little complex and mixed, you will do me the +justice to remember this important fact. At all events, I have consulted +comfort; and that I would maintain, in the face of Vitruvius himself, is a +<i>sine quâ non</i> in domestic architecture."</p> + +<p>"I took a run into Connecticut the other day," said Sir George +Templemore, "and, at a place called New Haven, I saw the commencement of a +taste that bids fair to make a most remarkable town. It is true, you +cannot expect structures of much pretension in the way of cost and +magnitude in this country, but, so far as fitness and forms are concerned, +if what I hear be true, and the next fifty years do as much in proportion +for that little city, as I understand has been done in the last five, it +will be altogether a wonder in its way. There are some abortions, it is +true, but there are also some little jewels."</p> + +<p>The baronet was rewarded for this opinion, by a smile from Grace, and the +conversation changed. As the boat approached the mountains, Eve became +excited, a very American state of the system by the way, and Grace still +more anxious.</p> + +<p>"The view of that bluff is Italian;" said our heroine, pointing down the +river at a noble headland of rock, that loomed grandly in the soft haze of +the tranquil atmosphere. "One seldom sees a finer or a softer outline on +the shores of the Mediterranean itself."</p> + +<p>"But the Highlands, Eve!" whispered the uneasy Grace. "We are entering the +mountains."</p> + +<p>The river narrowed suddenly, and the scenery became bolder, but neither +Eve nor her father expressed the rapture that Grace expected.</p> + +<p>"I must confess, Jack," said the mild, thoughtful Mr. Effingham, "that +these rocks strike my eyes as much less imposing than formerly. The +passage is fine, beyond question, but it is hardly grand scenery."</p> + +<p>"You never uttered a juster opinion, Ned, though after your eye loses some +of the forms of the Swiss and Italian lakes, and of the shores of Italy, +you will think better of these. The Highlands are remarkable for their +surprises, rather than for their grandeur, as we shall presently see. As +to the latter, it is an affair of feet and inches, and is capable of +arithmetical demonstration. We have often been on lakes, beneath beetling +cliffs of from three to six thousand feet in height; whereas, here, the +greatest elevation is materially less than two. But, Sir George +Templemore, and you, Miss Effingham, do me the favour to combine your +cunning, and tell me whence this stream cometh, and whither we are to +go?"</p> + +<p>The boat had now approached a point where the river was narrowed to a +width not much exceeding a quarter of a mile, and in the direction in +which it was steering, the water seemed to become still more contracted +until they were lost in a sort of bay, that appeared to be closed by high +hills, through which, however, there were traces of something like a +passage.</p> + +<p>"The land in that direction looks as if it had a ravine-like entrance," +said the baronet; "and yet it is scarcely possible that a stream like this +can flow there!"</p> + +<p>"If the Hudson truly passes through those mountains," said Eve, "I will +concede all in its favour that you can ask, Grace."</p> + +<p>"Where else can it pass?" demanded Grace, exultingly.</p> + +<p>"Sure enough--I see no other place, and that seems insufficient."</p> + +<p>The two strangers to the river now looked curiously around them, in every +direction. Behind them was a broad and lake-like basin, through which they +had just passed; on the left, a barrier of precipitous hills, the +elevation of which was scarcely less than a thousand feet; on their right, +a high but broken country, studded with villas, farm-houses, and hamlets; +and in their front the deep but equivocal bay mentioned.</p> + +<p>"I see no escape!" cried the baronet, gaily, "unless indeed, it be by +returning."</p> + +<p>A sudden and broad sheer of the boat caused him to turn to the left, and +then they whirled round an angle of the precipice, and found themselves in +a reach of the river, between steep declivities, running at right angles +to their former course.</p> + +<p>"This is one of the surprises of which I spoke," said John Effingham, +"and which render the highlands so <i>unique</i>; for, while the Rhine is very +sinuous, it has nothing like this."</p> + +<p>The other travellers agreed in extolling this and many similar features of +the scenery, and Grace was delighted; for, warm-hearted, affectionate, and +true, Grace loved her country like a relative or a friend, and took an +honest pride in hearing its praises. The patriotism of Eve, if a word of a +meaning so lofty can be applied to feelings of this nature, was more +discriminating from necessity, her tastes having been formed in a higher +school, and her means of comparison being so much more ample. At West +Point they stopped for the night, and here every body was in honest +raptures; Grace, who had often visited the place before, being actually +the least so of the whole party.</p> + +<p>"Now, Eve, I know that you <i>do</i> love your country," she said, as she +slipped an arm affectionately through that of her cousin. "This is feeling +and speaking like an American girl, and as Eve Effingham should!"</p> + +<p>Eve laughed, but she had discovered that the provincial feeling was so +strong in Grace, that its discussion would probably do no good. She dwelt, +therefore, with sincere eloquence on the beauties of the place, and for +the first time since they had met, her cousin felt as if there was no +longer any point of dissension between them.</p> + +<p>The following morning was the first of June, and it was another of those +drowsy, dreamy days, that so much aid a landscape. The party embarked in +the first boat that came up, and as they entered Newburgh bay, the triumph +of the river was established. This is a spot, in sooth, that has few +equals in any region, though Eve still insisted that the excellence of the +view was in its softness rather than in its grandeur. The country-houses, +or boxes, for few could claim to be much more, were neat, well placed, +and exceedingly numerous. The heights around the town of Newburgh, in +particular, were fairly dotted with them, though Mr. Effingham shook his +head as he saw one Grecian temple appear after another.</p> + +<p>"As we recede from the influence of the vulgar architects," he said, "we +find imitation taking the place of instruction. Many of these buildings +are obviously disproportioned, and then, like vulgar pretension of any +sort, Grecian architecture produces less pleasure than even Dutch."</p> + +<p>"I am surprised at discovering how little of a Dutch character remains in +this state," said the baronet; "I can scarcely trace that people in any +thing, and yet, I believe, they had the moulding of your society, having +carried the colony through its infancy."</p> + +<p>"When you know us better, you will be surprised at discovering how little +of any thing remains a dozen years," returned John Effingham. "Our towns +pass away in generations like their people, and even the names of a place +undergo periodical mutations, as well as every thing else. It is getting +to be a predominant feeling in the American nature, I fear, to love +change."</p> + +<p>"But, cousin Jack, do you not overlook causes, in your censure. That a +nation advancing as fast as this in wealth and numbers, should desire +better structures than its fathers had either the means or the taste to +build, and that names should change with persons, are both things quite in +rule."</p> + +<p>"All very true, though it does not account for the peculiarity I mean. +Take Templeton, for instance; this little place has not essentially +increased in numbers, within my memory, and yet fully one-half its names +are new. When he reaches his own home, your father will not know even the +names of one-half his neighbours. Not only will he meet with new faces, +but he will find new feelings, new opinions in the place of traditions +that he may love, an indifference to every thing but the present moment, +and even those who may have better feelings, and a wish to cherish all +that belongs to the holier sentiments of man, afraid to utter them, lest +they meet with no sympathy." + +"No cats, as Mr. Bragg would say."</p> + +<p>"Jack is one who never paints <i>en beau</i>," said Mr. Effingham. "I should be +very sorry to believe that a dozen short years can have made all these +essential changes in my neighbourhood."</p> + +<p>"A dozen years, Ned! You name an age. Speak of three or four, if you wish +to find any thing in America where you left it! The whole country is in +such a constant state of mutation, that I can only liken it to that game +of children, in which as one quits his corner, another runs into it, and +he that finds no corner to get into, is the laughing-stock of the others. +Fancy that dwelling the residence of one man from childhood to old age; +let him then quit it for a year or two, and on his return he would find +another in possession, who would treat him as an impertinent intruder, +because he had been absent two years. An American 'always,' in the way of +usages, extends no further back than eighteen months. In short, every +thing is condensed into the present moment; and services, character, for +evil as well as good unhappily, and all other things, cease to have +weight, except as they influence the interests of the day."</p> + +<p>"This is the colouring of a professed cynic," observed Mr. Effingham, +smiling.</p> + +<p>"But the law, Mr. John Effingham," eagerly inquired the baronet--"surely +the law would not permit a stranger to intrude in this manner on the +rights of an owner."</p> + +<p>"The law-<i>books</i> would do him that friendly office, perhaps, but what is a +precept in the face of practices so ruthless. '<i>Les absents out toujours +tort</i>,' is a maxim of peculiar application in America."</p> + +<p>"Property is as secure in this country as in any other, Sir George; and +you will make allowances for the humours of the present annotator."</p> + +<p>"Well, well, Ned; I hope you will find every thing <i>couleur de rose</i>, as +you appear to expect. You will get quiet possession of your house, it is +true, for I have put a Cerberus in it, that is quite equal to his task, +difficult as it may be, and who has quite as much relish for a bill of +costs, as any squatter can have for a trespass; but without some such +guardian of your rights, I would not answer for it, that you would not be +compelled to sleep in the highway."</p> + +<p>"I trust Sir George Templemore knows how to make allowances for Mr. John +Effingham's pictures," cried Grace, unable to refrain from expressing her +discontent any longer.</p> + +<p>A laugh succeeded, and the beauties of the river again attracted their +attention. As the boat continued to ascend, Mr. Effingham triumphantly +affirmed that the appearance of things more than equalled his +expectations, while both Eve and the baronet declared that a succession of +lovelier landscapes could hardly be presented to the eye.</p> + +<p>"Whited sepulchres!" muttered John Effingham--"all outside. Wait until +you get a view of the deformity within."</p> + +<p>As the boat approached Albany, Eve expressed her satisfaction in still +stronger terms; and Grace was made perfectly happy, by hearing her and Sir +George declare that the place entirely exceeded their expectations.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to find, Eve, that you are so fast recovering your American +feelings," said her beautiful cousin, after one of those expressions of +agreeable disappointment, as they were seated at a late dinner, in an inn. +"You have at last found words to praise the exterior of Albany; and I +hope, by the time we return, you will be disposed to see New-York with +different eyes."</p> + +<p>"I expected to see a capital in New-York, Grace, and in this I have been +grievously disappointed. Instead of finding the tastes, tone, +conveniences, architecture, streets, churches, shops, and society of a +capital, I found a huge expansion of common-place things, a commercial +town, and the most mixed and the least regulated society, that I had ever +met with. Expecting so much, where so little was found, disappointment was +natural. But in Albany, although a political capital, I knew the nature of +the government too well, to expect more than a provincial town; and in +this respect, I have found one much above the level of similar places in +other parts of the world. I acknowledge that Albany has as much exceeded +my expectations in one sense, as New-York has fallen short of them in +another."</p> + +<p>"In this simple fact, Sir George Templemore," said Mr. Effingham, "you may +read the real condition of the country. In all that requires something +more than usual, a deficiency; in all that is deemed an average, better +than common. The tendency is to raise every thing that is elsewhere +degraded to a respectable height, when there commences an attraction of +gravitation that draws all towards the centre; a little closer too than +could be wished perhaps."</p> + +<p>"Ay, ay, Ned; this is very pretty, with your attractions and gravitations; +but wait and judge for yourself of this average, of which you now speak so +complacently.</p> + +<p>"Nay, John, I borrowed the image from you; if it be not accurate, I shall +hold you responsible for its defects."</p> + +<p>"They tell me," said Eve, "that all American villages are the towns in +miniature; children dressed in hoops and wigs. Is this so, Grace?"</p> + +<p>"A little; there is too much desire to imitate the towns, perhaps, and +possibly too little feeling for country life."</p> + +<p>"This is a very natural consequence, after all, of people's living +entirely in such places," observed Sir George Templemore. "One sees much +of this on the continent of Europe, because the country population is +purely a country population; and less of it in England, perhaps, because +those who are at the head of society, consider town and country as very +distinct things."</p> + +<p>"<i>La campagne est vraiment délicieuse en Amérique</i>," exclaimed +Mademoiselle Viefville, in whose eyes the whole country was little more +than <i>campagne</i>.</p> + +<p>The next morning, our travellers proceeded by the way of Schenectady, +whence they ascended the beautiful valley of the Mohawk, by means of a +canal-boat, the cars that now rattle along its length not having commenced +their active flights, at that time. With the scenery, every one was +delighted; for while it differed essentially from that the party had +passed through the previous day, it was scarcely less beautiful.</p> + +<p>At a point where the necessary route diverged from the direction of the +canal, carriages of Mr. Effingham's were in readiness to receive the +travellers, and here they were also favoured by the presence of Mr. Bragg, +who fancied such an attention might be agreeable to the young ladies, as +well as to his employer.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter IX.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Tell me, where is fancy bred--<br /> +Or in the heart, or in the head?<br /> +How begot, how nourished?"</blockquote> + +<blockquote> SONG IN SHAKSPEARE.</blockquote> + + +<p>The travellers were several hours ascending into the mountains, by a +country road that could scarcely be surpassed by a French wheel-track of +the same sort, for Mademoiselle Viefville protested, twenty times in the +course of the morning, that it was a thousand pities Mr. Effingham had not +the privilege of the <i>corvée</i>, that he might cause the approach to his +<i>terres</i> to be kept in better condition. At length they reached the +summit, a point where the waters began to flow south, when the road became +tolerably level. From this time their progress became more rapid, and they +continued to advance two or three hours longer at a steady pace.</p> + +<p>Aristabulus now informed his companions that, in obedience to instructions +from John Effingham, he had ordered the coachmen to take a road that led a +little from the direct line of their journey, and that they had now been +travelling for some time on the more ancient route to Templeton.</p> + +<p>"I was aware of this," said Mr. Effingham, "though ignorant of the reason. +We are on the great western turnpike."</p> + +<p>"Certainly, sir, and all according to Mr. John's request. There would have +been a great saving in distance, and agreeably to my notion, in +horse-flesh, had we quietly gone down the banks of the lake."</p> + +<p>"Jack will explain his own meaning," returned Mr. Effingham, "and he has +stopped the other carriage, and alighted with Sir George,--a hint, I +fancy, that we are to follow their example."</p> + +<p>Sure enough, the second carriage was now stopped, and Sir George hastened +to open its door.</p> + +<p>"Mr. John Effingham, who acts as cicerone," cried the baronet, "insists +that every one shall put <i>pied á terre</i> at this precise spot, keeping the +important reason still a secret, in the recesses of his own bosom."</p> + +<p>The ladies complied, and the carriages were ordered to proceed with the +domestics, leaving the rest of the travellers by themselves, apparently in +the heart of a forest.</p> + +<p>"It is to be hoped, Mademoiselle, there are no banditti in America," said +Eve, as they looked around them at the novel situation in which they were +placed, apparently by a pure caprice of her cousin.</p> + +<p>"<i>Ou des sauvages</i>," returned the governess, who, in spite of her ordinary +intelligence and great good sense, had several times that day cast uneasy +and stolen glances into the bits of dark wood they had occasionally +passed.</p> + +<p>"I will ensure your purses and your scalps, <i>mesdames</i>," cried John +Effingham gaily, "on condition that you will follow me implicitly; and by +way of pledge for my faith, I solicit the honour of supporting +Mademoiselle Viefville on this unworthy arm."</p> + +<p>The governess laughingly accepted the conditions, Eve took the arm of her +father, and Sir George offered his to Grace; Aristabulus, to his surprise, +being left to walk entirely alone. It struck him, however, as so +singularly improper that a young lady should be supported on such an +occasion by her own father, that he frankly and gallantly proposed to Mr. +Effingham to relieve him of his burthen, an offer that was declined with +quite as much distinctness as it was made.</p> + +<p>"I suppose cousin Jack has a meaning to his melodrama," said Eve, as they +entered the forest, "and I dare say, dearest father, that you are behind +the scenes, though I perceive determined secrecy in your face."</p> + +<p>"John may have a cave to show us, or some tree of extraordinary height; +such things existing in the country."</p> + +<p>"We are very confiding, Mademoiselle, for I detect treachery in every face +around us. Even Miss Van Cortlandt has the air of a conspirator, and seems +to be in league with something or somebody. Pray Heaven, it be not with +wolves."</p> + +<p>"<i>Des loups</i>!" exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville, stopping short, with a +mien so alarmed as to excite a general laugh--"<i>est ce qu'il y a des loups +et des sangliers dans cette forêt</i>?"</p> + +<p>"No, Mademoiselle," returned her companion--"this is only barbarous +America, and not civilized France. Were we in <i>le departement de la +Seine</i>, we might apprehend some such dangers, but being merely in the +mountains of Otsego, we are reasonably safe."</p> + +<p>"<i>Je l'espère</i>," murmured the governess, as she reluctantly and +distrustfully proceeded, glancing her eyes incessantly to the right and +left. The path now became steep and rather difficult; so much so, indeed, +as to indispose them all to conversation. It led beneath the branches of +lofty pines, though there existed, on every side of them, proofs of the +ravages man had committed in that noble forest. At length they were +compelled to stop for breath, after having ascended considerably above the +road they had left.</p> + +<p>"I ought to have said that the spot where we entered on this path, is +memorable in the family history," observed John Effingham, to Eve--"for it +was the precise spot where one of our predecessors lodged a shot in the +shoulder of another."</p> + +<p>"Then I know precisely where we are!" cried our heroine, "though I cannot +yet imagine why we are led into this forest, unless it be to visit some +spot hallowed by a deed of Natty Bumppo's!"</p> + +<p>"Time will solve this mystery, as well as all others. Let us proceed."</p> + +<p>Again they ascended, and, after a few more minutes of trial, they reached +a sort of table-land, and drew near an opening in the trees, where a small +circle had evidently been cleared of its wood, though it was quite small +and untilled. Eve looked curiously about her, as did all the others to +whom the place was novel, and she was lost in doubt.</p> + +<p>"There seems to be a void beyond us," said the baronet--- "I rather think +Mr. John Effingham has led us to the verge of a view."</p> + +<p>At this suggestion the party moved on in a body, and were well rewarded +for the toil of the ascent, by a <i>coup d'oeil</i> that was almost Swiss in +character and beauty.</p> + +<p>"Now do I know where we are," exclaimed Eve, clasping her hands in +rapture--"this is the 'Vision,' and yonder, indeed, is our blessed home!"</p> + +<p>The whole artifice of the surprise was exposed, and after the first bursts +of pleasure had subsided, all to whom the scene was novel felt, that they +would not have missed this <i>piquante</i> introduction to the valley of the +Susquehannah, on any account. That the reader may understand the cause of +so much delight, and why John Effingham had prepared this scene for his +friends, we shall stop to give a short description of the objects that +first met the eyes of the travellers.</p> + +<p>It is known that they were in a small open spot in a forest, and on the +verge of a precipitous mountain. The trees encircled them on every side +but one, and on that lay the panorama, although the tops of tall pines, +that grew in lines almost parallel to the declivity, rose nearly to a +level with the eye. Hundreds of feet beneath them, directly in front, and +stretching leagues to the right, was a lake embedded in woods and hills. +On the side next the travellers, a fringe of forest broke the line of +water; tree tops that intercepted the view of the shores; and on the +other, high broken hills, or low mountains rather, that were covered with +farms, beautifully relieved by patches of wood, in a way to resemble the +scenery of a vast park, or a royal pleasure ground, limited the landscape. +High valleys lay among these uplands, and in every direction comfortable +dwellings dotted the fields. The contrast between the dark hues of the +evergreens, with which all the heights near the water were shaded, was in +soft contrast to the livelier green of the other foliage, while the +meadows and pastures were luxuriant with a verdure unsurpassed by that of +England. Bays and points added to the exquisite outline of the glassy lake +on this shore, while one of the former withdrew towards the north-west, in +a way to leave the eye doubtful whether it was the termination of the +transparent sheet or not. Towards the south, bold, varied, but cultivated +hills, also bounded the view, all teeming with the fruits of human labour, +and yet all relieved by pieces of wood, in the way already mentioned, so +as to give the entire region the character of park scenery. A wide, deep, +even valley, commenced at the southern end of the lake, or nearly opposite +to the stand of our travellers, and stretched away south, until concealed +by a curvature in the ranges of the mountains. Like all the mountain-tops, +this valley was verdant, peopled, wooded in places, though less abundantly +than the hills, and teeming with the signs of life. Roads wound through +its peaceful retreats, and might be traced working their way along the +glens, and up the weary ascents of the mountains, for miles, in every +direction.</p> + +<p>At the northern termination of this lovely valley, and immediately on the +margin of the lake, lay the village of Templeton, immediately under the +eyes of the party. The distance, in an air line, from their stand to the +centre of the dwellings, could not be much less than a mile, but the air +was so pure, and the day so calm, that it did not seem so far. The +children and even the dogs were seen running about the streets, while the +shrill cries of boys at their gambols, ascended distinctly to the ear.</p> + +<p>As this was the Templeton of the Pioneers, and the progress of society +during half a century is connected with the circumstance, we shall give +the reader a more accurate notion of its present state, than can be +obtained from incidental allusions. We undertake the office more readily +because this is not one of those places that shoot up in a day, under the +unnatural efforts of speculation, or which, favoured by peculiar +advantages in the way of trade, becomes a precocious city, while the +stumps still stand in its streets; but a sober county town, that has +advanced steadily, <i>pari passu</i> with the surrounding country, and offers a +fair specimen of the more regular advancement of the whole nation, in its +progress towards civilization.</p> + +<p>The appearance of Templeton, as seen from the height where it is now +exhibited to the reader, was generally beautiful and map-like. There might +be a dozen streets, principally crossing each other at right-angles, +though sufficiently relieved from this precise delineation, to prevent a +starched formality. Perhaps the greater part of the buildings were painted +white, as is usual in the smaller American towns; though a better taste +was growing in the place, and many of the dwellings had the graver and +chaster hues of the grey stones of which they were built. A general air of +neatness and comfort pervaded the place, it being as unlike a continental +European town, south of the Rhine, in this respect, as possible, if indeed +we except the picturesque bourgs of Switzerland. In England, Templeton +would be termed a small market-town, so far as size was concerned; in +France, a large <i>bourg</i>; while in America it was, in common parlance, and +legal appellation, styled a village.</p> + +<p>Of the dwellings of the place, fully twenty were of a quality that denoted +ease in the condition of their occupants, and bespoke the habits of those +accustomed to live in a manner superior to the <i>oi polloi</i> of the human +race. Of these, some six or eight had small lawns, carriage sweeps, and +the other similar appliances of houses that were not deemed unworthy of +the honour of bearing names of their own. No less than five little +steeples, towers, or belfries, for neither word is exactly suitable to the +architectural prodigies we wish to describe, rose above the roofs, +denoting the sites of the same number of places of worship; an American +village usually exhibiting as many of these proofs of liberty of +conscience--<i>caprices of conscience</i> would perhaps be a better term--as +dollars and cents will by any process render attainable. Several light +carriages, such as were suitable to a mountainous country, were passing to +and fro in the streets; and, here and there, a single-horse vehicle was +fastened before the door of a shop, or a lawyer's office, denoting the +presence of some customer, or client, from among the adjacent hills.</p> + +<p>Templeton was not sufficiently a thoroughfare to possess one of those +monstrosities, a modern American tavern, or a structure whose roof should +overtop that of all its neighbours. Still its inns were of respectable +size, well piazzaed, to use a word of our own invention, and quite enough +frequented.</p> + +<p>Near the centre of the place, in grounds of rather limited extent, still +stood that model of the composite order, which owed its existence to the +combined knowledge and taste, in the remoter ages of the region, of Mr. +Richard Jones and Mr. Hiram Doolittle. We will not say that it had been +modernized, for the very reverse was the effect, in appearance at least; +but, it had since undergone material changes, under the more instructed +intelligence of John Effingham.</p> + +<p>This building was so conspicuous by position and size, that as soon as +they had taken in glimpses of the entire landscape, which was not done +without constant murmurs of pleasure, every eye became fastened on it, as +the focus of interest. A long and common silence denoted how general was +this feeling, and the whole party took seats on stumps and fallen trees +before a syllable was uttered, after the building had attracted their +gaze. Aristabulus alone permitted his look to wander, and he was curiously +examining the countenance of Mr. Effingham, near whom he sate, with a +longing to discover whether the expression was that of approbation, or of +disapprobation, of the fruits of his cousin's genius.</p> + +<p>"Mr. John Effingham has considerably regenerated and revivified, not to +say transmogrified, the old dwelling," he said, cautiously using terms +that might have his own opinion of the changes doubtful. "The work of his +hand has excited some speculation, a good deal of inquiry, and a little +conversation, throughout the country. It has almost produced an +excitement!"</p> + +<p>"As my house came to me from my father," said Mr. Effingham, across whose +mild and handsome face a smile was gradually stealing, "I knew its +history, and when called on for an explanation of its singularities, could +refer all to the composite order. But, you, Jack, have supplanted all +this, by a style of your own, for which I shall be compelled to consult +the authorities for explanations."</p> + +<p>"Do you dislike my taste, Ned?--To my eye, now, the structure has no bad +appearance from this spot!"</p> + +<p>"Fitness and comfort are indispensable requisites for domestic +architecture, to use your own argument. Are you quite sure that yonder +castellated roof, for instance, is quite suited to the deep snows of these +mountains?"</p> + +<p>John Effingham whistled, and endeavoured to look unconcerned, for he well +knew that the very first winter had demonstrated the unsuitableness of his +plans for such a climate. He had actually felt disposed to cause the whole +to be altered privately, at his own expense; but, besides feeling certain +his cousin would resent a liberty that inferred his indisposition to pay +for his own buildings, he had a reluctance to admit, in the face of the +whole country, that he had made so capital a mistake, in a branch of art +in which he prided himself rather more than common; almost as much as his +predecessor in the occupation, Mr. Richard Jones.</p> + +<p>"If you are not pleased with your own dwelling, Ned," he answered, "you +can have, at least, the consolation of looking at some of your neighbours' +houses, and of perceiving that they are a great deal worse off. Of all +abortions of this sort, to my taste, a Grecian abortion is the worst--mine +is only Gothic, and that too, in a style so modest, that I should think it +might pass unmolested."</p> + +<p>It was so unusual to see John Effingham on the defensive, that the whole +party smiled, while Aristabulus who stood in salutary fear of his caustic +tongue, both smiled and wondered.</p> + +<p>"Nay, do not mistake me, John," returned the proprietor of the edifice +under discussion--"it is not your <i>taste</i> that I call in question, but +your provision against the seasons. In the way of mere outward show, I +really think you deserve high praise, for you have transformed a very ugly +dwelling into one that is almost handsome, in despite of proportions and +the necessity of regulating the alterations by prescribed limits. Still, I +think, there is a little of the composite left about even the exterior."</p> + +<p>"I hope, cousin Jack, you have not innovated on the interior," cried Eve; +"for I think I shall remember that, and nothing is more pleasant than the +<i>cattism</i> of seeing objects that you remember in childhood--pleasant, I +mean, to those whom the mania of mutation has not affected."</p> + +<p>"Do not be alarmed, Miss Effingham," replied her kinsman, with a +pettishness of manner that was altogether extraordinary, in a man whose +mien, in common, was so singularly composed and masculine; "you will find +all that you knew, when a kitten, in its proper place. I could not rake +together, again, the ashes of Queen Dido, which were scattered to the four +winds of Heaven, I fear; nor could I discover a reasonably good bust of +Homer; but respectable substitutes are provided, and some of them have the +great merit of puzzling all beholders to tell to whom they belong, which I +believe was the great characteristic of most of Mr. Jones's invention."</p> + +<p>"I am glad to see, cousin Jack, that you have, at least, managed to give a +very respectable 'cloud-colour' to the whole house."</p> + +<p>"Ay, it lay between that and an invisible green," the gentleman answered, +losing his momentary spleen in his natural love of the ludicrous--"but +finding that the latter would be only too conspicuous in the droughts that +sometimes prevail in this climate, I settled down into the yellowish drab, +that is, indeed, not unlike some of the richer volumes of the clouds."</p> + +<p>"On the whole, I think you are fairly entitled, as Steadfast Dodge, +Esquire, would say, to 'the meed of our thanks.'"</p> + +<p>"What a lovely spot!" exclaimed Mr. Effingham, who had already ceased to +think of his own dwelling, and whose eye was roaming over the soft +landscape, athwart which the lustre of a June noontide was throwing its +richest glories. "This is truly a place where one might fancy repose and +content were to be found for the evening of a troubled life."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, I have seldom looked upon a more bewitching scene," answered the +baronet. "The lakes of Cumberland will scarce compete with this!"</p> + +<p>"Or that of Brienz, or Lungeren, or Nemi," said Eve, smiling in a way that +the other understood to be a hit at his nationality.</p> + +<p>"<i>C'est charmant!</i>" murmured Mademoiselle Viefville. "<i>On pense à +l'éternité, dans une telle calme!</i>"</p> + +<p>"The farm you can see lying near yonder wood, Mr. Effingham," coolly +observed Aristabulus, "sold last spring for thirty dollars the acre, and +was bought for twenty, the summer-before!"</p> + +<p>"<i>Chacun à son gout!</i>" said Eve.</p> + +<p>"And yet, I fear, this glorious scene is marred by the envy, rapacity, +uncharitableness, and all the other evil passions of man!" continued the +more philosophical Mr. Effingham. "Perhaps, it were better as it was so +lately, when it lay in the solitude and peace of the wilderness, the +resort of birds and beasts."</p> + +<p>"Who prey on each other, dearest father, just as the worst of our own +species prey on their fellows."</p> + +<p>"True, child--true. And yet, I never gaze on one of these scenes of holy +calm, without wishing that the great tabernacle of nature might be +tenanted only by those who have a feeling for its perfection."</p> + +<p>"Do you see the lady," said Aristabulus, "that is just coming out on the +lawn, in front of the 'Wig-wam?'" for that was the name John Effingham had +seen fit to give the altered and amended abode. "Here, Miss Effingham, +more in a line with the top of the pine beneath us."</p> + +<p>"I see the person you mean; she seems to be looking in this direction."</p> + +<p>"You are quite right, miss; she knows that we are to stop on the Vision, +and no doubt sees us. That lady is your father's cook, Miss Effingham, and +is thinking of the late breakfast that has been ordered to be in readiness +against our arrival."</p> + +<p>Eve concealed her amusement, for, by this time, she had discovered that +Mr. Bragg had a way peculiar to himself, or at least to his class, of +using many of the commoner words of the English language. It would perhaps +be expecting too much of Sir George Templemore, not to expect him to +smile, on such an occasion.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" exclaimed Aristabulus, pointing towards the lake, across which +several skiffs were stealing, some in one direction, and some in another, +"there is a boat out, that I think must contain the poet."</p> + +<p>"Poet!" repeated John Effingham. "Have we reached that pass at Templeton?"</p> + +<p>"Lord, Mr. John Effingham, you must have very contracted notions of the +place, if you think a poet a great novelty in it. Why, sir, we have +caravans of wild beasts, nearly every summer!"</p> + +<p>"This is, indeed, a step in advance, of which I was ignorant. Here then, +in a region, that so lately was tenanted by beasts of prey, beasts are +already brought as curiosities. You perceive the state of the country in +this fact, Sir George Templemore."</p> + +<p>"I do indeed; but I should like to hear from Mr Bragg, what sort of +animals are in these caravans?"</p> + +<p>"All sorts, from monkeys to elephants. The last had a rhinoceros."</p> + +<p>"Rhinoceros!--Why there was but one, lately, in all Europe. Neither the +Zoological Gardens, nor the <i>Jardin des Plantes</i>, had a rhinoceros! I +never saw but one, and that was in a caravan at Rome, that travelled +between St. Petersburgh and Naples."</p> + +<p>"Well, sir, we have rhinoceroses here;--and monkeys, and zebras, and +poets, and painters, and congressmen, and bishops, and governors, and all +other sorts of creatures."</p> + +<p>"And who may the particular poet be, Mr. Bragg," Eve asked, "who honours +Templeton, with his presence just at this moment?"</p> + +<p>"That is more than I can tell you, miss, for, though some eight or ten of +us have done little else than try to discover his name for the last week, +we have not got even as far as that one fact. He and the gentleman who +travels with him, are both uncommonly close on such matters, though I +think we have some as good catechisers in Templeton, as can be found any +where within fifty miles of us!"</p> + +<p>"There is another gentleman with him--do you suspect them both of being +poets?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, Miss, the other is the waiter of the poet; that we know, as he +serves him at dinner, and otherwise superintends his concerns; such as +brushing his clothes, and keeping his room in order."</p> + +<p>"This is being in luck for a poet, for they are of a class that are a +little apt to neglect the decencies. May I ask why you suspect the master +of being a poet, if the man be so assiduous?"</p> + +<p>"Why, what else can he be? In the first place, Miss Effingham, he has no +name."</p> + +<p>"That is a reason in point," said John Effingham "very few poets having +names."</p> + +<p>"Then he is out on the lake half his time, gazing up at the 'Silent +Pine,' or conversing with the 'Speaking Rocks,' or drinking at the 'Fairy +Spring.'"</p> + +<p>"All suspicious, certainly; especially the dialogue with the rocks; though +not absolutely conclusive."</p> + +<p>"But, Mr. John Effingham, the man does not take his food like other +people. He rises early, and is out on the water, or up in the forest, all +the morning, and then returns to eat his breakfast in the middle of the +forenoon; he goes into the woods again, or on the lake, and comes back to +dinner, just as I take my tea."</p> + +<p>"This settles the matter. Any man who presumes to do all this, Mr. Bragg, +deserves to be called by some harder name, even, than that of a poet. +Pray, sir, how long has this eccentric person been a resident of +Templeton?"</p> + +<p>"Hist--there he is, as I am a sinner; and it was not he and the other +gentlemen that were in the boat."</p> + +<p>The rebuked manner of Aristabulus, and the dropping of his voice, induced +the whole party to look in the direction of his eye, and, sure enough, a +gentleman approached them, in the dress a man of the world is apt to +assume in the country, an attire of itself that was sufficient to attract +comment in a place where the general desire was to be as much like town as +possible, though it was sufficiently neat and simple. He came from the +forest, along the table-land that crowned the mountain for some distance, +following one of the foot-paths that the admirers of the beautiful +landscape have made all over that pleasant wood. As he came out into the +cleared spot, seeing it already in possession of a party, he bowed, and +was passing on, with a delicacy that Mr. Bragg would be apt to deem +eccentric, when suddenly stopping, he gave a look of intense and eager +interest at the whole party, smiled, advanced rapidly nearer, and +discovered his entire person.</p> + +<p>"I ought not to be surprised," he said, as he advanced so near as to +render doubt any longer impossible, "for I knew you were expected, and +indeed waited for your arrival, and yet this meeting has been so +unexpected as to leave me scarcely in possession of my faculties."</p> + +<p>It is needless to dwell upon the warmth and number of the greetings. To +the surprise of Mr. Bragg, his poet was not only known, but evidently much +esteemed by all the party, with the exception of Miss Van Cortlandt, to +whom he was cordially presented by the name of Mr. Powis. Eve managed, by +an effort of womanly pride, to suppress the violence of her emotions, and +the meeting passed off as one of mutual surprise and pleasure, without any +exhibition of unusual feeling to attract comment.</p> + +<p>"We ought to express our wonder at finding you here before us, my dear +young friend," said Mr. Effingham, still holding Paul's hand +affectionately between his own; "and, even now, that my own eyes assure me +of the fact, I can hardly believe you would arrive at New-York, and quit +it, without giving us the satisfaction of seeing you."</p> + +<p>"In that, sir, you are not wrong; certainly nothing could have deprived me +of that pleasure, but the knowledge that it would not have been agreeable +to yourselves. My sudden appearance here, however, will be without +mystery, when I tell you that I returned from England, by the way of +Quebec, the Great Lakes, and the Falls, having been induced by my friend +Ducie to take that route, in consequence of his ship's being sent to the +St. Lawrence. A desire for novelty, and particularly a desire to see the +celebrated cataract, which is almost <i>the</i> lion of America, did the rest."</p> + +<p>"We are glad to have you with us on any terms, and I take it as +particularly kind, that you did not pass my door. You have been here some +days?"</p> + +<p>"Quite a week. On reaching Utica I diverged from the great route to see +this place, not anticipating the pleasure of meeting you here so early; +but hearing you were expected, I determined to remain, with a hope, which +I rejoice to find was not vain, that you would not be sorry to see an old +fellow-traveller again."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham pressed his hands warmly again, before he relinquished them; +an assurance of welcome that Paul received with thrilling satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"I have been in Templeton almost long enough," the young man resumed, +laughing, "to set up as a candidate for the public favour, if I rightly +understand the claims of a denizen. By what I can gather from casual +remarks, the old proverb that 'the new broom sweeps clean' applies with +singular fidelity throughout all this region.</p> + +<p>"Have you a copy of your last ode, or a spare epigram, in your pocket?" +inquired John Effingham.</p> + +<p>Paul looked surprised, and Aristabulus, for a novelty, was a little +dashed. Paul looked surprised, as a matter of course, for, although he had +been a little annoyed by the curiosity that is apt to haunt a village +imagination, since his arrival in Templeton, he did not in the least +suspect that his love of a beautiful nature had been imputed to devotion +to the muses. Perceiving, however, by the smiles of those around him, that +there was more meant than was expressed, he had the tact to permit the +explanation to come from the person who had put the question, if it were +proper it should come at all.</p> + +<p>"We will defer the great pleasure that is in reserve," continued John +Effingham, "to another time. At present, it strikes me that the lady of +the lawn is getting to be impatient, and the <i>déjeuner à la fourchette</i>, +that I have had the precaution to order, is probably waiting our +appearance. It must be eaten, though under the penalty of being thought +moon-struck rhymers by the whole State. Come, Ned; if you are sufficiently +satisfied with looking at the Wigwam in a bird's-eye view, we will descend +and put its beauties to the severer test of a close examination."</p> + +<p>This proposal was readily accepted, though all tore themselves from that +lovely spot with reluctance, and not until they had paused to take another +look.</p> + +<p>"Fancy the shores of this lake lined with villas." said Eve, +"church-towers raising their dark heads among these hills; each mountain +crowned with a castle, or a crumbling ruin, and all the other accessories +of an old state of society, and what would then be the charms of the +view!"</p> + +<p>"Less than they are to-day, Miss Effingham," said Paul Powis; "for though +poetry requires--you all smile, is it forbidden to touch on such +subjects?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all, so it be done in wholesome rhymes," returned the baronet. +"You ought to know that you are expected even to speak in doggerel."</p> + +<p>Paul ceased, and the whole party walked away from the place, laughing and +light-hearted.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter X.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "It is the spot, I came to seek,<br /> +My father's ancient burial place--</blockquote> + +<blockquote> "It is the spot--I know it well,<br /> +Of which our old traditions tell."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> BRYANT.</blockquote> + + +<p>From the day after their arrival in New-York, or that on which the account +of the arrests by the English cruiser had appeared in the journals, little +had been said by any of our party concerning Paul Powis, or of the +extraordinary manner in which he had left the packet, at the very moment +she was about to enter her haven. It is true that Mr. Dodge, arrived at +Dodgeopolis, had dilated on the subject in his hebdomadal, with divers +additions and conjectures of his own, and this, too, in a way to attract, +a good deal of attention in the interior; but, it being a rule with those +who are supposed to dwell at the fountain of foreign intelligence, not to +receive any thing from those who ought not to be better informed than +themselves, the Effinghams and their friends had never heard of his +account of the matter.</p> + +<p>While all thought the incident of the sudden return extraordinary, no one +felt disposed to judge the young man harshly. The gentlemen knew that +military censure, however unpleasant, did not always imply moral +unworthiness; and as for the ladies, they retained too lively a sense of +his skill and gallantry, to wish to imagine evil on grounds so slight and +vague. Still, it had been impossible altogether to prevent the obtrusion +of disagreeable surmises, and all now sincerely rejoiced at seeing their +late companion once more among them, seemingly in a state of mind that +announced neither guilt nor degradation.</p> + +<p>On quitting the mountain, Mr. Effingham, who had a tender regard for +Grace, offered her his arm as he would have given it to a second daughter, +leaving Eve to the care of John Effingham. Sir George attended to +Mademoiselle Viefville, and Paul walked by the side of our heroine and her +cousin, leaving Aristabulus to be what he himself called a "miscellaneous +companion;" or, in other words, to thrust himself into either set, as +inclination or accident might induce. Of course the parties conversed as +they walked, though those in advance would occasionally pause to say a +word to those in the rear; and, as they descended, one or two changes +occurred to which we may have occasion to allude.</p> + +<p>"I trust you have had pleasant passages," said John Effingham to Paul, as +soon as they were separated in the manner just mentioned. "Three trips +across the Atlantic in so short a time would be hard duty to a landsman, +though you, as a sailor, will probably think less of it."</p> + +<p>"In this respect I have been fortunate; the Foam, as we know from +experience, being a good traveller, and Ducie is altogether a fine fellow +and an agreeable messmate. You know I had him for a companion both going +and coming."</p> + +<p>This was said naturally; and, while it explained so little directly, it +removed all unpleasant uncertainty, by assuring his listeners that he had +been on good terms at least, with the person who had seemed to be his +pursuer. John Effingham, too, well understood that no one messed with the +commander of a vessel of war, in his own ship, who was, in any way, +thought to be an unfit associate.</p> + +<p>"You have made a material circuit to reach us, the distance by Quebec +being nearly a fourth more than the direct road."</p> + +<p>"Ducie desired it so strongly, that I did not like to deny him. Indeed, he +made it a point, at first, to obtain permission to land me at New-York, +where he had found me, as he said; but to this I would not listen, as I +feared it might interfere with his promotion, of which he stood so good a +chance, in consequence of his success in the affair of the money. By +keeping constantly before the eyes of his superiors, on duty of interest, +I thought his success would be more certain."</p> + +<p>"And has his government thought his perseverance in the chase worthy of +such a reward?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed it has. He is now a post, and all owing to his good luck and +judgment in that affair; though in his country, rank in private life does +no harm to one in public life."</p> + +<p>Eve liked the emphasis that Paul laid on "his country," and she thought +the whole remark was made in a spirit that an Englishman would not be apt +to betray.</p> + +<p>"Has it ever occurred to you," continued John Effingham, "that our sudden +and unexpected separation, has caused a grave neglect of duty in me, if +not in both of us?"</p> + +<p>Paul looked surprised, and, by his manner, he demanded an explanation.</p> + +<p>"You may remember the sealed package of poor Mr. Monday, that we were to +open together on our arrival in New-York, and on the contents of which, we +were taught to believe depended the settling of some important private +rights. I gave that package to you, at the moment it was received, and, in +the hurry of leaving us, you overlooked the circumstance."</p> + +<p>"All very true, and to my shame I confess that, until this instant, the +affair has been quite forgotten by me. I had so much to occupy my mind +while in England, that it was not likely to be remembered, and then the +packet itself has scarce been in my possession since the day I left you,"</p> + +<p>"It is not lost, I trust!" said John Effingham quickly.</p> + +<p>"Surely not--it is safe, beyond a question, in the writing-desk in which I +deposited it. But the moment we got to Portsmouth, Ducie and myself +proceeded to London together, and, as soon as he had got through at the +Admiralty, we went into Yorkshire, where we remained, much occupied with +private matters of great importance to us both, while his ship was docked; +and then it became necessary to make sundry visits to our relations--"</p> + +<p>"Relations!" repeated Eve involuntarily, though she did not cease to +reproach herself for the indiscretion, during the rest of the walk.</p> + +<p>"Relations--" returned Paul, smiling. "Captain Ducie and myself are +cousins-german, and we made pilgrimages together, to sundry family +shrines. This duty occupied us until a few days before we sailed for +Quebec. On reaching our haven, I left the ship to visit the great lakes +and Niagara, leaving most of my effects with Ducie, who has promised to +bring them on with himself, when he followed on my track, as he expected +soon to do, on his way to the West Indies, where he is to find a frigate. +He owed me this attention, as he insisted, on account of having induced +me to go so far out of my way, with so much luggage, to oblige him. The +packet is, unluckily, left behind with the other things."</p> + +<p>"And do you expect Captain Ducie to arrive in this country soon?--The +affair of the packet ought not to be neglected much longer, for a promise +to a dying man is doubly binding, as it appeals to all our generosity. +Rather than neglect the matter much longer, I would prefer sending a +special messenger to Quebec."</p> + +<p>"That will be quite unnecessary, as, indeed, it would be useless. Ducie +left Quebec yesterday, and has sent his and my effects direct to New-York, +under the care of his own steward. The writing-case, containing other +papers that are of interest to us both, he has promised not to lose sight +of, but it will accompany him on the same tour, as that I have just made; +for, he wishes to avail himself of this opportunity to see Niagara and the +lakes, also: he is now on my track, and will notify me by letter of the +day he will be in Utica, in order that we may meet on the line of the +canal, near this place, and proceed to New-York, in company."</p> + +<p>His companions listened to this brief statement with an intense interest, +with which the packet of poor Mr. Monday, however, had very little +connection. John Effingham called to his cousin, and, in a few words, +stated the circumstances as they had just been related to himself, without +adverting to the papers of Mr. Monday, which was an affair that he had +hitherto kept to himself.</p> + +<p>"It will be no more than a return of civility, if we invite Captain Ducie +to diverge from his road, and pass a few days with us, in the mountains," +he added. "At what precise time do you expect him to pass, Powis?"</p> + +<p>"Within the fortnight. I feel certain he would be glad to pay his +respects to this party, for he often expressed his sincere regrets at +having been employed on a service that exposed the ladies to so much peril +and delay."</p> + +<p>"Captain Ducie is a near kinsman of Mr. Powis, dear father," added Eve, in +a way to show her parent, that the invitation would be agreeable to +herself, for Mr. Effingham was so attentive to the wishes of his daughter, +as never to ask a guest to his house, that he thought would prove +disagreeable to its mistress.</p> + +<p>"I shall do myself the pleasure to write to Captain Ducie, this evening, +urging him to honour us with his company," returned Mr. Effingham. "We +expect other friends in a few days, and I hope he will not find his time +heavy on his hands, while in exile among us. Mr. Powis will enclose my +note in one of his letters, and will, I trust, second the request by his +own solicitations."</p> + +<p>Paul made his acknowledgments, and the whole party proceeded, though the +interruption caused such a change in the <i>figure</i> of the promenade, as to +leave the young man the immediate escort of Eve. The party, by this time, +had not only reached the highway, but it had again diverged from it, to +follow the line of an old and abandoned wheel-track, that descended the +mountain, along the side of the declivity, by a wilder and more perilous +direction than suited a modern enterprise; it having been one of those +little calculated and rude roads, that the first settlers of a country are +apt to make, before there are time and means to investigate and finish to +advantage. Although much more difficult and dangerous than its successor, +as a highway, this relic of the infant condition of the country was by far +the most retired and beautiful; and pedestrians continued to use it, as a +common foot-path to the Vision. The seasons had narrowed its surface, and +the second growth had nearly covered it with their branches, shading it +like an arbour; and Eve expressed her delight with its wildness and +boldness, mingled, as both were, with so pleasant a seclusion, as they +descended along a path as safe and convenient as a French <i>allée</i>. +Glimpses were constantly obtained of the lake and the village, while they +proceeded; and altogether, they who were strangers to the scenery, were +loud in its praises.</p> + +<p>"Most persons, who see this valley for the first time," observed +Aristabulus, "find something to say in its favour; for my part, I consider +it as rather curious myself."</p> + +<p>"Curious!" exclaimed Paul; "that gentleman is, at least, singular in the +choice of his expressions."</p> + +<p>"You have met him before to-day," said Eve, laughing, for Eve was now in a +humour to laugh at trifles. "This we know, since he had prepared us to +meet a poet, where we only find an old friend."</p> + +<p>"Only, Miss Effingham!--Do you estimate poets so high, and old friends so +low?"</p> + +<p>"This extraordinary person, Mr. Aristabulus Bragg, really deranges all +one's notions and opinions in such a manner, as to destroy even the usual +signification of words, I believe. He seems so much in, and yet so much +out of his place; is both so <i>rusé</i>, and so unpractised; so unfit for what +he is, and so ready at every thing, that I scarcely know how to apply +terms in any matter with which he has the smallest connection. I fear he +has persecuted you since your arrival in Templeton?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all; I am so much acquainted with men of his cast, that I have +acquired a tact in managing them. Perceiving that he was disposed to +suspect me of a disposition to 'poetize the lake,' to use his own term, I +took care to drop a couple of lines, roughly written off, like a hasty and +imperfect effusion, where I felt sure he would find them, and have been +living for a whole week on the fame thereof."</p> + +<p>"You do indulge in such tastes, then?" said Eve smiling a little saucily.</p> + +<p>"I am as innocent of such an ambition, as of wishing to marry the heiress +of the British throne, which, I believe, just now, is the goal of all the +Icaruses of our own time. I am merely a rank plagiarist--for the rhyme, on +the fame of which I have rioted for a glorious week, was two lines of +Pope's, an author so effectually forgotten in these palmy days of +literature, in which all knowledge seems so condensed into the productions +of the last few years, that a man might almost pass off an entire classic +for his own, without the fear of detection. It was merely the first +couplet of the Essay on Man, which, fortunately, having an allusion to the +'pride of Kings,' would pass for original, as well as excellent, in +nineteen villages in twenty in America, in these piping times of +ultra-republicanism. No doubt Mr. Bragg thought a eulogy on the 'people' +was to come next, to be succeeded by a glorious picture of Templeton and +its environs."</p> + +<p>"I do not know that I ought to admit these hits at liberty from a +foreigner," said Eve, pretending to look graver than she felt; for never +before, in her life, had our heroine so strong a consciousness of +happiness, as she had experienced that very morning.</p> + +<p>"Foreigner, Miss Effingham!--And why a foreigner?"</p> + +<p>"Nay, you know your own pretended cosmopolitism; and ought not the cousin +of Captain Ducie to be an Englishman?"</p> + +<p>"I shall not answer for the <i>ought</i>, the simple fact being a sufficient +reply to the question. The cousin of Captain Ducie is <i>not</i> an Englishman; +nor, as I see you suspect, has he ever served a day in the British navy, +or in any other navy than that of his native land."</p> + +<p>"This is indeed taking us by surprise, and that most agreeably," returned +Eve, looking up at him with undisguised pleasure, while a bright glow +crimsoned her face. "We could not but feel an interest in one who had so +effectually served us; and both my father and Mr. John Effingham----"</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack--" interrupted the smiling Paul.</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack, then, if you dislike the formality I used; both my father +and cousin Jack examined the American navy registers for your name, +without success, as I understood, and the inference that followed was fair +enough, I believe you will admit."</p> + +<p>"Had they looked at a register of a few years' date, they would have met +with better luck. I have quitted the service, and am a sailor only in +recollections. For the last few years, like yourselves, I have been a +traveller by land as well as by water."</p> + +<p>Eve said no more, though every syllable that the young man uttered was +received by attentive ears, and retained with a scrupulous fidelity of +memory. They walked some distance in silence, until they reached the +grounds of a house that was beautifully placed on the side of the +mountain, near a lovely wood of pines. Crossing these grounds, until they +reached a terrace in front of the dwelling, the village of Templeton lay +directly in their front, perhaps a hundred feet beneath them, and yet so +near, as to render the minutest object distinct. Here they all stopped to +take a more distinct view of a place that had so much interest with most +of the party.</p> + +<p>"I hope you are sufficiently acquainted with the localities to act as +cicerone," said Mr. Effingham to Paul. "In a visit of a week to this +village, you have scarcely overlooked the Wigwam."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps I ought to hesitate, or rather ought to blush to own it," +answered the young man, discharging the latter obligation by colouring to +his temples; "but curiosity has proved so much stronger than manners, that +I have been induced to trespass so far on the politeness of this +gentleman, as to gain an admission to your dwelling, in and about which +more of my time has been passed than has probably proved agreeable to its +inmates."</p> + +<p>"I hope the gentleman will not speak of it," said Aristabulus. "In this +country, we live pretty much in common, and with me it is a rule, when a +gentleman drops in, whether stranger or neighbour, to show him the +civility to ask him to take off his hat."</p> + +<p>"It appears to me," said Eve, willing to change the conversation, "that +Templeton has an unusual number of steeples; for what purpose can so small +a place possibly require so many buildings of that nature?"</p> + +<p>"All in behalf of orthodoxy, Miss Eve," returned Aristabulus, who +conceived himself to be the proper person to answer such interrogatories. +"There is a shade of opinion beneath every one of those steeples."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean, sir, that there are as many shades of faith in Templeton, as +I now see buildings that have the appearance of being devoted to religious +purposes?"</p> + +<p>"Double the number, Miss, and some to spare, in the bargain; for you see +but five meeting-houses, and the county-buildings, and we reckon seven +regular hostile denominations in the village, besides the diversities of +sentiment on trifles. This edifice that you perceive here, in a line with +the chimneys of the first house, is New St. Paul's, Mr. Grant's old +church, as orthodox a house, in its way, as there is in the diocese, as +you may see by the windows. This is a gaining concern, though there has +been some falling off of late, in consequence of the clergyman's having +caught a bad cold, which has made him a little hoarse; but I dare say he +will get over it, and the church ought not to be abandoned on that +account, serious as the matter undoubtedly is, for the moment. A few of us +are determined to back up New St. Paul's in this crisis, and I make it a +point to go there myself, quite half the time."</p> + +<p>"I am glad we have so much of your company," said Mr. Effingham "for that +is our own church, and in it my daughter was baptized. But, do you divide +your religious opinions in halves, Mr. Bragg?"</p> + +<p>"In as many parts, Mr. Effingham, as there are denominations in the +neighbourhood, giving a decided preference to New St. Paul's, +notwithstanding, under the peculiar circumstances, particularly to the +windows. The dark, gloomy-looking building, Miss, off in the distance, +yonder, is the Methodist affair, of which not much need be said; Methodism +flourishing but little among us since the introduction of the New Lights, +who have fairly managed to out-excite them, on every plan they can invent. +I believe, however, they stick pretty much to the old doctrine, which, no +doubt, is one great reason of their present apathetic state; for the +people do love novelties."</p> + +<p>"Pray, sir, what building is this nearly in a line with New St. Paul's, +and which resembles it a little, in colour and form?"</p> + +<p>"Windows excepted; it has two rows of regular square-topped windows, Miss, +as you may observe. That is the First Presbyterian, or the old standard; a +very good house, and a pretty good faith, too, as times go. I make it a +point to attend there, at least once every fortnight; for change is +agreeable to the nature of man. I will say, Miss, that my preference, so +far as I have any, however, is for New St. Paul's, and I have experienced +considerable regrets, that these Presbyterians have gained a material +advantage over us, in a very essential point, lately."</p> + +<p>"I am sorry to hear this, Mr. Bragg; for, being an Episcopalian myself, +and having great reliance on the antiquity and purity of my church, I +should be sorry to find it put in the wrong by any other."</p> + +<p>"I fear we must give that point up, notwithstanding, for these +Presbyterians have entirely outwitted the church people in that matter."</p> + +<p>"And what is the point in which we have been so signally worsted?"</p> + +<p>"Why, Miss, their new bell weighs quite a hundred more than that of New +St. Paul's, and has altogether the best sound. I know very well that this +advantage will not avail them any thing to boast of, in the last great +account; but it makes a surprising difference in the state of probation. +You see the yellowish looking building across the valley, with a heavy +wall around it, and a belfry? That, in its regular character, is the +county court-house, and gaol; but, in the way of religion, it is used +pretty much miscellaneously."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean, really, sir, that divine service is ever actually performed +in it, or that persons of all denominations are occasionally tried there?"</p> + +<p>"It would be truer to say that all denominations occasionally try the +court-house," said Aristabulus, simpering; "for I believe it has been used +in this way by every shade of religion short of the Jews. The Gothic tower +in wood, is the building of the Universalists; and the Grecian edifice, +that is not yet painted, the Baptists. The Quakers, I believe, worship +chiefly at home, and the different shades of the Presbyterians meet, in +different rooms, in private houses, about the place."</p> + +<p>"Are there then shades of difference in the denominations, as well as all +these denominations?" asked Eve, in unfeigned surprise; "and this, too, in +a population so small?"</p> + +<p>"This is a free county, Miss Eve, and freedom loves variety. 'Many men, +many minds.'"</p> + +<p>"Quite true, sir," said Paul; "but here are many minds among few men. Nor +is this all; agreeably to your own account, some of these men do not +exactly know their own minds. But, can you explain to us what essential +points are involved in all these shades of opinion?"</p> + +<p>"It would require a life, sir, to understand the half of them. Some say +that excitement is religion, and others, that it is contentment. One set +cries up practice, and another cries out against it. This man maintains +that he will be saved if he does good, and that man affirms that if he +only does good, he will be damned; a little evil is necessary to +salvation, with one shade of opinion, while another thinks a man is never +so near conversion as when he is deepest in sin."</p> + +<p>"Subdivision is the order of the day," added John Effingham; "every county +is to be subdivided that there may be more county towns, and county +offices; every religion decimated, that there may be a greater variety and +a better quality of saints."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus nodded his head, and he would have winked, could he have +presumed to take such a liberty with a man he held as much in habitual +awe, as John Effingham.</p> + +<p>"<i>Monsieur</i>," inquired Mademoiselle Viefville, "is there no <i>église</i>, no +<i>véritable église</i>, in Templeton?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, Madame, several," returned Aristabulus, who would as soon think +of admitting that he did not understand the meaning of <i>véritable église</i>, +as one of the sects he had been describing would think of admitting that +it was not infallible in its interpretation of Christianity--"several; but +they are not be seen from this particular spot."</p> + +<p>"How much more picturesque would it be, and even christian-like in +appearance, at least," said Paul, could these good people consent to unite +in worshipping God!--and how much does it bring into strong relief, the +feebleness and ignorance of man, when you see him splitting hairs about +doctrines, under which he has been told, in terms as plain as language can +make it, that he is simply required to believe in the goodness and power +of a Being whose nature and agencies exceed his comprehension."</p> + +<p>"All very true," cried John Effingham, "but what would become of liberty +of conscience in such a case? Most men, now-a-days, understand by faith, a +firm reliance on their own opinions!"</p> + +<p>"In that case, too," put in Aristabulus, "we should want this handsome +display of churches to adorn our village. There is good comes of it; for +any man would be more likely to invest in a place that has five churches, +than in a place with but one. As it is, Templeton has as beautiful a set +of churches as any village I know."</p> + +<p>"Say, rather, sir, a set of castors; for a stronger resemblance to +vinegar-cruets and mustard-pots, than is borne by these architectural +prodigies, eye never beheld."</p> + +<p>"It is, nevertheless, a beautiful thing, to see the high pointed roof of +the house of God, crowning an assemblage of houses, as one finds it in +other countries," said Eve, "instead of a pile of tavern, as is too much +the case in this dear home of ours."</p> + +<p>When this remark was uttered, they descended the step that led from the +terrace, and proceeded towards the village. On reaching the gate of the +Wigwam, the whole party stood confronted with that offspring of John +Effingham's taste; for so great had been his improvements on the original +production of Hiram Doolittle, that externally, at least, that +distinguished architect could no longer have recognized the fruits of his +own talents.</p> + +<p>"This is carrying out to the full, John, the conceits of the composite +order," observed Mr. Effingham, drily.</p> + +<p>"I shall be sorry, Ned, if you dislike your house, as it is amended and +corrected."</p> + +<p>"Dear cousin Jack," cried Eve, "it is an odd jumble of the Grecian and +Gothic. One would like to know your authorities for such a liberty."</p> + +<p>"What do you think of the <i>façade</i> of the cathedral of Milan, Miss," +laying emphasis on the last words, in imitation of the manner of Mr. +Bragg. "Is it such a novelty to see the two styles blended; or is +architecture so pure in America, that you think I have committed the +unpardonable sin."</p> + +<p>"Nay, nothing that is out of rule ought to strike one, in a country where +imitation governs in all things immaterial, and originality unsettles all +things sacred and dear."</p> + +<p>"By way of punishment for that bold speech, I wish I had left the old +rookery in the state I found it, that its beauties might have greeted your +eyes, instead of this uncouth pile, which seems so much to offend them. +Mademoiselle Viefville, permit me to ask how you like that house?"</p> + +<p>"<i>Mais, c'est un petit chateau</i>"</p> + +<p>"<i>Un château, Effinghamisé,</i>" said Eve, laughing.</p> + +<p>"<i>Effinghamisé si vous voulez, ma chère; pourtant c'est un château</i>."</p> + +<p>"The general opinion in this part of the country is," said Aristabulus, +"that Mr. John Effingham has altered the building on the plan of some +edifice of Europe, though I forget the name of the particular temple; it +is not, however, the Parthenon, nor the temple of Minerva."</p> + +<p>"I hope, at least," said Mr. Effingham, leading the way up a little lawn, +"it will not turn out to be the Temple of the Winds."</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XI.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Nay, I'll come; if I lose a scruple of this sport, let me be oiled to + death with melancholy."--SHAKSPEARE.</blockquote> + + +<p>The progress of society in America, has been distinguished by several +peculiarities that do not so properly belong to the more regular and +methodical advances of civilization in other parts of the world. On the +one hand, the arts of life, like Minerva, who was struck out of the +intellectual being of her father at a blow, have started full-grown into +existence, as the legitimate inheritance of the colonists, while, on the +other, every thing tends towards settling down into a medium, as regards +quality, a consequence of the community-character of the institutions. +Every thing she had seen that day, had struck Eve as partaking of this +mixed nature, in which, while nothing was vulgar, little even approached +to that high standard, that her European education had taught her to +esteem perfect. In the Wigwam, however, as her father's cousin had seen +fit to name the family dwelling, there was more of keeping, and a closer +attention to the many little things she had been accustomed to consider +essential to comfort and elegance, and she was better satisfied with her +future home, than with most she had seen since her return to America.</p> + +<p>As we have described the interior of this house, in another work, little +remains to be said on the subject, at present; for, while John Effingham +had completely altered its external appearance, its internal was not much +changed. It is true, the cloud-coloured covering had disappeared, as had +that stoop also, the columns of which were so nobly upheld by their +super-structure; the former having given place to a less obtrusive roof, +that was regularly embattled, and the latter having been swallowed up by a +small entrance tower, that the new architect had contrived to attach to +the building with quite as much advantage to it, in the way of comfort, as +in the way of appearance. In truth, the Wigwam had none of the more +familiar features of a modern American dwelling of its class. There was +not a column about it, whether Grecian, Roman, or Egyptian; no Venetian +blinds; no verandah or piazza; no outside paint, nor gay blending of +colours. On the contrary, it was a plain old structure, built with great +solidity, and of excellent materials, and in that style of respectable +dignity and propriety, that was perhaps a little more peculiar to our +fathers than it is peculiar to their successors, our worthy selves. In +addition to the entrance tower, or porch, on its northern front, John +Effingham had also placed a prettily devised conceit on the southern, by +means of which the abrupt transition from an inner room to the open air +was adroitly avoided. He had, moreover, removed the "firstly" of the +edifice, and supplied its place with a more suitable addition that +contained some of the offices, while it did not disfigure the building, a +rare circumstance in an architectural after-thought.</p> + +<p>Internally, the Wigwam had gradually been undergoing improvements, ever +since that period, which, in the way of the arts, if not in the way of +chronology, might be termed the dark ages of Otsego. The great hall had +long before lost its characteristic decoration of the severed arm of Wolf, +a Gothic paper that was better adapted to the really respectable +architecture of the room being its substitute; and even the urn that was +thought to contain the ashes of Queen Dido, like the pitcher that goes +often to the well, had been broken in a war of extermination that had been +carried on against the cobwebs by a particularly notable housekeeper. Old +Homer, too, had gone the way of all baked clay. Shakspeare, himself, had +dissolved into dust, "leaving not a wreck behind;" and of Washington and +Franklin, even, indigenous as they were, there remained no vestiges. +Instead of these venerable memorials of the past, John Effingham, who +retained a pleasing recollection of their beauties as they had presented +themselves to his boyish eyes, had bought a few substitutes in a New-York +shop, and <i>a</i> Shakspeare, and <i>a</i> Milton, and <i>a</i> Cæsar, and <i>a</i> Dryden, +and <i>a</i> Locke, as the writers of heroic so beautifully express it, were +now seated in tranquil dignity on the old medallions that had held their +illustrious predecessors. Although time had, as yet, done little for this +new collection in the way of colour, dust and neglect were already +throwing around them the tint of antiquity.</p> + +<p>"The lady," to use the language of Mr. Bragg, who did the cooking of the +Wigwam, having every thing in readiness, our party took their seats at the +breakfast table, which was spread in the great hall, as soon as each had +paid a little attention to the <i>toilette</i>. As the service was neither very +scientific, nor sufficiently peculiar, either in the way of elegance or of +its opposite quality, to be worthy of notice, we shall pass it over in +silence.</p> + +<p>"One will not quite so much miss European architecture in this house," +said Eve, as she took her seat at table, glancing an eye at the spacious +and lofty room, in which they were assembled; "here is at least size and +its comforts, if not elegance."</p> + +<p>"Had you lost all recollection of this building, my child?" inquired her +father, kindly; "I was in hopes you would feel some of the happiness of +returning home, when you again found yourself beneath its roof!"</p> + +<p>"I should greatly dislike to have all the antics I have been playing in my +own dressing-room exposed," returned Eve, rewarding the parental +solicitude of her father by a look of love, "though Grace, between her +laughing and her tears, has threatened me with such a disgrace. Ann Sidley +has also been weeping, and, as even Annette, always courteous and +considerate, has shed a few tears in the way of sympathy, you ought not to +imagine that I have been altogether so stoical as not to betray some +feeling, dear father. But the paroxysm is past, and I am beginning to +philosophize. I hope, cousin Jack, you have not forgotten that the +drawing-room is a lady's empire!"</p> + +<p>"I have respected your rights, Miss Effingham, though, with a wish to +prevent any violence to your tastes, I have caused sundry antediluvian +paintings and engravings to be consigned to the--"</p> + +<p>"Garret?" inquired Eve, so quickly as to interrupt the speaker.</p> + +<p>"Fire," coolly returned her cousin. "The garret is now much too good for +them; that part of the house being converted into sleeping-rooms for the +maids. Mademoiselle Annette would go into hysterics, were she to see the +works of art, that satisfied the past generation of masters in this +country, in too close familiarity with her Louvre-ized eyes."</p> + +<p>"<i>Point du tout, monsieur</i>," said Mademoiselle Viefville, innocently; +"<i>Annette a du gout dans son metier sans doute</i>, but she is too well bred +to expect <i>impossibilités.</i> No doubt she would have conducted herself with +decorum."</p> + +<p>Every body laughed, for much light-heartedness prevailed at that board, +and the conversation continued.</p> + +<p>"I shall be satisfied if Annette escape convulsions," Eve added, "a +refined taste being her weakness; and, to be frank, what I recollect of +the works you mention, is not of the most flattering nature."</p> + +<p>"And yet," observed Sir George, "nothing has surprised me more than the +respectable state of the arts of engraving and painting in this country. +It was unlooked for, and the pleasure has probably been in proportion to +the surprise."</p> + +<p>"In that you are very right, Sir George Templemore," John Effingham +answered; "but the improvement is of very recent date. He who remembers an +American town half a century ago, will see a very different thing in an +American town of to-day; and this is equally true of the arts you mention, +with the essential difference that the latter are taking a right direction +under a proper instruction, while the former are taking a wrong direction, +under the influence of money, that has no instruction. Had I left much of +the old furniture, or any of the old pictures in the Wigwam, we should +have had the bland features of Miss Effingham in frowns, instead of +bewitching smiles, at this very moment."</p> + +<p>"And yet I have seen fine old furniture in this country, cousin Jack."</p> + +<p>"Very true; though not in this part of it. The means of conveyance were +wanting half a century since, and few people risk finery of any sort on +corduroys. This very house had some respectable old things, that were +brought here by dint of money, and they still remain; but the eighteenth +century in general, may be set down as a very dark antiquity in all this +region."</p> + +<p>When the repast was over, Mr. Effingham led his guests and daughter +through the principal apartments, sometimes commending, and sometimes +laughing, at the conceits of his kinsman. The library was a good sized +room; good sized at least for a country in which domestic architecture, as +well as public architecture, is still in the chrysalis state. Its walls +were hung with an exceedingly pretty gothic paper, in green, but over each +window was a chasm in the upper border; and as this border supplied the +arches, the unity of the entire design was broken in no less than four +places, that being the precise number of the windows. The defect soon +attracted the eye of Eve, and she was not slow in demanding an +explanation.</p> + +<p>"The deficiency is owing to an American accident," returned her cousin; +"one of those calamities of which you are fated to experience many, as the +mistress of an American household. No more of the border was to be bought +in the country, and this is a land of shops and not of <i>fabricants</i>. At +Paris, Mademoiselle, one would send to the paper-maker for a supply; but, +alas! he that has not enough of a thing with us, is as badly off as if he +had none. We are consumers, and not producers of works of art. It is a +long way to send to France for ten or fifteen feet of paper hangings, and +yet this must be done, or my beautiful gothic arches will remain forever +without their key-stones!"</p> + +<p>"One sees the inconvenience of this," observed Sir George--"we feel it, +even in England, in all that relates to imported things."</p> + +<p>"And we, in nearly all things, but food."</p> + +<p>"And does not this show that America can never become a manufacturing +country?" asked the baronet, with the interest an intelligent Englishman +ever feels in that all-absorbing question. "If you cannot manufacture an +article as simple as that of paper-hangings, would it not be well to turn +your attention, altogether, to agriculture?"</p> + +<p>As the feeling of this interrogatory was much more apparent than its +logic, smiles passed from one to the other, though John Effingham, who +really had a regard for Sir George, was content to make an evasive reply, +a singular proof of amity, in a man of his caustic temperament.</p> + +<p>The survey of the house, on the whole, proved satisfactory to its future +mistress, who complained, however, that it was furnished too much like a +town residence.</p> + +<p>"For," she added, "you will remember, cousin Jack, that our visits here +will be something like a <i>villeggiatura</i>."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, my fair lady; it will not be long before your Parisian and +Roman tastes will be ready to pronounce the whole country a +<i>villeggiatura!</i>"</p> + +<p>"This is the penalty, Eve, one pays for being a Hajji," observed Grace, +who had been closely watching the expression of the others' countenances; +for, agreeably to her view of things, the Wigwam wanted nothing to render +it a perfect abode. "The things that <i>we</i> enjoy, <i>you</i> despise."</p> + +<p>"That is an argument, my dear coz, that would apply equally well, as a +reason for preferring brown sugar to white."</p> + +<p>"In coffee, certainly, Miss Eve," put in the attentive Aristabulus, who +having acquired this taste, in virtue of an economical mother, really +fancied it a pure one. "Every body, in these regions, prefers the brown in +coffee."</p> + +<p>"<i>Oh, mon père et ma mère, comme je vous en veux,</i>" said Eve, without +attending to the nice distinctions of Mr. Bragg, which savoured a little +too much of the neophyte in cookery, to find favour in the present +company, "<i>comme je vous en veux</i> for having neglected so many beautiful +sites, to place this building in the very spot it occupies."</p> + +<p>"In that respect, my child, we may rather be grateful at finding so +comfortable a house, at all. Compared with the civilization that then +surrounded it, this dwelling was a palace at the time of its erection; +bearing some such relation to the humbler structures around it, as the +<i>château</i> bears to the cottage. Remember that brick had never before been +piled on brick, in the walls of a house, in all this region, when the +Wigwam was constructed. It is the Temple of Neptune of Otsego, if not of +all the surrounding counties."</p> + +<p>Eve pressed to her lips the hand she was holding in both her own, and they +all passed out of the library into another room. As they came in front of +the hall windows, a party of apprentice-boys were seen coolly making their +arrangements to amuse themselves with a game of ball, on the lawn directly +in front of the house.</p> + +<p>"Surely, Mr. Bragg," said the owner of the Wigwam, with more displeasure +in his voice than was usual for one of his regulated mind, "you do not +countenance this liberty?"</p> + +<p>"Liberty, sir!--I am an advocate for liberty wherever I can find it. Do +you refer to the young men on the lawn, Mr. Effingham?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly to them, sir; and permit me to say, I think they might have +chosen a more suitable spot for their sports. They are mistaking +<i>liberties</i> for liberty I fear."</p> + +<p>"Why, sir, I believe they have <i>always</i> played ball in that precise +locality."</p> + +<p>"<i>Always</i>!--I can assure you this is a great mistake. What private family, +placed as we are in the centre of a village, would allow of an invasion of +its privacy in this rude manner? Well may the house be termed a Wigwam, if +this whooping is to be tolerated before its door."</p> + +<p>"You forget, Ned," said John Effingham, with a sneer, "that an American +<i>always</i> means just eighteen months. <i>Antiquity</i> is reached in five +lustres, and the dark ages at the end of a human life. I dare say these +amiable young gentlemen, who enliven their sports with so many agreeable +oaths, would think you very unreasonable and encroaching to presume to +tell them they are unwelcome."</p> + +<p>"To own the truth, Mr. John, it <i>would</i> be downright unpopular."</p> + +<p>"As I cannot permit the ears of the ladies to be offended with these rude +brawls, and shall never consent to have grounds that are so limited, and +which so properly belong to the very privacy of my dwelling, invaded in +this coarse manner, I beg, Mr. Bragg, that you will, at once, desire these +young men to pursue their sports somewhere else."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus received this commission with a very ill grace; for, while his +native sagacity told him that Mr. Effingham was right, he too well knew +the loose habits that had been rapidly increasing in the country during +the last ten years, not to foresee that the order would do violence to all +the apprentices' preconceived notions of their immunities; for, as he had +truly stated, things move at so quick a pace in America, and popular +feeling is so arbitrary, that a custom of a twelve months' existence is +deemed sacred, until the public, itself, sees fit to alter it. He was +reluctantly quitting the party, on his unpleasant duty, when Mr. +Effingham turned to a servant, who belonged to the place, and bade him go +to the village barber, and desire him to come to the Wigwam to cut his +hair; Pierre, who usually performed that office for him, being busied in +unpacking trunks.</p> + +<p>"Never mind, Tom," said Aristabulus obligingly, as he took up his hat; "I +am going into the street, and will give the message to Mr. Lather."</p> + +<p>"I cannot think, sir, of employing you on such a duty," hastily interposed +Mr. Effingham, who felt a gentleman's reluctance to impose an unsuitable +office on any of his dependants--"Tom, I am sure, will do me the favour."</p> + +<p>"Do not name it, my dear sir; nothing makes me happier than to do these +little errands, and, another time, you can do as much for me."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus now went his way more cheerfully, for he determined to go +first to the barber, hoping that some expedient might suggest itself, by +means of which he could coax the apprentices from the lawn, and thus +escape the injury to his popularity, that he so much dreaded. It is true, +these apprentices were not voters, but then some of them speedily would +be, and all of them, moreover, had <i>tongues</i>, an instrument Mr. Bragg held +in quite as much awe as some men dread salt-petre. In passing the +ball-players, he called out in a wheedling tone to their ringleader, a +notorious street brawler--</p> + +<p>"A fine time for sport, Dickey; don't you think there would be more room +in the broad street than on this crowded lawn, where you lose your ball so +often in the shrubbery?"</p> + +<p>"This place will do, on a pinch," bawled Dickey--"though it might be +better. If it warn't for that plagued house, we couldn't ask for a better +ball-ground."</p> + +<p>"I don't see," put in another, "what folks built a house just in that +spot for; it has spoilt the very best play-ground in the village."</p> + +<p>"Some people have their notions as well as others," returned Aristabulus; +"but, gentlemen, if I were in your place, I would try the street; I feel +satisfied you would find it much the most agreeable and convenient."</p> + +<p>The apprentices thought differently, however, or they were indisposed to +the change; and so they recommenced their yells, their oaths, and their +game. In the mean while, the party in the house continued their +examination of John Effingham's improvements; and when this was completed, +they separated, each to his or her own room.</p> + +<p>Aristabulus soon reappeared on the lawn; and, approaching the +ball-players, he began to execute his commission, as he conceived, in good +earnest. Instead of simply saying, however, that it was disagreeable to +the owner of the property to have such an invasion on his privacy, and +thus putting a stop to the intrusion for the future as well as at the +present moment, he believed some address necessary to attain the desired +end.</p> + +<p>"Well, Dickey," he said, "there is no accounting for tastes; but, in my +opinion, the street would be a much better place to play ball in than this +lawn. I wonder gentlemen of your observation should be satisfied with so +cramped a play-ground!"</p> + +<p>"I tell you, Squire Bragg, this will do," roared Dickey; "we are in a +hurry, and no way particular; the bosses will be after us in half an hour. +Heave away, Sam."</p> + +<p>"There are so many fences hereabouts," continued Aristabulus, with an air +of indifference; "it's true the village trustees say there <i>shall be no +ball-playing in the street</i>, but I conclude you don't much mind what +<i>they</i> think or threaten."</p> + +<p>"Let them sue for that, if they like," bawled a particularly amiable +blackguard, called Peter, who struck his ball as he spoke, quite into the +principal street of the village. "Who's a trustee, that he should tell +gentlemen where they are to play ball!"</p> + +<p>"Sure enough," said Aristabulus, "and, now, by following up that blow, you +can bring matters to an issue. I think the law very oppressive, and you +can never have so good an opportunity to bring things to a crisis. +Besides, it is very aristocratic to play ball among roses and dahlias."</p> + +<p>The bait took; for what apprentice--American apprentice, in +particular--can resist an opportunity of showing how much he considers +himself superior to the law? Then it had never struck any of the party +before, that it was vulgar and aristocratic to pursue the sport among +roses, and one or two of them actually complained that they had pricked +their fingers, in searching for the ball.</p> + +<p>"I know Mr. Effingham will be very sorry to have you go," continued +Aristabulus, following up his advantage; "but gentlemen cannot always +forego their pleasures for other folks."</p> + +<p>"Who's Mr. Effingham, I would like to know?" cried Joe Wart. "If he wants +people to play ball on his premises, let him cut down his roses. Come, +gentlemen, I conform to Squire Bragg, and invite you all to follow me into +the street."</p> + +<p>As the lawn was now evacuated, <i>en masse</i>, Aristabulus proceeded with +alacrity to the house, and went into the library, where Mr. Effingham was +patiently waiting his return.</p> + +<p>"I am happy to inform you, sir," commenced the ambassador, "that the +ball-players have adjourned; and as for Mr. Lather, he declines your +proposition."</p> + +<p>"Declines my proposition!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; he dislikes to come; for he thinks it will be altogether a poor +operation. His notion is, that if it be worth his while to come up to the +Wigwam to cut your hair, it may be worth your while to go down to the +shop, to have it cut. Considering the matter in all its bearings, +therefore, he concludes he would rather not engage in the transaction at +all."</p> + +<p>"I regret, sir, to have consented to your taking so disagreeable a +commission, and regret it the more, now I find that the barber is disposed +to be troublesome."</p> + +<p>"Not at all, sir. Mr. Lather is a good man, in his way, and particularly +neighbourly. By the way, Mr. Effingham, he asked me to propose to let him +take down your garden fence, in order that he may haul some manure on his +potato patch, which wants it dreadfully, he says."</p> + +<p>"Certainly, sir. I cannot possibly object to his hauling his manure, even +through this house, should he wish it. He is so very valuable a citizen, +and one who knows his own business so well, that I am only surprised at +the moderation of his request."</p> + +<p>Here Mr. Effingham rose, rang the bell for Pierre, and went to his own +room, doubting, in his own mind, from all that he had seen, whether this +was really the Templeton he had known in his youth, and whether he was in +his own house or not.</p> + +<p>As for Aristabulus, who saw nothing out of rule, or contrary to his own +notions of propriety, in what had passed, he hurried off to tell the +barber, who was so ignorant of the first duty of his trade, that he was at +liberty to pull down Mr. Effingham's fence, in order to manure his own +potato patch.</p> + +<p>Lest the reader should suppose we are drawing caricatures, instead of +representing an actual condition of society, it may be necessary to +explain that Mr. Bragg was a standing candidate for popular favour; that, +like Mr. Dodge, he considered every thing that presented itself in the +name of the public, as sacred and paramount, and that so general and +positive was his deference for majorities, that it was the bias of his +mind to think half-a-dozen always in the right, as opposed to one, +although that one, agreeably to the great decision of the real majority of +the entire community, had not only the law on his side, but all the +abstract merits of the disputed question. In short, to such a pass of +freedom had Mr. Bragg, in common with a large class of his countrymen, +carried his notions, that he had really begun to imagine liberty was all +means and no end.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "In sooth, thou wast in very gracious fooling last night, when thou + spokest of Pigrogromotus, of the Vapians passing the equinoctial of + Queubus; 't was very good i' faith."--SIR ANDREW AGUE-CHEEK.</blockquote> + + +<p>The progress of society, it has just been said, in what is termed a "new +country," is a little anomalous. At the commencement of a settlement, +there is much of that sort of kind feeling and mutual interest, which men +are apt to manifest towards each other, when they are embarked in an +enterprise of common hazards. The distance that is unavoidably inseparable +from education, habits and manners, is lessened by mutual wants and mutual +efforts; and the gentleman, even while he may maintain his character and +station, maintains them with that species of good-fellowship and +familiarity, that marks the intercourse between the officer and the +soldier, in an arduous campaign. Men, and even women, break bread +together, and otherwise commingle, that, in different circumstances, would +be strangers; the hardy adventures and rough living of the forest, +apparently lowering the pretensions of the man of cultivation and mere +mental resources, to something very near the level of those of the man of +physical energy, and manual skill. In this rude intercourse, the parties +meet, as it might be, on a sort of neutral ground, one yielding some of +his superiority, and the other laying claims to an outward show of +equality, that he secretly knows, however, is the result of the peculiar +circumstances in which he is placed. In short, the state of society is +favourable to the claims of mere animal force, and unfavourable to those +of the higher qualities.</p> + +<p>This period may be termed, perhaps, the happiest of the first century of a +settlement. The great cares of life are so engrossing and serious, that +small vexations are overlooked, and the petty grievances that would make +us seriously uncomfortable in a more regular state of society, are taken +as matters of course, or laughed at as the regular and expected incidents +of the day. Good-will abounds; neighbour comes cheerfully to the aid of +neighbour; and life has much of the reckless gaiety, careless association, +and buoyant merriment of childhood. It is found that they who have passed +through this probation, usually look back to it with regret, and are fond +of dwelling on the rude scenes and ridiculous events that distinguish the +history of a new settlement, as the hunter is known to pine for the +forest.</p> + +<p>To this period of fun, toil, neighbourly feeling and adventure, succeeds +another, in which society begins to marshal itself, and the ordinary +passions have sway. Now it is, that we see the struggles for place, the +heart-burnings and jealousies of contending families, and the influence of +mere money. Circumstances have probably established the local superiority +of a few beyond all question, and the conditioese serves as a goal +for the rest to aim at. The learned professions, the ministry included, or +what, by courtesy, are so called, take precedence, as a matter of course, +next to wealth, however, when wealth is at all supported by appearances. +Then commence those gradations of social station, that set institutions at +defiance, and which as necessarily follow civilization, as tastes and +habits are a consequence of indulgence.</p> + +<p>This is, perhaps, the least inviting condition of society that belongs to +any country that can claim to be free and removed from barbarism. The +tastes are too uncultivated to exercise any essential influence; and when +they do exist, it is usually with the pretension and effort that so +commonly accompany infant knowledge. The struggle is only so much the more +severe, in consequence of the late <i>pèle mèle</i>, while men lay claim to a +consideration that would seem beyond their reach, in an older and more +regulated community. It is during this period that manners suffer the +most, since they want the nature and feeling of the first condition, while +they are exposed to the rudest assaults of the coarse-minded and vulgar; +for, as men usually defer to a superiority that is long established, there +being a charm about antiquity that is sometimes able to repress the +passions, in older communities the marshalling of time quietly regulates +what is here the subject of strife.</p> + +<p>What has just been said, depends on a general and natural principle, +perhaps; but the state of society we are describing has some features +peculiar to itself. The civilization of America, even in its older +districts, which supply the emigrants to the newer regions, is unequal; +one state possessing a higher level than another. Coming as it does, from +different parts of this vast country, the population of a new settlement, +while it is singularly homogenous for the circumstances, necessarily +brings with it its local peculiarities. If to these elements be added a +sprinkling of Europeans of various nations and conditions, the effects of +the commingling, and the temporary social struggles that follow, will +occasion no surprise.</p> + +<p>The third and last condition of society in a "new country," is that in +which the influence of the particular causes enumerated ceases, and men +and things come within the control of more general and regular laws. The +effect, of course, is to leave the community possession of a civilization +that conforms to that of the whole region, be it higher or be it lower, +and with the division into castes that are more or less rigidly +maintained, according to circumstances.</p> + +<p>The periods, as the astronomers call the time taken in a celestial +revolution, of the two first of these epochs in the history of a +settlement, depend very much on its advancement in wealth and in numbers. +In some places, the pastoral age, or that of good fellowship, continues +for a whole life, to the obvious retrogression of the people, in most of +the higher qualities, but to their manifest advantage, however, in the +pleasures of the time being; while, in others, it passes away rapidly, +like the buoyant animal joys, that live their time, between fourteen and +twenty.</p> + +<p>The second period is usually of longer duration, the migratory habits of +the American people keeping society more unsettled than might otherwise +prove to be the case. It may be said never to cease entirely until the +great majority of the living generation are natives of the region, knowing +no other means of comparison than those under which they have passed their +days. Even when this is the case, there is commonly so large an infusion +of the birds of passage, men who are adventurers in quest of advancement, +and who live without the charities of a neighbourhood, as they may be said +almost to live without a home, that there is to be found, for a long time, +a middle state of society, during which it may well be questioned whether +a community belongs to the second or to the third of the periods named.</p> + +<p>Templeton was properly in this equivocal condition, for while the third +generation of the old settlers were in active life, so many passers-by +came and went, that the influence of the latter nearly neutralized that of +time and the natural order of things. Its population was pretty equally +divided between the descendants of the earlier inhabitants, and those who +flitted like swallows and other migratory birds. All of those who had +originally entered the region in the pride of manhood, and had been active +in converting the wilderness into the abodes of civilized men, if they had +not been literally gathered to their fathers, in a physical sense had been +laid, the first of their several races, beneath those sods that were to +cover the heads of so many of their descendants. A few still remained +among those who entered the wilderness in young manhood, but the events of +the first period we have designated, and which we have imperfectly +recorded in another work, were already passing into tradition. Among these +original settlers some portion of the feeling that had distinguished their +earliest communion with their neighbours yet continued, and one of their +greatest delights was to talk of the hardships and privations of their +younger days, as the veteran loves to discourse of his marches, battles, +scars, and sieges. It would be too much to say that these persons viewed +the more ephemeral part of the population with distrust, for their +familiarity with changes accustomed them to new faces; but they had a +secret inclination for each other, preferred those who could enter the +most sincerely into their own feelings, and naturally loved that communion +best, where they found the most sympathy. To this fragment of the +community belonged nearly all there was to be found of that sort of +sentiment which is connected with locality; adventure, with them, +supplying the place of time; while the natives of the spot, wanting in the +recollections that had so many charms for their fathers, were not yet +brought sufficiently within the influence of traditionary interest, to +feel that hallowed sentiment in its proper force. As opposed in feeling to +these relics of the olden time, were the birds of passage so often named, +a numerous and restless class, that, of themselves, are almost sufficient +to destroy whatever there is of poetry, or of local attachment, in any +region where they resort.</p> + +<p>In Templeton and its adjacent district, however, the two hostile +influences might be said to be nearly equal, the descendants of the +fathers of the country beginning to make a manly stand against the looser +sentiment, or the want of sentiment, that so singularly distinguishes the +migratory bands. The first did begin to consider the temple in which their +fathers had worshipped more hallowed than strange altars; the sods that +covered their fathers' heads more sacred than the clods that were upturned +by the plough; and the places of their childhood and childish sports +dearer than the highway trodden by a nameless multitude.</p> + +<p>Such, then, were the elements of the society into which we have now +ushered the reader, and with which it will be our duty to make him better +acquainted, as we proceed in the regular narration of the incidents of our +tale.</p> + +<p>The return of the Effinghams, after so long an absence, naturally produced +a sensation in so small a place, and visiters began to appear in the +Wigwam as soon as propriety would allow. Many false rumours prevailed, +quite as a matter of course; and Eve, it was reported, was on the point of +being married to no less than three of the inmates of her father's house, +within the first ten days, viz: Sir George Templemore, Mr. Powis, and Mr. +Bragg; the latter story taking its rise in some precocious hopes that had +escaped the gentleman himself, in the "excitement" of helping to empty a +bottle of bad Breton wine, that was dignified with the name of champagne. +But these tales revived and died so often, in a state of society in which +matrimony is so general a topic with the young of the gentler sex, that +they brought with them their own refutation.</p> + +<p>The third day, in particular, after the arrival of our party, was a +reception day at the Wigwam; the gentlemen and ladies making it a point to +be at home and disengaged, after twelve o'clock, in order to do honour to +their guests. One of the first who made his appearance was a Mr. Howel, a +bachelor of about the same age as Mr. Effingham, and a man of easy +fortune and quiet habits. Nature had done more towards making Mr. Howel a +gentleman, than either cultivation or association; for he had passed his +entire life, with very immaterial exceptions, in the valley of Templeton, +where, without being what could be called a student, or a scholar, he had +dreamed away his existence in an indolent communication with the current +literature of the day. He was fond of reading, and being indisposed to +contention, or activity of any sort, his mind had admitted the impressions +of what he perused, as the stone receives a new form by the constant fall +of drops of water. Unfortunately for Mr. Howel, he understood no language +but his mother tongue; and, as all his reading was necessarily confined to +English books, he had gradually, and unknown to himself, in his moral +nature at least, got to be a mere reflection of those opinions, +prejudices, and principles, if such a word can properly be used for such a +state of the mind, that it had suited the interests or passions of England +to promulgate by means of the press. A perfect <i>bonne foi</i> prevailed in +all his notions; and though a very modest man by nature, so very certain +was he that his authority was always right, that he was a little apt to be +dogmatical on such points as he thought his authors appeared to think +settled. Between John Effingham and Mr. Howel, there were constant +amicable skirmishes in the way of discussion; for, while the latter was so +dependent, limited in knowledge by unavoidable circumstances, and disposed +to an innocent credulity, the first was original in his views, accustomed +to see and think for himself, and, moreover, a little apt to estimate his +own advantages at their full value.</p> + +<p>"Here comes our good neighbour, and my old school-fellow, Tom Howel." said +Mr. Effingham, looking out at a window, and perceiving the person +mentioned crossing the little lawn in front of the house, by following a +winding foot-path--"as kind-hearted a man, Sir George Templemore, as +exists; one who is really American, for he has scarcely quitted the county +half-a-dozen times in his life, and one of the honestest fellows of my +acquaintance."</p> + +<p>"Ay," put in John Effingham, "as real an American as any man can be, who +uses English spectacles for all he looks at, English opinions for all he +says, English prejudices for all he condemns, and an English palate for +all he tastes. American, quotha! The man is no more American than the +Times' newspaper, or Charing Cross! He actually made a journey to New-York +last war, to satisfy himself with his own eyes that a Yankee frigate had +really brought an Englishman into port."</p> + +<p>"His English predilections will be no fault in my eyes," said the baronet, +smiling--"and I dare say we shall be excellent friends."</p> + +<p>"I am sure Mr. Howel is a very agreeable man," added Grace--"of all in +your Templeton <i>côterie</i>, he is my greatest favourite."</p> + +<p>"Oh! I foresee a tender intimacy between Templemore and Howel," rejoined +John Effingham; "and sundry wordy wars between the latter and Miss +Effingham."</p> + +<p>"In this you do me injustice, cousin Jack. I remember Mr. Howel well, and +kindly; for he was ever wont to indulge my childish whims, when a girl."</p> + +<p>"The man is a second Burchell, and, I dare say never came to the Wigwam +when you were a child, without having his pockets stuffed with cakes, or +<i>bonbons</i>."</p> + +<p>The meeting was cordial, Mr. Howel greeting the gentlemen like a warm +friend, and expressing great delight at the personal improvements that had +been made in Eve, between the ages of eight and twenty. John Effingham was +no more backward than the others, for he, too, liked their simple-minded, +kind-hearted, but credulous neighbour.</p> + +<p>"You are welcome back--you are welcome back," added Mr. Howel, blowing +his nose, in order to conceal the tears that were gathering in his eyes. +"I did think of going to New-York to meet you, but the distance at my time +of life is very serious. Age, gentlemen, seems to be a stranger to you."</p> + +<p>"And yet we, who are both a few months older than yourself, Howel," +returned Mr. Effingham, kindly, "have managed to overcome the distance you +have just mentioned, in order to come and see <i>you!</i>"</p> + +<p>"Ay, you are great travellers, gentlemen, very great travellers, and are +accustomed to motion.--Been quite as far as Jerusalem, I hear!"</p> + +<p>"Into its very gates, my good friend; and I wish, with all my heart, we +had had you in our company. Such a journey might cure you of the +home-malady."</p> + +<p>"I am a fixture, and never expect to look upon the ocean, now. I did, at +one period of my life, fancy such an event might happen, but I have +finally abandoned all hope on that subject. Well, Miss Eve, of all the +countries in which you have dwelt, to which do you give the preference?"</p> + +<p>"I think Italy is the general favourite," Eve answered, with a friendly +smile; "although there are some agreeable things peculiar to almost every +country."</p> + +<p>"Italy!--Well, that astonishes me a good deal! I never knew there was any +thing particularly interesting about Italy! I should have expected <i>you</i> +to say, England."</p> + +<p>"England is a fine country, too, certainly; but it wants many things that +Italy enjoys."</p> + +<p>"Well, now, what?" said Mr. Howel, shifting his legs from one knee to the +other, in order to be more convenient to listen, or, if necessary, to +object. "What <i>can</i> Italy possess, that England does not enjoy in a still +greater degree?"</p> + +<p>"Its recollections, for one thing, and all that interest which time and +great events throw around a region."</p> + +<p>"And is England wanting in recollections and great events? Are there not +the Conqueror? or, if you will, King Alfred? and Queen Elizabeth, and +Shakspeare--think of Shakspeare, young lady--and Sir Walter Scott, and the +Gun-Powder Plot; and Cromwell, Oliver Cromwell, my dear Miss Eve; and +Westminster Abbey, and London Bridge, and George IV., the descendant of a +line of real kings,--what, in the name of Heaven, can Italy possess, to +equal the interest one feels in such things as these?'</p> + +<p>"They are very interesting no doubt;" said Eve, endeavouring not to +smile--"but Italy has its relics of former ages too; you forget the +Cæsars."</p> + +<p>"Very good sort of persons for barbarous times, I dare say, but what can +they be to the English monarchs? I would rather look upon a <i>bonâ fide</i> +English king, than see all the Cæsars that ever lived. I never can think +any man a real king but the king of England!"</p> + +<p>"Not King Solomon!" cried John Effingham.</p> + +<p>"Oh! he was a Bible king, and one never thinks of them. Italy! +well, this I did not expect from your father's daughter! Your +great-great-great-grandfather must have been an Englishman born, Mr, +Effingham?"</p> + +<p>"I have reason to think he was, sir."</p> + +<p>"And Milton, and Dryden, and Newton, and Locke! These are prodigious +names, and worth all the Cæsars put together. And Pope, too; what have +they got in Italy to compare to Pope?"</p> + +<p>"They have at least <i>the</i> Pope," said Eve, laughing.</p> + +<p>"And, then, there are the Boar's Head in East-Cheap; and the Tower; and +Queen Anne, and all the wits of her reign; and--and--and Titus Oates; and +Bosworth field; and Smithfield, where the martyrs were burned, and a +thousand more spots and persons of intense interest in Old England!"</p> + +<p>"Quite true," said John Effingham, with an air of sympathy--"but, Howel, +you have forgotten Peeping Tom of Coventry, and the climate!"</p> + +<p>"And Holyrood-House; and York-Minster; and St Paul's;" continued the +worthy Mr. Howel, too much bent on a catalogue of excellencies, that to +him were sacred, to heed the interruption, "and, above all, Windsor +Castle. What is there in the world to equal Windsor Castle as a royal +residence?"</p> + +<p>Want of breath now gave Eve an opportunity to reply, and she seized it +with an eagerness that she was the first to laugh at herself, afterwards.</p> + +<p>"Caserta is no mean house, Mr. Howel; and, in my poor judgment, there is +more real magnificence in its great stair-case, than in all Windsor Castle +united, if you except the chapel."</p> + +<p>"But, St. Paul's!"</p> + +<p>"Why, St. Peter's may be set down, quite fairly, I think, for its +<i>pendant</i> at least."</p> + +<p>"True, the Catholics <i>do</i> say so;" returned Mr. Howel, with the +deliberation one uses when he greatly distrusts his own concession; "but I +have always considered it one of their frauds. I don't think there <i>can </i> +be any thing finer than St. Paul's. Then there are the noble ruins of +England! <i>They</i>, you must admit, are unrivalled."</p> + +<p>"The Temple of Neptune, at Pæstum, is commonly thought an interesting +ruin, Mr. Howel."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, for a <i>temple</i>, I dare say; though I do not remember to have +ever heard of it before. But no temple can ever compare to a ruined +<i>abbey</i> /"</p> + +<p>"Taste is an arbitrary thing, Tom Howel, as you and I know when as boys we +quarrelled about the beauty of our ponies," said Mr. Effingham, willing to +put an end to a discussion that he thought a little premature, after so +long an absence. "Here are two young friends who shared the hazards of our +late passage with us, and to whom, in a great degree, we owe our present +happy security, and I am anxious to make you acquainted with them. This +is our countryman, Mr. Powis, and this is an English friend, who, I am +certain, will be happy to know so warm an admirer of his own country--Sir +George Templemore."</p> + +<p>Mr. Howel had never before seen a titled Englishman, and he was taken so +much by surprise that he made his salutations rather awkwardly. As both +the young men, however, met him with the respectful ease that denotes +familiarity with the world, he soon recovered his self-possession.</p> + +<p>"I hope you have brought back with you a sound American heart, Miss Eve," +resumed the guest, as soon as this little interruption had ceased. "We +have had sundry rumours of French Marquisses, and German Barons; but I +have, all along, trusted too much to your patriotism to believe you would +marry a foreigner."</p> + +<p>"I hope you except Englishmen," cried Sir George, gaily: "we are almost +the same people."</p> + +<p>"I am proud to hear you say so, sir. Nothing flatters me more than to be +thought English; and I certainly should not have accused Miss Effingham of +a want of love of country, had----"</p> + +<p>"She married half-a-dozen Englishmen," interrupted John Effingham, who saw +that the old theme was in danger of being revived. "But, Howel, you have +paid me no compliments on the changes in the house. I hope they are to +your taste."</p> + +<p>"A little too French, Mr. John."</p> + +<p>"French!--There is not a French feature in the whole animal. What has put +such a notion into your head?"</p> + +<p>"It is the common opinion, and I confess I should like the building better +were it less continental."</p> + +<p>"Why, my old friend, it is a nondescript--original--Effingham upon +Doolittle, if you will; and, as for models, it is rather more <i>English</i> +than any thing else."</p> + +<p>"Well, Mr. John, I am glad to hear this, for I do confess to a +disposition rather to like the house. I am dying to know, Miss Eve, if +you saw all our distinguished contemporaries when in Europe?--<i>That</i> to +me, would be one of the greatest delights of travelling!"</p> + +<p>"To say that we saw them <i>all</i>, might be too much; though we certainly did +meet with many."</p> + +<p>"Scott, of course."</p> + +<p>"Sir Walter we had the pleasure of meeting, a few times, in London."</p> + +<p>"And Southey, and Coleridge, and Wordsworth, and Moore, and Bulwer, and +D'Israeli, and Rogers, and Campbell, and the grave of Byron, and Horace +Smith, and Miss Landon, and Barry Cornwall, and--"</p> + +<p>"<i>Cum multis aliis</i>" put in John Effingham, again, by way of arresting the +torrent of names. "Eve saw many of these, and, as Tubal told Shylock, 'we +often came where we did hear' of the rest. But you say nothing, friend +Tom, of Goethe, and Tieck, and Schlegel, and La Martine, Chateaubriant, +Hugo, Delavigne, Mickiewicz, Nota, Manzoni, Niccolini, &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. +&c."</p> + +<p>Honest, well-meaning Mr. Howel, listened to the catalogue that the other +ran volubly over, in silent wonder; for, with the exception of one or two +of these distinguished men, he had never even heard of them; and, in the +simplicity of his heart, unconsciously to himself, he had got to believe +that there was no great personage still living, of whom he did not know +something.</p> + +<p>"Ah, here comes young Wenham, by way of preserving the equilibrium," +resumed John Effingham, looking out of a window--"I rather think you must +have forgotten him, Ned, though you remember his father, beyond question."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham and his cousin went out into the hall to receive the new +guest, with whom the latter had become acquainted while superintending the +repairs of the Wigwam.</p> + +<p>Mr. Wenham was the son of a successful lawyer in the county, and, being +an only child, he had also succeeded to an easy independence. His age, +however, brought him rather into the generation to which Eve belonged, +than into that of the father; and, if Mr. Howel was a reflection, or +rather a continuation, of all the provincial notions that America +entertained of England forty years ago, Mr. Wenham might almost be said to +belong to the opposite school, and to be as ultra-American, as his +neighbour was ultra-British.--If there is <i>lajeune France</i>, there is also +<i>la jeune Amerique</i>, although the votaries of the latter march with less +hardy steps than the votaries of the first. Mr. Wenham fancied himself a +paragon of national independence, and was constantly talking of American +excellencies, though the ancient impressions still lingered in his moral +system, as men look askance for the ghosts which frightened their +childhood on crossing a church-yard in the dark. John Effingham knew the +<i>penchant </i> of the young man, and when he said that he came happily to +preserve the equilibrium, he alluded to this striking difference in the +characters of their two friends.</p> + +<p>The introductions and salutations over, we shall resume the conversation +that succeeded in the drawing-room.</p> + +<p>"You must be much gratified, Miss Effingham," observed Mr. Wenham, who, +like a true American, being a young man himself, supposed it <i>de rigueur</i> +to address a young lady in preference to any other present,--"with the +great progress made by <i>our</i> country since you went abroad."</p> + +<p>Eve simply answered that her extreme youth, when she left home, had +prevented her from retaining any precise notions on such subjects.</p> + +<p>"I dare say it is all very true," she added, "but one, like myself, who +remembers only older countries, is, I think, a little more apt to be +struck with the deficiencies, than with what may, in truth, be +improvements, though they still fall short of excellence."</p> + +<p>Mr. Wenham looked vexed, or indignant would be a better word, but he +succeeded in preserving his coolness--a thing that is not always easy to +one of provincial habits and provincial education, when he finds his own +<i>beau idéal</i> lightly estimated by others.</p> + +<p>"Miss Effingham must discover a thousand imperfections." said Mr. Howel, +"coming, as she does, directly from England. That music, now,"--alluding +to the sounds of a flute that were heard through the open windows, coming +from the adjacent village--"must be rude enough to her ear, after the +music of London."</p> + +<p>"The <i>street</i> music of London is certainly among the best, if not the very +best, in Europe," returned Eve, with a glance of the eye at the baronet, +that caused him to smile, "and I think this fairly belongs to the class, +being so freely given to the neighbourhood."</p> + +<p>"Have you read the articles signed Minerva, in the Hebdomad, Miss +Effingham," inquired Mr. Wenham, who was determined to try the young lady +on a point of sentiment, having succeeded so ill in his first attempt to +interest her--"they are generally thought to be a great acquisition to +American literature."</p> + +<p>"Well, Wenham, you are a fortunate man," interposed Mr. Howel, "if you +can find any literature in America, to add to, or to substract from. +Beyond almanacs, reports of cases badly got up, and newspaper verses, I +know nothing that deserves such a name."</p> + +<p>"We may not print on as fine paper, Mr. Howel, or do up the books in as +handsome binding as other people," said Mr. Wenham, bridling and looking +grave, "but so far as sentiments are concerned, or sound sense, American +literature need turn its back on no literature of the day."</p> + +<p>"By the way, Mr. Effingham, you were in Russia; did you happen to see the +Emperor?"</p> + +<p>"I had that pleasure, Mr. Howel."</p> + +<p>"And is he really the monster we have been taught to believe him?".</p> + +<p>"Monster!" exclaimed the upright Mr. Effingham, fairly recoiling a step in +surprise. "In what sense a monster, my worthy friend? surely not in a +physical?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know that. I have somehow got the notion he is any thing but +handsome. A mean, butchering, bloody-minded looking little chap, I'll +engage."</p> + +<p>"You are libelling one of the finest-looking men of the age."</p> + +<p>"I think I would submit it to a jury. I cannot believe, after what I have +read of him in the English publications, that he is so very handsome."</p> + +<p>"But, my good neighbour, these English publications must be wrong; +prejudiced perhaps, or even malignant."</p> + +<p>"Oh! I am not the man to be imposed on in that way. Besides, what motive +could an English writer have for belying an Emperor of Russia?"</p> + +<p>"Sure enough, what motive!" exclaimed John Effingham.--"You have your +answer, Ned!"</p> + +<p>"But you will remember, Mr. Howel," Eve interposed, "that we have <i>seen</i> +the Emperor Nicholas."</p> + +<p>"I dare say, Miss Eve, that your gentle nature was disposed to judge him +as kindly as possible; and, then, I think most Americans, ever since the +treaty of Ghent, have been disposed to view all Russians too favourably. +No, no; I am satisfied with the account of the English; they live much +nearer to St. Petersburg than we do, and they are more accustomed, too, to +give accounts of such matters."</p> + +<p>"But living nearer, Tom Howel," cried Mr. Effingham, with unusual +animation, "in such a case, is of no avail, unless one lives near enough +to see with his own eyes."</p> + +<p>"Well--well--my good friend, we will talk of this another time. I know +your disposition to look at every body with lenient eyes. I will now wish +you all a good morning, and hope soon to see you again. Miss Eve, I have +one word to say, if you dare trust yourself with a youth of fifty, for a +minute, in the library."</p> + +<p>Eve rose cheerfully, and led the way to the room her father's visiter had +named. When within it, Mr. Howel shut the door carefully, and then with a +sort of eager delight, he exclaimed--</p> + +<p>"For heaven's sake, my dear young lady, tell me who are these two strange +gentlemen in the other room."</p> + +<p>"Precisely the persons my father mentioned, Mr. Howel; Mr. Paul Powis, and +Sir George Templemore."</p> + +<p>"Englishmen, of course!"</p> + +<p>"Sir George Templemore is, of course, as you say, but we may boast of Mr. +Powis as a countryman."</p> + +<p>"Sir George Templemore!--What a superb-looking young fellow!"</p> + +<p>"Why, yes," returned Eve, laughing; "he, at least, you will admit is a +handsome man."</p> + +<p>"He is wonderful!--The other, Mr.--a--a--a--I forget what you called +him--he is pretty well too; but this Sir George is a princely youth."</p> + +<p>"I rather think a majority of observers would give the preference to the +appearance of Mr. Powis," said Eve, struggling to be steady, but +permitting a blush to heighten her colour, in despite of the effort.</p> + +<p>"What could have induced him to come up among these mountains--an English +baronet!" resumed Mr. Howel, without thinking of Eve's confusion. "Is he a +real lord?"</p> + +<p>"Only a little one, Mr. Howel. You heard what my father said of our having +been fellow-travellers."</p> + +<p>"But what <i>does</i> he think of us. I am dying to know what such a man +<i>really</i> thinks of us?"</p> + +<p>"It is not always easy to discover what such men <i>really</i> think; although +I am inclined to believe that he is disposed to think rather favourably of +some of us."</p> + +<p>"Ay, of you, and your father, and Mr. John. You have travelled, and are +more than half European; but what <i>can</i> he think of those who have never +left America?"</p> + +<p>"Even of some of those," returned Eve, smiling, "I suspect he thinks +partially."</p> + +<p>"Well, I am glad of that. Do you happen to know his opinion of the Emperor +Nicholas?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed. I do not remember to have heard him mention the Emperor's name; +nor do I think he has ever seen him."</p> + +<p>"That is extraordinary! Such a man should have seen every thing, and know +every thing; but I'll engage, at the bottom, he does know all about him. +If you happen to have any old English newspapers, as wrappers, or by any +other accident, let me beg them of you. I care not how old they are. An +English journal fifty years old, is more interesting than one of ours wet +from the press."</p> + +<p>Eve promised to send him a package, when they shook hands and parted. As +she was crossing the hall, to rejoin the party, John Effingham stopped +her.</p> + +<p>"Has Howel made proposals?" the gentleman inquired, in an affected +whisper.</p> + +<p>"None, cousin Jack, beyond an offer to read the old English newspapers I +can send him."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, Tom Howel will swallow all the nonsense that is <i>timbré à +Londres</i>."</p> + +<p>"I confess a good deal of surprise at finding a respectable and +intelligent man so weak-minded as to give credit to such authorities, or +to form his serious opinions on information derived from such sources."</p> + +<p>"You may be surprised, Eve, at hearing so frank avowals of the weakness; +but, as for the weakness itself, you are now in a country for which +England does all the thinking, except on subjects that touch the current +interests of the day."</p> + +<p>"Nay, I will not believe this! If it were true, how came we independent +of her--where did we get spirit to war against her."</p> + +<p>"The man who has attained his majority is independent of his father's +legal control, without being independent of the lessons he was taught when +a child. The soldier sometimes mutinies, and after the contest is over, he +is usually the most submissive man of the regiment."</p> + +<p>"All this to me is very astonishing! I confess that a great deal has +struck me unpleasantly in this way, since our return; especially in +ordinary society; but I never could have supposed it had reached to the +pass in which I see it existing in our good neighbour Howel."</p> + +<p>"You have witnessed one of the effects, in a matter of no great moment to +ourselves; but, as time and years afford the means of observation and +comparison, you will perceive the effects in matters of the last moment, +in a national point of view. It is in human nature to undervalue the +things with which we are familiar, and to form false estimates of those +which are remote, either by time, or by distance. But, go into the +drawing-room, and, in young Wenham, you will find one who fancies himself +a votary of a new school, although his prejudices and mental dependence +are scarcely less obvious than those of poor Tom Howel."</p> + +<p>The arrival of more company, among whom were several ladies, compelled Eve +to defer an examination of Mr. Wenham's peculiarities to another +opportunity. She found many of her own sex, whom she had left children, +grown into womanhood, and not a few of them at a period of life when they +should be cultivating their physical and moral powers, already oppressed +with the cares and feebleness that weigh so heavily on the young American +wife.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XIII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Nay we must longer kneel; I am a suitor."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> QUEEN KATHERINE.</blockquote> + + +<p>The Effinghams were soon regularly domesticated, and the usual civilities +had been exchanged. Many of their old friends resumed their ancient +intercourse, and some new acquaintances were made. The few first visits +were, as usual, rather labored and formal; but things soon took their +natural course, and, as the ease of country life was the aim of the +family, the temporary little bustle was quickly forgotten.</p> + +<p>The dressing-room of Eve overlooked the lake, and, about a week after her +arrival, she was seated in it enjoying that peculiarly lady-like luxury, +which is to be found in the process of having another gently disposing of +the hair. Annette wielded the comb, as usual, while Ann Sidley, who was +unconsciously jealous that any one should be employed about her darling, +even in this manner, though so long accustomed to it, busied herself in +preparing the different articles of attire that she fancied her young +mistress might be disposed to wear that morning. Grace was also in the +room, having escaped from the hands of her own maid, in order to look into +one of those books which professed to give an account of the extraction +and families of the higher classes of Great Britain, a copy of which Eve +happened to possess, among a large collection of books, <i>Allmanachs de +Gotha</i>, Court Guides, and other similar works that she had found it +convenient to possess as a traveller.</p> + +<p>"Ah! here it is," said Grace, in the eagerness of one who is suddenly +successful after a long and vexatious search.</p> + +<p>"Here is what, coz?"</p> + +<p>Grace coloured, and she could have bitten her tongue for its +indiscretion, but, too ingenuous to deceive, she reluctantly told the +truth.</p> + +<p>"I was merely looking for the account of Sir George Templemore's family; +it is awkward to be domesticated with one, of whose family we are utterly +ignorant."</p> + +<p>"Have you found the name?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; I see he has two sisters, both of whom are married, and a brother +who is in the Guards. But--"</p> + +<p>"But what, dear?"</p> + +<p>"His title is not so <i>very</i> old."</p> + +<p>"The title of no Baronet <i>can</i> be very old, the order having been +instituted in the reign of James I."</p> + +<p>"I did not know that. His ancestor was created a baronet in 1701, I see. +Now, Eve--"</p> + +<p>"Now, what, Grace?"</p> + +<p>"We are both--" Grace would not confine the remark to herself--"we are +both of older families than this! You have even a much higher English +extraction; and I think I can claim for the Van Cortlandts more antiquity +than one that dates from 1701!"</p> + +<p>"No one doubts it, Grace; but what do you wish me to understand by this? +Are we to insist on preceding Sir George, in going through a door?"</p> + +<p>Grace blushed to the eyes, and yet she laughed, involuntarily.</p> + +<p>"What nonsense! No one thinks of such things in America."</p> + +<p>"Except at Washington, where, I am told, 'Senators' ladies' do give +themselves airs. But you are quite right, Grace; women have no rank in +America, beyond their general social rank, as ladies or no ladies, and we +will not be the first to set an example of breaking the rule. I am afraid +our blood will pass for nothing, and that we must give place to the +baronet, unless, indeed, he recognizes the rights of the sex."</p> + +<p>"You know I mean nothing so silly. Sir George Templemore does not seem to +think of rank at all; even Mr. Powis treats him, in all respects, as an +equal, and Sir George seems to admit it to be right."</p> + +<p>Eve's maid, at the moment, was twisting her hair, with the intention to +put it up; but the sudden manner in which her young mistress turned to +look at Grace, caused Annette to relinquish her grasp, and the shoulders +of the beautiful and blooming girl were instantly covered with the +luxuriant tresses.</p> + +<p>"And why should <i>not</i> Mr. Powis treat Sir George Templemore as one every +way his equal, Grace?" she asked, with an impetuosity unusual in one so +trained in the forms of the world.</p> + +<p>"Why, Eve, one is a baronet, and the other is but a simple gentleman."</p> + +<p>Eve Effingham sat silent for quite a minute. Her little foot moved, and +she had been carefully taught, too, that a lady-like manner, required that +even this beautiful portion of the female frame should be quiet and +unobtrusive. But America did not contain two of the same sex, years, and +social condition, less alike in their opinions, or it might be said their +prejudices, than the two cousins. Grace Van Cortlandt, of the best blood +of her native land, had unconsciouslv imbibed in childhood, the notions +connected with hereditary rank, through the traditions of colonial +manners, by means of novels, by hearing the vulgar reproached or condemned +for their obtrusion and ignorance, and too often justly reproached and +condemned, and by the aid of her imagination, which contributed to throw a +gloss and brilliancy over a state of things that singularly gains by +distance. On the other hand, with Eve, every thing connected with such +subjects was a matter of fact. She had been thrown early into the highest +associations of Europe; she had not only seen royalty on its days of gala +and representation, a mere raree-show that is addressed to the senses, or +purely an observance of forms that may possibly have their meaning, but +which can scarcely be said to have their reasons, but she had lived long +and intimately among the high-born and great, and this, too, in so many +different countries, as to have destroyed the influence of the particular +nation that has transmitted so many of its notions to America as +heir-looms. By close observation, she knew that arbitrary and political +distinctions made but little difference between men of themselves; and so +far from having become the dupe of the glitter of life, by living so long +within its immediate influence, she had learned to discriminate between +the false and the real, and to perceive that which was truly respectable +and useful, and to know it from that which was merely arbitrary and +selfish. Eve actually fancied that the position of an American gentleman +might readily become, nay that it <i>ought</i> to be the highest of all human +stations, short of that of sovereigns. Such a man had no social superior, +with the exception of those who actually ruled, in her eyes, and this fact +she conceived, rendered him more than noble, as nobility is usually +graduated. She had been accustomed to see her father and John Effingham +moving in the best circles of Europe, respected for their information and +independence, undistinguished by their manners, admired for their personal +appearance, manly, courteous, and of noble bearing and principles, if not +set apart from the rest of mankind by an arbitrary rule connected with +rank. Rich, and possessing all the habits that properly mark refinement, +of gentle extraction, of liberal attainments, walking abroad in the +dignity of manhood, and with none between them and the Deity, Eve had +learned to regard the gentlemen of her race as the equals in station of +any of their European associates, and as the superiors of most, in every +thing that is essential to true distinction. With her, even titular +princes and dukes had no estimation, merely as princes and dukes; and, as +her quick mind glanced over the long catalogue of artificial social +gradations and she found Grace actually attaching an importance to the +equivocal and purely conventional condition of an English baronet, a +strong sense of the ludicrous connected itself with the idea.</p> + +<p>"A simple gentleman, Grace!" she repeated slowly after her cousin; "and is +not a simple gentleman, a simple <i>American</i> gentleman, the equal of any +gentleman on earth--of a poor baronet, in particular?"</p> + +<p>"Poor baronet, Eve!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, dear, <i>poor</i> baronet; I know fully the extent and meaning of what I +say. It is true, we do not know as much of Mr. Powis' family," and here +Eve's colour heightened, though she made a mighty effort to be steady and +unmoved, "as we might; but we know he is an <i>American</i>; that, at least, is +something; and we see he is a gentleman; and what American gentleman, a +real American gentleman, <i>can</i> be the inferior of an English baronet? +Would your uncle, think you; would cousin Jack; proud, lofty-minded cousin +Jack, think you, Grace, consent to receive so paltry a distinction as a +baronetcy, were our institutions to be so far altered as to admit of such +social classifications?"</p> + +<p>"Why, what would they be, Eve, if not baronets?"</p> + +<p>"Earls, Counts, Dukes, nay Princes! These are the designations of the +higher classes of Europe, and such titles, or those that are equivalent, +would belong to the higher classes here."</p> + +<p>"I fancy that Sir George Templemore would not be persuaded to admit all +this!"</p> + +<p>"If you had seen Miss Eve, surrounded and admired by princes, as I have +seen her, Miss Grace," said Ann Sidley, "you would not think any simple +Sir George half good enough for her."</p> + +<p>"Our good Nanny means, <i>a</i> Sir George," interrupted Eve, laughing, "and +not <i>the</i> Sir George in question. But, seriously, dearest coz, it depends +more on ourselves, and less on others, in what light they are to regard +us, than is commonly supposed. Do you not suppose there are families in +America who, if disposed to raise any objections beyond those that are +purely personal, would object to baronets, and the wearers of red ribands, +as unfit matches for their daughters, on the ground of rank? What an +absurdity would it be, for <i>a</i> Sir George, or <i>the</i> Sir George either, to +object to a daughter of a President of the United States for instance, on +account of station; and yet I'll answer for it, <i>you</i> would think it no +personal honour, if Mr. Jackson had a son, that he should, propose to my +dear father for you. Let us respect ourselves properly, take care to be +truly ladies and gentlemen, and so far from titular rank's being necessary +to us, before a hundred lustres are past, we shall bring all such +distinctions into discredit, by showing that they are not necessary to any +one important interest, or to true happiness and respectability any +where."</p> + +<p>"And do you not believe, Eve, that Sir George Templemore thinks of the +difference in station between us?"</p> + +<p>"I cannot answer for that," said Eve, calmly. "The man is naturally +modest; and, it is possible, when he sees that we belong to the highest +social condition of a great country, he may regret that such has not been +his own good fortune in his native land; especially, Grace, since he has +known <i>you</i>."</p> + +<p>Grace blushed, looked pleased, delighted even, and yet surprised. It is +unnecessary to explain the causes of the three first expressions of her +emotions; but the last may require a short examination. Nothing but time +and a change of circumstances, can ever raise a province or a provincial +town to the independent state of feeling that so strikingly distinguishes +a metropolitan country, or a capital. It would be as rational to expect +that the inhabitants of the nursery should disregard the opinions of the +drawing-room, as to believe that the provincial should do all his own +thinking. Political dependency, moreover, is much more easily thrown +aside than mental dependency. It is not surprising, therefore, that Grace +Van Cortlandt, with her narrow associations, general notions of life, +origin, and provincial habits, should be the very opposite of Eve, in all +that relates to independence of thought, on subjects like those that they +were now discussing. Had Grace been a native of New England, even, she +would have been less influenced by the mere social rank of the baronet +than was actually the case; for, while the population of that part of the +Union feel more of the general subserviency to Great Britain than the +population of any other portion of the republic, they probably feel less +of it, in this particular form, from the circumstance that their colonial +habits were less connected with the aristocratical usages of the mother +country. Grace was allied by blood, too, with the higher classes of +England, as, indeed, was the fact with most of the old families among the +New York gentry; and the traditions of her race came in aid of the +traditions of her colony, to continue the profound deference she felt for +an English title. Eve might have been equally subjected to the same +feelings, had she not been removed into another sphere at so early a +period of life, where she imbibed the notions already mentioned--notions +that were quite as effectually rooted in her moral system, as those of +Grace herself could be in her own.</p> + +<p>"This is a strange way of viewing the rank of a baronet, Eve!" Grace +exclaimed, as soon as she had a little recovered from the confusion caused +by the personal allusion. "I greatly question if you can induce Sir George +Templemore to see his own position with your eyes."</p> + +<p>"No, my dear; I think he will be much more likely to regard, not only +that, but most other things, with the eyes of another person. We will now +talk of more agreeable things, however; for I confess, when I do dwell on +titles, I have a taste for the more princely appellations; and that a +simple <i>chevalier</i> can scarce excite a feeling that such is the theme."</p> + +<p>"Nay, Eve," interrupted Grace, with spirit, "an <i>English</i> baronet <i>is</i> +noble. Sir George Templemore assured me that, as lately as last evening. +The heralds, I believe, have quite recently established that fact to their +own satisfaction."</p> + +<p>"I am glad of it, dear," returned Eve, with difficulty refraining from +gaping, "as it will be of great importance to them, in their own eyes. At +all events, I concede that Sir George Templemore, knight, or baronet, big +baron or little baron, is a noble fellow; and what more can any reasonable +person desire. Do you know, sweet coz, that the Wigwam will be full to +overflowing next week?--that it will be necessary to light our +council-fire, and to smoke the pipe of many welcomes?"</p> + +<p>"I have understood Mr. Powis, that his kinsman, Captain Ducie, will arrive +on Monday."</p> + +<p>"And Mrs. Hawker will come on Tuesday, Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield on +Wednesday, and honest, brave straight-forward, literati-hating Captain +Truck, on Thursday, at the latest. We shall be a large country-circle, and +I hear the gentlemen talking of the boats and other amusements. But I +believe my father has a consultation in the library, at which he wishes us +to be present; we will join him, if you please."</p> + +<p>As Eve's toilette was now completed, the two ladies rose, and descended +together to join the party below. Mr. Effingham was standing at a table +that was covered with maps, while two or three respectable-looking men, +master-mechanics, were at his side. The manners of these men were quiet, +civil, and respectful, having a mixture of manly simplicity, with a proper +deference for the years and station of the master of the house; though all +but one, wore their hats. The one who formed the exception, had become +refined by a long intercourse with this particular family; and his +acquired taste had taught him that, respect for himself, as well as for +decency, rendered it necessary to observe the long-established rules of +decorum, in his intercourse with others. His companions, though without a +particle of coarseness, or any rudeness of intention, were less decorous, +simply from a loose habit, that is insensibly taking the place of the +ancient laws of propriety in such matters, and which habit, it is to be +feared, has a part of its origin in false and impracticable political +notions, that have been stimulated by the arts of demagogues. Still, not +one of the three hardworking, really civil, and even humane men, who now +stood covered in the library of Mr. Effingham, was probably conscious of +the impropriety of which he was guilty, or was doing more than insensibly +yielding to a vicious and vulgar practice.</p> + +<p>"I am glad you have come, my love," said Mr. Effingham, as his daughter +entered the room, "for I find I need support in maintaining my own +opinions here. John is obstinately silent; and, as for all these other +gentlemen, I fear they have decidedly taken sides against me."</p> + +<p>"You can usually count on my support, dearest father, feeble as it may be. +But what is the disputed point to-day?"</p> + +<p>"There is a proposition to alter the interior of the church, and our +neighbour Gouge has brought the plans, on which, as he says, he has lately +altered several churches in the county. The idea is, to remove the pews +entirely, converting them into what are called 'slips,' to lower the +pulpit, and to raise the floor, amphitheatre fashion."</p> + +<p>"Can there be a sufficient reason for this change?" demanded Eve, with +surprise. "Slips! The word has a vulgar sound even, and savours of a +useless innovation. I doubt its orthodoxy."</p> + +<p>"It is very popular, Miss Eve," answered Aristabulus, advancing from a +window, where he had been whispering assent. "This fashion takes +universally and is getting to prevail in all denominations."</p> + +<p>Eve turned involuntarily, and to her surprise she perceived that the +editor of the Active Inquirer was added to their party. The salutations, +on the part of the young lady, were distant and stately, while Mr. Dodge, +who had not been able to resist public opinion, and had actually parted +with his moustachios, simpered, and wished to have it understood by the +spectators, that he was on familiar terms with all the family.</p> + +<p>"It may be popular, Mr. Bragg," returned Eve, as soon as she rose from her +profound curtsey to Mr. Dodge; "but it can scarcely be said to be seemly. +This is, indeed, changing the order of things, by elevating the sinner, +and depressing the saint."</p> + +<p>"You forget, Miss Eve, that under the old plan, the people could not see; +they were kept unnaturally down, if one can so express it, while nobody +had a good look-out but the parson and the singers in the front row of the +gallery. This was unjust."</p> + +<p>"I do not conceive, sir, that a good look-out, as you term it, is at all +essential to devotion, or that one cannot as well listen to instruction +when beneath the teacher, as when above him."</p> + +<p>"Pardon me, Miss;" Eve recoiled, as she always did, when Mr. Bragg used +this vulgar and contemptuous mode of address; "we put no body up or down; +all we aim it is a just equality--to place all, as near as possible, on a +level."</p> + +<p>Eve gazed about her in wonder; and then she hesitated a moment, as if +distrusting her ears.</p> + +<p>"Equality! Equality with what? Surely not with the ordained ministers of +the church, in the performance of their sacred duties! Surely not with the +Deity!"</p> + +<p>"We do not look at it exactly in this light, ma'am. The people build the +church, <i>that</i> you will allow, Miss Effingham; even <i>you</i> will allow +<i>this</i>, Mr. Effingham."</p> + +<p>Both the parties appealed to, bowed a simple assent to so plain a +proposition, but neither spoke.</p> + +<p>"Well, the people building the church very naturally ask themselves for +what purpose it was built?"</p> + +<p>"For the worship of God," returned Eve with a steady solemnity of manner +that a little abashed even the ordinarily indomitable and self-composed +Aristabulus.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Miss; for the worship of God and the accommodation of the public."</p> + +<p>"Certainly," added Mr. Dodge; "for the public accommodation and for public +worship;" laying due emphasis on the adjectives.</p> + +<p>"Father, you, at least, will never consent to this?"</p> + +<p>"Not readily, my love. I confess it shocks all my notions of propriety to +see the sinner, even when he professes to be the most humble and penitent, +thrust himself up ostentatiously, as if filled only with his own self-love +and self-importance."</p> + +<p>"You will allow, Mr. Effingham," rejoined Aristabulus, "that churches are +built to accommodate the public, as Mr. Dodge has so well remarked."</p> + +<p>"No, sir; they are built for the worship of God, as my daughter has so +well remarked."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; that, too, I grant you"</p> + +<p>"As secondary to the main object--the public convenience, Mr. Bragg +unquestionably means;" put in John Effingham, speaking for the first time +that morning on the subject.</p> + +<p>Eve turned quickly, and looked towards her kinsman. He was standing near +the table, with folded arms, and his fine face expressing all the sarcasm +and contempt that a countenance so singularly calm and gentleman-like, +could betray.</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack," she said earnestly, "this ought not to be."</p> + +<p>"Cousin Eve, nevertheless this will be."</p> + +<p>"Surely not--surely not! Men can never so far forget appearances as to +convert the temple of God into a theatre, in which the convenience of the +spectators is the one great object to be kept in view!"</p> + +<p>"<i>You</i> have travelled, sir," said John Effingham, indicating by his eye +that he addressed Mr. Dodge, in particular, "and must have entered places +of worship in other parts of the world. Did not the simple beauty of the +manner in which all classes, the great and the humble, the rich and the +poor, kneel in a common humility before the altar, strike you agreeably, +on such occasions; in Catholic countries, in particular?"</p> + +<p>"Bless me! no, Mr. John Effingham. I was disgusted at the meanness of +their rites, and really shocked at the abject manner in which the people +knelt on the cold damp stones, as if they were no better than beggars."</p> + +<p>"And were they not beggars?" asked Eve, with almost a severity of tone: +"ought they not so to consider themselves, when petitioning for mercy of +the one great and omnipotent God?"</p> + +<p>"Why, Miss Effingham, the people <i>will</i> rule; and it is useless to pretend +to tell them that they shall not have the highest seats in the church as +well as in the state. Really, I can see no ground why a parson should be +raised above his parishioners. The new-order churches consult the public +convenience, and place every body on a level, as it might be. Now, in old +times, a family was buried in its pew; it could neither see nor be seen; +and I can remember the time when I could just get a look of our +clergyman's wig, for he was an old-school man; and as for his +fellow-creatures, one might as well be praying in his own closet. I must +say I am a supporter of liberty, if it be only in pews."</p> + +<p>"I am sorry, Mr. Dodge," answered Eve, mildly, "you did not extend your +travels into the countries of the Mussulmans, where most Christian sects +might get some useful notions concerning the part of worship, at least, +that is connected with appearances. There you would have seen no seats, +but sinners bowing down in a mass, on the cold stones, and all thoughts of +cushioned pews and drawing-room conveniences unknown. We Protestants have +improved on our Catholic forefathers in this respect; and the innovation +of which you now speak, in my eyes is an irreverent, almost a sinful, +invasion of the proprieties of the temple."</p> + +<p>"Ah, Miss Eve, this comes from substituting forms for the substance of +things," exclaimed the editor. "For my part, I can say, I was truly +shocked with the extravagancies I witnessed, in the way of worship, in +most of the countries I visited. Would you think it, Mr. Bragg, rational +beings, real <i>bonâ fide</i> living men and women, kneeling on the stone +pavement, like so many camels in the Desert," Mr. Dodge loved to draw his +images from the different parts of the world he had seen, "ready to +receive the burthens of their masters; not a pew, not a cushion, not a +single comfort that is suitable to a free and intelligent being, but every +thing conducted in the most abject manner, as if accountable human souls +were no better than so many mutes in a Turkish palace."</p> + +<p>"You ought to mention this in the Active Inquirer," said Aristabulus.</p> + +<p>"All in good time, sir; I have many things in reserve, among which I +propose to give a few remarks, I dare say they will be very worthless +ones, on the impropriety of a rational being's ever kneeling. To my +notion, gentlemen and ladies, God never intended an American to kneel."</p> + +<p>The respectable mechanics who stood around the table did not absolutely +assent to this proposition, for one of them actually remarked that "he saw +no great harm in a man's kneeling to the Deity;" but they evidently +inclined to the opinion that the new-school of pews was far better than +the old.</p> + +<p>"It always appears to me, Miss Effingham," said one, "that I hear and +understand the sermon better in one of the low pews, than in one of the +old high-backed things, that look so much like pounds."</p> + +<p>"But can you withdraw into yourself better, sir? Can you more truly devote +all your thoughts, with a suitable singleness of heart, to the worship of +God?"</p> + +<p>"You mean in the prayers, now, I rather conclude?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, sir, I mean in the prayers and the thanksgivings."</p> + +<p>"Why, we leave them pretty much to the parson; though I will own it is not +quite as easy leaning on the edge of one of the new-school pews as on one +of the old. They are better for sitting, but not so good for standing. But +then the sitting posture at prayers is quite coming into favour among our +people, Miss Effingham, as well as among yours. The sermon is the main +chance, after all."</p> + +<p>"Yes," observed Mr. Gouge, "give me good, strong preaching, any day, in +preference to good praying. A man may get along with second-rate prayers, +but he stands in need of first-rate preaching."</p> + +<p>"These gentlemen consider religion a little like a cordial on a cold day," +observed John Effingham, "which is to be taken in sufficient doses to make +the blood circulate. They are not the men to be <i>pounded</i> in pews, like +lost sheep, not they?"</p> + +<p>"Mr. John will always have his say;" one remarked: and then Mr. Effingham +dismissed the party, by telling them he would think of the matter.</p> + +<p>When the mechanics were gone, the subject was discussed at some length +between those that remained--all the Effinghams agreeing that they would +oppose the innovation, as irreverent in appearance, unsuited to the +retirement and self-abasement that best comported with prayer, and opposed +to the delicacy of their own habits; while Messrs. Bragg and Dodge +contended to the last that such changes were loudly called for by the +popular sentiment--- that it was unsuited to the dignity of a man to be +'pounded,' even in a church--and virtually, that a good, 'stirring' +sermon, as they called it, was of far more account, in public worship, +than all the prayers and praises that could issue from the heart or +throat.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XIV.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "We'll follow Cade--we'll follow Cade."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> MOB.</blockquote> + + +<p>"The views of this Mr. Bragg, and of our old fellow-traveller, Mr. Dodge, +appear to be peculiar on the subject of religious forms," observed Sir +George Templemore, as he descended the little lawn before the Wigwam, in +company with the three ladies, Paul Powis, and John Effingham, on their +way to the lake. "I should think it would be difficult to find another +Christian, who objects to kneeling at prayer."</p> + +<p>"Therein you are mistaken, Templemore," answered Paul; "for this country, +to say nothing of one sect which holds it in utter abomination, is filled +with them. Our pious ancestors, like neophytes, ran into extremes, on the +subject of forms, as well as in other matters. When you go to +Philadelphia, Miss Effingham, you will see an instance of a most ludicrous +nature--ludicrous, if there were not something painfully revolting mingled +with it--of the manner in which men can strain at a gnat and swallow a +camel; and which, I am sorry to say, is immediately connected with our +own church."</p> + +<p>It was music to Eve's ears, to hear Paul Powis speak of his pious +ancestors, as being American, and to find him so thoroughly identifying +himself with her own native land; for, while condemning so many of its +practices, and so much alive to its absurdities and contradictions, our +heroine had seen too much of other countries, not to take an honest pride +in the real excellencies of her own. There was, also, a soothing pleasure +in hearing him openly own that he belonged to the same church as herself.</p> + +<p>"And what is there ridiculous in Philadelphia, in particular, and in +connection with our own church?" she asked. "I am not so easily disposed +to find fault where the venerable church is concerned."</p> + +<p>"You know that the Protestants, in their horror of idolatry, discontinued, +in a great degree, the use of the cross, as an outward religious symbol; +and that there was probably a time when there was not a single cross to be +seen in the whole of a country that was settled by those who made a +profession of love for Christ, and a dependence on his expiation, the +great business of their lives?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly. We all know our predecessors were a little over-rigid and +scrupulous on all the points connected with outward appearances."</p> + +<p>"They certainly contrived to render the religious rites as little pleasing +to the senses as possible, by aiming at a sublimation that peculiarly +favours spiritual pride and a pious conceit. I do not know whether +travelling has had the same effect on you, as it has produced on me; but I +find all my inherited antipathies to the mere visible representation of +the cross, superseded by a sort of solemn affection for it, as a symbol, +when it is plain, and unaccompanied by any of those bloody and minute +accessories that are so often seen around it in Catholic countries. The +German Protestants, who usually ornament the altar with a cross, first +cured me of the disrelish I imbibed, on this subject, in childhood."</p> + +<p>"We, also, I think, cousin John, were agreeably struck with the same usage +in Germany. From feeling a species of nervousness at the sight of a cross, +I came to love to see it; and I think you must have undergone a similar +change; for I have discovered no less than three among the ornaments of +the great window of the entrance tower, at the Wigwam."</p> + +<p>"You might have discovered one, also, in every door of the building, +whether great or small, young lady. Our pious ancestors, as Powis calls +them, much of whose piety, by the way, was any thing but meliorated with +spiritual humility or Christian charity, were such ignoramuses as to set +up crosses in every door they built, even while they veiled their eyes in +holy horror whenever the sacred symbol was seen in a church."</p> + +<p>"Every door!" exclaimed the Protestants of the party.</p> + +<p>"Yes, literally every door, I might almost say certainly every panelled +door that was constructed twenty years since. I first discovered the +secret of our blunder, when visiting a castle in France, that dated back +from the time of the crusade. It was a <i>château</i> of the Montmorencies, +that had passed into the hands of the Condé family by marriage; and the +courtly old domestic, who showed me the curiosities, pointed out to me the +stone <i>croix</i> in the windows, which has caused the latter to be called +<i>croisées</i>, as a pious usage of the crusaders. Turning to a door, I saw +the same crosses in the wooden stiles; and if you cast an eye on the first +humble door that you may pass in this village, you will detect the same +symbol staring you boldly in the face, in the very heart of a population +that would almost expire at the thoughts of placing such a sign of the +beast on their very thresholds."</p> + +<p>The whole party expressed their surprise; but the first door they passed +corroborated this account, and proved the accuracy of John Effingham's +statements. Catholic zeal and ingenuity could not have wrought more +accurate symbols of this peculiar sign of the sect; and yet, here they +stood, staring every passenger in the face, as if mocking the ignorant and +exaggerated pretension which would lay undue stress on the minor points of +a religion, the essence of which was faith and humility.</p> + +<p>"And the Philadelphia church?" said Eve, quickly, so soon as her curiosity +was satisfied on the subject of the door; "I am now more impatient than +ever, to learn what silly blunder we have also committed there."</p> + +<p>"Impious would almost be a better term," Paul answered. "The only church +spire that existed for half a century, in that town, was surmounted by a +<i>mitre</i>, while the <i>cross</i> was studiously rejected!"</p> + +<p>A silence followed; for there is often more true argument in simply +presenting the facts of a case, than in all the rhetoric and logic that +could be urged, by way of auxiliaries. Every one saw the egregious folly, +not to say presumption, of the mistake; and at the moment, every one +wondered how a common-sense community could have committed so indecent a +blunder. We are mistaken. There was an exception to the general feeling in +the person of Sir George Templemore. To his church-and-state notions, and +anti-catholic prejudices, which were quite as much political as religious, +there was every thing that was proper, and nothing that was wrong, in +rejecting a cross for a mitre.</p> + +<p>"The church, no doubt, was Episcopal, Powis," he remarked, "and it was not +Roman. What better symbol than the mitre could be chosen?"</p> + +<p>"Now I reflect, it is not so very strange," said Grace, eagerly, "for you +will remember, Mr. Effingham, that Protestants attach the idea of idolatry +to the cross, as it is used by Catholics."</p> + +<p>"And of bishops, peers in parliament, church and state, to a mitre."</p> + +<p>"Yes, but the church in question I have seen; and it was erected before +the war of the revolution. It was an English rather than an American +church."</p> + +<p>"It was, indeed, an English church, rather than an American; and +Templemore is very right to defend it, mitre and all."</p> + +<p>"I dare say, a bishop officiated at its altar?"</p> + +<p>"I dare say--nay, I know, he did; and, I will add, he would rather that +the mitre were two hundred feet in the air, than down on his own simple, +white-haired, apostolical-looking head. But enough of divinity for the +morning; yonder is Tom with the boat, let us to our oars."</p> + +<p>The party were now on the little wharf that served as a village-landing, +and the boatman mentioned lay off, in waiting for the arrival of his fare. +Instead of using him, however, the man was dismissed; the gentlemen +preferring to handle the oars themselves. Aquatic excursions were of +constant occurrence in the warm months, on that beautifully limpid sheet +of water, and it was the practice to dispense with the regular boatmen, +whenever good oarsmen were to be found among the company.</p> + +<p>As soon as the light buoyant skiff was brought to the side of the wharf, +the whole party embarked; and Paul and the baronet taking the oars, they +soon urged the boat from the shore.</p> + +<p>"The world is getting to be too confined for the adventurous spirit of the +age," said Sir George, as he and his companion pulled leisurely along, +taking the direction of the eastern shore, beneath the forest-clad cliffs +of which the ladies had expressed a wish to be rowed; "here are Powis and +myself actually rowing together on a mountain lake of America, after +having boated as companions on the coast of Africa, and on the margin of +the Great Desert. Polynesia, and Terra Australis, may yet see us in +company, as hardy cruisers."</p> + +<p>"The spirit of the age is, indeed, working wonders in the way you mean," +said John Effingham. "Countries of which our fathers merely read, are +getting to be as familiar as our own homes to their sons; and, with you, +one can hardly foresee to what a pass of adventure the generation or two +that will follow us may not reach."</p> + +<p>"<i>Vraiment, c'est fort extraordinaire de se trouver sur un lac +Americain</i>," exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville.</p> + +<p>"More extraordinary than to find one's self on a Swiss lake, think you, my +dear Mademoiselle Viefville?"</p> + +<p>"<i>Non, non, mais tout aussi extraordinaire pour une Parisienne.</i>"</p> + +<p>"I am now about to introduce you, Mr. John Effingham and Miss Van +Cortlandt excepted," Eve continued, "to the wonders and curiosities of +this lake and region. There, near the small house that is erected over a +spring of delicious water, stood the hut of Natty Bumppo, once known +throughout all these mountains as a renowned hunter; a man who had the +simplicity of a woodsman, the heroism of a savage, the faith of a +Christian, and the feelings of a poet. A better than he, after his +fashion, seldom lived."</p> + +<p>"We have all heard of him," said the baronet, looking round curiously; +"and must all feel an interest in what concerns so brave and just a man. I +would I could see his counterpart."</p> + +<p>"Alas!" said John Effingham, "the days of the 'Leather-stockings' have +passed away. He preceded me in life, and I see few remains of his +character in a region where speculation is more rife than moralizing, and +emigrants are plentier than hunters. Natty probably chose that spot for +his hut on account of the vicinity of the spring: is it not so. Miss +Effingham?"</p> + +<p>"He did; and yonder little fountain that you see gushing from the thicket, +and which comes glancing like diamonds into the lake, is called the 'Fairy +Spring,' by some flight of poetry that, like so many of our feelings, must +have been imported; for I see no connection between the name and the +character of the country, fairies having never been known, even by +tradition, in Otsego."</p> + +<p>The boat now came under a shore where the trees fringed the very water, +frequently overhanging the element that mirrored their fantastic forms. At +this point, a light skiff was moving leisurely along in their own +direction, but a short distance in advance. On a hint from John Effingham, +a few vigorous strokes of the oars brought the two boats near each other.</p> + +<p>"This is the flag-ship," half whispered John Effingham, as they came near +the other skiff, "containing no less a man than the 'commodore.' Formerly, +the chief of the lake was an admiral, but that was in times when, living +nearer to the monarchy, we retained some of the European terms; now, no +man rises higher than a commodore in America, whether it be on the ocean +or on the Otsego, whatever may be his merits or his services. A charming +day, commodore; I rejoice to see you still afloat, in your glory."</p> + +<p>The commodore, a tail, thin, athletic man of seventy, with a white head, +and movements that were quick as those of a boy, had not glanced aside at +the approaching boat, until he was thus saluted in the well-known voice of +John Effingham. He then turned his head, however, and scanning the whole +party through his spectacles, he smiled good-naturedly made a flourish +with one hand, while he continued paddling with the other, for he stood +erect and straight in the stern of his skiff, and answered heartily--</p> + +<p>"A fine morning, Mr. John, and the right time of the moon for boating. +This is not a real scientific day for the fish, perhaps; but I have just +come out to see that all the points and bays are in their right places."</p> + +<p>"How is it, commodore, that the water near the village is less limpid than +common, and that even up here, we see so many specks floating on its +surface?"</p> + +<p>"What a question for Mr. John Effingham to ask on his native water! So +much for travelling in far countries, where a man forgets quite as much as +he learns, I fear." Here the commodore turned entirely round, and raising +an open hand in an oratorical manner, he added,--"You must know, ladies +and gentlemen, that the lake is in blow."</p> + +<p>"In blow, commodore! I did not know that the lake bore its blossoms."</p> + +<p>"It does, sir, nevertheless. Ay, Mr. John, and its fruits, too; but the +last must be dug for, like potatoes. There have been no miraculous +draughts of the fishes, of late years, in the Otsego, ladies and +gentlemen; but it needs the scientific touch, and the knowledge of baits, +to get a fin of any of your true game above the water, now-a-days. Well, I +have had the head of the sogdollager thrice in the open air, in my time; +though I am told the admiral actually got hold of him once with his hand."</p> + +<p>"The sogdollager," said Eve, much amused with the singularities of the +man, whom she perfectly remembered to have been commander of the lake, +even in her own infancy; "we must be indebted to you for an explanation of +that term, as well as for the meaning of your allusion to the head and the +open air."</p> + +<p>"A sogdollager, young lady, is the perfection of a thing. I know Mr. +Grant used to say there was no such word in the dictionary; but then there +are many words that ought to be in the dictionaries that have been +forgotten by the printers. In the way of salmon trout, the sogdollager is +their commodore. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I should not like to tell you +all I know about the patriarch of this lake, for you would scarcely +believe me; but if he would not weigh a hundred when cleaned, there is not +an ox in the county that will weigh a pound when slaughtered."</p> + +<p>"You say you had his head above water?" said John Effingham.</p> + +<p>"Thrice, Mr. John. The first time was thirty years ago; and I confess I +lost him, on that occasion, by want of science; for the art is not learned +in a day, and I had then followed the business but ten years. The second +time was five years later: and I had then been fishing expressly for the +old gentleman, about a month. For near a minute, it was a matter of +dispute between us, whether he should come out of the lake or I go into +it; but I actually got his gills in plain sight. That was a glorious haul! +Washington did not feel better the night Cornwallis surrendered, than I +felt on that great occasion!"</p> + +<p>"One never knows the feelings of another, it seems. I should have thought +disappointment at the loss would have been the prevailing sentiment on +that great occasion, as you so justly term it."</p> + +<p>"So it would have been, Mr. John, with an unscientific fisherman; but we +experienced hands know better. Glory is to be measured by quality, and not +by quantity, ladies and gentlemen; and I look on it as a greater feather +in a man's cap, to see the sogdollager's head above water, for half a +minute, than to bring home a skiff filled with pickerel. The last time I +got a look at the old gentleman, I did not try to get him into the boat, +but we sat and conversed for near two minutes; he in the water, and I in +the skiff."</p> + +<p>"Conversed!" exclaimed Eve, "and with a fish, too! What could the animal +have to say!"</p> + +<p>"Why, young lady, a fish can talk as well as one of ourselves; the only +difficulty is to understand what he says. I have heard the old settlers +affirm, that the Leather-stocking used to talk for hours at a time, with +the animals of the forest."</p> + +<p>"You knew the Leather-stocking, commodore?"</p> + +<p>"No, young lady, I am sorry to say I never had the pleasure of looking on +him even. He <i>was</i> a great man! They may talk of their Jeffersons and +Jacksons, but I set down Washington and Natty Bumppo as the two only +really great men of my time."</p> + +<p>"What do you think of Bonaparte, commodore?" inquired Paul.</p> + +<p>"Well, sir, Bonaparte had some strong points about him, I do really +believe. But he could have been nothing to the Leather-stocking, in the +woods! It's no great matter, young gentleman, to be a great man among your +inhabitants of cities--what I call umbrella people. Why, Natty was almost +as great with the spear as with the rifle; though I never heard that he +got a sight of the sogdollager."</p> + +<p>"We shall meet again this summer, commodore," said John Effingham; "the +ladies wish to hear the echoes, and we must leave you."</p> + +<p>"All very natural, Mr. John," returned the commodore, laughing, and again +flourishing his hand in his own peculiar manner. "The women all love to +hear the echoes, for they are not satisfied with what they have once said, +but they like to hear it over again. I never knew a lady come on the +Otsego, but one of the first things she did was to get paddled to the +Speaking Rocks, to have a chat with herself. They come out in such +numbers, sometimes, and then all talk at once, in a way quite to confuse +the echo. I suppose you have heard, young lady, the opinion people have +now got concerning these voices."</p> + +<p>"I cannot say I have ever heard more than that they are some of the most +perfect echoes known;" answered Eve, turning her body, so as to face the +old man, as the skiff of the party passed that of the veteran fisherman.</p> + +<p>"Some people maintain that there is no echo at all, and that the sounds we +hear come from the spirit of the Leather-stocking, which keeps about its +old haunts, and repeats every thing we say, in mockery of our invasion of +the woods. I do not say this notion is true, or that it is my own; but we +all know that Natty <i>did</i> dislike to see a new settler arrive in the +mountains, and that he loved a tree as a muskrat loves water. They show a +pine up here on the side of the Vision, which he notched at every +new-comer, until reaching seventeen, his honest old heart could go no +farther, and he gave the matter up in despair."</p> + +<p>"This is so poetical, commodore, it is a pity it cannot be true. I like +this explanation of the 'Speaking Rocks,' much better than that implied by +the name of 'Fairy Spring.'"</p> + +<p>"You are quite right, young lady," called out the fisherman, as the boats +separated still farther; "there never was any fairy known in Otsego; but +the time has been when we could boast of a Natty Bumppo."</p> + +<p>Here the commodore flourished his hand again, and Eve nodded her adieus. +The skiff of the party continued to pull slowly along the fringed shore, +occasionally sheering more into the lake, to avoid some overhanging and +nearly horizontal tree, and then returning so closely to the land, as +barely to clear the pebbles of the narrow strand with the oar.</p> + +<p>Eve thought she had never beheld a more wild or beautifully variegated +foliage, than that which the whole leafy mountainside presented. More than +half of the forest of tall, solemn pines, that had veiled the earth when +the country was first settled, had already disappeared; but, agreeably to +one of the mysterious laws by which nature is governed, a rich second +growth, that included nearly every variety of American wood, had shot up +in their places. The rich Rembrandt-like hemlocks, in particular, were +perfectly beautiful, contrasting admirably with the livelier tints of the +various deciduous trees. Here and there, some flowering shrub rendered the +picture gay, while masses of the rich chestnut, in blossom, lay in clouds +of natural glory among the dark tops of the pines.</p> + +<p>The gentlemen pulled the light skiff fully a mile under this overhanging +foliage, occasionally frightening some migratory bird from a branch, or a +water-fowl from the narrow strand. At length, John Effingham desired them +to cease rowing, and managing the skiff for a minute or two with the +paddle which he had used in steering, he desired the whole party to look +up, announcing to them that they were beneath the 'Silent Pine.'</p> + +<p>A common exclamation of pleasure succeeded the upward glance; for it is +seldom that a tree is seen to more advantage than that which immediately +attracted every eye. The pine stood on the bank, with its roots embedded +in the earth, a few feet higher than the level of the lake, but in such a +situation as to bring the distance above the water into the apparent +height of the tree. Like all of its kind that grows in the dense forests +of America, its increase, for a thousand years, had been upward; and it +now stood in solitary glory, a memorial of what the mountains which were +yet so rich in vegetation had really been in their days of nature and +pride. For near a hundred feet above the eye, the even round trunk was +branchless, and then commenced the dark-green masses of foliage, which +clung around the stem like smoke ascending in wreaths. The tall +column-like tree had inclined to wards the light when struggling among +its fellows, and it now so far overhung the lake, that its summit may have +been some ten or fifteen feet without the base. A gentle, graceful curve +added to the effect of this variation from the perpendicular, and infused +enough of the fearful into the grand, to render the picture sublime. +Although there was not a breath of wind on the lake, the currents were +strong enough above the forest to move this lofty object, and it was just +possible to detect a slight, graceful yielding of the very uppermost +boughs to the passing air.</p> + +<p>"This pine is ill-named," cried Sir George Templemore, "for it is the most +eloquent tree eye of mine has ever looked on!"</p> + +<p>"It is, indeed, eloquent," answered Eve; "one hears it speak even now of +the fierce storms that have whistled round its tops--of the seasons that +have passed since it extricated that verdant cap from the throng of +sisters that grew beneath it, and of all that has passed on the Otsego, +when this limpid lake lay, like a gem embedded in the forest. When the +Conqueror first landed in England, this tree stood on the spot where it +now stands! Here, then, is at last, an American antiquity!"</p> + +<p>"A true and regulated taste, Miss Effingham," said Paul, "has pointed out +to you one of the real charms of the country. Were we to think less of the +artificial, and more of our natural excellencies, we should render +ourselves less liable to criticism."</p> + +<p>Eve was never inattentive when Paul spoke; and her colour heightened, as +he paid this compliment to her taste, but still her soft blue eye was +riveted on the pine.</p> + +<p>"Silent it may be, in one respect, but it is, indeed, all eloquence in +another," she resumed, with a fervour that was not lessened by Paul's +remark. "That crest of verdure, which resembles a plume of feathers, +speaks of a thousand things to the imagination."</p> + +<p>"I have never known a person of any poetry, who came under this tree," +said John Effingham, "that did not fall into this very train of thought. I +once brought a man celebrated for his genius here, and, after gazing for a +minute or two at the high, green tuft that tops the tree, he exclaimed, +'that mass of green waved there in the fierce light when Columbus first +ventured into the unknown sea.' It is, indeed, eloquent; for it tells the +same glowing tale to all who approach it--a tale fraught with feeling and +recollections."</p> + +<p>"And yet its silence is, after all, its eloquence," added Paul; "and the +name is not so misplaced as one might at first think."</p> + +<p>"It probably obtained its name from some fancied contrast to the garrulous +rocks that lie up yonder, half concealed by the forest. If you will ply +the oars, gentlemen, we will now hold a little communion with the spirit +of the Leather-stocking."</p> + +<p>The young men complied; and in about five minutes, the skiff was off in +the lake, at the distance of fifty rods from the shore, where the whole +mountainside came at one glance into the view. Here they lay on their +oars, and John Effingham called out to the rocks a "good morning," in a +clear distinct voice. The mocking sounds were thrown back again, with a +closeness of resemblance that actually startled the novice. Then followed +other calls and other repetitions of the echoes, which did not lose the +minutest intonation of the voice.</p> + +<p>"This actually surpasses the celebrated echoes of the Rhine," cried the +delighted Eve; "for, though those do give the strains of the bugle so +clearly, I do not think they answer to the voice with so much fidelity."</p> + +<p>"You are very right, Eve," replied her kinsman, "for I can recall no +place where so perfect and accurate an echo is to be heard as at these +speaking rocks. By increasing our distance to half a mile, and using a +bugle, as I well know, from actual experiment, we should get back entire +passages of an air. The interval between the sound and the echo, too, +would be distinct, and would give time for an undivided attention. +Whatever may be said of the 'pine,' these rocks are most aptly named; and +if the spirit of Leather-stocking has any concern with the matter, he is a +mocking spirit."</p> + +<p>John Effingham now looked at his watch, and then he explained to the party +a pleasure he had in store for them. On a sort of small, public promenade, +that lay at the point where the river flowed out of the lake, stood a rude +shell of a building that was called the "gun-house." Here, a speaking +picture of the entire security of the country, from foes within as well as +from foes without, were kept two or three pieces of field artillery, with +doors so open that any one might enter the building, and even use the guns +at will, although they properly belonged to the organized corps of the +state.</p> + +<p>One of these guns had been sent a short distance down the valley; and John +Effingham informed his companions that they might look momentarily for its +reports to arouse the echoes of the mountains. He was still speaking when +the gun was fired, its muzzle being turned eastward. The sound first +reached the side of the Vision, abreast of the village, whence the +reverberations reissued, and rolled along the range, from cave to cave, +and cliff to cliff, and wood to wood, until they were lost, like distant +thunder, two or three leagues to the northward. The experiment was thrice +repeated, and always with the same magnificent effect, the western hills +actually echoing the echoes of the eastern mountains, like the dying +strains of some falling music.</p> + +<p>"Such a locality would be a treasure in the vicinity of a melo-dramatic +theatre," said Paul, laughing, "for certainly, no artificial thunder I +have ever heard has equalled this. This sheet of water might even receive +a gondola."</p> + +<p>"And yet, I fear one accustomed to the boundless horizon of the ocean, +might in time weary of it," answered John Effingham, significantly.</p> + +<p>Paul made no answer; and the party rowed away in silence.</p> + +<p>"Yonder is the spot where we have so long been accustomed to resort for +Pic-Nics," said Eve, pointing out a lovely place, that was beautifully +shaded by old oaks, and on which stood a rude house that was much +dilapidated, and indeed injured, by the hands of man. John Effingham +smiled, as his cousin showed the place to her companions, promising them +an early and a nearer view of its beauties.</p> + +<p>"By the way, Miss Effingham," he said, "I suppose you flatter yourself +with being the heiress of that desirable retreat?"</p> + +<p>"It is very natural that, at some day, though I trust a very distant one, +I should succeed to that which belongs to my dear father."</p> + +<p>"Both natural and legal, my fair cousin; but you are yet to learn that +there is a power that threatens to rise up and dispute your claim."</p> + +<p>"What power--human power, at least--can dispute the lawful claim of an +owner to his property? That Point has been ours ever since civilized man +has dwelt among these hills; who will presume to rob us of it?"</p> + +<p>"You will be much surprised to discover that there is such a power, and +that there is actually a disposition to exercise it. The public--the +all-powerful omnipotent, overruling, law-making, law-breaking public--has +a passing caprice to possess itself of your beloved Point; and Ned +Effingham must show unusual energy, or it will get it?"</p> + +<p>"Are you serious, cousin Jack?"</p> + +<p>"As serious as the magnitude of the subject can render a responsible +being, as Mr. Dodge would say."</p> + +<p>Eve said no more, but she looked vexed, and remained almost silent until +they landed, when she hastened to seek her father, with a view to +communicate what she had heard. Mr. Effingham listened to his daughter, as +he always did, with tender interest; and when she had done, he kissed her +glowing cheek, bidding her not to believe that which she seemed so +seriously to dread, possible.</p> + +<p>"But, cousin John would not trifle with me on such a subject, father," Eve +continued; "he knows how much I prize all those little heir-looms that are +connected with the affections."</p> + +<p>"We can inquire further into the affair, my child, if it be your desire; +ring for Pierre, if you please."</p> + +<p>Pierre answered, and a message was sent to Mr. Bragg, requiring his +presence in the library.</p> + +<p>Aristabulus appeared, by no means in the best humour, for he disliked +having been omitted in the late excursion on the lake, fancying that he +had a community-right to share in all his neighbour's amusements, though +he had sufficient self-command to conceal his feelings.</p> + +<p>"I wish to know, sir," Mr. Effingham commenced, without introduction, +"whether there can be any mistake concerning the ownership of the Fishing +Point on the west side of the lake."</p> + +<p>"Certainly not, sir; it belongs to the public."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham's cheek glowed, and he looked astonished: but he remained +calm.</p> + +<p>"The public! Do you gravely affirm, Mr. Bragg, that the public pretends to +claim that Point?"</p> + +<p>"Claim, Mr. Effingham! as long as I have resided in this county, I have +never heard its right disputed."</p> + +<p>"Your residence in this county, sir, is not of very ancient date, and +nothing is easier than that <i>you</i> may be mistaken. I confess some +curiosity to know in what manner the public has acquired its title to the +spot. You are a lawyer, Mr. Bragg, and may give an intelligible account of +it."</p> + +<p>"Why, sir, your father gave it to them in his lifetime. Every body, in all +this region, will tell you as much as this."</p> + +<p>"Do you suppose, Mr. Bragg, there is any body in all this region who will +swear to the fact? Proof, you well know, is very requisite even to obtain +justice."</p> + +<p>"I much question, sir, if there be any body in all this region that will +not swear to the fact. It is the common tradition of the whole country; +and, to be frank with you, sir, there is a little displeasure, because Mr. +John Effingham has talked of giving private entertainments on the Point."</p> + +<p>"This, then, only shows how idly and inconsiderately the traditions of the +country take their rise. But, as I wish to understand all the points of +the case, do me the favour to walk into the village, and inquire of those +whom you think the best informed in the matter, what they know of the +Point, in order that I may regulate my course accordingly. Be particular, +if you please, on the subject of title, as one would not wish to move in +the dark."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus quitted the house immediately, and Eve, perceiving that things +were in the right train, left her father alone to meditate on what had +just passed. Mr. Effingham walked up and down his library for some time, +much disturbed, for the spot in question was identified with all his early +feelings and recollections; and if there were a foot of land on earth, to +which he was more attached than to all others, next to his immediate +residence, it was this. Still, he could not conceal from himself, in +despite of his opposition to John Effingham's sarcasms, that his native +country had undergone many changes since he last resided in it, and that +some of these changes were quite sensibly for the worse. The spirit of +misrule was abroad, and the lawless and unprincipled held bold language, +when it suited their purpose to intimidate. As he ran over in his mind, +however, the facts of the case, and the nature of his right, he smiled to +think that any one should contest it, and sat down to his writing, almost +forgetting that there had been any question at all on the unpleasant +subject.</p> + +<p>Aristabulus was absent for several hours, nor did he return until Mr. +Effingham was dressed for dinner, and alone in the library, again, having +absolutely lost all recollection of the commission he had given his agent.</p> + +<p>"It is as I told you, sir--the public insists that it owns the Point; and +I feel it my duty to say, Mr. Effingham, that the public is determined to +maintain its claim."</p> + +<p>"Then, Mr. Bragg, it is proper I should tell the public that it is <i>not</i> +the owner of the Point, but that <i>I</i> am its owner, and that I am +determined to maintain <i>my</i> claim."</p> + +<p>"It is hard to kick against the pricks, Mr. Effingham."</p> + +<p>"It is so, sir, as the public will discover, if it persevere in invading a +private right."</p> + +<p>"Why, sir, some of those with whom I have conversed have gone so far as to +desire me to tell you--I trust my motive will not be mistaken----"</p> + +<p>"If you have any communication to make, Mr. Bragg, do it without reserve. +It is proper I should know the truth exactly."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, sir, I am the bearer of something like a defiance; the people +wish you to know that they hold your right cheaply, and that they laugh at +it. Not to mince matters, they defy you."</p> + +<p>"I thank you for this frankness, Mr. Bragg, and increases my respect for +your character. Affairs are now at such a pass, that it is necessary to +act. If you will amuse yourself with a book for a moment, I shall have +further occasion for your kindness."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus did not read, for he was too much filled with wonder at seeing +a man so coolly set about contending with that awful public which he +himself as habitually deferred to, as any Asiatic slave defers to his +monarch. Indeed, nothing but his being sustained by that omnipotent power, +as he viewed the power of the public to be, had emboldened him to speak so +openly to his employer, for Aristabulus felt a secret confidence that, +right or wrong, it was always safe in America to make the most fearless +professions in favour of the great body of the community. In the mean +time, Mr. Effingham wrote a simple advertisement, against trespassing on +the property in question, and handed it to the other, with a request that +he would have it inserted in the number of the village paper that was to +appear next morning. Mr. Bragg took the advertisement, and went to execute +the duty without comment.</p> + +<p>The evening arrived before Mr. Effingham was again alone, when, being by +himself in the library once more, Mr. Bragg entered, full of his subject. +He was followed by John Effingham, who had gained an inkling of what had +passed.</p> + +<p>"I regret to say, Mr. Effingham," Aristabulus commenced, "that your +advertisement has created one of the greatest excitements it has ever been +my ill-fortune to witness in Templeton."</p> + +<p>"All of which ought to be very encouraging to us, Mr.. Bragg, as men under +excitement are usually wrong."</p> + +<p>"Very true, sir, as regards individual excitement, but this is a public +excitement."</p> + +<p>"I am not at all aware that the fact, in the least alters the case. If +one excited man is apt to do silly things, half a dozen backers will be +very likely to increase his folly."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus listened with wonder, for excitement was one of the means for +effecting public objects, so much practised by men of his habits, that it +had never crossed his mind any single individual could be indifferent to +its effect. To own the truth, he had anticipated so much unpopularity, +from his unavoidable connexion with the affair, as to have contributed +himself in producing the excitement, with the hope of "choking Mr. +Effingham off," as he had elegantly expressed it to one of his intimates, +in the vernacular of the country.</p> + +<p>"A public excitement is a powerful engine, Mr. Effingham!" he exclaimed, +in a sort of politico pious horror.</p> + +<p>"I am fully aware, sir, that it may be even a fearfully powerful engine. +Excited men, acting in masses, compose what are called mobs, and have +committed a thousand excesses."</p> + +<p>"Your advertisement is, to the last degree, disrelished; to be very +sincere, it is awfully unpopular!"</p> + +<p>"I suppose it is always what you term an unpopular act, so far as the +individuals opposed are concerned, to resist aggression."</p> + +<p>"But they call your advertisement aggression, sir."</p> + +<p>"In that simple fact exist all the merits of the question. If I own this +property, the public, or that portion of it which is connected with this +affair, are aggressors; and so much more in the wrong that they are many +against one; if <i>they</i> own the property, I am not only wrong, but very +indiscreet."</p> + +<p>The calmness with which Mr. Effingham spoke had an effect on Aristabulus, +and, for a moment, he was staggered. It was only for a moment, however, as +the pains and penalties of unpopularity presented themselves afresh to an +imagination that had been so long accustomed to study the popular +caprice, that it had got to deem the public favour the one great good of +life.</p> + +<p>"But <i>they</i> say, <i>they</i> own the Point, Mr. Effingham."</p> + +<p>"And <i>I</i> say, they do <i>not</i> own the Point, Mr. Bragg; never <i>did</i> own +it; and, with my consent, never <i>shall</i> own it."</p> + +<p>"This is purely a matter of fact," observed John Effingham, "and I confess +I am curious to know how or whence this potent public derives its title. +You are lawyer enough, Mr. Bragg, to know that the public can hold +property only by use, or by especial statute. Now, under which title does +this claim present itself."</p> + +<p>"First, by use, sir, and then by especial gift."</p> + +<p>"The use, you are aware, must be adverse, or as opposed to the title of +the other claimants. Now, I am a living witness that my late uncle +<i>permitted</i> the public to use this Point, and that the public accepted the +conditions. Its use, therefore, has not been adverse, or, at least, not +for a time sufficient to make title. Every hour that my cousin has +<i>permitted</i> the public to enjoy his property, adds to his right, as well +as to the obligation conferred on that public, and increases the duty of +the latter to cease intruding, whenever he desires it. If there is an +especial gift, as I understand you to say, from my late uncle, there must +also be a law to enable the public to hold, or a trustee; which is the +fact?"</p> + +<p>"I admit, Mr. John Effingham, that I have seen neither deed nor law, and I +doubt if the latter exist. Still the public <i>must</i> have some claim, for it +is impossible that every body should be mistaken."</p> + +<p>"Nothing is easier, nor any thing more common, than for whole communities +to be mistaken, and more particularly when they commence with excitement."</p> + +<p>While his cousin was speaking, Mr. Effingham went to a secretary, and +taking out a large bundle of papers, he laid it down on the table, +unfolding several parchment deeds, to which massive seals, bearing the +arms of the late colony, as well as those of England, were pendent.</p> + +<p>"Here are my titles, sir," he said, addressing Aristabulus pointedly; "if +the public has a better, let it be produced, and I shall at once submit to +its claim."</p> + +<p>"No one doubts that the King, through his authorized agent, the Governor +of the colony of New-York, granted this estate to your predecessor, Mr. +Effingham; or that it descended legally to your immediate parent; but all +contend that your parent gave this spot to the public, as a spot of public +resort."</p> + +<p>"I am glad that the question is narrowed down within limits that are so +easily examined. What evidence is there of this intention, on the part of +my late father?"</p> + +<p>"Common report; I have talked with twenty people in the village, and they +all agree that the 'Point' has been used by the public, as public +property, from time immemorial."</p> + +<p>"Will you be so good, Mr. Bragg, as to name some of those who affirm +this."</p> + +<p>Mr. Bragg complied, naming quite the number of persons he had mentioned, +with a readiness that proved he thought he was advancing testimony of +weight.</p> + +<p>"Of all the names you have mentioned," returned Mr. Effingham, "I never +heard but three, and these are the names of mere boys. The first dozen are +certainly the names of persons who can know no more of this village than +they have gleaned in the last few years; and several of them, I +understand, have dwelt among us but a few weeks; nay, days."</p> + +<p>"Have I not told you, Ned," interrupted John Effingham, "that, an American +'always' means eighteen months, and that 'time immemorial' is only since +the last general crisis in the money market!"</p> + +<p>"The persons I have mentioned compose a part of the population, sir," +added Mr. Bragg, "and, one and all, they are ready to swear that your +father, by some means or other, they are not very particular as to +minutiae, gave them the right to use this property."</p> + +<p>"They are mistaken, and I should be sorry that any one among them should +swear to such a falsehood. But here are my titles--let them show better, +or, if they can, any, indeed."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps your father abandoned the place to the public; this might make a +good claim."</p> + +<p>"That he did not, I am a living proof to the contrary; he left it to his +heirs at his death, and I myself exercised full right of ownership over +it, until I went abroad. I did not travel with it in my pocket, sir, it is +true; but I left it to the protection of the laws, which, I trust, are as +available to the rich as to the poor, although this is a free country."</p> + +<p>"Well, sir, I suppose a jury must determine the point, as you seem firm; +though I warn you, Mr. Effingham, as one who knows his country, that a +verdict, in the face of a popular feeling, is rather a hopeless matter. If +they prove that your late father intended to abandon or give this property +to the public, your case will be lost."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham looked among the papers a moment, and selecting one, he +handed it to Mr. Bragg, first pointing out to his notice a particular +paragraph.</p> + +<p>"This, sir, is my late father's will," Mr. Effingham said mildly; "and, in +that particular clause, you will find that he makes a special devise of +this very 'Point,' leaving it to his heirs, in such terms as to put any +intention to give it to the public quite out of the question. This, at +least, is the latest evidence I, his only son, executor, and heir possess +of his final wishes; if that wondering and time-immemorial public of which +you speak, has a better, I wait with patience that it may be produced."</p> + +<p>The composed manner of Mr. Effingham had deceived Aristabulus, who did +not anticipate any proof so completely annihilating to the pretensions of +the public, as that he now held in his hand. It was a simple, brief +devise, disposing of the piece of property in question, and left it +without dispute, that Mr. Effingham had succeeded to all the rights of his +father, with no reservation or condition of any sort.</p> + +<p>"This is very extraordinary!" exclaimed Mr. Bragg, when he had read the +clause seven times, each perusal contributing to leave the case still +clearer in favour of his employer, the individual, and still stronger +against the hoped-for future employers, the people. "The public ought to +know of this bequest of the late Mr. Effingham."</p> + +<p>"I think it ought, sir, before it pretended to deprive his child of his +property; or, rather, it ought to be certain, at least, that there was no +such devise."</p> + +<p>"You will excuse me, Mr. Effingham, but I think it is incumbent on a +private citizen, in a case of this sort, when the public has taken up a +wrong notion, as I now admit is clearly the fact as regards the Point, to +enlighten it, and to inform it that it does not own the spot."</p> + +<p>"This has been done already, Mr. Bragg, in the advertisement you had the +goodness to carry to the printers, although I deny that there exists any +such obligation."</p> + +<p>"But, sir, they object to the mode you have chosen to set them right."</p> + +<p>"The mode is usual, I believe in the case of trespasses."</p> + +<p>"They expect something different, sir, in an affair in which the public +is--is--is--all--"</p> + +<p>"Wrong," put in John Effingham, pointedly. "I have heard something of this +out of doors, Ned, and blame you for your moderation. Is it true that you +had told several of your neighbours that you have no wish to prevent them +from using the Point, but that your sole object is merely to settle the +question of right, and to prevent intrusions on your family when it is +enjoying its own place of retirement?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, John, my only wish is to preserve the property for those to +whom it is especially devised, to allow those who have the best, nay, the +only right to it, its undisturbed possession, occasionally, and to prevent +any more of that injury to the trees that has been committed by some of +those rude men, who always fancy themselves so completely all the public, +as to be masters, in their own particular persons, whenever the public has +any claim. I can have no wish to deprive my neighbours of the innocent +pleasure of visiting the Point, though I am fully determined they shall +not deprive me of my property."</p> + +<p>"You are far more indulgent than I should be, or perhaps, than you will be +yourself, when you read this."</p> + +<p>As John Effingham spoke, he handed his kinsman a small handbill, which +purported to call a meeting for that night, of the inhabitants of +Templeton, to resist his arrogant claim to the disputed property. This +handbill had the usual marks of a feeble and vulgar malignancy about it, +affecting to call Mr. Effingham, "<i>one</i> Mr. Effingham," and it was +anonymous.</p> + +<p>"This is scarcely worth our attention, John," said Mr. Effingham, mildly. +"Meetings of this sort cannot decide a legal title, and no man who +respects himself will be the tool of so pitiful an attempt to frighten a +citizen from maintaining his rights."</p> + +<p>"I agree with you, as respects the meeting, which has been conceived in +ignorance and low malice, and will probably end, as all such efforts end, +in ridicule. But----"</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Mr. John," interrupted Aristabulus, "there is an awful +excitement! Some have even spoken of Lynching!"</p> + +<p>"Then," said Mr. Effingham, "it does, indeed, require that we should be +more firm. Do <i>you</i>, sir, know of any person who has dared to use such a +menace?"</p> + +<p>Aristabulus quailed before the stern eye of Mr. Effingham, and he +regretted having communicated so much, though he had communicated nothing +but the truth. He stammered out an obscure and half-intelligible +explanation, and proposed to attend the meeting in person, in order that +he might be in the way of understanding the subject, without falling into +the danger of mistake. To this Mr. Effingham assented, as he felt too +indignant at this outrage on all his rights, whether as a citizen or a +man, to wish to pursue the subject with his agent that night. Aristabulus +departed, and John Effingham remained closeted with his kinsman until the +family retired. During this long interview, the former communicated many +things to the latter, in relation to this very affair, of which the owner +of the property, until then, had been profoundly ignorant.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XV.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "There shall be, in England, seven half-penny loaves sold for a penny, + the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony to + drink small beer: all the realm shall be in common, and, in Cheapside + shall my palfrey go to grass."--JACK CADE.</blockquote> + + +<p>Though the affair of the Point continued to agitate the village of +Templeton next day, and for many days, it was little remembered in the +Wigwam. Confident of his right, Mr. Effingham, though naturally indignant +at the abuse of his long liberality, through which alone the public had +been permitted to frequent the place, and this too, quite often, to his +own discomfort and disappointment, had dismissed the subject temporarily +from his mind, and was already engaged in his ordinary pursuits. Not so, +however, with Mr. Bragg. Agreeably to promise, he had attended the +meeting; and now he seemed to regulate all his movements by a sort of +mysterious self-importance, as if the repository of some secret of unusual +consequence. No one regarded his manner, however; for Aristabulus, and his +secrets, and opinions, were all of too little value, in the eyes of most +of the party, to attract peculiar attention. He found a sympathetic +listener in Mr. Dodge, happily; that person having been invited, through +the courtesy of Mr. Effingham, to pass the day with those in whose +company, though very unwillingly on the editor's part certainly, he had +gone through so many dangerous trials. These two then, soon became +intimate, and to have seen their shrugs, significant whisperings, and +frequent conferences in corners, one who did not know them, might have +fancied their shoulders burthened with the weight of the state.</p> + +<p>But all this pantomime, which was intended to awaken curiosity, was lost +on the company in general. The ladies, attended by Paul and the Baronet, +proceeded into the forest on foot, for a morning's walk, while the two +Messrs. Effinghams continued to read the daily journals, that were +received from town each morning, with a most provoking indifference. +Neither Aristabulus, nor Mr. Dodge, could resist any longer; and, after +exhausting their ingenuity, in the vain effort to induce one of the two +gentlemen to question them in relation to the meeting of the previous +night, the desire to be doing fairly overcame their affected +mysteriousness, and a formal request was made to Mr. Effingham to give +them an audience in the library. As the latter, who suspected the nature +of the interview, requested his kinsman to make one in it, the four were +soon alone, in the apartment so often named.</p> + +<p>Even now, that his own request for the interview was granted, Aristabulus +hesitated about proceeding until a mild intimation from Mr. Effingham that +he was ready to hear his communication, told the agent that it was too +late to change his determination.</p> + +<p>"I attended the meeting last night, Mr. Effingham," Aristabulus commenced, +"agreeably to our arrangement, and I feel the utmost regret at being +compelled to lay the result before a gentleman for whom I entertain so +profound a respect."</p> + +<p>"There was then a meeting?" said Mr. Effingham, inclining his body +slightly, by way of acknowledgment for the other's compliment.</p> + +<p>"There was, sir; and I think, Mr. Dodge, we may say an overflowing one."</p> + +<p>"The public was fairly represented," returned the editor, "as many as +fifty or sixty having been present."</p> + +<p>"The public has a perfect right to meet, and to consult on its claims to +anything it may conceive itself entitled to enjoy," observed Mr. +Effingham; "I can have no possible objection to such a course, though I +think it would have consulted its own dignity more, had it insisted on +being convoked by more respectable persons than those who, I understand, +were foremost in this affair, and in terms better suited to its own sense +of propriety."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus glanced at Mr. Dodge, and Mr. Dodge glanced back at Mr. Bragg, +for neither of these political mushrooms could conceive of the dignity and +fair-mindedness with which a gentleman could view an affair of this +nature.</p> + +<p>"They passed a set of resolutions, Mr. Effingham;" Aristabulus resumed, +with the gravity with which he ever spoke of things of this nature. "A set +of resolutions, sir!"</p> + +<p>"That was to be expected," returned his employer, smiling; "the Americans +are a set-of-resolutions-passing people. Three cannot get together, +without naming a chairman and secretary, and a resolution is as much a +consequence of such an 'organization,'--I believe that is the approved +word,--as an egg is the accompaniment of the cackling of a hen."</p> + +<p>"But, sir, you do not yet know the nature of those resolutions!"</p> + +<p>"Very true, Mr. Bragg; that is a piece of knowledge I am to have the +pleasure of obtaining from you."</p> + +<p>Again Aristabulus glanced at Steadfast, and Steadfast threw back the look +of surprise, for, to both it was matter of real astonishment that any man +should be so indifferent to the resolutions of a meeting that had been +regularly organized, with a chairman and secretary at its head, and which +so unequivocally professed to be the public.</p> + +<p>"I am reluctant to discharge this duty, Mr. Effingham, but as you insist +on its performance it must be done. In the first place, they resolved that +your father meant to give them the Point."</p> + +<p>"A decision that must clearly settle the matter, and which will destroy +all my father's own resolutions on the same subject. Did they stop at the +Point, Mr. Bragg or did they resolve that my father also gave them his +wife and children?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir, nothing was said concerning the latter."</p> + +<p>"I cannot properly express my gratitude for the forbearance, as they had +just as good a right to pass this resolution, as to pass the other."</p> + +<p>"The public's is an awful power, Mr. Effingham!"</p> + +<p>"Indeed it is, sir, but fortunately, that of the republic is still more +awful, and I shall look to the latter for support, in this 'crisis'--that +is the word, too, is it not, Mr. John Effingham?"</p> + +<p>"If you mean a change of administration, the upsetting of a stage, or the +death of a cart-horse; they are all equally crisises, in the American +vocabulary."</p> + +<p>"Well, Mr. Bragg, having resolved that it knew my late father's intentions +better than he knew them himself, as is apparent from the mistake he made +in his will, what next did the public dispose of, in the plenitude of its +power?"</p> + +<p>"It resolved, sir, that it was your duty to carry out the intentions of +your father."</p> + +<p>"In that, then, we are perfectly of a mind; as the public will most +probably discover, before we get through with this matter. This is one of +the most pious resolutions I ever knew the public to pass. Did it proceed +any farther?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Bragg, notwithstanding the long-encouraged truckling to the sets of +men, whom he was accustomed to dignify with the name of the public, had a +profound deference or the principles, character, and station of Mr. +Effingham, that no sophistry, or self-encouragement in the practices of +social confusion, could overcome; and he paused before he communicated the +next resolution to his employers. But perceiving that both the latter and +his cousin were quietly waiting to hear it, he was fain to overcome his +scruples.</p> + +<p>"They have openly libelled you, by passing resolutions declaring you to be +odious."</p> + +<p>"That, indeed, is a strong measure, and, in the interest of good manners +and of good morals, it may call for a rebuke. No one can care less than +myself, Mr. Bragg, for the opinions of those who have sufficiently +demonstrated that their opinions are of no value, by the heedless manner +in which they have permitted themselves to fall into this error; but it is +proceeding too far, when a few members of the community presume to take +these liberties with a private individual, and that, moreover, in a case +affecting a pretended claim of their own; and I desire you to tell those +concerned, that if they dare to publish their resolution declaring me to +be odious, I will teach them what they now do not appear to know, that we +live in a country of laws. I shall not prosecute them, but I shall indict +them for the offence, and I hope this is plainly expressed."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus stood aghast! To indict the public was a step he had never +heard of before, and he began to perceive that the question actually had +two sides. Still, his awe of public meetings, and his habitual regard for +popularity, induced him not to give up the matter, without another +struggle.</p> + +<p>"They have already ordered their proceedings to be published, Mr. +Effingham!" he said, as if such an order were not to be countermanded.</p> + +<p>"I fancy, sir, that when it comes to the issue, and the penalties of a +prosecution present themselves, their readers will begin to recollect +their individuality, and to think less of their public character. They +who hunt in droves, like wolves, are seldom very valiant when singled out +from their pack. The end will show."</p> + +<p>"I heartily wish this unpleasant affair might be amicably settled," added +Aristabulus.</p> + +<p>"One might, indeed, fancy so," observed John Effingham, "since no one +likes to be persecuted."</p> + +<p>"But, Mr. John, the public thinks <i>itself</i> persecuted, in this affair."</p> + +<p>"The term, as applied to a body that not only makes, but which executes, +the law, is so palpably absurd, that I am surprised any man can presume to +use it. But, Mr. Bragg, you have seen documents that cannot err, and know +that the public has not the smallest right to this bit of land." + +"All very true, sir; but you will please to remember, that the people do +not know what I now know."</p> + +<p>"And you will please to remember, sir, that when people choose to act +affirmatively, in so high-handed a manner as this, they are <i>bound</i> to +know what they are about. Ignorance in such a matter, is like the +drunkard's plea of intoxication; it merely makes the offence worse."</p> + +<p>"Do you not think, Mr. John, that Mr. Effingham might have acquainted +these citizens with the real state of the case? Are the people so very +wrong that they have fallen into a mistake?"</p> + +<p>"Since you ask this question plainly, Mr. Bragg, it shall be answered with +equal sincerity. Mr. Effingham is a man of mature years; the known child, +executor, and heir of one who, it is admitted all round, was the master of +the controverted property. Knowing his own business, this Mr. Effingham, +in sight of the grave of his fathers, beneath the paternal roof, has the +intolerable impudence--"</p> + +<p>"Arrogance is the word, Jack," said Mr. Effingham, smiling.</p> + +<p>"Aye, the intolerable arrogance to suppose that his own is his own; and +this he dares to affirm, without having had the politeness to send his +title-deeds, and private papers, round to those who have been so short a +time in the place, that they might well know every thing that has occurred +in it for the last half century. Oh thou naughty, arrogant fellow, Ned!"</p> + +<p>"Mr. John, you appear to forget that the public has more claims to be +treated with attention, than a single individual. If it has fallen into +error, it ought to be undeceived."</p> + +<p>"No doubt, sir; and I advise Mr. Effingham to send you, his agent, to every +man, woman and child in the county, with the Patent of the King, all the +mesne conveyances and wills, in your pocket, in order that you may read +them at length to each individual, with a view that every man, woman and +child, may be satisfied that he or she is not the owner of Edward +Effingham's lands!"</p> + +<p>"Nay, sir, a shorter process might be adopted."</p> + +<p>"It might, indeed, sir, and such a process has been adopted by my cousin, +in giving the usual notice, in the newspaper, against trespassing. But, +Mr. Bragg, you must know that I took great pains, three years since, when +repairing this house, to correct the mistake on this very point, into +which I found that your immaculate public had fallen, through its +disposition to know more of other people's affairs, than those concerned +knew of themselves."</p> + +<p>Aristabulus said no more, but gave the matter up in despair. On quitting +the house, he proceeded forthwith, to inform those most interested of the +determination of Mr. Effingham, not to be trampled on by any pretended +meeting of the public. Common sense, not to say common honesty, began to +resume its sway, and prudence put in its plea, by way of applying the +corrective. Both he and Mr. Dodge, however, agreed that there was an +unheard-of temerity in thus resisting the people, and this too without a +commensurate object, as the pecuniary value of the disputed point was of +no material consequence to either party.</p> + +<p>The reader is not, by any means, to suppose that Aristabulus Bragg and +Steadfast Dodge belonged to the same variety of the human species, in +consequence of their unity of sentiment in this affair, and certain other +general points of resemblance in their manner and modes of thinking. As a +matter of necessity each partook of those features of caste, condition, +origin, and association that characterize their particular set; but when +it came to the nicer distinctions that mark true individuality, it would +not have been easy to find two men more essentially different in +character. The first was bold, morally and physically, aspiring, +self-possessed, shrewd, singularly adapted to succeed in his schemes where +he knew the parties, intelligent, after his tastes, and apt. Had it been +his fortune to be thrown earlier into a better sphere, the same natural +qualities that rendered him so expert in his present situation, would have +conduced to his improvement, and most probably would have formed a +gentleman, a scholar, and one who could have contributed largely to the +welfare and tastes of his fellow-creatures. That such was not his fate, +was more his misfortune than his fault, for his plastic character had +readily taken the impression of those things that from propinquity alone, +pressed hardest on it. On the other hand Steadfast was a hypocrite by +nature, cowardly, envious, and malignant; and circumstances had only lent +their aid to the natural tendencies of his disposition. That two men so +differently constituted at their births, should meet, as it might be in a +common centre, in so many of their habits and opinions, was merely the +result of accident and education.</p> + +<p>Among the other points of resemblance between these two persons, was that +fault of confounding the cause with the effects of the peculiar +institutions under which they had been educated and lived. Because the +law gave to the public, that authority which, under other systems, is +entrusted either to one, or to the few they believed the public was +invested with far more power than a right understanding of their own +principles would have shown. In a word, both these persons made a mistake +which is getting to be too common in America, that of supposing the +institutions of the country were all means and no end. Under this +erroneous impression they saw only the machinery of the government, +becoming entirely forgetful that the power which was given to the people +collectively, was only so given to secure to them as perfect a liberty as +possible, in their characters of individuals. Neither had risen +sufficiently above vulgar notions, to understand that public opinion, in +order to be omnipotent, or even formidable beyond the inflictions of the +moment, must be right; and that, if a solitary man renders himself +contemptible by taking up false notions inconsiderately and unjustly, +bodies of men, falling into the same error, incur the same penalties, with +the additional stigma of having acted as cowards.</p> + +<p>There was also another common mistake into which Messrs. Bragg and Dodge +had permitted themselves to fall, through the want of a proper distinction +between principles. Resisting the popular will, on the part of an +individual, they considered arrogance and aristocracy, <i>per se</i>, without +at all entering into the question of the right, or the wrong. The people, +rightly enough in the general signification of the term, they deemed to be +sovereign; and they belonged to a numerous class, who view disobedience to +the sovereign in a democracy, although it be in his illegal caprices, very +much as the subject of a despot views disobedience to his prince.</p> + +<p>It is scarcely necessary to say, that Mr. Effingham and his cousin viewed +these matters differently. Clear headed, just-minded, and liberal in all +his practices, the former, in particular, was greatly pained by the recent +occurrence; and he paced his library in silence, for several minutes +after Mr. Bragg and his companion had withdrawn, really too much grieved +to speak.</p> + +<p>"This is, altogether, a most extraordinary procedure, John," he at length +observed, "and, it strikes me, that it is but an indifferent reward for +the liberality with which I have permitted others to use my property, +these thirty years; often, very often, as you well know, to my own +discomfort, and to that of my friends."</p> + +<p>"I have told you, Ned, that you were not to expect the America on your +return, that you left behind you on your departure for Europe. I insist +that no country has so much altered for the worse, in so short a time."</p> + +<p>"That unequalled pecuniary prosperity should sensibly impair the manners +of what is termed the world, By introducing suddenly lame bodies of +uninstructed and untrained men and women into society, is a natural +consequence of obvious causes; that it should corrupt morals, even, we +have a right to expect, for we are taught to believe it the most +corrupting influence under which men can live; but, I confess, I did not +expect to see the day, when a body of strangers, birds of passage, +creatures of an hour, should assume a right to call on the old and +long-established inhabitants of a country, to prove their claims to their +possessions, and this, too, in an unusual and unheard-of manner, under the +penalty of being violently deprived of them!"</p> + +<p>"Long established!" repeated John Effingham, laughing; "what do you term +long established? Have you not been absent a dozen years, and do not these +people reduce everything to the level of their own habits. I suppose, now, +you fancy you can go to Rome or Jerusalem, or Constantinople, and remain +four or five lustres, and then come coolly back to Templeton. and, on +taking possession of this house again, call yourself an old resident."</p> + +<p>"I certainly do suppose I have that right. How many English, Russians, +and Germans, did we meet in Italy, the residents of years, who still +retained all their natural and local right and feelings!"</p> + +<p>"Ay, that is in countries where society is permanent, and men get +accustomed to look on the same objects, hear the same names, and see the +same faces for their entire lives. I have had the curiosity to inquire, +and have ascertained that none of the old, permanent families have been +active in this affair of the Point, but that all the clamour has been made +by those you call the birds of passage. But what of that? These people +fancy everything reduced to the legal six months required to vote; and +that rotation in persons is as necessary to republicanism as rotation in +office."</p> + +<p>"Is is not extraordinary that persons who can know so little on the +subject, should be thus indiscreet and positive?"</p> + +<p>"It is not extraordinary in America. Look about you, Ned, and you will see +adventurers uppermost everywhere; in the government, in your towns, in +your villages, in the country, even. We are a nation of changes. Much of +this, I admit, is the fair consequence of legitimate causes, as an immense +region, in forest, cannot be peopled on any other conditions. But this +necessity has infected the entire national character, and men get to be +impatient of any sameness, even though it be useful. Everything goes to +confirm this feeling, instead of opposing it. The constant recurrences of +the elections accustom men to changes in their public functionaries; the +great increase in the population brings new faces; and the sudden +accumulations of property place new men in conspicuous stations. The +architecture of the country is barely becoming sufficiently respectable to +render it desirable to preserve the buildings, without which we shall have +no monuments to revere. In short, everything contributes to produce such +a state of things, painful as it may be to all of any feeling, and little +to oppose it."</p> + +<p>"You colour highly, Jack; and no picture loses in tints, in being +retouched by you."</p> + +<p>"Look into the first paper that offers, and you will see the <i>young men</i> +of the country hardily invited to meet by themselves, to consult +concerning public affairs, as if they were impatient of the counsels and +experience of their fathers. No country can prosper, where the ordinary +mode of transacting the business connected with the root of the +government, commences with this impiety."</p> + +<p>"This is a disagreeable feature in the national character, certainly; but +we must remember the arts employed by the designing to practise on the +inexperienced."</p> + +<p>"Had I a son, who presumed to denounce the wisdom and experience of his +father, in this disrespectful mariner, I would disinherit the rascal!"</p> + +<p>"Ah, Jack, bachelor's children are notoriously well educated, and well +mannered. We will hope, however, that time will bring its changes also, +and that one of them will be a greater constancy in persons, things, and +the affections."</p> + +<p>"Time <i>will</i> bring its changes, Ned; but all of them that are connected +with individual rights, as opposed to popular caprice, or popular +interests, are likely to be in the wrong direction."</p> + +<p>"The tendency is certainly to substitute popularity for the right, but we +must take the good with the bad; Even you, Jack, would not exchange this +popular oppression for any other system under which you have lived."</p> + +<p>"I don't know that--I don't know that. Of all tyranny, a vulgar tyranny is +to me the most odious."</p> + +<p>"You used to admire the English system, but I think observation has +lessened your particular admiration in that quarter;" said Mr. Effingham, +smiling in a way that his cousin perfectly understood.</p> + +<p>"Harkee, Ned; we all take up false notions in youth, and this was one of +mine; but, of the two, I should prefer the cold, dogged domination of +English law, with its fruits, the heartlessness of a sophistication +without parallel, to being trampled on by every arrant blackguard that may +happen to traverse this valley, in his wanderings after dollars. There is +one thing you yourself must admit; the public is a little too apt to +neglect the duties it ought to discharge, and to assume duties it has no +right to fulfil."</p> + +<p>This remark ended the discourse.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XVI.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> Her breast was a brave palace, a broad street,<br /> +Where all heroic, ample thoughts did meet,<br /> +Where nature such a tenement had ta'en,<br /> +That other souls, to hers, dwelt in 'a lane.</blockquote> + +<blockquote> JOHN NORTON.</blockquote> + + +<p>The village of Templeton, it has been already intimated, was a miniature +town. Although it contained within the circle of its houses, half-a-dozen +residences with grounds, and which were dignified with names, as has been +also said, it did not cover a surface of more than a mile square; that +disposition to concentration, which is as peculiar to an American town, as +the disposition to diffusion is peculiar to the country population, and +which seems almost to prescribe that a private dwelling shall have but +three windows in front, and a <i>facade</i> of twenty-five feet, having +presided at the birth of this spot, as well as at the birth of so many of +its predecessors and contemporaries. In one of its more retired streets +(for Templeton had its publicity and retirement, the latter after a very +village fashion, however,) dwelt a widow--bewitched of small worldly +means, five children, and of great capacity for circulating intelligence. +Mrs. Abbott, for so was this demi-relict called, was just on the verge of +what is termed the "good society" of the village, the most uneasy of all +positions for an ambitious and <i>ci-devant</i> pretty woman to be placed in. +She had not yet abandoned the hope of obtaining a divorce and its +<i>suites</i>; was singularly, nay, rabidly devout, if we may coin the adverb; +in her own eyes she was perfection, in those of her neighbours slightly +objectionable; and she was altogether a droll, and by no means an unusual +compound of piety, censoriousness, charity, proscription, gossip, +kindness, meddling, ill-nature, and decency.</p> + +<p>The establishment of Mrs. Abbott, like her house, was necessarily very +small, and she kept no servant but a girl she called her help, a very +suitable appellation, by the way, as they did most of the work of the +<i>mènage</i> in common. This girl, in addition to cooking and washing, was the +confidant of all her employer's wandering notions of mankind in general, +and of her neighbours in particular; as often, helping her mistress in +circulating her comments on the latter, as in anything else.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Abbott knew nothing of the Effinghams, except by a hearsay that got +its intelligence from her own school, being herself a late arrival in the +place. She had selected Templeton as a residence on account of its +cheapness, and, having neglected to comply with the forms of the world, by +hesitating about making the customary visit to the Wigwam, she began to +resent, in her spirit at least, Eve's delicate forbearance from obtruding +herself, where, agreeably to all usage, she had a perfect right to suppose +she was not desired. It was in this spirit, then, that she sat, conversing +with Jenny, as the maid of all work was called, the morning after the +conversation related in the last chapter, in her snug little parlour, +sometimes plying her needle, and oftener thrusting her head out of a +window which commanded a view of the principal street of the place, in +order to see what her neighbours might be about.</p> + +<p>"This is a most extraordinary course Mr. Effingham has taken concerning +the Point," said Mrs. Abbott, "and I <i>do</i> hope the people will bring him +to his senses. Why, Jenny, the public has used that place ever since I can +remember, and I have now lived in Templeton quite fifteen months.--What +<i>can</i> induce Mr. Howel to go so often to that barber's shop, which stands +directly opposite the parlour windows of Mrs. Bennett--one would think the +man was all beard."</p> + +<p>"I suppose Mr. Howel gets shaved sometimes," said the logical Jenny.</p> + +<p>"Not he; or if he does, no decent man would think of posting himself +before a lady's window to do such a thing.--Orlando Furioso," calling to +her eldest son, a boy of eleven, "run over to Mr. Jones's store, and +listen to what the people are talking about, and bring me back the news, +as soon as any thing worth hearing drops from any body; and stop as you +come back, my son, and borrow neighbour Brown's gridiron. Jenny, it is +most time to think of putting over the potatoes."</p> + +<p>"Ma'--" cried Orlando Furioso, from the front door, Mrs. Abbott being very +rigid in requiring that all her children should call her 'ma',' being so +much behind the age as actually not to know that 'mother' had got to be +much the genteeler term of the two; "Ma'," roared Orlando Furioso, +"suppose there is no news at Mr. Jones's store?"</p> + +<p>"Then go to the nearest tavern; something must be stirring this fine +morning, and I'm dying to know what it can possibly be. Mind you bring +something besides the gridiron back with you. Hurry, or never come home +again as long as you live! As I was saying, Jenny, the right of the +public, which is our right, for we are a part of the public, to this +Point, is as clear as day, and I am only astonished at the impudence of +Mr. Effingham in pretending to deny it. I dare say his French daughter +has put him up to it. They say she is monstrous arrogant!"</p> + +<p>"Is Eve Effingham, French," said Jenny, studiously avoiding any of the +usual terms of civility and propriety, by way of showing her +breeding--"well, I had always thought her nothing but Templeton born!"</p> + +<p>"What signifies where a person was born? where they <i>live</i>, is the +essential thing; and Eve Effingham has lived so long in France, that she +speaks nothing but broken English; and Miss Debby told me last week, that +in drawing up a subscription paper for a new cushion to the reading-desk +of her people, she actually spelt 'charity' 'carrotty.'"</p> + +<p>"Is that French, Miss Abbott?"</p> + +<p>"I rather think it is, Jenny; the French are very niggardly, and give +their poor carrots to live on, and so they have adopted the word, I +suppose. You, Byansy-Alzumy-Ann, (Bianca-Alzuma-Ann!)"</p> + +<p>"Marm!"</p> + +<p>"Byansy-Alzumy-Ann! who taught you to call me marm! Is this the way you +have learned your catechism? Say, ma', this instant."</p> + +<p>"Ma'."</p> + +<p>"Take your bonnet, my child, and run down to Mrs. Wheaton's, and ask her +if any thing new has turned up about the Point, this morning; and, do you +hear, Byansy-Alzumy-Ann Abbott--how the child starts away, as if she were +sent on a matter of life and death!"</p> + +<p>"Why, ma', I want to hear the news, too."</p> + +<p>"Very likely, my dear, but, by stopping to get your errand, you may learn +more than by being in such a hurry. Stop in at Mrs. Green's, and ask how +the people liked the lecture of the strange parson, last evening--and ask +her if she can lend me a watering-pot, Now, run, and be back as soon as +possible. Never loiter when you carry news, child."</p> + +<p>"No one has a right to stop the man, I believe, Miss Abbott," put in +Jenny, very appositely.</p> + +<p>"That, indeed, have they not, or else we could not calculate the +consequences. You may remember, Jenny, the pious, even, had to give up +that point, public convenience being; too strong for them. +Roger-Demetrius-Benjamin!"--calling to a second boy, two years younger +than his brother--"your eyes are better than mine--who are all those +people collected together in the street. Is not Mr. Howel among them?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know, ma'!" answered Roger-Demetrius-Benjamin, gaping.</p> + +<p>"Then run, this minute, and see, and don't stop to look for your hat. As +you come back, step into the tailor's shop and ask if your new jacket is +most done, and what the news is? I rather think, Jenny, we shall find out +something worth hearing, in the course of the day. By the way, they do say +that Grace Van Cortlandt, Eve Effingham's cousin, is under concern."</p> + +<p>"Well, she is the last person I should think would be troubled about any +thing, for every body says she is so desperate rich she might eat off of +silver, if she liked; and she is sure of being married, some time or +other."</p> + +<p>"That ought to lighten her concern, you think. Oh! it does my heart good +when I see any of those flaunty people right well exercised! Nothing would +make me happier than to see Eve Effingham groaning fairly in the spirit! +That would teach her to take away the people's Points."</p> + +<p>"But, Miss Abbott, then she would become almost as good a woman as you are +yourself,"</p> + +<p>"I am a miserable, graceless, awfully wicked sinner! Twenty times a day do +I doubt whether I am actually converted or not. Sin has got such a hold of +my very heart-strings, that I sometimes think they will crack before it +lets go. Rinaldo-Rinaldini-Timothy, my child, do you toddle across the +way, and give my compliments to Mrs. Hulbert, and inquire if it be true +that young Dickson, the lawyer, is really engaged to Aspasia Tubbs or not? +and borrow a skimmer, or a tin pot, or any thing you can carry, for we may +want something of the sort in the course of the day. I do believe, Jenny, +that a worse creature than myself is hardly to be found in Templeton."</p> + +<p>"Why, Miss Abbott," returned Jenny, who had heard too much of this +self-abasement to be much alarmed at it, "this is giving almost as bad an +account of yourself, as I heard somebody, that I won't name, give of you +last week."</p> + +<p>"And who is your somebody, I should like to know? I dare say, one no +better than a formalist, who thinks that reading prayers out of a book, +kneeling, bowing, and changing gowns, is religion! Thank Heaven, I'm +pretty indifferent to the opinions of such people. Harkee, Jenny; if I +thought I was no better than some persons I could name, I'd give the point +of salvation up, in despair!"</p> + +<p>"Miss Abbott," roared a rugged, dirty-faced, bare-footed boy, who entered +without knocking, and stood in the middle of the room, with his hat on, +with a suddenness that denoted great readiness in entering other people's +possessions; "Miss Abbott, ma' wants to know if you are likely to go from +home this week?"</p> + +<p>"Why, what in nature can she want to know that for, Ordeal Bumgrum?" Mrs. +Abbott pronounced this singular name, however, "Ordeel."</p> + +<p>"Oh! she <i>warnts</i> to know."</p> + +<p>"So do I <i>warnt</i> to know; and know I will. Run home this instant, and ask +your mother why she has sent you here with this message. Jenny, I am much +exercised to find out the reason Mrs. Bumgrum should have sent Ordeal over +with such a question."</p> + +<p>"I did hear that Miss Bumgrum intended to make a journey herself, and she +may want your company."</p> + +<p>"Here comes Ordeal back, and we shall soon be out of the clouds. What a +boy that is for errands. He is worth all my sons put together. You never +see him losing time by going round by the streets, but away he goes over +the garden fences like a cat, or he will whip through a house, if standing +in his way, as if he were its owner, should the door happen to be open. +Well, Ordeal?"</p> + +<p>But Ordeal was out of breath, and although Jenny shook him, as if to shake +the news out of him, and Mrs. Abbott actually shook her fist, in her +impatience to be enlightened, nothing could induce the child to speak, +until he had recovered his wind.</p> + +<p>"I believe he does it on purpose," said the provoked maid.</p> + +<p>"It's just like him!" cried the mistress; "the very best news-carrier in +the village is actually spoilt because he is thick-winded."</p> + +<p>"I wish folks wouldn't make their fences so high," Ordeal exclaimed, the +instant he found breath. "I can't see of what use it is to make a fence +people can't climb!"</p> + +<p>"What does your mother say?" cried Jenny repeating her shake, <i>con amore</i>.</p> + +<p>"Ma, wants to know, Miss Abbott, if you don't intend to use it yourself, +if you will lend her your name for a few days, to go to Utica with? She +says folks don't treat her half as well when she is called Bumgrum, as +when she has another name, and she thinks she'd like to try yours, this +time."</p> + +<p>"Is that all!--You needn't have been so hurried about such a trifle, +Ordeal. Give my compliments to your mother, and tell her she is quite +welcome to my name, and I hope it will be serviceable to her."</p> + +<p>"She says she is willing to pay for the use of it, if you will tell her +what the damage will be."</p> + +<p>"Oh! it's not worth while to speak of such a trifle I dare say she will +bring it back quite as good as when she took it away. I am no such +unneighbourly or aristocratical person as to wish to keep my name all to +myself. Tell your mother she is welcome to mine, and to keep it as long as +she likes, and not to say any thing about pay; I may want to borrow hers, +or something else, one of these days, though, to say the truth, my +neighbours <i>are</i> apt to complain of me as unfriendly and proud for not +borrowing as much as a good neighbour ought."</p> + +<p>Ordeal departed, leaving Mrs. Abbot in some such condition as that of the +man who had no shadow. A rap at the door interrupted the further +discussion of the old subject, and Mr. Steadfast Dodge appeared in answer +to the permission to enter. Mr. Dodge and Mrs. Abbott were congenial +spirits, in the way of news, he living by it, and she living on it.</p> + +<p>"You are very welcome, Mr. Dodge," the mistress of the house commenced; "I +hear you passed the day, yesterday, up at the Effinghamses."</p> + +<p>"Why, yes, Mrs. Abbott, the Effinghams insisted on it, and I could not +well get over the sacrifice, after having been their shipmate so long. +Besides it is a little relief to talk French, when one has been so long in +the daily practice of it."</p> + +<p>"I hear there is company at the house?"</p> + +<p>"Two of our fellow-travellers, merely. An English baronet, and a young man +of whom less is known than one could wish. He is a mysterious person, and +I hate mystery, Mrs. Abbott."</p> + +<p>"In that, then, Mr. Dodge, you and I are alike. I think every thing should +be known. Indeed, that is not a free country in which there are any +secrets. I keep nothing from my neighbours, and, to own the truth, I do +not like my neighbours to keep any thing from me."</p> + +<p>"Then you'll hardly like the Effinghams, for I never yet met with a more +close-mouthed family. Although I was so long in the ship with Miss Eve, I +never heard her once speak of her want of appetite; of sea-sickness, or of +any thing relating to her ailings even: no? can you imagine how close she +is on the subject of the beaux; I do not think I ever heard her use the +word, or so much as allude to any walk or ride she ever took with a single +man. I set her down, Mrs. Abbott, as unqualifiedly artful!"</p> + +<p>"That you may with certainty, sir, for there is no more sure sign that a +young woman is all the while thinking of the beaux, than her never +mentioning them."</p> + +<p>"That I believe to be human nature; no ingenuous person ever thinks much +of the particular subject of conversation. What is your opinion, Mrs. +Abbott, of the contemplated match at the Wigwam?"</p> + +<p>"Match!" exclaimed Mrs. Abbott.--"What, already! It is the most indecent +thing I ever heard of! Why, Mr. Dodge, the family has not been home a +fortnight, and to think so soon of getting married! It is quite as bad as +a widower's marrying within the month."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Abbott made a distinction, habitually, between the cases of widowers +and widows, as the first, she maintained, might get married whenever they +pleased, and the latter only when they got offers; and she felt just that +sort of horror of a man's thinking of marrying too soon after the death of +his wife, as might be expected in one who actually thought of a second +husband before the first was dead.</p> + +<p>"Why, yes," returned Steadfast, "it is a little premature, perhaps, though +they have been long acquainted. Still, as you say, it would be more decent +to wait and see what may turn up in a country, that, to them, may be said +to be a foreign land."</p> + +<p>"But, who are the parties, Mr. Dodge."</p> + +<p>"Miss Eve Effingham, and Mr. John Effingham"</p> + +<p>"Mr. John Effingham!" exclaimed the lady, who had lent her name to a +neighbour, aghast, for this was knocking one of her own day-dreams in the +head, "well this is too much! But he shall not marry her, sir; the law +will prevent it, and we live in a country of laws. A man cannot marry his +own niece."</p> + +<p>"It is excessively improper, and ought to be put a stop to. And yet these +Effinghams do very much as they please."</p> + +<p>"I am very sorry to hear that; they are extremely disagreeable," said Mrs. +Abbott, with a look of eager inquiry, as if afraid the answer might be in +the negative.</p> + +<p>"As much so as possible; they have hardly a way that you would like, my +dear ma'am; and are as close-mouthed as if they were afraid of committing +themselves."</p> + +<p>"Desperate bad news-carriers, I am told, Mr. Dodge. There is Dorindy +(Dorinda) Mudge, who was employed there by Eve and Grace one day; she +tells me she tried all she could to get them to talk, by speaking of the +most common things; things that one of my children knew all about; such as +the affairs of the neighbourhood, and how people are getting on; and, +though they would listen a little, and that is something, I admit, not a +syllable could she get in the way of answer, or remark. She tells me that, +several times, she had a mind to quit, for it is monstrous unpleasant to +associate with your tongue-tied folks."</p> + +<p>"I dare say Miss Effingham could throw out a hint now and then, concerning +the voyage and her late fellow-travellers," said Steadfast, casting an +uneasy glance at his companion.</p> + +<p>"Not she. Dorindy maintains that it is impossible to get a sentiment out +of her concerning a single fellow-creature. When she talked of the late +unpleasant affair of poor neighbour Bronson's family--a melancholy +transaction that, Mr. Dodge, and I shouldn't wonder if it went to nigh +break Mrs. Bronson's heart--but when Dorindy mentioned this, which is bad +enough to stir the sensibility of a frog, neither of my young ladies +replied, or put a single question. In this respect Grace is as bad as +Eve, and Eve is as bad as Grace, they say. Instead of so much as seeming +to wish to know any more, what does my Miss Eve do, but turn to some daubs +of paintings, and point out to her cousin what she was pleased to term +peculiarities in Swiss usages. Then the two hussies would talk of nature, +'our beautiful nature' Dorindy says Eve had the impudence to call it, and, +as if human nature and its failings and backsliding wore not a fitter +subject for a young woman's discourse, than a silly conversation about +lakes, and rocks, and trees, and as if she <i>owned</i> the nature about +Templeton. It is my opinion, Mr. Dodge, that downright ignorance is at the +bottom of it all, for Dorindy says that they actually know no more of the +intricacies of the neighbourhood than if they lived in Japan."</p> + +<p>"All pride, Mrs. Abbott; rank pride. They feel themselves too great to +enter into the minutiae of common folks' concerns. I often tried Miss +Effingham coming from England; and things touching private interests, that +I know she did and must understand, she always disdainfully refused to +enter into. Oh! she is, a real Tartar, in her way; and what she does not +wish to do, you never can make her do!"</p> + +<p>"Have you heard that Grace is under concern?"</p> + +<p>"Not a breath of it; under whose preaching was she sitting, Mrs. Abbott?"</p> + +<p>"That is more than I can tell you; not under the church parson's, I'll +engage; no one ever heard of a real, active, regenerating, soul-reviving, +spirit-groaning and fruit-yielding conversion under <i>his</i> ministry."</p> + +<p>"No, there is very little unction in that persuasion generally. How cold +and apathetic they are, in these soul-stirring times! Not a sinner has +been writhing on <i>their</i> floor, I'll engage, nor a wretch transferred into +a saint, in the twinkling of an eye, by <i>that</i> parson. Well, <i>we</i> have +every reason to be grateful, Mrs. Abbott."</p> + +<p>"That we have, for most glorious have been our privileges! To be sure +that is a sinful pride that can puff up a wretched, sinful being like Eve +Effingham to such a pass of conceit, as to induce her to think she is +raised above thinking of, and taking an interest in the affairs of her +neighbours. Now, for my part, conversion has so far opened <i>my</i> heart, +that I do actually feel as if I wanted to know all about the meanest +creature in Templeton."</p> + +<p>"That's the true spirit, Mrs. Abbott; stick to that, and your redemption +is secure. I only edit a newspaper, by way of showing an interest in +mankind."</p> + +<p>"I hope, Mr. Dodge, the press does not mean to let this matter of the +Point sleep; the press is the true guardian of the public rights, and I +can tell you the whole community looks to it for support, in this crisis."</p> + +<p>"We shall not fail to do our duty," said Mr. Dodge, looking over his +shoulder, and speaking lower. "What! shall one insignificant individual, +who has not a single right above that of the meanest citizen in the +county, oppress this great and powerful community! What if Mr. Effingham +does own this point of land--"</p> + +<p>"But he does <i>not</i> own it," interrupted Mrs. Abbott. "Ever since I have +known Templeton, the public has owned it. The public, moreover, says it +owns it, and what the public says, in this happy country, is law."</p> + +<p>"But, allowing that the public does not own--"</p> + +<p>"It <i>does</i> own it, Mr. Dodge," the nameless repeated, positively.</p> + +<p>"Well, ma'am, own or no own, this is not a country in which the press +ought to be silent, when a solitary individual undertakes to trample on +the public. Leave that matter to us, Mrs. Abbott; it is in good hands, and +shall be well taken care of."</p> + +<p>"I'm piously glad of it!"</p> + +<p>"I mention this to you, as to a friend," continued Mr. Dodge, cautiously +drawing from his pocket a manuscript, which he prepared to read to his +companion who sat with a devouring curiosity, ready to listen.</p> + +<p>The manuscript of Mr. Dodge contained a professed account of the affair +of the Point. It was written obscurely, and was not without its +contradictions, but the imagination of Mrs. Abbott supplied all the +vacuums, and reconciled all the contradictions. The article was so liberal +of its professions of contempt for Mr. Effingham, that every rational man +was compelled to wonder, why a quality, that is usually so passive, +should, in this particular instance, be aroused to so sudden and violent +activity. In the way of facts, not one was faithfully stated; and there +were several deliberate, unmitigated falsehoods, which went essentially to +colour the whole account.</p> + +<p>"I think this will answer the purpose," said Steadfast, "and we have taken +means to see that it shall be well circulated."</p> + +<p>"This will do them good," cried Mrs. Abbott; almost breathless with +delight. "I hope folks will believe it."</p> + +<p>"No fear of that. If it were a party thing, now, one half would believe +it, as a matter of course, and the other half would not believe it, as a +matter of course; but, in a private matter, lord bless you, ma'am, people +are always ready to believe any thing that will give them something to +talk about."</p> + +<p>Here the <i>tête à tête</i> was interrupted by the return of Mrs. Abbott's +different messengers, all of whom, unlike the dove sent forth from the +ark, brought back something in the way of hopes. The Point was a general +theme, and, though the several accounts flatly contradicted each other, +Mrs. Abbott, in the general benevolence of her pious heart, found the +means to extract corroboration of her wishes from each.</p> + +<p>Mr. Dodge was as good as his word, and the account appeared. The press +throughout the country seized with avidity on any thing that helped to +fill its columns. No one appeared disposed to inquire into the truth of +the account, or after the character of the original authority. It was in +print, and that struck the great majority of the editors and their +readers, as a sufficient sanction. Few, indeed, were they, who lived so +much under a proper self-control, as to hesitate; and this rank injustice +was done a private citizen, as much without moral restraint, as without +remorse, by those, who, to take their own accounts of the matter, were the +regular and habitual champions of human rights!</p> + +<p>John Effingham pointed out this extraordinary scene of reckless wrong, to +his wondering cousin, with the cool sarcasm, with which he was apt to +assail the weaknesses and crimes of the country. His firmness, united to +that of his cousin, however, put a stop to the publication of the +resolutions of Aristabulus's meeting, and when a sufficient time had +elapsed to prove that these prurient denouncers of their fellow-citizens +had taken wit in their anger, he procured them, and had them published +himself, as the most effectual means of exposing the real character of the +senseless mob, that had thus disgraced liberty, by assuming its +professions and its usages.</p> + +<p>To an observer of men, the end of this affair presented several strong +points for comment. As soon as the truth became generally known, in +reference to the real ownership, and the public came to ascertain that +instead of hitherto possessing a right, it had, in fact been merely +enjoying a favour, those who had commit ted themselves by their arrogant +assumptions of facts, and their indecent outrages, fell back on their +self-love, and began to find excuses for their conduct in that of the +other party. Mr. Effingham was loudly condemned for not having done the +very thing, he, in truth, had done, viz: telling the public it did not own +his property; and when this was shown to be an absurdity, the complaint +followed that what he had done, had been done in precisely such a mode, +although it was the mode constantly used by every one else. From these +vague and indefinite accusations, those most implicated in the wrong, +began to deny all their own original assertions, by insisting that they +had known all along, that Mr. Effingham owned the property, but that they +did not choose he, or any other man, should presume to tell them what they +knew already. In short, the end of this affair exhibited human nature in +its usual aspects of prevarication, untruth, contradiction, and +inconsistency, notwithstanding the high profession of liberty made by +those implicated; and they who had been the most guilty of wrong, were +loudest in their complaints, as if they alone had suffered.</p> + +<p>"This is not exhibiting the country to us, certainly, after so long an +absence, in its best appearance," said Mr. Effingham, "I must admit, John; +but error belongs to all regions, and to all classes of institutions."</p> + +<p>"Ay, Ned, make the best of it, as usual; but, if you do not come round to +my way of thinking, before you are a twelvemonth older, I shall renounce +prophesying. I wish we could get at the bottom of Miss Effingham's +thoughts, on this occasion."</p> + +<p>"Miss Effingham has been grieved, disappointed, nay, shocked," said Eve, +"but, still she will not despair of the republic. None of our respectable +neighbours, in the first place, have shared in this transaction, and that +is something; though I confess I feel some surprise that any considerable +portion of a community, that respects itself, should quietly allow an +ignorant fragment of its own numbers, to misrepresent it so grossly, in an +affair that so nearly touches its own character for common sense and +justice."</p> + +<p>"You have yet to learn, Miss Effingham, that men can get to be so +saturated with liberty, that they become insensible to the nicer feelings. +The grossest enormities are constantly committed in this good republic of +ours, under the pretence of being done by the public, and for the public. +The public have got to bow to that bugbear, quite as submissively as +Gesler would have wished the Swiss to bow to his own cap, as to the cap +of Rodolph's substitute. Men will have idols, and the Americans have +merely set up themselves."</p> + +<p>"And you, cousin Jack, you would be wretched were you doomed to live under +a system less free. I fear you have the affectation of sometimes saying +that which you do not exactly feel."</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XVII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Come, these are no times to think of dreams--<br /> +We'll talk of dreams hereafter."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> SHAKSPEARE.</blockquote> + + +<p>The day succeeding that in which the conversation just mentioned occurred, +was one of great expectation and delight in the Wigwam. Mrs. Hawker and +the Bloomfields were expected, and the morning passed away rapidly, under +the gay buoyancy of the feelings that usually accompany such anticipations +in a country-house. The travellers were to leave town the previous +evening, and, though the distance was near two hundred and thirty miles, +they were engaged to arrive by the usual dinner hour. In speed, the +Americans, so long as they follow the great routes, are unsurpassed; and +even Sir George Templemore, coming, as he did, from a country of +MacAdamized roads and excellent posting, expressed his surprise, when +given to understand that a journey of this length, near a hundred miles of +which were by land, moreover, was to be performed in twenty-four hours, +the stops included.</p> + +<p>"One particularly likes this rapid travelling," he remarked, "when it is +to bring us such friends as Mrs. Hawker."</p> + +<p>"And Mrs. Bloomfield," added Eve, quickly. "I rest the credit of the +American females on Mrs. Bloomfield."</p> + +<p>"More so, than on Mrs. Hawker, Miss Effingham."</p> + +<p>"Not in all that is amiable, respectable, feminine, and lady-like; but +certainly more so, in the way of mind. I know, Sir George Templemore, as a +European, what your opinion is of our sex in this country."</p> + +<p>"Good heaven, my dear Miss Effingham!--My opinion of your sex, in America! +It is impossible for any one to entertain a higher opinion of your +country-women--as I hope to show--as, I trust, my respect and admiration +have always proved--nay, Powis, you, as an American, will exonerate me +from this want of taste--judgment--feeling--"</p> + +<p>Paul laughed, but told the embarrassed and really distressed baronet, that +he should leave him in the very excellent hands into which he had fallen.</p> + +<p>"You see that bird, that is sailing so prettily above the roofs of the +village," said Eve, pointing with her parasol in the direction she meant; +for the three were walking together on the little lawn, in waiting for the +appearance of the expected guests; "and I dare say you are ornithologist +enough to tell its vulgar name."</p> + +<p>"You are in the humour to be severe this morning--the bird is but a +common swallow."</p> + +<p>"One of which will not make a summer, as every one knows. Our +cosmopolitism is already forgotten, and with it, I fear, our frankness."</p> + +<p>"Since Powis has hoisted his national colours, I do not feel as free on +such subjects as formerly," returned Sir George, smiling. "When I thought +I had a secret ally in him, I was not afraid to concede a little in such +things, but his avowal of his country has put me on my guard. In no case, +however, shall I admit my insensibility to the qualities of your +countrywomen. Powis, as a native, may take that liberty; but, as for +myself, I shall insist they are, at least, the equals of any females I +know."</p> + +<p>"In <i>naiveté</i>, prettiness, delicacy of appearance, simplicity, and +sincerity--"</p> + +<p>"In sincerity, think you, dear Miss Effingham?"</p> + +<p>"In sincerity, above all things, dear Sir George Templemore. +Sincerity--nay, frankness is the last quality I should think of denying +them."</p> + +<p>"But to return to Mrs. Bloomfield--she is clever, exceedingly clever, I +allow; in what is her cleverness to be distinguished from that of one of +her sex, on the other side of the ocean?"</p> + +<p>"In nothing, perhaps, did there exist no differences in national +characteristics. Naples and New-York are in the same latitude, and yet, I +think you will agree with me, that there is little resemblance in their +populations."</p> + +<p>"I confess I do not understand the allusion--are you quicker witted, +Powis?"</p> + +<p>"I will not say that," answered Paul; "but I think I do comprehend Miss +Effingham's meaning. You have travelled enough to know, that, as a rule, +there is more aptitude in a southern, than in a northern people. They +receive impressions more readily, and are quicker in all their +perceptions."</p> + +<p>"I believe this to be true; but, then, you will allow that they are less +constant, and have less perseverance?"</p> + +<p>"In that we are agreed, Sir George Templemore," resumed Eve, "though we +might differ as to the cause. The inconstancy of which you speak, is more +connected with moral than physical causes, perhaps, and we, of this +region, might claim an exemption from some of them. But, Mrs. Bloomfield +is to be distinguished from her European rivals, by a frame so singularly +feminine as to appear fragile, a delicacy of exterior, that, were it not +for that illumined face of hers, might indicate a general feebleness, a +sensitiveness and quickness of intellect that amount almost to +inspiration; and yet all is balanced by a practical common sense, that +renders her as safe a counsellor as she is a warm friend. This latter +quality causes you sometimes to doubt her genius, it is so very homely and +available. Now it is in this, that I think the American woman, when she +does rise above mediocrity, is particularly to be distinguished from the +European. The latter, as a genius, is almost always in the clouds, +whereas, Mrs. Bloomfield, in her highest flights, is either all heart, or +all good sense. The nation is practical, and the practical qualities get +to be imparted even to its highest order of talents."</p> + +<p>"The English women are thought to be less excitable, and not so much under +the influence of sentimentalism, as some of their continental neighbours."</p> + +<p>"And very justly--but----"</p> + +<p>"But, what, Miss Effingham--there is, in all this, a slight return to the +cosmopolitism, that reminds me of our days of peril and adventure. Do not +conceal a thought, if you wish to preserve that character."</p> + +<p>"Well, to be sincere, I shall say that your women live under a system too +sophisticated and factitious to give fair play to common sense, at all +times. What, for instance, can be the habitual notions of one, who, +professing the doctrines of Christianity, is accustomed to find money +placed so very much in the ascendant, as to see it daily exacted in +payment for the very first of the sacred offices of the church? It would +be as rational to contend that a mirror which had been cracked into radii, +by a bullet, like those we have so often seen in Paris, would reflect +faithfully, as to suppose a mind familiarized to such abuses would be +sensitive on practical and common sense things."</p> + +<p>"But, my dear Miss Effingham, this is all habit."</p> + +<p>"I know it is all habit, Sir George Templemore, and a very bad habit it +is. Even your devoutest clergymen get so accustomed to it, as not to see +the capital mistake they make. I do not say it is absolutely sinful, where +there is no compulsion; but, I hope you agree with me, Mr. Powis, when I +say I think a clergyman ought to be so sensitive on such a subject, as to +refuse even the little offerings for baptisms, that it is the practice of +the wealthy of this country to make."</p> + +<p>"I agree with you entirely, for it would denote a more just perception of +the nature of the office they are performing; and they who wish to give +can always make occasions."</p> + +<p>"A hint might be taken from Franklin, who is said to have desired his +father to ask a blessing on the pork-barrel, by way of condensation," put +in John Effingham, who joined them as he spoke, and who had heard a part +of the conversation. "In this instance an average might be struck in the +marriage fee, that should embrace all future baptisms. But here comes +neighbour Howel to favour us with his opinion. Do you like the usages of +the English church, as respects baptisms, Howel?"</p> + +<p>"Excellent, the best in the world, John Effingham."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Howel is so true an Englishman," said Eve, shaking hands cordially +with their well-meaning neighbour, "that he would give a certificate in +favour of polygamy, if it had a British origin."</p> + +<p>"And is not this a more natural sentiment for an American than that which +distrusts so much, merely because it comes from the little island?" asked +Sir George, reproachfully.</p> + +<p>"That is a question I shall leave Mr. Howel himself to answer."</p> + +<p>"Why, Sir George," observed the gentleman alluded to, "I do not attribute +my respect for your country, in the least, to origin. I endeavour to keep +myself free from all sorts of prejudices. My admiration of England arises +from conviction, and I watch all her movements with the utmost jealousy, +in order to see if I cannot find her tripping, though I feel bound to say +I have never yet detected her in a single error. What a very different +picture, France--I hope your governess is not within hearing, Miss Eve; +it is not her fault; she was born a French woman, and we would not wish to +hurt her feelings--but what a different picture France presents! I have +watched her narrowly too, these forty years, I may say, and I have never +yet found her right; and this, you must allow, is a great deal to be said +by one who is thoroughly impartial."</p> + +<p>"This is a terrible picture, indeed, Howel, to come from an unprejudiced +man," said John Effingham; "and I make no doubt Sir George Templemore will +have a better opinion of himself for ever after--he for a valiant lion, +and you for a true prince. But yonder is the 'exclusive extra,' which +contains our party."</p> + +<p>The elevated bit of lawn on which they were walking commanded a view of +the road that led into the village, and the travelling, vehicle engaged by +Mrs. Hawker and her friends, was now seen moving along it at a rapid pace. +Eve expressed her satisfaction, and then all resumed their walk, as some +minutes must still elapse previously to the arrival.</p> + +<p>"Exclusive extra!" repeated Sir George; "that is a peculiar phrase, and +one that denotes any thing but democracy."</p> + +<p>"In any other part of the world a thing would be sufficiently marked, by +being 'extra,' but here it requires the addition of 'exclusive,' in order +to give it the 'tower stamp,'" said John Effingham, with a curl of his +handsome lip. "Any thing may be as exclusive as it please, provided it +bear the public impress. A stagecoach being intended for every body, why, +the more exclusive it is, the better. The next thing we shall hear of will +be exclusive steamboats, exclusive railroads, and both for the uses of the +exclusive people."</p> + +<p>Sir George now seriously asked an explanation of the meaning of the term, +when Mr. Howel informed him that an 'extra' in America meant a +supernumerary coach, to carry any excess of the ordinary number of +passengers; whereas an 'exclusive extra' meant a coach expressly engaged +by a particular individual.</p> + +<p>"The latter, then, is American posting," observed Sir George.</p> + +<p>"You have got the best idea of it that can be given," said Paul. "It is +virtually posting with a coachman, instead of postillions, few persons in +this country, where so much of the greater distances is done by steam, +using their own travelling carriages. The American 'exclusive extra' is +not only posting, but, in many of the older parts of the country, it is +posting of a very good quality."</p> + +<p>"I dare say, now, this is all wrong, if we only knew it," said the +simple-minded Mr. Howel. "There is nothing exclusive in England, ha, Sir +George?"</p> + +<p>Every body laughed except the person who put this question, but the +rattling of wheels and the tramping of horses on the village bridge, +announced the near approach of the travellers. By the time the party had +reached the great door in front of the house, the carriage was already in +the grounds, and at the next moment, Eve was in the arms of Mrs. +Bloomfield. It was apparent, at a glance, that more than the expected +number of guests was in the vehicle; and as its contents were slowly +discharged, the spectators stood around it, with curiosity, to observe who +would appear.</p> + +<p>The first person that descended, after the exit of Mrs. Bloomfield, was +Captain Truck, who, however, instead of saluting his friends, turned +assiduously to the door he had just passed through, to assist Mrs. Hawker +to alight. Not until this office had been done, did he even look for Eve; +for, so profound was the worthy captain's admiration and respect for this +venerable lady, that she actually had got to supplant our heroine, in some +measure, in his heart. Mr. Bloomfield appeared next, and an exclamation of +surprise and pleasure proceeded from both Paul and the baronet, as they +caught a glimpse of the face of the last of the travellers that got out.</p> + +<p>"Ducie!" cried Sir George. "This is even better than we expected."</p> + +<p>"Ducie!" added Paul, "you are several days before the expected time, and +in excellent company."</p> + +<p>The explanation, however, was very simple Captain Ducie had found the +facilities for rapid motion much greater than he had expected, and he +reached Fort Plain, in the eastward cars, as the remainder of the party +arrived in the westward. Captain Truck-who had met Mrs. Hawker's party in +the river boat, had been intrusted with the duty of making the +arrangements, and recognizing Captain Ducie, to their mutual surprise, +while engaged in this employment, and ascertaining his destination, the +latter was very cordially received into the "exclusive extra."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham welcomed all his guests with the hospitality and kindness +for which he was distinguished. We are no great admirers of the pretension +to peculiar national virtues, having ascertained, to our own satisfaction, +by tolerably extensive observation, that the moral difference between men +is of no great amount; but we are almost tempted to say, on this occasion, +that Mr. Effingham received his guests with American hospitality; for if +there be one quality that this people can claim to possess in a higher +degree than that of most other Christian nations, it is that of a simple, +sincere, confiding hospitality. For Mrs. Hawker, in common with all who +knew her, the owner of the Wigwam entertained a profound respect; and +though his less active mind did not take as much pleasure as that of his +daughter, in the almost intuitive intelligence of Mrs. Bloomfield, he also +felt for this lady a very friendly regard. It gave him pleasure to see Eve +surrounded by persons of her own sex, of so high a tone of thought and +breeding; a tone of thought and breeding, moreover, that was as far +removed as possible from anything strained or artificial: and his welcomes +were cordial in proportion. Mr. Bloomfield was a quiet, sensible, +gentleman-like man, whom his wife fervently loved, without making any +parade of her attachment and he was also one who had the good sense to +make himself agreeable wherever he went. Captain Ducie, who, +Englishman-like, had required some urging to be induced to present himself +before the precise hour named in his own letter, and who had seriously +contemplated passing several days in a tavern, previously to showing +himself at the Wigwam, was agreeably disappointed at a reception, that +would have been just as frank and warm, had he come without any notice at +all: for the Effinghams knew that the usages which sophistication and a +crowded population perhaps render necessary in older countries, were not +needed in their own; and then the circumstance that their quondam pursuer +was so near a kinsman of Paul Powis', did not fail to act essentially in +his favour.</p> + +<p>"We can offer but little, in these retired mountains, to interest a +traveller and a man of the world, Captain Ducie," said Mr. Effingham, when +he went to pay his compliments more particularly, after the whole party +was in the house; "but there is a common interest in our past adventures +to talk about, after all other topics fail. When, we met on the ocean, and +you deprived us so unexpectedly of our friend Powis, we did not know that +you had the better claim of affinity to his company."</p> + +<p>Captain Ducie coloured slightly, but he made his answer with a proper +degree of courtesy and gratitude.</p> + +<p>"It is very true," he added, "Powis and myself are relatives, and I shall +place all my claims to your hospitality to his account; for I feel that I +have been the unwilling cause of too much suffering to your party to bring +with me any very pleasant recollections, notwithstanding your kindness in +including me as a friend in the adventures of which you speak."</p> + +<p>"Dangers that are happily past, seldom bring very unpleasant +recollections, more especially when they were connected with scenes of +excitement, I understand, sir, that the unhappy young man, who was the +principal cause of all that passed, anticipated the sentence of the law, +by destroying himself."</p> + +<p>"He was his own executioner, and the victim of a silly weakness that, I +should think, your state of society was yet too young and simple to +encourage. The idle vanity of making an appearance, a vanity, by the way, +that seldom besets gentlemen, or the class to which it may be thought more +properly to belong, ruins hundreds of young men in England, and this poor +creature was of the number. I never was more rejoiced than when he quitted +my ship, for the sight of so much weakness sickened one of human nature. +Miserable as his fate proved to be, and pitiable as his condition really +was while in my charge, his case has the alleviating circumstance with me, +of having made me acquainted with those whom it might not otherwise have +been my good fortune to meet!"</p> + +<p>This civil speech was properly acknowledged, and Mr. Effingham addressed +himself to Captain Truck, to whom, in the hurry of the moment, he had not +yet said half that his feelings dictated.</p> + +<p>"I am rejoiced to see you under my roof, my worthy friend," taking the +rough hand of the old seaman between his own whiter and more delicate +fingers, and shaking it with cordiality, "for this <i>is</i> being under my +roof, while those town residences have less the air of domestication and +familiarity. You will spend many of your holidays here, I trust; and when +we get a few years older, we will begin to prattle about the marvels we +have seen in company."</p> + +<p>The eye of Captain Truck glistened, and, as he return ed the shake by +another of twice the energy, and the gentle pressure of Mr. Effingham by a +squeeze like that of a vice, he said in his honest off-hand manner--</p> + +<p>"The happiest hour I ever knew was that in which I discharged the pilot, +the first time out, as a ship-master; the next great event of my life, in +the way of happiness, was the moment I found myself on the deck of the +Montauk, after we had given those greasy Arabs a him that their room was +better than their company; and I really think this very instant must be +set down as the third. I never knew, my dear sir, how much I truly loved +you and your daughter, until both were out of sight."</p> + +<p>"That is so kind and gallant a speech, that it ought not to be lost on the +person most concerned. Eve, my love, our worthy friend has just made a +declaration which will be a novelty to you, who have not been much in the +way of listening to speeches of this nature."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham then acquainted his daughter with what Captain Truck had +just said.</p> + +<p>"This is certainly the first declaration of the sort I ever heard, and +with the simplicity of an unpractised young woman, I here avow that the +attachment is reciprocal," said the smiling Eve. "If there is an +indiscretion in this hasty acknowledgement, it must be ascribed to +surprise, and to the suddenness with which I have learned my power, for +your <i>parvenues</i> are not always perfectly regulated."</p> + +<p>"I hope Mamselle V.A.V. is well," returned the Captain, cordially shaking +the hand the young lady had given him, "and that she enjoys herself to her +liking in this outlandish country?"</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Viefville will return you her thanks in person, at dinner; +and I believe she does not yet regret <i>la belle France</i> unreasonably; as I +regret it myself, in many particulars, it would be unjust not to permit a +native of the country some liberty in that way."</p> + +<p>"I perceive a strange face in the room--one of the family, my dear young +lady?"</p> + +<p>"Not a relative, but a very old friend.--Shall I have the pleasure of +introducing you, Captain?"</p> + +<p>"I hardly dared to ask it, for I know you must have been overworked in +this way, lately, but I confess I <i>should</i> like an introduction; I have +neither introduced, nor been introduced since I left New-York, with the +exception of the case of Captain Ducie, whom I made properly acquainted +with Mrs. Hawker and her party as you may suppose. They know each other +regularly now, and you are saved the trouble of going through the +ceremony yourself."</p> + +<p>"And how is it with you and the Bloomfields? Did Mrs. Hawker name you to +them properly?"</p> + +<p>"That is the most extraordinary thing of the sort I ever knew! Not a word +was said in the way of introduction, and yet I slid into an acquaintance +with Mrs. Bloomfield so easily, that I could not tell how it was done, if +my life depended on it. But this very old friend of yours, my dear young +lady----"</p> + +<p>"Captain Truck, Mr. Howel; Mr. Howel, Captain Truck;" said Eve, imitating +the most approved manner of the introductory spirit of the day with +admirable self-possession and gravity. "I am fortunate in having it in my +power to make two persons whom I so much esteem acquainted."</p> + +<p>"Captain Truck is the gentleman who commands the Montauk?" said Mr. Howel, +glancing at Eve, as much as to say, "am I right?"</p> + +<p>"The very same, and the brave seaman to whom we are all indebted for the +happiness of standing here at this moment."</p> + +<p>"You are to be envied, Captain Truck; of all the men in your calling, you +are exactly the one I should most wish to supplant. I understand you +actually go to England twice every year!"</p> + +<p>"Three times, sir, when the winds permit. I have even seen the old island +four times, between January and January."</p> + +<p>"What a pleasure! It must be the very acme of navigation to sail between +America and England!"</p> + +<p>"It is not unpleasant, sir, from April to November, but the long nights, +thick weather, and heavy winds knock off a good deal of the satisfaction +for the rest of the year."</p> + +<p>"But I speak of the country; of old England itself; not of the passages."</p> + +<p>"Well, England has what I call a pretty fair coast. It is high, and great +attention is paid to the lights; but of what account is either coast or +lights, if the weather is so thick, you cannot see the end of your +flying-jib-boom!"</p> + +<p>"Mr. Howel alludes more particularly to the country, inland," said Eve; +"to the towns, the civilization and the other proofs of cultivation and +refinement. To the government, especially."</p> + +<p>"In my judgment, sir, the government is much too particular about tobacco, +and some other trifling things I could name. Then it restricts pennants to +King's ships, whereas, to my notion, my dear young lady, a New-York packet +is as worthy of wearing a pennant as any vessel that floats. I mean, of +course, ships of the regular European lines, and not the Southern +traders."</p> + +<p>"But these are merely spots on the sun, my good sir," returned Mr. Howel; +"putting a few such trifles out of the question, I think you will allow +that England is the most delightful country in the world?"</p> + +<p>"To be frank with you, Mr. Howel, there is a good deal of hang-dog +weather, along in October, November and December. I have known March any +thing but agreeable, and then April is just like a young girl with one of +your melancholy novels, now smiling, and now blubbering."</p> + +<p>"But the morals of the country, my dear sir; the moral features of England +must be a source of never-dying delight to a true philanthropist," resumed +Mr. Howel, as Eve, who perceived that the discourse was likely to be long, +went to join the ladies. "An Englishman has most reason to be proud of the +moral excellencies of his country!"</p> + +<p>"Why, to be frank with you, Mr. Howel, there are some of the moral +features of London, that are any thing but very beautiful. If you could +pass twenty-four hours in the neighbourhood of St. Catharine's, would see +sights that would throw Templeton into fits. The English are a handsome +people, I allow; but their morality is none of the best-featured."</p> + +<p>"Let us be seated, sir; I am afraid we are not exactly agreed on our +terms, and, in order that we may continue this subject, I beg you will let +me take a seat next you, at table."</p> + +<p>To this Captain Truck very cheerfully assented, and then the two took +chairs, continuing the discourse very much in the blind and ambiguous +manner in which it had been commenced; the one party insisting on seeing +every thing through the medium of an imagination that had got to be +diseased on such subjects, or with a species of monomania; while the other +seemed obstinately determined to consider the entire country as things had +been presented to his limited and peculiar experience, in the vicinity of +the docks.</p> + +<p>"We have had a very unexpected, and a very agreeable attendant in Captain +Truck," said Mrs Hawker, when Eve had placed herself by her side, and +respectfully taken one of her hands. "I really think if I were to suffer +shipwreck, or to run the hazard of captivity, I should choose to have both +occur in his good company."</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Hawker makes so many conquests," observed Mrs. Bloomfield, "that we +are to think nothing of her success with this mer-man; but what will you +say, Miss Effingham, when you learn that I am also in favour, in the same +high quarter. I shall think the better of masters, and boatswains, and +Trinculos and Stephanos, as long as I live, for this specimen of their +craft."</p> + +<p>"Not Trinculos and Stephanos, dear Mrs. Bloom field; for, <i>à l' exception +pres de</i> Saturday-nights, and sweethearts and wives, a more exemplary +person in the way of libations does not exist than our excellent Captain +Truck. He is much too religious and moral for so vulgar an excess as +drinking."</p> + +<p>"Religious!" exclaimed Mrs, Bloomfield, in sur prise. "This is a merit to +which I did not know he possessed the smallest claims. One might imagine a +little superstition, and some short-lived repentances in gales of wind; +but scarcely any thing as much like a trade wind, as religion!"</p> + +<p>"Then you do not know him; for a more sincerely devout man, though I +acknowledge it is after a fashion that is perhaps peculiar to the ocean, +is not often met with. At any rate, you found him attentive to our sex?"</p> + +<p>"The pink of politeness, and, not to embellish, there is a manly deference +about him, that is singularly agreeable to our frail vanity. This comes of +his packet-training, I suppose, and we may thank you for some portion of +his merit, His tongue never tires in your praises, and did I not feel +persuaded that your mind is made up never to be the wife of any republican +American, I should fear this visit exceedingly. Notwithstanding the remark +I made concerning my being in favour, the affair lies between Mrs. Hawker +and yourself. I know it is not your habit to trifle even on that very +popular subject with young ladies, matrimony; but this case forms so +complete an exception to the vulgar passion, that I trust you will +overlook the indiscretion. Our <i>golden</i> captain, for <i>copper</i> he is not, +protests that Mrs. Hawker is the most delightful old lady he ever knew, +and that Miss Eve Effingham is the most delightful young lady he ever +knew. Here, then, each may see the ground she occupies, and play her cards +accordingly. I hope to be forgiven for touching on a subject so delicate."</p> + +<p>"In the first place," said Eve, smiling, "I should wish to hear Mrs. +Hawker's reply."</p> + +<p>"I have no more to say, than to express my perfect gratitude," answered +that lady, "to announce a determination not to change my condition, on +account of extreme youth, and a disposition to abandon the field to my +younger, if not fairer, rival."</p> + +<p>"Well, then," resumed Eve, anxious to change the subject, for she saw +that Paul was approaching their group, "I believe it will be wisest in me +to suspend a decision, circumstances leaving so much at my disposal. Time +must show what that decision will be."</p> + +<p>"Nay," said Mrs. Bloomfield, who saw no feeling involved in the trifling, +"this is unjustifiable coquetry, and I feel bound to ascertain how the +land lies. You will remember I am the Captain's confidant, and you know +the fearful responsibility of a friend in an affair of this sort; that of +a friend in the duello being insignificant in comparison. That I may have +testimony at need, Mr. Powis shall be made acquainted with the leading +facts. Captain Truck is a devout admirer of this young lady, sir, and I am +endeavouring to discover whether he ought to hang himself on her father's +lawn, this evening, as soon as the moon rises, or live another week. In +order to do this, I shall pursue the categorical and inquisitorial +method--and so defend yourself Miss Effingham. Do you object to the +country of your admirer?"</p> + +<p>Eve, though inwardly vexed at the turn this pleasantry had taken, +maintained a perfectly composed manner, for she knew that Mrs. Bloomfield +had too much feminine propriety to say any thing improper, or any thing +that might seriously embarrass her.</p> + +<p>"It would, indeed, be extraordinary, should I object to a country which is +not only my own, but which has so long been that of my ancestors," she +answered steadily. "On this score, my knight has nothing to fear."</p> + +<p>"I rejoice to hear this," returned Mrs. Bloomfield, glancing her eyes, +unconsciously to herself, however, towards Sir George Templemore, "and, +Mr. Powis, you, who I believe are a European, will learn humility in the +avowal. Do you object to your swain that he is a seaman?"</p> + +<p>Eve blushed, notwithstanding a strong effort to appear composed, and, for +the first time since their acquaintance, she felt provoked with Mrs. +Bloomfield. She hesitated before she answered in the negative, and this +too in a way to give more meaning to her reply, although nothing could be +farther from her intentions.</p> + +<p>"The happy man <i>may</i> then be an American and a seaman! Here is great +encouragement. Do you object to sixty?"</p> + +<p>"In any other man I should certainly consider it a blemish, as my own dear +father is but fifty."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bloomfield was struck with the tremor in the voice, and with the air +of embarrassment, in one who usually was so easy and collected; and with +feminine sensitiveness she adroitly abandoned the subject, though she +often recurred to this stifled emotion in the course of the day, and from +that moment she became a silent observer of Eve's deportment with all her +father's guests.</p> + +<p>"This is hope enough for one day," she said, rising; "the profession and +the flag must counterbalance the years as best they may, and the Truck +lives another revolution of the sun! Mrs. Hawker, we shall be late at +dinner, I see by that clock, unless we retire soon."</p> + +<p>Both the ladies now went to their rooms; Eve, who was already dressed for +dinner, remaining in the drawing-room. Paul still stood before her, and, +like herself, he seemed embarrassed.</p> + +<p>"There are men who would be delighted to hear even the little that has +fallen from your lips in this trifling," he said, as soon as Mrs. +Bloomfield was out of hearing. "To be an American and a seaman, then, are +not serious defects in your eyes?"</p> + +<p>"Am I to be made responsible for Mrs. Bloomfield's caprices and +pleasantries?"</p> + +<p>"By no means; but I do think you hold yourself responsible for Miss +Effingham's truth and sincerity I can conceive of your silence, when +questioned too far, but scarcely of any direct declaration, that shall not +possess both these high qualities."</p> + +<p>Eve looked up gratefully, for she saw that profound respect for her +character dictated the remark; but rising, she observed--</p> + +<p>"This is making a little <i>badinage</i> about our honest, lion-hearted, old +captain, a very serious affair. And now, to show you that I am conscious +of, and thankful for, your own compliment, I shall place you on the +footing of a friend to both the parties, and request you will take Captain +Truck into your especial care, while he remains here. My father and cousin +are both sincerely his friends, but their habits are not so much those of +their guests, as yours will probably be; and to you, then, I commit him, +with a request that he may miss his ship and the ocean as little as +possible."</p> + +<p>"I would I knew how to take this charge, Miss Effingham!--To be a seaman +is not always a recommendation with the polished, intelligent, and +refined."</p> + +<p>"But when one is polished, intelligent, and refined, to be a seaman is to +add one other particular and useful branch of knowledge to those which are +more familiar. I feel certain Captain Truck will be in good hands, and now +I will go and do my devoirs to my own especial charges, the ladies."</p> + +<p>Eve bowed as she passed the young man, and she left the room with as much +haste as at all became her. Paul stood motionless quite a minute after she +had vanished, nor did he awaken from his reverie, until aroused by an +appeal from Captain Truck, to sustain him, in some of his matter-of-fact +opinions concerning England, against the visionary and bookish notions of +Mr. Howel.</p> + +<p>"Who is this Mr. Powis?" asked Mrs. Bloomfield of Eve, when the latter +appeared in her dressing-room, with an unusual impatience of manner.</p> + +<p>"You know, my dear Mrs. Bloomfield, that he was our fellow-passenger in +the Montauk, and that he was of infinite service to us, in escaping from +the Arabs."</p> + +<p>"All this I know, certainly; but he is a European, is he not?"</p> + +<p>Eve scarcely ever felt more embarrassed than in answering this simple +question.</p> + +<p>"I believe not; at least, I think not; we thought so when we met him in +Europe, and even until quite lately; but he has avowed himself a +countryman of our own, since his arrival at Templeton."</p> + +<p>"Has he been here long?"</p> + +<p>"We found him in the village on reaching home. He was from Canada, and has +been in waiting for his cousin, Captain Ducie, who came with you."</p> + +<p>"His cousin!--He has English cousins, then! Mr. Ducie kept this to +himself, with true English reserve. Captain Truck whispered something of +the latter's having taken out one of his passengers, <i>the</i> Mr. Powis. the +hero of the rocks, but I did not know of his having found his way back to +our--to his country. Is he as agreeable as Sir George Templemore?"</p> + +<p>"Nay, Mrs. Bloomfield, I must leave you to judge of that for yourself. I +think them both agreeable men; but there is so much caprice in a woman's +tastes, that I decline thinking for others."</p> + +<p>"He is a seaman, I believe," observed Mrs. Bloomfield, with an abstracted +manner--"he <i>must</i> have been, to have manoeuvred and managed as I have +been told he did. Powis--Powis--that is not one of our names, neither--I +should think he must be from the south."</p> + +<p>Here Eve's habitual truth and dignity of mind did her good service, and +prevented any further betrayal of embarrassment.</p> + +<p>"We do not know his family," she steadily answered. "That he is a +gentleman, we see; but of his origin and connections he never speaks."</p> + +<p>"His profession would have given him the notions of a gentleman, for he +was in the navy I have heard, although I had thought it the British navy. +I do not know of any Powises in Philadelphia, or Baltimore, or Richmond, +or Charleston; he must surely be from the interior."</p> + +<p>Eve could scarcely condemn her friend for a curiosity that had not a +little tormented herself, though she would gladly change the discourse.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Powis would be much gratified, did he know what a subject of interest +he has suddenly become with Mrs. Bloomfield," she said, smiling.</p> + +<p>"I confess it all; to be very sincere, I think him the most distinguished +young man, in air, appearance, and expression of countenance, I ever saw. +When this is coupled with what I have heard of his gallantry and coolness, +my dear, I should not be woman to feel no interest in him. I would give +the world to know of what State he is a native, if native, in truth, he +be."</p> + +<p>"For that we have his own word. He was born in this country, and was +educated in our own marine."</p> + +<p>"And yet from the little that fell from him, in our first short +conversation, he struck me as being educated above his profession."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Powis has seen much as a traveller; when we met him in Europe, it was +in a circle particularly qualified to improve both his mind and his +manners."</p> + +<p>"Europe! Your acquaintance did not then commence, like that with Sir +George Templemore, in the packet?"</p> + +<p>"Our acquaintance with neither, commenced in the packet. My father had +often seen both these gentlemen, during our residences in different parts +of Europe."</p> + +<p>"And your father's daughter?"</p> + +<p>"My father's daughter, too," said Eve, laughing. "With Mr. Powis, in +particular, we were acquainted under circumstances that left a vivid +recollection of his manliness and professional skill. He was of almost as +much service to us on one of the Swiss lakes, as he has subsequently been +on the ocean."</p> + +<p>All this was news to Mrs. Bloomfield, and she looked as if she thought the +intelligence interesting. At this moment the dinner-bell rang, and all the +ladies descended to the drawing-room. The gentlemen were already +assembled, and as Mr. Effingham led Mrs. Hawker to the table, Mrs. +Bloomfield gaily took Eve by the arm, protesting that she felt herself +privileged, the first day, to take a seat near the young mistress of the +Wigwam.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Powis and Sir George Templemore will not quarrel about the honour," +she said, in a low voice, as they proceeded towards the table.</p> + +<p>"Indeed you are in error, Mrs. Bloomfield; Sir George Templemore is much +better pleased with being at liberty to sit next my cousin Grace."</p> + +<p>"Can this be so!" returned the other, looking intently at her young +friend.</p> + +<p>"Indeed it is so, and I am very glad to be able to affirm it. How far Miss +Van Cortlandt is pleased that it is so, time must show: but the baronet +betrays every day, and all day, how much he is pleased with her."</p> + +<p>"He is then a man of less taste, and judgment, and intelligence, than I +had thought him."</p> + +<p>"Nay, dearest Mrs. Bloomfield, this is not necessarily true; or, if true, +need it be so openly said?"</p> + +<p>"<i>Se non e vero, e ben trovato</i>."</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XVIII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Thine for a space are they--<br /> +Yet shalt thou yield thy treasures up at last;<br /> +Thy gates shall yet give way,<br /> +Thy bolts shall fall, inexorable Past."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> BRYANT</blockquote> + + +<p>Captain Ducie had retired for the night, and was sitting reading, when a +low tap at the door roused him from a brown study. He gave the necessary +permission, and the door opened.</p> + +<p>"I hope, Ducie, you have not forgotten the secretary I left among your +effects," said Paul entering the room, "and concerning which I wrote you +when you were still at Quebec."</p> + +<p>Captain Ducie pointed to the case, which was standing among his other +luggage, on the floor of the room.</p> + +<p>"Thank you for this care," said Paul, taking the secretary under his arm, +and retiring towards the door; "it contains papers of much importance to +myself, and some that I have reason to think are of importance to others."</p> + +<p>"Stop, Powis--a word before, you quit me. Is Templemore <i>de trop</i>?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all; I have a sincere regard for Templemore, and should be sorry +to see him leave us."</p> + +<p>"And yet I think it singular a man of his habits should be rusticating +among these hills, when I know that he is expected to look at the Canadas, +with a view to report their actual condition at home."</p> + +<p>"Is Sir George really entrusted with a commission of that sort?" inquired +Paul, with interest.</p> + +<p>"Not with any positive commission, perhaps, for none was necessary. +Templemore is a rich fellow, and has no need of appointments; but, it is +hoped and understood, that he will look at the provinces, and report +their condition to the government, I dare say he will not be impeached for +his negligence, though it may occasion surprise."</p> + +<p>"Good night, Ducie; Templemore prefers a wigwam to your walled Quebec, and +<i>natives</i> to colonists, that's all."</p> + +<p>In a minute, Paul was at the door of John Effingham's room, where he again +tapped, and was again told to enter.</p> + +<p>"Ducie has not forgotten my request, and here is the secretary that +contains poor Mr. Monday's paper," he remarked, as he laid his load on a +toilet-table, speaking in a way to show that the visit was expected. "We +have, indeed, neglected this duty too long, and it is to be hoped no +injustice, or wrong to any, will be the consequence."</p> + +<p>"Is that the package?" demanded John Effingham, extending a hand to +receive a bundle of papers that Paul had taken from the secretary. "We +will break the seals this moment, and ascertain what ought to be done, +before we sleep."</p> + +<p>"These are papers of my own, and very precious are they," returned the +young man, regarding them a moment, with interest, before he laid them on +the toilet. "Here are the papers of Mr. Monday."</p> + +<p>John Effingham received the package from his young friend, placed the +lights conveniently on the table, put on his spectacles, and invited Paul +to be seated. The gentlemen were placed opposite each other, the duty of +breaking the seals, and first casting an eye at the contents of the +different documents, devolving, as a matter of course, on the senior of +the two, who, in truth, had alone been entrusted with it.</p> + +<p>"Here is something signed by poor Monday himself, in the way of a general, +certificate," observed John Effingham, who first read the paper, and then +handed it to Paul. It was, in form, an unsealed letter; and it was +addressed "to all whom it may concern." The certificate itself was in the +following words:</p> + +<p>"I, John Monday, do declare and certify, that all the accompanying letters +and documents are genuine and authentic. Jane Dowse, to whom and from +whom, are so many letters, was my late mother, she having intermarried +with Peter Dowse, the man so often named, and who led her into acts for +which I know she has since been deeply repentant. In committing these +papers to me, my poor mother left me the sole judge of the course I was to +take, and I have put them in this form in order that they may yet do good, +should I be called suddenly away. All depends on discovering who the +person called Bright actually is, for he was never known to my mother, by +any other name. She knows him to have been an Englishman, however, and +thinks he was, or had been, an upper servant in a gentleman's family. JOHN +MONDAY."</p> + +<p>This paper was dated several years back, a sign that the disposition to do +right had existed some time in Mr. Monday; and all the letters and other +papers had been carefully preserved. The latter also appeared to be +regularly numbered, a precaution that much aided the investigations of the +two gentlemen. The original letters spoke for themselves, and the copies +had been made in a clear, strong, mercantile hand, and with the method of +one accustomed to business. In short, so far as the contents of the +different papers would allow, nothing was wanting to render the whole +distinct and intelligible.</p> + +<p>John Effingham read the paper No. 1, with deliberation, though not aloud; +and when he had done, he handed it to his young friend, coolly remarking--</p> + +<p>"That is the production of a deliberate villain."</p> + +<p>Paul glanced his eye over the document, which was an original letter +signed, 'David Bright,' and addressed to 'Mrs. Jane Dowse,' It was written +with exceeding art, made many professions of friendship, spoke of the +writer's knowledge of the woman's friends in England, and of her first +husband in particular, and freely professed the writer's desire to serve +her, while it also contained several ambiguous allusions to certain means +of doing so, which should be revealed whenever the person to whom the +letter was addressed should discover a willingness to embark in the +undertaking. This letter was dated Philadelphia, was addressed to one in +New-York, and it was old.</p> + +<p>"This is, indeed, a rare specimen of villany," said Paul, as he laid down +the paper, "and has been written in some such spirit as that employed by +the devil when he tempted our common mother. I think I never read a better +specimen of low, wily, cunning."</p> + +<p>"And, judging by all that we already know, it would seem to have +succeeded. In this letter you will find the gentleman a little more +explicit; and but a little; though he is evidently encouraged by the +interest and curiosity betrayed by the woman in this copy of the answer to +his first epistle."</p> + +<p>Paul read the letter just named, and then he laid it down to wait for the +next, which was still in the hands of his companion.</p> + +<p>"This is likely to prove a history of unlawful love, and of its miserable +consequences," said John Effingham in his cool manner, as he handed the +answers to letter No. 1, and letter No. 2, to Paul. "The world is full of +such unfortunate adventures, and I should think the parties English, by a +hint or two you will find in this very honest and conscientious +communication. Strongly artificial, social and political distinctions +render expedients of this nature more frequent, perhaps, in Great Britain, +than in any other country. Youth is the season of the passions, and many a +man in the thoughtlessness of that period lays the foundation of bitter +regret in after life."</p> + +<p>As John Effingham raised his eyes, in the act of extending his hand +towards his companion, he perceived that the fresh ruddy hue of his +embrowned cheek deepened, until the colour diffused itself over the whole +of his fine brow. At first an unpleasant suspicion flashed on John +Effingham, and he admitted it with regret, for Eve and her future +happiness had got to be closely associated, in his mind, with the +character and conduct of the young man; but when Paul took the papers, +steadily, and by an effort seemed to subdue all unpleasant feelings, the +calm dignity with which he read them completely effaced the disagreeable +distrust. It was then John Effingham remembered that he had once believed +Paul himself might be the fruits of the heartless indiscretion he +condemned. Commiseration and sympathy instantly took the place of the +first impression, and he was so much absorbed with these feelings that he +had not taken up the letter which was to follow, when Paul laid down the +paper he had last been required to read.</p> + +<p>"This does, indeed, sir, seem to foretell one of those painful histories +of unbridled passion, with the still more painful consequences," said the +young man with the steadiness of one who was unconscious of having a +personal connexion with any events of a nature so unpleasant. "Let us +examine farther."</p> + +<p>John Effingham felt emboldened by these encouraging signs of unconcern, +and he read the succeeding letters aloud, so that they learned their +contents simultaneously. The next six or eight communications betrayed +nothing distinctly, beyond the fact that the child which formed the +subject of the whole correspondence, was to be received by Peter Dowse and +his wife, and to be retained as their own offspring, for the consideration +of a considerable sum, with an additional engagement to pay an annuity. It +appeared by these letters also, that the child, which was hypocritically +alluded to under the name of the 'pet,' had been actually transferred to +the keeping of Jane Dowse, and that several years passed, after this +arrangement, before the correspondence terminated. Most of the later +letters referred to the payment of the annuity, although they all +contained cold inquiries after the 'pet,' and answers so vague and +general, as sufficiently to prove that the term was singularly misapplied. +In the whole, there were some thirty or forty letters, each of which had +been punctually answered, and their dates covered a space of near twelve +years. The perusal of all these papers consumed more than an hour, and +when John Effingham laid his spectacles on the table, the village clock +had struck the hour of midnight.</p> + +<p>"As yet," he observed, "we have learned little more than the fact, that a +child was made to take a false character, without possessing any other +clue to the circumstances than is given in the names of the parties, all +of whom are evidently obscure, and one of the most material of whom, we +are plainly told, must have borne a fictitious name. Even poor Monday, in +possession of so much collateral testimony that we want, could not have +known what was the precise injustice done, if any, or, certainly, with the +intentions he manifests, he would not have left that important particular +in the dark."</p> + +<p>"This is likely to prove a complicated affair," returned Paul, "and it is +not very clear that we can be of any immediate service. As you are +probably fatigued, we may without impropriety defer the further +examination to another time."</p> + +<p>To this John Effingham assented, and Paul, during the short conversation +that followed, brought the secretary from the toilet to the table, along +with the bundle of important papers that belonged to himself, to which he +had alluded, and busied himself in replacing the whole in the drawer from +which they had been taken.</p> + +<p>"All the formalities about the seals, that we observed when poor Monday +gave us the packet, would seem to be unnecessary," he remarked, while thus +occupied, "and it will probably be sufficient if I leave the secretary in +your room, and keep the keys myself."</p> + +<p>"One never knows," returned John Effingham, with the greater caution of +experience and age. "We have not read all the papers, and there are wax +and lights before you; each has his watch and seal, and it will be the +work of a minute only, to replace every thing as we left the package, +originally. When this is done, you may leave the secretary, or remove it, +at your own pleasure."</p> + +<p>"I will leave it; for, though it contains so much that I prize, and which +is really of great importance to myself, it contains nothing for which I +shall have immediate occasion."</p> + +<p>"In that case, it were better that I place the package in which we have a +common interest in an <i>armoire</i>, or in my secretary, and that you keep +your precious effects more immediately under your own eye."</p> + +<p>"It is immaterial, unless the case will inconvenience you, for I do not +know that I am not happier when it is out of my sight, so long as I feel +certain of its security, than when it is constantly before my eyes."</p> + +<p>Paul said this with a forced smile, and there was a sadness in his +countenance that excited the sympathy of his companion. The latter, +however, merely bowed his assent, and the papers were replaced, and the +secretary was locked and deposited in an <i>armoire</i>, in silence. Paul was +then about to wish the other good night, when John Effingham seized his +hand, and by a gentle effort induced him to resume his seat. An +embarrassing, but short pause succeeded, when the latter spoke.</p> + +<p>"We have suffered enough in company, and have seen each other in +situations of sufficient trial to be friends," he said. "I should feel +mortified, did I believe you could think me influenced by an improper +curiosity, in wishing to share more of your confidence than you are +perhaps willing to bestow; I trust you will attribute to its right motive +the liberty I am now taking. Age makes some difference between us, and +the sincere and strong interest I feel in your welfare, ought to give me a +small claim not to be treated as a total stranger. So jealous and watchful +has this interest been, I might with great truth call it affection, that I +have discovered you are not situated exactly as other men in your +condition of life are situated, and feel persuaded that the sympathy, +perhaps the advice, of one so many years older than yourself, might be +useful. You have already said so much to me, on the subject of your +personal situation, that I almost feel a right to ask for more."</p> + +<p>John Effingham uttered this in his mildest and most winning manner; and +few men could carry with them, on such an occasion, more of persuasion in +their voices and looks. Paul's features worked, and it was evident to his +companion that he was moved, while, at the same time, he was not +displeased.</p> + +<p>"I am grateful, deeply grateful, sir, for this interest in my happiness," +Paul answered, "and if I knew the particular points on which you feel any +curiosity, there is nothing that I can desire to conceal. Have the further +kindness to question me, Mr. Effingham, that I need not touch on things +you do not care to hear."</p> + +<p>"All that really concerns your welfare, would have interest with me. You +have been the agent of rescuing not only myself, but those whom I most +love, from a fate worse than death; and, a childless bachelor myself, I +have more than once thought of attempting to supply the places of those +natural friends that I fear you have lost. Your parents--"</p> + +<p>"Are both dead. I never knew either," said Paul, who spoke huskily, "and +will most cheerfully accept your generous offer, if you will allow me to +attach to it a single condition."</p> + +<p>"Beggars must not be choosers," returned John Effingham, "and if you will +allow me to feel this interest in you, and occasionally to share in the +confidence of a father; I shall not insist on any unreasonable terms. What +is your condition?"</p> + +<p>"That the word money may be struck out of our vocabulary, and that you +leave your will unaltered. Were the world to be examined, you could not +find a worthier or a lovelier heiress, than the one you have already +selected, and whom Providence itself has given you. Compared with +yourself, I am not rich, but I have a gentleman's income, and as I shall +probably never marry, it will suffice for all my wants."</p> + +<p>John Effingham was more pleased than he cared to express with this +frankness, and with the secret sympathy that had existed between them; but +he smiled at the injunction; for, with Eve's knowledge, and her father's +entire approbation, he had actually made a codicil to his will, in which +their young protector was left one half of his large fortune.</p> + +<p>"The will may remain untouched, if you desire it," he answered, evasively, +"and that condition is disposed of. I am glad to learn so directly from +yourself, what your manner of living and the reports of others had +prepared me to hear, that you are independent. This fact, alone, will +place us solely on our mutual esteem, and render the friendship that I +hope is now brought within a covenant, if not now first established, more +equal and frank. You have seen much of the world, Powis, for your years +and profession?"</p> + +<p>"It is usual to think that men of my profession see much of the world, as +a consequence of their pursuits; though I agree with you, sir, that this +is seeing the world only in a very limited circle. It is now several years +since circumstances, I might almost say the imperative order of one whom I +was bound to obey, induced me to resign, and since that time I have done +little else but travel. Owing to certain adventitious causes, I have +enjoyed an access to European society that few of our countrymen possess, +and I hope the advantage has not been entirely thrown away. It was as a +traveller on the continent of Europe, that I had the pleasure of first +meeting with Mr. and Miss Effingham. I was much abroad, even as a child, +and owe some little skill in foreign languages to that circumstance."</p> + +<p>"So my cousin has informed me. You have set the question of country at +rest, by declaring that you are an American, and yet I find you have +English relatives. Captain Ducie, I believe, is a kinsman?"</p> + +<p>"He is; we are sister's children, though our friendship has not always +been such as the connexion would infer. When Ducie and myself met at sea, +there was an awkwardness, if not a coolness, in the interview, that, +coupled with my sudden return to England, I fear did not make the most +favourable impression, on those who witnessed what passed."</p> + +<p>"We had confidence in your principles," said John Effingham, with a frank +simplicity, "and, though the first surmises were not pleasant, perhaps, a +little reflection told us that there was no just ground for suspicion."</p> + +<p>"Ducie is a fine, manly fellow, and has a seaman's generosity and +sincerity. I had last parted from him on the field, where we met as +enemies; and the circumstance rendered the unexpected meeting awkward. Our +wounds no longer smarted, it is true; but, perhaps, we both felt shame and +sorrow that they had ever been inflicted."</p> + +<p>"It should be a very serious quarrel that could arm sister's children +against each other," said John Effingham, gravely.</p> + +<p>"I admit as much. But, at that time, Captain Ducie was not disposed to +admit the consanguinity, and the offence grew out of an intemperate +resentment of some imputations on my birth; between two military men, the +issue could scarcely be avoided. Ducie challenged, and I was not then in +the humour to balk him. A couple of flesh-wounds happily terminated the +affair. But an interval of three years had enabled my enemy to discover +that he had not done me justice; that I had been causelessly provoked to +the quarrel, and that we ought to be firm friends. The generous desire to +make suitable expiation, urged him to seize the first occasion of coming +to America that offered; and when ordered to chase the Montauk, by a +telegraphic communication from London, he was hourly expecting to sail for +our seas, where he wished to come, expressly that we might meet. You will +judge, therefore, how happy he was to find me unexpectedly in the vessel +that contained his principal object of pursuit, thus killing, as it might +be, two birds with one stone."</p> + +<p>"And did he carry you away with him, with any such murderous intention?" +demanded John Effingham, smiling.</p> + +<p>"By no means; nothing could be more amicable than Ducie and myself got to +be, when we had been a few hours together in his cabin. As often happens, +when there have been violent antipathies and unreasonable prejudices, a +nearer view of each other's character and motives removed every obstacle; +and long before we reached England, two warmer friends could not be found, +or a more frank intercourse between relatives could not be desired. You +are aware, sir, that our English cousins do not often view their +cis-atlantic relatives with the most lenient eyes."</p> + +<p>"This is but too true," said John Effingham proudly, though his lip +quivered as he spoke, "and it is, in a great measure, the fault of that +miserable mental bondage which has left this country, after sixty years of +nominal independence, so much at the mercy of a hostile opinion. It is +necessary that we respect ourselves in order that others respect us."</p> + +<p>"I agree with you, sir, entirely. In my case, however, previous injustice +disposed my relatives to receive me better, perhaps, than might otherwise +have been the case. I had little to ask in the way of fortune, and +feeling no disposition to raise a question that might disturb the peerage +of the Ducies, I became a favourite."</p> + +<p>"A peerage!--Both your parents, then, were English?"</p> + +<p>"Neither, I believe; but the connection between the two countries was so +close, that it can occasion no surprise a right of this nature should have +passed into the colonies. My mother's mother became the heiress of one of +those ancient baronies, that pass to the heirs-general, and, in +consequence of the deaths of two brothers, these rights, which however +were never actually possessed by any of the previous generation, centered +in my mother and my aunt. The former being dead, as was contended, without +issue--"</p> + +<p>"You forget yourself!"</p> + +<p>"Lawful issue," added Paul, reddening to the temples, "I should have +added--Mrs. Ducie, who was married to the younger son of an English +nobleman, claimed and obtained the rank. My pretension would have left the +peerage in abeyance, and I probably owe some little of the opposition I +found, to that circumstance. But, after Ducie's generous conduct, I could +not hesitate about joining in the application to the crown that, by its +decision, the abeyance might be determined in favour of the person who was +in possession; and Lady Dunluce is now quietly confirmed in her claim."</p> + +<p>"There are many young men in this country, who would cling to the hopes of +a British peerage with greater tenacity!"</p> + +<p>"It is probable there are; but my self-denial is not of a very high order, +for; it could scarcely be expected the English ministers would consent to +give the rank to a foreigner who did not hesitate about avowing his +principles and national feelings. I shall not say I did hot covet this +peerage, for it would be supererogatory; but I am born an American, and +will die an American; and an American who swaggers about such a claim, is +like the daw among the peacocks. The less that is said about it, the +better."</p> + +<p>"You are fortunate to have escaped the journals, which, most probably, +would have <i>begraced</i> you, by elevating you at once to the rank of a +duke."</p> + +<p>"Instead of which, I had no other station than that of a dog in the +manger. If it makes my aunt happy to be called Lady Dunluce, I am sure she +is welcome to the privilege; and when Ducie succeeds her, as will one day +be the case, an excellent fellow will be a peer of England. <i>Voila tout</i>! +You are the only countryman, sir, to whom I have ever spoken of the +circumstance, and with you I trust it will remain a secret"</p> + +<p>"What! am I precluded from mentioning the facts in my own family? I am not +the only sincere, the only warm friend, you have in this house, Powis."</p> + +<p>"In that respect, I leave you to act your pleasure, my dear sir. If Mr. +Effingham feel sufficient interest in my fortunes, to wish to hear what I +have told you, let there be no silly mysteries,--or--or Mademoiselle +Viefville--"</p> + +<p>"Or Nanny Sidley, or Annette," interrupted John Effingham, with a kind +smile. "Well, trust to me for that; but, before we separate for the night, +I wish to ascertain beyond question one other fact, although the +circumstances you have stated scarce leave a doubt of the reply."</p> + +<p>"I understand you, sir, and did not intend to leave you in any uncertainty +on that important particular. If there can be a feeling, more painful than +all others, with a man of any pride, it is to distrust the purity of his +mother. Mine was beyond reproach, thank God, and so it was most clearly +established, or I could certainly have had no legal claim to the peerage."</p> + +<p>"Or your fortune--" added John Effingham, drawing a long breath, like one +suddenly relieved from an unpleasant suspicion.</p> + +<p>"My fortune comes from neither parent, but from one of those generous +dispositions, or caprices, if you will, that sometimes induce men to adopt +those who are alien to their blood. My guardian adopted me, took me abroad +with him, placed me, quite young, in the navy, and dying, he finally left +me all he possessed As he was a bachelor, with no near relative, and had +been the artisan of his own fortune, I could have no hesitation about +accepting the gift he so liberally bequeathed. It was coupled with the +condition that I should retire from the service, travel for five years, +return home, and marry. There is no silly-forfeiture exacted in either +case, but such is the general course solemnly advised by a man who showed +himself my true friend for so many years."</p> + +<p>"I envy him the opportunity he enjoyed of serving you. I hope he would +have approved of your national pride, for I believe we must put that at +the bottom of your disinterestedness, in the affair of the peerage."</p> + +<p>"He would, indeed, although he never knew anything of the claim which +arose out of the death of the two lords who preceded my aunt, and who were +the brothers of my grandmother. My guardian was in all respects a man, +and, in nothing more, than in a manly national pride. While abroad a +decoration was offered him, and he declined it with the character and +dignity of one who felt that distinctions which his country repudiated, +every gentleman belonging to that country ought to reject; and yet he did +it with a respectful gratitude for the compliment, that was due to the +government from which the offer came."</p> + +<p>"I almost envy that man," said John Effingham, with warmth. "To have +appreciated you, Powis, was a mark of a high judgment; but it seems he +properly appreciated himself, his country, and human nature."</p> + +<p>"And yet he was little appreciated in his turn. That man passed years in +one of our largest towns, of no more apparent account among its population +than any one of its commoner spirits, and of not half as much as one of +its bustling brokers, or jobbers."</p> + +<p>"In that there is nothing surprising. The class of the chosen few is too +small every where, to be very numerous at any given point, in a scattered +population like that of America. The broker will as naturally appreciate +the broker, as the dog appreciates the dog, or the wolf the wolf. Least of +all is the manliness you have named, likely to be valued among a people +who have been put into men's clothes before they are out of +leading-strings. I am older than you, my dear Paul," it was the first time +John Effingham ever used so familiar an appellation, and the young man +thought it sounded kindly--"I am older than you, my dear Paul, and will +venture to tell you an important fact that may hereafter lessen some of +your own mortifications. In most nations there is a high standard to which +man at least affects to look; and acts are extolled and seemingly +appreciated, for their naked merits. Little of this exists in America, +where no man is much praised for himself, but for the purposes of party, +or to feed national vanity. In the country in which, of all others, +political opinion ought to be the freest, it is the most persecuted, and +the community-character of the nation induces every man to think he has a +right of property in all its fame. England exhibits a great deal of this +weakness and injustice, which, it is to be feared, is a vicious fruit of +liberty; for it is certain that the sacred nature of opinion is most +appreciated in those countries in which it has the least efficiency. We +are constantly deriding those governments which fetter opinion, and yet I +know of no nation in which the expression of opinion is so certain to +attract persecution and hostility as our own, though it may be, and is, in +one sense, free."</p> + +<p>"This arises from its potency. Men quarrel about opinion here, because +opinion rules. It is but one mode of struggling for power. But to return +to my guardian; he was a man to think and act for himself, and as far +from the magazine and newspaper existence that most Americans, in a moral +sense, pass, as any man could be."</p> + +<p>"It is indeed a newspaper and magazine existence," said John Effingham, +smiling at Paul's terms, "to know life only through such mediums! It is as +bad as the condition of those English who form their notions of society +from novels written by men and women who have no access to it, and from +the records of the court journal. I thank you sincerely, Mr. Powis for +this confidence, which has not been idly solicited on my part, and which +shall not be abused. At no distant day we will break the seals again, and +renew our investigations into this affair of the unfortunate Monday, which +is not yet, certainly, very promising in the way of revelations."</p> + +<p>The gentlemen shook hands cordially, and Paul, lighted by his companion, +withdrew. When the young man was at the door of his own room, he turned, +and saw John Effingham following him with his eye. The latter then renewed +the good night, with one of those winning smiles that rendered his face so +brilliantly handsome, and each retired.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XIX.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Item, a capon, 2<i>s</i>. 2<i>d</i>.<br /> +Item, sauce, 4<i>d</i>.<br /> +Item, sack, two gallons, 5<i>s</i>. 8<i>d</i>.<br /> +Item, bread, a half-penny."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> SHAKSPEARE.</blockquote> + + +<p>The next day John Effingham made no allusion to the conversation of the +previous night, though the squeeze of the hand he gave Paul, when they +met, was an assurance that nothing was forgotten. As he had a secret +pleasure in obeying any injunction of Eve's, the young man himself sought +Captain Truck, even before they had breakfasted, and, as he had made an +acquaintance with 'the commodore,' on the lake, previously to the arrival +of the Effinghams, that worthy was summoned, and regularly introduced to +the honest ship-master. The meeting between these two distinguished men +was grave, ceremonious and dignified, each probably feeling that he was +temporarily the guardian of a particular portion of an element that was +equally dear to both. After a few minutes passed, as it might be, in the +preliminary points of etiquette, a better feeling and more confidence was +established, and it was soon settled that they should fish in company, the +rest of the day; Paul promising to row the ladies out on the lake, and to +join them in the course of the afternoon.</p> + +<p>As the party quitted the breakfast-table, Eve took an occasion to thank +the young man for his attention to their common friend, who, it was +reported, had taken his morning's repast at an early hour, and was already +on the lake, the day by this time having advanced within two hours of +noon.</p> + +<p>"I have dared even to exceed your instructions, Miss Effingham," said +Paul, "for I have promised the Captain to endeavour to persuade you, and +as many of the ladies as possible, to trust yourselves to my seamanship, +and to submit to be rowed out to the spot where we shall find him and his +friend the commodore riding at anchor."</p> + +<p>"An engagement that my influence shall be used to see fulfilled. Mrs. +Bloomfield has already expressed a desire to go on the Otsego-Water, and I +make no doubt I shall find other companions. Once more let me thank you +for this little attention, for I too well know your tastes, not to +understand that you might find a more agreeable ward."</p> + +<p>"Upon my word, I feel a sincere regard for our old Captain, and could +often wish for no better companion. Were he, however, as disagreeable as I +find him, in truth, pleasant and frank, your wishes would conceal all his +faults."</p> + +<p>"You have learned, Mr. Powis, that small attentions are as much remembered +as important services, and after having saved our lives, wish to prove +that you can discharge <i>les petits devoirs socials</i>, as well as perform +great deeds. I trust you will persuade Sir George Templemore to be of our +party, and at four we shall be ready to accompany you; until then I am +contracted to a gossip with Mrs. Bloomfield in her dressing-room."</p> + +<p>We shall now leave the party on the land, and follow those who have +already taken boat, or the fishermen. The beginning of the intercourse +between the salt-water navigator and his fresh-water companion was again a +little constrained and critical. Their professional terms agreed as ill as +possible, for when the Captain used the expression 'ship the oars,' the +commodore understood just the reverse of what it had been intended to +express; and, once, when he told his companion to 'give way,' the latter +took the hint so literally as actually to cease rowing. All these +professional niceties induced the worthy ship-master to undervalue his +companion, who, in the main, was very skilful in his particular pursuit, +though it was a skill that he exerted after the fashions of his own lake, +and not after the fashions of the ocean. Owing to several contre-tems of +this nature, by the time they reached the fishing-ground the Captain began +to entertain a feeling for the commodore, that ill comported with the +deference due to his titular rank.</p> + +<p>"I have come out with you, commodore," said Captain Truck, when they had +got to their station, and laying a peculiar emphasis on the appellation he +used, "in order to <i>enjoy</i> myself, and you will confer an especial favour +on me by not using such phrases as 'cable-rope,' 'casting anchor,' and +'titivating.' As for the two first, no seaman ever uses them; and I never +heard suchna word on board a ship, as the last, D----e, sir, if I believe +it is to be found in the dictionary, even."</p> + +<p>"You amaze me, sir! 'Casting anchor,' and 'cable-rope' are both Bible +phrases, and they must be right."</p> + +<p>"That follows by no means, commodore, as I have some reason to know; for +my father having been a parson, and I being a seaman, we may be said to +have the whole subject, as it were, in the family. St. Paul--you have +heard of such a man as St. Paul, commodore?--"</p> + +<p>"I know him almost by heart, Captain Truck; but St. Peter and St. Andrew +were the men, most after my heart. Ours is an ancient calling, sir, and in +those two instances you see to what a fisherman can rise. I do not +remember to have ever heard of a sea-captain who was converted into a +saint."</p> + +<p>"Ay, ay, there is always too much to do on board ship to have time to be +much more than a beginner in religion. There was my mate, v'y'ge before +last, Tom Leach, who is now master of a ship of his own, had he been +brought up to it properly, he would have made as conscientious a parson as +did his grandfather before him. Such a man would have been a seaman, as +well as a parson. I have little to say against St. Peter or St. Andrew, +but, in my judgment, they were none the better saints for having been +fishermen; and, if the truth were known, I dare say they were at the +bottom of introducing such lubberly phrases into the Bible, as +'casting-anchor,' and 'cable-rope."</p> + +<p>"Pray, sir," asked the commodore, with dignity, "what are <i>you</i> in the +practice of saying, when you speak of such matters; for, to be frank with +you, <i>we</i> always use these terms on these lakes."</p> + +<p>"Ay, ay, there is a fresh-water smell about them. We say 'anchor,' or +'let go the anchor,' or 'dropped the anchor,' or some such reasonable +expression, and not 'cast anchor,' as if a bit of iron, weighing two or +three tons, is to be jerked about like a stone big enough to kill a bird +with. As for the 'cable-rope,' as you call it, we say the 'cable,' or 'the +chain,' or 'the ground tackle,' according to reason and circumstances. You +never hear a real 'salt' flourishing his 'cable-ropes,' and his +'casting-anchors,' which are altogether too sentimental and particular for +his manner of speaking. As for 'ropes,' I suppose you have not got to be a +commodore, and need being told how many there are in a ship."</p> + +<p>"I do not pretend to have counted them, but I have seen a ship, sir, and +one under full sail, too, and I know there were as many ropes about her as +there are pines on the Vision."</p> + +<p>"Are there more than seven of these trees on your mountain? for that is +just the number of ropes in a merchant-man; though a man-of-war's-man +counts one or two more."</p> + +<p>"You astonish me, sir! But seven ropes in a ship?--I should have said +there are seven hundred!"</p> + +<p>"I dare say, I dare say; that is just the way in which a landsman pretends +to criticise a vessel. As for the ropes, I will now give you their names, +and then you can lay athwart hawse of these canoe gentry, by the hour, and +teach them rigging and modesty, both at the same time. In the first +place," continued the captain, jerking at his line, and then beginning to +count on his fingers--"There is the 'man-rope;' then come the +'bucket-rope,' the 'tiller-rope,' the 'bolt-rope,' the 'foot-rope,' the +'top-rope,' and the 'limber-rope.' I have followed the seas, now, more +than half a century, and never yet heard of a 'cable-rope,' from any one +who could hand, reef, and steer."</p> + +<p>"Well, sir, every man to his trade," said the commodore, who just then +pulled in a fine pickerel, which was the third he had taken, while his +companion rejoiced in no more than a few fruitless bites. "You are more +expert in ropes than in lines, it would seem. I shall not deny your +experience and knowledge; but in the way of fishing, you will at least +allow that the sea is no great school. I dare say, now, if you were to +hook the 'sogdollager,' we should have you jumping into the lake to get +rid of him. Quite probably, sir, you never before heard of that celebrated +fish?"</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the many excellent qualities of Captain Truck, he had a +weakness that is rather peculiar to a class of men, who, having seen so +much of this earth, are unwilling to admit they have not seen it all. The +little brush in which he was now engaged with the commodore, he conceived +due to his own dignity, and his motive was duly to impress his companion +with his superiority, which being fairly admitted, he would have been +ready enough to acknowledge that the other understood pike-fishing much +better than himself. But it was quite too early in the discussion to make +any such avowal, and the supercilious remark of the commodore's putting +him on his mettle, he was ready to affirm that he had eaten 'sogdollagers' +for breakfast, a month at a time, had it been necessary.</p> + +<p>"Pooh! pooh! man," returned the captain, with an air of cool indifference, +"you do not surely fancy that you have any thing in a lake like this, that +is not to be found in the ocean! If you were to see a whale's flukes +thrashing your puddle, every cruiser among you would run for a port; and +as for 'sogdollagers,' we think little of them in salt-water; the +flying-fish, or even the dry dolphin, being much the best eating."</p> + +<p>"Sir," said the commodore, with some heat, and a great deal of emphasis, +"there is but <i>one</i> 'sogdollager' in the world, and he is in this lake. No +man has ever seen him, but my predecessor, the 'Admiral,' and myself."</p> + +<p>"Bah!" ejaculated the captain, "they are as plenty as soft clams, in the +Mediterranean, and the Egyptians use them as a pan-fish. In the East, they +catch them to bait with, for hallibut, and other middling sized creatures, +that are particular about their diet. It is a good fish, I own, as is seen +in this very circumstance."</p> + +<p>"Sir," repeated the commodore, flourishing his hand, and waxing warm with +earnestness, "there is but one 'sogdollager' in the universe, and that is +in Lake Otsego. A 'sogdollager' is a salmon trout, and not a species; a +sort of father to all the salmon trout in this part of the world; a scaly +patriarch."</p> + +<p>"I make no doubt <i>your</i> 'sogdollager' is scaly enough; but what is the use +in wasting words about such a trifle? A whale is the only fish fit to +occupy a gentleman's thoughts. As long as I have been at sea, I have never +witnessed the taking of more than three whales."</p> + +<p>This allusion happily preserved the peace; for, if there were any thing in +the world for which the commodore entertained a profound, but obscure +reverence, it was for a whale. He even thought better of a man for having +actually seen one, gambolling in the freedom of the ocean; and his mind +became suddenly oppressed by the glory of a mariner, who had passed his +life among such gigantic animals. Shoving back his cap, the old man gazed +steadily at the captain a minute, and all his displeasure about the +'sogdollagers' vanished, though, in his inmost mind, he set down all that +the other had told him on that particular subject, as so many parts of a +regular 'fish story.'</p> + +<p>"Captain Truck," he said, with solemnity, "I acknowledge myself to be but +an ignorant and inexperienced man, one who has passed his life on this +lake, which, broad and beautiful as it is, must seem a pond in the eyes of +a seaman like yourself, who have passed your days on the Atlantic----"</p> + +<p>"Atlantic!" interrupted the captain contemptuously, "I should have but a +poor opinion of myself, had I seen nothing but the Atlantic! Indeed, I +never can believe I am at sea at all, on the Atlantic, the passages +between New-York and Portsmouth being little more than so much canalling +along a tow-path. If you wish to say any thing about oceans, talk of the +Pacific, or of the Great South Sea, where a man may run a month with a +fair wind, and hardly go from island to island. Indeed, that is an ocean +in which there is a manufactory of islands, for they turn them off in lots +to supply the market, and of a size to suit customers."</p> + +<p>"A manufactory of islands!" repeated the commodore, who began to entertain +an awe of his companion, that he never expected to feel for any human +being on Lake Otsego; "are you certain, sir, there is no mistake in this?"</p> + +<p>"None in the least; not only islands, but whole Archipelagos are made +annually, by the sea insects in that quarter of the world; but, then, you +are not to form your notions of an insect in such an ocean, by the insects +you see in such a bit of water as this."</p> + +<p>"As big as our pickerel, or salmon trout, I dare say?" returned the +commodore, in the simplicity of his heart, for by this time his local and +exclusive conceit was thoroughly humbled, and he was almost ready to +believe any thing.</p> + +<p>"I say nothing of their size, for it is to their numbers and industry that +I principally allude now. A solitary shark, I dare say, would set your +whole Lake in commotion?"</p> + +<p>"I think we might manage a shark, sir. I once saw one of those animals, +and I do really believe the sogdollager would outweigh him. I do think we +might manage a shark, sir."</p> + +<p>"Ay, you mean an in-shore, high-latitude fellow. But what would you say +to a shark as long as one of those pines on the mountain?"</p> + +<p>"Such a monster would take in a man, whole?"</p> + +<p>"A man! He would take in a platoon, Indian file I dare say one of those +pines, now, may be thirty or forty feet high!"</p> + +<p>A gleam of intelligence and of exultation shot across the weather-beaten +face of the old fisherman, for he detected a weak spot in the other's +knowledge. The worthy Captain, with that species of exclusiveness which +accompanies excellence in any one thing, was quite ignorant of most +matters that pertain to the land. That there should be a tree, so far +inland, that was larger than his main-yard, he did not think probable, +although that yard itself was made of part of a tree; and, in the laudable +intention of duly impressing his companion with the superiority of a real +seaman over a mere fresh-water navigator, he had inadvertently laid bare a +weak spot in his estimate of heights and distances, that the Commodore +seized upon, with some such avidity as the pike seizes the hook. This +accidental mistake alone saved the latter from an abject submission, for +the cool superiority of the Captain had so far deprived him of his +conceit, that he was almost ready to acknowledge himself no better than a +dog, when he caught a glimpse of light through this opening.</p> + +<p>"There is not a pine, that can be called of age, on all the mountain, +which is not more than a hundred feet high, and many are nearer two," he +cried in exultation, flourishing his hand. "The sea may have its big +monsters, Captain, but our hills have their big trees. Did you ever see a +shark of half that length?"</p> + +<p>Now, Captain Truck was a man of truth, although so much given to +occasional humorous violations of its laws, and, withal, a little disposed +to dwell upon the marvels of the great deep, in the spirit of +exaggeration, and he could not, in conscience, affirm any thing so +extravagant as this. He was accordingly obliged to admit his mistake, and +from this moment, the conversation was carried on with a greater regard to +equality. They talked, as they fished, of politics, religion, philosophy, +human nature, the useful arts, abolition, and most other subjects that +would be likely to interest a couple of Americans who had nothing to do +but to twitch, from time to time, at two lines dangling in the water. +Although few people possess less of the art of conversation than our own +countrymen, no other nation takes as wide a range in its discussions. He +is but a very indifferent American that does not know, or thinks he knows, +a little of every thing, and neither of our worthies was in the least +backward in supporting the claims of the national character in this +respect. This general discussion completely restored amity between the +parties; for, to confess the truth, our old friend the Captain was a +little rebuked about the affair of the tree. The only peculiarity worthy +of notice, that occurred in the course of their various digressions, was +the fact, that the commodore insensibly began to style his companion +"General;" the courtesy of the country in his eyes, appearing to require +that a man who has seen so much more than himself, should, at least, enjoy +a title equal to his own in rank, and that of Admiral being proscribed by +the sensitiveness of republican principles. After fishing a few hours, the +old laker pulled the skiff up to the Point so often mentioned, where he +Lighted a fire on the grass, and prepared a dinner. When every thing was +ready, the two seated themselves, and began to enjoy the fruits of their +labours in a way that will be understood by all sportsmen.</p> + +<p>"I have never thought of asking you, general," said the commodore, as he +began to masticate a perch, "whether you are an aristocrat or a democrat. +We have had the government pretty much upside-down, too, this morning, but +this question has escaped me."</p> + +<p>"As we are here by ourselves under these venerable oaks, and talking like +two old messmates," returned the general, "I shall just own the truth, and +make no bones of it. I have been captain of my own ship so long, that I +have a most thorough contempt for all equality. It is a vice that I +deprecate, and, whatever may be the laws of this country, I am of opinion, +that equality is no where borne out by the Law of Nations; which, after +all, commodore, is the only true law for a gentleman to live under."</p> + +<p>"That is the law of the strongest, if I understand the matter, general."</p> + +<p>"Only reduced to rules. The Law of Nations, to own the truth to you, is +full of categories, and this will give an enterprising man an opportunity +to make use of his knowledge. Would you believe, commodore, that there are +countries, in which they lay taxes on tobacco?"</p> + +<p>"Taxes on tobacco! Sir, I never heard of such an act of oppression under +the forms of law! What has tobacco done, that any one should think of +taxing it?"</p> + +<p>"I believe, commodore, that its greatest offence is being so general a +favourite. Taxation, I have found, differs from most other things, +generally attacking that which men most prize."</p> + +<p>"This is quite new to me, general; a tax on tobacco. The law-makers in +those countries cannot chew. I drink to your good health, sir, and to many +happy returns of such banquets as this."</p> + +<p>Here the commodore raised a large silver punch-bowl, which Pierre had +furnished, to his lips, and fastening his eyes on the boughs of a knarled +oak, he looked like a man who was taking an observation, for near a +minute. All this time, the captain regarded him with a sympathetic +pleasure, and when the bowl was free, he imitated the example, levelling +his own eye at a cloud, that seemed floating at an angle of forty-five +degrees above him, expressly for that purpose.</p> + +<p>"There is a lazy cloud!" exclaimed the general, as he let go his hold to +catch breath; "I have been watching it some time, and it has not moved an +inch."</p> + +<p>"Tobacco!" repeated the commodore, drawing a long breath, as if he was +just recovering the play of his lungs, "I should as soon think of laying a +tax on punch. The country that pursues such a policy must, sooner or +later, meet with a downfall. I never knew good come of persecution."</p> + +<p>"I find you are a sensible man, commodore, and regret I did not make your +acquaintance earlier in life. Have you yet made up your mind on the +subject of religious faith?"</p> + +<p>"Why, my dear general, not to be nibbling like a sucker with a sore mouth, +with a person of your liberality, I shall give you a plain history of my +adventures, in the way of experiences, that you may judge for yourself. I +was born an Episcopalian, if one can say so, but was converted to +Presbyterianism at twenty. I stuck to this denomination about five years, +when I thought I would try the Baptists, having got to be fond of the +water, by this time. At thirty-two I fished a while with the Methodists; +since which conversion, I have chosen to worship God pretty much by +myself, out here on the lake."</p> + +<p>"Do you consider it any harm, to hook a fish of a Sunday?"</p> + +<p>"No more than it is to eat a fish of a Sunday. I go altogether by faith, +in my religion, general, for they talked so much to me of the uselessness +of works, that I've got to be very unparticular as to what I do. Your +people who have been converted four or five times, are like so many +pickerel, which strike at every hook."</p> + +<p>"This is very much my case. Now, on the river--of course you know where +the river is?"</p> + +<p>"Certain," said the commodore; "it is at the foot of the lake."</p> + +<p>"My dear commodore, when we say 'the river,' we always mean the +Connecticut; and I am surprised a man of your sagacity should require to +be told this. There are people on the river who contend that a +ship should heave-to of a Sunday. They did talk of getting up an +Anti-Sunday-Sailing-Society, but the ship-masters were too many for them, +since they threatened to start a society to put down the growing of +inyens, (the captain would sometimes use this pronunciation) except of +week-days. Well, I started in life, on the platform tack, in the way of +religion, and I believe I shall stand on the same course till orders come +to 'cast anchor,' as you call it. With you, I hold out for faith, as the +one thing needful. Pray, my good friend, what are your real sentiments +concerning 'Old Hickory.'</p> + +<p>"Tough, sir;--Tough as a day in February on this lake. All fins, and +gills, and bones."</p> + +<p>"That is the justest character I have yet heard of the old gentleman; and +then it says so much in a few words; no category about it. I hope the +punch is to your liking?"</p> + +<p>On this hint the old fisherman raised the bowl a second time to his lips, +and renewed the agreeable duty of letting its contents flow down his +throat, in a pleasant stream. This time, he took aim at a gull that was +sailing over his head, only relinquishing the draught as the bird settled +into the water. The 'general' was more particular; for selecting a +stationary object, in the top of an oak, that grew on the mountain near +him, he studied it with an admirable abstruseness of attention, until the +last drop was drained. As soon as this startling fact was mentioned, +however, both the <i>convives</i> set about repairing the accident, by +squeezing lemons, sweetening water, and mixing liquors, <i>secundem artem.</i> +At the same time, each lighted a cigar, and the conversation, for some +time, was carried on between their teeth.</p> + +<p>"We have been so frank with each other to-day, my excellent commodore," +said Captain Truck, "that did I know your true sentiments concerning +Temperance Societies, I should look on your inmost soul as a part of +myself. By these free communications men get really to know each other."</p> + +<p>"If liquor is not made to be drunk, for what is it made? Any one may see +that this lake was made for skiffs and fishing; it has a length, breadth, +and depth suited to such purposes. Now, here is liquor distilled, bottled, +and corked, and I ask if all does not show that it was made to be drunk. I +dare say your temperance men are ingenious, but let them answer that if +they can."</p> + +<p>"I wish, from my heart, my dear sir, we had known each other fifty years +since. That would have brought you acquainted with salt-water, and left +nothing to be desired in your character. We think alike, I believe, in +every thing but on the virtues of fresh-water. If these temperance people +had their way, we should all be turned into so many Turks, who never taste +wine, and yet marry a dozen wives."</p> + +<p>"One of the great merits of fresh-water, general, is what I call its +mixable quality."</p> + +<p>"There would be an end to Saturday nights, too, which are the seamen's +tea-parties."</p> + +<p>"I question if many of them fish in the rain, from sunrise to sunset."</p> + +<p>"Or, stand their watches in wet pee-jackets, from sunset to sunrise. +Splicing the main brace at such times, is the very quintessence of human +enjoyments."</p> + +<p>"If liquors were not made to be drunk," put in the commodore, logically, +"I would again ask for what are they made? Let the temperance men get over +that difficulty if they can."</p> + +<p>"Commodore, I wish you twenty more good hearty years of fishing in this +lake, which grows, each instant, more beautiful in my eyes, as I confess +does the whole earth; and to show you that I say no more than I think, I +will clench it with a draught."</p> + +<p>Captain Truck now brought his right eye to bear on the new moon, which +happened to be at a convenient height, closed the left one, and continued +in that attitude until the commodore began seriously to think he was to +get nothing besides, the lemon-seeds for his share. This apprehension, +however, could only arise from ignorance of his companion's character, +than whom a juster man, according to the notions of ship-masters, did not +live; and had one measured the punch that was left in the bowl when this +draught was ended, he would have found that precisely one half of it was +still untouched, to a thimblefull. The commodore now had his turn; and +before he got through, the bottom of the vessel was as much uppermost as +the butt of a club bed firelock. When the honest fisherman took breath +after this exploit, and lowered his cup from the vault of heaven to the +surface of the earth, he caught a view of a boat crossing the lake, coming +from the Silent Pine, to that Point on which they were enjoying so many +agreeable hallucinations on the subject of temperance.</p> + +<p>"Yonder is the party from the Wigwam," he said, "and they will be just in +time to become converts to our opinions, if they have any doubts on the +subjects we have discussed. Shall we give up the ground to them, by taking +to the skiff, or do you feel disposed to face the women?"</p> + +<p>"Under ordinary circumstances, commodore, I should prefer your society to +all the petticoats in the State, but there are two ladies in that party, +either of whom I would marry, any day, at a minute's warning."</p> + +<p>"Sir," said the commodore with a tone of warning, "we, who have lived +bachelors so long, and are wedded to the water, ought never to speak +lightly on so grave a subject."</p> + +<p>"Nor do I. Two women, one of whom is twenty, and the other seventy--and +hang me if I know which I prefer."</p> + +<p>"You would soonest be rid of the last, my dear general, and my advice is +to take her."</p> + +<p>"Old as she is, sir, a king would have to plead hard to get her consent. +We will make them some punch, that they may see we were mindful of them in +their absence."</p> + +<p>To work these worthies now went in earnest, in order to anticipate the +arrival of the party, and as the different compounds were in the course of +mingling, the conversation did not flag. By this time both the salt-water +and the fresh-water sailor were in that condition when men are apt to +think aloud, and the commodore had lost all his awe of his companion.</p> + +<p>"My dear sir," said the former, "I am a thousand times sorry you came from +that river, for, to tell you my mind without any concealment, my only +objection to you is that you are not of the middle states. I admit the +good qualities of the Yankees, in a general way, and yet they are the very +worst neighbours that a man can have."</p> + +<p>"This is a new character of them, commodore, as they generally pass for +the best, in their own eyes. I should like to hear you explain your +meaning."</p> + +<p>"I call him a bad neighbour who never remains long enough in a place to +love any thing but himself. Now, sir, I have a feeling for every pebble on +the shore of this lake, a sympathy with every wave,"--here the commodore +began to twirl his hand about, with the fingers standing apart, like so +many spikes in a <i>che-vaux-de-frise</i>--"and each hour, as I row across it, +I find I like it better; and yet, sir, would you believe me, I often go +away of a morning to pass the day on the water, and, on returning home at +night, find half the houses filled with new faces."</p> + +<p>"What becomes of the old ones?" demanded Captain Truck; for this, it +struck him, was getting the better of him with his own weapons. "Do you +mean that the people come and go like the tides?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly so, sir; just as it used to be with the herrings in the Otsego, +before the. Susquehannah was dammed, and is still, with the swallows."</p> + +<p>"Well, well, my good friend, take consolation. You'll meet all the faces +you ever saw here, one day in heaven."</p> + +<p>"Never; not a man of them will stay there, if there be such a thing as +moving. Depend on it, sir," added the commodore, in the simplicity of his +heart, "heaven is no place for a Yankee, if he can get farther west, by +hook or by crook. They are all too uneasy for any steady occupation. You, +who are a navigator, must know something concerning the stars; is there +such a thing as another world, that lies west of this?"</p> + +<p>"That can hardly be, commodore, since the points of the compass only refer +to objects on this earth. You know, I suppose, that a man starting from +this spot, and travelling due west, would arrive, in time, at this very +point, coming in from the east; so that what is west to us, in the +heavens, on this side of the world, is east to those on the other."</p> + +<p>"This I confess I did not know, general. I have understood that what is +good in one man's eyes, will be bad in another's; but never before have I +heard that what is west to one man, lies east to another. I am afraid, +general, that there is a little of the sogdollager bait in this?"</p> + +<p>"Not enough, sir, to catch the merest fresh-water gudgeon that swims. No, +no; there is neither east nor west off the earth, nor any up and down; and +so we Yankees must try and content ourselves with heaven. Now, commodore, +hand me the bowl, and we will get it ready down to the shore, and offer +the ladies our homage. And so you have become a laker in your religion, my +dear commodore," continued the general, between his teeth, while he smoked +and squeezed a lemon at the same time, "and do your worshipping on the +water?"</p> + +<p>"Altogether of late, and more especially since my dream."</p> + +<p>"Dream! My dear sir, I should think you altogether too innocent a man to +dream."</p> + +<p>"The best of us have our failings, general. I do sometimes dream, I own, +as well as the greatest sinner of them all."</p> + +<p>"And of what did you dream--the sogdollager?"</p> + +<p>"I dreamt of death."</p> + +<p>"Of slipping the cable!" cried the general, looking up suddenly. "Well, +what was the drift?"</p> + +<p>"Why, sir, having no wings, I went down below, and soon found myself in +the presence of the old gentleman himself."</p> + +<p>"That was pleasant--had he a tail? I have always been curious to know +whether he really has a tail or not."</p> + +<p>"I saw none, sir, but then we stood face to face, like gentlemen, and I +cannot describe what I did not see."</p> + +<p>"Was he glad to see you, commodore?"</p> + +<p>"Why, sir; he was civilly spoken, but his occupation prevented many +compliments."</p> + +<p>"Occupation!"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, sir; he was cutting out shoes, for his imps to travel about +in, in order to stir up mischief."</p> + +<p>"And did he set you to work?--This is a sort of State-Prison affair, after +all!"</p> + +<p>"No sir, he was too much of a gentleman to set me at making shoes as soon +as I arrived. He first inquired what part of the country I was from, and +when I told him, he was curious to know what most of the people were about +in our neighbourhood."</p> + +<p>"You told him, of course, commodore?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, sir, I told him their chief occupation was quarrelling about +religion; making saints of them selves, and sinners of their neighbours. +'Hollo!' says the Devil, calling out to one of his imps, 'boy, run and +catch my horse--I must be off, and have a finger in that pie. What +denominations have you in that quarter, commodore? So I told him, general, +that we had Baptists, and Quakers, and Universalists, and Episcopalians, +and Presbyterians, old-lights, new-lights, and blue-lights; and +Methodists----. 'Stop,' said the Devil, 'that's enough; you imp, be nimble +with that horse.--Let me see, commodore, what, part of the country did you +say you came from?' I told him the name more distinctly this time----"</p> + +<p>"The very spot?"</p> + +<p>"Town and county."</p> + +<p>"And what did the Devil say to that?"</p> + +<p>"He called out to the imp, again--'Hollo, you boy, never mind that horse; +<i>these</i> people will all be here before I can get there.'"</p> + +<p>Here the commodore and the general began to laugh, until the arches of the +forest rang with their merriment. Three times they stopped, and as often +did they return to their glee, until, the punch being ready, each took a +fresh draught, in order to ascertain if it were fit to be offered to the +ladies.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XX.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"</blockquote> + +<blockquote> ROMEO AND JULIET.</blockquote> + + +<p>The usual effect of punch is to cause people to see double; but, on this +occasion, the mistake was the other way, for two boats had touched the +strand, instead of the one announced by the commodore, and they brought +with them the whole party from the Wigwam, Steadfast and Aristabalus +included. A domestic or two had also been brought to prepare the customary +repast.</p> + +<p>Captain Truck was as good as his word, as respects the punch, and the +beverage was offered to each of the ladies in form, as soon as her feet +had touched the green sward which covers that beautiful spot. Mrs. Hawker +declined drinking, in a way to delight the gallant seaman; for so +completely had she got the better of all his habits and prejudices, that +every thing she did seemed right and gracious in his eyes.</p> + +<p>The party soon separated into groups, or pairs, some being seated on the +margin of the limpid water, enjoying the light cool airs, by which it was +fanned, others lay off in the boats fishing, while the remainder plunged +into the woods, that, in their native wildness, bounded the little spot of +verdure, which, canopied by old oaks, formed the arena so lately in +controversy. In this manner, an hour or two soon slipped away, when a +summons was given for all to assemble around the viands.</p> + +<p>The repast was laid on the grass, notwithstanding Aristabulus more than +hinted that the public, his beloved public, usually saw fit to introduce +rude tables for that purpose. The Messrs. Effinghams, however, were not to +be taught by a mere bird of passage, how a rustic fête so peculiarly their +own, ought to be conducted, and the attendants were directed to spread the +dishes on the turf. Around this spot, rustic seats were <i>improvisés</i>, and +the business of <i>restauration</i> proceeded. Of all there assembled, the +Parisian feelings of Mademoiselle Viefville were the most excited; for to +her, the scene was one of pure delights, with the noble panorama of +forest-clad mountains, the mirror-like lake, the overshadowing oaks, and +the tangled brakes of the adjoining woods.</p> + +<p>"<i>Mais, vraiment ceci surpasse les Tuileries, même dans leur propre +genre</i>!" she exclaimed, with energy. "<i>On passer ait volontiers par les +dangers du désert pour y parvenir</i>."</p> + +<p>Those who understood her, smiled at this characteristic remark, and most +felt disposed to join in the enthusiasm. Still, the manner in which their +companions expressed the happiness they felt, appeared tame and +unsatisfactory to Mr. Bragg and Mr. Dodge, these two persons being +accustomed to see the young of the two sexes indulge in broader +exhibitions of merry-making than those in which it comported with the +tastes and habits of the present party to indulge. In vain Mrs. Hawker, in +her quiet dignified way, enjoyed the ready wit and masculine thoughts of +Mrs. Bloom field, appearing to renew her youth; or, Eve, with her sweet +simplicity, and highly cultivated mind and improved tastes, seemed like a +highly-polished mirror, to throw back the flashes of thought and memory, +that so constantly gleamed before both; it was all lost on these +thoroughly matter-of-fact utilitarians. Mr. Effingham, all courtesy and +mild refinement, was seldom happier; and John Effingham was never more +pleasant, for he had laid aside the severity of his character, to appear, +what he ought always to have been, a man in whom intelligence and +quickness of thought could be made to seem secondary to the gentler +qualities. The young men were not behind their companions, either, each, +in his particular way, appearing to advantage, gay, regulated, and full of +a humour that was rendered so much the more agreeable, by drawing its +images from a knowledge of the world, that was tempered by observation and +practice.</p> + +<p>Poor Grace, alone, was the only one of the whole party, always excepting +Aristabulus and Steadfast, who, for those fleeting but gay hours, was not +thoroughly happy. For the first time in her life, she felt her own +deficiencies, that ready and available knowledge, so exquisitely feminine +in its nature and exhibition, which escaped Mrs. Bloomfield and Eve, as it +might be from its own excess; which the former possessed almost, +intuitively, a gift of Heaven, and which the latter enjoyed, not only from +the same source, but as a just consequence of her long and steady +self-denial, application, and a proper appreciation of her duty to +herself, was denied one who, in ill-judged compliance with the customs of +a society that has no other apparent aim than the love of display, had +precluded herself from enjoyments that none but the intellectual can feel. +Still Grace was beautiful and attractive; and though she wondered where +her cousin, in general so simple and unpretending, had acquired all those +stores of thought, that, in the <i>abandon</i> and freedom of such a fête, +escaped her in rich profusion, embellished with ready allusions and a +brilliant though chastened wit, her generous and affectionate heart could +permit her to wonder without envying. She perceived, for the first time, +on this occasion, that if Eve were indeed a Hajji, it was not a Hajji of a +common school; and, while her modesty and self-abasement led her bitterly +to regret the hours irretrievably wasted in the frivolous levities so +common to those of her sex with whom she had been most accustomed to +mingle, her sincere regret did not lessen her admiration for one she began +tenderly to love.</p> + +<p>As for Messrs. Dodge and Bragg, they both determined, in their own minds, +that this was much the most stupid entertainment they had ever seen on +that spot, for it was entirely destitute of loud laughing, noisy +merriment, coarse witticisms, and practical jokes. To them it appeared the +height of arrogance, for any particular set of persons to presume to come +to a spot, rendered sacred by the public suffrage in its favour, in order +to indulge in these outlandish dog-in-the-mangerisms.</p> + +<p>Towards the close of this gay repast, and when the party were about to +yield their places to the attendants, who were ready to re-ship the +utensils, John Effingham observed--</p> + +<p>"I trust, Mrs. Hawker, you have been-duly warned of the +catastrophe-character of this point, on which woman is said never to have +been wooed in vain. Here are Captain Truck and myself, ready at any +moment to use these carving knives, <i>faute des Bowies</i>, in order to show +our desperate devotion; and I deem it no more than prudent in you, not to +smile again this day, lest the cross-eyed readings of jealousy should +impute a wrong motive."</p> + +<p>"Had the injunction been against laughing, sir, I might have resisted, but +smiles are far too feeble to express one's approbation, on such a day as +this; you may, therefore, trust to my discretion. Is it then true, +however, that Hymen haunts these shades?"</p> + +<p>"A bachelor's history of the progress of love, may be, like the education +of his children, distrusted; but so sayeth tradition; and I never put my +foot in the place, without making fresh vows of constancy to myself. After +this announcement of the danger, dare you accept an arm, for I perceive +signs that life cannot be entirely wasted in these pleasures, great as +they may prove."</p> + +<p>The whole party arose, and separating naturally, they strolled in groups +or pairs again, along the pebbly strand, or beneath the trees, while the +attendants made the preparations to depart. Accident, as much as design, +left Sir George and Grace alone, for neither perceived the circumstance +until they had both passed a little rise in the formation of the ground, +and were beyond the view of their companions. The baronet was the first to +perceive how much he had been favoured by fortune, and his feelings were +touched by the air of gentle melancholy, that shaded the usually bright +and brilliant countenance of the beautiful girl.</p> + +<p>"I should have thrice enjoyed this pleasant day," he said, with an +interest in his manner, that caused the heart of Grace to beat quicker, +"had I not seen that to you it has been less productive of satisfaction, +than to most of those around you. I fear you may not be as well, as +usual?"</p> + +<p>"In health, never better, though not in spirits, perhaps."</p> + +<p>"I could wish I had a right to inquire why you, who have so few causes in +general to be out of spirits, should have chosen a moment so little in +accordance with the common feeling."</p> + +<p>"I have chosen no moment; the moment has chosen me, I fear. Not until this +day, Sir George Templemore, have I ever been truly sensible of my great +inferiority to my cousin, Eve."</p> + +<p>"An inferiority that no one but yourself would observe or mention."</p> + +<p>"No, I am neither vain enough, nor ignorant enough, to be the dupe of this +flattery," returned Grace, shaking her hands and head, while she forced a +smile; for even the delusions those we love pour into our ears, are not +without their charms. "When I first met my cousin, after her return, my +own imperfections rendered me blind to her superiority; but she herself +has gradually taught me to respect her mind, her womanly character, her +tact, her delicacy, principles, breeding, every thing that can make a +woman estimable, or worthy to be loved! Oh! how have I wasted in childish +amusements, and frivolous vanities, the precious moments of that girlhood +which can never be recalled, and left myself scarcely worthy to be an +associate of Eve Effingham!"</p> + +<p>The first feelings of Grace had so far gotten the control, that she scarce +knew what she said, or to whom she was speaking; she even wrung her hands, +in the momentary bitterness of her regrets, and in a way to arouse all the +sympathy of a lover.</p> + +<p>"No one but yourself would say this, Miss Van Cortlandt, and least of all +your admirable cousin."</p> + +<p>"She is, indeed, my admirable cousin! But what are <i>we</i>, in comparison +with such a woman. Simple and unaffected as a child, with the intelligence +of a scholar; with all the graces of a woman, she has the learning and +mind of a man. Mistress of so many languages----"</p> + +<p>"But you, too, speak several, my dear Miss Van Cortlandt."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Grace, bitterly, "I <i>speak</i> them, as the parrot repeats words +that he does not understand. But Eve Effingham has used these languages as +means, and she does not tell you merely what such a phrase or idiom +signifies, but what the greatest writers have thought and written."</p> + +<p>"No one has a more profound respect for your cousin than myself, Miss Van +Cortlandt, but justice to you requires that I should say her great +superiority over yourself has escaped me."</p> + +<p>"This may be true, Sir George Templemore, and for a long time it escaped +me too. I have only learned to prize her as she ought to be prized by an +intimate acquaintance; hour by hour, as it might be. But even you must +have observed how quick and intuitively my cousin and Mrs. Bloomfield have +understood each other to-day; how much extensive reading, and, what +polished tastes they have both shown, and all so truly feminine! Mrs. +Bloomfield is a remarkable woman, but she loves these exhibitions, for she +knows she excels in them. Not so with Eve Effingham, who, while she so +thoroughly enjoys every thing intellectual, is content, always, to seem so +simple. Now, it happens, that the conversation turned once to-day on a +subject that my cousin, no later than yesterday, fully explained to me, at +my own earnest request; and I observed that, while she joined so naturally +with Mrs. Bloomfield in adding to our pleasure, she kept back half what +she knew, lest she might seem to surpass her friend. No--no--no--there is +not such another woman as Eve Effingham in this world!"</p> + +<p>"So keen a perception of excellence in others, denotes an equal excellence +in yourself."</p> + +<p>"I know my own great inferiority now, and no kindness of yours, Sir George +Templemore, can ever persuade me into a better opinion of myself. Eve has +travelled, seen much in Europe that does not exist here, and, instead of +passing her youth in girlish trifling, has treated the minutes as if they +were all precious, as she well knew them to be."</p> + +<p>"If Europe, then, does indeed possess these advantages, why not yourself +visit it, dearest Miss Van Cortlandt?"</p> + +<p>"I--I a Hajji!" cried Grace with childish pleasure, though her colour +heightened, and, for a moment, Eve and her superiority was forgotten.</p> + +<p>Certainly Sir George Templemore did not come out on the lake that day with +any expectation of offering his baronetcy, his fair estate, with his hand, +to this artless, half-educated, provincial, but beautiful girl. For a long +time he had been debating with himself the propriety of such a step, and +it is probable that, at some later period, he would have sought an +occasion, had not one now so opportunely offered, notwithstanding all his +doubts and reasonings with himself. If the "woman who hesitates is lost," +it is equally true that the man who pretends to set up his reason alone +against beauty, is certain to find that sense is less powerful than the +senses. Had Grace Van Cortlandt been more sophisticated, less natural, her +beauty might have failed to make this conquest; but the baronet found a +charm in her <i>naiveté</i>, that was singularly winning to the feelings of a +man of the world. Eve had first attracted him by the same quality; the +early education of American females being less constrained and artificial +than that of the English; but in Eve he found a mental training and +acquisitions that left the quality less conspicuous, perhaps, than in her +scarcely less beautiful cousin; though, had Eve met his admiration with +any thing like sympathy, her power over him would not have been easily +weakened. As it was, Grace had been gradually winding herself around his +affections, and he now poured out his love, in a language that her +unpractised and already favourably disposed feelings had no means of +withstanding. A very few minutes were allowed to them, before the summons +to the boat; but when this summons came, Grace rejoined the party, +elevated in her own good opinion, as happy as a cloudless future could +make her and without another thought of the immeasurable superiority of +her cousin.</p> + +<p>By a singular coincidence, while the baronet and Grace were thus engaged +on one part of the shore, Eve was the subject of a similar proffer of +connecting herself for life, on another. She had left the circle, attended +by Paul, her father, and Aristabulus; but no sooner had they reached the +margin of the water, than the two former were called away by Captain +Truck, to settle some controverted point between the latter and the +commodore. By this unlooked-for desertion, Eve found herself alone with +Mr. Bragg.</p> + +<p>"That was a funny and comprehensive remark Mr. John made about the +'Point,' Miss Eve," Aristabulus commenced, as soon as he found himself in +possession of the ground. "I should like to know if it be really true that +no woman was ever unsuccessfully wooed beneath these oaks? If such be the +case, we gentlemen ought to be cautious how we come here."</p> + +<p>Here Aristabulus simpered, and looked, if possible, more amiable than +ever; though the quiet composure and womanly dignity of Eve, who respected +herself too much, and too well knew what was due to her sex, even to enter +into, or, so far as it depended on her will, to permit any of that +common-place and vulgar trifling about love and matrimony, which formed a +never-failing theme between the youthful of the two sexes, in Mr. Bragg's +particular circle, sensibly curbed his ambitious hopes. Still he thought +he had made too good an opening, not to pursue the subject.</p> + +<p>"Mr. John Effingham sometimes indulges in pleasantries," Eve answered, +"that would lead one astray who might attempt to follow."</p> + +<p>"Love <i>is</i> a jack-o'-lantern," rejoined Aristabulus sentimentally. "That +I admit; and it is no wonder so many get swamped in following his lights. +Have you ever felt the tender passion, Miss Eve?"</p> + +<p>Now, Aristabulus had heard this question put at the <i>soirée</i> of Mrs. +Houston, more than once, and he believed himself to be in the most polite +road for a regular declaration. An ordinary woman, who felt herself +offended by this question, would, most probably, have stepped back, and, +raising her form to its utmost elevation, answered by an emphatic "sir!" +Not so with Eve. She felt the distance between Mr. Bragg and herself to be +so great, that by no probable means could he even offend her by any +assumption of equality. This distance was the result of opinions, habits, +and education, rather than of condition, however; for, though Eve +Effingham could become the wife of a gentleman only, she was entirely +superior to those prejudices of the world that depend on purely factitious +causes. Instead of discovering surprise, indignation, or dramatic dignity, +therefore, at this extraordinary question, she barely permitted a smile to +curl her handsome mouth; and this so slightly, as to escape her +companion's eye.</p> + +<p>"I believe we are to be favoured with as smooth water, in returning to the +village, as we had in the morning, while coming to this place," she simply +said. "You row sometimes, I think, Mr. Bragg?"</p> + +<p>"Ah! Miss Eve, such another opportunity may never occur again, for you +foreign ladies are so difficult of access! Let me, then, seize this happy +moment, here, beneath the hymeneal oaks, to offer you this faithful hand +and this willing heart. Of fortune you will have enough for both, and I +say nothing about the miserable dross. Reflect, Miss Eve, how happy we +might be, protecting and soothing the old age of your father, and in going +down the hill of life in company; or, as the song says, 'and hand in hand +we'll go, and sleep the'gither at the foot, John Anderson, my Joe.'"</p> + +<p>"You draw very agreeable pictures, Mr Bragg, and with the touches of a +master!"</p> + +<p>"However agreeable you find them, Miss Eve, they fall infinitely short of +the truth. The tie of wedlock, besides being the most sacred, is also the +dearest; and happy, indeed, are they who enter into the solemn engagement +with such cheerful prospects as ourselves. Our ages are perfectly +suitable, our disposition entirely consonant, our habits so similar as to +obviate all unpleasant changes, and our fortunes precisely what they ought +to be to render a marriage happy, with confidence on one side, and +gratitude on the other. As to the day, Miss Eve, I could wish to leave you +altogether the mistress of that, and shall not be urgent."</p> + +<p>Eve had often heard John Effingham comment on the cool impudence of a +particular portion of the American population, with great amusement to +herself; but never did she expect to be the subject of an attack like this +in her own person. By way of rendering the scene perfect, Aristabulus had +taken out his penknife, cut a twig from a bush, and he now rendered +himself doubly interesting by commencing the favourite occupation of +whittling. A cooler picture of passion could not well have been drawn.</p> + +<p>"You are bashfully silent, Miss Eve! I make all due allowances for natural +timidity, and shall say no more at present--though, as silence universally +'gives consent--'" "If you please, sir," interrupted Eve, with a slight +motion of her parasol, that implied a check. "I presume our habits and +opinions, notwithstanding you seem to think them so consonant with each +other, are sufficiently different to cause you not to see the impropriety +of one, who is situated like yourself, abusing the confidence of a parent, +by making such a proposal to a daughter without her father's knowledge: +and, on that point, I shall say nothing. But as you have done me the +honour of making me a very unequivocal offer of your hand, I wish that the +answer may be as distinct as the proposal. I decline the advantage and +happiness of becoming your wife, sir----"</p> + +<p>"Time flies, Miss Eve!"</p> + +<p>"Time does fly, Mr. Bragg; and, if you remain much longer in the +employment of Mr. Effingham, you may lose an opportunity of advancing your +fortunes at the west, whither I understand it has long been your intention +to emigrate----"</p> + +<p>"I will readily relinquish all my hopes at the west, for your sake."</p> + +<p>"No, sir, I cannot be a party to such a sacrifice. I will not say forget +<i>me</i>, but forget your hopes here, and renew those you have so +unreflectingly abandoned beyond the Mississippi. I shall not represent +this conversation to Mr. Effingham in a manner to create any unnecessary +prejudices against you; and while I thank you, as every woman should, for +an offer that must infer some portion, at least, of your good opinion, you +will permit me again to wish you all lawful success in your western +enterprises."</p> + +<p>Eve gave Mr. Bragg no farther opportunity to renew his suit; for, she +curtsied and left him, as she ceased speaking. Mr. Dodge, who had been a +distant observer of the interview, now hastened to join his friend, +curious to know the result, for it had been privately arranged between +these modest youths, that each should try his fortune in turn, with the +heiress, did she not accept the first proposal. To the chagrin of +Steadfast, and probably to the reader's surprise, Aristabulus informed his +friend that Eve's manner and language had been full of encouragement.</p> + +<p>"She thanked me for the offer, Mr. Dodge," he said, "and her wishes for my +future prosperity at the west, were warm and repeated. Eve Effingham is, +indeed, a charming creature!"</p> + +<p>"At the west! Perhaps she meant differently from what you imagine. I know +her well; the girl is full of art."</p> + +<p>"Art, sir! She spoke as plainly as woman could speak, and I repeat that I +feel considerably encouraged. It is something, to have had so plain a +conversation with Eve Effingham."</p> + +<p>Mr. Dodge swallowed his discontent, and the whole party soon embarked, to +return to the village; the commodore and general taking a boat by +themselves, in order to bring their discussions on human affairs in +general, to a suitable close.</p> + +<p>That night, Sir George Templemore, asked an interview with Mr. Effingham, +when the latter was alone in his library.</p> + +<p>"I sincerely hope this request is not the forerunner of a departure," said +the host kindly, as the young man entered, "in which case I shall regard +you as one unmindful of the hopes he has raised. You stand pledged by +implication, if not in words, to pass another month with us."</p> + +<p>"So far from entertaining an intention so faithless, my dear sir, I am +fearful that you may think I trespass too far on your hospitality."</p> + +<p>He then communicated his wish to be allowed to make Grace Van Cortlandt +his wife. Mr. Effingham heard him with a smile, that showed he was not +altogether unprepared for such a demand, and his eye glistened as he +squeezed the other's hand.</p> + +<p>"Take her with all my heart, Sir George," he said, "but remember you are +transferring a tender plant into a strange soil. There are not many of +your countrymen to whom I would confide such a trust, for I know the risk +they run who make ill-assorted unions--"</p> + +<p>"Ill-assorted unions, Mr. Effingham!"</p> + +<p>"Yours will not be one, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, I know; +for in years, birth and fortune, you and my dear niece are as much, on an +equality as can be desired: but it is too often an ill-assorted union for +an American woman to become an English wife. So much depends on the man, +that with one in whom I have less confidence than I have in you, I might +justly hesitate. I shall take a guardian's privilege, though Grace be her +own mistress, and give you one solemn piece of advice--always respect the +country of the woman you have thought worthy to bear your name."</p> + +<p>"I hope always to respect every thing that is hers; but, why this +particular caution?--Miss Van Cortlandt is almost English in her heart."</p> + +<p>"An affectionate wife will take her bias in such matters, generally from +her husband. Your country will be her country, your God her God. Still, +Sir George Templemore, a woman of spirit and sentiment can never wholly +forget the land of her birth. You love us not in England, and one who +settles there will often have occasion to hear gibes and sneers on the +land from which she came--"</p> + +<p>"Good God, Mr. Effingham, you do not think I shall take my wife into +society where--"</p> + +<p>"Bear with a proser's doubts, Templemore. You will do all that is +well-intentioned and proper, I dare say, in the usual acceptation of the +words; but I wish you to do more; that which is wise. Grace has now a +sincere reverence and respect for England, feelings that in many +particulars are sustained by the facts, and will be permanent; but, in +some things, observation, as it usually happens with the young and +sanguine, will expose the mistakes into which she has been led by +enthusiasm and the imagination. As she knows other countries better, she +will come to regard her own with more favourable and discriminating eyes, +losing her sensitiveness on account of peculiarities she now esteems, and +taking new views of things. Perhaps you will think me selfish, but I shall +add, also, that if you wish to cure your wife of any homesickness, the +surest mode will be to bring her back to her native land."</p> + +<p>"Nay, my dear sir," said Sir George, laughing, "this is very much like +acknowledging its blemishes."</p> + +<p>"I am aware it has that appearance, and yet the fact is otherwise. The +cure is as certain with the Englishman as with the American; and with the +German as with either. It depends on a general law which causes us all to +over-estimate by-gone pleasures and distant scenes, and to undervalue +those of the present moment. You know I have always maintained there is no +real philosopher short of fifty, nor any taste worth possessing that is a +dozen years old."</p> + +<p>Here Mr. Effingham rang the bell, and desired Pierre to request Miss Van +Cortlandt to join him in the library. Grace entered blushing and shy, but +with a countenance beaming with inward peace. Her uncle regarded her a +moment intently, and a tear glistened in his eye, again, as he tenderly +kissed her burning cheek.</p> + +<p>"God bless you, love," he said--"'tis a fearful change for your sex, and +yet you all enter into it radiant with hope, and noble in your confidence. +Take her, Templemore," giving her hand to the baronet, "and deal kindly by +her. You will not desert us entirely I trust I shall see you both once +more in the Wigwam before I die."</p> + +<p>"Uncle--uncle--" burst from Grace, as, drowned in tears, she threw herself +into Mr. Effingham's arms; "I am an ungrateful girl, thus to abandon all +my natural friends. I have acted wrong----"</p> + +<p>"Wrong, dearest Miss Van Cortlandt!"</p> + +<p>"Selfishly, then, Sir George Templemore," the simple-hearted girl +ingenuously added, scarcely knowing how much her words implied--"Perhaps +this matter night be reconsidered."</p> + +<p>"I am afraid little would be gained by that, my love," returned the +smiling uncle, wiping his eyes at the same instant. "The second thoughts +of ladies usually confirm the first, in such matters. God bless you, +Grace;--Templemore, may Heaven have you, too, in its holy keeping. +Remember what I have said, and to-morrow we will converse further on the +subject. Does Eve know of this, my niece?"</p> + +<p>The colour went and came rapidly in Grace's cheek, and she looked to the +floor, abashed.</p> + +<p>"We ought then to send for her," resumed Mr. Effingham, again reaching +towards the bell.</p> + +<p>"Uncle--" and Grace hurriedly interposed, in time to save the string from +being pulled. "Could I keep such an important secret from my dearest +cousin!"</p> + +<p>"I find that I am the last in the secret, as is generally the case with +old fellows, and I believe I am even now <i>de trop</i>."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham kissed Grace again affectionately, and, although she +strenuously endeavoured to detain him, he left the room.</p> + +<p>"We must follow," said Grace, hastily wiping her eyes, and rubbing the +traces of tears from her cheeks--"Excuse me, Sir George Templemore; will +you open----"</p> + +<p>He did, though it was not the door, but his arms. Grace seemed like one +that was rendered giddy by standing on a precipice, but when she fell, the +young baronet was at hand to receive her. Instead of quitting the library +that instant, the bell had announced the appearance of the supper-tray, +before she remembered that she had so earnestly intended to do so.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XXI.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "This day, no man thinks<br /> +He has business at his house."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> KING HENRY VIII.</blockquote> + + +<p>The warm weather, which was always a little behind that of the lower +counties, had now set in among the mountains, and the season had advanced +into the first week in July. "Independence Day," as the fourth of that +month is termed by the Americans, arrived; and the wits of Templeton were +taxed, as usual, in order that the festival might be celebrated with the +customary intellectual and moral treat. The morning commenced with a +parade of the two or three uniformed companies of the vicinity, much +gingerbread and spruce-beer were consumed in the streets, no light +potations of whiskey were swallowed in the groceries, and a great variety +of drinks, some of which bore very ambitious names, shared the same fate +in the taverns.</p> + +<p>Mademoiselle Viefville had been told that this was the great American +<i>fête</i>; the festival of the nation; and she appeared that morning in gay +ribands, and with her bright, animated face, covered with smiles for the +occasion. To her surprise, however, no one seemed to respond to her +feelings; and as the party rose from the breakfast-table, she took an +opportunity to ask an explanation of Eve, in a little 'aside.'</p> + +<p>"<i>Est-ce que je me suis trompée, ma chere</i>?" demanded the lively +Frenchwoman. "Is not this <i>la célébration de votre indépendance</i>?"</p> + +<p>"You are not mistaken, my dear Mademoiselle Viefville, and great +preparations are made to do it honour. I understand there is to be a +military parade, an oration, a dinner, and fire-works."</p> + +<p>"<i>Monsieur votre père----?</i>"</p> + +<p>"<i>Monsieur mon père</i> is not much given to rejoicings, and he takes this +annual joy, much as a valetudinarian takes his morning draught."</p> + +<p>"<i>Et Monsieur Jean Effingham----?</i>"</p> + +<p> +"Is always a philosopher; you are to expect no antics from him."</p> + +<p>"<i>Mais ces jeunes gens, Monsieur Bragg, Monsieur Dodge, et Monsieur Powis, +même!</i>"</p> + +<p>"<i>Se réjouissent en Américains.</i> I presume you are aware that Mr. Powis +has declared himself to be an American?"</p> + +<p>Mademoiselle Viefville looked towards the streets, along which divers +tall, sombre-looking countrymen, with faces more lugubrious than those of +the mutes of a funeral, were sauntering, with a desperate air of +enjoyment; and she shrugged her shoulders, as she muttered to herself, +"<i>que ces Americains sont drôles!</i>"</p> + +<p>At a later hour, however, Eve surprised her father, and indeed most of the +Americans of the party, by proposing that the ladies should walk out into +the street, and witness the fête.</p> + +<p>"My child, this is a strange proposition to come from a young lady of +twenty," said her father.</p> + +<p>"Why strange, dear sir?--We always mingled in the village fêtes in +Europe."</p> + +<p>"<i>Certainement</i>" cried the delighted Mademoiselle Viefville; "<i>c'est de +rigueur, même</i>"</p> + +<p>"And it is <i>de rigueur</i>, here, Mademoiselle, for young ladies to keep out +of them," put in John Effingham. "I should be very sorry to see either of +you three ladies in the streets of Templeton to-day."</p> + +<p>Why so, cousin Jack? Have we any thing to fear from the rudeness of our +countrymen? I have always understood, on the contrary, that in no other +part of the world is woman so uniformly treated with respect and kindness, +as in this very republic of ours; and yet, by all these ominous faces, I +perceive that it will not do for her to trust herself in the streets of a +village on a <i>festa</i>"</p> + +<p>"You are not altogether wrong, in what you now say, Miss Effingham, nor +are you wholly right. Woman, as a whole, is well treated in America; and +yet it will not do for a <i>lady</i> to mingle in scenes like these, as ladies +may and do mingle with them in Europe."</p> + +<p>"I have heard this difference accounted for," said Paul Powis, "by the +fact that women have no legal rank in this country. In those nations where +the station of a lady is protected by legal ordinances, it is said she may +descend with impunity; but, in this, where all are equal before the law, +so many misunderstand the real merits of their position, that she is +obliged to keep aloof from any collisions with those who might be disposed +to mistake their own claims."</p> + +<p>"But I wish for no collisions, no associations, Mr. Powis, but simply to +pass through the streets, with my cousin and Mademoiselle Viefville, to +enjoy the sight of the rustic sports, as one would do in France, or Italy, +or even in republican Switzerland, if you insist on a republican example."</p> + +<p>"Rustic sports!" repeated Aristabulus with a frightened look--"the people +will not bear to hear their sports called rustic, Miss Effingham."</p> + +<p>"Surely, sir,"--Eve never spoke to Mr. Bragg, now, without using a +repelling politeness--"surely, sir, the people of these mountains will +hardly pretend that their sports are those of a capital."</p> + +<p>"I merely mean, ma'am, that the <i>term</i> would be monstrously unpopular; nor +do I see why the sports in a city"--Aristabulus was much too peculiar in +his notions, to call any place that had a mayor and aldermen a +town,--"should not be just as rustic as those of a village. The contrary +supposition violates the principle of equality."</p> + +<p>"And do <i>you</i> decide against us, dear sir?" Eve added looking at Mr. +Effingham.</p> + +<p>"Without stopping to examine causes, my child. I shall say that I think +you had better all remain at home."</p> + +<p>"<i>Voilà, Mademoiselle Viefville, une fête Americaine!"</i></p> + +<p>A shrug of the shoulders was the significant reply.</p> + +<p>"Nay, my daughter, you are not entirely excluded from the festivities; all +gallantry has not quite deserted the land."</p> + +<p>"A young lady shall walk <i>alone</i> with a young gentleman--shall ride alone +with him--shall drive out alone with him--shall not move <i>without</i> him, +<i>dans le monde, mais</i>, she shall not walk in the crowd, to look at <i>une +fête avec son père!</i>" exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville, in her imperfect +English. "<i>Je désespère vraiment</i>, to understand some <i>habitudes +Americaines!</i>"</p> + +<p>"Well, Mademoiselle, that you may not think us altogether barbarians, you +shall, at least, have the benefit of the oration."</p> + +<p>"You may well call it <i>the</i> oration, Ned; for, I believe one, or, +certainly one skeleton, has served some thousand orators annually, any +time these sixty years."</p> + +<p>"Of this skeleton, then, the ladies shall have the benefit. The procession +is about to form, I hear; and by getting ready immediately, we shall be +just in time to obtain good seats."</p> + +<p>Mademoiselle Viefville was delighted; for, after trying the theatres, the +churches, sundry balls, the opera, and all the admirable gaieties of +New-York, she had reluctantly come to the conclusion that America was a +very good country <i>pour s'ennuyer</i>, and for very little else; but here was +the promise of a novelty. The ladies completed their preparations, and, +accordingly, attended by all the gentlemen, made their appearance in the +assembly, at the appointed hour.</p> + +<p>The orator, who, as usual, was a lawyer, was already in possession of the +pulpit, for one of the village churches had been selected as the scene of +the ceremonies. He was a young man, who had recently been called to the +bar, it being as much in rule for the legal tyro to take off the wire-edge +of his wit in a Fourth of July oration, as it was formerly for a +Mousquetaire to prove his spirit in a duel. The academy which, formerly, +was a servant of all work to the public, being equally used for education, +balls, preaching, town-meetings, and caucuses, had shared the fate of most +American edifices in wood, having lived its hour and been burned; and the +collection of people, whom we have formerly had occasion to describe, +appeared to have also vanished from the earth, for nothing could be less +alike in exterior, at least, than those who had assembled under the +ministry of Mr. Grant, and their successors, who were now collected to +listen to the wisdom of Mr. Writ. Such a thing as a coat of two +generations was no longer to be seen; the latest fashion, or what was +thought to be the latest fashion, being as rigidly respected by the young +farmer, or the young mechanic, as by the more admitted bucks, the law +student, and the village shop-boy. All the red cloaks had long since been +laid aside to give place to imitation merino shawls, or, in cases of +unusual moderation and sobriety, to mantles of silk. As Eve glanced her +eye around her, she perceived Tuscan hats, bonnets of gay colours and +flowers, and dresses of French chintzes, where fifty years ago would have +been seen even men's woollen hats, and homely English calicoes. It is true +that the change among the men was not quite as striking, for their attire +admits of less variety; but the black stock had superseded the check +handkerchief and the bandanna; gloves had taken the places of mittens; and +the coarse and clownish shoe of "cow-hide" was supplanted by the calf-skin +boot.</p> + +<p>"Where are your peasants, your rustics, your milk and dairy maids--<i>the +people</i>, in short"--whispered Sir George Templemore to Mrs. Bloomfield, as +they took their seats; "or is this occasion thought to be too intellectual +for them, and the present assembly composed only of the <i>élite</i>?"</p> + +<p>"These <i>are</i> the people, and a pretty fair sample, too, of their +appearance and deportment. Most of these men are what you in England would +call operatives, and the women are their wives, daughters, and sisters."</p> + +<p>The baronet said nothing at the moment, but he sat looking around him with +a curious eye for some time, when he again addressed his companion.</p> + +<p>"I see the truth of what you say, as regards the men, for a critical eye +can discover the proofs of their occupations; but, surely, you must be +mistaken as respects your own sex; there is too much delicacy of form and +feature for the class you mean."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless, I have said naught but truth."</p> + +<p>"But look at the hands and the feet, dear Mrs. Bloomfield. Those are +French gloves, too, or I am mistaken."</p> + +<p>"I will not positively affirm that the French gloves actually belong to +the dairy-maids, though I have known even this prodigy; but, rely on it, +you see here the proper female counterparts of the men, and singularly +delicate and pretty females are they, for persons of their class. This is +what you call democratic coarseness and vulgarity, Miss Effingham tells +me, in England."</p> + +<p>Sir George smiled, but, as what it is the fashion of me country to call +'the exercises,' just then began, he made no other answer.</p> + +<p>These exercises commenced with instrumental music, certainly the weakest +side of American civilization. That of the occasion of which we write, had +three essential faults, all of which are sufficiently general to be termed +characteristic, in a national point of view. In the first place, the +instruments themselves were bad; in the next place, they were assorted +without any regard to harmony; and, in the last place, their owners did +not know how to use them. As in certain American <i>cities</i>--the word is +well applied here--she is esteemed the greatest belle who can contrive to +utter her nursery sentiments in the loudest voice, so in Templeton, was he +considered the ablest musician who could give the greatest <i>éclat</i> to a +false note. In a word, clamour was the one thing needful, and as regards +time, that great regulator of all harmonies, Paul Powis whispered to the +captain that the air they had just been listening to, resembled what the +sailors call a 'round robin;' or a particular mode of signing complaints +practised by seamen, in which the nicest observer cannot tell which is the +beginning, or which the end.</p> + +<p>It required all the Parisian breeding of Mademoiselle Viefville to +preserve her gravity during this overture, though she kept her bright +animated, French-looking eyes, roaming over the assembly, with an air of +delight that, as Mr. Bragg would say, made her very popular. No one else +in the party from the Wigwam, Captain Truck excepted, dared look up, but +each kept his or her eyes riveted on the floor, as if in silent enjoyment +of the harmonies. As for the honest old seaman, there was as much melody +in the howling of a gale to his unsophisticated ears, as in any thing +else, and he saw no difference between this feat of the Templeton band and +the sighings of old Boreas; and, to say the truth, our nautical critic was +not so much out of the way.</p> + +<p>Of the oration it is scarcely necessary to say much, for if human nature +is the same in all ages, and under all circumstances, so is a fourth of +July oration. There were the usual allusions to Greece and Rome, between +the republics of which and that of this country there exists some such +affinity as is to be found between a horse-chestnut and a chestnut-horse; +or that, of mere words: and a long catalogue of national glories that +might very well have sufficed for all the republics, both of antiquity and +of our own time. But when the orator came to speak of the American +character, and particularly of the intelligence of the nation, he was most +felicitous, and made the largest investments in popularity. According to +his account of the matter, no other people possessed a tithe of the +knowledge, or a hundredth part of the honesty and virtue of the very +community he was addressing; and after labouring for ten minutes to +convince his hearers that they already knew every thing, he wasted several +more in trying to persuade them to undertake further acquisitions of the +same nature.</p> + +<p>"How much better all this might be made," said Paul Powis, as the party +returned towards the Wigwam, when the 'exercises' were ended, "by +substituting a little plain instruction on the real nature and obligations +of the institutions, for so much unmeaning rhapsody. Nothing has struck me +with more surprise and pain, than to find how far, or it might be better +to say, how high, ignorance reaches on such subjects, and how few men, in +a country where all depends on the institutions, have clear notions +concerning their own condition."</p> + +<p>"Certainly this is not the opinion we usually entertain of ourselves," +observed John Effingham. "And yet it ought to be. I am far from +underrating the ordinary information of the country, which, as an average +information, is superior to that of almost every other people; nor am I +one of those who, according to the popular European notion, fancy the +Americans less gifted than common in intellect; there can be but one truth +in any thing, however, and it falls to the lot of very few, any where, to +master it. The Americans, moreover, are a people of facts and practices, +paying but little attention to principles, and giving themselves the very +minimum of time for investigations that lie beyond the reach of the common +mind; and it follows that they know little of that which does not present +itself in their every-day transactions. As regards the practice of the +institutions, it is regulated here, as elsewhere, by party, and party is +never an honest or a disinterested expounder."</p> + +<p>"Are you, then, more than in the common dilemma," asked Sir George, "or +worse off than your neighbours?"</p> + +<p>"We are worse off than our neighbours for the simple reason that it is the +intention of the American system, which has been deliberately framed, and +which is moreover the result of a bargain, to carry out its theory in +practice; whereas, in countries where the institutions are the results of +time and accidents, <i>improvement</i> is only obtained by <i>innovations</i>. Party +invariably assails and weakens power. When power is the possession of a +few, the many gain by party; but when power is the legal right of the +many, the few gain by party. Now, as party has no ally as strong as +ignorance and prejudice, a right understanding of the principles of a +government is of far more importance in a popular government, than in any +other. In place of the eternal eulogies on facts, that one hears on all +public occasions in this country, I would substitute some plain and clear +expositions of principles; or, indeed, I might say, of facts as they are +connected with principles."</p> + +<p>"<i>Mais, la musique, Monsieur</i>," interrupted Mademoiselle Viefville, in a +way so droll as to raise a general smile, "<i>qu'en pensez-vous?</i>"</p> + +<p>"That it is music, my dear Mademoiselle, in neither fact nor principle."</p> + +<p>"It only proves that a people can be free, Mademoiselle," observed Mrs. +Bloomfield, "and enjoy fourth of July orations, without having very +correct notions of harmony or time. But do our rejoicings end here, Miss +Effingham?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all--there is still something in reserve for the day, and all who +honour it. I am told the evening, which promises to be sufficiently +sombre, is to terminate with a fête that is peculiar to Templeton, and +which is called 'The Fun of Fire.'"</p> + +<p>"It is an ominous name, and ought to be a brilliant ceremony."</p> + +<p>As this was uttered, the whole party entered the Wigwam.</p> + +<p>"The Fun of Fire" took place, as a matter of course, at a later hour. When +night had set in, every body appeared in the main street of the village, a +part of which, from its width and form, was particularly adapted to the +sports of the evening. The females were mostly at the windows, or on such +elevated stands as favoured their view, and the party from the Wigwam +occupied a large balcony that topped the piazza of one of the principal +inns of the place.</p> + +<p>The sports of the night commenced with rockets, of which a few, that did +as much credit to the climate as to the state of the pyrotechnics of the +village, were thrown up, as soon as the darkness had become sufficiently +dense to lend them brilliancy. Then followed wheels, crackers and +serpents, all of the most primitive kind, if, indeed, there be any thing +primitive in such amusements. The "Fun of Fire" was to close the +rejoicings, and it was certainly worth all the other sports of that day, +united, the gingerbread and spruce beer included.</p> + +<p>A blazing ball cast from a shop-door, was the signal for the commencement +of the Fun. It was merely a ball of rope-yarn, or of some other similar +material, saturated with turpentine, and it burned with a bright, fierce +flame until consumed. As the first of these fiery meteors sailed into the +street, a common shout from the boys, apprentices, and young men, +proclaimed that the fun was at hand. It was followed by several more, and +in a few minutes the entire area was gleaming with glancing light. The +whole of the amusement consisted in tossing the fire-balls with boldness, +and in avoiding them with dexterity, something like competition soon +entering into the business of the scene.</p> + +<p>The effect was singularly beautiful. Groups of dark objects became +suddenly illuminated, and here a portion of the throng might be seen +beneath a brightness like that produced by a bonfire, while all the +back-ground of persons and faces were gliding about in a darkness that +almost swallowed up a human figure. Suddenly all this would be changed; +the brightness would pass away, and a ball alighting in a spot that had +seemed abandoned to gloom, it would be found peopled with merry +countenances, and active forms. The constant changes from brightness to +deep darkness, with all the varying gleams of light and shadow, made the +beauty of the scene, which soon extorted admiration from all in the +balcony."</p> + +<p>"<i>Mais, c'est charmant</i>!" exclaimed Mademoiselle Vielville, who was +enchanted at discovering something like gaiety and pleasure among the +"<i>tristes Amêricains</i>," and who had never even suspected them of being +capable of so much apparent enjoyment.</p> + +<p>"These are the prettiest village sports I have ever witnessed," said Eve, +"though a little dangerous, one would think. There is something +refreshing, as the magazine writers term it, to find one of these +miniature towns of ours condescending to be gay and happy in a village +fashion. If I were to bring my strongest objection to American country +life, it would be its ambitious desire to ape the towns, converting the +ease and <i>abandon</i> of a village, into the formality and stiffness that +render children in the clothes of grown people so absurdly ludicrous."</p> + +<p>"What!" exclaimed John Effingham; "do you fancy it possible to reduce a +free-man so low, as to deprive him of his stilts! No, no, young lady; you +are now in a country where if you have two rows of flounces on your frock, +your maid will make it a point to have three, by way of maintaining the +equilibrium. This is the noble ambition of liberty."</p> + +<p>"Annette's foible is a love of flounces, cousin Jack, and you have drawn +that image from your eye, instead of your imagination. It is a French, as +well as an American ambition, if ambition it be."</p> + +<p>"Let it be drawn whence it may, it is true. Have you not remarked, Sir +George Templemore, that the Americans will not even bear the ascendency of +a capital? Formerly, Philadelphia, then the largest town in the country, +was the political capital; but it was too much for any one community to +enjoy the united consideration that belongs to extent and politics; and so +the honest public went to work to make a capital, that should have nothing +else in its favour, but the naked fact that it was the seat of government, +and I think it will be generally allowed, that they have succeeded to +admiration. I fancy Mr. Dodge will admit that it would be quite +intolerable, that country should not be town, and town country."</p> + +<p>"This is a land of equal rights, Mr. John Effingham, and I confess that I +see no claims that New-York possesses, which does not equally belong to +Templeton."</p> + +<p>"Do you hold, sir," inquired Captain Truck, "that a ship is a brig, and a +brig a ship."</p> + +<p>"The case is different; Templeton <i>is</i> a town, is it not, Mr. John +Effingham?"</p> + +<p>"<i>A</i> town, Mr. Dodge, but not town. The difference is essential."</p> + +<p>"I do not see it, sir. Now, New-York, to my notion is not a <i>town</i>, but a +<i>city</i>."</p> + +<p>"Ah! This is the critical acumen of the editor! But you should be +indulgent, Mr. Dodge, to us laymen, who pick up our phrases by merely +wandering about the world; or in the nursery perhaps, while you, of the +favoured few, by living in the condensation of a province, obtain a +precision and accuracy to which we can lay no claim."</p> + +<p>The darkness prevented the editor of the Active Inquirer from detecting +the general smile, and he remained in happy ignorance of the feeling that +produced it. To say the truth, not the smallest of the besetting vices of +Mr. Dodge had their foundation in a provincial education, and in +provincial notions; the invariable tendency of both being to persuade +their subject that he is always right, while all opposed to him in opinion +are wrong. That well-known line of Pope, in which the poet asks, "what can +we reason, but from what we know?" contains the principle of half our +foibles and faults, and perhaps explains fully that proportion of those of +Mr. Dodge, to say nothing of those of no small number of his countrymen. +There are limits to the knowledge, and tastes, and habits of every man, +and, as each is regulated by the opportunities of the individual, it +follows of necessity, that no one can have a standard much above his own +experience. That an isolated and remote people should be a provincial +people, or, in other words, a people of narrow and peculiar practices and +opinions, is as unavoidable as that study should make a scholar; though in +the case of America, the great motive for surprise is to be found in the +fact that causes so very obvious should produce so little effect. When +compared with the bulk of other nations, the Americans, though so remote +and insulated, are scarcely provincial, for it is only when the highest +standard of this nation is compared with the highest standard of other +nations, that we detect the great deficiency that actually exists. That a +moral foundation so broad should uphold a moral superstructure so narrow, +is owing to the circumstance that the popular sentiment rules, and as +every thing is referred to a body of judges that, in the nature of things, +must be of very limited and superficial attainments, it cannot be a matter +of wonder to the reflecting, that the decision shares in the qualities of +the tribunal. In America, the gross mistake has been made of supposing, +that, because the mass rules in a political sense, it has a right to be +listened to and obeyed in all other matters, a practical deduction that +can only lead, under the most favourable exercise of power, to a very +humble mediocrity. It is to be hoped, that time, and a greater +concentration of taste, liberality, and knowledge than can well +distinguish a young and scattered population, will repair this evil, and +that our children will reap the harvest of the broad fields of +intelligence that have been sowed by ourselves. In the mean time, the +present generation must endure that which cannot easily be cured; and, +among its other evils, it will have to submit to a great deal of very +questionable information, not a few false principles, and an unpleasant +degree of intolerant and narrow bigotry, that are propagated by such +apostles of liberty and learning as Steadfast Dodge, Esquire.</p> + +<p>We have written in vain, if it now be necessary to point out a multitude +of things in which that professed instructor and Mentor of the public, the +editor of the Active Inquirer, had made a false estimate of himself, as +well as of his fellow-creatures. That such a man should be ignorant, is to +be expected, as he had never been instructed; that he was self-sufficient +was owing to his ignorance, which oftener induces vanity than modesty; +that he was intolerant and bigoted, follows as a legitimate effect of his +provincial and contracted habits; that he was a hypocrite, came from his +homage of the people; and that one thus constituted, should be permitted, +periodically, to pour out his vapidity, folly, malice, envy, and +ignorance, on his fellow-creatures, in the columns of a newspaper, was +owing to a state of society in which the truth of the wholesome adage +"that what is every man's business is nobody's business," is exemplified +not only daily, but hourly, in a hundred other interests of equal +magnitude, as well as to a capital mistake, that leads the community to +fancy that whatever is done in their time, is done for their good.</p> + +<p>As the "Fun of Fire" had, by this time, exhibited most of its beauties, +the party belonging to the Wigwam left the balcony, and, the evening +proving mild, they walked into the grounds of the building, where they +naturally broke into groups, conversing on the incidents of the day, or of +such other matters as came uppermost. Occasionally, gleams of light were +thrown across them from a fire-ball; or a rocket's starry train was still +seen drawn in the air, resembling the wake of a ship at night, as it wades +through the ocean.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XXII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> Gentle Octavia,<br /> +Let your best love draw to that point, which seeks<br /> +But to preserve it.<br /> +<br /> + ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA.</blockquote> + + +<p>We shall not say it was an accident that brought Paul and Eve side by +side, and a little separated from the others; for a secret sympathy had +certainly exercised its influence over both, and probably contributed as +much as any thing else towards bringing about the circumstance. Although +the Wigwam stood in the centre of the village, its grounds covered several +acres, and were intersected with winding walks, and ornamented with +shrubbery, in the well-known English style, improvements also of John +Effingham; for, while the climate and forests of America offer so many +inducements to encourage landscape gardening, it is the branch of art +that, of all the other ornamental arts, is perhaps the least known in this +country. It is true, time had not yet brought the labours of the projector +to perfection, in this instance; but enough had been done to afford very +extensive, varied, and pleasing walks. The grounds were broken, and John +Effingham had turned the irregularities to good account, by planting and +leading paths among them, to the great amusement of the lookers-on, +however, who, like true disciples of the Manhattanese economy, had +already begun to calculate the cost of what they termed grading the lawns, +it being with them as much a matter of course to bring pleasure grounds +down to a mathematical surface, as to bring a rail-road route down to the +proper level.</p> + +<p>Through these paths, and among the irregularities, groves, and +shrubberies, just mentioned, the party began to stroll; one group taking a +direction eastward, another south, and a third westward, in a way soon to +break them up into five or six different divisions. These several portions +of the company ere long got to move in opposite directions, by taking the +various paths, and while they frequently met, they did not often re-unite. +As has been already intimated, Eve and Paul were alone, for the first time +in their lives, under circumstances that admitted of an uninterrupted +confidential conversation. Instead of profiting immediately, however, by +this unusual occurrence, as many of our readers may anticipate, the young +man continued the discourse, in which the whole party had been engaged +when they entered the gate that communicated with the street.</p> + +<p>"I know not whether you felt the same embarrassment as myself, to-day, +Miss Effingham," he said, "when the orator was dilating on the glories of +the republic, and on the high honours that accompany the American name. +Certainly, though a pretty extensive traveller, I have never yet been able +to discover that it is any advantage abroad to be one of the 'fourteen +millions of freemen.'"</p> + +<p>"Are we to attribute the mystery that so long hung over your birth-place, +to this fact," Eve asked, a little pointedly.</p> + +<p>"If I have made any seeming mystery, as to the place of my birth, it has +been involuntary on my part, Miss Effingham, so far as you, at least, have +been concerned. I may not have thought myself authorized to introduce my +own history into our little discussions, but I am not conscious of aiming +at any unusual concealments. At Vienna, and in Switzerland, we met as +travellers; and now that you appear disposed to accuse me of concealment, +I may retort, and say that, neither you nor your father ever expressly +stated in my presence that you were Americans."</p> + +<p>"Was that necessary, Mr. Powis?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps not; and I am wrong to draw a comparison between my own +insignificance, and the éclat that attended you and your movements."</p> + +<p>"Nay," interrupted Eve, "do not misconceive me. My father felt an interest +in you, quite naturally, after what had occurred on the lake of Lucerne, +and I believe he was desirous of making you out a countryman,--a pleasure +that he has at length received."</p> + +<p>"To own the truth, I was never quite certain, until my last visit to +England, on which side of the Atlantic I was actually born, and to this +uncertainty, perhaps, may be attributed some of that cosmopolitism to +which I made so many high pretensions in our late passage."</p> + +<p>"Not know where you were born!" exclaimed Eve, with an involuntary haste, +that she immediately repented.</p> + +<p>"This, no doubt, sounds odd to you, Miss Effingham, who have always been +the pride and solace of a most affectionate father, but it has never been +my good fortune to know either parent. My mother, who was the sister of +Ducie's mother, died at my birth, and the loss of my father even preceded +hers. I may be said to have been born an orphan."</p> + +<p>Eve, for the first time in her life, had taken his arm, and the young man +felt the gentle pressure of her little hand, as she permitted this +expression of sympathy to escape her, at a moment she found so intensely +interesting to herself.</p> + +<p>"It was, indeed, a misfortune, Mr. Powis, and I fear you were put into +the navy through the want of those who would feel a natural concern in +your welfare."</p> + +<p>"The navy was my own choice; partly, I think, from a certain love of +adventure, and quite as much, perhaps, with a wish to settle the question +of my birth-place, practically at least, by enlisting in the service of +the one that I first knew, and certainly best loved."</p> + +<p>"But of that birth-place, I understand there is now no doubt?" said Eve, +with more interest than she was herself conscious of betraying.</p> + +<p>"None whatever; I am a native of Philadelphia; that point was conclusively +settled in my late visit to my aunt, Lady Dunluce, who was present at my +birth."</p> + +<p>"Is Lady Dunluce also an American?"</p> + +<p>"She is; never having quitted the country until after her marriage to +Colonel Ducie. She was a younger sister of my mother's, and, +notwithstanding some jealousies and a little coldness that I trust have +now disappeared, I am of opinion she loved her; though one can hardly +answer for the durability of the family ties in a country where the +institutions and habits are as artificial as in England."</p> + +<p>"Do you think there is less family affection, then, in England than in +America?"</p> + +<p>"I will not exactly say as much, though I am of opinion that neither +country is remarkable in that way. In England, among the higher classes, +it is impossible that the feelings should not be weakened by so many +adverse interests. When a brother knows that nothing stands between +himself and rank and wealth, but the claims of one who was born a +twelvemonth earlier than himself, he gets to feel more like a rival than a +kinsman, and the temptation to envy or dislike, or even hatred, sometimes +becomes stronger than the duty to love."</p> + +<p>"And yet the English, themselves, say that the services rendered by the +elder to the younger brother, and the gratitude of the younger to the +elder, are so many additional ties."</p> + +<p>"It would be contrary to all the known laws of feeling, and all +experience, if this were so. The younger applies to the elder for aid in +preference to a stranger, because he thinks he has a claim; and what man +who fancies he has a claim, is disposed to believe justice is fully done +him; or who that is required to discharge a duty, imagines he has not done +more than could be properly asked?"</p> + +<p>"I fear your opinion of men is none of the best, Mr. Powis!"</p> + +<p>"There may be exceptions, but such I believe to be the common fate of +humanity. The moment a duty is created, a disposition to think it easily +discharged follows; and of all sentiments, that of a continued and +exacting gratitude is the most oppressive. I fear more brothers are aided, +through family pride, than through natural affection."</p> + +<p>"What, then, loosens the tie among ourselves, where no law of +primogeniture exists?"</p> + +<p>"That which loosens every thing. A love of change that has grown up with +the migratory habits of the people; and which, perhaps, is, in some +measure, fostered by the institutions. Here is Mr. Bragg to confirm what I +say, and we may hear his sentiments on this subject."</p> + +<p>As Aristabulus, with whom walked Mr. Dodge, just at that moment came out +of the shrubbery, and took the same direction with themselves, Powis put +the question, as one addresses an acquaintance in a room.</p> + +<p>"Rotation in feelings, sir," returned Mr. Bragg, "is human nature, as +rotation in office is natural justice. Some of our people are of opinion +that it might be useful could the whole of society be made periodically to +change places, in order that every one might know how his neighbour +lives."</p> + +<p>"You are, then, an Agrarian, Mr. Bragg?"</p> + +<p>"As far from it as possible; nor do I believe you will find such an animal +in this county. Where property is concerned, we are a people that never +let go, as long as we can hold on, sir; but, beyond this we like lively +changes. Now, Miss Effingham, every body thinks frequent changes of +religious instructors in particular, necessary. There can be no vital +piety without, keeping the flame alive with excitement."</p> + +<p>"I confess, sir, that my own reasoning would lead to a directly contrary +conclusion, and that there can be no vital piety, as you term it, <i>with</i> +excitement."</p> + +<p>Mr. Bragg looked at Mr. Dodge, and Mr. Dodge looked at Mr. Bragg. Then +each shrugged his shoulders, and the former continued the discourse.</p> + +<p>"That may be the case in France, Miss Effingham," he said, "but, in +America, we look to excitement as the great purifier. We should as soon +expect the air in the bottom of a well to be elastic, as that the moral +atmosphere shall be clear and salutary, without the breezes of excitement. +For my part, Mr. Dodge, I think no man should be a judge, in the same +court, more than ten years at a time, and a priest gets to be rather +common-place and flat after five. There are men that may hold out a little +longer, I acknowledge; but to keep real, vital, soul-saving regeneration +stirring, a change should take place as often as once in five years, in a +parish; that is my opinion, at least."</p> + +<p>"But, sir," rejoined Eve, "as the laws of religion are immutable, the +modes by which it is known universal, and the promises, mediation, and +obligations are every where the same, I do not see what you propose to +gain by so many changes."</p> + +<p>"Why, Miss Effingham, we change the dishes at table, and no family of my +acquaintance, more than this of your honourable father's; and I am +surprised to find you opposed to the system."</p> + +<p>"Our religion, sir," answered Eve, gravely, "is a duty, and rests on +revelation and obedience; while our diet may, very innocently, be a matter +of mere taste, even of caprice, if you will."</p> + +<p>"Well, I confess I see no great difference, the main object in this life +being to stir people up, and to go ahead. I presume you know, Miss Eve, +that many people think that we ought to change our own parson, if we +expect a blessing on the congregation."</p> + +<p>"I should sooner expect a curse would follow an act of so much +heartlessness, sir. Our clergyman has been with us since his entrance into +the duties of his holy office; and it will be difficult to suppose that +the Divine favour would follow the commission of so selfish and capricious +a step, with a motive no better than the desire for novelty."</p> + +<p>"You quite mistake the object, Miss Eve, which is to stir the people up; a +hopeless thing, I fear, so long as they always sit under the same +preaching."</p> + +<p>"I have been taught to believe that piety is increased, Mr. Bragg, by the +aid of the Holy Spirit's sustaining and supporting us in our good desires; +and I cannot persuade myself that the Deity finds it necessary to save a +soul, by the means of any of those human agencies by which men sack towns, +turn an election, or incite a mob. I hear that extraordinary scenes are +witnessed in this country, in some of the other sects; but I trust never +to see the day, when the apostolic, reverend, and sober church, in which I +have been nurtured, shall attempt to advance the workings of that Divine +power, by a profane, human hurrah."</p> + +<p>All this was Greek to Messrs. Dodge and Bragg, who, in furthering their +objects, were so accustomed to "stirring people up," that they had quite +forgotten that the more a man was in "an excitement," the less he had to +do with reason. The exaggerated religious sects, which first peopled +America, have had a strong influence in transmitting to their posterity +false notions on such subjects; for while the old world is accustomed to +see Christianity used as an ally of government, and perverted from its one +great end to be the instrument of ambition, cupidity, and selfishness, the +new world has been fated to witness the reaction of such abuses, and to +run into nearly as many errors in the opposite extreme. The two persons +just mentioned, had been educated in the provincial school of religious +notions, that is so much in favour, in a portion of this country; and they +were striking examples of the truth of the adage, that "what is bred in +the bone will be seen in the flesh," for their common character, common in +this particular at least, was a queer mixture of the most narrow +superstitions and prejudices, that existed under the garb of religious +training, and of unjustifiable frauds, meannesses, and even vices. Mr. +Bragg was a better man than Mr. Dodge, for he had more self-reliance, and +was more manly; but, on the score of religion, he had the same +contradictory excesses, and there was a common point, in the way of vulgar +vice, towards which each tended, simply for the want of breeding and +tastes, as infallibly as the needle points to the pole. Cards were often +introduced in Mr. Effingham's drawing-room, and there was one apartment +expressly devoted to a billiard-table; and many was the secret fling, and +biting gibe, that these pious devotees passed between themselves, on the +subject of so flagrant an instance of immorality, in a family of so high +moral pretensions; the two worthies not unfrequently concluding their +comments by repairing to some secret room in a tavern, where, after +carefully locking the door, and drawing the curtains, they would order +brandy, and pass a refreshing hour in endeavouring to relieve each other +of the labour of carrying their odd sixpences, by means of little +shoemaker's loo.</p> + +<p>On the present occasion, however, the earnestness of Eve produced a +pacifying effect on their consciences, for, as our heroine never raised +her sweet voice above the tones of a gentlewoman, its very mildness and +softness gave force to her expressions. Had John Effingham uttered the +sentiments to which they had just listened it is probable Mr. Bragg would +have attempted an answer; but, under the circumstances, he preferred +making his bow, and diverging into the first path that offered, followed +by his companion. Eve and Paul continued their circuit of the grounds, as +if no interruption had taken place.</p> + +<p>"This disposition to change is getting to be universal in the country," +remarked the latter, as soon as Aristabulus and his friend had left them, +"and I consider it one of the worst signs of the times; more especially +since it has become so common to connect it with what it is the fashion to +call excitement."</p> + +<p>"To return to the subject which these gentlemen interrupted," said Eve, +"that of the family ties; I have always heard England quoted as one of the +strongest instances of a nation in which this tie is slight, beyond its +aristocratical influence; and I should be sorry to suppose that we are +following in the footsteps of our good-mother, in this respect at least."</p> + +<p>"Has Mademoiselle Viefville never made any remark on this subject?"</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Viefville, though observant, is discreet. That she believes +the standard of the affections as high in this as in her own country, I do +not think; for, like most Europeans, she believes the Americans to be a +passionless people, who are more bound up in the interests of gain, than +in any other of the concerns of life."</p> + +<p>"She does not know us!" said Paul so earnestly as to cause Eve to start at +the deep energy with which he spoke. "The passions lie as deep, and run in +currents as strong here, as in any other part of the world, though, there +not being as many factitious causes to dam them, they less seldom break +through the bounds of propriety."</p> + +<p>For near a minute the two paced the walk in silence, and Eve began to wish +that some one of the party would again join them, that a conversation +which she felt was getting to be awkward, might be interrupted. But no +one crossed their path again, and without rudeness, or affectation, she +saw no means of effecting her object. Paul was too much occupied with his +own feelings to observe his companion's embarrassment, and, after the +short pause mentioned, he naturally pursued the subject, though in a less +emphatic manner than before.</p> + +<p>"It was an old, and a favourite theory, with the Europeans," he said, with +a sort of bitter irony, "that all the animals of this hemisphere have less +gifted natures than those of the other; nor is it a theory of which they +are yet entirely rid. The Indian was supposed to be passionless, because +he had self-command; and what in the European would be thought exhibiting +the feelings of a noble nature, in him has been represented as ferocity +and revenge; Miss Effingham, you and I have seen Europe, have stood in the +presence of its wisest, its noblest and its best; and what have they to +boast beyond the immediate results of their factitious and laboured +political systems, that is denied to the American--or rather would be +denied to the American, had the latter the manliness and mental +independence, to be equal to his fortunes?"</p> + +<p>"Which, you think he is not."</p> + +<p>"How can a people be even independent that imports its thoughts, as it +does its wares,--that has not the spirit to invent even its own +prejudices?"</p> + +<p>"Something should be allowed to habit, and to the influence of time. +England, herself, probably has inherited some of her false notions, from +the Saxons and Normans."</p> + +<p>"That is not only possible, but probable; but England, in thinking of +Russia, France, Turkey, or Egypt, when induced to think wrong, yields to +an English, and not to an American interest. Her errors are at least +requited, in a degree, by serving her own ends, whereas ours are made, too +often, to oppose our most obvious interests. We are never independent +unless when stimulated by some strong and pressing moneyed concern, and +not often then beyond the plainest of its effects.--Here is one, +apparently, who does not belong to our party."</p> + +<p>Paul interrupted himself, in consequence of their meeting a stranger in +the walk, who moved with the indecision of one uncertain whether to +advance or to recede. Rockets frequently fell into the grounds, and there +had been one or two inroads of boys, which had been tolerated on account +of the occasion; but this intruder was a man in the decline of life, of +the condition of a warm tradesman seemingly, and he clearly had no +connection with sky-rockets, as his eyes were turned inquiringly on the +persons of those who passed him, from time to time, none of whom had he +stopped, however, until he now placed himself before Paul and Eve, in a +way to denote a desire to speak.</p> + +<p>"The young people are making a merry night of it," he said, keeping a hand +in each coat-pocket, while he unceremoniously occupied the centre of the +narrow walk, as if determined to compel a parley.</p> + +<p>Although sufficiently acquainted with the unceremonious habits of the +people of the country to feel no surprise at this intrusion, Paul was +vexed at having his tête à tête with Eve so rudely broken; and he answered +with more of the hauteur of the quarterdeck than he might otherwise have +done, by saying coldly--</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, sir, it is your wish to see Mr. Effingham--or--" hesitating an +instant, as he scanned the stranger's appearance--"some of his people. The +first will soon pass this spot, and you will find most of the latter on +the lawn, watching the rockets."</p> + +<p>The man regarded Paul a moment, and then he removed his hat respectfully.</p> + +<p>"Please, sir, can you inform me if a gentleman called Captain Truck--one +that sails the packets between New-York and England, is staying at the +Wigwam at present."</p> + +<p>Paul told him that the captain was walking with Mr. Effingham, and that +the next pair that approached would be they. The stranger fell back, +keeping his hat respectfully in his hand, and the two passed.</p> + +<p>"That man has been an English servant, but has been a little spoiled by +the reaction of an excessive liberty to do as he pleases. The 'please, +sir,' and the attitude can hardly be mistaken, while the <i>nonchalance</i> of +his manner '<i>à nous aborder</i>' sufficiently betrays the second edition of +his education."</p> + +<p>"I am curious to know what this person can want with our excellent +captain--it can scarcely be one of the Montauk's crew!"</p> + +<p>"I will answer for it, that the fellow has not enough seamanship about him +to whip a rope," said Paul, laughing; "for if there be two temporal +pursuits that have less affinity than any two others, they are those of +the pantry and the tar-bucket. I think it will be seen that this man has +been an English servant, and he has probably been a passenger on board +some ship commanded by our honest old friend."</p> + +<p>Eve and Paul now turned, and they met Mr. Effingham and the captain just +as the two latter reached the spot where the stranger still stood.</p> + +<p>"This is Captain Truck, the gentleman for whom you inquired," said Paul.</p> + +<p>The stranger looked hard at the captain, and the captain looked hard at +the stranger, the obscurity rendering a pretty close scrutiny necessary, +to enable either to distinguish features. The examination seemed to be +mutually unsatisfactory, for each retired a little, like a man who had not +found a face that he knew.</p> + +<p>"There must be two Captain Trucks, then, in the trade," said the stranger; +"this is not the gentleman I used to know."</p> + +<p>"I think you are as right in the latter part of your remark, friend, as +you are wrong in the first," returned the captain. "Know you, I do not, +and yet there are no more two Captain Trucks in the English trade, than +there are two Miss Eve Effinghams, or two Mrs. Hawkers in the universe. I +am John Truck, and no other man of that name ever sailed a ship between +New York and England, in my day, at least."</p> + +<p>"Did you ever command the Dawn, sir?"</p> + +<p>"The Dawn! That I did; and the Regulus, and the Manhattan, and the Wilful +Girl, and the Deborah-Angelina, and the Sukey and Katy, which, my dear +young lady, I may say, was my first love. She was only a fore-and-after, +carrying no standing topsail, even, and we named her after two of the +river girls, who were flyers, in their way; at least, I thought so then; +though a man by sailing a packet comes to alter his notions about men and +things, or, for that matter, about women and things, too. I got into a +category, in that schooner, that I never expect to see equalled; for I was +driven ashore to windward in her, which is gibberish to you, my dear young +lady, but which Mr. Powis will very well understand, though he may not be +able to explain it."</p> + +<p>"I certainly know what you mean," said Paul, "though I confess I am in a +category, as well as the schooner, so far as knowing how it could have +happened."</p> + +<p>"The Sukey and Katy ran away with me, that's the upshot of it. Since that +time I have never consented to command a vessel that was called after +<i>two</i> of our river young women, for I do believe that one of them is as +much as a common mariner can manage. You see, Mr. Effingham, we were +running along a weather-shore, as close in as we could get, to be in the +eddy, when a squall struck her a-beam, and she luffed right on to the +beach. No helping it. Helm hard up, peak down, head sheets to windward, +and main sheet flying, but it was all too late; away she went plump ashore +to windward. But for that accident, I think I might have married."</p> + +<p>"And what connexion could you find between matrimony and this accident, +captain?" demanded the laughing Eve.</p> + +<p>"There was an admonition in it, my dear young lady, that I thought was not +to be disregarded. I tried the Wilful Girl next, and she was thrown on her +beam-ends with me; after which I renounced all female names, and took to +the Egyptian."</p> + +<p>"The Egyptian!"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, Regulus, who was a great snake-killer, they tell me, in that +part of the world. But I never saw my way quite clear as bachelor, until I +got the Dawn. Did you know that ship, friend?"</p> + +<p>"I believe, sir, I made two passages in her while you commanded her."</p> + +<p>"Nothing more likely; we carried lots of your countrymen, though mostly +forward of the gangways. I commanded the Dawn more than twenty years ago."</p> + +<p>"It is all of that time since I crossed with you, sir; you may remember +that we fell in with a wreck, ten days after we sailed, and took off her +crew and two passengers. Three or four of the latter had died with their +sufferings, and several of the people."</p> + +<p>"All this seems but as yesterday! The wreck was a Charleston ship that had +started a butt."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir--yes, sir--that is just it--she had started, <i>but</i> could not get +in. That is just what they said at the time. I am David, sir--I should +think you <i>cannot</i> have forgotten David."</p> + +<p>The honest captain was very willing to gratify the other's harmless +self-importance, though, to tell the truth, he retained no more personal +knowledge of the David of the Dawn, than he had of David, King of the +Jews.</p> + +<p>"Oh, David!" he cried, cordially--"are <i>you</i> David? Well, I did not +expect to see you again in this world, though I never doubted where we +should be, hereafter I hope you are very well, David; what sort of +weather have you made of it since we parted? If I recollect aright, you +worked your passage;--never at sea before."</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon, sir; I never was at sea before the <i>first</i> time, it is +true; but I did not belong to the crew. I was a passenger."</p> + +<p>"I remember, now, you were in the steerage," returned the captain, who saw +daylight ahead.</p> + +<p>"Not at all, sir, but in the cabin."</p> + +<p>"Cabin!" echoed the captain, who perceived none of the requisites of a +cabin-passenger in the other--"Oh! I understand, in the pantry?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly so, sir. You may remember my master--he had the left-hand +state-room to himself, and I slept next to the scuttle-butt. You recollect +master, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Out of doubt, and a very good fellow he was. I hope you live with him +still?"</p> + +<p>"Lord bless you, sir, he is dead!"</p> + +<p>"Oh! I recollect hearing of it, at the time. Well, David. I hope if ever +we cross again, we shall be ship-mates once more. We were beginners, then, +but we have ships worth living in, now.--Good night."</p> + +<p>"Do you remember Dowse, sir, that we got from the wreck?" continued the +other, unwilling to give up his gossip so soon. "He was a dark man, that +had had the small-pox badly. I think, sir, you will recollect <i>him</i>, for +he was a hard man in other particulars, besides his countenance."</p> + +<p>"Somewhat flinty about the soul; I remember the man well; and so, David, +good night; you will come and see me, if you are ever in town. Good night, +David."</p> + +<p>David was now compelled to leave the place, for Captain Truck, who +perceived that the whole party was getting together again, in consequence +of the halt, felt the propriety of dismissing his visiter, of whom, his +master, and Dowse, he retained just as much recollection as one retains of +a common stage-coach companion after twenty years. The appearance of Mr. +Howel, who just at that moment approached them, aided the manoeuvre, and, +in a few minutes the different groups were again in motion, though some +slight changes had taken place in the distribution of the parties.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XXIII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "How silver sweet sound lovers' tongues at night,<br /> +Like softest music to attending ears!"</blockquote> + +<blockquote> ROMEO AND JULIET.</blockquote> + + +<p>"A poor matter, this of the fire-works," said Mr. Howel, who, with an old +bachelor's want of tact, had joined Eve and Paul in their walk. "The +English would laugh at them famously, I dare say. Have you heard Sir +George allude to them at all, Miss Eve?"</p> + +<p>"It would be great affectation for an Englishman to deride the fire-works +of any <i>dry</i> climate," said Eve laughing; "and I dare say, if Sir George +Templemore has been silent on the subject, it is because he is conscious +he knows little about it."</p> + +<p>"Well, that is odd! I should think England the very first country in the +world for fire-works. I hear, Miss Eve, that, on the whole, the baronet is +rather pleased with us; and I must say that he is getting to be very +popular in Templeton."</p> + +<p>"Nothing is easier than for an Englishman to become popular in America," +observed Paul, "especially if his condition in life be above that of the +vulgar. He has only to declare himself pleased with America; or, to be +sincerely hated, to declare himself displeased."</p> + +<p>"And in what does America differ from any other country, in this respect?" +asked Eve, quickly.</p> + +<p>"Not much, certainly; love induces love, and dislike, dislike. There is +nothing new in all this; but the people of other countries, having more +confidence in themselves, do not so sensitively inquire what others think +of them. I believe this contains the whole difference."</p> + +<p>"But Sir George does <i>rather</i> like us?" inquired Mr. Howel, with interest.</p> + +<p>"He likes some of us particularly well," returned Eve. "Do you not know +that my cousin Grace is to become Mrs.--I beg her pardon--Lady Templemore, +very shortly?"</p> + +<p>"Good God!--Is that possible--Lady Templemore!--Lady Grace Templemore!"</p> + +<p>"Not Lady Grace Templemore, but Grace, Lady Templemore, and graceful Lady +Templemore in the bargain."</p> + +<p>"And this honour, my dear Miss Eve, they tell me you refused!"</p> + +<p>"They tell you wrong then, sir," answered the young lady, a little +startled with the suddenness and <i>brusquerie</i> of the remark, and yet +prompt to do justice to all concerned. "Sir George Templemore never did me +the honour to propose <i>to</i> me, or <i>for</i> me, and consequently he <i>could</i> +not be refused."</p> + +<p>"It is very extraordinary!--I hear you were actually acquainted in +Europe?"</p> + +<p>"We were, Mr. Howel, actually acquainted in Europe, but I knew hundreds of +persons in Europe, who have never dreamed of asking me to marry them."</p> + +<p>"This is very strange--quite unlooked for--to marry Miss Van Cortlandt! Is +Mr. John Effingham in the grounds?"</p> + +<p>Eve made no answer, but Paul hurriedly observed--"You will find him in the +next walk, I think, by returning a short distance, and taking the first +path to the left."</p> + +<p>Mr. Howel did as told, and was soon out of sight.</p> + +<p>"That is a most earnest believer in English superiority, and, one may +say, by his strong desire to give you an English husband, Miss Effingham, +in English merit."</p> + +<p>"It is the weak spot in the character of a very honest man. They tell me +such instances were much more frequent in this country thirty years since, +than they are to-day."</p> + +<p>"I can easily believe it, for I think I remember some characters of the +sort, myself. I have heard those who are older than I am, draw a +distinction like this between the state of feeling that prevailed forty +years ago, and that which prevails to-day; they say that, formerly, +England absolutely and despotically thought for America, in all but those +cases in which the interests of the two nations conflicted; and I have +even heard competent judges affirm, that so powerful was the influence of +habit, and so successful the schemes of the political managers of the +mother country, that even many of those who fought for the independence of +America, actually doubted of the propriety of their acts, as Luther is +known to have had fits of despondency concerning the justness of the +reformation he was producing; while, latterly, the leaning towards England +is less the result of a simple mental dependence,--though of that there +still remains a disgraceful amount--than of calculation, and a desire in a +certain class to defeat the dominion of the mass, and to establish that of +a few in its stead."</p> + +<p>"It would, indeed, be a strange consummation of the history of this +country, to find it becoming monarchical!"</p> + +<p>"There are a few monarchists no doubt springing up in the country, though +almost entirely in a class that only knows the world through the +imagination and by means of books; but the disposition, in our time, is to +aristocracy, and not to monarchy. Most men that get to be rich, discover +that they are no happier for their possessions; perhaps every man who has +not been trained and prepared to use his means properly, is in this +category, as our friend the captain would call it, and then they begin to +long for some other untried advantages. The example of the rest of the +world is before our own wealthy, and, <i>faute d'imagination</i>, they imitate +because they cannot invent. Exclusive political power is also a great ally +in the accumulation of money, and a portion have the sagacity to see it; +though I suspect more pine for the vanities of the exclusive classes, than +for the substance. Your sex, Miss Effingham, as a whole, is not above this +latter weakness, as I think you must have observed in your intercourse +with those you met abroad."</p> + +<p>"I met with some instances of weakness, in this way," said Eve, with +reserve, and with the pride of a woman, "though not more, I think, than +among the men; and seldom, in either case, among those whom we are +accustomed to consider people of condition at home. The self-respect and +the habits of the latter, generally preserved them from betraying this +feebleness of character, if indeed they felt it."</p> + +<p>"The Americans abroad may be divided into two great classes; those who go +for improvement in the sciences or the arts, and those who go for mere +amusement. As a whole, the former have struck me as being singularly +respectable, equally removed from an apish servility and a swaggering +pretension of superiority; while, I fear, a majority of the latter have a +disagreeable direction towards the vanities."</p> + +<p>"I will not affirm the contrary," said Eve, "for frivolity and pleasure +are only too closely associated in ordinary minds. The number of those who +prize the elegancies of life, for their intrinsic value, is every where +small, I should think; and I question if Europe is much better off than +ourselves, in this respect."</p> + +<p>"This may be true, and yet one can only regret that, in a case where so +much depends on example, the tone of our people was not more assimilated +to their facts. I do not know whether you were struck with the same +peculiarity, but, whenever I felt in the mood to hear high monarchical and +aristocratical doctrines blindly promulgated, I used to go to the nearest +American Legation."</p> + +<p>"I have heard this fact commented on," Eve answered, "and even by +foreigners, and I confess it has always struck me as singular. Why should +the agent of a republic make a parade of his anti-republican sentiments?"</p> + +<p>"That there are exceptions, I will allow; but, after the experience of +many years, I honestly think that such is the rule. I might distrust my +own opinion, or my own knowledge; but others, with opportunities equal to +my own, have come to the same conclusion. I have just received a letter +from Europe, complaining that an American Envoy Extraordinary, who would +as soon think of denouncing himself, as utter the same sentiments openly +at home, has given an opinion against the utility of the vote by ballot; +and this, too, under circumstances that might naturally be thought to +produce a practical effect."</p> + +<p>"<i>Tant pis</i>. To me all this is inexplicable!"</p> + +<p>"It has its solution, Miss Effingham, like any other problem. In ordinary +times, extraordinary men seldom become prominent, power passing into the +hands of clever managers. Now, the very vanity, and the petty desires, +that betray themselves in glittering uniforms, puerile affectations, and +feeble imitations of other systems, probably induce more than half of +those who fill the foreign missions to apply for them, and it is no more +than we ought to expect that the real disposition should betray itself, +when there was no longer any necessity for hypocrisy."</p> + +<p>"But I should think this necessity for hypocrisy would never cease! Can it +be possible that a people, as much attached to their institutions as the +great mass of the American nation is known to be, will tolerate such a +base abandonment of all they cherish!"</p> + +<p>"How are they to know any thing about it? It is a startling fact, that +there is a man at this instant, who has not a single claim to such a +confidence, either in the way of mind, principles, manners, or +attainments, filling a public trust abroad, who, on all occasions except +those which he thinks will come directly before the American people, not +only proclaims himself opposed to the great principles of the institutions +but who, in a recent controversy with a foreign nation, actually took +sides against his own country, informing that of the opposing nation, that +the administration at home would not be supported by the legislative part +of the government!"</p> + +<p>"And why is not this publicly exposed?"</p> + +<p>"<i>Cui bono</i>! The presses that have no direct interest in the matter, would +treat the affair with indifference or levity, while a few would mystify +the truth. It is quite impossible for any man in a private station to make +the truth available in any country, in a matter of public interest; and +those in public stations seldom or never attempt it, unless they see a +direct party end to be obtained. This is the reason that we see so much +infidelity to the principles of the institutions, among the public agents +abroad, for they very well know that no one will be able to expose them. +In addition to this motive, there is so strong a desire in that portion of +the community which is considered the highest, to effect a radical change +in these very institutions, that infidelity to them, in their eyes, would +be a merit, rather than an offence."</p> + +<p>"Surely, surely, other nations are not treated in this cavalier manner!"</p> + +<p>"Certainly not. The foreign agent of a prince, who should whisper a +syllable against his master, would be recalled with disgrace; but the +servant of the people is differently situated, since there are so many to +be persuaded of his guilt. I could always get along with all the attacks +that the Europeans are so fond of making on the American system, but those +which they quoted from the mouths of our own diplomatic agents."</p> + +<p>"Why do not our travellers expose this?"</p> + +<p>"Most of them see too little to know anything of it. They dine at a +diplomatic table, see a star or two, fancy themselves obliged, and puff +elegancies that have no existence, except in their own brains. Some think +with the unfaithful, and see no harm in the infidelity. Others calculate +the injury to themselves, and no small portion would fancy it a greater +proof of patriotism to turn a sentence in favour of the comparative +'energies' and 'superior intelligence' of their own people, than to point +out this or any other disgraceful fact, did they even possess the +opportunities to discover it. Though no one thinks more highly of these +qualities in the Americans, considered in connexion with practical things, +than myself, no one probably gives them less credit for their ability to +distinguish between appearances and reality, in matters of principle."</p> + +<p>"It is probable that were we nearer to the rest of the world, these abuses +would not exist, for it is certain they are not so openly practised at +home. I am glad, however, to find that, even while you felt some +uncertainty concerning your own birth-place, you took so much interest in +us, as to identify yourself in feeling, at least, with the nation."</p> + +<p>"There was one moment when I was really afraid that the truth would show I +was actually born an Englishman--"</p> + +<p>"Afraid!" interrupted Eve; "that is a strong word to apply to so great and +glorious a people." + +"We cannot always account for our prejudices, and perhaps this was one of +mine; and, now that I know that to be an Englishman is not the greatest +possible merit in your eyes, Miss Effingham, it is in no manner lessened."</p> + +<p>"In my eyes, Mr. Powis! I do not remember to have expressed any +partiality for, or any prejudice against the English: so far as I can +speak of my own feelings, I regard the English the same as any other +foreign people."</p> + +<p>"In words you have not certainly; but acts speak louder than words."</p> + +<p>"You are disposed to be mysterious to-night. What act of mine has declared +<i>pro</i> or <i>con</i> in this important affair."</p> + +<p>"You have at least done what, I fear, few of your countrywomen would have +the moral courage and self-denial to do, and especially those who are +accustomed to living abroad--refused to be the wife of an English baronet +of a good estate and respectable family."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Powis," said Eve, gravely, "this is an injustice to Sir George +Templemore, that my sense of right will not permit to go uncontradicted, +as well as an injustice to my sex and me. As I told Mr. Howel, in your +presence, that gentleman has never proposed for me, and of course cannot +have been refused. Nor can I suppose that any American gentlewoman can +deem so paltry a thing as a baronetcy, an inducement to forget her +self-respect."</p> + +<p>"I fully appreciate your generous modesty, Miss Effingham; but you cannot +expect that I, to whom Templemore's admiration gave so much uneasiness, +not to say pain, am to understand you, as Mr. Howel has probably done, too +broadly. Although Sir George may not have positively proposed, his +readiness to do so, on the least encouragement, was too obvious to be +overlooked by a near observer."</p> + +<p>Eve was ready to gasp for breath, so completely by surprise was she taken, +by the calm, earnest, and yet respectful manner, in which Paul confessed +his jealousy. There was a tremor in his voice, too, usually so clear and +even, that touched her heart, for feeling responds to feeling, as the +echo answers sound, when there exists a real sympathy between the sexes. +She felt the necessity of saying something, and yet they had walked some +distance, ere it was in her power to utter a syllable.</p> + +<p>"I fear my presumption has offended you, Miss Effingham," said Paul, +speaking more like a corrected child, than the lion-hearted young man he +had proved himself.</p> + +<p>There was deep homage in the emotion he betrayed, and Eve, although she +could barely distinguish his features, was not slow in discovering this +proof of the extent of her power over his feelings.</p> + +<p>"Do not call it presumption," she said; "for, one who has done so much for +us all, can surely claim some right to take an interest in those he has so +well served. As for Sir George Templemore, you have probably mistaken the +feeling created by our common adventures for one of more importance. He is +warmly and sincerely attached to my cousin, Grace Van Cortlandt."</p> + +<p>"That he is so now, I fully believe; but that a very different magnet +first kept him from the Canadas, I am sure.--We treated each other +generously, Miss Effingham, and had no concealments, during that long and +anxious night, when all expected that the day would dawn on our captivity. +Templemore is too manly and honest to deny his former desire to obtain you +for a wife, and I think even he would admit that it depended entirely on +yourself to be so, or not."</p> + +<p>"This is an act of self-humiliation that he is not called onto perform," +Eve hurriedly replied; "such allusions, now, are worse than useless, and +they might pain my cousin, were she to hear them."</p> + +<p>"I am mistaken in my friend's character, if he leave his betrothed in any +doubt, on this subject. Five minutes of perfect frankness now, might +obviate years of distrust, hereafter."</p> + +<p>And would you Mr. Powis, avow a former weakness of this sort, to the +woman you had finally selected for your wife?"</p> + +<p>"I ought not to quote myself for authority, for or against such a course, +since I have never loved but one, and her with a passion too single and +too ardent ever to admit of competition. Miss Effingham, there would be +something worse than affectation--it would be trifling with one who is +sacred in my eyes, were I now to refrain from speaking explicitly, +although what I am about to say is forced from me by circumstances, rather +than voluntary, and is almost uttered without a definite object. Have I +your permission to proceed?'</p> + +<p>"You can scarcely need a permission, being the master of your own secrets, +Mr. Powis."</p> + +<p>Paul, like all men agitated by strong passion, was inconsistent, and far +from just; and Eve felt the truth of this, even while her mind was +ingeniously framing excuses for his weaknesses. Still, the impression that +she was about to listen to a declaration that possibly ought never to be +made, weighed upon her, and caused her to speak with more coldness than +she actually felt. As she continued silent, however, the young man saw +that it had become indispensably necessary to be explicit.</p> + +<p>"I shall not detain you, Miss Effingham, perhaps vex you," he said, "with +the history of those early impressions, which have gradually grown upon +me, until they have become interwoven with my very existence. We met, as +you know, at Vienna, for the first time. An Austrian of rank, to whom I +had become known through some fortunate circumstances, introduced me into +the best society of that capital, in which I found you the admiration of +all who knew you. My first feeling was that of exultation, at seeing a +young countrywoman--you were then almost a child, Miss Effingham--the +greatest attraction of a capital celebrated for the beauty and grace of +its women----"</p> + +<p>"Your national partialities have made you an unjust judge towards others, +Mr. Powis." Eve interrupted him by saying, though the earnestness and +passion with which the young man uttered his feelings, made music to her +ears: "what had a young, frightened, half-educated American girl to boast +of, when put in competition with the finished women of Austria?"</p> + +<p>"Her surpassing beauty, her unconscious superiority, her attainments, her +trembling simplicity and modesty and her meek purity of mind. All these +did you possess, not only in my eyes, but in those of others; for these +are subjects on which I dwelt too fondly to be mistaken."</p> + +<p>A rocket passed near them at the moment, and, while both were too much +occupied by the discourse to heed the interruption, its transient light +enabled Paul to see the flushed cheeks and tearful eyes of Eve, as the +latter were turned on him, in a grateful pleasure, that his ardent praises +extorted from her, in despite of all her struggles for self-command.</p> + +<p>"We will leave to others this comparison, Mr. Powis," she said, "and +confine ourselves to less doubtful subjects."</p> + +<p>"If I am then to speak only of that which is beyond all question, I shall +speak chiefly of my long cherished, devoted, unceasing love. I adored you +at Vienna, Miss Effingham, though it was at a distance, as one might +worship the sun; for, while your excellent father admitted me to his +society, and I even think honoured me with some portion of his esteem, I +had but little opportunity to ascertain the value of the jewel that was +contained in so beautiful a casket; but when we met the following summer +in Switzerland, I first began truly to love. Then I learned the justness +of thought, the beautiful candour, the perfectly feminine delicacy of your +mind; and, although I will not say that these qualities were not enhanced +in the eyes of so young a man, by the extreme beauty of their possessor, I +will say that, as weighed against each other, I could a thousand times +prefer the former to the latter, unequalled as the latter almost is, even +among your own beautiful sex."</p> + +<p>"This is presenting flattery in its most seductive form, Powis."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps my incoherent and abrupt manner of explaining myself deserves a +rebuke; though nothing can be farther from my intentions than to seem to +flatter or in any manner to exaggerate. I intend merely to give a faithful +history of the state of my feelings, and of the progress of my love."</p> + +<p>Eve smiled faintly, but very sweetly, as Paul would have thought, had the +obscurity permitted more than a dim view of her lovely countenance.</p> + +<p>"Ought I to listen to such praises, Mr. Powis," she asked; "praises which +only contribute to a self-esteem that is too great already?"</p> + +<p>"No one but yourself would say this; but your question does, indeed, +remind me of the indiscretion that I have fallen into, by losing that +command of my feelings, in which I have so long exulted. No man should +make a woman the confidant of his attachment, until he is fully prepared +to accompany the declaration with an offer of his hand;--and such is not +my condition."</p> + +<p>Eve made no dramatic start, assumed no look of affected surprise, or of +wounded dignity; but she turned on her lover, her serene eyes, with an +expression of concern so eloquent, and of a wonder so natural, that, could +he have seen it, it would probably have overcome every difficulty on the +spot, and produced the usual offer, notwithstanding the difficulty that he +seemed to think insurmountable.</p> + +<p>"And yet," he continued, "I have now said so much, involuntarily as it has +been, that I feel it not only due to you, but in some measure to myself, +to add that the fondest wish of my heart, the end and aim of all my +day-dreams, as well as of my most sober thoughts for the future, centre +in the common wish to obtain you for a wife."</p> + +<p>The eye of Eve fell, and the expression of her countenance changed, while +a slight but uncontrollable tremor ran through her frame. After a short +pause, she summoned all her resolution, and in a voice, the firmness of +which surprised even herself, she asked--</p> + +<p>"Powis, to what does all this tend?"</p> + +<p>"Well may you ask that question, Miss Effingham! You have every right to +put it, and the answer, at least, shall add no further cause of +self-reproach. Give me, I entreat you, but a minute to collect my +thoughts, and I will endeavour to acquit myself of an imperious duty, in a +manner more manly and coherent, than I fear has been observed for the last +ten minutes."</p> + +<p>They walked a short distance in profound silence, Eve still under the +influence of astonishment, in which an uncertain and indefinite dread of, +she scarce knew what, began to mingle; and Paul, endeavouring to quiet the +tumult that had been so suddenly aroused within him. The latter then +spoke:</p> + +<p>"Circumstances have always deprived me of the happiness of experiencing +the tenderness and sympathy of your sex, Miss Effingham, and have thrown +me more exclusively among the colder and ruder spirits of my own. My +mother died at the time of my birth, thus cutting me off, at once, from +one of the dearest of earthly ties. I am not certain that I do not +exaggerate the loss in consequence of the privations I have suffered; but, +from the hour when I first learned to feel, I have had a yearning for the +tender, patient, endearing, disinterested love of a mother. You, too, +suffered a similar loss, at an early period, if I have been correctly +informed----"</p> + +<p>A sob--a stifled, but painful sob, escaped Eve; and, inexpressibly +shocked, Paul ceased dwelling on his own sources of sorrow, to attend to +those he had so unintentionally disturbed.</p> + +<p>"I have been selfish, dearest Miss Effingham," he exclaimed--"have +overtaxed your patience--have annoyed you with griefs and losses that have +no interest for you, which can have no interest, with one happy and +blessed as yourself."</p> + +<p>"No, no, no, Powis--you are unjust to both. I, too, lost my mother when a +mere child, and never knew her love and tenderness. Proceed; I am calmer, +and earnestly intreat you to forget my weakness, and to proceed."</p> + +<p>Paul did proceed, but this brief interruption in which they had mingled +their sorrows for a common misfortune, struck a new chord of feeling, and +removed a mountain of reserve and distance, that might otherwise have +obstructed their growing confidence.</p> + +<p>"Cut off in this manner, from my nearest and dearest natural friend," Paul +continued, "I was thrown, an infant, into the care of hirelings; and, in +this at least, my fortune was still more cruel than your own; for the +excellent woman who has been so happy as to have had the charge of your +infancy, had nearly the love of a natural mother, however she may have +been wanting in the attainments of one of your own condition in life."</p> + +<p>"But we had both of us, our fathers, Mr. Powis. To me, my excellent, high +principled, affectionate--nay tender father, has been every thing. Without +him, I should have been truly miserable; and with him, notwithstanding +these rebellious tears, tears that I must ascribe to the infection of your +own grief, I have been truly blest."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Effingham deserves this from you, but I never knew my father, you +will remember."</p> + +<p>"I am an unworthy confidant, to have forgotten this so soon. Poor Powis, +you were, indeed, unhappy!"</p> + +<p>"He had parted from my mother before my birth and either died soon after, +or has never deemed his child of sufficient worth to make him the subject +of interest sufficient to excite a single inquiry into his fate."</p> + +<p>"Then he never knew that child!" burst from Eve, with a fervour and +frankness, that set all reserves, whether of womanly training, or of +natural timidity, at defiance.</p> + +<p>"Miss Effingham!--dearest Miss Effingham--Eve, my own Eve, what am I to +infer from this generous warmth! Do not mislead me! I can bear my solitary +misery, can brave the sufferings of an isolated existence; but I could not +live under the disappointments of such a hope, a hope fairly quickened by +a clear expression from your lips."</p> + +<p>"You teach me the importance of caution, Powis, and we will now return to +your history, and to that confidence of which I shall not again prove a +faithless repository. For the present at least, I beg that you will forget +all else."</p> + +<p>"A command so kindly--so encouragingly given--do I offend, dearest Miss +Effingham?" Eve, for the second time in her life, placed her own light arm +and beautiful hand, through the arm of Paul, discovering a bewitching but +modest reliance on his worth and truth, by the very manner in which she +did this simple and every-day act, while she said more cheerfully--</p> + +<p>"You forget the substance of the command, at the very moment you would +have me suppose you most disposed to obey it."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, Miss Effingham, you shall be more implicitly minded. <i>Why</i> my +father left my mother so soon after their union, I never knew. It would +seem that they lived together but a few months, though I have the proud +consolation of knowing that my mother was blameless. For years I suffered +the misery of doubt on a point that is ever the most tender with man, a +distrust of his own mother; but all this has been happily, blessedly, +cleared up, during my late visit to England. It is true that Lady Dunluce +was my mother's sister, and as such might have been lenient to her +failings; but a letter from my father, that was written only a month +before my mother's death, leaves no doubt not only of her blamelessness as +a wife, but bears ample testimony to the sweetness of her disposition. +This letter is a precious document for a son to possess, Miss Effingham!"</p> + +<p>Eve made no answer; but Paul fancied that he felt another gentle pressure +of the hand, which, until then, had rested so lightly on his own arm, that +he scarcely dared to move the latter, lest he might lose the precious +consciousness of its presence.</p> + +<p>"I have other letters from my father to my mother," the young man +continued, "but none that are so cheering to my heart as this. From their +general tone, I cannot persuade myself that he ever truly loved her. It is +a cruel thing, Miss Effingham, for a man to deceive a woman on a point +like that!"</p> + +<p>"Cruel, indeed," said Eve, firmly. "Death itself were preferable to such a +delusion."</p> + +<p>"I think my father deceived himself as well as my mother; for there is a +strange incoherence and a want of distinctness in some of his letters, +that caused feelings, keen as mine naturally were on such a subject, to +distrust his affection from the first."</p> + +<p>"Was your mother rich?" Eve asked innocently; for, an heiress herself, her +vigilance had early been directed to that great motive of deception and +dishonesty.</p> + +<p>"Not in the least. She had little besides her high lineage, and her +beauty. I have her picture, which sufficiently proves the latter; had, I +ought rather to say, for it was her miniature, of which I was robbed by +the Arabs, as you may remember, and I have not seen it since. In the way +of money, my mother had barely the competency of a gentlewoman; nothing +more."</p> + +<p>The pressure on Paul was more palpable, as spoke of the miniature; and he +ventured to touch his companion's arm, in order to give it a surer hold of +his own.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Powis was not mercenary, then, and it is a great deal," said Eve, +speaking as if she were scarcely conscious that she spoke at all.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Powis!--He was every thing that was noble and disinterested. A more +generous, or a less selfish man, never existed than Francis Powis."</p> + +<p>"I thought you never knew your father personally!" exclaimed Eve in +surprise.</p> + +<p>"Nor did I. But, you are in an error, in supposing that my father's name +was Powis, when it was Assheton."</p> + +<p>Paul then explained the manner in which he had been adopted while still a +child, by a gentleman called Powis, whose name he had taken, on finding +himself deserted by his own natural parent, and to whose fortune he had +succeeded, on the death of his voluntary protector.</p> + +<p>"I bore the name of Assheton until Mr. Powis took me to France, when he +advised me to assume his own, which I did the more readily, as he thought +he had ascertained that my father was dead, and that he had bequeathed the +whole of a very considerable estate to his nephews and nieces, making no +allusion to me in his will, and seemingly anxious even to deny his +marriage; at least, he passed among his acquaintances for a bachelor to +his dying day."</p> + +<p>"There is something so unusual and inexplicable in all this, Mr. Powis, +that it strikes me you have been to blame, in not inquiring more closely +into the circumstances than, by your own account I should think had been +done."</p> + +<p>"For a long time, for many bitter years, I was afraid to inquire, lest I +should learn something injurious to a mother's name. Then there was the +arduous and confined service of my profession, which kept me in distant +seas: and the last journey and painful indisposition of my excellent +benefactor, prevented even the wish to inquire after my own family. The +offended pride of Mr. Powis, who was justly hurt at the cavalier manner in +which my father's relatives met his advances, aided in alienating me from +that portion of my relatives, and put a stop to all additional proffers of +intercourse from me. They even affected to doubt the fact that my father +had ever married."</p> + +<p>"But of that you had proof?" Eve earnestly asked.</p> + +<p>"Unanswerable. My aunt Dunluce was present at the ceremony, and I possess +the certificate given to my mother by the clergyman who officiated. Is it +not strange, Miss Effingham, that with all these circumstances in favour +of my legitimacy, even Lady Dunluce and her family, until lately, had +doubts of the fact."</p> + +<p>"That is indeed unaccountable, your aunt having witnessed the ceremony."</p> + +<p>"Very true; but some circumstances, a little aided perhaps by the strong +desire of her husband, General Ducie, to obtain the revival of a barony +that was in abeyance, and of which she would be the only heir, assuming +that my rights were invalid, inclined her to believe that my father was +already married, when he entered into the solemn contract with my mother. +But from that curse too, I have been happily relieved."</p> + +<p>"Poor Powis!" said Eve, with a sympathy that her voice expressed more +clearly even than her words; "you have, indeed, suffered cruelly, for one +so young."</p> + +<p>"I have learned to bear it, dearest Miss Effingham, and have stood so long +a solitary and isolated being, one in whom none have taken any interest--"</p> + +<p>"Nay, say not that--<i>we</i>, at least, have always felt an interest in +you--have always esteemed you, and now have learned to--"</p> + +<p>"Learned to--?"</p> + +<p>"Love you," said Eve, with a steadiness that afterwards astonished +herself; but she felt that a being so placed, was entitled to be treated +with a frankness different from the reserve that it is usual for her sex +to observe on similar occasions.</p> + +<p>"Love!" cried Paul, dropping her arm. "Miss Effingham!--Eve--but that +<i>we</i>!" + +"I mean my dear father--cousin Jack--myself."</p> + +<p>"Such a feeling will not heal a wound like mine. A love that is shared +with even such men as your excellent father, and your worthy cousin, will +not make me happy. But, why should I, unowned, bearing a name to which I +have no legal title, and virtually without relatives, aspire to one like +you!"</p> + +<p>The windings of the path had brought them near a window of the house, +whence a stream of strong light gleamed upon the sweet countenance of Eve, +as raising her eyes to those of her companion, with a face bathed in +tears, and flushed with natural feeling and modesty, the struggle between +which even heightened her loveliness, she smiled an encouragement that it +was impossible to misconstrue.</p> + +<p>"Can I believe my senses! Will <i>you</i>--<i>do</i> you--<i>can </i> you listen to the +suit of one like me?" the young man exclaimed, as he hurried his companion +past the window, lest some interruption might destroy his hopes.</p> + +<p>"Is there any sufficient reason why I should not, Powis?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing but my unfortunate situation in respect to my family, my +comparative poverty, and my general unworthiness."</p> + +<p>"Your unfortunate situation in respect to your relatives would, if any +thing, be a new and dearer tie with us; your comparative poverty is merely +comparative, and can be of no account, where there is sufficient already; +and as for your general unworthiness, I fear it will find more than an +offset, in that of the girl you have so rashly chosen from the rest of the +world."</p> + +<p>"Eve--dearest Eve--" said Paul, seizing both her hands, and stopping her +at the entrance of some shrubbery, that densely shaded the path, and where +the little light that fell from the stars enabled him still to trace her +features--"you will not leave me in doubt on a subject of this nature--am +I really so blessed?"</p> + +<p>"If accepting the faith and affection of a heart that is wholly yours, +Powis, can mate you happy, your sorrows will be at an end--"</p> + +<p>"But your father?" said the young man, almost breathless in his eagerness +to know all.</p> + +<p>"Is here to confirm what his daughter has just declared," said Mr. +Effingham, coming out of the shrubbery beyond them, and laying a hand +kindly on Paul's shoulder. "To find that you so well understand each +other, Powis, removes from my mind one of the greatest anxieties I have +ever experienced. My cousin John, as he was bound to do, has made me +acquainted with all you have, told him of your past life, and there +remains nothing further to be revealed. We have known you for years, and +receive you into our family with as free a welcome as we could receive any +precious boon from Providence."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Effingham!--dear sir," said Paul, almost gasping between surprise and +rapture--"this is indeed beyond all my hopes--and this generous frankness +too, in your lovely daughter--"</p> + +<p>Paul's hands had been transferred to those of the father, he knew not how; +but releasing them hurriedly, he now turned in quest of Eve again, and +found she had fled. In the short interval between the address of her +father and the words of Paul, she had found means to disappear, leaving +the gentlemen together. The young man would have followed, but the cooler +head of Mr. Effingham perceiving that the occasion was favourable to a +private conversation with his accepted son-in-law, and quite as +unfavourable to one, or at least to a very rational one, between the +lovers, he quietly took the young man's arm, and led him towards a more +private walk. There half an hour of confidential discourse calmed the +feelings of both, and rendered Paul Powis one of the happiest of human +beings.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XXIV.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "You shall do marvellous wisely, good Reynaldo,<br /> +Before you visit him, to make inquiry<br /> +Of his behaviour."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> HAMLET</blockquote> + + +<p>Ann Sidley was engaged among the dresses of Eve, as she loved to be, +although Annette held her taste in too low estimation ever to permit her +to apply a needle, or even to fit a robe to the beautiful form that was to +wear it, when our heroine glided into the room and sunk upon a sofa. Eve +was too much absorbed with her own feelings to observe the presence of her +quiet unobtrusive old nurse, and too much accustomed to her care and +sympathy to heed it, had it been seen. For a moment she remained, her face +still suffused with blushes, her hands lying before her folded, her eyes +fixed on the ceiling, and then the pent emotions found an outlet in a +flood of tears.</p> + +<p>Poor Ann could not have felt more shocked, had she heard of any unexpected +calamity, than she was at this sudden outbreaking of feeling in her child. +She went to her, and bent over her with the solicitude of a mother, as she +inquired into the causes of her apparent sorrow.</p> + +<p>"Tell me, Miss Eve, and it will relieve your mind," said the faithful +woman; "your dear mother had such feelings sometimes, and I never dared to +question her about them; but you are my own child, and nothing can grieve +you without grieving me."</p> + +<p>The eyes of Eve were brilliant, her face continued to be suffused, and +the smile which she gave through her tears was so bright, as to leave her +poor attendant in deep perplexity as to the cause of a gush of feeling +that was very unusual in one of the other's regulated mind.</p> + +<p>"It is not grief, dear Nanny,"--Eve at length murmured--"any thing but +that! I am not unhappy. Oh! no; as far from unhappiness as possible."</p> + +<p>"God be praised it is so, ma'am! I was afraid that this affair of the +English gentleman and Miss Grace might not prove agreeable to you, for he +has not behaved as handsomely as he might, in that transaction."</p> + +<p>"And why not, my poor Nanny?--I have neither claim, nor the wish to +possess a claim, on Sir George Templemore. His selection of my cousin has +given me sincere satisfaction, rather than pain; were he a countryman of +our own, I should say unalloyed satisfaction, for I firmly believe he will +strive to make her happy."</p> + +<p>Nanny now looked at her young mistress, then at the floor; at her young +mistress again, and afterwards at a rocket that was sailing athwart the +sky. Her eyes, however, returned to those of Eve, and encouraged by the +bright beam of happiness that was glowing in the countenance she so much +loved, she ventured to say--</p> + +<p>"If Mr. Powis were a more presuming gentleman than he is, ma'am--"</p> + +<p>"You mean a less modest, Nanny," said Eve, perceiving that her nurse +paused.</p> + +<p>"Yes, ma'am--one that thought more of himself, and less of other people, +is what I wish to say."</p> + +<p>"And were this the case?"</p> + +<p>"I might think <i>he</i> would find the heart to say what I know he feels."</p> + +<p>"And did he find the heart to say what you know he feels, what does Ann +Sidley think should be my answer?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, ma'am, I know it would be just as it ought to be. I cannot repeat +what ladies say on such occasions, but I know that it is what makes the +hearts of the gentlemen leap for joy."</p> + +<p>There are occasions in which woman can hardly dispense with the sympathy +of woman. Eve loved her father most tenderly, had more than the usual +confidence in him, for she had never known a mother; but had the present +conversation been with him, notwithstanding all her reliance on his +affection, her nature would have shrunk from pouring out her feelings as +freely as she might have done with her other parent, had not death +deprived her of such a blessing. Between our heroine and Ann Sidley, on +the other hand, there existed a confidence of a nature so peculiar, as to +require a word of explanation before we exhibit its effects. In all that +related to physical wants, Ann had been a mother, or even more than a +mother to Eve, and this alone had induced great personal dependence in the +one, and a sort of supervisory care in the other, that had brought her to +fancy she was responsible for the bodily health and well-doing of her +charge. But this was not all. Nanny had been the repository of Eve's +childish griefs, the confidant of her girlish secrets; and though the +years of the latter soon caused her to be placed under the management of +those who were better qualified to store her mind, this communication +never ceased; the high-toned and educated young woman reverting with +unabated affection, and a reliance that nothing could shake, to the +long-tried tenderness of the being who had watched over her infancy. The +effect of such an intimacy was often amusing; the one party bringing to +the conferences, a mind filled with the knowledge suited to her sex and +station, habits that had been formed in the best circles of christendom, +and tastes that had been acquired in schools of high reputation; and the +other, little more than her single-hearted love, a fidelity that ennobled +her nature, and a simplicity that betokened perfect purity of thought Nor +was this extraordinary confidence without its advantages to Eve; for, +thrown so early among the artificial and calculating, it served to keep +her own ingenuousness of character active, and prevented that cold, +selfish, and unattractive sophistication, that mere women of fashion are +apt to fall into, from their isolated and factitious mode of existence. +When Eve, therefore, put the questions to her nurse, that have already +been mentioned, it was more with a real wish to know how the latter would +view a choice on which her own mind was so fully made up, than any silly +trifling on a subject that engrossed so much of her best affections.</p> + +<p>"But you have not told me, dear Nanny," she continued, "what <i>you</i> would +have that answer be. Ought I, for instance, ever to quit my beloved +father?"</p> + +<p>"What necessity would there be for that, ma'am? Mr. Powis has no home of +his own; and, for that matter, scarcely any country----"</p> + +<p>"How can you know this, Nanny?" demanded Eve, with the jealous +sensitiveness of a young love.</p> + +<p>"Why, Miss Eve, his man says this much, and he has lived with him long +enough to know it, if he had a home. Now, I seldom sleep without looking +back at the day, and often have my thoughts turned to Sir George Temple +more and Mr. Powis; and when I have remembered that the first had a house +and a home, and that the last had neither, it has always seemed to me that +<i>he</i> ought to be the one."</p> + +<p>"And then, in all this matter, you have thought of convenience, and what +might be agreeable to others, rather than of me."</p> + +<p>"Miss Eve!"</p> + +<p>"Nay, dearest Nanny, forgive me; I know your last thought, in every thing, +is for yourself. But surely, the mere circumstance that he had no home +ought not to be a sufficient reason for selecting any man, for a husband. +With most women it would be an objection."</p> + +<p>"I pretend to know very little of these feelings, Miss Eve. I have been +wooed, I acknowledge; and once I do think I might have been tempted to +marry, had it not been for a particular circumstance."</p> + +<p>"You! You marry, Ann Sidley!" exclaimed Eve, to whom the bare idea seemed +as odd and unnatural, as that her own father should forget her mother, and +take a second wife. "This is altogether new, and I should be glad to know +what the lucky circumstance was, which prevented what, to me, might have +proved so great a calamity."</p> + +<p>"Why, ma'am, I said to myself, what does a woman do, who marries? She vows +to quit all else to go with her husband, and to love him before father and +mother, and all other living beings on earth--is it not so, Miss Eve?" + +"I believe it is so, indeed, Nanny--nay, I am quite certain it is so," Eve +answered, the colour deepening on her cheek, as she gave this opinion to +her old nurse, with the inward consciousness that she had just experienced +some of the happiest moments of her life, through the admission of a +passion that thus overshadowed all the natural affections. "It is, truly? +as you say."</p> + +<p>"Well, ma'am, I investigated my feelings, I believe they call it, and +after a proper trial, I found that I loved you so much better than any one +else, that I could not, in conscience, make the vows."</p> + +<p>"Dearest Nanny! my kind, good, faithful old nurse! let me hold you in my +arms: and, I, selfish, thoughtless, heartless girl, would forget the +circumstance that would be most likely to keep us together, for the +remainder of our lives! Hist! there is a tap at the door It is Mrs. +Bloomfield; I know her light step. Admit her, my kind Ann, and leave us +together."</p> + +<p>The bright searching eye of Mrs. Bloomfield was riveted on her young +friend, as she advanced into the room; and her smile, usually so gay and +sometimes ironical, was now thoughtful and kind.</p> + +<p>"Well, Miss Effingham," she cried, in a manner that her looks +contradicted, "am I to condole with you," or to congratulate?--For a more +sudden, or miraculous change did I never before witness in a young lady, +though whether it be for the better or the worse----These are ominous +words, too--for 'better or worse, for richer or poorer'----"</p> + +<p>"You are in fine spirits this evening, my dear Mrs. Bloomfield, and appear +to have entered into the gaieties of the Fun of Fire, with all your--"</p> + +<p>"Might, will be a homely, but an expressive word. Your Templeton Fun of +Fire is fiery fun, for it has cost us something like a general +conflagration. Mrs. Hawker has been near a downfall, like your great +namesake, by a serpent's coming too near her dress; one barn, I hear, has +actually been in a blaze, and Sir George Templemore's heart is in cinders. +Mr. John Effingham has been telling me that he should not have been a +bachelor, had there been two Mrs. Bloomfields in the world, and Mr. Powis +looks like a rafter dugout of Herculaneum, nothing but coal."</p> + +<p>"And what occasions this pleasantry?" asked Eve, so composed in manner +that her friend was momentarily deceived.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bloomfield took a seat on the sofa, by the side of our heroine, and +regarding her steadily for near a minute, she continued--</p> + +<p>"Hypocrisy and Eve Effingham can have little in common, and my ears must +have deceived me."</p> + +<p>"Your ears, dear Mrs. Bloomfield!"</p> + +<p>"My ears, dear Miss Effingham. I very well know the character of an +eaves-dropper, but if gentlemen will make passionate declarations in the +walk of a garden, with nothing but a little shrubbery between his ardent +declarations and the curiosity of those who may happen to be passing, +they must expect to be overheard."</p> + +<p>Eve's colour had gradually increased as her friend proceeded; and when the +other ceased speaking, as bright a bloom glowed on her countenance, as had +shone there when she first entered the room.</p> + +<p>"May I ask the meaning of all this?" she said, with an effort to appear +calm.</p> + +<p>"Certainly, my dear; and you shall also know the <i>feelings</i> that prompt +it, as well as the meaning," returned Mrs. Bloomfield, kindly taking Eve's +hand in a way to show that she did not mean to trifle further on a subject +that was of so much moment to her young friend. "Mr. John Effingham and +myself were star-gazing at a point where two walks approach each other, +just as you and Mr. Powis were passing in the adjoining path. Without +absolutely stepping our ears, it was quite impossible not to hear a +portion of your conversation. We both tried to behave honourably; for I +coughed, and your kinsman actually hemmed, but we were unheeded."</p> + +<p>"Coughed and hemmed!" repeated Eve, in greater confusion than ever. "There +must be some mistake, dear Mrs. Bloomfield, as I remember to have heard no +such signals."</p> + +<p>"Quite likely, my love, for there was a time when I too had ears for only +one voice; but you can have affidavits to the fact, <i>à la mode de New +England</i>, if you require them. Do not mistake my motive, nevertheless, +Miss Effingham, which is any thing but vulgar curiosity"--here Mrs. +Bloomfield looked so kind and friendly, that Eve took both her hands and +pressed them to her heart--"you are motherless; without even a single +female connexion of a suitable age to consult with on such an occasion, +and fathers after all are but men----"</p> + +<p>"Mine is as kind, and delicate, and tender, as any woman can be, Mrs. +Bloomfield."</p> + +<p>"I believe it all, though he may not be quite as quick-sighted, in an +affair of this nature.--Am I at liberty to speak to you as if I were an +elder sister?"</p> + +<p>"Speak, Mrs. Bloomfield, as frankly as you please, but leave me the +mistress of my answers."</p> + +<p>"It is, then, as I suspected," said Mrs. Bloomfield, in a sort of musing +manner; "the men have been won over, and this young creature has +absolutely been left without a protector in the most important moment of +her life!"</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Bloomfield!--What does this mean?--What <i>can</i> it mean?"</p> + +<p>"It means merely general principles, child; that your father and cousin +have been parties concerned, instead of vigilant sentinels; and, with all +their pretended care, that you have been left to grope your way in the +darkness of female uncertainty, with one of the most pleasing young men in +the country constantly before you, to help the obscurity."</p> + +<p>It is a dreadful moment, when we are taught to doubt the worth of those we +love; and Eve became pale as death, as she listened to the words of her +friend. Once before, on the occasion of Paul's return to England, she had +felt a pang of that sort, though reflection, and a calm revision of all +his acts and words since they first met in Germany, had enabled her to get +the better of indecision, and when she first saw him on the mountain, +nearly every unpleasant apprehension and distrust had been dissipated by +an effort of pure reason. His own explanations had cleared up the +unpleasant affair, and, from that moment, she had regarded him altogether +with the eyes of a confiding partiality. The speech of Mrs. Bloomfield now +sounded like words of doom to her, and, for an instant, her friend was +frightened with the effects of her own imperfect communication. Until that +moment Mrs. Bloomfield had formed no just idea of the extent to which the +feelings of Eve were interested in Paul, for she had but an imperfect +knowledge of their early association in Europe, and she sincerely +repented having introduced the subject at all. It was too late to retreat, +however, and, first folding Eve in her arms, and kissing her cold +forehead, she hastened to repair a part, at least, of the mischief she had +done.</p> + +<p>"My words have been too strong, I fear," she said, "but such is my general +horror of the manner in which the young of our sex, in this country, are +abandoned to the schemes of the designing and selfish of the other, that I +am, perhaps, too sensitive when I see any one that I love thus exposed. +You are known, my dear, to be one of the richest heiresses of the country; +and, I blush to say that no accounts of European society that we have, +make fortune-hunting a more regular occupation there, than it has got to +be here."</p> + +<p>The paleness left Eve's face, and a look of slight displeasure succeeded.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Powis is no fortune-hunter, Mrs. Bloomfield," she said, steadily; +"his whole conduct for three years has been opposed to such a character; +and, then, though not absolutely rich, perhaps, he has a gentleman's +income, and is removed from the necessity of being reduced to such an act +of baseness."</p> + +<p>"I perceive my error, but it is now too late to retreat. I do not say that +Mr. Powis is a fortune-hunter, but there are circumstances connected with +his history, that you ought at least to know, and that immediately. I have +chosen to speak to you, rather than to speak to your father, because I +thought you might like a female confidant on such occasion, in preference +even to your excellent natural protector. The idea of. Mrs. Hawker +occurred to me, on account of her age; but I did not feel authorised to +communicate to her a secret of which I had myself become so accidentally +possessed,'</p> + +<p>"I appreciate your motive fully, dearest Mrs. Bloomfield," said Eve, +smiling with all her native sweetness, and greatly relieved, for she now +began to think that too keen a sensitiveness on the subject of Paul had +unnecessarily alarmed her, "and beg there may be no reserves between us. +If you know a reason why Mr. Powis should not be received as a suitor, I +entreat you to mention it."</p> + +<p>"Is he Mr. Powis at all?"</p> + +<p>Again Eve smiled, to Mrs. Bloomfield's great, surprise, for, as the latter +had put the question with sincere reluctance, she was astonished at the +coolness with which it was received.</p> + +<p>"He is not Mr. Powis, legally perhaps, though he might be, but that he +dislikes the publicity of an application to the legislature. His paternal +name is Assheton."</p> + +<p>"You know his history, then!"</p> + +<p>"There has been no reserve on the part of Mr. Powis; least of all, any +deception."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bloomfield appeared perplexed, even distressed; and there was a brief +space, during which her mind was undecided as to the course she ought to +take. That she had committed an error by attempting a consultation, in a +matter of the heart, with one of her own sex, after the affections were +engaged, she discovered when it was too late; but she prized Eve's +friendship too much, and had too just a sense of what was due to herself, +to leave the affair where it was, or without clearing up her own unasked +agency in it.</p> + +<p>"I rejoice to learn this," she said, as soon as her doubts had ended, "for +frankness, while it is one of the safest, is one of the most beautiful +traits in human character; but beautiful though it be, it is one that the +other sex uses least to our own."</p> + +<p>"Is our own too ready to use it to the other?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps not: it might be better for both parties, were there less +deception practised during the period of courtship, generally: but as this +is hopeless, and might, destroy some of the most pleasing illusions of +life, we will not enter into a treatise on the frauds of Cupid, Now to my +own confessions, which I make all the more willingly, because I know they +are uttered to the ear of one of a forgiving temperament, and who is +disposed to view even my follies favourably."</p> + +<p>The kind but painful smile of Eve, assured the speaker she was not +mistaken, and she continued, after taking time to read the expression of +the countenance of her young friend--</p> + +<p>"In common with all of New-York, that town of babbling misses, who prattle +as water flows, without consciousness or effort, and of whiskered masters, +who fancy Broadway the world, and the flirtations of miniature +drawing-rooms, human nature, I believed, on your return from Europe, that +an accepted suitor followed in your train, in the person of Sir George +Templemore."</p> + +<p>"Nothing in my deportment, or in that of Sir George, or in that of any of +my family, could justly have given rise to such a notion," said Eve, +quickly.</p> + +<p>"Justly! What has justice, or truth, or even probability, to do with a +report, of which love and matrimony are the themes? Do you not know +<i>society</i> better than to fancy this improbability, child?"</p> + +<p>"I know that our own sex would better consult their own dignity and +respectability, my dear Mrs. Bloomfield, if they talked less of such +matters; and that they would be more apt to acquire the habits of good +taste, not to say of good principles, if they confined their strictures +more to things and sentiments than they do, and meddled less with +persons."</p> + +<p>"And pray, is there no tittle-tattle, no scandal, no commenting on one's +neighbours, in other civilized nations besides this?"</p> + +<p>"Unquestionably; though I believe, as a rule, it is every where thought to +be inherently vulgar, and a proof of low associations."</p> + +<p>"In that, we are perfectly of a mind; for, if there be any thing that +betrays a consciousness of inferiority, it is our rendering others of so +much obvious importance to ourselves, as to make them the subjects of our +constant conversation. We may speak of virtues, for therein we pay an +homage to that which is good; but when we come to dwell on personal +faults, it is rather a proof that we have a silent conviction of the +superiority of the subject of our comments to ourselves, either in +character, talents, social position, or something else that is deemed +essential, than of our distaste for his failings. Who, for instance, talks +scandal of his grocer, or of his shoemaker? No, no, our pride forbids +this; we always make our betters the subject of our strictures by +preference, taking up with our equals only when we can get none of a +higher class."</p> + +<p>"This quite reconciles me to having been given to Sir George Templemore, +by the world of New-York," said Eve, smiling.</p> + +<p>"And well it may, for they who have prattled of your engagement, have done +so principally because they are incapable of maintaining a conversation on +any thing else. But, all this time, I fear I stand accused in your mind, +of having given advice unasked, and of feeling an alarm in an affair that +affected others, instead of myself, which is the very sin that we lay at +the door of our worthy Manhattanese. In common with all around me, then, I +fancied Sir George Templemore an accepted lover, and, by habit, had gotten +to associate you together in my pictures. Oh my arrival here, however, I +will confess that Mr. Powis, whom, you will remember, I had never seen +before, struck me as much the most dangerous man.--Shall I own all my +absurdity?"</p> + +<p>"Even to the smallest shade."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, I confess to having supposed that, while the excellent father +believed you were in a fair way to become Lady Templemore, the equally +excellent daughter thought the other suitor, infinitely the most agreeable +person."</p> + +<p>"What! in contempt of a betrothal?"</p> + +<p>"Of course I, at once, ascribed that part of the report to the usual +embellishments. We do not like to be deceived in our calculations, or to +discover that even our gossip has misled us. In pure resentment at my own +previous delusion, I began to criticise this Mr. Powis--"</p> + +<p>"Criticise, Mrs. Bloomfield!"</p> + +<p>"To find fault with him, my dear; to try to think he was not just the +handsomest and most engaging young man I had ever seen; to imagine what he +ought to be, in place of what he was; and among other things, to inquire +<i>who</i> he was?"</p> + +<p>"You did not think proper to ask that question of any of <i>us</i>," said Eve, +gravely.</p> + +<p>"I did not; for I discovered by instinct, or intuition, or +conjecture--they mean pretty much the same thing, I believe--that there +was a mystery about him; something that even his Templeton friends did not +quite understand, and a lucky thought occurred of making my inquiries of +another person."</p> + +<p>"They were answered satisfactorily," said Eve, looking up at her friend, +with the artless confidence that marks her sex, when the affections have +gotten the mastery of reason.</p> + +<p>"<i>Cosi, cosi</i>. Bloomfield has a brother who is in the Navy, as you know, +and I happened to remember that he had once spoken of an officer of the +name of Powis, who had performed a clever thing in the West Indies, when +they were employed together against the pirates. I wrote to him one of my +usual letters, that are compounded of all things in nature and art, and +took an occasion to allude to a certain Mr. Paul Powis, with a general +remark that he had formerly served, together with a particular inquiry if +he knew any thing about him. All this, no doubt, you think very officious; +but believe me, dear Eve, where there was as much interest as I felt and +feel in you, it was very natural."</p> + +<p>"So far from entertaining resentment, I am grateful for your concern, +especially as I know it was manifested cautiously, and without any +unpleasant allusions to third persons."</p> + +<p>"In that respect I believe I did pretty well. Tom Bloomfield--I beg his +pardon, Captain Bloomfield, for so he calls himself, at present--knows Mr. +Powis well; or, rather <i>did</i> know him, for they have not met for years, +and he speaks of his personal qualities and professional merit highly, but +takes occasion to remark that there was some mystery connected with his +birth, as, before he joined the service he understood he was called +Assheton, and at a later day, Powis, and this without any public law, or +public avowal of a motive. Now, it struck me that Eve Effingham ought not +to be permitted to form a connection with a man so unpleasantly situated, +without being apprised of the fact. I was waiting for a proper occasion to +do this ungrateful office myself, when accident made me acquainted with +what has passed this evening, and perceiving that there was no time to +lose, I came hither, more led by interest in you, my dear, perhaps, than +by discretion."</p> + +<p>"I thank you sincerely for this kind concern in my welfare, dear Mrs. +Bloomfield, and give you full credit for the motive. Will you permit me to +inquire how much you know of that which passed this evening?"</p> + +<p>"Simply that Mr. Powis is desperately in love, a declaration that I take +it is always dangerous to the peace of mind of a young woman, when it +comes from a very engaging young man."</p> + +<p>"And my part of the dialogue--" Eve blushed to the eyes as she asked this +question, though she made a great effort to appear calm--"my answer?"</p> + +<p>"There was too much of woman in me--of true, genuine, loyal, native woman, +Miss Effingham, to listen to that had there been an opportunity. We were +but a moment near enough to hear any thing, though that moment sufficed +to let us know the state of feelings of the gentleman. I ask no +confidences, my dear Eve, and now that I have made my explanations, lame +though they be, I will kiss you and repair to the drawing-room, where we +shall both be soon missed. Forgive me, if I have seemed impertinent in my +interference, and continue to ascribe it to its true motive."</p> + +<p>"Stop, Mrs. Bloomfield, I entreat, for a single moment; I wish to say a +word before we part. As you have been accidentally made acquainted with +Mr. Powis's sentiments towards me, it is no more than just that you should +know the nature of mine towards him----"</p> + +<p>Eve paused involuntarily, for, though she had commenced her explanation, +with a firm intention to do justice to Paul, the bashfulness of her sex +held her tongue tied, at the very moment her desire to speak was the +strongest. An effort conquered the weakness, and the warm-hearted, +generous-minded girl succeeded in commanding her voice.</p> + +<p>"I cannot allow you to go away with the impression, that there is a shade +of any sort on the conduct of Mr. Powis," she said. "So far from desiring +to profit by the accidents that have placed it in his power to render us +such essential service, he has never spoken of his love until this +evening, and then under circumstances in which feeling, naturally, perhaps +I might say uncontrollably, got the ascendency."</p> + +<p>"I believe it all, for I feel certain Eve Effingham would not bestow her +heart heedlessly."</p> + +<p>"Heart!--Mrs. Bloomfield!"</p> + +<p>"Heart, my dear; and now I insist on the subject's being dropped, at +least, for the present. Your decision is probably not yet made--you are +not yet an hour in possession of your suitor's secret, and prudence +demands deliberation. I shall hope to see you in the drawing-room, and +until then, adieu."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bloomfield signed for silence, and quitted the room with the same +light tread as that with which she had entered it.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XXV.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "To show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age + and body of the time, his form and pressure."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> SHAKSPEARE.</blockquote> + + +<p>When Mrs. Bloomfield entered the drawing-room, she found nearly the whole +party assembled. The Fun of Fire had ceased, and the rockets no longer +gleamed athwart the sky; but the blaze of artificial light within, was +more than a substitute for that which had so lately existed without.</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham and Paul were conversing by themselves, in a window-seat, +while John Effingham, Mrs. Hawker, and Mr. Howel were in an animated +discussion on a sofa; Mr. Wenham had also joined the party, and was +occupied with Captain Ducie, though not so much so as to prevent +occasional glances at the trio just mentioned. Sir George Templemore and +Grace Van Cortlandt were walking together in the great hall, and were +visible through the open door, as they passed and repassed.</p> + +<p>"I am glad of your appearance among us, Mrs. Bloomfield," said John +Effingham, "for, certainly more Anglo-mania never existed than that which +my good friend Howel manifests this evening, and I have hopes that your +eloquence may persuade him out of some of those notions, on which my logic +has fallen like seed scattered by the way-side."</p> + +<p>"I can have little hopes of success where Mr. John Effingham has failed."</p> + +<p>"I am far from being certain of that; for, somehow Howel has taken up the +notion that I have gotten a grudge against England, and he listens to all +I say with distrust and distaste."</p> + +<p>"Mr. John uses strong language habitually, ma'am," cried Mr. Howel, "and +you will make some allowances for a vocabulary that has no very mild terms +in it; though, to be frank, I do confess that he seems prejudiced on the +subject of that great nation."</p> + +<p>"What is the point in immediate controversy, gentlemen?" asked Mrs. +Bloomfield, taking a seat.</p> + +<p>"Why here is a review of a late American work, ma'am, and I insist that +the author is skinned alive, whereas, Mr. John insists that the reviewer +exposes only his own rage, the work having a national character, and +running counter to the reviewer's feelings and interests."</p> + +<p>"Nay, I protest against this statement of the case, for I affirm that the +reviewer exposes a great deal more than his rage, since his imbecility, +ignorance, and dishonesty, are quite as apparent as any thing else."</p> + +<p>"I have read the article," said Mrs. Bloomfield, after glancing her eye at +the periodical, "and I must say that I take sides with Mr. John Effingham +in his opinion of its character."</p> + +<p>"But do you not perceive, ma'am, that this is the idol of the nobility and +gentry; the work that is more in favour with people of consequence in +England than any other. Bishops are said to write for it!"</p> + +<p>"I know it is a work expressly established to sustain one of the most +factitious political systems that ever existed, and that it sacrifices +every high quality to attain its end."</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Bloomfield, you amaze me! The first writers of Great Britain figure +in its pages."</p> + +<p>"That I much question, in the first place; but even if it were so, it +would be but a shallow mystification. Although a man of character might +write one article in a work of this nature, it does not follow that a man +of no character does not write the next. The principles of the +communications of a periodical are as different as their talents."</p> + +<p>"But the editor is a pledge for all.--The editor of this review is an +eminent writer himself."</p> + +<p>"An eminent writer may be a very great knave, in the first place, and one +fact is worth a thousand conjectures in such a matter. But we do not know +that there is any responsible editor to works of this nature at all, for +there is no name given in the title-page, and nothing is more common than +vague declarations of a want of this very responsibility. But if I can +prove to you that this article <i>cannot</i> have been written by a man of +common honesty, Mr. Howel, what will you then say to the responsibility of +your editor?"</p> + +<p>"In that case I shall be compelled to admit that he had no connexion with +it."</p> + +<p>"Any thing in preference to giving up the beloved idol!" said John +Effingham laughing. "Why not add at once, that he is as great a knave as +the writer himself? I am glad, however, that Tom Howel has fallen into +such good hands, Mrs. Bloomfield, and I devoutly pray you may not spare +him."</p> + +<p>We have said that Mrs. Bloomfield had a rapid perception of things and +principles, that amounted almost to intuition. She had read the article in +question, and, as she glanced her eyes through its pages, had detected its +fallacies and falsehoods, in almost every sentence. Indeed, they had not +been put together with ordinary skill, the writer having evidently +presumed on the easiness of the class of readers who generally swallowed +his round assertions, and were so clumsily done that any one who had not +the faith to move mountains would have seen through most of them without +difficulty. But Mr. Howel belonged to another school, and he was so much +accustomed to shut his eyes to palpable mystification mentioned by Mrs. +Bloomfield, that a lie, which, advanced in most works, would have carried +no weight with it, advanced in this particular periodical became elevated +to the dignity of truth.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bloomfield turned to an article on America, in the periodical in +question, and read from it several disparaging expressions concerning Mr. +Howel's native country, one of which was, "The American's first plaything +is the rattle-snake's tail."</p> + +<p>"Now, what do you think of this assertion in particular, Mr. Howel?" she +asked, reading the words we have just quoted.</p> + +<p>"Oh! that is said in mere pleasantry--it is only wit."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, what do you think of it as wit?"</p> + +<p>"Well, well, it may not be of a very pure water, but the best of men are +unequal at all times, and more especially in their wit."</p> + +<p>"Here," continued Mrs. Bloomfield, pointing to another paragraph, "is a +positive statement or misstatement, which makes the cost of the 'civil +department of the United States Government,' about six times more than it +really is."</p> + +<p>"Our government is so extremely mean, that I ascribe that error to +generosity."</p> + +<p>"Well," continued the lady, smiling, "here the reviewer asserts that +Congress passed a law <i>limiting</i> the size of certain ships, in order to +please the democracy; and that the Executive privately evaded this law, +and built vessels of a much greater size; whereas the provision of the law +is just the contrary, or that the ships should not be <i>less</i> than of +seventy-four guns; a piece of information, by the way, that I obtained +from Mr. Powis."</p> + +<p>"Ignorance, ma'am; a stranger cannot be supposed to know all the laws of a +foreign country."</p> + +<p>"Then why make bold and false assertions about them, that are intended to +discredit the country? Here is another assertion--'ten thousand of the +men that fought at Waterloo would have marched through North America?' Do +you believe that, Mr. Howel?"</p> + +<p>"But that is merely an opinion, Mrs. Bloomfield; any man may be wrong in +his opinion."</p> + +<p>"Very true, but it is an opinion uttered in the year of our Lord one +thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight; and after the battles of Bunker +Hill, Cowpens, Plattsburg, Saratoga, and New-Orleans! And, moreover, after +it had been proved that something very like ten thousand of the identical +men who fought at Waterloo, could not march even ten miles into the +country."</p> + +<p>"Well, well, all this shows that the reviewer is sometimes mistaken."</p> + +<p>"Your pardon Mr. Howel; I think it shows, according to your own admission, +that his wit, or rather its wit, for there is no <i>his</i> about it--that its +wit is of a very indifferent quality as witticisms even; that it is +ignorant of what it pretends to know; and that its opinions are no better +than its knowledge: all of which, when fairly established against one who, +by his very pursuit, professes to know more than other people, is very +much like making it appear contemptible."</p> + +<p>"This is going back eight or ten years--let us look more particularly at +the article about which the discussion commences."</p> + +<p>"<i>Volontiers</i>"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bloomfield now sent to the library for the work reviewed, and opening +the review she read some of its strictures; and then turning to the +corresponding passages in the work itself, she pointed out the unfairness +of the quotations, the omissions of the context, and, in several flagrant +instances, witticisms of the reviewer, that were purchased at the expense +of the English language. She next showed several of those audacious +assertions, for which the particular periodical was so remarkable, leaving +no doubt with any candid person, that they were purchased at the expense +of truth.</p> + +<p>"But here is an instance that will scarce admit of cavilling or objection +on your part, Mr. Howel," she continued; "do me the favour to read the +passage in the review."</p> + +<p>Mr. Howel complied, and when he had done, he looked expectingly at the +lady.</p> + +<p>"The effect of the reviewer's statement is to make it appear that the +author has contradicted himself, is it not?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, nothing can be plainer."</p> + +<p>"According to your favourite reviewer, who accuses him of it, in terms. +Now let us look at the fact. Here is the passage in the work itself. In +the first place you will remark that this sentence, which contains the +alleged contradiction, is mutilated; the part which is omitted, giving a +directly contrary meaning to it, from that it bears under the reviewer's +scissors."</p> + +<p>"It has some such appearance, I do confess."</p> + +<p>"Here you perceive that the closing sentence of the same paragraph, and +which refers directly to the point at issue, is displaced, made to appear +as belonging to a separate paragraph, and as conveying a different meaning +from what the author has actually expressed."</p> + +<p>"Upon my word, I do not know but you are right!"</p> + +<p>"Well, Mr. Howel, we have had wit of no very pure water, ignorance as +relates to facts, and mistakes as regards very positive assertions. In +what category, as Captain Truck would say, do you place this?"</p> + +<p>"Why does not the author reviewed expose this?"</p> + +<p>"Why does not a gentleman wrangle with a detected pick-pocket?"</p> + +<p>"It is literary swindling," said John Effingham, "and the man who did it, +is inherently a knave."</p> + +<p>"I think both these facts quite beyond dispute," observed Mrs. Bloomfield, +laying down Mr. Howel's favourite review with an air of cool contempt; +"and I must say I did not think it necessary to prove the general +character of the work, at this late date, to any American of ordinary +intelligence; much less to a sensible man, like Mr. Howel."</p> + +<p>"But, ma'am, there may be much truth and justice in the rest of its +remarks," returned the pertinacious Mr. Howel, "although it has fallen +into these mistakes."</p> + +<p>"Were you ever on a jury, Howel?" asked John Effingham, in his caustic +manner.</p> + +<p>"Often; and on grand juries, too."</p> + +<p>"Well, did the judge never tell you, when a witness is detected in lying +on one point, that his testimony is valueless on all others?"</p> + +<p>"Very true; but this is a review, and not testimony."</p> + +<p>"The distinction is certainly a very good one," resumed Mrs. Bloomfield, +laughing, "as nothing, in general, can be less like honest testimony than +a review!"</p> + +<p>"But I think, my dear ma'am, you will allow that all this is excessively +biting and severe--I can't say I ever read any thing sharper in my life."</p> + +<p>"It strikes me, Mr. Howel, as being nothing but epithets, the cheapest and +most contemptible of all species of abuse. Were two men, in your presence, +to call each other such names, I think it would excite nothing but disgust +in your mind. When the thought is clear and poignant, there is little need +to have recourse to mere epithets; indeed, men never use the latter, +except when there is a deficiency of the first."</p> + +<p>"Well, well, my friends," cried Mr. Howel, as he walked away towards Grace +and Sir George, "this is a different thing from what I at first thought +it, but still I think you undervalue the periodical."</p> + +<p>"I hope this little lesson will cool some of Mr. Howel's faith in foreign +morality," observed Mrs. Bloomfield, as soon as the gentleman named was +out of hearing; "a more credulous and devout worshipper of the idol, I +have never before met."</p> + +<p>"The school is diminishing, but it is still large. Men like Tom Howel, who +have thought in one direction all their lives, are not easily brought to +change their notions, especially when the admiration which proceeds from +distance, distance 'that lends enchantment to the view,' is at the bottom +of their faith. Had this very article been written and printed round the +corner of the street in which he lives, Howel would be the first to say +that it was the production of a fellow without talents or principles, and +was unworthy of a second thought."</p> + +<p>"I still think he will be a wiser, if not a better man, by the exposure of +its frauds."</p> + +<p>"Not he. If you will excuse a homely and a coarse simile, 'he will return +like a dog to his vomit, or the sow to its wallowing in the mire.' I never +knew one of that school thoroughly cured, until he became himself the +subject of attack, or, by a close personal communication, was made to feel +the superciliousness of European superiority. It is only a week since I +had a discussion with him on the subject of the humanity and the relish +for liberty in his beloved model; and when I cited the instance of the +employment of the tomahawk, in the wars between England and this country, +he actually affirmed that the Indian savages killed no women and children, +but the wives and offspring of their enemies; and when I told him that the +English, like most other people, cared very little for any liberty but +their own, he coolly affirmed that their own was the only liberty worth +caring for!"</p> + +<p>"Oh yes," put in young Mr. Wenham, who had overheard the latter portion of +the conversation, "Mr. Howel is so thoroughly English, that he actually +denies that America is the most civilized country in the world, or that we +speak our language better than any nation was ever before known to speak +its own language."</p> + +<p>"This is so manifest an act of treason," said Mrs. Bloomfield, +endeavouring to look grave, for Mr. Wenham was any thing but accurate in +the use of words himself, commonly pronouncing "been," "ben," "does," +"dooze," "nothing," "nawthing," "few," "foo," &c. &c. &c., "that, +certainly, Mr. Howel should be arraigned at the bar of public opinion for +the outrage."</p> + +<p>"It is commonly admitted, even by our enemies, that our mode of speaking +is the very best in the world, which, I suppose, is the real reason why +our literature has so rapidly reached the top of the ladder."</p> + +<p>"And is that the fact?" asked Mrs. Bloomfield, with a curiosity that was +not in the least feigned.</p> + +<p>"I believe no one denies <i>that. You</i> will sustain me in this, I fancy, Mr. +Dodge?"</p> + +<p>The editor of the Active Inquirer had approached, and was just in time to +catch the subject in discussion. Now the modes of speech of these two +persons, while they had a great deal in common, had also a great deal that +was not in common. Mr. Wenham was a native of New-York, and his dialect +was a mixture that is getting to be sufficiently general, partaking +equally of the Doric of New England, the Dutch cross, and the old English +root; whereas, Mr. Dodge spoke the pure, unalloyed Tuscan of his province, +rigidly adhering to all its sounds and significations. "Dissipation," he +contended, meant "drunkenness;" "ugly," "vicious;" "clever," +"good-natured;" and "humbly," (homely) "ugly." In addition to this finesse +in significations, he had a variety of pronunciations that often put +strangers at fault, and to which he adhered with a pertinacity that +obtained some of its force from the fact, that it exceeded his power to +get rid of them. Notwithstanding all these little peculiarities, +peculiarities as respects every one but those who dwelt in his own +province, Mr. Dodge had also taken up the notion of his superiority on the +subject of language, and always treated the matter as one that was placed +quite beyond dispute, by its publicity and truth.</p> + +<p>"The progress of American Literature," returned the editor, "is really +astonishing the four quarters of the world. I believe it is very generally +admitted, now, that our pulpit and bar are at the very summit of these two +professions. Then we have much the best poets of the age, while eleven of +our novelists surpass any of all other countries. The American +Philosophical Society is, I believe, generally considered the most acute +learned body now extant, unless, indeed, the New-York Historical Society +may compete with it, for that honour. Some persons give the palm to one, +and some to the other; though I myself think it would be difficult to +decide between them. Then to what a pass has the drama risen of late +years! Genius is getting to be quite a drug in America!"</p> + +<p>"You have forgotten to speak of the press, in particular," put in the +complacent Mr. Wenham. "I think we may more safely pride ourselves on the +high character of the press, than any thing else."</p> + +<p>"Why, to tell you the truth, sir," answered Steadfast, taking the other by +the arm, and leading him so slowly away, that a part of what followed was +heard by the two amused listeners, "modesty is so infallibly the companion +of merit, that <i>we</i> who are engaged in that high pursuit do not like to +say any thing in our own favour. You never detect a newspaper in the +weakness of extolling itself; but, between ourselves, I may say, after a +close examination of the condition of the press in other countries, I have +come to the conclusion, that, for talents, taste, candour, philosophy, +genius, honesty, and truth, the press of the United States stands at the +very----"</p> + +<p>Here Mr. Dodge passed so far from the listeners, that the rest of the +speech became inaudible, though from the well-established modesty of the +man and the editor, there can be little doubt of the manner in which he +concluded the sentence.</p> + +<p>"It is said in Europe," observed Johr Effingham, his fine face expressing +the cool sarcasm in which he was so apt to indulge, "that there are <i>la +vieille</i> and <i>la Jeune France</i>. I think we have now had pretty fair +specimens of <i>old</i> and <i>young</i> America; the first distrusting every thing +native, even to a potatoe: and the second distrusting nothing, and least +of all, itself."</p> + +<p>"There appears to be a sort of pendulum-uneasiness in mankind," said Mrs. +Bloomfield, "that keeps opinion always vibrating around the centre of +truth, for I think it the rarest thing in the world to find man or woman +who has not a disposition, as soon as an error is abandoned, to fly off +into its opposite extreme. From believing we had nothing worthy of a +thought, there is a set springing up who appear to have jumped to the +conclusion that we have every thing."</p> + +<p>"Ay, this is <i>one</i> of the reasons that all the rest of the world laugh at +us."</p> + +<p>"Laugh at us, Mr. Effingham! Even <i>I</i> had supposed the American name had, +at last, got to be in good credit in other parts of the world."</p> + +<p>"Then even <i>you</i>, my dear Mrs. Bloomfield, are notably mistaken. Europe, +it is true, is beginning to give us credit for not being quite as bad as +she once thought us; but we are far, very far, from being yet admitted to +the ordinary level of nations, as respects goodness."</p> + +<p>"Surely they give us credit for energy, enterprize, activity----"</p> + +<p>"Qualities that they prettily term, rapacity, cunning, and swindling! I am +far, very far, however, from giving credit to all that it suits the +interests and prejudices of Europe, especially of our venerable kinswoman, +Old England, to circulate and think to the prejudice of this country, +which, in my poor judgment, has as much substantial merit to boast of as +any nation on earth; though, in getting rid of a set of ancient vices and +follies, it has not had the sagacity to discover that it is fast falling +into pretty tolerable--or if you like it better--intolerable substitutes."</p> + +<p>"What then do <i>you</i> deem our greatest error--our weakest point?"</p> + +<p>"Provincialisms, with their train of narrow prejudices, and a disposition +to set up mediocrity as perfection, under the double influence of an +ignorance that unavoidably arises from a want of models, and of the +irresistible tendency to mediocrity, in a nation where the common mind so +imperiously rules."</p> + +<p>"But does not the common mind rule every where? Is not public opinion +always stronger than law?"</p> + +<p>"In a certain sense, both these positions may be true. But in a nation +like this, without a capital, one <i>that is all provinces</i>, in which +intelligence and tastes are scattered, this common mind wants the usual +direction, and derives its impulses from the force of numbers, rather than +from the force of knowledge. Hence the fact, that the public opinion never +or seldom rises to absolute truth. I grant you that <i>as</i> a mediocrity, it +is well; much better than common even; but it is still a mediocrity."</p> + +<p>"I see the justice of your remark, and I suppose we are to ascribe the +general use of superlatives, which is so very obvious, to these causes."</p> + +<p>"Unquestionably; men have gotten to be afraid to speak the truth, when +that truth is a little beyond the common comprehension; and thus it is +that you see the fulsome flattery that all the public servants, as they +call themselves, resort to, in order to increase their popularity, instead +of telling the wholesome facts that are needed."</p> + +<p>"And what is to be the result?"</p> + +<p>"Heaven knows. While America is so much in advance of other nations, in a +freedom from prejudices of the old school, it is fast substituting a set +of prejudices of its own, that are not without serious dangers. We may +live through it, and the ills of society may correct themselves, though +there is one fact that men aces more evil than any thing I could have +feared."</p> + +<p>"You mean the political struggle between money and numbers, that has so +seriously manifested itself of late!" exclaimed the quick-minded and +intelligent Mrs. Bloomfield.</p> + +<p>"<i>That</i> has its dangers; but there is still another evil of greater +magnitude. I allude to the very general disposition to confine political +discussions to political men. Thus, the private citizen, who should +presume to discuss a political question, would be deemed fair game for all +who thought differently from himself. He would be injured in his pocket, +reputation, domestic happiness, if possible; for, in this respect, America +is much the most intolerant nation I have ever visited. In all other +countries, in which discussion is permitted at all, there is at least the +<i>appearance</i> of fair play, whatever may be done covertly; but here, it +seems to be sufficient to justify falsehood, frauds, nay, barefaced +rascality, to establish that the injured party has had the audacity to +meddle with public questions, not being what the public chooses to call a +public man. It is scarcely necessary to say that, when such an opinion +gets to be effective, it must entirely defeat the real intentions of a +popular government."</p> + +<p>"Now you mention it," said Mrs. Bloomfield, "I think I have witnessed +instances of what you mean."</p> + +<p>"Witnessed, dear Mrs. Bloomfield! Instances are to be seen as often as a +man is found freeman enough to have an opinion independent of party. It is +not for connecting himself with party that a man is denounced in this +country, but for daring to connect himself with truth. Party will bear +with party, but party will not bear with truth. It is in politics as in +war, regiments or individuals may desert, and they will be received by +their late enemies with open arms, the honour of a soldier seldom reaching +to the pass of refusing succour of any sort; but both sides will turn and +fire on the countrymen who wish merely to defend their homes and +firesides."</p> + +<p>"You draw disagreeable pictures of human nature, Mr. Effingham."</p> + +<p>"Merely because they are true, Mrs. Bloomfield. Man is worse than the +beasts, merely because he has a code of right and wrong, which he never +respects. They talk of the variation of the compass, and even pretend to +calculate its changes, though no one can explain the principle that causes +the attraction or its vagaries at all. So it is with men; they pretend to +look always at the right, though their eyes are constantly directed +obliquely; and it is a certain calculation to allow of a pretty wide +variation--but here comes Miss Effingham, singularly well attired, and +more beautiful than I have ever before seen her!"</p> + +<p>The two exchanged quick glances, and then, as if fearful of betraying to +each other their thoughts, they moved towards our heroine, to do the +honours of the reception.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XXVI.</h2> + + + +<blockquote>  "Haply, when I shall wed,<br /> +That lord, whose hand must take my plight, shall carry<br /> +Half my love with him, half my care and duty."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> CORDELIA.</blockquote> + + +<p>As no man could be more gracefully or delicately polite than John +Effingham, when the humour seized him, Mrs. Bloomfield was struck with the +kind and gentleman-like manner with which he met his young kinswoman on +this trying occasion, and the affectionate tones of his voice, and the +winning expression of his eye, as he addressed her. Eve herself was not +unobservant of these peculiarities, nor was she slow in comprehending the +reason. She perceived at once that he was acquainted with the state of +things between her and Paul. As she well knew the womanly fidelity of Mrs. +Bloomfield, she rightly enough conjectured that the long observation of +her cousin, coupled with the few words accidentally overheard that evening +had even made him better acquainted with the true condition of her +feelings, than was the case with the friend with whom she had so lately +been conversing on the subject.</p> + +<p>Still Eve was not embarrassed by the conviction that her secret was +betrayed to so many persons. Her attachment to Paul was not the impulse of +girlish caprice, but the warm affection of a woman, that had grown with +time, was sanctioned by her reason, and which, if it was tinctured with +the more glowing imagination and ample faith of youth, was also sustained +by her principles and her sense of right. She knew that both her father +and cousin esteemed the man of her own choice, nor did she believe the +little cloud that, hung over his birth could do more than have a temporary +influence on his own sensitive feelings. She met John Effingham, +therefore, with a frank composure, returned the kind pressure of his hand, +with a smile such as a daughter might bestow on an affectionate parent, +and turned to salute the remainder of the party, with that lady-like ease +which had got to be a part of her nature.</p> + +<p>"There goes one of the most attractive pictures that humanity can offer," +said John Effingham to Mrs. Bloomfield, as Eve walked away; "a young, +timid, modest, sensitive girl, so strong in her principles, so conscious +of rectitude, so pure of thought, and so warm in her affections, that she +views her selection of a husband, as others view their acts of duty and +religious faith. With her love has no shame, as it has no weakness."</p> + +<p>"Eve Effingham is as faultless as comports with womanhood; and yet I +confess ignorance of my own sex, if she receive Mr. Powis as calmly as she +received her cousin."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps not, for in that case, she could scarcely feel the passion. You +perceive that he avoids oppressing her with his notice, and that the +meeting passes off without embarrassment. I do believe there is an +elevating principle in love, that, by causing us to wish to be worthy of +the object most prized, produces the desired effects by stimulating +exertion. There, now, are two as perfect beings as one ordinarily meets +with, each oppressed by a sense of his or her unworthiness to be the +choice of the other."</p> + +<p>"Does love, then, teach humility; successful love too?"</p> + +<p>"Does it not? It would be hardly fair to press this matter on you, a +married woman; for, by the pandects of American society, a man may +philosophize on love, prattle about it, trifle on the subject, and even +analyze the passion with, a miss in her teens, and yet he shall not +allude to it, in a discourse with a matron. Well, <i>chacun à son goût</i>; we +are, indeed, a little peculiar in our usages, and have promoted a good +deal of village coquetry, and the flirtations of the may-pole, to the +drawing-room."</p> + +<p>"Is it not better that such follies should be confined to youth, than that +they should invade the sanctity of married life, as I understand is too +much the case elsewhere?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps so; though I confess it is easier to dispose of a +straight-forward proposition from a mother, a father, or a commissioned +friend, than to get rid of a young lady, who, <i>propriâ personâ</i>, angles on +her own account. While abroad, I had a dozen proposals--"</p> + +<p>"Proposals!" exclaimed Mrs. Bloomfield, holding up both hands, and shaking +her head incredulously.</p> + +<p>"Proposals! Why not, ma'am?--am I more than fifty? am I not reasonably +youthful for that period of life, and have I not six or eight thousand a +year--"</p> + +<p>"Eighteen, or you are much scandalized."</p> + +<p>"Well, eighteen, if you will," coolly returned the other, in whose eyes +money was no merit, for he was born to a fortune, and always treated it as +a means, and not as the end of life; "every dollar is a magnet, after one +has turned forty. Do you suppose that a single man, of tolerable person, +well-born, and with a hundred thousand francs of <i>rentes</i>, could entirely +escape proposals from the ladies in Europe?"</p> + +<p>"This is so revolting to all our American notions, that, though I have +often heard of such things, I have always found it difficult to believe +them!"</p> + +<p>"And is it more revolting for the friends of young ladies to look out for +them, on such occasions, than that the young ladies should take the affair +into their own hands, as is practised quite as openly, here?"</p> + +<p>"It is well you are a confirmed bachelor, or declarations like these would +mar your fortunes. I will admit that the school is not as retiring and +diffident as formerly; for we are all ready enough to say that no times +are egual to our own times; but I shall strenuously protest against your +interpretation of the nature and artlessness of an American girl."</p> + +<p>"Artlessness!" repeated John Effingham, with a slight lifting of the +eye-brows; "we live in an age when new dictionaries and vocabularies are +necessary to understand each other's meaning. It is artlessness, with a +vengeance, to beset an old fellow of fifty, as one would besiege a town. +Hist!--Ned is retiring with his daughter, my dear Mrs. Bloomfield, and it +will not be long before I shall be summoned to a family council. Well, we +will keep the secret until it is publicly proclaimed."</p> + +<p>John Effingham was right, for his two cousins left the room together, and +retired to the library, but in a way to attract no particular attention, +except in those who were enlightened on the subject of what had already +passed that evening. When they were alone, Mr. Effingham turned the key, +and then he gave a free vent to his paternal feelings.</p> + +<p>Between Eve and her parent, there had always existed a confidence +exceeding that which it is common to find between father and daughter. In +one sense, they had been all in all to each other, and Eve had never +hesitated about pouring those feelings into his breast, which, had she +possessed another parent, would more naturally have been confided to the +affection of a mother. When their eyes first met, therefore, they were +mutually beaming with an expression of confidence and love, such as might, +in a measure, have been expected between two of the gentler sex. Mr +Effingham folded his child to his heart, pressed her there tenderly for +near a minute in silence, and then kissing her burning cheek he permitted +her to look up.</p> + +<p>"This answers all my fondest hopes, Eve"--he exclaimed; "fulfils my most +cherished wishes for thy sake."</p> + +<p>"Dearest sir!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, my love, I have long secretly prayed that such might be your good +fortune; for, of all the youths we have met, at home or abroad, Paul Powis +is the one to whom I can consign you with the most confidence that he will +cherish and love you as you deserve to be cherished and loved!"</p> + +<p>"Dearest father, nothing but this was wanting to complete my perfect +happiness."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham kissed his daughter again, and he was then enabled to pursue +the conversation with greater composure.</p> + +<p>"Powis and I have had a full explanation," he said, "though in order to +obtain it, I have been obliged to give him strong encouragement"</p> + +<p>"Father!"</p> + +<p>"Nay, my love, your delicacy and feelings nave been sufficiently +respected, but he has so much diffidence of himself, and permits the +unpleasant circumstances connected with his birth to weigh so much on his +mind, that I have been compelled to tell him, what I am sure you will +approve, that we disregard family connections, and look only to the merit +of the individual."</p> + +<p>"I hope, father, nothing was said to give Mr. Powis reason to suppose we +did not deem him every way our equal."</p> + +<p>"Certainly not. He is a gentleman, and I can claim to be no more. There is +but one thing in which connections ought to influence an American +marriage, where the parties are suited to each other in the main +requisites, and that is to ascertain that neither should be carried, +necessarily, into associations for which their habits have given them too +much and too good tastes to enter into. A <i>woman</i>, especially, ought never +to be transplanted from a polished to an unpolished circle; for, when this +is the case, if really a lady, there will be a dangerous clog on her +affection for her husband. This one great point assured, I see no other +about which a parent need feel concern."</p> + +<p>"Powis, unhappily, has no connections in this country; or none with whom +he has any communications; and those he has in England are of a class to +do him credit."</p> + +<p>"We have been conversing of this, and he has manifested so much proper +feeling that it has even raised him in my esteem. I knew his father's +family, and must have known his father, I think, though there were two or +three Asshetons of the name of John. It is a highly respectable family of +the middle states, and belonged formerly to the colonial aristocracy. Jack +Effingham's mother was an Assheton."</p> + +<p>"Of the same blood, do you think, sir? I remembered this when Mr. Powis +mentioned his father's name, and intended to question cousin Jack on the +subject."</p> + +<p>"Now you speak of it, Eve, there <i>must</i> be a relationship between them. Do +you suppose that our kinsman is acquainted with the fact that Paul is, in +truth, an Assheton?"</p> + +<p>Eve told her father that she had never spoken with their relative on the +subject, at all.</p> + +<p>Then ring the bell and we will ascertain at once how far my conjecture is +true. You can have no false delicacy, my child, about letting your +engagement be known to one as near and as dear to us, as John."</p> + +<p>"Engagement, father!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, engagement," returned the smiling parent, "for such I already deem +it. I have ventured, in your behalf, to plight your troth to Paul Powis, +or what is almost equal to it; and in return I can give you back as many +protestations of unequalled fidelity, and eternal constancy, as any +reasonable girl can ask."</p> + +<p>Eve gazed at her lather in a way to show that reproach was mingled with +fondness, for she felt that, in this instance, too much of the +precipitation of the other sex had been manifested in her affairs; still, +superior to coquetry and affectation, and much too warm in her attachments +to be seriously hurt, she kissed the hand she held, shook her head +reproachfully, even while she smiled, and did as had been desired.</p> + +<p>"You have, indeed, rendered it important to us to know more of Mr. Powis, +my beloved father," she said, as she returned to her seat, "though I could +wish matters had not proceeded quite so fast."</p> + +<p>"Nay, all I promised was conditional, and dependent on yourself. You have +nothing to do, if I have said too much, but to refuse to ratify the treaty +made by your negotiator."</p> + +<p>"You propose an impossibility,", said Eve, taking the hand, again, that +she had so lately relinquished, and pressing it warmly between her own; +"the negotiator is too much revered, has too strong a right to command, +and is too much confided in to be thus dishonoured. Father, I <i>will</i>, I +<i>do</i>, ratify all you <i>have</i>, all you <i>can</i> promise in my behalf."</p> + +<p>"Even, if I annul the treaty, darling?"</p> + +<p>"Even, in that case, father. I will marry none without your consent, and +have so absolute a confidence in your tender care of me, that I do not +even hesitate to say, I will marry him to whom you contract me."</p> + +<p>"Bless you, bless you, Eve; I do believe you, for such have I ever found +you, since thought has had any control over your actions. Desire Mr. John +Effingham to come hither"--then, as the servant closed the door, he +continued,--"and such I believe you will continue to be until your dying +day."</p> + +<p>"Nay, reckless, careless father, you forget that you yourself have been +instrumental in transferring my duty and obedience to another. What if +this sea-monster should prove a tyrant, throw off the mask, and show +himself in his real colours? Are you prepared, then, thoughtless, +precipitate, parent"--Eve kissed Mr, Effingham's cheek with childish +playfulness, as she spoke, her heart swelling with happiness the whole +time, "to preach obedience where obedience would then be due?"</p> + +<p>"Hush, precious--I hear the step of Jack; he must not catch us fooling in +this manner."</p> + +<p>Eve rose; and when her kinsman entered the room, she held out her hand +kindly to him, though it was with an averted face and a tearful eye.</p> + +<p>"It is time I was summoned," said John Effingham, after he had drawn the +blushing girl to him and kissed her forehead, "for what between <i>tête à +têtes</i> with young fellows, and <i>tête à têtes</i> with old fellows, this +evening, I began to think myself neglected. I hope I am still in time to +render my decided disapprobation available?"</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack!" exclaimed Eve, with a look of reproachful mockery, "<i>you</i> +are the last person who ought to speak of disapprobation, for you have +done little else but sing the praises of the applicant, since you first +met him."</p> + +<p>"Is it even so? then, like others, I must submit to the consequences of my +own precipitation and false conclusions. Am I summoned to inquire how many +thousands a year I shall add to the establishment of the new couple? As I +hate business, say five at once: and when the papers are ready, I will +sign them, without reading,"</p> + +<p>"Most generous cynic," cried Eve, "I would I dared, now, to ask a single +question!"</p> + +<p>"Ask it without scruple, young lady, for this is the day of your +independence and power. I am mistaken in the man, if Powis do not prove to +be the captain of his own ship, in the end."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, in whose behalf is this liberality really meant; mine, or +that of the gentleman?"</p> + +<p>"Fairly enough put," said John Effingham, laughing, again drawing Eve +towards him and saluting her cheek; "for if I were on the rack, I could +scarcely say which I love best, although you have the consolation of +knowing, pert one, that you get the most kisses."</p> + +<p>"I am almost in the same state of feeling myself, John, for a son of my +own could scarcely be dearer to me than Paul."</p> + +<p>"I see, indeed, that I <i>must</i> marry," said Eve hastily, dashing the tears +of delight from her eyes, for what could give more delight than to hear +the praises of her beloved, "if I wish to retain my place in your +affections. But, father, we forget the question you were to put to cousin +Jack."</p> + +<p>"True, love. John, your mother was an Assheton?"</p> + +<p>"Assuredly, Ned; you are not to learn my pedigree at this time of day, I +trust."</p> + +<p>"We are anxious to make out a relationship between you and Paul; can it +not be done?"</p> + +<p>"I would give half my fortune, Eve consenting, were it so!--What reason is +there for supposing it probable, or even possible?"</p> + +<p>"You know that he bears the name of his friend, and adopted parent, while +that of his family is really Assheton."</p> + +<p>"Assheton!" exclaimed the other, in a way to show that this was the first +he had ever heard of the fact.</p> + +<p>"Certainly; and as there is but one family of this name, which is a +little peculiar in the spelling--for here it is spelt by Paul himself, on +this card--we have thought that he must be a relation of yours. I hope we +are not to be disappointed."</p> + +<p>"Assheton!--It is, as you say, an unusual name; nor is there more than one +family that bears it in this country, to my knowledge. Can it be possible +that Powis is truly an Assheton?"</p> + +<p>"Out of all doubt," Eve eagerly exclaimed; "we have it from his own mouth. +His father was an Assheton, and his mother was--"</p> + +<p>"Who!" demanded John Effingham, with a vehemence that startled his +companions.</p> + +<p>"Nay, that is more than I can tell you, for he did not mention the family +name of his mother; as she was a sister of Lady Dunluce, however, who is +the wife of General Ducie, the father of our guest, it is probable her +name was Dunluce."</p> + +<p>"I remember no relative that has made such a marriage, or who <i>can</i> have +made such a marriage; and yet do I personally and intimately know every +Assheton in the country."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham and his daughter looked at each other, for it at once struck +them all painfully, that there must be Asshetons of another family.</p> + +<p>"Were it not for the peculiar manner in which this name is spelled," said +Mr. Effingham, "I could suppose that there are Asshetons of whom we know +nothing, but it is difficult to believe that there can be such persons of +a respectable family of whom we never heard, for Powis said his relatives +were of the Middle States--"</p> + +<p>"And that his mother was called Dunluce?" demanded John Effingham +earnestly, for he too appeared to wish to discover an affinity between +himself and Paul.</p> + +<p>"Nay, father, this I think he did not say; though it is quite probable; +for the title of his aunt is an ancient barony, and those ancient +baronies usually became the family name."</p> + +<p>"In this you must be mistaken, Eve, since he mentioned that the right was +derived through his mother's mother, who was an Englishwoman."</p> + +<p>"Why not send for him at once, and put the question?" said the +simple-minded Mr. Effingham; "next to having him for my own son, it would +give me pleasure, John, to learn that he was lawfully entitled to that +which I know you have done in his behalf."</p> + +<p>"That is impossible," returned John Effingham. "I am an only child, and as +for cousins through my mother, there are so many who stand in an equal +degree of affinity to me, that no one in particular can be my heir-at-law. +If there were, I am an Effingham; my estate came from Effinghams, and to +an Effingham it should descend in despite of all the Asshetons in +America."</p> + +<p>"Paul Powis included!" exclaimed Eve, raising a finger reproachfully.</p> + +<p>"True, to him I have left a legacy; but it was to a Powis, and not to an +Assheton."</p> + +<p>"And yet he declares himself legally an Assheton, and not a Powis."</p> + +<p>"Say no more of this, Eve; it is unpleasant to me. I hate the name of +Assheton, though it was my mother's, and could wish never to hear it +again."</p> + +<p>Eve and her father were mute, for their kinsman, usually so proud and +self-restrained, spoke with suppressed emotion, and it was plain that, for +some hidden cause, he felt even more than he expressed. The idea that +there should be any thing about Paul that could render him an object of +dislike to one as dear to her as her cousin, was inexpressibly painful to +the former, and she regretted that the subject had ever been introduced. +Not so with her father. Simple, direct, and full of truth, Mr. Effingham +rightly enough believed that mysteries in a family could lead to no good, +and he repeated his proposal of sending for Paul, and having the matter +cleared up at once.</p> + +<p>"You are too reasonable, Jack," he concluded, "to let an antipathy against +a name that was your mother's, interfere with your sense of right. I know +that some unpleasant questions arose concerning your succession to my +aunt's fortune, but that was all settled in your favour twenty years ago, +and I had thought to your entire satisfaction."</p> + +<p>"Unhappily, family quarrels are ever the most bitter, and usually they are +the least reconcileable," returned John Effingham, evasively.--"I would +that this young man's name were any thing but Assheton! I do not wish to +see Eve plighting her faith at the altar, to any one bearing that, +accursed name!"</p> + +<p>"I shall plight my faith, if ever it be done, dear cousin John, to the +man, and not to his name."</p> + +<p>"No, no--he must keep the appellation of Powis by which we have all +learned to love him, and to which he has done so much credit."</p> + +<p>"This is very strange, Jack, for a man who is usually as discreet and as +well regulated as yourself. I again propose that we send for Paul, and +ascertain precisely to what branch of this so-much-disliked family he +really belongs."</p> + +<p>"No, father, if you love me, not now!" cried Eve, arresting Mr. +Effingham's hand as it touched the bell-cord; "it would appear +distrustful, and even cruel, were we to enter into such an inquiry so +soon. Powis might think we valued his family, more than we do himself,"</p> + +<p>"Eve is right, Ned; but I will not sleep without learning all. There is an +unfinished examination of the papers left by poor Monday, and I will take +an occasion to summon Paul to its completion, when an opportunity will +offer to renew the subject of his own history; for it was at the other +investigation that he first spoke frankly to me, concerning himself."</p> + +<p>"Do so, cousin Jack, and let it be at once," said Eve earnestly. "I can +trust you with Powis alone, for I know how much you respect and esteem him +in your heart. See, it is already ten."</p> + +<p>"But, he will naturally wish to spend the close of an evening like this +engaged in investigating something very different from Mr. Monday's tale," +returned her cousin; the smile with which he spoke chasing away the look +of chilled aversion that had so lately darkened his noble features.</p> + +<p>"No, not to-night," answered the blushing Eve. "I have confessed weakness +enough for one day. Tomorrow, if you will--if he will,--but not to-night. +I shall retire with Mrs. Hawker, who already complains of fatigue; and you +will send for Powis, to meet you in your own room, without unnecessary +delay."</p> + +<p>Eve kissed John Effingham coaxingly, and as they walked together out of +the library, she pointed towards the door that led to the chambers. Her +cousin laughingly complied, and when in his own room, he sent a message to +Paul to join him.</p> + +<p>"Now, indeed, may I call you a kinsman," said John Effingham, rising to +receive the young man, towards whom he advanced, with extended hands, in +his most winning manner. "Eve's frankness and your own discernment have +made us a happy family!"</p> + +<p>"If any thing could add to the felicity of being acceptable to Miss +Effingham," returned Paul, struggling to command his feelings, "it is the +manner in which her father and yourself have received my poor offers."</p> + +<p>"Well, we will now speak of it no more. I saw from the first which way +things were tending, and it was my plain-dealing that opened the eyes of +Templemore to the impossibility of his ever succeeding, by which means his +heart has been kept from breaking."</p> + +<p>"Oh! Mr. Effingham, Templemore never loved-Eve Effingham! I thought so +once, and he thought so, too; but it could not have been a love like +mine."</p> + +<p>"It certainly differed in the essential circumstance of reciprocity, +which, in itself, singularly qualifies the passion, so far as duration is +concerned. Templemore did not exactly know the reason why he preferred +Eve; but, having seen so much of the society in which he lived, I was +enabled to detect the cause. Accustomed to an elaborate sophistication, +the singular union of refinement and nature caught his fancy; for the +English seldom see the last separated from vulgarity; and when it is +found, softened by a high intelligence and polished manners, it has +usually great attractions for the <i>biasés</i>" + +"He is fortunate in having so readily found a substitute for Eve +Effingham!"</p> + +<p>"This change is not unnatural, neither. In the first place, I, with this +truth-telling 'tongue, destroyed all hope, before he had committed himself +by a declaration; and then Grace Van Cortlandt possesses the great +attraction of nature, in a degree quite equal to that of her cousin. +Besides, Templemore, though a gentleman, and a brave man, and a worthy +one, is not remarkable for qualities of a very extraordinary kind. He will +be as happy as is usual for an Englishman of his class to be, and he has +no particular right to expect more. I sent for you, however, less to talk +of love, than to trace its unhappy consequences in this affair, revealed +by the papers of poor Monday. It is time we acquitted ourselves of that +trust. Do me the favour to open the dressing-case that stands on the +toilet-table; you will find in it the key that belongs to the bureau, +where I have placed the secretary that contains the papers."</p> + +<p>Paul did as desired. The dressing-case was complicated and large, having +several compartments, none of which were fastened. In the first opened, he +saw a miniature of a female so beautiful, that his eve rested on it, as it +might be, by a fascination.--Notwithstanding some difference produced by +the fashions of different periods, the resemblance to the object of his +love, was obvious at a glance. Borne away by the pleasure of the +discovery, and actually believing that he saw a picture of Eve, drawn in a +dress that did not in a great degree vary from the present attire, fashion +having undergone no very striking revolution in the last twenty years, he +exclaimed--</p> + +<p>"This is indeed a treasure, Mr. Effingham, and most sincerely do I envy +you its possession. It is like, and yet, in some particulars, it is +unlike--it scarcely does Miss Effingham justice about the nose and +forehead!"</p> + +<p>John Effingham started when he saw the miniature in Paul's hand, but +recovering himself, he smiled at the eager delusion of his young friend, +and said with perfect composure--</p> + +<p>"It is not Eve, but her mother. The two features you have named in the +former came from my family; but in all the others, the likeness is almost +identical."</p> + +<p>"This then is Mrs. Effingham!" murmured Paul, gazing on the face of the +mother of his love, with a respectful melancholy, and an interest that was +rather heightened than lessened by a knowledge of the truth. "She died +young, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Quite; she can scarcely be said to have become an angel too soon, for she +was always one."</p> + +<p>This was said with a feeling that did not escape Paul, though it surprised +him. There were six or seven miniature-cases in the compartment of the +dressing-box, and supposing that the one which lay uppermost belonged to +the miniature in his hand, he raised it, and opened the lid with a view to +replace the picture of Eve's mother, with a species of pious reverence. +Instead of finding an empty case, however, another miniature met his eye. +The exclamation that now escaped the young man was one of delight and +surprise.</p> + +<p>"That must be my grandmother, with whom you are in such raptures, at +present," said John Effingham, laughing--"I was comparing it yesterday +with the picture of Eve, which is in the Russia-leather case, that you +will find somewhere there. I do not wonder, however, at your admiration, +for she was a beauty in her day, and no woman is fool enough to be painted +after she grows ugly."</p> + +<p>"Not so--not so--Mr. Effingham! This is the miniature I lost in the +Montauk, and which I had given up as booty to the Arabs. It has, +doubtless, found its way into your state-room, and has been put among your +effects by your man, through mistake. It is very precious to me, for it is +nearly every memorial I possess of my own mother!"</p> + +<p>"Your mother!" exclaimed John Effingham rising. "I think there must be +some mistake, for I examined all those pictures this very morning, and it +is the first time they have been opened since our arrival from Europe. It +cannot be the missing picture."</p> + +<p>"Mine it is certainly; in that I cannot be mistaken!"</p> + +<p>"It would be odd indeed, if one of my grandmothers, for both are there, +should prove to be your mother.--Powis, will you have the goodness to let +me see the picture you mean."</p> + +<p>Paul brought the miniature and a light, placing both before the eyes of +his friend.</p> + +<p>"That!" exclaimed John Effingham, his voice sounding harsh and unnatural +to the listener,--"that picture like <i>your</i> mother!"</p> + +<p>"It is her miniature--<i>the</i> miniature that was transmitted to me, from +those who had charge of my childhood. I cannot be mistaken as to the +countenance, or the dress."</p> + +<p>"And your father's name was Assheton?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly--John Assheton, of the Asshetons of Pennsylvania."</p> + +<p>John Effingham groaned aloud; when Paul stepped back equally shocked and +surprised, he saw that the face of his friend was almost livid, and that +the hand which held the picture shook like the aspen.</p> + +<p>"Are you unwell, dear Mr. Effingham?"</p> + +<p>"No--no--'tis impossible! This lady never had a child. Powis, you have +been deceived by some fancied, or some real resemblance. This picture is +mine, and has not been out of my possession these five and twenty years."</p> + +<p>"Pardon me, sir, it is the picture of my mother, and no other; the very +picture lost in the Montauk."</p> + +<p>The gaze that John Effingham cast upon the young man was ghastly; and Paul +was about to ring the bell, but a gesture of denial prevented him.</p> + +<p>"See," said John Effingham, hoarsely, as he touched a spring in the +setting, and exposed to view the initials of two names interwoven with +hair--"is this, too, yours?"</p> + +<p>Paul looked surprised and disappointed.</p> + +<p>"That certainly settles the question; my miniature had no such addition; +and yet I believe that sweet and pensive countenance to be the face of my +own beloved mother, and of no one else."</p> + +<p>John Effingham struggled to appear calm; and, replacing the pictures, he +took the key from the dressing case, and, opening the bureau, he took out +the secretary. This he signed for Powis, who had the key, to open; +throwing himself into a chair, though every thing was done mechanically, +as if his mind and body had little or no connection with each other.</p> + +<p>"Some accidental resemblance has deceived you as to the miniature," he +said, while Paul was looking for the proper number among the letters of +Mr. Monday. "No--no--that <i>cannot</i> be the picture of your mother. She left +no child. Assheton did you say, was the name of your father?"</p> + +<p>"Assheton--John Assheton--about that, at least, there can have been no +mistake. This is the num her at which we left off--will you, sir, or +shall I, read?"</p> + +<p>The other made a sign for Paul to read; looking, at the same time, as if +it were impossible for him to discharge that duty himself.</p> + +<p>"This is a letter from the woman who appears to have been entrusted with +the child, to the man Dowse," said Paul, first glancing his eyes over the +page,--"it appears to be little else but gossip--ha!--what is this, I +see?"</p> + +<p>John Effingham raised himself in his chair, and he sat gazing at Paul, as +one gazes who expects some extraordinary developement, though of what +nature he knew not.</p> + +<p>"This is a singular passage," Paul continued--"so much so as to need +elucidation. 'I have taken the child with me to get the picture from the +jeweller, who has mended the ring, and the little urchin knew it at a +glance.'"</p> + +<p>"What is there remarkable in that? Others beside ourselves have had +pictures;-and this child knows its own better than you."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Effingham, such a thing occurred to myself! It is one of those early +events of which I still retain, have ever retained, a vivid recollection. +Though little more than an infant at the time, well do I recollect to have +been taken in this manner to a jeweller's, and the delight I felt at +recovering my mother's picture, that which is now lost, after it had not +been seen for a month or two."</p> + +<p>"Paul Blunt--Powis--Assheton "--said John Effingham, speaking so hoarsely +as to be nearly unintelligible, "remain here a few minutes--I will rejoin +you."</p> + +<p>John Effingham arose, and, notwithstanding he rallied all his powers, it +was with extreme difficulty he succeeded in reaching the door, steadily +rejecting the offered assistance of Paul, who was at a loss what to think +of so much agitation in a man usually so self-possessed and tranquil. +When out of the room, John Effingham did better, and he proceeded to the +library, followed by his own man, whom he had ordered to accompany him +with a light.</p> + +<p>"Desire Captain Ducie to give me the favour of his company for a moment," +he then said, motioning to the servant to withdraw. "You will not be +needed any longer."</p> + +<p>It was but a minute before Captain Ducie stood before him. This gentleman +was instantly struck with the pallid look, and general agitation of the +person he had come to meet, and he expressed an apprehension that he was +suddenly taken ill. But a motion of the hand forbade his touching the +bell-cord, and he waited in silent wonder at the scene which he had been +so unexpectedly called to witness.</p> + +<p>"A glass of that water, if you please, Captain Ducie," said John +Effingham, endeavouring to smile with gentleman-like courtesy, as he made +the request, though the effort, caused his countenance to appear ghastly +again. A little recovered by this beverage, he said more steadily--</p> + +<p>"You are the cousin of Powis, Captain Ducie."</p> + +<p>"We are sisters' children, sir."</p> + +<p>"And your mother is"</p> + +<p>"Lady Dunluce--a peeress in her own right."</p> + +<p>"But, what--her family name?"</p> + +<p>"Her own family name has been sunk in that of my father, the Ducies +claiming to be as old and as honourable a family, as that from which my +mother inherits her rank. Indeed the Dunluce barony has gone through so +many names, by means of females, that I believe there is no intention to +revive the original appellation of the family which was first summoned."</p> + +<p>"You mistake, me--your mother--when she married--was--"</p> + +<p>"Miss Warrender."</p> + +<p>"I thank you, sir, and will trouble you no longer," returned John +Effingham, rising and struggling to make his manner second the courtesy of +his words--"I have troubled you, abruptly--incoherently I fear--your arm--"</p> + +<p>Captain Ducie stepped hastily forward, and was just in time to prevent the +other from falling senseless on the floor, by receiving him in his own +arms.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XXVII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,<br /> +That he should weep for her."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> HAMLET.</blockquote> + + +<p>The next morning, Paul and Eve were alone in that library which had long +been the scene of the confidential communications of the Effingham family. +Eve had been weeping, nor were Paul's eyes entirely free from the signs of +his having given way to strong sensations. Still happiness beamed in the +countenance of each, and the timid but affectionate glances with which our +heroine returned the fond, admiring look of her lover, were any thing but +distrustful of their future felicity. Her hand was in his, and it was +often raised to his lips, as they pursued the conversation.</p> + +<p>"This is so wonderful," exclaimed Eve, after one of the frequent musing +pauses in which both indulged "that I can scarcely believe myself awake. +That you Blunt, Powis, Assheton, should, after all, prove an Effingham!</p> + +<p>"And I, who have so long thought myself an orphan, should find a living +father, and he a man like Mr. John Effingham!"</p> + +<p>I have long thought that something heavy lay at the honest heart of cousin +Jack--you will excuse me Powis, but I shall need time to learn to call +him by a name of greater respect."</p> + +<p>"Call him always so, love, for I am certain it would pain him to meet with +any change in you. He <i>is</i> your cousin Jack"</p> + +<p>"Nay, he may some day unexpectedly become <i>my</i> father too, as he has so +wonderfully become yours," rejoined Eve, glancing archly at the glowing +face of the delighted young man; "and then cousin Jack might prove too +familiar and disrespectful a term."</p> + +<p>"So much stronger does your claim to him appear than mine, that I think, +when that blessed day shall arrive, Eve, it will convert him into <i>my</i> +cousin Jack, instead of your father. But call <i>him</i> as you may, why do you +still insist on calling <i>me</i> Powis?"</p> + +<p>"That name will ever be precious in my eyes! You abridge me of my rights, +in denying me a change of name. Half the young ladies of the country marry +for the novelty of being called Mrs. Somebody else, instead of the Misses +they were, while I am condemned to remain Eve Effingham for life."</p> + +<p>"If you object to the appellation, I can continue to call myself Powis. +This has been done so long now as almost to legalize the act."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, no--you are an Effingham, and as an Effingham ought you to be +known. What a happy lot is mine! Spared even the pain of parting with my +old friends, at the great occurrence of my life, and finding my married +home the same as the home of my childhood!"</p> + +<p>"I owe every thing to you, Eve, name, happiness, and even a home."</p> + +<p>"I know not that. Now that it is known that you are the great-grandson of +Edward Effingham, I think your chance of possessing the Wigwam would be +quite equal to my own, even were we to look different ways in quest of +married happiness. An arrangement of that nature would not be difficult to +make, as John Effingham might easily compensate a daughter for the loss +of her house and lands by means of those money-yielding stocks and bonds, +of which he possesses so many."</p> + +<p>"I view it differently. <i>You</i> were Mr.--my father's heir--how strangely +the word father sounds in unaccustomed ears!--But you were my father's +chosen heir, and I shall owe to you, dearest, in addition to the treasures +of your heart and faith, my fortune."</p> + +<p>"Are you so very certain of this, ingrate?--Did not Mr. John +Effingham--cousin Jack--adopt you as his son even before he knew of the +natural tie that actually exists between you?"</p> + +<p>"True, for I perceive that you have been made acquainted with most of that +which has passed. But I hope, that in telling you his own offer, Mr.--that +my father did not forget to tell you of the terms on which it was +accepted?"</p> + +<p>"He did you ample justice, or he informed me that you stipulated there +should be no altering of wills, but that the unworthy heir already chosen, +should still remain the heir."</p> + +<p>"And to this Mr--"</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack," said Eve, laughing, for the laugh comes easy to the +supremely happy.</p> + +<p>"To this cousin Jack assented?"</p> + +<p>"Most true, again. The will would not have been altered, for your +interests were already cared for."</p> + +<p>"And at the expense of yours, dearest? Eve!"</p> + +<p>"It would have been at the expense of my better feelings, Paul, had it not +been so. However, that will can never do either harm or good to any, now."</p> + +<p>"I trust it will remain unchanged, beloved, that I may owe as much to you +as possible."</p> + +<p>Eve looked kindly at her betrothed, blushed even deeper than the bloom +which happiness had left on her cheek, and smiled like one who knew more +than she cared to express.</p> + +<p>"What secret meaning is concealed behind the look of portentous +signification?"</p> + +<p>"It means, Powis, that I have done a deed that is almost criminal. I have +destroyed a will."</p> + +<p>"Not my father's!"</p> + +<p>"Even so--but it was done in his presence, and if not absolutely with his +consent, with his knowledge. When he informed me of your superior rights, +I insisted on its being done, at once, so, should any accident occur, you +will be heir at law, as a matter of course. Cousin Jack affected +reluctance, but I believe he slept more sweetly, for the consciousness +that this act of justice had been done."</p> + +<p>"I fear he slept little, as it was; it was long past midnight before I +left him, and the agitation of his spirits was such as to appear awful in +the eyes of a son!"</p> + +<p>"And the promised explanation is to come, to renew his distress! Why make +it at all? is it not enough that we are certain that you are his child? +and for that, have we not the solemn assurance, the declaration of almost +a dying man!"</p> + +<p>"There should be no shade left over my mother's fame. Faults there have +been, somewhere, but it is painful, oh! how painful! for a child to think +evil of a mother."</p> + +<p>"On this head you are already assured. Your own previous knowledge, and +John Effingham's distinct declarations, make your mother blameless."</p> + +<p>"Beyond question; but this sacrifice must be made to my mother's spirit. +It is now nine; the breakfast-bell will soon ring, and then we are +promised the whole of the melancholy tale. Pray with me, Eve, that it may +be such as will not wound the ear of a son!"</p> + +<p>Eve took the hand of Paul within both of hers, and kissed it with a sort +of holy hope, that in its exhibition caused neither blush nor shame. +Indeed so bound together were these young hearts, so ample and confiding +had been the confessions of both, and so pure was their love, that neither +regarded such a manifestation of feeling, differently from what an +acknowledgement of a dependence on any other sacred principle would have +been esteemed. The bell now summoned them to the breakfast-table, and Eve, +yielding to her sex's timidity, desired Paul to precede her a few minutes, +that the sanctity of their confidence might not be weakened by the +observation of profane eyes.</p> + +<p>The meal was silent; the discovery of the previous night, which had been +made known to all in the house, by the declarations of John Effingham as +soon as he was restored to his senses, Captain Ducie having innocently +collected those within hearing to his succour, causing a sort of moral +suspense that weighed on the vivacity if not on the comforts of the whole +party, the lovers alone excepted.</p> + +<p>As profound happiness is seldom talkative, the meal was a silent one, +then; and when it was ended, they who had no tie of blood with the parties +most concerned with the revelations of the approaching interview, +delicately separated, making employments and engagements that left the +family at perfect liberty; while those who had been previously notified +that their presence would be acceptable, silently repaired to the +dressing-room of John Effingham. The latter party was composed of Mr. +Effingham, Paul, and Eve, only. The first passed into his cousin's +bed-room, where he had a private conference that lasted half an hour. At +the end of that time, the two others were summoned to join him.</p> + +<p>John Effingham was a strong-minded and a proud man, his governing fault +being the self-reliance that indisposed him to throw himself on a greater +power, for the support, guidance, and counsel, that all need. To +humiliation before God, however, he was not unused, and of late years it +had got to be frequent with him, and it was only in connexion with his +fellow-creatures that his repugnance to admitting even of an equality +existed. He felt how much more just, intuitive, conscientious even, were +his own views than those of mankind, in general; and he seldom deigned to +consult with any as to the opinions he ought to entertain, or as to the +conduct he ought to pursue. It is scarcely necessary to say, that such a +being was one of strong and engrossing passions, the impulses frequently +proving too imperious for the affections, or even for principles. The +scene that he was now compelled to go through, was consequently one of +sore mortification and self-abasement; and yet, feeling its justice no +less than its necessity, and having made up his mind to discharge what had +now become a duty, his very pride of character led him to do it manfully, +and with no uncalled-for reserves. It was a painful and humiliating task, +notwithstanding; and it required all the self-command, all the sense of +right, and all the clear perception of consequences, that one so quick to +discriminate could not avoid perceiving, to enable him to go through it +with the required steadiness and connexion.</p> + +<p>John Effingham received Paul and Eve, seated in an easy chair; for, while +he could not be said to be ill, it was evident that his very frame had +been shaken by the events and emotions of the few preceding hours. He gave +a hand to each, and, drawing Eve affectionately to him, he imprinted a +kiss on a cheek that was burning, though it paled and reddened in quick +succession, the heralds of the tumultuous thoughts within. The look he +gave Paul was kind and welcome, while a hectic spot glowed on each cheek, +betraying that his presence excited pain as well as pleasure. A long pause +succeeded this meeting, when John Effingham broke the silence.</p> + +<p>"There can now be no manner of question, my dear Paul," he said, smiling +affectionately but sadly as he looked at the young man, "about your being +my son. The letter written by John Assheton to your mother, after the +separation of your parents, would settle that important point, had not the +names, and the other facts that have come to our knowledge, already +convinced me of the precious truth; for precious and very dear to me is +the knowledge that I am the father of so worthy a child. You must prepare +yourself to hear things that it will not be pleasant for a son to +listen--"</p> + +<p>"No, no--cousin Jack--<i>dear</i> cousin Jack!" cried Eve, throwing herself +precipitately into her kinsman's arms, "we will hear nothing of the sort. +It is sufficient that you are Paul's father, and we wish to know no +more--will hear no more."</p> + +<p>"This is like yourself, Eve, but it will not answer what I conceive to be +the dictates of duty. Paul had two parents; and not the slightest +suspicion ought to rest on one of them, in order to spare the feelings of +the other. In showing me this kindness you are treating Paul +inconsiderately."</p> + +<p>"I beg, dear sir, you will not think too much of me, but entirely consult +your own judgment--your own sense of--in short, dear father, that you will +consider yourself before your son."</p> + +<p>"I thank you, my children--what a word, and what a novel sensation is +this, for me, Ned!--I feel all your kindness, but if you would consult my +peace of mind, and wish me to regain my self-respect, you will allow me to +disburthen my soul of the weight that oppresses it. This is strong +language; but, while I have no confessions of deliberate criminality, or +of positive vice to make, I feel it to be hardly too strong for the facts. +My tale will be very short, and I crave your patience, Ned, while I expose +my former weakness to these young people." Here John Effingham paused, as +if to recollect himself; then he proceeded with a seriousness of manner +that caused every syllable he uttered to tell on the ears of his +listeners. "It is well known to your father, Eve, though it will probably +be new to you," he said, "that I felt a passion for your sainted mother, +such as few men ever experience for any of your sex. Your father and +myself were suitors for her favour at the same time, though I can scarcely +say, Edward, that any feeling of rivalry entered into the competition."</p> + +<p>"You do me no more than justice, John, for if the affection of my beloved +Eve could cause me grief, it was because it brought you pain."</p> + +<p>"I had the additional mortification of approving of the choice she made; +for, certainly, as respected her own happiness, your mother did more +wisely in confiding it to the regulated, mild, and manly virtues of your +father, than in placing her hopes on one as eccentric and violent as +myself."</p> + +<p>"This is injustice, John. You may have been positive, and a little stern, +at times, but never violent, and least of all with a woman."</p> + +<p>"Call it what you will, it unfitted me to make one so meek, gentle, and +yet high-souled, as entirely happy as she deserved to be, and as you did +make her, while she remained on earth. I had the courage to stay and learn +that your father was accepted, (though the marriage was deferred two years +in consideration for my feelings,) and then with a heart, in which +mortified pride, wounded love, a resentment that was aimed rather against +myself than against your parents, I quitted home, with a desperate +determination never to rejoin my family again. This resolution I did not +own to myself, even, but it lurked in my intentions unowned, festering +like a mortal disease; and it caused me, when I burst away from the scene +of happiness of which I had been a compelled witness, to change my name, +and to make several inconsistent and extravagant arrangements to abandon +my native country even."</p> + +<p>"Poor John!" exclaimed his cousin, involuntarily, "this would have been a +sad blot on our felicity, had we known it!"</p> + +<p>"I was certain of that, even when most writhing under the blow you had so +unintentionally inflicted, Ned; but the passions are tyrannical and +inconsistent masters. I took my mother's name, changed my servant, and +avoided those parts of the country where I was known. At this time, I +feared for my own reason, and the thought crossed my mind, that by making +a sudden marriage I might supplant the old passion, which was so near +destroying me, by some of that gentler affection which seemed to render +you so blest, Edward."</p> + +<p>"Nay, John, this was, itself, a temporary tottering of the reasoning +faculties,"</p> + +<p>"It was simply the effect of passions, over which reason had never been +taught to exercise a sufficient influence. Chance brought me acquainted +with Miss Warrender, in one of the southern states, and she promised, as I +fancied, to realize all my wild schemes of happiness and resentment."</p> + +<p>"Resentment, John?"</p> + +<p>"I fear I must confess it, Edward, though it were anger against myself. I +first made Miss Warrender's acquaintance as John Assheton, and some months +had passed before I determined to try the fearful experiment I have +mentioned. She was young, beautiful, well-born, virtuous and good; if she +had a fault, it was her high spirit--not high temper, but she was +high-souled and proud."</p> + +<p>"Thank God, for this!" burst from the inmost soul of Paul, with +unrestrainable feeling.</p> + +<p>"You have little to apprehend, my son, on the subject of your mother's +character; if not perfect, she was wanting in no womanly virtue, and +might, nay ought to have made any reasonable man happy. My offer was +accepted, for I found her heart disengaged. Miss Warrender was not +affluent, and, in addition to the other unjustifiable motives that +influenced me, I thought there would be a satisfaction in believing that +I had been chosen for myself, rather than for my wealth. Indeed, I had +got to be distrustful and ungenerous, and then I disliked the confession +of the weakness that had induced me to change my name. The simple, I might +almost say, loose laws of this country, on the subject of marriage, +removed all necessity for explanations, there being no bans nor license +necessary, and the Christian name only being used in the ceremony. We were +married, therefore, but I was not so unmindful of the rights of others, as +to neglect to procure a certificate, under a promise of secrecy, in my own +name. By going to the place where the ceremony was performed, you will +also find the marriage of John Effingham and Mildred Warrender duly +registered in the books of the church to which the officiating clergyman +belonged. So far, I did what justice required, though, with a motiveless +infatuation for which I can now hardly account, which <i>cannot</i> be +accounted for, except by ascribing it to the inconsistent cruelty of +passion, I concealed my real name from her with whom there should have +been no concealment. I fancied, I tried to fancy I was no impostor, as I +was of the family I represented myself to be, by the mother's side; and. I +wished to believe that my peace would easily be made when I avowed myself +to be the man I really was. I had found Miss Warrender and her sister +living with a well-intentioned but weak aunt, and with no male relative to +make those inquiries which would so naturally have suggested themselves to +persons of ordinary worldly prudence. It is true, I had become known to +them under favourable circumstances, and they had good reason to believe +me an Assheton from some accidental evidence that I possessed, which +unanswerably proved my affinity to that family, without, betraying my true +name. But there is so little distrust in this country, that, by keeping at +a distance from the places in which I was personally known, a life might +have passed without exposure."</p> + +<p>"This was all wrong, dear cousin Jack," said Eve, taking his hand and +affectionately kissing it, while her face kindled with a sense of her +sex's rights, "and I should be unfaithful to my womanhood were I to say +otherwise. You had entered into the most solemn of all human contracts, +and evil is the omen when such an engagement is veiled by any untruth. +But, still, one would think you might have been happy with a virtuous and +affectionate wife!"</p> + +<p>"Alas! it is but a hopeless experiment to marry one, while the heart is +still yearning towards another. Confidence came too late; for, discovering +my unhappiness, Mildred extorted a tardy confession from me; a confession +of all but the concealment of the true name; and justly wounded at the +deception of which she had been the dupe, and yielding to the impulses of +a high and generous spirit, she announced to me that she was unwilling to +continue the wife of any man on such terms. We parted, and I hastened into +the south-western states, where I passed the next twelvemonth in +travelling, hurrying from place to place, in the vain hope of obtaining +peace of mind. I plunged into the prairies, and most of the time mentioned +was lost to me as respects the world, in the company of hunters and +trappers."</p> + +<p>"This, then, explains your knowledge of that section of the country," +exclaimed Mr. Effingham, "for which I have never been able to account! We +thought you among your old friends in Carolina, all that time."</p> + +<p>"No one knew where I had secreted myself, for I passed under another +feigned name, and had no servant, even. I had, however, sent an address to +Mildred, where a letter would find me; for, I had begun to feel a sincere +affection for her, though it might not have amounted to passion, and +looked forward to being reunited, when her wounded feelings had time to +regain their tranquillity. The obligations of wedlock are too serious to +be lightly thrown aside, and I felt persuaded that neither of us would be +satisfied in the end, without discharging the duties of the state into +which we had entered."</p> + +<p>"And why did you not hasten to your poor wife, cousin Jack," Eve +innocently demanded, "as soon as you returned to the settlements?"</p> + +<p>"Alas! my-dear girl, I found letters at St. Louis announcing her death. +Nothing was said of any child, nor did I in the least suspect that I was +about to become a father. When Mildred died, I thought all the ties, all +the obligations, all the traces of my ill-judged marriage were extinct; +and the course taken by her relations, of whom, in this country, there +remained very few, left me no inclination to proclaim it. By observing +silence, I continued to pass as a bachelor, of course; though had there +been any apparent reason for avowing what had occurred, I think no one who +knows me, can suppose I would have shrunk from doing so."</p> + +<p>"May I inquire, my dear sir," Paul asked, with a timidity of manner that +betrayed how tenderly he felt it necessary to touch on the subject at +all--"may I inquire, my dear sir, what course was taken by my mother's +relatives?"</p> + +<p>"I never knew Mr. Warrender, my wife's brother, but he had the reputation +of being a haughty and exacting man. His letters were not friendly; +scarcely tolerable; for he affected to believe I had given a false address +at the west, when I was residing in the middle states, and he threw out +hints that to me were then inexplicable, but which the letters left with +me, by Paul, have sufficiently explained. I thought him cruel and +unfeeling at the time, but he had an excuse for his conduct."</p> + +<p>"Which was, sir--?" Paul eagerly inquired.</p> + +<p>"I perceive by the letters you have given me, my son, that your mother's +family had imbibed the opinion, that I was John Assheton, of Lancaster, a +man of singular humours, who had made an unfortunate marriage in Spain, +and whose wife, I believe, is still living in Paris, though lost to +herself and her friends. My kinsman lived retired, and never recovered the +blow. As he was one of the only persons of the name, who could have +married your mother, her relatives appear to have taken up the idea that +he had been guilty of bigamy, and of course that Paul was illegitimate. +Mr. Warrender, by his letters, appears even to have had an interview with +this person, and, on mentioning his wife, was rudely repulsed from the +house. It was a proud family, and Mildred being dead, the concealment of +the birth of her child was resorted to, as a means of averting a fancied +disgrace. As for myself, I call the all-seeing eye of God to witness, that +the thought of my being a parent never crossed my mind, until I learned +that a John Assheton was the father of Paul, and that the miniature of +Mildred Warrender, that I received at the period of our engagement, was +the likeness of his mother. The simple declaration of Captain Ducie +concerning the family name of his mother, removed all doubt."</p> + +<p>"But, cousin Jack, did not the mention of Lady Dunluce, of the Ducies, and +of Paul's connections, excite curiosity?"</p> + +<p>"Concerning what, dear? I could have no curiosity about a child of whose +existence I was ignorant. I did know that the Warrenders had pretensions +to both rank and fortune in England, but never heard the title, and cared +nothing about money that would not probably, be Mildred's. Of General +Ducie I never even heard, as he married after my separation, and +subsequently to the receipt of my brother-in-law's letters, I wished to +forget the existence of the family. I went to Europe, and remained abroad +seven years and as this was at a time when the continent was closed +against the English, I was not in a way to hear any thing on the subject. +On my return, my wife's aunt was dead; the last of my wife's brothers was +dead; her sister must then have been Mrs. Ducie; no one mentioned the +Warrenders, all traces of whom were nearly lost in this country, and to me +the subject was too painful to be either sought or dwelt on. It is a +curious fact, that, in 1829, during our late visit to the old world, I +ascended the Nile with General Ducie for a travelling companion. We met at +Alexandria, and wont to the cataracts and returned in company, He knew me +as John Effingham, an American traveller of fortune, if of no particular +merit, and I knew him as an agreeable English general officer. He had the +reserve of an Englishman of rank, and seldom spoke of his family, and it +was only on our return, that I found he had letters from his wife, Lady +Dunluce; but little did I dream that Lady Dunluce was Mabel Warrender. How +often are we on the very verge of important information, and yet live on +in ignorance and obscurity! The Ducies appear finally to have arrived at +the opinion that the marriage was legal, and that no reproach rests on the +birth of Paul, by the inquiries made concerning the eccentric John +Assheton."</p> + +<p>"They fancied, in common with my uncle Warrender, for a long time, that +the John Assheton whom you have mentioned, sir," said Paul, "was my +father. But. some accidental information, at a late day, convinced them of +their error, and then they naturally enough supposed that it was the only +other John Assheton that could be heard of, who passes, and probably with +sufficient reason, for a bachelor. This latter gentleman I have myself +always supposed to be my father, though he has treated two or three +letters I have written to him, with the indifference with which one would +be apt to treat the pretensions of an impostor. Pride has prevented me +from attempting to renew the correspondence lately."</p> + +<p>"It is John Assheton of Bristol, my mother's brother's son, as inveterate +a bachelor as is to be found in the Union" said John Effingham, smiling, +in spite of the grave subject and deep emotions that had so lately been +uppermost in his thoughts. "He must have supposed your letters were an +attempt at mystification on the part of some of his jocular associates, +and I am surprised that he thought it necessary to answer them at all."</p> + +<p>"He did answer but one, and that reply certainly had something of the +character you suggest, sir. I freely forgive him, now I understand the +truth, though his apparent contempt gave me many a bitter pang at the +time. I saw Mr. Assheton once in public, and observed him well, for, +strange as it is, I have been thought to resemble him."</p> + +<p>"Why strange? Jack Assheton and myself have, or rather had a strong family +likeness to each other, and, though the thought is new to me, I can now +easily trace this resemblance to myself. It is rather an Assheton than an +Effingham look, though the latter is not wanting."</p> + +<p>"These explanations are very clear and satisfactory," observed Mr. +Effingham, "and leave little doubt that Paul is the child of John +Effingham and Mildred Warrender; but they would be beyond all cavil, were +the infancy of the boy placed in an equally plain point of view, and could +the reasons be known why the Warrenders abandoned him to the care of those +who yielded him up to Mr. Powis."</p> + +<p>"I see but little obscurity in that," returned John Effingham. "Paul is +unquestionably the child referred to in the papers left by poor Monday, to +the care of whose mother he was intrusted, until, in his fourth year, she +yielded him to Mr. Powis, to get rid of trouble and expense, while she +kept the annuity granted by Lady Dunluce. The names appear in the +concluding letters; and had we read the latter through at first, we should +earlier have arrived at, the same conclusion, Could we find the man called +Dowse, who appears to have instigated the fraud, and who married Mrs. +Monday, the whole thing would be explained."</p> + +<p>"Of this I am aware," said Paul, for he and John Effingham had perused the +remainder of the Monday papers together, after the fainting fit of the +latter, as soon as his strength would admit; "and Captain Truck is now +searching for an old passenger of his, who I think will furnish the clue. +Should we get this evidence, it would settle all legal questions."</p> + +<p>"Such questions will never be raised," said John Effingham, holding out +his hand affectionately to his son; "you possess the marriage certificate +given to your mother, and I avow myself to have been the person therein +styled John Assheton. This fact I have endorsed on the back of the +certificate; while here is another given to me in my proper name, with the +endorsement made by the clergyman that I passed by another name, at the +ceremony."</p> + +<p>"Such a man, cousin Jack, was unworthy of his cloth!" said Eve with +energy.</p> + +<p>"I do not think so, my child. He was innocent of the original deception; +this certificate was given after the death of my wife, and might do good, +whereas it could do no harm. The clergyman in question is now a bishop, +and is still living. He may give evidence if necessary, to the legality of +the marriage."</p> + +<p>"And the clergyman by whom I was baptized is also alive," cried Paul, "and +has never lost sight of me He was, in part, in the confidence of my +mother' family, and even after I was adopted by Mr. Powis he kept me in +view as one of his little Christians as he termed me. It was no less a +person than Dr.----."</p> + +<p>"This alone would make out the connection and identity," said Mr. +Effingham, "without the aid of the Monday witnesses. The whole obscurity +has arisen from John's change of name, and his ignorance of the fact that +his wife had a child. The Ducies appear to have had plausible reasons, +too, for distrusting the legality of the marriage; but all is now clear, +and as a large estate is concerned, we will take care that no further +obscurity shall rest over the affair."</p> + +<p>"The part connected with the estate is already secured," said John +Effingham, looking at Eve with a smile. "An American can always make a +will, and one that contains but a single bequest is soon written. Mine is +executed, and Paul Effingham, my son by my marriage with Mildred +Warrender, and lately known in the United States' Navy as Paul Powis, is +duly declared my heir. This will suffice for all legal purposes, though we +shall have large draughts of gossip to swallow."</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack!"</p> + +<p>"Daughter Eve!"</p> + +<p>"Who has given cause for it?"</p> + +<p>"He who commenced one of the most sacred of his earthly duties, with an +unjustifiable deception. The wisest way to meet it, will be to make our +avowals of the relationship as open as possible."</p> + +<p>"I see no necessity, John, of entering into details," said Mr. Effingham; +"you were married young, and lost your wife within a year of your +marriage. She was a Miss Warrender, and the sister of Lady Dunluce; Paul +and Ducie are declared cousins, and the former proves to be your son, of +whose existence you were ignorant. No one will presume to question any of +us, and it really strikes me that all rational people ought to be +satisfied with this simple account of the matter."</p> + +<p>"Father!" exclaimed Eve, with her pretty little hands raised in the +attitude of surprise, "in what capital even, in what part of the world, +would such a naked account appease curiosity? Much less will it suffice +here, where every human being, gentle or simple, learned or ignorant, +refined or vulgar, fancies himself a constitutional judge of all the acts +of all his fellow-creatures?"</p> + +<p>"We have at least the consolation of knowing that no revelations will +make the matter any worse, or any better," said Paul, "as the gossips +would tell their own tale, in every case, though its falsehood were as +apparent as the noon-day sun. A gossip is essentially a liar, and truth is +the last ingredient that is deemed necessary to his other qualifications; +indeed, a well authenticated fact is a death-blow to a gossip. I hope, my +dear sir, you will say no more than that I am your son, a circumstance +much too precious to me to be omitted."</p> + +<p>John Effingham looked affectionately at the noble young man, whom he had +so long esteemed and admired; and the tears forced themselves to his eyes, +as he felt the supreme happiness that can alone gladden a parent's heart.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XXVIII.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "For my part, I care not: I say little; but when the time comes, there + shall be smiles."--NYM.</blockquote> + + +<p>Although Paul Effingham was right, and Eve Effingham was also right, in +their opinions of the art of gossiping, they both forgot one qualifying +circumstance, that, arising from different causes, produces the same +effect, equally in a capital and in a province. In the first, marvels form +a nine days' wonder from the hurry of events; in the latter, from the +hurry of talking. When it was announced in Templeton that Mr. John +Effingham had discovered a son in Mr. Powis, as that son had conjectured, +every thing but the truth was rumoured and believed, in connection with +the circumstance. Of course it excited a good deal of a natural and +justifiable curiosity and surprise in the trained and intelligent, for +John Effingham had passed for a confirmed bachelor; but they were +generally content to suffer a family to have feelings and incidents that +were not to be paraded before a neighbourhood. Having some notions +themselves of the delicacy and sanctity of the domestic affections, they +were willing to respect the same sentiments in others. But these few +excepted, the village was in a tumult of surmises, reports, +contradictions, confirmations, rebutters, and sur-rebutters, for a +fortnight. Several village <i>élégants</i>, whose notions of life were obtained +in the valley in which they were born, and who had turned up their noses +at the quiet, reserved, gentleman-like Paul, because he did not happen to +suit their tastes, were disposed to resent his claim to be his father's +son, as if it were an injustice done to their rights; such commentators on +men and things uniformly bringing every thing down to the standard of +serf. Then the approaching marriages at the Wigwam had to run the +gauntlet, not only of village and county criticisms, but that of the +mighty Emporium itself, as it is the fashion to call the confused and +tasteless collection of flaring red brick houses, marten-box churches, and +colossal taverns, that stands on the island of Manhattan; the discussion +of marriages being a topic of never-ending interest in that well regulated +social organization, after the subjects of dollars, lots, and wines, have +been duly exhausted. Sir George Templemore was transformed into the +Honourable Lord George Templemore, and Paul's relationship to Lady Dunluce +was converted, as usual, into his being the heir apparent of a Duchy of +that name; Eve's preference for a nobleman, as a matter of course, to the +<i>aristocratical</i> tastes imbibed during a residence in foreign countries; +Eve, the intellectual, feminine, instructed Eve, whose European +associations, while they had taught her to prize the refinement, grace, +<i>retenue</i>, and tone of an advanced condition of society, had also taught +her to despise its mere covering and glitter! But, as there is no +protection against falsehood, so is there no reasoning with ignorance.</p> + +<p>A sacred few, at the head of whom were Mr. Steadfast Dodge and Mrs. +Widow-Bewitched Abbott, treated the matter as one of greater gravity, and +as possessing an engrossing interest for the entire community.</p> + +<p>"For my part, Mr. Dodge," said Mrs. Abbott, in one of their frequent +conferences, about a fortnight after the <i>éclaircissement</i> of the last +chapter, "I do not believe that Paul Powis is Paul Effingham at all. You +say that you knew him by the name of Blunt when he was a younger man?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, ma'am. He passed universally by that name formerly, and it may +be considered as at least extraordinary that he should have had so many +aliases. The truth of the matter is, Mrs. Abbott, if truth could be come +at, which I always contend is very difficult in the present state of the +world--"</p> + +<p>"You never said a juster thing, Mr. Dodge!" interrupted the lady, feelings +impetuous as hers seldom waiting for the completion of a sentence, "I +never can get hold of the truth of any thing now; you may remember you +insinuated that Mr. John Effingham himself was to be married to Eve, and, +lo and behold! it turns out to be his son!"</p> + +<p>"The lady may have changed her mind, Mrs. Abbott: she gets the same estate +with a younger man."</p> + +<p>"She's monstrous disagreeable, and I'm sure it will be a relief to the +whole village when she is married, let it be to the father, or to the son. +Now, do you know, Mr. Dodge, I have been in a desperate taking about one +thing, and that is to find that, bony fie-dy, the two old Effinghams are +not actually brothers! I knew that they <i>called</i> each other cousin Jack +and cousin Ned, and that Eve affected to call her uncle <i>cousin</i> Jack, but +then she has so many affectations, and the people are so foreign, that I +looked upon all that as mere pretence; I said to myself a neighbourhood +<i>ought</i> to know better about a man's family than he <i>can</i> know himself, +and the neighbourhood all declared they were brothers; and yet it turns +out, after all, that they are only cousins!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I do believe that, for once, the family was right in that matter, +and the public mistaken."</p> + +<p>"Well, I should like to know who has a better right to be mistaken than +the public, Mr. Dodge. This is a free country, and if the people can't +sometimes be wrong, what is the mighty use of their freedom? We are all +sinful wretches, at the best, and it is vain to look for any thing but +vice from sinners."</p> + +<p>"Nay, my dear Mrs. Abbott, you are too hard on yourself, for every body +allows that <i>you</i> are as exemplary as you are devoted to your religious +duties."</p> + +<p>"Oh! I was not speaking particularly of myself, sir; I am no egotist in +such things, and wish to leave my own imperfections to the charity of my +friends and neighbours. But, do you think, Mr. Dodge, that a marriage +between Paul Effingham, for so I suppose he must be-called, and Eve +Effingham, will be legal? Can't it be set aside, and if that should be the +case, wouldn't the fortune go to the public?"</p> + +<p>"It <i>ought</i> to be so, my dear ma'am, and I trust the day is not distant +when it will be so. The people are beginning to understand their rights, +and another century will not pass, before they will enforce them by the +necessary penal statutes. We have got matters so now, that a man can no +longer indulge in the aristocratic and selfish desire to make a will, and, +take my word for it, we shall not stop until we bring every thing to the +proper standard."</p> + +<p>The reader is not to suppose from his language that Mr. Dodge was an +agrarian, or that he looked forward to a division of property, at some +future day; for, possessing in his own person already, more than what +could possibly fall to an individual share, he had not the smallest +desire to lessen its amount by a general division. In point of fact he did +not know his own meaning, except as he felt envy of all above him, in +which, in truth, was to be found the whole secret of his principles, his +impulses, and his doctrines. Any thing that would pull down those whom +education, habits, fortune, or tastes, had placed in positions more +conspicuous than his own, was, in his eyes, reasonable and just--as any +thing that would serve him, in person, the same ill turn, would have been +tyranny and oppression. The institutions of America, like every thing +human, have their bad as well as their good side; and while we firmly +believe in the relative superiority of the latter, as compared with other +systems, we should fail of accomplishing the end set before us in this +work, did we not exhibit, in strong colours, one of the most prominent +consequences that has attended the entire destruction of factitious +personal distinctions in the country, which has certainly aided in +bringing out in bolder relief than common, the prevalent disposition in +man to covet that which is the possession of another, and to decry merits +that are unattainable.</p> + +<p>"Well, I rejoice to hear this," returned Mrs. Abbott, whose principles +were of the same loose school as those of her companion, "for I think no +one should have rights but those who have experienced religion, if you +would keep vital religion in a country. There goes that old sea-lion, +Truck, and his fishing associate, the commodore, with their lines and +poles, as usual, Mr. Dodge; I beg you will call to them, for I long to +hear what the first can have to say about his beloved Effinghams, now?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Dodge complied, and the navigator of the ocean and the navigator of +the lake, were soon seated in Mrs. Abbott's little parlour, which might be +styled the focus of gossip, near those who were so lately its sole +occupants.</p> + +<p>"This is wonderful news, gentlemen," commenced Mrs. Abbott, as soon as +the bustle of the entrance had subsided. "Mr. Powis is Mr. Effingham, and +it seems that Miss Effingham is to become Mrs. Effingham. Miracles will +never cease, and I look upon this as one of the most surprising of my +time."</p> + +<p>"Just so, ma'am," said the commodore, winking his eye, and giving the +usual flourish with a hand; "your time has not been that of a day neither, +and Mr. Powis has reason to rejoice that he is the hero of such a history. +For my part, I could not have been more astonished, were I to bring up the +sogdollager with a trout-hook, having a cheese paring for the bait."</p> + +<p>"I understand," continued the lady, "that there are doubts after all, +whether this miracle be really a true miracle. It is hinted that Mr. Powis +is neither Mr. Effingham nor Mr. Powis, but that he is actually a Mr. +Blunt. Do you happen to know any thing of the matter, Captain Truck?"</p> + +<p>"I have been introduced to him, ma'am, by all three names, and I consider +him as an acquaintance in each character. I can assure you, moreover, that +he is A, No. 1, on whichever tack you take him; a man who carries a +weather helm in the midst of his enemies."</p> + +<p>"Well, I do not consider it a very great recommendation for one to have +enemies, at all. Now, I dare say, Mr. Dodge, <i>you</i> have not an enemy on +earth!"</p> + +<p>"I should be sorry to think that I had, Mrs. Abbott. I am every man's +friend, particularly the poor man's friend, and I should suppose that +every man <i>ought</i> to be my friend. I hold the whole human family to be +brethren, and that they ought to live together as such."</p> + +<p>"Very true, sir; quite true--we <i>are</i> all sinners, and ought to look +favourably on each other's failings. It is no business of mine--I say it +is no business of ours, Mr. Dodge, who Miss Eve Effingham marries; but +were she <i>my</i> daughter, I do think I should not like her to have three +family names, and to keep her own in the bargain!"</p> + +<p>"The Effinghams hold their heads very much up, though it is not easy to +see <i>why</i>; but so they do, and the more names the better, perhaps, for +such people," returned the editor. "For my part, I treat them with +condescension, just as I do every body else; for it is a rule with me, +Captain Truck, to make use of the same deportment to a king on his throne, +as I would to a beggar in the street."</p> + +<p>"Merely to show that you do not feel yourself to be above your betters. We +have many such philosophers in this country."</p> + +<p>"Just so," said the commodore.</p> + +<p>"I wish I knew," resumed Mrs. Abbott; for there existed in her head, as +well as in that of Mr. Dodge, such a total confusion on the subject of +deportment, that neither saw nor felt the cool sarcasm of the old sailor; +"I wish I knew, now, whether Eve Effingham has really been regenerated! +What is your opinion, commodore?"</p> + +<p>"Re-what, ma'am," said the commodore, who was not conscious of ever having +heard the word before; for, in his Sabbaths on the water, where he often +worshipped God devoutly in his heart, the language of the professedly +pious was never heard; "I can only say she is as pretty a skiff as floats, +but I can tell you nothing about resuscitation--indeed, I never heard of +her having been drowned."</p> + +<p>"Ah, Mrs. Abbott, the very best friends of the Effinghams will not +maintain that they are pious. I do not wish to be invidious, or to say +unneighbourly things; but were I upon oath, I could testify to a great +many things, which would unqualifiedly show, that none of them have ever +experienced."</p> + +<p>"Now, Mr. Dodge, you know how much I dislike scandal," the widow-bewitched +cried affectedly, "and I cannot tolerate such a sweeping charge. I insist +on the proofs of what you say, in which, no doubt, these gentlemen will +join me."</p> + +<p>By proofs, Mrs. Abbott meant allegations.</p> + +<p>"Well, ma'am, since you insist on my <i>proving</i> what I have said, you shall +not be disappointed. In the first place, then, they <i>read</i> their family +prayers out of a book."</p> + +<p>"Ay, ay," put in the captain; "but that merely shows they have some +education; it is done every where."</p> + +<p>"Your pardon, sir; no people but the Catholics and the church people +commit this impiety. The idea of <i>reading</i> to the Deity, Mrs. Abbott, is +particularly shocking to a pious soul."</p> + +<p>"As if the Lord stood in need of letters! <i>That</i> is very bad, I allow; for +at <i>family</i> prayers, a form becomes mockery."</p> + +<p>"Yes, ma'am; but what do you think of cards?"</p> + +<p>"Cards!" exclaimed Mrs. Abbott, holding up her pious hands, in holy +horror.</p> + +<p>"Even so; foul paste-board, marked with kings and queens," said the +captain. Why this is worse than a common sin, being unqualifiedly +anti-republican."</p> + +<p>"I confess I did not expect-this! I had heard that Eve Effingham was +guilty of indiscretions, but I did not think she was so lost to virtue, as +to touch a card. Oh! Eve Effingham; Eve Effingham, for what is your poor +diseased soul destined!"</p> + +<p>"She dances, too, I suppose you know that," continued Mr. Dodge, who +finding his popularity a little on the wane, had joined the meeting +himself, a few weeks before, and who did not fail to manifest the zeal of +a new convert.</p> + +<p>"Dances!" repeated Mrs. Abbott, in holy horror.</p> + +<p>"Real fi diddle de di!" echoed Captain Truck.</p> + +<p>"Just so," put in the commodore; "I have seen it with my own eyes. But, +Mrs. Abbott, I feel bound to tell you that your own daughter--"</p> + +<p>"Biansy-Alzumy-Anne!" exclaimed the mother in alarm.</p> + +<p>"Just so; my-aunty-all-suit-me-anne, if that is her name. Do you know, +ma'am, that I have seen your own blessed daughter, my-aunty-Anne, do a +worse thing, even, than dancing!"</p> + +<p>"Commodore, you are awful! What <i>could</i> a child of mine do that is worse +than dancing?"</p> + +<p>"Why, ma'am, if you <i>will</i> hear all, it is my duty to tell you. I saw +aunty-Anne (the commodore was really ignorant of the girl's name) jump a +skipping-rope, yesterday morning, between the hours of seven and eight. As +I hope ever to see the sogdollager, again, ma'am, I did!" + +"And do you this as bad as dancing?"</p> + +<p>"Much worse, ma'am, to my notion. It is jumping about without music, and +without any grace, either, particularly as it was performed by +my-aunty-Anne."</p> + +<p>"You are given to light jokes. Jumping the skipping-rope is not forbidden +in the bible."</p> + +<p>"Just so; nor is dancing, if I know any thing about it; nor, for that +matter, cards."</p> + +<p>"But waste of time is; a sinful waste of time; and evil-passions, and all +unrighteousness."</p> + +<p>"Just so. My-aunty-Anne was going to the pump for water--I dare say you +sent her--and she was misspending her time; and as for evil passions, she +did not enjoy the hop, until she and your neighbour's daughter had pulled +each other's hair for the rope, as if they had been two she-dragons. Take +my word for it, ma'am, it wanted for nothing to make it sin of the purest +water, but a cracked fiddle."</p> + +<p>While the commodore was holding Mrs. Abbott at bay, in this manner, +Captain Truck, who had given him a wink to that effect, was employed in +playing off a practical joke at the expense of the widow. It was one of +the standing amusements of these worthies, who had gotten to be sworn +friends and constant associates, after they had caught as many fish as +they wished, to retire to the favourite spring, light, the one his cigar, +the other his pipe, mix their grog, and then relieve their ennui, when +tired of discussing men and things, by playing cards on a particular +stump. Now, it happens that the captain had the identical pack which had +been used on all such occasions in his pocket, as was evident in the fact +that the cards were nearly as distinctly marked on their backs, as on +their faces. These cards he showed secretly to his companion, and when the +attention of Mrs. Abbott was altogether engaged in expecting the terrible +announcement of her daughter's errors, the captain slipped them, kings, +queens and knaves, high, low, jack and the game, without regard to rank, +into the lady's work-basket. As soon as this feat was successfully +performed, a sign was given to the commodore that the conspiracy was +effected, and that disputant in theology gradually began to give ground, +while he continued to maintain that jumping the rope was a sin, though it +might be one of a nominal class. There is little doubt, had he possessed a +smattering of phrases, a greater command of biblical learning, and more +zeal, that the fisherman might have established a new shade of the +Christian faith; for, while mankind still persevere in disregarding the +plainest mandates of God, as respects humility, the charities, and +obedience, nothing seems to afford them more delight than to add to the +catalogue of the offences against his divine supremacy. It was perhaps +lucky for the commodore, who was capital at casting a pickerel line, but +who usually settled his polemics with the fist, when hard pushed, that +Captain Truck found leisure to come to the rescue.</p> + +<p>"I'm amazed, ma'am," said the honest packet-master, "that a woman of your +sanctity should deny that jumping the rope is a sin, for I hold that point +to have been settled by all our people, these fifty years. You will admit +that the rope cannot be well-jumped without levity."</p> + +<p>"Levity, Captain Truck! I hope you do not insinuate that a daughter of +mine discovers levity?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, ma'am; she is called the best rope jumper in the village, I +hear; and levity, or lightness of carriage, is the great requisite for +skill in the art. Then there are 'vain repetitions' in doing the same +thing over and over so often, and 'vain repetitions' are forbidden even in +our prayers. I can call both father and mother to testify to that fact."</p> + +<p>"Well, this is news to me! I must speak to the minister about it."</p> + +<p>"Of the two, the skipping-rope is rather more sinful than dancing, for the +music makes the latter easy; whereas, one has to force the spirit to enter +into the other. Commodore, our hour has come, and we must make sail. May I +ask the favour, Mrs. Abbott, of a bit of thread to fasten this hook +afresh?"</p> + +<p>The widow-bewitched turned to her basket, and raising a piece of calico, +to look for the thread "high, low, jack and the game," stared her in the +face. When she bent her eyes towards her guests, she perceived all three +gazing at the cards, with as much apparent surprise and curiosity, as if +two of them knew nothing of their history.</p> + +<p>"Awful!" exclaimed Mrs. Abbott, shaking both hands,--"awful--awful--awful! +The powers of darkness have been at work here!"</p> + +<p>"They seem to have been pretty much occupied, too," observed the captain, +"for a better thumbed pack I never yet found in the forecastle of a ship."</p> + +<p>"Awful--awful--awful!--This is equal to the forty days in the wilderness, +Mr. Dodge."</p> + +<p>"It is a trying cross, ma'am."</p> + +<p>"To my notion, now," said the captain, "those cards are not worse than the +skipping-rope, though I allow that they might have been cleaner."</p> + +<p>But Mrs. Abbott was not disposed to view the matter so lightly. She saw +the hand of the devil in the affair, and fancied it was a new trial +offered to her widowed condition.</p> + +<p>"Are these actually cards!" she cried, like one who distrusted the +evidence of her senses.</p> + +<p>"Just so, ma'am," kindly answered the commodore; "This is the ace of +spades, a famous fellow to hold when you have the lead; and this is the +Jack, which counts one, you know, when spades are trumps. I never saw a +more thorough-working pack in my life."</p> + +<p>"Or a more thoroughly worked pack," added the captain, in a condoling +manner. "Well, we are not all perfect, and I hope Mrs. Abbott will cheer +up and look at this matter in a gayer point of view. For myself I hold +that a skipping-rope is worse than the Jack of spades, Sundays or week +days. Commodore, we shall see no pickerel to-day, unless we tear ourselves +from this good company."</p> + +<p>Here the two wags took their leave, and retreated to the skiff; the +captain, who foresaw an occasion to use them, considerately offering to +relieve Mrs. Abbott from the presence of the odious cards, intimating that +he would conscientiously see them fairly sunk in the deepest part of the +lake.</p> + +<p>When the two worthies were at a reasonable distance from the shore, the +commodore suddenly ceased rowing, made a flourish with his hand, and +incontinently began to laugh, as if his mirth had suddenly broken through +all restraint. Captain Truck, who had been lighting a cigar, commenced +smoking, and, seldom indulging in boisterous merriment, he responded with +his eyes, shaking his head from time to time, with great satisfaction, as +thoughts more ludicrous than common came over his imagination.</p> + +<p>"Harkee, commodore," he said, blowing the smoke upward, and watching it +with his eye until it floated away in a little cloud, "neither of us is a +chicken. You have studied life on the fresh water, and I have studied life +on the salt. I do not say which produces the best scholars, but I know +that both make better Christians than the jack-screw system."</p> + +<p>"Just so. I tell them in the village that little is gained in the end by +following the blind; that is my doctrine, sir."</p> + +<p>"And a very good doctrine it would prove, I make no doubt, were you to +enter into it a little more fully--"</p> + +<p>"Well, sir, I can explain--"</p> + +<p>"Not another syllable is necessary. I know what you mean as well as if I +said it myself, and, moreover, short sermons are always the best. You mean +that a pilot ought to know where he is steering, which is perfectly sound +doctrine. My own experience tells me, that if you press a sturgeon's nose +with your foot, it will spring up as soon as it is loosened. Now the +jack-screw will heave a great strain, no doubt; but the moment it is let +up, down comes all that rests on it, again. This Mr. Dodge, I suppose you +know, has been a passenger with me once or twice?"</p> + +<p>"I have heard as much--they say he was tigerish in the fight with the +niggers--quite an out-and-outer."</p> + +<p>"Ay, I hear he tells some such story himself; but harkee, commodore, I +wish to do justice to all men, and I find there is very little of it +inland, hereaway. The hero of that day is about to marry your beautiful +Miss Effingham; other men did their duty too, as, for instance, was the +case with Mr. John Effingham; but Paul Blunt-Powis-Effingham finished the +job. As for Mr. Steadfast Dodge, sir, I say nothing, unless it be to add +that he was nowhere near <i>me</i> in that transaction; and if any man felt +like an alligator in Lent, on that occasion, it was your humble servant."</p> + +<p>"Which means that he was not nigh the enemy, I'll swear before a +magistrate."</p> + +<p>"And no fear of perjury. Any one who saw Mr. John Effingham and Mr. Powis +on that day, might have sworn that they were father and son, and any one +who <i>did not see</i> Mr. Dodge might have said at once, that he did not +belong to their family. That is all, sir; I never disparage a passenger, +and, therefore, shall say no more than merely to add, that Mr. Dodge is no +warrior."</p> + +<p>"They say he has experienced religion, lately, as they call it."</p> + +<p>"It is high time, sir, for he had experienced sin quite long enough, +according to my notion. I hear that the man goes up and down the country +disparaging those whose shoe-ties he is unworthy to unloose, and that he +has published some letters in his journal, that are as false as his heart; +but let him beware, lest the world should see, some rainy day, an extract +from a certain log-book belonging to a ship called the Montauk. I am +rejoiced at this marriage after all, commodore, or marriages rather, for I +understand that Mr. Paul Effingham and Sir George Templemore intend to +make a double bowline of it to-morrow morning. All is arranged, and as +soon as my eyes have witnessed that blessed sight, I shall trip for +New-York again."</p> + +<p>"It is clearly made out then, that the young gentleman is Mr. John +Effingham's son?"</p> + +<p>"As clear as the north-star in a bright night. The fellow who spoke to me +at the Fun of Fire has put us in a way to remove the last doubt, if there +were any doubt. Mr. Effingham himself, who is so cool-headed and cautious, +says there is now sufficient proof to make it good in any court in +America, That point may be set down as settled, and, for my part, I +rejoice it is so, since Mr. John Effingham has so long passed for an old +bachelor, that it is a credit to the corps to find one of them the father +of so noble a son."</p> + +<p>Here the commodore dropped his anchor, and the two friends began to fish. +For an hour neither talked much, but having obtained the necessary stock +of perch, they landed at the favourite spring, and prepared a fry. While +seated on the grass, alternating be tween the potations of punch, and the +mastication of fish, these worthies again renewed the dialogue in their +usual discursive, philosophical, and sentimental manner.</p> + +<p>"We are citizens of a surprisingly great country, commodore," commenced +Mr. Truck, after one of his heaviest draughts; "every body says it, from +Maine to Florida, and what every body says must be true."</p> + +<p>"Just so, sir. I sometimes wonder how so great a country ever came to +produce so little a man as myself."</p> + +<p>"A good cow may have a bad calf, and that explains the matter. Have you +many as virtuous and pious women in this part of the world, as Mrs. +Abbott?"</p> + +<p>"The hills and valleys are filled with them. You mean persons who have got +so much religion that they have no room for any thing else?"</p> + +<p>"I shall mourn to my dying day, that you were not brought up to the sea! +If you discover so much of the right material on fresh-water, what would +you have been on salt? The people who suck in nutriment from a brain and a +conscience like those of Mr. Dodge, too, commodore, must get, in time, to +be surprisingly clear-sighted."</p> + +<p>"Just so; his readers soon overreach themselves. But it's of no great +consequence, sir; the people of this part of the world keep nothing long +enough to do much good, or much harm."</p> + +<p>"Fond of change, ha?"</p> + +<p>"Like unlucky fishermen, always ready to shift the ground. I don't +believe, sir, that in all this region you can find a dozen graves of sons, +that lie near their fathers. Every body seems to have a mortal aversion to +stability,"</p> + +<p>"It is hard to love such a country, commodore!"</p> + +<p>"Sir, I never try to love it. God has given me a pretty sheet of water, +that suits my fancy and wants, a beautiful sky, fine green mountains, and +I am satisfied. One may love God, in such a temple, though he love +nothing else."</p> + +<p>"Well, I suppose if you love nothing, nothing loves you, and no injustice +is done."</p> + +<p>"Just, so, sir. Self has got to be the idol, though in the general +scramble a man is sometimes puzzled to know whether he is himself, or one +of the neighbours."</p> + +<p>"I wish I knew your political sentiments, commodore; you have been +communicative on all subjects but that, and I have taken up the notion +that you are a true philosopher."</p> + +<p>"I hold myself to be but a babe in swaddling-clothes compared to yourself, +sir; but such as my poor opinions are, you are welcome to them. In the +first place, then, sir, I have lived long enough on this water to know +that every man is a lover of liberty in his own person, and that he has a +secret distaste for it in the persons of other people. Then, sir, I have +got to understand that patriotism means bread and cheese, and that +opposition is every man for himself."</p> + +<p>"If the truth were known, I believe, commodore, you have buoyed out the +channel!"</p> + +<p>"Just so. After being pulled about by the salt of the land, and using my +freeman's privileges at their command, until I got tired of so much +liberty, sir, I have resigned, and retired to private life, doing most of +my own thinking out here on the Otsego-Water, like a poor slave as I am."</p> + +<p>"You ought to be chosen the next President!"</p> + +<p>"I owe my present emancipation, sir, to the sogdollager. I first began to +reason about such a man as this Mr. Dodge, who has thrust himself and his +ignorance together into the village, lately, as an expounder of truth, and +a ray of light to the blind. Well, sir, I said to myself, if this man be +the man I know him to be as a man, can he be any thing better as an +editor?"</p> + +<p>"That was a home question put to yourself, commodore; how did you answer +it?"</p> + +<p>"The answer was satisfactory, sir, to myself, whatever it might be to +other people. I stopped his paper, and set up for myself. Just about that +time the sogdollager nibbled, and instead of trying to be a great man, +over the shoulders of the patriots and sages of the land, I endeavoured to +immortalize myself by hooking him. I go to the elections now, for that I +feel to be a duty, but instead of allowing a man like this Mr. Dodge to +tell me how to vote, I vote for the man in public that I would trust in +private."</p> + +<p>"Excellent! I honour you more and more every minute I pass in your +society. We will now drink to the future happiness of those who will +become brides and bridegrooms to-morrow. If all men were as philosophical +and as learned as you, commodore, the human race would be in a fairer way +than they are to-day."</p> + +<p>"Just so; I drink to them with all my heart. Is it not surprising, sir, +that people like Mrs. Abbott and Mr. Dodge should have it in their power +to injure such as those whose happiness we have just had the honour of +commemorating in advance?"</p> + +<p>"Why, commodore, a fly may bite an elephant, if he can find a weak spot in +his hide. I do not altogether understand the history of the marriage of +John Effingham, myself; but we see the issue of it has been a fine son. +Now I hold that when a man fairly marries, he is bound to own it, the same +as any other crime; for he owes it to those who have not been as guilty as +himself, to show the world that he no longer belongs to them."</p> + +<p>"Just so; but we have flies in this part of the world that will bite +through the toughest hide."</p> + +<p>"That comes from there being no quarter-deck in your social ship, +commodore. Now aboard of a well-regulated packet, all the thinking is done +aft; they who are desirous of knowing whereabouts the vessel is, being +compelled to wait till the observations are taken, or to sit down in their +ignorance. The whole difficulty comes from the fact that sensible people +live so far apart in this quarter of the world, that fools have more room +than should fall to their share. You understand me, commodore?"</p> + +<p>"Just so," said the commodore, laughing, and winking. "Well, it is +fortunate that there are some people who are not quite as weak-minded as +some other people. I take it, Captain Truck, that you will be present at +the wedding?"</p> + +<p>The captain now winked in his turn, looked around him to make sure no one +was listening, and laying a finger on his nose, he answered, in a much +lower key than was usual for him--</p> + +<p>"You can keep a secret, I know, commodore. Now what I have to say is not +to be told to Mrs. Abbott, in order that it may be repeated and +multiplied, but is to be kept as snug as your bait, in the bait-box."</p> + +<p>"You know your man, sir."</p> + +<p>"Well then, about ten minutes before the clock strikes nine, to-morrow +morning, do you slip into the gallery of New St. Paul's, and you shall see +beauty and modesty, when 'unadorned, adorned the most.' You comprehend?"</p> + +<p>"Just so," and the hand was flourished even more than usual.</p> + +<p>"It does not become us bachelors to be too lenient to matrimony, but I +should be an unhappy man, were I not to witness the marriage of Paul Powis +to Eve Effingham."</p> + +<p>Here both the worthies, "freshened the nip," as Captain Truck called it, +and then the conversation soon got to be too philosophical and +contemplative for this unpretending record of events and ideas.</p> + + + + +<h2>Chapter XXIX.</h2> + + + +<blockquote> "Then plainly know, my heart's dear love is set<br /> +On the fair daughter of rich Capulet;<br /> +As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine;<br /> +And all combined, save what thou must confine<br /> +By holy marriage."</blockquote> + +<blockquote> ROMEO AND JULIET.</blockquote> + + +<p>The morning chosen for the nuptials of Eve and Grace arrived, and all the +inmates of the Wigwam were early afoot, though the utmost care had been +taken to prevent the intelligence of the approaching ceremony from getting +into the village. They little knew, however, how closely they were +watched; the mean artifices that were resorted to by some who called +themselves their neighbours, to tamper with servants, to obtain food for +conjecture, and to justify to themselves their exaggerations, falsehoods, +and frauds. The news did leak out, as will presently be seen, and through +a channel that may cause the reader, who is unacquainted with some of the +peculiarities of American life, a little surprise.</p> + +<p>We have frequently alluded to Annette, the <i>femme de chambre</i> that had +followed Eve from Europe, although we have had no occasion to dwell on her +character, which was that of a woman of her class, as they are well known +to exist in France. Annette was young, had bright, sparkling black eyes, +was well made, and had the usual tournure and manner of a Parisian +grisette. As it is the besetting weakness of all provincial habits to +mistake graces for grace, flourishes for elegance, and exaggeration for +merit, Annette soon acquired a reputation in her circle, as a woman of +more than usual claims to distinction. Her attire was in the height of the +fashion, being of Eve's cast-off clothes, and of the best materials, and +attire is also a point that is not without its influence on those who are +unaccustomed to the world.</p> + +<p>As the double ceremony was to take place before breakfast, Annette was +early employed about the person of her young mistress, adorning it in the +bridal robes. While she worked at her usual employment, the attendant +appeared unusually agitated, and several times pins were badly pointed, +and new arrangements had to supersede or to supply the deficiencies of her +mistakes. Eve was always a model of patience, and she bore with these +little oversights with a quiet that would have given Paul an additional +pledge of her admirable self-command, as well as of a sweetness of temper +that, in truth, raised her almost above the commoner feelings of +mortality.</p> + +<p>"<i>Vous êtes un peu agitée, ce matin, ma bonne Annette</i>," she merely +observed, when her maid had committed a blunder more material than common.</p> + +<p>"<i>J'espère que Mademoiselle a été contente de moi, jusqu' à present</i>," +returned Annette, vexed with her own awkwardness, and speaking in the +manner in which it is usual to announce an intention to quit a service.</p> + +<p>"Certainly, Annette, you have conducted yourself well, and are very expert +in your <i>métier</i>. But why do you ask this question, just at this moment?"</p> + +<p>"<i>Parceque</i>--because--with mademoiselle's permission, I intended to ask +for my <i>congé</i>."</p> + +<p>"<i>Congé</i>! Do you think of quitting me, Annette?"</p> + +<p>"It would make me happier than anything else to die in the service of +mademoiselle, but we are all subject to our destiny"--the conversation was +in French--"and mine compels me to cease my services as a <i>femme de +chambre</i>."</p> + +<p>"This is a sudden, and for one in a strange country, an extraordinary +resolution. May I ask, Annette, what you propose to do?"</p> + +<p>Here, the woman gave herself certain airs, endeavoured to blush, did look +at the carpet with a studied modesty that might have deceived one who did +not know the genus, and announced her intention to get married, too, at +the end of the present month.</p> + +<p>"Married!" repeated Eve--"surely not to old Pierre, Annette!" + +"Pierre, Mademoiselle! I shall not condescend to look at Pierre. <i>Je vais +me marier avec un avocat</i>."</p> + +<p>"<i>Un avocat</i>!"</p> + +<p>"<i>Oui, Mademoiselle</i>. I will marry myself with Monsieur Aristabule Bragg, +if Mademoiselle shall permit."</p> + +<p>Eve was perfectly mute with astonishment, notwithstanding the proofs she +had often seen of the wide range that the ambition of an American of a +certain class allows itself. Of course, she remembered the conversation on +the Point, and it would not have been in nature, had not a mistress who +had been so lately wooed, felt some surprise at finding her discarded +suitor so soon seeking consolation in the smiles of her own maid. Still +her surprise was less than that which the reader will probably experience +at this announcement; for, as has just been said, she had seen too much of +the active and pliant enterprise of the lover, to feel much wonder at any +of his moral <i>tours de force</i>. Even Eve, however, was not perfectly +acquainted with the views and policy that had led Aristabulus to seek this +consummation to his matrimonial schemes, which must be explained +explicitly, in order that they may be properly understood.</p> + +<p>Mr. Bragg had no notion of any distinctions in the world, beyond those +which came from money, and political success. For the first he had a +practical deference that was as profound as his wishes for its enjoyments; +and for the last he felt precisely the sort of reverence, that one +educated under a feudal system, would feel for a feudal lord. The first, +after several unsuccessful efforts, he had found unattainable by means of +matrimony, and he turned his thoughts towards Annette, whom he had for +some months held in reserve, in the event of his failing with Eve and +Grace, for on both these heiresses had he entertained designs, as a <i>pis +aller</i>. Annette was a dress-maker of approved taste, her person was +sufficiently attractive, her broken English gave piquancy to thoughts of +no great depth, she was of a suitable age, and he had made her proposals +and been accepted, as soon as it was ascertained that Eve and Grace were +irretrievably lost to him. Of course, the Parisienne did not hesitate an +instant about becoming the wife of <i>un avocat;</i> for, agreeably to her +habits, matrimony was a legitimate means of bettering her condition in +life. The plan was soon arranged. They were to be married as soon as +Annette's month's notice had expired, and then they were to emigrate to +the far west, where Mr. Bragg proposed to practise law, or keep school, or +to go to Congress, or to turn trader, or to saw lumber, or, in short, to +turn his hand to any thing that offered; while Annette was to help along +with the <i>ménage</i>, by making dresses, and teaching French; the latter +occupation promising to be somewhat peripatetic, the population being +scattered, and few of the dwellers in the interior deeming it necessary to +take more than a quarter's instruction in any of the higher branches of +education; the object being to <i>study</i>, as it is called, and not to +<i>know</i>. Aristabulus, who was filled with <i>go-aheadism</i>, would have +shortened the delay, but this Annette positively resisted; her <i>esprit de +corps</i> as a servant, and all her notions of justice, repudiating the +notion that the connexion which had existed so long between Eve and +herself, was to be cut off at a moment's warning. So diametrically were +the ideas of the <i>fiancés</i> opposed to each other, on this point, that at +one time it threatened a rupture, Mr. Bragg asserting the natural +independence of man to a degree that would have rendered him independent +of all obligations that were not effectually enacted by the law, and +Annette maintaining the dignity of a European <i>femme de chambre,</i> whose +sense of propriety demanded that she should not quit her place without +giving a month's warning. The affair was happily decided by Aristabulus's +receiving a commission to tend a store, in the absence of its owner; Mr. +Effingham, on a hint from his daughter, having profited by the annual +expiration of the engagement, to bring their connexion to an end.</p> + +<p>This termination to the passion of Mr. Bragg would have afforded Eve a +good deal of amusement at any other moment; but a bride cannot be expected +to give too much of her attention to the felicity and prospects of those +who have no natural or acquired claims to her affection. The cousins met, +attired for the ceremony, in Mr. Effingham's room, where he soon came in +person, to lead them to the drawing-room. It is seldom that two more +lovely young women are brought together on similar occasions. As Mr. +Effingham stood between them, holding a hand of each, his moistened eyes +turned from one to the other in honest pride, and in an admiration that +even his tenderness could not restrain. The <i>toilettes</i> were as simple as +the marriage ceremony will permit; for it was intended that there should +be no unnecessary parade; and, perhaps, the delicate beauty of each of the +brides was rendered the more attractive by this simplicity, as it has +often been justly remarked, that the fair of this country are more winning +in dress of a less conventional character, than when in the elaborate and +regulated attire of ceremonies. As might have been expected, there was +most of soul and feeling in Eve's countenance, though Grace wore an air of +charming modesty and nature. Both were unaffected, simple and graceful, +and we may add that both trembled as Mr. Effingham took their hands.</p> + +<p>"This is a pleasing and yet a painful hour," said that kind and excellent +man; "one in which I gain a son, and lose a daughter."</p> + +<p> +"And <i>I</i>, dearest uncle," exclaimed Grace, whose feelings trembled on her +eye-lids, like the dew ready to drop from the leaf, "have <i>I</i> no connexion +with your feelings?"</p> + +<p>"You are the daughter that I lose, my child, for Eve will still remain +with me. But Templemore has promised to be grateful, and I will trust his +word."</p> + +<p>Mr. Effingham then embraced with fervour both the charming young women, +who stood apparelled for the most important event of their lives, lovely +in their youth, beauty, innocence, and modesty; and taking an arm of each, +he led them below. John Effingham, the two bridegrooms, Captain Ducie, Mr. +and Mrs. Bloomfield, Mrs. Hawker, Captain Truck, Mademoiselle Viefville, +Annette, and Ann Sidley, were all assembled in the drawing-room, ready to +receive them; and as soon as shawls were thrown around Eve and Grace, in +order to conceal the wedding dresses, the whole party proceeded to the +church.</p> + +<p>The distance between the Wigwam and New St. Paul's was very trifling, the +solemn pines of the church-yard blending, from many points, with the gayer +trees in the grounds of the former; and as the buildings in this part of +the village were few, the whole of the bridal train entered the tower, +unobserved by the eyes of the curious. The clergyman was waiting in the +chancel, and as each of the young men led the object of his choice +immediately to the altar, the double ceremony began without delay. At this +instant Mr. Aristabulus Dodge and Mrs. Abbot advanced from the rear of the +gallery, and coolly took their seats in its front. Neither belonged to +this particular church, though, having discovered that the marriages were +to take place that morning by means of Annette, they had no scruples on +the score of delicacy about thrusting themselves forward on the occasion; +for, to the latest moment, that publicity-principle which appeared to be +interwoven with their very natures, induced them to think that nothing was +so sacred as to be placed beyond the reach of curiosity. They entered the +church, because the church they held to be a public place, precisely on +the principle that others of their class conceive if a gate be blown open +by accident, it removes all the moral defences against trespassers, as it +removes the physical.</p> + +<p>The solemn language of the prayers and vows proceeded none the less for +the presence of these unwelcome intruders; for, at that grave moment, all +other thoughts were hushed in those that more properly belonged to the +scene. When the clergyman made the usual appeal to know if any man could +give a reason why those who stood before him should not be united in holy +wedlock, Mrs. Abbott nudged Mr. Dodge, and, in the fulness of her +discontent, eagerly inquired in a whisper, if it were not possible to +raise some valid objection. Could she have had her pious wish, the simple, +unpretending, meek, and <i>church</i>-going Eve, should never be married. But +the editor was not a man to act openly in any thing, his particular +province lying in insinuations and innuendoes. As a hint would not now be +available, he determined to postpone his revenge to a future day. We say +revenge, for Steadfast was of the class that consider any happiness, or +advantage, in which they are not ample participators, wrongs done to +themselves.</p> + +<p>That is a wise regulation of the church, which makes the marriage ceremony +brief, for the intensity of the feelings it often creates would frequently +become too powerful to be suppressed, were it unnecessarily prolonged. Mr. +Effingham gave away both the brides, the one in the quality of parent, the +other in that of guardian, and neither of the bridegrooms got the ring on +the wrong finger. This is all we have to of the immediate scene at the +altar. As soon as the benediction was pronounced, and the brides were +released from the first embraces of their husbands, Mr. Effingham, without +even kissing Eve, threw the shawls over their shoulders, and, taking an +arm of each, he led them rapidly from the church, for he felt reluctant to +suffer the holy feelings that were uppermost in his heart to be the +spectacle of rude and obtrusive observers. At the door, he relinquished +Eve to Paul, and Grace to Sir George, with a silent pressure of the hand +of each, and signed for them to proceed towards the Wigwam. He was obeyed, +and in less than half an hour from the time they had left the +drawing-room, the whole party was again assembled in it. + +What a change had been produced in the situation of so many, in that brief +interval!</p> + +<p>"Father!" Eve whispered, while Mr. Effingham folded her to his heart, the +unbidden tears falling from both their eyes--"I am still thine!"</p> + +<p>"It would break my heart to think otherwise, darling. No, no--I have not +lost a daughter, but have gained a son."</p> + +<p>"And what place am I to occupy in this scene of fondness?" inquired John +Effingham, who had considerately paid his compliments to Grace first, that +she might not feel forgotten at such a moment, and who had so managed +that, she was now receiving the congratulations of the rest of the party; +"am I to lose both son and daughter?"</p> + +<p>Eve, smiling sweetly through her tears, raised herself from her own +father's arms, and was received in those of her husband's parent. After he +had fondly kissed her forehead several times, without withdrawing from his +bosom, she parted the rich hair on his forehead, passing her hand down his +face, like an infant, and said softly--</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack!"</p> + +<p>"I believe this must be my rank and estimation still Paul shall make no +difference in our feeling; we will love each other as we have ever done."</p> + +<p>"Paul can be nothing new between you and me. You have always been a second +father in my eyes, and in my heart, too, dear--dear cousin Jack."</p> + +<p>John Effingham pressed the beautiful, ardent, blushing girl to his bosom +again; and as he did so, both felt, notwithstanding their language, that a +new and dearer tie than ever bound them together. Eve now received the +compliments of the rest of the party, when the two brides retired to +change the dresses in which they had appeared at the altar, for their more +ordinary attire.</p> + +<p>In her own dressing-room, Eve found Ann Sidley, waiting with impatience to +pour out her feelings, the honest and affectionate creature being much too +sensitive to open the floodgates of her emotions in the presence of third +parties.</p> + +<p>"Ma'am--Miss Eve--Mrs. Effingham!" she exclaimed as soon as her young +mistress entered, afraid of saying too much, now that her nursling had +become a married woman.</p> + +<p>"My kind and good Nanny!" said Eve, taking her old nurse in her arms, +their tears mingling in silence for near a minute. "You have seen your +child enter on the last of her great earthly engagements, Nanny, and I +know you pray that they may prove happy."</p> + +<p>"I do--I do--I do--ma'am--madam--Miss Eve--what am I to call you in +future, ma'am?"</p> + +<p>"Call me Miss Eve, as you have done since my childhood, dearest Nanny." + +Nanny received this permission with delight, and twenty times that morning +she availed herself of the permission; and she continued to use the term +until, two years later, she danced a miniature Eve on her knee, as she had +done its mother before her, when matronly rank began silently to assert +its rights, and our present bride became Mrs. Effingham.</p> + +<p>"I shall not quit you, ma'am, now that you are married?" Ann Sidley +timidly asked; for, although she could scarcely think such an event within +the bounds of probability, and Eve had already more than once assured her +of the contrary with her own tongue, still did she love to have assurance +made doubly sure. "I hope nothing will ever happen to make me quit you, +ma'am?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing of that sort, with my consent, ever shall happen, my excellent +Nanny. And now that Annette is about to get married, I shall have more +than the usual necessity for your services."</p> + +<p>"And Mamerzelle, ma'am?" inquired Nanny, with sparkling eyes; "I suppose +she, too, will return to her own country, now you know every thing, and +have no farther occasion for her?"</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Viefville will return to France in the autumn, but it will +be with us all; for my dear father, cousin Jack, my husband--" Eve blushed +as she pronounced the novel word--"and myself, not forgetting you my old +nurse, will all sail for England, with Sir George and Lady Templemore, on +our way to Italy, the first week in October."</p> + +<p>"I care not, ma'am, so that I go with you. I would rather we did not live +in a country where I cannot understand all that the people say to you, but +wherever you are will be my earthly paradise."</p> + +<p>Eve kissed the true-hearted woman, and, Annette entering, she changed her +dress.</p> + +<p>The two brides met at the head of the great stairs, on their way back to +the drawing-room. Eve was a little in advance, but, with a half-concealed +smile, she gave way to Grace, curtsying gravely, and saying--</p> + +<p>"It does not become <i>me</i> to precede Lady Templemore--I, who am only Mrs. +Paul Effingham."</p> + +<p>"Nay, dear Eve, I am not so weak as you imagine. Do you not think I should +have married him had he not been a baronet?"</p> + +<p>"Templemore, my dear coz, is a man any woman might love, and I believe, +as firmly as I hope it sincerely, that he will make you happy."</p> + +<p>"And yet there is one woman who would not love him, Eve!"</p> + +<p>Eve looked steadily at her cousin for a moment, was startled, and then she +felt gratified that Sir George had been so honest, for the frankness and +manliness of his avowal was a pledge of the good faith and sincerity of +his character. She took her cousin affectionately by the hand, and said--</p> + +<p>"Grace, this confidence is the highest compliment you can pay me, and it +merits a return. That Sir George Templemore may have had a passing +inclination for one who so little deserved it, is possibly true--but my +affections were another's before I knew him."</p> + +<p>"You never would have married Templemore, Eve; he says himself, now, that +you are quite too continental, as he calls it, to like an Englishman."</p> + +<p>"Then I shall take the first good occasion to undeceive him; for I do +<i>like</i> an Englishman, and he is the identical man."</p> + +<p>As few women are jealous on their wedding-day, Grace took this in good +part, and they descended the stairs together, side by side, reflecting +each other's happiness, in their timid but conscious smiles. In the great +hall, they were met by the bridegrooms, and each taking the arm of him who +had now become of so vast importance to her, they paced the room to and +fro, until summoned to the <i>déjéuner à la fourchette</i>, which had been +prepared under the especial superintendence of Mademoiselle Viefville, +after the manner of her country.</p> + +<p>Wedding-days, like all formally prepared festivals, are apt to go off a +little heavily. Such, however, was not the case with this, for every +appearance of premeditation and preparation vanished with this meal. It is +true the family did not quit the grounds, but, with this exception, ease +and tranquil happiness reigned throughout. Captain Truck was alone +disposed to be sentimental, and, more than once, as he looked about him, +he expressed his doubts whether he had pursued the right course to attain +happiness,</p> + +<p>"I find myself in a solitary category," he said, at the dinner-table, in +the evening. "Mrs. Hawker, and both the Messrs. Effinghams, <i>have been</i> +married; every body else <i>is</i> married, and I believe I must take refuge in +saying that I <i>will be</i> married, if I can now persuade any one to have me. +Even Mr. Powis, my right-hand man, in all that African affair, has +deserted me, and left me like a single dead pine in one of your clearings, +or a jewel-block dangling at a yard-arm, without a sheave. Mrs. Bride--" +the captain styled Eve thus, throughout the day, to the utter neglect of +the claims of Lady Templemore--"Mrs. Bride, we will consider my forlorn +condition more philosophically, when I shall have the honour to take you, +and so many of this blessed party, back again to Europe, where I found +you. Under your advice I think I might even yet venture."</p> + +<p>"And I am overlooked entirely," cried Mr. Howel, who had been invited to +make one at the wedding-feast; "what is to become of me, Captain Truck, if +this marrying mania go any further?"</p> + +<p>"I have long had a plan for your welfare, my dear sir, that I will take +this opportunity to divulge; I propose, ladies and gentlemen, that we +enlist Mr. Howel in our project for this autumn, and that we carry him +with us to Europe. I shall be proud to have the honour of introducing him +to his old friend, the island of Great Britain."</p> + +<p>"Ah! that is a happiness, I fear, that is not in reserve for me!" said Mr. +Howel, shaking his head. "I have thought of these things, in my time, but +age will now defeat any such hopes."</p> + +<p>"Age, Tom Howel!" said John Effingham; "you are but fifty, like Ned and +myself. We were all boys together, forty years ago, and yet you find us, +who have so lately returned, ready to take a fresh departure. Pluck up +heart; there may be a steam-boat ready to bring you back, by the time you +wish to return."</p> + +<p>"Never," said Captain Truck, positively. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is +morally impossible that the Atlantic should ever be navigated by steamers. +That doctrine I shall maintain to my dying day; but what need of a +steamer, when we have packets like palaces?"</p> + +<p>"I did not know, captain, that you entertained so hearty a respect for +Great Britain--it is encouraging, really, to find so generous a feeling +toward the old island in one of her descendants. Sir George and Lady +Templemore, permit me to drink to your lasting felicity."</p> + +<p>"Ay--ay--I entertain no ill-will to England, though her tobacco laws are +none of the genteelest. But my wish to export you, Mr. Howel, is less from +a desire to show you England, than to let you perceive that there are +other countries in Europe--"</p> + +<p>"Other countries!--Surely you do not suppose I am so ignorant of +geography, as to believe that there are no other countries in Europe--no +such places as Hanover, Brunswick, and Brunswick Lunenberg, and Denmark; +the sister of old George the Third married the king of that country; and +Wurtemberg, the king of which married the Princess Royal--"</p> + +<p>"And Mecklenburg-Strelitz," added John Effingham, gravely, "a princess of +which actually married George the Third <i>propriâ personâ</i>, as well as by +proxy. Nothing can be plainer than your geography, Howel; but, in addition +to these particular regions, our worthy friend the captain wishes you to +know also, that there are such places as France, and Austria, and Russia, +and Italy; though the latter can scarcely repay a man for the trouble of +visiting it."</p> + +<p>"You have guessed my motive, Mr. John Effingham, and expressed it much +more discreetly than I could possibly have done," cried the captain. "If +Mr. Howel will do me the honour to take passage with me, going and +coming, I shall consider the pleasure of his remarks on men and things, as +one of the greatest advantages I ever possessed."</p> + +<p>"I do not know but I might be induced to venture as far as England, but +not a foot farther."</p> + +<p>"<i>Pas à Paris!</i>" exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville, who wondered why any +rational being would take the trouble to cross the Atlantic, merely to see +<i>Ce melancolique Londres;</i> "you will go to <i>Paris</i>, for my sake, Monsieur +Howel?"</p> + +<p>"For your sake, indeed, Mam'selle, I would do any thing, but hardly for my +own. I confess I have thought of this, and I will think of it farther. I +should like to see the King of England and the House of Lords, I confess, +before I die."</p> + +<p>"Ay, and the Tower, and the Boar's-Head at East-Cheap, and the statue of +the Duke of Wellington, and London Bridge, and Richmond Hill, and Bow +Street, and Somerset House, and Oxford Road, and Bartlemy Fair, and +Hungerford Market, and Charing-Cross--<i>old</i> Charing-Cross, Tom +Howel!"--added John Effingham, with a good-natured nod of the head.</p> + +<p>"A wonderful nation!" cried Mr. Howel, whose eyes sparkled as the other +proceeded in his enumeration of wonders. "I do not think, after all, that +I can die in peace, without seeing <i>some</i> of these things--<i>all</i> would be +too much for me. How far is the Isle of Dogs, now, from St. Catherine's +Docks, captain?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! but a few cables' lengths. If you will only stick to the ship until +she is fairly docked, I will promise you a sight of the Isle of Dogs +before you land, even. But then you must promise me to carry out no +tobacco!"</p> + +<p>"No fear of me; I neither smoke nor chew, and it does not surprise me that +a nation as polished as the English should have this antipathy to tobacco. +And one might really see the Isle of Dogs before landing? It <i>is</i> a +wonderful country! Mrs. Bloomfield, will you ever be able to die +tranquilly without seeing England?"</p> + +<p>"I hope, sir, whenever that event shall arrive, that it may be met +tranquilly, let what may happen previously. I do confess, in common with +Mrs. Effingham, a longing desire to see Italy; a wish that I believe she +entertains from her actual knowledge, and which I entertain from my +anticipations."</p> + +<p>"Now, this really surprises me. What <i>can</i> Italy possess to repay one for +the trouble of travelling so far?"</p> + +<p>"I trust, cousin Jack," said Eve, colouring at the sound of her own voice, +for on that day of supreme happiness and intense emotions, she had got to +be so sensitive as to be less self-possessed than common, "that our friend +Mr. Wenham will not be forgotten, but that he may be invited to join the +party."</p> + +<p>This representative of <i>la jeune Amérique</i> was also present at the dinner, +out of regard to his deceased father, who was a very old friend of Mr. +Effingham's, and, being so favourably noticed by the bride, he did not +fail to reply.</p> + +<p>"I believe an American has little to learn from any nation but his own," +observed Mr. Wenham, with the complacency of the school to which he +belonged, "although one might wish that all of this country should travel, +in order that the rest of the world might have the benefit of the +intercourse."</p> + +<p>"It is a thousand pities," said John Effingham, "that one of our +universities, for instance, was not ambulant. Old Yale was so, in its +infancy; but unlike most other creatures, it went about with greater ease +to itself when a child, than it can move in manhood."</p> + +<p>"Mr. John Effingham loves to be facetious," said Mr. Wenham with dignity; +for, while he was as credulous as could be wished, on the subject of +American superiority, he was not quite as blind as the votaries of the +Anglo-American school, who usually yield the control of all their +faculties and common sense to their masters, on the points connected with +their besetting weaknesses. "Every body is agreed, I believe, that the +American imparts more than he receives, in his intercourse with +Europeans."</p> + +<p>The smiles of the more experienced of this young man's listeners were +well-bred and concealed, and the conversation turned to other subjects. It +was easy to raise the laugh on such an occasion, and contrary to the usage +of the Wigwam, where the men usually left the table with the other sex, +Captain Truck, John Effingham, Mr. Bloomfield, and Mr. Howel, made what is +called a night of it. Much delicious claret was consumed, and the honest +captain was permitted to enjoy his cigar. About midnight he swore he had +half a mind to write a letter to Mrs. Hawker, with an offer of his hand; +as for his heart, that she well knew she had possessed for a long time.</p> + +<p>The next day, about the hour when the house was tranquil, from the +circumstance that most of its inmates were abroad on their several +avocations of boating, riding, shopping, or walking, Eve was in the +library, her father having left it, a few minutes before, to mount his +horse. She was seated at a table, writing a letter to an aged relative of +her own sex, to communicate the circumstance of her marriage. The door was +half open, and Paul appeared at it unexpectedly, coming in search of his +young bride. His step had been so light, and so intently was our heroine +engaged with her letter, that his approach was unnoticed, though it had +now been a long time that the ear of Eve had learned to know his tread, +and her heart to beat at its welcome sound. Perhaps a beautiful woman is +never so winningly lovely as when, in her neat morning attire, she seems +fresh and sweet as the new-born day. Eve had paid a little more attention +to her toilette than usual even, admitting just enough of a properly +selected jewelry, a style of ornament, that so singularly denotes the +refinement of a gentlewoman, when used understandingly, and which so +infallibly betrays vulgarity under other circumstances, while her attire +had rather more than its customary finish, though it was impossible not +to perceive, at a glance, that she was in an undress. The Parisian skill +of Annette, on which Mr. Bragg based so many of his hopes of future +fortune, had cut and fitted the robe to her faultlessly beautiful person, +with a tact, or it might be truer to say a contact, so perfect, that it +even left more charms to be imagined than it displayed, though the outline +of the whole figure was that of the most lovely womanhood. But, +notwithstanding the exquisite modelling of the whole form, the almost +fairy lightness of the full, swelling, but small foot, about which nothing +seemed lean and attenuated, the exquisite hand that appeared from among +the ruffles of the dress, Paul stood longest in nearly breathless +admiration of the countenance of his "bright and blooming bride." Perhaps +there is no sentiment so touchingly endearing to a man, as that which +comes over him as he contemplates the beauty, confiding faith, holy purity +and truth that shine in the countenance of a young, unpractised, innocent +woman, when she has so far overcome her natural timidity as to pour out +her tenderness in his behalf, and to submit to the strongest impulses of +her nature. Such was now the fact with Eve. She was writing of her +husband, and, though her expressions were restrained by taste and +education, they partook of her unutterable fondness and devotion. The +tears stood in her eyes, the pen trembled in her hand, and she shaded her +face as if to conceal the weakness from herself. Paul was alarmed, he knew +not why, but Eve in tears was a sight painful to him. In a moment he was +at her side, with an arm placed gently around her waist, and he drew her +fondly towards his bosom.</p> + +<p>"Eve--dearest Eve!" he said--"what mean these tears?"</p> + +<p>The serene eye, the radiant blush, and the meek tenderness that rewarded +his own burst of feeling, reassured the young husband, and, deferring to +the sensitive modesty of so young a bride, he released hold, retaining +only a hand.</p> + +<p>"It is happiness, Powis--nothing but excess of happiness, which makes us +women weaker, I fear, than even sorrow."</p> + +<p>Paul kissed her hands, regarded her with an intensity of admiration, +before which the eyes of Eve rose and fell, as if dazzled while meeting +his looks, and yet unwilling to lose them; and then he reverted to the +motive which had brought him to the library.</p> + +<p>"My father--<i>your</i> father, that is now--"</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack!"</p> + +<p>"Cousin Jack, if you will, has just made me a present, which is second +only to the greater gift I received from your own excellent parent, +yesterday, at the altar. See, dearest Eve, he has bestowed this lovely +image of yourself on me; lovely, though still so far from the truth. And +here is the miniature of my poor mother, also, to supply the place of the +one carried away by the Arabs."</p> + +<p>Eve gazed long and wistfully at the beautiful features of this image of +her husband's mother. She traced in them that pensive thought, that +winning kindness, that had first softened her heart towards Paul, and her +lips trembled as she pressed the insensible glass against them.</p> + +<p>"She must have been very handsome, Eve, and there is a look of melancholy +tenderness in the face, that would seem almost to predict an unhappy +blighting of the affections."</p> + +<p>"And yet this young, ingenuous, faithful woman entered on the solemn +engagement we have just made, Paul, with as many reasonable hopes of a +bright future as we ourselves!"</p> + +<p>"Not so, Eve--confidence and holy truth were wanting at the nuptials of my +parents. When there is deception at the commencement of such a contract, +it is not difficult to predict the end."</p> + +<p>"I do not think, Paul, you ever deceived; that noble heart of yours is +too generous!"</p> + +<p>"If any thing can make a man worthy of such a love, dearest, it is the +perfect and absorbing confidence with which your sex throw themselves on +the justice and faith of ours. Did that spotless heart ever entertain a +doubt of the worth of any living being on which It had set its +affections?"</p> + +<p>"Of itself, often, and they say self-love lies at the bottom of all our +actions."</p> + +<p>"You are the last person to hold this doctrine, beloved, for those who +live most in your confidence declare that all traces of self are lost in +your very nature."</p> + +<p>"Most in my confidence! My father--- my dear, kind father, has then been +betraying his besetting weakness, by extolling the gift he has made."</p> + +<p>"Your kind, excellent father, knows too well the total want of necessity +for any such thing. If the truth must be confessed, I have been passing a +quarter of an hour with worthy Ann Sidley."</p> + +<p>"Nanny--dear old Nanny!--and you have been weak enough, traitor, to listen +to the eulogiums of a nurse on her child!"</p> + +<p>"All praise of thee, my blessed Eve, is grateful to my ears, and who can +speak more understandingly of those domestic qualities which lie at the +root of domestic bliss, than those who have seen you in your most intimate +life, from childhood down to the moment when you have assumed the duties +of a wife?"</p> + +<p>"Paul, Paul, thou art beside thyself; too much learning hath made thee +mad!"</p> + +<p>"I am not mad, most beloved and beautiful Eve, but blessed to a degree +that might indeed upset a stronger reason."</p> + +<p>"We will now talk of other things," said Eve, raising his hand to her lips +in respectful affection, and looking gratefully up into his fond and +eloquent eyes; "I hope the feeling of which you so lately spoke has +subsided, and that you no longer feel yourself a stranger in the dwelling +of your own family."</p> + +<p>"Now that I can claim a right through you, I confess that my conscience is +getting to be easier on this point. Have you been yet told of the +arrangement that the older heads meditate in reference to our future +means?"</p> + +<p>"I would not listen to my dear father when he wished to introduce the +subject, for I found that it was a project that made distinctions between +Paul Effingham and Eve Effingham, two that I wish, henceforth, to consider +as one in all things."</p> + +<p>"In this, darling, you may do yourself injustice as well as me. But +perhaps you may not wish <i>me</i> to speak on the subject, neither."</p> + +<p>"What would my lord?"</p> + +<p>"Then listen, and the tale is soon told. We are each other's natural +heirs. Of the name and blood of Effingham, neither has a relative nearer +than the other, for, though but cousins in the third degree, our family is +so small as to render the husband, in this case, the natural heir of the +wife, and the wife the natural heir of the husband. Now your father +proposes that his estates be valued, and that my father settle on you a +sum of equal amount, which his wealth, will fully enable him to do, and +that I become the possessor in reversion, of the lands that would +otherwise have been yours."</p> + +<p>"You possess me, my heart, my affections, my duty; of what account is +money after this!"</p> + +<p>"I perceive that you are so much and so truly woman, Eve, that we must +arrange all this without consulting you at all."</p> + +<p>"Can I be in safer hands? A father that has always been too indulgent of +my unreasonable wishes--a second parent that has only contributed too much +to spoil me in the same thoughtless manner--and a----"</p> + +<p>"Husband," added Paul, perceiving that Eve hesitated at pronouncing to his +face a name so novel though so endearing, "who will strive to do more +than either in the same way."</p> + +<p>"Husband," she added, looking up into his face with a smile innocent as +that of an infant, while the crimson tinge covered her forehead, "if the +formidable word must be uttered, who is doing all he can to increase a +self-esteem that is already so much greater than it ought to be."</p> + +<p>A light tap at the door caused Eve to start and look embarrassed, like one +detected in a fault, and Paul to release the hand that he had continued to +hold during the brief dialogue.</p> + +<p>"Sir--ma'am"--said the timid, meek voice of Ann Sidley, as she held the +door ajar, without presuming to look into the room; "Miss Eve--Mr. Powis."</p> + +<p>"Enter, my good Nanny," said Eve, recovering her self-composure in a +moment, the presence of her nurse always appearing to her as no more than +a duplication of herself. "What is your wish?"</p> + +<p>"I hope I am not unreasonable, but I knew that Mr. Effingham was alone +with you, here, and I wished--that is, ma'am,--Miss Eve--Sir--"</p> + +<p>"Speak your wishes, my good old nurse--am I not your own child, and is not +this your own child's"--again Eve hesitated, blushed, and smiled, ere she +pronounced the formidable word--"husband."</p> + +<p>"Yes, ma'am; and God be praised that it is so. I dreamt, it is now four +years, Miss Eve; we were then travelling among the Denmarkers, and I +dreamt that you were married to a great prince--"</p> + +<p>"But your dream has not come true, my good Nanny, and you see by this fact +that it is not always safe to trust in dreams."</p> + +<p>"Ma'am, I do not esteem princes by the kingdoms and crowns, but by their +qualities--and if Mr. Powis be not a prince, who is?"</p> + +<p>"That, indeed, changes the matter," said the gratified young wife; "and I +believe, after all, dear Nanny, that I must become a convert to your +theory of dreams."</p> + +<p>"While I must always deny it, good Mrs Sidley, if this is a specimen of +its truth," said Paul, laughing. "But, perhaps this prince proved unworthy +of Miss Eve, after all?"</p> + +<p>"Not he, sir; he made her a most kind and affectionate husband; not +humouring all her idle wishes, if Miss Eve could have had such wishes, but +cherishing her, and counselling her, and protecting her, showing as much +tenderness for her as her own father, and as much love for her as I had +myself."</p> + +<p>"In which case, my worthy nurse, he proved an invaluable husband," said +Eve, with glistening eyes--"and I trust, too, that he was considerate and +friendly to you?"</p> + +<p>"He took me by the hand, the morning after the marriage, and said, +Faithful Ann Sidley, you have nursed and attended my beloved when a child, +and as a young lady; and I now entreat you will continue to wait on and +serve her as a wife to your dying day. He did, indeed, ma'am; and I think +I can now hear the very words he spoke so kindly. The dream, so far, has +come good."</p> + +<p>"My faithful Ann," said Paul, smiling, and taking the hand of the nurse, +"you have been all that is good and true to my best beloved, as a child, +and as a young lady; and now I earnestly entreat you to continue to wait +on her, and to serve her as <i>my</i> wife, to your dying day."</p> + +<p>Nanny clapped her hands with a scream of delight, and bursting into tears, +she exclaimed, as she hurried from the room,</p> + +<p>"It has all come true--it has all come true!"</p> + +<p>A pause of several minutes succeeded this burst of superstitious but +natural feeling.</p> + +<p>"All who live near you appear to think you the common centre of their +affections," Paul resumed; when his swelling heart permitted him to speak.</p> + +<p>"We have hitherto been a family of love--God grant it may always continue +so."</p> + +<p>Another delicious silence, which lasted still longer than the other, +followed. Eve then looked up into her husband's face with a gentle +curiosity, and observed--</p> + +<p>"You have told me a great deal, Powis--explained all but one little thing, +that, at the time, caused me great pain. Why did Ducie, when you were +about to quit the Montauk together, so unceremoniously stop you, as you +were about to get into the boat first; is the etiquette of a man-of-war so +rigid as to justify so much rudeness, I had almost called it--?"</p> + +<p>"The etiquette of a vessel of war is rigid certainly, and wisely so. But +what you fancied rudeness, was in truth a compliment. Among us sailors, it +is the inferior who goes first <i>into</i> a boat, and who <i>quits</i> it last."</p> + +<p>"So much, then, for forming a judgment, ignorantly! I believe it is always +safer to have no opinion, than to form one without a perfect knowledge of +all the accompanying circumstances."</p> + +<p>"Let us adhere to this safe rule through life, dearest, and we may find +its benefits. An absolute confidence, caution in drawing conclusions, and +a just reliance on each other, may keep us as happy to the end of our +married life, as we are at this blessed moment, when it is commencing +under auspices so favourable as to seem almost providential."</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10149 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |