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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a071e49 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51914 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51914) diff --git a/old/51914-0.txt b/old/51914-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d9e5c11..0000000 --- a/old/51914-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6082 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of Andrew -Jackson, by Alfred Henry Lewis - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of Andrew Jackson - -Author: Alfred Henry Lewis - -Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51914] -Last Updated: March 12, 2018 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN MEN GREW TALL *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - - - -WHEN MEN GREW TALL OR THE STORY OF ANDREW JACKSON - -By Alfred Henry Lewis - -Illustrated - -D. Appleton And Company New York - -1907 - -[Illustration: 0001] - -[Illustration: 0008] - -[Illustration: 0009] - -TO - -THEODORE ROOSEVELT THAT MAN OF THE PUBLIC FOR WHOM I HAVE MOST REGARD -AND FROM WHOSE FUTURE I AS AN AMERICAN MOST HOPE THIS VOLUME IS -DEDICATED - -A. H. L. - - - - -CHAPTER I--SALISBURY AND THE LAW - -IN this year of our Lord's grace, 1787, the ancient town of Salisbury, -seat of justice for Rowan County, and the buzzing metropolis of its -region, numbers by word of a partisan citizenry eight hundred souls. -Its streets are unpaved, and present an unbroken expanse of red North -Carolina clay from one narrow plank sidewalk to another. In the summer, -if the weather be dry, the red clay resolves itself into blinding -brick-red dust. In the spring, when the rains fall, it lapses into -brick-red mud, and the Salisbury streets become bottomless morasses, the -despair of travelers. Just now, it being a bright October afternoon and -a shower having paid the town a visit but an hour before, the streets -offer no suggestion of either mud or dust, but are as clean and straight -and beautiful as a good man's morals. Trees rank either side, and their -branches interlock overhead. These make every street a cathedral aisle, -groined and arched in leafy green. - -In one of the suburbs, that is to say about pistol shot from the town's -commercial center, stands a two-story mansion. It is painted white, and -thereby distinguished above its neighbors, and has a heavily columned -veranda all across its wide face. This edifice is the residence of -Spruce McCay, a foremost member of the Rowan County bar. - -In a corner of the lawn, which unfolds verdantly in front of the house, -is a one-story one-room structure, the law office of Spruce McCay. -Inside are two or three pine desks, much visited of knives in the past, -and a half-dozen ramshackle chairs, which have seen stronger if not -better days. Also there is a collection of shelves; and these latter -hold scores of law books, among which “Blackstone's Commentaries,” “Coke -on Littleton,” and “Hales's Pleas of the Crown” are given prominent -place. The books show musty and dog-eared, and it is many years since -the youngest among them came from the printing press. - -On this October afternoon, the office has but one occupant. He is tall, -being six feet and an inch, and so slim and meager that he seems six -inches taller. Besides, he stands as straight as a lance, with nothing -of stoop to his narrow shoulders, and this has the effect of augmenting -his height. - -The face is a boy's face. It is likewise of the sort called “horse”; -with hollow cheeks and lantern jaws. The forehead is high and narrow. -The yellow hair is long, and tied in a cue with an eelskin--for eelskins -are according to the latest fashionable command sent up from Charleston. -The redeeming feature to the horse face is the eyes. These are big and -blue and deep, and tell of a mighty power for either love or hate. -They are Scotch-Irish eyes, loyal eyes, steadfast eyes, and of that -inveterate breed which if aroused can outstare, outdomineer Satan. - -As adding to the horse face a look of command, which sets well with -those blue eyes--so capable of tenderness and ferocity--is a high -predatory nose. The mouth, thin-lipped and wide, is replete of what folk -call character, but does nothing to soften a general expression which is -nothing if not iron. And yet the last word is applicable only at times. -The horse face never turns iron-hard unless danger presses, or perilous -deeds are to be done. In easier, relaxed hours one finds no sternness -there, but gayety and lightness and a love of pleasure. - -In dress the horse-faced boy is rather the fop, with a bottle-green -surtout of latest cut, high-collared, long-tailed, open to display a -flowered waistcoat of as many hues as May, from which struggles a ruffle -stiff with starch. The horsefaced boy has his predatory nose buried in -a law book. This is as it should be, for he is a student of the learned -Spruce McCay. - -There comes a step at the door; the horsefaced boy takes his nose -from between the covers of the book. Spruce McCay walks in, and throws -himself carelessly into a seat. He is a square, hearty man, with nose -up-tilted and eager, as though somewhere in the distance it sniffed an -orchard. He is of middle years, and well arrived at that highest ground, -just where the pathway of life begins to slope downward toward the final -yet still distant grave. - -Spruce McCay glances at a paper or two on his desk. Then, shoving all -aside, he fills and lights a corn-cob pipe. Through the smoke rings he -surveys the horse-faced boy; plainly he meditates a communication. - -“Andy, I've been thinking you over.” - -Andy says “Yes?” expectantly. - -“You should cross the mountains.” - -The blue eyes take on a bluer glint, and light up the horse face like -azure lamps. - -“Yes, a new country is the place for you. You are now about to be -admitted to practice law; not because you know law, but for the reason -that I have recommended it. As I say, you have little law knowledge; but -you possess courage, brains, perseverance, honesty, prudence and divers -other traits, which you take from your Carrickfergus ancestors. These -should carry you farther in the wilderness than any knowledge of the -books.” - -The predatory nose snorts, and the horse face begins to glow -resentfully. - -“You think I know no law?” - -“No more than does Necessity! Not enough to keep you from being laughed -at in Rowan County! How should you? Your attention and your interest -have both run away to other things. I've watched you for two years -past. You are deep in the lore of cockfighting, but guiltless of the -Commentaries of our worthy Master Blackstone. If I were to ask you for -the Rule in Shelly's Case, you would be posed. At the same time you -could expound every rule that governs a horse race. In brief you are -accomplished in many gentlemanly things, while as barren of law learning -as a Hottentot. Now if you were a lad of fortune, instead of being as -poor as the crows, you might easily cut a figure of elegant idleness on -the North Carolina circuits. But you lack utterly of that money required -to gild and make tolerable your ignorance here at home. In the woods -along the Cumberland, that is to say in the Nashville and Jonesboro -courts, where ignorance and poverty are the rule, your deficiencies -will count for trifles. Also you will be surrounded by conditions that -promote courage, honesty and quickness to a first importance. On the -Cumberland the fact that you are a dead shot with rifle or pistol, and -can back the most unmanageable horse that ever looked through a bridle, -will place you higher in the confidence of men than would all the law -that Hobart, Hales and Hawkins ever knew. Now don't get angry. Think -over what I've said; the longer you look at it, the more you'll feel -that I am right. I'll see that you are given your sheepskin as a lawyer; -and, when you decide to migrate, I'll have you commissioned in that new -country as attorney for the state. This last will send you headlong into -the midst of a backwoods practice, where those native virtues you -own should find a field for their exercise, and your talents for -cockfighting and horse racing, added to your absolute genius for -firearms, be sure to advance you far.” - -Spruce McCay raps the ashes from his corncob pipe. Just then one of the -house negroes taps at the door, as preliminary to intruding a respectful -head. The respectful head announces that visitors have arrived at -the big white mansion. Spruce McCay at this quits the office, and the -horse-faced Andy finds himself alone. - -For one hour he ponders the unpalatable words of his worthy master. His -vanity has been hurt; his self-love ruffled. None the less he feels that -a deal of truth lies tucked away in what Spruce McCay has said. Besides -a plunge into the untried wilderness rather matches his taste, and a -promised state's attorneyship is not to be despised. - -As the horse-faced Andy ruminates these things, laughter and much joyous -clatter is heard at the door. This time it is his two fellow students, -Crawford and McNairy. These young gentlemen have been out with their -guns, and now present themselves with a double backload of quails as the -fruits of it. The pair begin vociferously to inform the horse-faced Andy -concerning their day's adventures. He halts the conversational flow with -a repressive lift of the hand. - -“Gentlemen,” says he, with a vast affectation of dignity, and as though -sixty were the years of each instead of twenty, “I desire your company -at supper in my rooms. Come at 7 o'clock. I shall have news for -you--news, and a proposition.” - - - - -CHAPTER II--THE ROWAN HOUSE SUPPER - - -THE horse-faced Andy precedes the coming of his two friends to that -supper by two hours. As he moves up the street toward the Rowan House, -fair faces beam on him and fair hands wave him a salutation from certain -Salisbury verandas. In return he doffs his hat with an exaggerated -politeness, which becomes him as the acknowledged beau of the town. One -cannot blame those beaming fair faces and those saluting hands. Slim, -elegant, confident with a kind of polished cockyness that does not ill -become his years, our horse-faced one possesses what the world calls -“presence.” No one will look on him without being impressed; he is -congenitally remarkable, and to see him once is to ever afterward expect -to hear him. Besides, for all his foppishness, there is a scar on his -sandy head, and a second on his hand, which were made by an English -saber when he had no more than entered upon his teens. Also he has shed -English blood to pay for those scars; and in a day which still heaves -and tosses with the ground swells of the Revolution, such stark matters -brevet one to the respect of men and the love of women. - -The foppish, horse-faced Andy strides into the Rowan House. In the -long-room he meets mine host Brown, who has fame as a publican, and none -as a sinner, throughout North Carolina. - -“Supper in my rooms, Mr. Brown,” commands our hero; “supper for three. -Have it hot and ready at sharp seven. Also let us have plenty of whisky -and tobacco.” - -Mine host Brown says that all shall be as ordered. - -The foppish Andy, with that grave manner of dignity which laughs at his -boyish twenty years, explains to his landlord that he will call for his -bill in the morning. - -“Have my horse, Cherokee,” he says, “well groomed and saddled. To-morrow -I leave Salisbury.” - -“Going West?” - -“West,” returns Andy. - -“As to the bill,” ventures mine host Brown, “would you like to play a -game of all-fours, and make it double or nothing?” - -Andy the horse-faced hesitates. - -“You have such vile luck,” he says, as though remonstrating with mine -host Brown for a fault. “It seems shameful to play with you, since you -never win.” - -Mine host Brown looks sheepishly apologetic. - -“For one as eager to play as I am,” he responds, “it does look as though -I ought to know more about the game. However, since it's your last -night, we might as well preserve a record.” - -Andy the horse-faced yields to the rabid anxiety of mine host Brown -to gamble. The game shall be played presently; meanwhile, there is an -errand which takes him to his rooms. - -Andy goes to his rooms; mine host Brown, after preparing a table in -the long-room for the promised game, saunters fatly--being rotund as -a publican should be--into the kitchen, to leave directions concerning -that triangular supper. There he encounters his wife, as rotund as -himself, supervising the energies of a phalanx of black Amazons, who -form the culinary forces of the Rowan House. - -“Young Jackson leaves in the morning, mother,” observes mine host Brown -to Mrs. Brown, whom he always addresses as “mother.” - -“For good?” asks Mrs. Brown, who is singeing the pin feathers from a -chicken of much fatness, and exceeding yellow as to leg. - -“Oh, I knew he was going,” returns mine host Brown, rather irrelevantly. -“Spruce Mc-Cay told me that he was about to advise him to emigrate to -the western counties. Spruce says the Cumberland country is just the -place for him.” - -“And now I suppose,” remarks Mrs. Brown, “you'll let him win a good-by -game of cards, to square his bill.” - -“Why not?” returns mine host Brown. “He's got no money; never had any -money. You yourself said, when he came here, to give him his board free, -because you knew and loved his dead mother. Now the Christian thing is -to let him win it. In that way his pride is saved; at the same time it -gives me amusement.” - -“Well, Marmaduke,” says Mrs. Brown, moving off with the yellow-legged -fowl, “I'm sure I don't care how you manage, only so you don't take his -money.” - -“There never was a chance, mother. He never has any money, after his -clothes are bought.” - -The game of all-fours is played; and is won by Andy of the horse face, -who thereby rounds off a run of card-luck that has continued unbroken -for two years. - -“It looks as though I'd never beat you!” exclaims mine host Brown, -pretending sadness and imitating a sigh. - -“You ought never to gamble,” advises the horse-faced Andy solemnly. - -Mine host Brown produces his bill, wherein the charges for board, -lodging, laundry, tobacco, and whisky in pints, quarts and gallons are -set down on one side, to be balanced and acquitted by divers sums lost -at all-fours, the same being noted opposite. - -“There you are! All square!” says mine host Brown. - -“But the charges for to-night's supper?” - -“Mother”--meaning Mrs. Brown--“says the supper is to be with her -compliments.” - -Steaming hot, the supper comes promptly at seven. It is followed, -steaming hot, by unlimited whisky punch. Pipes are lighted, and, with -glasses at easy hand, the three boys draw about the fire. The punch, the -pipes, and the crackling log fire are very comfortable adjuncts on an -October night. - -“And now,” cries Crawford, who is full of life and interest, “now for -the news and the proposition!” - -McNairy nods owlish assent to the words of his volatile friend. He -intends one day to be a judge, and, while quite as lively as Crawford, -seizes on occasions such as this to practice his features in a -formidable woolsack gravity. - -“First,” observes Andy, soberly sipping his punch, “let me put a -question: What is my standing in Rowan County?” - -“You are the recognized authority,” cries Crawford, “on dog fighting, -cockfighting, and horse racing.” - -McNairy nods. - -“Humph!” says Andy. Then, on the heels of a pause: “And what should you -say were my chief accomplishments?” - -Again Crawford takes it upon himself to reply. - -“You ride, shoot, run, jump, wrestle, dance and make love beyond -expression.” - -McNairy the judicial nods. - -“Humph!” says Andy. - -The trio puff and sip in silence. - -“You say nothing for my knowledge of law?” This from the disgruntled -Andy, with a rising inflection that is like finding fault. - -“No!” cry the others in hearty concert. - -“You wouldn't believe us if we did,” adds McNairy of the future -woolsack. - -“Neither would the Judge,” returns Andy cynically. “The Judge” is the -title by which the three designate their master, Spruce Mc-Cay. Andy -goes on: “The news I promised is this. To-morrow I leave Salisbury. The -Judge has recommended my admission to the bar, and I shall take the oath -and get my license before I start. I shall transfer myself to the region -along the Cumberland, where I am told a barrister of my singular lack of -ability should find plenty of practice.” - -“Why do you leave old Rowan?” asks woolsack McNairy, beginning to take -an interest. - -“Because I have no education, less law, and still less money. It seems -that these are conditions precedent to staying in Rowan with credit.” - -“Well,” cries McNairy the judicial, grasping Andy's long bony hand, “you -have as much education, as much law, and as much money as I. Under the -circumstances I shall go with you.” - -“And I,” breaks in the lively Crawford, “since I have none of those -ignorant and poverty-eaten qualifications you name, but on the contrary -am rich, wise and learned--I shall remain here. When the wilderness -casts you fellows out, come back and I shall welcome you. Pending -which--as Parson Hicks would say--receive my blessing.” - -The evening wears on amid clouds of tobacco smoke and rivers of punch. -At the close the three take hold of hands, and sing a farewell song very -badly. Then, since they look on the evening as a sacred one, they wind -up by breaking the pipes they have smoked and the glasses they have -drunk from, to save them in the hereafter from profane and vulgar uses. -At last, rather deviously, they make their various ways to bed. - -The next day, young Andrew Jackson, barrister and counselor at law, with -all his belongings--save the rifle he carries, and the pistols in -his saddle holsters--crowded into a pair of saddlebags, rides out of -Salisbury on his bay horse Cherokee. He will stop at Martinsville for a -space, awaiting the judicial McNairy. - -Then the pair are to set their willing, hopeful faces for the -Cumberland. - -As Andy the horse-faced rides away that October afternoon, Henry Clay -is a fatherless boy of nine, living with his mother at the Virginia -Slashes; Daniel Webster, a sickly child of six, is toddling about his -father's New Hampshire farm; John C. Calhoun is a baby four years old -in a South Carolina farmhouse; John Quincy Adams, nineteen and just home -from a polishing trip to France, is a Harvard student; Martin Van Buren, -aged four, is playing about the tap room of his Dutch father's tavern at -Kinder-hook; while Aaron Burr, fortunate, foremost and full of promise, -has already won high station at the New York bar. None of these has ever -heard of Andy the horse-faced, nor he of them; yet one and all they are -fated to grow well acquainted with one another in the years to come, -and before the curtain is rung finally down on that tragedy-comedy-farce -which, played to benches ever full and ever empty, men call Existence. - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE BLOOMING RACHEL - - -NASHVILLE is the merest scrambling huddle of log houses. The most -imposing edifice is a blockhouse, built of logs squared by the broadaxe. -It is the home of the widow Donelson; and, since it is all her husband -left her when the Indians shot him down at the plow-stilts, and because -she must live, the widow Donelson has turned the blockhouse into a -boarding house. - -With the widow Donelson dwells her daughter Rachel, a beautiful brunette -of twenty, and the belle of the Cumberland. Rachel is vivacious and -bright; and, while there is much confusion among her nouns, pronouns, -verbs and adverbs in the matters of case, number, and tense, she shines -forth an indomitable conversationist. With frontier freedom she -laughs with everybody, jests with everybody, delights in everybody's -admiration; and this does not please her husband, Lewis Robards, who is -ignorant, suspicious, narrow, lazy, shiftless, jealous, and generally -drunk. One time and another he has accused Rachel of a tenderness for -every man in the settlement, and their quarrels have been frequent and -fierce. - -It is evening; the widow Donelson is preparing supper for the half -dozen boarders, assisted by the blooming Rachel. The moody Robards, half -soaked in corn whisky, sits by the open door, ear on the conversation, -eye on the not-over-distant woods. If the worthless Robards will not -work, at least he may maintain a halfbright lookout for murderous -Indians; and he does. - -The widow Donelson glances across from the corn bread she is mixing. - -“The runner who came on ahead,” she says, addressing the blooming -Rachel, “reports the party as being due to-morrow. Mr. Jackson, the new -State's Attorney, who will come with it, is to board and lodge with us.” - -The blooming Rachel looks brightly up. The drunken Robards likewise -looks up; but his face is gloomy with incipient jealousy. - -“A Mr. Jackson, eh?” he sneers. Then, to the blooming Rachel: “It's -mighty likely you'll find in him a new lover to try your wiles on.” - -The blooming Rachel colors and her black eyes snap, but she holds her -tongue. The widow Donelson is also silent. The mother and daughter have -found wordlessness the best return to those insults, which it is the -habit of the jealous drunkard to hurl at his pretty wife. - -The runner made true report, and the party in which travels the -horse-faced Andy makes its appearance next day. Tall, slender, elegant, -self-possessed, and with a manner which marks him above the common, he -is disliked by the drunken Robards on sight. When he declines to drink -with that sot, the dislike crystallizes into hatred. The outrageous -jealousy of Robards has found a new reason for its green-eyed existence, -and he already goes drunkenly pondering the slaughter of the horse-faced -Andy. Since he will never advance beyond the pondering stage, for -certain reasons called “craven” among men of clean courage, his -homicidal lucubrations are the less important. - -Andy the horse-faced does not notice Robards. He does, however, notice -with a thrill of pleasure the beautiful Rachel, and is glad to find his -lines are down in such pleasant places. - -He is vastly taken with the boarding house of the widow Donelson, and -incautiously says as much. He praises her corn pone and fried squirrel, -and vehemently avers that her hog and hominy are the best he ever ate. - -Rachel the blooming does not allow her husband's jealousy to interrupt -hospitality, and piles high the young State's Attorney's plate with -these delicacies. She even brings out a store of wild honey and -cream--dainties sparse and few and far between in these rude regions. -She calls this “hospitality”; her jealous drunkard of a husband calls -it “making advances.” He says that in the course of a long, and he might -have added misspent, life, he has observed that a coquette, with designs -on a man's heart, never fails to begin by making an ally of his stomach. - -“Hence,” says the drunken deductionist, “that honey and cream.” - -That night, after Rachel the blooming and her drunken husband retire, a -bitter quarrel breaks out between them. It rages with such fury that -the bicker arouses one Overton, who occupies the adjoining chamber. -Mr. Overton is a severe character, firm and clear as to his rights. He -objects to having his rest disturbed, alleging that he has troubles -of his own. Taking final offense at the language of the brute Robards, -which is more emphatic than nice, he gets his pistols. Rapping on the -intervening wall to invoke attention, he informs that vituperative -drunkard of his intention to instantly put him (Robards) to death, -should he so much as raise his voice above a whisper for the balance of -the night. - -Rachel seeks her mother, and the jealous drunkard quiets down. He is not -unacquainted with Mr. Overton, who is reputed to possess as restless -a brace of hair triggers as ever owned flint and pan. Altogether he is -precisely the one whose word would carry weight with such as Robards, -and, on the back of his interference in the domestic affairs of that -inebriate, a great peace settles upon the blockhouse of the widow -Donelson which abides throughout the night. - -As for the horse-faced State's Attorney, he knows nothing of the -differences between Rachel and the jealous Robards. He does not sleep -in the blockhouse, having been appointed to a blanket couch in the -“Bunk House,” a separate dormitory structure which stands at a little -distance. - -During breakfast, the blooming Rachel again freights daintily deep the -plate of the young State's Attorney. Thereupon the favored one beams his -thanks, while behind his back as though to soothe his hate, the -malevolent Rob-ards sits cleaning a rifle, casting upon him the while an -occasional midnight look. Just across is the taciturn Overton, -proprietor of those restless hair triggers, wondering over his bacon and -eggs where this drama of love and threatened murder is to end. - - - - -CHAPTER IV--COLONEL WAIGHTSTILL AVERY OFFENDS - - -NOW, when the horse-faced Andy finds himself in the Cumberland country, -he begins to look about him. Being a lawyer, his instinct leads him -to consider those opposing ranks of commerce, the debtor and creditor -classes. He finds the former composed of persons of the highest honor. -Also, their honor is sensitive and easily touched, being sensitive and -touchy in proportion as the bulk of their debts is increased. The debtor -class, as the same finds representation about those two Cumberland -forums, Nashville and Jonesboro, holds it to be the privilege of -every gentleman, when dunned, to challenge and if practicable kill his -creditor honorably at ten paces. - -So firm indeed is the debtor class in this belief, that the creditor -class, less warlike and with more to lose, seldom presents a bill. -Neither does it refuse the opposition credit; for the debtor class also -clings to the no less formidable theory, that to refuse credit is an -insult quite as stinging as a dun direct. - -In short, the horse-faced Andy discovers the region to be a very Arcadia -for debtors. Their credit is without a limit and their debts are never -due. He resolves to disturb these commercial Arcadians; he will break -upon them as a Satan of solvency come to trouble their debt paradise. - -The horse-faced Andy, as has been noted, is Scotch-Irish. Being Irish, -his honor is as sensitive and his soul as warlike as are those of -the most debt-eaten individual along the Cumberland. Being Scotch, he -believes debts should be paid, and holds that a creditor may ask for -his money without forfeiting life. He urges these views in tavern and -street; and thereupon the creditors, taking heart, come to him with -their claims. He accepts the trusts thus proffered; as a corollary, -having now flown in the face of the militant debtor class, he is soon to -prove his manhood. - -The horse-faced Andy files a declaration for a client, on a mixed claim -based upon bacon, molasses and rum. The defendant, a personage yclept -Irad Miller, genus debtor, species keel boatman, is a very patrician -among bankrupts, boasting that he owes more and pays less than any -man south of the Ohio river. Also, having been already offended by the -foppish frivolity of that ruffled shirt and grass-green surtout, he is -outraged now, when the ruffled grass-green one brings suit against him. - -Breathing fire and smoke, the insulted Irad lowers his horns, and starts -for the horse-faced Andy. His methods at this crisis are characteristic -of the Cumberland; he merely grinds the horse-faced Andy's polished boot -beneath his heel, mentioning casually the while that he himself is “half -hoss, half alligator,” and can drink the Cumberland dry at a draught. - -This is fighting talk, and the horse-faced Andy so accepts it. He -surveys the truculent Irad with the cautious tail of his eye, and finds -him discouragingly tall and broad and thick. The survey takes time, but -the injured Irad prevents it being wasted by again grinding the polished -toes. - -Andy the strategic suddenly seizes a rail from the nearby fence, and -charges the indebted one. The end of the rail strikes that insolvent -in what is vulgarly known as the pit of the stomach, and doubles him up -like a two-foot rule. At that, he who is “half hoss, half alligator,” - gives forth a screech of which an injured wild cat might be proud, and -perceiving the rail poised for a second charge makes off. This small -adventure gives the horse-faced Andy station, and an avalanche of claims -pours in upon him. - -Having established himself in the confidence of common men, it still -remains with our horsefaced hero to conquer the esteem of the bar. The -opportunity is not a day behind his collision with that violent one of -equine-alligator genesis. In good sooth, it is an offshoot thereof. - -The bruised Irad's case is up for trial. His counsel, Colonel -Waightstill Avery, hails from a hamlet, called Morganton, on the thither -side of the Blue Ridge. Colonel Waightstill is of middle age, pompous -and high, and the youth of Andy--slim, lean, eager, horse face as -hairless as an egg--offends him. - -“Your honor,” cries Colonel Waightstill, addressing the bench, “who, -pray, is the opposing counsel?” The boyish Andy stands up. “Must I, -your honor,” continues the outraged Colonel Waightstill, “must I cross -forensic blades with a child? Have I journeyed all the long mountain -miles from Morganton to try cases with babes and sucklings? Or perhaps, -your honor”--here Colonel Waightstill waxes sarcastic--“I have mistaken -the place. Possibly this is not a court, but a nursery.” - -Colonel Waightstill sits down, and the horsefaced Andy, on the leaf of a -law book, indites the following: - -_August 12, 1788._ - -_Sir: When a man's feelings and charector are injured he ought to seek -speedy redress. My charector you have injured; and further you have -Insulted me in the presunce of a court and a large aujence. I therefore -call upon you as a gentleman to give me satisfaction for the same; -I further call upon you to give me an answer immediately without -Equivocation and I hope you can do without dinner until the business -is done; for it is consistent with the character of a gentleman when he -injures a man to make speedy reparation; therefore I hope you will not -fail in meeting me this day._ - -_From yr Hbl st.,_ - -_Andw Jackson._ - -The horse-faced one spells badly; but Marlborough did, Washington does -and Napoleon will spell worse. It is a notable fact that conquering -militant souls have ever been better with the sword than with the -spelling book. - -The judge is a gentleman of quick and apprehensive eye, as frontier -jurists must be. - -Also, he is of finest sensibilities, and can appreciate the feelings of -a man of honor. He sees the note shoved across to Colonel Waightstill -by the horse-faced Andy, and at once orders a recess. The judge, with -delicate tact, says the Cumberland bottoms are heavy with the seeds of -fever, and that it is his practice to consume prudent rum and quinine at -this hour. - -While the judge goes for his rum and quinine, Colonel Waightstill and -the horse-faced Andy repair to a convenient ravine at the rear of the -log courthouse. A brother practitioner attends upon Colonel Waightstill, -while the interests of the horse-faced Andy are conserved by Mr. -Overton, who espouses his cause as a fellow boarder at the widow -Donelson's. Mr. Overton has with him his invaluable hair triggers; and, -since he wins the choice, presents them politely, butt first, to the -second of Colonel Waightstill, who selects one for his principal. The -ground is measured and pegged; the fight will be at ten paces. - -As Mr. Overton gives the horse-faced Andy his weapon, he asks: - -“What can you do at this distance?” - -“Snuff a candle.” - -“Good! Let me offer a word of advice: Don't kill; don't even wound. The -_casus belli_ does not justify it, and you can establish your credit -without. Should your adversary require a second shot, it will then be -the other way. His failure to apologize, coupled with a demand for -another shot, should mean his death warrant.” - -The horse-faced Andy approves this counsel. And yet, if he must not -wound he may warn, and to that admonitory end sends his ounce of lead -so as to all but brush the ear of Colonel Waightstill. That gentleman's -bullet flies safely wild. After the exchange of shots, the seconds hold -a consultation. Mr. Overton says that his principal must receive an -apology, or the duel shall proceed. - -Colonel Waightstill's second talks with that gentleman, and finds him -much softened as to mood. The flying lead, brushing his ear like the -wing of a death angel, has set him thinking. He now distrusts that -simile of “babes and sucklings,” and is even ready to concede the -intimation that the horse-faced Andy is a child to be far-fetched. -Indeed, he has conceived a vast respect, almost an affection, for his -youthful adversary, and will not only apologize, but declares that, for -purposes of litigation, he shall hereafter regard the horse-faced Andy -as a being of mature years. All this says Colonel Waight-still, under -the respectful spell of that flying lead; and if not in these phrases, -then in words to the same effect. - -The horse-faced Andy shakes hands with Colonel Waightstill, and they -return to the log courthouse, where the rum-and-quinine jurist is -pleasantly awaiting them. The trial is again called, and the horse-faced -Andy secures a verdict. What is of more consequence, he secures the -respect of bench and bar; hereafter no one will so much as dream of -disputing his word, should he lay claim to the years of Methuselah. That -careful grazing shot at Colonel Waightstill, ages the horse-faced Andy -wondrously in Cumberland estimation. - -Good fortune is not yet done with Andy of the horse face. Within hours -after the meeting in that convenient ravine, he is given new opportunity -to fix himself in the good regard of folk. - -It is on the verge of midnight. A gentleman, unsteady with his cups, -seeks temporary repose on the grassy litter which surrounds the tavern -haystack. Being comfortable, and safe against a fall, he of the too many -cups refreshes himself with his pipe. Pipe going, he falls into thought; -and next, in the midst of his preoccupation, he sets the hay afire. It -burns like tinder, and the flames, wind-flaunted, catch the thatched -roof of the stable. - -The settlement is threatened; the wild cry of “Fire!” is raised; from -tavern and dwelling, men, women and children come trooping forth, clad -in little besides looks of terror. The scene is one of confusion and -misdirection; no one knows what to do. Meanwhile, the flames leap from -the stable to the tavern itself. - -It is Andy the horse-faced who brings order out of chaos. Born for -leadership, command comes easy to him. He calls for buckets, and with -military quickness forms a double line of men between the river and -the flames. The full buckets chase each other along one line, while the -empties are returned by the second to be refilled. When the lines are -working in watery concord, he organizes the balance of the community -into a wet-blanket force. By his orders, coverlets, tablecloths, -blankets, anything, everything that will serve, are dipped in the river -and spread on exposed roofs. In an encouragingly short space, the fire -is checked and the settlement saved. - -While the excitement is at its height, that pipe incendiary, who started -the conflagration, breaks through the double line of water passers, and -begins to give orders. He is as wild as was Nero at the burning of -Rome. Finding this person disturbing the effective march of events, the -horse-faced Andy--who is nothing if not executive--knocks him down with -a bucket. The Cumberland Nero falls into the river, and the ducking, -acting in happy conjunction with the stunning thump, brings him to the -shore a changed and sobered man. That bucket promptitude, wherewith he -deposed Nero, becomes one of those several immediate arguments which -make mightily for the communal advancement of Andy the horse-faced. - - - - -CHAPTER V--THE WINNING OF A WIFE - - -ALL these energetic matters happen at aforesaid, is dancing attendance -upon the court. The fame of them travels to Nashville in advance of his -return, and works a respectful change toward him in the attitude of the -public. Hereafter he is to be called “Andrew” by ones who know him well; -while others, less acquainted, will on military occasions hail him as -“Cap'n” and on civil ones as “Square.” On every hand, reference to him -as “horse-faced” is to be dropped; wherefore this history, the effort of -which is to follow close in the wake of the actual, will from this point -profit by that polite example. - -The household at the widow Donelson's learns of the Jonesboro valor and -executive promptitude of the young State's Attorney. The blooming Rachel -rejoices, while her Jonesboro, where the horse-faced one, in the -interests of the creditor class drunken spouse turns sullen. His -jealousy of Andrew is multiplied, as that young gentleman's fame -increases. The fame, however, is of a sort that seriously mislikes the -drunken Robards, who is at heart a hare. Wherefore, while his jealousy -grows, he no longer makes it the tavern talk, as was his sottish wont. - -Affairs run briskly prosperous with Andrew, and he finds himself engaged -in half the litigation of the Cumberland. There is little money, but -the region owns a currency of its own. Some wise man has said that the -circulating medium of Europe is gold, of Africa men, of Asia women, of -America land. The client's of Andrew reward his labors with land, and -many a “six-forty,” by which the slang of the Cumberland identifies -a section of land, becomes his. Finally he owns such an array of -wilderness square miles, polka-dotted about between the Cumberland and -the Mississippi, that the aggregate acreage swells into the thousands. -Those acres, however, are hardly more valuable than are the brown leaves -wherewith each autumn carpets them. - -While the ardent Andrew is pushing his way at the bar, and accumulating -“six-forties,” he continues to board at the widow Donelson's. - -The blooming Rachel delights in his society--so polished, so splendidly -different from that of the drunkard Robards! Once or twice, too, -when Andrew, in his saddlebag excursions from court to court, has -a powder-burning brush with Indians and saves his sandy scalp by a -narrowish margin, the red cheek of Rachel is seen to whiten. That is to -say, the drunkard Robards sees it whiten; the purblind Andrew never once -observes that mark of tender concern. The pistol repute of the decisive -Andrew serves when he is by to stifle remark on the lip of the recreant -Robards. But there come hours when the latter has the blooming Rachel to -himself, at which time he raves like one demon-possessed. He avers that -the unconscious Andrew is the lover of the blooming Rachel, and in so -doing lies like an Ananias. However, the drunken one has the excuse of -jealousy; which emotion is not only green-eyed but cross-eyed, and of -all things--as history shows--most apt to mislead the accurate vision of -folk. - -[Illustration: 0063] - -Andrew overflows of sentiment, and often in moments of loneliness turns -homesick. This is the more marvelous, since never from his very cradle -days has he had a home. Being homesick--one may as well call it that, -for want of a better word--he goes out to the orchard fence, a lonely -spot, cut off from view by intercepting bushes, and devotes himself -to melancholy. This melancholy, as often happens with high-strung, -vanity-bitten young gentlemen, is for the greater part nothing more than -the fomentations of his egotism and conceit. But Andrew does not know -this truth, and wears a fine tragic air as one beset of what poets term -“a nameless grief.” - -One day the blooming Rachel discovers the melancholy Andrew, dreamily -mournful by the orchard fence. She watches him unperceived, and her -gentle bosom yearns over him. The blooming Rachel is not wanting in that -taint of romanticism to which all border folk are born; and now, to -see this Hector!--this lion among men!--so bent in sadness, moves her -tenderly. At that it is only a kind of maternal tenderness; for the -blooming Rachel has a wealth of mother love, and no children upon whom -to lavish it. She stands looking at the melancholy one, and would give -worlds if she might only take his head to her sympathetic bosom and -cherish it. - -The blooming Rachel approaches, and cheerily greets the gloomy one. She -seeks to uplift his spirits. Under the sweet spell of her, he tells how -wholly alone he is. He speaks of his mother and how her very grave is -lost. He relates how the Revolution swallowed up the lives of his two -brothers. - -“And your father?” - -“He was buried the week before I was born.” - -The two stay by the orchard fence a long while, and talk on many things; -but never once on love. - -The drunken Robards, fiend-guided, gets a green-eyed glimpse of them. -With that his jealousy receives added edge, and--the better to decide -upon a course--he hurries to a grog-gery to pour down rum by the cup. -Either he drinks beyond his wont, or that rum is of sterner impulse than -common; for he becomes pot-valorous, and with curses vows the death of -Andrew. - -The drunken Robards, filled with rum to the brim, issues forth to -execute his threats. He finds his victim still sadly by the orchard -fence; but alone, since the blooming Rachel has been called to aid -in supper-getting. The pot-valorous Robards bursts into a torrent of -jealous recrimination. - -The melancholy Andrew cannot believe his ears! His melancholy takes -flight when he does understand, and in its stead comes white-hot anger. - -“What! you scoundrel!” he roars. The blue eyes blaze with such ferocity -that Robards the craven starts back. In a moment the other has control -of himself. “Sir!” he grits, “you shall give me satisfaction!” - -Robards the drunken says nothing, being frozen of fear. The enraged -Andrew stalks away in quest of the taciturn Overton who owns those hair -triggers. - -“Let us take a walk,” says hair-trigger Overton, running his arm inside -the lean elbow of Andrew. Once in the woods, he goes on: “What do you -want to do?” - -“Kill him! I would put him in hell in a second!” - -“Doubtless! Having killed him, what then will you do?” - -“I don't understand.” - -“Let me explain: You kill Robards. His wife is a widow. Also, because -you have killed Robards in a quarrel over her, she is the talk of -the settlement. Therefore, I put the question: Having made Rachel the -scandal of the Cumberland, what will you do?” - -There is a long, embarrassed pause. Presently Andrew lifts his gaze to -the cool eyes of his friend. - -“I shall offer her marriage. She shall, if she accept it, have the -protection of my name.” - -“And then,” goes on the ice-and-iron Overton, “the scandal will be -redoubled. They will say that you and Rachel, plotting together, have -murdered Robards to open a wider way for your guilty loves.” - -Andrew takes a deep breath. “What would you counsel?” he asks. - -“One thing,”--laying his hand on Andrew's shoulder--“under no -circumstances, not even to save your own life, must you slay Robards. -You might better slay Rachel; since his death by your hand spells her -destruction. Good people would avoid her as though she were the plague. -Never more, on the Cumberland, should she hold up her head.” - -That night the fear-eaten Robards solves the situation which his crazy -jealousy has created. He starts secretly for the North. He tells two or -three that he will never more call the blooming Rachel wife. - -For a month there is much silence, and some restraint, at the widow -Donelson's. This condition wears away; and, while no one says so, -everybody feels relaxed and relieved by the absence of the drunken -Robards. No one names him, and there is tacit agreement to forget -the creature. The drunken Robards, however, has no notion of being -forgotten. Word comes down from above that he will return and reclaim -his wife. At this the black eyes of Rachel sparkle dangerously. - -“That monster,” she cries, “shall never kiss my lips, nor so much as -touch my hand again!” - -By advice of her mother, and to avoid the drunken Robards--who promises -his hateful appearance with each new day--the blooming Rachel resolves -to take passage on a keel boat for Natchez. Andrew, in deep concern, -declares that he shall accompany her. He says that he goes to protect -her from those Indians who make a double fringe of savage peril along -the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. Overton, the taciturn, -shrugs his shoulders; the keel-boat captain is glad to have with him -the steadiest rifle along the Cumberland, and says as much; the blooming -Rachel is glad, but says so only with her eyes; the Nashville good -people say nothing, winking in silence sophisticated eyes. - -Robards the drunken, now when they are gone, plays the ill-used husband -to the hilts. He seems to revel in the rôle, and, to keep it from -cooling in interest, petitions the Virginia Legislature for a divorce. -In course of time the news climbs the mountains, and descends into the -Cumberland, that the divorce is granted; while similar word floats down -to Natchez with the keel boats. - -The slow story of the blooming Rachel's release reaches our two in -Natchez. Thereupon Andrew leads Rachel the blooming before a priest; and -the priest blesses them, and names them man and wife. That autumn they -are again at the widow Donelson's; but the blooming Rachel, once Mrs. -Robards, is now Mrs. Jackson. - -Slander is never the vice of a region that goes armed to the teeth. -Thus it befalls that now, when the two are back on the Cumberland, -those sophisticated ones forget to wink. There comes not so much as the -arching of a brow; for no one is so careless of life as all that. The -whole settlement can see that the dangerous Andrew is watching with -those steel-blue eyes. - -At the first suggestion that his Rachel has been guilty of wrong, he -will be at the throat of her maligner like a panther. - -Time flows on, and a horrible thing occurs. There comes a new word -that no divorce was granted by that Legislature; and this new word is -indisputable. There _is_ a divorce, one granted by a court; but, as an -act of separation between Rachel the blooming and the drunken Robards, -that decree of divorce is long months younger than the empowering act of -the Richmond Legislature, which mistaken folk regarded as a divorce. -The good priest's words, when he named our troubled two as man and wife, -were ignorantly spoken. During months upon months thereafter, through -all of which she was hailed as “Mrs. Jackson,” the blooming Rachel was -still the wife of the drunken Robards. - -The blow strikes Andrew gray; but he says never a word. He blames -himself for this shipwreck; where his Rachel was involved, he should -have made all sure and invited no chances. - -The injury is done, however; he must now go about its repair. There is a -second marriage, at which the silent Overton and the widow Donelson are -the only witnesses, and for the second time a priest congratulates our -storm-tossed ones as man and wife. This time there is no mistake. - -The young husband sends to Charleston; and presently there come to -him over the Blue Ridge, the finest pair of dueling pistols which the -Cumberland has ever beheld. They are Galway saw-handles, rifle-barreled; -a breath discharges them, and they are sighted to the splitting of a -hair. - -“What are they for?” asks Overton the taciturn, balancing one in each -experienced hand. - -In the eyes of Andrew gathers that steel-blue look of doom. “They are to -kill the first villain who speaks ill of my wife,” says he. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--DEAD-SHOT DICKINSON - - -THE sandy-haired Andrew now devotes himself to the practice of law and -the domestic virtues. In exercising the latter, he has the aid of the -blooming Rachel, toward whom he carries himself with a tender chivalry -that would have graced a Bayard. Having little of books, he is earnest -for the education of others, and becomes a trustee of the Nashville -Academy. - -About this time the good people of the Cumberland, and of the regions -round about, believing they number more than seventy thousand souls, are -seized of a hunger for statehood. They call a constitutional convention -at Knoxville, and Andrew attends as a delegate from his county of -Davidson. Woolsack McNairy, his fellow student in the office of Spruce -Mc-Cay, is also a delegate. The woolsack one has-realized that dream of -old Salisbury, and is now a judge. - -Andrew and woolsack McNairy are members of the committee which draws -a constitution for the would-be commonwealth. The constitution, when -framed, is brought by its authors into open convention, and wranglingly -adopted. Also, “Tennessee” is settled upon for a name, albeit the ardent -Andrew, who is nothing if not tribal, urges that of “Cumberland.” - -The constitution goes, with the proposition of statehood, before -Congress in Philadelphia; and, following a sharp fight, in which such -fossilized ones as Rufus King oppose and such quick spirits as Aaron -Burr sustain, the admission of “Tennessee,” the new State is created. - -Its hunting-shirt citizenry, well pleased with their successful step in -nation building, elect Andrew to the House of Representatives. A little -later, he is taken from the House and sent to the Senate. There he -meets with Mr. Jefferson, who is the Senate's presiding officer, being -vice-president of the nation, and that accurate parliamentarian and -polished fine gentleman writes of him: - -“He never speaks on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen -him attempt it repeatedly, but as often choke with rage.” There also he -encounters Aaron Burr; and is so far socially sagacious as to model -his deportment upon that of the American Chesterfield, ironing out -its backwoods wrinkles and savage creases, until it fits a _salon_ as -smoothly well as does the deportment of Burr himself. Our hero finds but -one other man about Congress for whom he conceives a friendship equal to -that which he feels for Aaron Burr, and he is Edward Livingston. - -Andrew the energetic discovers the life of a senator to be one of -dawdling uselessness, overlong drawn out; and says so. He anticipates -the acrid Randolph of Roanoke, and declares that he never winds his -watch while in Congress, holding all time spent there as wasted and -thrown away. - -Idleness rusts him; and, being of a temper even with that of best -Toledo steel, he refuses to rust patiently. Preyed upon and carked of -an exasperating leisure, which misfits both his years and his -fierce temperament, he seeks refuge in what amusements are rife in -Philadelphia. He goes to Mr. McElwee's Looking-glass Store, 70 South -Fourth Street, and pays four bits for a ticket to the readings of Mr. -Fennell, who gives him Goldsmith, Thompson and Young. The readings -pall upon him, and athirst for something more violent, he clinks down -a Mexican dollar, witnesses the horsemanship at Mr. Rickett's -amphitheater, and finds it more to his horse-loving taste. When all else -fails, he buys a seat in a box at the Old Theater in Cedar Street, and -is entertained by the sleight of hand of wizard Signor Falconi. On -the back of it all he grows heartily sick of the Senate, and of -civilization, as the latter finds exposition in Philadelphia, and -resigns his place and goes home. - -When he arrives in Nashville, the Legislature--which still holds that -he should be engaged upon some public work--elects him to the supreme -bench.... - -_{There are missing paragraphs which are not found in any online edition -of this ebook}_ - -....objectionable Mr. Bean with those Galway saw-handles; and that -violent person surrenders unconditionally. In elucidating his sudden -tameness and its causes, Mr. Bean subsequently explains to a disgusted -admirer: - -“I looks at the Jedge, an' I sees shoot in his eye; an' thar warn't -shoot in nary 'nother eye in the crowd. So I says to myse'f, says I, 'Old -Hoss, it's about time to sing small!' An' I does.” - -Notwithstanding those leaden exchanges with the Governor, and -the conquest of the discreet Mr. Bean, our jurist finds the bench -inexpressibly tedious. At last he resigns from it, as he did from the -Senate, and again retreats to private life. - -Here his forethoughtful Scotch blood begins to assert itself, and he -goes seriously to the making of money. With his one hundred and fifty -slaves, he tills his plantation as no plantation on the Cumberland was -ever tilled before; and the cotton crops he “makes” are at once the -local boast and wonder. He starts an inland shipyard, and builds keel -and flat boats for the river commerce with New Orleans. He opens a -store, sells everything from gunpowder to quinine, broadcloth by the -bolt to salt by the barrel, and takes his pay in the heterogeneous -currency of the region, whereof 'coon skins are a smallest subsidiary -coin. Also, it is now that he is made Major General of Militia, an honor -for which he has privily panted, even as the worn hart panteth for the -water brook. - -When he is a general, the blooming Rachel cuts and bastes and stitches a -gorgeous uniform for her Bayard, in which labor of love she exhausts the -Nashville supply of gold braid. Once the new General dons that effulgent -uniform, which he does upon the instant it is completed, he offers a -spectacle of such brilliancy that the bedazzled public talks facetiously -of smoked glass. The new General in no wise resents this jest, being -blandly tolerant of a backwoods sense of humor which suggests it. -Besides, while the public has its joke, he has the uniform and his -commission; and these, he opines, give him vastly the better of the -situation. - -Many friends, many foes, says the Arab, and now the popular young -General finds his path grown up of enemies. There be reasons for the -sprouting of these malevolent gentry. The General is the idol of the -people. He can call them about him as the huntsman calls his hounds. -At word or sign from him, they follow and pull down whatsoever man or -measure he points to as his quarry of politics. This does not match with -the ambitions of many a pushing gentleman, who is quite as eager for -popular preference, and--he thinks--quite as much entitled to it, as is -the General. - -These disgruntled ones, baffled in their political advancement by the -General, take darkling counsel among themselves. The decision they -arrive at is one gloomy enough. They cannot shake the General's hold -upon the people. Nothing short of his death promises a least ray of -relief. He is the sun; while he lives he alone will occupy the popular -heavens. His destruction would mean the going down of that sun. In the -night which followed, those lesser plotting luminaries might win for -themselves some twinkling visibility. - -It is the springtime of the malevolent ones' conspiracy, and the plot -they make begins to blossom for the bearing of its lethal fruit. There -is in Nashville one Charles Dickinson. By profession he is a lawyer, -albeit of practice intermittent and scant. In figure he is tall, -handsome, graceful with a feline grace. If there be aught in the old -Greek's theory touching the transmigration of souls, then this Dickinson -was aforetime and in another life a tiger. He is sinuous, powerful, -vain, narrowly cruel, with a sleek purring gloss of manner over all. -Also, he is of “good family”--that defense and final refuge of folk -who would else sink from respectable sight in the mire of their own -well-earned disrepute. - -Mr. Dickinson has one accomplishment, a physical one. So nicely does his -eye match his hand, that he may boast himself the quickest, surest shot -in all the world. Knowing his vanity, and the deadly certainty of his -pistols, the conspirators work upon him. They point out that to kill the -General under circumstances which men approve, will be an easy instant -step to greatness. Urged by his vanity, permitted by his cruelty, -dead-shot Dickinson rises to the glittering lure. - -Give a man station and fortune, and while his courage is not sapped -his prudence is promoted. The poor, obscure man will risk himself more -readily than will the eminent rich one, not that he is braver, but he -has less to lose. The General--who has been in both Houses of Congress, -and was a judge on the bench besides--will not be hurried to the field, -as readily as when he was merely Andrew the horse-faced. However, those -malignant secret ones are ingenious. They know a name that cannot -fail to set him ablaze for blood. They whisper that name to dead-shot -Dickinson. - -It is a banner day at the Clover Bottom track. The General's Truxton is -to run--that meteor among race horses, the mighty Truxton! The blooming -Rachel, seated in her carriage, is where she can view the finish. The -General--one of the Clover Bottom stewards--is in the judge's stand. -Dead-shot Dickinson, as the bell rings on the race, takes his stand at -the blooming Rachel's carriage wheel. He is not there to see a race, but -to plant an insult. - -“Go!” cries the starter. - -Away rushes the field, the flying Truxton in the lead! Around they -whirl, the little jockeys plying hand and heel! They sweep by the -three-quarters post! The great Truxton, eye afire, nostrils wide, comes -down the stretch with the swiftness of the thrown lance! Behind, ten -generous lengths, trail the beaten ruck! The red mounts to the cheek of -the blooming Rachel; her black eyes shine with excitement! She applauds -the invincible Truxton with her little hands. - -“He is running away with them!” she cries. - -Dead-shot Dickinson turns to the friend who is conveniently by his side. -The chance he waited for has come. - -“Running away with them!” he sneers, repeating the phrase of the -blooming Rachel. “To be sure! He takes after his master, who ran away -with another man's wife.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII--HOW THE GENERAL FOUGHT - - -THE General seeks the taciturn Over-ton--that wordless one of the -uneasy hair triggers. - -“It is a plot,” says the General. “And yet this man shall die.” - -Hair-trigger Overton bears a challenge to dead-shot Dickinson, and is -referred to that marksman's second, Hanson Catlet. Hair-trigger Overton -and Mr. Catlet agree on Harrison's Mills, a long Day's ride away in -Kentucky. There are laws against dueling in Tennessee; wherefore her -citizens, when bent on blood, repair to Kentucky. To make all equal, -and owning similar laws, the Kentuckians, when blood hungry, take one -another to Tennessee. The arrangement is both perfect and polite, not -to say urbane, and does much to induce friendly relations between these -sister commonwealths. - -Place selected, Mr. Catlet insists upon putting off the fight for a -week. His principal is nothing if not artistic. He must send across the -Blue Ridge Mountains for a famous brace of pistols. His duel with the -General will have its page in history. He insists, therefore, upon -making every nice arrangement to attract the admiration of posterity. -He will kill the General, of course; and, by way of emphasizing his -gallantry, offers wagers to that effect. He bets three thousand dollars -that he will kill the General the first fire. - -The General makes no wagers, but holds long pow-wows with hair-trigger -Overton over their glasses and pipes. The fight is to be at -twelve paces, each man toeing a peg. The word agreed on is: -“Fire--one--two--three--stop!” Both are free to kill after the word -“Fire,” and before the word “Stop.” - -Hair-trigger Overton and the General give themselves up to a heartfelt -study of what advantages and disadvantages are presented by the -situation. They decide to let the gifted Dickinson shoot first. He is -so quick that the General cannot hope to forestall his fire. Also, any -undue haste on the General's part might spoil his aim. By the pros and -cons of it, as weighed between them, it is plain that the General must -receive the fire of dead-shot Dickinson. He will be hit; doubtless the -wound will bring death. He must, however, bend every iron energy to the -task of standing on his feet long enough to kill his adversary. - -“Fear not! I'll last the time!” says the General. “He shall go with me; -for I've set my heart on his blood.” - -Those wonderful pistols come over the Blue Ridge, and dead-shot -Dickinson with his friends set out for that far-away Kentucky fighting -ground. They make gala of the business, and laugh and joke as they ride -along. By way of keeping his hand in, and to give the confidence of -his admirers a wire edge, dead-shot Dickinson unbends in sinister -exhibitions of his pistol skill. At a farmer's house a gourd is hanging -by a string from the bough of a tree. Deadrshot Dickinson, at twenty -paces, cuts the string; the gourd falls to the ground. - -“Some gentlemen will be along presently,” he says. “Show them that -string, and tell them how it was cut.” - -At a wayside inn he puts four bullets into a mark the size of a silver -dollar. - -“When General Jackson arrives,” he observes, tossing a gold piece to the -innkeeper, “say that those shots were fired at twenty-four paces.” - -And so with song and shout and jest and pistol firing, the Dickinson -party troop forward. They arrive in the early evening and put up at -Harrison's tavern. The fight is for seven o'clock in the morning. - -Behind this gay cavalcade are journeying the General and hair-trigger -Overton. The farmer repeats the story of the gourd and its bullet-broken -string. A bit farther, and the innkeeper calls attention to that -quartette of shots, which took effect within the little circumference -of a dollar piece. The stern pair behold these marvels unmoved; -hair-trigger Overton merely shrugs his shoulders, while the General's -lip curls contemptuously. Dead-shot Dickinson has thrown away his lead -and powder if he hoped to shake these men of granite. Upon coming to the -battle ground, the General and hair-trigger Overton avoid the Harrison -tavern, which shelters the jovial Dickinson _coterie_, and put up at the -inn of David Miller. That evening, they hold their final conference in -a cloud of tobacco smoke, like a couple of Indians. Finally, the General -goes to bed, and sleeps like a tree. - -With the first blue streaks of morning our two war parties are up -and moving. They meet in a convenient grove of poplars. The ground is -stepped off and pegged; after which hair-trigger Overton and Mr. Catlet -pitch a coin. The impartial coin awards the choice of positions to Mr. -Catlet, and gives the word to hair-trigger Overton. There is a third -toss which settles that the weapons are to be those Galway saw-handles. -At this good fortune a steel-blue point of fire shows in the satisfied -eye of the General. He recalls how he procured those weapons to kill the -first man who spoke evil of the blooming Rachel, and is pleased to think -a benignant destiny will not permit them to be robbed of that original -right. - -The men are led to their respective pegs by Mr. Catlet and hair-trigger -Overton. The General, through the experienced strategy of hair-trigger -Overton, wears a black coat--high of collar, long of skirt. It buttons -close to the chin; not a least glimpse of bullet-guiding white, whether -of shirt collar or cravat, is allowed to show. The black coat is -purposely voluminous; and the whereabouts of the General's lean frame, -tucked away in its folds, is a question not readily replied to. The only -mark on the whole sable expanse of that coat is a row of steel-bright -buttons. These are not in the middle, but peculiarly to one side. Those -steel-bright buttons will draw the fire of dead-shot Dickinson like a -magnet. Which is precisely what hair-trigger Overton had in mind. - -As the two stand at the pegs, dead-shot Dickinson calls loudly to a -friend: - -“Watch that third button! It's over the heart! I shall hit him there!” - -The grim General says nothing; but the look on his gaunt face reads like -a page torn from some book of doom. As he stands waiting the word, he is -observed by the watchful Overton to slip something into his mouth. Then -his jaws set themselves like flint. - -“Gentlemen, are you ready?” - -They are ready, dead-shot Dickinson cruelly eager, the somber General -adamant. There is a soundless moment, still as death: - -“Fire!” - -Instantly, like a flash of lightning, the pistol of dead-shot Dickinson -explodes. That objective third button disappears, driven in by the -vengeful lead! The General rocks a little on his feet with the awful -shock of it; then he plants himself as moveless as an oak. Through the -curling smoke dead-shot Dickinson makes out the stark, upstanding -form. For a moment it is as though he were planet-struck. He shrinks -shudderingly from his peg. - -“God!” he whispers; “have I missed him?” - -Hair-trigger Overton cocks the pistol he holds in his hand and covers -the horror-smitten Dickinson. - -“Back to your mark, sir!” he roars. - -Dead-shot Dickinson steps up to his peg, his cheek the hue of ashes. He -reads his sentence in those implacable steel-blue eyes, and the death -nearness touches his heart like ice. - -“One!” says hair-trigger Overton. - -At the word, there is a sharp “klick!” The General has pulled the -trigger, but the hammer catches at half cock. The General's inveterate -steel-blue glance never for one moment leaves his man. He recocks the -weapon with a resounding “kluck!” - -“Two!” says hair-trigger Overton. - -“Bang!” - -There comes the flash and roar, and dead-shot Dickinson is seen to -stagger. He totters, stumbles slowly forward, and falls all along on his -face. The bullet has bored through his body. - -The General stays by his peg--cold and hard and stern. Hair-trigger -Overton approaches the wounded Dickinson. One glance is enough. He -crosses to the General and takes his arm. - -“Come!” he says. “There is nothing more to do!” - -Hair-trigger Overton leads the General back to their inn. As the pair -journey through the poplar wood, he asks: - -“What was that you put in your mouth?” - -“It was a bullet,” returns the General; “I placed it between my teeth. -By setting my jaws firmly upon it I make my hand as steady as a church.” - -As the General says this, he gives that steadying pellet of lead to -hair-trigger Overton, who looks it over curiously. It has been crushed -between the clenched teeth of the General until now it is as flat and -thin as a two-bit piece. As the two approach the tavern they come upon -a negress churning butter, and the General pauses to drink a quart of -milk. - -Once in his room, hair-trigger Overton pulls off the General's boot, -which is full of blood. - -“Not there!” says the General. “His bullet found me here”; and he throws -open the black coat. - -Dead-shot Dickinson's aim was better than his surmise. He struck that -indicated third button; but, thanks to the strategy of hair-trigger -Overton which prompted the voluminous coat, the button did not cover the -General's heart. The deceived bullet has only broken two ribs and grazed -the breastbone. - -The surgeon is called; the wound is dressed and bandaged. He describes -it as serious, and shakes his head. - -“Still,” he observes, “you are more fortunate than Mr. Dickinson. He -cannot live an hour.” As the man of probe and forceps is about to retire -the General detains him. - -“You are not to speak of my wound until we are back in Nashville.” - -He of the probe and forceps bows assent. When he has left the room -hair-trigger Overton asks: - -“What was that for?” - -The brow of the General grows cloudy with a reminiscent war frown. - -“Have you forgotten those four shots inside the circle of a dollar, and -that bullet-severed string? I want the braggart to die thinking he has -missed a man at twelve paces.” - -The two light pipes and hair-trigger Overton sends for his whisky. Once -it has come he gives the General a stiff four fingers, and under the -fiery spell of the liquor the color struggles into the pale hollow of -his cheek. - -He of the probe and forceps comes to the door. - -“Gentlemen,” he says, palms outward with a sort of deprecatory -gesture--“gentlemen, Mr. Dickinson is dead.” - -The General knocks the ashes from his pipe. Then he crosses to the open -window and looks out into the May sunshine. From over near the poplar -wood drifts up the liquid whistle of a quail. Presently he returns to -his seat and begins refilling his pipe. - -“It speaks worlds for your will power, that you should have kept your -feet after being hit so hard. Not one in ten thousand could have held -himself together while he made that shot!” This is a marvelous burst of -loquacity for hair-trigger Overton, who deals out words as some men deal -out ducats. - -“I was thinking on _her_, whom his slanderous tongue had hurt. I should -have stood there till I killed him, though he had shot me through the -heart!” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--ENGLAND AND GRIM-VISAGED WAR - - -THE saw-handles are cleaned and oiled and laid away to that repose -which they have won. No more will they be summoned to defend the -blooming Rachel. No one now speaks evil of her; for that tragedy which -reddened a May Kentucky morning has sealed the lips of slander. The -General does not speak of that battle at twelve paces in the poplar -wood; and yet the blooming Rachel knows. She, like her lover-husband, -never refers to it; but her worship of him finds multiplication, while -he, towards her, grows more and more the Bayard. Much are they revered -and looked up to along the Cumberland, he for his gentle loyalty, she -for her love; and the common tongue is tireless in reciting the story of -their perfect happiness. - -The currents of time roll on and the General is busy with his planting, -his storekeeping, and his boat building. He is fortunate; and the -three-sided profits pile themselves into moderate riches. In the midst -of his prosperity he is visited by Aaron Burr. The late vice-president -has killed Alexander Hamilton--a name despised along the Cumberland. -Also he was aforetime the champion of Tennessee, when she asked the boon -of statehood. - -For these sundry matters, as well as for what good unconscious lessons -in deportment were taught him by the courtly Colonel Burr, the General -fails not to take that polished exile to his heart and to his hearth. -Colonel Burr is in and out of Nashville many times. He comes and goes -and comes and goes and comes again; and writes his daughter Theodosia: - -“I am housed with General Jackson, who is one of those prompt, frank, -loyal souls whom I like.” - -Colonel Burr has been in France, and tells the General of Napoleon. He -draws a battle map of Quebec, shows where Montgomery fell, and relates -how he, Colonel Burr, bore that dead chieftain from the field. In the -end, he gives a dim outline of his dreams for the conquest of that -Spanish America, lying on the thither side of the Mississippi; and to -these latter tales of empire the General lends eager ear. - -By the General's suggestion a dinner is given at the Nashville Inn in -honor of Colonel Burr. The General presides, and, with a heart full of -anger against Barbary pirates, offers among others the toast: - -“Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!” - -Colonel Burr, being dined, confides to the General how he is not without -an ally in the Southwest, and says that Commander Wilkinson, in -control for the Government at New Orleans, stands ready to advance his -anti-Spanish projects. At the name of “Wilkinson” the General shakes -his prudent head. He declares that Commander Wilkinson is a faithless, -caitiff creature, with a brandified nose, a coward heart, and a weakness -for breaking his word. The crafty Burr, confident to vanity of his own -genius for intrigue, insists that he can trust Commander Wilkinson. -Then he arranges with the General for the building of a flotilla of -flat-boats at the latter's yards, and goes his scheming way. Later, when -Colonel Burr is on trial for treason in Richmond, the General will ride -over the Blue Ridge to give him aid and comfort, and make street-corner -speeches defending him, wherein he will say things more explicit than -flattering concerning President Jefferson, who is urging the prosecution -of Colonel Burr. - -The hours, never resting, never sleeping, march onward with our -planter-General, until the procession in its passing is remembered and -spoken of as years. Then comes the war with England. That saber scar on -the General's head begins to throb, and he sends word to Washington that -he is ready, with twenty-five hundred of his hunting-shirt militia, to -kill British wherever they shall be found. - -The Government thanks him, and orders him with his hunting-shirt -followers to report to General Wilkinson at New Orleans. The General -does not like this, the Wilkinson in question being that red-nosed -renegade one, against whom long ago he warned the ambitious Colonel -Burr. For all that, orders are orders; and besides a fight under any -commander is not to be despised. The General presently hurries his -hunting-shirt forces aboard flatboats, and floats away on the convenient -bosom of the Cumberland. He will go down that stream to the Ohio, and so -to the Mississippi and to New Orleans. As they float downward with the -stream, the General recalls a former voyage when love and the blooming -Rachel were his companions, and is heard to sigh. - -At Natchez, word from Commander Wilkinson meets the General. He is told -to land, and wait for further orders. The General takes his boys of the -hunting shirts ashore, and pitches camp. Privily he unbends in oaths and -maledictions, all addressed to the ex-grocer Wilkinson; for he thinks -the order, preventing his entrance into New Orleans, born of the mean -rivalry of that red-nosed ignobility. - -The General waits, and curses Commander Wilkinson, for divers weeks. -Then occurs one of those imbecilities, of which only the witlessness of -Government is capable, and whereof the archives at Washington carry -so many examples. The General receives a curt dispatch from the war -secretary, “dismissing” him and his hunting-shirt soldiers from the -service of the United States. Not a word is said as to pay, or provision -for returning to the Cumberland. Having gotten the General and his -little army several hundred wilderness miles from home, the thick-head -Government, with no intelligence and as little heart, coolly reduces him -and them to the practical status of vagrants; which feat accomplished, -it walks away, as it were, hands in pockets, whistling “Yankee Doodle.” - Possibly, the Government thinks that the General and his hunting-shirt -friends can float upstream as they floated down. The angry General, -however, makes no such marine mistake, and the intricate oaths which he -now evolves and fulminates, as expressive of his feelings, would have -won the admiration of any army that ever fought in Flanders. - -The General's credit is golden, since he has ever been a fanatic about -paying debts. Invoking that credit, he cashes a handful of drafts, and -marches home with his hunting-shirt contingent at his own expense. Also -he indites a letter to that war secretary which reddens the latter's -departmental ears, and causes his departmental head to buzz like a nest -of hornets. Later, the Government pays the General the amount of those -drafts; not because it is right--since the argument of right has little -Washington weight--but for the far more moving reason that Tennessee, -in a rage, is preparing to desert the boneless President Madison for the -Federalists. It is the latter thought which brings a ray of common sense -to the besotted Government, and his money to our General, now back in -Tennessee. - -The bellicose General is vastly disappointed at missing a brush with -invading British; for, aside from a saber-engrafted hatred of all -English things and men, he is one to dote on fighting for fighting's -crimson sake, and is almost as well pleased with mere battle as with -victory. However, he is given scanty room for sorrowful reflections, -since fate is hurrying to his relief with a private war of his own. - -The General, ever an expositor of the duello, and the peaceful hours -resting heavy on his hands, goes out as second for a Captain Carroll -against Mr. Jesse Benton. Captain Carroll is shot in the toe, and Mr. -Benton in the leg; whereat the General and the Cumberland public groan -over results so inadequate. - -Being thus shot in the leg, Mr. Benton displays his bad taste by -falling into a fury with the General. He recounts what he regards as his -“wrongs” to his brother Thomas, and that intemperate individual loses -no time in taking up his brother's quarrel. The pair say things of the -General which would arouse the wrath of an image; with that, the General -calls for his saw-handles, and begins to plan trouble for those verbally -reckless Bentons. - -The General takes with him as guide, philosopher and friend, his -faithful subaltern, Colonel Coffee. The two establish themselves, -strategically, at the Nashville Inn. - -Across the corner of the public square upon which the Nashville Inn -finds hospitable frontage, stands the City Hotel. Sunning themselves in -the veranda of the latter caravansary, but with war written upon their -angry visages, the General and the faithful Coffee perceive the brothers -Benton. The enemies glare at one another, and the General says to -Colonel Coffee that they will now go to the post office. Since a trip to -the post office is calculated to bring them within touching distance of -the brothers Benton, Colonel Coffee at once discerns the propriety of -such a journey. - -The pair go to the post office, staring haughtily at the brothers Benton -as they pass. The brothers Benton, for their side, being apoplectic of -habit, grow black in the face with rage. - -Having visited the post office, and being now upon their return, the -General and Colonel Coffee again draw near the apoplectic Bentons, -glowering from their veranda. When within three feet of them, the -General abruptly whips out one of those celebrated saw-handles, and jams -its muzzle against the horrified stomach of brother Thomas Benton. That -imperiled personage thereupon backs rapidly away from the saw-handle, -which as rapidly follows; while the public, assembling on the run, -confidently expects the General to shoot brother Thomas Benton in two. - -The General might have done so, and thus gratified the public, but -the unexpected occurs. As brother Thomas Benton backs briskly from the -muzzle of the saw-handle, brother Jesse, who is not wanting in a genius -for decision, whirls, and from a huge horse pistol plants two balls in -the General's left shoulder. As the warrior goes down, Colonel Coffee -empties his pistol at brother Thomas, who avoids having his head blown -off only by the fortunate fact of a cellar, into whose receptive depths -he tumbles, just in what novelists call “the nick of time.” As brother -Thomas lapses into the cellar, young Hays, a nephew of the blooming -Rachel, hurls brother Jesse to the floor, to which he makes heartfelt -attempts to pin him with a dirk, but is baffled by the activity of the -restless brother Jesse, who will not lie still to be pinned. - -The whole riot has not covered the space of sixty seconds, when the -public, suddenly conceiving its duty to lie in that direction, seizes -young Hays, releases the recumbent brother Jesse, disarms Colonel -Coffee, fishes brother Thomas out of that receptive cellar, and carries -the badly wounded General to a bed in the Nashville Inn. The City Hotel -mentions its own beds, and lays claim to the injured General, on the -argument that the battle has been fought in its bar. The claim is -disallowed and the General conveyed to the rival hostelry aforesaid, -as being peculiarly his own proper inn, since it is there he has ever -repaired for billiards, mint juleps, and to hold conferences over pipe -and glass with his friends. - -Once in bed, the local surgeons burst in and offer to cut off the -General's arm. The offer is declined fiercely and a poultice of -slippery-elm bark is substituted for that proposed surgery. This -latter medicament works wonders; under its soothing influences, and the -revivifying effects of whisky--both being remedies much in vogue along -the Cumberland--the General begins to mend. - -The General, the patient object of a deal of slippery-elm bark and -whisky--the one applied externally and the other internally--lies in bed -a month. Then the awful word arrives of the massacre at Fort Mims. -Five hundred and fifty-three souls have been slaughtered, and Chief -Weathersford with all his Creeks, valor sharpened by English gold and -English firewater, is reported on the warpath. The news brings the -General out of bed in a moment. His friends remonstrate, the doctors -command, the blooming Rachel pleads; but he puts them aside. Gaunt of -cheek, face paper-white with weakness, left arm in a sling, he climbs -painfully into the saddle and takes command. - -The General sends Colonel Coffee and his mounted riflemen to the fore, -with orders to wait for him at Fayettesville. Meanwhile, he himself -lingers briefly to enroll and organize his little army. A few weeks -later he follows the doughty Coffee, and the entire command--horns full -of powder, pouches heavy with bullets, hunting knives whetted to a razor -edge--moves southward after hostile Creeks. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--THE GENERAL AT THE HORSESHOE - - -THE General goes to Fayettesville, and orders Colonel Coffee with his -eager five hundred to Huntsville, as a point nearer the heart of savage -war. Volunteers, each bringing his own rifle and riding his own horse, -join Colonel Coffee, who sends back inspiring word that his five -hundred have grown to thirteen hundred, all thirsting for Creek blood. -Meanwhile, the General, weak and worn to a shadow, can hardly keep -the saddle, and must be bathed hourly in whisky to hold soul and body -together. Unable to eat, he lives by his will alone. The shot-shattered -left arm, lest he faint with the awful agony which attends its least -disturbance, is bound tightly to his side. - -The General takes the field, and presently comes up with the Creeks. He -smites them hip and thigh at Tallushatches, Talladega, and divers other -places of equally complicated names, slaying hundreds while losing few -himself. The Creeks give way before the invincible General. Wherever he -goes they scatter like an affrighted flock of blackbirds. - -The Indian is terrible only when he is winning. He is not upholstered, -whether mentally or morally, for an uphill, losing war. The General -would like it better if this were otherwise. Could he but coax his -evanescent enemy into a pitched battle, he would break both his heart -and his power with one and the same blow. - -Chief Weathersford is as well aware of this defect in the Indian make-up -as is the General. He himself is half white, and knows what points of -strength and weakness belong with either race. Wherefore, when now his -Creeks have been beaten, and their hearts are low in defeat, he makes -no effort to lead them against the General's front; but breaks them into -squads and little bands, with directions to harass the hunting-shirt -men and hang about their flanks in the name of flea-bite annoyance and -isolated scalps. Thus is the General plagued and fatigued nigh unto -death, without once being able to lay hand upon those skulking, hiding, -flying foot-Parthians against whom he has come forth. - -Also, he and his hunting-shirt men are getting farther and farther -from anything that might be termed a base of supplies. At last, many a -pathless mile through wood and swamp, and many an unbridged river, lie -between the nearest barrel of flour and their stomachs clamorous for -food. - -The military stomach is the first great base of every military -operation. The war-wise Frederick had it for his aphorism, that an -army is so much like a snake it can move forward only on its belly. -The General is made painfully aware of this truism when he and his -hunting-shirt men find themselves penned up with starvation at Fort -Strother. In the teeth of his troubles, however, he makes shift to send -home an orphaned papoose for the blooming Rachel to raise. - -Famine takes command at Fort Strother, and the General writes: “He is -an enemy I dread more than hostile Creeks--I mean the meager monster, -Famine!” There is murmuring among the hunting-shirt men, who have, with -the appetite common to bordermen, that contempt of discipline which -belongs to their rude caste. They are reduced to roots and berries, with -an occasional pigeon or squirrel, which latter diminutive deer no one -waits to cook, but devours raw. One day a backwoods boy, whose appetite -is even with his effrontery, waylays the General on his rounds and -demands food. - -“Here is what I was saving for supper,” says the General; “you may have -that.” And he tosses the hungry one a double handful of acorns. - -The starving hunting-shirt men mutiny; they draw themselves up -preparatory to marching north, to find that home-fatness which waits -for them on the Cumberland. At this the General changes his manner. -Heretofore he has been the symbol of fatherly sympathy and toleration. -He can make excuses for the grumbling of hungry men, and makes them. But -this goes beyond grumbling, which, when all is in, comes to be no -more than a healthful blowing off of angry steam; this is desertion by -wholesale. - -As the lean-flanked, rancorous ones line up to begin their homeward -march, the General, haggard and emaciated by those Benton wounds and a -want of food, rides out in front. Halting forty yards from the foremost -mutineers, he swings from the saddle. In his right hand he carries a -long eight-square rifle. This, since he has no left hand to support -his aim, he runs across the empty saddle. Being ready, he calls on the -hunting-shirt men to give the order to march, if they dare. - -“For by the Eternal,” says he, “I'll shoot down the first of you who -takes a forward step!” - -The sulky, hungry hunting-shirt men scowl at the General. He scowls back -at them, with the wicked ferocity of a tiger and an iron determination -not to be revoked. And thus they stand glaring--one against hundreds! -Then the courage of the hungry hundreds oozes away, and they fall back -before that menacing apparition which glowers at them along the rifle -barrel. They melt away by the rear, those hunting-shirt men, and lurk -off to their quarters--ashamed of their weakness, yet afraid to go on. - -At last, a herd of beef, quite as gaunt as the starved hunting-shirt men -themselves, arrives. Fires are set going and knives drawn. There is a -measureless eating. Belts are let out to the full-fed holes of other -days; mutiny, like an evil spirit, takes its flight. The gorged -hunting-shirt men, as though in amends for their scowl-ings and mutinous -grumblings, beg to be led instantly against the Creeks. This the General -is very willing to do, since he suspects the Creeks of possessing corn. - -The General's scouts tell him that the scattered Creeks are collecting -in force at the Horseshoe. Upon this news, one bright morning the -General rides out of Fort Strother, and his recuperated hunting-shirt -men, two thousand strong, are at his back. - -The Horseshoe is a loop-like bend in the Tallapoosa, which incloses a -round one hundred heavily-timbered acres. Across the open end, three -hundred and fifty yards wide, the British engineers have taught the -Creeks to throw up a fortification of logs. Behind this bulwark is -gathered the fighting flower of the Creeks, more than one thousand -warriors in all. - -Arriving in front of the log bulwark, the General, with the experienced -Coffee, pushes forward to reconnoiter. - -“We can thank the British for that,” says the General, tossing his -indignant right hand toward the Creek defenses. “Billy Weathers-ford, -even with the half-white blood that's in him, would never have designed -it.” - -The astute Coffee makes a suggestion and, acting on it, the General -dispatches him by a roundabout march to take the Creeks from behind. The -fatuous savages flatter themselves that the wide-flowing Tallapoosa will -defend their rear. All they need do, they think, is lie behind those -English-log breastworks and knock over whatever obnoxious paleface shows -his head. This is an admirable programme, and comforting to the cockles -of the aboriginal heart. There is but one trouble; it won't work. - -As the circuitous Coffee begins to swing wide for his stealthy creep -to the rear, the General covers the strategy with a brace of brawling -nine-pounders. Inside the log breastworks, he hears the “tunk! tunk!” - of the “medicine” drum, and the measured chant of the prophets promising -victory. In the midst of the prophetic chantings and the dull thumping -of the tomtoms, the nine-pounders roar and bury their shot in the log -breastworks. The shot do no harm, and serve but to excite the ribald -mirth of the Creeks. The latter can speak enough English for the -purposes of insult, and scoff and jeer at the General, whom they -describe--having in mind his lean form--as a lance shaft, harmless, -because wanting a keen head. They storm at him with opprobrious epithet, -and invite him, unless he be a coward, to come to them over their -breastworks. The General pays no heed to the contumely of the Creeks; -he is bending his ear to catch, above the din of his nine-pounders, the -earliest signal of the redoubtable Coffee's attack. - -Colonel Coffee and his riflemen, horses at a walk, pick their difficult -way through the woods. It is a matter of no little time before they find -themselves at the toe of the Horseshoe, and in the ignorant rear of the -Creeks. Between them and those one hundred tree-grown acres held by the -enemy flows the Tallapoosa--turbid, wide and deep. Across, they see the -canoes, which the stupidity of the Creeks has left without so much as a -squaw or a papoose to guard them. In a moment, a score have thrown -off their hunting shirts, and are in the river. They swim like so many -Newfoundlands, and come out dripping, but happy, on the farther side. -Presently each of the swimming score is upon his return trip, towing a -dozen of the largest canoes. - -Leaving a horse guard to look after the mounts, Colonel Coffee embarks -his command in the canoes; ten minutes later, the last fighting man jack -of them is on the other side. They hear the boom of the nine-pounders, -and the yells and war shouts of the Creeks. Also they discover the -wickiups of the Creeks, hidden away, with their squaws and papooses, in -a thickety corner of the wood. - -Colonel Coffee, who, for all he is a backwoodsman, is not without -certain sparks and spunks of military skill, sets fire to the wickiups, -as an excellent sure method of wringing the withers and distracting the -attention of the fighting Creeks at the front. The flames go crackling -skyward; the squaws and papooses rush yelling from the slight houses -of wattled willow twigs and bark, and scuttle into the underbrush like -rabbits. Unlike rabbits, being in the underbrush, they set up such a -dismal tempest of howls, that those rearmost Creeks who hear it come -running to learn what disaster has seized upon their households. - -Before they can make extensive inquiry, Colonel Coffee and his riflemen -open on them with a storm of bullets; and next, each man takes a tree. -The war now proceeds Creek fashion, every man--white and red--fighting -for himself. There is a difference, however; for while the hunting-shirt -men are dead shots, the Creeks prove themselves such wretchedly bad -marksmen--not understanding a rear sight, which article of gun furniture -is a mystery to the Indian mind even unto this day--as to provoke a deal -of hunting-shirt laughter. - -Slowly but surely the Creeks give way before that low-flying sleet -of lead. As they give way, running from one tree to another, their -hunting-shirt foe presses forward--as deadly a skirmish line as ever -commander threw out! - -The quick ear of the General catches the firing down at the toe of the -Horseshoe. It tells him that Colonel Coffee is busy with the Creek rear. -Also, he gets a far-off glimpse, through the trees, of the smoke and -flames from those burning wickiups, and understands the message of them. - -Drawing off the futile nine-pounders, the General orders a charge, the -amateur artillerists taking up their rifles with the others. At -the word, the hunting-shirt men rush forward, and go over the log -breastworks like cats. - -The one earliest to scale the breastworks--quick as a panther, strong -as a bear--is Ensign Sam Houston. The Southwest will hear more of him -before all is done. That lively youth, however, is not thinking of the -future; for an arrow, excessively of the present, has just pierced his -thigh, and is demanding his whole attention. Shutting his teeth like a -trap to control the pain, he snaps the shaft and draws the arrow from -the wound. A moment later, the surgeon bandages it. - -The General is standing near, and waxes conservative touching Ensign Sam -Houston. - -“Don't go back!” commands the General shortly. “That arrow through your -leg should be enough.” - -Ensign Sam Houston says nothing, but the moment his commander's back -is turned rushes headlong over those log breastworks again. Later he -is picked up with two bullets in him, which serve to keep him quiet for -nigh a fortnight. - -Once the hunting-shirt men are across the log breastworks, a slow -and painstaking killing ensues. Not a Creek asks quarter; not a Creek -accepts it when tendered. It is to be a fight to the death--a fight -unsparing, relentless, grim! - -“Remember Fort Mims!” shout the hunting-shirt men, working away with, -rifle and axe and knife. - -The Creeks, caught between the General and Colonel Coffee, hide -in clumps of bushes or behind logs. From these slight coverts, the -hunting-shirt men flush them, as setters flush birds, and shoot them as -they fly. Once a Creek is down, out flashes the ready hunting knife and -a Creek scalp is torn off; for the hunting-shirt men, on a principle -that fights Satan with fire, have adopted the war habits of their red -enemy. - -The hunting-shirt men range up and down, quartering those one hundred -acres of Horseshoe wood like hounds, killing out in all directions. -Now and then a warrior, sorely crowded, leaps into the Tallapoosa, and -strikes forth for the opposite shore. His feather-tufted head is seen -bobbing on the muddy surface of the river. To gentlemen who, offhand, -make nothing of a turkey's head at one hundred yards, those brown -bobbing feather-tufted Creek heads are child's play. A rifle cracks; -the shot-pierced Creek springs clear of the water with a death yell, and -then goes bubbling to the bottom. Sometimes two rifles crack; in which -double event the Creek takes with him to the bottom two bullets instead -of one. - -The slaughter moves forward slowly, but satisfactorily, for hours. It -is ten o'clock in the night when the last Creek is killed, and the -hunting-shirt men, hungry with a hard day's work, may think on supper. -Of the red one thousand and more who manned those British-built -fortifications in the morning, not two-score get away. It is the Creek -Thermopylae. - -The General's triumph at the Horseshoe puts the last paragraph to the -last chapter of the Creek wars. Also, it disappoints certain English -prospects, and defeats for all time those savage hopes of a general race -battle against the paleface, the fires of which the dead Tecumseh so -long supported by his eloquence and fed with deeds of valor. By way of -a finishing touch, from which the hue of romance is not wanting, the -terrible Weathersford rides in, on his famous gray war horse, and gives -himself up to the General. - -“You may kill me,” says Weathersford. “I am ready to die, for I have -beheld the destruction of my people. No one will hereafter fear the -Creeks, who are broken and gone. I come now to save the women and little -children starving in the forest.” - -[Illustration: 0127] - -The hunting-shirt men, not at all sentimental, lift up their voices in -favor of slaying the chief. At that the General steps in between. - -“The man who would kill a prisoner,” he cries, “is a dog and the son of -a dog. To him who touches Weathersford I promise a noose and the nearest -tree.” - -The General leads his hunting-shirt men by easy marches back to that -impatient plenty which awaits their coming on the Cumberland. The public -welcomes him with shout and toss of hat, while the blooming Rachel gives -her hero measureless love and tenderness. The General's one hundred and -fifty slaves, agog with joy and fire water, make merry for two round -days. They would have enlarged that festival to three days, but the -stern overseer intervenes to recall them to the laborious realities of -life. - -As the General begins to have the better of his fatigue and -sickness--albeit that Benton-wounded left arm is still in a sling--a -note is put in his hands. The note is from the War Department in -Washington, and reads: “Andrew Jackson of Tennessee is appointed Major -General in the Army of the United States, vice William Henry Harrison, -resigned.” - - - - -CHAPTER X--FLORIDA DELENDA EST - - -THE General, at the behest of the blooming Rachel, rests for three -round weeks, which seem to his fight-loving soul like three round years. -Then the Government sends him to Fort Jackson to dictate terms of peace -to the broken Creeks. - -The latter assemble, war paints washed off, in a deeply thoughtful, if -not a peaceful, mood. - -The General proposes terms which well nigh amount to a wiping out of the -Creek landed possessions. The Creeks go into secret council, as it -were executive session, and bemoan their desperate lot. They curse the -English who urged them to that butchery of Fort Mims and then deserted -them. Beyond relieving their minds, however, the curses accomplish no -Creek good. They must still face the inveterate General, whose word is, -“Your lives or your lands!” - -The mournful, beaten Creeks come forth from executive session, and -the great formal conference begins. The council is called on the flat -field-like expanse in front of the General's imposing marquee--for he -has come to this mission with no little of pompous style, to the end -that the Creek mind be impressed. - -The Creek chiefs, blanketed to the ears, feathered to the eyes, sit -about, crosslegged like tailors, in a half circle, their only weapon a -sacred red-stone pipe. The General, blazing in a new uniform, comes -out of his marquee. With him are Colonel Coffee, Colonel Hawkins, and -lastly, Colonel Hayne, the brother of him who will one day cross blades -in Senate debate with the lion-faced Webster, and have the worst of it. - -As the General steps forward an orderly leads up his great war horse, as -though the conference might lapse into battle, and he must be ready -to mount and fight. To the rear, his hunting-shirt men, one thousand -strong, are drawn out, as following forth those precautions which -produce the General's war horse. The Creeks, at these evidences of -suspicious alertness, never move a bronze muscle; they pass the sacred -redstone pipe with gravity unmoved, and puff away as though the last -thing they suspect is suspicion. - -Big Warrior makes a speech, and is followed by She-lok-tah, the tribal -Demosthenes. The General shakes his grim head at their protests; there -is no help for it, they must give him his way or fight. The Creeks bow -to the inevitable, and give the General his way; which bowing submission -is the less disgraceful, since both the Spanish at Pensacola and the -English at New Orleans, in a brief handful of months, under pressures -less stringent than are those which now and here in front of the -Generali great marquee bear down the broken hopeless Creeks, will follow -their abject example. - -Having made peace with the Creeks on the Tallapoosa, the General lets -his angry, warseeking eye rove in the direction of Florida. Many of the -hostile Creek Red Sticks have fled to cover there, where they are made -welcome by the Spanish Governor Maurequez, and petted and pampered -by Colonel Nichols and Captain Woodbine of the English. The besotted -Governor Maurequez has permitted these latter to land an English force, -and, inspired by his native hatred of Americans and the sight of British -ships of war in Pensacola harbor, has surrendered to them the last -stitch of Florida control. - -The General guesses these things and sends out scouts to make -discoveries. Meanwhile, he marches his hunting-shirt men to Mobile, -which his instincts--never at fault in war--warn him will be the -next English point of attack. Word has reached him of the downfall of -Napoleon, and he foresees that this will release against America the -utmost energies of England, who in thirty odd years has not forgotten -Yorktown nor despaired of its repair. - -The General's scouts are a sleepless, observant, close-going set of -gentlemen, and fairly enter Pensacola. Presently, they are back with the -news that two flags float in friendly partnership on the battlements of -Fort St. Michael, one English and one Spanish. Also, seven English war -ships ride in the harbor. - -They likewise say that the popinjay Colonel Nichols is issuing -proclamations to “The People of Louisiana,” demanding that, as -“Frenchmen, Spaniards, and English,” they arise and “throw off the -American yoke”; that Captain Woodbine is assembling the fugitive Red -Sticks by scores, and reviving their drooping spirits with English gold, -English guns, English gin, and English red coats. - -Captain Woodbine, it appears, is so dull as to think he may make regular -soldiers of the untamed Red Sticks, and drills them in the Pensacola -plaza, where they handle their new muskets much as a cow might a cant -hook, and look like copper-colored apes in those gorgeous red coats. The -tactical, yet tactless, Captain Woodbine even makes his red command a -speech, and is so unguarded as to refer to “General Jackson.” This is -a blunder, since instantly half the assembled Red Sticks desert, taking -with them the guns, gin, and jackets which have been conferred upon -them. The oratorical Captain Woodbine is deeply impressed by the awful -effect of the General's name upon his red recruits, and their terror -communicates itself to him. He has difficulty in restraining himself -from deserting with them, but takes final courage and remains. Only he -is at pains to delete “General Jackson” from subsequent eloquence, -and never again mentions that paladin of the Cumberland in the quaking -presence of a Red Stick Creek. - -By way of adding to these hardy doings, the wordy popinjay, Colonel -Nichols, fulminates new proclamations, comic in their ignorance and -bombast. He believes that the formidable General can be whipped by -manifestoes. As against this belief, however, most careful preparations -move forward aboard the English ships, looking to the destruction -of Fort Bowyer and the capture of Mobile; for Captain Percy of the -_Hermes_, who has command of the fleet, is altogether a practical -person, and pins no faith to proclamations and Indians in red coats when -it comes to bringing a foe to his knees. - -All these interesting items are laid before the General by his -painstaking scouts, and he is peculiarly struck with the word about -Captain Percy and Mobile. He sends back his scouts for another bagful -of news, and begins to strengthen and stiffen Fort Bowyer, thirty miles -below the town. - -Having patched up this redoubt to his taste, the General puts Major -Lawrence in command, and tells him to fight his batteries while a man -remains alive. Major Lawrence says he will; and, not having a ship, -but a fort, to defend, he follows as nearly as he may the motto of his -heroic relative, and issues the watchword, “Don't give up the Fort!” - Leaving Major Lawrence in this high vein, the General goes back to -Mobile to concert plans for its protection. - -Captain Percy of the _Hermes_ is a gallant man, but a bad judge of -Americans. He tells the proclaiming Colonel Nichols that he will take -four ships and capture Fort Bowyer in twenty minutes. Colonel Nichols -has so little trouble in believing this that he conceives the deed of -conquest already done. Full of hope and strong waters--for the English -have not given the thirsty Red Sticks all their gin--he is so far -worked upon by Captain Percy's turgid prophecies as to issue a new -proclamation, declaring Fort Bowyer taken, and showing how, presently, -the English intend doing likewise at New Orleans. Having taken time so -conspicuously by the forelock, the anticipatory Colonel Nichols--who -has never been in the chicken trade, and therefore knows nothing of -what perils attend a count of poultry noses before the poultry are -hatched--goes aboard the _Hermes_, with Captain Woodbine and others of -his staff; for he would be on the ground, when Fort Bowyer and Mobile -succumb, ready to assume control of those strongholds. - -It is no mighty voyage from Pensacola to Mobile, and a half day's sail -will bring Colonel Nichols and Captain Percy within point-blank range -of Fort Bowyer. Taking a bright, cool morning for it, Captain Percy lets -fall his topsails, and forges seaward, followed by the cordial wishes -of Governor Maurequez who, glass in hand, drinks “Good voyage!” from the -ramparts of St. Michael. - -“All I regret is,” cries the valorous Governor Maurequez, in the -politest phrases of Castile, “that you brave English will destroy these -vagabonds, and thus deprive me and my heroic soldiery of the pleasure of -their obliteration, when they shall have invaded our beloved Florida.” - -Away go the English war ships in line, like a quartette of geese -crossing a mill pond, the _Hermes_, Captain Percy, in the van. The -fleet rounds the lower extremity of Mobile Point, out of range from Fort -Bowyer, and lands Colonel Nichols with a force of foot soldiers and a -howitzer. This military feat accomplished, the fleet, still like geese -in line, bear up until abreast of the Fort, which is a musket shot away. - -There is no time wasted. The _Hermes_ lets go her anchors and swings -broadside-on to the Fort. The others follow suit. Then, with a crashing -discharge of big guns by way of overture, the fight is on. - -Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes go by; shots fly and shells -burst, and Major Lawrence still holds the fort. Evidently Captain Percy -cut his time too fine! Then, one hour, two hours follow, and Major -Lawrence's twenty-four pounders are making matches of the _Hermes_. - -As the merry war progresses, Colonel Nichols, with much ardor and no -discernment, drags his howitzer to a strategic sand hill, and fires -one shot at Fort Bowyer. It is a badly considered movement, the instant -effect being to draw the Fort's horns his way. The southern battery -of the Fort opens upon him like a tornado, and he and his fellow -artillerists retire--without their howitzer. The most discouraging -feature is that a stone, sent flying from the strategic sand hill by -a cannon ball, knocks out one of Colonel Nichols's eyes. After this -exploit, the one-eyed proclamationist, much saddened, but with wisdom -increased, is content to stand afar off, and leave the down-battering of -Fort Bowyer to the fleet. - -This down-battering Captain Percy and his sailormen do their tarry best -to bring about. But, as hour after hour drifts to leeward in the smoke -of their broadsides, and the stubborn Lawrence continues to send his -hail of twenty-four-pound shot aboard, it begins to creep upon Captain -Percy, like mosses upon stone, that Fort Bowyer is a nut beyond the -power of even his iron teeth to crack. As a red-hot shot sets fire -to the _Hermes_ and explodes her magazine, the impression deepens to -apprehension, which, when the _Sophia_ is reported sinking, ripens -rapidly into conviction. Major Lawrence, with his “Don't give up the -Fort!” all but blots Captain Percy--who has tenfold his force--off the -face of the Gulf, and he does it with a loss of eight men killed and -wounded to an English loss of over three hundred. - -Captain Percy, whipped and broken-hearted, shifts his flag and what -is left of his _Hermes'_ crew to the _Sophia_, and, pumps clanking -hysterically to keep-himself afloat, goes limping back to Pensacola, -lighted on his defeated way by the flare and glare from the blazing -_Hermes_. As the English pass the extreme southern tip of Mobile Point, -as far from the unmannerly batteries of Fort Bowyer as the lay of -the land permits, they pick up the one-eyed proclamationist, Colonel -Nichols, and his howitzerless men. - -The fleet, battered, torn, sails adroop, with the _Sophia_ three feet -below her trim from shot-admitted water in her hold, reaches Pensacola. -Governor Maurequez looks scornfully dark, but, Spaniard-like, shrugs his -vainglorious shoulders and says to an aide: - -“It is nothing! They are but English pigs! When this General Jackson -reaches Pensacola--if he should be so great a fool as to come--we -cavaliers of old Spain will tear him to pieces, as tigers rend their -prey. Yes, _amigo_, we will show these beaten pigs of English how the -proud blood of the Cid can fight.” - -The Red Stick Creeks, furnished of a better intelligence, in no wise -adopt the high-flying sentiments of Governor Maurequez. The moment -the English come halting into the harbor, the awful name of “General -Jackson!” leaps from aboriginal lip to lip. Hastily tearing off Captain -Woodbine's red coats as garments full of probable trouble, but taking -with them his new guns, the frightened Red Sticks head south for the -Everglades, first drinking up what remains of their gin. Not a hostile -Creek will thereafter be found within a day's ride of the General; all -of those English plans, which seek the aid of savage axe and knife and -torch, are to fall to pieces. - -Captain Percy, made ten years older by that fight and failure at Fort -Bowyer, goes about the repair of his ships; Colonel Nichols, omitting -for the nonce all further proclamations, nurses his wounds; Captain -Woodbine, having now no Indians, abandons his daily drills on the plaza; -Governor Maurequez, whispering with his aide, brags in chosen Spanish -of what he will do to thick-skull vagabond Americans should they put -themselves in his devouring path; while over at Mobile the General -hugs Major Lawrence to his bosom in a storm of approval, and gives that -sterling soldier a sword of honor. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--THE TWO FLAGS AT PENSACOLA - - -THOSE two flags, one the red flag of England, flying at Pensacola, -haunt the General night and day. His hunting-shirt men, twenty-eight -hundred from his beloved Tennessee and twelve hundred from the -territories of Mississippi and Alabama, are lusting for battle. He -resolves to lead them into Florida, across the Spanish line. - -“We must rout the English out of Pensacola!” he explains to Colonel -Coffee. - -“Pensacola!” repeats Colonel Coffee, looking thoughtful. “It is Spanish -territory, General! There is the boundary; and diplomacy, I believe, -although it is an art whereof I know little, lays stress on the word -boundary.” - -“Boundary!” snorts the General in dudgeon. “The English are there! Where -my foe goes, I go; my diplomacy is of the sword.” - -The General elaborates; for he is not without liking the sound of his -own voice. Governor Maurequez, he says, has welcomed the English; he -must enlarge that welcome to include Americans. - -“For I tell you,” goes on the General, “that I shall expect from him -the same courtesy he extends to Colonel Nichols. Nor do I despair of -receiving it, since I shall take my artillery. With both Americans and -English among his guests, if trouble fall out it will be his own -fault, and should teach him to practice hereafter a less complicated -hospitality.” - -The General prepares for the journey to Pensacola. The treasure chest -shows the usual emptiness, and he exerts his own credit, as he did on -a Natchez occasion, to provide for his hunting-shirt men. This time the -Government will honor his drafts promptly, for election day is drawing -near. - -One sun-filled autumn morning, the General and his hunting-shirt men -march away for Pensacola, their hearts full of cheering anticipations of -a fight, and eight days provant in the commissariat. - -“We should be there in eight days,” says the General hopefully, “and -Governor Maurequez and the English must provide for us after that.” - -The General does not overstate the powers of his hunting-shirt men, and -the eighth morning finds them and him within striking distance of Fort -St. Michael. The General shades his blue eyes with his hand and scans -the walls with vicious lynxlike intentness in search of that hated red -flag. His heart chills when he does not find it. There is the flag of -Arragon and Castile; but the staff which only yesterday supported the -flag of England stands an unfurnished, naked spar of pine. - -The General heaves a sigh. - -“Coffee,” he says, pathos in his tones, “they have run away.” - -“Possibly,” returns the excellent Coffee, who sees that the General's -regrets are leveled at an absence of English, and is anxious to console -him, “possibly they've only retired to Fort Barrancas, six miles below, -and are waiting for us there.” - -The disappointed General shakes his head; he does not share the -confidence of the optimistic Coffee. - -“Send Major Piere,” he says, “with a flag of truce to announce to the -Spaniard our purpose of lunching with him. We will ask him, now we're -here, by what license he gives shelter to our enemies.” - -Major Piere goes forward, white flag fluttering, and is promptly fired -upon by Governor Maurequez at the distance of six hundred yards. The -balls fly wide and high, for the Spaniard shoots like a Creek. Finding -himself a target, the disgusted Major Piere returns and reports his -uncivil reception. The General's eyes blaze with a kind of blue fury. - -“Turn out the troops!” he roars. - -The drums sound the long roll. The hunting-shirt men are about the -cookery--being always hungry--of the last of those eight days' rations. -When they fall into line, the General makes them a speech. It is brief, -but registers the point of better provender in Pensacola than that which -now bubbles in their coffee pots and burns on their spits. Whereat the -hunting-shirt men cheer joyously. - -“The English, too, are there,” concludes the General. Then, in a -burst of flattering eloquence: “And I know that you would sooner fight -Englishmen than eat.” - -At the name of Englishmen, the hunting-shirt men give such a cheer that -it quite throws that former cheer into the vocal shade. Everyone is in -immediate favor of rushing on Pensacola. - -The General becomes cunning, and sends Colonel Coffee with a detachment -of cavalry to threaten Fort St. Michael from the east. The Spaniards are -singularly guileless in matters military. That feigned attack succeeds -beyond expression, and the befogged Governor Maurequez hurries his -entire garrison to those menaced eastern walls. - -While the excited Spaniards are making a chattering, magpie fringe along -the eastern ramparts, the General moves the bulk of his hunting-shirt -forces, under cover of the woods, to the fort's western face. Once they -are placed, he gives the order: - -“Charge!” - -The word sends the hunting-shirt men at that mud-built citadel with a -whoop. - -The Spaniards are unstrung by surprise, and fall to pattering prayers -and telling beads. In the very midst of their orisons, the hunting-shirt -men, as in the fight at the Horseshoe, pour like a cataract over the -parapet and sweep the praying, helpless Spaniards into a corner. - -The work, however, is not altogether done. When Governor Maurequez gives -the order to man the eastern walls against the deploying Coffee, he does -not remain to see it executed. - -Having sublime faith in the heroism of his followers, for him to -personally remain, he argues, would be superfluous. Nay, it might even -be construed into a criticism of his devoted soldiery, as implying a -fear that they will not fight if relieved of his fiery presence, not to -say the fiery pressure of his commanding eye. Having thus defined his -position, the valorous Governor Maurequez, acting in that spirit of -compliment toward his people which has ever characterized his speech, -gathers up his gubernatorial skirts and scuttles for his palace like a -scared hen pheasant. - -Having swept the walls of St. Michael clean of magpie Spaniards, and run -up the stars and stripes on the vacant English staff, the General and -his hunting-shirt men make ready to follow Governor Maurequez to the -palace. He is to be their host; it is their polite duty to find him with -all dispatch and offer their compliments. - -Full of this urbane purpose, they wheel their bristling ranks on the -town. Approaching double-quick, they casually lick up, as with a tongue -of flame, a brace of abortive blockhouses which obstruct their path. At -this, an interior fort opens fire with grapeshot and shrapnel, and the -hunting-shirt men spring upon it with the ruthless ferocity of panthers. -To quench it is no more than the fighting work of a moment. The General, -with his flag already on the ramparts of Fort St. Michael, now feels his -clutch at the very throat of Pensacola. - -Governor Maurequez, equipped in his turn of a milk-white flag, bursts -from the palace portals. - -“Oh, Senores Americanos,” he cries, “spare, for the love of the Virgin, -my beautiful Pensacola! As you hope for heaven's mercy, spare my -beautiful city!” - -The wild hunting-shirt men are in a jocular mood. The terrified rushing -about of Governor Maurequez excites their laughter. - -“Where is your humane General Jackson?” wails Governor Maurequez, in -appeal to the hunting-shirt men. “Where is he--I beseech you? I hear he -is the soul of merciful forbearance!” - -At this the hunting-shirt laughter breaks out with double volume, as -though Governor Maurequez has evolved a jest. - -The alarmed Governor, catching sight of a couple of dead Spaniards, -fresh killed in the struggle with the foolish interior fort, expresses -his grief in staccato shrieks, which serve as weird marks of punctuation -to the laughter of the rude hunting-shirt men. The laughter ceases when -the General himself rides up. - -“Thar's the Gin'ral,” says a hunting-shirt man, biting his merriment -short off. “Thar's the man of mercy you're asking for.” - -Governor Maurequez starts back at sight of the gaunt face, emaciated by -sickness born of those Benton bullets, and yellowed to primrose hue -with the malaria of the Alabama swamps. The lean figure on the big war -stallion might remind him of Don Quixote--for he has read and remembers -his Cervantes--save for the frown like the look of a fighting falcon, -and the fire-sparkle in the dangerous blue eyes. As it is, he feels that -his visitor is a perilous man, and begins to bow and cringe. - -“I beg the victorious Senor General,” says he, pressing meanwhile a -right hand to his heart, and presenting the white square of truce with -the other--“I beg the victorious Senor General to spare my beautiful -Pensacola!” - -“You are Governor Maurequez!” returns the General, hard as flint. - -“Yes, Senor General; I am Governor Maurequez, as you say. Also”--here -his voice begins to shake--“I must remind your excellency that this is a -province of Spain, and ask by what right you invade it.” - -“Right!” returns the General, anger rising. “Did you not fire on my -messenger? Sir, if you were Satan and this your kingdom, it would be the -same! I would storm the walls of hell itself to get at an Englishman.” - -There comes the whiplike crack of a rifle almost at the General's elbow. -Far up the narrow street, full four hundred yards and more, a flying -Spanish soldier throws up his hands with a death yell, and pitches -forward on his face. At this, the hunting-shirt man who fired tosses his -coonskin cap in the air and shouts: - -“Thar, Bill Potter, the jug of whisky's mine! Thar's your Spaniard too -dead to skin! If the distance ain't four hundred yard, you kin have the -gun!” - -“What's this?” cries the General fiercely. “Nothin', Gin'ral!” replies -the hunting-shirt man, abashed at the forbidding manner of the General, -“nothin', only Bill Potter, from the 'Possum Trot, bets me a jug of -whisky that old Soapstick here”--holding up his rifle as identifying -“old Soapstick”--“won't kill at four hundred yard.” - -“Betting, eh!” retorts the General, assuming the coldly implacable. “Now -it's in my mind, Mr. Soapstick, that unless you mend your morals, some -one about your size will pass an hour strung up by the thumbs so high -his moccasins won't touch the grass! How often must I tell you that I'm -bound to break up gambling among my troops?” - -The rebuked soapstick one slinks away, and the General turns to Colonel -Coffee. - -“Give the word, Coffee, to cease firing.” - -The General's glance comes around to Governor Maurequez, still bowing -and presenting his white flag. - -“Where are those English?” he demands. - -The frightened Governor Maurequez makes the sign of the cross. He is -sorry, but the pig English withdrew to Fort Barrancas at the first signs -of the coming of the victorious Senor General, taking with them their -hateful red flag. Also, it was they who fired on the messenger. If the -victorious Senor General will but move quickly, he may catch the pig -English before they escape. - -The General, half his hunting-shirt men at his back, starts for Fort -Barrancas. They are two miles on their way when the earth is shaken by a -thunderous explosion. Over the tops of the forest pines a gush of black -smoke shoots upward toward the sky. - -“They have blown up the fort!” says the explanatory Coffee. - -The General says nothing, but urges speed. At last they come in sight of -what has been Fort Barrancas. It is as the astute Coffee surmised. The -one-eyed Colonel Nichols and his English have fled, leaving a slow-match -and the magazine to destroy what they dared not defend. Far away in the -offing Captain Percy's English fleet--upon which the one-eyed Colonel -Nichols and his fugitive followers have taken refuge--wind aft and an -ebb tide to help, is speeding seaward like gulls. - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE GENERAL GOES TO NEW ORLEANS - - -Governor maurequez evolves into the very climax of the affable, not to -say obsequious. He assures the General that he is relieved by the -flight of the pig English, whom he despises as hare-hearts. Also, he is -breathless to do anything that shall prove his affectionate admiration -for his friend, the valorous Senor General. - -The General accepts the affectionate admiration of Governor Maurequez, -and leaves in his care Major Laval, who has been too severely wounded -to move; and Governor Maurequez subsequently smothers that convalescent -with nursing solicitude and kindness. Those other twenty wounded -hunting-shirt men the General takes back with him to Mobile. - -The General now gives himself up to a profound study of maps. His -invasion of Florida has paled the cheek of the Spanish Minister at -Washington and given European diplomacy a chill; he knows nothing of -that, however, and would care even less if he did. After poring over -his maps for divers days, he comes to sundry sagacious conclusions, and -sends for the indispensable Coffee to confer. That commander makes an -admirable counselor for the General, since he seldom speaks, and then -only to indorse emphatically the General's views. For these splendid -qualities, and because he is as brave as Richard the Lion Heart, the -General makes a point of consulting the excellent Coffee concerning -every move. - -“Coffee,” says the General, as that warrior casts himself upon a bench, -which creaks dolorously beneath his giant weight, “Coffee, they'll -attack New Orleans next.” - -The listening Coffee grunts, and the General, correctly construing the -Coffee grunt to mean agreement, proceeds: - -“England has now no foe in Europe. That allows her to turn upon us with -her whole power. Even as we talk, I've no doubt but an immense fleet is -making ready to pounce upon our coasts. Now, Coffee, the question is, -Where will it pounce?” - -The General pauses as though for answer. The admirable Coffee emits -another grunt, and the General understands this second grunt to be a -grunt of inquiry. Stabbing the map before him, therefore, with his long, -slim finger, he says: - -“Here, Coffee, here at New Orleans. It's the least defended, and, fairly -speaking, the most important port we have, for it locks or unlocks the -Mississippi. Besides, it's midwinter, and such points as New York and -Philadelphia are seeing rough, cold weather. Yes, I'm right; you may -take it from me, Coffee, the English are aiming a blow at New Orleans.” - The convinced Coffee testifies by a third grunt that his own belief is -one and the same with the General's, and the council of war breaks up. -As the big rifleman swings away for his quarters the General observes: - -“Coffee, you will never realize how much I am aided by your opinions. -Two heads are better than one, particularly when one of them is capable -of such a clean, unfaltering grasp of a situation as is yours.” - -The General burns to be at New Orleans, and leaving Colonel Coffee to -bring on his three thousand hunting-shirt men as fast as he may, gallops -forward with four of his staff. It is a rough, evil road that threads -those one hundred and seventy-five miles which lie between the General -and the Mississippi, but he puts it behind him with amazing rapidity. At -last the wide, sullen river rolls at his horse's feet. - -As the General traverses the rude forest roads, difficult with -November's mud and slush, a few days' sail away on the Jamaica coast may -be seen proof of the pure truth of his deductions. The English admiral -is reviewing his fleet of fifty ships, preparatory to a descent upon New -Orleans. - -It is a formidable flotilla, with ten thousand sailors and nine thousand -five hundred soldiers and marines, and mounts one thousand cannon. The -flagship is the _Tonnant_, eighty guns, and there sail in her company -such invincibles as the _Royal Oak_, the _Norge_, the _Asia_, the -_Bedford_, and the _Ramillies_, each carrying seventy-four guns. With -these are the _Dictator_, the _Gorgon_, the _Annide_, the _Sea Horse_, -and the _Belle Poule_, and the weakest among them better than a -two-decked forty-four. - -In command of this armada are such doughty spirits as Sir Alexander -Cockrane, admiral of the red, Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, Rear -Admiral Malcolm, and Captain Sir Thomas Hardy--“Nelson's Hardy,” who -commanded the one-armed fighter's flagship _Victory_ at Trafalgar. -These, with their followers, have grown gray and tired in unbroken -triumph. Now, when they are making ready to spring on New Orleans, their -war word is “Beauty and Booty!” - -Review over, Admiral Cockrane in the van with the _Tonnant_, the fleet -sails out of Negril Bay for Louisiana. As the General's horse cools his -weary muzzle in the Mississippi, the English fleet has been two days on -its course. - -It is a dull, lowering December morning when the General, on his great -war stallion, following the Bayou road, rides into New Orleans. He finds -the city in a tumult, and nothing afoot for its defense. He is received -by Governor Claiborne, a stately Virginian, and Mayor Girod, plump and -little and gray and French, with a delegation of citizens. Among the -latter is one whom the General recognizes. He is Edward Livingston, -aforetime of New York, and the General's dearest friend in those old -Philadelphia Congressional days. The General gives the Livingston hand a -squeeze and says: “It's like medicine in wine, Ned, to see you at such a -time as this.” - -Governor Claiborne makes a speech in English, Mayor Girod makes a -speech in French-leading citizens make speeches in English, Spanish, -and French. The speeches are fiery, but inconclusive. All are excited, -confused, ani without a plan. The General replies in little more than a -word: - -“I have come to defend your city,” says he: “and I shall defend it or -find a grave among you.” - -Following this ultimatum, the General goes to dinner with Mr. -Livingston. - -Governor Claiborne, Mayor Girod, and the leading citizens remain -behind to talk the General over in their several tongues. They are -disappointed, it seems. - -There be those who wish he hadn't come. Among them is the Speaker of the -Territorial House of Representatives--A French creole of anti-American -sentiments. - -“His presence will prove a calamity!” cries this legislative person. “He -seems to me to be a desperado, who will make war like a savage and bring -destruction and fire on our city and the neighboring plantations.” - -There is no retort to this, for the local spirit of treason is -widespread. - -While the citizens of New Orleans are discussing the General, he with -his friend Livingston is discussing them. - -“What is the state of affairs here, Ned?” asks the General. - -“It could not be worse,” is the reply. “All is confusion, contradiction, -and cross-purposes. The whole city seems to be walking in a circle.” - “We'll see, Ned,” returns the General grimly, “if we can't make it walk -in a straight line.” Commodore Patterson comes to call on the General. -He is one who says little and looks a deal--precisely a gentleman after -the General's own heart, for while he himself likes to talk, he prefers -silence in others. - -Commodore Patterson sets forth the naval defenses of the town. An enemy -entering from the sea must come by way of Lake Borgne, and there are six -baby gunboats on Lake Borgne. The flotilla is commanded by Lieutenant -Jones, who is Welsh and therefore obstinate; he will fight to the final -gasp. The General beams approval of Lieutenant Jones, who he thinks has -a right notion of war. - -“But of course,” says Commander Patterson, “he will be overcome in the -end.” - -The General nods to this. He does not expect Lieutenant Jones to defend -the city alone. Commodore Patterson continues: “There are the schooner -_Carolina_ and the ship _Louisiana_ in the river, but they are out of -commission and have no crews.” - -“Enlist crews at once!” urges the General. - -The General appoints Mr. Livingston to his staff, and the pair make -a tour of the suburbs and the flat, marshy regions round about. The -General is alert, inquisitive; he is studying the strategic advantages -and disadvantages of the place. When he returns he orders a muster of -the city's military strength for the next day. The review occurs, and -the General declares himself pleased with the display. - -Commodore Patterson comes to say that, while the streets are full -of sailors, not one will enlist. The General asks the Legislature to -suspend the habeas corpus. That done, he will organize press gangs and -enlist those reluctant “volunteers” by force. The Legislature refuses, -and the General's eyes begin to sparkle. - -“To-morrow, Ned,” says he, “I shall clap your city under martial law.” - -“But, my dear General,” urges Mr. Livingston, who, being a lawyer, -reveres the law, “you haven't the authority.” - -“But, my dear Ned,” replies the determined General, “I have the power. -Which is more to the point.” - -The General declares civil rule suspended, and puts the city under -martial law. It is as though he lays his strong, bony hand on the -shoulder of every man, and, the first shock over, every man feels safer -for it. The press gangs are formed, and scores of seafaring “volunteers” - are carried aboard the _Carolina_ and _Louisiana_ in irons. Once aboard -and irons off, the “volunteers” become miracles of zeal and patriotic -fire, furbishing up the dormant broadside guns, filling the shot racks, -and making ready the magazines, hearts light as larks, as though to -fight invading English is the one pleasant purpose of their lives; for -such is the seafaring nature. - -The General's “press” does not confine itself to sailors. Negroes, -mules, carts, shovels, and picks are brought under his rigid thumb. -Every gun, every sword, every pistol is collected and stored for use -when needed. Meanwhile, the indefatigable Coffee arrives, marching -seventy miles the last day and fifty the day before to join his beloved -chief. Also Captain Hinds of the dragoons is no less headlong, and -brings his command two hundred and thirty miles in four days, such is -his heat to fight beneath the blue, commanding eye of the General. - -Nor is this all. A day goes by, and Colonel Carroll steps ashore from -a fleet of flatboats, at the head of a hunting-shirt force from the -Cumberland country. The backwoods cheer which goes up when the new -hunting-shirt men see the General, brings the water to his eyes with -thoughts of home. Lastly, Colonel Adair appears with his force of -Kentuckians. These latter are a disappointment, being practically -unarmed, owning but one gun among ten. - -“Ain't you got no guns for us, Gin'ral?” asks one of the Kentucky -captains anxiously. - -“I am sorry to say I have not,” returns the General. - -“Well,” responds the Kentuckian, while a look of satisfaction begins -to struggle into his face, as though he has hit upon a solution of the -tangle, “well, I'll tell you what we'll do, then. Which the boys'll just -nacherally go out on the firin' line with the rest, an' then as fast -as one of them Tennesseans gets knocked over, we'll up an' inherit his -gun.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--THE WATCH FIRES OF THE ENGLISH - - -THESE are busy times for the General. He lives on rice and coffee, and -goes days and nights without sleep. He sends the tireless Coffee, with -his hunting-shirt men, to take position below the city, between the -morass and the river. Finally he orders all his forces below--Colonel -Carroll with his new hunting-shirt men, Colonel Adair with his unarmed -Kentuckians, the hard-riding Captain Hinds with his dragoons, as well as -the muster of local military companies, among the rest Major Plauche's -battalion of “Fathers of Families.” There are a great many filial as -well as paternal tears shed when the “Fathers of Families” march away to -the field of certain honor and possible death; even Papa Plauche himself -does not refrain from a sob or two. The “Fathers of Families” take with -them their band, which musical organization plays the _Chant du -Depart_, whereat, catching the _tempo_, they strut heroically. The rough -hunting-shirt men are much interested in the “Fathers of Families,” and -think them as good as a play. - -The General busies himself about his headquarters, and waits for news of -the English, of whose coming he has word. One afternoon appears a lean -little dark man, with black, beady eyes, like a rat. He introduces -himself; he is Jean Lafitte, the “Pirate of Barrataria.” Only he -explains that he is really no pirate at all, not even a sailor; at -the worst he is simply the innocent shore agent or business manager of -pirates. Also, he declares that he is very patriotic and very rich, and -might add “very criminal” without startling the truth. - -Why has he come to see Monsieur General? Only to show him a letter from -the English Admiralty, brought by the General's old friend, Captain -Percy, late of H. R. H. Ship _Hermes_, offering him, Jean Lafitte, -a captain's commission in the royal navy, thirty thousand dollars in -English gold, and the privilege of looting. New Orleans, if he will but -aid in the city's capture. Now he, Jean Lafitte, scorning these base -attempts upon his honor, desires to offer his own and the services of -his buccaneers to the General in repulsing those villain English, whom -he looks upon with loathing as Greeks bearing gifts. - -“Only,” concludes Jean Lafitte, his black rat eyes taking on a sly -expression, “my two best captains, Dominique and Bluche, together with -most of their crews, are locked up in the New Orleans calaboose.” - -The General considers a moment, looking the while deep into the rat eyes -of Jean Lafitte. The scrutiny is satisfactory; there is nothing there -save an anxiety to get his men out of jail. This the General is pleased -to regard as creditable to Jean Lafitte. He comes back to the question -in hand. - -“Dominique and Bluche,” he repeats. “Can they fight?” - -“They can do anything with a cannon, Monsieur General, which your -sharpshooters do with their squirrel rifles.” - -The General has the caged Dominique and Bluche brought before him. -They are hardy, daring, brown men of the sea, with bushy hair, curling -beards, gold rings in their ears, crimson handkerchiefs about their -heads, gay shirts, sashes of silk, short voluminous trousers, like -Breton fisherman, and loose sea boots--altogether of the brine briny -are Dominique and Bluche. One glance convinces the General. The order -is issued, and the two pirates with their followers take their places as -artillerists where the wary Coffee may keep an eye on them. - -The English fleet arrives and anchors off the Louisiana coast. Loaded -scuppers-deep with soldiers and sailors and marines, the lighter craft -enter Lake Borgne. They sight the six cockleshells of Lieutenant Jones, -and make for them. - -Lieutenant Jones, with his cockleshells, slowly and carefully retreats. -He retreats so carefully that one after another the English boats, to -the round number of a score, run aground on divers mud banks, where they -stick, looking exceeding foolish. When the last pursuing boat is fast on -the mud banks, Lieutenant Jones anchors his six cockleshells where the -English may only get at him in small boats, and awaits results. - -The English are in no wise backward. Down splash the small boats, in -tumble the men, and presently they are pulling down upon the waiting -Lieutenant Jones--twelve men for every one of his. The small boats have -swivels mounted in their bows, and by way of preliminary, stand off from -the six cockleshells, waging battle with their little bow guns. This -is a mistake. Lieutenant Jones returns the fire from his cockleshells, -sinks four of the small boats, and spills out the crews among the -alligators. Unhappily, it is winter, and the alligators are sound asleep -in the mud below, by which effect of the season the spilled ones are -pulled aboard their sister boats with legs and arms intact. - -Being reorganized, and having enough of swivel war, the English fleet of -small boats rush the six cockleshells, and after a fierce struggle, take -them by weight of numbers. The English Captain Lockyer, following the -fight, wipes the blood from his face, which has been scratched by a -cutlass, and reports to Admiral Cockrane his success, and adds: - -“The American loss is, killed and wounded, sixty; English, ninety-four.” - -Being masters of Lake Borgne, the English go about the landing of troops -on Pine Island. The sixteen hundred first ashore are formed into an -advance battalion and ordered forward. They go splashing through the -swamps toward the river like so many muskrats, and in the wet, cold, -dripping end crawl out on a narrow belt of sugar-cane stubble which -bristles between the levee and the swamp from which they have emerged. -Finding dry land under their feet, they cheer up a bit, and build fires -to make comfortable their bivouac while waiting the coming of their -comrades, still wallowing in the swamp. - -Night descends, but finds those sixteen hundred of the English advance -reasonably gay; for, while the present is distressing, their fellows by -brigades will be with them in the morning, and they may then march on -to sumptuous New Orleans, where--as goes their war word--theirs shall -be the “Beauty and Booty” for which they have come so far. And so the -chilled, starved sixteen hundred of that English advance hold out their -benumbed hands to the fires, and console themselves with what the poet -describes as “The Pleasures of Anticipation.” And in this instance, -of course, the anticipations are sure of fulfillment, for what shall -withstand them? The raw, cowardly militia of the country? Absurd! - -As confirmatory of this, a subaltern hands about a copy of the _London -Sun_ which has a description of Americans. The others peruse it by the -light of their camp fires. It makes timely reading, since it is ever -worth while to gather--so that they be reliable--what scraps one may -descriptive of an enemy. The English, crouched about their fires, are -much benefited by the following: - -“_The American armies of Copper Captains and Falstaff recruits defy -the pen of satire to paint them worse than they are--worthless, lying, -treacherous, false, slanderous, cowardly, and vaporing heroes, with -boasting on their loud tongues and terror in their quaking hearts. Were -it not that the course of punishment they are to receive is necessary to -the ends of moral and political justice, we declare before our country -that we should feel ashamed of victory over such ignoble foes. The -quarrel resembles one between a gentleman and a sweep--the former may -beat the low scoundrel to his heart's content, but there is no honor in -the exploit, and he is sure to be covered with the soil and dirt of -his ignominious antagonist. But necessity will sometimes compel us -to descend from our station to chastise a vagabond, and endure the -degradation of such a contest in order to repress, by wholesome -correction, the presumptuous insolence and mischievous designs of the -basest assailant.”_ - -The young English officers find this refreshing as literature. It might -have been less uplifting could they have foreseen how ninety years later -England will fawn upon and flatter and wheedle America to the point -which sickens, while her bankrupt nobility make that despised region a -hunting ground where, equipped of a title and a coat of arms, they track -heiresses to lairs of gold and marry them. - -Now that the satisfied English are asleep about their fires, it behooves -one to hear how the General is faring. The day with him is one fraught -with work. Word reaches him of the captured cockleshells on Lake Borgne. -Also it reaches that valuable Legislature--honeycombed of treason. - -The Legislature sends a committee to ask the General what will be his -course if he's beaten back. The General is hardly courteous: - -“Tell your honorable body,” says he, “that if disaster overtake me and -the fate of war drives me from my lines to the city, they may expect to -have a very warm session.” - -Mr. Livingston catches the adjective. The committee having departed, he -propounds a query. - -“A warm session, General!” says he. “What do you mean by that?” - -“Ned,” replies the General, “if I am beaten here, I shall fall back -on the city, fire it, and fight it out in the flames! Nothing for the -maintenance of the enemy shall be left. New Orleans destroyed, I shall -occupy a position on the river above, cut off supplies, and, since I -can't drive, I shall starve the English out of the country. There is -this difference, Ned, between me and those fellows from the Legislature. -They think only of the city and its safety. For my side, I'm not here to -defend the city, but the nation at large.” - -On the heels of this, the Legislature whispers of surrendering Louisiana -to the English by resolution. It is scarcely feasible as a plan, but it -angers the General. He stations a guard at the door of the chamber and -turns the members away. - -“We can dispense with your sessions,” says he. “We have laws enough; our -great need now is men and muskets at the front.” - -The patricians of the Legislature are scandalized as being shut out of -their chamber. - -“Did I not tell you,” cries the prophetic House Speaker, “did I not tell -you this fellow was a desperado, and would wage war like a savage?” - -The members retire from the guarded doors, cursing the General under -their breath. Their doorkeeper, a low, common person, is so struck by -what the General has said anent men and muskets, that he gets a gun and -joins that “desperado.” And wherefore no? Patriotism has been the mark -of vulgar souls in every age. - -Colonel Coffee's hunting-shirt scouts come in and report the watch fires -of those sixteen hundred of the English advance winking and blinking -among the sugar stubble. - -“Ah!” says the General, “I've a mind to disturb their dreams.” - -The General dispatches word to Commodore Patterson to have the -_Carolina_ in readiness to act with his forces. Then he sends for the -indispensable Coffee. - -“Coffee, we shall attack them to-night.” - -The wise Coffee gives the grunt acquiescent. - -“Thank you, Coffee!” says the General. - -The council over, Colonel Coffee goes to turn out the troops. This is to -be done softly, as a surprise is aimed at. - -Now on the dread threshold of battle, Papa Plauche of the “Fathers of -Families” is overcome. As the intrepid “Fathers” fall into line, tears -fill Papa Plauche's eyes, and he appeals to neighbor St. Geme. - -“I am a Frenchman!” cries Papa Plauche, tossing his arms; “I am a -Frenchman, and do not fear to die! But, alas! mon St. Geme, I fear I -have not the courage to lead the 'Fathers of Families' to slaughter.” - -“Hush, Papa Plauche!” returns the good St. Geme, made wretched by -the grief of his friend. “Hush! Command yourself! Do not let the wild -General hear you; he will not, with his coarse nature, understand such -sentiments.” - -Captain Roche, of the “Fathers of Families,” steps in front of his -company. Striking his breast melodramatically, he sings out: - -“Sergeant Roche, advance!” - -Sergeant Roche advances. - -“Embrace me, brother!” cries Captain Roche in broken utterances, -“embrace me! It is perhaps for the last time.” - -The brothers Roche embrace, and the “Fathers of Families” are melted by -the tableau. - -“Sergeant Roche, return to your place!” commands the devoted Captain -Roche, and the sergeant, weeping, lapses into the ranks. - -The hunting-shirt men, witnesses of these touching scenes, are rude -enough to laugh, and by way of parody embrace one another effusively. -As they depart through the dark for their station, they break into -whispered debate as to whether the theatrical grief of Papa Plauche, -the brothers Roche, and the “Fathers of Families” is due to their creole -blood, or their city breeding, either, according to the theories of the -hunting-shirt men, being calculated to promote the effeminate in a -man. While they thus wrangle, there comes an angry hissing whisper from -Colonel Coffee, like the hiss of a serpent: - -“Silence!” - -Every hunting-shirt man is stricken dumb. They move forward like -shadows, right flank skirting the cypress swamp. To the far left they -hear the moccasined, half-muffled tramp of Colonel Carroll's men--their -hunting-shirt brothers from the Cumberland. As they turn a bend in the -swamp, they see not a furlong away the flickering and shadow dancing of -the watch fires of the tired English. At this every hunting-shirt -man makes certain the flint is secure in the hammer of his rifle, and -loosens the knife and tomahawk in his rawhide belt. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--THE BATTLE IN THE DARK - - -AS the hunting-shirt men come within sight of the blinking lights, -which polka-dot the sugar stubble in front and mark the bivouac of the -English, Colonel Coffee sends the whispered word along the line to halt. -At this, the hunting-shirt men crouch in the lee of the cypress swamp, -and wait. Colonel Coffee is lying by for the signal which shall tell him -to begin. - -Before the movement commences, the General calls Colonel Coffee to one -of their celebrated conferences. - -“It is my purpose, Coffee,” explains the General, “merely to shake them -up a bit. An attack will cure them of overconfidence, and break the -teeth of their conceit. This should hold them in check, and give us time -for certain earthworks I meditate. The signal will be a gun from the -_Carolina_. When you hear the gun, Coffee, attack everything wearing -a red coat. But be careful!” Here the General lifts a long, admonitory -finger. “Do not follow too far! Reinforcements are crawling out of the -swamp to the rear of the English every hour, and the only certainty is -that, even as we talk, they outnumber us two for one.” - -The faithful Coffee departs. As he reaches the door, the General calls -after him: - -“Don't forget, Coffee! The gun from the _Carolina!_” - -The hunting-shirt men lie waiting by the cypress swamp. On their near -left is Papa Plauche and his “Fathers of Families.” Beyond these is -a half company of regulars, which the General has brought up from the -near-by post. On the Bayou Road, between the regulars and the river, is -the General himself, with a brace of small field pieces. - -It is a moonless night, and what light the stars might furnish is -withheld by a blanket-screen of thick clouds. No night could be darker; -for, lest an occasional star find a cloud-rift and peer through, a fog -drifts up from the river. This is good for the English, since it hides -their watch fires, which one by one are lost in the mists. The darkness -deepens until even the hawk-eyed hunting-shirt men, trained by much -night fighting to a nocturnal keenness of vision, are unable to make out -their nearest comrades. - -The pitch blackness, and the fog chill creeping over him, tell on Papa -Plauche. He whispers sorrowfully to his friend St. Geme. - -“Neighbor St. Geme,” he says, “these differences should be adjusted by -argument, and not by deadly guns. I see that he who would either shoot -or be shot by his fellow-man; is in an erroneous position.” - -Before the kindly St. Geme may frame response, a liquid tongue of flame -illuminates the broad dark bosom of the river. It is followed sharply by -a crashing “Boom!” This is the word from the _Carolina._ - -The signal carries dismay into the hearts of the English, since -Commodore Patterson, whose genius is thoroughgoing, is at pains to load -the gun with two pecks of slugs, and eighty-four killed and wounded are -the red English harvest of that one discharge. The frightened drums beat -the alarm, and the ranks of English form. As they grasp their arms the -nine broadside guns of the Carolina begin to rake them. With this the -English fall slowly back from the river. - -The rearward movement, while managed slowly because of the darkness, -brings discouraging results. The English retreat into the hunting-shirt -men, who are skirmishing up from the cypress swamp. The English are -first told of this new danger by the spitting flashes which remind them -of needles of fire, and the crack of the long squirrel rifles like -the snapping of a whip. Here and there, too, a groan is heard, as the -sightless lead finds some English breast. This augments the blind horror -of the hour. - -The trapped English reply in a desultory fashion, and make a bad matter -worse. The hunting-shirt men locate them by the flash of their guns, -at which they shoot with incredible quickness and accuracy. With men -falling like November's leaves, the English give ground to the south, -which saves them somewhat from both the _Carolina_ and the hunting-shirt -men. - -Guessing the English direction, the hunting-shirt men follow, loading -and firing as they advance. Now and then a hunting-shirt man overtakes -an individual foe, and settles the national differences which divide -them with tomahawk and knife. It is cruel work--this unseeing bloodshed -in the dark, and disturbingly new to the English, who express their -dislike for it. - -[Illustration: 0193] - -While the hunting-shirt men drive the English along the fringe of the -cypress swamp, the General, a half mile nearer the river, is working his -two field pieces. Affairs proceed to his warlike satisfaction--and -this is saying a deal for one so insatiate in matters of blood--until a -flying ounce of lucky English lead wounds a horse on the number two gun. -This brings present relief to those English in the General's front; for -the hurt animal upsets the gun into the ditch. It takes fifteen minutes -to put it on its proper wheels again. The accident disgruntles the -General; but he bears it with what philosophy he may, and in good truth -is pleased to find that the gun carriage has not been smashed in the -upset. - -“Save the gun!” is his word to the artillery men; and when it is saved -he praises them. - -At the booming signal from the _Carolina_, the intrepid Papa Plauche -cries out: - -“Forwards, brave Fathers of Families! Forwards, heroes!” - -The “Fathers” respond, and go on with the hunting-shirt men. But their -pace is sedate; and this last results in an impoliteness which disturbs -the excellent Papa Plauche to the core. - -The hunting-shirt men are, for the major portion, riotous young blades -from the backwoods. Moreover, they are used to this prowling warfare of -the night. Is it wonder then that they advance more rapidly than does -Papa Plauche with his “Fathers,” whose step is measured and dignified as -becomes the heads of households? - -Thus it befalls that, do their dignified best, Papa Plauche and his -“Fathers” are left behind by the hunting-shirt men, who, deploying more -and still more to the left, extend themselves in front of Papa Plauche. -This does not suit the latter's hardy tastes, and he frets ferociously. -He grows condemnatory, as the spitting rifle flashes show him that the -vainglorious hunting-shirt men are between him and those English whom he -hungers to destroy. Indeed, he fumes like tiger cheated of its prey. - -“But we shall extricate ourselves, neighbor St. Geme!” cries Papa -Plauche. “We shall yet extricate ourselves! Behold!” - -The “Behold!” is the foreword of certain masterly maneuvers by Papa -Plauche among the sugar stubble. The maneuvers free the farseeing -Papa Plauche and his “Fathers” from those obstructive, unmannerly -hunting-shirt men, who have cut off their advance even in its -indomitable bud. The “Fathers” being better used to shop floors than -plowed fields, however, make difficult work of it. At last courage has -its reward, and the “Fathers” uncover their dauntless front. - -“Oh, my brave St. Geme!” cries Papa Plauche, when his strategy has put -the hunting-shirt men on his right, where they belong, “nothing can save -the caitiff English now! Those ruffians in hunting tunics who protected -them no longer impede our front. Forwards!” - -The final word has hardly issued from between the clenched teeth of Papa -Plauche when a rustling in the stubble apprises him of the foe. - -“Fire, Fathers of Families, fire!” shouts Papa Plauche, and such is the -fury which consumes him that the shout is no shout, but a screech. - -It is enough! One by one each “Father” discharges his flintlock. The -procession of reports is rather ragged, and now and again a considerable -wait occurs between shots, like a great gap in a picket fence. Still, -the last “Father” finally finds the trigger, and the command of Papa -Plauche is obeyed. - -The “Fathers” hurt no one by this savage volley, for their aim -like their hearts is high. It is quite as well they do not. The -stubble-disturbing force in front chances to be none other than that -half company of regulars, to whose rear it seems the inadvertent -Papa Plauche, in freeing them from the hunting-shirt men, has led his -“Fathers.” The regulars are in a towering rage with Papa Plauche; -but since no one has been injured, and Papa Plauche is profuse in his -apologies, their anger presently subsides. The regulars again take up -their bloody work upon the retreating English, while the discouraged -Papa Plauche and the “Fathers,” full of confusion and chagrin at twice -being balked, remain where they are. - -“After all, neighbor St. Geme,” observes Papa Plauche, “the mistake was -theirs. Did they not usurp the place which belonged to the English, in -thus getting in front of us? It should teach them to beware how they put -themselves in the path of my 'Fathers,' whose wrath is terrible.” - -For two black, sightless hours the huntingshirt men crowd the English -to the south. Then the General draws them off. They come, bringing -as captives one colonel, two majors, three captains, and sixty-four -privates. Also they have killed and wounded two hundred and thirteen -of the English, which comforts them marvelously. They themselves have -suffered but slightly, and the backloads of English guns they carry will -gladden many an unarmed Kentucky heart. - -Now when he has them together, the beloved Coffee at their head, the -General leads the way to the thither side of the Roderiquez Canal, where -he plans a line of breastworks. Arriving, the weary hunting-shirt men -build fires, and make themselves easy for the balance of the night. - -After a brief rest, the thoughtful General detaches a party with one of -the field guns, to interest the English until daylight. - -“For I think, Coffee,” says he, “that if we keep them awake, they will -be apt to sleep tomorrow; and so leave us free to work on our defenses.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV--COTTON BALES AND SUGAR CASKS - - -IT is the day before Christmas when the General lays out his line for -fortifications. The Roderiquez Canal is no canal at all, but a disused -mill race, which an active man can leap and any one may wade. The -General will make a moat of it, and raise his breastworks along its -mile-length muddy course, between the river and the cypress swamp. He -keeps an army of mules and negroes, with scrapers and carts, hard at -work, heaping up the earth. A boat load of cotton is lying at the levee. -The cotton bales are rolled ashore, and added to the heaped-up earth. -This pleases Papa Plauche. - -“It is singular,” he remarks to neighbor St. Geme, “that cotton, which -has been my business support for years, should now defend my life.” - -There is a low place to the General's front. He cuts the levee; and -soon the Mississippi furnishes three feet of water, to serve as a wet -drawback to any English advance. The latter, however, are not thinking -on an advance. Supports have come dripping from the swamp, and swollen -their numbers to threefold the General's force; but none the less their -hearts are weak. That horrifying night attack, when their blood was shed -in the dark, has broken the heart of their vanity, and a paralyzing fear -of those dangerous hunting-shirt men lies all across the English like -a cloud. More and worse, the _Carolina_ swings downstream, abreast of -their position, and her broadsides drive them to hide in ditches and the -cypress borders of the swamp. There is no peace, no safety, on the flat, -stubble ground, while light remains by which to point the _Carolina's_ -guns. - -Nor does nightfall bring relief. Those empty-handed Kentuckians must -be provided for; and, no sooner does the sun go down, than the -hunting-shirt men by two and three go forth in search of English -muskets. They shoot down sentries, and carry away their dead belongings. -Does an English group assemble round a camp fire, it becomes an -invitation seldom neglected. A party of hunting-shirt men creep within -range and begin the butchery. There is never the moment, daylight and -dark, when the unhappy English are not within the icy reach of death. -There is no repose, no safety! A chill dread claims them like a palsy! - -The English complain bitterly at this bushwhacking; which, to the -hunting-shirt men, reared in schools of Indian war, is the merest A B C -of battle. The harassed English denounce the General as a barbarian, in -whose savage bosom burns no spark of chivalry. They recall how in their -late campaigns in Spain, English and French pickets spent peace-filled -weeks within fifty yards of one another, exchanging nothing more deadly -than coffee and compliments. - -The grim General refuses to be affected by the French-English example. -He continues to pile up his earthworks, while the hunting-shirt men -go forth to pot nightly English as usual. The situation wears away the -courage of the English to a white and paper thinness. - -While the General is fortifying his lines, and the hunting-shirt men are -stalking English sentinels, peace is signed in Europe between America -and England. But Europe is far away; and there is no Atlantic cable. And -so the General continues at his congenial labors undisturbed. - -Christmas does not go unrecognized in the General's camp. He himself -attempts nothing of festival sort, and only drives his fortifying mules -and negroes the harder. But the hunting-shirt men celebrate by cleaning -their rifles, molding bullets, refilling powder horns, and whetting -knives and tomahawks to a more lethal edge. - -As for Papa Plauche and the “Fathers of Families,” they become jocund. -Their wives and daughters purvey them roast fowls in little wicker -baskets, and the warmest wines of Burgundy in bottles. Whereupon Papa -Plauche and his “Fathers” wax blithe and merry, singing the songs of -France and talking of old loves. - -And now Sir Edward Pakenham arrives, and relieves General Keane in -command of the English. With him comes General Gibbs. The two listen to -the reports of General Keane, and shrug polite shoulders as he speaks of -the savage valor of the Americans. It is preposterous that peasants -clad in skins, and not a bayonet among them, should check the flower of -England. General Keane does not reply to the polite shrug. He reflects -that the General, with his hunting-shirt men, can be relied upon to -later make convincing answer. - -Upon the morning which follows the advent of General Pakenham, the -English see a moment of good fortune. A red-hot shot sets fire to -the _Carolina_, as she swings downstream on her cable for that daily -bombardment, and burns her to the water line. This cheers the English -mightily; and does not discourage Commodore Patterson, who transfers his -activities to the decks of the _Louisiana._ - -Sir Edward gives the General three uninterrupted days. This the latter -warrior improves so far as to rear his earthworks to a height of four -feet, and mount five guns. On the fourth day the English are led out to -the assault. Sir Edward does not say so, but he expects to march over -those four-foot walls of mud and cotton bales as he might over any other -casual four-foot obstruction, and go up to the city beyond. - -The sequel does not justify Sir Edward's optimism. The moment the -English approach within two hundred yards of the General's line, a sheet -of fire hisses all along. The English melt away like smoke. They break -and run, seeking refuge in the cross ditches which drain the stubble -lands. Once in the ditches, they are made to sit fast by the watchful -hunting-shirt men, whose aim is death and who shoot at every exposed two -square inches of English flesh and blood. - -All day the English must crouch in the saving mud and water of those -ditches, and it ruffles their self-regard. With darkness for a shield, -Sir Edward brings them off. He explains the disaster to his staff -by calling it a “reconnoissance.” General Keane also calls it a -“reconnoissance”; but there is a satisfied grin on his war-worn face. -Sir Edward has received a taste of the mettle of those “peasants,” and -may now take a more tolerant, and less politely cynical, view of what -earlier setbacks were experienced by General Keane. As for the seventy -dead who lie, faces to the quiet stars, among the sugar stubble, they -say nothing. And whether it be called a “reconnoissance” or a defeat -matters little to them. - -“What do you think of it?” asks Sir Edward of his friend, General Gibbs, -as the two confer over a bottle of port. - -“Sir Edward,” returns the General, “I should call a council of war.” - -Sir Edward winces. It is too great an honor for the brother-in-law of -Lord Wellington to pay a “Copper Captain” like the General. For all that -he calls it; and the call assembles, besides Generals Gibbs and Keane, -those saltwater soldiers, Admirals Cochrane, Codrington and Malcolm, -and Captain Hardy whom Nelson loved. Sir John Burgoyne, the chief of -the English engineers, is also there. The solemn debate lasts hours. The -decision is to regard the General's position as “A walled and fortified -place, to be reduced by regular and formal approaches.” Which is -flattering to the General's engineering skill. - -The council breaks up. The next morning Sir John Burgoyne commits a -stroke of genius. He rolls out of the storehouses to the English rear -countless hogsheads of sugar. Night sets in, foggy and black. Under its -protecting cover, Sir John trundles his hundreds of hogsheads to a point -not six hundred yards from the General's mud walls. Till daybreak -the English work. They set the hogsheads on end--four close-packed -thicknesses of them, two tier high. Ingenious portholes are left to -receive the muzzles of the guns, and thirty cannon, which have been -dragged through the cypress swamp from the fleet, are placed in -position. - -Those hogsheads of sugar, with the thirty black muzzles frowning forth, -impress folk as a most formidable fortalice, when the upshooting sun -rolls back the fog and offers a view of them. The General, however, does -not hesitate; he instantly opens with his five, and the thirty guns -of the English bellow their iron response. Hardly a whit behind the -General, the active Commodore Patterson drops downstream with the -_Louisiana_, and throws the weight of her broadsides against the -English. - -The big-gun duel is hot and furious, and the rolling clouds of powder -smoke shut out the fighters from one another. They do not pause for -that, but fire blindly through the smoke, sighting their guns by guess. -When the smoke has cloaked the scene, Sir Edward orders two columns of -the English foot to storm the General's mud walls. - -The columns advance, and run headforemost into the hunting-shirt men. -The sleety rain of lead which greets them rolls the columns up like two -red carpets. The recoiling columns break, and the English take cover -for a second time in those saving ditches. They declare among themselves -that mortal man might more easily face the fires of hell itself, than -the flame-filled muzzles of the hunting-shirt men, who seem to be -Death's very agents upon earth. - -As the broken English crouch in those ditches the fire of Sir John -Burgoyne's big guns begins to falter. The smoke is so thick that no one -may tell the cause. At last the English volleys altogether end, and the -General orders Dominique and Bluche, with their swarthy pirate crews -from Barrataria, and what other artillerists are serving his quintette -of guns, to cease their stormy work. With that a silence falls on both -sides. - -The breeze from the river tears the smoky veil aside; and lo! that -noble fortification of sugar hogsheads is heaped and piled in ruins. The -General's solid shot go through and through those hogsheads of sugar, as -though they are hogsheads of snow. Five of the thirty English guns are -smashed. The proud work of Sir John Burgoyne presents a spectacle of -desolation, while the English who serve the batteries go flying for -their lives. Not all! The three-score dead remain--the only English -whose honor is saved that day! - -Sir Edward's cheek is white as death. He blames Sir John Burgoyne, who -has erred, he says, in constructing the works. Sir John did err, and Sir -Edward is right. Forty years later, the same Sir John will repeat the -same mistake at Sebastapol; which shows how there be Bourbons among the -English, learning nothing, forgetting nothing. - -As the English skulk in clusters, and ragged, beaten groups for their -old position beyond the General's long reach, the fear of death is -written on their faces. It will take a long rest, and much must be -forgotten, e'er they may be brought front to front with the General -again. - -Among the hunting-shirt men are exultation and crowing triumph. Only -Papa Plauche is sad. During the fight, the cotton bales in front of Papa -Plauche and the “Fathers” are sorely knocked about. As though this be -not enough, what must a felon hot shot do but set one of them ablaze! -The smoke fills the noses of Papa Plauche and his “Fathers,” and makes -them sneeze. It burns their eyes until the tears the “Fathers” shed -might make one think them engaged upon the very funeral of Papa Plauche -himself. - -In the tearful sneezing midst of this anguish, a vagrant flying flake -of cotton, all afire, explodes an ammunition wagon to the heroic rear of -Papa Plauche and the “Fathers,” and the shock is as the awful shock of -doom. - -The fortitude of Hercules would fail at such a pinch! Papa Plauche and -the “Fathers” actually and for the moment think on flight! But whither -shall they fly? They are caught between Satan and a deepest sea--the -ammunition wagon and the English! Also to the right, plying sponge and -rammer, are the pirate Barratarians who are as bad as the English! -While to the left is the General, who is worse than the ammunition -wagon. - -“It is written!” murmurs Papa Plauche; “our fate is sure! We must perish -where we stand!” Papa Plauche extends his hands, and cries: “Courage, -my heroes! Give your hearts to heaven, your fame to posterity, and show -history how 'Fathers of Families' can die!” From the cypress swamp a -last detachment of reënforcements emerges, and meets the beaten English -coming back. General Lambert, with the reënforcements, is shocked as he -reads their broken-hearted story in their eyes. “What is it, Colonel?” - he whispers to Colonel Dale of the Highlanders. “In heaven's name, what -stopped you?” - -“Bullets, mon!” returns the Scotchman. “Naught but bullets! The fire of -those de'ils in lang shirts wud 'a' stopped Caesar himsel'!” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY - - -BACK to his negroes and mules and carts and scrapers goes the General, -and sets them to renewed hard labor on those immortal mud walls which -he will never get too high. Those cotton bales, so distressing to -Papa Plauche and the “Fathers,” are eliminated, at which that paternal -commander breathes freer. The hunting-shirt men, with each going down -of the sun, resume their nighthawk parties, which swoop upon English -sentinels, taking lives and guns. - -The English themselves are a prey to dejection. The foe against whom -they war is so strange, so savage, so sleepless, so coldly inveterate! -Also those incessant night attacks sap their manhood. They build no -fires now, but sit in darkness through the nights. A fire is but the -attractive prelude to a shower of nocturnal lead, and the woefully -lengthening list of dead and wounded tells strongly against it. To even -light a cigar after dark is an approach to suicide; and so the English -wrap themselves in blackness--very miserable! Their earlier horror of -the hunting-shirt men is increased; for they have three times studied -backwoods marksmanship from the standpoint of targets, and the dumb -chill about their heart-roots is a testimony to its awful accuracy. - -The General, who reads humanity as astronomers read the heavens, is -not wanting in notions of the gloom which envelops the English like a -funeral pall. - -“Coffee,” says he, at one of those famous war councils of two, “in their -souls we have them beaten. They will fight again; but only from pride. -Their hope is gone, Coffee; we have broken their hearts.” - -The reports of the General's scouts teach him that the English will -put a force across the river. In anticipation, he dispatches Commodore -Patterson, with a mixed command of soldiers and sailors, to fortify -the west bank. Commodore Patterson emulates the General's four-foot -mud walls and throws up a redoubt of his own, mounting thereon twelve -eighteen-pounders taken from the Louisiana. - -He tries one on the English opposite. The result is gratifying; the gum -pitches a solid shot all across the Mississippi and into the English -lines. - -Eight days pass by in Indian file, and Sir Edward Pakenham with his -English feels that, for his safety as much as his honor, he must attack -the General, whose mud walls increase with each new sunset. The General -foresees this, and has reports of Sir Edward's movements brought him -every hour. - -On the morning of the eighth the General's scouts wake him at two -o'clock and say that the English are astir. He is instantly abroad; -the word goes down the line; by four o'clock every rifle is ready, each -hunting-shirt man at his post. - -The weak spot, the one at which Sir Edward will level his utmost force, -is where the General's line finds an end in the moss-hung cypress swamp. -It is there he stations the reliable Coffee with his hunting-shirt men. -To the rear, as a reserve, is General Adair with what Kentuckians the -good, unerring offices of those night-prowling hunting-shirt men have -armed at the red expense of the English. - -In the center is the redoubtable Papa Plauche and his “Fathers.” The -“Fathers” are between the pirates Dominique and Bluche and Captain -Humphries of the regular artillery. - -Papa Plauche is rejoiced at being thus thrust into the center. - -“For my heroes!” cries Papa Plauche, in a speech which he makes the -“Fathers,” the center is the heart--the home of honor! “On us, my -Fathers, devolves the main defense of our beloved city, where sleep our -wives and children. Wherefore, be brave as vigilant--vigilant as brave!” - -Papa Plauche's voice is husky, but not from fear. No, it is husky by -reason of a cold which, despite certain woolen nightcaps wherewith the -excellent Madam Plauche equipped him for the field, he has contracted in -sleeping damply among the stubble and the river fogs. - -Six hundred yards in front of the General's mud walls, and near the -river, are a huddle of plantation buildings. The English, he -argues, will mask a part of their advance with these structures. The -forethoughtful General prepares for this, and has furnaces heating shot, -to set those buildings blazing at the psychological moment. - -Also, in response to a comic cynicism not usual with him, he has out -the brass band of Papa Plauche, with instructions to strike up “Yankee -Doodle” as the first gun is fired. The band, in compliment to the -General, has been privily rehearsing “'Possum up a Gum Tree,” which -it understands is the national anthem of Tennessee, and offers to play -that. - -The General thanks the band, but declines “'Possum up a Gum Tree.” It -will not be understood by the English; whereas “Yankee Doodle” they have -known and loathed for forty years. - -“Give 'em 'Yankee Doodle,'” says the General. “Since they are so eager to -dance, we'll furnish the proper music.” - -Sir Edward is as soon afoot as is the General. He finds his English -steady yet dull; they will fight, but not with spirit. As the General -assured the conferring Coffee, the hunting-shirt men, with their long -rifles like wands of death, have broken the English heart. - -The English are to advance in three columns; General Keane on the right -with Rennie's Rifles, in the center Dale's Highlanders, on the left, -where the main attack is to be launched, General Gibbs, with three -thousand of the pride of England at his back. General Lambert is to hold -himself in the rear of General Gibbs, with two regiments as a reserve. -As the columns form, there are eighty-five hundred of the English; -against which the-General opposes a scanty thirty-two hundred. And -yet, upon those overpowering eighty-five hundred hangs a silence like a -sadness, as though they are about to go marching to their graves. - -The solemn fear in which the English hold the hunting-shirt men finds -pathetic evidence. As the columns wheel into position, Colonel Dale of -the Highlanders gives a letter and his watch to the surgeon. - -“Carry them to my wife,” says he. - -“I'll peel for no American!” and twenty-four hours later he is buried in -that cloak. - -The English stand to their arms, and wait the breaking of day. Slowly -the minutes drag their leaden length along; morning comes at last. - -With the first streaks of livid dawn, a Congreve rocket flashes skyward -from Sir Edward's headquarters. The rocket is the English signal to -advance. In a moment, General Gibbs, General Keane, and Colonel Dale -with his “praying” Highlanders are in motion. - -The signal rocket uncouples thousands upon thousands of fellow rockets; -the air is on fire with them as they blaze aloft in mighty arcs, to fall -and explode among the hunting-shirt men. - -“Toys for children, boys,” cries the General, as he observes -the hunting-shirt men watching the flaming shower with curious, -non-understanding eyes; “toys for children! They'll hurt no one!” - -The General is right. Those congreve rockets are supposed to be as -deadly as artillery. Like many another commodity of war, however, meant -primarily to fatten contractors, they prove as innocuous as so many -huge fireflies. The hunting-shirt men laugh at them. The battery of -eighteen-pounders, wherewith the English second that flight of rockets, -is a more serious affair. - -As the sun shoots up above the cypress swamp and rolls back the mists -of morning, the English make a gallant picture. The dull yellow of the -stubble in front of the General's line is gay with splotches of red and -gray and green and tartan, the colors of the various English corps. - -The hunting-shirt men, however, are not given much space for admiration; -for, with one grand crash, the big guns go into action and the -red-green-gray-tartan picture is swallowed up in powder smoke. Also, -it is now that Papa Plauche's band blares forth “Yankee Doodle,” while -those anticipatory hot shot set fire to the plantation buildings. As the -latter burst out at door and window in smoke and flames, Colonel Rennie -and his riflemen are driven into the open. The conflagration gets much -in the English way, and spoils the drill-room nicety of Sir Edward's -onset as he has it planned. - -Colonel Rennie, being capable of brisk decision, makes the best of a -disconcerting situation. When the flames and smoke from those fired -plantation buildings drive him into the open before he is ready, he -promptly orders a charge. This his riflemen obey; for the inexorable -Patterson, across the river, is already upon them with those -eighteen-pounders, and his solid shot are mowing ghastly swaths through -the rifle-green ranks, tossing dead men in the air like old bags. With -so little inducement to stand still, the riflemen hail that word to -charge as a relief, and head for the General's mud walls at double -quick. - -The oncoming Colonel Rennie and his English are met full in the face by -a tempest of grape, from Major Humphrey and the pirates Dominique and -Bluche, which throws them backward upon themselves. They bunch up -and clot into lumps of disorder, like clumps of demoralized sheep in -rifle-green. At that, Commodore Patterson serves his eighteen-pounders -with multiplied speed, and the great balls tear those sheep-clumps to -pieces, staining with crimson the rifle-green. The English marvel at -the artillery work of the General's men, whose every shot comes on, well -aimed and low, bringing death in its whistling wake. - -They should reflect: The theory, not to say the eye, which aims a -squirrel rifle will point a cannon. - -Colonel Rennie, when his English recoil, keeps on--face red with grief -and rage. - -“It's my time to die!” says he to Captain Henry. “But before I die, I -shall at least see the inside of those mud walls.” - -Colonel Rennie is wrong. A bullet finds his brain as he lifts his head -above the breastworks, and he slips back dead in the ditch outside. -Major King and Captain Henry die with him, pierced each by a handful of -bullets. - -When the English flinch and Colonel Rennie falls, the bugler--a boy of -fourteen--climbs a tree, not one hundred yards from the General's line. -Perched among the branches, he sounds his dauntless charges. The General -gives orders to let the boy alone. And so the little bugler, protected -by the word of the General, sings his shrill onsets to the last. - -Finally an artillery-man goes out to him. - -“Come down, my son!” says the cannoneer. “The war's about over!” - -The little bugler comes down, and is at once taken to the fatherly heart -of Papa Plauche, who declares him to be a sucking Hector, and is for -adopting him as his son on the spot, but is restrained by thoughts of -Madam Plauche. - -Sir Edward's main assault, with General Gibbs, meets no fairer fortune -than falls to Colonel Rennie by the river. Confusion prevails on the -threshold of the movement; for Colonel Mullins with his Forty-fourth -refuses to go forward. Later he will be courtmartialed, and dismissed in -disgrace. Just now, however, the recreant makes a shameful tangle of -the English van. As a quickest method of setting the tangle straight, -General Gibbs, as did Colonel Rennie, orders a charge. The column moves -forward, the mutinous Forty-fourth on the right flank, led by its major. - -General Gibbs advances, brushing with the shoulder of his corps, -the cypress swamp. Behind the mud walls in his front, the steady -hunting-shirt men are waiting. The General is there, to give the latter -patience and hold them in even check. - -“Easy, boys!” he cries. “Remember your ranges! Don't fire until they are -within two hundred yards!” - -On rush the English. At six hundred yards they are met by the fire of -the artillery. They heed it not, but press sullenly forward, closing up -the gaps in their ranks, where the solid shot go crashing through, as -fast as made. Five hundred yards, four hundred, three hundred! Still -they come! Two hundred yards! - -And now the hunting-shirt men! A line of fire unending glances from -right to left and left to right, along the crest of those mud walls, and -Death begins his reaping. The head of the English column burns away, as -though thrust into a furnace! The column wavers and welters like a red -ship in a murky sea of smoke! It pauses, falteringly--disdaining to fly, -yet unable to advance! - -“Forward, men!” shouts General Gibbs. “This is the way you should go!” - -As he points with his sword to those terrible mud walls, he falls -riddled by the hunting-shirt men. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--THE SLAUGHTER AMONG THE STUBBLE - - -WHEN the main advance begins, Sir Edward is in the center with the -Highlanders. The latter are not to move until he has word of their -success from General Keane with Rennie's rifle corps, and General Gibbs -with the main column--the one by the river and the other by the cypress -swamp. He has not long to wait; a courier dashes up from the river--eye -haggard, disorder in his look! - -“General Keane?” cries Sir Edward, his apprehension on edge. - -“Fallen!” returns the courier hoarsely. - -“And Rennie?” - -“Dead. The Rifles are in full retreat!” Sir Edward stands like one -stricken. Then he pulls himself together. - -“Bring on your Highlanders!” he cries to Colonel Dale. “We must force -their lines in front of General Gibbs. It is our only chance!” - -Sir Edward dashes across to General Gibbs, in the shadow of that -significant cypress swamp. He sees General Gibbs go down! He sees -the red column torn and twisted by that storm of lead which the -hunting-shirt men unloose. - -As the English reel away from those low-flying messengers of death, Sir -Edward seeks to rally them. - -“Are you Englishmen?” he cries. “Have you but marched upon a battlefield -to stain the glory of your flag?” - -Sir Edward's gesticulating arm falls, smashed by a bullet from some -sharp-shooting hunting-shirt man. He seems not to know his hurt! He is -on fire with the thought that those honors, won upon forty fields, -are to be wrested from him by a “Copper Captain,” backed by a mob of -peasants in buckskin! He rushes among the shaken English to check the -panic which is seizing them! - -The Highlanders come up! - -“Hurrah! brave Highlanders!” he shouts. - -At Sir Edward's welcoming shout, Colonel Dale waves a salute! It is his -last; the huntingshirt men are upon him with those unerring rifles, and -he falls dead before his General's eyes. Coincident with the fall of his -beloved Dale, Sir Edward is struck by a second bullet. It enters near -the heart. As his aide catches him in his arms, he beckons feebly to Sir -John Tylden. - -“Call up Lambert with the reserves!” he whispers. - -As he lies supported in the arms of his aide, a third bullet puffs out -his lamp of life, and England loses a second Sir Philip Sidney. - -The main column falls into renewed disorder! It begins to retreat; -the retreat becomes a rout! Only the Highlanders stay! They cannot go -forward; they will not go back! There they stand rooted, until five -hundred and forty of their nine hundred and fifty are shot down. - -As the main column breaks, Major Wilkinson turns to Lieutenant Lavack. - -“This is too much disgrace to take home!” says he. - -Like Colonel Rennie, a mile away by the river, Major Wilkinson charges -the mud walls. Lieutenant Lavack, sharing his feelings, shares with him -that desperate, disgrace-defying charge. Through the singing, droning -“zip! zip!” of the bullets, they press on! They reach the ditch, and -splash through! Up the mud walls they swarm! Major Wilkinson falls -inside, dead, three times shot through and through! Lieutenant -Lavack, with a luck that is like a charm, lands in the midst of the -hunting-shirt men without a scratch! They receive him hilariously, -offer whisky and compliments, and assure him that they like his style. -Lieutenant Lavack accepts the whisky and the compliments, and gains -distinction as the one live Englishman over the General's mud walls this -January day. - -The field is swept of hostile English; all is silent in front, and not -a shot is heard. Now when the firing is wholly on one side, the General -passes the word for the hunting-shirt men to cease. - -The hard-working Coffee comes up, face a-smudge of powder stains; for he -has been taking his turn with a rifle, like any other hunting-shirt man. -He finds the General as drunk on battle as some folk are on brandy. - -“They can't beat us, Coffee!” cries the General, wringing his friend's -big hand. “By the living Eternal they can't beat us!” - -The General unslings his ramshackle telescope, and leaps upon the mud -walls for a survey of the field. The less curious Coffee devotes himself -to wiping the sweat and powder smudges from his face. His impromptu -toilet results only in unhappy smears, which make him resemble an -overgrown sweep. He looks at his watch. - -“Sharp, short work!” he mutters, as he notes that they have been -fighting but twenty-five minutes. - -[Illustration: 0235] - -Those plantation buildings are still blazing, no more than half-burned -down, and the smoke hides the scene toward the river. The General turns -his ramshackle spyglass upon his immediate front. The ground is fairly -carpeted with dead English. As he gazes he calls to Colonel Coffee, who -is now broadening the powder smears ingeniously with the sleeve of his -hunting shirt. - -“Jump up here, Coffee!” cries the General. “It's like resurrection day!” - -Thus urged, Colonel Coffee abandons his attempts to improve his looks, -and joins the General on the mud walls. He is in time to behold four -hundred odd Highlanders scramble to their brogues among those five -hundred and forty who will never march again, and come forward to -surrender. - -It has been a hot and bloody morning. Of those six thousand whom Sir -Edward takes into action--for the reserves with General Lambert are -never within range--over twenty-one hundred are fallen. Seven hundred -and thirty are killed as they stand in their ranks; and of the fourteen -hundred marked “wounded,” more than six hundred are to die within the -week. Among the twenty-one hundred killed and wounded, sixteen hundred -go to swell the red record of the dire hunting-shirt men. - -The two attacks, being at the ends of the General's lines, involve no -more than two-thirds of his thirty-two hundred. Papa Plauche's “Fathers” - in the center, as well as General Adair's Kentuckians who act as -reserves, are merest spectators. - -That his “Fathers” are not called upon to fire a shot, in no wise -depresses Papa Plauche. He harangues his brave followers, and eloquently -explains: - -“It is because of your sanguinary fame, my heroes!” vociferates Papa -Plauche. “The English knew your position, and avoided you. They went as -far to the right and to the left as they could, to escape that -destruction you else would have infallibly meted out to them. Ah! my -'Fathers,' see what it is to have a terrible name! You must sit idle in -battle, because no foe dare engage you! Be comforted, my glorious -heroes! Achilles could have done no more!” - -Colonel Coffee, still busy with the powder smears, calls the General's -attention to an English group of three, made up of a colonel, a bugler, -and a soldier bearing a white flag. The trio halt six hundred respectful -yards away. The bugler sounds a fanfare; the soldier waves his white -flag. - -The General dispatches Colonel Butler with two captains to receive -their message. It is a note signed “Lambert,” asking an armistice of -twenty-four hours to bury the dead. - -“Who is Lambert?” asks the General, and sends to the English colonel, -with his bugler and white flag, to find out. - -The three presently return; this time the note is signed “John Lambert, -Commander-in-Chief.” The alteration proves to the General's liking, and -the armistice is arranged. - -The seven hundred and thirty dead English are buried where they fell. -Thereafter the superstitious blacks will defy lash and torture rather -than plow the land where they lie. It will raise no more sugar cane; but -in time a cypress grove will sorrowfully cover it, as though in mournful -memory of those who sleep beneath. The General carries his own dead to -the city. They are not many, four dead and four wounded being the limit -of his loss. - -General Lambert and the beaten English go wallowing, hip-deep, through -the swamps to their boats. They will not fight again. The booming of -the batteries, or mayhap the unusual warmth of the sun, has roused from -their winter beds a scaly host of alligators. These saurians uplift -their hideous heads and gaze sleepily, yet inquisitively, at the -wallowing retreating English. Now and then one widely yawns, and the -spectacle sends an icy thrill along what English spines bear witness to -it. - -In the end the beaten English are all departed. That tremendous invasion -which, with “Beauty and Booty!” for its cry, sailed out of Negril Bay -six weeks before to the sack of New Orleans, is abandoned, and the -last defeated man jack once more aboard the ships and mighty glad to be -there. The fleet sails south and east; but not until the tallest ship is -hull down in the horizon does the General march into New Orleans. - -The General cannot bring himself to believe that the retreat of the -English is genuine. They have still, as they sail away, full thirteen -thousand fighting men aboard those ships, with a round one thousand -cannon, and munitions and provisions for a year's campaign. He judges -them by himself, and will not be convinced that they have fled. With -this on his mind, he plants his pickets far and wide, and insists on -double vigilance. - -Now when fear of the English is rolled like a stone from their breasts, -the folk of New Orleans fret under the General's iron rule. With that -the prudent General tightens his grip. Even so excellent a soldier -as Papa Plauche complains. He says that the hearts of the “Fathers -of Families” are bursting with victory. His valiant “Fathers” burn to -express their joy. - -The General suggests that the joy-swollen “Fathers” repair to the -Cathedral, and hear the Abbé Duborg conduct a _Te Deum_. - -Papa Plauche points out that, while a _Te Deum_ is all very well in -its way, it is a rite and not a festival. What his “Fathers”--who are -thunderbolts of war!--desire is to give a ball. - -The General says that he has no objections to the ball. - -Papa Plauche explains that a ball is not possible, with the city held -fast in the controlling coils of military law. The rule that all lights -must be out at nine o'clock, of itself forbids a ball. As affairs stand -the “Fathers” are helpless in their happiness. No one may dance by -daylight; that would be too fantastic, too bizarre! And yet who, -pray, can rejoice in the dark? It is against human nature, argues Papa -Plauche. - -The General refuses to be moved; but continues to hold the city in his -unrelenting clutch--maintaining the while a wary eye for sly returning -English, with an occasional glance at the local treason which is -simmering about him. - -The public murmur grows louder and deeper. A rumor of the peace comes -ashore, no one knows how. The General refuses the rumor, fearing an -English ruse to throw him off his guard. At the peace whisper, the -popular discontent increases. The General, in the teeth of it, remains -unchanged. - -Citizen Hollander expresses himself with more heat than prudence. The -General locks up the vituperative Citizen Hollander. M. Toussand, Consul -for France, considers such action high-handed; and says so. The General -marches Consul Toussand out of town, with a brace of bayonets at the -consular back. Legislator Louaillier protests against the casting out -of Consul Toussand. The General consigns the protesting Legislator -Louaillier to a cell in the calaboose. Jurist Hall of the District Court -issues a writ of habeas corpus for the relief and release of the captive -Louaillier. The General responds by arresting Jurist Hall, who is given -a cell between captives Louaillier and Hollander, where by raising his -voice he may condole with them through the intervening stone walls. - -Thus are affairs arranged when official notice of the peace reaches the -General from Washington. Instantly he withdraws his grip from the -city, restores the civil rule, and releases from captivity Jurist Hall, -Citizen Hollander, and Legislator Louaillier. - -Upon the disappearance of martial law, Papa Plauche, with his immortal -“Fathers of Families,” gives that ball of victory, the exiled Consul -Toussand creeps back into town, while Jurist Hall signalizes his -restoration to the woolsack by fining the General one thousand dollars -for contempt of court--which he pays. - -The Legislature, guards withdrawn from its treasonable doors, expands -into lawmaking. Its earliest action is a resolution of thanks for their -brave defense of the city to officers Coffee, Carroll, Hinds, Adair, -and Patterson. The Legislature pointedly does not thank the General, who -grins dryly. - -Colonel Coffee, upon receiving the vote of thanks, writes a letter of -acknowledgment, in which he intimates his opinions of the General, the -Legislature, and himself. This missive is a remarkable outburst on the -part of Colonel Coffee, who fights more easily than he writes, and shows -how he is stirred to his hunting-shirt depths. - -Through the clouds of pestiferous jurists and treason-hatching -legislators descends a grand burst of sunshine. The blooming Rachel, as -unlooked for as an angel, joins her gaunt hero in New Orleans, and the -General forgets alike his triumphs and his troubles. - -Papa Plauche--foremost in peace as in war--at once seizes on the advent -of the blooming Rachel to give another ball. The whole city attends the -function; the heroic “Fathers” in full panoply and very splendid. The -band plays “'Possum up a Gum Tree,” in the execution whereof it soars to -vainest heights. - -Papa Plauche dances with the blooming Rachel. The General unbuckles in -certain intricate breakdowns, with which he challenged admiration in -those days long ago when he was the beau of old Salisbury and read law -with Spruce McCay. The “Fathers” are not only edified but excited by the -General's dancing; for he dances as he fights, violently. - -Colonel Coffee, not being a dancing man, goes looking about him. He -discovers a flower-piece, prepared by Papa Plauche, that is like unto a -piece of flattery, and spells “Jackson and Victory!” in deepest red and -green. He shows it to the General, who suggests that if Papa Plauche -had made it “Hickory and Victory!” it would mean the same, and save the -euphony. - -While the blooming Rachel, the General, the non-dancing Coffee, and the -ardent Papa Plauche, with the beauty and chivalry of New Orleans about -them, are at the ball, Colonel Burr, gray and bent and cynical, is -talking with his friend Swartwout in far-away New York. - -“It was a glorious, a most convincing victory!” exclaims Mr. Swartwout. -“President Madison cannot do the General too much honor. He has saved -the country!” - -“He has saved,” returns the ironical Colonel Burr, “what President -Madison holds in much greater esteem. He has saved the Madison -administration!” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--ODDS AND ENDS OF TIME - - -THE General, the blooming Rachel by his side, takes up his homeward -journey. Now when they are on their way and a world has time to observe -them, it is to be noted that changes have befallen with the lengthened -flight of time. The eye of the blooming Rachel is as liquidly black and -deep, her hair as raven-blue, her cheek as round as on a rearward day -when she won the heart of that bottle-green beau from old Salisbury. The -alteration is in her form, which has grown plump and full and stout in -these her matronly middle years. As to the bottle-green beau, his sandy -hair is deeply shot with iron-gray, while his features show haggard, -and seamed of care. To the inquiring eye he looks at once dangerous and -rusty, like an old sword. His form, always spare, is more emaciated than -ever. The last is due in part to those Benton bullets, and the Dickinson -shot fired in that poplar, May-sweet wood on a certain Kentucky morning. -Besides, one is not to forget those southern swamps, which have never -had fame for building a man up. As the General, with his blooming -Rachel, draws near home, the whole Cumberland country rushes forth to -greet him. - -From that earliest day when Time began swinging his scythe in the -meadows of humanity, mankind has owned but two ways of honoring a hero. -One is the “parade,” the other is the “dinner.” In the one instance, -half the people march in the middle of the street, while the remaining -half line the curbs and look on. In the other, which has the merit of -exclusion, a select great few set a board with meat and drink; and then, -installing the hero where all may see, they bombard him with toasts and -speeches and applause. All attend the “parade” since it is free. Few -avoid the dinner, because, besides the honor and the honoring, it -affords lawful occasion for being drunk--a manifest advantage to many -in a strait-laced community. The General when he arrives in Nashville is -exhaustively “paraded” and deeply “dined.” Also he is given a sword. - -Now, having been “paraded” and “dined,” and with honors thick upon him, -the General sets about his duties as a major general in days of peace. -General Adair and he have a letter-quarrel concerning the courage of -Kentuckians. General Scott and he have a letter-quarrel on grounds more -personal. As the upshot of the latter correspondence, the General -evinces an eagerness to shoot his over-epauletted opponent at ten paces, -oiling up the saw-handles to that hopeful end, but is balked by the -over-epauletted one, who declines on grounds of piety and patriotism. - -[Illustration: 0251] - -While the General is fuming with ink and paper against those -distinguished warriors, he cools at intervals sufficiently to build -the blooming Rachel a little church. The blooming Rachel is a devout -Presbyterian; and, while the General is far too busy with this world to -think much on the next, she prevails with him--for he never says “No” to -her--to put her up a church. It is not much bigger than a drygoods box; -but there are forty pews, besides a pulpit for Parson Blackburn, and -the blooming Rachel is supremely happy. She owns to some illogical -impression that, should the General build a church, he'll “join.” In -this she goes wrong; for the General only builds. - -The General mounts his horse, and rides to Washington. He meets Mr. -Jefferson in Lynchburg, and that aged fine gentleman and maker of -constitutions is struck by the graceful manners of the General, who has -become all ease and polish where once he was as rough as a woods' colt. -In Washington he is much feted and feasted, and the trump of celebration -is tireless to sound his name. He gets back home in time to put a roof -on the blooming Rachel's almost finished church, and listen to Parson -Blackburn's dedicatory sermon. - -The Red Stick Creeks from across the Florida line take to marauding and -murdering in Southern Georgia, and the General decides to see about it. -He sends an officer, with a force of men, to reduce Negro Fort on the -Appalachicola. In giving that officer his instructions, the General -expands touching the military virtues of red-hot shots; and with such -satisfactory results that the first one fired at Negro Fort blows it to -ruins, and with it three hundred and thirty-one of the three hundred and -thirty-four blacks and reds who infest it. Three crawl from the blazing -chaos, to be hilariously knocked on the head by friendly Creeks, who -have attended the expedition with that fond hope and purpose. The world -is much rejoiced at the demolition of Negro Fort; since murder and -pillage have been the one business of its robber garrison, and the -fire-torture of prisoners their one amusement. - -The General presently appears at the head of his hunting-shirt men, and -destroys the village of Chief Billy Bowlegs on the oft-sung Suwannee -River. Then he takes St. Marks from the feeble Spaniards, and arrests a -brace of conspiring English, Ambrister and Arbuthnot. The arrested ones -have come across from the Bahamas, bringing English guns and lead -and powder and promises to the hostile blacks and reds; and all in -accordance with that policy, dear to England, of preferring bloodshed -by proxy to shedding blood herself. The General hangs conspirator -Arbuthnot, and shoots conspirator Ambrister; while England, in -accordance with a second policy as dear as the first, disavows them -both. - -The General goes on to Pensacola. Here he hauls down the flag of Spain, -runs up the stars and stripes, drives out the Spanish Governor, and -installs one of his own with a garrison to back him. Having executed -conspirators Ambrister and Arbuthnot, he now seizes on two -Creek-Seminole chiefs and hangs them, to preserve, so to speak, a racial -equilibrium. Having thus wound up the Spanish, the English, the negroes -and the Indians in Florida, the General returns to his home, serene in -the sense of duty well performed. - -The General's serenity is misplaced; trouble breaks out in Washington. -Mr. Monroe is President, and Statesmen Clay and Crawford and Calhoun -and Adams desire to be. The quartette last named suspect in the -General--about whom a responsive public is running mad--a growing -rival. They decide to cripple him in the very cradle of his White House -prospects. If they do not he may grow up to snatch from them the -crown. Moved of this high thought, they charge the General with waging -unauthorized war; and with invading Spanish territory, we at peace -with Spain. They call him a “murderer” for snuffing out conspirators -Ambrister and Arbuthnot and those superfluous Creek-Seminole chiefs. -Also, giving a moral snuffle, they demand that he be courtmartialed and -cashiered. - -President Monroe shakes his head at the conniving quartette, replying as -on a somewhat similar occasion did the Russian Catherine: - -“We never punish conquerors.” - -The General by the Cumberland hears of these weird doings in Washington, -and again rides over the mountains. His object is to discover, by -personal observation, who in his case, are the sheep and who the goats, -and separate in his own mind his friends from his enemies. Upon his -arrival the General finds himself an issue of politics. As such he is -voted upon by Congress, which affirms heavily in his favor. The people -have long ago decided in his favor; and Congress, ever quick to locate -the butter on its bread, sharply follows the popular example. Statesman -Clay and others among the General's foes express themselves freely to -his disadvantage. However, the General expresses himself freely to their -disadvantage, and profound judges of vituperation say that he has the -sulphurous best of the exchange. - -Being upheld by Congress, and having freed his mind touching his foes, -the General goes to Baltimore and Philadelphia, and is extravagantly -wined and dined. Then he proceeds to New York, where Fitz Greene Halleck -and Joseph Rodman Drake write doggerel at him in the _Evening Post_; -and where, also, he is “paraded” and “dinner”--honored to a degree -which lays all former “parading” and “dinner”--honoring, by less fervent -communities, deep within the shade. - -Spain cedes Florida to the United States; just as she would cede a bad -hot penny that, besides being worthless, is burning her fingers. The -President appoints the General governor of the new domain. Whereupon the -new Governor lays down his Major General's commission, bids farewell to -the army, and journeys south. He does not relish being Governor; and, -after locking up his Spanish predecessor for stealing divers papers of -state, and expatriating a scandalous bevy whose talk sounds like treason -to his sensitive ear, he resigns. - -When the General gets back to the Cumberland country, he finds that his -former quartermaster, Major Lewis, has decided to send him to the White -House. The General is mightily taken aback, and declares himself unfit. -Major Lewis retorts that he is far more fit than any of his quartette -of Washington enemies, laying especial emphasis on Statesman Clay. The -accurate force of the retort strikes the General wordless. - -Major Lewis is rich, wise, cunning, cool, college-bred, and eighteen -years younger than the General. He is a born manager, a natural -wire-puller, and can play politics by ear as some folk play the fiddle. -Congenitally a Warwick, he prefers making a President to being one, and -would sooner hold a baby than hold an office. - -Major Lewis seizes on the General as so much raw material wherefrom to -construct a President. As a best method of having his man on the ground, -he gives a hint, and the Tennessee Legislature sends the General to -Washington as Senator. The blooming Rachel accompanies him; they live at -a tavern in Pennsylvania Avenue called the “Indian Queen.” - -This caravansary is kept by one O'Neal, who has a pretty daughter -Peg. Later the pretty Peg will dissolve a Cabinet, make Mr. Van Buren -President, and come within an ace of getting Mr. Calhoun hanged. All -this, however, is in the unpierced future. The blooming, childless -Rachel makes a pet of pretty Peg; which rivets the latter forever in the -good regards of the General, who loves what the blooming Rachel loves. - -Major Lewis proves a wizard of politics. Under his quiet legerdemain, -here and there and everywhere political fires break forth in favor of -the General. They break forth in North Carolina, in Pennsylvania, in New -York; and, so deft and secret is his work, none suspects Wizard Lewis as -the incendiary. Wizard Lewis is counseled by Colonel Burr who, like some -old gray fox, sits in the mouth of his New York law-burrow in Nassau -Street, peering out at events as they pass. - -In these days, the lion-faced Webster writes his brother: - -“His (the General's) manners are more presidential than those of any -of the candidates. He is grave, mild, and reserved. My wife is for him -decidedly.” - -There are four candidates for the White House, _vide, licet_, the -General, and Statesmen Adams and Crawford and Clay. The popular vote -falls in the order given, with the General a long flight shot ahead of -Statesman Adams, who is next on the list. And yet, while far in advance -of the others, the General is without that electoral majority required -by the Constitution, and the choice is thrown into the House of -Representatives. - -Statesman Clay is now out of the running; for the President must be -chosen from among the three candidates having the highest electoral -vote, and he is fourth and lowest. Statesman Crawford, who ranks third, -is also out. He is stricken of paralysis; and, while this wins him -sympathy, it loses him White House strength. The fight is to be between -the General and Statesman Adams. - -While Statesman Clay is out of the coil, so far as any personal chance -of becoming the House selection is concerned, he is in it decisively in -another fashion. As a chief force in the House, he holds that important -body in the hollow of his hand; and, while he cannot be its choice, -he can control its choice. He controls it for Statesman Adams, on -the underground understanding that he, Statesman Clay, shall sit at -Statesman Adams' right hand as Secretary of State. Statesman Clay hopes -to run presidentially another day, and thinks to make his calling and -election sure while head of the Cabinet of Statesman Adams. As events -forge and fuse themselves in the blast furnaces of the future, it will -be discovered that in thus opining Statesman Clay falls into grievous -error. - -It is four o'clock in the afternoon when the Clay-guided House counts -Statesman Adams into a Presidency. Five hours afterward the General -meets Statesman Adams in the East Room, where both are in attendance -upon the last reception of outgoing President Munroe. The contrast -between them tells in the General's favor. There is no gloom of -disappointment on his brow, no cloud of defeat in his hawkish blue eyes. -The General has a lady on his arm. He greets Statesman Adams gracefully -and extends his hand: - -“How is Mr. Adams?” cries he. “I give you my left hand, sir, since my -right is devoted to the fair.” - -Statesman Adams is a diplomat, and used to courts and salons. The -General is of the wilderness and its battlefields. And yet the General -shines out the more polished of the two. Statesman Adams takes the -extended hand; but he does it awkwardly, backwardly, and with a wooden -manner, as though his deportment is seized of some sudden, bashful -stiffness of the joints. At last he manages to say: - -“Very well, sir! I hope you are well!” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--THE KILLING EDGE OF SLANDER - - -WIZARD LEWIS boldly re-begins his work of White House capturing. He -becomes busy to the elbows in the General's destinies before Statesman -Adams is inaugurated. When the latter names Statesman Clay to be his -Secretary of State, Wizard Lewis lays bare the deal which thus exalts -the Kentuckian. He raises the cry of “Bargain and Corruption!” and the -public takes it up. Statesman Adams and Statesman Clay are pilloried as -conspirators who have wronged the General of a Presidency, and the State -portfolio in the hands of Statesman Clay is pointed to as proof. The -General writes the blooming Rachel, just now at home by the Cumberland: - -“The Judas of the West has closed the contract and received the thirty -pieces of silver.” Statesman Clay defends himself badly. He declares -that he objects to the General's White House ambitions only because he -is a “Military Chieftain.” He speaks as though the world knows that a -“Military Chieftain” will make a perilous Chief Magistrate. The world -knows nothing of the sort; the cry of “Bargain and Corruption” gains -head. - -In retort to that arraignment of being a “Military Chieftain”--made as -if the phrase be merely another name for “buccaneer”--the General writes -the old friendly fox, Colonel Burr: - -“It is not strange that he (Statesman Clay) should indulge himself in -such reasoning, since it comes somewhat to his own personal defense. Our -blue-grass Secretary has been ever remarkable for his caution, to give -it a no worse name, and has not yet risked himself for his country, or -moved from safe repose to repel an invading foe.” - -The General is not the only one who comments upon the astounding -copartnership in politics and policies between Statesman Adams and -Statesman Clay. John Randolph, of Roanoke, remarks concerning it, from -his bitter place in the Senate: - -“Sir, it is a coming together of the puritan and the blackleg--Blifil -and Black George!” - -This view seems hugely to excite Statesman Clay, and he challenges the -picturesque Randolph to a duel by Little Falls. They meet; but, since -both are at pains to miss, no good comes of it. - -[Illustration: 0267] - -Wizard Lewis goes teaching the General's merits in every State of the -Union. In his White House siege, Wizard Lewis receives his best help -from Statesman Adams himself. - -The latter publicist is a personage of ice-cold ideas, and lists -ingratitude at the top of the virtues. There be folk--descended, -doubtless, of ancestors that heated the pincers and turned the -thumbikins, and worked the straining rack for the Inquisitions as mere -day laborers at torture--who delight in doing mean, hateful, punishing -things to their fellow mortals, if they may but call such doing “duty.” - They will weep hypocritically while burning a victim, and aver, -between sobs, that they pile the fagots and apply the torch only from -a “sternest conviction of duty.” The word “duty,” like the venom of -a serpent, is ever in their mouths; by it they break hearts, destroy -hopes, create blackness, blot out light, forbid happiness, foster grief, -and plant pain in breasts innocent of every crime save that of helping -them. Statesman Adams--heart as hollow as a bell and quite as brazen--is -one of these. He demonstrates his purity by refusing his obligations, -and proves himself great by turning his back on his friends. Made up of -a multitude of littlenesses, he offers no trait of breadth or bigness -as an offset. He is not wise; he is not brave; he is not generous; he -is not--even in wrongdoing--original. He will guide by some maxim; or -he will permit himself to be posed by a proverb; and, while ever -breathlessly respectable, he is never once right. As President he -proposes for himself an inhuman goodness, and declares that he will -remove no one from office on “account of politics”--a catch phrase which -has protected incompetency in place in every age. - -Although he is so fond of them, Statesman Adams, in taking the latter -snow-white position, overlooks an aphorism that will be vital while time -lasts. He forgets that “The President who makes no removals will himself -be removed.” - -“Strike, lest you be stricken!” murmured Queen Elizabeth, as seizing the -pen she signed the warrant of block and axe for Scottish Mary, and it -might be well and wise for Statesman Adams to wear in constant mind that -illustrious example. - -The thought is vain. Statesman Adams ignores his friends, consults -his foes, and offers a base picture of the ungrateful that draws the -public's honest wrath his way. Wizard Lewis is no one to miss such -opportunities to upbuild the General's fortunes at the expense of the -enemy; and so the General grows each day stronger, while Statesman -Adams--who hopes to succeed himself--owns less and less of strength. - -The currents of time flow swiftly now, and four years go by--four years -wherein the old friendly far-seeing fox, Colonel Burr, in his Nassau -Street burrow, teaches the General's leaders intrigue as a pedagogue -teaches the alphabet to his pupils. And day after day the purblind -Adams, with the purblind Clay at the elbow of his hopes and fears, sets -traps against his own prospects, and does his unwitting best or worst to -destroy himself. Then comes the canvass: the General against Statesman -Adams, who courts a reelection. - -The moment the rival forces march upon the field, the dullest marks -the superiority of the General's. With that, Statesman Clay--in the war -saddle for Statesman Adams, whose battle is his battle and whose defeat -means his downfall--loses his head. He accuses the General of every -offense except that of theft, calls him every name save that of coward. -The accusations fail; the epithets fall harmless to the ground; the -people know, and draw the closer about the General's standards. -The latter's popularity rises as might a hurricane, and sweeps away -opposition like down of thistles! - -Statesman Clay becomes frantic. Possessed as by a demon, he issues -instructions to assail the blooming Rachel. His hound-pack obey the -call. From that moment the General's marriage is the issue. He is -charged with “stealing another's wife,” and every shaft of mendacious -villification is shot against the unoffending bosom of the blooming -Rachel. Those are fire-swept moments of anguish for the General, -who feels the pain the more, since his hands are tied against what -saw-handle methods silenced the dead Dickinson one May Kentucky morning -in that poplar wood. - -The blooming Rachel, for her wronged part, says never a word. She goes -the oftener to the little church, but that is all. And yet, while she -seems so resigned and patient beneath the slandrous lash, the thong is -biting always to her soul's source. - -The election takes place, and now the people speak. They set the -grinding heel of their anger upon those slanders; they throw down that -ladder of lies by which Statesman Adams hopes to climb. Wizard Lewis, -Burr-guided, foils Statesman Clay at every point; the General rides down -Statesman Adams like a coach and six. - -New England is tribal and narrow, with the reeking taint of old -Federalism in its veins; it gives itself for Statesman Adams, unredeemed -save by a single district in Maine. There, indeed, rises up one -electoral vote for the General. It shows in the gray waste of Adams -sentiment about it, like a green tree and a fountain against the gray -wastes of Sahara. New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland follow in New England's -dreary wake for Statesman Adams; while New York gives him sixteen -electoral votes out of thirty-six. That offers the round circumference -of his Clay-collected strength--an electoral vote of eighty-three! - -For the General, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, -Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois -go headlong; while New York gives him twenty electoral votes, with -Tennessee his own by a popular count of twenty for one. Statesman Clay, -as a retort to the slanders he fulminated, beholds his own State -of Kentucky reject him, and aid in swelling those one hundred and -seventy-eight electoral votes which declare for the General. The world -at large, seated by its fireside and sagely thumbing those returns -of one hundred and seventy-eight for the General against a meager -eighty-three for Statesman Adams, finds therein a stunning rebuke to -both the ambitions and the methods of Statesman Clay. - -When word of the General's election reaches the blooming Rachel, she -smiles wearily and says: - -“For the General's sake I'm glad! For myself I never wished it.” - -Now that the war of the votes is over and the General victor, mankind -relaxes into its customary dinners and parades. The Cumberland good -people resolve to outparade all former parades, outdine all former -dinners. They engage themselves with tremendous gala preparations. It -shall be a time when oxen are eaten whole, and whisky is drunk by the -barrel. - -The day set apart as sacred to the coming parade, and that dinner yet to -be devoured, breaks brightly full of promise. There is never a cloud in -the Cumberland sky, never a care on the Cumberland heart. In a moment -all is reversed!--light gives way to blackness, happiness to grief! Like -a bolt from a heaven smiling, the word descends that the blooming Rachel -lies dead. The word is true. The monstrous weight of slander heaped upon -it breaks her gentle heart. - -[Illustration: 0275] - -They bury the blooming Rachel at the foot of the garden where her -best-loved flowers grow. The General is ten years older in a night; the -tall form, yesterday as straight as a lance, is bent and broken. The -blue eyes, once hawklike, are dimmed with tears. Friends come to press -his hand--he chokes and cannot speak! But the awful agony of his soul is -written in the sweat drops on his wrung brow. - -As the General stands by the grave that is smothering for him all the -song and the sweet sunshine of life, the ever-faithful, never-failing -Coffee is by his side. The poor General reaches blindly out and takes -hold of the rough, big, loyal hand for support. His beloved Coffee, who -flanked the Red Stick Creeks for him at the Horseshoe and held his low -mud walls against England's boast and best at New Orleans, will not -fail him now in this his sternest trial by the graveside of the blooming -Rachel. - -The General, doubly quiet, doubly stern, issues forth of that ordeal -another man. He is as one who lives because it is his duty, and not -for love of life. Plainly, his hopes like his heart are buried with the -blooming Rachel. In his soul he lays her death to the doors of Statesman -Adams and Statesman Clay; throughout the years to follow he will never -forget nor forgive. To the end he will cultivate his hatred of them, and -tend it as he might a flower. Time cannot remold him in this belief; and -a decade later he will say to his friend Lewis, while his eye flashes -like some sudden-drawn rapier: - -“Major, she was stung to death by slander! It was such adders as John -Quincy Adams, such pit-vipers as Henry Clay, that killed her!” - - - - -CHAPTER XX--THE GENERAL GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE - - -THIS is of a steamboat day, and keel boats are but a memory. The -General makes his tedious eight-weeks' way to Washington via the -Cumberland, the Ohio, the mountains, and the Potomac valley. It is like -the progress of a conqueror. The people throng about him until Wizard -Lewis, remembering his broken state, fears for his life. The fears are -without grounds to stand on. Applause never kills, and the General finds -in it the milk of lions. He enters Washington renewed, and was never so -fit for hard work. The General is inaugurated. As he is cheered into the -White House by jubilant thousands, Statesman Clay, beaten and bitter, -retires to Kentucky; while Statesman Adams goes back to Massachusetts, -where his ice-waterisms, let us hope, will be appreciated, and from -which frigid region he ought never to have been drawn. - -When the General is declared President, Statesman Calhoun is made -Vice-President. From his high perch in the Senate Statesman Calhoun -begins at once to scan the plain of the possible for ways and means to -name himself the General's successor. He proves dull in the furtherance -of his ambitions, and conceives that the only best path to victory lies -over the General himself. He must break down that demigod in the hearts -of the people, and teach them to hate where now they trust and love. - -The General is not a day in Washington before Statesman Calhoun is -intriguing to cut the ground of popularity from beneath his feet. As -frequently happens with dark-lantern strategists, his plottings in their -very inception go off on the wrong foot. Statesman Calhoun is so foolish -as to commence his campaign against the General with an attack upon a -woman. The woman thus malevolently distinguished is the pretty Peg, once -belle of the Indian Queen. - -Between that time when the General came last to Washington as Senator -and the pretty Peg was petted and loved by the blooming Rachel, and now -when the General occupies the White House as President, destiny has been -moving rapidly and not always gayly with the pretty Peg. In that interim -she becomes the wife of Purser Timberlake of the Navy, who later cuts -his drunken throat and walks overboard to his drunken death in the -Mediterranean. - -In her widow's weeds the pretty Peg looks prettier than before--since -black is ever the best setting for beauty, and shows it off like a -diamond. Major Eaton, Senator from Tennessee and per incident friend of -the General, is smitten of the pretty Peg, and marries her. The wedding -bells are ringing as the General rides into Washington. - -It is an hour wherein Vice-Presidents have more to say than they will -later on. Statesman Calhoun, scheming his own advantage, puts forward -covert efforts to place his friends about the General as cabineteers. -This is not so difficult; since the General is not thinking on Statesman -Calhoun. His eyes, hate-guided, are fastened upon Statesman Adams and -Statesman Clay; his single aim is to advance no follower of theirs. -These are happy conditions for Statesman Calhoun, who comes up unseen on -the General's blind side, and presents him--all unnoticed--with three of -his Cabinet six. - -Statesman Calhoun, who prefers four to three, next tries all he secretly -knows to control the General's choice of a War Secretary. In this he -meets defeat; the General selects Major Eaton, just wedded to the pretty -Peg. His completed Cabinet includes Van Buren, Secretary of State; -Ingham, Secretary of the Treasury; Eaton, Secretary of War; Branch, -Secretary of the Navy; Berrien, Attorney General; and Barry, Postmaster -General. Of these, Statesman Calhoun, craftily reviewing the list from -his perch in the Senate, may call Cabi-neteers Ingham, Branch, and -Berrien his henchmen. - -The General is not aware of this Calhoun color to his Cabinet. The last -man of the six hates Statesman Clay and Statesman Adams; which is the -consideration most upon the General's mind. He does not like Statesman -Calhoun. But he in no sort suspects him; and, at this crisis of Cabinet -making, that plotting Vice-President is not at all upon the General's -slope of thought. - -Not content with half the Cabinet, Statesman Calhoun resents privily his -failure to control the war portfolio. He resolves to attack Major Eaton, -and drive him from the place. As much wanting in chivalry as in a wisdom -of the popular, he decides to assail him through the pretty Peg. It -is the error of Statesman Calhoun's career, which now becomes one -blundering procession of mistakes. - -Statesman Calhoun's attack on the pretty Peg begins with hidden -adroitness. There lives in Philadelphia a smug dominie named Ely. On -the merest Calhoun hint in the dark, Dominie Ely--who has a mustard-seed -soul--writes the General a letter, wherein he charges the pretty Peg -with every immorality. Dominie Ely prayerfully protests against the -husband of a woman so morally ebon making one of the General's official -family. - -The General is in flames in a moment. His loved and blooming Rachel was -stabbed to death by slander! The pretty Peg was the blooming Rachel's -favorite, in that old day at the Indian Queen! The General possesses -every angry reason for being aroused, and he sends fiercely for smug -Dominie Ely. - -The villifying Dominie Ely appears before the General in fear and -trembling--color stricken from his fat cheek. He falteringly confesses -that he has been inspired to his slanders by a Dominie Campbell. The -furious General summons Dominie Campbell, about whom there is a Calhoun -atmosphere of jackal and buzzard in even parts. The General hurls -pointed questions at Dominie Campbell, and catches him in lies. - -While the General is putting to flight the two black-coat buzzards -of slander, the war breaks out in a new quarter. The “Ladies of -Washington,” compared to whom the Red Stick Creeks at the Horseshoe and -the redcoat English at New Orleans are as children's toys, fall upon -the General's social flank. They hate the pretty Peg because she is -more beautiful than they. They resent her as the daughter of a tavern -keeper--a common tapster!--who is now being lifted to a social eminence -equal with their own. These reasons bring the “Ladies of Washington” to -the field. But with militant sapiency they conceal them, and adopt as -the pretended cause of their onslaught the slanders of those ophidians, -Dominie Ely and Dominie Campbell. - -Mrs. Calhoun, wife of Statesman Calhoun, at the head of Capital fashion -and social war-chief of the “Ladies of Washington,” says she will not -“recognize” the pretty Peg. Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien, -wives of the three Cabineteers who wear in private the colors of -Statesman Calhoun, say they will not “recognize” the pretty Peg. Mrs. -Donelson, wife of the General's private secretary and _ex officio_ -“Lady of the White House,” says she will not “recognize” the pretty Peg. -The latter drawing-room Red Stick is the General's niece. Also, she is -in fashionable leading strings to Mrs. Calhoun, who as social war-chief -of the “Ladies of Washington” dazzles and benumbs her. - -Mrs. Donelson approaches the General concerning the pretty Peg. - -“Anything but that, Uncle!” she says. “I am sorry to offend you, but I -cannot 'recognize' Mrs. Eaton.” - -“Then you'd better go back to Tennessee, my dear!” returns the General, -between puffs at his clay pipe. - -Mrs. Donelson and her unwilling spouse go back to Tennessee. The war -against the pretty Peg goes on. - -The General's Cabinet is a house divided against itself. Cabineteers -Ingham, Branch, and Berrien align themselves with Statesman Calhoun on -this issue of the pretty Peg. For each has a ring in his nose, a wedding -ring, and his wife leads him about by it socially, hither and yon as -she chooses. Cabineteers Van Buren and Barry range themselves with -Cabineteer Eaton and the pretty Peg. - -Cabineteer Van Buren is short, round, fat, smooth, adroit, ambitious, -and so much the mental tree-toad that, now when he is in contact with -the positive General, his every opinion takes its color from that -warrior. Also Cabineteer Van Buren is a widower, with no wife to lead -him socially by the nose. Hat in hand, he calls upon the pretty Peg--a -politeness which pleases the General tremendously. - -Cabineteer Van Buren gives dinners, and asks the pretty Peg to perform -as hostess. With a wise eye on the General, he incites Cabineteer Barry, -who is a bachelor, to burst into similar dinners, with the pretty Peg in -command. By his suggestion, Minister Vaughn of the English and Minister -Krudener of the Russians, who like Cabineteer Barry are bachelors, -follow amiable suit. They give legation dinners, at which the pretty -Peg presides. The General adopts these brilliant examples with the White -House. The pretty Peg finds herself in control of such society high -ground as the English and Russian legations, two Cabinet houses besides -her own, and last and most important the White House itself. It is a -merry even if a savage war, and the pretty Peg is everywhere victorious. - -Not everywhere! Mrs. Calhoun, as war-chief of the “Ladies of -Washington,” with Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien about -her as a staff, refuses to yield. These four indomitables and their -beflounced and be-feathered followers, noses uptilted in scorn of the -pretty Peg, prosecute their battle to the acrid end. - -In the earlier stages, the General, his angry thoughts on Statesman -Clay, inclines to the belief that these attacks on the pretty Peg are of -that defeated personage's connivance, and says so to Wizard Lewis. - -Wizard Lewis, when the General is inaugurated, is for returning to his -Cumberland home, but finds himself restrained by the lonesome General. - -“What!” cries the latter, “would you leave me now, after doing more than -all the rest to land me here?” - -Upon which reproach, Wizard Lewis remains, and lives in the White House -with the General. It befalls that with the earliest slanders of the -ophidians, Dominie Ely and Dominie Campbell, the General goes to Wizard -Lewis with accusations against Statesman Clay. - -“It's that pit-viper, Henry Clay!” cries the General. “Major, the pet -employment of that scoundrel is the vindication of good women!” - -Wizard Lewis holds to a different view. He declares that the secret -impulse of this base war is Statesman Calhoun, and proves it as events -unfold. - -“And yet,” asks the General, “why should he assail little Peg? Both he -and Mrs. Calhoun called upon her and Major Eaton, and congratulated them -on their marriage.” - -“That was while Major Eaton was a senator,” Wizard Lewis responds, “and -before he became War Secretary and got in the way of the Calhoun plans. -Your Vice-President, General, is mad to be President. Also, he is so -blurred in his strategy as to imagine that these attacks on little Peg -will advance his prospects.” - -The General snorts suspiciously; a light breaks upon him. - -“Then your theory is,” he says, “that Calhoun assails Peg as a step -toward the presidency.” - -“Precisely, General! Rightly construed, it is not an attack on Peg, but -you. He is trying to put you before the people in the role of one who -countenances the immoral, and upholds a bad woman. In that he hopes to -array every virtuous fireside against you. He looks for you to ask a -second term; and, by any means in his power, he will strive to destroy -you out of his path.” - -“Now, was there ever such infamy!” cries the General. “Here is a man so -vile that he would pave his way to the White House with the slain honor -of a woman!” - -The hate of the General is now focused upon Statesman Calhoun. That -ignoble strategist, he resolves, shall never achieve the presidency. - -As one wherewith to defeat Statesman Calhoun and succeed himself, the -General picks upon Cabineteer Van Buren--that suave one, who is so much -to the urbane fore for the pretty Peg. - -“Yes, sir,” says the General to Wizard Lewis; “I'll take a second term! -And then, Major, we will make Matt President after me.” - -“We'll do more,” returns Wizard Lewis. “When we elect you President the -second time, we'll shove aside the plotting Calhoun, and make Van Buren -Vice-President.” - -“Right!” exults the General. “Then, should I die, Matt will at once step -into my shoes.” - -Neither the General nor Wizard Lewis is at pains to conceal their -design. The sallow cheek of Statesman Calhoun grows sallower; for the -news is like an icicle through his heart. It in no wise abates his war -upon the pretty Peg, however; which--as Wizard Lewis guesses--is only -meant to break down the General with good people. - -Vindicated; in all quarters she rises in triumph over Mrs. Calhoun, -Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, Mrs. Berrien, and what other “society Red -Sticks”--as he terms them--seek her destruction. The next thing is -to shear away the cabinet strength of Statesman Calhoun. Wizard Lewis -recommends a dissolution of the Cabinet. He lays his thought before the -General, who sits listening in the smoke of his long pipe. Cabineteer -Van Buren will resign. Cabi-neteers Eaton and Barry will emulate his -example and turn over their portfolios. With half his Cabinet gone, -should the Calhoun three prove backward, the General shall demand their -portfolios. - -“And then?” asks the General, his iron-gray head in a cloud of tobacco -smoke. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--WIZARD LEWIS URGES A CHANGE IN FRONT - - -WIZARD LEWIS, bending his brows to the situation, now counsels an -extreme step. - -“Then you will make Van Buren Minister to England, and give Major Eaton -the governorship of Florida. Little Peg should look well in the palace -at St. Augustine.” - -“By the Eternal!” cries the General, as he hurls his clay pipe into -the fireplace where hundreds of its brittle predecessors have gone -crashing--“by the Eternal, we'll do it! The last vestige of a Calhoun -cabinet influence shall be wiped out!” - -It comes to pass as Wizard Lewis programmes. Cabineteer Van Buren -resigns, and Cabineteers Eaton and Barry hasten to follow his lead. The -three other cabineteers sit dazed; the suddenness of the thing takes -away their cabinet breaths. They sit dazed so long that the General -loses patience and asks for their portfolios. One by one they hand them -in, as it were at the White House door--Cabineteer Ingham being last and -most reluctant of all. - -There be tears and mournful wailings now among the society Red Sticks. -Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien are shaken in their social -souls, never for one moment having foreseen this movement in disastrous -flank. However, there is no help for it. The deposed three wash off -their social war paint, and go their divers ways lamenting; while the -General and Wizard Lewis grin sourly over their fireside pipes. As for -Statesman Calhoun, his schemes experience a chill; for in thus sending -Cabineteers Ingham, Branch, and Berrien into political exile, the -General drives a knife to the very heart of his selfish diplomacy. - -Cabinet wiped out, the General constructs another, with his old-time -friend and comrade Livingston as Secretary of State. Also, the agreeable -Van Buren departs for the Court of St. James as the General's envoy to -England, while Major Eaton and the villified yet victorious Peg wend -southward among the flowers to rule over Florida. - -Before he leaves Washington, the ill-used Eaton makes praiseworthy -attempts to fasten a duel upon ex-Cabineteer Ingham, who hires a whole -stage coach and gallops off to Baltimore--the fear of death upon him--to -avoid being sacrificed. The flight of ex-Cabineteer Ingham is a shock to -the General. - -“I knew he was a bad, designing man,” says the General with a sigh; -“but, upon my soul, Major, I didn't think him a coward!” - -Statesman Calhoun, weaker by virtue of that Cabinet lopping off, is -still too narrowly set in his White House ambitions to give up the war. -In this he is much sustained by the Senate, which jealous body pretends -to possess its own causes of complaint. Chief among these is the obvious -manner in which the General promotes the importance of that old -fox, Colonel Burr. The General shows that he cares more for the -appointment-indorsement of Colonel Burr than for the recommendations of -half the Senate. This does not set well on the proud senatorial stomachs -of the togaed ones; and, with Statesman Calhoun to lead them, they are -willing to obstruct and baffle the General in his policies. Moved of -this spirit, and at the instigation of Statesman Calhoun, the Senate -refuses to confirm the appointment of Minister Van Buren--a Burrite--who -thereupon makes his farewell unruffled bow to the great ones at St. -James and returns amiably home. - -That Thomas Benton, who was so fortunate as to fall into a receptive -cellar on a certain Nashville occasion when the muzzle of the General's -saw-handle was at his breast, and who is now in the Senate from -Missouri, gives Statesman Calhoun notice of what he may expect: - -“You have broken a minister,” observes the farsighted Benton--“you have -broken a Minister to make a Vice-President.” - -While the slander battle against the pretty Peg is raging, a storm -cloud of a different character is gathering over the General. Although -Statesman Clay has no part in that war upon the pretty Peg, he by no -means sits with folded hands in idleness. - -[Illustration: 0299] - -There is a certain money-creature called the United States Bank. It is -controlled by one Biddle of Philadelphia. Banker Biddle is a glistening, -serpentine personage, oily and avaricious--a polished composite -of assurance, greed, and lies. He is a proven and unscrupulous -corruptionist, and a majority of both Senate and House wait upon his -money-bidding. Under the Biddle influence, the Bank never fails to -consider the mere “name” of a Congressman as perfect collateral for a -loan. Even so incorrigible a bankrupt as the lion-faced Webster is good -at the Biddle Bank for thousands. - -Secure in its hold on Congress, and insolent--as Money ever is when it -feels secure--the Biddle Bank thinks to crack a political whip. The main -bank is in Philadelphia. There are twenty-five branch banks scattered -here and there throughout the country. In pursuance of its determination -to dominate politics, the Biddle Bank suddenly refuses loans to the -General's friends. Banker Biddle and the Bank are secretly moved to -these doughty attitudes by Statesman Clay, who, with his party of the -Whigs, has for long been their ally. - -Statesman Clay, in possession of the machinery of his party, is resolved -to put his own name forward at the head of the next Whig ticket against -the formidable General. He foresees that Statesman Calhoun--who is of -the General's party of the Democrats--will come to utter grief in his -intrigues to supplant the General and make himself a candidate. And -yet, the blue-grass Machiavelli can use Statesman Calhoun. The latter -is powerful with the Senate. The Senate hates the General as blindly as -does Statesman Calhoun. - -Machiavelli Clay resolves to have advantage of this double condition -of hatred. He will beguile the General to attack the Biddle Bank. The -attack can only be made by message to Congress. That should be the -opportunity of Machiavelli Clay. He will have the Senate for the battle -ground; and it shall go hard if he do not emerge with the General -defeated and the Bank and Banker Biddle at his back. With such friends -in the campaign to come later he should have the General and his party -of democracy at his mercy. Thus dreams Machiavelli Clay. - -It is a beautiful dream--this long-drawn chicane of Machiavelli Clay. As -a move toward its realization he suggests the policy of a loan hostility -toward the General's friends; for the General will fight almost as -quickly for a friend as for a woman. - -Banker Biddle adopts it, and the Bank develops it in Portsmouth. The -paper of one of the General's friends--a Mr. Isaac Hill--is dishonored, -and the General's friendship is understood to be the reason. The thing -is managed like a challenge, and has the instant effect of bringing -the General--ever ready for such a war--to the field. In its invidious -attitude toward his friends, the Bank throws down the glove; and the -General promptly picks it up. In a message to Congress, he assails the -Bank; and the fight is on. - -Money is always a coward, and commonly a fool. Also its instinct is the -weak instinct of corruption. Its attitude toward a public is ever that -of the threatening, bullying, bragging terrorist, who will either rule -or ruin. It works by fear, and resorts to every quack device. It will -gnash its jaws, lash its tail, spout fire and smoke in the face of -a quailing world. And yet all this tail-lashing and jaw-gnashing and -fire-spouting is a sham. Money, for all its appearance of ferocity, -is no more perilous to folk who face it than is the fire-spouting, -jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing papier-maché dragon of grand opera. Attack -it, and what follows? A couple of rueful supernumeraries crawl abjectly, -if grumblingly, from its papier-maché stomach--the complete yet harmless -reason of the jaw-gnashing, fire-spouting, tail-lashing from which a -frightened world shrunk back. - -Besides these furious matters, Money does another lying thing. It seeks -to teach the public to regard it as the palpitant heart of the country -itself. - -“I am the seat of life!” cries Money. “Touch me, and you die!” - -The advantage of this lie is clear; that is, if the lie win credit. -Being the heart, however corrupt, no law surgery may reach it. If Money -were the hand of a people, or the fingers on that hand, then it might be -dealt with. It could be statute-lanced or poulticed or even amputated, -and no threat to life ensue. Money foresees this; and, with that lying -cunning which is ever the scoundrel sword and shield of cowards, it -declares itself to be the heart. Thus is it safeguarded against the -honest least correction of communal saw and knife. Being the heart, its -vileness may be deplored but cannot be mended. For who is the mediciner -that shall handle the heart to any result save death? - -And yet while Money thus proclaims itself the nation's heart it lies. It -is not even so reputable a member as the hand. At the most it comes to -be no more than just a thumb, or a forefinger, and the farthest possible -remove from any source of life. Folk who would aid their money-throttled -hour must remember these things. - -Banker Biddle and the Bank, now when the General advances upon them, -go through that furious charlatanry of jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing, and -fire-spouting. The General is unconvinced, unterrified. His hawk eyes -pierce the miserable masquerade. He knows the Bank for a dragon of paper -and pretense, and does not hesitate. - -Failing to arouse his personal-political fear, Banker Biddle and the -Bank attempt to stay the General by proclaiming a peril to the country -at large. - -“We are the throbbing heart of all prosperity!” they cry. - -The General recognizes the lie. He knows that prosperity comes from the -rain and the sun and the soil, and not from banks or bankers. As well -might the two-bushel sacks declare themselves to be the harvest reason -of a nation's wheat. The General continues his advance. There shall be -no evasion, no hiding, no safety by lies; masks are not to avail nor -pretenses protect. - -The General in his attack on Banker Biddle and the Bank displays a -genius even with that which he employed against the English at New -Orleans. Banker Biddle and the Bank are the petted custodians of all the -millions of Government. The General “removes” those millions--a yellow -mountain of gold! Incidentally, he dismisses a weak-kneed Secretary of -the Treasury as a preliminary. - -“Remove the deposits!” says the General. - -“I dare not!” whines the weak-kneed one. - -“I will take the responsibility!” urges the General. - -Still the weak-kneed one falters. At that the General sets him aside. - -The “removal” of those Government millions, which is as the drawing off -of half their life blood, leaves the Bank and Banker Biddle exceeding -pale in the face. They look appealingly at Statesman Clay, who, the -better to manage his side of the conflict, has taken a Kentucky seat -in the Senate. Statesman Clay encourages the Bank and Banker Biddle. It -will all come right, he says; there is a Senate bomb preparing. - -To bring the General squarely before the public as the Bank's destroyer, -Statesman Clay anticipates the years and offers a measure renewing the -charter of that money temple. Statesman Calhoun, with every Senate foe -of the General, is for it. The measure gallops through both Senate and -House. It is sent whirling to the White House. - -“Will he sign it?” wonders Statesman Clay, in consultation with his own -thoughts. - -For an anxious moment Statesman Clay fears the coming of that signature; -he cannot conceive of courage greater than his own. His anxiety is -misplaced. The General will not sign. When the Clay-constructed measure -renewing the charter of the Bank is laid before him, with about what ado -might attend the killing of a garter snake he breaks its back with his -veto. - -Statesman Clay rubs his satisfied hands. - -“Now,” says he to Banker Biddle, who is becoming a bit weak, “we have -him helpless! That veto is his death warrant! The campaign is at hand; -I shall be the candidate of my party, he of his. That veto shall be the -issue! Money, you know, is all powerful. Being so, who shall doubt the -result when now the public is driven to choose between the Bank and the -White House--Prosperity and Andrew Jackson?” - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE DOWNFALL OF MACHIAVELLI CLAY - - -MACHIAVELLI CLAY is one who looks seldom from the window and often in -the glass. No man carries himself more upon the back of his own regard -than does Machiavelli Clay. He believes in the wisdom of the classes, -the ignorance of the masses, and thinks that government should be of -people, by statesmen, for statesmen. Also he has a profound respect for -Money, and little for perishing flesh and blood. As to each of these -thought-conditions he lives in head-on collision with the General, who -in all things is his precise contradiction. - -As a guide by which the popular view may direct itself, Machiavelli Clay -asks the Senate to pass a vote of censure upon the General. With -the help of Statesman Calhoun, he puts it through. The Clay-invoked -“censure” strikes these sparks from the General: - -“Major,” he cries, thinking on his saw-handles as he and Wizard Lewis -sit with their evening pipes, “if I live to get these robes of office -off, I may yet bring that rascal to a dear account.” - -Banker Biddle, now when his precious Bank for its life or death will be -made the campaign issue, is not without those pale misgivings which -ever shake the livid heart of Money on the eve of war. Observing -this knee-knocking trepidation, Machiavelli Clay attempts to give him -courage. This is no difficult task for Machiavelli Clay to undertake; -since, in his native ignorance of the popular, he harbors no doubt of -the General's downfall. Also he extends cheering word the more readily -to the quaking Banker Biddle, because the latter and his jeopardized -Bank are to furnish those golden sinews of war, which will be required -for the Whig campaign. - -Machiavelli Clay uplifts the confidence of Banker Biddle to a point -where the latter, from his money lair in Philadelphia, writes him the -following: - -“_He (the General) has all the fury of a chained panther biting the bars -of its cage--a condition which I think should contribute to relieve -the country of the tyranny of this miserable man. You, my dear sir, are -destined to be the instrument of that deliverance, and at no period of -your life has the public had a deeper stake in you._” - -In so writing to Machiavelli Clay, Banker Biddle permits his hopes -to overrun his intelligence. Machiavelli Clay is not to become “the -deliverer” of his hour, nor shall the “chained panther” in the White -House be cast out. Machiavelli Clay, however, is no Elijah gifted of -prophecy; but, on the wooden-witted other hand, proves quite as besotted -touching the future as does Banker Biddle. He replies to that financier -in these words: - -“_Fear not; there shall come a cleansing of the Augean stables! Our -cause cannot fail! That veto of the Bank charter is a broad confession -of the incompetency of the Administration, and shows him (the General) -unfit to carry on the business of government. I think we are authorized -to confidently anticipate his defeat_.” - -Now when the candidates of the Democratic party are about to be -named, Statesman Calhoun foresees that he himself will be ignored, and -ex-Cabineteer Van Buren supplant him, nominationally, for the place of -Vice-President. - -To save his chagrin, and on the principle that when one is about to be -thrown out it is wise to go out, he resigns from his vice-presidential -perch, lays down the Senate gavel, and returns to his home-state -of South Carolina. Once there, following the Kentucky example of -Machiavelli Clay, he sees to it that his own Legislature returns him to -Washington as a Senator. - -Statesman Calhoun abandons hope of making his appearance as a White -House candidate in the campaign at hand. What then? He is of middle -years, and can wait. He will lie back and watch the struggle between -the General and Machiavelli Clay. Let victory fall where it may, he, -Statesman Calhoun, will prepare himself for his own sure triumph in the -conflict four years away. Which demonstrates that, while his judgment -is crippled, his ambition stands as tall and as straight as a mountain -pine. - -The tickets are brought to the field--the General against Machiavelli -Clay, with ex-Cabineteer Van Buren, and a Whig obscurity named Sargent -running for second place. The issue presents the alternative--the -General or the Bank, humanity in a death-hug with Money. - -Machiavelli Clay and Banker Biddle have no fears; for they are -gold-blind and can see nothing beyond themselves. They are given a rude -awakening. The people speak; and when the sound of that speaking dies -out, the General has overwhelmed Machiavelli Clay with two hundred and -nineteen electoral votes against the latter's sixty-nine. Machiavelli -Clay and Banker Biddle and the Bank go down, while the General--ever the -conqueror and never once the conquered--sweeps back to the presidency. -Also ex-Cabineteer Van Buren is made Vice-President, as aforetime -resolved upon by the General and Wizard Lewis, and from that Senate -eminence, so lately vacated by Statesman Calhoun, will wield the gavel -over togaed discussion. - -The General, President the second time, picks up the reins, settles -himself upon the box, and proceeds to drive his governmental times after -this wise. He kills out what few sparks of life still animate the Biddle -Bank. He removes the Creeks and Cherokees from Florida and Georgia, and -thereby guarantees the scalp on many an innocent head. He throws open -the public lands for settlement at nominal figures. He fosters a gold -currency and discourages paper. - -He pays off the last splinter of the national debt, and offers to the -wondering eyes of history the spectacle of a country that doesn't owe -a dollar. He makes commercial treaties with every tribe of Europe. -Finally, he compels France to pay five millions in gold for outrages -long ago committed upon the sailors of America. - -The last is not brought about without some show of force. France, at the -General's demand, falls into a white heat of rage and froths for instant -war. The General takes France at her warlike word, notifies Congress, -and orders his fleet into the Mediterranean, the flagship _Constitution_ -in the van. - -The cool vigor of the move sets France gasping. She consults England -across the Channel, and is privily assured that whipping a Yankee -eighty-gun ship is a feat so difficult of marine accomplishment that, -like the blossoming of the century plant, it would be foolish to -look for it oftener than once in one hundred years. It is England's -impression, whispered in the Frankish ear, that it will be cheaper to -pay the five millions. Whereupon, France breaks into diplomatic smiles, -assures the General that her late war-rage was mere humor and her froth -a jest. And pays. - -By way of a little junket, the General visits New England, and at -the genial sight of him that chill region thaws like icicles in July. -Indeed, the New England temperature rises to a height where Harvard -College confers upon the General the degree of Doctor of Laws. At which -Statesman Adams nurses his wrath with this entry in his sour diary: - -“Seminaries of learning have been timeservers and sycophants in every -age.” - -The General has done his people many a service. He has defended them -from savage Red Stick Creeks, and savage Red-coat English with their war -cry of “Beauty and Booty!” Now he will do his foremost work of all, and -buckler them against the javelins of treason, save them from between the -jaws of a conspiracy--wolfish and widespread for national destruction. - -The conspiracy has its birth in the ambition-crazed bosom of Statesman -Calhoun; its shiboleth is “Nullification!” - -“I would sooner,” said Caesar, when his courtiers were laughing at the -pompous mayor of a little mud town in Spain--“I would sooner be first -here than second in Rome!” And, centuries after, the sentiment wakes a -responsive echo in the jealous breast of Statesman Calhoun. - -Statesman Calhoun aims to follow the General in the headship of American -affairs. Defeated of that, he is resolved to sever those constitutional -links which bind his home-state of South Carolina to her sister States -in Federal Union, and declare her a nation by and of herself. - -In his new rôle of “seceder,” Statesman Calhoun makes this impression -on the English Harriet Martineau. After speaking of him as involving -himself tighter and tighter in spinnings of political mysticism and -fantastic speculation, she calls him a “cast-iron man” and says: - -“_He (Calhoun) is eager, absorbed, overspeculative. I know of no one who -lives in such intellectual solitude. He meets men and harangues them by -the fireside as in the Senate. He is wrought like a piece of machinery, -set going vehemently by a weight, and stops while you answer. He either -passes by what you say, or twists it into suitability with what is -in his head, and begins to lecture again. He is full of his -'Nullification,' and those who know the force that is in him and his -utter incapacity for modification by other minds, will no more expect -repose and self-retention from him than from a volcano in full force. -Relaxation is no longer in the power of his will. I never saw anyone who -gave me so completely the idea of 'possession._'” - -By which the English woman would say that she thinks Statesman Calhoun -insane. She overstates, however, his “incapacity for modification” and -“self-retention.” There will come a day when he does not pause, nor -close his eyes in sleep, between Washington and his home in South -Carolina, such is his fear-spurred eagerness--with the shadow of the -gibbet all across him!--to stamp out what fires of treason he has been -at pains to kindle, and avoid that halter which the General promises as -their reward. - -It is in Senate debate that Statesman Calhoun removes the mask from his -intended treason, and gives the world a glimpse of its blackness. He -threatens, unless the tariff be changed to match his pleasure, that -South Carolina will prevent its enforcement within her borders. He -declares South Carolina superior to the nation in her powers, and -proclaims for her the right to “nullify” what Federal laws she deems -inimical to her peculiar interest. He shows how South Carolina will, -as against the tariff contemplated, invoke that inherent right to -“nullify,” and says, should the Washington government attempt to coerce -her, she will take herself out of the Union. - -To this exposition of States rights, the General in the White House -listens with gathering scorn. He turns to Wizard Lewis: - -“Why, sir,” he cries, addressing that Merlin of politics, “if one is to -believe Calhoun, the Union is like a bag of meal open at both ends. No -matter how you pick it up, the meal all runs out. I shall tie the bag -and save the country!” - -Treason, however base, will have its friends, and Statesman Calhoun goes -not without “Nullification” followers. In his own mischievous State -the doctrine is received with open arms. The Governor issues his -proclamation; a convention of the people is authorized by the -Legislature. They are to meet at Columbia and settle the details of -“Nullification” in its practical workings out. They do meet; and adopt -unanimously an “Ordinance of Nullification” which declares the tariff -just made in Washington “Null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this -State, its officers or citizens.” They decree that no duties, enjoined -by such tariff, shall be paid or permitted to be paid in any port of -South Carolina. The closing assertion of the “Ordinance” runs that, -should the Government of the United States try by force to collect -the tariff duties, “The people of South Carolina will thenceforth hold -themselves absolved from all further obligation to maintain or preserve -their political connection with the people of the other States, and will -proceed to organize a separate government, and do all other acts and -things which sovereign and independent States may of right do.” - -[Illustration: 0321] - -Following this doughty setting-out of what one might call the -Palmetto-rattlesnake position, the Governor suggests military -associations on the model of the Minute Men of the Revolution, and makes -ready for what blood-letting shall be required to sustain Statesman -Calhoun in his new preachment. Altogether it is a South Carolina day of -bombast and blue cockades, with Statesman Calhoun already chosen as the -president of a coming “Southern Confederacy.” While these dour matters -are in process of Palmetto transaction, Statesman Hayne encounters -the lion-faced Webster on the floor of the Senate, and the latter -establishes forever the rightful supremacy of the Federal Union, and -demonstrates that the “Nullification” set up by Statesman Calhoun is but -the chimera of a jaundiced, ambition-bitten mind. Thus canters the hour -in the Senate and in South Carolina; while up in the White House the -General sits reading a book. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--THE FEDERAL UNION: IT MUST BE PRESERVED - - -THE General is reading his book, when in walks Wizard Lewis. The latter -necromancer casually alludes to Statesman Calhoun, and his pet infamy of -“Nullification.” At this the General's honest rage begins to mount. - -“You bear witness, Major,” he cries--“you bear witness how Calhoun -is trying me! But by the living heavens, I'll uphold the law!” Then, -shaking the ponderous tome at Wizard Lewis, his finger marking the -place--“Here! I've been reading what old John Marshall said in the -case of Aaron Burr. He makes treason in its definition as plain as a -pikestaff. A man can't _think_ treason; he can't _talk_ treason; he can -only _act_ treason. It requires an act--an overt act! Calhoun is safe -while he only talks or conspires. But let one of his followers perform -one act of opposition to the law, even if it be no more than hand on -sword hilt or just the snapping of a fireless flint against an empty -rifle-pan, and I have him. There would be the overt act demanded by -old Marshall; and he goes on to say that the overt act, once committed, -attaches to all of the conspirators and becomes the act of each. I -shall keep my ear as well as my eye, Major, on Calhoun's State of South -Carolina; and, at the first crackling of a treasonable twig beneath a -traitorous foot, into a felon's cell goes he. Then we shall see what a -hempen noose will do for him and his 'Nullification.'” - -The General, the better to deliver this long oration, gets up and walks -the floor. Having concluded, down he drops into his chair again, and to -grubbing at old John Marshall. - -The General and Wizard Lewis decide that a perfect White House silence -concerning “Nullification” is the proper course. The General will sit -mute, and never by so much as the arching of a bushy brow intimate -what he will do, should Statesman Calhoun push his treason to that -last extreme--that overt act of opposition to the Federal law and its -enforcement, demanded by the great Chief Justice. And so, while arises -all this turmoil of treason in the Senate and South Carolina, the White -House is as voiceless as a tomb. - -While the General is silent, he is in no sort idle. He makes secret -preparations to bruise the head of the serpent of secession with a heel -of steel. He sends General Scott to South Carolina. Into Castle Pinckney -he conveys thousands of rifles. One by one his warships drop into -Charleston harbor, until, with broadsides trained upon the town, scores -of them ride at ominous anchor. - -The General gets word to his ever-reliable Coffee. In those well-nigh -twenty years which have come and gone since the English were swept up in -fire at New Orleans, the hunting-shirt men in the General's country of -Tennessee have increased and multiplied. Their numbers are such that -at the end of twenty days the energetic Coffee stands ready to cataract -twenty-five thousand of them into South Carolina at the lifting of the -General's bony finger, and follow these in forty days with twenty-five -thousand more. Not content with his fifty thousand hunting-shirt men -from Tennessee, the General arranges for an equal force from North -Carolina and Georgia. - -If ever a people stood within the shadow of doom it is our -treason-forging ones of South Carolina in these days of Nullification, -Columbia Conventions, Minute Men, and Blue Cockades. - -Some of them are not so dim of eye but what they perceive as much, and -begin to catch their breath. Still a wrong, once it be set rolling like -a stone down hill, is difficult to overtake and stop. So, while the -heart of would-be Treason beats a little faster, and its cheek turns a -little whiter, as inklings of what the wordless General is doing begin -to creep about among Palmetto-rattlesnake coteries, the work of making -ready for black revolt proceeds. - -In Washington, that grim silence of the White House grows oppressive. -There be prudent ones, among the nullifying adherents of Statesman -Calhoun, who are willing to play the part of traitor if no peril attend -the rôle. They are highly averse to the character if it promise -to thrust their sensitive necks into gallows danger. The questions -everywhere on the whispering lips of these timid treason mongers are: - -“What is the Jackson intention? What will the President do? Will he look -upon Nullification as merely some minor sin of politics? Or, will he -treat it as stark treason, and fall back on courts and hangman's ropes?” - -No one answers, for no one knows. As for the General himself, his lips -are as dumb as a statue's. Traitors may go wrong, or go right; he will -light no lamp for their guidance. The awful suspense is carrying many -of the treason mongers to the brink of hysteria. Even Statesman Calhoun, -morbid and ambition-mad, is made to pause. He himself begins to wonder -if it would not be as well and as wise to measure in advance those -iron-bound anti-treason lengths to which the General stands ready to go. - -To help them in their perplexity, Statesman - -Calhoun and his Nullifying followers evolve a cunning scheme. In its -amiable execution, it should lay bare, they think, the purposes of the -General. Statesman Calhoun and his coconspirators have long ago laid -claim to the dead Jefferson as their patron saint of “Nullification,” - asserting that precious tenet to be his invention. They decide to give -a dinner in honor of the departed publicist. The dinner shall take place -on the dead Jefferson's birthday at the Indian Queen. The General shall -come as a guest. Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators will be -there. Statesman Calhoun will offer a toast, declaratory of those -superior rights over the Federal government which he asserts in favor of -the separate States. It shall be a Nullification toast, one redolent of -a State's right to secede from the Federal Union. - -Statesman Calhoun having launched his fireship of sentiment, the General -will be requested to give a toast. Should he comply, it is believed -by Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators that he will in partial -measure at least unlock his plans. If he refuse--why then, under the -circumstances, his refusal will be pregnant of meaning. In either event, -he will be beneath the batteries of five hundred eyes, and much should -be read in his face. - -That Jefferson dinner is an admirable device, one adapted to draw the -General's fire. Its authors go about felicitating themselves upon their -sagacity in evolving it. - -“What say you, Major?” asks the General, when he receives the invitation -upon which so much of national good or ill may pend; “what say you? -Shall we humor them? You know what these Calhoun traitors are after.” - -“True!” responds Wizard Lewis; “they want to count us, and measure us, -in that business of their proposed treason.” - -“I'll tell you what I think,” says the General, after a pause. “I'll -fail to attend; but you shall go, and be counted in my stead. Also, -since they'll expect a toast from me, I'll send them one in your care. -I hope they may find it to their villain liking--they and their -archtraitor Calhoun!” - -The Indian Queen is a crowded hostelry that Jefferson night. The halls -and waiting rooms are thronged of eminent folk. Some are there to attend -the dinner; others for gossip and to hear the news. As Wizard Lewis -climbs the stairs to the banquet room on the second floor, he encounters -the lion-faced Webster coming down. - -“There's too much secession in the air for me,” says the lion-faced one, -shrugging his heavy shoulders. - -“If that be so,” returns Wizard Lewis, “it's a reason for remaining.” - -Wizard Lewis mingles with the groups in the corridors and parlors, -for the banquet hall is not yet thrown open. Among these, he nods his -recognition of Colonel Johnson, of Kentucky, tall of form, grave of -brow, he who slew Tecumseh; Senator Benton, once of that safe receptive -cellar; the lean Rufus Choate, eaten of Federalism and the worship of -caste; Tom Corwin, round, humorous, with a face of ruddy fun; Isaac -Hill, gray and lame, the General's Senate friend from New Hampshire -whose insulted credit started the war on Banker Biddle's bank; Editor -Noah, of New York, as Hebraic and as red of head as Absalom; the -quick-eyed Amos Kendall; Editor Blair, who conducts the _Globe_, the -General's mouthpiece in Washington; the reckless Marcy, who declares -that he sees “no harm in the aphorism that 'to the victor belong the -spoils of the enemy.'” - -The dinner is spread. The decorations are studied in their democracy. -Hundreds of candles in many-armed iron branches blaze and gutter about -the great room. The high ceilings and the walls are festooned of flags. -The stars and stripes are draped over a portrait of the dead Jefferson. -Here and there are hung the flags of the several States. With peculiar -ostentation, and as though for challenge, next to the national colors -flows the Palmetto-rattlesnake flag of South Carolina--Statesman -Calhoun's emblem. - -The dinner is profuse, and folk of appetite and fineness declare it -elegant. There is none of your long-drawn courses, so dear to Whigs and -Federalists. Black servants come and go, to shift plates and knives, -and carve at the call of a guest. At hopeful intervals along the tables -repose huge sirloins, and steaming rounds of beef. There are quail pies; -chickens fried and turkeys roasted; pies of venison and rabbits, and -pot pies of squirrels; soups and fishes and vegetables; boiled hams, and -giant dishes of earthenware holding baked beans; roast suckling pigs, -each with a crab-apple in his jaws; corn breads and flour breads, and -pancakes rolled with jellies; puddings--Indian, rice, and plum; mammoth -quaking custards. Everywhere bristle ranks and double ranks of bottles -and decanters; a widest range of drinks, from whisky to wine of the -Cape, is at everybody's elbow. Also on side tables stand wooden bowls -of salads, supported by weighty cheeses; and, to close in the flanks, -pies--mince, pumpkin, and apple; with final coffee and slim, long pipes -of clay in which to smoke tobacco of Trinidad. - -As the guests seat themselves, Chairman Lee proposes: - -“The memory of Thomas Jefferson.” - -The toast is drunk in silence. Then, with clatter of knife and fork, -clink of glasses, and hum of conversation, the feast begins. - -The General's absence is a daunting surprise to many who do not know -how to construe it. Wizard Lewis, through Chairman Lee, presents -the General's regrets. He expected to be present, but is unavoidably -detained at the White House. The “regrets” are received uneasily; the -General's absence plainly gives concern to more than one. - -As the dinner marches forward, “Nullification” and secession are much -and loudly talked. They become so openly the burden of conversation and -are withal so loosely in the common air, that sundry gentlemen--more -timorous than loyal perhaps--make pointless excuses, and withdraw. - -Statesman Calhoun sits on the right hand of Chairman Lee. The festival -approaches the glass and bottle stage, and toasts are offered. There are -a round score of these; each smells of secession and State's rights. -The speeches which follow are even more malodorous of treason than the -toasts. - -The hour is hurrying toward the late. Statesman Calhoun whispers a word -to Chairman Lee; evidently the urgent moment is at hand. - -Statesman Calhoun hands a slip of paper to Chairman Lee. There falls a -stillness; laughter dies and talk is hushed. - -Chairman Lee rises to his feet. He pays Statesman Calhoun many flowery -compliments. - -“The distinguished statesman from South Carolina,” says Chairman Lee in -conclusion, “begs to propose this sentiment.” He reads from the slip: -“'The Federal Union! Next to our liberty, the most dear! May we all -remember that it can only be preserved by respecting the rights of the -States, and distributing equally the burdens and the benefits of that -Union!'” - -The stillness of death continues--marked and profound; for, as Chairman -Lee resumes his seat, Wizard Lewis rises. All know his relations with -the General; every eye is on him with a look of interrogation. Now when -the Calhoun toast has been read, they scan the face of Wizard Lewis, -representative of the absent General, to note the effect of the shot. -Wizard Lewis is admirable, and notably steady. - -“The President,” says Wizard Lewis, “when he sent his regrets, sent also -a sentiment.” - -Wizard Lewis passes a folded paper to Chairman Lee, who opens it and -reads: - -“'The Federal Union! It must be preserved!”' - -The words fall clear as a bell--for some, perhaps, a bell of warning. -Statesman Calhoun's face is high and insolent. But only for a moment. -Then his glance falls; his brow becomes pallid, and breaks into a -pin-point sprinkle of sweat. He seems to shrink and sear and wither, -as though given some fleeting picture of the future, and the gallows -prophecy thereof. In the end he sits as though in a kind of blackness -of despair. The General is not there, but his words are there, and -Statesman Calhoun is not wanting of an impression of the terrible -meaning, personal to himself, which underlies them. - -It is a moment ominous and mighty--a moment when a plot to stampede -history is foiled by a sentiment, and Treason's heart and Treason's -hand are palsied by a toast of seven words. And while Statesman Calhoun, -white and frightened and broken, is helpless in the midst of his -followers, the General sits alone and thoughtful with his quiet White -House pipe. - -For all the plain sureness of that toast, the would-be rebellionists now -crave a surer sign. A member of Congress from South Carolina, polite and -insinuating, calls on the General. - -“Mr. President,” says the insinuating signseeking one, suavely -deferential, “to-morrow I go back to my home. Have you any message for -the good folk of South Carolina?” - -“Yes,” returns the General grimly, his hard blue eyes upon the -insinuating one, while his heavy brows are lowered in that falcon-trick -of menace--“yes; I have a message for the 'good folk of South Carolina.' -You may say to the 'good folk of South Carolina' that if one of them so -much as lift finger in defiance of the laws of this government, I shall -come down there. And I'll hang the first man I lay hands on, to the -first tree I can reach.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--THE ROUT OF TREASON - - -DEMOCRACY goes not without its defects, and there be times when that -very freedom wherewith it invests the citizen spreads a snare to his -feet. For a chief fault, Democracy is apt to mislead ambitious ones, -dominated of ego and a want of patriotism in even parts. Such are prone -to run liberty into license in following forth the appetites of their -own selfishness, and forget where the frontiers of loyalty leave off and -those of black treason begin. - -In a democracy, for your clambering narrowist to turn traitor is never -a far-fetched task. Being free to speak as he politically will and, per -incident, think as he politically will, he finds it no mighty journey to -the perilous assumption that he may act as he politically will. Knowing -his duty to guard the temple, he argues therefrom his right to deface -it. Treason fades into a mere abstraction--a crime curious in this, that -it is impossible of concrete commission. - -Statesman Calhoun is among these ill-guided ones of topsy-turvy -patriotism. Blurred by ambition, soured of disappointment, license and -liberty have grown with him to be unconscious synonyms. The laws against -treason carry only a remonstrance, never a warning, and--as he reads -them--but deplore that civic villainy, while threatening nothing of -grief for what dark souls shall be guilty of it. In this frame the -General's stark sentiment, “The Federal Union! It must be preserved!” - and that subsequent hanging promise which, by the mouth of the suave -insinuating one, he sends to “the good folk of South Carolina,” go -beyond surprise with Statesman Calhoun, and provide a shock. It is as -though, walking in a trance of treason, he knocks his head against the -White House wall; his awakening is rudely, painfully complete. That -dream of a separate nation, with himself at its head, gives way to -hangman visions of rope and gallows tree; and, from bending his energies -to methods by which he may take South Carolina out of the Union, he -gives himself wholly to the more tremulous enterprise of keeping himself -out of jail. - -Some hint of that recent literature, which the General found so -interesting, gets abroad, and many go reading the lucid dictum of -old Marshall. Treason as a crime becomes better understood; and--by -Statesman Calhoun at least--better feared. Moved of these fears, -Statesman Calhoun sends message after message into his restless -Palmetto-rattlesnake State of South Carolina commanding, nay imploring, -a present suspension of “Nullification.” His Palmetto-rattlesnake -adherents, while not understanding the danger which fringes them about, -have already found enough that is alarming in the very air; and, for -their own safety as much as his, are heedful to regard that prayer for -a “Nullification” passivity. The South Carolina shouting ceases; the -Minute Men rest on their traitorous arms; the manufacture of blue -cockades is abandoned; while the Columbia convention devotes itself to -innocuous adjournments from innocent day to day. - -While Palmetto-rattlesnake affairs are thus timidly quiescent, the -Senate itself--having read old Marshall, and being, moreover, somewhat -instructed by the watchful attitude of the General, who sits in -the White House a figure of frowning menace, both relentless and -fateful--devotes itself to the scaffold extrication of Statesman -Calhoun. Machiavelli Clay leads the rescue party. His is of an opposite -political church to that of Statesman Calhoun; but the pair meet on -the warm, common ground of a deathless hatred of the General. Under -the mollifying guidance of Machiavelli Clay, Senator after Senator -surrenders those pet schedules of tariff desired of his own people, -and puts the surrender on the expressive basis of “saving the neck of -Calhoun.” - -When every possible tariff cut has been arranged, and Congress adjourns, -Statesman Calhoun makes his memorable homeward flight. Horse after horse -he rides down, night becomes as day; for Death crouches on his crupper, -and he must stay the Nullifying hand of South Carolina to save his own -neck. He succeeds beyond his deserts, and comes powdering into Columbia, -worn and wan and anxious, yet none the less ahead of that “overt act” - whereof old Marshall spoke, and for which the somber General waits. - -Once among his own treason-hatching coterie, Statesman Calhoun loses no -moments, but breaks up the “Nullification” nest. Secession dies in -the shell, and the Columbia convention, with more speed even than it -displayed in passing it, repeals that “Ordinance of Nullification.” - Thereupon Statesman Calhoun draws his breath more freely, as one who has -been grazed by the sinister fangs of Fate; while the inveterate General -heaves a sigh of regret. - -Wizard Lewis overhears the sigh, and questions it. At this the General -explains his disappointment. - -“It would have been better,” says he, “had we shed a little blood. -This is not the end, Major; the serpent of treason is only bruised, -not slain. Had Calhoun run his course, a handful of hundreds might have -died. As affairs stand, however, the country must one day wade knee-deep -in blood to save itself. These men are not honest. Their true purpose is -the downfall of the Union. Their present pretext is tariff; next time it -will be slavery.” - -By way of bringing the iniquity of “Nullification” before the people, -together with his views concerning it, the General seizes his big iron -pen, and scratches off a proclamation. - -“I consider,” says he, “the power to annul a law of the United States, -assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union, -contradicted expressly by the Constitution, unauthorized by either its -letter or its spirit, inconsistent with every principle upon which -it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was -formed.” - -The country, reading the General's exposition of the Union and its -Gibraltar-like character, breaks into bonfires, oratory, dinners, -barbecues, parades, and what other schemes of jubilation are practiced -by a free people. That is to say the country breaks into these sundry -jubilant things, if one except the truant State of South Carolina. In -that Palmetto-rattlesnake-ridden commonwealth there prevails a sulky -silence. No bonfires blaze, no barbecues scorch, no dinners smoke, no -parades march. Baffled in its would-be treasons, afraid to stretch forth -its nullifying hand lest the sword of retribution strike it off at the -wrist, it comports itself like a spoiled child thwarted, and upholds -its little dignity with a pout. No one heeds, however; and, beyond an -occasional baleful glance from the General, the rest of the world leaves -it to recover from that pout in its own time and way. - -When Congress reconvenes, Statesman Calhoun creeps back to his Senate -place. But the perils through which he has passed have left their -furrowing traces, and now he offers nothing, says nothing, does nothing. -His heart is water; his evil potentialities have oozed away. Haunted of -that hangman fear which still hag-rides him, he abides mute, motionless, -impotent, like some Satan in chains. - -To further wound Statesman Calhoun, and in the mean, protesting teeth -of Machiavelli Clay, the Senate expunges from its record the vote of -censure it once passed upon the General. The resolution to expunge is -offered by Senator Benton who, as against a far-off Nashville hour -when only a generous cellar saved him from the General's saw-handle, is -to-day the latter's partisan and friend. The General is hugely pleased -by the censure-expunging resolution, and has what Senate ones supported -it--being fairly the whole Senate, when one forgets Machiavelli Clay, -and our chained, embittered Satan, Statesman Calhoun--to a grand dinner -in the East Room. - -And now the official times wag prosperously with the General. His -friends are everywhere dominant, his enemies everywhere in retreat. Also -his hair, from iron gray, fades to milk-white. - -Since nothing peculiar presses upon him in the way of opposition, the -General falls ill. He makes little of this, however; and cures himself -with tobacco, coffee, calomel, and lancets, while outraged doctors -groan. Likewise, he burns midnight oil in planning with Wizard Lewis the -elevation of Vice-President Van Buren, who he is resolved shall have the -presidency after him. - -While thus the General lays his Van Buren plans, misguided admirers -bombard him with such marks of their regard as a phaëton built of -unbarked hickory, and a cheese weighing fourteen hundred pounds. The -latter sturdy confection is trundled into the White House kitchen, from -which coign of vantage it sends on high a perfume so utterly urgent -that none may stay in the White House until it is removed. Following -its going, the executive windows are thrown open throughout a wind-swept -afternoon, to the end that the last suffocating reminder of that cheese -shall be eliminated. - -The General's hours as President are drawing to a close. His hopes -touching a successor carry through triumphantly, and Vice-President Van -Buren is selected to follow him. Neither Machiavelli Clay for the Whigs, -nor Statesman Calhoun among the Democrats, has the courage to offer his -own name to the people. - -[Illustration: 0353] - -Statesman Calhoun, aiming to subtract as much as he may from the -fortunes of nominee Van Buren, produces a bolting ticket, headed by one -Mangum; and, for Mangum, Palmetto-rattlesnake South Carolina--still in -a tearful pout--wastes its lonely arrow in the air. It was, it will be, -ever thus with South Carolina, who might do herself a good, and come to -some true notion of her own peevish inconsequence, if she would but take -a long, hard look in the glass. She is as one who attends the fairs, but -so over-esteems herself as to defeat every bargain she might make. Her -best chances are cast away, a cheap sacrifice to vanity, since no one -will either buy her or sell her at the figure she sets on herself. Thus, -too, will it continue. Her frayed prospects, already behind a fashion, -are to wax more shopworn and more threadbare as the years unfold. - -Nominee Van Buren is elected to succeed the General in the White House, -and every friend of the latter votes for the little polite man of -Kinderhook. The General is delighted, since the elevation of nominee Van -Buren provides for a continuation of his darling policies. - -Wizard Lewis is delighted, because the new situation permits the return -of himself and his beloved General to their homes by the Cumberland. -Nor does it detract from the satisfaction of either that, with the -presidential coming of the Kinderhook one, the final door of political -hope is barred fast in the faces of Machiavelli Clay and Statesman -Calhoun; for both the General and Wizard Lewis hate these two as though -that hatred were a religious rite. - -At last dawns President Van Buren's inauguration morning, and the -General stands for the last time before a people whose good and whose -honor he has so jealously guarded. Of this farewell appearance, poet -Willis writes: - -“_The air was elastic; the day bright and still. More than twenty -thousand people had assembled. The procession, the General and Mr. Van -Buren riding uncovered, arrived a little after noon. Their carriage, -drawn by four grays, paused. Descending from it at the foot of the -steps, a passage was made through the crowd, and the tall white head of -the old chieftain went steadily up. The crowd of diplomats and senators -to the rear gave way. A murmur of feeling rose up from the moving mass -below, as the infirm old General, coming as he had from a sick chamber -which his physicians had thought it impossible he should leave, stood -bowed before the people_.” - -In his address the General touches many things. He closes by saying: “My -own race is nearly run. Advanced age and failing health warn me that I -must soon pass beyond the reach of human events. I thank God my life has -been spent in a land of liberty, and that He gave me a heart wherewith -to love my country. Filled with gratitude, I bid you farewell.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--THE GRAVE AT THE GARDEN'S FOOT - - -THE General wends his slow way homeward, and is two months about the -journey. His progress, broken by many stops, is like both a triumph -and a funeral; for double ranks of worshipers line the route and sob or -cheer as he passes. The harsh horse-face is seamed of care and worn by -sickness; but the slim form is still erect and lance-like, and the blue -eyes gleam as hawkishly dangerous as when, behind his low mud walls with -the faithful Coffee and his hunting-shirt men, he broke down England's -pride at New Orleans. Everywhere the people press about him; for -republics are not ungrateful, and for once in a way of politics it is -the setting, not the rising sun upon which all eyes are centered. In -the end he reaches home, and his country of the Cumberland, as on many a -former day, opens its arms to receive him. - -And now the General, for all his sickness and his well-nigh threescore -years and ten, must bend himself to his labors as a planter; for he has -come back very poor. He has his acres and his slaves; but debts have -piled themselves high, and the tooth of decay can do a devastating deal -in eight years. - -The General goes to work as though life is just begun. The fences are -renewed, the buildings repaired, while the plow breaks fresh furrows in -fields that have lain fallow too long. To finance his plans, he borrows -ten thousand dollars from Editor Blair. Later, by a huddle of months, -Congress repays him that one-thousand-dollar fine, of which a quarter -of a century before he was mulcted in New Orleans. This latter, interest -swollen, is twenty-seven hundred dollars--a sum not treated lightly in -this hour of his narrowed fortunes! - -All goes prosperously. The generous soil, as though for welcome to the -General, grants such crops of cotton that the wondering Cumberland folk, -as once they did aforetime, come miles to view his fields. When not -busy with his planting, the General is immersed in politics. Each day he -rides down to Wizard Lewis four miles below; or Wizard Lewis rides those -four miles up to the Hermitage. Being together, the pair, over pipe and -moderate glass, sagely consider the state of the nation. - -Down by the General's gate is a large-stomached mail box. Each morning -finds it stuffed to suffocation with sheaves of letters and papers -tied in bundles. Also there are shoals and shoals of visitors. For the -General's home is a Mecca of politics, to which pilgrims of party turn -their steps by ones and twos and tens. Some come to do the stark old -General honor; some are one-time comrades, or friends who rose up around -him on fields of party war. For the most, however, and because humanity -is selfish before it is either just or generous, the visitors are -office-seeking folk, who ask the magic of the General's signature to -their appeals. - -These selfish ones become, in their vermin number and persistency, a -very plague. They wring from the suffering General the following: - -“The good book, Major,” says he to Wizard Lewis, “tells us that at the -beginning there were in Eden a man, a woman, and an office seeker who -had been kicked out of heaven for preaching 'Nullification' I To judge -of the visiting procession, as it streams in and out of my front gate, -I should say that the latter in his descendants has increased and -multiplied far beyond the other two.” - -The French king forgets and forgives those grievous five millions, and -dispatches an artist of celebration to paint the General's portrait. The -artist finds the latter of a mind to humor the French king. The portrait -is painted--a striking likeness!--and the gratified artist carries it -victoriously across seas to his royal master. - -[Illustration: 0365] - -The General becomes concerned in keeping England from stealing Oregon, -and writes letters to the Government at Washington in protest against -it. - -“Oregon or war!” is his counsel. - -Just as deeply does he involve himself for the admission of Texas into -the Union, declaring that of right the nation's boundary should be, and, -save for the criminal carelessness of Statesman Adams on the occasion -of the last treaty with Spain--made in a Monroe hour--would be, the -Rio Grande. Statesman Adams, now in his icy old age, makes a speech in -Boston and denies this; whereat the General retorts in an open letter -that Statesman Adams is “a monarchist in disguise,” a “traitor,” a -“falsifier,” and his “entire address full of statements at war with -truth, and sentiments hostile to every dictate of patriotism.” - -Machiavelli Clay foolishly invades the Cumberland country on a broad -mission of personal politics, and he like Statesman Adams makes a -speech. Machiavelli Clay, however, does not talk of Oregon, or Texas, or -what shall be the nation's foreign policy, whether timid or warlike. -His is wholly and solely a party oration, and in it he pays left-handed -tribute to Aaron Burr, dead a decade. Machiavelli Clay escapes no better -with his offensive eloquence than does Statesman Adams. The perilous old -General from his Hermitage is instantly out upon him with another open -letter, of which the closing paragraph says: - -“_How contemptible does this lying demagogue appear, when he descends -from his high place in the Senate, and roams over the country retailing -slanders against the dead_.” - -The General is much refreshed by these outbursts, and, in that -contentment of soul which follows, resolves to join the church. Long ago -he promised the blooming Rachel, fast asleep at the foot of the garden, -that once he be free from the muddy yoke of politics he will accept -religion, and now he keeps his word. He unites himself with the -congregation which worships in that little chapel, aforetime built for -the blooming Rachel, and, upon his coming into the fold, there arises -vast rejoicing throughout the ardent length and breadth of Cumberland -Presbyterianism. - -The pastor, Dominie Edgar, calls often at the Hermitage; for he feels -that the General may require some special spiritual grooming. One day he -observes that convert's saw-handles, oiled and neat and ready for blood, -on a mantel, prayerfully crossed beneath a portrait of the blooming -Rachel. The good dominie is shocked, but does not show it. He picks up -one of the saw-handles. - -“This has seen service, doubtless,” he remarks tentatively. - -“Ay!” responds the General grimly; “it has seen good service.” - -Dominie Edgar puts the saw-handle back in place, and his curiosity -pushes no farther afield. He rightly conjectures it to be the weapon -which cut down the slanderous Dickinson, and mentally holds that it will -more advantage the soul of his convert to touch as scantily as may be -upon topics so ferocious. Shifting his ground, Dominie Edgar asks: - -“General, do you forgive your enemies?” - -“Parson,” says the convert, “I forgive _my_ enemies, and welcome. But I -shall never”--here he points up at the portrait of the blooming Rachel, -which seems to lovingly follow his every motion with its painted patient -eyes--“I shall never forgive _her_ enemies. My feud shall follow them, -and the memory of them, to the end of time.” - -Dominie Edgar sits down with his convert to show him the error of his -obdurate ways. He lectures cogently. It is to be feared, however, that -his doctrinal seed of forgiveness falls upon hard, intractable ground; -for, while the convert says never a word, the lecture serves but to -light again in those blue eyes what lamps of hateful battle burned there -on a certain fierce May morning in that popular Kentucky wood. - -The long days come and go, and the General lives on in fortune, -peace, and honor. Then the end draws down; for the General has run his -threescore years and ten, and well-nigh ten years more. Wizard Lewis -sits by his bedside, and never leaves him. - -“I want to go, Major,” murmurs the General to Wizard Lewis; “for she is -over there.” He raises his eyes to the portrait of the blooming Rachel, -and looks upon it long and lovingly. “Major!”--Wizard Lewis presses -the thin hand--“see that they make my grave by her side at the garden's -foot!” - -The General drifts into a stupor, Wizard Lewis holding fast his hand. -The good dominie Edgar is on his knees at prayer. From the porch outside -the sick room are heard the sobs and moans of the mourning blacks. - -Wizard Lewis attempts to recall the dying General. - -“What would you have done with Calhoun,” he asks, “had he persisted in -his 'Nullification' designs?” - -The blue eyes rouse, and sparkle and glance with old-time fire. - -“What would I have done with Calhoun?” repeats the General, his voice -renewed and strong; “Hanged him, sir!--hanged him as high as Haman! He -should have been a warning to traitors for all time!” - -The sparkle subsides; the blue eyes close again in the dullness of -coming death. Wizard Lewis holds the poor thin hand, while Dominie Edgar -prays on to the accompaniment of the sobbing and the moaning of the -sorrowing blacks. - -The prayer ends; the good dominie rises to his feet. - -“Do you know me, General?” he whispers. The dim eyes are lifted to those -of Dominie Edgar. The latter goes on: “The love of the Lord is infinite! -In it you shall find heaven!” - -The General turns with looks of love to the portrait of the blooming -Rachel. - -“Parson,” says he, “I must meet her there, or it will be no heaven for -me.” - -The General's head droops heavily forward. Dominie Edgar falls upon his -knees, and the voice of his praying goes upward with the moaning and -the sobbing of the slaves. Wizard Lewis places his hand on the General's -breast. He sighs, and shakes his head. That mighty heart, all love, all -iron, is still. - - -THE END - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of -Andrew Jackson, by Alfred Henry Lewis - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN MEN GREW TALL *** - -***** This file should be named 51914-0.txt or 51914-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/1/51914/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/51914-0.zip b/old/51914-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index df397f1..0000000 --- a/old/51914-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51914-8.txt b/old/51914-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6f6484c..0000000 --- a/old/51914-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6081 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of Andrew -Jackson, by Alfred Henry Lewis - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of Andrew Jackson - -Author: Alfred Henry Lewis - -Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51914] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN MEN GREW TALL *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - - - -WHEN MEN GREW TALL OR THE STORY OF ANDREW JACKSON - -By Alfred Henry Lewis - -Illustrated - -D. Appleton And Company New York - -1907 - -[Illustration: 0001] - -[Illustration: 0008] - -[Illustration: 0009] - -TO - -THEODORE ROOSEVELT THAT MAN OF THE PUBLIC FOR WHOM I HAVE MOST REGARD -AND FROM WHOSE FUTURE I AS AN AMERICAN MOST HOPE THIS VOLUME IS -DEDICATED - -A. H. L. - - - - -CHAPTER I--SALISBURY AND THE LAW - -IN this year of our Lord's grace, 1787, the ancient town of Salisbury, -seat of justice for Rowan County, and the buzzing metropolis of its -region, numbers by word of a partisan citizenry eight hundred souls. -Its streets are unpaved, and present an unbroken expanse of red North -Carolina clay from one narrow plank sidewalk to another. In the summer, -if the weather be dry, the red clay resolves itself into blinding -brick-red dust. In the spring, when the rains fall, it lapses into -brick-red mud, and the Salisbury streets become bottomless morasses, the -despair of travelers. Just now, it being a bright October afternoon and -a shower having paid the town a visit but an hour before, the streets -offer no suggestion of either mud or dust, but are as clean and straight -and beautiful as a good man's morals. Trees rank either side, and their -branches interlock overhead. These make every street a cathedral aisle, -groined and arched in leafy green. - -In one of the suburbs, that is to say about pistol shot from the town's -commercial center, stands a two-story mansion. It is painted white, and -thereby distinguished above its neighbors, and has a heavily columned -veranda all across its wide face. This edifice is the residence of -Spruce McCay, a foremost member of the Rowan County bar. - -In a corner of the lawn, which unfolds verdantly in front of the house, -is a one-story one-room structure, the law office of Spruce McCay. -Inside are two or three pine desks, much visited of knives in the past, -and a half-dozen ramshackle chairs, which have seen stronger if not -better days. Also there is a collection of shelves; and these latter -hold scores of law books, among which "Blackstone's Commentaries," "Coke -on Littleton," and "Hales's Pleas of the Crown" are given prominent -place. The books show musty and dog-eared, and it is many years since -the youngest among them came from the printing press. - -On this October afternoon, the office has but one occupant. He is tall, -being six feet and an inch, and so slim and meager that he seems six -inches taller. Besides, he stands as straight as a lance, with nothing -of stoop to his narrow shoulders, and this has the effect of augmenting -his height. - -The face is a boy's face. It is likewise of the sort called "horse"; -with hollow cheeks and lantern jaws. The forehead is high and narrow. -The yellow hair is long, and tied in a cue with an eelskin--for eelskins -are according to the latest fashionable command sent up from Charleston. -The redeeming feature to the horse face is the eyes. These are big and -blue and deep, and tell of a mighty power for either love or hate. -They are Scotch-Irish eyes, loyal eyes, steadfast eyes, and of that -inveterate breed which if aroused can outstare, outdomineer Satan. - -As adding to the horse face a look of command, which sets well with -those blue eyes--so capable of tenderness and ferocity--is a high -predatory nose. The mouth, thin-lipped and wide, is replete of what folk -call character, but does nothing to soften a general expression which is -nothing if not iron. And yet the last word is applicable only at times. -The horse face never turns iron-hard unless danger presses, or perilous -deeds are to be done. In easier, relaxed hours one finds no sternness -there, but gayety and lightness and a love of pleasure. - -In dress the horse-faced boy is rather the fop, with a bottle-green -surtout of latest cut, high-collared, long-tailed, open to display a -flowered waistcoat of as many hues as May, from which struggles a ruffle -stiff with starch. The horsefaced boy has his predatory nose buried in -a law book. This is as it should be, for he is a student of the learned -Spruce McCay. - -There comes a step at the door; the horsefaced boy takes his nose -from between the covers of the book. Spruce McCay walks in, and throws -himself carelessly into a seat. He is a square, hearty man, with nose -up-tilted and eager, as though somewhere in the distance it sniffed an -orchard. He is of middle years, and well arrived at that highest ground, -just where the pathway of life begins to slope downward toward the final -yet still distant grave. - -Spruce McCay glances at a paper or two on his desk. Then, shoving all -aside, he fills and lights a corn-cob pipe. Through the smoke rings he -surveys the horse-faced boy; plainly he meditates a communication. - -"Andy, I've been thinking you over." - -Andy says "Yes?" expectantly. - -"You should cross the mountains." - -The blue eyes take on a bluer glint, and light up the horse face like -azure lamps. - -"Yes, a new country is the place for you. You are now about to be -admitted to practice law; not because you know law, but for the reason -that I have recommended it. As I say, you have little law knowledge; but -you possess courage, brains, perseverance, honesty, prudence and divers -other traits, which you take from your Carrickfergus ancestors. These -should carry you farther in the wilderness than any knowledge of the -books." - -The predatory nose snorts, and the horse face begins to glow -resentfully. - -"You think I know no law?" - -"No more than does Necessity! Not enough to keep you from being laughed -at in Rowan County! How should you? Your attention and your interest -have both run away to other things. I've watched you for two years -past. You are deep in the lore of cockfighting, but guiltless of the -Commentaries of our worthy Master Blackstone. If I were to ask you for -the Rule in Shelly's Case, you would be posed. At the same time you -could expound every rule that governs a horse race. In brief you are -accomplished in many gentlemanly things, while as barren of law learning -as a Hottentot. Now if you were a lad of fortune, instead of being as -poor as the crows, you might easily cut a figure of elegant idleness on -the North Carolina circuits. But you lack utterly of that money required -to gild and make tolerable your ignorance here at home. In the woods -along the Cumberland, that is to say in the Nashville and Jonesboro -courts, where ignorance and poverty are the rule, your deficiencies -will count for trifles. Also you will be surrounded by conditions that -promote courage, honesty and quickness to a first importance. On the -Cumberland the fact that you are a dead shot with rifle or pistol, and -can back the most unmanageable horse that ever looked through a bridle, -will place you higher in the confidence of men than would all the law -that Hobart, Hales and Hawkins ever knew. Now don't get angry. Think -over what I've said; the longer you look at it, the more you'll feel -that I am right. I'll see that you are given your sheepskin as a lawyer; -and, when you decide to migrate, I'll have you commissioned in that new -country as attorney for the state. This last will send you headlong into -the midst of a backwoods practice, where those native virtues you -own should find a field for their exercise, and your talents for -cockfighting and horse racing, added to your absolute genius for -firearms, be sure to advance you far." - -Spruce McCay raps the ashes from his corncob pipe. Just then one of the -house negroes taps at the door, as preliminary to intruding a respectful -head. The respectful head announces that visitors have arrived at -the big white mansion. Spruce McCay at this quits the office, and the -horse-faced Andy finds himself alone. - -For one hour he ponders the unpalatable words of his worthy master. His -vanity has been hurt; his self-love ruffled. None the less he feels that -a deal of truth lies tucked away in what Spruce McCay has said. Besides -a plunge into the untried wilderness rather matches his taste, and a -promised state's attorneyship is not to be despised. - -As the horse-faced Andy ruminates these things, laughter and much joyous -clatter is heard at the door. This time it is his two fellow students, -Crawford and McNairy. These young gentlemen have been out with their -guns, and now present themselves with a double backload of quails as the -fruits of it. The pair begin vociferously to inform the horse-faced Andy -concerning their day's adventures. He halts the conversational flow with -a repressive lift of the hand. - -"Gentlemen," says he, with a vast affectation of dignity, and as though -sixty were the years of each instead of twenty, "I desire your company -at supper in my rooms. Come at 7 o'clock. I shall have news for -you--news, and a proposition." - - - - -CHAPTER II--THE ROWAN HOUSE SUPPER - - -THE horse-faced Andy precedes the coming of his two friends to that -supper by two hours. As he moves up the street toward the Rowan House, -fair faces beam on him and fair hands wave him a salutation from certain -Salisbury verandas. In return he doffs his hat with an exaggerated -politeness, which becomes him as the acknowledged beau of the town. One -cannot blame those beaming fair faces and those saluting hands. Slim, -elegant, confident with a kind of polished cockyness that does not ill -become his years, our horse-faced one possesses what the world calls -"presence." No one will look on him without being impressed; he is -congenitally remarkable, and to see him once is to ever afterward expect -to hear him. Besides, for all his foppishness, there is a scar on his -sandy head, and a second on his hand, which were made by an English -saber when he had no more than entered upon his teens. Also he has shed -English blood to pay for those scars; and in a day which still heaves -and tosses with the ground swells of the Revolution, such stark matters -brevet one to the respect of men and the love of women. - -The foppish, horse-faced Andy strides into the Rowan House. In the -long-room he meets mine host Brown, who has fame as a publican, and none -as a sinner, throughout North Carolina. - -"Supper in my rooms, Mr. Brown," commands our hero; "supper for three. -Have it hot and ready at sharp seven. Also let us have plenty of whisky -and tobacco." - -Mine host Brown says that all shall be as ordered. - -The foppish Andy, with that grave manner of dignity which laughs at his -boyish twenty years, explains to his landlord that he will call for his -bill in the morning. - -"Have my horse, Cherokee," he says, "well groomed and saddled. To-morrow -I leave Salisbury." - -"Going West?" - -"West," returns Andy. - -"As to the bill," ventures mine host Brown, "would you like to play a -game of all-fours, and make it double or nothing?" - -Andy the horse-faced hesitates. - -"You have such vile luck," he says, as though remonstrating with mine -host Brown for a fault. "It seems shameful to play with you, since you -never win." - -Mine host Brown looks sheepishly apologetic. - -"For one as eager to play as I am," he responds, "it does look as though -I ought to know more about the game. However, since it's your last -night, we might as well preserve a record." - -Andy the horse-faced yields to the rabid anxiety of mine host Brown -to gamble. The game shall be played presently; meanwhile, there is an -errand which takes him to his rooms. - -Andy goes to his rooms; mine host Brown, after preparing a table in -the long-room for the promised game, saunters fatly--being rotund as -a publican should be--into the kitchen, to leave directions concerning -that triangular supper. There he encounters his wife, as rotund as -himself, supervising the energies of a phalanx of black Amazons, who -form the culinary forces of the Rowan House. - -"Young Jackson leaves in the morning, mother," observes mine host Brown -to Mrs. Brown, whom he always addresses as "mother." - -"For good?" asks Mrs. Brown, who is singeing the pin feathers from a -chicken of much fatness, and exceeding yellow as to leg. - -"Oh, I knew he was going," returns mine host Brown, rather irrelevantly. -"Spruce Mc-Cay told me that he was about to advise him to emigrate to -the western counties. Spruce says the Cumberland country is just the -place for him." - -"And now I suppose," remarks Mrs. Brown, "you'll let him win a good-by -game of cards, to square his bill." - -"Why not?" returns mine host Brown. "He's got no money; never had any -money. You yourself said, when he came here, to give him his board free, -because you knew and loved his dead mother. Now the Christian thing is -to let him win it. In that way his pride is saved; at the same time it -gives me amusement." - -"Well, Marmaduke," says Mrs. Brown, moving off with the yellow-legged -fowl, "I'm sure I don't care how you manage, only so you don't take his -money." - -"There never was a chance, mother. He never has any money, after his -clothes are bought." - -The game of all-fours is played; and is won by Andy of the horse face, -who thereby rounds off a run of card-luck that has continued unbroken -for two years. - -"It looks as though I'd never beat you!" exclaims mine host Brown, -pretending sadness and imitating a sigh. - -"You ought never to gamble," advises the horse-faced Andy solemnly. - -Mine host Brown produces his bill, wherein the charges for board, -lodging, laundry, tobacco, and whisky in pints, quarts and gallons are -set down on one side, to be balanced and acquitted by divers sums lost -at all-fours, the same being noted opposite. - -"There you are! All square!" says mine host Brown. - -"But the charges for to-night's supper?" - -"Mother"--meaning Mrs. Brown--"says the supper is to be with her -compliments." - -Steaming hot, the supper comes promptly at seven. It is followed, -steaming hot, by unlimited whisky punch. Pipes are lighted, and, with -glasses at easy hand, the three boys draw about the fire. The punch, the -pipes, and the crackling log fire are very comfortable adjuncts on an -October night. - -"And now," cries Crawford, who is full of life and interest, "now for -the news and the proposition!" - -McNairy nods owlish assent to the words of his volatile friend. He -intends one day to be a judge, and, while quite as lively as Crawford, -seizes on occasions such as this to practice his features in a -formidable woolsack gravity. - -"First," observes Andy, soberly sipping his punch, "let me put a -question: What is my standing in Rowan County?" - -"You are the recognized authority," cries Crawford, "on dog fighting, -cockfighting, and horse racing." - -McNairy nods. - -"Humph!" says Andy. Then, on the heels of a pause: "And what should you -say were my chief accomplishments?" - -Again Crawford takes it upon himself to reply. - -"You ride, shoot, run, jump, wrestle, dance and make love beyond -expression." - -McNairy the judicial nods. - -"Humph!" says Andy. - -The trio puff and sip in silence. - -"You say nothing for my knowledge of law?" This from the disgruntled -Andy, with a rising inflection that is like finding fault. - -"No!" cry the others in hearty concert. - -"You wouldn't believe us if we did," adds McNairy of the future -woolsack. - -"Neither would the Judge," returns Andy cynically. "The Judge" is the -title by which the three designate their master, Spruce Mc-Cay. Andy -goes on: "The news I promised is this. To-morrow I leave Salisbury. The -Judge has recommended my admission to the bar, and I shall take the oath -and get my license before I start. I shall transfer myself to the region -along the Cumberland, where I am told a barrister of my singular lack of -ability should find plenty of practice." - -"Why do you leave old Rowan?" asks woolsack McNairy, beginning to take -an interest. - -"Because I have no education, less law, and still less money. It seems -that these are conditions precedent to staying in Rowan with credit." - -"Well," cries McNairy the judicial, grasping Andy's long bony hand, "you -have as much education, as much law, and as much money as I. Under the -circumstances I shall go with you." - -"And I," breaks in the lively Crawford, "since I have none of those -ignorant and poverty-eaten qualifications you name, but on the contrary -am rich, wise and learned--I shall remain here. When the wilderness -casts you fellows out, come back and I shall welcome you. Pending -which--as Parson Hicks would say--receive my blessing." - -The evening wears on amid clouds of tobacco smoke and rivers of punch. -At the close the three take hold of hands, and sing a farewell song very -badly. Then, since they look on the evening as a sacred one, they wind -up by breaking the pipes they have smoked and the glasses they have -drunk from, to save them in the hereafter from profane and vulgar uses. -At last, rather deviously, they make their various ways to bed. - -The next day, young Andrew Jackson, barrister and counselor at law, with -all his belongings--save the rifle he carries, and the pistols in -his saddle holsters--crowded into a pair of saddlebags, rides out of -Salisbury on his bay horse Cherokee. He will stop at Martinsville for a -space, awaiting the judicial McNairy. - -Then the pair are to set their willing, hopeful faces for the -Cumberland. - -As Andy the horse-faced rides away that October afternoon, Henry Clay -is a fatherless boy of nine, living with his mother at the Virginia -Slashes; Daniel Webster, a sickly child of six, is toddling about his -father's New Hampshire farm; John C. Calhoun is a baby four years old -in a South Carolina farmhouse; John Quincy Adams, nineteen and just home -from a polishing trip to France, is a Harvard student; Martin Van Buren, -aged four, is playing about the tap room of his Dutch father's tavern at -Kinder-hook; while Aaron Burr, fortunate, foremost and full of promise, -has already won high station at the New York bar. None of these has ever -heard of Andy the horse-faced, nor he of them; yet one and all they are -fated to grow well acquainted with one another in the years to come, -and before the curtain is rung finally down on that tragedy-comedy-farce -which, played to benches ever full and ever empty, men call Existence. - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE BLOOMING RACHEL - - -NASHVILLE is the merest scrambling huddle of log houses. The most -imposing edifice is a blockhouse, built of logs squared by the broadaxe. -It is the home of the widow Donelson; and, since it is all her husband -left her when the Indians shot him down at the plow-stilts, and because -she must live, the widow Donelson has turned the blockhouse into a -boarding house. - -With the widow Donelson dwells her daughter Rachel, a beautiful brunette -of twenty, and the belle of the Cumberland. Rachel is vivacious and -bright; and, while there is much confusion among her nouns, pronouns, -verbs and adverbs in the matters of case, number, and tense, she shines -forth an indomitable conversationist. With frontier freedom she -laughs with everybody, jests with everybody, delights in everybody's -admiration; and this does not please her husband, Lewis Robards, who is -ignorant, suspicious, narrow, lazy, shiftless, jealous, and generally -drunk. One time and another he has accused Rachel of a tenderness for -every man in the settlement, and their quarrels have been frequent and -fierce. - -It is evening; the widow Donelson is preparing supper for the half -dozen boarders, assisted by the blooming Rachel. The moody Robards, half -soaked in corn whisky, sits by the open door, ear on the conversation, -eye on the not-over-distant woods. If the worthless Robards will not -work, at least he may maintain a halfbright lookout for murderous -Indians; and he does. - -The widow Donelson glances across from the corn bread she is mixing. - -"The runner who came on ahead," she says, addressing the blooming -Rachel, "reports the party as being due to-morrow. Mr. Jackson, the new -State's Attorney, who will come with it, is to board and lodge with us." - -The blooming Rachel looks brightly up. The drunken Robards likewise -looks up; but his face is gloomy with incipient jealousy. - -"A Mr. Jackson, eh?" he sneers. Then, to the blooming Rachel: "It's -mighty likely you'll find in him a new lover to try your wiles on." - -The blooming Rachel colors and her black eyes snap, but she holds her -tongue. The widow Donelson is also silent. The mother and daughter have -found wordlessness the best return to those insults, which it is the -habit of the jealous drunkard to hurl at his pretty wife. - -The runner made true report, and the party in which travels the -horse-faced Andy makes its appearance next day. Tall, slender, elegant, -self-possessed, and with a manner which marks him above the common, he -is disliked by the drunken Robards on sight. When he declines to drink -with that sot, the dislike crystallizes into hatred. The outrageous -jealousy of Robards has found a new reason for its green-eyed existence, -and he already goes drunkenly pondering the slaughter of the horse-faced -Andy. Since he will never advance beyond the pondering stage, for -certain reasons called "craven" among men of clean courage, his -homicidal lucubrations are the less important. - -Andy the horse-faced does not notice Robards. He does, however, notice -with a thrill of pleasure the beautiful Rachel, and is glad to find his -lines are down in such pleasant places. - -He is vastly taken with the boarding house of the widow Donelson, and -incautiously says as much. He praises her corn pone and fried squirrel, -and vehemently avers that her hog and hominy are the best he ever ate. - -Rachel the blooming does not allow her husband's jealousy to interrupt -hospitality, and piles high the young State's Attorney's plate with -these delicacies. She even brings out a store of wild honey and -cream--dainties sparse and few and far between in these rude regions. -She calls this "hospitality"; her jealous drunkard of a husband calls -it "making advances." He says that in the course of a long, and he might -have added misspent, life, he has observed that a coquette, with designs -on a man's heart, never fails to begin by making an ally of his stomach. - -"Hence," says the drunken deductionist, "that honey and cream." - -That night, after Rachel the blooming and her drunken husband retire, a -bitter quarrel breaks out between them. It rages with such fury that -the bicker arouses one Overton, who occupies the adjoining chamber. -Mr. Overton is a severe character, firm and clear as to his rights. He -objects to having his rest disturbed, alleging that he has troubles -of his own. Taking final offense at the language of the brute Robards, -which is more emphatic than nice, he gets his pistols. Rapping on the -intervening wall to invoke attention, he informs that vituperative -drunkard of his intention to instantly put him (Robards) to death, -should he so much as raise his voice above a whisper for the balance of -the night. - -Rachel seeks her mother, and the jealous drunkard quiets down. He is not -unacquainted with Mr. Overton, who is reputed to possess as restless -a brace of hair triggers as ever owned flint and pan. Altogether he is -precisely the one whose word would carry weight with such as Robards, -and, on the back of his interference in the domestic affairs of that -inebriate, a great peace settles upon the blockhouse of the widow -Donelson which abides throughout the night. - -As for the horse-faced State's Attorney, he knows nothing of the -differences between Rachel and the jealous Robards. He does not sleep -in the blockhouse, having been appointed to a blanket couch in the -"Bunk House," a separate dormitory structure which stands at a little -distance. - -During breakfast, the blooming Rachel again freights daintily deep the -plate of the young State's Attorney. Thereupon the favored one beams his -thanks, while behind his back as though to soothe his hate, the -malevolent Rob-ards sits cleaning a rifle, casting upon him the while an -occasional midnight look. Just across is the taciturn Overton, -proprietor of those restless hair triggers, wondering over his bacon and -eggs where this drama of love and threatened murder is to end. - - - - -CHAPTER IV--COLONEL WAIGHTSTILL AVERY OFFENDS - - -NOW, when the horse-faced Andy finds himself in the Cumberland country, -he begins to look about him. Being a lawyer, his instinct leads him -to consider those opposing ranks of commerce, the debtor and creditor -classes. He finds the former composed of persons of the highest honor. -Also, their honor is sensitive and easily touched, being sensitive and -touchy in proportion as the bulk of their debts is increased. The debtor -class, as the same finds representation about those two Cumberland -forums, Nashville and Jonesboro, holds it to be the privilege of -every gentleman, when dunned, to challenge and if practicable kill his -creditor honorably at ten paces. - -So firm indeed is the debtor class in this belief, that the creditor -class, less warlike and with more to lose, seldom presents a bill. -Neither does it refuse the opposition credit; for the debtor class also -clings to the no less formidable theory, that to refuse credit is an -insult quite as stinging as a dun direct. - -In short, the horse-faced Andy discovers the region to be a very Arcadia -for debtors. Their credit is without a limit and their debts are never -due. He resolves to disturb these commercial Arcadians; he will break -upon them as a Satan of solvency come to trouble their debt paradise. - -The horse-faced Andy, as has been noted, is Scotch-Irish. Being Irish, -his honor is as sensitive and his soul as warlike as are those of -the most debt-eaten individual along the Cumberland. Being Scotch, he -believes debts should be paid, and holds that a creditor may ask for -his money without forfeiting life. He urges these views in tavern and -street; and thereupon the creditors, taking heart, come to him with -their claims. He accepts the trusts thus proffered; as a corollary, -having now flown in the face of the militant debtor class, he is soon to -prove his manhood. - -The horse-faced Andy files a declaration for a client, on a mixed claim -based upon bacon, molasses and rum. The defendant, a personage yclept -Irad Miller, genus debtor, species keel boatman, is a very patrician -among bankrupts, boasting that he owes more and pays less than any -man south of the Ohio river. Also, having been already offended by the -foppish frivolity of that ruffled shirt and grass-green surtout, he is -outraged now, when the ruffled grass-green one brings suit against him. - -Breathing fire and smoke, the insulted Irad lowers his horns, and starts -for the horse-faced Andy. His methods at this crisis are characteristic -of the Cumberland; he merely grinds the horse-faced Andy's polished boot -beneath his heel, mentioning casually the while that he himself is "half -hoss, half alligator," and can drink the Cumberland dry at a draught. - -This is fighting talk, and the horse-faced Andy so accepts it. He -surveys the truculent Irad with the cautious tail of his eye, and finds -him discouragingly tall and broad and thick. The survey takes time, but -the injured Irad prevents it being wasted by again grinding the polished -toes. - -Andy the strategic suddenly seizes a rail from the nearby fence, and -charges the indebted one. The end of the rail strikes that insolvent -in what is vulgarly known as the pit of the stomach, and doubles him up -like a two-foot rule. At that, he who is "half hoss, half alligator," -gives forth a screech of which an injured wild cat might be proud, and -perceiving the rail poised for a second charge makes off. This small -adventure gives the horse-faced Andy station, and an avalanche of claims -pours in upon him. - -Having established himself in the confidence of common men, it still -remains with our horsefaced hero to conquer the esteem of the bar. The -opportunity is not a day behind his collision with that violent one of -equine-alligator genesis. In good sooth, it is an offshoot thereof. - -The bruised Irad's case is up for trial. His counsel, Colonel -Waightstill Avery, hails from a hamlet, called Morganton, on the thither -side of the Blue Ridge. Colonel Waightstill is of middle age, pompous -and high, and the youth of Andy--slim, lean, eager, horse face as -hairless as an egg--offends him. - -"Your honor," cries Colonel Waightstill, addressing the bench, "who, -pray, is the opposing counsel?" The boyish Andy stands up. "Must I, -your honor," continues the outraged Colonel Waightstill, "must I cross -forensic blades with a child? Have I journeyed all the long mountain -miles from Morganton to try cases with babes and sucklings? Or perhaps, -your honor"--here Colonel Waightstill waxes sarcastic--"I have mistaken -the place. Possibly this is not a court, but a nursery." - -Colonel Waightstill sits down, and the horsefaced Andy, on the leaf of a -law book, indites the following: - -_August 12, 1788._ - -_Sir: When a man's feelings and charector are injured he ought to seek -speedy redress. My charector you have injured; and further you have -Insulted me in the presunce of a court and a large aujence. I therefore -call upon you as a gentleman to give me satisfaction for the same; -I further call upon you to give me an answer immediately without -Equivocation and I hope you can do without dinner until the business -is done; for it is consistent with the character of a gentleman when he -injures a man to make speedy reparation; therefore I hope you will not -fail in meeting me this day._ - -_From yr Hbl st.,_ - -_Andw Jackson._ - -The horse-faced one spells badly; but Marlborough did, Washington does -and Napoleon will spell worse. It is a notable fact that conquering -militant souls have ever been better with the sword than with the -spelling book. - -The judge is a gentleman of quick and apprehensive eye, as frontier -jurists must be. - -Also, he is of finest sensibilities, and can appreciate the feelings of -a man of honor. He sees the note shoved across to Colonel Waightstill -by the horse-faced Andy, and at once orders a recess. The judge, with -delicate tact, says the Cumberland bottoms are heavy with the seeds of -fever, and that it is his practice to consume prudent rum and quinine at -this hour. - -While the judge goes for his rum and quinine, Colonel Waightstill and -the horse-faced Andy repair to a convenient ravine at the rear of the -log courthouse. A brother practitioner attends upon Colonel Waightstill, -while the interests of the horse-faced Andy are conserved by Mr. -Overton, who espouses his cause as a fellow boarder at the widow -Donelson's. Mr. Overton has with him his invaluable hair triggers; and, -since he wins the choice, presents them politely, butt first, to the -second of Colonel Waightstill, who selects one for his principal. The -ground is measured and pegged; the fight will be at ten paces. - -As Mr. Overton gives the horse-faced Andy his weapon, he asks: - -"What can you do at this distance?" - -"Snuff a candle." - -"Good! Let me offer a word of advice: Don't kill; don't even wound. The -_casus belli_ does not justify it, and you can establish your credit -without. Should your adversary require a second shot, it will then be -the other way. His failure to apologize, coupled with a demand for -another shot, should mean his death warrant." - -The horse-faced Andy approves this counsel. And yet, if he must not -wound he may warn, and to that admonitory end sends his ounce of lead -so as to all but brush the ear of Colonel Waightstill. That gentleman's -bullet flies safely wild. After the exchange of shots, the seconds hold -a consultation. Mr. Overton says that his principal must receive an -apology, or the duel shall proceed. - -Colonel Waightstill's second talks with that gentleman, and finds him -much softened as to mood. The flying lead, brushing his ear like the -wing of a death angel, has set him thinking. He now distrusts that -simile of "babes and sucklings," and is even ready to concede the -intimation that the horse-faced Andy is a child to be far-fetched. -Indeed, he has conceived a vast respect, almost an affection, for his -youthful adversary, and will not only apologize, but declares that, for -purposes of litigation, he shall hereafter regard the horse-faced Andy -as a being of mature years. All this says Colonel Waight-still, under -the respectful spell of that flying lead; and if not in these phrases, -then in words to the same effect. - -The horse-faced Andy shakes hands with Colonel Waightstill, and they -return to the log courthouse, where the rum-and-quinine jurist is -pleasantly awaiting them. The trial is again called, and the horse-faced -Andy secures a verdict. What is of more consequence, he secures the -respect of bench and bar; hereafter no one will so much as dream of -disputing his word, should he lay claim to the years of Methuselah. That -careful grazing shot at Colonel Waightstill, ages the horse-faced Andy -wondrously in Cumberland estimation. - -Good fortune is not yet done with Andy of the horse face. Within hours -after the meeting in that convenient ravine, he is given new opportunity -to fix himself in the good regard of folk. - -It is on the verge of midnight. A gentleman, unsteady with his cups, -seeks temporary repose on the grassy litter which surrounds the tavern -haystack. Being comfortable, and safe against a fall, he of the too many -cups refreshes himself with his pipe. Pipe going, he falls into thought; -and next, in the midst of his preoccupation, he sets the hay afire. It -burns like tinder, and the flames, wind-flaunted, catch the thatched -roof of the stable. - -The settlement is threatened; the wild cry of "Fire!" is raised; from -tavern and dwelling, men, women and children come trooping forth, clad -in little besides looks of terror. The scene is one of confusion and -misdirection; no one knows what to do. Meanwhile, the flames leap from -the stable to the tavern itself. - -It is Andy the horse-faced who brings order out of chaos. Born for -leadership, command comes easy to him. He calls for buckets, and with -military quickness forms a double line of men between the river and -the flames. The full buckets chase each other along one line, while the -empties are returned by the second to be refilled. When the lines are -working in watery concord, he organizes the balance of the community -into a wet-blanket force. By his orders, coverlets, tablecloths, -blankets, anything, everything that will serve, are dipped in the river -and spread on exposed roofs. In an encouragingly short space, the fire -is checked and the settlement saved. - -While the excitement is at its height, that pipe incendiary, who started -the conflagration, breaks through the double line of water passers, and -begins to give orders. He is as wild as was Nero at the burning of -Rome. Finding this person disturbing the effective march of events, the -horse-faced Andy--who is nothing if not executive--knocks him down with -a bucket. The Cumberland Nero falls into the river, and the ducking, -acting in happy conjunction with the stunning thump, brings him to the -shore a changed and sobered man. That bucket promptitude, wherewith he -deposed Nero, becomes one of those several immediate arguments which -make mightily for the communal advancement of Andy the horse-faced. - - - - -CHAPTER V--THE WINNING OF A WIFE - - -ALL these energetic matters happen at aforesaid, is dancing attendance -upon the court. The fame of them travels to Nashville in advance of his -return, and works a respectful change toward him in the attitude of the -public. Hereafter he is to be called "Andrew" by ones who know him well; -while others, less acquainted, will on military occasions hail him as -"Cap'n" and on civil ones as "Square." On every hand, reference to him -as "horse-faced" is to be dropped; wherefore this history, the effort of -which is to follow close in the wake of the actual, will from this point -profit by that polite example. - -The household at the widow Donelson's learns of the Jonesboro valor and -executive promptitude of the young State's Attorney. The blooming Rachel -rejoices, while her Jonesboro, where the horse-faced one, in the -interests of the creditor class drunken spouse turns sullen. His -jealousy of Andrew is multiplied, as that young gentleman's fame -increases. The fame, however, is of a sort that seriously mislikes the -drunken Robards, who is at heart a hare. Wherefore, while his jealousy -grows, he no longer makes it the tavern talk, as was his sottish wont. - -Affairs run briskly prosperous with Andrew, and he finds himself engaged -in half the litigation of the Cumberland. There is little money, but -the region owns a currency of its own. Some wise man has said that the -circulating medium of Europe is gold, of Africa men, of Asia women, of -America land. The client's of Andrew reward his labors with land, and -many a "six-forty," by which the slang of the Cumberland identifies -a section of land, becomes his. Finally he owns such an array of -wilderness square miles, polka-dotted about between the Cumberland and -the Mississippi, that the aggregate acreage swells into the thousands. -Those acres, however, are hardly more valuable than are the brown leaves -wherewith each autumn carpets them. - -While the ardent Andrew is pushing his way at the bar, and accumulating -"six-forties," he continues to board at the widow Donelson's. - -The blooming Rachel delights in his society--so polished, so splendidly -different from that of the drunkard Robards! Once or twice, too, -when Andrew, in his saddlebag excursions from court to court, has -a powder-burning brush with Indians and saves his sandy scalp by a -narrowish margin, the red cheek of Rachel is seen to whiten. That is to -say, the drunkard Robards sees it whiten; the purblind Andrew never once -observes that mark of tender concern. The pistol repute of the decisive -Andrew serves when he is by to stifle remark on the lip of the recreant -Robards. But there come hours when the latter has the blooming Rachel to -himself, at which time he raves like one demon-possessed. He avers that -the unconscious Andrew is the lover of the blooming Rachel, and in so -doing lies like an Ananias. However, the drunken one has the excuse of -jealousy; which emotion is not only green-eyed but cross-eyed, and of -all things--as history shows--most apt to mislead the accurate vision of -folk. - -[Illustration: 0063] - -Andrew overflows of sentiment, and often in moments of loneliness turns -homesick. This is the more marvelous, since never from his very cradle -days has he had a home. Being homesick--one may as well call it that, -for want of a better word--he goes out to the orchard fence, a lonely -spot, cut off from view by intercepting bushes, and devotes himself -to melancholy. This melancholy, as often happens with high-strung, -vanity-bitten young gentlemen, is for the greater part nothing more than -the fomentations of his egotism and conceit. But Andrew does not know -this truth, and wears a fine tragic air as one beset of what poets term -"a nameless grief." - -One day the blooming Rachel discovers the melancholy Andrew, dreamily -mournful by the orchard fence. She watches him unperceived, and her -gentle bosom yearns over him. The blooming Rachel is not wanting in that -taint of romanticism to which all border folk are born; and now, to -see this Hector!--this lion among men!--so bent in sadness, moves her -tenderly. At that it is only a kind of maternal tenderness; for the -blooming Rachel has a wealth of mother love, and no children upon whom -to lavish it. She stands looking at the melancholy one, and would give -worlds if she might only take his head to her sympathetic bosom and -cherish it. - -The blooming Rachel approaches, and cheerily greets the gloomy one. She -seeks to uplift his spirits. Under the sweet spell of her, he tells how -wholly alone he is. He speaks of his mother and how her very grave is -lost. He relates how the Revolution swallowed up the lives of his two -brothers. - -"And your father?" - -"He was buried the week before I was born." - -The two stay by the orchard fence a long while, and talk on many things; -but never once on love. - -The drunken Robards, fiend-guided, gets a green-eyed glimpse of them. -With that his jealousy receives added edge, and--the better to decide -upon a course--he hurries to a grog-gery to pour down rum by the cup. -Either he drinks beyond his wont, or that rum is of sterner impulse than -common; for he becomes pot-valorous, and with curses vows the death of -Andrew. - -The drunken Robards, filled with rum to the brim, issues forth to -execute his threats. He finds his victim still sadly by the orchard -fence; but alone, since the blooming Rachel has been called to aid -in supper-getting. The pot-valorous Robards bursts into a torrent of -jealous recrimination. - -The melancholy Andrew cannot believe his ears! His melancholy takes -flight when he does understand, and in its stead comes white-hot anger. - -"What! you scoundrel!" he roars. The blue eyes blaze with such ferocity -that Robards the craven starts back. In a moment the other has control -of himself. "Sir!" he grits, "you shall give me satisfaction!" - -Robards the drunken says nothing, being frozen of fear. The enraged -Andrew stalks away in quest of the taciturn Overton who owns those hair -triggers. - -"Let us take a walk," says hair-trigger Overton, running his arm inside -the lean elbow of Andrew. Once in the woods, he goes on: "What do you -want to do?" - -"Kill him! I would put him in hell in a second!" - -"Doubtless! Having killed him, what then will you do?" - -"I don't understand." - -"Let me explain: You kill Robards. His wife is a widow. Also, because -you have killed Robards in a quarrel over her, she is the talk of -the settlement. Therefore, I put the question: Having made Rachel the -scandal of the Cumberland, what will you do?" - -There is a long, embarrassed pause. Presently Andrew lifts his gaze to -the cool eyes of his friend. - -"I shall offer her marriage. She shall, if she accept it, have the -protection of my name." - -"And then," goes on the ice-and-iron Overton, "the scandal will be -redoubled. They will say that you and Rachel, plotting together, have -murdered Robards to open a wider way for your guilty loves." - -Andrew takes a deep breath. "What would you counsel?" he asks. - -"One thing,"--laying his hand on Andrew's shoulder--"under no -circumstances, not even to save your own life, must you slay Robards. -You might better slay Rachel; since his death by your hand spells her -destruction. Good people would avoid her as though she were the plague. -Never more, on the Cumberland, should she hold up her head." - -That night the fear-eaten Robards solves the situation which his crazy -jealousy has created. He starts secretly for the North. He tells two or -three that he will never more call the blooming Rachel wife. - -For a month there is much silence, and some restraint, at the widow -Donelson's. This condition wears away; and, while no one says so, -everybody feels relaxed and relieved by the absence of the drunken -Robards. No one names him, and there is tacit agreement to forget -the creature. The drunken Robards, however, has no notion of being -forgotten. Word comes down from above that he will return and reclaim -his wife. At this the black eyes of Rachel sparkle dangerously. - -"That monster," she cries, "shall never kiss my lips, nor so much as -touch my hand again!" - -By advice of her mother, and to avoid the drunken Robards--who promises -his hateful appearance with each new day--the blooming Rachel resolves -to take passage on a keel boat for Natchez. Andrew, in deep concern, -declares that he shall accompany her. He says that he goes to protect -her from those Indians who make a double fringe of savage peril along -the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. Overton, the taciturn, -shrugs his shoulders; the keel-boat captain is glad to have with him -the steadiest rifle along the Cumberland, and says as much; the blooming -Rachel is glad, but says so only with her eyes; the Nashville good -people say nothing, winking in silence sophisticated eyes. - -Robards the drunken, now when they are gone, plays the ill-used husband -to the hilts. He seems to revel in the rle, and, to keep it from -cooling in interest, petitions the Virginia Legislature for a divorce. -In course of time the news climbs the mountains, and descends into the -Cumberland, that the divorce is granted; while similar word floats down -to Natchez with the keel boats. - -The slow story of the blooming Rachel's release reaches our two in -Natchez. Thereupon Andrew leads Rachel the blooming before a priest; and -the priest blesses them, and names them man and wife. That autumn they -are again at the widow Donelson's; but the blooming Rachel, once Mrs. -Robards, is now Mrs. Jackson. - -Slander is never the vice of a region that goes armed to the teeth. -Thus it befalls that now, when the two are back on the Cumberland, -those sophisticated ones forget to wink. There comes not so much as the -arching of a brow; for no one is so careless of life as all that. The -whole settlement can see that the dangerous Andrew is watching with -those steel-blue eyes. - -At the first suggestion that his Rachel has been guilty of wrong, he -will be at the throat of her maligner like a panther. - -Time flows on, and a horrible thing occurs. There comes a new word -that no divorce was granted by that Legislature; and this new word is -indisputable. There _is_ a divorce, one granted by a court; but, as an -act of separation between Rachel the blooming and the drunken Robards, -that decree of divorce is long months younger than the empowering act of -the Richmond Legislature, which mistaken folk regarded as a divorce. -The good priest's words, when he named our troubled two as man and wife, -were ignorantly spoken. During months upon months thereafter, through -all of which she was hailed as "Mrs. Jackson," the blooming Rachel was -still the wife of the drunken Robards. - -The blow strikes Andrew gray; but he says never a word. He blames -himself for this shipwreck; where his Rachel was involved, he should -have made all sure and invited no chances. - -The injury is done, however; he must now go about its repair. There is a -second marriage, at which the silent Overton and the widow Donelson are -the only witnesses, and for the second time a priest congratulates our -storm-tossed ones as man and wife. This time there is no mistake. - -The young husband sends to Charleston; and presently there come to -him over the Blue Ridge, the finest pair of dueling pistols which the -Cumberland has ever beheld. They are Galway saw-handles, rifle-barreled; -a breath discharges them, and they are sighted to the splitting of a -hair. - -"What are they for?" asks Overton the taciturn, balancing one in each -experienced hand. - -In the eyes of Andrew gathers that steel-blue look of doom. "They are to -kill the first villain who speaks ill of my wife," says he. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--DEAD-SHOT DICKINSON - - -THE sandy-haired Andrew now devotes himself to the practice of law and -the domestic virtues. In exercising the latter, he has the aid of the -blooming Rachel, toward whom he carries himself with a tender chivalry -that would have graced a Bayard. Having little of books, he is earnest -for the education of others, and becomes a trustee of the Nashville -Academy. - -About this time the good people of the Cumberland, and of the regions -round about, believing they number more than seventy thousand souls, are -seized of a hunger for statehood. They call a constitutional convention -at Knoxville, and Andrew attends as a delegate from his county of -Davidson. Woolsack McNairy, his fellow student in the office of Spruce -Mc-Cay, is also a delegate. The woolsack one has-realized that dream of -old Salisbury, and is now a judge. - -Andrew and woolsack McNairy are members of the committee which draws -a constitution for the would-be commonwealth. The constitution, when -framed, is brought by its authors into open convention, and wranglingly -adopted. Also, "Tennessee" is settled upon for a name, albeit the ardent -Andrew, who is nothing if not tribal, urges that of "Cumberland." - -The constitution goes, with the proposition of statehood, before -Congress in Philadelphia; and, following a sharp fight, in which such -fossilized ones as Rufus King oppose and such quick spirits as Aaron -Burr sustain, the admission of "Tennessee," the new State is created. - -Its hunting-shirt citizenry, well pleased with their successful step in -nation building, elect Andrew to the House of Representatives. A little -later, he is taken from the House and sent to the Senate. There he -meets with Mr. Jefferson, who is the Senate's presiding officer, being -vice-president of the nation, and that accurate parliamentarian and -polished fine gentleman writes of him: - -"He never speaks on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen -him attempt it repeatedly, but as often choke with rage." There also he -encounters Aaron Burr; and is so far socially sagacious as to model -his deportment upon that of the American Chesterfield, ironing out -its backwoods wrinkles and savage creases, until it fits a _salon_ as -smoothly well as does the deportment of Burr himself. Our hero finds but -one other man about Congress for whom he conceives a friendship equal to -that which he feels for Aaron Burr, and he is Edward Livingston. - -Andrew the energetic discovers the life of a senator to be one of -dawdling uselessness, overlong drawn out; and says so. He anticipates -the acrid Randolph of Roanoke, and declares that he never winds his -watch while in Congress, holding all time spent there as wasted and -thrown away. - -Idleness rusts him; and, being of a temper even with that of best -Toledo steel, he refuses to rust patiently. Preyed upon and carked of -an exasperating leisure, which misfits both his years and his -fierce temperament, he seeks refuge in what amusements are rife in -Philadelphia. He goes to Mr. McElwee's Looking-glass Store, 70 South -Fourth Street, and pays four bits for a ticket to the readings of Mr. -Fennell, who gives him Goldsmith, Thompson and Young. The readings -pall upon him, and athirst for something more violent, he clinks down -a Mexican dollar, witnesses the horsemanship at Mr. Rickett's -amphitheater, and finds it more to his horse-loving taste. When all else -fails, he buys a seat in a box at the Old Theater in Cedar Street, and -is entertained by the sleight of hand of wizard Signor Falconi. On -the back of it all he grows heartily sick of the Senate, and of -civilization, as the latter finds exposition in Philadelphia, and -resigns his place and goes home. - -When he arrives in Nashville, the Legislature--which still holds that -he should be engaged upon some public work--elects him to the supreme -bench.... - -_{There are missing paragraphs which are not found in any online edition -of this ebook}_ - -....objectionable Mr. Bean with those Galway saw-handles; and that -violent person surrenders unconditionally. In elucidating his sudden -tameness and its causes, Mr. Bean subsequently explains to a disgusted -admirer: - -"I looks at the Jedge, an' I sees shoot in his eye; an' thar warn't -shoot in nary 'nother eye in the crowd. So I says to myse'f, says I, 'Old -Hoss, it's about time to sing small!' An' I does." - -Notwithstanding those leaden exchanges with the Governor, and -the conquest of the discreet Mr. Bean, our jurist finds the bench -inexpressibly tedious. At last he resigns from it, as he did from the -Senate, and again retreats to private life. - -Here his forethoughtful Scotch blood begins to assert itself, and he -goes seriously to the making of money. With his one hundred and fifty -slaves, he tills his plantation as no plantation on the Cumberland was -ever tilled before; and the cotton crops he "makes" are at once the -local boast and wonder. He starts an inland shipyard, and builds keel -and flat boats for the river commerce with New Orleans. He opens a -store, sells everything from gunpowder to quinine, broadcloth by the -bolt to salt by the barrel, and takes his pay in the heterogeneous -currency of the region, whereof 'coon skins are a smallest subsidiary -coin. Also, it is now that he is made Major General of Militia, an honor -for which he has privily panted, even as the worn hart panteth for the -water brook. - -When he is a general, the blooming Rachel cuts and bastes and stitches a -gorgeous uniform for her Bayard, in which labor of love she exhausts the -Nashville supply of gold braid. Once the new General dons that effulgent -uniform, which he does upon the instant it is completed, he offers a -spectacle of such brilliancy that the bedazzled public talks facetiously -of smoked glass. The new General in no wise resents this jest, being -blandly tolerant of a backwoods sense of humor which suggests it. -Besides, while the public has its joke, he has the uniform and his -commission; and these, he opines, give him vastly the better of the -situation. - -Many friends, many foes, says the Arab, and now the popular young -General finds his path grown up of enemies. There be reasons for the -sprouting of these malevolent gentry. The General is the idol of the -people. He can call them about him as the huntsman calls his hounds. -At word or sign from him, they follow and pull down whatsoever man or -measure he points to as his quarry of politics. This does not match with -the ambitions of many a pushing gentleman, who is quite as eager for -popular preference, and--he thinks--quite as much entitled to it, as is -the General. - -These disgruntled ones, baffled in their political advancement by the -General, take darkling counsel among themselves. The decision they -arrive at is one gloomy enough. They cannot shake the General's hold -upon the people. Nothing short of his death promises a least ray of -relief. He is the sun; while he lives he alone will occupy the popular -heavens. His destruction would mean the going down of that sun. In the -night which followed, those lesser plotting luminaries might win for -themselves some twinkling visibility. - -It is the springtime of the malevolent ones' conspiracy, and the plot -they make begins to blossom for the bearing of its lethal fruit. There -is in Nashville one Charles Dickinson. By profession he is a lawyer, -albeit of practice intermittent and scant. In figure he is tall, -handsome, graceful with a feline grace. If there be aught in the old -Greek's theory touching the transmigration of souls, then this Dickinson -was aforetime and in another life a tiger. He is sinuous, powerful, -vain, narrowly cruel, with a sleek purring gloss of manner over all. -Also, he is of "good family"--that defense and final refuge of folk -who would else sink from respectable sight in the mire of their own -well-earned disrepute. - -Mr. Dickinson has one accomplishment, a physical one. So nicely does his -eye match his hand, that he may boast himself the quickest, surest shot -in all the world. Knowing his vanity, and the deadly certainty of his -pistols, the conspirators work upon him. They point out that to kill the -General under circumstances which men approve, will be an easy instant -step to greatness. Urged by his vanity, permitted by his cruelty, -dead-shot Dickinson rises to the glittering lure. - -Give a man station and fortune, and while his courage is not sapped -his prudence is promoted. The poor, obscure man will risk himself more -readily than will the eminent rich one, not that he is braver, but he -has less to lose. The General--who has been in both Houses of Congress, -and was a judge on the bench besides--will not be hurried to the field, -as readily as when he was merely Andrew the horse-faced. However, those -malignant secret ones are ingenious. They know a name that cannot -fail to set him ablaze for blood. They whisper that name to dead-shot -Dickinson. - -It is a banner day at the Clover Bottom track. The General's Truxton is -to run--that meteor among race horses, the mighty Truxton! The blooming -Rachel, seated in her carriage, is where she can view the finish. The -General--one of the Clover Bottom stewards--is in the judge's stand. -Dead-shot Dickinson, as the bell rings on the race, takes his stand at -the blooming Rachel's carriage wheel. He is not there to see a race, but -to plant an insult. - -"Go!" cries the starter. - -Away rushes the field, the flying Truxton in the lead! Around they -whirl, the little jockeys plying hand and heel! They sweep by the -three-quarters post! The great Truxton, eye afire, nostrils wide, comes -down the stretch with the swiftness of the thrown lance! Behind, ten -generous lengths, trail the beaten ruck! The red mounts to the cheek of -the blooming Rachel; her black eyes shine with excitement! She applauds -the invincible Truxton with her little hands. - -"He is running away with them!" she cries. - -Dead-shot Dickinson turns to the friend who is conveniently by his side. -The chance he waited for has come. - -"Running away with them!" he sneers, repeating the phrase of the -blooming Rachel. "To be sure! He takes after his master, who ran away -with another man's wife." - - - - -CHAPTER VII--HOW THE GENERAL FOUGHT - - -THE General seeks the taciturn Over-ton--that wordless one of the -uneasy hair triggers. - -"It is a plot," says the General. "And yet this man shall die." - -Hair-trigger Overton bears a challenge to dead-shot Dickinson, and is -referred to that marksman's second, Hanson Catlet. Hair-trigger Overton -and Mr. Catlet agree on Harrison's Mills, a long Day's ride away in -Kentucky. There are laws against dueling in Tennessee; wherefore her -citizens, when bent on blood, repair to Kentucky. To make all equal, -and owning similar laws, the Kentuckians, when blood hungry, take one -another to Tennessee. The arrangement is both perfect and polite, not -to say urbane, and does much to induce friendly relations between these -sister commonwealths. - -Place selected, Mr. Catlet insists upon putting off the fight for a -week. His principal is nothing if not artistic. He must send across the -Blue Ridge Mountains for a famous brace of pistols. His duel with the -General will have its page in history. He insists, therefore, upon -making every nice arrangement to attract the admiration of posterity. -He will kill the General, of course; and, by way of emphasizing his -gallantry, offers wagers to that effect. He bets three thousand dollars -that he will kill the General the first fire. - -The General makes no wagers, but holds long pow-wows with hair-trigger -Overton over their glasses and pipes. The fight is to be at -twelve paces, each man toeing a peg. The word agreed on is: -"Fire--one--two--three--stop!" Both are free to kill after the word -"Fire," and before the word "Stop." - -Hair-trigger Overton and the General give themselves up to a heartfelt -study of what advantages and disadvantages are presented by the -situation. They decide to let the gifted Dickinson shoot first. He is -so quick that the General cannot hope to forestall his fire. Also, any -undue haste on the General's part might spoil his aim. By the pros and -cons of it, as weighed between them, it is plain that the General must -receive the fire of dead-shot Dickinson. He will be hit; doubtless the -wound will bring death. He must, however, bend every iron energy to the -task of standing on his feet long enough to kill his adversary. - -"Fear not! I'll last the time!" says the General. "He shall go with me; -for I've set my heart on his blood." - -Those wonderful pistols come over the Blue Ridge, and dead-shot -Dickinson with his friends set out for that far-away Kentucky fighting -ground. They make gala of the business, and laugh and joke as they ride -along. By way of keeping his hand in, and to give the confidence of -his admirers a wire edge, dead-shot Dickinson unbends in sinister -exhibitions of his pistol skill. At a farmer's house a gourd is hanging -by a string from the bough of a tree. Deadrshot Dickinson, at twenty -paces, cuts the string; the gourd falls to the ground. - -"Some gentlemen will be along presently," he says. "Show them that -string, and tell them how it was cut." - -At a wayside inn he puts four bullets into a mark the size of a silver -dollar. - -"When General Jackson arrives," he observes, tossing a gold piece to the -innkeeper, "say that those shots were fired at twenty-four paces." - -And so with song and shout and jest and pistol firing, the Dickinson -party troop forward. They arrive in the early evening and put up at -Harrison's tavern. The fight is for seven o'clock in the morning. - -Behind this gay cavalcade are journeying the General and hair-trigger -Overton. The farmer repeats the story of the gourd and its bullet-broken -string. A bit farther, and the innkeeper calls attention to that -quartette of shots, which took effect within the little circumference -of a dollar piece. The stern pair behold these marvels unmoved; -hair-trigger Overton merely shrugs his shoulders, while the General's -lip curls contemptuously. Dead-shot Dickinson has thrown away his lead -and powder if he hoped to shake these men of granite. Upon coming to the -battle ground, the General and hair-trigger Overton avoid the Harrison -tavern, which shelters the jovial Dickinson _coterie_, and put up at the -inn of David Miller. That evening, they hold their final conference in -a cloud of tobacco smoke, like a couple of Indians. Finally, the General -goes to bed, and sleeps like a tree. - -With the first blue streaks of morning our two war parties are up -and moving. They meet in a convenient grove of poplars. The ground is -stepped off and pegged; after which hair-trigger Overton and Mr. Catlet -pitch a coin. The impartial coin awards the choice of positions to Mr. -Catlet, and gives the word to hair-trigger Overton. There is a third -toss which settles that the weapons are to be those Galway saw-handles. -At this good fortune a steel-blue point of fire shows in the satisfied -eye of the General. He recalls how he procured those weapons to kill the -first man who spoke evil of the blooming Rachel, and is pleased to think -a benignant destiny will not permit them to be robbed of that original -right. - -The men are led to their respective pegs by Mr. Catlet and hair-trigger -Overton. The General, through the experienced strategy of hair-trigger -Overton, wears a black coat--high of collar, long of skirt. It buttons -close to the chin; not a least glimpse of bullet-guiding white, whether -of shirt collar or cravat, is allowed to show. The black coat is -purposely voluminous; and the whereabouts of the General's lean frame, -tucked away in its folds, is a question not readily replied to. The only -mark on the whole sable expanse of that coat is a row of steel-bright -buttons. These are not in the middle, but peculiarly to one side. Those -steel-bright buttons will draw the fire of dead-shot Dickinson like a -magnet. Which is precisely what hair-trigger Overton had in mind. - -As the two stand at the pegs, dead-shot Dickinson calls loudly to a -friend: - -"Watch that third button! It's over the heart! I shall hit him there!" - -The grim General says nothing; but the look on his gaunt face reads like -a page torn from some book of doom. As he stands waiting the word, he is -observed by the watchful Overton to slip something into his mouth. Then -his jaws set themselves like flint. - -"Gentlemen, are you ready?" - -They are ready, dead-shot Dickinson cruelly eager, the somber General -adamant. There is a soundless moment, still as death: - -"Fire!" - -Instantly, like a flash of lightning, the pistol of dead-shot Dickinson -explodes. That objective third button disappears, driven in by the -vengeful lead! The General rocks a little on his feet with the awful -shock of it; then he plants himself as moveless as an oak. Through the -curling smoke dead-shot Dickinson makes out the stark, upstanding -form. For a moment it is as though he were planet-struck. He shrinks -shudderingly from his peg. - -"God!" he whispers; "have I missed him?" - -Hair-trigger Overton cocks the pistol he holds in his hand and covers -the horror-smitten Dickinson. - -"Back to your mark, sir!" he roars. - -Dead-shot Dickinson steps up to his peg, his cheek the hue of ashes. He -reads his sentence in those implacable steel-blue eyes, and the death -nearness touches his heart like ice. - -"One!" says hair-trigger Overton. - -At the word, there is a sharp "klick!" The General has pulled the -trigger, but the hammer catches at half cock. The General's inveterate -steel-blue glance never for one moment leaves his man. He recocks the -weapon with a resounding "kluck!" - -"Two!" says hair-trigger Overton. - -"Bang!" - -There comes the flash and roar, and dead-shot Dickinson is seen to -stagger. He totters, stumbles slowly forward, and falls all along on his -face. The bullet has bored through his body. - -The General stays by his peg--cold and hard and stern. Hair-trigger -Overton approaches the wounded Dickinson. One glance is enough. He -crosses to the General and takes his arm. - -"Come!" he says. "There is nothing more to do!" - -Hair-trigger Overton leads the General back to their inn. As the pair -journey through the poplar wood, he asks: - -"What was that you put in your mouth?" - -"It was a bullet," returns the General; "I placed it between my teeth. -By setting my jaws firmly upon it I make my hand as steady as a church." - -As the General says this, he gives that steadying pellet of lead to -hair-trigger Overton, who looks it over curiously. It has been crushed -between the clenched teeth of the General until now it is as flat and -thin as a two-bit piece. As the two approach the tavern they come upon -a negress churning butter, and the General pauses to drink a quart of -milk. - -Once in his room, hair-trigger Overton pulls off the General's boot, -which is full of blood. - -"Not there!" says the General. "His bullet found me here"; and he throws -open the black coat. - -Dead-shot Dickinson's aim was better than his surmise. He struck that -indicated third button; but, thanks to the strategy of hair-trigger -Overton which prompted the voluminous coat, the button did not cover the -General's heart. The deceived bullet has only broken two ribs and grazed -the breastbone. - -The surgeon is called; the wound is dressed and bandaged. He describes -it as serious, and shakes his head. - -"Still," he observes, "you are more fortunate than Mr. Dickinson. He -cannot live an hour." As the man of probe and forceps is about to retire -the General detains him. - -"You are not to speak of my wound until we are back in Nashville." - -He of the probe and forceps bows assent. When he has left the room -hair-trigger Overton asks: - -"What was that for?" - -The brow of the General grows cloudy with a reminiscent war frown. - -"Have you forgotten those four shots inside the circle of a dollar, and -that bullet-severed string? I want the braggart to die thinking he has -missed a man at twelve paces." - -The two light pipes and hair-trigger Overton sends for his whisky. Once -it has come he gives the General a stiff four fingers, and under the -fiery spell of the liquor the color struggles into the pale hollow of -his cheek. - -He of the probe and forceps comes to the door. - -"Gentlemen," he says, palms outward with a sort of deprecatory -gesture--"gentlemen, Mr. Dickinson is dead." - -The General knocks the ashes from his pipe. Then he crosses to the open -window and looks out into the May sunshine. From over near the poplar -wood drifts up the liquid whistle of a quail. Presently he returns to -his seat and begins refilling his pipe. - -"It speaks worlds for your will power, that you should have kept your -feet after being hit so hard. Not one in ten thousand could have held -himself together while he made that shot!" This is a marvelous burst of -loquacity for hair-trigger Overton, who deals out words as some men deal -out ducats. - -"I was thinking on _her_, whom his slanderous tongue had hurt. I should -have stood there till I killed him, though he had shot me through the -heart!" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--ENGLAND AND GRIM-VISAGED WAR - - -THE saw-handles are cleaned and oiled and laid away to that repose -which they have won. No more will they be summoned to defend the -blooming Rachel. No one now speaks evil of her; for that tragedy which -reddened a May Kentucky morning has sealed the lips of slander. The -General does not speak of that battle at twelve paces in the poplar -wood; and yet the blooming Rachel knows. She, like her lover-husband, -never refers to it; but her worship of him finds multiplication, while -he, towards her, grows more and more the Bayard. Much are they revered -and looked up to along the Cumberland, he for his gentle loyalty, she -for her love; and the common tongue is tireless in reciting the story of -their perfect happiness. - -The currents of time roll on and the General is busy with his planting, -his storekeeping, and his boat building. He is fortunate; and the -three-sided profits pile themselves into moderate riches. In the midst -of his prosperity he is visited by Aaron Burr. The late vice-president -has killed Alexander Hamilton--a name despised along the Cumberland. -Also he was aforetime the champion of Tennessee, when she asked the boon -of statehood. - -For these sundry matters, as well as for what good unconscious lessons -in deportment were taught him by the courtly Colonel Burr, the General -fails not to take that polished exile to his heart and to his hearth. -Colonel Burr is in and out of Nashville many times. He comes and goes -and comes and goes and comes again; and writes his daughter Theodosia: - -"I am housed with General Jackson, who is one of those prompt, frank, -loyal souls whom I like." - -Colonel Burr has been in France, and tells the General of Napoleon. He -draws a battle map of Quebec, shows where Montgomery fell, and relates -how he, Colonel Burr, bore that dead chieftain from the field. In the -end, he gives a dim outline of his dreams for the conquest of that -Spanish America, lying on the thither side of the Mississippi; and to -these latter tales of empire the General lends eager ear. - -By the General's suggestion a dinner is given at the Nashville Inn in -honor of Colonel Burr. The General presides, and, with a heart full of -anger against Barbary pirates, offers among others the toast: - -"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!" - -Colonel Burr, being dined, confides to the General how he is not without -an ally in the Southwest, and says that Commander Wilkinson, in -control for the Government at New Orleans, stands ready to advance his -anti-Spanish projects. At the name of "Wilkinson" the General shakes -his prudent head. He declares that Commander Wilkinson is a faithless, -caitiff creature, with a brandified nose, a coward heart, and a weakness -for breaking his word. The crafty Burr, confident to vanity of his own -genius for intrigue, insists that he can trust Commander Wilkinson. -Then he arranges with the General for the building of a flotilla of -flat-boats at the latter's yards, and goes his scheming way. Later, when -Colonel Burr is on trial for treason in Richmond, the General will ride -over the Blue Ridge to give him aid and comfort, and make street-corner -speeches defending him, wherein he will say things more explicit than -flattering concerning President Jefferson, who is urging the prosecution -of Colonel Burr. - -The hours, never resting, never sleeping, march onward with our -planter-General, until the procession in its passing is remembered and -spoken of as years. Then comes the war with England. That saber scar on -the General's head begins to throb, and he sends word to Washington that -he is ready, with twenty-five hundred of his hunting-shirt militia, to -kill British wherever they shall be found. - -The Government thanks him, and orders him with his hunting-shirt -followers to report to General Wilkinson at New Orleans. The General -does not like this, the Wilkinson in question being that red-nosed -renegade one, against whom long ago he warned the ambitious Colonel -Burr. For all that, orders are orders; and besides a fight under any -commander is not to be despised. The General presently hurries his -hunting-shirt forces aboard flatboats, and floats away on the convenient -bosom of the Cumberland. He will go down that stream to the Ohio, and so -to the Mississippi and to New Orleans. As they float downward with the -stream, the General recalls a former voyage when love and the blooming -Rachel were his companions, and is heard to sigh. - -At Natchez, word from Commander Wilkinson meets the General. He is told -to land, and wait for further orders. The General takes his boys of the -hunting shirts ashore, and pitches camp. Privily he unbends in oaths and -maledictions, all addressed to the ex-grocer Wilkinson; for he thinks -the order, preventing his entrance into New Orleans, born of the mean -rivalry of that red-nosed ignobility. - -The General waits, and curses Commander Wilkinson, for divers weeks. -Then occurs one of those imbecilities, of which only the witlessness of -Government is capable, and whereof the archives at Washington carry -so many examples. The General receives a curt dispatch from the war -secretary, "dismissing" him and his hunting-shirt soldiers from the -service of the United States. Not a word is said as to pay, or provision -for returning to the Cumberland. Having gotten the General and his -little army several hundred wilderness miles from home, the thick-head -Government, with no intelligence and as little heart, coolly reduces him -and them to the practical status of vagrants; which feat accomplished, -it walks away, as it were, hands in pockets, whistling "Yankee Doodle." -Possibly, the Government thinks that the General and his hunting-shirt -friends can float upstream as they floated down. The angry General, -however, makes no such marine mistake, and the intricate oaths which he -now evolves and fulminates, as expressive of his feelings, would have -won the admiration of any army that ever fought in Flanders. - -The General's credit is golden, since he has ever been a fanatic about -paying debts. Invoking that credit, he cashes a handful of drafts, and -marches home with his hunting-shirt contingent at his own expense. Also -he indites a letter to that war secretary which reddens the latter's -departmental ears, and causes his departmental head to buzz like a nest -of hornets. Later, the Government pays the General the amount of those -drafts; not because it is right--since the argument of right has little -Washington weight--but for the far more moving reason that Tennessee, -in a rage, is preparing to desert the boneless President Madison for the -Federalists. It is the latter thought which brings a ray of common sense -to the besotted Government, and his money to our General, now back in -Tennessee. - -The bellicose General is vastly disappointed at missing a brush with -invading British; for, aside from a saber-engrafted hatred of all -English things and men, he is one to dote on fighting for fighting's -crimson sake, and is almost as well pleased with mere battle as with -victory. However, he is given scanty room for sorrowful reflections, -since fate is hurrying to his relief with a private war of his own. - -The General, ever an expositor of the duello, and the peaceful hours -resting heavy on his hands, goes out as second for a Captain Carroll -against Mr. Jesse Benton. Captain Carroll is shot in the toe, and Mr. -Benton in the leg; whereat the General and the Cumberland public groan -over results so inadequate. - -Being thus shot in the leg, Mr. Benton displays his bad taste by -falling into a fury with the General. He recounts what he regards as his -"wrongs" to his brother Thomas, and that intemperate individual loses -no time in taking up his brother's quarrel. The pair say things of the -General which would arouse the wrath of an image; with that, the General -calls for his saw-handles, and begins to plan trouble for those verbally -reckless Bentons. - -The General takes with him as guide, philosopher and friend, his -faithful subaltern, Colonel Coffee. The two establish themselves, -strategically, at the Nashville Inn. - -Across the corner of the public square upon which the Nashville Inn -finds hospitable frontage, stands the City Hotel. Sunning themselves in -the veranda of the latter caravansary, but with war written upon their -angry visages, the General and the faithful Coffee perceive the brothers -Benton. The enemies glare at one another, and the General says to -Colonel Coffee that they will now go to the post office. Since a trip to -the post office is calculated to bring them within touching distance of -the brothers Benton, Colonel Coffee at once discerns the propriety of -such a journey. - -The pair go to the post office, staring haughtily at the brothers Benton -as they pass. The brothers Benton, for their side, being apoplectic of -habit, grow black in the face with rage. - -Having visited the post office, and being now upon their return, the -General and Colonel Coffee again draw near the apoplectic Bentons, -glowering from their veranda. When within three feet of them, the -General abruptly whips out one of those celebrated saw-handles, and jams -its muzzle against the horrified stomach of brother Thomas Benton. That -imperiled personage thereupon backs rapidly away from the saw-handle, -which as rapidly follows; while the public, assembling on the run, -confidently expects the General to shoot brother Thomas Benton in two. - -The General might have done so, and thus gratified the public, but -the unexpected occurs. As brother Thomas Benton backs briskly from the -muzzle of the saw-handle, brother Jesse, who is not wanting in a genius -for decision, whirls, and from a huge horse pistol plants two balls in -the General's left shoulder. As the warrior goes down, Colonel Coffee -empties his pistol at brother Thomas, who avoids having his head blown -off only by the fortunate fact of a cellar, into whose receptive depths -he tumbles, just in what novelists call "the nick of time." As brother -Thomas lapses into the cellar, young Hays, a nephew of the blooming -Rachel, hurls brother Jesse to the floor, to which he makes heartfelt -attempts to pin him with a dirk, but is baffled by the activity of the -restless brother Jesse, who will not lie still to be pinned. - -The whole riot has not covered the space of sixty seconds, when the -public, suddenly conceiving its duty to lie in that direction, seizes -young Hays, releases the recumbent brother Jesse, disarms Colonel -Coffee, fishes brother Thomas out of that receptive cellar, and carries -the badly wounded General to a bed in the Nashville Inn. The City Hotel -mentions its own beds, and lays claim to the injured General, on the -argument that the battle has been fought in its bar. The claim is -disallowed and the General conveyed to the rival hostelry aforesaid, -as being peculiarly his own proper inn, since it is there he has ever -repaired for billiards, mint juleps, and to hold conferences over pipe -and glass with his friends. - -Once in bed, the local surgeons burst in and offer to cut off the -General's arm. The offer is declined fiercely and a poultice of -slippery-elm bark is substituted for that proposed surgery. This -latter medicament works wonders; under its soothing influences, and the -revivifying effects of whisky--both being remedies much in vogue along -the Cumberland--the General begins to mend. - -The General, the patient object of a deal of slippery-elm bark and -whisky--the one applied externally and the other internally--lies in bed -a month. Then the awful word arrives of the massacre at Fort Mims. -Five hundred and fifty-three souls have been slaughtered, and Chief -Weathersford with all his Creeks, valor sharpened by English gold and -English firewater, is reported on the warpath. The news brings the -General out of bed in a moment. His friends remonstrate, the doctors -command, the blooming Rachel pleads; but he puts them aside. Gaunt of -cheek, face paper-white with weakness, left arm in a sling, he climbs -painfully into the saddle and takes command. - -The General sends Colonel Coffee and his mounted riflemen to the fore, -with orders to wait for him at Fayettesville. Meanwhile, he himself -lingers briefly to enroll and organize his little army. A few weeks -later he follows the doughty Coffee, and the entire command--horns full -of powder, pouches heavy with bullets, hunting knives whetted to a razor -edge--moves southward after hostile Creeks. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--THE GENERAL AT THE HORSESHOE - - -THE General goes to Fayettesville, and orders Colonel Coffee with his -eager five hundred to Huntsville, as a point nearer the heart of savage -war. Volunteers, each bringing his own rifle and riding his own horse, -join Colonel Coffee, who sends back inspiring word that his five -hundred have grown to thirteen hundred, all thirsting for Creek blood. -Meanwhile, the General, weak and worn to a shadow, can hardly keep -the saddle, and must be bathed hourly in whisky to hold soul and body -together. Unable to eat, he lives by his will alone. The shot-shattered -left arm, lest he faint with the awful agony which attends its least -disturbance, is bound tightly to his side. - -The General takes the field, and presently comes up with the Creeks. He -smites them hip and thigh at Tallushatches, Talladega, and divers other -places of equally complicated names, slaying hundreds while losing few -himself. The Creeks give way before the invincible General. Wherever he -goes they scatter like an affrighted flock of blackbirds. - -The Indian is terrible only when he is winning. He is not upholstered, -whether mentally or morally, for an uphill, losing war. The General -would like it better if this were otherwise. Could he but coax his -evanescent enemy into a pitched battle, he would break both his heart -and his power with one and the same blow. - -Chief Weathersford is as well aware of this defect in the Indian make-up -as is the General. He himself is half white, and knows what points of -strength and weakness belong with either race. Wherefore, when now his -Creeks have been beaten, and their hearts are low in defeat, he makes -no effort to lead them against the General's front; but breaks them into -squads and little bands, with directions to harass the hunting-shirt -men and hang about their flanks in the name of flea-bite annoyance and -isolated scalps. Thus is the General plagued and fatigued nigh unto -death, without once being able to lay hand upon those skulking, hiding, -flying foot-Parthians against whom he has come forth. - -Also, he and his hunting-shirt men are getting farther and farther -from anything that might be termed a base of supplies. At last, many a -pathless mile through wood and swamp, and many an unbridged river, lie -between the nearest barrel of flour and their stomachs clamorous for -food. - -The military stomach is the first great base of every military -operation. The war-wise Frederick had it for his aphorism, that an -army is so much like a snake it can move forward only on its belly. -The General is made painfully aware of this truism when he and his -hunting-shirt men find themselves penned up with starvation at Fort -Strother. In the teeth of his troubles, however, he makes shift to send -home an orphaned papoose for the blooming Rachel to raise. - -Famine takes command at Fort Strother, and the General writes: "He is -an enemy I dread more than hostile Creeks--I mean the meager monster, -Famine!" There is murmuring among the hunting-shirt men, who have, with -the appetite common to bordermen, that contempt of discipline which -belongs to their rude caste. They are reduced to roots and berries, with -an occasional pigeon or squirrel, which latter diminutive deer no one -waits to cook, but devours raw. One day a backwoods boy, whose appetite -is even with his effrontery, waylays the General on his rounds and -demands food. - -"Here is what I was saving for supper," says the General; "you may have -that." And he tosses the hungry one a double handful of acorns. - -The starving hunting-shirt men mutiny; they draw themselves up -preparatory to marching north, to find that home-fatness which waits -for them on the Cumberland. At this the General changes his manner. -Heretofore he has been the symbol of fatherly sympathy and toleration. -He can make excuses for the grumbling of hungry men, and makes them. But -this goes beyond grumbling, which, when all is in, comes to be no -more than a healthful blowing off of angry steam; this is desertion by -wholesale. - -As the lean-flanked, rancorous ones line up to begin their homeward -march, the General, haggard and emaciated by those Benton wounds and a -want of food, rides out in front. Halting forty yards from the foremost -mutineers, he swings from the saddle. In his right hand he carries a -long eight-square rifle. This, since he has no left hand to support -his aim, he runs across the empty saddle. Being ready, he calls on the -hunting-shirt men to give the order to march, if they dare. - -"For by the Eternal," says he, "I'll shoot down the first of you who -takes a forward step!" - -The sulky, hungry hunting-shirt men scowl at the General. He scowls back -at them, with the wicked ferocity of a tiger and an iron determination -not to be revoked. And thus they stand glaring--one against hundreds! -Then the courage of the hungry hundreds oozes away, and they fall back -before that menacing apparition which glowers at them along the rifle -barrel. They melt away by the rear, those hunting-shirt men, and lurk -off to their quarters--ashamed of their weakness, yet afraid to go on. - -At last, a herd of beef, quite as gaunt as the starved hunting-shirt men -themselves, arrives. Fires are set going and knives drawn. There is a -measureless eating. Belts are let out to the full-fed holes of other -days; mutiny, like an evil spirit, takes its flight. The gorged -hunting-shirt men, as though in amends for their scowl-ings and mutinous -grumblings, beg to be led instantly against the Creeks. This the General -is very willing to do, since he suspects the Creeks of possessing corn. - -The General's scouts tell him that the scattered Creeks are collecting -in force at the Horseshoe. Upon this news, one bright morning the -General rides out of Fort Strother, and his recuperated hunting-shirt -men, two thousand strong, are at his back. - -The Horseshoe is a loop-like bend in the Tallapoosa, which incloses a -round one hundred heavily-timbered acres. Across the open end, three -hundred and fifty yards wide, the British engineers have taught the -Creeks to throw up a fortification of logs. Behind this bulwark is -gathered the fighting flower of the Creeks, more than one thousand -warriors in all. - -Arriving in front of the log bulwark, the General, with the experienced -Coffee, pushes forward to reconnoiter. - -"We can thank the British for that," says the General, tossing his -indignant right hand toward the Creek defenses. "Billy Weathers-ford, -even with the half-white blood that's in him, would never have designed -it." - -The astute Coffee makes a suggestion and, acting on it, the General -dispatches him by a roundabout march to take the Creeks from behind. The -fatuous savages flatter themselves that the wide-flowing Tallapoosa will -defend their rear. All they need do, they think, is lie behind those -English-log breastworks and knock over whatever obnoxious paleface shows -his head. This is an admirable programme, and comforting to the cockles -of the aboriginal heart. There is but one trouble; it won't work. - -As the circuitous Coffee begins to swing wide for his stealthy creep -to the rear, the General covers the strategy with a brace of brawling -nine-pounders. Inside the log breastworks, he hears the "tunk! tunk!" -of the "medicine" drum, and the measured chant of the prophets promising -victory. In the midst of the prophetic chantings and the dull thumping -of the tomtoms, the nine-pounders roar and bury their shot in the log -breastworks. The shot do no harm, and serve but to excite the ribald -mirth of the Creeks. The latter can speak enough English for the -purposes of insult, and scoff and jeer at the General, whom they -describe--having in mind his lean form--as a lance shaft, harmless, -because wanting a keen head. They storm at him with opprobrious epithet, -and invite him, unless he be a coward, to come to them over their -breastworks. The General pays no heed to the contumely of the Creeks; -he is bending his ear to catch, above the din of his nine-pounders, the -earliest signal of the redoubtable Coffee's attack. - -Colonel Coffee and his riflemen, horses at a walk, pick their difficult -way through the woods. It is a matter of no little time before they find -themselves at the toe of the Horseshoe, and in the ignorant rear of the -Creeks. Between them and those one hundred tree-grown acres held by the -enemy flows the Tallapoosa--turbid, wide and deep. Across, they see the -canoes, which the stupidity of the Creeks has left without so much as a -squaw or a papoose to guard them. In a moment, a score have thrown -off their hunting shirts, and are in the river. They swim like so many -Newfoundlands, and come out dripping, but happy, on the farther side. -Presently each of the swimming score is upon his return trip, towing a -dozen of the largest canoes. - -Leaving a horse guard to look after the mounts, Colonel Coffee embarks -his command in the canoes; ten minutes later, the last fighting man jack -of them is on the other side. They hear the boom of the nine-pounders, -and the yells and war shouts of the Creeks. Also they discover the -wickiups of the Creeks, hidden away, with their squaws and papooses, in -a thickety corner of the wood. - -Colonel Coffee, who, for all he is a backwoodsman, is not without -certain sparks and spunks of military skill, sets fire to the wickiups, -as an excellent sure method of wringing the withers and distracting the -attention of the fighting Creeks at the front. The flames go crackling -skyward; the squaws and papooses rush yelling from the slight houses -of wattled willow twigs and bark, and scuttle into the underbrush like -rabbits. Unlike rabbits, being in the underbrush, they set up such a -dismal tempest of howls, that those rearmost Creeks who hear it come -running to learn what disaster has seized upon their households. - -Before they can make extensive inquiry, Colonel Coffee and his riflemen -open on them with a storm of bullets; and next, each man takes a tree. -The war now proceeds Creek fashion, every man--white and red--fighting -for himself. There is a difference, however; for while the hunting-shirt -men are dead shots, the Creeks prove themselves such wretchedly bad -marksmen--not understanding a rear sight, which article of gun furniture -is a mystery to the Indian mind even unto this day--as to provoke a deal -of hunting-shirt laughter. - -Slowly but surely the Creeks give way before that low-flying sleet -of lead. As they give way, running from one tree to another, their -hunting-shirt foe presses forward--as deadly a skirmish line as ever -commander threw out! - -The quick ear of the General catches the firing down at the toe of the -Horseshoe. It tells him that Colonel Coffee is busy with the Creek rear. -Also, he gets a far-off glimpse, through the trees, of the smoke and -flames from those burning wickiups, and understands the message of them. - -Drawing off the futile nine-pounders, the General orders a charge, the -amateur artillerists taking up their rifles with the others. At -the word, the hunting-shirt men rush forward, and go over the log -breastworks like cats. - -The one earliest to scale the breastworks--quick as a panther, strong -as a bear--is Ensign Sam Houston. The Southwest will hear more of him -before all is done. That lively youth, however, is not thinking of the -future; for an arrow, excessively of the present, has just pierced his -thigh, and is demanding his whole attention. Shutting his teeth like a -trap to control the pain, he snaps the shaft and draws the arrow from -the wound. A moment later, the surgeon bandages it. - -The General is standing near, and waxes conservative touching Ensign Sam -Houston. - -"Don't go back!" commands the General shortly. "That arrow through your -leg should be enough." - -Ensign Sam Houston says nothing, but the moment his commander's back -is turned rushes headlong over those log breastworks again. Later he -is picked up with two bullets in him, which serve to keep him quiet for -nigh a fortnight. - -Once the hunting-shirt men are across the log breastworks, a slow -and painstaking killing ensues. Not a Creek asks quarter; not a Creek -accepts it when tendered. It is to be a fight to the death--a fight -unsparing, relentless, grim! - -"Remember Fort Mims!" shout the hunting-shirt men, working away with, -rifle and axe and knife. - -The Creeks, caught between the General and Colonel Coffee, hide -in clumps of bushes or behind logs. From these slight coverts, the -hunting-shirt men flush them, as setters flush birds, and shoot them as -they fly. Once a Creek is down, out flashes the ready hunting knife and -a Creek scalp is torn off; for the hunting-shirt men, on a principle -that fights Satan with fire, have adopted the war habits of their red -enemy. - -The hunting-shirt men range up and down, quartering those one hundred -acres of Horseshoe wood like hounds, killing out in all directions. -Now and then a warrior, sorely crowded, leaps into the Tallapoosa, and -strikes forth for the opposite shore. His feather-tufted head is seen -bobbing on the muddy surface of the river. To gentlemen who, offhand, -make nothing of a turkey's head at one hundred yards, those brown -bobbing feather-tufted Creek heads are child's play. A rifle cracks; -the shot-pierced Creek springs clear of the water with a death yell, and -then goes bubbling to the bottom. Sometimes two rifles crack; in which -double event the Creek takes with him to the bottom two bullets instead -of one. - -The slaughter moves forward slowly, but satisfactorily, for hours. It -is ten o'clock in the night when the last Creek is killed, and the -hunting-shirt men, hungry with a hard day's work, may think on supper. -Of the red one thousand and more who manned those British-built -fortifications in the morning, not two-score get away. It is the Creek -Thermopylae. - -The General's triumph at the Horseshoe puts the last paragraph to the -last chapter of the Creek wars. Also, it disappoints certain English -prospects, and defeats for all time those savage hopes of a general race -battle against the paleface, the fires of which the dead Tecumseh so -long supported by his eloquence and fed with deeds of valor. By way of -a finishing touch, from which the hue of romance is not wanting, the -terrible Weathersford rides in, on his famous gray war horse, and gives -himself up to the General. - -"You may kill me," says Weathersford. "I am ready to die, for I have -beheld the destruction of my people. No one will hereafter fear the -Creeks, who are broken and gone. I come now to save the women and little -children starving in the forest." - -[Illustration: 0127] - -The hunting-shirt men, not at all sentimental, lift up their voices in -favor of slaying the chief. At that the General steps in between. - -"The man who would kill a prisoner," he cries, "is a dog and the son of -a dog. To him who touches Weathersford I promise a noose and the nearest -tree." - -The General leads his hunting-shirt men by easy marches back to that -impatient plenty which awaits their coming on the Cumberland. The public -welcomes him with shout and toss of hat, while the blooming Rachel gives -her hero measureless love and tenderness. The General's one hundred and -fifty slaves, agog with joy and fire water, make merry for two round -days. They would have enlarged that festival to three days, but the -stern overseer intervenes to recall them to the laborious realities of -life. - -As the General begins to have the better of his fatigue and -sickness--albeit that Benton-wounded left arm is still in a sling--a -note is put in his hands. The note is from the War Department in -Washington, and reads: "Andrew Jackson of Tennessee is appointed Major -General in the Army of the United States, vice William Henry Harrison, -resigned." - - - - -CHAPTER X--FLORIDA DELENDA EST - - -THE General, at the behest of the blooming Rachel, rests for three -round weeks, which seem to his fight-loving soul like three round years. -Then the Government sends him to Fort Jackson to dictate terms of peace -to the broken Creeks. - -The latter assemble, war paints washed off, in a deeply thoughtful, if -not a peaceful, mood. - -The General proposes terms which well nigh amount to a wiping out of the -Creek landed possessions. The Creeks go into secret council, as it -were executive session, and bemoan their desperate lot. They curse the -English who urged them to that butchery of Fort Mims and then deserted -them. Beyond relieving their minds, however, the curses accomplish no -Creek good. They must still face the inveterate General, whose word is, -"Your lives or your lands!" - -The mournful, beaten Creeks come forth from executive session, and -the great formal conference begins. The council is called on the flat -field-like expanse in front of the General's imposing marquee--for he -has come to this mission with no little of pompous style, to the end -that the Creek mind be impressed. - -The Creek chiefs, blanketed to the ears, feathered to the eyes, sit -about, crosslegged like tailors, in a half circle, their only weapon a -sacred red-stone pipe. The General, blazing in a new uniform, comes -out of his marquee. With him are Colonel Coffee, Colonel Hawkins, and -lastly, Colonel Hayne, the brother of him who will one day cross blades -in Senate debate with the lion-faced Webster, and have the worst of it. - -As the General steps forward an orderly leads up his great war horse, as -though the conference might lapse into battle, and he must be ready -to mount and fight. To the rear, his hunting-shirt men, one thousand -strong, are drawn out, as following forth those precautions which -produce the General's war horse. The Creeks, at these evidences of -suspicious alertness, never move a bronze muscle; they pass the sacred -redstone pipe with gravity unmoved, and puff away as though the last -thing they suspect is suspicion. - -Big Warrior makes a speech, and is followed by She-lok-tah, the tribal -Demosthenes. The General shakes his grim head at their protests; there -is no help for it, they must give him his way or fight. The Creeks bow -to the inevitable, and give the General his way; which bowing submission -is the less disgraceful, since both the Spanish at Pensacola and the -English at New Orleans, in a brief handful of months, under pressures -less stringent than are those which now and here in front of the -Generali great marquee bear down the broken hopeless Creeks, will follow -their abject example. - -Having made peace with the Creeks on the Tallapoosa, the General lets -his angry, warseeking eye rove in the direction of Florida. Many of the -hostile Creek Red Sticks have fled to cover there, where they are made -welcome by the Spanish Governor Maurequez, and petted and pampered -by Colonel Nichols and Captain Woodbine of the English. The besotted -Governor Maurequez has permitted these latter to land an English force, -and, inspired by his native hatred of Americans and the sight of British -ships of war in Pensacola harbor, has surrendered to them the last -stitch of Florida control. - -The General guesses these things and sends out scouts to make -discoveries. Meanwhile, he marches his hunting-shirt men to Mobile, -which his instincts--never at fault in war--warn him will be the -next English point of attack. Word has reached him of the downfall of -Napoleon, and he foresees that this will release against America the -utmost energies of England, who in thirty odd years has not forgotten -Yorktown nor despaired of its repair. - -The General's scouts are a sleepless, observant, close-going set of -gentlemen, and fairly enter Pensacola. Presently, they are back with the -news that two flags float in friendly partnership on the battlements of -Fort St. Michael, one English and one Spanish. Also, seven English war -ships ride in the harbor. - -They likewise say that the popinjay Colonel Nichols is issuing -proclamations to "The People of Louisiana," demanding that, as -"Frenchmen, Spaniards, and English," they arise and "throw off the -American yoke"; that Captain Woodbine is assembling the fugitive Red -Sticks by scores, and reviving their drooping spirits with English gold, -English guns, English gin, and English red coats. - -Captain Woodbine, it appears, is so dull as to think he may make regular -soldiers of the untamed Red Sticks, and drills them in the Pensacola -plaza, where they handle their new muskets much as a cow might a cant -hook, and look like copper-colored apes in those gorgeous red coats. The -tactical, yet tactless, Captain Woodbine even makes his red command a -speech, and is so unguarded as to refer to "General Jackson." This is -a blunder, since instantly half the assembled Red Sticks desert, taking -with them the guns, gin, and jackets which have been conferred upon -them. The oratorical Captain Woodbine is deeply impressed by the awful -effect of the General's name upon his red recruits, and their terror -communicates itself to him. He has difficulty in restraining himself -from deserting with them, but takes final courage and remains. Only he -is at pains to delete "General Jackson" from subsequent eloquence, -and never again mentions that paladin of the Cumberland in the quaking -presence of a Red Stick Creek. - -By way of adding to these hardy doings, the wordy popinjay, Colonel -Nichols, fulminates new proclamations, comic in their ignorance and -bombast. He believes that the formidable General can be whipped by -manifestoes. As against this belief, however, most careful preparations -move forward aboard the English ships, looking to the destruction -of Fort Bowyer and the capture of Mobile; for Captain Percy of the -_Hermes_, who has command of the fleet, is altogether a practical -person, and pins no faith to proclamations and Indians in red coats when -it comes to bringing a foe to his knees. - -All these interesting items are laid before the General by his -painstaking scouts, and he is peculiarly struck with the word about -Captain Percy and Mobile. He sends back his scouts for another bagful -of news, and begins to strengthen and stiffen Fort Bowyer, thirty miles -below the town. - -Having patched up this redoubt to his taste, the General puts Major -Lawrence in command, and tells him to fight his batteries while a man -remains alive. Major Lawrence says he will; and, not having a ship, -but a fort, to defend, he follows as nearly as he may the motto of his -heroic relative, and issues the watchword, "Don't give up the Fort!" -Leaving Major Lawrence in this high vein, the General goes back to -Mobile to concert plans for its protection. - -Captain Percy of the _Hermes_ is a gallant man, but a bad judge of -Americans. He tells the proclaiming Colonel Nichols that he will take -four ships and capture Fort Bowyer in twenty minutes. Colonel Nichols -has so little trouble in believing this that he conceives the deed of -conquest already done. Full of hope and strong waters--for the English -have not given the thirsty Red Sticks all their gin--he is so far -worked upon by Captain Percy's turgid prophecies as to issue a new -proclamation, declaring Fort Bowyer taken, and showing how, presently, -the English intend doing likewise at New Orleans. Having taken time so -conspicuously by the forelock, the anticipatory Colonel Nichols--who -has never been in the chicken trade, and therefore knows nothing of -what perils attend a count of poultry noses before the poultry are -hatched--goes aboard the _Hermes_, with Captain Woodbine and others of -his staff; for he would be on the ground, when Fort Bowyer and Mobile -succumb, ready to assume control of those strongholds. - -It is no mighty voyage from Pensacola to Mobile, and a half day's sail -will bring Colonel Nichols and Captain Percy within point-blank range -of Fort Bowyer. Taking a bright, cool morning for it, Captain Percy lets -fall his topsails, and forges seaward, followed by the cordial wishes -of Governor Maurequez who, glass in hand, drinks "Good voyage!" from the -ramparts of St. Michael. - -"All I regret is," cries the valorous Governor Maurequez, in the -politest phrases of Castile, "that you brave English will destroy these -vagabonds, and thus deprive me and my heroic soldiery of the pleasure of -their obliteration, when they shall have invaded our beloved Florida." - -Away go the English war ships in line, like a quartette of geese -crossing a mill pond, the _Hermes_, Captain Percy, in the van. The -fleet rounds the lower extremity of Mobile Point, out of range from Fort -Bowyer, and lands Colonel Nichols with a force of foot soldiers and a -howitzer. This military feat accomplished, the fleet, still like geese -in line, bear up until abreast of the Fort, which is a musket shot away. - -There is no time wasted. The _Hermes_ lets go her anchors and swings -broadside-on to the Fort. The others follow suit. Then, with a crashing -discharge of big guns by way of overture, the fight is on. - -Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes go by; shots fly and shells -burst, and Major Lawrence still holds the fort. Evidently Captain Percy -cut his time too fine! Then, one hour, two hours follow, and Major -Lawrence's twenty-four pounders are making matches of the _Hermes_. - -As the merry war progresses, Colonel Nichols, with much ardor and no -discernment, drags his howitzer to a strategic sand hill, and fires -one shot at Fort Bowyer. It is a badly considered movement, the instant -effect being to draw the Fort's horns his way. The southern battery -of the Fort opens upon him like a tornado, and he and his fellow -artillerists retire--without their howitzer. The most discouraging -feature is that a stone, sent flying from the strategic sand hill by -a cannon ball, knocks out one of Colonel Nichols's eyes. After this -exploit, the one-eyed proclamationist, much saddened, but with wisdom -increased, is content to stand afar off, and leave the down-battering of -Fort Bowyer to the fleet. - -This down-battering Captain Percy and his sailormen do their tarry best -to bring about. But, as hour after hour drifts to leeward in the smoke -of their broadsides, and the stubborn Lawrence continues to send his -hail of twenty-four-pound shot aboard, it begins to creep upon Captain -Percy, like mosses upon stone, that Fort Bowyer is a nut beyond the -power of even his iron teeth to crack. As a red-hot shot sets fire -to the _Hermes_ and explodes her magazine, the impression deepens to -apprehension, which, when the _Sophia_ is reported sinking, ripens -rapidly into conviction. Major Lawrence, with his "Don't give up the -Fort!" all but blots Captain Percy--who has tenfold his force--off the -face of the Gulf, and he does it with a loss of eight men killed and -wounded to an English loss of over three hundred. - -Captain Percy, whipped and broken-hearted, shifts his flag and what -is left of his _Hermes'_ crew to the _Sophia_, and, pumps clanking -hysterically to keep-himself afloat, goes limping back to Pensacola, -lighted on his defeated way by the flare and glare from the blazing -_Hermes_. As the English pass the extreme southern tip of Mobile Point, -as far from the unmannerly batteries of Fort Bowyer as the lay of -the land permits, they pick up the one-eyed proclamationist, Colonel -Nichols, and his howitzerless men. - -The fleet, battered, torn, sails adroop, with the _Sophia_ three feet -below her trim from shot-admitted water in her hold, reaches Pensacola. -Governor Maurequez looks scornfully dark, but, Spaniard-like, shrugs his -vainglorious shoulders and says to an aide: - -"It is nothing! They are but English pigs! When this General Jackson -reaches Pensacola--if he should be so great a fool as to come--we -cavaliers of old Spain will tear him to pieces, as tigers rend their -prey. Yes, _amigo_, we will show these beaten pigs of English how the -proud blood of the Cid can fight." - -The Red Stick Creeks, furnished of a better intelligence, in no wise -adopt the high-flying sentiments of Governor Maurequez. The moment -the English come halting into the harbor, the awful name of "General -Jackson!" leaps from aboriginal lip to lip. Hastily tearing off Captain -Woodbine's red coats as garments full of probable trouble, but taking -with them his new guns, the frightened Red Sticks head south for the -Everglades, first drinking up what remains of their gin. Not a hostile -Creek will thereafter be found within a day's ride of the General; all -of those English plans, which seek the aid of savage axe and knife and -torch, are to fall to pieces. - -Captain Percy, made ten years older by that fight and failure at Fort -Bowyer, goes about the repair of his ships; Colonel Nichols, omitting -for the nonce all further proclamations, nurses his wounds; Captain -Woodbine, having now no Indians, abandons his daily drills on the plaza; -Governor Maurequez, whispering with his aide, brags in chosen Spanish -of what he will do to thick-skull vagabond Americans should they put -themselves in his devouring path; while over at Mobile the General -hugs Major Lawrence to his bosom in a storm of approval, and gives that -sterling soldier a sword of honor. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--THE TWO FLAGS AT PENSACOLA - - -THOSE two flags, one the red flag of England, flying at Pensacola, -haunt the General night and day. His hunting-shirt men, twenty-eight -hundred from his beloved Tennessee and twelve hundred from the -territories of Mississippi and Alabama, are lusting for battle. He -resolves to lead them into Florida, across the Spanish line. - -"We must rout the English out of Pensacola!" he explains to Colonel -Coffee. - -"Pensacola!" repeats Colonel Coffee, looking thoughtful. "It is Spanish -territory, General! There is the boundary; and diplomacy, I believe, -although it is an art whereof I know little, lays stress on the word -boundary." - -"Boundary!" snorts the General in dudgeon. "The English are there! Where -my foe goes, I go; my diplomacy is of the sword." - -The General elaborates; for he is not without liking the sound of his -own voice. Governor Maurequez, he says, has welcomed the English; he -must enlarge that welcome to include Americans. - -"For I tell you," goes on the General, "that I shall expect from him -the same courtesy he extends to Colonel Nichols. Nor do I despair of -receiving it, since I shall take my artillery. With both Americans and -English among his guests, if trouble fall out it will be his own -fault, and should teach him to practice hereafter a less complicated -hospitality." - -The General prepares for the journey to Pensacola. The treasure chest -shows the usual emptiness, and he exerts his own credit, as he did on -a Natchez occasion, to provide for his hunting-shirt men. This time the -Government will honor his drafts promptly, for election day is drawing -near. - -One sun-filled autumn morning, the General and his hunting-shirt men -march away for Pensacola, their hearts full of cheering anticipations of -a fight, and eight days provant in the commissariat. - -"We should be there in eight days," says the General hopefully, "and -Governor Maurequez and the English must provide for us after that." - -The General does not overstate the powers of his hunting-shirt men, and -the eighth morning finds them and him within striking distance of Fort -St. Michael. The General shades his blue eyes with his hand and scans -the walls with vicious lynxlike intentness in search of that hated red -flag. His heart chills when he does not find it. There is the flag of -Arragon and Castile; but the staff which only yesterday supported the -flag of England stands an unfurnished, naked spar of pine. - -The General heaves a sigh. - -"Coffee," he says, pathos in his tones, "they have run away." - -"Possibly," returns the excellent Coffee, who sees that the General's -regrets are leveled at an absence of English, and is anxious to console -him, "possibly they've only retired to Fort Barrancas, six miles below, -and are waiting for us there." - -The disappointed General shakes his head; he does not share the -confidence of the optimistic Coffee. - -"Send Major Piere," he says, "with a flag of truce to announce to the -Spaniard our purpose of lunching with him. We will ask him, now we're -here, by what license he gives shelter to our enemies." - -Major Piere goes forward, white flag fluttering, and is promptly fired -upon by Governor Maurequez at the distance of six hundred yards. The -balls fly wide and high, for the Spaniard shoots like a Creek. Finding -himself a target, the disgusted Major Piere returns and reports his -uncivil reception. The General's eyes blaze with a kind of blue fury. - -"Turn out the troops!" he roars. - -The drums sound the long roll. The hunting-shirt men are about the -cookery--being always hungry--of the last of those eight days' rations. -When they fall into line, the General makes them a speech. It is brief, -but registers the point of better provender in Pensacola than that which -now bubbles in their coffee pots and burns on their spits. Whereat the -hunting-shirt men cheer joyously. - -"The English, too, are there," concludes the General. Then, in a -burst of flattering eloquence: "And I know that you would sooner fight -Englishmen than eat." - -At the name of Englishmen, the hunting-shirt men give such a cheer that -it quite throws that former cheer into the vocal shade. Everyone is in -immediate favor of rushing on Pensacola. - -The General becomes cunning, and sends Colonel Coffee with a detachment -of cavalry to threaten Fort St. Michael from the east. The Spaniards are -singularly guileless in matters military. That feigned attack succeeds -beyond expression, and the befogged Governor Maurequez hurries his -entire garrison to those menaced eastern walls. - -While the excited Spaniards are making a chattering, magpie fringe along -the eastern ramparts, the General moves the bulk of his hunting-shirt -forces, under cover of the woods, to the fort's western face. Once they -are placed, he gives the order: - -"Charge!" - -The word sends the hunting-shirt men at that mud-built citadel with a -whoop. - -The Spaniards are unstrung by surprise, and fall to pattering prayers -and telling beads. In the very midst of their orisons, the hunting-shirt -men, as in the fight at the Horseshoe, pour like a cataract over the -parapet and sweep the praying, helpless Spaniards into a corner. - -The work, however, is not altogether done. When Governor Maurequez gives -the order to man the eastern walls against the deploying Coffee, he does -not remain to see it executed. - -Having sublime faith in the heroism of his followers, for him to -personally remain, he argues, would be superfluous. Nay, it might even -be construed into a criticism of his devoted soldiery, as implying a -fear that they will not fight if relieved of his fiery presence, not to -say the fiery pressure of his commanding eye. Having thus defined his -position, the valorous Governor Maurequez, acting in that spirit of -compliment toward his people which has ever characterized his speech, -gathers up his gubernatorial skirts and scuttles for his palace like a -scared hen pheasant. - -Having swept the walls of St. Michael clean of magpie Spaniards, and run -up the stars and stripes on the vacant English staff, the General and -his hunting-shirt men make ready to follow Governor Maurequez to the -palace. He is to be their host; it is their polite duty to find him with -all dispatch and offer their compliments. - -Full of this urbane purpose, they wheel their bristling ranks on the -town. Approaching double-quick, they casually lick up, as with a tongue -of flame, a brace of abortive blockhouses which obstruct their path. At -this, an interior fort opens fire with grapeshot and shrapnel, and the -hunting-shirt men spring upon it with the ruthless ferocity of panthers. -To quench it is no more than the fighting work of a moment. The General, -with his flag already on the ramparts of Fort St. Michael, now feels his -clutch at the very throat of Pensacola. - -Governor Maurequez, equipped in his turn of a milk-white flag, bursts -from the palace portals. - -"Oh, Senores Americanos," he cries, "spare, for the love of the Virgin, -my beautiful Pensacola! As you hope for heaven's mercy, spare my -beautiful city!" - -The wild hunting-shirt men are in a jocular mood. The terrified rushing -about of Governor Maurequez excites their laughter. - -"Where is your humane General Jackson?" wails Governor Maurequez, in -appeal to the hunting-shirt men. "Where is he--I beseech you? I hear he -is the soul of merciful forbearance!" - -At this the hunting-shirt laughter breaks out with double volume, as -though Governor Maurequez has evolved a jest. - -The alarmed Governor, catching sight of a couple of dead Spaniards, -fresh killed in the struggle with the foolish interior fort, expresses -his grief in staccato shrieks, which serve as weird marks of punctuation -to the laughter of the rude hunting-shirt men. The laughter ceases when -the General himself rides up. - -"Thar's the Gin'ral," says a hunting-shirt man, biting his merriment -short off. "Thar's the man of mercy you're asking for." - -Governor Maurequez starts back at sight of the gaunt face, emaciated by -sickness born of those Benton bullets, and yellowed to primrose hue -with the malaria of the Alabama swamps. The lean figure on the big war -stallion might remind him of Don Quixote--for he has read and remembers -his Cervantes--save for the frown like the look of a fighting falcon, -and the fire-sparkle in the dangerous blue eyes. As it is, he feels that -his visitor is a perilous man, and begins to bow and cringe. - -"I beg the victorious Senor General," says he, pressing meanwhile a -right hand to his heart, and presenting the white square of truce with -the other--"I beg the victorious Senor General to spare my beautiful -Pensacola!" - -"You are Governor Maurequez!" returns the General, hard as flint. - -"Yes, Senor General; I am Governor Maurequez, as you say. Also"--here -his voice begins to shake--"I must remind your excellency that this is a -province of Spain, and ask by what right you invade it." - -"Right!" returns the General, anger rising. "Did you not fire on my -messenger? Sir, if you were Satan and this your kingdom, it would be the -same! I would storm the walls of hell itself to get at an Englishman." - -There comes the whiplike crack of a rifle almost at the General's elbow. -Far up the narrow street, full four hundred yards and more, a flying -Spanish soldier throws up his hands with a death yell, and pitches -forward on his face. At this, the hunting-shirt man who fired tosses his -coonskin cap in the air and shouts: - -"Thar, Bill Potter, the jug of whisky's mine! Thar's your Spaniard too -dead to skin! If the distance ain't four hundred yard, you kin have the -gun!" - -"What's this?" cries the General fiercely. "Nothin', Gin'ral!" replies -the hunting-shirt man, abashed at the forbidding manner of the General, -"nothin', only Bill Potter, from the 'Possum Trot, bets me a jug of -whisky that old Soapstick here"--holding up his rifle as identifying -"old Soapstick"--"won't kill at four hundred yard." - -"Betting, eh!" retorts the General, assuming the coldly implacable. "Now -it's in my mind, Mr. Soapstick, that unless you mend your morals, some -one about your size will pass an hour strung up by the thumbs so high -his moccasins won't touch the grass! How often must I tell you that I'm -bound to break up gambling among my troops?" - -The rebuked soapstick one slinks away, and the General turns to Colonel -Coffee. - -"Give the word, Coffee, to cease firing." - -The General's glance comes around to Governor Maurequez, still bowing -and presenting his white flag. - -"Where are those English?" he demands. - -The frightened Governor Maurequez makes the sign of the cross. He is -sorry, but the pig English withdrew to Fort Barrancas at the first signs -of the coming of the victorious Senor General, taking with them their -hateful red flag. Also, it was they who fired on the messenger. If the -victorious Senor General will but move quickly, he may catch the pig -English before they escape. - -The General, half his hunting-shirt men at his back, starts for Fort -Barrancas. They are two miles on their way when the earth is shaken by a -thunderous explosion. Over the tops of the forest pines a gush of black -smoke shoots upward toward the sky. - -"They have blown up the fort!" says the explanatory Coffee. - -The General says nothing, but urges speed. At last they come in sight of -what has been Fort Barrancas. It is as the astute Coffee surmised. The -one-eyed Colonel Nichols and his English have fled, leaving a slow-match -and the magazine to destroy what they dared not defend. Far away in the -offing Captain Percy's English fleet--upon which the one-eyed Colonel -Nichols and his fugitive followers have taken refuge--wind aft and an -ebb tide to help, is speeding seaward like gulls. - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE GENERAL GOES TO NEW ORLEANS - - -Governor maurequez evolves into the very climax of the affable, not to -say obsequious. He assures the General that he is relieved by the -flight of the pig English, whom he despises as hare-hearts. Also, he is -breathless to do anything that shall prove his affectionate admiration -for his friend, the valorous Senor General. - -The General accepts the affectionate admiration of Governor Maurequez, -and leaves in his care Major Laval, who has been too severely wounded -to move; and Governor Maurequez subsequently smothers that convalescent -with nursing solicitude and kindness. Those other twenty wounded -hunting-shirt men the General takes back with him to Mobile. - -The General now gives himself up to a profound study of maps. His -invasion of Florida has paled the cheek of the Spanish Minister at -Washington and given European diplomacy a chill; he knows nothing of -that, however, and would care even less if he did. After poring over -his maps for divers days, he comes to sundry sagacious conclusions, and -sends for the indispensable Coffee to confer. That commander makes an -admirable counselor for the General, since he seldom speaks, and then -only to indorse emphatically the General's views. For these splendid -qualities, and because he is as brave as Richard the Lion Heart, the -General makes a point of consulting the excellent Coffee concerning -every move. - -"Coffee," says the General, as that warrior casts himself upon a bench, -which creaks dolorously beneath his giant weight, "Coffee, they'll -attack New Orleans next." - -The listening Coffee grunts, and the General, correctly construing the -Coffee grunt to mean agreement, proceeds: - -"England has now no foe in Europe. That allows her to turn upon us with -her whole power. Even as we talk, I've no doubt but an immense fleet is -making ready to pounce upon our coasts. Now, Coffee, the question is, -Where will it pounce?" - -The General pauses as though for answer. The admirable Coffee emits -another grunt, and the General understands this second grunt to be a -grunt of inquiry. Stabbing the map before him, therefore, with his long, -slim finger, he says: - -"Here, Coffee, here at New Orleans. It's the least defended, and, fairly -speaking, the most important port we have, for it locks or unlocks the -Mississippi. Besides, it's midwinter, and such points as New York and -Philadelphia are seeing rough, cold weather. Yes, I'm right; you may -take it from me, Coffee, the English are aiming a blow at New Orleans." -The convinced Coffee testifies by a third grunt that his own belief is -one and the same with the General's, and the council of war breaks up. -As the big rifleman swings away for his quarters the General observes: - -"Coffee, you will never realize how much I am aided by your opinions. -Two heads are better than one, particularly when one of them is capable -of such a clean, unfaltering grasp of a situation as is yours." - -The General burns to be at New Orleans, and leaving Colonel Coffee to -bring on his three thousand hunting-shirt men as fast as he may, gallops -forward with four of his staff. It is a rough, evil road that threads -those one hundred and seventy-five miles which lie between the General -and the Mississippi, but he puts it behind him with amazing rapidity. At -last the wide, sullen river rolls at his horse's feet. - -As the General traverses the rude forest roads, difficult with -November's mud and slush, a few days' sail away on the Jamaica coast may -be seen proof of the pure truth of his deductions. The English admiral -is reviewing his fleet of fifty ships, preparatory to a descent upon New -Orleans. - -It is a formidable flotilla, with ten thousand sailors and nine thousand -five hundred soldiers and marines, and mounts one thousand cannon. The -flagship is the _Tonnant_, eighty guns, and there sail in her company -such invincibles as the _Royal Oak_, the _Norge_, the _Asia_, the -_Bedford_, and the _Ramillies_, each carrying seventy-four guns. With -these are the _Dictator_, the _Gorgon_, the _Annide_, the _Sea Horse_, -and the _Belle Poule_, and the weakest among them better than a -two-decked forty-four. - -In command of this armada are such doughty spirits as Sir Alexander -Cockrane, admiral of the red, Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, Rear -Admiral Malcolm, and Captain Sir Thomas Hardy--"Nelson's Hardy," who -commanded the one-armed fighter's flagship _Victory_ at Trafalgar. -These, with their followers, have grown gray and tired in unbroken -triumph. Now, when they are making ready to spring on New Orleans, their -war word is "Beauty and Booty!" - -Review over, Admiral Cockrane in the van with the _Tonnant_, the fleet -sails out of Negril Bay for Louisiana. As the General's horse cools his -weary muzzle in the Mississippi, the English fleet has been two days on -its course. - -It is a dull, lowering December morning when the General, on his great -war stallion, following the Bayou road, rides into New Orleans. He finds -the city in a tumult, and nothing afoot for its defense. He is received -by Governor Claiborne, a stately Virginian, and Mayor Girod, plump and -little and gray and French, with a delegation of citizens. Among the -latter is one whom the General recognizes. He is Edward Livingston, -aforetime of New York, and the General's dearest friend in those old -Philadelphia Congressional days. The General gives the Livingston hand a -squeeze and says: "It's like medicine in wine, Ned, to see you at such a -time as this." - -Governor Claiborne makes a speech in English, Mayor Girod makes a -speech in French-leading citizens make speeches in English, Spanish, -and French. The speeches are fiery, but inconclusive. All are excited, -confused, ani without a plan. The General replies in little more than a -word: - -"I have come to defend your city," says he: "and I shall defend it or -find a grave among you." - -Following this ultimatum, the General goes to dinner with Mr. -Livingston. - -Governor Claiborne, Mayor Girod, and the leading citizens remain -behind to talk the General over in their several tongues. They are -disappointed, it seems. - -There be those who wish he hadn't come. Among them is the Speaker of the -Territorial House of Representatives--A French creole of anti-American -sentiments. - -"His presence will prove a calamity!" cries this legislative person. "He -seems to me to be a desperado, who will make war like a savage and bring -destruction and fire on our city and the neighboring plantations." - -There is no retort to this, for the local spirit of treason is -widespread. - -While the citizens of New Orleans are discussing the General, he with -his friend Livingston is discussing them. - -"What is the state of affairs here, Ned?" asks the General. - -"It could not be worse," is the reply. "All is confusion, contradiction, -and cross-purposes. The whole city seems to be walking in a circle." -"We'll see, Ned," returns the General grimly, "if we can't make it walk -in a straight line." Commodore Patterson comes to call on the General. -He is one who says little and looks a deal--precisely a gentleman after -the General's own heart, for while he himself likes to talk, he prefers -silence in others. - -Commodore Patterson sets forth the naval defenses of the town. An enemy -entering from the sea must come by way of Lake Borgne, and there are six -baby gunboats on Lake Borgne. The flotilla is commanded by Lieutenant -Jones, who is Welsh and therefore obstinate; he will fight to the final -gasp. The General beams approval of Lieutenant Jones, who he thinks has -a right notion of war. - -"But of course," says Commander Patterson, "he will be overcome in the -end." - -The General nods to this. He does not expect Lieutenant Jones to defend -the city alone. Commodore Patterson continues: "There are the schooner -_Carolina_ and the ship _Louisiana_ in the river, but they are out of -commission and have no crews." - -"Enlist crews at once!" urges the General. - -The General appoints Mr. Livingston to his staff, and the pair make -a tour of the suburbs and the flat, marshy regions round about. The -General is alert, inquisitive; he is studying the strategic advantages -and disadvantages of the place. When he returns he orders a muster of -the city's military strength for the next day. The review occurs, and -the General declares himself pleased with the display. - -Commodore Patterson comes to say that, while the streets are full -of sailors, not one will enlist. The General asks the Legislature to -suspend the habeas corpus. That done, he will organize press gangs and -enlist those reluctant "volunteers" by force. The Legislature refuses, -and the General's eyes begin to sparkle. - -"To-morrow, Ned," says he, "I shall clap your city under martial law." - -"But, my dear General," urges Mr. Livingston, who, being a lawyer, -reveres the law, "you haven't the authority." - -"But, my dear Ned," replies the determined General, "I have the power. -Which is more to the point." - -The General declares civil rule suspended, and puts the city under -martial law. It is as though he lays his strong, bony hand on the -shoulder of every man, and, the first shock over, every man feels safer -for it. The press gangs are formed, and scores of seafaring "volunteers" -are carried aboard the _Carolina_ and _Louisiana_ in irons. Once aboard -and irons off, the "volunteers" become miracles of zeal and patriotic -fire, furbishing up the dormant broadside guns, filling the shot racks, -and making ready the magazines, hearts light as larks, as though to -fight invading English is the one pleasant purpose of their lives; for -such is the seafaring nature. - -The General's "press" does not confine itself to sailors. Negroes, -mules, carts, shovels, and picks are brought under his rigid thumb. -Every gun, every sword, every pistol is collected and stored for use -when needed. Meanwhile, the indefatigable Coffee arrives, marching -seventy miles the last day and fifty the day before to join his beloved -chief. Also Captain Hinds of the dragoons is no less headlong, and -brings his command two hundred and thirty miles in four days, such is -his heat to fight beneath the blue, commanding eye of the General. - -Nor is this all. A day goes by, and Colonel Carroll steps ashore from -a fleet of flatboats, at the head of a hunting-shirt force from the -Cumberland country. The backwoods cheer which goes up when the new -hunting-shirt men see the General, brings the water to his eyes with -thoughts of home. Lastly, Colonel Adair appears with his force of -Kentuckians. These latter are a disappointment, being practically -unarmed, owning but one gun among ten. - -"Ain't you got no guns for us, Gin'ral?" asks one of the Kentucky -captains anxiously. - -"I am sorry to say I have not," returns the General. - -"Well," responds the Kentuckian, while a look of satisfaction begins -to struggle into his face, as though he has hit upon a solution of the -tangle, "well, I'll tell you what we'll do, then. Which the boys'll just -nacherally go out on the firin' line with the rest, an' then as fast -as one of them Tennesseans gets knocked over, we'll up an' inherit his -gun." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--THE WATCH FIRES OF THE ENGLISH - - -THESE are busy times for the General. He lives on rice and coffee, and -goes days and nights without sleep. He sends the tireless Coffee, with -his hunting-shirt men, to take position below the city, between the -morass and the river. Finally he orders all his forces below--Colonel -Carroll with his new hunting-shirt men, Colonel Adair with his unarmed -Kentuckians, the hard-riding Captain Hinds with his dragoons, as well as -the muster of local military companies, among the rest Major Plauche's -battalion of "Fathers of Families." There are a great many filial as -well as paternal tears shed when the "Fathers of Families" march away to -the field of certain honor and possible death; even Papa Plauche himself -does not refrain from a sob or two. The "Fathers of Families" take with -them their band, which musical organization plays the _Chant du -Depart_, whereat, catching the _tempo_, they strut heroically. The rough -hunting-shirt men are much interested in the "Fathers of Families," and -think them as good as a play. - -The General busies himself about his headquarters, and waits for news of -the English, of whose coming he has word. One afternoon appears a lean -little dark man, with black, beady eyes, like a rat. He introduces -himself; he is Jean Lafitte, the "Pirate of Barrataria." Only he -explains that he is really no pirate at all, not even a sailor; at -the worst he is simply the innocent shore agent or business manager of -pirates. Also, he declares that he is very patriotic and very rich, and -might add "very criminal" without startling the truth. - -Why has he come to see Monsieur General? Only to show him a letter from -the English Admiralty, brought by the General's old friend, Captain -Percy, late of H. R. H. Ship _Hermes_, offering him, Jean Lafitte, -a captain's commission in the royal navy, thirty thousand dollars in -English gold, and the privilege of looting. New Orleans, if he will but -aid in the city's capture. Now he, Jean Lafitte, scorning these base -attempts upon his honor, desires to offer his own and the services of -his buccaneers to the General in repulsing those villain English, whom -he looks upon with loathing as Greeks bearing gifts. - -"Only," concludes Jean Lafitte, his black rat eyes taking on a sly -expression, "my two best captains, Dominique and Bluche, together with -most of their crews, are locked up in the New Orleans calaboose." - -The General considers a moment, looking the while deep into the rat eyes -of Jean Lafitte. The scrutiny is satisfactory; there is nothing there -save an anxiety to get his men out of jail. This the General is pleased -to regard as creditable to Jean Lafitte. He comes back to the question -in hand. - -"Dominique and Bluche," he repeats. "Can they fight?" - -"They can do anything with a cannon, Monsieur General, which your -sharpshooters do with their squirrel rifles." - -The General has the caged Dominique and Bluche brought before him. -They are hardy, daring, brown men of the sea, with bushy hair, curling -beards, gold rings in their ears, crimson handkerchiefs about their -heads, gay shirts, sashes of silk, short voluminous trousers, like -Breton fisherman, and loose sea boots--altogether of the brine briny -are Dominique and Bluche. One glance convinces the General. The order -is issued, and the two pirates with their followers take their places as -artillerists where the wary Coffee may keep an eye on them. - -The English fleet arrives and anchors off the Louisiana coast. Loaded -scuppers-deep with soldiers and sailors and marines, the lighter craft -enter Lake Borgne. They sight the six cockleshells of Lieutenant Jones, -and make for them. - -Lieutenant Jones, with his cockleshells, slowly and carefully retreats. -He retreats so carefully that one after another the English boats, to -the round number of a score, run aground on divers mud banks, where they -stick, looking exceeding foolish. When the last pursuing boat is fast on -the mud banks, Lieutenant Jones anchors his six cockleshells where the -English may only get at him in small boats, and awaits results. - -The English are in no wise backward. Down splash the small boats, in -tumble the men, and presently they are pulling down upon the waiting -Lieutenant Jones--twelve men for every one of his. The small boats have -swivels mounted in their bows, and by way of preliminary, stand off from -the six cockleshells, waging battle with their little bow guns. This -is a mistake. Lieutenant Jones returns the fire from his cockleshells, -sinks four of the small boats, and spills out the crews among the -alligators. Unhappily, it is winter, and the alligators are sound asleep -in the mud below, by which effect of the season the spilled ones are -pulled aboard their sister boats with legs and arms intact. - -Being reorganized, and having enough of swivel war, the English fleet of -small boats rush the six cockleshells, and after a fierce struggle, take -them by weight of numbers. The English Captain Lockyer, following the -fight, wipes the blood from his face, which has been scratched by a -cutlass, and reports to Admiral Cockrane his success, and adds: - -"The American loss is, killed and wounded, sixty; English, ninety-four." - -Being masters of Lake Borgne, the English go about the landing of troops -on Pine Island. The sixteen hundred first ashore are formed into an -advance battalion and ordered forward. They go splashing through the -swamps toward the river like so many muskrats, and in the wet, cold, -dripping end crawl out on a narrow belt of sugar-cane stubble which -bristles between the levee and the swamp from which they have emerged. -Finding dry land under their feet, they cheer up a bit, and build fires -to make comfortable their bivouac while waiting the coming of their -comrades, still wallowing in the swamp. - -Night descends, but finds those sixteen hundred of the English advance -reasonably gay; for, while the present is distressing, their fellows by -brigades will be with them in the morning, and they may then march on -to sumptuous New Orleans, where--as goes their war word--theirs shall -be the "Beauty and Booty" for which they have come so far. And so the -chilled, starved sixteen hundred of that English advance hold out their -benumbed hands to the fires, and console themselves with what the poet -describes as "The Pleasures of Anticipation." And in this instance, -of course, the anticipations are sure of fulfillment, for what shall -withstand them? The raw, cowardly militia of the country? Absurd! - -As confirmatory of this, a subaltern hands about a copy of the _London -Sun_ which has a description of Americans. The others peruse it by the -light of their camp fires. It makes timely reading, since it is ever -worth while to gather--so that they be reliable--what scraps one may -descriptive of an enemy. The English, crouched about their fires, are -much benefited by the following: - -"_The American armies of Copper Captains and Falstaff recruits defy -the pen of satire to paint them worse than they are--worthless, lying, -treacherous, false, slanderous, cowardly, and vaporing heroes, with -boasting on their loud tongues and terror in their quaking hearts. Were -it not that the course of punishment they are to receive is necessary to -the ends of moral and political justice, we declare before our country -that we should feel ashamed of victory over such ignoble foes. The -quarrel resembles one between a gentleman and a sweep--the former may -beat the low scoundrel to his heart's content, but there is no honor in -the exploit, and he is sure to be covered with the soil and dirt of -his ignominious antagonist. But necessity will sometimes compel us -to descend from our station to chastise a vagabond, and endure the -degradation of such a contest in order to repress, by wholesome -correction, the presumptuous insolence and mischievous designs of the -basest assailant."_ - -The young English officers find this refreshing as literature. It might -have been less uplifting could they have foreseen how ninety years later -England will fawn upon and flatter and wheedle America to the point -which sickens, while her bankrupt nobility make that despised region a -hunting ground where, equipped of a title and a coat of arms, they track -heiresses to lairs of gold and marry them. - -Now that the satisfied English are asleep about their fires, it behooves -one to hear how the General is faring. The day with him is one fraught -with work. Word reaches him of the captured cockleshells on Lake Borgne. -Also it reaches that valuable Legislature--honeycombed of treason. - -The Legislature sends a committee to ask the General what will be his -course if he's beaten back. The General is hardly courteous: - -"Tell your honorable body," says he, "that if disaster overtake me and -the fate of war drives me from my lines to the city, they may expect to -have a very warm session." - -Mr. Livingston catches the adjective. The committee having departed, he -propounds a query. - -"A warm session, General!" says he. "What do you mean by that?" - -"Ned," replies the General, "if I am beaten here, I shall fall back -on the city, fire it, and fight it out in the flames! Nothing for the -maintenance of the enemy shall be left. New Orleans destroyed, I shall -occupy a position on the river above, cut off supplies, and, since I -can't drive, I shall starve the English out of the country. There is -this difference, Ned, between me and those fellows from the Legislature. -They think only of the city and its safety. For my side, I'm not here to -defend the city, but the nation at large." - -On the heels of this, the Legislature whispers of surrendering Louisiana -to the English by resolution. It is scarcely feasible as a plan, but it -angers the General. He stations a guard at the door of the chamber and -turns the members away. - -"We can dispense with your sessions," says he. "We have laws enough; our -great need now is men and muskets at the front." - -The patricians of the Legislature are scandalized as being shut out of -their chamber. - -"Did I not tell you," cries the prophetic House Speaker, "did I not tell -you this fellow was a desperado, and would wage war like a savage?" - -The members retire from the guarded doors, cursing the General under -their breath. Their doorkeeper, a low, common person, is so struck by -what the General has said anent men and muskets, that he gets a gun and -joins that "desperado." And wherefore no? Patriotism has been the mark -of vulgar souls in every age. - -Colonel Coffee's hunting-shirt scouts come in and report the watch fires -of those sixteen hundred of the English advance winking and blinking -among the sugar stubble. - -"Ah!" says the General, "I've a mind to disturb their dreams." - -The General dispatches word to Commodore Patterson to have the -_Carolina_ in readiness to act with his forces. Then he sends for the -indispensable Coffee. - -"Coffee, we shall attack them to-night." - -The wise Coffee gives the grunt acquiescent. - -"Thank you, Coffee!" says the General. - -The council over, Colonel Coffee goes to turn out the troops. This is to -be done softly, as a surprise is aimed at. - -Now on the dread threshold of battle, Papa Plauche of the "Fathers of -Families" is overcome. As the intrepid "Fathers" fall into line, tears -fill Papa Plauche's eyes, and he appeals to neighbor St. Geme. - -"I am a Frenchman!" cries Papa Plauche, tossing his arms; "I am a -Frenchman, and do not fear to die! But, alas! mon St. Geme, I fear I -have not the courage to lead the 'Fathers of Families' to slaughter." - -"Hush, Papa Plauche!" returns the good St. Geme, made wretched by -the grief of his friend. "Hush! Command yourself! Do not let the wild -General hear you; he will not, with his coarse nature, understand such -sentiments." - -Captain Roche, of the "Fathers of Families," steps in front of his -company. Striking his breast melodramatically, he sings out: - -"Sergeant Roche, advance!" - -Sergeant Roche advances. - -"Embrace me, brother!" cries Captain Roche in broken utterances, -"embrace me! It is perhaps for the last time." - -The brothers Roche embrace, and the "Fathers of Families" are melted by -the tableau. - -"Sergeant Roche, return to your place!" commands the devoted Captain -Roche, and the sergeant, weeping, lapses into the ranks. - -The hunting-shirt men, witnesses of these touching scenes, are rude -enough to laugh, and by way of parody embrace one another effusively. -As they depart through the dark for their station, they break into -whispered debate as to whether the theatrical grief of Papa Plauche, -the brothers Roche, and the "Fathers of Families" is due to their creole -blood, or their city breeding, either, according to the theories of the -hunting-shirt men, being calculated to promote the effeminate in a -man. While they thus wrangle, there comes an angry hissing whisper from -Colonel Coffee, like the hiss of a serpent: - -"Silence!" - -Every hunting-shirt man is stricken dumb. They move forward like -shadows, right flank skirting the cypress swamp. To the far left they -hear the moccasined, half-muffled tramp of Colonel Carroll's men--their -hunting-shirt brothers from the Cumberland. As they turn a bend in the -swamp, they see not a furlong away the flickering and shadow dancing of -the watch fires of the tired English. At this every hunting-shirt -man makes certain the flint is secure in the hammer of his rifle, and -loosens the knife and tomahawk in his rawhide belt. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--THE BATTLE IN THE DARK - - -AS the hunting-shirt men come within sight of the blinking lights, -which polka-dot the sugar stubble in front and mark the bivouac of the -English, Colonel Coffee sends the whispered word along the line to halt. -At this, the hunting-shirt men crouch in the lee of the cypress swamp, -and wait. Colonel Coffee is lying by for the signal which shall tell him -to begin. - -Before the movement commences, the General calls Colonel Coffee to one -of their celebrated conferences. - -"It is my purpose, Coffee," explains the General, "merely to shake them -up a bit. An attack will cure them of overconfidence, and break the -teeth of their conceit. This should hold them in check, and give us time -for certain earthworks I meditate. The signal will be a gun from the -_Carolina_. When you hear the gun, Coffee, attack everything wearing -a red coat. But be careful!" Here the General lifts a long, admonitory -finger. "Do not follow too far! Reinforcements are crawling out of the -swamp to the rear of the English every hour, and the only certainty is -that, even as we talk, they outnumber us two for one." - -The faithful Coffee departs. As he reaches the door, the General calls -after him: - -"Don't forget, Coffee! The gun from the _Carolina!_" - -The hunting-shirt men lie waiting by the cypress swamp. On their near -left is Papa Plauche and his "Fathers of Families." Beyond these is -a half company of regulars, which the General has brought up from the -near-by post. On the Bayou Road, between the regulars and the river, is -the General himself, with a brace of small field pieces. - -It is a moonless night, and what light the stars might furnish is -withheld by a blanket-screen of thick clouds. No night could be darker; -for, lest an occasional star find a cloud-rift and peer through, a fog -drifts up from the river. This is good for the English, since it hides -their watch fires, which one by one are lost in the mists. The darkness -deepens until even the hawk-eyed hunting-shirt men, trained by much -night fighting to a nocturnal keenness of vision, are unable to make out -their nearest comrades. - -The pitch blackness, and the fog chill creeping over him, tell on Papa -Plauche. He whispers sorrowfully to his friend St. Geme. - -"Neighbor St. Geme," he says, "these differences should be adjusted by -argument, and not by deadly guns. I see that he who would either shoot -or be shot by his fellow-man; is in an erroneous position." - -Before the kindly St. Geme may frame response, a liquid tongue of flame -illuminates the broad dark bosom of the river. It is followed sharply by -a crashing "Boom!" This is the word from the _Carolina._ - -The signal carries dismay into the hearts of the English, since -Commodore Patterson, whose genius is thoroughgoing, is at pains to load -the gun with two pecks of slugs, and eighty-four killed and wounded are -the red English harvest of that one discharge. The frightened drums beat -the alarm, and the ranks of English form. As they grasp their arms the -nine broadside guns of the Carolina begin to rake them. With this the -English fall slowly back from the river. - -The rearward movement, while managed slowly because of the darkness, -brings discouraging results. The English retreat into the hunting-shirt -men, who are skirmishing up from the cypress swamp. The English are -first told of this new danger by the spitting flashes which remind them -of needles of fire, and the crack of the long squirrel rifles like -the snapping of a whip. Here and there, too, a groan is heard, as the -sightless lead finds some English breast. This augments the blind horror -of the hour. - -The trapped English reply in a desultory fashion, and make a bad matter -worse. The hunting-shirt men locate them by the flash of their guns, -at which they shoot with incredible quickness and accuracy. With men -falling like November's leaves, the English give ground to the south, -which saves them somewhat from both the _Carolina_ and the hunting-shirt -men. - -Guessing the English direction, the hunting-shirt men follow, loading -and firing as they advance. Now and then a hunting-shirt man overtakes -an individual foe, and settles the national differences which divide -them with tomahawk and knife. It is cruel work--this unseeing bloodshed -in the dark, and disturbingly new to the English, who express their -dislike for it. - -[Illustration: 0193] - -While the hunting-shirt men drive the English along the fringe of the -cypress swamp, the General, a half mile nearer the river, is working his -two field pieces. Affairs proceed to his warlike satisfaction--and -this is saying a deal for one so insatiate in matters of blood--until a -flying ounce of lucky English lead wounds a horse on the number two gun. -This brings present relief to those English in the General's front; for -the hurt animal upsets the gun into the ditch. It takes fifteen minutes -to put it on its proper wheels again. The accident disgruntles the -General; but he bears it with what philosophy he may, and in good truth -is pleased to find that the gun carriage has not been smashed in the -upset. - -"Save the gun!" is his word to the artillery men; and when it is saved -he praises them. - -At the booming signal from the _Carolina_, the intrepid Papa Plauche -cries out: - -"Forwards, brave Fathers of Families! Forwards, heroes!" - -The "Fathers" respond, and go on with the hunting-shirt men. But their -pace is sedate; and this last results in an impoliteness which disturbs -the excellent Papa Plauche to the core. - -The hunting-shirt men are, for the major portion, riotous young blades -from the backwoods. Moreover, they are used to this prowling warfare of -the night. Is it wonder then that they advance more rapidly than does -Papa Plauche with his "Fathers," whose step is measured and dignified as -becomes the heads of households? - -Thus it befalls that, do their dignified best, Papa Plauche and his -"Fathers" are left behind by the hunting-shirt men, who, deploying more -and still more to the left, extend themselves in front of Papa Plauche. -This does not suit the latter's hardy tastes, and he frets ferociously. -He grows condemnatory, as the spitting rifle flashes show him that the -vainglorious hunting-shirt men are between him and those English whom he -hungers to destroy. Indeed, he fumes like tiger cheated of its prey. - -"But we shall extricate ourselves, neighbor St. Geme!" cries Papa -Plauche. "We shall yet extricate ourselves! Behold!" - -The "Behold!" is the foreword of certain masterly maneuvers by Papa -Plauche among the sugar stubble. The maneuvers free the farseeing -Papa Plauche and his "Fathers" from those obstructive, unmannerly -hunting-shirt men, who have cut off their advance even in its -indomitable bud. The "Fathers" being better used to shop floors than -plowed fields, however, make difficult work of it. At last courage has -its reward, and the "Fathers" uncover their dauntless front. - -"Oh, my brave St. Geme!" cries Papa Plauche, when his strategy has put -the hunting-shirt men on his right, where they belong, "nothing can save -the caitiff English now! Those ruffians in hunting tunics who protected -them no longer impede our front. Forwards!" - -The final word has hardly issued from between the clenched teeth of Papa -Plauche when a rustling in the stubble apprises him of the foe. - -"Fire, Fathers of Families, fire!" shouts Papa Plauche, and such is the -fury which consumes him that the shout is no shout, but a screech. - -It is enough! One by one each "Father" discharges his flintlock. The -procession of reports is rather ragged, and now and again a considerable -wait occurs between shots, like a great gap in a picket fence. Still, -the last "Father" finally finds the trigger, and the command of Papa -Plauche is obeyed. - -The "Fathers" hurt no one by this savage volley, for their aim -like their hearts is high. It is quite as well they do not. The -stubble-disturbing force in front chances to be none other than that -half company of regulars, to whose rear it seems the inadvertent -Papa Plauche, in freeing them from the hunting-shirt men, has led his -"Fathers." The regulars are in a towering rage with Papa Plauche; -but since no one has been injured, and Papa Plauche is profuse in his -apologies, their anger presently subsides. The regulars again take up -their bloody work upon the retreating English, while the discouraged -Papa Plauche and the "Fathers," full of confusion and chagrin at twice -being balked, remain where they are. - -"After all, neighbor St. Geme," observes Papa Plauche, "the mistake was -theirs. Did they not usurp the place which belonged to the English, in -thus getting in front of us? It should teach them to beware how they put -themselves in the path of my 'Fathers,' whose wrath is terrible." - -For two black, sightless hours the huntingshirt men crowd the English -to the south. Then the General draws them off. They come, bringing -as captives one colonel, two majors, three captains, and sixty-four -privates. Also they have killed and wounded two hundred and thirteen -of the English, which comforts them marvelously. They themselves have -suffered but slightly, and the backloads of English guns they carry will -gladden many an unarmed Kentucky heart. - -Now when he has them together, the beloved Coffee at their head, the -General leads the way to the thither side of the Roderiquez Canal, where -he plans a line of breastworks. Arriving, the weary hunting-shirt men -build fires, and make themselves easy for the balance of the night. - -After a brief rest, the thoughtful General detaches a party with one of -the field guns, to interest the English until daylight. - -"For I think, Coffee," says he, "that if we keep them awake, they will -be apt to sleep tomorrow; and so leave us free to work on our defenses." - - - - -CHAPTER XV--COTTON BALES AND SUGAR CASKS - - -IT is the day before Christmas when the General lays out his line for -fortifications. The Roderiquez Canal is no canal at all, but a disused -mill race, which an active man can leap and any one may wade. The -General will make a moat of it, and raise his breastworks along its -mile-length muddy course, between the river and the cypress swamp. He -keeps an army of mules and negroes, with scrapers and carts, hard at -work, heaping up the earth. A boat load of cotton is lying at the levee. -The cotton bales are rolled ashore, and added to the heaped-up earth. -This pleases Papa Plauche. - -"It is singular," he remarks to neighbor St. Geme, "that cotton, which -has been my business support for years, should now defend my life." - -There is a low place to the General's front. He cuts the levee; and -soon the Mississippi furnishes three feet of water, to serve as a wet -drawback to any English advance. The latter, however, are not thinking -on an advance. Supports have come dripping from the swamp, and swollen -their numbers to threefold the General's force; but none the less their -hearts are weak. That horrifying night attack, when their blood was shed -in the dark, has broken the heart of their vanity, and a paralyzing fear -of those dangerous hunting-shirt men lies all across the English like -a cloud. More and worse, the _Carolina_ swings downstream, abreast of -their position, and her broadsides drive them to hide in ditches and the -cypress borders of the swamp. There is no peace, no safety, on the flat, -stubble ground, while light remains by which to point the _Carolina's_ -guns. - -Nor does nightfall bring relief. Those empty-handed Kentuckians must -be provided for; and, no sooner does the sun go down, than the -hunting-shirt men by two and three go forth in search of English -muskets. They shoot down sentries, and carry away their dead belongings. -Does an English group assemble round a camp fire, it becomes an -invitation seldom neglected. A party of hunting-shirt men creep within -range and begin the butchery. There is never the moment, daylight and -dark, when the unhappy English are not within the icy reach of death. -There is no repose, no safety! A chill dread claims them like a palsy! - -The English complain bitterly at this bushwhacking; which, to the -hunting-shirt men, reared in schools of Indian war, is the merest A B C -of battle. The harassed English denounce the General as a barbarian, in -whose savage bosom burns no spark of chivalry. They recall how in their -late campaigns in Spain, English and French pickets spent peace-filled -weeks within fifty yards of one another, exchanging nothing more deadly -than coffee and compliments. - -The grim General refuses to be affected by the French-English example. -He continues to pile up his earthworks, while the hunting-shirt men -go forth to pot nightly English as usual. The situation wears away the -courage of the English to a white and paper thinness. - -While the General is fortifying his lines, and the hunting-shirt men are -stalking English sentinels, peace is signed in Europe between America -and England. But Europe is far away; and there is no Atlantic cable. And -so the General continues at his congenial labors undisturbed. - -Christmas does not go unrecognized in the General's camp. He himself -attempts nothing of festival sort, and only drives his fortifying mules -and negroes the harder. But the hunting-shirt men celebrate by cleaning -their rifles, molding bullets, refilling powder horns, and whetting -knives and tomahawks to a more lethal edge. - -As for Papa Plauche and the "Fathers of Families," they become jocund. -Their wives and daughters purvey them roast fowls in little wicker -baskets, and the warmest wines of Burgundy in bottles. Whereupon Papa -Plauche and his "Fathers" wax blithe and merry, singing the songs of -France and talking of old loves. - -And now Sir Edward Pakenham arrives, and relieves General Keane in -command of the English. With him comes General Gibbs. The two listen to -the reports of General Keane, and shrug polite shoulders as he speaks of -the savage valor of the Americans. It is preposterous that peasants -clad in skins, and not a bayonet among them, should check the flower of -England. General Keane does not reply to the polite shrug. He reflects -that the General, with his hunting-shirt men, can be relied upon to -later make convincing answer. - -Upon the morning which follows the advent of General Pakenham, the -English see a moment of good fortune. A red-hot shot sets fire to -the _Carolina_, as she swings downstream on her cable for that daily -bombardment, and burns her to the water line. This cheers the English -mightily; and does not discourage Commodore Patterson, who transfers his -activities to the decks of the _Louisiana._ - -Sir Edward gives the General three uninterrupted days. This the latter -warrior improves so far as to rear his earthworks to a height of four -feet, and mount five guns. On the fourth day the English are led out to -the assault. Sir Edward does not say so, but he expects to march over -those four-foot walls of mud and cotton bales as he might over any other -casual four-foot obstruction, and go up to the city beyond. - -The sequel does not justify Sir Edward's optimism. The moment the -English approach within two hundred yards of the General's line, a sheet -of fire hisses all along. The English melt away like smoke. They break -and run, seeking refuge in the cross ditches which drain the stubble -lands. Once in the ditches, they are made to sit fast by the watchful -hunting-shirt men, whose aim is death and who shoot at every exposed two -square inches of English flesh and blood. - -All day the English must crouch in the saving mud and water of those -ditches, and it ruffles their self-regard. With darkness for a shield, -Sir Edward brings them off. He explains the disaster to his staff -by calling it a "reconnoissance." General Keane also calls it a -"reconnoissance"; but there is a satisfied grin on his war-worn face. -Sir Edward has received a taste of the mettle of those "peasants," and -may now take a more tolerant, and less politely cynical, view of what -earlier setbacks were experienced by General Keane. As for the seventy -dead who lie, faces to the quiet stars, among the sugar stubble, they -say nothing. And whether it be called a "reconnoissance" or a defeat -matters little to them. - -"What do you think of it?" asks Sir Edward of his friend, General Gibbs, -as the two confer over a bottle of port. - -"Sir Edward," returns the General, "I should call a council of war." - -Sir Edward winces. It is too great an honor for the brother-in-law of -Lord Wellington to pay a "Copper Captain" like the General. For all that -he calls it; and the call assembles, besides Generals Gibbs and Keane, -those saltwater soldiers, Admirals Cochrane, Codrington and Malcolm, -and Captain Hardy whom Nelson loved. Sir John Burgoyne, the chief of -the English engineers, is also there. The solemn debate lasts hours. The -decision is to regard the General's position as "A walled and fortified -place, to be reduced by regular and formal approaches." Which is -flattering to the General's engineering skill. - -The council breaks up. The next morning Sir John Burgoyne commits a -stroke of genius. He rolls out of the storehouses to the English rear -countless hogsheads of sugar. Night sets in, foggy and black. Under its -protecting cover, Sir John trundles his hundreds of hogsheads to a point -not six hundred yards from the General's mud walls. Till daybreak -the English work. They set the hogsheads on end--four close-packed -thicknesses of them, two tier high. Ingenious portholes are left to -receive the muzzles of the guns, and thirty cannon, which have been -dragged through the cypress swamp from the fleet, are placed in -position. - -Those hogsheads of sugar, with the thirty black muzzles frowning forth, -impress folk as a most formidable fortalice, when the upshooting sun -rolls back the fog and offers a view of them. The General, however, does -not hesitate; he instantly opens with his five, and the thirty guns -of the English bellow their iron response. Hardly a whit behind the -General, the active Commodore Patterson drops downstream with the -_Louisiana_, and throws the weight of her broadsides against the -English. - -The big-gun duel is hot and furious, and the rolling clouds of powder -smoke shut out the fighters from one another. They do not pause for -that, but fire blindly through the smoke, sighting their guns by guess. -When the smoke has cloaked the scene, Sir Edward orders two columns of -the English foot to storm the General's mud walls. - -The columns advance, and run headforemost into the hunting-shirt men. -The sleety rain of lead which greets them rolls the columns up like two -red carpets. The recoiling columns break, and the English take cover -for a second time in those saving ditches. They declare among themselves -that mortal man might more easily face the fires of hell itself, than -the flame-filled muzzles of the hunting-shirt men, who seem to be -Death's very agents upon earth. - -As the broken English crouch in those ditches the fire of Sir John -Burgoyne's big guns begins to falter. The smoke is so thick that no one -may tell the cause. At last the English volleys altogether end, and the -General orders Dominique and Bluche, with their swarthy pirate crews -from Barrataria, and what other artillerists are serving his quintette -of guns, to cease their stormy work. With that a silence falls on both -sides. - -The breeze from the river tears the smoky veil aside; and lo! that -noble fortification of sugar hogsheads is heaped and piled in ruins. The -General's solid shot go through and through those hogsheads of sugar, as -though they are hogsheads of snow. Five of the thirty English guns are -smashed. The proud work of Sir John Burgoyne presents a spectacle of -desolation, while the English who serve the batteries go flying for -their lives. Not all! The three-score dead remain--the only English -whose honor is saved that day! - -Sir Edward's cheek is white as death. He blames Sir John Burgoyne, who -has erred, he says, in constructing the works. Sir John did err, and Sir -Edward is right. Forty years later, the same Sir John will repeat the -same mistake at Sebastapol; which shows how there be Bourbons among the -English, learning nothing, forgetting nothing. - -As the English skulk in clusters, and ragged, beaten groups for their -old position beyond the General's long reach, the fear of death is -written on their faces. It will take a long rest, and much must be -forgotten, e'er they may be brought front to front with the General -again. - -Among the hunting-shirt men are exultation and crowing triumph. Only -Papa Plauche is sad. During the fight, the cotton bales in front of Papa -Plauche and the "Fathers" are sorely knocked about. As though this be -not enough, what must a felon hot shot do but set one of them ablaze! -The smoke fills the noses of Papa Plauche and his "Fathers," and makes -them sneeze. It burns their eyes until the tears the "Fathers" shed -might make one think them engaged upon the very funeral of Papa Plauche -himself. - -In the tearful sneezing midst of this anguish, a vagrant flying flake -of cotton, all afire, explodes an ammunition wagon to the heroic rear of -Papa Plauche and the "Fathers," and the shock is as the awful shock of -doom. - -The fortitude of Hercules would fail at such a pinch! Papa Plauche and -the "Fathers" actually and for the moment think on flight! But whither -shall they fly? They are caught between Satan and a deepest sea--the -ammunition wagon and the English! Also to the right, plying sponge and -rammer, are the pirate Barratarians who are as bad as the English! -While to the left is the General, who is worse than the ammunition -wagon. - -"It is written!" murmurs Papa Plauche; "our fate is sure! We must perish -where we stand!" Papa Plauche extends his hands, and cries: "Courage, -my heroes! Give your hearts to heaven, your fame to posterity, and show -history how 'Fathers of Families' can die!" From the cypress swamp a -last detachment of renforcements emerges, and meets the beaten English -coming back. General Lambert, with the renforcements, is shocked as he -reads their broken-hearted story in their eyes. "What is it, Colonel?" -he whispers to Colonel Dale of the Highlanders. "In heaven's name, what -stopped you?" - -"Bullets, mon!" returns the Scotchman. "Naught but bullets! The fire of -those de'ils in lang shirts wud 'a' stopped Caesar himsel'!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY - - -BACK to his negroes and mules and carts and scrapers goes the General, -and sets them to renewed hard labor on those immortal mud walls which -he will never get too high. Those cotton bales, so distressing to -Papa Plauche and the "Fathers," are eliminated, at which that paternal -commander breathes freer. The hunting-shirt men, with each going down -of the sun, resume their nighthawk parties, which swoop upon English -sentinels, taking lives and guns. - -The English themselves are a prey to dejection. The foe against whom -they war is so strange, so savage, so sleepless, so coldly inveterate! -Also those incessant night attacks sap their manhood. They build no -fires now, but sit in darkness through the nights. A fire is but the -attractive prelude to a shower of nocturnal lead, and the woefully -lengthening list of dead and wounded tells strongly against it. To even -light a cigar after dark is an approach to suicide; and so the English -wrap themselves in blackness--very miserable! Their earlier horror of -the hunting-shirt men is increased; for they have three times studied -backwoods marksmanship from the standpoint of targets, and the dumb -chill about their heart-roots is a testimony to its awful accuracy. - -The General, who reads humanity as astronomers read the heavens, is -not wanting in notions of the gloom which envelops the English like a -funeral pall. - -"Coffee," says he, at one of those famous war councils of two, "in their -souls we have them beaten. They will fight again; but only from pride. -Their hope is gone, Coffee; we have broken their hearts." - -The reports of the General's scouts teach him that the English will -put a force across the river. In anticipation, he dispatches Commodore -Patterson, with a mixed command of soldiers and sailors, to fortify -the west bank. Commodore Patterson emulates the General's four-foot -mud walls and throws up a redoubt of his own, mounting thereon twelve -eighteen-pounders taken from the Louisiana. - -He tries one on the English opposite. The result is gratifying; the gum -pitches a solid shot all across the Mississippi and into the English -lines. - -Eight days pass by in Indian file, and Sir Edward Pakenham with his -English feels that, for his safety as much as his honor, he must attack -the General, whose mud walls increase with each new sunset. The General -foresees this, and has reports of Sir Edward's movements brought him -every hour. - -On the morning of the eighth the General's scouts wake him at two -o'clock and say that the English are astir. He is instantly abroad; -the word goes down the line; by four o'clock every rifle is ready, each -hunting-shirt man at his post. - -The weak spot, the one at which Sir Edward will level his utmost force, -is where the General's line finds an end in the moss-hung cypress swamp. -It is there he stations the reliable Coffee with his hunting-shirt men. -To the rear, as a reserve, is General Adair with what Kentuckians the -good, unerring offices of those night-prowling hunting-shirt men have -armed at the red expense of the English. - -In the center is the redoubtable Papa Plauche and his "Fathers." The -"Fathers" are between the pirates Dominique and Bluche and Captain -Humphries of the regular artillery. - -Papa Plauche is rejoiced at being thus thrust into the center. - -"For my heroes!" cries Papa Plauche, in a speech which he makes the -"Fathers," the center is the heart--the home of honor! "On us, my -Fathers, devolves the main defense of our beloved city, where sleep our -wives and children. Wherefore, be brave as vigilant--vigilant as brave!" - -Papa Plauche's voice is husky, but not from fear. No, it is husky by -reason of a cold which, despite certain woolen nightcaps wherewith the -excellent Madam Plauche equipped him for the field, he has contracted in -sleeping damply among the stubble and the river fogs. - -Six hundred yards in front of the General's mud walls, and near the -river, are a huddle of plantation buildings. The English, he -argues, will mask a part of their advance with these structures. The -forethoughtful General prepares for this, and has furnaces heating shot, -to set those buildings blazing at the psychological moment. - -Also, in response to a comic cynicism not usual with him, he has out -the brass band of Papa Plauche, with instructions to strike up "Yankee -Doodle" as the first gun is fired. The band, in compliment to the -General, has been privily rehearsing "'Possum up a Gum Tree," which -it understands is the national anthem of Tennessee, and offers to play -that. - -The General thanks the band, but declines "'Possum up a Gum Tree." It -will not be understood by the English; whereas "Yankee Doodle" they have -known and loathed for forty years. - -"Give 'em 'Yankee Doodle,'" says the General. "Since they are so eager to -dance, we'll furnish the proper music." - -Sir Edward is as soon afoot as is the General. He finds his English -steady yet dull; they will fight, but not with spirit. As the General -assured the conferring Coffee, the hunting-shirt men, with their long -rifles like wands of death, have broken the English heart. - -The English are to advance in three columns; General Keane on the right -with Rennie's Rifles, in the center Dale's Highlanders, on the left, -where the main attack is to be launched, General Gibbs, with three -thousand of the pride of England at his back. General Lambert is to hold -himself in the rear of General Gibbs, with two regiments as a reserve. -As the columns form, there are eighty-five hundred of the English; -against which the-General opposes a scanty thirty-two hundred. And -yet, upon those overpowering eighty-five hundred hangs a silence like a -sadness, as though they are about to go marching to their graves. - -The solemn fear in which the English hold the hunting-shirt men finds -pathetic evidence. As the columns wheel into position, Colonel Dale of -the Highlanders gives a letter and his watch to the surgeon. - -"Carry them to my wife," says he. - -"I'll peel for no American!" and twenty-four hours later he is buried in -that cloak. - -The English stand to their arms, and wait the breaking of day. Slowly -the minutes drag their leaden length along; morning comes at last. - -With the first streaks of livid dawn, a Congreve rocket flashes skyward -from Sir Edward's headquarters. The rocket is the English signal to -advance. In a moment, General Gibbs, General Keane, and Colonel Dale -with his "praying" Highlanders are in motion. - -The signal rocket uncouples thousands upon thousands of fellow rockets; -the air is on fire with them as they blaze aloft in mighty arcs, to fall -and explode among the hunting-shirt men. - -"Toys for children, boys," cries the General, as he observes -the hunting-shirt men watching the flaming shower with curious, -non-understanding eyes; "toys for children! They'll hurt no one!" - -The General is right. Those congreve rockets are supposed to be as -deadly as artillery. Like many another commodity of war, however, meant -primarily to fatten contractors, they prove as innocuous as so many -huge fireflies. The hunting-shirt men laugh at them. The battery of -eighteen-pounders, wherewith the English second that flight of rockets, -is a more serious affair. - -As the sun shoots up above the cypress swamp and rolls back the mists -of morning, the English make a gallant picture. The dull yellow of the -stubble in front of the General's line is gay with splotches of red and -gray and green and tartan, the colors of the various English corps. - -The hunting-shirt men, however, are not given much space for admiration; -for, with one grand crash, the big guns go into action and the -red-green-gray-tartan picture is swallowed up in powder smoke. Also, -it is now that Papa Plauche's band blares forth "Yankee Doodle," while -those anticipatory hot shot set fire to the plantation buildings. As the -latter burst out at door and window in smoke and flames, Colonel Rennie -and his riflemen are driven into the open. The conflagration gets much -in the English way, and spoils the drill-room nicety of Sir Edward's -onset as he has it planned. - -Colonel Rennie, being capable of brisk decision, makes the best of a -disconcerting situation. When the flames and smoke from those fired -plantation buildings drive him into the open before he is ready, he -promptly orders a charge. This his riflemen obey; for the inexorable -Patterson, across the river, is already upon them with those -eighteen-pounders, and his solid shot are mowing ghastly swaths through -the rifle-green ranks, tossing dead men in the air like old bags. With -so little inducement to stand still, the riflemen hail that word to -charge as a relief, and head for the General's mud walls at double -quick. - -The oncoming Colonel Rennie and his English are met full in the face by -a tempest of grape, from Major Humphrey and the pirates Dominique and -Bluche, which throws them backward upon themselves. They bunch up -and clot into lumps of disorder, like clumps of demoralized sheep in -rifle-green. At that, Commodore Patterson serves his eighteen-pounders -with multiplied speed, and the great balls tear those sheep-clumps to -pieces, staining with crimson the rifle-green. The English marvel at -the artillery work of the General's men, whose every shot comes on, well -aimed and low, bringing death in its whistling wake. - -They should reflect: The theory, not to say the eye, which aims a -squirrel rifle will point a cannon. - -Colonel Rennie, when his English recoil, keeps on--face red with grief -and rage. - -"It's my time to die!" says he to Captain Henry. "But before I die, I -shall at least see the inside of those mud walls." - -Colonel Rennie is wrong. A bullet finds his brain as he lifts his head -above the breastworks, and he slips back dead in the ditch outside. -Major King and Captain Henry die with him, pierced each by a handful of -bullets. - -When the English flinch and Colonel Rennie falls, the bugler--a boy of -fourteen--climbs a tree, not one hundred yards from the General's line. -Perched among the branches, he sounds his dauntless charges. The General -gives orders to let the boy alone. And so the little bugler, protected -by the word of the General, sings his shrill onsets to the last. - -Finally an artillery-man goes out to him. - -"Come down, my son!" says the cannoneer. "The war's about over!" - -The little bugler comes down, and is at once taken to the fatherly heart -of Papa Plauche, who declares him to be a sucking Hector, and is for -adopting him as his son on the spot, but is restrained by thoughts of -Madam Plauche. - -Sir Edward's main assault, with General Gibbs, meets no fairer fortune -than falls to Colonel Rennie by the river. Confusion prevails on the -threshold of the movement; for Colonel Mullins with his Forty-fourth -refuses to go forward. Later he will be courtmartialed, and dismissed in -disgrace. Just now, however, the recreant makes a shameful tangle of -the English van. As a quickest method of setting the tangle straight, -General Gibbs, as did Colonel Rennie, orders a charge. The column moves -forward, the mutinous Forty-fourth on the right flank, led by its major. - -General Gibbs advances, brushing with the shoulder of his corps, -the cypress swamp. Behind the mud walls in his front, the steady -hunting-shirt men are waiting. The General is there, to give the latter -patience and hold them in even check. - -"Easy, boys!" he cries. "Remember your ranges! Don't fire until they are -within two hundred yards!" - -On rush the English. At six hundred yards they are met by the fire of -the artillery. They heed it not, but press sullenly forward, closing up -the gaps in their ranks, where the solid shot go crashing through, as -fast as made. Five hundred yards, four hundred, three hundred! Still -they come! Two hundred yards! - -And now the hunting-shirt men! A line of fire unending glances from -right to left and left to right, along the crest of those mud walls, and -Death begins his reaping. The head of the English column burns away, as -though thrust into a furnace! The column wavers and welters like a red -ship in a murky sea of smoke! It pauses, falteringly--disdaining to fly, -yet unable to advance! - -"Forward, men!" shouts General Gibbs. "This is the way you should go!" - -As he points with his sword to those terrible mud walls, he falls -riddled by the hunting-shirt men. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--THE SLAUGHTER AMONG THE STUBBLE - - -WHEN the main advance begins, Sir Edward is in the center with the -Highlanders. The latter are not to move until he has word of their -success from General Keane with Rennie's rifle corps, and General Gibbs -with the main column--the one by the river and the other by the cypress -swamp. He has not long to wait; a courier dashes up from the river--eye -haggard, disorder in his look! - -"General Keane?" cries Sir Edward, his apprehension on edge. - -"Fallen!" returns the courier hoarsely. - -"And Rennie?" - -"Dead. The Rifles are in full retreat!" Sir Edward stands like one -stricken. Then he pulls himself together. - -"Bring on your Highlanders!" he cries to Colonel Dale. "We must force -their lines in front of General Gibbs. It is our only chance!" - -Sir Edward dashes across to General Gibbs, in the shadow of that -significant cypress swamp. He sees General Gibbs go down! He sees -the red column torn and twisted by that storm of lead which the -hunting-shirt men unloose. - -As the English reel away from those low-flying messengers of death, Sir -Edward seeks to rally them. - -"Are you Englishmen?" he cries. "Have you but marched upon a battlefield -to stain the glory of your flag?" - -Sir Edward's gesticulating arm falls, smashed by a bullet from some -sharp-shooting hunting-shirt man. He seems not to know his hurt! He is -on fire with the thought that those honors, won upon forty fields, -are to be wrested from him by a "Copper Captain," backed by a mob of -peasants in buckskin! He rushes among the shaken English to check the -panic which is seizing them! - -The Highlanders come up! - -"Hurrah! brave Highlanders!" he shouts. - -At Sir Edward's welcoming shout, Colonel Dale waves a salute! It is his -last; the huntingshirt men are upon him with those unerring rifles, and -he falls dead before his General's eyes. Coincident with the fall of his -beloved Dale, Sir Edward is struck by a second bullet. It enters near -the heart. As his aide catches him in his arms, he beckons feebly to Sir -John Tylden. - -"Call up Lambert with the reserves!" he whispers. - -As he lies supported in the arms of his aide, a third bullet puffs out -his lamp of life, and England loses a second Sir Philip Sidney. - -The main column falls into renewed disorder! It begins to retreat; -the retreat becomes a rout! Only the Highlanders stay! They cannot go -forward; they will not go back! There they stand rooted, until five -hundred and forty of their nine hundred and fifty are shot down. - -As the main column breaks, Major Wilkinson turns to Lieutenant Lavack. - -"This is too much disgrace to take home!" says he. - -Like Colonel Rennie, a mile away by the river, Major Wilkinson charges -the mud walls. Lieutenant Lavack, sharing his feelings, shares with him -that desperate, disgrace-defying charge. Through the singing, droning -"zip! zip!" of the bullets, they press on! They reach the ditch, and -splash through! Up the mud walls they swarm! Major Wilkinson falls -inside, dead, three times shot through and through! Lieutenant -Lavack, with a luck that is like a charm, lands in the midst of the -hunting-shirt men without a scratch! They receive him hilariously, -offer whisky and compliments, and assure him that they like his style. -Lieutenant Lavack accepts the whisky and the compliments, and gains -distinction as the one live Englishman over the General's mud walls this -January day. - -The field is swept of hostile English; all is silent in front, and not -a shot is heard. Now when the firing is wholly on one side, the General -passes the word for the hunting-shirt men to cease. - -The hard-working Coffee comes up, face a-smudge of powder stains; for he -has been taking his turn with a rifle, like any other hunting-shirt man. -He finds the General as drunk on battle as some folk are on brandy. - -"They can't beat us, Coffee!" cries the General, wringing his friend's -big hand. "By the living Eternal they can't beat us!" - -The General unslings his ramshackle telescope, and leaps upon the mud -walls for a survey of the field. The less curious Coffee devotes himself -to wiping the sweat and powder smudges from his face. His impromptu -toilet results only in unhappy smears, which make him resemble an -overgrown sweep. He looks at his watch. - -"Sharp, short work!" he mutters, as he notes that they have been -fighting but twenty-five minutes. - -[Illustration: 0235] - -Those plantation buildings are still blazing, no more than half-burned -down, and the smoke hides the scene toward the river. The General turns -his ramshackle spyglass upon his immediate front. The ground is fairly -carpeted with dead English. As he gazes he calls to Colonel Coffee, who -is now broadening the powder smears ingeniously with the sleeve of his -hunting shirt. - -"Jump up here, Coffee!" cries the General. "It's like resurrection day!" - -Thus urged, Colonel Coffee abandons his attempts to improve his looks, -and joins the General on the mud walls. He is in time to behold four -hundred odd Highlanders scramble to their brogues among those five -hundred and forty who will never march again, and come forward to -surrender. - -It has been a hot and bloody morning. Of those six thousand whom Sir -Edward takes into action--for the reserves with General Lambert are -never within range--over twenty-one hundred are fallen. Seven hundred -and thirty are killed as they stand in their ranks; and of the fourteen -hundred marked "wounded," more than six hundred are to die within the -week. Among the twenty-one hundred killed and wounded, sixteen hundred -go to swell the red record of the dire hunting-shirt men. - -The two attacks, being at the ends of the General's lines, involve no -more than two-thirds of his thirty-two hundred. Papa Plauche's "Fathers" -in the center, as well as General Adair's Kentuckians who act as -reserves, are merest spectators. - -That his "Fathers" are not called upon to fire a shot, in no wise -depresses Papa Plauche. He harangues his brave followers, and eloquently -explains: - -"It is because of your sanguinary fame, my heroes!" vociferates Papa -Plauche. "The English knew your position, and avoided you. They went as -far to the right and to the left as they could, to escape that -destruction you else would have infallibly meted out to them. Ah! my -'Fathers,' see what it is to have a terrible name! You must sit idle in -battle, because no foe dare engage you! Be comforted, my glorious -heroes! Achilles could have done no more!" - -Colonel Coffee, still busy with the powder smears, calls the General's -attention to an English group of three, made up of a colonel, a bugler, -and a soldier bearing a white flag. The trio halt six hundred respectful -yards away. The bugler sounds a fanfare; the soldier waves his white -flag. - -The General dispatches Colonel Butler with two captains to receive -their message. It is a note signed "Lambert," asking an armistice of -twenty-four hours to bury the dead. - -"Who is Lambert?" asks the General, and sends to the English colonel, -with his bugler and white flag, to find out. - -The three presently return; this time the note is signed "John Lambert, -Commander-in-Chief." The alteration proves to the General's liking, and -the armistice is arranged. - -The seven hundred and thirty dead English are buried where they fell. -Thereafter the superstitious blacks will defy lash and torture rather -than plow the land where they lie. It will raise no more sugar cane; but -in time a cypress grove will sorrowfully cover it, as though in mournful -memory of those who sleep beneath. The General carries his own dead to -the city. They are not many, four dead and four wounded being the limit -of his loss. - -General Lambert and the beaten English go wallowing, hip-deep, through -the swamps to their boats. They will not fight again. The booming of -the batteries, or mayhap the unusual warmth of the sun, has roused from -their winter beds a scaly host of alligators. These saurians uplift -their hideous heads and gaze sleepily, yet inquisitively, at the -wallowing retreating English. Now and then one widely yawns, and the -spectacle sends an icy thrill along what English spines bear witness to -it. - -In the end the beaten English are all departed. That tremendous invasion -which, with "Beauty and Booty!" for its cry, sailed out of Negril Bay -six weeks before to the sack of New Orleans, is abandoned, and the -last defeated man jack once more aboard the ships and mighty glad to be -there. The fleet sails south and east; but not until the tallest ship is -hull down in the horizon does the General march into New Orleans. - -The General cannot bring himself to believe that the retreat of the -English is genuine. They have still, as they sail away, full thirteen -thousand fighting men aboard those ships, with a round one thousand -cannon, and munitions and provisions for a year's campaign. He judges -them by himself, and will not be convinced that they have fled. With -this on his mind, he plants his pickets far and wide, and insists on -double vigilance. - -Now when fear of the English is rolled like a stone from their breasts, -the folk of New Orleans fret under the General's iron rule. With that -the prudent General tightens his grip. Even so excellent a soldier -as Papa Plauche complains. He says that the hearts of the "Fathers -of Families" are bursting with victory. His valiant "Fathers" burn to -express their joy. - -The General suggests that the joy-swollen "Fathers" repair to the -Cathedral, and hear the Abb Duborg conduct a _Te Deum_. - -Papa Plauche points out that, while a _Te Deum_ is all very well in -its way, it is a rite and not a festival. What his "Fathers"--who are -thunderbolts of war!--desire is to give a ball. - -The General says that he has no objections to the ball. - -Papa Plauche explains that a ball is not possible, with the city held -fast in the controlling coils of military law. The rule that all lights -must be out at nine o'clock, of itself forbids a ball. As affairs stand -the "Fathers" are helpless in their happiness. No one may dance by -daylight; that would be too fantastic, too bizarre! And yet who, -pray, can rejoice in the dark? It is against human nature, argues Papa -Plauche. - -The General refuses to be moved; but continues to hold the city in his -unrelenting clutch--maintaining the while a wary eye for sly returning -English, with an occasional glance at the local treason which is -simmering about him. - -The public murmur grows louder and deeper. A rumor of the peace comes -ashore, no one knows how. The General refuses the rumor, fearing an -English ruse to throw him off his guard. At the peace whisper, the -popular discontent increases. The General, in the teeth of it, remains -unchanged. - -Citizen Hollander expresses himself with more heat than prudence. The -General locks up the vituperative Citizen Hollander. M. Toussand, Consul -for France, considers such action high-handed; and says so. The General -marches Consul Toussand out of town, with a brace of bayonets at the -consular back. Legislator Louaillier protests against the casting out -of Consul Toussand. The General consigns the protesting Legislator -Louaillier to a cell in the calaboose. Jurist Hall of the District Court -issues a writ of habeas corpus for the relief and release of the captive -Louaillier. The General responds by arresting Jurist Hall, who is given -a cell between captives Louaillier and Hollander, where by raising his -voice he may condole with them through the intervening stone walls. - -Thus are affairs arranged when official notice of the peace reaches the -General from Washington. Instantly he withdraws his grip from the -city, restores the civil rule, and releases from captivity Jurist Hall, -Citizen Hollander, and Legislator Louaillier. - -Upon the disappearance of martial law, Papa Plauche, with his immortal -"Fathers of Families," gives that ball of victory, the exiled Consul -Toussand creeps back into town, while Jurist Hall signalizes his -restoration to the woolsack by fining the General one thousand dollars -for contempt of court--which he pays. - -The Legislature, guards withdrawn from its treasonable doors, expands -into lawmaking. Its earliest action is a resolution of thanks for their -brave defense of the city to officers Coffee, Carroll, Hinds, Adair, -and Patterson. The Legislature pointedly does not thank the General, who -grins dryly. - -Colonel Coffee, upon receiving the vote of thanks, writes a letter of -acknowledgment, in which he intimates his opinions of the General, the -Legislature, and himself. This missive is a remarkable outburst on the -part of Colonel Coffee, who fights more easily than he writes, and shows -how he is stirred to his hunting-shirt depths. - -Through the clouds of pestiferous jurists and treason-hatching -legislators descends a grand burst of sunshine. The blooming Rachel, as -unlooked for as an angel, joins her gaunt hero in New Orleans, and the -General forgets alike his triumphs and his troubles. - -Papa Plauche--foremost in peace as in war--at once seizes on the advent -of the blooming Rachel to give another ball. The whole city attends the -function; the heroic "Fathers" in full panoply and very splendid. The -band plays "'Possum up a Gum Tree," in the execution whereof it soars to -vainest heights. - -Papa Plauche dances with the blooming Rachel. The General unbuckles in -certain intricate breakdowns, with which he challenged admiration in -those days long ago when he was the beau of old Salisbury and read law -with Spruce McCay. The "Fathers" are not only edified but excited by the -General's dancing; for he dances as he fights, violently. - -Colonel Coffee, not being a dancing man, goes looking about him. He -discovers a flower-piece, prepared by Papa Plauche, that is like unto a -piece of flattery, and spells "Jackson and Victory!" in deepest red and -green. He shows it to the General, who suggests that if Papa Plauche -had made it "Hickory and Victory!" it would mean the same, and save the -euphony. - -While the blooming Rachel, the General, the non-dancing Coffee, and the -ardent Papa Plauche, with the beauty and chivalry of New Orleans about -them, are at the ball, Colonel Burr, gray and bent and cynical, is -talking with his friend Swartwout in far-away New York. - -"It was a glorious, a most convincing victory!" exclaims Mr. Swartwout. -"President Madison cannot do the General too much honor. He has saved -the country!" - -"He has saved," returns the ironical Colonel Burr, "what President -Madison holds in much greater esteem. He has saved the Madison -administration!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--ODDS AND ENDS OF TIME - - -THE General, the blooming Rachel by his side, takes up his homeward -journey. Now when they are on their way and a world has time to observe -them, it is to be noted that changes have befallen with the lengthened -flight of time. The eye of the blooming Rachel is as liquidly black and -deep, her hair as raven-blue, her cheek as round as on a rearward day -when she won the heart of that bottle-green beau from old Salisbury. The -alteration is in her form, which has grown plump and full and stout in -these her matronly middle years. As to the bottle-green beau, his sandy -hair is deeply shot with iron-gray, while his features show haggard, -and seamed of care. To the inquiring eye he looks at once dangerous and -rusty, like an old sword. His form, always spare, is more emaciated than -ever. The last is due in part to those Benton bullets, and the Dickinson -shot fired in that poplar, May-sweet wood on a certain Kentucky morning. -Besides, one is not to forget those southern swamps, which have never -had fame for building a man up. As the General, with his blooming -Rachel, draws near home, the whole Cumberland country rushes forth to -greet him. - -From that earliest day when Time began swinging his scythe in the -meadows of humanity, mankind has owned but two ways of honoring a hero. -One is the "parade," the other is the "dinner." In the one instance, -half the people march in the middle of the street, while the remaining -half line the curbs and look on. In the other, which has the merit of -exclusion, a select great few set a board with meat and drink; and then, -installing the hero where all may see, they bombard him with toasts and -speeches and applause. All attend the "parade" since it is free. Few -avoid the dinner, because, besides the honor and the honoring, it -affords lawful occasion for being drunk--a manifest advantage to many -in a strait-laced community. The General when he arrives in Nashville is -exhaustively "paraded" and deeply "dined." Also he is given a sword. - -Now, having been "paraded" and "dined," and with honors thick upon him, -the General sets about his duties as a major general in days of peace. -General Adair and he have a letter-quarrel concerning the courage of -Kentuckians. General Scott and he have a letter-quarrel on grounds more -personal. As the upshot of the latter correspondence, the General -evinces an eagerness to shoot his over-epauletted opponent at ten paces, -oiling up the saw-handles to that hopeful end, but is balked by the -over-epauletted one, who declines on grounds of piety and patriotism. - -[Illustration: 0251] - -While the General is fuming with ink and paper against those -distinguished warriors, he cools at intervals sufficiently to build -the blooming Rachel a little church. The blooming Rachel is a devout -Presbyterian; and, while the General is far too busy with this world to -think much on the next, she prevails with him--for he never says "No" to -her--to put her up a church. It is not much bigger than a drygoods box; -but there are forty pews, besides a pulpit for Parson Blackburn, and -the blooming Rachel is supremely happy. She owns to some illogical -impression that, should the General build a church, he'll "join." In -this she goes wrong; for the General only builds. - -The General mounts his horse, and rides to Washington. He meets Mr. -Jefferson in Lynchburg, and that aged fine gentleman and maker of -constitutions is struck by the graceful manners of the General, who has -become all ease and polish where once he was as rough as a woods' colt. -In Washington he is much feted and feasted, and the trump of celebration -is tireless to sound his name. He gets back home in time to put a roof -on the blooming Rachel's almost finished church, and listen to Parson -Blackburn's dedicatory sermon. - -The Red Stick Creeks from across the Florida line take to marauding and -murdering in Southern Georgia, and the General decides to see about it. -He sends an officer, with a force of men, to reduce Negro Fort on the -Appalachicola. In giving that officer his instructions, the General -expands touching the military virtues of red-hot shots; and with such -satisfactory results that the first one fired at Negro Fort blows it to -ruins, and with it three hundred and thirty-one of the three hundred and -thirty-four blacks and reds who infest it. Three crawl from the blazing -chaos, to be hilariously knocked on the head by friendly Creeks, who -have attended the expedition with that fond hope and purpose. The world -is much rejoiced at the demolition of Negro Fort; since murder and -pillage have been the one business of its robber garrison, and the -fire-torture of prisoners their one amusement. - -The General presently appears at the head of his hunting-shirt men, and -destroys the village of Chief Billy Bowlegs on the oft-sung Suwannee -River. Then he takes St. Marks from the feeble Spaniards, and arrests a -brace of conspiring English, Ambrister and Arbuthnot. The arrested ones -have come across from the Bahamas, bringing English guns and lead -and powder and promises to the hostile blacks and reds; and all in -accordance with that policy, dear to England, of preferring bloodshed -by proxy to shedding blood herself. The General hangs conspirator -Arbuthnot, and shoots conspirator Ambrister; while England, in -accordance with a second policy as dear as the first, disavows them -both. - -The General goes on to Pensacola. Here he hauls down the flag of Spain, -runs up the stars and stripes, drives out the Spanish Governor, and -installs one of his own with a garrison to back him. Having executed -conspirators Ambrister and Arbuthnot, he now seizes on two -Creek-Seminole chiefs and hangs them, to preserve, so to speak, a racial -equilibrium. Having thus wound up the Spanish, the English, the negroes -and the Indians in Florida, the General returns to his home, serene in -the sense of duty well performed. - -The General's serenity is misplaced; trouble breaks out in Washington. -Mr. Monroe is President, and Statesmen Clay and Crawford and Calhoun -and Adams desire to be. The quartette last named suspect in the -General--about whom a responsive public is running mad--a growing -rival. They decide to cripple him in the very cradle of his White House -prospects. If they do not he may grow up to snatch from them the -crown. Moved of this high thought, they charge the General with waging -unauthorized war; and with invading Spanish territory, we at peace -with Spain. They call him a "murderer" for snuffing out conspirators -Ambrister and Arbuthnot and those superfluous Creek-Seminole chiefs. -Also, giving a moral snuffle, they demand that he be courtmartialed and -cashiered. - -President Monroe shakes his head at the conniving quartette, replying as -on a somewhat similar occasion did the Russian Catherine: - -"We never punish conquerors." - -The General by the Cumberland hears of these weird doings in Washington, -and again rides over the mountains. His object is to discover, by -personal observation, who in his case, are the sheep and who the goats, -and separate in his own mind his friends from his enemies. Upon his -arrival the General finds himself an issue of politics. As such he is -voted upon by Congress, which affirms heavily in his favor. The people -have long ago decided in his favor; and Congress, ever quick to locate -the butter on its bread, sharply follows the popular example. Statesman -Clay and others among the General's foes express themselves freely to -his disadvantage. However, the General expresses himself freely to their -disadvantage, and profound judges of vituperation say that he has the -sulphurous best of the exchange. - -Being upheld by Congress, and having freed his mind touching his foes, -the General goes to Baltimore and Philadelphia, and is extravagantly -wined and dined. Then he proceeds to New York, where Fitz Greene Halleck -and Joseph Rodman Drake write doggerel at him in the _Evening Post_; -and where, also, he is "paraded" and "dinner"-honored to a degree -which lays all former "parading" and "dinner"-honoring, by less fervent -communities, deep within the shade. - -Spain cedes Florida to the United States; just as she would cede a bad -hot penny that, besides being worthless, is burning her fingers. The -President appoints the General governor of the new domain. Whereupon the -new Governor lays down his Major General's commission, bids farewell to -the army, and journeys south. He does not relish being Governor; and, -after locking up his Spanish predecessor for stealing divers papers of -state, and expatriating a scandalous bevy whose talk sounds like treason -to his sensitive ear, he resigns. - -When the General gets back to the Cumberland country, he finds that his -former quartermaster, Major Lewis, has decided to send him to the White -House. The General is mightily taken aback, and declares himself unfit. -Major Lewis retorts that he is far more fit than any of his quartette -of Washington enemies, laying especial emphasis on Statesman Clay. The -accurate force of the retort strikes the General wordless. - -Major Lewis is rich, wise, cunning, cool, college-bred, and eighteen -years younger than the General. He is a born manager, a natural -wire-puller, and can play politics by ear as some folk play the fiddle. -Congenitally a Warwick, he prefers making a President to being one, and -would sooner hold a baby than hold an office. - -Major Lewis seizes on the General as so much raw material wherefrom to -construct a President. As a best method of having his man on the ground, -he gives a hint, and the Tennessee Legislature sends the General to -Washington as Senator. The blooming Rachel accompanies him; they live at -a tavern in Pennsylvania Avenue called the "Indian Queen." - -This caravansary is kept by one O'Neal, who has a pretty daughter -Peg. Later the pretty Peg will dissolve a Cabinet, make Mr. Van Buren -President, and come within an ace of getting Mr. Calhoun hanged. All -this, however, is in the unpierced future. The blooming, childless -Rachel makes a pet of pretty Peg; which rivets the latter forever in the -good regards of the General, who loves what the blooming Rachel loves. - -Major Lewis proves a wizard of politics. Under his quiet legerdemain, -here and there and everywhere political fires break forth in favor of -the General. They break forth in North Carolina, in Pennsylvania, in New -York; and, so deft and secret is his work, none suspects Wizard Lewis as -the incendiary. Wizard Lewis is counseled by Colonel Burr who, like some -old gray fox, sits in the mouth of his New York law-burrow in Nassau -Street, peering out at events as they pass. - -In these days, the lion-faced Webster writes his brother: - -"His (the General's) manners are more presidential than those of any -of the candidates. He is grave, mild, and reserved. My wife is for him -decidedly." - -There are four candidates for the White House, _vide, licet_, the -General, and Statesmen Adams and Crawford and Clay. The popular vote -falls in the order given, with the General a long flight shot ahead of -Statesman Adams, who is next on the list. And yet, while far in advance -of the others, the General is without that electoral majority required -by the Constitution, and the choice is thrown into the House of -Representatives. - -Statesman Clay is now out of the running; for the President must be -chosen from among the three candidates having the highest electoral -vote, and he is fourth and lowest. Statesman Crawford, who ranks third, -is also out. He is stricken of paralysis; and, while this wins him -sympathy, it loses him White House strength. The fight is to be between -the General and Statesman Adams. - -While Statesman Clay is out of the coil, so far as any personal chance -of becoming the House selection is concerned, he is in it decisively in -another fashion. As a chief force in the House, he holds that important -body in the hollow of his hand; and, while he cannot be its choice, -he can control its choice. He controls it for Statesman Adams, on -the underground understanding that he, Statesman Clay, shall sit at -Statesman Adams' right hand as Secretary of State. Statesman Clay hopes -to run presidentially another day, and thinks to make his calling and -election sure while head of the Cabinet of Statesman Adams. As events -forge and fuse themselves in the blast furnaces of the future, it will -be discovered that in thus opining Statesman Clay falls into grievous -error. - -It is four o'clock in the afternoon when the Clay-guided House counts -Statesman Adams into a Presidency. Five hours afterward the General -meets Statesman Adams in the East Room, where both are in attendance -upon the last reception of outgoing President Munroe. The contrast -between them tells in the General's favor. There is no gloom of -disappointment on his brow, no cloud of defeat in his hawkish blue eyes. -The General has a lady on his arm. He greets Statesman Adams gracefully -and extends his hand: - -"How is Mr. Adams?" cries he. "I give you my left hand, sir, since my -right is devoted to the fair." - -Statesman Adams is a diplomat, and used to courts and salons. The -General is of the wilderness and its battlefields. And yet the General -shines out the more polished of the two. Statesman Adams takes the -extended hand; but he does it awkwardly, backwardly, and with a wooden -manner, as though his deportment is seized of some sudden, bashful -stiffness of the joints. At last he manages to say: - -"Very well, sir! I hope you are well!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--THE KILLING EDGE OF SLANDER - - -WIZARD LEWIS boldly re-begins his work of White House capturing. He -becomes busy to the elbows in the General's destinies before Statesman -Adams is inaugurated. When the latter names Statesman Clay to be his -Secretary of State, Wizard Lewis lays bare the deal which thus exalts -the Kentuckian. He raises the cry of "Bargain and Corruption!" and the -public takes it up. Statesman Adams and Statesman Clay are pilloried as -conspirators who have wronged the General of a Presidency, and the State -portfolio in the hands of Statesman Clay is pointed to as proof. The -General writes the blooming Rachel, just now at home by the Cumberland: - -"The Judas of the West has closed the contract and received the thirty -pieces of silver." Statesman Clay defends himself badly. He declares -that he objects to the General's White House ambitions only because he -is a "Military Chieftain." He speaks as though the world knows that a -"Military Chieftain" will make a perilous Chief Magistrate. The world -knows nothing of the sort; the cry of "Bargain and Corruption" gains -head. - -In retort to that arraignment of being a "Military Chieftain"--made as -if the phrase be merely another name for "buccaneer"--the General writes -the old friendly fox, Colonel Burr: - -"It is not strange that he (Statesman Clay) should indulge himself in -such reasoning, since it comes somewhat to his own personal defense. Our -blue-grass Secretary has been ever remarkable for his caution, to give -it a no worse name, and has not yet risked himself for his country, or -moved from safe repose to repel an invading foe." - -The General is not the only one who comments upon the astounding -copartnership in politics and policies between Statesman Adams and -Statesman Clay. John Randolph, of Roanoke, remarks concerning it, from -his bitter place in the Senate: - -"Sir, it is a coming together of the puritan and the blackleg--Blifil -and Black George!" - -This view seems hugely to excite Statesman Clay, and he challenges the -picturesque Randolph to a duel by Little Falls. They meet; but, since -both are at pains to miss, no good comes of it. - -[Illustration: 0267] - -Wizard Lewis goes teaching the General's merits in every State of the -Union. In his White House siege, Wizard Lewis receives his best help -from Statesman Adams himself. - -The latter publicist is a personage of ice-cold ideas, and lists -ingratitude at the top of the virtues. There be folk--descended, -doubtless, of ancestors that heated the pincers and turned the -thumbikins, and worked the straining rack for the Inquisitions as mere -day laborers at torture--who delight in doing mean, hateful, punishing -things to their fellow mortals, if they may but call such doing "duty." -They will weep hypocritically while burning a victim, and aver, -between sobs, that they pile the fagots and apply the torch only from -a "sternest conviction of duty." The word "duty," like the venom of -a serpent, is ever in their mouths; by it they break hearts, destroy -hopes, create blackness, blot out light, forbid happiness, foster grief, -and plant pain in breasts innocent of every crime save that of helping -them. Statesman Adams--heart as hollow as a bell and quite as brazen--is -one of these. He demonstrates his purity by refusing his obligations, -and proves himself great by turning his back on his friends. Made up of -a multitude of littlenesses, he offers no trait of breadth or bigness -as an offset. He is not wise; he is not brave; he is not generous; he -is not--even in wrongdoing--original. He will guide by some maxim; or -he will permit himself to be posed by a proverb; and, while ever -breathlessly respectable, he is never once right. As President he -proposes for himself an inhuman goodness, and declares that he will -remove no one from office on "account of politics"--a catch phrase which -has protected incompetency in place in every age. - -Although he is so fond of them, Statesman Adams, in taking the latter -snow-white position, overlooks an aphorism that will be vital while time -lasts. He forgets that "The President who makes no removals will himself -be removed." - -"Strike, lest you be stricken!" murmured Queen Elizabeth, as seizing the -pen she signed the warrant of block and axe for Scottish Mary, and it -might be well and wise for Statesman Adams to wear in constant mind that -illustrious example. - -The thought is vain. Statesman Adams ignores his friends, consults -his foes, and offers a base picture of the ungrateful that draws the -public's honest wrath his way. Wizard Lewis is no one to miss such -opportunities to upbuild the General's fortunes at the expense of the -enemy; and so the General grows each day stronger, while Statesman -Adams--who hopes to succeed himself--owns less and less of strength. - -The currents of time flow swiftly now, and four years go by--four years -wherein the old friendly far-seeing fox, Colonel Burr, in his Nassau -Street burrow, teaches the General's leaders intrigue as a pedagogue -teaches the alphabet to his pupils. And day after day the purblind -Adams, with the purblind Clay at the elbow of his hopes and fears, sets -traps against his own prospects, and does his unwitting best or worst to -destroy himself. Then comes the canvass: the General against Statesman -Adams, who courts a reelection. - -The moment the rival forces march upon the field, the dullest marks -the superiority of the General's. With that, Statesman Clay--in the war -saddle for Statesman Adams, whose battle is his battle and whose defeat -means his downfall--loses his head. He accuses the General of every -offense except that of theft, calls him every name save that of coward. -The accusations fail; the epithets fall harmless to the ground; the -people know, and draw the closer about the General's standards. -The latter's popularity rises as might a hurricane, and sweeps away -opposition like down of thistles! - -Statesman Clay becomes frantic. Possessed as by a demon, he issues -instructions to assail the blooming Rachel. His hound-pack obey the -call. From that moment the General's marriage is the issue. He is -charged with "stealing another's wife," and every shaft of mendacious -villification is shot against the unoffending bosom of the blooming -Rachel. Those are fire-swept moments of anguish for the General, -who feels the pain the more, since his hands are tied against what -saw-handle methods silenced the dead Dickinson one May Kentucky morning -in that poplar wood. - -The blooming Rachel, for her wronged part, says never a word. She goes -the oftener to the little church, but that is all. And yet, while she -seems so resigned and patient beneath the slandrous lash, the thong is -biting always to her soul's source. - -The election takes place, and now the people speak. They set the -grinding heel of their anger upon those slanders; they throw down that -ladder of lies by which Statesman Adams hopes to climb. Wizard Lewis, -Burr-guided, foils Statesman Clay at every point; the General rides down -Statesman Adams like a coach and six. - -New England is tribal and narrow, with the reeking taint of old -Federalism in its veins; it gives itself for Statesman Adams, unredeemed -save by a single district in Maine. There, indeed, rises up one -electoral vote for the General. It shows in the gray waste of Adams -sentiment about it, like a green tree and a fountain against the gray -wastes of Sahara. New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland follow in New England's -dreary wake for Statesman Adams; while New York gives him sixteen -electoral votes out of thirty-six. That offers the round circumference -of his Clay-collected strength--an electoral vote of eighty-three! - -For the General, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, -Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois -go headlong; while New York gives him twenty electoral votes, with -Tennessee his own by a popular count of twenty for one. Statesman Clay, -as a retort to the slanders he fulminated, beholds his own State -of Kentucky reject him, and aid in swelling those one hundred and -seventy-eight electoral votes which declare for the General. The world -at large, seated by its fireside and sagely thumbing those returns -of one hundred and seventy-eight for the General against a meager -eighty-three for Statesman Adams, finds therein a stunning rebuke to -both the ambitions and the methods of Statesman Clay. - -When word of the General's election reaches the blooming Rachel, she -smiles wearily and says: - -"For the General's sake I'm glad! For myself I never wished it." - -Now that the war of the votes is over and the General victor, mankind -relaxes into its customary dinners and parades. The Cumberland good -people resolve to outparade all former parades, outdine all former -dinners. They engage themselves with tremendous gala preparations. It -shall be a time when oxen are eaten whole, and whisky is drunk by the -barrel. - -The day set apart as sacred to the coming parade, and that dinner yet to -be devoured, breaks brightly full of promise. There is never a cloud in -the Cumberland sky, never a care on the Cumberland heart. In a moment -all is reversed!--light gives way to blackness, happiness to grief! Like -a bolt from a heaven smiling, the word descends that the blooming Rachel -lies dead. The word is true. The monstrous weight of slander heaped upon -it breaks her gentle heart. - -[Illustration: 0275] - -They bury the blooming Rachel at the foot of the garden where her -best-loved flowers grow. The General is ten years older in a night; the -tall form, yesterday as straight as a lance, is bent and broken. The -blue eyes, once hawklike, are dimmed with tears. Friends come to press -his hand--he chokes and cannot speak! But the awful agony of his soul is -written in the sweat drops on his wrung brow. - -As the General stands by the grave that is smothering for him all the -song and the sweet sunshine of life, the ever-faithful, never-failing -Coffee is by his side. The poor General reaches blindly out and takes -hold of the rough, big, loyal hand for support. His beloved Coffee, who -flanked the Red Stick Creeks for him at the Horseshoe and held his low -mud walls against England's boast and best at New Orleans, will not -fail him now in this his sternest trial by the graveside of the blooming -Rachel. - -The General, doubly quiet, doubly stern, issues forth of that ordeal -another man. He is as one who lives because it is his duty, and not -for love of life. Plainly, his hopes like his heart are buried with the -blooming Rachel. In his soul he lays her death to the doors of Statesman -Adams and Statesman Clay; throughout the years to follow he will never -forget nor forgive. To the end he will cultivate his hatred of them, and -tend it as he might a flower. Time cannot remold him in this belief; and -a decade later he will say to his friend Lewis, while his eye flashes -like some sudden-drawn rapier: - -"Major, she was stung to death by slander! It was such adders as John -Quincy Adams, such pit-vipers as Henry Clay, that killed her!" - - - - -CHAPTER XX--THE GENERAL GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE - - -THIS is of a steamboat day, and keel boats are but a memory. The -General makes his tedious eight-weeks' way to Washington via the -Cumberland, the Ohio, the mountains, and the Potomac valley. It is like -the progress of a conqueror. The people throng about him until Wizard -Lewis, remembering his broken state, fears for his life. The fears are -without grounds to stand on. Applause never kills, and the General finds -in it the milk of lions. He enters Washington renewed, and was never so -fit for hard work. The General is inaugurated. As he is cheered into the -White House by jubilant thousands, Statesman Clay, beaten and bitter, -retires to Kentucky; while Statesman Adams goes back to Massachusetts, -where his ice-waterisms, let us hope, will be appreciated, and from -which frigid region he ought never to have been drawn. - -When the General is declared President, Statesman Calhoun is made -Vice-President. From his high perch in the Senate Statesman Calhoun -begins at once to scan the plain of the possible for ways and means to -name himself the General's successor. He proves dull in the furtherance -of his ambitions, and conceives that the only best path to victory lies -over the General himself. He must break down that demigod in the hearts -of the people, and teach them to hate where now they trust and love. - -The General is not a day in Washington before Statesman Calhoun is -intriguing to cut the ground of popularity from beneath his feet. As -frequently happens with dark-lantern strategists, his plottings in their -very inception go off on the wrong foot. Statesman Calhoun is so foolish -as to commence his campaign against the General with an attack upon a -woman. The woman thus malevolently distinguished is the pretty Peg, once -belle of the Indian Queen. - -Between that time when the General came last to Washington as Senator -and the pretty Peg was petted and loved by the blooming Rachel, and now -when the General occupies the White House as President, destiny has been -moving rapidly and not always gayly with the pretty Peg. In that interim -she becomes the wife of Purser Timberlake of the Navy, who later cuts -his drunken throat and walks overboard to his drunken death in the -Mediterranean. - -In her widow's weeds the pretty Peg looks prettier than before--since -black is ever the best setting for beauty, and shows it off like a -diamond. Major Eaton, Senator from Tennessee and per incident friend of -the General, is smitten of the pretty Peg, and marries her. The wedding -bells are ringing as the General rides into Washington. - -It is an hour wherein Vice-Presidents have more to say than they will -later on. Statesman Calhoun, scheming his own advantage, puts forward -covert efforts to place his friends about the General as cabineteers. -This is not so difficult; since the General is not thinking on Statesman -Calhoun. His eyes, hate-guided, are fastened upon Statesman Adams and -Statesman Clay; his single aim is to advance no follower of theirs. -These are happy conditions for Statesman Calhoun, who comes up unseen on -the General's blind side, and presents him--all unnoticed--with three of -his Cabinet six. - -Statesman Calhoun, who prefers four to three, next tries all he secretly -knows to control the General's choice of a War Secretary. In this he -meets defeat; the General selects Major Eaton, just wedded to the pretty -Peg. His completed Cabinet includes Van Buren, Secretary of State; -Ingham, Secretary of the Treasury; Eaton, Secretary of War; Branch, -Secretary of the Navy; Berrien, Attorney General; and Barry, Postmaster -General. Of these, Statesman Calhoun, craftily reviewing the list from -his perch in the Senate, may call Cabi-neteers Ingham, Branch, and -Berrien his henchmen. - -The General is not aware of this Calhoun color to his Cabinet. The last -man of the six hates Statesman Clay and Statesman Adams; which is the -consideration most upon the General's mind. He does not like Statesman -Calhoun. But he in no sort suspects him; and, at this crisis of Cabinet -making, that plotting Vice-President is not at all upon the General's -slope of thought. - -Not content with half the Cabinet, Statesman Calhoun resents privily his -failure to control the war portfolio. He resolves to attack Major Eaton, -and drive him from the place. As much wanting in chivalry as in a wisdom -of the popular, he decides to assail him through the pretty Peg. It -is the error of Statesman Calhoun's career, which now becomes one -blundering procession of mistakes. - -Statesman Calhoun's attack on the pretty Peg begins with hidden -adroitness. There lives in Philadelphia a smug dominie named Ely. On -the merest Calhoun hint in the dark, Dominie Ely--who has a mustard-seed -soul--writes the General a letter, wherein he charges the pretty Peg -with every immorality. Dominie Ely prayerfully protests against the -husband of a woman so morally ebon making one of the General's official -family. - -The General is in flames in a moment. His loved and blooming Rachel was -stabbed to death by slander! The pretty Peg was the blooming Rachel's -favorite, in that old day at the Indian Queen! The General possesses -every angry reason for being aroused, and he sends fiercely for smug -Dominie Ely. - -The villifying Dominie Ely appears before the General in fear and -trembling--color stricken from his fat cheek. He falteringly confesses -that he has been inspired to his slanders by a Dominie Campbell. The -furious General summons Dominie Campbell, about whom there is a Calhoun -atmosphere of jackal and buzzard in even parts. The General hurls -pointed questions at Dominie Campbell, and catches him in lies. - -While the General is putting to flight the two black-coat buzzards -of slander, the war breaks out in a new quarter. The "Ladies of -Washington," compared to whom the Red Stick Creeks at the Horseshoe and -the redcoat English at New Orleans are as children's toys, fall upon -the General's social flank. They hate the pretty Peg because she is -more beautiful than they. They resent her as the daughter of a tavern -keeper--a common tapster!--who is now being lifted to a social eminence -equal with their own. These reasons bring the "Ladies of Washington" to -the field. But with militant sapiency they conceal them, and adopt as -the pretended cause of their onslaught the slanders of those ophidians, -Dominie Ely and Dominie Campbell. - -Mrs. Calhoun, wife of Statesman Calhoun, at the head of Capital fashion -and social war-chief of the "Ladies of Washington," says she will not -"recognize" the pretty Peg. Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien, -wives of the three Cabineteers who wear in private the colors of -Statesman Calhoun, say they will not "recognize" the pretty Peg. Mrs. -Donelson, wife of the General's private secretary and _ex officio_ -"Lady of the White House," says she will not "recognize" the pretty Peg. -The latter drawing-room Red Stick is the General's niece. Also, she is -in fashionable leading strings to Mrs. Calhoun, who as social war-chief -of the "Ladies of Washington" dazzles and benumbs her. - -Mrs. Donelson approaches the General concerning the pretty Peg. - -"Anything but that, Uncle!" she says. "I am sorry to offend you, but I -cannot 'recognize' Mrs. Eaton." - -"Then you'd better go back to Tennessee, my dear!" returns the General, -between puffs at his clay pipe. - -Mrs. Donelson and her unwilling spouse go back to Tennessee. The war -against the pretty Peg goes on. - -The General's Cabinet is a house divided against itself. Cabineteers -Ingham, Branch, and Berrien align themselves with Statesman Calhoun on -this issue of the pretty Peg. For each has a ring in his nose, a wedding -ring, and his wife leads him about by it socially, hither and yon as -she chooses. Cabineteers Van Buren and Barry range themselves with -Cabineteer Eaton and the pretty Peg. - -Cabineteer Van Buren is short, round, fat, smooth, adroit, ambitious, -and so much the mental tree-toad that, now when he is in contact with -the positive General, his every opinion takes its color from that -warrior. Also Cabineteer Van Buren is a widower, with no wife to lead -him socially by the nose. Hat in hand, he calls upon the pretty Peg--a -politeness which pleases the General tremendously. - -Cabineteer Van Buren gives dinners, and asks the pretty Peg to perform -as hostess. With a wise eye on the General, he incites Cabineteer Barry, -who is a bachelor, to burst into similar dinners, with the pretty Peg in -command. By his suggestion, Minister Vaughn of the English and Minister -Krudener of the Russians, who like Cabineteer Barry are bachelors, -follow amiable suit. They give legation dinners, at which the pretty -Peg presides. The General adopts these brilliant examples with the White -House. The pretty Peg finds herself in control of such society high -ground as the English and Russian legations, two Cabinet houses besides -her own, and last and most important the White House itself. It is a -merry even if a savage war, and the pretty Peg is everywhere victorious. - -Not everywhere! Mrs. Calhoun, as war-chief of the "Ladies of -Washington," with Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien about -her as a staff, refuses to yield. These four indomitables and their -beflounced and be-feathered followers, noses uptilted in scorn of the -pretty Peg, prosecute their battle to the acrid end. - -In the earlier stages, the General, his angry thoughts on Statesman -Clay, inclines to the belief that these attacks on the pretty Peg are of -that defeated personage's connivance, and says so to Wizard Lewis. - -Wizard Lewis, when the General is inaugurated, is for returning to his -Cumberland home, but finds himself restrained by the lonesome General. - -"What!" cries the latter, "would you leave me now, after doing more than -all the rest to land me here?" - -Upon which reproach, Wizard Lewis remains, and lives in the White House -with the General. It befalls that with the earliest slanders of the -ophidians, Dominie Ely and Dominie Campbell, the General goes to Wizard -Lewis with accusations against Statesman Clay. - -"It's that pit-viper, Henry Clay!" cries the General. "Major, the pet -employment of that scoundrel is the vindication of good women!" - -Wizard Lewis holds to a different view. He declares that the secret -impulse of this base war is Statesman Calhoun, and proves it as events -unfold. - -"And yet," asks the General, "why should he assail little Peg? Both he -and Mrs. Calhoun called upon her and Major Eaton, and congratulated them -on their marriage." - -"That was while Major Eaton was a senator," Wizard Lewis responds, "and -before he became War Secretary and got in the way of the Calhoun plans. -Your Vice-President, General, is mad to be President. Also, he is so -blurred in his strategy as to imagine that these attacks on little Peg -will advance his prospects." - -The General snorts suspiciously; a light breaks upon him. - -"Then your theory is," he says, "that Calhoun assails Peg as a step -toward the presidency." - -"Precisely, General! Rightly construed, it is not an attack on Peg, but -you. He is trying to put you before the people in the role of one who -countenances the immoral, and upholds a bad woman. In that he hopes to -array every virtuous fireside against you. He looks for you to ask a -second term; and, by any means in his power, he will strive to destroy -you out of his path." - -"Now, was there ever such infamy!" cries the General. "Here is a man so -vile that he would pave his way to the White House with the slain honor -of a woman!" - -The hate of the General is now focused upon Statesman Calhoun. That -ignoble strategist, he resolves, shall never achieve the presidency. - -As one wherewith to defeat Statesman Calhoun and succeed himself, the -General picks upon Cabineteer Van Buren--that suave one, who is so much -to the urbane fore for the pretty Peg. - -"Yes, sir," says the General to Wizard Lewis; "I'll take a second term! -And then, Major, we will make Matt President after me." - -"We'll do more," returns Wizard Lewis. "When we elect you President the -second time, we'll shove aside the plotting Calhoun, and make Van Buren -Vice-President." - -"Right!" exults the General. "Then, should I die, Matt will at once step -into my shoes." - -Neither the General nor Wizard Lewis is at pains to conceal their -design. The sallow cheek of Statesman Calhoun grows sallower; for the -news is like an icicle through his heart. It in no wise abates his war -upon the pretty Peg, however; which--as Wizard Lewis guesses--is only -meant to break down the General with good people. - -Vindicated; in all quarters she rises in triumph over Mrs. Calhoun, -Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, Mrs. Berrien, and what other "society Red -Sticks"--as he terms them--seek her destruction. The next thing is -to shear away the cabinet strength of Statesman Calhoun. Wizard Lewis -recommends a dissolution of the Cabinet. He lays his thought before the -General, who sits listening in the smoke of his long pipe. Cabineteer -Van Buren will resign. Cabi-neteers Eaton and Barry will emulate his -example and turn over their portfolios. With half his Cabinet gone, -should the Calhoun three prove backward, the General shall demand their -portfolios. - -"And then?" asks the General, his iron-gray head in a cloud of tobacco -smoke. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--WIZARD LEWIS URGES A CHANGE IN FRONT - - -WIZARD LEWIS, bending his brows to the situation, now counsels an -extreme step. - -"Then you will make Van Buren Minister to England, and give Major Eaton -the governorship of Florida. Little Peg should look well in the palace -at St. Augustine." - -"By the Eternal!" cries the General, as he hurls his clay pipe into -the fireplace where hundreds of its brittle predecessors have gone -crashing--"by the Eternal, we'll do it! The last vestige of a Calhoun -cabinet influence shall be wiped out!" - -It comes to pass as Wizard Lewis programmes. Cabineteer Van Buren -resigns, and Cabineteers Eaton and Barry hasten to follow his lead. The -three other cabineteers sit dazed; the suddenness of the thing takes -away their cabinet breaths. They sit dazed so long that the General -loses patience and asks for their portfolios. One by one they hand them -in, as it were at the White House door--Cabineteer Ingham being last and -most reluctant of all. - -There be tears and mournful wailings now among the society Red Sticks. -Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien are shaken in their social -souls, never for one moment having foreseen this movement in disastrous -flank. However, there is no help for it. The deposed three wash off -their social war paint, and go their divers ways lamenting; while the -General and Wizard Lewis grin sourly over their fireside pipes. As for -Statesman Calhoun, his schemes experience a chill; for in thus sending -Cabineteers Ingham, Branch, and Berrien into political exile, the -General drives a knife to the very heart of his selfish diplomacy. - -Cabinet wiped out, the General constructs another, with his old-time -friend and comrade Livingston as Secretary of State. Also, the agreeable -Van Buren departs for the Court of St. James as the General's envoy to -England, while Major Eaton and the villified yet victorious Peg wend -southward among the flowers to rule over Florida. - -Before he leaves Washington, the ill-used Eaton makes praiseworthy -attempts to fasten a duel upon ex-Cabineteer Ingham, who hires a whole -stage coach and gallops off to Baltimore--the fear of death upon him--to -avoid being sacrificed. The flight of ex-Cabineteer Ingham is a shock to -the General. - -"I knew he was a bad, designing man," says the General with a sigh; -"but, upon my soul, Major, I didn't think him a coward!" - -Statesman Calhoun, weaker by virtue of that Cabinet lopping off, is -still too narrowly set in his White House ambitions to give up the war. -In this he is much sustained by the Senate, which jealous body pretends -to possess its own causes of complaint. Chief among these is the obvious -manner in which the General promotes the importance of that old -fox, Colonel Burr. The General shows that he cares more for the -appointment-indorsement of Colonel Burr than for the recommendations of -half the Senate. This does not set well on the proud senatorial stomachs -of the togaed ones; and, with Statesman Calhoun to lead them, they are -willing to obstruct and baffle the General in his policies. Moved of -this spirit, and at the instigation of Statesman Calhoun, the Senate -refuses to confirm the appointment of Minister Van Buren--a Burrite--who -thereupon makes his farewell unruffled bow to the great ones at St. -James and returns amiably home. - -That Thomas Benton, who was so fortunate as to fall into a receptive -cellar on a certain Nashville occasion when the muzzle of the General's -saw-handle was at his breast, and who is now in the Senate from -Missouri, gives Statesman Calhoun notice of what he may expect: - -"You have broken a minister," observes the farsighted Benton--"you have -broken a Minister to make a Vice-President." - -While the slander battle against the pretty Peg is raging, a storm -cloud of a different character is gathering over the General. Although -Statesman Clay has no part in that war upon the pretty Peg, he by no -means sits with folded hands in idleness. - -[Illustration: 0299] - -There is a certain money-creature called the United States Bank. It is -controlled by one Biddle of Philadelphia. Banker Biddle is a glistening, -serpentine personage, oily and avaricious--a polished composite -of assurance, greed, and lies. He is a proven and unscrupulous -corruptionist, and a majority of both Senate and House wait upon his -money-bidding. Under the Biddle influence, the Bank never fails to -consider the mere "name" of a Congressman as perfect collateral for a -loan. Even so incorrigible a bankrupt as the lion-faced Webster is good -at the Biddle Bank for thousands. - -Secure in its hold on Congress, and insolent--as Money ever is when it -feels secure--the Biddle Bank thinks to crack a political whip. The main -bank is in Philadelphia. There are twenty-five branch banks scattered -here and there throughout the country. In pursuance of its determination -to dominate politics, the Biddle Bank suddenly refuses loans to the -General's friends. Banker Biddle and the Bank are secretly moved to -these doughty attitudes by Statesman Clay, who, with his party of the -Whigs, has for long been their ally. - -Statesman Clay, in possession of the machinery of his party, is resolved -to put his own name forward at the head of the next Whig ticket against -the formidable General. He foresees that Statesman Calhoun--who is of -the General's party of the Democrats--will come to utter grief in his -intrigues to supplant the General and make himself a candidate. And -yet, the blue-grass Machiavelli can use Statesman Calhoun. The latter -is powerful with the Senate. The Senate hates the General as blindly as -does Statesman Calhoun. - -Machiavelli Clay resolves to have advantage of this double condition -of hatred. He will beguile the General to attack the Biddle Bank. The -attack can only be made by message to Congress. That should be the -opportunity of Machiavelli Clay. He will have the Senate for the battle -ground; and it shall go hard if he do not emerge with the General -defeated and the Bank and Banker Biddle at his back. With such friends -in the campaign to come later he should have the General and his party -of democracy at his mercy. Thus dreams Machiavelli Clay. - -It is a beautiful dream--this long-drawn chicane of Machiavelli Clay. As -a move toward its realization he suggests the policy of a loan hostility -toward the General's friends; for the General will fight almost as -quickly for a friend as for a woman. - -Banker Biddle adopts it, and the Bank develops it in Portsmouth. The -paper of one of the General's friends--a Mr. Isaac Hill--is dishonored, -and the General's friendship is understood to be the reason. The thing -is managed like a challenge, and has the instant effect of bringing -the General--ever ready for such a war--to the field. In its invidious -attitude toward his friends, the Bank throws down the glove; and the -General promptly picks it up. In a message to Congress, he assails the -Bank; and the fight is on. - -Money is always a coward, and commonly a fool. Also its instinct is the -weak instinct of corruption. Its attitude toward a public is ever that -of the threatening, bullying, bragging terrorist, who will either rule -or ruin. It works by fear, and resorts to every quack device. It will -gnash its jaws, lash its tail, spout fire and smoke in the face of -a quailing world. And yet all this tail-lashing and jaw-gnashing and -fire-spouting is a sham. Money, for all its appearance of ferocity, -is no more perilous to folk who face it than is the fire-spouting, -jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing papier-mach dragon of grand opera. Attack -it, and what follows? A couple of rueful supernumeraries crawl abjectly, -if grumblingly, from its papier-mach stomach--the complete yet harmless -reason of the jaw-gnashing, fire-spouting, tail-lashing from which a -frightened world shrunk back. - -Besides these furious matters, Money does another lying thing. It seeks -to teach the public to regard it as the palpitant heart of the country -itself. - -"I am the seat of life!" cries Money. "Touch me, and you die!" - -The advantage of this lie is clear; that is, if the lie win credit. -Being the heart, however corrupt, no law surgery may reach it. If Money -were the hand of a people, or the fingers on that hand, then it might be -dealt with. It could be statute-lanced or poulticed or even amputated, -and no threat to life ensue. Money foresees this; and, with that lying -cunning which is ever the scoundrel sword and shield of cowards, it -declares itself to be the heart. Thus is it safeguarded against the -honest least correction of communal saw and knife. Being the heart, its -vileness may be deplored but cannot be mended. For who is the mediciner -that shall handle the heart to any result save death? - -And yet while Money thus proclaims itself the nation's heart it lies. It -is not even so reputable a member as the hand. At the most it comes to -be no more than just a thumb, or a forefinger, and the farthest possible -remove from any source of life. Folk who would aid their money-throttled -hour must remember these things. - -Banker Biddle and the Bank, now when the General advances upon them, -go through that furious charlatanry of jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing, and -fire-spouting. The General is unconvinced, unterrified. His hawk eyes -pierce the miserable masquerade. He knows the Bank for a dragon of paper -and pretense, and does not hesitate. - -Failing to arouse his personal-political fear, Banker Biddle and the -Bank attempt to stay the General by proclaiming a peril to the country -at large. - -"We are the throbbing heart of all prosperity!" they cry. - -The General recognizes the lie. He knows that prosperity comes from the -rain and the sun and the soil, and not from banks or bankers. As well -might the two-bushel sacks declare themselves to be the harvest reason -of a nation's wheat. The General continues his advance. There shall be -no evasion, no hiding, no safety by lies; masks are not to avail nor -pretenses protect. - -The General in his attack on Banker Biddle and the Bank displays a -genius even with that which he employed against the English at New -Orleans. Banker Biddle and the Bank are the petted custodians of all the -millions of Government. The General "removes" those millions--a yellow -mountain of gold! Incidentally, he dismisses a weak-kneed Secretary of -the Treasury as a preliminary. - -"Remove the deposits!" says the General. - -"I dare not!" whines the weak-kneed one. - -"I will take the responsibility!" urges the General. - -Still the weak-kneed one falters. At that the General sets him aside. - -The "removal" of those Government millions, which is as the drawing off -of half their life blood, leaves the Bank and Banker Biddle exceeding -pale in the face. They look appealingly at Statesman Clay, who, the -better to manage his side of the conflict, has taken a Kentucky seat -in the Senate. Statesman Clay encourages the Bank and Banker Biddle. It -will all come right, he says; there is a Senate bomb preparing. - -To bring the General squarely before the public as the Bank's destroyer, -Statesman Clay anticipates the years and offers a measure renewing the -charter of that money temple. Statesman Calhoun, with every Senate foe -of the General, is for it. The measure gallops through both Senate and -House. It is sent whirling to the White House. - -"Will he sign it?" wonders Statesman Clay, in consultation with his own -thoughts. - -For an anxious moment Statesman Clay fears the coming of that signature; -he cannot conceive of courage greater than his own. His anxiety is -misplaced. The General will not sign. When the Clay-constructed measure -renewing the charter of the Bank is laid before him, with about what ado -might attend the killing of a garter snake he breaks its back with his -veto. - -Statesman Clay rubs his satisfied hands. - -"Now," says he to Banker Biddle, who is becoming a bit weak, "we have -him helpless! That veto is his death warrant! The campaign is at hand; -I shall be the candidate of my party, he of his. That veto shall be the -issue! Money, you know, is all powerful. Being so, who shall doubt the -result when now the public is driven to choose between the Bank and the -White House--Prosperity and Andrew Jackson?" - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE DOWNFALL OF MACHIAVELLI CLAY - - -MACHIAVELLI CLAY is one who looks seldom from the window and often in -the glass. No man carries himself more upon the back of his own regard -than does Machiavelli Clay. He believes in the wisdom of the classes, -the ignorance of the masses, and thinks that government should be of -people, by statesmen, for statesmen. Also he has a profound respect for -Money, and little for perishing flesh and blood. As to each of these -thought-conditions he lives in head-on collision with the General, who -in all things is his precise contradiction. - -As a guide by which the popular view may direct itself, Machiavelli Clay -asks the Senate to pass a vote of censure upon the General. With -the help of Statesman Calhoun, he puts it through. The Clay-invoked -"censure" strikes these sparks from the General: - -"Major," he cries, thinking on his saw-handles as he and Wizard Lewis -sit with their evening pipes, "if I live to get these robes of office -off, I may yet bring that rascal to a dear account." - -Banker Biddle, now when his precious Bank for its life or death will be -made the campaign issue, is not without those pale misgivings which -ever shake the livid heart of Money on the eve of war. Observing -this knee-knocking trepidation, Machiavelli Clay attempts to give him -courage. This is no difficult task for Machiavelli Clay to undertake; -since, in his native ignorance of the popular, he harbors no doubt of -the General's downfall. Also he extends cheering word the more readily -to the quaking Banker Biddle, because the latter and his jeopardized -Bank are to furnish those golden sinews of war, which will be required -for the Whig campaign. - -Machiavelli Clay uplifts the confidence of Banker Biddle to a point -where the latter, from his money lair in Philadelphia, writes him the -following: - -"_He (the General) has all the fury of a chained panther biting the bars -of its cage--a condition which I think should contribute to relieve -the country of the tyranny of this miserable man. You, my dear sir, are -destined to be the instrument of that deliverance, and at no period of -your life has the public had a deeper stake in you._" - -In so writing to Machiavelli Clay, Banker Biddle permits his hopes -to overrun his intelligence. Machiavelli Clay is not to become "the -deliverer" of his hour, nor shall the "chained panther" in the White -House be cast out. Machiavelli Clay, however, is no Elijah gifted of -prophecy; but, on the wooden-witted other hand, proves quite as besotted -touching the future as does Banker Biddle. He replies to that financier -in these words: - -"_Fear not; there shall come a cleansing of the Augean stables! Our -cause cannot fail! That veto of the Bank charter is a broad confession -of the incompetency of the Administration, and shows him (the General) -unfit to carry on the business of government. I think we are authorized -to confidently anticipate his defeat_." - -Now when the candidates of the Democratic party are about to be -named, Statesman Calhoun foresees that he himself will be ignored, and -ex-Cabineteer Van Buren supplant him, nominationally, for the place of -Vice-President. - -To save his chagrin, and on the principle that when one is about to be -thrown out it is wise to go out, he resigns from his vice-presidential -perch, lays down the Senate gavel, and returns to his home-state -of South Carolina. Once there, following the Kentucky example of -Machiavelli Clay, he sees to it that his own Legislature returns him to -Washington as a Senator. - -Statesman Calhoun abandons hope of making his appearance as a White -House candidate in the campaign at hand. What then? He is of middle -years, and can wait. He will lie back and watch the struggle between -the General and Machiavelli Clay. Let victory fall where it may, he, -Statesman Calhoun, will prepare himself for his own sure triumph in the -conflict four years away. Which demonstrates that, while his judgment -is crippled, his ambition stands as tall and as straight as a mountain -pine. - -The tickets are brought to the field--the General against Machiavelli -Clay, with ex-Cabineteer Van Buren, and a Whig obscurity named Sargent -running for second place. The issue presents the alternative--the -General or the Bank, humanity in a death-hug with Money. - -Machiavelli Clay and Banker Biddle have no fears; for they are -gold-blind and can see nothing beyond themselves. They are given a rude -awakening. The people speak; and when the sound of that speaking dies -out, the General has overwhelmed Machiavelli Clay with two hundred and -nineteen electoral votes against the latter's sixty-nine. Machiavelli -Clay and Banker Biddle and the Bank go down, while the General--ever the -conqueror and never once the conquered--sweeps back to the presidency. -Also ex-Cabineteer Van Buren is made Vice-President, as aforetime -resolved upon by the General and Wizard Lewis, and from that Senate -eminence, so lately vacated by Statesman Calhoun, will wield the gavel -over togaed discussion. - -The General, President the second time, picks up the reins, settles -himself upon the box, and proceeds to drive his governmental times after -this wise. He kills out what few sparks of life still animate the Biddle -Bank. He removes the Creeks and Cherokees from Florida and Georgia, and -thereby guarantees the scalp on many an innocent head. He throws open -the public lands for settlement at nominal figures. He fosters a gold -currency and discourages paper. - -He pays off the last splinter of the national debt, and offers to the -wondering eyes of history the spectacle of a country that doesn't owe -a dollar. He makes commercial treaties with every tribe of Europe. -Finally, he compels France to pay five millions in gold for outrages -long ago committed upon the sailors of America. - -The last is not brought about without some show of force. France, at the -General's demand, falls into a white heat of rage and froths for instant -war. The General takes France at her warlike word, notifies Congress, -and orders his fleet into the Mediterranean, the flagship _Constitution_ -in the van. - -The cool vigor of the move sets France gasping. She consults England -across the Channel, and is privily assured that whipping a Yankee -eighty-gun ship is a feat so difficult of marine accomplishment that, -like the blossoming of the century plant, it would be foolish to -look for it oftener than once in one hundred years. It is England's -impression, whispered in the Frankish ear, that it will be cheaper to -pay the five millions. Whereupon, France breaks into diplomatic smiles, -assures the General that her late war-rage was mere humor and her froth -a jest. And pays. - -By way of a little junket, the General visits New England, and at -the genial sight of him that chill region thaws like icicles in July. -Indeed, the New England temperature rises to a height where Harvard -College confers upon the General the degree of Doctor of Laws. At which -Statesman Adams nurses his wrath with this entry in his sour diary: - -"Seminaries of learning have been timeservers and sycophants in every -age." - -The General has done his people many a service. He has defended them -from savage Red Stick Creeks, and savage Red-coat English with their war -cry of "Beauty and Booty!" Now he will do his foremost work of all, and -buckler them against the javelins of treason, save them from between the -jaws of a conspiracy--wolfish and widespread for national destruction. - -The conspiracy has its birth in the ambition-crazed bosom of Statesman -Calhoun; its shiboleth is "Nullification!" - -"I would sooner," said Caesar, when his courtiers were laughing at the -pompous mayor of a little mud town in Spain--"I would sooner be first -here than second in Rome!" And, centuries after, the sentiment wakes a -responsive echo in the jealous breast of Statesman Calhoun. - -Statesman Calhoun aims to follow the General in the headship of American -affairs. Defeated of that, he is resolved to sever those constitutional -links which bind his home-state of South Carolina to her sister States -in Federal Union, and declare her a nation by and of herself. - -In his new rle of "seceder," Statesman Calhoun makes this impression -on the English Harriet Martineau. After speaking of him as involving -himself tighter and tighter in spinnings of political mysticism and -fantastic speculation, she calls him a "cast-iron man" and says: - -"_He (Calhoun) is eager, absorbed, overspeculative. I know of no one who -lives in such intellectual solitude. He meets men and harangues them by -the fireside as in the Senate. He is wrought like a piece of machinery, -set going vehemently by a weight, and stops while you answer. He either -passes by what you say, or twists it into suitability with what is -in his head, and begins to lecture again. He is full of his -'Nullification,' and those who know the force that is in him and his -utter incapacity for modification by other minds, will no more expect -repose and self-retention from him than from a volcano in full force. -Relaxation is no longer in the power of his will. I never saw anyone who -gave me so completely the idea of 'possession._'" - -By which the English woman would say that she thinks Statesman Calhoun -insane. She overstates, however, his "incapacity for modification" and -"self-retention." There will come a day when he does not pause, nor -close his eyes in sleep, between Washington and his home in South -Carolina, such is his fear-spurred eagerness--with the shadow of the -gibbet all across him!--to stamp out what fires of treason he has been -at pains to kindle, and avoid that halter which the General promises as -their reward. - -It is in Senate debate that Statesman Calhoun removes the mask from his -intended treason, and gives the world a glimpse of its blackness. He -threatens, unless the tariff be changed to match his pleasure, that -South Carolina will prevent its enforcement within her borders. He -declares South Carolina superior to the nation in her powers, and -proclaims for her the right to "nullify" what Federal laws she deems -inimical to her peculiar interest. He shows how South Carolina will, -as against the tariff contemplated, invoke that inherent right to -"nullify," and says, should the Washington government attempt to coerce -her, she will take herself out of the Union. - -To this exposition of States rights, the General in the White House -listens with gathering scorn. He turns to Wizard Lewis: - -"Why, sir," he cries, addressing that Merlin of politics, "if one is to -believe Calhoun, the Union is like a bag of meal open at both ends. No -matter how you pick it up, the meal all runs out. I shall tie the bag -and save the country!" - -Treason, however base, will have its friends, and Statesman Calhoun goes -not without "Nullification" followers. In his own mischievous State -the doctrine is received with open arms. The Governor issues his -proclamation; a convention of the people is authorized by the -Legislature. They are to meet at Columbia and settle the details of -"Nullification" in its practical workings out. They do meet; and adopt -unanimously an "Ordinance of Nullification" which declares the tariff -just made in Washington "Null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this -State, its officers or citizens." They decree that no duties, enjoined -by such tariff, shall be paid or permitted to be paid in any port of -South Carolina. The closing assertion of the "Ordinance" runs that, -should the Government of the United States try by force to collect -the tariff duties, "The people of South Carolina will thenceforth hold -themselves absolved from all further obligation to maintain or preserve -their political connection with the people of the other States, and will -proceed to organize a separate government, and do all other acts and -things which sovereign and independent States may of right do." - -[Illustration: 0321] - -Following this doughty setting-out of what one might call the -Palmetto-rattlesnake position, the Governor suggests military -associations on the model of the Minute Men of the Revolution, and makes -ready for what blood-letting shall be required to sustain Statesman -Calhoun in his new preachment. Altogether it is a South Carolina day of -bombast and blue cockades, with Statesman Calhoun already chosen as the -president of a coming "Southern Confederacy." While these dour matters -are in process of Palmetto transaction, Statesman Hayne encounters -the lion-faced Webster on the floor of the Senate, and the latter -establishes forever the rightful supremacy of the Federal Union, and -demonstrates that the "Nullification" set up by Statesman Calhoun is but -the chimera of a jaundiced, ambition-bitten mind. Thus canters the hour -in the Senate and in South Carolina; while up in the White House the -General sits reading a book. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--THE FEDERAL UNION: IT MUST BE PRESERVED - - -THE General is reading his book, when in walks Wizard Lewis. The latter -necromancer casually alludes to Statesman Calhoun, and his pet infamy of -"Nullification." At this the General's honest rage begins to mount. - -"You bear witness, Major," he cries--"you bear witness how Calhoun -is trying me! But by the living heavens, I'll uphold the law!" Then, -shaking the ponderous tome at Wizard Lewis, his finger marking the -place--"Here! I've been reading what old John Marshall said in the -case of Aaron Burr. He makes treason in its definition as plain as a -pikestaff. A man can't _think_ treason; he can't _talk_ treason; he can -only _act_ treason. It requires an act--an overt act! Calhoun is safe -while he only talks or conspires. But let one of his followers perform -one act of opposition to the law, even if it be no more than hand on -sword hilt or just the snapping of a fireless flint against an empty -rifle-pan, and I have him. There would be the overt act demanded by -old Marshall; and he goes on to say that the overt act, once committed, -attaches to all of the conspirators and becomes the act of each. I -shall keep my ear as well as my eye, Major, on Calhoun's State of South -Carolina; and, at the first crackling of a treasonable twig beneath a -traitorous foot, into a felon's cell goes he. Then we shall see what a -hempen noose will do for him and his 'Nullification.'" - -The General, the better to deliver this long oration, gets up and walks -the floor. Having concluded, down he drops into his chair again, and to -grubbing at old John Marshall. - -The General and Wizard Lewis decide that a perfect White House silence -concerning "Nullification" is the proper course. The General will sit -mute, and never by so much as the arching of a bushy brow intimate -what he will do, should Statesman Calhoun push his treason to that -last extreme--that overt act of opposition to the Federal law and its -enforcement, demanded by the great Chief Justice. And so, while arises -all this turmoil of treason in the Senate and South Carolina, the White -House is as voiceless as a tomb. - -While the General is silent, he is in no sort idle. He makes secret -preparations to bruise the head of the serpent of secession with a heel -of steel. He sends General Scott to South Carolina. Into Castle Pinckney -he conveys thousands of rifles. One by one his warships drop into -Charleston harbor, until, with broadsides trained upon the town, scores -of them ride at ominous anchor. - -The General gets word to his ever-reliable Coffee. In those well-nigh -twenty years which have come and gone since the English were swept up in -fire at New Orleans, the hunting-shirt men in the General's country of -Tennessee have increased and multiplied. Their numbers are such that -at the end of twenty days the energetic Coffee stands ready to cataract -twenty-five thousand of them into South Carolina at the lifting of the -General's bony finger, and follow these in forty days with twenty-five -thousand more. Not content with his fifty thousand hunting-shirt men -from Tennessee, the General arranges for an equal force from North -Carolina and Georgia. - -If ever a people stood within the shadow of doom it is our -treason-forging ones of South Carolina in these days of Nullification, -Columbia Conventions, Minute Men, and Blue Cockades. - -Some of them are not so dim of eye but what they perceive as much, and -begin to catch their breath. Still a wrong, once it be set rolling like -a stone down hill, is difficult to overtake and stop. So, while the -heart of would-be Treason beats a little faster, and its cheek turns a -little whiter, as inklings of what the wordless General is doing begin -to creep about among Palmetto-rattlesnake coteries, the work of making -ready for black revolt proceeds. - -In Washington, that grim silence of the White House grows oppressive. -There be prudent ones, among the nullifying adherents of Statesman -Calhoun, who are willing to play the part of traitor if no peril attend -the rle. They are highly averse to the character if it promise -to thrust their sensitive necks into gallows danger. The questions -everywhere on the whispering lips of these timid treason mongers are: - -"What is the Jackson intention? What will the President do? Will he look -upon Nullification as merely some minor sin of politics? Or, will he -treat it as stark treason, and fall back on courts and hangman's ropes?" - -No one answers, for no one knows. As for the General himself, his lips -are as dumb as a statue's. Traitors may go wrong, or go right; he will -light no lamp for their guidance. The awful suspense is carrying many -of the treason mongers to the brink of hysteria. Even Statesman Calhoun, -morbid and ambition-mad, is made to pause. He himself begins to wonder -if it would not be as well and as wise to measure in advance those -iron-bound anti-treason lengths to which the General stands ready to go. - -To help them in their perplexity, Statesman - -Calhoun and his Nullifying followers evolve a cunning scheme. In its -amiable execution, it should lay bare, they think, the purposes of the -General. Statesman Calhoun and his coconspirators have long ago laid -claim to the dead Jefferson as their patron saint of "Nullification," -asserting that precious tenet to be his invention. They decide to give -a dinner in honor of the departed publicist. The dinner shall take place -on the dead Jefferson's birthday at the Indian Queen. The General shall -come as a guest. Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators will be -there. Statesman Calhoun will offer a toast, declaratory of those -superior rights over the Federal government which he asserts in favor of -the separate States. It shall be a Nullification toast, one redolent of -a State's right to secede from the Federal Union. - -Statesman Calhoun having launched his fireship of sentiment, the General -will be requested to give a toast. Should he comply, it is believed -by Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators that he will in partial -measure at least unlock his plans. If he refuse--why then, under the -circumstances, his refusal will be pregnant of meaning. In either event, -he will be beneath the batteries of five hundred eyes, and much should -be read in his face. - -That Jefferson dinner is an admirable device, one adapted to draw the -General's fire. Its authors go about felicitating themselves upon their -sagacity in evolving it. - -"What say you, Major?" asks the General, when he receives the invitation -upon which so much of national good or ill may pend; "what say you? -Shall we humor them? You know what these Calhoun traitors are after." - -"True!" responds Wizard Lewis; "they want to count us, and measure us, -in that business of their proposed treason." - -"I'll tell you what I think," says the General, after a pause. "I'll -fail to attend; but you shall go, and be counted in my stead. Also, -since they'll expect a toast from me, I'll send them one in your care. -I hope they may find it to their villain liking--they and their -archtraitor Calhoun!" - -The Indian Queen is a crowded hostelry that Jefferson night. The halls -and waiting rooms are thronged of eminent folk. Some are there to attend -the dinner; others for gossip and to hear the news. As Wizard Lewis -climbs the stairs to the banquet room on the second floor, he encounters -the lion-faced Webster coming down. - -"There's too much secession in the air for me," says the lion-faced one, -shrugging his heavy shoulders. - -"If that be so," returns Wizard Lewis, "it's a reason for remaining." - -Wizard Lewis mingles with the groups in the corridors and parlors, -for the banquet hall is not yet thrown open. Among these, he nods his -recognition of Colonel Johnson, of Kentucky, tall of form, grave of -brow, he who slew Tecumseh; Senator Benton, once of that safe receptive -cellar; the lean Rufus Choate, eaten of Federalism and the worship of -caste; Tom Corwin, round, humorous, with a face of ruddy fun; Isaac -Hill, gray and lame, the General's Senate friend from New Hampshire -whose insulted credit started the war on Banker Biddle's bank; Editor -Noah, of New York, as Hebraic and as red of head as Absalom; the -quick-eyed Amos Kendall; Editor Blair, who conducts the _Globe_, the -General's mouthpiece in Washington; the reckless Marcy, who declares -that he sees "no harm in the aphorism that 'to the victor belong the -spoils of the enemy.'" - -The dinner is spread. The decorations are studied in their democracy. -Hundreds of candles in many-armed iron branches blaze and gutter about -the great room. The high ceilings and the walls are festooned of flags. -The stars and stripes are draped over a portrait of the dead Jefferson. -Here and there are hung the flags of the several States. With peculiar -ostentation, and as though for challenge, next to the national colors -flows the Palmetto-rattlesnake flag of South Carolina--Statesman -Calhoun's emblem. - -The dinner is profuse, and folk of appetite and fineness declare it -elegant. There is none of your long-drawn courses, so dear to Whigs and -Federalists. Black servants come and go, to shift plates and knives, -and carve at the call of a guest. At hopeful intervals along the tables -repose huge sirloins, and steaming rounds of beef. There are quail pies; -chickens fried and turkeys roasted; pies of venison and rabbits, and -pot pies of squirrels; soups and fishes and vegetables; boiled hams, and -giant dishes of earthenware holding baked beans; roast suckling pigs, -each with a crab-apple in his jaws; corn breads and flour breads, and -pancakes rolled with jellies; puddings--Indian, rice, and plum; mammoth -quaking custards. Everywhere bristle ranks and double ranks of bottles -and decanters; a widest range of drinks, from whisky to wine of the -Cape, is at everybody's elbow. Also on side tables stand wooden bowls -of salads, supported by weighty cheeses; and, to close in the flanks, -pies--mince, pumpkin, and apple; with final coffee and slim, long pipes -of clay in which to smoke tobacco of Trinidad. - -As the guests seat themselves, Chairman Lee proposes: - -"The memory of Thomas Jefferson." - -The toast is drunk in silence. Then, with clatter of knife and fork, -clink of glasses, and hum of conversation, the feast begins. - -The General's absence is a daunting surprise to many who do not know -how to construe it. Wizard Lewis, through Chairman Lee, presents -the General's regrets. He expected to be present, but is unavoidably -detained at the White House. The "regrets" are received uneasily; the -General's absence plainly gives concern to more than one. - -As the dinner marches forward, "Nullification" and secession are much -and loudly talked. They become so openly the burden of conversation and -are withal so loosely in the common air, that sundry gentlemen--more -timorous than loyal perhaps--make pointless excuses, and withdraw. - -Statesman Calhoun sits on the right hand of Chairman Lee. The festival -approaches the glass and bottle stage, and toasts are offered. There are -a round score of these; each smells of secession and State's rights. -The speeches which follow are even more malodorous of treason than the -toasts. - -The hour is hurrying toward the late. Statesman Calhoun whispers a word -to Chairman Lee; evidently the urgent moment is at hand. - -Statesman Calhoun hands a slip of paper to Chairman Lee. There falls a -stillness; laughter dies and talk is hushed. - -Chairman Lee rises to his feet. He pays Statesman Calhoun many flowery -compliments. - -"The distinguished statesman from South Carolina," says Chairman Lee in -conclusion, "begs to propose this sentiment." He reads from the slip: -"'The Federal Union! Next to our liberty, the most dear! May we all -remember that it can only be preserved by respecting the rights of the -States, and distributing equally the burdens and the benefits of that -Union!'" - -The stillness of death continues--marked and profound; for, as Chairman -Lee resumes his seat, Wizard Lewis rises. All know his relations with -the General; every eye is on him with a look of interrogation. Now when -the Calhoun toast has been read, they scan the face of Wizard Lewis, -representative of the absent General, to note the effect of the shot. -Wizard Lewis is admirable, and notably steady. - -"The President," says Wizard Lewis, "when he sent his regrets, sent also -a sentiment." - -Wizard Lewis passes a folded paper to Chairman Lee, who opens it and -reads: - -"'The Federal Union! It must be preserved!"' - -The words fall clear as a bell--for some, perhaps, a bell of warning. -Statesman Calhoun's face is high and insolent. But only for a moment. -Then his glance falls; his brow becomes pallid, and breaks into a -pin-point sprinkle of sweat. He seems to shrink and sear and wither, -as though given some fleeting picture of the future, and the gallows -prophecy thereof. In the end he sits as though in a kind of blackness -of despair. The General is not there, but his words are there, and -Statesman Calhoun is not wanting of an impression of the terrible -meaning, personal to himself, which underlies them. - -It is a moment ominous and mighty--a moment when a plot to stampede -history is foiled by a sentiment, and Treason's heart and Treason's -hand are palsied by a toast of seven words. And while Statesman Calhoun, -white and frightened and broken, is helpless in the midst of his -followers, the General sits alone and thoughtful with his quiet White -House pipe. - -For all the plain sureness of that toast, the would-be rebellionists now -crave a surer sign. A member of Congress from South Carolina, polite and -insinuating, calls on the General. - -"Mr. President," says the insinuating signseeking one, suavely -deferential, "to-morrow I go back to my home. Have you any message for -the good folk of South Carolina?" - -"Yes," returns the General grimly, his hard blue eyes upon the -insinuating one, while his heavy brows are lowered in that falcon-trick -of menace--"yes; I have a message for the 'good folk of South Carolina.' -You may say to the 'good folk of South Carolina' that if one of them so -much as lift finger in defiance of the laws of this government, I shall -come down there. And I'll hang the first man I lay hands on, to the -first tree I can reach." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--THE ROUT OF TREASON - - -DEMOCRACY goes not without its defects, and there be times when that -very freedom wherewith it invests the citizen spreads a snare to his -feet. For a chief fault, Democracy is apt to mislead ambitious ones, -dominated of ego and a want of patriotism in even parts. Such are prone -to run liberty into license in following forth the appetites of their -own selfishness, and forget where the frontiers of loyalty leave off and -those of black treason begin. - -In a democracy, for your clambering narrowist to turn traitor is never -a far-fetched task. Being free to speak as he politically will and, per -incident, think as he politically will, he finds it no mighty journey to -the perilous assumption that he may act as he politically will. Knowing -his duty to guard the temple, he argues therefrom his right to deface -it. Treason fades into a mere abstraction--a crime curious in this, that -it is impossible of concrete commission. - -Statesman Calhoun is among these ill-guided ones of topsy-turvy -patriotism. Blurred by ambition, soured of disappointment, license and -liberty have grown with him to be unconscious synonyms. The laws against -treason carry only a remonstrance, never a warning, and--as he reads -them--but deplore that civic villainy, while threatening nothing of -grief for what dark souls shall be guilty of it. In this frame the -General's stark sentiment, "The Federal Union! It must be preserved!" -and that subsequent hanging promise which, by the mouth of the suave -insinuating one, he sends to "the good folk of South Carolina," go -beyond surprise with Statesman Calhoun, and provide a shock. It is as -though, walking in a trance of treason, he knocks his head against the -White House wall; his awakening is rudely, painfully complete. That -dream of a separate nation, with himself at its head, gives way to -hangman visions of rope and gallows tree; and, from bending his energies -to methods by which he may take South Carolina out of the Union, he -gives himself wholly to the more tremulous enterprise of keeping himself -out of jail. - -Some hint of that recent literature, which the General found so -interesting, gets abroad, and many go reading the lucid dictum of -old Marshall. Treason as a crime becomes better understood; and--by -Statesman Calhoun at least--better feared. Moved of these fears, -Statesman Calhoun sends message after message into his restless -Palmetto-rattlesnake State of South Carolina commanding, nay imploring, -a present suspension of "Nullification." His Palmetto-rattlesnake -adherents, while not understanding the danger which fringes them about, -have already found enough that is alarming in the very air; and, for -their own safety as much as his, are heedful to regard that prayer for -a "Nullification" passivity. The South Carolina shouting ceases; the -Minute Men rest on their traitorous arms; the manufacture of blue -cockades is abandoned; while the Columbia convention devotes itself to -innocuous adjournments from innocent day to day. - -While Palmetto-rattlesnake affairs are thus timidly quiescent, the -Senate itself--having read old Marshall, and being, moreover, somewhat -instructed by the watchful attitude of the General, who sits in -the White House a figure of frowning menace, both relentless and -fateful--devotes itself to the scaffold extrication of Statesman -Calhoun. Machiavelli Clay leads the rescue party. His is of an opposite -political church to that of Statesman Calhoun; but the pair meet on -the warm, common ground of a deathless hatred of the General. Under -the mollifying guidance of Machiavelli Clay, Senator after Senator -surrenders those pet schedules of tariff desired of his own people, -and puts the surrender on the expressive basis of "saving the neck of -Calhoun." - -When every possible tariff cut has been arranged, and Congress adjourns, -Statesman Calhoun makes his memorable homeward flight. Horse after horse -he rides down, night becomes as day; for Death crouches on his crupper, -and he must stay the Nullifying hand of South Carolina to save his own -neck. He succeeds beyond his deserts, and comes powdering into Columbia, -worn and wan and anxious, yet none the less ahead of that "overt act" -whereof old Marshall spoke, and for which the somber General waits. - -Once among his own treason-hatching coterie, Statesman Calhoun loses no -moments, but breaks up the "Nullification" nest. Secession dies in -the shell, and the Columbia convention, with more speed even than it -displayed in passing it, repeals that "Ordinance of Nullification." -Thereupon Statesman Calhoun draws his breath more freely, as one who has -been grazed by the sinister fangs of Fate; while the inveterate General -heaves a sigh of regret. - -Wizard Lewis overhears the sigh, and questions it. At this the General -explains his disappointment. - -"It would have been better," says he, "had we shed a little blood. -This is not the end, Major; the serpent of treason is only bruised, -not slain. Had Calhoun run his course, a handful of hundreds might have -died. As affairs stand, however, the country must one day wade knee-deep -in blood to save itself. These men are not honest. Their true purpose is -the downfall of the Union. Their present pretext is tariff; next time it -will be slavery." - -By way of bringing the iniquity of "Nullification" before the people, -together with his views concerning it, the General seizes his big iron -pen, and scratches off a proclamation. - -"I consider," says he, "the power to annul a law of the United States, -assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union, -contradicted expressly by the Constitution, unauthorized by either its -letter or its spirit, inconsistent with every principle upon which -it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was -formed." - -The country, reading the General's exposition of the Union and its -Gibraltar-like character, breaks into bonfires, oratory, dinners, -barbecues, parades, and what other schemes of jubilation are practiced -by a free people. That is to say the country breaks into these sundry -jubilant things, if one except the truant State of South Carolina. In -that Palmetto-rattlesnake-ridden commonwealth there prevails a sulky -silence. No bonfires blaze, no barbecues scorch, no dinners smoke, no -parades march. Baffled in its would-be treasons, afraid to stretch forth -its nullifying hand lest the sword of retribution strike it off at the -wrist, it comports itself like a spoiled child thwarted, and upholds -its little dignity with a pout. No one heeds, however; and, beyond an -occasional baleful glance from the General, the rest of the world leaves -it to recover from that pout in its own time and way. - -When Congress reconvenes, Statesman Calhoun creeps back to his Senate -place. But the perils through which he has passed have left their -furrowing traces, and now he offers nothing, says nothing, does nothing. -His heart is water; his evil potentialities have oozed away. Haunted of -that hangman fear which still hag-rides him, he abides mute, motionless, -impotent, like some Satan in chains. - -To further wound Statesman Calhoun, and in the mean, protesting teeth -of Machiavelli Clay, the Senate expunges from its record the vote of -censure it once passed upon the General. The resolution to expunge is -offered by Senator Benton who, as against a far-off Nashville hour -when only a generous cellar saved him from the General's saw-handle, is -to-day the latter's partisan and friend. The General is hugely pleased -by the censure-expunging resolution, and has what Senate ones supported -it--being fairly the whole Senate, when one forgets Machiavelli Clay, -and our chained, embittered Satan, Statesman Calhoun--to a grand dinner -in the East Room. - -And now the official times wag prosperously with the General. His -friends are everywhere dominant, his enemies everywhere in retreat. Also -his hair, from iron gray, fades to milk-white. - -Since nothing peculiar presses upon him in the way of opposition, the -General falls ill. He makes little of this, however; and cures himself -with tobacco, coffee, calomel, and lancets, while outraged doctors -groan. Likewise, he burns midnight oil in planning with Wizard Lewis the -elevation of Vice-President Van Buren, who he is resolved shall have the -presidency after him. - -While thus the General lays his Van Buren plans, misguided admirers -bombard him with such marks of their regard as a phaton built of -unbarked hickory, and a cheese weighing fourteen hundred pounds. The -latter sturdy confection is trundled into the White House kitchen, from -which coign of vantage it sends on high a perfume so utterly urgent -that none may stay in the White House until it is removed. Following -its going, the executive windows are thrown open throughout a wind-swept -afternoon, to the end that the last suffocating reminder of that cheese -shall be eliminated. - -The General's hours as President are drawing to a close. His hopes -touching a successor carry through triumphantly, and Vice-President Van -Buren is selected to follow him. Neither Machiavelli Clay for the Whigs, -nor Statesman Calhoun among the Democrats, has the courage to offer his -own name to the people. - -[Illustration: 0353] - -Statesman Calhoun, aiming to subtract as much as he may from the -fortunes of nominee Van Buren, produces a bolting ticket, headed by one -Mangum; and, for Mangum, Palmetto-rattlesnake South Carolina--still in -a tearful pout--wastes its lonely arrow in the air. It was, it will be, -ever thus with South Carolina, who might do herself a good, and come to -some true notion of her own peevish inconsequence, if she would but take -a long, hard look in the glass. She is as one who attends the fairs, but -so over-esteems herself as to defeat every bargain she might make. Her -best chances are cast away, a cheap sacrifice to vanity, since no one -will either buy her or sell her at the figure she sets on herself. Thus, -too, will it continue. Her frayed prospects, already behind a fashion, -are to wax more shopworn and more threadbare as the years unfold. - -Nominee Van Buren is elected to succeed the General in the White House, -and every friend of the latter votes for the little polite man of -Kinderhook. The General is delighted, since the elevation of nominee Van -Buren provides for a continuation of his darling policies. - -Wizard Lewis is delighted, because the new situation permits the return -of himself and his beloved General to their homes by the Cumberland. -Nor does it detract from the satisfaction of either that, with the -presidential coming of the Kinderhook one, the final door of political -hope is barred fast in the faces of Machiavelli Clay and Statesman -Calhoun; for both the General and Wizard Lewis hate these two as though -that hatred were a religious rite. - -At last dawns President Van Buren's inauguration morning, and the -General stands for the last time before a people whose good and whose -honor he has so jealously guarded. Of this farewell appearance, poet -Willis writes: - -"_The air was elastic; the day bright and still. More than twenty -thousand people had assembled. The procession, the General and Mr. Van -Buren riding uncovered, arrived a little after noon. Their carriage, -drawn by four grays, paused. Descending from it at the foot of the -steps, a passage was made through the crowd, and the tall white head of -the old chieftain went steadily up. The crowd of diplomats and senators -to the rear gave way. A murmur of feeling rose up from the moving mass -below, as the infirm old General, coming as he had from a sick chamber -which his physicians had thought it impossible he should leave, stood -bowed before the people_." - -In his address the General touches many things. He closes by saying: "My -own race is nearly run. Advanced age and failing health warn me that I -must soon pass beyond the reach of human events. I thank God my life has -been spent in a land of liberty, and that He gave me a heart wherewith -to love my country. Filled with gratitude, I bid you farewell." - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--THE GRAVE AT THE GARDEN'S FOOT - - -THE General wends his slow way homeward, and is two months about the -journey. His progress, broken by many stops, is like both a triumph -and a funeral; for double ranks of worshipers line the route and sob or -cheer as he passes. The harsh horse-face is seamed of care and worn by -sickness; but the slim form is still erect and lance-like, and the blue -eyes gleam as hawkishly dangerous as when, behind his low mud walls with -the faithful Coffee and his hunting-shirt men, he broke down England's -pride at New Orleans. Everywhere the people press about him; for -republics are not ungrateful, and for once in a way of politics it is -the setting, not the rising sun upon which all eyes are centered. In -the end he reaches home, and his country of the Cumberland, as on many a -former day, opens its arms to receive him. - -And now the General, for all his sickness and his well-nigh threescore -years and ten, must bend himself to his labors as a planter; for he has -come back very poor. He has his acres and his slaves; but debts have -piled themselves high, and the tooth of decay can do a devastating deal -in eight years. - -The General goes to work as though life is just begun. The fences are -renewed, the buildings repaired, while the plow breaks fresh furrows in -fields that have lain fallow too long. To finance his plans, he borrows -ten thousand dollars from Editor Blair. Later, by a huddle of months, -Congress repays him that one-thousand-dollar fine, of which a quarter -of a century before he was mulcted in New Orleans. This latter, interest -swollen, is twenty-seven hundred dollars--a sum not treated lightly in -this hour of his narrowed fortunes! - -All goes prosperously. The generous soil, as though for welcome to the -General, grants such crops of cotton that the wondering Cumberland folk, -as once they did aforetime, come miles to view his fields. When not -busy with his planting, the General is immersed in politics. Each day he -rides down to Wizard Lewis four miles below; or Wizard Lewis rides those -four miles up to the Hermitage. Being together, the pair, over pipe and -moderate glass, sagely consider the state of the nation. - -Down by the General's gate is a large-stomached mail box. Each morning -finds it stuffed to suffocation with sheaves of letters and papers -tied in bundles. Also there are shoals and shoals of visitors. For the -General's home is a Mecca of politics, to which pilgrims of party turn -their steps by ones and twos and tens. Some come to do the stark old -General honor; some are one-time comrades, or friends who rose up around -him on fields of party war. For the most, however, and because humanity -is selfish before it is either just or generous, the visitors are -office-seeking folk, who ask the magic of the General's signature to -their appeals. - -These selfish ones become, in their vermin number and persistency, a -very plague. They wring from the suffering General the following: - -"The good book, Major," says he to Wizard Lewis, "tells us that at the -beginning there were in Eden a man, a woman, and an office seeker who -had been kicked out of heaven for preaching 'Nullification' I To judge -of the visiting procession, as it streams in and out of my front gate, -I should say that the latter in his descendants has increased and -multiplied far beyond the other two." - -The French king forgets and forgives those grievous five millions, and -dispatches an artist of celebration to paint the General's portrait. The -artist finds the latter of a mind to humor the French king. The portrait -is painted--a striking likeness!--and the gratified artist carries it -victoriously across seas to his royal master. - -[Illustration: 0365] - -The General becomes concerned in keeping England from stealing Oregon, -and writes letters to the Government at Washington in protest against -it. - -"Oregon or war!" is his counsel. - -Just as deeply does he involve himself for the admission of Texas into -the Union, declaring that of right the nation's boundary should be, and, -save for the criminal carelessness of Statesman Adams on the occasion -of the last treaty with Spain--made in a Monroe hour--would be, the -Rio Grande. Statesman Adams, now in his icy old age, makes a speech in -Boston and denies this; whereat the General retorts in an open letter -that Statesman Adams is "a monarchist in disguise," a "traitor," a -"falsifier," and his "entire address full of statements at war with -truth, and sentiments hostile to every dictate of patriotism." - -Machiavelli Clay foolishly invades the Cumberland country on a broad -mission of personal politics, and he like Statesman Adams makes a -speech. Machiavelli Clay, however, does not talk of Oregon, or Texas, or -what shall be the nation's foreign policy, whether timid or warlike. -His is wholly and solely a party oration, and in it he pays left-handed -tribute to Aaron Burr, dead a decade. Machiavelli Clay escapes no better -with his offensive eloquence than does Statesman Adams. The perilous old -General from his Hermitage is instantly out upon him with another open -letter, of which the closing paragraph says: - -"_How contemptible does this lying demagogue appear, when he descends -from his high place in the Senate, and roams over the country retailing -slanders against the dead_." - -The General is much refreshed by these outbursts, and, in that -contentment of soul which follows, resolves to join the church. Long ago -he promised the blooming Rachel, fast asleep at the foot of the garden, -that once he be free from the muddy yoke of politics he will accept -religion, and now he keeps his word. He unites himself with the -congregation which worships in that little chapel, aforetime built for -the blooming Rachel, and, upon his coming into the fold, there arises -vast rejoicing throughout the ardent length and breadth of Cumberland -Presbyterianism. - -The pastor, Dominie Edgar, calls often at the Hermitage; for he feels -that the General may require some special spiritual grooming. One day he -observes that convert's saw-handles, oiled and neat and ready for blood, -on a mantel, prayerfully crossed beneath a portrait of the blooming -Rachel. The good dominie is shocked, but does not show it. He picks up -one of the saw-handles. - -"This has seen service, doubtless," he remarks tentatively. - -"Ay!" responds the General grimly; "it has seen good service." - -Dominie Edgar puts the saw-handle back in place, and his curiosity -pushes no farther afield. He rightly conjectures it to be the weapon -which cut down the slanderous Dickinson, and mentally holds that it will -more advantage the soul of his convert to touch as scantily as may be -upon topics so ferocious. Shifting his ground, Dominie Edgar asks: - -"General, do you forgive your enemies?" - -"Parson," says the convert, "I forgive _my_ enemies, and welcome. But I -shall never"--here he points up at the portrait of the blooming Rachel, -which seems to lovingly follow his every motion with its painted patient -eyes--"I shall never forgive _her_ enemies. My feud shall follow them, -and the memory of them, to the end of time." - -Dominie Edgar sits down with his convert to show him the error of his -obdurate ways. He lectures cogently. It is to be feared, however, that -his doctrinal seed of forgiveness falls upon hard, intractable ground; -for, while the convert says never a word, the lecture serves but to -light again in those blue eyes what lamps of hateful battle burned there -on a certain fierce May morning in that popular Kentucky wood. - -The long days come and go, and the General lives on in fortune, -peace, and honor. Then the end draws down; for the General has run his -threescore years and ten, and well-nigh ten years more. Wizard Lewis -sits by his bedside, and never leaves him. - -"I want to go, Major," murmurs the General to Wizard Lewis; "for she is -over there." He raises his eyes to the portrait of the blooming Rachel, -and looks upon it long and lovingly. "Major!"--Wizard Lewis presses -the thin hand--"see that they make my grave by her side at the garden's -foot!" - -The General drifts into a stupor, Wizard Lewis holding fast his hand. -The good dominie Edgar is on his knees at prayer. From the porch outside -the sick room are heard the sobs and moans of the mourning blacks. - -Wizard Lewis attempts to recall the dying General. - -"What would you have done with Calhoun," he asks, "had he persisted in -his 'Nullification' designs?" - -The blue eyes rouse, and sparkle and glance with old-time fire. - -"What would I have done with Calhoun?" repeats the General, his voice -renewed and strong; "Hanged him, sir!--hanged him as high as Haman! He -should have been a warning to traitors for all time!" - -The sparkle subsides; the blue eyes close again in the dullness of -coming death. Wizard Lewis holds the poor thin hand, while Dominie Edgar -prays on to the accompaniment of the sobbing and the moaning of the -sorrowing blacks. - -The prayer ends; the good dominie rises to his feet. - -"Do you know me, General?" he whispers. The dim eyes are lifted to those -of Dominie Edgar. The latter goes on: "The love of the Lord is infinite! -In it you shall find heaven!" - -The General turns with looks of love to the portrait of the blooming -Rachel. - -"Parson," says he, "I must meet her there, or it will be no heaven for -me." - -The General's head droops heavily forward. Dominie Edgar falls upon his -knees, and the voice of his praying goes upward with the moaning and -the sobbing of the slaves. Wizard Lewis places his hand on the General's -breast. He sighs, and shakes his head. That mighty heart, all love, all -iron, is still. - - -THE END - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of -Andrew Jackson, by Alfred Henry Lewis - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN MEN GREW TALL *** - -***** This file should be named 51914-8.txt or 51914-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/1/51914/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of Andrew Jackson - -Author: Alfred Henry Lewis - -Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51914] -Last Updated: March 12, 2018 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN MEN GREW TALL *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - -</pre> - - <div style="height: 8em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h1> - WHEN MEN GREW TALL,<br /><br /> OR THE STORY OF ANDREW JACKSON - </h1> - <h2> - By Alfred Henry Lewis - </h2> - <h3> - Illustrated - </h3> - <h4> - D. Appleton And Company New York - </h4> - <h5> - 1907 - </h5> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0001.jpg" alt="0001 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0001.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0008.jpg" alt="0008 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0008.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0009.jpg" alt="0009 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0009.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <h3> - TO - </h3> - <p> - THEODORE ROOSEVELT THAT MAN OF THE PUBLIC FOR WHOM I HAVE MOST REGARD AND - FROM WHOSE FUTURE I AS AN AMERICAN MOST HOPE THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED - </p> - <h3> - A. H. L. - </h3> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <p> - <b>CONTENTS</b> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I—SALISBURY AND THE LAW </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II—THE ROWAN HOUSE SUPPER </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III—THE BLOOMING RACHEL </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV—COLONEL WAIGHTSTILL AVERY - OFFENDS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V—THE WINNING OF A WIFE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI—DEAD-SHOT DICKINSON </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII—HOW THE GENERAL FOUGHT </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII—ENGLAND AND GRIM-VISAGED WAR - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX—THE GENERAL AT THE HORSESHOE - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X—FLORIDA DELENDA EST </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI—THE TWO FLAGS AT PENSACOLA </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII—THE GENERAL GOES TO NEW ORLEANS - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII—THE WATCH FIRES OF THE ENGLISH - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV—THE BATTLE IN THE DARK </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV—COTTON BALES AND SUGAR CASKS - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI—THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII—THE SLAUGHTER AMONG THE - STUBBLE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII—ODDS AND ENDS OF TIME </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX—THE KILLING EDGE OF SLANDER - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX—THE GENERAL GOES TO THE WHITE - HOUSE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI—WIZARD LEWIS URGES A CHANGE IN - FRONT </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XII—THE DOWNFALL OF MACHIAVELLI - CLAY </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII—THE FEDERAL UNION: IT MUST BE - PRESERVED </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV—THE ROUT OF TREASON </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV—THE GRAVE AT THE GARDEN'S FOOT - </a> - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER I—SALISBURY AND THE LAW - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>N this year of our - Lord's grace, 1787, the ancient town of Salisbury, seat of justice for - Rowan County, and the buzzing metropolis of its region, numbers by word of - a partisan citizenry eight hundred souls. Its streets are unpaved, and - present an unbroken expanse of red North Carolina clay from one narrow - plank sidewalk to another. In the summer, if the weather be dry, the red - clay resolves itself into blinding brick-red dust. In the spring, when the - rains fall, it lapses into brick-red mud, and the Salisbury streets become - bottomless morasses, the despair of travelers. Just now, it being a bright - October afternoon and a shower having paid the town a visit but an hour - before, the streets offer no suggestion of either mud or dust, but are as - clean and straight and beautiful as a good man's morals. Trees rank either - side, and their branches interlock overhead. These make every street a - cathedral aisle, groined and arched in leafy green. - </p> - <p> - In one of the suburbs, that is to say about pistol shot from the town's - commercial center, stands a two-story mansion. It is painted white, and - thereby distinguished above its neighbors, and has a heavily columned - veranda all across its wide face. This edifice is the residence of Spruce - McCay, a foremost member of the Rowan County bar. - </p> - <p> - In a corner of the lawn, which unfolds verdantly in front of the house, is - a one-story one-room structure, the law office of Spruce McCay. Inside are - two or three pine desks, much visited of knives in the past, and a - half-dozen ramshackle chairs, which have seen stronger if not better days. - Also there is a collection of shelves; and these latter hold scores of law - books, among which “Blackstone's Commentaries,” “Coke on Littleton,” and - “Hales's Pleas of the Crown” are given prominent place. The books show - musty and dog-eared, and it is many years since the youngest among them - came from the printing press. - </p> - <p> - On this October afternoon, the office has but one occupant. He is tall, - being six feet and an inch, and so slim and meager that he seems six - inches taller. Besides, he stands as straight as a lance, with nothing of - stoop to his narrow shoulders, and this has the effect of augmenting his - height. - </p> - <p> - The face is a boy's face. It is likewise of the sort called “horse”; with - hollow cheeks and lantern jaws. The forehead is high and narrow. The - yellow hair is long, and tied in a cue with an eelskin—for eelskins - are according to the latest fashionable command sent up from Charleston. - The redeeming feature to the horse face is the eyes. These are big and - blue and deep, and tell of a mighty power for either love or hate. They - are Scotch-Irish eyes, loyal eyes, steadfast eyes, and of that inveterate - breed which if aroused can outstare, outdomineer Satan. - </p> - <p> - As adding to the horse face a look of command, which sets well with those - blue eyes—so capable of tenderness and ferocity—is a high - predatory nose. The mouth, thin-lipped and wide, is replete of what folk - call character, but does nothing to soften a general expression which is - nothing if not iron. And yet the last word is applicable only at times. - The horse face never turns iron-hard unless danger presses, or perilous - deeds are to be done. In easier, relaxed hours one finds no sternness - there, but gayety and lightness and a love of pleasure. - </p> - <p> - In dress the horse-faced boy is rather the fop, with a bottle-green - surtout of latest cut, high-collared, long-tailed, open to display a - flowered waistcoat of as many hues as May, from which struggles a ruffle - stiff with starch. The horsefaced boy has his predatory nose buried in a - law book. This is as it should be, for he is a student of the learned - Spruce McCay. - </p> - <p> - There comes a step at the door; the horsefaced boy takes his nose from - between the covers of the book. Spruce McCay walks in, and throws himself - carelessly into a seat. He is a square, hearty man, with nose up-tilted - and eager, as though somewhere in the distance it sniffed an orchard. He - is of middle years, and well arrived at that highest ground, just where - the pathway of life begins to slope downward toward the final yet still - distant grave. - </p> - <p> - Spruce McCay glances at a paper or two on his desk. Then, shoving all - aside, he fills and lights a corn-cob pipe. Through the smoke rings he - surveys the horse-faced boy; plainly he meditates a communication. - </p> - <p> - “Andy, I've been thinking you over.” - </p> - <p> - Andy says “Yes?” expectantly. - </p> - <p> - “You should cross the mountains.” - </p> - <p> - The blue eyes take on a bluer glint, and light up the horse face like - azure lamps. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, a new country is the place for you. You are now about to be admitted - to practice law; not because you know law, but for the reason that I have - recommended it. As I say, you have little law knowledge; but you possess - courage, brains, perseverance, honesty, prudence and divers other traits, - which you take from your Carrickfergus ancestors. These should carry you - farther in the wilderness than any knowledge of the books.” - </p> - <p> - The predatory nose snorts, and the horse face begins to glow resentfully. - </p> - <p> - “You think I know no law?” - </p> - <p> - “No more than does Necessity! Not enough to keep you from being laughed at - in Rowan County! How should you? Your attention and your interest have - both run away to other things. I've watched you for two years past. You - are deep in the lore of cockfighting, but guiltless of the Commentaries of - our worthy Master Blackstone. If I were to ask you for the Rule in - Shelly's Case, you would be posed. At the same time you could expound - every rule that governs a horse race. In brief you are accomplished in - many gentlemanly things, while as barren of law learning as a Hottentot. - Now if you were a lad of fortune, instead of being as poor as the crows, - you might easily cut a figure of elegant idleness on the North Carolina - circuits. But you lack utterly of that money required to gild and make - tolerable your ignorance here at home. In the woods along the Cumberland, - that is to say in the Nashville and Jonesboro courts, where ignorance and - poverty are the rule, your deficiencies will count for trifles. Also you - will be surrounded by conditions that promote courage, honesty and - quickness to a first importance. On the Cumberland the fact that you are a - dead shot with rifle or pistol, and can back the most unmanageable horse - that ever looked through a bridle, will place you higher in the confidence - of men than would all the law that Hobart, Hales and Hawkins ever knew. - Now don't get angry. Think over what I've said; the longer you look at it, - the more you'll feel that I am right. I'll see that you are given your - sheepskin as a lawyer; and, when you decide to migrate, I'll have you - commissioned in that new country as attorney for the state. This last will - send you headlong into the midst of a backwoods practice, where those - native virtues you own should find a field for their exercise, and your - talents for cockfighting and horse racing, added to your absolute genius - for firearms, be sure to advance you far.” - </p> - <p> - Spruce McCay raps the ashes from his corncob pipe. Just then one of the - house negroes taps at the door, as preliminary to intruding a respectful - head. The respectful head announces that visitors have arrived at the big - white mansion. Spruce McCay at this quits the office, and the horse-faced - Andy finds himself alone. - </p> - <p> - For one hour he ponders the unpalatable words of his worthy master. His - vanity has been hurt; his self-love ruffled. None the less he feels that a - deal of truth lies tucked away in what Spruce McCay has said. Besides a - plunge into the untried wilderness rather matches his taste, and a - promised state's attorneyship is not to be despised. - </p> - <p> - As the horse-faced Andy ruminates these things, laughter and much joyous - clatter is heard at the door. This time it is his two fellow students, - Crawford and McNairy. These young gentlemen have been out with their guns, - and now present themselves with a double backload of quails as the fruits - of it. The pair begin vociferously to inform the horse-faced Andy - concerning their day's adventures. He halts the conversational flow with a - repressive lift of the hand. - </p> - <p> - “Gentlemen,” says he, with a vast affectation of dignity, and as though - sixty were the years of each instead of twenty, “I desire your company at - supper in my rooms. Come at 7 o'clock. I shall have news for you—news, - and a proposition.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER II—THE ROWAN HOUSE SUPPER - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE horse-faced - Andy precedes the coming of his two friends to that supper by two hours. - As he moves up the street toward the Rowan House, fair faces beam on him - and fair hands wave him a salutation from certain Salisbury verandas. In - return he doffs his hat with an exaggerated politeness, which becomes him - as the acknowledged beau of the town. One cannot blame those beaming fair - faces and those saluting hands. Slim, elegant, confident with a kind of - polished cockyness that does not ill become his years, our horse-faced one - possesses what the world calls “presence.” No one will look on him without - being impressed; he is congenitally remarkable, and to see him once is to - ever afterward expect to hear him. Besides, for all his foppishness, there - is a scar on his sandy head, and a second on his hand, which were made by - an English saber when he had no more than entered upon his teens. Also he - has shed English blood to pay for those scars; and in a day which still - heaves and tosses with the ground swells of the Revolution, such stark - matters brevet one to the respect of men and the love of women. - </p> - <p> - The foppish, horse-faced Andy strides into the Rowan House. In the - long-room he meets mine host Brown, who has fame as a publican, and none - as a sinner, throughout North Carolina. - </p> - <p> - “Supper in my rooms, Mr. Brown,” commands our hero; “supper for three. - Have it hot and ready at sharp seven. Also let us have plenty of whisky - and tobacco.” - </p> - <p> - Mine host Brown says that all shall be as ordered. - </p> - <p> - The foppish Andy, with that grave manner of dignity which laughs at his - boyish twenty years, explains to his landlord that he will call for his - bill in the morning. - </p> - <p> - “Have my horse, Cherokee,” he says, “well groomed and saddled. To-morrow I - leave Salisbury.” - </p> - <p> - “Going West?” - </p> - <p> - “West,” returns Andy. - </p> - <p> - “As to the bill,” ventures mine host Brown, “would you like to play a game - of all-fours, and make it double or nothing?” - </p> - <p> - Andy the horse-faced hesitates. - </p> - <p> - “You have such vile luck,” he says, as though remonstrating with mine host - Brown for a fault. “It seems shameful to play with you, since you never - win.” - </p> - <p> - Mine host Brown looks sheepishly apologetic. - </p> - <p> - “For one as eager to play as I am,” he responds, “it does look as though I - ought to know more about the game. However, since it's your last night, we - might as well preserve a record.” - </p> - <p> - Andy the horse-faced yields to the rabid anxiety of mine host Brown to - gamble. The game shall be played presently; meanwhile, there is an errand - which takes him to his rooms. - </p> - <p> - Andy goes to his rooms; mine host Brown, after preparing a table in the - long-room for the promised game, saunters fatly—being rotund as a - publican should be—into the kitchen, to leave directions concerning - that triangular supper. There he encounters his wife, as rotund as - himself, supervising the energies of a phalanx of black Amazons, who form - the culinary forces of the Rowan House. - </p> - <p> - “Young Jackson leaves in the morning, mother,” observes mine host Brown to - Mrs. Brown, whom he always addresses as “mother.” - </p> - <p> - “For good?” asks Mrs. Brown, who is singeing the pin feathers from a - chicken of much fatness, and exceeding yellow as to leg. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, I knew he was going,” returns mine host Brown, rather irrelevantly. - “Spruce Mc-Cay told me that he was about to advise him to emigrate to the - western counties. Spruce says the Cumberland country is just the place for - him.” - </p> - <p> - “And now I suppose,” remarks Mrs. Brown, “you'll let him win a good-by - game of cards, to square his bill.” - </p> - <p> - “Why not?” returns mine host Brown. “He's got no money; never had any - money. You yourself said, when he came here, to give him his board free, - because you knew and loved his dead mother. Now the Christian thing is to - let him win it. In that way his pride is saved; at the same time it gives - me amusement.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, Marmaduke,” says Mrs. Brown, moving off with the yellow-legged - fowl, “I'm sure I don't care how you manage, only so you don't take his - money.” - </p> - <p> - “There never was a chance, mother. He never has any money, after his - clothes are bought.” - </p> - <p> - The game of all-fours is played; and is won by Andy of the horse face, who - thereby rounds off a run of card-luck that has continued unbroken for two - years. - </p> - <p> - “It looks as though I'd never beat you!” exclaims mine host Brown, - pretending sadness and imitating a sigh. - </p> - <p> - “You ought never to gamble,” advises the horse-faced Andy solemnly. - </p> - <p> - Mine host Brown produces his bill, wherein the charges for board, lodging, - laundry, tobacco, and whisky in pints, quarts and gallons are set down on - one side, to be balanced and acquitted by divers sums lost at all-fours, - the same being noted opposite. - </p> - <p> - “There you are! All square!” says mine host Brown. - </p> - <p> - “But the charges for to-night's supper?” - </p> - <p> - “Mother”—meaning Mrs. Brown—“says the supper is to be with her - compliments.” - </p> - <p> - Steaming hot, the supper comes promptly at seven. It is followed, steaming - hot, by unlimited whisky punch. Pipes are lighted, and, with glasses at - easy hand, the three boys draw about the fire. The punch, the pipes, and - the crackling log fire are very comfortable adjuncts on an October night. - </p> - <p> - “And now,” cries Crawford, who is full of life and interest, “now for the - news and the proposition!” - </p> - <p> - McNairy nods owlish assent to the words of his volatile friend. He intends - one day to be a judge, and, while quite as lively as Crawford, seizes on - occasions such as this to practice his features in a formidable woolsack - gravity. - </p> - <p> - “First,” observes Andy, soberly sipping his punch, “let me put a question: - What is my standing in Rowan County?” - </p> - <p> - “You are the recognized authority,” cries Crawford, “on dog fighting, - cockfighting, and horse racing.” - </p> - <p> - McNairy nods. - </p> - <p> - “Humph!” says Andy. Then, on the heels of a pause: “And what should you - say were my chief accomplishments?” - </p> - <p> - Again Crawford takes it upon himself to reply. - </p> - <p> - “You ride, shoot, run, jump, wrestle, dance and make love beyond - expression.” - </p> - <p> - McNairy the judicial nods. - </p> - <p> - “Humph!” says Andy. - </p> - <p> - The trio puff and sip in silence. - </p> - <p> - “You say nothing for my knowledge of law?” This from the disgruntled Andy, - with a rising inflection that is like finding fault. - </p> - <p> - “No!” cry the others in hearty concert. - </p> - <p> - “You wouldn't believe us if we did,” adds McNairy of the future woolsack. - </p> - <p> - “Neither would the Judge,” returns Andy cynically. “The Judge” is the - title by which the three designate their master, Spruce Mc-Cay. Andy goes - on: “The news I promised is this. To-morrow I leave Salisbury. The Judge - has recommended my admission to the bar, and I shall take the oath and get - my license before I start. I shall transfer myself to the region along the - Cumberland, where I am told a barrister of my singular lack of ability - should find plenty of practice.” - </p> - <p> - “Why do you leave old Rowan?” asks woolsack McNairy, beginning to take an - interest. - </p> - <p> - “Because I have no education, less law, and still less money. It seems - that these are conditions precedent to staying in Rowan with credit.” - </p> - <p> - “Well,” cries McNairy the judicial, grasping Andy's long bony hand, “you - have as much education, as much law, and as much money as I. Under the - circumstances I shall go with you.” - </p> - <p> - “And I,” breaks in the lively Crawford, “since I have none of those - ignorant and poverty-eaten qualifications you name, but on the contrary am - rich, wise and learned—I shall remain here. When the wilderness - casts you fellows out, come back and I shall welcome you. Pending which—as - Parson Hicks would say—receive my blessing.” - </p> - <p> - The evening wears on amid clouds of tobacco smoke and rivers of punch. At - the close the three take hold of hands, and sing a farewell song very - badly. Then, since they look on the evening as a sacred one, they wind up - by breaking the pipes they have smoked and the glasses they have drunk - from, to save them in the hereafter from profane and vulgar uses. At last, - rather deviously, they make their various ways to bed. - </p> - <p> - The next day, young Andrew Jackson, barrister and counselor at law, with - all his belongings—save the rifle he carries, and the pistols in his - saddle holsters—crowded into a pair of saddlebags, rides out of - Salisbury on his bay horse Cherokee. He will stop at Martinsville for a - space, awaiting the judicial McNairy. - </p> - <p> - Then the pair are to set their willing, hopeful faces for the Cumberland. - </p> - <p> - As Andy the horse-faced rides away that October afternoon, Henry Clay is a - fatherless boy of nine, living with his mother at the Virginia Slashes; - Daniel Webster, a sickly child of six, is toddling about his father's New - Hampshire farm; John C. Calhoun is a baby four years old in a South - Carolina farmhouse; John Quincy Adams, nineteen and just home from a - polishing trip to France, is a Harvard student; Martin Van Buren, aged - four, is playing about the tap room of his Dutch father's tavern at - Kinder-hook; while Aaron Burr, fortunate, foremost and full of promise, - has already won high station at the New York bar. None of these has ever - heard of Andy the horse-faced, nor he of them; yet one and all they are - fated to grow well acquainted with one another in the years to come, and - before the curtain is rung finally down on that tragedy-comedy-farce - which, played to benches ever full and ever empty, men call Existence. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER III—THE BLOOMING RACHEL - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">N</span>ASHVILLE is the - merest scrambling huddle of log houses. The most imposing edifice is a - blockhouse, built of logs squared by the broadaxe. It is the home of the - widow Donelson; and, since it is all her husband left her when the Indians - shot him down at the plow-stilts, and because she must live, the widow - Donelson has turned the blockhouse into a boarding house. - </p> - <p> - With the widow Donelson dwells her daughter Rachel, a beautiful brunette - of twenty, and the belle of the Cumberland. Rachel is vivacious and - bright; and, while there is much confusion among her nouns, pronouns, - verbs and adverbs in the matters of case, number, and tense, she shines - forth an indomitable conversationist. With frontier freedom she laughs - with everybody, jests with everybody, delights in everybody's admiration; - and this does not please her husband, Lewis Robards, who is ignorant, - suspicious, narrow, lazy, shiftless, jealous, and generally drunk. One - time and another he has accused Rachel of a tenderness for every man in - the settlement, and their quarrels have been frequent and fierce. - </p> - <p> - It is evening; the widow Donelson is preparing supper for the half dozen - boarders, assisted by the blooming Rachel. The moody Robards, half soaked - in corn whisky, sits by the open door, ear on the conversation, eye on the - not-over-distant woods. If the worthless Robards will not work, at least - he may maintain a halfbright lookout for murderous Indians; and he does. - </p> - <p> - The widow Donelson glances across from the corn bread she is mixing. - </p> - <p> - “The runner who came on ahead,” she says, addressing the blooming Rachel, - “reports the party as being due to-morrow. Mr. Jackson, the new State's - Attorney, who will come with it, is to board and lodge with us.” - </p> - <p> - The blooming Rachel looks brightly up. The drunken Robards likewise looks - up; but his face is gloomy with incipient jealousy. - </p> - <p> - “A Mr. Jackson, eh?” he sneers. Then, to the blooming Rachel: “It's mighty - likely you'll find in him a new lover to try your wiles on.” - </p> - <p> - The blooming Rachel colors and her black eyes snap, but she holds her - tongue. The widow Donelson is also silent. The mother and daughter have - found wordlessness the best return to those insults, which it is the habit - of the jealous drunkard to hurl at his pretty wife. - </p> - <p> - The runner made true report, and the party in which travels the - horse-faced Andy makes its appearance next day. Tall, slender, elegant, - self-possessed, and with a manner which marks him above the common, he is - disliked by the drunken Robards on sight. When he declines to drink with - that sot, the dislike crystallizes into hatred. The outrageous jealousy of - Robards has found a new reason for its green-eyed existence, and he - already goes drunkenly pondering the slaughter of the horse-faced Andy. - Since he will never advance beyond the pondering stage, for certain - reasons called “craven” among men of clean courage, his homicidal - lucubrations are the less important. - </p> - <p> - Andy the horse-faced does not notice Robards. He does, however, notice - with a thrill of pleasure the beautiful Rachel, and is glad to find his - lines are down in such pleasant places. - </p> - <p> - He is vastly taken with the boarding house of the widow Donelson, and - incautiously says as much. He praises her corn pone and fried squirrel, - and vehemently avers that her hog and hominy are the best he ever ate. - </p> - <p> - Rachel the blooming does not allow her husband's jealousy to interrupt - hospitality, and piles high the young State's Attorney's plate with these - delicacies. She even brings out a store of wild honey and cream—dainties - sparse and few and far between in these rude regions. She calls this - “hospitality”; her jealous drunkard of a husband calls it “making - advances.” He says that in the course of a long, and he might have added - misspent, life, he has observed that a coquette, with designs on a man's - heart, never fails to begin by making an ally of his stomach. - </p> - <p> - “Hence,” says the drunken deductionist, “that honey and cream.” - </p> - <p> - That night, after Rachel the blooming and her drunken husband retire, a - bitter quarrel breaks out between them. It rages with such fury that the - bicker arouses one Overton, who occupies the adjoining chamber. Mr. - Overton is a severe character, firm and clear as to his rights. He objects - to having his rest disturbed, alleging that he has troubles of his own. - Taking final offense at the language of the brute Robards, which is more - emphatic than nice, he gets his pistols. Rapping on the intervening wall - to invoke attention, he informs that vituperative drunkard of his - intention to instantly put him (Robards) to death, should he so much as - raise his voice above a whisper for the balance of the night. - </p> - <p> - Rachel seeks her mother, and the jealous drunkard quiets down. He is not - unacquainted with Mr. Overton, who is reputed to possess as restless a - brace of hair triggers as ever owned flint and pan. Altogether he is - precisely the one whose word would carry weight with such as Robards, and, - on the back of his interference in the domestic affairs of that inebriate, - a great peace settles upon the blockhouse of the widow Donelson which - abides throughout the night. - </p> - <p> - As for the horse-faced State's Attorney, he knows nothing of the - differences between Rachel and the jealous Robards. He does not sleep in - the blockhouse, having been appointed to a blanket couch in the “Bunk - House,” a separate dormitory structure which stands at a little distance. - </p> - <p> - During breakfast, the blooming Rachel again freights daintily deep the - plate of the young State's Attorney. Thereupon the favored one beams his - thanks, while behind his back as though to soothe his hate, the malevolent - Rob-ards sits cleaning a rifle, casting upon him the while an occasional - midnight look. Just across is the taciturn Overton, proprietor of those - restless hair triggers, wondering over his bacon and eggs where this drama - of love and threatened murder is to end. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IV—COLONEL WAIGHTSTILL AVERY OFFENDS - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">N</span>OW, when the - horse-faced Andy finds himself in the Cumberland country, he begins to - look about him. Being a lawyer, his instinct leads him to consider those - opposing ranks of commerce, the debtor and creditor classes. He finds the - former composed of persons of the highest honor. Also, their honor is - sensitive and easily touched, being sensitive and touchy in proportion as - the bulk of their debts is increased. The debtor class, as the same finds - representation about those two Cumberland forums, Nashville and Jonesboro, - holds it to be the privilege of every gentleman, when dunned, to challenge - and if practicable kill his creditor honorably at ten paces. - </p> - <p> - So firm indeed is the debtor class in this belief, that the creditor - class, less warlike and with more to lose, seldom presents a bill. Neither - does it refuse the opposition credit; for the debtor class also clings to - the no less formidable theory, that to refuse credit is an insult quite as - stinging as a dun direct. - </p> - <p> - In short, the horse-faced Andy discovers the region to be a very Arcadia - for debtors. Their credit is without a limit and their debts are never - due. He resolves to disturb these commercial Arcadians; he will break upon - them as a Satan of solvency come to trouble their debt paradise. - </p> - <p> - The horse-faced Andy, as has been noted, is Scotch-Irish. Being Irish, his - honor is as sensitive and his soul as warlike as are those of the most - debt-eaten individual along the Cumberland. Being Scotch, he believes - debts should be paid, and holds that a creditor may ask for his money - without forfeiting life. He urges these views in tavern and street; and - thereupon the creditors, taking heart, come to him with their claims. He - accepts the trusts thus proffered; as a corollary, having now flown in the - face of the militant debtor class, he is soon to prove his manhood. - </p> - <p> - The horse-faced Andy files a declaration for a client, on a mixed claim - based upon bacon, molasses and rum. The defendant, a personage yclept Irad - Miller, genus debtor, species keel boatman, is a very patrician among - bankrupts, boasting that he owes more and pays less than any man south of - the Ohio river. Also, having been already offended by the foppish - frivolity of that ruffled shirt and grass-green surtout, he is outraged - now, when the ruffled grass-green one brings suit against him. - </p> - <p> - Breathing fire and smoke, the insulted Irad lowers his horns, and starts - for the horse-faced Andy. His methods at this crisis are characteristic of - the Cumberland; he merely grinds the horse-faced Andy's polished boot - beneath his heel, mentioning casually the while that he himself is “half - hoss, half alligator,” and can drink the Cumberland dry at a draught. - </p> - <p> - This is fighting talk, and the horse-faced Andy so accepts it. He surveys - the truculent Irad with the cautious tail of his eye, and finds him - discouragingly tall and broad and thick. The survey takes time, but the - injured Irad prevents it being wasted by again grinding the polished toes. - </p> - <p> - Andy the strategic suddenly seizes a rail from the nearby fence, and - charges the indebted one. The end of the rail strikes that insolvent in - what is vulgarly known as the pit of the stomach, and doubles him up like - a two-foot rule. At that, he who is “half hoss, half alligator,” gives - forth a screech of which an injured wild cat might be proud, and - perceiving the rail poised for a second charge makes off. This small - adventure gives the horse-faced Andy station, and an avalanche of claims - pours in upon him. - </p> - <p> - Having established himself in the confidence of common men, it still - remains with our horsefaced hero to conquer the esteem of the bar. The - opportunity is not a day behind his collision with that violent one of - equine-alligator genesis. In good sooth, it is an offshoot thereof. - </p> - <p> - The bruised Irad's case is up for trial. His counsel, Colonel Waightstill - Avery, hails from a hamlet, called Morganton, on the thither side of the - Blue Ridge. Colonel Waightstill is of middle age, pompous and high, and - the youth of Andy—slim, lean, eager, horse face as hairless as an - egg—offends him. - </p> - <p> - “Your honor,” cries Colonel Waightstill, addressing the bench, “who, pray, - is the opposing counsel?” The boyish Andy stands up. “Must I, your honor,” - continues the outraged Colonel Waightstill, “must I cross forensic blades - with a child? Have I journeyed all the long mountain miles from Morganton - to try cases with babes and sucklings? Or perhaps, your honor”—here - Colonel Waightstill waxes sarcastic—“I have mistaken the place. - Possibly this is not a court, but a nursery.” - </p> - <p> - Colonel Waightstill sits down, and the horsefaced Andy, on the leaf of a - law book, indites the following: - </p> - <p> - <i>August 12, 1788.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Sir: When a man's feelings and charector are injured he ought to seek - speedy redress. My charector you have injured; and further you have - Insulted me in the presunce of a court and a large aujence. I therefore - call upon you as a gentleman to give me satisfaction for the same; I - further call upon you to give me an answer immediately without - Equivocation and I hope you can do without dinner until the business is - done; for it is consistent with the character of a gentleman when he - injures a man to make speedy reparation; therefore I hope you will not - fail in meeting me this day.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>From yr Hbl st.,</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Andw Jackson.</i> - </p> - <p> - The horse-faced one spells badly; but Marlborough did, Washington does and - Napoleon will spell worse. It is a notable fact that conquering militant - souls have ever been better with the sword than with the spelling book. - </p> - <p> - The judge is a gentleman of quick and apprehensive eye, as frontier - jurists must be. - </p> - <p> - Also, he is of finest sensibilities, and can appreciate the feelings of a - man of honor. He sees the note shoved across to Colonel Waightstill by the - horse-faced Andy, and at once orders a recess. The judge, with delicate - tact, says the Cumberland bottoms are heavy with the seeds of fever, and - that it is his practice to consume prudent rum and quinine at this hour. - </p> - <p> - While the judge goes for his rum and quinine, Colonel Waightstill and the - horse-faced Andy repair to a convenient ravine at the rear of the log - courthouse. A brother practitioner attends upon Colonel Waightstill, while - the interests of the horse-faced Andy are conserved by Mr. Overton, who - espouses his cause as a fellow boarder at the widow Donelson's. Mr. - Overton has with him his invaluable hair triggers; and, since he wins the - choice, presents them politely, butt first, to the second of Colonel - Waightstill, who selects one for his principal. The ground is measured and - pegged; the fight will be at ten paces. - </p> - <p> - As Mr. Overton gives the horse-faced Andy his weapon, he asks: - </p> - <p> - “What can you do at this distance?” - </p> - <p> - “Snuff a candle.” - </p> - <p> - “Good! Let me offer a word of advice: Don't kill; don't even wound. The <i>casus - belli</i> does not justify it, and you can establish your credit without. - Should your adversary require a second shot, it will then be the other - way. His failure to apologize, coupled with a demand for another shot, - should mean his death warrant.” - </p> - <p> - The horse-faced Andy approves this counsel. And yet, if he must not wound - he may warn, and to that admonitory end sends his ounce of lead so as to - all but brush the ear of Colonel Waightstill. That gentleman's bullet - flies safely wild. After the exchange of shots, the seconds hold a - consultation. Mr. Overton says that his principal must receive an apology, - or the duel shall proceed. - </p> - <p> - Colonel Waightstill's second talks with that gentleman, and finds him much - softened as to mood. The flying lead, brushing his ear like the wing of a - death angel, has set him thinking. He now distrusts that simile of “babes - and sucklings,” and is even ready to concede the intimation that the - horse-faced Andy is a child to be far-fetched. Indeed, he has conceived a - vast respect, almost an affection, for his youthful adversary, and will - not only apologize, but declares that, for purposes of litigation, he - shall hereafter regard the horse-faced Andy as a being of mature years. - All this says Colonel Waight-still, under the respectful spell of that - flying lead; and if not in these phrases, then in words to the same - effect. - </p> - <p> - The horse-faced Andy shakes hands with Colonel Waightstill, and they - return to the log courthouse, where the rum-and-quinine jurist is - pleasantly awaiting them. The trial is again called, and the horse-faced - Andy secures a verdict. What is of more consequence, he secures the - respect of bench and bar; hereafter no one will so much as dream of - disputing his word, should he lay claim to the years of Methuselah. That - careful grazing shot at Colonel Waightstill, ages the horse-faced Andy - wondrously in Cumberland estimation. - </p> - <p> - Good fortune is not yet done with Andy of the horse face. Within hours - after the meeting in that convenient ravine, he is given new opportunity - to fix himself in the good regard of folk. - </p> - <p> - It is on the verge of midnight. A gentleman, unsteady with his cups, seeks - temporary repose on the grassy litter which surrounds the tavern haystack. - Being comfortable, and safe against a fall, he of the too many cups - refreshes himself with his pipe. Pipe going, he falls into thought; and - next, in the midst of his preoccupation, he sets the hay afire. It burns - like tinder, and the flames, wind-flaunted, catch the thatched roof of the - stable. - </p> - <p> - The settlement is threatened; the wild cry of “Fire!” is raised; from - tavern and dwelling, men, women and children come trooping forth, clad in - little besides looks of terror. The scene is one of confusion and - misdirection; no one knows what to do. Meanwhile, the flames leap from the - stable to the tavern itself. - </p> - <p> - It is Andy the horse-faced who brings order out of chaos. Born for - leadership, command comes easy to him. He calls for buckets, and with - military quickness forms a double line of men between the river and the - flames. The full buckets chase each other along one line, while the - empties are returned by the second to be refilled. When the lines are - working in watery concord, he organizes the balance of the community into - a wet-blanket force. By his orders, coverlets, tablecloths, blankets, - anything, everything that will serve, are dipped in the river and spread - on exposed roofs. In an encouragingly short space, the fire is checked and - the settlement saved. - </p> - <p> - While the excitement is at its height, that pipe incendiary, who started - the conflagration, breaks through the double line of water passers, and - begins to give orders. He is as wild as was Nero at the burning of Rome. - Finding this person disturbing the effective march of events, the - horse-faced Andy—who is nothing if not executive—knocks him - down with a bucket. The Cumberland Nero falls into the river, and the - ducking, acting in happy conjunction with the stunning thump, brings him - to the shore a changed and sobered man. That bucket promptitude, wherewith - he deposed Nero, becomes one of those several immediate arguments which - make mightily for the communal advancement of Andy the horse-faced. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER V—THE WINNING OF A WIFE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>LL these energetic - matters happen at aforesaid, is dancing attendance upon the court. The - fame of them travels to Nashville in advance of his return, and works a - respectful change toward him in the attitude of the public. Hereafter he - is to be called “Andrew” by ones who know him well; while others, less - acquainted, will on military occasions hail him as “Cap'n” and on civil - ones as “Square.” On every hand, reference to him as “horse-faced” is to - be dropped; wherefore this history, the effort of which is to follow close - in the wake of the actual, will from this point profit by that polite - example. - </p> - <p> - The household at the widow Donelson's learns of the Jonesboro valor and - executive promptitude of the young State's Attorney. The blooming Rachel - rejoices, while her Jonesboro, where the horse-faced one, in the interests - of the creditor class drunken spouse turns sullen. His jealousy of Andrew - is multiplied, as that young gentleman's fame increases. The fame, - however, is of a sort that seriously mislikes the drunken Robards, who is - at heart a hare. Wherefore, while his jealousy grows, he no longer makes - it the tavern talk, as was his sottish wont. - </p> - <p> - Affairs run briskly prosperous with Andrew, and he finds himself engaged - in half the litigation of the Cumberland. There is little money, but the - region owns a currency of its own. Some wise man has said that the - circulating medium of Europe is gold, of Africa men, of Asia women, of - America land. The client's of Andrew reward his labors with land, and many - a “six-forty,” by which the slang of the Cumberland identifies a section - of land, becomes his. Finally he owns such an array of wilderness square - miles, polka-dotted about between the Cumberland and the Mississippi, that - the aggregate acreage swells into the thousands. Those acres, however, are - hardly more valuable than are the brown leaves wherewith each autumn - carpets them. - </p> - <p> - While the ardent Andrew is pushing his way at the bar, and accumulating - “six-forties,” he continues to board at the widow Donelson's. - </p> - <p> - The blooming Rachel delights in his society—so polished, so - splendidly different from that of the drunkard Robards! Once or twice, - too, when Andrew, in his saddlebag excursions from court to court, has a - powder-burning brush with Indians and saves his sandy scalp by a narrowish - margin, the red cheek of Rachel is seen to whiten. That is to say, the - drunkard Robards sees it whiten; the purblind Andrew never once observes - that mark of tender concern. The pistol repute of the decisive Andrew - serves when he is by to stifle remark on the lip of the recreant Robards. - But there come hours when the latter has the blooming Rachel to himself, - at which time he raves like one demon-possessed. He avers that the - unconscious Andrew is the lover of the blooming Rachel, and in so doing - lies like an Ananias. However, the drunken one has the excuse of jealousy; - which emotion is not only green-eyed but cross-eyed, and of all things—as - history shows—most apt to mislead the accurate vision of folk. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0063.jpg" alt="0063 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0063.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - Andrew overflows of sentiment, and often in moments of loneliness turns - homesick. This is the more marvelous, since never from his very cradle - days has he had a home. Being homesick—one may as well call it that, - for want of a better word—he goes out to the orchard fence, a lonely - spot, cut off from view by intercepting bushes, and devotes himself to - melancholy. This melancholy, as often happens with high-strung, - vanity-bitten young gentlemen, is for the greater part nothing more than - the fomentations of his egotism and conceit. But Andrew does not know this - truth, and wears a fine tragic air as one beset of what poets term “a - nameless grief.” - </p> - <p> - One day the blooming Rachel discovers the melancholy Andrew, dreamily - mournful by the orchard fence. She watches him unperceived, and her gentle - bosom yearns over him. The blooming Rachel is not wanting in that taint of - romanticism to which all border folk are born; and now, to see this - Hector!—this lion among men!—so bent in sadness, moves her - tenderly. At that it is only a kind of maternal tenderness; for the - blooming Rachel has a wealth of mother love, and no children upon whom to - lavish it. She stands looking at the melancholy one, and would give worlds - if she might only take his head to her sympathetic bosom and cherish it. - </p> - <p> - The blooming Rachel approaches, and cheerily greets the gloomy one. She - seeks to uplift his spirits. Under the sweet spell of her, he tells how - wholly alone he is. He speaks of his mother and how her very grave is - lost. He relates how the Revolution swallowed up the lives of his two - brothers. - </p> - <p> - “And your father?” - </p> - <p> - “He was buried the week before I was born.” - </p> - <p> - The two stay by the orchard fence a long while, and talk on many things; - but never once on love. - </p> - <p> - The drunken Robards, fiend-guided, gets a green-eyed glimpse of them. With - that his jealousy receives added edge, and—the better to decide upon - a course—he hurries to a grog-gery to pour down rum by the cup. - Either he drinks beyond his wont, or that rum is of sterner impulse than - common; for he becomes pot-valorous, and with curses vows the death of - Andrew. - </p> - <p> - The drunken Robards, filled with rum to the brim, issues forth to execute - his threats. He finds his victim still sadly by the orchard fence; but - alone, since the blooming Rachel has been called to aid in supper-getting. - The pot-valorous Robards bursts into a torrent of jealous recrimination. - </p> - <p> - The melancholy Andrew cannot believe his ears! His melancholy takes flight - when he does understand, and in its stead comes white-hot anger. - </p> - <p> - “What! you scoundrel!” he roars. The blue eyes blaze with such ferocity - that Robards the craven starts back. In a moment the other has control of - himself. “Sir!” he grits, “you shall give me satisfaction!” - </p> - <p> - Robards the drunken says nothing, being frozen of fear. The enraged Andrew - stalks away in quest of the taciturn Overton who owns those hair triggers. - </p> - <p> - “Let us take a walk,” says hair-trigger Overton, running his arm inside - the lean elbow of Andrew. Once in the woods, he goes on: “What do you want - to do?” - </p> - <p> - “Kill him! I would put him in hell in a second!” - </p> - <p> - “Doubtless! Having killed him, what then will you do?” - </p> - <p> - “I don't understand.” - </p> - <p> - “Let me explain: You kill Robards. His wife is a widow. Also, because you - have killed Robards in a quarrel over her, she is the talk of the - settlement. Therefore, I put the question: Having made Rachel the scandal - of the Cumberland, what will you do?” - </p> - <p> - There is a long, embarrassed pause. Presently Andrew lifts his gaze to the - cool eyes of his friend. - </p> - <p> - “I shall offer her marriage. She shall, if she accept it, have the - protection of my name.” - </p> - <p> - “And then,” goes on the ice-and-iron Overton, “the scandal will be - redoubled. They will say that you and Rachel, plotting together, have - murdered Robards to open a wider way for your guilty loves.” - </p> - <p> - Andrew takes a deep breath. “What would you counsel?” he asks. - </p> - <p> - “One thing,”—laying his hand on Andrew's shoulder—“under no - circumstances, not even to save your own life, must you slay Robards. You - might better slay Rachel; since his death by your hand spells her - destruction. Good people would avoid her as though she were the plague. - Never more, on the Cumberland, should she hold up her head.” - </p> - <p> - That night the fear-eaten Robards solves the situation which his crazy - jealousy has created. He starts secretly for the North. He tells two or - three that he will never more call the blooming Rachel wife. - </p> - <p> - For a month there is much silence, and some restraint, at the widow - Donelson's. This condition wears away; and, while no one says so, - everybody feels relaxed and relieved by the absence of the drunken - Robards. No one names him, and there is tacit agreement to forget the - creature. The drunken Robards, however, has no notion of being forgotten. - Word comes down from above that he will return and reclaim his wife. At - this the black eyes of Rachel sparkle dangerously. - </p> - <p> - “That monster,” she cries, “shall never kiss my lips, nor so much as touch - my hand again!” - </p> - <p> - By advice of her mother, and to avoid the drunken Robards—who - promises his hateful appearance with each new day—the blooming - Rachel resolves to take passage on a keel boat for Natchez. Andrew, in - deep concern, declares that he shall accompany her. He says that he goes - to protect her from those Indians who make a double fringe of savage peril - along the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. Overton, the - taciturn, shrugs his shoulders; the keel-boat captain is glad to have with - him the steadiest rifle along the Cumberland, and says as much; the - blooming Rachel is glad, but says so only with her eyes; the Nashville - good people say nothing, winking in silence sophisticated eyes. - </p> - <p> - Robards the drunken, now when they are gone, plays the ill-used husband to - the hilts. He seems to revel in the rôle, and, to keep it from cooling in - interest, petitions the Virginia Legislature for a divorce. In course of - time the news climbs the mountains, and descends into the Cumberland, that - the divorce is granted; while similar word floats down to Natchez with the - keel boats. - </p> - <p> - The slow story of the blooming Rachel's release reaches our two in - Natchez. Thereupon Andrew leads Rachel the blooming before a priest; and - the priest blesses them, and names them man and wife. That autumn they are - again at the widow Donelson's; but the blooming Rachel, once Mrs. Robards, - is now Mrs. Jackson. - </p> - <p> - Slander is never the vice of a region that goes armed to the teeth. Thus - it befalls that now, when the two are back on the Cumberland, those - sophisticated ones forget to wink. There comes not so much as the arching - of a brow; for no one is so careless of life as all that. The whole - settlement can see that the dangerous Andrew is watching with those - steel-blue eyes. - </p> - <p> - At the first suggestion that his Rachel has been guilty of wrong, he will - be at the throat of her maligner like a panther. - </p> - <p> - Time flows on, and a horrible thing occurs. There comes a new word that no - divorce was granted by that Legislature; and this new word is - indisputable. There <i>is</i> a divorce, one granted by a court; but, as - an act of separation between Rachel the blooming and the drunken Robards, - that decree of divorce is long months younger than the empowering act of - the Richmond Legislature, which mistaken folk regarded as a divorce. The - good priest's words, when he named our troubled two as man and wife, were - ignorantly spoken. During months upon months thereafter, through all of - which she was hailed as “Mrs. Jackson,” the blooming Rachel was still the - wife of the drunken Robards. - </p> - <p> - The blow strikes Andrew gray; but he says never a word. He blames himself - for this shipwreck; where his Rachel was involved, he should have made all - sure and invited no chances. - </p> - <p> - The injury is done, however; he must now go about its repair. There is a - second marriage, at which the silent Overton and the widow Donelson are - the only witnesses, and for the second time a priest congratulates our - storm-tossed ones as man and wife. This time there is no mistake. - </p> - <p> - The young husband sends to Charleston; and presently there come to him - over the Blue Ridge, the finest pair of dueling pistols which the - Cumberland has ever beheld. They are Galway saw-handles, rifle-barreled; a - breath discharges them, and they are sighted to the splitting of a hair. - </p> - <p> - “What are they for?” asks Overton the taciturn, balancing one in each - experienced hand. - </p> - <p> - In the eyes of Andrew gathers that steel-blue look of doom. “They are to - kill the first villain who speaks ill of my wife,” says he. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VI—DEAD-SHOT DICKINSON - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE sandy-haired - Andrew now devotes himself to the practice of law and the domestic - virtues. In exercising the latter, he has the aid of the blooming Rachel, - toward whom he carries himself with a tender chivalry that would have - graced a Bayard. Having little of books, he is earnest for the education - of others, and becomes a trustee of the Nashville Academy. - </p> - <p> - About this time the good people of the Cumberland, and of the regions - round about, believing they number more than seventy thousand souls, are - seized of a hunger for statehood. They call a constitutional convention at - Knoxville, and Andrew attends as a delegate from his county of Davidson. - Woolsack McNairy, his fellow student in the office of Spruce Mc-Cay, is - also a delegate. The woolsack one has-realized that dream of old - Salisbury, and is now a judge. - </p> - <p> - Andrew and woolsack McNairy are members of the committee which draws a - constitution for the would-be commonwealth. The constitution, when framed, - is brought by its authors into open convention, and wranglingly adopted. - Also, “Tennessee” is settled upon for a name, albeit the ardent Andrew, - who is nothing if not tribal, urges that of “Cumberland.” - </p> - <p> - The constitution goes, with the proposition of statehood, before Congress - in Philadelphia; and, following a sharp fight, in which such fossilized - ones as Rufus King oppose and such quick spirits as Aaron Burr sustain, - the admission of “Tennessee,” the new State is created. - </p> - <p> - Its hunting-shirt citizenry, well pleased with their successful step in - nation building, elect Andrew to the House of Representatives. A little - later, he is taken from the House and sent to the Senate. There he meets - with Mr. Jefferson, who is the Senate's presiding officer, being - vice-president of the nation, and that accurate parliamentarian and - polished fine gentleman writes of him: - </p> - <p> - “He never speaks on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen - him attempt it repeatedly, but as often choke with rage.” There also he - encounters Aaron Burr; and is so far socially sagacious as to model his - deportment upon that of the American Chesterfield, ironing out its - backwoods wrinkles and savage creases, until it fits a <i>salon</i> as - smoothly well as does the deportment of Burr himself. Our hero finds but - one other man about Congress for whom he conceives a friendship equal to - that which he feels for Aaron Burr, and he is Edward Livingston. - </p> - <p> - Andrew the energetic discovers the life of a senator to be one of dawdling - uselessness, overlong drawn out; and says so. He anticipates the acrid - Randolph of Roanoke, and declares that he never winds his watch while in - Congress, holding all time spent there as wasted and thrown away. - </p> - <p> - Idleness rusts him; and, being of a temper even with that of best Toledo - steel, he refuses to rust patiently. Preyed upon and carked of an - exasperating leisure, which misfits both his years and his fierce - temperament, he seeks refuge in what amusements are rife in Philadelphia. - He goes to Mr. McElwee's Looking-glass Store, 70 South Fourth Street, and - pays four bits for a ticket to the readings of Mr. Fennell, who gives him - Goldsmith, Thompson and Young. The readings pall upon him, and athirst for - something more violent, he clinks down a Mexican dollar, witnesses the - horsemanship at Mr. Rickett's amphitheater, and finds it more to his - horse-loving taste. When all else fails, he buys a seat in a box at the - Old Theater in Cedar Street, and is entertained by the sleight of hand of - wizard Signor Falconi. On the back of it all he grows heartily sick of the - Senate, and of civilization, as the latter finds exposition in - Philadelphia, and resigns his place and goes home. - </p> - <p> - When he arrives in Nashville, the Legislature—which still holds that - he should be engaged upon some public work—elects him to the supreme - bench.... - </p> - <p> - <i>{There are missing paragraphs which are not found in any online edition - of this ebook}</i> - </p> - <p> - ....objectionable Mr. Bean with those Galway saw-handles; and that violent - person surrenders unconditionally. In elucidating his sudden tameness and - its causes, Mr. Bean subsequently explains to a disgusted admirer: - </p> - <p> - “I looks at the Jedge, an' I sees shoot in his eye; an' thar warn't shoot - in nary 'nother eye in the crowd. So I says to myse'f, says I, 'Old Hoss, - it's about time to sing small!' An' I does.” - </p> - <p> - Notwithstanding those leaden exchanges with the Governor, and the conquest - of the discreet Mr. Bean, our jurist finds the bench inexpressibly - tedious. At last he resigns from it, as he did from the Senate, and again - retreats to private life. - </p> - <p> - Here his forethoughtful Scotch blood begins to assert itself, and he goes - seriously to the making of money. With his one hundred and fifty slaves, - he tills his plantation as no plantation on the Cumberland was ever tilled - before; and the cotton crops he “makes” are at once the local boast and - wonder. He starts an inland shipyard, and builds keel and flat boats for - the river commerce with New Orleans. He opens a store, sells everything - from gunpowder to quinine, broadcloth by the bolt to salt by the barrel, - and takes his pay in the heterogeneous currency of the region, whereof - 'coon skins are a smallest subsidiary coin. Also, it is now that he is - made Major General of Militia, an honor for which he has privily panted, - even as the worn hart panteth for the water brook. - </p> - <p> - When he is a general, the blooming Rachel cuts and bastes and stitches a - gorgeous uniform for her Bayard, in which labor of love she exhausts the - Nashville supply of gold braid. Once the new General dons that effulgent - uniform, which he does upon the instant it is completed, he offers a - spectacle of such brilliancy that the bedazzled public talks facetiously - of smoked glass. The new General in no wise resents this jest, being - blandly tolerant of a backwoods sense of humor which suggests it. Besides, - while the public has its joke, he has the uniform and his commission; and - these, he opines, give him vastly the better of the situation. - </p> - <p> - Many friends, many foes, says the Arab, and now the popular young General - finds his path grown up of enemies. There be reasons for the sprouting of - these malevolent gentry. The General is the idol of the people. He can - call them about him as the huntsman calls his hounds. At word or sign from - him, they follow and pull down whatsoever man or measure he points to as - his quarry of politics. This does not match with the ambitions of many a - pushing gentleman, who is quite as eager for popular preference, and—he - thinks—quite as much entitled to it, as is the General. - </p> - <p> - These disgruntled ones, baffled in their political advancement by the - General, take darkling counsel among themselves. The decision they arrive - at is one gloomy enough. They cannot shake the General's hold upon the - people. Nothing short of his death promises a least ray of relief. He is - the sun; while he lives he alone will occupy the popular heavens. His - destruction would mean the going down of that sun. In the night which - followed, those lesser plotting luminaries might win for themselves some - twinkling visibility. - </p> - <p> - It is the springtime of the malevolent ones' conspiracy, and the plot they - make begins to blossom for the bearing of its lethal fruit. There is in - Nashville one Charles Dickinson. By profession he is a lawyer, albeit of - practice intermittent and scant. In figure he is tall, handsome, graceful - with a feline grace. If there be aught in the old Greek's theory touching - the transmigration of souls, then this Dickinson was aforetime and in - another life a tiger. He is sinuous, powerful, vain, narrowly cruel, with - a sleek purring gloss of manner over all. Also, he is of “good family”—that - defense and final refuge of folk who would else sink from respectable - sight in the mire of their own well-earned disrepute. - </p> - <p> - Mr. Dickinson has one accomplishment, a physical one. So nicely does his - eye match his hand, that he may boast himself the quickest, surest shot in - all the world. Knowing his vanity, and the deadly certainty of his - pistols, the conspirators work upon him. They point out that to kill the - General under circumstances which men approve, will be an easy instant - step to greatness. Urged by his vanity, permitted by his cruelty, - dead-shot Dickinson rises to the glittering lure. - </p> - <p> - Give a man station and fortune, and while his courage is not sapped his - prudence is promoted. The poor, obscure man will risk himself more readily - than will the eminent rich one, not that he is braver, but he has less to - lose. The General—who has been in both Houses of Congress, and was a - judge on the bench besides—will not be hurried to the field, as - readily as when he was merely Andrew the horse-faced. However, those - malignant secret ones are ingenious. They know a name that cannot fail to - set him ablaze for blood. They whisper that name to dead-shot Dickinson. - </p> - <p> - It is a banner day at the Clover Bottom track. The General's Truxton is to - run—that meteor among race horses, the mighty Truxton! The blooming - Rachel, seated in her carriage, is where she can view the finish. The - General—one of the Clover Bottom stewards—is in the judge's - stand. Dead-shot Dickinson, as the bell rings on the race, takes his stand - at the blooming Rachel's carriage wheel. He is not there to see a race, - but to plant an insult. - </p> - <p> - “Go!” cries the starter. - </p> - <p> - Away rushes the field, the flying Truxton in the lead! Around they whirl, - the little jockeys plying hand and heel! They sweep by the three-quarters - post! The great Truxton, eye afire, nostrils wide, comes down the stretch - with the swiftness of the thrown lance! Behind, ten generous lengths, - trail the beaten ruck! The red mounts to the cheek of the blooming Rachel; - her black eyes shine with excitement! She applauds the invincible Truxton - with her little hands. - </p> - <p> - “He is running away with them!” she cries. - </p> - <p> - Dead-shot Dickinson turns to the friend who is conveniently by his side. - The chance he waited for has come. - </p> - <p> - “Running away with them!” he sneers, repeating the phrase of the blooming - Rachel. “To be sure! He takes after his master, who ran away with another - man's wife.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VII—HOW THE GENERAL FOUGHT - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General seeks - the taciturn Over-ton—that wordless one of the uneasy hair triggers. - </p> - <p> - “It is a plot,” says the General. “And yet this man shall die.” - </p> - <p> - Hair-trigger Overton bears a challenge to dead-shot Dickinson, and is - referred to that marksman's second, Hanson Catlet. Hair-trigger Overton - and Mr. Catlet agree on Harrison's Mills, a long Day's ride away in - Kentucky. There are laws against dueling in Tennessee; wherefore her - citizens, when bent on blood, repair to Kentucky. To make all equal, and - owning similar laws, the Kentuckians, when blood hungry, take one another - to Tennessee. The arrangement is both perfect and polite, not to say - urbane, and does much to induce friendly relations between these sister - commonwealths. - </p> - <p> - Place selected, Mr. Catlet insists upon putting off the fight for a week. - His principal is nothing if not artistic. He must send across the Blue - Ridge Mountains for a famous brace of pistols. His duel with the General - will have its page in history. He insists, therefore, upon making every - nice arrangement to attract the admiration of posterity. He will kill the - General, of course; and, by way of emphasizing his gallantry, offers - wagers to that effect. He bets three thousand dollars that he will kill - the General the first fire. - </p> - <p> - The General makes no wagers, but holds long pow-wows with hair-trigger - Overton over their glasses and pipes. The fight is to be at twelve paces, - each man toeing a peg. The word agreed on is: “Fire—one—two—three—stop!” - Both are free to kill after the word “Fire,” and before the word “Stop.” - </p> - <p> - Hair-trigger Overton and the General give themselves up to a heartfelt - study of what advantages and disadvantages are presented by the situation. - They decide to let the gifted Dickinson shoot first. He is so quick that - the General cannot hope to forestall his fire. Also, any undue haste on - the General's part might spoil his aim. By the pros and cons of it, as - weighed between them, it is plain that the General must receive the fire - of dead-shot Dickinson. He will be hit; doubtless the wound will bring - death. He must, however, bend every iron energy to the task of standing on - his feet long enough to kill his adversary. - </p> - <p> - “Fear not! I'll last the time!” says the General. “He shall go with me; - for I've set my heart on his blood.” - </p> - <p> - Those wonderful pistols come over the Blue Ridge, and dead-shot Dickinson - with his friends set out for that far-away Kentucky fighting ground. They - make gala of the business, and laugh and joke as they ride along. By way - of keeping his hand in, and to give the confidence of his admirers a wire - edge, dead-shot Dickinson unbends in sinister exhibitions of his pistol - skill. At a farmer's house a gourd is hanging by a string from the bough - of a tree. Deadrshot Dickinson, at twenty paces, cuts the string; the - gourd falls to the ground. - </p> - <p> - “Some gentlemen will be along presently,” he says. “Show them that string, - and tell them how it was cut.” - </p> - <p> - At a wayside inn he puts four bullets into a mark the size of a silver - dollar. - </p> - <p> - “When General Jackson arrives,” he observes, tossing a gold piece to the - innkeeper, “say that those shots were fired at twenty-four paces.” - </p> - <p> - And so with song and shout and jest and pistol firing, the Dickinson party - troop forward. They arrive in the early evening and put up at Harrison's - tavern. The fight is for seven o'clock in the morning. - </p> - <p> - Behind this gay cavalcade are journeying the General and hair-trigger - Overton. The farmer repeats the story of the gourd and its bullet-broken - string. A bit farther, and the innkeeper calls attention to that quartette - of shots, which took effect within the little circumference of a dollar - piece. The stern pair behold these marvels unmoved; hair-trigger Overton - merely shrugs his shoulders, while the General's lip curls contemptuously. - Dead-shot Dickinson has thrown away his lead and powder if he hoped to - shake these men of granite. Upon coming to the battle ground, the General - and hair-trigger Overton avoid the Harrison tavern, which shelters the - jovial Dickinson <i>coterie</i>, and put up at the inn of David Miller. - That evening, they hold their final conference in a cloud of tobacco - smoke, like a couple of Indians. Finally, the General goes to bed, and - sleeps like a tree. - </p> - <p> - With the first blue streaks of morning our two war parties are up and - moving. They meet in a convenient grove of poplars. The ground is stepped - off and pegged; after which hair-trigger Overton and Mr. Catlet pitch a - coin. The impartial coin awards the choice of positions to Mr. Catlet, and - gives the word to hair-trigger Overton. There is a third toss which - settles that the weapons are to be those Galway saw-handles. At this good - fortune a steel-blue point of fire shows in the satisfied eye of the - General. He recalls how he procured those weapons to kill the first man - who spoke evil of the blooming Rachel, and is pleased to think a benignant - destiny will not permit them to be robbed of that original right. - </p> - <p> - The men are led to their respective pegs by Mr. Catlet and hair-trigger - Overton. The General, through the experienced strategy of hair-trigger - Overton, wears a black coat—high of collar, long of skirt. It - buttons close to the chin; not a least glimpse of bullet-guiding white, - whether of shirt collar or cravat, is allowed to show. The black coat is - purposely voluminous; and the whereabouts of the General's lean frame, - tucked away in its folds, is a question not readily replied to. The only - mark on the whole sable expanse of that coat is a row of steel-bright - buttons. These are not in the middle, but peculiarly to one side. Those - steel-bright buttons will draw the fire of dead-shot Dickinson like a - magnet. Which is precisely what hair-trigger Overton had in mind. - </p> - <p> - As the two stand at the pegs, dead-shot Dickinson calls loudly to a - friend: - </p> - <p> - “Watch that third button! It's over the heart! I shall hit him there!” - </p> - <p> - The grim General says nothing; but the look on his gaunt face reads like a - page torn from some book of doom. As he stands waiting the word, he is - observed by the watchful Overton to slip something into his mouth. Then - his jaws set themselves like flint. - </p> - <p> - “Gentlemen, are you ready?” - </p> - <p> - They are ready, dead-shot Dickinson cruelly eager, the somber General - adamant. There is a soundless moment, still as death: - </p> - <p> - “Fire!” - </p> - <p> - Instantly, like a flash of lightning, the pistol of dead-shot Dickinson - explodes. That objective third button disappears, driven in by the - vengeful lead! The General rocks a little on his feet with the awful shock - of it; then he plants himself as moveless as an oak. Through the curling - smoke dead-shot Dickinson makes out the stark, upstanding form. For a - moment it is as though he were planet-struck. He shrinks shudderingly from - his peg. - </p> - <p> - “God!” he whispers; “have I missed him?” - </p> - <p> - Hair-trigger Overton cocks the pistol he holds in his hand and covers the - horror-smitten Dickinson. - </p> - <p> - “Back to your mark, sir!” he roars. - </p> - <p> - Dead-shot Dickinson steps up to his peg, his cheek the hue of ashes. He - reads his sentence in those implacable steel-blue eyes, and the death - nearness touches his heart like ice. - </p> - <p> - “One!” says hair-trigger Overton. - </p> - <p> - At the word, there is a sharp “klick!” The General has pulled the trigger, - but the hammer catches at half cock. The General's inveterate steel-blue - glance never for one moment leaves his man. He recocks the weapon with a - resounding “kluck!” - </p> - <p> - “Two!” says hair-trigger Overton. - </p> - <p> - “Bang!” - </p> - <p> - There comes the flash and roar, and dead-shot Dickinson is seen to - stagger. He totters, stumbles slowly forward, and falls all along on his - face. The bullet has bored through his body. - </p> - <p> - The General stays by his peg—cold and hard and stern. Hair-trigger - Overton approaches the wounded Dickinson. One glance is enough. He crosses - to the General and takes his arm. - </p> - <p> - “Come!” he says. “There is nothing more to do!” - </p> - <p> - Hair-trigger Overton leads the General back to their inn. As the pair - journey through the poplar wood, he asks: - </p> - <p> - “What was that you put in your mouth?” - </p> - <p> - “It was a bullet,” returns the General; “I placed it between my teeth. By - setting my jaws firmly upon it I make my hand as steady as a church.” - </p> - <p> - As the General says this, he gives that steadying pellet of lead to - hair-trigger Overton, who looks it over curiously. It has been crushed - between the clenched teeth of the General until now it is as flat and thin - as a two-bit piece. As the two approach the tavern they come upon a - negress churning butter, and the General pauses to drink a quart of milk. - </p> - <p> - Once in his room, hair-trigger Overton pulls off the General's boot, which - is full of blood. - </p> - <p> - “Not there!” says the General. “His bullet found me here”; and he throws - open the black coat. - </p> - <p> - Dead-shot Dickinson's aim was better than his surmise. He struck that - indicated third button; but, thanks to the strategy of hair-trigger - Overton which prompted the voluminous coat, the button did not cover the - General's heart. The deceived bullet has only broken two ribs and grazed - the breastbone. - </p> - <p> - The surgeon is called; the wound is dressed and bandaged. He describes it - as serious, and shakes his head. - </p> - <p> - “Still,” he observes, “you are more fortunate than Mr. Dickinson. He - cannot live an hour.” As the man of probe and forceps is about to retire - the General detains him. - </p> - <p> - “You are not to speak of my wound until we are back in Nashville.” - </p> - <p> - He of the probe and forceps bows assent. When he has left the room - hair-trigger Overton asks: - </p> - <p> - “What was that for?” - </p> - <p> - The brow of the General grows cloudy with a reminiscent war frown. - </p> - <p> - “Have you forgotten those four shots inside the circle of a dollar, and - that bullet-severed string? I want the braggart to die thinking he has - missed a man at twelve paces.” - </p> - <p> - The two light pipes and hair-trigger Overton sends for his whisky. Once it - has come he gives the General a stiff four fingers, and under the fiery - spell of the liquor the color struggles into the pale hollow of his cheek. - </p> - <p> - He of the probe and forceps comes to the door. - </p> - <p> - “Gentlemen,” he says, palms outward with a sort of deprecatory gesture—“gentlemen, - Mr. Dickinson is dead.” - </p> - <p> - The General knocks the ashes from his pipe. Then he crosses to the open - window and looks out into the May sunshine. From over near the poplar wood - drifts up the liquid whistle of a quail. Presently he returns to his seat - and begins refilling his pipe. - </p> - <p> - “It speaks worlds for your will power, that you should have kept your feet - after being hit so hard. Not one in ten thousand could have held himself - together while he made that shot!” This is a marvelous burst of loquacity - for hair-trigger Overton, who deals out words as some men deal out ducats. - </p> - <p> - “I was thinking on <i>her</i>, whom his slanderous tongue had hurt. I - should have stood there till I killed him, though he had shot me through - the heart!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VIII—ENGLAND AND GRIM-VISAGED WAR - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE saw-handles are - cleaned and oiled and laid away to that repose which they have won. No - more will they be summoned to defend the blooming Rachel. No one now - speaks evil of her; for that tragedy which reddened a May Kentucky morning - has sealed the lips of slander. The General does not speak of that battle - at twelve paces in the poplar wood; and yet the blooming Rachel knows. - She, like her lover-husband, never refers to it; but her worship of him - finds multiplication, while he, towards her, grows more and more the - Bayard. Much are they revered and looked up to along the Cumberland, he - for his gentle loyalty, she for her love; and the common tongue is - tireless in reciting the story of their perfect happiness. - </p> - <p> - The currents of time roll on and the General is busy with his planting, - his storekeeping, and his boat building. He is fortunate; and the - three-sided profits pile themselves into moderate riches. In the midst of - his prosperity he is visited by Aaron Burr. The late vice-president has - killed Alexander Hamilton—a name despised along the Cumberland. Also - he was aforetime the champion of Tennessee, when she asked the boon of - statehood. - </p> - <p> - For these sundry matters, as well as for what good unconscious lessons in - deportment were taught him by the courtly Colonel Burr, the General fails - not to take that polished exile to his heart and to his hearth. Colonel - Burr is in and out of Nashville many times. He comes and goes and comes - and goes and comes again; and writes his daughter Theodosia: - </p> - <p> - “I am housed with General Jackson, who is one of those prompt, frank, - loyal souls whom I like.” - </p> - <p> - Colonel Burr has been in France, and tells the General of Napoleon. He - draws a battle map of Quebec, shows where Montgomery fell, and relates how - he, Colonel Burr, bore that dead chieftain from the field. In the end, he - gives a dim outline of his dreams for the conquest of that Spanish - America, lying on the thither side of the Mississippi; and to these latter - tales of empire the General lends eager ear. - </p> - <p> - By the General's suggestion a dinner is given at the Nashville Inn in - honor of Colonel Burr. The General presides, and, with a heart full of - anger against Barbary pirates, offers among others the toast: - </p> - <p> - “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!” - </p> - <p> - Colonel Burr, being dined, confides to the General how he is not without - an ally in the Southwest, and says that Commander Wilkinson, in control - for the Government at New Orleans, stands ready to advance his - anti-Spanish projects. At the name of “Wilkinson” the General shakes his - prudent head. He declares that Commander Wilkinson is a faithless, caitiff - creature, with a brandified nose, a coward heart, and a weakness for - breaking his word. The crafty Burr, confident to vanity of his own genius - for intrigue, insists that he can trust Commander Wilkinson. Then he - arranges with the General for the building of a flotilla of flat-boats at - the latter's yards, and goes his scheming way. Later, when Colonel Burr is - on trial for treason in Richmond, the General will ride over the Blue - Ridge to give him aid and comfort, and make street-corner speeches - defending him, wherein he will say things more explicit than flattering - concerning President Jefferson, who is urging the prosecution of Colonel - Burr. - </p> - <p> - The hours, never resting, never sleeping, march onward with our - planter-General, until the procession in its passing is remembered and - spoken of as years. Then comes the war with England. That saber scar on - the General's head begins to throb, and he sends word to Washington that - he is ready, with twenty-five hundred of his hunting-shirt militia, to - kill British wherever they shall be found. - </p> - <p> - The Government thanks him, and orders him with his hunting-shirt followers - to report to General Wilkinson at New Orleans. The General does not like - this, the Wilkinson in question being that red-nosed renegade one, against - whom long ago he warned the ambitious Colonel Burr. For all that, orders - are orders; and besides a fight under any commander is not to be despised. - The General presently hurries his hunting-shirt forces aboard flatboats, - and floats away on the convenient bosom of the Cumberland. He will go down - that stream to the Ohio, and so to the Mississippi and to New Orleans. As - they float downward with the stream, the General recalls a former voyage - when love and the blooming Rachel were his companions, and is heard to - sigh. - </p> - <p> - At Natchez, word from Commander Wilkinson meets the General. He is told to - land, and wait for further orders. The General takes his boys of the - hunting shirts ashore, and pitches camp. Privily he unbends in oaths and - maledictions, all addressed to the ex-grocer Wilkinson; for he thinks the - order, preventing his entrance into New Orleans, born of the mean rivalry - of that red-nosed ignobility. - </p> - <p> - The General waits, and curses Commander Wilkinson, for divers weeks. Then - occurs one of those imbecilities, of which only the witlessness of - Government is capable, and whereof the archives at Washington carry so - many examples. The General receives a curt dispatch from the war - secretary, “dismissing” him and his hunting-shirt soldiers from the - service of the United States. Not a word is said as to pay, or provision - for returning to the Cumberland. Having gotten the General and his little - army several hundred wilderness miles from home, the thick-head - Government, with no intelligence and as little heart, coolly reduces him - and them to the practical status of vagrants; which feat accomplished, it - walks away, as it were, hands in pockets, whistling “Yankee Doodle.” - Possibly, the Government thinks that the General and his hunting-shirt - friends can float upstream as they floated down. The angry General, - however, makes no such marine mistake, and the intricate oaths which he - now evolves and fulminates, as expressive of his feelings, would have won - the admiration of any army that ever fought in Flanders. - </p> - <p> - The General's credit is golden, since he has ever been a fanatic about - paying debts. Invoking that credit, he cashes a handful of drafts, and - marches home with his hunting-shirt contingent at his own expense. Also he - indites a letter to that war secretary which reddens the latter's - departmental ears, and causes his departmental head to buzz like a nest of - hornets. Later, the Government pays the General the amount of those - drafts; not because it is right—since the argument of right has - little Washington weight—but for the far more moving reason that - Tennessee, in a rage, is preparing to desert the boneless President - Madison for the Federalists. It is the latter thought which brings a ray - of common sense to the besotted Government, and his money to our General, - now back in Tennessee. - </p> - <p> - The bellicose General is vastly disappointed at missing a brush with - invading British; for, aside from a saber-engrafted hatred of all English - things and men, he is one to dote on fighting for fighting's crimson sake, - and is almost as well pleased with mere battle as with victory. However, - he is given scanty room for sorrowful reflections, since fate is hurrying - to his relief with a private war of his own. - </p> - <p> - The General, ever an expositor of the duello, and the peaceful hours - resting heavy on his hands, goes out as second for a Captain Carroll - against Mr. Jesse Benton. Captain Carroll is shot in the toe, and Mr. - Benton in the leg; whereat the General and the Cumberland public groan - over results so inadequate. - </p> - <p> - Being thus shot in the leg, Mr. Benton displays his bad taste by falling - into a fury with the General. He recounts what he regards as his “wrongs” - to his brother Thomas, and that intemperate individual loses no time in - taking up his brother's quarrel. The pair say things of the General which - would arouse the wrath of an image; with that, the General calls for his - saw-handles, and begins to plan trouble for those verbally reckless - Bentons. - </p> - <p> - The General takes with him as guide, philosopher and friend, his faithful - subaltern, Colonel Coffee. The two establish themselves, strategically, at - the Nashville Inn. - </p> - <p> - Across the corner of the public square upon which the Nashville Inn finds - hospitable frontage, stands the City Hotel. Sunning themselves in the - veranda of the latter caravansary, but with war written upon their angry - visages, the General and the faithful Coffee perceive the brothers Benton. - The enemies glare at one another, and the General says to Colonel Coffee - that they will now go to the post office. Since a trip to the post office - is calculated to bring them within touching distance of the brothers - Benton, Colonel Coffee at once discerns the propriety of such a journey. - </p> - <p> - The pair go to the post office, staring haughtily at the brothers Benton - as they pass. The brothers Benton, for their side, being apoplectic of - habit, grow black in the face with rage. - </p> - <p> - Having visited the post office, and being now upon their return, the - General and Colonel Coffee again draw near the apoplectic Bentons, - glowering from their veranda. When within three feet of them, the General - abruptly whips out one of those celebrated saw-handles, and jams its - muzzle against the horrified stomach of brother Thomas Benton. That - imperiled personage thereupon backs rapidly away from the saw-handle, - which as rapidly follows; while the public, assembling on the run, - confidently expects the General to shoot brother Thomas Benton in two. - </p> - <p> - The General might have done so, and thus gratified the public, but the - unexpected occurs. As brother Thomas Benton backs briskly from the muzzle - of the saw-handle, brother Jesse, who is not wanting in a genius for - decision, whirls, and from a huge horse pistol plants two balls in the - General's left shoulder. As the warrior goes down, Colonel Coffee empties - his pistol at brother Thomas, who avoids having his head blown off only by - the fortunate fact of a cellar, into whose receptive depths he tumbles, - just in what novelists call “the nick of time.” As brother Thomas lapses - into the cellar, young Hays, a nephew of the blooming Rachel, hurls - brother Jesse to the floor, to which he makes heartfelt attempts to pin - him with a dirk, but is baffled by the activity of the restless brother - Jesse, who will not lie still to be pinned. - </p> - <p> - The whole riot has not covered the space of sixty seconds, when the - public, suddenly conceiving its duty to lie in that direction, seizes - young Hays, releases the recumbent brother Jesse, disarms Colonel Coffee, - fishes brother Thomas out of that receptive cellar, and carries the badly - wounded General to a bed in the Nashville Inn. The City Hotel mentions its - own beds, and lays claim to the injured General, on the argument that the - battle has been fought in its bar. The claim is disallowed and the General - conveyed to the rival hostelry aforesaid, as being peculiarly his own - proper inn, since it is there he has ever repaired for billiards, mint - juleps, and to hold conferences over pipe and glass with his friends. - </p> - <p> - Once in bed, the local surgeons burst in and offer to cut off the - General's arm. The offer is declined fiercely and a poultice of - slippery-elm bark is substituted for that proposed surgery. This latter - medicament works wonders; under its soothing influences, and the - revivifying effects of whisky—both being remedies much in vogue - along the Cumberland—the General begins to mend. - </p> - <p> - The General, the patient object of a deal of slippery-elm bark and whisky—the - one applied externally and the other internally—lies in bed a month. - Then the awful word arrives of the massacre at Fort Mims. Five hundred and - fifty-three souls have been slaughtered, and Chief Weathersford with all - his Creeks, valor sharpened by English gold and English firewater, is - reported on the warpath. The news brings the General out of bed in a - moment. His friends remonstrate, the doctors command, the blooming Rachel - pleads; but he puts them aside. Gaunt of cheek, face paper-white with - weakness, left arm in a sling, he climbs painfully into the saddle and - takes command. - </p> - <p> - The General sends Colonel Coffee and his mounted riflemen to the fore, - with orders to wait for him at Fayettesville. Meanwhile, he himself - lingers briefly to enroll and organize his little army. A few weeks later - he follows the doughty Coffee, and the entire command—horns full of - powder, pouches heavy with bullets, hunting knives whetted to a razor edge—moves - southward after hostile Creeks. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IX—THE GENERAL AT THE HORSESHOE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General goes to - Fayettesville, and orders Colonel Coffee with his eager five hundred to - Huntsville, as a point nearer the heart of savage war. Volunteers, each - bringing his own rifle and riding his own horse, join Colonel Coffee, who - sends back inspiring word that his five hundred have grown to thirteen - hundred, all thirsting for Creek blood. Meanwhile, the General, weak and - worn to a shadow, can hardly keep the saddle, and must be bathed hourly in - whisky to hold soul and body together. Unable to eat, he lives by his will - alone. The shot-shattered left arm, lest he faint with the awful agony - which attends its least disturbance, is bound tightly to his side. - </p> - <p> - The General takes the field, and presently comes up with the Creeks. He - smites them hip and thigh at Tallushatches, Talladega, and divers other - places of equally complicated names, slaying hundreds while losing few - himself. The Creeks give way before the invincible General. Wherever he - goes they scatter like an affrighted flock of blackbirds. - </p> - <p> - The Indian is terrible only when he is winning. He is not upholstered, - whether mentally or morally, for an uphill, losing war. The General would - like it better if this were otherwise. Could he but coax his evanescent - enemy into a pitched battle, he would break both his heart and his power - with one and the same blow. - </p> - <p> - Chief Weathersford is as well aware of this defect in the Indian make-up - as is the General. He himself is half white, and knows what points of - strength and weakness belong with either race. Wherefore, when now his - Creeks have been beaten, and their hearts are low in defeat, he makes no - effort to lead them against the General's front; but breaks them into - squads and little bands, with directions to harass the hunting-shirt men - and hang about their flanks in the name of flea-bite annoyance and - isolated scalps. Thus is the General plagued and fatigued nigh unto death, - without once being able to lay hand upon those skulking, hiding, flying - foot-Parthians against whom he has come forth. - </p> - <p> - Also, he and his hunting-shirt men are getting farther and farther from - anything that might be termed a base of supplies. At last, many a pathless - mile through wood and swamp, and many an unbridged river, lie between the - nearest barrel of flour and their stomachs clamorous for food. - </p> - <p> - The military stomach is the first great base of every military operation. - The war-wise Frederick had it for his aphorism, that an army is so much - like a snake it can move forward only on its belly. The General is made - painfully aware of this truism when he and his hunting-shirt men find - themselves penned up with starvation at Fort Strother. In the teeth of his - troubles, however, he makes shift to send home an orphaned papoose for the - blooming Rachel to raise. - </p> - <p> - Famine takes command at Fort Strother, and the General writes: “He is an - enemy I dread more than hostile Creeks—I mean the meager monster, - Famine!” There is murmuring among the hunting-shirt men, who have, with - the appetite common to bordermen, that contempt of discipline which - belongs to their rude caste. They are reduced to roots and berries, with - an occasional pigeon or squirrel, which latter diminutive deer no one - waits to cook, but devours raw. One day a backwoods boy, whose appetite is - even with his effrontery, waylays the General on his rounds and demands - food. - </p> - <p> - “Here is what I was saving for supper,” says the General; “you may have - that.” And he tosses the hungry one a double handful of acorns. - </p> - <p> - The starving hunting-shirt men mutiny; they draw themselves up preparatory - to marching north, to find that home-fatness which waits for them on the - Cumberland. At this the General changes his manner. Heretofore he has been - the symbol of fatherly sympathy and toleration. He can make excuses for - the grumbling of hungry men, and makes them. But this goes beyond - grumbling, which, when all is in, comes to be no more than a healthful - blowing off of angry steam; this is desertion by wholesale. - </p> - <p> - As the lean-flanked, rancorous ones line up to begin their homeward march, - the General, haggard and emaciated by those Benton wounds and a want of - food, rides out in front. Halting forty yards from the foremost mutineers, - he swings from the saddle. In his right hand he carries a long - eight-square rifle. This, since he has no left hand to support his aim, he - runs across the empty saddle. Being ready, he calls on the hunting-shirt - men to give the order to march, if they dare. - </p> - <p> - “For by the Eternal,” says he, “I'll shoot down the first of you who takes - a forward step!” - </p> - <p> - The sulky, hungry hunting-shirt men scowl at the General. He scowls back - at them, with the wicked ferocity of a tiger and an iron determination not - to be revoked. And thus they stand glaring—one against hundreds! - Then the courage of the hungry hundreds oozes away, and they fall back - before that menacing apparition which glowers at them along the rifle - barrel. They melt away by the rear, those hunting-shirt men, and lurk off - to their quarters—ashamed of their weakness, yet afraid to go on. - </p> - <p> - At last, a herd of beef, quite as gaunt as the starved hunting-shirt men - themselves, arrives. Fires are set going and knives drawn. There is a - measureless eating. Belts are let out to the full-fed holes of other days; - mutiny, like an evil spirit, takes its flight. The gorged hunting-shirt - men, as though in amends for their scowl-ings and mutinous grumblings, beg - to be led instantly against the Creeks. This the General is very willing - to do, since he suspects the Creeks of possessing corn. - </p> - <p> - The General's scouts tell him that the scattered Creeks are collecting in - force at the Horseshoe. Upon this news, one bright morning the General - rides out of Fort Strother, and his recuperated hunting-shirt men, two - thousand strong, are at his back. - </p> - <p> - The Horseshoe is a loop-like bend in the Tallapoosa, which incloses a - round one hundred heavily-timbered acres. Across the open end, three - hundred and fifty yards wide, the British engineers have taught the Creeks - to throw up a fortification of logs. Behind this bulwark is gathered the - fighting flower of the Creeks, more than one thousand warriors in all. - </p> - <p> - Arriving in front of the log bulwark, the General, with the experienced - Coffee, pushes forward to reconnoiter. - </p> - <p> - “We can thank the British for that,” says the General, tossing his - indignant right hand toward the Creek defenses. “Billy Weathers-ford, even - with the half-white blood that's in him, would never have designed it.” - </p> - <p> - The astute Coffee makes a suggestion and, acting on it, the General - dispatches him by a roundabout march to take the Creeks from behind. The - fatuous savages flatter themselves that the wide-flowing Tallapoosa will - defend their rear. All they need do, they think, is lie behind those - English-log breastworks and knock over whatever obnoxious paleface shows - his head. This is an admirable programme, and comforting to the cockles of - the aboriginal heart. There is but one trouble; it won't work. - </p> - <p> - As the circuitous Coffee begins to swing wide for his stealthy creep to - the rear, the General covers the strategy with a brace of brawling - nine-pounders. Inside the log breastworks, he hears the “tunk! tunk!” of - the “medicine” drum, and the measured chant of the prophets promising - victory. In the midst of the prophetic chantings and the dull thumping of - the tomtoms, the nine-pounders roar and bury their shot in the log - breastworks. The shot do no harm, and serve but to excite the ribald mirth - of the Creeks. The latter can speak enough English for the purposes of - insult, and scoff and jeer at the General, whom they describe—having - in mind his lean form—as a lance shaft, harmless, because wanting a - keen head. They storm at him with opprobrious epithet, and invite him, - unless he be a coward, to come to them over their breastworks. The General - pays no heed to the contumely of the Creeks; he is bending his ear to - catch, above the din of his nine-pounders, the earliest signal of the - redoubtable Coffee's attack. - </p> - <p> - Colonel Coffee and his riflemen, horses at a walk, pick their difficult - way through the woods. It is a matter of no little time before they find - themselves at the toe of the Horseshoe, and in the ignorant rear of the - Creeks. Between them and those one hundred tree-grown acres held by the - enemy flows the Tallapoosa—turbid, wide and deep. Across, they see - the canoes, which the stupidity of the Creeks has left without so much as - a squaw or a papoose to guard them. In a moment, a score have thrown off - their hunting shirts, and are in the river. They swim like so many - Newfoundlands, and come out dripping, but happy, on the farther side. - Presently each of the swimming score is upon his return trip, towing a - dozen of the largest canoes. - </p> - <p> - Leaving a horse guard to look after the mounts, Colonel Coffee embarks his - command in the canoes; ten minutes later, the last fighting man jack of - them is on the other side. They hear the boom of the nine-pounders, and - the yells and war shouts of the Creeks. Also they discover the wickiups of - the Creeks, hidden away, with their squaws and papooses, in a thickety - corner of the wood. - </p> - <p> - Colonel Coffee, who, for all he is a backwoodsman, is not without certain - sparks and spunks of military skill, sets fire to the wickiups, as an - excellent sure method of wringing the withers and distracting the - attention of the fighting Creeks at the front. The flames go crackling - skyward; the squaws and papooses rush yelling from the slight houses of - wattled willow twigs and bark, and scuttle into the underbrush like - rabbits. Unlike rabbits, being in the underbrush, they set up such a - dismal tempest of howls, that those rearmost Creeks who hear it come - running to learn what disaster has seized upon their households. - </p> - <p> - Before they can make extensive inquiry, Colonel Coffee and his riflemen - open on them with a storm of bullets; and next, each man takes a tree. The - war now proceeds Creek fashion, every man—white and red—fighting - for himself. There is a difference, however; for while the hunting-shirt - men are dead shots, the Creeks prove themselves such wretchedly bad - marksmen—not understanding a rear sight, which article of gun - furniture is a mystery to the Indian mind even unto this day—as to - provoke a deal of hunting-shirt laughter. - </p> - <p> - Slowly but surely the Creeks give way before that low-flying sleet of - lead. As they give way, running from one tree to another, their - hunting-shirt foe presses forward—as deadly a skirmish line as ever - commander threw out! - </p> - <p> - The quick ear of the General catches the firing down at the toe of the - Horseshoe. It tells him that Colonel Coffee is busy with the Creek rear. - Also, he gets a far-off glimpse, through the trees, of the smoke and - flames from those burning wickiups, and understands the message of them. - </p> - <p> - Drawing off the futile nine-pounders, the General orders a charge, the - amateur artillerists taking up their rifles with the others. At the word, - the hunting-shirt men rush forward, and go over the log breastworks like - cats. - </p> - <p> - The one earliest to scale the breastworks—quick as a panther, strong - as a bear—is Ensign Sam Houston. The Southwest will hear more of him - before all is done. That lively youth, however, is not thinking of the - future; for an arrow, excessively of the present, has just pierced his - thigh, and is demanding his whole attention. Shutting his teeth like a - trap to control the pain, he snaps the shaft and draws the arrow from the - wound. A moment later, the surgeon bandages it. - </p> - <p> - The General is standing near, and waxes conservative touching Ensign Sam - Houston. - </p> - <p> - “Don't go back!” commands the General shortly. “That arrow through your - leg should be enough.” - </p> - <p> - Ensign Sam Houston says nothing, but the moment his commander's back is - turned rushes headlong over those log breastworks again. Later he is - picked up with two bullets in him, which serve to keep him quiet for nigh - a fortnight. - </p> - <p> - Once the hunting-shirt men are across the log breastworks, a slow and - painstaking killing ensues. Not a Creek asks quarter; not a Creek accepts - it when tendered. It is to be a fight to the death—a fight - unsparing, relentless, grim! - </p> - <p> - “Remember Fort Mims!” shout the hunting-shirt men, working away with, - rifle and axe and knife. - </p> - <p> - The Creeks, caught between the General and Colonel Coffee, hide in clumps - of bushes or behind logs. From these slight coverts, the hunting-shirt men - flush them, as setters flush birds, and shoot them as they fly. Once a - Creek is down, out flashes the ready hunting knife and a Creek scalp is - torn off; for the hunting-shirt men, on a principle that fights Satan with - fire, have adopted the war habits of their red enemy. - </p> - <p> - The hunting-shirt men range up and down, quartering those one hundred - acres of Horseshoe wood like hounds, killing out in all directions. Now - and then a warrior, sorely crowded, leaps into the Tallapoosa, and strikes - forth for the opposite shore. His feather-tufted head is seen bobbing on - the muddy surface of the river. To gentlemen who, offhand, make nothing of - a turkey's head at one hundred yards, those brown bobbing feather-tufted - Creek heads are child's play. A rifle cracks; the shot-pierced Creek - springs clear of the water with a death yell, and then goes bubbling to - the bottom. Sometimes two rifles crack; in which double event the Creek - takes with him to the bottom two bullets instead of one. - </p> - <p> - The slaughter moves forward slowly, but satisfactorily, for hours. It is - ten o'clock in the night when the last Creek is killed, and the - hunting-shirt men, hungry with a hard day's work, may think on supper. Of - the red one thousand and more who manned those British-built - fortifications in the morning, not two-score get away. It is the Creek - Thermopylae. - </p> - <p> - The General's triumph at the Horseshoe puts the last paragraph to the last - chapter of the Creek wars. Also, it disappoints certain English prospects, - and defeats for all time those savage hopes of a general race battle - against the paleface, the fires of which the dead Tecumseh so long - supported by his eloquence and fed with deeds of valor. By way of a - finishing touch, from which the hue of romance is not wanting, the - terrible Weathersford rides in, on his famous gray war horse, and gives - himself up to the General. - </p> - <p> - “You may kill me,” says Weathersford. “I am ready to die, for I have - beheld the destruction of my people. No one will hereafter fear the - Creeks, who are broken and gone. I come now to save the women and little - children starving in the forest.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0127.jpg" alt="0127 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0127.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - The hunting-shirt men, not at all sentimental, lift up their voices in - favor of slaying the chief. At that the General steps in between. - </p> - <p> - “The man who would kill a prisoner,” he cries, “is a dog and the son of a - dog. To him who touches Weathersford I promise a noose and the nearest - tree.” - </p> - <p> - The General leads his hunting-shirt men by easy marches back to that - impatient plenty which awaits their coming on the Cumberland. The public - welcomes him with shout and toss of hat, while the blooming Rachel gives - her hero measureless love and tenderness. The General's one hundred and - fifty slaves, agog with joy and fire water, make merry for two round days. - They would have enlarged that festival to three days, but the stern - overseer intervenes to recall them to the laborious realities of life. - </p> - <p> - As the General begins to have the better of his fatigue and sickness—albeit - that Benton-wounded left arm is still in a sling—a note is put in - his hands. The note is from the War Department in Washington, and reads: - “Andrew Jackson of Tennessee is appointed Major General in the Army of the - United States, vice William Henry Harrison, resigned.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER X—FLORIDA DELENDA EST - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General, at the - behest of the blooming Rachel, rests for three round weeks, which seem to - his fight-loving soul like three round years. Then the Government sends - him to Fort Jackson to dictate terms of peace to the broken Creeks. - </p> - <p> - The latter assemble, war paints washed off, in a deeply thoughtful, if not - a peaceful, mood. - </p> - <p> - The General proposes terms which well nigh amount to a wiping out of the - Creek landed possessions. The Creeks go into secret council, as it were - executive session, and bemoan their desperate lot. They curse the English - who urged them to that butchery of Fort Mims and then deserted them. - Beyond relieving their minds, however, the curses accomplish no Creek - good. They must still face the inveterate General, whose word is, “Your - lives or your lands!” - </p> - <p> - The mournful, beaten Creeks come forth from executive session, and the - great formal conference begins. The council is called on the flat - field-like expanse in front of the General's imposing marquee—for he - has come to this mission with no little of pompous style, to the end that - the Creek mind be impressed. - </p> - <p> - The Creek chiefs, blanketed to the ears, feathered to the eyes, sit about, - crosslegged like tailors, in a half circle, their only weapon a sacred - red-stone pipe. The General, blazing in a new uniform, comes out of his - marquee. With him are Colonel Coffee, Colonel Hawkins, and lastly, Colonel - Hayne, the brother of him who will one day cross blades in Senate debate - with the lion-faced Webster, and have the worst of it. - </p> - <p> - As the General steps forward an orderly leads up his great war horse, as - though the conference might lapse into battle, and he must be ready to - mount and fight. To the rear, his hunting-shirt men, one thousand strong, - are drawn out, as following forth those precautions which produce the - General's war horse. The Creeks, at these evidences of suspicious - alertness, never move a bronze muscle; they pass the sacred redstone pipe - with gravity unmoved, and puff away as though the last thing they suspect - is suspicion. - </p> - <p> - Big Warrior makes a speech, and is followed by She-lok-tah, the tribal - Demosthenes. The General shakes his grim head at their protests; there is - no help for it, they must give him his way or fight. The Creeks bow to the - inevitable, and give the General his way; which bowing submission is the - less disgraceful, since both the Spanish at Pensacola and the English at - New Orleans, in a brief handful of months, under pressures less stringent - than are those which now and here in front of the Generali great marquee - bear down the broken hopeless Creeks, will follow their abject example. - </p> - <p> - Having made peace with the Creeks on the Tallapoosa, the General lets his - angry, warseeking eye rove in the direction of Florida. Many of the - hostile Creek Red Sticks have fled to cover there, where they are made - welcome by the Spanish Governor Maurequez, and petted and pampered by - Colonel Nichols and Captain Woodbine of the English. The besotted Governor - Maurequez has permitted these latter to land an English force, and, - inspired by his native hatred of Americans and the sight of British ships - of war in Pensacola harbor, has surrendered to them the last stitch of - Florida control. - </p> - <p> - The General guesses these things and sends out scouts to make discoveries. - Meanwhile, he marches his hunting-shirt men to Mobile, which his instincts—never - at fault in war—warn him will be the next English point of attack. - Word has reached him of the downfall of Napoleon, and he foresees that - this will release against America the utmost energies of England, who in - thirty odd years has not forgotten Yorktown nor despaired of its repair. - </p> - <p> - The General's scouts are a sleepless, observant, close-going set of - gentlemen, and fairly enter Pensacola. Presently, they are back with the - news that two flags float in friendly partnership on the battlements of - Fort St. Michael, one English and one Spanish. Also, seven English war - ships ride in the harbor. - </p> - <p> - They likewise say that the popinjay Colonel Nichols is issuing - proclamations to “The People of Louisiana,” demanding that, as “Frenchmen, - Spaniards, and English,” they arise and “throw off the American yoke”; - that Captain Woodbine is assembling the fugitive Red Sticks by scores, and - reviving their drooping spirits with English gold, English guns, English - gin, and English red coats. - </p> - <p> - Captain Woodbine, it appears, is so dull as to think he may make regular - soldiers of the untamed Red Sticks, and drills them in the Pensacola - plaza, where they handle their new muskets much as a cow might a cant - hook, and look like copper-colored apes in those gorgeous red coats. The - tactical, yet tactless, Captain Woodbine even makes his red command a - speech, and is so unguarded as to refer to “General Jackson.” This is a - blunder, since instantly half the assembled Red Sticks desert, taking with - them the guns, gin, and jackets which have been conferred upon them. The - oratorical Captain Woodbine is deeply impressed by the awful effect of the - General's name upon his red recruits, and their terror communicates itself - to him. He has difficulty in restraining himself from deserting with them, - but takes final courage and remains. Only he is at pains to delete - “General Jackson” from subsequent eloquence, and never again mentions that - paladin of the Cumberland in the quaking presence of a Red Stick Creek. - </p> - <p> - By way of adding to these hardy doings, the wordy popinjay, Colonel - Nichols, fulminates new proclamations, comic in their ignorance and - bombast. He believes that the formidable General can be whipped by - manifestoes. As against this belief, however, most careful preparations - move forward aboard the English ships, looking to the destruction of Fort - Bowyer and the capture of Mobile; for Captain Percy of the <i>Hermes</i>, - who has command of the fleet, is altogether a practical person, and pins - no faith to proclamations and Indians in red coats when it comes to - bringing a foe to his knees. - </p> - <p> - All these interesting items are laid before the General by his painstaking - scouts, and he is peculiarly struck with the word about Captain Percy and - Mobile. He sends back his scouts for another bagful of news, and begins to - strengthen and stiffen Fort Bowyer, thirty miles below the town. - </p> - <p> - Having patched up this redoubt to his taste, the General puts Major - Lawrence in command, and tells him to fight his batteries while a man - remains alive. Major Lawrence says he will; and, not having a ship, but a - fort, to defend, he follows as nearly as he may the motto of his heroic - relative, and issues the watchword, “Don't give up the Fort!” Leaving - Major Lawrence in this high vein, the General goes back to Mobile to - concert plans for its protection. - </p> - <p> - Captain Percy of the <i>Hermes</i> is a gallant man, but a bad judge of - Americans. He tells the proclaiming Colonel Nichols that he will take four - ships and capture Fort Bowyer in twenty minutes. Colonel Nichols has so - little trouble in believing this that he conceives the deed of conquest - already done. Full of hope and strong waters—for the English have - not given the thirsty Red Sticks all their gin—he is so far worked - upon by Captain Percy's turgid prophecies as to issue a new proclamation, - declaring Fort Bowyer taken, and showing how, presently, the English - intend doing likewise at New Orleans. Having taken time so conspicuously - by the forelock, the anticipatory Colonel Nichols—who has never been - in the chicken trade, and therefore knows nothing of what perils attend a - count of poultry noses before the poultry are hatched—goes aboard - the <i>Hermes</i>, with Captain Woodbine and others of his staff; for he - would be on the ground, when Fort Bowyer and Mobile succumb, ready to - assume control of those strongholds. - </p> - <p> - It is no mighty voyage from Pensacola to Mobile, and a half day's sail - will bring Colonel Nichols and Captain Percy within point-blank range of - Fort Bowyer. Taking a bright, cool morning for it, Captain Percy lets fall - his topsails, and forges seaward, followed by the cordial wishes of - Governor Maurequez who, glass in hand, drinks “Good voyage!” from the - ramparts of St. Michael. - </p> - <p> - “All I regret is,” cries the valorous Governor Maurequez, in the politest - phrases of Castile, “that you brave English will destroy these vagabonds, - and thus deprive me and my heroic soldiery of the pleasure of their - obliteration, when they shall have invaded our beloved Florida.” - </p> - <p> - Away go the English war ships in line, like a quartette of geese crossing - a mill pond, the <i>Hermes</i>, Captain Percy, in the van. The fleet - rounds the lower extremity of Mobile Point, out of range from Fort Bowyer, - and lands Colonel Nichols with a force of foot soldiers and a howitzer. - This military feat accomplished, the fleet, still like geese in line, bear - up until abreast of the Fort, which is a musket shot away. - </p> - <p> - There is no time wasted. The <i>Hermes</i> lets go her anchors and swings - broadside-on to the Fort. The others follow suit. Then, with a crashing - discharge of big guns by way of overture, the fight is on. - </p> - <p> - Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes go by; shots fly and shells - burst, and Major Lawrence still holds the fort. Evidently Captain Percy - cut his time too fine! Then, one hour, two hours follow, and Major - Lawrence's twenty-four pounders are making matches of the <i>Hermes</i>. - </p> - <p> - As the merry war progresses, Colonel Nichols, with much ardor and no - discernment, drags his howitzer to a strategic sand hill, and fires one - shot at Fort Bowyer. It is a badly considered movement, the instant effect - being to draw the Fort's horns his way. The southern battery of the Fort - opens upon him like a tornado, and he and his fellow artillerists retire—without - their howitzer. The most discouraging feature is that a stone, sent flying - from the strategic sand hill by a cannon ball, knocks out one of Colonel - Nichols's eyes. After this exploit, the one-eyed proclamationist, much - saddened, but with wisdom increased, is content to stand afar off, and - leave the down-battering of Fort Bowyer to the fleet. - </p> - <p> - This down-battering Captain Percy and his sailormen do their tarry best to - bring about. But, as hour after hour drifts to leeward in the smoke of - their broadsides, and the stubborn Lawrence continues to send his hail of - twenty-four-pound shot aboard, it begins to creep upon Captain Percy, like - mosses upon stone, that Fort Bowyer is a nut beyond the power of even his - iron teeth to crack. As a red-hot shot sets fire to the <i>Hermes</i> and - explodes her magazine, the impression deepens to apprehension, which, when - the <i>Sophia</i> is reported sinking, ripens rapidly into conviction. - Major Lawrence, with his “Don't give up the Fort!” all but blots Captain - Percy—who has tenfold his force—off the face of the Gulf, and - he does it with a loss of eight men killed and wounded to an English loss - of over three hundred. - </p> - <p> - Captain Percy, whipped and broken-hearted, shifts his flag and what is - left of his <i>Hermes''</i> crew to the <i>Sophia</i>, and, pumps clanking - hysterically to keep-himself afloat, goes limping back to Pensacola, - lighted on his defeated way by the flare and glare from the blazing <i>Hermes</i>. - As the English pass the extreme southern tip of Mobile Point, as far from - the unmannerly batteries of Fort Bowyer as the lay of the land permits, - they pick up the one-eyed proclamationist, Colonel Nichols, and his - howitzerless men. - </p> - <p> - The fleet, battered, torn, sails adroop, with the <i>Sophia</i> three feet - below her trim from shot-admitted water in her hold, reaches Pensacola. - Governor Maurequez looks scornfully dark, but, Spaniard-like, shrugs his - vainglorious shoulders and says to an aide: - </p> - <p> - “It is nothing! They are but English pigs! When this General Jackson - reaches Pensacola—if he should be so great a fool as to come—we - cavaliers of old Spain will tear him to pieces, as tigers rend their prey. - Yes, <i>amigo</i>, we will show these beaten pigs of English how the proud - blood of the Cid can fight.” - </p> - <p> - The Red Stick Creeks, furnished of a better intelligence, in no wise adopt - the high-flying sentiments of Governor Maurequez. The moment the English - come halting into the harbor, the awful name of “General Jackson!” leaps - from aboriginal lip to lip. Hastily tearing off Captain Woodbine's red - coats as garments full of probable trouble, but taking with them his new - guns, the frightened Red Sticks head south for the Everglades, first - drinking up what remains of their gin. Not a hostile Creek will thereafter - be found within a day's ride of the General; all of those English plans, - which seek the aid of savage axe and knife and torch, are to fall to - pieces. - </p> - <p> - Captain Percy, made ten years older by that fight and failure at Fort - Bowyer, goes about the repair of his ships; Colonel Nichols, omitting for - the nonce all further proclamations, nurses his wounds; Captain Woodbine, - having now no Indians, abandons his daily drills on the plaza; Governor - Maurequez, whispering with his aide, brags in chosen Spanish of what he - will do to thick-skull vagabond Americans should they put themselves in - his devouring path; while over at Mobile the General hugs Major Lawrence - to his bosom in a storm of approval, and gives that sterling soldier a - sword of honor. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XI—THE TWO FLAGS AT PENSACOLA - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HOSE two flags, - one the red flag of England, flying at Pensacola, haunt the General night - and day. His hunting-shirt men, twenty-eight hundred from his beloved - Tennessee and twelve hundred from the territories of Mississippi and - Alabama, are lusting for battle. He resolves to lead them into Florida, - across the Spanish line. - </p> - <p> - “We must rout the English out of Pensacola!” he explains to Colonel - Coffee. - </p> - <p> - “Pensacola!” repeats Colonel Coffee, looking thoughtful. “It is Spanish - territory, General! There is the boundary; and diplomacy, I believe, - although it is an art whereof I know little, lays stress on the word - boundary.” - </p> - <p> - “Boundary!” snorts the General in dudgeon. “The English are there! Where - my foe goes, I go; my diplomacy is of the sword.” - </p> - <p> - The General elaborates; for he is not without liking the sound of his own - voice. Governor Maurequez, he says, has welcomed the English; he must - enlarge that welcome to include Americans. - </p> - <p> - “For I tell you,” goes on the General, “that I shall expect from him the - same courtesy he extends to Colonel Nichols. Nor do I despair of receiving - it, since I shall take my artillery. With both Americans and English among - his guests, if trouble fall out it will be his own fault, and should teach - him to practice hereafter a less complicated hospitality.” - </p> - <p> - The General prepares for the journey to Pensacola. The treasure chest - shows the usual emptiness, and he exerts his own credit, as he did on a - Natchez occasion, to provide for his hunting-shirt men. This time the - Government will honor his drafts promptly, for election day is drawing - near. - </p> - <p> - One sun-filled autumn morning, the General and his hunting-shirt men march - away for Pensacola, their hearts full of cheering anticipations of a - fight, and eight days provant in the commissariat. - </p> - <p> - “We should be there in eight days,” says the General hopefully, “and - Governor Maurequez and the English must provide for us after that.” - </p> - <p> - The General does not overstate the powers of his hunting-shirt men, and - the eighth morning finds them and him within striking distance of Fort St. - Michael. The General shades his blue eyes with his hand and scans the - walls with vicious lynxlike intentness in search of that hated red flag. - His heart chills when he does not find it. There is the flag of Arragon - and Castile; but the staff which only yesterday supported the flag of - England stands an unfurnished, naked spar of pine. - </p> - <p> - The General heaves a sigh. - </p> - <p> - “Coffee,” he says, pathos in his tones, “they have run away.” - </p> - <p> - “Possibly,” returns the excellent Coffee, who sees that the General's - regrets are leveled at an absence of English, and is anxious to console - him, “possibly they've only retired to Fort Barrancas, six miles below, - and are waiting for us there.” - </p> - <p> - The disappointed General shakes his head; he does not share the confidence - of the optimistic Coffee. - </p> - <p> - “Send Major Piere,” he says, “with a flag of truce to announce to the - Spaniard our purpose of lunching with him. We will ask him, now we're - here, by what license he gives shelter to our enemies.” - </p> - <p> - Major Piere goes forward, white flag fluttering, and is promptly fired - upon by Governor Maurequez at the distance of six hundred yards. The balls - fly wide and high, for the Spaniard shoots like a Creek. Finding himself a - target, the disgusted Major Piere returns and reports his uncivil - reception. The General's eyes blaze with a kind of blue fury. - </p> - <p> - “Turn out the troops!” he roars. - </p> - <p> - The drums sound the long roll. The hunting-shirt men are about the cookery—being - always hungry—of the last of those eight days' rations. When they - fall into line, the General makes them a speech. It is brief, but - registers the point of better provender in Pensacola than that which now - bubbles in their coffee pots and burns on their spits. Whereat the - hunting-shirt men cheer joyously. - </p> - <p> - “The English, too, are there,” concludes the General. Then, in a burst of - flattering eloquence: “And I know that you would sooner fight Englishmen - than eat.” - </p> - <p> - At the name of Englishmen, the hunting-shirt men give such a cheer that it - quite throws that former cheer into the vocal shade. Everyone is in - immediate favor of rushing on Pensacola. - </p> - <p> - The General becomes cunning, and sends Colonel Coffee with a detachment of - cavalry to threaten Fort St. Michael from the east. The Spaniards are - singularly guileless in matters military. That feigned attack succeeds - beyond expression, and the befogged Governor Maurequez hurries his entire - garrison to those menaced eastern walls. - </p> - <p> - While the excited Spaniards are making a chattering, magpie fringe along - the eastern ramparts, the General moves the bulk of his hunting-shirt - forces, under cover of the woods, to the fort's western face. Once they - are placed, he gives the order: - </p> - <p> - “Charge!” - </p> - <p> - The word sends the hunting-shirt men at that mud-built citadel with a - whoop. - </p> - <p> - The Spaniards are unstrung by surprise, and fall to pattering prayers and - telling beads. In the very midst of their orisons, the hunting-shirt men, - as in the fight at the Horseshoe, pour like a cataract over the parapet - and sweep the praying, helpless Spaniards into a corner. - </p> - <p> - The work, however, is not altogether done. When Governor Maurequez gives - the order to man the eastern walls against the deploying Coffee, he does - not remain to see it executed. - </p> - <p> - Having sublime faith in the heroism of his followers, for him to - personally remain, he argues, would be superfluous. Nay, it might even be - construed into a criticism of his devoted soldiery, as implying a fear - that they will not fight if relieved of his fiery presence, not to say the - fiery pressure of his commanding eye. Having thus defined his position, - the valorous Governor Maurequez, acting in that spirit of compliment - toward his people which has ever characterized his speech, gathers up his - gubernatorial skirts and scuttles for his palace like a scared hen - pheasant. - </p> - <p> - Having swept the walls of St. Michael clean of magpie Spaniards, and run - up the stars and stripes on the vacant English staff, the General and his - hunting-shirt men make ready to follow Governor Maurequez to the palace. - He is to be their host; it is their polite duty to find him with all - dispatch and offer their compliments. - </p> - <p> - Full of this urbane purpose, they wheel their bristling ranks on the town. - Approaching double-quick, they casually lick up, as with a tongue of - flame, a brace of abortive blockhouses which obstruct their path. At this, - an interior fort opens fire with grapeshot and shrapnel, and the - hunting-shirt men spring upon it with the ruthless ferocity of panthers. - To quench it is no more than the fighting work of a moment. The General, - with his flag already on the ramparts of Fort St. Michael, now feels his - clutch at the very throat of Pensacola. - </p> - <p> - Governor Maurequez, equipped in his turn of a milk-white flag, bursts from - the palace portals. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, Senores Americanos,” he cries, “spare, for the love of the Virgin, my - beautiful Pensacola! As you hope for heaven's mercy, spare my beautiful - city!” - </p> - <p> - The wild hunting-shirt men are in a jocular mood. The terrified rushing - about of Governor Maurequez excites their laughter. - </p> - <p> - “Where is your humane General Jackson?” wails Governor Maurequez, in - appeal to the hunting-shirt men. “Where is he—I beseech you? I hear - he is the soul of merciful forbearance!” - </p> - <p> - At this the hunting-shirt laughter breaks out with double volume, as - though Governor Maurequez has evolved a jest. - </p> - <p> - The alarmed Governor, catching sight of a couple of dead Spaniards, fresh - killed in the struggle with the foolish interior fort, expresses his grief - in staccato shrieks, which serve as weird marks of punctuation to the - laughter of the rude hunting-shirt men. The laughter ceases when the - General himself rides up. - </p> - <p> - “Thar's the Gin'ral,” says a hunting-shirt man, biting his merriment short - off. “Thar's the man of mercy you're asking for.” - </p> - <p> - Governor Maurequez starts back at sight of the gaunt face, emaciated by - sickness born of those Benton bullets, and yellowed to primrose hue with - the malaria of the Alabama swamps. The lean figure on the big war stallion - might remind him of Don Quixote—for he has read and remembers his - Cervantes—save for the frown like the look of a fighting falcon, and - the fire-sparkle in the dangerous blue eyes. As it is, he feels that his - visitor is a perilous man, and begins to bow and cringe. - </p> - <p> - “I beg the victorious Senor General,” says he, pressing meanwhile a right - hand to his heart, and presenting the white square of truce with the other—“I - beg the victorious Senor General to spare my beautiful Pensacola!” - </p> - <p> - “You are Governor Maurequez!” returns the General, hard as flint. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, Senor General; I am Governor Maurequez, as you say. Also”—here - his voice begins to shake—“I must remind your excellency that this - is a province of Spain, and ask by what right you invade it.” - </p> - <p> - “Right!” returns the General, anger rising. “Did you not fire on my - messenger? Sir, if you were Satan and this your kingdom, it would be the - same! I would storm the walls of hell itself to get at an Englishman.” - </p> - <p> - There comes the whiplike crack of a rifle almost at the General's elbow. - Far up the narrow street, full four hundred yards and more, a flying - Spanish soldier throws up his hands with a death yell, and pitches forward - on his face. At this, the hunting-shirt man who fired tosses his coonskin - cap in the air and shouts: - </p> - <p> - “Thar, Bill Potter, the jug of whisky's mine! Thar's your Spaniard too - dead to skin! If the distance ain't four hundred yard, you kin have the - gun!” - </p> - <p> - “What's this?” cries the General fiercely. “Nothin', Gin'ral!” replies the - hunting-shirt man, abashed at the forbidding manner of the General, - “nothin', only Bill Potter, from the 'Possum Trot, bets me a jug of whisky - that old Soapstick here”—holding up his rifle as identifying “old - Soapstick”—“won't kill at four hundred yard.” - </p> - <p> - “Betting, eh!” retorts the General, assuming the coldly implacable. “Now - it's in my mind, Mr. Soapstick, that unless you mend your morals, some one - about your size will pass an hour strung up by the thumbs so high his - moccasins won't touch the grass! How often must I tell you that I'm bound - to break up gambling among my troops?” - </p> - <p> - The rebuked soapstick one slinks away, and the General turns to Colonel - Coffee. - </p> - <p> - “Give the word, Coffee, to cease firing.” - </p> - <p> - The General's glance comes around to Governor Maurequez, still bowing and - presenting his white flag. - </p> - <p> - “Where are those English?” he demands. - </p> - <p> - The frightened Governor Maurequez makes the sign of the cross. He is - sorry, but the pig English withdrew to Fort Barrancas at the first signs - of the coming of the victorious Senor General, taking with them their - hateful red flag. Also, it was they who fired on the messenger. If the - victorious Senor General will but move quickly, he may catch the pig - English before they escape. - </p> - <p> - The General, half his hunting-shirt men at his back, starts for Fort - Barrancas. They are two miles on their way when the earth is shaken by a - thunderous explosion. Over the tops of the forest pines a gush of black - smoke shoots upward toward the sky. - </p> - <p> - “They have blown up the fort!” says the explanatory Coffee. - </p> - <p> - The General says nothing, but urges speed. At last they come in sight of - what has been Fort Barrancas. It is as the astute Coffee surmised. The - one-eyed Colonel Nichols and his English have fled, leaving a slow-match - and the magazine to destroy what they dared not defend. Far away in the - offing Captain Percy's English fleet—upon which the one-eyed Colonel - Nichols and his fugitive followers have taken refuge—wind aft and an - ebb tide to help, is speeding seaward like gulls. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XII—THE GENERAL GOES TO NEW ORLEANS - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">G</span>overnor maurequez - evolves into the very climax of the affable, not to say obsequious. He - assures the General that he is relieved by the flight of the pig English, - whom he despises as hare-hearts. Also, he is breathless to do anything - that shall prove his affectionate admiration for his friend, the valorous - Senor General. - </p> - <p> - The General accepts the affectionate admiration of Governor Maurequez, and - leaves in his care Major Laval, who has been too severely wounded to move; - and Governor Maurequez subsequently smothers that convalescent with - nursing solicitude and kindness. Those other twenty wounded hunting-shirt - men the General takes back with him to Mobile. - </p> - <p> - The General now gives himself up to a profound study of maps. His invasion - of Florida has paled the cheek of the Spanish Minister at Washington and - given European diplomacy a chill; he knows nothing of that, however, and - would care even less if he did. After poring over his maps for divers - days, he comes to sundry sagacious conclusions, and sends for the - indispensable Coffee to confer. That commander makes an admirable - counselor for the General, since he seldom speaks, and then only to - indorse emphatically the General's views. For these splendid qualities, - and because he is as brave as Richard the Lion Heart, the General makes a - point of consulting the excellent Coffee concerning every move. - </p> - <p> - “Coffee,” says the General, as that warrior casts himself upon a bench, - which creaks dolorously beneath his giant weight, “Coffee, they'll attack - New Orleans next.” - </p> - <p> - The listening Coffee grunts, and the General, correctly construing the - Coffee grunt to mean agreement, proceeds: - </p> - <p> - “England has now no foe in Europe. That allows her to turn upon us with - her whole power. Even as we talk, I've no doubt but an immense fleet is - making ready to pounce upon our coasts. Now, Coffee, the question is, - Where will it pounce?” - </p> - <p> - The General pauses as though for answer. The admirable Coffee emits - another grunt, and the General understands this second grunt to be a grunt - of inquiry. Stabbing the map before him, therefore, with his long, slim - finger, he says: - </p> - <p> - “Here, Coffee, here at New Orleans. It's the least defended, and, fairly - speaking, the most important port we have, for it locks or unlocks the - Mississippi. Besides, it's midwinter, and such points as New York and - Philadelphia are seeing rough, cold weather. Yes, I'm right; you may take - it from me, Coffee, the English are aiming a blow at New Orleans.” The - convinced Coffee testifies by a third grunt that his own belief is one and - the same with the General's, and the council of war breaks up. As the big - rifleman swings away for his quarters the General observes: - </p> - <p> - “Coffee, you will never realize how much I am aided by your opinions. Two - heads are better than one, particularly when one of them is capable of - such a clean, unfaltering grasp of a situation as is yours.” - </p> - <p> - The General burns to be at New Orleans, and leaving Colonel Coffee to - bring on his three thousand hunting-shirt men as fast as he may, gallops - forward with four of his staff. It is a rough, evil road that threads - those one hundred and seventy-five miles which lie between the General and - the Mississippi, but he puts it behind him with amazing rapidity. At last - the wide, sullen river rolls at his horse's feet. - </p> - <p> - As the General traverses the rude forest roads, difficult with November's - mud and slush, a few days' sail away on the Jamaica coast may be seen - proof of the pure truth of his deductions. The English admiral is - reviewing his fleet of fifty ships, preparatory to a descent upon New - Orleans. - </p> - <p> - It is a formidable flotilla, with ten thousand sailors and nine thousand - five hundred soldiers and marines, and mounts one thousand cannon. The - flagship is the <i>Tonnant</i>, eighty guns, and there sail in her company - such invincibles as the <i>Royal Oak</i>, the <i>Norge</i>, the <i>Asia</i>, - the <i>Bedford</i>, and the <i>Ramillies</i>, each carrying seventy-four - guns. With these are the <i>Dictator</i>, the <i>Gorgon</i>, the <i>Annide</i>, - the <i>Sea Horse</i>, and the <i>Belle Poule</i>, and the weakest among - them better than a two-decked forty-four. - </p> - <p> - In command of this armada are such doughty spirits as Sir Alexander - Cockrane, admiral of the red, Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, Rear Admiral - Malcolm, and Captain Sir Thomas Hardy—“Nelson's Hardy,” who - commanded the one-armed fighter's flagship <i>Victory</i> at Trafalgar. - These, with their followers, have grown gray and tired in unbroken - triumph. Now, when they are making ready to spring on New Orleans, their - war word is “Beauty and Booty!” - </p> - <p> - Review over, Admiral Cockrane in the van with the <i>Tonnant</i>, the - fleet sails out of Negril Bay for Louisiana. As the General's horse cools - his weary muzzle in the Mississippi, the English fleet has been two days - on its course. - </p> - <p> - It is a dull, lowering December morning when the General, on his great war - stallion, following the Bayou road, rides into New Orleans. He finds the - city in a tumult, and nothing afoot for its defense. He is received by - Governor Claiborne, a stately Virginian, and Mayor Girod, plump and little - and gray and French, with a delegation of citizens. Among the latter is - one whom the General recognizes. He is Edward Livingston, aforetime of New - York, and the General's dearest friend in those old Philadelphia - Congressional days. The General gives the Livingston hand a squeeze and - says: “It's like medicine in wine, Ned, to see you at such a time as - this.” - </p> - <p> - Governor Claiborne makes a speech in English, Mayor Girod makes a speech - in French-leading citizens make speeches in English, Spanish, and French. - The speeches are fiery, but inconclusive. All are excited, confused, ani - without a plan. The General replies in little more than a word: - </p> - <p> - “I have come to defend your city,” says he: “and I shall defend it or find - a grave among you.” - </p> - <p> - Following this ultimatum, the General goes to dinner with Mr. Livingston. - </p> - <p> - Governor Claiborne, Mayor Girod, and the leading citizens remain behind to - talk the General over in their several tongues. They are disappointed, it - seems. - </p> - <p> - There be those who wish he hadn't come. Among them is the Speaker of the - Territorial House of Representatives—A French creole of - anti-American sentiments. - </p> - <p> - “His presence will prove a calamity!” cries this legislative person. “He - seems to me to be a desperado, who will make war like a savage and bring - destruction and fire on our city and the neighboring plantations.” - </p> - <p> - There is no retort to this, for the local spirit of treason is widespread. - </p> - <p> - While the citizens of New Orleans are discussing the General, he with his - friend Livingston is discussing them. - </p> - <p> - “What is the state of affairs here, Ned?” asks the General. - </p> - <p> - “It could not be worse,” is the reply. “All is confusion, contradiction, - and cross-purposes. The whole city seems to be walking in a circle.” - “We'll see, Ned,” returns the General grimly, “if we can't make it walk in - a straight line.” Commodore Patterson comes to call on the General. He is - one who says little and looks a deal—precisely a gentleman after the - General's own heart, for while he himself likes to talk, he prefers - silence in others. - </p> - <p> - Commodore Patterson sets forth the naval defenses of the town. An enemy - entering from the sea must come by way of Lake Borgne, and there are six - baby gunboats on Lake Borgne. The flotilla is commanded by Lieutenant - Jones, who is Welsh and therefore obstinate; he will fight to the final - gasp. The General beams approval of Lieutenant Jones, who he thinks has a - right notion of war. - </p> - <p> - “But of course,” says Commander Patterson, “he will be overcome in the - end.” - </p> - <p> - The General nods to this. He does not expect Lieutenant Jones to defend - the city alone. Commodore Patterson continues: “There are the schooner <i>Carolina</i> - and the ship <i>Louisiana</i> in the river, but they are out of commission - and have no crews.” - </p> - <p> - “Enlist crews at once!” urges the General. - </p> - <p> - The General appoints Mr. Livingston to his staff, and the pair make a tour - of the suburbs and the flat, marshy regions round about. The General is - alert, inquisitive; he is studying the strategic advantages and - disadvantages of the place. When he returns he orders a muster of the - city's military strength for the next day. The review occurs, and the - General declares himself pleased with the display. - </p> - <p> - Commodore Patterson comes to say that, while the streets are full of - sailors, not one will enlist. The General asks the Legislature to suspend - the habeas corpus. That done, he will organize press gangs and enlist - those reluctant “volunteers” by force. The Legislature refuses, and the - General's eyes begin to sparkle. - </p> - <p> - “To-morrow, Ned,” says he, “I shall clap your city under martial law.” - </p> - <p> - “But, my dear General,” urges Mr. Livingston, who, being a lawyer, reveres - the law, “you haven't the authority.” - </p> - <p> - “But, my dear Ned,” replies the determined General, “I have the power. - Which is more to the point.” - </p> - <p> - The General declares civil rule suspended, and puts the city under martial - law. It is as though he lays his strong, bony hand on the shoulder of - every man, and, the first shock over, every man feels safer for it. The - press gangs are formed, and scores of seafaring “volunteers” are carried - aboard the <i>Carolina</i> and <i>Louisiana</i> in irons. Once aboard and - irons off, the “volunteers” become miracles of zeal and patriotic fire, - furbishing up the dormant broadside guns, filling the shot racks, and - making ready the magazines, hearts light as larks, as though to fight - invading English is the one pleasant purpose of their lives; for such is - the seafaring nature. - </p> - <p> - The General's “press” does not confine itself to sailors. Negroes, mules, - carts, shovels, and picks are brought under his rigid thumb. Every gun, - every sword, every pistol is collected and stored for use when needed. - Meanwhile, the indefatigable Coffee arrives, marching seventy miles the - last day and fifty the day before to join his beloved chief. Also Captain - Hinds of the dragoons is no less headlong, and brings his command two - hundred and thirty miles in four days, such is his heat to fight beneath - the blue, commanding eye of the General. - </p> - <p> - Nor is this all. A day goes by, and Colonel Carroll steps ashore from a - fleet of flatboats, at the head of a hunting-shirt force from the - Cumberland country. The backwoods cheer which goes up when the new - hunting-shirt men see the General, brings the water to his eyes with - thoughts of home. Lastly, Colonel Adair appears with his force of - Kentuckians. These latter are a disappointment, being practically unarmed, - owning but one gun among ten. - </p> - <p> - “Ain't you got no guns for us, Gin'ral?” asks one of the Kentucky captains - anxiously. - </p> - <p> - “I am sorry to say I have not,” returns the General. - </p> - <p> - “Well,” responds the Kentuckian, while a look of satisfaction begins to - struggle into his face, as though he has hit upon a solution of the - tangle, “well, I'll tell you what we'll do, then. Which the boys'll just - nacherally go out on the firin' line with the rest, an' then as fast as - one of them Tennesseans gets knocked over, we'll up an' inherit his gun.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XIII—THE WATCH FIRES OF THE ENGLISH - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HESE are busy - times for the General. He lives on rice and coffee, and goes days and - nights without sleep. He sends the tireless Coffee, with his hunting-shirt - men, to take position below the city, between the morass and the river. - Finally he orders all his forces below—Colonel Carroll with his new - hunting-shirt men, Colonel Adair with his unarmed Kentuckians, the - hard-riding Captain Hinds with his dragoons, as well as the muster of - local military companies, among the rest Major Plauche's battalion of - “Fathers of Families.” There are a great many filial as well as paternal - tears shed when the “Fathers of Families” march away to the field of - certain honor and possible death; even Papa Plauche himself does not - refrain from a sob or two. The “Fathers of Families” take with them their - band, which musical organization plays the <i>Chant du Depart</i>, - whereat, catching the <i>tempo</i>, they strut heroically. The rough - hunting-shirt men are much interested in the “Fathers of Families,” and - think them as good as a play. - </p> - <p> - The General busies himself about his headquarters, and waits for news of - the English, of whose coming he has word. One afternoon appears a lean - little dark man, with black, beady eyes, like a rat. He introduces - himself; he is Jean Lafitte, the “Pirate of Barrataria.” Only he explains - that he is really no pirate at all, not even a sailor; at the worst he is - simply the innocent shore agent or business manager of pirates. Also, he - declares that he is very patriotic and very rich, and might add “very - criminal” without startling the truth. - </p> - <p> - Why has he come to see Monsieur General? Only to show him a letter from - the English Admiralty, brought by the General's old friend, Captain Percy, - late of H. R. H. Ship <i>Hermes</i>, offering him, Jean Lafitte, a - captain's commission in the royal navy, thirty thousand dollars in English - gold, and the privilege of looting. New Orleans, if he will but aid in the - city's capture. Now he, Jean Lafitte, scorning these base attempts upon - his honor, desires to offer his own and the services of his buccaneers to - the General in repulsing those villain English, whom he looks upon with - loathing as Greeks bearing gifts. - </p> - <p> - “Only,” concludes Jean Lafitte, his black rat eyes taking on a sly - expression, “my two best captains, Dominique and Bluche, together with - most of their crews, are locked up in the New Orleans calaboose.” - </p> - <p> - The General considers a moment, looking the while deep into the rat eyes - of Jean Lafitte. The scrutiny is satisfactory; there is nothing there save - an anxiety to get his men out of jail. This the General is pleased to - regard as creditable to Jean Lafitte. He comes back to the question in - hand. - </p> - <p> - “Dominique and Bluche,” he repeats. “Can they fight?” - </p> - <p> - “They can do anything with a cannon, Monsieur General, which your - sharpshooters do with their squirrel rifles.” - </p> - <p> - The General has the caged Dominique and Bluche brought before him. They - are hardy, daring, brown men of the sea, with bushy hair, curling beards, - gold rings in their ears, crimson handkerchiefs about their heads, gay - shirts, sashes of silk, short voluminous trousers, like Breton fisherman, - and loose sea boots—altogether of the brine briny are Dominique and - Bluche. One glance convinces the General. The order is issued, and the two - pirates with their followers take their places as artillerists where the - wary Coffee may keep an eye on them. - </p> - <p> - The English fleet arrives and anchors off the Louisiana coast. Loaded - scuppers-deep with soldiers and sailors and marines, the lighter craft - enter Lake Borgne. They sight the six cockleshells of Lieutenant Jones, - and make for them. - </p> - <p> - Lieutenant Jones, with his cockleshells, slowly and carefully retreats. He - retreats so carefully that one after another the English boats, to the - round number of a score, run aground on divers mud banks, where they - stick, looking exceeding foolish. When the last pursuing boat is fast on - the mud banks, Lieutenant Jones anchors his six cockleshells where the - English may only get at him in small boats, and awaits results. - </p> - <p> - The English are in no wise backward. Down splash the small boats, in - tumble the men, and presently they are pulling down upon the waiting - Lieutenant Jones—twelve men for every one of his. The small boats - have swivels mounted in their bows, and by way of preliminary, stand off - from the six cockleshells, waging battle with their little bow guns. This - is a mistake. Lieutenant Jones returns the fire from his cockleshells, - sinks four of the small boats, and spills out the crews among the - alligators. Unhappily, it is winter, and the alligators are sound asleep - in the mud below, by which effect of the season the spilled ones are - pulled aboard their sister boats with legs and arms intact. - </p> - <p> - Being reorganized, and having enough of swivel war, the English fleet of - small boats rush the six cockleshells, and after a fierce struggle, take - them by weight of numbers. The English Captain Lockyer, following the - fight, wipes the blood from his face, which has been scratched by a - cutlass, and reports to Admiral Cockrane his success, and adds: - </p> - <p> - “The American loss is, killed and wounded, sixty; English, ninety-four.” - </p> - <p> - Being masters of Lake Borgne, the English go about the landing of troops - on Pine Island. The sixteen hundred first ashore are formed into an - advance battalion and ordered forward. They go splashing through the - swamps toward the river like so many muskrats, and in the wet, cold, - dripping end crawl out on a narrow belt of sugar-cane stubble which - bristles between the levee and the swamp from which they have emerged. - Finding dry land under their feet, they cheer up a bit, and build fires to - make comfortable their bivouac while waiting the coming of their comrades, - still wallowing in the swamp. - </p> - <p> - Night descends, but finds those sixteen hundred of the English advance - reasonably gay; for, while the present is distressing, their fellows by - brigades will be with them in the morning, and they may then march on to - sumptuous New Orleans, where—as goes their war word—theirs - shall be the “Beauty and Booty” for which they have come so far. And so - the chilled, starved sixteen hundred of that English advance hold out - their benumbed hands to the fires, and console themselves with what the - poet describes as “The Pleasures of Anticipation.” And in this instance, - of course, the anticipations are sure of fulfillment, for what shall - withstand them? The raw, cowardly militia of the country? Absurd! - </p> - <p> - As confirmatory of this, a subaltern hands about a copy of the <i>London - Sun</i> which has a description of Americans. The others peruse it by the - light of their camp fires. It makes timely reading, since it is ever worth - while to gather—so that they be reliable—what scraps one may - descriptive of an enemy. The English, crouched about their fires, are much - benefited by the following: - </p> - <p> - “<i>The American armies of Copper Captains and Falstaff recruits defy the - pen of satire to paint them worse than they are—worthless, lying, - treacherous, false, slanderous, cowardly, and vaporing heroes, with - boasting on their loud tongues and terror in their quaking hearts. Were it - not that the course of punishment they are to receive is necessary to the - ends of moral and political justice, we declare before our country that we - should feel ashamed of victory over such ignoble foes. The quarrel - resembles one between a gentleman and a sweep—the former may beat - the low scoundrel to his heart's content, but there is no honor in the - exploit, and he is sure to be covered with the soil and dirt of his - ignominious antagonist. But necessity will sometimes compel us to descend - from our station to chastise a vagabond, and endure the degradation of - such a contest in order to repress, by wholesome correction, the - presumptuous insolence and mischievous designs of the basest assailant.”</i> - </p> - <p> - The young English officers find this refreshing as literature. It might - have been less uplifting could they have foreseen how ninety years later - England will fawn upon and flatter and wheedle America to the point which - sickens, while her bankrupt nobility make that despised region a hunting - ground where, equipped of a title and a coat of arms, they track heiresses - to lairs of gold and marry them. - </p> - <p> - Now that the satisfied English are asleep about their fires, it behooves - one to hear how the General is faring. The day with him is one fraught - with work. Word reaches him of the captured cockleshells on Lake Borgne. - Also it reaches that valuable Legislature—honeycombed of treason. - </p> - <p> - The Legislature sends a committee to ask the General what will be his - course if he's beaten back. The General is hardly courteous: - </p> - <p> - “Tell your honorable body,” says he, “that if disaster overtake me and the - fate of war drives me from my lines to the city, they may expect to have a - very warm session.” - </p> - <p> - Mr. Livingston catches the adjective. The committee having departed, he - propounds a query. - </p> - <p> - “A warm session, General!” says he. “What do you mean by that?” - </p> - <p> - “Ned,” replies the General, “if I am beaten here, I shall fall back on the - city, fire it, and fight it out in the flames! Nothing for the maintenance - of the enemy shall be left. New Orleans destroyed, I shall occupy a - position on the river above, cut off supplies, and, since I can't drive, I - shall starve the English out of the country. There is this difference, - Ned, between me and those fellows from the Legislature. They think only of - the city and its safety. For my side, I'm not here to defend the city, but - the nation at large.” - </p> - <p> - On the heels of this, the Legislature whispers of surrendering Louisiana - to the English by resolution. It is scarcely feasible as a plan, but it - angers the General. He stations a guard at the door of the chamber and - turns the members away. - </p> - <p> - “We can dispense with your sessions,” says he. “We have laws enough; our - great need now is men and muskets at the front.” - </p> - <p> - The patricians of the Legislature are scandalized as being shut out of - their chamber. - </p> - <p> - “Did I not tell you,” cries the prophetic House Speaker, “did I not tell - you this fellow was a desperado, and would wage war like a savage?” - </p> - <p> - The members retire from the guarded doors, cursing the General under their - breath. Their doorkeeper, a low, common person, is so struck by what the - General has said anent men and muskets, that he gets a gun and joins that - “desperado.” And wherefore no? Patriotism has been the mark of vulgar - souls in every age. - </p> - <p> - Colonel Coffee's hunting-shirt scouts come in and report the watch fires - of those sixteen hundred of the English advance winking and blinking among - the sugar stubble. - </p> - <p> - “Ah!” says the General, “I've a mind to disturb their dreams.” - </p> - <p> - The General dispatches word to Commodore Patterson to have the <i>Carolina</i> - in readiness to act with his forces. Then he sends for the indispensable - Coffee. - </p> - <p> - “Coffee, we shall attack them to-night.” - </p> - <p> - The wise Coffee gives the grunt acquiescent. - </p> - <p> - “Thank you, Coffee!” says the General. - </p> - <p> - The council over, Colonel Coffee goes to turn out the troops. This is to - be done softly, as a surprise is aimed at. - </p> - <p> - Now on the dread threshold of battle, Papa Plauche of the “Fathers of - Families” is overcome. As the intrepid “Fathers” fall into line, tears - fill Papa Plauche's eyes, and he appeals to neighbor St. Geme. - </p> - <p> - “I am a Frenchman!” cries Papa Plauche, tossing his arms; “I am a - Frenchman, and do not fear to die! But, alas! mon St. Geme, I fear I have - not the courage to lead the 'Fathers of Families' to slaughter.” - </p> - <p> - “Hush, Papa Plauche!” returns the good St. Geme, made wretched by the - grief of his friend. “Hush! Command yourself! Do not let the wild General - hear you; he will not, with his coarse nature, understand such - sentiments.” - </p> - <p> - Captain Roche, of the “Fathers of Families,” steps in front of his - company. Striking his breast melodramatically, he sings out: - </p> - <p> - “Sergeant Roche, advance!” - </p> - <p> - Sergeant Roche advances. - </p> - <p> - “Embrace me, brother!” cries Captain Roche in broken utterances, “embrace - me! It is perhaps for the last time.” - </p> - <p> - The brothers Roche embrace, and the “Fathers of Families” are melted by - the tableau. - </p> - <p> - “Sergeant Roche, return to your place!” commands the devoted Captain - Roche, and the sergeant, weeping, lapses into the ranks. - </p> - <p> - The hunting-shirt men, witnesses of these touching scenes, are rude enough - to laugh, and by way of parody embrace one another effusively. As they - depart through the dark for their station, they break into whispered - debate as to whether the theatrical grief of Papa Plauche, the brothers - Roche, and the “Fathers of Families” is due to their creole blood, or - their city breeding, either, according to the theories of the - hunting-shirt men, being calculated to promote the effeminate in a man. - While they thus wrangle, there comes an angry hissing whisper from Colonel - Coffee, like the hiss of a serpent: - </p> - <p> - “Silence!” - </p> - <p> - Every hunting-shirt man is stricken dumb. They move forward like shadows, - right flank skirting the cypress swamp. To the far left they hear the - moccasined, half-muffled tramp of Colonel Carroll's men—their - hunting-shirt brothers from the Cumberland. As they turn a bend in the - swamp, they see not a furlong away the flickering and shadow dancing of - the watch fires of the tired English. At this every hunting-shirt man - makes certain the flint is secure in the hammer of his rifle, and loosens - the knife and tomahawk in his rawhide belt. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XIV—THE BATTLE IN THE DARK - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>S the - hunting-shirt men come within sight of the blinking lights, which - polka-dot the sugar stubble in front and mark the bivouac of the English, - Colonel Coffee sends the whispered word along the line to halt. At this, - the hunting-shirt men crouch in the lee of the cypress swamp, and wait. - Colonel Coffee is lying by for the signal which shall tell him to begin. - </p> - <p> - Before the movement commences, the General calls Colonel Coffee to one of - their celebrated conferences. - </p> - <p> - “It is my purpose, Coffee,” explains the General, “merely to shake them up - a bit. An attack will cure them of overconfidence, and break the teeth of - their conceit. This should hold them in check, and give us time for - certain earthworks I meditate. The signal will be a gun from the <i>Carolina</i>. - When you hear the gun, Coffee, attack everything wearing a red coat. But - be careful!” Here the General lifts a long, admonitory finger. “Do not - follow too far! Reinforcements are crawling out of the swamp to the rear - of the English every hour, and the only certainty is that, even as we - talk, they outnumber us two for one.” - </p> - <p> - The faithful Coffee departs. As he reaches the door, the General calls - after him: - </p> - <p> - “Don't forget, Coffee! The gun from the <i>Carolina!</i>” - </p> - <p> - The hunting-shirt men lie waiting by the cypress swamp. On their near left - is Papa Plauche and his “Fathers of Families.” Beyond these is a half - company of regulars, which the General has brought up from the near-by - post. On the Bayou Road, between the regulars and the river, is the - General himself, with a brace of small field pieces. - </p> - <p> - It is a moonless night, and what light the stars might furnish is withheld - by a blanket-screen of thick clouds. No night could be darker; for, lest - an occasional star find a cloud-rift and peer through, a fog drifts up - from the river. This is good for the English, since it hides their watch - fires, which one by one are lost in the mists. The darkness deepens until - even the hawk-eyed hunting-shirt men, trained by much night fighting to a - nocturnal keenness of vision, are unable to make out their nearest - comrades. - </p> - <p> - The pitch blackness, and the fog chill creeping over him, tell on Papa - Plauche. He whispers sorrowfully to his friend St. Geme. - </p> - <p> - “Neighbor St. Geme,” he says, “these differences should be adjusted by - argument, and not by deadly guns. I see that he who would either shoot or - be shot by his fellow-man; is in an erroneous position.” - </p> - <p> - Before the kindly St. Geme may frame response, a liquid tongue of flame - illuminates the broad dark bosom of the river. It is followed sharply by a - crashing “Boom!” This is the word from the <i>Carolina.</i> - </p> - <p> - The signal carries dismay into the hearts of the English, since Commodore - Patterson, whose genius is thoroughgoing, is at pains to load the gun with - two pecks of slugs, and eighty-four killed and wounded are the red English - harvest of that one discharge. The frightened drums beat the alarm, and - the ranks of English form. As they grasp their arms the nine broadside - guns of the Carolina begin to rake them. With this the English fall slowly - back from the river. - </p> - <p> - The rearward movement, while managed slowly because of the darkness, - brings discouraging results. The English retreat into the hunting-shirt - men, who are skirmishing up from the cypress swamp. The English are first - told of this new danger by the spitting flashes which remind them of - needles of fire, and the crack of the long squirrel rifles like the - snapping of a whip. Here and there, too, a groan is heard, as the - sightless lead finds some English breast. This augments the blind horror - of the hour. - </p> - <p> - The trapped English reply in a desultory fashion, and make a bad matter - worse. The hunting-shirt men locate them by the flash of their guns, at - which they shoot with incredible quickness and accuracy. With men falling - like November's leaves, the English give ground to the south, which saves - them somewhat from both the <i>Carolina</i> and the hunting-shirt men. - </p> - <p> - Guessing the English direction, the hunting-shirt men follow, loading and - firing as they advance. Now and then a hunting-shirt man overtakes an - individual foe, and settles the national differences which divide them - with tomahawk and knife. It is cruel work—this unseeing bloodshed in - the dark, and disturbingly new to the English, who express their dislike - for it. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0006" id="linkimage-0006"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0193.jpg" alt="0193 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0193.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - While the hunting-shirt men drive the English along the fringe of the - cypress swamp, the General, a half mile nearer the river, is working his - two field pieces. Affairs proceed to his warlike satisfaction—and - this is saying a deal for one so insatiate in matters of blood—until - a flying ounce of lucky English lead wounds a horse on the number two gun. - This brings present relief to those English in the General's front; for - the hurt animal upsets the gun into the ditch. It takes fifteen minutes to - put it on its proper wheels again. The accident disgruntles the General; - but he bears it with what philosophy he may, and in good truth is pleased - to find that the gun carriage has not been smashed in the upset. - </p> - <p> - “Save the gun!” is his word to the artillery men; and when it is saved he - praises them. - </p> - <p> - At the booming signal from the <i>Carolina</i>, the intrepid Papa Plauche - cries out: - </p> - <p> - “Forwards, brave Fathers of Families! Forwards, heroes!” - </p> - <p> - The “Fathers” respond, and go on with the hunting-shirt men. But their - pace is sedate; and this last results in an impoliteness which disturbs - the excellent Papa Plauche to the core. - </p> - <p> - The hunting-shirt men are, for the major portion, riotous young blades - from the backwoods. Moreover, they are used to this prowling warfare of - the night. Is it wonder then that they advance more rapidly than does Papa - Plauche with his “Fathers,” whose step is measured and dignified as - becomes the heads of households? - </p> - <p> - Thus it befalls that, do their dignified best, Papa Plauche and his - “Fathers” are left behind by the hunting-shirt men, who, deploying more - and still more to the left, extend themselves in front of Papa Plauche. - This does not suit the latter's hardy tastes, and he frets ferociously. He - grows condemnatory, as the spitting rifle flashes show him that the - vainglorious hunting-shirt men are between him and those English whom he - hungers to destroy. Indeed, he fumes like tiger cheated of its prey. - </p> - <p> - “But we shall extricate ourselves, neighbor St. Geme!” cries Papa Plauche. - “We shall yet extricate ourselves! Behold!” - </p> - <p> - The “Behold!” is the foreword of certain masterly maneuvers by Papa - Plauche among the sugar stubble. The maneuvers free the farseeing Papa - Plauche and his “Fathers” from those obstructive, unmannerly hunting-shirt - men, who have cut off their advance even in its indomitable bud. The - “Fathers” being better used to shop floors than plowed fields, however, - make difficult work of it. At last courage has its reward, and the - “Fathers” uncover their dauntless front. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, my brave St. Geme!” cries Papa Plauche, when his strategy has put the - hunting-shirt men on his right, where they belong, “nothing can save the - caitiff English now! Those ruffians in hunting tunics who protected them - no longer impede our front. Forwards!” - </p> - <p> - The final word has hardly issued from between the clenched teeth of Papa - Plauche when a rustling in the stubble apprises him of the foe. - </p> - <p> - “Fire, Fathers of Families, fire!” shouts Papa Plauche, and such is the - fury which consumes him that the shout is no shout, but a screech. - </p> - <p> - It is enough! One by one each “Father” discharges his flintlock. The - procession of reports is rather ragged, and now and again a considerable - wait occurs between shots, like a great gap in a picket fence. Still, the - last “Father” finally finds the trigger, and the command of Papa Plauche - is obeyed. - </p> - <p> - The “Fathers” hurt no one by this savage volley, for their aim like their - hearts is high. It is quite as well they do not. The stubble-disturbing - force in front chances to be none other than that half company of - regulars, to whose rear it seems the inadvertent Papa Plauche, in freeing - them from the hunting-shirt men, has led his “Fathers.” The regulars are - in a towering rage with Papa Plauche; but since no one has been injured, - and Papa Plauche is profuse in his apologies, their anger presently - subsides. The regulars again take up their bloody work upon the retreating - English, while the discouraged Papa Plauche and the “Fathers,” full of - confusion and chagrin at twice being balked, remain where they are. - </p> - <p> - “After all, neighbor St. Geme,” observes Papa Plauche, “the mistake was - theirs. Did they not usurp the place which belonged to the English, in - thus getting in front of us? It should teach them to beware how they put - themselves in the path of my 'Fathers,' whose wrath is terrible.” - </p> - <p> - For two black, sightless hours the huntingshirt men crowd the English to - the south. Then the General draws them off. They come, bringing as - captives one colonel, two majors, three captains, and sixty-four privates. - Also they have killed and wounded two hundred and thirteen of the English, - which comforts them marvelously. They themselves have suffered but - slightly, and the backloads of English guns they carry will gladden many - an unarmed Kentucky heart. - </p> - <p> - Now when he has them together, the beloved Coffee at their head, the - General leads the way to the thither side of the Roderiquez Canal, where - he plans a line of breastworks. Arriving, the weary hunting-shirt men - build fires, and make themselves easy for the balance of the night. - </p> - <p> - After a brief rest, the thoughtful General detaches a party with one of - the field guns, to interest the English until daylight. - </p> - <p> - “For I think, Coffee,” says he, “that if we keep them awake, they will be - apt to sleep tomorrow; and so leave us free to work on our defenses.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XV—COTTON BALES AND SUGAR CASKS - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>T is the day - before Christmas when the General lays out his line for fortifications. - The Roderiquez Canal is no canal at all, but a disused mill race, which an - active man can leap and any one may wade. The General will make a moat of - it, and raise his breastworks along its mile-length muddy course, between - the river and the cypress swamp. He keeps an army of mules and negroes, - with scrapers and carts, hard at work, heaping up the earth. A boat load - of cotton is lying at the levee. The cotton bales are rolled ashore, and - added to the heaped-up earth. This pleases Papa Plauche. - </p> - <p> - “It is singular,” he remarks to neighbor St. Geme, “that cotton, which has - been my business support for years, should now defend my life.” - </p> - <p> - There is a low place to the General's front. He cuts the levee; and soon - the Mississippi furnishes three feet of water, to serve as a wet drawback - to any English advance. The latter, however, are not thinking on an - advance. Supports have come dripping from the swamp, and swollen their - numbers to threefold the General's force; but none the less their hearts - are weak. That horrifying night attack, when their blood was shed in the - dark, has broken the heart of their vanity, and a paralyzing fear of those - dangerous hunting-shirt men lies all across the English like a cloud. More - and worse, the <i>Carolina</i> swings downstream, abreast of their - position, and her broadsides drive them to hide in ditches and the cypress - borders of the swamp. There is no peace, no safety, on the flat, stubble - ground, while light remains by which to point the <i>Carolina's</i> guns. - </p> - <p> - Nor does nightfall bring relief. Those empty-handed Kentuckians must be - provided for; and, no sooner does the sun go down, than the hunting-shirt - men by two and three go forth in search of English muskets. They shoot - down sentries, and carry away their dead belongings. Does an English group - assemble round a camp fire, it becomes an invitation seldom neglected. A - party of hunting-shirt men creep within range and begin the butchery. - There is never the moment, daylight and dark, when the unhappy English are - not within the icy reach of death. There is no repose, no safety! A chill - dread claims them like a palsy! - </p> - <p> - The English complain bitterly at this bushwhacking; which, to the - hunting-shirt men, reared in schools of Indian war, is the merest A B C of - battle. The harassed English denounce the General as a barbarian, in whose - savage bosom burns no spark of chivalry. They recall how in their late - campaigns in Spain, English and French pickets spent peace-filled weeks - within fifty yards of one another, exchanging nothing more deadly than - coffee and compliments. - </p> - <p> - The grim General refuses to be affected by the French-English example. He - continues to pile up his earthworks, while the hunting-shirt men go forth - to pot nightly English as usual. The situation wears away the courage of - the English to a white and paper thinness. - </p> - <p> - While the General is fortifying his lines, and the hunting-shirt men are - stalking English sentinels, peace is signed in Europe between America and - England. But Europe is far away; and there is no Atlantic cable. And so - the General continues at his congenial labors undisturbed. - </p> - <p> - Christmas does not go unrecognized in the General's camp. He himself - attempts nothing of festival sort, and only drives his fortifying mules - and negroes the harder. But the hunting-shirt men celebrate by cleaning - their rifles, molding bullets, refilling powder horns, and whetting knives - and tomahawks to a more lethal edge. - </p> - <p> - As for Papa Plauche and the “Fathers of Families,” they become jocund. - Their wives and daughters purvey them roast fowls in little wicker - baskets, and the warmest wines of Burgundy in bottles. Whereupon Papa - Plauche and his “Fathers” wax blithe and merry, singing the songs of - France and talking of old loves. - </p> - <p> - And now Sir Edward Pakenham arrives, and relieves General Keane in command - of the English. With him comes General Gibbs. The two listen to the - reports of General Keane, and shrug polite shoulders as he speaks of the - savage valor of the Americans. It is preposterous that peasants clad in - skins, and not a bayonet among them, should check the flower of England. - General Keane does not reply to the polite shrug. He reflects that the - General, with his hunting-shirt men, can be relied upon to later make - convincing answer. - </p> - <p> - Upon the morning which follows the advent of General Pakenham, the English - see a moment of good fortune. A red-hot shot sets fire to the <i>Carolina</i>, - as she swings downstream on her cable for that daily bombardment, and - burns her to the water line. This cheers the English mightily; and does - not discourage Commodore Patterson, who transfers his activities to the - decks of the <i>Louisiana.</i> - </p> - <p> - Sir Edward gives the General three uninterrupted days. This the latter - warrior improves so far as to rear his earthworks to a height of four - feet, and mount five guns. On the fourth day the English are led out to - the assault. Sir Edward does not say so, but he expects to march over - those four-foot walls of mud and cotton bales as he might over any other - casual four-foot obstruction, and go up to the city beyond. - </p> - <p> - The sequel does not justify Sir Edward's optimism. The moment the English - approach within two hundred yards of the General's line, a sheet of fire - hisses all along. The English melt away like smoke. They break and run, - seeking refuge in the cross ditches which drain the stubble lands. Once in - the ditches, they are made to sit fast by the watchful hunting-shirt men, - whose aim is death and who shoot at every exposed two square inches of - English flesh and blood. - </p> - <p> - All day the English must crouch in the saving mud and water of those - ditches, and it ruffles their self-regard. With darkness for a shield, Sir - Edward brings them off. He explains the disaster to his staff by calling - it a “reconnoissance.” General Keane also calls it a “reconnoissance”; but - there is a satisfied grin on his war-worn face. Sir Edward has received a - taste of the mettle of those “peasants,” and may now take a more tolerant, - and less politely cynical, view of what earlier setbacks were experienced - by General Keane. As for the seventy dead who lie, faces to the quiet - stars, among the sugar stubble, they say nothing. And whether it be called - a “reconnoissance” or a defeat matters little to them. - </p> - <p> - “What do you think of it?” asks Sir Edward of his friend, General Gibbs, - as the two confer over a bottle of port. - </p> - <p> - “Sir Edward,” returns the General, “I should call a council of war.” - </p> - <p> - Sir Edward winces. It is too great an honor for the brother-in-law of Lord - Wellington to pay a “Copper Captain” like the General. For all that he - calls it; and the call assembles, besides Generals Gibbs and Keane, those - saltwater soldiers, Admirals Cochrane, Codrington and Malcolm, and Captain - Hardy whom Nelson loved. Sir John Burgoyne, the chief of the English - engineers, is also there. The solemn debate lasts hours. The decision is - to regard the General's position as “A walled and fortified place, to be - reduced by regular and formal approaches.” Which is flattering to the - General's engineering skill. - </p> - <p> - The council breaks up. The next morning Sir John Burgoyne commits a stroke - of genius. He rolls out of the storehouses to the English rear countless - hogsheads of sugar. Night sets in, foggy and black. Under its protecting - cover, Sir John trundles his hundreds of hogsheads to a point not six - hundred yards from the General's mud walls. Till daybreak the English - work. They set the hogsheads on end—four close-packed thicknesses of - them, two tier high. Ingenious portholes are left to receive the muzzles - of the guns, and thirty cannon, which have been dragged through the - cypress swamp from the fleet, are placed in position. - </p> - <p> - Those hogsheads of sugar, with the thirty black muzzles frowning forth, - impress folk as a most formidable fortalice, when the upshooting sun rolls - back the fog and offers a view of them. The General, however, does not - hesitate; he instantly opens with his five, and the thirty guns of the - English bellow their iron response. Hardly a whit behind the General, the - active Commodore Patterson drops downstream with the <i>Louisiana</i>, and - throws the weight of her broadsides against the English. - </p> - <p> - The big-gun duel is hot and furious, and the rolling clouds of powder - smoke shut out the fighters from one another. They do not pause for that, - but fire blindly through the smoke, sighting their guns by guess. When the - smoke has cloaked the scene, Sir Edward orders two columns of the English - foot to storm the General's mud walls. - </p> - <p> - The columns advance, and run headforemost into the hunting-shirt men. The - sleety rain of lead which greets them rolls the columns up like two red - carpets. The recoiling columns break, and the English take cover for a - second time in those saving ditches. They declare among themselves that - mortal man might more easily face the fires of hell itself, than the - flame-filled muzzles of the hunting-shirt men, who seem to be Death's very - agents upon earth. - </p> - <p> - As the broken English crouch in those ditches the fire of Sir John - Burgoyne's big guns begins to falter. The smoke is so thick that no one - may tell the cause. At last the English volleys altogether end, and the - General orders Dominique and Bluche, with their swarthy pirate crews from - Barrataria, and what other artillerists are serving his quintette of guns, - to cease their stormy work. With that a silence falls on both sides. - </p> - <p> - The breeze from the river tears the smoky veil aside; and lo! that noble - fortification of sugar hogsheads is heaped and piled in ruins. The - General's solid shot go through and through those hogsheads of sugar, as - though they are hogsheads of snow. Five of the thirty English guns are - smashed. The proud work of Sir John Burgoyne presents a spectacle of - desolation, while the English who serve the batteries go flying for their - lives. Not all! The three-score dead remain—the only English whose - honor is saved that day! - </p> - <p> - Sir Edward's cheek is white as death. He blames Sir John Burgoyne, who has - erred, he says, in constructing the works. Sir John did err, and Sir - Edward is right. Forty years later, the same Sir John will repeat the same - mistake at Sebastapol; which shows how there be Bourbons among the - English, learning nothing, forgetting nothing. - </p> - <p> - As the English skulk in clusters, and ragged, beaten groups for their old - position beyond the General's long reach, the fear of death is written on - their faces. It will take a long rest, and much must be forgotten, e'er - they may be brought front to front with the General again. - </p> - <p> - Among the hunting-shirt men are exultation and crowing triumph. Only Papa - Plauche is sad. During the fight, the cotton bales in front of Papa - Plauche and the “Fathers” are sorely knocked about. As though this be not - enough, what must a felon hot shot do but set one of them ablaze! The - smoke fills the noses of Papa Plauche and his “Fathers,” and makes them - sneeze. It burns their eyes until the tears the “Fathers” shed might make - one think them engaged upon the very funeral of Papa Plauche himself. - </p> - <p> - In the tearful sneezing midst of this anguish, a vagrant flying flake of - cotton, all afire, explodes an ammunition wagon to the heroic rear of Papa - Plauche and the “Fathers,” and the shock is as the awful shock of doom. - </p> - <p> - The fortitude of Hercules would fail at such a pinch! Papa Plauche and the - “Fathers” actually and for the moment think on flight! But whither shall - they fly? They are caught between Satan and a deepest sea—the - ammunition wagon and the English! Also to the right, plying sponge and - rammer, are the pirate Barratarians who are as bad as the English! While - to the left is the General, who is worse than the ammunition wagon. - </p> - <p> - “It is written!” murmurs Papa Plauche; “our fate is sure! We must perish - where we stand!” Papa Plauche extends his hands, and cries: “Courage, my - heroes! Give your hearts to heaven, your fame to posterity, and show - history how 'Fathers of Families' can die!” From the cypress swamp a last - detachment of reënforcements emerges, and meets the beaten English coming - back. General Lambert, with the reënforcements, is shocked as he reads - their broken-hearted story in their eyes. “What is it, Colonel?” he - whispers to Colonel Dale of the Highlanders. “In heaven's name, what - stopped you?” - </p> - <p> - “Bullets, mon!” returns the Scotchman. “Naught but bullets! The fire of - those de'ils in lang shirts wud 'a' stopped Caesar himsel'!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XVI—THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">B</span>ACK to his negroes - and mules and carts and scrapers goes the General, and sets them to - renewed hard labor on those immortal mud walls which he will never get too - high. Those cotton bales, so distressing to Papa Plauche and the - “Fathers,” are eliminated, at which that paternal commander breathes - freer. The hunting-shirt men, with each going down of the sun, resume - their nighthawk parties, which swoop upon English sentinels, taking lives - and guns. - </p> - <p> - The English themselves are a prey to dejection. The foe against whom they - war is so strange, so savage, so sleepless, so coldly inveterate! Also - those incessant night attacks sap their manhood. They build no fires now, - but sit in darkness through the nights. A fire is but the attractive - prelude to a shower of nocturnal lead, and the woefully lengthening list - of dead and wounded tells strongly against it. To even light a cigar after - dark is an approach to suicide; and so the English wrap themselves in - blackness—very miserable! Their earlier horror of the hunting-shirt - men is increased; for they have three times studied backwoods marksmanship - from the standpoint of targets, and the dumb chill about their heart-roots - is a testimony to its awful accuracy. - </p> - <p> - The General, who reads humanity as astronomers read the heavens, is not - wanting in notions of the gloom which envelops the English like a funeral - pall. - </p> - <p> - “Coffee,” says he, at one of those famous war councils of two, “in their - souls we have them beaten. They will fight again; but only from pride. - Their hope is gone, Coffee; we have broken their hearts.” - </p> - <p> - The reports of the General's scouts teach him that the English will put a - force across the river. In anticipation, he dispatches Commodore - Patterson, with a mixed command of soldiers and sailors, to fortify the - west bank. Commodore Patterson emulates the General's four-foot mud walls - and throws up a redoubt of his own, mounting thereon twelve - eighteen-pounders taken from the Louisiana. - </p> - <p> - He tries one on the English opposite. The result is gratifying; the gum - pitches a solid shot all across the Mississippi and into the English - lines. - </p> - <p> - Eight days pass by in Indian file, and Sir Edward Pakenham with his - English feels that, for his safety as much as his honor, he must attack - the General, whose mud walls increase with each new sunset. The General - foresees this, and has reports of Sir Edward's movements brought him every - hour. - </p> - <p> - On the morning of the eighth the General's scouts wake him at two o'clock - and say that the English are astir. He is instantly abroad; the word goes - down the line; by four o'clock every rifle is ready, each hunting-shirt - man at his post. - </p> - <p> - The weak spot, the one at which Sir Edward will level his utmost force, is - where the General's line finds an end in the moss-hung cypress swamp. It - is there he stations the reliable Coffee with his hunting-shirt men. To - the rear, as a reserve, is General Adair with what Kentuckians the good, - unerring offices of those night-prowling hunting-shirt men have armed at - the red expense of the English. - </p> - <p> - In the center is the redoubtable Papa Plauche and his “Fathers.” The - “Fathers” are between the pirates Dominique and Bluche and Captain - Humphries of the regular artillery. - </p> - <p> - Papa Plauche is rejoiced at being thus thrust into the center. - </p> - <p> - “For my heroes!” cries Papa Plauche, in a speech which he makes the - “Fathers,” the center is the heart—the home of honor! “On us, my - Fathers, devolves the main defense of our beloved city, where sleep our - wives and children. Wherefore, be brave as vigilant—vigilant as - brave!” - </p> - <p> - Papa Plauche's voice is husky, but not from fear. No, it is husky by - reason of a cold which, despite certain woolen nightcaps wherewith the - excellent Madam Plauche equipped him for the field, he has contracted in - sleeping damply among the stubble and the river fogs. - </p> - <p> - Six hundred yards in front of the General's mud walls, and near the river, - are a huddle of plantation buildings. The English, he argues, will mask a - part of their advance with these structures. The forethoughtful General - prepares for this, and has furnaces heating shot, to set those buildings - blazing at the psychological moment. - </p> - <p> - Also, in response to a comic cynicism not usual with him, he has out the - brass band of Papa Plauche, with instructions to strike up “Yankee Doodle” - as the first gun is fired. The band, in compliment to the General, has - been privily rehearsing “'Possum up a Gum Tree,” which it understands is - the national anthem of Tennessee, and offers to play that. - </p> - <p> - The General thanks the band, but declines “'Possum up a Gum Tree.” It will - not be understood by the English; whereas “Yankee Doodle” they have known - and loathed for forty years. - </p> - <p> - “Give 'em 'Yankee Doodle,'” says the General. “Since they are so eager to - dance, we'll furnish the proper music.” - </p> - <p> - Sir Edward is as soon afoot as is the General. He finds his English steady - yet dull; they will fight, but not with spirit. As the General assured the - conferring Coffee, the hunting-shirt men, with their long rifles like - wands of death, have broken the English heart. - </p> - <p> - The English are to advance in three columns; General Keane on the right - with Rennie's Rifles, in the center Dale's Highlanders, on the left, where - the main attack is to be launched, General Gibbs, with three thousand of - the pride of England at his back. General Lambert is to hold himself in - the rear of General Gibbs, with two regiments as a reserve. As the columns - form, there are eighty-five hundred of the English; against which - the-General opposes a scanty thirty-two hundred. And yet, upon those - overpowering eighty-five hundred hangs a silence like a sadness, as though - they are about to go marching to their graves. - </p> - <p> - The solemn fear in which the English hold the hunting-shirt men finds - pathetic evidence. As the columns wheel into position, Colonel Dale of the - Highlanders gives a letter and his watch to the surgeon. - </p> - <p> - “Carry them to my wife,” says he. - </p> - <p> - “I'll peel for no American!” and twenty-four hours later he is buried in - that cloak. - </p> - <p> - The English stand to their arms, and wait the breaking of day. Slowly the - minutes drag their leaden length along; morning comes at last. - </p> - <p> - With the first streaks of livid dawn, a Congreve rocket flashes skyward - from Sir Edward's headquarters. The rocket is the English signal to - advance. In a moment, General Gibbs, General Keane, and Colonel Dale with - his “praying” Highlanders are in motion. - </p> - <p> - The signal rocket uncouples thousands upon thousands of fellow rockets; - the air is on fire with them as they blaze aloft in mighty arcs, to fall - and explode among the hunting-shirt men. - </p> - <p> - “Toys for children, boys,” cries the General, as he observes the - hunting-shirt men watching the flaming shower with curious, - non-understanding eyes; “toys for children! They'll hurt no one!” - </p> - <p> - The General is right. Those congreve rockets are supposed to be as deadly - as artillery. Like many another commodity of war, however, meant primarily - to fatten contractors, they prove as innocuous as so many huge fireflies. - The hunting-shirt men laugh at them. The battery of eighteen-pounders, - wherewith the English second that flight of rockets, is a more serious - affair. - </p> - <p> - As the sun shoots up above the cypress swamp and rolls back the mists of - morning, the English make a gallant picture. The dull yellow of the - stubble in front of the General's line is gay with splotches of red and - gray and green and tartan, the colors of the various English corps. - </p> - <p> - The hunting-shirt men, however, are not given much space for admiration; - for, with one grand crash, the big guns go into action and the - red-green-gray-tartan picture is swallowed up in powder smoke. Also, it is - now that Papa Plauche's band blares forth “Yankee Doodle,” while those - anticipatory hot shot set fire to the plantation buildings. As the latter - burst out at door and window in smoke and flames, Colonel Rennie and his - riflemen are driven into the open. The conflagration gets much in the - English way, and spoils the drill-room nicety of Sir Edward's onset as he - has it planned. - </p> - <p> - Colonel Rennie, being capable of brisk decision, makes the best of a - disconcerting situation. When the flames and smoke from those fired - plantation buildings drive him into the open before he is ready, he - promptly orders a charge. This his riflemen obey; for the inexorable - Patterson, across the river, is already upon them with those - eighteen-pounders, and his solid shot are mowing ghastly swaths through - the rifle-green ranks, tossing dead men in the air like old bags. With so - little inducement to stand still, the riflemen hail that word to charge as - a relief, and head for the General's mud walls at double quick. - </p> - <p> - The oncoming Colonel Rennie and his English are met full in the face by a - tempest of grape, from Major Humphrey and the pirates Dominique and - Bluche, which throws them backward upon themselves. They bunch up and clot - into lumps of disorder, like clumps of demoralized sheep in rifle-green. - At that, Commodore Patterson serves his eighteen-pounders with multiplied - speed, and the great balls tear those sheep-clumps to pieces, staining - with crimson the rifle-green. The English marvel at the artillery work of - the General's men, whose every shot comes on, well aimed and low, bringing - death in its whistling wake. - </p> - <p> - They should reflect: The theory, not to say the eye, which aims a squirrel - rifle will point a cannon. - </p> - <p> - Colonel Rennie, when his English recoil, keeps on—face red with - grief and rage. - </p> - <p> - “It's my time to die!” says he to Captain Henry. “But before I die, I - shall at least see the inside of those mud walls.” - </p> - <p> - Colonel Rennie is wrong. A bullet finds his brain as he lifts his head - above the breastworks, and he slips back dead in the ditch outside. Major - King and Captain Henry die with him, pierced each by a handful of bullets. - </p> - <p> - When the English flinch and Colonel Rennie falls, the bugler—a boy - of fourteen—climbs a tree, not one hundred yards from the General's - line. Perched among the branches, he sounds his dauntless charges. The - General gives orders to let the boy alone. And so the little bugler, - protected by the word of the General, sings his shrill onsets to the last. - </p> - <p> - Finally an artillery-man goes out to him. - </p> - <p> - “Come down, my son!” says the cannoneer. “The war's about over!” - </p> - <p> - The little bugler comes down, and is at once taken to the fatherly heart - of Papa Plauche, who declares him to be a sucking Hector, and is for - adopting him as his son on the spot, but is restrained by thoughts of - Madam Plauche. - </p> - <p> - Sir Edward's main assault, with General Gibbs, meets no fairer fortune - than falls to Colonel Rennie by the river. Confusion prevails on the - threshold of the movement; for Colonel Mullins with his Forty-fourth - refuses to go forward. Later he will be courtmartialed, and dismissed in - disgrace. Just now, however, the recreant makes a shameful tangle of the - English van. As a quickest method of setting the tangle straight, General - Gibbs, as did Colonel Rennie, orders a charge. The column moves forward, - the mutinous Forty-fourth on the right flank, led by its major. - </p> - <p> - General Gibbs advances, brushing with the shoulder of his corps, the - cypress swamp. Behind the mud walls in his front, the steady hunting-shirt - men are waiting. The General is there, to give the latter patience and - hold them in even check. - </p> - <p> - “Easy, boys!” he cries. “Remember your ranges! Don't fire until they are - within two hundred yards!” - </p> - <p> - On rush the English. At six hundred yards they are met by the fire of the - artillery. They heed it not, but press sullenly forward, closing up the - gaps in their ranks, where the solid shot go crashing through, as fast as - made. Five hundred yards, four hundred, three hundred! Still they come! - Two hundred yards! - </p> - <p> - And now the hunting-shirt men! A line of fire unending glances from right - to left and left to right, along the crest of those mud walls, and Death - begins his reaping. The head of the English column burns away, as though - thrust into a furnace! The column wavers and welters like a red ship in a - murky sea of smoke! It pauses, falteringly—disdaining to fly, yet - unable to advance! - </p> - <p> - “Forward, men!” shouts General Gibbs. “This is the way you should go!” - </p> - <p> - As he points with his sword to those terrible mud walls, he falls riddled - by the hunting-shirt men. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XVII—THE SLAUGHTER AMONG THE STUBBLE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN the main - advance begins, Sir Edward is in the center with the Highlanders. The - latter are not to move until he has word of their success from General - Keane with Rennie's rifle corps, and General Gibbs with the main column—the - one by the river and the other by the cypress swamp. He has not long to - wait; a courier dashes up from the river—eye haggard, disorder in - his look! - </p> - <p> - “General Keane?” cries Sir Edward, his apprehension on edge. - </p> - <p> - “Fallen!” returns the courier hoarsely. - </p> - <p> - “And Rennie?” - </p> - <p> - “Dead. The Rifles are in full retreat!” Sir Edward stands like one - stricken. Then he pulls himself together. - </p> - <p> - “Bring on your Highlanders!” he cries to Colonel Dale. “We must force - their lines in front of General Gibbs. It is our only chance!” - </p> - <p> - Sir Edward dashes across to General Gibbs, in the shadow of that - significant cypress swamp. He sees General Gibbs go down! He sees the red - column torn and twisted by that storm of lead which the hunting-shirt men - unloose. - </p> - <p> - As the English reel away from those low-flying messengers of death, Sir - Edward seeks to rally them. - </p> - <p> - “Are you Englishmen?” he cries. “Have you but marched upon a battlefield - to stain the glory of your flag?” - </p> - <p> - Sir Edward's gesticulating arm falls, smashed by a bullet from some - sharp-shooting hunting-shirt man. He seems not to know his hurt! He is on - fire with the thought that those honors, won upon forty fields, are to be - wrested from him by a “Copper Captain,” backed by a mob of peasants in - buckskin! He rushes among the shaken English to check the panic which is - seizing them! - </p> - <p> - The Highlanders come up! - </p> - <p> - “Hurrah! brave Highlanders!” he shouts. - </p> - <p> - At Sir Edward's welcoming shout, Colonel Dale waves a salute! It is his - last; the huntingshirt men are upon him with those unerring rifles, and he - falls dead before his General's eyes. Coincident with the fall of his - beloved Dale, Sir Edward is struck by a second bullet. It enters near the - heart. As his aide catches him in his arms, he beckons feebly to Sir John - Tylden. - </p> - <p> - “Call up Lambert with the reserves!” he whispers. - </p> - <p> - As he lies supported in the arms of his aide, a third bullet puffs out his - lamp of life, and England loses a second Sir Philip Sidney. - </p> - <p> - The main column falls into renewed disorder! It begins to retreat; the - retreat becomes a rout! Only the Highlanders stay! They cannot go forward; - they will not go back! There they stand rooted, until five hundred and - forty of their nine hundred and fifty are shot down. - </p> - <p> - As the main column breaks, Major Wilkinson turns to Lieutenant Lavack. - </p> - <p> - “This is too much disgrace to take home!” says he. - </p> - <p> - Like Colonel Rennie, a mile away by the river, Major Wilkinson charges the - mud walls. Lieutenant Lavack, sharing his feelings, shares with him that - desperate, disgrace-defying charge. Through the singing, droning “zip! - zip!” of the bullets, they press on! They reach the ditch, and splash - through! Up the mud walls they swarm! Major Wilkinson falls inside, dead, - three times shot through and through! Lieutenant Lavack, with a luck that - is like a charm, lands in the midst of the hunting-shirt men without a - scratch! They receive him hilariously, offer whisky and compliments, and - assure him that they like his style. Lieutenant Lavack accepts the whisky - and the compliments, and gains distinction as the one live Englishman over - the General's mud walls this January day. - </p> - <p> - The field is swept of hostile English; all is silent in front, and not a - shot is heard. Now when the firing is wholly on one side, the General - passes the word for the hunting-shirt men to cease. - </p> - <p> - The hard-working Coffee comes up, face a-smudge of powder stains; for he - has been taking his turn with a rifle, like any other hunting-shirt man. - He finds the General as drunk on battle as some folk are on brandy. - </p> - <p> - “They can't beat us, Coffee!” cries the General, wringing his friend's big - hand. “By the living Eternal they can't beat us!” - </p> - <p> - The General unslings his ramshackle telescope, and leaps upon the mud - walls for a survey of the field. The less curious Coffee devotes himself - to wiping the sweat and powder smudges from his face. His impromptu toilet - results only in unhappy smears, which make him resemble an overgrown - sweep. He looks at his watch. - </p> - <p> - “Sharp, short work!” he mutters, as he notes that they have been fighting - but twenty-five minutes. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0007" id="linkimage-0007"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0235.jpg" alt="0235 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0235.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - Those plantation buildings are still blazing, no more than half-burned - down, and the smoke hides the scene toward the river. The General turns - his ramshackle spyglass upon his immediate front. The ground is fairly - carpeted with dead English. As he gazes he calls to Colonel Coffee, who is - now broadening the powder smears ingeniously with the sleeve of his - hunting shirt. - </p> - <p> - “Jump up here, Coffee!” cries the General. “It's like resurrection day!” - </p> - <p> - Thus urged, Colonel Coffee abandons his attempts to improve his looks, and - joins the General on the mud walls. He is in time to behold four hundred - odd Highlanders scramble to their brogues among those five hundred and - forty who will never march again, and come forward to surrender. - </p> - <p> - It has been a hot and bloody morning. Of those six thousand whom Sir - Edward takes into action—for the reserves with General Lambert are - never within range—over twenty-one hundred are fallen. Seven hundred - and thirty are killed as they stand in their ranks; and of the fourteen - hundred marked “wounded,” more than six hundred are to die within the - week. Among the twenty-one hundred killed and wounded, sixteen hundred go - to swell the red record of the dire hunting-shirt men. - </p> - <p> - The two attacks, being at the ends of the General's lines, involve no more - than two-thirds of his thirty-two hundred. Papa Plauche's “Fathers” in the - center, as well as General Adair's Kentuckians who act as reserves, are - merest spectators. - </p> - <p> - That his “Fathers” are not called upon to fire a shot, in no wise - depresses Papa Plauche. He harangues his brave followers, and eloquently - explains: - </p> - <p> - “It is because of your sanguinary fame, my heroes!” vociferates Papa - Plauche. “The English knew your position, and avoided you. They went as - far to the right and to the left as they could, to escape that destruction - you else would have infallibly meted out to them. Ah! my 'Fathers,' see - what it is to have a terrible name! You must sit idle in battle, because - no foe dare engage you! Be comforted, my glorious heroes! Achilles could - have done no more!” - </p> - <p> - Colonel Coffee, still busy with the powder smears, calls the General's - attention to an English group of three, made up of a colonel, a bugler, - and a soldier bearing a white flag. The trio halt six hundred respectful - yards away. The bugler sounds a fanfare; the soldier waves his white flag. - </p> - <p> - The General dispatches Colonel Butler with two captains to receive their - message. It is a note signed “Lambert,” asking an armistice of twenty-four - hours to bury the dead. - </p> - <p> - “Who is Lambert?” asks the General, and sends to the English colonel, with - his bugler and white flag, to find out. - </p> - <p> - The three presently return; this time the note is signed “John Lambert, - Commander-in-Chief.” The alteration proves to the General's liking, and - the armistice is arranged. - </p> - <p> - The seven hundred and thirty dead English are buried where they fell. - Thereafter the superstitious blacks will defy lash and torture rather than - plow the land where they lie. It will raise no more sugar cane; but in - time a cypress grove will sorrowfully cover it, as though in mournful - memory of those who sleep beneath. The General carries his own dead to the - city. They are not many, four dead and four wounded being the limit of his - loss. - </p> - <p> - General Lambert and the beaten English go wallowing, hip-deep, through the - swamps to their boats. They will not fight again. The booming of the - batteries, or mayhap the unusual warmth of the sun, has roused from their - winter beds a scaly host of alligators. These saurians uplift their - hideous heads and gaze sleepily, yet inquisitively, at the wallowing - retreating English. Now and then one widely yawns, and the spectacle sends - an icy thrill along what English spines bear witness to it. - </p> - <p> - In the end the beaten English are all departed. That tremendous invasion - which, with “Beauty and Booty!” for its cry, sailed out of Negril Bay six - weeks before to the sack of New Orleans, is abandoned, and the last - defeated man jack once more aboard the ships and mighty glad to be there. - The fleet sails south and east; but not until the tallest ship is hull - down in the horizon does the General march into New Orleans. - </p> - <p> - The General cannot bring himself to believe that the retreat of the - English is genuine. They have still, as they sail away, full thirteen - thousand fighting men aboard those ships, with a round one thousand - cannon, and munitions and provisions for a year's campaign. He judges them - by himself, and will not be convinced that they have fled. With this on - his mind, he plants his pickets far and wide, and insists on double - vigilance. - </p> - <p> - Now when fear of the English is rolled like a stone from their breasts, - the folk of New Orleans fret under the General's iron rule. With that the - prudent General tightens his grip. Even so excellent a soldier as Papa - Plauche complains. He says that the hearts of the “Fathers of Families” - are bursting with victory. His valiant “Fathers” burn to express their - joy. - </p> - <p> - The General suggests that the joy-swollen “Fathers” repair to the - Cathedral, and hear the Abbé Duborg conduct a <i>Te Deum</i>. - </p> - <p> - Papa Plauche points out that, while a <i>Te Deum</i> is all very well in - its way, it is a rite and not a festival. What his “Fathers”—who are - thunderbolts of war!—desire is to give a ball. - </p> - <p> - The General says that he has no objections to the ball. - </p> - <p> - Papa Plauche explains that a ball is not possible, with the city held fast - in the controlling coils of military law. The rule that all lights must be - out at nine o'clock, of itself forbids a ball. As affairs stand the - “Fathers” are helpless in their happiness. No one may dance by daylight; - that would be too fantastic, too bizarre! And yet who, pray, can rejoice - in the dark? It is against human nature, argues Papa Plauche. - </p> - <p> - The General refuses to be moved; but continues to hold the city in his - unrelenting clutch—maintaining the while a wary eye for sly - returning English, with an occasional glance at the local treason which is - simmering about him. - </p> - <p> - The public murmur grows louder and deeper. A rumor of the peace comes - ashore, no one knows how. The General refuses the rumor, fearing an - English ruse to throw him off his guard. At the peace whisper, the popular - discontent increases. The General, in the teeth of it, remains unchanged. - </p> - <p> - Citizen Hollander expresses himself with more heat than prudence. The - General locks up the vituperative Citizen Hollander. M. Toussand, Consul - for France, considers such action high-handed; and says so. The General - marches Consul Toussand out of town, with a brace of bayonets at the - consular back. Legislator Louaillier protests against the casting out of - Consul Toussand. The General consigns the protesting Legislator Louaillier - to a cell in the calaboose. Jurist Hall of the District Court issues a - writ of habeas corpus for the relief and release of the captive - Louaillier. The General responds by arresting Jurist Hall, who is given a - cell between captives Louaillier and Hollander, where by raising his voice - he may condole with them through the intervening stone walls. - </p> - <p> - Thus are affairs arranged when official notice of the peace reaches the - General from Washington. Instantly he withdraws his grip from the city, - restores the civil rule, and releases from captivity Jurist Hall, Citizen - Hollander, and Legislator Louaillier. - </p> - <p> - Upon the disappearance of martial law, Papa Plauche, with his immortal - “Fathers of Families,” gives that ball of victory, the exiled Consul - Toussand creeps back into town, while Jurist Hall signalizes his - restoration to the woolsack by fining the General one thousand dollars for - contempt of court—which he pays. - </p> - <p> - The Legislature, guards withdrawn from its treasonable doors, expands into - lawmaking. Its earliest action is a resolution of thanks for their brave - defense of the city to officers Coffee, Carroll, Hinds, Adair, and - Patterson. The Legislature pointedly does not thank the General, who grins - dryly. - </p> - <p> - Colonel Coffee, upon receiving the vote of thanks, writes a letter of - acknowledgment, in which he intimates his opinions of the General, the - Legislature, and himself. This missive is a remarkable outburst on the - part of Colonel Coffee, who fights more easily than he writes, and shows - how he is stirred to his hunting-shirt depths. - </p> - <p> - Through the clouds of pestiferous jurists and treason-hatching legislators - descends a grand burst of sunshine. The blooming Rachel, as unlooked for - as an angel, joins her gaunt hero in New Orleans, and the General forgets - alike his triumphs and his troubles. - </p> - <p> - Papa Plauche—foremost in peace as in war—at once seizes on the - advent of the blooming Rachel to give another ball. The whole city attends - the function; the heroic “Fathers” in full panoply and very splendid. The - band plays “'Possum up a Gum Tree,” in the execution whereof it soars to - vainest heights. - </p> - <p> - Papa Plauche dances with the blooming Rachel. The General unbuckles in - certain intricate breakdowns, with which he challenged admiration in those - days long ago when he was the beau of old Salisbury and read law with - Spruce McCay. The “Fathers” are not only edified but excited by the - General's dancing; for he dances as he fights, violently. - </p> - <p> - Colonel Coffee, not being a dancing man, goes looking about him. He - discovers a flower-piece, prepared by Papa Plauche, that is like unto a - piece of flattery, and spells “Jackson and Victory!” in deepest red and - green. He shows it to the General, who suggests that if Papa Plauche had - made it “Hickory and Victory!” it would mean the same, and save the - euphony. - </p> - <p> - While the blooming Rachel, the General, the non-dancing Coffee, and the - ardent Papa Plauche, with the beauty and chivalry of New Orleans about - them, are at the ball, Colonel Burr, gray and bent and cynical, is talking - with his friend Swartwout in far-away New York. - </p> - <p> - “It was a glorious, a most convincing victory!” exclaims Mr. Swartwout. - “President Madison cannot do the General too much honor. He has saved the - country!” - </p> - <p> - “He has saved,” returns the ironical Colonel Burr, “what President Madison - holds in much greater esteem. He has saved the Madison administration!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XVIII—ODDS AND ENDS OF TIME - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General, the - blooming Rachel by his side, takes up his homeward journey. Now when they - are on their way and a world has time to observe them, it is to be noted - that changes have befallen with the lengthened flight of time. The eye of - the blooming Rachel is as liquidly black and deep, her hair as raven-blue, - her cheek as round as on a rearward day when she won the heart of that - bottle-green beau from old Salisbury. The alteration is in her form, which - has grown plump and full and stout in these her matronly middle years. As - to the bottle-green beau, his sandy hair is deeply shot with iron-gray, - while his features show haggard, and seamed of care. To the inquiring eye - he looks at once dangerous and rusty, like an old sword. His form, always - spare, is more emaciated than ever. The last is due in part to those - Benton bullets, and the Dickinson shot fired in that poplar, May-sweet - wood on a certain Kentucky morning. Besides, one is not to forget those - southern swamps, which have never had fame for building a man up. As the - General, with his blooming Rachel, draws near home, the whole Cumberland - country rushes forth to greet him. - </p> - <p> - From that earliest day when Time began swinging his scythe in the meadows - of humanity, mankind has owned but two ways of honoring a hero. One is the - “parade,” the other is the “dinner.” In the one instance, half the people - march in the middle of the street, while the remaining half line the curbs - and look on. In the other, which has the merit of exclusion, a select - great few set a board with meat and drink; and then, installing the hero - where all may see, they bombard him with toasts and speeches and applause. - All attend the “parade” since it is free. Few avoid the dinner, because, - besides the honor and the honoring, it affords lawful occasion for being - drunk—a manifest advantage to many in a strait-laced community. The - General when he arrives in Nashville is exhaustively “paraded” and deeply - “dined.” Also he is given a sword. - </p> - <p> - Now, having been “paraded” and “dined,” and with honors thick upon him, - the General sets about his duties as a major general in days of peace. - General Adair and he have a letter-quarrel concerning the courage of - Kentuckians. General Scott and he have a letter-quarrel on grounds more - personal. As the upshot of the latter correspondence, the General evinces - an eagerness to shoot his over-epauletted opponent at ten paces, oiling up - the saw-handles to that hopeful end, but is balked by the over-epauletted - one, who declines on grounds of piety and patriotism. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0008" id="linkimage-0008"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0251.jpg" alt="0251 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0251.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - While the General is fuming with ink and paper against those distinguished - warriors, he cools at intervals sufficiently to build the blooming Rachel - a little church. The blooming Rachel is a devout Presbyterian; and, while - the General is far too busy with this world to think much on the next, she - prevails with him—for he never says “No” to her—to put her up - a church. It is not much bigger than a drygoods box; but there are forty - pews, besides a pulpit for Parson Blackburn, and the blooming Rachel is - supremely happy. She owns to some illogical impression that, should the - General build a church, he'll “join.” In this she goes wrong; for the - General only builds. - </p> - <p> - The General mounts his horse, and rides to Washington. He meets Mr. - Jefferson in Lynchburg, and that aged fine gentleman and maker of - constitutions is struck by the graceful manners of the General, who has - become all ease and polish where once he was as rough as a woods' colt. In - Washington he is much feted and feasted, and the trump of celebration is - tireless to sound his name. He gets back home in time to put a roof on the - blooming Rachel's almost finished church, and listen to Parson Blackburn's - dedicatory sermon. - </p> - <p> - The Red Stick Creeks from across the Florida line take to marauding and - murdering in Southern Georgia, and the General decides to see about it. He - sends an officer, with a force of men, to reduce Negro Fort on the - Appalachicola. In giving that officer his instructions, the General - expands touching the military virtues of red-hot shots; and with such - satisfactory results that the first one fired at Negro Fort blows it to - ruins, and with it three hundred and thirty-one of the three hundred and - thirty-four blacks and reds who infest it. Three crawl from the blazing - chaos, to be hilariously knocked on the head by friendly Creeks, who have - attended the expedition with that fond hope and purpose. The world is much - rejoiced at the demolition of Negro Fort; since murder and pillage have - been the one business of its robber garrison, and the fire-torture of - prisoners their one amusement. - </p> - <p> - The General presently appears at the head of his hunting-shirt men, and - destroys the village of Chief Billy Bowlegs on the oft-sung Suwannee - River. Then he takes St. Marks from the feeble Spaniards, and arrests a - brace of conspiring English, Ambrister and Arbuthnot. The arrested ones - have come across from the Bahamas, bringing English guns and lead and - powder and promises to the hostile blacks and reds; and all in accordance - with that policy, dear to England, of preferring bloodshed by proxy to - shedding blood herself. The General hangs conspirator Arbuthnot, and - shoots conspirator Ambrister; while England, in accordance with a second - policy as dear as the first, disavows them both. - </p> - <p> - The General goes on to Pensacola. Here he hauls down the flag of Spain, - runs up the stars and stripes, drives out the Spanish Governor, and - installs one of his own with a garrison to back him. Having executed - conspirators Ambrister and Arbuthnot, he now seizes on two Creek-Seminole - chiefs and hangs them, to preserve, so to speak, a racial equilibrium. - Having thus wound up the Spanish, the English, the negroes and the Indians - in Florida, the General returns to his home, serene in the sense of duty - well performed. - </p> - <p> - The General's serenity is misplaced; trouble breaks out in Washington. Mr. - Monroe is President, and Statesmen Clay and Crawford and Calhoun and Adams - desire to be. The quartette last named suspect in the General—about - whom a responsive public is running mad—a growing rival. They decide - to cripple him in the very cradle of his White House prospects. If they do - not he may grow up to snatch from them the crown. Moved of this high - thought, they charge the General with waging unauthorized war; and with - invading Spanish territory, we at peace with Spain. They call him a - “murderer” for snuffing out conspirators Ambrister and Arbuthnot and those - superfluous Creek-Seminole chiefs. Also, giving a moral snuffle, they - demand that he be courtmartialed and cashiered. - </p> - <p> - President Monroe shakes his head at the conniving quartette, replying as - on a somewhat similar occasion did the Russian Catherine: - </p> - <p> - “We never punish conquerors.” - </p> - <p> - The General by the Cumberland hears of these weird doings in Washington, - and again rides over the mountains. His object is to discover, by personal - observation, who in his case, are the sheep and who the goats, and - separate in his own mind his friends from his enemies. Upon his arrival - the General finds himself an issue of politics. As such he is voted upon - by Congress, which affirms heavily in his favor. The people have long ago - decided in his favor; and Congress, ever quick to locate the butter on its - bread, sharply follows the popular example. Statesman Clay and others - among the General's foes express themselves freely to his disadvantage. - However, the General expresses himself freely to their disadvantage, and - profound judges of vituperation say that he has the sulphurous best of the - exchange. - </p> - <p> - Being upheld by Congress, and having freed his mind touching his foes, the - General goes to Baltimore and Philadelphia, and is extravagantly wined and - dined. Then he proceeds to New York, where Fitz Greene Halleck and Joseph - Rodman Drake write doggerel at him in the <i>Evening Post</i>; and where, - also, he is “paraded” and “dinner”—honored to a degree which lays all - former “parading” and “dinner”—honoring, by less fervent communities, deep - within the shade. - </p> - <p> - Spain cedes Florida to the United States; just as she would cede a bad hot - penny that, besides being worthless, is burning her fingers. The President - appoints the General governor of the new domain. Whereupon the new - Governor lays down his Major General's commission, bids farewell to the - army, and journeys south. He does not relish being Governor; and, after - locking up his Spanish predecessor for stealing divers papers of state, - and expatriating a scandalous bevy whose talk sounds like treason to his - sensitive ear, he resigns. - </p> - <p> - When the General gets back to the Cumberland country, he finds that his - former quartermaster, Major Lewis, has decided to send him to the White - House. The General is mightily taken aback, and declares himself unfit. - Major Lewis retorts that he is far more fit than any of his quartette of - Washington enemies, laying especial emphasis on Statesman Clay. The - accurate force of the retort strikes the General wordless. - </p> - <p> - Major Lewis is rich, wise, cunning, cool, college-bred, and eighteen years - younger than the General. He is a born manager, a natural wire-puller, and - can play politics by ear as some folk play the fiddle. Congenitally a - Warwick, he prefers making a President to being one, and would sooner hold - a baby than hold an office. - </p> - <p> - Major Lewis seizes on the General as so much raw material wherefrom to - construct a President. As a best method of having his man on the ground, - he gives a hint, and the Tennessee Legislature sends the General to - Washington as Senator. The blooming Rachel accompanies him; they live at a - tavern in Pennsylvania Avenue called the “Indian Queen.” - </p> - <p> - This caravansary is kept by one O'Neal, who has a pretty daughter Peg. - Later the pretty Peg will dissolve a Cabinet, make Mr. Van Buren - President, and come within an ace of getting Mr. Calhoun hanged. All this, - however, is in the unpierced future. The blooming, childless Rachel makes - a pet of pretty Peg; which rivets the latter forever in the good regards - of the General, who loves what the blooming Rachel loves. - </p> - <p> - Major Lewis proves a wizard of politics. Under his quiet legerdemain, here - and there and everywhere political fires break forth in favor of the - General. They break forth in North Carolina, in Pennsylvania, in New York; - and, so deft and secret is his work, none suspects Wizard Lewis as the - incendiary. Wizard Lewis is counseled by Colonel Burr who, like some old - gray fox, sits in the mouth of his New York law-burrow in Nassau Street, - peering out at events as they pass. - </p> - <p> - In these days, the lion-faced Webster writes his brother: - </p> - <p> - “His (the General's) manners are more presidential than those of any of - the candidates. He is grave, mild, and reserved. My wife is for him - decidedly.” - </p> - <p> - There are four candidates for the White House, <i>vide, licet</i>, the - General, and Statesmen Adams and Crawford and Clay. The popular vote falls - in the order given, with the General a long flight shot ahead of Statesman - Adams, who is next on the list. And yet, while far in advance of the - others, the General is without that electoral majority required by the - Constitution, and the choice is thrown into the House of Representatives. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Clay is now out of the running; for the President must be chosen - from among the three candidates having the highest electoral vote, and he - is fourth and lowest. Statesman Crawford, who ranks third, is also out. He - is stricken of paralysis; and, while this wins him sympathy, it loses him - White House strength. The fight is to be between the General and Statesman - Adams. - </p> - <p> - While Statesman Clay is out of the coil, so far as any personal chance of - becoming the House selection is concerned, he is in it decisively in - another fashion. As a chief force in the House, he holds that important - body in the hollow of his hand; and, while he cannot be its choice, he can - control its choice. He controls it for Statesman Adams, on the underground - understanding that he, Statesman Clay, shall sit at Statesman Adams' right - hand as Secretary of State. Statesman Clay hopes to run presidentially - another day, and thinks to make his calling and election sure while head - of the Cabinet of Statesman Adams. As events forge and fuse themselves in - the blast furnaces of the future, it will be discovered that in thus - opining Statesman Clay falls into grievous error. - </p> - <p> - It is four o'clock in the afternoon when the Clay-guided House counts - Statesman Adams into a Presidency. Five hours afterward the General meets - Statesman Adams in the East Room, where both are in attendance upon the - last reception of outgoing President Munroe. The contrast between them - tells in the General's favor. There is no gloom of disappointment on his - brow, no cloud of defeat in his hawkish blue eyes. The General has a lady - on his arm. He greets Statesman Adams gracefully and extends his hand: - </p> - <p> - “How is Mr. Adams?” cries he. “I give you my left hand, sir, since my - right is devoted to the fair.” - </p> - <p> - Statesman Adams is a diplomat, and used to courts and salons. The General - is of the wilderness and its battlefields. And yet the General shines out - the more polished of the two. Statesman Adams takes the extended hand; but - he does it awkwardly, backwardly, and with a wooden manner, as though his - deportment is seized of some sudden, bashful stiffness of the joints. At - last he manages to say: - </p> - <p> - “Very well, sir! I hope you are well!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XIX—THE KILLING EDGE OF SLANDER - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>IZARD LEWIS boldly - re-begins his work of White House capturing. He becomes busy to the elbows - in the General's destinies before Statesman Adams is inaugurated. When the - latter names Statesman Clay to be his Secretary of State, Wizard Lewis - lays bare the deal which thus exalts the Kentuckian. He raises the cry of - “Bargain and Corruption!” and the public takes it up. Statesman Adams and - Statesman Clay are pilloried as conspirators who have wronged the General - of a Presidency, and the State portfolio in the hands of Statesman Clay is - pointed to as proof. The General writes the blooming Rachel, just now at - home by the Cumberland: - </p> - <p> - “The Judas of the West has closed the contract and received the thirty - pieces of silver.” Statesman Clay defends himself badly. He declares that - he objects to the General's White House ambitions only because he is a - “Military Chieftain.” He speaks as though the world knows that a “Military - Chieftain” will make a perilous Chief Magistrate. The world knows nothing - of the sort; the cry of “Bargain and Corruption” gains head. - </p> - <p> - In retort to that arraignment of being a “Military Chieftain”—made - as if the phrase be merely another name for “buccaneer”—the General - writes the old friendly fox, Colonel Burr: - </p> - <p> - “It is not strange that he (Statesman Clay) should indulge himself in such - reasoning, since it comes somewhat to his own personal defense. Our - blue-grass Secretary has been ever remarkable for his caution, to give it - a no worse name, and has not yet risked himself for his country, or moved - from safe repose to repel an invading foe.” - </p> - <p> - The General is not the only one who comments upon the astounding - copartnership in politics and policies between Statesman Adams and - Statesman Clay. John Randolph, of Roanoke, remarks concerning it, from his - bitter place in the Senate: - </p> - <p> - “Sir, it is a coming together of the puritan and the blackleg—Blifil - and Black George!” - </p> - <p> - This view seems hugely to excite Statesman Clay, and he challenges the - picturesque Randolph to a duel by Little Falls. They meet; but, since both - are at pains to miss, no good comes of it. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0009" id="linkimage-0009"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0267.jpg" alt="0267 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0267.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - Wizard Lewis goes teaching the General's merits in every State of the - Union. In his White House siege, Wizard Lewis receives his best help from - Statesman Adams himself. - </p> - <p> - The latter publicist is a personage of ice-cold ideas, and lists - ingratitude at the top of the virtues. There be folk—descended, - doubtless, of ancestors that heated the pincers and turned the thumbikins, - and worked the straining rack for the Inquisitions as mere day laborers at - torture—who delight in doing mean, hateful, punishing things to - their fellow mortals, if they may but call such doing “duty.” They will - weep hypocritically while burning a victim, and aver, between sobs, that - they pile the fagots and apply the torch only from a “sternest conviction - of duty.” The word “duty,” like the venom of a serpent, is ever in their - mouths; by it they break hearts, destroy hopes, create blackness, blot out - light, forbid happiness, foster grief, and plant pain in breasts innocent - of every crime save that of helping them. Statesman Adams—heart as - hollow as a bell and quite as brazen—is one of these. He - demonstrates his purity by refusing his obligations, and proves himself - great by turning his back on his friends. Made up of a multitude of - littlenesses, he offers no trait of breadth or bigness as an offset. He is - not wise; he is not brave; he is not generous; he is not—even in - wrongdoing—original. He will guide by some maxim; or he will permit - himself to be posed by a proverb; and, while ever breathlessly - respectable, he is never once right. As President he proposes for himself - an inhuman goodness, and declares that he will remove no one from office - on “account of politics”—a catch phrase which has protected - incompetency in place in every age. - </p> - <p> - Although he is so fond of them, Statesman Adams, in taking the latter - snow-white position, overlooks an aphorism that will be vital while time - lasts. He forgets that “The President who makes no removals will himself - be removed.” - </p> - <p> - “Strike, lest you be stricken!” murmured Queen Elizabeth, as seizing the - pen she signed the warrant of block and axe for Scottish Mary, and it - might be well and wise for Statesman Adams to wear in constant mind that - illustrious example. - </p> - <p> - The thought is vain. Statesman Adams ignores his friends, consults his - foes, and offers a base picture of the ungrateful that draws the public's - honest wrath his way. Wizard Lewis is no one to miss such opportunities to - upbuild the General's fortunes at the expense of the enemy; and so the - General grows each day stronger, while Statesman Adams—who hopes to - succeed himself—owns less and less of strength. - </p> - <p> - The currents of time flow swiftly now, and four years go by—four - years wherein the old friendly far-seeing fox, Colonel Burr, in his Nassau - Street burrow, teaches the General's leaders intrigue as a pedagogue - teaches the alphabet to his pupils. And day after day the purblind Adams, - with the purblind Clay at the elbow of his hopes and fears, sets traps - against his own prospects, and does his unwitting best or worst to destroy - himself. Then comes the canvass: the General against Statesman Adams, who - courts a reelection. - </p> - <p> - The moment the rival forces march upon the field, the dullest marks the - superiority of the General's. With that, Statesman Clay—in the war - saddle for Statesman Adams, whose battle is his battle and whose defeat - means his downfall—loses his head. He accuses the General of every - offense except that of theft, calls him every name save that of coward. - The accusations fail; the epithets fall harmless to the ground; the people - know, and draw the closer about the General's standards. The latter's - popularity rises as might a hurricane, and sweeps away opposition like - down of thistles! - </p> - <p> - Statesman Clay becomes frantic. Possessed as by a demon, he issues - instructions to assail the blooming Rachel. His hound-pack obey the call. - From that moment the General's marriage is the issue. He is charged with - “stealing another's wife,” and every shaft of mendacious villification is - shot against the unoffending bosom of the blooming Rachel. Those are - fire-swept moments of anguish for the General, who feels the pain the - more, since his hands are tied against what saw-handle methods silenced - the dead Dickinson one May Kentucky morning in that poplar wood. - </p> - <p> - The blooming Rachel, for her wronged part, says never a word. She goes the - oftener to the little church, but that is all. And yet, while she seems so - resigned and patient beneath the slandrous lash, the thong is biting - always to her soul's source. - </p> - <p> - The election takes place, and now the people speak. They set the grinding - heel of their anger upon those slanders; they throw down that ladder of - lies by which Statesman Adams hopes to climb. Wizard Lewis, Burr-guided, - foils Statesman Clay at every point; the General rides down Statesman - Adams like a coach and six. - </p> - <p> - New England is tribal and narrow, with the reeking taint of old Federalism - in its veins; it gives itself for Statesman Adams, unredeemed save by a - single district in Maine. There, indeed, rises up one electoral vote for - the General. It shows in the gray waste of Adams sentiment about it, like - a green tree and a fountain against the gray wastes of Sahara. New Jersey, - Delaware, Maryland follow in New England's dreary wake for Statesman - Adams; while New York gives him sixteen electoral votes out of thirty-six. - That offers the round circumference of his Clay-collected strength—an - electoral vote of eighty-three! - </p> - <p> - For the General, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, - Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois go - headlong; while New York gives him twenty electoral votes, with Tennessee - his own by a popular count of twenty for one. Statesman Clay, as a retort - to the slanders he fulminated, beholds his own State of Kentucky reject - him, and aid in swelling those one hundred and seventy-eight electoral - votes which declare for the General. The world at large, seated by its - fireside and sagely thumbing those returns of one hundred and - seventy-eight for the General against a meager eighty-three for Statesman - Adams, finds therein a stunning rebuke to both the ambitions and the - methods of Statesman Clay. - </p> - <p> - When word of the General's election reaches the blooming Rachel, she - smiles wearily and says: - </p> - <p> - “For the General's sake I'm glad! For myself I never wished it.” - </p> - <p> - Now that the war of the votes is over and the General victor, mankind - relaxes into its customary dinners and parades. The Cumberland good people - resolve to outparade all former parades, outdine all former dinners. They - engage themselves with tremendous gala preparations. It shall be a time - when oxen are eaten whole, and whisky is drunk by the barrel. - </p> - <p> - The day set apart as sacred to the coming parade, and that dinner yet to - be devoured, breaks brightly full of promise. There is never a cloud in - the Cumberland sky, never a care on the Cumberland heart. In a moment all - is reversed!—light gives way to blackness, happiness to grief! Like - a bolt from a heaven smiling, the word descends that the blooming Rachel - lies dead. The word is true. The monstrous weight of slander heaped upon - it breaks her gentle heart. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0010" id="linkimage-0010"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0275.jpg" alt="0275 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0275.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - They bury the blooming Rachel at the foot of the garden where her - best-loved flowers grow. The General is ten years older in a night; the - tall form, yesterday as straight as a lance, is bent and broken. The blue - eyes, once hawklike, are dimmed with tears. Friends come to press his hand—he - chokes and cannot speak! But the awful agony of his soul is written in the - sweat drops on his wrung brow. - </p> - <p> - As the General stands by the grave that is smothering for him all the song - and the sweet sunshine of life, the ever-faithful, never-failing Coffee is - by his side. The poor General reaches blindly out and takes hold of the - rough, big, loyal hand for support. His beloved Coffee, who flanked the - Red Stick Creeks for him at the Horseshoe and held his low mud walls - against England's boast and best at New Orleans, will not fail him now in - this his sternest trial by the graveside of the blooming Rachel. - </p> - <p> - The General, doubly quiet, doubly stern, issues forth of that ordeal - another man. He is as one who lives because it is his duty, and not for - love of life. Plainly, his hopes like his heart are buried with the - blooming Rachel. In his soul he lays her death to the doors of Statesman - Adams and Statesman Clay; throughout the years to follow he will never - forget nor forgive. To the end he will cultivate his hatred of them, and - tend it as he might a flower. Time cannot remold him in this belief; and a - decade later he will say to his friend Lewis, while his eye flashes like - some sudden-drawn rapier: - </p> - <p> - “Major, she was stung to death by slander! It was such adders as John - Quincy Adams, such pit-vipers as Henry Clay, that killed her!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XX—THE GENERAL GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HIS is of a - steamboat day, and keel boats are but a memory. The General makes his - tedious eight-weeks' way to Washington via the Cumberland, the Ohio, the - mountains, and the Potomac valley. It is like the progress of a conqueror. - The people throng about him until Wizard Lewis, remembering his broken - state, fears for his life. The fears are without grounds to stand on. - Applause never kills, and the General finds in it the milk of lions. He - enters Washington renewed, and was never so fit for hard work. The General - is inaugurated. As he is cheered into the White House by jubilant - thousands, Statesman Clay, beaten and bitter, retires to Kentucky; while - Statesman Adams goes back to Massachusetts, where his ice-waterisms, let - us hope, will be appreciated, and from which frigid region he ought never - to have been drawn. - </p> - <p> - When the General is declared President, Statesman Calhoun is made - Vice-President. From his high perch in the Senate Statesman Calhoun begins - at once to scan the plain of the possible for ways and means to name - himself the General's successor. He proves dull in the furtherance of his - ambitions, and conceives that the only best path to victory lies over the - General himself. He must break down that demigod in the hearts of the - people, and teach them to hate where now they trust and love. - </p> - <p> - The General is not a day in Washington before Statesman Calhoun is - intriguing to cut the ground of popularity from beneath his feet. As - frequently happens with dark-lantern strategists, his plottings in their - very inception go off on the wrong foot. Statesman Calhoun is so foolish - as to commence his campaign against the General with an attack upon a - woman. The woman thus malevolently distinguished is the pretty Peg, once - belle of the Indian Queen. - </p> - <p> - Between that time when the General came last to Washington as Senator and - the pretty Peg was petted and loved by the blooming Rachel, and now when - the General occupies the White House as President, destiny has been moving - rapidly and not always gayly with the pretty Peg. In that interim she - becomes the wife of Purser Timberlake of the Navy, who later cuts his - drunken throat and walks overboard to his drunken death in the - Mediterranean. - </p> - <p> - In her widow's weeds the pretty Peg looks prettier than before—since - black is ever the best setting for beauty, and shows it off like a - diamond. Major Eaton, Senator from Tennessee and per incident friend of - the General, is smitten of the pretty Peg, and marries her. The wedding - bells are ringing as the General rides into Washington. - </p> - <p> - It is an hour wherein Vice-Presidents have more to say than they will - later on. Statesman Calhoun, scheming his own advantage, puts forward - covert efforts to place his friends about the General as cabineteers. This - is not so difficult; since the General is not thinking on Statesman - Calhoun. His eyes, hate-guided, are fastened upon Statesman Adams and - Statesman Clay; his single aim is to advance no follower of theirs. These - are happy conditions for Statesman Calhoun, who comes up unseen on the - General's blind side, and presents him—all unnoticed—with - three of his Cabinet six. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun, who prefers four to three, next tries all he secretly - knows to control the General's choice of a War Secretary. In this he meets - defeat; the General selects Major Eaton, just wedded to the pretty Peg. - His completed Cabinet includes Van Buren, Secretary of State; Ingham, - Secretary of the Treasury; Eaton, Secretary of War; Branch, Secretary of - the Navy; Berrien, Attorney General; and Barry, Postmaster General. Of - these, Statesman Calhoun, craftily reviewing the list from his perch in - the Senate, may call Cabi-neteers Ingham, Branch, and Berrien his - henchmen. - </p> - <p> - The General is not aware of this Calhoun color to his Cabinet. The last - man of the six hates Statesman Clay and Statesman Adams; which is the - consideration most upon the General's mind. He does not like Statesman - Calhoun. But he in no sort suspects him; and, at this crisis of Cabinet - making, that plotting Vice-President is not at all upon the General's - slope of thought. - </p> - <p> - Not content with half the Cabinet, Statesman Calhoun resents privily his - failure to control the war portfolio. He resolves to attack Major Eaton, - and drive him from the place. As much wanting in chivalry as in a wisdom - of the popular, he decides to assail him through the pretty Peg. It is the - error of Statesman Calhoun's career, which now becomes one blundering - procession of mistakes. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun's attack on the pretty Peg begins with hidden - adroitness. There lives in Philadelphia a smug dominie named Ely. On the - merest Calhoun hint in the dark, Dominie Ely—who has a mustard-seed - soul—writes the General a letter, wherein he charges the pretty Peg - with every immorality. Dominie Ely prayerfully protests against the - husband of a woman so morally ebon making one of the General's official - family. - </p> - <p> - The General is in flames in a moment. His loved and blooming Rachel was - stabbed to death by slander! The pretty Peg was the blooming Rachel's - favorite, in that old day at the Indian Queen! The General possesses every - angry reason for being aroused, and he sends fiercely for smug Dominie - Ely. - </p> - <p> - The villifying Dominie Ely appears before the General in fear and - trembling—color stricken from his fat cheek. He falteringly - confesses that he has been inspired to his slanders by a Dominie Campbell. - The furious General summons Dominie Campbell, about whom there is a - Calhoun atmosphere of jackal and buzzard in even parts. The General hurls - pointed questions at Dominie Campbell, and catches him in lies. - </p> - <p> - While the General is putting to flight the two black-coat buzzards of - slander, the war breaks out in a new quarter. The “Ladies of Washington,” - compared to whom the Red Stick Creeks at the Horseshoe and the redcoat - English at New Orleans are as children's toys, fall upon the General's - social flank. They hate the pretty Peg because she is more beautiful than - they. They resent her as the daughter of a tavern keeper—a common - tapster!—who is now being lifted to a social eminence equal with - their own. These reasons bring the “Ladies of Washington” to the field. - But with militant sapiency they conceal them, and adopt as the pretended - cause of their onslaught the slanders of those ophidians, Dominie Ely and - Dominie Campbell. - </p> - <p> - Mrs. Calhoun, wife of Statesman Calhoun, at the head of Capital fashion - and social war-chief of the “Ladies of Washington,” says she will not - “recognize” the pretty Peg. Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien, - wives of the three Cabineteers who wear in private the colors of Statesman - Calhoun, say they will not “recognize” the pretty Peg. Mrs. Donelson, wife - of the General's private secretary and <i>ex officio</i> “Lady of the - White House,” says she will not “recognize” the pretty Peg. The latter - drawing-room Red Stick is the General's niece. Also, she is in fashionable - leading strings to Mrs. Calhoun, who as social war-chief of the “Ladies of - Washington” dazzles and benumbs her. - </p> - <p> - Mrs. Donelson approaches the General concerning the pretty Peg. - </p> - <p> - “Anything but that, Uncle!” she says. “I am sorry to offend you, but I - cannot 'recognize' Mrs. Eaton.” - </p> - <p> - “Then you'd better go back to Tennessee, my dear!” returns the General, - between puffs at his clay pipe. - </p> - <p> - Mrs. Donelson and her unwilling spouse go back to Tennessee. The war - against the pretty Peg goes on. - </p> - <p> - The General's Cabinet is a house divided against itself. Cabineteers - Ingham, Branch, and Berrien align themselves with Statesman Calhoun on - this issue of the pretty Peg. For each has a ring in his nose, a wedding - ring, and his wife leads him about by it socially, hither and yon as she - chooses. Cabineteers Van Buren and Barry range themselves with Cabineteer - Eaton and the pretty Peg. - </p> - <p> - Cabineteer Van Buren is short, round, fat, smooth, adroit, ambitious, and - so much the mental tree-toad that, now when he is in contact with the - positive General, his every opinion takes its color from that warrior. - Also Cabineteer Van Buren is a widower, with no wife to lead him socially - by the nose. Hat in hand, he calls upon the pretty Peg—a politeness - which pleases the General tremendously. - </p> - <p> - Cabineteer Van Buren gives dinners, and asks the pretty Peg to perform as - hostess. With a wise eye on the General, he incites Cabineteer Barry, who - is a bachelor, to burst into similar dinners, with the pretty Peg in - command. By his suggestion, Minister Vaughn of the English and Minister - Krudener of the Russians, who like Cabineteer Barry are bachelors, follow - amiable suit. They give legation dinners, at which the pretty Peg - presides. The General adopts these brilliant examples with the White - House. The pretty Peg finds herself in control of such society high ground - as the English and Russian legations, two Cabinet houses besides her own, - and last and most important the White House itself. It is a merry even if - a savage war, and the pretty Peg is everywhere victorious. - </p> - <p> - Not everywhere! Mrs. Calhoun, as war-chief of the “Ladies of Washington,” - with Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien about her as a staff, - refuses to yield. These four indomitables and their beflounced and - be-feathered followers, noses uptilted in scorn of the pretty Peg, - prosecute their battle to the acrid end. - </p> - <p> - In the earlier stages, the General, his angry thoughts on Statesman Clay, - inclines to the belief that these attacks on the pretty Peg are of that - defeated personage's connivance, and says so to Wizard Lewis. - </p> - <p> - Wizard Lewis, when the General is inaugurated, is for returning to his - Cumberland home, but finds himself restrained by the lonesome General. - </p> - <p> - “What!” cries the latter, “would you leave me now, after doing more than - all the rest to land me here?” - </p> - <p> - Upon which reproach, Wizard Lewis remains, and lives in the White House - with the General. It befalls that with the earliest slanders of the - ophidians, Dominie Ely and Dominie Campbell, the General goes to Wizard - Lewis with accusations against Statesman Clay. - </p> - <p> - “It's that pit-viper, Henry Clay!” cries the General. “Major, the pet - employment of that scoundrel is the vindication of good women!” - </p> - <p> - Wizard Lewis holds to a different view. He declares that the secret - impulse of this base war is Statesman Calhoun, and proves it as events - unfold. - </p> - <p> - “And yet,” asks the General, “why should he assail little Peg? Both he and - Mrs. Calhoun called upon her and Major Eaton, and congratulated them on - their marriage.” - </p> - <p> - “That was while Major Eaton was a senator,” Wizard Lewis responds, “and - before he became War Secretary and got in the way of the Calhoun plans. - Your Vice-President, General, is mad to be President. Also, he is so - blurred in his strategy as to imagine that these attacks on little Peg - will advance his prospects.” - </p> - <p> - The General snorts suspiciously; a light breaks upon him. - </p> - <p> - “Then your theory is,” he says, “that Calhoun assails Peg as a step toward - the presidency.” - </p> - <p> - “Precisely, General! Rightly construed, it is not an attack on Peg, but - you. He is trying to put you before the people in the role of one who - countenances the immoral, and upholds a bad woman. In that he hopes to - array every virtuous fireside against you. He looks for you to ask a - second term; and, by any means in his power, he will strive to destroy you - out of his path.” - </p> - <p> - “Now, was there ever such infamy!” cries the General. “Here is a man so - vile that he would pave his way to the White House with the slain honor of - a woman!” - </p> - <p> - The hate of the General is now focused upon Statesman Calhoun. That - ignoble strategist, he resolves, shall never achieve the presidency. - </p> - <p> - As one wherewith to defeat Statesman Calhoun and succeed himself, the - General picks upon Cabineteer Van Buren—that suave one, who is so - much to the urbane fore for the pretty Peg. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, sir,” says the General to Wizard Lewis; “I'll take a second term! - And then, Major, we will make Matt President after me.” - </p> - <p> - “We'll do more,” returns Wizard Lewis. “When we elect you President the - second time, we'll shove aside the plotting Calhoun, and make Van Buren - Vice-President.” - </p> - <p> - “Right!” exults the General. “Then, should I die, Matt will at once step - into my shoes.” - </p> - <p> - Neither the General nor Wizard Lewis is at pains to conceal their design. - The sallow cheek of Statesman Calhoun grows sallower; for the news is like - an icicle through his heart. It in no wise abates his war upon the pretty - Peg, however; which—as Wizard Lewis guesses—is only meant to - break down the General with good people. - </p> - <p> - Vindicated; in all quarters she rises in triumph over Mrs. Calhoun, Mrs. - Ingham, Mrs. Branch, Mrs. Berrien, and what other “society Red Sticks”—as - he terms them—seek her destruction. The next thing is to shear away - the cabinet strength of Statesman Calhoun. Wizard Lewis recommends a - dissolution of the Cabinet. He lays his thought before the General, who - sits listening in the smoke of his long pipe. Cabineteer Van Buren will - resign. Cabi-neteers Eaton and Barry will emulate his example and turn - over their portfolios. With half his Cabinet gone, should the Calhoun - three prove backward, the General shall demand their portfolios. - </p> - <p> - “And then?” asks the General, his iron-gray head in a cloud of tobacco - smoke. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXI—WIZARD LEWIS URGES A CHANGE IN FRONT - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>IZARD LEWIS, - bending his brows to the situation, now counsels an extreme step. - </p> - <p> - “Then you will make Van Buren Minister to England, and give Major Eaton - the governorship of Florida. Little Peg should look well in the palace at - St. Augustine.” - </p> - <p> - “By the Eternal!” cries the General, as he hurls his clay pipe into the - fireplace where hundreds of its brittle predecessors have gone crashing—“by - the Eternal, we'll do it! The last vestige of a Calhoun cabinet influence - shall be wiped out!” - </p> - <p> - It comes to pass as Wizard Lewis programmes. Cabineteer Van Buren resigns, - and Cabineteers Eaton and Barry hasten to follow his lead. The three other - cabineteers sit dazed; the suddenness of the thing takes away their - cabinet breaths. They sit dazed so long that the General loses patience - and asks for their portfolios. One by one they hand them in, as it were at - the White House door—Cabineteer Ingham being last and most reluctant - of all. - </p> - <p> - There be tears and mournful wailings now among the society Red Sticks. - Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien are shaken in their social - souls, never for one moment having foreseen this movement in disastrous - flank. However, there is no help for it. The deposed three wash off their - social war paint, and go their divers ways lamenting; while the General - and Wizard Lewis grin sourly over their fireside pipes. As for Statesman - Calhoun, his schemes experience a chill; for in thus sending Cabineteers - Ingham, Branch, and Berrien into political exile, the General drives a - knife to the very heart of his selfish diplomacy. - </p> - <p> - Cabinet wiped out, the General constructs another, with his old-time - friend and comrade Livingston as Secretary of State. Also, the agreeable - Van Buren departs for the Court of St. James as the General's envoy to - England, while Major Eaton and the villified yet victorious Peg wend - southward among the flowers to rule over Florida. - </p> - <p> - Before he leaves Washington, the ill-used Eaton makes praiseworthy - attempts to fasten a duel upon ex-Cabineteer Ingham, who hires a whole - stage coach and gallops off to Baltimore—the fear of death upon him—to - avoid being sacrificed. The flight of ex-Cabineteer Ingham is a shock to - the General. - </p> - <p> - “I knew he was a bad, designing man,” says the General with a sigh; “but, - upon my soul, Major, I didn't think him a coward!” - </p> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun, weaker by virtue of that Cabinet lopping off, is still - too narrowly set in his White House ambitions to give up the war. In this - he is much sustained by the Senate, which jealous body pretends to possess - its own causes of complaint. Chief among these is the obvious manner in - which the General promotes the importance of that old fox, Colonel Burr. - The General shows that he cares more for the appointment-indorsement of - Colonel Burr than for the recommendations of half the Senate. This does - not set well on the proud senatorial stomachs of the togaed ones; and, - with Statesman Calhoun to lead them, they are willing to obstruct and - baffle the General in his policies. Moved of this spirit, and at the - instigation of Statesman Calhoun, the Senate refuses to confirm the - appointment of Minister Van Buren—a Burrite—who thereupon - makes his farewell unruffled bow to the great ones at St. James and - returns amiably home. - </p> - <p> - That Thomas Benton, who was so fortunate as to fall into a receptive - cellar on a certain Nashville occasion when the muzzle of the General's - saw-handle was at his breast, and who is now in the Senate from Missouri, - gives Statesman Calhoun notice of what he may expect: - </p> - <p> - “You have broken a minister,” observes the farsighted Benton—“you - have broken a Minister to make a Vice-President.” - </p> - <p> - While the slander battle against the pretty Peg is raging, a storm cloud - of a different character is gathering over the General. Although Statesman - Clay has no part in that war upon the pretty Peg, he by no means sits with - folded hands in idleness. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0011" id="linkimage-0011"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0299.jpg" alt="0299 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0299.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - There is a certain money-creature called the United States Bank. It is - controlled by one Biddle of Philadelphia. Banker Biddle is a glistening, - serpentine personage, oily and avaricious—a polished composite of - assurance, greed, and lies. He is a proven and unscrupulous corruptionist, - and a majority of both Senate and House wait upon his money-bidding. Under - the Biddle influence, the Bank never fails to consider the mere “name” of - a Congressman as perfect collateral for a loan. Even so incorrigible a - bankrupt as the lion-faced Webster is good at the Biddle Bank for - thousands. - </p> - <p> - Secure in its hold on Congress, and insolent—as Money ever is when - it feels secure—the Biddle Bank thinks to crack a political whip. - The main bank is in Philadelphia. There are twenty-five branch banks - scattered here and there throughout the country. In pursuance of its - determination to dominate politics, the Biddle Bank suddenly refuses loans - to the General's friends. Banker Biddle and the Bank are secretly moved to - these doughty attitudes by Statesman Clay, who, with his party of the - Whigs, has for long been their ally. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Clay, in possession of the machinery of his party, is resolved - to put his own name forward at the head of the next Whig ticket against - the formidable General. He foresees that Statesman Calhoun—who is of - the General's party of the Democrats—will come to utter grief in his - intrigues to supplant the General and make himself a candidate. And yet, - the blue-grass Machiavelli can use Statesman Calhoun. The latter is - powerful with the Senate. The Senate hates the General as blindly as does - Statesman Calhoun. - </p> - <p> - Machiavelli Clay resolves to have advantage of this double condition of - hatred. He will beguile the General to attack the Biddle Bank. The attack - can only be made by message to Congress. That should be the opportunity of - Machiavelli Clay. He will have the Senate for the battle ground; and it - shall go hard if he do not emerge with the General defeated and the Bank - and Banker Biddle at his back. With such friends in the campaign to come - later he should have the General and his party of democracy at his mercy. - Thus dreams Machiavelli Clay. - </p> - <p> - It is a beautiful dream—this long-drawn chicane of Machiavelli Clay. - As a move toward its realization he suggests the policy of a loan - hostility toward the General's friends; for the General will fight almost - as quickly for a friend as for a woman. - </p> - <p> - Banker Biddle adopts it, and the Bank develops it in Portsmouth. The paper - of one of the General's friends—a Mr. Isaac Hill—is - dishonored, and the General's friendship is understood to be the reason. - The thing is managed like a challenge, and has the instant effect of - bringing the General—ever ready for such a war—to the field. - In its invidious attitude toward his friends, the Bank throws down the - glove; and the General promptly picks it up. In a message to Congress, he - assails the Bank; and the fight is on. - </p> - <p> - Money is always a coward, and commonly a fool. Also its instinct is the - weak instinct of corruption. Its attitude toward a public is ever that of - the threatening, bullying, bragging terrorist, who will either rule or - ruin. It works by fear, and resorts to every quack device. It will gnash - its jaws, lash its tail, spout fire and smoke in the face of a quailing - world. And yet all this tail-lashing and jaw-gnashing and fire-spouting is - a sham. Money, for all its appearance of ferocity, is no more perilous to - folk who face it than is the fire-spouting, jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing - papier-maché dragon of grand opera. Attack it, and what follows? A couple - of rueful supernumeraries crawl abjectly, if grumblingly, from its - papier-maché stomach—the complete yet harmless reason of the - jaw-gnashing, fire-spouting, tail-lashing from which a frightened world - shrunk back. - </p> - <p> - Besides these furious matters, Money does another lying thing. It seeks to - teach the public to regard it as the palpitant heart of the country - itself. - </p> - <p> - “I am the seat of life!” cries Money. “Touch me, and you die!” - </p> - <p> - The advantage of this lie is clear; that is, if the lie win credit. Being - the heart, however corrupt, no law surgery may reach it. If Money were the - hand of a people, or the fingers on that hand, then it might be dealt - with. It could be statute-lanced or poulticed or even amputated, and no - threat to life ensue. Money foresees this; and, with that lying cunning - which is ever the scoundrel sword and shield of cowards, it declares - itself to be the heart. Thus is it safeguarded against the honest least - correction of communal saw and knife. Being the heart, its vileness may be - deplored but cannot be mended. For who is the mediciner that shall handle - the heart to any result save death? - </p> - <p> - And yet while Money thus proclaims itself the nation's heart it lies. It - is not even so reputable a member as the hand. At the most it comes to be - no more than just a thumb, or a forefinger, and the farthest possible - remove from any source of life. Folk who would aid their money-throttled - hour must remember these things. - </p> - <p> - Banker Biddle and the Bank, now when the General advances upon them, go - through that furious charlatanry of jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing, and - fire-spouting. The General is unconvinced, unterrified. His hawk eyes - pierce the miserable masquerade. He knows the Bank for a dragon of paper - and pretense, and does not hesitate. - </p> - <p> - Failing to arouse his personal-political fear, Banker Biddle and the Bank - attempt to stay the General by proclaiming a peril to the country at - large. - </p> - <p> - “We are the throbbing heart of all prosperity!” they cry. - </p> - <p> - The General recognizes the lie. He knows that prosperity comes from the - rain and the sun and the soil, and not from banks or bankers. As well - might the two-bushel sacks declare themselves to be the harvest reason of - a nation's wheat. The General continues his advance. There shall be no - evasion, no hiding, no safety by lies; masks are not to avail nor - pretenses protect. - </p> - <p> - The General in his attack on Banker Biddle and the Bank displays a genius - even with that which he employed against the English at New Orleans. - Banker Biddle and the Bank are the petted custodians of all the millions - of Government. The General “removes” those millions—a yellow - mountain of gold! Incidentally, he dismisses a weak-kneed Secretary of the - Treasury as a preliminary. - </p> - <p> - “Remove the deposits!” says the General. - </p> - <p> - “I dare not!” whines the weak-kneed one. - </p> - <p> - “I will take the responsibility!” urges the General. - </p> - <p> - Still the weak-kneed one falters. At that the General sets him aside. - </p> - <p> - The “removal” of those Government millions, which is as the drawing off of - half their life blood, leaves the Bank and Banker Biddle exceeding pale in - the face. They look appealingly at Statesman Clay, who, the better to - manage his side of the conflict, has taken a Kentucky seat in the Senate. - Statesman Clay encourages the Bank and Banker Biddle. It will all come - right, he says; there is a Senate bomb preparing. - </p> - <p> - To bring the General squarely before the public as the Bank's destroyer, - Statesman Clay anticipates the years and offers a measure renewing the - charter of that money temple. Statesman Calhoun, with every Senate foe of - the General, is for it. The measure gallops through both Senate and House. - It is sent whirling to the White House. - </p> - <p> - “Will he sign it?” wonders Statesman Clay, in consultation with his own - thoughts. - </p> - <p> - For an anxious moment Statesman Clay fears the coming of that signature; - he cannot conceive of courage greater than his own. His anxiety is - misplaced. The General will not sign. When the Clay-constructed measure - renewing the charter of the Bank is laid before him, with about what ado - might attend the killing of a garter snake he breaks its back with his - veto. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Clay rubs his satisfied hands. - </p> - <p> - “Now,” says he to Banker Biddle, who is becoming a bit weak, “we have him - helpless! That veto is his death warrant! The campaign is at hand; I shall - be the candidate of my party, he of his. That veto shall be the issue! - Money, you know, is all powerful. Being so, who shall doubt the result - when now the public is driven to choose between the Bank and the White - House—Prosperity and Andrew Jackson?” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XII—THE DOWNFALL OF MACHIAVELLI CLAY - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">M</span>ACHIAVELLI CLAY is - one who looks seldom from the window and often in the glass. No man - carries himself more upon the back of his own regard than does Machiavelli - Clay. He believes in the wisdom of the classes, the ignorance of the - masses, and thinks that government should be of people, by statesmen, for - statesmen. Also he has a profound respect for Money, and little for - perishing flesh and blood. As to each of these thought-conditions he lives - in head-on collision with the General, who in all things is his precise - contradiction. - </p> - <p> - As a guide by which the popular view may direct itself, Machiavelli Clay - asks the Senate to pass a vote of censure upon the General. With the help - of Statesman Calhoun, he puts it through. The Clay-invoked “censure” - strikes these sparks from the General: - </p> - <p> - “Major,” he cries, thinking on his saw-handles as he and Wizard Lewis sit - with their evening pipes, “if I live to get these robes of office off, I - may yet bring that rascal to a dear account.” - </p> - <p> - Banker Biddle, now when his precious Bank for its life or death will be - made the campaign issue, is not without those pale misgivings which ever - shake the livid heart of Money on the eve of war. Observing this - knee-knocking trepidation, Machiavelli Clay attempts to give him courage. - This is no difficult task for Machiavelli Clay to undertake; since, in his - native ignorance of the popular, he harbors no doubt of the General's - downfall. Also he extends cheering word the more readily to the quaking - Banker Biddle, because the latter and his jeopardized Bank are to furnish - those golden sinews of war, which will be required for the Whig campaign. - </p> - <p> - Machiavelli Clay uplifts the confidence of Banker Biddle to a point where - the latter, from his money lair in Philadelphia, writes him the following: - </p> - <p> - “<i>He (the General) has all the fury of a chained panther biting the bars - of its cage—a condition which I think should contribute to relieve - the country of the tyranny of this miserable man. You, my dear sir, are - destined to be the instrument of that deliverance, and at no period of - your life has the public had a deeper stake in you.</i>” - </p> - <p> - In so writing to Machiavelli Clay, Banker Biddle permits his hopes to - overrun his intelligence. Machiavelli Clay is not to become “the - deliverer” of his hour, nor shall the “chained panther” in the White House - be cast out. Machiavelli Clay, however, is no Elijah gifted of prophecy; - but, on the wooden-witted other hand, proves quite as besotted touching - the future as does Banker Biddle. He replies to that financier in these - words: - </p> - <p> - “<i>Fear not; there shall come a cleansing of the Augean stables! Our - cause cannot fail! That veto of the Bank charter is a broad confession of - the incompetency of the Administration, and shows him (the General) unfit - to carry on the business of government. I think we are authorized to - confidently anticipate his defeat</i>.” - </p> - <p> - Now when the candidates of the Democratic party are about to be named, - Statesman Calhoun foresees that he himself will be ignored, and - ex-Cabineteer Van Buren supplant him, nominationally, for the place of - Vice-President. - </p> - <p> - To save his chagrin, and on the principle that when one is about to be - thrown out it is wise to go out, he resigns from his vice-presidential - perch, lays down the Senate gavel, and returns to his home-state of South - Carolina. Once there, following the Kentucky example of Machiavelli Clay, - he sees to it that his own Legislature returns him to Washington as a - Senator. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun abandons hope of making his appearance as a White House - candidate in the campaign at hand. What then? He is of middle years, and - can wait. He will lie back and watch the struggle between the General and - Machiavelli Clay. Let victory fall where it may, he, Statesman Calhoun, - will prepare himself for his own sure triumph in the conflict four years - away. Which demonstrates that, while his judgment is crippled, his - ambition stands as tall and as straight as a mountain pine. - </p> - <p> - The tickets are brought to the field—the General against Machiavelli - Clay, with ex-Cabineteer Van Buren, and a Whig obscurity named Sargent - running for second place. The issue presents the alternative—the - General or the Bank, humanity in a death-hug with Money. - </p> - <p> - Machiavelli Clay and Banker Biddle have no fears; for they are gold-blind - and can see nothing beyond themselves. They are given a rude awakening. - The people speak; and when the sound of that speaking dies out, the - General has overwhelmed Machiavelli Clay with two hundred and nineteen - electoral votes against the latter's sixty-nine. Machiavelli Clay and - Banker Biddle and the Bank go down, while the General—ever the - conqueror and never once the conquered—sweeps back to the - presidency. Also ex-Cabineteer Van Buren is made Vice-President, as - aforetime resolved upon by the General and Wizard Lewis, and from that - Senate eminence, so lately vacated by Statesman Calhoun, will wield the - gavel over togaed discussion. - </p> - <p> - The General, President the second time, picks up the reins, settles - himself upon the box, and proceeds to drive his governmental times after - this wise. He kills out what few sparks of life still animate the Biddle - Bank. He removes the Creeks and Cherokees from Florida and Georgia, and - thereby guarantees the scalp on many an innocent head. He throws open the - public lands for settlement at nominal figures. He fosters a gold currency - and discourages paper. - </p> - <p> - He pays off the last splinter of the national debt, and offers to the - wondering eyes of history the spectacle of a country that doesn't owe a - dollar. He makes commercial treaties with every tribe of Europe. Finally, - he compels France to pay five millions in gold for outrages long ago - committed upon the sailors of America. - </p> - <p> - The last is not brought about without some show of force. France, at the - General's demand, falls into a white heat of rage and froths for instant - war. The General takes France at her warlike word, notifies Congress, and - orders his fleet into the Mediterranean, the flagship <i>Constitution</i> - in the van. - </p> - <p> - The cool vigor of the move sets France gasping. She consults England - across the Channel, and is privily assured that whipping a Yankee - eighty-gun ship is a feat so difficult of marine accomplishment that, like - the blossoming of the century plant, it would be foolish to look for it - oftener than once in one hundred years. It is England's impression, - whispered in the Frankish ear, that it will be cheaper to pay the five - millions. Whereupon, France breaks into diplomatic smiles, assures the - General that her late war-rage was mere humor and her froth a jest. And - pays. - </p> - <p> - By way of a little junket, the General visits New England, and at the - genial sight of him that chill region thaws like icicles in July. Indeed, - the New England temperature rises to a height where Harvard College - confers upon the General the degree of Doctor of Laws. At which Statesman - Adams nurses his wrath with this entry in his sour diary: - </p> - <p> - “Seminaries of learning have been timeservers and sycophants in every - age.” - </p> - <p> - The General has done his people many a service. He has defended them from - savage Red Stick Creeks, and savage Red-coat English with their war cry of - “Beauty and Booty!” Now he will do his foremost work of all, and buckler - them against the javelins of treason, save them from between the jaws of a - conspiracy—wolfish and widespread for national destruction. - </p> - <p> - The conspiracy has its birth in the ambition-crazed bosom of Statesman - Calhoun; its shiboleth is “Nullification!” - </p> - <p> - “I would sooner,” said Caesar, when his courtiers were laughing at the - pompous mayor of a little mud town in Spain—“I would sooner be first - here than second in Rome!” And, centuries after, the sentiment wakes a - responsive echo in the jealous breast of Statesman Calhoun. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun aims to follow the General in the headship of American - affairs. Defeated of that, he is resolved to sever those constitutional - links which bind his home-state of South Carolina to her sister States in - Federal Union, and declare her a nation by and of herself. - </p> - <p> - In his new rôle of “seceder,” Statesman Calhoun makes this impression on - the English Harriet Martineau. After speaking of him as involving himself - tighter and tighter in spinnings of political mysticism and fantastic - speculation, she calls him a “cast-iron man” and says: - </p> - <p> - “<i>He (Calhoun) is eager, absorbed, overspeculative. I know of no one who - lives in such intellectual solitude. He meets men and harangues them by - the fireside as in the Senate. He is wrought like a piece of machinery, - set going vehemently by a weight, and stops while you answer. He either - passes by what you say, or twists it into suitability with what is in his - head, and begins to lecture again. He is full of his 'Nullification,' and - those who know the force that is in him and his utter incapacity for - modification by other minds, will no more expect repose and self-retention - from him than from a volcano in full force. Relaxation is no longer in the - power of his will. I never saw anyone who gave me so completely the idea - of 'possession.</i>'” - </p> - <p> - By which the English woman would say that she thinks Statesman Calhoun - insane. She overstates, however, his “incapacity for modification” and - “self-retention.” There will come a day when he does not pause, nor close - his eyes in sleep, between Washington and his home in South Carolina, such - is his fear-spurred eagerness—with the shadow of the gibbet all - across him!—to stamp out what fires of treason he has been at pains - to kindle, and avoid that halter which the General promises as their - reward. - </p> - <p> - It is in Senate debate that Statesman Calhoun removes the mask from his - intended treason, and gives the world a glimpse of its blackness. He - threatens, unless the tariff be changed to match his pleasure, that South - Carolina will prevent its enforcement within her borders. He declares - South Carolina superior to the nation in her powers, and proclaims for her - the right to “nullify” what Federal laws she deems inimical to her - peculiar interest. He shows how South Carolina will, as against the tariff - contemplated, invoke that inherent right to “nullify,” and says, should - the Washington government attempt to coerce her, she will take herself out - of the Union. - </p> - <p> - To this exposition of States rights, the General in the White House - listens with gathering scorn. He turns to Wizard Lewis: - </p> - <p> - “Why, sir,” he cries, addressing that Merlin of politics, “if one is to - believe Calhoun, the Union is like a bag of meal open at both ends. No - matter how you pick it up, the meal all runs out. I shall tie the bag and - save the country!” - </p> - <p> - Treason, however base, will have its friends, and Statesman Calhoun goes - not without “Nullification” followers. In his own mischievous State the - doctrine is received with open arms. The Governor issues his proclamation; - a convention of the people is authorized by the Legislature. They are to - meet at Columbia and settle the details of “Nullification” in its - practical workings out. They do meet; and adopt unanimously an “Ordinance - of Nullification” which declares the tariff just made in Washington “Null, - void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens.” - They decree that no duties, enjoined by such tariff, shall be paid or - permitted to be paid in any port of South Carolina. The closing assertion - of the “Ordinance” runs that, should the Government of the United States - try by force to collect the tariff duties, “The people of South Carolina - will thenceforth hold themselves absolved from all further obligation to - maintain or preserve their political connection with the people of the - other States, and will proceed to organize a separate government, and do - all other acts and things which sovereign and independent States may of - right do.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0012" id="linkimage-0012"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0321.jpg" alt="0321 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0321.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - Following this doughty setting-out of what one might call the - Palmetto-rattlesnake position, the Governor suggests military associations - on the model of the Minute Men of the Revolution, and makes ready for what - blood-letting shall be required to sustain Statesman Calhoun in his new - preachment. Altogether it is a South Carolina day of bombast and blue - cockades, with Statesman Calhoun already chosen as the president of a - coming “Southern Confederacy.” While these dour matters are in process of - Palmetto transaction, Statesman Hayne encounters the lion-faced Webster on - the floor of the Senate, and the latter establishes forever the rightful - supremacy of the Federal Union, and demonstrates that the “Nullification” - set up by Statesman Calhoun is but the chimera of a jaundiced, - ambition-bitten mind. Thus canters the hour in the Senate and in South - Carolina; while up in the White House the General sits reading a book. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXIII—THE FEDERAL UNION: IT MUST BE PRESERVED - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General is - reading his book, when in walks Wizard Lewis. The latter necromancer - casually alludes to Statesman Calhoun, and his pet infamy of - “Nullification.” At this the General's honest rage begins to mount. - </p> - <p> - “You bear witness, Major,” he cries—“you bear witness how Calhoun is - trying me! But by the living heavens, I'll uphold the law!” Then, shaking - the ponderous tome at Wizard Lewis, his finger marking the place—“Here! - I've been reading what old John Marshall said in the case of Aaron Burr. - He makes treason in its definition as plain as a pikestaff. A man can't <i>think</i> - treason; he can't <i>talk</i> treason; he can only <i>act</i> treason. It - requires an act—an overt act! Calhoun is safe while he only talks or - conspires. But let one of his followers perform one act of opposition to - the law, even if it be no more than hand on sword hilt or just the - snapping of a fireless flint against an empty rifle-pan, and I have him. - There would be the overt act demanded by old Marshall; and he goes on to - say that the overt act, once committed, attaches to all of the - conspirators and becomes the act of each. I shall keep my ear as well as - my eye, Major, on Calhoun's State of South Carolina; and, at the first - crackling of a treasonable twig beneath a traitorous foot, into a felon's - cell goes he. Then we shall see what a hempen noose will do for him and - his 'Nullification.'” - </p> - <p> - The General, the better to deliver this long oration, gets up and walks - the floor. Having concluded, down he drops into his chair again, and to - grubbing at old John Marshall. - </p> - <p> - The General and Wizard Lewis decide that a perfect White House silence - concerning “Nullification” is the proper course. The General will sit - mute, and never by so much as the arching of a bushy brow intimate what he - will do, should Statesman Calhoun push his treason to that last extreme—that - overt act of opposition to the Federal law and its enforcement, demanded - by the great Chief Justice. And so, while arises all this turmoil of - treason in the Senate and South Carolina, the White House is as voiceless - as a tomb. - </p> - <p> - While the General is silent, he is in no sort idle. He makes secret - preparations to bruise the head of the serpent of secession with a heel of - steel. He sends General Scott to South Carolina. Into Castle Pinckney he - conveys thousands of rifles. One by one his warships drop into Charleston - harbor, until, with broadsides trained upon the town, scores of them ride - at ominous anchor. - </p> - <p> - The General gets word to his ever-reliable Coffee. In those well-nigh - twenty years which have come and gone since the English were swept up in - fire at New Orleans, the hunting-shirt men in the General's country of - Tennessee have increased and multiplied. Their numbers are such that at - the end of twenty days the energetic Coffee stands ready to cataract - twenty-five thousand of them into South Carolina at the lifting of the - General's bony finger, and follow these in forty days with twenty-five - thousand more. Not content with his fifty thousand hunting-shirt men from - Tennessee, the General arranges for an equal force from North Carolina and - Georgia. - </p> - <p> - If ever a people stood within the shadow of doom it is our treason-forging - ones of South Carolina in these days of Nullification, Columbia - Conventions, Minute Men, and Blue Cockades. - </p> - <p> - Some of them are not so dim of eye but what they perceive as much, and - begin to catch their breath. Still a wrong, once it be set rolling like a - stone down hill, is difficult to overtake and stop. So, while the heart of - would-be Treason beats a little faster, and its cheek turns a little - whiter, as inklings of what the wordless General is doing begin to creep - about among Palmetto-rattlesnake coteries, the work of making ready for - black revolt proceeds. - </p> - <p> - In Washington, that grim silence of the White House grows oppressive. - There be prudent ones, among the nullifying adherents of Statesman - Calhoun, who are willing to play the part of traitor if no peril attend - the rôle. They are highly averse to the character if it promise to thrust - their sensitive necks into gallows danger. The questions everywhere on the - whispering lips of these timid treason mongers are: - </p> - <p> - “What is the Jackson intention? What will the President do? Will he look - upon Nullification as merely some minor sin of politics? Or, will he treat - it as stark treason, and fall back on courts and hangman's ropes?” - </p> - <p> - No one answers, for no one knows. As for the General himself, his lips are - as dumb as a statue's. Traitors may go wrong, or go right; he will light - no lamp for their guidance. The awful suspense is carrying many of the - treason mongers to the brink of hysteria. Even Statesman Calhoun, morbid - and ambition-mad, is made to pause. He himself begins to wonder if it - would not be as well and as wise to measure in advance those iron-bound - anti-treason lengths to which the General stands ready to go. - </p> - <p> - To help them in their perplexity, Statesman - </p> - <p> - Calhoun and his Nullifying followers evolve a cunning scheme. In its - amiable execution, it should lay bare, they think, the purposes of the - General. Statesman Calhoun and his coconspirators have long ago laid claim - to the dead Jefferson as their patron saint of “Nullification,” asserting - that precious tenet to be his invention. They decide to give a dinner in - honor of the departed publicist. The dinner shall take place on the dead - Jefferson's birthday at the Indian Queen. The General shall come as a - guest. Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators will be there. Statesman - Calhoun will offer a toast, declaratory of those superior rights over the - Federal government which he asserts in favor of the separate States. It - shall be a Nullification toast, one redolent of a State's right to secede - from the Federal Union. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun having launched his fireship of sentiment, the General - will be requested to give a toast. Should he comply, it is believed by - Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators that he will in partial measure - at least unlock his plans. If he refuse—why then, under the - circumstances, his refusal will be pregnant of meaning. In either event, - he will be beneath the batteries of five hundred eyes, and much should be - read in his face. - </p> - <p> - That Jefferson dinner is an admirable device, one adapted to draw the - General's fire. Its authors go about felicitating themselves upon their - sagacity in evolving it. - </p> - <p> - “What say you, Major?” asks the General, when he receives the invitation - upon which so much of national good or ill may pend; “what say you? Shall - we humor them? You know what these Calhoun traitors are after.” - </p> - <p> - “True!” responds Wizard Lewis; “they want to count us, and measure us, in - that business of their proposed treason.” - </p> - <p> - “I'll tell you what I think,” says the General, after a pause. “I'll fail - to attend; but you shall go, and be counted in my stead. Also, since - they'll expect a toast from me, I'll send them one in your care. I hope - they may find it to their villain liking—they and their archtraitor - Calhoun!” - </p> - <p> - The Indian Queen is a crowded hostelry that Jefferson night. The halls and - waiting rooms are thronged of eminent folk. Some are there to attend the - dinner; others for gossip and to hear the news. As Wizard Lewis climbs the - stairs to the banquet room on the second floor, he encounters the - lion-faced Webster coming down. - </p> - <p> - “There's too much secession in the air for me,” says the lion-faced one, - shrugging his heavy shoulders. - </p> - <p> - “If that be so,” returns Wizard Lewis, “it's a reason for remaining.” - </p> - <p> - Wizard Lewis mingles with the groups in the corridors and parlors, for the - banquet hall is not yet thrown open. Among these, he nods his recognition - of Colonel Johnson, of Kentucky, tall of form, grave of brow, he who slew - Tecumseh; Senator Benton, once of that safe receptive cellar; the lean - Rufus Choate, eaten of Federalism and the worship of caste; Tom Corwin, - round, humorous, with a face of ruddy fun; Isaac Hill, gray and lame, the - General's Senate friend from New Hampshire whose insulted credit started - the war on Banker Biddle's bank; Editor Noah, of New York, as Hebraic and - as red of head as Absalom; the quick-eyed Amos Kendall; Editor Blair, who - conducts the <i>Globe</i>, the General's mouthpiece in Washington; the - reckless Marcy, who declares that he sees “no harm in the aphorism that - 'to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy.'” - </p> - <p> - The dinner is spread. The decorations are studied in their democracy. - Hundreds of candles in many-armed iron branches blaze and gutter about the - great room. The high ceilings and the walls are festooned of flags. The - stars and stripes are draped over a portrait of the dead Jefferson. Here - and there are hung the flags of the several States. With peculiar - ostentation, and as though for challenge, next to the national colors - flows the Palmetto-rattlesnake flag of South Carolina—Statesman - Calhoun's emblem. - </p> - <p> - The dinner is profuse, and folk of appetite and fineness declare it - elegant. There is none of your long-drawn courses, so dear to Whigs and - Federalists. Black servants come and go, to shift plates and knives, and - carve at the call of a guest. At hopeful intervals along the tables repose - huge sirloins, and steaming rounds of beef. There are quail pies; chickens - fried and turkeys roasted; pies of venison and rabbits, and pot pies of - squirrels; soups and fishes and vegetables; boiled hams, and giant dishes - of earthenware holding baked beans; roast suckling pigs, each with a - crab-apple in his jaws; corn breads and flour breads, and pancakes rolled - with jellies; puddings—Indian, rice, and plum; mammoth quaking - custards. Everywhere bristle ranks and double ranks of bottles and - decanters; a widest range of drinks, from whisky to wine of the Cape, is - at everybody's elbow. Also on side tables stand wooden bowls of salads, - supported by weighty cheeses; and, to close in the flanks, pies—mince, - pumpkin, and apple; with final coffee and slim, long pipes of clay in - which to smoke tobacco of Trinidad. - </p> - <p> - As the guests seat themselves, Chairman Lee proposes: - </p> - <p> - “The memory of Thomas Jefferson.” - </p> - <p> - The toast is drunk in silence. Then, with clatter of knife and fork, clink - of glasses, and hum of conversation, the feast begins. - </p> - <p> - The General's absence is a daunting surprise to many who do not know how - to construe it. Wizard Lewis, through Chairman Lee, presents the General's - regrets. He expected to be present, but is unavoidably detained at the - White House. The “regrets” are received uneasily; the General's absence - plainly gives concern to more than one. - </p> - <p> - As the dinner marches forward, “Nullification” and secession are much and - loudly talked. They become so openly the burden of conversation and are - withal so loosely in the common air, that sundry gentlemen—more - timorous than loyal perhaps—make pointless excuses, and withdraw. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun sits on the right hand of Chairman Lee. The festival - approaches the glass and bottle stage, and toasts are offered. There are a - round score of these; each smells of secession and State's rights. The - speeches which follow are even more malodorous of treason than the toasts. - </p> - <p> - The hour is hurrying toward the late. Statesman Calhoun whispers a word to - Chairman Lee; evidently the urgent moment is at hand. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun hands a slip of paper to Chairman Lee. There falls a - stillness; laughter dies and talk is hushed. - </p> - <p> - Chairman Lee rises to his feet. He pays Statesman Calhoun many flowery - compliments. - </p> - <p> - “The distinguished statesman from South Carolina,” says Chairman Lee in - conclusion, “begs to propose this sentiment.” He reads from the slip: - “'The Federal Union! Next to our liberty, the most dear! May we all - remember that it can only be preserved by respecting the rights of the - States, and distributing equally the burdens and the benefits of that - Union!'” - </p> - <p> - The stillness of death continues—marked and profound; for, as - Chairman Lee resumes his seat, Wizard Lewis rises. All know his relations - with the General; every eye is on him with a look of interrogation. Now - when the Calhoun toast has been read, they scan the face of Wizard Lewis, - representative of the absent General, to note the effect of the shot. - Wizard Lewis is admirable, and notably steady. - </p> - <p> - “The President,” says Wizard Lewis, “when he sent his regrets, sent also a - sentiment.” - </p> - <p> - Wizard Lewis passes a folded paper to Chairman Lee, who opens it and - reads: - </p> - <p> - “'The Federal Union! It must be preserved!”' - </p> - <p> - The words fall clear as a bell—for some, perhaps, a bell of warning. - Statesman Calhoun's face is high and insolent. But only for a moment. Then - his glance falls; his brow becomes pallid, and breaks into a pin-point - sprinkle of sweat. He seems to shrink and sear and wither, as though given - some fleeting picture of the future, and the gallows prophecy thereof. In - the end he sits as though in a kind of blackness of despair. The General - is not there, but his words are there, and Statesman Calhoun is not - wanting of an impression of the terrible meaning, personal to himself, - which underlies them. - </p> - <p> - It is a moment ominous and mighty—a moment when a plot to stampede - history is foiled by a sentiment, and Treason's heart and Treason's hand - are palsied by a toast of seven words. And while Statesman Calhoun, white - and frightened and broken, is helpless in the midst of his followers, the - General sits alone and thoughtful with his quiet White House pipe. - </p> - <p> - For all the plain sureness of that toast, the would-be rebellionists now - crave a surer sign. A member of Congress from South Carolina, polite and - insinuating, calls on the General. - </p> - <p> - “Mr. President,” says the insinuating signseeking one, suavely - deferential, “to-morrow I go back to my home. Have you any message for the - good folk of South Carolina?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” returns the General grimly, his hard blue eyes upon the insinuating - one, while his heavy brows are lowered in that falcon-trick of menace—“yes; - I have a message for the 'good folk of South Carolina.' You may say to the - 'good folk of South Carolina' that if one of them so much as lift finger - in defiance of the laws of this government, I shall come down there. And - I'll hang the first man I lay hands on, to the first tree I can reach.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXIV—THE ROUT OF TREASON - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">D</span>EMOCRACY goes not - without its defects, and there be times when that very freedom wherewith - it invests the citizen spreads a snare to his feet. For a chief fault, - Democracy is apt to mislead ambitious ones, dominated of ego and a want of - patriotism in even parts. Such are prone to run liberty into license in - following forth the appetites of their own selfishness, and forget where - the frontiers of loyalty leave off and those of black treason begin. - </p> - <p> - In a democracy, for your clambering narrowist to turn traitor is never a - far-fetched task. Being free to speak as he politically will and, per - incident, think as he politically will, he finds it no mighty journey to - the perilous assumption that he may act as he politically will. Knowing - his duty to guard the temple, he argues therefrom his right to deface it. - Treason fades into a mere abstraction—a crime curious in this, that - it is impossible of concrete commission. - </p> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun is among these ill-guided ones of topsy-turvy - patriotism. Blurred by ambition, soured of disappointment, license and - liberty have grown with him to be unconscious synonyms. The laws against - treason carry only a remonstrance, never a warning, and—as he reads - them—but deplore that civic villainy, while threatening nothing of - grief for what dark souls shall be guilty of it. In this frame the - General's stark sentiment, “The Federal Union! It must be preserved!” and - that subsequent hanging promise which, by the mouth of the suave - insinuating one, he sends to “the good folk of South Carolina,” go beyond - surprise with Statesman Calhoun, and provide a shock. It is as though, - walking in a trance of treason, he knocks his head against the White House - wall; his awakening is rudely, painfully complete. That dream of a - separate nation, with himself at its head, gives way to hangman visions of - rope and gallows tree; and, from bending his energies to methods by which - he may take South Carolina out of the Union, he gives himself wholly to - the more tremulous enterprise of keeping himself out of jail. - </p> - <p> - Some hint of that recent literature, which the General found so - interesting, gets abroad, and many go reading the lucid dictum of old - Marshall. Treason as a crime becomes better understood; and—by - Statesman Calhoun at least—better feared. Moved of these fears, - Statesman Calhoun sends message after message into his restless - Palmetto-rattlesnake State of South Carolina commanding, nay imploring, a - present suspension of “Nullification.” His Palmetto-rattlesnake adherents, - while not understanding the danger which fringes them about, have already - found enough that is alarming in the very air; and, for their own safety - as much as his, are heedful to regard that prayer for a “Nullification” - passivity. The South Carolina shouting ceases; the Minute Men rest on - their traitorous arms; the manufacture of blue cockades is abandoned; - while the Columbia convention devotes itself to innocuous adjournments - from innocent day to day. - </p> - <p> - While Palmetto-rattlesnake affairs are thus timidly quiescent, the Senate - itself—having read old Marshall, and being, moreover, somewhat - instructed by the watchful attitude of the General, who sits in the White - House a figure of frowning menace, both relentless and fateful—devotes - itself to the scaffold extrication of Statesman Calhoun. Machiavelli Clay - leads the rescue party. His is of an opposite political church to that of - Statesman Calhoun; but the pair meet on the warm, common ground of a - deathless hatred of the General. Under the mollifying guidance of - Machiavelli Clay, Senator after Senator surrenders those pet schedules of - tariff desired of his own people, and puts the surrender on the expressive - basis of “saving the neck of Calhoun.” - </p> - <p> - When every possible tariff cut has been arranged, and Congress adjourns, - Statesman Calhoun makes his memorable homeward flight. Horse after horse - he rides down, night becomes as day; for Death crouches on his crupper, - and he must stay the Nullifying hand of South Carolina to save his own - neck. He succeeds beyond his deserts, and comes powdering into Columbia, - worn and wan and anxious, yet none the less ahead of that “overt act” - whereof old Marshall spoke, and for which the somber General waits. - </p> - <p> - Once among his own treason-hatching coterie, Statesman Calhoun loses no - moments, but breaks up the “Nullification” nest. Secession dies in the - shell, and the Columbia convention, with more speed even than it displayed - in passing it, repeals that “Ordinance of Nullification.” Thereupon - Statesman Calhoun draws his breath more freely, as one who has been grazed - by the sinister fangs of Fate; while the inveterate General heaves a sigh - of regret. - </p> - <p> - Wizard Lewis overhears the sigh, and questions it. At this the General - explains his disappointment. - </p> - <p> - “It would have been better,” says he, “had we shed a little blood. This is - not the end, Major; the serpent of treason is only bruised, not slain. Had - Calhoun run his course, a handful of hundreds might have died. As affairs - stand, however, the country must one day wade knee-deep in blood to save - itself. These men are not honest. Their true purpose is the downfall of - the Union. Their present pretext is tariff; next time it will be slavery.” - </p> - <p> - By way of bringing the iniquity of “Nullification” before the people, - together with his views concerning it, the General seizes his big iron - pen, and scratches off a proclamation. - </p> - <p> - “I consider,” says he, “the power to annul a law of the United States, - assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union, - contradicted expressly by the Constitution, unauthorized by either its - letter or its spirit, inconsistent with every principle upon which it was - founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed.” - </p> - <p> - The country, reading the General's exposition of the Union and its - Gibraltar-like character, breaks into bonfires, oratory, dinners, - barbecues, parades, and what other schemes of jubilation are practiced by - a free people. That is to say the country breaks into these sundry - jubilant things, if one except the truant State of South Carolina. In that - Palmetto-rattlesnake-ridden commonwealth there prevails a sulky silence. - No bonfires blaze, no barbecues scorch, no dinners smoke, no parades - march. Baffled in its would-be treasons, afraid to stretch forth its - nullifying hand lest the sword of retribution strike it off at the wrist, - it comports itself like a spoiled child thwarted, and upholds its little - dignity with a pout. No one heeds, however; and, beyond an occasional - baleful glance from the General, the rest of the world leaves it to - recover from that pout in its own time and way. - </p> - <p> - When Congress reconvenes, Statesman Calhoun creeps back to his Senate - place. But the perils through which he has passed have left their - furrowing traces, and now he offers nothing, says nothing, does nothing. - His heart is water; his evil potentialities have oozed away. Haunted of - that hangman fear which still hag-rides him, he abides mute, motionless, - impotent, like some Satan in chains. - </p> - <p> - To further wound Statesman Calhoun, and in the mean, protesting teeth of - Machiavelli Clay, the Senate expunges from its record the vote of censure - it once passed upon the General. The resolution to expunge is offered by - Senator Benton who, as against a far-off Nashville hour when only a - generous cellar saved him from the General's saw-handle, is to-day the - latter's partisan and friend. The General is hugely pleased by the - censure-expunging resolution, and has what Senate ones supported it—being - fairly the whole Senate, when one forgets Machiavelli Clay, and our - chained, embittered Satan, Statesman Calhoun—to a grand dinner in - the East Room. - </p> - <p> - And now the official times wag prosperously with the General. His friends - are everywhere dominant, his enemies everywhere in retreat. Also his hair, - from iron gray, fades to milk-white. - </p> - <p> - Since nothing peculiar presses upon him in the way of opposition, the - General falls ill. He makes little of this, however; and cures himself - with tobacco, coffee, calomel, and lancets, while outraged doctors groan. - Likewise, he burns midnight oil in planning with Wizard Lewis the - elevation of Vice-President Van Buren, who he is resolved shall have the - presidency after him. - </p> - <p> - While thus the General lays his Van Buren plans, misguided admirers - bombard him with such marks of their regard as a phaëton built of unbarked - hickory, and a cheese weighing fourteen hundred pounds. The latter sturdy - confection is trundled into the White House kitchen, from which coign of - vantage it sends on high a perfume so utterly urgent that none may stay in - the White House until it is removed. Following its going, the executive - windows are thrown open throughout a wind-swept afternoon, to the end that - the last suffocating reminder of that cheese shall be eliminated. - </p> - <p> - The General's hours as President are drawing to a close. His hopes - touching a successor carry through triumphantly, and Vice-President Van - Buren is selected to follow him. Neither Machiavelli Clay for the Whigs, - nor Statesman Calhoun among the Democrats, has the courage to offer his - own name to the people. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0013" id="linkimage-0013"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0353.jpg" alt="0353 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0353.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - Statesman Calhoun, aiming to subtract as much as he may from the fortunes - of nominee Van Buren, produces a bolting ticket, headed by one Mangum; - and, for Mangum, Palmetto-rattlesnake South Carolina—still in a - tearful pout—wastes its lonely arrow in the air. It was, it will be, - ever thus with South Carolina, who might do herself a good, and come to - some true notion of her own peevish inconsequence, if she would but take a - long, hard look in the glass. She is as one who attends the fairs, but so - over-esteems herself as to defeat every bargain she might make. Her best - chances are cast away, a cheap sacrifice to vanity, since no one will - either buy her or sell her at the figure she sets on herself. Thus, too, - will it continue. Her frayed prospects, already behind a fashion, are to - wax more shopworn and more threadbare as the years unfold. - </p> - <p> - Nominee Van Buren is elected to succeed the General in the White House, - and every friend of the latter votes for the little polite man of - Kinderhook. The General is delighted, since the elevation of nominee Van - Buren provides for a continuation of his darling policies. - </p> - <p> - Wizard Lewis is delighted, because the new situation permits the return of - himself and his beloved General to their homes by the Cumberland. Nor does - it detract from the satisfaction of either that, with the presidential - coming of the Kinderhook one, the final door of political hope is barred - fast in the faces of Machiavelli Clay and Statesman Calhoun; for both the - General and Wizard Lewis hate these two as though that hatred were a - religious rite. - </p> - <p> - At last dawns President Van Buren's inauguration morning, and the General - stands for the last time before a people whose good and whose honor he has - so jealously guarded. Of this farewell appearance, poet Willis writes: - </p> - <p> - “<i>The air was elastic; the day bright and still. More than twenty - thousand people had assembled. The procession, the General and Mr. Van - Buren riding uncovered, arrived a little after noon. Their carriage, drawn - by four grays, paused. Descending from it at the foot of the steps, a - passage was made through the crowd, and the tall white head of the old - chieftain went steadily up. The crowd of diplomats and senators to the - rear gave way. A murmur of feeling rose up from the moving mass below, as - the infirm old General, coming as he had from a sick chamber which his - physicians had thought it impossible he should leave, stood bowed before - the people</i>.” - </p> - <p> - In his address the General touches many things. He closes by saying: “My - own race is nearly run. Advanced age and failing health warn me that I - must soon pass beyond the reach of human events. I thank God my life has - been spent in a land of liberty, and that He gave me a heart wherewith to - love my country. Filled with gratitude, I bid you farewell.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XXV—THE GRAVE AT THE GARDEN'S FOOT - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General wends - his slow way homeward, and is two months about the journey. His progress, - broken by many stops, is like both a triumph and a funeral; for double - ranks of worshipers line the route and sob or cheer as he passes. The - harsh horse-face is seamed of care and worn by sickness; but the slim form - is still erect and lance-like, and the blue eyes gleam as hawkishly - dangerous as when, behind his low mud walls with the faithful Coffee and - his hunting-shirt men, he broke down England's pride at New Orleans. - Everywhere the people press about him; for republics are not ungrateful, - and for once in a way of politics it is the setting, not the rising sun - upon which all eyes are centered. In the end he reaches home, and his - country of the Cumberland, as on many a former day, opens its arms to - receive him. - </p> - <p> - And now the General, for all his sickness and his well-nigh threescore - years and ten, must bend himself to his labors as a planter; for he has - come back very poor. He has his acres and his slaves; but debts have piled - themselves high, and the tooth of decay can do a devastating deal in eight - years. - </p> - <p> - The General goes to work as though life is just begun. The fences are - renewed, the buildings repaired, while the plow breaks fresh furrows in - fields that have lain fallow too long. To finance his plans, he borrows - ten thousand dollars from Editor Blair. Later, by a huddle of months, - Congress repays him that one-thousand-dollar fine, of which a quarter of a - century before he was mulcted in New Orleans. This latter, interest - swollen, is twenty-seven hundred dollars—a sum not treated lightly - in this hour of his narrowed fortunes! - </p> - <p> - All goes prosperously. The generous soil, as though for welcome to the - General, grants such crops of cotton that the wondering Cumberland folk, - as once they did aforetime, come miles to view his fields. When not busy - with his planting, the General is immersed in politics. Each day he rides - down to Wizard Lewis four miles below; or Wizard Lewis rides those four - miles up to the Hermitage. Being together, the pair, over pipe and - moderate glass, sagely consider the state of the nation. - </p> - <p> - Down by the General's gate is a large-stomached mail box. Each morning - finds it stuffed to suffocation with sheaves of letters and papers tied in - bundles. Also there are shoals and shoals of visitors. For the General's - home is a Mecca of politics, to which pilgrims of party turn their steps - by ones and twos and tens. Some come to do the stark old General honor; - some are one-time comrades, or friends who rose up around him on fields of - party war. For the most, however, and because humanity is selfish before - it is either just or generous, the visitors are office-seeking folk, who - ask the magic of the General's signature to their appeals. - </p> - <p> - These selfish ones become, in their vermin number and persistency, a very - plague. They wring from the suffering General the following: - </p> - <p> - “The good book, Major,” says he to Wizard Lewis, “tells us that at the - beginning there were in Eden a man, a woman, and an office seeker who had - been kicked out of heaven for preaching 'Nullification' I To judge of the - visiting procession, as it streams in and out of my front gate, I should - say that the latter in his descendants has increased and multiplied far - beyond the other two.” - </p> - <p> - The French king forgets and forgives those grievous five millions, and - dispatches an artist of celebration to paint the General's portrait. The - artist finds the latter of a mind to humor the French king. The portrait - is painted—a striking likeness!—and the gratified artist - carries it victoriously across seas to his royal master. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0014" id="linkimage-0014"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0365.jpg" alt="0365 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0365.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - The General becomes concerned in keeping England from stealing Oregon, and - writes letters to the Government at Washington in protest against it. - </p> - <p> - “Oregon or war!” is his counsel. - </p> - <p> - Just as deeply does he involve himself for the admission of Texas into the - Union, declaring that of right the nation's boundary should be, and, save - for the criminal carelessness of Statesman Adams on the occasion of the - last treaty with Spain—made in a Monroe hour—would be, the Rio - Grande. Statesman Adams, now in his icy old age, makes a speech in Boston - and denies this; whereat the General retorts in an open letter that - Statesman Adams is “a monarchist in disguise,” a “traitor,” a “falsifier,” - and his “entire address full of statements at war with truth, and - sentiments hostile to every dictate of patriotism.” - </p> - <p> - Machiavelli Clay foolishly invades the Cumberland country on a broad - mission of personal politics, and he like Statesman Adams makes a speech. - Machiavelli Clay, however, does not talk of Oregon, or Texas, or what - shall be the nation's foreign policy, whether timid or warlike. His is - wholly and solely a party oration, and in it he pays left-handed tribute - to Aaron Burr, dead a decade. Machiavelli Clay escapes no better with his - offensive eloquence than does Statesman Adams. The perilous old General - from his Hermitage is instantly out upon him with another open letter, of - which the closing paragraph says: - </p> - <p> - “<i>How contemptible does this lying demagogue appear, when he descends - from his high place in the Senate, and roams over the country retailing - slanders against the dead</i>.” - </p> - <p> - The General is much refreshed by these outbursts, and, in that contentment - of soul which follows, resolves to join the church. Long ago he promised - the blooming Rachel, fast asleep at the foot of the garden, that once he - be free from the muddy yoke of politics he will accept religion, and now - he keeps his word. He unites himself with the congregation which worships - in that little chapel, aforetime built for the blooming Rachel, and, upon - his coming into the fold, there arises vast rejoicing throughout the - ardent length and breadth of Cumberland Presbyterianism. - </p> - <p> - The pastor, Dominie Edgar, calls often at the Hermitage; for he feels that - the General may require some special spiritual grooming. One day he - observes that convert's saw-handles, oiled and neat and ready for blood, - on a mantel, prayerfully crossed beneath a portrait of the blooming - Rachel. The good dominie is shocked, but does not show it. He picks up one - of the saw-handles. - </p> - <p> - “This has seen service, doubtless,” he remarks tentatively. - </p> - <p> - “Ay!” responds the General grimly; “it has seen good service.” - </p> - <p> - Dominie Edgar puts the saw-handle back in place, and his curiosity pushes - no farther afield. He rightly conjectures it to be the weapon which cut - down the slanderous Dickinson, and mentally holds that it will more - advantage the soul of his convert to touch as scantily as may be upon - topics so ferocious. Shifting his ground, Dominie Edgar asks: - </p> - <p> - “General, do you forgive your enemies?” - </p> - <p> - “Parson,” says the convert, “I forgive <i>my</i> enemies, and welcome. But - I shall never”—here he points up at the portrait of the blooming - Rachel, which seems to lovingly follow his every motion with its painted - patient eyes—“I shall never forgive <i>her</i> enemies. My feud - shall follow them, and the memory of them, to the end of time.” - </p> - <p> - Dominie Edgar sits down with his convert to show him the error of his - obdurate ways. He lectures cogently. It is to be feared, however, that his - doctrinal seed of forgiveness falls upon hard, intractable ground; for, - while the convert says never a word, the lecture serves but to light again - in those blue eyes what lamps of hateful battle burned there on a certain - fierce May morning in that popular Kentucky wood. - </p> - <p> - The long days come and go, and the General lives on in fortune, peace, and - honor. Then the end draws down; for the General has run his threescore - years and ten, and well-nigh ten years more. Wizard Lewis sits by his - bedside, and never leaves him. - </p> - <p> - “I want to go, Major,” murmurs the General to Wizard Lewis; “for she is - over there.” He raises his eyes to the portrait of the blooming Rachel, - and looks upon it long and lovingly. “Major!”—Wizard Lewis presses - the thin hand—“see that they make my grave by her side at the - garden's foot!” - </p> - <p> - The General drifts into a stupor, Wizard Lewis holding fast his hand. The - good dominie Edgar is on his knees at prayer. From the porch outside the - sick room are heard the sobs and moans of the mourning blacks. - </p> - <p> - Wizard Lewis attempts to recall the dying General. - </p> - <p> - “What would you have done with Calhoun,” he asks, “had he persisted in his - 'Nullification' designs?” - </p> - <p> - The blue eyes rouse, and sparkle and glance with old-time fire. - </p> - <p> - “What would I have done with Calhoun?” repeats the General, his voice - renewed and strong; “Hanged him, sir!—hanged him as high as Haman! - He should have been a warning to traitors for all time!” - </p> - <p> - The sparkle subsides; the blue eyes close again in the dullness of coming - death. Wizard Lewis holds the poor thin hand, while Dominie Edgar prays on - to the accompaniment of the sobbing and the moaning of the sorrowing - blacks. - </p> - <p> - The prayer ends; the good dominie rises to his feet. - </p> - <p> - “Do you know me, General?” he whispers. The dim eyes are lifted to those - of Dominie Edgar. The latter goes on: “The love of the Lord is infinite! - In it you shall find heaven!” - </p> - <p> - The General turns with looks of love to the portrait of the blooming - Rachel. - </p> - <p> - “Parson,” says he, “I must meet her there, or it will be no heaven for - me.” - </p> - <p> - The General's head droops heavily forward. Dominie Edgar falls upon his - knees, and the voice of his praying goes upward with the moaning and the - sobbing of the slaves. Wizard Lewis places his hand on the General's - breast. He sighs, and shakes his head. That mighty heart, all love, all - iron, is still. - </p> - <h3> - THE END - </h3> - <div style="height: 6em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of -Andrew Jackson, by Alfred Henry Lewis - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN MEN GREW TALL *** - -***** This file should be named 51914-h.htm or 51914-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/1/51914/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of Andrew Jackson - -Author: Alfred Henry Lewis - -Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51914] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN MEN GREW TALL *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - - - -WHEN MEN GREW TALL OR THE STORY OF ANDREW JACKSON - -By Alfred Henry Lewis - -Illustrated - -D. Appleton And Company New York - -1907 - -[Illustration: 0001] - -[Illustration: 0008] - -[Illustration: 0009] - -TO - -THEODORE ROOSEVELT THAT MAN OF THE PUBLIC FOR WHOM I HAVE MOST REGARD -AND FROM WHOSE FUTURE I AS AN AMERICAN MOST HOPE THIS VOLUME IS -DEDICATED - -A. H. L. - - - - -CHAPTER I--SALISBURY AND THE LAW - -IN this year of our Lord's grace, 1787, the ancient town of Salisbury, -seat of justice for Rowan County, and the buzzing metropolis of its -region, numbers by word of a partisan citizenry eight hundred souls. -Its streets are unpaved, and present an unbroken expanse of red North -Carolina clay from one narrow plank sidewalk to another. In the summer, -if the weather be dry, the red clay resolves itself into blinding -brick-red dust. In the spring, when the rains fall, it lapses into -brick-red mud, and the Salisbury streets become bottomless morasses, the -despair of travelers. Just now, it being a bright October afternoon and -a shower having paid the town a visit but an hour before, the streets -offer no suggestion of either mud or dust, but are as clean and straight -and beautiful as a good man's morals. Trees rank either side, and their -branches interlock overhead. These make every street a cathedral aisle, -groined and arched in leafy green. - -In one of the suburbs, that is to say about pistol shot from the town's -commercial center, stands a two-story mansion. It is painted white, and -thereby distinguished above its neighbors, and has a heavily columned -veranda all across its wide face. This edifice is the residence of -Spruce McCay, a foremost member of the Rowan County bar. - -In a corner of the lawn, which unfolds verdantly in front of the house, -is a one-story one-room structure, the law office of Spruce McCay. -Inside are two or three pine desks, much visited of knives in the past, -and a half-dozen ramshackle chairs, which have seen stronger if not -better days. Also there is a collection of shelves; and these latter -hold scores of law books, among which "Blackstone's Commentaries," "Coke -on Littleton," and "Hales's Pleas of the Crown" are given prominent -place. The books show musty and dog-eared, and it is many years since -the youngest among them came from the printing press. - -On this October afternoon, the office has but one occupant. He is tall, -being six feet and an inch, and so slim and meager that he seems six -inches taller. Besides, he stands as straight as a lance, with nothing -of stoop to his narrow shoulders, and this has the effect of augmenting -his height. - -The face is a boy's face. It is likewise of the sort called "horse"; -with hollow cheeks and lantern jaws. The forehead is high and narrow. -The yellow hair is long, and tied in a cue with an eelskin--for eelskins -are according to the latest fashionable command sent up from Charleston. -The redeeming feature to the horse face is the eyes. These are big and -blue and deep, and tell of a mighty power for either love or hate. -They are Scotch-Irish eyes, loyal eyes, steadfast eyes, and of that -inveterate breed which if aroused can outstare, outdomineer Satan. - -As adding to the horse face a look of command, which sets well with -those blue eyes--so capable of tenderness and ferocity--is a high -predatory nose. The mouth, thin-lipped and wide, is replete of what folk -call character, but does nothing to soften a general expression which is -nothing if not iron. And yet the last word is applicable only at times. -The horse face never turns iron-hard unless danger presses, or perilous -deeds are to be done. In easier, relaxed hours one finds no sternness -there, but gayety and lightness and a love of pleasure. - -In dress the horse-faced boy is rather the fop, with a bottle-green -surtout of latest cut, high-collared, long-tailed, open to display a -flowered waistcoat of as many hues as May, from which struggles a ruffle -stiff with starch. The horsefaced boy has his predatory nose buried in -a law book. This is as it should be, for he is a student of the learned -Spruce McCay. - -There comes a step at the door; the horsefaced boy takes his nose -from between the covers of the book. Spruce McCay walks in, and throws -himself carelessly into a seat. He is a square, hearty man, with nose -up-tilted and eager, as though somewhere in the distance it sniffed an -orchard. He is of middle years, and well arrived at that highest ground, -just where the pathway of life begins to slope downward toward the final -yet still distant grave. - -Spruce McCay glances at a paper or two on his desk. Then, shoving all -aside, he fills and lights a corn-cob pipe. Through the smoke rings he -surveys the horse-faced boy; plainly he meditates a communication. - -"Andy, I've been thinking you over." - -Andy says "Yes?" expectantly. - -"You should cross the mountains." - -The blue eyes take on a bluer glint, and light up the horse face like -azure lamps. - -"Yes, a new country is the place for you. You are now about to be -admitted to practice law; not because you know law, but for the reason -that I have recommended it. As I say, you have little law knowledge; but -you possess courage, brains, perseverance, honesty, prudence and divers -other traits, which you take from your Carrickfergus ancestors. These -should carry you farther in the wilderness than any knowledge of the -books." - -The predatory nose snorts, and the horse face begins to glow -resentfully. - -"You think I know no law?" - -"No more than does Necessity! Not enough to keep you from being laughed -at in Rowan County! How should you? Your attention and your interest -have both run away to other things. I've watched you for two years -past. You are deep in the lore of cockfighting, but guiltless of the -Commentaries of our worthy Master Blackstone. If I were to ask you for -the Rule in Shelly's Case, you would be posed. At the same time you -could expound every rule that governs a horse race. In brief you are -accomplished in many gentlemanly things, while as barren of law learning -as a Hottentot. Now if you were a lad of fortune, instead of being as -poor as the crows, you might easily cut a figure of elegant idleness on -the North Carolina circuits. But you lack utterly of that money required -to gild and make tolerable your ignorance here at home. In the woods -along the Cumberland, that is to say in the Nashville and Jonesboro -courts, where ignorance and poverty are the rule, your deficiencies -will count for trifles. Also you will be surrounded by conditions that -promote courage, honesty and quickness to a first importance. On the -Cumberland the fact that you are a dead shot with rifle or pistol, and -can back the most unmanageable horse that ever looked through a bridle, -will place you higher in the confidence of men than would all the law -that Hobart, Hales and Hawkins ever knew. Now don't get angry. Think -over what I've said; the longer you look at it, the more you'll feel -that I am right. I'll see that you are given your sheepskin as a lawyer; -and, when you decide to migrate, I'll have you commissioned in that new -country as attorney for the state. This last will send you headlong into -the midst of a backwoods practice, where those native virtues you -own should find a field for their exercise, and your talents for -cockfighting and horse racing, added to your absolute genius for -firearms, be sure to advance you far." - -Spruce McCay raps the ashes from his corncob pipe. Just then one of the -house negroes taps at the door, as preliminary to intruding a respectful -head. The respectful head announces that visitors have arrived at -the big white mansion. Spruce McCay at this quits the office, and the -horse-faced Andy finds himself alone. - -For one hour he ponders the unpalatable words of his worthy master. His -vanity has been hurt; his self-love ruffled. None the less he feels that -a deal of truth lies tucked away in what Spruce McCay has said. Besides -a plunge into the untried wilderness rather matches his taste, and a -promised state's attorneyship is not to be despised. - -As the horse-faced Andy ruminates these things, laughter and much joyous -clatter is heard at the door. This time it is his two fellow students, -Crawford and McNairy. These young gentlemen have been out with their -guns, and now present themselves with a double backload of quails as the -fruits of it. The pair begin vociferously to inform the horse-faced Andy -concerning their day's adventures. He halts the conversational flow with -a repressive lift of the hand. - -"Gentlemen," says he, with a vast affectation of dignity, and as though -sixty were the years of each instead of twenty, "I desire your company -at supper in my rooms. Come at 7 o'clock. I shall have news for -you--news, and a proposition." - - - - -CHAPTER II--THE ROWAN HOUSE SUPPER - - -THE horse-faced Andy precedes the coming of his two friends to that -supper by two hours. As he moves up the street toward the Rowan House, -fair faces beam on him and fair hands wave him a salutation from certain -Salisbury verandas. In return he doffs his hat with an exaggerated -politeness, which becomes him as the acknowledged beau of the town. One -cannot blame those beaming fair faces and those saluting hands. Slim, -elegant, confident with a kind of polished cockyness that does not ill -become his years, our horse-faced one possesses what the world calls -"presence." No one will look on him without being impressed; he is -congenitally remarkable, and to see him once is to ever afterward expect -to hear him. Besides, for all his foppishness, there is a scar on his -sandy head, and a second on his hand, which were made by an English -saber when he had no more than entered upon his teens. Also he has shed -English blood to pay for those scars; and in a day which still heaves -and tosses with the ground swells of the Revolution, such stark matters -brevet one to the respect of men and the love of women. - -The foppish, horse-faced Andy strides into the Rowan House. In the -long-room he meets mine host Brown, who has fame as a publican, and none -as a sinner, throughout North Carolina. - -"Supper in my rooms, Mr. Brown," commands our hero; "supper for three. -Have it hot and ready at sharp seven. Also let us have plenty of whisky -and tobacco." - -Mine host Brown says that all shall be as ordered. - -The foppish Andy, with that grave manner of dignity which laughs at his -boyish twenty years, explains to his landlord that he will call for his -bill in the morning. - -"Have my horse, Cherokee," he says, "well groomed and saddled. To-morrow -I leave Salisbury." - -"Going West?" - -"West," returns Andy. - -"As to the bill," ventures mine host Brown, "would you like to play a -game of all-fours, and make it double or nothing?" - -Andy the horse-faced hesitates. - -"You have such vile luck," he says, as though remonstrating with mine -host Brown for a fault. "It seems shameful to play with you, since you -never win." - -Mine host Brown looks sheepishly apologetic. - -"For one as eager to play as I am," he responds, "it does look as though -I ought to know more about the game. However, since it's your last -night, we might as well preserve a record." - -Andy the horse-faced yields to the rabid anxiety of mine host Brown -to gamble. The game shall be played presently; meanwhile, there is an -errand which takes him to his rooms. - -Andy goes to his rooms; mine host Brown, after preparing a table in -the long-room for the promised game, saunters fatly--being rotund as -a publican should be--into the kitchen, to leave directions concerning -that triangular supper. There he encounters his wife, as rotund as -himself, supervising the energies of a phalanx of black Amazons, who -form the culinary forces of the Rowan House. - -"Young Jackson leaves in the morning, mother," observes mine host Brown -to Mrs. Brown, whom he always addresses as "mother." - -"For good?" asks Mrs. Brown, who is singeing the pin feathers from a -chicken of much fatness, and exceeding yellow as to leg. - -"Oh, I knew he was going," returns mine host Brown, rather irrelevantly. -"Spruce Mc-Cay told me that he was about to advise him to emigrate to -the western counties. Spruce says the Cumberland country is just the -place for him." - -"And now I suppose," remarks Mrs. Brown, "you'll let him win a good-by -game of cards, to square his bill." - -"Why not?" returns mine host Brown. "He's got no money; never had any -money. You yourself said, when he came here, to give him his board free, -because you knew and loved his dead mother. Now the Christian thing is -to let him win it. In that way his pride is saved; at the same time it -gives me amusement." - -"Well, Marmaduke," says Mrs. Brown, moving off with the yellow-legged -fowl, "I'm sure I don't care how you manage, only so you don't take his -money." - -"There never was a chance, mother. He never has any money, after his -clothes are bought." - -The game of all-fours is played; and is won by Andy of the horse face, -who thereby rounds off a run of card-luck that has continued unbroken -for two years. - -"It looks as though I'd never beat you!" exclaims mine host Brown, -pretending sadness and imitating a sigh. - -"You ought never to gamble," advises the horse-faced Andy solemnly. - -Mine host Brown produces his bill, wherein the charges for board, -lodging, laundry, tobacco, and whisky in pints, quarts and gallons are -set down on one side, to be balanced and acquitted by divers sums lost -at all-fours, the same being noted opposite. - -"There you are! All square!" says mine host Brown. - -"But the charges for to-night's supper?" - -"Mother"--meaning Mrs. Brown--"says the supper is to be with her -compliments." - -Steaming hot, the supper comes promptly at seven. It is followed, -steaming hot, by unlimited whisky punch. Pipes are lighted, and, with -glasses at easy hand, the three boys draw about the fire. The punch, the -pipes, and the crackling log fire are very comfortable adjuncts on an -October night. - -"And now," cries Crawford, who is full of life and interest, "now for -the news and the proposition!" - -McNairy nods owlish assent to the words of his volatile friend. He -intends one day to be a judge, and, while quite as lively as Crawford, -seizes on occasions such as this to practice his features in a -formidable woolsack gravity. - -"First," observes Andy, soberly sipping his punch, "let me put a -question: What is my standing in Rowan County?" - -"You are the recognized authority," cries Crawford, "on dog fighting, -cockfighting, and horse racing." - -McNairy nods. - -"Humph!" says Andy. Then, on the heels of a pause: "And what should you -say were my chief accomplishments?" - -Again Crawford takes it upon himself to reply. - -"You ride, shoot, run, jump, wrestle, dance and make love beyond -expression." - -McNairy the judicial nods. - -"Humph!" says Andy. - -The trio puff and sip in silence. - -"You say nothing for my knowledge of law?" This from the disgruntled -Andy, with a rising inflection that is like finding fault. - -"No!" cry the others in hearty concert. - -"You wouldn't believe us if we did," adds McNairy of the future -woolsack. - -"Neither would the Judge," returns Andy cynically. "The Judge" is the -title by which the three designate their master, Spruce Mc-Cay. Andy -goes on: "The news I promised is this. To-morrow I leave Salisbury. The -Judge has recommended my admission to the bar, and I shall take the oath -and get my license before I start. I shall transfer myself to the region -along the Cumberland, where I am told a barrister of my singular lack of -ability should find plenty of practice." - -"Why do you leave old Rowan?" asks woolsack McNairy, beginning to take -an interest. - -"Because I have no education, less law, and still less money. It seems -that these are conditions precedent to staying in Rowan with credit." - -"Well," cries McNairy the judicial, grasping Andy's long bony hand, "you -have as much education, as much law, and as much money as I. Under the -circumstances I shall go with you." - -"And I," breaks in the lively Crawford, "since I have none of those -ignorant and poverty-eaten qualifications you name, but on the contrary -am rich, wise and learned--I shall remain here. When the wilderness -casts you fellows out, come back and I shall welcome you. Pending -which--as Parson Hicks would say--receive my blessing." - -The evening wears on amid clouds of tobacco smoke and rivers of punch. -At the close the three take hold of hands, and sing a farewell song very -badly. Then, since they look on the evening as a sacred one, they wind -up by breaking the pipes they have smoked and the glasses they have -drunk from, to save them in the hereafter from profane and vulgar uses. -At last, rather deviously, they make their various ways to bed. - -The next day, young Andrew Jackson, barrister and counselor at law, with -all his belongings--save the rifle he carries, and the pistols in -his saddle holsters--crowded into a pair of saddlebags, rides out of -Salisbury on his bay horse Cherokee. He will stop at Martinsville for a -space, awaiting the judicial McNairy. - -Then the pair are to set their willing, hopeful faces for the -Cumberland. - -As Andy the horse-faced rides away that October afternoon, Henry Clay -is a fatherless boy of nine, living with his mother at the Virginia -Slashes; Daniel Webster, a sickly child of six, is toddling about his -father's New Hampshire farm; John C. Calhoun is a baby four years old -in a South Carolina farmhouse; John Quincy Adams, nineteen and just home -from a polishing trip to France, is a Harvard student; Martin Van Buren, -aged four, is playing about the tap room of his Dutch father's tavern at -Kinder-hook; while Aaron Burr, fortunate, foremost and full of promise, -has already won high station at the New York bar. None of these has ever -heard of Andy the horse-faced, nor he of them; yet one and all they are -fated to grow well acquainted with one another in the years to come, -and before the curtain is rung finally down on that tragedy-comedy-farce -which, played to benches ever full and ever empty, men call Existence. - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE BLOOMING RACHEL - - -NASHVILLE is the merest scrambling huddle of log houses. The most -imposing edifice is a blockhouse, built of logs squared by the broadaxe. -It is the home of the widow Donelson; and, since it is all her husband -left her when the Indians shot him down at the plow-stilts, and because -she must live, the widow Donelson has turned the blockhouse into a -boarding house. - -With the widow Donelson dwells her daughter Rachel, a beautiful brunette -of twenty, and the belle of the Cumberland. Rachel is vivacious and -bright; and, while there is much confusion among her nouns, pronouns, -verbs and adverbs in the matters of case, number, and tense, she shines -forth an indomitable conversationist. With frontier freedom she -laughs with everybody, jests with everybody, delights in everybody's -admiration; and this does not please her husband, Lewis Robards, who is -ignorant, suspicious, narrow, lazy, shiftless, jealous, and generally -drunk. One time and another he has accused Rachel of a tenderness for -every man in the settlement, and their quarrels have been frequent and -fierce. - -It is evening; the widow Donelson is preparing supper for the half -dozen boarders, assisted by the blooming Rachel. The moody Robards, half -soaked in corn whisky, sits by the open door, ear on the conversation, -eye on the not-over-distant woods. If the worthless Robards will not -work, at least he may maintain a halfbright lookout for murderous -Indians; and he does. - -The widow Donelson glances across from the corn bread she is mixing. - -"The runner who came on ahead," she says, addressing the blooming -Rachel, "reports the party as being due to-morrow. Mr. Jackson, the new -State's Attorney, who will come with it, is to board and lodge with us." - -The blooming Rachel looks brightly up. The drunken Robards likewise -looks up; but his face is gloomy with incipient jealousy. - -"A Mr. Jackson, eh?" he sneers. Then, to the blooming Rachel: "It's -mighty likely you'll find in him a new lover to try your wiles on." - -The blooming Rachel colors and her black eyes snap, but she holds her -tongue. The widow Donelson is also silent. The mother and daughter have -found wordlessness the best return to those insults, which it is the -habit of the jealous drunkard to hurl at his pretty wife. - -The runner made true report, and the party in which travels the -horse-faced Andy makes its appearance next day. Tall, slender, elegant, -self-possessed, and with a manner which marks him above the common, he -is disliked by the drunken Robards on sight. When he declines to drink -with that sot, the dislike crystallizes into hatred. The outrageous -jealousy of Robards has found a new reason for its green-eyed existence, -and he already goes drunkenly pondering the slaughter of the horse-faced -Andy. Since he will never advance beyond the pondering stage, for -certain reasons called "craven" among men of clean courage, his -homicidal lucubrations are the less important. - -Andy the horse-faced does not notice Robards. He does, however, notice -with a thrill of pleasure the beautiful Rachel, and is glad to find his -lines are down in such pleasant places. - -He is vastly taken with the boarding house of the widow Donelson, and -incautiously says as much. He praises her corn pone and fried squirrel, -and vehemently avers that her hog and hominy are the best he ever ate. - -Rachel the blooming does not allow her husband's jealousy to interrupt -hospitality, and piles high the young State's Attorney's plate with -these delicacies. She even brings out a store of wild honey and -cream--dainties sparse and few and far between in these rude regions. -She calls this "hospitality"; her jealous drunkard of a husband calls -it "making advances." He says that in the course of a long, and he might -have added misspent, life, he has observed that a coquette, with designs -on a man's heart, never fails to begin by making an ally of his stomach. - -"Hence," says the drunken deductionist, "that honey and cream." - -That night, after Rachel the blooming and her drunken husband retire, a -bitter quarrel breaks out between them. It rages with such fury that -the bicker arouses one Overton, who occupies the adjoining chamber. -Mr. Overton is a severe character, firm and clear as to his rights. He -objects to having his rest disturbed, alleging that he has troubles -of his own. Taking final offense at the language of the brute Robards, -which is more emphatic than nice, he gets his pistols. Rapping on the -intervening wall to invoke attention, he informs that vituperative -drunkard of his intention to instantly put him (Robards) to death, -should he so much as raise his voice above a whisper for the balance of -the night. - -Rachel seeks her mother, and the jealous drunkard quiets down. He is not -unacquainted with Mr. Overton, who is reputed to possess as restless -a brace of hair triggers as ever owned flint and pan. Altogether he is -precisely the one whose word would carry weight with such as Robards, -and, on the back of his interference in the domestic affairs of that -inebriate, a great peace settles upon the blockhouse of the widow -Donelson which abides throughout the night. - -As for the horse-faced State's Attorney, he knows nothing of the -differences between Rachel and the jealous Robards. He does not sleep -in the blockhouse, having been appointed to a blanket couch in the -"Bunk House," a separate dormitory structure which stands at a little -distance. - -During breakfast, the blooming Rachel again freights daintily deep the -plate of the young State's Attorney. Thereupon the favored one beams his -thanks, while behind his back as though to soothe his hate, the -malevolent Rob-ards sits cleaning a rifle, casting upon him the while an -occasional midnight look. Just across is the taciturn Overton, -proprietor of those restless hair triggers, wondering over his bacon and -eggs where this drama of love and threatened murder is to end. - - - - -CHAPTER IV--COLONEL WAIGHTSTILL AVERY OFFENDS - - -NOW, when the horse-faced Andy finds himself in the Cumberland country, -he begins to look about him. Being a lawyer, his instinct leads him -to consider those opposing ranks of commerce, the debtor and creditor -classes. He finds the former composed of persons of the highest honor. -Also, their honor is sensitive and easily touched, being sensitive and -touchy in proportion as the bulk of their debts is increased. The debtor -class, as the same finds representation about those two Cumberland -forums, Nashville and Jonesboro, holds it to be the privilege of -every gentleman, when dunned, to challenge and if practicable kill his -creditor honorably at ten paces. - -So firm indeed is the debtor class in this belief, that the creditor -class, less warlike and with more to lose, seldom presents a bill. -Neither does it refuse the opposition credit; for the debtor class also -clings to the no less formidable theory, that to refuse credit is an -insult quite as stinging as a dun direct. - -In short, the horse-faced Andy discovers the region to be a very Arcadia -for debtors. Their credit is without a limit and their debts are never -due. He resolves to disturb these commercial Arcadians; he will break -upon them as a Satan of solvency come to trouble their debt paradise. - -The horse-faced Andy, as has been noted, is Scotch-Irish. Being Irish, -his honor is as sensitive and his soul as warlike as are those of -the most debt-eaten individual along the Cumberland. Being Scotch, he -believes debts should be paid, and holds that a creditor may ask for -his money without forfeiting life. He urges these views in tavern and -street; and thereupon the creditors, taking heart, come to him with -their claims. He accepts the trusts thus proffered; as a corollary, -having now flown in the face of the militant debtor class, he is soon to -prove his manhood. - -The horse-faced Andy files a declaration for a client, on a mixed claim -based upon bacon, molasses and rum. The defendant, a personage yclept -Irad Miller, genus debtor, species keel boatman, is a very patrician -among bankrupts, boasting that he owes more and pays less than any -man south of the Ohio river. Also, having been already offended by the -foppish frivolity of that ruffled shirt and grass-green surtout, he is -outraged now, when the ruffled grass-green one brings suit against him. - -Breathing fire and smoke, the insulted Irad lowers his horns, and starts -for the horse-faced Andy. His methods at this crisis are characteristic -of the Cumberland; he merely grinds the horse-faced Andy's polished boot -beneath his heel, mentioning casually the while that he himself is "half -hoss, half alligator," and can drink the Cumberland dry at a draught. - -This is fighting talk, and the horse-faced Andy so accepts it. He -surveys the truculent Irad with the cautious tail of his eye, and finds -him discouragingly tall and broad and thick. The survey takes time, but -the injured Irad prevents it being wasted by again grinding the polished -toes. - -Andy the strategic suddenly seizes a rail from the nearby fence, and -charges the indebted one. The end of the rail strikes that insolvent -in what is vulgarly known as the pit of the stomach, and doubles him up -like a two-foot rule. At that, he who is "half hoss, half alligator," -gives forth a screech of which an injured wild cat might be proud, and -perceiving the rail poised for a second charge makes off. This small -adventure gives the horse-faced Andy station, and an avalanche of claims -pours in upon him. - -Having established himself in the confidence of common men, it still -remains with our horsefaced hero to conquer the esteem of the bar. The -opportunity is not a day behind his collision with that violent one of -equine-alligator genesis. In good sooth, it is an offshoot thereof. - -The bruised Irad's case is up for trial. His counsel, Colonel -Waightstill Avery, hails from a hamlet, called Morganton, on the thither -side of the Blue Ridge. Colonel Waightstill is of middle age, pompous -and high, and the youth of Andy--slim, lean, eager, horse face as -hairless as an egg--offends him. - -"Your honor," cries Colonel Waightstill, addressing the bench, "who, -pray, is the opposing counsel?" The boyish Andy stands up. "Must I, -your honor," continues the outraged Colonel Waightstill, "must I cross -forensic blades with a child? Have I journeyed all the long mountain -miles from Morganton to try cases with babes and sucklings? Or perhaps, -your honor"--here Colonel Waightstill waxes sarcastic--"I have mistaken -the place. Possibly this is not a court, but a nursery." - -Colonel Waightstill sits down, and the horsefaced Andy, on the leaf of a -law book, indites the following: - -_August 12, 1788._ - -_Sir: When a man's feelings and charector are injured he ought to seek -speedy redress. My charector you have injured; and further you have -Insulted me in the presunce of a court and a large aujence. I therefore -call upon you as a gentleman to give me satisfaction for the same; -I further call upon you to give me an answer immediately without -Equivocation and I hope you can do without dinner until the business -is done; for it is consistent with the character of a gentleman when he -injures a man to make speedy reparation; therefore I hope you will not -fail in meeting me this day._ - -_From yr Hbl st.,_ - -_Andw Jackson._ - -The horse-faced one spells badly; but Marlborough did, Washington does -and Napoleon will spell worse. It is a notable fact that conquering -militant souls have ever been better with the sword than with the -spelling book. - -The judge is a gentleman of quick and apprehensive eye, as frontier -jurists must be. - -Also, he is of finest sensibilities, and can appreciate the feelings of -a man of honor. He sees the note shoved across to Colonel Waightstill -by the horse-faced Andy, and at once orders a recess. The judge, with -delicate tact, says the Cumberland bottoms are heavy with the seeds of -fever, and that it is his practice to consume prudent rum and quinine at -this hour. - -While the judge goes for his rum and quinine, Colonel Waightstill and -the horse-faced Andy repair to a convenient ravine at the rear of the -log courthouse. A brother practitioner attends upon Colonel Waightstill, -while the interests of the horse-faced Andy are conserved by Mr. -Overton, who espouses his cause as a fellow boarder at the widow -Donelson's. Mr. Overton has with him his invaluable hair triggers; and, -since he wins the choice, presents them politely, butt first, to the -second of Colonel Waightstill, who selects one for his principal. The -ground is measured and pegged; the fight will be at ten paces. - -As Mr. Overton gives the horse-faced Andy his weapon, he asks: - -"What can you do at this distance?" - -"Snuff a candle." - -"Good! Let me offer a word of advice: Don't kill; don't even wound. The -_casus belli_ does not justify it, and you can establish your credit -without. Should your adversary require a second shot, it will then be -the other way. His failure to apologize, coupled with a demand for -another shot, should mean his death warrant." - -The horse-faced Andy approves this counsel. And yet, if he must not -wound he may warn, and to that admonitory end sends his ounce of lead -so as to all but brush the ear of Colonel Waightstill. That gentleman's -bullet flies safely wild. After the exchange of shots, the seconds hold -a consultation. Mr. Overton says that his principal must receive an -apology, or the duel shall proceed. - -Colonel Waightstill's second talks with that gentleman, and finds him -much softened as to mood. The flying lead, brushing his ear like the -wing of a death angel, has set him thinking. He now distrusts that -simile of "babes and sucklings," and is even ready to concede the -intimation that the horse-faced Andy is a child to be far-fetched. -Indeed, he has conceived a vast respect, almost an affection, for his -youthful adversary, and will not only apologize, but declares that, for -purposes of litigation, he shall hereafter regard the horse-faced Andy -as a being of mature years. All this says Colonel Waight-still, under -the respectful spell of that flying lead; and if not in these phrases, -then in words to the same effect. - -The horse-faced Andy shakes hands with Colonel Waightstill, and they -return to the log courthouse, where the rum-and-quinine jurist is -pleasantly awaiting them. The trial is again called, and the horse-faced -Andy secures a verdict. What is of more consequence, he secures the -respect of bench and bar; hereafter no one will so much as dream of -disputing his word, should he lay claim to the years of Methuselah. That -careful grazing shot at Colonel Waightstill, ages the horse-faced Andy -wondrously in Cumberland estimation. - -Good fortune is not yet done with Andy of the horse face. Within hours -after the meeting in that convenient ravine, he is given new opportunity -to fix himself in the good regard of folk. - -It is on the verge of midnight. A gentleman, unsteady with his cups, -seeks temporary repose on the grassy litter which surrounds the tavern -haystack. Being comfortable, and safe against a fall, he of the too many -cups refreshes himself with his pipe. Pipe going, he falls into thought; -and next, in the midst of his preoccupation, he sets the hay afire. It -burns like tinder, and the flames, wind-flaunted, catch the thatched -roof of the stable. - -The settlement is threatened; the wild cry of "Fire!" is raised; from -tavern and dwelling, men, women and children come trooping forth, clad -in little besides looks of terror. The scene is one of confusion and -misdirection; no one knows what to do. Meanwhile, the flames leap from -the stable to the tavern itself. - -It is Andy the horse-faced who brings order out of chaos. Born for -leadership, command comes easy to him. He calls for buckets, and with -military quickness forms a double line of men between the river and -the flames. The full buckets chase each other along one line, while the -empties are returned by the second to be refilled. When the lines are -working in watery concord, he organizes the balance of the community -into a wet-blanket force. By his orders, coverlets, tablecloths, -blankets, anything, everything that will serve, are dipped in the river -and spread on exposed roofs. In an encouragingly short space, the fire -is checked and the settlement saved. - -While the excitement is at its height, that pipe incendiary, who started -the conflagration, breaks through the double line of water passers, and -begins to give orders. He is as wild as was Nero at the burning of -Rome. Finding this person disturbing the effective march of events, the -horse-faced Andy--who is nothing if not executive--knocks him down with -a bucket. The Cumberland Nero falls into the river, and the ducking, -acting in happy conjunction with the stunning thump, brings him to the -shore a changed and sobered man. That bucket promptitude, wherewith he -deposed Nero, becomes one of those several immediate arguments which -make mightily for the communal advancement of Andy the horse-faced. - - - - -CHAPTER V--THE WINNING OF A WIFE - - -ALL these energetic matters happen at aforesaid, is dancing attendance -upon the court. The fame of them travels to Nashville in advance of his -return, and works a respectful change toward him in the attitude of the -public. Hereafter he is to be called "Andrew" by ones who know him well; -while others, less acquainted, will on military occasions hail him as -"Cap'n" and on civil ones as "Square." On every hand, reference to him -as "horse-faced" is to be dropped; wherefore this history, the effort of -which is to follow close in the wake of the actual, will from this point -profit by that polite example. - -The household at the widow Donelson's learns of the Jonesboro valor and -executive promptitude of the young State's Attorney. The blooming Rachel -rejoices, while her Jonesboro, where the horse-faced one, in the -interests of the creditor class drunken spouse turns sullen. His -jealousy of Andrew is multiplied, as that young gentleman's fame -increases. The fame, however, is of a sort that seriously mislikes the -drunken Robards, who is at heart a hare. Wherefore, while his jealousy -grows, he no longer makes it the tavern talk, as was his sottish wont. - -Affairs run briskly prosperous with Andrew, and he finds himself engaged -in half the litigation of the Cumberland. There is little money, but -the region owns a currency of its own. Some wise man has said that the -circulating medium of Europe is gold, of Africa men, of Asia women, of -America land. The client's of Andrew reward his labors with land, and -many a "six-forty," by which the slang of the Cumberland identifies -a section of land, becomes his. Finally he owns such an array of -wilderness square miles, polka-dotted about between the Cumberland and -the Mississippi, that the aggregate acreage swells into the thousands. -Those acres, however, are hardly more valuable than are the brown leaves -wherewith each autumn carpets them. - -While the ardent Andrew is pushing his way at the bar, and accumulating -"six-forties," he continues to board at the widow Donelson's. - -The blooming Rachel delights in his society--so polished, so splendidly -different from that of the drunkard Robards! Once or twice, too, -when Andrew, in his saddlebag excursions from court to court, has -a powder-burning brush with Indians and saves his sandy scalp by a -narrowish margin, the red cheek of Rachel is seen to whiten. That is to -say, the drunkard Robards sees it whiten; the purblind Andrew never once -observes that mark of tender concern. The pistol repute of the decisive -Andrew serves when he is by to stifle remark on the lip of the recreant -Robards. But there come hours when the latter has the blooming Rachel to -himself, at which time he raves like one demon-possessed. He avers that -the unconscious Andrew is the lover of the blooming Rachel, and in so -doing lies like an Ananias. However, the drunken one has the excuse of -jealousy; which emotion is not only green-eyed but cross-eyed, and of -all things--as history shows--most apt to mislead the accurate vision of -folk. - -[Illustration: 0063] - -Andrew overflows of sentiment, and often in moments of loneliness turns -homesick. This is the more marvelous, since never from his very cradle -days has he had a home. Being homesick--one may as well call it that, -for want of a better word--he goes out to the orchard fence, a lonely -spot, cut off from view by intercepting bushes, and devotes himself -to melancholy. This melancholy, as often happens with high-strung, -vanity-bitten young gentlemen, is for the greater part nothing more than -the fomentations of his egotism and conceit. But Andrew does not know -this truth, and wears a fine tragic air as one beset of what poets term -"a nameless grief." - -One day the blooming Rachel discovers the melancholy Andrew, dreamily -mournful by the orchard fence. She watches him unperceived, and her -gentle bosom yearns over him. The blooming Rachel is not wanting in that -taint of romanticism to which all border folk are born; and now, to -see this Hector!--this lion among men!--so bent in sadness, moves her -tenderly. At that it is only a kind of maternal tenderness; for the -blooming Rachel has a wealth of mother love, and no children upon whom -to lavish it. She stands looking at the melancholy one, and would give -worlds if she might only take his head to her sympathetic bosom and -cherish it. - -The blooming Rachel approaches, and cheerily greets the gloomy one. She -seeks to uplift his spirits. Under the sweet spell of her, he tells how -wholly alone he is. He speaks of his mother and how her very grave is -lost. He relates how the Revolution swallowed up the lives of his two -brothers. - -"And your father?" - -"He was buried the week before I was born." - -The two stay by the orchard fence a long while, and talk on many things; -but never once on love. - -The drunken Robards, fiend-guided, gets a green-eyed glimpse of them. -With that his jealousy receives added edge, and--the better to decide -upon a course--he hurries to a grog-gery to pour down rum by the cup. -Either he drinks beyond his wont, or that rum is of sterner impulse than -common; for he becomes pot-valorous, and with curses vows the death of -Andrew. - -The drunken Robards, filled with rum to the brim, issues forth to -execute his threats. He finds his victim still sadly by the orchard -fence; but alone, since the blooming Rachel has been called to aid -in supper-getting. The pot-valorous Robards bursts into a torrent of -jealous recrimination. - -The melancholy Andrew cannot believe his ears! His melancholy takes -flight when he does understand, and in its stead comes white-hot anger. - -"What! you scoundrel!" he roars. The blue eyes blaze with such ferocity -that Robards the craven starts back. In a moment the other has control -of himself. "Sir!" he grits, "you shall give me satisfaction!" - -Robards the drunken says nothing, being frozen of fear. The enraged -Andrew stalks away in quest of the taciturn Overton who owns those hair -triggers. - -"Let us take a walk," says hair-trigger Overton, running his arm inside -the lean elbow of Andrew. Once in the woods, he goes on: "What do you -want to do?" - -"Kill him! I would put him in hell in a second!" - -"Doubtless! Having killed him, what then will you do?" - -"I don't understand." - -"Let me explain: You kill Robards. His wife is a widow. Also, because -you have killed Robards in a quarrel over her, she is the talk of -the settlement. Therefore, I put the question: Having made Rachel the -scandal of the Cumberland, what will you do?" - -There is a long, embarrassed pause. Presently Andrew lifts his gaze to -the cool eyes of his friend. - -"I shall offer her marriage. She shall, if she accept it, have the -protection of my name." - -"And then," goes on the ice-and-iron Overton, "the scandal will be -redoubled. They will say that you and Rachel, plotting together, have -murdered Robards to open a wider way for your guilty loves." - -Andrew takes a deep breath. "What would you counsel?" he asks. - -"One thing,"--laying his hand on Andrew's shoulder--"under no -circumstances, not even to save your own life, must you slay Robards. -You might better slay Rachel; since his death by your hand spells her -destruction. Good people would avoid her as though she were the plague. -Never more, on the Cumberland, should she hold up her head." - -That night the fear-eaten Robards solves the situation which his crazy -jealousy has created. He starts secretly for the North. He tells two or -three that he will never more call the blooming Rachel wife. - -For a month there is much silence, and some restraint, at the widow -Donelson's. This condition wears away; and, while no one says so, -everybody feels relaxed and relieved by the absence of the drunken -Robards. No one names him, and there is tacit agreement to forget -the creature. The drunken Robards, however, has no notion of being -forgotten. Word comes down from above that he will return and reclaim -his wife. At this the black eyes of Rachel sparkle dangerously. - -"That monster," she cries, "shall never kiss my lips, nor so much as -touch my hand again!" - -By advice of her mother, and to avoid the drunken Robards--who promises -his hateful appearance with each new day--the blooming Rachel resolves -to take passage on a keel boat for Natchez. Andrew, in deep concern, -declares that he shall accompany her. He says that he goes to protect -her from those Indians who make a double fringe of savage peril along -the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. Overton, the taciturn, -shrugs his shoulders; the keel-boat captain is glad to have with him -the steadiest rifle along the Cumberland, and says as much; the blooming -Rachel is glad, but says so only with her eyes; the Nashville good -people say nothing, winking in silence sophisticated eyes. - -Robards the drunken, now when they are gone, plays the ill-used husband -to the hilts. He seems to revel in the role, and, to keep it from -cooling in interest, petitions the Virginia Legislature for a divorce. -In course of time the news climbs the mountains, and descends into the -Cumberland, that the divorce is granted; while similar word floats down -to Natchez with the keel boats. - -The slow story of the blooming Rachel's release reaches our two in -Natchez. Thereupon Andrew leads Rachel the blooming before a priest; and -the priest blesses them, and names them man and wife. That autumn they -are again at the widow Donelson's; but the blooming Rachel, once Mrs. -Robards, is now Mrs. Jackson. - -Slander is never the vice of a region that goes armed to the teeth. -Thus it befalls that now, when the two are back on the Cumberland, -those sophisticated ones forget to wink. There comes not so much as the -arching of a brow; for no one is so careless of life as all that. The -whole settlement can see that the dangerous Andrew is watching with -those steel-blue eyes. - -At the first suggestion that his Rachel has been guilty of wrong, he -will be at the throat of her maligner like a panther. - -Time flows on, and a horrible thing occurs. There comes a new word -that no divorce was granted by that Legislature; and this new word is -indisputable. There _is_ a divorce, one granted by a court; but, as an -act of separation between Rachel the blooming and the drunken Robards, -that decree of divorce is long months younger than the empowering act of -the Richmond Legislature, which mistaken folk regarded as a divorce. -The good priest's words, when he named our troubled two as man and wife, -were ignorantly spoken. During months upon months thereafter, through -all of which she was hailed as "Mrs. Jackson," the blooming Rachel was -still the wife of the drunken Robards. - -The blow strikes Andrew gray; but he says never a word. He blames -himself for this shipwreck; where his Rachel was involved, he should -have made all sure and invited no chances. - -The injury is done, however; he must now go about its repair. There is a -second marriage, at which the silent Overton and the widow Donelson are -the only witnesses, and for the second time a priest congratulates our -storm-tossed ones as man and wife. This time there is no mistake. - -The young husband sends to Charleston; and presently there come to -him over the Blue Ridge, the finest pair of dueling pistols which the -Cumberland has ever beheld. They are Galway saw-handles, rifle-barreled; -a breath discharges them, and they are sighted to the splitting of a -hair. - -"What are they for?" asks Overton the taciturn, balancing one in each -experienced hand. - -In the eyes of Andrew gathers that steel-blue look of doom. "They are to -kill the first villain who speaks ill of my wife," says he. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--DEAD-SHOT DICKINSON - - -THE sandy-haired Andrew now devotes himself to the practice of law and -the domestic virtues. In exercising the latter, he has the aid of the -blooming Rachel, toward whom he carries himself with a tender chivalry -that would have graced a Bayard. Having little of books, he is earnest -for the education of others, and becomes a trustee of the Nashville -Academy. - -About this time the good people of the Cumberland, and of the regions -round about, believing they number more than seventy thousand souls, are -seized of a hunger for statehood. They call a constitutional convention -at Knoxville, and Andrew attends as a delegate from his county of -Davidson. Woolsack McNairy, his fellow student in the office of Spruce -Mc-Cay, is also a delegate. The woolsack one has-realized that dream of -old Salisbury, and is now a judge. - -Andrew and woolsack McNairy are members of the committee which draws -a constitution for the would-be commonwealth. The constitution, when -framed, is brought by its authors into open convention, and wranglingly -adopted. Also, "Tennessee" is settled upon for a name, albeit the ardent -Andrew, who is nothing if not tribal, urges that of "Cumberland." - -The constitution goes, with the proposition of statehood, before -Congress in Philadelphia; and, following a sharp fight, in which such -fossilized ones as Rufus King oppose and such quick spirits as Aaron -Burr sustain, the admission of "Tennessee," the new State is created. - -Its hunting-shirt citizenry, well pleased with their successful step in -nation building, elect Andrew to the House of Representatives. A little -later, he is taken from the House and sent to the Senate. There he -meets with Mr. Jefferson, who is the Senate's presiding officer, being -vice-president of the nation, and that accurate parliamentarian and -polished fine gentleman writes of him: - -"He never speaks on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen -him attempt it repeatedly, but as often choke with rage." There also he -encounters Aaron Burr; and is so far socially sagacious as to model -his deportment upon that of the American Chesterfield, ironing out -its backwoods wrinkles and savage creases, until it fits a _salon_ as -smoothly well as does the deportment of Burr himself. Our hero finds but -one other man about Congress for whom he conceives a friendship equal to -that which he feels for Aaron Burr, and he is Edward Livingston. - -Andrew the energetic discovers the life of a senator to be one of -dawdling uselessness, overlong drawn out; and says so. He anticipates -the acrid Randolph of Roanoke, and declares that he never winds his -watch while in Congress, holding all time spent there as wasted and -thrown away. - -Idleness rusts him; and, being of a temper even with that of best -Toledo steel, he refuses to rust patiently. Preyed upon and carked of -an exasperating leisure, which misfits both his years and his -fierce temperament, he seeks refuge in what amusements are rife in -Philadelphia. He goes to Mr. McElwee's Looking-glass Store, 70 South -Fourth Street, and pays four bits for a ticket to the readings of Mr. -Fennell, who gives him Goldsmith, Thompson and Young. The readings -pall upon him, and athirst for something more violent, he clinks down -a Mexican dollar, witnesses the horsemanship at Mr. Rickett's -amphitheater, and finds it more to his horse-loving taste. When all else -fails, he buys a seat in a box at the Old Theater in Cedar Street, and -is entertained by the sleight of hand of wizard Signor Falconi. On -the back of it all he grows heartily sick of the Senate, and of -civilization, as the latter finds exposition in Philadelphia, and -resigns his place and goes home. - -When he arrives in Nashville, the Legislature--which still holds that -he should be engaged upon some public work--elects him to the supreme -bench.... - -_{There are missing paragraphs which are not found in any online edition -of this ebook}_ - -....objectionable Mr. Bean with those Galway saw-handles; and that -violent person surrenders unconditionally. In elucidating his sudden -tameness and its causes, Mr. Bean subsequently explains to a disgusted -admirer: - -"I looks at the Jedge, an' I sees shoot in his eye; an' thar warn't -shoot in nary 'nother eye in the crowd. So I says to myse'f, says I, 'Old -Hoss, it's about time to sing small!' An' I does." - -Notwithstanding those leaden exchanges with the Governor, and -the conquest of the discreet Mr. Bean, our jurist finds the bench -inexpressibly tedious. At last he resigns from it, as he did from the -Senate, and again retreats to private life. - -Here his forethoughtful Scotch blood begins to assert itself, and he -goes seriously to the making of money. With his one hundred and fifty -slaves, he tills his plantation as no plantation on the Cumberland was -ever tilled before; and the cotton crops he "makes" are at once the -local boast and wonder. He starts an inland shipyard, and builds keel -and flat boats for the river commerce with New Orleans. He opens a -store, sells everything from gunpowder to quinine, broadcloth by the -bolt to salt by the barrel, and takes his pay in the heterogeneous -currency of the region, whereof 'coon skins are a smallest subsidiary -coin. Also, it is now that he is made Major General of Militia, an honor -for which he has privily panted, even as the worn hart panteth for the -water brook. - -When he is a general, the blooming Rachel cuts and bastes and stitches a -gorgeous uniform for her Bayard, in which labor of love she exhausts the -Nashville supply of gold braid. Once the new General dons that effulgent -uniform, which he does upon the instant it is completed, he offers a -spectacle of such brilliancy that the bedazzled public talks facetiously -of smoked glass. The new General in no wise resents this jest, being -blandly tolerant of a backwoods sense of humor which suggests it. -Besides, while the public has its joke, he has the uniform and his -commission; and these, he opines, give him vastly the better of the -situation. - -Many friends, many foes, says the Arab, and now the popular young -General finds his path grown up of enemies. There be reasons for the -sprouting of these malevolent gentry. The General is the idol of the -people. He can call them about him as the huntsman calls his hounds. -At word or sign from him, they follow and pull down whatsoever man or -measure he points to as his quarry of politics. This does not match with -the ambitions of many a pushing gentleman, who is quite as eager for -popular preference, and--he thinks--quite as much entitled to it, as is -the General. - -These disgruntled ones, baffled in their political advancement by the -General, take darkling counsel among themselves. The decision they -arrive at is one gloomy enough. They cannot shake the General's hold -upon the people. Nothing short of his death promises a least ray of -relief. He is the sun; while he lives he alone will occupy the popular -heavens. His destruction would mean the going down of that sun. In the -night which followed, those lesser plotting luminaries might win for -themselves some twinkling visibility. - -It is the springtime of the malevolent ones' conspiracy, and the plot -they make begins to blossom for the bearing of its lethal fruit. There -is in Nashville one Charles Dickinson. By profession he is a lawyer, -albeit of practice intermittent and scant. In figure he is tall, -handsome, graceful with a feline grace. If there be aught in the old -Greek's theory touching the transmigration of souls, then this Dickinson -was aforetime and in another life a tiger. He is sinuous, powerful, -vain, narrowly cruel, with a sleek purring gloss of manner over all. -Also, he is of "good family"--that defense and final refuge of folk -who would else sink from respectable sight in the mire of their own -well-earned disrepute. - -Mr. Dickinson has one accomplishment, a physical one. So nicely does his -eye match his hand, that he may boast himself the quickest, surest shot -in all the world. Knowing his vanity, and the deadly certainty of his -pistols, the conspirators work upon him. They point out that to kill the -General under circumstances which men approve, will be an easy instant -step to greatness. Urged by his vanity, permitted by his cruelty, -dead-shot Dickinson rises to the glittering lure. - -Give a man station and fortune, and while his courage is not sapped -his prudence is promoted. The poor, obscure man will risk himself more -readily than will the eminent rich one, not that he is braver, but he -has less to lose. The General--who has been in both Houses of Congress, -and was a judge on the bench besides--will not be hurried to the field, -as readily as when he was merely Andrew the horse-faced. However, those -malignant secret ones are ingenious. They know a name that cannot -fail to set him ablaze for blood. They whisper that name to dead-shot -Dickinson. - -It is a banner day at the Clover Bottom track. The General's Truxton is -to run--that meteor among race horses, the mighty Truxton! The blooming -Rachel, seated in her carriage, is where she can view the finish. The -General--one of the Clover Bottom stewards--is in the judge's stand. -Dead-shot Dickinson, as the bell rings on the race, takes his stand at -the blooming Rachel's carriage wheel. He is not there to see a race, but -to plant an insult. - -"Go!" cries the starter. - -Away rushes the field, the flying Truxton in the lead! Around they -whirl, the little jockeys plying hand and heel! They sweep by the -three-quarters post! The great Truxton, eye afire, nostrils wide, comes -down the stretch with the swiftness of the thrown lance! Behind, ten -generous lengths, trail the beaten ruck! The red mounts to the cheek of -the blooming Rachel; her black eyes shine with excitement! She applauds -the invincible Truxton with her little hands. - -"He is running away with them!" she cries. - -Dead-shot Dickinson turns to the friend who is conveniently by his side. -The chance he waited for has come. - -"Running away with them!" he sneers, repeating the phrase of the -blooming Rachel. "To be sure! He takes after his master, who ran away -with another man's wife." - - - - -CHAPTER VII--HOW THE GENERAL FOUGHT - - -THE General seeks the taciturn Over-ton--that wordless one of the -uneasy hair triggers. - -"It is a plot," says the General. "And yet this man shall die." - -Hair-trigger Overton bears a challenge to dead-shot Dickinson, and is -referred to that marksman's second, Hanson Catlet. Hair-trigger Overton -and Mr. Catlet agree on Harrison's Mills, a long Day's ride away in -Kentucky. There are laws against dueling in Tennessee; wherefore her -citizens, when bent on blood, repair to Kentucky. To make all equal, -and owning similar laws, the Kentuckians, when blood hungry, take one -another to Tennessee. The arrangement is both perfect and polite, not -to say urbane, and does much to induce friendly relations between these -sister commonwealths. - -Place selected, Mr. Catlet insists upon putting off the fight for a -week. His principal is nothing if not artistic. He must send across the -Blue Ridge Mountains for a famous brace of pistols. His duel with the -General will have its page in history. He insists, therefore, upon -making every nice arrangement to attract the admiration of posterity. -He will kill the General, of course; and, by way of emphasizing his -gallantry, offers wagers to that effect. He bets three thousand dollars -that he will kill the General the first fire. - -The General makes no wagers, but holds long pow-wows with hair-trigger -Overton over their glasses and pipes. The fight is to be at -twelve paces, each man toeing a peg. The word agreed on is: -"Fire--one--two--three--stop!" Both are free to kill after the word -"Fire," and before the word "Stop." - -Hair-trigger Overton and the General give themselves up to a heartfelt -study of what advantages and disadvantages are presented by the -situation. They decide to let the gifted Dickinson shoot first. He is -so quick that the General cannot hope to forestall his fire. Also, any -undue haste on the General's part might spoil his aim. By the pros and -cons of it, as weighed between them, it is plain that the General must -receive the fire of dead-shot Dickinson. He will be hit; doubtless the -wound will bring death. He must, however, bend every iron energy to the -task of standing on his feet long enough to kill his adversary. - -"Fear not! I'll last the time!" says the General. "He shall go with me; -for I've set my heart on his blood." - -Those wonderful pistols come over the Blue Ridge, and dead-shot -Dickinson with his friends set out for that far-away Kentucky fighting -ground. They make gala of the business, and laugh and joke as they ride -along. By way of keeping his hand in, and to give the confidence of -his admirers a wire edge, dead-shot Dickinson unbends in sinister -exhibitions of his pistol skill. At a farmer's house a gourd is hanging -by a string from the bough of a tree. Deadrshot Dickinson, at twenty -paces, cuts the string; the gourd falls to the ground. - -"Some gentlemen will be along presently," he says. "Show them that -string, and tell them how it was cut." - -At a wayside inn he puts four bullets into a mark the size of a silver -dollar. - -"When General Jackson arrives," he observes, tossing a gold piece to the -innkeeper, "say that those shots were fired at twenty-four paces." - -And so with song and shout and jest and pistol firing, the Dickinson -party troop forward. They arrive in the early evening and put up at -Harrison's tavern. The fight is for seven o'clock in the morning. - -Behind this gay cavalcade are journeying the General and hair-trigger -Overton. The farmer repeats the story of the gourd and its bullet-broken -string. A bit farther, and the innkeeper calls attention to that -quartette of shots, which took effect within the little circumference -of a dollar piece. The stern pair behold these marvels unmoved; -hair-trigger Overton merely shrugs his shoulders, while the General's -lip curls contemptuously. Dead-shot Dickinson has thrown away his lead -and powder if he hoped to shake these men of granite. Upon coming to the -battle ground, the General and hair-trigger Overton avoid the Harrison -tavern, which shelters the jovial Dickinson _coterie_, and put up at the -inn of David Miller. That evening, they hold their final conference in -a cloud of tobacco smoke, like a couple of Indians. Finally, the General -goes to bed, and sleeps like a tree. - -With the first blue streaks of morning our two war parties are up -and moving. They meet in a convenient grove of poplars. The ground is -stepped off and pegged; after which hair-trigger Overton and Mr. Catlet -pitch a coin. The impartial coin awards the choice of positions to Mr. -Catlet, and gives the word to hair-trigger Overton. There is a third -toss which settles that the weapons are to be those Galway saw-handles. -At this good fortune a steel-blue point of fire shows in the satisfied -eye of the General. He recalls how he procured those weapons to kill the -first man who spoke evil of the blooming Rachel, and is pleased to think -a benignant destiny will not permit them to be robbed of that original -right. - -The men are led to their respective pegs by Mr. Catlet and hair-trigger -Overton. The General, through the experienced strategy of hair-trigger -Overton, wears a black coat--high of collar, long of skirt. It buttons -close to the chin; not a least glimpse of bullet-guiding white, whether -of shirt collar or cravat, is allowed to show. The black coat is -purposely voluminous; and the whereabouts of the General's lean frame, -tucked away in its folds, is a question not readily replied to. The only -mark on the whole sable expanse of that coat is a row of steel-bright -buttons. These are not in the middle, but peculiarly to one side. Those -steel-bright buttons will draw the fire of dead-shot Dickinson like a -magnet. Which is precisely what hair-trigger Overton had in mind. - -As the two stand at the pegs, dead-shot Dickinson calls loudly to a -friend: - -"Watch that third button! It's over the heart! I shall hit him there!" - -The grim General says nothing; but the look on his gaunt face reads like -a page torn from some book of doom. As he stands waiting the word, he is -observed by the watchful Overton to slip something into his mouth. Then -his jaws set themselves like flint. - -"Gentlemen, are you ready?" - -They are ready, dead-shot Dickinson cruelly eager, the somber General -adamant. There is a soundless moment, still as death: - -"Fire!" - -Instantly, like a flash of lightning, the pistol of dead-shot Dickinson -explodes. That objective third button disappears, driven in by the -vengeful lead! The General rocks a little on his feet with the awful -shock of it; then he plants himself as moveless as an oak. Through the -curling smoke dead-shot Dickinson makes out the stark, upstanding -form. For a moment it is as though he were planet-struck. He shrinks -shudderingly from his peg. - -"God!" he whispers; "have I missed him?" - -Hair-trigger Overton cocks the pistol he holds in his hand and covers -the horror-smitten Dickinson. - -"Back to your mark, sir!" he roars. - -Dead-shot Dickinson steps up to his peg, his cheek the hue of ashes. He -reads his sentence in those implacable steel-blue eyes, and the death -nearness touches his heart like ice. - -"One!" says hair-trigger Overton. - -At the word, there is a sharp "klick!" The General has pulled the -trigger, but the hammer catches at half cock. The General's inveterate -steel-blue glance never for one moment leaves his man. He recocks the -weapon with a resounding "kluck!" - -"Two!" says hair-trigger Overton. - -"Bang!" - -There comes the flash and roar, and dead-shot Dickinson is seen to -stagger. He totters, stumbles slowly forward, and falls all along on his -face. The bullet has bored through his body. - -The General stays by his peg--cold and hard and stern. Hair-trigger -Overton approaches the wounded Dickinson. One glance is enough. He -crosses to the General and takes his arm. - -"Come!" he says. "There is nothing more to do!" - -Hair-trigger Overton leads the General back to their inn. As the pair -journey through the poplar wood, he asks: - -"What was that you put in your mouth?" - -"It was a bullet," returns the General; "I placed it between my teeth. -By setting my jaws firmly upon it I make my hand as steady as a church." - -As the General says this, he gives that steadying pellet of lead to -hair-trigger Overton, who looks it over curiously. It has been crushed -between the clenched teeth of the General until now it is as flat and -thin as a two-bit piece. As the two approach the tavern they come upon -a negress churning butter, and the General pauses to drink a quart of -milk. - -Once in his room, hair-trigger Overton pulls off the General's boot, -which is full of blood. - -"Not there!" says the General. "His bullet found me here"; and he throws -open the black coat. - -Dead-shot Dickinson's aim was better than his surmise. He struck that -indicated third button; but, thanks to the strategy of hair-trigger -Overton which prompted the voluminous coat, the button did not cover the -General's heart. The deceived bullet has only broken two ribs and grazed -the breastbone. - -The surgeon is called; the wound is dressed and bandaged. He describes -it as serious, and shakes his head. - -"Still," he observes, "you are more fortunate than Mr. Dickinson. He -cannot live an hour." As the man of probe and forceps is about to retire -the General detains him. - -"You are not to speak of my wound until we are back in Nashville." - -He of the probe and forceps bows assent. When he has left the room -hair-trigger Overton asks: - -"What was that for?" - -The brow of the General grows cloudy with a reminiscent war frown. - -"Have you forgotten those four shots inside the circle of a dollar, and -that bullet-severed string? I want the braggart to die thinking he has -missed a man at twelve paces." - -The two light pipes and hair-trigger Overton sends for his whisky. Once -it has come he gives the General a stiff four fingers, and under the -fiery spell of the liquor the color struggles into the pale hollow of -his cheek. - -He of the probe and forceps comes to the door. - -"Gentlemen," he says, palms outward with a sort of deprecatory -gesture--"gentlemen, Mr. Dickinson is dead." - -The General knocks the ashes from his pipe. Then he crosses to the open -window and looks out into the May sunshine. From over near the poplar -wood drifts up the liquid whistle of a quail. Presently he returns to -his seat and begins refilling his pipe. - -"It speaks worlds for your will power, that you should have kept your -feet after being hit so hard. Not one in ten thousand could have held -himself together while he made that shot!" This is a marvelous burst of -loquacity for hair-trigger Overton, who deals out words as some men deal -out ducats. - -"I was thinking on _her_, whom his slanderous tongue had hurt. I should -have stood there till I killed him, though he had shot me through the -heart!" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--ENGLAND AND GRIM-VISAGED WAR - - -THE saw-handles are cleaned and oiled and laid away to that repose -which they have won. No more will they be summoned to defend the -blooming Rachel. No one now speaks evil of her; for that tragedy which -reddened a May Kentucky morning has sealed the lips of slander. The -General does not speak of that battle at twelve paces in the poplar -wood; and yet the blooming Rachel knows. She, like her lover-husband, -never refers to it; but her worship of him finds multiplication, while -he, towards her, grows more and more the Bayard. Much are they revered -and looked up to along the Cumberland, he for his gentle loyalty, she -for her love; and the common tongue is tireless in reciting the story of -their perfect happiness. - -The currents of time roll on and the General is busy with his planting, -his storekeeping, and his boat building. He is fortunate; and the -three-sided profits pile themselves into moderate riches. In the midst -of his prosperity he is visited by Aaron Burr. The late vice-president -has killed Alexander Hamilton--a name despised along the Cumberland. -Also he was aforetime the champion of Tennessee, when she asked the boon -of statehood. - -For these sundry matters, as well as for what good unconscious lessons -in deportment were taught him by the courtly Colonel Burr, the General -fails not to take that polished exile to his heart and to his hearth. -Colonel Burr is in and out of Nashville many times. He comes and goes -and comes and goes and comes again; and writes his daughter Theodosia: - -"I am housed with General Jackson, who is one of those prompt, frank, -loyal souls whom I like." - -Colonel Burr has been in France, and tells the General of Napoleon. He -draws a battle map of Quebec, shows where Montgomery fell, and relates -how he, Colonel Burr, bore that dead chieftain from the field. In the -end, he gives a dim outline of his dreams for the conquest of that -Spanish America, lying on the thither side of the Mississippi; and to -these latter tales of empire the General lends eager ear. - -By the General's suggestion a dinner is given at the Nashville Inn in -honor of Colonel Burr. The General presides, and, with a heart full of -anger against Barbary pirates, offers among others the toast: - -"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!" - -Colonel Burr, being dined, confides to the General how he is not without -an ally in the Southwest, and says that Commander Wilkinson, in -control for the Government at New Orleans, stands ready to advance his -anti-Spanish projects. At the name of "Wilkinson" the General shakes -his prudent head. He declares that Commander Wilkinson is a faithless, -caitiff creature, with a brandified nose, a coward heart, and a weakness -for breaking his word. The crafty Burr, confident to vanity of his own -genius for intrigue, insists that he can trust Commander Wilkinson. -Then he arranges with the General for the building of a flotilla of -flat-boats at the latter's yards, and goes his scheming way. Later, when -Colonel Burr is on trial for treason in Richmond, the General will ride -over the Blue Ridge to give him aid and comfort, and make street-corner -speeches defending him, wherein he will say things more explicit than -flattering concerning President Jefferson, who is urging the prosecution -of Colonel Burr. - -The hours, never resting, never sleeping, march onward with our -planter-General, until the procession in its passing is remembered and -spoken of as years. Then comes the war with England. That saber scar on -the General's head begins to throb, and he sends word to Washington that -he is ready, with twenty-five hundred of his hunting-shirt militia, to -kill British wherever they shall be found. - -The Government thanks him, and orders him with his hunting-shirt -followers to report to General Wilkinson at New Orleans. The General -does not like this, the Wilkinson in question being that red-nosed -renegade one, against whom long ago he warned the ambitious Colonel -Burr. For all that, orders are orders; and besides a fight under any -commander is not to be despised. The General presently hurries his -hunting-shirt forces aboard flatboats, and floats away on the convenient -bosom of the Cumberland. He will go down that stream to the Ohio, and so -to the Mississippi and to New Orleans. As they float downward with the -stream, the General recalls a former voyage when love and the blooming -Rachel were his companions, and is heard to sigh. - -At Natchez, word from Commander Wilkinson meets the General. He is told -to land, and wait for further orders. The General takes his boys of the -hunting shirts ashore, and pitches camp. Privily he unbends in oaths and -maledictions, all addressed to the ex-grocer Wilkinson; for he thinks -the order, preventing his entrance into New Orleans, born of the mean -rivalry of that red-nosed ignobility. - -The General waits, and curses Commander Wilkinson, for divers weeks. -Then occurs one of those imbecilities, of which only the witlessness of -Government is capable, and whereof the archives at Washington carry -so many examples. The General receives a curt dispatch from the war -secretary, "dismissing" him and his hunting-shirt soldiers from the -service of the United States. Not a word is said as to pay, or provision -for returning to the Cumberland. Having gotten the General and his -little army several hundred wilderness miles from home, the thick-head -Government, with no intelligence and as little heart, coolly reduces him -and them to the practical status of vagrants; which feat accomplished, -it walks away, as it were, hands in pockets, whistling "Yankee Doodle." -Possibly, the Government thinks that the General and his hunting-shirt -friends can float upstream as they floated down. The angry General, -however, makes no such marine mistake, and the intricate oaths which he -now evolves and fulminates, as expressive of his feelings, would have -won the admiration of any army that ever fought in Flanders. - -The General's credit is golden, since he has ever been a fanatic about -paying debts. Invoking that credit, he cashes a handful of drafts, and -marches home with his hunting-shirt contingent at his own expense. Also -he indites a letter to that war secretary which reddens the latter's -departmental ears, and causes his departmental head to buzz like a nest -of hornets. Later, the Government pays the General the amount of those -drafts; not because it is right--since the argument of right has little -Washington weight--but for the far more moving reason that Tennessee, -in a rage, is preparing to desert the boneless President Madison for the -Federalists. It is the latter thought which brings a ray of common sense -to the besotted Government, and his money to our General, now back in -Tennessee. - -The bellicose General is vastly disappointed at missing a brush with -invading British; for, aside from a saber-engrafted hatred of all -English things and men, he is one to dote on fighting for fighting's -crimson sake, and is almost as well pleased with mere battle as with -victory. However, he is given scanty room for sorrowful reflections, -since fate is hurrying to his relief with a private war of his own. - -The General, ever an expositor of the duello, and the peaceful hours -resting heavy on his hands, goes out as second for a Captain Carroll -against Mr. Jesse Benton. Captain Carroll is shot in the toe, and Mr. -Benton in the leg; whereat the General and the Cumberland public groan -over results so inadequate. - -Being thus shot in the leg, Mr. Benton displays his bad taste by -falling into a fury with the General. He recounts what he regards as his -"wrongs" to his brother Thomas, and that intemperate individual loses -no time in taking up his brother's quarrel. The pair say things of the -General which would arouse the wrath of an image; with that, the General -calls for his saw-handles, and begins to plan trouble for those verbally -reckless Bentons. - -The General takes with him as guide, philosopher and friend, his -faithful subaltern, Colonel Coffee. The two establish themselves, -strategically, at the Nashville Inn. - -Across the corner of the public square upon which the Nashville Inn -finds hospitable frontage, stands the City Hotel. Sunning themselves in -the veranda of the latter caravansary, but with war written upon their -angry visages, the General and the faithful Coffee perceive the brothers -Benton. The enemies glare at one another, and the General says to -Colonel Coffee that they will now go to the post office. Since a trip to -the post office is calculated to bring them within touching distance of -the brothers Benton, Colonel Coffee at once discerns the propriety of -such a journey. - -The pair go to the post office, staring haughtily at the brothers Benton -as they pass. The brothers Benton, for their side, being apoplectic of -habit, grow black in the face with rage. - -Having visited the post office, and being now upon their return, the -General and Colonel Coffee again draw near the apoplectic Bentons, -glowering from their veranda. When within three feet of them, the -General abruptly whips out one of those celebrated saw-handles, and jams -its muzzle against the horrified stomach of brother Thomas Benton. That -imperiled personage thereupon backs rapidly away from the saw-handle, -which as rapidly follows; while the public, assembling on the run, -confidently expects the General to shoot brother Thomas Benton in two. - -The General might have done so, and thus gratified the public, but -the unexpected occurs. As brother Thomas Benton backs briskly from the -muzzle of the saw-handle, brother Jesse, who is not wanting in a genius -for decision, whirls, and from a huge horse pistol plants two balls in -the General's left shoulder. As the warrior goes down, Colonel Coffee -empties his pistol at brother Thomas, who avoids having his head blown -off only by the fortunate fact of a cellar, into whose receptive depths -he tumbles, just in what novelists call "the nick of time." As brother -Thomas lapses into the cellar, young Hays, a nephew of the blooming -Rachel, hurls brother Jesse to the floor, to which he makes heartfelt -attempts to pin him with a dirk, but is baffled by the activity of the -restless brother Jesse, who will not lie still to be pinned. - -The whole riot has not covered the space of sixty seconds, when the -public, suddenly conceiving its duty to lie in that direction, seizes -young Hays, releases the recumbent brother Jesse, disarms Colonel -Coffee, fishes brother Thomas out of that receptive cellar, and carries -the badly wounded General to a bed in the Nashville Inn. The City Hotel -mentions its own beds, and lays claim to the injured General, on the -argument that the battle has been fought in its bar. The claim is -disallowed and the General conveyed to the rival hostelry aforesaid, -as being peculiarly his own proper inn, since it is there he has ever -repaired for billiards, mint juleps, and to hold conferences over pipe -and glass with his friends. - -Once in bed, the local surgeons burst in and offer to cut off the -General's arm. The offer is declined fiercely and a poultice of -slippery-elm bark is substituted for that proposed surgery. This -latter medicament works wonders; under its soothing influences, and the -revivifying effects of whisky--both being remedies much in vogue along -the Cumberland--the General begins to mend. - -The General, the patient object of a deal of slippery-elm bark and -whisky--the one applied externally and the other internally--lies in bed -a month. Then the awful word arrives of the massacre at Fort Mims. -Five hundred and fifty-three souls have been slaughtered, and Chief -Weathersford with all his Creeks, valor sharpened by English gold and -English firewater, is reported on the warpath. The news brings the -General out of bed in a moment. His friends remonstrate, the doctors -command, the blooming Rachel pleads; but he puts them aside. Gaunt of -cheek, face paper-white with weakness, left arm in a sling, he climbs -painfully into the saddle and takes command. - -The General sends Colonel Coffee and his mounted riflemen to the fore, -with orders to wait for him at Fayettesville. Meanwhile, he himself -lingers briefly to enroll and organize his little army. A few weeks -later he follows the doughty Coffee, and the entire command--horns full -of powder, pouches heavy with bullets, hunting knives whetted to a razor -edge--moves southward after hostile Creeks. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--THE GENERAL AT THE HORSESHOE - - -THE General goes to Fayettesville, and orders Colonel Coffee with his -eager five hundred to Huntsville, as a point nearer the heart of savage -war. Volunteers, each bringing his own rifle and riding his own horse, -join Colonel Coffee, who sends back inspiring word that his five -hundred have grown to thirteen hundred, all thirsting for Creek blood. -Meanwhile, the General, weak and worn to a shadow, can hardly keep -the saddle, and must be bathed hourly in whisky to hold soul and body -together. Unable to eat, he lives by his will alone. The shot-shattered -left arm, lest he faint with the awful agony which attends its least -disturbance, is bound tightly to his side. - -The General takes the field, and presently comes up with the Creeks. He -smites them hip and thigh at Tallushatches, Talladega, and divers other -places of equally complicated names, slaying hundreds while losing few -himself. The Creeks give way before the invincible General. Wherever he -goes they scatter like an affrighted flock of blackbirds. - -The Indian is terrible only when he is winning. He is not upholstered, -whether mentally or morally, for an uphill, losing war. The General -would like it better if this were otherwise. Could he but coax his -evanescent enemy into a pitched battle, he would break both his heart -and his power with one and the same blow. - -Chief Weathersford is as well aware of this defect in the Indian make-up -as is the General. He himself is half white, and knows what points of -strength and weakness belong with either race. Wherefore, when now his -Creeks have been beaten, and their hearts are low in defeat, he makes -no effort to lead them against the General's front; but breaks them into -squads and little bands, with directions to harass the hunting-shirt -men and hang about their flanks in the name of flea-bite annoyance and -isolated scalps. Thus is the General plagued and fatigued nigh unto -death, without once being able to lay hand upon those skulking, hiding, -flying foot-Parthians against whom he has come forth. - -Also, he and his hunting-shirt men are getting farther and farther -from anything that might be termed a base of supplies. At last, many a -pathless mile through wood and swamp, and many an unbridged river, lie -between the nearest barrel of flour and their stomachs clamorous for -food. - -The military stomach is the first great base of every military -operation. The war-wise Frederick had it for his aphorism, that an -army is so much like a snake it can move forward only on its belly. -The General is made painfully aware of this truism when he and his -hunting-shirt men find themselves penned up with starvation at Fort -Strother. In the teeth of his troubles, however, he makes shift to send -home an orphaned papoose for the blooming Rachel to raise. - -Famine takes command at Fort Strother, and the General writes: "He is -an enemy I dread more than hostile Creeks--I mean the meager monster, -Famine!" There is murmuring among the hunting-shirt men, who have, with -the appetite common to bordermen, that contempt of discipline which -belongs to their rude caste. They are reduced to roots and berries, with -an occasional pigeon or squirrel, which latter diminutive deer no one -waits to cook, but devours raw. One day a backwoods boy, whose appetite -is even with his effrontery, waylays the General on his rounds and -demands food. - -"Here is what I was saving for supper," says the General; "you may have -that." And he tosses the hungry one a double handful of acorns. - -The starving hunting-shirt men mutiny; they draw themselves up -preparatory to marching north, to find that home-fatness which waits -for them on the Cumberland. At this the General changes his manner. -Heretofore he has been the symbol of fatherly sympathy and toleration. -He can make excuses for the grumbling of hungry men, and makes them. But -this goes beyond grumbling, which, when all is in, comes to be no -more than a healthful blowing off of angry steam; this is desertion by -wholesale. - -As the lean-flanked, rancorous ones line up to begin their homeward -march, the General, haggard and emaciated by those Benton wounds and a -want of food, rides out in front. Halting forty yards from the foremost -mutineers, he swings from the saddle. In his right hand he carries a -long eight-square rifle. This, since he has no left hand to support -his aim, he runs across the empty saddle. Being ready, he calls on the -hunting-shirt men to give the order to march, if they dare. - -"For by the Eternal," says he, "I'll shoot down the first of you who -takes a forward step!" - -The sulky, hungry hunting-shirt men scowl at the General. He scowls back -at them, with the wicked ferocity of a tiger and an iron determination -not to be revoked. And thus they stand glaring--one against hundreds! -Then the courage of the hungry hundreds oozes away, and they fall back -before that menacing apparition which glowers at them along the rifle -barrel. They melt away by the rear, those hunting-shirt men, and lurk -off to their quarters--ashamed of their weakness, yet afraid to go on. - -At last, a herd of beef, quite as gaunt as the starved hunting-shirt men -themselves, arrives. Fires are set going and knives drawn. There is a -measureless eating. Belts are let out to the full-fed holes of other -days; mutiny, like an evil spirit, takes its flight. The gorged -hunting-shirt men, as though in amends for their scowl-ings and mutinous -grumblings, beg to be led instantly against the Creeks. This the General -is very willing to do, since he suspects the Creeks of possessing corn. - -The General's scouts tell him that the scattered Creeks are collecting -in force at the Horseshoe. Upon this news, one bright morning the -General rides out of Fort Strother, and his recuperated hunting-shirt -men, two thousand strong, are at his back. - -The Horseshoe is a loop-like bend in the Tallapoosa, which incloses a -round one hundred heavily-timbered acres. Across the open end, three -hundred and fifty yards wide, the British engineers have taught the -Creeks to throw up a fortification of logs. Behind this bulwark is -gathered the fighting flower of the Creeks, more than one thousand -warriors in all. - -Arriving in front of the log bulwark, the General, with the experienced -Coffee, pushes forward to reconnoiter. - -"We can thank the British for that," says the General, tossing his -indignant right hand toward the Creek defenses. "Billy Weathers-ford, -even with the half-white blood that's in him, would never have designed -it." - -The astute Coffee makes a suggestion and, acting on it, the General -dispatches him by a roundabout march to take the Creeks from behind. The -fatuous savages flatter themselves that the wide-flowing Tallapoosa will -defend their rear. All they need do, they think, is lie behind those -English-log breastworks and knock over whatever obnoxious paleface shows -his head. This is an admirable programme, and comforting to the cockles -of the aboriginal heart. There is but one trouble; it won't work. - -As the circuitous Coffee begins to swing wide for his stealthy creep -to the rear, the General covers the strategy with a brace of brawling -nine-pounders. Inside the log breastworks, he hears the "tunk! tunk!" -of the "medicine" drum, and the measured chant of the prophets promising -victory. In the midst of the prophetic chantings and the dull thumping -of the tomtoms, the nine-pounders roar and bury their shot in the log -breastworks. The shot do no harm, and serve but to excite the ribald -mirth of the Creeks. The latter can speak enough English for the -purposes of insult, and scoff and jeer at the General, whom they -describe--having in mind his lean form--as a lance shaft, harmless, -because wanting a keen head. They storm at him with opprobrious epithet, -and invite him, unless he be a coward, to come to them over their -breastworks. The General pays no heed to the contumely of the Creeks; -he is bending his ear to catch, above the din of his nine-pounders, the -earliest signal of the redoubtable Coffee's attack. - -Colonel Coffee and his riflemen, horses at a walk, pick their difficult -way through the woods. It is a matter of no little time before they find -themselves at the toe of the Horseshoe, and in the ignorant rear of the -Creeks. Between them and those one hundred tree-grown acres held by the -enemy flows the Tallapoosa--turbid, wide and deep. Across, they see the -canoes, which the stupidity of the Creeks has left without so much as a -squaw or a papoose to guard them. In a moment, a score have thrown -off their hunting shirts, and are in the river. They swim like so many -Newfoundlands, and come out dripping, but happy, on the farther side. -Presently each of the swimming score is upon his return trip, towing a -dozen of the largest canoes. - -Leaving a horse guard to look after the mounts, Colonel Coffee embarks -his command in the canoes; ten minutes later, the last fighting man jack -of them is on the other side. They hear the boom of the nine-pounders, -and the yells and war shouts of the Creeks. Also they discover the -wickiups of the Creeks, hidden away, with their squaws and papooses, in -a thickety corner of the wood. - -Colonel Coffee, who, for all he is a backwoodsman, is not without -certain sparks and spunks of military skill, sets fire to the wickiups, -as an excellent sure method of wringing the withers and distracting the -attention of the fighting Creeks at the front. The flames go crackling -skyward; the squaws and papooses rush yelling from the slight houses -of wattled willow twigs and bark, and scuttle into the underbrush like -rabbits. Unlike rabbits, being in the underbrush, they set up such a -dismal tempest of howls, that those rearmost Creeks who hear it come -running to learn what disaster has seized upon their households. - -Before they can make extensive inquiry, Colonel Coffee and his riflemen -open on them with a storm of bullets; and next, each man takes a tree. -The war now proceeds Creek fashion, every man--white and red--fighting -for himself. There is a difference, however; for while the hunting-shirt -men are dead shots, the Creeks prove themselves such wretchedly bad -marksmen--not understanding a rear sight, which article of gun furniture -is a mystery to the Indian mind even unto this day--as to provoke a deal -of hunting-shirt laughter. - -Slowly but surely the Creeks give way before that low-flying sleet -of lead. As they give way, running from one tree to another, their -hunting-shirt foe presses forward--as deadly a skirmish line as ever -commander threw out! - -The quick ear of the General catches the firing down at the toe of the -Horseshoe. It tells him that Colonel Coffee is busy with the Creek rear. -Also, he gets a far-off glimpse, through the trees, of the smoke and -flames from those burning wickiups, and understands the message of them. - -Drawing off the futile nine-pounders, the General orders a charge, the -amateur artillerists taking up their rifles with the others. At -the word, the hunting-shirt men rush forward, and go over the log -breastworks like cats. - -The one earliest to scale the breastworks--quick as a panther, strong -as a bear--is Ensign Sam Houston. The Southwest will hear more of him -before all is done. That lively youth, however, is not thinking of the -future; for an arrow, excessively of the present, has just pierced his -thigh, and is demanding his whole attention. Shutting his teeth like a -trap to control the pain, he snaps the shaft and draws the arrow from -the wound. A moment later, the surgeon bandages it. - -The General is standing near, and waxes conservative touching Ensign Sam -Houston. - -"Don't go back!" commands the General shortly. "That arrow through your -leg should be enough." - -Ensign Sam Houston says nothing, but the moment his commander's back -is turned rushes headlong over those log breastworks again. Later he -is picked up with two bullets in him, which serve to keep him quiet for -nigh a fortnight. - -Once the hunting-shirt men are across the log breastworks, a slow -and painstaking killing ensues. Not a Creek asks quarter; not a Creek -accepts it when tendered. It is to be a fight to the death--a fight -unsparing, relentless, grim! - -"Remember Fort Mims!" shout the hunting-shirt men, working away with, -rifle and axe and knife. - -The Creeks, caught between the General and Colonel Coffee, hide -in clumps of bushes or behind logs. From these slight coverts, the -hunting-shirt men flush them, as setters flush birds, and shoot them as -they fly. Once a Creek is down, out flashes the ready hunting knife and -a Creek scalp is torn off; for the hunting-shirt men, on a principle -that fights Satan with fire, have adopted the war habits of their red -enemy. - -The hunting-shirt men range up and down, quartering those one hundred -acres of Horseshoe wood like hounds, killing out in all directions. -Now and then a warrior, sorely crowded, leaps into the Tallapoosa, and -strikes forth for the opposite shore. His feather-tufted head is seen -bobbing on the muddy surface of the river. To gentlemen who, offhand, -make nothing of a turkey's head at one hundred yards, those brown -bobbing feather-tufted Creek heads are child's play. A rifle cracks; -the shot-pierced Creek springs clear of the water with a death yell, and -then goes bubbling to the bottom. Sometimes two rifles crack; in which -double event the Creek takes with him to the bottom two bullets instead -of one. - -The slaughter moves forward slowly, but satisfactorily, for hours. It -is ten o'clock in the night when the last Creek is killed, and the -hunting-shirt men, hungry with a hard day's work, may think on supper. -Of the red one thousand and more who manned those British-built -fortifications in the morning, not two-score get away. It is the Creek -Thermopylae. - -The General's triumph at the Horseshoe puts the last paragraph to the -last chapter of the Creek wars. Also, it disappoints certain English -prospects, and defeats for all time those savage hopes of a general race -battle against the paleface, the fires of which the dead Tecumseh so -long supported by his eloquence and fed with deeds of valor. By way of -a finishing touch, from which the hue of romance is not wanting, the -terrible Weathersford rides in, on his famous gray war horse, and gives -himself up to the General. - -"You may kill me," says Weathersford. "I am ready to die, for I have -beheld the destruction of my people. No one will hereafter fear the -Creeks, who are broken and gone. I come now to save the women and little -children starving in the forest." - -[Illustration: 0127] - -The hunting-shirt men, not at all sentimental, lift up their voices in -favor of slaying the chief. At that the General steps in between. - -"The man who would kill a prisoner," he cries, "is a dog and the son of -a dog. To him who touches Weathersford I promise a noose and the nearest -tree." - -The General leads his hunting-shirt men by easy marches back to that -impatient plenty which awaits their coming on the Cumberland. The public -welcomes him with shout and toss of hat, while the blooming Rachel gives -her hero measureless love and tenderness. The General's one hundred and -fifty slaves, agog with joy and fire water, make merry for two round -days. They would have enlarged that festival to three days, but the -stern overseer intervenes to recall them to the laborious realities of -life. - -As the General begins to have the better of his fatigue and -sickness--albeit that Benton-wounded left arm is still in a sling--a -note is put in his hands. The note is from the War Department in -Washington, and reads: "Andrew Jackson of Tennessee is appointed Major -General in the Army of the United States, vice William Henry Harrison, -resigned." - - - - -CHAPTER X--FLORIDA DELENDA EST - - -THE General, at the behest of the blooming Rachel, rests for three -round weeks, which seem to his fight-loving soul like three round years. -Then the Government sends him to Fort Jackson to dictate terms of peace -to the broken Creeks. - -The latter assemble, war paints washed off, in a deeply thoughtful, if -not a peaceful, mood. - -The General proposes terms which well nigh amount to a wiping out of the -Creek landed possessions. The Creeks go into secret council, as it -were executive session, and bemoan their desperate lot. They curse the -English who urged them to that butchery of Fort Mims and then deserted -them. Beyond relieving their minds, however, the curses accomplish no -Creek good. They must still face the inveterate General, whose word is, -"Your lives or your lands!" - -The mournful, beaten Creeks come forth from executive session, and -the great formal conference begins. The council is called on the flat -field-like expanse in front of the General's imposing marquee--for he -has come to this mission with no little of pompous style, to the end -that the Creek mind be impressed. - -The Creek chiefs, blanketed to the ears, feathered to the eyes, sit -about, crosslegged like tailors, in a half circle, their only weapon a -sacred red-stone pipe. The General, blazing in a new uniform, comes -out of his marquee. With him are Colonel Coffee, Colonel Hawkins, and -lastly, Colonel Hayne, the brother of him who will one day cross blades -in Senate debate with the lion-faced Webster, and have the worst of it. - -As the General steps forward an orderly leads up his great war horse, as -though the conference might lapse into battle, and he must be ready -to mount and fight. To the rear, his hunting-shirt men, one thousand -strong, are drawn out, as following forth those precautions which -produce the General's war horse. The Creeks, at these evidences of -suspicious alertness, never move a bronze muscle; they pass the sacred -redstone pipe with gravity unmoved, and puff away as though the last -thing they suspect is suspicion. - -Big Warrior makes a speech, and is followed by She-lok-tah, the tribal -Demosthenes. The General shakes his grim head at their protests; there -is no help for it, they must give him his way or fight. The Creeks bow -to the inevitable, and give the General his way; which bowing submission -is the less disgraceful, since both the Spanish at Pensacola and the -English at New Orleans, in a brief handful of months, under pressures -less stringent than are those which now and here in front of the -Generali great marquee bear down the broken hopeless Creeks, will follow -their abject example. - -Having made peace with the Creeks on the Tallapoosa, the General lets -his angry, warseeking eye rove in the direction of Florida. Many of the -hostile Creek Red Sticks have fled to cover there, where they are made -welcome by the Spanish Governor Maurequez, and petted and pampered -by Colonel Nichols and Captain Woodbine of the English. The besotted -Governor Maurequez has permitted these latter to land an English force, -and, inspired by his native hatred of Americans and the sight of British -ships of war in Pensacola harbor, has surrendered to them the last -stitch of Florida control. - -The General guesses these things and sends out scouts to make -discoveries. Meanwhile, he marches his hunting-shirt men to Mobile, -which his instincts--never at fault in war--warn him will be the -next English point of attack. Word has reached him of the downfall of -Napoleon, and he foresees that this will release against America the -utmost energies of England, who in thirty odd years has not forgotten -Yorktown nor despaired of its repair. - -The General's scouts are a sleepless, observant, close-going set of -gentlemen, and fairly enter Pensacola. Presently, they are back with the -news that two flags float in friendly partnership on the battlements of -Fort St. Michael, one English and one Spanish. Also, seven English war -ships ride in the harbor. - -They likewise say that the popinjay Colonel Nichols is issuing -proclamations to "The People of Louisiana," demanding that, as -"Frenchmen, Spaniards, and English," they arise and "throw off the -American yoke"; that Captain Woodbine is assembling the fugitive Red -Sticks by scores, and reviving their drooping spirits with English gold, -English guns, English gin, and English red coats. - -Captain Woodbine, it appears, is so dull as to think he may make regular -soldiers of the untamed Red Sticks, and drills them in the Pensacola -plaza, where they handle their new muskets much as a cow might a cant -hook, and look like copper-colored apes in those gorgeous red coats. The -tactical, yet tactless, Captain Woodbine even makes his red command a -speech, and is so unguarded as to refer to "General Jackson." This is -a blunder, since instantly half the assembled Red Sticks desert, taking -with them the guns, gin, and jackets which have been conferred upon -them. The oratorical Captain Woodbine is deeply impressed by the awful -effect of the General's name upon his red recruits, and their terror -communicates itself to him. He has difficulty in restraining himself -from deserting with them, but takes final courage and remains. Only he -is at pains to delete "General Jackson" from subsequent eloquence, -and never again mentions that paladin of the Cumberland in the quaking -presence of a Red Stick Creek. - -By way of adding to these hardy doings, the wordy popinjay, Colonel -Nichols, fulminates new proclamations, comic in their ignorance and -bombast. He believes that the formidable General can be whipped by -manifestoes. As against this belief, however, most careful preparations -move forward aboard the English ships, looking to the destruction -of Fort Bowyer and the capture of Mobile; for Captain Percy of the -_Hermes_, who has command of the fleet, is altogether a practical -person, and pins no faith to proclamations and Indians in red coats when -it comes to bringing a foe to his knees. - -All these interesting items are laid before the General by his -painstaking scouts, and he is peculiarly struck with the word about -Captain Percy and Mobile. He sends back his scouts for another bagful -of news, and begins to strengthen and stiffen Fort Bowyer, thirty miles -below the town. - -Having patched up this redoubt to his taste, the General puts Major -Lawrence in command, and tells him to fight his batteries while a man -remains alive. Major Lawrence says he will; and, not having a ship, -but a fort, to defend, he follows as nearly as he may the motto of his -heroic relative, and issues the watchword, "Don't give up the Fort!" -Leaving Major Lawrence in this high vein, the General goes back to -Mobile to concert plans for its protection. - -Captain Percy of the _Hermes_ is a gallant man, but a bad judge of -Americans. He tells the proclaiming Colonel Nichols that he will take -four ships and capture Fort Bowyer in twenty minutes. Colonel Nichols -has so little trouble in believing this that he conceives the deed of -conquest already done. Full of hope and strong waters--for the English -have not given the thirsty Red Sticks all their gin--he is so far -worked upon by Captain Percy's turgid prophecies as to issue a new -proclamation, declaring Fort Bowyer taken, and showing how, presently, -the English intend doing likewise at New Orleans. Having taken time so -conspicuously by the forelock, the anticipatory Colonel Nichols--who -has never been in the chicken trade, and therefore knows nothing of -what perils attend a count of poultry noses before the poultry are -hatched--goes aboard the _Hermes_, with Captain Woodbine and others of -his staff; for he would be on the ground, when Fort Bowyer and Mobile -succumb, ready to assume control of those strongholds. - -It is no mighty voyage from Pensacola to Mobile, and a half day's sail -will bring Colonel Nichols and Captain Percy within point-blank range -of Fort Bowyer. Taking a bright, cool morning for it, Captain Percy lets -fall his topsails, and forges seaward, followed by the cordial wishes -of Governor Maurequez who, glass in hand, drinks "Good voyage!" from the -ramparts of St. Michael. - -"All I regret is," cries the valorous Governor Maurequez, in the -politest phrases of Castile, "that you brave English will destroy these -vagabonds, and thus deprive me and my heroic soldiery of the pleasure of -their obliteration, when they shall have invaded our beloved Florida." - -Away go the English war ships in line, like a quartette of geese -crossing a mill pond, the _Hermes_, Captain Percy, in the van. The -fleet rounds the lower extremity of Mobile Point, out of range from Fort -Bowyer, and lands Colonel Nichols with a force of foot soldiers and a -howitzer. This military feat accomplished, the fleet, still like geese -in line, bear up until abreast of the Fort, which is a musket shot away. - -There is no time wasted. The _Hermes_ lets go her anchors and swings -broadside-on to the Fort. The others follow suit. Then, with a crashing -discharge of big guns by way of overture, the fight is on. - -Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes go by; shots fly and shells -burst, and Major Lawrence still holds the fort. Evidently Captain Percy -cut his time too fine! Then, one hour, two hours follow, and Major -Lawrence's twenty-four pounders are making matches of the _Hermes_. - -As the merry war progresses, Colonel Nichols, with much ardor and no -discernment, drags his howitzer to a strategic sand hill, and fires -one shot at Fort Bowyer. It is a badly considered movement, the instant -effect being to draw the Fort's horns his way. The southern battery -of the Fort opens upon him like a tornado, and he and his fellow -artillerists retire--without their howitzer. The most discouraging -feature is that a stone, sent flying from the strategic sand hill by -a cannon ball, knocks out one of Colonel Nichols's eyes. After this -exploit, the one-eyed proclamationist, much saddened, but with wisdom -increased, is content to stand afar off, and leave the down-battering of -Fort Bowyer to the fleet. - -This down-battering Captain Percy and his sailormen do their tarry best -to bring about. But, as hour after hour drifts to leeward in the smoke -of their broadsides, and the stubborn Lawrence continues to send his -hail of twenty-four-pound shot aboard, it begins to creep upon Captain -Percy, like mosses upon stone, that Fort Bowyer is a nut beyond the -power of even his iron teeth to crack. As a red-hot shot sets fire -to the _Hermes_ and explodes her magazine, the impression deepens to -apprehension, which, when the _Sophia_ is reported sinking, ripens -rapidly into conviction. Major Lawrence, with his "Don't give up the -Fort!" all but blots Captain Percy--who has tenfold his force--off the -face of the Gulf, and he does it with a loss of eight men killed and -wounded to an English loss of over three hundred. - -Captain Percy, whipped and broken-hearted, shifts his flag and what -is left of his _Hermes'_ crew to the _Sophia_, and, pumps clanking -hysterically to keep-himself afloat, goes limping back to Pensacola, -lighted on his defeated way by the flare and glare from the blazing -_Hermes_. As the English pass the extreme southern tip of Mobile Point, -as far from the unmannerly batteries of Fort Bowyer as the lay of -the land permits, they pick up the one-eyed proclamationist, Colonel -Nichols, and his howitzerless men. - -The fleet, battered, torn, sails adroop, with the _Sophia_ three feet -below her trim from shot-admitted water in her hold, reaches Pensacola. -Governor Maurequez looks scornfully dark, but, Spaniard-like, shrugs his -vainglorious shoulders and says to an aide: - -"It is nothing! They are but English pigs! When this General Jackson -reaches Pensacola--if he should be so great a fool as to come--we -cavaliers of old Spain will tear him to pieces, as tigers rend their -prey. Yes, _amigo_, we will show these beaten pigs of English how the -proud blood of the Cid can fight." - -The Red Stick Creeks, furnished of a better intelligence, in no wise -adopt the high-flying sentiments of Governor Maurequez. The moment -the English come halting into the harbor, the awful name of "General -Jackson!" leaps from aboriginal lip to lip. Hastily tearing off Captain -Woodbine's red coats as garments full of probable trouble, but taking -with them his new guns, the frightened Red Sticks head south for the -Everglades, first drinking up what remains of their gin. Not a hostile -Creek will thereafter be found within a day's ride of the General; all -of those English plans, which seek the aid of savage axe and knife and -torch, are to fall to pieces. - -Captain Percy, made ten years older by that fight and failure at Fort -Bowyer, goes about the repair of his ships; Colonel Nichols, omitting -for the nonce all further proclamations, nurses his wounds; Captain -Woodbine, having now no Indians, abandons his daily drills on the plaza; -Governor Maurequez, whispering with his aide, brags in chosen Spanish -of what he will do to thick-skull vagabond Americans should they put -themselves in his devouring path; while over at Mobile the General -hugs Major Lawrence to his bosom in a storm of approval, and gives that -sterling soldier a sword of honor. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--THE TWO FLAGS AT PENSACOLA - - -THOSE two flags, one the red flag of England, flying at Pensacola, -haunt the General night and day. His hunting-shirt men, twenty-eight -hundred from his beloved Tennessee and twelve hundred from the -territories of Mississippi and Alabama, are lusting for battle. He -resolves to lead them into Florida, across the Spanish line. - -"We must rout the English out of Pensacola!" he explains to Colonel -Coffee. - -"Pensacola!" repeats Colonel Coffee, looking thoughtful. "It is Spanish -territory, General! There is the boundary; and diplomacy, I believe, -although it is an art whereof I know little, lays stress on the word -boundary." - -"Boundary!" snorts the General in dudgeon. "The English are there! Where -my foe goes, I go; my diplomacy is of the sword." - -The General elaborates; for he is not without liking the sound of his -own voice. Governor Maurequez, he says, has welcomed the English; he -must enlarge that welcome to include Americans. - -"For I tell you," goes on the General, "that I shall expect from him -the same courtesy he extends to Colonel Nichols. Nor do I despair of -receiving it, since I shall take my artillery. With both Americans and -English among his guests, if trouble fall out it will be his own -fault, and should teach him to practice hereafter a less complicated -hospitality." - -The General prepares for the journey to Pensacola. The treasure chest -shows the usual emptiness, and he exerts his own credit, as he did on -a Natchez occasion, to provide for his hunting-shirt men. This time the -Government will honor his drafts promptly, for election day is drawing -near. - -One sun-filled autumn morning, the General and his hunting-shirt men -march away for Pensacola, their hearts full of cheering anticipations of -a fight, and eight days provant in the commissariat. - -"We should be there in eight days," says the General hopefully, "and -Governor Maurequez and the English must provide for us after that." - -The General does not overstate the powers of his hunting-shirt men, and -the eighth morning finds them and him within striking distance of Fort -St. Michael. The General shades his blue eyes with his hand and scans -the walls with vicious lynxlike intentness in search of that hated red -flag. His heart chills when he does not find it. There is the flag of -Arragon and Castile; but the staff which only yesterday supported the -flag of England stands an unfurnished, naked spar of pine. - -The General heaves a sigh. - -"Coffee," he says, pathos in his tones, "they have run away." - -"Possibly," returns the excellent Coffee, who sees that the General's -regrets are leveled at an absence of English, and is anxious to console -him, "possibly they've only retired to Fort Barrancas, six miles below, -and are waiting for us there." - -The disappointed General shakes his head; he does not share the -confidence of the optimistic Coffee. - -"Send Major Piere," he says, "with a flag of truce to announce to the -Spaniard our purpose of lunching with him. We will ask him, now we're -here, by what license he gives shelter to our enemies." - -Major Piere goes forward, white flag fluttering, and is promptly fired -upon by Governor Maurequez at the distance of six hundred yards. The -balls fly wide and high, for the Spaniard shoots like a Creek. Finding -himself a target, the disgusted Major Piere returns and reports his -uncivil reception. The General's eyes blaze with a kind of blue fury. - -"Turn out the troops!" he roars. - -The drums sound the long roll. The hunting-shirt men are about the -cookery--being always hungry--of the last of those eight days' rations. -When they fall into line, the General makes them a speech. It is brief, -but registers the point of better provender in Pensacola than that which -now bubbles in their coffee pots and burns on their spits. Whereat the -hunting-shirt men cheer joyously. - -"The English, too, are there," concludes the General. Then, in a -burst of flattering eloquence: "And I know that you would sooner fight -Englishmen than eat." - -At the name of Englishmen, the hunting-shirt men give such a cheer that -it quite throws that former cheer into the vocal shade. Everyone is in -immediate favor of rushing on Pensacola. - -The General becomes cunning, and sends Colonel Coffee with a detachment -of cavalry to threaten Fort St. Michael from the east. The Spaniards are -singularly guileless in matters military. That feigned attack succeeds -beyond expression, and the befogged Governor Maurequez hurries his -entire garrison to those menaced eastern walls. - -While the excited Spaniards are making a chattering, magpie fringe along -the eastern ramparts, the General moves the bulk of his hunting-shirt -forces, under cover of the woods, to the fort's western face. Once they -are placed, he gives the order: - -"Charge!" - -The word sends the hunting-shirt men at that mud-built citadel with a -whoop. - -The Spaniards are unstrung by surprise, and fall to pattering prayers -and telling beads. In the very midst of their orisons, the hunting-shirt -men, as in the fight at the Horseshoe, pour like a cataract over the -parapet and sweep the praying, helpless Spaniards into a corner. - -The work, however, is not altogether done. When Governor Maurequez gives -the order to man the eastern walls against the deploying Coffee, he does -not remain to see it executed. - -Having sublime faith in the heroism of his followers, for him to -personally remain, he argues, would be superfluous. Nay, it might even -be construed into a criticism of his devoted soldiery, as implying a -fear that they will not fight if relieved of his fiery presence, not to -say the fiery pressure of his commanding eye. Having thus defined his -position, the valorous Governor Maurequez, acting in that spirit of -compliment toward his people which has ever characterized his speech, -gathers up his gubernatorial skirts and scuttles for his palace like a -scared hen pheasant. - -Having swept the walls of St. Michael clean of magpie Spaniards, and run -up the stars and stripes on the vacant English staff, the General and -his hunting-shirt men make ready to follow Governor Maurequez to the -palace. He is to be their host; it is their polite duty to find him with -all dispatch and offer their compliments. - -Full of this urbane purpose, they wheel their bristling ranks on the -town. Approaching double-quick, they casually lick up, as with a tongue -of flame, a brace of abortive blockhouses which obstruct their path. At -this, an interior fort opens fire with grapeshot and shrapnel, and the -hunting-shirt men spring upon it with the ruthless ferocity of panthers. -To quench it is no more than the fighting work of a moment. The General, -with his flag already on the ramparts of Fort St. Michael, now feels his -clutch at the very throat of Pensacola. - -Governor Maurequez, equipped in his turn of a milk-white flag, bursts -from the palace portals. - -"Oh, Senores Americanos," he cries, "spare, for the love of the Virgin, -my beautiful Pensacola! As you hope for heaven's mercy, spare my -beautiful city!" - -The wild hunting-shirt men are in a jocular mood. The terrified rushing -about of Governor Maurequez excites their laughter. - -"Where is your humane General Jackson?" wails Governor Maurequez, in -appeal to the hunting-shirt men. "Where is he--I beseech you? I hear he -is the soul of merciful forbearance!" - -At this the hunting-shirt laughter breaks out with double volume, as -though Governor Maurequez has evolved a jest. - -The alarmed Governor, catching sight of a couple of dead Spaniards, -fresh killed in the struggle with the foolish interior fort, expresses -his grief in staccato shrieks, which serve as weird marks of punctuation -to the laughter of the rude hunting-shirt men. The laughter ceases when -the General himself rides up. - -"Thar's the Gin'ral," says a hunting-shirt man, biting his merriment -short off. "Thar's the man of mercy you're asking for." - -Governor Maurequez starts back at sight of the gaunt face, emaciated by -sickness born of those Benton bullets, and yellowed to primrose hue -with the malaria of the Alabama swamps. The lean figure on the big war -stallion might remind him of Don Quixote--for he has read and remembers -his Cervantes--save for the frown like the look of a fighting falcon, -and the fire-sparkle in the dangerous blue eyes. As it is, he feels that -his visitor is a perilous man, and begins to bow and cringe. - -"I beg the victorious Senor General," says he, pressing meanwhile a -right hand to his heart, and presenting the white square of truce with -the other--"I beg the victorious Senor General to spare my beautiful -Pensacola!" - -"You are Governor Maurequez!" returns the General, hard as flint. - -"Yes, Senor General; I am Governor Maurequez, as you say. Also"--here -his voice begins to shake--"I must remind your excellency that this is a -province of Spain, and ask by what right you invade it." - -"Right!" returns the General, anger rising. "Did you not fire on my -messenger? Sir, if you were Satan and this your kingdom, it would be the -same! I would storm the walls of hell itself to get at an Englishman." - -There comes the whiplike crack of a rifle almost at the General's elbow. -Far up the narrow street, full four hundred yards and more, a flying -Spanish soldier throws up his hands with a death yell, and pitches -forward on his face. At this, the hunting-shirt man who fired tosses his -coonskin cap in the air and shouts: - -"Thar, Bill Potter, the jug of whisky's mine! Thar's your Spaniard too -dead to skin! If the distance ain't four hundred yard, you kin have the -gun!" - -"What's this?" cries the General fiercely. "Nothin', Gin'ral!" replies -the hunting-shirt man, abashed at the forbidding manner of the General, -"nothin', only Bill Potter, from the 'Possum Trot, bets me a jug of -whisky that old Soapstick here"--holding up his rifle as identifying -"old Soapstick"--"won't kill at four hundred yard." - -"Betting, eh!" retorts the General, assuming the coldly implacable. "Now -it's in my mind, Mr. Soapstick, that unless you mend your morals, some -one about your size will pass an hour strung up by the thumbs so high -his moccasins won't touch the grass! How often must I tell you that I'm -bound to break up gambling among my troops?" - -The rebuked soapstick one slinks away, and the General turns to Colonel -Coffee. - -"Give the word, Coffee, to cease firing." - -The General's glance comes around to Governor Maurequez, still bowing -and presenting his white flag. - -"Where are those English?" he demands. - -The frightened Governor Maurequez makes the sign of the cross. He is -sorry, but the pig English withdrew to Fort Barrancas at the first signs -of the coming of the victorious Senor General, taking with them their -hateful red flag. Also, it was they who fired on the messenger. If the -victorious Senor General will but move quickly, he may catch the pig -English before they escape. - -The General, half his hunting-shirt men at his back, starts for Fort -Barrancas. They are two miles on their way when the earth is shaken by a -thunderous explosion. Over the tops of the forest pines a gush of black -smoke shoots upward toward the sky. - -"They have blown up the fort!" says the explanatory Coffee. - -The General says nothing, but urges speed. At last they come in sight of -what has been Fort Barrancas. It is as the astute Coffee surmised. The -one-eyed Colonel Nichols and his English have fled, leaving a slow-match -and the magazine to destroy what they dared not defend. Far away in the -offing Captain Percy's English fleet--upon which the one-eyed Colonel -Nichols and his fugitive followers have taken refuge--wind aft and an -ebb tide to help, is speeding seaward like gulls. - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE GENERAL GOES TO NEW ORLEANS - - -Governor maurequez evolves into the very climax of the affable, not to -say obsequious. He assures the General that he is relieved by the -flight of the pig English, whom he despises as hare-hearts. Also, he is -breathless to do anything that shall prove his affectionate admiration -for his friend, the valorous Senor General. - -The General accepts the affectionate admiration of Governor Maurequez, -and leaves in his care Major Laval, who has been too severely wounded -to move; and Governor Maurequez subsequently smothers that convalescent -with nursing solicitude and kindness. Those other twenty wounded -hunting-shirt men the General takes back with him to Mobile. - -The General now gives himself up to a profound study of maps. His -invasion of Florida has paled the cheek of the Spanish Minister at -Washington and given European diplomacy a chill; he knows nothing of -that, however, and would care even less if he did. After poring over -his maps for divers days, he comes to sundry sagacious conclusions, and -sends for the indispensable Coffee to confer. That commander makes an -admirable counselor for the General, since he seldom speaks, and then -only to indorse emphatically the General's views. For these splendid -qualities, and because he is as brave as Richard the Lion Heart, the -General makes a point of consulting the excellent Coffee concerning -every move. - -"Coffee," says the General, as that warrior casts himself upon a bench, -which creaks dolorously beneath his giant weight, "Coffee, they'll -attack New Orleans next." - -The listening Coffee grunts, and the General, correctly construing the -Coffee grunt to mean agreement, proceeds: - -"England has now no foe in Europe. That allows her to turn upon us with -her whole power. Even as we talk, I've no doubt but an immense fleet is -making ready to pounce upon our coasts. Now, Coffee, the question is, -Where will it pounce?" - -The General pauses as though for answer. The admirable Coffee emits -another grunt, and the General understands this second grunt to be a -grunt of inquiry. Stabbing the map before him, therefore, with his long, -slim finger, he says: - -"Here, Coffee, here at New Orleans. It's the least defended, and, fairly -speaking, the most important port we have, for it locks or unlocks the -Mississippi. Besides, it's midwinter, and such points as New York and -Philadelphia are seeing rough, cold weather. Yes, I'm right; you may -take it from me, Coffee, the English are aiming a blow at New Orleans." -The convinced Coffee testifies by a third grunt that his own belief is -one and the same with the General's, and the council of war breaks up. -As the big rifleman swings away for his quarters the General observes: - -"Coffee, you will never realize how much I am aided by your opinions. -Two heads are better than one, particularly when one of them is capable -of such a clean, unfaltering grasp of a situation as is yours." - -The General burns to be at New Orleans, and leaving Colonel Coffee to -bring on his three thousand hunting-shirt men as fast as he may, gallops -forward with four of his staff. It is a rough, evil road that threads -those one hundred and seventy-five miles which lie between the General -and the Mississippi, but he puts it behind him with amazing rapidity. At -last the wide, sullen river rolls at his horse's feet. - -As the General traverses the rude forest roads, difficult with -November's mud and slush, a few days' sail away on the Jamaica coast may -be seen proof of the pure truth of his deductions. The English admiral -is reviewing his fleet of fifty ships, preparatory to a descent upon New -Orleans. - -It is a formidable flotilla, with ten thousand sailors and nine thousand -five hundred soldiers and marines, and mounts one thousand cannon. The -flagship is the _Tonnant_, eighty guns, and there sail in her company -such invincibles as the _Royal Oak_, the _Norge_, the _Asia_, the -_Bedford_, and the _Ramillies_, each carrying seventy-four guns. With -these are the _Dictator_, the _Gorgon_, the _Annide_, the _Sea Horse_, -and the _Belle Poule_, and the weakest among them better than a -two-decked forty-four. - -In command of this armada are such doughty spirits as Sir Alexander -Cockrane, admiral of the red, Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, Rear -Admiral Malcolm, and Captain Sir Thomas Hardy--"Nelson's Hardy," who -commanded the one-armed fighter's flagship _Victory_ at Trafalgar. -These, with their followers, have grown gray and tired in unbroken -triumph. Now, when they are making ready to spring on New Orleans, their -war word is "Beauty and Booty!" - -Review over, Admiral Cockrane in the van with the _Tonnant_, the fleet -sails out of Negril Bay for Louisiana. As the General's horse cools his -weary muzzle in the Mississippi, the English fleet has been two days on -its course. - -It is a dull, lowering December morning when the General, on his great -war stallion, following the Bayou road, rides into New Orleans. He finds -the city in a tumult, and nothing afoot for its defense. He is received -by Governor Claiborne, a stately Virginian, and Mayor Girod, plump and -little and gray and French, with a delegation of citizens. Among the -latter is one whom the General recognizes. He is Edward Livingston, -aforetime of New York, and the General's dearest friend in those old -Philadelphia Congressional days. The General gives the Livingston hand a -squeeze and says: "It's like medicine in wine, Ned, to see you at such a -time as this." - -Governor Claiborne makes a speech in English, Mayor Girod makes a -speech in French-leading citizens make speeches in English, Spanish, -and French. The speeches are fiery, but inconclusive. All are excited, -confused, ani without a plan. The General replies in little more than a -word: - -"I have come to defend your city," says he: "and I shall defend it or -find a grave among you." - -Following this ultimatum, the General goes to dinner with Mr. -Livingston. - -Governor Claiborne, Mayor Girod, and the leading citizens remain -behind to talk the General over in their several tongues. They are -disappointed, it seems. - -There be those who wish he hadn't come. Among them is the Speaker of the -Territorial House of Representatives--A French creole of anti-American -sentiments. - -"His presence will prove a calamity!" cries this legislative person. "He -seems to me to be a desperado, who will make war like a savage and bring -destruction and fire on our city and the neighboring plantations." - -There is no retort to this, for the local spirit of treason is -widespread. - -While the citizens of New Orleans are discussing the General, he with -his friend Livingston is discussing them. - -"What is the state of affairs here, Ned?" asks the General. - -"It could not be worse," is the reply. "All is confusion, contradiction, -and cross-purposes. The whole city seems to be walking in a circle." -"We'll see, Ned," returns the General grimly, "if we can't make it walk -in a straight line." Commodore Patterson comes to call on the General. -He is one who says little and looks a deal--precisely a gentleman after -the General's own heart, for while he himself likes to talk, he prefers -silence in others. - -Commodore Patterson sets forth the naval defenses of the town. An enemy -entering from the sea must come by way of Lake Borgne, and there are six -baby gunboats on Lake Borgne. The flotilla is commanded by Lieutenant -Jones, who is Welsh and therefore obstinate; he will fight to the final -gasp. The General beams approval of Lieutenant Jones, who he thinks has -a right notion of war. - -"But of course," says Commander Patterson, "he will be overcome in the -end." - -The General nods to this. He does not expect Lieutenant Jones to defend -the city alone. Commodore Patterson continues: "There are the schooner -_Carolina_ and the ship _Louisiana_ in the river, but they are out of -commission and have no crews." - -"Enlist crews at once!" urges the General. - -The General appoints Mr. Livingston to his staff, and the pair make -a tour of the suburbs and the flat, marshy regions round about. The -General is alert, inquisitive; he is studying the strategic advantages -and disadvantages of the place. When he returns he orders a muster of -the city's military strength for the next day. The review occurs, and -the General declares himself pleased with the display. - -Commodore Patterson comes to say that, while the streets are full -of sailors, not one will enlist. The General asks the Legislature to -suspend the habeas corpus. That done, he will organize press gangs and -enlist those reluctant "volunteers" by force. The Legislature refuses, -and the General's eyes begin to sparkle. - -"To-morrow, Ned," says he, "I shall clap your city under martial law." - -"But, my dear General," urges Mr. Livingston, who, being a lawyer, -reveres the law, "you haven't the authority." - -"But, my dear Ned," replies the determined General, "I have the power. -Which is more to the point." - -The General declares civil rule suspended, and puts the city under -martial law. It is as though he lays his strong, bony hand on the -shoulder of every man, and, the first shock over, every man feels safer -for it. The press gangs are formed, and scores of seafaring "volunteers" -are carried aboard the _Carolina_ and _Louisiana_ in irons. Once aboard -and irons off, the "volunteers" become miracles of zeal and patriotic -fire, furbishing up the dormant broadside guns, filling the shot racks, -and making ready the magazines, hearts light as larks, as though to -fight invading English is the one pleasant purpose of their lives; for -such is the seafaring nature. - -The General's "press" does not confine itself to sailors. Negroes, -mules, carts, shovels, and picks are brought under his rigid thumb. -Every gun, every sword, every pistol is collected and stored for use -when needed. Meanwhile, the indefatigable Coffee arrives, marching -seventy miles the last day and fifty the day before to join his beloved -chief. Also Captain Hinds of the dragoons is no less headlong, and -brings his command two hundred and thirty miles in four days, such is -his heat to fight beneath the blue, commanding eye of the General. - -Nor is this all. A day goes by, and Colonel Carroll steps ashore from -a fleet of flatboats, at the head of a hunting-shirt force from the -Cumberland country. The backwoods cheer which goes up when the new -hunting-shirt men see the General, brings the water to his eyes with -thoughts of home. Lastly, Colonel Adair appears with his force of -Kentuckians. These latter are a disappointment, being practically -unarmed, owning but one gun among ten. - -"Ain't you got no guns for us, Gin'ral?" asks one of the Kentucky -captains anxiously. - -"I am sorry to say I have not," returns the General. - -"Well," responds the Kentuckian, while a look of satisfaction begins -to struggle into his face, as though he has hit upon a solution of the -tangle, "well, I'll tell you what we'll do, then. Which the boys'll just -nacherally go out on the firin' line with the rest, an' then as fast -as one of them Tennesseans gets knocked over, we'll up an' inherit his -gun." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--THE WATCH FIRES OF THE ENGLISH - - -THESE are busy times for the General. He lives on rice and coffee, and -goes days and nights without sleep. He sends the tireless Coffee, with -his hunting-shirt men, to take position below the city, between the -morass and the river. Finally he orders all his forces below--Colonel -Carroll with his new hunting-shirt men, Colonel Adair with his unarmed -Kentuckians, the hard-riding Captain Hinds with his dragoons, as well as -the muster of local military companies, among the rest Major Plauche's -battalion of "Fathers of Families." There are a great many filial as -well as paternal tears shed when the "Fathers of Families" march away to -the field of certain honor and possible death; even Papa Plauche himself -does not refrain from a sob or two. The "Fathers of Families" take with -them their band, which musical organization plays the _Chant du -Depart_, whereat, catching the _tempo_, they strut heroically. The rough -hunting-shirt men are much interested in the "Fathers of Families," and -think them as good as a play. - -The General busies himself about his headquarters, and waits for news of -the English, of whose coming he has word. One afternoon appears a lean -little dark man, with black, beady eyes, like a rat. He introduces -himself; he is Jean Lafitte, the "Pirate of Barrataria." Only he -explains that he is really no pirate at all, not even a sailor; at -the worst he is simply the innocent shore agent or business manager of -pirates. Also, he declares that he is very patriotic and very rich, and -might add "very criminal" without startling the truth. - -Why has he come to see Monsieur General? Only to show him a letter from -the English Admiralty, brought by the General's old friend, Captain -Percy, late of H. R. H. Ship _Hermes_, offering him, Jean Lafitte, -a captain's commission in the royal navy, thirty thousand dollars in -English gold, and the privilege of looting. New Orleans, if he will but -aid in the city's capture. Now he, Jean Lafitte, scorning these base -attempts upon his honor, desires to offer his own and the services of -his buccaneers to the General in repulsing those villain English, whom -he looks upon with loathing as Greeks bearing gifts. - -"Only," concludes Jean Lafitte, his black rat eyes taking on a sly -expression, "my two best captains, Dominique and Bluche, together with -most of their crews, are locked up in the New Orleans calaboose." - -The General considers a moment, looking the while deep into the rat eyes -of Jean Lafitte. The scrutiny is satisfactory; there is nothing there -save an anxiety to get his men out of jail. This the General is pleased -to regard as creditable to Jean Lafitte. He comes back to the question -in hand. - -"Dominique and Bluche," he repeats. "Can they fight?" - -"They can do anything with a cannon, Monsieur General, which your -sharpshooters do with their squirrel rifles." - -The General has the caged Dominique and Bluche brought before him. -They are hardy, daring, brown men of the sea, with bushy hair, curling -beards, gold rings in their ears, crimson handkerchiefs about their -heads, gay shirts, sashes of silk, short voluminous trousers, like -Breton fisherman, and loose sea boots--altogether of the brine briny -are Dominique and Bluche. One glance convinces the General. The order -is issued, and the two pirates with their followers take their places as -artillerists where the wary Coffee may keep an eye on them. - -The English fleet arrives and anchors off the Louisiana coast. Loaded -scuppers-deep with soldiers and sailors and marines, the lighter craft -enter Lake Borgne. They sight the six cockleshells of Lieutenant Jones, -and make for them. - -Lieutenant Jones, with his cockleshells, slowly and carefully retreats. -He retreats so carefully that one after another the English boats, to -the round number of a score, run aground on divers mud banks, where they -stick, looking exceeding foolish. When the last pursuing boat is fast on -the mud banks, Lieutenant Jones anchors his six cockleshells where the -English may only get at him in small boats, and awaits results. - -The English are in no wise backward. Down splash the small boats, in -tumble the men, and presently they are pulling down upon the waiting -Lieutenant Jones--twelve men for every one of his. The small boats have -swivels mounted in their bows, and by way of preliminary, stand off from -the six cockleshells, waging battle with their little bow guns. This -is a mistake. Lieutenant Jones returns the fire from his cockleshells, -sinks four of the small boats, and spills out the crews among the -alligators. Unhappily, it is winter, and the alligators are sound asleep -in the mud below, by which effect of the season the spilled ones are -pulled aboard their sister boats with legs and arms intact. - -Being reorganized, and having enough of swivel war, the English fleet of -small boats rush the six cockleshells, and after a fierce struggle, take -them by weight of numbers. The English Captain Lockyer, following the -fight, wipes the blood from his face, which has been scratched by a -cutlass, and reports to Admiral Cockrane his success, and adds: - -"The American loss is, killed and wounded, sixty; English, ninety-four." - -Being masters of Lake Borgne, the English go about the landing of troops -on Pine Island. The sixteen hundred first ashore are formed into an -advance battalion and ordered forward. They go splashing through the -swamps toward the river like so many muskrats, and in the wet, cold, -dripping end crawl out on a narrow belt of sugar-cane stubble which -bristles between the levee and the swamp from which they have emerged. -Finding dry land under their feet, they cheer up a bit, and build fires -to make comfortable their bivouac while waiting the coming of their -comrades, still wallowing in the swamp. - -Night descends, but finds those sixteen hundred of the English advance -reasonably gay; for, while the present is distressing, their fellows by -brigades will be with them in the morning, and they may then march on -to sumptuous New Orleans, where--as goes their war word--theirs shall -be the "Beauty and Booty" for which they have come so far. And so the -chilled, starved sixteen hundred of that English advance hold out their -benumbed hands to the fires, and console themselves with what the poet -describes as "The Pleasures of Anticipation." And in this instance, -of course, the anticipations are sure of fulfillment, for what shall -withstand them? The raw, cowardly militia of the country? Absurd! - -As confirmatory of this, a subaltern hands about a copy of the _London -Sun_ which has a description of Americans. The others peruse it by the -light of their camp fires. It makes timely reading, since it is ever -worth while to gather--so that they be reliable--what scraps one may -descriptive of an enemy. The English, crouched about their fires, are -much benefited by the following: - -"_The American armies of Copper Captains and Falstaff recruits defy -the pen of satire to paint them worse than they are--worthless, lying, -treacherous, false, slanderous, cowardly, and vaporing heroes, with -boasting on their loud tongues and terror in their quaking hearts. Were -it not that the course of punishment they are to receive is necessary to -the ends of moral and political justice, we declare before our country -that we should feel ashamed of victory over such ignoble foes. The -quarrel resembles one between a gentleman and a sweep--the former may -beat the low scoundrel to his heart's content, but there is no honor in -the exploit, and he is sure to be covered with the soil and dirt of -his ignominious antagonist. But necessity will sometimes compel us -to descend from our station to chastise a vagabond, and endure the -degradation of such a contest in order to repress, by wholesome -correction, the presumptuous insolence and mischievous designs of the -basest assailant."_ - -The young English officers find this refreshing as literature. It might -have been less uplifting could they have foreseen how ninety years later -England will fawn upon and flatter and wheedle America to the point -which sickens, while her bankrupt nobility make that despised region a -hunting ground where, equipped of a title and a coat of arms, they track -heiresses to lairs of gold and marry them. - -Now that the satisfied English are asleep about their fires, it behooves -one to hear how the General is faring. The day with him is one fraught -with work. Word reaches him of the captured cockleshells on Lake Borgne. -Also it reaches that valuable Legislature--honeycombed of treason. - -The Legislature sends a committee to ask the General what will be his -course if he's beaten back. The General is hardly courteous: - -"Tell your honorable body," says he, "that if disaster overtake me and -the fate of war drives me from my lines to the city, they may expect to -have a very warm session." - -Mr. Livingston catches the adjective. The committee having departed, he -propounds a query. - -"A warm session, General!" says he. "What do you mean by that?" - -"Ned," replies the General, "if I am beaten here, I shall fall back -on the city, fire it, and fight it out in the flames! Nothing for the -maintenance of the enemy shall be left. New Orleans destroyed, I shall -occupy a position on the river above, cut off supplies, and, since I -can't drive, I shall starve the English out of the country. There is -this difference, Ned, between me and those fellows from the Legislature. -They think only of the city and its safety. For my side, I'm not here to -defend the city, but the nation at large." - -On the heels of this, the Legislature whispers of surrendering Louisiana -to the English by resolution. It is scarcely feasible as a plan, but it -angers the General. He stations a guard at the door of the chamber and -turns the members away. - -"We can dispense with your sessions," says he. "We have laws enough; our -great need now is men and muskets at the front." - -The patricians of the Legislature are scandalized as being shut out of -their chamber. - -"Did I not tell you," cries the prophetic House Speaker, "did I not tell -you this fellow was a desperado, and would wage war like a savage?" - -The members retire from the guarded doors, cursing the General under -their breath. Their doorkeeper, a low, common person, is so struck by -what the General has said anent men and muskets, that he gets a gun and -joins that "desperado." And wherefore no? Patriotism has been the mark -of vulgar souls in every age. - -Colonel Coffee's hunting-shirt scouts come in and report the watch fires -of those sixteen hundred of the English advance winking and blinking -among the sugar stubble. - -"Ah!" says the General, "I've a mind to disturb their dreams." - -The General dispatches word to Commodore Patterson to have the -_Carolina_ in readiness to act with his forces. Then he sends for the -indispensable Coffee. - -"Coffee, we shall attack them to-night." - -The wise Coffee gives the grunt acquiescent. - -"Thank you, Coffee!" says the General. - -The council over, Colonel Coffee goes to turn out the troops. This is to -be done softly, as a surprise is aimed at. - -Now on the dread threshold of battle, Papa Plauche of the "Fathers of -Families" is overcome. As the intrepid "Fathers" fall into line, tears -fill Papa Plauche's eyes, and he appeals to neighbor St. Geme. - -"I am a Frenchman!" cries Papa Plauche, tossing his arms; "I am a -Frenchman, and do not fear to die! But, alas! mon St. Geme, I fear I -have not the courage to lead the 'Fathers of Families' to slaughter." - -"Hush, Papa Plauche!" returns the good St. Geme, made wretched by -the grief of his friend. "Hush! Command yourself! Do not let the wild -General hear you; he will not, with his coarse nature, understand such -sentiments." - -Captain Roche, of the "Fathers of Families," steps in front of his -company. Striking his breast melodramatically, he sings out: - -"Sergeant Roche, advance!" - -Sergeant Roche advances. - -"Embrace me, brother!" cries Captain Roche in broken utterances, -"embrace me! It is perhaps for the last time." - -The brothers Roche embrace, and the "Fathers of Families" are melted by -the tableau. - -"Sergeant Roche, return to your place!" commands the devoted Captain -Roche, and the sergeant, weeping, lapses into the ranks. - -The hunting-shirt men, witnesses of these touching scenes, are rude -enough to laugh, and by way of parody embrace one another effusively. -As they depart through the dark for their station, they break into -whispered debate as to whether the theatrical grief of Papa Plauche, -the brothers Roche, and the "Fathers of Families" is due to their creole -blood, or their city breeding, either, according to the theories of the -hunting-shirt men, being calculated to promote the effeminate in a -man. While they thus wrangle, there comes an angry hissing whisper from -Colonel Coffee, like the hiss of a serpent: - -"Silence!" - -Every hunting-shirt man is stricken dumb. They move forward like -shadows, right flank skirting the cypress swamp. To the far left they -hear the moccasined, half-muffled tramp of Colonel Carroll's men--their -hunting-shirt brothers from the Cumberland. As they turn a bend in the -swamp, they see not a furlong away the flickering and shadow dancing of -the watch fires of the tired English. At this every hunting-shirt -man makes certain the flint is secure in the hammer of his rifle, and -loosens the knife and tomahawk in his rawhide belt. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--THE BATTLE IN THE DARK - - -AS the hunting-shirt men come within sight of the blinking lights, -which polka-dot the sugar stubble in front and mark the bivouac of the -English, Colonel Coffee sends the whispered word along the line to halt. -At this, the hunting-shirt men crouch in the lee of the cypress swamp, -and wait. Colonel Coffee is lying by for the signal which shall tell him -to begin. - -Before the movement commences, the General calls Colonel Coffee to one -of their celebrated conferences. - -"It is my purpose, Coffee," explains the General, "merely to shake them -up a bit. An attack will cure them of overconfidence, and break the -teeth of their conceit. This should hold them in check, and give us time -for certain earthworks I meditate. The signal will be a gun from the -_Carolina_. When you hear the gun, Coffee, attack everything wearing -a red coat. But be careful!" Here the General lifts a long, admonitory -finger. "Do not follow too far! Reinforcements are crawling out of the -swamp to the rear of the English every hour, and the only certainty is -that, even as we talk, they outnumber us two for one." - -The faithful Coffee departs. As he reaches the door, the General calls -after him: - -"Don't forget, Coffee! The gun from the _Carolina!_" - -The hunting-shirt men lie waiting by the cypress swamp. On their near -left is Papa Plauche and his "Fathers of Families." Beyond these is -a half company of regulars, which the General has brought up from the -near-by post. On the Bayou Road, between the regulars and the river, is -the General himself, with a brace of small field pieces. - -It is a moonless night, and what light the stars might furnish is -withheld by a blanket-screen of thick clouds. No night could be darker; -for, lest an occasional star find a cloud-rift and peer through, a fog -drifts up from the river. This is good for the English, since it hides -their watch fires, which one by one are lost in the mists. The darkness -deepens until even the hawk-eyed hunting-shirt men, trained by much -night fighting to a nocturnal keenness of vision, are unable to make out -their nearest comrades. - -The pitch blackness, and the fog chill creeping over him, tell on Papa -Plauche. He whispers sorrowfully to his friend St. Geme. - -"Neighbor St. Geme," he says, "these differences should be adjusted by -argument, and not by deadly guns. I see that he who would either shoot -or be shot by his fellow-man; is in an erroneous position." - -Before the kindly St. Geme may frame response, a liquid tongue of flame -illuminates the broad dark bosom of the river. It is followed sharply by -a crashing "Boom!" This is the word from the _Carolina._ - -The signal carries dismay into the hearts of the English, since -Commodore Patterson, whose genius is thoroughgoing, is at pains to load -the gun with two pecks of slugs, and eighty-four killed and wounded are -the red English harvest of that one discharge. The frightened drums beat -the alarm, and the ranks of English form. As they grasp their arms the -nine broadside guns of the Carolina begin to rake them. With this the -English fall slowly back from the river. - -The rearward movement, while managed slowly because of the darkness, -brings discouraging results. The English retreat into the hunting-shirt -men, who are skirmishing up from the cypress swamp. The English are -first told of this new danger by the spitting flashes which remind them -of needles of fire, and the crack of the long squirrel rifles like -the snapping of a whip. Here and there, too, a groan is heard, as the -sightless lead finds some English breast. This augments the blind horror -of the hour. - -The trapped English reply in a desultory fashion, and make a bad matter -worse. The hunting-shirt men locate them by the flash of their guns, -at which they shoot with incredible quickness and accuracy. With men -falling like November's leaves, the English give ground to the south, -which saves them somewhat from both the _Carolina_ and the hunting-shirt -men. - -Guessing the English direction, the hunting-shirt men follow, loading -and firing as they advance. Now and then a hunting-shirt man overtakes -an individual foe, and settles the national differences which divide -them with tomahawk and knife. It is cruel work--this unseeing bloodshed -in the dark, and disturbingly new to the English, who express their -dislike for it. - -[Illustration: 0193] - -While the hunting-shirt men drive the English along the fringe of the -cypress swamp, the General, a half mile nearer the river, is working his -two field pieces. Affairs proceed to his warlike satisfaction--and -this is saying a deal for one so insatiate in matters of blood--until a -flying ounce of lucky English lead wounds a horse on the number two gun. -This brings present relief to those English in the General's front; for -the hurt animal upsets the gun into the ditch. It takes fifteen minutes -to put it on its proper wheels again. The accident disgruntles the -General; but he bears it with what philosophy he may, and in good truth -is pleased to find that the gun carriage has not been smashed in the -upset. - -"Save the gun!" is his word to the artillery men; and when it is saved -he praises them. - -At the booming signal from the _Carolina_, the intrepid Papa Plauche -cries out: - -"Forwards, brave Fathers of Families! Forwards, heroes!" - -The "Fathers" respond, and go on with the hunting-shirt men. But their -pace is sedate; and this last results in an impoliteness which disturbs -the excellent Papa Plauche to the core. - -The hunting-shirt men are, for the major portion, riotous young blades -from the backwoods. Moreover, they are used to this prowling warfare of -the night. Is it wonder then that they advance more rapidly than does -Papa Plauche with his "Fathers," whose step is measured and dignified as -becomes the heads of households? - -Thus it befalls that, do their dignified best, Papa Plauche and his -"Fathers" are left behind by the hunting-shirt men, who, deploying more -and still more to the left, extend themselves in front of Papa Plauche. -This does not suit the latter's hardy tastes, and he frets ferociously. -He grows condemnatory, as the spitting rifle flashes show him that the -vainglorious hunting-shirt men are between him and those English whom he -hungers to destroy. Indeed, he fumes like tiger cheated of its prey. - -"But we shall extricate ourselves, neighbor St. Geme!" cries Papa -Plauche. "We shall yet extricate ourselves! Behold!" - -The "Behold!" is the foreword of certain masterly maneuvers by Papa -Plauche among the sugar stubble. The maneuvers free the farseeing -Papa Plauche and his "Fathers" from those obstructive, unmannerly -hunting-shirt men, who have cut off their advance even in its -indomitable bud. The "Fathers" being better used to shop floors than -plowed fields, however, make difficult work of it. At last courage has -its reward, and the "Fathers" uncover their dauntless front. - -"Oh, my brave St. Geme!" cries Papa Plauche, when his strategy has put -the hunting-shirt men on his right, where they belong, "nothing can save -the caitiff English now! Those ruffians in hunting tunics who protected -them no longer impede our front. Forwards!" - -The final word has hardly issued from between the clenched teeth of Papa -Plauche when a rustling in the stubble apprises him of the foe. - -"Fire, Fathers of Families, fire!" shouts Papa Plauche, and such is the -fury which consumes him that the shout is no shout, but a screech. - -It is enough! One by one each "Father" discharges his flintlock. The -procession of reports is rather ragged, and now and again a considerable -wait occurs between shots, like a great gap in a picket fence. Still, -the last "Father" finally finds the trigger, and the command of Papa -Plauche is obeyed. - -The "Fathers" hurt no one by this savage volley, for their aim -like their hearts is high. It is quite as well they do not. The -stubble-disturbing force in front chances to be none other than that -half company of regulars, to whose rear it seems the inadvertent -Papa Plauche, in freeing them from the hunting-shirt men, has led his -"Fathers." The regulars are in a towering rage with Papa Plauche; -but since no one has been injured, and Papa Plauche is profuse in his -apologies, their anger presently subsides. The regulars again take up -their bloody work upon the retreating English, while the discouraged -Papa Plauche and the "Fathers," full of confusion and chagrin at twice -being balked, remain where they are. - -"After all, neighbor St. Geme," observes Papa Plauche, "the mistake was -theirs. Did they not usurp the place which belonged to the English, in -thus getting in front of us? It should teach them to beware how they put -themselves in the path of my 'Fathers,' whose wrath is terrible." - -For two black, sightless hours the huntingshirt men crowd the English -to the south. Then the General draws them off. They come, bringing -as captives one colonel, two majors, three captains, and sixty-four -privates. Also they have killed and wounded two hundred and thirteen -of the English, which comforts them marvelously. They themselves have -suffered but slightly, and the backloads of English guns they carry will -gladden many an unarmed Kentucky heart. - -Now when he has them together, the beloved Coffee at their head, the -General leads the way to the thither side of the Roderiquez Canal, where -he plans a line of breastworks. Arriving, the weary hunting-shirt men -build fires, and make themselves easy for the balance of the night. - -After a brief rest, the thoughtful General detaches a party with one of -the field guns, to interest the English until daylight. - -"For I think, Coffee," says he, "that if we keep them awake, they will -be apt to sleep tomorrow; and so leave us free to work on our defenses." - - - - -CHAPTER XV--COTTON BALES AND SUGAR CASKS - - -IT is the day before Christmas when the General lays out his line for -fortifications. The Roderiquez Canal is no canal at all, but a disused -mill race, which an active man can leap and any one may wade. The -General will make a moat of it, and raise his breastworks along its -mile-length muddy course, between the river and the cypress swamp. He -keeps an army of mules and negroes, with scrapers and carts, hard at -work, heaping up the earth. A boat load of cotton is lying at the levee. -The cotton bales are rolled ashore, and added to the heaped-up earth. -This pleases Papa Plauche. - -"It is singular," he remarks to neighbor St. Geme, "that cotton, which -has been my business support for years, should now defend my life." - -There is a low place to the General's front. He cuts the levee; and -soon the Mississippi furnishes three feet of water, to serve as a wet -drawback to any English advance. The latter, however, are not thinking -on an advance. Supports have come dripping from the swamp, and swollen -their numbers to threefold the General's force; but none the less their -hearts are weak. That horrifying night attack, when their blood was shed -in the dark, has broken the heart of their vanity, and a paralyzing fear -of those dangerous hunting-shirt men lies all across the English like -a cloud. More and worse, the _Carolina_ swings downstream, abreast of -their position, and her broadsides drive them to hide in ditches and the -cypress borders of the swamp. There is no peace, no safety, on the flat, -stubble ground, while light remains by which to point the _Carolina's_ -guns. - -Nor does nightfall bring relief. Those empty-handed Kentuckians must -be provided for; and, no sooner does the sun go down, than the -hunting-shirt men by two and three go forth in search of English -muskets. They shoot down sentries, and carry away their dead belongings. -Does an English group assemble round a camp fire, it becomes an -invitation seldom neglected. A party of hunting-shirt men creep within -range and begin the butchery. There is never the moment, daylight and -dark, when the unhappy English are not within the icy reach of death. -There is no repose, no safety! A chill dread claims them like a palsy! - -The English complain bitterly at this bushwhacking; which, to the -hunting-shirt men, reared in schools of Indian war, is the merest A B C -of battle. The harassed English denounce the General as a barbarian, in -whose savage bosom burns no spark of chivalry. They recall how in their -late campaigns in Spain, English and French pickets spent peace-filled -weeks within fifty yards of one another, exchanging nothing more deadly -than coffee and compliments. - -The grim General refuses to be affected by the French-English example. -He continues to pile up his earthworks, while the hunting-shirt men -go forth to pot nightly English as usual. The situation wears away the -courage of the English to a white and paper thinness. - -While the General is fortifying his lines, and the hunting-shirt men are -stalking English sentinels, peace is signed in Europe between America -and England. But Europe is far away; and there is no Atlantic cable. And -so the General continues at his congenial labors undisturbed. - -Christmas does not go unrecognized in the General's camp. He himself -attempts nothing of festival sort, and only drives his fortifying mules -and negroes the harder. But the hunting-shirt men celebrate by cleaning -their rifles, molding bullets, refilling powder horns, and whetting -knives and tomahawks to a more lethal edge. - -As for Papa Plauche and the "Fathers of Families," they become jocund. -Their wives and daughters purvey them roast fowls in little wicker -baskets, and the warmest wines of Burgundy in bottles. Whereupon Papa -Plauche and his "Fathers" wax blithe and merry, singing the songs of -France and talking of old loves. - -And now Sir Edward Pakenham arrives, and relieves General Keane in -command of the English. With him comes General Gibbs. The two listen to -the reports of General Keane, and shrug polite shoulders as he speaks of -the savage valor of the Americans. It is preposterous that peasants -clad in skins, and not a bayonet among them, should check the flower of -England. General Keane does not reply to the polite shrug. He reflects -that the General, with his hunting-shirt men, can be relied upon to -later make convincing answer. - -Upon the morning which follows the advent of General Pakenham, the -English see a moment of good fortune. A red-hot shot sets fire to -the _Carolina_, as she swings downstream on her cable for that daily -bombardment, and burns her to the water line. This cheers the English -mightily; and does not discourage Commodore Patterson, who transfers his -activities to the decks of the _Louisiana._ - -Sir Edward gives the General three uninterrupted days. This the latter -warrior improves so far as to rear his earthworks to a height of four -feet, and mount five guns. On the fourth day the English are led out to -the assault. Sir Edward does not say so, but he expects to march over -those four-foot walls of mud and cotton bales as he might over any other -casual four-foot obstruction, and go up to the city beyond. - -The sequel does not justify Sir Edward's optimism. The moment the -English approach within two hundred yards of the General's line, a sheet -of fire hisses all along. The English melt away like smoke. They break -and run, seeking refuge in the cross ditches which drain the stubble -lands. Once in the ditches, they are made to sit fast by the watchful -hunting-shirt men, whose aim is death and who shoot at every exposed two -square inches of English flesh and blood. - -All day the English must crouch in the saving mud and water of those -ditches, and it ruffles their self-regard. With darkness for a shield, -Sir Edward brings them off. He explains the disaster to his staff -by calling it a "reconnoissance." General Keane also calls it a -"reconnoissance"; but there is a satisfied grin on his war-worn face. -Sir Edward has received a taste of the mettle of those "peasants," and -may now take a more tolerant, and less politely cynical, view of what -earlier setbacks were experienced by General Keane. As for the seventy -dead who lie, faces to the quiet stars, among the sugar stubble, they -say nothing. And whether it be called a "reconnoissance" or a defeat -matters little to them. - -"What do you think of it?" asks Sir Edward of his friend, General Gibbs, -as the two confer over a bottle of port. - -"Sir Edward," returns the General, "I should call a council of war." - -Sir Edward winces. It is too great an honor for the brother-in-law of -Lord Wellington to pay a "Copper Captain" like the General. For all that -he calls it; and the call assembles, besides Generals Gibbs and Keane, -those saltwater soldiers, Admirals Cochrane, Codrington and Malcolm, -and Captain Hardy whom Nelson loved. Sir John Burgoyne, the chief of -the English engineers, is also there. The solemn debate lasts hours. The -decision is to regard the General's position as "A walled and fortified -place, to be reduced by regular and formal approaches." Which is -flattering to the General's engineering skill. - -The council breaks up. The next morning Sir John Burgoyne commits a -stroke of genius. He rolls out of the storehouses to the English rear -countless hogsheads of sugar. Night sets in, foggy and black. Under its -protecting cover, Sir John trundles his hundreds of hogsheads to a point -not six hundred yards from the General's mud walls. Till daybreak -the English work. They set the hogsheads on end--four close-packed -thicknesses of them, two tier high. Ingenious portholes are left to -receive the muzzles of the guns, and thirty cannon, which have been -dragged through the cypress swamp from the fleet, are placed in -position. - -Those hogsheads of sugar, with the thirty black muzzles frowning forth, -impress folk as a most formidable fortalice, when the upshooting sun -rolls back the fog and offers a view of them. The General, however, does -not hesitate; he instantly opens with his five, and the thirty guns -of the English bellow their iron response. Hardly a whit behind the -General, the active Commodore Patterson drops downstream with the -_Louisiana_, and throws the weight of her broadsides against the -English. - -The big-gun duel is hot and furious, and the rolling clouds of powder -smoke shut out the fighters from one another. They do not pause for -that, but fire blindly through the smoke, sighting their guns by guess. -When the smoke has cloaked the scene, Sir Edward orders two columns of -the English foot to storm the General's mud walls. - -The columns advance, and run headforemost into the hunting-shirt men. -The sleety rain of lead which greets them rolls the columns up like two -red carpets. The recoiling columns break, and the English take cover -for a second time in those saving ditches. They declare among themselves -that mortal man might more easily face the fires of hell itself, than -the flame-filled muzzles of the hunting-shirt men, who seem to be -Death's very agents upon earth. - -As the broken English crouch in those ditches the fire of Sir John -Burgoyne's big guns begins to falter. The smoke is so thick that no one -may tell the cause. At last the English volleys altogether end, and the -General orders Dominique and Bluche, with their swarthy pirate crews -from Barrataria, and what other artillerists are serving his quintette -of guns, to cease their stormy work. With that a silence falls on both -sides. - -The breeze from the river tears the smoky veil aside; and lo! that -noble fortification of sugar hogsheads is heaped and piled in ruins. The -General's solid shot go through and through those hogsheads of sugar, as -though they are hogsheads of snow. Five of the thirty English guns are -smashed. The proud work of Sir John Burgoyne presents a spectacle of -desolation, while the English who serve the batteries go flying for -their lives. Not all! The three-score dead remain--the only English -whose honor is saved that day! - -Sir Edward's cheek is white as death. He blames Sir John Burgoyne, who -has erred, he says, in constructing the works. Sir John did err, and Sir -Edward is right. Forty years later, the same Sir John will repeat the -same mistake at Sebastapol; which shows how there be Bourbons among the -English, learning nothing, forgetting nothing. - -As the English skulk in clusters, and ragged, beaten groups for their -old position beyond the General's long reach, the fear of death is -written on their faces. It will take a long rest, and much must be -forgotten, e'er they may be brought front to front with the General -again. - -Among the hunting-shirt men are exultation and crowing triumph. Only -Papa Plauche is sad. During the fight, the cotton bales in front of Papa -Plauche and the "Fathers" are sorely knocked about. As though this be -not enough, what must a felon hot shot do but set one of them ablaze! -The smoke fills the noses of Papa Plauche and his "Fathers," and makes -them sneeze. It burns their eyes until the tears the "Fathers" shed -might make one think them engaged upon the very funeral of Papa Plauche -himself. - -In the tearful sneezing midst of this anguish, a vagrant flying flake -of cotton, all afire, explodes an ammunition wagon to the heroic rear of -Papa Plauche and the "Fathers," and the shock is as the awful shock of -doom. - -The fortitude of Hercules would fail at such a pinch! Papa Plauche and -the "Fathers" actually and for the moment think on flight! But whither -shall they fly? They are caught between Satan and a deepest sea--the -ammunition wagon and the English! Also to the right, plying sponge and -rammer, are the pirate Barratarians who are as bad as the English! -While to the left is the General, who is worse than the ammunition -wagon. - -"It is written!" murmurs Papa Plauche; "our fate is sure! We must perish -where we stand!" Papa Plauche extends his hands, and cries: "Courage, -my heroes! Give your hearts to heaven, your fame to posterity, and show -history how 'Fathers of Families' can die!" From the cypress swamp a -last detachment of reenforcements emerges, and meets the beaten English -coming back. General Lambert, with the reenforcements, is shocked as he -reads their broken-hearted story in their eyes. "What is it, Colonel?" -he whispers to Colonel Dale of the Highlanders. "In heaven's name, what -stopped you?" - -"Bullets, mon!" returns the Scotchman. "Naught but bullets! The fire of -those de'ils in lang shirts wud 'a' stopped Caesar himsel'!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY - - -BACK to his negroes and mules and carts and scrapers goes the General, -and sets them to renewed hard labor on those immortal mud walls which -he will never get too high. Those cotton bales, so distressing to -Papa Plauche and the "Fathers," are eliminated, at which that paternal -commander breathes freer. The hunting-shirt men, with each going down -of the sun, resume their nighthawk parties, which swoop upon English -sentinels, taking lives and guns. - -The English themselves are a prey to dejection. The foe against whom -they war is so strange, so savage, so sleepless, so coldly inveterate! -Also those incessant night attacks sap their manhood. They build no -fires now, but sit in darkness through the nights. A fire is but the -attractive prelude to a shower of nocturnal lead, and the woefully -lengthening list of dead and wounded tells strongly against it. To even -light a cigar after dark is an approach to suicide; and so the English -wrap themselves in blackness--very miserable! Their earlier horror of -the hunting-shirt men is increased; for they have three times studied -backwoods marksmanship from the standpoint of targets, and the dumb -chill about their heart-roots is a testimony to its awful accuracy. - -The General, who reads humanity as astronomers read the heavens, is -not wanting in notions of the gloom which envelops the English like a -funeral pall. - -"Coffee," says he, at one of those famous war councils of two, "in their -souls we have them beaten. They will fight again; but only from pride. -Their hope is gone, Coffee; we have broken their hearts." - -The reports of the General's scouts teach him that the English will -put a force across the river. In anticipation, he dispatches Commodore -Patterson, with a mixed command of soldiers and sailors, to fortify -the west bank. Commodore Patterson emulates the General's four-foot -mud walls and throws up a redoubt of his own, mounting thereon twelve -eighteen-pounders taken from the Louisiana. - -He tries one on the English opposite. The result is gratifying; the gum -pitches a solid shot all across the Mississippi and into the English -lines. - -Eight days pass by in Indian file, and Sir Edward Pakenham with his -English feels that, for his safety as much as his honor, he must attack -the General, whose mud walls increase with each new sunset. The General -foresees this, and has reports of Sir Edward's movements brought him -every hour. - -On the morning of the eighth the General's scouts wake him at two -o'clock and say that the English are astir. He is instantly abroad; -the word goes down the line; by four o'clock every rifle is ready, each -hunting-shirt man at his post. - -The weak spot, the one at which Sir Edward will level his utmost force, -is where the General's line finds an end in the moss-hung cypress swamp. -It is there he stations the reliable Coffee with his hunting-shirt men. -To the rear, as a reserve, is General Adair with what Kentuckians the -good, unerring offices of those night-prowling hunting-shirt men have -armed at the red expense of the English. - -In the center is the redoubtable Papa Plauche and his "Fathers." The -"Fathers" are between the pirates Dominique and Bluche and Captain -Humphries of the regular artillery. - -Papa Plauche is rejoiced at being thus thrust into the center. - -"For my heroes!" cries Papa Plauche, in a speech which he makes the -"Fathers," the center is the heart--the home of honor! "On us, my -Fathers, devolves the main defense of our beloved city, where sleep our -wives and children. Wherefore, be brave as vigilant--vigilant as brave!" - -Papa Plauche's voice is husky, but not from fear. No, it is husky by -reason of a cold which, despite certain woolen nightcaps wherewith the -excellent Madam Plauche equipped him for the field, he has contracted in -sleeping damply among the stubble and the river fogs. - -Six hundred yards in front of the General's mud walls, and near the -river, are a huddle of plantation buildings. The English, he -argues, will mask a part of their advance with these structures. The -forethoughtful General prepares for this, and has furnaces heating shot, -to set those buildings blazing at the psychological moment. - -Also, in response to a comic cynicism not usual with him, he has out -the brass band of Papa Plauche, with instructions to strike up "Yankee -Doodle" as the first gun is fired. The band, in compliment to the -General, has been privily rehearsing "'Possum up a Gum Tree," which -it understands is the national anthem of Tennessee, and offers to play -that. - -The General thanks the band, but declines "'Possum up a Gum Tree." It -will not be understood by the English; whereas "Yankee Doodle" they have -known and loathed for forty years. - -"Give 'em 'Yankee Doodle,'" says the General. "Since they are so eager to -dance, we'll furnish the proper music." - -Sir Edward is as soon afoot as is the General. He finds his English -steady yet dull; they will fight, but not with spirit. As the General -assured the conferring Coffee, the hunting-shirt men, with their long -rifles like wands of death, have broken the English heart. - -The English are to advance in three columns; General Keane on the right -with Rennie's Rifles, in the center Dale's Highlanders, on the left, -where the main attack is to be launched, General Gibbs, with three -thousand of the pride of England at his back. General Lambert is to hold -himself in the rear of General Gibbs, with two regiments as a reserve. -As the columns form, there are eighty-five hundred of the English; -against which the-General opposes a scanty thirty-two hundred. And -yet, upon those overpowering eighty-five hundred hangs a silence like a -sadness, as though they are about to go marching to their graves. - -The solemn fear in which the English hold the hunting-shirt men finds -pathetic evidence. As the columns wheel into position, Colonel Dale of -the Highlanders gives a letter and his watch to the surgeon. - -"Carry them to my wife," says he. - -"I'll peel for no American!" and twenty-four hours later he is buried in -that cloak. - -The English stand to their arms, and wait the breaking of day. Slowly -the minutes drag their leaden length along; morning comes at last. - -With the first streaks of livid dawn, a Congreve rocket flashes skyward -from Sir Edward's headquarters. The rocket is the English signal to -advance. In a moment, General Gibbs, General Keane, and Colonel Dale -with his "praying" Highlanders are in motion. - -The signal rocket uncouples thousands upon thousands of fellow rockets; -the air is on fire with them as they blaze aloft in mighty arcs, to fall -and explode among the hunting-shirt men. - -"Toys for children, boys," cries the General, as he observes -the hunting-shirt men watching the flaming shower with curious, -non-understanding eyes; "toys for children! They'll hurt no one!" - -The General is right. Those congreve rockets are supposed to be as -deadly as artillery. Like many another commodity of war, however, meant -primarily to fatten contractors, they prove as innocuous as so many -huge fireflies. The hunting-shirt men laugh at them. The battery of -eighteen-pounders, wherewith the English second that flight of rockets, -is a more serious affair. - -As the sun shoots up above the cypress swamp and rolls back the mists -of morning, the English make a gallant picture. The dull yellow of the -stubble in front of the General's line is gay with splotches of red and -gray and green and tartan, the colors of the various English corps. - -The hunting-shirt men, however, are not given much space for admiration; -for, with one grand crash, the big guns go into action and the -red-green-gray-tartan picture is swallowed up in powder smoke. Also, -it is now that Papa Plauche's band blares forth "Yankee Doodle," while -those anticipatory hot shot set fire to the plantation buildings. As the -latter burst out at door and window in smoke and flames, Colonel Rennie -and his riflemen are driven into the open. The conflagration gets much -in the English way, and spoils the drill-room nicety of Sir Edward's -onset as he has it planned. - -Colonel Rennie, being capable of brisk decision, makes the best of a -disconcerting situation. When the flames and smoke from those fired -plantation buildings drive him into the open before he is ready, he -promptly orders a charge. This his riflemen obey; for the inexorable -Patterson, across the river, is already upon them with those -eighteen-pounders, and his solid shot are mowing ghastly swaths through -the rifle-green ranks, tossing dead men in the air like old bags. With -so little inducement to stand still, the riflemen hail that word to -charge as a relief, and head for the General's mud walls at double -quick. - -The oncoming Colonel Rennie and his English are met full in the face by -a tempest of grape, from Major Humphrey and the pirates Dominique and -Bluche, which throws them backward upon themselves. They bunch up -and clot into lumps of disorder, like clumps of demoralized sheep in -rifle-green. At that, Commodore Patterson serves his eighteen-pounders -with multiplied speed, and the great balls tear those sheep-clumps to -pieces, staining with crimson the rifle-green. The English marvel at -the artillery work of the General's men, whose every shot comes on, well -aimed and low, bringing death in its whistling wake. - -They should reflect: The theory, not to say the eye, which aims a -squirrel rifle will point a cannon. - -Colonel Rennie, when his English recoil, keeps on--face red with grief -and rage. - -"It's my time to die!" says he to Captain Henry. "But before I die, I -shall at least see the inside of those mud walls." - -Colonel Rennie is wrong. A bullet finds his brain as he lifts his head -above the breastworks, and he slips back dead in the ditch outside. -Major King and Captain Henry die with him, pierced each by a handful of -bullets. - -When the English flinch and Colonel Rennie falls, the bugler--a boy of -fourteen--climbs a tree, not one hundred yards from the General's line. -Perched among the branches, he sounds his dauntless charges. The General -gives orders to let the boy alone. And so the little bugler, protected -by the word of the General, sings his shrill onsets to the last. - -Finally an artillery-man goes out to him. - -"Come down, my son!" says the cannoneer. "The war's about over!" - -The little bugler comes down, and is at once taken to the fatherly heart -of Papa Plauche, who declares him to be a sucking Hector, and is for -adopting him as his son on the spot, but is restrained by thoughts of -Madam Plauche. - -Sir Edward's main assault, with General Gibbs, meets no fairer fortune -than falls to Colonel Rennie by the river. Confusion prevails on the -threshold of the movement; for Colonel Mullins with his Forty-fourth -refuses to go forward. Later he will be courtmartialed, and dismissed in -disgrace. Just now, however, the recreant makes a shameful tangle of -the English van. As a quickest method of setting the tangle straight, -General Gibbs, as did Colonel Rennie, orders a charge. The column moves -forward, the mutinous Forty-fourth on the right flank, led by its major. - -General Gibbs advances, brushing with the shoulder of his corps, -the cypress swamp. Behind the mud walls in his front, the steady -hunting-shirt men are waiting. The General is there, to give the latter -patience and hold them in even check. - -"Easy, boys!" he cries. "Remember your ranges! Don't fire until they are -within two hundred yards!" - -On rush the English. At six hundred yards they are met by the fire of -the artillery. They heed it not, but press sullenly forward, closing up -the gaps in their ranks, where the solid shot go crashing through, as -fast as made. Five hundred yards, four hundred, three hundred! Still -they come! Two hundred yards! - -And now the hunting-shirt men! A line of fire unending glances from -right to left and left to right, along the crest of those mud walls, and -Death begins his reaping. The head of the English column burns away, as -though thrust into a furnace! The column wavers and welters like a red -ship in a murky sea of smoke! It pauses, falteringly--disdaining to fly, -yet unable to advance! - -"Forward, men!" shouts General Gibbs. "This is the way you should go!" - -As he points with his sword to those terrible mud walls, he falls -riddled by the hunting-shirt men. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--THE SLAUGHTER AMONG THE STUBBLE - - -WHEN the main advance begins, Sir Edward is in the center with the -Highlanders. The latter are not to move until he has word of their -success from General Keane with Rennie's rifle corps, and General Gibbs -with the main column--the one by the river and the other by the cypress -swamp. He has not long to wait; a courier dashes up from the river--eye -haggard, disorder in his look! - -"General Keane?" cries Sir Edward, his apprehension on edge. - -"Fallen!" returns the courier hoarsely. - -"And Rennie?" - -"Dead. The Rifles are in full retreat!" Sir Edward stands like one -stricken. Then he pulls himself together. - -"Bring on your Highlanders!" he cries to Colonel Dale. "We must force -their lines in front of General Gibbs. It is our only chance!" - -Sir Edward dashes across to General Gibbs, in the shadow of that -significant cypress swamp. He sees General Gibbs go down! He sees -the red column torn and twisted by that storm of lead which the -hunting-shirt men unloose. - -As the English reel away from those low-flying messengers of death, Sir -Edward seeks to rally them. - -"Are you Englishmen?" he cries. "Have you but marched upon a battlefield -to stain the glory of your flag?" - -Sir Edward's gesticulating arm falls, smashed by a bullet from some -sharp-shooting hunting-shirt man. He seems not to know his hurt! He is -on fire with the thought that those honors, won upon forty fields, -are to be wrested from him by a "Copper Captain," backed by a mob of -peasants in buckskin! He rushes among the shaken English to check the -panic which is seizing them! - -The Highlanders come up! - -"Hurrah! brave Highlanders!" he shouts. - -At Sir Edward's welcoming shout, Colonel Dale waves a salute! It is his -last; the huntingshirt men are upon him with those unerring rifles, and -he falls dead before his General's eyes. Coincident with the fall of his -beloved Dale, Sir Edward is struck by a second bullet. It enters near -the heart. As his aide catches him in his arms, he beckons feebly to Sir -John Tylden. - -"Call up Lambert with the reserves!" he whispers. - -As he lies supported in the arms of his aide, a third bullet puffs out -his lamp of life, and England loses a second Sir Philip Sidney. - -The main column falls into renewed disorder! It begins to retreat; -the retreat becomes a rout! Only the Highlanders stay! They cannot go -forward; they will not go back! There they stand rooted, until five -hundred and forty of their nine hundred and fifty are shot down. - -As the main column breaks, Major Wilkinson turns to Lieutenant Lavack. - -"This is too much disgrace to take home!" says he. - -Like Colonel Rennie, a mile away by the river, Major Wilkinson charges -the mud walls. Lieutenant Lavack, sharing his feelings, shares with him -that desperate, disgrace-defying charge. Through the singing, droning -"zip! zip!" of the bullets, they press on! They reach the ditch, and -splash through! Up the mud walls they swarm! Major Wilkinson falls -inside, dead, three times shot through and through! Lieutenant -Lavack, with a luck that is like a charm, lands in the midst of the -hunting-shirt men without a scratch! They receive him hilariously, -offer whisky and compliments, and assure him that they like his style. -Lieutenant Lavack accepts the whisky and the compliments, and gains -distinction as the one live Englishman over the General's mud walls this -January day. - -The field is swept of hostile English; all is silent in front, and not -a shot is heard. Now when the firing is wholly on one side, the General -passes the word for the hunting-shirt men to cease. - -The hard-working Coffee comes up, face a-smudge of powder stains; for he -has been taking his turn with a rifle, like any other hunting-shirt man. -He finds the General as drunk on battle as some folk are on brandy. - -"They can't beat us, Coffee!" cries the General, wringing his friend's -big hand. "By the living Eternal they can't beat us!" - -The General unslings his ramshackle telescope, and leaps upon the mud -walls for a survey of the field. The less curious Coffee devotes himself -to wiping the sweat and powder smudges from his face. His impromptu -toilet results only in unhappy smears, which make him resemble an -overgrown sweep. He looks at his watch. - -"Sharp, short work!" he mutters, as he notes that they have been -fighting but twenty-five minutes. - -[Illustration: 0235] - -Those plantation buildings are still blazing, no more than half-burned -down, and the smoke hides the scene toward the river. The General turns -his ramshackle spyglass upon his immediate front. The ground is fairly -carpeted with dead English. As he gazes he calls to Colonel Coffee, who -is now broadening the powder smears ingeniously with the sleeve of his -hunting shirt. - -"Jump up here, Coffee!" cries the General. "It's like resurrection day!" - -Thus urged, Colonel Coffee abandons his attempts to improve his looks, -and joins the General on the mud walls. He is in time to behold four -hundred odd Highlanders scramble to their brogues among those five -hundred and forty who will never march again, and come forward to -surrender. - -It has been a hot and bloody morning. Of those six thousand whom Sir -Edward takes into action--for the reserves with General Lambert are -never within range--over twenty-one hundred are fallen. Seven hundred -and thirty are killed as they stand in their ranks; and of the fourteen -hundred marked "wounded," more than six hundred are to die within the -week. Among the twenty-one hundred killed and wounded, sixteen hundred -go to swell the red record of the dire hunting-shirt men. - -The two attacks, being at the ends of the General's lines, involve no -more than two-thirds of his thirty-two hundred. Papa Plauche's "Fathers" -in the center, as well as General Adair's Kentuckians who act as -reserves, are merest spectators. - -That his "Fathers" are not called upon to fire a shot, in no wise -depresses Papa Plauche. He harangues his brave followers, and eloquently -explains: - -"It is because of your sanguinary fame, my heroes!" vociferates Papa -Plauche. "The English knew your position, and avoided you. They went as -far to the right and to the left as they could, to escape that -destruction you else would have infallibly meted out to them. Ah! my -'Fathers,' see what it is to have a terrible name! You must sit idle in -battle, because no foe dare engage you! Be comforted, my glorious -heroes! Achilles could have done no more!" - -Colonel Coffee, still busy with the powder smears, calls the General's -attention to an English group of three, made up of a colonel, a bugler, -and a soldier bearing a white flag. The trio halt six hundred respectful -yards away. The bugler sounds a fanfare; the soldier waves his white -flag. - -The General dispatches Colonel Butler with two captains to receive -their message. It is a note signed "Lambert," asking an armistice of -twenty-four hours to bury the dead. - -"Who is Lambert?" asks the General, and sends to the English colonel, -with his bugler and white flag, to find out. - -The three presently return; this time the note is signed "John Lambert, -Commander-in-Chief." The alteration proves to the General's liking, and -the armistice is arranged. - -The seven hundred and thirty dead English are buried where they fell. -Thereafter the superstitious blacks will defy lash and torture rather -than plow the land where they lie. It will raise no more sugar cane; but -in time a cypress grove will sorrowfully cover it, as though in mournful -memory of those who sleep beneath. The General carries his own dead to -the city. They are not many, four dead and four wounded being the limit -of his loss. - -General Lambert and the beaten English go wallowing, hip-deep, through -the swamps to their boats. They will not fight again. The booming of -the batteries, or mayhap the unusual warmth of the sun, has roused from -their winter beds a scaly host of alligators. These saurians uplift -their hideous heads and gaze sleepily, yet inquisitively, at the -wallowing retreating English. Now and then one widely yawns, and the -spectacle sends an icy thrill along what English spines bear witness to -it. - -In the end the beaten English are all departed. That tremendous invasion -which, with "Beauty and Booty!" for its cry, sailed out of Negril Bay -six weeks before to the sack of New Orleans, is abandoned, and the -last defeated man jack once more aboard the ships and mighty glad to be -there. The fleet sails south and east; but not until the tallest ship is -hull down in the horizon does the General march into New Orleans. - -The General cannot bring himself to believe that the retreat of the -English is genuine. They have still, as they sail away, full thirteen -thousand fighting men aboard those ships, with a round one thousand -cannon, and munitions and provisions for a year's campaign. He judges -them by himself, and will not be convinced that they have fled. With -this on his mind, he plants his pickets far and wide, and insists on -double vigilance. - -Now when fear of the English is rolled like a stone from their breasts, -the folk of New Orleans fret under the General's iron rule. With that -the prudent General tightens his grip. Even so excellent a soldier -as Papa Plauche complains. He says that the hearts of the "Fathers -of Families" are bursting with victory. His valiant "Fathers" burn to -express their joy. - -The General suggests that the joy-swollen "Fathers" repair to the -Cathedral, and hear the Abbe Duborg conduct a _Te Deum_. - -Papa Plauche points out that, while a _Te Deum_ is all very well in -its way, it is a rite and not a festival. What his "Fathers"--who are -thunderbolts of war!--desire is to give a ball. - -The General says that he has no objections to the ball. - -Papa Plauche explains that a ball is not possible, with the city held -fast in the controlling coils of military law. The rule that all lights -must be out at nine o'clock, of itself forbids a ball. As affairs stand -the "Fathers" are helpless in their happiness. No one may dance by -daylight; that would be too fantastic, too bizarre! And yet who, -pray, can rejoice in the dark? It is against human nature, argues Papa -Plauche. - -The General refuses to be moved; but continues to hold the city in his -unrelenting clutch--maintaining the while a wary eye for sly returning -English, with an occasional glance at the local treason which is -simmering about him. - -The public murmur grows louder and deeper. A rumor of the peace comes -ashore, no one knows how. The General refuses the rumor, fearing an -English ruse to throw him off his guard. At the peace whisper, the -popular discontent increases. The General, in the teeth of it, remains -unchanged. - -Citizen Hollander expresses himself with more heat than prudence. The -General locks up the vituperative Citizen Hollander. M. Toussand, Consul -for France, considers such action high-handed; and says so. The General -marches Consul Toussand out of town, with a brace of bayonets at the -consular back. Legislator Louaillier protests against the casting out -of Consul Toussand. The General consigns the protesting Legislator -Louaillier to a cell in the calaboose. Jurist Hall of the District Court -issues a writ of habeas corpus for the relief and release of the captive -Louaillier. The General responds by arresting Jurist Hall, who is given -a cell between captives Louaillier and Hollander, where by raising his -voice he may condole with them through the intervening stone walls. - -Thus are affairs arranged when official notice of the peace reaches the -General from Washington. Instantly he withdraws his grip from the -city, restores the civil rule, and releases from captivity Jurist Hall, -Citizen Hollander, and Legislator Louaillier. - -Upon the disappearance of martial law, Papa Plauche, with his immortal -"Fathers of Families," gives that ball of victory, the exiled Consul -Toussand creeps back into town, while Jurist Hall signalizes his -restoration to the woolsack by fining the General one thousand dollars -for contempt of court--which he pays. - -The Legislature, guards withdrawn from its treasonable doors, expands -into lawmaking. Its earliest action is a resolution of thanks for their -brave defense of the city to officers Coffee, Carroll, Hinds, Adair, -and Patterson. The Legislature pointedly does not thank the General, who -grins dryly. - -Colonel Coffee, upon receiving the vote of thanks, writes a letter of -acknowledgment, in which he intimates his opinions of the General, the -Legislature, and himself. This missive is a remarkable outburst on the -part of Colonel Coffee, who fights more easily than he writes, and shows -how he is stirred to his hunting-shirt depths. - -Through the clouds of pestiferous jurists and treason-hatching -legislators descends a grand burst of sunshine. The blooming Rachel, as -unlooked for as an angel, joins her gaunt hero in New Orleans, and the -General forgets alike his triumphs and his troubles. - -Papa Plauche--foremost in peace as in war--at once seizes on the advent -of the blooming Rachel to give another ball. The whole city attends the -function; the heroic "Fathers" in full panoply and very splendid. The -band plays "'Possum up a Gum Tree," in the execution whereof it soars to -vainest heights. - -Papa Plauche dances with the blooming Rachel. The General unbuckles in -certain intricate breakdowns, with which he challenged admiration in -those days long ago when he was the beau of old Salisbury and read law -with Spruce McCay. The "Fathers" are not only edified but excited by the -General's dancing; for he dances as he fights, violently. - -Colonel Coffee, not being a dancing man, goes looking about him. He -discovers a flower-piece, prepared by Papa Plauche, that is like unto a -piece of flattery, and spells "Jackson and Victory!" in deepest red and -green. He shows it to the General, who suggests that if Papa Plauche -had made it "Hickory and Victory!" it would mean the same, and save the -euphony. - -While the blooming Rachel, the General, the non-dancing Coffee, and the -ardent Papa Plauche, with the beauty and chivalry of New Orleans about -them, are at the ball, Colonel Burr, gray and bent and cynical, is -talking with his friend Swartwout in far-away New York. - -"It was a glorious, a most convincing victory!" exclaims Mr. Swartwout. -"President Madison cannot do the General too much honor. He has saved -the country!" - -"He has saved," returns the ironical Colonel Burr, "what President -Madison holds in much greater esteem. He has saved the Madison -administration!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--ODDS AND ENDS OF TIME - - -THE General, the blooming Rachel by his side, takes up his homeward -journey. Now when they are on their way and a world has time to observe -them, it is to be noted that changes have befallen with the lengthened -flight of time. The eye of the blooming Rachel is as liquidly black and -deep, her hair as raven-blue, her cheek as round as on a rearward day -when she won the heart of that bottle-green beau from old Salisbury. The -alteration is in her form, which has grown plump and full and stout in -these her matronly middle years. As to the bottle-green beau, his sandy -hair is deeply shot with iron-gray, while his features show haggard, -and seamed of care. To the inquiring eye he looks at once dangerous and -rusty, like an old sword. His form, always spare, is more emaciated than -ever. The last is due in part to those Benton bullets, and the Dickinson -shot fired in that poplar, May-sweet wood on a certain Kentucky morning. -Besides, one is not to forget those southern swamps, which have never -had fame for building a man up. As the General, with his blooming -Rachel, draws near home, the whole Cumberland country rushes forth to -greet him. - -From that earliest day when Time began swinging his scythe in the -meadows of humanity, mankind has owned but two ways of honoring a hero. -One is the "parade," the other is the "dinner." In the one instance, -half the people march in the middle of the street, while the remaining -half line the curbs and look on. In the other, which has the merit of -exclusion, a select great few set a board with meat and drink; and then, -installing the hero where all may see, they bombard him with toasts and -speeches and applause. All attend the "parade" since it is free. Few -avoid the dinner, because, besides the honor and the honoring, it -affords lawful occasion for being drunk--a manifest advantage to many -in a strait-laced community. The General when he arrives in Nashville is -exhaustively "paraded" and deeply "dined." Also he is given a sword. - -Now, having been "paraded" and "dined," and with honors thick upon him, -the General sets about his duties as a major general in days of peace. -General Adair and he have a letter-quarrel concerning the courage of -Kentuckians. General Scott and he have a letter-quarrel on grounds more -personal. As the upshot of the latter correspondence, the General -evinces an eagerness to shoot his over-epauletted opponent at ten paces, -oiling up the saw-handles to that hopeful end, but is balked by the -over-epauletted one, who declines on grounds of piety and patriotism. - -[Illustration: 0251] - -While the General is fuming with ink and paper against those -distinguished warriors, he cools at intervals sufficiently to build -the blooming Rachel a little church. The blooming Rachel is a devout -Presbyterian; and, while the General is far too busy with this world to -think much on the next, she prevails with him--for he never says "No" to -her--to put her up a church. It is not much bigger than a drygoods box; -but there are forty pews, besides a pulpit for Parson Blackburn, and -the blooming Rachel is supremely happy. She owns to some illogical -impression that, should the General build a church, he'll "join." In -this she goes wrong; for the General only builds. - -The General mounts his horse, and rides to Washington. He meets Mr. -Jefferson in Lynchburg, and that aged fine gentleman and maker of -constitutions is struck by the graceful manners of the General, who has -become all ease and polish where once he was as rough as a woods' colt. -In Washington he is much feted and feasted, and the trump of celebration -is tireless to sound his name. He gets back home in time to put a roof -on the blooming Rachel's almost finished church, and listen to Parson -Blackburn's dedicatory sermon. - -The Red Stick Creeks from across the Florida line take to marauding and -murdering in Southern Georgia, and the General decides to see about it. -He sends an officer, with a force of men, to reduce Negro Fort on the -Appalachicola. In giving that officer his instructions, the General -expands touching the military virtues of red-hot shots; and with such -satisfactory results that the first one fired at Negro Fort blows it to -ruins, and with it three hundred and thirty-one of the three hundred and -thirty-four blacks and reds who infest it. Three crawl from the blazing -chaos, to be hilariously knocked on the head by friendly Creeks, who -have attended the expedition with that fond hope and purpose. The world -is much rejoiced at the demolition of Negro Fort; since murder and -pillage have been the one business of its robber garrison, and the -fire-torture of prisoners their one amusement. - -The General presently appears at the head of his hunting-shirt men, and -destroys the village of Chief Billy Bowlegs on the oft-sung Suwannee -River. Then he takes St. Marks from the feeble Spaniards, and arrests a -brace of conspiring English, Ambrister and Arbuthnot. The arrested ones -have come across from the Bahamas, bringing English guns and lead -and powder and promises to the hostile blacks and reds; and all in -accordance with that policy, dear to England, of preferring bloodshed -by proxy to shedding blood herself. The General hangs conspirator -Arbuthnot, and shoots conspirator Ambrister; while England, in -accordance with a second policy as dear as the first, disavows them -both. - -The General goes on to Pensacola. Here he hauls down the flag of Spain, -runs up the stars and stripes, drives out the Spanish Governor, and -installs one of his own with a garrison to back him. Having executed -conspirators Ambrister and Arbuthnot, he now seizes on two -Creek-Seminole chiefs and hangs them, to preserve, so to speak, a racial -equilibrium. Having thus wound up the Spanish, the English, the negroes -and the Indians in Florida, the General returns to his home, serene in -the sense of duty well performed. - -The General's serenity is misplaced; trouble breaks out in Washington. -Mr. Monroe is President, and Statesmen Clay and Crawford and Calhoun -and Adams desire to be. The quartette last named suspect in the -General--about whom a responsive public is running mad--a growing -rival. They decide to cripple him in the very cradle of his White House -prospects. If they do not he may grow up to snatch from them the -crown. Moved of this high thought, they charge the General with waging -unauthorized war; and with invading Spanish territory, we at peace -with Spain. They call him a "murderer" for snuffing out conspirators -Ambrister and Arbuthnot and those superfluous Creek-Seminole chiefs. -Also, giving a moral snuffle, they demand that he be courtmartialed and -cashiered. - -President Monroe shakes his head at the conniving quartette, replying as -on a somewhat similar occasion did the Russian Catherine: - -"We never punish conquerors." - -The General by the Cumberland hears of these weird doings in Washington, -and again rides over the mountains. His object is to discover, by -personal observation, who in his case, are the sheep and who the goats, -and separate in his own mind his friends from his enemies. Upon his -arrival the General finds himself an issue of politics. As such he is -voted upon by Congress, which affirms heavily in his favor. The people -have long ago decided in his favor; and Congress, ever quick to locate -the butter on its bread, sharply follows the popular example. Statesman -Clay and others among the General's foes express themselves freely to -his disadvantage. However, the General expresses himself freely to their -disadvantage, and profound judges of vituperation say that he has the -sulphurous best of the exchange. - -Being upheld by Congress, and having freed his mind touching his foes, -the General goes to Baltimore and Philadelphia, and is extravagantly -wined and dined. Then he proceeds to New York, where Fitz Greene Halleck -and Joseph Rodman Drake write doggerel at him in the _Evening Post_; -and where, also, he is "paraded" and "dinner"-honored to a degree -which lays all former "parading" and "dinner"-honoring, by less fervent -communities, deep within the shade. - -Spain cedes Florida to the United States; just as she would cede a bad -hot penny that, besides being worthless, is burning her fingers. The -President appoints the General governor of the new domain. Whereupon the -new Governor lays down his Major General's commission, bids farewell to -the army, and journeys south. He does not relish being Governor; and, -after locking up his Spanish predecessor for stealing divers papers of -state, and expatriating a scandalous bevy whose talk sounds like treason -to his sensitive ear, he resigns. - -When the General gets back to the Cumberland country, he finds that his -former quartermaster, Major Lewis, has decided to send him to the White -House. The General is mightily taken aback, and declares himself unfit. -Major Lewis retorts that he is far more fit than any of his quartette -of Washington enemies, laying especial emphasis on Statesman Clay. The -accurate force of the retort strikes the General wordless. - -Major Lewis is rich, wise, cunning, cool, college-bred, and eighteen -years younger than the General. He is a born manager, a natural -wire-puller, and can play politics by ear as some folk play the fiddle. -Congenitally a Warwick, he prefers making a President to being one, and -would sooner hold a baby than hold an office. - -Major Lewis seizes on the General as so much raw material wherefrom to -construct a President. As a best method of having his man on the ground, -he gives a hint, and the Tennessee Legislature sends the General to -Washington as Senator. The blooming Rachel accompanies him; they live at -a tavern in Pennsylvania Avenue called the "Indian Queen." - -This caravansary is kept by one O'Neal, who has a pretty daughter -Peg. Later the pretty Peg will dissolve a Cabinet, make Mr. Van Buren -President, and come within an ace of getting Mr. Calhoun hanged. All -this, however, is in the unpierced future. The blooming, childless -Rachel makes a pet of pretty Peg; which rivets the latter forever in the -good regards of the General, who loves what the blooming Rachel loves. - -Major Lewis proves a wizard of politics. Under his quiet legerdemain, -here and there and everywhere political fires break forth in favor of -the General. They break forth in North Carolina, in Pennsylvania, in New -York; and, so deft and secret is his work, none suspects Wizard Lewis as -the incendiary. Wizard Lewis is counseled by Colonel Burr who, like some -old gray fox, sits in the mouth of his New York law-burrow in Nassau -Street, peering out at events as they pass. - -In these days, the lion-faced Webster writes his brother: - -"His (the General's) manners are more presidential than those of any -of the candidates. He is grave, mild, and reserved. My wife is for him -decidedly." - -There are four candidates for the White House, _vide, licet_, the -General, and Statesmen Adams and Crawford and Clay. The popular vote -falls in the order given, with the General a long flight shot ahead of -Statesman Adams, who is next on the list. And yet, while far in advance -of the others, the General is without that electoral majority required -by the Constitution, and the choice is thrown into the House of -Representatives. - -Statesman Clay is now out of the running; for the President must be -chosen from among the three candidates having the highest electoral -vote, and he is fourth and lowest. Statesman Crawford, who ranks third, -is also out. He is stricken of paralysis; and, while this wins him -sympathy, it loses him White House strength. The fight is to be between -the General and Statesman Adams. - -While Statesman Clay is out of the coil, so far as any personal chance -of becoming the House selection is concerned, he is in it decisively in -another fashion. As a chief force in the House, he holds that important -body in the hollow of his hand; and, while he cannot be its choice, -he can control its choice. He controls it for Statesman Adams, on -the underground understanding that he, Statesman Clay, shall sit at -Statesman Adams' right hand as Secretary of State. Statesman Clay hopes -to run presidentially another day, and thinks to make his calling and -election sure while head of the Cabinet of Statesman Adams. As events -forge and fuse themselves in the blast furnaces of the future, it will -be discovered that in thus opining Statesman Clay falls into grievous -error. - -It is four o'clock in the afternoon when the Clay-guided House counts -Statesman Adams into a Presidency. Five hours afterward the General -meets Statesman Adams in the East Room, where both are in attendance -upon the last reception of outgoing President Munroe. The contrast -between them tells in the General's favor. There is no gloom of -disappointment on his brow, no cloud of defeat in his hawkish blue eyes. -The General has a lady on his arm. He greets Statesman Adams gracefully -and extends his hand: - -"How is Mr. Adams?" cries he. "I give you my left hand, sir, since my -right is devoted to the fair." - -Statesman Adams is a diplomat, and used to courts and salons. The -General is of the wilderness and its battlefields. And yet the General -shines out the more polished of the two. Statesman Adams takes the -extended hand; but he does it awkwardly, backwardly, and with a wooden -manner, as though his deportment is seized of some sudden, bashful -stiffness of the joints. At last he manages to say: - -"Very well, sir! I hope you are well!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--THE KILLING EDGE OF SLANDER - - -WIZARD LEWIS boldly re-begins his work of White House capturing. He -becomes busy to the elbows in the General's destinies before Statesman -Adams is inaugurated. When the latter names Statesman Clay to be his -Secretary of State, Wizard Lewis lays bare the deal which thus exalts -the Kentuckian. He raises the cry of "Bargain and Corruption!" and the -public takes it up. Statesman Adams and Statesman Clay are pilloried as -conspirators who have wronged the General of a Presidency, and the State -portfolio in the hands of Statesman Clay is pointed to as proof. The -General writes the blooming Rachel, just now at home by the Cumberland: - -"The Judas of the West has closed the contract and received the thirty -pieces of silver." Statesman Clay defends himself badly. He declares -that he objects to the General's White House ambitions only because he -is a "Military Chieftain." He speaks as though the world knows that a -"Military Chieftain" will make a perilous Chief Magistrate. The world -knows nothing of the sort; the cry of "Bargain and Corruption" gains -head. - -In retort to that arraignment of being a "Military Chieftain"--made as -if the phrase be merely another name for "buccaneer"--the General writes -the old friendly fox, Colonel Burr: - -"It is not strange that he (Statesman Clay) should indulge himself in -such reasoning, since it comes somewhat to his own personal defense. Our -blue-grass Secretary has been ever remarkable for his caution, to give -it a no worse name, and has not yet risked himself for his country, or -moved from safe repose to repel an invading foe." - -The General is not the only one who comments upon the astounding -copartnership in politics and policies between Statesman Adams and -Statesman Clay. John Randolph, of Roanoke, remarks concerning it, from -his bitter place in the Senate: - -"Sir, it is a coming together of the puritan and the blackleg--Blifil -and Black George!" - -This view seems hugely to excite Statesman Clay, and he challenges the -picturesque Randolph to a duel by Little Falls. They meet; but, since -both are at pains to miss, no good comes of it. - -[Illustration: 0267] - -Wizard Lewis goes teaching the General's merits in every State of the -Union. In his White House siege, Wizard Lewis receives his best help -from Statesman Adams himself. - -The latter publicist is a personage of ice-cold ideas, and lists -ingratitude at the top of the virtues. There be folk--descended, -doubtless, of ancestors that heated the pincers and turned the -thumbikins, and worked the straining rack for the Inquisitions as mere -day laborers at torture--who delight in doing mean, hateful, punishing -things to their fellow mortals, if they may but call such doing "duty." -They will weep hypocritically while burning a victim, and aver, -between sobs, that they pile the fagots and apply the torch only from -a "sternest conviction of duty." The word "duty," like the venom of -a serpent, is ever in their mouths; by it they break hearts, destroy -hopes, create blackness, blot out light, forbid happiness, foster grief, -and plant pain in breasts innocent of every crime save that of helping -them. Statesman Adams--heart as hollow as a bell and quite as brazen--is -one of these. He demonstrates his purity by refusing his obligations, -and proves himself great by turning his back on his friends. Made up of -a multitude of littlenesses, he offers no trait of breadth or bigness -as an offset. He is not wise; he is not brave; he is not generous; he -is not--even in wrongdoing--original. He will guide by some maxim; or -he will permit himself to be posed by a proverb; and, while ever -breathlessly respectable, he is never once right. As President he -proposes for himself an inhuman goodness, and declares that he will -remove no one from office on "account of politics"--a catch phrase which -has protected incompetency in place in every age. - -Although he is so fond of them, Statesman Adams, in taking the latter -snow-white position, overlooks an aphorism that will be vital while time -lasts. He forgets that "The President who makes no removals will himself -be removed." - -"Strike, lest you be stricken!" murmured Queen Elizabeth, as seizing the -pen she signed the warrant of block and axe for Scottish Mary, and it -might be well and wise for Statesman Adams to wear in constant mind that -illustrious example. - -The thought is vain. Statesman Adams ignores his friends, consults -his foes, and offers a base picture of the ungrateful that draws the -public's honest wrath his way. Wizard Lewis is no one to miss such -opportunities to upbuild the General's fortunes at the expense of the -enemy; and so the General grows each day stronger, while Statesman -Adams--who hopes to succeed himself--owns less and less of strength. - -The currents of time flow swiftly now, and four years go by--four years -wherein the old friendly far-seeing fox, Colonel Burr, in his Nassau -Street burrow, teaches the General's leaders intrigue as a pedagogue -teaches the alphabet to his pupils. And day after day the purblind -Adams, with the purblind Clay at the elbow of his hopes and fears, sets -traps against his own prospects, and does his unwitting best or worst to -destroy himself. Then comes the canvass: the General against Statesman -Adams, who courts a reelection. - -The moment the rival forces march upon the field, the dullest marks -the superiority of the General's. With that, Statesman Clay--in the war -saddle for Statesman Adams, whose battle is his battle and whose defeat -means his downfall--loses his head. He accuses the General of every -offense except that of theft, calls him every name save that of coward. -The accusations fail; the epithets fall harmless to the ground; the -people know, and draw the closer about the General's standards. -The latter's popularity rises as might a hurricane, and sweeps away -opposition like down of thistles! - -Statesman Clay becomes frantic. Possessed as by a demon, he issues -instructions to assail the blooming Rachel. His hound-pack obey the -call. From that moment the General's marriage is the issue. He is -charged with "stealing another's wife," and every shaft of mendacious -villification is shot against the unoffending bosom of the blooming -Rachel. Those are fire-swept moments of anguish for the General, -who feels the pain the more, since his hands are tied against what -saw-handle methods silenced the dead Dickinson one May Kentucky morning -in that poplar wood. - -The blooming Rachel, for her wronged part, says never a word. She goes -the oftener to the little church, but that is all. And yet, while she -seems so resigned and patient beneath the slandrous lash, the thong is -biting always to her soul's source. - -The election takes place, and now the people speak. They set the -grinding heel of their anger upon those slanders; they throw down that -ladder of lies by which Statesman Adams hopes to climb. Wizard Lewis, -Burr-guided, foils Statesman Clay at every point; the General rides down -Statesman Adams like a coach and six. - -New England is tribal and narrow, with the reeking taint of old -Federalism in its veins; it gives itself for Statesman Adams, unredeemed -save by a single district in Maine. There, indeed, rises up one -electoral vote for the General. It shows in the gray waste of Adams -sentiment about it, like a green tree and a fountain against the gray -wastes of Sahara. New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland follow in New England's -dreary wake for Statesman Adams; while New York gives him sixteen -electoral votes out of thirty-six. That offers the round circumference -of his Clay-collected strength--an electoral vote of eighty-three! - -For the General, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, -Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois -go headlong; while New York gives him twenty electoral votes, with -Tennessee his own by a popular count of twenty for one. Statesman Clay, -as a retort to the slanders he fulminated, beholds his own State -of Kentucky reject him, and aid in swelling those one hundred and -seventy-eight electoral votes which declare for the General. The world -at large, seated by its fireside and sagely thumbing those returns -of one hundred and seventy-eight for the General against a meager -eighty-three for Statesman Adams, finds therein a stunning rebuke to -both the ambitions and the methods of Statesman Clay. - -When word of the General's election reaches the blooming Rachel, she -smiles wearily and says: - -"For the General's sake I'm glad! For myself I never wished it." - -Now that the war of the votes is over and the General victor, mankind -relaxes into its customary dinners and parades. The Cumberland good -people resolve to outparade all former parades, outdine all former -dinners. They engage themselves with tremendous gala preparations. It -shall be a time when oxen are eaten whole, and whisky is drunk by the -barrel. - -The day set apart as sacred to the coming parade, and that dinner yet to -be devoured, breaks brightly full of promise. There is never a cloud in -the Cumberland sky, never a care on the Cumberland heart. In a moment -all is reversed!--light gives way to blackness, happiness to grief! Like -a bolt from a heaven smiling, the word descends that the blooming Rachel -lies dead. The word is true. The monstrous weight of slander heaped upon -it breaks her gentle heart. - -[Illustration: 0275] - -They bury the blooming Rachel at the foot of the garden where her -best-loved flowers grow. The General is ten years older in a night; the -tall form, yesterday as straight as a lance, is bent and broken. The -blue eyes, once hawklike, are dimmed with tears. Friends come to press -his hand--he chokes and cannot speak! But the awful agony of his soul is -written in the sweat drops on his wrung brow. - -As the General stands by the grave that is smothering for him all the -song and the sweet sunshine of life, the ever-faithful, never-failing -Coffee is by his side. The poor General reaches blindly out and takes -hold of the rough, big, loyal hand for support. His beloved Coffee, who -flanked the Red Stick Creeks for him at the Horseshoe and held his low -mud walls against England's boast and best at New Orleans, will not -fail him now in this his sternest trial by the graveside of the blooming -Rachel. - -The General, doubly quiet, doubly stern, issues forth of that ordeal -another man. He is as one who lives because it is his duty, and not -for love of life. Plainly, his hopes like his heart are buried with the -blooming Rachel. In his soul he lays her death to the doors of Statesman -Adams and Statesman Clay; throughout the years to follow he will never -forget nor forgive. To the end he will cultivate his hatred of them, and -tend it as he might a flower. Time cannot remold him in this belief; and -a decade later he will say to his friend Lewis, while his eye flashes -like some sudden-drawn rapier: - -"Major, she was stung to death by slander! It was such adders as John -Quincy Adams, such pit-vipers as Henry Clay, that killed her!" - - - - -CHAPTER XX--THE GENERAL GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE - - -THIS is of a steamboat day, and keel boats are but a memory. The -General makes his tedious eight-weeks' way to Washington via the -Cumberland, the Ohio, the mountains, and the Potomac valley. It is like -the progress of a conqueror. The people throng about him until Wizard -Lewis, remembering his broken state, fears for his life. The fears are -without grounds to stand on. Applause never kills, and the General finds -in it the milk of lions. He enters Washington renewed, and was never so -fit for hard work. The General is inaugurated. As he is cheered into the -White House by jubilant thousands, Statesman Clay, beaten and bitter, -retires to Kentucky; while Statesman Adams goes back to Massachusetts, -where his ice-waterisms, let us hope, will be appreciated, and from -which frigid region he ought never to have been drawn. - -When the General is declared President, Statesman Calhoun is made -Vice-President. From his high perch in the Senate Statesman Calhoun -begins at once to scan the plain of the possible for ways and means to -name himself the General's successor. He proves dull in the furtherance -of his ambitions, and conceives that the only best path to victory lies -over the General himself. He must break down that demigod in the hearts -of the people, and teach them to hate where now they trust and love. - -The General is not a day in Washington before Statesman Calhoun is -intriguing to cut the ground of popularity from beneath his feet. As -frequently happens with dark-lantern strategists, his plottings in their -very inception go off on the wrong foot. Statesman Calhoun is so foolish -as to commence his campaign against the General with an attack upon a -woman. The woman thus malevolently distinguished is the pretty Peg, once -belle of the Indian Queen. - -Between that time when the General came last to Washington as Senator -and the pretty Peg was petted and loved by the blooming Rachel, and now -when the General occupies the White House as President, destiny has been -moving rapidly and not always gayly with the pretty Peg. In that interim -she becomes the wife of Purser Timberlake of the Navy, who later cuts -his drunken throat and walks overboard to his drunken death in the -Mediterranean. - -In her widow's weeds the pretty Peg looks prettier than before--since -black is ever the best setting for beauty, and shows it off like a -diamond. Major Eaton, Senator from Tennessee and per incident friend of -the General, is smitten of the pretty Peg, and marries her. The wedding -bells are ringing as the General rides into Washington. - -It is an hour wherein Vice-Presidents have more to say than they will -later on. Statesman Calhoun, scheming his own advantage, puts forward -covert efforts to place his friends about the General as cabineteers. -This is not so difficult; since the General is not thinking on Statesman -Calhoun. His eyes, hate-guided, are fastened upon Statesman Adams and -Statesman Clay; his single aim is to advance no follower of theirs. -These are happy conditions for Statesman Calhoun, who comes up unseen on -the General's blind side, and presents him--all unnoticed--with three of -his Cabinet six. - -Statesman Calhoun, who prefers four to three, next tries all he secretly -knows to control the General's choice of a War Secretary. In this he -meets defeat; the General selects Major Eaton, just wedded to the pretty -Peg. His completed Cabinet includes Van Buren, Secretary of State; -Ingham, Secretary of the Treasury; Eaton, Secretary of War; Branch, -Secretary of the Navy; Berrien, Attorney General; and Barry, Postmaster -General. Of these, Statesman Calhoun, craftily reviewing the list from -his perch in the Senate, may call Cabi-neteers Ingham, Branch, and -Berrien his henchmen. - -The General is not aware of this Calhoun color to his Cabinet. The last -man of the six hates Statesman Clay and Statesman Adams; which is the -consideration most upon the General's mind. He does not like Statesman -Calhoun. But he in no sort suspects him; and, at this crisis of Cabinet -making, that plotting Vice-President is not at all upon the General's -slope of thought. - -Not content with half the Cabinet, Statesman Calhoun resents privily his -failure to control the war portfolio. He resolves to attack Major Eaton, -and drive him from the place. As much wanting in chivalry as in a wisdom -of the popular, he decides to assail him through the pretty Peg. It -is the error of Statesman Calhoun's career, which now becomes one -blundering procession of mistakes. - -Statesman Calhoun's attack on the pretty Peg begins with hidden -adroitness. There lives in Philadelphia a smug dominie named Ely. On -the merest Calhoun hint in the dark, Dominie Ely--who has a mustard-seed -soul--writes the General a letter, wherein he charges the pretty Peg -with every immorality. Dominie Ely prayerfully protests against the -husband of a woman so morally ebon making one of the General's official -family. - -The General is in flames in a moment. His loved and blooming Rachel was -stabbed to death by slander! The pretty Peg was the blooming Rachel's -favorite, in that old day at the Indian Queen! The General possesses -every angry reason for being aroused, and he sends fiercely for smug -Dominie Ely. - -The villifying Dominie Ely appears before the General in fear and -trembling--color stricken from his fat cheek. He falteringly confesses -that he has been inspired to his slanders by a Dominie Campbell. The -furious General summons Dominie Campbell, about whom there is a Calhoun -atmosphere of jackal and buzzard in even parts. The General hurls -pointed questions at Dominie Campbell, and catches him in lies. - -While the General is putting to flight the two black-coat buzzards -of slander, the war breaks out in a new quarter. The "Ladies of -Washington," compared to whom the Red Stick Creeks at the Horseshoe and -the redcoat English at New Orleans are as children's toys, fall upon -the General's social flank. They hate the pretty Peg because she is -more beautiful than they. They resent her as the daughter of a tavern -keeper--a common tapster!--who is now being lifted to a social eminence -equal with their own. These reasons bring the "Ladies of Washington" to -the field. But with militant sapiency they conceal them, and adopt as -the pretended cause of their onslaught the slanders of those ophidians, -Dominie Ely and Dominie Campbell. - -Mrs. Calhoun, wife of Statesman Calhoun, at the head of Capital fashion -and social war-chief of the "Ladies of Washington," says she will not -"recognize" the pretty Peg. Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien, -wives of the three Cabineteers who wear in private the colors of -Statesman Calhoun, say they will not "recognize" the pretty Peg. Mrs. -Donelson, wife of the General's private secretary and _ex officio_ -"Lady of the White House," says she will not "recognize" the pretty Peg. -The latter drawing-room Red Stick is the General's niece. Also, she is -in fashionable leading strings to Mrs. Calhoun, who as social war-chief -of the "Ladies of Washington" dazzles and benumbs her. - -Mrs. Donelson approaches the General concerning the pretty Peg. - -"Anything but that, Uncle!" she says. "I am sorry to offend you, but I -cannot 'recognize' Mrs. Eaton." - -"Then you'd better go back to Tennessee, my dear!" returns the General, -between puffs at his clay pipe. - -Mrs. Donelson and her unwilling spouse go back to Tennessee. The war -against the pretty Peg goes on. - -The General's Cabinet is a house divided against itself. Cabineteers -Ingham, Branch, and Berrien align themselves with Statesman Calhoun on -this issue of the pretty Peg. For each has a ring in his nose, a wedding -ring, and his wife leads him about by it socially, hither and yon as -she chooses. Cabineteers Van Buren and Barry range themselves with -Cabineteer Eaton and the pretty Peg. - -Cabineteer Van Buren is short, round, fat, smooth, adroit, ambitious, -and so much the mental tree-toad that, now when he is in contact with -the positive General, his every opinion takes its color from that -warrior. Also Cabineteer Van Buren is a widower, with no wife to lead -him socially by the nose. Hat in hand, he calls upon the pretty Peg--a -politeness which pleases the General tremendously. - -Cabineteer Van Buren gives dinners, and asks the pretty Peg to perform -as hostess. With a wise eye on the General, he incites Cabineteer Barry, -who is a bachelor, to burst into similar dinners, with the pretty Peg in -command. By his suggestion, Minister Vaughn of the English and Minister -Krudener of the Russians, who like Cabineteer Barry are bachelors, -follow amiable suit. They give legation dinners, at which the pretty -Peg presides. The General adopts these brilliant examples with the White -House. The pretty Peg finds herself in control of such society high -ground as the English and Russian legations, two Cabinet houses besides -her own, and last and most important the White House itself. It is a -merry even if a savage war, and the pretty Peg is everywhere victorious. - -Not everywhere! Mrs. Calhoun, as war-chief of the "Ladies of -Washington," with Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien about -her as a staff, refuses to yield. These four indomitables and their -beflounced and be-feathered followers, noses uptilted in scorn of the -pretty Peg, prosecute their battle to the acrid end. - -In the earlier stages, the General, his angry thoughts on Statesman -Clay, inclines to the belief that these attacks on the pretty Peg are of -that defeated personage's connivance, and says so to Wizard Lewis. - -Wizard Lewis, when the General is inaugurated, is for returning to his -Cumberland home, but finds himself restrained by the lonesome General. - -"What!" cries the latter, "would you leave me now, after doing more than -all the rest to land me here?" - -Upon which reproach, Wizard Lewis remains, and lives in the White House -with the General. It befalls that with the earliest slanders of the -ophidians, Dominie Ely and Dominie Campbell, the General goes to Wizard -Lewis with accusations against Statesman Clay. - -"It's that pit-viper, Henry Clay!" cries the General. "Major, the pet -employment of that scoundrel is the vindication of good women!" - -Wizard Lewis holds to a different view. He declares that the secret -impulse of this base war is Statesman Calhoun, and proves it as events -unfold. - -"And yet," asks the General, "why should he assail little Peg? Both he -and Mrs. Calhoun called upon her and Major Eaton, and congratulated them -on their marriage." - -"That was while Major Eaton was a senator," Wizard Lewis responds, "and -before he became War Secretary and got in the way of the Calhoun plans. -Your Vice-President, General, is mad to be President. Also, he is so -blurred in his strategy as to imagine that these attacks on little Peg -will advance his prospects." - -The General snorts suspiciously; a light breaks upon him. - -"Then your theory is," he says, "that Calhoun assails Peg as a step -toward the presidency." - -"Precisely, General! Rightly construed, it is not an attack on Peg, but -you. He is trying to put you before the people in the role of one who -countenances the immoral, and upholds a bad woman. In that he hopes to -array every virtuous fireside against you. He looks for you to ask a -second term; and, by any means in his power, he will strive to destroy -you out of his path." - -"Now, was there ever such infamy!" cries the General. "Here is a man so -vile that he would pave his way to the White House with the slain honor -of a woman!" - -The hate of the General is now focused upon Statesman Calhoun. That -ignoble strategist, he resolves, shall never achieve the presidency. - -As one wherewith to defeat Statesman Calhoun and succeed himself, the -General picks upon Cabineteer Van Buren--that suave one, who is so much -to the urbane fore for the pretty Peg. - -"Yes, sir," says the General to Wizard Lewis; "I'll take a second term! -And then, Major, we will make Matt President after me." - -"We'll do more," returns Wizard Lewis. "When we elect you President the -second time, we'll shove aside the plotting Calhoun, and make Van Buren -Vice-President." - -"Right!" exults the General. "Then, should I die, Matt will at once step -into my shoes." - -Neither the General nor Wizard Lewis is at pains to conceal their -design. The sallow cheek of Statesman Calhoun grows sallower; for the -news is like an icicle through his heart. It in no wise abates his war -upon the pretty Peg, however; which--as Wizard Lewis guesses--is only -meant to break down the General with good people. - -Vindicated; in all quarters she rises in triumph over Mrs. Calhoun, -Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, Mrs. Berrien, and what other "society Red -Sticks"--as he terms them--seek her destruction. The next thing is -to shear away the cabinet strength of Statesman Calhoun. Wizard Lewis -recommends a dissolution of the Cabinet. He lays his thought before the -General, who sits listening in the smoke of his long pipe. Cabineteer -Van Buren will resign. Cabi-neteers Eaton and Barry will emulate his -example and turn over their portfolios. With half his Cabinet gone, -should the Calhoun three prove backward, the General shall demand their -portfolios. - -"And then?" asks the General, his iron-gray head in a cloud of tobacco -smoke. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--WIZARD LEWIS URGES A CHANGE IN FRONT - - -WIZARD LEWIS, bending his brows to the situation, now counsels an -extreme step. - -"Then you will make Van Buren Minister to England, and give Major Eaton -the governorship of Florida. Little Peg should look well in the palace -at St. Augustine." - -"By the Eternal!" cries the General, as he hurls his clay pipe into -the fireplace where hundreds of its brittle predecessors have gone -crashing--"by the Eternal, we'll do it! The last vestige of a Calhoun -cabinet influence shall be wiped out!" - -It comes to pass as Wizard Lewis programmes. Cabineteer Van Buren -resigns, and Cabineteers Eaton and Barry hasten to follow his lead. The -three other cabineteers sit dazed; the suddenness of the thing takes -away their cabinet breaths. They sit dazed so long that the General -loses patience and asks for their portfolios. One by one they hand them -in, as it were at the White House door--Cabineteer Ingham being last and -most reluctant of all. - -There be tears and mournful wailings now among the society Red Sticks. -Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien are shaken in their social -souls, never for one moment having foreseen this movement in disastrous -flank. However, there is no help for it. The deposed three wash off -their social war paint, and go their divers ways lamenting; while the -General and Wizard Lewis grin sourly over their fireside pipes. As for -Statesman Calhoun, his schemes experience a chill; for in thus sending -Cabineteers Ingham, Branch, and Berrien into political exile, the -General drives a knife to the very heart of his selfish diplomacy. - -Cabinet wiped out, the General constructs another, with his old-time -friend and comrade Livingston as Secretary of State. Also, the agreeable -Van Buren departs for the Court of St. James as the General's envoy to -England, while Major Eaton and the villified yet victorious Peg wend -southward among the flowers to rule over Florida. - -Before he leaves Washington, the ill-used Eaton makes praiseworthy -attempts to fasten a duel upon ex-Cabineteer Ingham, who hires a whole -stage coach and gallops off to Baltimore--the fear of death upon him--to -avoid being sacrificed. The flight of ex-Cabineteer Ingham is a shock to -the General. - -"I knew he was a bad, designing man," says the General with a sigh; -"but, upon my soul, Major, I didn't think him a coward!" - -Statesman Calhoun, weaker by virtue of that Cabinet lopping off, is -still too narrowly set in his White House ambitions to give up the war. -In this he is much sustained by the Senate, which jealous body pretends -to possess its own causes of complaint. Chief among these is the obvious -manner in which the General promotes the importance of that old -fox, Colonel Burr. The General shows that he cares more for the -appointment-indorsement of Colonel Burr than for the recommendations of -half the Senate. This does not set well on the proud senatorial stomachs -of the togaed ones; and, with Statesman Calhoun to lead them, they are -willing to obstruct and baffle the General in his policies. Moved of -this spirit, and at the instigation of Statesman Calhoun, the Senate -refuses to confirm the appointment of Minister Van Buren--a Burrite--who -thereupon makes his farewell unruffled bow to the great ones at St. -James and returns amiably home. - -That Thomas Benton, who was so fortunate as to fall into a receptive -cellar on a certain Nashville occasion when the muzzle of the General's -saw-handle was at his breast, and who is now in the Senate from -Missouri, gives Statesman Calhoun notice of what he may expect: - -"You have broken a minister," observes the farsighted Benton--"you have -broken a Minister to make a Vice-President." - -While the slander battle against the pretty Peg is raging, a storm -cloud of a different character is gathering over the General. Although -Statesman Clay has no part in that war upon the pretty Peg, he by no -means sits with folded hands in idleness. - -[Illustration: 0299] - -There is a certain money-creature called the United States Bank. It is -controlled by one Biddle of Philadelphia. Banker Biddle is a glistening, -serpentine personage, oily and avaricious--a polished composite -of assurance, greed, and lies. He is a proven and unscrupulous -corruptionist, and a majority of both Senate and House wait upon his -money-bidding. Under the Biddle influence, the Bank never fails to -consider the mere "name" of a Congressman as perfect collateral for a -loan. Even so incorrigible a bankrupt as the lion-faced Webster is good -at the Biddle Bank for thousands. - -Secure in its hold on Congress, and insolent--as Money ever is when it -feels secure--the Biddle Bank thinks to crack a political whip. The main -bank is in Philadelphia. There are twenty-five branch banks scattered -here and there throughout the country. In pursuance of its determination -to dominate politics, the Biddle Bank suddenly refuses loans to the -General's friends. Banker Biddle and the Bank are secretly moved to -these doughty attitudes by Statesman Clay, who, with his party of the -Whigs, has for long been their ally. - -Statesman Clay, in possession of the machinery of his party, is resolved -to put his own name forward at the head of the next Whig ticket against -the formidable General. He foresees that Statesman Calhoun--who is of -the General's party of the Democrats--will come to utter grief in his -intrigues to supplant the General and make himself a candidate. And -yet, the blue-grass Machiavelli can use Statesman Calhoun. The latter -is powerful with the Senate. The Senate hates the General as blindly as -does Statesman Calhoun. - -Machiavelli Clay resolves to have advantage of this double condition -of hatred. He will beguile the General to attack the Biddle Bank. The -attack can only be made by message to Congress. That should be the -opportunity of Machiavelli Clay. He will have the Senate for the battle -ground; and it shall go hard if he do not emerge with the General -defeated and the Bank and Banker Biddle at his back. With such friends -in the campaign to come later he should have the General and his party -of democracy at his mercy. Thus dreams Machiavelli Clay. - -It is a beautiful dream--this long-drawn chicane of Machiavelli Clay. As -a move toward its realization he suggests the policy of a loan hostility -toward the General's friends; for the General will fight almost as -quickly for a friend as for a woman. - -Banker Biddle adopts it, and the Bank develops it in Portsmouth. The -paper of one of the General's friends--a Mr. Isaac Hill--is dishonored, -and the General's friendship is understood to be the reason. The thing -is managed like a challenge, and has the instant effect of bringing -the General--ever ready for such a war--to the field. In its invidious -attitude toward his friends, the Bank throws down the glove; and the -General promptly picks it up. In a message to Congress, he assails the -Bank; and the fight is on. - -Money is always a coward, and commonly a fool. Also its instinct is the -weak instinct of corruption. Its attitude toward a public is ever that -of the threatening, bullying, bragging terrorist, who will either rule -or ruin. It works by fear, and resorts to every quack device. It will -gnash its jaws, lash its tail, spout fire and smoke in the face of -a quailing world. And yet all this tail-lashing and jaw-gnashing and -fire-spouting is a sham. Money, for all its appearance of ferocity, -is no more perilous to folk who face it than is the fire-spouting, -jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing papier-mache dragon of grand opera. Attack -it, and what follows? A couple of rueful supernumeraries crawl abjectly, -if grumblingly, from its papier-mache stomach--the complete yet harmless -reason of the jaw-gnashing, fire-spouting, tail-lashing from which a -frightened world shrunk back. - -Besides these furious matters, Money does another lying thing. It seeks -to teach the public to regard it as the palpitant heart of the country -itself. - -"I am the seat of life!" cries Money. "Touch me, and you die!" - -The advantage of this lie is clear; that is, if the lie win credit. -Being the heart, however corrupt, no law surgery may reach it. If Money -were the hand of a people, or the fingers on that hand, then it might be -dealt with. It could be statute-lanced or poulticed or even amputated, -and no threat to life ensue. Money foresees this; and, with that lying -cunning which is ever the scoundrel sword and shield of cowards, it -declares itself to be the heart. Thus is it safeguarded against the -honest least correction of communal saw and knife. Being the heart, its -vileness may be deplored but cannot be mended. For who is the mediciner -that shall handle the heart to any result save death? - -And yet while Money thus proclaims itself the nation's heart it lies. It -is not even so reputable a member as the hand. At the most it comes to -be no more than just a thumb, or a forefinger, and the farthest possible -remove from any source of life. Folk who would aid their money-throttled -hour must remember these things. - -Banker Biddle and the Bank, now when the General advances upon them, -go through that furious charlatanry of jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing, and -fire-spouting. The General is unconvinced, unterrified. His hawk eyes -pierce the miserable masquerade. He knows the Bank for a dragon of paper -and pretense, and does not hesitate. - -Failing to arouse his personal-political fear, Banker Biddle and the -Bank attempt to stay the General by proclaiming a peril to the country -at large. - -"We are the throbbing heart of all prosperity!" they cry. - -The General recognizes the lie. He knows that prosperity comes from the -rain and the sun and the soil, and not from banks or bankers. As well -might the two-bushel sacks declare themselves to be the harvest reason -of a nation's wheat. The General continues his advance. There shall be -no evasion, no hiding, no safety by lies; masks are not to avail nor -pretenses protect. - -The General in his attack on Banker Biddle and the Bank displays a -genius even with that which he employed against the English at New -Orleans. Banker Biddle and the Bank are the petted custodians of all the -millions of Government. The General "removes" those millions--a yellow -mountain of gold! Incidentally, he dismisses a weak-kneed Secretary of -the Treasury as a preliminary. - -"Remove the deposits!" says the General. - -"I dare not!" whines the weak-kneed one. - -"I will take the responsibility!" urges the General. - -Still the weak-kneed one falters. At that the General sets him aside. - -The "removal" of those Government millions, which is as the drawing off -of half their life blood, leaves the Bank and Banker Biddle exceeding -pale in the face. They look appealingly at Statesman Clay, who, the -better to manage his side of the conflict, has taken a Kentucky seat -in the Senate. Statesman Clay encourages the Bank and Banker Biddle. It -will all come right, he says; there is a Senate bomb preparing. - -To bring the General squarely before the public as the Bank's destroyer, -Statesman Clay anticipates the years and offers a measure renewing the -charter of that money temple. Statesman Calhoun, with every Senate foe -of the General, is for it. The measure gallops through both Senate and -House. It is sent whirling to the White House. - -"Will he sign it?" wonders Statesman Clay, in consultation with his own -thoughts. - -For an anxious moment Statesman Clay fears the coming of that signature; -he cannot conceive of courage greater than his own. His anxiety is -misplaced. The General will not sign. When the Clay-constructed measure -renewing the charter of the Bank is laid before him, with about what ado -might attend the killing of a garter snake he breaks its back with his -veto. - -Statesman Clay rubs his satisfied hands. - -"Now," says he to Banker Biddle, who is becoming a bit weak, "we have -him helpless! That veto is his death warrant! The campaign is at hand; -I shall be the candidate of my party, he of his. That veto shall be the -issue! Money, you know, is all powerful. Being so, who shall doubt the -result when now the public is driven to choose between the Bank and the -White House--Prosperity and Andrew Jackson?" - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE DOWNFALL OF MACHIAVELLI CLAY - - -MACHIAVELLI CLAY is one who looks seldom from the window and often in -the glass. No man carries himself more upon the back of his own regard -than does Machiavelli Clay. He believes in the wisdom of the classes, -the ignorance of the masses, and thinks that government should be of -people, by statesmen, for statesmen. Also he has a profound respect for -Money, and little for perishing flesh and blood. As to each of these -thought-conditions he lives in head-on collision with the General, who -in all things is his precise contradiction. - -As a guide by which the popular view may direct itself, Machiavelli Clay -asks the Senate to pass a vote of censure upon the General. With -the help of Statesman Calhoun, he puts it through. The Clay-invoked -"censure" strikes these sparks from the General: - -"Major," he cries, thinking on his saw-handles as he and Wizard Lewis -sit with their evening pipes, "if I live to get these robes of office -off, I may yet bring that rascal to a dear account." - -Banker Biddle, now when his precious Bank for its life or death will be -made the campaign issue, is not without those pale misgivings which -ever shake the livid heart of Money on the eve of war. Observing -this knee-knocking trepidation, Machiavelli Clay attempts to give him -courage. This is no difficult task for Machiavelli Clay to undertake; -since, in his native ignorance of the popular, he harbors no doubt of -the General's downfall. Also he extends cheering word the more readily -to the quaking Banker Biddle, because the latter and his jeopardized -Bank are to furnish those golden sinews of war, which will be required -for the Whig campaign. - -Machiavelli Clay uplifts the confidence of Banker Biddle to a point -where the latter, from his money lair in Philadelphia, writes him the -following: - -"_He (the General) has all the fury of a chained panther biting the bars -of its cage--a condition which I think should contribute to relieve -the country of the tyranny of this miserable man. You, my dear sir, are -destined to be the instrument of that deliverance, and at no period of -your life has the public had a deeper stake in you._" - -In so writing to Machiavelli Clay, Banker Biddle permits his hopes -to overrun his intelligence. Machiavelli Clay is not to become "the -deliverer" of his hour, nor shall the "chained panther" in the White -House be cast out. Machiavelli Clay, however, is no Elijah gifted of -prophecy; but, on the wooden-witted other hand, proves quite as besotted -touching the future as does Banker Biddle. He replies to that financier -in these words: - -"_Fear not; there shall come a cleansing of the Augean stables! Our -cause cannot fail! That veto of the Bank charter is a broad confession -of the incompetency of the Administration, and shows him (the General) -unfit to carry on the business of government. I think we are authorized -to confidently anticipate his defeat_." - -Now when the candidates of the Democratic party are about to be -named, Statesman Calhoun foresees that he himself will be ignored, and -ex-Cabineteer Van Buren supplant him, nominationally, for the place of -Vice-President. - -To save his chagrin, and on the principle that when one is about to be -thrown out it is wise to go out, he resigns from his vice-presidential -perch, lays down the Senate gavel, and returns to his home-state -of South Carolina. Once there, following the Kentucky example of -Machiavelli Clay, he sees to it that his own Legislature returns him to -Washington as a Senator. - -Statesman Calhoun abandons hope of making his appearance as a White -House candidate in the campaign at hand. What then? He is of middle -years, and can wait. He will lie back and watch the struggle between -the General and Machiavelli Clay. Let victory fall where it may, he, -Statesman Calhoun, will prepare himself for his own sure triumph in the -conflict four years away. Which demonstrates that, while his judgment -is crippled, his ambition stands as tall and as straight as a mountain -pine. - -The tickets are brought to the field--the General against Machiavelli -Clay, with ex-Cabineteer Van Buren, and a Whig obscurity named Sargent -running for second place. The issue presents the alternative--the -General or the Bank, humanity in a death-hug with Money. - -Machiavelli Clay and Banker Biddle have no fears; for they are -gold-blind and can see nothing beyond themselves. They are given a rude -awakening. The people speak; and when the sound of that speaking dies -out, the General has overwhelmed Machiavelli Clay with two hundred and -nineteen electoral votes against the latter's sixty-nine. Machiavelli -Clay and Banker Biddle and the Bank go down, while the General--ever the -conqueror and never once the conquered--sweeps back to the presidency. -Also ex-Cabineteer Van Buren is made Vice-President, as aforetime -resolved upon by the General and Wizard Lewis, and from that Senate -eminence, so lately vacated by Statesman Calhoun, will wield the gavel -over togaed discussion. - -The General, President the second time, picks up the reins, settles -himself upon the box, and proceeds to drive his governmental times after -this wise. He kills out what few sparks of life still animate the Biddle -Bank. He removes the Creeks and Cherokees from Florida and Georgia, and -thereby guarantees the scalp on many an innocent head. He throws open -the public lands for settlement at nominal figures. He fosters a gold -currency and discourages paper. - -He pays off the last splinter of the national debt, and offers to the -wondering eyes of history the spectacle of a country that doesn't owe -a dollar. He makes commercial treaties with every tribe of Europe. -Finally, he compels France to pay five millions in gold for outrages -long ago committed upon the sailors of America. - -The last is not brought about without some show of force. France, at the -General's demand, falls into a white heat of rage and froths for instant -war. The General takes France at her warlike word, notifies Congress, -and orders his fleet into the Mediterranean, the flagship _Constitution_ -in the van. - -The cool vigor of the move sets France gasping. She consults England -across the Channel, and is privily assured that whipping a Yankee -eighty-gun ship is a feat so difficult of marine accomplishment that, -like the blossoming of the century plant, it would be foolish to -look for it oftener than once in one hundred years. It is England's -impression, whispered in the Frankish ear, that it will be cheaper to -pay the five millions. Whereupon, France breaks into diplomatic smiles, -assures the General that her late war-rage was mere humor and her froth -a jest. And pays. - -By way of a little junket, the General visits New England, and at -the genial sight of him that chill region thaws like icicles in July. -Indeed, the New England temperature rises to a height where Harvard -College confers upon the General the degree of Doctor of Laws. At which -Statesman Adams nurses his wrath with this entry in his sour diary: - -"Seminaries of learning have been timeservers and sycophants in every -age." - -The General has done his people many a service. He has defended them -from savage Red Stick Creeks, and savage Red-coat English with their war -cry of "Beauty and Booty!" Now he will do his foremost work of all, and -buckler them against the javelins of treason, save them from between the -jaws of a conspiracy--wolfish and widespread for national destruction. - -The conspiracy has its birth in the ambition-crazed bosom of Statesman -Calhoun; its shiboleth is "Nullification!" - -"I would sooner," said Caesar, when his courtiers were laughing at the -pompous mayor of a little mud town in Spain--"I would sooner be first -here than second in Rome!" And, centuries after, the sentiment wakes a -responsive echo in the jealous breast of Statesman Calhoun. - -Statesman Calhoun aims to follow the General in the headship of American -affairs. Defeated of that, he is resolved to sever those constitutional -links which bind his home-state of South Carolina to her sister States -in Federal Union, and declare her a nation by and of herself. - -In his new role of "seceder," Statesman Calhoun makes this impression -on the English Harriet Martineau. After speaking of him as involving -himself tighter and tighter in spinnings of political mysticism and -fantastic speculation, she calls him a "cast-iron man" and says: - -"_He (Calhoun) is eager, absorbed, overspeculative. I know of no one who -lives in such intellectual solitude. He meets men and harangues them by -the fireside as in the Senate. He is wrought like a piece of machinery, -set going vehemently by a weight, and stops while you answer. He either -passes by what you say, or twists it into suitability with what is -in his head, and begins to lecture again. He is full of his -'Nullification,' and those who know the force that is in him and his -utter incapacity for modification by other minds, will no more expect -repose and self-retention from him than from a volcano in full force. -Relaxation is no longer in the power of his will. I never saw anyone who -gave me so completely the idea of 'possession._'" - -By which the English woman would say that she thinks Statesman Calhoun -insane. She overstates, however, his "incapacity for modification" and -"self-retention." There will come a day when he does not pause, nor -close his eyes in sleep, between Washington and his home in South -Carolina, such is his fear-spurred eagerness--with the shadow of the -gibbet all across him!--to stamp out what fires of treason he has been -at pains to kindle, and avoid that halter which the General promises as -their reward. - -It is in Senate debate that Statesman Calhoun removes the mask from his -intended treason, and gives the world a glimpse of its blackness. He -threatens, unless the tariff be changed to match his pleasure, that -South Carolina will prevent its enforcement within her borders. He -declares South Carolina superior to the nation in her powers, and -proclaims for her the right to "nullify" what Federal laws she deems -inimical to her peculiar interest. He shows how South Carolina will, -as against the tariff contemplated, invoke that inherent right to -"nullify," and says, should the Washington government attempt to coerce -her, she will take herself out of the Union. - -To this exposition of States rights, the General in the White House -listens with gathering scorn. He turns to Wizard Lewis: - -"Why, sir," he cries, addressing that Merlin of politics, "if one is to -believe Calhoun, the Union is like a bag of meal open at both ends. No -matter how you pick it up, the meal all runs out. I shall tie the bag -and save the country!" - -Treason, however base, will have its friends, and Statesman Calhoun goes -not without "Nullification" followers. In his own mischievous State -the doctrine is received with open arms. The Governor issues his -proclamation; a convention of the people is authorized by the -Legislature. They are to meet at Columbia and settle the details of -"Nullification" in its practical workings out. They do meet; and adopt -unanimously an "Ordinance of Nullification" which declares the tariff -just made in Washington "Null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this -State, its officers or citizens." They decree that no duties, enjoined -by such tariff, shall be paid or permitted to be paid in any port of -South Carolina. The closing assertion of the "Ordinance" runs that, -should the Government of the United States try by force to collect -the tariff duties, "The people of South Carolina will thenceforth hold -themselves absolved from all further obligation to maintain or preserve -their political connection with the people of the other States, and will -proceed to organize a separate government, and do all other acts and -things which sovereign and independent States may of right do." - -[Illustration: 0321] - -Following this doughty setting-out of what one might call the -Palmetto-rattlesnake position, the Governor suggests military -associations on the model of the Minute Men of the Revolution, and makes -ready for what blood-letting shall be required to sustain Statesman -Calhoun in his new preachment. Altogether it is a South Carolina day of -bombast and blue cockades, with Statesman Calhoun already chosen as the -president of a coming "Southern Confederacy." While these dour matters -are in process of Palmetto transaction, Statesman Hayne encounters -the lion-faced Webster on the floor of the Senate, and the latter -establishes forever the rightful supremacy of the Federal Union, and -demonstrates that the "Nullification" set up by Statesman Calhoun is but -the chimera of a jaundiced, ambition-bitten mind. Thus canters the hour -in the Senate and in South Carolina; while up in the White House the -General sits reading a book. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--THE FEDERAL UNION: IT MUST BE PRESERVED - - -THE General is reading his book, when in walks Wizard Lewis. The latter -necromancer casually alludes to Statesman Calhoun, and his pet infamy of -"Nullification." At this the General's honest rage begins to mount. - -"You bear witness, Major," he cries--"you bear witness how Calhoun -is trying me! But by the living heavens, I'll uphold the law!" Then, -shaking the ponderous tome at Wizard Lewis, his finger marking the -place--"Here! I've been reading what old John Marshall said in the -case of Aaron Burr. He makes treason in its definition as plain as a -pikestaff. A man can't _think_ treason; he can't _talk_ treason; he can -only _act_ treason. It requires an act--an overt act! Calhoun is safe -while he only talks or conspires. But let one of his followers perform -one act of opposition to the law, even if it be no more than hand on -sword hilt or just the snapping of a fireless flint against an empty -rifle-pan, and I have him. There would be the overt act demanded by -old Marshall; and he goes on to say that the overt act, once committed, -attaches to all of the conspirators and becomes the act of each. I -shall keep my ear as well as my eye, Major, on Calhoun's State of South -Carolina; and, at the first crackling of a treasonable twig beneath a -traitorous foot, into a felon's cell goes he. Then we shall see what a -hempen noose will do for him and his 'Nullification.'" - -The General, the better to deliver this long oration, gets up and walks -the floor. Having concluded, down he drops into his chair again, and to -grubbing at old John Marshall. - -The General and Wizard Lewis decide that a perfect White House silence -concerning "Nullification" is the proper course. The General will sit -mute, and never by so much as the arching of a bushy brow intimate -what he will do, should Statesman Calhoun push his treason to that -last extreme--that overt act of opposition to the Federal law and its -enforcement, demanded by the great Chief Justice. And so, while arises -all this turmoil of treason in the Senate and South Carolina, the White -House is as voiceless as a tomb. - -While the General is silent, he is in no sort idle. He makes secret -preparations to bruise the head of the serpent of secession with a heel -of steel. He sends General Scott to South Carolina. Into Castle Pinckney -he conveys thousands of rifles. One by one his warships drop into -Charleston harbor, until, with broadsides trained upon the town, scores -of them ride at ominous anchor. - -The General gets word to his ever-reliable Coffee. In those well-nigh -twenty years which have come and gone since the English were swept up in -fire at New Orleans, the hunting-shirt men in the General's country of -Tennessee have increased and multiplied. Their numbers are such that -at the end of twenty days the energetic Coffee stands ready to cataract -twenty-five thousand of them into South Carolina at the lifting of the -General's bony finger, and follow these in forty days with twenty-five -thousand more. Not content with his fifty thousand hunting-shirt men -from Tennessee, the General arranges for an equal force from North -Carolina and Georgia. - -If ever a people stood within the shadow of doom it is our -treason-forging ones of South Carolina in these days of Nullification, -Columbia Conventions, Minute Men, and Blue Cockades. - -Some of them are not so dim of eye but what they perceive as much, and -begin to catch their breath. Still a wrong, once it be set rolling like -a stone down hill, is difficult to overtake and stop. So, while the -heart of would-be Treason beats a little faster, and its cheek turns a -little whiter, as inklings of what the wordless General is doing begin -to creep about among Palmetto-rattlesnake coteries, the work of making -ready for black revolt proceeds. - -In Washington, that grim silence of the White House grows oppressive. -There be prudent ones, among the nullifying adherents of Statesman -Calhoun, who are willing to play the part of traitor if no peril attend -the role. They are highly averse to the character if it promise -to thrust their sensitive necks into gallows danger. The questions -everywhere on the whispering lips of these timid treason mongers are: - -"What is the Jackson intention? What will the President do? Will he look -upon Nullification as merely some minor sin of politics? Or, will he -treat it as stark treason, and fall back on courts and hangman's ropes?" - -No one answers, for no one knows. As for the General himself, his lips -are as dumb as a statue's. Traitors may go wrong, or go right; he will -light no lamp for their guidance. The awful suspense is carrying many -of the treason mongers to the brink of hysteria. Even Statesman Calhoun, -morbid and ambition-mad, is made to pause. He himself begins to wonder -if it would not be as well and as wise to measure in advance those -iron-bound anti-treason lengths to which the General stands ready to go. - -To help them in their perplexity, Statesman - -Calhoun and his Nullifying followers evolve a cunning scheme. In its -amiable execution, it should lay bare, they think, the purposes of the -General. Statesman Calhoun and his coconspirators have long ago laid -claim to the dead Jefferson as their patron saint of "Nullification," -asserting that precious tenet to be his invention. They decide to give -a dinner in honor of the departed publicist. The dinner shall take place -on the dead Jefferson's birthday at the Indian Queen. The General shall -come as a guest. Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators will be -there. Statesman Calhoun will offer a toast, declaratory of those -superior rights over the Federal government which he asserts in favor of -the separate States. It shall be a Nullification toast, one redolent of -a State's right to secede from the Federal Union. - -Statesman Calhoun having launched his fireship of sentiment, the General -will be requested to give a toast. Should he comply, it is believed -by Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators that he will in partial -measure at least unlock his plans. If he refuse--why then, under the -circumstances, his refusal will be pregnant of meaning. In either event, -he will be beneath the batteries of five hundred eyes, and much should -be read in his face. - -That Jefferson dinner is an admirable device, one adapted to draw the -General's fire. Its authors go about felicitating themselves upon their -sagacity in evolving it. - -"What say you, Major?" asks the General, when he receives the invitation -upon which so much of national good or ill may pend; "what say you? -Shall we humor them? You know what these Calhoun traitors are after." - -"True!" responds Wizard Lewis; "they want to count us, and measure us, -in that business of their proposed treason." - -"I'll tell you what I think," says the General, after a pause. "I'll -fail to attend; but you shall go, and be counted in my stead. Also, -since they'll expect a toast from me, I'll send them one in your care. -I hope they may find it to their villain liking--they and their -archtraitor Calhoun!" - -The Indian Queen is a crowded hostelry that Jefferson night. The halls -and waiting rooms are thronged of eminent folk. Some are there to attend -the dinner; others for gossip and to hear the news. As Wizard Lewis -climbs the stairs to the banquet room on the second floor, he encounters -the lion-faced Webster coming down. - -"There's too much secession in the air for me," says the lion-faced one, -shrugging his heavy shoulders. - -"If that be so," returns Wizard Lewis, "it's a reason for remaining." - -Wizard Lewis mingles with the groups in the corridors and parlors, -for the banquet hall is not yet thrown open. Among these, he nods his -recognition of Colonel Johnson, of Kentucky, tall of form, grave of -brow, he who slew Tecumseh; Senator Benton, once of that safe receptive -cellar; the lean Rufus Choate, eaten of Federalism and the worship of -caste; Tom Corwin, round, humorous, with a face of ruddy fun; Isaac -Hill, gray and lame, the General's Senate friend from New Hampshire -whose insulted credit started the war on Banker Biddle's bank; Editor -Noah, of New York, as Hebraic and as red of head as Absalom; the -quick-eyed Amos Kendall; Editor Blair, who conducts the _Globe_, the -General's mouthpiece in Washington; the reckless Marcy, who declares -that he sees "no harm in the aphorism that 'to the victor belong the -spoils of the enemy.'" - -The dinner is spread. The decorations are studied in their democracy. -Hundreds of candles in many-armed iron branches blaze and gutter about -the great room. The high ceilings and the walls are festooned of flags. -The stars and stripes are draped over a portrait of the dead Jefferson. -Here and there are hung the flags of the several States. With peculiar -ostentation, and as though for challenge, next to the national colors -flows the Palmetto-rattlesnake flag of South Carolina--Statesman -Calhoun's emblem. - -The dinner is profuse, and folk of appetite and fineness declare it -elegant. There is none of your long-drawn courses, so dear to Whigs and -Federalists. Black servants come and go, to shift plates and knives, -and carve at the call of a guest. At hopeful intervals along the tables -repose huge sirloins, and steaming rounds of beef. There are quail pies; -chickens fried and turkeys roasted; pies of venison and rabbits, and -pot pies of squirrels; soups and fishes and vegetables; boiled hams, and -giant dishes of earthenware holding baked beans; roast suckling pigs, -each with a crab-apple in his jaws; corn breads and flour breads, and -pancakes rolled with jellies; puddings--Indian, rice, and plum; mammoth -quaking custards. Everywhere bristle ranks and double ranks of bottles -and decanters; a widest range of drinks, from whisky to wine of the -Cape, is at everybody's elbow. Also on side tables stand wooden bowls -of salads, supported by weighty cheeses; and, to close in the flanks, -pies--mince, pumpkin, and apple; with final coffee and slim, long pipes -of clay in which to smoke tobacco of Trinidad. - -As the guests seat themselves, Chairman Lee proposes: - -"The memory of Thomas Jefferson." - -The toast is drunk in silence. Then, with clatter of knife and fork, -clink of glasses, and hum of conversation, the feast begins. - -The General's absence is a daunting surprise to many who do not know -how to construe it. Wizard Lewis, through Chairman Lee, presents -the General's regrets. He expected to be present, but is unavoidably -detained at the White House. The "regrets" are received uneasily; the -General's absence plainly gives concern to more than one. - -As the dinner marches forward, "Nullification" and secession are much -and loudly talked. They become so openly the burden of conversation and -are withal so loosely in the common air, that sundry gentlemen--more -timorous than loyal perhaps--make pointless excuses, and withdraw. - -Statesman Calhoun sits on the right hand of Chairman Lee. The festival -approaches the glass and bottle stage, and toasts are offered. There are -a round score of these; each smells of secession and State's rights. -The speeches which follow are even more malodorous of treason than the -toasts. - -The hour is hurrying toward the late. Statesman Calhoun whispers a word -to Chairman Lee; evidently the urgent moment is at hand. - -Statesman Calhoun hands a slip of paper to Chairman Lee. There falls a -stillness; laughter dies and talk is hushed. - -Chairman Lee rises to his feet. He pays Statesman Calhoun many flowery -compliments. - -"The distinguished statesman from South Carolina," says Chairman Lee in -conclusion, "begs to propose this sentiment." He reads from the slip: -"'The Federal Union! Next to our liberty, the most dear! May we all -remember that it can only be preserved by respecting the rights of the -States, and distributing equally the burdens and the benefits of that -Union!'" - -The stillness of death continues--marked and profound; for, as Chairman -Lee resumes his seat, Wizard Lewis rises. All know his relations with -the General; every eye is on him with a look of interrogation. Now when -the Calhoun toast has been read, they scan the face of Wizard Lewis, -representative of the absent General, to note the effect of the shot. -Wizard Lewis is admirable, and notably steady. - -"The President," says Wizard Lewis, "when he sent his regrets, sent also -a sentiment." - -Wizard Lewis passes a folded paper to Chairman Lee, who opens it and -reads: - -"'The Federal Union! It must be preserved!"' - -The words fall clear as a bell--for some, perhaps, a bell of warning. -Statesman Calhoun's face is high and insolent. But only for a moment. -Then his glance falls; his brow becomes pallid, and breaks into a -pin-point sprinkle of sweat. He seems to shrink and sear and wither, -as though given some fleeting picture of the future, and the gallows -prophecy thereof. In the end he sits as though in a kind of blackness -of despair. The General is not there, but his words are there, and -Statesman Calhoun is not wanting of an impression of the terrible -meaning, personal to himself, which underlies them. - -It is a moment ominous and mighty--a moment when a plot to stampede -history is foiled by a sentiment, and Treason's heart and Treason's -hand are palsied by a toast of seven words. And while Statesman Calhoun, -white and frightened and broken, is helpless in the midst of his -followers, the General sits alone and thoughtful with his quiet White -House pipe. - -For all the plain sureness of that toast, the would-be rebellionists now -crave a surer sign. A member of Congress from South Carolina, polite and -insinuating, calls on the General. - -"Mr. President," says the insinuating signseeking one, suavely -deferential, "to-morrow I go back to my home. Have you any message for -the good folk of South Carolina?" - -"Yes," returns the General grimly, his hard blue eyes upon the -insinuating one, while his heavy brows are lowered in that falcon-trick -of menace--"yes; I have a message for the 'good folk of South Carolina.' -You may say to the 'good folk of South Carolina' that if one of them so -much as lift finger in defiance of the laws of this government, I shall -come down there. And I'll hang the first man I lay hands on, to the -first tree I can reach." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--THE ROUT OF TREASON - - -DEMOCRACY goes not without its defects, and there be times when that -very freedom wherewith it invests the citizen spreads a snare to his -feet. For a chief fault, Democracy is apt to mislead ambitious ones, -dominated of ego and a want of patriotism in even parts. Such are prone -to run liberty into license in following forth the appetites of their -own selfishness, and forget where the frontiers of loyalty leave off and -those of black treason begin. - -In a democracy, for your clambering narrowist to turn traitor is never -a far-fetched task. Being free to speak as he politically will and, per -incident, think as he politically will, he finds it no mighty journey to -the perilous assumption that he may act as he politically will. Knowing -his duty to guard the temple, he argues therefrom his right to deface -it. Treason fades into a mere abstraction--a crime curious in this, that -it is impossible of concrete commission. - -Statesman Calhoun is among these ill-guided ones of topsy-turvy -patriotism. Blurred by ambition, soured of disappointment, license and -liberty have grown with him to be unconscious synonyms. The laws against -treason carry only a remonstrance, never a warning, and--as he reads -them--but deplore that civic villainy, while threatening nothing of -grief for what dark souls shall be guilty of it. In this frame the -General's stark sentiment, "The Federal Union! It must be preserved!" -and that subsequent hanging promise which, by the mouth of the suave -insinuating one, he sends to "the good folk of South Carolina," go -beyond surprise with Statesman Calhoun, and provide a shock. It is as -though, walking in a trance of treason, he knocks his head against the -White House wall; his awakening is rudely, painfully complete. That -dream of a separate nation, with himself at its head, gives way to -hangman visions of rope and gallows tree; and, from bending his energies -to methods by which he may take South Carolina out of the Union, he -gives himself wholly to the more tremulous enterprise of keeping himself -out of jail. - -Some hint of that recent literature, which the General found so -interesting, gets abroad, and many go reading the lucid dictum of -old Marshall. Treason as a crime becomes better understood; and--by -Statesman Calhoun at least--better feared. Moved of these fears, -Statesman Calhoun sends message after message into his restless -Palmetto-rattlesnake State of South Carolina commanding, nay imploring, -a present suspension of "Nullification." His Palmetto-rattlesnake -adherents, while not understanding the danger which fringes them about, -have already found enough that is alarming in the very air; and, for -their own safety as much as his, are heedful to regard that prayer for -a "Nullification" passivity. The South Carolina shouting ceases; the -Minute Men rest on their traitorous arms; the manufacture of blue -cockades is abandoned; while the Columbia convention devotes itself to -innocuous adjournments from innocent day to day. - -While Palmetto-rattlesnake affairs are thus timidly quiescent, the -Senate itself--having read old Marshall, and being, moreover, somewhat -instructed by the watchful attitude of the General, who sits in -the White House a figure of frowning menace, both relentless and -fateful--devotes itself to the scaffold extrication of Statesman -Calhoun. Machiavelli Clay leads the rescue party. His is of an opposite -political church to that of Statesman Calhoun; but the pair meet on -the warm, common ground of a deathless hatred of the General. Under -the mollifying guidance of Machiavelli Clay, Senator after Senator -surrenders those pet schedules of tariff desired of his own people, -and puts the surrender on the expressive basis of "saving the neck of -Calhoun." - -When every possible tariff cut has been arranged, and Congress adjourns, -Statesman Calhoun makes his memorable homeward flight. Horse after horse -he rides down, night becomes as day; for Death crouches on his crupper, -and he must stay the Nullifying hand of South Carolina to save his own -neck. He succeeds beyond his deserts, and comes powdering into Columbia, -worn and wan and anxious, yet none the less ahead of that "overt act" -whereof old Marshall spoke, and for which the somber General waits. - -Once among his own treason-hatching coterie, Statesman Calhoun loses no -moments, but breaks up the "Nullification" nest. Secession dies in -the shell, and the Columbia convention, with more speed even than it -displayed in passing it, repeals that "Ordinance of Nullification." -Thereupon Statesman Calhoun draws his breath more freely, as one who has -been grazed by the sinister fangs of Fate; while the inveterate General -heaves a sigh of regret. - -Wizard Lewis overhears the sigh, and questions it. At this the General -explains his disappointment. - -"It would have been better," says he, "had we shed a little blood. -This is not the end, Major; the serpent of treason is only bruised, -not slain. Had Calhoun run his course, a handful of hundreds might have -died. As affairs stand, however, the country must one day wade knee-deep -in blood to save itself. These men are not honest. Their true purpose is -the downfall of the Union. Their present pretext is tariff; next time it -will be slavery." - -By way of bringing the iniquity of "Nullification" before the people, -together with his views concerning it, the General seizes his big iron -pen, and scratches off a proclamation. - -"I consider," says he, "the power to annul a law of the United States, -assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union, -contradicted expressly by the Constitution, unauthorized by either its -letter or its spirit, inconsistent with every principle upon which -it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was -formed." - -The country, reading the General's exposition of the Union and its -Gibraltar-like character, breaks into bonfires, oratory, dinners, -barbecues, parades, and what other schemes of jubilation are practiced -by a free people. That is to say the country breaks into these sundry -jubilant things, if one except the truant State of South Carolina. In -that Palmetto-rattlesnake-ridden commonwealth there prevails a sulky -silence. No bonfires blaze, no barbecues scorch, no dinners smoke, no -parades march. Baffled in its would-be treasons, afraid to stretch forth -its nullifying hand lest the sword of retribution strike it off at the -wrist, it comports itself like a spoiled child thwarted, and upholds -its little dignity with a pout. No one heeds, however; and, beyond an -occasional baleful glance from the General, the rest of the world leaves -it to recover from that pout in its own time and way. - -When Congress reconvenes, Statesman Calhoun creeps back to his Senate -place. But the perils through which he has passed have left their -furrowing traces, and now he offers nothing, says nothing, does nothing. -His heart is water; his evil potentialities have oozed away. Haunted of -that hangman fear which still hag-rides him, he abides mute, motionless, -impotent, like some Satan in chains. - -To further wound Statesman Calhoun, and in the mean, protesting teeth -of Machiavelli Clay, the Senate expunges from its record the vote of -censure it once passed upon the General. The resolution to expunge is -offered by Senator Benton who, as against a far-off Nashville hour -when only a generous cellar saved him from the General's saw-handle, is -to-day the latter's partisan and friend. The General is hugely pleased -by the censure-expunging resolution, and has what Senate ones supported -it--being fairly the whole Senate, when one forgets Machiavelli Clay, -and our chained, embittered Satan, Statesman Calhoun--to a grand dinner -in the East Room. - -And now the official times wag prosperously with the General. His -friends are everywhere dominant, his enemies everywhere in retreat. Also -his hair, from iron gray, fades to milk-white. - -Since nothing peculiar presses upon him in the way of opposition, the -General falls ill. He makes little of this, however; and cures himself -with tobacco, coffee, calomel, and lancets, while outraged doctors -groan. Likewise, he burns midnight oil in planning with Wizard Lewis the -elevation of Vice-President Van Buren, who he is resolved shall have the -presidency after him. - -While thus the General lays his Van Buren plans, misguided admirers -bombard him with such marks of their regard as a phaeton built of -unbarked hickory, and a cheese weighing fourteen hundred pounds. The -latter sturdy confection is trundled into the White House kitchen, from -which coign of vantage it sends on high a perfume so utterly urgent -that none may stay in the White House until it is removed. Following -its going, the executive windows are thrown open throughout a wind-swept -afternoon, to the end that the last suffocating reminder of that cheese -shall be eliminated. - -The General's hours as President are drawing to a close. His hopes -touching a successor carry through triumphantly, and Vice-President Van -Buren is selected to follow him. Neither Machiavelli Clay for the Whigs, -nor Statesman Calhoun among the Democrats, has the courage to offer his -own name to the people. - -[Illustration: 0353] - -Statesman Calhoun, aiming to subtract as much as he may from the -fortunes of nominee Van Buren, produces a bolting ticket, headed by one -Mangum; and, for Mangum, Palmetto-rattlesnake South Carolina--still in -a tearful pout--wastes its lonely arrow in the air. It was, it will be, -ever thus with South Carolina, who might do herself a good, and come to -some true notion of her own peevish inconsequence, if she would but take -a long, hard look in the glass. She is as one who attends the fairs, but -so over-esteems herself as to defeat every bargain she might make. Her -best chances are cast away, a cheap sacrifice to vanity, since no one -will either buy her or sell her at the figure she sets on herself. Thus, -too, will it continue. Her frayed prospects, already behind a fashion, -are to wax more shopworn and more threadbare as the years unfold. - -Nominee Van Buren is elected to succeed the General in the White House, -and every friend of the latter votes for the little polite man of -Kinderhook. The General is delighted, since the elevation of nominee Van -Buren provides for a continuation of his darling policies. - -Wizard Lewis is delighted, because the new situation permits the return -of himself and his beloved General to their homes by the Cumberland. -Nor does it detract from the satisfaction of either that, with the -presidential coming of the Kinderhook one, the final door of political -hope is barred fast in the faces of Machiavelli Clay and Statesman -Calhoun; for both the General and Wizard Lewis hate these two as though -that hatred were a religious rite. - -At last dawns President Van Buren's inauguration morning, and the -General stands for the last time before a people whose good and whose -honor he has so jealously guarded. Of this farewell appearance, poet -Willis writes: - -"_The air was elastic; the day bright and still. More than twenty -thousand people had assembled. The procession, the General and Mr. Van -Buren riding uncovered, arrived a little after noon. Their carriage, -drawn by four grays, paused. Descending from it at the foot of the -steps, a passage was made through the crowd, and the tall white head of -the old chieftain went steadily up. The crowd of diplomats and senators -to the rear gave way. A murmur of feeling rose up from the moving mass -below, as the infirm old General, coming as he had from a sick chamber -which his physicians had thought it impossible he should leave, stood -bowed before the people_." - -In his address the General touches many things. He closes by saying: "My -own race is nearly run. Advanced age and failing health warn me that I -must soon pass beyond the reach of human events. I thank God my life has -been spent in a land of liberty, and that He gave me a heart wherewith -to love my country. Filled with gratitude, I bid you farewell." - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--THE GRAVE AT THE GARDEN'S FOOT - - -THE General wends his slow way homeward, and is two months about the -journey. His progress, broken by many stops, is like both a triumph -and a funeral; for double ranks of worshipers line the route and sob or -cheer as he passes. The harsh horse-face is seamed of care and worn by -sickness; but the slim form is still erect and lance-like, and the blue -eyes gleam as hawkishly dangerous as when, behind his low mud walls with -the faithful Coffee and his hunting-shirt men, he broke down England's -pride at New Orleans. Everywhere the people press about him; for -republics are not ungrateful, and for once in a way of politics it is -the setting, not the rising sun upon which all eyes are centered. In -the end he reaches home, and his country of the Cumberland, as on many a -former day, opens its arms to receive him. - -And now the General, for all his sickness and his well-nigh threescore -years and ten, must bend himself to his labors as a planter; for he has -come back very poor. He has his acres and his slaves; but debts have -piled themselves high, and the tooth of decay can do a devastating deal -in eight years. - -The General goes to work as though life is just begun. The fences are -renewed, the buildings repaired, while the plow breaks fresh furrows in -fields that have lain fallow too long. To finance his plans, he borrows -ten thousand dollars from Editor Blair. Later, by a huddle of months, -Congress repays him that one-thousand-dollar fine, of which a quarter -of a century before he was mulcted in New Orleans. This latter, interest -swollen, is twenty-seven hundred dollars--a sum not treated lightly in -this hour of his narrowed fortunes! - -All goes prosperously. The generous soil, as though for welcome to the -General, grants such crops of cotton that the wondering Cumberland folk, -as once they did aforetime, come miles to view his fields. When not -busy with his planting, the General is immersed in politics. Each day he -rides down to Wizard Lewis four miles below; or Wizard Lewis rides those -four miles up to the Hermitage. Being together, the pair, over pipe and -moderate glass, sagely consider the state of the nation. - -Down by the General's gate is a large-stomached mail box. Each morning -finds it stuffed to suffocation with sheaves of letters and papers -tied in bundles. Also there are shoals and shoals of visitors. For the -General's home is a Mecca of politics, to which pilgrims of party turn -their steps by ones and twos and tens. Some come to do the stark old -General honor; some are one-time comrades, or friends who rose up around -him on fields of party war. For the most, however, and because humanity -is selfish before it is either just or generous, the visitors are -office-seeking folk, who ask the magic of the General's signature to -their appeals. - -These selfish ones become, in their vermin number and persistency, a -very plague. They wring from the suffering General the following: - -"The good book, Major," says he to Wizard Lewis, "tells us that at the -beginning there were in Eden a man, a woman, and an office seeker who -had been kicked out of heaven for preaching 'Nullification' I To judge -of the visiting procession, as it streams in and out of my front gate, -I should say that the latter in his descendants has increased and -multiplied far beyond the other two." - -The French king forgets and forgives those grievous five millions, and -dispatches an artist of celebration to paint the General's portrait. The -artist finds the latter of a mind to humor the French king. The portrait -is painted--a striking likeness!--and the gratified artist carries it -victoriously across seas to his royal master. - -[Illustration: 0365] - -The General becomes concerned in keeping England from stealing Oregon, -and writes letters to the Government at Washington in protest against -it. - -"Oregon or war!" is his counsel. - -Just as deeply does he involve himself for the admission of Texas into -the Union, declaring that of right the nation's boundary should be, and, -save for the criminal carelessness of Statesman Adams on the occasion -of the last treaty with Spain--made in a Monroe hour--would be, the -Rio Grande. Statesman Adams, now in his icy old age, makes a speech in -Boston and denies this; whereat the General retorts in an open letter -that Statesman Adams is "a monarchist in disguise," a "traitor," a -"falsifier," and his "entire address full of statements at war with -truth, and sentiments hostile to every dictate of patriotism." - -Machiavelli Clay foolishly invades the Cumberland country on a broad -mission of personal politics, and he like Statesman Adams makes a -speech. Machiavelli Clay, however, does not talk of Oregon, or Texas, or -what shall be the nation's foreign policy, whether timid or warlike. -His is wholly and solely a party oration, and in it he pays left-handed -tribute to Aaron Burr, dead a decade. Machiavelli Clay escapes no better -with his offensive eloquence than does Statesman Adams. The perilous old -General from his Hermitage is instantly out upon him with another open -letter, of which the closing paragraph says: - -"_How contemptible does this lying demagogue appear, when he descends -from his high place in the Senate, and roams over the country retailing -slanders against the dead_." - -The General is much refreshed by these outbursts, and, in that -contentment of soul which follows, resolves to join the church. Long ago -he promised the blooming Rachel, fast asleep at the foot of the garden, -that once he be free from the muddy yoke of politics he will accept -religion, and now he keeps his word. He unites himself with the -congregation which worships in that little chapel, aforetime built for -the blooming Rachel, and, upon his coming into the fold, there arises -vast rejoicing throughout the ardent length and breadth of Cumberland -Presbyterianism. - -The pastor, Dominie Edgar, calls often at the Hermitage; for he feels -that the General may require some special spiritual grooming. One day he -observes that convert's saw-handles, oiled and neat and ready for blood, -on a mantel, prayerfully crossed beneath a portrait of the blooming -Rachel. The good dominie is shocked, but does not show it. He picks up -one of the saw-handles. - -"This has seen service, doubtless," he remarks tentatively. - -"Ay!" responds the General grimly; "it has seen good service." - -Dominie Edgar puts the saw-handle back in place, and his curiosity -pushes no farther afield. He rightly conjectures it to be the weapon -which cut down the slanderous Dickinson, and mentally holds that it will -more advantage the soul of his convert to touch as scantily as may be -upon topics so ferocious. Shifting his ground, Dominie Edgar asks: - -"General, do you forgive your enemies?" - -"Parson," says the convert, "I forgive _my_ enemies, and welcome. But I -shall never"--here he points up at the portrait of the blooming Rachel, -which seems to lovingly follow his every motion with its painted patient -eyes--"I shall never forgive _her_ enemies. My feud shall follow them, -and the memory of them, to the end of time." - -Dominie Edgar sits down with his convert to show him the error of his -obdurate ways. He lectures cogently. It is to be feared, however, that -his doctrinal seed of forgiveness falls upon hard, intractable ground; -for, while the convert says never a word, the lecture serves but to -light again in those blue eyes what lamps of hateful battle burned there -on a certain fierce May morning in that popular Kentucky wood. - -The long days come and go, and the General lives on in fortune, -peace, and honor. Then the end draws down; for the General has run his -threescore years and ten, and well-nigh ten years more. Wizard Lewis -sits by his bedside, and never leaves him. - -"I want to go, Major," murmurs the General to Wizard Lewis; "for she is -over there." He raises his eyes to the portrait of the blooming Rachel, -and looks upon it long and lovingly. "Major!"--Wizard Lewis presses -the thin hand--"see that they make my grave by her side at the garden's -foot!" - -The General drifts into a stupor, Wizard Lewis holding fast his hand. -The good dominie Edgar is on his knees at prayer. From the porch outside -the sick room are heard the sobs and moans of the mourning blacks. - -Wizard Lewis attempts to recall the dying General. - -"What would you have done with Calhoun," he asks, "had he persisted in -his 'Nullification' designs?" - -The blue eyes rouse, and sparkle and glance with old-time fire. - -"What would I have done with Calhoun?" repeats the General, his voice -renewed and strong; "Hanged him, sir!--hanged him as high as Haman! He -should have been a warning to traitors for all time!" - -The sparkle subsides; the blue eyes close again in the dullness of -coming death. Wizard Lewis holds the poor thin hand, while Dominie Edgar -prays on to the accompaniment of the sobbing and the moaning of the -sorrowing blacks. - -The prayer ends; the good dominie rises to his feet. - -"Do you know me, General?" he whispers. The dim eyes are lifted to those -of Dominie Edgar. The latter goes on: "The love of the Lord is infinite! -In it you shall find heaven!" - -The General turns with looks of love to the portrait of the blooming -Rachel. - -"Parson," says he, "I must meet her there, or it will be no heaven for -me." - -The General's head droops heavily forward. Dominie Edgar falls upon his -knees, and the voice of his praying goes upward with the moaning and -the sobbing of the slaves. Wizard Lewis places his hand on the General's -breast. He sighs, and shakes his head. That mighty heart, all love, all -iron, is still. - - -THE END - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of -Andrew Jackson, by Alfred Henry Lewis - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN MEN GREW TALL *** - -***** This file should be named 51914.txt or 51914.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/1/51914/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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- When Men Grew Tall Or the Story of Andrew Jackson, by Alfred Henry Lewis
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of Andrew
-Jackson, by Alfred Henry Lewis
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-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
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-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-
-
-Title: When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of Andrew Jackson
-
-Author: Alfred Henry Lewis
-
-Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51914]
-Last Updated: March 12, 2018
-
-Language: English
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-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN MEN GREW TALL ***
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-Produced by David Widger from page images generously
-provided by the Internet Archive
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-</pre>
-
- <div style="height: 8em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h1>
- WHEN MEN GREW TALL,<br /><br /> OR THE STORY OF ANDREW JACKSON
- </h1>
- <h2>
- By Alfred Henry Lewis
- </h2>
- <h3>
- Illustrated
- </h3>
- <h4>
- D. Appleton And Company New York
- </h4>
- <h5>
- 1907
- </h5>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0001.jpg" alt="0001 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0001.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0008.jpg" alt="0008 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0008.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0009.jpg" alt="0009 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0009.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <h3>
- TO
- </h3>
- <p>
- THEODORE ROOSEVELT THAT MAN OF THE PUBLIC FOR WHOM I HAVE MOST REGARD AND
- FROM WHOSE FUTURE I AS AN AMERICAN MOST HOPE THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED
- </p>
- <h3>
- A. H. L.
- </h3>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <p>
- <b>CONTENTS</b>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I—SALISBURY AND THE LAW </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II—THE ROWAN HOUSE SUPPER </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III—THE BLOOMING RACHEL </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV—COLONEL WAIGHTSTILL AVERY
- OFFENDS </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V—THE WINNING OF A WIFE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI—DEAD-SHOT DICKINSON </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII—HOW THE GENERAL FOUGHT </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII—ENGLAND AND GRIM-VISAGED WAR
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX—THE GENERAL AT THE HORSESHOE
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X—FLORIDA DELENDA EST </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI—THE TWO FLAGS AT PENSACOLA </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII—THE GENERAL GOES TO NEW ORLEANS
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII—THE WATCH FIRES OF THE ENGLISH
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV—THE BATTLE IN THE DARK </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV—COTTON BALES AND SUGAR CASKS
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI—THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII—THE SLAUGHTER AMONG THE
- STUBBLE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII—ODDS AND ENDS OF TIME </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX—THE KILLING EDGE OF SLANDER
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX—THE GENERAL GOES TO THE WHITE
- HOUSE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI—WIZARD LEWIS URGES A CHANGE IN
- FRONT </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XII—THE DOWNFALL OF MACHIAVELLI
- CLAY </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII—THE FEDERAL UNION: IT MUST BE
- PRESERVED </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV—THE ROUT OF TREASON </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV—THE GRAVE AT THE GARDEN'S FOOT
- </a>
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER I—SALISBURY AND THE LAW
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>N this year of our
- Lord's grace, 1787, the ancient town of Salisbury, seat of justice for
- Rowan County, and the buzzing metropolis of its region, numbers by word of
- a partisan citizenry eight hundred souls. Its streets are unpaved, and
- present an unbroken expanse of red North Carolina clay from one narrow
- plank sidewalk to another. In the summer, if the weather be dry, the red
- clay resolves itself into blinding brick-red dust. In the spring, when the
- rains fall, it lapses into brick-red mud, and the Salisbury streets become
- bottomless morasses, the despair of travelers. Just now, it being a bright
- October afternoon and a shower having paid the town a visit but an hour
- before, the streets offer no suggestion of either mud or dust, but are as
- clean and straight and beautiful as a good man's morals. Trees rank either
- side, and their branches interlock overhead. These make every street a
- cathedral aisle, groined and arched in leafy green.
- </p>
- <p>
- In one of the suburbs, that is to say about pistol shot from the town's
- commercial center, stands a two-story mansion. It is painted white, and
- thereby distinguished above its neighbors, and has a heavily columned
- veranda all across its wide face. This edifice is the residence of Spruce
- McCay, a foremost member of the Rowan County bar.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a corner of the lawn, which unfolds verdantly in front of the house, is
- a one-story one-room structure, the law office of Spruce McCay. Inside are
- two or three pine desks, much visited of knives in the past, and a
- half-dozen ramshackle chairs, which have seen stronger if not better days.
- Also there is a collection of shelves; and these latter hold scores of law
- books, among which “Blackstone's Commentaries,” “Coke on Littleton,” and
- “Hales's Pleas of the Crown” are given prominent place. The books show
- musty and dog-eared, and it is many years since the youngest among them
- came from the printing press.
- </p>
- <p>
- On this October afternoon, the office has but one occupant. He is tall,
- being six feet and an inch, and so slim and meager that he seems six
- inches taller. Besides, he stands as straight as a lance, with nothing of
- stoop to his narrow shoulders, and this has the effect of augmenting his
- height.
- </p>
- <p>
- The face is a boy's face. It is likewise of the sort called “horse”; with
- hollow cheeks and lantern jaws. The forehead is high and narrow. The
- yellow hair is long, and tied in a cue with an eelskin—for eelskins
- are according to the latest fashionable command sent up from Charleston.
- The redeeming feature to the horse face is the eyes. These are big and
- blue and deep, and tell of a mighty power for either love or hate. They
- are Scotch-Irish eyes, loyal eyes, steadfast eyes, and of that inveterate
- breed which if aroused can outstare, outdomineer Satan.
- </p>
- <p>
- As adding to the horse face a look of command, which sets well with those
- blue eyes—so capable of tenderness and ferocity—is a high
- predatory nose. The mouth, thin-lipped and wide, is replete of what folk
- call character, but does nothing to soften a general expression which is
- nothing if not iron. And yet the last word is applicable only at times.
- The horse face never turns iron-hard unless danger presses, or perilous
- deeds are to be done. In easier, relaxed hours one finds no sternness
- there, but gayety and lightness and a love of pleasure.
- </p>
- <p>
- In dress the horse-faced boy is rather the fop, with a bottle-green
- surtout of latest cut, high-collared, long-tailed, open to display a
- flowered waistcoat of as many hues as May, from which struggles a ruffle
- stiff with starch. The horsefaced boy has his predatory nose buried in a
- law book. This is as it should be, for he is a student of the learned
- Spruce McCay.
- </p>
- <p>
- There comes a step at the door; the horsefaced boy takes his nose from
- between the covers of the book. Spruce McCay walks in, and throws himself
- carelessly into a seat. He is a square, hearty man, with nose up-tilted
- and eager, as though somewhere in the distance it sniffed an orchard. He
- is of middle years, and well arrived at that highest ground, just where
- the pathway of life begins to slope downward toward the final yet still
- distant grave.
- </p>
- <p>
- Spruce McCay glances at a paper or two on his desk. Then, shoving all
- aside, he fills and lights a corn-cob pipe. Through the smoke rings he
- surveys the horse-faced boy; plainly he meditates a communication.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Andy, I've been thinking you over.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Andy says “Yes?” expectantly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You should cross the mountains.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The blue eyes take on a bluer glint, and light up the horse face like
- azure lamps.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, a new country is the place for you. You are now about to be admitted
- to practice law; not because you know law, but for the reason that I have
- recommended it. As I say, you have little law knowledge; but you possess
- courage, brains, perseverance, honesty, prudence and divers other traits,
- which you take from your Carrickfergus ancestors. These should carry you
- farther in the wilderness than any knowledge of the books.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The predatory nose snorts, and the horse face begins to glow resentfully.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You think I know no law?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No more than does Necessity! Not enough to keep you from being laughed at
- in Rowan County! How should you? Your attention and your interest have
- both run away to other things. I've watched you for two years past. You
- are deep in the lore of cockfighting, but guiltless of the Commentaries of
- our worthy Master Blackstone. If I were to ask you for the Rule in
- Shelly's Case, you would be posed. At the same time you could expound
- every rule that governs a horse race. In brief you are accomplished in
- many gentlemanly things, while as barren of law learning as a Hottentot.
- Now if you were a lad of fortune, instead of being as poor as the crows,
- you might easily cut a figure of elegant idleness on the North Carolina
- circuits. But you lack utterly of that money required to gild and make
- tolerable your ignorance here at home. In the woods along the Cumberland,
- that is to say in the Nashville and Jonesboro courts, where ignorance and
- poverty are the rule, your deficiencies will count for trifles. Also you
- will be surrounded by conditions that promote courage, honesty and
- quickness to a first importance. On the Cumberland the fact that you are a
- dead shot with rifle or pistol, and can back the most unmanageable horse
- that ever looked through a bridle, will place you higher in the confidence
- of men than would all the law that Hobart, Hales and Hawkins ever knew.
- Now don't get angry. Think over what I've said; the longer you look at it,
- the more you'll feel that I am right. I'll see that you are given your
- sheepskin as a lawyer; and, when you decide to migrate, I'll have you
- commissioned in that new country as attorney for the state. This last will
- send you headlong into the midst of a backwoods practice, where those
- native virtues you own should find a field for their exercise, and your
- talents for cockfighting and horse racing, added to your absolute genius
- for firearms, be sure to advance you far.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Spruce McCay raps the ashes from his corncob pipe. Just then one of the
- house negroes taps at the door, as preliminary to intruding a respectful
- head. The respectful head announces that visitors have arrived at the big
- white mansion. Spruce McCay at this quits the office, and the horse-faced
- Andy finds himself alone.
- </p>
- <p>
- For one hour he ponders the unpalatable words of his worthy master. His
- vanity has been hurt; his self-love ruffled. None the less he feels that a
- deal of truth lies tucked away in what Spruce McCay has said. Besides a
- plunge into the untried wilderness rather matches his taste, and a
- promised state's attorneyship is not to be despised.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the horse-faced Andy ruminates these things, laughter and much joyous
- clatter is heard at the door. This time it is his two fellow students,
- Crawford and McNairy. These young gentlemen have been out with their guns,
- and now present themselves with a double backload of quails as the fruits
- of it. The pair begin vociferously to inform the horse-faced Andy
- concerning their day's adventures. He halts the conversational flow with a
- repressive lift of the hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Gentlemen,” says he, with a vast affectation of dignity, and as though
- sixty were the years of each instead of twenty, “I desire your company at
- supper in my rooms. Come at 7 o'clock. I shall have news for you—news,
- and a proposition.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER II—THE ROWAN HOUSE SUPPER
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE horse-faced
- Andy precedes the coming of his two friends to that supper by two hours.
- As he moves up the street toward the Rowan House, fair faces beam on him
- and fair hands wave him a salutation from certain Salisbury verandas. In
- return he doffs his hat with an exaggerated politeness, which becomes him
- as the acknowledged beau of the town. One cannot blame those beaming fair
- faces and those saluting hands. Slim, elegant, confident with a kind of
- polished cockyness that does not ill become his years, our horse-faced one
- possesses what the world calls “presence.” No one will look on him without
- being impressed; he is congenitally remarkable, and to see him once is to
- ever afterward expect to hear him. Besides, for all his foppishness, there
- is a scar on his sandy head, and a second on his hand, which were made by
- an English saber when he had no more than entered upon his teens. Also he
- has shed English blood to pay for those scars; and in a day which still
- heaves and tosses with the ground swells of the Revolution, such stark
- matters brevet one to the respect of men and the love of women.
- </p>
- <p>
- The foppish, horse-faced Andy strides into the Rowan House. In the
- long-room he meets mine host Brown, who has fame as a publican, and none
- as a sinner, throughout North Carolina.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Supper in my rooms, Mr. Brown,” commands our hero; “supper for three.
- Have it hot and ready at sharp seven. Also let us have plenty of whisky
- and tobacco.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Mine host Brown says that all shall be as ordered.
- </p>
- <p>
- The foppish Andy, with that grave manner of dignity which laughs at his
- boyish twenty years, explains to his landlord that he will call for his
- bill in the morning.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have my horse, Cherokee,” he says, “well groomed and saddled. To-morrow I
- leave Salisbury.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Going West?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “West,” returns Andy.
- </p>
- <p>
- “As to the bill,” ventures mine host Brown, “would you like to play a game
- of all-fours, and make it double or nothing?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Andy the horse-faced hesitates.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have such vile luck,” he says, as though remonstrating with mine host
- Brown for a fault. “It seems shameful to play with you, since you never
- win.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Mine host Brown looks sheepishly apologetic.
- </p>
- <p>
- “For one as eager to play as I am,” he responds, “it does look as though I
- ought to know more about the game. However, since it's your last night, we
- might as well preserve a record.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Andy the horse-faced yields to the rabid anxiety of mine host Brown to
- gamble. The game shall be played presently; meanwhile, there is an errand
- which takes him to his rooms.
- </p>
- <p>
- Andy goes to his rooms; mine host Brown, after preparing a table in the
- long-room for the promised game, saunters fatly—being rotund as a
- publican should be—into the kitchen, to leave directions concerning
- that triangular supper. There he encounters his wife, as rotund as
- himself, supervising the energies of a phalanx of black Amazons, who form
- the culinary forces of the Rowan House.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Young Jackson leaves in the morning, mother,” observes mine host Brown to
- Mrs. Brown, whom he always addresses as “mother.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “For good?” asks Mrs. Brown, who is singeing the pin feathers from a
- chicken of much fatness, and exceeding yellow as to leg.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, I knew he was going,” returns mine host Brown, rather irrelevantly.
- “Spruce Mc-Cay told me that he was about to advise him to emigrate to the
- western counties. Spruce says the Cumberland country is just the place for
- him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And now I suppose,” remarks Mrs. Brown, “you'll let him win a good-by
- game of cards, to square his bill.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why not?” returns mine host Brown. “He's got no money; never had any
- money. You yourself said, when he came here, to give him his board free,
- because you knew and loved his dead mother. Now the Christian thing is to
- let him win it. In that way his pride is saved; at the same time it gives
- me amusement.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, Marmaduke,” says Mrs. Brown, moving off with the yellow-legged
- fowl, “I'm sure I don't care how you manage, only so you don't take his
- money.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “There never was a chance, mother. He never has any money, after his
- clothes are bought.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The game of all-fours is played; and is won by Andy of the horse face, who
- thereby rounds off a run of card-luck that has continued unbroken for two
- years.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It looks as though I'd never beat you!” exclaims mine host Brown,
- pretending sadness and imitating a sigh.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You ought never to gamble,” advises the horse-faced Andy solemnly.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mine host Brown produces his bill, wherein the charges for board, lodging,
- laundry, tobacco, and whisky in pints, quarts and gallons are set down on
- one side, to be balanced and acquitted by divers sums lost at all-fours,
- the same being noted opposite.
- </p>
- <p>
- “There you are! All square!” says mine host Brown.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But the charges for to-night's supper?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mother”—meaning Mrs. Brown—“says the supper is to be with her
- compliments.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Steaming hot, the supper comes promptly at seven. It is followed, steaming
- hot, by unlimited whisky punch. Pipes are lighted, and, with glasses at
- easy hand, the three boys draw about the fire. The punch, the pipes, and
- the crackling log fire are very comfortable adjuncts on an October night.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And now,” cries Crawford, who is full of life and interest, “now for the
- news and the proposition!”
- </p>
- <p>
- McNairy nods owlish assent to the words of his volatile friend. He intends
- one day to be a judge, and, while quite as lively as Crawford, seizes on
- occasions such as this to practice his features in a formidable woolsack
- gravity.
- </p>
- <p>
- “First,” observes Andy, soberly sipping his punch, “let me put a question:
- What is my standing in Rowan County?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are the recognized authority,” cries Crawford, “on dog fighting,
- cockfighting, and horse racing.”
- </p>
- <p>
- McNairy nods.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Humph!” says Andy. Then, on the heels of a pause: “And what should you
- say were my chief accomplishments?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Again Crawford takes it upon himself to reply.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You ride, shoot, run, jump, wrestle, dance and make love beyond
- expression.”
- </p>
- <p>
- McNairy the judicial nods.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Humph!” says Andy.
- </p>
- <p>
- The trio puff and sip in silence.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You say nothing for my knowledge of law?” This from the disgruntled Andy,
- with a rising inflection that is like finding fault.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No!” cry the others in hearty concert.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You wouldn't believe us if we did,” adds McNairy of the future woolsack.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Neither would the Judge,” returns Andy cynically. “The Judge” is the
- title by which the three designate their master, Spruce Mc-Cay. Andy goes
- on: “The news I promised is this. To-morrow I leave Salisbury. The Judge
- has recommended my admission to the bar, and I shall take the oath and get
- my license before I start. I shall transfer myself to the region along the
- Cumberland, where I am told a barrister of my singular lack of ability
- should find plenty of practice.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why do you leave old Rowan?” asks woolsack McNairy, beginning to take an
- interest.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Because I have no education, less law, and still less money. It seems
- that these are conditions precedent to staying in Rowan with credit.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well,” cries McNairy the judicial, grasping Andy's long bony hand, “you
- have as much education, as much law, and as much money as I. Under the
- circumstances I shall go with you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And I,” breaks in the lively Crawford, “since I have none of those
- ignorant and poverty-eaten qualifications you name, but on the contrary am
- rich, wise and learned—I shall remain here. When the wilderness
- casts you fellows out, come back and I shall welcome you. Pending which—as
- Parson Hicks would say—receive my blessing.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The evening wears on amid clouds of tobacco smoke and rivers of punch. At
- the close the three take hold of hands, and sing a farewell song very
- badly. Then, since they look on the evening as a sacred one, they wind up
- by breaking the pipes they have smoked and the glasses they have drunk
- from, to save them in the hereafter from profane and vulgar uses. At last,
- rather deviously, they make their various ways to bed.
- </p>
- <p>
- The next day, young Andrew Jackson, barrister and counselor at law, with
- all his belongings—save the rifle he carries, and the pistols in his
- saddle holsters—crowded into a pair of saddlebags, rides out of
- Salisbury on his bay horse Cherokee. He will stop at Martinsville for a
- space, awaiting the judicial McNairy.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then the pair are to set their willing, hopeful faces for the Cumberland.
- </p>
- <p>
- As Andy the horse-faced rides away that October afternoon, Henry Clay is a
- fatherless boy of nine, living with his mother at the Virginia Slashes;
- Daniel Webster, a sickly child of six, is toddling about his father's New
- Hampshire farm; John C. Calhoun is a baby four years old in a South
- Carolina farmhouse; John Quincy Adams, nineteen and just home from a
- polishing trip to France, is a Harvard student; Martin Van Buren, aged
- four, is playing about the tap room of his Dutch father's tavern at
- Kinder-hook; while Aaron Burr, fortunate, foremost and full of promise,
- has already won high station at the New York bar. None of these has ever
- heard of Andy the horse-faced, nor he of them; yet one and all they are
- fated to grow well acquainted with one another in the years to come, and
- before the curtain is rung finally down on that tragedy-comedy-farce
- which, played to benches ever full and ever empty, men call Existence.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER III—THE BLOOMING RACHEL
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">N</span>ASHVILLE is the
- merest scrambling huddle of log houses. The most imposing edifice is a
- blockhouse, built of logs squared by the broadaxe. It is the home of the
- widow Donelson; and, since it is all her husband left her when the Indians
- shot him down at the plow-stilts, and because she must live, the widow
- Donelson has turned the blockhouse into a boarding house.
- </p>
- <p>
- With the widow Donelson dwells her daughter Rachel, a beautiful brunette
- of twenty, and the belle of the Cumberland. Rachel is vivacious and
- bright; and, while there is much confusion among her nouns, pronouns,
- verbs and adverbs in the matters of case, number, and tense, she shines
- forth an indomitable conversationist. With frontier freedom she laughs
- with everybody, jests with everybody, delights in everybody's admiration;
- and this does not please her husband, Lewis Robards, who is ignorant,
- suspicious, narrow, lazy, shiftless, jealous, and generally drunk. One
- time and another he has accused Rachel of a tenderness for every man in
- the settlement, and their quarrels have been frequent and fierce.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is evening; the widow Donelson is preparing supper for the half dozen
- boarders, assisted by the blooming Rachel. The moody Robards, half soaked
- in corn whisky, sits by the open door, ear on the conversation, eye on the
- not-over-distant woods. If the worthless Robards will not work, at least
- he may maintain a halfbright lookout for murderous Indians; and he does.
- </p>
- <p>
- The widow Donelson glances across from the corn bread she is mixing.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The runner who came on ahead,” she says, addressing the blooming Rachel,
- “reports the party as being due to-morrow. Mr. Jackson, the new State's
- Attorney, who will come with it, is to board and lodge with us.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The blooming Rachel looks brightly up. The drunken Robards likewise looks
- up; but his face is gloomy with incipient jealousy.
- </p>
- <p>
- “A Mr. Jackson, eh?” he sneers. Then, to the blooming Rachel: “It's mighty
- likely you'll find in him a new lover to try your wiles on.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The blooming Rachel colors and her black eyes snap, but she holds her
- tongue. The widow Donelson is also silent. The mother and daughter have
- found wordlessness the best return to those insults, which it is the habit
- of the jealous drunkard to hurl at his pretty wife.
- </p>
- <p>
- The runner made true report, and the party in which travels the
- horse-faced Andy makes its appearance next day. Tall, slender, elegant,
- self-possessed, and with a manner which marks him above the common, he is
- disliked by the drunken Robards on sight. When he declines to drink with
- that sot, the dislike crystallizes into hatred. The outrageous jealousy of
- Robards has found a new reason for its green-eyed existence, and he
- already goes drunkenly pondering the slaughter of the horse-faced Andy.
- Since he will never advance beyond the pondering stage, for certain
- reasons called “craven” among men of clean courage, his homicidal
- lucubrations are the less important.
- </p>
- <p>
- Andy the horse-faced does not notice Robards. He does, however, notice
- with a thrill of pleasure the beautiful Rachel, and is glad to find his
- lines are down in such pleasant places.
- </p>
- <p>
- He is vastly taken with the boarding house of the widow Donelson, and
- incautiously says as much. He praises her corn pone and fried squirrel,
- and vehemently avers that her hog and hominy are the best he ever ate.
- </p>
- <p>
- Rachel the blooming does not allow her husband's jealousy to interrupt
- hospitality, and piles high the young State's Attorney's plate with these
- delicacies. She even brings out a store of wild honey and cream—dainties
- sparse and few and far between in these rude regions. She calls this
- “hospitality”; her jealous drunkard of a husband calls it “making
- advances.” He says that in the course of a long, and he might have added
- misspent, life, he has observed that a coquette, with designs on a man's
- heart, never fails to begin by making an ally of his stomach.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hence,” says the drunken deductionist, “that honey and cream.”
- </p>
- <p>
- That night, after Rachel the blooming and her drunken husband retire, a
- bitter quarrel breaks out between them. It rages with such fury that the
- bicker arouses one Overton, who occupies the adjoining chamber. Mr.
- Overton is a severe character, firm and clear as to his rights. He objects
- to having his rest disturbed, alleging that he has troubles of his own.
- Taking final offense at the language of the brute Robards, which is more
- emphatic than nice, he gets his pistols. Rapping on the intervening wall
- to invoke attention, he informs that vituperative drunkard of his
- intention to instantly put him (Robards) to death, should he so much as
- raise his voice above a whisper for the balance of the night.
- </p>
- <p>
- Rachel seeks her mother, and the jealous drunkard quiets down. He is not
- unacquainted with Mr. Overton, who is reputed to possess as restless a
- brace of hair triggers as ever owned flint and pan. Altogether he is
- precisely the one whose word would carry weight with such as Robards, and,
- on the back of his interference in the domestic affairs of that inebriate,
- a great peace settles upon the blockhouse of the widow Donelson which
- abides throughout the night.
- </p>
- <p>
- As for the horse-faced State's Attorney, he knows nothing of the
- differences between Rachel and the jealous Robards. He does not sleep in
- the blockhouse, having been appointed to a blanket couch in the “Bunk
- House,” a separate dormitory structure which stands at a little distance.
- </p>
- <p>
- During breakfast, the blooming Rachel again freights daintily deep the
- plate of the young State's Attorney. Thereupon the favored one beams his
- thanks, while behind his back as though to soothe his hate, the malevolent
- Rob-ards sits cleaning a rifle, casting upon him the while an occasional
- midnight look. Just across is the taciturn Overton, proprietor of those
- restless hair triggers, wondering over his bacon and eggs where this drama
- of love and threatened murder is to end.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IV—COLONEL WAIGHTSTILL AVERY OFFENDS
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">N</span>OW, when the
- horse-faced Andy finds himself in the Cumberland country, he begins to
- look about him. Being a lawyer, his instinct leads him to consider those
- opposing ranks of commerce, the debtor and creditor classes. He finds the
- former composed of persons of the highest honor. Also, their honor is
- sensitive and easily touched, being sensitive and touchy in proportion as
- the bulk of their debts is increased. The debtor class, as the same finds
- representation about those two Cumberland forums, Nashville and Jonesboro,
- holds it to be the privilege of every gentleman, when dunned, to challenge
- and if practicable kill his creditor honorably at ten paces.
- </p>
- <p>
- So firm indeed is the debtor class in this belief, that the creditor
- class, less warlike and with more to lose, seldom presents a bill. Neither
- does it refuse the opposition credit; for the debtor class also clings to
- the no less formidable theory, that to refuse credit is an insult quite as
- stinging as a dun direct.
- </p>
- <p>
- In short, the horse-faced Andy discovers the region to be a very Arcadia
- for debtors. Their credit is without a limit and their debts are never
- due. He resolves to disturb these commercial Arcadians; he will break upon
- them as a Satan of solvency come to trouble their debt paradise.
- </p>
- <p>
- The horse-faced Andy, as has been noted, is Scotch-Irish. Being Irish, his
- honor is as sensitive and his soul as warlike as are those of the most
- debt-eaten individual along the Cumberland. Being Scotch, he believes
- debts should be paid, and holds that a creditor may ask for his money
- without forfeiting life. He urges these views in tavern and street; and
- thereupon the creditors, taking heart, come to him with their claims. He
- accepts the trusts thus proffered; as a corollary, having now flown in the
- face of the militant debtor class, he is soon to prove his manhood.
- </p>
- <p>
- The horse-faced Andy files a declaration for a client, on a mixed claim
- based upon bacon, molasses and rum. The defendant, a personage yclept Irad
- Miller, genus debtor, species keel boatman, is a very patrician among
- bankrupts, boasting that he owes more and pays less than any man south of
- the Ohio river. Also, having been already offended by the foppish
- frivolity of that ruffled shirt and grass-green surtout, he is outraged
- now, when the ruffled grass-green one brings suit against him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Breathing fire and smoke, the insulted Irad lowers his horns, and starts
- for the horse-faced Andy. His methods at this crisis are characteristic of
- the Cumberland; he merely grinds the horse-faced Andy's polished boot
- beneath his heel, mentioning casually the while that he himself is “half
- hoss, half alligator,” and can drink the Cumberland dry at a draught.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is fighting talk, and the horse-faced Andy so accepts it. He surveys
- the truculent Irad with the cautious tail of his eye, and finds him
- discouragingly tall and broad and thick. The survey takes time, but the
- injured Irad prevents it being wasted by again grinding the polished toes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Andy the strategic suddenly seizes a rail from the nearby fence, and
- charges the indebted one. The end of the rail strikes that insolvent in
- what is vulgarly known as the pit of the stomach, and doubles him up like
- a two-foot rule. At that, he who is “half hoss, half alligator,” gives
- forth a screech of which an injured wild cat might be proud, and
- perceiving the rail poised for a second charge makes off. This small
- adventure gives the horse-faced Andy station, and an avalanche of claims
- pours in upon him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having established himself in the confidence of common men, it still
- remains with our horsefaced hero to conquer the esteem of the bar. The
- opportunity is not a day behind his collision with that violent one of
- equine-alligator genesis. In good sooth, it is an offshoot thereof.
- </p>
- <p>
- The bruised Irad's case is up for trial. His counsel, Colonel Waightstill
- Avery, hails from a hamlet, called Morganton, on the thither side of the
- Blue Ridge. Colonel Waightstill is of middle age, pompous and high, and
- the youth of Andy—slim, lean, eager, horse face as hairless as an
- egg—offends him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Your honor,” cries Colonel Waightstill, addressing the bench, “who, pray,
- is the opposing counsel?” The boyish Andy stands up. “Must I, your honor,”
- continues the outraged Colonel Waightstill, “must I cross forensic blades
- with a child? Have I journeyed all the long mountain miles from Morganton
- to try cases with babes and sucklings? Or perhaps, your honor”—here
- Colonel Waightstill waxes sarcastic—“I have mistaken the place.
- Possibly this is not a court, but a nursery.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Waightstill sits down, and the horsefaced Andy, on the leaf of a
- law book, indites the following:
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>August 12, 1788.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Sir: When a man's feelings and charector are injured he ought to seek
- speedy redress. My charector you have injured; and further you have
- Insulted me in the presunce of a court and a large aujence. I therefore
- call upon you as a gentleman to give me satisfaction for the same; I
- further call upon you to give me an answer immediately without
- Equivocation and I hope you can do without dinner until the business is
- done; for it is consistent with the character of a gentleman when he
- injures a man to make speedy reparation; therefore I hope you will not
- fail in meeting me this day.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>From yr Hbl st.,</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Andw Jackson.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- The horse-faced one spells badly; but Marlborough did, Washington does and
- Napoleon will spell worse. It is a notable fact that conquering militant
- souls have ever been better with the sword than with the spelling book.
- </p>
- <p>
- The judge is a gentleman of quick and apprehensive eye, as frontier
- jurists must be.
- </p>
- <p>
- Also, he is of finest sensibilities, and can appreciate the feelings of a
- man of honor. He sees the note shoved across to Colonel Waightstill by the
- horse-faced Andy, and at once orders a recess. The judge, with delicate
- tact, says the Cumberland bottoms are heavy with the seeds of fever, and
- that it is his practice to consume prudent rum and quinine at this hour.
- </p>
- <p>
- While the judge goes for his rum and quinine, Colonel Waightstill and the
- horse-faced Andy repair to a convenient ravine at the rear of the log
- courthouse. A brother practitioner attends upon Colonel Waightstill, while
- the interests of the horse-faced Andy are conserved by Mr. Overton, who
- espouses his cause as a fellow boarder at the widow Donelson's. Mr.
- Overton has with him his invaluable hair triggers; and, since he wins the
- choice, presents them politely, butt first, to the second of Colonel
- Waightstill, who selects one for his principal. The ground is measured and
- pegged; the fight will be at ten paces.
- </p>
- <p>
- As Mr. Overton gives the horse-faced Andy his weapon, he asks:
- </p>
- <p>
- “What can you do at this distance?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Snuff a candle.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Good! Let me offer a word of advice: Don't kill; don't even wound. The <i>casus
- belli</i> does not justify it, and you can establish your credit without.
- Should your adversary require a second shot, it will then be the other
- way. His failure to apologize, coupled with a demand for another shot,
- should mean his death warrant.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The horse-faced Andy approves this counsel. And yet, if he must not wound
- he may warn, and to that admonitory end sends his ounce of lead so as to
- all but brush the ear of Colonel Waightstill. That gentleman's bullet
- flies safely wild. After the exchange of shots, the seconds hold a
- consultation. Mr. Overton says that his principal must receive an apology,
- or the duel shall proceed.
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Waightstill's second talks with that gentleman, and finds him much
- softened as to mood. The flying lead, brushing his ear like the wing of a
- death angel, has set him thinking. He now distrusts that simile of “babes
- and sucklings,” and is even ready to concede the intimation that the
- horse-faced Andy is a child to be far-fetched. Indeed, he has conceived a
- vast respect, almost an affection, for his youthful adversary, and will
- not only apologize, but declares that, for purposes of litigation, he
- shall hereafter regard the horse-faced Andy as a being of mature years.
- All this says Colonel Waight-still, under the respectful spell of that
- flying lead; and if not in these phrases, then in words to the same
- effect.
- </p>
- <p>
- The horse-faced Andy shakes hands with Colonel Waightstill, and they
- return to the log courthouse, where the rum-and-quinine jurist is
- pleasantly awaiting them. The trial is again called, and the horse-faced
- Andy secures a verdict. What is of more consequence, he secures the
- respect of bench and bar; hereafter no one will so much as dream of
- disputing his word, should he lay claim to the years of Methuselah. That
- careful grazing shot at Colonel Waightstill, ages the horse-faced Andy
- wondrously in Cumberland estimation.
- </p>
- <p>
- Good fortune is not yet done with Andy of the horse face. Within hours
- after the meeting in that convenient ravine, he is given new opportunity
- to fix himself in the good regard of folk.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is on the verge of midnight. A gentleman, unsteady with his cups, seeks
- temporary repose on the grassy litter which surrounds the tavern haystack.
- Being comfortable, and safe against a fall, he of the too many cups
- refreshes himself with his pipe. Pipe going, he falls into thought; and
- next, in the midst of his preoccupation, he sets the hay afire. It burns
- like tinder, and the flames, wind-flaunted, catch the thatched roof of the
- stable.
- </p>
- <p>
- The settlement is threatened; the wild cry of “Fire!” is raised; from
- tavern and dwelling, men, women and children come trooping forth, clad in
- little besides looks of terror. The scene is one of confusion and
- misdirection; no one knows what to do. Meanwhile, the flames leap from the
- stable to the tavern itself.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is Andy the horse-faced who brings order out of chaos. Born for
- leadership, command comes easy to him. He calls for buckets, and with
- military quickness forms a double line of men between the river and the
- flames. The full buckets chase each other along one line, while the
- empties are returned by the second to be refilled. When the lines are
- working in watery concord, he organizes the balance of the community into
- a wet-blanket force. By his orders, coverlets, tablecloths, blankets,
- anything, everything that will serve, are dipped in the river and spread
- on exposed roofs. In an encouragingly short space, the fire is checked and
- the settlement saved.
- </p>
- <p>
- While the excitement is at its height, that pipe incendiary, who started
- the conflagration, breaks through the double line of water passers, and
- begins to give orders. He is as wild as was Nero at the burning of Rome.
- Finding this person disturbing the effective march of events, the
- horse-faced Andy—who is nothing if not executive—knocks him
- down with a bucket. The Cumberland Nero falls into the river, and the
- ducking, acting in happy conjunction with the stunning thump, brings him
- to the shore a changed and sobered man. That bucket promptitude, wherewith
- he deposed Nero, becomes one of those several immediate arguments which
- make mightily for the communal advancement of Andy the horse-faced.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER V—THE WINNING OF A WIFE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>LL these energetic
- matters happen at aforesaid, is dancing attendance upon the court. The
- fame of them travels to Nashville in advance of his return, and works a
- respectful change toward him in the attitude of the public. Hereafter he
- is to be called “Andrew” by ones who know him well; while others, less
- acquainted, will on military occasions hail him as “Cap'n” and on civil
- ones as “Square.” On every hand, reference to him as “horse-faced” is to
- be dropped; wherefore this history, the effort of which is to follow close
- in the wake of the actual, will from this point profit by that polite
- example.
- </p>
- <p>
- The household at the widow Donelson's learns of the Jonesboro valor and
- executive promptitude of the young State's Attorney. The blooming Rachel
- rejoices, while her Jonesboro, where the horse-faced one, in the interests
- of the creditor class drunken spouse turns sullen. His jealousy of Andrew
- is multiplied, as that young gentleman's fame increases. The fame,
- however, is of a sort that seriously mislikes the drunken Robards, who is
- at heart a hare. Wherefore, while his jealousy grows, he no longer makes
- it the tavern talk, as was his sottish wont.
- </p>
- <p>
- Affairs run briskly prosperous with Andrew, and he finds himself engaged
- in half the litigation of the Cumberland. There is little money, but the
- region owns a currency of its own. Some wise man has said that the
- circulating medium of Europe is gold, of Africa men, of Asia women, of
- America land. The client's of Andrew reward his labors with land, and many
- a “six-forty,” by which the slang of the Cumberland identifies a section
- of land, becomes his. Finally he owns such an array of wilderness square
- miles, polka-dotted about between the Cumberland and the Mississippi, that
- the aggregate acreage swells into the thousands. Those acres, however, are
- hardly more valuable than are the brown leaves wherewith each autumn
- carpets them.
- </p>
- <p>
- While the ardent Andrew is pushing his way at the bar, and accumulating
- “six-forties,” he continues to board at the widow Donelson's.
- </p>
- <p>
- The blooming Rachel delights in his society—so polished, so
- splendidly different from that of the drunkard Robards! Once or twice,
- too, when Andrew, in his saddlebag excursions from court to court, has a
- powder-burning brush with Indians and saves his sandy scalp by a narrowish
- margin, the red cheek of Rachel is seen to whiten. That is to say, the
- drunkard Robards sees it whiten; the purblind Andrew never once observes
- that mark of tender concern. The pistol repute of the decisive Andrew
- serves when he is by to stifle remark on the lip of the recreant Robards.
- But there come hours when the latter has the blooming Rachel to himself,
- at which time he raves like one demon-possessed. He avers that the
- unconscious Andrew is the lover of the blooming Rachel, and in so doing
- lies like an Ananias. However, the drunken one has the excuse of jealousy;
- which emotion is not only green-eyed but cross-eyed, and of all things—as
- history shows—most apt to mislead the accurate vision of folk.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0063.jpg" alt="0063 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0063.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- Andrew overflows of sentiment, and often in moments of loneliness turns
- homesick. This is the more marvelous, since never from his very cradle
- days has he had a home. Being homesick—one may as well call it that,
- for want of a better word—he goes out to the orchard fence, a lonely
- spot, cut off from view by intercepting bushes, and devotes himself to
- melancholy. This melancholy, as often happens with high-strung,
- vanity-bitten young gentlemen, is for the greater part nothing more than
- the fomentations of his egotism and conceit. But Andrew does not know this
- truth, and wears a fine tragic air as one beset of what poets term “a
- nameless grief.”
- </p>
- <p>
- One day the blooming Rachel discovers the melancholy Andrew, dreamily
- mournful by the orchard fence. She watches him unperceived, and her gentle
- bosom yearns over him. The blooming Rachel is not wanting in that taint of
- romanticism to which all border folk are born; and now, to see this
- Hector!—this lion among men!—so bent in sadness, moves her
- tenderly. At that it is only a kind of maternal tenderness; for the
- blooming Rachel has a wealth of mother love, and no children upon whom to
- lavish it. She stands looking at the melancholy one, and would give worlds
- if she might only take his head to her sympathetic bosom and cherish it.
- </p>
- <p>
- The blooming Rachel approaches, and cheerily greets the gloomy one. She
- seeks to uplift his spirits. Under the sweet spell of her, he tells how
- wholly alone he is. He speaks of his mother and how her very grave is
- lost. He relates how the Revolution swallowed up the lives of his two
- brothers.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And your father?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He was buried the week before I was born.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The two stay by the orchard fence a long while, and talk on many things;
- but never once on love.
- </p>
- <p>
- The drunken Robards, fiend-guided, gets a green-eyed glimpse of them. With
- that his jealousy receives added edge, and—the better to decide upon
- a course—he hurries to a grog-gery to pour down rum by the cup.
- Either he drinks beyond his wont, or that rum is of sterner impulse than
- common; for he becomes pot-valorous, and with curses vows the death of
- Andrew.
- </p>
- <p>
- The drunken Robards, filled with rum to the brim, issues forth to execute
- his threats. He finds his victim still sadly by the orchard fence; but
- alone, since the blooming Rachel has been called to aid in supper-getting.
- The pot-valorous Robards bursts into a torrent of jealous recrimination.
- </p>
- <p>
- The melancholy Andrew cannot believe his ears! His melancholy takes flight
- when he does understand, and in its stead comes white-hot anger.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What! you scoundrel!” he roars. The blue eyes blaze with such ferocity
- that Robards the craven starts back. In a moment the other has control of
- himself. “Sir!” he grits, “you shall give me satisfaction!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Robards the drunken says nothing, being frozen of fear. The enraged Andrew
- stalks away in quest of the taciturn Overton who owns those hair triggers.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Let us take a walk,” says hair-trigger Overton, running his arm inside
- the lean elbow of Andrew. Once in the woods, he goes on: “What do you want
- to do?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Kill him! I would put him in hell in a second!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Doubtless! Having killed him, what then will you do?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I don't understand.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Let me explain: You kill Robards. His wife is a widow. Also, because you
- have killed Robards in a quarrel over her, she is the talk of the
- settlement. Therefore, I put the question: Having made Rachel the scandal
- of the Cumberland, what will you do?”
- </p>
- <p>
- There is a long, embarrassed pause. Presently Andrew lifts his gaze to the
- cool eyes of his friend.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I shall offer her marriage. She shall, if she accept it, have the
- protection of my name.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And then,” goes on the ice-and-iron Overton, “the scandal will be
- redoubled. They will say that you and Rachel, plotting together, have
- murdered Robards to open a wider way for your guilty loves.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Andrew takes a deep breath. “What would you counsel?” he asks.
- </p>
- <p>
- “One thing,”—laying his hand on Andrew's shoulder—“under no
- circumstances, not even to save your own life, must you slay Robards. You
- might better slay Rachel; since his death by your hand spells her
- destruction. Good people would avoid her as though she were the plague.
- Never more, on the Cumberland, should she hold up her head.”
- </p>
- <p>
- That night the fear-eaten Robards solves the situation which his crazy
- jealousy has created. He starts secretly for the North. He tells two or
- three that he will never more call the blooming Rachel wife.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a month there is much silence, and some restraint, at the widow
- Donelson's. This condition wears away; and, while no one says so,
- everybody feels relaxed and relieved by the absence of the drunken
- Robards. No one names him, and there is tacit agreement to forget the
- creature. The drunken Robards, however, has no notion of being forgotten.
- Word comes down from above that he will return and reclaim his wife. At
- this the black eyes of Rachel sparkle dangerously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That monster,” she cries, “shall never kiss my lips, nor so much as touch
- my hand again!”
- </p>
- <p>
- By advice of her mother, and to avoid the drunken Robards—who
- promises his hateful appearance with each new day—the blooming
- Rachel resolves to take passage on a keel boat for Natchez. Andrew, in
- deep concern, declares that he shall accompany her. He says that he goes
- to protect her from those Indians who make a double fringe of savage peril
- along the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. Overton, the
- taciturn, shrugs his shoulders; the keel-boat captain is glad to have with
- him the steadiest rifle along the Cumberland, and says as much; the
- blooming Rachel is glad, but says so only with her eyes; the Nashville
- good people say nothing, winking in silence sophisticated eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Robards the drunken, now when they are gone, plays the ill-used husband to
- the hilts. He seems to revel in the rôle, and, to keep it from cooling in
- interest, petitions the Virginia Legislature for a divorce. In course of
- time the news climbs the mountains, and descends into the Cumberland, that
- the divorce is granted; while similar word floats down to Natchez with the
- keel boats.
- </p>
- <p>
- The slow story of the blooming Rachel's release reaches our two in
- Natchez. Thereupon Andrew leads Rachel the blooming before a priest; and
- the priest blesses them, and names them man and wife. That autumn they are
- again at the widow Donelson's; but the blooming Rachel, once Mrs. Robards,
- is now Mrs. Jackson.
- </p>
- <p>
- Slander is never the vice of a region that goes armed to the teeth. Thus
- it befalls that now, when the two are back on the Cumberland, those
- sophisticated ones forget to wink. There comes not so much as the arching
- of a brow; for no one is so careless of life as all that. The whole
- settlement can see that the dangerous Andrew is watching with those
- steel-blue eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- At the first suggestion that his Rachel has been guilty of wrong, he will
- be at the throat of her maligner like a panther.
- </p>
- <p>
- Time flows on, and a horrible thing occurs. There comes a new word that no
- divorce was granted by that Legislature; and this new word is
- indisputable. There <i>is</i> a divorce, one granted by a court; but, as
- an act of separation between Rachel the blooming and the drunken Robards,
- that decree of divorce is long months younger than the empowering act of
- the Richmond Legislature, which mistaken folk regarded as a divorce. The
- good priest's words, when he named our troubled two as man and wife, were
- ignorantly spoken. During months upon months thereafter, through all of
- which she was hailed as “Mrs. Jackson,” the blooming Rachel was still the
- wife of the drunken Robards.
- </p>
- <p>
- The blow strikes Andrew gray; but he says never a word. He blames himself
- for this shipwreck; where his Rachel was involved, he should have made all
- sure and invited no chances.
- </p>
- <p>
- The injury is done, however; he must now go about its repair. There is a
- second marriage, at which the silent Overton and the widow Donelson are
- the only witnesses, and for the second time a priest congratulates our
- storm-tossed ones as man and wife. This time there is no mistake.
- </p>
- <p>
- The young husband sends to Charleston; and presently there come to him
- over the Blue Ridge, the finest pair of dueling pistols which the
- Cumberland has ever beheld. They are Galway saw-handles, rifle-barreled; a
- breath discharges them, and they are sighted to the splitting of a hair.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What are they for?” asks Overton the taciturn, balancing one in each
- experienced hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the eyes of Andrew gathers that steel-blue look of doom. “They are to
- kill the first villain who speaks ill of my wife,” says he.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VI—DEAD-SHOT DICKINSON
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE sandy-haired
- Andrew now devotes himself to the practice of law and the domestic
- virtues. In exercising the latter, he has the aid of the blooming Rachel,
- toward whom he carries himself with a tender chivalry that would have
- graced a Bayard. Having little of books, he is earnest for the education
- of others, and becomes a trustee of the Nashville Academy.
- </p>
- <p>
- About this time the good people of the Cumberland, and of the regions
- round about, believing they number more than seventy thousand souls, are
- seized of a hunger for statehood. They call a constitutional convention at
- Knoxville, and Andrew attends as a delegate from his county of Davidson.
- Woolsack McNairy, his fellow student in the office of Spruce Mc-Cay, is
- also a delegate. The woolsack one has-realized that dream of old
- Salisbury, and is now a judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- Andrew and woolsack McNairy are members of the committee which draws a
- constitution for the would-be commonwealth. The constitution, when framed,
- is brought by its authors into open convention, and wranglingly adopted.
- Also, “Tennessee” is settled upon for a name, albeit the ardent Andrew,
- who is nothing if not tribal, urges that of “Cumberland.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The constitution goes, with the proposition of statehood, before Congress
- in Philadelphia; and, following a sharp fight, in which such fossilized
- ones as Rufus King oppose and such quick spirits as Aaron Burr sustain,
- the admission of “Tennessee,” the new State is created.
- </p>
- <p>
- Its hunting-shirt citizenry, well pleased with their successful step in
- nation building, elect Andrew to the House of Representatives. A little
- later, he is taken from the House and sent to the Senate. There he meets
- with Mr. Jefferson, who is the Senate's presiding officer, being
- vice-president of the nation, and that accurate parliamentarian and
- polished fine gentleman writes of him:
- </p>
- <p>
- “He never speaks on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen
- him attempt it repeatedly, but as often choke with rage.” There also he
- encounters Aaron Burr; and is so far socially sagacious as to model his
- deportment upon that of the American Chesterfield, ironing out its
- backwoods wrinkles and savage creases, until it fits a <i>salon</i> as
- smoothly well as does the deportment of Burr himself. Our hero finds but
- one other man about Congress for whom he conceives a friendship equal to
- that which he feels for Aaron Burr, and he is Edward Livingston.
- </p>
- <p>
- Andrew the energetic discovers the life of a senator to be one of dawdling
- uselessness, overlong drawn out; and says so. He anticipates the acrid
- Randolph of Roanoke, and declares that he never winds his watch while in
- Congress, holding all time spent there as wasted and thrown away.
- </p>
- <p>
- Idleness rusts him; and, being of a temper even with that of best Toledo
- steel, he refuses to rust patiently. Preyed upon and carked of an
- exasperating leisure, which misfits both his years and his fierce
- temperament, he seeks refuge in what amusements are rife in Philadelphia.
- He goes to Mr. McElwee's Looking-glass Store, 70 South Fourth Street, and
- pays four bits for a ticket to the readings of Mr. Fennell, who gives him
- Goldsmith, Thompson and Young. The readings pall upon him, and athirst for
- something more violent, he clinks down a Mexican dollar, witnesses the
- horsemanship at Mr. Rickett's amphitheater, and finds it more to his
- horse-loving taste. When all else fails, he buys a seat in a box at the
- Old Theater in Cedar Street, and is entertained by the sleight of hand of
- wizard Signor Falconi. On the back of it all he grows heartily sick of the
- Senate, and of civilization, as the latter finds exposition in
- Philadelphia, and resigns his place and goes home.
- </p>
- <p>
- When he arrives in Nashville, the Legislature—which still holds that
- he should be engaged upon some public work—elects him to the supreme
- bench....
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>{There are missing paragraphs which are not found in any online edition
- of this ebook}</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- ....objectionable Mr. Bean with those Galway saw-handles; and that violent
- person surrenders unconditionally. In elucidating his sudden tameness and
- its causes, Mr. Bean subsequently explains to a disgusted admirer:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I looks at the Jedge, an' I sees shoot in his eye; an' thar warn't shoot
- in nary 'nother eye in the crowd. So I says to myse'f, says I, 'Old Hoss,
- it's about time to sing small!' An' I does.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Notwithstanding those leaden exchanges with the Governor, and the conquest
- of the discreet Mr. Bean, our jurist finds the bench inexpressibly
- tedious. At last he resigns from it, as he did from the Senate, and again
- retreats to private life.
- </p>
- <p>
- Here his forethoughtful Scotch blood begins to assert itself, and he goes
- seriously to the making of money. With his one hundred and fifty slaves,
- he tills his plantation as no plantation on the Cumberland was ever tilled
- before; and the cotton crops he “makes” are at once the local boast and
- wonder. He starts an inland shipyard, and builds keel and flat boats for
- the river commerce with New Orleans. He opens a store, sells everything
- from gunpowder to quinine, broadcloth by the bolt to salt by the barrel,
- and takes his pay in the heterogeneous currency of the region, whereof
- 'coon skins are a smallest subsidiary coin. Also, it is now that he is
- made Major General of Militia, an honor for which he has privily panted,
- even as the worn hart panteth for the water brook.
- </p>
- <p>
- When he is a general, the blooming Rachel cuts and bastes and stitches a
- gorgeous uniform for her Bayard, in which labor of love she exhausts the
- Nashville supply of gold braid. Once the new General dons that effulgent
- uniform, which he does upon the instant it is completed, he offers a
- spectacle of such brilliancy that the bedazzled public talks facetiously
- of smoked glass. The new General in no wise resents this jest, being
- blandly tolerant of a backwoods sense of humor which suggests it. Besides,
- while the public has its joke, he has the uniform and his commission; and
- these, he opines, give him vastly the better of the situation.
- </p>
- <p>
- Many friends, many foes, says the Arab, and now the popular young General
- finds his path grown up of enemies. There be reasons for the sprouting of
- these malevolent gentry. The General is the idol of the people. He can
- call them about him as the huntsman calls his hounds. At word or sign from
- him, they follow and pull down whatsoever man or measure he points to as
- his quarry of politics. This does not match with the ambitions of many a
- pushing gentleman, who is quite as eager for popular preference, and—he
- thinks—quite as much entitled to it, as is the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- These disgruntled ones, baffled in their political advancement by the
- General, take darkling counsel among themselves. The decision they arrive
- at is one gloomy enough. They cannot shake the General's hold upon the
- people. Nothing short of his death promises a least ray of relief. He is
- the sun; while he lives he alone will occupy the popular heavens. His
- destruction would mean the going down of that sun. In the night which
- followed, those lesser plotting luminaries might win for themselves some
- twinkling visibility.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is the springtime of the malevolent ones' conspiracy, and the plot they
- make begins to blossom for the bearing of its lethal fruit. There is in
- Nashville one Charles Dickinson. By profession he is a lawyer, albeit of
- practice intermittent and scant. In figure he is tall, handsome, graceful
- with a feline grace. If there be aught in the old Greek's theory touching
- the transmigration of souls, then this Dickinson was aforetime and in
- another life a tiger. He is sinuous, powerful, vain, narrowly cruel, with
- a sleek purring gloss of manner over all. Also, he is of “good family”—that
- defense and final refuge of folk who would else sink from respectable
- sight in the mire of their own well-earned disrepute.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mr. Dickinson has one accomplishment, a physical one. So nicely does his
- eye match his hand, that he may boast himself the quickest, surest shot in
- all the world. Knowing his vanity, and the deadly certainty of his
- pistols, the conspirators work upon him. They point out that to kill the
- General under circumstances which men approve, will be an easy instant
- step to greatness. Urged by his vanity, permitted by his cruelty,
- dead-shot Dickinson rises to the glittering lure.
- </p>
- <p>
- Give a man station and fortune, and while his courage is not sapped his
- prudence is promoted. The poor, obscure man will risk himself more readily
- than will the eminent rich one, not that he is braver, but he has less to
- lose. The General—who has been in both Houses of Congress, and was a
- judge on the bench besides—will not be hurried to the field, as
- readily as when he was merely Andrew the horse-faced. However, those
- malignant secret ones are ingenious. They know a name that cannot fail to
- set him ablaze for blood. They whisper that name to dead-shot Dickinson.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is a banner day at the Clover Bottom track. The General's Truxton is to
- run—that meteor among race horses, the mighty Truxton! The blooming
- Rachel, seated in her carriage, is where she can view the finish. The
- General—one of the Clover Bottom stewards—is in the judge's
- stand. Dead-shot Dickinson, as the bell rings on the race, takes his stand
- at the blooming Rachel's carriage wheel. He is not there to see a race,
- but to plant an insult.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Go!” cries the starter.
- </p>
- <p>
- Away rushes the field, the flying Truxton in the lead! Around they whirl,
- the little jockeys plying hand and heel! They sweep by the three-quarters
- post! The great Truxton, eye afire, nostrils wide, comes down the stretch
- with the swiftness of the thrown lance! Behind, ten generous lengths,
- trail the beaten ruck! The red mounts to the cheek of the blooming Rachel;
- her black eyes shine with excitement! She applauds the invincible Truxton
- with her little hands.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He is running away with them!” she cries.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dead-shot Dickinson turns to the friend who is conveniently by his side.
- The chance he waited for has come.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Running away with them!” he sneers, repeating the phrase of the blooming
- Rachel. “To be sure! He takes after his master, who ran away with another
- man's wife.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VII—HOW THE GENERAL FOUGHT
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General seeks
- the taciturn Over-ton—that wordless one of the uneasy hair triggers.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is a plot,” says the General. “And yet this man shall die.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Hair-trigger Overton bears a challenge to dead-shot Dickinson, and is
- referred to that marksman's second, Hanson Catlet. Hair-trigger Overton
- and Mr. Catlet agree on Harrison's Mills, a long Day's ride away in
- Kentucky. There are laws against dueling in Tennessee; wherefore her
- citizens, when bent on blood, repair to Kentucky. To make all equal, and
- owning similar laws, the Kentuckians, when blood hungry, take one another
- to Tennessee. The arrangement is both perfect and polite, not to say
- urbane, and does much to induce friendly relations between these sister
- commonwealths.
- </p>
- <p>
- Place selected, Mr. Catlet insists upon putting off the fight for a week.
- His principal is nothing if not artistic. He must send across the Blue
- Ridge Mountains for a famous brace of pistols. His duel with the General
- will have its page in history. He insists, therefore, upon making every
- nice arrangement to attract the admiration of posterity. He will kill the
- General, of course; and, by way of emphasizing his gallantry, offers
- wagers to that effect. He bets three thousand dollars that he will kill
- the General the first fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General makes no wagers, but holds long pow-wows with hair-trigger
- Overton over their glasses and pipes. The fight is to be at twelve paces,
- each man toeing a peg. The word agreed on is: “Fire—one—two—three—stop!”
- Both are free to kill after the word “Fire,” and before the word “Stop.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Hair-trigger Overton and the General give themselves up to a heartfelt
- study of what advantages and disadvantages are presented by the situation.
- They decide to let the gifted Dickinson shoot first. He is so quick that
- the General cannot hope to forestall his fire. Also, any undue haste on
- the General's part might spoil his aim. By the pros and cons of it, as
- weighed between them, it is plain that the General must receive the fire
- of dead-shot Dickinson. He will be hit; doubtless the wound will bring
- death. He must, however, bend every iron energy to the task of standing on
- his feet long enough to kill his adversary.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Fear not! I'll last the time!” says the General. “He shall go with me;
- for I've set my heart on his blood.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Those wonderful pistols come over the Blue Ridge, and dead-shot Dickinson
- with his friends set out for that far-away Kentucky fighting ground. They
- make gala of the business, and laugh and joke as they ride along. By way
- of keeping his hand in, and to give the confidence of his admirers a wire
- edge, dead-shot Dickinson unbends in sinister exhibitions of his pistol
- skill. At a farmer's house a gourd is hanging by a string from the bough
- of a tree. Deadrshot Dickinson, at twenty paces, cuts the string; the
- gourd falls to the ground.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Some gentlemen will be along presently,” he says. “Show them that string,
- and tell them how it was cut.”
- </p>
- <p>
- At a wayside inn he puts four bullets into a mark the size of a silver
- dollar.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When General Jackson arrives,” he observes, tossing a gold piece to the
- innkeeper, “say that those shots were fired at twenty-four paces.”
- </p>
- <p>
- And so with song and shout and jest and pistol firing, the Dickinson party
- troop forward. They arrive in the early evening and put up at Harrison's
- tavern. The fight is for seven o'clock in the morning.
- </p>
- <p>
- Behind this gay cavalcade are journeying the General and hair-trigger
- Overton. The farmer repeats the story of the gourd and its bullet-broken
- string. A bit farther, and the innkeeper calls attention to that quartette
- of shots, which took effect within the little circumference of a dollar
- piece. The stern pair behold these marvels unmoved; hair-trigger Overton
- merely shrugs his shoulders, while the General's lip curls contemptuously.
- Dead-shot Dickinson has thrown away his lead and powder if he hoped to
- shake these men of granite. Upon coming to the battle ground, the General
- and hair-trigger Overton avoid the Harrison tavern, which shelters the
- jovial Dickinson <i>coterie</i>, and put up at the inn of David Miller.
- That evening, they hold their final conference in a cloud of tobacco
- smoke, like a couple of Indians. Finally, the General goes to bed, and
- sleeps like a tree.
- </p>
- <p>
- With the first blue streaks of morning our two war parties are up and
- moving. They meet in a convenient grove of poplars. The ground is stepped
- off and pegged; after which hair-trigger Overton and Mr. Catlet pitch a
- coin. The impartial coin awards the choice of positions to Mr. Catlet, and
- gives the word to hair-trigger Overton. There is a third toss which
- settles that the weapons are to be those Galway saw-handles. At this good
- fortune a steel-blue point of fire shows in the satisfied eye of the
- General. He recalls how he procured those weapons to kill the first man
- who spoke evil of the blooming Rachel, and is pleased to think a benignant
- destiny will not permit them to be robbed of that original right.
- </p>
- <p>
- The men are led to their respective pegs by Mr. Catlet and hair-trigger
- Overton. The General, through the experienced strategy of hair-trigger
- Overton, wears a black coat—high of collar, long of skirt. It
- buttons close to the chin; not a least glimpse of bullet-guiding white,
- whether of shirt collar or cravat, is allowed to show. The black coat is
- purposely voluminous; and the whereabouts of the General's lean frame,
- tucked away in its folds, is a question not readily replied to. The only
- mark on the whole sable expanse of that coat is a row of steel-bright
- buttons. These are not in the middle, but peculiarly to one side. Those
- steel-bright buttons will draw the fire of dead-shot Dickinson like a
- magnet. Which is precisely what hair-trigger Overton had in mind.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the two stand at the pegs, dead-shot Dickinson calls loudly to a
- friend:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Watch that third button! It's over the heart! I shall hit him there!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The grim General says nothing; but the look on his gaunt face reads like a
- page torn from some book of doom. As he stands waiting the word, he is
- observed by the watchful Overton to slip something into his mouth. Then
- his jaws set themselves like flint.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Gentlemen, are you ready?”
- </p>
- <p>
- They are ready, dead-shot Dickinson cruelly eager, the somber General
- adamant. There is a soundless moment, still as death:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Fire!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Instantly, like a flash of lightning, the pistol of dead-shot Dickinson
- explodes. That objective third button disappears, driven in by the
- vengeful lead! The General rocks a little on his feet with the awful shock
- of it; then he plants himself as moveless as an oak. Through the curling
- smoke dead-shot Dickinson makes out the stark, upstanding form. For a
- moment it is as though he were planet-struck. He shrinks shudderingly from
- his peg.
- </p>
- <p>
- “God!” he whispers; “have I missed him?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Hair-trigger Overton cocks the pistol he holds in his hand and covers the
- horror-smitten Dickinson.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Back to your mark, sir!” he roars.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dead-shot Dickinson steps up to his peg, his cheek the hue of ashes. He
- reads his sentence in those implacable steel-blue eyes, and the death
- nearness touches his heart like ice.
- </p>
- <p>
- “One!” says hair-trigger Overton.
- </p>
- <p>
- At the word, there is a sharp “klick!” The General has pulled the trigger,
- but the hammer catches at half cock. The General's inveterate steel-blue
- glance never for one moment leaves his man. He recocks the weapon with a
- resounding “kluck!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Two!” says hair-trigger Overton.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bang!”
- </p>
- <p>
- There comes the flash and roar, and dead-shot Dickinson is seen to
- stagger. He totters, stumbles slowly forward, and falls all along on his
- face. The bullet has bored through his body.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General stays by his peg—cold and hard and stern. Hair-trigger
- Overton approaches the wounded Dickinson. One glance is enough. He crosses
- to the General and takes his arm.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come!” he says. “There is nothing more to do!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Hair-trigger Overton leads the General back to their inn. As the pair
- journey through the poplar wood, he asks:
- </p>
- <p>
- “What was that you put in your mouth?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It was a bullet,” returns the General; “I placed it between my teeth. By
- setting my jaws firmly upon it I make my hand as steady as a church.”
- </p>
- <p>
- As the General says this, he gives that steadying pellet of lead to
- hair-trigger Overton, who looks it over curiously. It has been crushed
- between the clenched teeth of the General until now it is as flat and thin
- as a two-bit piece. As the two approach the tavern they come upon a
- negress churning butter, and the General pauses to drink a quart of milk.
- </p>
- <p>
- Once in his room, hair-trigger Overton pulls off the General's boot, which
- is full of blood.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not there!” says the General. “His bullet found me here”; and he throws
- open the black coat.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dead-shot Dickinson's aim was better than his surmise. He struck that
- indicated third button; but, thanks to the strategy of hair-trigger
- Overton which prompted the voluminous coat, the button did not cover the
- General's heart. The deceived bullet has only broken two ribs and grazed
- the breastbone.
- </p>
- <p>
- The surgeon is called; the wound is dressed and bandaged. He describes it
- as serious, and shakes his head.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Still,” he observes, “you are more fortunate than Mr. Dickinson. He
- cannot live an hour.” As the man of probe and forceps is about to retire
- the General detains him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are not to speak of my wound until we are back in Nashville.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He of the probe and forceps bows assent. When he has left the room
- hair-trigger Overton asks:
- </p>
- <p>
- “What was that for?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The brow of the General grows cloudy with a reminiscent war frown.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have you forgotten those four shots inside the circle of a dollar, and
- that bullet-severed string? I want the braggart to die thinking he has
- missed a man at twelve paces.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The two light pipes and hair-trigger Overton sends for his whisky. Once it
- has come he gives the General a stiff four fingers, and under the fiery
- spell of the liquor the color struggles into the pale hollow of his cheek.
- </p>
- <p>
- He of the probe and forceps comes to the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Gentlemen,” he says, palms outward with a sort of deprecatory gesture—“gentlemen,
- Mr. Dickinson is dead.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General knocks the ashes from his pipe. Then he crosses to the open
- window and looks out into the May sunshine. From over near the poplar wood
- drifts up the liquid whistle of a quail. Presently he returns to his seat
- and begins refilling his pipe.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It speaks worlds for your will power, that you should have kept your feet
- after being hit so hard. Not one in ten thousand could have held himself
- together while he made that shot!” This is a marvelous burst of loquacity
- for hair-trigger Overton, who deals out words as some men deal out ducats.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I was thinking on <i>her</i>, whom his slanderous tongue had hurt. I
- should have stood there till I killed him, though he had shot me through
- the heart!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VIII—ENGLAND AND GRIM-VISAGED WAR
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE saw-handles are
- cleaned and oiled and laid away to that repose which they have won. No
- more will they be summoned to defend the blooming Rachel. No one now
- speaks evil of her; for that tragedy which reddened a May Kentucky morning
- has sealed the lips of slander. The General does not speak of that battle
- at twelve paces in the poplar wood; and yet the blooming Rachel knows.
- She, like her lover-husband, never refers to it; but her worship of him
- finds multiplication, while he, towards her, grows more and more the
- Bayard. Much are they revered and looked up to along the Cumberland, he
- for his gentle loyalty, she for her love; and the common tongue is
- tireless in reciting the story of their perfect happiness.
- </p>
- <p>
- The currents of time roll on and the General is busy with his planting,
- his storekeeping, and his boat building. He is fortunate; and the
- three-sided profits pile themselves into moderate riches. In the midst of
- his prosperity he is visited by Aaron Burr. The late vice-president has
- killed Alexander Hamilton—a name despised along the Cumberland. Also
- he was aforetime the champion of Tennessee, when she asked the boon of
- statehood.
- </p>
- <p>
- For these sundry matters, as well as for what good unconscious lessons in
- deportment were taught him by the courtly Colonel Burr, the General fails
- not to take that polished exile to his heart and to his hearth. Colonel
- Burr is in and out of Nashville many times. He comes and goes and comes
- and goes and comes again; and writes his daughter Theodosia:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am housed with General Jackson, who is one of those prompt, frank,
- loyal souls whom I like.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Burr has been in France, and tells the General of Napoleon. He
- draws a battle map of Quebec, shows where Montgomery fell, and relates how
- he, Colonel Burr, bore that dead chieftain from the field. In the end, he
- gives a dim outline of his dreams for the conquest of that Spanish
- America, lying on the thither side of the Mississippi; and to these latter
- tales of empire the General lends eager ear.
- </p>
- <p>
- By the General's suggestion a dinner is given at the Nashville Inn in
- honor of Colonel Burr. The General presides, and, with a heart full of
- anger against Barbary pirates, offers among others the toast:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Burr, being dined, confides to the General how he is not without
- an ally in the Southwest, and says that Commander Wilkinson, in control
- for the Government at New Orleans, stands ready to advance his
- anti-Spanish projects. At the name of “Wilkinson” the General shakes his
- prudent head. He declares that Commander Wilkinson is a faithless, caitiff
- creature, with a brandified nose, a coward heart, and a weakness for
- breaking his word. The crafty Burr, confident to vanity of his own genius
- for intrigue, insists that he can trust Commander Wilkinson. Then he
- arranges with the General for the building of a flotilla of flat-boats at
- the latter's yards, and goes his scheming way. Later, when Colonel Burr is
- on trial for treason in Richmond, the General will ride over the Blue
- Ridge to give him aid and comfort, and make street-corner speeches
- defending him, wherein he will say things more explicit than flattering
- concerning President Jefferson, who is urging the prosecution of Colonel
- Burr.
- </p>
- <p>
- The hours, never resting, never sleeping, march onward with our
- planter-General, until the procession in its passing is remembered and
- spoken of as years. Then comes the war with England. That saber scar on
- the General's head begins to throb, and he sends word to Washington that
- he is ready, with twenty-five hundred of his hunting-shirt militia, to
- kill British wherever they shall be found.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Government thanks him, and orders him with his hunting-shirt followers
- to report to General Wilkinson at New Orleans. The General does not like
- this, the Wilkinson in question being that red-nosed renegade one, against
- whom long ago he warned the ambitious Colonel Burr. For all that, orders
- are orders; and besides a fight under any commander is not to be despised.
- The General presently hurries his hunting-shirt forces aboard flatboats,
- and floats away on the convenient bosom of the Cumberland. He will go down
- that stream to the Ohio, and so to the Mississippi and to New Orleans. As
- they float downward with the stream, the General recalls a former voyage
- when love and the blooming Rachel were his companions, and is heard to
- sigh.
- </p>
- <p>
- At Natchez, word from Commander Wilkinson meets the General. He is told to
- land, and wait for further orders. The General takes his boys of the
- hunting shirts ashore, and pitches camp. Privily he unbends in oaths and
- maledictions, all addressed to the ex-grocer Wilkinson; for he thinks the
- order, preventing his entrance into New Orleans, born of the mean rivalry
- of that red-nosed ignobility.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General waits, and curses Commander Wilkinson, for divers weeks. Then
- occurs one of those imbecilities, of which only the witlessness of
- Government is capable, and whereof the archives at Washington carry so
- many examples. The General receives a curt dispatch from the war
- secretary, “dismissing” him and his hunting-shirt soldiers from the
- service of the United States. Not a word is said as to pay, or provision
- for returning to the Cumberland. Having gotten the General and his little
- army several hundred wilderness miles from home, the thick-head
- Government, with no intelligence and as little heart, coolly reduces him
- and them to the practical status of vagrants; which feat accomplished, it
- walks away, as it were, hands in pockets, whistling “Yankee Doodle.”
- Possibly, the Government thinks that the General and his hunting-shirt
- friends can float upstream as they floated down. The angry General,
- however, makes no such marine mistake, and the intricate oaths which he
- now evolves and fulminates, as expressive of his feelings, would have won
- the admiration of any army that ever fought in Flanders.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's credit is golden, since he has ever been a fanatic about
- paying debts. Invoking that credit, he cashes a handful of drafts, and
- marches home with his hunting-shirt contingent at his own expense. Also he
- indites a letter to that war secretary which reddens the latter's
- departmental ears, and causes his departmental head to buzz like a nest of
- hornets. Later, the Government pays the General the amount of those
- drafts; not because it is right—since the argument of right has
- little Washington weight—but for the far more moving reason that
- Tennessee, in a rage, is preparing to desert the boneless President
- Madison for the Federalists. It is the latter thought which brings a ray
- of common sense to the besotted Government, and his money to our General,
- now back in Tennessee.
- </p>
- <p>
- The bellicose General is vastly disappointed at missing a brush with
- invading British; for, aside from a saber-engrafted hatred of all English
- things and men, he is one to dote on fighting for fighting's crimson sake,
- and is almost as well pleased with mere battle as with victory. However,
- he is given scanty room for sorrowful reflections, since fate is hurrying
- to his relief with a private war of his own.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General, ever an expositor of the duello, and the peaceful hours
- resting heavy on his hands, goes out as second for a Captain Carroll
- against Mr. Jesse Benton. Captain Carroll is shot in the toe, and Mr.
- Benton in the leg; whereat the General and the Cumberland public groan
- over results so inadequate.
- </p>
- <p>
- Being thus shot in the leg, Mr. Benton displays his bad taste by falling
- into a fury with the General. He recounts what he regards as his “wrongs”
- to his brother Thomas, and that intemperate individual loses no time in
- taking up his brother's quarrel. The pair say things of the General which
- would arouse the wrath of an image; with that, the General calls for his
- saw-handles, and begins to plan trouble for those verbally reckless
- Bentons.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General takes with him as guide, philosopher and friend, his faithful
- subaltern, Colonel Coffee. The two establish themselves, strategically, at
- the Nashville Inn.
- </p>
- <p>
- Across the corner of the public square upon which the Nashville Inn finds
- hospitable frontage, stands the City Hotel. Sunning themselves in the
- veranda of the latter caravansary, but with war written upon their angry
- visages, the General and the faithful Coffee perceive the brothers Benton.
- The enemies glare at one another, and the General says to Colonel Coffee
- that they will now go to the post office. Since a trip to the post office
- is calculated to bring them within touching distance of the brothers
- Benton, Colonel Coffee at once discerns the propriety of such a journey.
- </p>
- <p>
- The pair go to the post office, staring haughtily at the brothers Benton
- as they pass. The brothers Benton, for their side, being apoplectic of
- habit, grow black in the face with rage.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having visited the post office, and being now upon their return, the
- General and Colonel Coffee again draw near the apoplectic Bentons,
- glowering from their veranda. When within three feet of them, the General
- abruptly whips out one of those celebrated saw-handles, and jams its
- muzzle against the horrified stomach of brother Thomas Benton. That
- imperiled personage thereupon backs rapidly away from the saw-handle,
- which as rapidly follows; while the public, assembling on the run,
- confidently expects the General to shoot brother Thomas Benton in two.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General might have done so, and thus gratified the public, but the
- unexpected occurs. As brother Thomas Benton backs briskly from the muzzle
- of the saw-handle, brother Jesse, who is not wanting in a genius for
- decision, whirls, and from a huge horse pistol plants two balls in the
- General's left shoulder. As the warrior goes down, Colonel Coffee empties
- his pistol at brother Thomas, who avoids having his head blown off only by
- the fortunate fact of a cellar, into whose receptive depths he tumbles,
- just in what novelists call “the nick of time.” As brother Thomas lapses
- into the cellar, young Hays, a nephew of the blooming Rachel, hurls
- brother Jesse to the floor, to which he makes heartfelt attempts to pin
- him with a dirk, but is baffled by the activity of the restless brother
- Jesse, who will not lie still to be pinned.
- </p>
- <p>
- The whole riot has not covered the space of sixty seconds, when the
- public, suddenly conceiving its duty to lie in that direction, seizes
- young Hays, releases the recumbent brother Jesse, disarms Colonel Coffee,
- fishes brother Thomas out of that receptive cellar, and carries the badly
- wounded General to a bed in the Nashville Inn. The City Hotel mentions its
- own beds, and lays claim to the injured General, on the argument that the
- battle has been fought in its bar. The claim is disallowed and the General
- conveyed to the rival hostelry aforesaid, as being peculiarly his own
- proper inn, since it is there he has ever repaired for billiards, mint
- juleps, and to hold conferences over pipe and glass with his friends.
- </p>
- <p>
- Once in bed, the local surgeons burst in and offer to cut off the
- General's arm. The offer is declined fiercely and a poultice of
- slippery-elm bark is substituted for that proposed surgery. This latter
- medicament works wonders; under its soothing influences, and the
- revivifying effects of whisky—both being remedies much in vogue
- along the Cumberland—the General begins to mend.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General, the patient object of a deal of slippery-elm bark and whisky—the
- one applied externally and the other internally—lies in bed a month.
- Then the awful word arrives of the massacre at Fort Mims. Five hundred and
- fifty-three souls have been slaughtered, and Chief Weathersford with all
- his Creeks, valor sharpened by English gold and English firewater, is
- reported on the warpath. The news brings the General out of bed in a
- moment. His friends remonstrate, the doctors command, the blooming Rachel
- pleads; but he puts them aside. Gaunt of cheek, face paper-white with
- weakness, left arm in a sling, he climbs painfully into the saddle and
- takes command.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General sends Colonel Coffee and his mounted riflemen to the fore,
- with orders to wait for him at Fayettesville. Meanwhile, he himself
- lingers briefly to enroll and organize his little army. A few weeks later
- he follows the doughty Coffee, and the entire command—horns full of
- powder, pouches heavy with bullets, hunting knives whetted to a razor edge—moves
- southward after hostile Creeks.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IX—THE GENERAL AT THE HORSESHOE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General goes to
- Fayettesville, and orders Colonel Coffee with his eager five hundred to
- Huntsville, as a point nearer the heart of savage war. Volunteers, each
- bringing his own rifle and riding his own horse, join Colonel Coffee, who
- sends back inspiring word that his five hundred have grown to thirteen
- hundred, all thirsting for Creek blood. Meanwhile, the General, weak and
- worn to a shadow, can hardly keep the saddle, and must be bathed hourly in
- whisky to hold soul and body together. Unable to eat, he lives by his will
- alone. The shot-shattered left arm, lest he faint with the awful agony
- which attends its least disturbance, is bound tightly to his side.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General takes the field, and presently comes up with the Creeks. He
- smites them hip and thigh at Tallushatches, Talladega, and divers other
- places of equally complicated names, slaying hundreds while losing few
- himself. The Creeks give way before the invincible General. Wherever he
- goes they scatter like an affrighted flock of blackbirds.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Indian is terrible only when he is winning. He is not upholstered,
- whether mentally or morally, for an uphill, losing war. The General would
- like it better if this were otherwise. Could he but coax his evanescent
- enemy into a pitched battle, he would break both his heart and his power
- with one and the same blow.
- </p>
- <p>
- Chief Weathersford is as well aware of this defect in the Indian make-up
- as is the General. He himself is half white, and knows what points of
- strength and weakness belong with either race. Wherefore, when now his
- Creeks have been beaten, and their hearts are low in defeat, he makes no
- effort to lead them against the General's front; but breaks them into
- squads and little bands, with directions to harass the hunting-shirt men
- and hang about their flanks in the name of flea-bite annoyance and
- isolated scalps. Thus is the General plagued and fatigued nigh unto death,
- without once being able to lay hand upon those skulking, hiding, flying
- foot-Parthians against whom he has come forth.
- </p>
- <p>
- Also, he and his hunting-shirt men are getting farther and farther from
- anything that might be termed a base of supplies. At last, many a pathless
- mile through wood and swamp, and many an unbridged river, lie between the
- nearest barrel of flour and their stomachs clamorous for food.
- </p>
- <p>
- The military stomach is the first great base of every military operation.
- The war-wise Frederick had it for his aphorism, that an army is so much
- like a snake it can move forward only on its belly. The General is made
- painfully aware of this truism when he and his hunting-shirt men find
- themselves penned up with starvation at Fort Strother. In the teeth of his
- troubles, however, he makes shift to send home an orphaned papoose for the
- blooming Rachel to raise.
- </p>
- <p>
- Famine takes command at Fort Strother, and the General writes: “He is an
- enemy I dread more than hostile Creeks—I mean the meager monster,
- Famine!” There is murmuring among the hunting-shirt men, who have, with
- the appetite common to bordermen, that contempt of discipline which
- belongs to their rude caste. They are reduced to roots and berries, with
- an occasional pigeon or squirrel, which latter diminutive deer no one
- waits to cook, but devours raw. One day a backwoods boy, whose appetite is
- even with his effrontery, waylays the General on his rounds and demands
- food.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Here is what I was saving for supper,” says the General; “you may have
- that.” And he tosses the hungry one a double handful of acorns.
- </p>
- <p>
- The starving hunting-shirt men mutiny; they draw themselves up preparatory
- to marching north, to find that home-fatness which waits for them on the
- Cumberland. At this the General changes his manner. Heretofore he has been
- the symbol of fatherly sympathy and toleration. He can make excuses for
- the grumbling of hungry men, and makes them. But this goes beyond
- grumbling, which, when all is in, comes to be no more than a healthful
- blowing off of angry steam; this is desertion by wholesale.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the lean-flanked, rancorous ones line up to begin their homeward march,
- the General, haggard and emaciated by those Benton wounds and a want of
- food, rides out in front. Halting forty yards from the foremost mutineers,
- he swings from the saddle. In his right hand he carries a long
- eight-square rifle. This, since he has no left hand to support his aim, he
- runs across the empty saddle. Being ready, he calls on the hunting-shirt
- men to give the order to march, if they dare.
- </p>
- <p>
- “For by the Eternal,” says he, “I'll shoot down the first of you who takes
- a forward step!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The sulky, hungry hunting-shirt men scowl at the General. He scowls back
- at them, with the wicked ferocity of a tiger and an iron determination not
- to be revoked. And thus they stand glaring—one against hundreds!
- Then the courage of the hungry hundreds oozes away, and they fall back
- before that menacing apparition which glowers at them along the rifle
- barrel. They melt away by the rear, those hunting-shirt men, and lurk off
- to their quarters—ashamed of their weakness, yet afraid to go on.
- </p>
- <p>
- At last, a herd of beef, quite as gaunt as the starved hunting-shirt men
- themselves, arrives. Fires are set going and knives drawn. There is a
- measureless eating. Belts are let out to the full-fed holes of other days;
- mutiny, like an evil spirit, takes its flight. The gorged hunting-shirt
- men, as though in amends for their scowl-ings and mutinous grumblings, beg
- to be led instantly against the Creeks. This the General is very willing
- to do, since he suspects the Creeks of possessing corn.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's scouts tell him that the scattered Creeks are collecting in
- force at the Horseshoe. Upon this news, one bright morning the General
- rides out of Fort Strother, and his recuperated hunting-shirt men, two
- thousand strong, are at his back.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Horseshoe is a loop-like bend in the Tallapoosa, which incloses a
- round one hundred heavily-timbered acres. Across the open end, three
- hundred and fifty yards wide, the British engineers have taught the Creeks
- to throw up a fortification of logs. Behind this bulwark is gathered the
- fighting flower of the Creeks, more than one thousand warriors in all.
- </p>
- <p>
- Arriving in front of the log bulwark, the General, with the experienced
- Coffee, pushes forward to reconnoiter.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We can thank the British for that,” says the General, tossing his
- indignant right hand toward the Creek defenses. “Billy Weathers-ford, even
- with the half-white blood that's in him, would never have designed it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The astute Coffee makes a suggestion and, acting on it, the General
- dispatches him by a roundabout march to take the Creeks from behind. The
- fatuous savages flatter themselves that the wide-flowing Tallapoosa will
- defend their rear. All they need do, they think, is lie behind those
- English-log breastworks and knock over whatever obnoxious paleface shows
- his head. This is an admirable programme, and comforting to the cockles of
- the aboriginal heart. There is but one trouble; it won't work.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the circuitous Coffee begins to swing wide for his stealthy creep to
- the rear, the General covers the strategy with a brace of brawling
- nine-pounders. Inside the log breastworks, he hears the “tunk! tunk!” of
- the “medicine” drum, and the measured chant of the prophets promising
- victory. In the midst of the prophetic chantings and the dull thumping of
- the tomtoms, the nine-pounders roar and bury their shot in the log
- breastworks. The shot do no harm, and serve but to excite the ribald mirth
- of the Creeks. The latter can speak enough English for the purposes of
- insult, and scoff and jeer at the General, whom they describe—having
- in mind his lean form—as a lance shaft, harmless, because wanting a
- keen head. They storm at him with opprobrious epithet, and invite him,
- unless he be a coward, to come to them over their breastworks. The General
- pays no heed to the contumely of the Creeks; he is bending his ear to
- catch, above the din of his nine-pounders, the earliest signal of the
- redoubtable Coffee's attack.
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Coffee and his riflemen, horses at a walk, pick their difficult
- way through the woods. It is a matter of no little time before they find
- themselves at the toe of the Horseshoe, and in the ignorant rear of the
- Creeks. Between them and those one hundred tree-grown acres held by the
- enemy flows the Tallapoosa—turbid, wide and deep. Across, they see
- the canoes, which the stupidity of the Creeks has left without so much as
- a squaw or a papoose to guard them. In a moment, a score have thrown off
- their hunting shirts, and are in the river. They swim like so many
- Newfoundlands, and come out dripping, but happy, on the farther side.
- Presently each of the swimming score is upon his return trip, towing a
- dozen of the largest canoes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Leaving a horse guard to look after the mounts, Colonel Coffee embarks his
- command in the canoes; ten minutes later, the last fighting man jack of
- them is on the other side. They hear the boom of the nine-pounders, and
- the yells and war shouts of the Creeks. Also they discover the wickiups of
- the Creeks, hidden away, with their squaws and papooses, in a thickety
- corner of the wood.
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Coffee, who, for all he is a backwoodsman, is not without certain
- sparks and spunks of military skill, sets fire to the wickiups, as an
- excellent sure method of wringing the withers and distracting the
- attention of the fighting Creeks at the front. The flames go crackling
- skyward; the squaws and papooses rush yelling from the slight houses of
- wattled willow twigs and bark, and scuttle into the underbrush like
- rabbits. Unlike rabbits, being in the underbrush, they set up such a
- dismal tempest of howls, that those rearmost Creeks who hear it come
- running to learn what disaster has seized upon their households.
- </p>
- <p>
- Before they can make extensive inquiry, Colonel Coffee and his riflemen
- open on them with a storm of bullets; and next, each man takes a tree. The
- war now proceeds Creek fashion, every man—white and red—fighting
- for himself. There is a difference, however; for while the hunting-shirt
- men are dead shots, the Creeks prove themselves such wretchedly bad
- marksmen—not understanding a rear sight, which article of gun
- furniture is a mystery to the Indian mind even unto this day—as to
- provoke a deal of hunting-shirt laughter.
- </p>
- <p>
- Slowly but surely the Creeks give way before that low-flying sleet of
- lead. As they give way, running from one tree to another, their
- hunting-shirt foe presses forward—as deadly a skirmish line as ever
- commander threw out!
- </p>
- <p>
- The quick ear of the General catches the firing down at the toe of the
- Horseshoe. It tells him that Colonel Coffee is busy with the Creek rear.
- Also, he gets a far-off glimpse, through the trees, of the smoke and
- flames from those burning wickiups, and understands the message of them.
- </p>
- <p>
- Drawing off the futile nine-pounders, the General orders a charge, the
- amateur artillerists taking up their rifles with the others. At the word,
- the hunting-shirt men rush forward, and go over the log breastworks like
- cats.
- </p>
- <p>
- The one earliest to scale the breastworks—quick as a panther, strong
- as a bear—is Ensign Sam Houston. The Southwest will hear more of him
- before all is done. That lively youth, however, is not thinking of the
- future; for an arrow, excessively of the present, has just pierced his
- thigh, and is demanding his whole attention. Shutting his teeth like a
- trap to control the pain, he snaps the shaft and draws the arrow from the
- wound. A moment later, the surgeon bandages it.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General is standing near, and waxes conservative touching Ensign Sam
- Houston.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don't go back!” commands the General shortly. “That arrow through your
- leg should be enough.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Ensign Sam Houston says nothing, but the moment his commander's back is
- turned rushes headlong over those log breastworks again. Later he is
- picked up with two bullets in him, which serve to keep him quiet for nigh
- a fortnight.
- </p>
- <p>
- Once the hunting-shirt men are across the log breastworks, a slow and
- painstaking killing ensues. Not a Creek asks quarter; not a Creek accepts
- it when tendered. It is to be a fight to the death—a fight
- unsparing, relentless, grim!
- </p>
- <p>
- “Remember Fort Mims!” shout the hunting-shirt men, working away with,
- rifle and axe and knife.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Creeks, caught between the General and Colonel Coffee, hide in clumps
- of bushes or behind logs. From these slight coverts, the hunting-shirt men
- flush them, as setters flush birds, and shoot them as they fly. Once a
- Creek is down, out flashes the ready hunting knife and a Creek scalp is
- torn off; for the hunting-shirt men, on a principle that fights Satan with
- fire, have adopted the war habits of their red enemy.
- </p>
- <p>
- The hunting-shirt men range up and down, quartering those one hundred
- acres of Horseshoe wood like hounds, killing out in all directions. Now
- and then a warrior, sorely crowded, leaps into the Tallapoosa, and strikes
- forth for the opposite shore. His feather-tufted head is seen bobbing on
- the muddy surface of the river. To gentlemen who, offhand, make nothing of
- a turkey's head at one hundred yards, those brown bobbing feather-tufted
- Creek heads are child's play. A rifle cracks; the shot-pierced Creek
- springs clear of the water with a death yell, and then goes bubbling to
- the bottom. Sometimes two rifles crack; in which double event the Creek
- takes with him to the bottom two bullets instead of one.
- </p>
- <p>
- The slaughter moves forward slowly, but satisfactorily, for hours. It is
- ten o'clock in the night when the last Creek is killed, and the
- hunting-shirt men, hungry with a hard day's work, may think on supper. Of
- the red one thousand and more who manned those British-built
- fortifications in the morning, not two-score get away. It is the Creek
- Thermopylae.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's triumph at the Horseshoe puts the last paragraph to the last
- chapter of the Creek wars. Also, it disappoints certain English prospects,
- and defeats for all time those savage hopes of a general race battle
- against the paleface, the fires of which the dead Tecumseh so long
- supported by his eloquence and fed with deeds of valor. By way of a
- finishing touch, from which the hue of romance is not wanting, the
- terrible Weathersford rides in, on his famous gray war horse, and gives
- himself up to the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You may kill me,” says Weathersford. “I am ready to die, for I have
- beheld the destruction of my people. No one will hereafter fear the
- Creeks, who are broken and gone. I come now to save the women and little
- children starving in the forest.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0127.jpg" alt="0127 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0127.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- The hunting-shirt men, not at all sentimental, lift up their voices in
- favor of slaying the chief. At that the General steps in between.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The man who would kill a prisoner,” he cries, “is a dog and the son of a
- dog. To him who touches Weathersford I promise a noose and the nearest
- tree.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General leads his hunting-shirt men by easy marches back to that
- impatient plenty which awaits their coming on the Cumberland. The public
- welcomes him with shout and toss of hat, while the blooming Rachel gives
- her hero measureless love and tenderness. The General's one hundred and
- fifty slaves, agog with joy and fire water, make merry for two round days.
- They would have enlarged that festival to three days, but the stern
- overseer intervenes to recall them to the laborious realities of life.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the General begins to have the better of his fatigue and sickness—albeit
- that Benton-wounded left arm is still in a sling—a note is put in
- his hands. The note is from the War Department in Washington, and reads:
- “Andrew Jackson of Tennessee is appointed Major General in the Army of the
- United States, vice William Henry Harrison, resigned.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER X—FLORIDA DELENDA EST
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General, at the
- behest of the blooming Rachel, rests for three round weeks, which seem to
- his fight-loving soul like three round years. Then the Government sends
- him to Fort Jackson to dictate terms of peace to the broken Creeks.
- </p>
- <p>
- The latter assemble, war paints washed off, in a deeply thoughtful, if not
- a peaceful, mood.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General proposes terms which well nigh amount to a wiping out of the
- Creek landed possessions. The Creeks go into secret council, as it were
- executive session, and bemoan their desperate lot. They curse the English
- who urged them to that butchery of Fort Mims and then deserted them.
- Beyond relieving their minds, however, the curses accomplish no Creek
- good. They must still face the inveterate General, whose word is, “Your
- lives or your lands!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The mournful, beaten Creeks come forth from executive session, and the
- great formal conference begins. The council is called on the flat
- field-like expanse in front of the General's imposing marquee—for he
- has come to this mission with no little of pompous style, to the end that
- the Creek mind be impressed.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Creek chiefs, blanketed to the ears, feathered to the eyes, sit about,
- crosslegged like tailors, in a half circle, their only weapon a sacred
- red-stone pipe. The General, blazing in a new uniform, comes out of his
- marquee. With him are Colonel Coffee, Colonel Hawkins, and lastly, Colonel
- Hayne, the brother of him who will one day cross blades in Senate debate
- with the lion-faced Webster, and have the worst of it.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the General steps forward an orderly leads up his great war horse, as
- though the conference might lapse into battle, and he must be ready to
- mount and fight. To the rear, his hunting-shirt men, one thousand strong,
- are drawn out, as following forth those precautions which produce the
- General's war horse. The Creeks, at these evidences of suspicious
- alertness, never move a bronze muscle; they pass the sacred redstone pipe
- with gravity unmoved, and puff away as though the last thing they suspect
- is suspicion.
- </p>
- <p>
- Big Warrior makes a speech, and is followed by She-lok-tah, the tribal
- Demosthenes. The General shakes his grim head at their protests; there is
- no help for it, they must give him his way or fight. The Creeks bow to the
- inevitable, and give the General his way; which bowing submission is the
- less disgraceful, since both the Spanish at Pensacola and the English at
- New Orleans, in a brief handful of months, under pressures less stringent
- than are those which now and here in front of the Generali great marquee
- bear down the broken hopeless Creeks, will follow their abject example.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having made peace with the Creeks on the Tallapoosa, the General lets his
- angry, warseeking eye rove in the direction of Florida. Many of the
- hostile Creek Red Sticks have fled to cover there, where they are made
- welcome by the Spanish Governor Maurequez, and petted and pampered by
- Colonel Nichols and Captain Woodbine of the English. The besotted Governor
- Maurequez has permitted these latter to land an English force, and,
- inspired by his native hatred of Americans and the sight of British ships
- of war in Pensacola harbor, has surrendered to them the last stitch of
- Florida control.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General guesses these things and sends out scouts to make discoveries.
- Meanwhile, he marches his hunting-shirt men to Mobile, which his instincts—never
- at fault in war—warn him will be the next English point of attack.
- Word has reached him of the downfall of Napoleon, and he foresees that
- this will release against America the utmost energies of England, who in
- thirty odd years has not forgotten Yorktown nor despaired of its repair.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's scouts are a sleepless, observant, close-going set of
- gentlemen, and fairly enter Pensacola. Presently, they are back with the
- news that two flags float in friendly partnership on the battlements of
- Fort St. Michael, one English and one Spanish. Also, seven English war
- ships ride in the harbor.
- </p>
- <p>
- They likewise say that the popinjay Colonel Nichols is issuing
- proclamations to “The People of Louisiana,” demanding that, as “Frenchmen,
- Spaniards, and English,” they arise and “throw off the American yoke”;
- that Captain Woodbine is assembling the fugitive Red Sticks by scores, and
- reviving their drooping spirits with English gold, English guns, English
- gin, and English red coats.
- </p>
- <p>
- Captain Woodbine, it appears, is so dull as to think he may make regular
- soldiers of the untamed Red Sticks, and drills them in the Pensacola
- plaza, where they handle their new muskets much as a cow might a cant
- hook, and look like copper-colored apes in those gorgeous red coats. The
- tactical, yet tactless, Captain Woodbine even makes his red command a
- speech, and is so unguarded as to refer to “General Jackson.” This is a
- blunder, since instantly half the assembled Red Sticks desert, taking with
- them the guns, gin, and jackets which have been conferred upon them. The
- oratorical Captain Woodbine is deeply impressed by the awful effect of the
- General's name upon his red recruits, and their terror communicates itself
- to him. He has difficulty in restraining himself from deserting with them,
- but takes final courage and remains. Only he is at pains to delete
- “General Jackson” from subsequent eloquence, and never again mentions that
- paladin of the Cumberland in the quaking presence of a Red Stick Creek.
- </p>
- <p>
- By way of adding to these hardy doings, the wordy popinjay, Colonel
- Nichols, fulminates new proclamations, comic in their ignorance and
- bombast. He believes that the formidable General can be whipped by
- manifestoes. As against this belief, however, most careful preparations
- move forward aboard the English ships, looking to the destruction of Fort
- Bowyer and the capture of Mobile; for Captain Percy of the <i>Hermes</i>,
- who has command of the fleet, is altogether a practical person, and pins
- no faith to proclamations and Indians in red coats when it comes to
- bringing a foe to his knees.
- </p>
- <p>
- All these interesting items are laid before the General by his painstaking
- scouts, and he is peculiarly struck with the word about Captain Percy and
- Mobile. He sends back his scouts for another bagful of news, and begins to
- strengthen and stiffen Fort Bowyer, thirty miles below the town.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having patched up this redoubt to his taste, the General puts Major
- Lawrence in command, and tells him to fight his batteries while a man
- remains alive. Major Lawrence says he will; and, not having a ship, but a
- fort, to defend, he follows as nearly as he may the motto of his heroic
- relative, and issues the watchword, “Don't give up the Fort!” Leaving
- Major Lawrence in this high vein, the General goes back to Mobile to
- concert plans for its protection.
- </p>
- <p>
- Captain Percy of the <i>Hermes</i> is a gallant man, but a bad judge of
- Americans. He tells the proclaiming Colonel Nichols that he will take four
- ships and capture Fort Bowyer in twenty minutes. Colonel Nichols has so
- little trouble in believing this that he conceives the deed of conquest
- already done. Full of hope and strong waters—for the English have
- not given the thirsty Red Sticks all their gin—he is so far worked
- upon by Captain Percy's turgid prophecies as to issue a new proclamation,
- declaring Fort Bowyer taken, and showing how, presently, the English
- intend doing likewise at New Orleans. Having taken time so conspicuously
- by the forelock, the anticipatory Colonel Nichols—who has never been
- in the chicken trade, and therefore knows nothing of what perils attend a
- count of poultry noses before the poultry are hatched—goes aboard
- the <i>Hermes</i>, with Captain Woodbine and others of his staff; for he
- would be on the ground, when Fort Bowyer and Mobile succumb, ready to
- assume control of those strongholds.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is no mighty voyage from Pensacola to Mobile, and a half day's sail
- will bring Colonel Nichols and Captain Percy within point-blank range of
- Fort Bowyer. Taking a bright, cool morning for it, Captain Percy lets fall
- his topsails, and forges seaward, followed by the cordial wishes of
- Governor Maurequez who, glass in hand, drinks “Good voyage!” from the
- ramparts of St. Michael.
- </p>
- <p>
- “All I regret is,” cries the valorous Governor Maurequez, in the politest
- phrases of Castile, “that you brave English will destroy these vagabonds,
- and thus deprive me and my heroic soldiery of the pleasure of their
- obliteration, when they shall have invaded our beloved Florida.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Away go the English war ships in line, like a quartette of geese crossing
- a mill pond, the <i>Hermes</i>, Captain Percy, in the van. The fleet
- rounds the lower extremity of Mobile Point, out of range from Fort Bowyer,
- and lands Colonel Nichols with a force of foot soldiers and a howitzer.
- This military feat accomplished, the fleet, still like geese in line, bear
- up until abreast of the Fort, which is a musket shot away.
- </p>
- <p>
- There is no time wasted. The <i>Hermes</i> lets go her anchors and swings
- broadside-on to the Fort. The others follow suit. Then, with a crashing
- discharge of big guns by way of overture, the fight is on.
- </p>
- <p>
- Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes go by; shots fly and shells
- burst, and Major Lawrence still holds the fort. Evidently Captain Percy
- cut his time too fine! Then, one hour, two hours follow, and Major
- Lawrence's twenty-four pounders are making matches of the <i>Hermes</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the merry war progresses, Colonel Nichols, with much ardor and no
- discernment, drags his howitzer to a strategic sand hill, and fires one
- shot at Fort Bowyer. It is a badly considered movement, the instant effect
- being to draw the Fort's horns his way. The southern battery of the Fort
- opens upon him like a tornado, and he and his fellow artillerists retire—without
- their howitzer. The most discouraging feature is that a stone, sent flying
- from the strategic sand hill by a cannon ball, knocks out one of Colonel
- Nichols's eyes. After this exploit, the one-eyed proclamationist, much
- saddened, but with wisdom increased, is content to stand afar off, and
- leave the down-battering of Fort Bowyer to the fleet.
- </p>
- <p>
- This down-battering Captain Percy and his sailormen do their tarry best to
- bring about. But, as hour after hour drifts to leeward in the smoke of
- their broadsides, and the stubborn Lawrence continues to send his hail of
- twenty-four-pound shot aboard, it begins to creep upon Captain Percy, like
- mosses upon stone, that Fort Bowyer is a nut beyond the power of even his
- iron teeth to crack. As a red-hot shot sets fire to the <i>Hermes</i> and
- explodes her magazine, the impression deepens to apprehension, which, when
- the <i>Sophia</i> is reported sinking, ripens rapidly into conviction.
- Major Lawrence, with his “Don't give up the Fort!” all but blots Captain
- Percy—who has tenfold his force—off the face of the Gulf, and
- he does it with a loss of eight men killed and wounded to an English loss
- of over three hundred.
- </p>
- <p>
- Captain Percy, whipped and broken-hearted, shifts his flag and what is
- left of his <i>Hermes''</i> crew to the <i>Sophia</i>, and, pumps clanking
- hysterically to keep-himself afloat, goes limping back to Pensacola,
- lighted on his defeated way by the flare and glare from the blazing <i>Hermes</i>.
- As the English pass the extreme southern tip of Mobile Point, as far from
- the unmannerly batteries of Fort Bowyer as the lay of the land permits,
- they pick up the one-eyed proclamationist, Colonel Nichols, and his
- howitzerless men.
- </p>
- <p>
- The fleet, battered, torn, sails adroop, with the <i>Sophia</i> three feet
- below her trim from shot-admitted water in her hold, reaches Pensacola.
- Governor Maurequez looks scornfully dark, but, Spaniard-like, shrugs his
- vainglorious shoulders and says to an aide:
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is nothing! They are but English pigs! When this General Jackson
- reaches Pensacola—if he should be so great a fool as to come—we
- cavaliers of old Spain will tear him to pieces, as tigers rend their prey.
- Yes, <i>amigo</i>, we will show these beaten pigs of English how the proud
- blood of the Cid can fight.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Red Stick Creeks, furnished of a better intelligence, in no wise adopt
- the high-flying sentiments of Governor Maurequez. The moment the English
- come halting into the harbor, the awful name of “General Jackson!” leaps
- from aboriginal lip to lip. Hastily tearing off Captain Woodbine's red
- coats as garments full of probable trouble, but taking with them his new
- guns, the frightened Red Sticks head south for the Everglades, first
- drinking up what remains of their gin. Not a hostile Creek will thereafter
- be found within a day's ride of the General; all of those English plans,
- which seek the aid of savage axe and knife and torch, are to fall to
- pieces.
- </p>
- <p>
- Captain Percy, made ten years older by that fight and failure at Fort
- Bowyer, goes about the repair of his ships; Colonel Nichols, omitting for
- the nonce all further proclamations, nurses his wounds; Captain Woodbine,
- having now no Indians, abandons his daily drills on the plaza; Governor
- Maurequez, whispering with his aide, brags in chosen Spanish of what he
- will do to thick-skull vagabond Americans should they put themselves in
- his devouring path; while over at Mobile the General hugs Major Lawrence
- to his bosom in a storm of approval, and gives that sterling soldier a
- sword of honor.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XI—THE TWO FLAGS AT PENSACOLA
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HOSE two flags,
- one the red flag of England, flying at Pensacola, haunt the General night
- and day. His hunting-shirt men, twenty-eight hundred from his beloved
- Tennessee and twelve hundred from the territories of Mississippi and
- Alabama, are lusting for battle. He resolves to lead them into Florida,
- across the Spanish line.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We must rout the English out of Pensacola!” he explains to Colonel
- Coffee.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Pensacola!” repeats Colonel Coffee, looking thoughtful. “It is Spanish
- territory, General! There is the boundary; and diplomacy, I believe,
- although it is an art whereof I know little, lays stress on the word
- boundary.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Boundary!” snorts the General in dudgeon. “The English are there! Where
- my foe goes, I go; my diplomacy is of the sword.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General elaborates; for he is not without liking the sound of his own
- voice. Governor Maurequez, he says, has welcomed the English; he must
- enlarge that welcome to include Americans.
- </p>
- <p>
- “For I tell you,” goes on the General, “that I shall expect from him the
- same courtesy he extends to Colonel Nichols. Nor do I despair of receiving
- it, since I shall take my artillery. With both Americans and English among
- his guests, if trouble fall out it will be his own fault, and should teach
- him to practice hereafter a less complicated hospitality.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General prepares for the journey to Pensacola. The treasure chest
- shows the usual emptiness, and he exerts his own credit, as he did on a
- Natchez occasion, to provide for his hunting-shirt men. This time the
- Government will honor his drafts promptly, for election day is drawing
- near.
- </p>
- <p>
- One sun-filled autumn morning, the General and his hunting-shirt men march
- away for Pensacola, their hearts full of cheering anticipations of a
- fight, and eight days provant in the commissariat.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We should be there in eight days,” says the General hopefully, “and
- Governor Maurequez and the English must provide for us after that.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General does not overstate the powers of his hunting-shirt men, and
- the eighth morning finds them and him within striking distance of Fort St.
- Michael. The General shades his blue eyes with his hand and scans the
- walls with vicious lynxlike intentness in search of that hated red flag.
- His heart chills when he does not find it. There is the flag of Arragon
- and Castile; but the staff which only yesterday supported the flag of
- England stands an unfurnished, naked spar of pine.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General heaves a sigh.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Coffee,” he says, pathos in his tones, “they have run away.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Possibly,” returns the excellent Coffee, who sees that the General's
- regrets are leveled at an absence of English, and is anxious to console
- him, “possibly they've only retired to Fort Barrancas, six miles below,
- and are waiting for us there.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The disappointed General shakes his head; he does not share the confidence
- of the optimistic Coffee.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Send Major Piere,” he says, “with a flag of truce to announce to the
- Spaniard our purpose of lunching with him. We will ask him, now we're
- here, by what license he gives shelter to our enemies.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Major Piere goes forward, white flag fluttering, and is promptly fired
- upon by Governor Maurequez at the distance of six hundred yards. The balls
- fly wide and high, for the Spaniard shoots like a Creek. Finding himself a
- target, the disgusted Major Piere returns and reports his uncivil
- reception. The General's eyes blaze with a kind of blue fury.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Turn out the troops!” he roars.
- </p>
- <p>
- The drums sound the long roll. The hunting-shirt men are about the cookery—being
- always hungry—of the last of those eight days' rations. When they
- fall into line, the General makes them a speech. It is brief, but
- registers the point of better provender in Pensacola than that which now
- bubbles in their coffee pots and burns on their spits. Whereat the
- hunting-shirt men cheer joyously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The English, too, are there,” concludes the General. Then, in a burst of
- flattering eloquence: “And I know that you would sooner fight Englishmen
- than eat.”
- </p>
- <p>
- At the name of Englishmen, the hunting-shirt men give such a cheer that it
- quite throws that former cheer into the vocal shade. Everyone is in
- immediate favor of rushing on Pensacola.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General becomes cunning, and sends Colonel Coffee with a detachment of
- cavalry to threaten Fort St. Michael from the east. The Spaniards are
- singularly guileless in matters military. That feigned attack succeeds
- beyond expression, and the befogged Governor Maurequez hurries his entire
- garrison to those menaced eastern walls.
- </p>
- <p>
- While the excited Spaniards are making a chattering, magpie fringe along
- the eastern ramparts, the General moves the bulk of his hunting-shirt
- forces, under cover of the woods, to the fort's western face. Once they
- are placed, he gives the order:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Charge!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The word sends the hunting-shirt men at that mud-built citadel with a
- whoop.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Spaniards are unstrung by surprise, and fall to pattering prayers and
- telling beads. In the very midst of their orisons, the hunting-shirt men,
- as in the fight at the Horseshoe, pour like a cataract over the parapet
- and sweep the praying, helpless Spaniards into a corner.
- </p>
- <p>
- The work, however, is not altogether done. When Governor Maurequez gives
- the order to man the eastern walls against the deploying Coffee, he does
- not remain to see it executed.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having sublime faith in the heroism of his followers, for him to
- personally remain, he argues, would be superfluous. Nay, it might even be
- construed into a criticism of his devoted soldiery, as implying a fear
- that they will not fight if relieved of his fiery presence, not to say the
- fiery pressure of his commanding eye. Having thus defined his position,
- the valorous Governor Maurequez, acting in that spirit of compliment
- toward his people which has ever characterized his speech, gathers up his
- gubernatorial skirts and scuttles for his palace like a scared hen
- pheasant.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having swept the walls of St. Michael clean of magpie Spaniards, and run
- up the stars and stripes on the vacant English staff, the General and his
- hunting-shirt men make ready to follow Governor Maurequez to the palace.
- He is to be their host; it is their polite duty to find him with all
- dispatch and offer their compliments.
- </p>
- <p>
- Full of this urbane purpose, they wheel their bristling ranks on the town.
- Approaching double-quick, they casually lick up, as with a tongue of
- flame, a brace of abortive blockhouses which obstruct their path. At this,
- an interior fort opens fire with grapeshot and shrapnel, and the
- hunting-shirt men spring upon it with the ruthless ferocity of panthers.
- To quench it is no more than the fighting work of a moment. The General,
- with his flag already on the ramparts of Fort St. Michael, now feels his
- clutch at the very throat of Pensacola.
- </p>
- <p>
- Governor Maurequez, equipped in his turn of a milk-white flag, bursts from
- the palace portals.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, Senores Americanos,” he cries, “spare, for the love of the Virgin, my
- beautiful Pensacola! As you hope for heaven's mercy, spare my beautiful
- city!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The wild hunting-shirt men are in a jocular mood. The terrified rushing
- about of Governor Maurequez excites their laughter.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Where is your humane General Jackson?” wails Governor Maurequez, in
- appeal to the hunting-shirt men. “Where is he—I beseech you? I hear
- he is the soul of merciful forbearance!”
- </p>
- <p>
- At this the hunting-shirt laughter breaks out with double volume, as
- though Governor Maurequez has evolved a jest.
- </p>
- <p>
- The alarmed Governor, catching sight of a couple of dead Spaniards, fresh
- killed in the struggle with the foolish interior fort, expresses his grief
- in staccato shrieks, which serve as weird marks of punctuation to the
- laughter of the rude hunting-shirt men. The laughter ceases when the
- General himself rides up.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thar's the Gin'ral,” says a hunting-shirt man, biting his merriment short
- off. “Thar's the man of mercy you're asking for.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Governor Maurequez starts back at sight of the gaunt face, emaciated by
- sickness born of those Benton bullets, and yellowed to primrose hue with
- the malaria of the Alabama swamps. The lean figure on the big war stallion
- might remind him of Don Quixote—for he has read and remembers his
- Cervantes—save for the frown like the look of a fighting falcon, and
- the fire-sparkle in the dangerous blue eyes. As it is, he feels that his
- visitor is a perilous man, and begins to bow and cringe.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I beg the victorious Senor General,” says he, pressing meanwhile a right
- hand to his heart, and presenting the white square of truce with the other—“I
- beg the victorious Senor General to spare my beautiful Pensacola!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are Governor Maurequez!” returns the General, hard as flint.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, Senor General; I am Governor Maurequez, as you say. Also”—here
- his voice begins to shake—“I must remind your excellency that this
- is a province of Spain, and ask by what right you invade it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Right!” returns the General, anger rising. “Did you not fire on my
- messenger? Sir, if you were Satan and this your kingdom, it would be the
- same! I would storm the walls of hell itself to get at an Englishman.”
- </p>
- <p>
- There comes the whiplike crack of a rifle almost at the General's elbow.
- Far up the narrow street, full four hundred yards and more, a flying
- Spanish soldier throws up his hands with a death yell, and pitches forward
- on his face. At this, the hunting-shirt man who fired tosses his coonskin
- cap in the air and shouts:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thar, Bill Potter, the jug of whisky's mine! Thar's your Spaniard too
- dead to skin! If the distance ain't four hundred yard, you kin have the
- gun!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What's this?” cries the General fiercely. “Nothin', Gin'ral!” replies the
- hunting-shirt man, abashed at the forbidding manner of the General,
- “nothin', only Bill Potter, from the 'Possum Trot, bets me a jug of whisky
- that old Soapstick here”—holding up his rifle as identifying “old
- Soapstick”—“won't kill at four hundred yard.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Betting, eh!” retorts the General, assuming the coldly implacable. “Now
- it's in my mind, Mr. Soapstick, that unless you mend your morals, some one
- about your size will pass an hour strung up by the thumbs so high his
- moccasins won't touch the grass! How often must I tell you that I'm bound
- to break up gambling among my troops?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The rebuked soapstick one slinks away, and the General turns to Colonel
- Coffee.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Give the word, Coffee, to cease firing.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's glance comes around to Governor Maurequez, still bowing and
- presenting his white flag.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Where are those English?” he demands.
- </p>
- <p>
- The frightened Governor Maurequez makes the sign of the cross. He is
- sorry, but the pig English withdrew to Fort Barrancas at the first signs
- of the coming of the victorious Senor General, taking with them their
- hateful red flag. Also, it was they who fired on the messenger. If the
- victorious Senor General will but move quickly, he may catch the pig
- English before they escape.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General, half his hunting-shirt men at his back, starts for Fort
- Barrancas. They are two miles on their way when the earth is shaken by a
- thunderous explosion. Over the tops of the forest pines a gush of black
- smoke shoots upward toward the sky.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They have blown up the fort!” says the explanatory Coffee.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General says nothing, but urges speed. At last they come in sight of
- what has been Fort Barrancas. It is as the astute Coffee surmised. The
- one-eyed Colonel Nichols and his English have fled, leaving a slow-match
- and the magazine to destroy what they dared not defend. Far away in the
- offing Captain Percy's English fleet—upon which the one-eyed Colonel
- Nichols and his fugitive followers have taken refuge—wind aft and an
- ebb tide to help, is speeding seaward like gulls.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XII—THE GENERAL GOES TO NEW ORLEANS
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">G</span>overnor maurequez
- evolves into the very climax of the affable, not to say obsequious. He
- assures the General that he is relieved by the flight of the pig English,
- whom he despises as hare-hearts. Also, he is breathless to do anything
- that shall prove his affectionate admiration for his friend, the valorous
- Senor General.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General accepts the affectionate admiration of Governor Maurequez, and
- leaves in his care Major Laval, who has been too severely wounded to move;
- and Governor Maurequez subsequently smothers that convalescent with
- nursing solicitude and kindness. Those other twenty wounded hunting-shirt
- men the General takes back with him to Mobile.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General now gives himself up to a profound study of maps. His invasion
- of Florida has paled the cheek of the Spanish Minister at Washington and
- given European diplomacy a chill; he knows nothing of that, however, and
- would care even less if he did. After poring over his maps for divers
- days, he comes to sundry sagacious conclusions, and sends for the
- indispensable Coffee to confer. That commander makes an admirable
- counselor for the General, since he seldom speaks, and then only to
- indorse emphatically the General's views. For these splendid qualities,
- and because he is as brave as Richard the Lion Heart, the General makes a
- point of consulting the excellent Coffee concerning every move.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Coffee,” says the General, as that warrior casts himself upon a bench,
- which creaks dolorously beneath his giant weight, “Coffee, they'll attack
- New Orleans next.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The listening Coffee grunts, and the General, correctly construing the
- Coffee grunt to mean agreement, proceeds:
- </p>
- <p>
- “England has now no foe in Europe. That allows her to turn upon us with
- her whole power. Even as we talk, I've no doubt but an immense fleet is
- making ready to pounce upon our coasts. Now, Coffee, the question is,
- Where will it pounce?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General pauses as though for answer. The admirable Coffee emits
- another grunt, and the General understands this second grunt to be a grunt
- of inquiry. Stabbing the map before him, therefore, with his long, slim
- finger, he says:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Here, Coffee, here at New Orleans. It's the least defended, and, fairly
- speaking, the most important port we have, for it locks or unlocks the
- Mississippi. Besides, it's midwinter, and such points as New York and
- Philadelphia are seeing rough, cold weather. Yes, I'm right; you may take
- it from me, Coffee, the English are aiming a blow at New Orleans.” The
- convinced Coffee testifies by a third grunt that his own belief is one and
- the same with the General's, and the council of war breaks up. As the big
- rifleman swings away for his quarters the General observes:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Coffee, you will never realize how much I am aided by your opinions. Two
- heads are better than one, particularly when one of them is capable of
- such a clean, unfaltering grasp of a situation as is yours.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General burns to be at New Orleans, and leaving Colonel Coffee to
- bring on his three thousand hunting-shirt men as fast as he may, gallops
- forward with four of his staff. It is a rough, evil road that threads
- those one hundred and seventy-five miles which lie between the General and
- the Mississippi, but he puts it behind him with amazing rapidity. At last
- the wide, sullen river rolls at his horse's feet.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the General traverses the rude forest roads, difficult with November's
- mud and slush, a few days' sail away on the Jamaica coast may be seen
- proof of the pure truth of his deductions. The English admiral is
- reviewing his fleet of fifty ships, preparatory to a descent upon New
- Orleans.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is a formidable flotilla, with ten thousand sailors and nine thousand
- five hundred soldiers and marines, and mounts one thousand cannon. The
- flagship is the <i>Tonnant</i>, eighty guns, and there sail in her company
- such invincibles as the <i>Royal Oak</i>, the <i>Norge</i>, the <i>Asia</i>,
- the <i>Bedford</i>, and the <i>Ramillies</i>, each carrying seventy-four
- guns. With these are the <i>Dictator</i>, the <i>Gorgon</i>, the <i>Annide</i>,
- the <i>Sea Horse</i>, and the <i>Belle Poule</i>, and the weakest among
- them better than a two-decked forty-four.
- </p>
- <p>
- In command of this armada are such doughty spirits as Sir Alexander
- Cockrane, admiral of the red, Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, Rear Admiral
- Malcolm, and Captain Sir Thomas Hardy—“Nelson's Hardy,” who
- commanded the one-armed fighter's flagship <i>Victory</i> at Trafalgar.
- These, with their followers, have grown gray and tired in unbroken
- triumph. Now, when they are making ready to spring on New Orleans, their
- war word is “Beauty and Booty!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Review over, Admiral Cockrane in the van with the <i>Tonnant</i>, the
- fleet sails out of Negril Bay for Louisiana. As the General's horse cools
- his weary muzzle in the Mississippi, the English fleet has been two days
- on its course.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is a dull, lowering December morning when the General, on his great war
- stallion, following the Bayou road, rides into New Orleans. He finds the
- city in a tumult, and nothing afoot for its defense. He is received by
- Governor Claiborne, a stately Virginian, and Mayor Girod, plump and little
- and gray and French, with a delegation of citizens. Among the latter is
- one whom the General recognizes. He is Edward Livingston, aforetime of New
- York, and the General's dearest friend in those old Philadelphia
- Congressional days. The General gives the Livingston hand a squeeze and
- says: “It's like medicine in wine, Ned, to see you at such a time as
- this.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Governor Claiborne makes a speech in English, Mayor Girod makes a speech
- in French-leading citizens make speeches in English, Spanish, and French.
- The speeches are fiery, but inconclusive. All are excited, confused, ani
- without a plan. The General replies in little more than a word:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have come to defend your city,” says he: “and I shall defend it or find
- a grave among you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Following this ultimatum, the General goes to dinner with Mr. Livingston.
- </p>
- <p>
- Governor Claiborne, Mayor Girod, and the leading citizens remain behind to
- talk the General over in their several tongues. They are disappointed, it
- seems.
- </p>
- <p>
- There be those who wish he hadn't come. Among them is the Speaker of the
- Territorial House of Representatives—A French creole of
- anti-American sentiments.
- </p>
- <p>
- “His presence will prove a calamity!” cries this legislative person. “He
- seems to me to be a desperado, who will make war like a savage and bring
- destruction and fire on our city and the neighboring plantations.”
- </p>
- <p>
- There is no retort to this, for the local spirit of treason is widespread.
- </p>
- <p>
- While the citizens of New Orleans are discussing the General, he with his
- friend Livingston is discussing them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What is the state of affairs here, Ned?” asks the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It could not be worse,” is the reply. “All is confusion, contradiction,
- and cross-purposes. The whole city seems to be walking in a circle.”
- “We'll see, Ned,” returns the General grimly, “if we can't make it walk in
- a straight line.” Commodore Patterson comes to call on the General. He is
- one who says little and looks a deal—precisely a gentleman after the
- General's own heart, for while he himself likes to talk, he prefers
- silence in others.
- </p>
- <p>
- Commodore Patterson sets forth the naval defenses of the town. An enemy
- entering from the sea must come by way of Lake Borgne, and there are six
- baby gunboats on Lake Borgne. The flotilla is commanded by Lieutenant
- Jones, who is Welsh and therefore obstinate; he will fight to the final
- gasp. The General beams approval of Lieutenant Jones, who he thinks has a
- right notion of war.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But of course,” says Commander Patterson, “he will be overcome in the
- end.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General nods to this. He does not expect Lieutenant Jones to defend
- the city alone. Commodore Patterson continues: “There are the schooner <i>Carolina</i>
- and the ship <i>Louisiana</i> in the river, but they are out of commission
- and have no crews.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Enlist crews at once!” urges the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General appoints Mr. Livingston to his staff, and the pair make a tour
- of the suburbs and the flat, marshy regions round about. The General is
- alert, inquisitive; he is studying the strategic advantages and
- disadvantages of the place. When he returns he orders a muster of the
- city's military strength for the next day. The review occurs, and the
- General declares himself pleased with the display.
- </p>
- <p>
- Commodore Patterson comes to say that, while the streets are full of
- sailors, not one will enlist. The General asks the Legislature to suspend
- the habeas corpus. That done, he will organize press gangs and enlist
- those reluctant “volunteers” by force. The Legislature refuses, and the
- General's eyes begin to sparkle.
- </p>
- <p>
- “To-morrow, Ned,” says he, “I shall clap your city under martial law.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, my dear General,” urges Mr. Livingston, who, being a lawyer, reveres
- the law, “you haven't the authority.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, my dear Ned,” replies the determined General, “I have the power.
- Which is more to the point.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General declares civil rule suspended, and puts the city under martial
- law. It is as though he lays his strong, bony hand on the shoulder of
- every man, and, the first shock over, every man feels safer for it. The
- press gangs are formed, and scores of seafaring “volunteers” are carried
- aboard the <i>Carolina</i> and <i>Louisiana</i> in irons. Once aboard and
- irons off, the “volunteers” become miracles of zeal and patriotic fire,
- furbishing up the dormant broadside guns, filling the shot racks, and
- making ready the magazines, hearts light as larks, as though to fight
- invading English is the one pleasant purpose of their lives; for such is
- the seafaring nature.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's “press” does not confine itself to sailors. Negroes, mules,
- carts, shovels, and picks are brought under his rigid thumb. Every gun,
- every sword, every pistol is collected and stored for use when needed.
- Meanwhile, the indefatigable Coffee arrives, marching seventy miles the
- last day and fifty the day before to join his beloved chief. Also Captain
- Hinds of the dragoons is no less headlong, and brings his command two
- hundred and thirty miles in four days, such is his heat to fight beneath
- the blue, commanding eye of the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- Nor is this all. A day goes by, and Colonel Carroll steps ashore from a
- fleet of flatboats, at the head of a hunting-shirt force from the
- Cumberland country. The backwoods cheer which goes up when the new
- hunting-shirt men see the General, brings the water to his eyes with
- thoughts of home. Lastly, Colonel Adair appears with his force of
- Kentuckians. These latter are a disappointment, being practically unarmed,
- owning but one gun among ten.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ain't you got no guns for us, Gin'ral?” asks one of the Kentucky captains
- anxiously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am sorry to say I have not,” returns the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well,” responds the Kentuckian, while a look of satisfaction begins to
- struggle into his face, as though he has hit upon a solution of the
- tangle, “well, I'll tell you what we'll do, then. Which the boys'll just
- nacherally go out on the firin' line with the rest, an' then as fast as
- one of them Tennesseans gets knocked over, we'll up an' inherit his gun.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XIII—THE WATCH FIRES OF THE ENGLISH
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HESE are busy
- times for the General. He lives on rice and coffee, and goes days and
- nights without sleep. He sends the tireless Coffee, with his hunting-shirt
- men, to take position below the city, between the morass and the river.
- Finally he orders all his forces below—Colonel Carroll with his new
- hunting-shirt men, Colonel Adair with his unarmed Kentuckians, the
- hard-riding Captain Hinds with his dragoons, as well as the muster of
- local military companies, among the rest Major Plauche's battalion of
- “Fathers of Families.” There are a great many filial as well as paternal
- tears shed when the “Fathers of Families” march away to the field of
- certain honor and possible death; even Papa Plauche himself does not
- refrain from a sob or two. The “Fathers of Families” take with them their
- band, which musical organization plays the <i>Chant du Depart</i>,
- whereat, catching the <i>tempo</i>, they strut heroically. The rough
- hunting-shirt men are much interested in the “Fathers of Families,” and
- think them as good as a play.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General busies himself about his headquarters, and waits for news of
- the English, of whose coming he has word. One afternoon appears a lean
- little dark man, with black, beady eyes, like a rat. He introduces
- himself; he is Jean Lafitte, the “Pirate of Barrataria.” Only he explains
- that he is really no pirate at all, not even a sailor; at the worst he is
- simply the innocent shore agent or business manager of pirates. Also, he
- declares that he is very patriotic and very rich, and might add “very
- criminal” without startling the truth.
- </p>
- <p>
- Why has he come to see Monsieur General? Only to show him a letter from
- the English Admiralty, brought by the General's old friend, Captain Percy,
- late of H. R. H. Ship <i>Hermes</i>, offering him, Jean Lafitte, a
- captain's commission in the royal navy, thirty thousand dollars in English
- gold, and the privilege of looting. New Orleans, if he will but aid in the
- city's capture. Now he, Jean Lafitte, scorning these base attempts upon
- his honor, desires to offer his own and the services of his buccaneers to
- the General in repulsing those villain English, whom he looks upon with
- loathing as Greeks bearing gifts.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Only,” concludes Jean Lafitte, his black rat eyes taking on a sly
- expression, “my two best captains, Dominique and Bluche, together with
- most of their crews, are locked up in the New Orleans calaboose.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General considers a moment, looking the while deep into the rat eyes
- of Jean Lafitte. The scrutiny is satisfactory; there is nothing there save
- an anxiety to get his men out of jail. This the General is pleased to
- regard as creditable to Jean Lafitte. He comes back to the question in
- hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dominique and Bluche,” he repeats. “Can they fight?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They can do anything with a cannon, Monsieur General, which your
- sharpshooters do with their squirrel rifles.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General has the caged Dominique and Bluche brought before him. They
- are hardy, daring, brown men of the sea, with bushy hair, curling beards,
- gold rings in their ears, crimson handkerchiefs about their heads, gay
- shirts, sashes of silk, short voluminous trousers, like Breton fisherman,
- and loose sea boots—altogether of the brine briny are Dominique and
- Bluche. One glance convinces the General. The order is issued, and the two
- pirates with their followers take their places as artillerists where the
- wary Coffee may keep an eye on them.
- </p>
- <p>
- The English fleet arrives and anchors off the Louisiana coast. Loaded
- scuppers-deep with soldiers and sailors and marines, the lighter craft
- enter Lake Borgne. They sight the six cockleshells of Lieutenant Jones,
- and make for them.
- </p>
- <p>
- Lieutenant Jones, with his cockleshells, slowly and carefully retreats. He
- retreats so carefully that one after another the English boats, to the
- round number of a score, run aground on divers mud banks, where they
- stick, looking exceeding foolish. When the last pursuing boat is fast on
- the mud banks, Lieutenant Jones anchors his six cockleshells where the
- English may only get at him in small boats, and awaits results.
- </p>
- <p>
- The English are in no wise backward. Down splash the small boats, in
- tumble the men, and presently they are pulling down upon the waiting
- Lieutenant Jones—twelve men for every one of his. The small boats
- have swivels mounted in their bows, and by way of preliminary, stand off
- from the six cockleshells, waging battle with their little bow guns. This
- is a mistake. Lieutenant Jones returns the fire from his cockleshells,
- sinks four of the small boats, and spills out the crews among the
- alligators. Unhappily, it is winter, and the alligators are sound asleep
- in the mud below, by which effect of the season the spilled ones are
- pulled aboard their sister boats with legs and arms intact.
- </p>
- <p>
- Being reorganized, and having enough of swivel war, the English fleet of
- small boats rush the six cockleshells, and after a fierce struggle, take
- them by weight of numbers. The English Captain Lockyer, following the
- fight, wipes the blood from his face, which has been scratched by a
- cutlass, and reports to Admiral Cockrane his success, and adds:
- </p>
- <p>
- “The American loss is, killed and wounded, sixty; English, ninety-four.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Being masters of Lake Borgne, the English go about the landing of troops
- on Pine Island. The sixteen hundred first ashore are formed into an
- advance battalion and ordered forward. They go splashing through the
- swamps toward the river like so many muskrats, and in the wet, cold,
- dripping end crawl out on a narrow belt of sugar-cane stubble which
- bristles between the levee and the swamp from which they have emerged.
- Finding dry land under their feet, they cheer up a bit, and build fires to
- make comfortable their bivouac while waiting the coming of their comrades,
- still wallowing in the swamp.
- </p>
- <p>
- Night descends, but finds those sixteen hundred of the English advance
- reasonably gay; for, while the present is distressing, their fellows by
- brigades will be with them in the morning, and they may then march on to
- sumptuous New Orleans, where—as goes their war word—theirs
- shall be the “Beauty and Booty” for which they have come so far. And so
- the chilled, starved sixteen hundred of that English advance hold out
- their benumbed hands to the fires, and console themselves with what the
- poet describes as “The Pleasures of Anticipation.” And in this instance,
- of course, the anticipations are sure of fulfillment, for what shall
- withstand them? The raw, cowardly militia of the country? Absurd!
- </p>
- <p>
- As confirmatory of this, a subaltern hands about a copy of the <i>London
- Sun</i> which has a description of Americans. The others peruse it by the
- light of their camp fires. It makes timely reading, since it is ever worth
- while to gather—so that they be reliable—what scraps one may
- descriptive of an enemy. The English, crouched about their fires, are much
- benefited by the following:
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>The American armies of Copper Captains and Falstaff recruits defy the
- pen of satire to paint them worse than they are—worthless, lying,
- treacherous, false, slanderous, cowardly, and vaporing heroes, with
- boasting on their loud tongues and terror in their quaking hearts. Were it
- not that the course of punishment they are to receive is necessary to the
- ends of moral and political justice, we declare before our country that we
- should feel ashamed of victory over such ignoble foes. The quarrel
- resembles one between a gentleman and a sweep—the former may beat
- the low scoundrel to his heart's content, but there is no honor in the
- exploit, and he is sure to be covered with the soil and dirt of his
- ignominious antagonist. But necessity will sometimes compel us to descend
- from our station to chastise a vagabond, and endure the degradation of
- such a contest in order to repress, by wholesome correction, the
- presumptuous insolence and mischievous designs of the basest assailant.”</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- The young English officers find this refreshing as literature. It might
- have been less uplifting could they have foreseen how ninety years later
- England will fawn upon and flatter and wheedle America to the point which
- sickens, while her bankrupt nobility make that despised region a hunting
- ground where, equipped of a title and a coat of arms, they track heiresses
- to lairs of gold and marry them.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now that the satisfied English are asleep about their fires, it behooves
- one to hear how the General is faring. The day with him is one fraught
- with work. Word reaches him of the captured cockleshells on Lake Borgne.
- Also it reaches that valuable Legislature—honeycombed of treason.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Legislature sends a committee to ask the General what will be his
- course if he's beaten back. The General is hardly courteous:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell your honorable body,” says he, “that if disaster overtake me and the
- fate of war drives me from my lines to the city, they may expect to have a
- very warm session.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Mr. Livingston catches the adjective. The committee having departed, he
- propounds a query.
- </p>
- <p>
- “A warm session, General!” says he. “What do you mean by that?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ned,” replies the General, “if I am beaten here, I shall fall back on the
- city, fire it, and fight it out in the flames! Nothing for the maintenance
- of the enemy shall be left. New Orleans destroyed, I shall occupy a
- position on the river above, cut off supplies, and, since I can't drive, I
- shall starve the English out of the country. There is this difference,
- Ned, between me and those fellows from the Legislature. They think only of
- the city and its safety. For my side, I'm not here to defend the city, but
- the nation at large.”
- </p>
- <p>
- On the heels of this, the Legislature whispers of surrendering Louisiana
- to the English by resolution. It is scarcely feasible as a plan, but it
- angers the General. He stations a guard at the door of the chamber and
- turns the members away.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We can dispense with your sessions,” says he. “We have laws enough; our
- great need now is men and muskets at the front.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The patricians of the Legislature are scandalized as being shut out of
- their chamber.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Did I not tell you,” cries the prophetic House Speaker, “did I not tell
- you this fellow was a desperado, and would wage war like a savage?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The members retire from the guarded doors, cursing the General under their
- breath. Their doorkeeper, a low, common person, is so struck by what the
- General has said anent men and muskets, that he gets a gun and joins that
- “desperado.” And wherefore no? Patriotism has been the mark of vulgar
- souls in every age.
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Coffee's hunting-shirt scouts come in and report the watch fires
- of those sixteen hundred of the English advance winking and blinking among
- the sugar stubble.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah!” says the General, “I've a mind to disturb their dreams.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General dispatches word to Commodore Patterson to have the <i>Carolina</i>
- in readiness to act with his forces. Then he sends for the indispensable
- Coffee.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Coffee, we shall attack them to-night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The wise Coffee gives the grunt acquiescent.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thank you, Coffee!” says the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- The council over, Colonel Coffee goes to turn out the troops. This is to
- be done softly, as a surprise is aimed at.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now on the dread threshold of battle, Papa Plauche of the “Fathers of
- Families” is overcome. As the intrepid “Fathers” fall into line, tears
- fill Papa Plauche's eyes, and he appeals to neighbor St. Geme.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am a Frenchman!” cries Papa Plauche, tossing his arms; “I am a
- Frenchman, and do not fear to die! But, alas! mon St. Geme, I fear I have
- not the courage to lead the 'Fathers of Families' to slaughter.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hush, Papa Plauche!” returns the good St. Geme, made wretched by the
- grief of his friend. “Hush! Command yourself! Do not let the wild General
- hear you; he will not, with his coarse nature, understand such
- sentiments.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Captain Roche, of the “Fathers of Families,” steps in front of his
- company. Striking his breast melodramatically, he sings out:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sergeant Roche, advance!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Sergeant Roche advances.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Embrace me, brother!” cries Captain Roche in broken utterances, “embrace
- me! It is perhaps for the last time.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The brothers Roche embrace, and the “Fathers of Families” are melted by
- the tableau.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sergeant Roche, return to your place!” commands the devoted Captain
- Roche, and the sergeant, weeping, lapses into the ranks.
- </p>
- <p>
- The hunting-shirt men, witnesses of these touching scenes, are rude enough
- to laugh, and by way of parody embrace one another effusively. As they
- depart through the dark for their station, they break into whispered
- debate as to whether the theatrical grief of Papa Plauche, the brothers
- Roche, and the “Fathers of Families” is due to their creole blood, or
- their city breeding, either, according to the theories of the
- hunting-shirt men, being calculated to promote the effeminate in a man.
- While they thus wrangle, there comes an angry hissing whisper from Colonel
- Coffee, like the hiss of a serpent:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Silence!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Every hunting-shirt man is stricken dumb. They move forward like shadows,
- right flank skirting the cypress swamp. To the far left they hear the
- moccasined, half-muffled tramp of Colonel Carroll's men—their
- hunting-shirt brothers from the Cumberland. As they turn a bend in the
- swamp, they see not a furlong away the flickering and shadow dancing of
- the watch fires of the tired English. At this every hunting-shirt man
- makes certain the flint is secure in the hammer of his rifle, and loosens
- the knife and tomahawk in his rawhide belt.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XIV—THE BATTLE IN THE DARK
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>S the
- hunting-shirt men come within sight of the blinking lights, which
- polka-dot the sugar stubble in front and mark the bivouac of the English,
- Colonel Coffee sends the whispered word along the line to halt. At this,
- the hunting-shirt men crouch in the lee of the cypress swamp, and wait.
- Colonel Coffee is lying by for the signal which shall tell him to begin.
- </p>
- <p>
- Before the movement commences, the General calls Colonel Coffee to one of
- their celebrated conferences.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is my purpose, Coffee,” explains the General, “merely to shake them up
- a bit. An attack will cure them of overconfidence, and break the teeth of
- their conceit. This should hold them in check, and give us time for
- certain earthworks I meditate. The signal will be a gun from the <i>Carolina</i>.
- When you hear the gun, Coffee, attack everything wearing a red coat. But
- be careful!” Here the General lifts a long, admonitory finger. “Do not
- follow too far! Reinforcements are crawling out of the swamp to the rear
- of the English every hour, and the only certainty is that, even as we
- talk, they outnumber us two for one.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The faithful Coffee departs. As he reaches the door, the General calls
- after him:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don't forget, Coffee! The gun from the <i>Carolina!</i>”
- </p>
- <p>
- The hunting-shirt men lie waiting by the cypress swamp. On their near left
- is Papa Plauche and his “Fathers of Families.” Beyond these is a half
- company of regulars, which the General has brought up from the near-by
- post. On the Bayou Road, between the regulars and the river, is the
- General himself, with a brace of small field pieces.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is a moonless night, and what light the stars might furnish is withheld
- by a blanket-screen of thick clouds. No night could be darker; for, lest
- an occasional star find a cloud-rift and peer through, a fog drifts up
- from the river. This is good for the English, since it hides their watch
- fires, which one by one are lost in the mists. The darkness deepens until
- even the hawk-eyed hunting-shirt men, trained by much night fighting to a
- nocturnal keenness of vision, are unable to make out their nearest
- comrades.
- </p>
- <p>
- The pitch blackness, and the fog chill creeping over him, tell on Papa
- Plauche. He whispers sorrowfully to his friend St. Geme.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Neighbor St. Geme,” he says, “these differences should be adjusted by
- argument, and not by deadly guns. I see that he who would either shoot or
- be shot by his fellow-man; is in an erroneous position.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Before the kindly St. Geme may frame response, a liquid tongue of flame
- illuminates the broad dark bosom of the river. It is followed sharply by a
- crashing “Boom!” This is the word from the <i>Carolina.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- The signal carries dismay into the hearts of the English, since Commodore
- Patterson, whose genius is thoroughgoing, is at pains to load the gun with
- two pecks of slugs, and eighty-four killed and wounded are the red English
- harvest of that one discharge. The frightened drums beat the alarm, and
- the ranks of English form. As they grasp their arms the nine broadside
- guns of the Carolina begin to rake them. With this the English fall slowly
- back from the river.
- </p>
- <p>
- The rearward movement, while managed slowly because of the darkness,
- brings discouraging results. The English retreat into the hunting-shirt
- men, who are skirmishing up from the cypress swamp. The English are first
- told of this new danger by the spitting flashes which remind them of
- needles of fire, and the crack of the long squirrel rifles like the
- snapping of a whip. Here and there, too, a groan is heard, as the
- sightless lead finds some English breast. This augments the blind horror
- of the hour.
- </p>
- <p>
- The trapped English reply in a desultory fashion, and make a bad matter
- worse. The hunting-shirt men locate them by the flash of their guns, at
- which they shoot with incredible quickness and accuracy. With men falling
- like November's leaves, the English give ground to the south, which saves
- them somewhat from both the <i>Carolina</i> and the hunting-shirt men.
- </p>
- <p>
- Guessing the English direction, the hunting-shirt men follow, loading and
- firing as they advance. Now and then a hunting-shirt man overtakes an
- individual foe, and settles the national differences which divide them
- with tomahawk and knife. It is cruel work—this unseeing bloodshed in
- the dark, and disturbingly new to the English, who express their dislike
- for it.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0006" id="linkimage-0006"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0193.jpg" alt="0193 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0193.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- While the hunting-shirt men drive the English along the fringe of the
- cypress swamp, the General, a half mile nearer the river, is working his
- two field pieces. Affairs proceed to his warlike satisfaction—and
- this is saying a deal for one so insatiate in matters of blood—until
- a flying ounce of lucky English lead wounds a horse on the number two gun.
- This brings present relief to those English in the General's front; for
- the hurt animal upsets the gun into the ditch. It takes fifteen minutes to
- put it on its proper wheels again. The accident disgruntles the General;
- but he bears it with what philosophy he may, and in good truth is pleased
- to find that the gun carriage has not been smashed in the upset.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Save the gun!” is his word to the artillery men; and when it is saved he
- praises them.
- </p>
- <p>
- At the booming signal from the <i>Carolina</i>, the intrepid Papa Plauche
- cries out:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Forwards, brave Fathers of Families! Forwards, heroes!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The “Fathers” respond, and go on with the hunting-shirt men. But their
- pace is sedate; and this last results in an impoliteness which disturbs
- the excellent Papa Plauche to the core.
- </p>
- <p>
- The hunting-shirt men are, for the major portion, riotous young blades
- from the backwoods. Moreover, they are used to this prowling warfare of
- the night. Is it wonder then that they advance more rapidly than does Papa
- Plauche with his “Fathers,” whose step is measured and dignified as
- becomes the heads of households?
- </p>
- <p>
- Thus it befalls that, do their dignified best, Papa Plauche and his
- “Fathers” are left behind by the hunting-shirt men, who, deploying more
- and still more to the left, extend themselves in front of Papa Plauche.
- This does not suit the latter's hardy tastes, and he frets ferociously. He
- grows condemnatory, as the spitting rifle flashes show him that the
- vainglorious hunting-shirt men are between him and those English whom he
- hungers to destroy. Indeed, he fumes like tiger cheated of its prey.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But we shall extricate ourselves, neighbor St. Geme!” cries Papa Plauche.
- “We shall yet extricate ourselves! Behold!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The “Behold!” is the foreword of certain masterly maneuvers by Papa
- Plauche among the sugar stubble. The maneuvers free the farseeing Papa
- Plauche and his “Fathers” from those obstructive, unmannerly hunting-shirt
- men, who have cut off their advance even in its indomitable bud. The
- “Fathers” being better used to shop floors than plowed fields, however,
- make difficult work of it. At last courage has its reward, and the
- “Fathers” uncover their dauntless front.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, my brave St. Geme!” cries Papa Plauche, when his strategy has put the
- hunting-shirt men on his right, where they belong, “nothing can save the
- caitiff English now! Those ruffians in hunting tunics who protected them
- no longer impede our front. Forwards!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The final word has hardly issued from between the clenched teeth of Papa
- Plauche when a rustling in the stubble apprises him of the foe.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Fire, Fathers of Families, fire!” shouts Papa Plauche, and such is the
- fury which consumes him that the shout is no shout, but a screech.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is enough! One by one each “Father” discharges his flintlock. The
- procession of reports is rather ragged, and now and again a considerable
- wait occurs between shots, like a great gap in a picket fence. Still, the
- last “Father” finally finds the trigger, and the command of Papa Plauche
- is obeyed.
- </p>
- <p>
- The “Fathers” hurt no one by this savage volley, for their aim like their
- hearts is high. It is quite as well they do not. The stubble-disturbing
- force in front chances to be none other than that half company of
- regulars, to whose rear it seems the inadvertent Papa Plauche, in freeing
- them from the hunting-shirt men, has led his “Fathers.” The regulars are
- in a towering rage with Papa Plauche; but since no one has been injured,
- and Papa Plauche is profuse in his apologies, their anger presently
- subsides. The regulars again take up their bloody work upon the retreating
- English, while the discouraged Papa Plauche and the “Fathers,” full of
- confusion and chagrin at twice being balked, remain where they are.
- </p>
- <p>
- “After all, neighbor St. Geme,” observes Papa Plauche, “the mistake was
- theirs. Did they not usurp the place which belonged to the English, in
- thus getting in front of us? It should teach them to beware how they put
- themselves in the path of my 'Fathers,' whose wrath is terrible.”
- </p>
- <p>
- For two black, sightless hours the huntingshirt men crowd the English to
- the south. Then the General draws them off. They come, bringing as
- captives one colonel, two majors, three captains, and sixty-four privates.
- Also they have killed and wounded two hundred and thirteen of the English,
- which comforts them marvelously. They themselves have suffered but
- slightly, and the backloads of English guns they carry will gladden many
- an unarmed Kentucky heart.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now when he has them together, the beloved Coffee at their head, the
- General leads the way to the thither side of the Roderiquez Canal, where
- he plans a line of breastworks. Arriving, the weary hunting-shirt men
- build fires, and make themselves easy for the balance of the night.
- </p>
- <p>
- After a brief rest, the thoughtful General detaches a party with one of
- the field guns, to interest the English until daylight.
- </p>
- <p>
- “For I think, Coffee,” says he, “that if we keep them awake, they will be
- apt to sleep tomorrow; and so leave us free to work on our defenses.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XV—COTTON BALES AND SUGAR CASKS
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>T is the day
- before Christmas when the General lays out his line for fortifications.
- The Roderiquez Canal is no canal at all, but a disused mill race, which an
- active man can leap and any one may wade. The General will make a moat of
- it, and raise his breastworks along its mile-length muddy course, between
- the river and the cypress swamp. He keeps an army of mules and negroes,
- with scrapers and carts, hard at work, heaping up the earth. A boat load
- of cotton is lying at the levee. The cotton bales are rolled ashore, and
- added to the heaped-up earth. This pleases Papa Plauche.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is singular,” he remarks to neighbor St. Geme, “that cotton, which has
- been my business support for years, should now defend my life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- There is a low place to the General's front. He cuts the levee; and soon
- the Mississippi furnishes three feet of water, to serve as a wet drawback
- to any English advance. The latter, however, are not thinking on an
- advance. Supports have come dripping from the swamp, and swollen their
- numbers to threefold the General's force; but none the less their hearts
- are weak. That horrifying night attack, when their blood was shed in the
- dark, has broken the heart of their vanity, and a paralyzing fear of those
- dangerous hunting-shirt men lies all across the English like a cloud. More
- and worse, the <i>Carolina</i> swings downstream, abreast of their
- position, and her broadsides drive them to hide in ditches and the cypress
- borders of the swamp. There is no peace, no safety, on the flat, stubble
- ground, while light remains by which to point the <i>Carolina's</i> guns.
- </p>
- <p>
- Nor does nightfall bring relief. Those empty-handed Kentuckians must be
- provided for; and, no sooner does the sun go down, than the hunting-shirt
- men by two and three go forth in search of English muskets. They shoot
- down sentries, and carry away their dead belongings. Does an English group
- assemble round a camp fire, it becomes an invitation seldom neglected. A
- party of hunting-shirt men creep within range and begin the butchery.
- There is never the moment, daylight and dark, when the unhappy English are
- not within the icy reach of death. There is no repose, no safety! A chill
- dread claims them like a palsy!
- </p>
- <p>
- The English complain bitterly at this bushwhacking; which, to the
- hunting-shirt men, reared in schools of Indian war, is the merest A B C of
- battle. The harassed English denounce the General as a barbarian, in whose
- savage bosom burns no spark of chivalry. They recall how in their late
- campaigns in Spain, English and French pickets spent peace-filled weeks
- within fifty yards of one another, exchanging nothing more deadly than
- coffee and compliments.
- </p>
- <p>
- The grim General refuses to be affected by the French-English example. He
- continues to pile up his earthworks, while the hunting-shirt men go forth
- to pot nightly English as usual. The situation wears away the courage of
- the English to a white and paper thinness.
- </p>
- <p>
- While the General is fortifying his lines, and the hunting-shirt men are
- stalking English sentinels, peace is signed in Europe between America and
- England. But Europe is far away; and there is no Atlantic cable. And so
- the General continues at his congenial labors undisturbed.
- </p>
- <p>
- Christmas does not go unrecognized in the General's camp. He himself
- attempts nothing of festival sort, and only drives his fortifying mules
- and negroes the harder. But the hunting-shirt men celebrate by cleaning
- their rifles, molding bullets, refilling powder horns, and whetting knives
- and tomahawks to a more lethal edge.
- </p>
- <p>
- As for Papa Plauche and the “Fathers of Families,” they become jocund.
- Their wives and daughters purvey them roast fowls in little wicker
- baskets, and the warmest wines of Burgundy in bottles. Whereupon Papa
- Plauche and his “Fathers” wax blithe and merry, singing the songs of
- France and talking of old loves.
- </p>
- <p>
- And now Sir Edward Pakenham arrives, and relieves General Keane in command
- of the English. With him comes General Gibbs. The two listen to the
- reports of General Keane, and shrug polite shoulders as he speaks of the
- savage valor of the Americans. It is preposterous that peasants clad in
- skins, and not a bayonet among them, should check the flower of England.
- General Keane does not reply to the polite shrug. He reflects that the
- General, with his hunting-shirt men, can be relied upon to later make
- convincing answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- Upon the morning which follows the advent of General Pakenham, the English
- see a moment of good fortune. A red-hot shot sets fire to the <i>Carolina</i>,
- as she swings downstream on her cable for that daily bombardment, and
- burns her to the water line. This cheers the English mightily; and does
- not discourage Commodore Patterson, who transfers his activities to the
- decks of the <i>Louisiana.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- Sir Edward gives the General three uninterrupted days. This the latter
- warrior improves so far as to rear his earthworks to a height of four
- feet, and mount five guns. On the fourth day the English are led out to
- the assault. Sir Edward does not say so, but he expects to march over
- those four-foot walls of mud and cotton bales as he might over any other
- casual four-foot obstruction, and go up to the city beyond.
- </p>
- <p>
- The sequel does not justify Sir Edward's optimism. The moment the English
- approach within two hundred yards of the General's line, a sheet of fire
- hisses all along. The English melt away like smoke. They break and run,
- seeking refuge in the cross ditches which drain the stubble lands. Once in
- the ditches, they are made to sit fast by the watchful hunting-shirt men,
- whose aim is death and who shoot at every exposed two square inches of
- English flesh and blood.
- </p>
- <p>
- All day the English must crouch in the saving mud and water of those
- ditches, and it ruffles their self-regard. With darkness for a shield, Sir
- Edward brings them off. He explains the disaster to his staff by calling
- it a “reconnoissance.” General Keane also calls it a “reconnoissance”; but
- there is a satisfied grin on his war-worn face. Sir Edward has received a
- taste of the mettle of those “peasants,” and may now take a more tolerant,
- and less politely cynical, view of what earlier setbacks were experienced
- by General Keane. As for the seventy dead who lie, faces to the quiet
- stars, among the sugar stubble, they say nothing. And whether it be called
- a “reconnoissance” or a defeat matters little to them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you think of it?” asks Sir Edward of his friend, General Gibbs,
- as the two confer over a bottle of port.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sir Edward,” returns the General, “I should call a council of war.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Sir Edward winces. It is too great an honor for the brother-in-law of Lord
- Wellington to pay a “Copper Captain” like the General. For all that he
- calls it; and the call assembles, besides Generals Gibbs and Keane, those
- saltwater soldiers, Admirals Cochrane, Codrington and Malcolm, and Captain
- Hardy whom Nelson loved. Sir John Burgoyne, the chief of the English
- engineers, is also there. The solemn debate lasts hours. The decision is
- to regard the General's position as “A walled and fortified place, to be
- reduced by regular and formal approaches.” Which is flattering to the
- General's engineering skill.
- </p>
- <p>
- The council breaks up. The next morning Sir John Burgoyne commits a stroke
- of genius. He rolls out of the storehouses to the English rear countless
- hogsheads of sugar. Night sets in, foggy and black. Under its protecting
- cover, Sir John trundles his hundreds of hogsheads to a point not six
- hundred yards from the General's mud walls. Till daybreak the English
- work. They set the hogsheads on end—four close-packed thicknesses of
- them, two tier high. Ingenious portholes are left to receive the muzzles
- of the guns, and thirty cannon, which have been dragged through the
- cypress swamp from the fleet, are placed in position.
- </p>
- <p>
- Those hogsheads of sugar, with the thirty black muzzles frowning forth,
- impress folk as a most formidable fortalice, when the upshooting sun rolls
- back the fog and offers a view of them. The General, however, does not
- hesitate; he instantly opens with his five, and the thirty guns of the
- English bellow their iron response. Hardly a whit behind the General, the
- active Commodore Patterson drops downstream with the <i>Louisiana</i>, and
- throws the weight of her broadsides against the English.
- </p>
- <p>
- The big-gun duel is hot and furious, and the rolling clouds of powder
- smoke shut out the fighters from one another. They do not pause for that,
- but fire blindly through the smoke, sighting their guns by guess. When the
- smoke has cloaked the scene, Sir Edward orders two columns of the English
- foot to storm the General's mud walls.
- </p>
- <p>
- The columns advance, and run headforemost into the hunting-shirt men. The
- sleety rain of lead which greets them rolls the columns up like two red
- carpets. The recoiling columns break, and the English take cover for a
- second time in those saving ditches. They declare among themselves that
- mortal man might more easily face the fires of hell itself, than the
- flame-filled muzzles of the hunting-shirt men, who seem to be Death's very
- agents upon earth.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the broken English crouch in those ditches the fire of Sir John
- Burgoyne's big guns begins to falter. The smoke is so thick that no one
- may tell the cause. At last the English volleys altogether end, and the
- General orders Dominique and Bluche, with their swarthy pirate crews from
- Barrataria, and what other artillerists are serving his quintette of guns,
- to cease their stormy work. With that a silence falls on both sides.
- </p>
- <p>
- The breeze from the river tears the smoky veil aside; and lo! that noble
- fortification of sugar hogsheads is heaped and piled in ruins. The
- General's solid shot go through and through those hogsheads of sugar, as
- though they are hogsheads of snow. Five of the thirty English guns are
- smashed. The proud work of Sir John Burgoyne presents a spectacle of
- desolation, while the English who serve the batteries go flying for their
- lives. Not all! The three-score dead remain—the only English whose
- honor is saved that day!
- </p>
- <p>
- Sir Edward's cheek is white as death. He blames Sir John Burgoyne, who has
- erred, he says, in constructing the works. Sir John did err, and Sir
- Edward is right. Forty years later, the same Sir John will repeat the same
- mistake at Sebastapol; which shows how there be Bourbons among the
- English, learning nothing, forgetting nothing.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the English skulk in clusters, and ragged, beaten groups for their old
- position beyond the General's long reach, the fear of death is written on
- their faces. It will take a long rest, and much must be forgotten, e'er
- they may be brought front to front with the General again.
- </p>
- <p>
- Among the hunting-shirt men are exultation and crowing triumph. Only Papa
- Plauche is sad. During the fight, the cotton bales in front of Papa
- Plauche and the “Fathers” are sorely knocked about. As though this be not
- enough, what must a felon hot shot do but set one of them ablaze! The
- smoke fills the noses of Papa Plauche and his “Fathers,” and makes them
- sneeze. It burns their eyes until the tears the “Fathers” shed might make
- one think them engaged upon the very funeral of Papa Plauche himself.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the tearful sneezing midst of this anguish, a vagrant flying flake of
- cotton, all afire, explodes an ammunition wagon to the heroic rear of Papa
- Plauche and the “Fathers,” and the shock is as the awful shock of doom.
- </p>
- <p>
- The fortitude of Hercules would fail at such a pinch! Papa Plauche and the
- “Fathers” actually and for the moment think on flight! But whither shall
- they fly? They are caught between Satan and a deepest sea—the
- ammunition wagon and the English! Also to the right, plying sponge and
- rammer, are the pirate Barratarians who are as bad as the English! While
- to the left is the General, who is worse than the ammunition wagon.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is written!” murmurs Papa Plauche; “our fate is sure! We must perish
- where we stand!” Papa Plauche extends his hands, and cries: “Courage, my
- heroes! Give your hearts to heaven, your fame to posterity, and show
- history how 'Fathers of Families' can die!” From the cypress swamp a last
- detachment of reënforcements emerges, and meets the beaten English coming
- back. General Lambert, with the reënforcements, is shocked as he reads
- their broken-hearted story in their eyes. “What is it, Colonel?” he
- whispers to Colonel Dale of the Highlanders. “In heaven's name, what
- stopped you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bullets, mon!” returns the Scotchman. “Naught but bullets! The fire of
- those de'ils in lang shirts wud 'a' stopped Caesar himsel'!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XVI—THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">B</span>ACK to his negroes
- and mules and carts and scrapers goes the General, and sets them to
- renewed hard labor on those immortal mud walls which he will never get too
- high. Those cotton bales, so distressing to Papa Plauche and the
- “Fathers,” are eliminated, at which that paternal commander breathes
- freer. The hunting-shirt men, with each going down of the sun, resume
- their nighthawk parties, which swoop upon English sentinels, taking lives
- and guns.
- </p>
- <p>
- The English themselves are a prey to dejection. The foe against whom they
- war is so strange, so savage, so sleepless, so coldly inveterate! Also
- those incessant night attacks sap their manhood. They build no fires now,
- but sit in darkness through the nights. A fire is but the attractive
- prelude to a shower of nocturnal lead, and the woefully lengthening list
- of dead and wounded tells strongly against it. To even light a cigar after
- dark is an approach to suicide; and so the English wrap themselves in
- blackness—very miserable! Their earlier horror of the hunting-shirt
- men is increased; for they have three times studied backwoods marksmanship
- from the standpoint of targets, and the dumb chill about their heart-roots
- is a testimony to its awful accuracy.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General, who reads humanity as astronomers read the heavens, is not
- wanting in notions of the gloom which envelops the English like a funeral
- pall.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Coffee,” says he, at one of those famous war councils of two, “in their
- souls we have them beaten. They will fight again; but only from pride.
- Their hope is gone, Coffee; we have broken their hearts.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The reports of the General's scouts teach him that the English will put a
- force across the river. In anticipation, he dispatches Commodore
- Patterson, with a mixed command of soldiers and sailors, to fortify the
- west bank. Commodore Patterson emulates the General's four-foot mud walls
- and throws up a redoubt of his own, mounting thereon twelve
- eighteen-pounders taken from the Louisiana.
- </p>
- <p>
- He tries one on the English opposite. The result is gratifying; the gum
- pitches a solid shot all across the Mississippi and into the English
- lines.
- </p>
- <p>
- Eight days pass by in Indian file, and Sir Edward Pakenham with his
- English feels that, for his safety as much as his honor, he must attack
- the General, whose mud walls increase with each new sunset. The General
- foresees this, and has reports of Sir Edward's movements brought him every
- hour.
- </p>
- <p>
- On the morning of the eighth the General's scouts wake him at two o'clock
- and say that the English are astir. He is instantly abroad; the word goes
- down the line; by four o'clock every rifle is ready, each hunting-shirt
- man at his post.
- </p>
- <p>
- The weak spot, the one at which Sir Edward will level his utmost force, is
- where the General's line finds an end in the moss-hung cypress swamp. It
- is there he stations the reliable Coffee with his hunting-shirt men. To
- the rear, as a reserve, is General Adair with what Kentuckians the good,
- unerring offices of those night-prowling hunting-shirt men have armed at
- the red expense of the English.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the center is the redoubtable Papa Plauche and his “Fathers.” The
- “Fathers” are between the pirates Dominique and Bluche and Captain
- Humphries of the regular artillery.
- </p>
- <p>
- Papa Plauche is rejoiced at being thus thrust into the center.
- </p>
- <p>
- “For my heroes!” cries Papa Plauche, in a speech which he makes the
- “Fathers,” the center is the heart—the home of honor! “On us, my
- Fathers, devolves the main defense of our beloved city, where sleep our
- wives and children. Wherefore, be brave as vigilant—vigilant as
- brave!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Papa Plauche's voice is husky, but not from fear. No, it is husky by
- reason of a cold which, despite certain woolen nightcaps wherewith the
- excellent Madam Plauche equipped him for the field, he has contracted in
- sleeping damply among the stubble and the river fogs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Six hundred yards in front of the General's mud walls, and near the river,
- are a huddle of plantation buildings. The English, he argues, will mask a
- part of their advance with these structures. The forethoughtful General
- prepares for this, and has furnaces heating shot, to set those buildings
- blazing at the psychological moment.
- </p>
- <p>
- Also, in response to a comic cynicism not usual with him, he has out the
- brass band of Papa Plauche, with instructions to strike up “Yankee Doodle”
- as the first gun is fired. The band, in compliment to the General, has
- been privily rehearsing “'Possum up a Gum Tree,” which it understands is
- the national anthem of Tennessee, and offers to play that.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General thanks the band, but declines “'Possum up a Gum Tree.” It will
- not be understood by the English; whereas “Yankee Doodle” they have known
- and loathed for forty years.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Give 'em 'Yankee Doodle,'” says the General. “Since they are so eager to
- dance, we'll furnish the proper music.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Sir Edward is as soon afoot as is the General. He finds his English steady
- yet dull; they will fight, but not with spirit. As the General assured the
- conferring Coffee, the hunting-shirt men, with their long rifles like
- wands of death, have broken the English heart.
- </p>
- <p>
- The English are to advance in three columns; General Keane on the right
- with Rennie's Rifles, in the center Dale's Highlanders, on the left, where
- the main attack is to be launched, General Gibbs, with three thousand of
- the pride of England at his back. General Lambert is to hold himself in
- the rear of General Gibbs, with two regiments as a reserve. As the columns
- form, there are eighty-five hundred of the English; against which
- the-General opposes a scanty thirty-two hundred. And yet, upon those
- overpowering eighty-five hundred hangs a silence like a sadness, as though
- they are about to go marching to their graves.
- </p>
- <p>
- The solemn fear in which the English hold the hunting-shirt men finds
- pathetic evidence. As the columns wheel into position, Colonel Dale of the
- Highlanders gives a letter and his watch to the surgeon.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Carry them to my wife,” says he.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I'll peel for no American!” and twenty-four hours later he is buried in
- that cloak.
- </p>
- <p>
- The English stand to their arms, and wait the breaking of day. Slowly the
- minutes drag their leaden length along; morning comes at last.
- </p>
- <p>
- With the first streaks of livid dawn, a Congreve rocket flashes skyward
- from Sir Edward's headquarters. The rocket is the English signal to
- advance. In a moment, General Gibbs, General Keane, and Colonel Dale with
- his “praying” Highlanders are in motion.
- </p>
- <p>
- The signal rocket uncouples thousands upon thousands of fellow rockets;
- the air is on fire with them as they blaze aloft in mighty arcs, to fall
- and explode among the hunting-shirt men.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Toys for children, boys,” cries the General, as he observes the
- hunting-shirt men watching the flaming shower with curious,
- non-understanding eyes; “toys for children! They'll hurt no one!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General is right. Those congreve rockets are supposed to be as deadly
- as artillery. Like many another commodity of war, however, meant primarily
- to fatten contractors, they prove as innocuous as so many huge fireflies.
- The hunting-shirt men laugh at them. The battery of eighteen-pounders,
- wherewith the English second that flight of rockets, is a more serious
- affair.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the sun shoots up above the cypress swamp and rolls back the mists of
- morning, the English make a gallant picture. The dull yellow of the
- stubble in front of the General's line is gay with splotches of red and
- gray and green and tartan, the colors of the various English corps.
- </p>
- <p>
- The hunting-shirt men, however, are not given much space for admiration;
- for, with one grand crash, the big guns go into action and the
- red-green-gray-tartan picture is swallowed up in powder smoke. Also, it is
- now that Papa Plauche's band blares forth “Yankee Doodle,” while those
- anticipatory hot shot set fire to the plantation buildings. As the latter
- burst out at door and window in smoke and flames, Colonel Rennie and his
- riflemen are driven into the open. The conflagration gets much in the
- English way, and spoils the drill-room nicety of Sir Edward's onset as he
- has it planned.
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Rennie, being capable of brisk decision, makes the best of a
- disconcerting situation. When the flames and smoke from those fired
- plantation buildings drive him into the open before he is ready, he
- promptly orders a charge. This his riflemen obey; for the inexorable
- Patterson, across the river, is already upon them with those
- eighteen-pounders, and his solid shot are mowing ghastly swaths through
- the rifle-green ranks, tossing dead men in the air like old bags. With so
- little inducement to stand still, the riflemen hail that word to charge as
- a relief, and head for the General's mud walls at double quick.
- </p>
- <p>
- The oncoming Colonel Rennie and his English are met full in the face by a
- tempest of grape, from Major Humphrey and the pirates Dominique and
- Bluche, which throws them backward upon themselves. They bunch up and clot
- into lumps of disorder, like clumps of demoralized sheep in rifle-green.
- At that, Commodore Patterson serves his eighteen-pounders with multiplied
- speed, and the great balls tear those sheep-clumps to pieces, staining
- with crimson the rifle-green. The English marvel at the artillery work of
- the General's men, whose every shot comes on, well aimed and low, bringing
- death in its whistling wake.
- </p>
- <p>
- They should reflect: The theory, not to say the eye, which aims a squirrel
- rifle will point a cannon.
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Rennie, when his English recoil, keeps on—face red with
- grief and rage.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It's my time to die!” says he to Captain Henry. “But before I die, I
- shall at least see the inside of those mud walls.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Rennie is wrong. A bullet finds his brain as he lifts his head
- above the breastworks, and he slips back dead in the ditch outside. Major
- King and Captain Henry die with him, pierced each by a handful of bullets.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the English flinch and Colonel Rennie falls, the bugler—a boy
- of fourteen—climbs a tree, not one hundred yards from the General's
- line. Perched among the branches, he sounds his dauntless charges. The
- General gives orders to let the boy alone. And so the little bugler,
- protected by the word of the General, sings his shrill onsets to the last.
- </p>
- <p>
- Finally an artillery-man goes out to him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come down, my son!” says the cannoneer. “The war's about over!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The little bugler comes down, and is at once taken to the fatherly heart
- of Papa Plauche, who declares him to be a sucking Hector, and is for
- adopting him as his son on the spot, but is restrained by thoughts of
- Madam Plauche.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sir Edward's main assault, with General Gibbs, meets no fairer fortune
- than falls to Colonel Rennie by the river. Confusion prevails on the
- threshold of the movement; for Colonel Mullins with his Forty-fourth
- refuses to go forward. Later he will be courtmartialed, and dismissed in
- disgrace. Just now, however, the recreant makes a shameful tangle of the
- English van. As a quickest method of setting the tangle straight, General
- Gibbs, as did Colonel Rennie, orders a charge. The column moves forward,
- the mutinous Forty-fourth on the right flank, led by its major.
- </p>
- <p>
- General Gibbs advances, brushing with the shoulder of his corps, the
- cypress swamp. Behind the mud walls in his front, the steady hunting-shirt
- men are waiting. The General is there, to give the latter patience and
- hold them in even check.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Easy, boys!” he cries. “Remember your ranges! Don't fire until they are
- within two hundred yards!”
- </p>
- <p>
- On rush the English. At six hundred yards they are met by the fire of the
- artillery. They heed it not, but press sullenly forward, closing up the
- gaps in their ranks, where the solid shot go crashing through, as fast as
- made. Five hundred yards, four hundred, three hundred! Still they come!
- Two hundred yards!
- </p>
- <p>
- And now the hunting-shirt men! A line of fire unending glances from right
- to left and left to right, along the crest of those mud walls, and Death
- begins his reaping. The head of the English column burns away, as though
- thrust into a furnace! The column wavers and welters like a red ship in a
- murky sea of smoke! It pauses, falteringly—disdaining to fly, yet
- unable to advance!
- </p>
- <p>
- “Forward, men!” shouts General Gibbs. “This is the way you should go!”
- </p>
- <p>
- As he points with his sword to those terrible mud walls, he falls riddled
- by the hunting-shirt men.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XVII—THE SLAUGHTER AMONG THE STUBBLE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN the main
- advance begins, Sir Edward is in the center with the Highlanders. The
- latter are not to move until he has word of their success from General
- Keane with Rennie's rifle corps, and General Gibbs with the main column—the
- one by the river and the other by the cypress swamp. He has not long to
- wait; a courier dashes up from the river—eye haggard, disorder in
- his look!
- </p>
- <p>
- “General Keane?” cries Sir Edward, his apprehension on edge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Fallen!” returns the courier hoarsely.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And Rennie?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dead. The Rifles are in full retreat!” Sir Edward stands like one
- stricken. Then he pulls himself together.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bring on your Highlanders!” he cries to Colonel Dale. “We must force
- their lines in front of General Gibbs. It is our only chance!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Sir Edward dashes across to General Gibbs, in the shadow of that
- significant cypress swamp. He sees General Gibbs go down! He sees the red
- column torn and twisted by that storm of lead which the hunting-shirt men
- unloose.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the English reel away from those low-flying messengers of death, Sir
- Edward seeks to rally them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Are you Englishmen?” he cries. “Have you but marched upon a battlefield
- to stain the glory of your flag?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Sir Edward's gesticulating arm falls, smashed by a bullet from some
- sharp-shooting hunting-shirt man. He seems not to know his hurt! He is on
- fire with the thought that those honors, won upon forty fields, are to be
- wrested from him by a “Copper Captain,” backed by a mob of peasants in
- buckskin! He rushes among the shaken English to check the panic which is
- seizing them!
- </p>
- <p>
- The Highlanders come up!
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hurrah! brave Highlanders!” he shouts.
- </p>
- <p>
- At Sir Edward's welcoming shout, Colonel Dale waves a salute! It is his
- last; the huntingshirt men are upon him with those unerring rifles, and he
- falls dead before his General's eyes. Coincident with the fall of his
- beloved Dale, Sir Edward is struck by a second bullet. It enters near the
- heart. As his aide catches him in his arms, he beckons feebly to Sir John
- Tylden.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Call up Lambert with the reserves!” he whispers.
- </p>
- <p>
- As he lies supported in the arms of his aide, a third bullet puffs out his
- lamp of life, and England loses a second Sir Philip Sidney.
- </p>
- <p>
- The main column falls into renewed disorder! It begins to retreat; the
- retreat becomes a rout! Only the Highlanders stay! They cannot go forward;
- they will not go back! There they stand rooted, until five hundred and
- forty of their nine hundred and fifty are shot down.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the main column breaks, Major Wilkinson turns to Lieutenant Lavack.
- </p>
- <p>
- “This is too much disgrace to take home!” says he.
- </p>
- <p>
- Like Colonel Rennie, a mile away by the river, Major Wilkinson charges the
- mud walls. Lieutenant Lavack, sharing his feelings, shares with him that
- desperate, disgrace-defying charge. Through the singing, droning “zip!
- zip!” of the bullets, they press on! They reach the ditch, and splash
- through! Up the mud walls they swarm! Major Wilkinson falls inside, dead,
- three times shot through and through! Lieutenant Lavack, with a luck that
- is like a charm, lands in the midst of the hunting-shirt men without a
- scratch! They receive him hilariously, offer whisky and compliments, and
- assure him that they like his style. Lieutenant Lavack accepts the whisky
- and the compliments, and gains distinction as the one live Englishman over
- the General's mud walls this January day.
- </p>
- <p>
- The field is swept of hostile English; all is silent in front, and not a
- shot is heard. Now when the firing is wholly on one side, the General
- passes the word for the hunting-shirt men to cease.
- </p>
- <p>
- The hard-working Coffee comes up, face a-smudge of powder stains; for he
- has been taking his turn with a rifle, like any other hunting-shirt man.
- He finds the General as drunk on battle as some folk are on brandy.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They can't beat us, Coffee!” cries the General, wringing his friend's big
- hand. “By the living Eternal they can't beat us!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General unslings his ramshackle telescope, and leaps upon the mud
- walls for a survey of the field. The less curious Coffee devotes himself
- to wiping the sweat and powder smudges from his face. His impromptu toilet
- results only in unhappy smears, which make him resemble an overgrown
- sweep. He looks at his watch.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sharp, short work!” he mutters, as he notes that they have been fighting
- but twenty-five minutes.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0007" id="linkimage-0007"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0235.jpg" alt="0235 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0235.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- Those plantation buildings are still blazing, no more than half-burned
- down, and the smoke hides the scene toward the river. The General turns
- his ramshackle spyglass upon his immediate front. The ground is fairly
- carpeted with dead English. As he gazes he calls to Colonel Coffee, who is
- now broadening the powder smears ingeniously with the sleeve of his
- hunting shirt.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Jump up here, Coffee!” cries the General. “It's like resurrection day!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Thus urged, Colonel Coffee abandons his attempts to improve his looks, and
- joins the General on the mud walls. He is in time to behold four hundred
- odd Highlanders scramble to their brogues among those five hundred and
- forty who will never march again, and come forward to surrender.
- </p>
- <p>
- It has been a hot and bloody morning. Of those six thousand whom Sir
- Edward takes into action—for the reserves with General Lambert are
- never within range—over twenty-one hundred are fallen. Seven hundred
- and thirty are killed as they stand in their ranks; and of the fourteen
- hundred marked “wounded,” more than six hundred are to die within the
- week. Among the twenty-one hundred killed and wounded, sixteen hundred go
- to swell the red record of the dire hunting-shirt men.
- </p>
- <p>
- The two attacks, being at the ends of the General's lines, involve no more
- than two-thirds of his thirty-two hundred. Papa Plauche's “Fathers” in the
- center, as well as General Adair's Kentuckians who act as reserves, are
- merest spectators.
- </p>
- <p>
- That his “Fathers” are not called upon to fire a shot, in no wise
- depresses Papa Plauche. He harangues his brave followers, and eloquently
- explains:
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is because of your sanguinary fame, my heroes!” vociferates Papa
- Plauche. “The English knew your position, and avoided you. They went as
- far to the right and to the left as they could, to escape that destruction
- you else would have infallibly meted out to them. Ah! my 'Fathers,' see
- what it is to have a terrible name! You must sit idle in battle, because
- no foe dare engage you! Be comforted, my glorious heroes! Achilles could
- have done no more!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Coffee, still busy with the powder smears, calls the General's
- attention to an English group of three, made up of a colonel, a bugler,
- and a soldier bearing a white flag. The trio halt six hundred respectful
- yards away. The bugler sounds a fanfare; the soldier waves his white flag.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General dispatches Colonel Butler with two captains to receive their
- message. It is a note signed “Lambert,” asking an armistice of twenty-four
- hours to bury the dead.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who is Lambert?” asks the General, and sends to the English colonel, with
- his bugler and white flag, to find out.
- </p>
- <p>
- The three presently return; this time the note is signed “John Lambert,
- Commander-in-Chief.” The alteration proves to the General's liking, and
- the armistice is arranged.
- </p>
- <p>
- The seven hundred and thirty dead English are buried where they fell.
- Thereafter the superstitious blacks will defy lash and torture rather than
- plow the land where they lie. It will raise no more sugar cane; but in
- time a cypress grove will sorrowfully cover it, as though in mournful
- memory of those who sleep beneath. The General carries his own dead to the
- city. They are not many, four dead and four wounded being the limit of his
- loss.
- </p>
- <p>
- General Lambert and the beaten English go wallowing, hip-deep, through the
- swamps to their boats. They will not fight again. The booming of the
- batteries, or mayhap the unusual warmth of the sun, has roused from their
- winter beds a scaly host of alligators. These saurians uplift their
- hideous heads and gaze sleepily, yet inquisitively, at the wallowing
- retreating English. Now and then one widely yawns, and the spectacle sends
- an icy thrill along what English spines bear witness to it.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the end the beaten English are all departed. That tremendous invasion
- which, with “Beauty and Booty!” for its cry, sailed out of Negril Bay six
- weeks before to the sack of New Orleans, is abandoned, and the last
- defeated man jack once more aboard the ships and mighty glad to be there.
- The fleet sails south and east; but not until the tallest ship is hull
- down in the horizon does the General march into New Orleans.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General cannot bring himself to believe that the retreat of the
- English is genuine. They have still, as they sail away, full thirteen
- thousand fighting men aboard those ships, with a round one thousand
- cannon, and munitions and provisions for a year's campaign. He judges them
- by himself, and will not be convinced that they have fled. With this on
- his mind, he plants his pickets far and wide, and insists on double
- vigilance.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now when fear of the English is rolled like a stone from their breasts,
- the folk of New Orleans fret under the General's iron rule. With that the
- prudent General tightens his grip. Even so excellent a soldier as Papa
- Plauche complains. He says that the hearts of the “Fathers of Families”
- are bursting with victory. His valiant “Fathers” burn to express their
- joy.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General suggests that the joy-swollen “Fathers” repair to the
- Cathedral, and hear the Abbé Duborg conduct a <i>Te Deum</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- Papa Plauche points out that, while a <i>Te Deum</i> is all very well in
- its way, it is a rite and not a festival. What his “Fathers”—who are
- thunderbolts of war!—desire is to give a ball.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General says that he has no objections to the ball.
- </p>
- <p>
- Papa Plauche explains that a ball is not possible, with the city held fast
- in the controlling coils of military law. The rule that all lights must be
- out at nine o'clock, of itself forbids a ball. As affairs stand the
- “Fathers” are helpless in their happiness. No one may dance by daylight;
- that would be too fantastic, too bizarre! And yet who, pray, can rejoice
- in the dark? It is against human nature, argues Papa Plauche.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General refuses to be moved; but continues to hold the city in his
- unrelenting clutch—maintaining the while a wary eye for sly
- returning English, with an occasional glance at the local treason which is
- simmering about him.
- </p>
- <p>
- The public murmur grows louder and deeper. A rumor of the peace comes
- ashore, no one knows how. The General refuses the rumor, fearing an
- English ruse to throw him off his guard. At the peace whisper, the popular
- discontent increases. The General, in the teeth of it, remains unchanged.
- </p>
- <p>
- Citizen Hollander expresses himself with more heat than prudence. The
- General locks up the vituperative Citizen Hollander. M. Toussand, Consul
- for France, considers such action high-handed; and says so. The General
- marches Consul Toussand out of town, with a brace of bayonets at the
- consular back. Legislator Louaillier protests against the casting out of
- Consul Toussand. The General consigns the protesting Legislator Louaillier
- to a cell in the calaboose. Jurist Hall of the District Court issues a
- writ of habeas corpus for the relief and release of the captive
- Louaillier. The General responds by arresting Jurist Hall, who is given a
- cell between captives Louaillier and Hollander, where by raising his voice
- he may condole with them through the intervening stone walls.
- </p>
- <p>
- Thus are affairs arranged when official notice of the peace reaches the
- General from Washington. Instantly he withdraws his grip from the city,
- restores the civil rule, and releases from captivity Jurist Hall, Citizen
- Hollander, and Legislator Louaillier.
- </p>
- <p>
- Upon the disappearance of martial law, Papa Plauche, with his immortal
- “Fathers of Families,” gives that ball of victory, the exiled Consul
- Toussand creeps back into town, while Jurist Hall signalizes his
- restoration to the woolsack by fining the General one thousand dollars for
- contempt of court—which he pays.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Legislature, guards withdrawn from its treasonable doors, expands into
- lawmaking. Its earliest action is a resolution of thanks for their brave
- defense of the city to officers Coffee, Carroll, Hinds, Adair, and
- Patterson. The Legislature pointedly does not thank the General, who grins
- dryly.
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Coffee, upon receiving the vote of thanks, writes a letter of
- acknowledgment, in which he intimates his opinions of the General, the
- Legislature, and himself. This missive is a remarkable outburst on the
- part of Colonel Coffee, who fights more easily than he writes, and shows
- how he is stirred to his hunting-shirt depths.
- </p>
- <p>
- Through the clouds of pestiferous jurists and treason-hatching legislators
- descends a grand burst of sunshine. The blooming Rachel, as unlooked for
- as an angel, joins her gaunt hero in New Orleans, and the General forgets
- alike his triumphs and his troubles.
- </p>
- <p>
- Papa Plauche—foremost in peace as in war—at once seizes on the
- advent of the blooming Rachel to give another ball. The whole city attends
- the function; the heroic “Fathers” in full panoply and very splendid. The
- band plays “'Possum up a Gum Tree,” in the execution whereof it soars to
- vainest heights.
- </p>
- <p>
- Papa Plauche dances with the blooming Rachel. The General unbuckles in
- certain intricate breakdowns, with which he challenged admiration in those
- days long ago when he was the beau of old Salisbury and read law with
- Spruce McCay. The “Fathers” are not only edified but excited by the
- General's dancing; for he dances as he fights, violently.
- </p>
- <p>
- Colonel Coffee, not being a dancing man, goes looking about him. He
- discovers a flower-piece, prepared by Papa Plauche, that is like unto a
- piece of flattery, and spells “Jackson and Victory!” in deepest red and
- green. He shows it to the General, who suggests that if Papa Plauche had
- made it “Hickory and Victory!” it would mean the same, and save the
- euphony.
- </p>
- <p>
- While the blooming Rachel, the General, the non-dancing Coffee, and the
- ardent Papa Plauche, with the beauty and chivalry of New Orleans about
- them, are at the ball, Colonel Burr, gray and bent and cynical, is talking
- with his friend Swartwout in far-away New York.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It was a glorious, a most convincing victory!” exclaims Mr. Swartwout.
- “President Madison cannot do the General too much honor. He has saved the
- country!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He has saved,” returns the ironical Colonel Burr, “what President Madison
- holds in much greater esteem. He has saved the Madison administration!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XVIII—ODDS AND ENDS OF TIME
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General, the
- blooming Rachel by his side, takes up his homeward journey. Now when they
- are on their way and a world has time to observe them, it is to be noted
- that changes have befallen with the lengthened flight of time. The eye of
- the blooming Rachel is as liquidly black and deep, her hair as raven-blue,
- her cheek as round as on a rearward day when she won the heart of that
- bottle-green beau from old Salisbury. The alteration is in her form, which
- has grown plump and full and stout in these her matronly middle years. As
- to the bottle-green beau, his sandy hair is deeply shot with iron-gray,
- while his features show haggard, and seamed of care. To the inquiring eye
- he looks at once dangerous and rusty, like an old sword. His form, always
- spare, is more emaciated than ever. The last is due in part to those
- Benton bullets, and the Dickinson shot fired in that poplar, May-sweet
- wood on a certain Kentucky morning. Besides, one is not to forget those
- southern swamps, which have never had fame for building a man up. As the
- General, with his blooming Rachel, draws near home, the whole Cumberland
- country rushes forth to greet him.
- </p>
- <p>
- From that earliest day when Time began swinging his scythe in the meadows
- of humanity, mankind has owned but two ways of honoring a hero. One is the
- “parade,” the other is the “dinner.” In the one instance, half the people
- march in the middle of the street, while the remaining half line the curbs
- and look on. In the other, which has the merit of exclusion, a select
- great few set a board with meat and drink; and then, installing the hero
- where all may see, they bombard him with toasts and speeches and applause.
- All attend the “parade” since it is free. Few avoid the dinner, because,
- besides the honor and the honoring, it affords lawful occasion for being
- drunk—a manifest advantage to many in a strait-laced community. The
- General when he arrives in Nashville is exhaustively “paraded” and deeply
- “dined.” Also he is given a sword.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now, having been “paraded” and “dined,” and with honors thick upon him,
- the General sets about his duties as a major general in days of peace.
- General Adair and he have a letter-quarrel concerning the courage of
- Kentuckians. General Scott and he have a letter-quarrel on grounds more
- personal. As the upshot of the latter correspondence, the General evinces
- an eagerness to shoot his over-epauletted opponent at ten paces, oiling up
- the saw-handles to that hopeful end, but is balked by the over-epauletted
- one, who declines on grounds of piety and patriotism.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0008" id="linkimage-0008"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0251.jpg" alt="0251 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0251.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- While the General is fuming with ink and paper against those distinguished
- warriors, he cools at intervals sufficiently to build the blooming Rachel
- a little church. The blooming Rachel is a devout Presbyterian; and, while
- the General is far too busy with this world to think much on the next, she
- prevails with him—for he never says “No” to her—to put her up
- a church. It is not much bigger than a drygoods box; but there are forty
- pews, besides a pulpit for Parson Blackburn, and the blooming Rachel is
- supremely happy. She owns to some illogical impression that, should the
- General build a church, he'll “join.” In this she goes wrong; for the
- General only builds.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General mounts his horse, and rides to Washington. He meets Mr.
- Jefferson in Lynchburg, and that aged fine gentleman and maker of
- constitutions is struck by the graceful manners of the General, who has
- become all ease and polish where once he was as rough as a woods' colt. In
- Washington he is much feted and feasted, and the trump of celebration is
- tireless to sound his name. He gets back home in time to put a roof on the
- blooming Rachel's almost finished church, and listen to Parson Blackburn's
- dedicatory sermon.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Red Stick Creeks from across the Florida line take to marauding and
- murdering in Southern Georgia, and the General decides to see about it. He
- sends an officer, with a force of men, to reduce Negro Fort on the
- Appalachicola. In giving that officer his instructions, the General
- expands touching the military virtues of red-hot shots; and with such
- satisfactory results that the first one fired at Negro Fort blows it to
- ruins, and with it three hundred and thirty-one of the three hundred and
- thirty-four blacks and reds who infest it. Three crawl from the blazing
- chaos, to be hilariously knocked on the head by friendly Creeks, who have
- attended the expedition with that fond hope and purpose. The world is much
- rejoiced at the demolition of Negro Fort; since murder and pillage have
- been the one business of its robber garrison, and the fire-torture of
- prisoners their one amusement.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General presently appears at the head of his hunting-shirt men, and
- destroys the village of Chief Billy Bowlegs on the oft-sung Suwannee
- River. Then he takes St. Marks from the feeble Spaniards, and arrests a
- brace of conspiring English, Ambrister and Arbuthnot. The arrested ones
- have come across from the Bahamas, bringing English guns and lead and
- powder and promises to the hostile blacks and reds; and all in accordance
- with that policy, dear to England, of preferring bloodshed by proxy to
- shedding blood herself. The General hangs conspirator Arbuthnot, and
- shoots conspirator Ambrister; while England, in accordance with a second
- policy as dear as the first, disavows them both.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General goes on to Pensacola. Here he hauls down the flag of Spain,
- runs up the stars and stripes, drives out the Spanish Governor, and
- installs one of his own with a garrison to back him. Having executed
- conspirators Ambrister and Arbuthnot, he now seizes on two Creek-Seminole
- chiefs and hangs them, to preserve, so to speak, a racial equilibrium.
- Having thus wound up the Spanish, the English, the negroes and the Indians
- in Florida, the General returns to his home, serene in the sense of duty
- well performed.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's serenity is misplaced; trouble breaks out in Washington. Mr.
- Monroe is President, and Statesmen Clay and Crawford and Calhoun and Adams
- desire to be. The quartette last named suspect in the General—about
- whom a responsive public is running mad—a growing rival. They decide
- to cripple him in the very cradle of his White House prospects. If they do
- not he may grow up to snatch from them the crown. Moved of this high
- thought, they charge the General with waging unauthorized war; and with
- invading Spanish territory, we at peace with Spain. They call him a
- “murderer” for snuffing out conspirators Ambrister and Arbuthnot and those
- superfluous Creek-Seminole chiefs. Also, giving a moral snuffle, they
- demand that he be courtmartialed and cashiered.
- </p>
- <p>
- President Monroe shakes his head at the conniving quartette, replying as
- on a somewhat similar occasion did the Russian Catherine:
- </p>
- <p>
- “We never punish conquerors.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General by the Cumberland hears of these weird doings in Washington,
- and again rides over the mountains. His object is to discover, by personal
- observation, who in his case, are the sheep and who the goats, and
- separate in his own mind his friends from his enemies. Upon his arrival
- the General finds himself an issue of politics. As such he is voted upon
- by Congress, which affirms heavily in his favor. The people have long ago
- decided in his favor; and Congress, ever quick to locate the butter on its
- bread, sharply follows the popular example. Statesman Clay and others
- among the General's foes express themselves freely to his disadvantage.
- However, the General expresses himself freely to their disadvantage, and
- profound judges of vituperation say that he has the sulphurous best of the
- exchange.
- </p>
- <p>
- Being upheld by Congress, and having freed his mind touching his foes, the
- General goes to Baltimore and Philadelphia, and is extravagantly wined and
- dined. Then he proceeds to New York, where Fitz Greene Halleck and Joseph
- Rodman Drake write doggerel at him in the <i>Evening Post</i>; and where,
- also, he is “paraded” and “dinner”—honored to a degree which lays all
- former “parading” and “dinner”—honoring, by less fervent communities, deep
- within the shade.
- </p>
- <p>
- Spain cedes Florida to the United States; just as she would cede a bad hot
- penny that, besides being worthless, is burning her fingers. The President
- appoints the General governor of the new domain. Whereupon the new
- Governor lays down his Major General's commission, bids farewell to the
- army, and journeys south. He does not relish being Governor; and, after
- locking up his Spanish predecessor for stealing divers papers of state,
- and expatriating a scandalous bevy whose talk sounds like treason to his
- sensitive ear, he resigns.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the General gets back to the Cumberland country, he finds that his
- former quartermaster, Major Lewis, has decided to send him to the White
- House. The General is mightily taken aback, and declares himself unfit.
- Major Lewis retorts that he is far more fit than any of his quartette of
- Washington enemies, laying especial emphasis on Statesman Clay. The
- accurate force of the retort strikes the General wordless.
- </p>
- <p>
- Major Lewis is rich, wise, cunning, cool, college-bred, and eighteen years
- younger than the General. He is a born manager, a natural wire-puller, and
- can play politics by ear as some folk play the fiddle. Congenitally a
- Warwick, he prefers making a President to being one, and would sooner hold
- a baby than hold an office.
- </p>
- <p>
- Major Lewis seizes on the General as so much raw material wherefrom to
- construct a President. As a best method of having his man on the ground,
- he gives a hint, and the Tennessee Legislature sends the General to
- Washington as Senator. The blooming Rachel accompanies him; they live at a
- tavern in Pennsylvania Avenue called the “Indian Queen.”
- </p>
- <p>
- This caravansary is kept by one O'Neal, who has a pretty daughter Peg.
- Later the pretty Peg will dissolve a Cabinet, make Mr. Van Buren
- President, and come within an ace of getting Mr. Calhoun hanged. All this,
- however, is in the unpierced future. The blooming, childless Rachel makes
- a pet of pretty Peg; which rivets the latter forever in the good regards
- of the General, who loves what the blooming Rachel loves.
- </p>
- <p>
- Major Lewis proves a wizard of politics. Under his quiet legerdemain, here
- and there and everywhere political fires break forth in favor of the
- General. They break forth in North Carolina, in Pennsylvania, in New York;
- and, so deft and secret is his work, none suspects Wizard Lewis as the
- incendiary. Wizard Lewis is counseled by Colonel Burr who, like some old
- gray fox, sits in the mouth of his New York law-burrow in Nassau Street,
- peering out at events as they pass.
- </p>
- <p>
- In these days, the lion-faced Webster writes his brother:
- </p>
- <p>
- “His (the General's) manners are more presidential than those of any of
- the candidates. He is grave, mild, and reserved. My wife is for him
- decidedly.”
- </p>
- <p>
- There are four candidates for the White House, <i>vide, licet</i>, the
- General, and Statesmen Adams and Crawford and Clay. The popular vote falls
- in the order given, with the General a long flight shot ahead of Statesman
- Adams, who is next on the list. And yet, while far in advance of the
- others, the General is without that electoral majority required by the
- Constitution, and the choice is thrown into the House of Representatives.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Clay is now out of the running; for the President must be chosen
- from among the three candidates having the highest electoral vote, and he
- is fourth and lowest. Statesman Crawford, who ranks third, is also out. He
- is stricken of paralysis; and, while this wins him sympathy, it loses him
- White House strength. The fight is to be between the General and Statesman
- Adams.
- </p>
- <p>
- While Statesman Clay is out of the coil, so far as any personal chance of
- becoming the House selection is concerned, he is in it decisively in
- another fashion. As a chief force in the House, he holds that important
- body in the hollow of his hand; and, while he cannot be its choice, he can
- control its choice. He controls it for Statesman Adams, on the underground
- understanding that he, Statesman Clay, shall sit at Statesman Adams' right
- hand as Secretary of State. Statesman Clay hopes to run presidentially
- another day, and thinks to make his calling and election sure while head
- of the Cabinet of Statesman Adams. As events forge and fuse themselves in
- the blast furnaces of the future, it will be discovered that in thus
- opining Statesman Clay falls into grievous error.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is four o'clock in the afternoon when the Clay-guided House counts
- Statesman Adams into a Presidency. Five hours afterward the General meets
- Statesman Adams in the East Room, where both are in attendance upon the
- last reception of outgoing President Munroe. The contrast between them
- tells in the General's favor. There is no gloom of disappointment on his
- brow, no cloud of defeat in his hawkish blue eyes. The General has a lady
- on his arm. He greets Statesman Adams gracefully and extends his hand:
- </p>
- <p>
- “How is Mr. Adams?” cries he. “I give you my left hand, sir, since my
- right is devoted to the fair.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Adams is a diplomat, and used to courts and salons. The General
- is of the wilderness and its battlefields. And yet the General shines out
- the more polished of the two. Statesman Adams takes the extended hand; but
- he does it awkwardly, backwardly, and with a wooden manner, as though his
- deportment is seized of some sudden, bashful stiffness of the joints. At
- last he manages to say:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Very well, sir! I hope you are well!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XIX—THE KILLING EDGE OF SLANDER
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>IZARD LEWIS boldly
- re-begins his work of White House capturing. He becomes busy to the elbows
- in the General's destinies before Statesman Adams is inaugurated. When the
- latter names Statesman Clay to be his Secretary of State, Wizard Lewis
- lays bare the deal which thus exalts the Kentuckian. He raises the cry of
- “Bargain and Corruption!” and the public takes it up. Statesman Adams and
- Statesman Clay are pilloried as conspirators who have wronged the General
- of a Presidency, and the State portfolio in the hands of Statesman Clay is
- pointed to as proof. The General writes the blooming Rachel, just now at
- home by the Cumberland:
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Judas of the West has closed the contract and received the thirty
- pieces of silver.” Statesman Clay defends himself badly. He declares that
- he objects to the General's White House ambitions only because he is a
- “Military Chieftain.” He speaks as though the world knows that a “Military
- Chieftain” will make a perilous Chief Magistrate. The world knows nothing
- of the sort; the cry of “Bargain and Corruption” gains head.
- </p>
- <p>
- In retort to that arraignment of being a “Military Chieftain”—made
- as if the phrase be merely another name for “buccaneer”—the General
- writes the old friendly fox, Colonel Burr:
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is not strange that he (Statesman Clay) should indulge himself in such
- reasoning, since it comes somewhat to his own personal defense. Our
- blue-grass Secretary has been ever remarkable for his caution, to give it
- a no worse name, and has not yet risked himself for his country, or moved
- from safe repose to repel an invading foe.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General is not the only one who comments upon the astounding
- copartnership in politics and policies between Statesman Adams and
- Statesman Clay. John Randolph, of Roanoke, remarks concerning it, from his
- bitter place in the Senate:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sir, it is a coming together of the puritan and the blackleg—Blifil
- and Black George!”
- </p>
- <p>
- This view seems hugely to excite Statesman Clay, and he challenges the
- picturesque Randolph to a duel by Little Falls. They meet; but, since both
- are at pains to miss, no good comes of it.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0009" id="linkimage-0009"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0267.jpg" alt="0267 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0267.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- Wizard Lewis goes teaching the General's merits in every State of the
- Union. In his White House siege, Wizard Lewis receives his best help from
- Statesman Adams himself.
- </p>
- <p>
- The latter publicist is a personage of ice-cold ideas, and lists
- ingratitude at the top of the virtues. There be folk—descended,
- doubtless, of ancestors that heated the pincers and turned the thumbikins,
- and worked the straining rack for the Inquisitions as mere day laborers at
- torture—who delight in doing mean, hateful, punishing things to
- their fellow mortals, if they may but call such doing “duty.” They will
- weep hypocritically while burning a victim, and aver, between sobs, that
- they pile the fagots and apply the torch only from a “sternest conviction
- of duty.” The word “duty,” like the venom of a serpent, is ever in their
- mouths; by it they break hearts, destroy hopes, create blackness, blot out
- light, forbid happiness, foster grief, and plant pain in breasts innocent
- of every crime save that of helping them. Statesman Adams—heart as
- hollow as a bell and quite as brazen—is one of these. He
- demonstrates his purity by refusing his obligations, and proves himself
- great by turning his back on his friends. Made up of a multitude of
- littlenesses, he offers no trait of breadth or bigness as an offset. He is
- not wise; he is not brave; he is not generous; he is not—even in
- wrongdoing—original. He will guide by some maxim; or he will permit
- himself to be posed by a proverb; and, while ever breathlessly
- respectable, he is never once right. As President he proposes for himself
- an inhuman goodness, and declares that he will remove no one from office
- on “account of politics”—a catch phrase which has protected
- incompetency in place in every age.
- </p>
- <p>
- Although he is so fond of them, Statesman Adams, in taking the latter
- snow-white position, overlooks an aphorism that will be vital while time
- lasts. He forgets that “The President who makes no removals will himself
- be removed.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Strike, lest you be stricken!” murmured Queen Elizabeth, as seizing the
- pen she signed the warrant of block and axe for Scottish Mary, and it
- might be well and wise for Statesman Adams to wear in constant mind that
- illustrious example.
- </p>
- <p>
- The thought is vain. Statesman Adams ignores his friends, consults his
- foes, and offers a base picture of the ungrateful that draws the public's
- honest wrath his way. Wizard Lewis is no one to miss such opportunities to
- upbuild the General's fortunes at the expense of the enemy; and so the
- General grows each day stronger, while Statesman Adams—who hopes to
- succeed himself—owns less and less of strength.
- </p>
- <p>
- The currents of time flow swiftly now, and four years go by—four
- years wherein the old friendly far-seeing fox, Colonel Burr, in his Nassau
- Street burrow, teaches the General's leaders intrigue as a pedagogue
- teaches the alphabet to his pupils. And day after day the purblind Adams,
- with the purblind Clay at the elbow of his hopes and fears, sets traps
- against his own prospects, and does his unwitting best or worst to destroy
- himself. Then comes the canvass: the General against Statesman Adams, who
- courts a reelection.
- </p>
- <p>
- The moment the rival forces march upon the field, the dullest marks the
- superiority of the General's. With that, Statesman Clay—in the war
- saddle for Statesman Adams, whose battle is his battle and whose defeat
- means his downfall—loses his head. He accuses the General of every
- offense except that of theft, calls him every name save that of coward.
- The accusations fail; the epithets fall harmless to the ground; the people
- know, and draw the closer about the General's standards. The latter's
- popularity rises as might a hurricane, and sweeps away opposition like
- down of thistles!
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Clay becomes frantic. Possessed as by a demon, he issues
- instructions to assail the blooming Rachel. His hound-pack obey the call.
- From that moment the General's marriage is the issue. He is charged with
- “stealing another's wife,” and every shaft of mendacious villification is
- shot against the unoffending bosom of the blooming Rachel. Those are
- fire-swept moments of anguish for the General, who feels the pain the
- more, since his hands are tied against what saw-handle methods silenced
- the dead Dickinson one May Kentucky morning in that poplar wood.
- </p>
- <p>
- The blooming Rachel, for her wronged part, says never a word. She goes the
- oftener to the little church, but that is all. And yet, while she seems so
- resigned and patient beneath the slandrous lash, the thong is biting
- always to her soul's source.
- </p>
- <p>
- The election takes place, and now the people speak. They set the grinding
- heel of their anger upon those slanders; they throw down that ladder of
- lies by which Statesman Adams hopes to climb. Wizard Lewis, Burr-guided,
- foils Statesman Clay at every point; the General rides down Statesman
- Adams like a coach and six.
- </p>
- <p>
- New England is tribal and narrow, with the reeking taint of old Federalism
- in its veins; it gives itself for Statesman Adams, unredeemed save by a
- single district in Maine. There, indeed, rises up one electoral vote for
- the General. It shows in the gray waste of Adams sentiment about it, like
- a green tree and a fountain against the gray wastes of Sahara. New Jersey,
- Delaware, Maryland follow in New England's dreary wake for Statesman
- Adams; while New York gives him sixteen electoral votes out of thirty-six.
- That offers the round circumference of his Clay-collected strength—an
- electoral vote of eighty-three!
- </p>
- <p>
- For the General, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
- Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois go
- headlong; while New York gives him twenty electoral votes, with Tennessee
- his own by a popular count of twenty for one. Statesman Clay, as a retort
- to the slanders he fulminated, beholds his own State of Kentucky reject
- him, and aid in swelling those one hundred and seventy-eight electoral
- votes which declare for the General. The world at large, seated by its
- fireside and sagely thumbing those returns of one hundred and
- seventy-eight for the General against a meager eighty-three for Statesman
- Adams, finds therein a stunning rebuke to both the ambitions and the
- methods of Statesman Clay.
- </p>
- <p>
- When word of the General's election reaches the blooming Rachel, she
- smiles wearily and says:
- </p>
- <p>
- “For the General's sake I'm glad! For myself I never wished it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Now that the war of the votes is over and the General victor, mankind
- relaxes into its customary dinners and parades. The Cumberland good people
- resolve to outparade all former parades, outdine all former dinners. They
- engage themselves with tremendous gala preparations. It shall be a time
- when oxen are eaten whole, and whisky is drunk by the barrel.
- </p>
- <p>
- The day set apart as sacred to the coming parade, and that dinner yet to
- be devoured, breaks brightly full of promise. There is never a cloud in
- the Cumberland sky, never a care on the Cumberland heart. In a moment all
- is reversed!—light gives way to blackness, happiness to grief! Like
- a bolt from a heaven smiling, the word descends that the blooming Rachel
- lies dead. The word is true. The monstrous weight of slander heaped upon
- it breaks her gentle heart.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0010" id="linkimage-0010"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0275.jpg" alt="0275 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0275.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- They bury the blooming Rachel at the foot of the garden where her
- best-loved flowers grow. The General is ten years older in a night; the
- tall form, yesterday as straight as a lance, is bent and broken. The blue
- eyes, once hawklike, are dimmed with tears. Friends come to press his hand—he
- chokes and cannot speak! But the awful agony of his soul is written in the
- sweat drops on his wrung brow.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the General stands by the grave that is smothering for him all the song
- and the sweet sunshine of life, the ever-faithful, never-failing Coffee is
- by his side. The poor General reaches blindly out and takes hold of the
- rough, big, loyal hand for support. His beloved Coffee, who flanked the
- Red Stick Creeks for him at the Horseshoe and held his low mud walls
- against England's boast and best at New Orleans, will not fail him now in
- this his sternest trial by the graveside of the blooming Rachel.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General, doubly quiet, doubly stern, issues forth of that ordeal
- another man. He is as one who lives because it is his duty, and not for
- love of life. Plainly, his hopes like his heart are buried with the
- blooming Rachel. In his soul he lays her death to the doors of Statesman
- Adams and Statesman Clay; throughout the years to follow he will never
- forget nor forgive. To the end he will cultivate his hatred of them, and
- tend it as he might a flower. Time cannot remold him in this belief; and a
- decade later he will say to his friend Lewis, while his eye flashes like
- some sudden-drawn rapier:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Major, she was stung to death by slander! It was such adders as John
- Quincy Adams, such pit-vipers as Henry Clay, that killed her!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XX—THE GENERAL GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HIS is of a
- steamboat day, and keel boats are but a memory. The General makes his
- tedious eight-weeks' way to Washington via the Cumberland, the Ohio, the
- mountains, and the Potomac valley. It is like the progress of a conqueror.
- The people throng about him until Wizard Lewis, remembering his broken
- state, fears for his life. The fears are without grounds to stand on.
- Applause never kills, and the General finds in it the milk of lions. He
- enters Washington renewed, and was never so fit for hard work. The General
- is inaugurated. As he is cheered into the White House by jubilant
- thousands, Statesman Clay, beaten and bitter, retires to Kentucky; while
- Statesman Adams goes back to Massachusetts, where his ice-waterisms, let
- us hope, will be appreciated, and from which frigid region he ought never
- to have been drawn.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the General is declared President, Statesman Calhoun is made
- Vice-President. From his high perch in the Senate Statesman Calhoun begins
- at once to scan the plain of the possible for ways and means to name
- himself the General's successor. He proves dull in the furtherance of his
- ambitions, and conceives that the only best path to victory lies over the
- General himself. He must break down that demigod in the hearts of the
- people, and teach them to hate where now they trust and love.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General is not a day in Washington before Statesman Calhoun is
- intriguing to cut the ground of popularity from beneath his feet. As
- frequently happens with dark-lantern strategists, his plottings in their
- very inception go off on the wrong foot. Statesman Calhoun is so foolish
- as to commence his campaign against the General with an attack upon a
- woman. The woman thus malevolently distinguished is the pretty Peg, once
- belle of the Indian Queen.
- </p>
- <p>
- Between that time when the General came last to Washington as Senator and
- the pretty Peg was petted and loved by the blooming Rachel, and now when
- the General occupies the White House as President, destiny has been moving
- rapidly and not always gayly with the pretty Peg. In that interim she
- becomes the wife of Purser Timberlake of the Navy, who later cuts his
- drunken throat and walks overboard to his drunken death in the
- Mediterranean.
- </p>
- <p>
- In her widow's weeds the pretty Peg looks prettier than before—since
- black is ever the best setting for beauty, and shows it off like a
- diamond. Major Eaton, Senator from Tennessee and per incident friend of
- the General, is smitten of the pretty Peg, and marries her. The wedding
- bells are ringing as the General rides into Washington.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is an hour wherein Vice-Presidents have more to say than they will
- later on. Statesman Calhoun, scheming his own advantage, puts forward
- covert efforts to place his friends about the General as cabineteers. This
- is not so difficult; since the General is not thinking on Statesman
- Calhoun. His eyes, hate-guided, are fastened upon Statesman Adams and
- Statesman Clay; his single aim is to advance no follower of theirs. These
- are happy conditions for Statesman Calhoun, who comes up unseen on the
- General's blind side, and presents him—all unnoticed—with
- three of his Cabinet six.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun, who prefers four to three, next tries all he secretly
- knows to control the General's choice of a War Secretary. In this he meets
- defeat; the General selects Major Eaton, just wedded to the pretty Peg.
- His completed Cabinet includes Van Buren, Secretary of State; Ingham,
- Secretary of the Treasury; Eaton, Secretary of War; Branch, Secretary of
- the Navy; Berrien, Attorney General; and Barry, Postmaster General. Of
- these, Statesman Calhoun, craftily reviewing the list from his perch in
- the Senate, may call Cabi-neteers Ingham, Branch, and Berrien his
- henchmen.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General is not aware of this Calhoun color to his Cabinet. The last
- man of the six hates Statesman Clay and Statesman Adams; which is the
- consideration most upon the General's mind. He does not like Statesman
- Calhoun. But he in no sort suspects him; and, at this crisis of Cabinet
- making, that plotting Vice-President is not at all upon the General's
- slope of thought.
- </p>
- <p>
- Not content with half the Cabinet, Statesman Calhoun resents privily his
- failure to control the war portfolio. He resolves to attack Major Eaton,
- and drive him from the place. As much wanting in chivalry as in a wisdom
- of the popular, he decides to assail him through the pretty Peg. It is the
- error of Statesman Calhoun's career, which now becomes one blundering
- procession of mistakes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun's attack on the pretty Peg begins with hidden
- adroitness. There lives in Philadelphia a smug dominie named Ely. On the
- merest Calhoun hint in the dark, Dominie Ely—who has a mustard-seed
- soul—writes the General a letter, wherein he charges the pretty Peg
- with every immorality. Dominie Ely prayerfully protests against the
- husband of a woman so morally ebon making one of the General's official
- family.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General is in flames in a moment. His loved and blooming Rachel was
- stabbed to death by slander! The pretty Peg was the blooming Rachel's
- favorite, in that old day at the Indian Queen! The General possesses every
- angry reason for being aroused, and he sends fiercely for smug Dominie
- Ely.
- </p>
- <p>
- The villifying Dominie Ely appears before the General in fear and
- trembling—color stricken from his fat cheek. He falteringly
- confesses that he has been inspired to his slanders by a Dominie Campbell.
- The furious General summons Dominie Campbell, about whom there is a
- Calhoun atmosphere of jackal and buzzard in even parts. The General hurls
- pointed questions at Dominie Campbell, and catches him in lies.
- </p>
- <p>
- While the General is putting to flight the two black-coat buzzards of
- slander, the war breaks out in a new quarter. The “Ladies of Washington,”
- compared to whom the Red Stick Creeks at the Horseshoe and the redcoat
- English at New Orleans are as children's toys, fall upon the General's
- social flank. They hate the pretty Peg because she is more beautiful than
- they. They resent her as the daughter of a tavern keeper—a common
- tapster!—who is now being lifted to a social eminence equal with
- their own. These reasons bring the “Ladies of Washington” to the field.
- But with militant sapiency they conceal them, and adopt as the pretended
- cause of their onslaught the slanders of those ophidians, Dominie Ely and
- Dominie Campbell.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mrs. Calhoun, wife of Statesman Calhoun, at the head of Capital fashion
- and social war-chief of the “Ladies of Washington,” says she will not
- “recognize” the pretty Peg. Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien,
- wives of the three Cabineteers who wear in private the colors of Statesman
- Calhoun, say they will not “recognize” the pretty Peg. Mrs. Donelson, wife
- of the General's private secretary and <i>ex officio</i> “Lady of the
- White House,” says she will not “recognize” the pretty Peg. The latter
- drawing-room Red Stick is the General's niece. Also, she is in fashionable
- leading strings to Mrs. Calhoun, who as social war-chief of the “Ladies of
- Washington” dazzles and benumbs her.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mrs. Donelson approaches the General concerning the pretty Peg.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Anything but that, Uncle!” she says. “I am sorry to offend you, but I
- cannot 'recognize' Mrs. Eaton.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you'd better go back to Tennessee, my dear!” returns the General,
- between puffs at his clay pipe.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mrs. Donelson and her unwilling spouse go back to Tennessee. The war
- against the pretty Peg goes on.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's Cabinet is a house divided against itself. Cabineteers
- Ingham, Branch, and Berrien align themselves with Statesman Calhoun on
- this issue of the pretty Peg. For each has a ring in his nose, a wedding
- ring, and his wife leads him about by it socially, hither and yon as she
- chooses. Cabineteers Van Buren and Barry range themselves with Cabineteer
- Eaton and the pretty Peg.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cabineteer Van Buren is short, round, fat, smooth, adroit, ambitious, and
- so much the mental tree-toad that, now when he is in contact with the
- positive General, his every opinion takes its color from that warrior.
- Also Cabineteer Van Buren is a widower, with no wife to lead him socially
- by the nose. Hat in hand, he calls upon the pretty Peg—a politeness
- which pleases the General tremendously.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cabineteer Van Buren gives dinners, and asks the pretty Peg to perform as
- hostess. With a wise eye on the General, he incites Cabineteer Barry, who
- is a bachelor, to burst into similar dinners, with the pretty Peg in
- command. By his suggestion, Minister Vaughn of the English and Minister
- Krudener of the Russians, who like Cabineteer Barry are bachelors, follow
- amiable suit. They give legation dinners, at which the pretty Peg
- presides. The General adopts these brilliant examples with the White
- House. The pretty Peg finds herself in control of such society high ground
- as the English and Russian legations, two Cabinet houses besides her own,
- and last and most important the White House itself. It is a merry even if
- a savage war, and the pretty Peg is everywhere victorious.
- </p>
- <p>
- Not everywhere! Mrs. Calhoun, as war-chief of the “Ladies of Washington,”
- with Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien about her as a staff,
- refuses to yield. These four indomitables and their beflounced and
- be-feathered followers, noses uptilted in scorn of the pretty Peg,
- prosecute their battle to the acrid end.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the earlier stages, the General, his angry thoughts on Statesman Clay,
- inclines to the belief that these attacks on the pretty Peg are of that
- defeated personage's connivance, and says so to Wizard Lewis.
- </p>
- <p>
- Wizard Lewis, when the General is inaugurated, is for returning to his
- Cumberland home, but finds himself restrained by the lonesome General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What!” cries the latter, “would you leave me now, after doing more than
- all the rest to land me here?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Upon which reproach, Wizard Lewis remains, and lives in the White House
- with the General. It befalls that with the earliest slanders of the
- ophidians, Dominie Ely and Dominie Campbell, the General goes to Wizard
- Lewis with accusations against Statesman Clay.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It's that pit-viper, Henry Clay!” cries the General. “Major, the pet
- employment of that scoundrel is the vindication of good women!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Wizard Lewis holds to a different view. He declares that the secret
- impulse of this base war is Statesman Calhoun, and proves it as events
- unfold.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And yet,” asks the General, “why should he assail little Peg? Both he and
- Mrs. Calhoun called upon her and Major Eaton, and congratulated them on
- their marriage.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That was while Major Eaton was a senator,” Wizard Lewis responds, “and
- before he became War Secretary and got in the way of the Calhoun plans.
- Your Vice-President, General, is mad to be President. Also, he is so
- blurred in his strategy as to imagine that these attacks on little Peg
- will advance his prospects.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General snorts suspiciously; a light breaks upon him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then your theory is,” he says, “that Calhoun assails Peg as a step toward
- the presidency.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Precisely, General! Rightly construed, it is not an attack on Peg, but
- you. He is trying to put you before the people in the role of one who
- countenances the immoral, and upholds a bad woman. In that he hopes to
- array every virtuous fireside against you. He looks for you to ask a
- second term; and, by any means in his power, he will strive to destroy you
- out of his path.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, was there ever such infamy!” cries the General. “Here is a man so
- vile that he would pave his way to the White House with the slain honor of
- a woman!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The hate of the General is now focused upon Statesman Calhoun. That
- ignoble strategist, he resolves, shall never achieve the presidency.
- </p>
- <p>
- As one wherewith to defeat Statesman Calhoun and succeed himself, the
- General picks upon Cabineteer Van Buren—that suave one, who is so
- much to the urbane fore for the pretty Peg.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, sir,” says the General to Wizard Lewis; “I'll take a second term!
- And then, Major, we will make Matt President after me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “We'll do more,” returns Wizard Lewis. “When we elect you President the
- second time, we'll shove aside the plotting Calhoun, and make Van Buren
- Vice-President.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Right!” exults the General. “Then, should I die, Matt will at once step
- into my shoes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Neither the General nor Wizard Lewis is at pains to conceal their design.
- The sallow cheek of Statesman Calhoun grows sallower; for the news is like
- an icicle through his heart. It in no wise abates his war upon the pretty
- Peg, however; which—as Wizard Lewis guesses—is only meant to
- break down the General with good people.
- </p>
- <p>
- Vindicated; in all quarters she rises in triumph over Mrs. Calhoun, Mrs.
- Ingham, Mrs. Branch, Mrs. Berrien, and what other “society Red Sticks”—as
- he terms them—seek her destruction. The next thing is to shear away
- the cabinet strength of Statesman Calhoun. Wizard Lewis recommends a
- dissolution of the Cabinet. He lays his thought before the General, who
- sits listening in the smoke of his long pipe. Cabineteer Van Buren will
- resign. Cabi-neteers Eaton and Barry will emulate his example and turn
- over their portfolios. With half his Cabinet gone, should the Calhoun
- three prove backward, the General shall demand their portfolios.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And then?” asks the General, his iron-gray head in a cloud of tobacco
- smoke.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXI—WIZARD LEWIS URGES A CHANGE IN FRONT
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>IZARD LEWIS,
- bending his brows to the situation, now counsels an extreme step.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you will make Van Buren Minister to England, and give Major Eaton
- the governorship of Florida. Little Peg should look well in the palace at
- St. Augustine.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “By the Eternal!” cries the General, as he hurls his clay pipe into the
- fireplace where hundreds of its brittle predecessors have gone crashing—“by
- the Eternal, we'll do it! The last vestige of a Calhoun cabinet influence
- shall be wiped out!”
- </p>
- <p>
- It comes to pass as Wizard Lewis programmes. Cabineteer Van Buren resigns,
- and Cabineteers Eaton and Barry hasten to follow his lead. The three other
- cabineteers sit dazed; the suddenness of the thing takes away their
- cabinet breaths. They sit dazed so long that the General loses patience
- and asks for their portfolios. One by one they hand them in, as it were at
- the White House door—Cabineteer Ingham being last and most reluctant
- of all.
- </p>
- <p>
- There be tears and mournful wailings now among the society Red Sticks.
- Mrs. Ingham, Mrs. Branch, and Mrs. Berrien are shaken in their social
- souls, never for one moment having foreseen this movement in disastrous
- flank. However, there is no help for it. The deposed three wash off their
- social war paint, and go their divers ways lamenting; while the General
- and Wizard Lewis grin sourly over their fireside pipes. As for Statesman
- Calhoun, his schemes experience a chill; for in thus sending Cabineteers
- Ingham, Branch, and Berrien into political exile, the General drives a
- knife to the very heart of his selfish diplomacy.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cabinet wiped out, the General constructs another, with his old-time
- friend and comrade Livingston as Secretary of State. Also, the agreeable
- Van Buren departs for the Court of St. James as the General's envoy to
- England, while Major Eaton and the villified yet victorious Peg wend
- southward among the flowers to rule over Florida.
- </p>
- <p>
- Before he leaves Washington, the ill-used Eaton makes praiseworthy
- attempts to fasten a duel upon ex-Cabineteer Ingham, who hires a whole
- stage coach and gallops off to Baltimore—the fear of death upon him—to
- avoid being sacrificed. The flight of ex-Cabineteer Ingham is a shock to
- the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I knew he was a bad, designing man,” says the General with a sigh; “but,
- upon my soul, Major, I didn't think him a coward!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun, weaker by virtue of that Cabinet lopping off, is still
- too narrowly set in his White House ambitions to give up the war. In this
- he is much sustained by the Senate, which jealous body pretends to possess
- its own causes of complaint. Chief among these is the obvious manner in
- which the General promotes the importance of that old fox, Colonel Burr.
- The General shows that he cares more for the appointment-indorsement of
- Colonel Burr than for the recommendations of half the Senate. This does
- not set well on the proud senatorial stomachs of the togaed ones; and,
- with Statesman Calhoun to lead them, they are willing to obstruct and
- baffle the General in his policies. Moved of this spirit, and at the
- instigation of Statesman Calhoun, the Senate refuses to confirm the
- appointment of Minister Van Buren—a Burrite—who thereupon
- makes his farewell unruffled bow to the great ones at St. James and
- returns amiably home.
- </p>
- <p>
- That Thomas Benton, who was so fortunate as to fall into a receptive
- cellar on a certain Nashville occasion when the muzzle of the General's
- saw-handle was at his breast, and who is now in the Senate from Missouri,
- gives Statesman Calhoun notice of what he may expect:
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have broken a minister,” observes the farsighted Benton—“you
- have broken a Minister to make a Vice-President.”
- </p>
- <p>
- While the slander battle against the pretty Peg is raging, a storm cloud
- of a different character is gathering over the General. Although Statesman
- Clay has no part in that war upon the pretty Peg, he by no means sits with
- folded hands in idleness.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0011" id="linkimage-0011"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0299.jpg" alt="0299 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0299.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- There is a certain money-creature called the United States Bank. It is
- controlled by one Biddle of Philadelphia. Banker Biddle is a glistening,
- serpentine personage, oily and avaricious—a polished composite of
- assurance, greed, and lies. He is a proven and unscrupulous corruptionist,
- and a majority of both Senate and House wait upon his money-bidding. Under
- the Biddle influence, the Bank never fails to consider the mere “name” of
- a Congressman as perfect collateral for a loan. Even so incorrigible a
- bankrupt as the lion-faced Webster is good at the Biddle Bank for
- thousands.
- </p>
- <p>
- Secure in its hold on Congress, and insolent—as Money ever is when
- it feels secure—the Biddle Bank thinks to crack a political whip.
- The main bank is in Philadelphia. There are twenty-five branch banks
- scattered here and there throughout the country. In pursuance of its
- determination to dominate politics, the Biddle Bank suddenly refuses loans
- to the General's friends. Banker Biddle and the Bank are secretly moved to
- these doughty attitudes by Statesman Clay, who, with his party of the
- Whigs, has for long been their ally.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Clay, in possession of the machinery of his party, is resolved
- to put his own name forward at the head of the next Whig ticket against
- the formidable General. He foresees that Statesman Calhoun—who is of
- the General's party of the Democrats—will come to utter grief in his
- intrigues to supplant the General and make himself a candidate. And yet,
- the blue-grass Machiavelli can use Statesman Calhoun. The latter is
- powerful with the Senate. The Senate hates the General as blindly as does
- Statesman Calhoun.
- </p>
- <p>
- Machiavelli Clay resolves to have advantage of this double condition of
- hatred. He will beguile the General to attack the Biddle Bank. The attack
- can only be made by message to Congress. That should be the opportunity of
- Machiavelli Clay. He will have the Senate for the battle ground; and it
- shall go hard if he do not emerge with the General defeated and the Bank
- and Banker Biddle at his back. With such friends in the campaign to come
- later he should have the General and his party of democracy at his mercy.
- Thus dreams Machiavelli Clay.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is a beautiful dream—this long-drawn chicane of Machiavelli Clay.
- As a move toward its realization he suggests the policy of a loan
- hostility toward the General's friends; for the General will fight almost
- as quickly for a friend as for a woman.
- </p>
- <p>
- Banker Biddle adopts it, and the Bank develops it in Portsmouth. The paper
- of one of the General's friends—a Mr. Isaac Hill—is
- dishonored, and the General's friendship is understood to be the reason.
- The thing is managed like a challenge, and has the instant effect of
- bringing the General—ever ready for such a war—to the field.
- In its invidious attitude toward his friends, the Bank throws down the
- glove; and the General promptly picks it up. In a message to Congress, he
- assails the Bank; and the fight is on.
- </p>
- <p>
- Money is always a coward, and commonly a fool. Also its instinct is the
- weak instinct of corruption. Its attitude toward a public is ever that of
- the threatening, bullying, bragging terrorist, who will either rule or
- ruin. It works by fear, and resorts to every quack device. It will gnash
- its jaws, lash its tail, spout fire and smoke in the face of a quailing
- world. And yet all this tail-lashing and jaw-gnashing and fire-spouting is
- a sham. Money, for all its appearance of ferocity, is no more perilous to
- folk who face it than is the fire-spouting, jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing
- papier-maché dragon of grand opera. Attack it, and what follows? A couple
- of rueful supernumeraries crawl abjectly, if grumblingly, from its
- papier-maché stomach—the complete yet harmless reason of the
- jaw-gnashing, fire-spouting, tail-lashing from which a frightened world
- shrunk back.
- </p>
- <p>
- Besides these furious matters, Money does another lying thing. It seeks to
- teach the public to regard it as the palpitant heart of the country
- itself.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am the seat of life!” cries Money. “Touch me, and you die!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The advantage of this lie is clear; that is, if the lie win credit. Being
- the heart, however corrupt, no law surgery may reach it. If Money were the
- hand of a people, or the fingers on that hand, then it might be dealt
- with. It could be statute-lanced or poulticed or even amputated, and no
- threat to life ensue. Money foresees this; and, with that lying cunning
- which is ever the scoundrel sword and shield of cowards, it declares
- itself to be the heart. Thus is it safeguarded against the honest least
- correction of communal saw and knife. Being the heart, its vileness may be
- deplored but cannot be mended. For who is the mediciner that shall handle
- the heart to any result save death?
- </p>
- <p>
- And yet while Money thus proclaims itself the nation's heart it lies. It
- is not even so reputable a member as the hand. At the most it comes to be
- no more than just a thumb, or a forefinger, and the farthest possible
- remove from any source of life. Folk who would aid their money-throttled
- hour must remember these things.
- </p>
- <p>
- Banker Biddle and the Bank, now when the General advances upon them, go
- through that furious charlatanry of jaw-gnashing, tail-lashing, and
- fire-spouting. The General is unconvinced, unterrified. His hawk eyes
- pierce the miserable masquerade. He knows the Bank for a dragon of paper
- and pretense, and does not hesitate.
- </p>
- <p>
- Failing to arouse his personal-political fear, Banker Biddle and the Bank
- attempt to stay the General by proclaiming a peril to the country at
- large.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We are the throbbing heart of all prosperity!” they cry.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General recognizes the lie. He knows that prosperity comes from the
- rain and the sun and the soil, and not from banks or bankers. As well
- might the two-bushel sacks declare themselves to be the harvest reason of
- a nation's wheat. The General continues his advance. There shall be no
- evasion, no hiding, no safety by lies; masks are not to avail nor
- pretenses protect.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General in his attack on Banker Biddle and the Bank displays a genius
- even with that which he employed against the English at New Orleans.
- Banker Biddle and the Bank are the petted custodians of all the millions
- of Government. The General “removes” those millions—a yellow
- mountain of gold! Incidentally, he dismisses a weak-kneed Secretary of the
- Treasury as a preliminary.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Remove the deposits!” says the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I dare not!” whines the weak-kneed one.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I will take the responsibility!” urges the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- Still the weak-kneed one falters. At that the General sets him aside.
- </p>
- <p>
- The “removal” of those Government millions, which is as the drawing off of
- half their life blood, leaves the Bank and Banker Biddle exceeding pale in
- the face. They look appealingly at Statesman Clay, who, the better to
- manage his side of the conflict, has taken a Kentucky seat in the Senate.
- Statesman Clay encourages the Bank and Banker Biddle. It will all come
- right, he says; there is a Senate bomb preparing.
- </p>
- <p>
- To bring the General squarely before the public as the Bank's destroyer,
- Statesman Clay anticipates the years and offers a measure renewing the
- charter of that money temple. Statesman Calhoun, with every Senate foe of
- the General, is for it. The measure gallops through both Senate and House.
- It is sent whirling to the White House.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Will he sign it?” wonders Statesman Clay, in consultation with his own
- thoughts.
- </p>
- <p>
- For an anxious moment Statesman Clay fears the coming of that signature;
- he cannot conceive of courage greater than his own. His anxiety is
- misplaced. The General will not sign. When the Clay-constructed measure
- renewing the charter of the Bank is laid before him, with about what ado
- might attend the killing of a garter snake he breaks its back with his
- veto.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Clay rubs his satisfied hands.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now,” says he to Banker Biddle, who is becoming a bit weak, “we have him
- helpless! That veto is his death warrant! The campaign is at hand; I shall
- be the candidate of my party, he of his. That veto shall be the issue!
- Money, you know, is all powerful. Being so, who shall doubt the result
- when now the public is driven to choose between the Bank and the White
- House—Prosperity and Andrew Jackson?”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XII—THE DOWNFALL OF MACHIAVELLI CLAY
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">M</span>ACHIAVELLI CLAY is
- one who looks seldom from the window and often in the glass. No man
- carries himself more upon the back of his own regard than does Machiavelli
- Clay. He believes in the wisdom of the classes, the ignorance of the
- masses, and thinks that government should be of people, by statesmen, for
- statesmen. Also he has a profound respect for Money, and little for
- perishing flesh and blood. As to each of these thought-conditions he lives
- in head-on collision with the General, who in all things is his precise
- contradiction.
- </p>
- <p>
- As a guide by which the popular view may direct itself, Machiavelli Clay
- asks the Senate to pass a vote of censure upon the General. With the help
- of Statesman Calhoun, he puts it through. The Clay-invoked “censure”
- strikes these sparks from the General:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Major,” he cries, thinking on his saw-handles as he and Wizard Lewis sit
- with their evening pipes, “if I live to get these robes of office off, I
- may yet bring that rascal to a dear account.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Banker Biddle, now when his precious Bank for its life or death will be
- made the campaign issue, is not without those pale misgivings which ever
- shake the livid heart of Money on the eve of war. Observing this
- knee-knocking trepidation, Machiavelli Clay attempts to give him courage.
- This is no difficult task for Machiavelli Clay to undertake; since, in his
- native ignorance of the popular, he harbors no doubt of the General's
- downfall. Also he extends cheering word the more readily to the quaking
- Banker Biddle, because the latter and his jeopardized Bank are to furnish
- those golden sinews of war, which will be required for the Whig campaign.
- </p>
- <p>
- Machiavelli Clay uplifts the confidence of Banker Biddle to a point where
- the latter, from his money lair in Philadelphia, writes him the following:
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>He (the General) has all the fury of a chained panther biting the bars
- of its cage—a condition which I think should contribute to relieve
- the country of the tyranny of this miserable man. You, my dear sir, are
- destined to be the instrument of that deliverance, and at no period of
- your life has the public had a deeper stake in you.</i>”
- </p>
- <p>
- In so writing to Machiavelli Clay, Banker Biddle permits his hopes to
- overrun his intelligence. Machiavelli Clay is not to become “the
- deliverer” of his hour, nor shall the “chained panther” in the White House
- be cast out. Machiavelli Clay, however, is no Elijah gifted of prophecy;
- but, on the wooden-witted other hand, proves quite as besotted touching
- the future as does Banker Biddle. He replies to that financier in these
- words:
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>Fear not; there shall come a cleansing of the Augean stables! Our
- cause cannot fail! That veto of the Bank charter is a broad confession of
- the incompetency of the Administration, and shows him (the General) unfit
- to carry on the business of government. I think we are authorized to
- confidently anticipate his defeat</i>.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Now when the candidates of the Democratic party are about to be named,
- Statesman Calhoun foresees that he himself will be ignored, and
- ex-Cabineteer Van Buren supplant him, nominationally, for the place of
- Vice-President.
- </p>
- <p>
- To save his chagrin, and on the principle that when one is about to be
- thrown out it is wise to go out, he resigns from his vice-presidential
- perch, lays down the Senate gavel, and returns to his home-state of South
- Carolina. Once there, following the Kentucky example of Machiavelli Clay,
- he sees to it that his own Legislature returns him to Washington as a
- Senator.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun abandons hope of making his appearance as a White House
- candidate in the campaign at hand. What then? He is of middle years, and
- can wait. He will lie back and watch the struggle between the General and
- Machiavelli Clay. Let victory fall where it may, he, Statesman Calhoun,
- will prepare himself for his own sure triumph in the conflict four years
- away. Which demonstrates that, while his judgment is crippled, his
- ambition stands as tall and as straight as a mountain pine.
- </p>
- <p>
- The tickets are brought to the field—the General against Machiavelli
- Clay, with ex-Cabineteer Van Buren, and a Whig obscurity named Sargent
- running for second place. The issue presents the alternative—the
- General or the Bank, humanity in a death-hug with Money.
- </p>
- <p>
- Machiavelli Clay and Banker Biddle have no fears; for they are gold-blind
- and can see nothing beyond themselves. They are given a rude awakening.
- The people speak; and when the sound of that speaking dies out, the
- General has overwhelmed Machiavelli Clay with two hundred and nineteen
- electoral votes against the latter's sixty-nine. Machiavelli Clay and
- Banker Biddle and the Bank go down, while the General—ever the
- conqueror and never once the conquered—sweeps back to the
- presidency. Also ex-Cabineteer Van Buren is made Vice-President, as
- aforetime resolved upon by the General and Wizard Lewis, and from that
- Senate eminence, so lately vacated by Statesman Calhoun, will wield the
- gavel over togaed discussion.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General, President the second time, picks up the reins, settles
- himself upon the box, and proceeds to drive his governmental times after
- this wise. He kills out what few sparks of life still animate the Biddle
- Bank. He removes the Creeks and Cherokees from Florida and Georgia, and
- thereby guarantees the scalp on many an innocent head. He throws open the
- public lands for settlement at nominal figures. He fosters a gold currency
- and discourages paper.
- </p>
- <p>
- He pays off the last splinter of the national debt, and offers to the
- wondering eyes of history the spectacle of a country that doesn't owe a
- dollar. He makes commercial treaties with every tribe of Europe. Finally,
- he compels France to pay five millions in gold for outrages long ago
- committed upon the sailors of America.
- </p>
- <p>
- The last is not brought about without some show of force. France, at the
- General's demand, falls into a white heat of rage and froths for instant
- war. The General takes France at her warlike word, notifies Congress, and
- orders his fleet into the Mediterranean, the flagship <i>Constitution</i>
- in the van.
- </p>
- <p>
- The cool vigor of the move sets France gasping. She consults England
- across the Channel, and is privily assured that whipping a Yankee
- eighty-gun ship is a feat so difficult of marine accomplishment that, like
- the blossoming of the century plant, it would be foolish to look for it
- oftener than once in one hundred years. It is England's impression,
- whispered in the Frankish ear, that it will be cheaper to pay the five
- millions. Whereupon, France breaks into diplomatic smiles, assures the
- General that her late war-rage was mere humor and her froth a jest. And
- pays.
- </p>
- <p>
- By way of a little junket, the General visits New England, and at the
- genial sight of him that chill region thaws like icicles in July. Indeed,
- the New England temperature rises to a height where Harvard College
- confers upon the General the degree of Doctor of Laws. At which Statesman
- Adams nurses his wrath with this entry in his sour diary:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Seminaries of learning have been timeservers and sycophants in every
- age.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General has done his people many a service. He has defended them from
- savage Red Stick Creeks, and savage Red-coat English with their war cry of
- “Beauty and Booty!” Now he will do his foremost work of all, and buckler
- them against the javelins of treason, save them from between the jaws of a
- conspiracy—wolfish and widespread for national destruction.
- </p>
- <p>
- The conspiracy has its birth in the ambition-crazed bosom of Statesman
- Calhoun; its shiboleth is “Nullification!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I would sooner,” said Caesar, when his courtiers were laughing at the
- pompous mayor of a little mud town in Spain—“I would sooner be first
- here than second in Rome!” And, centuries after, the sentiment wakes a
- responsive echo in the jealous breast of Statesman Calhoun.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun aims to follow the General in the headship of American
- affairs. Defeated of that, he is resolved to sever those constitutional
- links which bind his home-state of South Carolina to her sister States in
- Federal Union, and declare her a nation by and of herself.
- </p>
- <p>
- In his new rôle of “seceder,” Statesman Calhoun makes this impression on
- the English Harriet Martineau. After speaking of him as involving himself
- tighter and tighter in spinnings of political mysticism and fantastic
- speculation, she calls him a “cast-iron man” and says:
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>He (Calhoun) is eager, absorbed, overspeculative. I know of no one who
- lives in such intellectual solitude. He meets men and harangues them by
- the fireside as in the Senate. He is wrought like a piece of machinery,
- set going vehemently by a weight, and stops while you answer. He either
- passes by what you say, or twists it into suitability with what is in his
- head, and begins to lecture again. He is full of his 'Nullification,' and
- those who know the force that is in him and his utter incapacity for
- modification by other minds, will no more expect repose and self-retention
- from him than from a volcano in full force. Relaxation is no longer in the
- power of his will. I never saw anyone who gave me so completely the idea
- of 'possession.</i>'”
- </p>
- <p>
- By which the English woman would say that she thinks Statesman Calhoun
- insane. She overstates, however, his “incapacity for modification” and
- “self-retention.” There will come a day when he does not pause, nor close
- his eyes in sleep, between Washington and his home in South Carolina, such
- is his fear-spurred eagerness—with the shadow of the gibbet all
- across him!—to stamp out what fires of treason he has been at pains
- to kindle, and avoid that halter which the General promises as their
- reward.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is in Senate debate that Statesman Calhoun removes the mask from his
- intended treason, and gives the world a glimpse of its blackness. He
- threatens, unless the tariff be changed to match his pleasure, that South
- Carolina will prevent its enforcement within her borders. He declares
- South Carolina superior to the nation in her powers, and proclaims for her
- the right to “nullify” what Federal laws she deems inimical to her
- peculiar interest. He shows how South Carolina will, as against the tariff
- contemplated, invoke that inherent right to “nullify,” and says, should
- the Washington government attempt to coerce her, she will take herself out
- of the Union.
- </p>
- <p>
- To this exposition of States rights, the General in the White House
- listens with gathering scorn. He turns to Wizard Lewis:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, sir,” he cries, addressing that Merlin of politics, “if one is to
- believe Calhoun, the Union is like a bag of meal open at both ends. No
- matter how you pick it up, the meal all runs out. I shall tie the bag and
- save the country!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Treason, however base, will have its friends, and Statesman Calhoun goes
- not without “Nullification” followers. In his own mischievous State the
- doctrine is received with open arms. The Governor issues his proclamation;
- a convention of the people is authorized by the Legislature. They are to
- meet at Columbia and settle the details of “Nullification” in its
- practical workings out. They do meet; and adopt unanimously an “Ordinance
- of Nullification” which declares the tariff just made in Washington “Null,
- void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens.”
- They decree that no duties, enjoined by such tariff, shall be paid or
- permitted to be paid in any port of South Carolina. The closing assertion
- of the “Ordinance” runs that, should the Government of the United States
- try by force to collect the tariff duties, “The people of South Carolina
- will thenceforth hold themselves absolved from all further obligation to
- maintain or preserve their political connection with the people of the
- other States, and will proceed to organize a separate government, and do
- all other acts and things which sovereign and independent States may of
- right do.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0012" id="linkimage-0012"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0321.jpg" alt="0321 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0321.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- Following this doughty setting-out of what one might call the
- Palmetto-rattlesnake position, the Governor suggests military associations
- on the model of the Minute Men of the Revolution, and makes ready for what
- blood-letting shall be required to sustain Statesman Calhoun in his new
- preachment. Altogether it is a South Carolina day of bombast and blue
- cockades, with Statesman Calhoun already chosen as the president of a
- coming “Southern Confederacy.” While these dour matters are in process of
- Palmetto transaction, Statesman Hayne encounters the lion-faced Webster on
- the floor of the Senate, and the latter establishes forever the rightful
- supremacy of the Federal Union, and demonstrates that the “Nullification”
- set up by Statesman Calhoun is but the chimera of a jaundiced,
- ambition-bitten mind. Thus canters the hour in the Senate and in South
- Carolina; while up in the White House the General sits reading a book.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXIII—THE FEDERAL UNION: IT MUST BE PRESERVED
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General is
- reading his book, when in walks Wizard Lewis. The latter necromancer
- casually alludes to Statesman Calhoun, and his pet infamy of
- “Nullification.” At this the General's honest rage begins to mount.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You bear witness, Major,” he cries—“you bear witness how Calhoun is
- trying me! But by the living heavens, I'll uphold the law!” Then, shaking
- the ponderous tome at Wizard Lewis, his finger marking the place—“Here!
- I've been reading what old John Marshall said in the case of Aaron Burr.
- He makes treason in its definition as plain as a pikestaff. A man can't <i>think</i>
- treason; he can't <i>talk</i> treason; he can only <i>act</i> treason. It
- requires an act—an overt act! Calhoun is safe while he only talks or
- conspires. But let one of his followers perform one act of opposition to
- the law, even if it be no more than hand on sword hilt or just the
- snapping of a fireless flint against an empty rifle-pan, and I have him.
- There would be the overt act demanded by old Marshall; and he goes on to
- say that the overt act, once committed, attaches to all of the
- conspirators and becomes the act of each. I shall keep my ear as well as
- my eye, Major, on Calhoun's State of South Carolina; and, at the first
- crackling of a treasonable twig beneath a traitorous foot, into a felon's
- cell goes he. Then we shall see what a hempen noose will do for him and
- his 'Nullification.'”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General, the better to deliver this long oration, gets up and walks
- the floor. Having concluded, down he drops into his chair again, and to
- grubbing at old John Marshall.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General and Wizard Lewis decide that a perfect White House silence
- concerning “Nullification” is the proper course. The General will sit
- mute, and never by so much as the arching of a bushy brow intimate what he
- will do, should Statesman Calhoun push his treason to that last extreme—that
- overt act of opposition to the Federal law and its enforcement, demanded
- by the great Chief Justice. And so, while arises all this turmoil of
- treason in the Senate and South Carolina, the White House is as voiceless
- as a tomb.
- </p>
- <p>
- While the General is silent, he is in no sort idle. He makes secret
- preparations to bruise the head of the serpent of secession with a heel of
- steel. He sends General Scott to South Carolina. Into Castle Pinckney he
- conveys thousands of rifles. One by one his warships drop into Charleston
- harbor, until, with broadsides trained upon the town, scores of them ride
- at ominous anchor.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General gets word to his ever-reliable Coffee. In those well-nigh
- twenty years which have come and gone since the English were swept up in
- fire at New Orleans, the hunting-shirt men in the General's country of
- Tennessee have increased and multiplied. Their numbers are such that at
- the end of twenty days the energetic Coffee stands ready to cataract
- twenty-five thousand of them into South Carolina at the lifting of the
- General's bony finger, and follow these in forty days with twenty-five
- thousand more. Not content with his fifty thousand hunting-shirt men from
- Tennessee, the General arranges for an equal force from North Carolina and
- Georgia.
- </p>
- <p>
- If ever a people stood within the shadow of doom it is our treason-forging
- ones of South Carolina in these days of Nullification, Columbia
- Conventions, Minute Men, and Blue Cockades.
- </p>
- <p>
- Some of them are not so dim of eye but what they perceive as much, and
- begin to catch their breath. Still a wrong, once it be set rolling like a
- stone down hill, is difficult to overtake and stop. So, while the heart of
- would-be Treason beats a little faster, and its cheek turns a little
- whiter, as inklings of what the wordless General is doing begin to creep
- about among Palmetto-rattlesnake coteries, the work of making ready for
- black revolt proceeds.
- </p>
- <p>
- In Washington, that grim silence of the White House grows oppressive.
- There be prudent ones, among the nullifying adherents of Statesman
- Calhoun, who are willing to play the part of traitor if no peril attend
- the rôle. They are highly averse to the character if it promise to thrust
- their sensitive necks into gallows danger. The questions everywhere on the
- whispering lips of these timid treason mongers are:
- </p>
- <p>
- “What is the Jackson intention? What will the President do? Will he look
- upon Nullification as merely some minor sin of politics? Or, will he treat
- it as stark treason, and fall back on courts and hangman's ropes?”
- </p>
- <p>
- No one answers, for no one knows. As for the General himself, his lips are
- as dumb as a statue's. Traitors may go wrong, or go right; he will light
- no lamp for their guidance. The awful suspense is carrying many of the
- treason mongers to the brink of hysteria. Even Statesman Calhoun, morbid
- and ambition-mad, is made to pause. He himself begins to wonder if it
- would not be as well and as wise to measure in advance those iron-bound
- anti-treason lengths to which the General stands ready to go.
- </p>
- <p>
- To help them in their perplexity, Statesman
- </p>
- <p>
- Calhoun and his Nullifying followers evolve a cunning scheme. In its
- amiable execution, it should lay bare, they think, the purposes of the
- General. Statesman Calhoun and his coconspirators have long ago laid claim
- to the dead Jefferson as their patron saint of “Nullification,” asserting
- that precious tenet to be his invention. They decide to give a dinner in
- honor of the departed publicist. The dinner shall take place on the dead
- Jefferson's birthday at the Indian Queen. The General shall come as a
- guest. Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators will be there. Statesman
- Calhoun will offer a toast, declaratory of those superior rights over the
- Federal government which he asserts in favor of the separate States. It
- shall be a Nullification toast, one redolent of a State's right to secede
- from the Federal Union.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun having launched his fireship of sentiment, the General
- will be requested to give a toast. Should he comply, it is believed by
- Statesman Calhoun and his co-conspirators that he will in partial measure
- at least unlock his plans. If he refuse—why then, under the
- circumstances, his refusal will be pregnant of meaning. In either event,
- he will be beneath the batteries of five hundred eyes, and much should be
- read in his face.
- </p>
- <p>
- That Jefferson dinner is an admirable device, one adapted to draw the
- General's fire. Its authors go about felicitating themselves upon their
- sagacity in evolving it.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What say you, Major?” asks the General, when he receives the invitation
- upon which so much of national good or ill may pend; “what say you? Shall
- we humor them? You know what these Calhoun traitors are after.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “True!” responds Wizard Lewis; “they want to count us, and measure us, in
- that business of their proposed treason.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I'll tell you what I think,” says the General, after a pause. “I'll fail
- to attend; but you shall go, and be counted in my stead. Also, since
- they'll expect a toast from me, I'll send them one in your care. I hope
- they may find it to their villain liking—they and their archtraitor
- Calhoun!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Indian Queen is a crowded hostelry that Jefferson night. The halls and
- waiting rooms are thronged of eminent folk. Some are there to attend the
- dinner; others for gossip and to hear the news. As Wizard Lewis climbs the
- stairs to the banquet room on the second floor, he encounters the
- lion-faced Webster coming down.
- </p>
- <p>
- “There's too much secession in the air for me,” says the lion-faced one,
- shrugging his heavy shoulders.
- </p>
- <p>
- “If that be so,” returns Wizard Lewis, “it's a reason for remaining.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Wizard Lewis mingles with the groups in the corridors and parlors, for the
- banquet hall is not yet thrown open. Among these, he nods his recognition
- of Colonel Johnson, of Kentucky, tall of form, grave of brow, he who slew
- Tecumseh; Senator Benton, once of that safe receptive cellar; the lean
- Rufus Choate, eaten of Federalism and the worship of caste; Tom Corwin,
- round, humorous, with a face of ruddy fun; Isaac Hill, gray and lame, the
- General's Senate friend from New Hampshire whose insulted credit started
- the war on Banker Biddle's bank; Editor Noah, of New York, as Hebraic and
- as red of head as Absalom; the quick-eyed Amos Kendall; Editor Blair, who
- conducts the <i>Globe</i>, the General's mouthpiece in Washington; the
- reckless Marcy, who declares that he sees “no harm in the aphorism that
- 'to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy.'”
- </p>
- <p>
- The dinner is spread. The decorations are studied in their democracy.
- Hundreds of candles in many-armed iron branches blaze and gutter about the
- great room. The high ceilings and the walls are festooned of flags. The
- stars and stripes are draped over a portrait of the dead Jefferson. Here
- and there are hung the flags of the several States. With peculiar
- ostentation, and as though for challenge, next to the national colors
- flows the Palmetto-rattlesnake flag of South Carolina—Statesman
- Calhoun's emblem.
- </p>
- <p>
- The dinner is profuse, and folk of appetite and fineness declare it
- elegant. There is none of your long-drawn courses, so dear to Whigs and
- Federalists. Black servants come and go, to shift plates and knives, and
- carve at the call of a guest. At hopeful intervals along the tables repose
- huge sirloins, and steaming rounds of beef. There are quail pies; chickens
- fried and turkeys roasted; pies of venison and rabbits, and pot pies of
- squirrels; soups and fishes and vegetables; boiled hams, and giant dishes
- of earthenware holding baked beans; roast suckling pigs, each with a
- crab-apple in his jaws; corn breads and flour breads, and pancakes rolled
- with jellies; puddings—Indian, rice, and plum; mammoth quaking
- custards. Everywhere bristle ranks and double ranks of bottles and
- decanters; a widest range of drinks, from whisky to wine of the Cape, is
- at everybody's elbow. Also on side tables stand wooden bowls of salads,
- supported by weighty cheeses; and, to close in the flanks, pies—mince,
- pumpkin, and apple; with final coffee and slim, long pipes of clay in
- which to smoke tobacco of Trinidad.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the guests seat themselves, Chairman Lee proposes:
- </p>
- <p>
- “The memory of Thomas Jefferson.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The toast is drunk in silence. Then, with clatter of knife and fork, clink
- of glasses, and hum of conversation, the feast begins.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's absence is a daunting surprise to many who do not know how
- to construe it. Wizard Lewis, through Chairman Lee, presents the General's
- regrets. He expected to be present, but is unavoidably detained at the
- White House. The “regrets” are received uneasily; the General's absence
- plainly gives concern to more than one.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the dinner marches forward, “Nullification” and secession are much and
- loudly talked. They become so openly the burden of conversation and are
- withal so loosely in the common air, that sundry gentlemen—more
- timorous than loyal perhaps—make pointless excuses, and withdraw.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun sits on the right hand of Chairman Lee. The festival
- approaches the glass and bottle stage, and toasts are offered. There are a
- round score of these; each smells of secession and State's rights. The
- speeches which follow are even more malodorous of treason than the toasts.
- </p>
- <p>
- The hour is hurrying toward the late. Statesman Calhoun whispers a word to
- Chairman Lee; evidently the urgent moment is at hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun hands a slip of paper to Chairman Lee. There falls a
- stillness; laughter dies and talk is hushed.
- </p>
- <p>
- Chairman Lee rises to his feet. He pays Statesman Calhoun many flowery
- compliments.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The distinguished statesman from South Carolina,” says Chairman Lee in
- conclusion, “begs to propose this sentiment.” He reads from the slip:
- “'The Federal Union! Next to our liberty, the most dear! May we all
- remember that it can only be preserved by respecting the rights of the
- States, and distributing equally the burdens and the benefits of that
- Union!'”
- </p>
- <p>
- The stillness of death continues—marked and profound; for, as
- Chairman Lee resumes his seat, Wizard Lewis rises. All know his relations
- with the General; every eye is on him with a look of interrogation. Now
- when the Calhoun toast has been read, they scan the face of Wizard Lewis,
- representative of the absent General, to note the effect of the shot.
- Wizard Lewis is admirable, and notably steady.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The President,” says Wizard Lewis, “when he sent his regrets, sent also a
- sentiment.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Wizard Lewis passes a folded paper to Chairman Lee, who opens it and
- reads:
- </p>
- <p>
- “'The Federal Union! It must be preserved!”'
- </p>
- <p>
- The words fall clear as a bell—for some, perhaps, a bell of warning.
- Statesman Calhoun's face is high and insolent. But only for a moment. Then
- his glance falls; his brow becomes pallid, and breaks into a pin-point
- sprinkle of sweat. He seems to shrink and sear and wither, as though given
- some fleeting picture of the future, and the gallows prophecy thereof. In
- the end he sits as though in a kind of blackness of despair. The General
- is not there, but his words are there, and Statesman Calhoun is not
- wanting of an impression of the terrible meaning, personal to himself,
- which underlies them.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is a moment ominous and mighty—a moment when a plot to stampede
- history is foiled by a sentiment, and Treason's heart and Treason's hand
- are palsied by a toast of seven words. And while Statesman Calhoun, white
- and frightened and broken, is helpless in the midst of his followers, the
- General sits alone and thoughtful with his quiet White House pipe.
- </p>
- <p>
- For all the plain sureness of that toast, the would-be rebellionists now
- crave a surer sign. A member of Congress from South Carolina, polite and
- insinuating, calls on the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. President,” says the insinuating signseeking one, suavely
- deferential, “to-morrow I go back to my home. Have you any message for the
- good folk of South Carolina?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” returns the General grimly, his hard blue eyes upon the insinuating
- one, while his heavy brows are lowered in that falcon-trick of menace—“yes;
- I have a message for the 'good folk of South Carolina.' You may say to the
- 'good folk of South Carolina' that if one of them so much as lift finger
- in defiance of the laws of this government, I shall come down there. And
- I'll hang the first man I lay hands on, to the first tree I can reach.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXIV—THE ROUT OF TREASON
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">D</span>EMOCRACY goes not
- without its defects, and there be times when that very freedom wherewith
- it invests the citizen spreads a snare to his feet. For a chief fault,
- Democracy is apt to mislead ambitious ones, dominated of ego and a want of
- patriotism in even parts. Such are prone to run liberty into license in
- following forth the appetites of their own selfishness, and forget where
- the frontiers of loyalty leave off and those of black treason begin.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a democracy, for your clambering narrowist to turn traitor is never a
- far-fetched task. Being free to speak as he politically will and, per
- incident, think as he politically will, he finds it no mighty journey to
- the perilous assumption that he may act as he politically will. Knowing
- his duty to guard the temple, he argues therefrom his right to deface it.
- Treason fades into a mere abstraction—a crime curious in this, that
- it is impossible of concrete commission.
- </p>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun is among these ill-guided ones of topsy-turvy
- patriotism. Blurred by ambition, soured of disappointment, license and
- liberty have grown with him to be unconscious synonyms. The laws against
- treason carry only a remonstrance, never a warning, and—as he reads
- them—but deplore that civic villainy, while threatening nothing of
- grief for what dark souls shall be guilty of it. In this frame the
- General's stark sentiment, “The Federal Union! It must be preserved!” and
- that subsequent hanging promise which, by the mouth of the suave
- insinuating one, he sends to “the good folk of South Carolina,” go beyond
- surprise with Statesman Calhoun, and provide a shock. It is as though,
- walking in a trance of treason, he knocks his head against the White House
- wall; his awakening is rudely, painfully complete. That dream of a
- separate nation, with himself at its head, gives way to hangman visions of
- rope and gallows tree; and, from bending his energies to methods by which
- he may take South Carolina out of the Union, he gives himself wholly to
- the more tremulous enterprise of keeping himself out of jail.
- </p>
- <p>
- Some hint of that recent literature, which the General found so
- interesting, gets abroad, and many go reading the lucid dictum of old
- Marshall. Treason as a crime becomes better understood; and—by
- Statesman Calhoun at least—better feared. Moved of these fears,
- Statesman Calhoun sends message after message into his restless
- Palmetto-rattlesnake State of South Carolina commanding, nay imploring, a
- present suspension of “Nullification.” His Palmetto-rattlesnake adherents,
- while not understanding the danger which fringes them about, have already
- found enough that is alarming in the very air; and, for their own safety
- as much as his, are heedful to regard that prayer for a “Nullification”
- passivity. The South Carolina shouting ceases; the Minute Men rest on
- their traitorous arms; the manufacture of blue cockades is abandoned;
- while the Columbia convention devotes itself to innocuous adjournments
- from innocent day to day.
- </p>
- <p>
- While Palmetto-rattlesnake affairs are thus timidly quiescent, the Senate
- itself—having read old Marshall, and being, moreover, somewhat
- instructed by the watchful attitude of the General, who sits in the White
- House a figure of frowning menace, both relentless and fateful—devotes
- itself to the scaffold extrication of Statesman Calhoun. Machiavelli Clay
- leads the rescue party. His is of an opposite political church to that of
- Statesman Calhoun; but the pair meet on the warm, common ground of a
- deathless hatred of the General. Under the mollifying guidance of
- Machiavelli Clay, Senator after Senator surrenders those pet schedules of
- tariff desired of his own people, and puts the surrender on the expressive
- basis of “saving the neck of Calhoun.”
- </p>
- <p>
- When every possible tariff cut has been arranged, and Congress adjourns,
- Statesman Calhoun makes his memorable homeward flight. Horse after horse
- he rides down, night becomes as day; for Death crouches on his crupper,
- and he must stay the Nullifying hand of South Carolina to save his own
- neck. He succeeds beyond his deserts, and comes powdering into Columbia,
- worn and wan and anxious, yet none the less ahead of that “overt act”
- whereof old Marshall spoke, and for which the somber General waits.
- </p>
- <p>
- Once among his own treason-hatching coterie, Statesman Calhoun loses no
- moments, but breaks up the “Nullification” nest. Secession dies in the
- shell, and the Columbia convention, with more speed even than it displayed
- in passing it, repeals that “Ordinance of Nullification.” Thereupon
- Statesman Calhoun draws his breath more freely, as one who has been grazed
- by the sinister fangs of Fate; while the inveterate General heaves a sigh
- of regret.
- </p>
- <p>
- Wizard Lewis overhears the sigh, and questions it. At this the General
- explains his disappointment.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It would have been better,” says he, “had we shed a little blood. This is
- not the end, Major; the serpent of treason is only bruised, not slain. Had
- Calhoun run his course, a handful of hundreds might have died. As affairs
- stand, however, the country must one day wade knee-deep in blood to save
- itself. These men are not honest. Their true purpose is the downfall of
- the Union. Their present pretext is tariff; next time it will be slavery.”
- </p>
- <p>
- By way of bringing the iniquity of “Nullification” before the people,
- together with his views concerning it, the General seizes his big iron
- pen, and scratches off a proclamation.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I consider,” says he, “the power to annul a law of the United States,
- assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union,
- contradicted expressly by the Constitution, unauthorized by either its
- letter or its spirit, inconsistent with every principle upon which it was
- founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The country, reading the General's exposition of the Union and its
- Gibraltar-like character, breaks into bonfires, oratory, dinners,
- barbecues, parades, and what other schemes of jubilation are practiced by
- a free people. That is to say the country breaks into these sundry
- jubilant things, if one except the truant State of South Carolina. In that
- Palmetto-rattlesnake-ridden commonwealth there prevails a sulky silence.
- No bonfires blaze, no barbecues scorch, no dinners smoke, no parades
- march. Baffled in its would-be treasons, afraid to stretch forth its
- nullifying hand lest the sword of retribution strike it off at the wrist,
- it comports itself like a spoiled child thwarted, and upholds its little
- dignity with a pout. No one heeds, however; and, beyond an occasional
- baleful glance from the General, the rest of the world leaves it to
- recover from that pout in its own time and way.
- </p>
- <p>
- When Congress reconvenes, Statesman Calhoun creeps back to his Senate
- place. But the perils through which he has passed have left their
- furrowing traces, and now he offers nothing, says nothing, does nothing.
- His heart is water; his evil potentialities have oozed away. Haunted of
- that hangman fear which still hag-rides him, he abides mute, motionless,
- impotent, like some Satan in chains.
- </p>
- <p>
- To further wound Statesman Calhoun, and in the mean, protesting teeth of
- Machiavelli Clay, the Senate expunges from its record the vote of censure
- it once passed upon the General. The resolution to expunge is offered by
- Senator Benton who, as against a far-off Nashville hour when only a
- generous cellar saved him from the General's saw-handle, is to-day the
- latter's partisan and friend. The General is hugely pleased by the
- censure-expunging resolution, and has what Senate ones supported it—being
- fairly the whole Senate, when one forgets Machiavelli Clay, and our
- chained, embittered Satan, Statesman Calhoun—to a grand dinner in
- the East Room.
- </p>
- <p>
- And now the official times wag prosperously with the General. His friends
- are everywhere dominant, his enemies everywhere in retreat. Also his hair,
- from iron gray, fades to milk-white.
- </p>
- <p>
- Since nothing peculiar presses upon him in the way of opposition, the
- General falls ill. He makes little of this, however; and cures himself
- with tobacco, coffee, calomel, and lancets, while outraged doctors groan.
- Likewise, he burns midnight oil in planning with Wizard Lewis the
- elevation of Vice-President Van Buren, who he is resolved shall have the
- presidency after him.
- </p>
- <p>
- While thus the General lays his Van Buren plans, misguided admirers
- bombard him with such marks of their regard as a phaëton built of unbarked
- hickory, and a cheese weighing fourteen hundred pounds. The latter sturdy
- confection is trundled into the White House kitchen, from which coign of
- vantage it sends on high a perfume so utterly urgent that none may stay in
- the White House until it is removed. Following its going, the executive
- windows are thrown open throughout a wind-swept afternoon, to the end that
- the last suffocating reminder of that cheese shall be eliminated.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's hours as President are drawing to a close. His hopes
- touching a successor carry through triumphantly, and Vice-President Van
- Buren is selected to follow him. Neither Machiavelli Clay for the Whigs,
- nor Statesman Calhoun among the Democrats, has the courage to offer his
- own name to the people.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0013" id="linkimage-0013"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0353.jpg" alt="0353 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0353.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- Statesman Calhoun, aiming to subtract as much as he may from the fortunes
- of nominee Van Buren, produces a bolting ticket, headed by one Mangum;
- and, for Mangum, Palmetto-rattlesnake South Carolina—still in a
- tearful pout—wastes its lonely arrow in the air. It was, it will be,
- ever thus with South Carolina, who might do herself a good, and come to
- some true notion of her own peevish inconsequence, if she would but take a
- long, hard look in the glass. She is as one who attends the fairs, but so
- over-esteems herself as to defeat every bargain she might make. Her best
- chances are cast away, a cheap sacrifice to vanity, since no one will
- either buy her or sell her at the figure she sets on herself. Thus, too,
- will it continue. Her frayed prospects, already behind a fashion, are to
- wax more shopworn and more threadbare as the years unfold.
- </p>
- <p>
- Nominee Van Buren is elected to succeed the General in the White House,
- and every friend of the latter votes for the little polite man of
- Kinderhook. The General is delighted, since the elevation of nominee Van
- Buren provides for a continuation of his darling policies.
- </p>
- <p>
- Wizard Lewis is delighted, because the new situation permits the return of
- himself and his beloved General to their homes by the Cumberland. Nor does
- it detract from the satisfaction of either that, with the presidential
- coming of the Kinderhook one, the final door of political hope is barred
- fast in the faces of Machiavelli Clay and Statesman Calhoun; for both the
- General and Wizard Lewis hate these two as though that hatred were a
- religious rite.
- </p>
- <p>
- At last dawns President Van Buren's inauguration morning, and the General
- stands for the last time before a people whose good and whose honor he has
- so jealously guarded. Of this farewell appearance, poet Willis writes:
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>The air was elastic; the day bright and still. More than twenty
- thousand people had assembled. The procession, the General and Mr. Van
- Buren riding uncovered, arrived a little after noon. Their carriage, drawn
- by four grays, paused. Descending from it at the foot of the steps, a
- passage was made through the crowd, and the tall white head of the old
- chieftain went steadily up. The crowd of diplomats and senators to the
- rear gave way. A murmur of feeling rose up from the moving mass below, as
- the infirm old General, coming as he had from a sick chamber which his
- physicians had thought it impossible he should leave, stood bowed before
- the people</i>.”
- </p>
- <p>
- In his address the General touches many things. He closes by saying: “My
- own race is nearly run. Advanced age and failing health warn me that I
- must soon pass beyond the reach of human events. I thank God my life has
- been spent in a land of liberty, and that He gave me a heart wherewith to
- love my country. Filled with gratitude, I bid you farewell.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XXV—THE GRAVE AT THE GARDEN'S FOOT
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE General wends
- his slow way homeward, and is two months about the journey. His progress,
- broken by many stops, is like both a triumph and a funeral; for double
- ranks of worshipers line the route and sob or cheer as he passes. The
- harsh horse-face is seamed of care and worn by sickness; but the slim form
- is still erect and lance-like, and the blue eyes gleam as hawkishly
- dangerous as when, behind his low mud walls with the faithful Coffee and
- his hunting-shirt men, he broke down England's pride at New Orleans.
- Everywhere the people press about him; for republics are not ungrateful,
- and for once in a way of politics it is the setting, not the rising sun
- upon which all eyes are centered. In the end he reaches home, and his
- country of the Cumberland, as on many a former day, opens its arms to
- receive him.
- </p>
- <p>
- And now the General, for all his sickness and his well-nigh threescore
- years and ten, must bend himself to his labors as a planter; for he has
- come back very poor. He has his acres and his slaves; but debts have piled
- themselves high, and the tooth of decay can do a devastating deal in eight
- years.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General goes to work as though life is just begun. The fences are
- renewed, the buildings repaired, while the plow breaks fresh furrows in
- fields that have lain fallow too long. To finance his plans, he borrows
- ten thousand dollars from Editor Blair. Later, by a huddle of months,
- Congress repays him that one-thousand-dollar fine, of which a quarter of a
- century before he was mulcted in New Orleans. This latter, interest
- swollen, is twenty-seven hundred dollars—a sum not treated lightly
- in this hour of his narrowed fortunes!
- </p>
- <p>
- All goes prosperously. The generous soil, as though for welcome to the
- General, grants such crops of cotton that the wondering Cumberland folk,
- as once they did aforetime, come miles to view his fields. When not busy
- with his planting, the General is immersed in politics. Each day he rides
- down to Wizard Lewis four miles below; or Wizard Lewis rides those four
- miles up to the Hermitage. Being together, the pair, over pipe and
- moderate glass, sagely consider the state of the nation.
- </p>
- <p>
- Down by the General's gate is a large-stomached mail box. Each morning
- finds it stuffed to suffocation with sheaves of letters and papers tied in
- bundles. Also there are shoals and shoals of visitors. For the General's
- home is a Mecca of politics, to which pilgrims of party turn their steps
- by ones and twos and tens. Some come to do the stark old General honor;
- some are one-time comrades, or friends who rose up around him on fields of
- party war. For the most, however, and because humanity is selfish before
- it is either just or generous, the visitors are office-seeking folk, who
- ask the magic of the General's signature to their appeals.
- </p>
- <p>
- These selfish ones become, in their vermin number and persistency, a very
- plague. They wring from the suffering General the following:
- </p>
- <p>
- “The good book, Major,” says he to Wizard Lewis, “tells us that at the
- beginning there were in Eden a man, a woman, and an office seeker who had
- been kicked out of heaven for preaching 'Nullification' I To judge of the
- visiting procession, as it streams in and out of my front gate, I should
- say that the latter in his descendants has increased and multiplied far
- beyond the other two.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The French king forgets and forgives those grievous five millions, and
- dispatches an artist of celebration to paint the General's portrait. The
- artist finds the latter of a mind to humor the French king. The portrait
- is painted—a striking likeness!—and the gratified artist
- carries it victoriously across seas to his royal master.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0014" id="linkimage-0014"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0365.jpg" alt="0365 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0365.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- The General becomes concerned in keeping England from stealing Oregon, and
- writes letters to the Government at Washington in protest against it.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oregon or war!” is his counsel.
- </p>
- <p>
- Just as deeply does he involve himself for the admission of Texas into the
- Union, declaring that of right the nation's boundary should be, and, save
- for the criminal carelessness of Statesman Adams on the occasion of the
- last treaty with Spain—made in a Monroe hour—would be, the Rio
- Grande. Statesman Adams, now in his icy old age, makes a speech in Boston
- and denies this; whereat the General retorts in an open letter that
- Statesman Adams is “a monarchist in disguise,” a “traitor,” a “falsifier,”
- and his “entire address full of statements at war with truth, and
- sentiments hostile to every dictate of patriotism.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Machiavelli Clay foolishly invades the Cumberland country on a broad
- mission of personal politics, and he like Statesman Adams makes a speech.
- Machiavelli Clay, however, does not talk of Oregon, or Texas, or what
- shall be the nation's foreign policy, whether timid or warlike. His is
- wholly and solely a party oration, and in it he pays left-handed tribute
- to Aaron Burr, dead a decade. Machiavelli Clay escapes no better with his
- offensive eloquence than does Statesman Adams. The perilous old General
- from his Hermitage is instantly out upon him with another open letter, of
- which the closing paragraph says:
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>How contemptible does this lying demagogue appear, when he descends
- from his high place in the Senate, and roams over the country retailing
- slanders against the dead</i>.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General is much refreshed by these outbursts, and, in that contentment
- of soul which follows, resolves to join the church. Long ago he promised
- the blooming Rachel, fast asleep at the foot of the garden, that once he
- be free from the muddy yoke of politics he will accept religion, and now
- he keeps his word. He unites himself with the congregation which worships
- in that little chapel, aforetime built for the blooming Rachel, and, upon
- his coming into the fold, there arises vast rejoicing throughout the
- ardent length and breadth of Cumberland Presbyterianism.
- </p>
- <p>
- The pastor, Dominie Edgar, calls often at the Hermitage; for he feels that
- the General may require some special spiritual grooming. One day he
- observes that convert's saw-handles, oiled and neat and ready for blood,
- on a mantel, prayerfully crossed beneath a portrait of the blooming
- Rachel. The good dominie is shocked, but does not show it. He picks up one
- of the saw-handles.
- </p>
- <p>
- “This has seen service, doubtless,” he remarks tentatively.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ay!” responds the General grimly; “it has seen good service.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dominie Edgar puts the saw-handle back in place, and his curiosity pushes
- no farther afield. He rightly conjectures it to be the weapon which cut
- down the slanderous Dickinson, and mentally holds that it will more
- advantage the soul of his convert to touch as scantily as may be upon
- topics so ferocious. Shifting his ground, Dominie Edgar asks:
- </p>
- <p>
- “General, do you forgive your enemies?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Parson,” says the convert, “I forgive <i>my</i> enemies, and welcome. But
- I shall never”—here he points up at the portrait of the blooming
- Rachel, which seems to lovingly follow his every motion with its painted
- patient eyes—“I shall never forgive <i>her</i> enemies. My feud
- shall follow them, and the memory of them, to the end of time.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dominie Edgar sits down with his convert to show him the error of his
- obdurate ways. He lectures cogently. It is to be feared, however, that his
- doctrinal seed of forgiveness falls upon hard, intractable ground; for,
- while the convert says never a word, the lecture serves but to light again
- in those blue eyes what lamps of hateful battle burned there on a certain
- fierce May morning in that popular Kentucky wood.
- </p>
- <p>
- The long days come and go, and the General lives on in fortune, peace, and
- honor. Then the end draws down; for the General has run his threescore
- years and ten, and well-nigh ten years more. Wizard Lewis sits by his
- bedside, and never leaves him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I want to go, Major,” murmurs the General to Wizard Lewis; “for she is
- over there.” He raises his eyes to the portrait of the blooming Rachel,
- and looks upon it long and lovingly. “Major!”—Wizard Lewis presses
- the thin hand—“see that they make my grave by her side at the
- garden's foot!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General drifts into a stupor, Wizard Lewis holding fast his hand. The
- good dominie Edgar is on his knees at prayer. From the porch outside the
- sick room are heard the sobs and moans of the mourning blacks.
- </p>
- <p>
- Wizard Lewis attempts to recall the dying General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What would you have done with Calhoun,” he asks, “had he persisted in his
- 'Nullification' designs?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The blue eyes rouse, and sparkle and glance with old-time fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What would I have done with Calhoun?” repeats the General, his voice
- renewed and strong; “Hanged him, sir!—hanged him as high as Haman!
- He should have been a warning to traitors for all time!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The sparkle subsides; the blue eyes close again in the dullness of coming
- death. Wizard Lewis holds the poor thin hand, while Dominie Edgar prays on
- to the accompaniment of the sobbing and the moaning of the sorrowing
- blacks.
- </p>
- <p>
- The prayer ends; the good dominie rises to his feet.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do you know me, General?” he whispers. The dim eyes are lifted to those
- of Dominie Edgar. The latter goes on: “The love of the Lord is infinite!
- In it you shall find heaven!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General turns with looks of love to the portrait of the blooming
- Rachel.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Parson,” says he, “I must meet her there, or it will be no heaven for
- me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General's head droops heavily forward. Dominie Edgar falls upon his
- knees, and the voice of his praying goes upward with the moaning and the
- sobbing of the slaves. Wizard Lewis places his hand on the General's
- breast. He sighs, and shakes his head. That mighty heart, all love, all
- iron, is still.
- </p>
- <h3>
- THE END
- </h3>
- <div style="height: 6em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of When Men Grew Tall, or The Story Of
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