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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:36:57 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:36:57 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/11437-0.txt b/11437-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ea40eb --- /dev/null +++ b/11437-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4901 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11437 *** + +[Illustration: H. James] + + + + +Stories by American Authors V. + + +A LIGHT MAN. + +By Henry James. + + +YATIL. + +By F.D. Millet. + + +THE END OF NEW YORK. + +By Park Benjamin. + + +WHY THOMAS WAS DISCHARGED. + +By George Arnold. + + +THE TACHYPOMP. + +By E.P. Mitchell. + + + + +1884 + + + + +A LIGHT MAN. + +BY Henry James.[1] + + + "And I--what I seem to my friend, you see-- + What I soon shall seem to his love, you guess. + What I seem to myself, do you ask of me? + No hero, I confess." + +_A Light Woman.--Browning's Men and Women_. + +April 4, 1857.--I have changed my sky without changing my mind. I resume +these old notes in a new world. I hardly know of what use they are; but +it's easier to stick to the habit than to drop it. I have been at home +now a week--at home, forsooth! And yet, after all, it is home. I am +dejected, I am bored, I am blue. How can a man be more at home than +that? Nevertheless, I am the citizen of a great country, and for that +matter, of a great city. I walked to-day some ten miles or so along +Broadway, and on the whole I don't blush for my native land. We are a +capable race and a good-looking withal; and I don't see why we +shouldn't prosper as well as another. This, by the way, ought to be a +very encouraging reflection. A capable fellow and a good-looking withal; +I don't see why he shouldn't die a millionaire. At all events he must do +something. When a man has, at thirty-two, a net income of considerably +less than nothing, he can scarcely hope to overtake a fortune before he +himself is overtaken by age and philosophy--two deplorable obstructions. +I am afraid that one of them has already planted itself in my path. What +am I? What do I wish? Whither do I tend? What do I believe? I am +constantly beset by these impertinent whisperings. Formerly it was +enough that I was Maximus Austin; that I was endowed with a cheerful +mind and a good digestion; that one day or another, when I had come to +the end, I should return to America and begin at the beginning; that, +meanwhile, existence was sweet in--in the Rue Tronchet. But now! Has the +sweetness really passed out of life? Have I eaten the plums and left +nothing but the bread and milk and corn-starch, or whatever the horrible +concoction is?--I had it to-day for dinner. Pleasure, at least, I +imagine--pleasure pure and simple, pleasure crude, brutal and +vulgar--this poor flimsy delusion has lost all its charm. I shall never +again care for certain things--and indeed for certain persons. Of such +things, of such persons, I firmly maintain, however, that I was never an +enthusiastic votary. It would be more to my credit, I suppose, if I had +been. More would be forgiven me if I had loved a little more, if into +all my folly and egotism I had put a little more _naïveté_ and +sincerity. Well, I did the best I could, I was at once too bad and too +good for it all. At present, it's far enough off; I have put the sea +between us; I am stranded. I sit high and dry, scanning the horizon for +a friendly sail, or waiting for a high tide to set me afloat. The wave +of pleasure has deposited me here in the sand. Shall I owe my rescue to +the wave of pain? At moments I feel a kind of longing to expiate my +stupid little sins. I see, as through a glass, darkly, the beauty of +labor and love. Decidedly, I am willing to work. It's written. + +7th.--My sail is in sight; it's at hand; I have all but boarded the +vessel. I received this morning a letter from the best man in the world. +Here it is: + + DEAR MAX: I see this very moment, in an old newspaper which had + already passed through my hands without yielding up its most + precious item, the announcement of your arrival in New York. To + think of your having perhaps missed the welcome you had a right to + expect from me! Here it is, dear Max--as cordial as you please. + When I say I have just read of your arrival, I mean that twenty + minutes have elapsed by the clock. These have been spent in + conversation with my excellent friend Mr. Sloane--we having taken + the liberty of making you the topic. I haven't time to say more + about Frederick Sloane than that he is very anxious to make your + acquaintance, and that, if your time is not otherwise engaged, he + would like you very much to spend a month with him. He is an + excellent host, or I shouldn't be here myself. It appears that he + knew your mother very intimately, and he has a taste for visiting + the amenities of the parents upon the children; the original ground + of my own connection with him was that he had been a particular + friend of my father. You may have heard your mother speak of him. + He is a very strange old fellow, but you will like him. Whether or + no you come for his sake, come for mine. + + Yours always, THEODORE LISLE. + +Theodore's letter is of course very kind, but it's remarkably obscure. +My mother may have had the highest regard for Mr. Sloane, but she never +mentioned his name in my hearing. Who is he, what is he, and what is the +nature of his relations with Theodore? I shall learn betimes. I have +written to Theodore that I gladly accept (I believe I suppressed the +"gladly" though) his friend's invitation, and that I shall immediately +present myself. What can I do that is better? Speaking sordidly, I shall +obtain food and lodging while I look about me. I shall have a base of +operations. D., it appears, is a long day's journey, but enchanting when +you reach it. I am curious to see an enchanting American town. And to +stay a month! Mr. Frederick Sloane, whoever you are, _vous faites bien +les choses_, and the little that I know of you is very much to your +credit. You enjoyed the friendship of my dear mother, you possess the +esteem of the virtuous Theodore, you commend yourself to my own +affection. At this rate, I shall not grudge it. + +D--, 14th.--I have been here since Thursday evening--three days. As we +rattled up to the tavern in the village, I perceived from the top of the +coach, in the twilight, Theodore beneath the porch, scanning the +vehicle, with all his amiable disposition in his eyes. He has grown +older, of course, in these five years, but less so than I had expected. +His is one of those smooth, unwrinkled souls that keep their bodies fair +and fresh. As tall as ever, moreover, and as lean and clean. How short +and fat and dark and debauched he makes one feel! By nothing he says or +means, of course, but merely by his old unconscious purity and +simplicity--that slender straightness which makes him remind you of the +spire of an English abbey. He greeted me with smiles, and stares, and +alarming blushes. He assures me that he never would have known me, and +that five years have altered me--_sehr_! I asked him if it were for the +better? He looked at me hard for a moment, with his eyes of blue, and +then, for an answer, he blushed again. + +On my arrival we agreed to walk over from the village. He dismissed his +wagon with my luggage, and we went arm-in-arm through the dusk. The town +is seated at the foot of certain mountains, whose names I have yet to +learn, and at the head of a big sheet of water, which, as yet, too, I +know only as "the Lake." The road hitherward soon leaves the village and +wanders in rural loveliness by the margin of this expanse. Sometimes the +water is hidden by clumps of trees, behind which we heard it lapping and +gurgling in the darkness: sometimes it stretches out from your feet in +shining vagueness, as if it were tired of making, all day, a million +little eyes at the great stupid hills. The walk from the tavern takes +some half an hour, and in this interval Theodore made his position a +little more clear. Mr. Sloane is a rich old widower; his age is +seventy-two, and as his health is thoroughly broken, is practically even +greater; and his fortune--Theodore, characteristically, doesn't know +anything definite about that. It's probably about a million. He has +lived much in Europe, and in the "great world;" he has had adventures +and passions and all that sort of thing; and now, in the evening of his +days, like an old French diplomatist, he takes it into his head to write +his memoirs. To this end he has lured poor Theodore to his gruesome +side, to mend his pens for him. He has been a great scribbler, says +Theodore, all his days, and he proposes to incorporate a large amount of +promiscuous literary matter into these _souvenirs intimes_. Theodore's +principal function seems to be to get him to leave things out. In fact, +the poor youth seems troubled in conscience. His patron's lucubrations +have taken the turn of many other memoirs, and have ceased to address +themselves _virginibus puerisque_. On the whole, he declares they are a +very odd mixture--a medley of gold and tinsel, of bad taste and good +sense. I can readily understand it. The old man bores me, puzzles me, +and amuses me. + +He was in waiting to receive me. We found him in his library--which, by +the way, is simply the most delightful apartment that I ever smoked a +cigar in--a room arranged for a lifetime. At one end stands a great +fireplace, with a florid, fantastic mantelpiece in carved white +marble--an importation, of course, and, as one may say, an +interpolation; the groundwork of the house, the "fixtures," being +throughout plain, solid and domestic. Over the mantel-shelf is a large +landscape, a fine Gainsborough, full of the complicated harmonies of an +English summer. Beneath it stands a row of bronzes of the Renaissance +and potteries of the Orient. Facing the door, as you enter, is an +immense window set in a recess, with cushioned seats and large clear +panes, stationed as it were at the very apex of the lake (which forms an +almost perfect oval) and commanding a view of its whole extent. At the +other end, opposite the fireplace, the wall is studded, from floor to +ceiling, with choice foreign paintings, placed in relief against the +orthodox crimson screen. Elsewhere the walls are covered with books, +arranged neither in formal regularity nor quite helter-skelter, but in a +sort of genial incongruity, which tells that sooner or later each volume +feels sure of leaving the ranks and returning into different company. +Mr. Sloane makes use of his books. His two passions, according to +Theodore, are reading and talking; but to talk he must have a book in +his hand. The charm of the room lies in the absence of certain pedantic +tones--the browns, blacks and grays--which distinguish most libraries. +The apartment is of the feminine gender. There are half a dozen light +colors scattered about--pink in the carpet, tender blue in the curtains, +yellow in the chairs. The result is a general look of brightness and +lightness; it expresses even a certain cynicism. You perceive the place +to be the home, not of a man of learning, but of a man of fancy. + +He rose from his chair--the man of fancy, to greet me--the man of fact. +As I looked at him, in the lamplight, it seemed to me, for the first +five minutes, that I had seldom seen an uglier little person. It took me +five minutes to get the point of view; then I began to admire. He is +diminutive, or at best of my own moderate stature, and bent and +contracted with his seventy years; lean and delicate, moreover, and very +highly finished. He is curiously pale, with a kind of opaque yellow +pallor. Literally, it's a magnificent yellow. His skin is of just the +hue and apparent texture of some old crumpled Oriental scroll. I know a +dozen painters who would give more than they have to arrive at the exact +"tone" of his thick-veined, bloodless hands, his polished ivory +knuckles. His eyes are circled with red, but in the battered little +setting of their orbits they have the lustre of old sapphires. His nose, +owing to the falling away of other portions of his face, has assumed a +grotesque, unnatural prominence; it describes an immense arch, gleaming +like a piece of parchment stretched on ivory. He has, apparently, all +his teeth, but has muffled his cranium in a dead black wig; of course +he's clean shaven. In his dress he has a muffled, wadded look and an +apparent aversion to linen, inasmuch as none is visible on his person. +He seems neat enough, but not fastidious. At first, as I say, I fancied +him monstrously ugly; but on further acquaintance I perceived that what +I had taken for ugliness is nothing but the incomplete remains of +remarkable good looks. The line of his features is pure; his nose, +_caeteris paribus_, would be extremely handsome; his eyes are the oldest +eyes I ever saw, and yet they are wonderfully living. He has something +remarkably insinuating. + +He offered his two hands, as Theodore introduced me; I gave him my own, +and he stood smiling at me like some quaint old image in ivory and +ebony, scanning my face with a curiosity which he took no pains to +conceal. "God bless me," he said, at last, "how much you look like your +father!" I sat down, and for half an hour we talked of many things--of +my journey, of my impressions of America, of my reminiscences of Europe, +and, by implication, of my prospects. His voice is weak and cracked, but +he makes it express everything. Mr. Sloane is not yet in his dotage--oh +no! He nevertheless makes himself out a poor creature. In reply to an +inquiry of mine about his health, he favored me with a long list of his +infirmities (some of which are very trying, certainly) and assured me +that he was quite finished. + +"I live out of mere curiosity," he said. + +"I have heard of people dying from the same motive." + +He looked at me a moment, as if to ascertain whether I were laughing at +him. And then, after a pause, "Perhaps you don't know that I disbelieve +in a future life," he remarked, blandly. + +At these words Theodore got up and walked to the fire. + +"Well, we shan't quarrel about that," said I. Theodore turned round, +staring. + +"Do you mean that you agree with me?" the old man asked. + +"I certainly haven't come here to talk theology! Don't ask me to +disbelieve, and I'll never ask you to believe." + +"Come," cried Mr. Sloane, rubbing his hands, "you'll not persuade me you +are a Christian--like your friend Theodore there." + +"Like Theodore--assuredly not." And then, somehow, I don't know why, at +the thought of Theodore's Christianity I burst into a laugh. "Excuse me, +my dear fellow," I said, "you know, for the last ten years I have lived +in pagan lands." + +"What do you call pagan?" asked Theodore, smiling. + +I saw the old man, with his hands locked, eying me shrewdly, and waiting +for my answer. I hesitated a moment, and then I said, "Everything that +makes life tolerable!" + +Hereupon Mr. Sloane began to laugh till he coughed. Verily, I thought, +if he lives for curiosity, he's easily satisfied. + +We went into dinner, and this repast showed me that some of his +curiosity is culinary. I observed, by the way, that for a victim of +neuralgia, dyspepsia, and a thousand other ills, Mr. Sloane plies a most +inconsequential knife and fork. Sauces and spices and condiments seem to +be the chief of his diet. After dinner he dismissed us, in consideration +of my natural desire to see my friend in private. Theodore has capital +quarters--a downy bedroom and a snug little _salon_. We talked till near +midnight--of ourselves, of each other, and of the author of the memoirs, +down stairs. That is, I spoke of myself, and Theodore listened; and then +Theodore descanted upon Mr. Sloane, and I listened. His commerce with +the old man has sharpened his wits. Sloane has taught him to observe and +judge, and Theodore turns round, observes, judges--him! He has become +quite the critic and analyst. There is something very pleasant in the +discriminations of a conscientious mind, in which criticism is tempered +by an angelic charity. Only, it may easily end by acting on one's +nerves. At midnight we repaired to the library, to take leave of our +host till the morrow--an attention which, under all circumstances, he +rigidly exacts. As I gave him my hand he held it again and looked at me +as he had done on my arrival. "Bless my soul," he said, at last, "how +much you look like your mother!" + +To-night, at the end of my third day, I begin to feel decidedly at +home. The fact is, I am remarkably comfortable. The house is pervaded by +an indefinable, irresistible love of luxury and privacy. Mr. Frederick +Sloane is a horribly corrupt old mortal. Already in his relaxing +presence I have become heartily reconciled to doing nothing. But with +Theodore on one side--standing there like a tall interrogation-point--I +honestly believe I can defy Mr. Sloane on the other. The former asked me +this morning, with visible solicitude, in allusion to the bit of +dialogue I have quoted above on matters of faith, whether I am really a +materialist--whether I don't believe something? I told him I would +believe anything he liked. He looked at me a while, in friendly sadness. +"I hardly know whether you are not worse than Mr. Sloane," he said. + +But Theodore is, after all, in duty bound to give a man a long rope in +these matters. His own rope is one of the longest. He reads Voltaire +with Mr. Sloane, and Emerson in his own room. He is the stronger man of +the two; he has the larger stomach. Mr. Sloane delights, of course, in +Voltaire, but he can't read a line of Emerson. Theodore delights in +Emerson, and enjoys Voltaire, though he thinks him superficial. It +appears that since we parted in Paris, five years ago, his conscience +has dwelt in many lands. _C'est tout une histoire_--which he tells very +prettily. He left college determined to enter the church, and came +abroad with his mind full of theology and Tübingen. He appears to have +studied, not wisely but too well. Instead of faith full-armed and +serene, there sprang from the labor of his brain a myriad sickly +questions, piping for answers. He went for a winter to Italy, where, I +take it, he was not quite so much afflicted as he ought to have been at +the sight of the beautiful spiritual repose that he had missed. It was +after this that we spent those three months together in Brittany--the +best-spent months of my long residence in Europe. Theodore inoculated +me, I think, with some of his seriousness, and I just touched him with +my profanity; and we agreed together that there were a few good things +left--health, friendship, a summer sky, and the lovely byways of an old +French province. He came home, searched the Scriptures once more, +accepted a "call," and made an attempt to respond to it. But the inner +voice failed him. His outlook was cheerless enough. During his absence +his married sister, the elder one, had taken the other to live with her, +relieving Theodore of the charge of contribution to her support. But +suddenly, behold the husband, the brother-in-law, dies, leaving a mere +figment of property; and the two ladies, with their two little girls, +are afloat in the wide world. Theodore finds himself at twenty-six +without an income, without a profession, and with a family of four +females to support. Well, in his quiet way he draws on his courage. The +history of the two years that passed before he came to Mr. Sloane is +really absolutely edifying. He rescued his sisters and nieces from the +deep waters, placed them high and dry, established them somewhere in +decent gentility--and then found at last that his strength had left +him--had dropped dead like an over-ridden horse. In short, he had worked +himself to the bone. It was now his sisters' turn. They nursed him with +all the added tenderness of gratitude for the past and terror of the +future, and brought him safely through a grievous malady. Meanwhile Mr. +Sloane, having decided to treat himself to a private secretary and +suffered dreadful mischance in three successive experiments, had heard +of Theodore's situation and his merits; had furthermore recognized in +him the son of an early and intimate friend, and had finally offered him +the very comfortable position he now occupies. There is a decided +incongruity between Theodore as a man--as Theodore, in fine--and the +dear fellow as the intellectual agent, confidant, complaisant, purveyor, +pander--what you will--of a battered old cynic and dilettante--a +worldling if there ever was one. There seems at first sight a perfect +want of agreement between his character and his function. One is gold +and the other brass, or something very like it. But on reflection I can +enter into it--his having, under the circumstances, accepted Mr. +Sloane's offer and been content to do his duties. _Ce que c'est de +nous!_ Theodore's contentment in such a case is a theme for the +moralist--a better moralist than I. The best and purest mortals are an +odd mixture, and in none of us does honesty exist on its own terms. +Ideally, Theodore hasn't the smallest business _dans cette galère_. It +offends my sense of propriety to find him here. I feel that I ought to +notify him as a friend that he has knocked at the wrong door, and that +he had better retreat before he is brought to the blush. However, I +suppose he might as well be here as reading Emerson "evenings" in the +back parlor, to those two very plain sisters--judging from their +photographs. Practically it hurts no one not to be too much of a prig. +Poor Theodore was weak, depressed, out of work. Mr. Sloane offers him a +lodging and a salary in return for--after all, merely a little tact. All +he has to do is to read to the old man, lay down the book a while, with +his finger in the place, and let him talk; take it up again, read +another dozen pages and submit to another commentary. Then to write a +dozen pages under his dictation--to suggest a word, polish off a period, +or help him out with a complicated idea or a half-remembered fact. This +is all, I say; and yet this is much. Theodore's apparent success proves +it to be much, as well as the old man's satisfaction. It is a part; he +has to simulate. He has to "make believe" a little--a good deal; he has +to put his pride in his pocket and send his conscience to the wash. He +has to be accommodating--to listen and pretend and flatter; and he does +it as well as many a worse man--does it far better than I. I might bully +the old man, but I don't think I could humor him. After all, however, +it is not a matter of comparative merit. In every son of woman there are +two men--the practical man and the dreamer. We live for our dreams--but, +meanwhile, we live by our wits. When the dreamer is a poet, the other +fellow is an artist. Theodore, at bottom, is only a man of taste. If he +were not destined to become a high priest among moralists, he might be a +prince among connoisseurs. He plays his part, therefore, artistically, +with spirit, with originality, with all his native refinement. How can +Mr. Sloane fail to believe that he possesses a paragon? He is no such +fool as not to appreciate a _nature distinguée_ when it comes in his +way. He confidentially assured me this morning that Theodore has the +most charming mind in the world, but that it's a pity he's so simple as +not to suspect it. If he only doesn't ruin him with his flattery! + +19th.--I am certainly fortunate among men. This morning when, +tentatively, I spoke of going away, Mr. Sloane rose from his seat in +horror and declared that for the present I must regard his house as my +home. "Come, come," he said, "when you leave this place where do you +intend to go?" Where, indeed? I graciously allowed Mr. Sloane to have +the best of the argument. Theodore assures me that he appreciates these +and other affabilities, and that I have made what he calls a "conquest" +of his venerable heart. Poor, battered, bamboozled old organ! he would +have one believe that it has a most tragical record of capture and +recapture. At all events, it appears that I am master of the citadel. +For the present I have no wish to evacuate. I feel, nevertheless, in +some far-off corner of my soul, that I ought to shoulder my victorious +banner and advance to more fruitful triumphs. + +I blush for my beastly laziness. It isn't that I am willing to stay here +a month, but that I am willing to stay here six. Such is the charming, +disgusting truth. Have I really outlived the age of energy? Have I +survived my ambition, my integrity, my self-respect? Verily, I ought to +have survived the habit of asking myself silly questions. I made up my +mind long ago to go in for nothing but present success; and I don't care +for that sufficiently to secure it at the cost of temporary suffering. I +have a passion for nothing--not even for life. I know very well the +appearance I make in the world. I pass for a clever, accomplished, +capable, good-natured fellow, who can do anything if he would only try. +I am supposed to be rather cultivated, to have latent talents. When I +was younger I used to find a certain entertainment in the spectacle of +human affairs. I liked to see men and women hurrying on each other's +heels across the stage. But I am sick and tired of them now; not that I +am a misanthrope, God forbid! They are not worth hating. I never knew +but one creature who was, and her I went and loved. To be consistent, I +ought to have hated my mother, and now I ought to detest Theodore. But I +don't--truly, on the whole, I don't--any more than I dote on him. I +firmly believe that it makes a difference to him, his idea that I _am_ +fond of him. He believes in that, as he believes in all the rest of +it--in my culture, my latent talents, my underlying "earnestness," my +sense of beauty and love of truth. Oh, for a _man_ among them all--a +fellow with eyes in his head--eyes that would know me for what I am and +let me see they had guessed it. Possibly such a fellow as that might get +a "rise" out of me. + +In the name of bread and butter, what am I to do? (I was obliged this +morning to borrow fifty dollars from Theodore, who remembered gleefully +that he has been owing me a trifling sum for the past four years, and in +fact has preserved a note to this effect.) Within the last week I have +hatched a desperate plan: I have made up my mind to take a wife--a rich +one, _bien entendu_. Why not accept the goods of the gods? It is not my +fault, after all, if I pass for a good fellow. Why not admit that +practically, mechanically--as I may say--maritally, I _may_ be a good +fellow? I warrant myself kind. I should never beat my wife; I don't +think I should even contradict her. Assume that her fortune has the +proper number of zeros and that she herself is one of them, and I can +even imagine her adoring me. I really think this is my only way. +Curiously, as I look back upon my brief career, it all seems to tend to +this consummation. It has its graceful curves and crooks, indeed, and +here and there a passionate tangent; but on the whole, if I were to +unfold it here _à la_ Hogarth, what better legend could I scrawl beneath +the series of pictures than So-and-So's Progress to a Mercenary +Marriage? + +Coming events do what we all know with their shadows. My noble fate is, +perhaps, not far off. I already feel throughout my person a magnificent +languor--as from the possession of many dollars. Or is it simply my +sense of well-being in this perfectly appointed house? Is it simply the +contact of the highest civilization I have known? At all events, the +place is of velvet, and my only complaint of Mr. Sloane is that, instead +of an old widower, he's not an old widow (or a young maid), so that I +might marry him, survive him, and dwell forever in this rich and mellow +home. As I write here, at my bedroom table, I have only to stretch out +an arm and raise the window-curtain to see the thick-planted garden +budding and breathing and growing in the silvery silence. Far above in +the liquid darkness rolls the brilliant ball of the moon; beneath, in +its light, lies the lake, in murmuring, troubled sleep; round about, the +mountains, looking strange and blanched, seem to bare their heads and +undrape their shoulders. So much for midnight. To-morrow the scene will +be lovely with the beauty of day. Under one aspect or another I have it +always before me. At the end of the garden is moored a boat, in which +Theodore and I have indulged in an immense deal of irregular +navigation. What lovely landward coves and bays--what alder-smothered +creeks--what lily-sheeted pools--what sheer steep hillsides, making the +water dark and quiet where they hang. I confess that in these excursions +Theodore looks after the boat and I after the scenery. Mr. Sloane avoids +the water--on account of the dampness, he says; because he's afraid of +drowning, I suspect. + +22d.--Theodore is right. The _bonhomme_ has taken me into his favor. I +protest I don't see how he was to escape it. _Je l'ai bien soigné_, as +they say in Paris. I don't blush for it. In one coin or another I must +repay his hospitality--which is certainly very liberal. Theodore dots +his _i_'s, crosses his _t_'s, verifies his quotations; while I set traps +for that famous "curiosity." This speaks vastly well for my powers. He +pretends to be surprised at nothing, and to possess in perfection--poor, +pitiable old fop--the art of keeping his countenance; but repeatedly, I +know, I have made him stare. As for his corruption, which I spoke of +above, it's a very pretty piece of wickedness, but it strikes me as a +purely intellectual matter. I imagine him never to have had any real +senses. He may have been unclean; morally, he's not very tidy now; but +he never can have been what the French call a _viveur_. He's too +delicate, he's of a feminine turn; and what woman was ever a _viveur_? +He likes to sit in his chair and read scandal, talk scandal, make +scandal, so far as he may without catching a cold or bringing on a +headache. I already feel as if I had known him a lifetime. I read him +as clearly as if I had. I know the type to which he belongs; I have +encountered, first and last, a good many specimens of it. He's neither +more nor less than a gossip--a gossip flanked by a coxcomb and an +egotist. He's shallow, vain, cold, superstitious, timid, pretentious, +capricious: a pretty list of foibles! And yet, for all this, he has his +good points. His caprices are sometimes generous, and his rebellion +against the ugliness of life frequently makes him do kind things. His +memory (for trifles) is remarkable, and (where his own performances are +not involved) his taste is excellent. He has no courage for evil more +than for good. He is the victim, however, of more illusions with regard +to himself than I ever knew a single brain to shelter. At the age of +twenty, poor, ignorant and remarkably handsome, he married a woman of +immense wealth, many years his senior. At the end of three years she +very considerately took herself off and left him to the enjoyment of his +freedom and riches. If he had remained poor he might from time to time +have rubbed at random against the truth, and would be able to recognize +the touch of it. But he wraps himself in his money as in a wadded +dressing-gown, and goes trundling through life on his little gold +wheels. The greater part of his career, from the time of his marriage +till about ten years ago, was spent in Europe, which, superficially, he +knows very well. He has lived in fifty places, known thousands of +people, and spent a very large fortune. At one time, I believe, he +spent considerably too much, trembled for an instant on the verge of a +pecuniary crash, but recovered himself, and found himself more +frightened than hurt, yet audibly recommended to lower his pitch. He +passed five years in a species of penitent seclusion on the lake of--I +forget what (his genius seems to be partial to lakes), and laid the +basis of his present magnificent taste for literature. I can't call him +anything but magnificent in this respect, so long as he must have his +punctuation done by a _nature distinguée_. At the close of this period, +by economy, he had made up his losses. His turning the screw during +those relatively impecunious years represents, I am pretty sure, the +only act of resolution of his life. It was rendered possible by his +morbid, his actually pusillanimous dread of poverty; he doesn't feel +safe without half a million between him and starvation. Meanwhile he had +turned from a young man into an old man; his health was broken, his +spirit was jaded, and I imagine, to do him justice, that he began to +feel certain natural, filial longings for this dear American mother of +us all. They say the most hopeless truants and triflers have come to it. +He came to it, at all events; he packed up his books and pictures and +gimcracks, and bade farewell to Europe. This house which he now occupies +belonged to his wife's estate. She had, for sentimental reasons of her +own, commended it to his particular care. On his return he came to see +it, liked it, turned a parcel of carpenters and upholsterers into it, +and by inhabiting it for nine years transformed it into the perfect +dwelling which I find it. Here he has spent all his time, with the +exception of a usual winter's visit to New York--a practice recently +discontinued, owing to the increase of his ailments and the projection +of these famous memoirs. His life has finally come to be passed in +comparative solitude. He tells of various distant relatives, as well as +intimate friends of both sexes, who used formerly to be entertained at +his cost; but with each of them, in the course of time, he seems to have +succeeded in quarrelling. Throughout life, evidently, he has had capital +fingers for plucking off parasites. Rich, lonely, and vain, he must have +been fair game for the race of social sycophants and cormorants; and +it's much to the credit of his sharpness and that instinct of +self-defence which nature bestows even on the weak, that he has not been +despoiled and _exploité_. Apparently they have all been bunglers. I +maintain that something is to be done with him still. But one must work +in obedience to certain definite laws. Doctor Jones, his physician, +tells me that in point of fact he has had for the past ten years an +unbroken series of favorites, _protégés_, heirs presumptive; but that +each, in turn, by some fatally false movement, has spilled his pottage. +The doctor declares, moreover, that they were mostly very common people. +Gradually the old man seems to have developed a preference for two or +three strictly exquisite intimates, over a throng of your vulgar +pensioners. His tardy literary schemes, too--fruit of his all but +sapless senility--have absorbed more and more of his time and attention. +The end of it all is, therefore, that Theodore and I have him quite to +ourselves, and that it behooves us to hold our porringers straight. + +Poor, pretentious old simpleton! It's not his fault, after all, that he +fancies himself a great little man. How are you to judge of the stature +of mankind when men have forever addressed you on their knees? Peace and +joy to his innocent fatuity! He believes himself the most rational of +men; in fact, he's the most superstitious. He fancies himself a +philosopher, an inquirer, a discoverer. He has not yet discovered that +he is a humbug, that Theodore is a prig, and that I am an adventurer. He +prides himself on his good manners, his urbanity, his knowing a rule of +conduct for every occasion in life. My private impression is that his +skinny old bosom contains unsuspected treasures of impertinence. He +takes his stand on his speculative audacity--his direct, undaunted gaze +at the universe; in truth, his mind is haunted by a hundred dingy +old-world spectres and theological phantasms. He imagines himself one of +the most solid of men; he is essentially one of the hollowest. He thinks +himself ardent, impulsive, passionate, magnanimous--capable of boundless +enthusiasm for an idea or a sentiment. It is clear to me that on no +occasion of disinterested action can he ever have done anything in +time. He believes, finally, that he has drained the cup of life to the +dregs; that he has known, in its bitterest intensity, every emotion of +which the human spirit is capable; that he has loved, struggled, +suffered. Mere vanity, all of it. He has never loved any one but +himself; he has never suffered from anything but an undigested supper or +an exploded pretension; he has never touched with the end of his lips +the vulgar bowl from which the mass of mankind quaffs its floods of joy +and sorrow. Well, the long and short of it all is, that I honestly pity +him. He may have given sly knocks in his life, but he can't hurt any one +now. I pity his ignorance, his weakness, his pusillanimity. He has +tasted the real sweetness of life no more than its bitterness; he has +never dreamed, nor experimented, nor dared; he has never known any but +mercenary affection; neither men nor women have risked aught for +_him_--for his good spirits, his good looks, his empty pockets. How I +should like to give him, for once, a real sensation! + +26th.--I took a row this morning with Theodore a couple of miles along +the lake, to a point where we went ashore and lounged away an hour in +the sunshine, which is still very comfortable. Poor Theodore seems +troubled about many things. For one, he is troubled about me: he is +actually more anxious about my future than I myself; he thinks better of +me than I do of myself; he is so deucedly conscientious, so scrupulous, +so averse to giving offence or to _brusquer_ any situation before it +has played itself out, that he shrinks from betraying his apprehensions +or asking direct questions. But I know that he would like very much to +extract from me some intimation that there is something under the sun I +should like to do. I catch myself in the act of taking--heaven forgive +me!--a half-malignant joy in confounding his expectations--leading his +generous sympathies off the scent by giving him momentary glimpses of my +latent wickedness. But in Theodore I have so firm a friend that I shall +have a considerable job if I ever find it needful to make him change his +mind about me. He admires me--that's absolute; he takes my low moral +tone for an eccentricity of genius, and it only imparts an extra +flavor--a _haut goût_--to the charm of my intercourse. Nevertheless, I +can see that he is disappointed. I have even less to show, after all +these years, than he had hoped. Heaven help us! little enough it must +strike him as being. What a contradiction there is in our being friends +at all! I believe we shall end with hating each other. It's all very +well now--our agreeing to differ, for we haven't opposed interests. But +if we should _really_ clash, the situation would be warm! I wonder, as +it is, that Theodore keeps his patience with me. His education since we +parted should tend logically to make him despise me. He has studied, +thought, suffered, loved--loved those very plain sisters and nieces. +Poor me! how should I be virtuous? I have no sisters, plain or +pretty!--nothing to love, work for, live for. My dear Theodore, if you +are going one of these days to despise me and drop me--in the name of +comfort, come to the point at once, and make an end of our state of +tension. + +He is troubled, too, about Mr. Sloane. His attitude toward the +_bonhomme_ quite passes my comprehension. It's the queerest jumble of +contraries. He penetrates him, disapproves of him--yet respects and +admires him. It all comes of the poor boy's shrinking New England +conscience. He's afraid to give his perceptions a fair chance, lest, +forsooth, they should look over his neighbor's wall. He'll not +understand that he may as well sacrifice the old reprobate for a lamb as +for a sheep. His view of the gentleman, therefore, is a perfect tissue +of cobwebs--a jumble of half-way sorrows, and wire-drawn charities, and +hair-breadth 'scapes from utter damnation, and sudden platitudes of +generosity--fit, all of it, to make an angel curse! + +"The man's a perfect egotist and fool," say I, "but I like him." Now +Theodore likes him--or rather wants to like him; but he can't reconcile +it to his self-respect--fastidious deity!--to like a fool. Why the deuce +can't he leave it alone altogether? It's a purely practical matter. +He ought to do the duties of his place all the better for having his +head clear of officious sentiment. I don't believe in disinterested +service; and Theodore is too desperately bent on preserving his +disinterestedness. With me it's different. I am perfectly free to love +the _bonhomme_--for a fool. I'm neither a scribe nor a Pharisee; I am +simply a student of the art of life. + +And then, Theodore is troubled about his sisters. He's afraid he's not +doing his duty by them. He thinks he ought to be with them--to be +getting a larger salary--to be teaching his nieces. I am not versed in +such questions. Perhaps he ought. + +May 3d.--This morning Theodore sent me word that he was ill and unable +to get up; upon which I immediately went in to see him. He had caught +cold, was sick and a little feverish. I urged him to make no attempt to +leave his room, and assured him that I would do what I could to +reconcile Mr. Sloane to his absence. This I found an easy matter. I read +to him for a couple of hours, wrote four letters--one in French--and +then talked for a while--a good while. I have done more talking, by the +way, in the last fortnight, than in any previous twelve months--much of +it, too, none of the wisest, nor, I may add, of the most superstitiously +veracious. In a little discussion, two or three days ago, with Theodore, +I came to the point and let him know that in gossiping with Mr. Sloane I +made no scruple, for our common satisfaction, of "coloring" more or +less. My confession gave him "that turn," as Mrs. Gamp would say, that +his present illness may be the result of it. Nevertheless, poor dear +fellow, I trust he will be on his legs to-morrow. This afternoon, +somehow, I found myself really in the humor of talking. There was +something propitious in the circumstances; a hard, cold rain without, a +wood-fire in the library, the _bonhomme_ puffing cigarettes in his +arm-chair, beside him a portfolio of newly imported prints and +photographs, and--Theodore tucked safely away in bed. Finally, when I +brought our _tête-à -tête_ to a close (taking good care not to overstay +my welcome) Mr. Sloane seized me by both hands and honored me with one +of his venerable grins. "Max," he said--"you must let me call you +Max--you are the most delightful man I ever knew." + +Verily, there's some virtue left in me yet. I believe I almost blushed. + +"Why didn't I know you ten years ago?" the old man went on. "There are +ten years lost." + +"Ten years ago I was not worth your knowing," Max remarked. + +"But I did know you!" cried the _bonhomme_. "I knew you in knowing your +mother." + +Ah! my mother again. When the old man begins that chapter I feel like +telling him to blow out his candle and go to bed. + +"At all events," he continued, "we must make the most of the years that +remain. I am a rotten old carcass, but I have no intention of dying. You +won't get tired of me and want to go away?" + +"I am devoted to you, sir," I said. "But I must be looking for some +occupation, you know." + +"Occupation? bother! I'll give you occupation. I'll give you wages." + +"I am afraid that you will want to give me the wages without the work." +And then I declared that I must go up and look at poor Theodore. + +The _bonhomme_ still kept my hands. "I wish very much that I could get +you to be as fond of me as you are of poor Theodore." + +"Ah, don't talk about fondness, Mr. Sloane. I don't deal much in that +article." + +"Don't you like my secretary?" + +"Not as he deserves." + +"Nor as he likes you, perhaps?" + +"He likes me more than I deserve." + +"Well, Max," my host pursued, "we can be good friends all the same. We +don't need a hocus-pocus of false sentiment. We are _men_, aren't +we?--men of sublime good sense." And just here, as the old man looked at +me, the pressure of his hands deepened to a convulsive grasp, and the +bloodless mask of his countenance was suddenly distorted with a nameless +fear. "Ah, my dear young man!" he cried, "come and be a son to me--the +son of my age and desolation! For God's sake, don't leave me to pine and +die alone!" + +I was greatly surprised--and I may add I was moved. Is it true, then, +that this dilapidated organism contains such measureless depths of +horror and longing? He has evidently a mortal fear of death. I assured +him on my honor that he may henceforth call upon me for any service. + +8th.--Theodore's little turn proved more serious than I expected. He has +been confined to his room till to-day. This evening he came down to the +library in his dressing-gown. Decidedly, Mr. Sloane is an eccentric, but +hardly, as Theodore thinks, a "charming" one. There is something +extremely curious in his humors and fancies--the incongruous fits and +starts, as it were, of his taste. For some reason, best known to +himself, he took it into his head to regard it as a want of delicacy, of +respect, of _savoir-vivre_--of heaven knows what--that poor Theodore, +who is still weak and languid, should enter the sacred precinct of his +study in the vulgar drapery of a dressing-gown. The sovereign trouble +with the _bonhomme_ is an absolute lack of the instinct of justice. He's +of the real feminine turn--I believe I have written it before--without +the redeeming fidelity of the sex. I honestly believe that I might come +into his study in my night-shirt and he would smile at it as a +picturesque _déshabillé_. But for poor Theodore to-night there was +nothing but scowls and frowns, and barely a civil inquiry about his +health. But poor Theodore is not such a fool, either; he will not die of +a snubbing; I never said he was a weakling. Once he fairly saw from what +quarter the wind blew, he bore the master's brutality with the utmost +coolness and gallantry. Can it be that Mr. Sloane really wishes to drop +him? The delicious old brute! He understands favor and friendship only +as a selfish rapture--a reaction, an infatuation, an act of aggressive, +exclusive patronage. It's not a bestowal, with him, but a transfer, and +half his pleasure in causing his sun to shine is that--being wofully +near its setting--it will produce certain long fantastic shadows. He +wants to cast my shadow, I suppose, over Theodore; but fortunately I am +not altogether an opaque body. Since Theodore was taken ill he has been +into his room but once, and has sent him none but a dry little message +or two. I, too, have been much less attentive than I should have wished +to be; but my time has not been my own. It has been, every moment of it, +at the disposal of my host. He actually runs after me; he devours me; he +makes a fool of himself, and is trying hard to make one of me. I find +that he will bear--that, in fact, he actually enjoys--a sort of +unexpected contradiction. He likes anything that will tickle his fancy, +give an unusual tone to our relations, remind him of certain historical +characters whom he thinks he resembles. I have stepped into Theodore's +shoes, and done--with what I feel in my bones to be very inferior skill +and taste--all the reading, writing, condensing, transcribing and +advising that he has been accustomed to do. I have driven with the +_bonhomme_; played chess and cribbage with him; beaten him, bullied him, +contradicted him; forced him into going out on the water under my +charge. Who shall say, after this, that I haven't done my best to +discourage his advances, put myself in a bad light? As yet, my efforts +are vain; in fact they quite turn to my own confusion. Mr. Sloane is so +thankful at having escaped from the lake with his life that he looks +upon me as a preserver and protector. Confound it all; it's a bore! But +one thing is certain, it can't last forever. Admit that he _has_ cast +Theodore out and taken me in. He will speedily discover that he has made +a pretty mess of it, and that he had much better have left well enough +alone. He likes my reading and writing now, but in a month he will begin +to hate them. He will miss Theodore's better temper and better +knowledge--his healthy impersonal judgment. What an advantage that +well-regulated youth has over me, after all! I am for days, he is for +years; he for the long run, I for the short. I, perhaps, am intended for +success, but he is adapted for happiness. He has in his heart a tiny +sacred particle which leavens his whole being and keeps it pure and +sound--a faculty of admiration and respect. For him human nature is +still a wonder and a mystery; it bears a divine stamp--Mr. Sloane's +tawdry composition as well as the rest. + +13th.--I have refused, of course, to supplant Theodore further, in the +exercise of his functions, and he has resumed his morning labors with +Mr. Sloane. I, on my side, have spent these morning hours in scouring +the country on that capital black mare, the use of which is one of the +perquisites of Theodore's place. The days have been magnificent--the +heat of the sun tempered by a murmuring, wandering wind, the whole north +a mighty ecstasy of sound and verdure, the sky a far-away vault of +bended blue. Not far from the mill at M., the other end of the lake, I +met, for the third time, that very pretty young girl who reminds me so +forcibly of A.L. She makes so lavish a use of her eyes that I ventured +to stop and bid her good-morning. She seems nothing loath to an +acquaintance. She's a pure barbarian in speech, but her eyes are quite +articulate. These rides do me good; I was growing too pensive. + +There is something the matter with Theodore; his illness seems to have +left him strangely affected. He has fits of silent stiffness, +alternating with spasms of extravagant gayety. He avoids me at times for +hours together, and then he comes and looks at me with an inscrutable +smile, as if he were on the verge of a burst of confidence--which again +is swallowed up in the immensity of his dumbness. Is he hatching some +astounding benefit to his species? Is he working to bring about my +removal to a higher sphere of action? _Nous verrons bien_. + +18th.--Theodore threatens departure. He received this morning a letter +from one of his sisters--the young widow--announcing her engagement to a +clergyman whose acquaintance she has recently made, and intimating her +expectation of an immediate union with the gentleman--a ceremony which +would require Theodore's attendance. Theodore, in high good humor, read +the letter aloud at breakfast--and, to tell the truth, it was a charming +epistle. He then spoke of his having to go on to the wedding, a +proposition to which Mr. Sloane graciously assented--much more than +assented. "I shall be sorry to lose you, after so happy a connection," +said the old man. Theodore turned pale, stared a moment, and then, +recovering his color and his composure, declared that he should have no +objection in life to coming back. + +"Bless your soul!" cried the _bonhomme_, "you don't mean to say you will +leave your other sister all alone?" + +To which Theodore replied that he would arrange for her and her little +girl to live with the married pair. "It's the only proper thing," he +remarked, as if it were quite settled. Has it come to this, then, that +Mr. Sloane actually wants to turn him out of the house? The shameless +old villain! He keeps smiling an uncanny smile, which means, as I read +it, that if the poor young man once departs he shall never return on the +old footing--for all his impudence! + +20th.--This morning, at breakfast, we had a terrific scene. A letter +arrives for Theodore; he opens it, turns white and red, frowns, falters, +and then informs us that the clever widow has broken off her engagement. +No wedding, therefore, and no departure for Theodore. The _bonhomme_ was +furious. In his fury he took the liberty of calling poor Mrs. Parker +(the sister) a very uncivil name. Theodore rebuked him, with perfect +good taste, and kept his temper. + +"If my opinions don't suit you, Mr. Lisle," the old man broke out, "and +my mode of expressing them displeases you, you know you can easily +protect yourself." + +"My dear Mr. Sloane," said Theodore, "your opinions, as a general thing, +interest me deeply, and have never ceased to act beneficially upon the +formation of my own. Your mode of expressing them is always brilliant, +and I wouldn't for the world, after all our pleasant intercourse, +separate from you in bitterness. Only, I repeat, your qualification of +my sister's conduct is perfectly uncalled for. If you knew her, you +would be the first to admit it." + +There was something in Theodore's look and manner, as he said these +words, which puzzled me all the morning. After dinner, finding myself +alone with him, I told him I was glad he was not obliged to go away. He +looked at me with the mysterious smile I have mentioned, thanked me, and +fell into meditation. As this bescribbled chronicle is the record of my +follies as well of my _hauts faits_, I needn't hesitate to say that for +a moment I was a good deal vexed. What business has this angel of candor +to deal in signs and portents, to look unutterable things? What right +has he to do so with me especially, in whom he has always professed an +absolute confidence? Just as I was about to cry out, "Come, my dear +fellow, this affectation of mystery has lasted quite long enough--favor +me at last with the result of your cogitations!"--as I was on the point +of thus expressing my impatience of his ominous behavior, the oracle at +last addressed itself to utterance. + +"You see, my dear Max," he said, "I can't, in justice to myself, go away +in obedience to the sort of notice that was served on me this morning. +What do you think of my actual footing here?" + +Theodore's actual footing here seems to me impossible; of course I said +so. + +"No, I assure you it's not," he answered. "I should, on the contrary, +feel very uncomfortable to think that I had come away, except by my own +choice. You see a man can't afford to cheapen himself. What are you +laughing at?" + +"I am laughing, in the first place, my dear fellow, to hear on your lips +the language of cold calculation; and in the second place, at your odd +notion of the process by which a man keeps himself up in the market." + +"I assure you it's the correct notion. I came here as a particular favor +to Mr. Sloane; it was expressly understood so. The sort of work was +odious to me; I had regularly to break myself in. I had to trample on my +convictions, preferences, prejudices. I don't take such things easily; I +take them hard; and when once the effort has been made, I can't consent +to have it wasted. If Mr. Sloane needed me then, he needs me still. I am +ignorant of any change having taken place in his intentions, or in his +means of satisfying them. I came, not to amuse him, but to do a certain +work; I hope to remain until the work is completed. To go away sooner +is to make a confession of incapacity which, I protest, costs me too +much. I am too conceited, if you like." + +Theodore spoke these words with a face which I have never seen him +wear--a fixed, mechanical smile; a hard, dry glitter in his eyes; a +harsh, strident tone in his voice--in his whole physiognomy a gleam, as +it were, a note of defiance. Now I confess that for defiance I have +never been conscious of an especial relish. When I am defied I am +beastly. "My dear man," I replied, "your sentiments do you prodigious +credit. Your very ingenious theory of your present situation, as well as +your extremely pronounced sense of your personal value, are calculated +to insure you a degree of practical success which can very well dispense +with the furtherance of my poor good wishes." Oh, the grimness of his +visage as he listened to this, and, I suppose I may add, the grimness of +mine! But I have ceased to be puzzled. Theodore's conduct for the past +ten days is suddenly illumined with a backward, lurid ray. I will note +down here a few plain truths which it behooves me to take to +heart--commit to memory. Theodore is jealous of Maximus Austin. Theodore +hates the said Maximus. Theodore has been seeking for the past three +months to see his name written, last but not least, in a certain +testamentary document: "Finally, I bequeath to my dear young friend, +Theodore Lisle, in return for invaluable services and unfailing +devotion, the bulk of my property, real and personal, consisting of--" +(hereupon follows an exhaustive enumeration of houses, lands, public +securities, books, pictures, horses, and dogs). It is for this that he +has toiled, and watched, and prayed; submitted to intellectual weariness +and spiritual torture; accommodated himself to levity, blasphemy, and +insult. For this he sets his teeth and tightens his grasp; for this +he'll fight. Dear me, it's an immense weight off one's mind! There are +nothing, then, but vulgar, common laws; no sublime exceptions, no +transcendent anomalies. Theodore's a knave, a hypo--nay, nay; stay, +irreverent hand!--Theodore's a _man_! Well, that's all I want. _He_ +wants fight--he shall have it. Have I got, at last, my simple, natural +emotion? + +21st.--I have lost no time. This evening, late, after I had heard +Theodore go to his room (I had left the library early, on the pretext of +having letters to write), I repaired to Mr. Sloane, who had not yet gone +to bed, and informed him I should be obliged to leave him at once, and +pick up a subsistence somehow in New York. He felt the blow; it brought +him straight down on his marrow-bones. He went through the whole gamut +of his arts and graces; he blustered, whimpered, entreated, flattered. +He tried to drag in Theodore's name; but this I, of course, prevented. +But, finally, why, _why_, WHY, after all my promises of fidelity, must I +thus cruelly desert him? Then came my trump card: I have spent my last +penny; while I stay, I'm a beggar. The remainder of this extraordinary +scene I have no power to describe: how the _bonhomme_, touched, +inflamed, inspired, by the thought of my destitution, and at the same +time annoyed, perplexed, bewildered at having to commit himself to doing +anything for me, worked himself into a nervous frenzy which deprived him +of a clear sense of the value of his words and his actions; how I, +prompted by the irresistible spirit of my desire to leap astride of his +weakness and ride it hard to the goal of my dreams, cunningly contrived +to keep his spirit at the fever-point, so that strength and reason and +resistance should burn themselves out. I shall probably never again have +such a sensation as I enjoyed to-night--actually feel a heated human +heart throbbing and turning and struggling in my grasp; know its pants, +its spasms, its convulsions, and its final senseless quiescence. At +half-past one o'clock Mr. Sloane got out of his chair, went to his +secretary, opened a private drawer, and took out a folded paper. "This +is my will," he said, "made some seven weeks ago. If you will stay with +me I will destroy it." + +"Really, Mr. Sloane," I said, "if you think my purpose is to exert any +pressure upon your testamentary inclinations--" + +"I will tear it in pieces," he cried; "I will burn it up! I shall be as +sick as a dog to-morrow; but I will do it. A-a-h!" + +He clapped his hand to his side, as if in sudden, overwhelming pain, +and sank back fainting into his chair. A single glance assured me that +he was unconscious. I possessed myself of the paper, opened it, and +perceived that he had left everything to his saintly secretary. For an +instant a savage, puerile feeling of hate popped up in my bosom, and I +came within a hair's-breadth of obeying my foremost impulse--that of +stuffing the document into the fire. Fortunately, my reason overtook my +passion, though for a moment it was an even race. I put the paper back +into the bureau, closed it, and rang the bell for Robert (the old man's +servant). Before he came I stood watching the poor, pale remnant of +mortality before me, and wondering whether those feeble life-gasps were +numbered. He was as white as a sheet, grimacing with pain--horribly +ugly. Suddenly he opened his eyes; they met my own; I fell on my knees +and took his hands. They closed on mine with a grasp strangely akin to +the rigidity of death. Nevertheless, since then he has revived, and has +relapsed again into a comparatively healthy sleep. Robert seems to know +how to deal with him. + +22d.--Mr. Sloane is seriously ill--out of his mind and unconscious of +people's identity. The doctor has been here, off and on, all day, but +this evening reports improvement. I have kept out of the old man's room, +and confined myself to my own, reflecting largely upon the chance of his +immediate death. Does Theodore know of the will? Would it occur to him +to divide the property? Would it occur to me, in his place? We met at +dinner, and talked in a grave, desultory, friendly fashion. After all, +he's an excellent fellow. I don't hate him. I don't even dislike him. He +jars on me, _il m'agace_; but that's no reason why I should do him an +evil turn. Nor shall I. The property is a fixed idea, that's all. I +shall get it if I can. We are fairly matched. Before heaven, no, we are +not fairly matched! Theodore has a conscience. + +23d.--I am restless and nervous--and for good reasons. Scribbling here +keeps me quiet. This morning Mr. Sloane is better; feeble and uncertain +in mind, but unmistakably on the rise. I may confess now that I feel +relieved of a horrid burden. Last night I hardly slept a wink. I lay +awake listening to the pendulum of my clock. It seemed to say, "He +lives--he dies." I fully expected to hear it stop suddenly at _dies_. +But it kept going all the morning, and to a decidedly more lively tune. +In the afternoon the old man sent for me. I found him in his great +muffled bed, with his face the color of damp chalk, and his eyes glowing +faintly, like torches half stamped out. I was forcibly struck with the +utter loneliness of his lot. For all human attendance, my villainous +self grinning at his bedside and old Robert without, listening, +doubtless, at the keyhole. The _bonhomme_ stared at me stupidly; then +seemed to know me, and greeted me with a sickly smile. It was some +moments before he was able to speak. At last he faintly bade me to +descend into the library, open the secret drawer of the secretary (which +he contrived to direct me how to do), possess myself of his will, and +burn it up. He appears to have forgotten his having taken it out night +before last. I told him that I had an insurmountable aversion to any +personal dealings with the document. He smiled, patted the back of my +hand, and requested me, in that case, to get it, at least, and bring it +to him. I couldn't deny him that favor? No, I couldn't, indeed. I went +down to the library, therefore, and on entering the room found Theodore +standing by the fireplace with a bundle of papers. The secretary was +open. I stood still, looking from the violated cabinet to the documents +in his hand. Among them I recognized, by its shape and size, the paper +of which I had intended to possess myself. Without delay I walked +straight up to him. He looked surprised, but not confused. "I am afraid +I shall have to trouble you to surrender one of those papers," I said. + +"Surrender, Maximus? To anything of your own you are perfectly welcome. +I didn't know that you made use of Mr. Sloane's secretary. I was looking +for some pages of notes which I have made myself and in which I conceive +I have a property." + +"This is what I want, Theodore," I said; and I drew the will, unfolded, +from between his hands. As I did so his eyes fell upon the +superscription, "Last Will and Testament, March. F.S." He flushed an +extraordinary crimson. Our eyes met. Somehow--I don't know how or why, +or for that matter why not--I burst into a violent peal of laughter. +Theodore stood staring, with two hot, bitter tears in his eyes. + +"Of course you think I came to ferret out that thing," he said. + +I shrugged my shoulders--those of my body only. I confess, morally, I +was on my knees with contrition, but there was a fascination in it--a +fatality. I remembered that in the hurry of my movements the other +evening I had slipped the will simply into one of the outer drawers of +the cabinet, among Theodore's own papers. "Mr. Sloane sent me for it," I +remarked. + +"Very good; I am glad to hear he's well enough to think of such things." + +"He means to destroy it." + +"I hope, then, he has another made." + +"Mentally, I suppose he has." + +"Unfortunately, his weakness isn't mental--or exclusively so." + +"Oh, he will live to make a dozen more," I said. "Do you know the +purport of this one?" + +Theodore's color, by this time, had died away into plain white. He shook +his head. The doggedness of the movement provoked me, and I wished to +arouse his curiosity. "I have his commission to destroy it." + +Theodore smiled very grandly. "It's not a task I envy you," he said. + +"I should think not--especially if you knew the import of the will." He +stood with folded arms, regarding me with his cold, detached eyes. I +couldn't stand it. "Come, it's your property! You are sole legatee. I +give it up to you." And I thrust the paper into his hand. + +He received it mechanically; but after a pause, bethinking himself, he +unfolded it and cast his eyes over the contents. Then he slowly smoothed +it together and held it a moment with a tremulous hand. "You say that +Mr. Sloane directed you to destroy it?" he finally inquired. + +"I say so." + +"And that you know the contents?" + +"Exactly." + +"And that you were about to do what he asked you?" + +"On the contrary, I declined." + +Theodore fixed his eyes for a moment on the superscription and then +raised them again to my face. "Thank you, Max," he said. "You have left +me a real satisfaction." He tore the sheet across and threw the bits +into the fire. We stood watching them burn. "Now he can make another," +said Theodore. + +"Twenty others," I replied. + +"No," said Theodore, "you will take care of that." + +"You are very bitter," I said, sharply enough. + +"No, I am perfectly indifferent. Farewell." And he put out his hand. + +"Are you going away?" + +"Of course I am. Good-by." + +"Good-by, then. But isn't your departure rather sudden?" + +"I ought to have gone three weeks ago--three weeks ago." I had taken his +hand, he pulled it away; his voice was trembling--there were tears in +it. + +"Is _that_ indifference?" I asked. + +"It's something you will never know!" he cried. "It's shame! I am not +sorry you should see what I feel. It will suggest to you, perhaps, that +my heart has never been in this filthy contest. Let me assure you, at +any rate, that it hasn't; that it has had nothing but scorn for the base +perversion of my pride and my ambition. I could easily shed tears of joy +at their return--the return of the prodigals! Tears of sorrow--sorrow--" + +He was unable to go on. He sank into a chair, covering his face with his +hands. + +"For God's sake, stick to the joy!" I exclaimed. + +He rose to his feet again. "Well," he said, "it was for your sake that I +parted with my self-respect; with your assistance I recover it." + +"How for my sake?" + +"For whom but you would I have gone as far as I did? For what other +purpose than that of keeping our friendship whole would I have borne you +company into this narrow pass? A man whom I cared for less I would long +since have parted with. You were needed--you and something you have +about you that always takes me so--to bring me to this. You ennobled, +exalted, enchanted the struggle. I _did_ value my prospect of coming +into Mr. Sloane's property. I valued it for my poor sister's sake as +well as for my own, so long as it was the natural reward of +conscientious service, and not the prize of hypocrisy and cunning. With +another man than you I never would have contested such a prize. But you +fascinated me, even as my rival. You played with me, deceived me, +betrayed me. I held my ground, hoping you would see that what you were +doing was not fair. But if you have seen it, it has made no difference +with you. For Mr. Sloane, from the moment that, under your magical +influence, he revealed his nasty little nature, I had nothing but +contempt." + +"And for me now?" + +"Don't ask me. I don't trust myself." + +"Hate, I suppose." + +"Is that the best you can imagine? Farewell." + +"Is it a serious farewell--farewell forever?" + +"How can there be any other?" + +"I am sorry this should be your point of view. It's characteristic. All +the more reason then that I should say a word in self-defence. You +accuse me of having 'played with you, deceived you, betrayed you.' It +seems to me that you are quite beside the mark. You say you were such a +friend of mine; if so, you ought to be one still. It was not to my fine +sentiments you attached yourself, for I never had any or pretended to +any. In anything I have done recently, therefore, there has been no +inconsistency. I never pretended to take one's friendships so seriously. +I don't understand the word in the sense you attach to it. I don't +understand the feeling of affection between men. To me it means quite +another thing. You give it a meaning of your own; you enjoy the profit +of your invention; it's no more than just that you should pay the +penalty. Only it seems to me rather hard that _I_ should pay it." +Theodore remained silent, but he looked quite sick. "Is it still a +'serious farewell'?" I went on. "It seems a pity. After this clearing +up, it appears to me that I shall be on better terms with you. No man +can have a deeper appreciation of your excellent parts, a keener +enjoyment of your society. I should very much regret the loss of it." + +"Have we, then, all this while understood each other so little?" said +Theodore. + +"Don't say 'we' and 'each other.' I think I have understood you." + +"Very likely. It's not for my having kept anything back." + +"Well, I do you justice. To me you have always been over-generous. Try +now and be just." + +Still he stood silent, with his cold, hard frown; it was plain that, if +he was to come back to me, it would be from the other world--if there be +one! What he was going to answer I know not. The door opened, and Robert +appeared, pale, trembling, his eyes starting in his head. + +"I verily believe that poor Mr. Sloane is dead in his bed!" he cried. + +There was a moment's perfect silence. "Amen," said I. "Yes, old boy, try +and be just." Mr. Sloane had quietly died in my absence. + +24th.--Theodore went up to town this morning, having shaken hands with +me in silence before he started. Doctor Jones, and Brooks the attorney, +have been very officious, and, by their advice, I have telegraphed to a +certain Miss Meredith, a maiden lady, by their account the nearest of +kin; or, in other words, simply a discarded niece of the defunct. She +telegraphs back that she will arrive in person for the funeral. I shall +remain till she comes. I have lost a fortune, but have I irretrievably +lost a friend? I am sure I can't say. Yes, I shall wait for Miss +Meredith. + + +[1] _The Galaxy, July_, 1869. + + + + +YATIL.[2] + +BY F.D. MILLET. + +While in Paris, in the spring of 1878, I witnessed an accident in a +circus, which for a time made me renounce all athletic exhibitions. Six +horses were stationed side by side in the ring before a spring-board, +and the whole company of gymnasts ran and turned somersaults from the +spring over the horses, alighting on a mattress spread on the ground. +The agility of one finely developed young fellow excited great applause +every time he made the leap. He would shoot forward in the air like a +javelin, and in his flight curl up and turn over directly above the +mattress, dropping on his feet as lightly as a bird. This play went on +for some minutes, and at each round of applause the favorite seemed to +execute his leap with increased skill and grace. Finally, he was seen to +gather himself a little farther in the background than usual, evidently +to prepare for a better start. The instant his turn came he shot out of +the crowd of attendants and launched himself into the air with +tremendous momentum. Almost quicker than the eye could follow him, he +had turned and was dropping to the ground, his arms held above his head, +which hung slightly forward, and his legs stretched to meet the shock of +the elastic mattress. + +But this time he had jumped an inch too far. His feet struck just on the +edge of the mattress, and he was thrown violently forward, doubling up +on the ground with a dull thump, which was heard all over the immense +auditorium. He remained a second or two motionless, then sprang to his +feet, and as quickly sank to the ground again. The ring attendants and +two or three gymnasts rushed to him and took him up. The clown, in +evening dress, personating the mock ringmaster, the conventional spotted +merryman, and a stalwart gymnast in buff fleshings, bore the drooping +form of the favorite in their arms, and, followed by the bystanders, who +offered ineffectual assistance, carried the wounded man across the ring +and through the draped arch under the music gallery. Under any other +circumstances the group would have excited a laugh, for the audience was +in that condition of almost hysterical excitement when only the least +effort of a clown is necessary to cause a wave of laughter. But the +moment the wounded man was lifted from the ground, the whole strong +light from the brilliant chandelier struck full on his right leg +dangling from the knee, with the foot hanging limp and turned inward. A +deep murmur of sympathy swelled and rolled around the crowded +amphitheatre. + +I left the circus, and hundreds of others did the same. A dozen of us +called at the box-office to ask about the victim of the accident. He was +advertised as "The Great Polish Champion Bareback Rider and Aerial +Gymnast." We found that he was really a native of the East, whether Pole +or Russian the ticket-seller did not know. His real name was Nagy, and +he had been engaged only recently, having returned a few months before +from a professional tour in North America. He was supposed to have +money, for he commanded a good salary, and was sober and faithful. The +accident, it was said, would probably disable him for a few weeks only, +and then he would resume his engagement. + +The next day an account of the accident was in the newspapers, and +twenty-four hours later all Paris had forgotten about it. For some +reason or other I frequently thought of the injured man, and had an +occasional impulse to go and inquire after him; but I never went. It +seemed to me that I had seen his face before, when or where I tried in +vain to recall. It was not an impressive face, but I could call it up at +any moment as distinct to my mind's eye as a photograph to my physical +vision. Whenever I thought of him, a dim, very dim memory would flit +through my mind, which I could never seize and fix. + +Two months later I was walking up the Rue Richelieu, when some one, +close beside me and a little behind, asked me in Hungarian if I was a +Magyar. I turned quickly to answer no, surprised at being thus +addressed, and beheld the disabled circus-rider. It flashed upon me, the +moment I saw his face, that I had seen him in Turin three years before. +My surprise at the sudden identification of the gymnast was construed by +him into vexation at being spoken to by a stranger. He began to +apologize for stopping me, and was moving away, when I asked him about +the accident, remarking that I was present on the evening of his +misfortune. My next question, put in order to detain him, was: + +"Why did you ask if I was a Hungarian?" + +"Because you wear a Hungarian hat," was the reply. + +This was true. I happened to have on a little round, soft felt hat, +which I had purchased in Buda Pesth. + +"Well, but what if I were Hungarian?" + +"Nothing; only I was lonely and wanted company, and you looked as if I +had seen you somewhere before. You are an artist, are you not?" + +I said I was, and asked him how he guessed it. + +"I can't explain how it is," he said, "but I always know them. Are you +doing anything?" + +"No," I replied. + +"Perhaps I may get you something to do," he suggested. "What is your +line?" + +"Figures," I answered, unable to divine how he thought he could assist +me. + +This reply seemed to puzzle him a little, and he continued: + +"Do you ride or do the trapeze?" + +It was my turn now to look dazed, and it might easily have been +gathered, from my expression, that I was not flattered at being taken +for a saw-dust artist. However, as he apparently did not notice any +change in my face, I explained without further remark that I was a +painter. The explanation did not seem to disturb him any; he was +evidently acquainted with the profession, and looked upon it as kindred +to his own. + +As we walked along through the great open quadrangle of the Tuileries, I +had an opportunity of studying his general appearance. He was neatly +dressed, and, though pale, was apparently in good health. +Notwithstanding a painful limp his carriage was erect, and his movements +denoted great physical strength. On the bridge over the Seine we paused +for a moment and leaned on the parapet, and thus, for the first time, +stood nearly face to face. He looked earnestly at me a moment without +speaking, and then, shouting "_Torino_" so loudly and earnestly as to +attract the gaze of all the passers, he seized me by the hand, and +continued to shake it and repeat "_Torino_" over and over again. + +This word cleared up my befogged memory like magic. There was no longer +any mystery about the man before me. The impulse which now drew us +together was only the unconscious souvenir of an earlier acquaintance, +for we had met before. With the vision of the Italian city, which came +distinctly to my eyes at that moment, came also to my mind every detail +of an incident which had long since passed entirely from my thoughts. + +It was during the Turin carnival, in 1875, that I happened to stop over +for a day and a night, on my way down from Paris to Venice. The festival +was uncommonly dreary, for the air was chilly, the sky gray and gloomy, +and there was a total lack of spontaneity in the popular spirit. The +gaudy decorations of the Piazza and the Corso, the numberless shows and +booths, and the brilliant costumes, could not make it appear a season of +jollity and mirth, for the note of discord in the hearts of the people +was much too strong. King Carnival's might was on the wane, and neither +the influence of the Church nor the encouragement of the State was able +to bolster up the superannuated monarch. There was no communicativeness +in even what little fun there was going, and the day was a long and a +tedious one. As I was strolling around in rather a melancholy mood, just +at the close of the cavalcade, I saw the flaming posters of a circus, +and knew my day was saved, for I had a great fondness for the ring. An +hour later I was seated in the cheerfully lighted amphitheatre, and the +old performance of the trained stallions was going on as I had seen it a +hundred times before. At last the "Celebrated Cypriot Brothers, the +Universal Bareback Riders," came tripping gracefully into the ring, +sprang lightly upon two black horses, and were off around the narrow +circle like the wind, now together, now apart, performing all the while +marvellous feats of strength and skill. It required no study to discover +that there was no relationship between the two performers. One of them +was a heavy, gross, dark-skinned man, with the careless bearing of one +who had been nursed in a circus. The other was a small, fair-haired +youth of nineteen or twenty years, with limbs as straight and as shapely +as the Narcissus, and with joints like the wiry-limbed fauns. His head +was round, and his face of a type which would never be called beautiful, +although it was strong in feature and attractive in expression. His eyes +were small and twinkling, his eyebrows heavy, and his mouth had a +peculiar proud curl in it which was never disturbed by the tame smile of +the practised performer. He was evidently a foreigner. He went through +his acts with wonderful readiness and with slight effort, and, while +apparently enjoying keenly the exhilaration of applause, he showed no +trace of the _blasé_ bearing of the old stager. In nearly every act that +followed he took a prominent part. On the trapeze, somersaulting over +horses placed side by side, grouping with his so-called brother and a +small lad, he did his full share of the work, and when the programme +was ended he came among the audience to sell photographs while the +lottery was being drawn. + +As usual during the carnival, there was a lottery arranged by the +manager of the circus, and every ticket had a number which entitled the +holder to a chance in the prizes. When the young gymnast came in turn to +me, radiant in his salmon fleshings and blue trunks, with slippers and +bows to match, I could not help asking him if he was an Italian. + +"No, signor, Magyar!" he replied, and I shortly found that his knowledge +of Italian was limited to a dozen words. I occupied him by selecting +some photographs, and, much to his surprise, spoke to him in his native +tongue. When he learned I had been in Hungary he was greatly pleased, +and the impatience of other customers for the photographs was the only +thing that prevented him from becoming communicative immediately. As he +left me I slipped into his hand my lottery-ticket, with the remark that +I never had any luck, and hoped he would. + +The numbers were, meanwhile, rapidly drawn, the prizes being arranged in +the order of their value, each ticket taken from the hat denoting a +prize, until all were distributed. "Number twenty-eight--a pair of +elegant vases!" "Number sixteen--three bottles of vermouth!" "Number one +hundred and eighty-four--candlesticks and two bottles of vermouth!" +"Number four hundred and ten--three bottles of vermouth and a set of +jewelry!" "Number three hundred and nineteen--five bottles of vermouth!" +and so on, with more bottles of vermouth than anything else. Indeed, +each prize had to be floated on a few litres of the Turin specialty, and +I began to think that perhaps it would have been better, after all, not +to have given my circus friend the ticket, if he were to draw drink with +it. + +Many prizes were called out, and at last only two numbers remained. The +excitement was now intense, and it did not diminish when the conductor +of the lottery announced that the last two numbers would draw the two +great prizes of the evening, namely: An order on a Turin tailor for a +suit of clothes, and an order on a jeweller for a gold watch and chain. +The first of these two last numbers was taken out of the hat. + +"Number twenty-five--order for a suit of clothes!" was the announcement. + +Twenty-five had been the number of my ticket. I did not hear the last +number drawn, for the Hungarian was in front of my seat trying to press +the order on me, and protesting against appropriating my good luck. I +wrote my name on the programme for him, with the simple address, U.S.A., +persuaded him to accept the windfall, and went home. The next morning I +left town. + +On the occasion of our mutual recognition in Paris, the circus boy began +to relate, as soon as the first flush of his surprise was over, the +story of his life since the incident in Turin. He had been to New York +and Boston, and all the large sea-coast towns; to Chicago, St. Louis, +and even to San Francisco; always with a circus company. Whenever he had +had an opportunity in the United States, he had asked for news of me. + +"The United States is so large!" he said, with a sigh. "Every one told +me that, when I showed the Turin programme with your name on it." + +The reason why he had kept the programme and tried to find me in America +was because the lottery ticket had been the direct means of his +emigration, and, in fact, the first piece of good fortune that had +befallen him since he left his native town. When he joined the circus he +was an apprentice, and beside a certain number of hours of gymnastic +practice daily and service in the ring both afternoon and evening, he +had half a dozen horses to care for, his part of the tent to pack up and +load, and the team to drive to the next stopping-place. For sixteen and +often eighteen hours of hard work he received only his food and his +performing clothes. When he was counted as one of the troupe his duties +were lightened, but he got only enough money to pay his way with +difficulty. Without a _lira_ ahead, and with no clothes but his rough +working-suit and his performing costume, he could not hope to escape +from this sort of bondage. The luck of number twenty-five had put him on +his feet. + +"All Hungarians worship America," he said, "and when I saw that you +were an American I knew that my good fortune had begun in earnest. Of +course I believed America to be the land of plenty, and there could have +been no stronger proof of this than the generosity with which you, the +first American I had ever seen, gave me, a perfect stranger, such a +valuable prize. When I remembered the number of the ticket and the +letter in the alphabet, Y, to which this number corresponds, I was dazed +at the significance of the omen, and resolved at once to seek my fortune +in the United States. I sold the order on the tailor for money enough to +buy a suit of ready-made clothes and pay my fare to Genoa. From this +port I worked my passage to Gibraltar, and thence, after performing a +few weeks in a small English circus, I went to New York in a +fruit-vessel. As long as I was in America everything prospered with me. +I made a great deal of money, and spent a great deal. After a couple of +years I went to London with a company, and there lost my pay and my +position by the failure of the manager. In England my good luck all left +me. Circus people are too plenty there; everybody is an artist. I could +scarcely get anything to do in my line, so I drifted over to Paris." + +We prolonged our stroll for an hour, for although I did not anticipate +any pleasure or profit from continuing the acquaintance, there was yet a +certain attraction in his simplicity of manner and in his naïve faith in +the value of my influence on his fortunes. Before we parted he +expressed again his ability to get me something to do, but I did not +credit his statement enough to correct the impression that I was in need +of employment. At his earnest solicitation I gave him my address, +concealing, as well as I could, my reluctance to encourage an +acquaintance which could not result in anything but annoyance. + +One day passed, and two, and on the third morning the porter showed him +to my room. + +"I have found you work!" he cried, in the first breath. + +Sure enough, he had been to a Polish acquaintance who knew a countryman, +a copyist in the Louvre. This copyist had a superabundance of orders, +and was glad to get some one to help him finish them in haste. My +gymnast was so much elated over his success at finding occupation for me +that I hadn't the heart to tell him that I was at leisure only while +hunting a studio. I therefore promised to go with him to the Louvre some +day, but I always found an excuse for not going. + +For two or three weeks we met at intervals. At various times, thinking +he was in want, I pressed him to accept the loan of a few francs, but he +always stoutly refused. We went together to his lodging-house, where the +landlady, an English-woman, who boarded most of the circus people, spoke +of her "poor dear Mr. Nodge," as she called him, in quite a maternal +way, and assured me that he had wanted for nothing, and should not so +long as his wound disabled him. In the course of a few days I had +gathered from him a complete history of his circus-life, which was full +of adventure and hardship. He was, as I had thought then, somewhat of a +novice in the circus business at the time we met in Turin, having left +his home less than two years before. He had indeed been associated as a +regular member of the company only a few months, after having served a +difficult and wearing apprenticeship. He was born in Koloszvar, where +his father was a professor in the university, and there he grew up with +three brothers and a sister, in a comfortable home. He always had had a +great desire to see travel, and from early childhood developed a special +fondness for gymnastic feats. The thought of a circus made him fairly +wild. On rare occasions a travelling show visited this Transylvanian +town, and his parents with difficulty restrained him from following the +circus away. At last, in 1873, one show, more complete and more +brilliant than any one before seen there, came in on the newly opened +railway, and he, now a man, went away with it, unable longer to restrain +his passion for the profession. Always accustomed to horses, and already +a skilful acrobat, he was immediately accepted by the manager as an +apprentice, and after a season in Roumania and a disastrous trip through +Southern Austria, they came into Northern Italy, where I met him. + +Whenever he spoke of his early life he always became quiet and +depressed, and for a long time I believed that he brooded over his +mistake in exchanging a happy home for the vicissitudes of Bohemia. It +came out slowly, however, that he was haunted by a superstition, a +strange and ingenious one, which was yet not without a certain show of +reason for its existence. Little by little I learned the following facts +about it: His father was of pure Szeklar or original Hungarian stock, as +dark-skinned as a Hindoo, and his mother was from one of the families of +Western Hungary, with probably some Saxon blood in her veins. His three +brothers were dark like his father, but he and his sister were blondes. +He was born with a peculiar red mark on his right shoulder, directly +over the scapular. This mark was shaped like a forked stick. His father +had received a wound in the insurrection of '48, a few months before the +birth of him, the youngest son, and this birth-mark reproduced the shape +of the father's scar. Among Hungarians his father passed for a very +learned man. He spoke fluently German, French, and Latin (the language +used by Hungarians in common communication with other nationalities), +and took great pains to give his children an acquaintance with each of +these tongues. Their earliest playthings were French alphabet-blocks, +and the set which served as toys and tasks for each of the elder +brothers came at last to him as his legacy. The letters were formed by +the human figure in different attitudes, and each block had a little +couplet below the picture, beginning with the letter on the block. The +Y represented a gymnast hanging by his hands to a trapeze, and being a +letter which does not occur in the Hungarian language except in +combinations, excited most the interest and imagination of the +youngsters. Thousands of times did they practise the grouping of the +figures on the blocks, and the Y always served as a model for trapeze +exercises. My friend, on account of his birth-mark, which resembled a +rude Y, was early dubbed by his brothers with the nick-name Yatil, this +being the first words of the French couplet printed below the picture. +Learning the French by heart, they believed the _Y a-t-il_ to be one +word, and with boyish fondness for nick-names saddled the youngest with +this. It is easy to understand how the shape of this letter, borne on +his body in an indelible mark, and brought to his mind every moment of +the day, came to seem in some way connected with his life. As he grew up +in this belief he became more and more superstitious about the letter +and about everything in the remotest way connected with it. + +The first great event of his life was joining the circus, and to this +the letter Y more or less directly! led him. He left home on his +twenty-fifth birth-day, and twenty five was the number of the letter Y +in the block-alphabet. + +The second great event of his life was the Turin lottery, and the number +of the lucky ticket was twenty-five. "The last sign given me," he said, +"was the accident in the circus here." As he spoke he rolled up the +right leg of his trowsers, and there, on the outside of the calf, about +midway between the knee and ankle, was a red scar forked like the letter +Y. + +From the time he confided his superstition to me he sought me more than +ever. I must confess to feeling, at each visit of his, a little +constrained and unnatural. He seemed to lean on me as a protector, and +to be hungry all the time for an intimate sympathy I could never give +him. Although I shared his secret, I could not lighten the burden of his +superstition. His wound had entirely healed, but as his leg was still +weak and he still continued to limp a little, he could not resume his +place in the circus. Between brooding over his superstition and worrying +about his accident, he grew very despondent. The climax of his +hopelessness was reached when the doctor told him at last that he would +never be able to vault again. The fracture had been a severe one, the +bone having protruded through the skin. The broken parts had knitted +with great difficulty, and the leg would never be as firm and as elastic +as before. Besides, the fracture had slightly shortened the lower leg. +His circus career was therefore ended, and he attributed his misfortune +to the ill-omened letter Y. + +Just about the time of his greatest despondency war was declared between +Russia and Turkey. The Turkish embassadors were drumming up recruits all +over Western Europe. News came to the circus boarding-house that good +riders were wanted for the Turkish mounted gensdarmes. Nagy resolved to +enlist, and we went together to the Turkish embassy. He was enrolled +after only a superficial examination, and was directed to present +himself on the following day to embark for Constantinople. He begged me +to go with him to the rendezvous, and there I bade him adieu. As I was +shaking his hand he showed me the certificate given him by the Turkish +embassador. It bore the date of May 25, and at the bottom was a +signature in Turkish characters, which could be readily distorted by the +imagination into a rude and scrawling Y. + +A series of events occurring immediately after Nagy left for +Constantinople resulted in my own unexpected departure in a civil +capacity for the seat of war in the Russian lines. The line of curious +coincidences in the experience of the circus-rider had impressed me very +much at the time, but in the excitement of the Turkish campaign I +entirely forgot the circumstance. I do not, indeed, recall any thought +of Nagy during the first five months in the field. The day after the +fall of Plevna I rode through the deserted earthworks toward the town. +The dead were lying where they had fallen in the dramatic and useless +sortie of the day before. The dead on a battle-field always excite fresh +interest, no matter if the spectacle be an every-day one, and as I rode +slowly along I studied the attitudes of the fallen bodies, speculating +on the relation between the death-poses and the last impulse that had +animated the living frame. Behind a rude barricade of wagons and +household goods, part of the train of non-combatants which Osman Pasha +had ordered to accompany the army in the sortie, a great number of dead +lay in confusion. The peculiar position of one of these instantly +attracted my eye. He had fallen on his face against the barricade, with +both arms stretched above his head, evidently killed instantly. The +figure on the alphabet-block, described by the circus-rider, came +immediately to my mind. My heart beat as I dismounted and looked at the +dead man's face. It was a genuine Turk. + +This incident revived my interest in the life of the circus-rider, and +gave me an impulse to look among the prisoners to see if by chance he +might be with them. I spent a couple of days in distributing tobacco and +bread in the hospitals and among the thirty thousand wretches herded +shelterless in the snow. There were some of the mounted gensdarmes among +them, and I even found several Hungarians; but none of them had ever +heard of the circus-rider. + +The passage of the Balkans was a campaign full of excitement, and was +accompanied by so much hardship that selfishness got entirely the upper +hand of me, and life became a battle for physical comfort. After the +passage of the mountain range we went ahead so fast that I had little +opportunity, even if I had the enterprise, to look among the few +prisoners for the circus-rider. + +Time passed, and we were at the end of a three days' fight near +Philippopolis, in the middle of January. Suleiman Pasha's army, +defeated, disorganized, and at last disbanded, though to that day still +unconquered, had finished the tragic act of its last campaign with the +heroic stand made in the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, near +Stanimaka, south of Philippopolis. A long month in the terrible cold, on +the summits of the Balkan range; the forced retreat through the snow +after the battle of Taskosen; the neck-and-neck race with the Russians +down the valley of the Maritza; finally, the hot little battle on the +river-bank, and the two days of hand-to-hand struggle in the vine-yard +of Stanimaka--this was a campaign to break the constitution of any +soldier. Days without food, nights without shelter from the mountain +blasts, always marching and always fighting, supplies and baggage lost, +ammunition and artillery gone--human nature could hold out no longer, +and the Turkish army dissolved away into the defiles of the Rhodopes. +Unfortunately for her, Turkey has no literature to chronicle, no art to +perpetuate the heroism of her defenders. + +The incidents of that short campaign are too full of horror to be +related. Not only did the demon of war devour strong men, but found +dainty morsels for its bloody maw in innocent women and children. Whole +families, crazed by the belief that capture was worse than death, +fought in the ranks with the soldiers. Women ambushed in coverts shot +the Russians as they rummaged the captured trains for much-needed food. +Little children, thrown into the snow by the flying parents, died of +cold and starvation, or were trampled to death by passing cavalry. Such +a useless waste of human life has not been recorded since the +indiscriminate massacres of the Middle Ages. + +The sight of human suffering soon blunts the sensibilities of any one +who lives with it, so that he is at last able to look upon it with no +stronger feeling than that of helplessness. Resigned to the inevitable, +he is no longer impressed by the woes of the individual. He looks upon +the illness, wounds, and death of the soldier as a part of the lot of +all combatants, and comes to consider him an insignificant unit of the +great mass of men. At last only novelties in horrors will excite his +feelings. + +I was riding back from the Stanimaka battle-field sufficiently elated at +the prospect of a speedy termination of the war--now made certain by the +breaking up of Suleiman's army--to forget where I was, and to imagine +myself back in my comfortable apartments in Paris. I only awoke from my +dream at the station where the highway from Stanimaka crosses the +railway line about a mile south of Philippopolis. The great wooden +barracks had been used as a hospital for wounded Turks, and as I drew +up my horse at the door the last of the lot of four hundred, who had +been starving there nearly a week, were being placed upon carts to be +transported to the town. The road to Philippopolis was crowded with +wounded and refugees. Peasant families struggled along with all their +household goods piled upon a single cart. Ammunition wagons and droves +of cattle, rushing along against the tide of human beings, toward the +distant bivouacs, made the confusion hopeless. Night was fast coming on, +and in company with a Cossack, who was, like myself, seeking the +headquarters of General Gourko, I made my way through the tangle of men, +beasts, and wagons toward the town. It was one of those chill, wet days +of winter when there is little comfort away from a blazing fire, and +when good shelter for the night is an absolute necessity. The drizzle +had drenched my garments, and the snow-mud had soaked my boots. Sharp +gusts of piercing wind drove the cold mist along, and as the temperature +fell in the late afternoon the slush of the roads began to stiffen, and +the fog froze where it gathered. Every motion of the limbs seemed to +expose some unprotected part of the body to the cold and wet. No amount +of exercise that was possible with stiffened limbs and in wet garments +would warm the blood. Leading my horse, I splashed along, holding my +arms away from my body, and only moving my benumbed fingers to wipe the +chill drip from my face. It was weather to take the courage out of the +strongest man, and the sight of the soaked and shivering wounded, packed +in the jolting carts or limping through the mud, gave me, hardened as I +was, a painful contraction of the heart. The best I could do was to lift +upon my worn-out horse one brave young fellow who was hobbling along +with a bandaged leg. Followed by the Cossack, whose horse bore a similar +burden, I hurried along, hoping to get under cover before dark. At the +entrance to the town numerous camp-fires burned in the bivouacs of the +refugees, who were huddled together in the shelter of their wagons, +trying to warm themselves in the smoke of the wet fuel. I could see the +wounded, as they were jolted past in the heavy carts, look longingly at +the kettles of boiling maize which made the evening meal of the +houseless natives. + +Inside the town the wounded and the refugees were still more miserable +than those we had passed on the way. Loaded carts blocked the streets. +Every house was occupied, and the narrow sidewalks were crowded with +Russian soldiers, who looked wretched enough in their dripping +overcoats, as they stamped their rag-swathed feet. At the corner, in +front of the great Khan, motley groups of Greeks, Bulgarians, and +Russians were gathered, listlessly watching the line of hobbling wounded +as they turned the corner to find their way among the carts, up the hill +to the hospital, near the Konak. By the time I reached the Khan the +Cossack who accompanied me had fallen behind in the confusion, and +without waiting for him I pushed along, wading in the gutter, dragging +my horse by the bridle. Half way up the hill I saw a crowd of natives +watching with curiosity two Russian guardsmen and a Turkish prisoner. +The latter was evidently exhausted, for he was crouching in the freezing +mud of the street. Presently the soldiers shook him roughly and raised +him forcibly to his feet, and half supporting him between them they +moved slowly along, the Turk balancing on his stiffened legs and +swinging from side to side. + +A most wretched object he was to look at. He had neither boots nor fez. +His feet were bare, and his trowsers were torn off near the knee, and +hung in tatters around his mud-splashed legs. An end of the red sash +fastened to his waist trailed far behind in the mud. A blue cloth jacket +hung loosely from his shoulders, and his hands and wrists dangled from +the ragged sleeves. His head rolled around at each movement of the body, +and at short intervals the muscles of the neck would rigidly contract. +All at once he drew himself up with a shudder and sank down in the mud +again. + +The guardsmen were themselves near the end of their strength, and their +patience was wellnigh finished as well. Rough mountain marching had torn +the soles from their boots, and great unsightly wraps of rawhide and +rags were bound on their feet. The thin worn overcoats, burned in many +places, flapped dismally against their ankles; and their caps, beaten +out of shape by many storms, clung drenched to their heads. They were in +no condition to help any one to walk, for they could scarcely get on +alone. They stood a moment shivering, looked at each other, shook their +heads as if discouraged, and proceeded to rouse the Turk by hauling him +upon his feet again. The three moved on a few yards, and the prisoner +fell again, and the same operation was repeated. All this time I was +crowding nearer and nearer, and as I got within a half dozen paces the +Turk fell once more, and this time lay at full length in the mud. The +guardsmen tried to rouse him by shaking, but in vain. Finally, one of +them, losing all patience, pricked him with his bayonet on the lower +part of the ribs exposed by the raising of the jacket as he fell. I was +now near enough to act, and with a sudden clutch I pulled the guardsman +away, whirled him around, and stood in his place. As I was stooping over +the Turk he raised himself slowly, doubtless aroused by the pain of the +puncture, and turned on me a most beseeching look, which changed at once +into something like joy and surprise. Immediately a deathlike pallor +spread over his face, and he sank back again with a groan. + +By this time quite a crowd of Bulgarians had gathered around us, and +seemed to enjoy the sight of a suffering enemy. It was evident that they +did not intend to volunteer any assistance, so I helped the wounded +Russian down from my saddle, and invited the natives rather sternly to +put the Turk in his place. With true Bulgarian spirit they refused to +assist a Turk, and it required the argument of the rawhide (_nagajka_) +to bring them to their senses. Three of them, cornered and flogged, +lifted the unconscious man and carried him toward the horse, the +soldiers, meanwhile believing me to be an officer, standing in the +attitude of attention. As the Bulgarians bore the Turk to the horse, a +few drops of blood fell to the ground. I noticed then that he had his +shirt tied around his left shoulder, under his jacket. Supported in the +saddle by two natives on each side, his head falling forward on his +breast, the wounded prisoner was carried with all possible tenderness to +the Stafford House hospital, near the Konak. As we moved slowly up the +hill I looked back, and saw the two guardsmen sitting on the muddy +sidewalk, with their guns leaning against their shoulders--too much +exhausted to go either way. + +I found room for my charge in one of the upper rooms of the hospital, +where he was washed and put into a warm bed. His wound proved to be a +severe one. A Berdan bullet had passed through the thick part of the +left pectoral, out again, and into the head of the humerus. The surgeon +said that the arm would have to be operated on, to remove the upper +quarter of the bone. + +The next morning I went to the hospital to see what had become of the +wounded man, for the incident of the previous evening made a deep +impression on my mind. As I walked through the corridor I saw a group +around a temporary bed in the corner. Some one was evidently about to +undergo an operation, for an assistant held at intervals a great cone of +linen over a haggard face on the pillow, and a strong smell of +chloroform filled the air. As I approached the surgeon turned around, +and recognizing me, with a nod and a smile said, "We are at work on your +friend." While he was speaking he bared the left shoulder of the wounded +man, and I saw the holes made by the bullet as it passed from the +pectoral into the upper part of the deltoid. Without waiting longer, the +surgeon made a straight cut downward from near the acromion through the +thick fibre of the deltoid to the bone. He tried to sever the tendons to +slip the head of the humerus from the socket, but failed. He wasted no +time in further trial, but made a second incision from the bullet-hole +diagonally to the middle of the first cut, and turned the pointed flap +thus made up over the shoulder. It was now easy to unjoint the bones, +and but a moment's work to saw off the shattered piece, tie the severed +arteries, and bring the flap again into its place. + +There was no time to pause, for the surgeon began to fear the effects of +the chloroform on the patient. We hastened to revive him by every +possible means at hand, throwing cold water on him and warming his hands +and feet. Although under the influence of chloroform to the degree that +he was insensible to pain, he had not been permitted to lose his entire +consciousness, and he appeared to be sensible of what we were doing. +Nevertheless, he awoke slowly, very slowly, the surgeon meanwhile +putting the stitches in the incision. At last he raised his eyelids and +made a movement with his lips. With a deliberate movement he surveyed +the circle of faces gathered closely around the bed. There was something +in his eyes which had an irresistible attraction for me, and I bent +forward to await his gaze. As his eyes met mine they changed as if a +sudden light had struck them, and the stony stare gave way to a look of +intelligence and recognition. Then, through the beard of a season's +growth and behind the haggard mask before me, I saw at once the +circus-rider of Turin and Paris. I remember being scarcely excited or +surprised at the meeting, for a great sense of irresponsibility came +over me, and I involuntarily accepted the coincidence as a matter of +course. He tried in vain to speak, but held up his right hand, and +feebly made with his fingers the sign of the letter which had played +such a part in the story of his life. Even at that instant the light +left his eyes, and something like a veil seemed drawn over them. With +the instinctive energy which possesses every one when there is a chance +of saving human life, we redoubled our efforts to restore the patient to +consciousness. But while we strove to feed the flame with some of our +own vitality, it flickered and went out, leaving the hue of ashes where +the rosy tinge of life had been. His heart was paralyzed. + +As I turned away, my eye caught the surgeon's incision, which was now +plainly visible on the left shoulder. The cut was in the form of the +letter Y. + + +[2] _Century Magazine, March_, 1883. + + + + +THE END OF NEW YORK.[3] + +BY PARK BENJAMIN. + + +INTRODUCTORY. + +THE WAR CLOUD. + + +Towards dusk on the afternoon of Monday, December 5th, 1881, the French +steamer "Canada," from Havre, arrived at her pier in New York City. +Among the passengers was a tall, dark, rather fine-looking man, of about +middle-age. After the usual examination of his baggage by the Custom +House officials had been made, this person, accompanied by a lady, took +a hack at the entrance of the pier, and was driven to the Fifth Avenue +Hotel. The initials on the luggage strapped on the rear of the vehicle +were M.B. + +In conversing with the driver the gentleman--for his appearance and +bearing fully indicated his right to the title--spoke English, though +somewhat imperfectly; with the lady he talked in sonorous Castilian. + +Apparently, no one bestowed any particular notice upon the pair. They +were two foreigners out of the great throng of foreigners which lands +daily in the metropolis; they were Spaniards and reasonably well-to-do, +seeing that they came over in the saloon, and not in the steerage. + +The names registered at the hotel were Manuel Blanco and wife. + +Late during the following evening the lady personally came to the office +seemingly in great distress. An interpreter being procured, it was +learned that Señor Blanco, in response to a visiting-card sent to his +room, had left the apartment shortly after breakfast that morning, and +had not since returned. + +The lady explained that he had no business affairs in New York, and that +they were merely resting in the city for a few days to recover from the +effects of the ocean voyage, before going to Charleston, S.C., their +destination. + +The clerk in the office simply knew that a stranger had called and sent +a card to Señor Blanco, and that the two, after meeting, had left the +hotel together. + +The anxiety of Señora Blanco was evidently excessive. She rejected such +commonplace reasons as that her husband might have lost his way, or that +some unlooked-for business matters had claimed his attention. + +"No, no!" she repeated, almost hysterically; "no beezness. Ah, Dios! El +está muerte." + +A physician was sent for, and the lady, who was fast reaching a stage of +nervous prostration, placed in his care. The hotel detective proceeded +at once to Police Headquarters, whence telegrams were despatched to the +various precincts, giving a description of the missing man, and making +inquiries concerning him. The replies were all in the negative: no such +person had come under the notice of the police. + +From what has thus far been narrated, it might be inferred that Blanco's +absence was due to one of those strange disappearances which happen in +great cities. The inference, however, would be wrong. Blanco had not +disappeared. + +True, his agonized wife and the police of New York City had no trace of +his whereabouts; but Mr. Michael Chalmette, an officer detailed by the +U.S. Marshal in New Orleans to arrest Leon Sangrado, at the request of +the Republic of Chili, on the charge of repeatedly committing murder and +highway robbery in that country, was entirely sure that the missing +person was sitting beside him, handcuffed to his left wrist, and that +both were speeding toward New Orleans as fast as a railway-car could +take them. + +When the French steamer "Canada" arrived, Mr. Michael Chalmette, wearing +the uniform and badge of a Custom House officer, stationed himself by +the gang-plank and narrowly scrutinized each passenger that came +ashore. While Blanco's trunks were being examined, he stood near that +gentleman, and furtively compared his features with those on a +photograph. It was Chalmette who sent the card to Blanco's room, in the +hotel, next day, and who induced Blanco to accompany him in a carriage, +as he said, to the Custom House, to arrange some irregularity in the +passing of Blanco's luggage. The driver of that carriage, however, was +told to go to the Pennsylvania Railroad Dépôt, in Jersey City. + +Blanco evinced some surprise on being taken across the ferry, but was +easily satisfied by his companion's explanation that the branch of the +Custom House to be visited was on the Jersey side. + +When the station was reached Chalmette led the way to the waiting-room, +and quietly observed, before the unsuspecting Blanco could finish a +sentence beginning: + +"Ees it posseeble zat zees is ze Custom--" + +"You are my prisoner. You had better come without making trouble." + +Blanco looked at him aghast--not half comprehending the words. + +"A prisoner--I--for what?" + +Chalmette returned no answer, but produced his warrant. + +"But I no understand--I--" + +Just then the warning bell rung. Chalmette seized his prisoner by the +arm and pushed him through the gateway. + +On the platform Blanco made some slight resistance. The policeman, +whose attention was attracted thereby, after a few words with Chalmette, +assisted the latter in forcing him upon the train, which was already +slowly moving out of the dépôt. + + * * * * * + +It is necessary to break the thread of the story here to note an odd +coincidence. While there is a French steamer "Canada" belonging to the +Compagnie Générale Trans Atlantique, and plying between New York and +Havre, there is also an English steamer "Canada" belonging to the +National Line, which travels between New York and London. It so happened +that on the same afternoon that the French vessel came in, as before +narrated, the English steamer of like name also arrived. + +Among the passengers who landed from the English "Canada" there was also +a couple, man and woman, apparently Spaniards, and there was an +undeniable resemblance between the man and Blanco. The former, however, +had features cast in a much rougher mould, and his general bearing +indicated that he was not a gentleman, as plainly as Blanco's did the +reverse. + +The luggage of the pair consisted of a single valise, which was carried +by the woman, the man striding on ahead, leisurely puffing a cigarette. +They hired no carriage, but walked from the pier, across and up West +Street, and took a street-car going to the east side of the city. + +As soon as they left the conveyance the man spread out his arms and +expanded his chest with a long breath. The woman half smiled, and said +something to him in Spanish. Then they mingled with the crowd around +Tompkins Square and disappeared. + + * * * * * + +Two days after Blanco's arrest the physician, now in constant attendance +upon his wife, filed the death certificate of a stillborn child. +Puerperal fever set in, and the life of the unhappy woman for more than +two weeks trembled in the balance. During the first week a telegram from +New Orleans, which Blanco's captor had permitted him to send, came, +addressed to her. + +The physician opened it; but as she was almost constantly unconscious, +it was impossible to inform her of its contents for some days. Then she +was simply told that her husband had been heard from, and was safe. The +doctor peremptorily forbade any information being given her of Blanco's +true situation; and as she could not understand the language, and so +glean intelligence from the newspapers, which contained reports of the +inquiry conducted by the Commissioner, and the complete identification +of the prisoner as Leon Sangrado, she, of course, remained in ignorance +of what had happened. + +Some five weeks elapsed before she was judged sufficiently strong to +bear the shock which such news would inevitably produce. Then she was +told as gently as possible, all mention of the nature of the charges +against Blanco being avoided. + +She listened in silent surprise. + +"But he has never been in Chili in his life," she insisted. + +The old doctor, himself a Spaniard, looked at her pityingly, but said +nothing. + +"He has been Consul before nowhere but at Trieste; how could he have +been in South America?" she continued. + +"Consul? Is your husband, then, in the Consular service of Spain?" +queried the doctor, somewhat surprised. + +"He is here as Consul to Charleston--in--ah, what is the +name?--Carolina." + +"Can you prove that?" demanded the physician, somewhat excitedly. + +"I can--that is, I think there are official papers in the trunks. Is it +necessary?" + +"Very necessary." + +"Here are the keys, then." + +The doctor in her presence opened the luggage, and in a curiously +arranged secret compartment in one of the trunks found the documents. +After a few moments spent in looking them over, he said: + +"Do you feel strong to-day?" + +"Not very." + +"I think you could travel, however. I will see that your baggage is +properly packed, if you will be prepared to accompany me to-morrow +morning." + +"But whither?" + +"To Washington; to the Spanish Minister. This is a serious business." + +Under the supervision of the doctor the journey was safely accomplished. +After proper repose Señora Blanco and the physician proceeded to the +Spanish Legation, and within a very short time Señor Antonio Mantilla, +Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of His Catholic +Majesty, was in possession of Blanco's papers, and of the facts, so far +as known to his visitors, attending that gentleman's arrest. + +Señor Mantilla looked grave and said little. He thanked the physician, +however, warmly for the part he had taken in the matter, and calling a +secretary placed Señora Blanco in his charge, with instructions that she +should receive the greatest care and attention. + +He then desired the attendance of his Secretary of Legation, and the two +officials remained in earnest consultation for more than two hours. +During this period several telegrams were sent to the Spanish Consul at +New Orleans, and a long cipher-message to the Minister of Foreign +Affairs in Madrid. + +A few days later a lengthy report was received from the Consul at New +Orleans, accompanied by three letters from Blanco to his wife, not one +of which had been forwarded from the jail in which he was confined. + +Another consultation was held at the Spanish Legation, during which +this report and an answering message from Madrid were frequently +referred to. + +The report set forth the facts of the identification of Blanco as +Sangrado by the Chilian representatives, with sufficient certainty to +convince the U.S. Commissioner. Until a late period in the inquiry +Blanco had had no counsel. He had, however, asseverated from the +beginning that he was the Consul of Spain at Charleston--a fact not +believed, because there was already a Consul resident at that place. +Communication with that official simply showed that he expected to be +transferred to another post, but had not been informed of the name of +his successor. The Commissioner, seeing that Blanco was doing nothing to +obtain testimony in his own favor, quietly arranged that counsel should +be provided for him; and the lawyers, as a matter of course, at once +sent to New York for Blanco's papers. + +Señora Blanco, being then in a dangerous condition, was helpless. Search +was made through the trunks, without finding any trace of the documents +hidden in the secret compartment. + +The Legation of Spain in Washington had information that Manuel Blanco +had been sent to assume the Consulship at Charleston, but no one could +personally identify the prisoner to be the Manuel Blanco appointed. + +The Chilian witnesses had sworn that the prisoner was Leon Sangrado in +the most unequivocal manner--and Chalmette deposed that he saw him land +from the "Canada," in which vessel he had been instructed to look for +the fugitive. + +The facts, as thus gathered by the Spanish diplomatists from the Consul +at New Orleans, from Señora Blanco, and from her physician, were +complete. The outcome of their deliberations upon them was twofold. + +_First_.--The departure of Señora Blanco, under care of an attaché of +the Spanish Legation, to join her husband at New Orleans. + +_Second_.--The following diplomatic communication from the Minister of +Spain to the Secretary of State of the United States of America. + + Legation of Spain at Washington, + + January 16th, 1882. + + The undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary + of His Catholic Majesty, has the honor to address the Honorable + Secretary of State, with a view to obtaining from the Federal + Government reparation for the arrest of Señor Don Manuel Blanco, + His Catholic Majesty's Consul at Charleston, S.C., at the demand of + the Republic of Chili, on a charge of crime preferred by the + Government of that country. The undersigned is instructed to + protest, in the most distinct terms, against this grave breach of + international obligations, to insist upon the immediate release of + the said Blanco, and to require from the Federal Government an + apology suited to the circumstances. The undersigned avails + himself, etc., + + ANTONIO MANTILLA. + + + DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + + WASHINGTON, January 20th, 1882. + + SIR: Referring to your communication of the 16th inst., in which + you protest against the arrest of the person alleged to be Señor + Don Manuel Blanco, His Catholic Majesty's Consul at Charleston, at + the instance of the Republic of Chili, and demand the release of + the said person, with a suitable apology from this Government in + the premises, I have the honor to inform you that the + representatives of the Chilian Government allege the person in + question to be one Leon Sangrado, a fugitive from justice, charged + with the crimes of murder and robbery; that, before the United + States Commissioner at New Orleans, the Chilian representatives + have produced evidence identifying the prisoner as Leon Sangrado, + which evidence has warranted the said Commissioner in rendering + judgment accordingly; and that the proceedings and judgment, on + review by the President of the United States, have been confirmed, + and the warrant of extradition ordered. I have the honor to + transmit herewith a copy of the record of the evidence in the case + for your Excellency's information. I have also to state that, in + the circumstances, this Government conceives itself to be acting + in a spirit of strict international comity with the Republic of + Chili, and, upon the representations made by your Excellency, + cannot admit that any reparation or apology is due to the + Government of His Catholic Majesty. + + I have the honor, etc., + + JAS. G. BLAINE, + + _Secretary of State_. + +Some days later the Spanish Minister forwarded a note to the State +Department, wherein, after the usual formal recitals, he stated as +follows: + + The undersigned has the honor to inform the Honorable Secretary of + State that, having transmitted his communication by cable to the + Government of His Catholic Majesty, he is now instructed to make + the following demands: + + 1st. That the Federal Government shall deliver Señor Don Manuel + Blanco, His Catholic Majesty's Consul at Charleston, S.C., alleged + to be Leon Sangrado, a fugitive from justice from the Republic of + Chili, to the undersigned, at the Legation of Spain at Washington, + by or before the first day of February, proximo. + + 2. That the Federal Government shall address to the Government of + His Catholic Majesty a formal and solemn apology for the insult + offered by the arrest of said Blanco. And, in further proof + thereof, shall, on said first day of February, at noon, cause the + Spanish flag to be hoisted over Fort Columbus, in New York Harbor; + Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor; the Navy Yard, in Washington; and at + the mast-head of the flag-ship of the North Atlantic squadron--then + and there to be saluted with twenty-one guns. + + I have the honor, etc., + + ANTONIO MANTILLA. + +The reply sent by Secretary Blaine to this peremptory demand was, as +might be expected, an equally peremptory refusal. + +Thereupon the Spanish Minister demanded his passports, and with his +Legation left the country. + +The passports of the American Minister at Madrid were at the same time +forwarded to him, and he returned to the United States. + +Blanco was delivered to the Chilian representatives, and duly +extradited, his wife accompanying him. + +The anti-administration newspapers commented with great severity upon +the case, alleging that undue haste was manifested in forwarding the +proceedings; that proper opportunity was not afforded the accused to +establish his true identity; that the warrant of extradition was +illegal, inasmuch as it had been issued by an Assistant Secretary of +State during the absence of both the President and Secretary from +Washington, and that, consequently, there had been in fact no real +review of the proceedings by the Executive. + +The administration journals, on the contrary, found the extradition of +the prisoner to be perfectly within the letter of the law; but were not +inclined to say much on this point, preferring rather to applaud Mr. +Blaine's new proof of a "vigorous foreign policy," as exemplified in the +previously quoted correspondence with the Spanish Minister. + + * * * * * + + + + +I. + +THE GATHERING OF THE STORM. + + +That the friendly relations of two great nations should be ruptured by a +difficulty which, to all appearances, might easily have been adjusted, +seems incredible; but it should be remembered that at this period Spain +and the United States were by no means on the best of terms. Spanish +war-vessels in the West Indies had been overhauling American merchantmen +in a high-handed way, which had already called forth the remonstrances +of our Government; and the complaints from Cuba of the insecurity of +property and life of American citizens had become more numerous than +ever. Still, the result of the dispute was a surprise to the world; +especially as the overt act of rupture had come from Spain, and not +from the United States, as had so frequently hitherto seemed probable. + +The popular excitement throughout the country was intense. There was a +universal demand for war. It was pointed out that the country was never +so prosperous, or better able to bear the burden of a conflict; that, +with our immense resources, an army could be raised and a navy equipped +inside of sixty days; that such a war would be of short duration, and +that the result could be none other than the humiliation of Spain, and +the ceding to us of the Spanish West Indies as a war indemnity. + +The House of Representatives fairly rung with bellicose speeches, and +the press, with a few exceptions, reflected the popular feeling. + +On the other hand, however, there was a powerful party attempting to +stem the precipitancy of the nation. The great moneyed corporations +viewed the matter with alarm, and advocated peaceful settlement, or, at +most, inaction. This, however, was attributed to their fears of +unsettlement of values, and consequent depreciation of their property. + +The Senate, refusing to be influenced by popular clamor, steadily +opposed all hasty legislation originating in the lower House. The +President and Cabinet brought down upon themselves the bitter +denunciation of the opposition press for "cowardly truckling to Spain," +because no immediate steps were taken to place army and navy on a war +footing, and no volunteers were called for. + +A month went by. The popular excitement in this period perceptibly +decreased; and, as it did so, the New York _World_ and _Tribune_, which, +from the first, had given but weak support to the cry for war, became +more outspoken against hostilities. The bill agreed to by both Houses of +Congress, providing for the immediate construction of ten swift armored +cruisers, was strongly attacked in both journals, and the arming of the +harbor forts, and the elaborate preparations which began to be visible +for protecting the harbor by torpedoes, were sneered at as "useless +precautions, dictated by an unworthy fear of a nation which would never +venture to attack us." + +The stocks of the New York Central, Western Union Telegraph, Lake Shore, +and other corporations controlled by Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, which had +fallen during the excitement of the previous month, rose slowly, but +steadily. + +On the afternoon of March 6th, the _Evening Telegram_ issued an extra, +reporting the sailing from Coruna of four Spanish ironclads. The +announcement on the London Stock Exchange was that they were going to +Cuba. + +On the following day there was a decided fall in American Securities in +London, and a weak market in Wall Street; which degenerated into a +rapidly declining one when it became rumored that Gould was selling +Western Union short in large blocks, and that Vanderbilt's brokers were +similarly disposing of N.Y. Central and other stocks. + +At 10 o'clock that night the news came that Spain had formally declared +war upon the United States. It was posted in all the hotels, and read +from the stages of all the theatres. The people flocked into the streets +_en masse_. Speeches were made, breathing defiance and demands for an +immediate attack upon Spain, before tremendous crowds, in Madison and +Union Squares. No one slept that night. + +Next morning there was a panic in Wall Street, which was arrested, +however, by the intelligence from London that, although Government +four-per-cents had fallen to 86, they were steady at that figure, and +that the Rothschilds and Baring Brothers were buying them in largely. +Before night Congress had voted a special appropriation of a hundred +million dollars for purposes of defense, authorized the immediate +construction of twenty armored ships, and the President issued his +proclamation, calling for the raising of four hundred thousand men "to +repel an invasion of the Union." + +Within twenty-four hours the regiments of the National Guard in New York +and vicinity were mustered into the service of the United States and +ordered into camp, under command of General Hancock. That officer at +once began the construction of sea-coast batteries on Coney Island, +Rockaway Beach, and the New Jersey coast. A crack city regiment was +detailed to complete the partially finished fort on Sandy Hook and throw +up earthworks along the Peninsula; but, as the hands of most of the men +became quite sore through wielding shovels and picks, they were relieved +and sent to garrison Governor's Island, where they gave exhibition +drills daily, and, on Friday evenings, invited their female friends to +hops of the most enjoyable description. The Hook fort was subsequently +completed by a volunteer regiment of Cuban cigar-makers, from the +Bowery. + +As a matter of course, notice was immediately given to all foreign +vessels in port of the proposed blocking of the Narrows and the Main, +Swash and East Channels with torpedoes, and forty-eight hours' time was +accorded them wherein to take their departure. The European steamers +were the first to leave, each one towing from two to five +sailing-vessels. Later on, General Hancock impressed all the harbor tugs +into service; and, by their aid, before the specified period had +elapsed, not a single ship floating a foreign flag remained in New York +Harbor. A battalion of army engineers, under command of General Abbot, +and another of sailors, under Captain Selfridge, at once began +operations. + +In the Narrows, torpedoes were moored at distances of one hundred feet +apart, and were connected with the shore by electric wires. At various +points along the beach shell-proof huts were constructed, to which these +wires led. In each hut was arranged a camera lucida, so that a picture +of the harbor, over a limited area, was thrown upon a whitened table. In +this way an observer could recognize the instant an enemy's vessel +arrived over a sunken mine, and could explode the latter by simply +touching a button which allowed the electric current to pass to the +torpedo. In the Harbor channels the torpedoes were so arranged as to be +exploded on contact of an enemy's vessel with a partially submerged +buoy. + +The torpedo-stations on Staten and Coney Islands and the Jersey coast +were provided with movable fish-torpedoes of the Ericsson and Lay types, +intended to be sent out against a hostile vessel, and manoeuvred from +the shore. All the steam-tugs in the Harbor were moored in Gowanus bay, +and each tug was rigged with a long boom projecting from her bow, on +which a torpedo, containing some fifty pounds of dynamite, was carried. + +With the tugs, and serving as flag-ship for the squadron, was the U.S. +torpedo-boat "Alarm," Lieutenant-Commander H.H. Gorringe. + +The armament of the sea-coast batteries was not calculated to strike +terror into the soul of any nation owning a modern ironclad vessel. It +consisted mainly of old-fashioned smooth-bore guns, a system of +artillery which has been rejected by every European power as the weakest +and most inefficient. The greatest range attainable with the best of +these cannon was 8000 yards, or some four and one half miles. At one +quarter this range their shot would be utterly unable to penetrate even +moderately thin armor. Besides these guns there were a few ten and +twelve-inch rifles of cast-iron, and hence of unreliable and inferior +material; some old smooth-bore cannon, converted into rifles by +wrought-iron linings; and a number of mortars and pieces of small +calibre, altogether contemptible in the light of the advances made in +the art of war during the last quarter of a century. + +Meanwhile the inventors were not idle, and the press fairly teemed with +novel suggestions for the defense of the city. It was proposed to run +all the oil stored in the Williamsburgh refineries into the lower bay, +and set it on fire when the enemy's fleet appeared. + +The _Herald_ suggested the raising of a regiment of divers to live in a +submarine fort, the guns of which should be arranged to fire upwards +into a vessel floating above, and immediately offered to contribute +$250,000 to begin the construction of such defenses. + +General Newton proposed the building of continuous earthworks on both +shores of the bay and Narrows, behind which a broad-gauge railroad +should be constructed. On the track he placed heavy platform-cars, each +car carrying one heavy gun. Embrasures were made at regular intervals +along the embankment. His idea was, that if a hostile vessel made her +way into the Harbor, the gun-cars should move along behind the +earthworks, keeping abreast of the ship, and thus pour into her a +continuous fire. Measures were promptly taken to follow this plan. + +Mr. T.A. Edison announced that he had invented everything which, up to +that time, any one else had suggested. He invited all the reporters to +Menlo Park, and, after elaborately explaining the merits of a new +catarrh remedy, showed some lines on a piece of paper, which, he said, +represented huge electro-magnets, which he proposed to set up along the +coast, say, near Barnegat. When the enemy's iron ships appeared, he +proposed to excite these magnets, and draw the vessels on the rocks. +Somebody said that this notion had been anticipated by one Sindbad the +Sailor, whereupon Mr. Edison denounced that person as a "patent pirate." +He also said that these magnets would be exhibited in working order next +Christmas Eve. + +Professor Bell proposed the "induction balance," as a way of recognizing +the approach of the enemy's iron vessels. He went down the Bay with his +instrument, and sent back some telegrams which were alarming, until it +was discovered that the professor had made a slight error in the +direction from which he asserted the ships were coming, it being +manifestly impossible for them to sail overland from the Pacific, as his +contrivance predicted. + +The condition of affairs in the city reminded one of the early days of +the Rebellion. Wall Street was panicky--chiefly because of the immense +depreciation in railway securities. Government four-per-cent bonds, +however, had gone up to ninety-eight. Provisions were high, and, through +the stoppage of European commerce, the cost of imported articles, such +as dress-goods, tea, etc., became excessive. Recruiting was going on +everywhere; the regiments, as fast as organized, being dispatched to +different points along the sea-board, or to swell the numbers of an army +under command of General Sheridan, which was preparing to sail to Key +West, to invade Cuba. + +During the month of March New York remained in a state of suspense. Army +contractors did a brisk business; but otherwise there was little doing. +News was eagerly sought. It was known that Spain was mobilizing her army +and fitting out transports; but beyond this, and the dispatching of the +four ironclads, which had duly reached Havana, she had taken no steps +pointing toward an invasion of the United States. All the European +nations had issued proclamations of neutrality, except Russia and +France. England had ordered the great Spanish ironclad, "El Cid," in +which Sir William Armstrong had just placed two 100-ton guns, out of her +waters inside of twenty-four hours after Spain had declared war; and +this, although the vessel was in many respects unfinished. The Queen's +proclamation was most stringent against the fitting out or coaling of +the vessels of either belligerent, and a special Act of Parliament was +passed, inflicting penalties of the greatest severity for any violation +of it. John Bull evidently proposed to pay for no more "Alabamas." + +The first great news of the war came during the first week in June. The +Spanish screw corvette "Tornado," six guns, had sailed from Cartagena +for Havana. Off Cape Trafalgar she encountered the "Lancaster," +flag-ship of the United States European squadron, bearing the flag of +Rear-Admiral Nicholson. The "Lancaster" carried two-eleven-inch and +twenty nine-inch old-fashioned smooth-bore Dahlgren guns. The action was +short, sharp, and decisive. + +It terminated in the surrender of the "Tornado," after the loss of her +captain, five officers, and forty of her crew. The "Lancaster" was badly +cut up about the rigging, but otherwise uninjured. Her loss was but five +men. The first tidings of this was the arrival of the "Tornado" in +Hampton Roads, with a prize crew on board, and the royal ensign of Spain +floating beneath the stars and stripes. + +When the extras announcing the news were shouted in the streets, the +enthusiasm of the people knew no bounds. From every building, from every +window, the flag was displayed. Throngs of excited men marched through +the avenues, cheering and shouting, and the recruiting was renewed so +vigorously, that New York's quota of the four hundred thousand men +called for by the President was filled within the next twenty-four +hours after the news came. + +In the midst of this furore, the bulletins announced that the Spanish +ironclads "Zaragoza" and "Numancia" had sailed from Havana, with no +destination announced; that their consorts, the "Arapiles" and +"Vittoria," together with three transports, "San Quentin," "Patino," and +"Ferrol," the latter well laden with coal and provisions, were preparing +to follow; also, that the huge "El Cid" had been fitted for sea, and was +about to sail from Vigo, Spain. + +Just before this intelligence arrived, the United States steam frigate +"Franklin," forty-three guns, carrying the flag of Vice-Admiral Stephen +C. Rowan, left Hampton Roads on a cruise, northwardly. + +Where were the Spanish ironclads going? + +On Sunday morning, April 9th, Trinity Church was crowded with +worshipers. The venerable Bishop of New York was present, and was to +deliver the sermon. His erect, stately form, clad in the flowing robes +of his office, had just appeared in the pulpit, and he had spoken the +words of his text, when a commotion in the rear of the church caused him +to stop and look up, wondering at the unseemly interruption. + +A soldier emerged from the crowd, and, making his way to the Astor pew, +handed a letter to Mr. John Jacob Astor. The ruddy face of that +gentleman blanched as he read its contents. Then he rose, walked to the +pulpit, and handed the missive to the bishop. + +A dead silence prevailed--at last broken by these simple words: + +"Brethren, the war-vessels of the public enemy have appeared off our +Harbor. Let us pray." + +A deep, heart-felt Amen responded to the appeal made in eloquent, though +faltering, tones; and then, quiet and orderly, the congregation left the +temple. It was fitting that such a prayer should be the last ever +offered in a sanctuary of which, but a few days later, only a heap of +smoking ruins remained. + +The same news had been forwarded to the other churches, and the +congregations, dismissed, had gathered in front of the great +bulletin-boards which had been erected in the various parts of the city. +In huge letters were the words: + +"A large steamer, showing Spanish flag, sighted off Barnegat." + +Shortly afterwards came another dispatch: + +"The United States frigate 'Franklin' has been signaled off Fire +Island." + +Then another dispatch: + +"The Spanish steamer has gone to the eastward." + +And then, three hours later: + +"Heavy firing has been heard from the south and east." + + + + +II. + +THE BATTLE OF FIRE ISLAND. + + +The "Franklin," on leaving Fire Island, where she had communication with +the shore, stood to the westward. At 3 p.m. the mast-head look-out +reported a large steamer on the port bow. As is customary on vessels at +sea, the "Franklin" showed no colors; the stranger displayed a flag +which could not be made out. + +On the poop-deck of the "Franklin" were Admiral Rowan, Captain Greer, +commanding the ship, and the executive officer, Lieutenant-Commander +Jewell. + +"Mast-head, there! can you make out her colors yet?" hailed the latter. + +"No, sir." + +"Take your glass and go aloft, Mr. Rodgers," said Admiral Rowan to his +aid; "perhaps you can see better." + +The officer rapidly ascended the rigging to the foretopmast cross-trees. + +"It is the English flag, sir!" he shouted. + +"Hoist English colors, Captain," said the admiral, quietly; "and bend on +our own, ready to go up." + +The red cross of St. George, the British man-of-war flag, rose slowly to +the peak. + +The stranger was seen to alter her course, and head for the "Franklin." + +The admiral turned to Captain Greer and nodded. The latter gave an order +to a midshipman standing near. + +Rat-tat--rat-tat--rat-tat-tat-tat! + +The quick drum-beat to quarters for action rang sharply through the +ship. The executive officer took his speaking-trumpet and stationed +himself on the quarter-deck. The men sprang to their guns. + +"Silence! man the port-guns. Cast loose and provide!" + +A momentary confusion, as the thirty-eight nine-inch smooth-bore guns on +the main-deck, the four hundred-pound rifles on the spar-deck, and the +eleven-inch pivot on the forecastle were cleared of their tackle, and +got ready for training. The guns' crews then stood erect and silent in +their places beside the guns, on the side of the ship turned toward the +enemy. + +Meanwhile the magazine had been opened, and the powder-boys flocked to +the scuttles, receiving cartridges in the leather boxes slung to their +shoulders. Shell were hoisted from below. The surgeon and his +assistants, including the chaplain, laid out instruments, and converted +the cock-pit into an operating-room. The fires in the galley were put +out, and those under the boilers urged to their fiercest heat. The decks +were sanded, in grim anticipation of their becoming slippery with +blood. Tackles and slings were prepared to lower the wounded below. The +Gatling guns aloft were made ready to fire upon the enemy's decks, in +case the two vessels came near enough together. + +"Prime!" shouted the officer on the quarter-deck. Primers were placed in +the vents of the already loaded guns, and the gun-captains stepped back, +tautening the lock-strings, and bending down to glance along the sights. + +"Point! Tell the division officers to train on the craft that's coming, +and wait orders." This last command to a midshipman aid. + +The silence throughout the great ship was profound. The gun-captains +eyed the approaching vessels over the sights of their guns. Only the +quick throb of the engines and the sough of the waves were audible. + +The two vessels were now within some four miles of each other. There was +no question but that the stranger was a man-of-war--and an ironclad, at +that--provided with a formidable ram. + +"I thought so," suddenly ejaculated the admiral: "Now show him who _we_ +are." + +The English flag had been replaced by the red-yellow-and-red bars of +Spain. Down came the red cross from the peak of the "Franklin;" and +then, not only there, but from every mast-head, floated the stars and +stripes. + +A puff of smoke from the Spaniard--a whirr, a shriek, and a solid shot +struck the water, having passed entirely over the American frigate. + +"He fires at long range!" remarked the admiral, calmly. + +"It would be useless for us to reply," answered the captain. + +"Clearly so." + +"Shall we stop and wait for him, sir?" + +"Wait for him? No! Go for him! Four bells, sir! Ring four bells and go +ahead fast!" + +The clang of the engine-bell resounded through the ship; the thump of +the machinery grew more rapid; the whole vessel thrilled and shook, as +if eager for the attack. + +The distance between the two ships was reduced to about two miles. + +Again the Spaniard fired. The shot struck the "Franklin" broad on her +port-bow, knocked over a gun, killed six men, and passed through the +other side of the ship. + +Still the "Franklin" pressed on. + +Crash! a huge shell from an Armstrong eighteen-ton gun burst between the +fore and mainmasts; the bow pivot-gun was dismounted; ten men of her +crew down; the maintopmast stays cut, and the maintopmast tottering. +Crash! Another shell, and the jib-boom hangs dragging under the bows; +the fore topgallantmast is carried away. Men hacked at the rigging to +clear away the wreck which now impeded the ship's advance. + +"Now let him have it," said the admiral, quietly. + +The captain speaks to the executive officer, who shouts through his +trumpet: "Port guns! Ready! Fire!!" + +The concussion of the explosion made the ship stagger for a moment. + +When the smoke cleared away, the Spaniard's mizzenmast was seen dragging +overboard; but otherwise no damage had been inflicted. + +"His armor is too thick for us," gravely remarked the admiral; "get boom +torpedoes over the bows!" + +"All ready, now, sir," reported the captain. + +"Continue firing, and keep right for him." + +"Shall we ram him, sir?" + +"Yes, sir; as straight amidships as you can." + +The "Franklin" now poured in her fire with all possible rapidity; but it +was evident that her shot made little or no impression on the massive +iron shield of her antagonist, although it played havoc amid his +rigging. Another fact now became apparent--that the Spaniard was much +the faster vessel of the two; for he was evidently nearing the +"Franklin" more quickly than the "Franklin" was approaching him. + +"Do you know who that ship is?" asked the admiral. + +"The 'Numancia,' sir," replied the captain; "her armament is immensely +better than ours. She has twenty-five Armstrong guns." + +Crash! crash! Two more shells struck the wooden hull of the "Franklin" +between the fore and mainmasts, tearing a great rent in her side and +literally annihilating the crews of four guns. + +"There is three feet of water in the hold, sir and it is gaining!" +shouted the carpenter at the pump-well. + +Men were sent at once to the pumps. + +Crash! This time a double explosion, followed by dense clouds of steam. +Men, scalded and horribly burned, climbed up the ladders from below. + +"Our boilers are gone," reported the captain. + +"Keep her broadside toward the enemy, sir," returned the admiral. + +The guns of the "Franklin" were now firing slowly. Their smoke overhung +the vessel so that the Spaniard could not be seen, but the reports of +his cannon sounded closer and closer. + +Suddenly the huge prow of the "Numancia" loomed up close aboard the +"Franklin." + +"Starboard! Hard a starboard!" shouted the admiral. + +It was too late. There was no one at the helm. A shell, bursting close +to the wheel, had killed the helmsman, and a fragment had buried itself +in the captain's breast. + +The admiral himself turned to go toward the wheel, but suddenly +staggered and pitched forward, dead. + +Then came the frightful explosion of the "Numancia's" bow-torpedo, +striking the ill-fated frigate; and then the crushing and splintering of +timbers under the fearful stroke of the ram. + +Five minutes afterwards the Spanish war-ship was alone. Slowly the +"Franklin" sank--her lofty mast-heads going under with the stars and +stripes still proudly floating from them. The "Numancia" lowered her +boats to pick up survivors. They returned with one officer and two +seamen--all that remained of the crew of nearly one thousand souls. + +The American flag ship had been sunk by a fourth-rate European +ironclad--the first practical proof of the miserably short-sighted +policy of a nation of fifty millions of inhabitants, with an enormous +coast line and innumerable ports to be protected, relying for its safety +upon a navy the fifty-five available vessels of which are too slow to +run away, and too lightly armed and too weakly built to defend +themselves. + +The "Numancia" hoisted her boats and stood to the westward. Shortly +afterward she exchanged signals with the "Zaragoza," "Arapiles" and +"Vittoria." The war-vessels drew together, the transports came alongside +of them, and fresh supplies of coal and provisions were delivered. Then +the transports headed to the south, and the men-of-war laid their course +for New York. + + + + +III. + +THE METROPOLIS BELEAGUERED. + + +Three ships of the Spanish squadron named were armed with Armstrong +guns. Their combined batteries aggregated eight cannon of eighteen tons +four of twelve tons, eleven of nine tons, and twenty-eight of seven +tons. The "Zaragoza" carried twenty guns of another pattern, ranging in +calibre from eleven to seven and three-fourths inches. The total number +of cannon which would thus be brought to bear upon New York and its +suburbs was seventy-one. + +The shot of the Armstrong guns above named vary in weight from four +hundred to one hundred and fifteen pounds. If the entire number of guns +should each deliver one shot, the total amount of iron projected would +exceed six tons in weight. + +The arrival of the Spanish vessels was not known until dawn of the +morning of April 11th. Then they were descried on the horizon by the +watchers at Sandy Hook. At first sight it was supposed that they had +encountered heavy weather and lost their light spars; but, as they +approached nearer, it was seen that each ship had sent down all her +upper rigging, and had housed topmasts. + +There was no mistaking what this meant. It was the stripping for battle. + +It was also noticed that the ships steamed very slowly in single file; +that from the bows of each projected a fork-like contrivance, and that +in advance of the leader were several steam-launches, between which, and +crossing the path of the large vessel, extended hawsers which dipped +into the water. Evidently the new-comers had a wholesome dread of +torpedoes, and hence the use of bow torpedo-catchers and the +dragging-ropes. + +No flag of any sort was exhibited. + +Meanwhile the guns of all the sea-coast batteries along the shores had +been manned, ready to fire upon the huge black monsters as soon as they +should come within range. The order had been given to commence firing on +the hoisting of a flag and on the discharge of a heavy gun from the +signal station on Sandy Hook, where General Hancock had posted himself +with his staff. + +In the city the time for excitement had passed. The business section was +deserted, most of the men being either in the fortifications or under +arms in the camps, ready to move as directed to repel any attempt on the +part of the enemy to effect a landing. + +There had been no general exodus from New York, as it was not believed +possible that the enemy's missiles could reach the city proper. In +Brooklyn, however, but few people remained. All the churches in the city +were open, and with singular unanimity the people flocked into them. No +public conveyances were running; few vehicles moved through the +streets. The silence was like that of a summer holiday, when the people +are in the suburbs, pleasure-seeking. + +"They seem to have stopped, general," said an aid who was attentively +watching the advance of the Spanish vessels through his glass. + +"They are a long way out of our range," remarked General Hancock. "We +have nothing that carries far enough to injure them. They are fully five +miles out." + +"Now they go ahead again. No, they are turning," said the aid. + +The leading ship had ported her helm, and, followed by the others, filed +to the eastward, bringing the port broadsides to bear upon the Long +Island batteries. + +"They certainly are not going into action there," said the general. + +A cloud of white smoke arose from the bow of the leading vessel, and +then across the water came the deep "boom" of a heavy gun. + +"Why, that fellow has fired out to sea," exclaimed one of the general's +staff. + +"No, it was a blank cartridge. He fired to attract attention. See! there +goes a white flag up to his mast-head!" said the officer at the +telescope: "A boat with a flag-of-truce is putting off, general." + +"Send a launch out to meet it," said Hancock, shortly: "and see that it +does not come nearer than a mile or so from the shore." + +A few minutes after, the steam-yacht "Ideal," which had been offered by +its owner as a dispatch boat to the general, was swiftly running towards +the Spanish messenger. + +The aid at the telescope saw an officer step from the Spanish boat into +the yacht, and then the latter put back to the Hook, the enemy's launch +remaining where she was. + +The Spanish officer was conducted to the presence of the general. In +excellent English, he announced himself as the Fleet Captain and +Chief-of-Staff of the admiral commanding the Spanish squadron present, +and with much ceremony presented the communication with which he was +charged. + +The general received the missive courteously and opened it. The +expression of astonishment which came over his face as he read it for a +moment gave place to one of anger. His eyes flashed, his face reddened, +and his fingers nervously played with the end of his moustache. Then, as +he read it over the second time, a rather contemptuous smile seemed to +lurk about the corners of his mouth. + +The staff stood by in silent but eager anticipation. The general held +the letter in his hands behind his back and walked up and down the small +apartment, as if in deep thought, raising his eyes occasionally to +glance at the Spanish vessels, which lay almost motionless, blowing off +steam. + +Finally, he turned to the Spanish officer, who stood erect, with his +hand resting upon the hilt of his sword, and said, in a quiet, though +determined, voice: + +"You will make my compliments to the admiral commanding, and deliver, in +reply to his communication, that which I will now dictate." + +An aid at once seated himself at the table, and, at the general's +dictation, wrote as follows: + + SENOR DON ALMIRANTE VIZCARRO, _Commanding Squadron off New York_. + + SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge your communication of this + date, sent per flag-of-truce, in which you demand-- + + 1st.--That immediate surrender to the force under your command be + made of the fortifications of this harbor, together with the Navy + Yard at Brooklyn, and all munitions of war here existing. + + 2nd.--That the cities of New York, Brooklyn and Jersey City do + cause to be paid, on board of your flag-ship, within three days + after the said surrender, the sum of fifty millions of dollars in + gold, or in the paper currency of England or France. + + And in which you announce that non-acquiescence in the foregoing + will be followed by the bombardment of the said fortifications, the + Navy Yard and the arsenals in New York City, by your squadron, + after the lapse of twenty-four hours from noon this day. + + In reply, I have to state that these demands are peremptorily + refused and I have most solemnly to protest against so gross a + violation of the laws of civilized warfare, as is indicated in your + intention to attack a city within a period too short to enable the + non-combatants to be safely removed. + + I have the honor to be, etc., + + WINFIELD S. HANCOCK, + + _Major-General Commanding_. + +This reply was telegraphed to New York, and Mr. Pierrepont Edwards, Her +Britannic Majesty's Consul-General, was one of the first to receive it. +He acted with the usual force and promptness with which British +interests and the lives of British subjects are protected by British +officials abroad. That is to say, he first telegraphed to the British +Minister at Washington, Mr. West, requesting, that the three great +ironclads, "Devastation," "Orion" and "Agamemnon," all of which were +then in Hampton Roads, be at once sent to New York. Then he prepared a +formal protest against the proposed action of the Spanish Admiral, which +all the other foreign consuls at once signed, and which was delivered +aboard the Spanish flag-ship by a boat bearing the British flag before +three o'clock that afternoon. + +The Spanish admiral took the protest into consideration to the extent of +granting forty-eight hours' time. The consuls protested again at this as +not being sufficient, and demanded five clear days. The admiral refused +to grant more than three; but when, before the three days had expired, +the trio of English war-ships made their appearance, and calmly moved +between his fleet and the shore, he changed his mind and granted the +desired time--which was wise, seeing that the English vessels could blow +his squadron out of water with little trouble and not much injury to +themselves. + +The railroads which go out of New York, while perhaps adequate for all +purposes of traffic in time of peace, are scarcely equal to the removal +from the city of several hundred thousand women, children, sick and aged +persons within a period of even five days. People of this description +cannot be moved as easily as armies; and hence, when the morning of the +fifth day dawned, fully one-half of the non-combatant population was +still in the city. + +This, however, was attributable not only to the inadequacy of the means +of transportation, but to the singular apathy--it was not +fearlessness--of the people themselves. In the great tenement districts, +it became necessary to send soldiers into the houses to drive people out +of them. + +Among the Irish and Germans there was actual rioting, when force was +thus used. The impression was general that the missiles of the enemy +could not reach the populated parts of New York. + +The crowds, however, at the Grand Central Dépôt, trying to leave the +city, were enormous. People were placed in cattle-cars, on wood cars--in +fact, every sort of conveyance adapted to the tracks was pressed into +service. + +The Thirtieth Street Dépôt, on the west side, also was crowded, and +trains were leaving thence every few minutes. + +Just before noon, the city was horror-stricken by the news of a +frightful accident at Spuyten Duyvil. An overloaded train from the +Thirtieth Street Dépôt there, through a broken switch, came into +collision with another overloaded train from the Grand Central Dépôt. +The slaughter was horrible. Twelve cars were derailed, and more than a +hundred and twenty people, mostly women and children, killed. + +While people were repeating this news to one another with white faces +and trembling lips, the Spanish squadron was taking position and +preparing to attack. + +The English squadron moved outside the Spanish ships, and stood off and +on under easy steam. + +At precisely noon the white flag was lowered from the mast-head of the +Spanish flag-ship and the Spanish flags were hoisted by all of the +vessels. Immediately afterwards the "Numancia" delivered her broadside +full upon the Coney Island battery. + +Instantly the flag from the general's station was flung out, the +signal-gun was discharged, and from all the sea-coast batteries the +firing began. + + + + +IV. + +IRON HAIL. + + +The position chosen by the attacking vessels was about one and a half +miles to the south of Plumb Inlet. This point is distant from Fort +Hamilton six miles, from Sandy Hook light seven miles, from Brooklyn +Navy Yard nine and a half miles, and from the City Hall, New York City, +about eleven miles, in a straight line. An ample depth of water to float +ships drawing twenty-four feet here exists. The situation was +sufficiently distant from the shore batteries to render the effect of +their projectiles on the armor of the vessels quite inconsiderable. + +The ships, however, did not remain motionless, but steamed slowly around +in a circle of some two miles in diameter, each vessel delivering her +fire as she reached the point above specified. In this way, the chances +of being struck by projectiles from shore were not only lessened, but +the injury which they could do was decreased by the greater distance +which they would be compelled to traverse to strike the ships during the +progress of the latter around the further side of the circle. + +It was evident that the Spanish commander had no idea of attempting to +land his forces, but simply proposed to keep up a slow, persistent +bombardment. It was further apparent that only his lighter artillery +was directed upon the shore batteries, and that he was practising with +his heavy metal at high elevations, to find out how much range he could +get. + +When the second day of the bombardment opened, there were about a +hundred thousand people still in New York, including two of the city +regiments doing police duty. A strong force for this purpose was +necessary, as a large number of roughs and criminals, who had hurried +away during the first panic, now returned, and signalized their advent +by the attempted pillage of the Vanderbilt residences. + +About a hundred and fifty of this mob remained on the pavement of Fifth +Avenue, after a well-directed mitrailleuse fire had been kept up for +some fifteen minutes by the troops. The rest took to their heels, and +lurked about the lower part of the city, waiting for a better +opportunity, and thinking hungrily of the contents of the magnificent +dwellings in the up-town districts. + +The sea-coast batteries nearest to the attacking ships were soon +rendered untenable by their fire. The large hotels on Coney Island were +all struck by shells and burned, and the villages of Flatlands, +Gravesend, and New Utrecht were quickly destroyed. + +Shell after shell then fell in Flatbush, and occasionally a terrific +explosion in Prospect Park, in Greenwood Cemetery, and in the outlying +avenues of Brooklyn, showed that the enemy was throwing his missiles +over distances constantly augmenting. + +On the morning of the third day a futile attempt was made to blow up the +"Numancia," first by the Lay and then by the Ericsson submarine +torpedo-boats. The Lay boat, however, ran up on the east bank and could +not be got off, and the Ericsson started finely from the shore, but, +apparently, sank before she had gone a mile. + +The attack by the "Alarm" and her attendant fleet of torpedo-tugs had +the effect of stopping the bombardment and of concentrating the enemy's +attention upon his own safety. The tugs advanced gallantly to the onset, +six of them rushing almost simultaneously upon the "Vittoria." That +vessel met them with a broadside which sank four at once, and the other +two were riddled by shell from Hotchkiss revolving cannon from the decks +of the Spaniard; their machinery was crippled, and they drifted +helplessly out to sea. Of the others, some ran aground on the bank, some +were sunk, and not one succeeded in exploding her torpedo near a Spanish +vessel. The "Alarm" planted a shell from her bow-rifle, at close range, +squarely into the stern of the "Zaragoza," piercing the armor and +killing a dozen men, besides disabling two guns. She was rammed, +however, by the "Arapiles," and so badly injured as to compel her to +make her escape into shoal water to prevent sinking. There she grounded, +and the Spaniards leisurely made a target of her, although they +considerately permitted her crew to go ashore in their boats without +firing a shot at them. + +Meanwhile the remaining citizens of New York had held a mass meeting, +and appointed a committee of Public Safety, with General Grant at its +head. There had been a great popular movement to have that gentleman put +in supreme command of the army, but the authorities at Washington, for +some occult reason, known only to themselves, had offered him a +major-general's commission, which he promptly declined. Then he +deliberately went to the nearest recruiting-station and tried to enlist +as a private; but the recruiting-officer, after recovering his senses, +with which he parted in dumb astonishment for some seconds, refused him +on the ground that he was over forty-five years of age. + +The general contented himself with remarking: "Guess they'll want me +yet," and thereupon lighting a huge cigar, calmly marched out of the +office and went over to Flatbush, to "see where the shells are hitting;" +serenely oblivious of the possibility of personal danger involved in +that proceeding. + +As chief of the Safety Committee, however, Grant became the real ruler +of New York. Martial law existed, and the senior colonel of the +regiments quartered in the city was in nominal charge; but, as this +individual was not blessed with especial force of character, he never +asserted his authority, and, in fact, seemed rather pleased to +gravitate to the position of Grant's immediate subordinate. + +On the evening of April 18th the watchers on Sandy Hook saw a fifth +vessel join the Spanish fleet; a long, low craft, having, apparently, +two turrets and very light spars. They also saw the admiral's flag on +the "Numancia" lowered, only to be hoisted again on the foremast of the +new-comer. + +At daybreak on the following morning a shell crashed through the roof of +the Fifth Avenue Hotel, descended to the cellar, burst there and wrecked +a quarter of the building. What new fury had thus been let loose? + +It has already been stated that the great ironclad "El Cid" had sailed +from Vigo--she had arrived. + +She carried four guns. Two one-hundred-ton Armstrongs, each having an +effectual range of 12 miles, and two Krupp 15.7-inch guns, which throw +shot weighing nearly 2000 pounds over ten miles. Krupp claims a range of +15 miles; but this is doubtful. She also was encased in 21-1/2 inches of +compound steel and iron armor, capable of resisting the projectiles of +any cannon known--except, perhaps, those of her own Armstrongs. + +The most powerfully armed and most impregnable ironclad in the world now +lay before New York. + +It was an Armstrong shell which struck the Fifth Avenue Hotel. It was a +Krupp shell which shortly after knocked down the steeple of Trinity +Church as if it were a turret of cards. + +In view of this new attack General Grant was requested to call a +meeting of the Committee of Safety, to consider the question of +capitulation, as it was evident that the continuation of such a +bombardment would speedily destroy property in value far beyond the +immense sum asked by the besiegers. + +He notified the members to meet in the City Hall. When he arrived, he +found nobody but a messenger-boy, who tremblingly emerged from the +cellar. + +The General quietly removed his cigar and asked: + +"Where's the Committee?" + +"They--they--is--up ter Inwood, sir." + +The boy's teeth chattered so that he could hardly speak. + +"What the deuce are they doing there?" + +"Dunno, sir. They told me as to tell you, sir, that they wuz a Committee +of Safety, and that's wot they wanted, sir." + +"Wanted what?" + +"S-s-afety, sir!" + +"And they deputized you to tell me that, eh?" + +"Ye-yes, sir." + +"And you looked for me down in the cellar?" + +"N-no, sir. I wanted safety, too, sir. Oh, Lordy!" + +This last interjection was elicited by seeing the upper part of the +_Tribune_ tall tower suddenly fly off, and land on the roof of the _Sun_ +building. + +A sort of a sphinx-like smile overspread the general's features. + +He looked around for the messenger-boy, but that youth was making +extraordinary speed up Broadway. + +The general leisurely proceeded up that thoroughfare--occasionally +stopping, as a shot went crashing into some near building, to note the +effect. + +On arriving at Union Square, he met a cavalry squad looking for him, and +mounting the horse of one of the men, he proceeded with this escort to +the upper end of the island, which was now densely packed with people. + +The projectiles from the heavy guns of the great ironclad were now +falling in the lower part of the city with terrible effect. The Western +Union building was shattered from cellar to roof; the City Hall was on +fire; so also was St. Paul's Church and the _Herald_ building. The +last-mentioned conflagration was put out by the editors and compositors +of that journal--the entire _Herald_ staff being then in the underground +press-rooms, busily preparing and working off _extras_ giving the latest +details of the bombardment. + +The Morse Building was completely demolished by two Krupp shells, and +not an edifice in Wall Street, except the sub-Treasury, had escaped +total ruin. + +The result of the conference of the Safety Committee was the dispatching +of a messenger to Sandy Hook, informing General Hancock of the +condition of affairs, and asking him to request an armistice for +parley. + +The "Ideal," bearing a white flag, was at once dispatched to the Spanish +flag-ship, and shortly after the firing ceased. + +The Spanish admiral refused to alter the terms already proposed, except +that, in view of the injury already inflicted on the city and the +probable increased difficulty of collecting the sum demanded, he would +agree to allow five days' time in which to pay the latter, on board his +flag-ship. + +General Hancock declined to consider this proposal. + +"El Cid" now began a new manoeuvre. All the steam-launches of the fleet, +provided with long, forked spars extending from their bows, formed in +front of her, and, thus preceded, she deliberately steamed up to the +Main channel. + +The fort on the Hook at once opened upon her, but the shot glanced like +dry peas from her armor. She, in return, shelled the fort, the masonry +of which literally crumbled before the enormous projectiles hurled +against it. Meanwhile, the launches had entered the channel and were +picking up such torpedoes as could be detected. Other launches, having +no crews on board, but being governed entirely by electric wires, were +sent into the channel and caused to drop counter mines, which, on being +fired, caused the explosion of such torpedoes as remained: thus making a +broad and safe channel for the ironclad to enter. + +Finally the remaining launches returned to the "Cid" and evidently +reported the channel clear for she boldly steamed into it, stopping only +for an instant, when off the end of the peninsula, to send a double +charge of grape and canister from her huge guns into the ranks of the +fugitives, who were precipitately rushing from the fort. + +It was then that General Hancock was killed although the fact has since +often been disputed. His body, wounded in a dozen places, was found on +the sand near the highest wall of the fort, from the top of which, it is +conjectured, he was swept by the fearful hail of the Spanish ironclad. + +"El Cid" continued on into the bay, occasionally stopping as signaled by +the launches preceding her, when a torpedo was encountered, and finally +took up her position within about a mile of Fort Hamilton, and hence +about seven miles from the Battery. + +As the projectiles from the fort glanced harmlessly from her armor, she +paid no attention to that attack, but resumed her fire upon the city. + +Shells now began to fall as far up-town as Forty-second Street. + + + + +V. + +AT THE MERCY OF THE FOE. + + +Meanwhile, the other four vessels had ceased their bombardment of the +batteries, as the latter no longer answered them. + +They appeared to have new work in hand. + +During the following afternoon a fresh sea-breeze set in. Then a large, +swaying globe made its appearance on the deck of each of the vessels. +Examination with the telescope showed to the signal men, who had +established a new station on the Jersey highlands, that these mysterious +spheres were balloons; and that the ships were about to dispatch them, +was evident from the fact that small pilot-balloons were soon sent up. +These last were wafted directly toward the city. + +What possible object could the Spanish war-vessels have in this, was a +question asked by every one, as soon as the intelligence became known. + +The balloon which rose from the "Numancia" had a car attached, but there +was clearly no one in it. Therefore the balloons were not to be used for +purposes of observation. + +The people in New York saw the balloons as they successively rose from +the four vessels, and wonderingly watched their progress. + +They saw the first of them gently sail toward the city until about over +the Roman Catholic Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. Then a dark object seemed +to fall from the car, the lightened balloon shot upward, the object +struck the roof of the cathedral there was a fearful explosion, a +trembling of the earth as if an angry volcano were beneath, and the +crash of falling buildings followed. + +Through the great clouds of dust and smoke it could be seen that not +only was the cathedral shattered, but that the walls of every building +adjacent to the square on which it stood were down. + +_The Spaniards were dropping nitro-glycerine bombs into the city from +the balloons_. They knew how long it would take the breeze to waft the +air-ships over the built-up portion, and it was an easy matter to adjust +clock-work in the car to cause the dropping of the torpedo at about the +proper time. + +Accuracy was not needed. A shell, filled with fifty or a hundred pounds +of dynamite or nitro-glycerine, would be sure to do terrible damage +anywhere within a radius of three miles around Madison Square. + +A second balloon dropped its charge into the receiving reservoir in +Central Park, luckily doing no damage, but throwing up a tremendous jet +of water. The third and fourth balloons let fall their dejectiles, the +one among the tenements near Tompkins Square destroying an entire block +of houses simultaneously; the other on High Bridge, completely +shattering that structure, and so breaking the aqueduct through which +the city obtains its water supply. + +The Spanish admiral now ceased firing voluntarily and sent a message by +flag-of-truce announcing his intention to continue the throwing of +balloon torpedoes into the city until it capitulated, and, in order to +avoid further destruction of property, he renewed the proposal already +made. + +General Grant, on receiving this message--for the citizens had literally +forced him to take active command of the troops--simply remarked: + +"Let him fire away!" + +But the Safety Committee vehemently protested; and finally, after much +discussion, induced Grant to send back word that the terms were +accepted. + +The situation was, in truth, one of sadness--of bitter humiliation. The +Empire City had fallen, and lay at the mercy of a foreign foe. The +immense ransom demanded must be raised and paid, or the work of +destruction would be resumed until the defenders of the bay removed +their torpedoes from the Narrows and permitted the Spanish forces to +enter and occupy the metropolis. + + + + +VI. + +THE FLAG WITH THE LONE STAR. + + +As it was manifestly impossible to obtain fifty millions of dollars in +specie and foreign notes within New York--for all the money in the +vaults of the banks and the treasury had long since been sent to other +cities--the general government assumed payment of the amount demanded by +the Spaniards, which, however, it was decided not to make until just +before the expiration of the last of the five days of grace. + +As will now be seen, this was a fortunate decision. The unremitting +bombardment which had been maintained by the four vessels off the Long +Island shore had so greatly reduced their supply of ammunition that it +became necessary to send for more: and for this purpose the "Vittoria" +was dispatched to meet a transport which had been ordered to sail from +Cuba at about this time. + +On the evening of the third day the weather assumed a threatening +appearance, and the "El Cid" left her position near Fort Hamilton for a +more secure anchorage near Sandy Hook. The other ships stood out to sea. + +It stormed heavily during that night, and before evening on the morrow +one of the strongest gales ever known in this vicinity had set in. + +The situation in which the Spanish flag-ship now found herself was +critical. She had put down her two bower anchors, but they were clearly +insufficient to hold her. To veer out cable was dangerous, for it was +not known how near the ship was to sunken torpedoes; to allow her to +drag was to run the double chance of striking a torpedo or going ashore. + +During the night she parted both cables, and the morning found her +firmly imbedded in the beach off the Hook. Of the other vessels, the +"Numancia" only was in sight. + +The signal men, however, could see black smoke on the horizon; and this +they anxiously watched, expecting momentarily to make out the "Arapiles" +and "Zaragoza." Shortly after daybreak, a thick fog settled down, +completely cutting off the seaward view. + +In the signal station were General Grant and several members of the +Safety Commission. The ransom money was in readiness, and the intention +was to pay it over during the morning. + +At about eight o'clock, heavy firing was heard from the sea. + +It was too far distant to be accounted for by a supposed renewal of the +bombardment by the Spanish ships, even under the assumption that they +had thus broken the truce. + +The watchers at the signal station looked at each other in astonishment, +and eagerly waited for the fog to lift. + +An hour later, the mist began to clear away. The sight that met the +eyes of the spectators was one never to be forgotten. + +The "Numancia" was evidently ashore on the East bank. Her fore and +mainmasts were gone, and clouds of dark smoke were lazily ascending from +her forecastle. Suddenly, the whole ship seemed to burst into a sheet of +flame, there was a deep explosion, the air was filled with flying +fragments, and a blackened hull was all that was left of the proud +man-of-war. + +The "Arapiles," about two miles further out to sea, was making a gallant +defense against three strange vessels. Two, lying at short range on her +quarters, were pouring in a fearful fire; the third, which had evidently +been engaged with the "Numancia," was rapidly bearing down upon her, +apparently intending to ram. + +Who could the strangers be? + +The flags which floated from their mast-heads bore a strong resemblance +to our own, yet they were not the stars and stripes; for the stripes +were replaced by but two broad bands of red and white, and in the blue +field there was but a single star. + +"Chili, by Jove!" ejaculated some one in the signal station. + +He was right. + +The new-comers were the "Huascar," the "Almirante Cochrane" and the +"Blanco Encelada," the three armored vessels of the South American +Republic. + +It was the "Huascar" which was now bearing down upon the "Arapiles." + +Suddenly, the Chilian monitor was seen to slacken her speed and change +her course. + +She no longer meant to ram; the necessity had ceased. At the same time, +the other Chilian vessels ceased firing. + +The Spanish ensign on the "Arapiles" had been lowered. In a few minutes +after it rose again, but this time surmounted by the Chilian flag. + +Then the four vessels stood in toward the Hook. + +The watchers on the signal station now waited in breathless suspense. + +The "Arapiles," with a prize crew from the other vessels to work her +guns, was to be made to attack her former consort, the stranded "El +Cid;" and that vessel, aware of her danger, was now firing rapidly at +her approaching enemies. + +It was not reserved, however, for the Chilians to complete their victory +by the capture of the great ironclad. + +The giant was to be killed by a pigmy scarce larger than one of his own +huge weapons. A smaller steam-launch slowly crept out from the Staten +Island shore. But two men could be seen on board of her--one in the bow, +the other at the helm. + +"They don't see us yet, Ned," said the man in the bow. + +"No; they have all they can do to take care of the other fellows. Look +out! Are you hurt?" + +A shell from the Chilians just then came over the Hook, and, bursting +under the water near the launch, deluged the boat with spray. + +"Not a bit," said the other. + +"Is your boom clear?" + +"All clear." + +Bang! A shot, this time from the Spaniard came skipping along the water +in the direction of the launch, and flew over the heads of the daring +pair. + +"Hang them! They've seen us." + +"Rig out your boom. We're in for it now!" + +The man in the stern pushed shut the door of the boiler furnace, and +turned on full steam. + +The little craft fairly leaped ahead. + +The two men set their teeth. He of the stern lashed the tiller +amidships, and crept forward, aiding the other to push out the long boom +which projected from the bow. + +Ten seconds passed. Then the torpedo on the end of the boom struck the +"El Cid" under the stern. There was a crash--a vast upheaval of water +and fragments. + +The great ironclad rolled over on her side and lay half submerged. + +Of the two men who had done this, one swam ashore bearing the other, +wounded to the death. + +A mighty cheer arose from the Chilian fleet, repeated from the shore +with redoubled volume. + +"El Cid" lay sullen and silent; two of her guns were pointing under +water, two up to the clouds. + +The "Arapiles" fired the last shell at her own admiral--now a corpse, +torn to pieces by the torpedo. + +Then some one scrambled along the deck of the wrecked monster and +lowered the Spanish flag. + +"I think we'll keep that money," remarked Grant, as he lit another +cigar. + + * * * * * + +The Chilian fleet had relieved New York. Elated by her victory over +Peru, and thirsting for revenge against Spain for the latter's merciless +bombardment of Valparaiso in 1866, the Chilians, as soon as they had +learned of the declaration of war against the United States, tore up the +treaty of truce and armistice made with Spain in 1871, and announced +themselves an ally of this country. Realizing the weakness of our navy, +and the unprotected position of our seaports, Chili instantly dispatched +her three ironclads to New York. They made the voyage with remarkable +celerity, stopping only for coal and provisions, and reached the +beleaguered city just in the nick of time, as has already been detailed. + +It was fortunate that the "Zaragoza" had been obliged to put so far out +to sea that she could not return in season to take part in the conflict, +otherwise the result might have been different. + +As it was, when she came back a day later, and discovered the position +of affairs, she took to her heels without delay. + +It is not necessary here to speak of the greeting which the Chilians +received, or the thanks which were lavished upon them by the people of +the United States. Neither need we picture the dismay of the citizens of +New York when they came to realize the fearful damage which had been +inflicted upon their city. Fully one-half of the town lay in ruins. The +metropolis was the metropolis no longer. The proudest city of the Great +Republic had been at the mercy of a conqueror, and, as if this +humiliation were not deep enough, she owed her preservation from utter +destruction to the guns of an insignificant Republic of South America. + + * * * * * + +Six months after the relief of the city, a Chilian sailor belonging to +the "Huascar," which was lying off the Battery, stopped to watch a crowd +of workmen who were busily engaged in clearing away the ruins of some +tenement buildings near Tompkins Square. + +The face of one of the workmen had evidently attracted the foreigner's +attention, as he gazed at him intently and curiously. + +Suddenly there was a sharp detonation. The crowd scattered in all +directions. An unexploded shell which had lodged in the building had +been struck by a pick in the hands of one of the laborers, and had been +fired. + +The sailor helped carry out the dead. + +Among the victims was the man at whom he had been so intently looking a +moment before. This one he took in his arms and bore him apart from the +rest. + +Nervously he tore open the dead man's shirt. On the bared breast was a +curiously shaped mole. + +The sailor sank on his knees in prayer beside the body for a moment. +Then he turned, and addressing an officer who, with a file of soldiers, +had come upon the scene, and was directing the removal of the dead, he +asked in broken English, pointing to the corpse: + +"Will you give me this?" + +"Why?" + +"He was my brother--_Leon Sangrado_." + +The war had found a victim in him who had caused it. + + +[3] _Fiction, October 31, 1881._ + + + + +WHY THOMAS WAS DISCHARGED.[4] + +BY GEORGE ARNOLD. + + +Brant Beach is a long promontory of rock and sand, jutting out at an +acute angle from a barren portion of the coast. Its farthest extremity +is marked by a pile of many-colored, wave-washed boulders; its junction +with the mainland is the site of the Brant House, a watering-place of +excellent repute. + +The attractions of this spot are not numerous. There is surf-bathing all +along the outer side of the beach, and good swimming on the inner. The +fishing is fair; and in still weather yachting is rather a favorite +amusement. Further than this there is little to be said, save that the +hotel is conducted upon liberal principles, and the society generally +select. + +But to the lover of nature--and who has the courage to avow himself +aught else?--the sea-shore can never be monotonous. The swirl and sweep +of ever-shifting waters, the flying mist of foam breaking away into a +gray and ghostly distance down the beach, the eternal drone of ocean, +mingling itself with one's talk by day and with the light dance-music in +the parlors by night--all these are active sources of a passive +pleasure. And to lie at length upon the tawny sand, watching, through +half-closed eyes, the heaving waves, that mount against a dark blue sky +wherein great silvery masses of cloud float idly on, whiter than the +sunlit sails that fade and grow and fade along the horizon, while some +fair damsel sits close by, reading ancient ballads of a simple metre, or +older legends of love and romance--tell me, my eater of the fashionable +lotos, is not this a diversion well worth your having? + +There is an air of easy sociality among the guests at the Brant House, a +disposition on the part of all to contribute to the general amusement, +that makes a summer sojourn on the beach far more agreeable than in +certain larger, more frequented watering-places, where one is always in +danger of discovering that the gentlemanly person with whom he has been +fraternizing is a faro-dealer, or that the lady who has half-fascinated +him is Anonyma herself. Still, some consider the Brant rather slow, and +many good folk were a trifle surprised when Mr. Edwin Salsbury and Mr. +Charles Burnham arrived by the late stage from Wikhasset Station, with +trunks enough for two first-class belles, and a most unexceptionable +man-servant in gray livery, in charge of two beautiful setter-dogs. + +These gentlemen seemed to have imagined that they were about visiting +some backwoods wilderness, some savage tract of country, "remote, +unfriended, melancholy, slow," for they brought almost everything with +them that men of elegant leisure could require, as if the hotel were but +four walls and a roof, which they must furnish with their own chattels. +I am sure it took Thomas, the man-servant, a whole day to unpack the +awnings, the bootjacks, the game-bags, the cigar-boxes, the guns, the +camp-stools, the liquor-cases, the bathing-suits, and other +paraphernalia that these pleasure-seekers brought. It must be owned, +however, that their room, a large one in the Bachelors' Quarter, facing +the sea, wore a very comfortable, sportsmanlike look when all was +arranged. + +Thus surrounded, the young men betook themselves to the deliberate +pursuit of idle pleasures. They arose at nine and went down the shore, +invariably returning at ten with one unfortunate snipe, which was +preserved on ice, with much ceremony, till wanted. At this rate it took +them a week to shoot a breakfast; but to see them sally forth, splendid +in velveteen and corduroy, with top-boots and a complete harness of +green cord and patent-leather straps, you would have imagined that all +game-birds were about to become extinct in that region. Their dogs, +even, recognized this great-cry-little-wool condition of things, and +bounded off joyously at the start, but came home crestfallen, with an +air of canine humiliation that would have aroused Mr. Mayhew's tenderest +sympathies. + +After breakfasting, usually in their room, the friends enjoyed a long +and contemplative smoke upon the wide piazza in front of their windows, +listlessly regarding the ever-varied marine view that lay before them in +flashing breadth and beauty. Their next labor was to array themselves in +wonderful morning-costumes of very shaggy English cloth, shiny flasks +and field-glasses about their shoulders, and loiter down the beach, to +the point and back, making much unnecessary effort over the walk--a +brief mile--which they spoke of, with importance, as their +"constitutional." This killed time till bathing-hour, and then another +toilet for dinner. After dinner a siesta: in the room, when the weather +was fresh; when otherwise, in hammocks hung from the rafters of the +piazza. When they had been domiciled a few days, they found it expedient +to send home for what they were pleased to term their "crabs" and +"traps," and excited the envy of less fortunate guests by driving up and +down the beach at a racing gait to dissipate the languor of the +after-dinner sleep. + +This was their regular routine for the day--varied, occasionally, when +the tide served, by a fishing trip down the narrow bay inside the point. +For such emergencies they provided themselves with a sail-boat and +skipper, hired for the whole season, and arrayed themselves in a highly +nautical rig. The results were, large quantities of sardines and pale +sherry consumed by the young men, and a reasonable number of sea-bass +and blackfish caught by the skipper. + +There were no regular "hops" at the Brant House, but dancing in a quiet +way every evening to a flute, violin, and violoncello, played by some of +the waiters. For a time Burnham and Salsbury did not mingle much in +these festivities, but loitered about the halls and piazzas, very +elegantly dressed and barbered (Thomas was an unrivalled _coiffeur_), +and apparently somewhat _ennuyé_. + +That two well-made, full-grown, intelligent, and healthy young men +should lead such a life as this for an entire summer might surprise one +of a more active temperament. The aimlessness and vacancy of an +existence devoted to no earthly purpose save one's own comfort must soon +weary any man who knows what is the meaning of real, earnest life--life +with a battle to be fought and a victory to be won. But these elegant +young gentlemen comprehended nothing of all that: they had been born +with golden spoons in their mouths, and educated only to swallow the +delicately insipid lotos-honey that flows inexhaustibly from such +shining spoons. Clothes, complexions, polish of manner, and the +avoidance of any sort of shock were the simple objects of their +solicitude. + +I do not know that I have any serious quarrel with such fellows, after +all. They have strong virtues. They are always clean; and your rough +diamond, though manly and courageous as Coeur de Lion, is not apt to be +scrupulously nice in his habits. Affability is another virtue. The +Salsbury and Burnham kind of man bears malice toward no one, and is +disagreeable only when assailed by some hammer-and-tongs utilitarian. +All he asks is to be permitted to idle away his pleasant life +unmolested. Lastly, he is extremely ornamental. We all like to see +pretty things; and I am sure that Charley Burnham, in his fresh white +duck suit, with his fine, thoroughbred face--gentle as a girl's--shaded +by a snowy Panama, his blonde moustache carefully pointed, his golden +hair clustering in the most picturesque possible waves, his little red +neck-ribbon--the only bit of color in his dress--tied in a studiously +careless knot, and his pure, untainted gloves of pearl gray or lavender, +was, if I may be allowed the expression, just as pretty as a picture. +And Ned Salsbury was not less "a joy forever," according to the dictum +of the late Mr. Keats. He was darker than Burnham, with very black hair, +and a moustache worn in the manner the French call _triste_, which +became him, and increased the air of pensive melancholy that +distinguished his dark eyes, thoughtful attitudes, and slender figure. +Not that he was in the least degree pensive or melancholy, or that he +had cause to be; quite the contrary; but it was his style, and he did it +well. + +These two butterflies sat, one afternoon, upon the piazza, smoking very +large cigars, lost, apparently, in profoundest meditation. Burnham, with +his graceful head resting upon one delicate hand, his clear blue eyes +full of a pleasant light, and his face warmed by a calm, unconscious +smile, might have been revolving some splendid scheme of universal +philanthropy. The only utterance, however, forced from him by the +sublime thoughts that permeated his soul, was the emission of a white +rolling volume of fragrant smoke, accompanied by two words: "Doocéd +hot!" + +Salsbury did not reply. He sat, leaning back, with his fingers +interlaced behind his head, and his shadowy eyes downcast, as in sad +remembrance of some long-lost love. So might a poet have looked, while +steeped in mournfully rapturous daydreams of remembered passion and +severance. So might Tennyson's hero have mused, while he sang: + + "Oh, that 'twere possible, + After long grief and pain, + To find the arms of my true love + Round me once again!" + +But the poetic lips opened not to such numbers. Salsbury gazed long and +earnestly, and finally gave vent to his emotion, indicating, with the +amber tip of his cigar-tube, the setter that slept in the sunshine at +his feet. + +"Shocking place, this, for dogs!"--I regret to say he pronounced it +"dawgs"--"Why, Carlo is as fat--as fat as--as a--" + +His mind was unequal to a simile even, and he terminated the sentence +in a murmur. + +More silence; more smoke; more profound meditation. Directly Charley +Burnham looked around with some show of vitality. + +"There comes the stage," said he. + +The driver's bugle rang merrily among the drifted sand-hills that lay +warm and glowing in the orange light of the setting sun. The young men +leaned forward over the piazza-rail and scrutinized the occupants of the +vehicle as it appeared. + +"Old gentleman and lady, aw, and two children," said Ned Salsbury; "I +hoped there would be some nice girls." + +This, in a voice of ineffable tenderness and poetry, but with that odd, +tired little drawl, so epidemic in some of our universities. + +"Look there, by Jove!" cried Charley, with a real interest at last; "now +that's what I call a regular thing!" + +The "regular thing" was a low, four-wheeled pony-chaise of basket-work, +drawn by two jolly little fat ponies, black and shiny as vulcanite, +which jogged rapidly in, just far enough behind the stage to avoid its +dust. + +This vehicle was driven by a young lady of decided beauty, with a spice +of Amazonian spirit. She was rather slender and very straight, with a +jaunty little hat and feather perched coquettishly above her dark brown +hair, which was arranged in one heavy mass and confined in a silken net. +Her complexion was clear, without brilliancy; her eyes blue as the +ocean horizon, and spanned by sharp, characteristic brows; her mouth +small and decisive; and her whole cast of features indicative of quick +talent and independence. + +Upon the seat beside her sat another damsel, leaning indolently back in +the corner of the carriage. This one was a little fairer than the first, +having one of those beautiful English complexions of mingled rose and +snow, and a dash of gold-dust in her hair where the sun touched it. Her +eyes, however, were dark hazel and full of fire, shaded and intensified +by their long, sweeping lashes. Her mouth was a rosebud, and her chin +and throat faultless in the delicious curve of their lines. In a word, +she was somewhat of the Venus-di-Milo type; her companion was more of a +Diana. Both were neatly habited in plain travelling-dresses and cloaks +of black and white plaid, and both seemed utterly unconscious of the +battery of eyes and eye-glasses that enfiladed them from the whole +length of the piazza as they passed. + +"Who are they?" asked Salsbury; "I don't know them." + +"Nor I," said Burnham; "but they look like people to know. They must be +somebody." + +Half an hour later the hotel-office was besieged by a score of young +men, all anxious for a peep at the last names upon the register. It is +needless to say that our friends were not in the crowd. Ned Salsbury was +no more the man to exhibit curiosity than Charley Burnham was the man +to join in a scramble for anything under the sun. They had educated +their emotions clear down, out of sight, and piled upon them a mountain +of well-bred inertia. + +But, somehow or other, these fellows who take no trouble are always the +first to gain the end. A special Providence seems to aid the poor, +helpless creatures. So, while the crowd still pressed at the +office-desk, Jerry Swayne, the head clerk, happened to pass directly by +the piazza where the inert ones sat, and, raising a comical eye, saluted +them. + +"Heavy arrivals to-night. See the turnout?" + +"Y-e-s," murmured Ned. + +"Old Chapman and family. His daughter drove the pony-phaeton, with her +friend, a Miss Thurston. Regular nobby ones. Chapman's the steam-ship +man, you know. Worth thousands of millions! I'd like to be connected +with his family--by marriage, say!"--and Jerry went off, rubbing his +cropped head and smiling all over, as was his wont. + +"I know who they are now," said Charley. "Met a cousin of theirs, Joe +Faulkner, abroad two years ago. Doocéd fine fellow. Army." + +The manly art of wagoning is not pursued vigorously at Brant Beach. The +roads are too heavy back from the water, and the drive is confined to a +narrow strip of wet sand along the shore; so carriages are few, and the +pony-chaise became a distinguished element at once. Salsbury and Burnham +whirled past it in their light trotting-wagons at a furious pace, and +looked hard at the two young ladies in passing, but without eliciting +even the smallest glance from them in return. + +"Confounded _distingué_-looking girls, and all that," owned Ned, "but, +aw, fearfully unconscious of a fellow!" + +This condition of matters continued until the young men were actually +driven to acknowledge to each other that they should not mind knowing +the occupants of the pony carriage. It was a great concession, and was +rewarded duly. A bright, handsome boy of seventeen, Miss Thurston's +brother, came to pass a few days at the seaside, and fraternized with +everybody, but was especially delighted with Ned Salsbury, who took him +out sailing and shooting, and, I am afraid, gave him cigars stealthily, +when out of range of Miss Thurston's fine eyes. The result was that the +first time the lad walked on the beach with the two girls and met the +young man, introductions of an enthusiastic nature were instantly sprung +upon them. An attempt at conversation followed. + +"How do you like Brant Beach?" asked Ned. + +"Oh, it is a very pretty place," said Miss Chapman, "but not lively +enough." + +"Well, Burnham and I find it pleasant; aw, we have lots of fun." + +"Indeed! Why, what do you do?" + +"Oh, I don't know. Everything." + +"Is the shooting good? I saw you with your guns yesterday." + +"Well, there isn't a great deal of game. There is some fishing, but we +haven't caught much." + +"How do you kill time, then?" + +Salsbury looked puzzled. + +"Aw--it is a first-rate air, you know. The table is good, and you can +sleep like a top. And then, you see, I like to smoke around, and do +nothing, on the sea-shore. It is real jolly to lie on the sand, aw, with +all sorts of little bugs running over you, and listen to the water +swashing about!" + +"Let's try it!" cried vivacious Miss Chapman; and down she sat on the +sand. The others followed her example, and in five minutes they were +picking up pretty pebbles and chatting away as sociably as could be. The +rumbling of the warning gong surprised them. + +At dinner Burnham and Salsbury took seats opposite the ladies, and were +honored with an introduction to papa and mamma, a very dignified, heavy, +rosy, old-school couple, who ate a good deal and said very little. That +evening, when flute and viol wooed the lotos-eaters to agitate the light +fantastic toe, these young gentlemen found themselves in dancing humor, +and revolved themselves into a grievous condition of glow and wilt in +various mystic and intoxicating measures with their new-made friends. + +On retiring, somewhat after midnight, Miss Thurston paused while "doing +her hair," and addressed Miss Chapman. + +"Did you observe, Hattie, how very handsome those gentlemen are? Mr. +Burnham looks like a prince of the _sang azur_, and Mr. Salsbury like +his poet-laureate." + +"Yes, dear," responded Hattie; "I have been considering those flowers of +the field and lilies of the valley." + +"Ned," said Charlie, at about the same time, "we won't find anything +nicer here this season, I think." + +"They're pretty worth while," replied Ned, "and I'm rather pleased with +them." + +"Which do you like best?" + +"Oh, bother! I haven't thought of _that_ yet." + +The next day the young men delayed their "constitutional" until the +ladies were ready to walk, and the four strolled off together, mamma and +the children following in the pony-chaise. At the rocks on the end of +the point Ned got his feet very wet fishing up specimens of seaweed for +the damsels; and Charley exerted himself super-humanly in assisting them +to a ledge which they considered favorable for sketching purposes. + +In the afternoon a sail was arranged, and they took dinner on board the +boat, with any amount of hilarity and a good deal of discomfort. In the +evening more dancing and vigorous attentions to both the young ladies, +but without a shadow of partiality being shown by either of the four. + +This was very nearly the history of many days. It does not take long to +get acquainted with people who are willing, especially at +watering-places; and in the course of a few weeks these young folks +were, to all intents and purposes, old friends--calling each other by +their given names, and conducting themselves with an easy familiarity +quite charming to behold. Their amusements were mostly in common now. +The light wagons were made to hold two each instead of one, and the +matinal snipe escaped death, and was happy over his early worm. + +One day, however, Laura Thurston had a headache, and Hattie Chapman +stayed at home to take care of her; so Burnham and Salsbury had to amuse +themselves alone. They took their boat and idled about the waters inside +the point, dozing under an awning, smoking, gaping, and wishing that +headaches were out of fashion, while the taciturn and tarry skipper +instructed the dignified and urbane Thomas in the science of trolling +for blue-fish. + +At length Ned tossed his cigar-end overboard and braced himself for an +effort. + +"I say, Charlie," said he, "this sort of thing can't go on forever, you +know. I've been thinking lately." + +"Phenomenon!" replied Charlie; "and what have you been thinking about?" + +"Those girls. We've got to choose." + +"Why? Isn't it well enough as it is?" + +"Yes--so far. But I think, aw, that we don't quite do them justice. +They're _grands partis_, you see. I hate to see clever girls wasting +themselves on society, waiting and waiting, and we fellows swimming +about just like fish around a hook that isn't baited properly." + +Charley raised himself upon his elbow. + +"You don't mean to tell me, Ned, that you have matrimonial intentions?" + +"Oh, no! Still, why not? We've all got to come to it some day, I +suppose." + +"Not yet, though. It is a sacrifice we can escape for some years yet." + +"Yes--of course--some years; but we may begin to look about us a bit. +I'm, aw, I'm six and twenty, you know." + +"And I'm very near that. I suppose a fellow can't put off the yoke too +long. After thirty chances aren't so good. I don't know, by Jove! but +what we ought to begin thinking of it." + +"But it _is_ a sacrifice. Society must lose a fellow, though, one time +or another. And I don't believe we will ever do better than we can now." + +"Hardly, I suspect." + +"And we're keeping other fellows away, maybe. It is a shame!" + +Thomas ran his line in rapidly, with nothing on the hook. + +"Cap'n Hull," he said, gravely, "I had the biggest kind of a fish then +I'm sure; but d'rectly I went to pull him in, sir, he took and let go." + +"Yaas," muttered the taciturn skipper, "the biggest fish allers falls +back inter the warter." + +"I've been thinking a little about this matter, too," said Charlie, +after a pause, "and I had about concluded we ought to pair off. But I'll +be confounded if I know which is the best! They're both nice girls." + +"There isn't much choice," Ned replied. "If they were as different, now, +as you and me, I'd take the blonde, of course, aw, and you'd take the +brunette. But Hattie Chapman's eyes are blue, and her hair isn't black, +you know, so you can't call her dark, exactly." + +"No more than Laura is exactly light. Her hair is brown more than +golden, and her eyes are hazel. Hasn't she a lovely complexion, though? +By Jove!" + +"Better than Hattie's. Yet I don't know but Hattie's features are a +little the best." + +"They are. Now, honest, Ned, which do you prefer? Say either; I'll take +the one you don't want. I haven't any choice." + +"Neither have I." + +"How shall we settle?" + +"Aw, throw for it?" + +"Yes. Isn't there a backgammon board forward, in that locker, Thomas?" + +The board was found and the dice produced. + +"The highest takes which?" + +"Say Laura Thurston." + +"Very good; throw." + +"You first." + +"No. Go on." + +Charlie threw with about the same amount of excitement he might have +exhibited in a turkey raffle. + +"Five-three," said he; "now for your luck." + +"Six-four! Laura's mine. Satisfied?" + +"Perfectly--if you are. If not, I don't mind exchanging." + +"Oh, no. I'm satisfied." + +Both reclined upon the deck once more with a sigh of relief, and a long +silence followed. + +"I say," began Charlie, after a time, "it is a comfort to have these +little matters arranged without any trouble, eh?" + +"Y-e-s." + +"Do you know, I think I'll marry mine?" + +"I will, if you will." + +"Done! It is a bargain." + +This "little matter" being arranged, a change gradually took place in +the relations of the four. Ned Salsbury began to invite Laura Thurston +out driving and bathing somewhat oftener than before, and Hattie Chapman +somewhat less often; while Charlie Burnham followed suit with the +last-named young lady. As the line of demarcation became fixed, the +damsels recognized it, and accepted with gracious readiness the +cavaliers that Fate, through the agency of a chance-falling pair of +dice, had allotted to them. + +The other guests of the house remarked the new position of affairs, and +passed whispers about it to the effect that the girls had at last +succeeded in getting their fish on hooks instead of in a net. No +suitors could have been more devoted than our friends. It seemed as if +each knight bestowed upon the chosen one all the attentions he had +hitherto given to both; and whether they went boating, sketching, or +strolling upon the sands, they were the very picture of a _partie +carrée_ of lovers. + +Naturally enough, as the young men became more in earnest, with the +reticence common to my sex they spoke less frequently and freely on the +subject. Once, however, after an unusually pleasant afternoon, Salsbury +ventured a few words. + +"I say, we're a couple of lucky dogs! Who'd have thought now, aw, that +our summer was going to turn out so well? I'm sure I didn't. How do you +get along, Charley, boy?" + +"Deliciously. Smooth sailing enough. Wasn't it a good idea, though, to +pair off? I'm just as happy as a bee in clover. You seem to prosper, +too, heh?" + +"Couldn't ask anything different. Nothing but devotion, and all that. +I'm delighted. I say, when are you going to pop?" + +"Oh, I don't know. It is only a matter of form. Sooner the better, I +suppose, and have it over." + +"I was thinking of next week. What do you say to a quiet picnic down on +the rocks, and a walk afterwards? We can separate, you know, and do the +thing up systematically." + +"All right. I will, if you will." + +"That's another bargain. I notice there isn't much doubt about the +results." + +"Hardly!" + +A close observer might have seen that the gentlemen increased their +attentions a little from time to time. The objects of their devotion +perceived it, and smiled more and more graciously upon them. + +The day set for the picnic arrived duly, and was radiant. It pains me to +confess that my heroes were a trifle nervous. Their apparel was more +gorgeous and wonderful than ever, and Thomas, who was anxious to be off +courting Miss Chapman's lady's-maid, found his masters dreadfully +exacting in the matter of hair-dressing. At length, however, the toilet +was over, and "Solomon in all his glory" would have been vastly +astonished at finding himself "arrayed as one of these." + +The boat lay at the pier, receiving large quantities of supplies for the +trip, stowed by Thomas, under the supervision of the grim and tarry +skipper. When all was ready the young men gingerly escorted their fair +companions aboard, the lines were cast off, and the boat glided gently +down the bay, leaving Thomas free to fly to the smart presence of Susan +Jane and to draw glowing pictures for her of a neat little porter-house +in the city, wherein they should hold supreme sway, be happy with each +other, and let rooms up-stairs for single gentlemen. + +The brisk land breeze swelling the sail, the fluttering of the gay +little flag at the gaff, the musical rippling of water under the +counter, and the spirited motion of the boat combined, with the bland +air and pleasant sunshine, to inspire the party with much vivacity. They +had not been many minutes afloat before the guitar-case was opened, and +the girls' voices--Laura's soprano and Hattie's contralto--rang +melodiously over the waves, mingled with feeble attempt at bass +accompaniment from their gorgeous guardians. + +Before these vocal exercises wearied, the skipper hauled down his jib, +let go his anchor, and brought the craft to just off the rocks; and +bringing the yawl alongside, unceremoniously plucked the girls down into +it, without giving their cavaliers a chance for the least display of +agile courtliness. Rowing ashore, this same tarry person left them +huddled upon the beach, with their hopes, their hampers, their emotions, +and their baskets, and returned to the vessel to do a little private +fishing on his own account till wanted. + +The maidens gave vent to their high spirits by chasing each other among +the rocks, gathering shells and seaweed for the construction of those +ephemeral little ornaments--fair, but frail--in which the sex delights, +singing, laughing, quoting poetry, attitudinizing upon the peaks and +ledges of the fine old boulders--mossy and weedy and green with the wash +of a thousand storms, worn into strange shapes, and stained with the +multitudinous dyes of mineral oxidization--and, in brief, behaved +themselves with all the charming _abandon_ that so well becomes young +girls set free, by the _entourage_ of a holiday ramble, from the buckram +and clear-starch of social etiquette. + +Meanwhile Ned and Charley smoked the pensive cigar of preparation in a +sheltered corner, and gazed out seaward, dreaming and seeing nothing. + +Erelong the breeze and the romp gave the young ladies not only a +splendid color and sparkling eyes, but excellent appetites also. The +baskets and hampers were speedily unpacked, the table-cloth laid on a +broad, flat stone, so used by generations of Brant House picnickers, and +the party fell to. Laura's beautiful hair, a little disordered, swept +her blooming cheek, and cast a pearly shadow upon her neck. Her bright +eyes glanced archly out from under her half-raised veil, and there was +something inexpressibly _naïve_ in the freedom with which she ate, +taking a bird's wing in her fingers, and boldly attacking it with teeth +as white and even as can be imagined. Notwithstanding all the mawkish +nonsense that has been put forth by sentimentalists concerning feminine +eating, I hold that it is one of the nicest things in the world to see a +pretty woman enjoying the creature comforts; and Byron himself, had he +been one of this picnic party, would have been unable to resist the +admiration that filled the souls of Burnham and Salsbury. Hattie Chapman +stormed the fortress of boned turkey with a gusto equal to that of +Laura, and made highly successful raids upon certain outlying salads +and jellies. The young men were not in a very ravenous condition; they +were, as I have said, a little nervous, and bent their energies +principally to admiring the ladies and coquetting with pickled oysters. + +When the repast was over, with much accompanying chat and laughter, Ned +glanced significantly at Charley, and proposed to Laura that they should +walk up the beach to a place where, he said, there were "some pretty +rocks and things, you know." She consented, and they marched off. Hattie +also arose, and took her parasol, as if to follow, but Charley remained +seated, tracing mysterious diagrams upon the table-cloth with his fork, +and looked sublimely unconscious. + +"Sha'n't we walk, too?" Hattie asked. + +"Oh, why, the fact is," said he, hesitatingly, "I--I sprained my ankle +getting out of that confounded boat, so I don't feel much like +exercising just now." + +The young girl's face expressed concern. + +"That is too bad! Why didn't you tell us of it before? Is it painful? +I'm so sorry!" + +"N-no--it doesn't hurt much. I dare say it will be all right in a +minute. And then--I'd just as soon stay here--with you--as to walk +anywhere." + +This very tenderly, with a little sigh. + +Hattie sat down again, and began to talk to this factitious cripple in +the pleasant, purring way some damsels have, about the joys of the +sea-shore, the happy summer that was, alas! drawing to a close, her own +enjoyment of life, and kindred topics, till Charley saw an excellent +opportunity to interrupt with some aspirations of his own, which, he +averred, must be realized before his life would be considered a +satisfactory success. + +If you had ever been placed in analogous circumstances, you know, of +course, just about the sort of thing that was being said by the two +gentlemen at nearly the same moment: Ned, loitering slowly along the +sands with Laura on his arm, and Charley, stretched in indolent +picturesqueness upon the rocks, with Hattie sitting beside him. If you +do not know from experience, ask any candid friend who has been through +the form and ceremony of an orthodox proposal. + +When the pedestrians returned the two couples looked very hard at each +other. All were smiling and complacent, but devoid of any strange or +unusual expression. Indeed, the countenance is subject to such severe +education, in good society, that one almost always looks smiling and +complacent. Demonstration is not fashionable, and a man must preserve +the same demeanor over the loss of a wife or a glove-button, over the +gift of a heart's whole devotion or a bundle of cigars. Under all these +visitations the complacent smile is in favor as the neatest, most +serviceable, and convenient form of non-committalism. + +The sun was approaching the blue range of misty hills that bounded the +mainland swamps by this time; so the skipper was signalled, the dinner +paraphernalia gathered up, and the party were soon _en route_ for home +once more. When the young ladies were safely in, Ned and Charley met in +their room, and each caught the other looking at him stealthily. Both +smiled. + +"Did I give you time, Charley?" asked Ned; "we came back rather soon." + +"Oh, yes; plenty of time." + +"Did you--aw, did you pop? + +"Y-yes. Did you?" + +"Well--yes." + +"And you were--" + +"Rejected, by Jove!" + +"So was I!" + +The day following this disastrous picnic the baggage of Mr. Edwin +Salsbury and Mr. Charles Burnham was sent to the depot at Wikhasset +Station, and they presented themselves at the hotel-office with a +request for their bill. As Jerry Swayne deposited their key upon its +hook, he drew forth a small tri-cornered billet from the pigeon-hole +beneath, and presented it. + +"Left for you this morning, gentlemen." + +It was directed to both, and Charley read it over Ned's shoulder. It ran +thus: + + "DEAR BOYS: The next time you divert yourselves by throwing dice + for two young ladies, we pray you not to do so in the presence of a + valet who is upon terms of intimacy with the maid of one of them. + + "With many sincere thanks for the amusement + you have given us--often when you least suspected + it--we bid you a lasting adieu, and remain, with + the best wishes, + + "HATTIE CHAPMAN, + "LAURA THURSTON. + + "_Brant House_, + "_Wednesday."_ + +"It is all the fault of that, aw--that confounded Thomas!" said Ned. + +So Thomas was discharged. + + +[4] _Atlantic Monthly, June_, 1863. + + + + +THE TACHYPOMP.[5] + +A MATHEMATICAL DEMONSTRATION. + +BY E.P. MITCHELL. + + +There was nothing mysterious about Professor Surd's dislike for me. I +was the only poor mathematician in an exceptionally mathematical class. +The old gentleman sought the lecture-room every morning with eagerness, +and left it reluctantly. For was it not a thing of joy to find seventy +young men who, individually and collectively, preferred _x_ to XX; who +had rather differentiate than dissipate; and for whom the limbs of the +heavenly bodies had more attractions than those of earthly stars upon +the spectacular stage? + +So affairs went on swimmingly between the Professor of Mathematics and +the Junior Class at Polyp University. In every man of the seventy the +sage saw the logarithm of a possible La Place, of a Sturm, or of a +Newton. It was a delightful task for him to lead them through the +pleasant valleys of conic sections, and beside the still waters of the +integral calculus. Figuratively speaking, his problem was not a hard +one. He had only to manipulate, and eliminate, and to raise to a higher +power, and the triumphant result of examination day was assured. + +But I was a disturbing element, a perplexing unknown quantity, which had +somehow crept into the work, and which seriously threatened to impair +the accuracy of his calculations. It was a touching sight to behold the +venerable mathematician as he pleaded with me not so utterly to +disregard precedent in the use of cotangents; or as he urged, with eyes +almost tearful, that ordinates were dangerous things to trifle with. All +in vain. More theorems went on to my cuff than into my head. Never did +chalk do so much work to so little purpose. And, therefore, it came that +Furnace Second was reduced to zero in Professor Surd's estimation. He +looked upon me with all the horror which an unalgebraic nature could +inspire. I have seen the Professor walk around an entire square rather +than meet the man who had no mathematics in his soul. + +For Furnace Second were no invitations to Professor Surd's house. +Seventy of the class supped in delegations around the periphery of the +Professor's tea-table. The seventy-first knew nothing of the charms of +that perfect ellipse, with its twin bunches of fuchsias and geraniums +in gorgeous precision at the two foci. + +This, unfortunately enough, was no trifling deprivation. Not that I +longed especially for segments of Mrs. Surd's justly celebrated lemon +pies; not that the spheroidal damsons of her excellent preserving had +any marked allurements; not even that I yearned to hear the Professor's +jocose table-talk about binomials, and chatty illustrations of abstruse +paradoxes. The explanation is far different. Professor Surd had a +daughter. Twenty years before, he made a proposition of marriage to the +present Mrs. S. He added a little Corollary to his proposition not long +after. The Corollary was a girl. + +Abscissa Surd was as perfectly symmetrical as Giotto's circle, and as +pure, withal, as the mathematics her father taught. It was just when +spring was coming to extract the roots of frozen-up vegetation that I +fell in love with the Corollary. That she herself was not indifferent I +soon had reason to regard as a self-evident truth. + +The sagacious reader will already recognize nearly all the elements +necessary to a well-ordered plot. We have introduced a heroine, inferred +a hero, and constructed a hostile parent after the most approved model. +A movement for the story, a _Deus ex machina_, is alone lacking. With +considerable satisfaction I can promise a perfect novelty in this line, +a _Deus ex machina_ never before offered to the public. + +It would be discounting ordinary intelligence to say that I sought with +unwearying assiduity to figure my way into the stern father's good-will; +that never did dullard apply himself to mathematics more patiently than +I; that never did faithfulness achieve such meagre reward. Then I +engaged a private tutor. His instructions met with no better success. + +My tutor's name was Jean Marie Rivarol. He was a unique Alsatian--though +Gallic in name, thoroughly Teuton in nature; by birth a Frenchman, by +education a German. His age was thirty; his profession, omniscience; the +wolf at his door, poverty; the skeleton in his closet, a consuming but +unrequited passion. The most recondite principles of practical science +were his toys; the deepest intricacies of abstract science his +diversions. Problems which were foreordained mysteries to me were to him +as clear as Tahoe water. Perhaps this very fact will explain our lack of +success in the relation of tutor and pupil; perhaps the failure is alone +due to my own unmitigated stupidity. Rivarol had hung about the skirts +of the University for several years; supplying his few wants by writing +for scientific journals, or by giving assistance to students who, like +myself, were characterized by a plethora of purse and a paucity of +ideas; cooking, studying and sleeping in his attic lodgings; and +prosecuting queer experiments all by himself. + +We were not long discovering that even this eccentric genius could not +transplant brains into my deficient skull. I gave over the struggle in +despair. An unhappy year dragged its slow length around. A gloomy year +it was, brightened only by occasional interviews with Abscissa, the +Abbie of my thoughts and dreams. + +Commencement day was coming on apace. I was soon to go forth, with the +rest of my class, to astonish and delight a waiting world. The Professor +seemed to avoid me more than ever. Nothing but the conventionalities, I +think kept him from shaping his treatment of me on the basis of +unconcealed disgust. + +At last, in the very recklessness of despair, I resolved to see him, +plead with him, threaten him if need be, and risk all my fortunes on one +desperate chance. I wrote him a somewhat defiant letter, stating my +aspirations, and, as I flattered myself, shrewdly giving him a week to +get over the first shock of horrified surprise. Then I was to call and +learn my fate. + +During the week of suspense I nearly worried myself into a fever. It was +first crazy hope, and then saner despair. On Friday evening, when I +presented myself at the Professor's door, I was such a haggard, sleepy, +dragged-out spectre, that even Miss Jocasta, the harsh-favored maiden +sister of the Surd's, admitted me with commiserate regard, and suggested +pennyroyal tea. + +Professor Surd was at a faculty meeting. Would I wait? + +Yes, till all was blue, if need be. Miss Abbie? + +Abscissa had gone to Wheelborough to visit a school-friend. The aged +maiden hoped I would make myself comfortable, and departed to the +unknown haunts which knew Jocasta's daily walk. + +Comfortable! But I settled myself in a great uneasy chair and waited, +with the contradictory spirit common to such junctures, dreading every +step lest it should herald the man whom, of all men, I wished to see. + +I had been there at least an hour, and was growing right drowsy. + +At length Professor Surd came in. He sat down in the dusk opposite me, +and I thought his eyes glinted with malignant pleasure as he said, +abruptly: + +"So, young man, you think you are a fit husband for my girl?" + +I stammered some inanity about making up in affection what I lacked in +merit; about my expectations, family and the like. He quickly +interrupted me. + +"You misapprehend me, sir. Your nature is destitute of those +mathematical perceptions and acquirements which are the only sure +foundations of character. You have no mathematics in you. You are fit +for treason, stratagems, and spoils.--Shakespeare. Your narrow intellect +cannot understand and appreciate a generous mind. There is all the +difference between you and a Surd, if I may say it, which intervenes +between an infinitesimal and an infinite. Why, I will even venture to +say that you do not comprehend the Problem of the Couriers!" + +I admitted that the Problem of the Couriers should be classed rather +without my list of accomplishments than within it. I regretted this +fault very deeply, and suggested amendment. I faintly hoped that my +fortune would be such-- + +"Money!" he impatiently exclaimed. "Do you seek to bribe a Roman Senator +with a penny whistle? Why, boy, do you parade your paltry wealth, which, +expressed in mills, will not cover ten decimal places, before the eyes +of a man who measures the planets in their orbits, and close crowds +infinity itself?" + +I hastily disclaimed any intention of obtruding my foolish dollars, and +he went on: + +"Your letter surprised me not a little. I thought _you_ would be the +last person in the world to presume to an alliance here. But having a +regard for you personally"--and again I saw malice twinkle in his small +eyes--"and still more regard for Abscissa's happiness, I have decided +that you shall have her--upon conditions. Upon conditions," he repeated, +with a half-smothered sneer. + +"What are they?" cried I, eagerly enough. "Only name them." + +"Well, sir," he continued, and the deliberation of his speech seemed the +very refinement of cruelty, "you have only to prove yourself worthy an +alliance with a mathematical family. You have only to accomplish a task +which I shall presently give you. Your eyes ask me what it is. I will +tell you. Distinguish yourself in that noble branch of abstract science +in which, you cannot but acknowledge, you are at present sadly +deficient. I will place Abscissa's hand in yours whenever you shall come +before me and square the circle to my satisfaction. No! That is too easy +a condition. I should cheat myself. Say perpetual motion. How do you +like that? Do you think it lies within the range of your mental +capabilities? You don't smile. Perhaps your talents don't run in the way +of perpetual motion. Several people have found that theirs didn't. I'll +give you another chance. We were speaking of the Problem of the +Couriers, and I think you expressed a desire to know more of that +ingenious question. You shall have the opportunity. Sit down some day, +when you have nothing else to do, and discover the principle of infinite +speed. I mean the law of motion which shall accomplish an infinitely +great distance in an infinitely short time. You may mix in a little +practical mechanics, if you choose. Invent some method of taking the +tardy Courier over his road at the rate of sixty miles a minute. +Demonstrate me this discovery (when you have made it!) mathematically, +and approximate it practically, and Abscissa is yours. Until you can, I +will thank you to trouble neither myself nor her." + +I could stand his mocking no longer. I stumbled mechanically out of the +room, and out of the house. I even forgot my hat and gloves. For an +hour I walked in the moonlight. Gradually I succeeded to a more hopeful +frame of mind. This was due to my ignorance of mathematics. Had I +understood the real meaning of what he asked, I should have been utterly +despondent. + +Perhaps this problem of sixty miles a minute was not so impossible after +all. At any rate I could attempt, though I might not succeed. And +Rivarol came to my mind. I would ask him. I would enlist his knowledge +to accompany my own devoted perseverance. I sought his lodgings at once. + +The man of science lived in the fourth story, back. I had never been in +his room before. When I entered, he was in the act of filling a beer mug +from a carboy labelled _Aqua fortis_. + +"Seat you," he said. "No, not in that chair. That is my Petty Cash +Adjuster." But he was a second too late. I had carelessly thrown myself +into a chair of seductive appearance. To my utter amazement it reached +out two skeleton arms and clutched me with a grasp against which I +struggled in vain. Then a skull stretched itself over my shoulder and +grinned with ghastly familiarity close to my face. + +Rivarol came to my aid with many apologies. He touched a spring +somewhere and the Petty Cash Adjuster relaxed its horrid hold. I placed +myself gingerly in a plain cane-bottomed rocking-chair, which Rivarol +assured me was a safe location. + +"That seat," he said, "is an arrangement upon which I much felicitate +myself. I made it at Heidelberg. It has saved me a vast deal of small +annoyance. I consign to its embraces the friends who bore, and the +visitors who exasperate, me. But it is never so useful as when +terrifying some tradesman with an insignificant account. Hence the pet +name which I have facetiously given it. They are invariably too glad to +purchase release at the price of a bill receipted. Do you well apprehend +the idea?" + +While the Alsatian diluted his glass of _Aqua fortis_, shook into it an +infusion of bitters, and tossed off the bumper with apparent relish, I +had time to look around the strange apartment. + +The four corners of the room were occupied respectively by a +turning-lathe, a Rhumkorff Coil, a small steam-engine and an orrery in +stately motion. Tables, shelves, chairs and floor supported an odd +aggregation of tools, retorts, chemicals, gas-receivers, philosophical +instruments, boots, flasks, paper-collar boxes, books diminutive and +books of preposterous size. There were plaster busts of Aristotle, +Archimedes, and Comte, while a great drowsy owl was blinking away, +perched on the benign brow of Martin Farquhar Tupper. "He always roosts +there when he proposes to slumber," explained my tutor. "You are a bird +of no ordinary mind. _Schlafen Sie wohl_." + +Through a closet door, half open, I could see a human-like form covered +with a sheet. Rivarol caught my glance. + +"That," said he, "will be my masterpiece. It is a Microcosm, an +Android, as yet only partially complete. And why not? Albertus Magnus +constructed an image perfect to talk metaphysics and confute the +schools. So did Sylvester II.; so did Robertus Greathead. Roger Bacon +made a brazen head that held discourses. But the first named of these +came to destruction. Thomas Aquinas got wrathful at some of its +syllogisms and smashed its head. The idea is reasonable enough. Mental +action will yet be reduced to laws as definite as those which govern the +physical. Why should not I accomplish a manikin which shall preach as +original discourses as the Rev. Dr. Allchin, or talk poetry as +mechanically as Paul Anapest? My Android can already work problems in +vulgar fractions and compose sonnets. I hope to teach it the Positive +Philosophy." + +Out of the bewildering confusion of his effects Rivarol produced two +pipes and filled them. He handed one to me. + +"And here," he said, "I live and am tolerably comfortable. When my coat +wears out at the elbows I seek the tailor and am measured for another. +When I am hungry I promenade myself to the butcher's and bring home a +pound or so of steak, which I cook very nicely in three seconds by this +oxy-hydrogen flame. Thirsty, perhaps, I send for a carboy of _Aqua +fortis_. But I have it charged, all charged. My spirit is above any +small pecuniary transaction. I loathe your dirty greenbacks, and never +handle what they call scrip." + +"But are you never pestered with bills?" I asked. "Don't the creditors +worry your life out?" + +"Creditors!" gasped Rivarol. "I have learned no such word in your very +admirable language. He who will allow his soul to be vexed by creditors +is a relic of an imperfect civilization. Of what use is science if it +cannot avail a man who has accounts current? Listen. The moment you or +any one else enters the outside door this little electric bell sounds me +warning. Every successive step on Mrs. Grimier's staircase is a spy and +informer vigilant for my benefit. The first step is trod upon. That +trusty first step immediately telegraphs your weight. Nothing could be +simpler. It is exactly like any platform scale. The weight is registered +up here upon this dial. The second step records the size of my visitor's +feet. The third his height, the fourth his complexion, and so on. By the +time he reaches the top of the first flight I have a pretty accurate +description of him right here at my elbow, and quite a margin of time +for deliberation and action. Do you follow me? It is plain enough. Only +the A B C of my science." + +"I see all that," I said, "but I don't see how it helps you any. The +knowledge that a creditor is coming won't pay his bill. You can't escape +unless you jump out of the window." + +Rivarol laughed softly. "I will tell you. You shall see what becomes of +any poor devil who goes to demand money of me--of a man of science. Ha! +ha! It pleases me. I was seven weeks perfecting my Dun Suppressor. Did +you know"--he whispered exultingly--"did you know that there is a hole +through the earth's centre? Physicists have long suspected it; I was the +first to find it. You have read how Rhuyghens, the Dutch navigator, +discovered in Kerguellen's Land an abysmal pit which fourteen hundred +fathoms of plumb-line failed to sound. Herr Tom, that hole has no +bottom! It runs from one surface of the earth to the antipodal surface. +It is diametric. But where is the antipodal spot? You stand upon it. I +learned this by the merest chance. I was deep-digging in Mrs. Grimler's +cellar, to bury a poor cat I had sacrificed in a galvanic experiment, +when the earth under my spade crumbled, caved in, and wonder-stricken I +stood upon the brink of a yawning shaft. I dropped a coal-hod in. It +went down, down down, bounding and rebounding. In two hours and a +quarter that coal-hod came up again. I caught it and restored it to the +angry Grimler. Just think a minute. The coal-hod went down, faster and +faster, till it reached the centre of the earth. There it would stop, +were it not for acquired momentum. Beyond the centre its journey was +relatively upward, toward the opposite surface of the globe. So, losing +velocity, it went slower and slower till it reached that surface. Here +it came to rest for a second and then fell back again, eight thousand +odd miles, into my hands. Had I not interfered with it, it would have +repeated its journey, time after time, each trip of shorter extent, +like the diminishing oscillations of a pendulum, till it finally came +to eternal rest at the centre of the sphere. I am not slow to give a +practical application to any such grand discovery. My Dun Suppressor was +born of it. A trap, just outside my chamber door: a spring in here: a +creditor on the trap:--need I say more?" + +"But isn't it a trifle inhuman?" I mildly suggested. "Plunging an +unhappy being into a perpetual journey to and from Kerguellen's Land, +without a moment's warning." + +"I give them a chance. When they come up the first time I wait at the +mouth of the shaft with a rope in hand. If they are reasonable and will +come to terms, I fling them the line. If they perish, 'tis their own +fault. Only," he added, with a melancholy smile, "the centre is getting +so plugged up with creditors that I am afraid there soon will be no +choice whatever for 'em." + +By this time I had conceived a high opinion of my tutor's ability. If +anybody could send me waltzing through space at an infinite speed, +Rivarol could do it. I filled my pipe and told him the story. He heard +with grave and patient attention. Then, for full half an hour, he +whiffed away in silence. Finally he spoke. + +"The ancient cipher has overreached himself. He has given you a choice +of two problems, both of which he deems insoluble. Neither of them is +insoluble. The only gleam of intelligence Old Cotangent showed was when +he said that squaring the circle was too easy. He was right. It would +have given you your _Liebchen_ in five minutes. I squared the circle +before I discarded pantalets. I will show you the work--but it would be +a digression, and you are in no mood for digressions. Our first chance, +therefore, lies in perpetual motion. Now, my good friend, I will frankly +tell you that, although I have compassed this interesting problem, I do +not choose to use it in your behalf. I too, Herr Tom, have a heart. The +loveliest of her sex frowns upon me. Her somewhat mature charms are not +for Jean Marie Rivarol. She has cruelly said that her years demand of me +filial rather than connubial regard. Is love a matter of years or of +eternity? This question did I put to the cold, yet lovely Jocasta." + +"Jocasta Surd!" I remarked in surprise, "Abscissa's aunt!" + +"The same," he said, sadly. "I will not attempt to conceal that upon the +maiden Jocasta my maiden heart has been bestowed. Give me your hand, my +nephew in affliction as in affection!" + +Rivarol dashed away a not discreditable tear, and resumed: + +"My only hope lies in this discovery of perpetual motion. It will give +me the fame, the wealth. Can Jocasta refuse these? If she can, there is +only the trap-door and--Kerguellen's Land!" + +I bashfully asked to see the perpetual-motion machine. My uncle in +affliction shook his head. + +"At another time," he said. "Suffice it at present to say, that it is +something upon the principle of a woman's tongue. But you see now why we +must turn in your case to the alternative condition--infinite speed. +There are several ways in which this may be accomplished, theoretically. +By the lever, for instance. Imagine a lever with a very long and a very +short arm. Apply power to the shorter arm which will move it with great +velocity. The end of the long arm will move much faster. Now keep +shortening the short arm and lengthening the long one, and as you +approach infinity in their difference of length, you approach infinity +in the speed of the long arm. It would be difficult to demonstrate this +practically to the Professor. We must seek another solution. Jean Marie +will meditate. Come to me in a fortnight. Good-night. But stop! Have you +the money--_das Geld?_" + +"Much more than I need." + +"Good! Let us strike hands. Gold and Knowledge; Science and Love. What +may not such a partnership achieve? We go to conquer thee, Abscissa. +_Vorwärts!_" + +When, at the end of a fortnight, I sought Rivarol's chamber, I passed +with some little trepidation over the terminus of the Air Line to +Kerguellen's Land, and evaded the extended arms of the Petty Cash +Adjuster. Rivarol drew a mug of ale for me, and filled himself a retort +of his own peculiar beverage. + +"Come," he said at length. "Let us drink success to the TACHYPOMP." + +"The TACHYPOMP?" + +"Yes. Why not? _Tachu_, quickly, and _pempo, pepompa_ to send. May it +send you quickly to your wedding-day. Abscissa is yours. It is done. +When shall we start for the prairies?" + +"Where is it?" I asked, looking in vain around the room for any +contrivance which might seem calculated to advance matrimonial +prospects. + +"It is here," and he gave his forehead a significant tap. Then he held +forth didactically. + +"There is force enough in existence to yield us a speed of sixty miles a +minute, or even more. All we need is the knowledge how to combine and +apply it. The wise man will not attempt to make some great force yield +some great speed. He will keep adding the little force to the little +force, making each little force yield its little speed, until an +aggregate of little forces shall be a great force, yielding an aggregate +of little speeds, a great speed. The difficulty is not in aggregating +the forces; it lies in the corresponding aggregation of the speeds. One +musket-ball will go, say a mile. It is not hard to increase the force of +muskets to a thousand, yet the thousand musket-balls will go no farther, +and no faster, than the one. You see, then, where our trouble lies. We +cannot readily add speed to speed, as we add force to force. My +discovery is simply the utilization of a principle which extorts an +increment of speed from each increment of power. But this is the +metaphysics of physics. Let us be practical or nothing. + +"When you have walked forward, on a moving train, from the rear car, +toward the engine, did you ever think what you were really doing?" + +"Why, yes, I have generally been going to the smoking-car to have a +cigar." + +"Tut, tut--not that! I mean, did it ever occur to you on such an +occasion, that absolutely you were moving faster than the train? The +train passes the telegraph poles at the rate of thirty miles an hour, +say. You walk toward the smoking-car at the rate of four miles an hour. +Then _you_ pass the telegraph poles at the rate of thirty-four miles. +Your absolute speed is the speed of the engine, plus the speed of your +own locomotion. Do you follow me?" + +I began to get an inkling of his meaning, and told him so. + +"Very well. Let us advance a step. Your addition to the speed of the +engine is trivial, and the space in which you can exercise it, limited. +Now suppose two stations, A and B, two miles distant by the track. +Imagine a train of platform cars, the last car resting at station A. The +train is a mile long, say. The engine is therefore within a mile of +station B. Say the train can move a mile in ten minutes. The last car, +having two miles to go, would reach B in twenty minutes, but the engine, +a mile ahead, would get there in ten. You jump on the last car, at A, in +a prodigious hurry to reach Abscissa, who is at B. If you stay on the +last car it will be twenty long minutes before you see her. But the +engine reaches B and the fair lady in ten. You will be a stupid +reasoner, and an indifferent lover, if you don't put for the engine over +those platform cars, as fast as your legs will carry you. You can run a +mile, the length of the train, in ten minutes. Therefore, you reach +Abscissa when the engine does, or in ten minutes--ten minutes sooner +than if you had lazily sat down upon the rear car and talked politics +with the brakeman. You have diminished the time by one half. You have +added your speed to that of the locomotive to some purpose. _Nicht +wahr?_" + +I saw it perfectly; much plainer, perhaps, for his putting in the clause +about Abscissa. + +He continued: + +"This illustration, though a slow one, leads up to a principle which may +be carried to any extent. Our first anxiety will be to spare your legs +and wind. Let us suppose that the two miles of track are perfectly +straight, and make our train one platform car, a mile long, with +parallel rails laid upon its top. Put a little dummy engine on these +rails, and let it run to and fro along the platform car, while the +platform car is pulled along the ground track. Catch the idea? The dummy +takes your place. But it can run its mile much faster. Fancy that our +locomotive is strong enough to pull the platform car over the two miles +in two minutes. The dummy can attain the same speed. When the engine +reaches B in one minute, the dummy, having gone a mile a-top the +platform car, reaches B also. We have so combined the speeds of those +two engines as to accomplish two miles in one minute. Is this all we can +do? Prepare to exercise your imagination." + +I lit my pipe. + +"Still two miles of straight track, between A and B. On the track a long +platform car, reaching from A to within a quarter of a mile of B. We +will now discard ordinary locomotives and adopt as our motive power a +series of compact magnetic engines, distributed underneath the platform +car, all along its length." + +"I don't understand those magnetic engines." + +"Well, each of them consists of a great iron horseshoe, rendered +alternately a magnet and not a magnet by an intermittent current of +electricity from a battery, this current in its turn regulated by +clock-work. When the horseshoe is in the circuit, it is a magnet, and it +pulls its clapper toward it with enormous power. When it is out of the +circuit, the next second, it is not a magnet, and it lets the clapper +go. The clapper, oscillating to and fro, imparts a rotatory motion to a +fly-wheel, which transmits it to the drivers on the rails. Such are our +motors. They are no novelty, for trial has proved them practicable. + +"With a magnetic engine for every truck of wheels, we can reasonably +expect to move our immense car, and to drive it along at a speed, say, +of a mile a minute. + +"The forward end, having but a quarter of a mile to go, will reach B in +fifteen seconds. We will call this platform car number 1. On top of +number 1 are laid rails on which another platform car, number 2, a +quarter of a mile shorter than number 1, is moved in precisely the same +way. Number 2, in its turn, is surmounted by number 3, moving +independently of the tiers beneath, and a quarter of a mile shorter than +number 2. Number 2 is a mile and a half long; number 3 a mile and a +quarter. Above, on successive levels, are number 4, a mile long; number +5, three quarters of a mile; number 6, half a mile; number 7, a quarter +of a mile, and number 8, a short passenger car, on top of all. + +"Each car moves upon the car beneath it, independently of all the +others, at the rate of a mile a minute. Each car has its own magnetic +engines. Well, the train being drawn up with the latter end of each car +resting against a lofty bumping-post at A, Tom Furnace, the gentlemanly +conductor, and Jean Marie Rivarol, engineer, mount by a long ladder to +the exalted number 8. The complicated mechanism is set in motion. What +happens? + +"Number 8 runs a quarter of a mile in fifteen seconds and reaches the +end of number 7. Meanwhile number 7 has run a quarter of a mile in the +same time and reached the end of number 6; number 6, a quarter of a mile +in fifteen seconds, and reached the end of number 5; number 5, the end +of number 4; number 4, of number 3; number 3, of number 2; number 2, of +number 1. And number 1, in fifteen seconds, has gone its quarter of a +mile along the ground track, and has reached station B. All this has +been done in fifteen seconds. Wherefore, numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, +and 8 come to rest against the bumping-post at B, at precisely the same +second. We, in number 8, reach B just when number 1 reaches it. In other +words, we accomplish two miles in fifteen seconds. Each of the eight +cars, moving at the rate of a mile a minute, has contributed a quarter +of a mile to our journey, and has done its work in fifteen seconds. All +the eight did their work at once, during the same fifteen seconds. +Consequently we have been whizzed through the air at the somewhat +startling speed of seven and a half seconds to the mile. This is the +Tachypomp. Does it justify the name?" + +Although a little bewildered by the complexity of cars, I apprehended +the general principle of the machine. I made a diagram, and understood +it much better. "You have merely improved on the idea of my moving +faster than the train when I was going to the smoking car?" + +"Precisely. So far we have kept within the bounds of the practicable. To +satisfy the Professor, you can theorize in something after this fashion: +If we double the number of cars, thus decreasing by one half the +distance which each has to go, we shall attain twice the speed. Each of +the sixteen cars will have but one eighth of a mile to go. At the +uniform rate we have adopted, the two miles can be done in seven and a +half instead of fifteen seconds. With thirty-two cars, and a sixteenth +of a mile, or twenty rods difference in their length, we arrive at the +speed of a mile in less than two seconds; with sixty-four cars, each +travelling but ten rods, a mile under the second. More than sixty miles +a minute! If this isn't rapid enough for the Professor, tell him to go +on, increasing the number of his cars and diminishing the distance each +one has to run. If sixty-four cars yield a speed of a mile inside the +second, let him fancy a Tachypomp of six hundred and forty cars, and +amuse himself calculating the rate of car number 640. Just whisper to +him that when he has an infinite number of cars with an infinitesimal +difference in their lengths, he will have obtained that infinite speed +for which he seems to yearn. Then demand Abscissa." + +I wrung my friend's hand in silent and grateful admiration. I could say +nothing. + +"You have listened to the man of theory," he said proudly. "You shall +now behold the practical engineer. We will go to the west of the +Mississippi and find some suitably level locality. We will erect thereon +a model Tachypomp. We will summon thereunto the professor, his daughter, +and why not his fair sister Jocasta, as well? We will take them a +journey which shall much astonish the venerable Surd. He shall place +Abscissa's digits in yours and bless you both with an algebraic formula. +Jocasta shall contemplate with wonder the genius of Rivarol. But we have +much to do. We must ship to St. Joseph the vast amount of material to +be employed in the construction of the Tachypomp. We must engage a small +army of workmen to effect that construction, for we are to annihilate +time and space. Perhaps you had better see your bankers." + +I rushed impetuously to the door. There should be no delay. + +"Stop! stop! _Um Gottes Willen_, stop!" shrieked Rivarol. "I launched my +butcher this morning and I haven't bolted the----" + +But it was too late. I was upon the trap. It swung open with a crash, +and I was plunged down, down, down! I felt as if I were falling through +illimitable space. I remember wondering, as I rushed through the +darkness, whether I should reach Kerguellen's Land or stop at the +centre. It seemed an eternity. Then my course was suddenly and painfully +arrested. + +I opened my eyes. Around me were the walls of Professor Surd's study. +Under me was a hard, unyielding plane which I knew too well was +Professor Surd's study floor. Behind me was the black, slippery, +hair-cloth chair which had belched me forth, much as the whale served +Jonah. In front of me stood Professor Surd himself, looking down with a +not unpleasant smile. + +"Good-evening, Mr. Furnace. Let me help you up. You look tired, sir. No +wonder you fell asleep when I kept you so long waiting. Shall I get you +a glass of wine? No? By the way, since receiving your letter I find +that you are a son of my old friend, Judge Furnace. I have made +inquiries, and see no reason why you should not make Abscissa a good +husband." + +Still I can see no reason why the Tachypomp should not have succeeded. +Can you? + + +[5] _Scribner's Monthly, March, 1874._ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Stories by American Authors, Volume 5, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11437 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a2b4d75 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #11437 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11437) diff --git a/old/11437-8.txt b/old/11437-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3c4b552 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11437-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5326 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Stories by American Authors, Volume 5, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stories by American Authors, Volume 5 + Contents: + A Light Man, By Henry James. + Yatil, By F.D. Millet. + The End Of New York, By Park Benjamin. + Why Thomas Was Discharged, By George Arnold. + The Tachypomp, By E.P. Mitchell + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 4, 2004 [EBook #11437] +[Date last updated: January 22, 2005] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES AMERICAN, VOL. 5 *** + + + + +Produced by Stan Goodman and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +[Illustration: H. James] + + + + +Stories by American Authors V. + + +A LIGHT MAN. + +By Henry James. + + +YATIL. + +By F.D. Millet. + + +THE END OF NEW YORK. + +By Park Benjamin. + + +WHY THOMAS WAS DISCHARGED. + +By George Arnold. + + +THE TACHYPOMP. + +By E.P. Mitchell. + + + + +1884 + + + + +A LIGHT MAN. + +BY Henry James.[1] + + + "And I--what I seem to my friend, you see-- + What I soon shall seem to his love, you guess. + What I seem to myself, do you ask of me? + No hero, I confess." + +_A Light Woman.--Browning's Men and Women_. + +April 4, 1857.--I have changed my sky without changing my mind. I resume +these old notes in a new world. I hardly know of what use they are; but +it's easier to stick to the habit than to drop it. I have been at home +now a week--at home, forsooth! And yet, after all, it is home. I am +dejected, I am bored, I am blue. How can a man be more at home than +that? Nevertheless, I am the citizen of a great country, and for that +matter, of a great city. I walked to-day some ten miles or so along +Broadway, and on the whole I don't blush for my native land. We are a +capable race and a good-looking withal; and I don't see why we +shouldn't prosper as well as another. This, by the way, ought to be a +very encouraging reflection. A capable fellow and a good-looking withal; +I don't see why he shouldn't die a millionaire. At all events he must do +something. When a man has, at thirty-two, a net income of considerably +less than nothing, he can scarcely hope to overtake a fortune before he +himself is overtaken by age and philosophy--two deplorable obstructions. +I am afraid that one of them has already planted itself in my path. What +am I? What do I wish? Whither do I tend? What do I believe? I am +constantly beset by these impertinent whisperings. Formerly it was +enough that I was Maximus Austin; that I was endowed with a cheerful +mind and a good digestion; that one day or another, when I had come to +the end, I should return to America and begin at the beginning; that, +meanwhile, existence was sweet in--in the Rue Tronchet. But now! Has the +sweetness really passed out of life? Have I eaten the plums and left +nothing but the bread and milk and corn-starch, or whatever the horrible +concoction is?--I had it to-day for dinner. Pleasure, at least, I +imagine--pleasure pure and simple, pleasure crude, brutal and +vulgar--this poor flimsy delusion has lost all its charm. I shall never +again care for certain things--and indeed for certain persons. Of such +things, of such persons, I firmly maintain, however, that I was never an +enthusiastic votary. It would be more to my credit, I suppose, if I had +been. More would be forgiven me if I had loved a little more, if into +all my folly and egotism I had put a little more _naïveté_ and +sincerity. Well, I did the best I could, I was at once too bad and too +good for it all. At present, it's far enough off; I have put the sea +between us; I am stranded. I sit high and dry, scanning the horizon for +a friendly sail, or waiting for a high tide to set me afloat. The wave +of pleasure has deposited me here in the sand. Shall I owe my rescue to +the wave of pain? At moments I feel a kind of longing to expiate my +stupid little sins. I see, as through a glass, darkly, the beauty of +labor and love. Decidedly, I am willing to work. It's written. + +7th.--My sail is in sight; it's at hand; I have all but boarded the +vessel. I received this morning a letter from the best man in the world. +Here it is: + + DEAR MAX: I see this very moment, in an old newspaper which had + already passed through my hands without yielding up its most + precious item, the announcement of your arrival in New York. To + think of your having perhaps missed the welcome you had a right to + expect from me! Here it is, dear Max--as cordial as you please. + When I say I have just read of your arrival, I mean that twenty + minutes have elapsed by the clock. These have been spent in + conversation with my excellent friend Mr. Sloane--we having taken + the liberty of making you the topic. I haven't time to say more + about Frederick Sloane than that he is very anxious to make your + acquaintance, and that, if your time is not otherwise engaged, he + would like you very much to spend a month with him. He is an + excellent host, or I shouldn't be here myself. It appears that he + knew your mother very intimately, and he has a taste for visiting + the amenities of the parents upon the children; the original ground + of my own connection with him was that he had been a particular + friend of my father. You may have heard your mother speak of him. + He is a very strange old fellow, but you will like him. Whether or + no you come for his sake, come for mine. + + Yours always, THEODORE LISLE. + +Theodore's letter is of course very kind, but it's remarkably obscure. +My mother may have had the highest regard for Mr. Sloane, but she never +mentioned his name in my hearing. Who is he, what is he, and what is the +nature of his relations with Theodore? I shall learn betimes. I have +written to Theodore that I gladly accept (I believe I suppressed the +"gladly" though) his friend's invitation, and that I shall immediately +present myself. What can I do that is better? Speaking sordidly, I shall +obtain food and lodging while I look about me. I shall have a base of +operations. D., it appears, is a long day's journey, but enchanting when +you reach it. I am curious to see an enchanting American town. And to +stay a month! Mr. Frederick Sloane, whoever you are, _vous faites bien +les choses_, and the little that I know of you is very much to your +credit. You enjoyed the friendship of my dear mother, you possess the +esteem of the virtuous Theodore, you commend yourself to my own +affection. At this rate, I shall not grudge it. + +D--, 14th.--I have been here since Thursday evening--three days. As we +rattled up to the tavern in the village, I perceived from the top of the +coach, in the twilight, Theodore beneath the porch, scanning the +vehicle, with all his amiable disposition in his eyes. He has grown +older, of course, in these five years, but less so than I had expected. +His is one of those smooth, unwrinkled souls that keep their bodies fair +and fresh. As tall as ever, moreover, and as lean and clean. How short +and fat and dark and debauched he makes one feel! By nothing he says or +means, of course, but merely by his old unconscious purity and +simplicity--that slender straightness which makes him remind you of the +spire of an English abbey. He greeted me with smiles, and stares, and +alarming blushes. He assures me that he never would have known me, and +that five years have altered me--_sehr_! I asked him if it were for the +better? He looked at me hard for a moment, with his eyes of blue, and +then, for an answer, he blushed again. + +On my arrival we agreed to walk over from the village. He dismissed his +wagon with my luggage, and we went arm-in-arm through the dusk. The town +is seated at the foot of certain mountains, whose names I have yet to +learn, and at the head of a big sheet of water, which, as yet, too, I +know only as "the Lake." The road hitherward soon leaves the village and +wanders in rural loveliness by the margin of this expanse. Sometimes the +water is hidden by clumps of trees, behind which we heard it lapping and +gurgling in the darkness: sometimes it stretches out from your feet in +shining vagueness, as if it were tired of making, all day, a million +little eyes at the great stupid hills. The walk from the tavern takes +some half an hour, and in this interval Theodore made his position a +little more clear. Mr. Sloane is a rich old widower; his age is +seventy-two, and as his health is thoroughly broken, is practically even +greater; and his fortune--Theodore, characteristically, doesn't know +anything definite about that. It's probably about a million. He has +lived much in Europe, and in the "great world;" he has had adventures +and passions and all that sort of thing; and now, in the evening of his +days, like an old French diplomatist, he takes it into his head to write +his memoirs. To this end he has lured poor Theodore to his gruesome +side, to mend his pens for him. He has been a great scribbler, says +Theodore, all his days, and he proposes to incorporate a large amount of +promiscuous literary matter into these _souvenirs intimes_. Theodore's +principal function seems to be to get him to leave things out. In fact, +the poor youth seems troubled in conscience. His patron's lucubrations +have taken the turn of many other memoirs, and have ceased to address +themselves _virginibus puerisque_. On the whole, he declares they are a +very odd mixture--a medley of gold and tinsel, of bad taste and good +sense. I can readily understand it. The old man bores me, puzzles me, +and amuses me. + +He was in waiting to receive me. We found him in his library--which, by +the way, is simply the most delightful apartment that I ever smoked a +cigar in--a room arranged for a lifetime. At one end stands a great +fireplace, with a florid, fantastic mantelpiece in carved white +marble--an importation, of course, and, as one may say, an +interpolation; the groundwork of the house, the "fixtures," being +throughout plain, solid and domestic. Over the mantel-shelf is a large +landscape, a fine Gainsborough, full of the complicated harmonies of an +English summer. Beneath it stands a row of bronzes of the Renaissance +and potteries of the Orient. Facing the door, as you enter, is an +immense window set in a recess, with cushioned seats and large clear +panes, stationed as it were at the very apex of the lake (which forms an +almost perfect oval) and commanding a view of its whole extent. At the +other end, opposite the fireplace, the wall is studded, from floor to +ceiling, with choice foreign paintings, placed in relief against the +orthodox crimson screen. Elsewhere the walls are covered with books, +arranged neither in formal regularity nor quite helter-skelter, but in a +sort of genial incongruity, which tells that sooner or later each volume +feels sure of leaving the ranks and returning into different company. +Mr. Sloane makes use of his books. His two passions, according to +Theodore, are reading and talking; but to talk he must have a book in +his hand. The charm of the room lies in the absence of certain pedantic +tones--the browns, blacks and grays--which distinguish most libraries. +The apartment is of the feminine gender. There are half a dozen light +colors scattered about--pink in the carpet, tender blue in the curtains, +yellow in the chairs. The result is a general look of brightness and +lightness; it expresses even a certain cynicism. You perceive the place +to be the home, not of a man of learning, but of a man of fancy. + +He rose from his chair--the man of fancy, to greet me--the man of fact. +As I looked at him, in the lamplight, it seemed to me, for the first +five minutes, that I had seldom seen an uglier little person. It took me +five minutes to get the point of view; then I began to admire. He is +diminutive, or at best of my own moderate stature, and bent and +contracted with his seventy years; lean and delicate, moreover, and very +highly finished. He is curiously pale, with a kind of opaque yellow +pallor. Literally, it's a magnificent yellow. His skin is of just the +hue and apparent texture of some old crumpled Oriental scroll. I know a +dozen painters who would give more than they have to arrive at the exact +"tone" of his thick-veined, bloodless hands, his polished ivory +knuckles. His eyes are circled with red, but in the battered little +setting of their orbits they have the lustre of old sapphires. His nose, +owing to the falling away of other portions of his face, has assumed a +grotesque, unnatural prominence; it describes an immense arch, gleaming +like a piece of parchment stretched on ivory. He has, apparently, all +his teeth, but has muffled his cranium in a dead black wig; of course +he's clean shaven. In his dress he has a muffled, wadded look and an +apparent aversion to linen, inasmuch as none is visible on his person. +He seems neat enough, but not fastidious. At first, as I say, I fancied +him monstrously ugly; but on further acquaintance I perceived that what +I had taken for ugliness is nothing but the incomplete remains of +remarkable good looks. The line of his features is pure; his nose, +_caeteris paribus_, would be extremely handsome; his eyes are the oldest +eyes I ever saw, and yet they are wonderfully living. He has something +remarkably insinuating. + +He offered his two hands, as Theodore introduced me; I gave him my own, +and he stood smiling at me like some quaint old image in ivory and +ebony, scanning my face with a curiosity which he took no pains to +conceal. "God bless me," he said, at last, "how much you look like your +father!" I sat down, and for half an hour we talked of many things--of +my journey, of my impressions of America, of my reminiscences of Europe, +and, by implication, of my prospects. His voice is weak and cracked, but +he makes it express everything. Mr. Sloane is not yet in his dotage--oh +no! He nevertheless makes himself out a poor creature. In reply to an +inquiry of mine about his health, he favored me with a long list of his +infirmities (some of which are very trying, certainly) and assured me +that he was quite finished. + +"I live out of mere curiosity," he said. + +"I have heard of people dying from the same motive." + +He looked at me a moment, as if to ascertain whether I were laughing at +him. And then, after a pause, "Perhaps you don't know that I disbelieve +in a future life," he remarked, blandly. + +At these words Theodore got up and walked to the fire. + +"Well, we shan't quarrel about that," said I. Theodore turned round, +staring. + +"Do you mean that you agree with me?" the old man asked. + +"I certainly haven't come here to talk theology! Don't ask me to +disbelieve, and I'll never ask you to believe." + +"Come," cried Mr. Sloane, rubbing his hands, "you'll not persuade me you +are a Christian--like your friend Theodore there." + +"Like Theodore--assuredly not." And then, somehow, I don't know why, at +the thought of Theodore's Christianity I burst into a laugh. "Excuse me, +my dear fellow," I said, "you know, for the last ten years I have lived +in pagan lands." + +"What do you call pagan?" asked Theodore, smiling. + +I saw the old man, with his hands locked, eying me shrewdly, and waiting +for my answer. I hesitated a moment, and then I said, "Everything that +makes life tolerable!" + +Hereupon Mr. Sloane began to laugh till he coughed. Verily, I thought, +if he lives for curiosity, he's easily satisfied. + +We went into dinner, and this repast showed me that some of his +curiosity is culinary. I observed, by the way, that for a victim of +neuralgia, dyspepsia, and a thousand other ills, Mr. Sloane plies a most +inconsequential knife and fork. Sauces and spices and condiments seem to +be the chief of his diet. After dinner he dismissed us, in consideration +of my natural desire to see my friend in private. Theodore has capital +quarters--a downy bedroom and a snug little _salon_. We talked till near +midnight--of ourselves, of each other, and of the author of the memoirs, +down stairs. That is, I spoke of myself, and Theodore listened; and then +Theodore descanted upon Mr. Sloane, and I listened. His commerce with +the old man has sharpened his wits. Sloane has taught him to observe and +judge, and Theodore turns round, observes, judges--him! He has become +quite the critic and analyst. There is something very pleasant in the +discriminations of a conscientious mind, in which criticism is tempered +by an angelic charity. Only, it may easily end by acting on one's +nerves. At midnight we repaired to the library, to take leave of our +host till the morrow--an attention which, under all circumstances, he +rigidly exacts. As I gave him my hand he held it again and looked at me +as he had done on my arrival. "Bless my soul," he said, at last, "how +much you look like your mother!" + +To-night, at the end of my third day, I begin to feel decidedly at +home. The fact is, I am remarkably comfortable. The house is pervaded by +an indefinable, irresistible love of luxury and privacy. Mr. Frederick +Sloane is a horribly corrupt old mortal. Already in his relaxing +presence I have become heartily reconciled to doing nothing. But with +Theodore on one side--standing there like a tall interrogation-point--I +honestly believe I can defy Mr. Sloane on the other. The former asked me +this morning, with visible solicitude, in allusion to the bit of +dialogue I have quoted above on matters of faith, whether I am really a +materialist--whether I don't believe something? I told him I would +believe anything he liked. He looked at me a while, in friendly sadness. +"I hardly know whether you are not worse than Mr. Sloane," he said. + +But Theodore is, after all, in duty bound to give a man a long rope in +these matters. His own rope is one of the longest. He reads Voltaire +with Mr. Sloane, and Emerson in his own room. He is the stronger man of +the two; he has the larger stomach. Mr. Sloane delights, of course, in +Voltaire, but he can't read a line of Emerson. Theodore delights in +Emerson, and enjoys Voltaire, though he thinks him superficial. It +appears that since we parted in Paris, five years ago, his conscience +has dwelt in many lands. _C'est tout une histoire_--which he tells very +prettily. He left college determined to enter the church, and came +abroad with his mind full of theology and Tübingen. He appears to have +studied, not wisely but too well. Instead of faith full-armed and +serene, there sprang from the labor of his brain a myriad sickly +questions, piping for answers. He went for a winter to Italy, where, I +take it, he was not quite so much afflicted as he ought to have been at +the sight of the beautiful spiritual repose that he had missed. It was +after this that we spent those three months together in Brittany--the +best-spent months of my long residence in Europe. Theodore inoculated +me, I think, with some of his seriousness, and I just touched him with +my profanity; and we agreed together that there were a few good things +left--health, friendship, a summer sky, and the lovely byways of an old +French province. He came home, searched the Scriptures once more, +accepted a "call," and made an attempt to respond to it. But the inner +voice failed him. His outlook was cheerless enough. During his absence +his married sister, the elder one, had taken the other to live with her, +relieving Theodore of the charge of contribution to her support. But +suddenly, behold the husband, the brother-in-law, dies, leaving a mere +figment of property; and the two ladies, with their two little girls, +are afloat in the wide world. Theodore finds himself at twenty-six +without an income, without a profession, and with a family of four +females to support. Well, in his quiet way he draws on his courage. The +history of the two years that passed before he came to Mr. Sloane is +really absolutely edifying. He rescued his sisters and nieces from the +deep waters, placed them high and dry, established them somewhere in +decent gentility--and then found at last that his strength had left +him--had dropped dead like an over-ridden horse. In short, he had worked +himself to the bone. It was now his sisters' turn. They nursed him with +all the added tenderness of gratitude for the past and terror of the +future, and brought him safely through a grievous malady. Meanwhile Mr. +Sloane, having decided to treat himself to a private secretary and +suffered dreadful mischance in three successive experiments, had heard +of Theodore's situation and his merits; had furthermore recognized in +him the son of an early and intimate friend, and had finally offered him +the very comfortable position he now occupies. There is a decided +incongruity between Theodore as a man--as Theodore, in fine--and the +dear fellow as the intellectual agent, confidant, complaisant, purveyor, +pander--what you will--of a battered old cynic and dilettante--a +worldling if there ever was one. There seems at first sight a perfect +want of agreement between his character and his function. One is gold +and the other brass, or something very like it. But on reflection I can +enter into it--his having, under the circumstances, accepted Mr. +Sloane's offer and been content to do his duties. _Ce que c'est de +nous!_ Theodore's contentment in such a case is a theme for the +moralist--a better moralist than I. The best and purest mortals are an +odd mixture, and in none of us does honesty exist on its own terms. +Ideally, Theodore hasn't the smallest business _dans cette galère_. It +offends my sense of propriety to find him here. I feel that I ought to +notify him as a friend that he has knocked at the wrong door, and that +he had better retreat before he is brought to the blush. However, I +suppose he might as well be here as reading Emerson "evenings" in the +back parlor, to those two very plain sisters--judging from their +photographs. Practically it hurts no one not to be too much of a prig. +Poor Theodore was weak, depressed, out of work. Mr. Sloane offers him a +lodging and a salary in return for--after all, merely a little tact. All +he has to do is to read to the old man, lay down the book a while, with +his finger in the place, and let him talk; take it up again, read +another dozen pages and submit to another commentary. Then to write a +dozen pages under his dictation--to suggest a word, polish off a period, +or help him out with a complicated idea or a half-remembered fact. This +is all, I say; and yet this is much. Theodore's apparent success proves +it to be much, as well as the old man's satisfaction. It is a part; he +has to simulate. He has to "make believe" a little--a good deal; he has +to put his pride in his pocket and send his conscience to the wash. He +has to be accommodating--to listen and pretend and flatter; and he does +it as well as many a worse man--does it far better than I. I might bully +the old man, but I don't think I could humor him. After all, however, +it is not a matter of comparative merit. In every son of woman there are +two men--the practical man and the dreamer. We live for our dreams--but, +meanwhile, we live by our wits. When the dreamer is a poet, the other +fellow is an artist. Theodore, at bottom, is only a man of taste. If he +were not destined to become a high priest among moralists, he might be a +prince among connoisseurs. He plays his part, therefore, artistically, +with spirit, with originality, with all his native refinement. How can +Mr. Sloane fail to believe that he possesses a paragon? He is no such +fool as not to appreciate a _nature distinguée_ when it comes in his +way. He confidentially assured me this morning that Theodore has the +most charming mind in the world, but that it's a pity he's so simple as +not to suspect it. If he only doesn't ruin him with his flattery! + +19th.--I am certainly fortunate among men. This morning when, +tentatively, I spoke of going away, Mr. Sloane rose from his seat in +horror and declared that for the present I must regard his house as my +home. "Come, come," he said, "when you leave this place where do you +intend to go?" Where, indeed? I graciously allowed Mr. Sloane to have +the best of the argument. Theodore assures me that he appreciates these +and other affabilities, and that I have made what he calls a "conquest" +of his venerable heart. Poor, battered, bamboozled old organ! he would +have one believe that it has a most tragical record of capture and +recapture. At all events, it appears that I am master of the citadel. +For the present I have no wish to evacuate. I feel, nevertheless, in +some far-off corner of my soul, that I ought to shoulder my victorious +banner and advance to more fruitful triumphs. + +I blush for my beastly laziness. It isn't that I am willing to stay here +a month, but that I am willing to stay here six. Such is the charming, +disgusting truth. Have I really outlived the age of energy? Have I +survived my ambition, my integrity, my self-respect? Verily, I ought to +have survived the habit of asking myself silly questions. I made up my +mind long ago to go in for nothing but present success; and I don't care +for that sufficiently to secure it at the cost of temporary suffering. I +have a passion for nothing--not even for life. I know very well the +appearance I make in the world. I pass for a clever, accomplished, +capable, good-natured fellow, who can do anything if he would only try. +I am supposed to be rather cultivated, to have latent talents. When I +was younger I used to find a certain entertainment in the spectacle of +human affairs. I liked to see men and women hurrying on each other's +heels across the stage. But I am sick and tired of them now; not that I +am a misanthrope, God forbid! They are not worth hating. I never knew +but one creature who was, and her I went and loved. To be consistent, I +ought to have hated my mother, and now I ought to detest Theodore. But I +don't--truly, on the whole, I don't--any more than I dote on him. I +firmly believe that it makes a difference to him, his idea that I _am_ +fond of him. He believes in that, as he believes in all the rest of +it--in my culture, my latent talents, my underlying "earnestness," my +sense of beauty and love of truth. Oh, for a _man_ among them all--a +fellow with eyes in his head--eyes that would know me for what I am and +let me see they had guessed it. Possibly such a fellow as that might get +a "rise" out of me. + +In the name of bread and butter, what am I to do? (I was obliged this +morning to borrow fifty dollars from Theodore, who remembered gleefully +that he has been owing me a trifling sum for the past four years, and in +fact has preserved a note to this effect.) Within the last week I have +hatched a desperate plan: I have made up my mind to take a wife--a rich +one, _bien entendu_. Why not accept the goods of the gods? It is not my +fault, after all, if I pass for a good fellow. Why not admit that +practically, mechanically--as I may say--maritally, I _may_ be a good +fellow? I warrant myself kind. I should never beat my wife; I don't +think I should even contradict her. Assume that her fortune has the +proper number of zeros and that she herself is one of them, and I can +even imagine her adoring me. I really think this is my only way. +Curiously, as I look back upon my brief career, it all seems to tend to +this consummation. It has its graceful curves and crooks, indeed, and +here and there a passionate tangent; but on the whole, if I were to +unfold it here _à la_ Hogarth, what better legend could I scrawl beneath +the series of pictures than So-and-So's Progress to a Mercenary +Marriage? + +Coming events do what we all know with their shadows. My noble fate is, +perhaps, not far off. I already feel throughout my person a magnificent +languor--as from the possession of many dollars. Or is it simply my +sense of well-being in this perfectly appointed house? Is it simply the +contact of the highest civilization I have known? At all events, the +place is of velvet, and my only complaint of Mr. Sloane is that, instead +of an old widower, he's not an old widow (or a young maid), so that I +might marry him, survive him, and dwell forever in this rich and mellow +home. As I write here, at my bedroom table, I have only to stretch out +an arm and raise the window-curtain to see the thick-planted garden +budding and breathing and growing in the silvery silence. Far above in +the liquid darkness rolls the brilliant ball of the moon; beneath, in +its light, lies the lake, in murmuring, troubled sleep; round about, the +mountains, looking strange and blanched, seem to bare their heads and +undrape their shoulders. So much for midnight. To-morrow the scene will +be lovely with the beauty of day. Under one aspect or another I have it +always before me. At the end of the garden is moored a boat, in which +Theodore and I have indulged in an immense deal of irregular +navigation. What lovely landward coves and bays--what alder-smothered +creeks--what lily-sheeted pools--what sheer steep hillsides, making the +water dark and quiet where they hang. I confess that in these excursions +Theodore looks after the boat and I after the scenery. Mr. Sloane avoids +the water--on account of the dampness, he says; because he's afraid of +drowning, I suspect. + +22d.--Theodore is right. The _bonhomme_ has taken me into his favor. I +protest I don't see how he was to escape it. _Je l'ai bien soigné_, as +they say in Paris. I don't blush for it. In one coin or another I must +repay his hospitality--which is certainly very liberal. Theodore dots +his _i_'s, crosses his _t_'s, verifies his quotations; while I set traps +for that famous "curiosity." This speaks vastly well for my powers. He +pretends to be surprised at nothing, and to possess in perfection--poor, +pitiable old fop--the art of keeping his countenance; but repeatedly, I +know, I have made him stare. As for his corruption, which I spoke of +above, it's a very pretty piece of wickedness, but it strikes me as a +purely intellectual matter. I imagine him never to have had any real +senses. He may have been unclean; morally, he's not very tidy now; but +he never can have been what the French call a _viveur_. He's too +delicate, he's of a feminine turn; and what woman was ever a _viveur_? +He likes to sit in his chair and read scandal, talk scandal, make +scandal, so far as he may without catching a cold or bringing on a +headache. I already feel as if I had known him a lifetime. I read him +as clearly as if I had. I know the type to which he belongs; I have +encountered, first and last, a good many specimens of it. He's neither +more nor less than a gossip--a gossip flanked by a coxcomb and an +egotist. He's shallow, vain, cold, superstitious, timid, pretentious, +capricious: a pretty list of foibles! And yet, for all this, he has his +good points. His caprices are sometimes generous, and his rebellion +against the ugliness of life frequently makes him do kind things. His +memory (for trifles) is remarkable, and (where his own performances are +not involved) his taste is excellent. He has no courage for evil more +than for good. He is the victim, however, of more illusions with regard +to himself than I ever knew a single brain to shelter. At the age of +twenty, poor, ignorant and remarkably handsome, he married a woman of +immense wealth, many years his senior. At the end of three years she +very considerately took herself off and left him to the enjoyment of his +freedom and riches. If he had remained poor he might from time to time +have rubbed at random against the truth, and would be able to recognize +the touch of it. But he wraps himself in his money as in a wadded +dressing-gown, and goes trundling through life on his little gold +wheels. The greater part of his career, from the time of his marriage +till about ten years ago, was spent in Europe, which, superficially, he +knows very well. He has lived in fifty places, known thousands of +people, and spent a very large fortune. At one time, I believe, he +spent considerably too much, trembled for an instant on the verge of a +pecuniary crash, but recovered himself, and found himself more +frightened than hurt, yet audibly recommended to lower his pitch. He +passed five years in a species of penitent seclusion on the lake of--I +forget what (his genius seems to be partial to lakes), and laid the +basis of his present magnificent taste for literature. I can't call him +anything but magnificent in this respect, so long as he must have his +punctuation done by a _nature distinguée_. At the close of this period, +by economy, he had made up his losses. His turning the screw during +those relatively impecunious years represents, I am pretty sure, the +only act of resolution of his life. It was rendered possible by his +morbid, his actually pusillanimous dread of poverty; he doesn't feel +safe without half a million between him and starvation. Meanwhile he had +turned from a young man into an old man; his health was broken, his +spirit was jaded, and I imagine, to do him justice, that he began to +feel certain natural, filial longings for this dear American mother of +us all. They say the most hopeless truants and triflers have come to it. +He came to it, at all events; he packed up his books and pictures and +gimcracks, and bade farewell to Europe. This house which he now occupies +belonged to his wife's estate. She had, for sentimental reasons of her +own, commended it to his particular care. On his return he came to see +it, liked it, turned a parcel of carpenters and upholsterers into it, +and by inhabiting it for nine years transformed it into the perfect +dwelling which I find it. Here he has spent all his time, with the +exception of a usual winter's visit to New York--a practice recently +discontinued, owing to the increase of his ailments and the projection +of these famous memoirs. His life has finally come to be passed in +comparative solitude. He tells of various distant relatives, as well as +intimate friends of both sexes, who used formerly to be entertained at +his cost; but with each of them, in the course of time, he seems to have +succeeded in quarrelling. Throughout life, evidently, he has had capital +fingers for plucking off parasites. Rich, lonely, and vain, he must have +been fair game for the race of social sycophants and cormorants; and +it's much to the credit of his sharpness and that instinct of +self-defence which nature bestows even on the weak, that he has not been +despoiled and _exploité_. Apparently they have all been bunglers. I +maintain that something is to be done with him still. But one must work +in obedience to certain definite laws. Doctor Jones, his physician, +tells me that in point of fact he has had for the past ten years an +unbroken series of favorites, _protégés_, heirs presumptive; but that +each, in turn, by some fatally false movement, has spilled his pottage. +The doctor declares, moreover, that they were mostly very common people. +Gradually the old man seems to have developed a preference for two or +three strictly exquisite intimates, over a throng of your vulgar +pensioners. His tardy literary schemes, too--fruit of his all but +sapless senility--have absorbed more and more of his time and attention. +The end of it all is, therefore, that Theodore and I have him quite to +ourselves, and that it behooves us to hold our porringers straight. + +Poor, pretentious old simpleton! It's not his fault, after all, that he +fancies himself a great little man. How are you to judge of the stature +of mankind when men have forever addressed you on their knees? Peace and +joy to his innocent fatuity! He believes himself the most rational of +men; in fact, he's the most superstitious. He fancies himself a +philosopher, an inquirer, a discoverer. He has not yet discovered that +he is a humbug, that Theodore is a prig, and that I am an adventurer. He +prides himself on his good manners, his urbanity, his knowing a rule of +conduct for every occasion in life. My private impression is that his +skinny old bosom contains unsuspected treasures of impertinence. He +takes his stand on his speculative audacity--his direct, undaunted gaze +at the universe; in truth, his mind is haunted by a hundred dingy +old-world spectres and theological phantasms. He imagines himself one of +the most solid of men; he is essentially one of the hollowest. He thinks +himself ardent, impulsive, passionate, magnanimous--capable of boundless +enthusiasm for an idea or a sentiment. It is clear to me that on no +occasion of disinterested action can he ever have done anything in +time. He believes, finally, that he has drained the cup of life to the +dregs; that he has known, in its bitterest intensity, every emotion of +which the human spirit is capable; that he has loved, struggled, +suffered. Mere vanity, all of it. He has never loved any one but +himself; he has never suffered from anything but an undigested supper or +an exploded pretension; he has never touched with the end of his lips +the vulgar bowl from which the mass of mankind quaffs its floods of joy +and sorrow. Well, the long and short of it all is, that I honestly pity +him. He may have given sly knocks in his life, but he can't hurt any one +now. I pity his ignorance, his weakness, his pusillanimity. He has +tasted the real sweetness of life no more than its bitterness; he has +never dreamed, nor experimented, nor dared; he has never known any but +mercenary affection; neither men nor women have risked aught for +_him_--for his good spirits, his good looks, his empty pockets. How I +should like to give him, for once, a real sensation! + +26th.--I took a row this morning with Theodore a couple of miles along +the lake, to a point where we went ashore and lounged away an hour in +the sunshine, which is still very comfortable. Poor Theodore seems +troubled about many things. For one, he is troubled about me: he is +actually more anxious about my future than I myself; he thinks better of +me than I do of myself; he is so deucedly conscientious, so scrupulous, +so averse to giving offence or to _brusquer_ any situation before it +has played itself out, that he shrinks from betraying his apprehensions +or asking direct questions. But I know that he would like very much to +extract from me some intimation that there is something under the sun I +should like to do. I catch myself in the act of taking--heaven forgive +me!--a half-malignant joy in confounding his expectations--leading his +generous sympathies off the scent by giving him momentary glimpses of my +latent wickedness. But in Theodore I have so firm a friend that I shall +have a considerable job if I ever find it needful to make him change his +mind about me. He admires me--that's absolute; he takes my low moral +tone for an eccentricity of genius, and it only imparts an extra +flavor--a _haut goût_--to the charm of my intercourse. Nevertheless, I +can see that he is disappointed. I have even less to show, after all +these years, than he had hoped. Heaven help us! little enough it must +strike him as being. What a contradiction there is in our being friends +at all! I believe we shall end with hating each other. It's all very +well now--our agreeing to differ, for we haven't opposed interests. But +if we should _really_ clash, the situation would be warm! I wonder, as +it is, that Theodore keeps his patience with me. His education since we +parted should tend logically to make him despise me. He has studied, +thought, suffered, loved--loved those very plain sisters and nieces. +Poor me! how should I be virtuous? I have no sisters, plain or +pretty!--nothing to love, work for, live for. My dear Theodore, if you +are going one of these days to despise me and drop me--in the name of +comfort, come to the point at once, and make an end of our state of +tension. + +He is troubled, too, about Mr. Sloane. His attitude toward the +_bonhomme_ quite passes my comprehension. It's the queerest jumble of +contraries. He penetrates him, disapproves of him--yet respects and +admires him. It all comes of the poor boy's shrinking New England +conscience. He's afraid to give his perceptions a fair chance, lest, +forsooth, they should look over his neighbor's wall. He'll not +understand that he may as well sacrifice the old reprobate for a lamb as +for a sheep. His view of the gentleman, therefore, is a perfect tissue +of cobwebs--a jumble of half-way sorrows, and wire-drawn charities, and +hair-breadth 'scapes from utter damnation, and sudden platitudes of +generosity--fit, all of it, to make an angel curse! + +"The man's a perfect egotist and fool," say I, "but I like him." Now +Theodore likes him--or rather wants to like him; but he can't reconcile +it to his self-respect--fastidious deity!--to like a fool. Why the deuce +can't he leave it alone altogether? It's a purely practical matter. +He ought to do the duties of his place all the better for having his +head clear of officious sentiment. I don't believe in disinterested +service; and Theodore is too desperately bent on preserving his +disinterestedness. With me it's different. I am perfectly free to love +the _bonhomme_--for a fool. I'm neither a scribe nor a Pharisee; I am +simply a student of the art of life. + +And then, Theodore is troubled about his sisters. He's afraid he's not +doing his duty by them. He thinks he ought to be with them--to be +getting a larger salary--to be teaching his nieces. I am not versed in +such questions. Perhaps he ought. + +May 3d.--This morning Theodore sent me word that he was ill and unable +to get up; upon which I immediately went in to see him. He had caught +cold, was sick and a little feverish. I urged him to make no attempt to +leave his room, and assured him that I would do what I could to +reconcile Mr. Sloane to his absence. This I found an easy matter. I read +to him for a couple of hours, wrote four letters--one in French--and +then talked for a while--a good while. I have done more talking, by the +way, in the last fortnight, than in any previous twelve months--much of +it, too, none of the wisest, nor, I may add, of the most superstitiously +veracious. In a little discussion, two or three days ago, with Theodore, +I came to the point and let him know that in gossiping with Mr. Sloane I +made no scruple, for our common satisfaction, of "coloring" more or +less. My confession gave him "that turn," as Mrs. Gamp would say, that +his present illness may be the result of it. Nevertheless, poor dear +fellow, I trust he will be on his legs to-morrow. This afternoon, +somehow, I found myself really in the humor of talking. There was +something propitious in the circumstances; a hard, cold rain without, a +wood-fire in the library, the _bonhomme_ puffing cigarettes in his +arm-chair, beside him a portfolio of newly imported prints and +photographs, and--Theodore tucked safely away in bed. Finally, when I +brought our _tête-à-tête_ to a close (taking good care not to overstay +my welcome) Mr. Sloane seized me by both hands and honored me with one +of his venerable grins. "Max," he said--"you must let me call you +Max--you are the most delightful man I ever knew." + +Verily, there's some virtue left in me yet. I believe I almost blushed. + +"Why didn't I know you ten years ago?" the old man went on. "There are +ten years lost." + +"Ten years ago I was not worth your knowing," Max remarked. + +"But I did know you!" cried the _bonhomme_. "I knew you in knowing your +mother." + +Ah! my mother again. When the old man begins that chapter I feel like +telling him to blow out his candle and go to bed. + +"At all events," he continued, "we must make the most of the years that +remain. I am a rotten old carcass, but I have no intention of dying. You +won't get tired of me and want to go away?" + +"I am devoted to you, sir," I said. "But I must be looking for some +occupation, you know." + +"Occupation? bother! I'll give you occupation. I'll give you wages." + +"I am afraid that you will want to give me the wages without the work." +And then I declared that I must go up and look at poor Theodore. + +The _bonhomme_ still kept my hands. "I wish very much that I could get +you to be as fond of me as you are of poor Theodore." + +"Ah, don't talk about fondness, Mr. Sloane. I don't deal much in that +article." + +"Don't you like my secretary?" + +"Not as he deserves." + +"Nor as he likes you, perhaps?" + +"He likes me more than I deserve." + +"Well, Max," my host pursued, "we can be good friends all the same. We +don't need a hocus-pocus of false sentiment. We are _men_, aren't +we?--men of sublime good sense." And just here, as the old man looked at +me, the pressure of his hands deepened to a convulsive grasp, and the +bloodless mask of his countenance was suddenly distorted with a nameless +fear. "Ah, my dear young man!" he cried, "come and be a son to me--the +son of my age and desolation! For God's sake, don't leave me to pine and +die alone!" + +I was greatly surprised--and I may add I was moved. Is it true, then, +that this dilapidated organism contains such measureless depths of +horror and longing? He has evidently a mortal fear of death. I assured +him on my honor that he may henceforth call upon me for any service. + +8th.--Theodore's little turn proved more serious than I expected. He has +been confined to his room till to-day. This evening he came down to the +library in his dressing-gown. Decidedly, Mr. Sloane is an eccentric, but +hardly, as Theodore thinks, a "charming" one. There is something +extremely curious in his humors and fancies--the incongruous fits and +starts, as it were, of his taste. For some reason, best known to +himself, he took it into his head to regard it as a want of delicacy, of +respect, of _savoir-vivre_--of heaven knows what--that poor Theodore, +who is still weak and languid, should enter the sacred precinct of his +study in the vulgar drapery of a dressing-gown. The sovereign trouble +with the _bonhomme_ is an absolute lack of the instinct of justice. He's +of the real feminine turn--I believe I have written it before--without +the redeeming fidelity of the sex. I honestly believe that I might come +into his study in my night-shirt and he would smile at it as a +picturesque _déshabillé_. But for poor Theodore to-night there was +nothing but scowls and frowns, and barely a civil inquiry about his +health. But poor Theodore is not such a fool, either; he will not die of +a snubbing; I never said he was a weakling. Once he fairly saw from what +quarter the wind blew, he bore the master's brutality with the utmost +coolness and gallantry. Can it be that Mr. Sloane really wishes to drop +him? The delicious old brute! He understands favor and friendship only +as a selfish rapture--a reaction, an infatuation, an act of aggressive, +exclusive patronage. It's not a bestowal, with him, but a transfer, and +half his pleasure in causing his sun to shine is that--being wofully +near its setting--it will produce certain long fantastic shadows. He +wants to cast my shadow, I suppose, over Theodore; but fortunately I am +not altogether an opaque body. Since Theodore was taken ill he has been +into his room but once, and has sent him none but a dry little message +or two. I, too, have been much less attentive than I should have wished +to be; but my time has not been my own. It has been, every moment of it, +at the disposal of my host. He actually runs after me; he devours me; he +makes a fool of himself, and is trying hard to make one of me. I find +that he will bear--that, in fact, he actually enjoys--a sort of +unexpected contradiction. He likes anything that will tickle his fancy, +give an unusual tone to our relations, remind him of certain historical +characters whom he thinks he resembles. I have stepped into Theodore's +shoes, and done--with what I feel in my bones to be very inferior skill +and taste--all the reading, writing, condensing, transcribing and +advising that he has been accustomed to do. I have driven with the +_bonhomme_; played chess and cribbage with him; beaten him, bullied him, +contradicted him; forced him into going out on the water under my +charge. Who shall say, after this, that I haven't done my best to +discourage his advances, put myself in a bad light? As yet, my efforts +are vain; in fact they quite turn to my own confusion. Mr. Sloane is so +thankful at having escaped from the lake with his life that he looks +upon me as a preserver and protector. Confound it all; it's a bore! But +one thing is certain, it can't last forever. Admit that he _has_ cast +Theodore out and taken me in. He will speedily discover that he has made +a pretty mess of it, and that he had much better have left well enough +alone. He likes my reading and writing now, but in a month he will begin +to hate them. He will miss Theodore's better temper and better +knowledge--his healthy impersonal judgment. What an advantage that +well-regulated youth has over me, after all! I am for days, he is for +years; he for the long run, I for the short. I, perhaps, am intended for +success, but he is adapted for happiness. He has in his heart a tiny +sacred particle which leavens his whole being and keeps it pure and +sound--a faculty of admiration and respect. For him human nature is +still a wonder and a mystery; it bears a divine stamp--Mr. Sloane's +tawdry composition as well as the rest. + +13th.--I have refused, of course, to supplant Theodore further, in the +exercise of his functions, and he has resumed his morning labors with +Mr. Sloane. I, on my side, have spent these morning hours in scouring +the country on that capital black mare, the use of which is one of the +perquisites of Theodore's place. The days have been magnificent--the +heat of the sun tempered by a murmuring, wandering wind, the whole north +a mighty ecstasy of sound and verdure, the sky a far-away vault of +bended blue. Not far from the mill at M., the other end of the lake, I +met, for the third time, that very pretty young girl who reminds me so +forcibly of A.L. She makes so lavish a use of her eyes that I ventured +to stop and bid her good-morning. She seems nothing loath to an +acquaintance. She's a pure barbarian in speech, but her eyes are quite +articulate. These rides do me good; I was growing too pensive. + +There is something the matter with Theodore; his illness seems to have +left him strangely affected. He has fits of silent stiffness, +alternating with spasms of extravagant gayety. He avoids me at times for +hours together, and then he comes and looks at me with an inscrutable +smile, as if he were on the verge of a burst of confidence--which again +is swallowed up in the immensity of his dumbness. Is he hatching some +astounding benefit to his species? Is he working to bring about my +removal to a higher sphere of action? _Nous verrons bien_. + +18th.--Theodore threatens departure. He received this morning a letter +from one of his sisters--the young widow--announcing her engagement to a +clergyman whose acquaintance she has recently made, and intimating her +expectation of an immediate union with the gentleman--a ceremony which +would require Theodore's attendance. Theodore, in high good humor, read +the letter aloud at breakfast--and, to tell the truth, it was a charming +epistle. He then spoke of his having to go on to the wedding, a +proposition to which Mr. Sloane graciously assented--much more than +assented. "I shall be sorry to lose you, after so happy a connection," +said the old man. Theodore turned pale, stared a moment, and then, +recovering his color and his composure, declared that he should have no +objection in life to coming back. + +"Bless your soul!" cried the _bonhomme_, "you don't mean to say you will +leave your other sister all alone?" + +To which Theodore replied that he would arrange for her and her little +girl to live with the married pair. "It's the only proper thing," he +remarked, as if it were quite settled. Has it come to this, then, that +Mr. Sloane actually wants to turn him out of the house? The shameless +old villain! He keeps smiling an uncanny smile, which means, as I read +it, that if the poor young man once departs he shall never return on the +old footing--for all his impudence! + +20th.--This morning, at breakfast, we had a terrific scene. A letter +arrives for Theodore; he opens it, turns white and red, frowns, falters, +and then informs us that the clever widow has broken off her engagement. +No wedding, therefore, and no departure for Theodore. The _bonhomme_ was +furious. In his fury he took the liberty of calling poor Mrs. Parker +(the sister) a very uncivil name. Theodore rebuked him, with perfect +good taste, and kept his temper. + +"If my opinions don't suit you, Mr. Lisle," the old man broke out, "and +my mode of expressing them displeases you, you know you can easily +protect yourself." + +"My dear Mr. Sloane," said Theodore, "your opinions, as a general thing, +interest me deeply, and have never ceased to act beneficially upon the +formation of my own. Your mode of expressing them is always brilliant, +and I wouldn't for the world, after all our pleasant intercourse, +separate from you in bitterness. Only, I repeat, your qualification of +my sister's conduct is perfectly uncalled for. If you knew her, you +would be the first to admit it." + +There was something in Theodore's look and manner, as he said these +words, which puzzled me all the morning. After dinner, finding myself +alone with him, I told him I was glad he was not obliged to go away. He +looked at me with the mysterious smile I have mentioned, thanked me, and +fell into meditation. As this bescribbled chronicle is the record of my +follies as well of my _hauts faits_, I needn't hesitate to say that for +a moment I was a good deal vexed. What business has this angel of candor +to deal in signs and portents, to look unutterable things? What right +has he to do so with me especially, in whom he has always professed an +absolute confidence? Just as I was about to cry out, "Come, my dear +fellow, this affectation of mystery has lasted quite long enough--favor +me at last with the result of your cogitations!"--as I was on the point +of thus expressing my impatience of his ominous behavior, the oracle at +last addressed itself to utterance. + +"You see, my dear Max," he said, "I can't, in justice to myself, go away +in obedience to the sort of notice that was served on me this morning. +What do you think of my actual footing here?" + +Theodore's actual footing here seems to me impossible; of course I said +so. + +"No, I assure you it's not," he answered. "I should, on the contrary, +feel very uncomfortable to think that I had come away, except by my own +choice. You see a man can't afford to cheapen himself. What are you +laughing at?" + +"I am laughing, in the first place, my dear fellow, to hear on your lips +the language of cold calculation; and in the second place, at your odd +notion of the process by which a man keeps himself up in the market." + +"I assure you it's the correct notion. I came here as a particular favor +to Mr. Sloane; it was expressly understood so. The sort of work was +odious to me; I had regularly to break myself in. I had to trample on my +convictions, preferences, prejudices. I don't take such things easily; I +take them hard; and when once the effort has been made, I can't consent +to have it wasted. If Mr. Sloane needed me then, he needs me still. I am +ignorant of any change having taken place in his intentions, or in his +means of satisfying them. I came, not to amuse him, but to do a certain +work; I hope to remain until the work is completed. To go away sooner +is to make a confession of incapacity which, I protest, costs me too +much. I am too conceited, if you like." + +Theodore spoke these words with a face which I have never seen him +wear--a fixed, mechanical smile; a hard, dry glitter in his eyes; a +harsh, strident tone in his voice--in his whole physiognomy a gleam, as +it were, a note of defiance. Now I confess that for defiance I have +never been conscious of an especial relish. When I am defied I am +beastly. "My dear man," I replied, "your sentiments do you prodigious +credit. Your very ingenious theory of your present situation, as well as +your extremely pronounced sense of your personal value, are calculated +to insure you a degree of practical success which can very well dispense +with the furtherance of my poor good wishes." Oh, the grimness of his +visage as he listened to this, and, I suppose I may add, the grimness of +mine! But I have ceased to be puzzled. Theodore's conduct for the past +ten days is suddenly illumined with a backward, lurid ray. I will note +down here a few plain truths which it behooves me to take to +heart--commit to memory. Theodore is jealous of Maximus Austin. Theodore +hates the said Maximus. Theodore has been seeking for the past three +months to see his name written, last but not least, in a certain +testamentary document: "Finally, I bequeath to my dear young friend, +Theodore Lisle, in return for invaluable services and unfailing +devotion, the bulk of my property, real and personal, consisting of--" +(hereupon follows an exhaustive enumeration of houses, lands, public +securities, books, pictures, horses, and dogs). It is for this that he +has toiled, and watched, and prayed; submitted to intellectual weariness +and spiritual torture; accommodated himself to levity, blasphemy, and +insult. For this he sets his teeth and tightens his grasp; for this +he'll fight. Dear me, it's an immense weight off one's mind! There are +nothing, then, but vulgar, common laws; no sublime exceptions, no +transcendent anomalies. Theodore's a knave, a hypo--nay, nay; stay, +irreverent hand!--Theodore's a _man_! Well, that's all I want. _He_ +wants fight--he shall have it. Have I got, at last, my simple, natural +emotion? + +21st.--I have lost no time. This evening, late, after I had heard +Theodore go to his room (I had left the library early, on the pretext of +having letters to write), I repaired to Mr. Sloane, who had not yet gone +to bed, and informed him I should be obliged to leave him at once, and +pick up a subsistence somehow in New York. He felt the blow; it brought +him straight down on his marrow-bones. He went through the whole gamut +of his arts and graces; he blustered, whimpered, entreated, flattered. +He tried to drag in Theodore's name; but this I, of course, prevented. +But, finally, why, _why_, WHY, after all my promises of fidelity, must I +thus cruelly desert him? Then came my trump card: I have spent my last +penny; while I stay, I'm a beggar. The remainder of this extraordinary +scene I have no power to describe: how the _bonhomme_, touched, +inflamed, inspired, by the thought of my destitution, and at the same +time annoyed, perplexed, bewildered at having to commit himself to doing +anything for me, worked himself into a nervous frenzy which deprived him +of a clear sense of the value of his words and his actions; how I, +prompted by the irresistible spirit of my desire to leap astride of his +weakness and ride it hard to the goal of my dreams, cunningly contrived +to keep his spirit at the fever-point, so that strength and reason and +resistance should burn themselves out. I shall probably never again have +such a sensation as I enjoyed to-night--actually feel a heated human +heart throbbing and turning and struggling in my grasp; know its pants, +its spasms, its convulsions, and its final senseless quiescence. At +half-past one o'clock Mr. Sloane got out of his chair, went to his +secretary, opened a private drawer, and took out a folded paper. "This +is my will," he said, "made some seven weeks ago. If you will stay with +me I will destroy it." + +"Really, Mr. Sloane," I said, "if you think my purpose is to exert any +pressure upon your testamentary inclinations--" + +"I will tear it in pieces," he cried; "I will burn it up! I shall be as +sick as a dog to-morrow; but I will do it. A-a-h!" + +He clapped his hand to his side, as if in sudden, overwhelming pain, +and sank back fainting into his chair. A single glance assured me that +he was unconscious. I possessed myself of the paper, opened it, and +perceived that he had left everything to his saintly secretary. For an +instant a savage, puerile feeling of hate popped up in my bosom, and I +came within a hair's-breadth of obeying my foremost impulse--that of +stuffing the document into the fire. Fortunately, my reason overtook my +passion, though for a moment it was an even race. I put the paper back +into the bureau, closed it, and rang the bell for Robert (the old man's +servant). Before he came I stood watching the poor, pale remnant of +mortality before me, and wondering whether those feeble life-gasps were +numbered. He was as white as a sheet, grimacing with pain--horribly +ugly. Suddenly he opened his eyes; they met my own; I fell on my knees +and took his hands. They closed on mine with a grasp strangely akin to +the rigidity of death. Nevertheless, since then he has revived, and has +relapsed again into a comparatively healthy sleep. Robert seems to know +how to deal with him. + +22d.--Mr. Sloane is seriously ill--out of his mind and unconscious of +people's identity. The doctor has been here, off and on, all day, but +this evening reports improvement. I have kept out of the old man's room, +and confined myself to my own, reflecting largely upon the chance of his +immediate death. Does Theodore know of the will? Would it occur to him +to divide the property? Would it occur to me, in his place? We met at +dinner, and talked in a grave, desultory, friendly fashion. After all, +he's an excellent fellow. I don't hate him. I don't even dislike him. He +jars on me, _il m'agace_; but that's no reason why I should do him an +evil turn. Nor shall I. The property is a fixed idea, that's all. I +shall get it if I can. We are fairly matched. Before heaven, no, we are +not fairly matched! Theodore has a conscience. + +23d.--I am restless and nervous--and for good reasons. Scribbling here +keeps me quiet. This morning Mr. Sloane is better; feeble and uncertain +in mind, but unmistakably on the rise. I may confess now that I feel +relieved of a horrid burden. Last night I hardly slept a wink. I lay +awake listening to the pendulum of my clock. It seemed to say, "He +lives--he dies." I fully expected to hear it stop suddenly at _dies_. +But it kept going all the morning, and to a decidedly more lively tune. +In the afternoon the old man sent for me. I found him in his great +muffled bed, with his face the color of damp chalk, and his eyes glowing +faintly, like torches half stamped out. I was forcibly struck with the +utter loneliness of his lot. For all human attendance, my villainous +self grinning at his bedside and old Robert without, listening, +doubtless, at the keyhole. The _bonhomme_ stared at me stupidly; then +seemed to know me, and greeted me with a sickly smile. It was some +moments before he was able to speak. At last he faintly bade me to +descend into the library, open the secret drawer of the secretary (which +he contrived to direct me how to do), possess myself of his will, and +burn it up. He appears to have forgotten his having taken it out night +before last. I told him that I had an insurmountable aversion to any +personal dealings with the document. He smiled, patted the back of my +hand, and requested me, in that case, to get it, at least, and bring it +to him. I couldn't deny him that favor? No, I couldn't, indeed. I went +down to the library, therefore, and on entering the room found Theodore +standing by the fireplace with a bundle of papers. The secretary was +open. I stood still, looking from the violated cabinet to the documents +in his hand. Among them I recognized, by its shape and size, the paper +of which I had intended to possess myself. Without delay I walked +straight up to him. He looked surprised, but not confused. "I am afraid +I shall have to trouble you to surrender one of those papers," I said. + +"Surrender, Maximus? To anything of your own you are perfectly welcome. +I didn't know that you made use of Mr. Sloane's secretary. I was looking +for some pages of notes which I have made myself and in which I conceive +I have a property." + +"This is what I want, Theodore," I said; and I drew the will, unfolded, +from between his hands. As I did so his eyes fell upon the +superscription, "Last Will and Testament, March. F.S." He flushed an +extraordinary crimson. Our eyes met. Somehow--I don't know how or why, +or for that matter why not--I burst into a violent peal of laughter. +Theodore stood staring, with two hot, bitter tears in his eyes. + +"Of course you think I came to ferret out that thing," he said. + +I shrugged my shoulders--those of my body only. I confess, morally, I +was on my knees with contrition, but there was a fascination in it--a +fatality. I remembered that in the hurry of my movements the other +evening I had slipped the will simply into one of the outer drawers of +the cabinet, among Theodore's own papers. "Mr. Sloane sent me for it," I +remarked. + +"Very good; I am glad to hear he's well enough to think of such things." + +"He means to destroy it." + +"I hope, then, he has another made." + +"Mentally, I suppose he has." + +"Unfortunately, his weakness isn't mental--or exclusively so." + +"Oh, he will live to make a dozen more," I said. "Do you know the +purport of this one?" + +Theodore's color, by this time, had died away into plain white. He shook +his head. The doggedness of the movement provoked me, and I wished to +arouse his curiosity. "I have his commission to destroy it." + +Theodore smiled very grandly. "It's not a task I envy you," he said. + +"I should think not--especially if you knew the import of the will." He +stood with folded arms, regarding me with his cold, detached eyes. I +couldn't stand it. "Come, it's your property! You are sole legatee. I +give it up to you." And I thrust the paper into his hand. + +He received it mechanically; but after a pause, bethinking himself, he +unfolded it and cast his eyes over the contents. Then he slowly smoothed +it together and held it a moment with a tremulous hand. "You say that +Mr. Sloane directed you to destroy it?" he finally inquired. + +"I say so." + +"And that you know the contents?" + +"Exactly." + +"And that you were about to do what he asked you?" + +"On the contrary, I declined." + +Theodore fixed his eyes for a moment on the superscription and then +raised them again to my face. "Thank you, Max," he said. "You have left +me a real satisfaction." He tore the sheet across and threw the bits +into the fire. We stood watching them burn. "Now he can make another," +said Theodore. + +"Twenty others," I replied. + +"No," said Theodore, "you will take care of that." + +"You are very bitter," I said, sharply enough. + +"No, I am perfectly indifferent. Farewell." And he put out his hand. + +"Are you going away?" + +"Of course I am. Good-by." + +"Good-by, then. But isn't your departure rather sudden?" + +"I ought to have gone three weeks ago--three weeks ago." I had taken his +hand, he pulled it away; his voice was trembling--there were tears in +it. + +"Is _that_ indifference?" I asked. + +"It's something you will never know!" he cried. "It's shame! I am not +sorry you should see what I feel. It will suggest to you, perhaps, that +my heart has never been in this filthy contest. Let me assure you, at +any rate, that it hasn't; that it has had nothing but scorn for the base +perversion of my pride and my ambition. I could easily shed tears of joy +at their return--the return of the prodigals! Tears of sorrow--sorrow--" + +He was unable to go on. He sank into a chair, covering his face with his +hands. + +"For God's sake, stick to the joy!" I exclaimed. + +He rose to his feet again. "Well," he said, "it was for your sake that I +parted with my self-respect; with your assistance I recover it." + +"How for my sake?" + +"For whom but you would I have gone as far as I did? For what other +purpose than that of keeping our friendship whole would I have borne you +company into this narrow pass? A man whom I cared for less I would long +since have parted with. You were needed--you and something you have +about you that always takes me so--to bring me to this. You ennobled, +exalted, enchanted the struggle. I _did_ value my prospect of coming +into Mr. Sloane's property. I valued it for my poor sister's sake as +well as for my own, so long as it was the natural reward of +conscientious service, and not the prize of hypocrisy and cunning. With +another man than you I never would have contested such a prize. But you +fascinated me, even as my rival. You played with me, deceived me, +betrayed me. I held my ground, hoping you would see that what you were +doing was not fair. But if you have seen it, it has made no difference +with you. For Mr. Sloane, from the moment that, under your magical +influence, he revealed his nasty little nature, I had nothing but +contempt." + +"And for me now?" + +"Don't ask me. I don't trust myself." + +"Hate, I suppose." + +"Is that the best you can imagine? Farewell." + +"Is it a serious farewell--farewell forever?" + +"How can there be any other?" + +"I am sorry this should be your point of view. It's characteristic. All +the more reason then that I should say a word in self-defence. You +accuse me of having 'played with you, deceived you, betrayed you.' It +seems to me that you are quite beside the mark. You say you were such a +friend of mine; if so, you ought to be one still. It was not to my fine +sentiments you attached yourself, for I never had any or pretended to +any. In anything I have done recently, therefore, there has been no +inconsistency. I never pretended to take one's friendships so seriously. +I don't understand the word in the sense you attach to it. I don't +understand the feeling of affection between men. To me it means quite +another thing. You give it a meaning of your own; you enjoy the profit +of your invention; it's no more than just that you should pay the +penalty. Only it seems to me rather hard that _I_ should pay it." +Theodore remained silent, but he looked quite sick. "Is it still a +'serious farewell'?" I went on. "It seems a pity. After this clearing +up, it appears to me that I shall be on better terms with you. No man +can have a deeper appreciation of your excellent parts, a keener +enjoyment of your society. I should very much regret the loss of it." + +"Have we, then, all this while understood each other so little?" said +Theodore. + +"Don't say 'we' and 'each other.' I think I have understood you." + +"Very likely. It's not for my having kept anything back." + +"Well, I do you justice. To me you have always been over-generous. Try +now and be just." + +Still he stood silent, with his cold, hard frown; it was plain that, if +he was to come back to me, it would be from the other world--if there be +one! What he was going to answer I know not. The door opened, and Robert +appeared, pale, trembling, his eyes starting in his head. + +"I verily believe that poor Mr. Sloane is dead in his bed!" he cried. + +There was a moment's perfect silence. "Amen," said I. "Yes, old boy, try +and be just." Mr. Sloane had quietly died in my absence. + +24th.--Theodore went up to town this morning, having shaken hands with +me in silence before he started. Doctor Jones, and Brooks the attorney, +have been very officious, and, by their advice, I have telegraphed to a +certain Miss Meredith, a maiden lady, by their account the nearest of +kin; or, in other words, simply a discarded niece of the defunct. She +telegraphs back that she will arrive in person for the funeral. I shall +remain till she comes. I have lost a fortune, but have I irretrievably +lost a friend? I am sure I can't say. Yes, I shall wait for Miss +Meredith. + + +[1] _The Galaxy, July_, 1869. + + + + +YATIL.[2] + +BY F.D. MILLET. + +While in Paris, in the spring of 1878, I witnessed an accident in a +circus, which for a time made me renounce all athletic exhibitions. Six +horses were stationed side by side in the ring before a spring-board, +and the whole company of gymnasts ran and turned somersaults from the +spring over the horses, alighting on a mattress spread on the ground. +The agility of one finely developed young fellow excited great applause +every time he made the leap. He would shoot forward in the air like a +javelin, and in his flight curl up and turn over directly above the +mattress, dropping on his feet as lightly as a bird. This play went on +for some minutes, and at each round of applause the favorite seemed to +execute his leap with increased skill and grace. Finally, he was seen to +gather himself a little farther in the background than usual, evidently +to prepare for a better start. The instant his turn came he shot out of +the crowd of attendants and launched himself into the air with +tremendous momentum. Almost quicker than the eye could follow him, he +had turned and was dropping to the ground, his arms held above his head, +which hung slightly forward, and his legs stretched to meet the shock of +the elastic mattress. + +But this time he had jumped an inch too far. His feet struck just on the +edge of the mattress, and he was thrown violently forward, doubling up +on the ground with a dull thump, which was heard all over the immense +auditorium. He remained a second or two motionless, then sprang to his +feet, and as quickly sank to the ground again. The ring attendants and +two or three gymnasts rushed to him and took him up. The clown, in +evening dress, personating the mock ringmaster, the conventional spotted +merryman, and a stalwart gymnast in buff fleshings, bore the drooping +form of the favorite in their arms, and, followed by the bystanders, who +offered ineffectual assistance, carried the wounded man across the ring +and through the draped arch under the music gallery. Under any other +circumstances the group would have excited a laugh, for the audience was +in that condition of almost hysterical excitement when only the least +effort of a clown is necessary to cause a wave of laughter. But the +moment the wounded man was lifted from the ground, the whole strong +light from the brilliant chandelier struck full on his right leg +dangling from the knee, with the foot hanging limp and turned inward. A +deep murmur of sympathy swelled and rolled around the crowded +amphitheatre. + +I left the circus, and hundreds of others did the same. A dozen of us +called at the box-office to ask about the victim of the accident. He was +advertised as "The Great Polish Champion Bareback Rider and Aerial +Gymnast." We found that he was really a native of the East, whether Pole +or Russian the ticket-seller did not know. His real name was Nagy, and +he had been engaged only recently, having returned a few months before +from a professional tour in North America. He was supposed to have +money, for he commanded a good salary, and was sober and faithful. The +accident, it was said, would probably disable him for a few weeks only, +and then he would resume his engagement. + +The next day an account of the accident was in the newspapers, and +twenty-four hours later all Paris had forgotten about it. For some +reason or other I frequently thought of the injured man, and had an +occasional impulse to go and inquire after him; but I never went. It +seemed to me that I had seen his face before, when or where I tried in +vain to recall. It was not an impressive face, but I could call it up at +any moment as distinct to my mind's eye as a photograph to my physical +vision. Whenever I thought of him, a dim, very dim memory would flit +through my mind, which I could never seize and fix. + +Two months later I was walking up the Rue Richelieu, when some one, +close beside me and a little behind, asked me in Hungarian if I was a +Magyar. I turned quickly to answer no, surprised at being thus +addressed, and beheld the disabled circus-rider. It flashed upon me, the +moment I saw his face, that I had seen him in Turin three years before. +My surprise at the sudden identification of the gymnast was construed by +him into vexation at being spoken to by a stranger. He began to +apologize for stopping me, and was moving away, when I asked him about +the accident, remarking that I was present on the evening of his +misfortune. My next question, put in order to detain him, was: + +"Why did you ask if I was a Hungarian?" + +"Because you wear a Hungarian hat," was the reply. + +This was true. I happened to have on a little round, soft felt hat, +which I had purchased in Buda Pesth. + +"Well, but what if I were Hungarian?" + +"Nothing; only I was lonely and wanted company, and you looked as if I +had seen you somewhere before. You are an artist, are you not?" + +I said I was, and asked him how he guessed it. + +"I can't explain how it is," he said, "but I always know them. Are you +doing anything?" + +"No," I replied. + +"Perhaps I may get you something to do," he suggested. "What is your +line?" + +"Figures," I answered, unable to divine how he thought he could assist +me. + +This reply seemed to puzzle him a little, and he continued: + +"Do you ride or do the trapeze?" + +It was my turn now to look dazed, and it might easily have been +gathered, from my expression, that I was not flattered at being taken +for a saw-dust artist. However, as he apparently did not notice any +change in my face, I explained without further remark that I was a +painter. The explanation did not seem to disturb him any; he was +evidently acquainted with the profession, and looked upon it as kindred +to his own. + +As we walked along through the great open quadrangle of the Tuileries, I +had an opportunity of studying his general appearance. He was neatly +dressed, and, though pale, was apparently in good health. +Notwithstanding a painful limp his carriage was erect, and his movements +denoted great physical strength. On the bridge over the Seine we paused +for a moment and leaned on the parapet, and thus, for the first time, +stood nearly face to face. He looked earnestly at me a moment without +speaking, and then, shouting "_Torino_" so loudly and earnestly as to +attract the gaze of all the passers, he seized me by the hand, and +continued to shake it and repeat "_Torino_" over and over again. + +This word cleared up my befogged memory like magic. There was no longer +any mystery about the man before me. The impulse which now drew us +together was only the unconscious souvenir of an earlier acquaintance, +for we had met before. With the vision of the Italian city, which came +distinctly to my eyes at that moment, came also to my mind every detail +of an incident which had long since passed entirely from my thoughts. + +It was during the Turin carnival, in 1875, that I happened to stop over +for a day and a night, on my way down from Paris to Venice. The festival +was uncommonly dreary, for the air was chilly, the sky gray and gloomy, +and there was a total lack of spontaneity in the popular spirit. The +gaudy decorations of the Piazza and the Corso, the numberless shows and +booths, and the brilliant costumes, could not make it appear a season of +jollity and mirth, for the note of discord in the hearts of the people +was much too strong. King Carnival's might was on the wane, and neither +the influence of the Church nor the encouragement of the State was able +to bolster up the superannuated monarch. There was no communicativeness +in even what little fun there was going, and the day was a long and a +tedious one. As I was strolling around in rather a melancholy mood, just +at the close of the cavalcade, I saw the flaming posters of a circus, +and knew my day was saved, for I had a great fondness for the ring. An +hour later I was seated in the cheerfully lighted amphitheatre, and the +old performance of the trained stallions was going on as I had seen it a +hundred times before. At last the "Celebrated Cypriot Brothers, the +Universal Bareback Riders," came tripping gracefully into the ring, +sprang lightly upon two black horses, and were off around the narrow +circle like the wind, now together, now apart, performing all the while +marvellous feats of strength and skill. It required no study to discover +that there was no relationship between the two performers. One of them +was a heavy, gross, dark-skinned man, with the careless bearing of one +who had been nursed in a circus. The other was a small, fair-haired +youth of nineteen or twenty years, with limbs as straight and as shapely +as the Narcissus, and with joints like the wiry-limbed fauns. His head +was round, and his face of a type which would never be called beautiful, +although it was strong in feature and attractive in expression. His eyes +were small and twinkling, his eyebrows heavy, and his mouth had a +peculiar proud curl in it which was never disturbed by the tame smile of +the practised performer. He was evidently a foreigner. He went through +his acts with wonderful readiness and with slight effort, and, while +apparently enjoying keenly the exhilaration of applause, he showed no +trace of the _blasé_ bearing of the old stager. In nearly every act that +followed he took a prominent part. On the trapeze, somersaulting over +horses placed side by side, grouping with his so-called brother and a +small lad, he did his full share of the work, and when the programme +was ended he came among the audience to sell photographs while the +lottery was being drawn. + +As usual during the carnival, there was a lottery arranged by the +manager of the circus, and every ticket had a number which entitled the +holder to a chance in the prizes. When the young gymnast came in turn to +me, radiant in his salmon fleshings and blue trunks, with slippers and +bows to match, I could not help asking him if he was an Italian. + +"No, signor, Magyar!" he replied, and I shortly found that his knowledge +of Italian was limited to a dozen words. I occupied him by selecting +some photographs, and, much to his surprise, spoke to him in his native +tongue. When he learned I had been in Hungary he was greatly pleased, +and the impatience of other customers for the photographs was the only +thing that prevented him from becoming communicative immediately. As he +left me I slipped into his hand my lottery-ticket, with the remark that +I never had any luck, and hoped he would. + +The numbers were, meanwhile, rapidly drawn, the prizes being arranged in +the order of their value, each ticket taken from the hat denoting a +prize, until all were distributed. "Number twenty-eight--a pair of +elegant vases!" "Number sixteen--three bottles of vermouth!" "Number one +hundred and eighty-four--candlesticks and two bottles of vermouth!" +"Number four hundred and ten--three bottles of vermouth and a set of +jewelry!" "Number three hundred and nineteen--five bottles of vermouth!" +and so on, with more bottles of vermouth than anything else. Indeed, +each prize had to be floated on a few litres of the Turin specialty, and +I began to think that perhaps it would have been better, after all, not +to have given my circus friend the ticket, if he were to draw drink with +it. + +Many prizes were called out, and at last only two numbers remained. The +excitement was now intense, and it did not diminish when the conductor +of the lottery announced that the last two numbers would draw the two +great prizes of the evening, namely: An order on a Turin tailor for a +suit of clothes, and an order on a jeweller for a gold watch and chain. +The first of these two last numbers was taken out of the hat. + +"Number twenty-five--order for a suit of clothes!" was the announcement. + +Twenty-five had been the number of my ticket. I did not hear the last +number drawn, for the Hungarian was in front of my seat trying to press +the order on me, and protesting against appropriating my good luck. I +wrote my name on the programme for him, with the simple address, U.S.A., +persuaded him to accept the windfall, and went home. The next morning I +left town. + +On the occasion of our mutual recognition in Paris, the circus boy began +to relate, as soon as the first flush of his surprise was over, the +story of his life since the incident in Turin. He had been to New York +and Boston, and all the large sea-coast towns; to Chicago, St. Louis, +and even to San Francisco; always with a circus company. Whenever he had +had an opportunity in the United States, he had asked for news of me. + +"The United States is so large!" he said, with a sigh. "Every one told +me that, when I showed the Turin programme with your name on it." + +The reason why he had kept the programme and tried to find me in America +was because the lottery ticket had been the direct means of his +emigration, and, in fact, the first piece of good fortune that had +befallen him since he left his native town. When he joined the circus he +was an apprentice, and beside a certain number of hours of gymnastic +practice daily and service in the ring both afternoon and evening, he +had half a dozen horses to care for, his part of the tent to pack up and +load, and the team to drive to the next stopping-place. For sixteen and +often eighteen hours of hard work he received only his food and his +performing clothes. When he was counted as one of the troupe his duties +were lightened, but he got only enough money to pay his way with +difficulty. Without a _lira_ ahead, and with no clothes but his rough +working-suit and his performing costume, he could not hope to escape +from this sort of bondage. The luck of number twenty-five had put him on +his feet. + +"All Hungarians worship America," he said, "and when I saw that you +were an American I knew that my good fortune had begun in earnest. Of +course I believed America to be the land of plenty, and there could have +been no stronger proof of this than the generosity with which you, the +first American I had ever seen, gave me, a perfect stranger, such a +valuable prize. When I remembered the number of the ticket and the +letter in the alphabet, Y, to which this number corresponds, I was dazed +at the significance of the omen, and resolved at once to seek my fortune +in the United States. I sold the order on the tailor for money enough to +buy a suit of ready-made clothes and pay my fare to Genoa. From this +port I worked my passage to Gibraltar, and thence, after performing a +few weeks in a small English circus, I went to New York in a +fruit-vessel. As long as I was in America everything prospered with me. +I made a great deal of money, and spent a great deal. After a couple of +years I went to London with a company, and there lost my pay and my +position by the failure of the manager. In England my good luck all left +me. Circus people are too plenty there; everybody is an artist. I could +scarcely get anything to do in my line, so I drifted over to Paris." + +We prolonged our stroll for an hour, for although I did not anticipate +any pleasure or profit from continuing the acquaintance, there was yet a +certain attraction in his simplicity of manner and in his naïve faith in +the value of my influence on his fortunes. Before we parted he +expressed again his ability to get me something to do, but I did not +credit his statement enough to correct the impression that I was in need +of employment. At his earnest solicitation I gave him my address, +concealing, as well as I could, my reluctance to encourage an +acquaintance which could not result in anything but annoyance. + +One day passed, and two, and on the third morning the porter showed him +to my room. + +"I have found you work!" he cried, in the first breath. + +Sure enough, he had been to a Polish acquaintance who knew a countryman, +a copyist in the Louvre. This copyist had a superabundance of orders, +and was glad to get some one to help him finish them in haste. My +gymnast was so much elated over his success at finding occupation for me +that I hadn't the heart to tell him that I was at leisure only while +hunting a studio. I therefore promised to go with him to the Louvre some +day, but I always found an excuse for not going. + +For two or three weeks we met at intervals. At various times, thinking +he was in want, I pressed him to accept the loan of a few francs, but he +always stoutly refused. We went together to his lodging-house, where the +landlady, an English-woman, who boarded most of the circus people, spoke +of her "poor dear Mr. Nodge," as she called him, in quite a maternal +way, and assured me that he had wanted for nothing, and should not so +long as his wound disabled him. In the course of a few days I had +gathered from him a complete history of his circus-life, which was full +of adventure and hardship. He was, as I had thought then, somewhat of a +novice in the circus business at the time we met in Turin, having left +his home less than two years before. He had indeed been associated as a +regular member of the company only a few months, after having served a +difficult and wearing apprenticeship. He was born in Koloszvar, where +his father was a professor in the university, and there he grew up with +three brothers and a sister, in a comfortable home. He always had had a +great desire to see travel, and from early childhood developed a special +fondness for gymnastic feats. The thought of a circus made him fairly +wild. On rare occasions a travelling show visited this Transylvanian +town, and his parents with difficulty restrained him from following the +circus away. At last, in 1873, one show, more complete and more +brilliant than any one before seen there, came in on the newly opened +railway, and he, now a man, went away with it, unable longer to restrain +his passion for the profession. Always accustomed to horses, and already +a skilful acrobat, he was immediately accepted by the manager as an +apprentice, and after a season in Roumania and a disastrous trip through +Southern Austria, they came into Northern Italy, where I met him. + +Whenever he spoke of his early life he always became quiet and +depressed, and for a long time I believed that he brooded over his +mistake in exchanging a happy home for the vicissitudes of Bohemia. It +came out slowly, however, that he was haunted by a superstition, a +strange and ingenious one, which was yet not without a certain show of +reason for its existence. Little by little I learned the following facts +about it: His father was of pure Szeklar or original Hungarian stock, as +dark-skinned as a Hindoo, and his mother was from one of the families of +Western Hungary, with probably some Saxon blood in her veins. His three +brothers were dark like his father, but he and his sister were blondes. +He was born with a peculiar red mark on his right shoulder, directly +over the scapular. This mark was shaped like a forked stick. His father +had received a wound in the insurrection of '48, a few months before the +birth of him, the youngest son, and this birth-mark reproduced the shape +of the father's scar. Among Hungarians his father passed for a very +learned man. He spoke fluently German, French, and Latin (the language +used by Hungarians in common communication with other nationalities), +and took great pains to give his children an acquaintance with each of +these tongues. Their earliest playthings were French alphabet-blocks, +and the set which served as toys and tasks for each of the elder +brothers came at last to him as his legacy. The letters were formed by +the human figure in different attitudes, and each block had a little +couplet below the picture, beginning with the letter on the block. The +Y represented a gymnast hanging by his hands to a trapeze, and being a +letter which does not occur in the Hungarian language except in +combinations, excited most the interest and imagination of the +youngsters. Thousands of times did they practise the grouping of the +figures on the blocks, and the Y always served as a model for trapeze +exercises. My friend, on account of his birth-mark, which resembled a +rude Y, was early dubbed by his brothers with the nick-name Yatil, this +being the first words of the French couplet printed below the picture. +Learning the French by heart, they believed the _Y a-t-il_ to be one +word, and with boyish fondness for nick-names saddled the youngest with +this. It is easy to understand how the shape of this letter, borne on +his body in an indelible mark, and brought to his mind every moment of +the day, came to seem in some way connected with his life. As he grew up +in this belief he became more and more superstitious about the letter +and about everything in the remotest way connected with it. + +The first great event of his life was joining the circus, and to this +the letter Y more or less directly! led him. He left home on his +twenty-fifth birth-day, and twenty five was the number of the letter Y +in the block-alphabet. + +The second great event of his life was the Turin lottery, and the number +of the lucky ticket was twenty-five. "The last sign given me," he said, +"was the accident in the circus here." As he spoke he rolled up the +right leg of his trowsers, and there, on the outside of the calf, about +midway between the knee and ankle, was a red scar forked like the letter +Y. + +From the time he confided his superstition to me he sought me more than +ever. I must confess to feeling, at each visit of his, a little +constrained and unnatural. He seemed to lean on me as a protector, and +to be hungry all the time for an intimate sympathy I could never give +him. Although I shared his secret, I could not lighten the burden of his +superstition. His wound had entirely healed, but as his leg was still +weak and he still continued to limp a little, he could not resume his +place in the circus. Between brooding over his superstition and worrying +about his accident, he grew very despondent. The climax of his +hopelessness was reached when the doctor told him at last that he would +never be able to vault again. The fracture had been a severe one, the +bone having protruded through the skin. The broken parts had knitted +with great difficulty, and the leg would never be as firm and as elastic +as before. Besides, the fracture had slightly shortened the lower leg. +His circus career was therefore ended, and he attributed his misfortune +to the ill-omened letter Y. + +Just about the time of his greatest despondency war was declared between +Russia and Turkey. The Turkish embassadors were drumming up recruits all +over Western Europe. News came to the circus boarding-house that good +riders were wanted for the Turkish mounted gensdarmes. Nagy resolved to +enlist, and we went together to the Turkish embassy. He was enrolled +after only a superficial examination, and was directed to present +himself on the following day to embark for Constantinople. He begged me +to go with him to the rendezvous, and there I bade him adieu. As I was +shaking his hand he showed me the certificate given him by the Turkish +embassador. It bore the date of May 25, and at the bottom was a +signature in Turkish characters, which could be readily distorted by the +imagination into a rude and scrawling Y. + +A series of events occurring immediately after Nagy left for +Constantinople resulted in my own unexpected departure in a civil +capacity for the seat of war in the Russian lines. The line of curious +coincidences in the experience of the circus-rider had impressed me very +much at the time, but in the excitement of the Turkish campaign I +entirely forgot the circumstance. I do not, indeed, recall any thought +of Nagy during the first five months in the field. The day after the +fall of Plevna I rode through the deserted earthworks toward the town. +The dead were lying where they had fallen in the dramatic and useless +sortie of the day before. The dead on a battle-field always excite fresh +interest, no matter if the spectacle be an every-day one, and as I rode +slowly along I studied the attitudes of the fallen bodies, speculating +on the relation between the death-poses and the last impulse that had +animated the living frame. Behind a rude barricade of wagons and +household goods, part of the train of non-combatants which Osman Pasha +had ordered to accompany the army in the sortie, a great number of dead +lay in confusion. The peculiar position of one of these instantly +attracted my eye. He had fallen on his face against the barricade, with +both arms stretched above his head, evidently killed instantly. The +figure on the alphabet-block, described by the circus-rider, came +immediately to my mind. My heart beat as I dismounted and looked at the +dead man's face. It was a genuine Turk. + +This incident revived my interest in the life of the circus-rider, and +gave me an impulse to look among the prisoners to see if by chance he +might be with them. I spent a couple of days in distributing tobacco and +bread in the hospitals and among the thirty thousand wretches herded +shelterless in the snow. There were some of the mounted gensdarmes among +them, and I even found several Hungarians; but none of them had ever +heard of the circus-rider. + +The passage of the Balkans was a campaign full of excitement, and was +accompanied by so much hardship that selfishness got entirely the upper +hand of me, and life became a battle for physical comfort. After the +passage of the mountain range we went ahead so fast that I had little +opportunity, even if I had the enterprise, to look among the few +prisoners for the circus-rider. + +Time passed, and we were at the end of a three days' fight near +Philippopolis, in the middle of January. Suleiman Pasha's army, +defeated, disorganized, and at last disbanded, though to that day still +unconquered, had finished the tragic act of its last campaign with the +heroic stand made in the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, near +Stanimaka, south of Philippopolis. A long month in the terrible cold, on +the summits of the Balkan range; the forced retreat through the snow +after the battle of Taskosen; the neck-and-neck race with the Russians +down the valley of the Maritza; finally, the hot little battle on the +river-bank, and the two days of hand-to-hand struggle in the vine-yard +of Stanimaka--this was a campaign to break the constitution of any +soldier. Days without food, nights without shelter from the mountain +blasts, always marching and always fighting, supplies and baggage lost, +ammunition and artillery gone--human nature could hold out no longer, +and the Turkish army dissolved away into the defiles of the Rhodopes. +Unfortunately for her, Turkey has no literature to chronicle, no art to +perpetuate the heroism of her defenders. + +The incidents of that short campaign are too full of horror to be +related. Not only did the demon of war devour strong men, but found +dainty morsels for its bloody maw in innocent women and children. Whole +families, crazed by the belief that capture was worse than death, +fought in the ranks with the soldiers. Women ambushed in coverts shot +the Russians as they rummaged the captured trains for much-needed food. +Little children, thrown into the snow by the flying parents, died of +cold and starvation, or were trampled to death by passing cavalry. Such +a useless waste of human life has not been recorded since the +indiscriminate massacres of the Middle Ages. + +The sight of human suffering soon blunts the sensibilities of any one +who lives with it, so that he is at last able to look upon it with no +stronger feeling than that of helplessness. Resigned to the inevitable, +he is no longer impressed by the woes of the individual. He looks upon +the illness, wounds, and death of the soldier as a part of the lot of +all combatants, and comes to consider him an insignificant unit of the +great mass of men. At last only novelties in horrors will excite his +feelings. + +I was riding back from the Stanimaka battle-field sufficiently elated at +the prospect of a speedy termination of the war--now made certain by the +breaking up of Suleiman's army--to forget where I was, and to imagine +myself back in my comfortable apartments in Paris. I only awoke from my +dream at the station where the highway from Stanimaka crosses the +railway line about a mile south of Philippopolis. The great wooden +barracks had been used as a hospital for wounded Turks, and as I drew +up my horse at the door the last of the lot of four hundred, who had +been starving there nearly a week, were being placed upon carts to be +transported to the town. The road to Philippopolis was crowded with +wounded and refugees. Peasant families struggled along with all their +household goods piled upon a single cart. Ammunition wagons and droves +of cattle, rushing along against the tide of human beings, toward the +distant bivouacs, made the confusion hopeless. Night was fast coming on, +and in company with a Cossack, who was, like myself, seeking the +headquarters of General Gourko, I made my way through the tangle of men, +beasts, and wagons toward the town. It was one of those chill, wet days +of winter when there is little comfort away from a blazing fire, and +when good shelter for the night is an absolute necessity. The drizzle +had drenched my garments, and the snow-mud had soaked my boots. Sharp +gusts of piercing wind drove the cold mist along, and as the temperature +fell in the late afternoon the slush of the roads began to stiffen, and +the fog froze where it gathered. Every motion of the limbs seemed to +expose some unprotected part of the body to the cold and wet. No amount +of exercise that was possible with stiffened limbs and in wet garments +would warm the blood. Leading my horse, I splashed along, holding my +arms away from my body, and only moving my benumbed fingers to wipe the +chill drip from my face. It was weather to take the courage out of the +strongest man, and the sight of the soaked and shivering wounded, packed +in the jolting carts or limping through the mud, gave me, hardened as I +was, a painful contraction of the heart. The best I could do was to lift +upon my worn-out horse one brave young fellow who was hobbling along +with a bandaged leg. Followed by the Cossack, whose horse bore a similar +burden, I hurried along, hoping to get under cover before dark. At the +entrance to the town numerous camp-fires burned in the bivouacs of the +refugees, who were huddled together in the shelter of their wagons, +trying to warm themselves in the smoke of the wet fuel. I could see the +wounded, as they were jolted past in the heavy carts, look longingly at +the kettles of boiling maize which made the evening meal of the +houseless natives. + +Inside the town the wounded and the refugees were still more miserable +than those we had passed on the way. Loaded carts blocked the streets. +Every house was occupied, and the narrow sidewalks were crowded with +Russian soldiers, who looked wretched enough in their dripping +overcoats, as they stamped their rag-swathed feet. At the corner, in +front of the great Khan, motley groups of Greeks, Bulgarians, and +Russians were gathered, listlessly watching the line of hobbling wounded +as they turned the corner to find their way among the carts, up the hill +to the hospital, near the Konak. By the time I reached the Khan the +Cossack who accompanied me had fallen behind in the confusion, and +without waiting for him I pushed along, wading in the gutter, dragging +my horse by the bridle. Half way up the hill I saw a crowd of natives +watching with curiosity two Russian guardsmen and a Turkish prisoner. +The latter was evidently exhausted, for he was crouching in the freezing +mud of the street. Presently the soldiers shook him roughly and raised +him forcibly to his feet, and half supporting him between them they +moved slowly along, the Turk balancing on his stiffened legs and +swinging from side to side. + +A most wretched object he was to look at. He had neither boots nor fez. +His feet were bare, and his trowsers were torn off near the knee, and +hung in tatters around his mud-splashed legs. An end of the red sash +fastened to his waist trailed far behind in the mud. A blue cloth jacket +hung loosely from his shoulders, and his hands and wrists dangled from +the ragged sleeves. His head rolled around at each movement of the body, +and at short intervals the muscles of the neck would rigidly contract. +All at once he drew himself up with a shudder and sank down in the mud +again. + +The guardsmen were themselves near the end of their strength, and their +patience was wellnigh finished as well. Rough mountain marching had torn +the soles from their boots, and great unsightly wraps of rawhide and +rags were bound on their feet. The thin worn overcoats, burned in many +places, flapped dismally against their ankles; and their caps, beaten +out of shape by many storms, clung drenched to their heads. They were in +no condition to help any one to walk, for they could scarcely get on +alone. They stood a moment shivering, looked at each other, shook their +heads as if discouraged, and proceeded to rouse the Turk by hauling him +upon his feet again. The three moved on a few yards, and the prisoner +fell again, and the same operation was repeated. All this time I was +crowding nearer and nearer, and as I got within a half dozen paces the +Turk fell once more, and this time lay at full length in the mud. The +guardsmen tried to rouse him by shaking, but in vain. Finally, one of +them, losing all patience, pricked him with his bayonet on the lower +part of the ribs exposed by the raising of the jacket as he fell. I was +now near enough to act, and with a sudden clutch I pulled the guardsman +away, whirled him around, and stood in his place. As I was stooping over +the Turk he raised himself slowly, doubtless aroused by the pain of the +puncture, and turned on me a most beseeching look, which changed at once +into something like joy and surprise. Immediately a deathlike pallor +spread over his face, and he sank back again with a groan. + +By this time quite a crowd of Bulgarians had gathered around us, and +seemed to enjoy the sight of a suffering enemy. It was evident that they +did not intend to volunteer any assistance, so I helped the wounded +Russian down from my saddle, and invited the natives rather sternly to +put the Turk in his place. With true Bulgarian spirit they refused to +assist a Turk, and it required the argument of the rawhide (_nagajka_) +to bring them to their senses. Three of them, cornered and flogged, +lifted the unconscious man and carried him toward the horse, the +soldiers, meanwhile believing me to be an officer, standing in the +attitude of attention. As the Bulgarians bore the Turk to the horse, a +few drops of blood fell to the ground. I noticed then that he had his +shirt tied around his left shoulder, under his jacket. Supported in the +saddle by two natives on each side, his head falling forward on his +breast, the wounded prisoner was carried with all possible tenderness to +the Stafford House hospital, near the Konak. As we moved slowly up the +hill I looked back, and saw the two guardsmen sitting on the muddy +sidewalk, with their guns leaning against their shoulders--too much +exhausted to go either way. + +I found room for my charge in one of the upper rooms of the hospital, +where he was washed and put into a warm bed. His wound proved to be a +severe one. A Berdan bullet had passed through the thick part of the +left pectoral, out again, and into the head of the humerus. The surgeon +said that the arm would have to be operated on, to remove the upper +quarter of the bone. + +The next morning I went to the hospital to see what had become of the +wounded man, for the incident of the previous evening made a deep +impression on my mind. As I walked through the corridor I saw a group +around a temporary bed in the corner. Some one was evidently about to +undergo an operation, for an assistant held at intervals a great cone of +linen over a haggard face on the pillow, and a strong smell of +chloroform filled the air. As I approached the surgeon turned around, +and recognizing me, with a nod and a smile said, "We are at work on your +friend." While he was speaking he bared the left shoulder of the wounded +man, and I saw the holes made by the bullet as it passed from the +pectoral into the upper part of the deltoid. Without waiting longer, the +surgeon made a straight cut downward from near the acromion through the +thick fibre of the deltoid to the bone. He tried to sever the tendons to +slip the head of the humerus from the socket, but failed. He wasted no +time in further trial, but made a second incision from the bullet-hole +diagonally to the middle of the first cut, and turned the pointed flap +thus made up over the shoulder. It was now easy to unjoint the bones, +and but a moment's work to saw off the shattered piece, tie the severed +arteries, and bring the flap again into its place. + +There was no time to pause, for the surgeon began to fear the effects of +the chloroform on the patient. We hastened to revive him by every +possible means at hand, throwing cold water on him and warming his hands +and feet. Although under the influence of chloroform to the degree that +he was insensible to pain, he had not been permitted to lose his entire +consciousness, and he appeared to be sensible of what we were doing. +Nevertheless, he awoke slowly, very slowly, the surgeon meanwhile +putting the stitches in the incision. At last he raised his eyelids and +made a movement with his lips. With a deliberate movement he surveyed +the circle of faces gathered closely around the bed. There was something +in his eyes which had an irresistible attraction for me, and I bent +forward to await his gaze. As his eyes met mine they changed as if a +sudden light had struck them, and the stony stare gave way to a look of +intelligence and recognition. Then, through the beard of a season's +growth and behind the haggard mask before me, I saw at once the +circus-rider of Turin and Paris. I remember being scarcely excited or +surprised at the meeting, for a great sense of irresponsibility came +over me, and I involuntarily accepted the coincidence as a matter of +course. He tried in vain to speak, but held up his right hand, and +feebly made with his fingers the sign of the letter which had played +such a part in the story of his life. Even at that instant the light +left his eyes, and something like a veil seemed drawn over them. With +the instinctive energy which possesses every one when there is a chance +of saving human life, we redoubled our efforts to restore the patient to +consciousness. But while we strove to feed the flame with some of our +own vitality, it flickered and went out, leaving the hue of ashes where +the rosy tinge of life had been. His heart was paralyzed. + +As I turned away, my eye caught the surgeon's incision, which was now +plainly visible on the left shoulder. The cut was in the form of the +letter Y. + + +[2] _Century Magazine, March_, 1883. + + + + +THE END OF NEW YORK.[3] + +BY PARK BENJAMIN. + + +INTRODUCTORY. + +THE WAR CLOUD. + + +Towards dusk on the afternoon of Monday, December 5th, 1881, the French +steamer "Canada," from Havre, arrived at her pier in New York City. +Among the passengers was a tall, dark, rather fine-looking man, of about +middle-age. After the usual examination of his baggage by the Custom +House officials had been made, this person, accompanied by a lady, took +a hack at the entrance of the pier, and was driven to the Fifth Avenue +Hotel. The initials on the luggage strapped on the rear of the vehicle +were M.B. + +In conversing with the driver the gentleman--for his appearance and +bearing fully indicated his right to the title--spoke English, though +somewhat imperfectly; with the lady he talked in sonorous Castilian. + +Apparently, no one bestowed any particular notice upon the pair. They +were two foreigners out of the great throng of foreigners which lands +daily in the metropolis; they were Spaniards and reasonably well-to-do, +seeing that they came over in the saloon, and not in the steerage. + +The names registered at the hotel were Manuel Blanco and wife. + +Late during the following evening the lady personally came to the office +seemingly in great distress. An interpreter being procured, it was +learned that Señor Blanco, in response to a visiting-card sent to his +room, had left the apartment shortly after breakfast that morning, and +had not since returned. + +The lady explained that he had no business affairs in New York, and that +they were merely resting in the city for a few days to recover from the +effects of the ocean voyage, before going to Charleston, S.C., their +destination. + +The clerk in the office simply knew that a stranger had called and sent +a card to Señor Blanco, and that the two, after meeting, had left the +hotel together. + +The anxiety of Señora Blanco was evidently excessive. She rejected such +commonplace reasons as that her husband might have lost his way, or that +some unlooked-for business matters had claimed his attention. + +"No, no!" she repeated, almost hysterically; "no beezness. Ah, Dios! El +está muerte." + +A physician was sent for, and the lady, who was fast reaching a stage of +nervous prostration, placed in his care. The hotel detective proceeded +at once to Police Headquarters, whence telegrams were despatched to the +various precincts, giving a description of the missing man, and making +inquiries concerning him. The replies were all in the negative: no such +person had come under the notice of the police. + +From what has thus far been narrated, it might be inferred that Blanco's +absence was due to one of those strange disappearances which happen in +great cities. The inference, however, would be wrong. Blanco had not +disappeared. + +True, his agonized wife and the police of New York City had no trace of +his whereabouts; but Mr. Michael Chalmette, an officer detailed by the +U.S. Marshal in New Orleans to arrest Leon Sangrado, at the request of +the Republic of Chili, on the charge of repeatedly committing murder and +highway robbery in that country, was entirely sure that the missing +person was sitting beside him, handcuffed to his left wrist, and that +both were speeding toward New Orleans as fast as a railway-car could +take them. + +When the French steamer "Canada" arrived, Mr. Michael Chalmette, wearing +the uniform and badge of a Custom House officer, stationed himself by +the gang-plank and narrowly scrutinized each passenger that came +ashore. While Blanco's trunks were being examined, he stood near that +gentleman, and furtively compared his features with those on a +photograph. It was Chalmette who sent the card to Blanco's room, in the +hotel, next day, and who induced Blanco to accompany him in a carriage, +as he said, to the Custom House, to arrange some irregularity in the +passing of Blanco's luggage. The driver of that carriage, however, was +told to go to the Pennsylvania Railroad Dépôt, in Jersey City. + +Blanco evinced some surprise on being taken across the ferry, but was +easily satisfied by his companion's explanation that the branch of the +Custom House to be visited was on the Jersey side. + +When the station was reached Chalmette led the way to the waiting-room, +and quietly observed, before the unsuspecting Blanco could finish a +sentence beginning: + +"Ees it posseeble zat zees is ze Custom--" + +"You are my prisoner. You had better come without making trouble." + +Blanco looked at him aghast--not half comprehending the words. + +"A prisoner--I--for what?" + +Chalmette returned no answer, but produced his warrant. + +"But I no understand--I--" + +Just then the warning bell rung. Chalmette seized his prisoner by the +arm and pushed him through the gateway. + +On the platform Blanco made some slight resistance. The policeman, +whose attention was attracted thereby, after a few words with Chalmette, +assisted the latter in forcing him upon the train, which was already +slowly moving out of the dépôt. + + * * * * * + +It is necessary to break the thread of the story here to note an odd +coincidence. While there is a French steamer "Canada" belonging to the +Compagnie Générale Trans Atlantique, and plying between New York and +Havre, there is also an English steamer "Canada" belonging to the +National Line, which travels between New York and London. It so happened +that on the same afternoon that the French vessel came in, as before +narrated, the English steamer of like name also arrived. + +Among the passengers who landed from the English "Canada" there was also +a couple, man and woman, apparently Spaniards, and there was an +undeniable resemblance between the man and Blanco. The former, however, +had features cast in a much rougher mould, and his general bearing +indicated that he was not a gentleman, as plainly as Blanco's did the +reverse. + +The luggage of the pair consisted of a single valise, which was carried +by the woman, the man striding on ahead, leisurely puffing a cigarette. +They hired no carriage, but walked from the pier, across and up West +Street, and took a street-car going to the east side of the city. + +As soon as they left the conveyance the man spread out his arms and +expanded his chest with a long breath. The woman half smiled, and said +something to him in Spanish. Then they mingled with the crowd around +Tompkins Square and disappeared. + + * * * * * + +Two days after Blanco's arrest the physician, now in constant attendance +upon his wife, filed the death certificate of a stillborn child. +Puerperal fever set in, and the life of the unhappy woman for more than +two weeks trembled in the balance. During the first week a telegram from +New Orleans, which Blanco's captor had permitted him to send, came, +addressed to her. + +The physician opened it; but as she was almost constantly unconscious, +it was impossible to inform her of its contents for some days. Then she +was simply told that her husband had been heard from, and was safe. The +doctor peremptorily forbade any information being given her of Blanco's +true situation; and as she could not understand the language, and so +glean intelligence from the newspapers, which contained reports of the +inquiry conducted by the Commissioner, and the complete identification +of the prisoner as Leon Sangrado, she, of course, remained in ignorance +of what had happened. + +Some five weeks elapsed before she was judged sufficiently strong to +bear the shock which such news would inevitably produce. Then she was +told as gently as possible, all mention of the nature of the charges +against Blanco being avoided. + +She listened in silent surprise. + +"But he has never been in Chili in his life," she insisted. + +The old doctor, himself a Spaniard, looked at her pityingly, but said +nothing. + +"He has been Consul before nowhere but at Trieste; how could he have +been in South America?" she continued. + +"Consul? Is your husband, then, in the Consular service of Spain?" +queried the doctor, somewhat surprised. + +"He is here as Consul to Charleston--in--ah, what is the +name?--Carolina." + +"Can you prove that?" demanded the physician, somewhat excitedly. + +"I can--that is, I think there are official papers in the trunks. Is it +necessary?" + +"Very necessary." + +"Here are the keys, then." + +The doctor in her presence opened the luggage, and in a curiously +arranged secret compartment in one of the trunks found the documents. +After a few moments spent in looking them over, he said: + +"Do you feel strong to-day?" + +"Not very." + +"I think you could travel, however. I will see that your baggage is +properly packed, if you will be prepared to accompany me to-morrow +morning." + +"But whither?" + +"To Washington; to the Spanish Minister. This is a serious business." + +Under the supervision of the doctor the journey was safely accomplished. +After proper repose Señora Blanco and the physician proceeded to the +Spanish Legation, and within a very short time Señor Antonio Mantilla, +Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of His Catholic +Majesty, was in possession of Blanco's papers, and of the facts, so far +as known to his visitors, attending that gentleman's arrest. + +Señor Mantilla looked grave and said little. He thanked the physician, +however, warmly for the part he had taken in the matter, and calling a +secretary placed Señora Blanco in his charge, with instructions that she +should receive the greatest care and attention. + +He then desired the attendance of his Secretary of Legation, and the two +officials remained in earnest consultation for more than two hours. +During this period several telegrams were sent to the Spanish Consul at +New Orleans, and a long cipher-message to the Minister of Foreign +Affairs in Madrid. + +A few days later a lengthy report was received from the Consul at New +Orleans, accompanied by three letters from Blanco to his wife, not one +of which had been forwarded from the jail in which he was confined. + +Another consultation was held at the Spanish Legation, during which +this report and an answering message from Madrid were frequently +referred to. + +The report set forth the facts of the identification of Blanco as +Sangrado by the Chilian representatives, with sufficient certainty to +convince the U.S. Commissioner. Until a late period in the inquiry +Blanco had had no counsel. He had, however, asseverated from the +beginning that he was the Consul of Spain at Charleston--a fact not +believed, because there was already a Consul resident at that place. +Communication with that official simply showed that he expected to be +transferred to another post, but had not been informed of the name of +his successor. The Commissioner, seeing that Blanco was doing nothing to +obtain testimony in his own favor, quietly arranged that counsel should +be provided for him; and the lawyers, as a matter of course, at once +sent to New York for Blanco's papers. + +Señora Blanco, being then in a dangerous condition, was helpless. Search +was made through the trunks, without finding any trace of the documents +hidden in the secret compartment. + +The Legation of Spain in Washington had information that Manuel Blanco +had been sent to assume the Consulship at Charleston, but no one could +personally identify the prisoner to be the Manuel Blanco appointed. + +The Chilian witnesses had sworn that the prisoner was Leon Sangrado in +the most unequivocal manner--and Chalmette deposed that he saw him land +from the "Canada," in which vessel he had been instructed to look for +the fugitive. + +The facts, as thus gathered by the Spanish diplomatists from the Consul +at New Orleans, from Señora Blanco, and from her physician, were +complete. The outcome of their deliberations upon them was twofold. + +_First_.--The departure of Señora Blanco, under care of an attaché of +the Spanish Legation, to join her husband at New Orleans. + +_Second_.--The following diplomatic communication from the Minister of +Spain to the Secretary of State of the United States of America. + + Legation of Spain at Washington, + + January 16th, 1882. + + The undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary + of His Catholic Majesty, has the honor to address the Honorable + Secretary of State, with a view to obtaining from the Federal + Government reparation for the arrest of Señor Don Manuel Blanco, + His Catholic Majesty's Consul at Charleston, S.C., at the demand of + the Republic of Chili, on a charge of crime preferred by the + Government of that country. The undersigned is instructed to + protest, in the most distinct terms, against this grave breach of + international obligations, to insist upon the immediate release of + the said Blanco, and to require from the Federal Government an + apology suited to the circumstances. The undersigned avails + himself, etc., + + ANTONIO MANTILLA. + + + DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + + WASHINGTON, January 20th, 1882. + + SIR: Referring to your communication of the 16th inst., in which + you protest against the arrest of the person alleged to be Señor + Don Manuel Blanco, His Catholic Majesty's Consul at Charleston, at + the instance of the Republic of Chili, and demand the release of + the said person, with a suitable apology from this Government in + the premises, I have the honor to inform you that the + representatives of the Chilian Government allege the person in + question to be one Leon Sangrado, a fugitive from justice, charged + with the crimes of murder and robbery; that, before the United + States Commissioner at New Orleans, the Chilian representatives + have produced evidence identifying the prisoner as Leon Sangrado, + which evidence has warranted the said Commissioner in rendering + judgment accordingly; and that the proceedings and judgment, on + review by the President of the United States, have been confirmed, + and the warrant of extradition ordered. I have the honor to + transmit herewith a copy of the record of the evidence in the case + for your Excellency's information. I have also to state that, in + the circumstances, this Government conceives itself to be acting + in a spirit of strict international comity with the Republic of + Chili, and, upon the representations made by your Excellency, + cannot admit that any reparation or apology is due to the + Government of His Catholic Majesty. + + I have the honor, etc., + + JAS. G. BLAINE, + + _Secretary of State_. + +Some days later the Spanish Minister forwarded a note to the State +Department, wherein, after the usual formal recitals, he stated as +follows: + + The undersigned has the honor to inform the Honorable Secretary of + State that, having transmitted his communication by cable to the + Government of His Catholic Majesty, he is now instructed to make + the following demands: + + 1st. That the Federal Government shall deliver Señor Don Manuel + Blanco, His Catholic Majesty's Consul at Charleston, S.C., alleged + to be Leon Sangrado, a fugitive from justice from the Republic of + Chili, to the undersigned, at the Legation of Spain at Washington, + by or before the first day of February, proximo. + + 2. That the Federal Government shall address to the Government of + His Catholic Majesty a formal and solemn apology for the insult + offered by the arrest of said Blanco. And, in further proof + thereof, shall, on said first day of February, at noon, cause the + Spanish flag to be hoisted over Fort Columbus, in New York Harbor; + Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor; the Navy Yard, in Washington; and at + the mast-head of the flag-ship of the North Atlantic squadron--then + and there to be saluted with twenty-one guns. + + I have the honor, etc., + + ANTONIO MANTILLA. + +The reply sent by Secretary Blaine to this peremptory demand was, as +might be expected, an equally peremptory refusal. + +Thereupon the Spanish Minister demanded his passports, and with his +Legation left the country. + +The passports of the American Minister at Madrid were at the same time +forwarded to him, and he returned to the United States. + +Blanco was delivered to the Chilian representatives, and duly +extradited, his wife accompanying him. + +The anti-administration newspapers commented with great severity upon +the case, alleging that undue haste was manifested in forwarding the +proceedings; that proper opportunity was not afforded the accused to +establish his true identity; that the warrant of extradition was +illegal, inasmuch as it had been issued by an Assistant Secretary of +State during the absence of both the President and Secretary from +Washington, and that, consequently, there had been in fact no real +review of the proceedings by the Executive. + +The administration journals, on the contrary, found the extradition of +the prisoner to be perfectly within the letter of the law; but were not +inclined to say much on this point, preferring rather to applaud Mr. +Blaine's new proof of a "vigorous foreign policy," as exemplified in the +previously quoted correspondence with the Spanish Minister. + + * * * * * + + + + +I. + +THE GATHERING OF THE STORM. + + +That the friendly relations of two great nations should be ruptured by a +difficulty which, to all appearances, might easily have been adjusted, +seems incredible; but it should be remembered that at this period Spain +and the United States were by no means on the best of terms. Spanish +war-vessels in the West Indies had been overhauling American merchantmen +in a high-handed way, which had already called forth the remonstrances +of our Government; and the complaints from Cuba of the insecurity of +property and life of American citizens had become more numerous than +ever. Still, the result of the dispute was a surprise to the world; +especially as the overt act of rupture had come from Spain, and not +from the United States, as had so frequently hitherto seemed probable. + +The popular excitement throughout the country was intense. There was a +universal demand for war. It was pointed out that the country was never +so prosperous, or better able to bear the burden of a conflict; that, +with our immense resources, an army could be raised and a navy equipped +inside of sixty days; that such a war would be of short duration, and +that the result could be none other than the humiliation of Spain, and +the ceding to us of the Spanish West Indies as a war indemnity. + +The House of Representatives fairly rung with bellicose speeches, and +the press, with a few exceptions, reflected the popular feeling. + +On the other hand, however, there was a powerful party attempting to +stem the precipitancy of the nation. The great moneyed corporations +viewed the matter with alarm, and advocated peaceful settlement, or, at +most, inaction. This, however, was attributed to their fears of +unsettlement of values, and consequent depreciation of their property. + +The Senate, refusing to be influenced by popular clamor, steadily +opposed all hasty legislation originating in the lower House. The +President and Cabinet brought down upon themselves the bitter +denunciation of the opposition press for "cowardly truckling to Spain," +because no immediate steps were taken to place army and navy on a war +footing, and no volunteers were called for. + +A month went by. The popular excitement in this period perceptibly +decreased; and, as it did so, the New York _World_ and _Tribune_, which, +from the first, had given but weak support to the cry for war, became +more outspoken against hostilities. The bill agreed to by both Houses of +Congress, providing for the immediate construction of ten swift armored +cruisers, was strongly attacked in both journals, and the arming of the +harbor forts, and the elaborate preparations which began to be visible +for protecting the harbor by torpedoes, were sneered at as "useless +precautions, dictated by an unworthy fear of a nation which would never +venture to attack us." + +The stocks of the New York Central, Western Union Telegraph, Lake Shore, +and other corporations controlled by Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, which had +fallen during the excitement of the previous month, rose slowly, but +steadily. + +On the afternoon of March 6th, the _Evening Telegram_ issued an extra, +reporting the sailing from Coruna of four Spanish ironclads. The +announcement on the London Stock Exchange was that they were going to +Cuba. + +On the following day there was a decided fall in American Securities in +London, and a weak market in Wall Street; which degenerated into a +rapidly declining one when it became rumored that Gould was selling +Western Union short in large blocks, and that Vanderbilt's brokers were +similarly disposing of N.Y. Central and other stocks. + +At 10 o'clock that night the news came that Spain had formally declared +war upon the United States. It was posted in all the hotels, and read +from the stages of all the theatres. The people flocked into the streets +_en masse_. Speeches were made, breathing defiance and demands for an +immediate attack upon Spain, before tremendous crowds, in Madison and +Union Squares. No one slept that night. + +Next morning there was a panic in Wall Street, which was arrested, +however, by the intelligence from London that, although Government +four-per-cents had fallen to 86, they were steady at that figure, and +that the Rothschilds and Baring Brothers were buying them in largely. +Before night Congress had voted a special appropriation of a hundred +million dollars for purposes of defense, authorized the immediate +construction of twenty armored ships, and the President issued his +proclamation, calling for the raising of four hundred thousand men "to +repel an invasion of the Union." + +Within twenty-four hours the regiments of the National Guard in New York +and vicinity were mustered into the service of the United States and +ordered into camp, under command of General Hancock. That officer at +once began the construction of sea-coast batteries on Coney Island, +Rockaway Beach, and the New Jersey coast. A crack city regiment was +detailed to complete the partially finished fort on Sandy Hook and throw +up earthworks along the Peninsula; but, as the hands of most of the men +became quite sore through wielding shovels and picks, they were relieved +and sent to garrison Governor's Island, where they gave exhibition +drills daily, and, on Friday evenings, invited their female friends to +hops of the most enjoyable description. The Hook fort was subsequently +completed by a volunteer regiment of Cuban cigar-makers, from the +Bowery. + +As a matter of course, notice was immediately given to all foreign +vessels in port of the proposed blocking of the Narrows and the Main, +Swash and East Channels with torpedoes, and forty-eight hours' time was +accorded them wherein to take their departure. The European steamers +were the first to leave, each one towing from two to five +sailing-vessels. Later on, General Hancock impressed all the harbor tugs +into service; and, by their aid, before the specified period had +elapsed, not a single ship floating a foreign flag remained in New York +Harbor. A battalion of army engineers, under command of General Abbot, +and another of sailors, under Captain Selfridge, at once began +operations. + +In the Narrows, torpedoes were moored at distances of one hundred feet +apart, and were connected with the shore by electric wires. At various +points along the beach shell-proof huts were constructed, to which these +wires led. In each hut was arranged a camera lucida, so that a picture +of the harbor, over a limited area, was thrown upon a whitened table. In +this way an observer could recognize the instant an enemy's vessel +arrived over a sunken mine, and could explode the latter by simply +touching a button which allowed the electric current to pass to the +torpedo. In the Harbor channels the torpedoes were so arranged as to be +exploded on contact of an enemy's vessel with a partially submerged +buoy. + +The torpedo-stations on Staten and Coney Islands and the Jersey coast +were provided with movable fish-torpedoes of the Ericsson and Lay types, +intended to be sent out against a hostile vessel, and manoeuvred from +the shore. All the steam-tugs in the Harbor were moored in Gowanus bay, +and each tug was rigged with a long boom projecting from her bow, on +which a torpedo, containing some fifty pounds of dynamite, was carried. + +With the tugs, and serving as flag-ship for the squadron, was the U.S. +torpedo-boat "Alarm," Lieutenant-Commander H.H. Gorringe. + +The armament of the sea-coast batteries was not calculated to strike +terror into the soul of any nation owning a modern ironclad vessel. It +consisted mainly of old-fashioned smooth-bore guns, a system of +artillery which has been rejected by every European power as the weakest +and most inefficient. The greatest range attainable with the best of +these cannon was 8000 yards, or some four and one half miles. At one +quarter this range their shot would be utterly unable to penetrate even +moderately thin armor. Besides these guns there were a few ten and +twelve-inch rifles of cast-iron, and hence of unreliable and inferior +material; some old smooth-bore cannon, converted into rifles by +wrought-iron linings; and a number of mortars and pieces of small +calibre, altogether contemptible in the light of the advances made in +the art of war during the last quarter of a century. + +Meanwhile the inventors were not idle, and the press fairly teemed with +novel suggestions for the defense of the city. It was proposed to run +all the oil stored in the Williamsburgh refineries into the lower bay, +and set it on fire when the enemy's fleet appeared. + +The _Herald_ suggested the raising of a regiment of divers to live in a +submarine fort, the guns of which should be arranged to fire upwards +into a vessel floating above, and immediately offered to contribute +$250,000 to begin the construction of such defenses. + +General Newton proposed the building of continuous earthworks on both +shores of the bay and Narrows, behind which a broad-gauge railroad +should be constructed. On the track he placed heavy platform-cars, each +car carrying one heavy gun. Embrasures were made at regular intervals +along the embankment. His idea was, that if a hostile vessel made her +way into the Harbor, the gun-cars should move along behind the +earthworks, keeping abreast of the ship, and thus pour into her a +continuous fire. Measures were promptly taken to follow this plan. + +Mr. T.A. Edison announced that he had invented everything which, up to +that time, any one else had suggested. He invited all the reporters to +Menlo Park, and, after elaborately explaining the merits of a new +catarrh remedy, showed some lines on a piece of paper, which, he said, +represented huge electro-magnets, which he proposed to set up along the +coast, say, near Barnegat. When the enemy's iron ships appeared, he +proposed to excite these magnets, and draw the vessels on the rocks. +Somebody said that this notion had been anticipated by one Sindbad the +Sailor, whereupon Mr. Edison denounced that person as a "patent pirate." +He also said that these magnets would be exhibited in working order next +Christmas Eve. + +Professor Bell proposed the "induction balance," as a way of recognizing +the approach of the enemy's iron vessels. He went down the Bay with his +instrument, and sent back some telegrams which were alarming, until it +was discovered that the professor had made a slight error in the +direction from which he asserted the ships were coming, it being +manifestly impossible for them to sail overland from the Pacific, as his +contrivance predicted. + +The condition of affairs in the city reminded one of the early days of +the Rebellion. Wall Street was panicky--chiefly because of the immense +depreciation in railway securities. Government four-per-cent bonds, +however, had gone up to ninety-eight. Provisions were high, and, through +the stoppage of European commerce, the cost of imported articles, such +as dress-goods, tea, etc., became excessive. Recruiting was going on +everywhere; the regiments, as fast as organized, being dispatched to +different points along the sea-board, or to swell the numbers of an army +under command of General Sheridan, which was preparing to sail to Key +West, to invade Cuba. + +During the month of March New York remained in a state of suspense. Army +contractors did a brisk business; but otherwise there was little doing. +News was eagerly sought. It was known that Spain was mobilizing her army +and fitting out transports; but beyond this, and the dispatching of the +four ironclads, which had duly reached Havana, she had taken no steps +pointing toward an invasion of the United States. All the European +nations had issued proclamations of neutrality, except Russia and +France. England had ordered the great Spanish ironclad, "El Cid," in +which Sir William Armstrong had just placed two 100-ton guns, out of her +waters inside of twenty-four hours after Spain had declared war; and +this, although the vessel was in many respects unfinished. The Queen's +proclamation was most stringent against the fitting out or coaling of +the vessels of either belligerent, and a special Act of Parliament was +passed, inflicting penalties of the greatest severity for any violation +of it. John Bull evidently proposed to pay for no more "Alabamas." + +The first great news of the war came during the first week in June. The +Spanish screw corvette "Tornado," six guns, had sailed from Cartagena +for Havana. Off Cape Trafalgar she encountered the "Lancaster," +flag-ship of the United States European squadron, bearing the flag of +Rear-Admiral Nicholson. The "Lancaster" carried two-eleven-inch and +twenty nine-inch old-fashioned smooth-bore Dahlgren guns. The action was +short, sharp, and decisive. + +It terminated in the surrender of the "Tornado," after the loss of her +captain, five officers, and forty of her crew. The "Lancaster" was badly +cut up about the rigging, but otherwise uninjured. Her loss was but five +men. The first tidings of this was the arrival of the "Tornado" in +Hampton Roads, with a prize crew on board, and the royal ensign of Spain +floating beneath the stars and stripes. + +When the extras announcing the news were shouted in the streets, the +enthusiasm of the people knew no bounds. From every building, from every +window, the flag was displayed. Throngs of excited men marched through +the avenues, cheering and shouting, and the recruiting was renewed so +vigorously, that New York's quota of the four hundred thousand men +called for by the President was filled within the next twenty-four +hours after the news came. + +In the midst of this furore, the bulletins announced that the Spanish +ironclads "Zaragoza" and "Numancia" had sailed from Havana, with no +destination announced; that their consorts, the "Arapiles" and +"Vittoria," together with three transports, "San Quentin," "Patino," and +"Ferrol," the latter well laden with coal and provisions, were preparing +to follow; also, that the huge "El Cid" had been fitted for sea, and was +about to sail from Vigo, Spain. + +Just before this intelligence arrived, the United States steam frigate +"Franklin," forty-three guns, carrying the flag of Vice-Admiral Stephen +C. Rowan, left Hampton Roads on a cruise, northwardly. + +Where were the Spanish ironclads going? + +On Sunday morning, April 9th, Trinity Church was crowded with +worshipers. The venerable Bishop of New York was present, and was to +deliver the sermon. His erect, stately form, clad in the flowing robes +of his office, had just appeared in the pulpit, and he had spoken the +words of his text, when a commotion in the rear of the church caused him +to stop and look up, wondering at the unseemly interruption. + +A soldier emerged from the crowd, and, making his way to the Astor pew, +handed a letter to Mr. John Jacob Astor. The ruddy face of that +gentleman blanched as he read its contents. Then he rose, walked to the +pulpit, and handed the missive to the bishop. + +A dead silence prevailed--at last broken by these simple words: + +"Brethren, the war-vessels of the public enemy have appeared off our +Harbor. Let us pray." + +A deep, heart-felt Amen responded to the appeal made in eloquent, though +faltering, tones; and then, quiet and orderly, the congregation left the +temple. It was fitting that such a prayer should be the last ever +offered in a sanctuary of which, but a few days later, only a heap of +smoking ruins remained. + +The same news had been forwarded to the other churches, and the +congregations, dismissed, had gathered in front of the great +bulletin-boards which had been erected in the various parts of the city. +In huge letters were the words: + +"A large steamer, showing Spanish flag, sighted off Barnegat." + +Shortly afterwards came another dispatch: + +"The United States frigate 'Franklin' has been signaled off Fire +Island." + +Then another dispatch: + +"The Spanish steamer has gone to the eastward." + +And then, three hours later: + +"Heavy firing has been heard from the south and east." + + + + +II. + +THE BATTLE OF FIRE ISLAND. + + +The "Franklin," on leaving Fire Island, where she had communication with +the shore, stood to the westward. At 3 p.m. the mast-head look-out +reported a large steamer on the port bow. As is customary on vessels at +sea, the "Franklin" showed no colors; the stranger displayed a flag +which could not be made out. + +On the poop-deck of the "Franklin" were Admiral Rowan, Captain Greer, +commanding the ship, and the executive officer, Lieutenant-Commander +Jewell. + +"Mast-head, there! can you make out her colors yet?" hailed the latter. + +"No, sir." + +"Take your glass and go aloft, Mr. Rodgers," said Admiral Rowan to his +aid; "perhaps you can see better." + +The officer rapidly ascended the rigging to the foretopmast cross-trees. + +"It is the English flag, sir!" he shouted. + +"Hoist English colors, Captain," said the admiral, quietly; "and bend on +our own, ready to go up." + +The red cross of St. George, the British man-of-war flag, rose slowly to +the peak. + +The stranger was seen to alter her course, and head for the "Franklin." + +The admiral turned to Captain Greer and nodded. The latter gave an order +to a midshipman standing near. + +Rat-tat--rat-tat--rat-tat-tat-tat! + +The quick drum-beat to quarters for action rang sharply through the +ship. The executive officer took his speaking-trumpet and stationed +himself on the quarter-deck. The men sprang to their guns. + +"Silence! man the port-guns. Cast loose and provide!" + +A momentary confusion, as the thirty-eight nine-inch smooth-bore guns on +the main-deck, the four hundred-pound rifles on the spar-deck, and the +eleven-inch pivot on the forecastle were cleared of their tackle, and +got ready for training. The guns' crews then stood erect and silent in +their places beside the guns, on the side of the ship turned toward the +enemy. + +Meanwhile the magazine had been opened, and the powder-boys flocked to +the scuttles, receiving cartridges in the leather boxes slung to their +shoulders. Shell were hoisted from below. The surgeon and his +assistants, including the chaplain, laid out instruments, and converted +the cock-pit into an operating-room. The fires in the galley were put +out, and those under the boilers urged to their fiercest heat. The decks +were sanded, in grim anticipation of their becoming slippery with +blood. Tackles and slings were prepared to lower the wounded below. The +Gatling guns aloft were made ready to fire upon the enemy's decks, in +case the two vessels came near enough together. + +"Prime!" shouted the officer on the quarter-deck. Primers were placed in +the vents of the already loaded guns, and the gun-captains stepped back, +tautening the lock-strings, and bending down to glance along the sights. + +"Point! Tell the division officers to train on the craft that's coming, +and wait orders." This last command to a midshipman aid. + +The silence throughout the great ship was profound. The gun-captains +eyed the approaching vessels over the sights of their guns. Only the +quick throb of the engines and the sough of the waves were audible. + +The two vessels were now within some four miles of each other. There was +no question but that the stranger was a man-of-war--and an ironclad, at +that--provided with a formidable ram. + +"I thought so," suddenly ejaculated the admiral: "Now show him who _we_ +are." + +The English flag had been replaced by the red-yellow-and-red bars of +Spain. Down came the red cross from the peak of the "Franklin;" and +then, not only there, but from every mast-head, floated the stars and +stripes. + +A puff of smoke from the Spaniard--a whirr, a shriek, and a solid shot +struck the water, having passed entirely over the American frigate. + +"He fires at long range!" remarked the admiral, calmly. + +"It would be useless for us to reply," answered the captain. + +"Clearly so." + +"Shall we stop and wait for him, sir?" + +"Wait for him? No! Go for him! Four bells, sir! Ring four bells and go +ahead fast!" + +The clang of the engine-bell resounded through the ship; the thump of +the machinery grew more rapid; the whole vessel thrilled and shook, as +if eager for the attack. + +The distance between the two ships was reduced to about two miles. + +Again the Spaniard fired. The shot struck the "Franklin" broad on her +port-bow, knocked over a gun, killed six men, and passed through the +other side of the ship. + +Still the "Franklin" pressed on. + +Crash! a huge shell from an Armstrong eighteen-ton gun burst between the +fore and mainmasts; the bow pivot-gun was dismounted; ten men of her +crew down; the maintopmast stays cut, and the maintopmast tottering. +Crash! Another shell, and the jib-boom hangs dragging under the bows; +the fore topgallantmast is carried away. Men hacked at the rigging to +clear away the wreck which now impeded the ship's advance. + +"Now let him have it," said the admiral, quietly. + +The captain speaks to the executive officer, who shouts through his +trumpet: "Port guns! Ready! Fire!!" + +The concussion of the explosion made the ship stagger for a moment. + +When the smoke cleared away, the Spaniard's mizzenmast was seen dragging +overboard; but otherwise no damage had been inflicted. + +"His armor is too thick for us," gravely remarked the admiral; "get boom +torpedoes over the bows!" + +"All ready, now, sir," reported the captain. + +"Continue firing, and keep right for him." + +"Shall we ram him, sir?" + +"Yes, sir; as straight amidships as you can." + +The "Franklin" now poured in her fire with all possible rapidity; but it +was evident that her shot made little or no impression on the massive +iron shield of her antagonist, although it played havoc amid his +rigging. Another fact now became apparent--that the Spaniard was much +the faster vessel of the two; for he was evidently nearing the +"Franklin" more quickly than the "Franklin" was approaching him. + +"Do you know who that ship is?" asked the admiral. + +"The 'Numancia,' sir," replied the captain; "her armament is immensely +better than ours. She has twenty-five Armstrong guns." + +Crash! crash! Two more shells struck the wooden hull of the "Franklin" +between the fore and mainmasts, tearing a great rent in her side and +literally annihilating the crews of four guns. + +"There is three feet of water in the hold, sir and it is gaining!" +shouted the carpenter at the pump-well. + +Men were sent at once to the pumps. + +Crash! This time a double explosion, followed by dense clouds of steam. +Men, scalded and horribly burned, climbed up the ladders from below. + +"Our boilers are gone," reported the captain. + +"Keep her broadside toward the enemy, sir," returned the admiral. + +The guns of the "Franklin" were now firing slowly. Their smoke overhung +the vessel so that the Spaniard could not be seen, but the reports of +his cannon sounded closer and closer. + +Suddenly the huge prow of the "Numancia" loomed up close aboard the +"Franklin." + +"Starboard! Hard a starboard!" shouted the admiral. + +It was too late. There was no one at the helm. A shell, bursting close +to the wheel, had killed the helmsman, and a fragment had buried itself +in the captain's breast. + +The admiral himself turned to go toward the wheel, but suddenly +staggered and pitched forward, dead. + +Then came the frightful explosion of the "Numancia's" bow-torpedo, +striking the ill-fated frigate; and then the crushing and splintering of +timbers under the fearful stroke of the ram. + +Five minutes afterwards the Spanish war-ship was alone. Slowly the +"Franklin" sank--her lofty mast-heads going under with the stars and +stripes still proudly floating from them. The "Numancia" lowered her +boats to pick up survivors. They returned with one officer and two +seamen--all that remained of the crew of nearly one thousand souls. + +The American flag ship had been sunk by a fourth-rate European +ironclad--the first practical proof of the miserably short-sighted +policy of a nation of fifty millions of inhabitants, with an enormous +coast line and innumerable ports to be protected, relying for its safety +upon a navy the fifty-five available vessels of which are too slow to +run away, and too lightly armed and too weakly built to defend +themselves. + +The "Numancia" hoisted her boats and stood to the westward. Shortly +afterward she exchanged signals with the "Zaragoza," "Arapiles" and +"Vittoria." The war-vessels drew together, the transports came alongside +of them, and fresh supplies of coal and provisions were delivered. Then +the transports headed to the south, and the men-of-war laid their course +for New York. + + + + +III. + +THE METROPOLIS BELEAGUERED. + + +Three ships of the Spanish squadron named were armed with Armstrong +guns. Their combined batteries aggregated eight cannon of eighteen tons +four of twelve tons, eleven of nine tons, and twenty-eight of seven +tons. The "Zaragoza" carried twenty guns of another pattern, ranging in +calibre from eleven to seven and three-fourths inches. The total number +of cannon which would thus be brought to bear upon New York and its +suburbs was seventy-one. + +The shot of the Armstrong guns above named vary in weight from four +hundred to one hundred and fifteen pounds. If the entire number of guns +should each deliver one shot, the total amount of iron projected would +exceed six tons in weight. + +The arrival of the Spanish vessels was not known until dawn of the +morning of April 11th. Then they were descried on the horizon by the +watchers at Sandy Hook. At first sight it was supposed that they had +encountered heavy weather and lost their light spars; but, as they +approached nearer, it was seen that each ship had sent down all her +upper rigging, and had housed topmasts. + +There was no mistaking what this meant. It was the stripping for battle. + +It was also noticed that the ships steamed very slowly in single file; +that from the bows of each projected a fork-like contrivance, and that +in advance of the leader were several steam-launches, between which, and +crossing the path of the large vessel, extended hawsers which dipped +into the water. Evidently the new-comers had a wholesome dread of +torpedoes, and hence the use of bow torpedo-catchers and the +dragging-ropes. + +No flag of any sort was exhibited. + +Meanwhile the guns of all the sea-coast batteries along the shores had +been manned, ready to fire upon the huge black monsters as soon as they +should come within range. The order had been given to commence firing on +the hoisting of a flag and on the discharge of a heavy gun from the +signal station on Sandy Hook, where General Hancock had posted himself +with his staff. + +In the city the time for excitement had passed. The business section was +deserted, most of the men being either in the fortifications or under +arms in the camps, ready to move as directed to repel any attempt on the +part of the enemy to effect a landing. + +There had been no general exodus from New York, as it was not believed +possible that the enemy's missiles could reach the city proper. In +Brooklyn, however, but few people remained. All the churches in the city +were open, and with singular unanimity the people flocked into them. No +public conveyances were running; few vehicles moved through the +streets. The silence was like that of a summer holiday, when the people +are in the suburbs, pleasure-seeking. + +"They seem to have stopped, general," said an aid who was attentively +watching the advance of the Spanish vessels through his glass. + +"They are a long way out of our range," remarked General Hancock. "We +have nothing that carries far enough to injure them. They are fully five +miles out." + +"Now they go ahead again. No, they are turning," said the aid. + +The leading ship had ported her helm, and, followed by the others, filed +to the eastward, bringing the port broadsides to bear upon the Long +Island batteries. + +"They certainly are not going into action there," said the general. + +A cloud of white smoke arose from the bow of the leading vessel, and +then across the water came the deep "boom" of a heavy gun. + +"Why, that fellow has fired out to sea," exclaimed one of the general's +staff. + +"No, it was a blank cartridge. He fired to attract attention. See! there +goes a white flag up to his mast-head!" said the officer at the +telescope: "A boat with a flag-of-truce is putting off, general." + +"Send a launch out to meet it," said Hancock, shortly: "and see that it +does not come nearer than a mile or so from the shore." + +A few minutes after, the steam-yacht "Ideal," which had been offered by +its owner as a dispatch boat to the general, was swiftly running towards +the Spanish messenger. + +The aid at the telescope saw an officer step from the Spanish boat into +the yacht, and then the latter put back to the Hook, the enemy's launch +remaining where she was. + +The Spanish officer was conducted to the presence of the general. In +excellent English, he announced himself as the Fleet Captain and +Chief-of-Staff of the admiral commanding the Spanish squadron present, +and with much ceremony presented the communication with which he was +charged. + +The general received the missive courteously and opened it. The +expression of astonishment which came over his face as he read it for a +moment gave place to one of anger. His eyes flashed, his face reddened, +and his fingers nervously played with the end of his moustache. Then, as +he read it over the second time, a rather contemptuous smile seemed to +lurk about the corners of his mouth. + +The staff stood by in silent but eager anticipation. The general held +the letter in his hands behind his back and walked up and down the small +apartment, as if in deep thought, raising his eyes occasionally to +glance at the Spanish vessels, which lay almost motionless, blowing off +steam. + +Finally, he turned to the Spanish officer, who stood erect, with his +hand resting upon the hilt of his sword, and said, in a quiet, though +determined, voice: + +"You will make my compliments to the admiral commanding, and deliver, in +reply to his communication, that which I will now dictate." + +An aid at once seated himself at the table, and, at the general's +dictation, wrote as follows: + + SENOR DON ALMIRANTE VIZCARRO, _Commanding Squadron off New York_. + + SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge your communication of this + date, sent per flag-of-truce, in which you demand-- + + 1st.--That immediate surrender to the force under your command be + made of the fortifications of this harbor, together with the Navy + Yard at Brooklyn, and all munitions of war here existing. + + 2nd.--That the cities of New York, Brooklyn and Jersey City do + cause to be paid, on board of your flag-ship, within three days + after the said surrender, the sum of fifty millions of dollars in + gold, or in the paper currency of England or France. + + And in which you announce that non-acquiescence in the foregoing + will be followed by the bombardment of the said fortifications, the + Navy Yard and the arsenals in New York City, by your squadron, + after the lapse of twenty-four hours from noon this day. + + In reply, I have to state that these demands are peremptorily + refused and I have most solemnly to protest against so gross a + violation of the laws of civilized warfare, as is indicated in your + intention to attack a city within a period too short to enable the + non-combatants to be safely removed. + + I have the honor to be, etc., + + WINFIELD S. HANCOCK, + + _Major-General Commanding_. + +This reply was telegraphed to New York, and Mr. Pierrepont Edwards, Her +Britannic Majesty's Consul-General, was one of the first to receive it. +He acted with the usual force and promptness with which British +interests and the lives of British subjects are protected by British +officials abroad. That is to say, he first telegraphed to the British +Minister at Washington, Mr. West, requesting, that the three great +ironclads, "Devastation," "Orion" and "Agamemnon," all of which were +then in Hampton Roads, be at once sent to New York. Then he prepared a +formal protest against the proposed action of the Spanish Admiral, which +all the other foreign consuls at once signed, and which was delivered +aboard the Spanish flag-ship by a boat bearing the British flag before +three o'clock that afternoon. + +The Spanish admiral took the protest into consideration to the extent of +granting forty-eight hours' time. The consuls protested again at this as +not being sufficient, and demanded five clear days. The admiral refused +to grant more than three; but when, before the three days had expired, +the trio of English war-ships made their appearance, and calmly moved +between his fleet and the shore, he changed his mind and granted the +desired time--which was wise, seeing that the English vessels could blow +his squadron out of water with little trouble and not much injury to +themselves. + +The railroads which go out of New York, while perhaps adequate for all +purposes of traffic in time of peace, are scarcely equal to the removal +from the city of several hundred thousand women, children, sick and aged +persons within a period of even five days. People of this description +cannot be moved as easily as armies; and hence, when the morning of the +fifth day dawned, fully one-half of the non-combatant population was +still in the city. + +This, however, was attributable not only to the inadequacy of the means +of transportation, but to the singular apathy--it was not +fearlessness--of the people themselves. In the great tenement districts, +it became necessary to send soldiers into the houses to drive people out +of them. + +Among the Irish and Germans there was actual rioting, when force was +thus used. The impression was general that the missiles of the enemy +could not reach the populated parts of New York. + +The crowds, however, at the Grand Central Dépôt, trying to leave the +city, were enormous. People were placed in cattle-cars, on wood cars--in +fact, every sort of conveyance adapted to the tracks was pressed into +service. + +The Thirtieth Street Dépôt, on the west side, also was crowded, and +trains were leaving thence every few minutes. + +Just before noon, the city was horror-stricken by the news of a +frightful accident at Spuyten Duyvil. An overloaded train from the +Thirtieth Street Dépôt there, through a broken switch, came into +collision with another overloaded train from the Grand Central Dépôt. +The slaughter was horrible. Twelve cars were derailed, and more than a +hundred and twenty people, mostly women and children, killed. + +While people were repeating this news to one another with white faces +and trembling lips, the Spanish squadron was taking position and +preparing to attack. + +The English squadron moved outside the Spanish ships, and stood off and +on under easy steam. + +At precisely noon the white flag was lowered from the mast-head of the +Spanish flag-ship and the Spanish flags were hoisted by all of the +vessels. Immediately afterwards the "Numancia" delivered her broadside +full upon the Coney Island battery. + +Instantly the flag from the general's station was flung out, the +signal-gun was discharged, and from all the sea-coast batteries the +firing began. + + + + +IV. + +IRON HAIL. + + +The position chosen by the attacking vessels was about one and a half +miles to the south of Plumb Inlet. This point is distant from Fort +Hamilton six miles, from Sandy Hook light seven miles, from Brooklyn +Navy Yard nine and a half miles, and from the City Hall, New York City, +about eleven miles, in a straight line. An ample depth of water to float +ships drawing twenty-four feet here exists. The situation was +sufficiently distant from the shore batteries to render the effect of +their projectiles on the armor of the vessels quite inconsiderable. + +The ships, however, did not remain motionless, but steamed slowly around +in a circle of some two miles in diameter, each vessel delivering her +fire as she reached the point above specified. In this way, the chances +of being struck by projectiles from shore were not only lessened, but +the injury which they could do was decreased by the greater distance +which they would be compelled to traverse to strike the ships during the +progress of the latter around the further side of the circle. + +It was evident that the Spanish commander had no idea of attempting to +land his forces, but simply proposed to keep up a slow, persistent +bombardment. It was further apparent that only his lighter artillery +was directed upon the shore batteries, and that he was practising with +his heavy metal at high elevations, to find out how much range he could +get. + +When the second day of the bombardment opened, there were about a +hundred thousand people still in New York, including two of the city +regiments doing police duty. A strong force for this purpose was +necessary, as a large number of roughs and criminals, who had hurried +away during the first panic, now returned, and signalized their advent +by the attempted pillage of the Vanderbilt residences. + +About a hundred and fifty of this mob remained on the pavement of Fifth +Avenue, after a well-directed mitrailleuse fire had been kept up for +some fifteen minutes by the troops. The rest took to their heels, and +lurked about the lower part of the city, waiting for a better +opportunity, and thinking hungrily of the contents of the magnificent +dwellings in the up-town districts. + +The sea-coast batteries nearest to the attacking ships were soon +rendered untenable by their fire. The large hotels on Coney Island were +all struck by shells and burned, and the villages of Flatlands, +Gravesend, and New Utrecht were quickly destroyed. + +Shell after shell then fell in Flatbush, and occasionally a terrific +explosion in Prospect Park, in Greenwood Cemetery, and in the outlying +avenues of Brooklyn, showed that the enemy was throwing his missiles +over distances constantly augmenting. + +On the morning of the third day a futile attempt was made to blow up the +"Numancia," first by the Lay and then by the Ericsson submarine +torpedo-boats. The Lay boat, however, ran up on the east bank and could +not be got off, and the Ericsson started finely from the shore, but, +apparently, sank before she had gone a mile. + +The attack by the "Alarm" and her attendant fleet of torpedo-tugs had +the effect of stopping the bombardment and of concentrating the enemy's +attention upon his own safety. The tugs advanced gallantly to the onset, +six of them rushing almost simultaneously upon the "Vittoria." That +vessel met them with a broadside which sank four at once, and the other +two were riddled by shell from Hotchkiss revolving cannon from the decks +of the Spaniard; their machinery was crippled, and they drifted +helplessly out to sea. Of the others, some ran aground on the bank, some +were sunk, and not one succeeded in exploding her torpedo near a Spanish +vessel. The "Alarm" planted a shell from her bow-rifle, at close range, +squarely into the stern of the "Zaragoza," piercing the armor and +killing a dozen men, besides disabling two guns. She was rammed, +however, by the "Arapiles," and so badly injured as to compel her to +make her escape into shoal water to prevent sinking. There she grounded, +and the Spaniards leisurely made a target of her, although they +considerately permitted her crew to go ashore in their boats without +firing a shot at them. + +Meanwhile the remaining citizens of New York had held a mass meeting, +and appointed a committee of Public Safety, with General Grant at its +head. There had been a great popular movement to have that gentleman put +in supreme command of the army, but the authorities at Washington, for +some occult reason, known only to themselves, had offered him a +major-general's commission, which he promptly declined. Then he +deliberately went to the nearest recruiting-station and tried to enlist +as a private; but the recruiting-officer, after recovering his senses, +with which he parted in dumb astonishment for some seconds, refused him +on the ground that he was over forty-five years of age. + +The general contented himself with remarking: "Guess they'll want me +yet," and thereupon lighting a huge cigar, calmly marched out of the +office and went over to Flatbush, to "see where the shells are hitting;" +serenely oblivious of the possibility of personal danger involved in +that proceeding. + +As chief of the Safety Committee, however, Grant became the real ruler +of New York. Martial law existed, and the senior colonel of the +regiments quartered in the city was in nominal charge; but, as this +individual was not blessed with especial force of character, he never +asserted his authority, and, in fact, seemed rather pleased to +gravitate to the position of Grant's immediate subordinate. + +On the evening of April 18th the watchers on Sandy Hook saw a fifth +vessel join the Spanish fleet; a long, low craft, having, apparently, +two turrets and very light spars. They also saw the admiral's flag on +the "Numancia" lowered, only to be hoisted again on the foremast of the +new-comer. + +At daybreak on the following morning a shell crashed through the roof of +the Fifth Avenue Hotel, descended to the cellar, burst there and wrecked +a quarter of the building. What new fury had thus been let loose? + +It has already been stated that the great ironclad "El Cid" had sailed +from Vigo--she had arrived. + +She carried four guns. Two one-hundred-ton Armstrongs, each having an +effectual range of 12 miles, and two Krupp 15.7-inch guns, which throw +shot weighing nearly 2000 pounds over ten miles. Krupp claims a range of +15 miles; but this is doubtful. She also was encased in 21-1/2 inches of +compound steel and iron armor, capable of resisting the projectiles of +any cannon known--except, perhaps, those of her own Armstrongs. + +The most powerfully armed and most impregnable ironclad in the world now +lay before New York. + +It was an Armstrong shell which struck the Fifth Avenue Hotel. It was a +Krupp shell which shortly after knocked down the steeple of Trinity +Church as if it were a turret of cards. + +In view of this new attack General Grant was requested to call a +meeting of the Committee of Safety, to consider the question of +capitulation, as it was evident that the continuation of such a +bombardment would speedily destroy property in value far beyond the +immense sum asked by the besiegers. + +He notified the members to meet in the City Hall. When he arrived, he +found nobody but a messenger-boy, who tremblingly emerged from the +cellar. + +The General quietly removed his cigar and asked: + +"Where's the Committee?" + +"They--they--is--up ter Inwood, sir." + +The boy's teeth chattered so that he could hardly speak. + +"What the deuce are they doing there?" + +"Dunno, sir. They told me as to tell you, sir, that they wuz a Committee +of Safety, and that's wot they wanted, sir." + +"Wanted what?" + +"S-s-afety, sir!" + +"And they deputized you to tell me that, eh?" + +"Ye-yes, sir." + +"And you looked for me down in the cellar?" + +"N-no, sir. I wanted safety, too, sir. Oh, Lordy!" + +This last interjection was elicited by seeing the upper part of the +_Tribune_ tall tower suddenly fly off, and land on the roof of the _Sun_ +building. + +A sort of a sphinx-like smile overspread the general's features. + +He looked around for the messenger-boy, but that youth was making +extraordinary speed up Broadway. + +The general leisurely proceeded up that thoroughfare--occasionally +stopping, as a shot went crashing into some near building, to note the +effect. + +On arriving at Union Square, he met a cavalry squad looking for him, and +mounting the horse of one of the men, he proceeded with this escort to +the upper end of the island, which was now densely packed with people. + +The projectiles from the heavy guns of the great ironclad were now +falling in the lower part of the city with terrible effect. The Western +Union building was shattered from cellar to roof; the City Hall was on +fire; so also was St. Paul's Church and the _Herald_ building. The +last-mentioned conflagration was put out by the editors and compositors +of that journal--the entire _Herald_ staff being then in the underground +press-rooms, busily preparing and working off _extras_ giving the latest +details of the bombardment. + +The Morse Building was completely demolished by two Krupp shells, and +not an edifice in Wall Street, except the sub-Treasury, had escaped +total ruin. + +The result of the conference of the Safety Committee was the dispatching +of a messenger to Sandy Hook, informing General Hancock of the +condition of affairs, and asking him to request an armistice for +parley. + +The "Ideal," bearing a white flag, was at once dispatched to the Spanish +flag-ship, and shortly after the firing ceased. + +The Spanish admiral refused to alter the terms already proposed, except +that, in view of the injury already inflicted on the city and the +probable increased difficulty of collecting the sum demanded, he would +agree to allow five days' time in which to pay the latter, on board his +flag-ship. + +General Hancock declined to consider this proposal. + +"El Cid" now began a new manoeuvre. All the steam-launches of the fleet, +provided with long, forked spars extending from their bows, formed in +front of her, and, thus preceded, she deliberately steamed up to the +Main channel. + +The fort on the Hook at once opened upon her, but the shot glanced like +dry peas from her armor. She, in return, shelled the fort, the masonry +of which literally crumbled before the enormous projectiles hurled +against it. Meanwhile, the launches had entered the channel and were +picking up such torpedoes as could be detected. Other launches, having +no crews on board, but being governed entirely by electric wires, were +sent into the channel and caused to drop counter mines, which, on being +fired, caused the explosion of such torpedoes as remained: thus making a +broad and safe channel for the ironclad to enter. + +Finally the remaining launches returned to the "Cid" and evidently +reported the channel clear for she boldly steamed into it, stopping only +for an instant, when off the end of the peninsula, to send a double +charge of grape and canister from her huge guns into the ranks of the +fugitives, who were precipitately rushing from the fort. + +It was then that General Hancock was killed although the fact has since +often been disputed. His body, wounded in a dozen places, was found on +the sand near the highest wall of the fort, from the top of which, it is +conjectured, he was swept by the fearful hail of the Spanish ironclad. + +"El Cid" continued on into the bay, occasionally stopping as signaled by +the launches preceding her, when a torpedo was encountered, and finally +took up her position within about a mile of Fort Hamilton, and hence +about seven miles from the Battery. + +As the projectiles from the fort glanced harmlessly from her armor, she +paid no attention to that attack, but resumed her fire upon the city. + +Shells now began to fall as far up-town as Forty-second Street. + + + + +V. + +AT THE MERCY OF THE FOE. + + +Meanwhile, the other four vessels had ceased their bombardment of the +batteries, as the latter no longer answered them. + +They appeared to have new work in hand. + +During the following afternoon a fresh sea-breeze set in. Then a large, +swaying globe made its appearance on the deck of each of the vessels. +Examination with the telescope showed to the signal men, who had +established a new station on the Jersey highlands, that these mysterious +spheres were balloons; and that the ships were about to dispatch them, +was evident from the fact that small pilot-balloons were soon sent up. +These last were wafted directly toward the city. + +What possible object could the Spanish war-vessels have in this, was a +question asked by every one, as soon as the intelligence became known. + +The balloon which rose from the "Numancia" had a car attached, but there +was clearly no one in it. Therefore the balloons were not to be used for +purposes of observation. + +The people in New York saw the balloons as they successively rose from +the four vessels, and wonderingly watched their progress. + +They saw the first of them gently sail toward the city until about over +the Roman Catholic Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. Then a dark object seemed +to fall from the car, the lightened balloon shot upward, the object +struck the roof of the cathedral there was a fearful explosion, a +trembling of the earth as if an angry volcano were beneath, and the +crash of falling buildings followed. + +Through the great clouds of dust and smoke it could be seen that not +only was the cathedral shattered, but that the walls of every building +adjacent to the square on which it stood were down. + +_The Spaniards were dropping nitro-glycerine bombs into the city from +the balloons_. They knew how long it would take the breeze to waft the +air-ships over the built-up portion, and it was an easy matter to adjust +clock-work in the car to cause the dropping of the torpedo at about the +proper time. + +Accuracy was not needed. A shell, filled with fifty or a hundred pounds +of dynamite or nitro-glycerine, would be sure to do terrible damage +anywhere within a radius of three miles around Madison Square. + +A second balloon dropped its charge into the receiving reservoir in +Central Park, luckily doing no damage, but throwing up a tremendous jet +of water. The third and fourth balloons let fall their dejectiles, the +one among the tenements near Tompkins Square destroying an entire block +of houses simultaneously; the other on High Bridge, completely +shattering that structure, and so breaking the aqueduct through which +the city obtains its water supply. + +The Spanish admiral now ceased firing voluntarily and sent a message by +flag-of-truce announcing his intention to continue the throwing of +balloon torpedoes into the city until it capitulated, and, in order to +avoid further destruction of property, he renewed the proposal already +made. + +General Grant, on receiving this message--for the citizens had literally +forced him to take active command of the troops--simply remarked: + +"Let him fire away!" + +But the Safety Committee vehemently protested; and finally, after much +discussion, induced Grant to send back word that the terms were +accepted. + +The situation was, in truth, one of sadness--of bitter humiliation. The +Empire City had fallen, and lay at the mercy of a foreign foe. The +immense ransom demanded must be raised and paid, or the work of +destruction would be resumed until the defenders of the bay removed +their torpedoes from the Narrows and permitted the Spanish forces to +enter and occupy the metropolis. + + + + +VI. + +THE FLAG WITH THE LONE STAR. + + +As it was manifestly impossible to obtain fifty millions of dollars in +specie and foreign notes within New York--for all the money in the +vaults of the banks and the treasury had long since been sent to other +cities--the general government assumed payment of the amount demanded by +the Spaniards, which, however, it was decided not to make until just +before the expiration of the last of the five days of grace. + +As will now be seen, this was a fortunate decision. The unremitting +bombardment which had been maintained by the four vessels off the Long +Island shore had so greatly reduced their supply of ammunition that it +became necessary to send for more: and for this purpose the "Vittoria" +was dispatched to meet a transport which had been ordered to sail from +Cuba at about this time. + +On the evening of the third day the weather assumed a threatening +appearance, and the "El Cid" left her position near Fort Hamilton for a +more secure anchorage near Sandy Hook. The other ships stood out to sea. + +It stormed heavily during that night, and before evening on the morrow +one of the strongest gales ever known in this vicinity had set in. + +The situation in which the Spanish flag-ship now found herself was +critical. She had put down her two bower anchors, but they were clearly +insufficient to hold her. To veer out cable was dangerous, for it was +not known how near the ship was to sunken torpedoes; to allow her to +drag was to run the double chance of striking a torpedo or going ashore. + +During the night she parted both cables, and the morning found her +firmly imbedded in the beach off the Hook. Of the other vessels, the +"Numancia" only was in sight. + +The signal men, however, could see black smoke on the horizon; and this +they anxiously watched, expecting momentarily to make out the "Arapiles" +and "Zaragoza." Shortly after daybreak, a thick fog settled down, +completely cutting off the seaward view. + +In the signal station were General Grant and several members of the +Safety Commission. The ransom money was in readiness, and the intention +was to pay it over during the morning. + +At about eight o'clock, heavy firing was heard from the sea. + +It was too far distant to be accounted for by a supposed renewal of the +bombardment by the Spanish ships, even under the assumption that they +had thus broken the truce. + +The watchers at the signal station looked at each other in astonishment, +and eagerly waited for the fog to lift. + +An hour later, the mist began to clear away. The sight that met the +eyes of the spectators was one never to be forgotten. + +The "Numancia" was evidently ashore on the East bank. Her fore and +mainmasts were gone, and clouds of dark smoke were lazily ascending from +her forecastle. Suddenly, the whole ship seemed to burst into a sheet of +flame, there was a deep explosion, the air was filled with flying +fragments, and a blackened hull was all that was left of the proud +man-of-war. + +The "Arapiles," about two miles further out to sea, was making a gallant +defense against three strange vessels. Two, lying at short range on her +quarters, were pouring in a fearful fire; the third, which had evidently +been engaged with the "Numancia," was rapidly bearing down upon her, +apparently intending to ram. + +Who could the strangers be? + +The flags which floated from their mast-heads bore a strong resemblance +to our own, yet they were not the stars and stripes; for the stripes +were replaced by but two broad bands of red and white, and in the blue +field there was but a single star. + +"Chili, by Jove!" ejaculated some one in the signal station. + +He was right. + +The new-comers were the "Huascar," the "Almirante Cochrane" and the +"Blanco Encelada," the three armored vessels of the South American +Republic. + +It was the "Huascar" which was now bearing down upon the "Arapiles." + +Suddenly, the Chilian monitor was seen to slacken her speed and change +her course. + +She no longer meant to ram; the necessity had ceased. At the same time, +the other Chilian vessels ceased firing. + +The Spanish ensign on the "Arapiles" had been lowered. In a few minutes +after it rose again, but this time surmounted by the Chilian flag. + +Then the four vessels stood in toward the Hook. + +The watchers on the signal station now waited in breathless suspense. + +The "Arapiles," with a prize crew from the other vessels to work her +guns, was to be made to attack her former consort, the stranded "El +Cid;" and that vessel, aware of her danger, was now firing rapidly at +her approaching enemies. + +It was not reserved, however, for the Chilians to complete their victory +by the capture of the great ironclad. + +The giant was to be killed by a pigmy scarce larger than one of his own +huge weapons. A smaller steam-launch slowly crept out from the Staten +Island shore. But two men could be seen on board of her--one in the bow, +the other at the helm. + +"They don't see us yet, Ned," said the man in the bow. + +"No; they have all they can do to take care of the other fellows. Look +out! Are you hurt?" + +A shell from the Chilians just then came over the Hook, and, bursting +under the water near the launch, deluged the boat with spray. + +"Not a bit," said the other. + +"Is your boom clear?" + +"All clear." + +Bang! A shot, this time from the Spaniard came skipping along the water +in the direction of the launch, and flew over the heads of the daring +pair. + +"Hang them! They've seen us." + +"Rig out your boom. We're in for it now!" + +The man in the stern pushed shut the door of the boiler furnace, and +turned on full steam. + +The little craft fairly leaped ahead. + +The two men set their teeth. He of the stern lashed the tiller +amidships, and crept forward, aiding the other to push out the long boom +which projected from the bow. + +Ten seconds passed. Then the torpedo on the end of the boom struck the +"El Cid" under the stern. There was a crash--a vast upheaval of water +and fragments. + +The great ironclad rolled over on her side and lay half submerged. + +Of the two men who had done this, one swam ashore bearing the other, +wounded to the death. + +A mighty cheer arose from the Chilian fleet, repeated from the shore +with redoubled volume. + +"El Cid" lay sullen and silent; two of her guns were pointing under +water, two up to the clouds. + +The "Arapiles" fired the last shell at her own admiral--now a corpse, +torn to pieces by the torpedo. + +Then some one scrambled along the deck of the wrecked monster and +lowered the Spanish flag. + +"I think we'll keep that money," remarked Grant, as he lit another +cigar. + + * * * * * + +The Chilian fleet had relieved New York. Elated by her victory over +Peru, and thirsting for revenge against Spain for the latter's merciless +bombardment of Valparaiso in 1866, the Chilians, as soon as they had +learned of the declaration of war against the United States, tore up the +treaty of truce and armistice made with Spain in 1871, and announced +themselves an ally of this country. Realizing the weakness of our navy, +and the unprotected position of our seaports, Chili instantly dispatched +her three ironclads to New York. They made the voyage with remarkable +celerity, stopping only for coal and provisions, and reached the +beleaguered city just in the nick of time, as has already been detailed. + +It was fortunate that the "Zaragoza" had been obliged to put so far out +to sea that she could not return in season to take part in the conflict, +otherwise the result might have been different. + +As it was, when she came back a day later, and discovered the position +of affairs, she took to her heels without delay. + +It is not necessary here to speak of the greeting which the Chilians +received, or the thanks which were lavished upon them by the people of +the United States. Neither need we picture the dismay of the citizens of +New York when they came to realize the fearful damage which had been +inflicted upon their city. Fully one-half of the town lay in ruins. The +metropolis was the metropolis no longer. The proudest city of the Great +Republic had been at the mercy of a conqueror, and, as if this +humiliation were not deep enough, she owed her preservation from utter +destruction to the guns of an insignificant Republic of South America. + + * * * * * + +Six months after the relief of the city, a Chilian sailor belonging to +the "Huascar," which was lying off the Battery, stopped to watch a crowd +of workmen who were busily engaged in clearing away the ruins of some +tenement buildings near Tompkins Square. + +The face of one of the workmen had evidently attracted the foreigner's +attention, as he gazed at him intently and curiously. + +Suddenly there was a sharp detonation. The crowd scattered in all +directions. An unexploded shell which had lodged in the building had +been struck by a pick in the hands of one of the laborers, and had been +fired. + +The sailor helped carry out the dead. + +Among the victims was the man at whom he had been so intently looking a +moment before. This one he took in his arms and bore him apart from the +rest. + +Nervously he tore open the dead man's shirt. On the bared breast was a +curiously shaped mole. + +The sailor sank on his knees in prayer beside the body for a moment. +Then he turned, and addressing an officer who, with a file of soldiers, +had come upon the scene, and was directing the removal of the dead, he +asked in broken English, pointing to the corpse: + +"Will you give me this?" + +"Why?" + +"He was my brother--_Leon Sangrado_." + +The war had found a victim in him who had caused it. + + +[3] _Fiction, October 31, 1881._ + + + + +WHY THOMAS WAS DISCHARGED.[4] + +BY GEORGE ARNOLD. + + +Brant Beach is a long promontory of rock and sand, jutting out at an +acute angle from a barren portion of the coast. Its farthest extremity +is marked by a pile of many-colored, wave-washed boulders; its junction +with the mainland is the site of the Brant House, a watering-place of +excellent repute. + +The attractions of this spot are not numerous. There is surf-bathing all +along the outer side of the beach, and good swimming on the inner. The +fishing is fair; and in still weather yachting is rather a favorite +amusement. Further than this there is little to be said, save that the +hotel is conducted upon liberal principles, and the society generally +select. + +But to the lover of nature--and who has the courage to avow himself +aught else?--the sea-shore can never be monotonous. The swirl and sweep +of ever-shifting waters, the flying mist of foam breaking away into a +gray and ghostly distance down the beach, the eternal drone of ocean, +mingling itself with one's talk by day and with the light dance-music in +the parlors by night--all these are active sources of a passive +pleasure. And to lie at length upon the tawny sand, watching, through +half-closed eyes, the heaving waves, that mount against a dark blue sky +wherein great silvery masses of cloud float idly on, whiter than the +sunlit sails that fade and grow and fade along the horizon, while some +fair damsel sits close by, reading ancient ballads of a simple metre, or +older legends of love and romance--tell me, my eater of the fashionable +lotos, is not this a diversion well worth your having? + +There is an air of easy sociality among the guests at the Brant House, a +disposition on the part of all to contribute to the general amusement, +that makes a summer sojourn on the beach far more agreeable than in +certain larger, more frequented watering-places, where one is always in +danger of discovering that the gentlemanly person with whom he has been +fraternizing is a faro-dealer, or that the lady who has half-fascinated +him is Anonyma herself. Still, some consider the Brant rather slow, and +many good folk were a trifle surprised when Mr. Edwin Salsbury and Mr. +Charles Burnham arrived by the late stage from Wikhasset Station, with +trunks enough for two first-class belles, and a most unexceptionable +man-servant in gray livery, in charge of two beautiful setter-dogs. + +These gentlemen seemed to have imagined that they were about visiting +some backwoods wilderness, some savage tract of country, "remote, +unfriended, melancholy, slow," for they brought almost everything with +them that men of elegant leisure could require, as if the hotel were but +four walls and a roof, which they must furnish with their own chattels. +I am sure it took Thomas, the man-servant, a whole day to unpack the +awnings, the bootjacks, the game-bags, the cigar-boxes, the guns, the +camp-stools, the liquor-cases, the bathing-suits, and other +paraphernalia that these pleasure-seekers brought. It must be owned, +however, that their room, a large one in the Bachelors' Quarter, facing +the sea, wore a very comfortable, sportsmanlike look when all was +arranged. + +Thus surrounded, the young men betook themselves to the deliberate +pursuit of idle pleasures. They arose at nine and went down the shore, +invariably returning at ten with one unfortunate snipe, which was +preserved on ice, with much ceremony, till wanted. At this rate it took +them a week to shoot a breakfast; but to see them sally forth, splendid +in velveteen and corduroy, with top-boots and a complete harness of +green cord and patent-leather straps, you would have imagined that all +game-birds were about to become extinct in that region. Their dogs, +even, recognized this great-cry-little-wool condition of things, and +bounded off joyously at the start, but came home crestfallen, with an +air of canine humiliation that would have aroused Mr. Mayhew's tenderest +sympathies. + +After breakfasting, usually in their room, the friends enjoyed a long +and contemplative smoke upon the wide piazza in front of their windows, +listlessly regarding the ever-varied marine view that lay before them in +flashing breadth and beauty. Their next labor was to array themselves in +wonderful morning-costumes of very shaggy English cloth, shiny flasks +and field-glasses about their shoulders, and loiter down the beach, to +the point and back, making much unnecessary effort over the walk--a +brief mile--which they spoke of, with importance, as their +"constitutional." This killed time till bathing-hour, and then another +toilet for dinner. After dinner a siesta: in the room, when the weather +was fresh; when otherwise, in hammocks hung from the rafters of the +piazza. When they had been domiciled a few days, they found it expedient +to send home for what they were pleased to term their "crabs" and +"traps," and excited the envy of less fortunate guests by driving up and +down the beach at a racing gait to dissipate the languor of the +after-dinner sleep. + +This was their regular routine for the day--varied, occasionally, when +the tide served, by a fishing trip down the narrow bay inside the point. +For such emergencies they provided themselves with a sail-boat and +skipper, hired for the whole season, and arrayed themselves in a highly +nautical rig. The results were, large quantities of sardines and pale +sherry consumed by the young men, and a reasonable number of sea-bass +and blackfish caught by the skipper. + +There were no regular "hops" at the Brant House, but dancing in a quiet +way every evening to a flute, violin, and violoncello, played by some of +the waiters. For a time Burnham and Salsbury did not mingle much in +these festivities, but loitered about the halls and piazzas, very +elegantly dressed and barbered (Thomas was an unrivalled _coiffeur_), +and apparently somewhat _ennuyé_. + +That two well-made, full-grown, intelligent, and healthy young men +should lead such a life as this for an entire summer might surprise one +of a more active temperament. The aimlessness and vacancy of an +existence devoted to no earthly purpose save one's own comfort must soon +weary any man who knows what is the meaning of real, earnest life--life +with a battle to be fought and a victory to be won. But these elegant +young gentlemen comprehended nothing of all that: they had been born +with golden spoons in their mouths, and educated only to swallow the +delicately insipid lotos-honey that flows inexhaustibly from such +shining spoons. Clothes, complexions, polish of manner, and the +avoidance of any sort of shock were the simple objects of their +solicitude. + +I do not know that I have any serious quarrel with such fellows, after +all. They have strong virtues. They are always clean; and your rough +diamond, though manly and courageous as Coeur de Lion, is not apt to be +scrupulously nice in his habits. Affability is another virtue. The +Salsbury and Burnham kind of man bears malice toward no one, and is +disagreeable only when assailed by some hammer-and-tongs utilitarian. +All he asks is to be permitted to idle away his pleasant life +unmolested. Lastly, he is extremely ornamental. We all like to see +pretty things; and I am sure that Charley Burnham, in his fresh white +duck suit, with his fine, thoroughbred face--gentle as a girl's--shaded +by a snowy Panama, his blonde moustache carefully pointed, his golden +hair clustering in the most picturesque possible waves, his little red +neck-ribbon--the only bit of color in his dress--tied in a studiously +careless knot, and his pure, untainted gloves of pearl gray or lavender, +was, if I may be allowed the expression, just as pretty as a picture. +And Ned Salsbury was not less "a joy forever," according to the dictum +of the late Mr. Keats. He was darker than Burnham, with very black hair, +and a moustache worn in the manner the French call _triste_, which +became him, and increased the air of pensive melancholy that +distinguished his dark eyes, thoughtful attitudes, and slender figure. +Not that he was in the least degree pensive or melancholy, or that he +had cause to be; quite the contrary; but it was his style, and he did it +well. + +These two butterflies sat, one afternoon, upon the piazza, smoking very +large cigars, lost, apparently, in profoundest meditation. Burnham, with +his graceful head resting upon one delicate hand, his clear blue eyes +full of a pleasant light, and his face warmed by a calm, unconscious +smile, might have been revolving some splendid scheme of universal +philanthropy. The only utterance, however, forced from him by the +sublime thoughts that permeated his soul, was the emission of a white +rolling volume of fragrant smoke, accompanied by two words: "Doocéd +hot!" + +Salsbury did not reply. He sat, leaning back, with his fingers +interlaced behind his head, and his shadowy eyes downcast, as in sad +remembrance of some long-lost love. So might a poet have looked, while +steeped in mournfully rapturous daydreams of remembered passion and +severance. So might Tennyson's hero have mused, while he sang: + + "Oh, that 'twere possible, + After long grief and pain, + To find the arms of my true love + Round me once again!" + +But the poetic lips opened not to such numbers. Salsbury gazed long and +earnestly, and finally gave vent to his emotion, indicating, with the +amber tip of his cigar-tube, the setter that slept in the sunshine at +his feet. + +"Shocking place, this, for dogs!"--I regret to say he pronounced it +"dawgs"--"Why, Carlo is as fat--as fat as--as a--" + +His mind was unequal to a simile even, and he terminated the sentence +in a murmur. + +More silence; more smoke; more profound meditation. Directly Charley +Burnham looked around with some show of vitality. + +"There comes the stage," said he. + +The driver's bugle rang merrily among the drifted sand-hills that lay +warm and glowing in the orange light of the setting sun. The young men +leaned forward over the piazza-rail and scrutinized the occupants of the +vehicle as it appeared. + +"Old gentleman and lady, aw, and two children," said Ned Salsbury; "I +hoped there would be some nice girls." + +This, in a voice of ineffable tenderness and poetry, but with that odd, +tired little drawl, so epidemic in some of our universities. + +"Look there, by Jove!" cried Charley, with a real interest at last; "now +that's what I call a regular thing!" + +The "regular thing" was a low, four-wheeled pony-chaise of basket-work, +drawn by two jolly little fat ponies, black and shiny as vulcanite, +which jogged rapidly in, just far enough behind the stage to avoid its +dust. + +This vehicle was driven by a young lady of decided beauty, with a spice +of Amazonian spirit. She was rather slender and very straight, with a +jaunty little hat and feather perched coquettishly above her dark brown +hair, which was arranged in one heavy mass and confined in a silken net. +Her complexion was clear, without brilliancy; her eyes blue as the +ocean horizon, and spanned by sharp, characteristic brows; her mouth +small and decisive; and her whole cast of features indicative of quick +talent and independence. + +Upon the seat beside her sat another damsel, leaning indolently back in +the corner of the carriage. This one was a little fairer than the first, +having one of those beautiful English complexions of mingled rose and +snow, and a dash of gold-dust in her hair where the sun touched it. Her +eyes, however, were dark hazel and full of fire, shaded and intensified +by their long, sweeping lashes. Her mouth was a rosebud, and her chin +and throat faultless in the delicious curve of their lines. In a word, +she was somewhat of the Venus-di-Milo type; her companion was more of a +Diana. Both were neatly habited in plain travelling-dresses and cloaks +of black and white plaid, and both seemed utterly unconscious of the +battery of eyes and eye-glasses that enfiladed them from the whole +length of the piazza as they passed. + +"Who are they?" asked Salsbury; "I don't know them." + +"Nor I," said Burnham; "but they look like people to know. They must be +somebody." + +Half an hour later the hotel-office was besieged by a score of young +men, all anxious for a peep at the last names upon the register. It is +needless to say that our friends were not in the crowd. Ned Salsbury was +no more the man to exhibit curiosity than Charley Burnham was the man +to join in a scramble for anything under the sun. They had educated +their emotions clear down, out of sight, and piled upon them a mountain +of well-bred inertia. + +But, somehow or other, these fellows who take no trouble are always the +first to gain the end. A special Providence seems to aid the poor, +helpless creatures. So, while the crowd still pressed at the +office-desk, Jerry Swayne, the head clerk, happened to pass directly by +the piazza where the inert ones sat, and, raising a comical eye, saluted +them. + +"Heavy arrivals to-night. See the turnout?" + +"Y-e-s," murmured Ned. + +"Old Chapman and family. His daughter drove the pony-phaeton, with her +friend, a Miss Thurston. Regular nobby ones. Chapman's the steam-ship +man, you know. Worth thousands of millions! I'd like to be connected +with his family--by marriage, say!"--and Jerry went off, rubbing his +cropped head and smiling all over, as was his wont. + +"I know who they are now," said Charley. "Met a cousin of theirs, Joe +Faulkner, abroad two years ago. Doocéd fine fellow. Army." + +The manly art of wagoning is not pursued vigorously at Brant Beach. The +roads are too heavy back from the water, and the drive is confined to a +narrow strip of wet sand along the shore; so carriages are few, and the +pony-chaise became a distinguished element at once. Salsbury and Burnham +whirled past it in their light trotting-wagons at a furious pace, and +looked hard at the two young ladies in passing, but without eliciting +even the smallest glance from them in return. + +"Confounded _distingué_-looking girls, and all that," owned Ned, "but, +aw, fearfully unconscious of a fellow!" + +This condition of matters continued until the young men were actually +driven to acknowledge to each other that they should not mind knowing +the occupants of the pony carriage. It was a great concession, and was +rewarded duly. A bright, handsome boy of seventeen, Miss Thurston's +brother, came to pass a few days at the seaside, and fraternized with +everybody, but was especially delighted with Ned Salsbury, who took him +out sailing and shooting, and, I am afraid, gave him cigars stealthily, +when out of range of Miss Thurston's fine eyes. The result was that the +first time the lad walked on the beach with the two girls and met the +young man, introductions of an enthusiastic nature were instantly sprung +upon them. An attempt at conversation followed. + +"How do you like Brant Beach?" asked Ned. + +"Oh, it is a very pretty place," said Miss Chapman, "but not lively +enough." + +"Well, Burnham and I find it pleasant; aw, we have lots of fun." + +"Indeed! Why, what do you do?" + +"Oh, I don't know. Everything." + +"Is the shooting good? I saw you with your guns yesterday." + +"Well, there isn't a great deal of game. There is some fishing, but we +haven't caught much." + +"How do you kill time, then?" + +Salsbury looked puzzled. + +"Aw--it is a first-rate air, you know. The table is good, and you can +sleep like a top. And then, you see, I like to smoke around, and do +nothing, on the sea-shore. It is real jolly to lie on the sand, aw, with +all sorts of little bugs running over you, and listen to the water +swashing about!" + +"Let's try it!" cried vivacious Miss Chapman; and down she sat on the +sand. The others followed her example, and in five minutes they were +picking up pretty pebbles and chatting away as sociably as could be. The +rumbling of the warning gong surprised them. + +At dinner Burnham and Salsbury took seats opposite the ladies, and were +honored with an introduction to papa and mamma, a very dignified, heavy, +rosy, old-school couple, who ate a good deal and said very little. That +evening, when flute and viol wooed the lotos-eaters to agitate the light +fantastic toe, these young gentlemen found themselves in dancing humor, +and revolved themselves into a grievous condition of glow and wilt in +various mystic and intoxicating measures with their new-made friends. + +On retiring, somewhat after midnight, Miss Thurston paused while "doing +her hair," and addressed Miss Chapman. + +"Did you observe, Hattie, how very handsome those gentlemen are? Mr. +Burnham looks like a prince of the _sang azur_, and Mr. Salsbury like +his poet-laureate." + +"Yes, dear," responded Hattie; "I have been considering those flowers of +the field and lilies of the valley." + +"Ned," said Charlie, at about the same time, "we won't find anything +nicer here this season, I think." + +"They're pretty worth while," replied Ned, "and I'm rather pleased with +them." + +"Which do you like best?" + +"Oh, bother! I haven't thought of _that_ yet." + +The next day the young men delayed their "constitutional" until the +ladies were ready to walk, and the four strolled off together, mamma and +the children following in the pony-chaise. At the rocks on the end of +the point Ned got his feet very wet fishing up specimens of seaweed for +the damsels; and Charley exerted himself super-humanly in assisting them +to a ledge which they considered favorable for sketching purposes. + +In the afternoon a sail was arranged, and they took dinner on board the +boat, with any amount of hilarity and a good deal of discomfort. In the +evening more dancing and vigorous attentions to both the young ladies, +but without a shadow of partiality being shown by either of the four. + +This was very nearly the history of many days. It does not take long to +get acquainted with people who are willing, especially at +watering-places; and in the course of a few weeks these young folks +were, to all intents and purposes, old friends--calling each other by +their given names, and conducting themselves with an easy familiarity +quite charming to behold. Their amusements were mostly in common now. +The light wagons were made to hold two each instead of one, and the +matinal snipe escaped death, and was happy over his early worm. + +One day, however, Laura Thurston had a headache, and Hattie Chapman +stayed at home to take care of her; so Burnham and Salsbury had to amuse +themselves alone. They took their boat and idled about the waters inside +the point, dozing under an awning, smoking, gaping, and wishing that +headaches were out of fashion, while the taciturn and tarry skipper +instructed the dignified and urbane Thomas in the science of trolling +for blue-fish. + +At length Ned tossed his cigar-end overboard and braced himself for an +effort. + +"I say, Charlie," said he, "this sort of thing can't go on forever, you +know. I've been thinking lately." + +"Phenomenon!" replied Charlie; "and what have you been thinking about?" + +"Those girls. We've got to choose." + +"Why? Isn't it well enough as it is?" + +"Yes--so far. But I think, aw, that we don't quite do them justice. +They're _grands partis_, you see. I hate to see clever girls wasting +themselves on society, waiting and waiting, and we fellows swimming +about just like fish around a hook that isn't baited properly." + +Charley raised himself upon his elbow. + +"You don't mean to tell me, Ned, that you have matrimonial intentions?" + +"Oh, no! Still, why not? We've all got to come to it some day, I +suppose." + +"Not yet, though. It is a sacrifice we can escape for some years yet." + +"Yes--of course--some years; but we may begin to look about us a bit. +I'm, aw, I'm six and twenty, you know." + +"And I'm very near that. I suppose a fellow can't put off the yoke too +long. After thirty chances aren't so good. I don't know, by Jove! but +what we ought to begin thinking of it." + +"But it _is_ a sacrifice. Society must lose a fellow, though, one time +or another. And I don't believe we will ever do better than we can now." + +"Hardly, I suspect." + +"And we're keeping other fellows away, maybe. It is a shame!" + +Thomas ran his line in rapidly, with nothing on the hook. + +"Cap'n Hull," he said, gravely, "I had the biggest kind of a fish then +I'm sure; but d'rectly I went to pull him in, sir, he took and let go." + +"Yaas," muttered the taciturn skipper, "the biggest fish allers falls +back inter the warter." + +"I've been thinking a little about this matter, too," said Charlie, +after a pause, "and I had about concluded we ought to pair off. But I'll +be confounded if I know which is the best! They're both nice girls." + +"There isn't much choice," Ned replied. "If they were as different, now, +as you and me, I'd take the blonde, of course, aw, and you'd take the +brunette. But Hattie Chapman's eyes are blue, and her hair isn't black, +you know, so you can't call her dark, exactly." + +"No more than Laura is exactly light. Her hair is brown more than +golden, and her eyes are hazel. Hasn't she a lovely complexion, though? +By Jove!" + +"Better than Hattie's. Yet I don't know but Hattie's features are a +little the best." + +"They are. Now, honest, Ned, which do you prefer? Say either; I'll take +the one you don't want. I haven't any choice." + +"Neither have I." + +"How shall we settle?" + +"Aw, throw for it?" + +"Yes. Isn't there a backgammon board forward, in that locker, Thomas?" + +The board was found and the dice produced. + +"The highest takes which?" + +"Say Laura Thurston." + +"Very good; throw." + +"You first." + +"No. Go on." + +Charlie threw with about the same amount of excitement he might have +exhibited in a turkey raffle. + +"Five-three," said he; "now for your luck." + +"Six-four! Laura's mine. Satisfied?" + +"Perfectly--if you are. If not, I don't mind exchanging." + +"Oh, no. I'm satisfied." + +Both reclined upon the deck once more with a sigh of relief, and a long +silence followed. + +"I say," began Charlie, after a time, "it is a comfort to have these +little matters arranged without any trouble, eh?" + +"Y-e-s." + +"Do you know, I think I'll marry mine?" + +"I will, if you will." + +"Done! It is a bargain." + +This "little matter" being arranged, a change gradually took place in +the relations of the four. Ned Salsbury began to invite Laura Thurston +out driving and bathing somewhat oftener than before, and Hattie Chapman +somewhat less often; while Charlie Burnham followed suit with the +last-named young lady. As the line of demarcation became fixed, the +damsels recognized it, and accepted with gracious readiness the +cavaliers that Fate, through the agency of a chance-falling pair of +dice, had allotted to them. + +The other guests of the house remarked the new position of affairs, and +passed whispers about it to the effect that the girls had at last +succeeded in getting their fish on hooks instead of in a net. No +suitors could have been more devoted than our friends. It seemed as if +each knight bestowed upon the chosen one all the attentions he had +hitherto given to both; and whether they went boating, sketching, or +strolling upon the sands, they were the very picture of a _partie +carrée_ of lovers. + +Naturally enough, as the young men became more in earnest, with the +reticence common to my sex they spoke less frequently and freely on the +subject. Once, however, after an unusually pleasant afternoon, Salsbury +ventured a few words. + +"I say, we're a couple of lucky dogs! Who'd have thought now, aw, that +our summer was going to turn out so well? I'm sure I didn't. How do you +get along, Charley, boy?" + +"Deliciously. Smooth sailing enough. Wasn't it a good idea, though, to +pair off? I'm just as happy as a bee in clover. You seem to prosper, +too, heh?" + +"Couldn't ask anything different. Nothing but devotion, and all that. +I'm delighted. I say, when are you going to pop?" + +"Oh, I don't know. It is only a matter of form. Sooner the better, I +suppose, and have it over." + +"I was thinking of next week. What do you say to a quiet picnic down on +the rocks, and a walk afterwards? We can separate, you know, and do the +thing up systematically." + +"All right. I will, if you will." + +"That's another bargain. I notice there isn't much doubt about the +results." + +"Hardly!" + +A close observer might have seen that the gentlemen increased their +attentions a little from time to time. The objects of their devotion +perceived it, and smiled more and more graciously upon them. + +The day set for the picnic arrived duly, and was radiant. It pains me to +confess that my heroes were a trifle nervous. Their apparel was more +gorgeous and wonderful than ever, and Thomas, who was anxious to be off +courting Miss Chapman's lady's-maid, found his masters dreadfully +exacting in the matter of hair-dressing. At length, however, the toilet +was over, and "Solomon in all his glory" would have been vastly +astonished at finding himself "arrayed as one of these." + +The boat lay at the pier, receiving large quantities of supplies for the +trip, stowed by Thomas, under the supervision of the grim and tarry +skipper. When all was ready the young men gingerly escorted their fair +companions aboard, the lines were cast off, and the boat glided gently +down the bay, leaving Thomas free to fly to the smart presence of Susan +Jane and to draw glowing pictures for her of a neat little porter-house +in the city, wherein they should hold supreme sway, be happy with each +other, and let rooms up-stairs for single gentlemen. + +The brisk land breeze swelling the sail, the fluttering of the gay +little flag at the gaff, the musical rippling of water under the +counter, and the spirited motion of the boat combined, with the bland +air and pleasant sunshine, to inspire the party with much vivacity. They +had not been many minutes afloat before the guitar-case was opened, and +the girls' voices--Laura's soprano and Hattie's contralto--rang +melodiously over the waves, mingled with feeble attempt at bass +accompaniment from their gorgeous guardians. + +Before these vocal exercises wearied, the skipper hauled down his jib, +let go his anchor, and brought the craft to just off the rocks; and +bringing the yawl alongside, unceremoniously plucked the girls down into +it, without giving their cavaliers a chance for the least display of +agile courtliness. Rowing ashore, this same tarry person left them +huddled upon the beach, with their hopes, their hampers, their emotions, +and their baskets, and returned to the vessel to do a little private +fishing on his own account till wanted. + +The maidens gave vent to their high spirits by chasing each other among +the rocks, gathering shells and seaweed for the construction of those +ephemeral little ornaments--fair, but frail--in which the sex delights, +singing, laughing, quoting poetry, attitudinizing upon the peaks and +ledges of the fine old boulders--mossy and weedy and green with the wash +of a thousand storms, worn into strange shapes, and stained with the +multitudinous dyes of mineral oxidization--and, in brief, behaved +themselves with all the charming _abandon_ that so well becomes young +girls set free, by the _entourage_ of a holiday ramble, from the buckram +and clear-starch of social etiquette. + +Meanwhile Ned and Charley smoked the pensive cigar of preparation in a +sheltered corner, and gazed out seaward, dreaming and seeing nothing. + +Erelong the breeze and the romp gave the young ladies not only a +splendid color and sparkling eyes, but excellent appetites also. The +baskets and hampers were speedily unpacked, the table-cloth laid on a +broad, flat stone, so used by generations of Brant House picnickers, and +the party fell to. Laura's beautiful hair, a little disordered, swept +her blooming cheek, and cast a pearly shadow upon her neck. Her bright +eyes glanced archly out from under her half-raised veil, and there was +something inexpressibly _naïve_ in the freedom with which she ate, +taking a bird's wing in her fingers, and boldly attacking it with teeth +as white and even as can be imagined. Notwithstanding all the mawkish +nonsense that has been put forth by sentimentalists concerning feminine +eating, I hold that it is one of the nicest things in the world to see a +pretty woman enjoying the creature comforts; and Byron himself, had he +been one of this picnic party, would have been unable to resist the +admiration that filled the souls of Burnham and Salsbury. Hattie Chapman +stormed the fortress of boned turkey with a gusto equal to that of +Laura, and made highly successful raids upon certain outlying salads +and jellies. The young men were not in a very ravenous condition; they +were, as I have said, a little nervous, and bent their energies +principally to admiring the ladies and coquetting with pickled oysters. + +When the repast was over, with much accompanying chat and laughter, Ned +glanced significantly at Charley, and proposed to Laura that they should +walk up the beach to a place where, he said, there were "some pretty +rocks and things, you know." She consented, and they marched off. Hattie +also arose, and took her parasol, as if to follow, but Charley remained +seated, tracing mysterious diagrams upon the table-cloth with his fork, +and looked sublimely unconscious. + +"Sha'n't we walk, too?" Hattie asked. + +"Oh, why, the fact is," said he, hesitatingly, "I--I sprained my ankle +getting out of that confounded boat, so I don't feel much like +exercising just now." + +The young girl's face expressed concern. + +"That is too bad! Why didn't you tell us of it before? Is it painful? +I'm so sorry!" + +"N-no--it doesn't hurt much. I dare say it will be all right in a +minute. And then--I'd just as soon stay here--with you--as to walk +anywhere." + +This very tenderly, with a little sigh. + +Hattie sat down again, and began to talk to this factitious cripple in +the pleasant, purring way some damsels have, about the joys of the +sea-shore, the happy summer that was, alas! drawing to a close, her own +enjoyment of life, and kindred topics, till Charley saw an excellent +opportunity to interrupt with some aspirations of his own, which, he +averred, must be realized before his life would be considered a +satisfactory success. + +If you had ever been placed in analogous circumstances, you know, of +course, just about the sort of thing that was being said by the two +gentlemen at nearly the same moment: Ned, loitering slowly along the +sands with Laura on his arm, and Charley, stretched in indolent +picturesqueness upon the rocks, with Hattie sitting beside him. If you +do not know from experience, ask any candid friend who has been through +the form and ceremony of an orthodox proposal. + +When the pedestrians returned the two couples looked very hard at each +other. All were smiling and complacent, but devoid of any strange or +unusual expression. Indeed, the countenance is subject to such severe +education, in good society, that one almost always looks smiling and +complacent. Demonstration is not fashionable, and a man must preserve +the same demeanor over the loss of a wife or a glove-button, over the +gift of a heart's whole devotion or a bundle of cigars. Under all these +visitations the complacent smile is in favor as the neatest, most +serviceable, and convenient form of non-committalism. + +The sun was approaching the blue range of misty hills that bounded the +mainland swamps by this time; so the skipper was signalled, the dinner +paraphernalia gathered up, and the party were soon _en route_ for home +once more. When the young ladies were safely in, Ned and Charley met in +their room, and each caught the other looking at him stealthily. Both +smiled. + +"Did I give you time, Charley?" asked Ned; "we came back rather soon." + +"Oh, yes; plenty of time." + +"Did you--aw, did you pop? + +"Y-yes. Did you?" + +"Well--yes." + +"And you were--" + +"Rejected, by Jove!" + +"So was I!" + +The day following this disastrous picnic the baggage of Mr. Edwin +Salsbury and Mr. Charles Burnham was sent to the depot at Wikhasset +Station, and they presented themselves at the hotel-office with a +request for their bill. As Jerry Swayne deposited their key upon its +hook, he drew forth a small tri-cornered billet from the pigeon-hole +beneath, and presented it. + +"Left for you this morning, gentlemen." + +It was directed to both, and Charley read it over Ned's shoulder. It ran +thus: + + "DEAR BOYS: The next time you divert yourselves by throwing dice + for two young ladies, we pray you not to do so in the presence of a + valet who is upon terms of intimacy with the maid of one of them. + + "With many sincere thanks for the amusement + you have given us--often when you least suspected + it--we bid you a lasting adieu, and remain, with + the best wishes, + + "HATTIE CHAPMAN, + "LAURA THURSTON. + + "_Brant House_, + "_Wednesday."_ + +"It is all the fault of that, aw--that confounded Thomas!" said Ned. + +So Thomas was discharged. + + +[4] _Atlantic Monthly, June_, 1863. + + + + +THE TACHYPOMP.[5] + +A MATHEMATICAL DEMONSTRATION. + +BY E.P. MITCHELL. + + +There was nothing mysterious about Professor Surd's dislike for me. I +was the only poor mathematician in an exceptionally mathematical class. +The old gentleman sought the lecture-room every morning with eagerness, +and left it reluctantly. For was it not a thing of joy to find seventy +young men who, individually and collectively, preferred _x_ to XX; who +had rather differentiate than dissipate; and for whom the limbs of the +heavenly bodies had more attractions than those of earthly stars upon +the spectacular stage? + +So affairs went on swimmingly between the Professor of Mathematics and +the Junior Class at Polyp University. In every man of the seventy the +sage saw the logarithm of a possible La Place, of a Sturm, or of a +Newton. It was a delightful task for him to lead them through the +pleasant valleys of conic sections, and beside the still waters of the +integral calculus. Figuratively speaking, his problem was not a hard +one. He had only to manipulate, and eliminate, and to raise to a higher +power, and the triumphant result of examination day was assured. + +But I was a disturbing element, a perplexing unknown quantity, which had +somehow crept into the work, and which seriously threatened to impair +the accuracy of his calculations. It was a touching sight to behold the +venerable mathematician as he pleaded with me not so utterly to +disregard precedent in the use of cotangents; or as he urged, with eyes +almost tearful, that ordinates were dangerous things to trifle with. All +in vain. More theorems went on to my cuff than into my head. Never did +chalk do so much work to so little purpose. And, therefore, it came that +Furnace Second was reduced to zero in Professor Surd's estimation. He +looked upon me with all the horror which an unalgebraic nature could +inspire. I have seen the Professor walk around an entire square rather +than meet the man who had no mathematics in his soul. + +For Furnace Second were no invitations to Professor Surd's house. +Seventy of the class supped in delegations around the periphery of the +Professor's tea-table. The seventy-first knew nothing of the charms of +that perfect ellipse, with its twin bunches of fuchsias and geraniums +in gorgeous precision at the two foci. + +This, unfortunately enough, was no trifling deprivation. Not that I +longed especially for segments of Mrs. Surd's justly celebrated lemon +pies; not that the spheroidal damsons of her excellent preserving had +any marked allurements; not even that I yearned to hear the Professor's +jocose table-talk about binomials, and chatty illustrations of abstruse +paradoxes. The explanation is far different. Professor Surd had a +daughter. Twenty years before, he made a proposition of marriage to the +present Mrs. S. He added a little Corollary to his proposition not long +after. The Corollary was a girl. + +Abscissa Surd was as perfectly symmetrical as Giotto's circle, and as +pure, withal, as the mathematics her father taught. It was just when +spring was coming to extract the roots of frozen-up vegetation that I +fell in love with the Corollary. That she herself was not indifferent I +soon had reason to regard as a self-evident truth. + +The sagacious reader will already recognize nearly all the elements +necessary to a well-ordered plot. We have introduced a heroine, inferred +a hero, and constructed a hostile parent after the most approved model. +A movement for the story, a _Deus ex machina_, is alone lacking. With +considerable satisfaction I can promise a perfect novelty in this line, +a _Deus ex machina_ never before offered to the public. + +It would be discounting ordinary intelligence to say that I sought with +unwearying assiduity to figure my way into the stern father's good-will; +that never did dullard apply himself to mathematics more patiently than +I; that never did faithfulness achieve such meagre reward. Then I +engaged a private tutor. His instructions met with no better success. + +My tutor's name was Jean Marie Rivarol. He was a unique Alsatian--though +Gallic in name, thoroughly Teuton in nature; by birth a Frenchman, by +education a German. His age was thirty; his profession, omniscience; the +wolf at his door, poverty; the skeleton in his closet, a consuming but +unrequited passion. The most recondite principles of practical science +were his toys; the deepest intricacies of abstract science his +diversions. Problems which were foreordained mysteries to me were to him +as clear as Tahoe water. Perhaps this very fact will explain our lack of +success in the relation of tutor and pupil; perhaps the failure is alone +due to my own unmitigated stupidity. Rivarol had hung about the skirts +of the University for several years; supplying his few wants by writing +for scientific journals, or by giving assistance to students who, like +myself, were characterized by a plethora of purse and a paucity of +ideas; cooking, studying and sleeping in his attic lodgings; and +prosecuting queer experiments all by himself. + +We were not long discovering that even this eccentric genius could not +transplant brains into my deficient skull. I gave over the struggle in +despair. An unhappy year dragged its slow length around. A gloomy year +it was, brightened only by occasional interviews with Abscissa, the +Abbie of my thoughts and dreams. + +Commencement day was coming on apace. I was soon to go forth, with the +rest of my class, to astonish and delight a waiting world. The Professor +seemed to avoid me more than ever. Nothing but the conventionalities, I +think kept him from shaping his treatment of me on the basis of +unconcealed disgust. + +At last, in the very recklessness of despair, I resolved to see him, +plead with him, threaten him if need be, and risk all my fortunes on one +desperate chance. I wrote him a somewhat defiant letter, stating my +aspirations, and, as I flattered myself, shrewdly giving him a week to +get over the first shock of horrified surprise. Then I was to call and +learn my fate. + +During the week of suspense I nearly worried myself into a fever. It was +first crazy hope, and then saner despair. On Friday evening, when I +presented myself at the Professor's door, I was such a haggard, sleepy, +dragged-out spectre, that even Miss Jocasta, the harsh-favored maiden +sister of the Surd's, admitted me with commiserate regard, and suggested +pennyroyal tea. + +Professor Surd was at a faculty meeting. Would I wait? + +Yes, till all was blue, if need be. Miss Abbie? + +Abscissa had gone to Wheelborough to visit a school-friend. The aged +maiden hoped I would make myself comfortable, and departed to the +unknown haunts which knew Jocasta's daily walk. + +Comfortable! But I settled myself in a great uneasy chair and waited, +with the contradictory spirit common to such junctures, dreading every +step lest it should herald the man whom, of all men, I wished to see. + +I had been there at least an hour, and was growing right drowsy. + +At length Professor Surd came in. He sat down in the dusk opposite me, +and I thought his eyes glinted with malignant pleasure as he said, +abruptly: + +"So, young man, you think you are a fit husband for my girl?" + +I stammered some inanity about making up in affection what I lacked in +merit; about my expectations, family and the like. He quickly +interrupted me. + +"You misapprehend me, sir. Your nature is destitute of those +mathematical perceptions and acquirements which are the only sure +foundations of character. You have no mathematics in you. You are fit +for treason, stratagems, and spoils.--Shakespeare. Your narrow intellect +cannot understand and appreciate a generous mind. There is all the +difference between you and a Surd, if I may say it, which intervenes +between an infinitesimal and an infinite. Why, I will even venture to +say that you do not comprehend the Problem of the Couriers!" + +I admitted that the Problem of the Couriers should be classed rather +without my list of accomplishments than within it. I regretted this +fault very deeply, and suggested amendment. I faintly hoped that my +fortune would be such-- + +"Money!" he impatiently exclaimed. "Do you seek to bribe a Roman Senator +with a penny whistle? Why, boy, do you parade your paltry wealth, which, +expressed in mills, will not cover ten decimal places, before the eyes +of a man who measures the planets in their orbits, and close crowds +infinity itself?" + +I hastily disclaimed any intention of obtruding my foolish dollars, and +he went on: + +"Your letter surprised me not a little. I thought _you_ would be the +last person in the world to presume to an alliance here. But having a +regard for you personally"--and again I saw malice twinkle in his small +eyes--"and still more regard for Abscissa's happiness, I have decided +that you shall have her--upon conditions. Upon conditions," he repeated, +with a half-smothered sneer. + +"What are they?" cried I, eagerly enough. "Only name them." + +"Well, sir," he continued, and the deliberation of his speech seemed the +very refinement of cruelty, "you have only to prove yourself worthy an +alliance with a mathematical family. You have only to accomplish a task +which I shall presently give you. Your eyes ask me what it is. I will +tell you. Distinguish yourself in that noble branch of abstract science +in which, you cannot but acknowledge, you are at present sadly +deficient. I will place Abscissa's hand in yours whenever you shall come +before me and square the circle to my satisfaction. No! That is too easy +a condition. I should cheat myself. Say perpetual motion. How do you +like that? Do you think it lies within the range of your mental +capabilities? You don't smile. Perhaps your talents don't run in the way +of perpetual motion. Several people have found that theirs didn't. I'll +give you another chance. We were speaking of the Problem of the +Couriers, and I think you expressed a desire to know more of that +ingenious question. You shall have the opportunity. Sit down some day, +when you have nothing else to do, and discover the principle of infinite +speed. I mean the law of motion which shall accomplish an infinitely +great distance in an infinitely short time. You may mix in a little +practical mechanics, if you choose. Invent some method of taking the +tardy Courier over his road at the rate of sixty miles a minute. +Demonstrate me this discovery (when you have made it!) mathematically, +and approximate it practically, and Abscissa is yours. Until you can, I +will thank you to trouble neither myself nor her." + +I could stand his mocking no longer. I stumbled mechanically out of the +room, and out of the house. I even forgot my hat and gloves. For an +hour I walked in the moonlight. Gradually I succeeded to a more hopeful +frame of mind. This was due to my ignorance of mathematics. Had I +understood the real meaning of what he asked, I should have been utterly +despondent. + +Perhaps this problem of sixty miles a minute was not so impossible after +all. At any rate I could attempt, though I might not succeed. And +Rivarol came to my mind. I would ask him. I would enlist his knowledge +to accompany my own devoted perseverance. I sought his lodgings at once. + +The man of science lived in the fourth story, back. I had never been in +his room before. When I entered, he was in the act of filling a beer mug +from a carboy labelled _Aqua fortis_. + +"Seat you," he said. "No, not in that chair. That is my Petty Cash +Adjuster." But he was a second too late. I had carelessly thrown myself +into a chair of seductive appearance. To my utter amazement it reached +out two skeleton arms and clutched me with a grasp against which I +struggled in vain. Then a skull stretched itself over my shoulder and +grinned with ghastly familiarity close to my face. + +Rivarol came to my aid with many apologies. He touched a spring +somewhere and the Petty Cash Adjuster relaxed its horrid hold. I placed +myself gingerly in a plain cane-bottomed rocking-chair, which Rivarol +assured me was a safe location. + +"That seat," he said, "is an arrangement upon which I much felicitate +myself. I made it at Heidelberg. It has saved me a vast deal of small +annoyance. I consign to its embraces the friends who bore, and the +visitors who exasperate, me. But it is never so useful as when +terrifying some tradesman with an insignificant account. Hence the pet +name which I have facetiously given it. They are invariably too glad to +purchase release at the price of a bill receipted. Do you well apprehend +the idea?" + +While the Alsatian diluted his glass of _Aqua fortis_, shook into it an +infusion of bitters, and tossed off the bumper with apparent relish, I +had time to look around the strange apartment. + +The four corners of the room were occupied respectively by a +turning-lathe, a Rhumkorff Coil, a small steam-engine and an orrery in +stately motion. Tables, shelves, chairs and floor supported an odd +aggregation of tools, retorts, chemicals, gas-receivers, philosophical +instruments, boots, flasks, paper-collar boxes, books diminutive and +books of preposterous size. There were plaster busts of Aristotle, +Archimedes, and Comte, while a great drowsy owl was blinking away, +perched on the benign brow of Martin Farquhar Tupper. "He always roosts +there when he proposes to slumber," explained my tutor. "You are a bird +of no ordinary mind. _Schlafen Sie wohl_." + +Through a closet door, half open, I could see a human-like form covered +with a sheet. Rivarol caught my glance. + +"That," said he, "will be my masterpiece. It is a Microcosm, an +Android, as yet only partially complete. And why not? Albertus Magnus +constructed an image perfect to talk metaphysics and confute the +schools. So did Sylvester II.; so did Robertus Greathead. Roger Bacon +made a brazen head that held discourses. But the first named of these +came to destruction. Thomas Aquinas got wrathful at some of its +syllogisms and smashed its head. The idea is reasonable enough. Mental +action will yet be reduced to laws as definite as those which govern the +physical. Why should not I accomplish a manikin which shall preach as +original discourses as the Rev. Dr. Allchin, or talk poetry as +mechanically as Paul Anapest? My Android can already work problems in +vulgar fractions and compose sonnets. I hope to teach it the Positive +Philosophy." + +Out of the bewildering confusion of his effects Rivarol produced two +pipes and filled them. He handed one to me. + +"And here," he said, "I live and am tolerably comfortable. When my coat +wears out at the elbows I seek the tailor and am measured for another. +When I am hungry I promenade myself to the butcher's and bring home a +pound or so of steak, which I cook very nicely in three seconds by this +oxy-hydrogen flame. Thirsty, perhaps, I send for a carboy of _Aqua +fortis_. But I have it charged, all charged. My spirit is above any +small pecuniary transaction. I loathe your dirty greenbacks, and never +handle what they call scrip." + +"But are you never pestered with bills?" I asked. "Don't the creditors +worry your life out?" + +"Creditors!" gasped Rivarol. "I have learned no such word in your very +admirable language. He who will allow his soul to be vexed by creditors +is a relic of an imperfect civilization. Of what use is science if it +cannot avail a man who has accounts current? Listen. The moment you or +any one else enters the outside door this little electric bell sounds me +warning. Every successive step on Mrs. Grimier's staircase is a spy and +informer vigilant for my benefit. The first step is trod upon. That +trusty first step immediately telegraphs your weight. Nothing could be +simpler. It is exactly like any platform scale. The weight is registered +up here upon this dial. The second step records the size of my visitor's +feet. The third his height, the fourth his complexion, and so on. By the +time he reaches the top of the first flight I have a pretty accurate +description of him right here at my elbow, and quite a margin of time +for deliberation and action. Do you follow me? It is plain enough. Only +the A B C of my science." + +"I see all that," I said, "but I don't see how it helps you any. The +knowledge that a creditor is coming won't pay his bill. You can't escape +unless you jump out of the window." + +Rivarol laughed softly. "I will tell you. You shall see what becomes of +any poor devil who goes to demand money of me--of a man of science. Ha! +ha! It pleases me. I was seven weeks perfecting my Dun Suppressor. Did +you know"--he whispered exultingly--"did you know that there is a hole +through the earth's centre? Physicists have long suspected it; I was the +first to find it. You have read how Rhuyghens, the Dutch navigator, +discovered in Kerguellen's Land an abysmal pit which fourteen hundred +fathoms of plumb-line failed to sound. Herr Tom, that hole has no +bottom! It runs from one surface of the earth to the antipodal surface. +It is diametric. But where is the antipodal spot? You stand upon it. I +learned this by the merest chance. I was deep-digging in Mrs. Grimler's +cellar, to bury a poor cat I had sacrificed in a galvanic experiment, +when the earth under my spade crumbled, caved in, and wonder-stricken I +stood upon the brink of a yawning shaft. I dropped a coal-hod in. It +went down, down down, bounding and rebounding. In two hours and a +quarter that coal-hod came up again. I caught it and restored it to the +angry Grimler. Just think a minute. The coal-hod went down, faster and +faster, till it reached the centre of the earth. There it would stop, +were it not for acquired momentum. Beyond the centre its journey was +relatively upward, toward the opposite surface of the globe. So, losing +velocity, it went slower and slower till it reached that surface. Here +it came to rest for a second and then fell back again, eight thousand +odd miles, into my hands. Had I not interfered with it, it would have +repeated its journey, time after time, each trip of shorter extent, +like the diminishing oscillations of a pendulum, till it finally came +to eternal rest at the centre of the sphere. I am not slow to give a +practical application to any such grand discovery. My Dun Suppressor was +born of it. A trap, just outside my chamber door: a spring in here: a +creditor on the trap:--need I say more?" + +"But isn't it a trifle inhuman?" I mildly suggested. "Plunging an +unhappy being into a perpetual journey to and from Kerguellen's Land, +without a moment's warning." + +"I give them a chance. When they come up the first time I wait at the +mouth of the shaft with a rope in hand. If they are reasonable and will +come to terms, I fling them the line. If they perish, 'tis their own +fault. Only," he added, with a melancholy smile, "the centre is getting +so plugged up with creditors that I am afraid there soon will be no +choice whatever for 'em." + +By this time I had conceived a high opinion of my tutor's ability. If +anybody could send me waltzing through space at an infinite speed, +Rivarol could do it. I filled my pipe and told him the story. He heard +with grave and patient attention. Then, for full half an hour, he +whiffed away in silence. Finally he spoke. + +"The ancient cipher has overreached himself. He has given you a choice +of two problems, both of which he deems insoluble. Neither of them is +insoluble. The only gleam of intelligence Old Cotangent showed was when +he said that squaring the circle was too easy. He was right. It would +have given you your _Liebchen_ in five minutes. I squared the circle +before I discarded pantalets. I will show you the work--but it would be +a digression, and you are in no mood for digressions. Our first chance, +therefore, lies in perpetual motion. Now, my good friend, I will frankly +tell you that, although I have compassed this interesting problem, I do +not choose to use it in your behalf. I too, Herr Tom, have a heart. The +loveliest of her sex frowns upon me. Her somewhat mature charms are not +for Jean Marie Rivarol. She has cruelly said that her years demand of me +filial rather than connubial regard. Is love a matter of years or of +eternity? This question did I put to the cold, yet lovely Jocasta." + +"Jocasta Surd!" I remarked in surprise, "Abscissa's aunt!" + +"The same," he said, sadly. "I will not attempt to conceal that upon the +maiden Jocasta my maiden heart has been bestowed. Give me your hand, my +nephew in affliction as in affection!" + +Rivarol dashed away a not discreditable tear, and resumed: + +"My only hope lies in this discovery of perpetual motion. It will give +me the fame, the wealth. Can Jocasta refuse these? If she can, there is +only the trap-door and--Kerguellen's Land!" + +I bashfully asked to see the perpetual-motion machine. My uncle in +affliction shook his head. + +"At another time," he said. "Suffice it at present to say, that it is +something upon the principle of a woman's tongue. But you see now why we +must turn in your case to the alternative condition--infinite speed. +There are several ways in which this may be accomplished, theoretically. +By the lever, for instance. Imagine a lever with a very long and a very +short arm. Apply power to the shorter arm which will move it with great +velocity. The end of the long arm will move much faster. Now keep +shortening the short arm and lengthening the long one, and as you +approach infinity in their difference of length, you approach infinity +in the speed of the long arm. It would be difficult to demonstrate this +practically to the Professor. We must seek another solution. Jean Marie +will meditate. Come to me in a fortnight. Good-night. But stop! Have you +the money--_das Geld?_" + +"Much more than I need." + +"Good! Let us strike hands. Gold and Knowledge; Science and Love. What +may not such a partnership achieve? We go to conquer thee, Abscissa. +_Vorwärts!_" + +When, at the end of a fortnight, I sought Rivarol's chamber, I passed +with some little trepidation over the terminus of the Air Line to +Kerguellen's Land, and evaded the extended arms of the Petty Cash +Adjuster. Rivarol drew a mug of ale for me, and filled himself a retort +of his own peculiar beverage. + +"Come," he said at length. "Let us drink success to the TACHYPOMP." + +"The TACHYPOMP?" + +"Yes. Why not? _Tachu_, quickly, and _pempo, pepompa_ to send. May it +send you quickly to your wedding-day. Abscissa is yours. It is done. +When shall we start for the prairies?" + +"Where is it?" I asked, looking in vain around the room for any +contrivance which might seem calculated to advance matrimonial +prospects. + +"It is here," and he gave his forehead a significant tap. Then he held +forth didactically. + +"There is force enough in existence to yield us a speed of sixty miles a +minute, or even more. All we need is the knowledge how to combine and +apply it. The wise man will not attempt to make some great force yield +some great speed. He will keep adding the little force to the little +force, making each little force yield its little speed, until an +aggregate of little forces shall be a great force, yielding an aggregate +of little speeds, a great speed. The difficulty is not in aggregating +the forces; it lies in the corresponding aggregation of the speeds. One +musket-ball will go, say a mile. It is not hard to increase the force of +muskets to a thousand, yet the thousand musket-balls will go no farther, +and no faster, than the one. You see, then, where our trouble lies. We +cannot readily add speed to speed, as we add force to force. My +discovery is simply the utilization of a principle which extorts an +increment of speed from each increment of power. But this is the +metaphysics of physics. Let us be practical or nothing. + +"When you have walked forward, on a moving train, from the rear car, +toward the engine, did you ever think what you were really doing?" + +"Why, yes, I have generally been going to the smoking-car to have a +cigar." + +"Tut, tut--not that! I mean, did it ever occur to you on such an +occasion, that absolutely you were moving faster than the train? The +train passes the telegraph poles at the rate of thirty miles an hour, +say. You walk toward the smoking-car at the rate of four miles an hour. +Then _you_ pass the telegraph poles at the rate of thirty-four miles. +Your absolute speed is the speed of the engine, plus the speed of your +own locomotion. Do you follow me?" + +I began to get an inkling of his meaning, and told him so. + +"Very well. Let us advance a step. Your addition to the speed of the +engine is trivial, and the space in which you can exercise it, limited. +Now suppose two stations, A and B, two miles distant by the track. +Imagine a train of platform cars, the last car resting at station A. The +train is a mile long, say. The engine is therefore within a mile of +station B. Say the train can move a mile in ten minutes. The last car, +having two miles to go, would reach B in twenty minutes, but the engine, +a mile ahead, would get there in ten. You jump on the last car, at A, in +a prodigious hurry to reach Abscissa, who is at B. If you stay on the +last car it will be twenty long minutes before you see her. But the +engine reaches B and the fair lady in ten. You will be a stupid +reasoner, and an indifferent lover, if you don't put for the engine over +those platform cars, as fast as your legs will carry you. You can run a +mile, the length of the train, in ten minutes. Therefore, you reach +Abscissa when the engine does, or in ten minutes--ten minutes sooner +than if you had lazily sat down upon the rear car and talked politics +with the brakeman. You have diminished the time by one half. You have +added your speed to that of the locomotive to some purpose. _Nicht +wahr?_" + +I saw it perfectly; much plainer, perhaps, for his putting in the clause +about Abscissa. + +He continued: + +"This illustration, though a slow one, leads up to a principle which may +be carried to any extent. Our first anxiety will be to spare your legs +and wind. Let us suppose that the two miles of track are perfectly +straight, and make our train one platform car, a mile long, with +parallel rails laid upon its top. Put a little dummy engine on these +rails, and let it run to and fro along the platform car, while the +platform car is pulled along the ground track. Catch the idea? The dummy +takes your place. But it can run its mile much faster. Fancy that our +locomotive is strong enough to pull the platform car over the two miles +in two minutes. The dummy can attain the same speed. When the engine +reaches B in one minute, the dummy, having gone a mile a-top the +platform car, reaches B also. We have so combined the speeds of those +two engines as to accomplish two miles in one minute. Is this all we can +do? Prepare to exercise your imagination." + +I lit my pipe. + +"Still two miles of straight track, between A and B. On the track a long +platform car, reaching from A to within a quarter of a mile of B. We +will now discard ordinary locomotives and adopt as our motive power a +series of compact magnetic engines, distributed underneath the platform +car, all along its length." + +"I don't understand those magnetic engines." + +"Well, each of them consists of a great iron horseshoe, rendered +alternately a magnet and not a magnet by an intermittent current of +electricity from a battery, this current in its turn regulated by +clock-work. When the horseshoe is in the circuit, it is a magnet, and it +pulls its clapper toward it with enormous power. When it is out of the +circuit, the next second, it is not a magnet, and it lets the clapper +go. The clapper, oscillating to and fro, imparts a rotatory motion to a +fly-wheel, which transmits it to the drivers on the rails. Such are our +motors. They are no novelty, for trial has proved them practicable. + +"With a magnetic engine for every truck of wheels, we can reasonably +expect to move our immense car, and to drive it along at a speed, say, +of a mile a minute. + +"The forward end, having but a quarter of a mile to go, will reach B in +fifteen seconds. We will call this platform car number 1. On top of +number 1 are laid rails on which another platform car, number 2, a +quarter of a mile shorter than number 1, is moved in precisely the same +way. Number 2, in its turn, is surmounted by number 3, moving +independently of the tiers beneath, and a quarter of a mile shorter than +number 2. Number 2 is a mile and a half long; number 3 a mile and a +quarter. Above, on successive levels, are number 4, a mile long; number +5, three quarters of a mile; number 6, half a mile; number 7, a quarter +of a mile, and number 8, a short passenger car, on top of all. + +"Each car moves upon the car beneath it, independently of all the +others, at the rate of a mile a minute. Each car has its own magnetic +engines. Well, the train being drawn up with the latter end of each car +resting against a lofty bumping-post at A, Tom Furnace, the gentlemanly +conductor, and Jean Marie Rivarol, engineer, mount by a long ladder to +the exalted number 8. The complicated mechanism is set in motion. What +happens? + +"Number 8 runs a quarter of a mile in fifteen seconds and reaches the +end of number 7. Meanwhile number 7 has run a quarter of a mile in the +same time and reached the end of number 6; number 6, a quarter of a mile +in fifteen seconds, and reached the end of number 5; number 5, the end +of number 4; number 4, of number 3; number 3, of number 2; number 2, of +number 1. And number 1, in fifteen seconds, has gone its quarter of a +mile along the ground track, and has reached station B. All this has +been done in fifteen seconds. Wherefore, numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, +and 8 come to rest against the bumping-post at B, at precisely the same +second. We, in number 8, reach B just when number 1 reaches it. In other +words, we accomplish two miles in fifteen seconds. Each of the eight +cars, moving at the rate of a mile a minute, has contributed a quarter +of a mile to our journey, and has done its work in fifteen seconds. All +the eight did their work at once, during the same fifteen seconds. +Consequently we have been whizzed through the air at the somewhat +startling speed of seven and a half seconds to the mile. This is the +Tachypomp. Does it justify the name?" + +Although a little bewildered by the complexity of cars, I apprehended +the general principle of the machine. I made a diagram, and understood +it much better. "You have merely improved on the idea of my moving +faster than the train when I was going to the smoking car?" + +"Precisely. So far we have kept within the bounds of the practicable. To +satisfy the Professor, you can theorize in something after this fashion: +If we double the number of cars, thus decreasing by one half the +distance which each has to go, we shall attain twice the speed. Each of +the sixteen cars will have but one eighth of a mile to go. At the +uniform rate we have adopted, the two miles can be done in seven and a +half instead of fifteen seconds. With thirty-two cars, and a sixteenth +of a mile, or twenty rods difference in their length, we arrive at the +speed of a mile in less than two seconds; with sixty-four cars, each +travelling but ten rods, a mile under the second. More than sixty miles +a minute! If this isn't rapid enough for the Professor, tell him to go +on, increasing the number of his cars and diminishing the distance each +one has to run. If sixty-four cars yield a speed of a mile inside the +second, let him fancy a Tachypomp of six hundred and forty cars, and +amuse himself calculating the rate of car number 640. Just whisper to +him that when he has an infinite number of cars with an infinitesimal +difference in their lengths, he will have obtained that infinite speed +for which he seems to yearn. Then demand Abscissa." + +I wrung my friend's hand in silent and grateful admiration. I could say +nothing. + +"You have listened to the man of theory," he said proudly. "You shall +now behold the practical engineer. We will go to the west of the +Mississippi and find some suitably level locality. We will erect thereon +a model Tachypomp. We will summon thereunto the professor, his daughter, +and why not his fair sister Jocasta, as well? We will take them a +journey which shall much astonish the venerable Surd. He shall place +Abscissa's digits in yours and bless you both with an algebraic formula. +Jocasta shall contemplate with wonder the genius of Rivarol. But we have +much to do. We must ship to St. Joseph the vast amount of material to +be employed in the construction of the Tachypomp. We must engage a small +army of workmen to effect that construction, for we are to annihilate +time and space. Perhaps you had better see your bankers." + +I rushed impetuously to the door. There should be no delay. + +"Stop! stop! _Um Gottes Willen_, stop!" shrieked Rivarol. "I launched my +butcher this morning and I haven't bolted the----" + +But it was too late. I was upon the trap. It swung open with a crash, +and I was plunged down, down, down! I felt as if I were falling through +illimitable space. I remember wondering, as I rushed through the +darkness, whether I should reach Kerguellen's Land or stop at the +centre. It seemed an eternity. Then my course was suddenly and painfully +arrested. + +I opened my eyes. Around me were the walls of Professor Surd's study. +Under me was a hard, unyielding plane which I knew too well was +Professor Surd's study floor. Behind me was the black, slippery, +hair-cloth chair which had belched me forth, much as the whale served +Jonah. In front of me stood Professor Surd himself, looking down with a +not unpleasant smile. + +"Good-evening, Mr. Furnace. Let me help you up. You look tired, sir. No +wonder you fell asleep when I kept you so long waiting. Shall I get you +a glass of wine? No? By the way, since receiving your letter I find +that you are a son of my old friend, Judge Furnace. I have made +inquiries, and see no reason why you should not make Abscissa a good +husband." + +Still I can see no reason why the Tachypomp should not have succeeded. +Can you? + + +[5] _Scribner's Monthly, March, 1874._ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Stories by American Authors, Volume 5, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES AMERICAN, VOL. 5 *** + +***** This file should be named 11437-8.txt or 11437-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/4/3/11437/ + +Produced by Stan Goodman and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: + https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + + diff --git a/old/11437-8.zip b/old/11437-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a2e15c3 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11437-8.zip diff --git a/old/11437.txt b/old/11437.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fb71b5c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11437.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5326 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Stories by American Authors, Volume 5, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stories by American Authors, Volume 5 + Contents: + A Light Man, By Henry James. + Yatil, By F.D. Millet. + The End Of New York, By Park Benjamin. + Why Thomas Was Discharged, By George Arnold. + The Tachypomp, By E.P. Mitchell + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 4, 2004 [EBook #11437] +[Date last updated: January 22, 2005] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES AMERICAN, VOL. 5 *** + + + + +Produced by Stan Goodman and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +[Illustration: H. James] + + + + +Stories by American Authors V. + + +A LIGHT MAN. + +By Henry James. + + +YATIL. + +By F.D. Millet. + + +THE END OF NEW YORK. + +By Park Benjamin. + + +WHY THOMAS WAS DISCHARGED. + +By George Arnold. + + +THE TACHYPOMP. + +By E.P. Mitchell. + + + + +1884 + + + + +A LIGHT MAN. + +BY Henry James.[1] + + + "And I--what I seem to my friend, you see-- + What I soon shall seem to his love, you guess. + What I seem to myself, do you ask of me? + No hero, I confess." + +_A Light Woman.--Browning's Men and Women_. + +April 4, 1857.--I have changed my sky without changing my mind. I resume +these old notes in a new world. I hardly know of what use they are; but +it's easier to stick to the habit than to drop it. I have been at home +now a week--at home, forsooth! And yet, after all, it is home. I am +dejected, I am bored, I am blue. How can a man be more at home than +that? Nevertheless, I am the citizen of a great country, and for that +matter, of a great city. I walked to-day some ten miles or so along +Broadway, and on the whole I don't blush for my native land. We are a +capable race and a good-looking withal; and I don't see why we +shouldn't prosper as well as another. This, by the way, ought to be a +very encouraging reflection. A capable fellow and a good-looking withal; +I don't see why he shouldn't die a millionaire. At all events he must do +something. When a man has, at thirty-two, a net income of considerably +less than nothing, he can scarcely hope to overtake a fortune before he +himself is overtaken by age and philosophy--two deplorable obstructions. +I am afraid that one of them has already planted itself in my path. What +am I? What do I wish? Whither do I tend? What do I believe? I am +constantly beset by these impertinent whisperings. Formerly it was +enough that I was Maximus Austin; that I was endowed with a cheerful +mind and a good digestion; that one day or another, when I had come to +the end, I should return to America and begin at the beginning; that, +meanwhile, existence was sweet in--in the Rue Tronchet. But now! Has the +sweetness really passed out of life? Have I eaten the plums and left +nothing but the bread and milk and corn-starch, or whatever the horrible +concoction is?--I had it to-day for dinner. Pleasure, at least, I +imagine--pleasure pure and simple, pleasure crude, brutal and +vulgar--this poor flimsy delusion has lost all its charm. I shall never +again care for certain things--and indeed for certain persons. Of such +things, of such persons, I firmly maintain, however, that I was never an +enthusiastic votary. It would be more to my credit, I suppose, if I had +been. More would be forgiven me if I had loved a little more, if into +all my folly and egotism I had put a little more _naivete_ and +sincerity. Well, I did the best I could, I was at once too bad and too +good for it all. At present, it's far enough off; I have put the sea +between us; I am stranded. I sit high and dry, scanning the horizon for +a friendly sail, or waiting for a high tide to set me afloat. The wave +of pleasure has deposited me here in the sand. Shall I owe my rescue to +the wave of pain? At moments I feel a kind of longing to expiate my +stupid little sins. I see, as through a glass, darkly, the beauty of +labor and love. Decidedly, I am willing to work. It's written. + +7th.--My sail is in sight; it's at hand; I have all but boarded the +vessel. I received this morning a letter from the best man in the world. +Here it is: + + DEAR MAX: I see this very moment, in an old newspaper which had + already passed through my hands without yielding up its most + precious item, the announcement of your arrival in New York. To + think of your having perhaps missed the welcome you had a right to + expect from me! Here it is, dear Max--as cordial as you please. + When I say I have just read of your arrival, I mean that twenty + minutes have elapsed by the clock. These have been spent in + conversation with my excellent friend Mr. Sloane--we having taken + the liberty of making you the topic. I haven't time to say more + about Frederick Sloane than that he is very anxious to make your + acquaintance, and that, if your time is not otherwise engaged, he + would like you very much to spend a month with him. He is an + excellent host, or I shouldn't be here myself. It appears that he + knew your mother very intimately, and he has a taste for visiting + the amenities of the parents upon the children; the original ground + of my own connection with him was that he had been a particular + friend of my father. You may have heard your mother speak of him. + He is a very strange old fellow, but you will like him. Whether or + no you come for his sake, come for mine. + + Yours always, THEODORE LISLE. + +Theodore's letter is of course very kind, but it's remarkably obscure. +My mother may have had the highest regard for Mr. Sloane, but she never +mentioned his name in my hearing. Who is he, what is he, and what is the +nature of his relations with Theodore? I shall learn betimes. I have +written to Theodore that I gladly accept (I believe I suppressed the +"gladly" though) his friend's invitation, and that I shall immediately +present myself. What can I do that is better? Speaking sordidly, I shall +obtain food and lodging while I look about me. I shall have a base of +operations. D., it appears, is a long day's journey, but enchanting when +you reach it. I am curious to see an enchanting American town. And to +stay a month! Mr. Frederick Sloane, whoever you are, _vous faites bien +les choses_, and the little that I know of you is very much to your +credit. You enjoyed the friendship of my dear mother, you possess the +esteem of the virtuous Theodore, you commend yourself to my own +affection. At this rate, I shall not grudge it. + +D--, 14th.--I have been here since Thursday evening--three days. As we +rattled up to the tavern in the village, I perceived from the top of the +coach, in the twilight, Theodore beneath the porch, scanning the +vehicle, with all his amiable disposition in his eyes. He has grown +older, of course, in these five years, but less so than I had expected. +His is one of those smooth, unwrinkled souls that keep their bodies fair +and fresh. As tall as ever, moreover, and as lean and clean. How short +and fat and dark and debauched he makes one feel! By nothing he says or +means, of course, but merely by his old unconscious purity and +simplicity--that slender straightness which makes him remind you of the +spire of an English abbey. He greeted me with smiles, and stares, and +alarming blushes. He assures me that he never would have known me, and +that five years have altered me--_sehr_! I asked him if it were for the +better? He looked at me hard for a moment, with his eyes of blue, and +then, for an answer, he blushed again. + +On my arrival we agreed to walk over from the village. He dismissed his +wagon with my luggage, and we went arm-in-arm through the dusk. The town +is seated at the foot of certain mountains, whose names I have yet to +learn, and at the head of a big sheet of water, which, as yet, too, I +know only as "the Lake." The road hitherward soon leaves the village and +wanders in rural loveliness by the margin of this expanse. Sometimes the +water is hidden by clumps of trees, behind which we heard it lapping and +gurgling in the darkness: sometimes it stretches out from your feet in +shining vagueness, as if it were tired of making, all day, a million +little eyes at the great stupid hills. The walk from the tavern takes +some half an hour, and in this interval Theodore made his position a +little more clear. Mr. Sloane is a rich old widower; his age is +seventy-two, and as his health is thoroughly broken, is practically even +greater; and his fortune--Theodore, characteristically, doesn't know +anything definite about that. It's probably about a million. He has +lived much in Europe, and in the "great world;" he has had adventures +and passions and all that sort of thing; and now, in the evening of his +days, like an old French diplomatist, he takes it into his head to write +his memoirs. To this end he has lured poor Theodore to his gruesome +side, to mend his pens for him. He has been a great scribbler, says +Theodore, all his days, and he proposes to incorporate a large amount of +promiscuous literary matter into these _souvenirs intimes_. Theodore's +principal function seems to be to get him to leave things out. In fact, +the poor youth seems troubled in conscience. His patron's lucubrations +have taken the turn of many other memoirs, and have ceased to address +themselves _virginibus puerisque_. On the whole, he declares they are a +very odd mixture--a medley of gold and tinsel, of bad taste and good +sense. I can readily understand it. The old man bores me, puzzles me, +and amuses me. + +He was in waiting to receive me. We found him in his library--which, by +the way, is simply the most delightful apartment that I ever smoked a +cigar in--a room arranged for a lifetime. At one end stands a great +fireplace, with a florid, fantastic mantelpiece in carved white +marble--an importation, of course, and, as one may say, an +interpolation; the groundwork of the house, the "fixtures," being +throughout plain, solid and domestic. Over the mantel-shelf is a large +landscape, a fine Gainsborough, full of the complicated harmonies of an +English summer. Beneath it stands a row of bronzes of the Renaissance +and potteries of the Orient. Facing the door, as you enter, is an +immense window set in a recess, with cushioned seats and large clear +panes, stationed as it were at the very apex of the lake (which forms an +almost perfect oval) and commanding a view of its whole extent. At the +other end, opposite the fireplace, the wall is studded, from floor to +ceiling, with choice foreign paintings, placed in relief against the +orthodox crimson screen. Elsewhere the walls are covered with books, +arranged neither in formal regularity nor quite helter-skelter, but in a +sort of genial incongruity, which tells that sooner or later each volume +feels sure of leaving the ranks and returning into different company. +Mr. Sloane makes use of his books. His two passions, according to +Theodore, are reading and talking; but to talk he must have a book in +his hand. The charm of the room lies in the absence of certain pedantic +tones--the browns, blacks and grays--which distinguish most libraries. +The apartment is of the feminine gender. There are half a dozen light +colors scattered about--pink in the carpet, tender blue in the curtains, +yellow in the chairs. The result is a general look of brightness and +lightness; it expresses even a certain cynicism. You perceive the place +to be the home, not of a man of learning, but of a man of fancy. + +He rose from his chair--the man of fancy, to greet me--the man of fact. +As I looked at him, in the lamplight, it seemed to me, for the first +five minutes, that I had seldom seen an uglier little person. It took me +five minutes to get the point of view; then I began to admire. He is +diminutive, or at best of my own moderate stature, and bent and +contracted with his seventy years; lean and delicate, moreover, and very +highly finished. He is curiously pale, with a kind of opaque yellow +pallor. Literally, it's a magnificent yellow. His skin is of just the +hue and apparent texture of some old crumpled Oriental scroll. I know a +dozen painters who would give more than they have to arrive at the exact +"tone" of his thick-veined, bloodless hands, his polished ivory +knuckles. His eyes are circled with red, but in the battered little +setting of their orbits they have the lustre of old sapphires. His nose, +owing to the falling away of other portions of his face, has assumed a +grotesque, unnatural prominence; it describes an immense arch, gleaming +like a piece of parchment stretched on ivory. He has, apparently, all +his teeth, but has muffled his cranium in a dead black wig; of course +he's clean shaven. In his dress he has a muffled, wadded look and an +apparent aversion to linen, inasmuch as none is visible on his person. +He seems neat enough, but not fastidious. At first, as I say, I fancied +him monstrously ugly; but on further acquaintance I perceived that what +I had taken for ugliness is nothing but the incomplete remains of +remarkable good looks. The line of his features is pure; his nose, +_caeteris paribus_, would be extremely handsome; his eyes are the oldest +eyes I ever saw, and yet they are wonderfully living. He has something +remarkably insinuating. + +He offered his two hands, as Theodore introduced me; I gave him my own, +and he stood smiling at me like some quaint old image in ivory and +ebony, scanning my face with a curiosity which he took no pains to +conceal. "God bless me," he said, at last, "how much you look like your +father!" I sat down, and for half an hour we talked of many things--of +my journey, of my impressions of America, of my reminiscences of Europe, +and, by implication, of my prospects. His voice is weak and cracked, but +he makes it express everything. Mr. Sloane is not yet in his dotage--oh +no! He nevertheless makes himself out a poor creature. In reply to an +inquiry of mine about his health, he favored me with a long list of his +infirmities (some of which are very trying, certainly) and assured me +that he was quite finished. + +"I live out of mere curiosity," he said. + +"I have heard of people dying from the same motive." + +He looked at me a moment, as if to ascertain whether I were laughing at +him. And then, after a pause, "Perhaps you don't know that I disbelieve +in a future life," he remarked, blandly. + +At these words Theodore got up and walked to the fire. + +"Well, we shan't quarrel about that," said I. Theodore turned round, +staring. + +"Do you mean that you agree with me?" the old man asked. + +"I certainly haven't come here to talk theology! Don't ask me to +disbelieve, and I'll never ask you to believe." + +"Come," cried Mr. Sloane, rubbing his hands, "you'll not persuade me you +are a Christian--like your friend Theodore there." + +"Like Theodore--assuredly not." And then, somehow, I don't know why, at +the thought of Theodore's Christianity I burst into a laugh. "Excuse me, +my dear fellow," I said, "you know, for the last ten years I have lived +in pagan lands." + +"What do you call pagan?" asked Theodore, smiling. + +I saw the old man, with his hands locked, eying me shrewdly, and waiting +for my answer. I hesitated a moment, and then I said, "Everything that +makes life tolerable!" + +Hereupon Mr. Sloane began to laugh till he coughed. Verily, I thought, +if he lives for curiosity, he's easily satisfied. + +We went into dinner, and this repast showed me that some of his +curiosity is culinary. I observed, by the way, that for a victim of +neuralgia, dyspepsia, and a thousand other ills, Mr. Sloane plies a most +inconsequential knife and fork. Sauces and spices and condiments seem to +be the chief of his diet. After dinner he dismissed us, in consideration +of my natural desire to see my friend in private. Theodore has capital +quarters--a downy bedroom and a snug little _salon_. We talked till near +midnight--of ourselves, of each other, and of the author of the memoirs, +down stairs. That is, I spoke of myself, and Theodore listened; and then +Theodore descanted upon Mr. Sloane, and I listened. His commerce with +the old man has sharpened his wits. Sloane has taught him to observe and +judge, and Theodore turns round, observes, judges--him! He has become +quite the critic and analyst. There is something very pleasant in the +discriminations of a conscientious mind, in which criticism is tempered +by an angelic charity. Only, it may easily end by acting on one's +nerves. At midnight we repaired to the library, to take leave of our +host till the morrow--an attention which, under all circumstances, he +rigidly exacts. As I gave him my hand he held it again and looked at me +as he had done on my arrival. "Bless my soul," he said, at last, "how +much you look like your mother!" + +To-night, at the end of my third day, I begin to feel decidedly at +home. The fact is, I am remarkably comfortable. The house is pervaded by +an indefinable, irresistible love of luxury and privacy. Mr. Frederick +Sloane is a horribly corrupt old mortal. Already in his relaxing +presence I have become heartily reconciled to doing nothing. But with +Theodore on one side--standing there like a tall interrogation-point--I +honestly believe I can defy Mr. Sloane on the other. The former asked me +this morning, with visible solicitude, in allusion to the bit of +dialogue I have quoted above on matters of faith, whether I am really a +materialist--whether I don't believe something? I told him I would +believe anything he liked. He looked at me a while, in friendly sadness. +"I hardly know whether you are not worse than Mr. Sloane," he said. + +But Theodore is, after all, in duty bound to give a man a long rope in +these matters. His own rope is one of the longest. He reads Voltaire +with Mr. Sloane, and Emerson in his own room. He is the stronger man of +the two; he has the larger stomach. Mr. Sloane delights, of course, in +Voltaire, but he can't read a line of Emerson. Theodore delights in +Emerson, and enjoys Voltaire, though he thinks him superficial. It +appears that since we parted in Paris, five years ago, his conscience +has dwelt in many lands. _C'est tout une histoire_--which he tells very +prettily. He left college determined to enter the church, and came +abroad with his mind full of theology and Tuebingen. He appears to have +studied, not wisely but too well. Instead of faith full-armed and +serene, there sprang from the labor of his brain a myriad sickly +questions, piping for answers. He went for a winter to Italy, where, I +take it, he was not quite so much afflicted as he ought to have been at +the sight of the beautiful spiritual repose that he had missed. It was +after this that we spent those three months together in Brittany--the +best-spent months of my long residence in Europe. Theodore inoculated +me, I think, with some of his seriousness, and I just touched him with +my profanity; and we agreed together that there were a few good things +left--health, friendship, a summer sky, and the lovely byways of an old +French province. He came home, searched the Scriptures once more, +accepted a "call," and made an attempt to respond to it. But the inner +voice failed him. His outlook was cheerless enough. During his absence +his married sister, the elder one, had taken the other to live with her, +relieving Theodore of the charge of contribution to her support. But +suddenly, behold the husband, the brother-in-law, dies, leaving a mere +figment of property; and the two ladies, with their two little girls, +are afloat in the wide world. Theodore finds himself at twenty-six +without an income, without a profession, and with a family of four +females to support. Well, in his quiet way he draws on his courage. The +history of the two years that passed before he came to Mr. Sloane is +really absolutely edifying. He rescued his sisters and nieces from the +deep waters, placed them high and dry, established them somewhere in +decent gentility--and then found at last that his strength had left +him--had dropped dead like an over-ridden horse. In short, he had worked +himself to the bone. It was now his sisters' turn. They nursed him with +all the added tenderness of gratitude for the past and terror of the +future, and brought him safely through a grievous malady. Meanwhile Mr. +Sloane, having decided to treat himself to a private secretary and +suffered dreadful mischance in three successive experiments, had heard +of Theodore's situation and his merits; had furthermore recognized in +him the son of an early and intimate friend, and had finally offered him +the very comfortable position he now occupies. There is a decided +incongruity between Theodore as a man--as Theodore, in fine--and the +dear fellow as the intellectual agent, confidant, complaisant, purveyor, +pander--what you will--of a battered old cynic and dilettante--a +worldling if there ever was one. There seems at first sight a perfect +want of agreement between his character and his function. One is gold +and the other brass, or something very like it. But on reflection I can +enter into it--his having, under the circumstances, accepted Mr. +Sloane's offer and been content to do his duties. _Ce que c'est de +nous!_ Theodore's contentment in such a case is a theme for the +moralist--a better moralist than I. The best and purest mortals are an +odd mixture, and in none of us does honesty exist on its own terms. +Ideally, Theodore hasn't the smallest business _dans cette galere_. It +offends my sense of propriety to find him here. I feel that I ought to +notify him as a friend that he has knocked at the wrong door, and that +he had better retreat before he is brought to the blush. However, I +suppose he might as well be here as reading Emerson "evenings" in the +back parlor, to those two very plain sisters--judging from their +photographs. Practically it hurts no one not to be too much of a prig. +Poor Theodore was weak, depressed, out of work. Mr. Sloane offers him a +lodging and a salary in return for--after all, merely a little tact. All +he has to do is to read to the old man, lay down the book a while, with +his finger in the place, and let him talk; take it up again, read +another dozen pages and submit to another commentary. Then to write a +dozen pages under his dictation--to suggest a word, polish off a period, +or help him out with a complicated idea or a half-remembered fact. This +is all, I say; and yet this is much. Theodore's apparent success proves +it to be much, as well as the old man's satisfaction. It is a part; he +has to simulate. He has to "make believe" a little--a good deal; he has +to put his pride in his pocket and send his conscience to the wash. He +has to be accommodating--to listen and pretend and flatter; and he does +it as well as many a worse man--does it far better than I. I might bully +the old man, but I don't think I could humor him. After all, however, +it is not a matter of comparative merit. In every son of woman there are +two men--the practical man and the dreamer. We live for our dreams--but, +meanwhile, we live by our wits. When the dreamer is a poet, the other +fellow is an artist. Theodore, at bottom, is only a man of taste. If he +were not destined to become a high priest among moralists, he might be a +prince among connoisseurs. He plays his part, therefore, artistically, +with spirit, with originality, with all his native refinement. How can +Mr. Sloane fail to believe that he possesses a paragon? He is no such +fool as not to appreciate a _nature distinguee_ when it comes in his +way. He confidentially assured me this morning that Theodore has the +most charming mind in the world, but that it's a pity he's so simple as +not to suspect it. If he only doesn't ruin him with his flattery! + +19th.--I am certainly fortunate among men. This morning when, +tentatively, I spoke of going away, Mr. Sloane rose from his seat in +horror and declared that for the present I must regard his house as my +home. "Come, come," he said, "when you leave this place where do you +intend to go?" Where, indeed? I graciously allowed Mr. Sloane to have +the best of the argument. Theodore assures me that he appreciates these +and other affabilities, and that I have made what he calls a "conquest" +of his venerable heart. Poor, battered, bamboozled old organ! he would +have one believe that it has a most tragical record of capture and +recapture. At all events, it appears that I am master of the citadel. +For the present I have no wish to evacuate. I feel, nevertheless, in +some far-off corner of my soul, that I ought to shoulder my victorious +banner and advance to more fruitful triumphs. + +I blush for my beastly laziness. It isn't that I am willing to stay here +a month, but that I am willing to stay here six. Such is the charming, +disgusting truth. Have I really outlived the age of energy? Have I +survived my ambition, my integrity, my self-respect? Verily, I ought to +have survived the habit of asking myself silly questions. I made up my +mind long ago to go in for nothing but present success; and I don't care +for that sufficiently to secure it at the cost of temporary suffering. I +have a passion for nothing--not even for life. I know very well the +appearance I make in the world. I pass for a clever, accomplished, +capable, good-natured fellow, who can do anything if he would only try. +I am supposed to be rather cultivated, to have latent talents. When I +was younger I used to find a certain entertainment in the spectacle of +human affairs. I liked to see men and women hurrying on each other's +heels across the stage. But I am sick and tired of them now; not that I +am a misanthrope, God forbid! They are not worth hating. I never knew +but one creature who was, and her I went and loved. To be consistent, I +ought to have hated my mother, and now I ought to detest Theodore. But I +don't--truly, on the whole, I don't--any more than I dote on him. I +firmly believe that it makes a difference to him, his idea that I _am_ +fond of him. He believes in that, as he believes in all the rest of +it--in my culture, my latent talents, my underlying "earnestness," my +sense of beauty and love of truth. Oh, for a _man_ among them all--a +fellow with eyes in his head--eyes that would know me for what I am and +let me see they had guessed it. Possibly such a fellow as that might get +a "rise" out of me. + +In the name of bread and butter, what am I to do? (I was obliged this +morning to borrow fifty dollars from Theodore, who remembered gleefully +that he has been owing me a trifling sum for the past four years, and in +fact has preserved a note to this effect.) Within the last week I have +hatched a desperate plan: I have made up my mind to take a wife--a rich +one, _bien entendu_. Why not accept the goods of the gods? It is not my +fault, after all, if I pass for a good fellow. Why not admit that +practically, mechanically--as I may say--maritally, I _may_ be a good +fellow? I warrant myself kind. I should never beat my wife; I don't +think I should even contradict her. Assume that her fortune has the +proper number of zeros and that she herself is one of them, and I can +even imagine her adoring me. I really think this is my only way. +Curiously, as I look back upon my brief career, it all seems to tend to +this consummation. It has its graceful curves and crooks, indeed, and +here and there a passionate tangent; but on the whole, if I were to +unfold it here _a la_ Hogarth, what better legend could I scrawl beneath +the series of pictures than So-and-So's Progress to a Mercenary +Marriage? + +Coming events do what we all know with their shadows. My noble fate is, +perhaps, not far off. I already feel throughout my person a magnificent +languor--as from the possession of many dollars. Or is it simply my +sense of well-being in this perfectly appointed house? Is it simply the +contact of the highest civilization I have known? At all events, the +place is of velvet, and my only complaint of Mr. Sloane is that, instead +of an old widower, he's not an old widow (or a young maid), so that I +might marry him, survive him, and dwell forever in this rich and mellow +home. As I write here, at my bedroom table, I have only to stretch out +an arm and raise the window-curtain to see the thick-planted garden +budding and breathing and growing in the silvery silence. Far above in +the liquid darkness rolls the brilliant ball of the moon; beneath, in +its light, lies the lake, in murmuring, troubled sleep; round about, the +mountains, looking strange and blanched, seem to bare their heads and +undrape their shoulders. So much for midnight. To-morrow the scene will +be lovely with the beauty of day. Under one aspect or another I have it +always before me. At the end of the garden is moored a boat, in which +Theodore and I have indulged in an immense deal of irregular +navigation. What lovely landward coves and bays--what alder-smothered +creeks--what lily-sheeted pools--what sheer steep hillsides, making the +water dark and quiet where they hang. I confess that in these excursions +Theodore looks after the boat and I after the scenery. Mr. Sloane avoids +the water--on account of the dampness, he says; because he's afraid of +drowning, I suspect. + +22d.--Theodore is right. The _bonhomme_ has taken me into his favor. I +protest I don't see how he was to escape it. _Je l'ai bien soigne_, as +they say in Paris. I don't blush for it. In one coin or another I must +repay his hospitality--which is certainly very liberal. Theodore dots +his _i_'s, crosses his _t_'s, verifies his quotations; while I set traps +for that famous "curiosity." This speaks vastly well for my powers. He +pretends to be surprised at nothing, and to possess in perfection--poor, +pitiable old fop--the art of keeping his countenance; but repeatedly, I +know, I have made him stare. As for his corruption, which I spoke of +above, it's a very pretty piece of wickedness, but it strikes me as a +purely intellectual matter. I imagine him never to have had any real +senses. He may have been unclean; morally, he's not very tidy now; but +he never can have been what the French call a _viveur_. He's too +delicate, he's of a feminine turn; and what woman was ever a _viveur_? +He likes to sit in his chair and read scandal, talk scandal, make +scandal, so far as he may without catching a cold or bringing on a +headache. I already feel as if I had known him a lifetime. I read him +as clearly as if I had. I know the type to which he belongs; I have +encountered, first and last, a good many specimens of it. He's neither +more nor less than a gossip--a gossip flanked by a coxcomb and an +egotist. He's shallow, vain, cold, superstitious, timid, pretentious, +capricious: a pretty list of foibles! And yet, for all this, he has his +good points. His caprices are sometimes generous, and his rebellion +against the ugliness of life frequently makes him do kind things. His +memory (for trifles) is remarkable, and (where his own performances are +not involved) his taste is excellent. He has no courage for evil more +than for good. He is the victim, however, of more illusions with regard +to himself than I ever knew a single brain to shelter. At the age of +twenty, poor, ignorant and remarkably handsome, he married a woman of +immense wealth, many years his senior. At the end of three years she +very considerately took herself off and left him to the enjoyment of his +freedom and riches. If he had remained poor he might from time to time +have rubbed at random against the truth, and would be able to recognize +the touch of it. But he wraps himself in his money as in a wadded +dressing-gown, and goes trundling through life on his little gold +wheels. The greater part of his career, from the time of his marriage +till about ten years ago, was spent in Europe, which, superficially, he +knows very well. He has lived in fifty places, known thousands of +people, and spent a very large fortune. At one time, I believe, he +spent considerably too much, trembled for an instant on the verge of a +pecuniary crash, but recovered himself, and found himself more +frightened than hurt, yet audibly recommended to lower his pitch. He +passed five years in a species of penitent seclusion on the lake of--I +forget what (his genius seems to be partial to lakes), and laid the +basis of his present magnificent taste for literature. I can't call him +anything but magnificent in this respect, so long as he must have his +punctuation done by a _nature distinguee_. At the close of this period, +by economy, he had made up his losses. His turning the screw during +those relatively impecunious years represents, I am pretty sure, the +only act of resolution of his life. It was rendered possible by his +morbid, his actually pusillanimous dread of poverty; he doesn't feel +safe without half a million between him and starvation. Meanwhile he had +turned from a young man into an old man; his health was broken, his +spirit was jaded, and I imagine, to do him justice, that he began to +feel certain natural, filial longings for this dear American mother of +us all. They say the most hopeless truants and triflers have come to it. +He came to it, at all events; he packed up his books and pictures and +gimcracks, and bade farewell to Europe. This house which he now occupies +belonged to his wife's estate. She had, for sentimental reasons of her +own, commended it to his particular care. On his return he came to see +it, liked it, turned a parcel of carpenters and upholsterers into it, +and by inhabiting it for nine years transformed it into the perfect +dwelling which I find it. Here he has spent all his time, with the +exception of a usual winter's visit to New York--a practice recently +discontinued, owing to the increase of his ailments and the projection +of these famous memoirs. His life has finally come to be passed in +comparative solitude. He tells of various distant relatives, as well as +intimate friends of both sexes, who used formerly to be entertained at +his cost; but with each of them, in the course of time, he seems to have +succeeded in quarrelling. Throughout life, evidently, he has had capital +fingers for plucking off parasites. Rich, lonely, and vain, he must have +been fair game for the race of social sycophants and cormorants; and +it's much to the credit of his sharpness and that instinct of +self-defence which nature bestows even on the weak, that he has not been +despoiled and _exploite_. Apparently they have all been bunglers. I +maintain that something is to be done with him still. But one must work +in obedience to certain definite laws. Doctor Jones, his physician, +tells me that in point of fact he has had for the past ten years an +unbroken series of favorites, _proteges_, heirs presumptive; but that +each, in turn, by some fatally false movement, has spilled his pottage. +The doctor declares, moreover, that they were mostly very common people. +Gradually the old man seems to have developed a preference for two or +three strictly exquisite intimates, over a throng of your vulgar +pensioners. His tardy literary schemes, too--fruit of his all but +sapless senility--have absorbed more and more of his time and attention. +The end of it all is, therefore, that Theodore and I have him quite to +ourselves, and that it behooves us to hold our porringers straight. + +Poor, pretentious old simpleton! It's not his fault, after all, that he +fancies himself a great little man. How are you to judge of the stature +of mankind when men have forever addressed you on their knees? Peace and +joy to his innocent fatuity! He believes himself the most rational of +men; in fact, he's the most superstitious. He fancies himself a +philosopher, an inquirer, a discoverer. He has not yet discovered that +he is a humbug, that Theodore is a prig, and that I am an adventurer. He +prides himself on his good manners, his urbanity, his knowing a rule of +conduct for every occasion in life. My private impression is that his +skinny old bosom contains unsuspected treasures of impertinence. He +takes his stand on his speculative audacity--his direct, undaunted gaze +at the universe; in truth, his mind is haunted by a hundred dingy +old-world spectres and theological phantasms. He imagines himself one of +the most solid of men; he is essentially one of the hollowest. He thinks +himself ardent, impulsive, passionate, magnanimous--capable of boundless +enthusiasm for an idea or a sentiment. It is clear to me that on no +occasion of disinterested action can he ever have done anything in +time. He believes, finally, that he has drained the cup of life to the +dregs; that he has known, in its bitterest intensity, every emotion of +which the human spirit is capable; that he has loved, struggled, +suffered. Mere vanity, all of it. He has never loved any one but +himself; he has never suffered from anything but an undigested supper or +an exploded pretension; he has never touched with the end of his lips +the vulgar bowl from which the mass of mankind quaffs its floods of joy +and sorrow. Well, the long and short of it all is, that I honestly pity +him. He may have given sly knocks in his life, but he can't hurt any one +now. I pity his ignorance, his weakness, his pusillanimity. He has +tasted the real sweetness of life no more than its bitterness; he has +never dreamed, nor experimented, nor dared; he has never known any but +mercenary affection; neither men nor women have risked aught for +_him_--for his good spirits, his good looks, his empty pockets. How I +should like to give him, for once, a real sensation! + +26th.--I took a row this morning with Theodore a couple of miles along +the lake, to a point where we went ashore and lounged away an hour in +the sunshine, which is still very comfortable. Poor Theodore seems +troubled about many things. For one, he is troubled about me: he is +actually more anxious about my future than I myself; he thinks better of +me than I do of myself; he is so deucedly conscientious, so scrupulous, +so averse to giving offence or to _brusquer_ any situation before it +has played itself out, that he shrinks from betraying his apprehensions +or asking direct questions. But I know that he would like very much to +extract from me some intimation that there is something under the sun I +should like to do. I catch myself in the act of taking--heaven forgive +me!--a half-malignant joy in confounding his expectations--leading his +generous sympathies off the scent by giving him momentary glimpses of my +latent wickedness. But in Theodore I have so firm a friend that I shall +have a considerable job if I ever find it needful to make him change his +mind about me. He admires me--that's absolute; he takes my low moral +tone for an eccentricity of genius, and it only imparts an extra +flavor--a _haut gout_--to the charm of my intercourse. Nevertheless, I +can see that he is disappointed. I have even less to show, after all +these years, than he had hoped. Heaven help us! little enough it must +strike him as being. What a contradiction there is in our being friends +at all! I believe we shall end with hating each other. It's all very +well now--our agreeing to differ, for we haven't opposed interests. But +if we should _really_ clash, the situation would be warm! I wonder, as +it is, that Theodore keeps his patience with me. His education since we +parted should tend logically to make him despise me. He has studied, +thought, suffered, loved--loved those very plain sisters and nieces. +Poor me! how should I be virtuous? I have no sisters, plain or +pretty!--nothing to love, work for, live for. My dear Theodore, if you +are going one of these days to despise me and drop me--in the name of +comfort, come to the point at once, and make an end of our state of +tension. + +He is troubled, too, about Mr. Sloane. His attitude toward the +_bonhomme_ quite passes my comprehension. It's the queerest jumble of +contraries. He penetrates him, disapproves of him--yet respects and +admires him. It all comes of the poor boy's shrinking New England +conscience. He's afraid to give his perceptions a fair chance, lest, +forsooth, they should look over his neighbor's wall. He'll not +understand that he may as well sacrifice the old reprobate for a lamb as +for a sheep. His view of the gentleman, therefore, is a perfect tissue +of cobwebs--a jumble of half-way sorrows, and wire-drawn charities, and +hair-breadth 'scapes from utter damnation, and sudden platitudes of +generosity--fit, all of it, to make an angel curse! + +"The man's a perfect egotist and fool," say I, "but I like him." Now +Theodore likes him--or rather wants to like him; but he can't reconcile +it to his self-respect--fastidious deity!--to like a fool. Why the deuce +can't he leave it alone altogether? It's a purely practical matter. +He ought to do the duties of his place all the better for having his +head clear of officious sentiment. I don't believe in disinterested +service; and Theodore is too desperately bent on preserving his +disinterestedness. With me it's different. I am perfectly free to love +the _bonhomme_--for a fool. I'm neither a scribe nor a Pharisee; I am +simply a student of the art of life. + +And then, Theodore is troubled about his sisters. He's afraid he's not +doing his duty by them. He thinks he ought to be with them--to be +getting a larger salary--to be teaching his nieces. I am not versed in +such questions. Perhaps he ought. + +May 3d.--This morning Theodore sent me word that he was ill and unable +to get up; upon which I immediately went in to see him. He had caught +cold, was sick and a little feverish. I urged him to make no attempt to +leave his room, and assured him that I would do what I could to +reconcile Mr. Sloane to his absence. This I found an easy matter. I read +to him for a couple of hours, wrote four letters--one in French--and +then talked for a while--a good while. I have done more talking, by the +way, in the last fortnight, than in any previous twelve months--much of +it, too, none of the wisest, nor, I may add, of the most superstitiously +veracious. In a little discussion, two or three days ago, with Theodore, +I came to the point and let him know that in gossiping with Mr. Sloane I +made no scruple, for our common satisfaction, of "coloring" more or +less. My confession gave him "that turn," as Mrs. Gamp would say, that +his present illness may be the result of it. Nevertheless, poor dear +fellow, I trust he will be on his legs to-morrow. This afternoon, +somehow, I found myself really in the humor of talking. There was +something propitious in the circumstances; a hard, cold rain without, a +wood-fire in the library, the _bonhomme_ puffing cigarettes in his +arm-chair, beside him a portfolio of newly imported prints and +photographs, and--Theodore tucked safely away in bed. Finally, when I +brought our _tete-a-tete_ to a close (taking good care not to overstay +my welcome) Mr. Sloane seized me by both hands and honored me with one +of his venerable grins. "Max," he said--"you must let me call you +Max--you are the most delightful man I ever knew." + +Verily, there's some virtue left in me yet. I believe I almost blushed. + +"Why didn't I know you ten years ago?" the old man went on. "There are +ten years lost." + +"Ten years ago I was not worth your knowing," Max remarked. + +"But I did know you!" cried the _bonhomme_. "I knew you in knowing your +mother." + +Ah! my mother again. When the old man begins that chapter I feel like +telling him to blow out his candle and go to bed. + +"At all events," he continued, "we must make the most of the years that +remain. I am a rotten old carcass, but I have no intention of dying. You +won't get tired of me and want to go away?" + +"I am devoted to you, sir," I said. "But I must be looking for some +occupation, you know." + +"Occupation? bother! I'll give you occupation. I'll give you wages." + +"I am afraid that you will want to give me the wages without the work." +And then I declared that I must go up and look at poor Theodore. + +The _bonhomme_ still kept my hands. "I wish very much that I could get +you to be as fond of me as you are of poor Theodore." + +"Ah, don't talk about fondness, Mr. Sloane. I don't deal much in that +article." + +"Don't you like my secretary?" + +"Not as he deserves." + +"Nor as he likes you, perhaps?" + +"He likes me more than I deserve." + +"Well, Max," my host pursued, "we can be good friends all the same. We +don't need a hocus-pocus of false sentiment. We are _men_, aren't +we?--men of sublime good sense." And just here, as the old man looked at +me, the pressure of his hands deepened to a convulsive grasp, and the +bloodless mask of his countenance was suddenly distorted with a nameless +fear. "Ah, my dear young man!" he cried, "come and be a son to me--the +son of my age and desolation! For God's sake, don't leave me to pine and +die alone!" + +I was greatly surprised--and I may add I was moved. Is it true, then, +that this dilapidated organism contains such measureless depths of +horror and longing? He has evidently a mortal fear of death. I assured +him on my honor that he may henceforth call upon me for any service. + +8th.--Theodore's little turn proved more serious than I expected. He has +been confined to his room till to-day. This evening he came down to the +library in his dressing-gown. Decidedly, Mr. Sloane is an eccentric, but +hardly, as Theodore thinks, a "charming" one. There is something +extremely curious in his humors and fancies--the incongruous fits and +starts, as it were, of his taste. For some reason, best known to +himself, he took it into his head to regard it as a want of delicacy, of +respect, of _savoir-vivre_--of heaven knows what--that poor Theodore, +who is still weak and languid, should enter the sacred precinct of his +study in the vulgar drapery of a dressing-gown. The sovereign trouble +with the _bonhomme_ is an absolute lack of the instinct of justice. He's +of the real feminine turn--I believe I have written it before--without +the redeeming fidelity of the sex. I honestly believe that I might come +into his study in my night-shirt and he would smile at it as a +picturesque _deshabille_. But for poor Theodore to-night there was +nothing but scowls and frowns, and barely a civil inquiry about his +health. But poor Theodore is not such a fool, either; he will not die of +a snubbing; I never said he was a weakling. Once he fairly saw from what +quarter the wind blew, he bore the master's brutality with the utmost +coolness and gallantry. Can it be that Mr. Sloane really wishes to drop +him? The delicious old brute! He understands favor and friendship only +as a selfish rapture--a reaction, an infatuation, an act of aggressive, +exclusive patronage. It's not a bestowal, with him, but a transfer, and +half his pleasure in causing his sun to shine is that--being wofully +near its setting--it will produce certain long fantastic shadows. He +wants to cast my shadow, I suppose, over Theodore; but fortunately I am +not altogether an opaque body. Since Theodore was taken ill he has been +into his room but once, and has sent him none but a dry little message +or two. I, too, have been much less attentive than I should have wished +to be; but my time has not been my own. It has been, every moment of it, +at the disposal of my host. He actually runs after me; he devours me; he +makes a fool of himself, and is trying hard to make one of me. I find +that he will bear--that, in fact, he actually enjoys--a sort of +unexpected contradiction. He likes anything that will tickle his fancy, +give an unusual tone to our relations, remind him of certain historical +characters whom he thinks he resembles. I have stepped into Theodore's +shoes, and done--with what I feel in my bones to be very inferior skill +and taste--all the reading, writing, condensing, transcribing and +advising that he has been accustomed to do. I have driven with the +_bonhomme_; played chess and cribbage with him; beaten him, bullied him, +contradicted him; forced him into going out on the water under my +charge. Who shall say, after this, that I haven't done my best to +discourage his advances, put myself in a bad light? As yet, my efforts +are vain; in fact they quite turn to my own confusion. Mr. Sloane is so +thankful at having escaped from the lake with his life that he looks +upon me as a preserver and protector. Confound it all; it's a bore! But +one thing is certain, it can't last forever. Admit that he _has_ cast +Theodore out and taken me in. He will speedily discover that he has made +a pretty mess of it, and that he had much better have left well enough +alone. He likes my reading and writing now, but in a month he will begin +to hate them. He will miss Theodore's better temper and better +knowledge--his healthy impersonal judgment. What an advantage that +well-regulated youth has over me, after all! I am for days, he is for +years; he for the long run, I for the short. I, perhaps, am intended for +success, but he is adapted for happiness. He has in his heart a tiny +sacred particle which leavens his whole being and keeps it pure and +sound--a faculty of admiration and respect. For him human nature is +still a wonder and a mystery; it bears a divine stamp--Mr. Sloane's +tawdry composition as well as the rest. + +13th.--I have refused, of course, to supplant Theodore further, in the +exercise of his functions, and he has resumed his morning labors with +Mr. Sloane. I, on my side, have spent these morning hours in scouring +the country on that capital black mare, the use of which is one of the +perquisites of Theodore's place. The days have been magnificent--the +heat of the sun tempered by a murmuring, wandering wind, the whole north +a mighty ecstasy of sound and verdure, the sky a far-away vault of +bended blue. Not far from the mill at M., the other end of the lake, I +met, for the third time, that very pretty young girl who reminds me so +forcibly of A.L. She makes so lavish a use of her eyes that I ventured +to stop and bid her good-morning. She seems nothing loath to an +acquaintance. She's a pure barbarian in speech, but her eyes are quite +articulate. These rides do me good; I was growing too pensive. + +There is something the matter with Theodore; his illness seems to have +left him strangely affected. He has fits of silent stiffness, +alternating with spasms of extravagant gayety. He avoids me at times for +hours together, and then he comes and looks at me with an inscrutable +smile, as if he were on the verge of a burst of confidence--which again +is swallowed up in the immensity of his dumbness. Is he hatching some +astounding benefit to his species? Is he working to bring about my +removal to a higher sphere of action? _Nous verrons bien_. + +18th.--Theodore threatens departure. He received this morning a letter +from one of his sisters--the young widow--announcing her engagement to a +clergyman whose acquaintance she has recently made, and intimating her +expectation of an immediate union with the gentleman--a ceremony which +would require Theodore's attendance. Theodore, in high good humor, read +the letter aloud at breakfast--and, to tell the truth, it was a charming +epistle. He then spoke of his having to go on to the wedding, a +proposition to which Mr. Sloane graciously assented--much more than +assented. "I shall be sorry to lose you, after so happy a connection," +said the old man. Theodore turned pale, stared a moment, and then, +recovering his color and his composure, declared that he should have no +objection in life to coming back. + +"Bless your soul!" cried the _bonhomme_, "you don't mean to say you will +leave your other sister all alone?" + +To which Theodore replied that he would arrange for her and her little +girl to live with the married pair. "It's the only proper thing," he +remarked, as if it were quite settled. Has it come to this, then, that +Mr. Sloane actually wants to turn him out of the house? The shameless +old villain! He keeps smiling an uncanny smile, which means, as I read +it, that if the poor young man once departs he shall never return on the +old footing--for all his impudence! + +20th.--This morning, at breakfast, we had a terrific scene. A letter +arrives for Theodore; he opens it, turns white and red, frowns, falters, +and then informs us that the clever widow has broken off her engagement. +No wedding, therefore, and no departure for Theodore. The _bonhomme_ was +furious. In his fury he took the liberty of calling poor Mrs. Parker +(the sister) a very uncivil name. Theodore rebuked him, with perfect +good taste, and kept his temper. + +"If my opinions don't suit you, Mr. Lisle," the old man broke out, "and +my mode of expressing them displeases you, you know you can easily +protect yourself." + +"My dear Mr. Sloane," said Theodore, "your opinions, as a general thing, +interest me deeply, and have never ceased to act beneficially upon the +formation of my own. Your mode of expressing them is always brilliant, +and I wouldn't for the world, after all our pleasant intercourse, +separate from you in bitterness. Only, I repeat, your qualification of +my sister's conduct is perfectly uncalled for. If you knew her, you +would be the first to admit it." + +There was something in Theodore's look and manner, as he said these +words, which puzzled me all the morning. After dinner, finding myself +alone with him, I told him I was glad he was not obliged to go away. He +looked at me with the mysterious smile I have mentioned, thanked me, and +fell into meditation. As this bescribbled chronicle is the record of my +follies as well of my _hauts faits_, I needn't hesitate to say that for +a moment I was a good deal vexed. What business has this angel of candor +to deal in signs and portents, to look unutterable things? What right +has he to do so with me especially, in whom he has always professed an +absolute confidence? Just as I was about to cry out, "Come, my dear +fellow, this affectation of mystery has lasted quite long enough--favor +me at last with the result of your cogitations!"--as I was on the point +of thus expressing my impatience of his ominous behavior, the oracle at +last addressed itself to utterance. + +"You see, my dear Max," he said, "I can't, in justice to myself, go away +in obedience to the sort of notice that was served on me this morning. +What do you think of my actual footing here?" + +Theodore's actual footing here seems to me impossible; of course I said +so. + +"No, I assure you it's not," he answered. "I should, on the contrary, +feel very uncomfortable to think that I had come away, except by my own +choice. You see a man can't afford to cheapen himself. What are you +laughing at?" + +"I am laughing, in the first place, my dear fellow, to hear on your lips +the language of cold calculation; and in the second place, at your odd +notion of the process by which a man keeps himself up in the market." + +"I assure you it's the correct notion. I came here as a particular favor +to Mr. Sloane; it was expressly understood so. The sort of work was +odious to me; I had regularly to break myself in. I had to trample on my +convictions, preferences, prejudices. I don't take such things easily; I +take them hard; and when once the effort has been made, I can't consent +to have it wasted. If Mr. Sloane needed me then, he needs me still. I am +ignorant of any change having taken place in his intentions, or in his +means of satisfying them. I came, not to amuse him, but to do a certain +work; I hope to remain until the work is completed. To go away sooner +is to make a confession of incapacity which, I protest, costs me too +much. I am too conceited, if you like." + +Theodore spoke these words with a face which I have never seen him +wear--a fixed, mechanical smile; a hard, dry glitter in his eyes; a +harsh, strident tone in his voice--in his whole physiognomy a gleam, as +it were, a note of defiance. Now I confess that for defiance I have +never been conscious of an especial relish. When I am defied I am +beastly. "My dear man," I replied, "your sentiments do you prodigious +credit. Your very ingenious theory of your present situation, as well as +your extremely pronounced sense of your personal value, are calculated +to insure you a degree of practical success which can very well dispense +with the furtherance of my poor good wishes." Oh, the grimness of his +visage as he listened to this, and, I suppose I may add, the grimness of +mine! But I have ceased to be puzzled. Theodore's conduct for the past +ten days is suddenly illumined with a backward, lurid ray. I will note +down here a few plain truths which it behooves me to take to +heart--commit to memory. Theodore is jealous of Maximus Austin. Theodore +hates the said Maximus. Theodore has been seeking for the past three +months to see his name written, last but not least, in a certain +testamentary document: "Finally, I bequeath to my dear young friend, +Theodore Lisle, in return for invaluable services and unfailing +devotion, the bulk of my property, real and personal, consisting of--" +(hereupon follows an exhaustive enumeration of houses, lands, public +securities, books, pictures, horses, and dogs). It is for this that he +has toiled, and watched, and prayed; submitted to intellectual weariness +and spiritual torture; accommodated himself to levity, blasphemy, and +insult. For this he sets his teeth and tightens his grasp; for this +he'll fight. Dear me, it's an immense weight off one's mind! There are +nothing, then, but vulgar, common laws; no sublime exceptions, no +transcendent anomalies. Theodore's a knave, a hypo--nay, nay; stay, +irreverent hand!--Theodore's a _man_! Well, that's all I want. _He_ +wants fight--he shall have it. Have I got, at last, my simple, natural +emotion? + +21st.--I have lost no time. This evening, late, after I had heard +Theodore go to his room (I had left the library early, on the pretext of +having letters to write), I repaired to Mr. Sloane, who had not yet gone +to bed, and informed him I should be obliged to leave him at once, and +pick up a subsistence somehow in New York. He felt the blow; it brought +him straight down on his marrow-bones. He went through the whole gamut +of his arts and graces; he blustered, whimpered, entreated, flattered. +He tried to drag in Theodore's name; but this I, of course, prevented. +But, finally, why, _why_, WHY, after all my promises of fidelity, must I +thus cruelly desert him? Then came my trump card: I have spent my last +penny; while I stay, I'm a beggar. The remainder of this extraordinary +scene I have no power to describe: how the _bonhomme_, touched, +inflamed, inspired, by the thought of my destitution, and at the same +time annoyed, perplexed, bewildered at having to commit himself to doing +anything for me, worked himself into a nervous frenzy which deprived him +of a clear sense of the value of his words and his actions; how I, +prompted by the irresistible spirit of my desire to leap astride of his +weakness and ride it hard to the goal of my dreams, cunningly contrived +to keep his spirit at the fever-point, so that strength and reason and +resistance should burn themselves out. I shall probably never again have +such a sensation as I enjoyed to-night--actually feel a heated human +heart throbbing and turning and struggling in my grasp; know its pants, +its spasms, its convulsions, and its final senseless quiescence. At +half-past one o'clock Mr. Sloane got out of his chair, went to his +secretary, opened a private drawer, and took out a folded paper. "This +is my will," he said, "made some seven weeks ago. If you will stay with +me I will destroy it." + +"Really, Mr. Sloane," I said, "if you think my purpose is to exert any +pressure upon your testamentary inclinations--" + +"I will tear it in pieces," he cried; "I will burn it up! I shall be as +sick as a dog to-morrow; but I will do it. A-a-h!" + +He clapped his hand to his side, as if in sudden, overwhelming pain, +and sank back fainting into his chair. A single glance assured me that +he was unconscious. I possessed myself of the paper, opened it, and +perceived that he had left everything to his saintly secretary. For an +instant a savage, puerile feeling of hate popped up in my bosom, and I +came within a hair's-breadth of obeying my foremost impulse--that of +stuffing the document into the fire. Fortunately, my reason overtook my +passion, though for a moment it was an even race. I put the paper back +into the bureau, closed it, and rang the bell for Robert (the old man's +servant). Before he came I stood watching the poor, pale remnant of +mortality before me, and wondering whether those feeble life-gasps were +numbered. He was as white as a sheet, grimacing with pain--horribly +ugly. Suddenly he opened his eyes; they met my own; I fell on my knees +and took his hands. They closed on mine with a grasp strangely akin to +the rigidity of death. Nevertheless, since then he has revived, and has +relapsed again into a comparatively healthy sleep. Robert seems to know +how to deal with him. + +22d.--Mr. Sloane is seriously ill--out of his mind and unconscious of +people's identity. The doctor has been here, off and on, all day, but +this evening reports improvement. I have kept out of the old man's room, +and confined myself to my own, reflecting largely upon the chance of his +immediate death. Does Theodore know of the will? Would it occur to him +to divide the property? Would it occur to me, in his place? We met at +dinner, and talked in a grave, desultory, friendly fashion. After all, +he's an excellent fellow. I don't hate him. I don't even dislike him. He +jars on me, _il m'agace_; but that's no reason why I should do him an +evil turn. Nor shall I. The property is a fixed idea, that's all. I +shall get it if I can. We are fairly matched. Before heaven, no, we are +not fairly matched! Theodore has a conscience. + +23d.--I am restless and nervous--and for good reasons. Scribbling here +keeps me quiet. This morning Mr. Sloane is better; feeble and uncertain +in mind, but unmistakably on the rise. I may confess now that I feel +relieved of a horrid burden. Last night I hardly slept a wink. I lay +awake listening to the pendulum of my clock. It seemed to say, "He +lives--he dies." I fully expected to hear it stop suddenly at _dies_. +But it kept going all the morning, and to a decidedly more lively tune. +In the afternoon the old man sent for me. I found him in his great +muffled bed, with his face the color of damp chalk, and his eyes glowing +faintly, like torches half stamped out. I was forcibly struck with the +utter loneliness of his lot. For all human attendance, my villainous +self grinning at his bedside and old Robert without, listening, +doubtless, at the keyhole. The _bonhomme_ stared at me stupidly; then +seemed to know me, and greeted me with a sickly smile. It was some +moments before he was able to speak. At last he faintly bade me to +descend into the library, open the secret drawer of the secretary (which +he contrived to direct me how to do), possess myself of his will, and +burn it up. He appears to have forgotten his having taken it out night +before last. I told him that I had an insurmountable aversion to any +personal dealings with the document. He smiled, patted the back of my +hand, and requested me, in that case, to get it, at least, and bring it +to him. I couldn't deny him that favor? No, I couldn't, indeed. I went +down to the library, therefore, and on entering the room found Theodore +standing by the fireplace with a bundle of papers. The secretary was +open. I stood still, looking from the violated cabinet to the documents +in his hand. Among them I recognized, by its shape and size, the paper +of which I had intended to possess myself. Without delay I walked +straight up to him. He looked surprised, but not confused. "I am afraid +I shall have to trouble you to surrender one of those papers," I said. + +"Surrender, Maximus? To anything of your own you are perfectly welcome. +I didn't know that you made use of Mr. Sloane's secretary. I was looking +for some pages of notes which I have made myself and in which I conceive +I have a property." + +"This is what I want, Theodore," I said; and I drew the will, unfolded, +from between his hands. As I did so his eyes fell upon the +superscription, "Last Will and Testament, March. F.S." He flushed an +extraordinary crimson. Our eyes met. Somehow--I don't know how or why, +or for that matter why not--I burst into a violent peal of laughter. +Theodore stood staring, with two hot, bitter tears in his eyes. + +"Of course you think I came to ferret out that thing," he said. + +I shrugged my shoulders--those of my body only. I confess, morally, I +was on my knees with contrition, but there was a fascination in it--a +fatality. I remembered that in the hurry of my movements the other +evening I had slipped the will simply into one of the outer drawers of +the cabinet, among Theodore's own papers. "Mr. Sloane sent me for it," I +remarked. + +"Very good; I am glad to hear he's well enough to think of such things." + +"He means to destroy it." + +"I hope, then, he has another made." + +"Mentally, I suppose he has." + +"Unfortunately, his weakness isn't mental--or exclusively so." + +"Oh, he will live to make a dozen more," I said. "Do you know the +purport of this one?" + +Theodore's color, by this time, had died away into plain white. He shook +his head. The doggedness of the movement provoked me, and I wished to +arouse his curiosity. "I have his commission to destroy it." + +Theodore smiled very grandly. "It's not a task I envy you," he said. + +"I should think not--especially if you knew the import of the will." He +stood with folded arms, regarding me with his cold, detached eyes. I +couldn't stand it. "Come, it's your property! You are sole legatee. I +give it up to you." And I thrust the paper into his hand. + +He received it mechanically; but after a pause, bethinking himself, he +unfolded it and cast his eyes over the contents. Then he slowly smoothed +it together and held it a moment with a tremulous hand. "You say that +Mr. Sloane directed you to destroy it?" he finally inquired. + +"I say so." + +"And that you know the contents?" + +"Exactly." + +"And that you were about to do what he asked you?" + +"On the contrary, I declined." + +Theodore fixed his eyes for a moment on the superscription and then +raised them again to my face. "Thank you, Max," he said. "You have left +me a real satisfaction." He tore the sheet across and threw the bits +into the fire. We stood watching them burn. "Now he can make another," +said Theodore. + +"Twenty others," I replied. + +"No," said Theodore, "you will take care of that." + +"You are very bitter," I said, sharply enough. + +"No, I am perfectly indifferent. Farewell." And he put out his hand. + +"Are you going away?" + +"Of course I am. Good-by." + +"Good-by, then. But isn't your departure rather sudden?" + +"I ought to have gone three weeks ago--three weeks ago." I had taken his +hand, he pulled it away; his voice was trembling--there were tears in +it. + +"Is _that_ indifference?" I asked. + +"It's something you will never know!" he cried. "It's shame! I am not +sorry you should see what I feel. It will suggest to you, perhaps, that +my heart has never been in this filthy contest. Let me assure you, at +any rate, that it hasn't; that it has had nothing but scorn for the base +perversion of my pride and my ambition. I could easily shed tears of joy +at their return--the return of the prodigals! Tears of sorrow--sorrow--" + +He was unable to go on. He sank into a chair, covering his face with his +hands. + +"For God's sake, stick to the joy!" I exclaimed. + +He rose to his feet again. "Well," he said, "it was for your sake that I +parted with my self-respect; with your assistance I recover it." + +"How for my sake?" + +"For whom but you would I have gone as far as I did? For what other +purpose than that of keeping our friendship whole would I have borne you +company into this narrow pass? A man whom I cared for less I would long +since have parted with. You were needed--you and something you have +about you that always takes me so--to bring me to this. You ennobled, +exalted, enchanted the struggle. I _did_ value my prospect of coming +into Mr. Sloane's property. I valued it for my poor sister's sake as +well as for my own, so long as it was the natural reward of +conscientious service, and not the prize of hypocrisy and cunning. With +another man than you I never would have contested such a prize. But you +fascinated me, even as my rival. You played with me, deceived me, +betrayed me. I held my ground, hoping you would see that what you were +doing was not fair. But if you have seen it, it has made no difference +with you. For Mr. Sloane, from the moment that, under your magical +influence, he revealed his nasty little nature, I had nothing but +contempt." + +"And for me now?" + +"Don't ask me. I don't trust myself." + +"Hate, I suppose." + +"Is that the best you can imagine? Farewell." + +"Is it a serious farewell--farewell forever?" + +"How can there be any other?" + +"I am sorry this should be your point of view. It's characteristic. All +the more reason then that I should say a word in self-defence. You +accuse me of having 'played with you, deceived you, betrayed you.' It +seems to me that you are quite beside the mark. You say you were such a +friend of mine; if so, you ought to be one still. It was not to my fine +sentiments you attached yourself, for I never had any or pretended to +any. In anything I have done recently, therefore, there has been no +inconsistency. I never pretended to take one's friendships so seriously. +I don't understand the word in the sense you attach to it. I don't +understand the feeling of affection between men. To me it means quite +another thing. You give it a meaning of your own; you enjoy the profit +of your invention; it's no more than just that you should pay the +penalty. Only it seems to me rather hard that _I_ should pay it." +Theodore remained silent, but he looked quite sick. "Is it still a +'serious farewell'?" I went on. "It seems a pity. After this clearing +up, it appears to me that I shall be on better terms with you. No man +can have a deeper appreciation of your excellent parts, a keener +enjoyment of your society. I should very much regret the loss of it." + +"Have we, then, all this while understood each other so little?" said +Theodore. + +"Don't say 'we' and 'each other.' I think I have understood you." + +"Very likely. It's not for my having kept anything back." + +"Well, I do you justice. To me you have always been over-generous. Try +now and be just." + +Still he stood silent, with his cold, hard frown; it was plain that, if +he was to come back to me, it would be from the other world--if there be +one! What he was going to answer I know not. The door opened, and Robert +appeared, pale, trembling, his eyes starting in his head. + +"I verily believe that poor Mr. Sloane is dead in his bed!" he cried. + +There was a moment's perfect silence. "Amen," said I. "Yes, old boy, try +and be just." Mr. Sloane had quietly died in my absence. + +24th.--Theodore went up to town this morning, having shaken hands with +me in silence before he started. Doctor Jones, and Brooks the attorney, +have been very officious, and, by their advice, I have telegraphed to a +certain Miss Meredith, a maiden lady, by their account the nearest of +kin; or, in other words, simply a discarded niece of the defunct. She +telegraphs back that she will arrive in person for the funeral. I shall +remain till she comes. I have lost a fortune, but have I irretrievably +lost a friend? I am sure I can't say. Yes, I shall wait for Miss +Meredith. + + +[1] _The Galaxy, July_, 1869. + + + + +YATIL.[2] + +BY F.D. MILLET. + +While in Paris, in the spring of 1878, I witnessed an accident in a +circus, which for a time made me renounce all athletic exhibitions. Six +horses were stationed side by side in the ring before a spring-board, +and the whole company of gymnasts ran and turned somersaults from the +spring over the horses, alighting on a mattress spread on the ground. +The agility of one finely developed young fellow excited great applause +every time he made the leap. He would shoot forward in the air like a +javelin, and in his flight curl up and turn over directly above the +mattress, dropping on his feet as lightly as a bird. This play went on +for some minutes, and at each round of applause the favorite seemed to +execute his leap with increased skill and grace. Finally, he was seen to +gather himself a little farther in the background than usual, evidently +to prepare for a better start. The instant his turn came he shot out of +the crowd of attendants and launched himself into the air with +tremendous momentum. Almost quicker than the eye could follow him, he +had turned and was dropping to the ground, his arms held above his head, +which hung slightly forward, and his legs stretched to meet the shock of +the elastic mattress. + +But this time he had jumped an inch too far. His feet struck just on the +edge of the mattress, and he was thrown violently forward, doubling up +on the ground with a dull thump, which was heard all over the immense +auditorium. He remained a second or two motionless, then sprang to his +feet, and as quickly sank to the ground again. The ring attendants and +two or three gymnasts rushed to him and took him up. The clown, in +evening dress, personating the mock ringmaster, the conventional spotted +merryman, and a stalwart gymnast in buff fleshings, bore the drooping +form of the favorite in their arms, and, followed by the bystanders, who +offered ineffectual assistance, carried the wounded man across the ring +and through the draped arch under the music gallery. Under any other +circumstances the group would have excited a laugh, for the audience was +in that condition of almost hysterical excitement when only the least +effort of a clown is necessary to cause a wave of laughter. But the +moment the wounded man was lifted from the ground, the whole strong +light from the brilliant chandelier struck full on his right leg +dangling from the knee, with the foot hanging limp and turned inward. A +deep murmur of sympathy swelled and rolled around the crowded +amphitheatre. + +I left the circus, and hundreds of others did the same. A dozen of us +called at the box-office to ask about the victim of the accident. He was +advertised as "The Great Polish Champion Bareback Rider and Aerial +Gymnast." We found that he was really a native of the East, whether Pole +or Russian the ticket-seller did not know. His real name was Nagy, and +he had been engaged only recently, having returned a few months before +from a professional tour in North America. He was supposed to have +money, for he commanded a good salary, and was sober and faithful. The +accident, it was said, would probably disable him for a few weeks only, +and then he would resume his engagement. + +The next day an account of the accident was in the newspapers, and +twenty-four hours later all Paris had forgotten about it. For some +reason or other I frequently thought of the injured man, and had an +occasional impulse to go and inquire after him; but I never went. It +seemed to me that I had seen his face before, when or where I tried in +vain to recall. It was not an impressive face, but I could call it up at +any moment as distinct to my mind's eye as a photograph to my physical +vision. Whenever I thought of him, a dim, very dim memory would flit +through my mind, which I could never seize and fix. + +Two months later I was walking up the Rue Richelieu, when some one, +close beside me and a little behind, asked me in Hungarian if I was a +Magyar. I turned quickly to answer no, surprised at being thus +addressed, and beheld the disabled circus-rider. It flashed upon me, the +moment I saw his face, that I had seen him in Turin three years before. +My surprise at the sudden identification of the gymnast was construed by +him into vexation at being spoken to by a stranger. He began to +apologize for stopping me, and was moving away, when I asked him about +the accident, remarking that I was present on the evening of his +misfortune. My next question, put in order to detain him, was: + +"Why did you ask if I was a Hungarian?" + +"Because you wear a Hungarian hat," was the reply. + +This was true. I happened to have on a little round, soft felt hat, +which I had purchased in Buda Pesth. + +"Well, but what if I were Hungarian?" + +"Nothing; only I was lonely and wanted company, and you looked as if I +had seen you somewhere before. You are an artist, are you not?" + +I said I was, and asked him how he guessed it. + +"I can't explain how it is," he said, "but I always know them. Are you +doing anything?" + +"No," I replied. + +"Perhaps I may get you something to do," he suggested. "What is your +line?" + +"Figures," I answered, unable to divine how he thought he could assist +me. + +This reply seemed to puzzle him a little, and he continued: + +"Do you ride or do the trapeze?" + +It was my turn now to look dazed, and it might easily have been +gathered, from my expression, that I was not flattered at being taken +for a saw-dust artist. However, as he apparently did not notice any +change in my face, I explained without further remark that I was a +painter. The explanation did not seem to disturb him any; he was +evidently acquainted with the profession, and looked upon it as kindred +to his own. + +As we walked along through the great open quadrangle of the Tuileries, I +had an opportunity of studying his general appearance. He was neatly +dressed, and, though pale, was apparently in good health. +Notwithstanding a painful limp his carriage was erect, and his movements +denoted great physical strength. On the bridge over the Seine we paused +for a moment and leaned on the parapet, and thus, for the first time, +stood nearly face to face. He looked earnestly at me a moment without +speaking, and then, shouting "_Torino_" so loudly and earnestly as to +attract the gaze of all the passers, he seized me by the hand, and +continued to shake it and repeat "_Torino_" over and over again. + +This word cleared up my befogged memory like magic. There was no longer +any mystery about the man before me. The impulse which now drew us +together was only the unconscious souvenir of an earlier acquaintance, +for we had met before. With the vision of the Italian city, which came +distinctly to my eyes at that moment, came also to my mind every detail +of an incident which had long since passed entirely from my thoughts. + +It was during the Turin carnival, in 1875, that I happened to stop over +for a day and a night, on my way down from Paris to Venice. The festival +was uncommonly dreary, for the air was chilly, the sky gray and gloomy, +and there was a total lack of spontaneity in the popular spirit. The +gaudy decorations of the Piazza and the Corso, the numberless shows and +booths, and the brilliant costumes, could not make it appear a season of +jollity and mirth, for the note of discord in the hearts of the people +was much too strong. King Carnival's might was on the wane, and neither +the influence of the Church nor the encouragement of the State was able +to bolster up the superannuated monarch. There was no communicativeness +in even what little fun there was going, and the day was a long and a +tedious one. As I was strolling around in rather a melancholy mood, just +at the close of the cavalcade, I saw the flaming posters of a circus, +and knew my day was saved, for I had a great fondness for the ring. An +hour later I was seated in the cheerfully lighted amphitheatre, and the +old performance of the trained stallions was going on as I had seen it a +hundred times before. At last the "Celebrated Cypriot Brothers, the +Universal Bareback Riders," came tripping gracefully into the ring, +sprang lightly upon two black horses, and were off around the narrow +circle like the wind, now together, now apart, performing all the while +marvellous feats of strength and skill. It required no study to discover +that there was no relationship between the two performers. One of them +was a heavy, gross, dark-skinned man, with the careless bearing of one +who had been nursed in a circus. The other was a small, fair-haired +youth of nineteen or twenty years, with limbs as straight and as shapely +as the Narcissus, and with joints like the wiry-limbed fauns. His head +was round, and his face of a type which would never be called beautiful, +although it was strong in feature and attractive in expression. His eyes +were small and twinkling, his eyebrows heavy, and his mouth had a +peculiar proud curl in it which was never disturbed by the tame smile of +the practised performer. He was evidently a foreigner. He went through +his acts with wonderful readiness and with slight effort, and, while +apparently enjoying keenly the exhilaration of applause, he showed no +trace of the _blase_ bearing of the old stager. In nearly every act that +followed he took a prominent part. On the trapeze, somersaulting over +horses placed side by side, grouping with his so-called brother and a +small lad, he did his full share of the work, and when the programme +was ended he came among the audience to sell photographs while the +lottery was being drawn. + +As usual during the carnival, there was a lottery arranged by the +manager of the circus, and every ticket had a number which entitled the +holder to a chance in the prizes. When the young gymnast came in turn to +me, radiant in his salmon fleshings and blue trunks, with slippers and +bows to match, I could not help asking him if he was an Italian. + +"No, signor, Magyar!" he replied, and I shortly found that his knowledge +of Italian was limited to a dozen words. I occupied him by selecting +some photographs, and, much to his surprise, spoke to him in his native +tongue. When he learned I had been in Hungary he was greatly pleased, +and the impatience of other customers for the photographs was the only +thing that prevented him from becoming communicative immediately. As he +left me I slipped into his hand my lottery-ticket, with the remark that +I never had any luck, and hoped he would. + +The numbers were, meanwhile, rapidly drawn, the prizes being arranged in +the order of their value, each ticket taken from the hat denoting a +prize, until all were distributed. "Number twenty-eight--a pair of +elegant vases!" "Number sixteen--three bottles of vermouth!" "Number one +hundred and eighty-four--candlesticks and two bottles of vermouth!" +"Number four hundred and ten--three bottles of vermouth and a set of +jewelry!" "Number three hundred and nineteen--five bottles of vermouth!" +and so on, with more bottles of vermouth than anything else. Indeed, +each prize had to be floated on a few litres of the Turin specialty, and +I began to think that perhaps it would have been better, after all, not +to have given my circus friend the ticket, if he were to draw drink with +it. + +Many prizes were called out, and at last only two numbers remained. The +excitement was now intense, and it did not diminish when the conductor +of the lottery announced that the last two numbers would draw the two +great prizes of the evening, namely: An order on a Turin tailor for a +suit of clothes, and an order on a jeweller for a gold watch and chain. +The first of these two last numbers was taken out of the hat. + +"Number twenty-five--order for a suit of clothes!" was the announcement. + +Twenty-five had been the number of my ticket. I did not hear the last +number drawn, for the Hungarian was in front of my seat trying to press +the order on me, and protesting against appropriating my good luck. I +wrote my name on the programme for him, with the simple address, U.S.A., +persuaded him to accept the windfall, and went home. The next morning I +left town. + +On the occasion of our mutual recognition in Paris, the circus boy began +to relate, as soon as the first flush of his surprise was over, the +story of his life since the incident in Turin. He had been to New York +and Boston, and all the large sea-coast towns; to Chicago, St. Louis, +and even to San Francisco; always with a circus company. Whenever he had +had an opportunity in the United States, he had asked for news of me. + +"The United States is so large!" he said, with a sigh. "Every one told +me that, when I showed the Turin programme with your name on it." + +The reason why he had kept the programme and tried to find me in America +was because the lottery ticket had been the direct means of his +emigration, and, in fact, the first piece of good fortune that had +befallen him since he left his native town. When he joined the circus he +was an apprentice, and beside a certain number of hours of gymnastic +practice daily and service in the ring both afternoon and evening, he +had half a dozen horses to care for, his part of the tent to pack up and +load, and the team to drive to the next stopping-place. For sixteen and +often eighteen hours of hard work he received only his food and his +performing clothes. When he was counted as one of the troupe his duties +were lightened, but he got only enough money to pay his way with +difficulty. Without a _lira_ ahead, and with no clothes but his rough +working-suit and his performing costume, he could not hope to escape +from this sort of bondage. The luck of number twenty-five had put him on +his feet. + +"All Hungarians worship America," he said, "and when I saw that you +were an American I knew that my good fortune had begun in earnest. Of +course I believed America to be the land of plenty, and there could have +been no stronger proof of this than the generosity with which you, the +first American I had ever seen, gave me, a perfect stranger, such a +valuable prize. When I remembered the number of the ticket and the +letter in the alphabet, Y, to which this number corresponds, I was dazed +at the significance of the omen, and resolved at once to seek my fortune +in the United States. I sold the order on the tailor for money enough to +buy a suit of ready-made clothes and pay my fare to Genoa. From this +port I worked my passage to Gibraltar, and thence, after performing a +few weeks in a small English circus, I went to New York in a +fruit-vessel. As long as I was in America everything prospered with me. +I made a great deal of money, and spent a great deal. After a couple of +years I went to London with a company, and there lost my pay and my +position by the failure of the manager. In England my good luck all left +me. Circus people are too plenty there; everybody is an artist. I could +scarcely get anything to do in my line, so I drifted over to Paris." + +We prolonged our stroll for an hour, for although I did not anticipate +any pleasure or profit from continuing the acquaintance, there was yet a +certain attraction in his simplicity of manner and in his naive faith in +the value of my influence on his fortunes. Before we parted he +expressed again his ability to get me something to do, but I did not +credit his statement enough to correct the impression that I was in need +of employment. At his earnest solicitation I gave him my address, +concealing, as well as I could, my reluctance to encourage an +acquaintance which could not result in anything but annoyance. + +One day passed, and two, and on the third morning the porter showed him +to my room. + +"I have found you work!" he cried, in the first breath. + +Sure enough, he had been to a Polish acquaintance who knew a countryman, +a copyist in the Louvre. This copyist had a superabundance of orders, +and was glad to get some one to help him finish them in haste. My +gymnast was so much elated over his success at finding occupation for me +that I hadn't the heart to tell him that I was at leisure only while +hunting a studio. I therefore promised to go with him to the Louvre some +day, but I always found an excuse for not going. + +For two or three weeks we met at intervals. At various times, thinking +he was in want, I pressed him to accept the loan of a few francs, but he +always stoutly refused. We went together to his lodging-house, where the +landlady, an English-woman, who boarded most of the circus people, spoke +of her "poor dear Mr. Nodge," as she called him, in quite a maternal +way, and assured me that he had wanted for nothing, and should not so +long as his wound disabled him. In the course of a few days I had +gathered from him a complete history of his circus-life, which was full +of adventure and hardship. He was, as I had thought then, somewhat of a +novice in the circus business at the time we met in Turin, having left +his home less than two years before. He had indeed been associated as a +regular member of the company only a few months, after having served a +difficult and wearing apprenticeship. He was born in Koloszvar, where +his father was a professor in the university, and there he grew up with +three brothers and a sister, in a comfortable home. He always had had a +great desire to see travel, and from early childhood developed a special +fondness for gymnastic feats. The thought of a circus made him fairly +wild. On rare occasions a travelling show visited this Transylvanian +town, and his parents with difficulty restrained him from following the +circus away. At last, in 1873, one show, more complete and more +brilliant than any one before seen there, came in on the newly opened +railway, and he, now a man, went away with it, unable longer to restrain +his passion for the profession. Always accustomed to horses, and already +a skilful acrobat, he was immediately accepted by the manager as an +apprentice, and after a season in Roumania and a disastrous trip through +Southern Austria, they came into Northern Italy, where I met him. + +Whenever he spoke of his early life he always became quiet and +depressed, and for a long time I believed that he brooded over his +mistake in exchanging a happy home for the vicissitudes of Bohemia. It +came out slowly, however, that he was haunted by a superstition, a +strange and ingenious one, which was yet not without a certain show of +reason for its existence. Little by little I learned the following facts +about it: His father was of pure Szeklar or original Hungarian stock, as +dark-skinned as a Hindoo, and his mother was from one of the families of +Western Hungary, with probably some Saxon blood in her veins. His three +brothers were dark like his father, but he and his sister were blondes. +He was born with a peculiar red mark on his right shoulder, directly +over the scapular. This mark was shaped like a forked stick. His father +had received a wound in the insurrection of '48, a few months before the +birth of him, the youngest son, and this birth-mark reproduced the shape +of the father's scar. Among Hungarians his father passed for a very +learned man. He spoke fluently German, French, and Latin (the language +used by Hungarians in common communication with other nationalities), +and took great pains to give his children an acquaintance with each of +these tongues. Their earliest playthings were French alphabet-blocks, +and the set which served as toys and tasks for each of the elder +brothers came at last to him as his legacy. The letters were formed by +the human figure in different attitudes, and each block had a little +couplet below the picture, beginning with the letter on the block. The +Y represented a gymnast hanging by his hands to a trapeze, and being a +letter which does not occur in the Hungarian language except in +combinations, excited most the interest and imagination of the +youngsters. Thousands of times did they practise the grouping of the +figures on the blocks, and the Y always served as a model for trapeze +exercises. My friend, on account of his birth-mark, which resembled a +rude Y, was early dubbed by his brothers with the nick-name Yatil, this +being the first words of the French couplet printed below the picture. +Learning the French by heart, they believed the _Y a-t-il_ to be one +word, and with boyish fondness for nick-names saddled the youngest with +this. It is easy to understand how the shape of this letter, borne on +his body in an indelible mark, and brought to his mind every moment of +the day, came to seem in some way connected with his life. As he grew up +in this belief he became more and more superstitious about the letter +and about everything in the remotest way connected with it. + +The first great event of his life was joining the circus, and to this +the letter Y more or less directly! led him. He left home on his +twenty-fifth birth-day, and twenty five was the number of the letter Y +in the block-alphabet. + +The second great event of his life was the Turin lottery, and the number +of the lucky ticket was twenty-five. "The last sign given me," he said, +"was the accident in the circus here." As he spoke he rolled up the +right leg of his trowsers, and there, on the outside of the calf, about +midway between the knee and ankle, was a red scar forked like the letter +Y. + +From the time he confided his superstition to me he sought me more than +ever. I must confess to feeling, at each visit of his, a little +constrained and unnatural. He seemed to lean on me as a protector, and +to be hungry all the time for an intimate sympathy I could never give +him. Although I shared his secret, I could not lighten the burden of his +superstition. His wound had entirely healed, but as his leg was still +weak and he still continued to limp a little, he could not resume his +place in the circus. Between brooding over his superstition and worrying +about his accident, he grew very despondent. The climax of his +hopelessness was reached when the doctor told him at last that he would +never be able to vault again. The fracture had been a severe one, the +bone having protruded through the skin. The broken parts had knitted +with great difficulty, and the leg would never be as firm and as elastic +as before. Besides, the fracture had slightly shortened the lower leg. +His circus career was therefore ended, and he attributed his misfortune +to the ill-omened letter Y. + +Just about the time of his greatest despondency war was declared between +Russia and Turkey. The Turkish embassadors were drumming up recruits all +over Western Europe. News came to the circus boarding-house that good +riders were wanted for the Turkish mounted gensdarmes. Nagy resolved to +enlist, and we went together to the Turkish embassy. He was enrolled +after only a superficial examination, and was directed to present +himself on the following day to embark for Constantinople. He begged me +to go with him to the rendezvous, and there I bade him adieu. As I was +shaking his hand he showed me the certificate given him by the Turkish +embassador. It bore the date of May 25, and at the bottom was a +signature in Turkish characters, which could be readily distorted by the +imagination into a rude and scrawling Y. + +A series of events occurring immediately after Nagy left for +Constantinople resulted in my own unexpected departure in a civil +capacity for the seat of war in the Russian lines. The line of curious +coincidences in the experience of the circus-rider had impressed me very +much at the time, but in the excitement of the Turkish campaign I +entirely forgot the circumstance. I do not, indeed, recall any thought +of Nagy during the first five months in the field. The day after the +fall of Plevna I rode through the deserted earthworks toward the town. +The dead were lying where they had fallen in the dramatic and useless +sortie of the day before. The dead on a battle-field always excite fresh +interest, no matter if the spectacle be an every-day one, and as I rode +slowly along I studied the attitudes of the fallen bodies, speculating +on the relation between the death-poses and the last impulse that had +animated the living frame. Behind a rude barricade of wagons and +household goods, part of the train of non-combatants which Osman Pasha +had ordered to accompany the army in the sortie, a great number of dead +lay in confusion. The peculiar position of one of these instantly +attracted my eye. He had fallen on his face against the barricade, with +both arms stretched above his head, evidently killed instantly. The +figure on the alphabet-block, described by the circus-rider, came +immediately to my mind. My heart beat as I dismounted and looked at the +dead man's face. It was a genuine Turk. + +This incident revived my interest in the life of the circus-rider, and +gave me an impulse to look among the prisoners to see if by chance he +might be with them. I spent a couple of days in distributing tobacco and +bread in the hospitals and among the thirty thousand wretches herded +shelterless in the snow. There were some of the mounted gensdarmes among +them, and I even found several Hungarians; but none of them had ever +heard of the circus-rider. + +The passage of the Balkans was a campaign full of excitement, and was +accompanied by so much hardship that selfishness got entirely the upper +hand of me, and life became a battle for physical comfort. After the +passage of the mountain range we went ahead so fast that I had little +opportunity, even if I had the enterprise, to look among the few +prisoners for the circus-rider. + +Time passed, and we were at the end of a three days' fight near +Philippopolis, in the middle of January. Suleiman Pasha's army, +defeated, disorganized, and at last disbanded, though to that day still +unconquered, had finished the tragic act of its last campaign with the +heroic stand made in the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, near +Stanimaka, south of Philippopolis. A long month in the terrible cold, on +the summits of the Balkan range; the forced retreat through the snow +after the battle of Taskosen; the neck-and-neck race with the Russians +down the valley of the Maritza; finally, the hot little battle on the +river-bank, and the two days of hand-to-hand struggle in the vine-yard +of Stanimaka--this was a campaign to break the constitution of any +soldier. Days without food, nights without shelter from the mountain +blasts, always marching and always fighting, supplies and baggage lost, +ammunition and artillery gone--human nature could hold out no longer, +and the Turkish army dissolved away into the defiles of the Rhodopes. +Unfortunately for her, Turkey has no literature to chronicle, no art to +perpetuate the heroism of her defenders. + +The incidents of that short campaign are too full of horror to be +related. Not only did the demon of war devour strong men, but found +dainty morsels for its bloody maw in innocent women and children. Whole +families, crazed by the belief that capture was worse than death, +fought in the ranks with the soldiers. Women ambushed in coverts shot +the Russians as they rummaged the captured trains for much-needed food. +Little children, thrown into the snow by the flying parents, died of +cold and starvation, or were trampled to death by passing cavalry. Such +a useless waste of human life has not been recorded since the +indiscriminate massacres of the Middle Ages. + +The sight of human suffering soon blunts the sensibilities of any one +who lives with it, so that he is at last able to look upon it with no +stronger feeling than that of helplessness. Resigned to the inevitable, +he is no longer impressed by the woes of the individual. He looks upon +the illness, wounds, and death of the soldier as a part of the lot of +all combatants, and comes to consider him an insignificant unit of the +great mass of men. At last only novelties in horrors will excite his +feelings. + +I was riding back from the Stanimaka battle-field sufficiently elated at +the prospect of a speedy termination of the war--now made certain by the +breaking up of Suleiman's army--to forget where I was, and to imagine +myself back in my comfortable apartments in Paris. I only awoke from my +dream at the station where the highway from Stanimaka crosses the +railway line about a mile south of Philippopolis. The great wooden +barracks had been used as a hospital for wounded Turks, and as I drew +up my horse at the door the last of the lot of four hundred, who had +been starving there nearly a week, were being placed upon carts to be +transported to the town. The road to Philippopolis was crowded with +wounded and refugees. Peasant families struggled along with all their +household goods piled upon a single cart. Ammunition wagons and droves +of cattle, rushing along against the tide of human beings, toward the +distant bivouacs, made the confusion hopeless. Night was fast coming on, +and in company with a Cossack, who was, like myself, seeking the +headquarters of General Gourko, I made my way through the tangle of men, +beasts, and wagons toward the town. It was one of those chill, wet days +of winter when there is little comfort away from a blazing fire, and +when good shelter for the night is an absolute necessity. The drizzle +had drenched my garments, and the snow-mud had soaked my boots. Sharp +gusts of piercing wind drove the cold mist along, and as the temperature +fell in the late afternoon the slush of the roads began to stiffen, and +the fog froze where it gathered. Every motion of the limbs seemed to +expose some unprotected part of the body to the cold and wet. No amount +of exercise that was possible with stiffened limbs and in wet garments +would warm the blood. Leading my horse, I splashed along, holding my +arms away from my body, and only moving my benumbed fingers to wipe the +chill drip from my face. It was weather to take the courage out of the +strongest man, and the sight of the soaked and shivering wounded, packed +in the jolting carts or limping through the mud, gave me, hardened as I +was, a painful contraction of the heart. The best I could do was to lift +upon my worn-out horse one brave young fellow who was hobbling along +with a bandaged leg. Followed by the Cossack, whose horse bore a similar +burden, I hurried along, hoping to get under cover before dark. At the +entrance to the town numerous camp-fires burned in the bivouacs of the +refugees, who were huddled together in the shelter of their wagons, +trying to warm themselves in the smoke of the wet fuel. I could see the +wounded, as they were jolted past in the heavy carts, look longingly at +the kettles of boiling maize which made the evening meal of the +houseless natives. + +Inside the town the wounded and the refugees were still more miserable +than those we had passed on the way. Loaded carts blocked the streets. +Every house was occupied, and the narrow sidewalks were crowded with +Russian soldiers, who looked wretched enough in their dripping +overcoats, as they stamped their rag-swathed feet. At the corner, in +front of the great Khan, motley groups of Greeks, Bulgarians, and +Russians were gathered, listlessly watching the line of hobbling wounded +as they turned the corner to find their way among the carts, up the hill +to the hospital, near the Konak. By the time I reached the Khan the +Cossack who accompanied me had fallen behind in the confusion, and +without waiting for him I pushed along, wading in the gutter, dragging +my horse by the bridle. Half way up the hill I saw a crowd of natives +watching with curiosity two Russian guardsmen and a Turkish prisoner. +The latter was evidently exhausted, for he was crouching in the freezing +mud of the street. Presently the soldiers shook him roughly and raised +him forcibly to his feet, and half supporting him between them they +moved slowly along, the Turk balancing on his stiffened legs and +swinging from side to side. + +A most wretched object he was to look at. He had neither boots nor fez. +His feet were bare, and his trowsers were torn off near the knee, and +hung in tatters around his mud-splashed legs. An end of the red sash +fastened to his waist trailed far behind in the mud. A blue cloth jacket +hung loosely from his shoulders, and his hands and wrists dangled from +the ragged sleeves. His head rolled around at each movement of the body, +and at short intervals the muscles of the neck would rigidly contract. +All at once he drew himself up with a shudder and sank down in the mud +again. + +The guardsmen were themselves near the end of their strength, and their +patience was wellnigh finished as well. Rough mountain marching had torn +the soles from their boots, and great unsightly wraps of rawhide and +rags were bound on their feet. The thin worn overcoats, burned in many +places, flapped dismally against their ankles; and their caps, beaten +out of shape by many storms, clung drenched to their heads. They were in +no condition to help any one to walk, for they could scarcely get on +alone. They stood a moment shivering, looked at each other, shook their +heads as if discouraged, and proceeded to rouse the Turk by hauling him +upon his feet again. The three moved on a few yards, and the prisoner +fell again, and the same operation was repeated. All this time I was +crowding nearer and nearer, and as I got within a half dozen paces the +Turk fell once more, and this time lay at full length in the mud. The +guardsmen tried to rouse him by shaking, but in vain. Finally, one of +them, losing all patience, pricked him with his bayonet on the lower +part of the ribs exposed by the raising of the jacket as he fell. I was +now near enough to act, and with a sudden clutch I pulled the guardsman +away, whirled him around, and stood in his place. As I was stooping over +the Turk he raised himself slowly, doubtless aroused by the pain of the +puncture, and turned on me a most beseeching look, which changed at once +into something like joy and surprise. Immediately a deathlike pallor +spread over his face, and he sank back again with a groan. + +By this time quite a crowd of Bulgarians had gathered around us, and +seemed to enjoy the sight of a suffering enemy. It was evident that they +did not intend to volunteer any assistance, so I helped the wounded +Russian down from my saddle, and invited the natives rather sternly to +put the Turk in his place. With true Bulgarian spirit they refused to +assist a Turk, and it required the argument of the rawhide (_nagajka_) +to bring them to their senses. Three of them, cornered and flogged, +lifted the unconscious man and carried him toward the horse, the +soldiers, meanwhile believing me to be an officer, standing in the +attitude of attention. As the Bulgarians bore the Turk to the horse, a +few drops of blood fell to the ground. I noticed then that he had his +shirt tied around his left shoulder, under his jacket. Supported in the +saddle by two natives on each side, his head falling forward on his +breast, the wounded prisoner was carried with all possible tenderness to +the Stafford House hospital, near the Konak. As we moved slowly up the +hill I looked back, and saw the two guardsmen sitting on the muddy +sidewalk, with their guns leaning against their shoulders--too much +exhausted to go either way. + +I found room for my charge in one of the upper rooms of the hospital, +where he was washed and put into a warm bed. His wound proved to be a +severe one. A Berdan bullet had passed through the thick part of the +left pectoral, out again, and into the head of the humerus. The surgeon +said that the arm would have to be operated on, to remove the upper +quarter of the bone. + +The next morning I went to the hospital to see what had become of the +wounded man, for the incident of the previous evening made a deep +impression on my mind. As I walked through the corridor I saw a group +around a temporary bed in the corner. Some one was evidently about to +undergo an operation, for an assistant held at intervals a great cone of +linen over a haggard face on the pillow, and a strong smell of +chloroform filled the air. As I approached the surgeon turned around, +and recognizing me, with a nod and a smile said, "We are at work on your +friend." While he was speaking he bared the left shoulder of the wounded +man, and I saw the holes made by the bullet as it passed from the +pectoral into the upper part of the deltoid. Without waiting longer, the +surgeon made a straight cut downward from near the acromion through the +thick fibre of the deltoid to the bone. He tried to sever the tendons to +slip the head of the humerus from the socket, but failed. He wasted no +time in further trial, but made a second incision from the bullet-hole +diagonally to the middle of the first cut, and turned the pointed flap +thus made up over the shoulder. It was now easy to unjoint the bones, +and but a moment's work to saw off the shattered piece, tie the severed +arteries, and bring the flap again into its place. + +There was no time to pause, for the surgeon began to fear the effects of +the chloroform on the patient. We hastened to revive him by every +possible means at hand, throwing cold water on him and warming his hands +and feet. Although under the influence of chloroform to the degree that +he was insensible to pain, he had not been permitted to lose his entire +consciousness, and he appeared to be sensible of what we were doing. +Nevertheless, he awoke slowly, very slowly, the surgeon meanwhile +putting the stitches in the incision. At last he raised his eyelids and +made a movement with his lips. With a deliberate movement he surveyed +the circle of faces gathered closely around the bed. There was something +in his eyes which had an irresistible attraction for me, and I bent +forward to await his gaze. As his eyes met mine they changed as if a +sudden light had struck them, and the stony stare gave way to a look of +intelligence and recognition. Then, through the beard of a season's +growth and behind the haggard mask before me, I saw at once the +circus-rider of Turin and Paris. I remember being scarcely excited or +surprised at the meeting, for a great sense of irresponsibility came +over me, and I involuntarily accepted the coincidence as a matter of +course. He tried in vain to speak, but held up his right hand, and +feebly made with his fingers the sign of the letter which had played +such a part in the story of his life. Even at that instant the light +left his eyes, and something like a veil seemed drawn over them. With +the instinctive energy which possesses every one when there is a chance +of saving human life, we redoubled our efforts to restore the patient to +consciousness. But while we strove to feed the flame with some of our +own vitality, it flickered and went out, leaving the hue of ashes where +the rosy tinge of life had been. His heart was paralyzed. + +As I turned away, my eye caught the surgeon's incision, which was now +plainly visible on the left shoulder. The cut was in the form of the +letter Y. + + +[2] _Century Magazine, March_, 1883. + + + + +THE END OF NEW YORK.[3] + +BY PARK BENJAMIN. + + +INTRODUCTORY. + +THE WAR CLOUD. + + +Towards dusk on the afternoon of Monday, December 5th, 1881, the French +steamer "Canada," from Havre, arrived at her pier in New York City. +Among the passengers was a tall, dark, rather fine-looking man, of about +middle-age. After the usual examination of his baggage by the Custom +House officials had been made, this person, accompanied by a lady, took +a hack at the entrance of the pier, and was driven to the Fifth Avenue +Hotel. The initials on the luggage strapped on the rear of the vehicle +were M.B. + +In conversing with the driver the gentleman--for his appearance and +bearing fully indicated his right to the title--spoke English, though +somewhat imperfectly; with the lady he talked in sonorous Castilian. + +Apparently, no one bestowed any particular notice upon the pair. They +were two foreigners out of the great throng of foreigners which lands +daily in the metropolis; they were Spaniards and reasonably well-to-do, +seeing that they came over in the saloon, and not in the steerage. + +The names registered at the hotel were Manuel Blanco and wife. + +Late during the following evening the lady personally came to the office +seemingly in great distress. An interpreter being procured, it was +learned that Senor Blanco, in response to a visiting-card sent to his +room, had left the apartment shortly after breakfast that morning, and +had not since returned. + +The lady explained that he had no business affairs in New York, and that +they were merely resting in the city for a few days to recover from the +effects of the ocean voyage, before going to Charleston, S.C., their +destination. + +The clerk in the office simply knew that a stranger had called and sent +a card to Senor Blanco, and that the two, after meeting, had left the +hotel together. + +The anxiety of Senora Blanco was evidently excessive. She rejected such +commonplace reasons as that her husband might have lost his way, or that +some unlooked-for business matters had claimed his attention. + +"No, no!" she repeated, almost hysterically; "no beezness. Ah, Dios! El +esta muerte." + +A physician was sent for, and the lady, who was fast reaching a stage of +nervous prostration, placed in his care. The hotel detective proceeded +at once to Police Headquarters, whence telegrams were despatched to the +various precincts, giving a description of the missing man, and making +inquiries concerning him. The replies were all in the negative: no such +person had come under the notice of the police. + +From what has thus far been narrated, it might be inferred that Blanco's +absence was due to one of those strange disappearances which happen in +great cities. The inference, however, would be wrong. Blanco had not +disappeared. + +True, his agonized wife and the police of New York City had no trace of +his whereabouts; but Mr. Michael Chalmette, an officer detailed by the +U.S. Marshal in New Orleans to arrest Leon Sangrado, at the request of +the Republic of Chili, on the charge of repeatedly committing murder and +highway robbery in that country, was entirely sure that the missing +person was sitting beside him, handcuffed to his left wrist, and that +both were speeding toward New Orleans as fast as a railway-car could +take them. + +When the French steamer "Canada" arrived, Mr. Michael Chalmette, wearing +the uniform and badge of a Custom House officer, stationed himself by +the gang-plank and narrowly scrutinized each passenger that came +ashore. While Blanco's trunks were being examined, he stood near that +gentleman, and furtively compared his features with those on a +photograph. It was Chalmette who sent the card to Blanco's room, in the +hotel, next day, and who induced Blanco to accompany him in a carriage, +as he said, to the Custom House, to arrange some irregularity in the +passing of Blanco's luggage. The driver of that carriage, however, was +told to go to the Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, in Jersey City. + +Blanco evinced some surprise on being taken across the ferry, but was +easily satisfied by his companion's explanation that the branch of the +Custom House to be visited was on the Jersey side. + +When the station was reached Chalmette led the way to the waiting-room, +and quietly observed, before the unsuspecting Blanco could finish a +sentence beginning: + +"Ees it posseeble zat zees is ze Custom--" + +"You are my prisoner. You had better come without making trouble." + +Blanco looked at him aghast--not half comprehending the words. + +"A prisoner--I--for what?" + +Chalmette returned no answer, but produced his warrant. + +"But I no understand--I--" + +Just then the warning bell rung. Chalmette seized his prisoner by the +arm and pushed him through the gateway. + +On the platform Blanco made some slight resistance. The policeman, +whose attention was attracted thereby, after a few words with Chalmette, +assisted the latter in forcing him upon the train, which was already +slowly moving out of the depot. + + * * * * * + +It is necessary to break the thread of the story here to note an odd +coincidence. While there is a French steamer "Canada" belonging to the +Compagnie Generale Trans Atlantique, and plying between New York and +Havre, there is also an English steamer "Canada" belonging to the +National Line, which travels between New York and London. It so happened +that on the same afternoon that the French vessel came in, as before +narrated, the English steamer of like name also arrived. + +Among the passengers who landed from the English "Canada" there was also +a couple, man and woman, apparently Spaniards, and there was an +undeniable resemblance between the man and Blanco. The former, however, +had features cast in a much rougher mould, and his general bearing +indicated that he was not a gentleman, as plainly as Blanco's did the +reverse. + +The luggage of the pair consisted of a single valise, which was carried +by the woman, the man striding on ahead, leisurely puffing a cigarette. +They hired no carriage, but walked from the pier, across and up West +Street, and took a street-car going to the east side of the city. + +As soon as they left the conveyance the man spread out his arms and +expanded his chest with a long breath. The woman half smiled, and said +something to him in Spanish. Then they mingled with the crowd around +Tompkins Square and disappeared. + + * * * * * + +Two days after Blanco's arrest the physician, now in constant attendance +upon his wife, filed the death certificate of a stillborn child. +Puerperal fever set in, and the life of the unhappy woman for more than +two weeks trembled in the balance. During the first week a telegram from +New Orleans, which Blanco's captor had permitted him to send, came, +addressed to her. + +The physician opened it; but as she was almost constantly unconscious, +it was impossible to inform her of its contents for some days. Then she +was simply told that her husband had been heard from, and was safe. The +doctor peremptorily forbade any information being given her of Blanco's +true situation; and as she could not understand the language, and so +glean intelligence from the newspapers, which contained reports of the +inquiry conducted by the Commissioner, and the complete identification +of the prisoner as Leon Sangrado, she, of course, remained in ignorance +of what had happened. + +Some five weeks elapsed before she was judged sufficiently strong to +bear the shock which such news would inevitably produce. Then she was +told as gently as possible, all mention of the nature of the charges +against Blanco being avoided. + +She listened in silent surprise. + +"But he has never been in Chili in his life," she insisted. + +The old doctor, himself a Spaniard, looked at her pityingly, but said +nothing. + +"He has been Consul before nowhere but at Trieste; how could he have +been in South America?" she continued. + +"Consul? Is your husband, then, in the Consular service of Spain?" +queried the doctor, somewhat surprised. + +"He is here as Consul to Charleston--in--ah, what is the +name?--Carolina." + +"Can you prove that?" demanded the physician, somewhat excitedly. + +"I can--that is, I think there are official papers in the trunks. Is it +necessary?" + +"Very necessary." + +"Here are the keys, then." + +The doctor in her presence opened the luggage, and in a curiously +arranged secret compartment in one of the trunks found the documents. +After a few moments spent in looking them over, he said: + +"Do you feel strong to-day?" + +"Not very." + +"I think you could travel, however. I will see that your baggage is +properly packed, if you will be prepared to accompany me to-morrow +morning." + +"But whither?" + +"To Washington; to the Spanish Minister. This is a serious business." + +Under the supervision of the doctor the journey was safely accomplished. +After proper repose Senora Blanco and the physician proceeded to the +Spanish Legation, and within a very short time Senor Antonio Mantilla, +Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of His Catholic +Majesty, was in possession of Blanco's papers, and of the facts, so far +as known to his visitors, attending that gentleman's arrest. + +Senor Mantilla looked grave and said little. He thanked the physician, +however, warmly for the part he had taken in the matter, and calling a +secretary placed Senora Blanco in his charge, with instructions that she +should receive the greatest care and attention. + +He then desired the attendance of his Secretary of Legation, and the two +officials remained in earnest consultation for more than two hours. +During this period several telegrams were sent to the Spanish Consul at +New Orleans, and a long cipher-message to the Minister of Foreign +Affairs in Madrid. + +A few days later a lengthy report was received from the Consul at New +Orleans, accompanied by three letters from Blanco to his wife, not one +of which had been forwarded from the jail in which he was confined. + +Another consultation was held at the Spanish Legation, during which +this report and an answering message from Madrid were frequently +referred to. + +The report set forth the facts of the identification of Blanco as +Sangrado by the Chilian representatives, with sufficient certainty to +convince the U.S. Commissioner. Until a late period in the inquiry +Blanco had had no counsel. He had, however, asseverated from the +beginning that he was the Consul of Spain at Charleston--a fact not +believed, because there was already a Consul resident at that place. +Communication with that official simply showed that he expected to be +transferred to another post, but had not been informed of the name of +his successor. The Commissioner, seeing that Blanco was doing nothing to +obtain testimony in his own favor, quietly arranged that counsel should +be provided for him; and the lawyers, as a matter of course, at once +sent to New York for Blanco's papers. + +Senora Blanco, being then in a dangerous condition, was helpless. Search +was made through the trunks, without finding any trace of the documents +hidden in the secret compartment. + +The Legation of Spain in Washington had information that Manuel Blanco +had been sent to assume the Consulship at Charleston, but no one could +personally identify the prisoner to be the Manuel Blanco appointed. + +The Chilian witnesses had sworn that the prisoner was Leon Sangrado in +the most unequivocal manner--and Chalmette deposed that he saw him land +from the "Canada," in which vessel he had been instructed to look for +the fugitive. + +The facts, as thus gathered by the Spanish diplomatists from the Consul +at New Orleans, from Senora Blanco, and from her physician, were +complete. The outcome of their deliberations upon them was twofold. + +_First_.--The departure of Senora Blanco, under care of an attache of +the Spanish Legation, to join her husband at New Orleans. + +_Second_.--The following diplomatic communication from the Minister of +Spain to the Secretary of State of the United States of America. + + Legation of Spain at Washington, + + January 16th, 1882. + + The undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary + of His Catholic Majesty, has the honor to address the Honorable + Secretary of State, with a view to obtaining from the Federal + Government reparation for the arrest of Senor Don Manuel Blanco, + His Catholic Majesty's Consul at Charleston, S.C., at the demand of + the Republic of Chili, on a charge of crime preferred by the + Government of that country. The undersigned is instructed to + protest, in the most distinct terms, against this grave breach of + international obligations, to insist upon the immediate release of + the said Blanco, and to require from the Federal Government an + apology suited to the circumstances. The undersigned avails + himself, etc., + + ANTONIO MANTILLA. + + + DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + + WASHINGTON, January 20th, 1882. + + SIR: Referring to your communication of the 16th inst., in which + you protest against the arrest of the person alleged to be Senor + Don Manuel Blanco, His Catholic Majesty's Consul at Charleston, at + the instance of the Republic of Chili, and demand the release of + the said person, with a suitable apology from this Government in + the premises, I have the honor to inform you that the + representatives of the Chilian Government allege the person in + question to be one Leon Sangrado, a fugitive from justice, charged + with the crimes of murder and robbery; that, before the United + States Commissioner at New Orleans, the Chilian representatives + have produced evidence identifying the prisoner as Leon Sangrado, + which evidence has warranted the said Commissioner in rendering + judgment accordingly; and that the proceedings and judgment, on + review by the President of the United States, have been confirmed, + and the warrant of extradition ordered. I have the honor to + transmit herewith a copy of the record of the evidence in the case + for your Excellency's information. I have also to state that, in + the circumstances, this Government conceives itself to be acting + in a spirit of strict international comity with the Republic of + Chili, and, upon the representations made by your Excellency, + cannot admit that any reparation or apology is due to the + Government of His Catholic Majesty. + + I have the honor, etc., + + JAS. G. BLAINE, + + _Secretary of State_. + +Some days later the Spanish Minister forwarded a note to the State +Department, wherein, after the usual formal recitals, he stated as +follows: + + The undersigned has the honor to inform the Honorable Secretary of + State that, having transmitted his communication by cable to the + Government of His Catholic Majesty, he is now instructed to make + the following demands: + + 1st. That the Federal Government shall deliver Senor Don Manuel + Blanco, His Catholic Majesty's Consul at Charleston, S.C., alleged + to be Leon Sangrado, a fugitive from justice from the Republic of + Chili, to the undersigned, at the Legation of Spain at Washington, + by or before the first day of February, proximo. + + 2. That the Federal Government shall address to the Government of + His Catholic Majesty a formal and solemn apology for the insult + offered by the arrest of said Blanco. And, in further proof + thereof, shall, on said first day of February, at noon, cause the + Spanish flag to be hoisted over Fort Columbus, in New York Harbor; + Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor; the Navy Yard, in Washington; and at + the mast-head of the flag-ship of the North Atlantic squadron--then + and there to be saluted with twenty-one guns. + + I have the honor, etc., + + ANTONIO MANTILLA. + +The reply sent by Secretary Blaine to this peremptory demand was, as +might be expected, an equally peremptory refusal. + +Thereupon the Spanish Minister demanded his passports, and with his +Legation left the country. + +The passports of the American Minister at Madrid were at the same time +forwarded to him, and he returned to the United States. + +Blanco was delivered to the Chilian representatives, and duly +extradited, his wife accompanying him. + +The anti-administration newspapers commented with great severity upon +the case, alleging that undue haste was manifested in forwarding the +proceedings; that proper opportunity was not afforded the accused to +establish his true identity; that the warrant of extradition was +illegal, inasmuch as it had been issued by an Assistant Secretary of +State during the absence of both the President and Secretary from +Washington, and that, consequently, there had been in fact no real +review of the proceedings by the Executive. + +The administration journals, on the contrary, found the extradition of +the prisoner to be perfectly within the letter of the law; but were not +inclined to say much on this point, preferring rather to applaud Mr. +Blaine's new proof of a "vigorous foreign policy," as exemplified in the +previously quoted correspondence with the Spanish Minister. + + * * * * * + + + + +I. + +THE GATHERING OF THE STORM. + + +That the friendly relations of two great nations should be ruptured by a +difficulty which, to all appearances, might easily have been adjusted, +seems incredible; but it should be remembered that at this period Spain +and the United States were by no means on the best of terms. Spanish +war-vessels in the West Indies had been overhauling American merchantmen +in a high-handed way, which had already called forth the remonstrances +of our Government; and the complaints from Cuba of the insecurity of +property and life of American citizens had become more numerous than +ever. Still, the result of the dispute was a surprise to the world; +especially as the overt act of rupture had come from Spain, and not +from the United States, as had so frequently hitherto seemed probable. + +The popular excitement throughout the country was intense. There was a +universal demand for war. It was pointed out that the country was never +so prosperous, or better able to bear the burden of a conflict; that, +with our immense resources, an army could be raised and a navy equipped +inside of sixty days; that such a war would be of short duration, and +that the result could be none other than the humiliation of Spain, and +the ceding to us of the Spanish West Indies as a war indemnity. + +The House of Representatives fairly rung with bellicose speeches, and +the press, with a few exceptions, reflected the popular feeling. + +On the other hand, however, there was a powerful party attempting to +stem the precipitancy of the nation. The great moneyed corporations +viewed the matter with alarm, and advocated peaceful settlement, or, at +most, inaction. This, however, was attributed to their fears of +unsettlement of values, and consequent depreciation of their property. + +The Senate, refusing to be influenced by popular clamor, steadily +opposed all hasty legislation originating in the lower House. The +President and Cabinet brought down upon themselves the bitter +denunciation of the opposition press for "cowardly truckling to Spain," +because no immediate steps were taken to place army and navy on a war +footing, and no volunteers were called for. + +A month went by. The popular excitement in this period perceptibly +decreased; and, as it did so, the New York _World_ and _Tribune_, which, +from the first, had given but weak support to the cry for war, became +more outspoken against hostilities. The bill agreed to by both Houses of +Congress, providing for the immediate construction of ten swift armored +cruisers, was strongly attacked in both journals, and the arming of the +harbor forts, and the elaborate preparations which began to be visible +for protecting the harbor by torpedoes, were sneered at as "useless +precautions, dictated by an unworthy fear of a nation which would never +venture to attack us." + +The stocks of the New York Central, Western Union Telegraph, Lake Shore, +and other corporations controlled by Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, which had +fallen during the excitement of the previous month, rose slowly, but +steadily. + +On the afternoon of March 6th, the _Evening Telegram_ issued an extra, +reporting the sailing from Coruna of four Spanish ironclads. The +announcement on the London Stock Exchange was that they were going to +Cuba. + +On the following day there was a decided fall in American Securities in +London, and a weak market in Wall Street; which degenerated into a +rapidly declining one when it became rumored that Gould was selling +Western Union short in large blocks, and that Vanderbilt's brokers were +similarly disposing of N.Y. Central and other stocks. + +At 10 o'clock that night the news came that Spain had formally declared +war upon the United States. It was posted in all the hotels, and read +from the stages of all the theatres. The people flocked into the streets +_en masse_. Speeches were made, breathing defiance and demands for an +immediate attack upon Spain, before tremendous crowds, in Madison and +Union Squares. No one slept that night. + +Next morning there was a panic in Wall Street, which was arrested, +however, by the intelligence from London that, although Government +four-per-cents had fallen to 86, they were steady at that figure, and +that the Rothschilds and Baring Brothers were buying them in largely. +Before night Congress had voted a special appropriation of a hundred +million dollars for purposes of defense, authorized the immediate +construction of twenty armored ships, and the President issued his +proclamation, calling for the raising of four hundred thousand men "to +repel an invasion of the Union." + +Within twenty-four hours the regiments of the National Guard in New York +and vicinity were mustered into the service of the United States and +ordered into camp, under command of General Hancock. That officer at +once began the construction of sea-coast batteries on Coney Island, +Rockaway Beach, and the New Jersey coast. A crack city regiment was +detailed to complete the partially finished fort on Sandy Hook and throw +up earthworks along the Peninsula; but, as the hands of most of the men +became quite sore through wielding shovels and picks, they were relieved +and sent to garrison Governor's Island, where they gave exhibition +drills daily, and, on Friday evenings, invited their female friends to +hops of the most enjoyable description. The Hook fort was subsequently +completed by a volunteer regiment of Cuban cigar-makers, from the +Bowery. + +As a matter of course, notice was immediately given to all foreign +vessels in port of the proposed blocking of the Narrows and the Main, +Swash and East Channels with torpedoes, and forty-eight hours' time was +accorded them wherein to take their departure. The European steamers +were the first to leave, each one towing from two to five +sailing-vessels. Later on, General Hancock impressed all the harbor tugs +into service; and, by their aid, before the specified period had +elapsed, not a single ship floating a foreign flag remained in New York +Harbor. A battalion of army engineers, under command of General Abbot, +and another of sailors, under Captain Selfridge, at once began +operations. + +In the Narrows, torpedoes were moored at distances of one hundred feet +apart, and were connected with the shore by electric wires. At various +points along the beach shell-proof huts were constructed, to which these +wires led. In each hut was arranged a camera lucida, so that a picture +of the harbor, over a limited area, was thrown upon a whitened table. In +this way an observer could recognize the instant an enemy's vessel +arrived over a sunken mine, and could explode the latter by simply +touching a button which allowed the electric current to pass to the +torpedo. In the Harbor channels the torpedoes were so arranged as to be +exploded on contact of an enemy's vessel with a partially submerged +buoy. + +The torpedo-stations on Staten and Coney Islands and the Jersey coast +were provided with movable fish-torpedoes of the Ericsson and Lay types, +intended to be sent out against a hostile vessel, and manoeuvred from +the shore. All the steam-tugs in the Harbor were moored in Gowanus bay, +and each tug was rigged with a long boom projecting from her bow, on +which a torpedo, containing some fifty pounds of dynamite, was carried. + +With the tugs, and serving as flag-ship for the squadron, was the U.S. +torpedo-boat "Alarm," Lieutenant-Commander H.H. Gorringe. + +The armament of the sea-coast batteries was not calculated to strike +terror into the soul of any nation owning a modern ironclad vessel. It +consisted mainly of old-fashioned smooth-bore guns, a system of +artillery which has been rejected by every European power as the weakest +and most inefficient. The greatest range attainable with the best of +these cannon was 8000 yards, or some four and one half miles. At one +quarter this range their shot would be utterly unable to penetrate even +moderately thin armor. Besides these guns there were a few ten and +twelve-inch rifles of cast-iron, and hence of unreliable and inferior +material; some old smooth-bore cannon, converted into rifles by +wrought-iron linings; and a number of mortars and pieces of small +calibre, altogether contemptible in the light of the advances made in +the art of war during the last quarter of a century. + +Meanwhile the inventors were not idle, and the press fairly teemed with +novel suggestions for the defense of the city. It was proposed to run +all the oil stored in the Williamsburgh refineries into the lower bay, +and set it on fire when the enemy's fleet appeared. + +The _Herald_ suggested the raising of a regiment of divers to live in a +submarine fort, the guns of which should be arranged to fire upwards +into a vessel floating above, and immediately offered to contribute +$250,000 to begin the construction of such defenses. + +General Newton proposed the building of continuous earthworks on both +shores of the bay and Narrows, behind which a broad-gauge railroad +should be constructed. On the track he placed heavy platform-cars, each +car carrying one heavy gun. Embrasures were made at regular intervals +along the embankment. His idea was, that if a hostile vessel made her +way into the Harbor, the gun-cars should move along behind the +earthworks, keeping abreast of the ship, and thus pour into her a +continuous fire. Measures were promptly taken to follow this plan. + +Mr. T.A. Edison announced that he had invented everything which, up to +that time, any one else had suggested. He invited all the reporters to +Menlo Park, and, after elaborately explaining the merits of a new +catarrh remedy, showed some lines on a piece of paper, which, he said, +represented huge electro-magnets, which he proposed to set up along the +coast, say, near Barnegat. When the enemy's iron ships appeared, he +proposed to excite these magnets, and draw the vessels on the rocks. +Somebody said that this notion had been anticipated by one Sindbad the +Sailor, whereupon Mr. Edison denounced that person as a "patent pirate." +He also said that these magnets would be exhibited in working order next +Christmas Eve. + +Professor Bell proposed the "induction balance," as a way of recognizing +the approach of the enemy's iron vessels. He went down the Bay with his +instrument, and sent back some telegrams which were alarming, until it +was discovered that the professor had made a slight error in the +direction from which he asserted the ships were coming, it being +manifestly impossible for them to sail overland from the Pacific, as his +contrivance predicted. + +The condition of affairs in the city reminded one of the early days of +the Rebellion. Wall Street was panicky--chiefly because of the immense +depreciation in railway securities. Government four-per-cent bonds, +however, had gone up to ninety-eight. Provisions were high, and, through +the stoppage of European commerce, the cost of imported articles, such +as dress-goods, tea, etc., became excessive. Recruiting was going on +everywhere; the regiments, as fast as organized, being dispatched to +different points along the sea-board, or to swell the numbers of an army +under command of General Sheridan, which was preparing to sail to Key +West, to invade Cuba. + +During the month of March New York remained in a state of suspense. Army +contractors did a brisk business; but otherwise there was little doing. +News was eagerly sought. It was known that Spain was mobilizing her army +and fitting out transports; but beyond this, and the dispatching of the +four ironclads, which had duly reached Havana, she had taken no steps +pointing toward an invasion of the United States. All the European +nations had issued proclamations of neutrality, except Russia and +France. England had ordered the great Spanish ironclad, "El Cid," in +which Sir William Armstrong had just placed two 100-ton guns, out of her +waters inside of twenty-four hours after Spain had declared war; and +this, although the vessel was in many respects unfinished. The Queen's +proclamation was most stringent against the fitting out or coaling of +the vessels of either belligerent, and a special Act of Parliament was +passed, inflicting penalties of the greatest severity for any violation +of it. John Bull evidently proposed to pay for no more "Alabamas." + +The first great news of the war came during the first week in June. The +Spanish screw corvette "Tornado," six guns, had sailed from Cartagena +for Havana. Off Cape Trafalgar she encountered the "Lancaster," +flag-ship of the United States European squadron, bearing the flag of +Rear-Admiral Nicholson. The "Lancaster" carried two-eleven-inch and +twenty nine-inch old-fashioned smooth-bore Dahlgren guns. The action was +short, sharp, and decisive. + +It terminated in the surrender of the "Tornado," after the loss of her +captain, five officers, and forty of her crew. The "Lancaster" was badly +cut up about the rigging, but otherwise uninjured. Her loss was but five +men. The first tidings of this was the arrival of the "Tornado" in +Hampton Roads, with a prize crew on board, and the royal ensign of Spain +floating beneath the stars and stripes. + +When the extras announcing the news were shouted in the streets, the +enthusiasm of the people knew no bounds. From every building, from every +window, the flag was displayed. Throngs of excited men marched through +the avenues, cheering and shouting, and the recruiting was renewed so +vigorously, that New York's quota of the four hundred thousand men +called for by the President was filled within the next twenty-four +hours after the news came. + +In the midst of this furore, the bulletins announced that the Spanish +ironclads "Zaragoza" and "Numancia" had sailed from Havana, with no +destination announced; that their consorts, the "Arapiles" and +"Vittoria," together with three transports, "San Quentin," "Patino," and +"Ferrol," the latter well laden with coal and provisions, were preparing +to follow; also, that the huge "El Cid" had been fitted for sea, and was +about to sail from Vigo, Spain. + +Just before this intelligence arrived, the United States steam frigate +"Franklin," forty-three guns, carrying the flag of Vice-Admiral Stephen +C. Rowan, left Hampton Roads on a cruise, northwardly. + +Where were the Spanish ironclads going? + +On Sunday morning, April 9th, Trinity Church was crowded with +worshipers. The venerable Bishop of New York was present, and was to +deliver the sermon. His erect, stately form, clad in the flowing robes +of his office, had just appeared in the pulpit, and he had spoken the +words of his text, when a commotion in the rear of the church caused him +to stop and look up, wondering at the unseemly interruption. + +A soldier emerged from the crowd, and, making his way to the Astor pew, +handed a letter to Mr. John Jacob Astor. The ruddy face of that +gentleman blanched as he read its contents. Then he rose, walked to the +pulpit, and handed the missive to the bishop. + +A dead silence prevailed--at last broken by these simple words: + +"Brethren, the war-vessels of the public enemy have appeared off our +Harbor. Let us pray." + +A deep, heart-felt Amen responded to the appeal made in eloquent, though +faltering, tones; and then, quiet and orderly, the congregation left the +temple. It was fitting that such a prayer should be the last ever +offered in a sanctuary of which, but a few days later, only a heap of +smoking ruins remained. + +The same news had been forwarded to the other churches, and the +congregations, dismissed, had gathered in front of the great +bulletin-boards which had been erected in the various parts of the city. +In huge letters were the words: + +"A large steamer, showing Spanish flag, sighted off Barnegat." + +Shortly afterwards came another dispatch: + +"The United States frigate 'Franklin' has been signaled off Fire +Island." + +Then another dispatch: + +"The Spanish steamer has gone to the eastward." + +And then, three hours later: + +"Heavy firing has been heard from the south and east." + + + + +II. + +THE BATTLE OF FIRE ISLAND. + + +The "Franklin," on leaving Fire Island, where she had communication with +the shore, stood to the westward. At 3 p.m. the mast-head look-out +reported a large steamer on the port bow. As is customary on vessels at +sea, the "Franklin" showed no colors; the stranger displayed a flag +which could not be made out. + +On the poop-deck of the "Franklin" were Admiral Rowan, Captain Greer, +commanding the ship, and the executive officer, Lieutenant-Commander +Jewell. + +"Mast-head, there! can you make out her colors yet?" hailed the latter. + +"No, sir." + +"Take your glass and go aloft, Mr. Rodgers," said Admiral Rowan to his +aid; "perhaps you can see better." + +The officer rapidly ascended the rigging to the foretopmast cross-trees. + +"It is the English flag, sir!" he shouted. + +"Hoist English colors, Captain," said the admiral, quietly; "and bend on +our own, ready to go up." + +The red cross of St. George, the British man-of-war flag, rose slowly to +the peak. + +The stranger was seen to alter her course, and head for the "Franklin." + +The admiral turned to Captain Greer and nodded. The latter gave an order +to a midshipman standing near. + +Rat-tat--rat-tat--rat-tat-tat-tat! + +The quick drum-beat to quarters for action rang sharply through the +ship. The executive officer took his speaking-trumpet and stationed +himself on the quarter-deck. The men sprang to their guns. + +"Silence! man the port-guns. Cast loose and provide!" + +A momentary confusion, as the thirty-eight nine-inch smooth-bore guns on +the main-deck, the four hundred-pound rifles on the spar-deck, and the +eleven-inch pivot on the forecastle were cleared of their tackle, and +got ready for training. The guns' crews then stood erect and silent in +their places beside the guns, on the side of the ship turned toward the +enemy. + +Meanwhile the magazine had been opened, and the powder-boys flocked to +the scuttles, receiving cartridges in the leather boxes slung to their +shoulders. Shell were hoisted from below. The surgeon and his +assistants, including the chaplain, laid out instruments, and converted +the cock-pit into an operating-room. The fires in the galley were put +out, and those under the boilers urged to their fiercest heat. The decks +were sanded, in grim anticipation of their becoming slippery with +blood. Tackles and slings were prepared to lower the wounded below. The +Gatling guns aloft were made ready to fire upon the enemy's decks, in +case the two vessels came near enough together. + +"Prime!" shouted the officer on the quarter-deck. Primers were placed in +the vents of the already loaded guns, and the gun-captains stepped back, +tautening the lock-strings, and bending down to glance along the sights. + +"Point! Tell the division officers to train on the craft that's coming, +and wait orders." This last command to a midshipman aid. + +The silence throughout the great ship was profound. The gun-captains +eyed the approaching vessels over the sights of their guns. Only the +quick throb of the engines and the sough of the waves were audible. + +The two vessels were now within some four miles of each other. There was +no question but that the stranger was a man-of-war--and an ironclad, at +that--provided with a formidable ram. + +"I thought so," suddenly ejaculated the admiral: "Now show him who _we_ +are." + +The English flag had been replaced by the red-yellow-and-red bars of +Spain. Down came the red cross from the peak of the "Franklin;" and +then, not only there, but from every mast-head, floated the stars and +stripes. + +A puff of smoke from the Spaniard--a whirr, a shriek, and a solid shot +struck the water, having passed entirely over the American frigate. + +"He fires at long range!" remarked the admiral, calmly. + +"It would be useless for us to reply," answered the captain. + +"Clearly so." + +"Shall we stop and wait for him, sir?" + +"Wait for him? No! Go for him! Four bells, sir! Ring four bells and go +ahead fast!" + +The clang of the engine-bell resounded through the ship; the thump of +the machinery grew more rapid; the whole vessel thrilled and shook, as +if eager for the attack. + +The distance between the two ships was reduced to about two miles. + +Again the Spaniard fired. The shot struck the "Franklin" broad on her +port-bow, knocked over a gun, killed six men, and passed through the +other side of the ship. + +Still the "Franklin" pressed on. + +Crash! a huge shell from an Armstrong eighteen-ton gun burst between the +fore and mainmasts; the bow pivot-gun was dismounted; ten men of her +crew down; the maintopmast stays cut, and the maintopmast tottering. +Crash! Another shell, and the jib-boom hangs dragging under the bows; +the fore topgallantmast is carried away. Men hacked at the rigging to +clear away the wreck which now impeded the ship's advance. + +"Now let him have it," said the admiral, quietly. + +The captain speaks to the executive officer, who shouts through his +trumpet: "Port guns! Ready! Fire!!" + +The concussion of the explosion made the ship stagger for a moment. + +When the smoke cleared away, the Spaniard's mizzenmast was seen dragging +overboard; but otherwise no damage had been inflicted. + +"His armor is too thick for us," gravely remarked the admiral; "get boom +torpedoes over the bows!" + +"All ready, now, sir," reported the captain. + +"Continue firing, and keep right for him." + +"Shall we ram him, sir?" + +"Yes, sir; as straight amidships as you can." + +The "Franklin" now poured in her fire with all possible rapidity; but it +was evident that her shot made little or no impression on the massive +iron shield of her antagonist, although it played havoc amid his +rigging. Another fact now became apparent--that the Spaniard was much +the faster vessel of the two; for he was evidently nearing the +"Franklin" more quickly than the "Franklin" was approaching him. + +"Do you know who that ship is?" asked the admiral. + +"The 'Numancia,' sir," replied the captain; "her armament is immensely +better than ours. She has twenty-five Armstrong guns." + +Crash! crash! Two more shells struck the wooden hull of the "Franklin" +between the fore and mainmasts, tearing a great rent in her side and +literally annihilating the crews of four guns. + +"There is three feet of water in the hold, sir and it is gaining!" +shouted the carpenter at the pump-well. + +Men were sent at once to the pumps. + +Crash! This time a double explosion, followed by dense clouds of steam. +Men, scalded and horribly burned, climbed up the ladders from below. + +"Our boilers are gone," reported the captain. + +"Keep her broadside toward the enemy, sir," returned the admiral. + +The guns of the "Franklin" were now firing slowly. Their smoke overhung +the vessel so that the Spaniard could not be seen, but the reports of +his cannon sounded closer and closer. + +Suddenly the huge prow of the "Numancia" loomed up close aboard the +"Franklin." + +"Starboard! Hard a starboard!" shouted the admiral. + +It was too late. There was no one at the helm. A shell, bursting close +to the wheel, had killed the helmsman, and a fragment had buried itself +in the captain's breast. + +The admiral himself turned to go toward the wheel, but suddenly +staggered and pitched forward, dead. + +Then came the frightful explosion of the "Numancia's" bow-torpedo, +striking the ill-fated frigate; and then the crushing and splintering of +timbers under the fearful stroke of the ram. + +Five minutes afterwards the Spanish war-ship was alone. Slowly the +"Franklin" sank--her lofty mast-heads going under with the stars and +stripes still proudly floating from them. The "Numancia" lowered her +boats to pick up survivors. They returned with one officer and two +seamen--all that remained of the crew of nearly one thousand souls. + +The American flag ship had been sunk by a fourth-rate European +ironclad--the first practical proof of the miserably short-sighted +policy of a nation of fifty millions of inhabitants, with an enormous +coast line and innumerable ports to be protected, relying for its safety +upon a navy the fifty-five available vessels of which are too slow to +run away, and too lightly armed and too weakly built to defend +themselves. + +The "Numancia" hoisted her boats and stood to the westward. Shortly +afterward she exchanged signals with the "Zaragoza," "Arapiles" and +"Vittoria." The war-vessels drew together, the transports came alongside +of them, and fresh supplies of coal and provisions were delivered. Then +the transports headed to the south, and the men-of-war laid their course +for New York. + + + + +III. + +THE METROPOLIS BELEAGUERED. + + +Three ships of the Spanish squadron named were armed with Armstrong +guns. Their combined batteries aggregated eight cannon of eighteen tons +four of twelve tons, eleven of nine tons, and twenty-eight of seven +tons. The "Zaragoza" carried twenty guns of another pattern, ranging in +calibre from eleven to seven and three-fourths inches. The total number +of cannon which would thus be brought to bear upon New York and its +suburbs was seventy-one. + +The shot of the Armstrong guns above named vary in weight from four +hundred to one hundred and fifteen pounds. If the entire number of guns +should each deliver one shot, the total amount of iron projected would +exceed six tons in weight. + +The arrival of the Spanish vessels was not known until dawn of the +morning of April 11th. Then they were descried on the horizon by the +watchers at Sandy Hook. At first sight it was supposed that they had +encountered heavy weather and lost their light spars; but, as they +approached nearer, it was seen that each ship had sent down all her +upper rigging, and had housed topmasts. + +There was no mistaking what this meant. It was the stripping for battle. + +It was also noticed that the ships steamed very slowly in single file; +that from the bows of each projected a fork-like contrivance, and that +in advance of the leader were several steam-launches, between which, and +crossing the path of the large vessel, extended hawsers which dipped +into the water. Evidently the new-comers had a wholesome dread of +torpedoes, and hence the use of bow torpedo-catchers and the +dragging-ropes. + +No flag of any sort was exhibited. + +Meanwhile the guns of all the sea-coast batteries along the shores had +been manned, ready to fire upon the huge black monsters as soon as they +should come within range. The order had been given to commence firing on +the hoisting of a flag and on the discharge of a heavy gun from the +signal station on Sandy Hook, where General Hancock had posted himself +with his staff. + +In the city the time for excitement had passed. The business section was +deserted, most of the men being either in the fortifications or under +arms in the camps, ready to move as directed to repel any attempt on the +part of the enemy to effect a landing. + +There had been no general exodus from New York, as it was not believed +possible that the enemy's missiles could reach the city proper. In +Brooklyn, however, but few people remained. All the churches in the city +were open, and with singular unanimity the people flocked into them. No +public conveyances were running; few vehicles moved through the +streets. The silence was like that of a summer holiday, when the people +are in the suburbs, pleasure-seeking. + +"They seem to have stopped, general," said an aid who was attentively +watching the advance of the Spanish vessels through his glass. + +"They are a long way out of our range," remarked General Hancock. "We +have nothing that carries far enough to injure them. They are fully five +miles out." + +"Now they go ahead again. No, they are turning," said the aid. + +The leading ship had ported her helm, and, followed by the others, filed +to the eastward, bringing the port broadsides to bear upon the Long +Island batteries. + +"They certainly are not going into action there," said the general. + +A cloud of white smoke arose from the bow of the leading vessel, and +then across the water came the deep "boom" of a heavy gun. + +"Why, that fellow has fired out to sea," exclaimed one of the general's +staff. + +"No, it was a blank cartridge. He fired to attract attention. See! there +goes a white flag up to his mast-head!" said the officer at the +telescope: "A boat with a flag-of-truce is putting off, general." + +"Send a launch out to meet it," said Hancock, shortly: "and see that it +does not come nearer than a mile or so from the shore." + +A few minutes after, the steam-yacht "Ideal," which had been offered by +its owner as a dispatch boat to the general, was swiftly running towards +the Spanish messenger. + +The aid at the telescope saw an officer step from the Spanish boat into +the yacht, and then the latter put back to the Hook, the enemy's launch +remaining where she was. + +The Spanish officer was conducted to the presence of the general. In +excellent English, he announced himself as the Fleet Captain and +Chief-of-Staff of the admiral commanding the Spanish squadron present, +and with much ceremony presented the communication with which he was +charged. + +The general received the missive courteously and opened it. The +expression of astonishment which came over his face as he read it for a +moment gave place to one of anger. His eyes flashed, his face reddened, +and his fingers nervously played with the end of his moustache. Then, as +he read it over the second time, a rather contemptuous smile seemed to +lurk about the corners of his mouth. + +The staff stood by in silent but eager anticipation. The general held +the letter in his hands behind his back and walked up and down the small +apartment, as if in deep thought, raising his eyes occasionally to +glance at the Spanish vessels, which lay almost motionless, blowing off +steam. + +Finally, he turned to the Spanish officer, who stood erect, with his +hand resting upon the hilt of his sword, and said, in a quiet, though +determined, voice: + +"You will make my compliments to the admiral commanding, and deliver, in +reply to his communication, that which I will now dictate." + +An aid at once seated himself at the table, and, at the general's +dictation, wrote as follows: + + SENOR DON ALMIRANTE VIZCARRO, _Commanding Squadron off New York_. + + SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge your communication of this + date, sent per flag-of-truce, in which you demand-- + + 1st.--That immediate surrender to the force under your command be + made of the fortifications of this harbor, together with the Navy + Yard at Brooklyn, and all munitions of war here existing. + + 2nd.--That the cities of New York, Brooklyn and Jersey City do + cause to be paid, on board of your flag-ship, within three days + after the said surrender, the sum of fifty millions of dollars in + gold, or in the paper currency of England or France. + + And in which you announce that non-acquiescence in the foregoing + will be followed by the bombardment of the said fortifications, the + Navy Yard and the arsenals in New York City, by your squadron, + after the lapse of twenty-four hours from noon this day. + + In reply, I have to state that these demands are peremptorily + refused and I have most solemnly to protest against so gross a + violation of the laws of civilized warfare, as is indicated in your + intention to attack a city within a period too short to enable the + non-combatants to be safely removed. + + I have the honor to be, etc., + + WINFIELD S. HANCOCK, + + _Major-General Commanding_. + +This reply was telegraphed to New York, and Mr. Pierrepont Edwards, Her +Britannic Majesty's Consul-General, was one of the first to receive it. +He acted with the usual force and promptness with which British +interests and the lives of British subjects are protected by British +officials abroad. That is to say, he first telegraphed to the British +Minister at Washington, Mr. West, requesting, that the three great +ironclads, "Devastation," "Orion" and "Agamemnon," all of which were +then in Hampton Roads, be at once sent to New York. Then he prepared a +formal protest against the proposed action of the Spanish Admiral, which +all the other foreign consuls at once signed, and which was delivered +aboard the Spanish flag-ship by a boat bearing the British flag before +three o'clock that afternoon. + +The Spanish admiral took the protest into consideration to the extent of +granting forty-eight hours' time. The consuls protested again at this as +not being sufficient, and demanded five clear days. The admiral refused +to grant more than three; but when, before the three days had expired, +the trio of English war-ships made their appearance, and calmly moved +between his fleet and the shore, he changed his mind and granted the +desired time--which was wise, seeing that the English vessels could blow +his squadron out of water with little trouble and not much injury to +themselves. + +The railroads which go out of New York, while perhaps adequate for all +purposes of traffic in time of peace, are scarcely equal to the removal +from the city of several hundred thousand women, children, sick and aged +persons within a period of even five days. People of this description +cannot be moved as easily as armies; and hence, when the morning of the +fifth day dawned, fully one-half of the non-combatant population was +still in the city. + +This, however, was attributable not only to the inadequacy of the means +of transportation, but to the singular apathy--it was not +fearlessness--of the people themselves. In the great tenement districts, +it became necessary to send soldiers into the houses to drive people out +of them. + +Among the Irish and Germans there was actual rioting, when force was +thus used. The impression was general that the missiles of the enemy +could not reach the populated parts of New York. + +The crowds, however, at the Grand Central Depot, trying to leave the +city, were enormous. People were placed in cattle-cars, on wood cars--in +fact, every sort of conveyance adapted to the tracks was pressed into +service. + +The Thirtieth Street Depot, on the west side, also was crowded, and +trains were leaving thence every few minutes. + +Just before noon, the city was horror-stricken by the news of a +frightful accident at Spuyten Duyvil. An overloaded train from the +Thirtieth Street Depot there, through a broken switch, came into +collision with another overloaded train from the Grand Central Depot. +The slaughter was horrible. Twelve cars were derailed, and more than a +hundred and twenty people, mostly women and children, killed. + +While people were repeating this news to one another with white faces +and trembling lips, the Spanish squadron was taking position and +preparing to attack. + +The English squadron moved outside the Spanish ships, and stood off and +on under easy steam. + +At precisely noon the white flag was lowered from the mast-head of the +Spanish flag-ship and the Spanish flags were hoisted by all of the +vessels. Immediately afterwards the "Numancia" delivered her broadside +full upon the Coney Island battery. + +Instantly the flag from the general's station was flung out, the +signal-gun was discharged, and from all the sea-coast batteries the +firing began. + + + + +IV. + +IRON HAIL. + + +The position chosen by the attacking vessels was about one and a half +miles to the south of Plumb Inlet. This point is distant from Fort +Hamilton six miles, from Sandy Hook light seven miles, from Brooklyn +Navy Yard nine and a half miles, and from the City Hall, New York City, +about eleven miles, in a straight line. An ample depth of water to float +ships drawing twenty-four feet here exists. The situation was +sufficiently distant from the shore batteries to render the effect of +their projectiles on the armor of the vessels quite inconsiderable. + +The ships, however, did not remain motionless, but steamed slowly around +in a circle of some two miles in diameter, each vessel delivering her +fire as she reached the point above specified. In this way, the chances +of being struck by projectiles from shore were not only lessened, but +the injury which they could do was decreased by the greater distance +which they would be compelled to traverse to strike the ships during the +progress of the latter around the further side of the circle. + +It was evident that the Spanish commander had no idea of attempting to +land his forces, but simply proposed to keep up a slow, persistent +bombardment. It was further apparent that only his lighter artillery +was directed upon the shore batteries, and that he was practising with +his heavy metal at high elevations, to find out how much range he could +get. + +When the second day of the bombardment opened, there were about a +hundred thousand people still in New York, including two of the city +regiments doing police duty. A strong force for this purpose was +necessary, as a large number of roughs and criminals, who had hurried +away during the first panic, now returned, and signalized their advent +by the attempted pillage of the Vanderbilt residences. + +About a hundred and fifty of this mob remained on the pavement of Fifth +Avenue, after a well-directed mitrailleuse fire had been kept up for +some fifteen minutes by the troops. The rest took to their heels, and +lurked about the lower part of the city, waiting for a better +opportunity, and thinking hungrily of the contents of the magnificent +dwellings in the up-town districts. + +The sea-coast batteries nearest to the attacking ships were soon +rendered untenable by their fire. The large hotels on Coney Island were +all struck by shells and burned, and the villages of Flatlands, +Gravesend, and New Utrecht were quickly destroyed. + +Shell after shell then fell in Flatbush, and occasionally a terrific +explosion in Prospect Park, in Greenwood Cemetery, and in the outlying +avenues of Brooklyn, showed that the enemy was throwing his missiles +over distances constantly augmenting. + +On the morning of the third day a futile attempt was made to blow up the +"Numancia," first by the Lay and then by the Ericsson submarine +torpedo-boats. The Lay boat, however, ran up on the east bank and could +not be got off, and the Ericsson started finely from the shore, but, +apparently, sank before she had gone a mile. + +The attack by the "Alarm" and her attendant fleet of torpedo-tugs had +the effect of stopping the bombardment and of concentrating the enemy's +attention upon his own safety. The tugs advanced gallantly to the onset, +six of them rushing almost simultaneously upon the "Vittoria." That +vessel met them with a broadside which sank four at once, and the other +two were riddled by shell from Hotchkiss revolving cannon from the decks +of the Spaniard; their machinery was crippled, and they drifted +helplessly out to sea. Of the others, some ran aground on the bank, some +were sunk, and not one succeeded in exploding her torpedo near a Spanish +vessel. The "Alarm" planted a shell from her bow-rifle, at close range, +squarely into the stern of the "Zaragoza," piercing the armor and +killing a dozen men, besides disabling two guns. She was rammed, +however, by the "Arapiles," and so badly injured as to compel her to +make her escape into shoal water to prevent sinking. There she grounded, +and the Spaniards leisurely made a target of her, although they +considerately permitted her crew to go ashore in their boats without +firing a shot at them. + +Meanwhile the remaining citizens of New York had held a mass meeting, +and appointed a committee of Public Safety, with General Grant at its +head. There had been a great popular movement to have that gentleman put +in supreme command of the army, but the authorities at Washington, for +some occult reason, known only to themselves, had offered him a +major-general's commission, which he promptly declined. Then he +deliberately went to the nearest recruiting-station and tried to enlist +as a private; but the recruiting-officer, after recovering his senses, +with which he parted in dumb astonishment for some seconds, refused him +on the ground that he was over forty-five years of age. + +The general contented himself with remarking: "Guess they'll want me +yet," and thereupon lighting a huge cigar, calmly marched out of the +office and went over to Flatbush, to "see where the shells are hitting;" +serenely oblivious of the possibility of personal danger involved in +that proceeding. + +As chief of the Safety Committee, however, Grant became the real ruler +of New York. Martial law existed, and the senior colonel of the +regiments quartered in the city was in nominal charge; but, as this +individual was not blessed with especial force of character, he never +asserted his authority, and, in fact, seemed rather pleased to +gravitate to the position of Grant's immediate subordinate. + +On the evening of April 18th the watchers on Sandy Hook saw a fifth +vessel join the Spanish fleet; a long, low craft, having, apparently, +two turrets and very light spars. They also saw the admiral's flag on +the "Numancia" lowered, only to be hoisted again on the foremast of the +new-comer. + +At daybreak on the following morning a shell crashed through the roof of +the Fifth Avenue Hotel, descended to the cellar, burst there and wrecked +a quarter of the building. What new fury had thus been let loose? + +It has already been stated that the great ironclad "El Cid" had sailed +from Vigo--she had arrived. + +She carried four guns. Two one-hundred-ton Armstrongs, each having an +effectual range of 12 miles, and two Krupp 15.7-inch guns, which throw +shot weighing nearly 2000 pounds over ten miles. Krupp claims a range of +15 miles; but this is doubtful. She also was encased in 21-1/2 inches of +compound steel and iron armor, capable of resisting the projectiles of +any cannon known--except, perhaps, those of her own Armstrongs. + +The most powerfully armed and most impregnable ironclad in the world now +lay before New York. + +It was an Armstrong shell which struck the Fifth Avenue Hotel. It was a +Krupp shell which shortly after knocked down the steeple of Trinity +Church as if it were a turret of cards. + +In view of this new attack General Grant was requested to call a +meeting of the Committee of Safety, to consider the question of +capitulation, as it was evident that the continuation of such a +bombardment would speedily destroy property in value far beyond the +immense sum asked by the besiegers. + +He notified the members to meet in the City Hall. When he arrived, he +found nobody but a messenger-boy, who tremblingly emerged from the +cellar. + +The General quietly removed his cigar and asked: + +"Where's the Committee?" + +"They--they--is--up ter Inwood, sir." + +The boy's teeth chattered so that he could hardly speak. + +"What the deuce are they doing there?" + +"Dunno, sir. They told me as to tell you, sir, that they wuz a Committee +of Safety, and that's wot they wanted, sir." + +"Wanted what?" + +"S-s-afety, sir!" + +"And they deputized you to tell me that, eh?" + +"Ye-yes, sir." + +"And you looked for me down in the cellar?" + +"N-no, sir. I wanted safety, too, sir. Oh, Lordy!" + +This last interjection was elicited by seeing the upper part of the +_Tribune_ tall tower suddenly fly off, and land on the roof of the _Sun_ +building. + +A sort of a sphinx-like smile overspread the general's features. + +He looked around for the messenger-boy, but that youth was making +extraordinary speed up Broadway. + +The general leisurely proceeded up that thoroughfare--occasionally +stopping, as a shot went crashing into some near building, to note the +effect. + +On arriving at Union Square, he met a cavalry squad looking for him, and +mounting the horse of one of the men, he proceeded with this escort to +the upper end of the island, which was now densely packed with people. + +The projectiles from the heavy guns of the great ironclad were now +falling in the lower part of the city with terrible effect. The Western +Union building was shattered from cellar to roof; the City Hall was on +fire; so also was St. Paul's Church and the _Herald_ building. The +last-mentioned conflagration was put out by the editors and compositors +of that journal--the entire _Herald_ staff being then in the underground +press-rooms, busily preparing and working off _extras_ giving the latest +details of the bombardment. + +The Morse Building was completely demolished by two Krupp shells, and +not an edifice in Wall Street, except the sub-Treasury, had escaped +total ruin. + +The result of the conference of the Safety Committee was the dispatching +of a messenger to Sandy Hook, informing General Hancock of the +condition of affairs, and asking him to request an armistice for +parley. + +The "Ideal," bearing a white flag, was at once dispatched to the Spanish +flag-ship, and shortly after the firing ceased. + +The Spanish admiral refused to alter the terms already proposed, except +that, in view of the injury already inflicted on the city and the +probable increased difficulty of collecting the sum demanded, he would +agree to allow five days' time in which to pay the latter, on board his +flag-ship. + +General Hancock declined to consider this proposal. + +"El Cid" now began a new manoeuvre. All the steam-launches of the fleet, +provided with long, forked spars extending from their bows, formed in +front of her, and, thus preceded, she deliberately steamed up to the +Main channel. + +The fort on the Hook at once opened upon her, but the shot glanced like +dry peas from her armor. She, in return, shelled the fort, the masonry +of which literally crumbled before the enormous projectiles hurled +against it. Meanwhile, the launches had entered the channel and were +picking up such torpedoes as could be detected. Other launches, having +no crews on board, but being governed entirely by electric wires, were +sent into the channel and caused to drop counter mines, which, on being +fired, caused the explosion of such torpedoes as remained: thus making a +broad and safe channel for the ironclad to enter. + +Finally the remaining launches returned to the "Cid" and evidently +reported the channel clear for she boldly steamed into it, stopping only +for an instant, when off the end of the peninsula, to send a double +charge of grape and canister from her huge guns into the ranks of the +fugitives, who were precipitately rushing from the fort. + +It was then that General Hancock was killed although the fact has since +often been disputed. His body, wounded in a dozen places, was found on +the sand near the highest wall of the fort, from the top of which, it is +conjectured, he was swept by the fearful hail of the Spanish ironclad. + +"El Cid" continued on into the bay, occasionally stopping as signaled by +the launches preceding her, when a torpedo was encountered, and finally +took up her position within about a mile of Fort Hamilton, and hence +about seven miles from the Battery. + +As the projectiles from the fort glanced harmlessly from her armor, she +paid no attention to that attack, but resumed her fire upon the city. + +Shells now began to fall as far up-town as Forty-second Street. + + + + +V. + +AT THE MERCY OF THE FOE. + + +Meanwhile, the other four vessels had ceased their bombardment of the +batteries, as the latter no longer answered them. + +They appeared to have new work in hand. + +During the following afternoon a fresh sea-breeze set in. Then a large, +swaying globe made its appearance on the deck of each of the vessels. +Examination with the telescope showed to the signal men, who had +established a new station on the Jersey highlands, that these mysterious +spheres were balloons; and that the ships were about to dispatch them, +was evident from the fact that small pilot-balloons were soon sent up. +These last were wafted directly toward the city. + +What possible object could the Spanish war-vessels have in this, was a +question asked by every one, as soon as the intelligence became known. + +The balloon which rose from the "Numancia" had a car attached, but there +was clearly no one in it. Therefore the balloons were not to be used for +purposes of observation. + +The people in New York saw the balloons as they successively rose from +the four vessels, and wonderingly watched their progress. + +They saw the first of them gently sail toward the city until about over +the Roman Catholic Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. Then a dark object seemed +to fall from the car, the lightened balloon shot upward, the object +struck the roof of the cathedral there was a fearful explosion, a +trembling of the earth as if an angry volcano were beneath, and the +crash of falling buildings followed. + +Through the great clouds of dust and smoke it could be seen that not +only was the cathedral shattered, but that the walls of every building +adjacent to the square on which it stood were down. + +_The Spaniards were dropping nitro-glycerine bombs into the city from +the balloons_. They knew how long it would take the breeze to waft the +air-ships over the built-up portion, and it was an easy matter to adjust +clock-work in the car to cause the dropping of the torpedo at about the +proper time. + +Accuracy was not needed. A shell, filled with fifty or a hundred pounds +of dynamite or nitro-glycerine, would be sure to do terrible damage +anywhere within a radius of three miles around Madison Square. + +A second balloon dropped its charge into the receiving reservoir in +Central Park, luckily doing no damage, but throwing up a tremendous jet +of water. The third and fourth balloons let fall their dejectiles, the +one among the tenements near Tompkins Square destroying an entire block +of houses simultaneously; the other on High Bridge, completely +shattering that structure, and so breaking the aqueduct through which +the city obtains its water supply. + +The Spanish admiral now ceased firing voluntarily and sent a message by +flag-of-truce announcing his intention to continue the throwing of +balloon torpedoes into the city until it capitulated, and, in order to +avoid further destruction of property, he renewed the proposal already +made. + +General Grant, on receiving this message--for the citizens had literally +forced him to take active command of the troops--simply remarked: + +"Let him fire away!" + +But the Safety Committee vehemently protested; and finally, after much +discussion, induced Grant to send back word that the terms were +accepted. + +The situation was, in truth, one of sadness--of bitter humiliation. The +Empire City had fallen, and lay at the mercy of a foreign foe. The +immense ransom demanded must be raised and paid, or the work of +destruction would be resumed until the defenders of the bay removed +their torpedoes from the Narrows and permitted the Spanish forces to +enter and occupy the metropolis. + + + + +VI. + +THE FLAG WITH THE LONE STAR. + + +As it was manifestly impossible to obtain fifty millions of dollars in +specie and foreign notes within New York--for all the money in the +vaults of the banks and the treasury had long since been sent to other +cities--the general government assumed payment of the amount demanded by +the Spaniards, which, however, it was decided not to make until just +before the expiration of the last of the five days of grace. + +As will now be seen, this was a fortunate decision. The unremitting +bombardment which had been maintained by the four vessels off the Long +Island shore had so greatly reduced their supply of ammunition that it +became necessary to send for more: and for this purpose the "Vittoria" +was dispatched to meet a transport which had been ordered to sail from +Cuba at about this time. + +On the evening of the third day the weather assumed a threatening +appearance, and the "El Cid" left her position near Fort Hamilton for a +more secure anchorage near Sandy Hook. The other ships stood out to sea. + +It stormed heavily during that night, and before evening on the morrow +one of the strongest gales ever known in this vicinity had set in. + +The situation in which the Spanish flag-ship now found herself was +critical. She had put down her two bower anchors, but they were clearly +insufficient to hold her. To veer out cable was dangerous, for it was +not known how near the ship was to sunken torpedoes; to allow her to +drag was to run the double chance of striking a torpedo or going ashore. + +During the night she parted both cables, and the morning found her +firmly imbedded in the beach off the Hook. Of the other vessels, the +"Numancia" only was in sight. + +The signal men, however, could see black smoke on the horizon; and this +they anxiously watched, expecting momentarily to make out the "Arapiles" +and "Zaragoza." Shortly after daybreak, a thick fog settled down, +completely cutting off the seaward view. + +In the signal station were General Grant and several members of the +Safety Commission. The ransom money was in readiness, and the intention +was to pay it over during the morning. + +At about eight o'clock, heavy firing was heard from the sea. + +It was too far distant to be accounted for by a supposed renewal of the +bombardment by the Spanish ships, even under the assumption that they +had thus broken the truce. + +The watchers at the signal station looked at each other in astonishment, +and eagerly waited for the fog to lift. + +An hour later, the mist began to clear away. The sight that met the +eyes of the spectators was one never to be forgotten. + +The "Numancia" was evidently ashore on the East bank. Her fore and +mainmasts were gone, and clouds of dark smoke were lazily ascending from +her forecastle. Suddenly, the whole ship seemed to burst into a sheet of +flame, there was a deep explosion, the air was filled with flying +fragments, and a blackened hull was all that was left of the proud +man-of-war. + +The "Arapiles," about two miles further out to sea, was making a gallant +defense against three strange vessels. Two, lying at short range on her +quarters, were pouring in a fearful fire; the third, which had evidently +been engaged with the "Numancia," was rapidly bearing down upon her, +apparently intending to ram. + +Who could the strangers be? + +The flags which floated from their mast-heads bore a strong resemblance +to our own, yet they were not the stars and stripes; for the stripes +were replaced by but two broad bands of red and white, and in the blue +field there was but a single star. + +"Chili, by Jove!" ejaculated some one in the signal station. + +He was right. + +The new-comers were the "Huascar," the "Almirante Cochrane" and the +"Blanco Encelada," the three armored vessels of the South American +Republic. + +It was the "Huascar" which was now bearing down upon the "Arapiles." + +Suddenly, the Chilian monitor was seen to slacken her speed and change +her course. + +She no longer meant to ram; the necessity had ceased. At the same time, +the other Chilian vessels ceased firing. + +The Spanish ensign on the "Arapiles" had been lowered. In a few minutes +after it rose again, but this time surmounted by the Chilian flag. + +Then the four vessels stood in toward the Hook. + +The watchers on the signal station now waited in breathless suspense. + +The "Arapiles," with a prize crew from the other vessels to work her +guns, was to be made to attack her former consort, the stranded "El +Cid;" and that vessel, aware of her danger, was now firing rapidly at +her approaching enemies. + +It was not reserved, however, for the Chilians to complete their victory +by the capture of the great ironclad. + +The giant was to be killed by a pigmy scarce larger than one of his own +huge weapons. A smaller steam-launch slowly crept out from the Staten +Island shore. But two men could be seen on board of her--one in the bow, +the other at the helm. + +"They don't see us yet, Ned," said the man in the bow. + +"No; they have all they can do to take care of the other fellows. Look +out! Are you hurt?" + +A shell from the Chilians just then came over the Hook, and, bursting +under the water near the launch, deluged the boat with spray. + +"Not a bit," said the other. + +"Is your boom clear?" + +"All clear." + +Bang! A shot, this time from the Spaniard came skipping along the water +in the direction of the launch, and flew over the heads of the daring +pair. + +"Hang them! They've seen us." + +"Rig out your boom. We're in for it now!" + +The man in the stern pushed shut the door of the boiler furnace, and +turned on full steam. + +The little craft fairly leaped ahead. + +The two men set their teeth. He of the stern lashed the tiller +amidships, and crept forward, aiding the other to push out the long boom +which projected from the bow. + +Ten seconds passed. Then the torpedo on the end of the boom struck the +"El Cid" under the stern. There was a crash--a vast upheaval of water +and fragments. + +The great ironclad rolled over on her side and lay half submerged. + +Of the two men who had done this, one swam ashore bearing the other, +wounded to the death. + +A mighty cheer arose from the Chilian fleet, repeated from the shore +with redoubled volume. + +"El Cid" lay sullen and silent; two of her guns were pointing under +water, two up to the clouds. + +The "Arapiles" fired the last shell at her own admiral--now a corpse, +torn to pieces by the torpedo. + +Then some one scrambled along the deck of the wrecked monster and +lowered the Spanish flag. + +"I think we'll keep that money," remarked Grant, as he lit another +cigar. + + * * * * * + +The Chilian fleet had relieved New York. Elated by her victory over +Peru, and thirsting for revenge against Spain for the latter's merciless +bombardment of Valparaiso in 1866, the Chilians, as soon as they had +learned of the declaration of war against the United States, tore up the +treaty of truce and armistice made with Spain in 1871, and announced +themselves an ally of this country. Realizing the weakness of our navy, +and the unprotected position of our seaports, Chili instantly dispatched +her three ironclads to New York. They made the voyage with remarkable +celerity, stopping only for coal and provisions, and reached the +beleaguered city just in the nick of time, as has already been detailed. + +It was fortunate that the "Zaragoza" had been obliged to put so far out +to sea that she could not return in season to take part in the conflict, +otherwise the result might have been different. + +As it was, when she came back a day later, and discovered the position +of affairs, she took to her heels without delay. + +It is not necessary here to speak of the greeting which the Chilians +received, or the thanks which were lavished upon them by the people of +the United States. Neither need we picture the dismay of the citizens of +New York when they came to realize the fearful damage which had been +inflicted upon their city. Fully one-half of the town lay in ruins. The +metropolis was the metropolis no longer. The proudest city of the Great +Republic had been at the mercy of a conqueror, and, as if this +humiliation were not deep enough, she owed her preservation from utter +destruction to the guns of an insignificant Republic of South America. + + * * * * * + +Six months after the relief of the city, a Chilian sailor belonging to +the "Huascar," which was lying off the Battery, stopped to watch a crowd +of workmen who were busily engaged in clearing away the ruins of some +tenement buildings near Tompkins Square. + +The face of one of the workmen had evidently attracted the foreigner's +attention, as he gazed at him intently and curiously. + +Suddenly there was a sharp detonation. The crowd scattered in all +directions. An unexploded shell which had lodged in the building had +been struck by a pick in the hands of one of the laborers, and had been +fired. + +The sailor helped carry out the dead. + +Among the victims was the man at whom he had been so intently looking a +moment before. This one he took in his arms and bore him apart from the +rest. + +Nervously he tore open the dead man's shirt. On the bared breast was a +curiously shaped mole. + +The sailor sank on his knees in prayer beside the body for a moment. +Then he turned, and addressing an officer who, with a file of soldiers, +had come upon the scene, and was directing the removal of the dead, he +asked in broken English, pointing to the corpse: + +"Will you give me this?" + +"Why?" + +"He was my brother--_Leon Sangrado_." + +The war had found a victim in him who had caused it. + + +[3] _Fiction, October 31, 1881._ + + + + +WHY THOMAS WAS DISCHARGED.[4] + +BY GEORGE ARNOLD. + + +Brant Beach is a long promontory of rock and sand, jutting out at an +acute angle from a barren portion of the coast. Its farthest extremity +is marked by a pile of many-colored, wave-washed boulders; its junction +with the mainland is the site of the Brant House, a watering-place of +excellent repute. + +The attractions of this spot are not numerous. There is surf-bathing all +along the outer side of the beach, and good swimming on the inner. The +fishing is fair; and in still weather yachting is rather a favorite +amusement. Further than this there is little to be said, save that the +hotel is conducted upon liberal principles, and the society generally +select. + +But to the lover of nature--and who has the courage to avow himself +aught else?--the sea-shore can never be monotonous. The swirl and sweep +of ever-shifting waters, the flying mist of foam breaking away into a +gray and ghostly distance down the beach, the eternal drone of ocean, +mingling itself with one's talk by day and with the light dance-music in +the parlors by night--all these are active sources of a passive +pleasure. And to lie at length upon the tawny sand, watching, through +half-closed eyes, the heaving waves, that mount against a dark blue sky +wherein great silvery masses of cloud float idly on, whiter than the +sunlit sails that fade and grow and fade along the horizon, while some +fair damsel sits close by, reading ancient ballads of a simple metre, or +older legends of love and romance--tell me, my eater of the fashionable +lotos, is not this a diversion well worth your having? + +There is an air of easy sociality among the guests at the Brant House, a +disposition on the part of all to contribute to the general amusement, +that makes a summer sojourn on the beach far more agreeable than in +certain larger, more frequented watering-places, where one is always in +danger of discovering that the gentlemanly person with whom he has been +fraternizing is a faro-dealer, or that the lady who has half-fascinated +him is Anonyma herself. Still, some consider the Brant rather slow, and +many good folk were a trifle surprised when Mr. Edwin Salsbury and Mr. +Charles Burnham arrived by the late stage from Wikhasset Station, with +trunks enough for two first-class belles, and a most unexceptionable +man-servant in gray livery, in charge of two beautiful setter-dogs. + +These gentlemen seemed to have imagined that they were about visiting +some backwoods wilderness, some savage tract of country, "remote, +unfriended, melancholy, slow," for they brought almost everything with +them that men of elegant leisure could require, as if the hotel were but +four walls and a roof, which they must furnish with their own chattels. +I am sure it took Thomas, the man-servant, a whole day to unpack the +awnings, the bootjacks, the game-bags, the cigar-boxes, the guns, the +camp-stools, the liquor-cases, the bathing-suits, and other +paraphernalia that these pleasure-seekers brought. It must be owned, +however, that their room, a large one in the Bachelors' Quarter, facing +the sea, wore a very comfortable, sportsmanlike look when all was +arranged. + +Thus surrounded, the young men betook themselves to the deliberate +pursuit of idle pleasures. They arose at nine and went down the shore, +invariably returning at ten with one unfortunate snipe, which was +preserved on ice, with much ceremony, till wanted. At this rate it took +them a week to shoot a breakfast; but to see them sally forth, splendid +in velveteen and corduroy, with top-boots and a complete harness of +green cord and patent-leather straps, you would have imagined that all +game-birds were about to become extinct in that region. Their dogs, +even, recognized this great-cry-little-wool condition of things, and +bounded off joyously at the start, but came home crestfallen, with an +air of canine humiliation that would have aroused Mr. Mayhew's tenderest +sympathies. + +After breakfasting, usually in their room, the friends enjoyed a long +and contemplative smoke upon the wide piazza in front of their windows, +listlessly regarding the ever-varied marine view that lay before them in +flashing breadth and beauty. Their next labor was to array themselves in +wonderful morning-costumes of very shaggy English cloth, shiny flasks +and field-glasses about their shoulders, and loiter down the beach, to +the point and back, making much unnecessary effort over the walk--a +brief mile--which they spoke of, with importance, as their +"constitutional." This killed time till bathing-hour, and then another +toilet for dinner. After dinner a siesta: in the room, when the weather +was fresh; when otherwise, in hammocks hung from the rafters of the +piazza. When they had been domiciled a few days, they found it expedient +to send home for what they were pleased to term their "crabs" and +"traps," and excited the envy of less fortunate guests by driving up and +down the beach at a racing gait to dissipate the languor of the +after-dinner sleep. + +This was their regular routine for the day--varied, occasionally, when +the tide served, by a fishing trip down the narrow bay inside the point. +For such emergencies they provided themselves with a sail-boat and +skipper, hired for the whole season, and arrayed themselves in a highly +nautical rig. The results were, large quantities of sardines and pale +sherry consumed by the young men, and a reasonable number of sea-bass +and blackfish caught by the skipper. + +There were no regular "hops" at the Brant House, but dancing in a quiet +way every evening to a flute, violin, and violoncello, played by some of +the waiters. For a time Burnham and Salsbury did not mingle much in +these festivities, but loitered about the halls and piazzas, very +elegantly dressed and barbered (Thomas was an unrivalled _coiffeur_), +and apparently somewhat _ennuye_. + +That two well-made, full-grown, intelligent, and healthy young men +should lead such a life as this for an entire summer might surprise one +of a more active temperament. The aimlessness and vacancy of an +existence devoted to no earthly purpose save one's own comfort must soon +weary any man who knows what is the meaning of real, earnest life--life +with a battle to be fought and a victory to be won. But these elegant +young gentlemen comprehended nothing of all that: they had been born +with golden spoons in their mouths, and educated only to swallow the +delicately insipid lotos-honey that flows inexhaustibly from such +shining spoons. Clothes, complexions, polish of manner, and the +avoidance of any sort of shock were the simple objects of their +solicitude. + +I do not know that I have any serious quarrel with such fellows, after +all. They have strong virtues. They are always clean; and your rough +diamond, though manly and courageous as Coeur de Lion, is not apt to be +scrupulously nice in his habits. Affability is another virtue. The +Salsbury and Burnham kind of man bears malice toward no one, and is +disagreeable only when assailed by some hammer-and-tongs utilitarian. +All he asks is to be permitted to idle away his pleasant life +unmolested. Lastly, he is extremely ornamental. We all like to see +pretty things; and I am sure that Charley Burnham, in his fresh white +duck suit, with his fine, thoroughbred face--gentle as a girl's--shaded +by a snowy Panama, his blonde moustache carefully pointed, his golden +hair clustering in the most picturesque possible waves, his little red +neck-ribbon--the only bit of color in his dress--tied in a studiously +careless knot, and his pure, untainted gloves of pearl gray or lavender, +was, if I may be allowed the expression, just as pretty as a picture. +And Ned Salsbury was not less "a joy forever," according to the dictum +of the late Mr. Keats. He was darker than Burnham, with very black hair, +and a moustache worn in the manner the French call _triste_, which +became him, and increased the air of pensive melancholy that +distinguished his dark eyes, thoughtful attitudes, and slender figure. +Not that he was in the least degree pensive or melancholy, or that he +had cause to be; quite the contrary; but it was his style, and he did it +well. + +These two butterflies sat, one afternoon, upon the piazza, smoking very +large cigars, lost, apparently, in profoundest meditation. Burnham, with +his graceful head resting upon one delicate hand, his clear blue eyes +full of a pleasant light, and his face warmed by a calm, unconscious +smile, might have been revolving some splendid scheme of universal +philanthropy. The only utterance, however, forced from him by the +sublime thoughts that permeated his soul, was the emission of a white +rolling volume of fragrant smoke, accompanied by two words: "Dooced +hot!" + +Salsbury did not reply. He sat, leaning back, with his fingers +interlaced behind his head, and his shadowy eyes downcast, as in sad +remembrance of some long-lost love. So might a poet have looked, while +steeped in mournfully rapturous daydreams of remembered passion and +severance. So might Tennyson's hero have mused, while he sang: + + "Oh, that 'twere possible, + After long grief and pain, + To find the arms of my true love + Round me once again!" + +But the poetic lips opened not to such numbers. Salsbury gazed long and +earnestly, and finally gave vent to his emotion, indicating, with the +amber tip of his cigar-tube, the setter that slept in the sunshine at +his feet. + +"Shocking place, this, for dogs!"--I regret to say he pronounced it +"dawgs"--"Why, Carlo is as fat--as fat as--as a--" + +His mind was unequal to a simile even, and he terminated the sentence +in a murmur. + +More silence; more smoke; more profound meditation. Directly Charley +Burnham looked around with some show of vitality. + +"There comes the stage," said he. + +The driver's bugle rang merrily among the drifted sand-hills that lay +warm and glowing in the orange light of the setting sun. The young men +leaned forward over the piazza-rail and scrutinized the occupants of the +vehicle as it appeared. + +"Old gentleman and lady, aw, and two children," said Ned Salsbury; "I +hoped there would be some nice girls." + +This, in a voice of ineffable tenderness and poetry, but with that odd, +tired little drawl, so epidemic in some of our universities. + +"Look there, by Jove!" cried Charley, with a real interest at last; "now +that's what I call a regular thing!" + +The "regular thing" was a low, four-wheeled pony-chaise of basket-work, +drawn by two jolly little fat ponies, black and shiny as vulcanite, +which jogged rapidly in, just far enough behind the stage to avoid its +dust. + +This vehicle was driven by a young lady of decided beauty, with a spice +of Amazonian spirit. She was rather slender and very straight, with a +jaunty little hat and feather perched coquettishly above her dark brown +hair, which was arranged in one heavy mass and confined in a silken net. +Her complexion was clear, without brilliancy; her eyes blue as the +ocean horizon, and spanned by sharp, characteristic brows; her mouth +small and decisive; and her whole cast of features indicative of quick +talent and independence. + +Upon the seat beside her sat another damsel, leaning indolently back in +the corner of the carriage. This one was a little fairer than the first, +having one of those beautiful English complexions of mingled rose and +snow, and a dash of gold-dust in her hair where the sun touched it. Her +eyes, however, were dark hazel and full of fire, shaded and intensified +by their long, sweeping lashes. Her mouth was a rosebud, and her chin +and throat faultless in the delicious curve of their lines. In a word, +she was somewhat of the Venus-di-Milo type; her companion was more of a +Diana. Both were neatly habited in plain travelling-dresses and cloaks +of black and white plaid, and both seemed utterly unconscious of the +battery of eyes and eye-glasses that enfiladed them from the whole +length of the piazza as they passed. + +"Who are they?" asked Salsbury; "I don't know them." + +"Nor I," said Burnham; "but they look like people to know. They must be +somebody." + +Half an hour later the hotel-office was besieged by a score of young +men, all anxious for a peep at the last names upon the register. It is +needless to say that our friends were not in the crowd. Ned Salsbury was +no more the man to exhibit curiosity than Charley Burnham was the man +to join in a scramble for anything under the sun. They had educated +their emotions clear down, out of sight, and piled upon them a mountain +of well-bred inertia. + +But, somehow or other, these fellows who take no trouble are always the +first to gain the end. A special Providence seems to aid the poor, +helpless creatures. So, while the crowd still pressed at the +office-desk, Jerry Swayne, the head clerk, happened to pass directly by +the piazza where the inert ones sat, and, raising a comical eye, saluted +them. + +"Heavy arrivals to-night. See the turnout?" + +"Y-e-s," murmured Ned. + +"Old Chapman and family. His daughter drove the pony-phaeton, with her +friend, a Miss Thurston. Regular nobby ones. Chapman's the steam-ship +man, you know. Worth thousands of millions! I'd like to be connected +with his family--by marriage, say!"--and Jerry went off, rubbing his +cropped head and smiling all over, as was his wont. + +"I know who they are now," said Charley. "Met a cousin of theirs, Joe +Faulkner, abroad two years ago. Dooced fine fellow. Army." + +The manly art of wagoning is not pursued vigorously at Brant Beach. The +roads are too heavy back from the water, and the drive is confined to a +narrow strip of wet sand along the shore; so carriages are few, and the +pony-chaise became a distinguished element at once. Salsbury and Burnham +whirled past it in their light trotting-wagons at a furious pace, and +looked hard at the two young ladies in passing, but without eliciting +even the smallest glance from them in return. + +"Confounded _distingue_-looking girls, and all that," owned Ned, "but, +aw, fearfully unconscious of a fellow!" + +This condition of matters continued until the young men were actually +driven to acknowledge to each other that they should not mind knowing +the occupants of the pony carriage. It was a great concession, and was +rewarded duly. A bright, handsome boy of seventeen, Miss Thurston's +brother, came to pass a few days at the seaside, and fraternized with +everybody, but was especially delighted with Ned Salsbury, who took him +out sailing and shooting, and, I am afraid, gave him cigars stealthily, +when out of range of Miss Thurston's fine eyes. The result was that the +first time the lad walked on the beach with the two girls and met the +young man, introductions of an enthusiastic nature were instantly sprung +upon them. An attempt at conversation followed. + +"How do you like Brant Beach?" asked Ned. + +"Oh, it is a very pretty place," said Miss Chapman, "but not lively +enough." + +"Well, Burnham and I find it pleasant; aw, we have lots of fun." + +"Indeed! Why, what do you do?" + +"Oh, I don't know. Everything." + +"Is the shooting good? I saw you with your guns yesterday." + +"Well, there isn't a great deal of game. There is some fishing, but we +haven't caught much." + +"How do you kill time, then?" + +Salsbury looked puzzled. + +"Aw--it is a first-rate air, you know. The table is good, and you can +sleep like a top. And then, you see, I like to smoke around, and do +nothing, on the sea-shore. It is real jolly to lie on the sand, aw, with +all sorts of little bugs running over you, and listen to the water +swashing about!" + +"Let's try it!" cried vivacious Miss Chapman; and down she sat on the +sand. The others followed her example, and in five minutes they were +picking up pretty pebbles and chatting away as sociably as could be. The +rumbling of the warning gong surprised them. + +At dinner Burnham and Salsbury took seats opposite the ladies, and were +honored with an introduction to papa and mamma, a very dignified, heavy, +rosy, old-school couple, who ate a good deal and said very little. That +evening, when flute and viol wooed the lotos-eaters to agitate the light +fantastic toe, these young gentlemen found themselves in dancing humor, +and revolved themselves into a grievous condition of glow and wilt in +various mystic and intoxicating measures with their new-made friends. + +On retiring, somewhat after midnight, Miss Thurston paused while "doing +her hair," and addressed Miss Chapman. + +"Did you observe, Hattie, how very handsome those gentlemen are? Mr. +Burnham looks like a prince of the _sang azur_, and Mr. Salsbury like +his poet-laureate." + +"Yes, dear," responded Hattie; "I have been considering those flowers of +the field and lilies of the valley." + +"Ned," said Charlie, at about the same time, "we won't find anything +nicer here this season, I think." + +"They're pretty worth while," replied Ned, "and I'm rather pleased with +them." + +"Which do you like best?" + +"Oh, bother! I haven't thought of _that_ yet." + +The next day the young men delayed their "constitutional" until the +ladies were ready to walk, and the four strolled off together, mamma and +the children following in the pony-chaise. At the rocks on the end of +the point Ned got his feet very wet fishing up specimens of seaweed for +the damsels; and Charley exerted himself super-humanly in assisting them +to a ledge which they considered favorable for sketching purposes. + +In the afternoon a sail was arranged, and they took dinner on board the +boat, with any amount of hilarity and a good deal of discomfort. In the +evening more dancing and vigorous attentions to both the young ladies, +but without a shadow of partiality being shown by either of the four. + +This was very nearly the history of many days. It does not take long to +get acquainted with people who are willing, especially at +watering-places; and in the course of a few weeks these young folks +were, to all intents and purposes, old friends--calling each other by +their given names, and conducting themselves with an easy familiarity +quite charming to behold. Their amusements were mostly in common now. +The light wagons were made to hold two each instead of one, and the +matinal snipe escaped death, and was happy over his early worm. + +One day, however, Laura Thurston had a headache, and Hattie Chapman +stayed at home to take care of her; so Burnham and Salsbury had to amuse +themselves alone. They took their boat and idled about the waters inside +the point, dozing under an awning, smoking, gaping, and wishing that +headaches were out of fashion, while the taciturn and tarry skipper +instructed the dignified and urbane Thomas in the science of trolling +for blue-fish. + +At length Ned tossed his cigar-end overboard and braced himself for an +effort. + +"I say, Charlie," said he, "this sort of thing can't go on forever, you +know. I've been thinking lately." + +"Phenomenon!" replied Charlie; "and what have you been thinking about?" + +"Those girls. We've got to choose." + +"Why? Isn't it well enough as it is?" + +"Yes--so far. But I think, aw, that we don't quite do them justice. +They're _grands partis_, you see. I hate to see clever girls wasting +themselves on society, waiting and waiting, and we fellows swimming +about just like fish around a hook that isn't baited properly." + +Charley raised himself upon his elbow. + +"You don't mean to tell me, Ned, that you have matrimonial intentions?" + +"Oh, no! Still, why not? We've all got to come to it some day, I +suppose." + +"Not yet, though. It is a sacrifice we can escape for some years yet." + +"Yes--of course--some years; but we may begin to look about us a bit. +I'm, aw, I'm six and twenty, you know." + +"And I'm very near that. I suppose a fellow can't put off the yoke too +long. After thirty chances aren't so good. I don't know, by Jove! but +what we ought to begin thinking of it." + +"But it _is_ a sacrifice. Society must lose a fellow, though, one time +or another. And I don't believe we will ever do better than we can now." + +"Hardly, I suspect." + +"And we're keeping other fellows away, maybe. It is a shame!" + +Thomas ran his line in rapidly, with nothing on the hook. + +"Cap'n Hull," he said, gravely, "I had the biggest kind of a fish then +I'm sure; but d'rectly I went to pull him in, sir, he took and let go." + +"Yaas," muttered the taciturn skipper, "the biggest fish allers falls +back inter the warter." + +"I've been thinking a little about this matter, too," said Charlie, +after a pause, "and I had about concluded we ought to pair off. But I'll +be confounded if I know which is the best! They're both nice girls." + +"There isn't much choice," Ned replied. "If they were as different, now, +as you and me, I'd take the blonde, of course, aw, and you'd take the +brunette. But Hattie Chapman's eyes are blue, and her hair isn't black, +you know, so you can't call her dark, exactly." + +"No more than Laura is exactly light. Her hair is brown more than +golden, and her eyes are hazel. Hasn't she a lovely complexion, though? +By Jove!" + +"Better than Hattie's. Yet I don't know but Hattie's features are a +little the best." + +"They are. Now, honest, Ned, which do you prefer? Say either; I'll take +the one you don't want. I haven't any choice." + +"Neither have I." + +"How shall we settle?" + +"Aw, throw for it?" + +"Yes. Isn't there a backgammon board forward, in that locker, Thomas?" + +The board was found and the dice produced. + +"The highest takes which?" + +"Say Laura Thurston." + +"Very good; throw." + +"You first." + +"No. Go on." + +Charlie threw with about the same amount of excitement he might have +exhibited in a turkey raffle. + +"Five-three," said he; "now for your luck." + +"Six-four! Laura's mine. Satisfied?" + +"Perfectly--if you are. If not, I don't mind exchanging." + +"Oh, no. I'm satisfied." + +Both reclined upon the deck once more with a sigh of relief, and a long +silence followed. + +"I say," began Charlie, after a time, "it is a comfort to have these +little matters arranged without any trouble, eh?" + +"Y-e-s." + +"Do you know, I think I'll marry mine?" + +"I will, if you will." + +"Done! It is a bargain." + +This "little matter" being arranged, a change gradually took place in +the relations of the four. Ned Salsbury began to invite Laura Thurston +out driving and bathing somewhat oftener than before, and Hattie Chapman +somewhat less often; while Charlie Burnham followed suit with the +last-named young lady. As the line of demarcation became fixed, the +damsels recognized it, and accepted with gracious readiness the +cavaliers that Fate, through the agency of a chance-falling pair of +dice, had allotted to them. + +The other guests of the house remarked the new position of affairs, and +passed whispers about it to the effect that the girls had at last +succeeded in getting their fish on hooks instead of in a net. No +suitors could have been more devoted than our friends. It seemed as if +each knight bestowed upon the chosen one all the attentions he had +hitherto given to both; and whether they went boating, sketching, or +strolling upon the sands, they were the very picture of a _partie +carree_ of lovers. + +Naturally enough, as the young men became more in earnest, with the +reticence common to my sex they spoke less frequently and freely on the +subject. Once, however, after an unusually pleasant afternoon, Salsbury +ventured a few words. + +"I say, we're a couple of lucky dogs! Who'd have thought now, aw, that +our summer was going to turn out so well? I'm sure I didn't. How do you +get along, Charley, boy?" + +"Deliciously. Smooth sailing enough. Wasn't it a good idea, though, to +pair off? I'm just as happy as a bee in clover. You seem to prosper, +too, heh?" + +"Couldn't ask anything different. Nothing but devotion, and all that. +I'm delighted. I say, when are you going to pop?" + +"Oh, I don't know. It is only a matter of form. Sooner the better, I +suppose, and have it over." + +"I was thinking of next week. What do you say to a quiet picnic down on +the rocks, and a walk afterwards? We can separate, you know, and do the +thing up systematically." + +"All right. I will, if you will." + +"That's another bargain. I notice there isn't much doubt about the +results." + +"Hardly!" + +A close observer might have seen that the gentlemen increased their +attentions a little from time to time. The objects of their devotion +perceived it, and smiled more and more graciously upon them. + +The day set for the picnic arrived duly, and was radiant. It pains me to +confess that my heroes were a trifle nervous. Their apparel was more +gorgeous and wonderful than ever, and Thomas, who was anxious to be off +courting Miss Chapman's lady's-maid, found his masters dreadfully +exacting in the matter of hair-dressing. At length, however, the toilet +was over, and "Solomon in all his glory" would have been vastly +astonished at finding himself "arrayed as one of these." + +The boat lay at the pier, receiving large quantities of supplies for the +trip, stowed by Thomas, under the supervision of the grim and tarry +skipper. When all was ready the young men gingerly escorted their fair +companions aboard, the lines were cast off, and the boat glided gently +down the bay, leaving Thomas free to fly to the smart presence of Susan +Jane and to draw glowing pictures for her of a neat little porter-house +in the city, wherein they should hold supreme sway, be happy with each +other, and let rooms up-stairs for single gentlemen. + +The brisk land breeze swelling the sail, the fluttering of the gay +little flag at the gaff, the musical rippling of water under the +counter, and the spirited motion of the boat combined, with the bland +air and pleasant sunshine, to inspire the party with much vivacity. They +had not been many minutes afloat before the guitar-case was opened, and +the girls' voices--Laura's soprano and Hattie's contralto--rang +melodiously over the waves, mingled with feeble attempt at bass +accompaniment from their gorgeous guardians. + +Before these vocal exercises wearied, the skipper hauled down his jib, +let go his anchor, and brought the craft to just off the rocks; and +bringing the yawl alongside, unceremoniously plucked the girls down into +it, without giving their cavaliers a chance for the least display of +agile courtliness. Rowing ashore, this same tarry person left them +huddled upon the beach, with their hopes, their hampers, their emotions, +and their baskets, and returned to the vessel to do a little private +fishing on his own account till wanted. + +The maidens gave vent to their high spirits by chasing each other among +the rocks, gathering shells and seaweed for the construction of those +ephemeral little ornaments--fair, but frail--in which the sex delights, +singing, laughing, quoting poetry, attitudinizing upon the peaks and +ledges of the fine old boulders--mossy and weedy and green with the wash +of a thousand storms, worn into strange shapes, and stained with the +multitudinous dyes of mineral oxidization--and, in brief, behaved +themselves with all the charming _abandon_ that so well becomes young +girls set free, by the _entourage_ of a holiday ramble, from the buckram +and clear-starch of social etiquette. + +Meanwhile Ned and Charley smoked the pensive cigar of preparation in a +sheltered corner, and gazed out seaward, dreaming and seeing nothing. + +Erelong the breeze and the romp gave the young ladies not only a +splendid color and sparkling eyes, but excellent appetites also. The +baskets and hampers were speedily unpacked, the table-cloth laid on a +broad, flat stone, so used by generations of Brant House picnickers, and +the party fell to. Laura's beautiful hair, a little disordered, swept +her blooming cheek, and cast a pearly shadow upon her neck. Her bright +eyes glanced archly out from under her half-raised veil, and there was +something inexpressibly _naive_ in the freedom with which she ate, +taking a bird's wing in her fingers, and boldly attacking it with teeth +as white and even as can be imagined. Notwithstanding all the mawkish +nonsense that has been put forth by sentimentalists concerning feminine +eating, I hold that it is one of the nicest things in the world to see a +pretty woman enjoying the creature comforts; and Byron himself, had he +been one of this picnic party, would have been unable to resist the +admiration that filled the souls of Burnham and Salsbury. Hattie Chapman +stormed the fortress of boned turkey with a gusto equal to that of +Laura, and made highly successful raids upon certain outlying salads +and jellies. The young men were not in a very ravenous condition; they +were, as I have said, a little nervous, and bent their energies +principally to admiring the ladies and coquetting with pickled oysters. + +When the repast was over, with much accompanying chat and laughter, Ned +glanced significantly at Charley, and proposed to Laura that they should +walk up the beach to a place where, he said, there were "some pretty +rocks and things, you know." She consented, and they marched off. Hattie +also arose, and took her parasol, as if to follow, but Charley remained +seated, tracing mysterious diagrams upon the table-cloth with his fork, +and looked sublimely unconscious. + +"Sha'n't we walk, too?" Hattie asked. + +"Oh, why, the fact is," said he, hesitatingly, "I--I sprained my ankle +getting out of that confounded boat, so I don't feel much like +exercising just now." + +The young girl's face expressed concern. + +"That is too bad! Why didn't you tell us of it before? Is it painful? +I'm so sorry!" + +"N-no--it doesn't hurt much. I dare say it will be all right in a +minute. And then--I'd just as soon stay here--with you--as to walk +anywhere." + +This very tenderly, with a little sigh. + +Hattie sat down again, and began to talk to this factitious cripple in +the pleasant, purring way some damsels have, about the joys of the +sea-shore, the happy summer that was, alas! drawing to a close, her own +enjoyment of life, and kindred topics, till Charley saw an excellent +opportunity to interrupt with some aspirations of his own, which, he +averred, must be realized before his life would be considered a +satisfactory success. + +If you had ever been placed in analogous circumstances, you know, of +course, just about the sort of thing that was being said by the two +gentlemen at nearly the same moment: Ned, loitering slowly along the +sands with Laura on his arm, and Charley, stretched in indolent +picturesqueness upon the rocks, with Hattie sitting beside him. If you +do not know from experience, ask any candid friend who has been through +the form and ceremony of an orthodox proposal. + +When the pedestrians returned the two couples looked very hard at each +other. All were smiling and complacent, but devoid of any strange or +unusual expression. Indeed, the countenance is subject to such severe +education, in good society, that one almost always looks smiling and +complacent. Demonstration is not fashionable, and a man must preserve +the same demeanor over the loss of a wife or a glove-button, over the +gift of a heart's whole devotion or a bundle of cigars. Under all these +visitations the complacent smile is in favor as the neatest, most +serviceable, and convenient form of non-committalism. + +The sun was approaching the blue range of misty hills that bounded the +mainland swamps by this time; so the skipper was signalled, the dinner +paraphernalia gathered up, and the party were soon _en route_ for home +once more. When the young ladies were safely in, Ned and Charley met in +their room, and each caught the other looking at him stealthily. Both +smiled. + +"Did I give you time, Charley?" asked Ned; "we came back rather soon." + +"Oh, yes; plenty of time." + +"Did you--aw, did you pop? + +"Y-yes. Did you?" + +"Well--yes." + +"And you were--" + +"Rejected, by Jove!" + +"So was I!" + +The day following this disastrous picnic the baggage of Mr. Edwin +Salsbury and Mr. Charles Burnham was sent to the depot at Wikhasset +Station, and they presented themselves at the hotel-office with a +request for their bill. As Jerry Swayne deposited their key upon its +hook, he drew forth a small tri-cornered billet from the pigeon-hole +beneath, and presented it. + +"Left for you this morning, gentlemen." + +It was directed to both, and Charley read it over Ned's shoulder. It ran +thus: + + "DEAR BOYS: The next time you divert yourselves by throwing dice + for two young ladies, we pray you not to do so in the presence of a + valet who is upon terms of intimacy with the maid of one of them. + + "With many sincere thanks for the amusement + you have given us--often when you least suspected + it--we bid you a lasting adieu, and remain, with + the best wishes, + + "HATTIE CHAPMAN, + "LAURA THURSTON. + + "_Brant House_, + "_Wednesday."_ + +"It is all the fault of that, aw--that confounded Thomas!" said Ned. + +So Thomas was discharged. + + +[4] _Atlantic Monthly, June_, 1863. + + + + +THE TACHYPOMP.[5] + +A MATHEMATICAL DEMONSTRATION. + +BY E.P. MITCHELL. + + +There was nothing mysterious about Professor Surd's dislike for me. I +was the only poor mathematician in an exceptionally mathematical class. +The old gentleman sought the lecture-room every morning with eagerness, +and left it reluctantly. For was it not a thing of joy to find seventy +young men who, individually and collectively, preferred _x_ to XX; who +had rather differentiate than dissipate; and for whom the limbs of the +heavenly bodies had more attractions than those of earthly stars upon +the spectacular stage? + +So affairs went on swimmingly between the Professor of Mathematics and +the Junior Class at Polyp University. In every man of the seventy the +sage saw the logarithm of a possible La Place, of a Sturm, or of a +Newton. It was a delightful task for him to lead them through the +pleasant valleys of conic sections, and beside the still waters of the +integral calculus. Figuratively speaking, his problem was not a hard +one. He had only to manipulate, and eliminate, and to raise to a higher +power, and the triumphant result of examination day was assured. + +But I was a disturbing element, a perplexing unknown quantity, which had +somehow crept into the work, and which seriously threatened to impair +the accuracy of his calculations. It was a touching sight to behold the +venerable mathematician as he pleaded with me not so utterly to +disregard precedent in the use of cotangents; or as he urged, with eyes +almost tearful, that ordinates were dangerous things to trifle with. All +in vain. More theorems went on to my cuff than into my head. Never did +chalk do so much work to so little purpose. And, therefore, it came that +Furnace Second was reduced to zero in Professor Surd's estimation. He +looked upon me with all the horror which an unalgebraic nature could +inspire. I have seen the Professor walk around an entire square rather +than meet the man who had no mathematics in his soul. + +For Furnace Second were no invitations to Professor Surd's house. +Seventy of the class supped in delegations around the periphery of the +Professor's tea-table. The seventy-first knew nothing of the charms of +that perfect ellipse, with its twin bunches of fuchsias and geraniums +in gorgeous precision at the two foci. + +This, unfortunately enough, was no trifling deprivation. Not that I +longed especially for segments of Mrs. Surd's justly celebrated lemon +pies; not that the spheroidal damsons of her excellent preserving had +any marked allurements; not even that I yearned to hear the Professor's +jocose table-talk about binomials, and chatty illustrations of abstruse +paradoxes. The explanation is far different. Professor Surd had a +daughter. Twenty years before, he made a proposition of marriage to the +present Mrs. S. He added a little Corollary to his proposition not long +after. The Corollary was a girl. + +Abscissa Surd was as perfectly symmetrical as Giotto's circle, and as +pure, withal, as the mathematics her father taught. It was just when +spring was coming to extract the roots of frozen-up vegetation that I +fell in love with the Corollary. That she herself was not indifferent I +soon had reason to regard as a self-evident truth. + +The sagacious reader will already recognize nearly all the elements +necessary to a well-ordered plot. We have introduced a heroine, inferred +a hero, and constructed a hostile parent after the most approved model. +A movement for the story, a _Deus ex machina_, is alone lacking. With +considerable satisfaction I can promise a perfect novelty in this line, +a _Deus ex machina_ never before offered to the public. + +It would be discounting ordinary intelligence to say that I sought with +unwearying assiduity to figure my way into the stern father's good-will; +that never did dullard apply himself to mathematics more patiently than +I; that never did faithfulness achieve such meagre reward. Then I +engaged a private tutor. His instructions met with no better success. + +My tutor's name was Jean Marie Rivarol. He was a unique Alsatian--though +Gallic in name, thoroughly Teuton in nature; by birth a Frenchman, by +education a German. His age was thirty; his profession, omniscience; the +wolf at his door, poverty; the skeleton in his closet, a consuming but +unrequited passion. The most recondite principles of practical science +were his toys; the deepest intricacies of abstract science his +diversions. Problems which were foreordained mysteries to me were to him +as clear as Tahoe water. Perhaps this very fact will explain our lack of +success in the relation of tutor and pupil; perhaps the failure is alone +due to my own unmitigated stupidity. Rivarol had hung about the skirts +of the University for several years; supplying his few wants by writing +for scientific journals, or by giving assistance to students who, like +myself, were characterized by a plethora of purse and a paucity of +ideas; cooking, studying and sleeping in his attic lodgings; and +prosecuting queer experiments all by himself. + +We were not long discovering that even this eccentric genius could not +transplant brains into my deficient skull. I gave over the struggle in +despair. An unhappy year dragged its slow length around. A gloomy year +it was, brightened only by occasional interviews with Abscissa, the +Abbie of my thoughts and dreams. + +Commencement day was coming on apace. I was soon to go forth, with the +rest of my class, to astonish and delight a waiting world. The Professor +seemed to avoid me more than ever. Nothing but the conventionalities, I +think kept him from shaping his treatment of me on the basis of +unconcealed disgust. + +At last, in the very recklessness of despair, I resolved to see him, +plead with him, threaten him if need be, and risk all my fortunes on one +desperate chance. I wrote him a somewhat defiant letter, stating my +aspirations, and, as I flattered myself, shrewdly giving him a week to +get over the first shock of horrified surprise. Then I was to call and +learn my fate. + +During the week of suspense I nearly worried myself into a fever. It was +first crazy hope, and then saner despair. On Friday evening, when I +presented myself at the Professor's door, I was such a haggard, sleepy, +dragged-out spectre, that even Miss Jocasta, the harsh-favored maiden +sister of the Surd's, admitted me with commiserate regard, and suggested +pennyroyal tea. + +Professor Surd was at a faculty meeting. Would I wait? + +Yes, till all was blue, if need be. Miss Abbie? + +Abscissa had gone to Wheelborough to visit a school-friend. The aged +maiden hoped I would make myself comfortable, and departed to the +unknown haunts which knew Jocasta's daily walk. + +Comfortable! But I settled myself in a great uneasy chair and waited, +with the contradictory spirit common to such junctures, dreading every +step lest it should herald the man whom, of all men, I wished to see. + +I had been there at least an hour, and was growing right drowsy. + +At length Professor Surd came in. He sat down in the dusk opposite me, +and I thought his eyes glinted with malignant pleasure as he said, +abruptly: + +"So, young man, you think you are a fit husband for my girl?" + +I stammered some inanity about making up in affection what I lacked in +merit; about my expectations, family and the like. He quickly +interrupted me. + +"You misapprehend me, sir. Your nature is destitute of those +mathematical perceptions and acquirements which are the only sure +foundations of character. You have no mathematics in you. You are fit +for treason, stratagems, and spoils.--Shakespeare. Your narrow intellect +cannot understand and appreciate a generous mind. There is all the +difference between you and a Surd, if I may say it, which intervenes +between an infinitesimal and an infinite. Why, I will even venture to +say that you do not comprehend the Problem of the Couriers!" + +I admitted that the Problem of the Couriers should be classed rather +without my list of accomplishments than within it. I regretted this +fault very deeply, and suggested amendment. I faintly hoped that my +fortune would be such-- + +"Money!" he impatiently exclaimed. "Do you seek to bribe a Roman Senator +with a penny whistle? Why, boy, do you parade your paltry wealth, which, +expressed in mills, will not cover ten decimal places, before the eyes +of a man who measures the planets in their orbits, and close crowds +infinity itself?" + +I hastily disclaimed any intention of obtruding my foolish dollars, and +he went on: + +"Your letter surprised me not a little. I thought _you_ would be the +last person in the world to presume to an alliance here. But having a +regard for you personally"--and again I saw malice twinkle in his small +eyes--"and still more regard for Abscissa's happiness, I have decided +that you shall have her--upon conditions. Upon conditions," he repeated, +with a half-smothered sneer. + +"What are they?" cried I, eagerly enough. "Only name them." + +"Well, sir," he continued, and the deliberation of his speech seemed the +very refinement of cruelty, "you have only to prove yourself worthy an +alliance with a mathematical family. You have only to accomplish a task +which I shall presently give you. Your eyes ask me what it is. I will +tell you. Distinguish yourself in that noble branch of abstract science +in which, you cannot but acknowledge, you are at present sadly +deficient. I will place Abscissa's hand in yours whenever you shall come +before me and square the circle to my satisfaction. No! That is too easy +a condition. I should cheat myself. Say perpetual motion. How do you +like that? Do you think it lies within the range of your mental +capabilities? You don't smile. Perhaps your talents don't run in the way +of perpetual motion. Several people have found that theirs didn't. I'll +give you another chance. We were speaking of the Problem of the +Couriers, and I think you expressed a desire to know more of that +ingenious question. You shall have the opportunity. Sit down some day, +when you have nothing else to do, and discover the principle of infinite +speed. I mean the law of motion which shall accomplish an infinitely +great distance in an infinitely short time. You may mix in a little +practical mechanics, if you choose. Invent some method of taking the +tardy Courier over his road at the rate of sixty miles a minute. +Demonstrate me this discovery (when you have made it!) mathematically, +and approximate it practically, and Abscissa is yours. Until you can, I +will thank you to trouble neither myself nor her." + +I could stand his mocking no longer. I stumbled mechanically out of the +room, and out of the house. I even forgot my hat and gloves. For an +hour I walked in the moonlight. Gradually I succeeded to a more hopeful +frame of mind. This was due to my ignorance of mathematics. Had I +understood the real meaning of what he asked, I should have been utterly +despondent. + +Perhaps this problem of sixty miles a minute was not so impossible after +all. At any rate I could attempt, though I might not succeed. And +Rivarol came to my mind. I would ask him. I would enlist his knowledge +to accompany my own devoted perseverance. I sought his lodgings at once. + +The man of science lived in the fourth story, back. I had never been in +his room before. When I entered, he was in the act of filling a beer mug +from a carboy labelled _Aqua fortis_. + +"Seat you," he said. "No, not in that chair. That is my Petty Cash +Adjuster." But he was a second too late. I had carelessly thrown myself +into a chair of seductive appearance. To my utter amazement it reached +out two skeleton arms and clutched me with a grasp against which I +struggled in vain. Then a skull stretched itself over my shoulder and +grinned with ghastly familiarity close to my face. + +Rivarol came to my aid with many apologies. He touched a spring +somewhere and the Petty Cash Adjuster relaxed its horrid hold. I placed +myself gingerly in a plain cane-bottomed rocking-chair, which Rivarol +assured me was a safe location. + +"That seat," he said, "is an arrangement upon which I much felicitate +myself. I made it at Heidelberg. It has saved me a vast deal of small +annoyance. I consign to its embraces the friends who bore, and the +visitors who exasperate, me. But it is never so useful as when +terrifying some tradesman with an insignificant account. Hence the pet +name which I have facetiously given it. They are invariably too glad to +purchase release at the price of a bill receipted. Do you well apprehend +the idea?" + +While the Alsatian diluted his glass of _Aqua fortis_, shook into it an +infusion of bitters, and tossed off the bumper with apparent relish, I +had time to look around the strange apartment. + +The four corners of the room were occupied respectively by a +turning-lathe, a Rhumkorff Coil, a small steam-engine and an orrery in +stately motion. Tables, shelves, chairs and floor supported an odd +aggregation of tools, retorts, chemicals, gas-receivers, philosophical +instruments, boots, flasks, paper-collar boxes, books diminutive and +books of preposterous size. There were plaster busts of Aristotle, +Archimedes, and Comte, while a great drowsy owl was blinking away, +perched on the benign brow of Martin Farquhar Tupper. "He always roosts +there when he proposes to slumber," explained my tutor. "You are a bird +of no ordinary mind. _Schlafen Sie wohl_." + +Through a closet door, half open, I could see a human-like form covered +with a sheet. Rivarol caught my glance. + +"That," said he, "will be my masterpiece. It is a Microcosm, an +Android, as yet only partially complete. And why not? Albertus Magnus +constructed an image perfect to talk metaphysics and confute the +schools. So did Sylvester II.; so did Robertus Greathead. Roger Bacon +made a brazen head that held discourses. But the first named of these +came to destruction. Thomas Aquinas got wrathful at some of its +syllogisms and smashed its head. The idea is reasonable enough. Mental +action will yet be reduced to laws as definite as those which govern the +physical. Why should not I accomplish a manikin which shall preach as +original discourses as the Rev. Dr. Allchin, or talk poetry as +mechanically as Paul Anapest? My Android can already work problems in +vulgar fractions and compose sonnets. I hope to teach it the Positive +Philosophy." + +Out of the bewildering confusion of his effects Rivarol produced two +pipes and filled them. He handed one to me. + +"And here," he said, "I live and am tolerably comfortable. When my coat +wears out at the elbows I seek the tailor and am measured for another. +When I am hungry I promenade myself to the butcher's and bring home a +pound or so of steak, which I cook very nicely in three seconds by this +oxy-hydrogen flame. Thirsty, perhaps, I send for a carboy of _Aqua +fortis_. But I have it charged, all charged. My spirit is above any +small pecuniary transaction. I loathe your dirty greenbacks, and never +handle what they call scrip." + +"But are you never pestered with bills?" I asked. "Don't the creditors +worry your life out?" + +"Creditors!" gasped Rivarol. "I have learned no such word in your very +admirable language. He who will allow his soul to be vexed by creditors +is a relic of an imperfect civilization. Of what use is science if it +cannot avail a man who has accounts current? Listen. The moment you or +any one else enters the outside door this little electric bell sounds me +warning. Every successive step on Mrs. Grimier's staircase is a spy and +informer vigilant for my benefit. The first step is trod upon. That +trusty first step immediately telegraphs your weight. Nothing could be +simpler. It is exactly like any platform scale. The weight is registered +up here upon this dial. The second step records the size of my visitor's +feet. The third his height, the fourth his complexion, and so on. By the +time he reaches the top of the first flight I have a pretty accurate +description of him right here at my elbow, and quite a margin of time +for deliberation and action. Do you follow me? It is plain enough. Only +the A B C of my science." + +"I see all that," I said, "but I don't see how it helps you any. The +knowledge that a creditor is coming won't pay his bill. You can't escape +unless you jump out of the window." + +Rivarol laughed softly. "I will tell you. You shall see what becomes of +any poor devil who goes to demand money of me--of a man of science. Ha! +ha! It pleases me. I was seven weeks perfecting my Dun Suppressor. Did +you know"--he whispered exultingly--"did you know that there is a hole +through the earth's centre? Physicists have long suspected it; I was the +first to find it. You have read how Rhuyghens, the Dutch navigator, +discovered in Kerguellen's Land an abysmal pit which fourteen hundred +fathoms of plumb-line failed to sound. Herr Tom, that hole has no +bottom! It runs from one surface of the earth to the antipodal surface. +It is diametric. But where is the antipodal spot? You stand upon it. I +learned this by the merest chance. I was deep-digging in Mrs. Grimler's +cellar, to bury a poor cat I had sacrificed in a galvanic experiment, +when the earth under my spade crumbled, caved in, and wonder-stricken I +stood upon the brink of a yawning shaft. I dropped a coal-hod in. It +went down, down down, bounding and rebounding. In two hours and a +quarter that coal-hod came up again. I caught it and restored it to the +angry Grimler. Just think a minute. The coal-hod went down, faster and +faster, till it reached the centre of the earth. There it would stop, +were it not for acquired momentum. Beyond the centre its journey was +relatively upward, toward the opposite surface of the globe. So, losing +velocity, it went slower and slower till it reached that surface. Here +it came to rest for a second and then fell back again, eight thousand +odd miles, into my hands. Had I not interfered with it, it would have +repeated its journey, time after time, each trip of shorter extent, +like the diminishing oscillations of a pendulum, till it finally came +to eternal rest at the centre of the sphere. I am not slow to give a +practical application to any such grand discovery. My Dun Suppressor was +born of it. A trap, just outside my chamber door: a spring in here: a +creditor on the trap:--need I say more?" + +"But isn't it a trifle inhuman?" I mildly suggested. "Plunging an +unhappy being into a perpetual journey to and from Kerguellen's Land, +without a moment's warning." + +"I give them a chance. When they come up the first time I wait at the +mouth of the shaft with a rope in hand. If they are reasonable and will +come to terms, I fling them the line. If they perish, 'tis their own +fault. Only," he added, with a melancholy smile, "the centre is getting +so plugged up with creditors that I am afraid there soon will be no +choice whatever for 'em." + +By this time I had conceived a high opinion of my tutor's ability. If +anybody could send me waltzing through space at an infinite speed, +Rivarol could do it. I filled my pipe and told him the story. He heard +with grave and patient attention. Then, for full half an hour, he +whiffed away in silence. Finally he spoke. + +"The ancient cipher has overreached himself. He has given you a choice +of two problems, both of which he deems insoluble. Neither of them is +insoluble. The only gleam of intelligence Old Cotangent showed was when +he said that squaring the circle was too easy. He was right. It would +have given you your _Liebchen_ in five minutes. I squared the circle +before I discarded pantalets. I will show you the work--but it would be +a digression, and you are in no mood for digressions. Our first chance, +therefore, lies in perpetual motion. Now, my good friend, I will frankly +tell you that, although I have compassed this interesting problem, I do +not choose to use it in your behalf. I too, Herr Tom, have a heart. The +loveliest of her sex frowns upon me. Her somewhat mature charms are not +for Jean Marie Rivarol. She has cruelly said that her years demand of me +filial rather than connubial regard. Is love a matter of years or of +eternity? This question did I put to the cold, yet lovely Jocasta." + +"Jocasta Surd!" I remarked in surprise, "Abscissa's aunt!" + +"The same," he said, sadly. "I will not attempt to conceal that upon the +maiden Jocasta my maiden heart has been bestowed. Give me your hand, my +nephew in affliction as in affection!" + +Rivarol dashed away a not discreditable tear, and resumed: + +"My only hope lies in this discovery of perpetual motion. It will give +me the fame, the wealth. Can Jocasta refuse these? If she can, there is +only the trap-door and--Kerguellen's Land!" + +I bashfully asked to see the perpetual-motion machine. My uncle in +affliction shook his head. + +"At another time," he said. "Suffice it at present to say, that it is +something upon the principle of a woman's tongue. But you see now why we +must turn in your case to the alternative condition--infinite speed. +There are several ways in which this may be accomplished, theoretically. +By the lever, for instance. Imagine a lever with a very long and a very +short arm. Apply power to the shorter arm which will move it with great +velocity. The end of the long arm will move much faster. Now keep +shortening the short arm and lengthening the long one, and as you +approach infinity in their difference of length, you approach infinity +in the speed of the long arm. It would be difficult to demonstrate this +practically to the Professor. We must seek another solution. Jean Marie +will meditate. Come to me in a fortnight. Good-night. But stop! Have you +the money--_das Geld?_" + +"Much more than I need." + +"Good! Let us strike hands. Gold and Knowledge; Science and Love. What +may not such a partnership achieve? We go to conquer thee, Abscissa. +_Vorwaerts!_" + +When, at the end of a fortnight, I sought Rivarol's chamber, I passed +with some little trepidation over the terminus of the Air Line to +Kerguellen's Land, and evaded the extended arms of the Petty Cash +Adjuster. Rivarol drew a mug of ale for me, and filled himself a retort +of his own peculiar beverage. + +"Come," he said at length. "Let us drink success to the TACHYPOMP." + +"The TACHYPOMP?" + +"Yes. Why not? _Tachu_, quickly, and _pempo, pepompa_ to send. May it +send you quickly to your wedding-day. Abscissa is yours. It is done. +When shall we start for the prairies?" + +"Where is it?" I asked, looking in vain around the room for any +contrivance which might seem calculated to advance matrimonial +prospects. + +"It is here," and he gave his forehead a significant tap. Then he held +forth didactically. + +"There is force enough in existence to yield us a speed of sixty miles a +minute, or even more. All we need is the knowledge how to combine and +apply it. The wise man will not attempt to make some great force yield +some great speed. He will keep adding the little force to the little +force, making each little force yield its little speed, until an +aggregate of little forces shall be a great force, yielding an aggregate +of little speeds, a great speed. The difficulty is not in aggregating +the forces; it lies in the corresponding aggregation of the speeds. One +musket-ball will go, say a mile. It is not hard to increase the force of +muskets to a thousand, yet the thousand musket-balls will go no farther, +and no faster, than the one. You see, then, where our trouble lies. We +cannot readily add speed to speed, as we add force to force. My +discovery is simply the utilization of a principle which extorts an +increment of speed from each increment of power. But this is the +metaphysics of physics. Let us be practical or nothing. + +"When you have walked forward, on a moving train, from the rear car, +toward the engine, did you ever think what you were really doing?" + +"Why, yes, I have generally been going to the smoking-car to have a +cigar." + +"Tut, tut--not that! I mean, did it ever occur to you on such an +occasion, that absolutely you were moving faster than the train? The +train passes the telegraph poles at the rate of thirty miles an hour, +say. You walk toward the smoking-car at the rate of four miles an hour. +Then _you_ pass the telegraph poles at the rate of thirty-four miles. +Your absolute speed is the speed of the engine, plus the speed of your +own locomotion. Do you follow me?" + +I began to get an inkling of his meaning, and told him so. + +"Very well. Let us advance a step. Your addition to the speed of the +engine is trivial, and the space in which you can exercise it, limited. +Now suppose two stations, A and B, two miles distant by the track. +Imagine a train of platform cars, the last car resting at station A. The +train is a mile long, say. The engine is therefore within a mile of +station B. Say the train can move a mile in ten minutes. The last car, +having two miles to go, would reach B in twenty minutes, but the engine, +a mile ahead, would get there in ten. You jump on the last car, at A, in +a prodigious hurry to reach Abscissa, who is at B. If you stay on the +last car it will be twenty long minutes before you see her. But the +engine reaches B and the fair lady in ten. You will be a stupid +reasoner, and an indifferent lover, if you don't put for the engine over +those platform cars, as fast as your legs will carry you. You can run a +mile, the length of the train, in ten minutes. Therefore, you reach +Abscissa when the engine does, or in ten minutes--ten minutes sooner +than if you had lazily sat down upon the rear car and talked politics +with the brakeman. You have diminished the time by one half. You have +added your speed to that of the locomotive to some purpose. _Nicht +wahr?_" + +I saw it perfectly; much plainer, perhaps, for his putting in the clause +about Abscissa. + +He continued: + +"This illustration, though a slow one, leads up to a principle which may +be carried to any extent. Our first anxiety will be to spare your legs +and wind. Let us suppose that the two miles of track are perfectly +straight, and make our train one platform car, a mile long, with +parallel rails laid upon its top. Put a little dummy engine on these +rails, and let it run to and fro along the platform car, while the +platform car is pulled along the ground track. Catch the idea? The dummy +takes your place. But it can run its mile much faster. Fancy that our +locomotive is strong enough to pull the platform car over the two miles +in two minutes. The dummy can attain the same speed. When the engine +reaches B in one minute, the dummy, having gone a mile a-top the +platform car, reaches B also. We have so combined the speeds of those +two engines as to accomplish two miles in one minute. Is this all we can +do? Prepare to exercise your imagination." + +I lit my pipe. + +"Still two miles of straight track, between A and B. On the track a long +platform car, reaching from A to within a quarter of a mile of B. We +will now discard ordinary locomotives and adopt as our motive power a +series of compact magnetic engines, distributed underneath the platform +car, all along its length." + +"I don't understand those magnetic engines." + +"Well, each of them consists of a great iron horseshoe, rendered +alternately a magnet and not a magnet by an intermittent current of +electricity from a battery, this current in its turn regulated by +clock-work. When the horseshoe is in the circuit, it is a magnet, and it +pulls its clapper toward it with enormous power. When it is out of the +circuit, the next second, it is not a magnet, and it lets the clapper +go. The clapper, oscillating to and fro, imparts a rotatory motion to a +fly-wheel, which transmits it to the drivers on the rails. Such are our +motors. They are no novelty, for trial has proved them practicable. + +"With a magnetic engine for every truck of wheels, we can reasonably +expect to move our immense car, and to drive it along at a speed, say, +of a mile a minute. + +"The forward end, having but a quarter of a mile to go, will reach B in +fifteen seconds. We will call this platform car number 1. On top of +number 1 are laid rails on which another platform car, number 2, a +quarter of a mile shorter than number 1, is moved in precisely the same +way. Number 2, in its turn, is surmounted by number 3, moving +independently of the tiers beneath, and a quarter of a mile shorter than +number 2. Number 2 is a mile and a half long; number 3 a mile and a +quarter. Above, on successive levels, are number 4, a mile long; number +5, three quarters of a mile; number 6, half a mile; number 7, a quarter +of a mile, and number 8, a short passenger car, on top of all. + +"Each car moves upon the car beneath it, independently of all the +others, at the rate of a mile a minute. Each car has its own magnetic +engines. Well, the train being drawn up with the latter end of each car +resting against a lofty bumping-post at A, Tom Furnace, the gentlemanly +conductor, and Jean Marie Rivarol, engineer, mount by a long ladder to +the exalted number 8. The complicated mechanism is set in motion. What +happens? + +"Number 8 runs a quarter of a mile in fifteen seconds and reaches the +end of number 7. Meanwhile number 7 has run a quarter of a mile in the +same time and reached the end of number 6; number 6, a quarter of a mile +in fifteen seconds, and reached the end of number 5; number 5, the end +of number 4; number 4, of number 3; number 3, of number 2; number 2, of +number 1. And number 1, in fifteen seconds, has gone its quarter of a +mile along the ground track, and has reached station B. All this has +been done in fifteen seconds. Wherefore, numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, +and 8 come to rest against the bumping-post at B, at precisely the same +second. We, in number 8, reach B just when number 1 reaches it. In other +words, we accomplish two miles in fifteen seconds. Each of the eight +cars, moving at the rate of a mile a minute, has contributed a quarter +of a mile to our journey, and has done its work in fifteen seconds. All +the eight did their work at once, during the same fifteen seconds. +Consequently we have been whizzed through the air at the somewhat +startling speed of seven and a half seconds to the mile. This is the +Tachypomp. Does it justify the name?" + +Although a little bewildered by the complexity of cars, I apprehended +the general principle of the machine. I made a diagram, and understood +it much better. "You have merely improved on the idea of my moving +faster than the train when I was going to the smoking car?" + +"Precisely. So far we have kept within the bounds of the practicable. To +satisfy the Professor, you can theorize in something after this fashion: +If we double the number of cars, thus decreasing by one half the +distance which each has to go, we shall attain twice the speed. Each of +the sixteen cars will have but one eighth of a mile to go. At the +uniform rate we have adopted, the two miles can be done in seven and a +half instead of fifteen seconds. With thirty-two cars, and a sixteenth +of a mile, or twenty rods difference in their length, we arrive at the +speed of a mile in less than two seconds; with sixty-four cars, each +travelling but ten rods, a mile under the second. More than sixty miles +a minute! If this isn't rapid enough for the Professor, tell him to go +on, increasing the number of his cars and diminishing the distance each +one has to run. If sixty-four cars yield a speed of a mile inside the +second, let him fancy a Tachypomp of six hundred and forty cars, and +amuse himself calculating the rate of car number 640. Just whisper to +him that when he has an infinite number of cars with an infinitesimal +difference in their lengths, he will have obtained that infinite speed +for which he seems to yearn. Then demand Abscissa." + +I wrung my friend's hand in silent and grateful admiration. I could say +nothing. + +"You have listened to the man of theory," he said proudly. "You shall +now behold the practical engineer. We will go to the west of the +Mississippi and find some suitably level locality. We will erect thereon +a model Tachypomp. We will summon thereunto the professor, his daughter, +and why not his fair sister Jocasta, as well? We will take them a +journey which shall much astonish the venerable Surd. He shall place +Abscissa's digits in yours and bless you both with an algebraic formula. +Jocasta shall contemplate with wonder the genius of Rivarol. But we have +much to do. We must ship to St. Joseph the vast amount of material to +be employed in the construction of the Tachypomp. We must engage a small +army of workmen to effect that construction, for we are to annihilate +time and space. Perhaps you had better see your bankers." + +I rushed impetuously to the door. There should be no delay. + +"Stop! stop! _Um Gottes Willen_, stop!" shrieked Rivarol. "I launched my +butcher this morning and I haven't bolted the----" + +But it was too late. I was upon the trap. It swung open with a crash, +and I was plunged down, down, down! I felt as if I were falling through +illimitable space. I remember wondering, as I rushed through the +darkness, whether I should reach Kerguellen's Land or stop at the +centre. It seemed an eternity. Then my course was suddenly and painfully +arrested. + +I opened my eyes. Around me were the walls of Professor Surd's study. +Under me was a hard, unyielding plane which I knew too well was +Professor Surd's study floor. Behind me was the black, slippery, +hair-cloth chair which had belched me forth, much as the whale served +Jonah. In front of me stood Professor Surd himself, looking down with a +not unpleasant smile. + +"Good-evening, Mr. Furnace. Let me help you up. You look tired, sir. No +wonder you fell asleep when I kept you so long waiting. Shall I get you +a glass of wine? No? By the way, since receiving your letter I find +that you are a son of my old friend, Judge Furnace. I have made +inquiries, and see no reason why you should not make Abscissa a good +husband." + +Still I can see no reason why the Tachypomp should not have succeeded. +Can you? + + +[5] _Scribner's Monthly, March, 1874._ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Stories by American Authors, Volume 5, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES AMERICAN, VOL. 5 *** + +***** This file should be named 11437.txt or 11437.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/4/3/11437/ + +Produced by Stan Goodman and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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