diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17562-8.txt | 3176 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17562-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 69265 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17562-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 73708 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17562-h/17562-h.htm | 3284 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17562.txt | 3176 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17562.zip | bin | 0 -> 69215 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
9 files changed, 9652 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17562-8.txt b/17562-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4686694 --- /dev/null +++ b/17562-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3176 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Trifles for the Christmas Holidays, by H. S. Armstrong + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Trifles for the Christmas Holidays + +Author: H. S. Armstrong + +Release Date: January 21, 2006 [EBook #17562] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRIFLES FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS *** + + + + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images produced by the Wright +American Fiction Project.) + + + + + + + + + +TRIFLES + +FOR THE + +CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS. + + +BY + +H.S. ARMSTRONG. + +PHILADELPHIA: +J.B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. +1869. + +Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by + +HENRY S. ARMSTRONG, + +In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the +District of Louisiana. + + +TO + +JAS. DAVIDSON HILL, + +OF NEW ORLEANS, + +A CHOSEN SCHOOL-FELLOW, A STANCH COMRADE IN ARMS, AND THE TRUE FRIEND OF +LATER YEARS, + +THESE + +"Trifles" + +ARE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +THE OVERTURE 9 + +A CHRISTMAS MELODY 15 + +STORY OF A BEAST 29 + +LEAVES IN THE LIFE OF AN IDLER 45 + +MR. BUTTERBY RECORDS HIS CASE 71 + +DIAMONDS AND HEARTS 98 + + + + +TRIFLES + +FOR + +THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS. + + + + +THE OVERTURE. + + +Christmas! What worldly care could ever lessen the joy of that eventful +day? At your first waking in the morning, when you lie gazing in drowsy +listlessness at the brass ornament on your bed-tester, when the ring of +the milkman is like a dream, and the cries of the bread-man and +newspaper-boy sound far off in the distance, it peals at you in the +laughter and gay greetings of the servants in the yard. Your senses are +aroused by a promiscuous discharging of pistols, and you are filled with +a vague thought that the whole city has been formed into a line of +skirmishers. You are startled by a noise on the front pavement, which +sounds like an energetic drummer beating the long roll on a barrel-head; +and you have an indistinct idea that some improvident urchin (up since +the dawn) has just expended his last fire-cracker. + +At length there is a stir in the room near you. You hear the patter of +little feet on the stairs, and the sound of childish voices in the +drawing-room. What transports of admiration, what peals of joyous +clamor, fall on your sleepy ears! The patter on the stairs sounds louder +and louder, the ringing voices come nearer and nearer; you hear the +little hands on your door-knob, and you hurry on your dressing-gown; for +it is Christmas morning. + +What a wonderful time you have at breakfast! There are a half-dozen +silver forks for ma, a new napkin-ring for you, and what astonishing +hay-wagons and crying dolls for the children! Jane, the house-maid, is +beaming with happiness in a new collar and black silk apron; and Bridget +will persist in wearing her silver thimble and carrying her new +work-basket, though they threaten utter destruction to the +beefsteak-plate. + +You sit an unusually long time over your coffee that morning, and say an +unusual number of facetious things to everybody. You cover Jane with +confusion, and throw Bridget into an explosion of mirth, by slyly +alluding to a blue-eyed young dray-man you one evening noticed seated on +the kitchen steps. Perhaps you venture a prediction on the miserable +existence he is some day destined to experience,--when a look from the +little lady in the merino morning-wrapper checks you, and you confess to +yourself that you are feeling uncommonly happy. + +At last the breakfast ends, and the children go out for a romp. Perhaps +you are a little taken aback when you are informed your easy-chair has +been removed to the library; but you see Bridget, still in secure +possession of her thimble and work-basket, with a huge china bowl in one +hand and an egg-beater in the other, looking very warm and very much +confused, and you take your departure to your own domain, to con over +the morning papers. + +You hear an indistinct sound of the drawing of corks and beating of +eggs; of a great many dishes being taken out of the china-closet, and a +good many orders being given in an undertone,--why is it women always +will speak in a whisper when there is a man about the house?--and you +lose yourself in the "leader," or the prices current. + +The skirmishers have evidently suffered disaster; for the firing becomes +more and more distant, and at length dies from your hearing. You are +favored with a call from the improvident little boy, who requests you to +grant him the privilege of collecting such of his unexploded +fire-crackers as may be in your front yard, giving you, at the same +time, the interesting information that they are to be made into +"spit-devils." You are overwhelmed by a profound bow from the grocer's +lad as he passes your window, and you invite him in and beg that he will +honor you by accepting half a dollar and a handful of doughnuts:--the +lady in the merino morning-wrapper has provided a cake-basket full for +the occasion. You are also waited on by the milkman, who, you are glad +to see, is really flesh and blood, and not, as you have sometimes +supposed, an unearthly bell-ringer who visited this sublunary sphere +only at five A.M., and then for the sole purpose of disturbing +your morning nap. You are also complimented by the wood-man and +wood-sawyer, an English sailor with a wooden leg, who once nearly +swamped you in a tornado of nautical interjections, on your presenting +him a new pea-jacket. And then comes the German fruit-woman, whose first +customer you have the distinguished honor to be, and who, in +consequence, has taken breakfast in your kitchen for the last ten years. +You remember that on one occasion she spoke of her little boy, named +Heinderich, who was suffering with his teeth; and when you hope that +Heinderich is better, you are surprised to learn that he is quite a +large boy, going to the public school, and that the lady in the merino +morning-wrapper has just sent him a new cap. + +The heaping pile of doughnuts gradually lessens, until finally there is +not one left. The last dish is evidently taken from the china-closet, +and the whole house is filled with that portentous stillness which +causes the mothers of mischievous offspring so much trepidation. + +You expect to see the merino morning-wrapper reconnoitering the +movements of your own sweet pledges of affection; but she doesn't: you +can only hear the ticking of the little French clock on the +mantle-piece, and the spluttering of the coal as it bursts into a gassy +flame between the bars of the grate, and you almost imagine Christmas +has passed. You are deceived; for by-and-by you hear your children's +footsteps as they skip over the garden-walk, and the sound of their +ringing laughter as they rush in out of the cold, and their clamor rises +louder and gladder and more jubilant than ever. Grandpa! Who does not +know him, with his joyous face and hearty morning greeting? How +resplendent he looks in his broadcloth suit, his gold-headed cane and +great blue overcoat! What quantities of almonds and raisins, of oranges +and sweetmeats, those overcoat-pockets contain! What child ever lived +who did not believe grandpa's pocket a cornucopia for all juvenile +desires? The day passes on. The turkey never looked browner or juicier, +and the blaze on the pudding-sauce never burned bluer; the kissing under +the mistletoe was never more delightful, nor the blindman's-buff ever +played with a greater zest: but the merriest Christmas must end. Your +little girl, tired and sleepy, kneels at your feet, and you pass your +fingers through her soft curls, while she repeats her simple prayer: +"God bless pa, God bless ma, God bless grandpa, God bless little +brother, and God bless Santa Claus;" and you hope that God _will_ bless +Santa Claus. You thank your Creator you _are_ the master of that quiet +home and the father of those dear children, and go to your rest with a +heart full of gratitude. You hope that all the newspaper-boys, and all +the milkmen and bread-men's children, and all the little boys and girls +who have no fathers or mothers or grandpas, and all the poor, and all +the sick, and all the blind, and all the distressed, have had a merry +Christmas. + +At a time like this, when the security of your own reward relaxes +scrutiny for the shortcomings of others, I would have you take up these +"_Trifles_." + + + + +A CHRISTMAS MELODY. + + +The Prelude. + +"Twenty-nine dollars! Very well, Mr. John Redfield: I think you _have_ +cut your allowance a _little_ low. With bracelets, bonbons, and other +gewgaws for your interesting friends, I must say your enjoyment of this +prospective Twenty-fifth of December is somewhat reduced. When a man has +skated over the frozen surface of society a little matter of +one-and-thirty years, it is just reasonable to hope he has reached that +desideratum known as years of discretion. There is a little adage +relating to the immeasurably short time the feeble-minded enjoy +pecuniary advantages, which I think decidedly applicable to you. + +"A rather severe epigram, occurring in the Holy Scriptures, goes to show +the impossibility--even though the somewhat unsatisfactory argument of +the pestle and mortar be resorted to--of separating the same class of +people from their rather confused ideas of the fitness of things. +However, when the Mussulman, careering over Sahara, finds himself, by a +stumble of his horse, rolling in the sand, with his yataghan, pistols, +and turban scattered around him, he rises quietly, and exclaims, 'Allah +is great!' I know a Christian would have expended his wrath in a variety +of anathemas highly edifying, and close by wishing his unfortunate steed +in a much warmer climate than the Mohammedan has any idea of. I am a +poor church-man: let me emulate the philosophy of the simple child of +the desert, and when I fall into trouble bear it patiently. + +"I wonder what the grim savage would do were he short of money in a land +thronging with beggars and other blissful adjuncts of civilization? Woe +unto every blind or club-foot man, and every one-armed or scalded woman, +_I_ meet to-day! They shall work out their own salvation with fear and +trembling, or I'm an idiot. + +"Why, bless my soul, the fortunes bequeathed to all the novel-heroes +created this century, would not begin to supply them!" + +Redfield shook his head decidedly when he came to this part of his +monologue, and put the gold and silver coins back into his pocket. + +"I hate poor people--I positively do! I despise their pale faces and +cadaverous expression. I detest straggling little girls who come up to +you and say their mothers have been bedridden for three months, and all +their little brothers and sisters are down with the fever. I know it's +a lie. I can detect at once the professional whine, and am certain the +story has been repeated by rote a hundred times that day; but for the +life of me I cannot put out from my mind the imaginary picture of the +half-furnished room in some filthy back street, with a forlorn woman +with red hair stretched on a bed of straw, and half a dozen or more +red-haired children piled about promiscuously. + +"There is a wretched little German girl, always managing to have a boil +either on her forehead or the back of her neck,--I believe in my soul +it's from overfeeding,--who follows my footsteps like a misanthropic +vampire. By what ingenuity she manages to cajole me out of my money I +know not, but I positively assert that in the last fortnight, according +to her account, her unhappy mother has suffered from eleven different +incurable diseases. My God! what a complication of misfortune! Why not +let them starve? When a man is not capable of maintaining a family, why +in Heaven's name does he ever have one? + +"I think I will follow the maxims of political economists and all +respectable members of society, and vote beggars a nuisance. I wonder +how many people to-day, praying for deliverance by Christ's 'agony and +bloody sweat,' by his 'cross and passion,' his 'precious death and +burial,' his 'glorious resurrection and ascension,' and the 'coming of +the Holy Ghost,' don't? + +"This _is_ a charitable frame of mind to precede a Christmas morning. +When did I contract the habit of talking to myself? + +"I must be impressed with the two grand reasons of the man we all know +of: first, I like to talk to a sensible man, and second, I like to hear +a sensible man talk. + +"I wonder if there is not something under the surface in Sol Smith's +charity sermon? I rather like its pithy style: + +"'He that giveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord. Now, brethren, if you +are satisfied with the security, down with the dust.' + +"I once repeated it to a gaunt little parson, and his look of +unmitigated horror caused me to hide my diminished head. I knew from his +manner--he did not condescend a reply--what chamber in the Inferno was +being heated up for my especial benefit. Well, well! the sentiment is +doubtless creditable to his head and heart. + +"What a pity it is I am not one of the 'good' people! What an +agonizingly cerulean expression I would wear, to be sure! + +"I wonder why young mothers don't write for their children's first copy +Dante's inscription, and teach their baby lips to lisp of the world what +he says of hell. It's surprising to me that that parson is not crazed at +his sense of the certain perdition into which everybody except himself +is hurrying. Perhaps, after all, there is something in the question of +La Rochefoucauld, 'Is it not astonishing that we are not altogether +overpowered at the misfortunes of our friends?' Well, man learns +something every day. When I first saw a chicken take a billful of water +and hold up its head, in my childish simplicity I imagined it thanking +God: I afterward discovered it was only letting the water run down its +throat. My mind, like good wine or bad butter, must be strengthening by +age. + +"Why can't we take things quietly, as we did when we were boys? I expect +I had a rather comfortable time of it then, though I did get whipped for +tearing my clothes, and killing flies, which I used to do worse than any +bald hornet. + +"Now, that youngster walking before me is whistling like a lark, and, by +the Lord Harry, he has scarcely a shoe to his foot!" + +He was a poor boy, perhaps seven or eight years old. His face was pale +and careworn, and though he whistled, it was a solemn kind of whistle, +that sounded more like a lamentation than the outburst of childish +gladness. His clothes were too thin and worn for his slight frame, for +the morning, though clear and bright, was frosty, and his little bare +toes peeping out of his shoes were blue with the cold. He hurried +through the streets with a bundle of papers, but, even while intent on +their sale, he had the walk of an old man, and his small shoulders +stooped as though they bent under the weight of years. + +Redfield eyed him narrowly. + +"Paper, sir?" + +"So, in this frenzied struggle after bread, you are an itinerant vendor +of periodical literature?" + +"You mean I sell papers, sir? Yes. I've only been at it three weeks. I'm +'stuck' this morning. Haven't got a good beat yet. Paper, sir?" + +"Have you no fears of risking your commercial character by appearing on +the streets in that unheard-of dress?" + +The boy reddened. + +"I've been sick," said he, at length, "for a very long time." + +"My Lord!" groaned the philosopher; "here's another conspiracy against +my unfortunate pocket-book! Why don't your mother take care of you?" + +"She did, sir; but she sews for slop-shops, and has worked so much at +night that she's almost blind." + +"Worse and worse! and here's an outfitting establishment just across the +street. When will I acquire anything like habits of prudence? Boy," said +he, fiercely, "you are a young vagabond, and deserve to starve. Your +mother should be put in the pillory for ever marrying. That's what the +world says,--and what I would think, if I wasn't a consummate ass. Were +you ever blessed with a view of the most unmitigated simpleton the sun +ever shone upon? Look at me! Look good: I am worthy of a close +inspection. Now come along, and see to what extent my folly sometimes +carries me." + +He caught the boy roughly by the arm, jerked rather than led him across +the street, and thrust him bodily among a crowd of astonished clerks who +stood at the door of a clothing-house. + +"Take this young vagrant and put him into new boots, with woolen socks, +some kind of a gray jacket and trowsers, and a hat that's fit for a +civilized age." + +Seeing that Redfield was really in earnest, the proprietor obeyed the +order promptly, and in half an hour the boy reappeared, rather red, a +little uncertain, but decidedly altered for the better. + +"Now go," cried the cynic, with a smile, and a shake of his hand, "and +thank your stars the fool-killer did not come along before you." + +"Nineteen dollars and a half! Bless me! what am I coming to? It may be +laying up treasures in heaven; but, by Jove, I had rather see it than +hear tell of it." + + +The Refrain. + +It certainly was the dreariest 24th of December an unhappy boy ever had +the misery of witnessing. In a vain endeavor to get up an excitement, I +expended my last fire-cracker; but the continuous drizzle drowned out +every one. It was only four o'clock, and yet the fog hung like a pall +over the windows, and the gas-men were lighting the lamps in the street. +My mother, and an old schoolmate, Mrs. Mary Morton, adjourned to the +privacy of her bedroom; and, a pet navigation enterprise, conducted in +the gutter, having resulted in shipwreck and a severe sore throat, I +also was permitted to enjoy its cosey quiet. John Redfield came in as +the evening advanced. He had been sick; and my mother, wheeling the +lounge near the fire, made him lie down and have something warm to +drink. He and Mrs. Morton were intimate with the family from my earliest +recollection. + +The four, in their childhood, lived near each other, among the +picturesque hills of Western Pennsylvania. They went to the same school, +played in the same woods, and now, in mature life, retained the warm +regard of the days gone by. I say four; for Mr. Redfield had a +sister,--Mrs. Hague, a pale, lovely little lady, who at one time visited +my mother very often. There had been some estrangement between her and +her brother, the particulars of which I never knew. She had married, +years before, a worthless kind of a man, who kept a shoestore; but he +became involved, the store was sold out by the sheriff and since then +both were in a manner lost. + +John Redfield, though an abrupt man, and rather eccentric, had as kind a +heart as any one I ever knew. He was connected with a newspaper in the +city, and wrote wonderful articles about police courts, that, somehow, +sounded more like sermons than stories. In my early days, before +Gutenberg and his movable types came within the scope of my knowledge, I +believed he printed out the whole edition with a lead-pencil, and +entertained most exalted ideas of his capacity. He had a passion for +giving boys painted boats. I must have received twenty--all exactly +alike--at various outbreaks of his generosity. He had the queerest way +of bestowing favors I almost ever saw. When he wished to make a boy a +present, he shoved it roughly into his pocket, and then started off as +if the house was on fire. What brought up the subject I do not now +remember, but that evening Mrs. Morton persisted in talking about Clara +Hague. She spoke of their childhood, of the old homestead, of the +nutting, the apple-picking, the cider-making, and the hundred other +occupations and amusements of their young life. + +She had a vivid power of description, and a charming simplicity in her +choice of words, that entertained even me; but I could see Mr. Redfield +was troubled. He moved restlessly on the lounge, and once drew a shawl +over his face. At last she touched on the shoestore, its doleful decay +and downfall, and the years the unhappy woman had struggled on. At this +he started to go; but there was something in her manner that detained +him. Her tone had been light and chatty before; and, though she spoke +with proper gravity, it was sprightly rather than earnest. I did not +notice any striking change; and yet it seemed suddenly to assume the +gentle impressiveness one sometimes fancies we should hear from the +pulpit. + +"Whatever be her troubles, Clara has been a good sister to you. You were +the youngest; and a puny little fellow you were then, with all your +greatness. Many and many a time, in your quarrels with other boys, have +I seen her get into no end of disgrace for defending you. Do you +_remember_ that old log school-house, John? and our dinners under the +trees? What baskets of berries and bags of nuts we gathered in those +woods! Do you remember the little run we used to cross, and the fish you +caught in the pool? + +"And oh, John! do you remember that day we started home when it rained? +You had been sick, and commenced to cry. We got under a big tree; but it +was November; the leaves had all blown down, and the rain beat through +the branches. What disconsolate little people we were! And when you sat +down on a flat stone, and declared you'd stay there and die, don't you +remember how Clara went out in the bushes, and, taking off her little +flannel petticoat, put it around your shoulders for a cloak?" + +The strong man quivered; his face convulsed, and the hot tears started +into his eyes. + +"YES! _I'll be hanged if I don't!_" + +He clutched up his hat, and was gone in an instant, and the two women, +woman-like, stood sobbing in each other's arms. + + +The Air. + +The thousand-and-one young gentlemen in blue neck-ties, who for a +twelvemonth, in frantic strains, varying from _basso profundo_ to piping +tenor, had proclaimed their entire willingness to "_mourir pour la +patrie_," were engrossed at their shops; innumerable fascinating +trimmers of bonnets, who, like poor little "Dora," religiously believed +the chief end of man consisted in "dancing continually ta la ra, ta la +ra," sat busily plying the needle, elbow-deep in ribbons; the +consumptive-looking flute-player before the foot-lights trilled out his +spasmodic trickle of melody, and contemplated with melancholy pleasure +the excited audience; the lank danseuse ogled and smirked at it behind +them, and, with passionate gestures of her thin legs, implored its +applause; men, women, and children, of all grades and degrees, crowded +into the murky night; for a day was coming when the youths of the +neck-ties would not agree to _mourir_ on any account; when the +flute-player would cease to be contemplative; when the danseuse would +forget her attenuated extremities; when the whole world, where the grace +of the Redeemer is known, would believe that the chief end of the +_hour_, at least, consisted in "dancing continually ta la ra, ta la ra." + +Shall "The Air" ring with the joyous notes of the carols, or breathe low +and soft with the sighs of the suffering? + +Shall it burst into mad hilarity at the revelry, or wail with the sharp +cries of the poor? + +It was a painted house, but the paint had worn off; it had a garden, but +the garden was choked with weeds; its two rooms were once handsomely +furnished, but the furniture was now common and old. It was once a +fashionable street; but fashion had fled before the victorious eagles of +trade. The tenants of that house were once happy and prosperous. What +are they now? + +The occupant of the back room was a man, and the occupants of the front +room a woman and her children. + +He was sitting at a rude deal table; before him were scattered some +dirty sheets of music, and around him the place was dreary and bare. By +the light of a tallow dip he was playing, in screeching tones, the +commonest of ditties and polkas by note. His coat was once of the +richest; but now it was old and threadbare. His hands were once white +and elegantly shaped; now they were dirty, and blue with cold. His face +once beamed with contentment; now it was worn with care and marked by +the hard lines of penury. + +The other room was darker, and, if possible, more dreary. There were two +trundle-beds in a corner, and four bright beings, oblivious to the +discomfort, in the happy sleep of childhood. There was a mattress in +another corner, with a pile of bedquilts and a sheet. + +The fire had burned down to a coal. It shone on the mantle with a sickly +glare; and this was the only light there was. + +To the mantle-piece were pinned four little stockings, each waiting +open-mouthed for a gift from Santa Claus. + +Below them crouched a woman, weeping bitterly. + +The woman was Clara Hague; and she was weeping because the Christmas +dawn would find those little mouths unsatisfied. + +Our "Air" is getting mournful,--too mournful for this hour of great joy. +The _Te Deum Laudamus_, not the _Miserere_, is for outbursts of gladness +like these. + +Let it sing of the carriage that surprised the man from his fiddle and +the woman from her tears by its thunder in the quiet street. + +Let it sing of the warm-hearted brother, forgetting the bitterness of +the past, his pockets replenished from a well-saved hoard, who rushed +in, startling the little sleepers with his joyous greeting. Let it chant +the praises of the hampers of wine, and fowls, and dainties, and the +bundles of toys, that same lumbering carriage contained. And last, but +not least, let it thrill with the glad shout of a little newsboy, who, +frantic with delight, hurried on a new gray suit and a pair of bran-new +boots, a present received that very day from his then unknown uncle, +John Redfield. + + + + +STORY OF A BEAST. + + +It was a dirty, grasping little office, vile enough to have been built +by the Evil One; and the occupant was a dirty, grasping little man, +cruel enough to have been made out of its scraps. It was a hard, +remorseless little door, that took in a visitor at a gulp and closed +after him with a bite. If the luckless caller happened to be a debtor, +the fantastic barbarity of his reception was positively infernal. The +jerk of grotesque ferocity that greeted him was like the "hoop la!" of a +demonized gymnast. The straight-backed chair looked like a part of the +stiff, angular man. The yellow-wash on the wall seemed to have caught +its reflex from the faded face, and stared grimly at deep lines of +avarice ironed into it. Even the mud on the floor, the dust on the +table, and the cobwebs on the ceiling maliciously conspired against him, +and asserted themselves in every seam of his threadbare clothes. But the +face,--stern, stony, relentless, an uncertain compromise between the +ghastly severity of a German etching and the constipated austerity of +old pictures of the saints,--in that, one fixed idea had blotted out +every other vestige of humanity. Each starting vein, bone, and muscle +on the hungry visage had "stand and deliver" scarred all over it. The +eager metallic glitter of his eyes, the rigid harshness of his mouth, +and the nameless craving that seemed to speak from his lean, attenuated +cheeks, united to make the name of Hardy Gripstone and Beast synonymous. +He looked like a beast, he ate like a beast, he lived like a beast. + +Beast started out of every bristle on his unkempt head; it shone in the +unhealthy gloss of his battered hat; it wallowed on the stock that clung +around his dirty neck; it glistened in the grease on his dingy clothes; +it starved on his thin, claw-like hands; it flourished in the grime +imbedded under his nails; it creaked in his worn-out, down-trodden +shoes. Men, as he shambled by on the streets, unconsciously muttered, +"Beast!" women, shrinking from him, whispered, "Beast!" between the +heart-throbs the terror of his presence created; children, hushing their +cries in silent horror at his grimace, stared "Beast!" out of their +wonder-stricken eyes. You might bray him in a mortar and boil the powder +in a caldron, yet amid all the envy, hatred, and malice that made up the +ingredients, Beast would have triumphantly floated on the top. Beast! +Beast! Beast! Beast! The universal verdict clutched him like the shirt +of Nessus. He actually grew proud of the title, and received the stigma +with a cluck of beastly joy, as though inspired with a certain beastly +ambition to deserve it. The laugh with which he hailed any appeal to his +charity was monstrous. It commenced with a leathery wheeze like the puff +of asthmatic bellows; it croaked with a grating chuckle, as if his +throat opened on rusty hinges; and then it broke out in a shrill vocal +shudder, that sounded like the shriek of a hyena. + +It is an idiosyncrasy of mine to foster just such pet abominations; and +I cultivated Hardy Gripstone. My advances were not encouraged by that +overweening tenderness that indicates the possible victim of misplaced +confidence. Far from "wearing his heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck +at," it seemed to have been weaned years agone, and my milk of human +kindness fell flat as any whipped syllabub. + +Felicitous as were the suggestions of his suspicious brain, it took me +fully three months to descend in his bearish estimation from a +highwayman to a ninny. There was an incredibility in my apparent lack of +motive that puzzled him. His dubious cordiality was doled out under +protest. As an exhibitor would clutch a vicious ape, he grabbed at every +show of feeling, and almost throttled the most pitiful courtesy, in his +nervous dread of its doing him some bodily harm. There was a low cunning +in his very acceptance of any little kindness. The sly way in which he +insinuated his withered face into my morning papers, and the smirk of +satisfaction with which he gloated on the triumph of having gratuitously +gleaned their entire contents, was in keeping with every other ludicrous +phase of his distorted nature. He looked upon me as a paragon of +stupidity; and I fear I considered him a piece of personal property, and +felt as much pride in the possession as did Barnum in his Aztec +children. + +I do not think the acquaintance tended in any way to exaggerate my ideas +of human purity. Though it extended through several years, no guilty act +I ever heard of detracted from his deserved reputation for beastliness. +My surmises never ventured to the hazardous period of infancy, or risked +the doubtful thought that kith or kin _could_ have loved him; but I have +often wondered if there ever _was_ a time when his rapacity found +employment in the robbing of a hen's nest, or his grasping ambition +culminated in the swop of a jack-knife. I wondered if in all the +grotesque concomitants that congregated to make up the hideous whole, +there existed a redeeming trait. Yes, there was _one_,--one I discovered +in the tears that sprung from his unrelenting eyes and rained on his +cadaverous cheeks. What was the anguish that shook his beastly frame? +what the agony that tore his grasping nature? who was the Moses that +smote water from this rock? + +Dear hearers, it is here we find the text of the sermon, and here +commenceth the preaching. + + * * * * * + +Early one summer, the grasping little door bit to for good, and I missed +its mangy proprietor for probably four months. Had he planted himself in +the earth and regerminated, he could not have been more freshened. His +emaciated carcass fairly blossomed with magnificence; and gaudy ornament +sprouted all over him. It peeped through his shirt-front in flashy +studs, it twined on his fingers in glittering rings, it trailed around +his waist in glowing velvet, and expanded over his thin legs and arms in +a forest of broadcloth. 'Tis true, the shiny collar _would_ get over his +ears, the coat-sleeves darkened every sparkle on his hands, and the hems +of his trowsers persisted in being trodden under heel; but what were +petty annoyances like these, in a renovation so complete? His face had +been shaved and polished until it approached in glistening amiability +the ivory head on a walking-stick; but there was an uncertainty in its +ripples of merriment impressive of the belief that if once a genuine ha! +ha! was ventured, the galvanized look of joy would instantly vanish. It +was at a very uncertain gait he sidled into my office. He did not seem +at all sure I would know him, or, in fact, _very_ intimately acquainted +with himself. The mingled gruffness and cordiality of his greeting +suggested a dancing-master suffering with corns. It was a minute or two +before his wonted calmness returned; but finally, with a piteous look of +blended tenderness and brutal exultation, he handed me a card. It +contained the handsomely engraved compliments of Miss Florence +Gripstone, and a hope for the pleasure of my company at a soirée. This +was the magic wand that turned penury to wealth and made the sterile +rock blossom with gorgeous flowers. The beast had a daughter, and with +all the ardor of a distorted nature he loved her. + +If, a week before, Gripstone's soirée had been hinted, I think I would +have laughed; but if the assertion had been ventured that it would be +given in a stately house, with spacious grounds, on a fashionable +street, and with "Gripstone" on the door-plate, I know I would have +shouted outright. Yet the house was stately, and the entertainment +superb. Carpets glowing with the gorgeous coloring of the Orient, +pictures that had caught their delicate tinge in sacred Rome, furniture +carved from the solid heart of rose-wood, plate vying in richness with +the state service of a scion of nobility, abounded. Fluttering in the +light of many tinted lamps, rare flowers breathed daintiest odors; and +floating through the high arches, soft music whispered plaintive +ecstasy. In the center of a throng of recently arrived guests, and +positively cropping with broadcloth and Marseilles, beamed the host. +Close at his side, radiant in her beauty, faultless in its adornment, +stood the daughter. In one, a magnificent swallow-tail, fleecy +shirt-frill, and snowy gloves had stamped their wearer with a look of +hopeless absurdity; in the other, exquisite taste, gentle dignity, and +true courtesy bore the impress of glorious womanhood. I was positively +bewildered. Could the father of that lovely girl be the wretch the world +hooted at? Could the owner of all this grandeur be the Beast I fancied +my private property? + +Carriage-loads of elegantly attired women crowded each other in the +vestibule; dancing beaux congregated in the smoking-room; eminent +merchants, with their wives and daughters, wits of both sexes, women of +the most exclusive _ton_, thronged the spacious _salons_. Each in their +turn was greeted with a smirk of ecstatic glee. To Gripstone the +courtesy seemed invested with a proprietary interest. A nod was +receipted with a simper, a grasp of the hand with a scrape, the most +distant recognition by the most obsequious acknowledgment. There +appeared to be no doubt in his mind it was all bought and paid for, but +it did no harm to be polite for _once_; and comically polite he was. + +I will not say he did not gradually begin to wear the look of a man who +had purchased an elephant; for he did. I found him late in the evening +posted behind a column and peering through the window at the assembled +merry-makers. It was evident he owned the whole party, and that every +ringing laugh went with the property; but to him it was a novel +investment, and perhaps more difficult to manage than any other article +he possessed. Partly from a dim consciousness that he had wandered +beyond his depth, and probably from the loneliness consequent to so +uncongenial a spectacle, a companion had become necessary; and, when I +approached, his jump of cordiality was as uncouth as it was unexpected. +So stunned were my senses by the extraordinary events, that, had he +cried out, "Come to my arms, my long-lost brother!" or were a +strawberry-mark actually found, I could not have been surprised. As it +was, his frenzied tugs at the lapel of my coat threatened its immediate +destruction, and my spinal column ached under his demoniac slaps on the +back, before I gasped out my congratulations. + +Wine, excitement, or the society of one who at least had treated him +with common decency, warmed the little geniality that remained in him. + +With a jerk he thrust me into his study, and, while thrilling music +swept through the echoing halls, and the solid flooring swayed under the +feet of the dancers, the Beast opened his heart. Shrinking, as though +'twere felony, from the penury of early life, flying from a brief hour +of married happiness, in wild triumph he plunged into the dreariness of +the upward struggle. Maddened with success, spurning all thought of +concealment, with shocking exactness he entered into every detail of the +contest, every incident in the appalling history. The low cunning and +miserable privation that accumulated the first paltry hundreds, the +trickery that made them thousands, the heartless sacrifice of +self-respect that doubled and trebled the swelling store, were gloated +over with a grin of delight. Transactions imbued with a depravity that +made me shudder, were narrated with a chuckle; chicaneries of a depth +and maliciousness positively devilish, were touched with a smirk. For +_this_ he had lied and cheated; for _this_ his wretched body grew lean +for want of food; for _this_ all the world loathed him. In _his_ youth +poverty _crushed_ him; but his little girl, away at school, never knew +the meaning of the word. Widows went portionless, but _she_ did not +want; orphans starved, _her_ platter was always full. _He_ had been +spattered by the coaches of the rich; but now his chariot, and _her_ +chariot, would take a drive. They had called him Beast; but _now_ they +called him _gentleman_. + +The hundreds who drank his wine and trifled with his sweets called him +gentleman, and hundreds more were ready to go down on their knees to his +own flesh and blood. Now was the time to enjoy, now the day of +happiness. Money was a drug; in his abundance, he could never want. He +had love, grandeur, troops of friends; _now_ he would live a monarch. +Flushed with victory, his eyes blazed, his voice rang clear and loud in +its exultation, and his lank form swelled with defiance. Springing to +his feet, and clutching up a decanter, he waved it wildly around his +head, and, challenging God or man to mar such peace, shivered it on the +floor. + +Wonder-stricken at the intensity of his vulgarity, and shocked at the +sacrilege, I left; and from that moment Hardy Gripstone became a study. +Every step in his tortuous course, every phase of his ostentation, every +enormity on good taste, was followed with ceaseless vigilance. Excesses +that would have startled the most thoughtless were pursued with restless +activity; absurdities that drew forth a shout of ridicule were committed +with provoking good humor. No freak seemed exuberant, no folly +preposterous, no extremity extravagance. The joy of paternity, sinking +deep into his nature, made every peculiarity more glaringly apparent. +Money had been his idol, its accumulation the summit of his ambition; +its reckless sacrifice in his daughter's honor appeared the only +adequate expression of his love. The intervals of his devotion were +passed in idle boasting, and to me he detailed every incident. There was +something really touching in the abject way in which he mentioned each +trifle concerning her. Little circumstances connected with her daily +life were described as one would describe the traits of some rare +animal. His career of degradation seemed to have blunted every idea of +responsibility. He looked upon her as a superior being, and her +adornment as a sacred duty. The richness of her toilet, the magnificence +of her equipage, the glory of her beauty, became an inexhaustible +surprise and delight. The utter lack of congeniality, the barrier of +caste that divided them, was indescribably sad. Rapturous admiration, +gentle amazement, blind idolatry, meek bewilderment, the one twisted by +brutality to a living distortion, the other lifted by refinement to the +embodiment of womanly grace; and yet they were father and daughter. To +do her justice, she strove in every way to testify her love and +gratitude for her strange parent; the ties of blood asserted themselves +in her words and caresses, but they looked doubtfully out of her eyes. +Educated far away from him, and amid other associations, she could not +be blind to his faults and shortcomings. The social gulf that divided +them, though bridged by her sense of duty, was ever present in her +thoughts. I mourned over the remorseless avarice that made him what he +was; I almost regretted the culture that placed her so far above him; +but, knowing the rude shocks to her sensitive nature, the ruthless +trampling on every womanly instinct, I mourned for her the most. + +Alas for the schemes of prosy men and women! when tender Loveliness +goes airing herself through shady lanes, frank young Valor is seldom far +off. The Eurydice may be only a school-girl, and Orpheus a brave, manly +boy in a blue coat; but there is a world of heart-fluttering, for all +that. The flush of conscious beauty blooming on the cheek of one, is +generally a shadow of the warm red that mantles the face of the other. +While Eurydice Gripstone mused in quiet nooks, it was no fabled youth of +magic lyre who sent the rhetoric and botany waltzing through her brain; +and when the fierce cry of "Lights out!" hurried _Jane Eyre_ under the +pillow, it was no dream of impossible mustaches that made her hear the +clocks chime dismally and the cocks crow for midnight. + +When the long-looked-forward-to Commencement-day was at length looked +_on_, and our heroine tripped up to the platform to read her Essay on +Filial Affection, alas for its consistency! it was not the grin of Pluto +Gripstone staring stupidly at the show, but the smile of Orpheus, now +blessed with a strong beard, that set the recipient of undying fame a +trembling. And now, when the farewell had been said, and Orpheus left to +break his lyre and mourn,--when Pluto had carried home his prize and the +dreary occupation of being as extravagant as possible had +commenced,--they were no notes of weird pathos, but billets containing +many brave promises, that made strong coffee the most delectable of +drinks. Of course all these changes from dreamy reverie to tremulous joy +could not escape the searching eye of Pluto; and of course, when +questioned, no Eurydice of spirit would think of denying the mate for +whom she pined. + +Oh, the consternation of the discovery! Oh, the thunders of remonstrance +with which Hades resounded! The wheel of Ixion might whirl, and the +pitchy depths blaze with the fires of indignation, but all this did not +dry the tears of the nymph, nor soothe her bitterness of woe. Every +tenderness that could reconcile, every enjoyment that could wean, was +vainly essayed; mourning for her Orpheus, she would not be comforted. + +At last the Plutonian shadows opened to receive the matchless man. It +was with no impossible burst of harmony he charmed away the terrors of +this prison-house of injured innocence. Whatever might have been the +Orpheus of the fabled "long ago," our modern hero was a plain, +business-like man. He thought a great deal of the daughter, but for her +worn-out old hulk of a father he didn't care a button. Married he was +determined to be, _nolens volens_; and that was the long and the short +of it. To a piteous plea to remain and enjoy the old man's wealth, he +turned the deafest of ears. Business required his presence at home; +where business commanded, he obeyed; and that was the long and the short +of that. _He_ didn't propose to set up a museum of deformities, if the +daughter did; or stay to witness a burlesque on the society he was +brought up in, were she never so dutiful. + +Oh, the misery of this reality! When shall I forget the anguish on that +cadaverous face, when the terror of the narration? For nineteen years he +had patiently plodded on, despised by the rich, hated by the poor, +spurned by both. He had driven hard bargains that she might drive her +carriage; he had turned his wretched debtors houseless into the streets +that she might be covered. With every spark of love in his heart, with +every instinct of tenderness in his soul, he had bowed down and +worshiped her. She had him all: he would set to work anew, were it +needful, for her sake; he would go in rags for her; he would starve for +her; and this was his reward!--his happiness filched from him by a +whipster of a day's acquaintance! + +When two people, like the frogs of Æsop, conclude to plunge down a well +for the waters of happiness, it is generally the "weaker vessel" who +dallies. Let no one suppose our Eurydice quitted the blissful innocence +of nymphhood without a struggle, or coolly deserted her battered old +father without a regret. + +With all the golden halo that hung about the future, there were walks +taken in those gardens in which the claw-like hands and tapering fingers +clutched each other very tightly, and there were sudden bursts of +emotion when the cadaverous cheeks were well-nigh smothered with kisses. +If you or I had had an interview with the pillow that adorned her +chamber, it would have told us of many a scalding tear that damped its +purity and many a smothered sob that fell on its feathery ears. If there +were red eyes and pallid cheeks at the breakfast-table on one side, +there was a very dismal face on the other. Step by step the hard fact +sunk into it, and furrow after furrow marked the progress. It was very +glorious for Orpheus; but it was very gloomy for the Beast, and he knew +it. Bravely did the old man hold out, and grim and silent was the +surrender. Perhaps a dawning light of their ill-assorted association, +and a fear for its influence on her happiness, might have opened the +sally-port to the conqueror; but he never admitted it. He laid down his +arms as coldly and quietly as ever any old Spanish knight gave up his +citadel. + +Once more the stately house opened wide its doors to a stately +gathering, and again there was music and dancing and feasting. There +were scores of richly-dressed women to kiss the bride, and there were +scores of brave men to congratulate the groom; but there was not one in +all that fair company had a kindly word for Hardy Gripstone, and of all +the throng who feasted that night there was not one saw his broken +heart. + +From the hour the creaking steamer bore the happy pair to their Northern +home, he slunk out of society. The great house was closed, and the +little office, dirtier and more grasping than ever, opened. Every +witness to his outburst, myself included, was studiously avoided. I met +him often; but no sign of recognition escaped him. + +Some months afterward, in passing his filthy little street, I found the +remorseless little door had gulped a policeman. Pulling apart its +ferocious jaws, and peering in, I saw the straight-backed chair; but the +body which seemed a part of it was much stiffer and more angular. The +yellow-wash on the wall was a paltry reflex of the ghastly yellow of his +faded visage; for the iron face was the face of a corpse. + +Men who stood vacantly staring in muttered, "Beast!" women, shrinking +from the unsightly spectacle, whispered, "Beast!" and children, gazing +in silent horror with the rest, stared "Beast!" out of their +wonder-stricken eyes. So hard did they stare, so loud did they mutter, +and so many instances did they rehearse of the foul wrongs he had +committed, that I am doubtful about the matter myself, and ask you, +reader, Was he a Beast? + + + + +LEAVES IN THE LIFE OF AN IDLER. + + +Leaf the First. + +When a man whom you have every reason to believe not only the coolest, +but the most unimpressible, of beings, suddenly turns white as a ghost +and shivers with a nervous spasm, it is safe to suppose he is +frightened. But when terror, turning into rage, changes one of the most +attentive and respectful of servants into a madman, it is scarcely safe +to suppose anything. As it was, I stared in mute amazement, and he +glared at me as though I had struck him. While waiting for a light, I +carelessly put my hand into a basket of hot-house vegetables. The small +egg-plant I took up certainly _did_ weigh twenty pounds, and when I +attempted to lift the basket the handle bent double; but why this should +frighten a man like Marcel, or provoke him to anger, is as inexplicable +as it is surprising. + +He is pacing up and down the hall in a state of the wildest excitement; +and I, with man's truest comfort,--tobacco,--am left to my meditations. + +What combination of circumstances reduced him to a porter, I cannot for +the life of me imagine. His hand is as soft as a woman's; and his brow +has a breadth of brain that would dignify a Senator. Notwithstanding the +scrupulous deference in his tone, his manner possesses the quiet ease of +a gentleman, to as great a degree as any I ever saw. + +The utter incongruity of his appearance and position struck me the +moment I laid eyes on him. He flourished his napkin with the dainty +grace of a courtier; and when he lifted my luggage to his shoulder, I +was on the point of apologizing. He makes my bed, polishes my shoes, +performs with fidelity the most menial offices; and yet I _cannot_ but +look upon him as an equal. Poor devil! His cheek may burn with the +bluest blood in France. What a pity the world is not moral! + +There is something enchanting to me in smoking. It is like a rich +cordial,--nerving every faculty to action. A draught from your +_Cabanas_, the pulse quickens, the mind clears, and thought awakes, like +a fine instrument under the magic touch of a master. The wind moans +drearily without, the rain beats dismally against the windows, the +fagots flicker blue-flamed and weird in the dark recesses of the +chimney-place; but what care I? The white walls are lurid in the flare, +the great bed stands out in the darkness like a grotesque engine of the +Inquisition; but who suffers? _Au troisième, No. 30, Rue Lepelletier_, +was never noted for its comforts; but who would ask a repose more +secure, a peace more perfect, than are enjoyed by the occupant of this +rambling old house? Blessed be the earth that bears this solace for +weary brains! Its very odor is pregnant with dreams of the _Vuelta +Abajo_. You see the luxuriant foliage of the tropics, the dark-green +waves curling on the coral beach, and the scarlet flamingoes that gather +shell-fish in the marshes away off in the golden sunset. You hear the +wild song of the Spanish fruit-man as he sculls his boat along the +broken wharves, and are soothed into utter listlessness by the thousand +perfumes that come off with the land-breeze. A taste of the fragrant +vapor, you recline in the odorous orange darkness of a dream-land, +languidly breathing the smoke from your hookah, and the lustrous leaves +moving over you are bathed in the soft and melting sunshine. The day +lingers luminously over far mountain-ranges, paling in brilliancy on the +hill-side, where the blushing vine, bending with the clusters, is still +enlivened by the song of the vintagers; and in the valley, where the +grain sheds its gold under the sickle. You are lost in voluptuous +reverie. You breathe the sunlight; intellect is thawed and mellowed; +emotions take the place of thought; "your senses, sun-tranced, rise into +the sphere of soul." You feel the heart of humanity throbbing through +all nature, and your own warms into quivering life. + +"It is not good for man to live alone;" and you dream of another to +share the rapture your wild fancy has created. + +_Your_ Haidee is pure. Her form has rather the statuesque roundness of +Psyche than the luxurious excess of Venus. Timid, yet not tremulous, +graceful even to delicacy, coquettish in outline, _her_ beauty is formed +for smiles. She is a still-eyed Xenobi, but knows nothing of Passion +with disheveled locks, divine frenzy, and fiery grasp. She is your +friend and comforter; and you are the strong rock her helplessness +clings to. Your uncouth manner softens as you behold her troubled look. +You become kind and considerate. You watch with pity the pinched faces +of anxiety that pass before you. You cheer the little beggar, and give +him of your abundance. Unhappy wanderer! he has started early on his +wretched pilgrimage for bread. "Your heart, enlarged by its new sympathy +with one, grows bountiful to all." The fragrant smoke curls in heavier +clouds, and is wafted imperceptibly into the darkness. Ah, Arthur +Granger! Arthur Granger! you are dreaming impossibilities, as the man +athirst dreams of flowing waters. + +"Love has lost its wings of heavenly azure with which it soared light as +a lark into the empyrean, and now grovels on the earth, weighed down by +the burden of red gold." + +How well I recollect that warm, balmy March morning! My mother had sent +me to Paris about six months before, to read law with an old relative. +Of course I was delighted; but that day I felt tired of the dull routine +of my life, and longed for the green fields, waving trees, and wild +mountain-torrents of my home. I was walking slowly down the street, +thinking gloomily of the labors of another day, and she was standing +near a school-house door, intently occupied in giving some directions to +an old soldier. In my whole life I do not think I ever saw a more +beautiful creature. The airiness of the lithe little figure, the +playfulness in the nod of the graceful head, the look of joyous +innocence on that perfect face, flitted through my mind like a bright +ray of sunshine during the entire day. Every morning, for years after, I +met that child; and every morning her beaming smile cheered my young +life like a glimpse of heaven. I never spoke to her; it was a long time +before she even knew of my existence; but by-and-by I noticed a +quizzical expression come over the old man's face, and I saw her +features warm with a faint flush of recognition. How many dreams I based +on that slight fabric! Of course I discovered her name; and of course I +learned that her father was very rich; but what was that to me? With +what pride did I gaze at his name in huge gilt letters on a great +warehouse near us, and what wonderful little gothic cottages did I build +on the strength of the "and Son" that would shortly be added to it! The +long nights with my cousin became less wearisome. I could hear the dull +creaking of the letter-press, and see him sit poring over his writing, +quite patiently. When the organ-grinder stopped on the corner and played +"Make me no gaudy chaplet," I did not long to rush into the streets, for +I had _her_ to think about. When the clock struck eleven, and my cousin, +with his peculiar "phew!" commenced another letter, I looked on quite +calmly, and began the construction of another cottage. Of course there +were rainy days, and Thursdays that were ages to me; and there were +Christmas holidays, and long, hot vacations, that she did not come; but +September brought back the radiant face, and I worshiped on. + +Gradually I noticed a change in her dress. She wore little lace collars, +and bright ribbons I had not seen before; and sometimes she carried a +little bouquet of violets, with a white rosebud in the center. As she +grew older, I had many rivals. Gallant youths, brave in broadcloth and +beavers, followed by dozens the _Picciola_ I had watched so tenderly. +How proudly I passed them by! and how I sneered at the thought of their +understanding _her_! + +I saw her form grow fuller and expand into a more queenly beauty. I saw +her eyes sparkle with a diviner light, and her bosom swell with new and +strange emotions. I watched her until she became a woman, and gloried in +her matchless loveliness. + +At last the end came. One morning, the brown calico frock was changed +for an India silk, and the little school bonnet, with its blue veil, for +a new one, covered with artificials. She was accompanied by an elderly +lady, and looked nervous and excited. I was troubled at the tremulous, +uncertain expression of her face. The next day I read her name in the +list of graduates. + +It does generally rain at picnics; but this time it didn't. When shall I +ever forget that picnic? I stole a holiday to attend it. It was late +when I arrived: the dinner was over, and I had one prepared expressly +for me. Would you believe it? my fair attendant was the little Blue +Veil. She was so kind and so gentle, and treated me in such a confiding, +sisterly way. There was a tenderness in the soft depths of her eyes, a +purity in the dazzling loveliness of her face, that my heart yielded to +with the blind fervor of a devotee. When shall I ever forget that +evening walk under the trees? Oh! those buttercups and daisies, and +little Quaker ladies! what recollections they bring back to me! The +pressure of that soft little hand on my arm, the timid grace of her +manner, the sound of her clear, girlish voice, with what emotions have +they stirred my soul! Heaven bless her! Thank God for that one glorious +picture! It was years ago; she is married now, and the mother of +children; yet even now I sometimes catch myself standing on the corners +and gazing wistfully down the street for the bright image that stole +into the morning of my young life like a soothing dream in a long, +troubled sleep. + + +Leaf the Second. + +Gardening in midwinter!--what new freak has taken possession of that +eccentric man? The morning broke dank and drear, for the December air +had chilled the moisture into a fog. The wide verandas that opened on +the court-yard in rear were dripping with the rain, and the broad +flag-stones covered with a greasy slime. The diminutive grass-plot was +brown and soggy, but the withered blades rapidly disappeared under the +sturdy plunges of Marcel's spade. I had gone out on the gallery to fill +a ewer with water--in his excitement of the previous evening, Marcel had +forgotten my morning bath--and saw him distinctly through the +_jalousies_. He must have commenced at daylight; for, though it was then +early, the ground was almost entirely dug up. Near him, on the pavement, +was the basket over which he had displayed so much agitation. He +prepared six holes, each of which was carefully lined with straw, and +then deliberately commenced planting the egg-plants _whole_. + +An hour or two later, he came up with the coffee. I thought he turned a +shade or two paler at seeing me up and dressed; but no vestige of +petulance remained. Having really taken no offense at the outburst, I +rallied him concerning it. + +"I was wrong," said he, gravely; "but nature has left me destitute of +tact. An artist was once ordered to paint a one-eyed princess: the +artful man made the picture a profile. Devoid of his discernment, I saw +only my ruined treasures." + +"And, after acting like a wild man, you sneer at my curiosity." + +"One so secure in his position as M. Granger can lose nothing by +forbearance." + +"In other words, I am to endure patiently the taunts of an apron, +because its wearer is worthy of a surtout?" + +"The prompt nature of hunger is well known. Fifty years ago, I might +have shrieked in the _Place de la Concorde_. France has degenerated; I +polish your shoes." + +The assumption of inferiority was so defiant that I said, bluntly, "This +can never excuse the neglect of faculties bestowed by Heaven." + +He shrugged his shoulders, and answered, "There was a time when power +succumbed to intellect. 'Stand out of my sunlight,' said Diogenes to +Alexander; and Alexander did so. This is Paris, M. Granger, and we are +living on the _Rue Lepelletier_." + +"And, frightened at its splendor, M. Marcel has prudently determined to +put his brains under regimen." + +"M. Marcel has prudently determined to avoid in future a _tête-à-tête_ +with his superiors." + +He started abruptly to the door, and I called him back; determined +distance even in a servant is far from flattering, and I asked him +frankly if his visits to my apartments were as distasteful as his manner +would lead me to infer. + +He answered, politely, "Were fickle Fortune waiting to conduct me to the +summit of my ambition, I would detain her a few hours to enjoy society +so charming; but M. Granger forgets he is addressing a domestic." + +"Stubborn in your pride to the last! What am I to think of one who holds +all sympathy in contempt?" + +"_Basta!_" he fiercely exclaimed. "I am like a vagrant cur: flying from +the sticks and stones of a vile rabble, I fawn with cringing servility +on the first hand that throws me a crust." + +"Wrong, Marcel; wrong," I earnestly answered. "You are trying to warp +your nature, as you tried to force the fruits of summer to bloom and +ripen in midwinter. You _will_ be human, and your egg-plants will rot in +the earth." + +My words seemed to have taken away every particle of color there was in +him. His eyes contracted until they resembled those of a wild animal, +and for a moment I thought he was going to spring at my throat. His +voice--when finally he regained it--sounded like that of another +person. + +"M. Granger," said he, "a man visiting the _Jardin des Plantes_ once +undertook to stroke a leopard. Strange as it may appear, the animal was +more pleased with petting than the inquiring mind imagined. The instant +our naturalist attempted to desist, the creature raised his paw to +strike. There monsieur stood, for a whole night, gazing into his glaring +eyes and smoothing his soft neck. Can you imagine his feelings?" + +With a bow that would have graced the Duc de Beaumont, he left. I heard +him hastily packing his modest wardrobe; and in fifteen minutes a +tilbury had whirled him away--whither, Heaven only knows. + + +Leaf the Third. + +I do not think his own mother would call him handsome; he is certainly +not young, nor particularly brilliant; and yet there is a fascination +about the proprietor of this rambling old house that gave me an +unaccountable desire to become his tenant. He is a wine-merchant, and +occupies, as his counting-room, the entire second floor. The place is +desolate-looking and dusty, and the furniture old with service; but, I +am told, no man in Paris controls more of the grand vintages than M. +Pontalba. With a Frenchman, the _legality_ of a transaction depends on +its being negotiated in a _café_; and it was in one of these I first saw +him. He was seated at a table near me, absorbed with the contents of a +box of baby-clothes, while a rather pretty and exceedingly voluble +_modiste_ harangued him on their beauty. The tenderness of his +expression struck me. He took out the articles one by one, examining +each with the interest of a woman. He ran his fingers through the tiny +sleeves, and smoothed out the ruffles and lace, with a care that was +almost loving. Diminutive cambric shirts, snowy dresses, and silky +flannels,--all in their turn were inspected and replaced with a sigh of +satisfaction. + +An ardent young friend and I had been discussing the merits of Comte's +philosophy; but so attracted were we by the singular trait that both +stopped involuntarily, and watched him, until the woman was paid and a +messenger carried the fairy wardrobe away. + +My friend was an enthusiastic metaphysician; and, resuming the subject +with a zest, was soon plunged into the phenomena of thought, the action +of the brain, and the vitality of the blood that sustained it. As all +conversant with the subject can readily believe, not many minutes +elapsed before his artful sophistries proved the non-existence of +heaven, hell, and even God himself. + +M. Pontalba turned suddenly, and, drawing his chair close beside us, +with an apology for the seeming intrusion, addressed the incipient +skeptic: + +"Behind the iron bars of that dreariest of studies, a prison, a little +weed once received the concentrated thought of a savant. The covering of +its stem, the first tender leaves, the development of the bud, the +expansion of the flower--each bewildering in its consummate +propriety--unfolded, in their turn, a system of laws in simplicity +transcendent. By the aid of a microscope, a 'gillyflower' was seen +protecting a chrysalis. Warm leaves cherished it, dainty juices aided +its digestion, wholesome offshoots nourished it to maturity. Eking out a +scant existence between two granite flags, this insignificant waif +reared a caterpillar. What man are you, who can say there is no God?" + +There was a pathos in his voice, and a tone of simple fervor, which gave +that quiet old man the air of a priest. + +It was more than a year afterward I took these rooms; but my +establishment was of short duration ere I learned the history of an +eventful morning which followed that incident:--of how the placid face +of the master peered among his people, beaming with a great joy; how a +sumptuous feast was fitted up in the private office for all in the +employ; of the two hundred francs, and a suit of clothes, presented to +each; and how every one, from the little messenger to the gray cashier, +with the rarest wine in the cellar, drank prosperity to the new-born son +and heir, and much happiness to the mother,--"God bless her!" + +Once I saw a pony-carriage, with an aged, semi-military driver, pull up +at the door, and the flutter of a veil as the vehicle passed through +the entrance; and this was the only glimpse I ever caught of the little +lady that dingy office called mistress. There was, however, a certain +briskness in the movement of the clerks, and a glow of pleasure on their +faces, that always denoted a visit; and very frequent those visits were. +Without in any way obstructing it, her pretty interest seemed to throw a +halo around the dull routine of trade; and, if there was any +unpleasantness, the arrival of Jean Palliot, coachman and ex-grenadier, +with Madame Althie Pontalba, was sure to drive it away. + +Why _will_ my heart, like a hungry thing, gloat on the happiness of +others? He has gone away--in the midst of the holidays--no one knows +whither; and his sweet wife and pleasant home are as dreary as I. There +is a mystery about this house which I have not yet unraveled. Marcel +left in the morning, and M. Pontalba in the evening. That has been two +weeks ago. I thought he would have fainted when I told him of the +_garçon's_ exodus. I attempted a history of the gardening; but he would +not listen to a word, and remained locked up in his private room during +the entire day. Late in the evening a stranger called, and insisted on +an interview. It resulted in a hasty consultation with the cashier, and +an order for a coach. The two went off together,--whither, or for how +long, no one knows. + + +Leaf the Fourth. + +To-day finds a man in the full glow of health, and strength, and +happiness; to-morrow comes death, cold, pitiless, irresistible; mocking +all hope, freezing desire, crushing all effort with the eternal law of +time and human destiny, it strikes him down with the icy fury of a +fiend. Poetry, passion, humanity, are shivered at the touch. The +glorious creature who, an instant before, quivered with life and love +and energy, lies a shapeless mass, disgusting to the sight, loathsome to +the touch, revolting to every instinct of our nature. So, in its +ceaseless routine, forever and forever, wheels on the world. The +play-ground bully, the swindler of the corn exchange, who is the more +virtuous? dolls with life, babies with genius, which the more sensible? +Even baby has its "pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake," and is lulled to sleep with +visions of a coach and six little ponies. Dreams, dreams of self, that +man wraps himself in like the swathing of a mummy. Who ever saw a cake +marked with "T," who ever a "Valley of Tranquil Delight"? + +The sun rises and sets on the weary diamond-digger of the South, the +crazed perfume-hunter in the East, the stifled hemp-curer in the fetid +swamps of Russia, the shriveled iron-worker in the scorching furnaces of +England. Here, in Paris, amid that motley herd who feed on virtue, the +moon shines down calmly on purblind embroiderers and peerless beauties, +on worn-out _roués_ and squalid beggars. The breeze that wafts to heaven +the pure prayer of the maiden witnesses the fierce ribaldry of the +courtesan; it flutters the curls of a sleeping infant, and bears on its +wings the whispered exchange of _chastity for bread_. And man goes on, +devouring his three poor meals a day, and babbling the meaningless +nothings he has learned by rote. Oh, land of enlightenment! Oh, age of +Christianity! Oh, zenith of civilization! + +The smoke-wreaths curl into thicker clouds. I have painted bright +pictures, and they have faded. I have cherished fond dreams, and they +are vanished. "It is not good for man to live alone;" and I am most +solitary. I can make another picture,--without the roses; but it will be +true. + +It's a merry Christmas, this Twenty-fifth of December, eighteen hundred +and eighty-seven,--a very merry Christmas; times have scarcely changed +at all in the last thirty years. The sun shines down brightly, and the +frosty air is fall of gladness; for Santa Claus, with his untold +wonders, has come and gone. Ecstasies over dolls and transports over +tea-sets, screams of delight at hobby-horses and enthusiastic +exclamations at humming-tops, have passed. Paint-boxes and +writing-desks, leaden soldiers and tin trumpets, at last, are reduced to +blissful matters of course. The streets, which all the morning have +been thronged with laughing groups of happy children, are now almost +deserted. Senators and cabmen, ministers of state and town constables, +romping school-girls and worn-out actresses, _Lady Dedlock_ and her +washer-woman, men, women, and children of all degrees, have quietly +seated themselves to roasted turkey and plum-pudding. Even the little +boys who _will_ play marbles under the library windows, who are +constantly being "fat" and wanting "ups" and "roundings," and who are +invariably ordered to "knuckle down and bore it hard," are now intently +occupied with the succulent delights of "drum-sticks" and gizzards. And +yet the man whose fingers now form these letters _then_ sits alone. Time +has not passed lightly over _his_ head. The few hairs that straggle from +beneath his skull-cap are gray, and the faintest breath makes him wrap +closer in his thickly-wadded dressing-gown. His face is worn and pale, +and the wrinkled hand, though it only holds a little cigarette, will +sometimes tremble as it moves. The Christmas dinner is pushed away +untasted. _Château-Margaux_ has lost its flavor, and silver and crystal +do not bring appetite now. Even the glowing sunshine, which plate-glass +and silk damask cannot keep out, is unheeded. He gazes wearily at the +magnificent furniture, and smokes. He has talked much to the world, and +it has heard him. Flung into life without a friend, governed only by +the will of a race born to command, he has struggled through sneers and +sarcasm to eminence. Men fear him now, women flatter, nearly all envy; +yet he is alone. He knows this; he knows that in all the laughing groups +who enjoy this wine-drinking and turkey-eating day his name has not been +mentioned once. Nature allows no trifling with her laws; flowers do not +bloom in deserts. He has crushed sentiment; he has stifled affection. +With a heart by nature kindly, he sits now an image cut in steel. He +gazes calmly at his desolate hearth, at his joyless age, and smokes. Man +has no power to move him; fate condemned him to be a statue. + +Ah! the strongest, after all, are but weak, erring, human beings. The +last of a race stands weary and old, trembling on the brink of eternity. +Who will close the fading eye? Who will smooth the dying pillow? With +all his great wealth, with all his wondrous knowledge, what one deed of +charity will that infirm old man take into the presence of his Creator? +He looks dreamingly out at the window. The plate-glass and damask are +not there now; the sunshine is warm and the air balmy. A mild, breezy +March morning, and he is standing on a corner, looking far down the +street. "She is coming, coming;" the dark eyes beam on him, and the +radiant face flushes the pallor of his cheek;--"come." He gives one +lingering, beseeching look at the passing figure, the cigarette drops +to the carpet, the withered hands clasp convulsively the arms of the +chair, the gray head slowly falls on his breast, and one more frail +human being, exhausted with the anxieties of a long and bitter life, is +at rest forever. It's a merry Christmas, this Twenty-fifth of December, +eighteen hundred and eighty-seven,--a very merry Christmas. Times have +scarcely changed at all in the last thirty years. + +How he ever got there, or when, I do not now, nor will I ever, know, but +when I looked up Marcel was standing before me. + +"M. Granger," said he, abruptly, "it will be necessary for you to seek +another lodging." + +"Why?" + +"I would do you a service. The proof lies in the future. This house is +doomed." + +"Poor Marcel," said I, with genuine pity, "some recent trouble has +turned your brain!" + +"Mad!" he replied, laughing bitterly. "The wonder is that I am not. For +years I have been hunted,--hunted like a dog. Prisons have been my +dwelling-place, disguises my only clothing. My pillow is a spy; the very +atmosphere I breathe is analyzed." + +"And what is your offense?" + +"A desire to live as the great God intended an Italian should. A desire +to lift to his place among the free-born the corrupt descendant of +Coriolanus, now nourishing his miserable body on the _scudi_ extorted +from a stranger's patience. The vile crew whom our ancestors drove +howling and naked across the Danube, in undisturbed apathy gloat over +our dearest treasures. Our people are ground into the dust; our women, +stripped in the market-place, shriek under the pitiless lash of the +oppressor. One man, sworn to protect Italy with his life, can save her, +and has refused. That man dies." + +"And you are pledged to kill him?" + +"I am pledged to see you safely without these walls by this day +fortnight." + +"And you?" + +"I remain." + +"Marcel, you are crazy." + +"M. Granger, you are polite." + +That night fortnight I was away; and this was the message that sent me: + + "TO M. ARTHUR GRANGER: + + "Your fatal discovery on the morning of my departure makes you + the only man to whom I can appeal. Let me pray the appeal be + not in vain. In the folly of my youth, while sojourning in + Italy, I joined a powerful secret order, whose demands cease + only with death, and whose penalty for denial is a sudden and + bloody end. You can judge, then, my anxiety on being compelled + to admit to my establishment, disguised as a servant, one of + its highest officers, and my horror at hearing of his abrupt + departure. Since then I have learned the unhappy cause. My life + is in another's hands. It is for him to command, and for me + blindly to obey. There are two beings in this world dearer to + me than my soul's salvation. To you, M. Granger, as a Christian + gentleman, I commend them. The sealed note inclosed (the + contents of which are a matter of life and death) I beg you + will at once deliver to my wife; and let me conjure you, until + the crisis is over, to make my house at Romainville your home. + + "ÉDOUARD PONTALBA." + + +Leaf the Last. + +This is the 15th of January, 1858. France is in a blaze of excitement. +Last evening, in the _Rue Lepelletier_, an attempt was made to +assassinate the Emperor, by throwing grenades filled with fulminating +mercury under the coach that bore the Imperial family to the Italian +Opera. Count Felice Orsini, the murderer, himself desperately wounded, +has been arrested, and Paris is crying for his blood. + +For several days I have been the honored guest of Madame Althie +Pontalba. It is a golden evening; the sky, an hour ago so clear and +blue, is piled with golden clouds, and stretches out into golden rivers, +with golden banks, flowing calmly down into a golden sea. The purple +slates on the church-steeple, the red tiles on the house-tops, the +gardens with their evergreens and jonquils and little blue violets +shrinking out of the frosty air, are wrapped in a golden mist. The light +streams through the windows in rays of pure gold, and trickles down the +walls in little golden currents. It is an enchanting little villa. The +steep gables covered with variegated slate, the thin fluted columns of +the verandas, the diminutive marble steps, the broad bow-windows with +their transparent plate-glass, look more like a fairy picture than a +reality. The trim shrubbery, the airy little statues, and even the white +palings, so frail and fanciful in their construction, are charmingly +appropriate. + +It is an enchanting little room. The icy air is warmed by the bright +carpet and glowing curtains, and the trickling currents of golden light +on the walls are mellowed by the blazing sea-coals. It is a merry little +fire, an ardent, earnest, _home_ fire, that shoots out its whimsical +little flames as if it meant to burn one to a cinder, and flutters and +murmurs to itself and scatters down the white feathery ashes in a very +ecstasy of impetuous glee. The green porcelain tiles on the hearth, the +oval-shaped chairs, the wonderful tables, and the little easy-chair, are +all flushed up, and seem quite enlivened at its sportive tricks. The +silver sewing-bird, with its glittering little garnet eyes, is peering +curiously down at the painted fish-geranium on the teapot; and the +geranium, sweltering by the fire, seems almost wilted with the heat. +The teapot pants and struggles under its steaming contents, and looks +appealingly at the great china cup on the table; and now a lump of +sparkling sugar is dropped into its shiny recesses, and the fragrant +odor of that gentlest soother of troubled thoughts pervades the room. + +How shall I describe the mistress of this fairy resting-place, as she +sits in the softened light of this golden winter evening, with the +trickling golden currents and the quivering firelight playing on her +dress, and the last rays of the sunshine melting into golden threads in +her hair? How can I picture the look of girlish innocence on her face, +the artless grace of her manner, her delicate feminine ways, and the +dainty arrangement of her toilet? How can I tell of the irresistible +charm that pervades every article about her, from the little French boot +resting on the rug, to the ruffle that circles her white throat? The +balmy morning of her young life has passed. The brown calico frock, and +the little school bonnet, with its blue veil, have been put away +forever. The lithe figure has grown matronly, the childish timidity is +gone; the softened face tells of changes,--changes made by much +happiness; changes also, alas! by trouble. + +The dark eyes beam with a deeper tenderness, with a wealth of maternal +devotion, with a world of maternal anxiety. The aurora, with its hazy +glow, has disappeared, and now the sun shines brightly on the early +day; yet through all the love, and all the care, and all the joy of her +pure life, remains that radiant smile, the glorious creation of a +glorious God, that awakens in man one sensation,--tranquillity. O man, +with the joy of your _own_ young love, O woman blessed with a +remembrance of earlier days, is it needful I should say, Madame Althie +Pontalba is the Little Blue Veil? + +There were two visitors here an hour ago,--a lady and a gentleman. +Whatever their lack of ostentation, there was an air of distinction +about both that would strike the most casual observer. + +The cabriolet was plain, but the horses showed the purest blood, and the +harness and equipments a neatness one would not see in a day's ride. The +gentleman was tall and stately, with a well-shaped aquiline nose, and a +mustache and imperial pointed _à la militaire_; and the lady was petite +and graceful, with a face of rare loveliness. The features of both told +plainly of a great trial bravely endured. The lady entered alone. Her +carriage and demeanor possessed all that quiet elegance which is only +met with in the society of the great; but it was with no courtly speech +she addressed the mistress of this quiet home. To twine her arms +lovingly around that dear form, to draw it close to her bosom, to pour +out, in a voice broken with tears, a burst of gratitude, was the +mission. In moments when hearts are wrung, we do not practice our grand +politeness. A noble life had been saved, a terrible calamity averted. +The polished manner of the _salon_ was dropped. A _wife_ spoke, a +_woman_ listened. The visit was already a long one when Jean Palliot +took charge of the equipage, and, on leaving, it was into _his_ hand the +gentleman thrust a roulette of Napoleons. + +"Sir," cried the indignant coachman, "a soldier of the Grand Army is not +a beggar." + +"It is not the gold, but the portraits of his commander I give the +soldier of the Grand Army." + +"_Mon Dieu!_" exclaimed the now affrighted veteran, "it is +Napoleon!--_Vive l'Empereur!_" + + * * * * * + +Of the history of that attempt on the life of Napoleon, the world is +fully informed. That, thanks to a fortunate warning, the Imperial coach +was lined with boiler-iron, is well known. That warning, by direction of +her husband, was written by Madame Althie Pontalba, and delivered by me. + +That the destructive missiles were manufactured in Birmingham, England, +our Minister Plenipotentiary has good cause to remember; but that they +were smuggled into Paris in the guise of egg-plants, and deposited in +the grass-plot in rear of house No. 30 of that now memorable street, I +believe is still a mystery. + +That Count Felice Orsini (the man executed) was concealed for weeks, is +on record at the Prefecture; but that he assumed the position of a +servant, and the name of Marcel, is not. + +As for me, I think a great deal, and say nothing; but if the young +Pontalba, who now studies type-setting with the Prince Imperial, was not +the baby whose clothes I once saw examined at a _café_ there is no truth +in these "Leaves of an Idler." + + + + +MR. BUTTERBY RECORDS HIS CASE.[A] + + +J. Moses Butterby, aged 40 years; a licensed broker; nativity, American; +temperament, sanguine; habit, slightly obese; constitution, robust. +History of the case as related by himself. + + * * * * * + +I don't see how I ever came to _be_ married. It was certainly the last +thing my friends expected of me, and it was the last thing I ever +expected of myself; but that I am married, Mrs. J. Moses Butterby, and +Master Alphonso Moses Butterby, are both here to testify. + +What so aristocratic a family found in me to admire is as much a secret +now as then. I don't think it was intellect; for I am afraid that when +Nature designed me the "shining" element was left out. Somehow, at +school, the composition sent to the village journal was never mine; the +declamation repeated at every fresh arrival of directors was always +another's; and if, by any chance, a visitor asked to hear a recitation, +under no circumstances was I ever invited to show off. My modest part +in society was not crowned with greater success. Ma (dear heart!) +objected to dancing, and I never learned; I didn't go to picnics, for I +don't know how to drive; I tried smoking, and it made me sick; if I +drank wine, I was sure to go to sleep: in fact, none of the amusements +of other young men ever amused me; and the result was, the money they +spent, I saved. + +Envious people have hinted at this as the attraction which first caught +the respected mother of my Malinda Jane and the respected mother-in-law +of myself; but ideas so unbecoming I repel with proper scorn. + +I do not think myself more stupid than the average of mankind; but, +somehow, while they walked through the middle of the streets, I sought +the narrow alleys; and while others aspired to noise and distinction, I +found retirement and Malinda Jane. (It _was_ in an alley I first met +Mrs. J. Moses Butterby--though this in no way concerns the present +narrative.) + +Malinda Jane (I trust I am not violating any matrimonial law in thus +familiarly speaking of my respected helpmeet)--Malinda Jane, from the +first time I beheld her, up to the present period of a long, and I may +say intimate, acquaintance, appears to me a paragon of all the modest +and retiring virtues. If among her many attractions she is possessed of +a distinguishing trait, it lies in the power of her eyes. So much +language do their depths contain, that to me, at least, any other is in +a great measure a superfluity. I should be afraid to count up the +consecutive hours we have spent in this silent converse, reading each +other's hearts, as some pleasant poet has styled it, "through the +windows of the soul." I would not have you suppose them almond-shaped or +piercing. No! Malinda Jane's eyes are round. It was their gentle blue +that enchanted me; and there I found the congeniality that cheered my +drooping spirit. + +Looking back now upon our courtship, I am inclined to think it must have +been uninteresting to a third party; but there is no denying the fact +that to us it was most soothing, and well calculated to develop our +mutual affection. + +I have no accurate recollection of the event vulgarly called "popping." +Fortunately, I congratulate myself on escaping that breach of decorum. +If you join my friends in asking "how it came about," I reply, +"Naturally." The morning Malinda Jane's mother asked me if I had decided +upon October the 24th or November the 24th, I unhesitatingly answered, +"November the 24th, if you please;" and the whole affair was +accomplished. + +I have said before, Malinda Jane is not of a demonstrative disposition, +but thinks (if I may strain a point) ponderously. I have never known her +to manifest any will in opposition to my own; and, since I come to think +of it, I do not remember her ever manifesting a will in opposition to +any one else. In this general term I of course include Master Moses +Alphonso Butterby and my most highly respected mother-in-law. Such a +family, according to all rule precedent, should be superlatively happy; +but there seems to be a disturbing element in all families, and mine, +alas! proved no exception. It came about thus. + +Among the few parting words of my deceased ma were, "Mosie" (she always +called me Mosie), "never live with your mother-in-law." Treasuring the +command, as I may say I treasured everything the dear old lady left, +including the property, when finally the day _was_ fixed, I set about +obeying it. On an occasion when Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk--the name of +my respected mother-in-law--had described our imaginary bower, and her +imaginary apartment adjoining, until she had worked herself into a fever +of imaginary happiness, I mildly communicated the behest of my departed +parent. + +The scene which followed I can only characterize as indescribably +touching. The look of blank despair on the face of Malinda Jane, and the +tears of rage and mortification that suffused the aristocratic nose of +her ma, I frankly confess, went to the bottom of my heart. It was many +months before I ceased to regret this rude banishment of their hopes; +but, looking upon it from my present stand-point, I am compelled to +admit my dear dead ma was right. + +The only accident worthy of remark that happened to Malinda Jane on our +wedding-day was a fright. I have reason to congratulate myself at its +occurring _on_ that day, instead of a few weeks subsequent. The +consequences in the latter event, it is needless to say to married +people, might have been serious. + +Passing out of the church-door, we were confronted by a drunken cobbler, +who, in a wild and insane manner, proposed "three cheers for Jinny." The +assembled crowd of dilapidated urchins hanging around the steps +proceeded to give them with a vim faintly suggestive of ridicule. The +single glance I obtained of the discourteous offender gave me an idea of +chimneys. His face was smoky, his clothes were fleecy, and his general +appearance was decidedly sooty throughout. A shock head, and more shocky +eyebrows, bore a strange resemblance to the patent chimney-sweep; while +his clothes seemed rich in past memories of the profession. I had before +caught sight of this individual, in a tumble-down, rickety shop near the +residence of Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk. I had, in fact, seen her on +more than one occasion bestowing charity upon him in the form of broken +victuals; but the recollection failed entirely to account for the effect +of his cheers for "Jinny" upon the too tender nerves of my dear wife and +her distinguished mother. I attributed the emotion to the trying nature +of the ceremony we had just passed through. Reflecting that people do +not get married every day, and appalled at the terrible conclusions +with which the mind would distract itself by pondering so alarming a +topic, I shudderingly abandoned it, and assisted Malinda Jane and her +ma, in a fainting condition, to the carriage. + +It is needless to say that the cobbler was at once given in charge to a +policeman. The next morning, in consideration of a handsome fee, he +moved away. I accomplished this out of regard to the feelings of Mrs. +Lawk; but, I must confess, I never regretted anything more. + +The commencement of married life (as many married men will bear me out) +is even more consoling than the happiest days of courtship. The smell of +varnish on new furniture is as delightfully novel as the odor of the +orange-blossoms; the brightness of the new carpets and the crispness of +the new curtains both mark an era,--even if the stove _is_ obstinate +about drawing or a man _is_ called out of bed to put up the coffee-mill. +There was Malinda Jane's night-robe hanging on one side of the bed, and +there was my night-robe on the other. My clothes were in the upper +drawer of the bureau, hers were in the lower--in such delightful and +loving proximity that I own to feeling a new man; I gloried in having +some one dependent on me: in short, I was happy. + +I will not deny that there was some trouble about servants (I think +Malinda Jane had seven the first ten days). True, the meals were not +models of regularity; the chicken sometimes came on in too natural a +state,--blue and pulpy,--and the beefsteak betrayed a volcanic +appearance, as though reduced to lava by an irruption of gravy. I +remember one woman stole a keg of butter, and another went off with half +a dozen silver spoons. The former, Malinda Jane ascribed to the cat; the +latter, to a defective memory; but, then, Malinda Jane never learned +housekeeping (I don't see why she should, poor dear!), and trifles like +these failed to mar _our_ household peace. + +I would mention the conduct of Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk as being, for +nearly a year, really saintly. Even the rare intervals at which she +visited were marked by a manner the reverse of familiar. Almost every +evening she would stand on the opposite side of the street, gazing +wistfully at us as we sat in the window; but no persuasion induced her +to pay a formal visit more than once a fortnight. + +With this striking evidence of my wisdom before me, I grew worldly. I +think that during that short year I possessed a better opinion of myself +and my capacity than ever before or since. + +Worse than this, I grew pharisaical. I ventured to pity my less +fortunate neighbors, bound hand and foot to the slavery of +mothers-in-law. I attempted to joke them, and poke them severely in the +ribs with my knuckles, when the magic name was mentioned. So often did +I congratulate myself on the shrewd stroke of genius displayed, that I +fear even her respectability became sadly impaired in my mind, and +depreciated to such an extent that I was gradually led to think of her +irreverently as an "old gal." + +"Too much for you, old gal," got to be an exclamation so wonderfully +consoling that, it crept into my sleep, and in those halcyon days I +often waked up by the side of Malinda Jane, muttering the words, "Too +much for you, old gal." Waked up, I think I said. Ah! would I had never +waked up, particularly on the dismal clouds which for a season darkened +my domestic sunshine! + +Scarce half a twelvemonth elapsed, ere the retiring disposition of +Malinda Jane seemed to shrink into even greater seclusion. I frequently +found her powerful mind wandering, and her eyes fixed on vacancy. In our +evening walks, which invariably preceded retiring for the night, she +leaned heavily on my arm. + +Although the appearance of our daily repasts did not seem to justify it, +the cash demands for market-bills suddenly became enormous; and, when I +expostulated, my reasonable objections only produced tears. An +apparently needless grief had crept into our quiet home, and a lack of +confidence that pained me. For many weeks I helplessly pondered the +unaccountable mystery. + +At last (oh that it had taken any shape but that!) the enigma developed +itself. Returning home one day, I had straightened my collar and +smoothed my hair before opening the door (feeling a proper pride in my +personal appearance, these preparations are usually a preliminary step), +when suddenly, just as the portal moved on its hinges, my sense of smell +was saluted with the odorous fumes of gin. From the first suffocating +whiff of this aromatic cordial do I date the commencement of my grief. +Malinda Jane, I knew, never indulged in as much as a sip of Cologne: so, +convinced that the breach of discipline was the guilty act of a servant, +with all the offended dignity I could embody in my deportment, I went +straight to the chamber of my wife. + +Without being deficient in moral courage, I am not a boisterous man. I +do not boast of an eye like Mars, to threaten and command, or glory in +producing a shudder with the creaking of my shoes. I mention this to +show that my manner, though rebuking, was not intended to be severe. To +awe by my authority, and soothe by my condescension, was the design; but +even in this limited effort I am conscious of a lamentable failure. + +Seated upon the floor, within an airy castle of dry-goods, whose +battlements of flannel and linen cambric frowningly encircled her, was +Malinda Jane. Before it, like an investing army, with colors flying, and +a face radiant with defiant triumph, was Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk. +She had complacently opened the siege with the mixture of a hot +gin-toddy. My appearance upon this warlike scene was the signal for a +salute both loud and watery (in short, tearful), entered into with a +mutual heartiness by besieger and besieged. It was, moreover, rendered +impressive by a waving spoon, which Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk moved +solemnly backward and forward in a warning, funereal manner, as though +protesting against some appalling fate. That she was in possession of my +apartment, if not my house, I instinctively realized. She sat bolt +upright, firm and strong as a Hindoo idol on its altar; a nebulous glare +invested her head with a halo, through which bristling hair-pins stuck +out in all directions, like lightning-rods with fitfully luminous +points. The crystal wall of spectacles that bridged her nose seemed +graven with the cabalistic words, "I've got you." A feeling of conscious +guilt, of what an enfeebled mind failed to grasp, succumbed to the +shock. + +From amid the joint chorus of sobs and tears which burst forth with the +wail of a Scottish slogan or an Indian death-song, I heard-- + +"Oh, my poor darling! Oh, my poor dear angel! Oh, Mr. Butterby, how +_could_ you?" + +"Madam," I inquired, in amazement, "how could I what?" + +It may be well to state the endearing epithet was applied to Malinda +Jane. + +"Oh, dear! dear! and all this time she has been scrimping and saving, I +was unconscious as a child unborn. Cruel, _cruel_ man!" + +Mrs. Lawk, burying her hand in the depths of her pocket, drew forth an +attenuated handkerchief, and carefully wiped her eyes. + +"Please, ma----" interrupted Malinda Jane. + +"Never, _never_ again shall you leave my protecting wing. Oh, inhuman +monster, how _could_ you be so heartless?" + +"Monster" was given with a decidedly unpleasant bite, and recalled my +calmness. + +"Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk," I placidly observed, "I have not the +remotest idea what you are talking about." + +"Moses Butterby, you're a brute." + +She rose to her feet. A bundle, which, during the excitement, lay on her +lap, broke open; and my mother-in-law, like Cleopatra in her roses, +stood knee-deep in baby-clothes. In a moment the truth burst upon me. I +was unmanned, limp, and disjointed. The shock was too much! A baby +Butterby! + +It is needless for me to remark to married men that the era of +prospective paternity is an era of sacrifice. Why, in this time-honored +custom, so much depends on one's mother-in-law, is a mystery I never +could unravel. I look upon it as one of the unaccountable fatalities of +man, to be placed in the category of grievances with prickly heat. Let +it not be understood that my conduct was absolutely lamb-like. It was +not until solemnly assured the visit would not be prolonged an +unnecessary hour that I finally yielded. I think during that time I had +a meaner opinion of my own importance than at any other period of my +life. My domestic career resembled that of a child guilty of an +irreparable wrong and tolerated only through dire necessity. Indeed, had +Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk been a modern Rachel, and I the ruthless +destroyer of her household, her conduct toward me could not have +exhibited more injured resignation. I somehow grew to _feel_ guilty, and +it was only at rare intervals I mustered courage to look either her or +Malinda Jane in the face. + +The anticipated addition to the family brought an immediate addition to +our furniture. The way the chairs multiplied was marvelous, and the +number of sofas that accumulated in our parlor would have been +gratifying to a Grand Turk. We suddenly grew plethoric in wash-stands, +and appeared to possess armoires and bureaus in quantities and varieties +sufficient (as the advertisements say) to suit the most fastidious +taste. Even the bath-room did not seem to be neglected, and a modest +effort was made to furnish the back gallery. One day I was astonished to +find in the hall two hat-racks, and was nearly knocked down by the end +of a great four-post bedstead that followed me in. I turned on the +intruder, and discovered the little cobbler, apparently as much under +the influence of liquor as on the day of his previous eccentricity, +stupidly endeavoring to push one post in the door while the other bade +fair to thrust itself through the ventilator. It was then I learned that +in the array consisted the entire household treasures of Mrs. +Mountchessington Lawk. + +I may here mention that the cobbler had contracted a chronic habit of +hanging around my back gate, but slunk away whenever I happened to +observe him. + +Gradually (leaving out the patients) our house began to wear the aspect +of a hospital. The doctor made his appearance three times daily. An +aged, red-faced nurse, smelling strong of whisky, wandered about like a +disembodied spirit; and a lively young woman, her assistant, clattered +up and down stairs at all hours of the day and night. Had the entire +city concluded to multiply and replenish, the preparations could not +have been on a grander scale. + +Of the exact particulars of the event, I fear I am not altogether clear. +I have an indistinct recollection of battling with a midnight +thunder-storm, in a hopeless search for our medical man, and that, +immediately on my return, that functionary (who had arrived during my +absence) dispatched me on an equally important errand. + +I remember pulling a great many night-bells and arousing an unlimited +number of apothecaries; but the only act at all fresh in my recollection +was slinking in the back gate at three o'clock A.M. (I had been +locked out the front way), and finding the little cobbler, and a +surrounding crowd of damp newsboys, cheering lustily for "Jinny." The +cause of that commotion was also a mystery; but, when I entered the +house, Master Moses Alphonso Butterby feebly echoed their shout of +triumph. + +Under different auspices, my paternal affection might have developed +rapidly; but really, during the first few weeks of Moses Alphonso's +existence, our intercourse was so exceedingly limited I scarcely knew +him. Any intrusion within his little horizon of flannel or atmosphere of +paregoric was so severe a tax on the nerves of Mrs. Lawk, that, out of +consideration for her feelings, I rather avoided it. Indeed, had it not +been for the activity of that eminently respectable lady, I would have +fancied Moses Alphonso a brother-in-law instead of a son. + +Bolted in by flannel bandages, barred with a cambric shirt, locked up in +towels, imprisoned in petticoats, and finally incarcerated in a dungeon +of wrappers and shawls,--from the first he had the appearance of an +unhappy little convict. Mrs. Lawk invariably acted as chief jailer, and, +taking him into custody, changed his various places of confinement with +the austerity of a keeper of the Tower. My own position hourly became +more ambiguous; indeed, had it not been for the monthly bills, I would +have scarcely believed myself possessed of a house at all. I impatiently +awaited the promised evacuation; and when Moses Alphonso reached his +third birthday (babies have these interesting periods monthly instead of +annually) I ventured a hint that our own furniture was ample for all +requirements. + +To my despair, Mrs. Lawk had rented her house. Malinda Jane's +confinement (which in my simplicity I imagined was of short duration), +it seemed, had been protracted from the day of her marriage. + +Society was essential to her happiness; and society Mrs. Lawk was +determined she should have. If through her illness my privileges +experienced curtailment, her recovery brought annihilation itself. +Notwithstanding my piteous petition, we suddenly expanded into eminent +gentility. + +I am dimly conscious that to many of our guests my introduction was to +Mrs. Lawk a poignant mortification. Most of them I never did know. +Several, however, seemed invited for my especial benefit; and this piece +of malignity will never cease to harrow. + +How could _I_ talk to Miss Rose Buddington Violet, when she let down her +back hair and made eyes at the moon? _I_ had no back hair (in fact, none +at all to speak of), and scarcely knew there _was_ a moon. + +When Mrs. Jesse Hennessee of Tennessee (whose husband is interested in +iron) persisted in making a blast-furnace of the kitchen stove, what +could I say? + +There was Miss Aurelia Wallflower, who believed the world hollow, and +dolls stuffed with saw-dust, continually expatiating on the sufferings +of early Christians. _I_ have never read Fox's Book of Martyrs. With +Mrs. Lucretia McSimpkins I had some relief. She was fond of operatic +music, and, it is true, banged our piano out of tune at every +visit,--indeed, her efforts resembled a boiler-maker's establishment +under full headway; but, when she did subside, her perfect and +refreshing silence lasted for hours. + +Malinda Jane, for whose amusement all this was designed, did not seem +more enthusiastic than myself. Most of her time was spent in a corner, +staring confusedly at the assembled company, and contemplating in silent +amazement the volubility of her respected parent. + +In addition to toning down my exuberance with the softening influence of +ladies' society, Mrs. Lawk decided on a course of restriction. My +allowance of clean linen suddenly diminished one-half and under no +circumstances was I to presume to take a fresh pocket-handkerchief more +than once in two days. She changed the dinner-hour, and declared supper +(except for Malinda Jane, poor dear!) strictly prohibited. For a time I +mitigated the last grievance by eating oysters; but, an unlucky burst of +confidence having divulged the dissipation, a solemn lecture on my duty +to my family was its quietus. Every article of food was put under lock +and key, the night-latch was changed, and Mrs. Lawk, in addition to her +duties as jailer to Master Moses Alphonso, constituted herself turnkey +of the establishment. The parlor, except when we "received," was +declared forbidden ground: her dismay at finding my papers there, one +evening, was perfectly heart-rending. There was a sudden inquiry +concerning my loose change, and I was furnished with a memorandum-book +in which to write down my daily disbursements. Frequent visits to the +opera (oh, the torture of those evenings!) had been an invariable rule +with the Mountchessingtons; and, at the risk of rendering impotent the +tympanum of both ears, I was compelled to continue that respectable +custom. Persons occupying our position should be careful with whom they +associated; and the character of my companions underwent a severe +investigation. She even interfered with my business, and declared the +soap brokerage (one of my most lucrative departments) utterly beneath a +gentleman. One by one my little personal comforts faded away. Symptoms +of annoyance, persistently repeated, whenever I took off my coat or put +on my slippers, kept me at all times prepared for the streets. Cabbage +(a favorite dish) was quietly discarded from the dinner-table. My +library was turned into a nursery for Master B. + +The mute, unresisting manner in which I surrendered my fading glory was +surprising. I was appalled in contemplating it; I am breathless now with +indignation in referring to it. In short, like Daniel and the Hebrew +children, I went up through much tribulation; but my deliverance (oh, +how I daily and hourly thank Divine Providence for that blessed moment!) +was at hand. + +It was the evening of an election for an alderman, I think; but, as in +our retired portion of the city none but the lowest vagabonds gave +politics a thought, there was comparatively no excitement. Mrs. Lawk, +from the wide circle of society in which she moved, had invited a goodly +number to an entertainment. Even our inordinate supply of sofas were +filled, and scarcely a chair in the house remained unoccupied. In a rash +moment I asked two or three of my own cronies; but not many minutes +elapsed ere both my companions and myself were made to feel the folly of +the temerity. + +Ignorant of dancing, unskilled in whist or the art of polite +conversation, we were terminating our third hour of judicious snubbing +in a corner. Mrs. McSimpkins had just concluded a battle-piece of great +length and power, when the rehearsal of our shuddering comments was +suddenly banished by the deafening roll of a drum. I rushed to the +window, and, to my horror, discovered a torchlight procession halted +immediately in front of the house. Perhaps a hundred men, in all stages +of political enthusiasm and intoxication, surrounded by a crowd of +wretched women and girls, waved their lights with demoniac frenzy, and, +apparently through a common throat, gurgled three hideous cheers. There +was a charge of Mrs. Lawk's friends to the windows, and then a stampede +to the back parlor. In vain I expostulated; idly I insisted on my utter +lack of interest in the questions of the day: the political party +_would_ come in, and how was I to prevent it? The absence of +embarrassment and amiable indifference to form that characterized the +intrusion was something unique. There was a difference in shape and mode +of wearing, about the hats, really refreshing, and a variety of quality +and nauseousness in the cigars everybody smoked, that, if anything, +added zest to the scene. + +Boots unconscious of the existence of a door-mat speedily graced the +hall-floor with a perfect cushion of mud. Their wearers, rapidly +dividing into groups, plunged into earnest conversation concerning the +events of the day. The candid manner in which my own character was +discussed, and their frankness in touching on my peculiarities, was not +the least gratifying feature of the visit. In the course of two or three +minutes, one would have supposed my residence a political club-room, and +my uninvited guests in the peaceful enjoyment of their inalienable +rights. + +At length there was a cry of "Here he is! here he is!" + +Every window on the square went up, and the neighborhood suddenly +whitened with night-capped heads. I heard a crash of glass, and felt +convinced that this time the ventilator had gone for certain. There was +a fresh rush from the street, and, finally, seated on a shutter (borne +on the shoulders of four stout men) and complacently swinging his legs, +appeared the little cobbler. A radiant joy in his face, and a knowing +wink in his eye, told plainly the combined influence of triumph and +unlimited libation. Reeling profoundly to the assembled company, and +casting a drunken leer at Mrs. Lawk, he exclaimed, "Mary Ann,--'s--no +use, I'm--'s--good--as--he--is. I'm--an (hic)--an--Alderman. +Butterby--embrace--your poor ol'--father--'n--law." + +Of the conclusion of this episode, I fear I am somewhat confused. I have +an indistinct recollection that Mrs. Lawk and Malinda Jane were both +carried off in a fainting condition; and that my enthusiastic friends +gave three rousing cheers for Alderman Lawk, and three more for me. I +remember my father-in-law insisted on holding a meeting then and there +and nominating me for Governor. His constituents considered the idea +most judicious, and warmly applauded it. Mrs. Lawk's friends disappeared +precipitately through the back way, amid renewed sounds of crashing +glass and breaking china, while I hovered around the unterrified +Democracy of the ---- ward, earnestly beseeching them to go into the +street. My efforts were at last crowned with success. I was left alone +amid the wreck of my household gods; but for an hour afterward, as I lay +cowering on the sofa, I could hear disconnected speeches from my +door-steps, encouraged from time to time with tremendous cheers for +Lawk, cheers for Butterby, and cheers for "Jinny." The same general +mystification and uncertainty regarding my actions pervaded the entire +night; but morning brought relief, and in more ways than one. Mrs. Lawk +had disappeared, and her chattels were following. The victory was as +sudden as it was unexpected. + +Who would have thought that out of this storm of mortification was to +spring the bow of promise? The day after witnessed the exit of my most +respected mother-in-law and her amiable husband, for Cheyenne City; from +which place we have recently heard from them as ornamenting the first +Comanche and Blackfeet circles. + +Her reason for concealing the relationship was never developed. Indeed, +I was too much overcome with joy ever to inquire. Undisturbed by +discordant elements, the fires of matrimonial affection burning as +brightly as when lighted upon my marriage morn, I now calmly survey the +re-establishment of a happy household, over which reign domestic bliss +and--Master Moses Alphonso Butterby. + + * * * * * + +Such is an accurate statement of the case, all of which is respectfully +submitted. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote A: For many useful hints in this diagnosis, Mr. Butterby is +indebted to Mr. E.C. Hancock, of New Orleans.] + + + + +DIAMONDS AND HEARTS. + +A Sketch of Rio de Janeiro. + + +CHAPTER I. + +The sun was setting on the Passeio Publico. On one side the fading light +gilded the delicate green of the palms, and on the other it shimmered on +the placid waters of the bay. + +It whitened the little lodges, nestling in the luxuriance of foliage, +and glistened on the gaudy boats, lying motionless on the pearly bosom +of the deep. It sparkled on the little lakes where troops of joyous +children gathered around the swans, and lost itself in the blue mists +that circled the green and purple mountains in the distance. + +Past the clustered giants of the sea, whose banners told of mighty +nations that made war, past the forts where the sentries kept weary pace +on the ramparts, it lighted up the "Pao de Assucar;" through the +crowded thoroughfares where the hum of traffic told of multitudes in +peace, it glowed on the Corcovado. + +Far into the golden west, past the islands that dotted the harbor, past +the last villa of Sao Christovao, it burned and blazed among the +hills, until shadowy peaks, that seemed but ghosts in the dim +remoteness, burst resplendent on the view, gorgeous in their prodigality +of color. + +Rio de Janeiro had mustered her children in crowds. Long and broad as +was the promenade, its marble mosaics scarce contained room for the +multitude. Anxious matrons, on one side, gathered on the granite stairs +to watch their children in the garden beneath; heedless youngsters, on +the other, hung over the balustrades for a view of the tide swelling at +the foot of the wall; fair young _donnas_, bewildered at the throng of +admirers, filled the air with peals of glad laughter; exquisite +_senhors_, thrilled by the music, yielded themselves willing captives to +the seductive influences of the hour. + +Who but a Latin can understand the wild abandon of a _festa_? who but he +can enter into the spirit of the many fête-days sanctioned by his +ancient Church? + +Armand Dupleisis, in his seat over the sea, stared absently at the +jocose revelers, for he was a stranger in a strange land. He leaned back +on the granite railings with the easy indolence of an invalid, though +his frame was robust and sinewy as a mountaineer's. The hidden power of +his bronzed and Moresque features, if developed, might inspire a certain +amount of wonder; but _then_ you would as readily have sought +expression in the statues below. His gaze was almost indifferent; yet +the unmoving eyes took a mental inventory of everything. Had their owner +been provided with a memorandum-book and a stubby pencil, the catalogue +could not have been more complete. + +Among the hundreds present, those eyes picked out one man and one woman. +They followed them in their rambles through the dome-roofed shelters; +they scrutinized them as they lingered near the band; they searched them +out when mingled with the throngs on the promenade. They did not seem to +be watching, but they were; and their owner did not look interested, but +he was. + +The man, physically speaking, was a marvel; but there was an air of +foppish elegance in his movements, and a silky kind of beauty, like that +of a leopard. His head was small, but finely formed, and covered with +flossy hair black as ebony. His features, though clearly cut, wore, from +their extreme delicacy, an almost feminine expression. His hands were +small and exquisitely shaped; his mustache curled gracefully from his +lip; and, when speaking, he bit the ends of it in a nervous, almost +embarrassed way. + +The woman was a proud, passionate daughter of the sun. The brown blood +of the sun burned in her veins, and the soul of the sun streamed shaded +from her eyes. A sumptuous splendor mingled, moist and languid, with +their light. She was clothed in the sunlight. It glistened in the soft +darkness of her hair; it glowed in the rubies that clung to her swelling +throat; it flashed on her robe tremulous with radiance. From a +coquettish little hat a long white plume fluttered over her curls, and a +floating cloud of fleecy under-sleeve half concealed an arm of snowy +purity. Her life, though in its spring, seemed goldened with the flush +of summer; her morning flashed with the meridian luster of perfect day; +and yet the eyes that scanned so closely remained undazzled. Their owner +had heard of her, and of her conversation, sparkling with wit and humor +and mocking irony; but he was not fascinated. He saw but a woman for +whom no surprises appear to survive. What see we? + +Were you to question the crowd, they would tell you the man was Edgar +Fay; that, years before, his father brought him, a velvet-coated boy, to +Rio de Janeiro; that shortly afterward he died, leaving the son and a +baby sister a small fortune; that the sister, being under the control of +a mother who had deserted her husband, was never heard of; and that the +guardians, finding no coheir, had spent the money on Edgar's education, +afterward securing him a position under the Imperial government. + +About the woman they would say, "She is Mademoiselle Milan, just arrived +on the French packet, to fill an engagement as leading lady at the +_Alcasar_." + +Concerning Dupleisis, except that he had arrived recently on the English +steamer, that he seemed to be a man of leisure, and paid promptly for +what he received, they could tell you nothing. + +The glowing sunshine faded entirely out of the sky, the thick-walled +houses flickered faintly through their staring casements, the lamps on +the streets glimmered dismally at the returning crowds, and one by one +the lights began to quiver on the water. The Passeio, an hour before too +cramped for the multitude, was now deserted; but Dupleisis, nothing +daunted, smoked on. Disgusted at the necessity which compelled his +presence, and annoyed at the stupidity of the few people he had met, he +commented savagely on their peculiarities, and anathematized with +merciless ingenuity. + +"Pshaw, M. Dupleisis! you are only angry because you cannot have +chicken-pie every day for dinner. What have the Brazilians done to you?" + +Dupleisis gazed at the speaker in astonishment. + +"Their impudence, rather than degeneracy, perhaps should surprise." + +"Really, M. Dupleisis! I fear you are a cynic. In the gayest promenade +in the empire, you are filled with violence. You are a spoiled child +looking in at a shop-window and admiring nothing. Are you going to cry +with a mouth _full_ of sugar-plums?" + +"Pardon me," said the Frenchman, haughtily, "but it is an awkward habit +of mine to feel curious concerning the _names_ of my associates." + +"Let me hasten to enlighten you:--Percy Reed, diamond-dealer, Rua do +Ouvidor, at your service. You brought me a letter of introduction; but, +unluckily, I was out of town when you arrived." + +The dark eyes glanced at the speaker closely as they had watched the man +and the woman. There was something in the face that commanded respect. +The broad high forehead, the eyes flashing with scornful mirth, and the +thin lips curling with such a whimsical mixture of kindliness and +sarcasm, bespoke a man of mind. Since reaching Rio, Dupleisis had +searched for these three, and he liked this one the best. Reed took out +his eye-glass, and, adjusting it carefully on his nose, surveyed +Dupleisis deliberately from head to foot. + +"You'll do," he remarked, after some little thought; "but I still +believe that in your bread-and-butter days some friend thought you +sarcastic. I knew a young girl once who was told she had a musical +laugh, and the consequence was she giggled the rest of her life. Now, if +you don't wish to see us locked in here for the night, come along." + + +CHAPTER II + +The establishment of Percy Reed, diamond-dealer, Rua do Ouvidor, was a +corner-building, almost the exact counterpart of a dozen edifices on the +same square. The basement was of polished blocks of black and white +marble, and the upper portion faced with blue and white porcelain tiles. +From above, the front rooms looked out through bow-windows at small +balconies with brass-knobbed railings and thick glass floors; those in +rear looked through glass doors at a flat roof, one story high, paved +with black and white marble squares. This breathing-place of the +household was adorned with pots of flowers and evergreens and provided +with neat iron chairs. It was divided from the breathing-place of the +adjoining household by a low brick wall. + +Below, pedestrians gazed in through rose-wood doors and French plate +windows. The counting-room had rather the appearance of an elegant +boudoir than of a place of business. The floor was of alternate strips +of satin-wood and ebony; the walls and ceiling were paneled with +rose-wood, and rows of small glistening show-cases contained samples of +the dazzling gems. In the rear--but so covered with the glossy finish as +to be almost imperceptible--was a huge vault, containing precious +stones of a value almost sufficient to change the fate of an empire. +Farther back, and opening on the side street, was a long, dark hall-way, +from which a winding staircase led to the residence above. The second +floor of the adjoining house was usually let furnished to members of the +dramatic profession; and on this occasion it was occupied by +Mademoiselle Adrienne Milan, of the _Alcasar_. + +The day after the _festa_, the lady, in a simple morning toilet, had +moved her table and sewing-chair into the open air. Instead of sewing, +she was occupied in furbishing up some old stage jewelry, and her +visitor, stretched on an iron bench, calmly puffed a cigar. From his +manner, one would imagine him master rather than guest; but that +Mademoiselle Milan and a female servant were the sole occupants there is +not a doubt. + +With the utmost nonchalance, he had ordered a pillow, and, his ambrosial +locks buried in its soft depths and his feet raised high above his head, +he lounged a modern Apollo, scrutinizing with supercilious indifference +the lady's work. If the cigar-ashes at his side were a criterion, he had +been lying there for hours; and if the nervous movements of Mademoiselle +were significant, he had been lying there an hour too long. For some +minutes the silence was broken only by the jingle of the gaudy +ornaments, and then the man exclaimed, "But, _ma chère_ Adrienne, I am +short--deuced short. Delay is ruin. How am I to live?" + +"Work," said the lady, curtly. + +"There you are again, with your cursed woman's wisdom! What are you here +_for_? What am _I_ here for?" + +Mademoiselle answered, with a shrug, "Judging from your position, I +would say, to enjoy your ease; from your language, to annoy me." + +He raised himself to a sitting posture. "Adrienne Milan, do you take me +for an idiot?" + +"Edgar Fay, you are insulting." + +"Prima donnas of the _Alcasar_ are not usually so sensitive," broke out +the visitor, with a laugh. + +The woman sprang to her feet, and in the haste overturned the table with +its glittering baubles. + +"Go! go!" she fiercely exclaimed. "The compact between you and me is +sacred. Another word, and I reveal all." + +White as any ghost, he started up, and, without uttering a sound, slunk +away. + +Trembling with rage and mortification, Mademoiselle Milan sunk into a +seat; but hers was not a nature to dwell long on trouble. With a woman's +spirit of order, she commenced picking up the finery scattered around +her, and putting it away. Among other things was a box of quartz +diamonds, which, being small, flew in all directions. All within view +were collected, and she turned to go. + +"There are several lying near that flower-pot in the corner." + +The lady looked up. Standing on a chair on the other side, and leaning +lazily over the wall, was Armand Dupleisis. + + +CHAPTER III. + + "Has Flora proved more attractive than Thalia?" + +Armand Dupleisis, long since become acquainted, stood examining a +bouquet of roses and geraniums in the music-room of Mademoiselle Milan, +and the lady was seated near him, trifling with the keys of her piano. + +"I gaze on beauty, mademoiselle, to accustom my eyes to divinity." + +"Really! Were it not for his gigantic proportions, one would suppose man +was reared in an atmosphere of compliment." + +"You mistake us. Though not a favorite diet, in Pekin we devour rice +with the gusto of the most polished Celestial." + +"I bow to your sincerity. Women, then, are to be talked to of birds, and +flowers, and stars, and fed on water-cresses?" + +"Women, mademoiselle, make men apt scholars in the art of pleasing. I +have studied much." + +"How singular!" rejoined the lady. "I should never have detected it." + +"True art, mademoiselle, lies in its concealment. My life has been one +of concealment." + +"Now you pique my curiosity," she replied. "Do let me learn the +'veritable historie.'" + +The smile on Mademoiselle Milan's face showed that the interest was +feigned, but the grim look about Dupleisis' mouth proved him conscious +of it. A man without an object would have changed the subject at once; +but Dupleisis _had_ an object, and did not. + +"I was ushered into this land of hope and sunny smiles with scarcely any +other patrimony than a name." + +"What limited resources!" ejaculated the lady, with a slight sneer. + +"While blushing with the consciousness of my virgin cravat, I went to +Paris, that sacred ark, which saves from shipwreck all the wretched of +the provinces if but crowned with a ray of intellect." + +"And which saved you, of course," continued the lady. + +"Through the influence of my friends, I entered the _École +Polytechnique_, and, after graduating, cut the army, and cast my fate, +for better or for worse, in the flowery paths of literature." + +"Now, do not say it proved for worse." + +"It was for worse," said Dupleisis. "My family were treated shabbily; +'the muse is a maiden of good memory,' but a _cocote_; my satiric +efforts were rewarded by a _lettre de cachet_." + +"What a loss to France!" + +"At the accession of the Emperor, I returned, a prodigal son of Mars, +and now manage to sustain myself by----" + +"By writing sonnets to Brazilian hospitality," interrupted mademoiselle. + +Dupleisis bowed gravely. "Anxious to do so, mademoiselle, but I have +not, as yet, collected sufficient material." + +The retort crimsoned the lady's face, and Dupleisis adroitly covered her +confusion by asking her to sing. + +"What will you say to me, when you speak of yourself as though you were +a block of wood?" + +"The prosy geologist talks pedantically of a granite rock, and is mute +when he sees the flower that blooms above it." + +"_Mon Dieu_, M. Dupleisis! I cannot sit by and hear _Chamfort_ so +ruthlessly robbed." + +"Mademoiselle, you are unkind. I say nothing complimentary but you cry, +'Stop thief!'" + +The lady played a few sparkling bars, and sang. She had a magnificent +voice, but her music, like herself, was studied, faultless, but chilling +as the north wind. It swelled deep and full, in rich, flute-like tones, +now ringing clear and sweet in pure, rippling notes, now quivering low +in waves of enchanting melody. There were soft, gurgling sounds, that +flowed wild and free as a mountain-rivulet. It was brilliant, +bewildering; but the dazzle was like the frozen glitter of an icicle. +Suddenly, a look of unmitigated scorn swept across her face, and the +music ceased. + +She eyed Dupleisis for a moment half defiantly, and asked, "Would you +really like to hear me sing?" + +Dupleisis answered, earnestly, "Yes." + +A plaintive prelude followed, and her voice mingled with it almost +imperceptibly. It was one of those gloomy Spanish ballads, dramatic +rather than harmonious, that poured forth its mournful strains in the +fitful measure of an Æolian harp. There were bursts of pathos that +seemed to echo from her very soul. It was fierce, mocking, passionate; +tender, wicked, terrible. It sank in sobs of melting compassion; it +implored pity and sympathy in words of thrilling entreaty; and then it +rose, cold and calm, in sounds of withering derision and implacable +hate. It trembled, it scorned, it pleaded, it taunted, it struggled, it +hoped, it despaired; and then, as if for the dead, it wailed and died in +a long, helpless cry of sorrow. + +Dupleisis sat listening to the dreary history entranced. There was love, +and feeling, and fond womanly devotion; there was refined thought, +gentle pity, and warm generous charity; and there was a neglected heart, +a gloomy, embittered mind, a life lost in utter desolation. The glorious +being whom God had created to cheer and encourage man was a beautiful +statue. + +Who would teach that heart to feel again? Who turn to quivering flesh +that rigid marble? Yet the man of iron sat masking his features, +controlling his emotions, with every muscle under his command. It was a +flash of real feeling from a proud, sensitive woman, but it passed +lightly as a snowdrift on a frozen river. + + +CHAPTER IV. + +"Mr. Reed, you certainly are the most old-maidish man I ever saw in my +life." + +The room did appear old-maidish, as Mademoiselle Milan stood looking in. +The balmy breeze fluttered pleasantly past the little French curtains, +the glowing sunshine warmed the delicate tracery of the walls and +lighted up the flowers on a huge rug spread on the bare floor. A tiny +bouquet of Spanish violets, in a wonderful little vase, filled the room +with a dreamy perfume, such as one sometimes imagines he would find in +those far-off little islands in the South seas. There were crayon +sketches hung between the windows, here and there a statuette filled a +niche, and out on the glass-floored gallery was a perfect bower of +flowers. There were several easy-chairs placed about in comfortable +positions, as if they were all made to sit on, and a great lounge, +covered with green marine, stood, like a small grass-mound, under one of +the windows. + +Percy Reed, seated near a table loaded with needle-books, silk-winders, +and a hundred little trinkets, with a cigar in his mouth, and a sock, +with a little round gourd shoved into the foot of it, in his hand, was +intently occupied in darning a hole in the toe. + +"There! don't throw away your cigar. _Mon Dieu!_ can a person never see +you without being overpowered at your grand politeness?" + +"Mademoiselle, I make no apologies. Buttons will come off, and stockings +will contract holes. Washer-women are heartless. The mountain will not +come to Mahomet: therefore I darn 'em myself." + +"A philosopher under all circumstances. And pray what have you done with +your pupil in morality and economy?" + +"Oh, Dupleisis? I have started him out in a carriage to view the wonders +of this 'River of January.' By-the-by, if you ever hope to attract, +don't dream of mentioning figures in the presence of our mysterious +Frenchman." + +"Why?" + +"The branch of mathematics known as simple addition seems to be the +crowning glory of his intellect. He knows to a _milreis_ the value of +this building, from chimney-pot to cellar." + +"Blessed with curiosity," said Mademoiselle, significantly. + +"Mathematics entirely. If Armand Dupleisis were entering the pearly +gates of Paradise, amid the resounding hallelujahs of cherubim and +seraphim, he would deliberately count the cost of the entire wardrobe, +before he thought of receiving the waters of eternal life." + +"Mr. Reed," said Mademoiselle, earnestly, "who _did_ you ever see of +whom you _could_ not speak lightly?" + +"One person in the world--my mother. Sometimes in my dreams of the 'auld +lang syne' I almost see that dear little lady; she had a window just +like that, with the foliage rustling over it just as this does. Never, +mademoiselle, does that little morning-wrapper come up before my eyes +without making me a better and a purer man." + +Both were silent for some minutes after this. Mademoiselle Milan sat +leaning her face against the crimson lining of her chair, apparently +lost in thought. + +At length she said, "Would to God that all men understood women as well +as you!" + +"But _your_ mother; where is she, mademoiselle?" + +The lady's face turned as pale as marble, and her little white hands +grasped the arms of her chair, until they seemed almost imbedded in the +ebony. She attempted an utterance, but her voice failed her, and there +was a dead silence. + +Reed was a man of feeling. He did not talk, nor persuade her to talk. He +did not even sit doing nothing. He went out on the balcony to examine +the flowers. He climbed noiselessly up the lattice-work for jasmines +fluttering in the evening breeze. Finally, he took up a violin and +played. + +He always played well, but now the music was low and soft,--old Scotch +ballads, wild and mournful, touching little German songs, plaintive +romances full of subdued passion. Mademoiselle Milan did not notice him; +but in her heart she felt grateful for his consideration. Gradually the +color returned to her face, and, soothed by the sad, sweet strains, she +sunk into dreamy reverie. + +"When we have reached another sphere, where emotion governs instead of +thought, I think that man will speak in splendid music." + +Reed looked at her earnestly for a moment, and then said, "Mademoiselle, +why did you never write?" + +"The public treats authors very much as drill-sergeants do +recruits,--drunk the first day, and beaten the rest of their lives." + +"Great minds _rule_ the public." + +"And yet I fear your courage would ooze away when you came to lay a +lance at rest against such a windmill as the common sense of the +nineteenth century, whirling its rotary sails under the steady breeze +of ridicule. I am a woman, and know a woman's place. I have had dreams +in my time,--'dreams like that flower that blooms in a single night, and +dies at dawn;' but they are passed. You see, I carry the glare of the +foot-lights even here." And a bitter smile curled from her lip. + +"Mademoiselle," said Percy, solemnly, "the foot-lights enable you to +move man to a hundred passions." + +"Yes; it reduces me to the level of a harlequin, to be laughed with, and +laughed _at_. Who are _my_ friends? Are they the idle boys who send me +bouquets and never mention my name without looking unutterable things? +Have I no tastes, no likings, no feelings, no emotions? In the name of +God, was I created only to memorize so many lines of Racine, Corneille, +or Voltaire per diem?" + +It was a tone of almost ferocity with which she spoke, and the trembling +lip, the flashing eye, and the swollen veins on her temple betrayed the +self-scorn racking her heart within her. + +A bang at the hall-door, and heavy footsteps on the marble pavement, +forced her to composure. + +"Old-maidish to the last!" (the lady commenced picking the dead leaves +off a geranium). "This geranium looks as if you had watched it a year; +and this old gray hat, I suppose, you have hung above it for good luck." + +"The hat belongs to a friend abroad, and is not to be moved until his +safe return; but the geranium was presented not a week ago by my +ever-faithful money. You see the magic charm. Here are careful watching, +weeks of anxiety, and, no doubt, a modicum of affection (for I _have_ +heard people say they loved flowers), bartered away for one _milreis_." + +"Apropos of money,--I thought I was to have a view of the treasures of +Aladdin, locked up in the vaults below." + +"Of a surety you shall." + +Reed excused himself, and in a short time reappeared, bearing a large +iron casket. Mademoiselle Milan's face turned a shade or two paler when +she saw him; for he was accompanied by Edgar Fay. It had now become +quite dark, and Percy Reed lighted the gas-jet before opening the +casket. It was made in imitation of the ordinary iron safe, but opening +at the top. + +When the glare of the gas struck the dark recesses of the velvet lining, +a gleam of radiance shot up that fairly dazzled. Great grains of light, +large as peas, shimmered and glittered with an unearthly brilliancy. +Blue, purple, violet, and a gorgeous white that combined the whole, +sparkled in their turn with weird splendor. It looked like a flash from +heaven turned suddenly on a startled world. Both Mademoiselle Milan and +Fay stood breathless with astonishment, and it was many minutes before +they regained their composure. + +Hearing the heavy rumbling caused by the lowering of the iron shutters +in the counting-room, Mademoiselle urged Mr. Reed to return the gems to +the vault before it closed. + +He assured her it was entirely unnecessary, saying that larceny was a +crime unknown to Brazilians, and that he had provided for exigencies +such as this. Moving the piles of thread and embroidery silk to the side +of the table, he touched a spring, and a lid flew up. The table, though +presenting the appearance of fragility itself, was really of iron, and +contained a vault that would puzzle the most expert of burglars. + +Just then Dupleisis called from the street, and both Reed and Edgar Fay +went out on the gallery to see him. He had made arrangements to spend +the night with a friend, and the three stood chatting for some minutes, +the Frenchman giving an amusing description of his adventures among the +_Brazileiros_. + +Shortly afterward, Mademoiselle Milan and Fay took their leave. The wind +by this time was blowing so fiercely that no taper could live in the +gusts; so both were compelled to grope their way through the hall, which +was dark as Erebus. + +The door was faithfully bolted, and the casket carefully placed in the +secret vault; but when Percy Reed awoke in the morning he found both +open, and the diamonds, worth a million, missing. + + +CHAPTER V. + +"Mademoiselle Milan, I wish you good-evening." + +The lady bowed. She was reclining on a divan, before a large mirror, +absently turning the rings on her finger; but in her simple négligée she +appeared more beautiful than ever. The long, dark ringlets gave the oval +face a look of earnestness, the fierce Italian blood glowed in her +cheeks, and the flashing brilliancy of her eyes had a restlessness that +was unusual. She was evidently suffering from nervous excitement; but +there was a fascinating grace in every movement, and even in the easy +indolence of her position. + +"Take a seat on that sofa, by the side of my little dog. Is he not +pretty?" + +"Very," replied Dupleisis; "but I am more interested in his mistress. We +have not met for a week,--not, in fact, since two thieves robbed Mr. +Reed of a fortune." + +Dupleisis said this with pointed significance; but the lady preserved +the coolest unconcern. + +"The muse of the foot-lights is the most jealous of mistresses." + +"True," replied Dupleisis; "but in this case she has had rivals." + +"I choose to amuse myself with a crowd, who eat my suppers and make me +laugh." + +"And among the jesters you number the Minister of War and Chief of +Police." + +"I may need their aid." + +"Mademoiselle Milan, you _do_ need their aid; but, with all your +charming courtesies, you have not secured it." + +"M. Dupleisis chooses to speak in enigmas. I am obtuse." + +"At our last most agreeable _tête-à-tête_, you were pleased to feel +interested in my somewhat sluggish history. Would you pardon a few +inquiries concerning yours?" + +"M. Dupleisis, I am at your service." + +"Two months since, you resided in the Rue de Luxembourg, Paris." + +"This is an assertion. I expected an inquiry." + +Dupleisis took from a pocket-book a half-sheet of thin, closely-written +letter-paper, and spread it out on the table before him. + +"It was about two months ago that this document was blown from your +window. Am I right, Mademoiselle Milan?" + +"It _was_ blown from my writing-desk into the street." + +"I knew I was right; for 'twas I that picked it up. It is a letter, +written in Rio de Janeiro, and contains the details of a plot to rob one +of the wealthiest diamond-dealers in this city. You may think my +interest singular, mademoiselle; but the merchant deals with every +large jewelry-house in Paris. Their loss by a felony of this magnitude +would be immense." + +Mademoiselle Milan listened with an air of indifference that was +absolutely freezing. + +"You may think it singular, also, that when, shortly afterward, you +started for Bordeaux, I went by the same train; and that when you +concluded to prolong your journey to Brazil by the French packet, via +Lisbon, it was _I_ who assisted with your luggage." + +"There is nothing low enough to be singular in M. Dupleisis." + +"Mademoiselle Milan, one week ago you and Edgar Fay went into the +hall-way of Mr. Reed's house together, and you went _out_ alone. Denial +is useless, for I _saw_ you. If you remember, the door was banged +violently, and it was you who did it. A careless servant locked him in. +He opened the secret vault in that table, and abstracted diamonds worth +a million. You were wise in courting the Minister of War and Chief of +Police, but your passports have been stopped. No power under heaven can +get you out of Rio." + +For the first time her countenance changed, and she looked at Dupleisis +with a smile of contemptuous pity. + +"So I was not wrong in suspecting you to be an agent of the police. How +strong an alloy of cunning exists in every fool! The man whom you +believe to have stolen a million is my own brother. The letter which +caused this display of sagacity was paid for out of my wretched weekly +earnings. At the sacrifice of every _sou_ I owned, I came here to thwart +the plot it spoke of." + +Dupleisis glanced at her with an incredulous sneer. + +"He wrote to Paris for a woman to assist him,--what weaklings you men +are!--and, utterly unable to prevent the larceny, I pretended to be his +accomplice. While you were exposing your ill-breeding by coarse +criticisms on a people in every way your superior, I substituted for the +real diamonds the paste gems you were so particular in noticing. What +was stolen is my property. Go back to Mr. Reed, and tell him his +diamonds are bundled into an old hat that hangs on the wall of his +sitting-room; and tell him, furthermore, it was I who put them there. I +did court the favor of the Minister of War, but it was to put that man +in the army. I have watched over him for years, and, by the blessing of +God, I will watch over him to the end. He has never known me, nor will +he----" Suddenly she turned livid, and nervously clasped her hands over +her breast. + +"M. Dupleisis, I regret my inability to be present at the Assembly; but, +really, I am engaged." + +Dupleisis looked at her in astonishment. + +Edgar Fay, pale and trembling, was standing behind them. He must have +heard every word; for he sunk helplessly and faint on the floor, hiding +his face in the depth of his degradation. + +Why should we follow them any further? _Can_ I tell how the miserable +man, cringing at the feet of that pure woman, narrated his dreary +history of folly, extravagance, and dishonor? Need it be said that, +through all his dissipation, frivolity, and crime, his gentle sister +clung to him, and, smiling through her tears, bade him go and sin no +more? She stole upon him like a shadow in the night, and, her labor of +love ended, faded away. No entreaty of the generous diamond-dealer +dissuaded her; no apology of the detective turned her from the one fixed +purpose. The star of the _Alcasar_ rose, culminated, and disappeared in +two weeks. + +O woman! I have seen you in the brilliant whirl of society, where all +was gayety, gallantry, and splendor. I have seen your eyes flash +triumphant, and daintily gaitered feet move fast and furious to the +music of _les pièces d'or_. I have seen brave men stand fascinated at +your side, and careless youth overflow the bumper of Johannisberger to +health, and youth, and beauty. I have heard the stern cynic jingle his +Napoleons in unison with the frantic strains, and sneer out, "_Vive la +bagatelle!_" Daughters of marble! daughters of marble! Turn your snowy +arms to the glittering gorgeous, scatter the golden heaps, deluge the +world with champagne. Diamonds, _diamonds_ must win hearts. I have +watched you in a deeper, darker, madder whirl, while I have seen fair, +blooming flowers wither in the hot hands of drunken licentiousness. Oh, +Becky Sharp! Oh, _Dame aux Camellias_! you are but single dandelions in +a parterre of heliotropes! + + * * * * * + +There was hurrying to and fro on the broad decks. Bustling cabin-boys +rushed hither and thither with great baskets of stores; the +jauntily-arrayed stewardess chatted saucily with her friends in the +shore-boats; sailors slipped quietly over the bulwarks with their +secretly-collected menageries of pets; watermen contended stoutly at the +gangway for a landing near the steps; and dusky _cameradas_ cursed, in +broken French and Portuguese, at the weight of the trunks. Here a +naturalist trembled with anxiety for the fate of a coral; there a +bird-fancier worked himself into a small frenzy at the jostling of big +parrots. Bones, fossils, plants, bottled fish, bananas, oranges, and +mangoes, were mingled in one promiscuous heap. Monkeys of all tribes and +shades of complexion, from the golden Mumasitte to the fierce Machaca, +were crowded pell-mell into passages; and forcing them against the +bulkheads were boxes of wine, jellies, and _doces_ in their +infinitesimal variety. Men and women, crouching in retired places, +hurried through their few broken words of parting, and eyes were dried +for the great heart-throb left for the very last. Off in the painted +boats, ship-chandlers smilingly bowed their _bon voyage_, and faces +pallid with grief gazed with swollen eyes at loved ones convulsed with +emotion. The gorgeous custom-house officer has smoked his last cigarette +and taken his last "dispatch;" the belated passenger, whose agonizing +shrieks and spasmodic contortions finally attracted the attention of the +captain, is at length, carpet-bag in hand, on board, and the sharp crash +of the gong severs the lingering groups. + +Who ever made an ocean voyage undismayed by the knell! It is the +trumpet-tongue of reality, awakening the mind from the lethargy of its +distress. The woe of separation, the terror of the journey, the vague +apprehension of the future, meeting, burst upon you in the fullness of +their stern reality. The bewildered mortal turns to gaze at the +companions of his danger, casts a lingering look on those he has left +behind; the groaning paddles, with reluctant plunges, begin their weary +labor; the faces of the cheering crowd, one by one, drop out of the +picture, until distance swallows the whole, and those nearer and dearer +than all earth beside become a memory. + +Far aft, under the waving tricolor, stood the woman of our story. Her +fingers twined carelessly through the glittering necklace thrust into +her hand as Percy Reed clambered into his boat, and her eyes rested +sadly on an ungainly transport, already freighting with its cargo of +mortality for the sacrifice at Humaita. The golden glow of the harbor +was lost in the chilly mist; the bare mountain-tops loomed bleakly +through the piles of cloudy haze. White waves curled dismally at the +base of the Pao de Assucar, and the weird shrieks of the sea-gulls on +the rocks that jutted around it made the dreariness more desolate. Far +out in the trackless waste the sky lowered gloomily over the weary +waters. Fit emblem of her path through life--dark was the picture, +threatening the surroundings. + +Pray for the woman doomed to a calling she cannot but despise! Pray for +the being overflowing with good thoughts toward all mankind, sentenced +to "tread the wine-press alone!" God have mercy upon us miserable +sinners! + + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Trifles for the Christmas Holidays, by +H. S. Armstrong + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRIFLES FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS *** + +***** This file should be named 17562-8.txt or 17562-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/5/6/17562/ + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images produced by the Wright +American Fiction Project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. 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: + + http://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. + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** + diff --git a/17562-8.zip b/17562-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c50a07a --- /dev/null +++ b/17562-8.zip diff --git a/17562-h.zip b/17562-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a4cac5b --- /dev/null +++ b/17562-h.zip diff --git a/17562-h/17562-h.htm b/17562-h/17562-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6df8673 --- /dev/null +++ b/17562-h/17562-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3284 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Trifles for the Christmas Holidays, by H.S. Armstrong.. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Trifles for the Christmas Holidays, by H. S. Armstrong + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Trifles for the Christmas Holidays + +Author: H. S. Armstrong + +Release Date: January 21, 2006 [EBook #17562] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRIFLES FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS *** + + + + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images produced by the Wright +American Fiction Project.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + +<h1>TRIFLES</h1> + +<h3>FOR THE</h3> + +<h1>CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.</h1> + + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>H.S. ARMSTRONG.</h2> + +<p class="center"> +PHILADELPHIA:<br /> +J.B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.<br /> +1869.<br /> +</p> + +<p><br /><br />Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by</p> + +<p>HENRY S. ARMSTRONG,</p> + +<p>In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the +District of Louisiana.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h4>TO</h4> + +<h2>JAS. DAVIDSON HILL,</h2> + +<h5>OF NEW ORLEANS,</h5> + +<h4>A CHOSEN SCHOOL-FELLOW, A STANCH COMRADE IN ARMS, AND THE TRUE FRIEND OF +LATER YEARS,</h4> + +<h5>THESE</h5> + +<h2>"Trifles"</h2> + +<h4>ARE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.</h4><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align='left'>The Overture</td><td align='left'><a href="#Page_9"><b>9</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Christmas Melody</td><td align='left'><a href="#Page_15"><b>15</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Story of a Beast</td><td align='left'><a href="#Page_29"><b>29</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Leaves in the Life of an Idler</td><td align='left'><a href="#Page_45"><b>45</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Mr. Butterby Records His Case</td><td align='left'><a href="#Page_71"><b>71</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Diamonds and Hearts</td><td align='left'><a href="#Page_93"><b>93</b></a></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="TRIFLES" id="TRIFLES"></a>TRIFLES</h2> + +<h3>FOR</h3> + +<h2>THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_OVERTURE" id="THE_OVERTURE"></a>THE OVERTURE.</h2> + + +<p>Christmas! What worldly care could ever lessen the joy of that eventful +day? At your first waking in the morning, when you lie gazing in drowsy +listlessness at the brass ornament on your bed-tester, when the ring of +the milkman is like a dream, and the cries of the bread-man and +newspaper-boy sound far off in the distance, it peals at you in the +laughter and gay greetings of the servants in the yard. Your senses are +aroused by a promiscuous discharging of pistols, and you are filled with +a vague thought that the whole city has been formed into a line of +skirmishers. You are startled by a noise on the front pavement, which +sounds like an energetic drummer beating the long roll on a barrel-head; +and you have an indistinct idea that some improvident urchin (up since +the dawn) has just expended his last fire-cracker.</p> + +<p>At length there is a stir in the room near you. You<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> hear the patter of +little feet on the stairs, and the sound of childish voices in the +drawing-room. What transports of admiration, what peals of joyous +clamor, fall on your sleepy ears! The patter on the stairs sounds louder +and louder, the ringing voices come nearer and nearer; you hear the +little hands on your door-knob, and you hurry on your dressing-gown; for +it is Christmas morning.</p> + +<p>What a wonderful time you have at breakfast! There are a half-dozen +silver forks for ma, a new napkin-ring for you, and what astonishing +hay-wagons and crying dolls for the children! Jane, the house-maid, is +beaming with happiness in a new collar and black silk apron; and Bridget +will persist in wearing her silver thimble and carrying her new +work-basket, though they threaten utter destruction to the +beefsteak-plate.</p> + +<p>You sit an unusually long time over your coffee that morning, and say an +unusual number of facetious things to everybody. You cover Jane with +confusion, and throw Bridget into an explosion of mirth, by slyly +alluding to a blue-eyed young dray-man you one evening noticed seated on +the kitchen steps. Perhaps you venture a prediction on the miserable +existence he is some day destined to experience,—when a look from the +little lady in the merino morning-wrapper checks you, and you confess to +yourself that you are feeling uncommonly happy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> + +<p>At last the breakfast ends, and the children go out for a romp. Perhaps +you are a little taken aback when you are informed your easy-chair has +been removed to the library; but you see Bridget, still in secure +possession of her thimble and work-basket, with a huge china bowl in one +hand and an egg-beater in the other, looking very warm and very much +confused, and you take your departure to your own domain, to con over +the morning papers.</p> + +<p>You hear an indistinct sound of the drawing of corks and beating of +eggs; of a great many dishes being taken out of the china-closet, and a +good many orders being given in an undertone,—why is it women always +will speak in a whisper when there is a man about the house?—and you +lose yourself in the "leader," or the prices current.</p> + +<p>The skirmishers have evidently suffered disaster; for the firing becomes +more and more distant, and at length dies from your hearing. You are +favored with a call from the improvident little boy, who requests you to +grant him the privilege of collecting such of his unexploded +fire-crackers as may be in your front yard, giving you, at the same +time, the interesting information that they are to be made into +"spit-devils." You are overwhelmed by a profound bow from the grocer's +lad as he passes your window, and you invite him in and beg that he will +honor you by accepting half a dollar and a handful of doughnuts:—the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> +lady in the merino morning-wrapper has provided a cake-basket full for +the occasion. You are also waited on by the milkman, who, you are glad +to see, is really flesh and blood, and not, as you have sometimes +supposed, an unearthly bell-ringer who visited this sublunary sphere +only at five <span class="smcap">a.m.</span>, and then for the sole purpose of disturbing +your morning nap. You are also complimented by the wood-man and +wood-sawyer, an English sailor with a wooden leg, who once nearly +swamped you in a tornado of nautical interjections, on your presenting +him a new pea-jacket. And then comes the German fruit-woman, whose first +customer you have the distinguished honor to be, and who, in +consequence, has taken breakfast in your kitchen for the last ten years. +You remember that on one occasion she spoke of her little boy, named +Heinderich, who was suffering with his teeth; and when you hope that +Heinderich is better, you are surprised to learn that he is quite a +large boy, going to the public school, and that the lady in the merino +morning-wrapper has just sent him a new cap.</p> + +<p>The heaping pile of doughnuts gradually lessens, until finally there is +not one left. The last dish is evidently taken from the china-closet, +and the whole house is filled with that portentous stillness which +causes the mothers of mischievous offspring so much trepidation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p> + +<p>You expect to see the merino morning-wrapper reconnoitering the +movements of your own sweet pledges of affection; but she doesn't: you +can only hear the ticking of the little French clock on the +mantle-piece, and the spluttering of the coal as it bursts into a gassy +flame between the bars of the grate, and you almost imagine Christmas +has passed. You are deceived; for by-and-by you hear your children's +footsteps as they skip over the garden-walk, and the sound of their +ringing laughter as they rush in out of the cold, and their clamor rises +louder and gladder and more jubilant than ever. Grandpa! Who does not +know him, with his joyous face and hearty morning greeting? How +resplendent he looks in his broadcloth suit, his gold-headed cane and +great blue overcoat! What quantities of almonds and raisins, of oranges +and sweetmeats, those overcoat-pockets contain! What child ever lived +who did not believe grandpa's pocket a cornucopia for all juvenile +desires? The day passes on. The turkey never looked browner or juicier, +and the blaze on the pudding-sauce never burned bluer; the kissing under +the mistletoe was never more delightful, nor the blindman's-buff ever +played with a greater zest: but the merriest Christmas must end. Your +little girl, tired and sleepy, kneels at your feet, and you pass your +fingers through her soft curls, while she repeats her simple prayer: +"God bless pa, God bless ma,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> God bless grandpa, God bless little +brother, and God bless Santa Claus;" and you hope that God <i>will</i> bless +Santa Claus. You thank your Creator you <i>are</i> the master of that quiet +home and the father of those dear children, and go to your rest with a +heart full of gratitude. You hope that all the newspaper-boys, and all +the milkmen and bread-men's children, and all the little boys and girls +who have no fathers or mothers or grandpas, and all the poor, and all +the sick, and all the blind, and all the distressed, have had a merry +Christmas.</p> + +<p>At a time like this, when the security of your own reward relaxes +scrutiny for the shortcomings of others, I would have you take up these +"<i>Trifles</i>."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="A_CHRISTMAS_MELODY" id="A_CHRISTMAS_MELODY"></a>A CHRISTMAS MELODY.</h2> + + +<h3>The Prelude.</h3> + +<p>"Twenty-nine dollars! Very well, Mr. John Redfield: I think you <i>have</i> +cut your allowance a <i>little</i> low. With bracelets, bonbons, and other +gewgaws for your interesting friends, I must say your enjoyment of this +prospective Twenty-fifth of December is somewhat reduced. When a man has +skated over the frozen surface of society a little matter of +one-and-thirty years, it is just reasonable to hope he has reached that +desideratum known as years of discretion. There is a little adage +relating to the immeasurably short time the feeble-minded enjoy +pecuniary advantages, which I think decidedly applicable to you.</p> + +<p>"A rather severe epigram, occurring in the Holy Scriptures, goes to show +the impossibility—even though the somewhat unsatisfactory argument of +the pestle and mortar be resorted to—of separating the same class of +people from their rather confused ideas of the fitness of things. +However, when the Mussulman, careering over Sahara, finds himself, by a +stumble<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> of his horse, rolling in the sand, with his yataghan, pistols, +and turban scattered around him, he rises quietly, and exclaims, 'Allah +is great!' I know a Christian would have expended his wrath in a variety +of anathemas highly edifying, and close by wishing his unfortunate steed +in a much warmer climate than the Mohammedan has any idea of. I am a +poor church-man: let me emulate the philosophy of the simple child of +the desert, and when I fall into trouble bear it patiently.</p> + +<p>"I wonder what the grim savage would do were he short of money in a land +thronging with beggars and other blissful adjuncts of civilization? Woe +unto every blind or club-foot man, and every one-armed or scalded woman, +<i>I</i> meet to-day! They shall work out their own salvation with fear and +trembling, or I'm an idiot.</p> + +<p>"Why, bless my soul, the fortunes bequeathed to all the novel-heroes +created this century, would not begin to supply them!"</p> + +<p>Redfield shook his head decidedly when he came to this part of his +monologue, and put the gold and silver coins back into his pocket.</p> + +<p>"I hate poor people—I positively do! I despise their pale faces and +cadaverous expression. I detest straggling little girls who come up to +you and say their mothers have been bedridden for three months, and all +their little brothers and sisters are down with the fever.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> I know it's +a lie. I can detect at once the professional whine, and am certain the +story has been repeated by rote a hundred times that day; but for the +life of me I cannot put out from my mind the imaginary picture of the +half-furnished room in some filthy back street, with a forlorn woman +with red hair stretched on a bed of straw, and half a dozen or more +red-haired children piled about promiscuously.</p> + +<p>"There is a wretched little German girl, always managing to have a boil +either on her forehead or the back of her neck,—I believe in my soul +it's from overfeeding,—who follows my footsteps like a misanthropic +vampire. By what ingenuity she manages to cajole me out of my money I +know not, but I positively assert that in the last fortnight, according +to her account, her unhappy mother has suffered from eleven different +incurable diseases. My God! what a complication of misfortune! Why not +let them starve? When a man is not capable of maintaining a family, why +in Heaven's name does he ever have one?</p> + +<p>"I think I will follow the maxims of political economists and all +respectable members of society, and vote beggars a nuisance. I wonder +how many people to-day, praying for deliverance by Christ's 'agony and +bloody sweat,' by his 'cross and passion,' his 'precious death and +burial,' his 'glorious resurrection and ascension,' and the 'coming of +the Holy Ghost,' don't?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> + +<p>"This <i>is</i> a charitable frame of mind to precede a Christmas morning. +When did I contract the habit of talking to myself?</p> + +<p>"I must be impressed with the two grand reasons of the man we all know +of: first, I like to talk to a sensible man, and second, I like to hear +a sensible man talk.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if there is not something under the surface in Sol Smith's +charity sermon? I rather like its pithy style:</p> + +<p>"'He that giveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord. Now, brethren, if you +are satisfied with the security, down with the dust.'</p> + +<p>"I once repeated it to a gaunt little parson, and his look of +unmitigated horror caused me to hide my diminished head. I knew from his +manner—he did not condescend a reply—what chamber in the Inferno was +being heated up for my especial benefit. Well, well! the sentiment is +doubtless creditable to his head and heart.</p> + +<p>"What a pity it is I am not one of the 'good' people! What an +agonizingly cerulean expression I would wear, to be sure!</p> + +<p>"I wonder why young mothers don't write for their children's first copy +Dante's inscription, and teach their baby lips to lisp of the world what +he says of hell. It's surprising to me that that parson is not crazed at +his sense of the certain perdition into which everybody<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> except himself +is hurrying. Perhaps, after all, there is something in the question of +La Rochefoucauld, 'Is it not astonishing that we are not altogether +overpowered at the misfortunes of our friends?' Well, man learns +something every day. When I first saw a chicken take a billful of water +and hold up its head, in my childish simplicity I imagined it thanking +God: I afterward discovered it was only letting the water run down its +throat. My mind, like good wine or bad butter, must be strengthening by +age.</p> + +<p>"Why can't we take things quietly, as we did when we were boys? I expect +I had a rather comfortable time of it then, though I did get whipped for +tearing my clothes, and killing flies, which I used to do worse than any +bald hornet.</p> + +<p>"Now, that youngster walking before me is whistling like a lark, and, by +the Lord Harry, he has scarcely a shoe to his foot!"</p> + +<p>He was a poor boy, perhaps seven or eight years old. His face was pale +and careworn, and though he whistled, it was a solemn kind of whistle, +that sounded more like a lamentation than the outburst of childish +gladness. His clothes were too thin and worn for his slight frame, for +the morning, though clear and bright, was frosty, and his little bare +toes peeping out of his shoes were blue with the cold. He hurried +through the streets with a bundle of papers, but, even while intent on +their sale, he had the walk of an old man,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> and his small shoulders +stooped as though they bent under the weight of years.</p> + +<p>Redfield eyed him narrowly.</p> + +<p>"Paper, sir?"</p> + +<p>"So, in this frenzied struggle after bread, you are an itinerant vendor +of periodical literature?"</p> + +<p>"You mean I sell papers, sir? Yes. I've only been at it three weeks. I'm +'stuck' this morning. Haven't got a good beat yet. Paper, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Have you no fears of risking your commercial character by appearing on +the streets in that unheard-of dress?"</p> + +<p>The boy reddened.</p> + +<p>"I've been sick," said he, at length, "for a very long time."</p> + +<p>"My Lord!" groaned the philosopher; "here's another conspiracy against +my unfortunate pocket-book! Why don't your mother take care of you?"</p> + +<p>"She did, sir; but she sews for slop-shops, and has worked so much at +night that she's almost blind."</p> + +<p>"Worse and worse! and here's an outfitting establishment just across the +street. When will I acquire anything like habits of prudence? Boy," said +he, fiercely, "you are a young vagabond, and deserve to starve. Your +mother should be put in the pillory for ever marrying. That's what the +world says,—and what I would think, if I wasn't a consummate ass. Were +you ever blessed with a view of the most unmitigated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> simpleton the sun +ever shone upon? Look at me! Look good: I am worthy of a close +inspection. Now come along, and see to what extent my folly sometimes +carries me."</p> + +<p>He caught the boy roughly by the arm, jerked rather than led him across +the street, and thrust him bodily among a crowd of astonished clerks who +stood at the door of a clothing-house.</p> + +<p>"Take this young vagrant and put him into new boots, with woolen socks, +some kind of a gray jacket and trowsers, and a hat that's fit for a +civilized age."</p> + +<p>Seeing that Redfield was really in earnest, the proprietor obeyed the +order promptly, and in half an hour the boy reappeared, rather red, a +little uncertain, but decidedly altered for the better.</p> + +<p>"Now go," cried the cynic, with a smile, and a shake of his hand, "and +thank your stars the fool-killer did not come along before you."</p> + +<p>"Nineteen dollars and a half! Bless me! what am I coming to? It may be +laying up treasures in heaven; but, by Jove, I had rather see it than +hear tell of it."</p> + + +<h3>The Refrain.</h3> + +<p>It certainly was the dreariest 24th of December an unhappy boy ever had +the misery of witnessing. In a vain endeavor to get up an excitement, I +expended my last fire-cracker; but the continuous drizzle drowned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> out +every one. It was only four o'clock, and yet the fog hung like a pall +over the windows, and the gas-men were lighting the lamps in the street. +My mother, and an old schoolmate, Mrs. Mary Morton, adjourned to the +privacy of her bedroom; and, a pet navigation enterprise, conducted in +the gutter, having resulted in shipwreck and a severe sore throat, I +also was permitted to enjoy its cosey quiet. John Redfield came in as +the evening advanced. He had been sick; and my mother, wheeling the +lounge near the fire, made him lie down and have something warm to +drink. He and Mrs. Morton were intimate with the family from my earliest +recollection.</p> + +<p>The four, in their childhood, lived near each other, among the +picturesque hills of Western Pennsylvania. They went to the same school, +played in the same woods, and now, in mature life, retained the warm +regard of the days gone by. I say four; for Mr. Redfield had a +sister,—Mrs. Hague, a pale, lovely little lady, who at one time visited +my mother very often. There had been some estrangement between her and +her brother, the particulars of which I never knew. She had married, +years before, a worthless kind of a man, who kept a shoestore; but he +became involved, the store was sold out by the sheriff and since then +both were in a manner lost.</p> + +<p>John Redfield, though an abrupt man, and rather eccentric, had as kind a +heart as any one I ever knew.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> He was connected with a newspaper in the +city, and wrote wonderful articles about police courts, that, somehow, +sounded more like sermons than stories. In my early days, before +Gutenberg and his movable types came within the scope of my knowledge, I +believed he printed out the whole edition with a lead-pencil, and +entertained most exalted ideas of his capacity. He had a passion for +giving boys painted boats. I must have received twenty—all exactly +alike—at various outbreaks of his generosity. He had the queerest way +of bestowing favors I almost ever saw. When he wished to make a boy a +present, he shoved it roughly into his pocket, and then started off as +if the house was on fire. What brought up the subject I do not now +remember, but that evening Mrs. Morton persisted in talking about Clara +Hague. She spoke of their childhood, of the old homestead, of the +nutting, the apple-picking, the cider-making, and the hundred other +occupations and amusements of their young life.</p> + +<p>She had a vivid power of description, and a charming simplicity in her +choice of words, that entertained even me; but I could see Mr. Redfield +was troubled. He moved restlessly on the lounge, and once drew a shawl +over his face. At last she touched on the shoestore, its doleful decay +and downfall, and the years the unhappy woman had struggled on. At this +he started to go; but there was something in her manner<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> that detained +him. Her tone had been light and chatty before; and, though she spoke +with proper gravity, it was sprightly rather than earnest. I did not +notice any striking change; and yet it seemed suddenly to assume the +gentle impressiveness one sometimes fancies we should hear from the +pulpit.</p> + +<p>"Whatever be her troubles, Clara has been a good sister to you. You were +the youngest; and a puny little fellow you were then, with all your +greatness. Many and many a time, in your quarrels with other boys, have +I seen her get into no end of disgrace for defending you. Do you +<i>remember</i> that old log school-house, John? and our dinners under the +trees? What baskets of berries and bags of nuts we gathered in those +woods! Do you remember the little run we used to cross, and the fish you +caught in the pool?</p> + +<p>"And oh, John! do you remember that day we started home when it rained? +You had been sick, and commenced to cry. We got under a big tree; but it +was November; the leaves had all blown down, and the rain beat through +the branches. What disconsolate little people we were! And when you sat +down on a flat stone, and declared you'd stay there and die, don't you +remember how Clara went out in the bushes, and, taking off her little +flannel petticoat, put it around your shoulders for a cloak?"</p> + +<p>The strong man quivered; his face convulsed, and the hot tears started +into his eyes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Yes!</span> <i>I'll be hanged if I don't!</i>"</p> + +<p>He clutched up his hat, and was gone in an instant, and the two women, +woman-like, stood sobbing in each other's arms.</p> + + +<h3>The Air.</h3> + +<p>The thousand-and-one young gentlemen in blue neck-ties, who for a +twelvemonth, in frantic strains, varying from <i>basso profundo</i> to piping +tenor, had proclaimed their entire willingness to "<i>mourir pour la +patrie</i>," were engrossed at their shops; innumerable fascinating +trimmers of bonnets, who, like poor little "Dora," religiously believed +the chief end of man consisted in "dancing continually ta la ra, ta la +ra," sat busily plying the needle, elbow-deep in ribbons; the +consumptive-looking flute-player before the foot-lights trilled out his +spasmodic trickle of melody, and contemplated with melancholy pleasure +the excited audience; the lank danseuse ogled and smirked at it behind +them, and, with passionate gestures of her thin legs, implored its +applause; men, women, and children, of all grades and degrees, crowded +into the murky night; for a day was coming when the youths of the +neck-ties would not agree to <i>mourir</i> on any account; when the +flute-player would cease to be contemplative; when the danseuse would +forget her attenuated extremities; when the whole world, where the grace +of the Redeemer is known, would believe that the chief<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> end of the +<i>hour</i>, at least, consisted in "dancing continually ta la ra, ta la ra."</p> + +<p>Shall "The Air" ring with the joyous notes of the carols, or breathe low +and soft with the sighs of the suffering?</p> + +<p>Shall it burst into mad hilarity at the revelry, or wail with the sharp +cries of the poor?</p> + +<p>It was a painted house, but the paint had worn off; it had a garden, but +the garden was choked with weeds; its two rooms were once handsomely +furnished, but the furniture was now common and old. It was once a +fashionable street; but fashion had fled before the victorious eagles of +trade. The tenants of that house were once happy and prosperous. What +are they now?</p> + +<p>The occupant of the back room was a man, and the occupants of the front +room a woman and her children.</p> + +<p>He was sitting at a rude deal table; before him were scattered some +dirty sheets of music, and around him the place was dreary and bare. By +the light of a tallow dip he was playing, in screeching tones, the +commonest of ditties and polkas by note. His coat was once of the +richest; but now it was old and threadbare. His hands were once white +and elegantly shaped; now they were dirty, and blue with cold. His face +once beamed with contentment; now it was worn with care and marked by +the hard lines of penury.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> + +<p>The other room was darker, and, if possible, more dreary. There were two +trundle-beds in a corner, and four bright beings, oblivious to the +discomfort, in the happy sleep of childhood. There was a mattress in +another corner, with a pile of bedquilts and a sheet.</p> + +<p>The fire had burned down to a coal. It shone on the mantle with a sickly +glare; and this was the only light there was.</p> + +<p>To the mantle-piece were pinned four little stockings, each waiting +open-mouthed for a gift from Santa Claus.</p> + +<p>Below them crouched a woman, weeping bitterly.</p> + +<p>The woman was Clara Hague; and she was weeping because the Christmas +dawn would find those little mouths unsatisfied.</p> + +<p>Our "Air" is getting mournful,—too mournful for this hour of great joy. +The <i>Te Deum Laudamus</i>, not the <i>Miserere</i>, is for outbursts of gladness +like these.</p> + +<p>Let it sing of the carriage that surprised the man from his fiddle and +the woman from her tears by its thunder in the quiet street.</p> + +<p>Let it sing of the warm-hearted brother, forgetting the bitterness of +the past, his pockets replenished from a well-saved hoard, who rushed +in, startling the little sleepers with his joyous greeting. Let it chant +the praises of the hampers of wine, and fowls, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> dainties, and the +bundles of toys, that same lumbering carriage contained. And last, but +not least, let it thrill with the glad shout of a little newsboy, who, +frantic with delight, hurried on a new gray suit and a pair of bran-new +boots, a present received that very day from his then unknown uncle, +John Redfield.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="STORY_OF_A_BEAST" id="STORY_OF_A_BEAST"></a>STORY OF A BEAST.</h2> + + +<p>It was a dirty, grasping little office, vile enough to have been built +by the Evil One; and the occupant was a dirty, grasping little man, +cruel enough to have been made out of its scraps. It was a hard, +remorseless little door, that took in a visitor at a gulp and closed +after him with a bite. If the luckless caller happened to be a debtor, +the fantastic barbarity of his reception was positively infernal. The +jerk of grotesque ferocity that greeted him was like the "hoop la!" of a +demonized gymnast. The straight-backed chair looked like a part of the +stiff, angular man. The yellow-wash on the wall seemed to have caught +its reflex from the faded face, and stared grimly at deep lines of +avarice ironed into it. Even the mud on the floor, the dust on the +table, and the cobwebs on the ceiling maliciously conspired against him, +and asserted themselves in every seam of his threadbare clothes. But the +face,—stern, stony, relentless, an uncertain compromise between the +ghastly severity of a German etching and the constipated austerity of +old pictures of the saints,—in that, one fixed idea had blotted out +every other vestige of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> humanity. Each starting vein, bone, and muscle +on the hungry visage had "stand and deliver" scarred all over it. The +eager metallic glitter of his eyes, the rigid harshness of his mouth, +and the nameless craving that seemed to speak from his lean, attenuated +cheeks, united to make the name of Hardy Gripstone and Beast synonymous. +He looked like a beast, he ate like a beast, he lived like a beast.</p> + +<p>Beast started out of every bristle on his unkempt head; it shone in the +unhealthy gloss of his battered hat; it wallowed on the stock that clung +around his dirty neck; it glistened in the grease on his dingy clothes; +it starved on his thin, claw-like hands; it flourished in the grime +imbedded under his nails; it creaked in his worn-out, down-trodden +shoes. Men, as he shambled by on the streets, unconsciously muttered, +"Beast!" women, shrinking from him, whispered, "Beast!" between the +heart-throbs the terror of his presence created; children, hushing their +cries in silent horror at his grimace, stared "Beast!" out of their +wonder-stricken eyes. You might bray him in a mortar and boil the powder +in a caldron, yet amid all the envy, hatred, and malice that made up the +ingredients, Beast would have triumphantly floated on the top. Beast! +Beast! Beast! Beast! The universal verdict clutched him like the shirt +of Nessus. He actually grew proud of the title, and received the stigma +with a cluck of beastly joy, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> though inspired with a certain beastly +ambition to deserve it. The laugh with which he hailed any appeal to his +charity was monstrous. It commenced with a leathery wheeze like the puff +of asthmatic bellows; it croaked with a grating chuckle, as if his +throat opened on rusty hinges; and then it broke out in a shrill vocal +shudder, that sounded like the shriek of a hyena.</p> + +<p>It is an idiosyncrasy of mine to foster just such pet abominations; and +I cultivated Hardy Gripstone. My advances were not encouraged by that +overweening tenderness that indicates the possible victim of misplaced +confidence. Far from "wearing his heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck +at," it seemed to have been weaned years agone, and my milk of human +kindness fell flat as any whipped syllabub.</p> + +<p>Felicitous as were the suggestions of his suspicious brain, it took me +fully three months to descend in his bearish estimation from a +highwayman to a ninny. There was an incredibility in my apparent lack of +motive that puzzled him. His dubious cordiality was doled out under +protest. As an exhibitor would clutch a vicious ape, he grabbed at every +show of feeling, and almost throttled the most pitiful courtesy, in his +nervous dread of its doing him some bodily harm. There was a low cunning +in his very acceptance of any little kindness. The sly way in which he +insinuated his withered face into my morning papers,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> and the smirk of +satisfaction with which he gloated on the triumph of having gratuitously +gleaned their entire contents, was in keeping with every other ludicrous +phase of his distorted nature. He looked upon me as a paragon of +stupidity; and I fear I considered him a piece of personal property, and +felt as much pride in the possession as did Barnum in his Aztec +children.</p> + +<p>I do not think the acquaintance tended in any way to exaggerate my ideas +of human purity. Though it extended through several years, no guilty act +I ever heard of detracted from his deserved reputation for beastliness. +My surmises never ventured to the hazardous period of infancy, or risked +the doubtful thought that kith or kin <i>could</i> have loved him; but I have +often wondered if there ever <i>was</i> a time when his rapacity found +employment in the robbing of a hen's nest, or his grasping ambition +culminated in the swop of a jack-knife. I wondered if in all the +grotesque concomitants that congregated to make up the hideous whole, +there existed a redeeming trait. Yes, there was <i>one</i>,—one I discovered +in the tears that sprung from his unrelenting eyes and rained on his +cadaverous cheeks. What was the anguish that shook his beastly frame? +what the agony that tore his grasping nature? who was the Moses that +smote water from this rock?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> + +<p>Dear hearers, it is here we find the text of the sermon, and here +commenceth the preaching.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Early one summer, the grasping little door bit to for good, and I missed +its mangy proprietor for probably four months. Had he planted himself in +the earth and regerminated, he could not have been more freshened. His +emaciated carcass fairly blossomed with magnificence; and gaudy ornament +sprouted all over him. It peeped through his shirt-front in flashy +studs, it twined on his fingers in glittering rings, it trailed around +his waist in glowing velvet, and expanded over his thin legs and arms in +a forest of broadcloth. 'Tis true, the shiny collar <i>would</i> get over his +ears, the coat-sleeves darkened every sparkle on his hands, and the hems +of his trowsers persisted in being trodden under heel; but what were +petty annoyances like these, in a renovation so complete? His face had +been shaved and polished until it approached in glistening amiability +the ivory head on a walking-stick; but there was an uncertainty in its +ripples of merriment impressive of the belief that if once a genuine ha! +ha! was ventured, the galvanized look of joy would instantly vanish. It +was at a very uncertain gait he sidled into my office. He did not seem +at all sure I would know him, or, in fact, <i>very</i> intimately acquainted +with himself. The mingled gruffness and cordiality of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> greeting +suggested a dancing-master suffering with corns. It was a minute or two +before his wonted calmness returned; but finally, with a piteous look of +blended tenderness and brutal exultation, he handed me a card. It +contained the handsomely engraved compliments of Miss Florence +Gripstone, and a hope for the pleasure of my company at a soirée. This +was the magic wand that turned penury to wealth and made the sterile +rock blossom with gorgeous flowers. The beast had a daughter, and with +all the ardor of a distorted nature he loved her.</p> + +<p>If, a week before, Gripstone's soirée had been hinted, I think I would +have laughed; but if the assertion had been ventured that it would be +given in a stately house, with spacious grounds, on a fashionable +street, and with "Gripstone" on the door-plate, I know I would have +shouted outright. Yet the house was stately, and the entertainment +superb. Carpets glowing with the gorgeous coloring of the Orient, +pictures that had caught their delicate tinge in sacred Rome, furniture +carved from the solid heart of rose-wood, plate vying in richness with +the state service of a scion of nobility, abounded. Fluttering in the +light of many tinted lamps, rare flowers breathed daintiest odors; and +floating through the high arches, soft music whispered plaintive +ecstasy. In the center of a throng of recently arrived guests, and +positively cropping with broadcloth and Marseilles, beamed the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> host. +Close at his side, radiant in her beauty, faultless in its adornment, +stood the daughter. In one, a magnificent swallow-tail, fleecy +shirt-frill, and snowy gloves had stamped their wearer with a look of +hopeless absurdity; in the other, exquisite taste, gentle dignity, and +true courtesy bore the impress of glorious womanhood. I was positively +bewildered. Could the father of that lovely girl be the wretch the world +hooted at? Could the owner of all this grandeur be the Beast I fancied +my private property?</p> + +<p>Carriage-loads of elegantly attired women crowded each other in the +vestibule; dancing beaux congregated in the smoking-room; eminent +merchants, with their wives and daughters, wits of both sexes, women of +the most exclusive <i>ton</i>, thronged the spacious <i>salons</i>. Each in their +turn was greeted with a smirk of ecstatic glee. To Gripstone the +courtesy seemed invested with a proprietary interest. A nod was +receipted with a simper, a grasp of the hand with a scrape, the most +distant recognition by the most obsequious acknowledgment. There +appeared to be no doubt in his mind it was all bought and paid for, but +it did no harm to be polite for <i>once</i>; and comically polite he was.</p> + +<p>I will not say he did not gradually begin to wear the look of a man who +had purchased an elephant; for he did. I found him late in the evening +posted behind a column and peering through the window<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> at the assembled +merry-makers. It was evident he owned the whole party, and that every +ringing laugh went with the property; but to him it was a novel +investment, and perhaps more difficult to manage than any other article +he possessed. Partly from a dim consciousness that he had wandered +beyond his depth, and probably from the loneliness consequent to so +uncongenial a spectacle, a companion had become necessary; and, when I +approached, his jump of cordiality was as uncouth as it was unexpected. +So stunned were my senses by the extraordinary events, that, had he +cried out, "Come to my arms, my long-lost brother!" or were a +strawberry-mark actually found, I could not have been surprised. As it +was, his frenzied tugs at the lapel of my coat threatened its immediate +destruction, and my spinal column ached under his demoniac slaps on the +back, before I gasped out my congratulations.</p> + +<p>Wine, excitement, or the society of one who at least had treated him +with common decency, warmed the little geniality that remained in him.</p> + +<p>With a jerk he thrust me into his study, and, while thrilling music +swept through the echoing halls, and the solid flooring swayed under the +feet of the dancers, the Beast opened his heart. Shrinking, as though +'twere felony, from the penury of early life, flying from a brief hour +of married happiness, in wild triumph he plunged into the dreariness of +the upward<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> struggle. Maddened with success, spurning all thought of +concealment, with shocking exactness he entered into every detail of the +contest, every incident in the appalling history. The low cunning and +miserable privation that accumulated the first paltry hundreds, the +trickery that made them thousands, the heartless sacrifice of +self-respect that doubled and trebled the swelling store, were gloated +over with a grin of delight. Transactions imbued with a depravity that +made me shudder, were narrated with a chuckle; chicaneries of a depth +and maliciousness positively devilish, were touched with a smirk. For +<i>this</i> he had lied and cheated; for <i>this</i> his wretched body grew lean +for want of food; for <i>this</i> all the world loathed him. In <i>his</i> youth +poverty <i>crushed</i> him; but his little girl, away at school, never knew +the meaning of the word. Widows went portionless, but <i>she</i> did not +want; orphans starved, <i>her</i> platter was always full. <i>He</i> had been +spattered by the coaches of the rich; but now his chariot, and <i>her</i> +chariot, would take a drive. They had called him Beast; but <i>now</i> they +called him <i>gentleman</i>.</p> + +<p>The hundreds who drank his wine and trifled with his sweets called him +gentleman, and hundreds more were ready to go down on their knees to his +own flesh and blood. Now was the time to enjoy, now the day of +happiness. Money was a drug; in his abundance, he could never want. He +had love, grandeur,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> troops of friends; <i>now</i> he would live a monarch. +Flushed with victory, his eyes blazed, his voice rang clear and loud in +its exultation, and his lank form swelled with defiance. Springing to +his feet, and clutching up a decanter, he waved it wildly around his +head, and, challenging God or man to mar such peace, shivered it on the +floor.</p> + +<p>Wonder-stricken at the intensity of his vulgarity, and shocked at the +sacrilege, I left; and from that moment Hardy Gripstone became a study. +Every step in his tortuous course, every phase of his ostentation, every +enormity on good taste, was followed with ceaseless vigilance. Excesses +that would have startled the most thoughtless were pursued with restless +activity; absurdities that drew forth a shout of ridicule were committed +with provoking good humor. No freak seemed exuberant, no folly +preposterous, no extremity extravagance. The joy of paternity, sinking +deep into his nature, made every peculiarity more glaringly apparent. +Money had been his idol, its accumulation the summit of his ambition; +its reckless sacrifice in his daughter's honor appeared the only +adequate expression of his love. The intervals of his devotion were +passed in idle boasting, and to me he detailed every incident. There was +something really touching in the abject way in which he mentioned each +trifle concerning her. Little circumstances connected with her daily +life were described<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> as one would describe the traits of some rare +animal. His career of degradation seemed to have blunted every idea of +responsibility. He looked upon her as a superior being, and her +adornment as a sacred duty. The richness of her toilet, the magnificence +of her equipage, the glory of her beauty, became an inexhaustible +surprise and delight. The utter lack of congeniality, the barrier of +caste that divided them, was indescribably sad. Rapturous admiration, +gentle amazement, blind idolatry, meek bewilderment, the one twisted by +brutality to a living distortion, the other lifted by refinement to the +embodiment of womanly grace; and yet they were father and daughter. To +do her justice, she strove in every way to testify her love and +gratitude for her strange parent; the ties of blood asserted themselves +in her words and caresses, but they looked doubtfully out of her eyes. +Educated far away from him, and amid other associations, she could not +be blind to his faults and shortcomings. The social gulf that divided +them, though bridged by her sense of duty, was ever present in her +thoughts. I mourned over the remorseless avarice that made him what he +was; I almost regretted the culture that placed her so far above him; +but, knowing the rude shocks to her sensitive nature, the ruthless +trampling on every womanly instinct, I mourned for her the most.</p> + +<p>Alas for the schemes of prosy men and women!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> when tender Loveliness +goes airing herself through shady lanes, frank young Valor is seldom far +off. The Eurydice may be only a school-girl, and Orpheus a brave, manly +boy in a blue coat; but there is a world of heart-fluttering, for all +that. The flush of conscious beauty blooming on the cheek of one, is +generally a shadow of the warm red that mantles the face of the other. +While Eurydice Gripstone mused in quiet nooks, it was no fabled youth of +magic lyre who sent the rhetoric and botany waltzing through her brain; +and when the fierce cry of "Lights out!" hurried <i>Jane Eyre</i> under the +pillow, it was no dream of impossible mustaches that made her hear the +clocks chime dismally and the cocks crow for midnight.</p> + +<p>When the long-looked-forward-to Commencement-day was at length looked +<i>on</i>, and our heroine tripped up to the platform to read her Essay on +Filial Affection, alas for its consistency! it was not the grin of Pluto +Gripstone staring stupidly at the show, but the smile of Orpheus, now +blessed with a strong beard, that set the recipient of undying fame a +trembling. And now, when the farewell had been said, and Orpheus left to +break his lyre and mourn,—when Pluto had carried home his prize and the +dreary occupation of being as extravagant as possible had +commenced,—they were no notes of weird pathos, but billets containing +many brave promises, that made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> strong coffee the most delectable of +drinks. Of course all these changes from dreamy reverie to tremulous joy +could not escape the searching eye of Pluto; and of course, when +questioned, no Eurydice of spirit would think of denying the mate for +whom she pined.</p> + +<p>Oh, the consternation of the discovery! Oh, the thunders of remonstrance +with which Hades resounded! The wheel of Ixion might whirl, and the +pitchy depths blaze with the fires of indignation, but all this did not +dry the tears of the nymph, nor soothe her bitterness of woe. Every +tenderness that could reconcile, every enjoyment that could wean, was +vainly essayed; mourning for her Orpheus, she would not be comforted.</p> + +<p>At last the Plutonian shadows opened to receive the matchless man. It +was with no impossible burst of harmony he charmed away the terrors of +this prison-house of injured innocence. Whatever might have been the +Orpheus of the fabled "long ago," our modern hero was a plain, +business-like man. He thought a great deal of the daughter, but for her +worn-out old hulk of a father he didn't care a button. Married he was +determined to be, <i>nolens volens</i>; and that was the long and the short +of it. To a piteous plea to remain and enjoy the old man's wealth, he +turned the deafest of ears. Business required his presence at home; +where business commanded, he obeyed; and that was the long and the short +of that.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> <i>He</i> didn't propose to set up a museum of deformities, if the +daughter did; or stay to witness a burlesque on the society he was +brought up in, were she never so dutiful.</p> + +<p>Oh, the misery of this reality! When shall I forget the anguish on that +cadaverous face, when the terror of the narration? For nineteen years he +had patiently plodded on, despised by the rich, hated by the poor, +spurned by both. He had driven hard bargains that she might drive her +carriage; he had turned his wretched debtors houseless into the streets +that she might be covered. With every spark of love in his heart, with +every instinct of tenderness in his soul, he had bowed down and +worshiped her. She had him all: he would set to work anew, were it +needful, for her sake; he would go in rags for her; he would starve for +her; and this was his reward!—his happiness filched from him by a +whipster of a day's acquaintance!</p> + +<p>When two people, like the frogs of Æsop, conclude to plunge down a well +for the waters of happiness, it is generally the "weaker vessel" who +dallies. Let no one suppose our Eurydice quitted the blissful innocence +of nymphhood without a struggle, or coolly deserted her battered old +father without a regret.</p> + +<p>With all the golden halo that hung about the future, there were walks +taken in those gardens in which the claw-like hands and tapering fingers +clutched each<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> other very tightly, and there were sudden bursts of +emotion when the cadaverous cheeks were well-nigh smothered with kisses. +If you or I had had an interview with the pillow that adorned her +chamber, it would have told us of many a scalding tear that damped its +purity and many a smothered sob that fell on its feathery ears. If there +were red eyes and pallid cheeks at the breakfast-table on one side, +there was a very dismal face on the other. Step by step the hard fact +sunk into it, and furrow after furrow marked the progress. It was very +glorious for Orpheus; but it was very gloomy for the Beast, and he knew +it. Bravely did the old man hold out, and grim and silent was the +surrender. Perhaps a dawning light of their ill-assorted association, +and a fear for its influence on her happiness, might have opened the +sally-port to the conqueror; but he never admitted it. He laid down his +arms as coldly and quietly as ever any old Spanish knight gave up his +citadel.</p> + +<p>Once more the stately house opened wide its doors to a stately +gathering, and again there was music and dancing and feasting. There +were scores of richly-dressed women to kiss the bride, and there were +scores of brave men to congratulate the groom; but there was not one in +all that fair company had a kindly word for Hardy Gripstone, and of all +the throng who feasted that night there was not one saw his broken +heart.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> + +<p>From the hour the creaking steamer bore the happy pair to their Northern +home, he slunk out of society. The great house was closed, and the +little office, dirtier and more grasping than ever, opened. Every +witness to his outburst, myself included, was studiously avoided. I met +him often; but no sign of recognition escaped him.</p> + +<p>Some months afterward, in passing his filthy little street, I found the +remorseless little door had gulped a policeman. Pulling apart its +ferocious jaws, and peering in, I saw the straight-backed chair; but the +body which seemed a part of it was much stiffer and more angular. The +yellow-wash on the wall was a paltry reflex of the ghastly yellow of his +faded visage; for the iron face was the face of a corpse.</p> + +<p>Men who stood vacantly staring in muttered, "Beast!" women, shrinking +from the unsightly spectacle, whispered, "Beast!" and children, gazing +in silent horror with the rest, stared "Beast!" out of their +wonder-stricken eyes. So hard did they stare, so loud did they mutter, +and so many instances did they rehearse of the foul wrongs he had +committed, that I am doubtful about the matter myself, and ask you, +reader, Was he a Beast?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="LEAVES_IN_THE_LIFE_OF_AN_IDLER" id="LEAVES_IN_THE_LIFE_OF_AN_IDLER"></a>LEAVES IN THE LIFE OF AN IDLER.</h2> + + +<h3>Leaf the First.</h3> + +<p>When a man whom you have every reason to believe not only the coolest, +but the most unimpressible, of beings, suddenly turns white as a ghost +and shivers with a nervous spasm, it is safe to suppose he is +frightened. But when terror, turning into rage, changes one of the most +attentive and respectful of servants into a madman, it is scarcely safe +to suppose anything. As it was, I stared in mute amazement, and he +glared at me as though I had struck him. While waiting for a light, I +carelessly put my hand into a basket of hot-house vegetables. The small +egg-plant I took up certainly <i>did</i> weigh twenty pounds, and when I +attempted to lift the basket the handle bent double; but why this should +frighten a man like Marcel, or provoke him to anger, is as inexplicable +as it is surprising.</p> + +<p>He is pacing up and down the hall in a state of the wildest excitement; +and I, with man's truest comfort,—tobacco,—am left to my meditations.</p> + +<p>What combination of circumstances reduced him to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> a porter, I cannot for +the life of me imagine. His hand is as soft as a woman's; and his brow +has a breadth of brain that would dignify a Senator. Notwithstanding the +scrupulous deference in his tone, his manner possesses the quiet ease of +a gentleman, to as great a degree as any I ever saw.</p> + +<p>The utter incongruity of his appearance and position struck me the +moment I laid eyes on him. He flourished his napkin with the dainty +grace of a courtier; and when he lifted my luggage to his shoulder, I +was on the point of apologizing. He makes my bed, polishes my shoes, +performs with fidelity the most menial offices; and yet I <i>cannot</i> but +look upon him as an equal. Poor devil! His cheek may burn with the +bluest blood in France. What a pity the world is not moral!</p> + +<p>There is something enchanting to me in smoking. It is like a rich +cordial,—nerving every faculty to action. A draught from your +<i>Cabanas</i>, the pulse quickens, the mind clears, and thought awakes, like +a fine instrument under the magic touch of a master. The wind moans +drearily without, the rain beats dismally against the windows, the +fagots flicker blue-flamed and weird in the dark recesses of the +chimney-place; but what care I? The white walls are lurid in the flare, +the great bed stands out in the darkness like a grotesque engine of the +Inquisition; but who suffers? <i>Au troisième, No. 30, Rue<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> Lepelletier</i>, +was never noted for its comforts; but who would ask a repose more +secure, a peace more perfect, than are enjoyed by the occupant of this +rambling old house? Blessed be the earth that bears this solace for +weary brains! Its very odor is pregnant with dreams of the <i>Vuelta +Abajo</i>. You see the luxuriant foliage of the tropics, the dark-green +waves curling on the coral beach, and the scarlet flamingoes that gather +shell-fish in the marshes away off in the golden sunset. You hear the +wild song of the Spanish fruit-man as he sculls his boat along the +broken wharves, and are soothed into utter listlessness by the thousand +perfumes that come off with the land-breeze. A taste of the fragrant +vapor, you recline in the odorous orange darkness of a dream-land, +languidly breathing the smoke from your hookah, and the lustrous leaves +moving over you are bathed in the soft and melting sunshine. The day +lingers luminously over far mountain-ranges, paling in brilliancy on the +hill-side, where the blushing vine, bending with the clusters, is still +enlivened by the song of the vintagers; and in the valley, where the +grain sheds its gold under the sickle. You are lost in voluptuous +reverie. You breathe the sunlight; intellect is thawed and mellowed; +emotions take the place of thought; "your senses, sun-tranced, rise into +the sphere of soul." You feel the heart of humanity throbbing through +all nature, and your own warms into quivering life.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It is not good for man to live alone;" and you dream of another to +share the rapture your wild fancy has created.</p> + +<p><i>Your</i> Haidee is pure. Her form has rather the statuesque roundness of +Psyche than the luxurious excess of Venus. Timid, yet not tremulous, +graceful even to delicacy, coquettish in outline, <i>her</i> beauty is formed +for smiles. She is a still-eyed Xenobi, but knows nothing of Passion +with disheveled locks, divine frenzy, and fiery grasp. She is your +friend and comforter; and you are the strong rock her helplessness +clings to. Your uncouth manner softens as you behold her troubled look. +You become kind and considerate. You watch with pity the pinched faces +of anxiety that pass before you. You cheer the little beggar, and give +him of your abundance. Unhappy wanderer! he has started early on his +wretched pilgrimage for bread. "Your heart, enlarged by its new sympathy +with one, grows bountiful to all." The fragrant smoke curls in heavier +clouds, and is wafted imperceptibly into the darkness. Ah, Arthur +Granger! Arthur Granger! you are dreaming impossibilities, as the man +athirst dreams of flowing waters.</p> + +<p>"Love has lost its wings of heavenly azure with which it soared light as +a lark into the empyrean, and now grovels on the earth, weighed down by +the burden of red gold."</p> + +<p>How well I recollect that warm, balmy March<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> morning! My mother had sent +me to Paris about six months before, to read law with an old relative. +Of course I was delighted; but that day I felt tired of the dull routine +of my life, and longed for the green fields, waving trees, and wild +mountain-torrents of my home. I was walking slowly down the street, +thinking gloomily of the labors of another day, and she was standing +near a school-house door, intently occupied in giving some directions to +an old soldier. In my whole life I do not think I ever saw a more +beautiful creature. The airiness of the lithe little figure, the +playfulness in the nod of the graceful head, the look of joyous +innocence on that perfect face, flitted through my mind like a bright +ray of sunshine during the entire day. Every morning, for years after, I +met that child; and every morning her beaming smile cheered my young +life like a glimpse of heaven. I never spoke to her; it was a long time +before she even knew of my existence; but by-and-by I noticed a +quizzical expression come over the old man's face, and I saw her +features warm with a faint flush of recognition. How many dreams I based +on that slight fabric! Of course I discovered her name; and of course I +learned that her father was very rich; but what was that to me? With +what pride did I gaze at his name in huge gilt letters on a great +warehouse near us, and what wonderful little gothic cottages did I build +on the strength of the "and Son" that would shortly be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> added to it! The +long nights with my cousin became less wearisome. I could hear the dull +creaking of the letter-press, and see him sit poring over his writing, +quite patiently. When the organ-grinder stopped on the corner and played +"Make me no gaudy chaplet," I did not long to rush into the streets, for +I had <i>her</i> to think about. When the clock struck eleven, and my cousin, +with his peculiar "phew!" commenced another letter, I looked on quite +calmly, and began the construction of another cottage. Of course there +were rainy days, and Thursdays that were ages to me; and there were +Christmas holidays, and long, hot vacations, that she did not come; but +September brought back the radiant face, and I worshiped on.</p> + +<p>Gradually I noticed a change in her dress. She wore little lace collars, +and bright ribbons I had not seen before; and sometimes she carried a +little bouquet of violets, with a white rosebud in the center. As she +grew older, I had many rivals. Gallant youths, brave in broadcloth and +beavers, followed by dozens the <i>Picciola</i> I had watched so tenderly. +How proudly I passed them by! and how I sneered at the thought of their +understanding <i>her</i>!</p> + +<p>I saw her form grow fuller and expand into a more queenly beauty. I saw +her eyes sparkle with a diviner light, and her bosom swell with new and +strange emotions. I watched her until she became a woman, and gloried in +her matchless loveliness.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> + +<p>At last the end came. One morning, the brown calico frock was changed +for an India silk, and the little school bonnet, with its blue veil, for +a new one, covered with artificials. She was accompanied by an elderly +lady, and looked nervous and excited. I was troubled at the tremulous, +uncertain expression of her face. The next day I read her name in the +list of graduates.</p> + +<p>It does generally rain at picnics; but this time it didn't. When shall I +ever forget that picnic? I stole a holiday to attend it. It was late +when I arrived: the dinner was over, and I had one prepared expressly +for me. Would you believe it? my fair attendant was the little Blue +Veil. She was so kind and so gentle, and treated me in such a confiding, +sisterly way. There was a tenderness in the soft depths of her eyes, a +purity in the dazzling loveliness of her face, that my heart yielded to +with the blind fervor of a devotee. When shall I ever forget that +evening walk under the trees? Oh! those buttercups and daisies, and +little Quaker ladies! what recollections they bring back to me! The +pressure of that soft little hand on my arm, the timid grace of her +manner, the sound of her clear, girlish voice, with what emotions have +they stirred my soul! Heaven bless her! Thank God for that one glorious +picture! It was years ago; she is married now, and the mother of +children; yet even now I sometimes catch myself standing on the corners +and gazing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> wistfully down the street for the bright image that stole +into the morning of my young life like a soothing dream in a long, +troubled sleep.</p> + + +<h3>Leaf the Second.</h3> + +<p>Gardening in midwinter!—what new freak has taken possession of that +eccentric man? The morning broke dank and drear, for the December air +had chilled the moisture into a fog. The wide verandas that opened on +the court-yard in rear were dripping with the rain, and the broad +flag-stones covered with a greasy slime. The diminutive grass-plot was +brown and soggy, but the withered blades rapidly disappeared under the +sturdy plunges of Marcel's spade. I had gone out on the gallery to fill +a ewer with water—in his excitement of the previous evening, Marcel had +forgotten my morning bath—and saw him distinctly through the +<i>jalousies</i>. He must have commenced at daylight; for, though it was then +early, the ground was almost entirely dug up. Near him, on the pavement, +was the basket over which he had displayed so much agitation. He +prepared six holes, each of which was carefully lined with straw, and +then deliberately commenced planting the egg-plants <i>whole</i>.</p> + +<p>An hour or two later, he came up with the coffee. I thought he turned a +shade or two paler at seeing me up and dressed; but no vestige of +petulance remained.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> Having really taken no offense at the outburst, I +rallied him concerning it.</p> + +<p>"I was wrong," said he, gravely; "but nature has left me destitute of +tact. An artist was once ordered to paint a one-eyed princess: the +artful man made the picture a profile. Devoid of his discernment, I saw +only my ruined treasures."</p> + +<p>"And, after acting like a wild man, you sneer at my curiosity."</p> + +<p>"One so secure in his position as M. Granger can lose nothing by +forbearance."</p> + +<p>"In other words, I am to endure patiently the taunts of an apron, +because its wearer is worthy of a surtout?"</p> + +<p>"The prompt nature of hunger is well known. Fifty years ago, I might +have shrieked in the <i>Place de la Concorde</i>. France has degenerated; I +polish your shoes."</p> + +<p>The assumption of inferiority was so defiant that I said, bluntly, "This +can never excuse the neglect of faculties bestowed by Heaven."</p> + +<p>He shrugged his shoulders, and answered, "There was a time when power +succumbed to intellect. 'Stand out of my sunlight,' said Diogenes to +Alexander; and Alexander did so. This is Paris, M. Granger, and we are +living on the <i>Rue Lepelletier</i>."</p> + +<p>"And, frightened at its splendor, M. Marcel has prudently determined to +put his brains under regimen."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p> + +<p>"M. Marcel has prudently determined to avoid in future a <i>tête-à-tête</i> +with his superiors."</p> + +<p>He started abruptly to the door, and I called him back; determined +distance even in a servant is far from flattering, and I asked him +frankly if his visits to my apartments were as distasteful as his manner +would lead me to infer.</p> + +<p>He answered, politely, "Were fickle Fortune waiting to conduct me to the +summit of my ambition, I would detain her a few hours to enjoy society +so charming; but M. Granger forgets he is addressing a domestic."</p> + +<p>"Stubborn in your pride to the last! What am I to think of one who holds +all sympathy in contempt?"</p> + +<p>"<i>Basta!</i>" he fiercely exclaimed. "I am like a vagrant cur: flying from +the sticks and stones of a vile rabble, I fawn with cringing servility +on the first hand that throws me a crust."</p> + +<p>"Wrong, Marcel; wrong," I earnestly answered. "You are trying to warp +your nature, as you tried to force the fruits of summer to bloom and +ripen in midwinter. You <i>will</i> be human, and your egg-plants will rot in +the earth."</p> + +<p>My words seemed to have taken away every particle of color there was in +him. His eyes contracted until they resembled those of a wild animal, +and for a moment I thought he was going to spring at my throat. His +voice—when finally he regained it—sounded like that of another +person.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> + +<p>"M. Granger," said he, "a man visiting the <i>Jardin des Plantes</i> once +undertook to stroke a leopard. Strange as it may appear, the animal was +more pleased with petting than the inquiring mind imagined. The instant +our naturalist attempted to desist, the creature raised his paw to +strike. There monsieur stood, for a whole night, gazing into his glaring +eyes and smoothing his soft neck. Can you imagine his feelings?"</p> + +<p>With a bow that would have graced the Duc de Beaumont, he left. I heard +him hastily packing his modest wardrobe; and in fifteen minutes a +tilbury had whirled him away—whither, Heaven only knows.</p> + + +<h3>Leaf the Third.</h3> + +<p>I do not think his own mother would call him handsome; he is certainly +not young, nor particularly brilliant; and yet there is a fascination +about the proprietor of this rambling old house that gave me an +unaccountable desire to become his tenant. He is a wine-merchant, and +occupies, as his counting-room, the entire second floor. The place is +desolate-looking and dusty, and the furniture old with service; but, I +am told, no man in Paris controls more of the grand vintages than M. +Pontalba. With a Frenchman, the <i>legality</i> of a transaction depends on +its being negotiated in a <i>café</i>; and it was in one of these I first saw +him. He was seated at a table near me, absorbed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> with the contents of a +box of baby-clothes, while a rather pretty and exceedingly voluble +<i>modiste</i> harangued him on their beauty. The tenderness of his +expression struck me. He took out the articles one by one, examining +each with the interest of a woman. He ran his fingers through the tiny +sleeves, and smoothed out the ruffles and lace, with a care that was +almost loving. Diminutive cambric shirts, snowy dresses, and silky +flannels,—all in their turn were inspected and replaced with a sigh of +satisfaction.</p> + +<p>An ardent young friend and I had been discussing the merits of Comte's +philosophy; but so attracted were we by the singular trait that both +stopped involuntarily, and watched him, until the woman was paid and a +messenger carried the fairy wardrobe away.</p> + +<p>My friend was an enthusiastic metaphysician; and, resuming the subject +with a zest, was soon plunged into the phenomena of thought, the action +of the brain, and the vitality of the blood that sustained it. As all +conversant with the subject can readily believe, not many minutes +elapsed before his artful sophistries proved the non-existence of +heaven, hell, and even God himself.</p> + +<p>M. Pontalba turned suddenly, and, drawing his chair close beside us, +with an apology for the seeming intrusion, addressed the incipient +skeptic:</p> + +<p>"Behind the iron bars of that dreariest of studies, a prison, a little +weed once received the concentrated thought of a savant. The covering of +its stem, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> first tender leaves, the development of the bud, the +expansion of the flower—each bewildering in its consummate +propriety—unfolded, in their turn, a system of laws in simplicity +transcendent. By the aid of a microscope, a 'gillyflower' was seen +protecting a chrysalis. Warm leaves cherished it, dainty juices aided +its digestion, wholesome offshoots nourished it to maturity. Eking out a +scant existence between two granite flags, this insignificant waif +reared a caterpillar. What man are you, who can say there is no God?"</p> + +<p>There was a pathos in his voice, and a tone of simple fervor, which gave +that quiet old man the air of a priest.</p> + +<p>It was more than a year afterward I took these rooms; but my +establishment was of short duration ere I learned the history of an +eventful morning which followed that incident:—of how the placid face +of the master peered among his people, beaming with a great joy; how a +sumptuous feast was fitted up in the private office for all in the +employ; of the two hundred francs, and a suit of clothes, presented to +each; and how every one, from the little messenger to the gray cashier, +with the rarest wine in the cellar, drank prosperity to the new-born son +and heir, and much happiness to the mother,—"God bless her!"</p> + +<p>Once I saw a pony-carriage, with an aged, semi-military driver, pull up +at the door, and the flutter of a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> veil as the vehicle passed through +the entrance; and this was the only glimpse I ever caught of the little +lady that dingy office called mistress. There was, however, a certain +briskness in the movement of the clerks, and a glow of pleasure on their +faces, that always denoted a visit; and very frequent those visits were. +Without in any way obstructing it, her pretty interest seemed to throw a +halo around the dull routine of trade; and, if there was any +unpleasantness, the arrival of Jean Palliot, coachman and ex-grenadier, +with Madame Althie Pontalba, was sure to drive it away.</p> + +<p>Why <i>will</i> my heart, like a hungry thing, gloat on the happiness of +others? He has gone away—in the midst of the holidays—no one knows +whither; and his sweet wife and pleasant home are as dreary as I. There +is a mystery about this house which I have not yet unraveled. Marcel +left in the morning, and M. Pontalba in the evening. That has been two +weeks ago. I thought he would have fainted when I told him of the +<i>garçon's</i> exodus. I attempted a history of the gardening; but he would +not listen to a word, and remained locked up in his private room during +the entire day. Late in the evening a stranger called, and insisted on +an interview. It resulted in a hasty consultation with the cashier, and +an order for a coach. The two went off together,—whither, or for how +long, no one knows.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>Leaf the Fourth.</h3> + +<p>To-day finds a man in the full glow of health, and strength, and +happiness; to-morrow comes death, cold, pitiless, irresistible; mocking +all hope, freezing desire, crushing all effort with the eternal law of +time and human destiny, it strikes him down with the icy fury of a +fiend. Poetry, passion, humanity, are shivered at the touch. The +glorious creature who, an instant before, quivered with life and love +and energy, lies a shapeless mass, disgusting to the sight, loathsome to +the touch, revolting to every instinct of our nature. So, in its +ceaseless routine, forever and forever, wheels on the world. The +play-ground bully, the swindler of the corn exchange, who is the more +virtuous? dolls with life, babies with genius, which the more sensible? +Even baby has its "pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake," and is lulled to sleep with +visions of a coach and six little ponies. Dreams, dreams of self, that +man wraps himself in like the swathing of a mummy. Who ever saw a cake +marked with "T," who ever a "Valley of Tranquil Delight"?</p> + +<p>The sun rises and sets on the weary diamond-digger of the South, the +crazed perfume-hunter in the East, the stifled hemp-curer in the fetid +swamps of Russia, the shriveled iron-worker in the scorching furnaces of +England. Here, in Paris, amid that motley herd who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> feed on virtue, the +moon shines down calmly on purblind embroiderers and peerless beauties, +on worn-out <i>roués</i> and squalid beggars. The breeze that wafts to heaven +the pure prayer of the maiden witnesses the fierce ribaldry of the +courtesan; it flutters the curls of a sleeping infant, and bears on its +wings the whispered exchange of <i>chastity for bread</i>. And man goes on, +devouring his three poor meals a day, and babbling the meaningless +nothings he has learned by rote. Oh, land of enlightenment! Oh, age of +Christianity! Oh, zenith of civilization!</p> + +<p>The smoke-wreaths curl into thicker clouds. I have painted bright +pictures, and they have faded. I have cherished fond dreams, and they +are vanished. "It is not good for man to live alone;" and I am most +solitary. I can make another picture,—without the roses; but it will be +true.</p> + +<p>It's a merry Christmas, this Twenty-fifth of December, eighteen hundred +and eighty-seven,—a very merry Christmas; times have scarcely changed +at all in the last thirty years. The sun shines down brightly, and the +frosty air is fall of gladness; for Santa Claus, with his untold +wonders, has come and gone. Ecstasies over dolls and transports over +tea-sets, screams of delight at hobby-horses and enthusiastic +exclamations at humming-tops, have passed. Paint-boxes and +writing-desks, leaden soldiers and tin trumpets, at last, are reduced to +blissful matters of course. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> streets, which all the morning have +been thronged with laughing groups of happy children, are now almost +deserted. Senators and cabmen, ministers of state and town constables, +romping school-girls and worn-out actresses, <i>Lady Dedlock</i> and her +washer-woman, men, women, and children of all degrees, have quietly +seated themselves to roasted turkey and plum-pudding. Even the little +boys who <i>will</i> play marbles under the library windows, who are +constantly being "fat" and wanting "ups" and "roundings," and who are +invariably ordered to "knuckle down and bore it hard," are now intently +occupied with the succulent delights of "drum-sticks" and gizzards. And +yet the man whose fingers now form these letters <i>then</i> sits alone. Time +has not passed lightly over <i>his</i> head. The few hairs that straggle from +beneath his skull-cap are gray, and the faintest breath makes him wrap +closer in his thickly-wadded dressing-gown. His face is worn and pale, +and the wrinkled hand, though it only holds a little cigarette, will +sometimes tremble as it moves. The Christmas dinner is pushed away +untasted. <i>Château-Margaux</i> has lost its flavor, and silver and crystal +do not bring appetite now. Even the glowing sunshine, which plate-glass +and silk damask cannot keep out, is unheeded. He gazes wearily at the +magnificent furniture, and smokes. He has talked much to the world, and +it has heard him. Flung into life without a friend, governed only by +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> will of a race born to command, he has struggled through sneers and +sarcasm to eminence. Men fear him now, women flatter, nearly all envy; +yet he is alone. He knows this; he knows that in all the laughing groups +who enjoy this wine-drinking and turkey-eating day his name has not been +mentioned once. Nature allows no trifling with her laws; flowers do not +bloom in deserts. He has crushed sentiment; he has stifled affection. +With a heart by nature kindly, he sits now an image cut in steel. He +gazes calmly at his desolate hearth, at his joyless age, and smokes. Man +has no power to move him; fate condemned him to be a statue.</p> + +<p>Ah! the strongest, after all, are but weak, erring, human beings. The +last of a race stands weary and old, trembling on the brink of eternity. +Who will close the fading eye? Who will smooth the dying pillow? With +all his great wealth, with all his wondrous knowledge, what one deed of +charity will that infirm old man take into the presence of his Creator? +He looks dreamingly out at the window. The plate-glass and damask are +not there now; the sunshine is warm and the air balmy. A mild, breezy +March morning, and he is standing on a corner, looking far down the +street. "She is coming, coming;" the dark eyes beam on him, and the +radiant face flushes the pallor of his cheek;—"come." He gives one +lingering, beseeching look at the passing figure, the cigarette<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> drops +to the carpet, the withered hands clasp convulsively the arms of the +chair, the gray head slowly falls on his breast, and one more frail +human being, exhausted with the anxieties of a long and bitter life, is +at rest forever. It's a merry Christmas, this Twenty-fifth of December, +eighteen hundred and eighty-seven,—a very merry Christmas. Times have +scarcely changed at all in the last thirty years.</p> + +<p>How he ever got there, or when, I do not now, nor will I ever, know, but +when I looked up Marcel was standing before me.</p> + +<p>"M. Granger," said he, abruptly, "it will be necessary for you to seek +another lodging."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"I would do you a service. The proof lies in the future. This house is +doomed."</p> + +<p>"Poor Marcel," said I, with genuine pity, "some recent trouble has +turned your brain!"</p> + +<p>"Mad!" he replied, laughing bitterly. "The wonder is that I am not. For +years I have been hunted,—hunted like a dog. Prisons have been my +dwelling-place, disguises my only clothing. My pillow is a spy; the very +atmosphere I breathe is analyzed."</p> + +<p>"And what is your offense?"</p> + +<p>"A desire to live as the great God intended an Italian should. A desire +to lift to his place among the free-born the corrupt descendant of +Coriolanus, now nourishing his miserable body on the <i>scudi</i> extorted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +from a stranger's patience. The vile crew whom our ancestors drove +howling and naked across the Danube, in undisturbed apathy gloat over +our dearest treasures. Our people are ground into the dust; our women, +stripped in the market-place, shriek under the pitiless lash of the +oppressor. One man, sworn to protect Italy with his life, can save her, +and has refused. That man dies."</p> + +<p>"And you are pledged to kill him?"</p> + +<p>"I am pledged to see you safely without these walls by this day +fortnight."</p> + +<p>"And you?"</p> + +<p>"I remain."</p> + +<p>"Marcel, you are crazy."</p> + +<p>"M. Granger, you are polite."</p> + +<p>That night fortnight I was away; and this was the message that sent me:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"<span class="smcap">To M. Arthur Granger</span>:</p> + +<p>"Your fatal discovery on the morning of my departure makes you +the only man to whom I can appeal. Let me pray the appeal be +not in vain. In the folly of my youth, while sojourning in +Italy, I joined a powerful secret order, whose demands cease +only with death, and whose penalty for denial is a sudden and +bloody end. You can judge, then, my anxiety on being compelled +to admit to my establishment, disguised as a servant, one of +its highest officers, and my horror at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> hearing of his abrupt +departure. Since then I have learned the unhappy cause. My life +is in another's hands. It is for him to command, and for me +blindly to obey. There are two beings in this world dearer to +me than my soul's salvation. To you, M. Granger, as a Christian +gentleman, I commend them. The sealed note inclosed (the +contents of which are a matter of life and death) I beg you +will at once deliver to my wife; and let me conjure you, until +the crisis is over, to make my house at Romainville your home.</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Édouard Pontalba</span>."</p></blockquote> + + +<h3>Leaf the Last.</h3> + +<p>This is the 15th of January, 1858. France is in a blaze of excitement. +Last evening, in the <i>Rue Lepelletier</i>, an attempt was made to +assassinate the Emperor, by throwing grenades filled with fulminating +mercury under the coach that bore the Imperial family to the Italian +Opera. Count Felice Orsini, the murderer, himself desperately wounded, +has been arrested, and Paris is crying for his blood.</p> + +<p>For several days I have been the honored guest of Madame Althie +Pontalba. It is a golden evening; the sky, an hour ago so clear and +blue, is piled with golden clouds, and stretches out into golden rivers, +with golden banks, flowing calmly down into a golden sea. The purple +slates on the church-steeple, the red<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> tiles on the house-tops, the +gardens with their evergreens and jonquils and little blue violets +shrinking out of the frosty air, are wrapped in a golden mist. The light +streams through the windows in rays of pure gold, and trickles down the +walls in little golden currents. It is an enchanting little villa. The +steep gables covered with variegated slate, the thin fluted columns of +the verandas, the diminutive marble steps, the broad bow-windows with +their transparent plate-glass, look more like a fairy picture than a +reality. The trim shrubbery, the airy little statues, and even the white +palings, so frail and fanciful in their construction, are charmingly +appropriate.</p> + +<p>It is an enchanting little room. The icy air is warmed by the bright +carpet and glowing curtains, and the trickling currents of golden light +on the walls are mellowed by the blazing sea-coals. It is a merry little +fire, an ardent, earnest, <i>home</i> fire, that shoots out its whimsical +little flames as if it meant to burn one to a cinder, and flutters and +murmurs to itself and scatters down the white feathery ashes in a very +ecstasy of impetuous glee. The green porcelain tiles on the hearth, the +oval-shaped chairs, the wonderful tables, and the little easy-chair, are +all flushed up, and seem quite enlivened at its sportive tricks. The +silver sewing-bird, with its glittering little garnet eyes, is peering +curiously down at the painted fish-geranium on the teapot; and the +geranium, sweltering by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> fire, seems almost wilted with the heat. +The teapot pants and struggles under its steaming contents, and looks +appealingly at the great china cup on the table; and now a lump of +sparkling sugar is dropped into its shiny recesses, and the fragrant +odor of that gentlest soother of troubled thoughts pervades the room.</p> + +<p>How shall I describe the mistress of this fairy resting-place, as she +sits in the softened light of this golden winter evening, with the +trickling golden currents and the quivering firelight playing on her +dress, and the last rays of the sunshine melting into golden threads in +her hair? How can I picture the look of girlish innocence on her face, +the artless grace of her manner, her delicate feminine ways, and the +dainty arrangement of her toilet? How can I tell of the irresistible +charm that pervades every article about her, from the little French boot +resting on the rug, to the ruffle that circles her white throat? The +balmy morning of her young life has passed. The brown calico frock, and +the little school bonnet, with its blue veil, have been put away +forever. The lithe figure has grown matronly, the childish timidity is +gone; the softened face tells of changes,—changes made by much +happiness; changes also, alas! by trouble.</p> + +<p>The dark eyes beam with a deeper tenderness, with a wealth of maternal +devotion, with a world of maternal anxiety. The aurora, with its hazy +glow, has disappeared, and now the sun shines brightly on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> early +day; yet through all the love, and all the care, and all the joy of her +pure life, remains that radiant smile, the glorious creation of a +glorious God, that awakens in man one sensation,—tranquillity. O man, +with the joy of your <i>own</i> young love, O woman blessed with a +remembrance of earlier days, is it needful I should say, Madame Althie +Pontalba is the Little Blue Veil?</p> + +<p>There were two visitors here an hour ago,—a lady and a gentleman. +Whatever their lack of ostentation, there was an air of distinction +about both that would strike the most casual observer.</p> + +<p>The cabriolet was plain, but the horses showed the purest blood, and the +harness and equipments a neatness one would not see in a day's ride. The +gentleman was tall and stately, with a well-shaped aquiline nose, and a +mustache and imperial pointed <i>à la militaire</i>; and the lady was petite +and graceful, with a face of rare loveliness. The features of both told +plainly of a great trial bravely endured. The lady entered alone. Her +carriage and demeanor possessed all that quiet elegance which is only +met with in the society of the great; but it was with no courtly speech +she addressed the mistress of this quiet home. To twine her arms +lovingly around that dear form, to draw it close to her bosom, to pour +out, in a voice broken with tears, a burst of gratitude, was the +mission. In moments when hearts are wrung, we do not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> practice our grand +politeness. A noble life had been saved, a terrible calamity averted. +The polished manner of the <i>salon</i> was dropped. A <i>wife</i> spoke, a +<i>woman</i> listened. The visit was already a long one when Jean Palliot +took charge of the equipage, and, on leaving, it was into <i>his</i> hand the +gentleman thrust a roulette of Napoleons.</p> + +<p>"Sir," cried the indignant coachman, "a soldier of the Grand Army is not +a beggar."</p> + +<p>"It is not the gold, but the portraits of his commander I give the +soldier of the Grand Army."</p> + +<p>"<i>Mon Dieu!</i>" exclaimed the now affrighted veteran, "it is +Napoleon!—<i>Vive l'Empereur!</i>"</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Of the history of that attempt on the life of Napoleon, the world is +fully informed. That, thanks to a fortunate warning, the Imperial coach +was lined with boiler-iron, is well known. That warning, by direction of +her husband, was written by Madame Althie Pontalba, and delivered by me.</p> + +<p>That the destructive missiles were manufactured in Birmingham, England, +our Minister Plenipotentiary has good cause to remember; but that they +were smuggled into Paris in the guise of egg-plants, and deposited in +the grass-plot in rear of house No. 30 of that now memorable street, I +believe is still a mystery.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p> + +<p>That Count Felice Orsini (the man executed) was concealed for weeks, is +on record at the Prefecture; but that he assumed the position of a +servant, and the name of Marcel, is not.</p> + +<p>As for me, I think a great deal, and say nothing; but if the young +Pontalba, who now studies type-setting with the Prince Imperial, was not +the baby whose clothes I once saw examined at a <i>café</i> there is no truth +in these "Leaves of an Idler."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="MR_BUTTERBY_RECORDS_HIS_CASEA" id="MR_BUTTERBY_RECORDS_HIS_CASEA"></a>MR. BUTTERBY RECORDS HIS CASE.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></h2> + + +<p>J. Moses Butterby, aged 40 years; a licensed broker; nativity, American; +temperament, sanguine; habit, slightly obese; constitution, robust. +History of the case as related by himself.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>I don't see how I ever came to <i>be</i> married. It was certainly the last +thing my friends expected of me, and it was the last thing I ever +expected of myself; but that I am married, Mrs. J. Moses Butterby, and +Master Alphonso Moses Butterby, are both here to testify.</p> + +<p>What so aristocratic a family found in me to admire is as much a secret +now as then. I don't think it was intellect; for I am afraid that when +Nature designed me the "shining" element was left out. Somehow, at +school, the composition sent to the village journal was never mine; the +declamation repeated at every fresh arrival of directors was always +another's; and if, by any chance, a visitor asked to hear a recitation, +under no circumstances was I ever invited to show off. My<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> modest part +in society was not crowned with greater success. Ma (dear heart!) +objected to dancing, and I never learned; I didn't go to picnics, for I +don't know how to drive; I tried smoking, and it made me sick; if I +drank wine, I was sure to go to sleep: in fact, none of the amusements +of other young men ever amused me; and the result was, the money they +spent, I saved.</p> + +<p>Envious people have hinted at this as the attraction which first caught +the respected mother of my Malinda Jane and the respected mother-in-law +of myself; but ideas so unbecoming I repel with proper scorn.</p> + +<p>I do not think myself more stupid than the average of mankind; but, +somehow, while they walked through the middle of the streets, I sought +the narrow alleys; and while others aspired to noise and distinction, I +found retirement and Malinda Jane. (It <i>was</i> in an alley I first met +Mrs. J. Moses Butterby—though this in no way concerns the present +narrative.)</p> + +<p>Malinda Jane (I trust I am not violating any matrimonial law in thus +familiarly speaking of my respected helpmeet)—Malinda Jane, from the +first time I beheld her, up to the present period of a long, and I may +say intimate, acquaintance, appears to me a paragon of all the modest +and retiring virtues. If among her many attractions she is possessed of +a distinguishing trait, it lies in the power of her eyes. So much +language do their depths contain, that to me, at least, any other is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> in +a great measure a superfluity. I should be afraid to count up the +consecutive hours we have spent in this silent converse, reading each +other's hearts, as some pleasant poet has styled it, "through the +windows of the soul." I would not have you suppose them almond-shaped or +piercing. No! Malinda Jane's eyes are round. It was their gentle blue +that enchanted me; and there I found the congeniality that cheered my +drooping spirit.</p> + +<p>Looking back now upon our courtship, I am inclined to think it must have +been uninteresting to a third party; but there is no denying the fact +that to us it was most soothing, and well calculated to develop our +mutual affection.</p> + +<p>I have no accurate recollection of the event vulgarly called "popping." +Fortunately, I congratulate myself on escaping that breach of decorum. +If you join my friends in asking "how it came about," I reply, +"Naturally." The morning Malinda Jane's mother asked me if I had decided +upon October the 24th or November the 24th, I unhesitatingly answered, +"November the 24th, if you please;" and the whole affair was +accomplished.</p> + +<p>I have said before, Malinda Jane is not of a demonstrative disposition, +but thinks (if I may strain a point) ponderously. I have never known her +to manifest any will in opposition to my own; and, since I come to think +of it, I do not remember her ever<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> manifesting a will in opposition to +any one else. In this general term I of course include Master Moses +Alphonso Butterby and my most highly respected mother-in-law. Such a +family, according to all rule precedent, should be superlatively happy; +but there seems to be a disturbing element in all families, and mine, +alas! proved no exception. It came about thus.</p> + +<p>Among the few parting words of my deceased ma were, "Mosie" (she always +called me Mosie), "never live with your mother-in-law." Treasuring the +command, as I may say I treasured everything the dear old lady left, +including the property, when finally the day <i>was</i> fixed, I set about +obeying it. On an occasion when Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk—the name of +my respected mother-in-law—had described our imaginary bower, and her +imaginary apartment adjoining, until she had worked herself into a fever +of imaginary happiness, I mildly communicated the behest of my departed +parent.</p> + +<p>The scene which followed I can only characterize as indescribably +touching. The look of blank despair on the face of Malinda Jane, and the +tears of rage and mortification that suffused the aristocratic nose of +her ma, I frankly confess, went to the bottom of my heart. It was many +months before I ceased to regret this rude banishment of their hopes; +but, looking upon it from my present stand-point, I am compelled to +admit my dear dead ma was right.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p> + +<p>The only accident worthy of remark that happened to Malinda Jane on our +wedding-day was a fright. I have reason to congratulate myself at its +occurring <i>on</i> that day, instead of a few weeks subsequent. The +consequences in the latter event, it is needless to say to married +people, might have been serious.</p> + +<p>Passing out of the church-door, we were confronted by a drunken cobbler, +who, in a wild and insane manner, proposed "three cheers for Jinny." The +assembled crowd of dilapidated urchins hanging around the steps +proceeded to give them with a vim faintly suggestive of ridicule. The +single glance I obtained of the discourteous offender gave me an idea of +chimneys. His face was smoky, his clothes were fleecy, and his general +appearance was decidedly sooty throughout. A shock head, and more shocky +eyebrows, bore a strange resemblance to the patent chimney-sweep; while +his clothes seemed rich in past memories of the profession. I had before +caught sight of this individual, in a tumble-down, rickety shop near the +residence of Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk. I had, in fact, seen her on +more than one occasion bestowing charity upon him in the form of broken +victuals; but the recollection failed entirely to account for the effect +of his cheers for "Jinny" upon the too tender nerves of my dear wife and +her distinguished mother. I attributed the emotion to the trying nature +of the ceremony we had just passed through. Reflecting that people do +not get<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> married every day, and appalled at the terrible conclusions +with which the mind would distract itself by pondering so alarming a +topic, I shudderingly abandoned it, and assisted Malinda Jane and her +ma, in a fainting condition, to the carriage.</p> + +<p>It is needless to say that the cobbler was at once given in charge to a +policeman. The next morning, in consideration of a handsome fee, he +moved away. I accomplished this out of regard to the feelings of Mrs. +Lawk; but, I must confess, I never regretted anything more.</p> + +<p>The commencement of married life (as many married men will bear me out) +is even more consoling than the happiest days of courtship. The smell of +varnish on new furniture is as delightfully novel as the odor of the +orange-blossoms; the brightness of the new carpets and the crispness of +the new curtains both mark an era,—even if the stove <i>is</i> obstinate +about drawing or a man <i>is</i> called out of bed to put up the coffee-mill. +There was Malinda Jane's night-robe hanging on one side of the bed, and +there was my night-robe on the other. My clothes were in the upper +drawer of the bureau, hers were in the lower—in such delightful and +loving proximity that I own to feeling a new man; I gloried in having +some one dependent on me: in short, I was happy.</p> + +<p>I will not deny that there was some trouble about servants (I think +Malinda Jane had seven the first ten<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> days). True, the meals were not +models of regularity; the chicken sometimes came on in too natural a +state,—blue and pulpy,—and the beefsteak betrayed a volcanic +appearance, as though reduced to lava by an irruption of gravy. I +remember one woman stole a keg of butter, and another went off with half +a dozen silver spoons. The former, Malinda Jane ascribed to the cat; the +latter, to a defective memory; but, then, Malinda Jane never learned +housekeeping (I don't see why she should, poor dear!), and trifles like +these failed to mar <i>our</i> household peace.</p> + +<p>I would mention the conduct of Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk as being, for +nearly a year, really saintly. Even the rare intervals at which she +visited were marked by a manner the reverse of familiar. Almost every +evening she would stand on the opposite side of the street, gazing +wistfully at us as we sat in the window; but no persuasion induced her +to pay a formal visit more than once a fortnight.</p> + +<p>With this striking evidence of my wisdom before me, I grew worldly. I +think that during that short year I possessed a better opinion of myself +and my capacity than ever before or since.</p> + +<p>Worse than this, I grew pharisaical. I ventured to pity my less +fortunate neighbors, bound hand and foot to the slavery of +mothers-in-law. I attempted to joke them, and poke them severely in the +ribs with my knuckles, when the magic name was mentioned.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> So often did +I congratulate myself on the shrewd stroke of genius displayed, that I +fear even her respectability became sadly impaired in my mind, and +depreciated to such an extent that I was gradually led to think of her +irreverently as an "old gal."</p> + +<p>"Too much for you, old gal," got to be an exclamation so wonderfully +consoling that, it crept into my sleep, and in those halcyon days I +often waked up by the side of Malinda Jane, muttering the words, "Too +much for you, old gal." Waked up, I think I said. Ah! would I had never +waked up, particularly on the dismal clouds which for a season darkened +my domestic sunshine!</p> + +<p>Scarce half a twelvemonth elapsed, ere the retiring disposition of +Malinda Jane seemed to shrink into even greater seclusion. I frequently +found her powerful mind wandering, and her eyes fixed on vacancy. In our +evening walks, which invariably preceded retiring for the night, she +leaned heavily on my arm.</p> + +<p>Although the appearance of our daily repasts did not seem to justify it, +the cash demands for market-bills suddenly became enormous; and, when I +expostulated, my reasonable objections only produced tears. An +apparently needless grief had crept into our quiet home, and a lack of +confidence that pained me. For many weeks I helplessly pondered the +unaccountable mystery.</p> + +<p>At last (oh that it had taken any shape but that!)<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> the enigma developed +itself. Returning home one day, I had straightened my collar and +smoothed my hair before opening the door (feeling a proper pride in my +personal appearance, these preparations are usually a preliminary step), +when suddenly, just as the portal moved on its hinges, my sense of smell +was saluted with the odorous fumes of gin. From the first suffocating +whiff of this aromatic cordial do I date the commencement of my grief. +Malinda Jane, I knew, never indulged in as much as a sip of Cologne: so, +convinced that the breach of discipline was the guilty act of a servant, +with all the offended dignity I could embody in my deportment, I went +straight to the chamber of my wife.</p> + +<p>Without being deficient in moral courage, I am not a boisterous man. I +do not boast of an eye like Mars, to threaten and command, or glory in +producing a shudder with the creaking of my shoes. I mention this to +show that my manner, though rebuking, was not intended to be severe. To +awe by my authority, and soothe by my condescension, was the design; but +even in this limited effort I am conscious of a lamentable failure.</p> + +<p>Seated upon the floor, within an airy castle of dry-goods, whose +battlements of flannel and linen cambric frowningly encircled her, was +Malinda Jane. Before it, like an investing army, with colors flying, and +a face radiant with defiant triumph, was Mrs. Mountchessington<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> Lawk. +She had complacently opened the siege with the mixture of a hot +gin-toddy. My appearance upon this warlike scene was the signal for a +salute both loud and watery (in short, tearful), entered into with a +mutual heartiness by besieger and besieged. It was, moreover, rendered +impressive by a waving spoon, which Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk moved +solemnly backward and forward in a warning, funereal manner, as though +protesting against some appalling fate. That she was in possession of my +apartment, if not my house, I instinctively realized. She sat bolt +upright, firm and strong as a Hindoo idol on its altar; a nebulous glare +invested her head with a halo, through which bristling hair-pins stuck +out in all directions, like lightning-rods with fitfully luminous +points. The crystal wall of spectacles that bridged her nose seemed +graven with the cabalistic words, "I've got you." A feeling of conscious +guilt, of what an enfeebled mind failed to grasp, succumbed to the +shock.</p> + +<p>From amid the joint chorus of sobs and tears which burst forth with the +wail of a Scottish slogan or an Indian death-song, I heard—</p> + +<p>"Oh, my poor darling! Oh, my poor dear angel! Oh, Mr. Butterby, how +<i>could</i> you?"</p> + +<p>"Madam," I inquired, in amazement, "how could I what?"</p> + +<p>It may be well to state the endearing epithet was applied to Malinda +Jane.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, dear! dear! and all this time she has been scrimping and saving, I +was unconscious as a child unborn. Cruel, <i>cruel</i> man!"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Lawk, burying her hand in the depths of her pocket, drew forth an +attenuated handkerchief, and carefully wiped her eyes.</p> + +<p>"Please, ma——" interrupted Malinda Jane.</p> + +<p>"Never, <i>never</i> again shall you leave my protecting wing. Oh, inhuman +monster, how <i>could</i> you be so heartless?"</p> + +<p>"Monster" was given with a decidedly unpleasant bite, and recalled my +calmness.</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk," I placidly observed, "I have not the +remotest idea what you are talking about."</p> + +<p>"Moses Butterby, you're a brute."</p> + +<p>She rose to her feet. A bundle, which, during the excitement, lay on her +lap, broke open; and my mother-in-law, like Cleopatra in her roses, +stood knee-deep in baby-clothes. In a moment the truth burst upon me. I +was unmanned, limp, and disjointed. The shock was too much! A baby +Butterby!</p> + +<p>It is needless for me to remark to married men that the era of +prospective paternity is an era of sacrifice. Why, in this time-honored +custom, so much depends on one's mother-in-law, is a mystery I never +could unravel. I look upon it as one of the unaccountable fatalities of +man, to be placed in the category of grievances<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> with prickly heat. Let +it not be understood that my conduct was absolutely lamb-like. It was +not until solemnly assured the visit would not be prolonged an +unnecessary hour that I finally yielded. I think during that time I had +a meaner opinion of my own importance than at any other period of my +life. My domestic career resembled that of a child guilty of an +irreparable wrong and tolerated only through dire necessity. Indeed, had +Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk been a modern Rachel, and I the ruthless +destroyer of her household, her conduct toward me could not have +exhibited more injured resignation. I somehow grew to <i>feel</i> guilty, and +it was only at rare intervals I mustered courage to look either her or +Malinda Jane in the face.</p> + +<p>The anticipated addition to the family brought an immediate addition to +our furniture. The way the chairs multiplied was marvelous, and the +number of sofas that accumulated in our parlor would have been +gratifying to a Grand Turk. We suddenly grew plethoric in wash-stands, +and appeared to possess armoires and bureaus in quantities and varieties +sufficient (as the advertisements say) to suit the most fastidious +taste. Even the bath-room did not seem to be neglected, and a modest +effort was made to furnish the back gallery. One day I was astonished to +find in the hall two hat-racks, and was nearly knocked down by the end +of a great four-post bedstead that followed me<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> in. I turned on the +intruder, and discovered the little cobbler, apparently as much under +the influence of liquor as on the day of his previous eccentricity, +stupidly endeavoring to push one post in the door while the other bade +fair to thrust itself through the ventilator. It was then I learned that +in the array consisted the entire household treasures of Mrs. +Mountchessington Lawk.</p> + +<p>I may here mention that the cobbler had contracted a chronic habit of +hanging around my back gate, but slunk away whenever I happened to +observe him.</p> + +<p>Gradually (leaving out the patients) our house began to wear the aspect +of a hospital. The doctor made his appearance three times daily. An +aged, red-faced nurse, smelling strong of whisky, wandered about like a +disembodied spirit; and a lively young woman, her assistant, clattered +up and down stairs at all hours of the day and night. Had the entire +city concluded to multiply and replenish, the preparations could not +have been on a grander scale.</p> + +<p>Of the exact particulars of the event, I fear I am not altogether clear. +I have an indistinct recollection of battling with a midnight +thunder-storm, in a hopeless search for our medical man, and that, +immediately on my return, that functionary (who had arrived during my +absence) dispatched me on an equally important errand.</p> + +<p>I remember pulling a great many night-bells and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> arousing an unlimited +number of apothecaries; but the only act at all fresh in my recollection +was slinking in the back gate at three o'clock <span class="smcap">a.m.</span> (I had been +locked out the front way), and finding the little cobbler, and a +surrounding crowd of damp newsboys, cheering lustily for "Jinny." The +cause of that commotion was also a mystery; but, when I entered the +house, Master Moses Alphonso Butterby feebly echoed their shout of +triumph.</p> + +<p>Under different auspices, my paternal affection might have developed +rapidly; but really, during the first few weeks of Moses Alphonso's +existence, our intercourse was so exceedingly limited I scarcely knew +him. Any intrusion within his little horizon of flannel or atmosphere of +paregoric was so severe a tax on the nerves of Mrs. Lawk, that, out of +consideration for her feelings, I rather avoided it. Indeed, had it not +been for the activity of that eminently respectable lady, I would have +fancied Moses Alphonso a brother-in-law instead of a son.</p> + +<p>Bolted in by flannel bandages, barred with a cambric shirt, locked up in +towels, imprisoned in petticoats, and finally incarcerated in a dungeon +of wrappers and shawls,—from the first he had the appearance of an +unhappy little convict. Mrs. Lawk invariably acted as chief jailer, and, +taking him into custody, changed his various places of confinement with +the austerity of a keeper of the Tower. My own position hourly became<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +more ambiguous; indeed, had it not been for the monthly bills, I would +have scarcely believed myself possessed of a house at all. I impatiently +awaited the promised evacuation; and when Moses Alphonso reached his +third birthday (babies have these interesting periods monthly instead of +annually) I ventured a hint that our own furniture was ample for all +requirements.</p> + +<p>To my despair, Mrs. Lawk had rented her house. Malinda Jane's +confinement (which in my simplicity I imagined was of short duration), +it seemed, had been protracted from the day of her marriage.</p> + +<p>Society was essential to her happiness; and society Mrs. Lawk was +determined she should have. If through her illness my privileges +experienced curtailment, her recovery brought annihilation itself. +Notwithstanding my piteous petition, we suddenly expanded into eminent +gentility.</p> + +<p>I am dimly conscious that to many of our guests my introduction was to +Mrs. Lawk a poignant mortification. Most of them I never did know. +Several, however, seemed invited for my especial benefit; and this piece +of malignity will never cease to harrow.</p> + +<p>How could <i>I</i> talk to Miss Rose Buddington Violet, when she let down her +back hair and made eyes at the moon? <i>I</i> had no back hair (in fact, none +at all to speak of), and scarcely knew there <i>was</i> a moon.</p> + +<p>When Mrs. Jesse Hennessee of Tennessee (whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> husband is interested in +iron) persisted in making a blast-furnace of the kitchen stove, what +could I say?</p> + +<p>There was Miss Aurelia Wallflower, who believed the world hollow, and +dolls stuffed with saw-dust, continually expatiating on the sufferings +of early Christians. <i>I</i> have never read Fox's Book of Martyrs. With +Mrs. Lucretia McSimpkins I had some relief. She was fond of operatic +music, and, it is true, banged our piano out of tune at every +visit,—indeed, her efforts resembled a boiler-maker's establishment +under full headway; but, when she did subside, her perfect and +refreshing silence lasted for hours.</p> + +<p>Malinda Jane, for whose amusement all this was designed, did not seem +more enthusiastic than myself. Most of her time was spent in a corner, +staring confusedly at the assembled company, and contemplating in silent +amazement the volubility of her respected parent.</p> + +<p>In addition to toning down my exuberance with the softening influence of +ladies' society, Mrs. Lawk decided on a course of restriction. My +allowance of clean linen suddenly diminished one-half and under no +circumstances was I to presume to take a fresh pocket-handkerchief more +than once in two days. She changed the dinner-hour, and declared supper +(except for Malinda Jane, poor dear!) strictly prohibited. For a time I +mitigated the last grievance by eating oysters; but, an unlucky burst of +confidence having divulged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> the dissipation, a solemn lecture on my duty +to my family was its quietus. Every article of food was put under lock +and key, the night-latch was changed, and Mrs. Lawk, in addition to her +duties as jailer to Master Moses Alphonso, constituted herself turnkey +of the establishment. The parlor, except when we "received," was +declared forbidden ground: her dismay at finding my papers there, one +evening, was perfectly heart-rending. There was a sudden inquiry +concerning my loose change, and I was furnished with a memorandum-book +in which to write down my daily disbursements. Frequent visits to the +opera (oh, the torture of those evenings!) had been an invariable rule +with the Mountchessingtons; and, at the risk of rendering impotent the +tympanum of both ears, I was compelled to continue that respectable +custom. Persons occupying our position should be careful with whom they +associated; and the character of my companions underwent a severe +investigation. She even interfered with my business, and declared the +soap brokerage (one of my most lucrative departments) utterly beneath a +gentleman. One by one my little personal comforts faded away. Symptoms +of annoyance, persistently repeated, whenever I took off my coat or put +on my slippers, kept me at all times prepared for the streets. Cabbage +(a favorite dish) was quietly discarded from the dinner-table. My +library was turned into a nursery for Master B.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> + +<p>The mute, unresisting manner in which I surrendered my fading glory was +surprising. I was appalled in contemplating it; I am breathless now with +indignation in referring to it. In short, like Daniel and the Hebrew +children, I went up through much tribulation; but my deliverance (oh, +how I daily and hourly thank Divine Providence for that blessed moment!) +was at hand.</p> + +<p>It was the evening of an election for an alderman, I think; but, as in +our retired portion of the city none but the lowest vagabonds gave +politics a thought, there was comparatively no excitement. Mrs. Lawk, +from the wide circle of society in which she moved, had invited a goodly +number to an entertainment. Even our inordinate supply of sofas were +filled, and scarcely a chair in the house remained unoccupied. In a rash +moment I asked two or three of my own cronies; but not many minutes +elapsed ere both my companions and myself were made to feel the folly of +the temerity.</p> + +<p>Ignorant of dancing, unskilled in whist or the art of polite +conversation, we were terminating our third hour of judicious snubbing +in a corner. Mrs. McSimpkins had just concluded a battle-piece of great +length and power, when the rehearsal of our shuddering comments was +suddenly banished by the deafening roll of a drum. I rushed to the +window, and, to my horror, discovered a torchlight procession halted +immediately<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> in front of the house. Perhaps a hundred men, in all stages +of political enthusiasm and intoxication, surrounded by a crowd of +wretched women and girls, waved their lights with demoniac frenzy, and, +apparently through a common throat, gurgled three hideous cheers. There +was a charge of Mrs. Lawk's friends to the windows, and then a stampede +to the back parlor. In vain I expostulated; idly I insisted on my utter +lack of interest in the questions of the day: the political party +<i>would</i> come in, and how was I to prevent it? The absence of +embarrassment and amiable indifference to form that characterized the +intrusion was something unique. There was a difference in shape and mode +of wearing, about the hats, really refreshing, and a variety of quality +and nauseousness in the cigars everybody smoked, that, if anything, +added zest to the scene.</p> + +<p>Boots unconscious of the existence of a door-mat speedily graced the +hall-floor with a perfect cushion of mud. Their wearers, rapidly +dividing into groups, plunged into earnest conversation concerning the +events of the day. The candid manner in which my own character was +discussed, and their frankness in touching on my peculiarities, was not +the least gratifying feature of the visit. In the course of two or three +minutes, one would have supposed my residence a political club-room, and +my uninvited guests in the peaceful enjoyment of their inalienable +rights.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p> + +<p>At length there was a cry of "Here he is! here he is!"</p> + +<p>Every window on the square went up, and the neighborhood suddenly +whitened with night-capped heads. I heard a crash of glass, and felt +convinced that this time the ventilator had gone for certain. There was +a fresh rush from the street, and, finally, seated on a shutter (borne +on the shoulders of four stout men) and complacently swinging his legs, +appeared the little cobbler. A radiant joy in his face, and a knowing +wink in his eye, told plainly the combined influence of triumph and +unlimited libation. Reeling profoundly to the assembled company, and +casting a drunken leer at Mrs. Lawk, he exclaimed, "Mary Ann,—'s—no +use, I'm—'s—good—as—he—is. I'm—an (hic)—an—Alderman. +Butterby—embrace—your poor ol'—father—'n—law."</p> + +<p>Of the conclusion of this episode, I fear I am somewhat confused. I have +an indistinct recollection that Mrs. Lawk and Malinda Jane were both +carried off in a fainting condition; and that my enthusiastic friends +gave three rousing cheers for Alderman Lawk, and three more for me. I +remember my father-in-law insisted on holding a meeting then and there +and nominating me for Governor. His constituents considered the idea +most judicious, and warmly applauded it. Mrs. Lawk's friends disappeared +precipitately through the back way, amid renewed sounds of crashing +glass<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> and breaking china, while I hovered around the unterrified +Democracy of the —— ward, earnestly beseeching them to go into the +street. My efforts were at last crowned with success. I was left alone +amid the wreck of my household gods; but for an hour afterward, as I lay +cowering on the sofa, I could hear disconnected speeches from my +door-steps, encouraged from time to time with tremendous cheers for +Lawk, cheers for Butterby, and cheers for "Jinny." The same general +mystification and uncertainty regarding my actions pervaded the entire +night; but morning brought relief, and in more ways than one. Mrs. Lawk +had disappeared, and her chattels were following. The victory was as +sudden as it was unexpected.</p> + +<p>Who would have thought that out of this storm of mortification was to +spring the bow of promise? The day after witnessed the exit of my most +respected mother-in-law and her amiable husband, for Cheyenne City; from +which place we have recently heard from them as ornamenting the first +Comanche and Blackfeet circles.</p> + +<p>Her reason for concealing the relationship was never developed. Indeed, +I was too much overcome with joy ever to inquire. Undisturbed by +discordant elements, the fires of matrimonial affection burning as +brightly as when lighted upon my marriage morn, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> now calmly survey the +re-establishment of a happy household, over which reign domestic bliss +and—Master Moses Alphonso Butterby.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Such is an accurate statement of the case, all of which is respectfully +submitted.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> For many useful hints in this diagnosis, Mr. Butterby is +indebted to Mr. E.C. Hancock, of New Orleans.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="DIAMONDS_AND_HEARTS" id="DIAMONDS_AND_HEARTS"></a>DIAMONDS AND HEARTS.</h2> + +<h3>A Sketch of Rio de Janeiro.</h3> + + +<h3>CHAPTER I.</h3> + +<p>The sun was setting on the Passeio Publico. On one side the fading light +gilded the delicate green of the palms, and on the other it shimmered on +the placid waters of the bay.</p> + +<p>It whitened the little lodges, nestling in the luxuriance of foliage, +and glistened on the gaudy boats, lying motionless on the pearly bosom +of the deep. It sparkled on the little lakes where troops of joyous +children gathered around the swans, and lost itself in the blue mists +that circled the green and purple mountains in the distance.</p> + +<p>Past the clustered giants of the sea, whose banners told of mighty +nations that made war, past the forts where the sentries kept weary pace +on the ramparts, it lighted up the "Pāo de Assucar;" through the +crowded thoroughfares where the hum of traffic told of multitudes in +peace, it glowed on the Corcovado.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> + +<p>Far into the golden west, past the islands that dotted the harbor, past +the last villa of Sāo Christovāo, it burned and blazed among the +hills, until shadowy peaks, that seemed but ghosts in the dim +remoteness, burst resplendent on the view, gorgeous in their prodigality +of color.</p> + +<p>Rio de Janeiro had mustered her children in crowds. Long and broad as +was the promenade, its marble mosaics scarce contained room for the +multitude. Anxious matrons, on one side, gathered on the granite stairs +to watch their children in the garden beneath; heedless youngsters, on +the other, hung over the balustrades for a view of the tide swelling at +the foot of the wall; fair young <i>donnas</i>, bewildered at the throng of +admirers, filled the air with peals of glad laughter; exquisite +<i>senhors</i>, thrilled by the music, yielded themselves willing captives to +the seductive influences of the hour.</p> + +<p>Who but a Latin can understand the wild abandon of a <i>festa</i>? who but he +can enter into the spirit of the many fête-days sanctioned by his +ancient Church?</p> + +<p>Armand Dupleisis, in his seat over the sea, stared absently at the +jocose revelers, for he was a stranger in a strange land. He leaned back +on the granite railings with the easy indolence of an invalid, though +his frame was robust and sinewy as a mountaineer's. The hidden power of +his bronzed and Moresque features, if developed, might inspire a certain +amount<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> of wonder; but <i>then</i> you would as readily have sought +expression in the statues below. His gaze was almost indifferent; yet +the unmoving eyes took a mental inventory of everything. Had their owner +been provided with a memorandum-book and a stubby pencil, the catalogue +could not have been more complete.</p> + +<p>Among the hundreds present, those eyes picked out one man and one woman. +They followed them in their rambles through the dome-roofed shelters; +they scrutinized them as they lingered near the band; they searched them +out when mingled with the throngs on the promenade. They did not seem to +be watching, but they were; and their owner did not look interested, but +he was.</p> + +<p>The man, physically speaking, was a marvel; but there was an air of +foppish elegance in his movements, and a silky kind of beauty, like that +of a leopard. His head was small, but finely formed, and covered with +flossy hair black as ebony. His features, though clearly cut, wore, from +their extreme delicacy, an almost feminine expression. His hands were +small and exquisitely shaped; his mustache curled gracefully from his +lip; and, when speaking, he bit the ends of it in a nervous, almost +embarrassed way.</p> + +<p>The woman was a proud, passionate daughter of the sun. The brown blood +of the sun burned in her veins, and the soul of the sun streamed shaded +from her eyes. A sumptuous splendor mingled, moist and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> languid, with +their light. She was clothed in the sunlight. It glistened in the soft +darkness of her hair; it glowed in the rubies that clung to her swelling +throat; it flashed on her robe tremulous with radiance. From a +coquettish little hat a long white plume fluttered over her curls, and a +floating cloud of fleecy under-sleeve half concealed an arm of snowy +purity. Her life, though in its spring, seemed goldened with the flush +of summer; her morning flashed with the meridian luster of perfect day; +and yet the eyes that scanned so closely remained undazzled. Their owner +had heard of her, and of her conversation, sparkling with wit and humor +and mocking irony; but he was not fascinated. He saw but a woman for +whom no surprises appear to survive. What see we?</p> + +<p>Were you to question the crowd, they would tell you the man was Edgar +Fay; that, years before, his father brought him, a velvet-coated boy, to +Rio de Janeiro; that shortly afterward he died, leaving the son and a +baby sister a small fortune; that the sister, being under the control of +a mother who had deserted her husband, was never heard of; and that the +guardians, finding no coheir, had spent the money on Edgar's education, +afterward securing him a position under the Imperial government.</p> + +<p>About the woman they would say, "She is Mademoiselle Milan, just arrived +on the French packet, to fill an engagement as leading lady at the +<i>Alcasar</i>."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> + +<p>Concerning Dupleisis, except that he had arrived recently on the English +steamer, that he seemed to be a man of leisure, and paid promptly for +what he received, they could tell you nothing.</p> + +<p>The glowing sunshine faded entirely out of the sky, the thick-walled +houses flickered faintly through their staring casements, the lamps on +the streets glimmered dismally at the returning crowds, and one by one +the lights began to quiver on the water. The Passeio, an hour before too +cramped for the multitude, was now deserted; but Dupleisis, nothing +daunted, smoked on. Disgusted at the necessity which compelled his +presence, and annoyed at the stupidity of the few people he had met, he +commented savagely on their peculiarities, and anathematized with +merciless ingenuity.</p> + +<p>"Pshaw, M. Dupleisis! you are only angry because you cannot have +chicken-pie every day for dinner. What have the Brazilians done to you?"</p> + +<p>Dupleisis gazed at the speaker in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Their impudence, rather than degeneracy, perhaps should surprise."</p> + +<p>"Really, M. Dupleisis! I fear you are a cynic. In the gayest promenade +in the empire, you are filled with violence. You are a spoiled child +looking in at a shop-window and admiring nothing. Are you going to cry +with a mouth <i>full</i> of sugar-plums?"</p> + +<p>"Pardon me," said the Frenchman, haughtily, "but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> it is an awkward habit +of mine to feel curious concerning the <i>names</i> of my associates."</p> + +<p>"Let me hasten to enlighten you:—Percy Reed, diamond-dealer, Rua do +Ouvidor, at your service. You brought me a letter of introduction; but, +unluckily, I was out of town when you arrived."</p> + +<p>The dark eyes glanced at the speaker closely as they had watched the man +and the woman. There was something in the face that commanded respect. +The broad high forehead, the eyes flashing with scornful mirth, and the +thin lips curling with such a whimsical mixture of kindliness and +sarcasm, bespoke a man of mind. Since reaching Rio, Dupleisis had +searched for these three, and he liked this one the best. Reed took out +his eye-glass, and, adjusting it carefully on his nose, surveyed +Dupleisis deliberately from head to foot.</p> + +<p>"You'll do," he remarked, after some little thought; "but I still +believe that in your bread-and-butter days some friend thought you +sarcastic. I knew a young girl once who was told she had a musical +laugh, and the consequence was she giggled the rest of her life. Now, if +you don't wish to see us locked in here for the night, come along."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>CHAPTER II</h3> + +<p>The establishment of Percy Reed, diamond-dealer, Rua do Ouvidor, was a +corner-building, almost the exact counterpart of a dozen edifices on the +same square. The basement was of polished blocks of black and white +marble, and the upper portion faced with blue and white porcelain tiles. +From above, the front rooms looked out through bow-windows at small +balconies with brass-knobbed railings and thick glass floors; those in +rear looked through glass doors at a flat roof, one story high, paved +with black and white marble squares. This breathing-place of the +household was adorned with pots of flowers and evergreens and provided +with neat iron chairs. It was divided from the breathing-place of the +adjoining household by a low brick wall.</p> + +<p>Below, pedestrians gazed in through rose-wood doors and French plate +windows. The counting-room had rather the appearance of an elegant +boudoir than of a place of business. The floor was of alternate strips +of satin-wood and ebony; the walls and ceiling were paneled with +rose-wood, and rows of small glistening show-cases contained samples of +the dazzling gems. In the rear—but so covered with the glossy finish as +to be almost imperceptible—was a huge vault, containing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> precious +stones of a value almost sufficient to change the fate of an empire. +Farther back, and opening on the side street, was a long, dark hall-way, +from which a winding staircase led to the residence above. The second +floor of the adjoining house was usually let furnished to members of the +dramatic profession; and on this occasion it was occupied by +Mademoiselle Adrienne Milan, of the <i>Alcasar</i>.</p> + +<p>The day after the <i>festa</i>, the lady, in a simple morning toilet, had +moved her table and sewing-chair into the open air. Instead of sewing, +she was occupied in furbishing up some old stage jewelry, and her +visitor, stretched on an iron bench, calmly puffed a cigar. From his +manner, one would imagine him master rather than guest; but that +Mademoiselle Milan and a female servant were the sole occupants there is +not a doubt.</p> + +<p>With the utmost nonchalance, he had ordered a pillow, and, his ambrosial +locks buried in its soft depths and his feet raised high above his head, +he lounged a modern Apollo, scrutinizing with supercilious indifference +the lady's work. If the cigar-ashes at his side were a criterion, he had +been lying there for hours; and if the nervous movements of Mademoiselle +were significant, he had been lying there an hour too long. For some +minutes the silence was broken only by the jingle of the gaudy +ornaments, and then the man exclaimed, "But, <i>ma chère</i> Adrienne, I am +short—deuced short. Delay is ruin. How am I to live?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Work," said the lady, curtly.</p> + +<p>"There you are again, with your cursed woman's wisdom! What are you here +<i>for</i>? What am <i>I</i> here for?"</p> + +<p>Mademoiselle answered, with a shrug, "Judging from your position, I +would say, to enjoy your ease; from your language, to annoy me."</p> + +<p>He raised himself to a sitting posture. "Adrienne Milan, do you take me +for an idiot?"</p> + +<p>"Edgar Fay, you are insulting."</p> + +<p>"Prima donnas of the <i>Alcasar</i> are not usually so sensitive," broke out +the visitor, with a laugh.</p> + +<p>The woman sprang to her feet, and in the haste overturned the table with +its glittering baubles.</p> + +<p>"Go! go!" she fiercely exclaimed. "The compact between you and me is +sacred. Another word, and I reveal all."</p> + +<p>White as any ghost, he started up, and, without uttering a sound, slunk +away.</p> + +<p>Trembling with rage and mortification, Mademoiselle Milan sunk into a +seat; but hers was not a nature to dwell long on trouble. With a woman's +spirit of order, she commenced picking up the finery scattered around +her, and putting it away. Among other things was a box of quartz +diamonds, which, being small, flew in all directions. All within view +were collected, and she turned to go.</p> + +<p>"There are several lying near that flower-pot in the corner."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> + +<p>The lady looked up. Standing on a chair on the other side, and leaning +lazily over the wall, was Armand Dupleisis.</p> + + +<h3>CHAPTER III.</h3> + +<blockquote><p>"Has Flora proved more attractive than Thalia?"</p></blockquote> + +<p>Armand Dupleisis, long since become acquainted, stood examining a +bouquet of roses and geraniums in the music-room of Mademoiselle Milan, +and the lady was seated near him, trifling with the keys of her piano.</p> + +<p>"I gaze on beauty, mademoiselle, to accustom my eyes to divinity."</p> + +<p>"Really! Were it not for his gigantic proportions, one would suppose man +was reared in an atmosphere of compliment."</p> + +<p>"You mistake us. Though not a favorite diet, in Pekin we devour rice +with the gusto of the most polished Celestial."</p> + +<p>"I bow to your sincerity. Women, then, are to be talked to of birds, and +flowers, and stars, and fed on water-cresses?"</p> + +<p>"Women, mademoiselle, make men apt scholars in the art of pleasing. I +have studied much."</p> + +<p>"How singular!" rejoined the lady. "I should never have detected it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> + +<p>"True art, mademoiselle, lies in its concealment. My life has been one +of concealment."</p> + +<p>"Now you pique my curiosity," she replied. "Do let me learn the +'veritable historie.'"</p> + +<p>The smile on Mademoiselle Milan's face showed that the interest was +feigned, but the grim look about Dupleisis' mouth proved him conscious +of it. A man without an object would have changed the subject at once; +but Dupleisis <i>had</i> an object, and did not.</p> + +<p>"I was ushered into this land of hope and sunny smiles with scarcely any +other patrimony than a name."</p> + +<p>"What limited resources!" ejaculated the lady, with a slight sneer.</p> + +<p>"While blushing with the consciousness of my virgin cravat, I went to +Paris, that sacred ark, which saves from shipwreck all the wretched of +the provinces if but crowned with a ray of intellect."</p> + +<p>"And which saved you, of course," continued the lady.</p> + +<p>"Through the influence of my friends, I entered the <i>École +Polytechnique</i>, and, after graduating, cut the army, and cast my fate, +for better or for worse, in the flowery paths of literature."</p> + +<p>"Now, do not say it proved for worse."</p> + +<p>"It was for worse," said Dupleisis. "My family were treated shabbily; +'the muse is a maiden of good memory,' but a <i>cocote</i>; my satiric +efforts were rewarded by a <i>lettre de cachet</i>."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What a loss to France!"</p> + +<p>"At the accession of the Emperor, I returned, a prodigal son of Mars, +and now manage to sustain myself by——"</p> + +<p>"By writing sonnets to Brazilian hospitality," interrupted mademoiselle.</p> + +<p>Dupleisis bowed gravely. "Anxious to do so, mademoiselle, but I have +not, as yet, collected sufficient material."</p> + +<p>The retort crimsoned the lady's face, and Dupleisis adroitly covered her +confusion by asking her to sing.</p> + +<p>"What will you say to me, when you speak of yourself as though you were +a block of wood?"</p> + +<p>"The prosy geologist talks pedantically of a granite rock, and is mute +when he sees the flower that blooms above it."</p> + +<p>"<i>Mon Dieu</i>, M. Dupleisis! I cannot sit by and hear <i>Chamfort</i> so +ruthlessly robbed."</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle, you are unkind. I say nothing complimentary but you cry, +'Stop thief!'"</p> + +<p>The lady played a few sparkling bars, and sang. She had a magnificent +voice, but her music, like herself, was studied, faultless, but chilling +as the north wind. It swelled deep and full, in rich, flute-like tones, +now ringing clear and sweet in pure, rippling notes, now quivering low +in waves of enchanting melody. There were soft, gurgling sounds, that +flowed wild and free as a mountain-rivulet. It was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> brilliant, +bewildering; but the dazzle was like the frozen glitter of an icicle. +Suddenly, a look of unmitigated scorn swept across her face, and the +music ceased.</p> + +<p>She eyed Dupleisis for a moment half defiantly, and asked, "Would you +really like to hear me sing?"</p> + +<p>Dupleisis answered, earnestly, "Yes."</p> + +<p>A plaintive prelude followed, and her voice mingled with it almost +imperceptibly. It was one of those gloomy Spanish ballads, dramatic +rather than harmonious, that poured forth its mournful strains in the +fitful measure of an Æolian harp. There were bursts of pathos that +seemed to echo from her very soul. It was fierce, mocking, passionate; +tender, wicked, terrible. It sank in sobs of melting compassion; it +implored pity and sympathy in words of thrilling entreaty; and then it +rose, cold and calm, in sounds of withering derision and implacable +hate. It trembled, it scorned, it pleaded, it taunted, it struggled, it +hoped, it despaired; and then, as if for the dead, it wailed and died in +a long, helpless cry of sorrow.</p> + +<p>Dupleisis sat listening to the dreary history entranced. There was love, +and feeling, and fond womanly devotion; there was refined thought, +gentle pity, and warm generous charity; and there was a neglected heart, +a gloomy, embittered mind, a life lost in utter desolation. The glorious +being whom God<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> had created to cheer and encourage man was a beautiful +statue.</p> + +<p>Who would teach that heart to feel again? Who turn to quivering flesh +that rigid marble? Yet the man of iron sat masking his features, +controlling his emotions, with every muscle under his command. It was a +flash of real feeling from a proud, sensitive woman, but it passed +lightly as a snowdrift on a frozen river.</p> + + +<h3>CHAPTER IV.</h3> + +<p>"Mr. Reed, you certainly are the most old-maidish man I ever saw in my +life."</p> + +<p>The room did appear old-maidish, as Mademoiselle Milan stood looking in. +The balmy breeze fluttered pleasantly past the little French curtains, +the glowing sunshine warmed the delicate tracery of the walls and +lighted up the flowers on a huge rug spread on the bare floor. A tiny +bouquet of Spanish violets, in a wonderful little vase, filled the room +with a dreamy perfume, such as one sometimes imagines he would find in +those far-off little islands in the South seas. There were crayon +sketches hung between the windows, here and there a statuette filled a +niche, and out on the glass-floored gallery was a perfect bower of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +flowers. There were several easy-chairs placed about in comfortable +positions, as if they were all made to sit on, and a great lounge, +covered with green marine, stood, like a small grass-mound, under one of +the windows.</p> + +<p>Percy Reed, seated near a table loaded with needle-books, silk-winders, +and a hundred little trinkets, with a cigar in his mouth, and a sock, +with a little round gourd shoved into the foot of it, in his hand, was +intently occupied in darning a hole in the toe.</p> + +<p>"There! don't throw away your cigar. <i>Mon Dieu!</i> can a person never see +you without being overpowered at your grand politeness?"</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle, I make no apologies. Buttons will come off, and stockings +will contract holes. Washer-women are heartless. The mountain will not +come to Mahomet: therefore I darn 'em myself."</p> + +<p>"A philosopher under all circumstances. And pray what have you done with +your pupil in morality and economy?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Dupleisis? I have started him out in a carriage to view the wonders +of this 'River of January.' By-the-by, if you ever hope to attract, +don't dream of mentioning figures in the presence of our mysterious +Frenchman."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"The branch of mathematics known as simple addition seems to be the +crowning glory of his intellect.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> He knows to a <i>milreis</i> the value of +this building, from chimney-pot to cellar."</p> + +<p>"Blessed with curiosity," said Mademoiselle, significantly.</p> + +<p>"Mathematics entirely. If Armand Dupleisis were entering the pearly +gates of Paradise, amid the resounding hallelujahs of cherubim and +seraphim, he would deliberately count the cost of the entire wardrobe, +before he thought of receiving the waters of eternal life."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Reed," said Mademoiselle, earnestly, "who <i>did</i> you ever see of +whom you <i>could</i> not speak lightly?"</p> + +<p>"One person in the world—my mother. Sometimes in my dreams of the 'auld +lang syne' I almost see that dear little lady; she had a window just +like that, with the foliage rustling over it just as this does. Never, +mademoiselle, does that little morning-wrapper come up before my eyes +without making me a better and a purer man."</p> + +<p>Both were silent for some minutes after this. Mademoiselle Milan sat +leaning her face against the crimson lining of her chair, apparently +lost in thought.</p> + +<p>At length she said, "Would to God that all men understood women as well +as you!"</p> + +<p>"But <i>your</i> mother; where is she, mademoiselle?"</p> + +<p>The lady's face turned as pale as marble, and her little white hands +grasped the arms of her chair, until they seemed almost imbedded in the +ebony. She attempted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> an utterance, but her voice failed her, and there +was a dead silence.</p> + +<p>Reed was a man of feeling. He did not talk, nor persuade her to talk. He +did not even sit doing nothing. He went out on the balcony to examine +the flowers. He climbed noiselessly up the lattice-work for jasmines +fluttering in the evening breeze. Finally, he took up a violin and +played.</p> + +<p>He always played well, but now the music was low and soft,—old Scotch +ballads, wild and mournful, touching little German songs, plaintive +romances full of subdued passion. Mademoiselle Milan did not notice him; +but in her heart she felt grateful for his consideration. Gradually the +color returned to her face, and, soothed by the sad, sweet strains, she +sunk into dreamy reverie.</p> + +<p>"When we have reached another sphere, where emotion governs instead of +thought, I think that man will speak in splendid music."</p> + +<p>Reed looked at her earnestly for a moment, and then said, "Mademoiselle, +why did you never write?"</p> + +<p>"The public treats authors very much as drill-sergeants do +recruits,—drunk the first day, and beaten the rest of their lives."</p> + +<p>"Great minds <i>rule</i> the public."</p> + +<p>"And yet I fear your courage would ooze away when you came to lay a +lance at rest against such a windmill as the common sense of the +nineteenth century, whirling its rotary sails under the steady breeze<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +of ridicule. I am a woman, and know a woman's place. I have had dreams +in my time,—'dreams like that flower that blooms in a single night, and +dies at dawn;' but they are passed. You see, I carry the glare of the +foot-lights even here." And a bitter smile curled from her lip.</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle," said Percy, solemnly, "the foot-lights enable you to +move man to a hundred passions."</p> + +<p>"Yes; it reduces me to the level of a harlequin, to be laughed with, and +laughed <i>at</i>. Who are <i>my</i> friends? Are they the idle boys who send me +bouquets and never mention my name without looking unutterable things? +Have I no tastes, no likings, no feelings, no emotions? In the name of +God, was I created only to memorize so many lines of Racine, Corneille, +or Voltaire per diem?"</p> + +<p>It was a tone of almost ferocity with which she spoke, and the trembling +lip, the flashing eye, and the swollen veins on her temple betrayed the +self-scorn racking her heart within her.</p> + +<p>A bang at the hall-door, and heavy footsteps on the marble pavement, +forced her to composure.</p> + +<p>"Old-maidish to the last!" (the lady commenced picking the dead leaves +off a geranium). "This geranium looks as if you had watched it a year; +and this old gray hat, I suppose, you have hung above it for good luck."</p> + +<p>"The hat belongs to a friend abroad, and is not to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> be moved until his +safe return; but the geranium was presented not a week ago by my +ever-faithful money. You see the magic charm. Here are careful watching, +weeks of anxiety, and, no doubt, a modicum of affection (for I <i>have</i> +heard people say they loved flowers), bartered away for one <i>milreis</i>."</p> + +<p>"Apropos of money,—I thought I was to have a view of the treasures of +Aladdin, locked up in the vaults below."</p> + +<p>"Of a surety you shall."</p> + +<p>Reed excused himself, and in a short time reappeared, bearing a large +iron casket. Mademoiselle Milan's face turned a shade or two paler when +she saw him; for he was accompanied by Edgar Fay. It had now become +quite dark, and Percy Reed lighted the gas-jet before opening the +casket. It was made in imitation of the ordinary iron safe, but opening +at the top.</p> + +<p>When the glare of the gas struck the dark recesses of the velvet lining, +a gleam of radiance shot up that fairly dazzled. Great grains of light, +large as peas, shimmered and glittered with an unearthly brilliancy. +Blue, purple, violet, and a gorgeous white that combined the whole, +sparkled in their turn with weird splendor. It looked like a flash from +heaven turned suddenly on a startled world. Both Mademoiselle Milan and +Fay stood breathless with astonishment, and it was many minutes before +they regained their composure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> + +<p>Hearing the heavy rumbling caused by the lowering of the iron shutters +in the counting-room, Mademoiselle urged Mr. Reed to return the gems to +the vault before it closed.</p> + +<p>He assured her it was entirely unnecessary, saying that larceny was a +crime unknown to Brazilians, and that he had provided for exigencies +such as this. Moving the piles of thread and embroidery silk to the side +of the table, he touched a spring, and a lid flew up. The table, though +presenting the appearance of fragility itself, was really of iron, and +contained a vault that would puzzle the most expert of burglars.</p> + +<p>Just then Dupleisis called from the street, and both Reed and Edgar Fay +went out on the gallery to see him. He had made arrangements to spend +the night with a friend, and the three stood chatting for some minutes, +the Frenchman giving an amusing description of his adventures among the +<i>Brazileiros</i>.</p> + +<p>Shortly afterward, Mademoiselle Milan and Fay took their leave. The wind +by this time was blowing so fiercely that no taper could live in the +gusts; so both were compelled to grope their way through the hall, which +was dark as Erebus.</p> + +<p>The door was faithfully bolted, and the casket carefully placed in the +secret vault; but when Percy Reed awoke in the morning he found both +open, and the diamonds, worth a million, missing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>CHAPTER V.</h3> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Milan, I wish you good-evening."</p> + +<p>The lady bowed. She was reclining on a divan, before a large mirror, +absently turning the rings on her finger; but in her simple négligée she +appeared more beautiful than ever. The long, dark ringlets gave the oval +face a look of earnestness, the fierce Italian blood glowed in her +cheeks, and the flashing brilliancy of her eyes had a restlessness that +was unusual. She was evidently suffering from nervous excitement; but +there was a fascinating grace in every movement, and even in the easy +indolence of her position.</p> + +<p>"Take a seat on that sofa, by the side of my little dog. Is he not +pretty?"</p> + +<p>"Very," replied Dupleisis; "but I am more interested in his mistress. We +have not met for a week,—not, in fact, since two thieves robbed Mr. +Reed of a fortune."</p> + +<p>Dupleisis said this with pointed significance; but the lady preserved +the coolest unconcern.</p> + +<p>"The muse of the foot-lights is the most jealous of mistresses."</p> + +<p>"True," replied Dupleisis; "but in this case she has had rivals."</p> + +<p>"I choose to amuse myself with a crowd, who eat my suppers and make me +laugh."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And among the jesters you number the Minister of War and Chief of +Police."</p> + +<p>"I may need their aid."</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Milan, you <i>do</i> need their aid; but, with all your +charming courtesies, you have not secured it."</p> + +<p>"M. Dupleisis chooses to speak in enigmas. I am obtuse."</p> + +<p>"At our last most agreeable <i>tête-à-tête</i>, you were pleased to feel +interested in my somewhat sluggish history. Would you pardon a few +inquiries concerning yours?"</p> + +<p>"M. Dupleisis, I am at your service."</p> + +<p>"Two months since, you resided in the Rue de Luxembourg, Paris."</p> + +<p>"This is an assertion. I expected an inquiry."</p> + +<p>Dupleisis took from a pocket-book a half-sheet of thin, closely-written +letter-paper, and spread it out on the table before him.</p> + +<p>"It was about two months ago that this document was blown from your +window. Am I right, Mademoiselle Milan?"</p> + +<p>"It <i>was</i> blown from my writing-desk into the street."</p> + +<p>"I knew I was right; for 'twas I that picked it up. It is a letter, +written in Rio de Janeiro, and contains the details of a plot to rob one +of the wealthiest diamond-dealers in this city. You may think my +interest singular, mademoiselle; but the merchant deals<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> with every +large jewelry-house in Paris. Their loss by a felony of this magnitude +would be immense."</p> + +<p>Mademoiselle Milan listened with an air of indifference that was +absolutely freezing.</p> + +<p>"You may think it singular, also, that when, shortly afterward, you +started for Bordeaux, I went by the same train; and that when you +concluded to prolong your journey to Brazil by the French packet, via +Lisbon, it was <i>I</i> who assisted with your luggage."</p> + +<p>"There is nothing low enough to be singular in M. Dupleisis."</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Milan, one week ago you and Edgar Fay went into the +hall-way of Mr. Reed's house together, and you went <i>out</i> alone. Denial +is useless, for I <i>saw</i> you. If you remember, the door was banged +violently, and it was you who did it. A careless servant locked him in. +He opened the secret vault in that table, and abstracted diamonds worth +a million. You were wise in courting the Minister of War and Chief of +Police, but your passports have been stopped. No power under heaven can +get you out of Rio."</p> + +<p>For the first time her countenance changed, and she looked at Dupleisis +with a smile of contemptuous pity.</p> + +<p>"So I was not wrong in suspecting you to be an agent of the police. How +strong an alloy of cunning exists in every fool! The man whom you +believe to have stolen a million is my own brother. The letter which +caused this display of sagacity was paid for out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> of my wretched weekly +earnings. At the sacrifice of every <i>sou</i> I owned, I came here to thwart +the plot it spoke of."</p> + +<p>Dupleisis glanced at her with an incredulous sneer.</p> + +<p>"He wrote to Paris for a woman to assist him,—what weaklings you men +are!—and, utterly unable to prevent the larceny, I pretended to be his +accomplice. While you were exposing your ill-breeding by coarse +criticisms on a people in every way your superior, I substituted for the +real diamonds the paste gems you were so particular in noticing. What +was stolen is my property. Go back to Mr. Reed, and tell him his +diamonds are bundled into an old hat that hangs on the wall of his +sitting-room; and tell him, furthermore, it was I who put them there. I +did court the favor of the Minister of War, but it was to put that man +in the army. I have watched over him for years, and, by the blessing of +God, I will watch over him to the end. He has never known me, nor will +he——" Suddenly she turned livid, and nervously clasped her hands over +her breast.</p> + +<p>"M. Dupleisis, I regret my inability to be present at the Assembly; but, +really, I am engaged."</p> + +<p>Dupleisis looked at her in astonishment.</p> + +<p>Edgar Fay, pale and trembling, was standing behind them. He must have +heard every word; for he sunk helplessly and faint on the floor, hiding +his face in the depth of his degradation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p> + +<p>Why should we follow them any further? <i>Can</i> I tell how the miserable +man, cringing at the feet of that pure woman, narrated his dreary +history of folly, extravagance, and dishonor? Need it be said that, +through all his dissipation, frivolity, and crime, his gentle sister +clung to him, and, smiling through her tears, bade him go and sin no +more? She stole upon him like a shadow in the night, and, her labor of +love ended, faded away. No entreaty of the generous diamond-dealer +dissuaded her; no apology of the detective turned her from the one fixed +purpose. The star of the <i>Alcasar</i> rose, culminated, and disappeared in +two weeks.</p> + +<p>O woman! I have seen you in the brilliant whirl of society, where all +was gayety, gallantry, and splendor. I have seen your eyes flash +triumphant, and daintily gaitered feet move fast and furious to the +music of <i>les pièces d'or</i>. I have seen brave men stand fascinated at +your side, and careless youth overflow the bumper of Johannisberger to +health, and youth, and beauty. I have heard the stern cynic jingle his +Napoleons in unison with the frantic strains, and sneer out, "<i>Vive la +bagatelle!</i>" Daughters of marble! daughters of marble! Turn your snowy +arms to the glittering gorgeous, scatter the golden heaps, deluge the +world with champagne. Diamonds, <i>diamonds</i> must win hearts. I have +watched you in a deeper, darker, madder whirl, while I have seen fair, +blooming flowers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> wither in the hot hands of drunken licentiousness. Oh, +Becky Sharp! Oh, <i>Dame aux Camellias</i>! you are but single dandelions in +a parterre of heliotropes!</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>There was hurrying to and fro on the broad decks. Bustling cabin-boys +rushed hither and thither with great baskets of stores; the +jauntily-arrayed stewardess chatted saucily with her friends in the +shore-boats; sailors slipped quietly over the bulwarks with their +secretly-collected menageries of pets; watermen contended stoutly at the +gangway for a landing near the steps; and dusky <i>cameradas</i> cursed, in +broken French and Portuguese, at the weight of the trunks. Here a +naturalist trembled with anxiety for the fate of a coral; there a +bird-fancier worked himself into a small frenzy at the jostling of big +parrots. Bones, fossils, plants, bottled fish, bananas, oranges, and +mangoes, were mingled in one promiscuous heap. Monkeys of all tribes and +shades of complexion, from the golden Mumasitte to the fierce Machaca, +were crowded pell-mell into passages; and forcing them against the +bulkheads were boxes of wine, jellies, and <i>doces</i> in their +infinitesimal variety. Men and women, crouching in retired places, +hurried through their few broken words of parting, and eyes were dried +for the great heart-throb left for the very last. Off in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> painted +boats, ship-chandlers smilingly bowed their <i>bon voyage</i>, and faces +pallid with grief gazed with swollen eyes at loved ones convulsed with +emotion. The gorgeous custom-house officer has smoked his last cigarette +and taken his last "dispatch;" the belated passenger, whose agonizing +shrieks and spasmodic contortions finally attracted the attention of the +captain, is at length, carpet-bag in hand, on board, and the sharp crash +of the gong severs the lingering groups.</p> + +<p>Who ever made an ocean voyage undismayed by the knell! It is the +trumpet-tongue of reality, awakening the mind from the lethargy of its +distress. The woe of separation, the terror of the journey, the vague +apprehension of the future, meeting, burst upon you in the fullness of +their stern reality. The bewildered mortal turns to gaze at the +companions of his danger, casts a lingering look on those he has left +behind; the groaning paddles, with reluctant plunges, begin their weary +labor; the faces of the cheering crowd, one by one, drop out of the +picture, until distance swallows the whole, and those nearer and dearer +than all earth beside become a memory.</p> + +<p>Far aft, under the waving tricolor, stood the woman of our story. Her +fingers twined carelessly through the glittering necklace thrust into +her hand as Percy Reed clambered into his boat, and her eyes rested +sadly on an ungainly transport, already freighting with its cargo of +mortality for the sacrifice at Humaita.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> The golden glow of the harbor +was lost in the chilly mist; the bare mountain-tops loomed bleakly +through the piles of cloudy haze. White waves curled dismally at the +base of the Pāo de Assucar, and the weird shrieks of the sea-gulls on +the rocks that jutted around it made the dreariness more desolate. Far +out in the trackless waste the sky lowered gloomily over the weary +waters. Fit emblem of her path through life—dark was the picture, +threatening the surroundings.</p> + +<p>Pray for the woman doomed to a calling she cannot but despise! Pray for +the being overflowing with good thoughts toward all mankind, sentenced +to "tread the wine-press alone!" God have mercy upon us miserable +sinners!</p> + + +<h4>THE END.</h4> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Trifles for the Christmas Holidays, by +H. S. Armstrong + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRIFLES FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS *** + +***** This file should be named 17562-h.htm or 17562-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/5/6/17562/ + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images produced by the Wright +American Fiction Project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. 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: + + http://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. + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** + + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/17562.txt b/17562.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cd2a010 --- /dev/null +++ b/17562.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3176 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Trifles for the Christmas Holidays, by H. S. Armstrong + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Trifles for the Christmas Holidays + +Author: H. S. Armstrong + +Release Date: January 21, 2006 [EBook #17562] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRIFLES FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS *** + + + + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images produced by the Wright +American Fiction Project.) + + + + + + + + + +TRIFLES + +FOR THE + +CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS. + + +BY + +H.S. ARMSTRONG. + +PHILADELPHIA: +J.B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. +1869. + +Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by + +HENRY S. ARMSTRONG, + +In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the +District of Louisiana. + + +TO + +JAS. DAVIDSON HILL, + +OF NEW ORLEANS, + +A CHOSEN SCHOOL-FELLOW, A STANCH COMRADE IN ARMS, AND THE TRUE FRIEND OF +LATER YEARS, + +THESE + +"Trifles" + +ARE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +THE OVERTURE 9 + +A CHRISTMAS MELODY 15 + +STORY OF A BEAST 29 + +LEAVES IN THE LIFE OF AN IDLER 45 + +MR. BUTTERBY RECORDS HIS CASE 71 + +DIAMONDS AND HEARTS 98 + + + + +TRIFLES + +FOR + +THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS. + + + + +THE OVERTURE. + + +Christmas! What worldly care could ever lessen the joy of that eventful +day? At your first waking in the morning, when you lie gazing in drowsy +listlessness at the brass ornament on your bed-tester, when the ring of +the milkman is like a dream, and the cries of the bread-man and +newspaper-boy sound far off in the distance, it peals at you in the +laughter and gay greetings of the servants in the yard. Your senses are +aroused by a promiscuous discharging of pistols, and you are filled with +a vague thought that the whole city has been formed into a line of +skirmishers. You are startled by a noise on the front pavement, which +sounds like an energetic drummer beating the long roll on a barrel-head; +and you have an indistinct idea that some improvident urchin (up since +the dawn) has just expended his last fire-cracker. + +At length there is a stir in the room near you. You hear the patter of +little feet on the stairs, and the sound of childish voices in the +drawing-room. What transports of admiration, what peals of joyous +clamor, fall on your sleepy ears! The patter on the stairs sounds louder +and louder, the ringing voices come nearer and nearer; you hear the +little hands on your door-knob, and you hurry on your dressing-gown; for +it is Christmas morning. + +What a wonderful time you have at breakfast! There are a half-dozen +silver forks for ma, a new napkin-ring for you, and what astonishing +hay-wagons and crying dolls for the children! Jane, the house-maid, is +beaming with happiness in a new collar and black silk apron; and Bridget +will persist in wearing her silver thimble and carrying her new +work-basket, though they threaten utter destruction to the +beefsteak-plate. + +You sit an unusually long time over your coffee that morning, and say an +unusual number of facetious things to everybody. You cover Jane with +confusion, and throw Bridget into an explosion of mirth, by slyly +alluding to a blue-eyed young dray-man you one evening noticed seated on +the kitchen steps. Perhaps you venture a prediction on the miserable +existence he is some day destined to experience,--when a look from the +little lady in the merino morning-wrapper checks you, and you confess to +yourself that you are feeling uncommonly happy. + +At last the breakfast ends, and the children go out for a romp. Perhaps +you are a little taken aback when you are informed your easy-chair has +been removed to the library; but you see Bridget, still in secure +possession of her thimble and work-basket, with a huge china bowl in one +hand and an egg-beater in the other, looking very warm and very much +confused, and you take your departure to your own domain, to con over +the morning papers. + +You hear an indistinct sound of the drawing of corks and beating of +eggs; of a great many dishes being taken out of the china-closet, and a +good many orders being given in an undertone,--why is it women always +will speak in a whisper when there is a man about the house?--and you +lose yourself in the "leader," or the prices current. + +The skirmishers have evidently suffered disaster; for the firing becomes +more and more distant, and at length dies from your hearing. You are +favored with a call from the improvident little boy, who requests you to +grant him the privilege of collecting such of his unexploded +fire-crackers as may be in your front yard, giving you, at the same +time, the interesting information that they are to be made into +"spit-devils." You are overwhelmed by a profound bow from the grocer's +lad as he passes your window, and you invite him in and beg that he will +honor you by accepting half a dollar and a handful of doughnuts:--the +lady in the merino morning-wrapper has provided a cake-basket full for +the occasion. You are also waited on by the milkman, who, you are glad +to see, is really flesh and blood, and not, as you have sometimes +supposed, an unearthly bell-ringer who visited this sublunary sphere +only at five A.M., and then for the sole purpose of disturbing +your morning nap. You are also complimented by the wood-man and +wood-sawyer, an English sailor with a wooden leg, who once nearly +swamped you in a tornado of nautical interjections, on your presenting +him a new pea-jacket. And then comes the German fruit-woman, whose first +customer you have the distinguished honor to be, and who, in +consequence, has taken breakfast in your kitchen for the last ten years. +You remember that on one occasion she spoke of her little boy, named +Heinderich, who was suffering with his teeth; and when you hope that +Heinderich is better, you are surprised to learn that he is quite a +large boy, going to the public school, and that the lady in the merino +morning-wrapper has just sent him a new cap. + +The heaping pile of doughnuts gradually lessens, until finally there is +not one left. The last dish is evidently taken from the china-closet, +and the whole house is filled with that portentous stillness which +causes the mothers of mischievous offspring so much trepidation. + +You expect to see the merino morning-wrapper reconnoitering the +movements of your own sweet pledges of affection; but she doesn't: you +can only hear the ticking of the little French clock on the +mantle-piece, and the spluttering of the coal as it bursts into a gassy +flame between the bars of the grate, and you almost imagine Christmas +has passed. You are deceived; for by-and-by you hear your children's +footsteps as they skip over the garden-walk, and the sound of their +ringing laughter as they rush in out of the cold, and their clamor rises +louder and gladder and more jubilant than ever. Grandpa! Who does not +know him, with his joyous face and hearty morning greeting? How +resplendent he looks in his broadcloth suit, his gold-headed cane and +great blue overcoat! What quantities of almonds and raisins, of oranges +and sweetmeats, those overcoat-pockets contain! What child ever lived +who did not believe grandpa's pocket a cornucopia for all juvenile +desires? The day passes on. The turkey never looked browner or juicier, +and the blaze on the pudding-sauce never burned bluer; the kissing under +the mistletoe was never more delightful, nor the blindman's-buff ever +played with a greater zest: but the merriest Christmas must end. Your +little girl, tired and sleepy, kneels at your feet, and you pass your +fingers through her soft curls, while she repeats her simple prayer: +"God bless pa, God bless ma, God bless grandpa, God bless little +brother, and God bless Santa Claus;" and you hope that God _will_ bless +Santa Claus. You thank your Creator you _are_ the master of that quiet +home and the father of those dear children, and go to your rest with a +heart full of gratitude. You hope that all the newspaper-boys, and all +the milkmen and bread-men's children, and all the little boys and girls +who have no fathers or mothers or grandpas, and all the poor, and all +the sick, and all the blind, and all the distressed, have had a merry +Christmas. + +At a time like this, when the security of your own reward relaxes +scrutiny for the shortcomings of others, I would have you take up these +"_Trifles_." + + + + +A CHRISTMAS MELODY. + + +The Prelude. + +"Twenty-nine dollars! Very well, Mr. John Redfield: I think you _have_ +cut your allowance a _little_ low. With bracelets, bonbons, and other +gewgaws for your interesting friends, I must say your enjoyment of this +prospective Twenty-fifth of December is somewhat reduced. When a man has +skated over the frozen surface of society a little matter of +one-and-thirty years, it is just reasonable to hope he has reached that +desideratum known as years of discretion. There is a little adage +relating to the immeasurably short time the feeble-minded enjoy +pecuniary advantages, which I think decidedly applicable to you. + +"A rather severe epigram, occurring in the Holy Scriptures, goes to show +the impossibility--even though the somewhat unsatisfactory argument of +the pestle and mortar be resorted to--of separating the same class of +people from their rather confused ideas of the fitness of things. +However, when the Mussulman, careering over Sahara, finds himself, by a +stumble of his horse, rolling in the sand, with his yataghan, pistols, +and turban scattered around him, he rises quietly, and exclaims, 'Allah +is great!' I know a Christian would have expended his wrath in a variety +of anathemas highly edifying, and close by wishing his unfortunate steed +in a much warmer climate than the Mohammedan has any idea of. I am a +poor church-man: let me emulate the philosophy of the simple child of +the desert, and when I fall into trouble bear it patiently. + +"I wonder what the grim savage would do were he short of money in a land +thronging with beggars and other blissful adjuncts of civilization? Woe +unto every blind or club-foot man, and every one-armed or scalded woman, +_I_ meet to-day! They shall work out their own salvation with fear and +trembling, or I'm an idiot. + +"Why, bless my soul, the fortunes bequeathed to all the novel-heroes +created this century, would not begin to supply them!" + +Redfield shook his head decidedly when he came to this part of his +monologue, and put the gold and silver coins back into his pocket. + +"I hate poor people--I positively do! I despise their pale faces and +cadaverous expression. I detest straggling little girls who come up to +you and say their mothers have been bedridden for three months, and all +their little brothers and sisters are down with the fever. I know it's +a lie. I can detect at once the professional whine, and am certain the +story has been repeated by rote a hundred times that day; but for the +life of me I cannot put out from my mind the imaginary picture of the +half-furnished room in some filthy back street, with a forlorn woman +with red hair stretched on a bed of straw, and half a dozen or more +red-haired children piled about promiscuously. + +"There is a wretched little German girl, always managing to have a boil +either on her forehead or the back of her neck,--I believe in my soul +it's from overfeeding,--who follows my footsteps like a misanthropic +vampire. By what ingenuity she manages to cajole me out of my money I +know not, but I positively assert that in the last fortnight, according +to her account, her unhappy mother has suffered from eleven different +incurable diseases. My God! what a complication of misfortune! Why not +let them starve? When a man is not capable of maintaining a family, why +in Heaven's name does he ever have one? + +"I think I will follow the maxims of political economists and all +respectable members of society, and vote beggars a nuisance. I wonder +how many people to-day, praying for deliverance by Christ's 'agony and +bloody sweat,' by his 'cross and passion,' his 'precious death and +burial,' his 'glorious resurrection and ascension,' and the 'coming of +the Holy Ghost,' don't? + +"This _is_ a charitable frame of mind to precede a Christmas morning. +When did I contract the habit of talking to myself? + +"I must be impressed with the two grand reasons of the man we all know +of: first, I like to talk to a sensible man, and second, I like to hear +a sensible man talk. + +"I wonder if there is not something under the surface in Sol Smith's +charity sermon? I rather like its pithy style: + +"'He that giveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord. Now, brethren, if you +are satisfied with the security, down with the dust.' + +"I once repeated it to a gaunt little parson, and his look of +unmitigated horror caused me to hide my diminished head. I knew from his +manner--he did not condescend a reply--what chamber in the Inferno was +being heated up for my especial benefit. Well, well! the sentiment is +doubtless creditable to his head and heart. + +"What a pity it is I am not one of the 'good' people! What an +agonizingly cerulean expression I would wear, to be sure! + +"I wonder why young mothers don't write for their children's first copy +Dante's inscription, and teach their baby lips to lisp of the world what +he says of hell. It's surprising to me that that parson is not crazed at +his sense of the certain perdition into which everybody except himself +is hurrying. Perhaps, after all, there is something in the question of +La Rochefoucauld, 'Is it not astonishing that we are not altogether +overpowered at the misfortunes of our friends?' Well, man learns +something every day. When I first saw a chicken take a billful of water +and hold up its head, in my childish simplicity I imagined it thanking +God: I afterward discovered it was only letting the water run down its +throat. My mind, like good wine or bad butter, must be strengthening by +age. + +"Why can't we take things quietly, as we did when we were boys? I expect +I had a rather comfortable time of it then, though I did get whipped for +tearing my clothes, and killing flies, which I used to do worse than any +bald hornet. + +"Now, that youngster walking before me is whistling like a lark, and, by +the Lord Harry, he has scarcely a shoe to his foot!" + +He was a poor boy, perhaps seven or eight years old. His face was pale +and careworn, and though he whistled, it was a solemn kind of whistle, +that sounded more like a lamentation than the outburst of childish +gladness. His clothes were too thin and worn for his slight frame, for +the morning, though clear and bright, was frosty, and his little bare +toes peeping out of his shoes were blue with the cold. He hurried +through the streets with a bundle of papers, but, even while intent on +their sale, he had the walk of an old man, and his small shoulders +stooped as though they bent under the weight of years. + +Redfield eyed him narrowly. + +"Paper, sir?" + +"So, in this frenzied struggle after bread, you are an itinerant vendor +of periodical literature?" + +"You mean I sell papers, sir? Yes. I've only been at it three weeks. I'm +'stuck' this morning. Haven't got a good beat yet. Paper, sir?" + +"Have you no fears of risking your commercial character by appearing on +the streets in that unheard-of dress?" + +The boy reddened. + +"I've been sick," said he, at length, "for a very long time." + +"My Lord!" groaned the philosopher; "here's another conspiracy against +my unfortunate pocket-book! Why don't your mother take care of you?" + +"She did, sir; but she sews for slop-shops, and has worked so much at +night that she's almost blind." + +"Worse and worse! and here's an outfitting establishment just across the +street. When will I acquire anything like habits of prudence? Boy," said +he, fiercely, "you are a young vagabond, and deserve to starve. Your +mother should be put in the pillory for ever marrying. That's what the +world says,--and what I would think, if I wasn't a consummate ass. Were +you ever blessed with a view of the most unmitigated simpleton the sun +ever shone upon? Look at me! Look good: I am worthy of a close +inspection. Now come along, and see to what extent my folly sometimes +carries me." + +He caught the boy roughly by the arm, jerked rather than led him across +the street, and thrust him bodily among a crowd of astonished clerks who +stood at the door of a clothing-house. + +"Take this young vagrant and put him into new boots, with woolen socks, +some kind of a gray jacket and trowsers, and a hat that's fit for a +civilized age." + +Seeing that Redfield was really in earnest, the proprietor obeyed the +order promptly, and in half an hour the boy reappeared, rather red, a +little uncertain, but decidedly altered for the better. + +"Now go," cried the cynic, with a smile, and a shake of his hand, "and +thank your stars the fool-killer did not come along before you." + +"Nineteen dollars and a half! Bless me! what am I coming to? It may be +laying up treasures in heaven; but, by Jove, I had rather see it than +hear tell of it." + + +The Refrain. + +It certainly was the dreariest 24th of December an unhappy boy ever had +the misery of witnessing. In a vain endeavor to get up an excitement, I +expended my last fire-cracker; but the continuous drizzle drowned out +every one. It was only four o'clock, and yet the fog hung like a pall +over the windows, and the gas-men were lighting the lamps in the street. +My mother, and an old schoolmate, Mrs. Mary Morton, adjourned to the +privacy of her bedroom; and, a pet navigation enterprise, conducted in +the gutter, having resulted in shipwreck and a severe sore throat, I +also was permitted to enjoy its cosey quiet. John Redfield came in as +the evening advanced. He had been sick; and my mother, wheeling the +lounge near the fire, made him lie down and have something warm to +drink. He and Mrs. Morton were intimate with the family from my earliest +recollection. + +The four, in their childhood, lived near each other, among the +picturesque hills of Western Pennsylvania. They went to the same school, +played in the same woods, and now, in mature life, retained the warm +regard of the days gone by. I say four; for Mr. Redfield had a +sister,--Mrs. Hague, a pale, lovely little lady, who at one time visited +my mother very often. There had been some estrangement between her and +her brother, the particulars of which I never knew. She had married, +years before, a worthless kind of a man, who kept a shoestore; but he +became involved, the store was sold out by the sheriff and since then +both were in a manner lost. + +John Redfield, though an abrupt man, and rather eccentric, had as kind a +heart as any one I ever knew. He was connected with a newspaper in the +city, and wrote wonderful articles about police courts, that, somehow, +sounded more like sermons than stories. In my early days, before +Gutenberg and his movable types came within the scope of my knowledge, I +believed he printed out the whole edition with a lead-pencil, and +entertained most exalted ideas of his capacity. He had a passion for +giving boys painted boats. I must have received twenty--all exactly +alike--at various outbreaks of his generosity. He had the queerest way +of bestowing favors I almost ever saw. When he wished to make a boy a +present, he shoved it roughly into his pocket, and then started off as +if the house was on fire. What brought up the subject I do not now +remember, but that evening Mrs. Morton persisted in talking about Clara +Hague. She spoke of their childhood, of the old homestead, of the +nutting, the apple-picking, the cider-making, and the hundred other +occupations and amusements of their young life. + +She had a vivid power of description, and a charming simplicity in her +choice of words, that entertained even me; but I could see Mr. Redfield +was troubled. He moved restlessly on the lounge, and once drew a shawl +over his face. At last she touched on the shoestore, its doleful decay +and downfall, and the years the unhappy woman had struggled on. At this +he started to go; but there was something in her manner that detained +him. Her tone had been light and chatty before; and, though she spoke +with proper gravity, it was sprightly rather than earnest. I did not +notice any striking change; and yet it seemed suddenly to assume the +gentle impressiveness one sometimes fancies we should hear from the +pulpit. + +"Whatever be her troubles, Clara has been a good sister to you. You were +the youngest; and a puny little fellow you were then, with all your +greatness. Many and many a time, in your quarrels with other boys, have +I seen her get into no end of disgrace for defending you. Do you +_remember_ that old log school-house, John? and our dinners under the +trees? What baskets of berries and bags of nuts we gathered in those +woods! Do you remember the little run we used to cross, and the fish you +caught in the pool? + +"And oh, John! do you remember that day we started home when it rained? +You had been sick, and commenced to cry. We got under a big tree; but it +was November; the leaves had all blown down, and the rain beat through +the branches. What disconsolate little people we were! And when you sat +down on a flat stone, and declared you'd stay there and die, don't you +remember how Clara went out in the bushes, and, taking off her little +flannel petticoat, put it around your shoulders for a cloak?" + +The strong man quivered; his face convulsed, and the hot tears started +into his eyes. + +"YES! _I'll be hanged if I don't!_" + +He clutched up his hat, and was gone in an instant, and the two women, +woman-like, stood sobbing in each other's arms. + + +The Air. + +The thousand-and-one young gentlemen in blue neck-ties, who for a +twelvemonth, in frantic strains, varying from _basso profundo_ to piping +tenor, had proclaimed their entire willingness to "_mourir pour la +patrie_," were engrossed at their shops; innumerable fascinating +trimmers of bonnets, who, like poor little "Dora," religiously believed +the chief end of man consisted in "dancing continually ta la ra, ta la +ra," sat busily plying the needle, elbow-deep in ribbons; the +consumptive-looking flute-player before the foot-lights trilled out his +spasmodic trickle of melody, and contemplated with melancholy pleasure +the excited audience; the lank danseuse ogled and smirked at it behind +them, and, with passionate gestures of her thin legs, implored its +applause; men, women, and children, of all grades and degrees, crowded +into the murky night; for a day was coming when the youths of the +neck-ties would not agree to _mourir_ on any account; when the +flute-player would cease to be contemplative; when the danseuse would +forget her attenuated extremities; when the whole world, where the grace +of the Redeemer is known, would believe that the chief end of the +_hour_, at least, consisted in "dancing continually ta la ra, ta la ra." + +Shall "The Air" ring with the joyous notes of the carols, or breathe low +and soft with the sighs of the suffering? + +Shall it burst into mad hilarity at the revelry, or wail with the sharp +cries of the poor? + +It was a painted house, but the paint had worn off; it had a garden, but +the garden was choked with weeds; its two rooms were once handsomely +furnished, but the furniture was now common and old. It was once a +fashionable street; but fashion had fled before the victorious eagles of +trade. The tenants of that house were once happy and prosperous. What +are they now? + +The occupant of the back room was a man, and the occupants of the front +room a woman and her children. + +He was sitting at a rude deal table; before him were scattered some +dirty sheets of music, and around him the place was dreary and bare. By +the light of a tallow dip he was playing, in screeching tones, the +commonest of ditties and polkas by note. His coat was once of the +richest; but now it was old and threadbare. His hands were once white +and elegantly shaped; now they were dirty, and blue with cold. His face +once beamed with contentment; now it was worn with care and marked by +the hard lines of penury. + +The other room was darker, and, if possible, more dreary. There were two +trundle-beds in a corner, and four bright beings, oblivious to the +discomfort, in the happy sleep of childhood. There was a mattress in +another corner, with a pile of bedquilts and a sheet. + +The fire had burned down to a coal. It shone on the mantle with a sickly +glare; and this was the only light there was. + +To the mantle-piece were pinned four little stockings, each waiting +open-mouthed for a gift from Santa Claus. + +Below them crouched a woman, weeping bitterly. + +The woman was Clara Hague; and she was weeping because the Christmas +dawn would find those little mouths unsatisfied. + +Our "Air" is getting mournful,--too mournful for this hour of great joy. +The _Te Deum Laudamus_, not the _Miserere_, is for outbursts of gladness +like these. + +Let it sing of the carriage that surprised the man from his fiddle and +the woman from her tears by its thunder in the quiet street. + +Let it sing of the warm-hearted brother, forgetting the bitterness of +the past, his pockets replenished from a well-saved hoard, who rushed +in, startling the little sleepers with his joyous greeting. Let it chant +the praises of the hampers of wine, and fowls, and dainties, and the +bundles of toys, that same lumbering carriage contained. And last, but +not least, let it thrill with the glad shout of a little newsboy, who, +frantic with delight, hurried on a new gray suit and a pair of bran-new +boots, a present received that very day from his then unknown uncle, +John Redfield. + + + + +STORY OF A BEAST. + + +It was a dirty, grasping little office, vile enough to have been built +by the Evil One; and the occupant was a dirty, grasping little man, +cruel enough to have been made out of its scraps. It was a hard, +remorseless little door, that took in a visitor at a gulp and closed +after him with a bite. If the luckless caller happened to be a debtor, +the fantastic barbarity of his reception was positively infernal. The +jerk of grotesque ferocity that greeted him was like the "hoop la!" of a +demonized gymnast. The straight-backed chair looked like a part of the +stiff, angular man. The yellow-wash on the wall seemed to have caught +its reflex from the faded face, and stared grimly at deep lines of +avarice ironed into it. Even the mud on the floor, the dust on the +table, and the cobwebs on the ceiling maliciously conspired against him, +and asserted themselves in every seam of his threadbare clothes. But the +face,--stern, stony, relentless, an uncertain compromise between the +ghastly severity of a German etching and the constipated austerity of +old pictures of the saints,--in that, one fixed idea had blotted out +every other vestige of humanity. Each starting vein, bone, and muscle +on the hungry visage had "stand and deliver" scarred all over it. The +eager metallic glitter of his eyes, the rigid harshness of his mouth, +and the nameless craving that seemed to speak from his lean, attenuated +cheeks, united to make the name of Hardy Gripstone and Beast synonymous. +He looked like a beast, he ate like a beast, he lived like a beast. + +Beast started out of every bristle on his unkempt head; it shone in the +unhealthy gloss of his battered hat; it wallowed on the stock that clung +around his dirty neck; it glistened in the grease on his dingy clothes; +it starved on his thin, claw-like hands; it flourished in the grime +imbedded under his nails; it creaked in his worn-out, down-trodden +shoes. Men, as he shambled by on the streets, unconsciously muttered, +"Beast!" women, shrinking from him, whispered, "Beast!" between the +heart-throbs the terror of his presence created; children, hushing their +cries in silent horror at his grimace, stared "Beast!" out of their +wonder-stricken eyes. You might bray him in a mortar and boil the powder +in a caldron, yet amid all the envy, hatred, and malice that made up the +ingredients, Beast would have triumphantly floated on the top. Beast! +Beast! Beast! Beast! The universal verdict clutched him like the shirt +of Nessus. He actually grew proud of the title, and received the stigma +with a cluck of beastly joy, as though inspired with a certain beastly +ambition to deserve it. The laugh with which he hailed any appeal to his +charity was monstrous. It commenced with a leathery wheeze like the puff +of asthmatic bellows; it croaked with a grating chuckle, as if his +throat opened on rusty hinges; and then it broke out in a shrill vocal +shudder, that sounded like the shriek of a hyena. + +It is an idiosyncrasy of mine to foster just such pet abominations; and +I cultivated Hardy Gripstone. My advances were not encouraged by that +overweening tenderness that indicates the possible victim of misplaced +confidence. Far from "wearing his heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck +at," it seemed to have been weaned years agone, and my milk of human +kindness fell flat as any whipped syllabub. + +Felicitous as were the suggestions of his suspicious brain, it took me +fully three months to descend in his bearish estimation from a +highwayman to a ninny. There was an incredibility in my apparent lack of +motive that puzzled him. His dubious cordiality was doled out under +protest. As an exhibitor would clutch a vicious ape, he grabbed at every +show of feeling, and almost throttled the most pitiful courtesy, in his +nervous dread of its doing him some bodily harm. There was a low cunning +in his very acceptance of any little kindness. The sly way in which he +insinuated his withered face into my morning papers, and the smirk of +satisfaction with which he gloated on the triumph of having gratuitously +gleaned their entire contents, was in keeping with every other ludicrous +phase of his distorted nature. He looked upon me as a paragon of +stupidity; and I fear I considered him a piece of personal property, and +felt as much pride in the possession as did Barnum in his Aztec +children. + +I do not think the acquaintance tended in any way to exaggerate my ideas +of human purity. Though it extended through several years, no guilty act +I ever heard of detracted from his deserved reputation for beastliness. +My surmises never ventured to the hazardous period of infancy, or risked +the doubtful thought that kith or kin _could_ have loved him; but I have +often wondered if there ever _was_ a time when his rapacity found +employment in the robbing of a hen's nest, or his grasping ambition +culminated in the swop of a jack-knife. I wondered if in all the +grotesque concomitants that congregated to make up the hideous whole, +there existed a redeeming trait. Yes, there was _one_,--one I discovered +in the tears that sprung from his unrelenting eyes and rained on his +cadaverous cheeks. What was the anguish that shook his beastly frame? +what the agony that tore his grasping nature? who was the Moses that +smote water from this rock? + +Dear hearers, it is here we find the text of the sermon, and here +commenceth the preaching. + + * * * * * + +Early one summer, the grasping little door bit to for good, and I missed +its mangy proprietor for probably four months. Had he planted himself in +the earth and regerminated, he could not have been more freshened. His +emaciated carcass fairly blossomed with magnificence; and gaudy ornament +sprouted all over him. It peeped through his shirt-front in flashy +studs, it twined on his fingers in glittering rings, it trailed around +his waist in glowing velvet, and expanded over his thin legs and arms in +a forest of broadcloth. 'Tis true, the shiny collar _would_ get over his +ears, the coat-sleeves darkened every sparkle on his hands, and the hems +of his trowsers persisted in being trodden under heel; but what were +petty annoyances like these, in a renovation so complete? His face had +been shaved and polished until it approached in glistening amiability +the ivory head on a walking-stick; but there was an uncertainty in its +ripples of merriment impressive of the belief that if once a genuine ha! +ha! was ventured, the galvanized look of joy would instantly vanish. It +was at a very uncertain gait he sidled into my office. He did not seem +at all sure I would know him, or, in fact, _very_ intimately acquainted +with himself. The mingled gruffness and cordiality of his greeting +suggested a dancing-master suffering with corns. It was a minute or two +before his wonted calmness returned; but finally, with a piteous look of +blended tenderness and brutal exultation, he handed me a card. It +contained the handsomely engraved compliments of Miss Florence +Gripstone, and a hope for the pleasure of my company at a soiree. This +was the magic wand that turned penury to wealth and made the sterile +rock blossom with gorgeous flowers. The beast had a daughter, and with +all the ardor of a distorted nature he loved her. + +If, a week before, Gripstone's soiree had been hinted, I think I would +have laughed; but if the assertion had been ventured that it would be +given in a stately house, with spacious grounds, on a fashionable +street, and with "Gripstone" on the door-plate, I know I would have +shouted outright. Yet the house was stately, and the entertainment +superb. Carpets glowing with the gorgeous coloring of the Orient, +pictures that had caught their delicate tinge in sacred Rome, furniture +carved from the solid heart of rose-wood, plate vying in richness with +the state service of a scion of nobility, abounded. Fluttering in the +light of many tinted lamps, rare flowers breathed daintiest odors; and +floating through the high arches, soft music whispered plaintive +ecstasy. In the center of a throng of recently arrived guests, and +positively cropping with broadcloth and Marseilles, beamed the host. +Close at his side, radiant in her beauty, faultless in its adornment, +stood the daughter. In one, a magnificent swallow-tail, fleecy +shirt-frill, and snowy gloves had stamped their wearer with a look of +hopeless absurdity; in the other, exquisite taste, gentle dignity, and +true courtesy bore the impress of glorious womanhood. I was positively +bewildered. Could the father of that lovely girl be the wretch the world +hooted at? Could the owner of all this grandeur be the Beast I fancied +my private property? + +Carriage-loads of elegantly attired women crowded each other in the +vestibule; dancing beaux congregated in the smoking-room; eminent +merchants, with their wives and daughters, wits of both sexes, women of +the most exclusive _ton_, thronged the spacious _salons_. Each in their +turn was greeted with a smirk of ecstatic glee. To Gripstone the +courtesy seemed invested with a proprietary interest. A nod was +receipted with a simper, a grasp of the hand with a scrape, the most +distant recognition by the most obsequious acknowledgment. There +appeared to be no doubt in his mind it was all bought and paid for, but +it did no harm to be polite for _once_; and comically polite he was. + +I will not say he did not gradually begin to wear the look of a man who +had purchased an elephant; for he did. I found him late in the evening +posted behind a column and peering through the window at the assembled +merry-makers. It was evident he owned the whole party, and that every +ringing laugh went with the property; but to him it was a novel +investment, and perhaps more difficult to manage than any other article +he possessed. Partly from a dim consciousness that he had wandered +beyond his depth, and probably from the loneliness consequent to so +uncongenial a spectacle, a companion had become necessary; and, when I +approached, his jump of cordiality was as uncouth as it was unexpected. +So stunned were my senses by the extraordinary events, that, had he +cried out, "Come to my arms, my long-lost brother!" or were a +strawberry-mark actually found, I could not have been surprised. As it +was, his frenzied tugs at the lapel of my coat threatened its immediate +destruction, and my spinal column ached under his demoniac slaps on the +back, before I gasped out my congratulations. + +Wine, excitement, or the society of one who at least had treated him +with common decency, warmed the little geniality that remained in him. + +With a jerk he thrust me into his study, and, while thrilling music +swept through the echoing halls, and the solid flooring swayed under the +feet of the dancers, the Beast opened his heart. Shrinking, as though +'twere felony, from the penury of early life, flying from a brief hour +of married happiness, in wild triumph he plunged into the dreariness of +the upward struggle. Maddened with success, spurning all thought of +concealment, with shocking exactness he entered into every detail of the +contest, every incident in the appalling history. The low cunning and +miserable privation that accumulated the first paltry hundreds, the +trickery that made them thousands, the heartless sacrifice of +self-respect that doubled and trebled the swelling store, were gloated +over with a grin of delight. Transactions imbued with a depravity that +made me shudder, were narrated with a chuckle; chicaneries of a depth +and maliciousness positively devilish, were touched with a smirk. For +_this_ he had lied and cheated; for _this_ his wretched body grew lean +for want of food; for _this_ all the world loathed him. In _his_ youth +poverty _crushed_ him; but his little girl, away at school, never knew +the meaning of the word. Widows went portionless, but _she_ did not +want; orphans starved, _her_ platter was always full. _He_ had been +spattered by the coaches of the rich; but now his chariot, and _her_ +chariot, would take a drive. They had called him Beast; but _now_ they +called him _gentleman_. + +The hundreds who drank his wine and trifled with his sweets called him +gentleman, and hundreds more were ready to go down on their knees to his +own flesh and blood. Now was the time to enjoy, now the day of +happiness. Money was a drug; in his abundance, he could never want. He +had love, grandeur, troops of friends; _now_ he would live a monarch. +Flushed with victory, his eyes blazed, his voice rang clear and loud in +its exultation, and his lank form swelled with defiance. Springing to +his feet, and clutching up a decanter, he waved it wildly around his +head, and, challenging God or man to mar such peace, shivered it on the +floor. + +Wonder-stricken at the intensity of his vulgarity, and shocked at the +sacrilege, I left; and from that moment Hardy Gripstone became a study. +Every step in his tortuous course, every phase of his ostentation, every +enormity on good taste, was followed with ceaseless vigilance. Excesses +that would have startled the most thoughtless were pursued with restless +activity; absurdities that drew forth a shout of ridicule were committed +with provoking good humor. No freak seemed exuberant, no folly +preposterous, no extremity extravagance. The joy of paternity, sinking +deep into his nature, made every peculiarity more glaringly apparent. +Money had been his idol, its accumulation the summit of his ambition; +its reckless sacrifice in his daughter's honor appeared the only +adequate expression of his love. The intervals of his devotion were +passed in idle boasting, and to me he detailed every incident. There was +something really touching in the abject way in which he mentioned each +trifle concerning her. Little circumstances connected with her daily +life were described as one would describe the traits of some rare +animal. His career of degradation seemed to have blunted every idea of +responsibility. He looked upon her as a superior being, and her +adornment as a sacred duty. The richness of her toilet, the magnificence +of her equipage, the glory of her beauty, became an inexhaustible +surprise and delight. The utter lack of congeniality, the barrier of +caste that divided them, was indescribably sad. Rapturous admiration, +gentle amazement, blind idolatry, meek bewilderment, the one twisted by +brutality to a living distortion, the other lifted by refinement to the +embodiment of womanly grace; and yet they were father and daughter. To +do her justice, she strove in every way to testify her love and +gratitude for her strange parent; the ties of blood asserted themselves +in her words and caresses, but they looked doubtfully out of her eyes. +Educated far away from him, and amid other associations, she could not +be blind to his faults and shortcomings. The social gulf that divided +them, though bridged by her sense of duty, was ever present in her +thoughts. I mourned over the remorseless avarice that made him what he +was; I almost regretted the culture that placed her so far above him; +but, knowing the rude shocks to her sensitive nature, the ruthless +trampling on every womanly instinct, I mourned for her the most. + +Alas for the schemes of prosy men and women! when tender Loveliness +goes airing herself through shady lanes, frank young Valor is seldom far +off. The Eurydice may be only a school-girl, and Orpheus a brave, manly +boy in a blue coat; but there is a world of heart-fluttering, for all +that. The flush of conscious beauty blooming on the cheek of one, is +generally a shadow of the warm red that mantles the face of the other. +While Eurydice Gripstone mused in quiet nooks, it was no fabled youth of +magic lyre who sent the rhetoric and botany waltzing through her brain; +and when the fierce cry of "Lights out!" hurried _Jane Eyre_ under the +pillow, it was no dream of impossible mustaches that made her hear the +clocks chime dismally and the cocks crow for midnight. + +When the long-looked-forward-to Commencement-day was at length looked +_on_, and our heroine tripped up to the platform to read her Essay on +Filial Affection, alas for its consistency! it was not the grin of Pluto +Gripstone staring stupidly at the show, but the smile of Orpheus, now +blessed with a strong beard, that set the recipient of undying fame a +trembling. And now, when the farewell had been said, and Orpheus left to +break his lyre and mourn,--when Pluto had carried home his prize and the +dreary occupation of being as extravagant as possible had +commenced,--they were no notes of weird pathos, but billets containing +many brave promises, that made strong coffee the most delectable of +drinks. Of course all these changes from dreamy reverie to tremulous joy +could not escape the searching eye of Pluto; and of course, when +questioned, no Eurydice of spirit would think of denying the mate for +whom she pined. + +Oh, the consternation of the discovery! Oh, the thunders of remonstrance +with which Hades resounded! The wheel of Ixion might whirl, and the +pitchy depths blaze with the fires of indignation, but all this did not +dry the tears of the nymph, nor soothe her bitterness of woe. Every +tenderness that could reconcile, every enjoyment that could wean, was +vainly essayed; mourning for her Orpheus, she would not be comforted. + +At last the Plutonian shadows opened to receive the matchless man. It +was with no impossible burst of harmony he charmed away the terrors of +this prison-house of injured innocence. Whatever might have been the +Orpheus of the fabled "long ago," our modern hero was a plain, +business-like man. He thought a great deal of the daughter, but for her +worn-out old hulk of a father he didn't care a button. Married he was +determined to be, _nolens volens_; and that was the long and the short +of it. To a piteous plea to remain and enjoy the old man's wealth, he +turned the deafest of ears. Business required his presence at home; +where business commanded, he obeyed; and that was the long and the short +of that. _He_ didn't propose to set up a museum of deformities, if the +daughter did; or stay to witness a burlesque on the society he was +brought up in, were she never so dutiful. + +Oh, the misery of this reality! When shall I forget the anguish on that +cadaverous face, when the terror of the narration? For nineteen years he +had patiently plodded on, despised by the rich, hated by the poor, +spurned by both. He had driven hard bargains that she might drive her +carriage; he had turned his wretched debtors houseless into the streets +that she might be covered. With every spark of love in his heart, with +every instinct of tenderness in his soul, he had bowed down and +worshiped her. She had him all: he would set to work anew, were it +needful, for her sake; he would go in rags for her; he would starve for +her; and this was his reward!--his happiness filched from him by a +whipster of a day's acquaintance! + +When two people, like the frogs of AEsop, conclude to plunge down a well +for the waters of happiness, it is generally the "weaker vessel" who +dallies. Let no one suppose our Eurydice quitted the blissful innocence +of nymphhood without a struggle, or coolly deserted her battered old +father without a regret. + +With all the golden halo that hung about the future, there were walks +taken in those gardens in which the claw-like hands and tapering fingers +clutched each other very tightly, and there were sudden bursts of +emotion when the cadaverous cheeks were well-nigh smothered with kisses. +If you or I had had an interview with the pillow that adorned her +chamber, it would have told us of many a scalding tear that damped its +purity and many a smothered sob that fell on its feathery ears. If there +were red eyes and pallid cheeks at the breakfast-table on one side, +there was a very dismal face on the other. Step by step the hard fact +sunk into it, and furrow after furrow marked the progress. It was very +glorious for Orpheus; but it was very gloomy for the Beast, and he knew +it. Bravely did the old man hold out, and grim and silent was the +surrender. Perhaps a dawning light of their ill-assorted association, +and a fear for its influence on her happiness, might have opened the +sally-port to the conqueror; but he never admitted it. He laid down his +arms as coldly and quietly as ever any old Spanish knight gave up his +citadel. + +Once more the stately house opened wide its doors to a stately +gathering, and again there was music and dancing and feasting. There +were scores of richly-dressed women to kiss the bride, and there were +scores of brave men to congratulate the groom; but there was not one in +all that fair company had a kindly word for Hardy Gripstone, and of all +the throng who feasted that night there was not one saw his broken +heart. + +From the hour the creaking steamer bore the happy pair to their Northern +home, he slunk out of society. The great house was closed, and the +little office, dirtier and more grasping than ever, opened. Every +witness to his outburst, myself included, was studiously avoided. I met +him often; but no sign of recognition escaped him. + +Some months afterward, in passing his filthy little street, I found the +remorseless little door had gulped a policeman. Pulling apart its +ferocious jaws, and peering in, I saw the straight-backed chair; but the +body which seemed a part of it was much stiffer and more angular. The +yellow-wash on the wall was a paltry reflex of the ghastly yellow of his +faded visage; for the iron face was the face of a corpse. + +Men who stood vacantly staring in muttered, "Beast!" women, shrinking +from the unsightly spectacle, whispered, "Beast!" and children, gazing +in silent horror with the rest, stared "Beast!" out of their +wonder-stricken eyes. So hard did they stare, so loud did they mutter, +and so many instances did they rehearse of the foul wrongs he had +committed, that I am doubtful about the matter myself, and ask you, +reader, Was he a Beast? + + + + +LEAVES IN THE LIFE OF AN IDLER. + + +Leaf the First. + +When a man whom you have every reason to believe not only the coolest, +but the most unimpressible, of beings, suddenly turns white as a ghost +and shivers with a nervous spasm, it is safe to suppose he is +frightened. But when terror, turning into rage, changes one of the most +attentive and respectful of servants into a madman, it is scarcely safe +to suppose anything. As it was, I stared in mute amazement, and he +glared at me as though I had struck him. While waiting for a light, I +carelessly put my hand into a basket of hot-house vegetables. The small +egg-plant I took up certainly _did_ weigh twenty pounds, and when I +attempted to lift the basket the handle bent double; but why this should +frighten a man like Marcel, or provoke him to anger, is as inexplicable +as it is surprising. + +He is pacing up and down the hall in a state of the wildest excitement; +and I, with man's truest comfort,--tobacco,--am left to my meditations. + +What combination of circumstances reduced him to a porter, I cannot for +the life of me imagine. His hand is as soft as a woman's; and his brow +has a breadth of brain that would dignify a Senator. Notwithstanding the +scrupulous deference in his tone, his manner possesses the quiet ease of +a gentleman, to as great a degree as any I ever saw. + +The utter incongruity of his appearance and position struck me the +moment I laid eyes on him. He flourished his napkin with the dainty +grace of a courtier; and when he lifted my luggage to his shoulder, I +was on the point of apologizing. He makes my bed, polishes my shoes, +performs with fidelity the most menial offices; and yet I _cannot_ but +look upon him as an equal. Poor devil! His cheek may burn with the +bluest blood in France. What a pity the world is not moral! + +There is something enchanting to me in smoking. It is like a rich +cordial,--nerving every faculty to action. A draught from your +_Cabanas_, the pulse quickens, the mind clears, and thought awakes, like +a fine instrument under the magic touch of a master. The wind moans +drearily without, the rain beats dismally against the windows, the +fagots flicker blue-flamed and weird in the dark recesses of the +chimney-place; but what care I? The white walls are lurid in the flare, +the great bed stands out in the darkness like a grotesque engine of the +Inquisition; but who suffers? _Au troisieme, No. 30, Rue Lepelletier_, +was never noted for its comforts; but who would ask a repose more +secure, a peace more perfect, than are enjoyed by the occupant of this +rambling old house? Blessed be the earth that bears this solace for +weary brains! Its very odor is pregnant with dreams of the _Vuelta +Abajo_. You see the luxuriant foliage of the tropics, the dark-green +waves curling on the coral beach, and the scarlet flamingoes that gather +shell-fish in the marshes away off in the golden sunset. You hear the +wild song of the Spanish fruit-man as he sculls his boat along the +broken wharves, and are soothed into utter listlessness by the thousand +perfumes that come off with the land-breeze. A taste of the fragrant +vapor, you recline in the odorous orange darkness of a dream-land, +languidly breathing the smoke from your hookah, and the lustrous leaves +moving over you are bathed in the soft and melting sunshine. The day +lingers luminously over far mountain-ranges, paling in brilliancy on the +hill-side, where the blushing vine, bending with the clusters, is still +enlivened by the song of the vintagers; and in the valley, where the +grain sheds its gold under the sickle. You are lost in voluptuous +reverie. You breathe the sunlight; intellect is thawed and mellowed; +emotions take the place of thought; "your senses, sun-tranced, rise into +the sphere of soul." You feel the heart of humanity throbbing through +all nature, and your own warms into quivering life. + +"It is not good for man to live alone;" and you dream of another to +share the rapture your wild fancy has created. + +_Your_ Haidee is pure. Her form has rather the statuesque roundness of +Psyche than the luxurious excess of Venus. Timid, yet not tremulous, +graceful even to delicacy, coquettish in outline, _her_ beauty is formed +for smiles. She is a still-eyed Xenobi, but knows nothing of Passion +with disheveled locks, divine frenzy, and fiery grasp. She is your +friend and comforter; and you are the strong rock her helplessness +clings to. Your uncouth manner softens as you behold her troubled look. +You become kind and considerate. You watch with pity the pinched faces +of anxiety that pass before you. You cheer the little beggar, and give +him of your abundance. Unhappy wanderer! he has started early on his +wretched pilgrimage for bread. "Your heart, enlarged by its new sympathy +with one, grows bountiful to all." The fragrant smoke curls in heavier +clouds, and is wafted imperceptibly into the darkness. Ah, Arthur +Granger! Arthur Granger! you are dreaming impossibilities, as the man +athirst dreams of flowing waters. + +"Love has lost its wings of heavenly azure with which it soared light as +a lark into the empyrean, and now grovels on the earth, weighed down by +the burden of red gold." + +How well I recollect that warm, balmy March morning! My mother had sent +me to Paris about six months before, to read law with an old relative. +Of course I was delighted; but that day I felt tired of the dull routine +of my life, and longed for the green fields, waving trees, and wild +mountain-torrents of my home. I was walking slowly down the street, +thinking gloomily of the labors of another day, and she was standing +near a school-house door, intently occupied in giving some directions to +an old soldier. In my whole life I do not think I ever saw a more +beautiful creature. The airiness of the lithe little figure, the +playfulness in the nod of the graceful head, the look of joyous +innocence on that perfect face, flitted through my mind like a bright +ray of sunshine during the entire day. Every morning, for years after, I +met that child; and every morning her beaming smile cheered my young +life like a glimpse of heaven. I never spoke to her; it was a long time +before she even knew of my existence; but by-and-by I noticed a +quizzical expression come over the old man's face, and I saw her +features warm with a faint flush of recognition. How many dreams I based +on that slight fabric! Of course I discovered her name; and of course I +learned that her father was very rich; but what was that to me? With +what pride did I gaze at his name in huge gilt letters on a great +warehouse near us, and what wonderful little gothic cottages did I build +on the strength of the "and Son" that would shortly be added to it! The +long nights with my cousin became less wearisome. I could hear the dull +creaking of the letter-press, and see him sit poring over his writing, +quite patiently. When the organ-grinder stopped on the corner and played +"Make me no gaudy chaplet," I did not long to rush into the streets, for +I had _her_ to think about. When the clock struck eleven, and my cousin, +with his peculiar "phew!" commenced another letter, I looked on quite +calmly, and began the construction of another cottage. Of course there +were rainy days, and Thursdays that were ages to me; and there were +Christmas holidays, and long, hot vacations, that she did not come; but +September brought back the radiant face, and I worshiped on. + +Gradually I noticed a change in her dress. She wore little lace collars, +and bright ribbons I had not seen before; and sometimes she carried a +little bouquet of violets, with a white rosebud in the center. As she +grew older, I had many rivals. Gallant youths, brave in broadcloth and +beavers, followed by dozens the _Picciola_ I had watched so tenderly. +How proudly I passed them by! and how I sneered at the thought of their +understanding _her_! + +I saw her form grow fuller and expand into a more queenly beauty. I saw +her eyes sparkle with a diviner light, and her bosom swell with new and +strange emotions. I watched her until she became a woman, and gloried in +her matchless loveliness. + +At last the end came. One morning, the brown calico frock was changed +for an India silk, and the little school bonnet, with its blue veil, for +a new one, covered with artificials. She was accompanied by an elderly +lady, and looked nervous and excited. I was troubled at the tremulous, +uncertain expression of her face. The next day I read her name in the +list of graduates. + +It does generally rain at picnics; but this time it didn't. When shall I +ever forget that picnic? I stole a holiday to attend it. It was late +when I arrived: the dinner was over, and I had one prepared expressly +for me. Would you believe it? my fair attendant was the little Blue +Veil. She was so kind and so gentle, and treated me in such a confiding, +sisterly way. There was a tenderness in the soft depths of her eyes, a +purity in the dazzling loveliness of her face, that my heart yielded to +with the blind fervor of a devotee. When shall I ever forget that +evening walk under the trees? Oh! those buttercups and daisies, and +little Quaker ladies! what recollections they bring back to me! The +pressure of that soft little hand on my arm, the timid grace of her +manner, the sound of her clear, girlish voice, with what emotions have +they stirred my soul! Heaven bless her! Thank God for that one glorious +picture! It was years ago; she is married now, and the mother of +children; yet even now I sometimes catch myself standing on the corners +and gazing wistfully down the street for the bright image that stole +into the morning of my young life like a soothing dream in a long, +troubled sleep. + + +Leaf the Second. + +Gardening in midwinter!--what new freak has taken possession of that +eccentric man? The morning broke dank and drear, for the December air +had chilled the moisture into a fog. The wide verandas that opened on +the court-yard in rear were dripping with the rain, and the broad +flag-stones covered with a greasy slime. The diminutive grass-plot was +brown and soggy, but the withered blades rapidly disappeared under the +sturdy plunges of Marcel's spade. I had gone out on the gallery to fill +a ewer with water--in his excitement of the previous evening, Marcel had +forgotten my morning bath--and saw him distinctly through the +_jalousies_. He must have commenced at daylight; for, though it was then +early, the ground was almost entirely dug up. Near him, on the pavement, +was the basket over which he had displayed so much agitation. He +prepared six holes, each of which was carefully lined with straw, and +then deliberately commenced planting the egg-plants _whole_. + +An hour or two later, he came up with the coffee. I thought he turned a +shade or two paler at seeing me up and dressed; but no vestige of +petulance remained. Having really taken no offense at the outburst, I +rallied him concerning it. + +"I was wrong," said he, gravely; "but nature has left me destitute of +tact. An artist was once ordered to paint a one-eyed princess: the +artful man made the picture a profile. Devoid of his discernment, I saw +only my ruined treasures." + +"And, after acting like a wild man, you sneer at my curiosity." + +"One so secure in his position as M. Granger can lose nothing by +forbearance." + +"In other words, I am to endure patiently the taunts of an apron, +because its wearer is worthy of a surtout?" + +"The prompt nature of hunger is well known. Fifty years ago, I might +have shrieked in the _Place de la Concorde_. France has degenerated; I +polish your shoes." + +The assumption of inferiority was so defiant that I said, bluntly, "This +can never excuse the neglect of faculties bestowed by Heaven." + +He shrugged his shoulders, and answered, "There was a time when power +succumbed to intellect. 'Stand out of my sunlight,' said Diogenes to +Alexander; and Alexander did so. This is Paris, M. Granger, and we are +living on the _Rue Lepelletier_." + +"And, frightened at its splendor, M. Marcel has prudently determined to +put his brains under regimen." + +"M. Marcel has prudently determined to avoid in future a _tete-a-tete_ +with his superiors." + +He started abruptly to the door, and I called him back; determined +distance even in a servant is far from flattering, and I asked him +frankly if his visits to my apartments were as distasteful as his manner +would lead me to infer. + +He answered, politely, "Were fickle Fortune waiting to conduct me to the +summit of my ambition, I would detain her a few hours to enjoy society +so charming; but M. Granger forgets he is addressing a domestic." + +"Stubborn in your pride to the last! What am I to think of one who holds +all sympathy in contempt?" + +"_Basta!_" he fiercely exclaimed. "I am like a vagrant cur: flying from +the sticks and stones of a vile rabble, I fawn with cringing servility +on the first hand that throws me a crust." + +"Wrong, Marcel; wrong," I earnestly answered. "You are trying to warp +your nature, as you tried to force the fruits of summer to bloom and +ripen in midwinter. You _will_ be human, and your egg-plants will rot in +the earth." + +My words seemed to have taken away every particle of color there was in +him. His eyes contracted until they resembled those of a wild animal, +and for a moment I thought he was going to spring at my throat. His +voice--when finally he regained it--sounded like that of another +person. + +"M. Granger," said he, "a man visiting the _Jardin des Plantes_ once +undertook to stroke a leopard. Strange as it may appear, the animal was +more pleased with petting than the inquiring mind imagined. The instant +our naturalist attempted to desist, the creature raised his paw to +strike. There monsieur stood, for a whole night, gazing into his glaring +eyes and smoothing his soft neck. Can you imagine his feelings?" + +With a bow that would have graced the Duc de Beaumont, he left. I heard +him hastily packing his modest wardrobe; and in fifteen minutes a +tilbury had whirled him away--whither, Heaven only knows. + + +Leaf the Third. + +I do not think his own mother would call him handsome; he is certainly +not young, nor particularly brilliant; and yet there is a fascination +about the proprietor of this rambling old house that gave me an +unaccountable desire to become his tenant. He is a wine-merchant, and +occupies, as his counting-room, the entire second floor. The place is +desolate-looking and dusty, and the furniture old with service; but, I +am told, no man in Paris controls more of the grand vintages than M. +Pontalba. With a Frenchman, the _legality_ of a transaction depends on +its being negotiated in a _cafe_; and it was in one of these I first saw +him. He was seated at a table near me, absorbed with the contents of a +box of baby-clothes, while a rather pretty and exceedingly voluble +_modiste_ harangued him on their beauty. The tenderness of his +expression struck me. He took out the articles one by one, examining +each with the interest of a woman. He ran his fingers through the tiny +sleeves, and smoothed out the ruffles and lace, with a care that was +almost loving. Diminutive cambric shirts, snowy dresses, and silky +flannels,--all in their turn were inspected and replaced with a sigh of +satisfaction. + +An ardent young friend and I had been discussing the merits of Comte's +philosophy; but so attracted were we by the singular trait that both +stopped involuntarily, and watched him, until the woman was paid and a +messenger carried the fairy wardrobe away. + +My friend was an enthusiastic metaphysician; and, resuming the subject +with a zest, was soon plunged into the phenomena of thought, the action +of the brain, and the vitality of the blood that sustained it. As all +conversant with the subject can readily believe, not many minutes +elapsed before his artful sophistries proved the non-existence of +heaven, hell, and even God himself. + +M. Pontalba turned suddenly, and, drawing his chair close beside us, +with an apology for the seeming intrusion, addressed the incipient +skeptic: + +"Behind the iron bars of that dreariest of studies, a prison, a little +weed once received the concentrated thought of a savant. The covering of +its stem, the first tender leaves, the development of the bud, the +expansion of the flower--each bewildering in its consummate +propriety--unfolded, in their turn, a system of laws in simplicity +transcendent. By the aid of a microscope, a 'gillyflower' was seen +protecting a chrysalis. Warm leaves cherished it, dainty juices aided +its digestion, wholesome offshoots nourished it to maturity. Eking out a +scant existence between two granite flags, this insignificant waif +reared a caterpillar. What man are you, who can say there is no God?" + +There was a pathos in his voice, and a tone of simple fervor, which gave +that quiet old man the air of a priest. + +It was more than a year afterward I took these rooms; but my +establishment was of short duration ere I learned the history of an +eventful morning which followed that incident:--of how the placid face +of the master peered among his people, beaming with a great joy; how a +sumptuous feast was fitted up in the private office for all in the +employ; of the two hundred francs, and a suit of clothes, presented to +each; and how every one, from the little messenger to the gray cashier, +with the rarest wine in the cellar, drank prosperity to the new-born son +and heir, and much happiness to the mother,--"God bless her!" + +Once I saw a pony-carriage, with an aged, semi-military driver, pull up +at the door, and the flutter of a veil as the vehicle passed through +the entrance; and this was the only glimpse I ever caught of the little +lady that dingy office called mistress. There was, however, a certain +briskness in the movement of the clerks, and a glow of pleasure on their +faces, that always denoted a visit; and very frequent those visits were. +Without in any way obstructing it, her pretty interest seemed to throw a +halo around the dull routine of trade; and, if there was any +unpleasantness, the arrival of Jean Palliot, coachman and ex-grenadier, +with Madame Althie Pontalba, was sure to drive it away. + +Why _will_ my heart, like a hungry thing, gloat on the happiness of +others? He has gone away--in the midst of the holidays--no one knows +whither; and his sweet wife and pleasant home are as dreary as I. There +is a mystery about this house which I have not yet unraveled. Marcel +left in the morning, and M. Pontalba in the evening. That has been two +weeks ago. I thought he would have fainted when I told him of the +_garcon's_ exodus. I attempted a history of the gardening; but he would +not listen to a word, and remained locked up in his private room during +the entire day. Late in the evening a stranger called, and insisted on +an interview. It resulted in a hasty consultation with the cashier, and +an order for a coach. The two went off together,--whither, or for how +long, no one knows. + + +Leaf the Fourth. + +To-day finds a man in the full glow of health, and strength, and +happiness; to-morrow comes death, cold, pitiless, irresistible; mocking +all hope, freezing desire, crushing all effort with the eternal law of +time and human destiny, it strikes him down with the icy fury of a +fiend. Poetry, passion, humanity, are shivered at the touch. The +glorious creature who, an instant before, quivered with life and love +and energy, lies a shapeless mass, disgusting to the sight, loathsome to +the touch, revolting to every instinct of our nature. So, in its +ceaseless routine, forever and forever, wheels on the world. The +play-ground bully, the swindler of the corn exchange, who is the more +virtuous? dolls with life, babies with genius, which the more sensible? +Even baby has its "pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake," and is lulled to sleep with +visions of a coach and six little ponies. Dreams, dreams of self, that +man wraps himself in like the swathing of a mummy. Who ever saw a cake +marked with "T," who ever a "Valley of Tranquil Delight"? + +The sun rises and sets on the weary diamond-digger of the South, the +crazed perfume-hunter in the East, the stifled hemp-curer in the fetid +swamps of Russia, the shriveled iron-worker in the scorching furnaces of +England. Here, in Paris, amid that motley herd who feed on virtue, the +moon shines down calmly on purblind embroiderers and peerless beauties, +on worn-out _roues_ and squalid beggars. The breeze that wafts to heaven +the pure prayer of the maiden witnesses the fierce ribaldry of the +courtesan; it flutters the curls of a sleeping infant, and bears on its +wings the whispered exchange of _chastity for bread_. And man goes on, +devouring his three poor meals a day, and babbling the meaningless +nothings he has learned by rote. Oh, land of enlightenment! Oh, age of +Christianity! Oh, zenith of civilization! + +The smoke-wreaths curl into thicker clouds. I have painted bright +pictures, and they have faded. I have cherished fond dreams, and they +are vanished. "It is not good for man to live alone;" and I am most +solitary. I can make another picture,--without the roses; but it will be +true. + +It's a merry Christmas, this Twenty-fifth of December, eighteen hundred +and eighty-seven,--a very merry Christmas; times have scarcely changed +at all in the last thirty years. The sun shines down brightly, and the +frosty air is fall of gladness; for Santa Claus, with his untold +wonders, has come and gone. Ecstasies over dolls and transports over +tea-sets, screams of delight at hobby-horses and enthusiastic +exclamations at humming-tops, have passed. Paint-boxes and +writing-desks, leaden soldiers and tin trumpets, at last, are reduced to +blissful matters of course. The streets, which all the morning have +been thronged with laughing groups of happy children, are now almost +deserted. Senators and cabmen, ministers of state and town constables, +romping school-girls and worn-out actresses, _Lady Dedlock_ and her +washer-woman, men, women, and children of all degrees, have quietly +seated themselves to roasted turkey and plum-pudding. Even the little +boys who _will_ play marbles under the library windows, who are +constantly being "fat" and wanting "ups" and "roundings," and who are +invariably ordered to "knuckle down and bore it hard," are now intently +occupied with the succulent delights of "drum-sticks" and gizzards. And +yet the man whose fingers now form these letters _then_ sits alone. Time +has not passed lightly over _his_ head. The few hairs that straggle from +beneath his skull-cap are gray, and the faintest breath makes him wrap +closer in his thickly-wadded dressing-gown. His face is worn and pale, +and the wrinkled hand, though it only holds a little cigarette, will +sometimes tremble as it moves. The Christmas dinner is pushed away +untasted. _Chateau-Margaux_ has lost its flavor, and silver and crystal +do not bring appetite now. Even the glowing sunshine, which plate-glass +and silk damask cannot keep out, is unheeded. He gazes wearily at the +magnificent furniture, and smokes. He has talked much to the world, and +it has heard him. Flung into life without a friend, governed only by +the will of a race born to command, he has struggled through sneers and +sarcasm to eminence. Men fear him now, women flatter, nearly all envy; +yet he is alone. He knows this; he knows that in all the laughing groups +who enjoy this wine-drinking and turkey-eating day his name has not been +mentioned once. Nature allows no trifling with her laws; flowers do not +bloom in deserts. He has crushed sentiment; he has stifled affection. +With a heart by nature kindly, he sits now an image cut in steel. He +gazes calmly at his desolate hearth, at his joyless age, and smokes. Man +has no power to move him; fate condemned him to be a statue. + +Ah! the strongest, after all, are but weak, erring, human beings. The +last of a race stands weary and old, trembling on the brink of eternity. +Who will close the fading eye? Who will smooth the dying pillow? With +all his great wealth, with all his wondrous knowledge, what one deed of +charity will that infirm old man take into the presence of his Creator? +He looks dreamingly out at the window. The plate-glass and damask are +not there now; the sunshine is warm and the air balmy. A mild, breezy +March morning, and he is standing on a corner, looking far down the +street. "She is coming, coming;" the dark eyes beam on him, and the +radiant face flushes the pallor of his cheek;--"come." He gives one +lingering, beseeching look at the passing figure, the cigarette drops +to the carpet, the withered hands clasp convulsively the arms of the +chair, the gray head slowly falls on his breast, and one more frail +human being, exhausted with the anxieties of a long and bitter life, is +at rest forever. It's a merry Christmas, this Twenty-fifth of December, +eighteen hundred and eighty-seven,--a very merry Christmas. Times have +scarcely changed at all in the last thirty years. + +How he ever got there, or when, I do not now, nor will I ever, know, but +when I looked up Marcel was standing before me. + +"M. Granger," said he, abruptly, "it will be necessary for you to seek +another lodging." + +"Why?" + +"I would do you a service. The proof lies in the future. This house is +doomed." + +"Poor Marcel," said I, with genuine pity, "some recent trouble has +turned your brain!" + +"Mad!" he replied, laughing bitterly. "The wonder is that I am not. For +years I have been hunted,--hunted like a dog. Prisons have been my +dwelling-place, disguises my only clothing. My pillow is a spy; the very +atmosphere I breathe is analyzed." + +"And what is your offense?" + +"A desire to live as the great God intended an Italian should. A desire +to lift to his place among the free-born the corrupt descendant of +Coriolanus, now nourishing his miserable body on the _scudi_ extorted +from a stranger's patience. The vile crew whom our ancestors drove +howling and naked across the Danube, in undisturbed apathy gloat over +our dearest treasures. Our people are ground into the dust; our women, +stripped in the market-place, shriek under the pitiless lash of the +oppressor. One man, sworn to protect Italy with his life, can save her, +and has refused. That man dies." + +"And you are pledged to kill him?" + +"I am pledged to see you safely without these walls by this day +fortnight." + +"And you?" + +"I remain." + +"Marcel, you are crazy." + +"M. Granger, you are polite." + +That night fortnight I was away; and this was the message that sent me: + + "TO M. ARTHUR GRANGER: + + "Your fatal discovery on the morning of my departure makes you + the only man to whom I can appeal. Let me pray the appeal be + not in vain. In the folly of my youth, while sojourning in + Italy, I joined a powerful secret order, whose demands cease + only with death, and whose penalty for denial is a sudden and + bloody end. You can judge, then, my anxiety on being compelled + to admit to my establishment, disguised as a servant, one of + its highest officers, and my horror at hearing of his abrupt + departure. Since then I have learned the unhappy cause. My life + is in another's hands. It is for him to command, and for me + blindly to obey. There are two beings in this world dearer to + me than my soul's salvation. To you, M. Granger, as a Christian + gentleman, I commend them. The sealed note inclosed (the + contents of which are a matter of life and death) I beg you + will at once deliver to my wife; and let me conjure you, until + the crisis is over, to make my house at Romainville your home. + + "EDOUARD PONTALBA." + + +Leaf the Last. + +This is the 15th of January, 1858. France is in a blaze of excitement. +Last evening, in the _Rue Lepelletier_, an attempt was made to +assassinate the Emperor, by throwing grenades filled with fulminating +mercury under the coach that bore the Imperial family to the Italian +Opera. Count Felice Orsini, the murderer, himself desperately wounded, +has been arrested, and Paris is crying for his blood. + +For several days I have been the honored guest of Madame Althie +Pontalba. It is a golden evening; the sky, an hour ago so clear and +blue, is piled with golden clouds, and stretches out into golden rivers, +with golden banks, flowing calmly down into a golden sea. The purple +slates on the church-steeple, the red tiles on the house-tops, the +gardens with their evergreens and jonquils and little blue violets +shrinking out of the frosty air, are wrapped in a golden mist. The light +streams through the windows in rays of pure gold, and trickles down the +walls in little golden currents. It is an enchanting little villa. The +steep gables covered with variegated slate, the thin fluted columns of +the verandas, the diminutive marble steps, the broad bow-windows with +their transparent plate-glass, look more like a fairy picture than a +reality. The trim shrubbery, the airy little statues, and even the white +palings, so frail and fanciful in their construction, are charmingly +appropriate. + +It is an enchanting little room. The icy air is warmed by the bright +carpet and glowing curtains, and the trickling currents of golden light +on the walls are mellowed by the blazing sea-coals. It is a merry little +fire, an ardent, earnest, _home_ fire, that shoots out its whimsical +little flames as if it meant to burn one to a cinder, and flutters and +murmurs to itself and scatters down the white feathery ashes in a very +ecstasy of impetuous glee. The green porcelain tiles on the hearth, the +oval-shaped chairs, the wonderful tables, and the little easy-chair, are +all flushed up, and seem quite enlivened at its sportive tricks. The +silver sewing-bird, with its glittering little garnet eyes, is peering +curiously down at the painted fish-geranium on the teapot; and the +geranium, sweltering by the fire, seems almost wilted with the heat. +The teapot pants and struggles under its steaming contents, and looks +appealingly at the great china cup on the table; and now a lump of +sparkling sugar is dropped into its shiny recesses, and the fragrant +odor of that gentlest soother of troubled thoughts pervades the room. + +How shall I describe the mistress of this fairy resting-place, as she +sits in the softened light of this golden winter evening, with the +trickling golden currents and the quivering firelight playing on her +dress, and the last rays of the sunshine melting into golden threads in +her hair? How can I picture the look of girlish innocence on her face, +the artless grace of her manner, her delicate feminine ways, and the +dainty arrangement of her toilet? How can I tell of the irresistible +charm that pervades every article about her, from the little French boot +resting on the rug, to the ruffle that circles her white throat? The +balmy morning of her young life has passed. The brown calico frock, and +the little school bonnet, with its blue veil, have been put away +forever. The lithe figure has grown matronly, the childish timidity is +gone; the softened face tells of changes,--changes made by much +happiness; changes also, alas! by trouble. + +The dark eyes beam with a deeper tenderness, with a wealth of maternal +devotion, with a world of maternal anxiety. The aurora, with its hazy +glow, has disappeared, and now the sun shines brightly on the early +day; yet through all the love, and all the care, and all the joy of her +pure life, remains that radiant smile, the glorious creation of a +glorious God, that awakens in man one sensation,--tranquillity. O man, +with the joy of your _own_ young love, O woman blessed with a +remembrance of earlier days, is it needful I should say, Madame Althie +Pontalba is the Little Blue Veil? + +There were two visitors here an hour ago,--a lady and a gentleman. +Whatever their lack of ostentation, there was an air of distinction +about both that would strike the most casual observer. + +The cabriolet was plain, but the horses showed the purest blood, and the +harness and equipments a neatness one would not see in a day's ride. The +gentleman was tall and stately, with a well-shaped aquiline nose, and a +mustache and imperial pointed _a la militaire_; and the lady was petite +and graceful, with a face of rare loveliness. The features of both told +plainly of a great trial bravely endured. The lady entered alone. Her +carriage and demeanor possessed all that quiet elegance which is only +met with in the society of the great; but it was with no courtly speech +she addressed the mistress of this quiet home. To twine her arms +lovingly around that dear form, to draw it close to her bosom, to pour +out, in a voice broken with tears, a burst of gratitude, was the +mission. In moments when hearts are wrung, we do not practice our grand +politeness. A noble life had been saved, a terrible calamity averted. +The polished manner of the _salon_ was dropped. A _wife_ spoke, a +_woman_ listened. The visit was already a long one when Jean Palliot +took charge of the equipage, and, on leaving, it was into _his_ hand the +gentleman thrust a roulette of Napoleons. + +"Sir," cried the indignant coachman, "a soldier of the Grand Army is not +a beggar." + +"It is not the gold, but the portraits of his commander I give the +soldier of the Grand Army." + +"_Mon Dieu!_" exclaimed the now affrighted veteran, "it is +Napoleon!--_Vive l'Empereur!_" + + * * * * * + +Of the history of that attempt on the life of Napoleon, the world is +fully informed. That, thanks to a fortunate warning, the Imperial coach +was lined with boiler-iron, is well known. That warning, by direction of +her husband, was written by Madame Althie Pontalba, and delivered by me. + +That the destructive missiles were manufactured in Birmingham, England, +our Minister Plenipotentiary has good cause to remember; but that they +were smuggled into Paris in the guise of egg-plants, and deposited in +the grass-plot in rear of house No. 30 of that now memorable street, I +believe is still a mystery. + +That Count Felice Orsini (the man executed) was concealed for weeks, is +on record at the Prefecture; but that he assumed the position of a +servant, and the name of Marcel, is not. + +As for me, I think a great deal, and say nothing; but if the young +Pontalba, who now studies type-setting with the Prince Imperial, was not +the baby whose clothes I once saw examined at a _cafe_ there is no truth +in these "Leaves of an Idler." + + + + +MR. BUTTERBY RECORDS HIS CASE.[A] + + +J. Moses Butterby, aged 40 years; a licensed broker; nativity, American; +temperament, sanguine; habit, slightly obese; constitution, robust. +History of the case as related by himself. + + * * * * * + +I don't see how I ever came to _be_ married. It was certainly the last +thing my friends expected of me, and it was the last thing I ever +expected of myself; but that I am married, Mrs. J. Moses Butterby, and +Master Alphonso Moses Butterby, are both here to testify. + +What so aristocratic a family found in me to admire is as much a secret +now as then. I don't think it was intellect; for I am afraid that when +Nature designed me the "shining" element was left out. Somehow, at +school, the composition sent to the village journal was never mine; the +declamation repeated at every fresh arrival of directors was always +another's; and if, by any chance, a visitor asked to hear a recitation, +under no circumstances was I ever invited to show off. My modest part +in society was not crowned with greater success. Ma (dear heart!) +objected to dancing, and I never learned; I didn't go to picnics, for I +don't know how to drive; I tried smoking, and it made me sick; if I +drank wine, I was sure to go to sleep: in fact, none of the amusements +of other young men ever amused me; and the result was, the money they +spent, I saved. + +Envious people have hinted at this as the attraction which first caught +the respected mother of my Malinda Jane and the respected mother-in-law +of myself; but ideas so unbecoming I repel with proper scorn. + +I do not think myself more stupid than the average of mankind; but, +somehow, while they walked through the middle of the streets, I sought +the narrow alleys; and while others aspired to noise and distinction, I +found retirement and Malinda Jane. (It _was_ in an alley I first met +Mrs. J. Moses Butterby--though this in no way concerns the present +narrative.) + +Malinda Jane (I trust I am not violating any matrimonial law in thus +familiarly speaking of my respected helpmeet)--Malinda Jane, from the +first time I beheld her, up to the present period of a long, and I may +say intimate, acquaintance, appears to me a paragon of all the modest +and retiring virtues. If among her many attractions she is possessed of +a distinguishing trait, it lies in the power of her eyes. So much +language do their depths contain, that to me, at least, any other is in +a great measure a superfluity. I should be afraid to count up the +consecutive hours we have spent in this silent converse, reading each +other's hearts, as some pleasant poet has styled it, "through the +windows of the soul." I would not have you suppose them almond-shaped or +piercing. No! Malinda Jane's eyes are round. It was their gentle blue +that enchanted me; and there I found the congeniality that cheered my +drooping spirit. + +Looking back now upon our courtship, I am inclined to think it must have +been uninteresting to a third party; but there is no denying the fact +that to us it was most soothing, and well calculated to develop our +mutual affection. + +I have no accurate recollection of the event vulgarly called "popping." +Fortunately, I congratulate myself on escaping that breach of decorum. +If you join my friends in asking "how it came about," I reply, +"Naturally." The morning Malinda Jane's mother asked me if I had decided +upon October the 24th or November the 24th, I unhesitatingly answered, +"November the 24th, if you please;" and the whole affair was +accomplished. + +I have said before, Malinda Jane is not of a demonstrative disposition, +but thinks (if I may strain a point) ponderously. I have never known her +to manifest any will in opposition to my own; and, since I come to think +of it, I do not remember her ever manifesting a will in opposition to +any one else. In this general term I of course include Master Moses +Alphonso Butterby and my most highly respected mother-in-law. Such a +family, according to all rule precedent, should be superlatively happy; +but there seems to be a disturbing element in all families, and mine, +alas! proved no exception. It came about thus. + +Among the few parting words of my deceased ma were, "Mosie" (she always +called me Mosie), "never live with your mother-in-law." Treasuring the +command, as I may say I treasured everything the dear old lady left, +including the property, when finally the day _was_ fixed, I set about +obeying it. On an occasion when Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk--the name of +my respected mother-in-law--had described our imaginary bower, and her +imaginary apartment adjoining, until she had worked herself into a fever +of imaginary happiness, I mildly communicated the behest of my departed +parent. + +The scene which followed I can only characterize as indescribably +touching. The look of blank despair on the face of Malinda Jane, and the +tears of rage and mortification that suffused the aristocratic nose of +her ma, I frankly confess, went to the bottom of my heart. It was many +months before I ceased to regret this rude banishment of their hopes; +but, looking upon it from my present stand-point, I am compelled to +admit my dear dead ma was right. + +The only accident worthy of remark that happened to Malinda Jane on our +wedding-day was a fright. I have reason to congratulate myself at its +occurring _on_ that day, instead of a few weeks subsequent. The +consequences in the latter event, it is needless to say to married +people, might have been serious. + +Passing out of the church-door, we were confronted by a drunken cobbler, +who, in a wild and insane manner, proposed "three cheers for Jinny." The +assembled crowd of dilapidated urchins hanging around the steps +proceeded to give them with a vim faintly suggestive of ridicule. The +single glance I obtained of the discourteous offender gave me an idea of +chimneys. His face was smoky, his clothes were fleecy, and his general +appearance was decidedly sooty throughout. A shock head, and more shocky +eyebrows, bore a strange resemblance to the patent chimney-sweep; while +his clothes seemed rich in past memories of the profession. I had before +caught sight of this individual, in a tumble-down, rickety shop near the +residence of Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk. I had, in fact, seen her on +more than one occasion bestowing charity upon him in the form of broken +victuals; but the recollection failed entirely to account for the effect +of his cheers for "Jinny" upon the too tender nerves of my dear wife and +her distinguished mother. I attributed the emotion to the trying nature +of the ceremony we had just passed through. Reflecting that people do +not get married every day, and appalled at the terrible conclusions +with which the mind would distract itself by pondering so alarming a +topic, I shudderingly abandoned it, and assisted Malinda Jane and her +ma, in a fainting condition, to the carriage. + +It is needless to say that the cobbler was at once given in charge to a +policeman. The next morning, in consideration of a handsome fee, he +moved away. I accomplished this out of regard to the feelings of Mrs. +Lawk; but, I must confess, I never regretted anything more. + +The commencement of married life (as many married men will bear me out) +is even more consoling than the happiest days of courtship. The smell of +varnish on new furniture is as delightfully novel as the odor of the +orange-blossoms; the brightness of the new carpets and the crispness of +the new curtains both mark an era,--even if the stove _is_ obstinate +about drawing or a man _is_ called out of bed to put up the coffee-mill. +There was Malinda Jane's night-robe hanging on one side of the bed, and +there was my night-robe on the other. My clothes were in the upper +drawer of the bureau, hers were in the lower--in such delightful and +loving proximity that I own to feeling a new man; I gloried in having +some one dependent on me: in short, I was happy. + +I will not deny that there was some trouble about servants (I think +Malinda Jane had seven the first ten days). True, the meals were not +models of regularity; the chicken sometimes came on in too natural a +state,--blue and pulpy,--and the beefsteak betrayed a volcanic +appearance, as though reduced to lava by an irruption of gravy. I +remember one woman stole a keg of butter, and another went off with half +a dozen silver spoons. The former, Malinda Jane ascribed to the cat; the +latter, to a defective memory; but, then, Malinda Jane never learned +housekeeping (I don't see why she should, poor dear!), and trifles like +these failed to mar _our_ household peace. + +I would mention the conduct of Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk as being, for +nearly a year, really saintly. Even the rare intervals at which she +visited were marked by a manner the reverse of familiar. Almost every +evening she would stand on the opposite side of the street, gazing +wistfully at us as we sat in the window; but no persuasion induced her +to pay a formal visit more than once a fortnight. + +With this striking evidence of my wisdom before me, I grew worldly. I +think that during that short year I possessed a better opinion of myself +and my capacity than ever before or since. + +Worse than this, I grew pharisaical. I ventured to pity my less +fortunate neighbors, bound hand and foot to the slavery of +mothers-in-law. I attempted to joke them, and poke them severely in the +ribs with my knuckles, when the magic name was mentioned. So often did +I congratulate myself on the shrewd stroke of genius displayed, that I +fear even her respectability became sadly impaired in my mind, and +depreciated to such an extent that I was gradually led to think of her +irreverently as an "old gal." + +"Too much for you, old gal," got to be an exclamation so wonderfully +consoling that, it crept into my sleep, and in those halcyon days I +often waked up by the side of Malinda Jane, muttering the words, "Too +much for you, old gal." Waked up, I think I said. Ah! would I had never +waked up, particularly on the dismal clouds which for a season darkened +my domestic sunshine! + +Scarce half a twelvemonth elapsed, ere the retiring disposition of +Malinda Jane seemed to shrink into even greater seclusion. I frequently +found her powerful mind wandering, and her eyes fixed on vacancy. In our +evening walks, which invariably preceded retiring for the night, she +leaned heavily on my arm. + +Although the appearance of our daily repasts did not seem to justify it, +the cash demands for market-bills suddenly became enormous; and, when I +expostulated, my reasonable objections only produced tears. An +apparently needless grief had crept into our quiet home, and a lack of +confidence that pained me. For many weeks I helplessly pondered the +unaccountable mystery. + +At last (oh that it had taken any shape but that!) the enigma developed +itself. Returning home one day, I had straightened my collar and +smoothed my hair before opening the door (feeling a proper pride in my +personal appearance, these preparations are usually a preliminary step), +when suddenly, just as the portal moved on its hinges, my sense of smell +was saluted with the odorous fumes of gin. From the first suffocating +whiff of this aromatic cordial do I date the commencement of my grief. +Malinda Jane, I knew, never indulged in as much as a sip of Cologne: so, +convinced that the breach of discipline was the guilty act of a servant, +with all the offended dignity I could embody in my deportment, I went +straight to the chamber of my wife. + +Without being deficient in moral courage, I am not a boisterous man. I +do not boast of an eye like Mars, to threaten and command, or glory in +producing a shudder with the creaking of my shoes. I mention this to +show that my manner, though rebuking, was not intended to be severe. To +awe by my authority, and soothe by my condescension, was the design; but +even in this limited effort I am conscious of a lamentable failure. + +Seated upon the floor, within an airy castle of dry-goods, whose +battlements of flannel and linen cambric frowningly encircled her, was +Malinda Jane. Before it, like an investing army, with colors flying, and +a face radiant with defiant triumph, was Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk. +She had complacently opened the siege with the mixture of a hot +gin-toddy. My appearance upon this warlike scene was the signal for a +salute both loud and watery (in short, tearful), entered into with a +mutual heartiness by besieger and besieged. It was, moreover, rendered +impressive by a waving spoon, which Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk moved +solemnly backward and forward in a warning, funereal manner, as though +protesting against some appalling fate. That she was in possession of my +apartment, if not my house, I instinctively realized. She sat bolt +upright, firm and strong as a Hindoo idol on its altar; a nebulous glare +invested her head with a halo, through which bristling hair-pins stuck +out in all directions, like lightning-rods with fitfully luminous +points. The crystal wall of spectacles that bridged her nose seemed +graven with the cabalistic words, "I've got you." A feeling of conscious +guilt, of what an enfeebled mind failed to grasp, succumbed to the +shock. + +From amid the joint chorus of sobs and tears which burst forth with the +wail of a Scottish slogan or an Indian death-song, I heard-- + +"Oh, my poor darling! Oh, my poor dear angel! Oh, Mr. Butterby, how +_could_ you?" + +"Madam," I inquired, in amazement, "how could I what?" + +It may be well to state the endearing epithet was applied to Malinda +Jane. + +"Oh, dear! dear! and all this time she has been scrimping and saving, I +was unconscious as a child unborn. Cruel, _cruel_ man!" + +Mrs. Lawk, burying her hand in the depths of her pocket, drew forth an +attenuated handkerchief, and carefully wiped her eyes. + +"Please, ma----" interrupted Malinda Jane. + +"Never, _never_ again shall you leave my protecting wing. Oh, inhuman +monster, how _could_ you be so heartless?" + +"Monster" was given with a decidedly unpleasant bite, and recalled my +calmness. + +"Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk," I placidly observed, "I have not the +remotest idea what you are talking about." + +"Moses Butterby, you're a brute." + +She rose to her feet. A bundle, which, during the excitement, lay on her +lap, broke open; and my mother-in-law, like Cleopatra in her roses, +stood knee-deep in baby-clothes. In a moment the truth burst upon me. I +was unmanned, limp, and disjointed. The shock was too much! A baby +Butterby! + +It is needless for me to remark to married men that the era of +prospective paternity is an era of sacrifice. Why, in this time-honored +custom, so much depends on one's mother-in-law, is a mystery I never +could unravel. I look upon it as one of the unaccountable fatalities of +man, to be placed in the category of grievances with prickly heat. Let +it not be understood that my conduct was absolutely lamb-like. It was +not until solemnly assured the visit would not be prolonged an +unnecessary hour that I finally yielded. I think during that time I had +a meaner opinion of my own importance than at any other period of my +life. My domestic career resembled that of a child guilty of an +irreparable wrong and tolerated only through dire necessity. Indeed, had +Mrs. Mountchessington Lawk been a modern Rachel, and I the ruthless +destroyer of her household, her conduct toward me could not have +exhibited more injured resignation. I somehow grew to _feel_ guilty, and +it was only at rare intervals I mustered courage to look either her or +Malinda Jane in the face. + +The anticipated addition to the family brought an immediate addition to +our furniture. The way the chairs multiplied was marvelous, and the +number of sofas that accumulated in our parlor would have been +gratifying to a Grand Turk. We suddenly grew plethoric in wash-stands, +and appeared to possess armoires and bureaus in quantities and varieties +sufficient (as the advertisements say) to suit the most fastidious +taste. Even the bath-room did not seem to be neglected, and a modest +effort was made to furnish the back gallery. One day I was astonished to +find in the hall two hat-racks, and was nearly knocked down by the end +of a great four-post bedstead that followed me in. I turned on the +intruder, and discovered the little cobbler, apparently as much under +the influence of liquor as on the day of his previous eccentricity, +stupidly endeavoring to push one post in the door while the other bade +fair to thrust itself through the ventilator. It was then I learned that +in the array consisted the entire household treasures of Mrs. +Mountchessington Lawk. + +I may here mention that the cobbler had contracted a chronic habit of +hanging around my back gate, but slunk away whenever I happened to +observe him. + +Gradually (leaving out the patients) our house began to wear the aspect +of a hospital. The doctor made his appearance three times daily. An +aged, red-faced nurse, smelling strong of whisky, wandered about like a +disembodied spirit; and a lively young woman, her assistant, clattered +up and down stairs at all hours of the day and night. Had the entire +city concluded to multiply and replenish, the preparations could not +have been on a grander scale. + +Of the exact particulars of the event, I fear I am not altogether clear. +I have an indistinct recollection of battling with a midnight +thunder-storm, in a hopeless search for our medical man, and that, +immediately on my return, that functionary (who had arrived during my +absence) dispatched me on an equally important errand. + +I remember pulling a great many night-bells and arousing an unlimited +number of apothecaries; but the only act at all fresh in my recollection +was slinking in the back gate at three o'clock A.M. (I had been +locked out the front way), and finding the little cobbler, and a +surrounding crowd of damp newsboys, cheering lustily for "Jinny." The +cause of that commotion was also a mystery; but, when I entered the +house, Master Moses Alphonso Butterby feebly echoed their shout of +triumph. + +Under different auspices, my paternal affection might have developed +rapidly; but really, during the first few weeks of Moses Alphonso's +existence, our intercourse was so exceedingly limited I scarcely knew +him. Any intrusion within his little horizon of flannel or atmosphere of +paregoric was so severe a tax on the nerves of Mrs. Lawk, that, out of +consideration for her feelings, I rather avoided it. Indeed, had it not +been for the activity of that eminently respectable lady, I would have +fancied Moses Alphonso a brother-in-law instead of a son. + +Bolted in by flannel bandages, barred with a cambric shirt, locked up in +towels, imprisoned in petticoats, and finally incarcerated in a dungeon +of wrappers and shawls,--from the first he had the appearance of an +unhappy little convict. Mrs. Lawk invariably acted as chief jailer, and, +taking him into custody, changed his various places of confinement with +the austerity of a keeper of the Tower. My own position hourly became +more ambiguous; indeed, had it not been for the monthly bills, I would +have scarcely believed myself possessed of a house at all. I impatiently +awaited the promised evacuation; and when Moses Alphonso reached his +third birthday (babies have these interesting periods monthly instead of +annually) I ventured a hint that our own furniture was ample for all +requirements. + +To my despair, Mrs. Lawk had rented her house. Malinda Jane's +confinement (which in my simplicity I imagined was of short duration), +it seemed, had been protracted from the day of her marriage. + +Society was essential to her happiness; and society Mrs. Lawk was +determined she should have. If through her illness my privileges +experienced curtailment, her recovery brought annihilation itself. +Notwithstanding my piteous petition, we suddenly expanded into eminent +gentility. + +I am dimly conscious that to many of our guests my introduction was to +Mrs. Lawk a poignant mortification. Most of them I never did know. +Several, however, seemed invited for my especial benefit; and this piece +of malignity will never cease to harrow. + +How could _I_ talk to Miss Rose Buddington Violet, when she let down her +back hair and made eyes at the moon? _I_ had no back hair (in fact, none +at all to speak of), and scarcely knew there _was_ a moon. + +When Mrs. Jesse Hennessee of Tennessee (whose husband is interested in +iron) persisted in making a blast-furnace of the kitchen stove, what +could I say? + +There was Miss Aurelia Wallflower, who believed the world hollow, and +dolls stuffed with saw-dust, continually expatiating on the sufferings +of early Christians. _I_ have never read Fox's Book of Martyrs. With +Mrs. Lucretia McSimpkins I had some relief. She was fond of operatic +music, and, it is true, banged our piano out of tune at every +visit,--indeed, her efforts resembled a boiler-maker's establishment +under full headway; but, when she did subside, her perfect and +refreshing silence lasted for hours. + +Malinda Jane, for whose amusement all this was designed, did not seem +more enthusiastic than myself. Most of her time was spent in a corner, +staring confusedly at the assembled company, and contemplating in silent +amazement the volubility of her respected parent. + +In addition to toning down my exuberance with the softening influence of +ladies' society, Mrs. Lawk decided on a course of restriction. My +allowance of clean linen suddenly diminished one-half and under no +circumstances was I to presume to take a fresh pocket-handkerchief more +than once in two days. She changed the dinner-hour, and declared supper +(except for Malinda Jane, poor dear!) strictly prohibited. For a time I +mitigated the last grievance by eating oysters; but, an unlucky burst of +confidence having divulged the dissipation, a solemn lecture on my duty +to my family was its quietus. Every article of food was put under lock +and key, the night-latch was changed, and Mrs. Lawk, in addition to her +duties as jailer to Master Moses Alphonso, constituted herself turnkey +of the establishment. The parlor, except when we "received," was +declared forbidden ground: her dismay at finding my papers there, one +evening, was perfectly heart-rending. There was a sudden inquiry +concerning my loose change, and I was furnished with a memorandum-book +in which to write down my daily disbursements. Frequent visits to the +opera (oh, the torture of those evenings!) had been an invariable rule +with the Mountchessingtons; and, at the risk of rendering impotent the +tympanum of both ears, I was compelled to continue that respectable +custom. Persons occupying our position should be careful with whom they +associated; and the character of my companions underwent a severe +investigation. She even interfered with my business, and declared the +soap brokerage (one of my most lucrative departments) utterly beneath a +gentleman. One by one my little personal comforts faded away. Symptoms +of annoyance, persistently repeated, whenever I took off my coat or put +on my slippers, kept me at all times prepared for the streets. Cabbage +(a favorite dish) was quietly discarded from the dinner-table. My +library was turned into a nursery for Master B. + +The mute, unresisting manner in which I surrendered my fading glory was +surprising. I was appalled in contemplating it; I am breathless now with +indignation in referring to it. In short, like Daniel and the Hebrew +children, I went up through much tribulation; but my deliverance (oh, +how I daily and hourly thank Divine Providence for that blessed moment!) +was at hand. + +It was the evening of an election for an alderman, I think; but, as in +our retired portion of the city none but the lowest vagabonds gave +politics a thought, there was comparatively no excitement. Mrs. Lawk, +from the wide circle of society in which she moved, had invited a goodly +number to an entertainment. Even our inordinate supply of sofas were +filled, and scarcely a chair in the house remained unoccupied. In a rash +moment I asked two or three of my own cronies; but not many minutes +elapsed ere both my companions and myself were made to feel the folly of +the temerity. + +Ignorant of dancing, unskilled in whist or the art of polite +conversation, we were terminating our third hour of judicious snubbing +in a corner. Mrs. McSimpkins had just concluded a battle-piece of great +length and power, when the rehearsal of our shuddering comments was +suddenly banished by the deafening roll of a drum. I rushed to the +window, and, to my horror, discovered a torchlight procession halted +immediately in front of the house. Perhaps a hundred men, in all stages +of political enthusiasm and intoxication, surrounded by a crowd of +wretched women and girls, waved their lights with demoniac frenzy, and, +apparently through a common throat, gurgled three hideous cheers. There +was a charge of Mrs. Lawk's friends to the windows, and then a stampede +to the back parlor. In vain I expostulated; idly I insisted on my utter +lack of interest in the questions of the day: the political party +_would_ come in, and how was I to prevent it? The absence of +embarrassment and amiable indifference to form that characterized the +intrusion was something unique. There was a difference in shape and mode +of wearing, about the hats, really refreshing, and a variety of quality +and nauseousness in the cigars everybody smoked, that, if anything, +added zest to the scene. + +Boots unconscious of the existence of a door-mat speedily graced the +hall-floor with a perfect cushion of mud. Their wearers, rapidly +dividing into groups, plunged into earnest conversation concerning the +events of the day. The candid manner in which my own character was +discussed, and their frankness in touching on my peculiarities, was not +the least gratifying feature of the visit. In the course of two or three +minutes, one would have supposed my residence a political club-room, and +my uninvited guests in the peaceful enjoyment of their inalienable +rights. + +At length there was a cry of "Here he is! here he is!" + +Every window on the square went up, and the neighborhood suddenly +whitened with night-capped heads. I heard a crash of glass, and felt +convinced that this time the ventilator had gone for certain. There was +a fresh rush from the street, and, finally, seated on a shutter (borne +on the shoulders of four stout men) and complacently swinging his legs, +appeared the little cobbler. A radiant joy in his face, and a knowing +wink in his eye, told plainly the combined influence of triumph and +unlimited libation. Reeling profoundly to the assembled company, and +casting a drunken leer at Mrs. Lawk, he exclaimed, "Mary Ann,--'s--no +use, I'm--'s--good--as--he--is. I'm--an (hic)--an--Alderman. +Butterby--embrace--your poor ol'--father--'n--law." + +Of the conclusion of this episode, I fear I am somewhat confused. I have +an indistinct recollection that Mrs. Lawk and Malinda Jane were both +carried off in a fainting condition; and that my enthusiastic friends +gave three rousing cheers for Alderman Lawk, and three more for me. I +remember my father-in-law insisted on holding a meeting then and there +and nominating me for Governor. His constituents considered the idea +most judicious, and warmly applauded it. Mrs. Lawk's friends disappeared +precipitately through the back way, amid renewed sounds of crashing +glass and breaking china, while I hovered around the unterrified +Democracy of the ---- ward, earnestly beseeching them to go into the +street. My efforts were at last crowned with success. I was left alone +amid the wreck of my household gods; but for an hour afterward, as I lay +cowering on the sofa, I could hear disconnected speeches from my +door-steps, encouraged from time to time with tremendous cheers for +Lawk, cheers for Butterby, and cheers for "Jinny." The same general +mystification and uncertainty regarding my actions pervaded the entire +night; but morning brought relief, and in more ways than one. Mrs. Lawk +had disappeared, and her chattels were following. The victory was as +sudden as it was unexpected. + +Who would have thought that out of this storm of mortification was to +spring the bow of promise? The day after witnessed the exit of my most +respected mother-in-law and her amiable husband, for Cheyenne City; from +which place we have recently heard from them as ornamenting the first +Comanche and Blackfeet circles. + +Her reason for concealing the relationship was never developed. Indeed, +I was too much overcome with joy ever to inquire. Undisturbed by +discordant elements, the fires of matrimonial affection burning as +brightly as when lighted upon my marriage morn, I now calmly survey the +re-establishment of a happy household, over which reign domestic bliss +and--Master Moses Alphonso Butterby. + + * * * * * + +Such is an accurate statement of the case, all of which is respectfully +submitted. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote A: For many useful hints in this diagnosis, Mr. Butterby is +indebted to Mr. E.C. Hancock, of New Orleans.] + + + + +DIAMONDS AND HEARTS. + +A Sketch of Rio de Janeiro. + + +CHAPTER I. + +The sun was setting on the Passeio Publico. On one side the fading light +gilded the delicate green of the palms, and on the other it shimmered on +the placid waters of the bay. + +It whitened the little lodges, nestling in the luxuriance of foliage, +and glistened on the gaudy boats, lying motionless on the pearly bosom +of the deep. It sparkled on the little lakes where troops of joyous +children gathered around the swans, and lost itself in the blue mists +that circled the green and purple mountains in the distance. + +Past the clustered giants of the sea, whose banners told of mighty +nations that made war, past the forts where the sentries kept weary pace +on the ramparts, it lighted up the "Pao de Assucar;" through the +crowded thoroughfares where the hum of traffic told of multitudes in +peace, it glowed on the Corcovado. + +Far into the golden west, past the islands that dotted the harbor, past +the last villa of Sao Christovao, it burned and blazed among the +hills, until shadowy peaks, that seemed but ghosts in the dim +remoteness, burst resplendent on the view, gorgeous in their prodigality +of color. + +Rio de Janeiro had mustered her children in crowds. Long and broad as +was the promenade, its marble mosaics scarce contained room for the +multitude. Anxious matrons, on one side, gathered on the granite stairs +to watch their children in the garden beneath; heedless youngsters, on +the other, hung over the balustrades for a view of the tide swelling at +the foot of the wall; fair young _donnas_, bewildered at the throng of +admirers, filled the air with peals of glad laughter; exquisite +_senhors_, thrilled by the music, yielded themselves willing captives to +the seductive influences of the hour. + +Who but a Latin can understand the wild abandon of a _festa_? who but he +can enter into the spirit of the many fete-days sanctioned by his +ancient Church? + +Armand Dupleisis, in his seat over the sea, stared absently at the +jocose revelers, for he was a stranger in a strange land. He leaned back +on the granite railings with the easy indolence of an invalid, though +his frame was robust and sinewy as a mountaineer's. The hidden power of +his bronzed and Moresque features, if developed, might inspire a certain +amount of wonder; but _then_ you would as readily have sought +expression in the statues below. His gaze was almost indifferent; yet +the unmoving eyes took a mental inventory of everything. Had their owner +been provided with a memorandum-book and a stubby pencil, the catalogue +could not have been more complete. + +Among the hundreds present, those eyes picked out one man and one woman. +They followed them in their rambles through the dome-roofed shelters; +they scrutinized them as they lingered near the band; they searched them +out when mingled with the throngs on the promenade. They did not seem to +be watching, but they were; and their owner did not look interested, but +he was. + +The man, physically speaking, was a marvel; but there was an air of +foppish elegance in his movements, and a silky kind of beauty, like that +of a leopard. His head was small, but finely formed, and covered with +flossy hair black as ebony. His features, though clearly cut, wore, from +their extreme delicacy, an almost feminine expression. His hands were +small and exquisitely shaped; his mustache curled gracefully from his +lip; and, when speaking, he bit the ends of it in a nervous, almost +embarrassed way. + +The woman was a proud, passionate daughter of the sun. The brown blood +of the sun burned in her veins, and the soul of the sun streamed shaded +from her eyes. A sumptuous splendor mingled, moist and languid, with +their light. She was clothed in the sunlight. It glistened in the soft +darkness of her hair; it glowed in the rubies that clung to her swelling +throat; it flashed on her robe tremulous with radiance. From a +coquettish little hat a long white plume fluttered over her curls, and a +floating cloud of fleecy under-sleeve half concealed an arm of snowy +purity. Her life, though in its spring, seemed goldened with the flush +of summer; her morning flashed with the meridian luster of perfect day; +and yet the eyes that scanned so closely remained undazzled. Their owner +had heard of her, and of her conversation, sparkling with wit and humor +and mocking irony; but he was not fascinated. He saw but a woman for +whom no surprises appear to survive. What see we? + +Were you to question the crowd, they would tell you the man was Edgar +Fay; that, years before, his father brought him, a velvet-coated boy, to +Rio de Janeiro; that shortly afterward he died, leaving the son and a +baby sister a small fortune; that the sister, being under the control of +a mother who had deserted her husband, was never heard of; and that the +guardians, finding no coheir, had spent the money on Edgar's education, +afterward securing him a position under the Imperial government. + +About the woman they would say, "She is Mademoiselle Milan, just arrived +on the French packet, to fill an engagement as leading lady at the +_Alcasar_." + +Concerning Dupleisis, except that he had arrived recently on the English +steamer, that he seemed to be a man of leisure, and paid promptly for +what he received, they could tell you nothing. + +The glowing sunshine faded entirely out of the sky, the thick-walled +houses flickered faintly through their staring casements, the lamps on +the streets glimmered dismally at the returning crowds, and one by one +the lights began to quiver on the water. The Passeio, an hour before too +cramped for the multitude, was now deserted; but Dupleisis, nothing +daunted, smoked on. Disgusted at the necessity which compelled his +presence, and annoyed at the stupidity of the few people he had met, he +commented savagely on their peculiarities, and anathematized with +merciless ingenuity. + +"Pshaw, M. Dupleisis! you are only angry because you cannot have +chicken-pie every day for dinner. What have the Brazilians done to you?" + +Dupleisis gazed at the speaker in astonishment. + +"Their impudence, rather than degeneracy, perhaps should surprise." + +"Really, M. Dupleisis! I fear you are a cynic. In the gayest promenade +in the empire, you are filled with violence. You are a spoiled child +looking in at a shop-window and admiring nothing. Are you going to cry +with a mouth _full_ of sugar-plums?" + +"Pardon me," said the Frenchman, haughtily, "but it is an awkward habit +of mine to feel curious concerning the _names_ of my associates." + +"Let me hasten to enlighten you:--Percy Reed, diamond-dealer, Rua do +Ouvidor, at your service. You brought me a letter of introduction; but, +unluckily, I was out of town when you arrived." + +The dark eyes glanced at the speaker closely as they had watched the man +and the woman. There was something in the face that commanded respect. +The broad high forehead, the eyes flashing with scornful mirth, and the +thin lips curling with such a whimsical mixture of kindliness and +sarcasm, bespoke a man of mind. Since reaching Rio, Dupleisis had +searched for these three, and he liked this one the best. Reed took out +his eye-glass, and, adjusting it carefully on his nose, surveyed +Dupleisis deliberately from head to foot. + +"You'll do," he remarked, after some little thought; "but I still +believe that in your bread-and-butter days some friend thought you +sarcastic. I knew a young girl once who was told she had a musical +laugh, and the consequence was she giggled the rest of her life. Now, if +you don't wish to see us locked in here for the night, come along." + + +CHAPTER II + +The establishment of Percy Reed, diamond-dealer, Rua do Ouvidor, was a +corner-building, almost the exact counterpart of a dozen edifices on the +same square. The basement was of polished blocks of black and white +marble, and the upper portion faced with blue and white porcelain tiles. +From above, the front rooms looked out through bow-windows at small +balconies with brass-knobbed railings and thick glass floors; those in +rear looked through glass doors at a flat roof, one story high, paved +with black and white marble squares. This breathing-place of the +household was adorned with pots of flowers and evergreens and provided +with neat iron chairs. It was divided from the breathing-place of the +adjoining household by a low brick wall. + +Below, pedestrians gazed in through rose-wood doors and French plate +windows. The counting-room had rather the appearance of an elegant +boudoir than of a place of business. The floor was of alternate strips +of satin-wood and ebony; the walls and ceiling were paneled with +rose-wood, and rows of small glistening show-cases contained samples of +the dazzling gems. In the rear--but so covered with the glossy finish as +to be almost imperceptible--was a huge vault, containing precious +stones of a value almost sufficient to change the fate of an empire. +Farther back, and opening on the side street, was a long, dark hall-way, +from which a winding staircase led to the residence above. The second +floor of the adjoining house was usually let furnished to members of the +dramatic profession; and on this occasion it was occupied by +Mademoiselle Adrienne Milan, of the _Alcasar_. + +The day after the _festa_, the lady, in a simple morning toilet, had +moved her table and sewing-chair into the open air. Instead of sewing, +she was occupied in furbishing up some old stage jewelry, and her +visitor, stretched on an iron bench, calmly puffed a cigar. From his +manner, one would imagine him master rather than guest; but that +Mademoiselle Milan and a female servant were the sole occupants there is +not a doubt. + +With the utmost nonchalance, he had ordered a pillow, and, his ambrosial +locks buried in its soft depths and his feet raised high above his head, +he lounged a modern Apollo, scrutinizing with supercilious indifference +the lady's work. If the cigar-ashes at his side were a criterion, he had +been lying there for hours; and if the nervous movements of Mademoiselle +were significant, he had been lying there an hour too long. For some +minutes the silence was broken only by the jingle of the gaudy +ornaments, and then the man exclaimed, "But, _ma chere_ Adrienne, I am +short--deuced short. Delay is ruin. How am I to live?" + +"Work," said the lady, curtly. + +"There you are again, with your cursed woman's wisdom! What are you here +_for_? What am _I_ here for?" + +Mademoiselle answered, with a shrug, "Judging from your position, I +would say, to enjoy your ease; from your language, to annoy me." + +He raised himself to a sitting posture. "Adrienne Milan, do you take me +for an idiot?" + +"Edgar Fay, you are insulting." + +"Prima donnas of the _Alcasar_ are not usually so sensitive," broke out +the visitor, with a laugh. + +The woman sprang to her feet, and in the haste overturned the table with +its glittering baubles. + +"Go! go!" she fiercely exclaimed. "The compact between you and me is +sacred. Another word, and I reveal all." + +White as any ghost, he started up, and, without uttering a sound, slunk +away. + +Trembling with rage and mortification, Mademoiselle Milan sunk into a +seat; but hers was not a nature to dwell long on trouble. With a woman's +spirit of order, she commenced picking up the finery scattered around +her, and putting it away. Among other things was a box of quartz +diamonds, which, being small, flew in all directions. All within view +were collected, and she turned to go. + +"There are several lying near that flower-pot in the corner." + +The lady looked up. Standing on a chair on the other side, and leaning +lazily over the wall, was Armand Dupleisis. + + +CHAPTER III. + + "Has Flora proved more attractive than Thalia?" + +Armand Dupleisis, long since become acquainted, stood examining a +bouquet of roses and geraniums in the music-room of Mademoiselle Milan, +and the lady was seated near him, trifling with the keys of her piano. + +"I gaze on beauty, mademoiselle, to accustom my eyes to divinity." + +"Really! Were it not for his gigantic proportions, one would suppose man +was reared in an atmosphere of compliment." + +"You mistake us. Though not a favorite diet, in Pekin we devour rice +with the gusto of the most polished Celestial." + +"I bow to your sincerity. Women, then, are to be talked to of birds, and +flowers, and stars, and fed on water-cresses?" + +"Women, mademoiselle, make men apt scholars in the art of pleasing. I +have studied much." + +"How singular!" rejoined the lady. "I should never have detected it." + +"True art, mademoiselle, lies in its concealment. My life has been one +of concealment." + +"Now you pique my curiosity," she replied. "Do let me learn the +'veritable historie.'" + +The smile on Mademoiselle Milan's face showed that the interest was +feigned, but the grim look about Dupleisis' mouth proved him conscious +of it. A man without an object would have changed the subject at once; +but Dupleisis _had_ an object, and did not. + +"I was ushered into this land of hope and sunny smiles with scarcely any +other patrimony than a name." + +"What limited resources!" ejaculated the lady, with a slight sneer. + +"While blushing with the consciousness of my virgin cravat, I went to +Paris, that sacred ark, which saves from shipwreck all the wretched of +the provinces if but crowned with a ray of intellect." + +"And which saved you, of course," continued the lady. + +"Through the influence of my friends, I entered the _Ecole +Polytechnique_, and, after graduating, cut the army, and cast my fate, +for better or for worse, in the flowery paths of literature." + +"Now, do not say it proved for worse." + +"It was for worse," said Dupleisis. "My family were treated shabbily; +'the muse is a maiden of good memory,' but a _cocote_; my satiric +efforts were rewarded by a _lettre de cachet_." + +"What a loss to France!" + +"At the accession of the Emperor, I returned, a prodigal son of Mars, +and now manage to sustain myself by----" + +"By writing sonnets to Brazilian hospitality," interrupted mademoiselle. + +Dupleisis bowed gravely. "Anxious to do so, mademoiselle, but I have +not, as yet, collected sufficient material." + +The retort crimsoned the lady's face, and Dupleisis adroitly covered her +confusion by asking her to sing. + +"What will you say to me, when you speak of yourself as though you were +a block of wood?" + +"The prosy geologist talks pedantically of a granite rock, and is mute +when he sees the flower that blooms above it." + +"_Mon Dieu_, M. Dupleisis! I cannot sit by and hear _Chamfort_ so +ruthlessly robbed." + +"Mademoiselle, you are unkind. I say nothing complimentary but you cry, +'Stop thief!'" + +The lady played a few sparkling bars, and sang. She had a magnificent +voice, but her music, like herself, was studied, faultless, but chilling +as the north wind. It swelled deep and full, in rich, flute-like tones, +now ringing clear and sweet in pure, rippling notes, now quivering low +in waves of enchanting melody. There were soft, gurgling sounds, that +flowed wild and free as a mountain-rivulet. It was brilliant, +bewildering; but the dazzle was like the frozen glitter of an icicle. +Suddenly, a look of unmitigated scorn swept across her face, and the +music ceased. + +She eyed Dupleisis for a moment half defiantly, and asked, "Would you +really like to hear me sing?" + +Dupleisis answered, earnestly, "Yes." + +A plaintive prelude followed, and her voice mingled with it almost +imperceptibly. It was one of those gloomy Spanish ballads, dramatic +rather than harmonious, that poured forth its mournful strains in the +fitful measure of an AEolian harp. There were bursts of pathos that +seemed to echo from her very soul. It was fierce, mocking, passionate; +tender, wicked, terrible. It sank in sobs of melting compassion; it +implored pity and sympathy in words of thrilling entreaty; and then it +rose, cold and calm, in sounds of withering derision and implacable +hate. It trembled, it scorned, it pleaded, it taunted, it struggled, it +hoped, it despaired; and then, as if for the dead, it wailed and died in +a long, helpless cry of sorrow. + +Dupleisis sat listening to the dreary history entranced. There was love, +and feeling, and fond womanly devotion; there was refined thought, +gentle pity, and warm generous charity; and there was a neglected heart, +a gloomy, embittered mind, a life lost in utter desolation. The glorious +being whom God had created to cheer and encourage man was a beautiful +statue. + +Who would teach that heart to feel again? Who turn to quivering flesh +that rigid marble? Yet the man of iron sat masking his features, +controlling his emotions, with every muscle under his command. It was a +flash of real feeling from a proud, sensitive woman, but it passed +lightly as a snowdrift on a frozen river. + + +CHAPTER IV. + +"Mr. Reed, you certainly are the most old-maidish man I ever saw in my +life." + +The room did appear old-maidish, as Mademoiselle Milan stood looking in. +The balmy breeze fluttered pleasantly past the little French curtains, +the glowing sunshine warmed the delicate tracery of the walls and +lighted up the flowers on a huge rug spread on the bare floor. A tiny +bouquet of Spanish violets, in a wonderful little vase, filled the room +with a dreamy perfume, such as one sometimes imagines he would find in +those far-off little islands in the South seas. There were crayon +sketches hung between the windows, here and there a statuette filled a +niche, and out on the glass-floored gallery was a perfect bower of +flowers. There were several easy-chairs placed about in comfortable +positions, as if they were all made to sit on, and a great lounge, +covered with green marine, stood, like a small grass-mound, under one of +the windows. + +Percy Reed, seated near a table loaded with needle-books, silk-winders, +and a hundred little trinkets, with a cigar in his mouth, and a sock, +with a little round gourd shoved into the foot of it, in his hand, was +intently occupied in darning a hole in the toe. + +"There! don't throw away your cigar. _Mon Dieu!_ can a person never see +you without being overpowered at your grand politeness?" + +"Mademoiselle, I make no apologies. Buttons will come off, and stockings +will contract holes. Washer-women are heartless. The mountain will not +come to Mahomet: therefore I darn 'em myself." + +"A philosopher under all circumstances. And pray what have you done with +your pupil in morality and economy?" + +"Oh, Dupleisis? I have started him out in a carriage to view the wonders +of this 'River of January.' By-the-by, if you ever hope to attract, +don't dream of mentioning figures in the presence of our mysterious +Frenchman." + +"Why?" + +"The branch of mathematics known as simple addition seems to be the +crowning glory of his intellect. He knows to a _milreis_ the value of +this building, from chimney-pot to cellar." + +"Blessed with curiosity," said Mademoiselle, significantly. + +"Mathematics entirely. If Armand Dupleisis were entering the pearly +gates of Paradise, amid the resounding hallelujahs of cherubim and +seraphim, he would deliberately count the cost of the entire wardrobe, +before he thought of receiving the waters of eternal life." + +"Mr. Reed," said Mademoiselle, earnestly, "who _did_ you ever see of +whom you _could_ not speak lightly?" + +"One person in the world--my mother. Sometimes in my dreams of the 'auld +lang syne' I almost see that dear little lady; she had a window just +like that, with the foliage rustling over it just as this does. Never, +mademoiselle, does that little morning-wrapper come up before my eyes +without making me a better and a purer man." + +Both were silent for some minutes after this. Mademoiselle Milan sat +leaning her face against the crimson lining of her chair, apparently +lost in thought. + +At length she said, "Would to God that all men understood women as well +as you!" + +"But _your_ mother; where is she, mademoiselle?" + +The lady's face turned as pale as marble, and her little white hands +grasped the arms of her chair, until they seemed almost imbedded in the +ebony. She attempted an utterance, but her voice failed her, and there +was a dead silence. + +Reed was a man of feeling. He did not talk, nor persuade her to talk. He +did not even sit doing nothing. He went out on the balcony to examine +the flowers. He climbed noiselessly up the lattice-work for jasmines +fluttering in the evening breeze. Finally, he took up a violin and +played. + +He always played well, but now the music was low and soft,--old Scotch +ballads, wild and mournful, touching little German songs, plaintive +romances full of subdued passion. Mademoiselle Milan did not notice him; +but in her heart she felt grateful for his consideration. Gradually the +color returned to her face, and, soothed by the sad, sweet strains, she +sunk into dreamy reverie. + +"When we have reached another sphere, where emotion governs instead of +thought, I think that man will speak in splendid music." + +Reed looked at her earnestly for a moment, and then said, "Mademoiselle, +why did you never write?" + +"The public treats authors very much as drill-sergeants do +recruits,--drunk the first day, and beaten the rest of their lives." + +"Great minds _rule_ the public." + +"And yet I fear your courage would ooze away when you came to lay a +lance at rest against such a windmill as the common sense of the +nineteenth century, whirling its rotary sails under the steady breeze +of ridicule. I am a woman, and know a woman's place. I have had dreams +in my time,--'dreams like that flower that blooms in a single night, and +dies at dawn;' but they are passed. You see, I carry the glare of the +foot-lights even here." And a bitter smile curled from her lip. + +"Mademoiselle," said Percy, solemnly, "the foot-lights enable you to +move man to a hundred passions." + +"Yes; it reduces me to the level of a harlequin, to be laughed with, and +laughed _at_. Who are _my_ friends? Are they the idle boys who send me +bouquets and never mention my name without looking unutterable things? +Have I no tastes, no likings, no feelings, no emotions? In the name of +God, was I created only to memorize so many lines of Racine, Corneille, +or Voltaire per diem?" + +It was a tone of almost ferocity with which she spoke, and the trembling +lip, the flashing eye, and the swollen veins on her temple betrayed the +self-scorn racking her heart within her. + +A bang at the hall-door, and heavy footsteps on the marble pavement, +forced her to composure. + +"Old-maidish to the last!" (the lady commenced picking the dead leaves +off a geranium). "This geranium looks as if you had watched it a year; +and this old gray hat, I suppose, you have hung above it for good luck." + +"The hat belongs to a friend abroad, and is not to be moved until his +safe return; but the geranium was presented not a week ago by my +ever-faithful money. You see the magic charm. Here are careful watching, +weeks of anxiety, and, no doubt, a modicum of affection (for I _have_ +heard people say they loved flowers), bartered away for one _milreis_." + +"Apropos of money,--I thought I was to have a view of the treasures of +Aladdin, locked up in the vaults below." + +"Of a surety you shall." + +Reed excused himself, and in a short time reappeared, bearing a large +iron casket. Mademoiselle Milan's face turned a shade or two paler when +she saw him; for he was accompanied by Edgar Fay. It had now become +quite dark, and Percy Reed lighted the gas-jet before opening the +casket. It was made in imitation of the ordinary iron safe, but opening +at the top. + +When the glare of the gas struck the dark recesses of the velvet lining, +a gleam of radiance shot up that fairly dazzled. Great grains of light, +large as peas, shimmered and glittered with an unearthly brilliancy. +Blue, purple, violet, and a gorgeous white that combined the whole, +sparkled in their turn with weird splendor. It looked like a flash from +heaven turned suddenly on a startled world. Both Mademoiselle Milan and +Fay stood breathless with astonishment, and it was many minutes before +they regained their composure. + +Hearing the heavy rumbling caused by the lowering of the iron shutters +in the counting-room, Mademoiselle urged Mr. Reed to return the gems to +the vault before it closed. + +He assured her it was entirely unnecessary, saying that larceny was a +crime unknown to Brazilians, and that he had provided for exigencies +such as this. Moving the piles of thread and embroidery silk to the side +of the table, he touched a spring, and a lid flew up. The table, though +presenting the appearance of fragility itself, was really of iron, and +contained a vault that would puzzle the most expert of burglars. + +Just then Dupleisis called from the street, and both Reed and Edgar Fay +went out on the gallery to see him. He had made arrangements to spend +the night with a friend, and the three stood chatting for some minutes, +the Frenchman giving an amusing description of his adventures among the +_Brazileiros_. + +Shortly afterward, Mademoiselle Milan and Fay took their leave. The wind +by this time was blowing so fiercely that no taper could live in the +gusts; so both were compelled to grope their way through the hall, which +was dark as Erebus. + +The door was faithfully bolted, and the casket carefully placed in the +secret vault; but when Percy Reed awoke in the morning he found both +open, and the diamonds, worth a million, missing. + + +CHAPTER V. + +"Mademoiselle Milan, I wish you good-evening." + +The lady bowed. She was reclining on a divan, before a large mirror, +absently turning the rings on her finger; but in her simple negligee she +appeared more beautiful than ever. The long, dark ringlets gave the oval +face a look of earnestness, the fierce Italian blood glowed in her +cheeks, and the flashing brilliancy of her eyes had a restlessness that +was unusual. She was evidently suffering from nervous excitement; but +there was a fascinating grace in every movement, and even in the easy +indolence of her position. + +"Take a seat on that sofa, by the side of my little dog. Is he not +pretty?" + +"Very," replied Dupleisis; "but I am more interested in his mistress. We +have not met for a week,--not, in fact, since two thieves robbed Mr. +Reed of a fortune." + +Dupleisis said this with pointed significance; but the lady preserved +the coolest unconcern. + +"The muse of the foot-lights is the most jealous of mistresses." + +"True," replied Dupleisis; "but in this case she has had rivals." + +"I choose to amuse myself with a crowd, who eat my suppers and make me +laugh." + +"And among the jesters you number the Minister of War and Chief of +Police." + +"I may need their aid." + +"Mademoiselle Milan, you _do_ need their aid; but, with all your +charming courtesies, you have not secured it." + +"M. Dupleisis chooses to speak in enigmas. I am obtuse." + +"At our last most agreeable _tete-a-tete_, you were pleased to feel +interested in my somewhat sluggish history. Would you pardon a few +inquiries concerning yours?" + +"M. Dupleisis, I am at your service." + +"Two months since, you resided in the Rue de Luxembourg, Paris." + +"This is an assertion. I expected an inquiry." + +Dupleisis took from a pocket-book a half-sheet of thin, closely-written +letter-paper, and spread it out on the table before him. + +"It was about two months ago that this document was blown from your +window. Am I right, Mademoiselle Milan?" + +"It _was_ blown from my writing-desk into the street." + +"I knew I was right; for 'twas I that picked it up. It is a letter, +written in Rio de Janeiro, and contains the details of a plot to rob one +of the wealthiest diamond-dealers in this city. You may think my +interest singular, mademoiselle; but the merchant deals with every +large jewelry-house in Paris. Their loss by a felony of this magnitude +would be immense." + +Mademoiselle Milan listened with an air of indifference that was +absolutely freezing. + +"You may think it singular, also, that when, shortly afterward, you +started for Bordeaux, I went by the same train; and that when you +concluded to prolong your journey to Brazil by the French packet, via +Lisbon, it was _I_ who assisted with your luggage." + +"There is nothing low enough to be singular in M. Dupleisis." + +"Mademoiselle Milan, one week ago you and Edgar Fay went into the +hall-way of Mr. Reed's house together, and you went _out_ alone. Denial +is useless, for I _saw_ you. If you remember, the door was banged +violently, and it was you who did it. A careless servant locked him in. +He opened the secret vault in that table, and abstracted diamonds worth +a million. You were wise in courting the Minister of War and Chief of +Police, but your passports have been stopped. No power under heaven can +get you out of Rio." + +For the first time her countenance changed, and she looked at Dupleisis +with a smile of contemptuous pity. + +"So I was not wrong in suspecting you to be an agent of the police. How +strong an alloy of cunning exists in every fool! The man whom you +believe to have stolen a million is my own brother. The letter which +caused this display of sagacity was paid for out of my wretched weekly +earnings. At the sacrifice of every _sou_ I owned, I came here to thwart +the plot it spoke of." + +Dupleisis glanced at her with an incredulous sneer. + +"He wrote to Paris for a woman to assist him,--what weaklings you men +are!--and, utterly unable to prevent the larceny, I pretended to be his +accomplice. While you were exposing your ill-breeding by coarse +criticisms on a people in every way your superior, I substituted for the +real diamonds the paste gems you were so particular in noticing. What +was stolen is my property. Go back to Mr. Reed, and tell him his +diamonds are bundled into an old hat that hangs on the wall of his +sitting-room; and tell him, furthermore, it was I who put them there. I +did court the favor of the Minister of War, but it was to put that man +in the army. I have watched over him for years, and, by the blessing of +God, I will watch over him to the end. He has never known me, nor will +he----" Suddenly she turned livid, and nervously clasped her hands over +her breast. + +"M. Dupleisis, I regret my inability to be present at the Assembly; but, +really, I am engaged." + +Dupleisis looked at her in astonishment. + +Edgar Fay, pale and trembling, was standing behind them. He must have +heard every word; for he sunk helplessly and faint on the floor, hiding +his face in the depth of his degradation. + +Why should we follow them any further? _Can_ I tell how the miserable +man, cringing at the feet of that pure woman, narrated his dreary +history of folly, extravagance, and dishonor? Need it be said that, +through all his dissipation, frivolity, and crime, his gentle sister +clung to him, and, smiling through her tears, bade him go and sin no +more? She stole upon him like a shadow in the night, and, her labor of +love ended, faded away. No entreaty of the generous diamond-dealer +dissuaded her; no apology of the detective turned her from the one fixed +purpose. The star of the _Alcasar_ rose, culminated, and disappeared in +two weeks. + +O woman! I have seen you in the brilliant whirl of society, where all +was gayety, gallantry, and splendor. I have seen your eyes flash +triumphant, and daintily gaitered feet move fast and furious to the +music of _les pieces d'or_. I have seen brave men stand fascinated at +your side, and careless youth overflow the bumper of Johannisberger to +health, and youth, and beauty. I have heard the stern cynic jingle his +Napoleons in unison with the frantic strains, and sneer out, "_Vive la +bagatelle!_" Daughters of marble! daughters of marble! Turn your snowy +arms to the glittering gorgeous, scatter the golden heaps, deluge the +world with champagne. Diamonds, _diamonds_ must win hearts. I have +watched you in a deeper, darker, madder whirl, while I have seen fair, +blooming flowers wither in the hot hands of drunken licentiousness. Oh, +Becky Sharp! Oh, _Dame aux Camellias_! you are but single dandelions in +a parterre of heliotropes! + + * * * * * + +There was hurrying to and fro on the broad decks. Bustling cabin-boys +rushed hither and thither with great baskets of stores; the +jauntily-arrayed stewardess chatted saucily with her friends in the +shore-boats; sailors slipped quietly over the bulwarks with their +secretly-collected menageries of pets; watermen contended stoutly at the +gangway for a landing near the steps; and dusky _cameradas_ cursed, in +broken French and Portuguese, at the weight of the trunks. Here a +naturalist trembled with anxiety for the fate of a coral; there a +bird-fancier worked himself into a small frenzy at the jostling of big +parrots. Bones, fossils, plants, bottled fish, bananas, oranges, and +mangoes, were mingled in one promiscuous heap. Monkeys of all tribes and +shades of complexion, from the golden Mumasitte to the fierce Machaca, +were crowded pell-mell into passages; and forcing them against the +bulkheads were boxes of wine, jellies, and _doces_ in their +infinitesimal variety. Men and women, crouching in retired places, +hurried through their few broken words of parting, and eyes were dried +for the great heart-throb left for the very last. Off in the painted +boats, ship-chandlers smilingly bowed their _bon voyage_, and faces +pallid with grief gazed with swollen eyes at loved ones convulsed with +emotion. The gorgeous custom-house officer has smoked his last cigarette +and taken his last "dispatch;" the belated passenger, whose agonizing +shrieks and spasmodic contortions finally attracted the attention of the +captain, is at length, carpet-bag in hand, on board, and the sharp crash +of the gong severs the lingering groups. + +Who ever made an ocean voyage undismayed by the knell! It is the +trumpet-tongue of reality, awakening the mind from the lethargy of its +distress. The woe of separation, the terror of the journey, the vague +apprehension of the future, meeting, burst upon you in the fullness of +their stern reality. The bewildered mortal turns to gaze at the +companions of his danger, casts a lingering look on those he has left +behind; the groaning paddles, with reluctant plunges, begin their weary +labor; the faces of the cheering crowd, one by one, drop out of the +picture, until distance swallows the whole, and those nearer and dearer +than all earth beside become a memory. + +Far aft, under the waving tricolor, stood the woman of our story. Her +fingers twined carelessly through the glittering necklace thrust into +her hand as Percy Reed clambered into his boat, and her eyes rested +sadly on an ungainly transport, already freighting with its cargo of +mortality for the sacrifice at Humaita. The golden glow of the harbor +was lost in the chilly mist; the bare mountain-tops loomed bleakly +through the piles of cloudy haze. White waves curled dismally at the +base of the Pao de Assucar, and the weird shrieks of the sea-gulls on +the rocks that jutted around it made the dreariness more desolate. Far +out in the trackless waste the sky lowered gloomily over the weary +waters. Fit emblem of her path through life--dark was the picture, +threatening the surroundings. + +Pray for the woman doomed to a calling she cannot but despise! Pray for +the being overflowing with good thoughts toward all mankind, sentenced +to "tread the wine-press alone!" God have mercy upon us miserable +sinners! + + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Trifles for the Christmas Holidays, by +H. S. Armstrong + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRIFLES FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS *** + +***** This file should be named 17562.txt or 17562.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/5/6/17562/ + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images produced by the Wright +American Fiction Project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. 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: + + http://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. + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** + diff --git a/17562.zip b/17562.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..82f0eff --- /dev/null +++ b/17562.zip 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..d13cce9 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #17562 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17562) |