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diff --git a/43242.txt b/43242.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f9ae422..0000000 --- a/43242.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2930 +0,0 @@ - A MADEIRA PARTY - - - - -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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: A Madeira Party -Author: S. Weir Mitchell -Release Date: July 17, 2013 [EBook #43242] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MADEIRA PARTY *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: A Madeira Party] - - - - - [Illustration: Title Page] - - _A - Madeira - Party_ - - - _By_ - - _S. Weir Mitchell_ - - _M.D., LL.D. (Harv.)_ - - _Author of "Characteristics" - "When all the Woods are Green" - Etc., Etc._ - - - - _New York - The Century Co. - 1895_ - - - - - Copyright, 1895, - By THE CENTURY CO. - - - - THE DEVINNE PRESS. - - - - - *CONTENTS* - -A MADEIRA PARTY -"A LITTLE MORE BURGUNDY" - - - - -[Illustration: Bowl] - - - - - *A MADEIRA PARTY* - - -Sometime early in the second quarter of the century, in the City of -Penn, and in what was then known as Delaware-Fourth street, soon after -dusk in the evening, occurred the unimportant events of which I shall -speak. - -The room was paneled in white three feet up from the floor, and above -this a fox-hunt was repeated in lively colors on every square of the -paper which covered the walls. Great hickory logs, ablaze on the deep -hearth, cast rosy light on a mantelpiece, in the style of the Directory, -pretty with Cupids in relief dragging chariots through a tangle of -roses. A similar pattern on the ceiling resembled what a visitor to the -Zooelogical Gardens may see to-day in the small yellow house called -"Solitude," where Mr. Penn is said to have been agreeably naughty and by -no means solitary. - -Silver candlesticks lighted a table laid for four, and their light fell -on buff and gold Nankin china, glass, and glistening plate. A negro -servant, well on in years, dark as the mahogany he loved to polish, with -fine contrast of very white hair, moved to and fro in the room. His -task was clearly grateful. To adjust a fork, snuff a wick, flick the -dust off a carved Cupid, evidently gave him a certain grave pleasure. At -last, retreating a little with head on one side, artist-like, he -considered for a moment the table and the setting. This final survey -appeared to be entirely to his liking, for with a smile of satisfaction -he turned to inspect a row of decanters on the mantel. One by one he -lifted them gently, saw that the glass was clean, and for a moment -looked through each decanter in turn as he held it before the light of a -candelabrum on the side-table. The necessity to present a wine -absolutely free from sediment he very well knew. But it is probable that -he also found distinct pleasure in the brilliant garnets and varied -amber tints of the several wines before him; for he possessed, like most -of his race, an appreciative joy in color, and had, too, more or less -artistic pleasure in the perfection of the gleaming table and its -perfect appointments. At last he turned to consider the question of the -temperature of the precious wines in his charge. Once or twice, when to -his touch a decanter seemed too cool, he lifted it with care, moved it -to the hearth, and after turning it about before the fire set it back on -the mantel. Finally he looked up at the tall Wagstaffe clock in the -corner, compared with it a huge silver watch which he took from his fob, -and throwing open a pair of mahogany doors, stood aside as four -gentlemen entered the room. Each, as he went by, spoke a kindly word to -the old servant. I can fancy the party made a quaint and pleasant -picture in the old-fashioned chamber, with their close-fitting nankeen -pantaloons, ample shirt-ruffles, voluminous neckties, and brass-buttoned -blue coats. - -"Pray be seated," said Hamilton. "Sit on my right, Chestnut. I wish to -see that my good wine is not wasted. Your first Madeira-drinking will -seem strange to you. Thirty years away in Europe! Why, you were but a -boy when you left us! Well, we are glad to have you back again." - -"And I as pleased to be at home," said Chestnut. As he spoke he noted -with the readiness of a close observer of social life the gentlemen -about him as they settled themselves at table with an obvious air of -contentment. One, a strangely slight and very ruddy old man, after -adjusting his napkin with care over his waistcoat, said, as he looked -up, "Well, well, you have lost a good deal of time." - -"That is sadly true," said the stranger guest. "I have tasted no -Madeira these twenty years." - -"Then I fear, my friend, from what Hamilton tells me, that you will -hardly appreciate the charm of one of these little occasions." - -"But how could I? And still, let me assure you, my dear Mr. Wilmington, -that the importance of the opportunity will not be lost on me, nor the -good wine either, sir." - -"I trust not," said the elder man. "To consider with care some new -Madeiras is--well, for that a man should have perfect health and entire -tranquillity of mind. Sir, the drinking of these great wines is -something more than a social ceremony or the indulgence of an appetite. -It is, sir,--but I see Francis smiling--you may imagine the rest. I had -an old friend who, when dying, declined to have his wine whey made out -of a famous old Madeira, saying that it was a waste of a good thing on a -palate which was past knowing sherry from port. That was, in my opinion, -a well-bred and judicious use of conscience." - -"There was a certain refinement of unselfishness about it," said -Chestnut. "I was on the point of asking you if, in your opinion, these -finer wines are apt to tempt men into coarser indulgence? I have heard -it so said." - -"I do not think it," returned Wilmington. "I am well aware, sir, that -there are brutes who may make worse pigs of themselves with Madeira, or -with anything; but as far as my memory serves me, I recall no occasion, -sir, on which I have seen men who truly appreciate this wine, the worse -for it." - -"A pretty strong statement," laughed Francis. - -"I hope, sir, you do not mean to doubt--" - -"Oh, by no means," cried the other, interrupting the irascible old man. -"Not I. Pardon me--a thousand pardons!" - -"Enough, sir! Thank you," and he bowed formally. "I was saying, or I -was about to say, when--but, no matter"-- And he turned to their host: - -"I hope, Hamilton, you have not arranged for a heavy supper." - -"How could you suspect me of that? A trifle of terrapin, without wine -in the dressing, as a friend gave them to me last week in Baltimore. -Then I shall offer you the breast of a canvasback. That is all. For an -honest and refined study of Madeiras which are new to the palate, one -should have supped wisely and not too well." - -"It seems so odd," said Chestnut, "to come back to terrapin and -canvasbacks. I was unwise enough to send my French servant yesterday to -buy some terrapin, never dreaming he could have any difficulty with a -written order, as also he speaks English fairly. He returned with the -statement that the old dealer you commended to me would not serve Mr. -Hamilton's friend _parce qu'il n'avait pas des comtes._" - -"Is that a true tale, Chestnut?" asked Francis, amid the amusement of -the others. - -"Yes, it is true. It was explained to me later that the dealer said the -terrapin were not _counts_. I believe my man came back with an obscure -idea that terrapin belong to the nobility. He did fetch me some very -fine ducks, however." - -"Talking of ducks, my dear Wilmington," said Francis, "tell Chestnut -what Wharton said of them at dinner here last week." - -The gentleman addressed looked up. His face, on which were many furrows -of laughter, grew slowly merry at the remembrance of the jest he was -called on to repeat. - -"Oh, some of us were rather heavily discussing the duck-shooting on the -Chesapeake. Wharton does not shoot, and, getting tired of the talk, said -quietly, 'Did it ever happen to any of you to go out after Russia duck -and get nothing but canvas back?" - -"For a moment we were all caught by the verbal likelihood of it; but -when the laugh came it broke up the duck talk, to Wharton's delight." - -"Ah, he said charming things; and now they are mostly forgotten," said -the host. - -"Well, well," cried Wilmington, "so are the dinner and the wine of last -year; but one would have been worse off without them. What was it he -said of Colonel M----? Oh, yes. How the merry ghost of a jest haunts -one, and at last recalls the substance! The colonel had been in the -army, and later settled on a sugar-plantation. Wharton said of him, -quoting Burns, "'His 'prentice han' he tried on man, and then he made -the lasses O!"'" - -"Delightful!" cried Chestnut. - -"Here is the terrapin," said Hamilton; and the supper went on with -luxurious simplicity. Next came the ducks, which the host adroitly -carved. Then the cloth was removed, the shining candelabra replaced on -the polished mahogany table, and a crust of bread on a plate set by each -guest. Meantime the talk continued, while Chestnut looked on, much -amused at the gravity which of a sudden fell upon the party. - -"Olives?" - -"No," said Wilmington, declining. "Nothing cleans the palate like -bread. For red wines, a peach helps one's taste. Your table is -perfect, Hamilton;" and, turning to the servant, "It does you credit, -Uncle John. How many a fellow must have rolled under it when it was -young! Ah, your old decanters and those coasters could tell some queer -tales." - -"A pretty word, 'coaster,'" remarked Chestnut. "Coasters delivering -wine at the human harbors around the table." - -"It is not in the dictionaries," said Francis. - -"Odd, that," returned Hamilton. "You may like to know, Chestnut, that at -this table Washington, Lafayette, and Franklin have dined." - -"All Madeira men, I doubt not," said Wilmington; "that accounts for a -good deal." - -"Perhaps," said the host, smiling. "Ah, I see you glancing at the -cigars, Chestnut. But, alas! they are forbidden until the Madeira has -been tasted." - -"Cigars!" exclaimed Wilmington. "The mere odor in a room destroys the -palate." - -"I have never held to this belief," said Francis, addressing Chestnut. -"But it is common among the lovers of wine. I would like to put -Wilmington on oath as to this strange opinion. At least he will permit -me to ask him if he believes that smoking affects the taste of all -wines?" - -"There is but one wine," returned Wilmington. - -"And his name is Madeira, of course," laughed Francis. "But there are -other juices of the grape which cannot be quite set aside as bastards." - -"I might give a little corner of esteem to the highest grades of -Burgundy," said the old gentleman. "No other, not even the finest -claret, but is underbred compared to this aristocrat." - -"I can't go quite so far as that," said Francis. "Ah, me! Do you -remember, Hamilton, that gay day at Dijon, long years ago, in the Hotel -Jura, and the way that old innkeeper fell in love with you, and lavished -on us a varied harem of wines ever better and better, until at last you -admitted, as to a famous Beaune, that it was equal to any Madeira--" - -"What--what--I, sir? No, sir! My judgment must have been disturbed." - -"Oh, it is true." - -"Well, maybe; but--it is not so to-day," said Wilmington. "There is but -one wine. I loved it when I was young; no new mistress can disturb my -affections. I never touch it now without a thought of the friends at -whom I have smiled a health across it in days long past. For the fool, -a wine is wine and nothing more." - -"True, true," said Francis. "For me too, it is a magician. I never lift -to my lips a glass of this noble wine without seeing faces that are -gone, and hearing the voices and the laughter and the jests that are no -more." - -"Wine makes poets of us all!" exclaimed Hamilton. "Once I asked -Wilmington what he saw, for he was staring down into his glass, and he -said he saw memories. By George! we were all as still as mice for a -moment. But he is right; there is but one wine, and that, like tobacco, -is an American discovery." - -"I can talk tobacco with you all day," said Chestnut. "Wine is another -matter. We should have a monument to that unknown Indian brave who -evolved the pipe. How did he do it? There is the simplicity of genius -about it. I can understand the discovery of America, and the invention -of printing; but what human want, what instinct, led up to tobacco? -Imagine intuitive genius capturing this noble idea from the odors of a -prairie fire! Surely, Lamb's roast pig was nothing to the discovery of -the gentle joy of a wholesome pipe." - -"What a droll fancy!" said Francis. "I envy that fellow his first -smoke--the first pipe of man." - -"My envy," said Chestnut, "is reserved for that medieval priest who by -happy chance invented champagne. His first night in the convent -wine-cellar with the delicious results of his genius must have been--I -wonder no poet has dwelt on this theme." - -"We were talking about Madeira," remarked Wilmington, impatiently. "You -were about to say, Hamilton,--" - -"Only that I am not quite so clear as to our credit for discovering -Madeira," said their host. - -"No? It is all in Smith's 'Wealth of Nations.' Great Britain allowed -no trade with France or Spain; but as to what were called non-enumerated -articles we were permitted to trade with the Canary and Madeiras. We -took staves and salt fish thither, and fetched back wines. It so -happened that the decisive changes of weather our winter and summer -afford did more to ripen this wine than its native climate. The English -officers during the French war found our Madeiras so good that they took -the taste to England." - -"And yet," said Chestnut, "Madeira is never good in England. Is it -climate, or that they do not know how to keep it?" - -"Both--both," returned Wilmington. "They bottle all wines, and that is -simply fatal. Madeira was never meant to be retailed. It improves in -its own society, as greatness is apt to do." - -"I myself fancy," said the host, "that despite English usage, even port -is better for the larger liberty of a five-gallon demijohn. I tried -this once with excellent result. The wine became pale and delicate like -an old Madeira." - -"How all this lost lore comes back to me as I used to hear it at my -father's table!" said Chestnut. "I recall the prejudice against wine in -bottle." - -"Prejudice, sir?" retorted Wilmington, testily. "Your demijohn has one -cork; your five gallons in bottles, a dozen or two of corks, and the -corks give an acrid taste. Some wise old Quaker found this out, sir. -That is why there is so little good wine in Charleston and Boston. They -bottle their wine. Incredible as it may seem, sir, they bottle their -wine." - -"That is sad," returned Chestnut, gravely. - -"Keep it in demijohns in moderate darkness under the roof," returned -Francis. "Then it accumulates virtue like a hermit. I once had a -challenge from the Madeira Club in Charleston to test our local theory. -They sent me two dozen bottles of their finest Madeira. When we came to -make a trial of them, we were puzzled at finding the corks entire, but -not a drop of wine in any of the bottles. At last I discovered that -some appreciative colored person had emptied them by the clever device -of driving a nail through the hollow at the base of the bottles. I -found, on experiment, that it could easily be done. A letter from my -friends forced me to tell the story. I fancy that ingenious servant may -have suffered for his too refined taste." - -"But he had the Madeira," said Wilmington grimly, glancing at the old -servant. "I have no doubt Uncle John here has a good notion of -Madeira." - -The old black grinned responsively, and said, with the familiarity of an -ancient retainer, "It's de smell ob it, sar. Ye gets to know 'em by de -smell, sar." - -"That is it, no doubt," laughed Francis. "By and by we shall all have -to be content with the smell. It is becoming dearer every year." - -"I found yesterday," said Hamilton, "an invoice of fifty-eight pipes of -Madeira, of the date of 1760. The wine is set down as costing one -dollar and four cents a gallon. I should have thought it might have -been less, but then it is spoken of as very fine." - -"My father," returned Wilmington, "used to say that the newer wines in -his day were not much dearer than good old cider. They drank them by -the mugful." - -"I remember," said Francis, "that Graydon speaks of it in his -'Memoirs.'" - -"Who? What?" cried Wilmington, who was a little deaf. "Oh! -Graydon--yes, I know the man and the book, of course, but I do not -recall the passage." - -"He says: 'Our company'--this was in 1774--'our company was called "The -Silk-Stocking Company." The place of rendezvous was the house of our -captain,[#] where capacious demijohns of Madeira were constantly set out -in the yard, where we formed for regular refreshment before marching out -to exercise.' He was most amusing, too, as to why the captain was so -liberal of his wine: but I can't quite recall it, and I hate to spoil a -quotation. You would find the book entertaining, Chestnut." - -[#] Afterward General John Cadwalader. - -"How delightful!" exclaimed Chestnut. "Capacious demijohns in the yard, -and the descendants of Penn's Quakers--anti-vinous, anti-pugnacious -Quakers--drilling for the coming war! By George! one can see it. One -guesses that it was not out of such fairy glasses as these they drank -the captain's Madeira." - -"I am reminded," cried Hamilton, "that I have a letter of the captain's -brother, Colonel Lambert Cadwalader, to Jasper Yeates, at Lancaster, in -1776. It is interesting. Wait a moment; I will get it." And so saying, -he left the table, and presently returning said, "I will read only the -bit about the wine. It shows how much store they set by their good wine -even in those perilous days." - -"Take particular care of the red chest clampt with iron herewith sent, -which contains some bonds and mortgages which I could not take out, the -key being lost; and also that you would be kind enough to let the two -quarter-casks of Madeira, painted green, be deposited in some safe place -under lock and key in your cellar, if possible where you keep your own -liquors in a safe place, as I value them more than silver and gold in -these times of misfortune and distress." - -"Then he goes on to tell the news of Washington's victory at Trenton." - -"What a glimpse at the life of those days!" said Chestnut. - -During the chat the servant had placed before the host a half-dozen -quart decanters filled with wine of various hues and depths of color. - -"And now for the wine! We have been losing time," exclaimed their host. - -As he spoke, the servant set on either side of the fire a brass-bound, -painted bucket in which were a number of decanters--the reserve -reinforcements to be used if the main army gave out. Meanwhile the -desultory chat went on as the servant distributed the glasses. These -were arranged in rather an odd fashion. In the center of the table was -set a silver bowl of water. The notches in the rim received each the -stem of an inverted glass. Before every guest a glass bowl, much like a -modern finger-bowl, held also two wine-glasses. Thus there was to be a -glass for each wine, or at need the means for rinsing a glass. - -The talk had been more entertaining to the younger men and their host -than to Wilmington. He had come for the purpose of tasting wines, and -was somewhat annoyed at the delay. - -"Dined with Starling last week," he said. "Never was more insulted in -my life, sir. Had his after-dinner wine--all of it, sir--in pint -decanters!" - -"Not, really?" said Francis, with a seriousness by no means assumed. -"In pints! You are quite sure you are correct?" - -"Fact, sir." - -"I--!" exclaimed Chestnut. "Pardon me; but I fail to see the insult." - -"What! You, sir! Your father's son! Gentlemen do not serve wine in -pints after dinner. They don't do it; and the wine was bad--sick, -thick!" - -"Ah, I see. I have been long enough away to have forgotten many things. -As to these wines you all discuss so critically, I have tasted some of -them of late, and they seemed to me much alike." - -"Alike, sir! You surprise me," said Wilmington. "I pity you. What a -waste of opportunities! But it is not too late to reform--to learn. I -know one man who made a quite correct palate at the age of forty--not a -gentleman, either; and that 's rather remarkable." - -"And is that so rare?" cried Chestnut, much delighted. - -"Oh, very," said Francis. - -"I knew the man," returned Hamilton. "He died somewhat early. However, -I have noticed that the acquisition of a taste for Madeira in middle -life is quite fatal to common people." - -"Is that so?" said Chestnut, greatly enjoying it all. "Upon my word, I -still have a dim memory of all this stuff about wine, as I used to hear -it when a lad. I thought it had gone with other superstitions. To be -frank, I have so little trust in the tales I hear every day after -dinner, about wine and wine-tasting, that--" - -"Pardon me," interrupted Wilmington. "Of course you can hear much that -is foolish; but to my mind the real facts are very often interesting." - -"Such as--?" asked Chestnut. "Pray tell me." - -"Hamilton will indorse this as an illustration. He was one of eight -gentlemen--of whom three are nowhere--who were asked to give judgment on -certain wines. Each man wrote his opinion as to the value, age, and -quality of each specimen, and folding over the paper passed it with the -wine. Finally, Hamilton read aloud each statement. The estimated price, -or value, of a demijohn--that is of five gallons--of each was given; the -age, the character, the defects, and so on. The prices assigned to the -grape-juices varied much, because most of us cared for them but little. -As to the Madeiras pure and simple, the conclusions as to value, age, -and quality were so very much alike as even to surprise some of us." - -"It is, I suppose," said Chestnut, who began to take a more serious -interest, "a matter of habit--acquired habit--and attention." - -"No," said Hamilton. "Far more is it a gift. Some women have it -wonderfully." - -"But, after all," said Francis, "why should appreciative delicacy of -palate amaze us more than sharpness of vision or delicacy of touch?" - -"Only because a fine taste is, of all forms of sensory acuteness, the -rarest," returned Hamilton. "It is still more uncommon to have a perfect -memory of taste, while odors are so easily remembered. - -"I have known certain persons in whom refined delicacy of palate was -accompanied with an almost incredible remembrance of past impressions as -to the taste of things. Our old friend Mr. C----, as we all know, could -recall a particular coffee or tea he had tasted years ago; could say -what wines had been by accident mixed in the Madeira he drank; and was -able to declare, as a test of his singular skill, in which of two clean -wine-glasses a boiled egg had been placed a day or two before." - -"It is interesting," said Chestnut; "but to me, if not incredible, it is -at least made almost so by my own deficiencies." - -"Well, now, to reeducate you," said Hamilton, "let us exchange theory -for practice." So saying, he put on his spectacles, and began to scan -the silver labels on his decanters, and to rearrange the order of the -row of wines, so as to present them somewhat as opinions are given in a -council of war--the least esteemed first. Meanwhile he said: "Wilmington -likes his wine cool. It is a grave question. I prefer it a trifle -above the temperature of the room. It insures a more perfect -presentation both of taste and smell. A little chill may cloud wine, or -repress its bouquet. We are all agreed that the wine should be at rest -in a warm room some days, or longer, before it is drunk. Nothing -mellows a wine like that. And then one must be careful not to have wine -shaken; that bruises it. But this is commonplace, Chestnut; I am merely -giving you a preliminary education. I think you will find these -Madeiras in good condition, carefully drawn and bright. I ought to add -that they are all drawn with the siphon, so as not to disturb the salts -which crystallize on the sides of the demijohn, or the deposit every -wine lets fall, as a good man drops his faults as he goes on in life." - -"Just a word before we take our wine," said Francis. "I saw Chestnut -smile at the idea of a wine being bruised. I can tell him a story about -that. We were dining at the Quoit Club, in Germantown, and were at -table when Wilmington, who was in the habit of riding out to the club, -arrived somewhat late. We came by and by to the Madeiras. I saw the -general taste a wine, as if in doubt. At last he looked up, and said: -'Wilmington, this wine is bruised; you brought the bottle out in your -coat-tail pocket--the left pocket.' We were soon convinced as to the -wine having been thus shaken out of health; but his inference as to the -left pocket puzzled us all, until the general asked some one to stand -up, and to put a bottle in his own coat-tail pocket. Then the reason of -my friend's conclusion became clear enough--however, I delay the wine." - -"Well, here it is," said Hamilton, filling his glass. Then he passed -the decanter to Wilmington, on his left, saying, "With the sun, -gentlemen." - -"A fair grape-juice," said the latter; "but a trifle too warm." - -"And what," said Chestnut, "is a grape-juice? All wines are merely -that." - -"Oh, usually it is the product of the south side of the island, -sometimes of one vineyard, but untreated by the addition of older wines; -sweet, of course; apt to be pale. When a Madeira-drinker speaks of a -grape-juice, that is what he means. But a Madeira--what we call simply -a Madeira--is apt to be dry, and usually is the result of careful -blending of wines and some maturing by natural heat." - -"But in time," said Chestnut, "your grape-juice becomes a Madeira. -Certainly this is delicious! How refined, how delicate it is!" - -"Ah, you will learn," cried Wilmington. "But wait a little. A -grape-juice never becomes what we denominate a Madeira." - -"I don't agree with you," said the host. - -"We are in very deep water now," laughed Francis. "I, myself, think the -finest of the old dry Madeiras were once sugary maidens." - -"Nonsense," said Hamilton, passing the next wine. "With the sun." - -"Why with the sun?" said Chestnut, infinitely delighted by these little -social superstitions and the odd phrases. - -"Because it sours a wine to send it to the right," said Wilmington, -dryly. "That is a fact, sir,--a well-known fact." - -"Droll, that," returned Chestnut. "I wonder whence came that notion." - -"It is a pretty old one; possibly Roman. The Greeks passed their drink -to the right. Wine is a strange fluid. It has its good and its bad -days." - -"I am willing to say its moods," added Hamilton. - -"I suppose," continued the older man, "that you will be entirely -skeptical if I assure you that for women to go into a wine-room is -pretty surely to injure the wine." - -"Indeed, is that so?" returned Chestnut. "I am not surprised. In -France women are not allowed to enter the great cheese-caves." - -"Wine is very sensitive," said Francis. "I give you this story for what -it is worth: - -"A planter in the South told me that once two blacks were arranging -bottles in his wine-room, and quarreled. One stabbed the other. The -fellow died, and his blood ran over the floor; and from that day the -wines in that room were bitter. You know that bitterness is one form of -the sicknesses to which Madeira is liable." - -This amazing tale was received with entire tranquillity by all save -Chestnut, whose education was progressing. Meanwhile another decanter -went round. - -"I congratulate you," cried Wilmington, as he set down his glass. "A -perfect grape-juice--new to me too. High up, sir; very high up"; and -refilling his glass, he sent on the coaster. "Observe, Chestnut, the -refinement of it; neither the sweet nor the bouquet is too obvious. It -is like a well-bred lady. Observe what a gamut of delicate flavors; none -are excessive. And then at last there remains in the mouth a sort of -fugitive memory of its delightfulness." - -"As one remembers the lady when she is gone," said Francis. - -"Thanks," said the old gentleman, bowing. - -"Am I wrong," said Chestnut, "in fancying that there is here a faint -flavor of orange-water?" - -"Well, well!" said Wilmington. "And this man says he has no palate! -That is the charm of these lovely wines: they are many things to many -lovers--have for each a separate enchantment. I thought it was a -rose-water taste; but no matter, you may be correct. But Hamilton can -give you a better wine. No grape-juice can compete with the best -Madeiras. In wine and man the noblest social flavors come with years. It -is pure waste to ask to dinner any man under forty." - -"And now fill your glasses," said Hamilton. "Are you all charged? Your -health, gentlemen! I waited for this wine;" and he bent his head to -each in turn. - -"That good old formula, 'Are you all charged?' is going out," said -Chestnut. "I used to hear it when I came in to dessert at my father's -table." - -"One rarely hears it nowadays," remarked Francis. "But at the Green -Tree Insurance Company's dinners it is still in habitual use. When the -cloth is off, the President says, 'Are you all charged, gentlemen?' and -then, 'Success to the Mutual Assurance Company.' You know, Chestnut, -its insurance sign--still to be seen on our older houses--is a green -tree. The Hand in Hand Insurance Company refused to insure houses in -front of which were trees, because in the last century the fire-engines -were unable to throw a stream over or through them. The Mutual accepted -such risks, and hence has been always known popularly in Philadelphia as -the Green Tree. After a pause, the Vice-President rises and repeats the -formal query, 'Are you all charged?' The directors then stand up, and -he says, 'The memory of Washington.' We have a tradition that the news -of the great general's death in 1799 came while the Board of Directors -was dining. From that time until now they have continued to drink that -toast." - -"I like that," said Chestnut. "These ancient customs seem to survive -better here than elsewhere in America." - -"That is true," returned Hamilton. "And what you say reminds me of some -odd rules in the Philadelphia Library, which Franklin founded in 1731. -We have--at our own cost, of course--a supper of oysters roasted in the -shell at a wood fire in the room where we meet. A modest bowl of rum -punch completes the fare. Old Ben was afraid that this repast would -degenerate into a drinking-bout such as was too common in his time. He -therefore ingeniously arranged a table so high that it was impossible to -sit at it, and this shrewd device seems to have answered." - -"When I became a director of the library," said Francis, "my predecessor -had been ill for two years. As a consequence, he was fined a shilling -for non-attendance at each meeting. This, with the charges for suppers, -and for the use of the library as a stockholder, had accumulated a debt -of some fifty dollars. Now, as Franklin found it difficult to collect -such debts from estates, he made it a rule that the new director, while -pleased with the freshness of his novel honor, should pay the bill of -the man he succeeded; and accordingly I paid my predecessor's debts." - -"How like Poor Richard!" said Wilmington. - -"I was consoled," added Francis, "by the reflection that I always had -the sad privilege of leaving my successor a similar obligation." - -"Agreeable, that," murmured Wilmington. "But we are trifling, my dear -Francis. What is next, Hamilton? Ah, a new wine. That is a wine -indeed! A Madeira. Stay! I have drunk it before. A Butler wine, is -n't it?" - -"Yes. I misplaced the decanters; this should have come later." - -"I see now," said Chestnut. "What is that curious aftertaste? Prunes? -Is n't it prunes?" - -"Certainly," cried Hamilton. "You are doing well, Chestnut. These noble -old wines have a variety of dominant flavors, with what I might call a -changeful halo of less decisive qualities. We call the more or less -positive tastes apple, peach, prune, quince; but in fact these are mere -names. The characterizing taste is too delicate for competent -nomenclature. It is a thing transitory, evanescent, indefinable, like -the quality of the best manners. No two are alike." - -"Yes," said Hamilton; "and this same wine, in bottles, after a few years -would quite lose character. Even two demijohns of the same wine kept in -one room constantly differ, like two of a family." - -"As you talk of these wines," said Chestnut, "I dimly recall the names -of some I used to hear. 'Constitution,' a Boston wine, was one--" - -"And a good vintage, too," said Hamilton. "It was the class wine of -1802." - -"The class wine?" queried Chestnut. - -"Yes. At Harvard each class used to import a tun of wine, which, after -it was bottled, was distributed among the graduates. I still have two -of the bottles with '1802,' surrounded by 'Constitution,' molded in the -glass." - -"A good wine it was," added Francis. "I know of no other which has been -so little hurt by being bottled." - -"There were others I used also to hear about. One, I think, was called -'Resurrection'--a wine buried for protection in the war; but some of the -names of these wines puzzle me." - -"The Butlers," returned Francis, "of course represent in their numbering -the successive annual importations of Major Pierce Butler for his own -use. Some wines were called from the special grape which produced them, -as Bual, Sercial, Vidogna. As to others, it was a quality, as in the -case of the famous apple-wine; or the name of the ship in which the wine -came to us, as the Harriets (pale and dark), the Padre; others again -were wines long held by families, as the Francis, Willing, Butler, and -Burd Madeiras." - -"Might I ask how long may a Madeira live, and continuously gain in value -for the palate?" - -"Ah, that depends on the wine," said Hamilton. "I never drank a wine -over seventy years old which had not something to regret--like -ourselves, eh, Wilmington?" - -"I have nothing to regret," returned the elder man, smiling, "except -that I cannot live my life over precisely as it was. I have neglected no -opportunity for innocent amusement, nor--" and he paused. - -"For some others," added Francis, amid a burst of laughter. - -"I fancy," said Chestnut, "that Mr. Wilmington is of the opinion of -Howell. You will find it in those letters of his which Walpole loved." - -"And what was that?" - -"It is long since I read it. I am not quite sure I can repeat it -accurately. He contends in a humorous vein for the moral value of -wine--I think he is speaking of Canary. 'Of this,' he says, 'may be -verified that merry induction--that good wine makes good blood; good -blood causeth good thoughts; good thoughts bring forth good works; good -works carry a man to heaven: _ergo_, good wine carrieth a man to -heaven.'" - -"It sounds like one of Shakspere's fools," said Hamilton. - -"I should like to read that book," added Wilmington. - -"It is at your service," replied Chestnut; "and what else he says of -wine is worth reading." - -"Then let us get nearer to good works," laughed their host. "Here is a -pleasant preacher. Try this." - -"Ah," said Wilmington; "a new friend! Curious, that. Observe, Chestnut, -the just perceptible smoke-flavor--a fine, clean-tasting, middle-aged -wine--a gentleman, sir, a gentleman! Will never remind you to-morrow of -the favor he did you last night." - -"Needs time," said Francis, "and a careful fining--a little egg-shell -and the white of one egg." - -"One might risk it," said Wilmington. "But I would rather use a milk -fining. It is more delicate, and the wine recovers sooner, unless the -dose of milk be too large. But above all, Hamilton, be careful about -the moon. A summer fining might be better, but touch it lightly." - -"What on earth has the moon to do with it?" said Chestnut. - -"If you want to spoil a Madeira," answered Wilmington, "fine it at the -change of the moon. I spoiled my dark Harriet that way. Always fine a -wine during the decline of the moon." - -"I shall call this wine 'Smoke,'" said Hamilton. "Its name is really -Palido. Certainly it has a great future. No better wine ever coasted -along the shores of this table, and it has seen many vinous voyages. And -now for a very interesting vintage. A little more bread, John. 'With -the sun.'" - -Wilmington ate a morsel of bread, rinsed a glass in the bowl before him, -filled it to the brim, and slowly emptied it. Then he set it down -deliberately. - -"That is not Madeira, Hamilton; that is sherry. Some mistake." - -"What!" cried Francis. "Wrong for once! It is Madeira, and old,--too -old, I should say." - -"I thought I should puzzle you. I have but little of it left, and it is -new to all of you. Two generations have disputed its parentage." - -"I might be mistaken," said Wilmington. "There are Madeiras so like -some rare sherries as to puzzle any palate." - -"I myself," said Hamilton, "have an inherited belief that it is Madeira. -It is difficult to tell, at times, a very old Madeira from a very aged -sherry. The Burd wine was remarkable because no one could decide this -question. I have heard an old friend remark that the age of all great -wines brought them together as to taste. Thus a certain Charles March -grape-juice and Blue Seal Johannisberger were scarcely to be told -apart." - -"I leave you to settle it," said Chestnut, rising, well aware how long -the talk would last. "The knowledge I have acquired has, of a verity, -gone to my head,--I suppose because, as Miss M---- says, nature abhors a -vacuum. Thank you for a delightful evening." - -"But sit down for five minutes," said Hamilton, who had risen with his -guest. "There is a beautiful story about this wine. I must tell it, -even if it be familiar to Wilmington as his own best joke." - -"Delighted," said Chestnut, resuming his place. - -"Well," said Hamilton, "I will not keep you long. This wine came ashore -on Absecom Beach from a Spanish wreck, about 1770. Then it was brought -to Trenton, and my great-uncle bought it. All but a demijohn was buried -in his garden at the old house, not far from Princeton, to keep it out -of British stomachs. The one demijohn kept for use made the mischief I -shall tell you of. - -"Try that grape-juice, Wilmington. No? Then let Francis have his -cigar. My Cuban friend shocks me with the late rise of prices. -Eighteen dollars a thousand makes one hesitate." - -"It does, indeed," said Francis. And soon the room was hazy with -delicate smoke, as Hamilton continued: - -"It was during the war, you know. My great-uncle Edward, who was with -Washington, heard that his wife was ill. He got leave, managed to cross -the Delaware, and in citizen's clothes made his way to his own -country-house near Princeton. There he learned that she was not -seriously ill, and as the country was full of British scouts, he -resolved to go back next day to his duties in Washington's camp. The -friend who had aided his adventure and was to set him across the -Delaware again, came in about nine of the evening; and to aid them with -the wisdom which is in wine, the demijohn of this disputed wine was -brought out. Also a noble bowl of rum punch was brewed, and divers -bottles were allowed their say, so that when Mr. Trent departed, Uncle -Ned retired in some haste lest he should not be able to retire at all. -It is probable that he left the candles to burn, and the hall door to -close itself. About three in the morning, having snored off his rum and -some wine, and hearing a noise, he put on his boots and a wrapper, and -taking his pistols, went down-stairs. As he entered the dining-room -there were candles burning, fresh logs on the fire, and facing him sat -an English captain, with his dirty boots on my aunt's best Chippendale -arm-chair, and in act to swallow a glass of wine. Uncle Ned stepped -through the open door and covered the unexpected guest with his pistol, -at the same time remarking (and he was really the most imperturbable of -men), 'Perhaps you are not aware that you are making free with my best -Madeira, and really--' - -"'Don't shoot, I beg you, until I finish my glass,' said the captain, -calmly. 'Did I understand you to say Madeira? Madeira! It's -sherry--unmistakably sherry! Of course, I don't dispute the ownership.' - -"'Very kind of you,' remarked Uncle Ned. 'There seems to have been a -considerable transfer of ownership.' - -"'That is so,' replied the captain. 'I am like Mary after she ate her -lamb. "Every where that Mary went that lamb was sure to go." Permit me -to apologize. The sherry--' - -"'I have had the honor to assure you that it is Madeira.' - -"'Madeira! Great George!' - -"Now Uncle Ned hated the king, and loved his wife, and greatly honored -his own taste in wine. Both his prejudices and his affection had been -lightly dealt with, so he said tartly: 'There is only one Great George, -and he is across the Delaware, and the wine is Madeira, and you have -soiled my wife's chair; and I wait, sir, to learn your errand.' - -"'I grieve, sir, to say that you will quite too soon know my errand, -when I call up the troopers who are back of the house; or if you are in -haste a shot from you will do as well. Meanwhile permit me most humbly -to apologize to Mrs. Hamilton. I regret to continue to differ concerning -the wine. As to your George, he is a very small rebel George. And now -I am obliged most reluctantly to finish my unfortunate business; -perhaps, however, we had better see the last of the wine; you may not -have another opportunity.' - -"These remarks somewhat sobered Uncle Ned, and he became of a sudden -aware of the trap he was in. So he sat down, with his pistols -convenient, and saying, 'With all my heart,' began to push the bottle. -The Britisher was good company, and his temper was already so mellowed -by wine that he was fast nearing the stage of abrupt mental decay which -mellowness naturally precedes. He graciously accepted a tumbler of -punch, which my uncle contrived to make pretty strong, and then -numberless glasses of wine, enlivened by very gay stories, at which my -uncle was clever. At last the captain rose and said with some gravity, -'The glasses appear to be all t-twins. We have made a night of it. -When you make a n-night of it you improve the s-shining hours. And now -my painful duty--' - -"'One glass more,' said my uncle; 'and about that story. Pray pardon me, -I interrupted you.' - -"'Oh, yes,' said the captain, emptying a very stiff glass of rum punch, -which by no means put its own quality into the lessening vigor of his -legs. 'As I was saying, I knew a man once--very clever man; loved a -girl--very clever girl. Man consumedly fond of liquor. Girl did n't -know which he liked best, the wine or the woman. One day that girl--he -told her a very foolish story about not askin' for wine if she would put -a k-kiss in the glass. And that day, instead of a k-kiss she put a -little note inside the decanter; and when he had drunk up the wine, and -the men were laughing at this f-fashion of billet-doux, he broke the -decanter with the poker and r-read the note. Give you my word, he never -drank a drop after that; and the note, it was a very c-clever note, and -it just said--' But at this moment the captain made a queer noise in -his throat, and slipped down, overcome with rebel rum and much Madeira. -Uncle Ned humanely loosened his cravat and sword-belt, and lost no time -in creeping through the dark to his friend's house, where he found -clothes and a good horse. He was back in camp next day." - -"And so this was the wine," said Chestnut; "and the man and the maid are -gone, and the wine is still here. But the end of the story?--what the -girl said in her note?" - -"Ask the wine," laughed Hamilton, "or ask some good woman. No man -knows. We shall find Mrs. Hamilton and my daughters in the -drawing-room. They must be at home by this time. You can ask them." - -"With all my heart," said Chestnut. - -"That is, if you have had enough tobacco," added the host. - -"Just one more glass from the disputed bottle," said Wilmington, rising -with the rest, and holding his glass between his face and the lights. -"As our old table-customs seem to interest you, Chestnut, I give you a -toast which I have drunk now these fifty years. Once it was a present -joy; it is now but a sad remembrance. Quite often I say it to myself -when I take my last glass in company; and always when I dine alone I say -it aloud, or it seems to say itself of long habit." - -With these words, the spare little, ruddy old gentleman bowed in turn to -each of his fellow-guests, and last to his host, and then said, with a -certain sad serenity of manner: "Here is to each other,"--and with a -slight quaver in his voice,--"and to one other." - -With this they turned from the table to follow Hamilton. - -John gravely divided the mahogany doors opening into the drawing-room, -and as Mr. Wilmington passed, murmured under his breath, "Dat wine 's a -sherry, sar, sure 's ye 're born." - -"Uncle John," replied Wilmington, "you are a great man. Here is a -dollar," and slowly followed his host, humming under his breath the old -drinking-song: - - "The bottle 's the mistress I mean, I mean." - - - - - *"A LITTLE MORE BURGUNDY"* - - -The month of January, 1853, had been as dreary as only a midwinter bit -of Paris weather can be. The Christmas season came and went, and left -me and my friend Pierce, two friendless students, rather more homesick -than usual, and a little indisposed to confess the malady, or to talk of -those we loved, three thousand miles away. - -This special night of the 21st of January I sat with William Pierce in -the second story of an ancient hotel, which for democratic convenience -had been labeled 47 Rue St. Andre des Arts. The name of the -street--like others in the pleasant, wicked old Latin quarter--has some -relation to the scholastic history of the Sorbonne; but who were the -great folks to whom, long ago, this gray house belonged, I never knew. -It was, in my time, a hive of students, and, standing _entre cour et -jardin_, had a fine air of protesting against the meager trades around -it, and the base uses to which it had come at last. - -I never before, or since, lived in so vast a room as this in which I -spent the most of 1853. The lofty, half-domed ceiling over us was still -festive with the tangled dance of nymphs and shepherds who began their -revel when the naughty regent was in power. I used to wonder what -strange and wicked things they must have seen; what quarrels, what -loves, what partings. - -Tall windows, with balconies set in lovely traceries of stone, looked -out on the street; on the other side of the room a deep alcove held my -bed. Successive economies had narrowed the broad chimney throat to -limits penuriously proportioned to the price of fuel; but two pensive -caryatides still upheld the carved mantel-shelf, over which drooped -pendent rose-wreaths of marble, pipe-stained, wine-tinted, and chipped. - -It was never warm in this great chamber; but on the night in question it -was colder than was comfortable even for the warm blood of youth. Over -the meager nest of a grate we two sat, striving to conjure up a blaze -from reluctant wood and coal. And this was rather with the hope that -the fire might put a soul of heat into our _boiullotte_ and so give us -material for a consolatory punch, than with any vain belief that we -could ever be warmed again by what the French nation has agreed to -consider a fire. - -"Dismal, is n't it?" said Pierce. - -"No," I returned, cheerfully, because now the _bouillotte_ began, -uneasily, to hop a little on the coals, as if nervous, and to puff and -breathe out steam at intervals. Seeing this, Pierce, who was by nature -a silent son of New England, got up, with no more words, and went over -to the far corner, and presently said: - -"_Dame!_" - -Now _dame_ is French, and has no harm in it, but is nearly as -satisfactory as if it did not lack that final n, which makes the -difference between mere Celtic impatience and English verbal iniquity. - -"Well?" I said. - -"The cognac is out." - -"Is it?" I said. It was not a great calamity, but it did seem to add -something to the sum of our discomforts. - -"Have a little hot water?" said my friend. - -"Don't," I returned. - -"But what shall we do? You are pretty poor company to-night. There is -the Closerie des Lilas, and Mabille, and the Cafe des Droles." - -I would none of them. I sat with my head in my hands, staring into the -embers of the fading fire. I was crying a man's tears, thinking of the -home fireside at evening, three thousand miles away. And if you think a -man cannot cry without the shedding of material tears, life has taught -you little of physiology; for this is the chief difference between man -and woman. - -At last Pierce rose up and said French and English profanities, and -thought it no colder out of doors than within; therefore I put on my -overcoat and a fez cap--such as we wore in those days--and followed him -down-stairs, across the courtyard, and under its gray escutcheon and -armorial bearings, and so into the outer air. A band of noisy students -was passing out of the narrow Rue des Grands Augustins, singing. How -often I have heard it, and how it rings in my head after these many long -years! - - Par derrier' chez ma tante - I'ya-t-un bois joli; - Le rossignol y chante - Et le jour et la nuit. - Gai lon la, gai le rosier - Du joli mois de mai. - - -Across the way two little maids in caps were filling their tins from the -steaming heap of fried potatoes in the tiny shop of my old acquaintance -Madame Beaumain. - -We left the gayer streets and soon were walking through the maze of -narrow avenues and lanes long since destroyed to make way for the wide -boulevards of the Second Empire. We went along aimlessly, as it seemed -to me, until presently Pierce stopped, exclaiming, "Yes, it is here," -and turned from the Rue de l'Universite into the short _impasse_ at its -further end. Here he paused. - -"Well," I said, "where next?" - -"My dear M----," he said, "I can't stand you alone any longer. I 'm -going to take you to call on M. Des Illes." - -Now, M. Des Illes was an acquaintance of a minute (to be accurate, of -five minutes), and was nothing to me on earth but a quaint remembrance. -I said I would go anywhere, call on devil or angel, do as he liked. As -I made clear to him the amiability of my indifferent mood, he paused at -the doorway of No. 37. - -"Is this the place?" - -"Yes, 37 _bis_." Upon this he rang, and the door opening in the usual -mysterious Paris fashion, a concierge put out her head at the side of -the passage, which seemed long and narrow. - -"Is M. Des Illes at home?" - -"Oui; tout en face, tout au fond; Porte a gauche." - -"That 's droll," I said as we walked on. The passage was dimly lighted -by a lantern hung on the wall. We went on quite three hundred feet, and -came out into a courtyard some thirty feet by twice that length. The -walls were high around it, but before us was a small hotel with a rather -elaborate front, not easily made out by the feeble glimmer of a lantern -over the door and another on the wall. The main entrance was a little -to the left of the middle of the house, which seemed to be but one story -high, and over this a Mansard roof. - -"Interesting, is n't it?" said Pierce. - -"Very," said I, as I rang. The door was opened at once, and we were in a -hall some twenty feet square, beautifully lit with wax candles in the -most charming of silver sconces. There were a few arms on the walls, and -a portrait of a girl in a red gown and hoops. The servant who admitted -us was in black from head to foot--a very tall man with an immense--an -unusual nose, very red cheeks, and enormous ears. - -I said, "M. Des Illes is at home?" and he, "Monsieur would oblige with -the names, and this way, please." We gave him our cards and went after -him. He warned us of a step, and of another, and we came into a little -antechamber, where we were pleasantly bid to be seated. He came back at -once, followed by the strangest little old gentleman imaginable. I said, -"M. Des Illes, I believe?" - -"Ah," he cried. "It cannot be that I am deceived. It is Monsieur, my -preserver. What a happiness to see you here!" and upon this, to my -great embarrassment, he kissed me upon both cheeks, while Pierce grinned -at me maliciously over his shoulders. - -"It was a small matter," I said. - -"To you, no doubt; but not to me. Life is never a small possession to -him that owns it. I have friends with me to-night who will feel it to -be more than an honor to welcome you. M. Michel and M. Pierce, you said, -I think. This is a most fortunate hour." - -I said all the effusively pleasant things I could think of, while his -servant relieved me of my overcoat. As Pierce was being aided in like -manner I had a good look at my host, and made up my mind that he was -probably dressed for a fancy ball. He was clearly a quite old man, -curiously slight in person, and having almost the delicacy of features -of a woman. Also he was clean shaven, wore his hair in a cue tied with -black ribbon, and was clad in black silk or satin, with jet buttons, a -long waistcoat, a full lace jabot, knee-breeches, black silk stockings, -court shoes, and black jet buckles. With some puzzle of mind I -concluded it to be a mourning suit of the last century, queer to see at -this time and in this place. - -As we crossed the antechamber M. Des Illes fluttered about us, -gesticulating and talking with vehemence of his great debt to me, who -thought it small and embarrassingly made too much of. I have laid away -somewhere among my mental negatives a picture of the room into which we -went, following our host. There were many candles in sconces, tables -and chairs of Louis XV.'s time, and one cabinet of wonderful inlaid work -filled with silver. - -Two persons rose as we entered. To my surprise, I saw that they also -were dressed in black of the same fashion as that worn by my host. All -had cues, and, like M. Des Illes, wore swords with black sheaths. One of -these gentlemen might have been forty years old, but the other, like my -host, was a man far on in life and certainly not much under seventy -years. As I stood a moment in the doorway, the two, who were playing -piquet, rose, and M. Des Illes, going in before us, turned and said as -we entered: - -"I have great pleasure to present to you M. Michel, my preserver, of -whom I have already told. It is he who has with heroism dragged me from -before a swift-coming horse. He with modesty refused me his address. -His name I shall forever cherish. Permit me, Duke, to present M. -Michel." - -I named my friend, who was introduced. Then we were let to know that -the older man, who was stout and well built, and who seemed of M. Des -Illes's years, was the Duke de St. Maur. He in turn presented to us the -youngest of these quaintly clad people, his son, M. de St. Maur. When -these gentlemen bowed, for neither did more, they took up much of the -room, and in the space left to us--such courtesy being -contagious--Pierce and I achieved quite as remarkable salutes. - -This ceremony over, we were seated, and the tale of M. Des Illes's -rescue having been told once more at too great length, the Duke rose, -and, taking my hand, desired me to understand that I had conferred upon -him a favor which I must have known M. Des Illes as long as he to -understand. When his son had stated that none could better what his -father had said, he added, "May it please God, Monsieur, that you never -need a friend; and may his providence never leave you without one as -good as you yourself have proved to be." I replied in fluent but -unequal French, and began to have the keenest desire to know what the -mischief all this masquerade might mean. - -I soon observed that the politics of the day were out of the talk. -When, indeed, we were speaking of pictures, and Pierce mentioned a -portrait of the Prince President in the Salon, a manner of chill seemed -to fall upon the party, while the Duke said with a certain gentle -decisiveness, "You, who are our guests this evening, and will share it -with us--may I say for my friend and myself that the person mentioned -should never get so far into good society as to be talked of by -gentlemen--at least not to-night--not to-night?" - -"No," said St. Maur; "not to-night." - -Pierce spoke quickly, "You will pardon us, Duke." - -The Duke lifted a remonstrating hand. "It is not needed," he said. -"And have you seen the great landscape by Diaz? I have the pendant; but -now his prices have gone up, and we poor gentlefolk, alas!" Here he -took snuff, and M. de St. Maur remarked with a smile, "My good father is -never so near extravagance as when he talks of his poverty." - -"He is shrewd, the young man, and of distressing economy--a quite modern -economy. I bought it to-day." Our laughter set the chat on a less -formal footing, and we fell to talking of theaters, actresses, the -latest play, and the like, until at last M. Des Illes said. "Pardon, my -dear Duke, but the hour is near when we must go down to the cellar." - -Meanwhile no one had explained the costumes which appeared to have power -to recall into active life the forms of manners with which they seemed -to consist so well, the grave courtesies of an hour more patient than -that in which we live. "We are at your service," said the Duke, rising. -"Our friends must feel by this time as if they were calling on actors -behind the scenes at the Odeon. Is it not so?" he added. - -"Perhaps," I returned. "But the wise who are well entertained do not -ask the name of the inn; at least so they say in Spain." - -"Monsieur has found for us a delightful apology," said M. de St. Maur. -"Let us leave him to guess our sad riddle; and now, the lanterns." - -As he spoke, M. Des Illes came from a closet with lanterns and straw -wine-baskets, of which he gave one to each of us. Then the candles in -the lanterns were lighted, while Pierce and I, profoundly curious, said -nothing. - -"A pity," exclaimed the younger St. Maur, "that our friends' modern -dress should interpolate a note of to-day." - -"We can only regret," said I. - -"It is but a wicked little remark, that," returned the Duke. "My son is -of to-day, Monsieur. For him this is a masquerade, interesting, droll. -But for us, _mon Dieu_! It is----." - -"Yes, it is," returned Des Illes gravely. - -"Pardon, Duke," said the son, smiling. "Once all these things lived for -you and for our friend; but as to me--I have only the memory of -another's memory." - -"Neatly put!" cried Des Illes. "Almost a _mot_; as near as men get to -it in these degenerate days. Well, well, if wit be dead, wine is not. -Let us go now among the old memories of which your son speaks. Come, -gentlemen." - -With these words we went with him through a back room, and thence by a -window into a garden. In the uncertain moonlight I saw that it was -large, with great walls about it, and the appearance beyond these of -tall, leafless trees. We passed a frozen basin and the figure of a -dryad, and went after our host into a house for plants, now to -appearance disused. At a far corner he lifted a trap-door and went -before us down a stone stair to a wine-cellar such as is common in good -French houses. Here were bottles and barrels of _vin ordinaire_ for -common use. I began to feel an increase of interest when, near the far -end of this cellar, M. Des Illes set down his lantern, unlocked a -padlock, and, aided by St. Maur, lifted a larger trap-door. With a word -of care as to the steps, he showed us the way down a broad stone -stairway, and in a minute we were all standing on the rock floor of a -great room underground. - -As we saw the Duke and his companions hang their lanterns on hooks set -in the wall, we did as they had done, and, placing our wine-baskets on -casks, began to get used to the cross lights of the lanterns and to look -around us. The space seemed to be some thirty feet long and perhaps as -much as fifteen feet wide. It was cut out of the soft lime-rock which -underlies Paris. Perhaps a dozen casks of wine, on racks, were set -along one side of the cave, and over them, on stone shelves excavated in -the walls, were hundreds of bottles. - -"Be careful of the cobwebs," said Des Illes, and there was need to be. -They hung from above in black curtains and in coarse openwork of tangled -ropes. They lay over the bottles and across the casks, wonderful for -amount and for their dark hue. The spinners of this funereal broidery I -could nowhere see. It was the work of generations of arachnidean -artists long dead; or else those who lived were hiding, scared, amidst -these great pendent festoons. I wondered how the net-makers had lived, -for flies there were none, and no other insect life so far as I could -see. After this brief survey I observed that the air was cool, and so -dry that it was hardly felt to be uncomfortable. The three gentlemen -were moving to and fro, exchanging phrases apparently about the wine, -and as I joined their little group it became clear that a selection was -being made. - -"There will be one bottle of the year," said the Duke. - -"Yes, of the year," repeated our host. - -"Might I ask of what year?" said Pierce. - -"Of 1793," replied St. Maur; "the fatal year. Permit me"; and he held -the basket wine-cradle while the Duke put on his glasses, and, turning -the lantern-light on to a shelf, said: "There are but twelve left." - -"Enough for us, friend," said Des Illes, lifting a bottle. "It has the -black ribbon on the neck, but the spiders have so covered everything as -with a pall, that it was hard to be sure." With this, he turned to me. -"It has a black ribbon, you perceive." - -"It has," I said, rather puzzled. - -"And now, my friends, choose as you will, you cannot go far wrong. The -sun of many summers is locked up in these bottles." - -"I wall take Chambertin," said the Duke. - -"And I, Pomard," said his son. - -"And I," said Des Illes, "Romanee Conti. But all here are in the -peerage of wines." - -Then, when each of this curious company had made his choice, our host -said to us: - -"It will be best that I choose for you. There is already enough of -Burgundy to trouble some toes to-morrow. Shall we say Bordeaux? Here -are two of long descent, and one is a comet-wine--of a name long -lost--and one is Laffitte, and both are in good order; neither is less -than thirty years old. In this changeless atmosphere our great wines -are long-lived. Have a care not to disturb the wines as we go up the -stairs." - -"We shall carry them with care," I replied, laughing, "until we have -swallowed them." - -"And then without care, I trust," cried the younger St. Maur. "Let us -go; it is chilly here." - -"A moment," said the Duke. "M. Michel will desire to know why all this -costuming, and the bottles in mourning, and this ancient cellar." - -"True," I returned. "I was about to ask." - -"Well, well," said Des Illes. "A few words here, where they will have -the more interest, and then let us mount, and end the tale with such -memories as these good wines may suggest." - -"This way," said the Duke to me. "Let me show you something." I -followed him to the end of the cellar, where, to my surprise, I saw by -the light of his lantern a door heavily built and guarded by a bar of -wood. This he lifted, and as he opened the door, and we gazed into the -deep darkness beyond, he said: "I show you a passageway into the -catacombs of Paris, of which this cave must have been a part until built -off to be made a cellar somewhere in the reign of Louis XV. And stay. -Look at this"; and, turning aside, he showed me, as it lay on a cask, a -cobwebbed bit of something. - -"What is it?" I said. - -"A woman's glove--and it has been here since 1794." - -"The rest were better told in a less somber place," said St. Maur. "Let -us go." Upon this we went up the stairs and out into the air. As we -crossed through the barren shrubbery, each with his lantern and a little -basket of wine, I thought that probably Paris could show no stranger -sight than this sunken garden-space dark with box, the gentlemen in -their dress of another time, and we two Yankees wondering what it all -meant. - -When at length we reentered M. Des Illes's drawing-room a brighter fire -was on the hearth than is common in France. About it M. Des Illes set -with care, in their cradles, the half-dozen bottles we had fetched from -the cellar. I ventured to say that it would be long before they were -warm enough to drink; but the Duke said that was quite a modern notion, -and that he liked to warm his wine on the tongue. It seemed to me odd; -but I am told it was once thought the thing to have red wines of the -temperature of the cellar. When the wine was set at a correct distance -from the fire, and the blaze heartened a little with added fuel, M. Des -Illes excused himself, and, returning after some twenty minutes, -explained that he had been arranging a dressing for the salad, but that -it would be an hour before supper could be made ready. - -"That," I said, "will give us full leisure to ask some questions." - -"_Pardie!_" said St. Maur. "Had I been you, by this time I should have -asked fifty." - -"No doubt," laughed his father; and then, turning to us, "Usually when -we dress as you see, we are alone--Des Illes and I at least--men of a -forgotten past. But to-night friendly chance has sent you here, and it -were but courteous that we explain what may seem absurd. M. Des Illes -will tell you the story." - -"It is many years since I heard it," said St. Maur. "I shall be well -pleased to hear it once more." - -"But it is long." - -"_Fi donc_, my friend. The wine will be the better for waiting," said -the Duke; "and, after all, some one must tell these gentlemen. As for -me, I should spoil a good story." - -Then Pierce and I said how delighted we should be to listen, but indeed -we little knew how strange a tale we were to hear. - -"It shall be as the Duke likes," said M. Des Illes. "Let us move nearer -to the fireside. It is chilly, I think." Upon this we drew to the fire. -Our host added a small fagot of tender twigs, so that a brief blaze went -up and lit the dark velvets and jet buttons of the company. - -"You will all have heard it," said Des Illes; "but it is as you desire. -It will be new to our friends." - -"And surely strange," said the Duke's son. - -"My memory may prove short, Duke. If I fail, you will kindly aid me." - -"Ah, my friend, neither your wine nor your memory has failed. But make -haste, or your supper will be spoiled while we await a tale which is -slow in coming." - -"The things I shall speak of took place in the month of July, 1794. -Alas! this being now 1853, I was in those days close to eleven years of -age. My good Duke, here, was himself some two years younger. My father -had been purveyor of wines to the Court, as his father had been, and I -may say, too, that we were broken-down nobles who liked better this way -of earning a meal than by clinging to the skirts of more lucky men of no -better blood than we. - -"There had been in the far past some kindly relation between my Duke's -people and my own, and how it came about I know not, but my grandmother, -when the old Duchess died, would have it she must nurse the little Duke, -and hence between him, as he grew up, and my father was the resemblance -often seen between brothers of one milk. We were all of us, my mother -and father and I, living in this house when my story begins, and -although in secret we were good servants of the King, we were quietly -protected by certain Jacobins who loved good wine. In fact, we did very -well and kept our heads from Madame Guillotine, and from suspicion of -being enemies of the country, until the sad thing chanced of which I am -made to tell the history. - -"In the spring of 1793 the Duke, my father's foster-brother, came one -day from the country in disguise, and with him this same Duke Henri you -see here to-day. I do not now know precisely what had taken place, but -I believe the Duke was deep in some vain plots to save the Queen, and -wished to be free for a time from the care of his boy. At all events, -Duke Henri, a very little fellow, was left with us and became our cousin -from Provence. He had a great opinion of his dignity, this dear Duke, in -those days, and was like enough to get us all into trouble. - -"Early in July 1794 my father was much disturbed in mind. I often saw -him at night carrying things into the plant-house, where my mother -nursed a few pots of flowers. There was cause, indeed, to trouble any -one, what with the merciless guillotine and the massacres. As for us, -too, we knew pretty well that at last we were becoming "suspects." - -"One evening--it was the 19th of July--my father was away nearly all -day, a thing for him quite out of the common. About dusk he came home, -and after a few words in haste to my mother called us to help him. On -this we were set to work carrying bottles of milk, cheese, bread, and -cold meats in baskets to the plant-house, where my father took them from -us. Then we went back and forth with blankets, pillows, and more things -than I can now recall. After this, it being night, we were told to wait -in the house, but no explanation was given us as to what these unusual -preparations meant." - -"It was this house, this same house," said Duke Henri; "when we had done -all that was required of us we sat within doors, wondering what it was -for." - -"The next day, being July 20th about noon, we boys were playing in the -garden when I saw my mother come through the window, and heard her cry -out: 'It is ruin, it is ruin; my God, it is ruin!' A moment after came -my father with the Duke de St. Maur--Duke Philip, of course. The Duke -was speaking vehemently as we boys ran to hear. 'I came to say that I -am going to England. I have not a moment. I fear I may have been -followed. I grieve to have fetched this trouble upon you.' - -"My mother was vexed indeed, and spoke angrily; but my father said, 'No; -trouble has been close for days, and the house is watched. For me, -there need be no real fear. I have friends, and should be set free -quickly, but the Duke!--' - -"In the end they would not let Duke Philip go, and urged that now it -would bring about a greater peril for all of us if he were caught going -out or were seen to come forth. - -"'There is a better way,' cried my father. 'Quick! Let us all go down -to the lower cave.' The Duke remonstrated, but was cut short, for my -father said, 'If you have compromised us, I must judge now what is -best.' And so the Duke gave in, and we were all hurried into the -plant-house and down the stairs to the first cellar, where were many of -the things so long made ready. My father opened the larger trap, and -began with great haste to carry down, with our help, all he had left in -the cellar above. Every one aided, and it was no sooner done than we -heard a noise in the house, or beyond it. 'The officers!' said my -father. 'Now you are all safe, and I shall soon come for you.' - -"He stood a moment, seeming to hesitate, while my mother and the Duke -prayed him to come down and close the trap; but at last he said, 'No; it -were better my way,' and shut down the door. - -"I heard a great clatter of barrel-staves falling on the trap. I think -he had seen the need to take this precaution, and it was this made him -run for us and for his friend a perilous risk; his fear, I mean, that -unless hidden, the trap would easily be seen by any one who chanced to -enter the upper cellar. I should have said that my father lifted the -trap a little and cried, 'The good God help thee, Claire!' Then we were -at once in darkness, and again the staves were replaced, as one could -easily hear. I heard my mother sob, but the one-year-old baby she -carried screamed loudly, and this, I think, took up her attention for a -time. I was on the stone staircase when my father went by me saying, -'Be good to thy mother.' I sat still awhile, and, the baby ceasing to -cry, we remained thus for a time silent in this appalling darkness, like -hunted things, with the terror of the time upon us. - -"It is a sad story, dear Duke. I wonder how you can wish to hear it -again. And will my young friend draw the corks of these bottles, and be -careful not to shake the wine?" - -St. Maur, saying, "With pleasure, yes," went on to draw the corks. - -"What a bouquet has that Chambertin!" said the Duke. "But go on, my -friend." - -"In a moment or so my mother exclaimed: 'There is something wrong. I -must go and see. My husband was to come with us. It has long been so -arranged.' - -"With great difficulty the Duke persuaded her to run no farther risk. -'If,' he said, 'your husband has been arrested, you can do no good. If -he has not, we shall soon hear, and I, myself, will seek to learn where -he is.' - -"This quieted her for a little while, and we sat still in the darkness, -which seemed to grow deeper. I think it must have been an hour before -any one spoke, but at times I could hear my mother sob. At last the -baby woke up again and made doleful cries, so that the Duke said--and -his was the first voice to break the long silence: 'Is there a way to -make a light? It may quiet him.' - -"My mother said, 'Yes'; and after groping about we found flint and -steel, and presently, with a little care, there was a bit of flame and a -candle lit. I declare to you, it made things look the more dismal. -Later it caused us all to feel a strange and causeless elation. My -mother, who was a resolute woman, began to walk about, and the baby, -having been given milk, grew quiet. We boys were set to work arranging -the mattresses and blankets and all the material my father had by -degrees made ready for this hour of need. There was food enough for a -stay of many days, and as to wine, there was of that an abundance, and -also a barrel of good water. - -"After our brief task was over we two little fellows sat most of that -long first day beside each other, rarely opening our lips. My mother lay -on a mattress, trying to keep the babe quiet, for he used his lungs -dangerously well. The Duke walked to and fro restlessly, and by and by -carefully put his pistols in order and laid them on a cask. After some -hours he became more tranquil and even gay, and kept us all sustained by -his gentle goodness and sweet temper, laughing at our fears, recalling -to my mother what hopeful words my father had used, and at last almost -making her sure that no one would hurt so good a man. - -"When the Duke looked at his jeweled watch, which had been used to -number more pleasant hours, he told us it was night, and nine o'clock. -My mother said prayers, and the candle having been put out, we all lay -down and slept as we could. I must have slept well, for it was nine in -the morning when I awakened, and I, for one, had to think a little to -recover my orientation. - -"In this dismal fashion we passed two days. Then, on the third, about -noon, as we had heard no noise above us, the Duke and my mother thought -we might look out to see if any one were about. This, as I shall tell -you, proved a sad business, and had like to have caused our ruin. But -of this later. - -"The Duke went up the stair, and with difficulty lifted the trapdoor so -as to see a little. As no one was in sight, he heaved off the staves my -father had cast down, and at last got himself out into the upper cellar. -Then he went thence into the plant-house and garden, and at last boldly -entered the house, in which was no one, as it had been closed, and, as -we learned long after, the seal of the Republic put on the door. In a -half hour the Duke returned and took me back into the house, whence we -carried a number of things much needed in our cave, such as more -candles, and a blanket or two, although this was chiefly for precaution, -since the cellar was never cold, nor, as I think of it, damp. We -hurried back, and as we did so I asked the Duke about my father. But -neither he nor my mother could tell why he had been arrested, as he had -managed to keep in good relations with some of the Jacobins. It was -quite common to hear of the head of a house being arrested, and then, -within a day or two, of the women being likewise hurried to the common -fate which awaited all suspects. The Duke seemed to think my father -might have had some such fear for us, and desired to put us all in -safety, although how in the end this could be of use did not seem very -clear. - -"When we all got back to the cave and had shut the trap, I sat a long -while much oppressed in my small mind; but so, too, were our elders, I -fear. As to this my Duke here, he cried a little, but not so that any -one knew but myself. - -"In this way four miserable days and nights went by, and, thus -imprisoned, we knew not what to do. We had waited long, hopeful of my -father's return, and, _mon Dieu!_ he came not at all. The Duke was for -going forth again at night and some way escaping alone, fearing that to -be caught in our company might more surely bring us into trouble when at -last we should be forced, soon or late, to come out to the light. -Meanwhile, this blackness, for it was not mere darkness, became more -terrible than I can make any one comprehend. As I remember, there were -long talks of what to do, with vain endings, and, in between, great, -awful silences." - -"I used to get frightened then," said the Duke, looking up from the -fire. "One seemed so absolutely alone. I used to resist for a time, -and at last put out a hand to take hold of your mother's skirt for -company. Once or twice the poor baby screamed so loud that he had to be -kept quiet by a little _eau de vie_, lest some one coming overhead -should hear; for, indeed, in this vault his cries seemed like shouts, -and one heard better because one could not see. Do you remember that, -Des Illes? But I used to wish that baby would cry all day." - -"Do I remember? Yes, indeed. Those were not days or things to be -easily forgotten. But to go on. The fifth day, when we were all of us -becoming distracted, a thing took place which settled some of our -doubts. It may have been about six o'clock in the evening when we heard -faint noises in the upper cellar. The Duke was first, I think, to -notice them; then a footfall passed over the trap, and this was only too -plain. The Duke caught my arm and said quietly, 'Come here,' and so -saying, drew me to the foot of the stone stairs. This was about, as you -know, ten feet high. I could see nothing, but I heard his step as he -went up. Then he said, 'Here is a pistol. Be ready to hand it to -me--so--so; do not let the powder fall from the pan. I have one pistol. -If there are two men and you are quick, these will suffice. If there -are three men, we are lost.' It was dark as I stood, for we never used -candles save when we ate, and to quiet the baby. I reflected quickly -that, as the Duke could not have put back the staves, they who were -searching must easily find the trap; and so it was, for just as he said -softly, 'Keep still every one,' the trap was lifted a little and a ray -of blinding candle-light shot through the narrow space. For a moment I -could see nothing because of the glare. Then the trap was carefully -raised still higher, and we saw the figure of a kneeling man sustaining -the door with his left hand. In the other he held a lantern and a -canvas bag. Luckily for us all, the Duke was a person of calm courage. -He had seen that the stranger was not an agent of police. 'If you move, -you are dead,' he cried, and the muzzle of a pistol on the man's breast -made him for the time motionless, and perhaps quickened his wits, for he -exclaimed: 'Great heavens! I am not a municipal. God forbid. I am -only a thief. Be merciful, sir. I entered the house by a window, and -now the officers have come in by a door and I shall be guillotined as an -aristocrat.' - -"'A pretty tale; I have half a mind to kill you,' said the Duke. - -"'Pray the Lord keep the other half!' cried the thief. - -"Upon this I heard my mother exclaim: 'No, no; let him come down.' - -"'If you fire, I shall be dead, but your pistol will call these -scoundrels. I have stolen only this bag of gold. Take it, sir. So -saying, he let it fall on the head of this our Duke Henri, who, having -crept near to listen, set up a dismal howl, because of the weight of a -hundred gold louis. - -"I heard the Duke, his father, call out, 'Idiot, hold your tongue! The -animal is right. Come down, you rascal. I would not deny the foul fiend -a refuge from these villains.' - -"'Sir, you will never regret this good deed,' said the thief, and -instantly two long legs were through the opening, as I stepped down to -make way for our new lodger. The Duke was about to close the trap when -the thief said, 'Permit me, sir,' and set about cleverly arranging the -staves on the half-closed trap-door, in order that, as he let it fall, -they might cover it at least in part. - -"After this he descended, and, bowing in an awkward way, said, 'I am -your humble servant, Madam'; and to the Duke, 'You have saved my life. -It is a cheap article nowadays, but still--' - -"'Enough, master thief; here am I, the Duke de St. Maur, and Madame, my -friend's wife, and the baby, and these boys. Put out your lantern. God -knows when we shall get out, or how this adventure will end; but, until -it is over, you are a stranger within our gates, and we will feed you -while our food lasts.' It seemed to me queer to be so near to a thief, -but I heard my mother say something, and some one muttered an 'Ave'; it -might have been the thief. - -"After a little, the Duke asked him a question as to how he entered our -house, and then my mother inquired if he had seen my father. He seemed -a merry fellow, our thief, and so well pleased to be cared for and let -live that by and by he laughed outright until the Duke bade him have a -care. Nor was this at all a needless caution, because the next day, -quite early on the sixth morning, we could too easily hear feet above us -on the floor of the wine-vault. I heard the Duke's 'Hist!' and we were -all as still as mice, except that the Duke, as before, gave me a pistol -and went up the ladder to be ready. I, following him, waited a little -further down. It must have been that they were making free with the -wine, because some of it was spilled and ran through the trap and down -my neck. It quite scared me, but in peril and in darkness a little -thing will do that. One man fell over the staves, but, as the Duke told -us later, he swore as if hurt, and so, I fancy, did not chance to see -our trap-door. All day long we prayed and listened and watched. When, -at nightfall, all sounds were over, we resolved that the Duke should -take a look outside, not knowing what to do or how otherwheres to find -an exit we might think to use." - -"And then," said the Duke to Des Illes, as he paused in his story. - -"Ah me! and then,--you remember." - -"Remember? I shall never forget it,--the trap could not be moved! When -this dreadful thing was discovered, both our thief and the Duke got up -high on the ladder, and, with heads on one side and heaving with their -shoulders, failed to open it. It was quite in vain. The thief, as -usual, took a gay view of the situation. They have, said he, rolled a -cask of wine on to the trap. They will drink it up, or steal it by the -gallon, and when the cask is lighter we can heave it off, or--' - -"'Thou art a merry sinner,' said the Duke, and even my mother laughed, -and we boys. The gay noise came back dismally, thus bottled up in the -narrow vault. But when we began to reflect, we knew that we were buried -alive. Our thief had no end of schemes. We would bore through the door -with an auger, and then bore into the barrel and let the wine run out. -'But we have no auger,' said the Duke, 'and the door is covered with -sheet-iron.' 'No matter, he would think; if he walked, he could think -better,' and so he moved to and fro awhile in search of wisdom. - -"By this time, because our young stomachs began to cry out, we lit a -candle, and my mother gave us all our portions, while I sat on the -ladder top so as to hear if any one came. For a little while we were -strangely cheerful, and this I saw happen whenever we lit up our vault. -The baby smiled, and we moved about and made believe it was a small -matter, after all. As for our thief, he was a treasure of queer -stories, and you could not help but laugh, even if you were desolate the -minute after. - -"Our thief had made ready his lantern, and, as I said, began to prowl -about into corners, and at last stumbled over our Duke's legs. - -"'_Diable!_' cried the Duke. 'Put out your light; we have few enough -candles; and keep quiet, too. You are as uneasy as a cat of the -streets.' - -"'And I am but a street cat, Monsieur, and have wisdom enough to know -that the lazy eat no mice.' - -"'I don't see how your stumbling about this cellar will help us or you.' - -"'Who knows, Monsieur? When you are in a scrape it is never well to keep -quiet. I have been in many, and worse than this--perils by sea and -land, and rope--I always get out, but--Ah me, to forget them is not -easy.' - -"'Rope!' said the Duke. 'Indeed--' - -"'Yes; they hang a fellow for so little, nowadays. You will permit, -Duke, that I change the conversation; I avoid it usually. Indeed, I am -careful not to tie my cravat too tight; it gives one a turn sometimes--a -sort of prophetic hint.' - -"'You are a droll devil,' laughed the Duke, 'and not bad company--where -you can't run away with a purse. Do as you like.' - -"'Thanks, Monsieur,' said the thief, and with no more words resumed a -careful search, as it seemed to me, after nothing. Indeed, we young -fellows laughed as he looked under and back of the casks. 'It is good -to laugh,' he said, as we followed him about; 'but in my business, when -there is no profit to be had, it is well to cultivate one's powers of -observation.' After a while we tired of following him, and sat down; -but he continued his search among the cobwebs--of which, trust me, there -were enough even in those days. - -"At last I saw him mount on top of some empty barrels at the far end of -the cave. Unable to see behind them, he lowered his lantern between the -casks and the wall of the cellar, and looked. Of a sudden he scrambled -down and cried, waving his lantern: 'A thief for luck! A thief for -luck!' - -"'What! what!' exclaimed the Duke, rising. As to the thief, he knelt -down at my mother's feet and said, looking in her face: 'Madame, God has -sent you this thief to show you a way out of this grave.' My mother -caught his arm and cried, 'Let this jesting cease.' He answered, 'I do -not jest,' and we all leaped up and came to where he knelt. - -"'What is this?' said the Duke; on which our thief turned to the end of -the vault and quite easily spun aside two of the casks. - -"'Look!' he said. To our surprise, there were several boards set -against the wall, and between their joinings came a current of air which -flared a candle-flame. 'There is a space beyond,' said the Duke. 'Is it -the catacombs? And was this vault a part? See the masonry here, and -over it these boards nailed fast into the cracks.' 'Horrible!' cried my -poor mother. I had heard that all of the contents of the Cemetery of -the Innocents had been tumbled into some of the openings of these -catacombs. '_Mon Dieu_,' I cried; 'they are full of the dead!' - -"'It is the live rascals I care not to meet,' laughed the thief; 'as for -the dead, they are dead. All their wants are supplied. They neither -steal nor kill--and there are ways out--ways out--I am sure.' - -"'Pray God, my good thief, that it may be as you say,' said my mother; -'but _mon Dieu!_ one may wander far, they say, in these old quarries.' -'Let us see,' said the thief, and with a strong hand he tore away board -after board, the rusted nails breaking and the rotten wood falling at -his feet. There, before him and us, was a great, dark gap in the wall. -Our thief held his lantern within it. - -"'I see little; there is a descent. I must go and find out.' - -"'Oh, be careful! You may fall--may die,' said my mother. - -"'You have said that, Madame, which would send me smiling on a worse -errand. Since I was of this lad's bigness, no one has so much as cared -if I lived or died. I was a mere dog of the streets whom all men -kicked.' - -"'Poor fellow,' said my mother. 'We are alike of the company of -misfortune, and perhaps from this day you may forever turn from evil.' - -"'Let us waste no more time,' said the Duke; 'but have a care, or we -shall lose you.' - -"'If he had a long string which he might unroll,' said I. 'I saw that in -a book.' - -"'Good,' said the Duke, 'if we had it; but we have not.' - -"'But we have,' said the thief. 'Here is Madame's knitting-ball. The -lad shall hold the end, and I shall be the fish at the other end, and -unroll it as I go.' - -"Upon this, I, very proud, was given the end to hold, and our thief took -his lantern and went on, we watching him until the light was lost -because of his turning a corner. He might have been gone half an hour -when he came back. My mother said to him: 'We feared for you. And now, -what is your name? For if out of jest we have called you Mr. Thief, that -is not to be done any more.' - -"Upon this he said his name was Francois, and that in the catacombs he -had gotten into a labyrinth of wet passages and seen no light anywhere. -'Indeed,' he said, 'if we venture in and lose power to come back whither -we started, we may never get out alive. What with the bewilderment of -many crossings, underground ways, and the armies of rats, it is a mad -resort.' This notion of the rats, I confess, made me quail. So the end -of it was that our new hope became but a new despair. _Mon Dieu_! 'T is -a long tale." - -Both Pierce and I declared our interest, which was in truth real, and he -went on. - -"The coming of the seventh day still found us reasonably well -provisioned, and our elders discussing ways of escape, but finding none -available. About noon of this day occurred an event which put an end to -these discussions. All the morning there had been noises overhead, and -we were kept in continual alarm. At last they were heard just over the -trap, and we began to hope they were moving the cask. This, indeed, was -the case. They made a great racket. To us underneath, the sounds above -were such as to make us wonder what they could be doing. I suppose it -was all caused by rolling the full barrels about to get at the bungs. -After a while it ceased; but in an hour or so the Duke cried: 'On guard! -Be ready! Quick, my other pistol!' As he stood he had now one in each -hand. Instantly the trap was pulled up without hesitation or caution. -There were several lighted candles standing on the barrels, and thus I -saw, stooping over the opening, lantern in hand, a big municipal guard. -Instantly there was the flash and roar of the Duke's pistol, and the -huge brute, with a cry, pitched head down into the open trap. He rolled -off the Duke's shoulder, and as he tumbled over on to me, I half fell, -half leaped, and he came down with an awful crash, his head striking the -floor of stone. As he fell the thief threw himself upon him. My mother -cried, '_Mon Dieu!_' There was a pause--when the thief called out, 'He -is dead.' As he spoke I ran up the stone stair, too curious to be -afraid, and peeped under the Duke's left arm. The smoke was thick, and -I saw nothing for a moment. Then a second officer ran down the stone -steps of the upper cellar and drew a pistol. He had a large lantern, -and as he turned it on us the Duke fired. I saw the man's right arm sink -and the pistol drop; and now a strange thing happened. For a moment the -man stood leaning back against a great cask. The hand in which he -clutched the lantern shook violently as with a spasm. '_Diable_! That -is strange,' cried the Duke. As I stood beside him in fear and wonder, -the wounded officer swayed to the left, and I heard a gurgling noise and -saw rush out under the man's arm a great gush of red fluid--as it seemed -to me blood. Then of a sudden the man doubled up and came down in a -heap on the floor. I heard him groan piteously. - -"Cried the Duke, 'Stay there.' This was to me. 'Be still, all of you.' -Indeed, I had no mind to move; one dead man above and one below were -guards enough. The Duke went by the municipal without more than a look, -saying, as he set foot on the upper stair, 'I have shot that man and the -wine-barrel too. _Sacre bleu_, what a waste!' So it was good Bordeaux, -and not blood. This reassured me. In a minute more I heard the Duke say -cheerfully: 'All goes well. A lantern, quick! There is no one else.' - -"Our thief was ready in a moment, and the two, with my small person in -the rear, turned to consider the Jacobin. 'Dead, I think,' said the -Duke. 'And if not, it were wise to attend to his case,' said our thief. -'No, no,' I heard my mother cry from the top of the staircase; 'we will -have no more bloodshed.' - -"Neither Duke nor thief said anything in reply, but laid the man in as -easy a posture as could be found for one with an ounce of lead clean -through him. After this they went down to look at the other officer. He -was past doubt, and dead enough. 'And now,' said the Duke, 'even if we -bury these two, which Madame makes impossible, other devils will infest -the house, and in a few hours we shall be one and all lost to hope.' - -"'There are the catacombs,' said the thief, 'and nothing else. The -sooner we leave, the better our chances. No one will follow us, -Monsieur.' - -"'But shall we ever get out of these caves?' said my mother. - -"'To stay is certain death,' returned Duke Philip. - -"'And to fly by that great opening uncertain death,' said the thief. 'I -like better the uncertain.' - -"'We will go,' said my mother. - -"Upon this the Duke bade us carry the utmost loads of wine and eatables -we could support. The thief packed baskets, and strung bottles of wine -and milk on cords so as to let them hang from our shoulders. Each had -also a blanket, and we were thus pretty heavily loaded, but the thief -carried nearly as much as all the rest together. The Duke sat down a -little while to reload his own arms and those taken from the dead guard, -and soon we followed one another through the great black hole in -mournful procession. With one dim lantern flashing cones of light here -and there on the dripping, moldy walls, we went down a slope and along a -tunnel not broad enough for two to walk abreast. At the first halt I -saw my mother whisper to Duke Philip, and soon after he gave to our -thief the sword and pistol of the dead guard. Before and behind us was -darkness. We may have gone two hundred yards, the Duke urging haste, -when we came to a sharp turn in the tunnel, and stopped as if of one -accord. - -"The Duke cried, 'Forward! March, boys! A fine adventure, is n't it?' -His cheerfulness put spirit into us all, and even the baby gave a little -laugh, as if pleased; but why babies laugh no man knows, nor woman -either. As for the Duke, he nor we had the least idea of where we were -going. As we started down the long stone corridor, the thief cried out, -'Wait a little. I am a fool! A thief of my experience not to know -better! Ye saints! An empty bottle is not more stupid!' - -"'Hold!' cried the Duke, as the thief darted back up the tunnel. - -"'Yes, Monsieur.' But our thief made no pause, and was heard running -madly along the stone passage out of which we had just turned. -'_Peste!_' said the Duke. You will never see that rascal again. He -will buy his own neck with ours. We shall do well to push on and leave -no traces behind us.' - -"'No,' said my mother, as we stood staring after the man. 'I know not -why he went, but he will come again.' And so we waited, and some -fifteen minutes went by. At last said Duke Philip, impatient, 'Did any -one ever trust a thief, Madame? Pray remember at least that I am free -from blame.' He was vexed. - -"'A thief has been trusted before,' said my mother, in her quiet way. - -"'That was for the next world, not this one. We shall regret.' - -"'No,' laughed the dear lady; 'for here he is, Duke.' - -"He came in quick, almost breathless haste, and hardly able to say, 'Oh, -it was worth while, Madame. I have the bag of gold we left, and that -brigand's clothes. That I should have left a bag of gold! I of all -men!' - -"'_Diantre!_' cried the Duke. 'What do you want with the clothes? Are -we about to start a rag-shop? Come, we have lost time!' - -"I heard our thief mutter as he fell in at the rear of the line, back of -us boys: 'He has no imagination, that Duke. He would make no figure as -a thief. _Mon ami!_' (that was to me), 'do you know the toughest job in -the world?' - -"'No,' I said, laughing. - -"'To undress a gentleman who has departed this life. He does n't give -you the least assistance.' - -"I stumbled on, and was thinking over this queer statement when the Duke -halted us in a broader place whence three stone passages led off at -various angles. - -"'A _carrefour_, and which to follow?' said the thief. - -"'It cannot matter much,' returned the Duke. I thought he did not like -the thief's assuming to take part in our counsels. Just then a -tremendous noise like thunder broke over us, and rumbled away in strange -echoes down the stone alleys before us. - -"'Ye saints!' cried my mother, as a yet louder thunder resounded. 'What -is that?' - -"'We are under a street,' said our thief. 'It is the noise of wagons.' - -"'That might be a guide,' said my mother. - -"'Of a truth, yes, Madame,' exclaimed our thief. But the Duke, taking -no notice, said, 'Let us take this road to the left.' The thief said -nothing, but shouldered his load, and we went on as before. It was no -time to argue; nor, indeed, did it seem to matter which way of the many -we chose, so we followed after our Duke, little conscious, we boys, of -the greatness of our peril. I suppose we must have gone for ten minutes -along a narrowing tunnel, when my mother called back to us to stop, and -the Duke said, 'We are in a wet place. But,' he added, presently, 'it -is not deep; let us go on,' and we started afresh. - -"As we moved ankle-deep in water, a strange sound, like the fall of -something, broke out behind us, and a great rush of damp wind went by us -like a live thing. - -"'Halloa!' cried our thief. 'Keep still!' and so saying, hid the lantern -under the skirt of his coat. I was dreadfully scared, for these dark -caverns were full of mysterious noises. As yet we had heard none like -this which now we heard. In the dark I seized the thief's coat-tail for -company. At intervals there were lesser noises, and when at last they -ceased, the Duke cried out, 'Heavens! What was that?' - -"'I will see, Monsieur,' said the thief. 'I shall not go far.' This -time the Duke made no remonstrance. The thief was away not more than -five minutes. He left the lantern beside my mother. - -"'Well?' said she, as he reappeared. - -"'Madame,' he answered, the tunnel from the wine-cellar has fallen in: a -great tumble of stone fills up all the way.' - -"'And to go back is impossible,' said the Duke. - -"'Heaven has willed for us that we go on, and at least now no one can -pursue us,' said my mother. - -"'That is so,' said the Duke; and we moved along, perceiving that the -way grew broader until we were standing in a space so great that no -walls could be seen. - -"'And now where are we?' said the Duke. 'Light us another candle.' -When this was done, we saw that the great chamber, quarried out in past -centuries, was too vast to give us sight of all of it, or to enable us -to get a notion of its height. Close by us a mighty pyramid of bones of -men stood in the mid space, as if these had been cast down through some -opening overhead, but long since closed. These were the dead of hundreds -of years. There was no odor of decay, but only a dull, musty smell, -like that of decayed cheese. Here and there on this great pile were -faint tufts of bluish light, seen only where the lantern-light did not -chance to fall. I was just getting a little used to this horrible sight -when, as our steps disturbed the base of the pyramid, a good fourth of -it came rattling down with crash and clatter, and dozens of tumbled -skulls rolled by us and were lost to view in the darkness. This noise -and movement alarmed not us alone; for scarce was it half over when -myriads of rats ran out from among the bones and fled away. This pretty -nearly made an end of my courage; and, indeed, these beasts were so big -and so many that had they been brave we should, I think, have fallen an -easy prey. - -"My mother was trembling all over, as I could feel; but she laughed a -queer little laugh when Francois said it was a mercy they were not mice, -because ladies were afraid of these, but not, he had heard, of rats. As -we had been kept in motion, by this time we were across this woeful -space, and groping along the wall for a way out. Finding none, we went -back whence we came, and started afresh, taking the extreme righthand -passage, which seemed to lead, as we guessed, toward the Luxembourg. -Every few yards were ways to left or right, some hard to crawl through, -but most of such size that the Duke, a tall man, could walk in them -erect. We saw no more bones, but rats in legions. How they lived, who -can say? They may have come from the cellars of houses overhead. When -we crossed beneath streets, the immense noise of the vehicles told us -this much, but hours went by with no sound but the scamper of rats, or -the dull dripping of water from the roof. In some places it was a -foul-smelling rain, and in one place a small rill fell down the wall and -ran off along the passage we were in. - -"I do not know, Monsieur,"--and here the old gentleman, being next to -me, leaned over and laid a hand on my knee,--"I do not know how I can -ever make you or any one feel the increasing horror of day after day of -darkness. When we walked, it was often with no light until the thief, -who kept touching the wall, would tell us there was a passage to the -right or left. Then we would light the candle and decide which way to -go. - -"This had been a sad day and full of more danger than we lads knew of, -and of many fears; but if the day was bad, the night I shall never -forget. The Duke said it was seven o'clock, and time to eat. We took -our rations eagerly enough, and then the thief wrapped up Henri and me -in blankets, and we two poor little dogs fell to discussing where we -were, and when we should get out. At last we slept, and were awakened -only by the Duke's shaking us. We got up from our damp bed, pretty well -tired of our adventure. But the Duke declared we should soon be out in -the air; and so, on this our seventh morning, we set forth again. As -the thief had some positive notion of direction, and the Duke had none, -our good thief took the lead, and would have it that we boys should come -beside or after him. Except for his rattle of jokes and thieves' slang -and queer stories well worth remembering, I think we boys would have -given out early on that weary day. - -"My mother moved along, saying nothing, but the Duke now and then flung -a skeptical comment at our thief, who nevertheless kept on, insisting -that we must soon come into daylight. - -"At last the Duke called a halt about five in the evening, and, -disheartened, in total silence we ate our meal. We decided to go no -further until morning. I drew Henri close up to me, and tucked in the -blankets and tried to sleep. Unluckily, the water-drops fell thick, and -the rats were so bold and fierce that I was afraid. Assuredly, they -lacked no courage, for during my brief lapses into slumber they stole -out of my coat pocket a bit of cheese, a biscuit, and a roll of twine. -Once the baby set up such a yell that the thief, who stayed on guard, -lit a candle, and then we saw that a rat had bitten the little fellow's -finger. - -"About six o'clock our thief called, 'Breakfast is served,' and we -tumbled out of our covers, dazed. 'The sun is up,' said the thief, as -he lit the candle; and this was our eighth day since my father left us -shut in the cave. The candles were giving out, despite our most -economical care, and this day we ate in darkness. I suppose this may -have upset me, since I began to have for the first time strange fears. I -wanted to keep touch of some one. I thought I felt things go by me. I -was afraid, and yet neither as a child nor as a man have I been called -timid. Indeed, I was not altogether sorry when the baby cried; and, as -the thief said, he cried very solid. Somehow I also felt that my mother -was growing weak, and was feeling the long strain of doubt and danger -and deep darkness. Even the Duke grew downcast, or at least ceased from -his efforts to encourage my mother and to cheer up his son and me. Our -thief alone never gave up. He insisted on taking the child from my -mother, and crooned to it amazing lullabies. And to us he sang queer -ballads, and once, when we rested for two hours, he told us some -astonishing tales such as I shall some day delight to relate to you. -They were very queer stories, I assure you. - -"When our sorry meal was over, and the wine was circulating hope with -our blood, our thief proposed to try to take those ways which seemed to -lead along under streets. I do not see now why this should have seemed -desirable, but it did, and we were busy all that day following this -clue, if such it were, by waiting until we heard the sound of wagons. -It was time we got somewhere; for although we still had a fair allowance -of food, it was no more than would serve with economy for two days -longer. Still more alarming was it that our candles were giving out. - -"About five that afternoon of July 28th we came to a full stop where a -long tunnel ended in a _cul-de-sac_. It was a weary way back, and as -for us boys, we held on to one another and choked down our tears. The -thief seemed to understand, for when we again got to the turn we had -last taken, he gave us in the dark a good dose of wine, and saying, as -he lit the lantern candle, 'Rest, Madame; I must see where now to go,' -he ran down the next alley of stone, and we heard the sound of his feet -until they were lost. Overhead the rumble and roar of wagons were no -longer heard, and the stillness was as the darkness, complete. - -"On the morning of the day before, these noises now and then shook down -small fragments of stone, to our great alarm. Once the thief said, 'If -only a nice little house would drop down, and we could just go up-stairs -and walk out.' In fact, many houses had thus fallen into these caves, -and it was by no means an impossible thing. It served to season our -fears with a laugh; but since then the constant silence had made us hope -we were going out into the suburbs and toward some opening. Alas! it -came not, and now when our thief left us we were so dispirited that for -a time no one said a word of his sudden departure. Then the Duke, -seeming to understand how we felt, said, 'He will come back soon'; and -my mother, whose sweet hopefulness was sapped by this long fatigue, -answered, 'Or perhaps he will not. God knows.' Even I, a lad, heard -her with astonishment, because she was one who never doubted that all -things would come out right, and all people would do what they should. - -"I liked our thief, and when an hour went by, and there was borne in on -me the idea that he had deserted us, I burst into tears. Just as my -mother drew me to her, saying, 'Do not cry, my boy. God will take care -of us,' I heard our thief, beside me, cry cheerily, 'This way, Madame. I -will show you the light of day.' As we heard him we all leaped up. He -cried out, 'This way, and now to the left, Monsieur le Duc; and now this -way,' and so through several alleys until he paused and said, 'See! The -light of day,' and certainly there was, a little way off, a pale -reflection against the gray stone wall beyond us. - -"'I thought,' said our thief, 'that as we turned into the _impasse_ I -felt a current of air. I was not sure enough to speak, and I went just -now to see whence it came. We have gone under the Luxembourg or perhaps -Val-de-Grace, and past the barrier.' Then he explained that this -cross-passage, whence came the light, was short and tortuous, and was -partly blocked by debris; that it opened into a disused quarry; and that -it was beyond the city barrier. Upon this, it seemed needful to think -over what was best to be done when once we were out; but my mother -cried, 'Wait a little,' and knelt down, as we all did, and said aloud a -sweet and thankful prayer for our safety, and concerning the thief God -had so strangely sent to help us in our extremity. - -"As she ended, I looked at the man, and as we stood I saw that now the -rascal was shedding tears. A moment later he passed his sleeve across -his eyes, and said: 'If it please you, Monsieur le Duc, let us go to the -opening and see more of the neighborhood.' We went with them a little -way, and stood waiting. It was so wonderful and so lovely to get a -glimpse even of the fading light of day! It came straight up the cave -from the west. We made no objection to being left alone, and just -stayed, as it were, feeding on the ruddy glare, and blinking at it like -young owlets. Every now and then my mother turned to St. Maur or me, and -smiled and nodded, as much as to say, 'We have light.' - -"Before long they came back, and there was then a long talk of which we -did not hear all, but not for want of eager ears. This council of war -being over, Francois went back into the caves, and soon after returned -laughing, and dressed in the clothes of the unlucky municipal guard. - -"'One must not criticize what one inherits,' he said. 'The pantaloons -are brief, and the waistcoat is of such vastness as I would choose to -wear to-day to a good dinner.' - -"As the light was now quite good, I saw this comical figure as I had not -seen him before. He was tall and gaunt, with a nose of unusual length, -and was very ruddy for so thin a man. He seemed to be all the time on a -broad grin. He looked queer enough, too, in the short pantaloons and -baggy waistcoat. - -"'Now,' he said, 'I am to tie the Duke's hands behind his back. He is, -you see, an aristocrat I am taking to Sainte Pelagie. Madame his wife -and these children follow as I shall order. Poor things! they do not -want to escape.' - -"At this the Duke, whom most things amused, submitted to be tied, but -laughed heartily at the comedy, as he called it. - -"'_Dieu!_' said the thief. 'This is an affair of all our lives. See, -Monsieur; you have but to turn the wrist, and you are free, in case of -need.' - -"The Duke, still smiling, promised to be a perfect and indignant -aristocrat, and our thief entreated us all to look as sorrowful as we -could. Of this lesson, my mother, poor lady, had small need; but we -boys had recovered our spirits with sight of day, and when the thief -besought us and showed us how we were to look, we were seized with such -mirth that the Duke at last bade us understand that it was no laughing -matter, and we promised to act our parts. Finally we were made to fill -our pockets with the most of the gold found in the bag, and the rest the -Duke and my mother stowed away, while the thief took the Duke's pistols, -and, leaving the others, girded on the dead man's sword. - -"'Now, guard yourselves,' said the thief, as we went out of the -catacombs and across the debris of stone, stumbling, still unaccustomed -to the light, and so down a slope and around a pond in the middle of the -unused quarry. On the far side a road led out between the broken walls -of stone. Here the thief halted. 'Have you a handkerchief, Madame?' he -said. 'Use it. Weep if ever you did. Never may tears be of so much use -again. And you, lads, if you laugh we are as good as dead.' - -"'What day is it?' said my mother, and the tears were quite ready -enough. - -"'It is July the twenty-eighth,' answered the Duke. - -"'Oh, no,' said I. 'Mama, it is the 10th Thermidor.' - -"'That is better,' said our thief. 'Let us move on.' - -"The quarry road opened into a lane, and here were market-gardens and -rare houses, and a deserted convent or two, and a network of crossways -through which Francois directed the Duke, who walked ahead, as if under -arrest. We followed them anxiously beneath the ruddy evening sky, -wondering, as we went, to see scarce a soul. The Rue d'Enfer was the -first street we came upon as we left the suburban lanes; but still it, -too, was deserted. The Duke remarked on this singular absence of -people; but as we were now near a small cabaret Francois called out, -'Get along, aristocrat.' The Duke said some wicked words, and we went -on. A man came out of the cafe and cried after us: 'Family of the -guillotine! _A bas les aristocrats!_' and would Francois have a _petit -verre_? But our thief said no, he was on duty, and our comedy went on. - -"It was necessary to pass the Barriere d'Enfer, where usually was a -guard and close scrutiny. To our surprise, there were but two men. One -of them said. 'Ah, Citizen, what have you here?' - -"'Aristocrats under arrest--a _ci-devant_ duke.' - -"'Have an eye to these,' said the officer to his fellow; 'and you, -Citizen, come into the guardroom and register their names.' -'Certainly,' said the thief, and we were set aside while he passed into -the room with the guard. After some ten minutes he came out alone very -quietly, and said to the other guard, 'It is all correct and in order, -Citizen,' waited to tease a black cat on the door-step, asked the hour, -and at last, giving the Duke a rude push, cried out, 'Get on there, -aristocrat! I have no time to waste.' - -"At this we moved away, and he hurried us along the Rue d'Enfer past the -Observatory. A little further he struck hastily to the left into the -Rue Notre Dame des Champs. By the Rue de Cimetiere, along past the -Nouvelle Foire St. Germain, he hurried us, and hardly gave us leave to -breathe until we came out amongst the trampled gardens and tall alleys -of box back of the Luxembourg. Never pausing, he wound in and out, -until by these roundabout ways he came forth into the Rue Vaugirard. As -we went across the great ruined gardens, a few people scattered among -the parterres looked at us, as if curious, and whispered to one another. -Our thief was still in great haste. - -"'Must I get you a grand carriage to help you?' he cried. 'Get on, -aristocrat! Soon the Republic will give you a carriage; come along. -Make haste, or we are lost,' he added in a lower voice. - -"'What the deuce is it?' said the Duke. The thief's uneasiness was -visible enough. - -"'_Mille tonnerres_! Duke,' said the thief; 'that child of Satan at the -barrier knew me.' - -"'And what then?' - -"'Now he does not know me.' - -"'_Mon Dieu!_' exclaimed the Duke. 'You are a brave _garcon_.' - -"As we entered the Rue de Varennes, an old woman glared at the false -municipal, crying out, 'Thy day is over, accursed!' She shook her fist -at him. Not understanding, we hurried on. As I looked back, her gray -hair was hanging about her; she stood at the wayside, shaking her -upraised hands. I could not comprehend what it meant. - -"Here, as we went on, for the first time we met great numbers of people, -all coming from the river. A few were talking in suppressed voices; and -some, turning, stared after us as we went by. Most were silent, as -folks not often are in France. At one place it was not easy to get on -as fast as our thief desired. In place of quickly making way for an -officer, as was usual in those days, the people in our path jostled the -municipal, or made room sullenly. At last Francois cried out to some -young fellows who blocked our way, 'Let these suspects go by, citizens; -they are under arrest.' This was like a spark to powder. A woman cried -out, 'Poor children! Are they yours, Citoyenne?' My mother, -bewildered, said, 'Yes, yes.' Then a young man near me shouted, 'Down -with tyrants!' Our thief was puzzled. 'Hold, there!' he cried. 'What -is this?' 'Down with the Terror! Robespierre is dead.' And as if it -were a signal, the great crowd, ever increasing, cried out, 'He is dead! -Robespierre is dead!' - -"In a moment we were pushed about and separated. Francois, our thief, -was cuffed and kicked hither and thither. The silence became an uproar -of wild cries. 'He is dead! Robespierre is dead!' It was a great -madness of release from fear, and a tumult of cries, sharp and -hoarse--an outburst of human emotion, sudden and strange to see. Near -me a woman fell in a fit. Men ran about yelling, 'He is dead!' All was -confusion and tears and mad laughter, any one embracing the citizen next -to him. There were others who ran here and there through the crowd, -jumping up and down, or catching some woman and whirling her as if in a -dance. I lost sight of the Duke, and Mama, and the thief, who kept hold -of this my friend; but no one of them all did I see again until late -that night. - -"As I was now where I knew my way, I went to and fro, afraid to ask -questions, until I got to the quay. There I saw a lad of my own years, -and it being by this time quite near to dark, I felt that I had a good -chance to run at need. 'Halloa!' I said. 'I am a boy from the country. -What is the news?' - -"'Oh, a fine sight, and you have missed it. They have cut off the heads -of Robespierre and Henriot and twenty more. He had nankeen breeches and -a blue coat, and my father says that is the end of the Terror. You -ought to have got there three hours ago. Chop--chop--like carrots.' - -"Now I was old enough to have heard much of Robespierre, and to have -some idea of the great relief his death might mean. So I thanked my -news-teller, and ran as fast as I could go to my home, in this present -house. I stood, however, a moment, uneasy, at the opening of the long -covered way. Of a sudden I screamed, for a man caught me by the arm. -_Mon Dieu_! It was our neighbor, the charcutier opposite. - -"He said, 'Have no fear, my lad. Fear is dead to-day. Get thee home; -they look for thee. Robespierre is dead. _A bas les Jacobins!_' - -"'And my father is here?' I heard him cry, 'Yes,' as he caught me up -and ran with me along the court, kissing me. And there, at the door, -was my mama, and behind her Duke Philip and his son, and, to my joy, the -thief in short breeches. There was much to say as to how my father had -made believe he was the Duke, to give us a chance to escape a search, -and how, long before the miscreant's death, he had been released through -the help of Fouquier, and came home to find us all gone. It was, in -fact, the day after we fled from the cave that he was put in possession -of his house. When the municipal who went with him as a matter of form -came into the sitting-room where now we are, my father said, 'Wait and -let me give you a glass of good wine. I will fetch it.' So saying, he -took a lantern and went across the garden in deadly terror and anxiety, -not dreaming but what he would find us in the lower cave. When he saw -the trap open in the floor of the plant-house, he was filled with dread, -and quickly descended to the upper wine-cellar. There was the municipal -the Duke had wounded, lying dead in a great pool of blood and wine; for -the ball had gone through him and tapped a great cask of wine, of which, -indeed, I think I spoke. My father then opened the trap in the floor of -the cellar, and went down the steps. A great wind came through the -opening in the wall, to his surprise. He called, but none answered. At -the foot of the stone stair lay the naked body of the municipal whom the -Duke killed outright with his first pistol. Imagine my father's -perplexity on finding the gap in the wall leading into the great dark -labyrinth of the catacombs, and the rush of damp, malodorous air, and -the black gulf beyond, and the answerless silence when he called. - -"He came up at once with a bottle, and made fast the traps and covered -them with rubbish. Then he gave the officer his drink and a handful of -assignats, which may have been five francs, and after that sat down to -think. _Eh bien!_ it is a long tale, and here comes supper. - -"Another day you shall hear how my father carried the dead officers into -the catacombs and left them there, and of two dangerous quests he made -in those caves in search of us, and of a strange adventure which befell -him. On Sunday week come and dine, and hear it all." - -"It is most interesting," I said. - -"And this is the house, and we were in the cave," said Pierce. - -"And," said I, "that was your mother's glove we saw moldering on the -cask, where she left it?" - -"Yes. A few years ago we found in a corner the baby's rattle. The -little fellow died last June, an old man, and the mother and the good, -brave Duke are gone. And now you will sup with his son and grandson." - -"Ah," exclaimed young St. Maur. "Here is Francois and supper." Upon -this the long, lean man who had admitted us said, "Monsieur is served. -I shall carry in the wine." And he added, to me, "Monsieur may have let -fall his handkerchief," and, so saying, he returned it, lying on a -salver. Upon this the Duke and the rest of them laughed outright, but -made haste to explain at once. - -"Francois," said Des Illes, "will you never be old enough to acquire a -little virtue? My dear M. Michel, we have had our good thief Francois -with us all these days, ever since that adventure in the cave. He has -money in bank, but to steal a handkerchief now and then he cannot -resist. I must say, he always returns it." - -"Monsieur will have his little jest," said Francois. "The supper -waits." With this he left us. - -"What a delightful character!" said Pierce. "And did he really pick my -friend's pocket?" - -"Assuredly," said the Duke. "For many years he used now and then to ask -a holiday. He commonly came back rather forlorn, and apt for a while to -keep the house and be shy of gendarmes. It was our belief that he went -off to get a little amusement in his old fashion. I suspect that he got -into serious trouble once, but Des Illes is secretive." - -"And how old is he?" said I. - -"That no man knows," returned our host, rising. "To be asked his age is -the one thing on earth known to annoy him. He says time is the only -thief without honor among other thieves." - -"Queer, that," said I, as our host rose. "The old have commonly a -strange pride in their age." - -"I have none," laughed the Duke. - -"This way," said Des Illes, and we followed him into a pretty -dining-room, and sat down below a half-dozen canvases of men and women -of the days of the Regency. - -It was a delightful little supper, with clarets of amazing age and in -perfect condition. Toward the close, Des Illes retired for a few minutes -to add the last charm to what the younger St. Maur called the toilette -of the salad. When we had praised it and disposed of it, Des Illes said -to me: "Monsieur, our good fortune has brought you here to-night, on the -evening when once in each year we sup together in the mourning costume -which may have excited your curiosity." - -To this we both confessed, and Des Illes added: "On this day we, who are -among the few who remember the Terror, meet because it is January the -twenty-first. On this day died Louis Sixteenth. You will join us, I -trust, in a glass of older wine in remembrance of our dead King." Thus -speaking, he rose and himself took from the mantel-shelf a bottle. "It -is of the vintage of 1793, an old Burgundy. Its name I do not know, but, -as you see, each bottle was marked by my father with a black ribbon." - -Standing beside me, he filled our glasses, the Duke's, that of St. Maur, -and last his own. Pierce and I rose with the rest. The Duke said, "The -King, to his memory." and threw the glass over his shoulder, that no -meaner toast might be drunk from it. I glanced at Pierce, and we did as -they had done. - -"It shows its age." said Des Illes, "but still holds its bouquet. -Fading--fading!" - -"One would scarce know it for the wine we knew when it and we were -young," said the Duke. - -"Know it?" said Des Illes. "Ah me, dear Duke, if you yourself, aged -twenty-five, were to walk in just now and say, '_Bon jour_, Duke, how is -myself,' would you know him, think you?" - -"_Pardie_, my friend; you have ghostly fancies. Give us some younger -wine and a gayer jest." - -"With all my heart," said Des Illes. - -"Let it be the Clos Vougeot of '20," said the younger St. Maur. "It was -with that wonderful vintage that I made my first entry into the highest -society of the great wines." - -"A fine seigneur is that," said Des Illes. - -"It reminds me rather of some grande dame," returned St. Maur. "There -is something haughty about the refinement of a high-caste Burgundy: a -combination of decisive individual quality with good manners." - -"How pretty that is!" said Pierce. "The good manners of a wine!" - -"And is n't champagne just a bit like a grisette?" laughed the Duke. -"But a Margaux like this, or the Romance I see yonder, are grandees, as -my friend has said; and there might be more to say of them, but I leave -the rest to your fancy. A little more Burgundy, Monsieur?" - -As is, alas, true concerning most of the pleasant meals I remember, I -can recall but faint reminiscences of the bright talk of that memorable -supper. - -The younger St. Maur told us a pretty story of a vineyard wooing; a -thing so delicate and idyllic that I shall not dare to take it out of -its social frame for you. Later, Des Illes stood up and in a queer, -creaky tenor sang (and by no means ill) the song the girls sing when -they trample out the juice of the grapes in the great vats. Upon this -Pierce quoted: - - Pink feet that bruise - The gold-green grapes of Andalouse. - - -I rashly tried to put it into French, and was much complimented upon -what I knew to be a sorry failure. - -I have a misty recollection of what came after, of old-time jests, of -levities as to the Corsican, and, too, a pretty story the Duke told us -of the fairy vineyards near to Dijon, which only a woman who loves has -ever seen. I seem now, as I write of this delightful night, to see it -all again: the little old gentleman; the clear-cut face of the Duke; his -son, cynical and handsome; the sheen of jet; the somber, picturesque -dresses; thief Francois behind Des Illes's chair, ruddy, gaunt, not less -than ninety, with a smile of the same age. As I try to recall it, I -remember--do I remember?--the flavor of that Clos Vougeot, and hear -again the courteous voice of the Duke: "A little more Burgundy, -Monsieur?" - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MADEIRA PARTY *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43242 - -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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