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diff --git a/20911-8.txt b/20911-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4ecab3f --- /dev/null +++ b/20911-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13890 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Rose of Old St. Louis, by Mary Dillon, +Illustrated by André Castaigne and C. M. Relyea + + +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: The Rose of Old St. Louis + + +Author: Mary Dillon + + + +Release Date: March 26, 2007 [eBook #20911] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROSE OF OLD ST. LOUIS*** + + +E-text prepared by Audrey Longhurst, Diane Monico, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 20911-h.htm or 20911-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/9/1/20911/20911-h/20911-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/9/1/20911/20911-h.zip) + + + + + +THE ROSE OF OLD ST. LOUIS + +by + +MARY DILLON + +With Illustrations by André Castaigne and C. M. Relyea + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "'Very well, I shall expect to hear from you'"] + + +[Illustration] + + +New York +Grosset & Dunlap +Publishers + +Copyright, 1904, by +The Century Co. +Published July, 1904 +Reprinted July, 1904, August, 1904, +September, 1904, October, 1904, +December, 1904, January, 1906, +February, 1907 + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER PAGE + +I I MAKE MY BOW IN CAHOKIA 3 + +II I PROPOSE A TOAST 17 + +III I MEET AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 31 + +IV I MAKE AN ENGAGEMENT 44 + +V I GO TO A PICNIC ON CHOUTEAU'S POND 55 + +VI WHIPPOORWILLS 79 + +VII I TWINE CHRISTMAS GREENS 92 + +VIII I GO TO MIDNIGHT MASS 104 + +IX MADAME CHOUTEAU'S BALL 119 + +X LA GUIGNOLÉE 135 + +XI CHOISSEZ LE ROI 147 + +XII A MIDNIGHT FRAY 157 + +XIII "A PRETTY BOY!" 168 + +XIV A CREOLE LOVE-SONG 181 + +XV "AU REVOIR" 203 + +XVI A VIRGINIA FARMER 212 + +XVII A GREAT DEBATE 225 + +XVIII A MAGIC COACH 245 + +XIX CHECK TO THE ABBÉ! 266 + +XX BONAPARTE GIVES ENGLAND A RIVAL 281 + +XXI A TEMPEST IN A BATH-TUB 308 + +XXII MR. MONROE ARRIVES! 328 + +XXIII THE CONSUL'S SENTENCE 338 + +XXIV A NEW CHEVALIER OF FRANCE 363 + +XXV THE COMTESSE DE BALOIT SENDS FOR HER HUNTER 375 + +XXVI THE CONSUL'S COMMISSION 386 + +XXVII "GOOD-BY, SWEETHEART!" 397 + +XXVIII EXIT LE CHEVALIER 414 + +XXIX UNDER THE OLD FLAG 426 + +XXX THE ROSE OF ST. LOUIS 448 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + PAGE + +"'Very well, I shall expect to hear from you'" Frontispiece + +"In solitary dignity stood Black Hawk" 152 + +"He stopped and turned suddenly to the two ministers" 295 + +The Signing of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty by + Marbois, Livingston, and Monroe 370 + + + + +FOREWORD + + +My story does not claim to be history, but in every important +historical detail it is absolutely faithful to the records of the +times as I have found them. Every word of the debate in Congress, +every word of Marbois, Livingston, Decrés, Napoleon, and his two +brothers on the subject of the Louisiana Cession is verbatim from the +most authentic accounts. I am indebted for the historical part of my +story to Gayarré's "History of Louisiana," to Martin's "History of +Louisiana," to James K. Hosmer's "History of the Louisiana Purchase," +to Lucien Bonaparte's "Memoirs," to numerous lives of Napoleon, +Jefferson, Talleyrand, and others, and particularly to Marbois +himself, whose account of the negotiations on the subject of the +cession is preserved in his own handwriting in the St. Louis +Mercantile Library. + +As to the local color of old St. Louis, both in its topographical +setting and in its customs, I have also tried to be exact. And here I +am very largely indebted to that simple and charming old writer, H. +M. Brackenridge, in his "Recollections of the West" and in his "Views +of Louisiana"; and also to Timothy Flint in his "Recollections"; to J. +Thomas Scharf's interesting "History of St. Louis," and especially to +Mr. Frederic L. Billon, St. Louis's historian _par eminence_. I make +also the same claim for exactness as to the local color of Washington +at that early day; for which I have made so many gleanings in many +fields--a little here, a little there--that it seems hardly worth +while to give special credit to each. + +In non-essential points I have occasionally taken the liberty +belonging to a writer of fiction, having condensed into one several +debates in Congress, as well as several interviews between Talleyrand +and Livingston, and two interviews between Bonaparte and Marbois. + +Nor have I hesitated to use the names of the early St. Louis settlers, +because they are names still well known and honored in the city which +they helped to found. I have touched upon them but lightly, and have +tried to make those touches true to the characters of those estimable +gentlemen and gentlewomen of the old French régime. + + MARY DILLON. + + + + +THE ROSE OF +OLD ST. LOUIS + + + + +THE ROSE OF OLD ST. LOUIS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +I MAKE MY BOW IN CAHOKIA + + "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men + Gang aft a-gley." + + +"And this is the village of St. Louis, sir?" + +I bowed respectfully to my captain standing in the prow of the boat +and looking across an expanse of swirling muddy water to the village +on the bluffs beyond. I spoke more after the manner of making polite +conversation than because I was desirous of information, for I knew +without asking that it could be none other. + +My captain answered me: "Yes, my lad, yonder is St. Louis, and this is +De Soto's river; what dost think of it?" + +"I think, sir, 'tis a great river, though not so clear a stream as the +Delaware, and muddier even than the Ohio." + +I spoke calmly, but my heart was beating fast, and I could feel the +blood rushing through my veins. I had been ill with what the boatmen +call river fever, and had lain in the bottom of the boat wrapped in +my blanket, alternately shivering with chills and burning with fever, +oblivious to all about me, so that I had not known when we swept out +of the Ohio into the Mississippi, past Fort Massac, nor when we had +tied up at Kaskaskia for a long rest. + +We had landed late the evening before at Cahokia, and been most +hospitably entertained by Mr. Gratiot. There had been a great banquet +in honor of Captain Clarke, with dancing far into the night, and many +guests from St. Louis. I, being still an invalid, had been put to bed +in Mr. Gratiot's beautiful guest-chamber, and given a hot posset that +put me to sleep at once, though not so soundly but that I could +dreamily catch occasional strains of the fiddles and the rhythmic +sound of feet on the waxed walnut, and many voices and much laughter. + +Had I been well, it would have vexed me sore not to have been able to +lead in the minuet one of the beauties of Cahokia, whose fame had +reached even my distant home in Philadelphia, for I had been carefully +trained in the steps and the figures, and was young enough to be proud +of my skill in the dance. But feeling ill as I did, the sounds of +revelry combined with the posset only to soothe me into a heavy +slumber. + +I woke in the early dawn to find Yorke, Captain Clarke's big black, +standing beside my bed, with a bowl of smoking gruel. He showed a +formidable array of white ivory as he grinned amiably in response to +my questioning look: + +"Mars' Gratiot send you de gruel wid his complimen's, sah, and he and +de capen bofe say you's not to git up dis mohnen, sah." + +Yorke always considered that to state a request of "de capen" was +sufficient to insure compliance. He could not dream of any one setting +his authority at naught. With me, too, Captain Clarke's authority was +paramount. It had only been by a promise of absolute submission to +that authority that I had persuaded my kinsman in Kentucky to allow me +to accompany the captain on his mission to the governor of Illinois at +St. Louis. + +So, when Yorke said the captain had ordered me to remain in bed, I +thought for a moment I would have to obey; but having swallowed the +hot gruel, into which Yorke had put a modicum of good Orleans ratafia, +I was straightway infused with new spirit (I meant not that for wit), +and such strength flowed through my limbs as I had not felt for days. + +"Yorke," I said, springing out of bed with a haste that made me +light-headed for a moment, "help me into my clothes, and be quick +about it; I think I hear sounds below that betoken getting ready for +departure." + +Even as I spoke I ran to a stand on which stood a basin and a small +ewer of water. I filled the basin, and plunged my head into the icy +water. I drew it out, sputtering and shivering, and, seizing a towel, +gave my head and neck and hair so vigorous a rubbing that I did not +see Yorke slip out of the room. When I turned to speak to him I found +him gone, afraid either of being a partner in my disobedience to the +captain, or of being left behind if he delayed longer. + +Left to myself, I did my best to hurry with my clothing. I had not +much experience in dressing myself, but I had been compelled to leave +behind me in Philadelphia the black boy who had never before, since I +could remember, been absent from me a day. I had been eager enough to +part with him, thinking it ill befitted a soldier of fortune, as I +intended to be, to be coddled by a valet, and I had not missed him +much, for Yorke had been always ready to lend a helping hand when I +needed it. Now I was of a mind to curse the vanity that had led me to +fit myself out with doeskins that were of so snug a cut they needed +much tugging to get into them, and with endless lacings with which my +awkward fingers, clumsier than ever from the icy water and the +trembling the fever had left me in, fumbled desperately. + +But I was ready at last, and seizing my sword-belt in one hand and my +hat in the other, I started with hot haste for the door, fearing I +might be, after all, too late. As I opened it, a sound smote my ears +that struck terror to my heart: the voices and the laughter of young +maidens. I stepped back involuntarily. I had not thought of the +possibility of meeting any one at that early hour but my host and my +captain, and I had not given a thought to my appearance. Now I took an +anxious survey of myself in the small French mirror that hung above +the stand. I was vexed beyond measure at what I saw. + +"They will take me for a girl," I muttered between my teeth, "and +flout me accordingly." + +It had ever been a source of extreme mortification to me that I should +have rosy cheeks like any maiden's, but now, owing to the hard +scrubbing I had given them, they were all aflame, and their color was +heightened by the pallor my recent illness had given to brow and +temples. My hair, from its wetting, was curling in ringlets all around +my head. I seized a brush and tried desperately to reduce them to +straightness, but the brushing served only to bring out in stronger +relief the glint of gold that I despised, and certainly my eyes had +never looked more blue and shining. + +"They will think me a girl or a baby!" I muttered once more, and was +in such disgust with myself I was ready to go back to bed. But +bethinking me that would only leave me the longer in this House of +Dames, I seized my belt once more, buckled it on with a vicious +twitch, and strode boldly to the door. + +There I stopped a moment to collect all my courage, soothing myself +with the reflection that I stood a good six feet in my moccasins, and +though I carried no superfluous flesh, my shoulders were as broad as +my captain's and my muscles like whip-cords. Fortified by these +considerations, I strode on boldly to the landing at the head of the +wide staircase leading down to the great hall. + +There I stopped again; for while the landing was in gloom, the hall +was brilliantly illuminated by a roaring, blazing lightwood fire, +looking cheery enough in the gray light of the frosty morning, and +throwing into strong relief two groups on either side of the +fireplace. On one side stood my captain, evidently ready for a start, +and making his adieus to his host. I glanced eagerly at Mr. Gratiot +and at the elderly man who stood beside him, who, I thought, was +likely to be none other than Mr. Francis Vigo. I had heard much of +these two men from General George Rogers Clarke, whose lonely retreat +on the Ohio I had often visited during my stay in Kentucky. They had +been General Clarke's best friends and helpers in the early days of +the war, when he had made that daring attack on Vincennes, and I knew +Captain Clarke's mission to St. Louis had something to do with +discharging his brother's obligation to them. They were smaller men +than my captain, of a slender, graceful build, and the hair of both +was quite white, but from my post of observation I could see that they +were men of courtly manners, well used to the ways of the world, and +talking now quite eagerly with all the wealth of gesture and +expression natural to Frenchmen. + +The firelight played strongly on the face of my captain, whom I had +already begun to adore, as did every one who came into close +companionship with him. I gazed admiringly at his broad, white brow, +clear-cut features, and firmly knit figure, a little square of build, +but looking every inch the frontier soldier in his leathern doublet +and leggings and high-laced moccasins. Over one shoulder he had thrown +his blue military cloak, for the trip across the river promised to be +a cold one, and he carried in his hand a hat with a drooping plume. I +wondered if the merry group of girls on the other side of the +fireplace was not impressed by such a handsome and soldierly stranger, +and a bachelor to boot. I thought I could detect an occasional +conscious glance in his direction and a furtive preening of skirts and +fluttering of fans, that betokened they were not insensible to the +presence of the brave captain. + +There were six of the young maidens, and all but two of them were in +ball costume; flowered silks, and arms and shoulders gleaming white +through fine lace, powdered hair, and patches and paint, they might +have stepped out of a Philadelphia ball-room, I thought, and was +astonished at the thought. I had not expected to find court beauties +on the frontier, yet the Chouteaus, the Gratiots, and the Papins were +names I had often heard in my own home as men of wealth and vast +emprise. + +The six girls were chatting gaily in French, and I was so absorbed in +my contemplation of them that I did not at first consider the +strangeness of their appearance in that costume so early in the +morning. When it did occur to me, I concluded the four must have come +over from St. Louis to attend the ball and had no other dress to +return in, and the other two were doubtless Mr. Gratiot's daughters, +which I learned afterward was the true explanation. + +But now bethinking me it was high time to make my descent, and running +quickly over in my mind the way to make it most effective,--for I +wished to bear myself bravely before the young maidens,--I determined +to place my left hand on the hilt of my sword, to hold my hat, which +also bore a sweeping plume, in my right hand pressed close to my +heart, and with head held high and borne a little backward, to descend +with the stately minuet step. I flattered myself that with such a +manner as I felt sure I could assume those saucy maidens would forget +my rosy cheeks and my curls and think only of my air of _grand +seigneur_. + +I glanced down to see that my costume was all right, and now I was +glad that my doeskins fitted so perfectly, even if they were hard to +get into in a hurry, that my high moccasins were so beautifully and +elaborately beaded in purple and yellow, with broad slashes of fringe +falling from the tops of them, and that my leathern doublet sat so +well, as my peep into the mirror had convinced me it did. + +As I started down, feeling well satisfied with my costume, yet +trembling inwardly at the thought of the array of bright eyes I was to +encounter, my glance fell on an untied lacing at one knee. I stooped +to retie it, and at that moment heard what seemed to me the sweetest +voice I had ever listened to, call: + +"À moi, Leon, à moi," followed by a clear, soft whistle. + +I was still clumsily fumbling with my lacers (my fingers have ever +been all thumbs when there is any dainty task to be performed) when I +heard a rush of soft, padded feet, and down the corridor behind me, in +response to that clear whistle, bounded a great dog. Through the arch +that my bent limbs made in stooping he saw the glow of the firelight +from below and made straight for it. But alas! the arch was narrower +than he thought, and dog and man went rolling and tumbling down the +staircase, bumping and bounding from stair to stair, a wild mêlée of +doeskin legs and shaggy paws and clanging sword and wildly brandished +arms, making vain clutches at the air to stay the headlong descent. + +Deep-mouthed yelps voiced the terror of the dog at this unexpected +Sindbad who refused to be shaken off. No words could voice the +overwhelming shame of the man at this unmannerly presentation of +himself before a group of young maidens, when so dignified an entrance +had been planned. + +As we struck the polished walnut of the hall floor, I disentangled +myself and sprang to my feet, where I stood, scarlet with shame, head +drooping, a pitiable object indeed. There had been an amazed, and +perhaps on the maidens' side a terrified, silence during our noisy +descent. Now from the maidens there arose first a suppressed giggle +and then an irresistible peal of laughter, joined to the hearty +guffaws of the men. My shame was fast giving place to rising wrath, in +no degree appeased by the consciousness of the spectacle I presented. +The dog, a magnificent mastiff, by that time recovering from his +confusion, and feeling as keenly as I, no doubt, the derogation of his +dignity, and, with a dog's unreason, regarding me as the agent of his +humiliation when I was in fact the victim of his own stupidity, sprang +at me with a vicious growl. + +Here was an occasion to vent my boiling wrath. Quick as thought my +sword sprang from its sheath and came down flat-sided with a ringing +blow on the brute's head. I have ever been a merciful man to all +beasts, and dogs and horses I have loved and they have loved me; and +even in my wrath and the quick necessity of defense I remembered to +use the flat of my sword; yet such is the strength of my sword-arm +from much practice, increased, I fear, by a venom instigated by those +silvery peals of laughter, that I bowled the brute over as easily as +if he had been a ninepin. + +With a howl of mingled rage and pain he recovered himself instantly +and crouched to spring upon me once more, with such bloodthirst in his +eyes that I saw now I would have to defend myself in earnest. But as +he was almost in the act of springing, from among the group of maidens +there rushed what seemed to my dazzled vision a small whirlwind of +satins and laces and velvets and jewels, and flung itself upon the dog +with a ringing cry of "À bas, Leon! tais-toi, mon ange!" + +The brute yielded obedience at once to the restraining arm and tones +of command, though still regarding me with vicious eyes and uttering +threatening growls. + +As for me, I stood as if turned to stone, still in an attitude of +defense, the weight of my body thrown forward on the right foot, the +hilt of my sword pressed against my breast, the point presented to +receive the onslaught of the brute. In that attitude I stood frozen, +for never had I beheld such a vision of loveliness. The arm that +encircled the shaggy neck of the dog was bare almost to the shoulder, +the sleeve of finest lace having fallen back in the energy of her +action, and never have I seen an arm so white, so round, or tapering +so finely to the slender wrist and exquisite little hand clutching a +lock of Leon's mane. Masses of wavy dark hair were drawn loosely back +from a brow of dazzling whiteness into a cluster of soft curls on top +of the head, where it seemed to be caught by a jeweled aigret, which +yet permitted tiny ringlets to escape about the temples and the nape +of the snowy neck. She had thrown herself with such abandon on the +dog, and was holding him with such exertion of strength, that the +narrow skirt of her satin gown, flowered in palest pink and silver, +revealed every line of a most exquisite figure down to the little foot +extending backward from her skirts and showing the high arch of the +instep in its stocking of embroidered silk. + +I had gazed with impunity, for the drooping white lids and the long, +dark lashes sweeping the perfect curve of the cheek showed all her +looks were for the dog, to whom she incessantly murmured in French +mingled words of command and endearment. But suddenly she lifted her +little head and flung it proudly back, with such a blaze of +indignation and scorn in her dark eyes I felt withered under it. The +scarlet curve of her lips fell away to disclose two rows of pearly +teeth, close set, and through them, with a vicious snap, came the one +word: + +"Bête!" + +I could not for a moment think that the word was meant for the dog, +and such a rage slowly welled in my veins as restored me at once to +my self-command. I dropped the point of my sword to the floor and +straightened myself to as proud a pose as hers. + +"I pray you pardon, Mademoiselle," I said haughtily. The words were +meek enough, but not the tone nor the manner, and so enraged was I +that I hesitated not a moment over my French. My accent, I knew, was +good, for, my aunt having married Monsieur Barbé Marbois, I was thrown +much with French people; but I had been ever careless of my grammar, +and in a moment of less excitement I might have hesitated in venturing +on the native tongue of so fair a creature. But now my French poured +from me in an angry torrent: + +"I pray you pardon. Danger alone is my excuse. I do not doubt a dog is +worth much more to Mademoiselle than the life of an American +gentleman. I make you, Mademoiselle, my compliments and my excuses." + +Then returning my sword to its scabbard with an angry ring, I made her +a low and sweeping bow of ironical courtesy and strode hotly from the +room. I was in such a tumult of rage and mortification that not until +I reached the landing on the banks of Cahokia Creek, where the boats +were tied and the men busily making ready for the departure, did I +bethink me that I had left the house without a word of adieus or +thanks to my host for his courtesy. I began to fear that my sense of +self-respect would compel my return, and rather would I have faced a +battalion of the British than another flash from those dark eyes; nor +could I hope to make another so masterly a retreat as I plumed myself +this one had been. But as I glanced back toward the house on the +bluffs that had proved my undoing, to my intense relief I saw that the +three gentlemen had followed not far behind me and were even now +descending the pathway to the creek. I hastened to meet them and make +my apologies. + +A more courteous gentleman than Mr. Gratiot I never met. He spoke very +good English indeed, his accent I believe not so good as my French +one, but his grammar much better. + +"My dear young gentleman, you acquitted yourself nobly," he was kind +enough to say. "In the eyes of the young ladies, if I may possibly +except Mademoiselle Pelagie, you are a hero. But they are much +chagrined that you should have left them without giving them a chance +to express their sympathy or their admiration." + +The sound of those silvery peals of laughter was too vividly in my +remembrance to permit me to accept Mr. Gratiot's compliments without a +large grain of allowance for a Frenchman's courtesy, but I bowed low +in seeming to accept them. Then he introduced me to his companion, who +proved not to be Mr. Vigo after all, but Dr. Saugrain, the French +émigré so renowned for his learning. I looked at him keenly as I made +my bow, for I had heard something of him in Philadelphia, and in +Kentucky there had been so many tales of the wonderful things he could +do that I think most people looked upon him as a dealer in black arts. +But he was in no respect my idea of a Mephisto. He was small and wiry +of build, and dressed in black small-clothes, with ruffles of finest +lace at wrist and knee. + +Black silk stockings showed a well-turned calf in no whit shrunken +with age, and his silver shoe-buckles glittered with brilliants. His +hair, iron-gray and curly, was tied in a short queue with a black +satin ribbon, and beneath a rather narrow and high brow beamed two as +kindly blue eyes as it had ever been my lot to meet. + +His greeting was most cordial, though there was a merry twinkle in his +eye while speaking to me that made me feel he might still be laughing +inwardly at my ridiculous descent of Mr. Gratiot's staircase. With a +very grand manner indeed, and with much use of his hands, as is the +fashion of Frenchmen, he said: + +"My dear sir, it mek me mos' proud and mos' 'appy to know you. Vous +êtes véritablement un brave. Le capitaine dîne chez moi to-day; I +s'all be désolé and inconsolable if he bring not also his ver' dear +young frien'." Then, with a sudden and entire change of manner, he +laid his finger beside his nose and said in a loud whisper: + +"My frien', I would not min' you kill that dog, moi! I lofe 'im not." + +But while his words did not sound kind to me, who am such a lover of +dogs that nothing but the necessity of self-defense would ever make me +lift a hand against one, yet, all the time he spoke, his eyes twinkled +more merrily than ever, and I wondered at the man whose manner could +change so quickly from the grand seigneur's to that of a king's +jester, and I puzzled my brains mightily to know what his connection +with the dog could be. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +I PROPOSE A TOAST + +"The rose that all are praising." + + +"And this is the village of St. Louis, sir?" + +My discomfiture, my mortification, my rage, the vision of dainty +beauty, the strange little savant--every remembrance of my brief visit +to Cahokia had been swept away by the rushing waters of the great +river of which I had read and heard so much. + +My brain was teeming with tales of the Spanish adventurer De Soto; of +the French trader Joliet; of the devoted and saintly Jesuit, beloved +of the Indians, Père Marquette; and of the bold Norman La Salle, who +hated and feared all Jesuits. I saw the river through a veil of +romance that gilded its turbid waters, but it was something far other +than its romantic past that set my pulses to beating, and the blood +rushing through my veins so that I hardly heard my captain's answer, +and hardly knew what I replied to him. + +Through the months of my sojourn in Kentucky there had been one +all-absorbing theme--the closing of the Mississippi to American boats +by the Spanish, and their refusal to grant us a right of deposit on +the Isle of New Orleans. Feeling had run so high that there were +muttered threats against the government at Washington. + +There were two factions, each acting secretly and each numbering +thousands. One was for setting off at once down the river to capture +New Orleans and take exclusive possession of both sides of the river; +and if the government at Washington would not help them, or, still +worse, forbade them the emprise, they would set up an independent +government of the West. The other faction, inspired by secret agents +of the Spanish government, was for floating the Spanish flag and +proclaiming themselves subjects of Charles of Aragon. Spain's secret +emissaries were eloquent of the neglect of the home government in the +East, and its powerlessness to help the Westerners if it would, and it +was said they clenched their arguments with chink of Spanish gold. +Treason and patriotism, a wild indignation at wrongs unredressed, and +a wilder enthusiasm for conquest sent the blood of Kentucky to +fever-heat. Passions were inflamed until it needed but a spark from a +tinder to set them ablaze. + +With me, friend and distant kinsman of the Clarkes, there was no +possibility of being touched by the taint of treason. But while it +would be treason of the blackest dye, and most abhorrent to my soul, +to submit to Spain's rule, to my young blood there could be no treason +in compelling Spain at the point of the sword to submit to our +demands. I was all for war, and when the cooler judgment of General +Clarke and his brother, my captain, prevailed to calm for a time the +wild tumult of war, I was bitterly disappointed. + +Now for the first time I was beholding the river that had aroused the +mighty tempest in Kentucky, and it was not the tales of De Soto and La +Salle, of Joliet and Père Marquette, that sent the blood rushing +through my veins, but the thought that this was the mighty river +forbidden to our commerce, that the swirling brown water at my feet +was rushing down to the Spanish city on the Gulf, and I longed to be +one of an army rushing with it to secure our natural and inalienable +rights by conquest. + +I knew that Captain Clarke was visiting St. Louis to make some +arrangements for his brother's debts--debts incurred principally to +Mr. Gratiot and Mr. Vigo for no benefit to himself, but in rescuing +and protecting the people of Illinois from the Indians and the +British; debts belonging of right to the government, but repudiated by +it, and left to be borne by the noble man who, almost alone, by a +heroism and genius for war unparalleled had saved all that Western +country to the Union. + +I knew this was my captain's errand, yet I hoped there might be some +touching on the question of the river navigation with the Spanish +governor of St. Louis, and I had visions of returning to Kentucky and, +amid the acclaims of our fellow-citizens, announcing that Captain +Clarke, assisted by his young kinsman, had succeeded in convincing the +Spanish governor Delassus of the wrongs inflicted upon American +commerce by the unjust interdiction; that Delassus had thereupon +remonstrated with the intendant at New Orleans, and, as a result, the +river was thrown open to the Gulf, and a port of deposit granted on +the Isle of New Orleans where our merchants might store the goods they +brought down the river for sale. + +It was because my brain was teeming with such sweet dreams of glory +that I answered my captain so absent-mindedly and so little to the +point. It was still so early that the low morning sun at our backs had +just begun to gild the bluffs before us. We could not have had a finer +first view of the Spanish town of which we had heard so much. High and +dry on its limestone bluffs, where no floods for which the great river +is so famous could ever reach it, it extended in a straggling line for +a mile and a half. Its dwellings, some of them of imposing size, were +embowered in trees, and, at that distance, seemed to stand in the +midst of large gardens. Behind the village rose another hill, on the +summit of which stood a fort, and from the fort, in either direction, +palisades curved around the town, interrupted at intervals by +demilunes, and terminating at the bluffs in stone towers. Behind this +second terrace the land continued to rise in a succession of terraces, +covered partly with low bushes and shrubs and partly with high, waving +woods, giving an impression of indescribable richness to the +landscape, every detail of which the level rays of the bright morning +sun brought out in strong relief. The whole made a most impressive +appearance, more like the picture of walled towns on the Rhine than +like anything I had seen in our country. + +We were now so far out in the stream that the men could no longer use +their poles, and were trusting to the great sail they had spread to +catch a stiff south-eastern breeze, assisted by vigorous strokes of +their paddles, and I could see that against the swift current they +were straining every nerve and yet were steadily being borne below the +village and the landing-place. + +Paddling on the Schuylkill and the Delaware was ever a favorite +pastime with me, and I doubt not I was a little proud of my skill. +Forgetting my recent illness and the weak state it had left me in, I +seized the paddle from a young fellow who seemed to me well-nigh +giving over, and unceremoniously tumbled him out of his seat into the +bottom of the boat, while I took his place. To my astonishment, I +found this was an entirely different stream from the steadily flowing +rivers of the East. My paddle was like to be snatched from my hand at +the first dip into the powerful current, and though I saved it by a +mad and desperate clutch, yet it felt like a feather in my hands, and +I saw my captain (who had witnessed my peremptory usurpation of the +paddle) trying to suppress a sly smile, while my mortified ears caught +the sound of derisive snickers behind me, and Yorke, the impudent +black, grinned openly from ear to ear. + +The worst of it was, I myself could see we were losing ground more +rapidly than before. Now, I had ever a horror of owning myself beaten +(unless it were in argument, for I have no skill with words). I would +fight to the last gasp, but I would never surrender, which is +sometimes a foolish way, but more often wins victory out of defeat. +With my captain looking on, I felt that defeat even in so small a +matter would be a disgrace I could never survive. And so, admonishing +myself to keep cool, and remembering a turn of the wrist that an old +Indian had taught me in Pennsylvania, I very soon caught the trick of +the blade and found myself holding my own. Hope returned, and I +gradually put forth more and more strength, until, to my great +satisfaction, I at last saw that we were no longer drifting +down-stream, but steadily making head against the current, with fair +promise of reaching our landing-place. Then, indeed, did I feel +exultant, and such courage leaped through my veins, and so swift and +sure and strong were my strokes, that I felt I could alone, with my +single arm, bring the great boat to harbor. But for the second time +that morning was my vanity my undoing. We did indeed make the landing, +where a great concourse of people had gathered to meet us, among them +a stately Spanish don (who, I had no doubt, was the governor) +surrounded by a retinue of officers; but as the keel of our boat +grounded in the soft mud and my captain called me to come with him to +meet the governor, and I arose in my place to obey him, suddenly a +great blackness and dizziness seized me, and I knew no more until I +opened my eyes to find myself being borne, on the shoulders of four +men, up the steep bluff toward the village street. I insisted in the +most forcible terms on being put upon my feet at once, but as I spoke +in English, and the soldiers were either Spanish or creole French, my +entreaties and imprecations were lost upon them. Nor did my kicking +and pushing avail me any better; they but held me the more firmly for +my struggles. Then I called out lustily for help, and the ever-ready +Yorke (but with the grin that I had learned at times to consider +detestable) ran to my aid. + +"Yorke!" I shouted to him; "make the rascals put me down this minute, +and do you, sir, shut that _domtiferous_ mouth of yours. I warn you, +sir, you grin at your peril!" + +My mother had ever a horror of the oaths with which gentlemen lard +their conversation, and because I loved and honored her greatly, I had +resolved that I would never, to use her words, "sully my mouth" with +one. But often feeling the need of some more emphatic expressions than +our language provides except in the form of oaths, I had coined for +myself a small vocabulary to be used on occasions requiring great +emphasis. Since these words all began with a _d_, I had the +satisfaction of feeling that I was sufficiently emphatic without +violating the respect due my mother. + +Whether it was the strangeness of the form of my imprecations or the +length of my adjective that scared Yorke, certain it is that he was +sobered at once, and with the solemnity of the Spanish don himself he +soon made the soldiers understand that they must put me down. Once on +my own feet, though I still felt a little shaky, I was able, by +availing myself of Yorke's arm, to climb the steep path leading up the +bluff, and soon found myself in the main street of the village, which +the _habitans_ called the Rue Royale. + +We had come out into a large square or marketplace, filled with the +throng of people I had seen at the landing and many more, so that, as +the people surged backward and forward to get a nearer view, the whole +open space looked like a great posy-bed of many-hued flowers waving in +a summer breeze. And if St. Louis had had a foreign look to me when +viewed from a distance, still more did I feel as if I were in a +strange town in a strange land as I heard the babble of strange +tongues about me and saw the picturesque costumes of the habitans, so +unlike anything I had ever seen in Philadelphia or Kentucky. Negroes +were chattering their queer creole patois, and Indians of many nations +were gathered into groups, some of them bedizened with the cheap +finery of the stores, some of them wearing only bright-hued blankets, +but with wonderful head-dresses of eagle feathers, and all of them +looking gravely on with a curiosity as silent as that of the habitans +was noisy and babbling. The presence of so many Indians and on such +friendly terms struck me as strange, for in Kentucky there were no +such friendly relations between Indians and whites, and the presence +of so many of them would have betokened danger and caused much +uneasiness. + +It thrilled me much that our coming should have made so great +excitement in the village, and doubtless my vanity would have taken +fire again if I had not known that it was my captain these people had +come to see, and not myself, of whom they had never heard. Even my +captain I knew must shine in a reflected glory, as the brother of +General George Rogers Clarke, whom the people of St. Louis worshiped +as their savior in the affair of 1780, when the Osages surprised the +men at work in the fields, and whom all the Indians of Illinois +regarded with fear and reverence as the great "Captain of the Long +Knives." Yet I could see that many of their curious glances fell on me +also, and I let go of Yorke's arm and walked steadily with my head in +the air, as befitted the friend of Captain Clarke. + +We had stopped in front of a large stone building set inside a walled +inclosure. My captain, who was in advance with the governor and his +party, as he entered the inclosure turned and beckoned to Yorke and me +to follow him. The throng parted to let us through, and as we entered +the gates I saw that the governor had stopped on the wide gallery that +ran round the four sides of the building, and with a stately flourish +was bidding my captain welcome to Government House. + +With Yorke close at my footsteps, I followed the governor's party +through a wide door into a great room that extended through the house +(as I could see by the open doors and windows at the rear), and that +was almost as wide as it was long, with doors opening into rooms on +both sides. Here I was presented to Governor Delassus, who received me +cordially, and who, with his dark eyes and punctilious manners, was my +idea of a Spanish don. + +On either side of him stood two men who also greeted me cordially, but +without the punctiliousness of the Spaniard. They were the two +Chouteaus, Auguste and Jean Pierre. I had heard much of them, both in +Philadelphia and in Kentucky, and I found it difficult to conceal the +curiosity with which I regarded them. I had expected to find two rough +frontiersmen, somewhat after the manner of Daniel Boone or Simon +Kenyon, both of whom I had seen at General Clarke's; but they were +very far from that. Auguste, the elder, and who, almost more than his +step-father, Laclede, was the founder of St. Louis, was the graver of +the two, with keen, shrewd eyes that betokened the successful man of +business. Pierre (as everybody called the younger) looked not at all +like his brother: taller and slenderer of build, his flashing dark +eyes and gay manners must have been inherited from his father, +Laclede, for Madame Chouteau (whom I came to know very well later) was +even graver and sterner in manner than her eldest son, Auguste. + +But interested as I was in meeting these men,--and there were many +others of whom I had heard, Manuel Lisa, Gabriel Cerré, Francis Vigo, +and Josef Marie Papin,--I could not resist casting many a furtive +glance toward a table set in the rear of the great room. My bowl of +gruel in the early morning had satisfied me at the time, but I was +still weak from illness and much fasting, and my hard pull at the +paddles had left me famished indeed. It was now, I was quite sure by +the sun and the shadows, nearly eleven o'clock, and I began to feel +the dizziness once more, and to be seized with a terrible fear that I +should again be overcome. It was with a great joy, therefore, that I +began to observe black servants bringing in smoking viands and +arranging them upon the table, and no words ever sounded more pleasant +in my ears than the governor's invitation to breakfast. + +As we were about to sit down, my captain on the governor's right, and +I very kindly placed on his left, with Mr. Pierre Chouteau beside me, +there was a noise at the door, and Mr. Gratiot and Dr. Saugrain +entered. They were welcomed in such fashion it was easy to see they +were both prime favorites in that society. In response to my captain's +inquiries, they said they had left Cahokia very shortly after us, +bringing the young ladies over in two small boats, and the boats being +light and easily handled, they had nearly overtaken us. + +At the mention of the young ladies I felt myself flush painfully, and +I almost thought the little doctor regarded me with a wicked twinkle +in his eyes. But I was not sure, and I resolutely put the thought of +them out of my mind, while I devoted myself to the more serious +matters of the table. + +And, indeed, seldom has it been my lot to sit down to a more delicious +meal. It was my first taste of French cookery, and I proved then, what +I had often heard, that the French have a talent for savors and +seasonings, and for dainty service, denied to us Anglo-Saxons. It may +be, also, that my long fasting (for my light breakfast had hardly +broken my fast) added a sauce to the viands more potent than any +Frenchman's skill, for my appetite had come back with a rush, and for +the first time in many days I ate like a well man, and a very hungry +one. So well, forsooth, did I ply my knife and fork that Pierre +Chouteau could not forbear congratulating me, in his polished French +manner, on my prowess as a trencherman; at which I had the grace to +blush. + +And now, having taken the edge off my hunger, I had leisure to enjoy +the swift exchange of wit and repartee flashing back and forth across +the table in mixed English, French, and Spanish. There had been many +toasts, most courteously worded and delicately drunk, for I noticed +these Frenchmen were not deep drinkers, and did not feel it necessary +to drain their glasses at every toast, as is the manner in Kentucky. +My captain's health had been drunk and he had responded with the +governor's (nor did our polite hosts forget to honor me), and the +gaiety began to grow somewhat noisy, when a youngster, who had, no +doubt, been drinking a little more than was good for him, sprang to +his feet. Waving his goblet toward Yorke (who stood behind Captain +Clarke's chair grinning delightedly at every flash of wit, whether he +understood it or not), he called out: + +"I drink to the health of Monsieur Yorke, gentlemen, tallest and most +smiling of sable Mercurys. May his inches never be fewer nor his +smiles grow less." + +I saw my captain frown, and Yorke, who did not understand one word +that was said, since it was all in French, easily understood the +gesture toward him, and the hesitating glances in his direction, and +the half-lifted glasses as their owners were in doubt whether the +toast was to be taken in jest or earnest. His eyes rolled in terror +from the proposer of the toast to Captain Clarke, and back again. I +knew my captain would never brook the indignity of having his health +drunk at the same table and by the same people who afterward drank his +slave's, and fearing an awkward _contretemps_, I sprang to my feet to +avert it. I lifted my glass high as I cried: + +"Listen to me, messieurs! Is there no fair lady to whose honor your +young men would drink? For never could we drink to the ladies after +drinking to a negro and a slave. I give you, messieurs, the fairest +lady in St. Louis!" + +As I said it, for one fleeting moment I had a vision of a round white +arm bare to the shoulder, a slender hand grasping a tawny mane, and +black eyes flashing with scorn. Perhaps it was due to that vision that +my voice had a ring in it that brought every man to his feet, and as +glasses clinked, each man drank to the lady of his love with a rousing +cheer. + +As we brought our glasses to the table, rims down, the young man who +had proposed Yorke's health said, with a bow of apology to me: + +"I accept my rebuke, and if the gentleman permit I would like to +repeat his toast: To the fairest lady in St. Louis--Dr. Saugrain's +ward!" + +"Fill up your glasses, gentlemen, drain them to the lees, and throw +them over your shoulders; 'tis a worthy toast," cried the governor; +and, filling his to the brim, and draining it at one draught, he flung +it over his shoulder--an example which the others, benedict and +bachelor, followed with ardor. In the midst of the crashing of glass, +I thought I caught Dr. Saugrain's and Mr. Gratiot's eyes fixed +curiously on me. I turned to Mr. Pierre Chouteau: + +"Dr. Saugrain's ward must be fair indeed, to rouse such enthusiasm," I +said. + +"Vraiment," returned Pierre, "she is the Rose of St. Louis. But you +dine with Dr. Saugrain to-day: you will see, and then you will know. +Young Josef Papin yonder, who proposed the toast, is wild about her. +And so are half the young men of the village." + +"Vraiment," I murmured to myself, "if she is fairer than the scornful +Mademoiselle Pelagie, she is fair indeed!" + +And yet I found myself looking forward to Dr. Saugrain's dinner with +suppressed excitement, while I puzzled my brains to interpret his and +Mr. Gratiot's enigmatical glances in my direction. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +I MEET AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE + + "I am his Highness's dog at Kew; + Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?" + + +"Allons!" said Mr. Pierre Chouteau, "I will show you the village. +There are yet two hours before Dr. Saugrain's dinner-hour arrives." + +We were standing on the wide gallery of Government House, looking up +the Rue de la Tour to the "Fort on the Hill" with its massive round +towers of stone and high stockade. We had made our adieus to Governor +Delassus, and we were quite ready to accept Mr. Chouteau's invitation. +Mr. Gratiot and Mr. Auguste Chouteau excused themselves from +accompanying us on the ground of pressing business, but Mr. Auguste +Chouteau said he hoped soon to see us at his own house, and Mr. +Gratiot promised to meet us at dinner at Dr. Saugrain's. + +So it was only four of us who set out (or five, if you count the black +as one), Mr. Chouteau and my captain leading, Dr. Saugrain and I +following, with Yorke trailing in the rear; for Captain Clarke did not +dare leave that ingenious black to his own devices, being well assured +that it would certainly result in disaster to himself or to some of +the habitans. + +Diagonally across the street, at the corner of the Rue de la Tour and +the Rue Royale, was a large garden, shut in by solid stone walls +higher than a man's head. Over the top of the walls fell branches of +fruit-trees, and grape-vines still with a few clusters of late grapes +hanging from them. Beyond were the tops of lofty shade-trees, and +between the branches, where the foliage was rapidly thinning, we could +catch glimpses of the stone chimneys and dormer-windows of a great +house. + +We turned into the Rue Royale and walked by the stone wall stretching +north a long distance. The morning had been frosty, but the noon sun +was hot, and we were glad to shelter ourselves under the overhanging +boughs. It was Auguste Chouteau's place, but Pierre said he would let +his brother have the pleasure of showing it to us; and we were about +to pass the wide entrance-gate half-way down the long wall when we +were stopped by a strange procession. Out of the gate filed slowly, +solemnly, one at a time, a long line of fantastically dressed Indians. +The two in front were attired alike in shabby old United States +uniforms, with gold epaulets much tarnished and worn, dilapidated gold +lace on collars and sleeves, and wearing on their heads military hats +with long draggled plumes. From thigh to the low moccasins their legs +were entirely unclothed, and a more ludicrous combination than the +civilized coats and the bare brown legs I had never seen. The two in +military coats were evidently chiefs, and were followed by a long line +of braves sweltering under heavy Mackinac blankets, each armed with a +scarlet umbrella in one hand and a palm-leaf fan in the other, to +protect them from the sun. Apparently they did not glance in our +direction, but each one as he passed Mr. Chouteau saluted him with a +guttural "Ugh!" to which Mr. Chouteau responded in the most military +fashion. + +"They are on their way to my place, and we will let them get well +ahead of us," Mr. Chouteau said, as the last brave passed us. "It +would hardly be dignified to be trailing in their rear; we will step +into my brother's garden for a moment and give them time to get out of +our way." + +The massive gates, which, I saw, could be heavily bolted and barred, +stood open, and we passed through into a park-like inclosure, +beautifully laid out and kept in perfect order, with velvet turf and +noble forest trees, and, in one part, a garden of vegetables and +flowers. Set in the midst was a noble stone mansion some sixty feet in +front, with wide galleries shaded by a projection of sloping roof, +which was pierced by dormer-windows. Several smaller stone buildings +were grouped around it, and from one to the other negroes were passing +on various errands, giving a cheerful impression of industry and +prosperity. I caught the flutter of a white dress disappearing through +a wide door opening from the gallery into the house, and I would have +liked to get a nearer view of the mansion and its inmates. But an +exclamation from Mr. Chouteau put all thoughts of petticoats out of my +mind. + +"Diable!" he ejaculated, "'tis Black Hawk himself. Now what is the +meaning of this, think you?" + +I followed his glance, and saw coming from one of the outbuildings the +noblest specimen of a savage I had ever beheld. Unlike the others, he +was decked in no worn-out finery of the white man, bestowed upon him +in exchange for valuable furs, but in the fitting costume of a great +chief, his head-dress of eagle feathers falling back from the top of +his head almost to his high beaded moccasins. He was far above the +usual stature of Indians, and what increased his appearance of height +was the lofty brow and noble dome, beneath which two piercing eyes and +strong aquiline nose gave additional character to a most striking +face. + +I thought both Mr. Chouteau and Dr. Saugrain looked a little troubled +for a moment, but as the savage stalked majestically toward us, Pierre +advanced to meet him, and with a courteous but commanding wave of his +hand stopped him. + +"What has brought my brother from his island on the bosom of the Great +Father of Waters?" he asked, after both had exchanged formal +greetings. + +Black Hawk turned his piercing eyes upon my captain. "It was whispered +among my braves," he said, "that the great Captain of the Long Knives +had sent his brother to St. Louis. I bring him a greeting from my +people." + +Most men would have been abashed by the ceremonial tone and gestures +with which Black Hawk accompanied his speech, but if my captain felt +any embarrassment he did not show it. With as ceremonious a manner as +the chief's, he replied at once: + +"The great chief of the Sacs has honored my brother and myself. I will +bear your greeting to the Captain of the Long Knives, and it will fill +his heart with happiness to know his red brother has not forgotten +him." + +Black Hawk only grunted approval, but I think he was pleased, for he +turned to Mr. Chouteau with a more condescending manner: + +"I will go with my brother to his wigwam. I will eat with him and +sleep with him." + +There was nothing for Mr. Chouteau to do but acquiesce, though when +his back was turned on Black Hawk he made a queer grimace and said +rapidly, in English, which probably Black Hawk did not understand: + +"There will be trouble, my friends; my yard is full of Mandans, +Arickarees, and Osages. They love not the Sacs, and Black Hawk is a +turbulent fellow if any misunderstanding should arise. You see," he +said to Captain Clarke, lapsing again into French, "these fellows have +usually started back up the Missouri long before this time, but they +have all waited this year to see the brother of the great Captain of +the Long Knives. They planned their exit from Auguste's yard at the +exact moment to get a good look at you." + +My captain laughed his hearty laugh. + +"And then they glanced not in my direction even, after all." + +"Do not deceive yourself, mon capitaine; they looked you over +thoroughly. Not one of them but would know you again among a thousand. +But they timed their exit also with the hope of making an impression +on you, and to that end, as you saw, had donned their finest toggery." + +We had left Auguste Chouteau's yard and were going north again along +the stone wall, Black Hawk stalking majestically beside Captain +Clarke, upon whom he from time to time looked down and bestowed a +grunt of approval. Across the street from us now was an open square +(La Place Publique, Mr. Chouteau called it), and drawn up around it +were many queer little French _charrettes_, loaded with cord-wood and +drawn by small mustangs. The owners of the charrettes were most of +them taking a noonday nap under the shade of the trees in La Place, +and their mustangs were nodding drowsily in their shafts in sympathy +with their owners. This was the same open place we had first come upon +after climbing the bluff, and now, as we came to the corner of La +Place, and the street leading down to the river (Mr. Chouteau said the +street was called La Rue Bonhomme), I looked down the steep road and +saw at the foot of it the landing-place, and our boats tied to great +posts, with some of our men in charge. + +I could distinguish on the great flatboat that had followed us, +carrying our provisions and our horses, my own mare, Fatima, with her +proudly arched neck. Before I had time to think of my manners I had +put my fingers to my lips and uttered through them the shrill whistle +with which I had used to call her. Instantly her head was flung +swiftly up, and I saw her start as if to come to me, while up the +bluff was borne her shrill whinnies, high above the shouts of the men, +who had as much as they could do to keep her from breaking halter in +her mad plunge for liberty to answer the call she had never disobeyed. + +I was ashamed of my boyish trick, and apologized at once to the two +gentlemen and to my captain. But Dr. Saugrain said it was a fortunate +reminder: if we cared to send for our horses they could meet us at Mr. +Chouteau's, for it would be a long and hot walk from there to his +house at the extreme southern end of the village. So Yorke was +despatched for the two horses, and right glad was I at the thought of +being on Fatima's back once more, for it was a full two weeks since I +had mounted her. + +We were on the next block now, skirting another stone wall with +overhanging boughs. Mr. Chouteau said it was his mother's place, and +he would have to insist upon our stopping to pay our respects to her. + +"You know," he said, "madame ma mère is a sort of mother to the +village, and she would feel herself deeply aggrieved should such +distinguished guests pass her by." + +We entered another inclosure beautifully embowered in trees, and found +a long, low building, not of stone, like her son's house, but built, +in the French fashion, of upright logs. On the wide gallery sat Madame +Chouteau herself, dressed in the style of the habitans who had filled +the streets on our arrival, but in richer materials. Her petticoat +was of black satin, and her short gown, or jacket, was of purple +velvet with wide lace in sleeves and at the neck, and gorgeously +beaded moccasins on her feet. But it was her head-dress which struck +me as the most remarkable part of her costume, and Pierre Chouteau +whispered to us, with a droll grimace: + +"Regardez the head-dress of madame; she expects us, is it not? She is +en fête." + +It seemed to be a handkerchief of some thin material, purple in color, +and worn like a turban, but entwined with ribbons and flowers until it +became a gorgeous coronet, and added indescribably to the majesty of +her presence. Already over seventy, with white hair, she was yet as +erect as a girl, and her eye was as keen as an eagle's. Even my +captain was abashed before its glances, which seemed to be taking a +complete inventory of his physical, mental, and moral qualities. It +was a bad quarter of an hour for me (whom she hardly deigned to +notice), in spite of the good ratafia and delicious _croquecignolles_ +a small black boy brought out on a tray and placed on a stand at her +side, and which she served to us with stately courtesy. + +As for Black Hawk, it was more than he could stand when her severely +questioning glance fell upon him. Without losing an ace of his +dignified solemnity of demeanor, he turned his back abruptly on the +old lady, and stalked slowly and majestically down the path and out +the gate. We hoped we had rid ourselves of him, but we found him +waiting for us when we had made our formal adieus to madame. Just +before we reached Pierre Chouteau's house he dropped back and walked +beside Dr. Saugrain and myself. I thought he wished to pay me some of +the respect he had been showing my captain, and I felt flattered +accordingly. But I was mistaken; he had something to say to Dr. +Saugrain. With many premonitory grunts he said it finally, and it had +a startling effect upon the little doctor. + +"Let great medicine-man watch," said Black Hawk, solemnly; "White Wolf +will steal Little Black Eyes. Black Hawk has many ears and many eyes; +he has seen White Wolf talking to Red Dog, and he has heard their +whispers." + +Such was the doctor's agitation that, although we were just entering +Mr. Chouteau's great yard (so filled with all manner of buildings, +warehouses, shops, and cabins for negroes and Indians that it seemed +like a separate village of itself), he called to my captain and Mr. +Chouteau and begged them to excuse him. He felt that he must return +home at once and assure himself of the safety of his ward, he said, +though we need not cut short our visit to Mr. Chouteau, but come to +him later, in time for dinner. But Yorke coming up at that moment with +our horses, and riding his own, Captain Clarke bade him dismount and +give his horse to Dr. Saugrain, and insisted upon accompanying him +home. Mr. Chouteau readily excused us, only courteously making a +condition that the visit cut short now should be renewed at our +earliest convenience. + +As for me, I was a little sorry not to see more of Mr. Chouteau's +place, for everywhere there were throngs of Indians in picturesque +costume, and on the gallery of the great house a bevy of young maidens +evidently awaiting our approach. But Fatima was calling me frantically +with her delighted neighs, and the moment I was on her back, and felt +her silken muscles stretch and tighten rhythmically beneath me, I +cared no more for Mr. Chouteau's interesting place with its Indians +and young maidens, and only longed for a right to leave my companions +and have one good dash with Fatima across country, over fences and +ditches. I would not have been afraid, in my present mood, to have put +her at the high stone walls with which every one in St. Louis seemed +to fence in his place, and so wild with delight was Fatima at meeting +her master once more I think she would have taken them like a bird. + +But the doctor was more impatient than I, and first taking Black Hawk +aside for a minute's low-toned consultation, he made his hasty adieus +to our host, and bidding us follow him, he was off. Turning off the +Rue Royale into the Rue Bonhomme, he went up the hill a long block to +the Rue de l'Église, and then, turning to the left, he called back to +us: + +"'Tis a straight road from here on, messieurs; shall we race for it? +It may mean more than life to a fair lady." + +For answer I laid the reins on Fatima's glossy neck and whispered to +her: + +"Get up, Sweetheart!" + +In a flash she had passed the two other horses and her dainty hoofs +were flinging the soft dirt of the road in their faces. It was more a +country lane than a village street, with scattered houses +tree-embowered, and just back of Auguste Chouteau's place, which I +recognized from the rear, was a church, and behind it the crosses of +many graves, and beside it a priest's house with two black-robed +priests taking a noonday siesta in comfortable chairs on the shady, +vine-covered gallery. They awoke with a start as Fatima thundered by, +and the two other horses, now well in the rear, pounded after, and I +doubt not they thought it was the beginning of another 1780 affair, so +frightened did they look. + +It did not take Fatima long to cover that mile and a half, and when I +saw that we were approaching the stockade at the end of the road, with +only one house between (which, like the Chouteaus', was set in a great +yard inclosed with high stone walls), I drew rein under a +wide-spreading oak and waited for the others. And as I waited I began +once more to wonder what kind of creature Dr. Saugrain's ward could +be: the acknowledged belle of St. Louis and now in some extreme danger +from a white villain and a rascally Indian, for so I had easily +understood Black Hawk's figurative language--the White Wolf and the +Red Dog. + +I could hear the soft thrumming of a guitar, and a low voice crooning +songs, of which I could now and then catch a word of the creole +French. I did not doubt it was the doctor's ward who thus beguiled +the hours with melody, and I grew vastly impatient to meet the +loveliest lady in St. Louis and the sweetest of singers, if I could +judge from the snatches of song that floated to my ears. + +In a minute more the doctor himself rode up, shouting lustily before +he reached the gate, "Narcisse, Narcisse!" which put a sudden end to +the music. As a black boy ran out in answer to his call, the doctor +sprang as nimbly from his horse as I myself could have done, and flung +the boy his reins with a sharp command to take care of the horses. He +started swiftly for the house, but stopped suddenly and turned to +Narcisse. + +"Where are your mistress and mademoiselle?" he asked, in a tone so +sharp and excited the boy was frightened and stammered as he answered: + +"In the house, sir." + +"You are sure?" + +"Yes, sir; 'fore God, sir, they're in the living-room this minute." + +"Thank God!" ejaculated the doctor, and then I saw, to my +astonishment, that he was all white and trembling. He recovered +himself in a moment and turned to us with the suavity of a genial +host: + +"Gentlemen, I fear that rascal Black Hawk has played us a scurvy +trick; very likely for reasons of his own he wanted to get rid of me. +He has given me a bad quarter of an hour, but otherwise he has only +given me the pleasure of welcoming you a little earlier to Émigré's +Retreat. Let us go find the ladies." + +Before we had time to reply, round the corner of the house sauntered +slowly a huge mastiff, and as I caught a glimpse of him my heart sank +into my boots, and there seemed to rise into my throat a tumultuous +beating that was nigh to choking me: not from fear of the dog, though +the moment he caught sight of me he stopped, every muscle tense, the +hair on his mane erect, his eyes red, glowing, vicious, while he +uttered one deep angry growl after another. + +It was not fear of the brute that set my pulses throbbing painfully: +it was the truth that flashed upon me for the first time--_Dr. +Saugrain's ward was Mademoiselle Pelagie_! At that moment through the +open door came a clear whistle and the sweetest voice I had ever +heard, calling in ringing tones of command: + +"À moi, Leon!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +I MAKE AN ENGAGEMENT + + "A rosebud set with little wilful thorns" + + +It was too late to beat a retreat. I caught once more a merry twinkle +in the little doctor's eyes as we followed the dog, who, obedient to +his mistress's voice, had rushed before us into the house. I felt the +red blood surging to the roots of my hair, and I knew when I stopped +on the threshold beside my captain to make my grand bow that I looked +more like an awkward country lout than the fine gentleman I was in the +habit of considering myself. + +I hardly dared raise my eyes, and yet I saw very distinctly that if +Mademoiselle Pelagie in ball costume was bewitching, Mademoiselle +Pelagie in simple morning dress was an angel. The room was a long, low +one, cool and shady from the sheltering galleries outside, and with +many windows, all open to catch the southern breezes that kept the +dimity curtains bellying like white sails. On a low seat beside one of +the open windows, looking out into cool depths of dusky green, sat +Mademoiselle Pelagie. Her white dress, short of skirt and reaching +hardly to the daintiest of ankles, was just low enough in the neck to +show the round, white throat, and just short enough in the sleeve to +leave uncovered below the elbow the beautifully molded arm. Across her +shoulders was a broad blue ribbon that held the guitar to whose soft +thrumming I had been listening, and one restraining hand was laid on +Leon's head, who sat beside her, erect on his haunches, regarding me +with angry suspicion. + +She rose as we entered, and still holding her guitar with one arm, +while the other hand lifted her skirt daintily, she made us the +deepest and most graceful of curtsies. Then she lifted her dark eyes +shyly to Captain Clarke and with a ravishing smile bade him welcome in +broken English. To me she vouchsafed not even a glance. I stood by +stiff as any martinet while she made soft speeches to the captain in +her adorable baby-English, and the captain responded in his most +gallant fashion. + +I grew more rigid and more gauche every minute, and I know not what +would have become of me if the doctor, who had left the room to look +for his wife, had not come to my relief. He came in, bringing Madame +Saugrain with him, and a sweet and simple little old lady she proved +to be. Her cap was almost as flowery as Madame Chouteau's, but she was +as warm and cordial in her manner as the other was stern and +forbidding. She greeted my captain first, of course, but she was as +cordial to me as to him, and in her motherly way she called me "My +son," which, after my icy reception from another lady, went straight +to my heart. I was grateful to her in spite of the fear I felt that +it was my very youthful appearance had called forth the endearing +term. + +We were all comfortably seated, Captain Clarke chatting gaily with +Mademoiselle Pelagie, I pointedly addressing all my conversation to +Dr. Saugrain and madame, when Narcisse came in with a tray of cooling +drinks--a mild and pleasant beverage made of raspberry conserves and +lime-juice mixed with some spirits and plenty of cold spring water. I +liked it well, and would have taken another glass, for I was thirsty +and our ride had been a warm one, and Madame Saugrain urged it upon +me, but as I was about to take it I heard a saucy voice saying: + +"'Tis no wonder that you empty not your glass, Captain Clarke; 'tis a +drink much more suited to maidens and to young boys than to men." + +My glass was half extended, but I drew it back hastily, and then was +angry with myself, for I heard a mocking laugh that I was sure was +intended for me, and for the life of me I could not refrain from +glancing quickly in mademoiselle's direction. Her eyes met mine with +more of scorn in their dark depths than I could well stand. I gazed +steadily into them for as much as half a second with all the defiance +in my glance I knew how to convey, and then I turned again to Madame +Saugrain: + +"If you will permit me to change my mind, madame," I said, "I would +like another glass of your delicious beverage." + +And then, lifting it to my lips, I added: + +"I drink to the ladies: they add fragrance and beauty to our lives, +like the red berries; comfort and strength, like this good ratafia; +sweetness, like the sugar; and if sometimes they also add bitterness +and acid, like the limes, it is doubtless for our good." + +The gentlemen both touched glasses with me as they drank to my toast, +the little doctor preternaturally solemn, and my captain almost as +grave, but for a wicked twinkle in his eye. I knew they thought my +toast a boyish one, and doubtless understood its inspiration, while +they struggled to preserve their gravity out of courtesy to me. +Whether mademoiselle's eyes were more mocking than ever I did not +know, for I looked not in her direction. But madame glowed with +genuine pleasure and declared 'twas a pretty toast, and she thanked me +for her share in it. Whereupon mademoiselle said in the gravest voice: + +"I also, monsieur, thank you for my share in it, for I suppose the +lime-juice is mine," and, to my amazement, when, as in duty bound, I +glanced at her, since she spoke directly to me, I saw that her eyes +were downcast, and the richest color had flamed into the warm white of +her cheeks. + +I know not what I might have said or done, so repentant was I at once +for having caused her annoyance, had not a short, sharp exclamation +from Dr. Saugrain startled us all: + +"'Tis that skulking Osage again. What does he here, Narcisse?" + +"He bring note, m'seh, for La Petite," answered Narcisse, rolling his +eyes at the unwonted sharpness in his master's tones. + +Dr. Saugrain turned at once to mademoiselle. + +"Pelagie," he said, "what does this mean? Who is sending you notes by +Red Jean?" + +Mademoiselle looked up half defiantly, half inclined not to reply to +such peremptory questioning in the presence of strangers. But on +second thought she answered quite submissively: + +"It was the young Chevalier Le Moyne who is staying at Gabriel +Cerré's." + +"Now, I like not that," said the doctor, hastily; and then bethinking +himself, he ordered Narcisse to take away the empty glasses and keep +an eye on Red Jean. + +"Don't let him get out of your sight as long as he stays about the +place; he will be stealing the horses if you don't watch him." + +The moment Narcisse had left the room the doctor repeated: + +"I like not that; I begin to think Black Hawk may have had good reason +to warn us against the White Wolf and the Red Dog." + +Then, turning to mademoiselle, he added more gently: + +"I like not to inquire into mademoiselle's little affairs, but this is +of the gravest importance. Will you tell us the contents of that note, +ma chère?" + +Mademoiselle hesitated, and glanced almost unconsciously at the +captain and at me. We both sprang to our feet at the same moment, and +the captain spoke: + +"The lad and I will step out on the gallery, where, if you permit, we +will light our pipes." + +But with a quick gesture of dissent, mademoiselle also sprang to her +feet. + +"No, no! mon capitaine, no, no! Meestaire, it is not'ing, not'ing. I +will say all before you. 'Tis only that the chevalier asks may he +escort me to the peek-neek on Chouteau's Pond." + +"Sit down, gentlemen, if you please," said the doctor; "I think it +wise for us to hold a council of war. I shall need your advice much, +possibly your help. First, I want to say that some weeks ago I +received letters from France warning me of a plot to capture +Mademoiselle Pelagie and carry her back to France. A week ago this +mysterious stranger arrived in St. Louis. Gabriel Cerré picked him up +in Ste. Genevieve and brought him home with him, and that is about all +any one knows of him, except that he claims to be of an old French +family, who has saved enough from the wreck to permit him to travel +and see the world. When he has finished this trip he declares he will +return and settle on his estates on the Loire which he says have been +returned to him by Bonaparte. Whether Black Hawk meant him when he +bade me beware of the White Wolf I know not. I could get very little +information when I spoke to him before leaving Pierre Chouteau's, and +I am not sure he had any to give me, yet I think he knows something. I +confess I have been suspicious of this fellow from the first, +arriving, as he did, on the heels of my letter of warning. And now +what think you 'tis best to do?" + +I was eager enough to say what I thought best to do, but I knew my +place better than to speak before my elders, and so I waited for my +captain. Mademoiselle was not so modest, or perhaps she thought no one +had a better right than herself to speak on a subject so nearly +concerning her. + +"I think, sir," she said, lapsing into her native tongue, "you wrong +the Chevalier Le Moyne. I have seen much of him in the week of his +stay at Gabriel Cerré's, and he has been invariably respectful and +most gentleman-like in all his demeanor." + +"'Tis the very fact of his seeing so much of you, my child, that first +roused my suspicions. He is forever hanging round you at dance and +dinner; not even Josef Papin gets much chance to come nigh you." + +Mademoiselle flushed slightly at the mention of Josef Papin's name--a +name I was beginning, for some reason, to dislike. + +"I should think," she said demurely, "there might be other reasons for +that than suspicious ones"; and then she laughed merrily when I +murmured, "Vraiment!" and touched my heart with my handkerchief. I +thought she was mocking me again. + +"Mademoiselle is quite right," said Captain Clarke, gravely; "there +are doubtless very natural reasons for the chevalier's devotion, yet I +think it would be well, nevertheless, to act on Dr. Saugrain's +suspicions. May I inquire whether mademoiselle has accepted the +chevalier's offer of escort?" + +We all listened eagerly for the answer. + +"No," said mademoiselle; "I had just received the note when you +arrived, and I would not answer it until I had consulted my guardian. +He is very stern with me, messieurs," turning to us with a witching +smile that I could see pleased the good doctor greatly. + +"Then," continued the captain, "it would be a very easy matter, I +suppose, to decline his escort." + +But La Petite pouted. + +"Not so easy, mon capitaine. I have no reason to offer, and it would +shut me off from accepting a second invitation." + +"I think," said Dr. Saugrain, "it would be better that you should not +go to the picnic. Chouteau's Pond is beyond the stockade, and shut in +by the woods; it would be an ideal spot for a surprise and a capture. +There are always plenty of rascally Osages to be hired for a trifle to +carry out any such villainy." + +"Not go!" exclaimed mademoiselle, in dismay. "But it is given for me! +It is my fête! Josef Papin planned it entirely for me, he said." + +Mademoiselle was now growing rosy red, for, with a child's eagerness +to carry her point at all hazards, she had said more than she meant +to. + +"Then why did not Josef offer himself as your escort?" + +"He will, probably, later; but," and she tossed her head like the +spoiled beauty she was, "it will serve him right, for being so slow, +to find that I have accepted another. Besides which," and she shrugged +her shoulders with all the airs of a Parisian dame, "you know your +bourgeois etiquette. I cannot accept another: it would be a just +cause for a duel au pistolets." + +"C'est vrai," said the doctor, with an answering shrug, and looking +woefully perplexed. + +"Now, if you will permit me," suggested the captain, "since +mademoiselle is so sure Mr. Papin will ask her later, why can she not +plead to the chevalier a previous engagement?" + +But not for a moment would mademoiselle listen to that. + +"And be the laughing-stock of all St. Louis when it gets about, as it +surely will. I refuse the chevalier because I prefer to wait for +Monsieur Papin. Monsieur Papin hears of it and invites some one else +to teach me not to be so sure, or," primly, "I have given him undue +encouragement." + +"Then," said the doctor, gravely, "I see nothing for it but that you +stay away from the picnic and write the chevalier that you have +decided not to go. Unless," he added hastily, seeing the gathering +storm on Pelagie's brow, "unless--" and then he hesitated, much +embarrassed. "Perhaps our young friend here would like to attend one +of our rural picnics, and would be willing to look after you and give +you the opportunity of writing to the chevalier that you have a +previous engagement." + +It was now my turn to blush. I had been ardently longing to offer my +services, but not for a moment had I thought of daring. Now it was +thrust upon me. + +"If mademoiselle would be so good," I murmured, bowing low, "I am her +obedient servant." + +But mademoiselle was speechless. One moment she turned white, and the +next she turned red, and then white again. When she found her voice +she said, looking not at all at me, but straight at Dr. Saugrain: + +"I will remain at home, monsieur. I care not to be a burden upon +unwilling hands." + +And then rising to her feet, with her head held high, her guitar on +one arm, and the other hand still on the mastiff's head, she said: + +"Allons, Leon!" and was sweeping proudly from the room. + +I was in such consternation that probably I would have sat like any +bumpkin and let her go, if not that, as she passed me, although her +head was turned from me, it was not quite so much turned but that I +caught a sudden quiver of the little chin, held proudly in air, and +something bright glistening on the long, dark lashes. I sprang quickly +before her. There was an angry growl from Leon, who no doubt thought I +intended to serve his mistress the same trick I had served him, but I +did not heed it. + +"Mademoiselle!" I entreated, "I beg you will reconsider. Nothing could +give me more pride and pleasure. Besides," adopting an argumentative +tone, "you know it would be my only chance for attending the picnic, +and I have a vast desire to engage in some of your St. Louis +festivities, and to meet some of the young maidens I was deprived of +meeting last night." + +She was compelled to stop,--I barred her way; but for a few moments +she showed no signs of relenting. She dashed away the shining drops +from her lashes, and quieted Leon with a low "Taise-toi." But +gradually I saw her face change, and then, still holding herself +proudly, and with the air of a queen graciously condescending to +bestow a favor upon a suppliant, but also with a smile of radiant +sweetness, she spoke, and her voice was like the song of the thrush +beside running waters: + +"Very well, monsieur; if I am not to be considered as putting myself +under obligations to a stranger, I will go and write the chevalier +that I have a previous engagement." + + + + +CHAPTER V + +I GO TO A PICNIC ON CHOUTEAU'S POND + + "Many a youth and many a maid + Dancing in the chequered shade." + + +The good doctor uttered a sigh of relief as mademoiselle left the +room, followed by madame, who no doubt, in the goodness of her heart, +went out to praise the young lady for having done as she ought, and to +condole with her for being obliged to go to the picnic with a man she +knew so slightly, and knew but to dislike. + +The sigh was quickly followed by a frown. + +"I wish that my ward had not so strong a will of her own. I scarce +think it safe for her to go to Chouteau's Pond at all if, as I fear, +her enemies are plotting to capture her." + +"I will defend her with my life, sir," I hastened to aver, "since you +are so good as to intrust her to me." + +The doctor smiled at my boyish ardor, but said kindly: + +"I would trust her with you sooner than with most, my lad, for I +believe I have seen enough of you to know that you are brave to a +fault, and entirely trustworthy. But you know not the wiles of these +treacherous Osages, and if this Chevalier Le Moyne is the man I fear +he is, he is a much to be dreaded villain." + +"Whom do you fear him to be?" the captain and I uttered in one breath. + +The good doctor hesitated a moment and then seemed to take a sudden +determination. + +"I am afraid I have no right to be letting you into my confidence, for +it is not mine alone. In what I am about to say to you it is my +country reposing a confidence as well. But our brief acquaintance has +inspired me with trust in you both, and I have need of advice and help +in this emergency, and perhaps of a good sword, if one of you be free +to offer it. It is not the fortunes of a simple maid, such as my +little Pelagie seems to be, that are alone involved, and yet I am not +at liberty to tell you what great issues are at stake. We will say, by +way of illustration, it would be to the advantage of an Orleanist to +get rid of all possible Bourbon claimants to the throne of France, +would it not? Merely by way of further illustration, suppose there +were some young Orleanist, far removed from any pretensions to the +throne, who by marrying a young Bourbon maid much closer to the +throne, but, of course, barred from it by her sex, should prevent her +marrying royalty and so having a son who might succeed to the throne. +Do you follow me?" + +We both bowed our comprehension, for we were too eager to interrupt +him by a word. The doctor went on: + +"And suppose by such a marriage he removed one more obstacle from the +path of a powerful kinsman in his progress toward the throne. And if +this young Orleanist were penniless and the Bourbon maid rich in +prospect, he would save his kinsman the necessity of providing for +him. And if he were dissolute and unprincipled, he would hesitate at +no means to accomplish his ends. And if he were handsome, after a +fashion, and accomplished in all Parisian arts, there would be +reasonable chance of his success with a young maiden but little versed +in the wiles of the world. Although I have used this merely as an +illustration, this is very much the situation that confronts Pelagie's +friends. You see, I have some reason to feel alarmed, and I fear I +have no right to permit her to go to this picnic. Yet," with a +grimace, "what can I? Where a wilful maiden will, a man is helpless. + +"And now, messieurs, you see how fully I have trusted you, not only +with my affairs, but the affairs of France. I am not asking for a +pledge of secrecy, for I feel no such pledge is necessary. Pelagie and +her interests and the interests of her house in France I believe to be +as safe in your hands as in my own." + +As the doctor uttered these last words he sprang to his feet, and +betrayed the intensity of his feeling by the mist in his eyes, the +tremor in his voice, and the dramatic clasping of his hands. + +By a simultaneous emotion of sympathy, both the captain and I found +ourselves on our feet also. The captain extended his hand, and, like +the straightforward, simple-minded gentleman he is, said only: + +"Your trust is not misplaced, Dr. Saugrain; your secret is safe." + +I was almost too deeply moved for words; I could only murmur as I +bowed low over the hilt of my sword: + +"Safe as my honor!" + +I know not with what emotions my captain had listened to this long +recital. As for me, I had been intensely interested. Yet I could not +tell why it should not please me to find that this scornful little +lady was presumptive heiress to wealth and titles, probably even of +royal rank, for so I could not but understand the doctor's +illustration. + +"Does Mademoiselle Pelagie know all this?" inquired the captain. "Does +she know her rank and prospects? Is it permitted to speak of them to +her?" + +"Oh, no, no, no!" uttered the doctor, rapidly, with vigorous +protestations of head and hands. "Pelagie knows nothing but that +almost longer ago than she can remember she lived in a beautiful house +with many servants, and with a father and mother who idolized her, but +who went away from her one day never to return. Of course she knows +now why they never returned, but that is all. She has lived with us in +America nearly ten years, and I think she has learned to love Madame +Saugrain and me almost as if we were indeed her father and mother, and +we could not love child of our own more tenderly. + +"And so you see, my dear young sir," regarding me with affectionate +concern, "what a weighty responsibility I have put upon your young +shoulders. If the burden is too great for you, I absolve you from +your offer as escort, and Pelagie shall stay at home whether she will +or not. I think it would be far the better way." + +"Oh, no, no, sir!" I protested eagerly. "I am proud you think me +worthy such a responsibility. I will never let her out of my sight for +one moment, and I promise to bring her back to you in safety." + +"Thank you," said the doctor, gravely; "that is what I would wish. Do +not let her out of your sight if it is possible. Even if she seems to +be fretted by your espionage I hope you will bear with her +temper,--which I know to be a royal one,--and persist in your +watchfulness. I shall be deeply grateful to you." + +By the time the day of the picnic arrived, I flattered myself I had +made some slight progress in Mademoiselle Pelagie's regard. Very +slight, to be sure, yet I thought she did not treat me with quite the +disdain she had shown at first. Indeed, I even thought I sometimes +detected that she was listening with interest when Madame Saugrain or +the good doctor was questioning me about my life at home in +Philadelphia. + +Twice a day at least we were brought together at the table, for the +captain and I had taken up our abode at Dr. Saugrain's. It was not +without much demur that we had, at last, accepted the doctor's urgent +invitations to do so. To be sure, there was no hostelry in the +village, except the low tavern where the disreputable Indians and +rough river-men congregated, and we would have been obliged to accept +some of the many hospitable invitations extended us by the Chouteaus, +the Papins, the Cerrés, indeed by nearly every leading citizen of St. +Louis, all eagerly vying with one another for the privilege of +entertaining General Clarke's brother. I think the captain's hesitancy +arose from the feeling that he ought to accept Émile Yosti's or Manuel +Lisa's hospitality, since his business was chiefly concerned with +them; but with me it was the feeling that it would be intolerable to +dwell under the same roof with my Lady Disdain, and be subjected to +countless little ignominies at her hands. Yet when the doctor +presented it to us as a very great favor to him at this time, when he +might need our assistance as well as our advice in protecting +Mademoiselle Pelagie, we could object no further, and I, at least, was +as eager to stay as I had before been unwilling. To me it seemed the +more reasonable that he might easily need what assistance our swords +could give him, if there were really on foot a plan to capture +mademoiselle, because the doctor's house was set in a large garden, at +the extreme borders of the village, next to the stockade and with no +neighbor within hearing. + +The day of the picnic rose clear and bright, changing soon to the +purple haze and soft air of a day in late November. Breakfast was +hardly over when the picnickers began to pass the house, some of them +walking in merry groups, some in little French carts drawn by oxen or +small, hardy ponies, but many of them, I noted with a beating heart, +on horseback carrying double, the maiden on a pillion holding fast +with her arm around her escort's waist. Was it thus my Lady Disdain +expected to be carried to the picnic, I wondered, and could not tell +for the life of me whether I most hoped it or dreaded it. + +But my hopes and fears were alike vain. I sat smoking on the shady +gallery, and was beginning to wonder when my lady would see fit to +start, for by now the procession had thinned out to almost none, only +a straggling couple occasionally hurrying by as if they feared they +were late and must hasten to be in time for the sport. I began to +think it possible she had changed her mind and would stay at home +rather than go with an undesired escort. + +I had risen early, and though I had made an unusually careful toilet, +calling Yorke to my aid to see that every lacer was fresh and securely +tied, and my buckles shining, yet I had made much haste also, not +knowing at what hour mademoiselle proposed starting, and fearing +greatly to annoy her by being one moment tardy. So here had I sat +smoking on the shady gallery a good two hours awaiting my lady's +pleasure, and beginning inwardly to fume, for my temper was not such +as to bear meekly even the caprices of a beautiful maiden--no, not +though she might be also some great lady in disguise. + +But when I had for the tenth time started up to stride angrily up and +down the gallery, I heard the creaking of wheels, and around the +corner of the house came a little French charrette, its wooden wheels +making a great noise, drawn by one ox and Narcisse walking beside it, +driving. I was filled with dismay, for to me it seemed not a mode of +conveyance suited to the dignity of the son of one of the proudest +families of Philadelphia, to say nothing of Mademoiselle Pelagie. +Besides, I had had visions of the fine figure I was to cut before the +St. Louis beaus and belles on my prancing and curveting Fatima, whose +glossy coat was like satin this morning from the extra rubbing I had +ordered Yorke to give her. + +But as Narcisse passed me and pulled off his hat with an amiable grin, +I saw a great hamper in the charrette, and from a spicy whiff borne to +my nostrils by a passing breeze I knew he was conveying our dinner to +the picnic-grounds, and I was duly thankful that neither Fatima nor I +was to be hampered ('tis a poor pun, and my father hath ever taught me +'tis the lowest form of wit) with clumsy packages dangling from saddle +and arm. + +In a moment more, around the corner of the house again came a black, +leading a small Indian horse gaily caparisoned, and fitted with a +lady's pillion, and immediately behind, Yorke, leading my own Fatima. +I knew then we were about to start, and my heart began once more its +silly thumpings. Yet would I not move from my seat, where I had +assumed an attitude of indifference, until I suddenly heard behind me +a cool and haughty voice: + +"Are you not ready, sir? It is high time, I should think, we were on +our way, or we will be too late for the déjeuner." + +Now was I in wrath indeed, to be spoken to in tones of reproach when I +had every reason to expect at least an excuse, if not an apology, for +having been kept so long waiting. I rose to my feet in leisurely +fashion and made mademoiselle a most elaborate bow, as I replied in a +voice as cool and haughty as her own: + +"Had I been informed at what hour mademoiselle would require my +presence, I should have been belted and hatted and not have detained +your ladyship for even a moment, to say nothing of having wasted two +good hours of my own time in idle waiting." + +As I spoke I stooped to pick up my sword-belt from the floor beside my +chair, and began slowly to buckle it on. My eyes were on my belt, but +not so closely but that I could see a little smile hover around +mademoiselle's lips, and I thought she was not displeased to find I +had a little spirit of my own and was not always to be cowed by her +scornful airs. I was so elated by the discovery that I, foolishly, +prolonged the buckling beyond all possible necessity, and +mademoiselle's good humor was quickly exhausted. She tapped her little +foot impatiently for a moment and then spoke as icily as before: + +"Since monsieur finds difficulty with his belt, I will ask Yorke to +put me on my horse and then send him to your assistance." + +All my foolish elation was gone in a moment, and, between my +mortification and my impatient haste, I fumbled in earnest. I was in +desperate haste; for not for a moment did I intend to let Yorke put +her upon her horse: yet so swiftly had she swept down the long gallery +and the steps to the driveway a little distance off, and so slow had I +been with my buckle, that I reached her side just in time to hear her +say: + +"Yorke, put me on my horse, and then go at once and buckle your +master's belt. We are like to be all day getting to Chouteau's Pond." + +"Yes, missy," said Yorke, and flinging Fatima's reins to Narcisse, +prepared to obey her, though he could only have comprehended by +intuition, for not a word of her tongue did he understand. + +I was restored at once to my equanimity by her impatient tones, and I +spoke to Yorke with a calm authority he dared not disobey: + +"Take care of Fatima, Yorke; I will attend to mademoiselle," and +without giving her time to object I coolly lifted her to her horse. +She was only a feather's weight, but I think she liked not that +fashion of mounting, and was minded for a moment to kick and scream +like an angry child. But she thought better of it, and though the +quick flame sprang into her cheek, she bowed her thanks in stately +fashion, and I springing on Fatima's back and bidding Yorke to follow +at once, we set forth at a round pace. + +Not a word did she speak as we galloped side by side down the +driveway, through the gate, and along the short bit of road that +extended to the stockade. When we had passed through, there was not +much more than a rough foot-path, that began to descend very soon from +the high bluffs, sometimes by a gentle incline, sometimes by a steep +and rocky descent, to the valley of La Petite Rivière. + +The path was no longer wide enough for two horses, and we were +compelled to ride in Indian fashion. Fatima was ahead and was picking +her way daintily and surely, but slowly. The little Indian horse, +being much more used to such rough paths, would have gone on more +rapidly, and fretted at being kept back by Fatima. So, no doubt, did +his rider, for presently, in her formal way, she said: + +"If monsieur will permit, I will take the lead. I think my pony knows +the path better and can show you the way." + +But I had been specially warned to keep ever in advance, and it did +not add to mademoiselle's good humor that I was compelled to refuse +her the _pas_. I was beginning to feel that my task was a thankless +one, and the picnic on Chouteau's Pond did not look to me quite so +alluring as it had looked a few days before. Perhaps my face betrayed +my feeling; for when we reached the foot of the incline and our path +broadened out as it turned to follow the windings of the little river +toward the pond, mademoiselle rode up beside me, and with a very +pretty air indeed, half arch, half shy, wholly sweet, she said: + +"I pray monsieur will not think me ungrateful. I do not forget that +but for his courtesy I could not have gone to my fête." + +Then she added roguishly: + +"But I will make amends. I will introduce you to many St. Louis +belles, the fascinating Pelagie Chouteau, Émilie Gratiot, who dances +like a fairy, and Marguerite and Marie Papin, the beautiful sisters. +And there are many more just as beautiful." + +I bowed gravely: + +"I thank you, mademoiselle. I have heard much of the beauty of the +St. Louis demoiselles, and have desired much to meet them. You +remember it was largely for that inducement I consented to undertake +the difficult task of looking after your ladyship." + +Pelagie pouted. + +"Why do you persist in calling me 'your ladyship'? I am only +mademoiselle." + +"Indeed!" I said, with affected surprise: "your manner has led me to +suppose you marquise at least, if not duchesse." + +Mademoiselle reddened, but spoke very seriously and very sweetly, + +"I am afraid I have very bad manners, and a very bad temper. But I +intend to be good now, and to remind me I give you permission when I +am haughty or disagreeable to call me comtesse." + +The sycamores and cottonwoods that bordered our path had lost more +than half their leaves, and the soft haze of the late November sun +filtering through flecked mademoiselle with pale gold. It touched her +dark hair and turned it to burnished bronze, it brought a faint rose +to the warm white of her cheek, and made little golden lights dance in +the shadows of her eyes uplifted to mine. The mysterious fragrance of +late autumn, of dying leaves and bare brown earth, and ripening nuts +and late grapes hanging on the vines, and luscious persimmons on the +leafless trees, rose like incense to my nostrils and intoxicated me. I +hardly knew how I answered as I looked deep into her shadowy eyes, and +I was almost glad that, our way crossing the little river by a steep +path leading down to a shallow ford, I was compelled once more to +take the lead. + +Half-way across we stopped to let our horses dip their noses in the +cool water dashing merrily over the stones. Fatima only played with +it, swashing her muzzle well, and flinging the bright drops over +mademoiselle's horse, who drank steadily. The opposite bank was more +heavily wooded, and I became aware, as I sat idly flecking the foam +from Fatima's flanks with my riding-whip, that I had for some time +been hearing a whippoorwill calling and its mate replying. The woods +looked dense enough to be the haunts of the lonely birds, but, +nevertheless, I felt uneasy and began to listen--for rarely, indeed, +does one hear a whippoorwill in the daytime. I knew birds well, and I +soon became convinced that these whippoorwills were like none I had +ever heard. They were too deliberate in their calls and replies, and +the varying number of each sounded like a system of signals. I began +to wish mademoiselle had not been so tardy in starting, that we might +have had company on our way, and I strained my ears if I might hear +anything of Yorke, who should be not far behind. + +But there were no signs of Yorke; and mademoiselle's horse had +finished drinking, and there was no excuse for our delaying longer. I +would not alarm mademoiselle with my suspicions, yet I wanted my +firearms ready to my hand. I drew my pistol from its holster and laid +it across my saddle-bow, saying carelessly that if I caught a glimpse +of that whippoorwill in the woods I should shoot it for my aunt in +Paris, who was making a collection of American birds. + +Mademoiselle Pelagie accepted my explanation without comment, and I +led the way up the steep bank opposite. Once up, I saw, to my +satisfaction, that the path was still wide enough for two. I put +mademoiselle on the side nearest La Petite Rivière, and I rode next +the woods; and though mademoiselle had suddenly grown talkative, and +was full of a saucy French wit, I fear I must have seemed very stupid +to her, for all the while I was trying to keep up my share of repartee +and quip I was listening, listening. Mademoiselle noticed at last that +I was somewhat distrait. + +"Why do you keep your eyes turned upon the woods, monsieur? In France +we are taught that it is polite to look at a lady when she speaks." + +"Pardon, mademoiselle," I stammered. "I am looking for that +whippoorwill." + +"Your apology is more than sufficient, monsieur," in her haughtiest +tones. "There will, no doubt, be no other opportunity so suitable for +adding to your aunt's collection." + +I had kept my eyes fixed on the woods even while speaking to her, not +daring to turn them away, but at her tone I turned quickly toward her. + +"Pardon, mademoiselle la comtesse," I began saucily, but went on +seriously. "Permit me, I beg, to seem rude, though it is farthest from +my desire to appear so. It is more than the whim of my aunt that is at +stake. Some day I will explain to you." + +Even as I spoke I was startled by a sharp crackle followed by a +stealthy rustle, as if some one had inadvertently stepped upon a dry +twig and had then glided quickly away. I turned at once to the woods, +and could almost have sworn I caught a fleeting glimpse of a +copper-colored hand, and the flash of a rifle-barrel. But as I gazed +longer I saw nothing but the dense foliage of the low scrub-oaks that +grew under the tall forest trees, and I hoped I was mistaken. + +A level bit of road stretched ahead of us. + +"Will you race with me, mademoiselle, to yonder tree?" + +The quicker we got to Chouteau's Pond the better, I thought, and the +faster we left the whippoorwills behind the better also. + +"I will race you and beat you," she said gaily; "my little La Bette is +fleet of foot. But what shall be the prize?" + +"If I win," I said boldly, "the first dance to-day." + +I thought a shadow of annoyance passed over her face, but it cleared +and she answered slyly: + +"And if I win, I claim the first whippoorwill you shoot; the second +may go to your aunt." + +"Done!" I said grimly. "Are we off?" + +It was evident that fleet as La Bette might be, Fatima was far +fleeter. But not for worlds would I have left mademoiselle behind; so, +while seeming to urge Fatima forward, I was, in reality, giving her +the constant little touch that meant a check. Still I was mindful of +my prize, and when we were not more than twenty yards from the tree, +and I thought we were safe, I gave Fatima the rein and passed the tree +a full length ahead. + +I felt a little more comfortable now, for I thought if I had really +seen a redskin with a gun lurking among the bushes, we must have left +him well behind, and we fell into a comfortable little jog-trot, side +by side again. Suddenly I heard once more the ominous crackle of a dry +twig, and turning quickly, I looked full into a pair of dark eyes +peering through the bushes. I hesitated not a moment, but raising my +pistol, leveled it straight at the eyes, and would have fired but that +a voice called to me in good English: + +"Hold, monsieur! Do not fire!" + +And from behind the clump of bushes sprang a more elaborately dressed +man than any I had yet seen in St. Louis. In truth, I thought him too +foppishly arrayed for the woods, for there were fine ruffles at wrist +and knee, and beneath his leathern doublet peeped the edges of a satin +waistcoat, canary-colored. His hair was long and curled and tied with +a ribbon, but it was not powdered, and over his forehead it fell in +short, black curls that made his skin look very white and pink; +indeed, I was not at all sure but the pink of his cheeks and the red +of his lips were more of art's cunning than nature's mingling. A soft, +dark mustache on his upper lip, carefully trained and curled, proved +him a Parisian of the latest mode, and I at once felt an instinctive +dislike and distrust of him. I had never seen him before, but I was +not at all surprised when mademoiselle addressed him as Chevalier Le +Moyne and paid me the compliment of presenting him to me. + +There was just a little disapproval in mademoiselle's manner, for the +chevalier had certainly been caught spying, if nothing worse; and he +had the grace to be embarrassed, and hastened to make his apologies in +voluble French, which he seemed to take for granted I did not +understand. + +"I missed mademoiselle from the fête, and I sauntered out to see if +there were any signs of her approach. Mademoiselle must know that it +is no fête for me when the queen is away, and the day is _triste_ +indeed that is not lighted by her eyes. I was not sure it was +mademoiselle when I heard voices, and so I looked through the bushes +to see before addressing her." + +"You spoke just in time," mademoiselle replied. "Monsieur took you for +a whippoorwill, and a moment more," with an arch glance at me, "he +might have added you to his aunt's collection." + +I thought at first my lady must be heartless indeed to make a jest of +a very narrow escape from death, but as I glanced at her, I saw little +tongues of flame leaping in and out of her cheeks, and a great pulse +beating in her throat, and I knew the light manner was only a mask. + +I watched the chevalier narrowly as she spoke of the whippoorwill, and +I saw him look quickly at her with a startled glance, but her evident +innocence reassured him. I spoke to him in his own tongue, partly to +show him I understood it very well and he must be careful what he said +before me, and partly because I was not sure he understood mine. +Indeed, I had many times been thankful that my French was almost as +natural to me as my English, for in this French-and Spanish-speaking +town there was almost no one could speak my tongue. Once in a great +while (but not often) mademoiselle attempted it, either to practise +her English or out of compliment to my captain, who was not quite so +fluent with his French as I. (And when she did, her pretty broken +accents made our rough language sweet as the song of birds.) + +"Monsieur was fortunate to speak so soon," I said. "I am looking for +whippoorwills, and I took you for one. A moment more would have been +too late." + +But as I spoke I looked straight into his eyes with a meaning he could +not misunderstand. His glance fell, and a deep red slowly mounted from +beneath the artificial pink of his cheeks and spread over his face. He +recovered himself in a moment, however, and answered me gaily: + +"Thanks, monsieur, for a narrow escape. 'Tis the luck of the Le +Moynes. Perhaps you know the motto of our house?--'By hairbreadth +escapes we _always win_.'" + +And this time he looked straight into my eyes, and conveyed by his +glance a haughty challenge. + +I bowed a mute acceptance of it; and mademoiselle, conscious from our +manner we were not particularly amiable toward each other, hastened to +avert any threatening unpleasantness. + +"I think the chevalier will excuse us if we hasten on. We are already +late, and I fear we will keep déjeuner waiting." + +The chevalier bowed low, with his hand on his heart, and stepped aside +to allow us to pass. + +It was but a five minutes' ride till we left the woodland path and the +merry company of the little river and stood on the shores of +Chouteau's Pond. I had not expected to find such a beautiful woodland +lake, and at my exclamation of delighted surprise, mademoiselle looked +pleased indeed. + +"We are proud of our pond, which Mr. Auguste Chouteau has made for +us," she said. "Is it not as beautiful as your Pennsylvania lakes?" + +"I have never seen a more beautiful!" I ejaculated fervently, and I +spoke truly. + +We had drawn rein on a point of high land, and at our feet the waters +of the little river, in foaming rapids and tumbling cascades, +stretched up to the foot of a high dam, where the waters of the lake +poured over in a silver flood. To the right, embowered in trees, were +the vine-covered stone towers of Chouteau's mill, and beyond, gentle +grassy slopes, with drooping trees dipping their branches in the +water. To the left rose high banks with overarching foliage, and then +for a mile or two the lake wound from one embowered cove to another, +till it was lost in the hazy distance. Directly below us, it lay a +glorious topaz in the soft November sun, for which the dark porphyry +of oaks, the tawny gold of cottonwoods, and the emerald of turf and +darker green of cedars made a jeweled setting richer and more +harmonious than would have been the flaming scarlet and gold of our +Eastern woods. On the bosom of the little lake a white sail was +floating lazily, for there was but little breeze, and two or three +canoes were darting swiftly from shore to shore, the dip of their +paddles breaking the lake to flashing silver. + +There were no other signs of life, and now mademoiselle took the lead +and we followed the right shore of the lake behind the stone mill, +along the shady, grassy slopes, until, after several windings, we came +out on a little cove where a silvery fountain bubbled up and flowed +down in a tiny rivulet to the lake. Around the fountain was soft green +turf, with natural seats of rock, shaded by lofty trees, where the +deep forest came down to the shores of the cove, and here we found our +party of merry revelers. Horses, ponies, and oxen were all tethered +deep in the forest, while young men and maidens were running to and +fro, arranging tempting piles of broiled fowl, venison, and game +pasties on the white cloth, spread on the green grass. A delicious +odor of coffee came from a great caldron, hung over a stone fireplace +on an improvised crane, and two young men were mixing, in a great +bowl, a spicy compound of spring water, ratafia, sweet spices, and +raspberry wine. + +They hailed the arrival of mademoiselle with delight, and young Josef +Papin came running up, and took hold of her horse's bridle-rein, and +led her to the head of the table, where they had made a throne for the +queen of the fête out of a flat rock, covered with bright-colored +capotes, and wreathed with garlands of bright-leaved vines. + +He claimed it his due, as giver of the feast, to sit at her right, and +awarded to me, as a courtesy due her escort, the seat on her left. In +the merry scramble for places that followed (there was nothing rude in +it: these French folk are gentle and courteous in their gayest +frolics) the chevalier was forgotten. When he came in, late (somewhat +flushed, as if he might have been running when no man was looking, but +debonair and smiling, with many apologies), there was no place for him +near mademoiselle, and I was not sorry. Neither, I confess, did he +seem to be, for he devoted himself pointedly to Mademoiselle Chouteau, +as fascinating a little coquette as mademoiselle had described her. + +Half-way through the meal the chevalier made an excuse for going for a +cup of water to the spring, and, in passing behind mademoiselle, he +stopped a moment to ask her, in a low tone, for the first dance. It +was not so low but that I overheard, and I heard, too, the tone of +regret with which she told him it was already promised. I might have +thought the tone only a tribute to politeness had I not caught her +glance, which said louder than any words, "I had much rather it were +you," and I said to myself, "Either mademoiselle is a most dangerous +coquette, or the chevalier has already succeeded in at least winning +her interest," and for a moment it sprang to the tip of my hasty +tongue to release her from her promise. But I shut my lips firmly +before the words were out. + +"Ce garçon-çà! The second, then?" + +I turned away my head and did not willingly hear any more, but I could +not quite help overhearing the chevalier once again, in a tone +intended to be quite cutting, and for that reason, no doubt, more +distinct: + +"If mademoiselle's dances are not taken for the entire afternoon, +perhaps she will be so kind as to say which one she will graciously +grant me?" + +I did not hear her reply; but I heard his joyful response to it: + +"A thousand thanks, ma belle reine; au troisième, donc!" + +I was in two minds through the rest of the meal: should I hold +mademoiselle to her promise, which was, evidently, irksome to her, or +should I free her from it? I resolved, finally, that the dance was +fairly mine and I would hold her to it. Yet when the music sounded and +the line was forming I was a little late in reaching her side, for I +had been following the chevalier's example and getting my dances +promised ahead, and Mademoiselle Chouteau had been so full of her +little French coquetries I had found it hard to get away in time to +claim mademoiselle's hand. I found her tapping her little foot +impatiently, and an ominous line between her dark eyes. I made my +apologies humbly, but mademoiselle was coldly scornful. + +"Had I known monsieur would find it so irksome to keep his engagement +I could have released him. There were others who would have +appreciated the honor, since it is my duty to open the dance." + +"It is inexcusable," I murmured, "but it was unavoidable"; and without +waiting for further recriminations I led her to the head of the line. + +I had never seen the minuet danced with more grace and spirit. These +Frenchmen have winged feet, and though I knew my steps well and had +not thought myself particularly awkward, yet now it seemed to me +impossible, with my great size, not to seem, to mademoiselle at least, +a clumsy giant. It made me more conscious of my awkwardness that I was +leading the line with mademoiselle, reine de la fête, and a perfect +fairy for grace, and that, opposite us, with Mademoiselle Chouteau, +was the chevalier, full of Parisian airs, which looked a little +ridiculous to me, but were, no doubt, the admiration of all the +maidens. + +And if anything could have made me more clumsy it was the accident +that befell me in the sword-figure. It fell to my lot to cross swords +with the chevalier, and I cannot be sure that he did it wilfully, yet +so it seemed to me. By a twist of his wrist he loosened my sword from +its grasp, and it fell clattering to the ground at the very feet of my +lady. Had I been expecting anything more than the usual crossing of +points my grasp would have been firmer, and I really think I was not +to blame. Yet I was covered with confusion, and as I stooped to pick +it up, necessarily delaying the progress of my lady, who was leading +her line of maidens under the arch of swords, I glanced at her face, +expecting nothing less for my gaucherie than the mocking smile I had +learned to dread. To my amazement, my glance was met with the sweetest +of smiles, and it was the chevalier who winced this time. + +"I hope monsieur will pardon the chevalier's awkwardness," she said; +"he is, no doubt, more at home in a Parisian ball-room than at a +rustic dance on the turf." + +After that, you may be sure, I carried myself proudly, and so elated +was I by her unexpected sweetness that I lost all sense of +awkwardness, and I began to hear murmurs of admiration that I knew +were intended for my ears, and lent wings to my feet, also. + +"A handsome pair!" "What grace!" "He carries his head like a grand +seigneur!" and Mademoiselle Chouteau was wicked enough, as we crossed +in the dance, to look up at me and whisper saucily: + +"I die with impatience, monsieur, for la troisième!" + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +WHIPPOORWILLS + + "Is this that haughty, gallant, gay Lothario?" + + +It was in the third dance, in the middle of an intricate figure (and +Mademoiselle Chouteau was proving herself a most bewitching partner), +that I suddenly discovered that neither mademoiselle nor the chevalier +was dancing; nor could I see them anywhere, though my glance shot +rapidly into every leafy nook and corner. + +An unreasoning terror seized me, and with all my might I tried to +think what I could do. Should I leave my partner and fly in pursuit, +as I longed to do, the figure would be broken up, and should my fears +prove unfounded I could never again hold up my head among the St. +Louis maidens. Yet I thought if I waited until the dance was over +there would be time for the worst to happen, and I had promised not to +let mademoiselle out of my sight. Now did I curse my folly (with many +of my big _d_-inventions) that, since I had come to the picnic solely +to look after mademoiselle, I had allowed myself to make any +engagement with any other maiden, however bewitching. + +In my agony of indecision, though I was still going through the +figure in a dazed fashion, great drops of perspiration started out on +my brow. At that moment there came a pause in the dance, while the +figure was changing, and above the babble of talk that broke forth I +heard the distant call of a whippoorwill. It was enough. I bent low +and whispered to my partner: + +"Mademoiselle, do you think you could invent a pretext by which we +could both be excused from the dance? Could you be taken suddenly +ill?" + +Mademoiselle Chouteau looked up at me quickly; I think for a moment +she thought I wanted to get her away for a cozy flirtation in a quiet +little nook, such as some of the other young couples seemed to be +enjoying. But when she saw my anxious face she spoke quickly, with the +prompt resource I have ever noted in young maidens: + +"Certainly, monsieur! In a moment you will see me grow quite pale, and +then we will go and ask Gabriel Cerré and Marguerite Papin to take our +places." + +She was as good as her word: in a moment she really seemed to me to +turn pale, and she said, quite distinctly, so that those standing near +could hear: + +"I am very tired, monsieur; I will have to ask you to excuse me from +dancing. Perhaps we can persuade another couple to take our places." + +I think Gabriel Cerré and Mademoiselle Papin were a little loath to +give up their pleasant chat, but on Mademoiselle Chouteau's +representing that the dance would be broken up, and she was really not +able to take another step, they very amiably consented to take our +places. + +Then I had to explain to Mademoiselle Chouteau, very hurriedly, the +reason for my strange request, and in doing so I was compelled to +confide to her somewhat of my fears, and beg her to be silent if any +one should notice that I too had disappeared. She proved a good ally, +and, on my expressing my perplexity as to where to look, she suddenly +remembered that she had seen mademoiselle and the chevalier, as the +dance was beginning, enter the woodland path that led on around the +lake to Rock Spring at its head. + +"A favorite resort for young people, and especially," she added slyly, +"les amants." + +The dance had been moving rapidly and it was not yet over; they could +not be so far away but that I could overtake them, and I felt a little +relieved. Yet I must see Mademoiselle Chouteau disposed of among her +friends; I could not leave her discourteously, and every second of +delay fretted me greatly. When that was accomplished, I caught Yorke's +eye (for he had arrived very shortly after us, and having made himself +generally useful at the déjeuner, was now watching the dancers with +grinning delight), and motioned to him to follow me. + +I slipped into the woodland path, and Yorke did not keep me waiting +long. As rapidly as possible I told him my suspicions, and bade him +slip into the woods where the horses were tethered and bring his own +horse and Fatima by some roundabout way, so as to be unseen, and +follow me on the path to the head of the lake. + +It was a comfort to feel that Yorke would not be many minutes behind +me, for impatient as I often was with his pranks and his eternal grin, +I knew him to be a good fighter, and true as steel. Still more of a +comfort was it to know Fatima would be within calling of my whistle, +for I knew not into what I was going, and if those dark forests +overhanging the cliffs on the opposite shore of the lake were as full +of the treacherous savages as the frequent call of the whippoorwills +had led me to think, I might find that the only road to safety for +both mademoiselle and myself was on Fatima's back. + +So it was with better courage (though I will not deny that my heart +was beating fast) that I set off at a round pace on the woodland path +toward the head of the lake. I had ever an eye for the beauties of +nature, and an ear attuned to all its voices, yea, and a nostril for +its sweet odors, and engrossed as I was (rushing on lest I might be +too late, yet dreading every step that I fall into some ambush of +whippoorwills), I still could not but note how softly the November sun +fell through the half-bare branches, flecking the path with shine and +shadow; how glowing cardinals and flaming orioles, not yet started +south, flitted through the trees in rollicking sport; and how the +sweet odor of dying leaves mingled with the soft call of +wood-thrushes. The cottonwoods had laid down a path of gold for me to +walk upon, but, fortunately, it had rained the night before and the +leaves were still damp and so did not rustle to my tread. + +I had hurried on at a breathless pace, following the path that in its +turn followed the windings of the lake for nearly a mile, when +suddenly I heard voices at no great distance ahead of me. I stopped +for a moment, my heart beating so fast I could scarce listen. Yes, it +was a man's voice and a maiden's, speaking in low tones as if for each +other's ears alone, and I did not doubt it was mademoiselle and the +chevalier. + +Now it was most distasteful to me to think of playing eavesdropper, +and I was of half a mind to stop where I was and wait until they had +finished what they had to say and were ready to return. I would at +least be near enough at hand to prevent a capture should it be +attempted. But as I waited, mademoiselle's voice was suddenly raised, +and I heard her say in a tone of pain: + +"Do not make me distrust my guardian! I can believe no wrong of him! +He has been the only father I have known." + +I caught nothing of the chevalier's reply but the two words +"interested motives"; but I thought, since it was evidently no tender +interchange of sentiment to which I would have to listen, but the +rascal was maligning my good friend Dr. Saugrain, it was my duty to +listen with all my ears. I crept forward softly, fearing lest a +crackling twig or a dry leaf might betray my presence, and fearing, +too, since I could not discover whence the voices came, that I might +come upon them unawares and so reveal myself. + +Which I came very near doing. Another step, and I would have stepped +over the brink of a low bluff which encircled a cup-like depression. A +cluster of tall oaks rose from the center of the little glen thus +formed, sheltering a silvery fountain gushing from a great rock and +then, in a bright rivulet, dancing merrily over moss and stones to the +lake. + +This, then, was Rock Spring, and the source of Chouteau's Pond! A +sylvan retreat indeed for lovers, and I had heard it was much +frequented by them. A fringe of crimson sumac-bushes screened the edge +of the bluff and effectually screened me from two people just below +me. I liked not to be spying, but I felt that duty and honor both, and +my pledged word to the doctor, demanded that I keep mademoiselle in +sight. So I cautiously leaned forward and looked. + +Mademoiselle was seated on a boulder with her face turned toward me +and uplifted to the chevalier, who was standing with his back to me, +looking down on her. Her dark eyes were wide and startled, full of +surprise and pain; I was not sure but there were tears in them. Her +straight brows were drawn together in a deep furrow, and the scarlet +lips, usually so like a Cupid's bow, were set and stern. I wondered +what the chevalier could be saying in that low voice of his to move +her so deeply. As he finished, mademoiselle sprang to her feet, +generous indignation in her flashing eyes and ringing tones. + +"I can never believe it! Either I have no such prospects, or he has +some good reason for not telling me yet. I will never doubt his truth +and honesty!" + +Then I heard the chevalier's reply, low and distinct: + +"Mademoiselle, your friends in France doubt both the friends of your +father and mother. They have sent me here to find you and bring you +back with me to your rich estates, to your rank and position, and to +the friends who love you. But they know well Dr. Saugrain will never +let go his hold on you, until he can get control of your property +himself, and so they have instructed me to use all caution and +secrecy. + +"In the woods yonder, on the other side of the lake, is a trusty +escort to ride to Cape Girardeau, where a boat is waiting to take you +to New Orleans. In New Orleans is a ship ready to sail the moment +mademoiselle puts her foot upon its deck, and in a little more than a +month you will be in Paris, among friends who will receive you with +outstretched arms, surrounded by every luxury, living the life of +grande dame as you ought to live, among the great nobles where you +rightfully belong, and not in this rude, rough country among Indians +and boors. And mademoiselle will permit me to add, there is no great +lady in France so fitted by nature to adorn her high station as she. +She will have all Paris at her feet. Come with me now, mademoiselle! +There is no time to be lost! Any moment we may be interrupted and it +may be too late." + +My eyes did not leave mademoiselle's face through all this long +speech, and I saw her expression slowly change. The generous +indignation was still there, but I saw that the picture that he +presented of the life that awaited her in Paris began to fascinate +her. She spoke slowly and doubtfully: + +"I will tell Dr. and Madame Saugrain all you have told me, and if it +is right, they will let me go with you. I will not doubt my friends." + +The villain saw that he was gaining ground: + +"They are not your friends! They are your bitterest foes. They are +keeping you from everything that will make your life grand and +beautiful, with the hope of their own gain some day. They will never +let you go! If home and Paris and friends and wealth and rank and +power are to be won at all, it must be at once. Five minutes more may +be too late. That boy [with infinite scorn] may have discovered your +absence and come to seek you." + +Suddenly the chevalier dropped on one knee, his hand on his heart. I +turned quickly away (for I would not listen to what I feared would be +a declaration of love), and, as I turned, I saw Yorke coming up the +path, leading the two horses, who were picking their way as cautiously +as if they knew the occasion demanded the utmost secrecy. I motioned +to Yorke to leave the horses where they were (I knew they were so +trained they would stand perfectly still without tying) and to come +silently to me. I felt that the moment of rescue could not be far +distant. + +He had crept cautiously up just as the chevalier ceased speaking. I +was intent on noting the position of the horses and forming a plan of +rescue, and so did not observe Yorke, or I might have prevented what +followed. He had stolen up softly behind me, and, unconscious that he +was on the edge of a bluff, had stepped a step beyond me. Of course he +went over at once, heels over head, turning a complete somersault, +and alighted erect, astride the neck of the kneeling chevalier. + +At his terrified cry I turned quickly, just in time to see him alight; +and if it had been a time for laughing it would have been a funny +sight indeed: the look of startled terror on mademoiselle's face +gradually changing in spite of herself to one of convulsive merriment; +the chevalier, his nose ground in the dust, squirming helplessly and +sputtering vigorously in French; and, lastly, the big black, the white +balls of his eyes almost starting from his head in amazement and +fright, and a ceaseless torrent of ejaculations pouring through his +white teeth! + +"Oh! Oh, Lordy! Oh, my gracious! Oh, de good Lord! Oh, massy!" + +Yet he made no effort to rise, and I began to suspect he was enjoying +the situation, for the more vigorously the Frenchman sputtered the +louder the negro bellowed. + +It was time for me to interpose, but I wished to avoid the appearance +of having been spying on them, with Yorke, from above, otherwise I +could easily have leaped down the low bluff. Looking around hastily, I +discovered, what I had not noted before, that the main path led around +the foot of the bluff into the little glen from below. I had followed +a branch of it in coming to the top of the bluff. I ran quickly down +to the lower entrance of the glen, but there I stopped a moment to +assume an air as of one leisurely strolling. I did not pretend to see +the group until I was well into the glen where I could also be seen. +Then I struck an attitude of intense surprise for mademoiselle's +benefit (who by this time had caught sight of me), and when I had +sufficiently recovered from the surprise for utterance, I spoke to +Yorke in tones of stern command: + +"What are you doing, sir, on monsieur's back? Have you taken him for a +horse? Or a donkey? Off, sir, this moment, and make your humble +apologies to the chevalier." + +Yorke was not much afraid of my stern tone. Still yelling bloody +murder, he contrived a most audacious wink with the eye next to me, +but he tumbled off slowly, and then I hastened to help the chevalier +to his feet. He was a sorry spectacle, and I saw mademoiselle's look +of suppressed amusement change to pity and concern. Blood was gushing +from his nose all over his fine clothes, and his face was so begrimed +and gory it would have been impossible to guess it was the dapper +Parisian. + +But he was in such a blind rage that for once he ignored his clothes. +Stanching the blood as best he could with his flimsy lace +handkerchief, he poured out a torrent of abuse in mingled French and +English, on Yorke and on me, but principally on me. I tried to +interpose a polite word of regret, but he would not listen to me. + +"You air a sneak, a cowaird, sir! You spy on mademoiselle and me! +Cowair-r-r-d! I will have the satisfaction! Sacré Dieu! You have no +doubt told the negro to leap upon my back! I will have r-r-r-evenge!" + +And as if reminded by that last word, he turned to mademoiselle and +spoke in French: + +"Fly with me at once, mademoiselle! You will not stay to be at the +mercy of a sneaking spy. See! I will call my red friends. Do not be +afraid! They will carry you off, but I will be with you, and we will +find horses and fly." + +And without waiting for an answer he turned and imitated three times +the call of a whippoorwill. + +I knew what that meant--that in a moment the Osages would be upon us; +and hardly had his first call left his lips before I too had turned +and uttered the shrill whistle that always brought Fatima to my side. + +As I knew, the last whippoorwill call had not died away when from the +woods on the opposite side of the lake, silently, swiftly stole first +one dark figure and then another, until at least a dozen savages, +armed and painted, were bearing down upon us with the fleetness of +deer. In a moment more they would be upon us, and neither Yorke's life +nor mine would be worth the asking, and, what was far harder to +contemplate, mademoiselle would be captive in their hands. + +She stood for a moment petrified with horror at the sight of the +swiftly advancing savages, and then she turned to me in an agony of +entreaty. + +"Oh, fly, fly at once!" she said, "you and your black man, before it +is too late." + +I turned to Yorke: + +"Go as mademoiselle bids you; get your horse and fly." + +Yorke tried to remonstrate, but I would not let him open his lips. + +"No; you will only hinder me now. If worse comes to worst, you can at +least bear the news. Go at once!" And without waiting for further +orders, Yorke turned, scrambled up the face of the bluff, and was off. + +"But you will go, too!" she cried, as I turned again to her. + +"And leave you?" + +"Oh, do not mind me! They will not hurt me!" And then, as I stood +perfectly still, with my pistols ready, but with no intention of +leaving her to the tender mercies of the savages and the savage +mercies of the chevalier, she grew desperate, grasping my arm and +trying with her feeble strength to push me toward safety. + +"I implore you," she entreated, "if you have any feeling of friendship +for me, fly before it is too late!" + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "I stir not one step from this spot unless you +go with me." + +"I will but hinder you," she cried, "and prevent all possibility of +escape. Oh, do not stay for me!" + +"Mademoiselle," said the chevalier, who had been enjoying this scene, +with no attempt at concealing his relish for it, "go with monsieur, +since he desires it." + +Even as he spoke, the first of the Osages darted into the glen; the +others were close at his heels; but at the same moment from the +entrance of the glen nearer to us came the thunder of hoofs, and +Fatima was at my side, her eyes flashing, her hoofs pawing the earth, +her nostrils snorting with rage: for well she guessed that painted +savages meant danger to her master. + +I was on her back in a moment, and, stooping, lifted mademoiselle +swiftly to the crupper in front of me. Holding her there with my left +arm, I wheeled Fatima with the one word of command, "Go!" and turning +my head as she flew over the rough earth, I leveled my pistol at the +chevalier. + +"Do not stir, monsieur, at the peril of your life!" I called to him, +and kept him covered as we flew. I knew the savages were running to +try to head me off but I paid no attention to them until, rounding a +great boulder, the chevalier (his face ghastly with rage and +disappointed revenge, for so sudden had it all been he had had no time +even to draw his pistol to prevent the rescue until too late) was out +of my range, as we were out of his. Then, turning my pistol swiftly on +the Osage in the lead,--none too soon, for his rifle was leveled at +us,--I fired. The poor fellow fell forward with a wild yell that +turned my heart sick; yet none the less, the others rushing on with +their wild whoops to avenge him, I drew my second pistol and fired +once more. + +But I knew not with what result, for mademoiselle, with a convulsive +shudder and a look of mortal woe, cried out: + +"You have killed the chevalier!" + +"No, mademoiselle," I answered grimly; "I have killed the poor +whippoorwill you asked me for"; and then had all I could do without +paying any more attention to the savages, for mademoiselle had fainted +and lay like one dead on my arm, her white face upturned to mine, her +long black lashes sweeping the marble cheeks, and the dark curls +falling backward from the white brow and floating on the wind, as +Fatima flashed along the woodland path like a swallow on the wing. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +I TWINE CHRISTMAS GREENS + + "Woman's at best a contradiction still." + + +Yorke had reached the picnic-ground just long enough ahead of us to +create pandemonium. He had reported both mademoiselle and me as killed +and scalped by this time, and a band of a hundred savages, with the +chevalier at their head, on their way to the picnic. + +The massacre of 1780 was still fresh enough in the memory of St. Louis +folk to make this seem no improbable tale, and the utmost confusion +ensued. Some of the young men, with Josef Papin and Gabriel Cerré at +their head, were for going at once to our rescue; but the maidens +implored, and Yorke averred it was too late, and reported the savages +in such numbers as would make such an undertaking only foolhardy. (And +by this you must not judge Yorke a villain and a coward; he would have +been the first to volunteer and the loudest to urge on the others, but +he had heard Fatima's hoofs behind him, and knew we were safe, and, +rascal that he was, could not resist his practical joke nor his negro +love of producing a great effect.) + +Into this wild pandemonium of women screaming unintelligible cries to +each other as they hastily got together their belongings and packed +them into charrettes and saddle-bags, amid sobbings and wailings, and +men shouting hoarsely to mustang and pony as they struggled with bit +and bridle, mademoiselle and I rode; and their joy at seeing us alive, +and our hair still on our heads, knew no bounds. + +I told them the true state of the case--that there were not more than +a dozen or twenty of the savages at the most, and I hardly thought the +chevalier would bring them down upon us. Yet, knowing that he might be +in a mood for risking everything to recapture mademoiselle, I +recommended that the men form themselves into two bands to ride in the +front and in the rear, with the maidens between the two, and to start +at once. We could go no faster, of course, than the charrettes could +go, and the savages could easily overtake us if they desired; but I +did not believe they would dare, for our numbers were greater than +theirs, and the young men were all well armed. + +Mademoiselle had recovered from her fainting, but was still white and +weak. And because I did not believe she was able to sit La Bette, I +recommended that she ride in Josef Papin's charrette with Mademoiselle +Chouteau and let Josef ride her horse. We two, young Papin and I, +brought up the rear; and I did not see mademoiselle again except once, +for a moment, when we were crossing La Petite Rivière, and I rode up +by her side to see that the charrette went steadily through the water. +Her head was on Mademoiselle Chouteau's shoulder, who was supporting +her with her arm. Her eyes were closed, and Mademoiselle Chouteau +whispered to me, "She is asleep!" but at that she opened her eyes +quickly and looked up at me. She tried to smile, but I think the +terror of it all was still strongly with her. She said: + +"I have not thanked you, monsieur; but I know I owe you my liberty, if +not my life, and I am not ungrateful." + +It was very sweetly said, but there was a horrible fear at my heart +that she would rather have been captured by the redskins, and gone +away with the Chevalier Le Moyne, than to have been rescued by me. + +Just at the stockade we met a party of horsemen. Dr. Saugrain and my +captain were in the lead with Black Hawk, who had reported Red Jean +with a band of Osages lurking in the woods, and they were on their way +to clear them out, lest they molest the picnic or the village. Amid a +babble of excitement, every one trying to talk at once, our tale was +told. And as Dr. Saugrain and my captain thought it was best to go on +and try to capture the chevalier and his band, and as our escort was +no longer needed for the maidens, I turned my horse and rode back with +them to find the chevalier. + +I confess it would have done me good to bring him in a captive, but I +was doomed to disappointment. We scoured the woods, and the only +traces we found of him and his band were the prints of horses' hoofs +going south,--a dozen horses, I should think,--and, just where Rock +Spring bubbles up in a silver fountain, a torn and bloody lace +handkerchief. I gave the good doctor a full account of the +conversation I had listened to, and he ground his teeth with rage at +the chevalier's duplicity. He was much touched at Pelagie's chivalrous +defense of him; yet, as delicately as I could, I tried to tell him +that at the very last I feared the chevalier had succeeded in +insinuating some seeds of doubt and suspicion in mademoiselle's mind. +The doctor and my captain both agreed that it was time to tell Pelagie +the full truth of the matter. She should know all about herself and +her expectations, and who were her friends and who her foes. + +I was curious to see what effect the revelation would have upon her; +or it could hardly be called a revelation, since the chevalier had +already revealed it--rather the confirmation of his tale. But in that, +too, I was doomed to disappointment. She was ill for several days and +confined to her room,--the effect of the excitement she had passed +through,--and before she was well enough to be about again, my captain +and I had set off, with Black Hawk as guide and Yorke as factotum, to +make a visit to Daniel Boone at his home on the Missouri River. + +We found the grand old man as happy as a child in the beautiful home +he had at last made for himself and his family at the very outposts of +civilization. We were gone four weeks, exploring the woods and +mountains and rolling prairies of the beautiful country, and coming +home on a great flatboat down the swiftly rolling Missouri, past Fort +Bellefontaine, where the Missouri empties into the Mississippi (where +we were royally entertained by the Spanish commandant), and so at +last by the Mississippi back to St. Louis. + +I found myself trembling with a mingling of fearful and pleasant +anticipations as I rode up the steep bluff on Fatima's back, and we +took the Rue de l'Église to Dr. Saugrain's house. + +It was the day before Christmas, and I had not remembered it; but as +we passed the church in the rear of Auguste Chouteau's place, through +the open doors we could see young men and maidens winding long +garlands of Christmas greens and festooning them over doors and +windows, while shouts of merry laughter floated out to us. I was for +drawing rein and going in to help with the trimming; but my captain +(who, I believe, was shy of the maidens) insisted we must first pay +our respects to our host. + +The little doctor met us at the gate with a beaming face, and when +Narcisse and Yorke had led away our horses we entered once more the +long, low room we had first entered nearly two months before. The +windows were no longer open, looking out into cool green foliage, with +white muslin curtains stirring in the breeze, and there was no maiden +in a white robe, with the blue ribbon of a guitar across her +shoulders, singing creole love-songs. Instead, crimson damask curtains +were falling over the white ones, and a great fire of logs was blazing +in one end of the room, looking cozy and cheery enough on this crisp +December day. + +Yet, in spite of its coziness, I thought it had a dreary look. Leon +was lying before the fire, and though he looked at me a little +doubtfully, as he slowly rose and shook himself, I felt a rush of +friendliness toward him, and showed it so plainly, as I called him to +me, that at last he capitulated, and we have ever since been the best +of friends. + +Then Madame Saugrain came running in, flushed and rosy from the +kitchen, where she had been superintending the baking of Christmas +tarts and croquecignolles, and bringing with her appetizing whiffs of +roasting and frying. My captain laughingly told her that the good +smells made him hungry. + +"You shall come and see," she said; and led us into the great kitchen, +where, on tables as white as snow, were piled heaps of golden-brown +croquecignolles, cut in curious patterns, and the big black cook was +dropping still more into the kettle of boiling fat, and bringing out +puffy and wondrously shaped birds and beasts. Narcisse, on his knees +on the hearth, was turning two great fowls suspended before the fire, +from which oozed such rich and savory gravy as made one smack his +lips. On another table a huge venison pasty and tarts and cakes of +many kinds were temptingly arrayed, and madame's pride in her +housewifely preparations for the Christmas feasting was pretty to see. +She would have us taste her croquecignolles and little cakes, and had +a glass of gooseberry wine brought out of the store-room for each of +us, and we drank it standing in the kitchen, and helping ourselves +from the pile of croquecignolles. + +But kind and charming as was madame, and toothsome as were her cakes, +and much as her gooseberry wine tickled our palates, I was yet on +nettles to be gone and join the young people at the church. Whether +madame guessed it or whether it was just one of her kindly thoughts, +she said in her motherly way: + +"But, my son, you should be at the church. The maidens will be vexed +with me if I keep you talking to an old woman, when they might be +having your help with the wreaths." + +"If you think they need me?" and I tried to look as if only a stern +sense of duty could induce me to go. + +Madame Saugrain laughed, with the merry twinkle in her eye that made +her as captivating as a young maiden. + +"Allons donc!" she said. "Quel garçon!" And with my best bow to her +and a salute to my captain and the good doctor, I whistled to Leon to +accompany me and strode quickly down the road toward the little +church. + +But as I neared it I slackened my pace, and but for very shame I would +have turned and fled again to the shelter of madame's motherly smile. +I had not seen Mademoiselle Pelagie since the day of the picnic, and I +was much in doubt whether she regarded me as her rescuer to be +esteemed with grateful and friendly feeling, or as the cause of the +loss of a dear friend, perhaps a lover. I felt very sure I would be +able to tell at our first meeting in which light I was held, and, +screwing up all my courage, I made a bold dash for the church door. + +Scarcely had my shadow darkened the doorway when I was surrounded by +an eager group, saluting me with every form of friendly welcome back +to St. Louis; but the face I looked for was not among them. +Mademoiselle Chouteau and Mademoiselle Papin seized me, one by either +arm, and led me to a great pile of greens, and would have set me at +once to work in tying them to long ropes. But I begged them to permit +me first to pay my respects to the rest of my friends; for over in a +dark corner I had seen Pelagie at work, with two or three young men +around her, supplying her with greens for her nimble fingers to weave +into garlands, and she had not come with the others to greet me. I +thought at least that little courtesy was due me, for, whether she +liked or resented my rescuing her, I had risked much in the doing of +it. + +I was filled with bitterness toward her, but could have no more kept +away from her than the moth from the flame. My bitterness now gave me +courage, and I sauntered up to her with what I flattered myself was +quite as grand an air as the chevalier's might have been. Hand on the +hilt of my sword, hat doffed, with its plume sweeping the ground, I +bowed low. + +"If mademoiselle has not forgotten an old acquaintance, will she +permit me respectfully to salute her?" + +She had been seated on a low seat with the side of her face toward me, +and may or may not have been aware of my approach. As I spoke, she +rose quickly and turned toward me, the rich blood rushing over her +face and neck for a minute, and receding and leaving her almost as +white as when I had held her in my arms and she had thought the +chevalier killed. + +She did not speak, but she held out her hand, and I bowed low over +it, and barely touched it with my lips. The young men (among whom was +of course Josef Papin) crowded around me with friendly greetings, and +for a few minutes we talked fast, they asking and I answering many +questions about Daniel Boone and our adventures in the far West. + +I did not look at mademoiselle as we talked, but--it is a way I +have--I saw her all the time. I think it must be because I am so much +taller than most people that I can see all that goes on around me (or, +perhaps more truly, beneath me) without seeming to look. I saw +mademoiselle regard me with a strange glance, as if she were looking +at some one she did not know, and was trying to explain him to +herself. Then she sat down and quietly went on with her work, her head +bent, and not looking at me again. + +I talked on for a few minutes, and then turned to make my adieus to +mademoiselle. She looked up at me with a friendly smile and I saw, +what I had not noticed before, that she was paler and thinner than +when I had seen her last, and there was a look in her dark eyes as of +hidden trouble. + +"Will you not stay and help us, monsieur?" she said in that voice +which, from the first time I had heard it, had always seemed to me the +sweetest in the world. Of course it set my silly pulses to beating +faster, but I answered steadily and with an air of cold courtesy: + +"I regret that I cannot accept mademoiselle's invitation; I have +promised my services elsewhere"; and with another low bow I turned on +my heel and, holding my head high, went back to weave garlands with +Mademoiselle Chouteau and Marguerite Papin. + +And because I was so big and they were so petite, they delighted in +ordering me around (and I delighted in obeying), and they made me +mount to the highest beams to suspend garlands, and applauded me when +I arranged them to suit their fancy, and laughed at me or scolded me +when I was awkward and stupid, until my back ached and my heart grew +light; for I forgot for a time that mademoiselle, for whom I had +risked my life, had not even cared to give me a friendly welcome back +to St. Louis. + +The last garland was fastened in its place, the last stray bit of +evergreen and rubbish swept from the doors, the church garnished and +beautiful to behold. There was the noisy bustle of preparing for +departure and the calling back and forth: + +"Be sure you are at midnight mass, Gabriel." + +"Au revoir at midnight mass, Pelagie." + +"I will see you at midnight mass, monsieur." + +And for me there was a moment of embarrassment. Was it my duty to +offer myself as escort to any of the maidens? For though the hour was +early it was already dark. Or, since I was going direct to +mademoiselle's house, would I be expected to accompany her? I glanced +over to her corner; she had already left the church. I looked through +the open doorway; she was walking down the Rue de l'Église with Josef +Papin. + +"Mademoiselle Chouteau," I said, "may I have the pleasure of walking +home with you?" + +But all the way up the Rue de l'Église and down the steep incline of +the Rue Bonhomme, and up the Rue Royale to the great barred gate that +led into the stone-walled inclosure of Pierre Chouteau, while +Mademoiselle Chouteau, with her nimble tongue, was flitting from one +bit of village gossip to another, like a butterfly among the flowers, +I was saying bitterly to myself: + +"And she had even the discourtesy to walk away without waiting to see +whether the guest of her house was going home or not." + +It was a long mile and a half from Pierre Chouteau's house to Dr. +Saugrain's, and it was a frosty December evening. It was only five +o'clock, but the stars were out, and through the leafless trees I +could see lights twinkling from the houses as I passed. Faster and +faster I walked, as my thoughts grew more and more bitter toward +mademoiselle, and by the time I had reached the cheery living-room, +with its blazing lightwood fire, I was in such a glow from exercise +and indignation as made the fire all unwelcome. + +I had quite made up my mind, on my long walk, that mademoiselle should +find me as cool as herself; and through the evening meal I scarce +looked at her. But if I had fancied mademoiselle suffering from some +secret trouble, I changed my mind at supper. She sat between my +captain and her guardian, and was in such merry mood that she had my +captain alternately laughing uproariously at her wit, and making fine +speeches about her beauty, in a fashion that quite amazed me, for I +had ever considered him a sober-minded fellow, above all such light +ways. + +Nor did she refrain from a slight stab at me whenever it was possible +to get it in. I took no more notice of these than I could help, yet I +felt my cheeks, already burning from my frosty walk, grow hotter and +hotter, until the very tips of my ears were on fire; and I felt it the +unkindest cut of all when she said, with her pretty accent and air of +polite condescension to a very young boy: + +"'Tis a long walk from Mademoiselle Chouteau's, monsieur, but it has +given you une grande couleur. What would not our St. Louis belles give +for such roses!" + +I turned toward her just long enough to say gravely, "I thank you, +mademoiselle," and then renewed at once my conversation with madame. +But I could see from the tail of my eye that she had the grace to +blush also, and to be ashamed of her petty persecutions, for she left +me to myself the remainder of the meal. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +I GO TO MIDNIGHT MASS + + "Tender-handed stroke a nettle, + And it stings you for your pains; + Grasp it like a man of mettle, + And it soft as silk remains." + + +In our room, making ready for midnight mass, which all the family, +including guests, were expected to attend, my captain told me what Dr. +Saugrain had said to him about mademoiselle. He had told her fully her +history and expectations (save only her exact rank and title, which he +had thought best still to withhold from her), and the plans of her +friends for her future. He had also told her very plainly that he had +suspected the chevalier of just such an attempt at her capture as he +had made, and for that reason had been so unwilling that she should go +to Chouteau's Pond. + +Mademoiselle had listened, and had asked him many questions, and had +at last said that she could not doubt the truth of her guardian, but +she thought it possible the chevalier was honest also, and misjudged +Dr. Saugrain because he did not know him. The doctor had tried to +convince her of the chevalier's duplicity, and showed her the letter +of warning from France concerning him; but the doctor was not sure +that mademoiselle was convinced, and he had determined, as soon as +safe convoy could be found, to send her to her friends in Paris. + +In the meantime mademoiselle did not seem happy, and the good doctor +was much puzzled to know whether it was, as he hoped, regret at +leaving his wife and himself, who had been father and mother to her, +or, as he feared, a secret regret for the chevalier, and a lurking +doubt of the Saugrains. + +And now all my bitterness toward mademoiselle had suddenly vanished. I +seemed to understand fully the state of mind the poor girl was in, and +there was no room in my heart for anything but a great pity for her. +The remembrance of her face as I had seen it when the chevalier was +talking to her, the generous indignation changing to doubt, and then +the gradual kindling of a desire for the life depicted to her by the +chevalier (and, perhaps, a touch of a softer emotion for the chevalier +himself),--it was like reading an open book, and I said to myself: + +"Mademoiselle is torn by conflicting emotions: her love for her +friends here whom she is to leave, and longing for the life in Paris +which may soon be hers, and, perhaps, love for the chevalier, whom she +feels she ought to despise. What does it matter if she sometimes vents +her irritation with herself upon me, whom she regards as but a boy? I +shall not resent it; but if I find a chance I will try to let her know +I understand." + +But I had no chance on the way to mass. Madame Saugrain seemed to +take it for granted that Captain Clarke and the doctor would walk with +mademoiselle, and I was her peculiar property; and I suppose I had +given her the right to think so by always pointedly devoting myself to +her. + +It was a solemn service at that midnight hour: the bare little church +made beautiful with our garlands of green, and the twinkle of many +candles around the altar; the heads bowed in prayer; the subdued +murmur of voices making the responses; the swelling note of triumph in +the Gregorian chant; and then coming out under the quiet stars and +exchanging greetings with friend and neighbor. + +And last of all the quiet walk home, and, to my surprise, I was +walking by mademoiselle's side. I was surprised, for it was not of my +arranging, and it set my blood to leaping to think it was possibly of +hers. I made up my mind that no word of mine should mar the +friendliness of the act, and I plunged quickly into a lively +discussion of the ball that was to take place at Madame Chouteau's on +Christmas evening. But she interrupted me almost in the beginning, +and, as was her habit when she talked with me, she spoke in French. It +was only rarely she tried her English, though, when she did, it was +with such a witching grace I could have wished it oftener. + +"Monsieur," she said, "I have been so unmaidenly as to inflict my +company upon you for the walk home when you had not solicited it, but +I had a reason for so doing. I hope," as if a sudden thought had +struck her, "I have not interfered with other plans. Had you desired +to escort some one else home?" + +"Certainly not," I said coolly, for I was unaccountably irritated by +the suggestion. "And I did not solicit the honor of being your escort +only because I had reason to suppose it would not be agreeable to +you." + +"It was for that I am here without an invitation," she answered +quickly. "I have many times given you occasion to think me entirely +without manners. I have often been very rude to you. I wish to ask +your pardon for my silly speeches at the table, and for all my +unamiability, and to assure you I have not forgotten your great +services to me, and I am not ungrateful. It is because I have +naturally a very bad temper; and now I believe I am not quite well, I +am so irritable of late." + +Several times I had tried to interrupt her; I could not bear to have +her humiliate herself to me (for I was sure it must be a humiliation +to one of her haughty temper). But she would not listen to my +interruptions; she went steadily on with a voice so low and sweet and +sad it quite unmanned me. + +Yet because I thought her voice trembled, and in the moonlight (for +the late moon was now well up in the sky) I was sure I saw something +bright glistening on her long lashes, and because my heart was torn +for her, and I was seized with a horrible fear that she might weep, +and I would not know what to do--for all these reasons I spoke quickly +and lightly: + +"Mademoiselle, you have the temper of an angel, and if sometimes you +lose it, I fear it is because only an angel with wings could be +patient with a blundering giant like me." + +"You are no blunderer, monsieur," she said gravely; "and if you are a +giant, you are one of the good kind who use their strength and their +courage in rescuing distressed damsels. I hope they will not all +requite you as badly as I have done." + +"Mademoiselle,"--I spoke as gravely as she had spoken,--"I hope you +will not let the remembrance of any service I have been able to render +you prove a burden to you. I would risk much more in your service, if +the occasion offered, than I risked then, and find my delight in so +doing." And then I added: "I wish you would promise me that if you +should ever need such service again--if you are ever in peril of any +kind, and I am in reach--that you will call on me." + +Mademoiselle hesitated a moment before she replied: + +"You are heaping coals of fire on my head, monsieur; you are far +kinder to me than I deserve, but--I promise." + +"Thank you, mademoiselle; you have given me my reward, and if you were +ever unamiable to me, you have fully atoned. Sometimes I think, +mademoiselle," I went on, inwardly trembling but determined, "that you +did not esteem it so great a service that I rendered you--that perhaps +you had rather not have been rescued. Am I wrong?" + +I was looking down on her and watching her narrowly as I spoke. I +could see, even by the uncertain light of the moon, that she went +suddenly white, and there was a perceptible pause before she spoke. + +"I hardly think, monsieur, that you have any right to ask me such a +question, but I am going to answer your question by another." And +slowly the color crept back into her face, and grew brighter and +brighter, but she went steadily on. "Did you overhear what the +Chevalier Le Moyne was saying to me in the glen?" + +It was my time to wince. Must I confess to eavesdropping? It was hard +enough to do that under any circumstances--but she might think I had +listened too to the chevalier's wooing; it seemed to me I could not so +outrage her sense of delicacy as to let her think that. I had been +reared to revere the truth, but for once I thought it not wrong to +chip a little from its sharp edge. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "I will confess to you. I missed you and the +chevalier from the dance. I had been warned that the chevalier might +attempt to carry you off, and I had given my word not to let you out +of my sight. Of course I went at once in search of you, and because I +believed the whippoorwills we had heard in the woods to be signal of +savages, I bade Yorke follow me with the horses. I heard voices, and +in following them came to the top of the bluff encircling the glen. I +would scorn to be an eavesdropper under ordinary circumstances, but a +chance word caught my ear, and when I found the chevalier was not +pleading a lover's cause, but maligning my friend Dr. Saugrain to the +maiden he loves as his own daughter, I felt it my duty to listen. Your +rejection with scorn of the chevalier's base insinuation against Dr. +Saugrain delighted my heart, but when I found that he was continuing +with devilish ingenuity to seek to undermine your faith in your +guardian, I concluded it was time for me to interfere. I told Yorke to +be ready with the horses, and myself went down to the entrance of the +glen, intending to interrupt the chevalier, and use my pledge to your +guardian as authority for requesting your return. Imagine my +astonishment to find Yorke, whom I had left in charge of the horses, +astride the chevalier's neck! What followed you know, and now you know +what I heard and why I listened. Was it wrong?" + +Mademoiselle was silent for a minute. I think she was not quite sure +that I had not heard more than I confessed to, but she was willing to +hope I had not. + +"Monsieur," she said, "you were no doubt justified in listening, if +one can ever be justified in listening to what is not intended for his +ears. But you have used some harsh expressions concerning the +chevalier, and I think it is possible you wrong him, even as he +wronged my guardian. I do not for one moment believe that my guardian +has had any but the best of motives in keeping from me all knowledge +of my rank and wealth; but I might still be ignorant of it, and I know +not for how much longer, if the chevalier had not revealed it to me. +Dr. Saugrain corroborated all that he has said. He only refuses to +believe that the chevalier was sent by my friends to take me back to +Paris. He accuses him of being in a plot to get possession of my +person and of my wealth. Yet that is exactly the accusation made by +the chevalier against Dr. Saugrain. Dr. Saugrain admits that all the +chevalier said about my present rank and future prospects is true. Why +should not the rest be true--that he had been sent by my friends to +bring me back to Paris? Can you not see that he does not necessarily +seem to me so black as he does to you and my guardian? And it seems a +hard thing to me that he should be a refugee among savages, leaving a +blackened reputation behind him (for there is no one in St. Louis who +does not vilify him), when he was actuated by most chivalrous motives, +however mistaken they might be; for he thought he was rescuing a +wronged maiden from those who had unlawful possession of her, and +restoring her to her friends. I cannot but feel shame and regret that +I should have caused the chevalier so great a journey, at such cost of +money and fatigue, in vain, and that he may be even now suffering all +kinds of exposure from wild savages, if not in peril of his life." + +Now here was the opportunity I had desired to assure her of my +sympathy, and tell her that I understood the difficulties in which she +was placed; but my tongue clove to the roof of my mouth. When I +thought of that villain (for whatever mademoiselle might think, I +never for a moment doubted his villainy) my blood boiled, and, +instead, I blurted out roughly: + +"Mademoiselle, 'tis incomprehensible to me how you can for one moment +give the word of such a man as the chevalier, whom you have known so +short a time, equal credence with the word of such a man as Dr. +Saugrain, thorough Christian gentleman in every fiber of his being, +and your lifelong friend and benefactor, your more than father." + +But I had spoken beyond my right. Mademoiselle turned on me with cold +fury: + +"Monsieur, I have not sought this interview that you should teach me +my duty to my guardian, nor criticize my attitude toward the +chevalier. I am sorry we have allowed the others to get so far ahead +of us, but if we hasten we may overtake them and I will relieve you +from further attendance." Whereupon she started ahead at a round pace. + +"Mademoiselle!" I called to her, "I entreat you to listen to me for a +moment." + +Mademoiselle stopped and turned toward me, and we stood facing each +other in the middle of the road, alone in the white moonlight, for the +others were quite out of sight around a bend in the road, and there +were no houses near. Below us lay the Mississippi, a white flood in +the moonlight, and far across the river the twinkling lights of +Cahokia, one of them, no doubt, in Mr. Gratiot's house, where I had +first seen mademoiselle. Her eyes were flashing scorn at me now, as +they flashed at me when she knelt with her arms around the great +shaggy brute, and, looking up in my face, called me "Bête!" There was +no doubt about it, mademoiselle could be a little fury at times, and +no doubt she would have liked to call me once more, "Bête!" + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "I am so unhappy as to be always offending +you. From the moment when I made my descent of Mr. Gratiot's staircase +on the back of your dog, to the present moment, I seem to have been +able to make myself only ridiculous or offensive to you! I beg you to +believe that it is a matter of the deepest regret to me that this +should be so, and to believe that to offend you is ever farthest from +my desire. I realize that I was over-zealous for Dr. Saugrain, whom I +greatly admire and love, and that you certainly had never given me any +right to take such interest in you and your affairs as I just now +displayed. I beg you to believe that I shall never again offend in +like manner, mademoiselle la comtesse." + +I saw her face slowly change from its expression of scorn to that same +wondering look I had noticed in the church, as if she were regarding +some one she did not know and was trying to understand. As I uttered +the last words, "mademoiselle la comtesse," another and a swift change +came over her. Her eyes fell, her head drooped. Still standing there +in the moonlight, she suddenly buried her face in her hands and sobs +shook her slender figure. + +"Mademoiselle, mademoiselle!" I cried. "I beg, I implore, you to +forgive me. I am, indeed, a brute!" And as she continued to sob +drearily, I was beside myself. What could I do? She looked so like a +little child, and I was so big, to have hurt her seemed cruel and +shameful. I was in a state of desperation. I begged her and implored +her not to weep; but it seemed to me she only sobbed the harder. What +did one do, I wondered, with a weeping maiden? Had it only been a +child I would have known, for I had ever a way with children; but +before a weeping maiden I was helpless. + +And still mademoiselle sobbed on, her sobs coming faster and harder, +until, in a paroxysm of grief (or I know not what), she flung herself +upon a low bank beside the road, moaning and crying aloud. + +Instantly my courage returned to me. Mademoiselle was acting like a +child; I should treat her as one. + +"Mademoiselle," I said firmly, "I cannot permit you to sit upon the +cold ground. I am very, very sorry for you, but you must at once arise +and dry your eyes and tell me what is the matter, so that I can help +you." + +Mademoiselle but wept the louder. There was no help for it; at the +risk of being rude I must stop her weeping and make her rise from the +ground. + +"Mademoiselle!" I said sternly, "you will oblige me by rising at once +from that cold ground or you will compel me to go for Madame Saugrain +and deliver you into her hands." + +For a second, amazement at my tone of authority kept her silent, then +followed a storm of sobs and tears more violent than before. + +"I am sorry, mademoiselle," I said, in a tone purposely cool and +cutting (though it was my own heart I stabbed with my coldness), "that +you compel me to treat you _comme enfant_. I shall wait one minute, +and if you do not rise from the ground in that time I shall call your +friends." Then I drew myself up tall and stiff, like a sentinel, +turned my back on mademoiselle, and took out my watch to note the time +by the moon-beams. + +There was no answer, but the sobs grew less until there was only an +occasional convulsive catching of the breath. Then came a moment of +quiet. There were neither sobs nor moans. Then a small and plaintive +voice said gently: + +"Monsieur, I will be good now." + +I turned quickly. Mademoiselle was starting to rise from the low bank; +I grasped her hands and helped her to her feet and looked down upon +her. Her face was flushed with weeping; her hood had fallen back and +her dark curls were in wild disorder; she might have been a beautiful +child who had been naughty but was now subdued. She adjusted her hood +and her curls as best she could, and then walked quietly along beside +me. We neither of us spoke, and we walked rapidly and in a few minutes +overtook the others and came up to the house together, and into the +big living-room, where fresh logs piled in the great chimney-place +were blazing and crackling, and lighting every cranny of the long +room. + +Mademoiselle was paler than usual, but otherwise there were no signs +of the tempest she had just been through, and I looked at her with +wonder. Madame Saugrain, noticing her pallor, and thinking she was +cold, put her down on the wooden settle in the chimney-place to warm +by the glowing fire, and bustled about helping Narcisse to bring in +plates of croquecignolles and cups of hot mulled gooseberry wine, +which was much to my satisfaction, for the frosty air and the lateness +of the hour had put a keen edge on an appetite that was ever ready for +trencher service. + +Now the settle on which mademoiselle sat had a high back and was +turned away from the rest of us, so that, as we engaged in helping +Madame Saugrain, we might easily have forgotten the little figure +hidden away upon it. Perhaps the others did, but I did not. My mind +hovered around it all the time; but I was divided between a desire to +take her some cake and wine, which I was sure would do her good, and a +fear of my reception if I did, and a baser fear that I might thereby +lose my own toothsome cake and fragrant wine, which was at that moment +making most potent appeals to my inner man by way of the nostrils. +"For," I said to myself, "I know the ways of maidens. They like not to +see men eat. It seems in their minds a greater compliment to them if a +man do but nibble and sip and seem to be careless of his victuals and +drink, which I maintain is a great mistake, for a good trencherman is +ever a good lover, and a man to be trusted in all the serious business +of life." + +To ease my conscience and my appetite at the same time, I disposed of +a croquecignolle and my steaming cup of wine with such haste that the +one stuck in my windpipe and liked to choke me, and the other burnt my +mouth well and might as well have been boiling water for all the +pleasure my palate got out of it. Then I pretended to suddenly +remember mademoiselle, and carried her a plate of cake and a cup of +wine with fear and trembling. + +She refused them, as I thought she would, but looked up at me very +sweetly and asked me very gently to sit down beside her for a moment, +and I remember thinking as I did so that I had been wise to secure my +cake and wine first, else would I have gone hungry, since I could +scarce have the face to eat if mademoiselle would not eat with me. But +I still thought it would do her good to have at least a little of the +wine, and, remembering how well she had yielded to discipline when she +found she must, I set the wine on the hearth where it would keep warm +for further use, and then turned to hear what she had to say. + +"I only want to say to you, Monsieur, that I am very much ashamed of +myself this evening, but I am very unhappy, and I have brooded upon my +unhappiness until I have become nervous and irritable, and, as you saw +to-night, incapable of self-control. Is that a sufficient excuse for +behaving like a spoiled child?" + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "it is far more than sufficient, but I am more +distressed than I can tell you that you should be so unhappy. If you +would but tell me the cause perhaps I could help you. Is it anything +you can tell me?" + +"Oh, no, no, no!" said Pelagie, hastily, and then seeing perhaps by my +face that it hurt me that she should think it impossible I could help +her, she added hesitatingly: "That is, I think not. Perhaps it might +be possible. I will think about it to-night and to-morrow, and perhaps +at Madame Chouteau's dance, if I have an opportunity, I may tell you. +I believe," still more slowly, "if any one could help me, you could." + +I am sure I thanked her more with my eyes than with my voice, but I +know she understood, and then, thinking she had had more than enough +of serious converse for one evening, I resumed my rôle of stern +disciplinarian and made her eat a little of the cake and drink most of +the wine, pretending all the time that she was a naughty child to be +sternly dealt with. And I could see that the warm wine and the foolish +play were bringing back the color to her cheeks and the brightness to +her eyes and the gay ring to her voice, which pleased me greatly. Then +my captain called to me that it was high time to be saying good night +to the ladies, or rather good morning, and I rose to go, but I turned +first and leaned over the back of the tall settle: + +"Mademoiselle, at the picnic on Chouteau's Pond I won the first dance +with you, I think somewhat against your will. If I should ask you for +the first dance to-morrow night, would you give it to me willingly?" + +"Willingly, Monsieur," with a glance into my eyes (which were very +near her own) by far the sweetest I had yet had from hers. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +MADAME CHOUTEAU'S BALL + + "The uncertain glory of an April day." + + +We met at reveille the next morning at nine--the great Christmas feast +when kinsfolk all gather at the house of the head of the family and +make merry together. Then I saw for what all the mighty preparations +of the day before were intended. The roasted fowl and venison pasty, +smoking hot, were flanked by tarts and cakes and jellies and cordials +beyond my power to inventory, for I had ever less of a talent for the +description of such things than for making away with them. + +It was a goodly feast, and we lingered at table for over an hour, +mingling with our enjoyment of Madame Saugrain's good things such +pleasant converse as Frenchmen excel in. Dr. Saugrain himself had +always something wise and witty to say, and being a man of deep +learning and much science, was often, also, most instructive. An hour, +therefore, passed quickly enough, and I was glad to see that +mademoiselle was looking more as she had looked before the picnic on +Chouteau's Pond than I had seen her since my return. But I had chance +for little more than the good wishes of the day with her, for the +company was large and my seat, as usual, was near Madame Saugrain, at +the other end of the table from hers. My thoughts had dwelt much upon +her when I lay on my bed the night before, a long hour ere sleep +visited my eyelids. I had lived over the events of the evening, and of +the weeks that I had known her, and she had seemed to me not one, but +many maidens. Haughty, meek, scornful, merry, mocking, serious, sad, +sweet--in how many moods had I not seen her, and in each in turn she +had seemed to me the sweetest. I always forgot, when I was with her, +that she was a great lady in France and destined soon to return to her +home land and her rightful position. I never could think of her as +anything but Dr. Saugrain's ward: wilful, sweet, and capricious, the +belle of St. Louis, the toast of the young men and the idol of the +young maidens. That as a rule she had treated me with scorn or +indifference did not in the least detract from her charms for me, but +the unwonted sweetness of the night before had quite gone to my head, +and I was henceforth her willing slave. + +From the breakfast-table we separated; the captain and Dr. Saugrain +going to the doctor's laboratory, where he was making some wonderful +experiments with phosphorus, by which one might at any moment obtain a +light, without the aid of tinder, by means of little sticks of wood +dipped in the phosphorus! 'Tis not to be wondered at that many people +think Dr. Saugrain a dealer in black arts when he can accomplish such +supernatural results by the aid of science! + +As for me, I had an engagement with Josef Papin and Gabriel Cerré and +some other young men to go duck-shooting on the Maramec, a good day's +tramp, and we did not expect to be back until nearly time for Madame +Chouteau's dance. I think the matrons and the maidens expected to +spend the day in going to church and in making visits, which seemed to +me a dull way to spend Christmas, but no doubt they liked it. + +It was a grand day for shooting, the air so clear and dry, just frosty +enough to send the blood leaping through our bodies; and we came home +with a great string of prairie-chicken and duck and partridge--enough +to supply the village for a week. We were a little later than we had +intended in getting home, and tired enough to go right to bed, but I, +for one, would not have missed this my first opportunity to appear in +_grand costume du bal_, to say nothing of the joys of the dance. + +There was a hot supper waiting for me, which rested me wonderfully; +and then, with Yorke's help, I had a quick bath and was into my ball +dress in a shorter time than I had dared to hope. Yorke had laid out +my dress for me and looked to the lace ruffles and lacers, so that I +had only to jump into it and let him tie me up, and I was ready. + +I was glad that I had such a becoming costume with me, for, without +being unduly vain, I knew that the rich plum-colored coat and breeches +and the lilac satin waistcoat with fine lace frills and a touch of +gold here and there were a good offset to my yellow hair and rosy +cheeks, which, much as I despised them at times, I was yet at other +times well satisfied to endure. I liked, too, the looks of my leg in a +fine white silk stocking and low pumps with shoe- and knee-buckles of +brilliants, and was not above being proud of a well-turned calf and +ankle. + +Madame and mademoiselle had gone on ahead in a charrette, as better +suited to their _costumes du bal_ than horseback-riding, and Dr. +Saugrain and Captain Clarke had ridden by their side, leaving me to +finish dressing and hurry after them as soon as I could. + +A mad haste seized me before I reached Madame Chouteau's lest the +first dance should be over and I lose my promised honor. I reflected, +too, that mademoiselle would think me always tardy in keeping my +engagements with her, and the thought lent spurs to my movements. I +entered the great ball-room in breathless haste. The walnut was waxed +to the last perfection of slipperiness, and not taking heed to my +steps, my feet slipped up. But I caught myself from falling, though +not without as many gyrations of long arms and long legs as a Dutch +windmill might accomplish on a windy day. + +My remarkable entry was greeted with a shout of laughter by the young +men and maidens, who by this time had come to know me well. I did not +mind that, but I looked hastily toward Mademoiselle Pelagie, and +there, between the straight black brows, was the ominous little frown +I had learned to dread. What availed my beautiful plum-colored velvets +and lavender satin, lace, and buckles, if I only succeeded in being +an awkward hobbledehoy? I must retrieve myself! + +I drew myself up in my grandest manner and walked up to Madame +Chouteau, sitting in state in a great arm-chair near the +chimney-piece. With my courtliest bow, in my best French, I made my +compliments to her as if I had been accustomed to entering rooms in no +other fashion. Then I made the circuit of the room, talking for a +minute or two to each of my acquaintances, lingering longest by +Mademoiselle Chouteau, whose eyes were dancing with mirth, and so +round the circle, head thrown back (but being careful of my steps), +until I came to mademoiselle. There I stopped, with another low bow. +Looking down on her, I was glad to see the frown was no longer there, +but a look of something far pleasanter, almost like admiration, had +taken its place. + +Of course she was surrounded by young men--that did not displease me: +I liked to see her admired. She was wearing the same gown she had worn +at Mr. Gratiot's the first time I saw her, and I said to myself: "I +know not what her rank in France may be,--comtesse, marquise, or +duchesse,--but I know she looks every inch la reine." I think my pride +in her lent stateliness to my steps as I led her out in the dance. I +know that for her sake I wished to look as much le roi as it was in me +to look. + +But there was no chance during the minuet for mademoiselle's promised +confidence, and as the evening went on I began to think there would be +none at all. There had been the old folks' minuet, when Dr. Saugrain +led out Madame Chouteau on the floor, and his plump little calves, +silk-robed, had twinkled beside her stately steps in wondrous fashion. +And then had come supper,--a bounteous feast of delicate cakes and +sweetmeats and rich salads and cold fowl, with gooseberry wine and a +sweet punch brewed from New Orleans ratafia,--and I feared that would +put an end to the festivities, and still there had been no chance. + +But 'tis a wonderful thing on what a small matter great matters will +sometimes turn! Though there may be those who would think it no great +matter that I should find myself riding home in the moonlight with +mademoiselle on a pillion behind me, and Fatima going at so slow a +pace as put her in a constant fret of wonder as to what could be the +reason that her master kept her down so, and mademoiselle telling me +her story in a low tone (for being so near my ear she did not have to +raise her voice), and sometimes trembling so much that the little arm +which was pretending to circle my great waist to hold on by (but which +only reached by uttermost stretch a quarter-way around) would almost +lose its grip. + +It seemed a great matter to me, and it happened in this wise: I had +barely spoken to mademoiselle since our dance, when just as I was +getting a glass of gooseberry wine and a croquecignolle for +Mademoiselle Chouteau (she said she had no stomach for salads and +meats at a dance) mademoiselle came up to me, inquiring most anxiously +had I seen her capote. 'Twas of heavy silk, and lined with the skins +of beavers, and would have been very costly in Philadelphia, and +handsome enough for our greatest dames. I had not seen it, but offered +to go at once in search of it as soon as I had carried the wine and +croquecignolle to Mademoiselle Chouteau. + +We hunted together in all the most impossible places, and mademoiselle +growing every moment more anxious, because she was keeping madame and +Dr. Saugrain waiting. They were tired and longing to get home, and I +said, half in jest: + +"Had I a pillion, Mademoiselle, we would tell madame not to wait, and +when we had found your capote I could bring you home with me on +Fatima." + +But mademoiselle answered quickly: + +"Would you be so good, Monsieur? I doubt not Madame Chouteau would +lend us a pillion, and it would greatly relieve my anxiety in keeping +madame waiting." + +I hardly knew whether I felt more joy or consternation, but +mademoiselle gave me no time to decide which, but hurried me with her +to persuade her guardians not to wait. I thought the arrangement did +not altogether please the doctor, and he demurred greatly; but his +good wife, who never differed with mademoiselle (whether through being +over-fond or a little in awe, I am not sure), persuaded him that it +was all right and quite the best way. + +And five minutes after the charrette, with my captain and the doctor +accompanying it, drove out of Madame Chouteau's gate, the capote was +found, mademoiselle herself suddenly remembering where she had laid +it. + +I have never felt quite sure that mademoiselle had not known all the +time where it was. But I admired so much the cleverness that could +contrive to accomplish her end (for myself, I could never plan or +scheme, though quick enough to act if occasion presented) that I +forgave the little deceit, if there was any--maidens not being like +men, who must be true and straightforward in even the smallest +matters, lest their honor be attainted. + +But when I had mounted Fatima and lifted mademoiselle to her pillion, +and felt her little arm steal round my great waist (as it needs must, +to keep her from falling), my stupid heart began to beat so fast and +to thump so hard against my waistcoat I feared the buttons would give +way, and was greatly shamed lest mademoiselle should feel it thumping +and guess the cause. Yet presently Fatima, not being accustomed to +petticoats falling over her flanks, pranced on two feet in such a +fashion as to cause mademoiselle to clutch me convulsively with both +arms, whereupon I found myself suddenly calm and master of the +situation. It was the work of a minute or two to reduce Fatima to +order and make her understand that petticoats and a pillion were +entirely proper. That being accomplished, and Fatima made to +understand also that she was to go at her slowest pace, I was ready to +hear mademoiselle's story, which finally she began: + +"Monsieur, I feel that I must take advantage of this opportunity so +providentially offered me. I had not thought to confide in any one, +but I am in sore need of advice, and I know not where else to turn." + +"I know not, Mademoiselle," I answered, "whether I am good at giving +advice. I had rather you would ask me to do for you some perilous and +arduous service. But if it is advice you need most, then such as I can +I will give you truly and faithfully." + +"I thank you, Monsieur"; and then mademoiselle was silent for so long +a time that I half turned in my saddle to look at her. She looked up +at me with a pitiful little smile. + +"Have patience, Monsieur--I will soon find my courage; but I have need +to trust you greatly, for I am trusting you with the safety, perhaps +the life, of a friend. You will not let any harm come to him through +my betrayal?" + +"I promise, Mademoiselle," I said, "to do nothing you will not +approve. But there should never be any question of a betrayal. If a +trust has been given and received, then it is sacred, but it is not +betrayal if it has been forced upon one without his consent." + +I said this because I began to have a glimmering of the truth, and I +did not want mademoiselle to violate her conscience. No good can ever +come from that, I have found, and much as I wanted to hear what she +had to tell me, I could not listen comfortably if I thought she were +really betraying a trust. I was still turned in my saddle, watching +her face, and I saw it lighten at once, and something like a great +sigh of relief seemed to come from the depths of her breast. + +"I see, Monsieur," she said, "you men understand right and wrong +better than we maidens. It has troubled me greatly that I should prove +unfaithful to a trust, and yet I saw no other way. And now, for fear +my courage will ooze out, I must tell you quickly. + +"Two weeks ago I received a letter from the Chevalier Le Moyne, a week +ago I received a second, and yesterday I received a third. The purport +of all these letters is the same. I have returned no answer to any of +them, though each has begged for an answer and given me full +instructions as to how to send it. + +"The chevalier has gone no farther south than Cape Girardeau. He is +waiting near there, in an Osage camp, to seize an opportunity to +rescue me, he says, and restore me to my people. If I had replied to +either of these letters, professing my willingness to go with him, +then I should have received a note of instructions as to where to be +on a certain day and at a certain hour. But I have replied to none, +and the last letter has grown desperate. In it he says if he does not +hear from me he shall return to St. Louis on the evening of the Jour +des Rois and be present at the dance, which is by custom a masked +dance, and will then find means to carry me off. If I am not willing +to go with him, then I must send him a letter before the Jour de l'An, +telling him so finally, when he will return to New Orleans and leave +me to my fate. Now, Monsieur, it will seem to you an easy matter that +I should write him, finally, that I will not go with him. But a +woman's heart is a strange thing. I want to go with him, with all my +heart, and yet I shudder at the very thought of going with him. When I +let my thoughts dwell on the glories that await me in Paris, wealth +and power and luxurious living, and the society of the great and the +noble, such as the chevalier has described it, I feel as if I must go, +and all this life which has been so sweet to me here on the very +borders of civilization grows utterly distasteful. Yes, even the +friends that have been so dear to me begin to seem rude and boorish, +as the chevalier called them. Sometimes, in some of my wayward moods, +the very perils of the journey attract me with a strange fascination. +The ride through the forest with savages for guards; the long journey +in an open boat on the bosom of the great Father of Waters; and at +last the perilous voyage by sea, all draw me strangely. At such times +the chevalier seems to me an angel of light, and my only hope of +escape from my narrow confines to a broad and beautiful life. But +there are times when it all seems very different: when the thought of +leaving my two dear guardians is unbearable, and the life I have known +and loved from childhood, among sweet, true friends, the only life I +desire. Ah, Monsieur, I am so torn by these conflicting states of mind +that what wonder my guardians think me changed! They believe the +chevalier's tales have spoiled me for my life in St. Louis, and that I +would gladly leave them. When I see them sad over what they believe to +be my heartlessness my own heart is like to break, but I say nothing, +and they believe me to be entirely ungrateful and unfeeling. + +"So you can see how unhappy I have been and am, and how sometimes I am +tempted to break away from it all and fly with the chevalier to new +scenes, whether they bring joy or sorrow." + +Mademoiselle did not tell me all this without much hesitation, +sometimes stopping entirely until she could find courage to go on +again, and, as I said before, often trembling so much that the little +arm about my great waist nearly lost its grip. I did not interrupt her +once, but waited, even after she had finished, for fear she might have +more to say. And presently she added: + +"If I do not answer the chevalier's letter he will be here on the Jour +des Rois, and it is more than likely he will lose his life in the +attempt to carry me off, even if I were willing to go with him." + +"Mademoiselle," I said slowly, "it is a hard thing you have asked me, +and I feel sure that whatever I may say I will make you angry, as I +did last night. Of course you know that what I would most like would +be that you should let the chevalier come on the Jour des Rois, and we +would capture him, and there would be an end to all this trouble. But +you know, too, that since you have trusted me with his secret I would +feel in duty bound to save him and get him safely outside the stockade +again, even, if need were, at the risk of my own life. The thing, +therefore, that I wish you would do, and that seems to me the only +thing to do, is to write him at once, telling him you will never go +with him, and bidding him return at once to France since his task is a +hopeless one." + +"And cut myself off from seeing France and recovering my possessions!" + +"'Tis not cutting yourself off." (I spoke a little sternly, for I was +beginning to feel irritated that she could not see the utter folly of +thinking for a moment of going with the chevalier.) "Your guardian is +only waiting for two things, and as soon as they are accomplished he +will send you to Paris. He is awaiting letters from your friends to +say the time is ripe for your return, and they are ready to receive +you, and he is waiting to find a proper person in whose care he can +place you to make the voyage." + +"Then here is the time and the opportunity," said mademoiselle, +eagerly: "my friends have sent the chevalier for me, and he is waiting +to conduct me there." + +I could have shaken her, for a minute, her stupidity seemed so vast to +me. Then I remembered she was really only a child, and that there are +many things maidens do not understand so well as men. So I tried to +speak gently, but so plainly that once for all she might understand. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "do you not see that the very fact that the +chevalier is trying to induce you to go to France alone with him is +proof either of his villainy or of his colossal stupidity? Were he the +angel of light he has sometimes seemed to you, and should he carry you +safely to France and deliver you into the hands of your friends, yet +who, in gay and skeptical Paris, would not be willing to believe the +worst of both of you? The society that he has painted to you as ready +to fall at your feet would be only ready to spurn you. Forgive me, +Mademoiselle, for speaking thus plainly, but there is no man in the +world who would not believe that the very fact of the chevalier's +trying to persuade you to go with him to France proves him a villain +of the deepest dye." + +Mademoiselle did not answer; but her arms slipped from my waist, and +presently I felt her little head resting on my broad back, and sobs +were shaking her little figure. I did not dare stir, for fear of +disturbing her, but it was very uncomfortable to sit so rigidly erect, +not daring to move, because a beautiful little black and curly head +was resting a little above the small of one's back, while tempests of +tears were drenching one's military cloak, and the shaking from the +sobs was making queer little shivers run up and down one's backbone. + +Now this was the second time my brutality had brought mademoiselle to +tears. This time I thought it was good for her, and was of a mind to +let her weep it out, though all the time longing to turn around and +take her in my arms and let her weep upon my breast instead of on my +back. + +But presently I was aware of heroic efforts to stifle the sobs and +stay the tears, and then I heard a most woebegone voice: + +"Oh, monsieur, what shall I do? what shall I do?" + +Now, I had brought Fatima to a standstill, for I was afraid to let her +go even at a slow walk when mademoiselle had no arm to hold on by, and +her head bobbing at every step of Fatima's into the ticklish part of +my back. And by chance we had stopped where the Rue Bonhomme climbs +down the bluff to the river, and our boats lay moored at its foot. +Suddenly an answer to her question flashed into my head. It seemed to +me a perfect solution of all difficulties, but in the nature of the +case I could say nothing to mademoiselle until I had consulted Dr. +Saugrain and my captain. + +One thing I could say, however, and I reiterated what I had said +before: + +"One thing you can do at once, mademoiselle: write to the chevalier so +firm and positive a refusal that he will never trouble you again, and +then go and tell your guardian all about it. He deserves this +confidence from you, and I think you will never be very happy until +you have made him feel that there is no change in your grateful +affection to him." + +There was another moment of silence, and then, in the meekest of +tones: + +"I will do all you tell me, monsieur." + +I could not believe it was the same haughty mademoiselle who had so +scorned "ce garçon-çà." But I was not going to show her the elation I +could not help feeling in her change of attitude; and being also most +sorry for her, and everything settled as far as it could be about the +chevalier, I thought it time that she should be diverted from her +unhappy thoughts, and so I bade her look down on the great river, now +rolling, a silver flood under the moon, straight to Cape Girardeau, +where the chevalier was lingering, and past fort and forest on to the +rich city of New Orleans. For a moment the old longing returned to be +one of a great army borne on its swift waters to capture the haughty +city that held the gateway to the sea. I thought it no harm to tell +mademoiselle what my dreams had been, and we both laughed merrily at +the audacity of them. + +But the night was passing, and gently lifting mademoiselle's arm and +placing it so that it should once more hold her secure on her pillion, +I put Fatima to a gentle canter; and as I felt Pelagie's clasp +tighten, my pulse leaped faster in my veins, and I gave Fatima full +rein, and we went thundering down the Rue Royale, past Madame +Chouteau's place, with the last revelers just coming through the great +gates; past Auguste Chouteau's house, standing dark among its trees; +past the Government House, still brightly lighted, for Governor +Delassus and his retinue were just entering the great hall; turned up +the Rue de la Tour, with the tower at the top of the hill shining +white in the moonlight, then down the long stretch of the Rue de +l'Église, faster and faster, as mademoiselle clung closer, until we +reached the gate of Émigré's Retreat, and a great dog came rushing to +meet us with mighty bounds and joyous barks, and would have +overpowered us both with his clumsy caresses but that a sweet voice +(never before one half so sweet) called: + +"À bas, Leon! Tais-toi, mon ange!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +LA GUIGNOLÉE + + "By sports like these are all their cares beguiled." + + +I woke the next morning with a feeling of elation that for a moment I +did not understand; then I recognized that it was a feeling that +mademoiselle and I would never again be on any but the friendliest of +terms. No more fear of merry scoffing or haughty disdain! I had a +right to look now for only kindness and friendliness. + +But I did not know mademoiselle. The morning was bleak; a fine drizzle +of rain, freezing as it fell, was hanging jeweled pendants from every +twig and branch. I went down-stairs, to find that morning coffee was +being served in the living-room, on a small table drawn up before a +blazing fire of logs. Mademoiselle, who did not often come to early +coffee, was serving it, in a warm-looking gown of some wool stuff, +deep red in color, and I thought it suited well her dark beauty and +the bleak morning. I stopped at the threshold to make my low bow, and +then went forward, expecting a less formal greeting. But she only +looked up from the silver urn, whence she was drawing a cup of coffee +for the captain, long enough to say, "Good morning, monsieur," in her +iciest tones, and then went on talking gaily to the captain of the +ball the night before. I did not understand at all, but I thought it +quite possible I had imagined her coldness; and so, without seeming to +push myself unduly, I sought to join in the conversation when +opportunity offered. I think the captain seconded my efforts out of +the courtesy natural to him; but mademoiselle made it so plain that +she desired to ignore me that I soon took my cup and withdrew to a +corner of the fireplace. I hope I did not do anything so boyish as to +sulk there, but of that I am not sure. + +When the good doctor came bustling in from his laboratory a few +minutes later, half frozen, but burning with enthusiasm over some +experiments he was making with quicksilver, he brought his coffee to +my warm corner, and I at once simulated the deepest interest in his +account of his morning's work--though I confess I have never taken any +great interest in science, and from what he seemed to expect the +quicksilver to do I did not feel altogether sure that he was not, in +truth, dabbling in black art. + +There was a long mirror at the other end of the room--one that Madame +Saugrain had brought from France, and the pride of her heart. As we +talked I could glance in it and see mademoiselle perfectly without +seeming to look at her. I observed that she grew more and more +distrait, only half listening to the captain, and very evidently +trying to overhear our conversation. I had not known that mademoiselle +was so interested in science, and I began to make deep and learned +speeches (or, at least, I hoped they sounded so) on quicksilver and on +every subject allied to it. I did not hesitate to make some remarkable +statements, for whose truth I modestly said I could not vouch. The +doctor was too courteous to show the surprise I think he must have +felt at some of them, but if I had not been so interested in my +investigations in the mirror (which, I am sure, is closely allied to +quicksilver) I would have noticed without doubt that knowing twinkle +of the eye that I had seen at least twice before. My glances in the +mirror, however, showed me that my learned speeches had produced their +intended effect on mademoiselle, at least, and once more I caught that +wondering glance fixed upon me. + +I did not see mademoiselle again until the evening supper-hour. After +breakfast Dr. Saugrain invited the captain and me to ride with him up +to Pierre Chouteau's, and on the ride he told us that mademoiselle had +come to him that morning in the laboratory and had told him all about +the chevalier. I was much touched that she had acted upon my advice so +promptly, and half forgave her for her treatment of me at coffee, +though I understood it the less. The doctor did not say so directly, +but I judged from one or two little remarks that he and Pelagie had +had a thorough clearing up of all their misunderstandings and were +once more on the old confidential terms. He spoke especially of her +"sweetness," and said his advice had been, like mine, to write the +chevalier at once a firm refusal. But the good doctor was greatly +troubled. + +"I shall never feel quite secure again," he said, "till I have Pelagie +safe with her friends in France; so I shall seek the first opportunity +of sending her there. 'Tis for that I am going to consult Pierre +Chouteau, and I thought you might have some suggestion, one or both of +you, as to how to find an escort for her." + +I was so eager with my plan that had flashed on me the night before +that I could not wait to show the proper courtesy to my captain. He +certainly had a right to speak first, but I broke forth, "I have a +plan, sir--" and then was abashed and stopped short. + +The doctor understood, and nodded to me. + +"Yes; let the captain speak first, and then we will hear your plan." + +"Nay," said the captain, with his friendliest smile; "let the lad +speak. He has a plan that seems to me not wholly unpracticable and may +prove the very thing." + +Thus encouraged, I rushed ahead: + +"I have been talking to Captain Clarke about it, sir, and he thinks it +can be done. My last letter from home said that Colonel Livingston was +about to join his father in Paris. My family know Colonel Livingston +well, and a letter from my father would insure the protection of both +Colonel and Mrs. Livingston for mademoiselle on the voyage." + +But the good doctor shook his head. + +"I could never get Pelagie to New York, I fear; to both Madame +Saugrain and myself, such a journey seems an almost impossible +undertaking." + +"But Captain Clarke has that all arranged," I cried. + +The doctor looked at the captain, who answered, smiling: + +"It is my good Achates who has arranged it, but I heartily approve of +his plans. It is time we were getting back to Kentucky, and he +proposes that we take mademoiselle with us to my sister, Mrs. +O'Fallon. There she can stay until we can find a suitable escort up +the Ohio to Port Duquesne, and across the mountains to New York. There +are boats going up the river every week, and always some one going +back to the old home to whom we could intrust mademoiselle. I think it +a good and feasible plan." + +But we had quite reached Pierre Chouteau's before we had persuaded the +doctor that our plan was at all a practical one. Not, as he assured +us, that he could not trust mademoiselle with us, but the +difficulties, dangers, and inconveniences of such a trip, for a young +maiden with no woman in the party but her colored maid, seemed to him +almost insurmountable. However, he was so nearly convinced by my +eloquence and the captain's logic that just as we were turning in at +Mr. Chouteau's he said: + +"Well, well, my dear friends, it may be possible. We will see! I must +take time to consult Madame Saugrain, and, until then, not a word to +mademoiselle, I beg of you both." + +We both readily promised, though I was so elated at what I considered +the already assured success of my plan that I might have found it +difficult not to speak to mademoiselle about it if she had not been +in the same icy mood to me at supper (though sweet and most charming +to the captain and her guardian) as she had been at breakfast. + +The next day Dr. Saugrain told us that he and his wife had talked far +into the night about Pelagie, and they had come to the conclusion that +our plan was the best solution of the difficulties. He said madame had +wept much at the thought of parting with Pelagie, and of all the +difficulties and dangers she must encounter, before she could become +reconciled to the thought of it; but now she was quite resigned, and +had already begun to plan what clothes and other conveniences it would +be necessary for Pelagie to take with her, and how they could best be +got ready. + +"And, after the manner of women," the doctor said, "from the moment +she began to think about clothes, she began to grow cheerful. And she +has such confidence in Clotilde, who will go with her, and who has had +entire charge of her since her babyhood, that she thinks she will be +as well taken care of as if she were with her herself. But we both +think," he added, "that it will be wiser to say nothing to Pelagie +about it until it is almost time to make the start. If, for any +reason, our plan should fail, her mind will not be unsettled by it, +and she will be no worse off than if we had not thought of it. +Moreover, the fewer we take into our confidence the better, for I am +assured the chevalier has spies and secret emissaries that we do not +suspect. We will give him no chance to thwart our plans!" + +The good doctor spoke the last words so grimly that it was easy to +understand in what esteem he held the villain, and both the captain +and I heartily approved his precaution. + +There followed busy days for me. The captain, who was much engaged in +settling up the business for his brother which had brought him to St. +Louis, had little time for aught else, though Governor Delassus, the +Chouteaus, and Mr. Gratiot made many demands upon him for counsel and +for social festivities, in which last I was courteously included. When +these fell upon the evening I was very ready to join in them, but my +days were more than full. All the arrangements for mademoiselle's +comfort on the boat my captain had intrusted to me, and I was +determined that nothing should be left undone to make her voyage on +the Great River as comfortable as possible. The cabin, a rough affair +at its best, was partitioned into two, and the larger one made as +clean as six blacks scrubbing hard on hands and knees could make it. +Then I got from Pierre Chouteau a small stove such as he often used on +his boat in winter trips up the Missouri, and set it up in the cabin, +cutting a hole in the roof to give egress to the stovepipe. From +Madame Saugrain I got some strips of warm, bright carpet and some +clean warm bedding, and I set Yorke to work, under my careful +supervision, to make the two beds for mademoiselle and her maid, to +tack down the strips of carpet, to put up some white ruffled curtains +(also Madame Saugrain's gift) at the square bit of window, and to +polish up the brass handles of the portable locker that was to hold +mademoiselle's wardrobe. I thought, when all was done,--the small +table covered with a white cloth, and two shining candlesticks on it, +and the three comfortable chairs arranged about it,--I thought it cozy +and complete enough for a trip to France; and my heart beat high when +I thought of the tête-à-têtes with mademoiselle that must almost +necessarily fall to my lot on a voyage of at least a week. But, in the +meantime, I was seeing very little of her, between being busy all day +and often invited out in the evening--and not getting much +satisfaction when I did; for either she was incased in her icy +hauteur, or, if she chanced to be kind, I was so brimming over with my +secret, so afraid I should let it slip, I was unnaturally constrained +with her. + +Before I knew it the Jour de l'An was upon us, and the doctor and the +captain had both agreed it would be wise to set out on the day before +the Jour des Rois. On no account would it do to risk remaining over +the Jour des Rois, lest the chevalier should accomplish his purpose in +spite of mademoiselle's letter of refusal. + +Now, as its name signifies, the Jour de l'An is the greatest of all +days to these St. Louis Frenchmen. Preparations had been making for it +all the week. The governor himself was to give a grand ball at +Government House, and I had heard mademoiselle telling Captain Clarke, +as we sat at supper on New Year's eve, how that would be only the +beginning of a round of festivities, and that Marguerite Papin, +Pelagie Chouteau, and she had been making the bean-cake that +afternoon. + +"And what is the bean-cake, pray, Mademoiselle?" I inquired, +determined to take matters into my own hands and be no longer shut out +from conversation as if I were infected. + +Mademoiselle looked up in surprise at my audacity, and for a moment +was of half a mind not to reply to me; but she thought better of it, +and answered coolly and formally: + +"'Tis a cake, Monsieur, with four beans baked in it. It will be cut +to-morrow night at the governor's ball, and the four maidens who +receive the slices with the beans will be the queens of the ball. They +will choose four kings, who will then be obliged to get up the ball +for the Jour des Rois, and at that these four kings will choose four +queens, who will choose four other kings, who must give the next ball. +'Tis an endless chain of balls till Shrove Tuesday arrives, to finish +it all up with one grand carnival ball; and so you see, sir, if you +stay in St. Louis I can promise you a merry winter." + +I almost laughed as I thought how little she dreamed that she would +not be here herself. Yet the prospect sounded alluring, and I could +have been well pleased to spend the winter in the gay little village, +if the fates had ordained. I answered her to that effect, and then I +added: + +"If you could but give me any hope that I should be chosen a king, I +might take fate into my own hands and stay anyway." + +"There is much ground for hope, sir," she answered demurely, "since +both Pelagie Chouteau and Marguerite Papin are almost certain to be +queens." + +Then, with a quick beat of the heart, I thought perhaps she had not +liked it that they had been friendly and I had been polite. If her +manner to me could be so accounted for I was well content, for at +least it did not argue indifference. + +But before I could reply there was a great noise, outside on the +gallery, of shuffling feet and smothered whispers, and mademoiselle +clapped her hands and cried: + +"La Guignolée!" And at the same moment there arose, to the quaintest +air, a chorus of men's voices: + + "Bon soir, le maître et la maîtresse, + Et tout le monde du logis! + Pour le premier jour de l'année + La Guignolée vous nous devez. + Si vous n'avez rien à nous donner, + Dites-nous le; + Nous vous demandons pas grande chose, une échinée-- + Une échinée n'est pas bien longue + De quatre-vingt-dix pieds de longue. + Encore nous demandons pas de grande chose, + La fille ainée de la maison. + Nous lui ferons faire bonne chère-- + Nous lui ferons chauffer les pieds." + +Horrified at these last words of the song, I scarcely dared glance at +mademoiselle; but when I did dare, to my amazement, she was smiling +good-humoredly, and I saw the words meant nothing to her. But the +chorus was interrupted at that moment by a single voice which I +recognized at once as Josef Papin's, singing a ditty about doves and +cuckoos and nightingales, and winding up by declaring that he was +dying for the soft eyes of his mistress. I saw that mademoiselle +recognized the voice, too, and I was vexed to see the bright color and +downcast eyes that betokened she understood these words perfectly. + +But the chorus began again immediately: + + "Nous saluons la compagnie + Et la prions nous excuser. + Si l'on a fait quelque folie." + +(I thought this apology most becoming.) + + "C'était pour vous désennuyer; + Une autre fois nous prendrons garde + Quand sera temps d'y revenir. + Dansons la guenille, + Dansons la guenille, + Dansons la guenille!" + +And then the doors were flung open, and there burst in upon us a +motley crew of grotesque and hideous masks, each one bearing a basket +or bucket or sack, and all singing and shouting in every key and in no +time: + + "Bon soir, le maître et la maîtresse, + Et tout le monde du logis!" + +Madame Saugrain and mademoiselle sprang up from the table and ran to +the kitchen, returning with both hands full, and followed by a +procession of servants bringing eggs and sugar and butter and flour +and poultry and wine--a goodly donation indeed for the Jour des Rois +ball, and for which the maskers showed their thanks by dancing _la +guenille_, a truly Saturnalian performance, somewhat shocking to my +Eastern notions of propriety. But evidently neither the doctor nor his +wife nor mademoiselle saw any harm in it, for they applauded it +greatly, after the French fashion, by clapping of hands and crying +"Encore!" + +Yorke had come in with the other servants from the kitchen, and it was +a sight to see his great eyes rolling in ecstasy and his white teeth +displayed from ear to ear as he watched the mummers, and I was not +surprised to see him follow them like one bewitched as they went up +toward the Rue des Granges to Paschal Cerré's house, singing: + + "Bon soir, le maître et la maîtresse, + Et tout le monde du logis!" + +"You will be having Yorke dancing la guenille," I said to the captain, +"when he gets back to Kentucky." + +"An he does," answered the captain, with a grim smile, "I will +bastinado him." For I think the captain did not like some of the +figures of la guenille any better than did I. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +CHOISSEZ LE ROI + + "She moves a goddess and she looks a queen." + + +Le Jour de l'An was a full day with me. Though I did not go to early +mass with the family, I left the house when they did and had a fast +gallop on Fatima's back through the gray dawn down to the boat, for +there were still a few finishing touches to be put to my decorations +and arrangements for mademoiselle's comfort, and I was in feverish +haste that all should be in readiness. Captain Clarke and I spent the +day in visits of ceremony made at the houses where we had been so +often and so kindly entertained during our stay. They were really +farewell visits, though for prudential reasons we said nothing of our +approaching departure. At every house we were served with +croquecignolles and wine or ratafia by the young maidens and their +mothers, and we were so hospitably urged to eat and drink that had we +done anything more than make the merest pretense for the sake of good +fellowship we would have been in no condition for the dance in the +evening. + +Frenchmen know better how to manage their drinking than do we +Anglo-Saxons. I know not how they do it, but I know not a young +fellow appeared at the governor's house in the evening who had +apparently taken more than was good for him; and yet had our +Philadelphia lads been through the ordeal of proffered glasses all day +long, I warrant there would not have been a corporal's guard able to +line up in good order at the governor's ball. But all these young St. +Louis Frenchmen were out in fine feather, and carrying themselves +grandly, eyes bright and heads steady, ready to lead out to the +governor's table the belles of St. Louis, dazzling in brocades and +feathers, lace, and powder and black patches. + +It was a goodly feast, ragout and roast fowl and venison pasties, and +cakes and tarts and rich conserves making the tables groan; but the +crowning moment was when the governor's stately butler brought in the +bean-cake (almost as much as he could carry) and set it down before +the governor. 'Twas a breathless silence as the governor cut each +slice and sent it first to the maiden nearest him and then to the next +in order. I was not in the least surprised when one of the four beans +fell to mademoiselle's lot; I would have been surprised if it had not. +There was a burst of ringing cheers, led by Josef Papin, when the +lucky slice came to her, and I thought, "He knows he will be chosen +king," and smiled with bitterness at the thought. + +I had not seen mademoiselle all day. As I glanced at her now, smiling +and coloring with pleasure at the cheers that betokened her +popularity, it flashed into my mind that she would reign a queen +indeed when she came into her own in France, for I was very sure +there were no court ladies could compare with her for beauty and +grace. + +The governor himself crowned the four queens, and then they had to +retire into the background for a space while their elders danced the +first minuet, in which the governor led out Madame Chouteau in stately +measure. But after that formal opening of the ball the young people +had it all their own way, and the four queens queened it royally each +with a flock of suitors around her. I said to myself proudly, "I will +not hang on to any of their trains." There was no possible doubt but +that mademoiselle would choose Josef Papin (since the chevalier was +not there), and while I would have liked it well if one of the others +had chosen me, just to show mademoiselle that all did not scorn me, I +would not seem to sue for favors. So I attached myself to Mademoiselle +Chouteau (who had not been so lucky as to draw a bean); and she being +in the sauciest mood (and looking exceeding pretty), and I feeling +that I was at least as well dressed as any other man (since I had on +my plum-colored velvets and my finest lace), and therefore at my ease, +we made ourselves so entertaining to each other that I began in my +heart to feel a little regret that this was to be my last ball with +her. + +I would not so much as look at mademoiselle, whose silvery laugh +sometimes floated to my ears, for she had treated me shamefully of +late, and, as far as I could see, without the least reason. Just once +I caught her eye, however. I do not know how it happened, but there +was a moment of almost silence in the crowded room. The violins were +not playing, no one was dancing, and for one fleeting moment, every +one, or nearly every one, seemed to have ceased talking. Into this +strange silence, through the open windows, there floated the clear +call of the whippoorwill,--only one, for the buzz and clamor and +clatter of many voices surged up again instantly, and the violins +began to scrape and screech themselves into tune, and no one seemed to +have noticed either the silence or the whippoorwill. But I could not +for the life of me help one swift glance toward mademoiselle, and I +met her eyes seeking mine in a look of startled alarm that was almost +terror. I held her glance long enough to say to her with my eyes, "Do +not be afraid; I will see what it is," and I had the satisfaction of +seeing, before she turned away, that she understood and was reassured. + +A few minutes later I slipped outside. I was not entirely at ease +about that call, it had meant so much once. And I was not at all sure +of the chevalier. A ball like this, with every one off guard, would be +just his opportunity. Outside there was a motley throng of negroes, +river-men, and Indians, hanging around to get glimpses of the dancers +and the guests coming and going. The yard was brightly lighted in +spots by flaming lightwood torches, which left the other parts in +deepest gloom. I noticed among the throng a little group of mummers, +such as had been at Dr. Saugrain's the night before in hideous masks. +This did not at first seem strange to me, but afterward I thought it +must be unusual, for they belonged peculiarly to New Year's eve. + +Leaning against a post that held a lightwood torch, a little withdrawn +from the others, in solitary dignity, stood Black Hawk. I knew if +there had been anything unusual in the whippoorwill cry he would know +it. I sauntered up to him carelessly (for if there were spies about, I +did not want to arouse suspicion), and stopped where the light fell +full on me, for I knew well the value of impressing Black Hawk with +the splendor of my dress. For the benefit of any possible listener, I +told him that the governor's halls were hot and I must needs get a +draft of cold air before I could go back to my dancing. Then I talked +to him of Daniel Boone, for he had been with us on our trip to his +home, and I knew his admiration for that wonderful man. His only +responses were a series of grunts, but they were amiable ones (I think +the old savage rather liked me), and as I talked I gradually drew +nearer. When I was quite close to him, I said suddenly, in a low tone: + +"Does the Great Chief of the Sacs think there are any White Wolves or +Red Dogs about to-night?" + +I saw a sudden glitter in his eye, but that was the only response +except the invariable "Ugh!" Then I said again in the same low tone: + +"If Black Hawk will watch and let his white brother know what he finds +out, it will greatly please the brother of the Captain of the Long +Knives." + +There was another "Ugh!"--this time with half an inclination of the +head, and I went back to the dance satisfied that if there was +anything wrong, Black Hawk would discover it. + +It was half an hour later when Yorke came to me between the figures of +the dance and begged a word with me. + +"Jes as soon as yo' can slip out unbeknownst-like," he said, "that +thar decent redskin 's waitin' to speak to yo'-all at the kitchen +doah. Yo' 's to go down through the house, so 's nobody outside won't +see yo'." + +I found an opportunity as soon as that dance was over, and going down +through the house, with Yorke as my guide, I found Black Hawk waiting, +and without a preliminary word, in slow, sententious fashion, he +delivered his message. + +"Black Hawk say to White Brother, Beware of White Wolf and six Red +Dogs. Wear devil's faces. All gone now. Wait for Little White Fawn +going home. Black Hawk go home with White Fawn and Fine Dress and Long +Knives' brother and Little Medicine-man and Big Black." + +I understood his broken sentences very well. The mummers were, as I +had half suspected, the chevalier and a band of Osages. They would lie +in wait for Pelagie on our way home and capture her if we were off +guard. Black Hawk offered his services to guard her on the way home, +and I gladly accepted them, for even then the chevalier's band would +outnumber us; and while in a hand-to-hand fight I did not doubt we +were much the better men, they would have greatly the advantage of us +in being able to spring upon us from ambuscade and get the first +shot. + +[Illustration: "In solitary dignity stood Black Hawk"] + +Black Hawk had planned our forces well, but I did not like his title +for me, "Fine Dress"; I would rather he had called me "Straight +Shoot," the name he had several times given me on our trip together up +the Missouri. I had a lurking doubt that he was rebuking me for my +vanity. + +But there was no time to quarrel about titles. I hunted up Dr. +Saugrain, whom I found in the wide chimney-corner, the center of a +group of choice spirits,--the two Chouteaus, Mr. Gratiot, Mr. Cerré, +Francis Vigo, and Manuel Lisa,--and he was telling them all, with +great enthusiasm, about his experiments in quicksilver, and, to my +surprise, they were listening as eagerly as if he had been telling +tales of war and adventure--which was a marvelous thing to me, to whom +science was ever dull and dry-as-dust. I liked not to interrupt him, +but the need was pressing, and when I had called him to one side and +told him of the presence of the chevalier and his Osages, he was +greatly excited. + +The thing that troubled me most was that we were without firearms. I +had my sword on, of course, and so had the captain, but swords would +be of little use, for the savages would not wait for a hand-to-hand +encounter, but would fire at long range. The only thing to be done was +to borrow from the governor; and in his grand Spanish manner he +pressed all the guns of his armory upon us, and said he would send a +messenger at once to the fort to have a troop despatched to scour the +town and rid it of every suspicious character; which was somewhat of a +relief to me, but would have been more so if I could only have felt +more confidence in his slow-moving Spanish soldiers. + +But the governor begged, since it was a matter that required no haste, +that we would say nothing to alarm his guests and so break up the +dance in undue time, for, as he said, the kings had not yet been +chosen, and it would be a great pity to interfere with that pleasant +ceremony. As for me, I would have been quite willing to dispense with +it. There would be no pleasure to me in seeing mademoiselle pin her +bouquet on the lapel of Josef Papin's coat, thus choosing him her +king; but there was nothing to do but go back to the ball-room and see +it out. + +As I entered the room, there happened to be a little break in the +coterie of young men surrounding mademoiselle, and through it I met +her glance of eager inquiry. She had evidently missed me from the +room, and had her suspicions as to the cause of my long absence. I +returned her glance with an assuring smile that all was well, and went +on to where I had left Mademoiselle Chouteau a half-hour before. I +could not have expected her to sit in a corner waiting for me all that +while, yet when I found that she too had her little coterie, and I was +evidently not missed, I felt unaccountably hurt and forlorn: as if +there was no place for me, an alien, among these St. Louis French +people. As I had done many times before, I turned to Madame Saugrain +for comfort. + +It was nearing midnight, and I had wondered as I came in why they were +not dancing. Now I saw the reason of it. Down through the center of +the floor came the governor, followed by his tall butler bearing a +silver tray with four small bouquets upon it. He went directly to +mademoiselle first, and then to the three other queens in turn, +presenting each with one of the bouquets and making to each a gallant +little speech, which the four maidens received with smiles and blushes +and curtsies as became them, but mademoiselle also with a stately +grace befitting a queen. + +Then there was a moment of intense expectancy, for it was mademoiselle +who was first to place her bouquet on the lapel of the coat of the +chosen king. I would not look at her. I did not want to see her put it +upon Josef Papin's coat, though there was no other there more fitting +to receive it or who would make a more royal king for such a queen. So +I half turned my back and talked busily to madame, who listened to me +not at all, so engrossed was she in the spectacle. It seemed to me a +long time in the doing, and presently I saw in madame's eyes a light +of eager surprise. + +"Look, m'ami, look!" she cried to me. But I would not look; no, not +even when I began to feel a suspicion of what was going to happen, +from a queer feeling in my backbone, and my heart beating like a +trip-hammer, and the blood rushing to the roots of my hair. + +"Look, look! I beg you to turn!" madame cried again. But I would not +turn, though I heard a subdued murmur of voices all around me, and a +soft rustle of silken skirts coming nearer and nearer--not until the +soft rustle stopped close beside me, and a sweet voice said: + +"Shall I pin my bouquet upon Monsieur's back? I believe it is usual to +pin it upon the lapel of the coat." + +Then I turned quickly, and for all the answer I made I dropped on one +knee and held toward her the lapel of my coat, and as she stooped to +pin it on I looked straight into her eyes. And what my eyes said to +hers I know not, but quickly the white lids drooped over hers and shut +me out from heaven, while the long black lashes lay upon her cheek, +and the rich blood swept in a slow flood from the snowy throat to the +dark waves of hair that crowned her white brow. + +And now her fingers trembled so in pinning on the flowers that she was +long in the doing of it (though I could have wished it much longer); +and when she had finished I seized the hand that trembled, and for the +first time I had ever dared I pressed my lips upon it. I saw another +wave of color sweep her face, and then she bade me rise, and as I +stood beside her a burst of acclaims came from every lip, "Vive le +roi! Vive le roi!" and from one, "Vive le roi et la reine!" and I +could not have been prouder had I been king indeed, and she my royal +consort beside me! + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +A MIDNIGHT FRAY + + "Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety." + + +Josef Papin was the first to bow the knee to me in mock homage, and as +his laughing eyes met mine he said, in a tone not so low but that +mademoiselle might have heard if she had listened: + +"I owe you a grudge, sire. You have stolen the honors I so dearly +coveted." + +A sudden impulse seized me. + +"Would you like to be detailed on some special service to your king +and queen?" I asked. + +"Most certainly, sire." + +"Then stay by me, and when the ceremony of choosing the next king +begins I will tell you about it." + +Here was a heart as true as steel, ready to be generous to a +successful rival and loyal unto death to his queen. It would not hurt +to have one more guard for mademoiselle on our midnight ride; we would +then more nearly match in numbers the chevalier's band, and by numbers +alone might intimidate him from even making the attack. Which was much +to be desired, since there would be two ladies in our party, and +fighting and bloodshed are not for tender hearts like theirs to know. + +But more than that, I thought I could give him no greater pleasure +than the chance to prove himself of some real service to mademoiselle, +and I would like to atone for stealing the honors he had felt so sure +of. And more still: we had decided, in our hasty conference a little +while before,--Dr. Saugrain, my captain, and I,--that it would not do +at all to wait until the day before the Jour des Rois, as we had at +first intended. Since the boat was in readiness, and the captain's +business finished, there was no reason why we should not start at +once. We had decided, therefore, on the next morning for our +departure, for we all felt that as long as the chevalier was lurking +about there was no safety for mademoiselle until she was well on her +way to France. + +To spirit mademoiselle away without a chance of saying good-by to so +good a friend as young Papin seemed to me unkind to them both. We +could trust him fully, and he should have his chance to say good-by. +The captain and Dr. Saugrain had intrusted me with the entire +arrangement for mademoiselle's safety and given me command of our +little force, so I could make my offer to him with authority. When the +opportunity offered to explain to him, a very few minutes sufficed to +tell him our fears for mademoiselle's safety. His eyes flashed fire as +he listened, and when I said to him, "Would you like to make one of +our guard on our way home?" he grasped my hand and wrung it. + +"I thank you, monsieur," he said, and then he muttered in my ear: + +"What would I not give for one good chance at the chevalier!" + +Half an hour later our little cavalcade set off from the governor's +house, the governor himself waving us an adieu from the gallery steps. +We had placed madame and mademoiselle in the center, with Josef Papin +on one side and myself on the other. Black Hawk and Yorke were in the +van, and Captain Clarke and Dr. Saugrain brought up the rear. + +It had been necessary to make to the two ladies some explanation of +these warlike arrangements, but we had said nothing of the presence of +the chevalier. I knew it would distress mademoiselle, nor was I sure +that her heart would not dictate a surrender, and he would at last +accomplish his purpose and bear her away with him, a willing captive, +to France. We had only said that a suspicious band of Osages was +lurking about, and we thought it wise to take some precautions. + +There was, on the Rue de l'Église, which was our direct way home, one +spot peculiarly fitted for an ambuscade, where the road dipped +suddenly into a deep gully and rose again on the farther side, and +where, owing to the marshy nature of the soil, the forest had not been +cleared away. It was a lonely bit of road, without houses on either +side for a quarter of a mile, and I thought it more than likely that +the chevalier would select this spot for an attack, if he intended to +make one. + +To cheat him, if possible, we rode up the hill of the Rue de la Tour +and turned to the left at the fort, which was dark and silent, a proof +to me that the troops had left it, and had, no doubt, ere this rid the +village of our enemy. The Rue des Granges, down which we rode, ran +along the crest of the hill, and there was no marsh here to be +crossed, and the gully had run out to a mere depression. We bore no +torches, and moving as silently as possible through the blackness of +the night, we hoped we might escape detection. But as we came to the +head of the gully I glanced down, and at that moment a swift spark as +from a tinder flashed into the air, followed by a steady glow, and I +knew the chevalier was there and that, deeming himself securely hidden +among the trees, he had just lighted a cigar to keep him company in +his stealthy watch. And I knew, too, that if I but drew my pistol and +took steady aim at that glow-worm in the dark there would be no more +trouble or anxiety for any of us on mademoiselle's account. For one +moment I hesitated, and Fatima, feeling the involuntary grasp of her +bridle-rein, half stopped. But could I have brought my mind to the +committing of a cold-blooded murder like that, the memory of +mademoiselle's plea for the chevalier's safety would have palsied my +arm. Yet my generosity had like to have been our undoing. What it was +that betrayed us I know not. It may have been the tramp of our horses' +feet, conveyed down the gully as by an ear-trumpet; or it is possible +that in spite of the darkness our moving figures were silhouetted +against the faint light in the western sky; or a stone, loosened by +one of our horses, may have rolled down the gully to the chevalier's +feet. Whatever it was, I knew we were discovered. There was suddenly a +soft call of a whippoorwill from below us, answered quickly and softly +by a half-dozen others, and then a sound as of hasty but cautious +stirrings. I knew what it meant: they had seen us, and they would cut +us off before we reached our gates. I gave a quick word of command: + +"Ride as hard and as fast as you can; never mind the noise you make. +We are discovered! Our only hope of avoiding a fight is by reaching +the gates first." + +Black Hawk and Yorke were off like a shot: Yorke, I have no doubt, +with the intention of getting to cover as quickly as possible, but +Black Hawk, I believe, after a scalp or two. I had to call to them +both to come back and keep close to the ladies. Mademoiselle had +uttered not a word, only urged her little La Bette to do her utmost, +but madame, since the embargo of silence was removed, did not cease to +utter a string of prayers and entreaties to "le bon Dieu" to save us +all from the savages. + +We were on the crest of the hill, and looking down to the Rue de +l'Église I could get an inkling of what progress the savages were +making from an occasional flash of shining metal in a ray of light +from some window; for though the hour was late the town was still +astir from the governor's ball, and lights were in most of the houses. +As yet they were some distance behind us, but though we were on horses +and they afoot, they had a much shorter distance to travel and they +were fleet runners. We were like a chain, only as strong as our +weakest link; we were only as fleet as our slowest horse, and that was +the one that bore madame's plump figure. La Bette was not much faster, +and I began to get in a fever of impatience, as I could see the +savages were steadily gaining on us. Should we meet them in that dark +lane leading down from the Rue des Granges to the Rue de l'Église we +were almost certainly at their mercy. In a few minutes it was evident +to me that at our present rate of progress they were sure to meet us +there, and there seemed no possible way of hurrying our two slow +ponies. I would have turned back but that I believed the chevalier was +sharp enough to have sent part of his men up the gully to cut off our +retreat, should we attempt one. There was but one thing to do: Fatima +had saved mademoiselle once; she should save her again. I leaned back +of mademoiselle and spoke to Josef Papin: + +"We will never reach the house before the savages at this rate. I +shall take mademoiselle on Fatima and get her safe inside the gates. +You and Black Hawk follow me as quickly as possible, and the other +three will remain to protect Madame Saugrain." + +Then I called a halt and explained my plan to the others. It needed +but a word, and there was no demur but a low wail from Madame +Saugrain, who, I make no doubt, believed Pelagie was going to certain +death. Mademoiselle herself said nothing; I think for the first time +she realized that the chevalier was leading the Osages and that their +only aim was to get possession of her. + +My explanation had not consumed a minute, and as I finished it I +turned in my saddle. + +"By your leave, Mademoiselle," I said, bent over and lifted her from +La Bette's back (and never was I more thankful for my great strength +and that she was but a feather-weight, else had the feat proved a +difficult one) and placed her securely in front of me on Fatima. 'Twas +not so comfortable a seat as at my back, no doubt, but I dared not +risk her where I could not see what befell her. One word to Fatima: + +"Sweetheart, for our lives!" I laid the reins low on her neck, and we +were off with a long swinging stride that soon left even Black Hawk +and Papin far behind, though they were urging their good horses to the +utmost. + +There was not a moment to be lost, for I could see that the savages +were nearing the junction of the lane and the Rue de l'Église, and we +must pass that point before them and ride some twenty paces down the +Rue de l'Église before we should reach the gates and a safe refuge +behind the walls of Émigré's Retreat. I did not cease to urge Fatima +by my voice, though never touching her reins. One arm held +mademoiselle securely, and my right hand lay on the holster of my +pistol, ready for instant service. + +Out of the Rue des Granges we shot like a bolt, into the steep and +rough lane leading down the hill. Had I not held mademoiselle so +firmly I think that swift swerve at the sharp corner might have +unseated us both. Faster and faster we flew, like a swallow on the +wing, Fatima's dainty feet as surely placed among the rocks and holes +of the rough road as if she had been pacing in Rotten Row. Well she +knew that a misstep of hers now might mean death to all three of us, +and well she knew that her master trusted her perfectly. + +I could feel mademoiselle's heart fluttering like a caged bird for +terror; my own was beating like a trip-hammer, for I was near enough +now to perceive that the savages too were redoubling their efforts and +it was still a chance which of us would reach the corner of the Rue de +l'Église first. + +"Faster, Sweetheart, faster!" I urged in an agony of apprehension as I +pressed my knees close to Fatima's hot sides, and felt her breath +beginning to come in long laboring moans as my great weight (with +mademoiselle's added one, which might yet prove the last feather) +began to tell on her. Bravely she responded to my voice and stretched +out farther and faster at every stride, and in another moment, with +another tremendous swerve, we had turned the corner into the Rue de +l'Église with the foremost of the savages not twenty feet behind us. I +expected nothing less than a bullet in my back, and was glad indeed +that mademoiselle was in front of me, fully shielded by my broad +shoulders, for I knew whatever befell me Fatima would carry +mademoiselle into the garden and to the very door of Émigré's Retreat +before any savage could possibly reach her. But I felt no bullet, nor +did any whistle by my ears, and I wondered why, until I saw, what the +savage possibly saw too in the dim light, that mademoiselle (whose +head had been cowering on my breast like a child in great terror +trying to hide from the sight of danger) had, as we turned into the +Rue de l'Église, raised her head and looked boldly over my shoulder. + +I have no doubt the savage feared to shoot, lest he should hit that +white face, and I did not doubt that was mademoiselle's plan, to use +herself as a shield for me. I was very angry with her, but I had only +time to draw her head roughly down on my shoulder again when we were +within the gates and, in a dozen mighty strides, at the very door of +Émigré's Retreat. + +At the sound of clattering hoofs, Narcisse and half a dozen servants, +among them mademoiselle's maid, Clotilde, came running out on the +gallery. I sprang from my horse and lifted mademoiselle down, in too +great haste to be gentle, I fear. + +"Take your mistress into the house and bar every door and window!" I +cried sharply. "The savages are after us!" + +It needed but that word "savages" to lend wings of terror to the +usually slow and lazy movements of the negroes. With shrieks of women +and shouts of men, they dragged mademoiselle into the house, and I +heard the hasty putting up of bars. Then I turned to meet that one +savage who was so far in advance and who must by this time have +reached the gates. I had no fear, now that I was free of mademoiselle, +for I felt myself good for two or three of them, and I could even now +hear the clattering hoofs of Josef Papin's and Black Hawk's horse +coming down the lane, and they were a host in themselves. But by the +time I had reached the gate there was a great noise of shouts and +firing and wild halloos at the corner, and I ran on, knowing that +Papin and Black Hawk must have met the savages, and knowing that the +two would be outnumbered and greatly in need of my assistance. + +But I had hardly got into the thick of the mêlée, cutting and slashing +with my sword for fear a shot would go astray and hit one of my +friends should I use my pistol, when the savages suddenly turned tail +and ran off, disappearing in the night like shadows. For a moment I +thought it was my prowess that had put them to flight, and I began in +my heart to plume myself thereon. But only for a moment, for up the +Rue des Granges and down the steep lane there came charging the +belated troops of Spanish horsemen (they had stupidly been scouring +the other end of the village, it seems), and would have charged full +upon us, no doubt,--since in the dark one could not tell friend from +foe,--had not young Papin called out in Spanish that we were friends +and belonged to Dr. Saugrain's party. Whereupon the officer halted +long enough to inquire in which direction the savages had fled, and +with many a round Spanish oath that he would not leave one of the red +dogs alive if he had to follow them to Cape Girardeau, he led his +troop clattering off toward the stockade. And no sooner had they +disappeared than down the steep lane came the rest of the party, +Madame Saugrain half dead with fright (for she had heard the sounds of +firing and of fighting, and feared the worst for Pelagie), the +doughty doctor and my captain not a little disappointed that they +should have missed the fray, and Yorke almost as much so, since it had +turned out to be such an easy victory. + +But when I had told madame that Pelagie was safe in the house and the +savages had fled and, except for a scratch on my forehead that scarce +drew blood, no one was hurt (though at that very moment Black Hawk +came creeping back out of the darkness hanging a dripping scalp to his +belt, which when I perceived I was nigh sick unto death for a +moment)--when I told her all this (and, fortunately, madame did not +see Black Hawk's ugly trophy), she broke forth into a Te Deum and went +happily up to the house, where Pelagie herself came running out to +meet her, and they fell into each other's arms and, after the manner +of women, wept long and loud for joy, though they had shed no tears +when there might have been occasion for them. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +"A PRETTY BOY!" + + "And to be wroth with one we love + Doth work like madness in the brain." + + +At the door of the house, Black Hawk and Yorke branched off to the +servants' quarters, and I followed them to see what had become of +Fatima, for I had left her standing beside the gallery when I ran back +to meet the savage. I found her standing patiently by the stable door +waiting to be let in, and she whinnied with delight as she heard my +step. I called to Yorke to come and take care of her (for I was in +haste to get back to the house), and at the sound of my voice Leon +came rushing, in great bounds. Together we walked down to the well, +that I might wash the blood from my face before presenting myself to +the ladies. The well was in a low part of the grounds, some little +distance from the house, and it was while I was vigorously splashing +my hands and face that I heard a low growl from Leon. I looked up +quickly and thought I caught the glimpse of a gun, and instinctively I +sprang to one side, that if any one was aiming at me I might cheat him +of his aim. At the same moment Leon sprang with a terrible roar +straight at the spot where I had fancied I saw the metal shining and +where now I was sure I heard the rustle of some one fleeing. I +followed quickly after, for the thought of any human creature in the +power of that great beast in rage was awful to me. Enemy or no, I +would if possible save him from being torn to pieces by a furious dog. + +As I ran, I called to him as I had heard his mistress call, and in +French, lest he might not understand English: + +"À bas, Leon! Tais-toi, mon ange!" But the words had no meaning for +him in my gruff voice: it was the soft music of his mistress's tones +he understood and obeyed. I heard another furious roar, a wild shriek +as of a creature in mortal fear or pain, and then a shot. I was on the +spot almost before the shot had ceased to ring in my ears. There lay +Leon on the white snow, a dark mass writhing in what I feared was a +death-struggle, and above him stood the chevalier, his smoking pistol +in his hand. I knew as soon as I saw him in Indian costume that he was +the savage who had been the foremost of his band, who had followed us +so closely and had disappeared when I had gone to seek him. It was in +the doctor's garden he had disappeared and lain in hiding to +accomplish the capture or execute a revenge later. + +My own pistol was in my hand, and I covered him with it. In that +moment of rage when Leon, whom I had learned to love and who loved +me,--Leon, _her_ dog,--great, beautiful, tried and trusty companion +and friend,--lay dying from a shot from that villain's hand: in that +moment of rage I came near putting an end at once and forever to a +life that I believed could never be anything but a curse to any mortal +associated with it. But the words of Pelagie rang in my ears and +stayed my hand: + +"If it is in your power, save the chevalier!" + +His own pistol was empty and he knew himself to be at my mercy, and +that his life was worth no more than the snuffing out of a candle; +yet, to do him justice, he held his ground and returned my gaze as +fearlessly as he might have done had we stood with drawn swords, each +ready for the thrust and parry. + +The old moon had but lately risen, and, hanging low in the eastern +sky, her level rays fell full on the chevalier's face. It was white +enough, but that might have been the effect of her sickly light +reflected from the ghostly snow; the daredevil in his eyes said +plainly as words, "Do your worst!" + +For a full half-minute I kept him covered, and for a full half-minute +he returned my steady gaze. Then suddenly there arose from the house +the noise of doors opening and shutting and the hurried tramp of feet. +I knew what it meant. The shot had been heard and they were coming to +see what had happened. In a moment they would all be upon us,--my +captain, the doctor, young Papin, yes, and Yorke and Black Hawk +too,--and there would be no possibility of saving the chevalier. + +He heard the noise, also, and he too knew what it meant. For one +instant his eyes wavered and he looked as if he would turn and run, +spite of my threatening pistol. Only for an instant, and then he drew +himself up proudly and threw back his head. + +"Fire, Monsieur," he said: "Why do you wait to let others share the +glory?" + +For answer I lowered my pistol. + +"Monsieur," I said, "you richly deserve death, and for a moment you +were in deadly peril; but Mademoiselle Pelagie, whom you would basely +wrong, pleads for you, and I spare your life at her intercession. If +you will turn and run directly south, there is a low place in the +wall, and on this side a pile of logs by which you may easily scale +it, and almost directly opposite a narrow opening in the stockade +through which you can force your way. But you must run for your life. +I will remain here and do what I can to prevent pursuit; 'twill be no +easy matter to keep Black Hawk off your trail." + +Yet he did not start at once. He hesitated and his eyes fell; then he +looked up quickly and half extended his hand. + +"Monsieur, you have been a generous foe; will you permit that I clasp +your hand?" + +But a flood of memories rushed over me: his unswording me in the +dance; his attempt to steal mademoiselle at the picnic and to poison +her mind against her friends; this second attempt, where it was +through no fault of his that we were not all dead men and mademoiselle +far on her way to Cape Girardeau, in the power of savages and a +villain more to be dreaded than they. I put my hand behind me and said +coldly: + +"My hand belongs to my friends and to a foe whom I can honor. +Monsieur, if you tarry longer, I will not be responsible for your +life." + +Even in the pale light I could see the deep flush sweep his cheek and +his hand spring involuntarily to his sword-hilt. But he thought better +of it, turned, and strode quickly away toward the low spot in the +stone wall. + +Then I had leisure to think of poor Leon. I knelt down beside him, +where a dark pool was rapidly widening in the white snow. I could see +where the red fountain gushed from a wound in his shoulder. It was +possible no vital part had been touched and he might be saved could +that gushing fountain of life-blood be stanched. As it was, his eyes +were already glazing and his limbs stiffening and his breath coming in +long-drawn sobs, like a man in extremity. He was like to breathe his +last before even those hurrying feet, fast drawing near, should reach +him. I knew enough of surgery to know that I must apply a tight +bandage above the wound; but where should I find a bandage? My flimsy +lace handkerchief was worse than useless. There was no help for it: +the purple silken sword-sash, of which I was mightily proud, whose +long fringed ends, tied in a graceful knot, fell almost to my knees, +must be sacrificed. I hastily unknotted it, and tenderly as possible, +that I might not hurt the poor fellow more than needs must (for his +flesh quivered under my touch), I bound it round the shoulder and with +all my strength drew it tight. Quickly the gushing fountain stayed, +and then taking from my pocket a flask that my mother herself had +always bid me carry, I forced a few drops into his fast-setting jaws. +I knew I had done the right thing when, by the time they had all come +up, Leon had lifted his head and was feebly licking my hand. + +Their first exclamations of horror were followed by a hail of +questions: + +"Who has done this?" "Where is he?" "Did you see him?" "How did it +happen?" + +To all their questions I made but one answer: + +"I heard the shot, and ran up to find Leon lying on the ground, dying +as I believed, and I have done what I could to help him." + +"And you have saved his life, or, at least, if he lives, he will have +only you to thank," said Dr. Saugrain, who had been on his knees +beside Leon, examining him. + +"You and your silken sash," he added, with the old twinkle of his eye. +"'Twas a noble sacrifice, and we all appreciate how great a one." + +The good doctor was ever twitting me on what he was pleased to call my +love of dress; but I made him no answer this time, for I was watching +Black Hawk, who, with an Indian's cunning, had at once discovered the +footprints in the snow and that there was but one pair of them, and +was stealing off after them. That would never do. + +"Great Chief," I cried, "'tis no use following the Red Dog; he has had +too long a start. Will you help us to carry the dog of La Petite to +the house, where we can put him in a warm bed? 'Twill never do to let +him lie in the snow, and 'twill take us all to carry him comfortably." + +Black Hawk hesitated, and then grunted out an unwilling consent. I +think it seemed to him somewhat beneath the dignity of a great chief +to carry a dog, and only because of his love for La Petite did he +bring his mind to it. Nor did my little fiction about the Red Dog +deceive him. + +"No Red Dog," he grunted. "White Wolf! Trail fresh. Black Hawk bring +his scalp to La Petite." + +But the doctor saved me the necessity of arguing further with him. + +"Red Dog or White Wolf, Black Hawk," he said, "n'importe! 'Tis the +mastiff we must look to now. A sad day 'twould be for all of us should +he die; so lend a hand, vite, vite!" + +And this from the doctor, who had told me when I first met him he +would not have cared had I killed Leon, for he loved him not. The +truth was that the doctor's devotion to Leon and Leon's to him were +second only to the devotion of the dog and his mistress to each other, +though, owing to the fact that Leon often stalked into his laboratory +at inopportune moments, sometimes spoiling the most delicate +experiment by poking his great inquisitive muzzle where it did not +belong, the doctor's patience was sometimes tried almost beyond the +limit of endurance. + +The doctor's exhortation, uttered in a sharp and clipping way peculiar +to him when excited, was effectual. Very tenderly between us all we +managed to lift the mastiff, and bore him to the negroes' quarters, +where, in Narcisse's cabin, we made him a warm bed and washed and +dressed his wound, and left him in a fair way to recovery. + +I was a little behind the others in reaching the house, for I had +delayed about some last arrangements for Leon's comfort, and then it +had been necessary that I should make a hasty toilet. Hands and face +were soiled with blood and grime (my purple velvets I feared were +ruined forever, but I would not take the time to change them), and my +hair was in much disorder. A hasty scrubbing of hands and face and a +retying of my hair-ribbon to try to confine the rebellious yellow +curls that were tumbling all over my head, and that I so much +despised, were all I permitted myself time for. Yet the few minutes I +had lingered had been long enough for the launching of a thunderbolt, +and I arrived just at the moment to see the havoc it had made. + +Mademoiselle in her ball-dress had thrown herself on her knees beside +madame, her white arms flung around madame's neck, her face buried in +her motherly bosom, sobbing piteously. Madame gently stroked the dark +curls, saying over and over only the same words, "My child, my child, +my poor child!" while the tears flowed down her own cheeks all +unnoticed. + +The doctor stood beside her, patting as he could her white arm or dark +curls or tender cheek, and saying helplessly: + +"Voilà, voilà! Quoi donc! N'importe, n'importe!" and many other as +senseless words, and growing every moment more hopeless and helpless +as mademoiselle but wept the more bitterly. + +On the other side of the room stood young Papin, pale and rigid as if +carved in stone, his eyes fixed on mademoiselle. I feared that for him +too it had been a bitter blow, for I could not doubt that it was the +announcement of mademoiselle's departure on the morrow that had +created such consternation. + +The captain had discreetly turned his back and was looking out of the +window. At the sound of my entrance he turned and beckoned me to him. + +"I fear 'twill never do," he whispered; "the maiden is breaking her +heart." + +As if she had heard his words, mademoiselle lifted her head, and +though her face was tear-stained and her hair hanging in disheveled +locks about it, it was still the most beautiful face I had ever seen. + +At sight of me she flung her head back, and her eyes flashed. She +extended one round white arm toward me, and in tones of bitter scorn +she exclaimed: + +"It is you, you, Monsieur, who have done this! I will not leave my +guardians and my home and go away with you! You would not hear of my +going with the chevalier, yet he was a French gentleman, and not +merely a pretty boy!" + +Madame and the doctor tried in vain to stop her tirade. She was in a +fury; such blazing eyes, such crimson cheeks, and voice quivering with +scorn. For a moment I was abashed and would have liked to slink out of +sight. But when she was so ungenerous as to call me "a pretty boy," +the fire returned to my heart, and I too drew myself up proudly. + +"Mademoiselle, listen to me!" I said sternly. "I have but a few +minutes ago spared the chevalier's life when I had him at my mercy, +and shown him the way to escape from your friends here, who were +running at the sound of his shot, and who, had they found him in Dr. +Saugrain's grounds, would have made short work with him, I fear." (I +could not but note out of the corner of my eye while I was speaking +the quick start of young Papin at this announcement, the eager +interest of my captain, and the doctor's look of dismay.) + +"I spared him, and I told him that I spared him, only because you had +begged me to do my utmost to save him if he should ever fall into my +power. I cannot believe that he would have treated me or any one of +your friends with the like courtesy. He is now well on his way to Cape +Girardeau, but I think he is not gone so far but that he can be easily +overtaken. Black Hawk is ready to set out at once; indeed, it is with +much difficulty that I have restrained him from so doing. Then, if you +desire it, and Dr. Saugrain and madame approve, you can return to +France under the chevalier's protection." + +I lifted my hand as the doctor and his wife both started to speak. + +"Nay, my friends, permit that mademoiselle first tells me her +pleasure." + +Then, as mademoiselle (whose eyes were no longer flashing with scorn, +but regarding me with the same wonder I had seen in them before) did +not speak, I said, if possible with greater sternness: + +"Speak at once, mademoiselle: shall we send for the chevalier and +bring him back? There is no time to be lost; every minute is carrying +him away from you as fast as a very good pair of legs for running can +take him." + +I hope I did not exceed the limits of courtesy in so speaking of the +chevalier, but it was hard to resist a little fling at the "French +gentleman" to whom the "pretty boy" had been so disparagingly +compared. I caught a twinkle in the doctor's eye and a fleeting smile +on young Papin's face and on my captain's, but I looked only at +mademoiselle. She was meek enough now, but she no longer looked at me; +her dark lashes were sweeping her cheek. + +"You need not send for him," she said. + +"Then, mademoiselle," I went on, a little more gently, "it seems to me +and to your friends that the only other way to return to France is the +way we have planned. You will be as safe under Captain Clarke's care +as you would be under Dr. Saugrain's. He will take you to his sister, +Mrs. O'Fallon, who will be as a mother to you, until a suitable escort +can be found for you to New York to place you under Mr. Livingston's +care. As for me, I shall not in any way annoy you: you need not know I +am on the boat; and as soon as you are placed in Mrs. O'Fallon's care +I shall say good-by to you forever, and continue my journey east, +since it is indeed time I should be starting homeward. Dr. and Madame +Saugrain will assure you that this is the most feasible plan, and I +hope once more that you will not be deterred from accepting it by any +fear of annoyance from me. There will be none. If you decide to go +with us, we must make an early start, and there will be many things +for me to attend to. Captain Clarke will inform me of your decision, +and I will see Dr. Saugrain and madame in the morning. Till then, I +wish you all a very good night." + +I made my grand bow, turned quickly, and left the room, though Dr. +Saugrain and his wife both tried to stay me, and young Papin sprang +forward with an eager hand to prevent me. + +I was bitterly angry, and more hurt and disappointed than angry. +Outside I strode furiously up and down in the snow, calling myself a +fool that I should care. Mademoiselle might be a great lady in France, +I said to myself, but to me she had shown herself only a fickle, +capricious, silly maiden. But even as I so spoke to myself my heart +revolted. I saw her once more weeping in madame's arms, and I began to +think it was only natural and commendable in her that she should be so +stirred at the thought of leaving friends who had been so good to her, +and that I had been much harder with her than was well. + +And at last, as I began to walk myself into a calmer frame of mind, I +could have wished that I had not made that rash promise to keep myself +out of her sight on the boat. My word was given and I would have to +stick to it, but in my own room, as I listened to the murmur of voices +still going on in the room below me, I thought no longer with anger, +but sadly enough, of the long delightful tête-à-têtes with +mademoiselle I had dreamed of when I had first planned this trip on +the Great River. + +A bright drop suddenly fell on my hand. I brushed my eyes angrily. + +"Domtiferation!" I whispered furiously to myself. "Mademoiselle was +right! A pretty boy indeed!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A CREOLE LOVE-SONG + + "So sweetly she bade me adieu, + I thought that she bade me return." + + +For three days we had been floating down the Great River, and for +three days I had kept my word. Mademoiselle had not been annoyed by +me; she had hardly seen me. Much to my captain's vexation, I had +refused to take my meals with him and mademoiselle, though our cozy +table of three had been one of the brightest parts of my dream when I +was planning this trip. + +It was nearing the supper-hour on the evening of this third day. The +men were making ready to tie up for the night (for navigation on the +river at night was a dangerous matter), and for the hundredth time I +was wishing with all my heart that I had not been so rash as to make +that promise to keep out of mademoiselle's way. The vision of a hot +supper comfortably served in her warm and cozy cabin was of itself +sufficiently enticing, as all my meals since coming aboard had been +brought to me in any out-of-the-way corner of the deck, and I had +found them but cold comfort. Not that my resolution was weakening, +though my captain let no meal-hour pass without doing his best to +weaken it, and more than once had brought me a message from +mademoiselle herself begging me to join them at table. No; I was as +fixed as ever, and, in a way, enjoying my own discomfort, since to +pose as a martyr ever brings with it a certain satisfaction which is +its own reward. + +The weather had been clear and mild up to this time; but this evening +an icy sleet was beginning to fall, and I glanced at mademoiselle's +cabin window, brightly lighted and eloquent of warmth and dryness, and +fetched a great sigh as I looked. A voice at my elbow said: + +"Monsieur is sad?--or lonely, perhaps?" + +I started, for I had supposed myself entirely alone on that end of the +boat--the men all busy with their tying-up preparations forward, and +mademoiselle and the captain in the cabin. I lifted my hat and bowed +ceremoniously. + +"Neither, Mademoiselle." + +Mademoiselle hesitated. I saw she felt repulsed, and I secretly +gloried in her embarrassment. Neither would I help her out by adding +another word; I waited for what she might say further. + +"Monsieur," she said presently, "you have shown me much kindness in +the past, and done me great service. I would like to have you know +that I am not ungrateful." + +"I do not desire your gratitude, Mademoiselle," I said coldly (though +it hurt me to speak so when she was so evidently trying to be friendly +with me). "No gentleman could have done less, even if he were not a +French gentleman." + +The light from her cabin window fell full upon her. I could see that +she colored quickly at my retort, and half started to go away, but +turned back again. + +"Monsieur," she said earnestly, "I have a very humble apology to make +to you. I hope you will forgive me for my rude and wicked speech. I +was beside myself with sorrow at the thought of being so suddenly torn +from my friends, and for the time nothing else weighed with me, not +even that you had just saved my life at the peril of your own. Ah, how +could I have been so base! I wonder not that you will not even look at +so mean a creature, and you do well to shun her as if she were vile." + +No man could have resisted her sweet humility. For a moment all my +anger melted. + +"Mademoiselle, do not apologize to me!" I cried. "If there are any +apologies to be made, it is I who should make them for not knowing how +to understand and appreciate what you felt." + +A quick radiance sprang into her eyes, and with a childlike abandon +she extended both her hands to me. + +"Then you forgive me?" she cried. + +I took one hand and held it in both mine, and as I bent my knee I +lifted it to my lips. + +"If I am forgiven, my Queen," I answered softly. + +Her dark eyes, tender and glorious, looked down into mine. For a +moment I forgot she was a great lady in France; to me she was only the +most bewitching and adorable maiden in the wide world. She was +wearing a heavy capote to shield her from the weather, but the hood +had fallen slightly back, and the falling sleet had spangled the +little fringe of curls about her face with diamonds that sparkled in +the candle-shine, but were not half so bright as her starry eyes. I +could have knelt forever on the icy deck if I might have gazed forever +into their heavenly depths. But in a minute she let the white lids +fall over them. + +"Rise, Monsieur," she said gently. "You are forgiven, but on one +condition." + +"Name it, my Queen!" And I rose to my feet, but still held her hand. +"No condition can be too hard." + +"That you come to supper with us to-night, and to every meal while I +am on your boat." + +The condition fetched me back to earth with a shock. I remembered all +the cause, and I answered moodily: + +"My word has been given, Mademoiselle; I cannot go back on my word." + +"Your word was given to me, and I absolve you from it," she said. + +"But in the presence of others," I objected. "I am bound by it, unless +I be shamed before them." + +"Only your captain is here," she said, still gently; "and he, too, +urges it." + +But still I was obdurate. Then at last she drew away her hand and +lifted her head proudly. + +"Your Queen commands you!" she said haughtily, and turned and walked +away. Yet she walked but slowly. Perhaps she thought I would overtake +her, or call her back and tell her I had yielded. But I was still +fighting with my stubborn pride, and let her go. I watched her close +her cabin door, then for five minutes I strode rapidly up and down, +the slippery deck. + +"Your Queen commands you!" I thrilled at her words. My Queen! Yes, but +only if I were her king. Now that I was away from her, and her glowing +eyes were not melting my heart to softest wax, I was resolved never +again to submit to her tyranny and caprice. I would go to supper, +because she commanded it; but I would never for a moment forget that +she was a great lady of France, and I a proud citizen of America--too +proud to woo where I could only meet with scorn. + +So I went to my cabin and made a careful toilet, and when Yorke came +to call me to supper, I presented myself in mademoiselle's cabin. I +had not been in it since she had come aboard, and, though I had +carefully planned and arranged every detail of it for her comfort, I +would not have known it for the same place. What she had done to it I +know not; a touch here, a touch there, such as women's fingers know +how to give, and the bare and rough boat's cabin had become a dainty +little boudoir. The round table, draped in snowy linen, with places +set for three; the silver and glass shining in the rays from two tall +candles; Yorke and mademoiselle's maid Clotilde bringing in each a +smoking dish to set upon it; and mademoiselle standing beside it like +the glowing heart of a ruby, her dark beauty well set off by a gown of +crimson paduasoy, with rich lace through which the graceful neck and +rounded arms gleamed white and soft: it all looked to me like a +picture from one of Master Titian's canvases, and I could hardly +believe that if I should look through the closely drawn curtains I +would see the rough and dirty decks of our barge, and, beyond, the +dark forest of the Illinois shore, where even now hostile savages +might be lurking, ready to spring upon us with blood-curdling yells. + +The captain was already there, chatting gaily with mademoiselle as I +came in, and he had the delicacy to make his greeting of me as natural +and unsurprised as if I had never been absent from the little board, +while mademoiselle added a touch of gracious cordiality to hers. + +I was on my mettle. Determined that never again, even to herself, +should she call me a boy, I summoned to my aid all the _savoir-faire_ +I could command. I was (at least, in my own estimation, and I hoped +also in hers) the elegant man of the world, discoursing at ease on +every fashionable topic, and, to my own amazement, parrying every +thrust of her keen repartee, and sometimes sending her as keen in +return. I think the situation had gone to my head. Certainly I had +never before thought myself a brilliant fellow, but when I rose to +make my bow to mademoiselle (and it was indeed a very grand one), I +hoped that even in her mind I would not suffer by comparison with any +French gentleman, no, though it were the chevalier himself. + +I did not see mademoiselle again until the midday meal next day; for +all the morning I was busy with the men, making the difficult and +dangerous turn from the Great River into the Ohio, past Fort Massac. +Once in the Ohio, there was no surcease from hard work--poling, +paddling, or cordelling, sometimes all three together, to climb the +rushing stream. + +Punctually at the noon-hour I presented myself at table, and again at +supper, and my good star did not desert me. Quip and repartee and +merry tale and polished phrase were all at my tongue's end, and no one +could have been more amazed than I at my own brilliancy. + +But I lingered not a moment after the meal was over, and I never saw +mademoiselle between times. If she came out to take the air on deck, I +was hard at work with the men, sometimes taking my turn at paddling, +sometimes, though not often, at poling; but our crew of French +Canadians were better at that than I. Indeed, there are no such +fellows in the world for navigating these dangerous Western waters. + +The weather had grown mild, and often in the evening I envied Yorke +(who had straightway, of course, made desperate love to Clotilde, who +was old enough to be his mother), sitting in the bow of the boat and +thrumming his banjo lightly as he sang her some creole love-song he +had picked up in St. Louis. + +Our trip was fast drawing to a close. The last evening on the river +had arrived. We would tie up one more night; all hands at the cordelle +and the poles, we would reach Mrs. O'Fallon's by noon, in time for +dinner. I had determined not to linger there at all. I should go on, +the same afternoon, to my uncle's plantation, not many miles away, +and the next day start for the East. I had told mademoiselle I would +say good-by to her forever when we reached Mrs. O'Fallon's, but in my +own mind I was saying good-by to her now. It had been for several days +that I had felt the weight of this approaching hour, and my brilliance +had gradually departed. I had grown duller and quieter at each +succeeding meal, and mademoiselle, too, had grown quieter (she could +never be dull). Sometimes I fancied she looked sad, and once I was +sure I recognized the trace of tears in her beautiful eyes. There was +nothing strange in that; it would have been strange indeed if she +could have left home and friends, and started on a long and dangerous +journey (with no companion but the faithful negro woman who had been +nurse and lady's-maid and trusted friend for ten long years, but who +was still but servant and slave), and had not often been overcome with +sadness. Indeed, there were times, when she was merriest at the table, +when I had mentally accused her of heartlessness as I thought of the +two fond old people mourning for her in Émigré's Retreat. So, though I +would have liked to attribute some of mademoiselle's sadness to an +approaching separation, I had no grounds for so doing, and I scoffed +at myself for the attempt. + +That last night at supper I made a desperate effort to be my gayest, +but it was uphill work, and the more so because neither the captain +nor mademoiselle seconded my efforts with any heartiness; so when +supper was ended, feeling that the hour had at last come, I stood as +mademoiselle rose from her seat, and instead of excusing myself at +once, as had been my custom, I lingered. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "we have had our last meal aboard together +(God prospering our voyage), and I desire to thank you for your +courtesy, and to say to you that whatever there may have been in our +intercourse during our brief acquaintance not pleasant to either of us +to hold in remembrance, I hope you will banish it from your memory, as +I shall from mine. I shall think of these weeks always as among the +brightest of my life, and perhaps, had I been a chevalier of France +instead of an American boy, I should not so easily have said good-by +to the Rose of St. Louis; it would have been au revoir instead!" + +I was standing as I said it all formally, with the air of one making +pretty compliments: for I did not wish mademoiselle to know how every +word was from the depths of my heart; nor would I have lightly +betrayed myself before my captain, who was not apparently listening, +but had turned to give some instructions to Yorke. + +Mademoiselle's color came and went as I spoke. She did not answer me +for a moment, and when she did it was in a low tone, and she seemed to +speak with effort: + +"Monsieur, you are ungenerous! You will never forgive my unhappy +speech. Permit me to say you have taught me that a chevalier of France +may be outshone by an American gentleman in bravery, manliness, truth, +and honor--in every virtue except the doubtful one of knowing how to +utter pleasant insincerities to us maidens. And I will not say +good-by. Am I not to see you again?" + +"I will certainly see you in the morning, Mademoiselle, but there may +be no time for more than a word, and so I take this opportunity to say +good-by." + +"I will not say good-by, Monsieur"--with the old wilful toss of the +head. "I will tell your captain he is not to let you go back to +Philadelphia so soon. But no matter where you go, I will never say +good-by; it shall always be au revoir." + +She smiled up at me with such bewitching grace that perforce I smiled +back at her, and if she had but asked me this evening, as she had on +many others, to linger in her cozy cabin for a game of piquet, I would +not have had the courage to say no. But she did not ask me, and, much +as I longed to stay, there was nothing for me to do but to pick up my +hat and say, with the best grace I could: + +"I thank you with all my heart, Mademoiselle, and, for to-night at +least, au revoir!" + +An hour later my captain and I were leaning on the rail in the stern +of the boat, looking up at the tree-crowned bluffs standing dark +against the moonlight and listening to the soft lapping of the water +against the boat's sides. We did not realize that we were hidden by a +great pile of peltries, as high as our heads, which Captain Clarke was +taking back to Kentucky with him to sell on commission for Pierre +Chouteau, until we heard voices. Mademoiselle and Clotilde had +evidently found a seat on the other side of the pile of pelts, and +mademoiselle was speaking in plaintive tone: + +"And they would not let me bring Leon with me! He at least would have +loved me and been a companion and protector when all the world forsake +me." + +Then Clotilde's rich negro voice: + +"Mademoiselle, I find out why they not let you bring Leon. Mr. Yorke +tell me last night. Leon shot, the night before we come away." + +There was a heartrending cry, and then a torrent of swift French: + +"Leon shot! My Leon! Why have they not told me? Oh, the villains! Who +shot him, Clotilde? My poor angel! My Leon! No one left to love your +poor mistress!" And much more that I cannot recall, I was so excited +and angry that that rascal Yorke should have caused her such needless +pain. But every word of Clotilde's next speech was graven on my heart +as with a knife of fire. + +"Mr. Yorke say they all hear the shot, and they all run out to see +what the matter, and there stood the lieutenant with pistol in his +hand, and Yorke say he don' _think_ he shoot him, but--" + +Clotilde had no chance to say another word. + +"Shoot my Leon! He! Ah, I could not have believed such baseness! He +never forgave him for throwing him down-stairs! His last act before +leaving Émigré's Retreat! Oh, mon Dieu, what perfidy! What a monster!" + +And every word was so interrupted with sighs and moans and sobs as +would have melted a heart of stone. + +As for me, I was nearly turned to stone, such horror did I feel that +she should think me guilty of so base a deed. I had no thought of +acting in my self-defense, but my captain started up at once with a +quick exclamation, and, seizing my arm, dragged me around the pile of +pelts. There was mademoiselle, seated on a low bundle of them, weeping +as if her heart would break, and Clotilde trying in vain to stay the +torrent she had set loose. + +"Mademoiselle," said the captain, quickly, "there has been some +terrible mistake. It was the chevalier who shot Leon; it was this lad" +(laying his arm affectionately across my shoulders) "who saved his +life." + +Now half the joy of this speech to me was taken out of it by the +captain's way of treating me as a boy--I think the captain never +thought of me in any other light; and I made up my mind on the instant +that I should seize the very first opportunity to beg him, at least in +mademoiselle's presence, to treat me as a man. + +But mademoiselle was so concerned with the matter of the captain's +speech, she paid no heed to its manner; and it chagrined me not a +little that her first thought was for Leon, and not that I was +innocent. + +"Saved his life!" she cried. "Is my Leon alive?" + +"He is, Mademoiselle," I said coldly, "and I have every reason to +believe he is doing well. My 'last act' before leaving Émigré's +Retreat was to visit him in Narcisse's cabin. I renewed his dressing, +and left minute instructions as to his care. We had thought to spare +you this anxiety, Mademoiselle, but two blundering servants have +undone our plans." + +"Ah, Monsieur," cried mademoiselle, impetuously, springing to her feet +and extending both her hands to me in her pretty French fashion, "how +unjust I have been to you! How can I ever thank you enough for your +care of my poor Leon? Your last act in the cold and dark of the early +morning, and the hurry of departure, to see that my Leon was taken +care of, and I have accused you of making it one of base revenge! Ah, +Monsieur, can you ever forgive me?" half whispering. + +I had taken her hands and was holding them as I looked down into her +radiant eyes. I bent low and kissed them both, first one and then the +other, as I said (very low, so that the captain and Clotilde should +not hear): + +"Mademoiselle, I can forgive you everything." + +But I needed not to speak so low, for when I lifted my head the +captain and Clotilde had both disappeared. And whither they had gone, +or why, I neither knew nor cared. For now a mad intoxication seized +me. This was the last evening I should ever spend with mademoiselle in +this world; why should I not enjoy it to the full? For the hundredth +time we had had our misunderstanding and it had cleared away; now +there should be no more misunderstandings, no more coldness, nothing +but joy in the warm sunshine of her smiles. + +So I begged her once more to be seated and to atone for all that was +unkind in the past by letting me talk to her. There could have been no +better place, outside of her cozy cabin, for this long-dreamed-of +tête-à-tête, which now at last was to have a realization, than this +she had herself chosen. The pile of pelts at her back kept off the +east wind, the young moon in the west shone full upon her face, so +that I could feast my eyes upon its glorious beauty (for the last +time, I said to myself) and interpret every changing expression. + +And yet, just at first, I was afraid I was going to be disappointed, +after all. Mademoiselle was embarrassed and constrained, and it was +I--I, the gauche and unsophisticated "boy"--who had to gently disarm +her fears and lead her back to her bright and natural way. And this is +how I did it. Mademoiselle had seated herself at my request, almost +awkwardly, if awkwardness were possible to her, so much afraid was she +she was not doing quite the proper thing. + +"I cannot imagine what has become of Clotilde," she said nervously. "I +did not send her away." + +"I think she has gone to find Yorke and set him right about Leon," I +answered, smiling. + +She smiled slightly in return, but still with some embarrassment. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "have you observed that Yorke has been making +himself very agreeable to Clotilde?" + +"What folly!" she exclaimed. "Clotilde is an old woman. I spoke to her +about it quite seriously to-day." + +"And what did she say, Mademoiselle?" + +"She said that she found Yorke most entertaining. 'One must be +amused,' were her words, and she made me feel very young with her +worldly wisdom. 'We do not contemplate matrimony, Mam'selle, but Mr. +Yorke and I both think there may be an affinity of spirit, regardless +of difference in age'! I was amazed at her philosophical attitude." + +"How did you reply to her, Mademoiselle?" + +"She quite took my breath away, but I only said, 'Clotilde, you will +oblige me by seeing as little as possible of Yorke on the remainder of +the trip.' I had fully intended to keep her with me this evening, and +now she has slipped away. I think I ought to go and find her," half +rising as she spoke. + +"By no means," I answered quickly. "Indeed, I am quite on Clotilde's +side." + +"On Clotilde's side! Impossible, Monsieur! Such arrant nonsense!" + +All this time I had been standing, for from a maidenly shyness (rather +new in her, and which I liked) she would not ask me to sit beside her, +and there was no other seat. Now I said: + +"Mademoiselle, if you will permit me to share your bundle of pelts, I +believe I can prove to you that it is not such arrant nonsense, after +all." + +"Certainly, Monsieur," a little stiffly; "I am sorry to have kept you +standing so long." + +She drew her skirts a little aside, and I sat down, quite at the other +end of the bundle of pelts, but nearer to her than I had been in many +long days. Then, in a purposely didactic and argumentative way, I +cited to her all the instances in history I could think of, winding up +with Cleopatra and Ninon de l'Enclos, until by entering into the +argument she had entirely forgotten herself and her embarrassment. +Then suddenly into a little break in our conversation there came the +clear whinny of Fatima. She was on the other boat, tied close to ours, +and as we were in the stern and she in the bow, she had no doubt heard +her master's voice and was calling him. I was greatly tempted to call +her by the whistle she knew, but I did not quite dare. She would have +broken all possible bounds to come to me in answer to that whistle, +and I would not have been surprised to see her clear the space between +the two boats. + +"That was Fatima," mademoiselle said, and sighed a little. + +"Yes," I said, "and I think I could tell what your sigh meant." + +"Did I sigh?" + +"Yes, and it meant, 'I wish it were Leon.'" + +"Yes," she said; "I was thinking how much Fatima loves you, and Leon, +too, as soon as he was able to forgive your disgracing him so. I think +all dogs and horses love you, Monsieur." + +"That is because I love them, Mademoiselle." + +"Does love always beget love?" + +"Not always, Mademoiselle; sometimes it begets scorn." + +"Then I suppose the love dies?" + +"No, Mademoiselle; unhappily, it but grows the stronger." + +"That is folly, is it not?" + +"Mademoiselle, if you will allow me to be a philosopher like +Clotilde--love has no regard for sense or wisdom, else would Yorke +love one of his own age, and I would love one of my own country and my +own rank." + +She said not a word for a long time, but sat with downcast eyes. +Suddenly she lifted them, and they shone with a softer radiance than I +had ever seen in them before. + +"Of what were you thinking, Mademoiselle?" I said gently. + +She hesitated a moment, and then like the soft sigh of a zephyr came +her words: + +"I was wishing you were a chevalier of France." + +"And I, Mademoiselle, was wishing you were a maiden of St. Louis, as I +supposed you were when I first saw you." + +"I would not have been of your country, even then," she said, with +delicious shyness, half looking at me, half looking away in pretty +confusion. + +"Not now, but you soon would be. St. Louis will belong to us some +day." + +"Never!" She spoke in hot haste, all the patriot firing within her, +and looking full at me with flashing eyes. "St. Louis will be French +some day, as it used to be, I believe with all my heart; but American, +_never_!" + +"Mademoiselle, we had a wager once. Shall we have one more?" + +"Is it that St. Louis will one day be American?" + +"Yes." + +"I am very willing to wager on that, for it is a certainty for me. +What shall be the stakes?" + +"Mademoiselle, they would be very high." + +"I am not afraid." + +I thought for a moment, and then I shook my head. + +"Mademoiselle, I dare not. I am sure St. Louis will one day be ours, +but the time may be long, and by that day the worst may have happened. +You may have found your chevalier of France." + +She looked up at me in a quick, startled way, which changed gradually +to her old proud look. + +"Monsieur, I know not what stakes you had in mind, but this I know: if +'twere a lady's hand it were unworthy you and her. A lady's hand is +for the winning by deeds of prowess or by proof of worth, not by +betting for it as though 'twere a horse or a pile of louis d'or." + +"Mademoiselle," I cried in an agony of shame, "forgive me, I beg. +Forgive a poor wretch who saw no chance of winning by prowess or +worth, and who was so desperate that he would clutch at any straw to +help him win his heart's desire." + +Her look softened at once, and when she spoke again 'twas in her +gentlest tones. + +"Monsieur," she said, "to-morrow we part, and it would seem there is +but little chance that we shall see each other again in this world. +Fate has placed our lots on different continents, with wide seas +between. But for to-night let us forget that. Let us think we are to +meet every day, as we have met in these weeks, and let us have a happy +memory of this last evening to cherish always." + +I could not speak for a moment. Her voice, its sweet tones breaking a +little at the last, unmanned me. I turned away my head, for I would +not let her see the workings of my face, nor my wet eyes, lest she +think me boyish again. It was the sealing of my doom, but I had known +it always. And there was a drop of sweet amid the bitter that I had +never dared hope for. She, too, was sad--then she must care a little. +In a minute I was able to turn toward her again and speak in a firm, +low voice. + +"You are right, Mademoiselle; we will be happy to-night. Come," I +said, rising and extending my hand to her, "let us go watch the +revelers on the other boat; they, at least, are troubled by no useless +regrets." + +She put her hand in mine, and we went back by the stern rail and stood +watching the scene below us. + +A plank had been thrown from one boat to the other to make easy +communication, and the crew of our boat, with the exception of the two +left always on guard, had crossed over. They had cleared a space for +dancing, and lighted it by great pine-knots cut from the forest close +by. Yorke, set high on a pile of forage with his beloved banjo, was +playing such music as put springs into their heels. Canadians and +negroes were all dancing together--the Frenchmen with graceful +agility, the negroes more clumsily, even grotesquely, but with a +rhythm that proved their musical ear. Clotilde and a negress cook were +the only women, and greatly in demand by both Frenchmen and negroes. +Clotilde rather scorned partners of her own color, and was choosing +only the best-looking and the best dancers of the white men, with a +caprice worthy of her mistress, I thought, and probably in imitation +of her. Yorke did not seem to mind, but with the gayest good humor +called out the figures as he played. Suddenly, as he wound up the last +figure with a grand flourish, he beckoned to a little Canadian who had +been specially agile in the dance, and they held a whispered +consultation. Then Yorke resigned his banjo to him, and, leaping down +into the middle of the floor, seized Clotilde about the waist without +so much as saying "By your leave," and shouted: + +"Choose partners for a waltz!" + +Consternation followed, for not more than half a dozen had ever seen +the new French dance. But when the little Canadian started up with his +witching _trois-temps_, Yorke and Clotilde glided off rhythmically to +its strains, the half-dozen followed, more or less skilfully, and the +rest stood round gazing in respectful admiration. + +Now I had learned the waltz at home in Philadelphia, but it had never +been danced at the St. Louis parties, and I knew not whether +mademoiselle knew the step or not. Yet was I seized with a great +desire to follow Yorke's example. + +"Mademoiselle," I said timidly, "why cannot we have a dance here? See, +there is a clear space on the deck, and the music is good." + +"I waltz but poorly, Monsieur," she answered, looking up at me with a +bright blush. "Madame Saugrain taught me the step, but I have +practised it but little." + +"Then we will be the better matched," I answered gaily. But when I had +put my arm around her waist, and one of her beautiful hands rested on +my shoulder, and I held the other in my firm clasp, I was seized with +such trembling at my boldness in daring to hold her so near that +almost my feet refused to move. Yet as soon as we were both gliding to +the Canadian's music there was no longer any fear in my heart, only a +great longing that the music might never cease and that we could go on +forever circling to its strains. Wild thoughts whirled in my brain. +Why need mademoiselle go back to Paris? I believed, as I bent my head +and looked into her dark eyes uplifted to mine, that only a little +persuasion would be needed to make her give it all up. And I said to +myself, "I will try." + +But the music stopped. Mademoiselle gently withdrew herself from my +encircling arm, and suddenly cold reason returned. How could I dream +of betraying Dr. Saugrain's trust! How could I think of persuading her +to relinquish the glories awaiting her for me! And, most of all, how +could I dare to think she could be persuaded! + +Mademoiselle had thrown off her capote before beginning to dance; I +picked it up and put it around her, and led her back to her seat on +the pelts. But she would not sit down. + +"No, Monsieur," she said; "our evening is over. I am going to my +cabin. Will you send for Clotilde and tell her that I want her?" + +"Mademoiselle! Mademoiselle!" I cried, my heart in my mouth to beg her +not to leave me without one word of hope. But then I stopped. It was +all over; the world had come to an end. + +"It is good-by, then, Mademoiselle?" I said steadily, and holding out +my hand to her. + +"No, Monsieur," she said, with that voice that from the first time I +heard it had ever seemed to me the sweetest in the world. "'Tis _au +revoir--toujours, toujours au revoir_!" + +I watched her close her cabin door and turned back to my place by the +rail, black despair in my heart, but just one little ray of hope +brightening it--her courageous _au revoir_. Over the plank came Yorke +and Clotilde, and strolled slowly up the deck together, Yorke +thrumming his banjo and singing a creole love-song he had learned in +St. Louis: + + "Tous les printemps + Tan' de nouvelles, + Tous les amants + Changent de maîtresses. + Qu'ils changent qui voudront, + Pour moi, je garde la mienne." + +Insensibly my heart lightened. "Pour moi, je garde la mienne," I said +aloud, and added in a whisper: + +"Yes--though I must first win her, and win I will!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +"AU REVOIR" + + "While memory watches o'er the sad review + Of joys that faded like the morning dew." + + +It was a busy morning that followed--no time for idle thoughts or vain +regrets. If we were to dine with Mrs. O'Fallon at Mulberry Hill, all +hands must work hard. + +A line of ten men with the cordelle was attached to each boat to pull +it up the stream, and at the same time ten more on each boat planted +the great pole at the bow, and then, pushing on it, walked back to the +stern, lifted it out of the soft mud, carried it forward to the bow, +planted it again in the mud, and, pushing mightily, again walked back +to the stern. In this way we made great progress. We moved as fast as +the ten men on shore carrying the cordelle could walk, and the men at +the pole lightened their load so greatly, they were able to walk at a +good round pace. + +So it was not yet quite noon when the white walls of Mulberry House +came in view, the blue smoke curling from its chimneys giving promise +of good cheer awaiting us. The men at the cordelle walked faster, the +men at the pole pushed harder, and, there being here a chance to use +them, two great sweep-oars were fastened in the rowlocks, and, four +men at each oar, we went forward at such a gait that the water curled +back from our prow in two foaming streams, and before many minutes we +were running our nose into the bank at the foot of Mulberry Hill. + +Down the bank came a long line of men and boys, chiefly negroes, +shouting in every key, and running to catch the ropes our crew were +throwing them, and tying us fast to big stumps left standing on the +bank for that purpose. + +Foremost to step foot on board was young John O'Fallon, running first +to greet his uncle William, whom next to his uncle General Clarke he +thought the greatest man on earth, and then coming to greet me, whom +he called "cousin" in his kindly Southern fashion, for I could not +claim to be kin. He was a bright, engaging lad of twelve or thirteen, +"with the manners of a chevalier of France," I said laughingly to +mademoiselle, when my captain was bringing him up to present to her. +She was greatly taken with him at once, and as for him, 'twas a case +of love at first sight, and he took full possession of her, giving me +small chance to help her off the boat or up the hill. + +At the top of the hill, Aunt Fanny, as his mother always insisted I +should call her, was waiting for us. She kissed me on each cheek and +called me "my boy" in a manner that made me feel very young indeed. +Much as I loved her, I could have wished that in mademoiselle's +presence she had treated me as one too old for such gracious +liberties. But mademoiselle seemed not to notice her greeting to me; +she had eyes only for the beautiful and charming woman and her manly +little son. Indeed, I felt so much left out in the cold (for, after +the manner of women, the two instantly made violent love to each +other) that I was not sorry to find letters awaiting me from my uncle, +inclosing letters from home that required my instant attention. When I +had read them I knew not whether to be sorry or glad. I had fully +intended to make no stay at all at Mulberry Hill, but go on at once to +my uncle's; but now that there was no chance left me,--that marching +orders I dared not disobey ordered me East at once,--I realized that +lurking in the depths of my heart had been a secret hope that +something would happen to delay me longer in mademoiselle's society. + +I was at once busy with preparations for a more hasty departure than I +had expected, so that I saw neither Mrs. O'Fallon nor mademoiselle +again until we were seated at the long table in the great dining-room +overlooking the river, which here makes a wide and graceful sweep to +the south. The warm winter sun was flooding the room through its many +windows, lighting up the table with its brave show of silver and glass +and snowy linen, and by its cheery glow warming all hearts and setting +all tongues free, so that there was a pleasant confusion of talk, such +as a hostess dearly loves. It was a bright and happy scene, and every +face was smiling and every heart was gay save one; for I could not +hope that mademoiselle's bright smile and beaming glance disguised +another aching heart. + +I was seated at Mrs. O'Fallon's left hand; a Mr. Thruston, whom I had +never met, but who was evidently paying earnest court to the charming +widow, was on her right; and mademoiselle was almost at the other end +of the long table, between Captain Clarke and young John--about as far +from me as possible, which, since it was to be our last meal together, +I felt to be a distinct grievance. But as no one was to blame but Aunt +Fanny, and she had set me beside her to do me honor, I could not well +find fault. + +It was in response to her asking me to show some little courtesy to +Mr. Thruston after dinner (I do not now recall what) that I told her I +must set out on my journey as soon after dinner as I could start. Her +short, sharp exclamation of surprise and displeasure caught the +attention of all the table. + +"Brother William, do you hear that?" she called to my captain. "Our +kinsman leaves us immediately." + +Aunt Fanny spoke with her knife poised in air. A noble great bird, a +wild turkey, was on the platter before her, oozing a rich brown gravy +from every pore. With a deftness I have never seen equaled, she had +been separating joints and carving great slices of the rich dark meat, +sending savory odors steaming up into my nostrils. Now, as she paused +in her work to make her announcement, there arose instantly a chorus +of remonstrances, loudest from young John and his younger brother Ben. +I answered them modestly, I hoped, looking at everybody except +mademoiselle, who yet, I saw distinctly, turned very pale, then red, +then pale again. + +I addressed myself directly to Captain Clarke: + +"My uncle has forwarded me letters from home, requiring my presence +there as shortly as possible. The letters do not enlighten me as to +the reasons for haste, and I am naturally beset with some misgivings, +but I hope all is well with my family." + +My captain smiled inscrutably. + +"Set your anxieties at rest, my lad. I also found a letter awaiting me +from your father. It explains the reasons for haste, but wishes them +kept from you for the present; but they are of the most agreeable +nature, and all is well at home." + +I was greatly relieved, and so expressed myself. + +"But why start immediately?" my captain continued. "You will have to +wait for a boat, and the waiting had best be done here." + +"I have found one, sir," I answered. "It is expected up the river this +afternoon, and goes as far as Clarksville. My instructions are to go +by way of Washington, and call on Mr. Jefferson, so nothing could suit +me better, for I find the road from Clarksville to Washington is +comparatively short, and the boat is a small keel-boat and likely to +make good time." + +"Well, well!" said my captain, pleasantly, "you must have been hard at +work to find out all this between landing and dinner; but I know the +reasons for haste are imperative, and you are quite right to set off +at once." + +Then suddenly mademoiselle spoke up: + +"Mon Capitaine, if monsieur is going just where I must go, why do not +I and Clotilde go with him?" + +There was a moment's embarrassing silence, and then I, feeling the +silence unbearable and a great discourtesy to mademoiselle, answered +her. + +"Mademoiselle, nothing could give me greater pleasure if my captain +and Aunt Fanny think it could be arranged. But I fear the route would +be a hard one for a lady's traveling, since the boat goes only to +Clarksville, and from there to Washington there is but a bridle-path, +and a very rough one." + +Then everybody broke forth at once, volubly: + +"Oh, no, no, no! We cannot think of letting you go!" + +"Indeed, miss," said Aunt Fanny, in her pretty imperious way, "you may +think yourself fortunate if you get away from here any time in the +next two months. We do not get hold of a lovely young lady visitor +very often, and when we do we mean to keep her as long as we can. And +here is my son John over head and ears in love." (Young John blushed +like a peony.) "Would you break his heart, madam? And Ben is no +better" (for Ben had been slyly laughing at his brother's +discomfiture, but now looked very silly indeed as he took his share of +his mother's tongue-lash). "You will be having my family at +loggerheads if you stay, no doubt, but stay you must, for now that we +have once seen you, there is no living without you." + +Mademoiselle took the speech adorably (as I knew she would, though I +doubt whether she understood half of it), smiling and blushing, and +saying in her pretty baby-English that they were very good to her, and +she would not break "Meester Jean's" heart, no, nor "Meester Ben's"; +she would stay with "dear madame." + +If I did not thereupon fetch a long and deep sigh from the very bottom +of my boots, it was not because it was not there to fetch, as I +thought of all I was missing in not spending a happy two months with +mademoiselle under Aunt Fanny's delightful roof. + +But I had short time to indulge vain regrets. We were in the midst of +dessert, a huge bowl of steaming punch brewed by Aunt Fanny before our +eyes, and a great Christmas cake, which she said she had saved for our +home-coming, when a small negro burst open the door in great +excitement. + +"Hi, Miss Fanny, she's comin'!" + +"Who's coming, Scipio? And where are your manners? Go tell your mother +if she doesn't teach you how to come into a room properly, I will have +to take you in hand." + +It was a terrible threat, and had been many times employed--always +successfully, for "Miss Fanny" never did "take in hand" the small +darkies, and so, having no notion of what taking in hand might mean, +all the terrors of mystery were added to their fears. Young Scipio was +greatly abashed, and pulled his forelock respectfully as he answered +Mrs. O'Fallon's question. + +"It's de boat, missus; she's comin' roun' de ben'." + +In a moment all was confusion. There was no time to be lost. Yorke was +despatched to get together my belongings, see that they were carried +to the landing, and himself lead Fatima down the bank and on to the +boat; for to no other would I trust my beauty. The boat by this time +had nearly reached the landing, and there was a hurry of good-bys, +Aunt Fanny shedding tears of vexation that my visit should be so +short, and calling me her "dear boy," and kissing me and scolding me +in one breath. + +She and mademoiselle walked as far as the top of the bluff with me (I +would not let them come farther, for the bank was steep and muddy), +and then I said my good-by to mademoiselle. I raised her hand to my +lips as I said it, and she looked straight into my eyes with eyes that +shone with something brighter than smiles as she answered: + +"Au revoir, monsieur!" + +The captain of the keel-boat was shouting to us to make haste, and +there was no time for another word; and I was glad to have it so, for +another word might have made me indeed the boy Aunt Fanny was always +calling me. + +The two boys, Mr. Thruston, and my captain went down to the boat with +me (which proved to be a more comfortable one than I had dared to hope +for), and Fatima having been coaxed aboard and quarters found for her +in a warm shed, and my captain pressing my hand with an affectionate +"Good-by, dear lad," that was once more near to my undoing, we were +untied, and the men at the poles pushed hard and walked rapidly back +to the stern, and the men at the cordelle pulled all together, with a +long-drawn "Heave, ho, heave!" and we were off. + +I stood in the stern watching the two figures on the bluff until one +of them went away and there was only one, slender and of but little +stature, with soft dark curls, and eyes whose tender glow I could feel +long after the figure was but one indistinct blur, with a white hand +waving farewell. + +Then came another bend in the river and shut her from my sight. And +there was naught left to me of Mademoiselle Pelagie but a memory of +tears and smiles; of hard words and gentle ones; of cold looks and +kind ones; of alternate hopes and fears on my side; of scorning +and--yes, I believed it with all my heart--of scorning and loving on +hers. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A VIRGINIA FARMER + + "Statesman, yet friend to truth! of soul sincere, + In action faithful, and in honour clear." + + +"What, Fatima! You refuse?" + +I dismounted and led her carefully down the steep bank and on to the +ferry-boat. She followed me very willingly, but I stood with my arm +over her glossy neck, for I saw she eyed the water distrustfully, and +while I had no fear of her being disobedient to my word of command, I +knew it would comfort her to feel my arm about her neck. She neighed +her appreciation, and gently rubbed her nostrils against my side, ever +a token of affection with her. When the boat began to move, the two +stalwart negroes pulling at their great oars and chanting dismally in +time to their pulling, Fatima again showed signs of excitement, but I +easily quieted her, and then I had leisure to use my eyes. + +This crossing the Potomac to Washington reminded me vividly of +crossing the Mississippi to St. Louis more than three months before. +Nor did the capital look more impressive at this distance than the +village of St. Louis. Both were embowered in trees, and, but for the +two imposing white buildings,--the President's Palace and the +Capitol,--Washington was much the less prepossessing village of the +two, and I thought how much more worthy was our own city of +Philadelphia to be the capital of the nation. + +Indeed, when I had led Fatima off the ferry, she sank over her +fetlocks in mud, and I had to lead her some distance before I found +ground firm enough to warrant my mounting her, lest my weight should +make the poor creature flounder hopelessly in the mire. + +I bore in my pocket a letter from Captain Clarke introducing me to Mr. +Meriwether Lewis, which he had written at Mulberry Hill, after the +boat that was to bear me away was in sight, and also an address he had +given me of a respectable innkeeper where I might find lodging. The +inn was my first quest, and that once found and a suitable toilet +made, I was eager to present my letter of introduction, and, if chance +favored me, meet the President also. + +It was still early, and the road I found myself upon (for it could not +be called a street, since there were no pavements and only at long +intervals a house) was filled with a well-dressed throng all wending +their way in one direction. It seemed to me too early an hour for +gentlemen to be seeking a place of amusement, and too late and the +throng too generally well dressed to be on their way to business. Some +were in coaches, with coachmen in livery on the box and footmen +standing up behind, and some were on horseback and some on foot, but +all, or nearly all, were wearing silk stockings and fine ruffled +shirts and carefully powdered queues and shining shoe-buckles. + +A little stretch of brick sidewalk gave an air of distinction to a +solidly built two-story house with sloping roof and dormer-windows, +and in front of the house, on a stool planted on the curb, sat an old +negro, bandy-legged, with snowy wool, industriously polishing a row of +shoes neatly arranged in front of him, and crooning happily a +plantation melody as he worked. I drew Fatima to the curb. + +"Good morning, uncle," I said as the negro slowly lifted his head, +bowed over his brush. "Can you tell me who all these people are and +where they are going?" + +"Mohnen, marsa," the negro returned politely, and then looked at me +with round-eyed astonishment. "Yo' dunno whar they's gwine? Why, sah, +dey's de Senatahs and Represenatahs, sah, and dey gwine to de Cap'tul, +sah." + +Of course! It was very stupid of me not to have thought of it. The +negro evidently thought so, too, but a sudden excuse suggested itself +to him. + +"Mought yo' be a stranger in Washington, sah?" with a glance of such +undisguised pity for any barbarian who did not know the capital that I +felt myself coloring, and to recover my self-respect assured him that +I had set foot in this "domtiferous" mud-hole for the first time just +fifteen minutes before. + +He was greatly impressed with my emphatic word, and addressed me with +much-increased respect. + +"Den, sah, if I might be so libertious, p'r'aps yo' like me to p'int +out de 'stinguished gen'lemen." + +Nothing could have pleased me better, and I drew Fatima still closer +to the curb while Bandy Jim--for that, he said, was his +name--proceeded to point out the celebrities. + +There was passing at that moment a very elegant coach, with mounted +postilions in pink plush and gold lace, and an exceedingly handsome +man with an aristocratic face leaning back among the cushions, his +eyes half closed, as if mentally conning a speech for delivery in +Congress. Bandy Jim did not wait for the eager question on the tip of +my tongue. + +"Dat, sah, is de welfiest and most 'stocratic gen'leman in Washington. +Dat am Mistah Gubernoor Morris of de gre't city of New York. I 'low he +studying dis minnit on a speech 'bout de Mississippi Riber and dem +Spanish men." + +I looked at him again, more eagerly than before. I knew Gouverneur +Morris well by reputation, though I had never seen him, as one of the +most polished and scholarly men of the country, and the devoted friend +of Hamilton, whom I idolized as all that was brilliant, great, and +noble. But my eagerness was largely due to Bandy Jim's suggestion that +they were discussing the Mississippi question in Congress, and as I +looked more keenly I hoped he was on the right side, for I thought +that broad white brow could think great thoughts and those clear-cut +lips could utter them with force. + +"Why do you think it will be on the Mississippi this morning, uncle?" +I inquired, amused that the old darky should seem to know the doings +in Congress. "Do you go up to the Capitol to listen to the debates?" + +"Sometimes, sah, but mos'ly I reads dem in de 'Post,' sah!" And the +proud air with which he let me know of his unusual accomplishment +beggars description. + +"And so you can read, Uncle? And who taught you?" + +"Ole Miss, sah. I's a free nigger, sah. Ole Miss gib me my papers so I +mought stay wid my fambly when she follow de gin'ral and his father to +Mulberry Hill in Kaintuck'." + +I confess Bandy Jim seemed like an old friend at once when I found he +had belonged to the Clarkes, and in my delight at seeing "one of the +family" in a strange land, I slipped from Fatima's back and grasped +him by the hand. + +When he found I was just from Kentucky and Mulberry Hill, he was more +excited than I, and especially was he eager for news of "Marse +William." + +"He mah baby, sah!" he repeated over and over, his old eyes shining +with visions of other days. + +"An' Yorke, sah,--you know Yorke?--he mah son!" with great dignity and +much evident pride in a son of such distinction. + +I had many things to tell him of Yorke's prowess and address that +pleased the old fellow greatly. I might also have recounted the many +times when I had had all the will in the world to horsewhip the +rascal, but I did not distress his old father with any of his +shortcomings. + +The morning was fast slipping away when I bethought me it was time to +be looking up my lodging and making myself ready for my call at the +President's Palace. I flung Bandy Jim a piece of gold and told him I +would see him again. And then as I was in the act of mounting Fatima +it occurred to me he could no doubt direct me. + +"Can you tell me how to find the Mansion House, Uncle?" + +"Right here, sah," grinning with delight; and sure enough, what had +seemed to me the home of some respectable citizen proved to be mine +inn. And a very good one indeed; for when Bandy Jim had called a boy +to lead Fatima around the house to the stables in the rear, and +another to take me in to the landlord, I found myself in as clean and +comfortable a hostelry as one could hope to find. My chamber was a +large square one, on the second landing, and from its windows I could +catch glimpses through the bare trees of the white building on the +hill that I knew was the Capitol. + +And when a boy had brought my saddle-bags, Bandy Jim himself hobbled +in to help me dress. He had been body-servant to both General Clarke +and his father, and, old as he was, bent nearly double and dim of +sight, his fingers were skilled for lacers and laces, for buckles and +ribbons. + +I thought I looked quite as a gentleman should for a morning call at +the "White House," for that, I understand, is what Mr. Jefferson +prefers to have the President's Palace called. Indeed, I have heard he +very vehemently objects to having it called a palace at all. I was +wearing a plain cloth habit of dark green with no lace at wrist or +knee and only a small lace tie at the neck. My shoe-buckles were of +the plainest silver, but Bandy Jim had polished them till they shone +like new. I had some thoughts of deferring my visit until later in the +day, when I might with a good grace have worn satin and velvet and +fine lace ruffles, for I am afraid I was something of a beau in those +days in my liking for dress. But bethinking me that the plainness of +my costume would only be an additional recommendation in the eyes of +the President, should I have the good fortune to meet him, I set off +on Fatima's back, following the straight road, as Bandy Jim had +directed. + +A more forlorn village it has rarely been my lot to see: stretches of +mud road with neither houses nor fields to outline it, and then for a +block or more bare and ugly houses, hideous in their newness, not +having even the grace of age to soften their ill proportions. I was +glad mademoiselle was not there to gaze upon the capital of America +with eyes that knew so well how to be scornful, and that would so soon +find her own gay French capital so beautiful. + +I was in the very act of saying to myself for the twentieth time, +"Idiots and dolts, not to have selected beautiful Philadelphia for a +nation's capital!" when there rode up beside me a farmer in plain, +almost rough, clothes, but riding a magnificent horse. He was about to +pass me (for I was riding slowly, out of respect to the mud, which +might easily have bespattered me so that I would be in no condition +for a call), but I hailed him: + +"Are you going my way, my friend?" + +"If you are going mine." + +"I am going straight ahead to the President's Palace." + +"And I to the White House, sir." + +"Then our ways lie together. Are you acquainted in Washington?" + +"Somewhat, sir." + +I began to think this rather a surly farmer, he was so chary of words, +so I looked at him more narrowly. But I saw nothing surly in his face. +Indeed, at a second glance, I decided it was as fine a face, its +features as clearly chiseled, as one often sees, and the eyes, beneath +the broad white brow, were full, open, and benignant. + +"He is no ordinary farmer," I said to myself, "but most like a wealthy +Virginia planter of education and social standing, but careless in +matters of dress." Therefore I addressed him with a shade more of +respect than I had hitherto used: + +"I am a stranger in Washington, sir," I said, "and if you are better +acquainted here, I thought perhaps you would be so good as to tell me +something of the city." + +He unbent immediately, and not only pointed out every object of +interest on the road, but in a very delicate and gentlemanly manner +proceeded also to pump me as to my name and errand in Washington. I +was not more amused at his curiosity than at the skilful method he +employed in trying to satisfy it, but, as I flattered myself, I gave +him but little satisfaction. + +In reply to some question of mine about the debate in Congress on the +Mississippi question, he gave me such a masterly exposition of the +whole subject, so clearly and concisely put into a nutshell, I began +to think my eccentric planter was a political genius, possibly a +member of Congress, though if so I thought his horse was headed the +wrong way. + +But evidently I had lighted unwittingly upon a rich mine of +information. It was never my way to neglect my opportunities, and I +began at once to ply him with questions about men and things in +Washington. Last of all, I asked him about Mr. Jefferson. + +Now my family was not of Mr. Jefferson's party: we were ardent +admirers and strong partizans of Mr. Hamilton. Not that we had any +fault to find with Mr. Jefferson, except for his quarrel with +Hamilton. But bethinking me that it was quite possible my planter +might be a "Democrat," as Mr. Jefferson calls his party, I spoke +guardedly, I thought. + +"Can you tell me something of the President, sir? Do you admire him? +And is it true he is such a sloven in dress as they say he is?" + +I could not tell from his face whether he were Democrat or Whig, for +it changed not a whit. He answered readily: + +"I know Mr. Jefferson quite well. I can hardly say whether I admire +him or not, but I like him. In fact, he is quite a friend of mine. As +to his being a sloven in dress, is that what they say about him? He +dresses as well as I do: would you call that being a sloven?" + +"Not at all, sir, not at all!" I answered quickly; but to myself I +said, "If he dresses no better, God help us!" I added aloud: + +"I hope, sir, what I have said about the President has not offended +you, since he is a friend of yours. I have never seen him, and was +only repeating the general report." + +The stream of people that had been setting eastward earlier in the +morning had ceased entirely. We had ridden on some distance without +meeting any one, but at this moment we met two gentlemen on horseback, +and both took off their hats and kept them off until we had passed. I +thought it probable that from my fine clothes (which, though plain, +were of undeniable elegance) they took me for a stranger of +distinction, and I bowed most graciously in return. My farmer friend +but touched his hat with his riding-whip, and then pointed off through +the woods to where we could see the chimneys of a large house, on the +banks of the river. + +"That," he said, "is Mr. Law's mansion. You may have heard of him?" + +"Oh, yes," I answered; "he married Miss Custis, and I used to know her +quite well, when we were both children." + +We mounted a little elevation in the road, not enough to be called a +hill, but enough to give a more extended view over the wide acres of +brick-kilns and huts of laborers and dismal waste land unfenced and +uncultivated. To the east, in the direction of the Capitol, he pointed +out the towers of Doddington Manor, the house of Daniel Carroll. We +had passed so many houses that seemed to me but little more than +hovels or barracks that it was a relief to me to see from Mr. Law's +and Mr. Carroll's places that there were some gentlemen's residences +in the capital. When I said something of the kind to my guide, he +replied, with some asperity, that there were many gentlemen's +residences at Alexandria and Arlington and Georgetown, only a short +gallop away, and that it would not be many years until Washington +itself could claim as many as New York or Philadelphia. + +I saw he was one of those violent partizans of the "ten-mile square" +(probably because his farm lay somewhere near), so discreetly turned +the discourse, since I did not want to bring up the vexed question of +the superior merits of New York, Philadelphia, and the ten-mile square +as a seat for the capital. + +By this time the President's Palace was in full view, and a beautiful +building it was, looking very large and very white, and, it must be +confessed, very bare, since there were no gardens surrounding it, +nothing but mud in front and marsh behind, between it and the Potomac. + +Fatima picked her way daintily through the mud, often half stopping +for better footing (as if she knew she must not bespatter me when I +was going to call at the President's house), and by that means the +farmer's powerful horse (who seemed not to mind the mud, knowing there +was no finery to be hurt by it) got well ahead. I was myself so much +engaged with the badness of the road that I did not, for a few +minutes, look up. When I did, I observed that two orderlies were +holding the farmer's horse, from which he had just dismounted, while +the farmer himself stood on the steps awaiting my approach. One +orderly led his horse away as I rode up, but the exclamation of +disgust for the mud that rose to my lips never passed them. As I +glanced up at this "farmer" in corduroy small-clothes, red plush +waistcoat, rough riding-boots splashed with mud, he had suddenly grown +tall and majestic. + +"Orderly, take this gentleman's horse to the stable!" he said, with an +air of command, and then turned to me with stately dignity. + +"Welcome to the White House, my young Philadelphia friend," he said, +and smiled. + +For my confusion knew no bounds. I was never quick where a puzzle or +trick was concerned, but now it slowly dawned upon me that my farmer +friend was the President of the United States! and I had been +criticizing him to his face, and talking flippantly to him, and even +superciliously. My consternation grew; I knew not what was the proper +thing to do, but I stammered out the most abject apology I could think +of. + +Mr. Jefferson only laughed at my confusion. + +"Come, come, sir," he said genially, "there is no great harm done. +Don't you suppose I know what people say of me? You were only +repeating the 'general report,' you know." And then he added +seriously, as he saw my confusion was but increased by his raillery: + +"Where no offense is intended, sir, none is taken. I beg you will +enter the White House, and I will send my secretary to you, Mr. +Meriwether Lewis." + +As he spoke he led the way into the house and into a very large and +beautiful room, with a full-length portrait of General Washington on +the walls. + +"I shall hope to see you later," he said pleasantly as he left me; "if +I mistake not, I have some communications of interest for you." Then +he turned and went up the grand staircase and left me alone to my +miserable pastime of recalling every word and every incident of that +wretched ride to the White House, and from not one of them could I +extract an atom of comfort to soothe my wounded self-esteem. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +A GREAT DEBATE + + They "of the western dome, whose weighty sense + Flows in fit words and heavenly eloquence." + + +I had been so abashed by my wretched mistake that I had not so much as +told the President who I was (though, truth to tell, he had not asked +me, and it would have been only another impertinence on my part to +have volunteered the information). Yet as I sat waiting for young Mr. +Lewis, and reviewing in my mind the miserable events through which I +had just passed, it suddenly occurred to me as very remarkable that +Mr. Jefferson should have known I was from Philadelphia, when I +thought I had been so particularly skilful in betraying no fact +concerning myself. Moreover, he had not only guessed I was from +Philadelphia; he must have guessed my identity also, for he had +"communications of interest" for me. + +My curiosity was now so thoroughly aroused, both as to how the +President knew me and what his communications might be, that it began +to efface the keenness of my mortification. In the midst of my +wondering surmises, Mr. Lewis appeared and greeted me most affably; +and when I had presented Captain Clarke's letter of introduction, he +was, if possible, more affable still. He was an older-looking man than +I had expected to see, and with so much of seriousness in his +countenance, and yet of such frankness and earnestness in his manner, +that it drew my interest and liking at once. + +He was the bearer of a very polite message from the President, +inviting me to dinner at the White House at four o'clock that +afternoon; and then he proposed that we should set out at once for the +Capitol, where, as he said, a debate of special interest was on the +calendar. + +I was much touched at the generosity of Mr. Jefferson in returning my +discourtesy to himself by so courteously placing his secretary at my +disposal for my entertainment, and nothing could have pleased me +better than Mr. Lewis's proposal. It had been my intention to visit +the Capitol as soon as this visit of ceremony should be performed, but +to visit it with a guide so much at home as the President's secretary +was good luck indeed. + +I thought it still better luck when I found that, by Mr. Jefferson's +special invitation, we were to sit in a small gallery set aside for +the President and his friends, and to which a guard in uniform +admitted us with a key. I was much impressed by the exterior of the +Capitol (though in such an unfinished state), but when I found myself +seated in the seclusion of the President's own private gallery, +looking down upon the horseshoe of grave and distinguished senators, I +could have wished that one of the ladies (of whom there were a number +in the gallery opposite, and who cast many inquisitive glances at the +two young men in the President's box) might have been Mademoiselle +Pelagie, for I felt sure she would never again think of me as a boy, +could she but see me in my present dignified surroundings. + +But it was only for a moment that my attention was distracted by the +ladies and by thoughts of mademoiselle. A gentleman was speaking (Mr. +Lewis told me it was Mr. Ross of Pennsylvania) in a most impassioned +manner, and the magic word "Mississippi" caught my ear and charmed my +attention. Mr. Ross was saying: + +"To the free navigation of the Mississippi we have undoubted right, +from nature and also from the position of our Western country. This +right and the right of deposit in the Island of New Orleans were +solemnly acknowledged and fixed by treaty in 1795. That treaty has +been in actual operation and execution for many years, and now, +without any pretense of abuse or violation on our part, the officers +of the Spanish government deny that right, refuse the place of +deposit, and add the most offensive of all insults by forbidding us +from landing on any part of their territory and shutting us out as a +common nuisance. I declare it, therefore, to be my firm and mature +opinion that so important a right will never be secure while the mouth +of the Mississippi is exclusively in the hands of the Spanish. From +the very position of our country, from its geographical shape, from +motives of complete independence, the command of the navigation of +the river ought to be in our hands. + +"We are now wantonly provoked to take it. Hostility in its most +offensive shape has been offered us, and hostility fatal to the +happiness of the Western World. Why not seize, then, what is so +essential to us as a nation? Why not expel the wrong-doers? Paper +treaties have proved too feeble. Plant yourselves on the river; +fortify the banks; invite those who have an interest at stake to +defend it. Do justice to yourselves when your adversaries deny it, and +leave the event to Him who controls the fate of nations!" + +Ah, how his words burnt my brain! I was for leaving Mr. Lewis in the +President's gallery, running down to the great entrance where I had +left Fatima in charge of a negro boy, mounting her, and riding +straight back to Kentucky. Once there, I was sure it would be an easy +matter to raise a company of eager patriots and march at their head +down the Great River to the hostile city. But Mr. Ross had not +finished, and I could not lose a word of his impassioned speech: + +"Why submit to a tardy and uncertain negotiation--a negotiation with +those who have wronged you? When in possession you will negotiate with +more advantage. You will then be in the position to keep others out. +The present possessors have no pretense to complain, for they have no +right to the country, by their own confession. + +"The Western people will discover that you are making every effort +they could desire for their protection. They will ardently support you +in the contest, if a contest becomes necessary. Their all will be at +stake, and neither their zeal nor their courage need be doubted. + +"But after negotiations shall have failed; after a powerful, ambitious +nation shall have taken possession of the key of their Western country +and fortified it; after the garrisons are filled by the veterans who +have conquered the East: will you have it in your power to waken the +generous spirit of the West and dispossess them? No, no; their +confidence in you as their rulers will be gone; they will be +disheartened, divided, and will place no further dependence upon you." + +At this moment two officers in uniform entered the Senate, preceding a +gentleman who carried on a cushion a document. Immediately the +President of the Senate, Mr. Burr (a man whom I had been reared to +dislike and distrust above all men, and whose enmity for Mr. Hamilton +was sufficient cause to make me his foe, yet whose attractive +personality, seeing him for the first time, I could not deny), called +the house to order, and requested Mr. Ross to defer the completion of +his speech until a message from the House of Representatives should +have been read. + +I was all curiosity, for it seemed to me an imposing ceremony and one +that must be of great moment. But I was doomed to disappointment. The +gentleman bearing the document said something in a low tone to the +clerk, who repeated it to Mr. Burr. Whereupon Mr. Burr rose in his +seat. + +"Gentlemen of the Senate," he said, "the House of Representatives +sends you a confidential message. Sergeant-at-arms, clear the house!" + +Mr. Lewis rose at once, and signaled to me to follow, which I did, +very unwillingly. Outside in the corridors he said: + +"I think this will be but a brief secret conference--most like we can +return in a few minutes; and I will employ the interim in showing you +the building." + +From his manner I thought he must know the subject of the secret +conference, as, indeed, being the President's private secretary, he +would have every means of knowing. But he gave me no hint of it, and +it was not until long afterward that I learned that in the half-hour +we were shut out the Senate had confirmed the House bill to place two +million dollars at the President's disposal to commence with more +effect a negotiation with France and Spain for the purchase of the +Isle of New Orleans and the East and West Floridas. + +When the doors were opened again, and we were back in our seats in the +President's gallery, we found Mr. Ross already on his feet, continuing +his interrupted speech, and evidently the sentences I first heard were +in reference to the bill just passed. + +"I know," he said, "that some gentlemen think there is a mode of +accomplishing our object, of which, by a most extraordinary procedure, +I am forbidden to speak on this occasion. I will not, therefore, touch +it. But I will ask honorable gentlemen, especially those from the +Western country, what they will say, on their return home, to a people +pressed by the heavy hand of this calamity, when they inquire: What +has been done? What are our hopes? How long will this obstruction +continue? You answer: We have provided a remedy, but it is a secret! +We are not allowed to speak of it there, much less here. It was only +communicated to us confidentially, in whispers, with closed doors. But +by and by you will see it operate like enchantment. It is a sovereign +balsam which will heal your wounded honor; it is a potent spell, or a +kind of patent medicine, which will extinguish and forever put at rest +the devouring spirit which has desolated so many nations of Europe. +You never can know exactly what it is; nor can we tell you precisely +the time it will begin to operate: but operate it certainly will, and +effectually, too! You will see strange things by and by; wait +patiently, and place full faith in us, for we cannot be mistaken! + +"This idle tale may amuse children, but the men of the West will not +be satisfied. They will tell you that they expected better things of +you, that their confidence has been misplaced, and that they will not +wait the operation of your newly invented drug; they will go and +redress themselves!" + +Then Mr. Ross proceeded to read a series of resolutions he had drawn +up, the most important part of them being to authorize the President +to take immediate possession of the Isle of New Orleans, and to raise +a militia army not exceeding fifty thousand men in the Western States, +to cooperate with the army and navy of the Union; and that the sum of +five millions of dollars should be appropriated to carry out these +resolutions. + +They took my breath away. "What would I not give to be back in +Kentucky!" I whispered to Mr. Lewis, in irrepressible excitement. + +"Calm yourself, my young friend," he whispered back. "War is not +declared yet. Listen to this next speech; it is Mr. White from +Delaware. See whether he supports or opposes the resolutions." + +His opening sentence answered the question: + +"As to the closing of the port of New Orleans against our citizens, +the man who can now doubt that it was a deliberate act of the Spanish +or French government must have locked up his mind against truth and +conviction, and be determined to discredit even the evidence of his +own senses. But, sir, it is not only the depriving us of our right of +deposit by which we have been grieved: it is by a system of measures +pursued antecedent and subsequent to that event, equally hostile and +even more insulting. I have in my hand a paper signed by a Spanish +officer, which, with the indulgence of the chair, I will read to the +Senate." + +Then he read a paper signed by Carlos de Grandpré, warning the +subjects of his Majesty of Spain that they were to have no +communications with America, and couched in the most insulting terms. +My blood boiled as I listened! + +"These," said Mr. White, "are the measures that have been adopted by +the Spaniard, excluding us from their shores for a distance of two +hundred and seventy miles, treating us like a nation of pirates and +banditti. Would the great Washington have permitted such an insult had +he still been with us? Spain has dared us to the trial, and now bids +us defiance. She is yet in possession of that country; it is at this +moment within your reach and within your power. It offers a sure and +easy conquest. We should have to encounter there only a weak, +inactive, and unenterprising people. But how may a few months vary the +scene and darken our prospects! Though not officially informed, we +know that the Spanish provinces on the Mississippi have been ceded to +the French, and that they will, as soon as possible, take possession +of them. What may we then expect? When, in the last extremity, we +shall be drawn to arms in defense of our indisputable rights, where +now slumbers on his post the sluggish Spaniard we shall be hailed by +the vigilant and alert French grenadier; and in the defenseless +garrison that would now surrender at our approach we shall see +unfurled the standards that have waved triumphant in Italy, surrounded +by impregnable ramparts and defended by the disciplined veterans of +Europe. I am willing to attribute to honorable gentlemen the best of +motives; I am sure they do not wish to involve this country in a +war--and, God knows, I deprecate its horrors as much as any man. But +this business can never be adjusted abroad; it will ultimately have to +be settled upon the banks of the Mississippi; the war is inevitable +unless honorable gentlemen opposed to us are prepared to yield up the +best interest and honor of the nation. I believe the only question now +in our power to decide is, whether it shall be the bloodless war of a +few months or the carnage of years. + +"These observations are urged upon the supposition that it is in the +power of the government to restrain the impetuosity of the Western +people and to prevent their doing justice to themselves, which, by the +by, I beg to be understood as not believing. They know their own +strength; they know the feebleness of the enemy; they know the +infinite importance of the stake, and they feel--permit me to say, +sir, with more than mere sensibility--the insults and injuries they +have received. You had as well pretend to dam up the mouth of the +Mississippi, and say to its restless waves, 'Ye shall cease here and +never mingle with the ocean,' as to expect they will be prevented from +descending it. + +"Without the free use of the river and the necessary advantage of +deposit below our line, their fertile country is not worth possession; +their produce must be wasted in the field or rot in the granary. These +are rights not only guaranteed to them by treaty, but also given to +them by the God of nature, and they will enforce them, with or without +the authority of government!" + +This long speech (and I have not remembered half of it) was +interrupted by frequent bursts of applause, and when Mr. White sat +down, it was amid such enthusiasm of cheering as quite carried me off +my feet. + +"Was there ever such a speech?" I shouted into Mr. Lewis's ear, for +the noise was deafening. "That will surely win the day." + +"Wait," he shouted back, "until you hear the other side. That is Mr. +Jackson of Georgia trying to get the floor, and, if I mistake not, he +will be in opposition, and he is a strong speaker, with plenty of +caustic wit." + +Mr. Jackson began to speak with so slow a drawl and in such low tones +that at first I hardly thought him an adversary to be dreaded. But as +he warmed to his work I changed my mind. + +"What is the course," he began, "which we have to pursue? Is it to go +immediately to war without asking for redress? By the law of nations +and the doctrines of all writers on such law, you are not justified +until you have tried every possible method of obtaining redress in a +peaceable manner. It is only in the last extremity, when you have no +other expedient left, that a recourse to arms is lawful and just, and +I hope the United States will never forfeit their character for +justice by any hasty or rash steps which they may, too late, have to +repent of. + +"Sir, we have been told much, by the gentleman from Delaware, of +Bonaparte: that he is the hero of France, the conqueror of Italy, the +tyrant of Germany, and that his legions are invincible. We have been +told that we must hasten to take possession of New Orleans whilst in +the hands of the sluggish Spaniards, and not wait until it is in the +iron grip of the Cæsar of modern times. But much as I respect the fame +and exploits of that extraordinary man, I believe we should have +little more to fear from him, should it be necessary in the end to +contend with him for the possession of New Orleans, than from the +sluggish Spaniards. Bonaparte, sir, in our Southern country would be +lost with all his martial talents. His hollow squares and horse +artillery would be of little service to him in the midst of our +morasses and woods, where he would meet, not with the champaign +country of Italy,--with the little rivulets commanded by his cannon +which he could pass at leisure,--not with the fortified cities which +command surrounding districts, but with rivers miles wide, and swamps +mortal or impenetrable to Europeans. With a body of only ten thousand +of our expert riflemen around him, his laurels would be torn from his +brow, and he would heartily wish himself once more on the plains of +Italy. + +"The sacred name of Washington has been unnecessarily appealed to on +this as on many other occasions, and we have been boastingly told that +in his time no nation dared insult us. Much, sir, as I revere his +memory, acknowledging him among the fathers of his country, was this +the fact? Was he not insulted?--was not the nation insulted under his +administration? How came the posts to be detained after the definitive +treaty with Great Britain? What dictated that inhuman deed to stir up +horror and destruction among us--Lord Dorchester's insolent and savage +speech to the hordes of Indians on our frontiers to massacre our +inhabitants without distinction? Were those not insults? Or have we +tamely forgotten them? Yet, sir, did Washington go to war? He did not; +he preferred negotiation, and sent an envoy to Great Britain. Peace +was obtained by a treaty with that nation. Shall we, then, not +negotiate? Shall we not follow the leading feature of our nation's +policy? We are all actuated, I hope, by one view, but we differ in the +means. Let us show the nations of the earth we are not anxious for +war, that scourge of mankind; that we bear patiently our injuries, in +hope of redress. + +"But, sir, if forced to war, contrary to our policy and wish, let us +unsheathe the sword and fling away the scabbard until our enemies be +brought to a sense of justice and our wrongs be redressed." + +Now to every word of this speech I had listened breathlessly. There +was a ring in Mr. Jackson's voice as he warmed to his theme, and his +long body swayed in the power of his own eloquence, that moved me +mightily, though I wished not to be moved. + +I scarcely listened to the gentleman that followed (a Mr. Cocke from +Tennessee), so intently was I reviewing Mr. Jackson's ringing +sentences, and wondering if, after all, he was right, and all the +brave Kentuckians who had been so loud in their demands for war were +wrong. But one or two sentences of Mr. Cocke caught my ear; I heard +him say: + +"We were told by Mr. Ross that we were bound to go to war for this +right which God and nature had given to the Western people. What are +we to understand by this right given by God and nature? Surely not the +right of deposit, for that was given by treaty, and as to the right of +navigation, that has been neither suspended nor brought into question. +But we are told by the same gentleman that the possession of New +Orleans is necessary to our complete security. Leaving to the +gentleman's own conscience to settle the question as to the morality +of taking that place because it would be convenient, I beg to inform +him that the possession of it would not give us complete security." + +What further Mr. Cocke said I do not know, for at that moment Mr. +Lewis whispered to me: + +"Do you know the lady in the gallery opposite? She has been for some +time covertly regarding one of us, and I think it must be you. Do not +look at her just now; look at the right-hand gallery, and then +gradually let your glance come around to the lady wearing a black lace +veil beside the pillar in the front row opposite." + +I did as Mr. Lewis instructed--letting my glance finally fall in the +most casual manner where he indicated. But as I did so my heart gave a +great bound. Could that be Mademoiselle Pelagie? The pose of the head, +the dark eyes seen dimly through the lace veil, the little ringlets in +the neck, were hers; but after a moment I convinced myself that it was +only a chance resemblance. I had left Mademoiselle Pelagie in Kentucky +not three weeks before, with no intention of coming to Washington, but +of going direct to New York as soon as suitable escort could be found. +It would hardly be within the bounds of possibility that she should be +in Washington as soon as I. It was true I had been detained somewhat +on the route, once by losing my way, and once by Fatima laming her +foot and causing me to spend two days with a Virginia planter while +she recovered sufficiently to permit our resuming our journey. But +still I could not believe mademoiselle could have accomplished such a +journey so quickly, and when I had left her there had been a small +prospect of an escort to New York, but none at all to Washington. + +So I told Mr. Meriwether Lewis that the lady did indeed remind me of +one I knew, but as she was at that moment (I had every reason to +believe) safe with Mrs. O'Fallon at Mulberry Hill, it was impossible +that it could be she. Then, though much disturbed by this chance +resemblance and the thronging memories it awakened, I addressed myself +once more to the debate. + +I was just in time to see rising to his feet the handsomest man in the +Senate, as I had long before decided. Mr. Gouverneur Morris, with his +clean-cut, aristocratic features, his carefully curled peruke, his +fine lace ruffles falling over his long white hands, and his +immaculate stockings and pumps with their glittering buckles, was, to +my mind, every inch the gentleman, and quite worthy to have called +himself a blue-blooded Philadelphian, but that an unkind fate had +given him New York for a birthplace. I was more than curious to know +on which side he would be, and his opening sentence filled me with the +assurance he was on the right side and every word was weighted. +Clear-cut, each sentence dropped from his lips like a string of +burnished jewels. + +"Had Spain the right to make this cession to France without our +consent? Gentlemen have taken it for granted that she had. But I deny +the position. No nation has a right to give to another a dangerous +neighbor without her consent. He who renders me insecure, he who +hazards my peace and exposes me to imminent danger, commits an act of +hostility against me and gives me the rights consequent on that act. +Suppose Great Britain should give to Algiers one of the Bahamas, and +contribute thereby to establish a nest of pirates near your coast. +Would you not consider it as an aggression? It is among the first +limitations to the exercise of the rights of property that we must so +use our own as not to injure another, and it is under the immediate +sense of this restriction that nations are bound to act toward each +other. + +"The possession of Louisiana by the ambitious ruler of France would +give him in the New World the preponderance he has already obtained in +the Old. It becomes the United States to show that they do not fear +him who is the ruler of all; and it specially behooves the young and +growing republic to interpose, in order to revive the energy and +resistance of the half-conquered nations of Europe, and to save the +expiring liberties of mankind!" + +No one can imagine the fire, the grace, the inspiring tones and +gestures, with which this last sentence was uttered. In my enthusiasm +I looked across to my fair neighbor in the opposite gallery for +sympathy. Through the veil I thought I caught her eye; but by the +slightest turn of her head and an almost imperceptible movement of her +hand she conveyed to me (whether intentionally or not, I was not sure) +that she was not at all in sympathy with the speaker--indeed, that she +disagreed with him wholly. + +I looked down again into the arena below me. Slowly rising from his +seat was a figure as ungainly as the other had been elegant. Red of +face, with features almost coarse, and unwieldy from too great a +burden of flesh, I recognized at once Mr. Morris's colleague, the +famous Mr. Clinton of New York. What he said pleased me no more than +his appearance, yet I could but own that no speaker had spoken with +more force, more caustic satire, or more fluent eloquence. I had to +admit, also, that there was a flavor of good sense and practicability +about much that he said, though I was loath to admit it. He began +ponderously, with pompous tones; but as he went on his voice changed +until it became at times high and even rasping. + +"Sublime, sir, as these speculations may appear to the eyes of some, +and high-sounding as they may strike the ears of many, they do not +affect me with any force. In the first place, I do not perceive how +they bear upon the question before me; it merely refers to the seizure +of New Orleans, not to the maintenance of the balance of power. Again, +of all characters, I think that of a conquering nation least becomes +the American people. What, sir! Shall America go forth, like another +Don Quixote, to relieve distressed nations and to rescue from the +fangs of tyranny the powerful states of Britain, Spain, Austria, +Italy, the Netherlands? Shall she, like another Phaëthon, madly ascend +the chariot of Empire, and spread desolation and horror over the +world? Shall she attempt to restrain the career of a nation, which my +honorable colleague represents to have been irresistible, and which he +declares has appalled the British lion and the imperial eagle of the +house of Austria? Shall we wantonly court destruction and violate all +the maxims of policy which ought to govern infant and free republics? +Let us, sir, never carry our arms into the territory of other nations, +unless we are compelled to take them up in self-defense. A pacific +character is of all others most important for us to maintain. With a +sea-coast of two thousand miles, indented with harbors and lined with +cities, with an extended commerce, and with a population of only six +millions, how are we to set up for the avenger of nations? Can gravity +itself refrain itself from laughter at the figure which my honorable +colleague would wish us to make on the theater of the world? He would +put a fool's cap on our head and dress us up in the parti-colored +robes of a harlequin for the nations of the world to laugh at. And +after all the puissant knights of the times have been worsted in the +tournament by the Orlando Furioso of France, we must then, forsooth, +come forward and console them for their defeat by an exhibition of our +follies! + +"I look, sir, upon all the dangers we heard about the French +possession of Louisiana as visionary and idle. Twenty years must roll +over our heads before France can establish in that country a +population of two hundred thousand souls. What, in the meantime, will +become of your Southern and Western States? Are they not advancing to +greatness with a giant's stride? The Western States will then contain +on their borders millions of free and hardy republicans, able to crush +every daring invader of their rights!" + +There was a slight stir in the gallery opposite. I looked up to see +the figure in black rising from her seat. But even as I looked I +thought I caught a direct glance from the dark eyes, and I could +almost have sworn there was a slight wave of the hand as if in parting +salute to me. Her companion, an older lady, rose with her, and +together they turned and left the gallery. Once more I was struck by +the startling resemblance to Mademoiselle Pelagie in every movement, +and in the outlines of the graceful figure. I heard nothing more Mr. +Clinton had to say; I was lost in an abstracted reverie as to the +possibility of its being mademoiselle in the flesh. I would have liked +to propose to Mr. Lewis that we go out and follow the mysterious +figure, but cold reason assured me that mademoiselle was many miles +away, and it was but a fond fancy that pictured her image in every +dark-eyed maiden, and so shamed me from such a foolish pursuit. + +"Shall we go?" said Mr. Lewis. "There will be no vote--probably none +for a week at least." + +I started from my reverie to find the debate over, the Senate +adjourned, floor and gallery rapidly clearing. I answered with +alacrity, hoping he had not discovered my abstraction: + +"By all means. It has been a grand occasion, and I am much indebted to +you, sir, for giving me the opportunity of hearing so great a debate." + +Through the long corridors I hurried Mr. Lewis, eagerly scanning the +throng for a glimpse of that figure, which I hoped we might overtake; +but it had utterly vanished. Outside we found our horses waiting, and +together we picked a rough and broken path down Capitol Hill, and +then a smoother road where we could put our horses to a canter up the +avenue; a gay throng in coaches, in saddle, and on foot accompanying +us, and Mr. Meriwether Lewis saluting to right and left as we passed +the more leisurely ones, or were passed by those riding or driving in +reckless haste. And so on to my inn, where Bandy Jim, still +industriously polishing boots on the sidewalk, ducked his white head +with a joyous "Howdy, marsa!" and I felt as if an old friend was +welcoming me home. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +A MAGIC COACH + + "And we meet with champagne and a chicken." + + +I had made my toilet with such despatch that scarcely an hour after +parting with Mr. Lewis at my inn I found myself once more at the White +House. This time I was ushered up-stairs into an oval room, very +gorgeously furnished in crimson, where the President was waiting, and +a few of his guests. Beside him stood Mistress Madison, helping him to +receive; for his daughters were both away at their homes. I improved +the moment when she was speaking to some guests, who had arrived just +before me, to look at her well. I had heard much of her, and I knew my +sisters at home would want me to tell them exactly how she looked and +what she wore. + +I think I have often seen more beautiful women (a dark-eyed maiden +from France was in my mind at the moment as far more beautiful), but +rarely have I seen a face lighted up with more of animation and good +humor. On her head she wore an article of dress which I had heard +described as worn by the ladies of London and Paris, but which I had +never before seen; for the head-dresses of the Frenchwomen in St. +Louis, while in some respects quite as remarkable, bore not the +slightest resemblance to this of Mistress Madison's. It was a Turkish +turban of white satin and velvet, with a jeweled crescent in front +clasping a bunch of nodding white ostrich-plumes. Her gown, of pale +pink satin, was heavily trimmed with ermine, and she wore gold chains +about her waist and wrists, and carried a jeweled snuff-box in her +hand. She was truly regal-looking, and I did not wonder that people +sometimes laughingly spoke of her as "her Majesty." Her turban +especially, I think, gave her an indescribable air of distinction; but +I was not quite sure that I thought it as becoming as the dark curling +locks of the very beautiful lady who stood beside her. + +Mr. Lewis, at this moment descrying me, came forward to present me to +the President and to Mistress Madison, who put me at my ease at once +by inquiring for my mother and for many of my Philadelphia kin, who, +she declared, were old and very dear friends. I would have liked to +linger at her side, for she made me much at home, and I liked not to +turn away and find myself among a roomful of strangers; but I knew +there were others waiting to be received by her, and I must move on. + +As I turned from her, a voice in my ear said imperiously: + +"Well, sir, and have you no word for your old friend, Fanny +Cadwalader?" + +I turned quickly; it was the beautiful lady with the dark curls. + +"Miss Fanny!" I cried in joyous recognition, and bent low over her +extended hand. + +I had been but a young boy when Frances Cadwalader married Mr. Erskine +and went to London to live; but we had been great friends as children, +and I did not understand how I had failed to recognize her. She bade +me stand beside her and she would point out all the distinguished +guests, and I was glad indeed of her protection. In reply to my eager +question as to how she came to be in Washington, she told me that her +husband had been appointed minister from Great Britain in Mr. Merry's +place, and they were but newly arrived. + +"But where have you been living, sir," she asked, with mock severity, +"that you know nothing of what has been going on in the great world? +Or are we personages of so small importance that our movements are not +chronicled in America?" + +I had to explain that I had been in the backwoods for months, and for +the last two months in the foreign colony of Louisiana, in the village +of St. Louis, where little of the doings of the outside world +penetrated. + +She forgave me my ignorance, and immediately pointed out to me her +husband, a fine-looking Englishman, talking to the most gorgeously +arrayed creature I had ever beheld: satin, laces, velvets, jewels, +gold lace, and powder made up a dazzling ensemble. + +"That," said she, "is the Marquis de Casa Yrujo, and the lady with him +is his wife, Sally McKean. He is magnificent, is he not? I would not +quite like it if I were the marchioness, for people look at him +instead of her, and she is quite beautiful enough to be looked at +herself." + +"Ah, why begrudge the marquis his meed of admiration, if he likes it?" +I said. "And since he likes it, let us be grateful, for his sake, that +it is not Mistress Erskine who is the marchioness, for who can see the +glitter of the stars when the lovely moon is in the sky?" + +She laughed good-naturedly at my gallantry, but I think she also liked +it. We were standing near a window that looked out on the front +approach to the White House. Suddenly Mistress Erskine exclaimed: + +"Look, look quick, my friend! Here is magnificence indeed!" + +I looked as she bade me, and saw what I conceived to be a rolling ball +of burnished gold borne swiftly through the air by two gilt wings. As +it came nearer we both grew more excited--I because I did not know +what it was (and it looked more like a fairy coach than anything I had +dreamed of), and she both because she enjoyed my bewilderment and +because she loved magnificence. By this time as many of the other +guests as were near windows and could look out without seeming to be +over-eager, or discourteous to their host, were doing so. The rolling +golden ball came to the very foot of the White House steps and +stopped. What I had taken to be two gilt wings proved to be nothing +more than gorgeous footmen, with _chapeaux bras_, gilt-braided skirts, +and splendid swords. They sprang to the ground, opened the door of the +coach, and from it alighted the French minister, weighted with gold +lace and glittering with diamonds and jeweled orders. He turned with +stately ceremony to offer his hand to a lady who was alighting from +the coach. First a tiny foot in high-arched slippers and embroidered +stocking; then a glimpse of a skirt, pale pink and silver brocade, +that had a strangely familiar air. I looked quickly at the head just +emerging--waving black curls, dark glowing eyes, a complexion of ivory +tinted with rose. + +It was Mademoiselle Pelagie! + +My head swam. Was it indeed all a bit of enchantment? The golden +coach, the gorgeous footmen, the dazzling minister of France, +and--Pelagie! Mrs. Erskine noted my agitation. + +"Qu'as-tu, m'ami?" she said softly. "You know her, then?" + +"Know whom, madam?" I asked, trying to get myself under control and +seem indifferent. + +"Our new sensation, the Great Lady of France, whom all the town is +talking of. She arrived two days ago at the house of the French +minister, and is staying there, it is said, under his protection, +until she shall find suitable escort to Paris, where she goes to take +possession of her estates returned to her by Bonaparte. This is what +rumor says, and it looks as if it were true that she is a great lady, +since the minister has handed her from the carriage before his own +wife. We will wait now to see where the President seats her at table; +that will decide it." + +I was trying hard to hold myself in hand and make suitable answer. + +"Is the President such a stickler, then, for form and ceremony? We had +heard otherwise." + +Mistress Erskine laughed: + +"True, I forgot. If he had been as particular as he should concerning +precedence, I should not be here. You know, do you not, that my +husband's predecessor quarreled with President Jefferson because he +gave his arm to Dolly Madison, in going in to dinner, instead of to +the wife of the British minister?" + +"Yes; I have heard of the 'Merry War,'" I answered, and stopped. Not +another word could I utter. Nor apparently could anybody else in the +room; for every voice was hushed as all eyes were turned to the door +where the French minister was entering with his wife on his left arm, +and what I veritably believed to be the most beautiful creature in the +world on his right. + +It was a brilliant spectacle; for the French minister and his wife +dazzled the sight by the glitter of gold lace and the flash of jewels, +and Pelagie blinded the eyes as truly by a vision of radiant dark +eyes, soft black tresses curling around a white throat, the gleam of +snowy neck and rounded arms through rare lace, and the color of the +rose slowly tinting the rich ivory of her cheeks, as they passed +through a double lane of guests to speak to the President. + +Now was I in two minds whether to be supremely happy in once more +beholding Mademoiselle Pelagie, whose graceful figure I thought had +forever faded from my sight when the boat rounded the bend of the +Ohio, or to be most miserable lest here among courtiers, and taking +her rightful place with the great of the earth, she should no longer +condescend to show me the friendliness she had shown on our last +evening on the river. Neither was I quite sure whether it was my place +to go forward and speak to her or to await her pleasure in speaking to +me. + +But Mistress Erskine solved the problem. + +"You do know her," she said--"I see it in your eyes; and you must +present me at once. And do tell me," she added eagerly: "is she so +great a lady? We have heard so many rumors about her; what is the +truth?" + +"I have only known her," I answered, "as Mademoiselle Pelagie de Villa +Réal. I know that in France she is of high rank, but I do not know +what." + +"Ah," she said, with a little gesture of disappointment, "then you +cannot introduce me properly, and I shall have to trust to that astute +diplomat that he gives her her right title. Does she know it herself?" + +"I think she did not when she left St. Louis," I answered, "but her +new friends may have revealed it to her." + +"On second thought," said she, "I believe I will ask you to present +her to me instead of the minister, if you will; I would like to see +how she takes the 'Mademoiselle de Villa Réal.'" + +So there was nothing for it but to brace up my courage and go forward +to speak to mademoiselle. Nothing could have been sweeter and more +friendly than her greeting, and with no trace of embarrassment, though +I thought the French minister regarded me with a coldly critical eye. +Beside his magnificence I did feel rather shabby; for, though Yorke +had done his best to freshen and restore my purple velvets by steaming +and other appliances, they still were the worse for much service +(especially the encounter with the chevalier), and for many packings +in saddle-bags. Of my lace ruffles I was justly proud, for no +courtier's in the room were finer or richer, and my sword and scabbard +were not to be ashamed of, for though not so bejeweled as some, they +were of the finest workmanship and inlaid with gold and pearl. + +Mademoiselle presented me to the French minister very prettily, +however; and though I thought his greeting somewhat scant in courtesy, +I attributed it to the suspicions he would naturally have, as +mademoiselle's guardian, of a young gentleman of whom he knew nothing, +and whom mademoiselle received so kindly. + +I at once preferred Mistress Erskine's request, but the minister gave +Pelagie no chance to reply. + +"I will myself present the comtesse to the wife of the British +ambassador," he said with alacrity, and led her away to Mistress +Erskine. + +I saw that he had availed himself of this opportunity to cut short my +interview with mademoiselle; but, not to be outdone in diplomacy, I +followed leisurely, and was in time to hear the minister say: + +"It gives me pleasure to present to Madame Erskine the Comtesse de +Baloit." And I saw by the profound curtsy Mistress Erskine made (and +which mademoiselle returned very prettily, but with a touch of +condescension, I thought) that that name meant something more to her +than it did to me. + +After the fashion of women, the two began at once a lively chatter in +French, and I saw myself like to be shut out in the cold, with no +further opportunity for converse with mademoiselle. But I would not +desert my post, hoping sooner or later to get my chance. And I was +rewarded; for in a few minutes Mistress Erskine was called to receive +another presentation. But as she turned away she whispered in my ear: + +"Be careful how you behave, sir; she is of the blood royal!" + +Blood royal or not, she would always be Mademoiselle Pelagie to me, +and I was not going to lose my opportunity. + +"Tell me, Comtesse," I said, "how you came here. When I saw you last +you had no idea of coming to Washington." + +She did not answer my question at once, but, glancing up at me from +under her long lashes in the most adorable fashion, she said softly: + +"You used to call me Comtesse when you were angry. Are you angry now?" + +"No, not when I was angry," I answered, "but when you were--were--" + +"Proud and naughty and altogether disagreeable," she interposed +quickly; "and that was very often, was it not, Monsieur?" + +"Yes, Comtesse." + +"I am not either now, am I? Then why do you not call me +Mademoiselle?" + +"No, indeed! You are"--I was going to say "adorable," but I finished +tamely--"neither. But you are really Comtesse, and it is proper I +should call you so." And before I was aware of what I was doing, I +fetched a great sigh from the bottom of my boots. She understood, and +looked up at me with a pathetic little smile that was sadder than my +sigh. + +"I am sorry, too; I think I would rather be mademoiselle," she said. + +"And of the blood royal!" I added severely, as if accusing her of a +crime. + +She dropped her eyes. + +"I cannot help it. I never knew till yesterday," meekly. + +"And your guardian," I indicated the French minister with a slight nod +in his direction, "thinks it great presumption for a plain Yankee +gentleman to be talking on such familiar terms with a princess of the +blood, and is coming in a few minutes to put a stop to it." + +She looked at the minister quickly with a haughty turn of the head and +a flashing glance, but in a moment she turned back to me with a smile +curling her scarlet lips and a humorous twinkle in her eye. + +"He would never dare," she said. "He is a good Citizen of the +Republic." + +"Nevertheless he will dare," I insisted. "I see it in his eye; so +first tell me quickly how you got here, and when and where you are +going." + +"Your boat was hardly out of sight, Monsieur," she answered, "when +another came up the river direct from St. Louis with Monsieur and +Madame Cerré aboard. They brought letters from my guardian directing +me to go on with them to Washington (where they were going to +see the Spanish minister about some trouble they had had with +Americans--concerning peltries, I think, and land, perhaps), and they +would place me in the French minister's care. I did not expect to find +you here, for we were a whole day behind you; but we traveled +rapidly." + +"And I was delayed," I said. "But when and how are you to get to +Paris? With the Livingstons?" + +"No; Citizen Pichon says they sailed this week. But he tells me, what +is not generally known, that your government is about to send a +special envoy to France concerning New Orleans--a Monsieur Monroe; and +Monsieur Pichon has arranged that I shall go with him." + +"Do you know when?" I asked hastily, for I saw the President moving +toward us with the Marquis de Casa Yrujo, and I was quite sure that +meant an end to all conversation. + +"Not for several weeks, I believe; but I am not sure," she answered. + +"Will the Comtesse de Baloit permit me to present the Marquis de Casa +Yrujo, who will take her out to dinner?" And the President was adding +a pretty little speech of compliment, in his gallant way, and the +marquis was bowing solemnly and profoundly, and the comtesse was +curtsying and smiling, and I was left entirely out in the cold. I was +rescued by Mistress Madison. + +"I would like nothing better than to give you your old friend Mistress +Erskine to take out to dinner," she said, smiling. "It is forlorn for +a young man among so many grown-ups, and the only young maiden +snatched away from him. But the President is not going to blunder +twice in the same fashion, and will take Mistress Erskine himself. Now +I will give you your choice among the rest. Whom would you like to +take?" + +"Ah, your Majesty," I answered quickly, hand on my heart and bowing +low, but smiling up at her,--for she was a woman into whose amiable, +cordial face no man could look without smiling,--"I suppose I dare not +lift my eyes as high as my heart would dictate, and since you are out +of the question, I care not whom you give me." + +"Saucy boy!"--and she tapped me lightly with her snuff-box,--"I vow I +think you would be vastly more fun than the British minister, but my +country demands that I sacrifice myself. I will give you the +Marchioness de Casa Yrujo. If you do not know Sally McKean, she +certainly knew you when you were in petticoats." + +So I found myself seated at table between the most brilliant woman +there and the most beautiful; for the Marchioness de Casa Yrujo was +universally conceded to be the one, and the Comtesse de Baloit was, in +my esteem at least, as certainly the other. + +It was a long table, and bounteously furnished--lacking, perhaps, some +of the elegance of the Philadelphia tables I had been accustomed to, +but with a lavish prodigality native to the South. Two new guests had +arrived while I had been so engrossed in talking to the comtesse that +I had not observed their entrance, a gentleman and his wife. The lady +was amiable-looking, but of no great distinction of appearance. The +gentleman I thought I had seen before; his long, rather lean visage, +somber but dignified, looked familiar to me. When the marchioness told +me it was Mr. Monroe, I wondered that I had not recognized him at +once, for he was a familiar figure on our streets during the ten years +when Philadelphia was the capital. Moreover, I could have vowed he was +wearing the same sad-colored drab clothes he used to appear in then, +so entirely unchanged were both cut and color. I looked at him now +with great interest, for was he not to decide the fortunes of the +West?--in which I could have taken no greater interest had I been +Western-born. And, more than that, was he not appointed to what seemed +to me a mission of far greater importance, the conveying of +mademoiselle in safety to her home? + +I could have wished Mistress Monroe was to accompany him, for she had +an air of motherly kindliness that I felt would be both protection and +comfort to Mademoiselle Pelagie; and aside from the fact that there +was something cold and austere in Mr. Monroe's face, I was +sufficiently imbued with Mr. Hamilton's ideas to feel no great +confidence in the man. (Wherein I have since thought I did Mr. Monroe +great injustice, since in every act of his life he has proved himself +a high-minded gentleman. But Mr. Hamilton's personal magnetism was so +great that it was quite impossible for us younger men at least, not to +feel that every one who differed with him must be, if not wholly +unprincipled, at least worthy of doubt and suspicion.) + +It was a brilliant dinner-table, for the exciting debate at the +Capitol furnished a theme that loosed every tongue. Yet I could see +that the President, while he kept the ball rolling with a gaiety and +good humor that rather surprised me, was himself most guarded. Indeed, +many were restrained, no doubt, from saying quite what they thought by +the presence of the Spanish minister, who at that time was at the +height of his popularity--his course in the Louisiana affair, which +made him so many enemies, not having been taken until later. + +Yet most of those present were more in sympathy with Clinton of New +York and Jackson of Georgia than with Ross of Pennsylvania and +Gouverneur Morris. When Mr. Erskine spoke of Gouverneur Morris's +speech as a masterly effort, the President, whom he addressed, replied +only by a smile so coldly polite that it was like a dash of cold +water, not only to the British minister, but to the whole table. + +I was ever a blundering idiot, and knew not when to leave well enough +alone; neither had I ever the heart to see fellow-man discomfited +(especially if he were on my side of the question) without going at +once to his aid. So, forgetting that it was the powerful minister of a +great nation, who needed no help from a man entirely unknown in the +great world and of extreme youth, I plunged boldly in. + +"I agree with you, sir, most heartily," I said. "In force and polish +and weight of argument it was beyond compare. But I expected nothing +less from Gouverneur Morris." + +There was a dead silence around the table; even the British minister +had not the temerity to do more than bow his thanks in the face of +Jefferson's icy smile. I caught a glimpse of the marquis's profile; he +was frowning heavily. The French minister's face was a blank, and so +was Mr. Monroe's. Pelagie looked the picture of distress, and Mr. +Lewis made me a slight gesture which I took to mean, "Keep still." +Even Mistress Erskine looked embarrassed, and I could understand none +of it. But as I caught Mistress Madison's eye there was a twinkle of +humor in it, and she gave the slightest, very slightest nod in the +world toward the President. + +Then at once it flashed upon me: Gouverneur Morris was bosom friend to +Mr. Hamilton, and this was no place to be lauding him to the skies. +Then was I seized with a rage against the restraints of society, that +would not permit me to fling defiance in the face of all these +grandees,--aye, and of the President himself--and declare my +allegiance to Hamilton and his friends. And mingled with my rage was +an intolerable sense of mortification that I had made such an arrant +fool of myself before all these older men and lovely women. But, with +a tact for which I can never be sufficiently grateful to her, Mistress +Madison turned at once to Pelagie. + +"Comtesse," she said, "you are fresh from the colony of Louisiana, in +which we are all so deeply interested; tell us something about your +life in St. Louis, and how you found your Spanish rulers." + +And mademoiselle, understanding, responded at once with glowing +descriptions of her happy life there, and the courtesy and polish of +the people, with many gay little touches of rude and funny experience. +Everybody thawed at once; for most of those present had been much in +Paris and could understand her French as easily as I. The President +became as genial as he had been icy, and he insisted on drawing me +also into the conversation (I think for the purpose of giving me an +opportunity of retrieving myself), in which I hope I bore my part +modestly; for I like not to seem either presumptuous or vainglorious, +though, because I am a blunderer, I no doubt seem sometimes to be +both. + +The curtains had been drawn and the candles lighted when we sat down +to dinner, though the sun was still shining; but the short winter +afternoon had rapidly passed into evening, and then into dark night, +and we still lingered at the table. Talk had grown more and more +animated as the wine flowed more freely, and toasts were drunk and +bright speeches made in response. I had, as in duty bound, devoted +most of my attention to the marchioness, and the marquis had engrossed +Pelagie. Yet there had been chance for an occasional word with her. It +was when the marquis was rising to respond to a toast to his Most +Catholic Majesty of Spain, amid the ringing of glasses, that I turned +to mademoiselle. + +"Would it be permitted an old friend to call at the house of the +French minister on the Comtesse de Baloit?" + +"It would be unpardonable if he neglected to do so," she responded, +with a bright smile. + +"Then to-morrow at two I hope to find you at home," I said, and then +added quickly--"unless you are going to the Senate again?" + +She colored a little. + +"Did you know me?" + +But she would not let me answer her own question, for the marquis was +beginning to speak, and it behooved us to listen. In the midst of the +applause that followed his speech, I saw the President whisper +something to the black man who stood behind his chair and send him to +me. For a moment, when the messenger told me the President wished to +see me in his office after the others were gone, I thought I was to be +called to account for my malapropos speech, but I was relieved when he +added: + +"The President hab a message from yo' home, sah." + +And had it not been that I liked much feeling myself so near +mademoiselle, even if I had only an occasional word from her, I would +have been very impatient for dinner to be over, for a message from +home sent to the President, it seemed to me, must be of importance. + +Dinner was over at last, and there was but little lingering afterward. +I had the pleasure of helping mademoiselle into her coach, though +Monsieur Pichon looked cold and the Marquis de Yrujo tried to +forestall me. But when she was shut up inside the golden ball, and +the great golden wings were once more perched on either side of it, +and it rolled away glittering and flashing in the light of the torches +as it had flashed and glittered in the rays of the sun five hours +before, I had a sinking of the heart such as I might have felt had she +been snatched away from my sight forever in the prophet's fiery +chariot bearing her to the skies. + +Mr. Meriwether Lewis was waiting to conduct me to the President's +office, and he stayed and talked with me pleasantly until the +President arrived; laughing with me at my _faux pas_, but telling me I +had nothing to fear from the President's displeasure, as he was not +the man to harbor a grudge on so slight a matter, and he (though, to +be sure, he was a lifelong friend) had ever found him to be kind, +considerate, and genial. + +And such I found him in our brief interview. He went directly to the +point with me, which always goes far toward winning my liking. + +"I know your family," he said, "have ever been friends of Mr. +Hamilton, and so not particularly friendly to me in a political way; +but your father and I have been associated much in scientific +pursuits, and we have ever been congenial friends in our love of +botanical research. He has sent me many rare plants and seeds to +Monticello, and now he shows me the further courtesy of reposing a +confidence in me, and I hope you will express to him my appreciation, +which I will prove by reposing a like confidence in you. Your father +writes me that a letter has just been received from your uncle, +Monsieur Barbé Marbois, inviting you to spend some time with him in +Paris. He says that both he and your mother think it much to be +desired that you should improve this opportunity for completing your +education. He says, further, that a ship sails from New York early +next week, and requests me, if you should be in Washington when I +receive this letter, as he suspects, that I will instruct you to lose +no time in reaching home. Indeed, so urgent is he, and the time is so +short, I think, without doubt, you should set off by daybreak +to-morrow morning. + +"Now, as I said before, I am going also to repose a confidence in you. +It is not generally known, nor do I wish it known for the present +(therefore I speak in confidence), that I have decided to send an +envoy extraordinaire to Paris for the purpose of discussing with the +French government the possibility of purchasing New Orleans. I +communicated this to the Senate to-day in secret session, and I now +communicate it to you, also in 'secret session'"--with a genial smile. + +"I have asked Mr. Monroe to undertake this delicate mission, and he +has to-day consented, and is here arranging his plans and discussing +with me and with Mr. Madison the points involved. He will not be able +to set out for some weeks, but we hope now that he can sail by the +eighth of March, reaching Paris somewhere near the twelfth of April. +Mr. Livingston naturally knows nothing of this, and the favor I have +to ask of you is that, immediately upon your arrival in Paris, you +call upon him and deliver to him a note which I shall give you, and +also explain fully to him all that I have said to you, all that you +have heard at dinner this evening, and particularly repeat to him as +much as you can hold in memory of the debate you listened to in the +Senate to-day." + +The President paused for a moment, and then, with a smile of rare +sweetness, he added: + +"Is the ardent young friend of Hamilton willing to put the President +under such a load of obligations?" + +For a moment I hardly knew what response to make. Not that I dreamed +of denying his request: I was only too proud and happy that he should +have made it. But that he should have reposed such a confidence in me, +when he knew me scarcely at all, seemed incomprehensible. I made but a +stammering reply. + +"Your Excellency," I said, "I fear I have given you but a poor idea of +my discretion, but since you trust me in spite of my blunder, I am +very proud to be of service to you." + +It took but a minute for the President to give me his note to Mr. +Livingston, and a few further instructions, and then he bade me +God-speed with a warmth and cordiality I had never expected and +certainly never deserved at his hands. + +There was but little sleep for me that night. As Fatima clattered into +the stony courtyard of my inn, I called loudly for Bandy Jim; and when +the poor old man came stumbling out of some inner retreat, half +blinded with sleep, I begged him to look after Fatima himself, and see +that she was well rubbed down and ready for an early morning start, +and that I was called and breakfast ready by six. + +In my own room I spent not much time in packing my saddle-bags, but it +took me a good half-hour to write a brief note to mademoiselle, +explaining why I was compelled to cancel my engagement with her for +the next day, and bidding her good-by in such fashion that, without +seeming presumptuous, she might read between the lines how much of my +heart I had put into it. + +I had said nothing in my note about going to Paris. I very much +desired to keep that for a surprise when I might some day meet her +there. And, lest she should hear it from others, I wrote also a note +to Meriwether Lewis, asking him to say nothing about it to any one, +and to request the President to keep my secret for me. + +Then, putting a bright new gold piece with the two notes to be +delivered by the trusty hands of Bandy Jim in the morning, I lay down +to get a brief sleep, if possible--but, sleeping or waking, to dream +of Paris and the Comtesse de Baloit. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +CHECK TO THE ABBÉ! + + "When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war." + + +I had been in Paris three weeks, and they had been weeks of unalloyed +delight. The life and gaiety of the brilliant capital, the streets +lined with handsome houses and thronged with gay equipages, richly +dressed people, soldiers wearing the tricolored cockade, students, +artists, workmen, blanchisseuses, and nursery-maids in picturesque +costumes tending prettily dressed children, made a moving panorama I +never tired of. Even the great palaces and the wonderful works of art +scarcely interested me as did this shifting kaleidoscopic picture, and +I looked back at life in my native town on the banks of the Delaware +as belonging to another world, incomparably tame and dull by +comparison. + +Every morning I accompanied my uncle, Monsieur Barbé Marbois, to the +Treasury office, and left him at the door, to roam around the streets +and watch the life of the town. I was at home again in time for midday +déjeuner, and then on Fatima's back (for I had brought Fatima with me; +no persuasion of friends could induce me to leave her behind, since +she had twice rescued mademoiselle and so become my most trusted +friend)--on Fatima's back I dashed out the Avenue to the beautiful +Wood of Boulogne, sometimes racing with the young bloods to whom my +uncle had introduced me, sometimes checking my horse to a gentle +canter beside a coachful of Faubourg St. Germain beauties, exchanging +merry compliments with the brilliant and witty mothers while I looked +at the pretty daughters, who, for aught I knew, were as stupid as +their mothers were brilliant, since they never opened their mouths. +And so back to my aunt's in time to make a careful toilet for the +four-o'clock dinner, when there were sure to be guests, more or less +distinguished, but always interesting. + +I had delivered my message and my note from the President to Mr. +Livingston on the day of my arrival, and it seemed to me that it did +not please him overmuch that an envoy extraordinaire should be sent to +attend to his affairs; but he said nothing, and received me most +graciously, both as a messenger from the President and because I was +the son of his old friend. + +Several times since my arrival at my uncle's house, both Mr. +Livingston and his son the colonel had been guests there, and always +the talk had turned on what most interested me, the purchase of New +Orleans and the Floridas. At one of these dinners, Monsieur +Talleyrand, the Minister of Foreign Relations, was also guest, and +while there was but little reference to Louisiana at table, I was, +with no intention on my part, a listener later to a most interesting +conversation between Monsieur Talleyrand and Mr. Livingston that was +no doubt intended to be strictly private. + +Thinking that it was very likely the three gentlemen--- the Minister +of Foreign Relations, my uncle the Secretary of the Treasury, and the +United States minister--might have matters of importance to discuss +where my absence would be more desirable than my presence, I left the +salon immediately after dinner, and went out into the garden, taking +with me a Philadelphia paper that had arrived by that morning's +express and that I had not yet seen. I took my paper into the little +summer-house at the farther end of the garden, and was soon engrossed +reading the debates in Congress. I found there had been another of +great interest on the same Louisiana subject, and so deeply immersed +was I in my paper that I did not notice that any one had entered the +garden until the sound of voices quite close to me roused me. A small +table with several garden-chairs surrounding it stood under a +spreading horse-chestnut tree, and there we often took our morning +coffee, if the weather was fine, or smoked our evening cigars. At this +table Monsieur Talleyrand and Mr. Livingston had seated themselves, +and how long they had been talking I did not know, so absorbed was I +in my paper, when Mr. Livingston's voice, a little raised above its +usual even tenor, roused me. + +I sprang to my feet, realizing that I must seem like an eavesdropper, +should any one discover me there, even though I had not heard a word. +Mr. Livingston was facing the door of the summer-house, and as he saw +me he nodded pleasantly to me to come forward. + +"Here, Citizen Minister," he said to Mr. Talleyrand, "is a young man +whose father would like to train him for the profession of diplomacy. +Perhaps he could not begin his apprenticeship better than by being +present at our interview, and, if you have no objections, I will ask +him to remain. He can act as secretary and take notes for the future +reference of us both, if you like." + +I rather thought Mr. Talleyrand did _not_ quite like, though he +assented to Mr. Livingston's proposal, but with such cold politeness +as made me exceedingly uncomfortable, and I would have been very glad +to make my escape to the house. But, for some reason, Mr. Livingston +seemed to especially desire me to remain, and I saw no help for it but +to sit down at a respectful distance, take my memorandum-book out of +my pocket, and prepare, ostensibly at least, to take notes. + +I was much concerned, also, at what Mr. Livingston had said about my +father desiring to train me for diplomacy. He had never said anything +to me about it, and I determined on the instant I would never be a +diplomat. "The life of a soldier for me!" I said to myself, and then +suddenly realized that Mr. Livingston was talking, and it behooved me +to listen carefully if I was to play the secretary. + +Mr. Livingston was saying: + +"Be assured, sir, that even were it possible that the government of +the United States could be insensible to the sufferings of the Western +people, they would find it as easy to prevent the Mississippi from +rolling its waters into the ocean as to control the impulse of the +people to do themselves justice. Sir, I will venture to say that were +a fleet to shut up the mouths of the Chesapeake, the Delaware, and the +Hudson, it would create less sensation in the United States than the +denial of the right of deposit at New Orleans has done." + +I liked the ring in Mr. Livingston's voice, and his words sounded very +stirring to me; but I could not see that they made any impression on +the impassive countenance of Monsieur Talleyrand. He was reclining in +his garden-chair, and I could see that as Mr. Livingston spoke he was +regarding him intently through half-shut eyes. His tones were of the +sweetest and blandest as he replied: + +"The First Consul, Mr. Livingston, has asked me to say to you that he +proposes to send General Bernadotte as envoy to the United States to +acquire such information as he may deem necessary, previous to his +taking any measure relative to the situation in which the acquisition +of Louisiana will place France with respect to the United States. I +hope, moreover, that this measure on the part of the First Consul will +prove satisfactory both to you and to your government." + +Now I cannot but think that Mr. Talleyrand is too astute a man to have +thought for an instant that this would prove satisfactory, and so, I +have no doubt, he was quite prepared for Mr. Livingston's indignant +outburst: + +"Satisfactory, sir! If, sir, the question related to the forming of a +new treaty, I should find no objection to this measure. On the +contrary, I should readily acquiesce in it as that which would be +best calculated to render the treaty mutually advantageous. But, sir, +it is not a new treaty for which we now press, but the recognition of +an old one, by which the United States have acquired rights that no +change in the circumstances of the country obliges them to relinquish, +and which they never will relinquish but with their political +existence!" + +It was hard for me to sit still under such ringing sentences. I wanted +to clap my hands and cry "Bravo!" For a moment all the glories of +Paris turned dull and insipid; I would have given them all to be in +Kentucky on Fatima's back, marching down the river to capture New +Orleans. + +But Mr. Livingston had not finished. Mr. Talleyrand made a slight +movement as if to speak, but, with uplifted hand to prevent him, Mr. +Livingston hurried on: + +"In what situation, sir, are we now placed? An armament is about +sailing for New Orleans. That port has been shut by the order of +Spain. The French commandant will find it shut. Will he think himself +authorized to open it? If not, it must remain shut until the envoy of +France shall have arrived in America, made the necessary inquiries, +and transmitted the result of those inquiries to the First Consul. In +the meantime all the produce of five States is left to rot upon their +hands. There is only one season in which the navigation of the +Mississippi is practicable. This season must necessarily pass before +the envoy of France can arrive and make his report. Is it supposable, +sir, that the people of the United States will tranquilly await the +progress of negotiations, when the ruin of themselves and their +families will be attendant on the delay? I can never bring myself to +believe that the First Consul will, by deferring for a moment the +recognition of a right that admits of no discussion, break all those +ties which bind the United States to France, obliterate the sense of +past obligations, change every political relation that it has been, +and still is, the earnest wish of the United States to preserve, and +force them to connect their interests with a rival power! And this, +too, for an object of no real moment in itself. Louisiana is, and ever +must be, from physical causes, a miserable country in the hands of an +European power." + +Mr. Talleyrand's eyes had not moved from Mr. Livingston's face during +this long speech, but at his last words I saw a sudden spark leap into +them. + +"You no doubt think, sir," he said in his low, even tones, "that +Louisiana would be a much better country in the hands of the United +States. Would your government like to buy it from us?" + +"You know, sir, and have known for some time," replied Mr. Livingston, +"that we are ready to make an offer for New Orleans and the Floridas +as soon as you are ready to listen to it." + +"But would you not rather have the whole of Louisiana? The rest of it, +without New Orleans, would be of little value to us. What would you +give for the whole?" + +Mr. Livingston looked bewildered for an instant; it was almost more +than he could take in at once. But after a moment's thought he +replied: + +"It is a subject, sir, I have not considered; but I suppose we shall +not object to twenty million francs, provided our citizens are paid." + +"That is much too low an offer, my dear sir," responded Talleyrand, +"but I see the idea is new to you. I would be glad if you would +reflect upon it, and tell me to-morrow the result of your +reflections." + +"Mr. Monroe will be in town in a day or two." (My heart gave so great +a thump when Mr. Livingston said that, I feared they might hear +it--for would not the Comtesse de Baloit be with him?) "And I would +like to delay any further offer until I shall have the pleasure of +introducing him." + +Mr. Talleyrand shrugged his shoulders slightly. + +"As you will, Monsieur; but do not give Mr. Monroe reason to think +that I speak with authority. The idea struck me that you might like +the whole of the colony quite as well as part of it." + +I thought this would have put an end to the conversation; but I soon +saw that Mr. Livingston had another card to play, and that he +evidently did not believe the minister was speaking entirely on his +own authority. + +"Monsieur Talleyrand," he said, "I have this morning received a notice +from my home government that Mr. Ross's resolution authorizing the +President to seize New Orleans was lost by four votes. Another was +offered by Mr. Breckinridge of Kentucky, which was unanimously +adopted. Mr. Breckinridge's resolution was to the effect that the +President of the United States be authorized to require of the +executives of the several States, to arm and equip, and hold in +readiness to march at a moment's notice, eighty thousand militia; that +money be appropriated for paying and subsisting such troops; and also +that money be appropriated for erecting on the Western border one or +more arsenals, as the President may judge proper. Monsieur Talleyrand, +this means but one thing: that the United States is ready to act at +once if France does not recognize our right of deposit; and I beg you +will use your influence with the First Consul, that he will not send +General Bernadotte until this question is determined." + +Mr. Talleyrand, with another shrug of his shoulders, seemed to +disclaim any influence with the First Consul, though he said: + +"If you will make me an offer for the whole of Louisiana that I can +convey to him, I have no doubt it will carry great weight." + +"I must decline to do so, Monsieur, as I am expecting Mr. Monroe in a +day or two." + +Suddenly Mr. Livingston changed his tone. It was no longer one of mild +argument, but as of one who called another to account. I was +astonished that he dared so address the powerful Minister of Foreign +Relations. + +"I have long been endeavoring to bring you to some point, Monsieur, +but, unfortunately, without effect. I wish merely to have the +negotiation opened by any proposition on your part. It was with that +view I sent you a note a few days ago, to which, as yet, I have +received no answer." + +The great man sounded to me surprisingly meek as he replied: + +"I would have answered your note earlier, Mr. Livingston, but I have +been waiting, hoping I could give you some more satisfactory reply. I +will delay no longer. I will answer it; but it will have to be +evasively, for Louisiana is not ours." + +I caught a glimpse of Mr. Livingston's countenance; a more sardonic +smile I have never seen--a smile which said as plainly as words, "You +are lying." He spoke with frigid courtesy: + +"It seems strange that I should be better informed than the Minister +of Foreign Relations," he said, "but I have seen the treaty. Moreover, +I know that the Consul has appointed officers to govern the colony, +and he has himself told me that General Victor was to take possession. +And, what seems to me most convincing proof--why does the First Consul +send General Bernadotte to the United States to treat in relation to +Louisiana, if Louisiana does not belong to France?" + +I thought that would have floored even Talleyrand; but not at all. +With another shrug of his shoulders, and putting together his +finger-tips in a manner that gave him a most indifferent air, he only +persisted in saying that they had it in contemplation, but had not yet +secured it. I wondered what Mr. Livingston would say next, but I need +not have feared for him. Quick as thought, and all smiles and +amiability, he responded to the minister: + +"I am very well pleased to understand this from you, Monsieur, +because, if so, we will not commit ourselves with you by taking it +from Spain, to whom, by your account, it still belongs. And as we have +just cause of complaint against Spain, if Mr. Monroe concurs in my +opinion, we will negotiate no further on the subject with you, but +advise our government to take possession." + +For the first time Mr. Talleyrand seemed moved. He sprang to his feet +and spoke quickly: + +"I beg you will take no such measures at present, Mr. Livingston. I +will answer your note, though I must still say, as I have said before, +it will have to be evasively." + +Mr. Livingston, who had also risen to his feet, bowed formally. + +"I shall be glad to receive any communication from you, Citizen +Minister, but we are not disposed to trifle. The times are critical, +and though I do not know what instructions Mr. Monroe may bring, I am +perfectly satisfied they will require a precise and prompt notice. I +am very fearful, from the little progress I have made, my government +will consider me as a very indolent negotiator." + +Mr. Talleyrand laughed, a high, rasping laugh, but evidently intended +to be of great good humor. + +"I will give you a certificate, Mr. Livingston, and you can send it +home to your government, that you are the most importunate negotiator +I have ever met with." + +Their conference seemed to be ended; they turned and walked toward the +house, leaving me to ponder with wonder and amaze at what I had +listened to, and with keen admiration for the part Mr. Livingston had +taken in the matter. I had always been led to believe that no man +could hold his own against the shrewd and unfathomable Abbé; but, if I +mistook not, this time Mr. Livingston had not only held his own, but +got much the better of him. + +Suddenly a thought flashed into my mind. What did Talleyrand mean by +repeating over and over, and in such significant phrase, that his +answer must be "evasive"? Could it be possible that he was intimating +that a consideration would be necessary to make it more decided? I +believed that he had so intimated, and that Mr. Livingston had +understood him, and had repelled the intimation with scorn. + +Then again there flashed into my mind the two million dollars that had +been voted the President to use "as he thought best" in adjusting this +matter. Was it intended to use in buying up "such creatures," I said +scornfully to myself, "as Talleyrand"? Vague insinuations in those +speeches in Congress I had listened to now seemed to me as clear as +day. + +Hot with indignation and shame,--my indignation for Talleyrand, my +shame that my country could stoop to such measures,--I rushed into the +house to my uncle. He had been entertaining Colonel Livingston while +the other two were holding their conference; but all three gentlemen +were gone now, and I found him sitting quietly in his library, +reading. I had flung the door wide as I entered, and I stopped on the +threshold. + +"Monsieur, what does it mean?" I cried. "Does Monsieur Talleyrand +want Mr. Livingston to offer him a bribe? And were the two millions of +dollars given to Mr. Jefferson for such base purposes?" + +My uncle looked up, startled and amazed beyond measure. He did not at +all take in my meaning, but he was very sensible of my rudeness. My +uncle was ever the most amiable of men and the most tolerant, but for +correctness of deportment and elegance of manner he was a stickler, +and so flagrant a breach of both was intolerable to him. + +"I think you forget yourself, sir," he said coldly; and that was all +he said, but his words cut like tempered steel in quivering flesh. A +great wave of mortification rushed in a crimson flood to the very +roots of my hair. + +"I am most truly sorry, sir, to have been so rude," I stammered, "and +I beg you will not think that we do not know good manners in America. +I fear I am ever slow to think and headlong to act, and it has often +brought me to grief." + +My uncle, who, as I said, was all amiability, forgave me at once, and +invited me most cordially to enter his library. I was loath to intrude +after my great rudeness, but he would not let me off. + +"Come in, come in," he said, "and I will answer your question by +another. What has led you to think that Mr. Talleyrand desires a bribe +from Mr. Livingston? Has any one been saying so to you?" + +Then was I in greater confusion than before. I did not know whether +Mr. Livingston would desire me to say anything about the interview to +which I had been accidentally made a party, and I had intended to say +nothing to any one until I had had a chance to find out his wishes; +and now, in my indignation, I had entirely forgot my resolution and +betrayed myself. There was no way out but to make a clean breast of my +part in it. + +So I told my uncle how I had been caught in the summer-house, and been +invited to become a listener to secrets of state. My uncle threw back +his head and laughed long and loud. But when he had calmed down a +little, he looked at me keenly. + +"So you think Mr. Talleyrand wanted a bribe from Mr. Livingston? Would +you mind telling me what he said that led you to think so?" + +Now was I greatly embarrassed, for I had fully resolved that not one +iota of information of which I had become the possessor so innocently +should pass my lips without Mr. Livingston's sanction. My uncle +noticed my embarrassment, and spoke quickly: + +"Never mind, my boy. It is no doubt just as well that you should not +tell me what you feel you have no right to repeat; but it would make +no real difference. I see that you are trustworthy, and I do not mind +telling you that the First Consul is of somewhat the same opinion. He +does not altogether trust the Minister of Foreign Relations, and it is +more than likely the negotiations will be taken out of his hands and +put into mine. It is more than likely also that it was because Mr. +Livingston does not trust him that he desired to have you present as a +witness. Now you see how I trust you. These are matters of grave +import, my boy, and if you had been eager to tell me all you had +heard I would have been loath indeed to confide in you, as I have just +done." + +I glowed with pleasure at my uncle's words, and thanked him most +earnestly for his confidence, which I told him was not misplaced. And +then, fearing I was intruding too long upon his hours of privacy (for +they were few indeed, and greatly prized, I knew), I bowed myself out +of his library, and dashed for a ride on Fatima down the crowded +avenue. For it was upon Fatima's back I could ever think best, and I +had much to think over: the amazing conversation I had listened to; my +uncle's confidence to me; and last of all, and which set my pulses +throbbing and the blood tingling to my finger-tips--Mr. Monroe would +be in Paris in a day or two! + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +BONAPARTE GIVES ENGLAND A RIVAL + + "Great let me call him, for he conquered me." + + +The next morning was Easter, and, dressed in a new suit of +puce-colored ferrandine, with fresh ruffles of finest lace, and a new +plume in my hat, I walked decorously beside my aunt through the +thronged streets, every one dressed in his best and every one going +the same way--to the Church of the Madeleine, to see the First Consul +attend service. The sun was shining, birds were singing, the air was +soft and warm and filled with the mingled perfume of flowers and +incense, borne out through the open doors of all the churches. + +The world was happy, and so was I. I was greatly excited, too, for I +was to behold, for the first time, the man who held in his hand the +destinies of nations, and before whose terrible word even our own +proud republic trembled. + +I had been three weeks in Paris and had not seen him. It seemed to be +my ill fortune never to be on the streets when he made one of his +dashing progresses through them, and though there had been several +levees my wardrobe had not been in condition to attend them. At +least, so my aunt thought. I think I would have been willing to don +once more the old plum-colored velvets for the sake of seeing the +great Bonaparte, but Madame Marbois thought otherwise. + +"Nobody is such a stickler for forms and ceremonies, or such a lover +of magnificence, as the First Consul," said she, "and if you want to +make a good impression upon him, or do credit to your family at home +and to your uncle and to me, you must wait for your new costumes." + +So she had me to the tailor's, and more suits were ordered than I +thought I could wear in a lifetime. When they came home and my man +Cæsar (my own colored boy whom I had brought with me from home) had +laid them all out for me in my room, I thought them well worth waiting +for. There were suits for church and suits for dinner, suits for +riding and for walking, and, most resplendent of all, two court +costumes. One especially of white satin with much gold lace and +bullion quite took my breath away. Now I have always had a weakness +for fine clothes that I secretly deprecated, for I feared it was a +womanish weakness quite unbefitting a soldier of fortune, which was +the career I had laid out for myself and was quite determined upon. +Yet I have never found that my liking for fine clothes has made me +less ready to draw my sword to help the innocent or weak, and so I +hope it may not be a sign in me of any lack of true manliness. + +Be this as it may, I was walking joyously beside my aunt that +beautiful Easter morning, and part of the joy in my heart was for the +beautiful puce-colored ferrandine that sat so well and had an air of +distinction I was sure no other clothes of mine had ever had, for +these were made in Paris. + +I have no very distinct recollection of the services; indeed, I hardly +paid enough attention to them to follow them decorously, for I was +consumed with an eager desire for but one event--the entrance of the +First Consul. + +A subdued murmur (almost, it seemed to me, like suppressed "Vive le +rois") announced to me that he was just entering the door, and as I +sat by the aisle down which he was coming, and far to the front, by +turning in my seat and stretching my neck shamelessly I had time to +see him well. + +Could this little fellow, who might easily have stood under my arm +stretched level with my shoulder, could he be the hero of Marengo! the +Dictator of France who held all Europe trembling in his grasp! I think +that I had heretofore had an unconscious feeling that greatness of +stature meant greatness of heart and mind and courage, and I had +gloried in my inches. Now I was almost ashamed of them, for this +little man coming rapidly down the aisle with a firm, quick step +seemed to breathe power from the chiseled curve of the nostril, from +the haughty curl of the beautiful lips, but most of all from the +imperial flash of the dark eyes under level brows. If his face had not +been so full of power, yes, and of arrogance, it would have been +almost too beautiful for a man's face, framed in silky brown hair +thinning at the temples, but curling in one dark lock above the broad +white brow. + +But if it humbled me to see so much greatness in such small stature, +it comforted me not a little to observe that the great man was no +despiser of dress. He might have been molded into his small-clothes +and waistcoat of white doeskin, so exactly did they fit every line and +curve of his perfect figure. His dark-blue military coat of finest +cloth was set off by heavy epaulets of gold and by a broad azure +ribbon crossing his breast and bearing the jeweled insignia of the +Legion of Honor. The crimson sword-sash which bore his sword sheathed +in a scabbard of gold flashing with jewels, completed in his own dress +the tricolor of France. He wore high military boots, I think to carry +out the military effect of his epaulets and sword, for it was in the +character of soldier, the hero of many battles, the winner of glory +for France, that the people idolized him. + +To the right and the left, his eagle glance took in the whole great +congregation, and as he passed it fell on me. His glances were never +idle ones; I knew he had seen me, and my pulses quivered and fluttered +like a young maiden's. From that moment I was as much his slave as any +soldier of La Vendée, and had he not himself disillusioned me most +bitterly, I should still have been regarding him as the hero of my +dreams, _sans peur et sans reproche_, the greatest man and greatest +soldier of all time. I still believe the latter title belongs to him, +but not the first, for a great man must be a good man too, like our +Washington, and that Bonaparte was not. + +It is no wonder, then, that I was quite beside myself with excitement +when at déjeuner my uncle said to me: + +"Would you like to ride out to St. Cloud with me this afternoon? The +First Consul has summoned me to a conference with him, if I mistake +not, on the subject you heard discussed yesterday." + +"Oh, thank you, sir. And shall I be present at the conference?" I +spoke quickly and foolishly, for I was greatly excited. + +My uncle laughed. + +"Well, hardly, my boy, unless you find a way, as you did yesterday, of +compelling the First Consul to invite you to be present." + +I liked not to be laughed at, but I knew it was but my uncle's teasing +fashion, and all the way out through the beautiful Boulogne woods, the +birds singing, the sun shining, the soft spring airs blowing, the +alders and willows pale pink and yellow in the distance, the great +buds of the horse-chestnuts just bursting into leaf and everywhere the +vivid green of the fresh turf; my heart beating high with happy +excitement to be in beautiful Paris and on my way to historic St. +Cloud, where dwelt the most wonderful man of the world; and Fatima +prancing and curveting under me, her dainty hoofs scarce touching the +earth as she danced along the green allées of St. Cloud's beautiful +park, sharing my happy excitement (though only, I suppose, for a +horse's natural joy in trees and grass and sunshine)--all that swift +and beautiful ride, galloping beside my uncle's coach, his words rang +in my ears, and I longed with all my heart to be present at that +conference: not so much to hear what was said as to see the great +Bonaparte saying it. + +I parted from my uncle at one of the great fountains, he riding up in +his coach to the palace doors, and Fatima and I starting off on an +exploring tour around the park. He would not hear to my waiting for +him, for he said he might be detained for hours, and indeed it was +possible the Consul would keep him all night at St. Cloud, as +sometimes happened, to call upon at any hour of the night when some +new suggestion occurred to him. + +Riding fast, as was my custom when alone with Fatima, it did not take +us long to exhaust the beauties of the park, and my eyes began to turn +longingly toward the palace. Somewhere within its stately walls I +supposed the conference was going on. Verily, there were some +compensations in diplomacy when it gave a man like my uncle a chance +to hold close converse with a man like the First Consul. (And in that +I do not intend to speak slightingly of my Uncle François, for he was +ever in my regard the most admirable of men. Only, it seemed to me +then that to be able to talk familiarly with the great Bonaparte was a +privilege above the deserts of ordinary mortals.) + +I intended to remain at St. Cloud until toward evening, for if the +conference should prove short I might still have the pleasure of my +uncle's company on the homeward trip. But time began to hang heavily +on my hands, and it occurred to me that I would ask the sentry, whom I +had seen from a distance walking up and down in front of the main +entrance, whether it were possible to gain admission to the palace. I +thought it probable that it was not open to visitors, since the First +Consul was occupying it, but it would do no harm to find out, and if +by chance I should be admitted, I would at least have the pleasure of +wandering through the rooms where he dwelt. + +It was necessary first to dispose of Fatima, and a thicket of +evergreen at one side of the palace caught my eye as affording a +grateful shade from the warm afternoon sun (which so early in the +season could be found only under evergreens) and a hiding-place from +any prowling thief who might want to steal her, or from any +troublesome guard who might come upon her and carry her off to the +Consul's stables. + +So into the thicket I rode, following a winding path that led toward +the upper end near the palace, and at the very upper edge I found just +what I wanted--a clump of bushes so thick set that they formed an +almost impenetrable screen. They were lower than the other +evergreens--not much higher than my horse's ears, but that was high +enough. Into the midst of this clump I rode Fatima and dismounted. + +"Stand here, Sweetheart," I said softly, "and budge not a step for any +man but your master." + +She rubbed her nose against my shoulder in token that she understood, +and I whispered again in her ear: + +"Not a whinny, not a sound, my Beauty," and left her, feeling sure no +man could steal her and no guard could lead her away by guile or +force, nor would she betray her presence there by any noise. + +As I left the evergreens, intending to go around to the front of the +building and speak to the sentry, I saw, coming down the path toward +me, a young and pretty woman, who, I recognized by her dress, must be +in service at the palace. + +"I will inquire from her," I said to myself promptly, "for she will +know as well as the sentry whether there is any admission, and she +will no doubt have a much pleasanter way of saying either yes or no." + +So, as she was about to pass me with a little curtsy and a pretty +smile, I stopped her. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, and doffed my hat, "is it permitted to see the +palace to-day?" + +"No, Monsieur," she answered, "unless one is invited or has business +of importance with the First Consul." + +Now I have ever had great faith in woman's wit, and especially a +Frenchwoman's, and it suddenly struck me if this one should prove as +quick-witted as most of her kind, she would know how to secure my +admission into the palace; and if she should prove as kindly disposed +as I believed the sight of gold and a pleasant word might make her, +then was my success assured. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, and my manner was as deferential as it might +have been to her mistress. "I am not invited, and I have no business +of importance with the First Consul; but I am from America, and it +would please me greatly to see the rooms where the famous general +lives. Cannot Mademoiselle think of a way?" and I slipped into her +hand a louis d'or. + +She curtsied again and smiled again, and then she answered: + +"It is difficult, Monsieur, but I have a friend on guard in the upper +corridor. If I can arrange with him to let us pass, I can show +Monsieur the grand salon, the little salon, and the state dining-room. +Would that please Monsieur?" + +"Vastly," I answered, for though it might not be seeing all I would +like to see, it would be doing something to while away the tedium of +waiting, and there seemed a little of the spice of adventure about it +that pleased my restless spirit. + +"I will go and consult Gaston," said Mademoiselle Félice (for that, +she told me, was her pretty name, and I took it as a felicitous omen), +"and I will return in five minutes. If Monsieur will await me by the +pines, he will not have to wait long." + +Yet it seemed long. I am sure many five minutes had passed, and I had +begun to think I would never see again either my gold piece or my +pretty Félice, when she came tripping up in an entirely different +direction from the one in which she had left me. + +She had had trouble. Gaston had scruples. Suppose harm were intended +his general? Women were easily deceived. Her "American" might be a +British assassin in disguise. She had had to make herself +responsible--she, Félice!--for my innocence and honor. She had also +been obliged to show Gaston the piece of gold I had given her and to +assure him there would be another for him if he were complaisant. I +judged, also, that she had found it necessary to offer him a bribe +quite as tangible as the gold piece but less mercenary, for her face +was rosier and her eyes brighter and her hair a little more disheveled +than when I had first seen her. + +And now began a real adventure, for Félice assured me much caution +would be necessary. How we both slipped out of the pine thicket, she +some distance ahead, I strolling carelessly behind, how by almost +insensible little signs she indicated to me when to advance and when +to stay my steps; how she finally guided me through a narrow rear +entrance and by dark corridors and winding staircases to the very +corridor Gaston was guarding; and how I slipped another gold piece +into Gaston's hand as we passed him, would be too long in the telling. + +Gaston was doing sentry duty before two doors some twenty paces apart. +One of them opened into a dark side corridor (where we had passed him +and I had slipped the gold into his hand), and the other into the head +of the main corridor. We had just entered the main corridor, and +Félice was leading the way into the grand salon, when she turned +quickly: + +"Go back, Monsieur," she said in an excited whisper, "here comes an +officer!" + +I had caught sight of him, too, and I was the more ready to turn back +quickly, because in my hasty glimpse the officer had looked to me very +much like the Chevalier Le Moyne. I thought it was more than likely I +was mistaken, but I did not wish to run any possible risk of being +seen by him, and I hoped that in the semi-obscurity of that part of +the corridor he had either not seen us at all or at least not +recognized us. + +We fled precipitately back through the dark side corridor, I with a +keen feeling of elation (for a sense of risk or peril of any kind +always sends my spirits to the highest point), but Félice, I believe, +beginning to repent of her bargain. + +"Monsieur," she whispered, "we will go back the way we came--" but +what further she was about to say I know not, for at that moment a +door opened at the farther end of the side corridor. It was a door we +must pass in finding our way out, and through it now we heard much +loud laughing and loud talking of men. Evidently a party at cards was +breaking up, and through that open door some of the players were about +to pass. Our retreat was cut off. + +Félice clutched her hair in desperation. + +"Ah, mon Dieu!" she moaned, "I will lose my place! I will lose my +life!" + +I had hardly time to think of my own plight, I was so sorry for her +distress, and so remorseful to think I had brought her into such +straits for the sake of a silly adventure. + +But an idea struck Félice. We had come to a stand beside Gaston and +the one of the two doors he was guarding which opened into the side +corridor. He had himself stopped a moment in his pacing to and fro, +perplexed by our dilemma. + +"Quick, Gaston," Félice whispered eagerly, "let Monsieur into the +dressing-room closet; it is the only place!" + +Gaston seemed to demur, but Félice overruled him imperiously. + +"You must, Gaston! And be quick! Would you have Monsieur Fouché throw +us both into prison? I will be back for him in a few minutes, as soon +as all is quiet." + +Gaston hesitated no longer. He threw open the door before which we +were standing, and together they hurried me into a room which I saw at +once was a dressing-room belonging to a gentleman. + +"You must be very still, Monsieur," whispered Félice; then she opened +a door and thrust me into a dark closet, closing the door noiselessly +behind me as she whispered, "I will return in a few minutes." + +I was but as wax in her hands, for having led her into such distress +and peril, I felt that I must submit to any means that would save her +from disastrous results. Yet I liked not being shut up in a dark +closet in a gentleman's dressing-room. I began, too, to think of my +own peril, and for a full minute after finding myself in my +hiding-place my knees did so shake beneath me, and my heart did so +pound within me, I was as one deaf and unconscious to all +surroundings. + +But as my excitement began to calm itself I became aware that I had +for some time been hearing several voices: one, which did most of the +talking, high, rasping, vehement, passionate; the other two, making +brief or monosyllabic replies, low-toned and restrained. I began to +perceive, too, that I was not entirely in the dark. A faint light was +coming through between slightly parted curtains which seemed to +separate my closet from some other apartment than the dressing-room. I +looked through this aperture, barely wide enough for the line of +vision, not wide enough to betray me to any one in the room beyond, +especially since I was in the dark and the Easter sun was flooding the +richly furnished apartment. + +Standing in an attitude of respect on either side of a low marble +mantel bearing a wonderful golden clock stood two gentlemen. One of +them was my uncle, Monsieur Marbois, and the other, whom I did not +know, I learned later was Minister Decrés. Gesticulating vehemently +and speaking with great excitement, through the center of the room +back and forth strode rapidly the First Consul! + +I was overwhelmed at the sight. By what trick of fate had I been +thrust into the very midst of this conference at which I had so longed +to be present? My blood rushed through my veins at such tumultuous +pace as carried my reason with it. No thought of listening to what was +not intended for me to hear entered my mind, only a great joy that I +was in the midst of some strange adventure such as I had read of in +books, where wonderful things happen to the hero who hides behind an +arras. And no more wonderful thing could happen to me than to be +seeing and hearing the great Bonaparte! + +And this is what he was saying: + +"I know the full value of Louisiana, and I have been desirous of +repairing the fault of the French negotiator who abandoned it in +1763. A few lines of a treaty have restored it to me, and I have +scarcely recovered it when I must expect to lose it. But if it escapes +from me," he stopped and turned suddenly to the two ministers, lifting +a threatening hand, "it shall one day cost dearer to those who oblige +me to strip myself of it than to those to whom I wish to deliver it." + +I thought at first this threat was uttered against the United States, +and so terrible did he look, so like an avenging fury, that I +shuddered as I thought of my country the object of his vindictive +wrath. But his next words enlightened me. He resumed his rapid stride +and went on speaking with the same excitement: + +"The English have successively taken from France Canada, Cape Breton, +Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and India. They are engaged in exciting +troubles in San Domingo. _They shall not have the Mississippi, which +they covet._ + +"Louisiana is nothing in comparison with their conquests in all parts +of the globe, and yet the jealousy they feel at the restoration of +this colony to the sovereignty of France acquaints me with their wish +to take possession of it, and it is thus they will begin the war. + +"They have twenty ships of war in the Gulf of Mexico; they sail over +those seas as sovereigns! The conquest of Louisiana would be easy, if +they only took the trouble to make a descent there. I have not a +moment to lose in putting it out of their reach! I know not whether +they are not already there. It is their usual course, and if I had +been in their place, I would not have waited. I wish, if there is +still time, to take away from them any idea that they may have of ever +possessing that colony." + +[Illustration: "He stopped and turned suddenly to the two ministers"] + +Once more he stopped and faced the two ministers, and gazed at them +steadily for a moment, first one, then the other, before he uttered +his next words. I know not whether he paused because he hesitated to +utter them, or because he wished to make them more forcible. Then he +said slowly and impressively, with no trace of the excitement that had +characterized his former words: + +"I think of ceding it to the United States." + +If he had expected to create a sensation he was not disappointed; the +irrepressible start of each, the glowing eyes, the eager desire to +speak expressed in both countenances were abundant evidences of it, +and I in my dark closet was far more excited than either: for here was +more than my wildest dreams to be realized. But Bonaparte had not +finished his speech; with a gesture restraining them from giving +utterance to the words that were hurrying to their lips, he went on: + +"You will say that I can scarcely cede it to them, for it is not yet +in our possession. If, however, I leave the least time to our enemies, +I shall transmit only an empty title to those republicans whose +friendship I seek. They ask of me only one town in Louisiana; but I +already consider the colony as entirely lost, and it appears to me +that in the hands of this growing power it will be more useful to the +policy of France, and even to its commerce, than if I should attempt +to keep it. Citizen Minister," looking at my uncle, "what is your +opinion?" + +My uncle, who had been all eagerness to speak at first, seemed to +hesitate now that the opportunity was given him. + +"I believe, Citizen First Consul," he said slowly, "that we should not +hesitate to make a sacrifice of that which is about slipping away from +us. War with England is inevitable. Shall we be able with inferior +naval forces to defend Louisiana against that power? At the time of +the discovery of Louisiana the neighboring provinces were as feeble as +herself. They are now powerful and Louisiana is still in her infancy. +The country is scarcely at all inhabited; you have not fifty soldiers +there. Where are your means of sending garrisons thither? Can we +restore fortifications that are in ruins, and construct a long chain +of forts upon a frontier of four hundred leagues? If England lets you +undertake these things, it is because they will drain your resources, +and she will feel a secret joy in seeing you exhaust yourself in +efforts of which she alone will derive the profit. You will send out a +squadron; but while it is crossing the oceans, the colony will fall, +and the squadron will in its turn be in great danger. Louisiana is +open to the English from the north by the Great Lakes, and if, to the +south, they show themselves at the mouth of the Mississippi, New +Orleans will immediately fall into their hands. This conquest would be +still easier to the Americans: they can reach the Mississippi by +several navigable rivers, and to be masters of the country it will be +sufficient for them to enter it. The colony has existed for a century, +and, in spite of efforts and sacrifices of every kind, the last +account of its population and resources attests its weakness. If it +becomes a French colony and acquires increased importance, there will +be in its very prosperity a germ of independence which will not be +long in developing itself. The more it nourishes the less chance shall +we have of preserving it. + +"The French have attempted to form colonies in several parts of the +continent of North America. Their efforts have everywhere proved +abortive. The English are patient and laborious; they do not fear the +solitude and silence of newly settled countries. The Frenchman, lively +and active, requires society; he is fond of conversing with neighbors. +He willingly enters on the experiment of cultivating the soil, but at +the first disappointment quits the spade and ax for the chase." + +Bonaparte, as my uncle ceased talking, had thrown himself into a +fauteuil and signed to the others to sit down. He had listened with +keen attention to my uncle's long speech, but now he interrupted him +abruptly and harshly. + +"How does it happen that the French, who are incapable of succeeding +in a continental colony, have always made great progress in the West +Indies?" + +"Because," replied Monsieur Marbois, "the slaves perform all the +labors. The whites, who would soon be exhausted by the heat of the +climate, have, however, the vigor of mind necessary to direct their +operations." + +"By whom is the land cultivated in Louisiana?" asked the First Consul. + +"Slavery," answered my uncle, "has given Louisiana half her +population. An inexcusable imprudence was committed in suddenly +granting to the slaves of San Domingo a liberty for which they had not +been prepared. The blacks and whites both have been victims of this +great fault." + +"I am undecided," said Bonaparte, "whether it would be better to +maintain or abolish slavery in Louisiana." + +"Of all the scourges that have afflicted the human race," responded my +uncle, "slavery is the most detestable! But even humanity requires +great precautions in the application of the remedy, and you cannot +apply it if Louisiana should again become French. Governments still +half resist emancipation: they tolerate in secret what they ostensibly +condemn, and they themselves are embarrassed by their false position. +The general sentiment of the world is in favor of emancipation; it is +in vain that the colonists and planters wish to arrest a movement +which public opinion approves. The occupation of Louisiana--a colony +with slaves--will occasion us more expense than it will afford us +profit." + +As my uncle ceased speaking, Bonaparte turned to Minister Decrés and +with a motion of his hand indicated that he was ready to hear his +opinion. The minister began eagerly: + +"We are still at peace with England," said he; "the colony has just +been ceded to us; it depends on the First Consul to preserve it. It +would not be wise in him to abandon, for fear of a doubtful danger, +the most important establishment that we can form out of France, and +despoil ourselves of it for no other reason than the possibility of a +war; it would be as well, if not better, that it should be taken from +us by force of arms. + +"You will not acknowledge, by a resignation of Louisiana, that England +is sovereign mistress of the seas, that she is there invulnerable, and +that no one can possess colonies except at her good pleasure! It does +not become you to fear the kings of England! If they should seize +Louisiana, as some would have you fear, Hanover would be immediately +in your hands, as a certain pledge of its restoration. France, +deprived of her navy and her colonies, is stripped of half her +splendor and of a great part of her strength. Louisiana can indemnify +us for all our losses. There does not exist on the globe a single +port, a single city, susceptible of becoming as important as New +Orleans, and the neighborhood of the American States already makes it +one of the most commercial in the world. The Mississippi does not +reach there until it has received twenty other rivers, most of which +surpass in size the finest rivers of Europe. + +"The navigation to the Indies, by doubling the Cape of Good Hope, has +changed the course of European trade and ruined Venice and Genoa. What +will be its direction if, at the Isthmus of Panama, a simple canal +should be opened to connect the one ocean with the other? The +revolution which navigation will then experience will be still more +considerable, and the circumnavigation of the globe will become easier +than the long voyages that are now made in going to and returning from +India. Louisiana will be on this new route, and it will then be +acknowledged that this possession is of inestimable value. + +"Finally, France, after her long troubles, requires such a colony for +her internal pacification; it will be for our country what a century +ago were for England the settlements which the emigrants from the +three kingdoms have raised to so high a degree of prosperity. It will +be the asylum of our religious and political dissenters; it will cure +a part of the maladies which the Revolution has caused, and be the +supreme conciliator of all the parties into which we are divided. You +will there find the remedies for which you search with so much +solicitude!" + +I thought this a very bold speech, and it was uttered with much fire +and enthusiasm. I could not be sure how the Consul took it, for he +said not a word through it all. When the minister had finished +speaking he dismissed them both with a few words, but telling them he +should expect them to remain all night. + +As the door closed behind the two ministers, Bonaparte threw himself +back in his chair, his arms folded across his breast, his head +drooping forward, in an attitude of deep thought. It seemed to me more +than likely that Minister Decrés's words had touched his pride and his +patriotism, and he was hesitating now at the thought of getting rid +of France's last important colony. + +He was interrupted in his reverie by an officer bringing in the +despatches from London which had just arrived, and he sent word by the +officer to have Minister Marbois sent to him immediately. + +It was only a few moments until the return of my uncle, but in the +interval I could see that Bonaparte was glancing through the +despatches with such lightning rapidity that to me, for whom all +reading is slow work, it seemed impossible he should have grasped +their meaning. As Monsieur Marbois entered the apartment Bonaparte +greeted him. + +"Citizen Minister," he said, "the despatches from London have arrived. +Have you seen them?" + +"I was just reading them," replied my uncle, "when you sent for me." + +"Did you see that England is preparing for war? That both naval and +military preparations are going forward with extraordinary rapidity?" + +"Yes," said the minister, "so I understand." + +"Perhaps you saw, too, that in the American Congress Mr. Ross proposed +that the President should raise fifty thousand troops and capture New +Orleans?" + +"Yes," repeated my uncle, "I saw it, and I regret greatly that any +cause of difference should arise between our countries." + +The Consul sprang to his feet and resumed his rapid striding up and +down the room without uttering a word for full two minutes, but with a +deep frown between his eyes, as I could see whenever he faced me in +his hurried pacing to and fro. + +Suddenly he stopped and turned to my uncle. + +"Irresolution and deliberation are no longer in season," he said +slowly, and then added with sudden fire: + +"I renounce Louisiana! It is not only New Orleans I will cede, it is +the whole colony without reservation. I renounce it with the greatest +regret! To attempt obstinately to retain it would be the greatest +folly. I direct you to negotiate this affair with the envoys of the +United States. Do not even await the arrival of Mr. Monroe; have an +interview to-morrow with Mr. Livingston. But I require a great deal of +money for this war with England, and I would not like to commence it +with new contributions. I will be moderate, in consideration of the +necessity in which I am of making a sale; but keep this to yourself. I +want fifty millions, and for less than that sum I will not treat; I +would rather make a desperate attempt to keep these fine countries. +To-morrow you shall have full power." + +I think my uncle was somewhat aghast at the suddenness of the decision +to sell the whole country, though he had himself advised it, and still +more at the great responsibility thrust upon him of conducting the +negotiations in place of the Minister of Foreign Relations. Perhaps, +too, now that the sale was fully determined upon, he was touched with +regrets and misgivings. At any rate, he said, somewhat hesitatingly: + +"You feel sure, Citizen Consul, that we have a right to cede the +sovereignty of a people without consulting the people themselves? Have +we a right to abandon what the Germans call the _souls_? Can they be +the subject of a contract of sale or exchange?" + +Now I really think from what I had seen of Bonaparte's reverie while +the minister was out of the room, of his frowning cogitations in that +rapid walk to and fro, and of the solemnity of his manner when he +finally announced his determination to sell, that he had been troubled +by the same misgivings. But none the less did his lip curl satirically +as he listened to my uncle, and his eyes narrow and glow with a +malevolent fire. He hardly waited for him to finish till he burst +forth bitterly: + +"You are giving me, in all its perfection, the ideology of the law of +nature and nations! But I require money to make war on the richest +nation of the world. Send your maxims to the London market! I am sure +they will be greatly admired there; and yet no great attention is paid +to them when the question is the occupation of the finest regions of +Asia!" + +I thought my uncle would have wilted under such bitter sarcasm, for +never have I seen anything more malevolent than Bonaparte's whole +aspect, and I trembled for him. But he seemed not greatly afraid of +the great man's bluster, and persisted in his argument when it seemed +to me the part of wisdom would have been to keep silence. + +"But, Citizen Consul," he urged, "are you not afraid by ceding such +great possessions to America you may make her in the course of two or +three centuries too powerful for Europe--the mistress of the world?" + +The Consul's lip curled again. He answered in a harsh voice: + +"My foresight does not embrace such remote fears. I have no children; +after me the deluge! Besides, we may hereafter expect rivalries among +the members of the Union. The confederations that are called perpetual +only last till one of the contracting parties finds it to his interest +to break them." + +The minister made no reply, though Bonaparte waited a moment as if +expecting one. Then he went on: + +"Mr. Monroe is on the point of arriving. To this minister, going a +thousand leagues from his constituents, the President must have given +secret instructions for the stipulation of the payments to be made, +more extensive than the ostensible authorization of Congress. Neither +this minister nor his colleague is prepared for a decision which goes +infinitely beyond anything they are about to ask us. Begin by making +the overture without any subterfuge. You will acquaint me, day by day, +hour by hour, of your progress. The cabinet of London is informed of +the measures adopted at Washington, but it can have no suspicion of +those I am now taking. Observe the greatest secrecy, and recommend it +to the American ministers: they have not a less interest than yourself +in conforming to this counsel. You will correspond with Monsieur de +Talleyrand, who alone knows my intentions. Keep him informed of the +progress of this affair." + +All this was uttered in a sharp clipping tone of voice, at times harsh +and rasping, that carried with it an inconceivable effect of +autocratic power. As he finished he made a gesture of dismissal, but +as the minister was about to withdraw he called him back again. + +"Monsieur Marbois," he said in a far gentler tone than he had used at +all heretofore, "there will be a treaty drawn up between you and the +American ministers, of course, and I would like to write one article +of that treaty. If you will sit down a few moments I will not detain +you long." + +My uncle bowed and seated himself, and with marvelous rapidity +Bonaparte's pen flew over the sheet before him. In scarcely more than +a minute's time he looked up from his paper. + +"This is the article, Monsieur Marbois, that I wish you to make it +your business to see embodied somewhere in the treaty." And then he +read slowly, in a firm, clear voice, with no longer any rasping tones: + +"The inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated in the +Union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible, +according to the principles of the Federal Constitution, to the +enjoyment of all the rights, advantages, and immunities of citizens of +the United States. And in the meantime they shall be maintained and +protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and the +religion which they profess." + +The Consul rose to his feet as he finished reading and extended the +paper toward my uncle. + +"Citizen Minister," he said (and I almost thought there was a ring of +sadness in his tone, but that I could not believe such an emotion +possible to the imperious conqueror), "let the Louisianians know that +we separate ourselves from them with regret; that we stipulate in +their favor everything that they can desire; and let them hereafter, +happy in their independence, recollect that they have been Frenchmen, +and that France, in ceding them, has secured for them advantages which +they could not have obtained from a European power, however paternal +it might have been. Let them retain for us sentiments of affection; +and may their common origin, descent, language, and customs perpetuate +the friendship." + +He finished speaking, and turned his back abruptly upon my uncle, who +bowed silently and withdrew. I could not see the face of either, but I +believe both were too deeply moved to utter another word. As my uncle +left the room, Bonaparte threw himself once more into his deep-armed +chair in the same attitude of reverie he had before maintained in the +interval of the minister's absence--arms folded, chin sunk deep on his +breast. + +It seemed to me a long time that he sat thus, for I was growing every +moment more anxious for my own safe escape from my hiding-place. +Félice had promised to return for me in a few moments if the way was +open, and I was sure it must have been more nearly hours than moments +that I had been watching the foremost man of all the world decide the +fate of a people and the future of my own proud nation. I had been so +intensely interested that I had not noted the flight of time, but now +that the First Consul sat wrapped in thought, I, too, began to think, +to wonder, and to grow every moment more anxious. What had become of +my little guide? Had she forsaken me and left me to my fate? And +should she come for me now, would I be able, with my clumsy movements, +to escape unheard, when the room was no longer ringing with the +rasping tones of Bonaparte? + +There was a deep-drawn sigh from the chair of the First Consul. He +unfolded his arms, flung back his head, and sprang to his feet, once +more pacing rapidly back and forth. Suddenly he stopped, lifted one +hand as if calling on Heaven to witness, and exclaimed aloud: + +"This accession of territory strengthens forever the power of the +United States! I have just given to England a maritime rival that will +sooner or later humble her pride!" + +His hand dropped upon a bell which he rang violently. Instantly there +was a little sound of scratching on the panel of a door leading into +an apartment beyond. + +"Enter!" said Bonaparte, and there glided silently into the room +Rustan, the famous Mameluke attendant of whom I had heard much. + +"I will dress for dinner, Rustan," said the First Consul; "call my +valet and tell him to prepare my bath." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +A TEMPEST IN A BATH-TUB + + "The mouse that always trusts to one poor hole + Can never be a mouse of any soul." + +"Prepare my bath!" Did ever such simple words have so dire a sound? +Now was all hope of escape cut off; for was not the Consul's bath in +the very room into which the closet where I was hiding opened, and +through which I had expected to make my exit as I had made my +entrance? Now did I curse the folly that had led me into such a trap +for the sake of a mere adventure. + +Whereas a moment ago I had been congratulating myself on the spirit of +enterprise and daring that had led me to be the witness of such great +and stirring events, I now despised it all as a silly boyishness which +had brought me into what seemed like to prove something more than a +foolish scrape. Nor could I help reflecting that whether death or +disgrace (which seemed to me far worse than death) awaited me, it +would not affect me alone. My uncle's reputation, and honor also, +might easily be involved in his nephew's downfall. And, most +intolerable of all, what would the Comtesse de Baloit think when she +should come to hear (as it was inevitable that she would) that I had +been caught spying like any common eavesdropper?--found hid in the +Consul's private closet, taken and done to death, as I had not the +least doubt in the world I should be! + +Yet it was not in me to wait idly for the worst to happen; I began at +once to plan other means of escape than those I had been relying upon. +If I could not make my exit through the dressing-room, why not through +the other apartment, from which my closet was separated only by a +curtain? + +As far as I could judge, the apartment had three entrance-doors. One +which was not within my range of vision was the one by which the +ministers had withdrawn and through which my uncle had returned. This, +no doubt, was the main entrance, and led into some public corridor, +where detection by passers-by would be certain, to say nothing of the +fact that the door was no doubt strongly guarded, and by a soldier who +would not be so complacent as Gaston had been (having neither handled +my gold nor tasted a maiden's kisses as reward for his complacency). + +The second door led into the dressing-room, where even now I could +hear the splashing of water and the vigorous preparations of the valet +for the Consul's bath. That, of course, was not to be considered. The +third one was the one through which I had seen Rustan glide; and at +the thought of entering that room, and falling into the tender mercies +of the mysterious Mameluke, I shuddered. A stealthy stiletto with +poisoned point I had no doubt would make short work with me. And even +could it be possible to seize a moment when Rustan was out of the room +in attendance on his master, it was more than likely the room would +prove a _cul-de-sac_ and I would be more securely trapped than ever. + +In the midst of these perplexing meditations I heard a heavy splash, +followed by a vigorous sputtering, that assured me the First Consul +was already in his bath. A moment later I heard a scratching at the +door through which my uncle had departed. ('Tis the fashion, I have +heard, at the Tuileries and St. Cloud, to scratch instead of knock.) +Rustan answered it immediately, and led the gentleman who entered +directly through the outer apartment to the dressing-room. This seemed +a novel procedure to me, but I remembered that the French often +received callers at the toilet, and perhaps it was nothing unusual for +the First Consul to receive his friends in the bath. + +I could hear all that went on in the dressing-room; even the slightest +sound was as audible in my closet as if no door intervened. I was +surprised at this until I discovered that just higher than my head a +small panel, not more than three inches square, had been removed from +the door of the closet, admitting a little light and a little air. It +was through this opening that sounds were conveyed, and it was through +it that I heard the Consul's voice a moment after the visitor was +conducted through the outer apartment. + +"Ah, my dear Lucien! Where were you last night, and where was my +brother Joseph? Did you not intend to join me at the Théâtre Français? +I expected you, and Talma showed great power in 'Hamlet.' I was +surprised and disappointed not to see you both there." + +I do not remember what answer his brother made, but Bonaparte replied +with the greatest good humor: + +"You might have seen, too, that the Parisians always like to see me. +In fact, I scarcely flattered myself they would ever become so +sympathetic when I had to shoot them down that October day in 1795." + +I could scarcely believe it was the First Consul speaking, so unlike +were his tones to any I had heard from him before,--playful, +affectionate, almost tender,--and I said to myself, "Ah, this despot +has a heart! He loves his brother." + +I did not hear anything more that was said for a while, for I was +revolving in my mind all possible modes of escape. I had just come to +the conclusion that the only safe way was to remain quietly where I +was until Bonaparte should have finished his bath and left his +dressing-room (which I felt sure could not be long, since he had +already been in the water for more than a quarter of an hour), when I +heard again that peculiar little scratching sound on the dressing-room +door, and Rustan entered, announcing to the Consul his brother Joseph. + +"Let him come in," said the Consul; "I shall stay in the bath a +quarter of an hour longer." + +Black despair seized me. A quarter of an hour seemed to me +interminable when I knew not at what moment the valet would fling open +the closet door in his search for some article of dress, and discover +me. There was nothing to do, however, but to make the best of it, +hoping against hope that the great Bonaparte, who seemed inordinately +fond of his bath, would some time be through with it and leave his +dressing-room free for me to traverse it in safety. For I had made up +my mind that I would wait no longer for Félice; the first minute that +I could be quite sure that the dressing-room was vacant, I would open +my closet door and escape, trusting to find Gaston still on guard at +the outer dressing-room door. + +It occurred to me that if I were only a little taller, and could look +through that open panel just above my head, it would be well, for then +I could assure myself that the room was empty before attempting my +escape, and not stumble upon some lurking valet or Mameluke. Then I +remembered what I had noticed on entering the closet, but had not +thought of since, a low three-legged taboret, not more than five +inches high, but quite high enough, were I once upon it, to enable me +to look through the open panel. I stooped carefully down and felt +around the floor of the closet in the dark. My hand struck against it. +I picked it up and set it noiselessly directly under the small +opening, and slowly and carefully, and absolutely without making a +sound, I mounted upon it. + +Just below me was the most remarkable group I had ever looked upon, +or, I have no doubt, ever shall look upon. Respectfully standing near +the bath were the two brothers Lucien and Joseph, and it was easy for +me to decide at a glance which was Joseph and which Lucien, for I had +heard much of both and knew their characteristics, though I knew not +their faces. Joseph was the handsomer of the two, and looked more like +his august brother, with the same fiery eye and mobile mouth, showing +the same excitable temperament. Lucien had the calmer face that +belongs to a scholar, though in some respects I thought it a stronger +one than his brother Joseph's. In the marble bath lay Bonaparte, only +his head and a little of his shoulders visible, for the water was +frothy and opaque from quantities of cologne, whose sweet, pungent +odor rose to my nostrils refreshingly. Bonaparte was in the act of +speaking to Joseph: + +"Well, brother, have you spoken to Lucien?" + +"What about!" said Joseph. + +"Of our plan as to Louisiana--don't you know?" + +"Of _your_ plan, you mean, my dear brother; you cannot have forgotten +that--far from being mine--" + +Bonaparte interrupted him with good-natured scorn. + +"Well, well, preacher, I don't need to discuss that with you; you are +so obstinate. I like better to talk about serious things with Lucien; +for, although he sometimes takes it into his head to go against me, he +knows how to give up to my idea when I think fit to change his." + +Joseph's color rose quickly, and he spoke with some spirit: + +"You are unjust enough to attribute to obstinacy what is the effect of +wise reflection." + +Lucien was evidently afraid of an outbreak, and he interposed quickly +and laughingly: + +"Then that means, brother Joseph, that I hold my ideas so lightly I +can easily be reasoned out of them." + +"Ah, my dear boy," said Bonaparte, with affectionate raillery, "fear +not that any one will accuse thee of lightness. Thou art more likely +to be named 'Iron-head.'" + +For a few minutes the two brothers playfully called each other +nicknames, going back to the days of their boyhood in Corsica, while +Joseph stood by, looking bored and every moment growing more +impatient. Finally he broke in quite brusquely: + +"Well, you say nothing more about your famous plan!" + +Bonaparte turned at once to Lucien. + +"Well, Lucien, I have made up my mind to sell Louisiana to the +Americans." + +"Indeed!" said Lucien, in a tone of curiosity, but with so much +coolness I suspected he was not hearing the announcement for the first +time. + +Bonaparte turned to Joseph with an air of triumph. + +"Well, Joseph, you see Lucien does not utter loud cries about this +thing. Yet he almost has a right to, seeing that Louisiana is, so to +speak, his own conquest." + +I knew what the Consul meant by that, for it was Lucien who had +negotiated the San Ildefonso treaty which gave Louisiana to France. +This speech of his brother's seemed to irritate Joseph still more, and +he replied quite sharply: + +"I assure you, if Lucien says nothing, he thinks none the less." + +"Indeed!" said Bonaparte, his eyes beginning to flash and his lip to +curl. "And why should he be diplomatic with me?" + +It was evident that Lucien thought it time to come forward to support +Joseph, but that he also wished to placate the rising wrath of the +Consul. So he spoke very gently: + +"I really think as my brother Joseph does on this matter, and I +undertake to say that the Chambers will never assent." + +Bonaparte's head shot up above the rim of the bath-tub, and he leveled +a fiery glance at Lucien. + +"_You_ undertake to say! A pretty piece of business!" with an air and +tone of withering contempt. + +"Yes; and _I_ undertake to say," cried Joseph, in a tone of triumph, +"that it will be so. And that is what I told the First Consul before." + +"And what did I say?" said the Consul, his tone rising with his wrath, +and with his head still above the rim of the bath-tub, looking by +turns quickly from one brother to the other, as if not to lose any +change in the countenance of either. + +"You declared," said Joseph, his voice also rising, "you would get +along without the assent of the Chambers; did you not?" + +"Exactly," said Bonaparte, concentrated irony in his tone. "That is +what I took the liberty to say to Monsieur Joseph, and what I repeat +here to Citizen Lucien, begging him to give me his opinion about it, +derived from his paternal tenderness for that mighty diplomatic +conquest of his, the treaty of San Ildefonso." + +Now I thought this a very unkind thrust at Lucien, for I had heard +his part in the treaty had been most creditable and that the First +Consul had been much pleased with it. I could see that Lucien found it +hard to brook, but he struggled for mastery with himself, and spoke +still gently: + +"My brother, my devotion is deep enough to sacrifice everything for +you, except my duty. If I believed, for example, this sale of +Louisiana would be fatal to me alone, I would consent to it to prove +to you my devotion. But it is too unconstitutional." + +Bonaparte broke into his sentence with a fit of rasping, sarcastic +laughter, sinking back into the bath-tub almost in a convulsion of +demoniacal mirth. + +"Ha, ha, ha! You are drawing it fine. 'For example'!" His words +struggled out in the intervals of his spasms of laughter. "Ha, ha, ha! +'For example'!"--catching his breath. "'Unconstitutional'! That's +droll from you; a good joke--ha, ha!" As his laughter ceased an +expression of ironical and contemptuous rage passed over his face. + +"How have I touched your constitution?" he cried. "Answer!" + +"I know well," said Lucien, still trying to control himself, "you have +not done so; but you know well that to alienate any possession of the +republic without the consent of the Chambers is unconstitutional." + +That last word seemed to drive the Consul beside himself. Once more +his head shot above the top of the bath-tub, and with blazing eyes he +shook his fist at Lucien. + +"Clear out!" he shouted. "'Constitution'! 'Unconstitutional'! +'Republic'! Great words--fine phrases! Do you think you are still at +the Club of St. Maximin? We are past that, you had better believe! +Parbleu! You phrase it nobly. 'Unconstitutional'! It becomes you well, +Sir Knight of the Constitution, to talk that way to me. You hadn't the +same respect for the Chambers on the eighteenth Brumaire." + +Lucien, roused at last, broke in, in a tone as high as Bonaparte's: + +"You well know, my dear brother, that your entry into the Five Hundred +had no warmer opponent than I. No! I was not your accomplice, but the +repairer of the evil which you had done to yourself!--and that at my +own peril, and with some generosity on my part, because we did not +then agree. Not to boast, I may add that no one in Europe, more than +I, has disapproved the sacrilege against the national representation." + +Bonaparte's eyes blazed like diamonds. + +"Go on--go on!" he thundered. "That's quite too fine a thing to cut +short, Sir Orator of the Clubs! But at the same time take note of +this: that I shall do just as I please; that I detest, without +fearing, your friends the Jacobins!--not one of whom shall remain in +France if, as I hope, things continue to remain in my hands; and that, +in fine, I snap my fingers at you and your 'national representation.'" + +"On my side," shouted Lucien, "I do not snap my fingers at you, +Citizen Consul, but I well know what I think about you." + +"What do you think about me, Citizen Lucien? Parbleu! I am curious to +know. Out with it!" + +"I think, Citizen Consul, that, having sworn to the constitution of +the eighteenth Brumaire, as President of the Council of the Five +Hundred, and seeing you despise it thus, if I were not your brother I +would be your enemy!" + +"My enemy!" screamed Bonaparte. "Try it once! That's rather strong!" +And, shaking his fist at Lucien, as he had done once before, "Thou my +enemy!" he screamed again, and then sank back in the water up to his +neck, as if exhausted. In a moment he spoke again in a somewhat +quieter tone: + +"Cease this miserable caviling which you and Joseph are at work on +night and day--ridiculous for him, and still less appropriate for you. +It is not from you that I expect lessons in government. Enough! Forget +all you have said about it! I shall contrive to dispense with you. A +precious, well-disposed pair of brothers you are! Please call back the +valet; I must get out of the bath-tub at once." + +The valet had come in; Joseph and Lucien, thinking the matter was +dropped, were turning toward the door; the valet was spreading open +the sheet to wrap up his master, when the Consul suddenly returned to +the charge, and thundered in a tone that made Lucien and Joseph start +and turn back quickly, and the valet drop the sheet from his trembling +hands: + +"Well, sirs, think what you please about the sale of Louisiana! but +you may both of you put on mourning over this thing--you, Lucien, over +the sale of your province; you, Joseph, because I propose to dispense +with the consent of all persons whatsoever. Do you hear?" + +I fairly shivered in my hiding-place at such an outbreak on such a +topic in the presence of a servant. Lucien shrank farther toward the +door, but Joseph, who had held his peace through the quarrel of the +two brothers, stung by the scornful words and manner, and especially +by the contemptuous "Do you hear?" which was like a cutting snapper to +the Consul's lashing wrath, rushed back, exclaiming: + +"You will do well, my dear brother, not to lay your plan before the +Chambers, for I swear to you I will put myself, if necessary, at the +head of the opposition which will certainly be made." + +There was no reply from Bonaparte but an outburst of loud and sardonic +laughter. + +Joseph flushed dark red, and, almost beside himself with rage, +stooping over the figure that lay immersed in the bath, screamed out: + +"Laugh! laugh! laugh, then! All the same, I shall do what I say, and, +though I do not like to mount the tribune, this time you'll see me +there!" + +At these words, Bonaparte rose in the bath-tub so as to show half his +body out of the water, opaque and frothy with cologne, and pale as his +brother was red, he cried sternly: + +"You will not need to play the orator, for I repeat to you that this +debate will not take place, because the plan so unlucky as to be +disapproved by you, conceived by me, negotiated by me, will be +ratified and executed by me--by me alone; do you understand?--by me!" +Then he sank back once more to his neck in the water. Joseph, whose +self-control was all gone, his face aflame, roared: + +"Well, general, on my side, I tell you that you and I and all the +family, if you do what you say you will, may get ready to join shortly +those poor innocent devils whom you so legally, so humanely,--above +all, with so much justice,--have had transported to Cayenne!" + +This was a terrible home thrust, and I could see Lucien draw hastily +still farther back toward the door, and the valet literally cowered. + +"You insolent fellow!" thundered Bonaparte. "I ought--" But I did not +hear the rest of the sentence, for as he spoke he rose quickly from +the water and plunged heavily back, so that the water dashed out in a +flood on the floor. Lucien, who was back by the door, escaped a +wetting; but Joseph received the splash full in his face, and his +clothes were drenched. The valet ran to Joseph's assistance, but had +no more than begun to sponge him off than he fell to the floor in a +fainting fit. The quarrel was calmed at once, and the Bonapartes +good-heartedly ran to the rescue. Joseph hurried to pick him up from +the wet floor; Lucien rang the bell so hard that Rustan and another +servant came running in, frightened; and the First Consul, his eyes +and lips just visible above the rim of the bath-tub, called out +sympathetically: + +"Carry off the poor fellow, and take good care of him." + +As for me, the excitement was too much for me also. I did not faint, +but my stool, which was none of the steadiest on its three legs, +suddenly tipped from the excess of my emotion, and, though I caught +myself from falling entirely, I yet made what sounded to my horrified +ears a deafening racket. In reality I suppose it was only a slight +scuffling noise, but it was enough to catch the quick ears of the +First Consul and Rustan. + +"What was that?" I heard the First Consul say in a startled tone. + +"I think, sir, it was some noise in the closet," I heard Rustan reply. +"If Monsieur Joseph will assist in supporting your valet, I will +investigate." + +Now was my last hour come. But I was not going to die like a rat in a +trap. I would rush out the door into the public corridor, and, if +necessary, slay the guard and make one bold dash for safety. I drew my +sword from its scabbard to have it in readiness in my hand for +whatever might befall, pulled back the curtain, and came near running +through the body my pretty Félice! She was coming to keep her promise +to me and show me the way out. She did not seem to see my sword, but +the moment she saw me she spoke in great excitement: + +"Make haste, Monsieur; there is not a moment to lose. You can escape +through the main corridor. But you must be quick, for the Consul may +finish his bath at any minute, and his brothers retire here to await +him while he dresses." + +We were hurrying toward the door as she spoke, but I, feeling as if +the Mameluke were close behind me, seized her hand and dragged her +roughly into the corridor as I whispered: + +"Yes, we must be quick, for Rustan is after us!" + +With a half-suppressed scream she let go my hand, turned to Gaston, +who was standing at the door motionless as a statue and, to all +appearance, deaf and blind as one also, uttered the one word, +"Rustan!" and fled swiftly down the dark side corridor, leaving me +utterly bewildered. The western sun was flooding the cabinet of the +First Consul when I went into my hiding-place, but the sun had set and +twilight had fallen and the candles had been long lit when I stepped +out into the corridor. The wax tapers set in sconces along the +corridor lighted it but poorly, and I knew not which way to go. + +"Run, Monsieur!" cried Gaston, in a terrified whisper, "straight down +the corridor till you come to the grand staircase. And run as if the +devil was after you, for he is!" + +That was all I needed,--a word of direction,--and I was off. But +scarcely had I gone a few feet when I heard a great noise and shouting +behind me, and Gaston crying, "Stop thief!" I thought at first he was +turning traitor, now that he had my gold piece with no chance of +gaining another from me. But as I ran the faster, and the noise behind +me did not seem to gain on me, as I feared it might, I concluded he +was making a great outcry to cover his own part in my escape, and +perhaps was hindering the pursuit more than helping it. + +Yet when I came to the turn of the grand staircase I thought for a +moment I had also come to the end of my days; for just as I felt sure +I was distancing those behind me, there came running swiftly toward me +from the other end of the dim corridor an officer with sword drawn, +and I saw he would meet me exactly at the head of the grand staircase. +The light from a tall taper fell on his face as he neared the +staircase. It was the Chevalier Le Moyne! + +I had but a moment to think. Should I stop to engage with him, I had +no doubt I could unsword him as easily as he had unsworded me in the +dance by Chouteau's Pond; but the delay would bring a score to his +help, and I would be quickly overpowered, if not done to death at +once. Neither did I like to turn my back on that drawn sword as I fled +down the steps, feeling sure it would spit me through the shoulders, +much as Narcisse spitted the wild fowl for roasting at Émigré's +Retreat. But above all I did not wish the chevalier to see my face; +for, even should I make good my escape, Paris would be no safe place +for me should he recognize in the flying "thief" his hated St. Louis +rival. + +I pulled my hat low over my eyes, lifted my left arm before my face as +if to shield it from his sword, rushed straight toward him, met him, +as I thought I should, at the top of the staircase, and, with a quick +twist of my foot (a school-boy's trick), sent him sprawling down the +stairs. In three great bounds I had cleared the staircase and his +prostrate body, and like a whirlwind I threw myself upon the sentry at +its foot, who--half dazed by this sudden descent of the chevalier and +myself, one rolling and bumping from step to step, the other leaping +through the air like some great winged creature--was nevertheless in +the act of raising his gun to fire at me. As I hurled my great weight +full upon him, the gun flew from his hands, and his little +dancing-master figure went pirouetting across the terrace into the +darkness beyond, in a vain struggle to recover his balance. I sprang +down the terrace after him, and disappeared in the friendly darkness. + +It was time. Starting from the gloom in every direction, armed figures +seemed to spring from the ground, while down the great staircase +behind me clattered, shrieking and shouting in every key, a throng of +officers and soldiers, led by a dark figure gliding swiftly and +silently far in advance, and holding in his upraised hand something +that glittered as it caught the rays from wax tapers. In the very act +of springing down the first terrace, I saw the glittering dagger leave +Rustan's hand, hurled straight at my head, and heard it fall far below +me on the stone parapet of the last terrace. + +It was but the work of a moment to run swiftly to the pines and find +Fatima, and lead her out of the thicket. I had not found my seat upon +her back when she bounded away into the dark, straight down the broad +green allée that led toward the Bois de Boulogne and Paris. Then was +there hurrying to horse, and the pounding of many hoofs behind me on +the soft turf, and the wild clamor of confused orders shouted back +and forth, and a fusillade of bullets firing into the dark, if by +chance one might find its mark. + +But I no longer felt any fear. Fatima was stretching away beneath me +with the swift and easy motion of a bird, and I did not believe there +was a horse in all France could overtake her. The night was my friend, +too, and a dark night it was; for the clouds had gathered and shut out +even the faint light of stars, and I could not so much as see my hand +before my face. But I could trust Fatima to find her way, and I felt +nothing but a wild exhilaration as we went swinging along in great +strides through the cool, damp night breeze, and I could tell, from +the clamor of voices and pounding of hoofs growing more distant, that +we were gaining on our pursuers. + +Out from the soft turf of the park we clattered on to the stony +streets of the little village. Here there were lights, and people +passing to and fro, who stopped and stared at the wild flight of horse +and rider. But none molested until the hallooes and the clatter of +hoofs of those following reached their ears. Then men rushed out from +low taverns, from hut and hovel and respectable houses, brandishing +arms and shouting "Stop thief!" and adding much to the noise and +excitement, but availing nothing to stop the fugitive. Only one young +fellow, an officer by his dress, snatched a gun from a bystander, and +fired with so true an aim that had I not ducked my head I would have +had no head to duck. + +But in a few moments we had left the village behind us and were once +more on the unlighted country roads. Faster and faster we flew, by +hedge and stone wall and orchard, whence the night breeze wafted the +scent of blossoming fruit-trees, with ever the sound of hallooes and +hoofs growing fainter in the distance. + +Yet not until I had long ceased to catch even the slightest sound of +pursuit, and we were well on our way through the gloomy depths of the +Bois,--night haunt of robbers, suicides, and assassins,--did I draw +rein and give Fatima a chance to breathe. As we ambled along, my +pulses growing quieter as Fatima's breath no longer came in deep-drawn +sobs, but regularly in warm puffs from her wide nostrils, I fell to +thinking over the events of the afternoon. + +Now that it was all safely over, and no ill had befallen me, and I had +brought no disgrace upon my uncle, I was elated beyond measure that my +adventure had exceeded my wildest hopes of its success. I had seen the +great Bonaparte, and would henceforth know him as no man outside the +circle of his intimate friends could possibly know him. He would no +longer be, in my eyes, the impossible hero of romance, faultless and +beyond criticism, but a man with more than the ordinary man's meed of +shortcomings as to temper, yet with also a thousand times more than +any ordinary man's power to control men and mold circumstance. +Dictatorial, harsh, intolerant of all opinions that did not coincide +with his own, brooking no interference with his methods or suggestions +as to his duty, he could yet be playful and affectionate with the +brother he loved, sympathetic with a servant whom his own harsh temper +had frightened into fainting, and touched with a soft feeling of +regret for the colony he ruthlessly alienated from the fatherland. + +My mind pictured him vividly in every aspect in which I had seen him, +but strongest and most persistent of all was the vision of the figure +in the deep-armed chair, bowed in mournful thought, or with arm +outstretched to my uncle, and voice trembling with suppressed emotion, +saying: + +"Let the Louisianians know that we separate ourselves from them with +regret. Let them retain for us sentiments of affection. And may our +common origin, descent, language, and customs perpetuate the +friendship!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +MR. MONROE ARRIVES! + + "No sun upon an Easter day + Is half so fine a sight." + + +It was ten o'clock when I reached Monsieur Marbois's house and found +my aunt anxiously awaiting me. I had to explain the lateness of my +return and the bespattered condition of my garments by telling her I +had lost my way in the Boulogne woods (which was true, for in those +winding roads Fatima did for a time go astray), and such was her +horror at the thought of the perils to which I had been exposed in +that forest of evil repute that she questioned me not at all about my +visit to St. Cloud, for which I was devoutly thankful. She had +expected that my uncle would be detained all night, so that I had no +explanations to make in his behalf. + +The dinner-hour was long past, but she insisted on having a hot supper +prepared for me, and though my conscience assured me I deserved to go +to bed hungry, the little fillet of beef with mushrooms, flanked by an +omelet _au gratin_, which Jacques, my aunt's accomplished chef, sent +up to my room piping hot, with a glass of fine old Burgundy, tasted a +little better to me than I ever remembered anything to have tasted +before. _Le petit souper_ was served in my room, because my aunt had +insisted that my wet clothes should be removed (it had begun to rain +long before we reached the streets of Paris) and I should get into a +hot bath at once to prevent, if possible, the cold she was sure I had +contracted on my wet and perilous ride. + +Safe in my own comfortable room, warm and refreshed from my bath, with +a delicious supper smoking before me, the memory of my exciting +adventures and the discomforts of the latter part of the ride, lost in +the dismal woods and chilled to the bone by the cold rain, already +began to grow dim and hazy. + +The April rain driving against my windows added to my sense of comfort +and security. It had been a good friend to me in at least two +respects: it had washed out every trace of Fatima's hoof-prints, so +that not even Monsieur Fouché's lynx-eyed police could track me when +the morning light should start them on the trail; and it had ruined my +new puce-colored costume. Remembering how I had rejoiced in the +wearing of it that very morning, its destruction might not seem to be +a cause for thankfulness. But I would never dare to wear it again, +lest some one who had seen me at St. Cloud (most of all, the +chevalier) should recognize it; and yet I might have found it +difficult to frame excuses for not wearing it that would satisfy my +aunt's minute and anxious care for me, which extended to seeing that I +wore the proper suit for every occasion. + +But I did not feel quite so secure the next morning, when I saw +posted all over the city flaming accounts of an attack upon the First +Consul's life when he was in his bath, frustrated by the vigilance of +his faithful Mameluke. There followed descriptions of the assassin as +given by various witnesses who had had deadly hand-to-hand encounters +with him, no two descriptions agreeing in any particulars, except that +he was of great stature and rode a mysterious steed that bore him away +on the wings of the wind. + +There was great excitement throughout all Paris, and there were not +wanting those who hinted at supernatural agencies. Some of those who +had stood gaping at our swift flight through St. Cloud village were +ready to swear that the horse the assassin rode had wings from his +shoulders and his feet, and one poor lout added a tail and a pair of +horns for the rider! + +I might have been amused at all this if it had not been for the +Chevalier Le Moyne. It was almost inevitable that I should meet him +some day in the city, and when he should come to know of my presence +in Paris he would at once connect the assassin of great size and his +wonderful horse with the horse and rider that had snatched +Mademoiselle Pelagie from his grasp at Rock Spring. And I was quite +sure, also, that no considerations of gratitude for his life spared +when he was in my power would deter him from handing me over to the +merciless police with the greatest delight, now that I was in his +power. + +So it was not with a perfect sense of security that I went about Paris +for the next day or two, and I left Fatima to pine in her stable +rather than to run the risk of suggesting a resemblance to some St. +Cloud villager while yet the apparition of horse and rider was fresh +in his mind. + +I did not see my uncle until late on Tuesday afternoon. He had gone +direct to the Treasury office on Monday morning, and had been summoned +to St. Cloud again Monday afternoon to spend the night. I had fully +made up my mind to make a clean breast of it to him when I should see +him, though I dreaded much the just reprimands I knew I should +receive. It was with a very trembling heart, but striving to keep as +courageous a front as possible, that I obeyed a summons to his private +library late Tuesday afternoon. My uncle was sternness itself. + +"Sit down, sir," he said as I entered, scarcely returning my greeting. + +"If you will permit me, I would prefer to stand until I have made an +explanation and my most heart-felt apologies," I replied, determined +to speak quickly and have it over before my courage should desert me. + +"I desire no apologies," returned my uncle, a little less sternly, I +thought, "and I particularly desire that you make me no explanations. +If you had any connection with the mysterious assassin and his horse, +I prefer to be able to say that I know nothing at all about it. I may +have my suspicions that only a daredevil young American could +accomplish such feats of prowess as were ascribed to this +'assassin,'--over-power single-handed all the guards of the palace, +and make good his escape on a steed of supernatural swiftness,--but I +prefer that they should remain suspicions; do you understand?" + +I bowed silently, too mortified to make any reply. + +"I may have my theories, also," continued my uncle, "as to this young +daredevil's presence in the First Consul's closet, and they would +certainly not be those entertained by the police. Yet it would be a +difficult matter to convince any one, least of all the First Consul +and Fouché, that he could be there for any other purpose than +assassination; and should his identity be discovered, I fear no +influence could be brought to bear strong enough to save his life. +Permit me to add, also, that an insatiable curiosity to be present at +councils of state, such as I have no doubt led this young man to +contrive an entrance into the Consul's private apartments, seems to me +only one degree less culpable than the dastardly designs of an +assassin." + +It is impossible to describe the scathing tone with which my uncle +uttered this last sentence. Nor, had I been receiving condemnation +from a just judge for the most dastardly crimes, could I have felt +keener humiliation. I dared not lift my eyes, and every pulse in my +body sent the blood in waves to my already scarlet countenance. I +broke out into a great sweat all over my body as I realized that I had +forever forfeited the respect and confidence of my uncle, whom I +greatly honored and admired. I felt that I must make one desperate +effort to regain a little of what I had lost. Not until that moment +did I dream that I would be suspected of deliberately hiding in that +closet for the purpose of eavesdropping, and not to be allowed to +explain to my uncle that my presence there was by accident was almost +more than I could bear. + +"Sir," I began, still not lifting my eyes, "you will not permit me to +tell you anything when I had desired to tell you all, but I beg that +you will allow me to say that it was not a spirit of mean curiosity +that moved that young man, but a spirit of foolish and reckless +adventure, of which he bitterly repents--most of all, because he has +forever forfeited the respect and esteem of him whose good opinion he +most prizes. He will return at once to America, where he will be in no +danger of disgracing those whom he honors so highly. That his visit to +Paris, so kindly planned by you, looked forward to with such delight, +and, until the present moment, enjoyed so keenly, should end in such +failure, is a greater bitterness than you can comprehend; but he feels +that he has richly deserved it for his foolish recklessness. He only +prays that in condemning his actions you will not judge too harshly of +his motives, and that if it is possible to retain affection where +esteem is forfeited, he may still be permitted to retain a little of +yours." + +I stood with my head bowed for what seemed to me a very long time +before my uncle spoke. Then he said in the kindest of tones: + +"Sit down, my boy; 'tis not quite so bad as that." + +I looked up quickly. My uncle was actually smiling, and a great load +rolled off my heart. For whereas a moment before I had thought I could +never look any man in the face again, least of all my uncle, it now +seemed to me that there was almost as much of kindly affection in his +glance as I had ever found there. Yet I would not sit down, as my +uncle so kindly insisted, feeling that I deserved still to retain the +attitude of culprit; seeing which, my uncle softened still more. + +"Perhaps I have been too hard on you," he said; "it was a foolish +trick, without doubt, and you deserve some punishment for your +thoughtlessness and recklessness. From what I know of you, I can +charge you with no mean motive, and I am not sure but that at your age +an adventure of such kind would have tempted me greatly. I do not mind +saying, also, that I am rather proud of the way you got yourself out +of your scrape, and I am glad there were no more serious results than +a sprained ankle for the Chevalier Le Moyne and a temporary aberration +of mind for the sentry. I am told you sent him spinning in such +fashion that his brains flew out of the top of his head, and it was +some hours before he got them back again. I hear, too, that he insists +it could have been no less a personage than his Satanic Majesty +himself who with a touch of the hand sent his gun flying when he was +in the very act of firing, and then gave him a twirl that sent him +spinning down the terraces in the dark." + +I did not want to laugh, but I could not quite suppress a sheepish +grin at this picture of the dazed sentry, seeing which my uncle threw +back his head and laughed in a way I am sure he learned in America, +for I have never heard the like from these ever-smiling Parisians. I +would have liked to laugh with him, so jolly did it sound, and my +heart growing lighter every moment; but I did not quite dare. In a +minute my uncle stopped as suddenly as he had begun, and was all +seriousness again. + +"Well, well, my boy, it's all over," he said, "and I am thankful there +was no bloodshed, and not very sorry that the chevalier must go +limping for a while. I like not that fellow, and I don't understand +why he is hanging around the First Consul so much of late. As to your +going back to America, it would be the worst possible thing to do. You +might as well make a confession at once. No; you must go about exactly +as you have always done, no more, no less--certainly no less. And you +must ride Fatima, but always at a moderate pace, and be sure you make +no exhibitions of her training." + +I hardly knew how to thank my uncle, and I told him so. I was indeed +glad not to be sent back to America, and I had no doubt that he was +right about the wisdom of showing myself in public places with Fatima. +I was glad, too, to hear him say that he did not like the Chevalier Le +Moyne. I thought I could have enlightened him as to the chevalier's +reasons for hanging around the First Consul, but my uncle did not know +that I had ever seen Chevalier Le Moyne before, and I could not +explain to him without telling him also about the Comtesse de Baloit; +and--I knew not why, but I shrank greatly from mentioning her name to +my uncle. So I held my peace about the chevalier, and instead made +many promises as to my future conduct, and expressed many regrets for +the past. + +I was leaving the room, feeling myself partly at least restored to my +self-respect, when my uncle called me back. + +"I've a piece of news that may interest you," he said. "The +President's envoy, Mr. Monroe, has arrived, and I am going to call on +him at Mr. Livingston's this evening. Would you like to go with me?" + +I thanked him much, and assured him that I was greatly honored and +pleased at his invitation (which did, indeed, seem to me like a sign +that his confidence in me had returned), and then I hastily left the +room with my head in a whirl. Mr. Monroe had arrived! Then so also had +mademoiselle. I knew of no way to quiet the tumult of my heart and +brain but to go for a ride on Fatima, though in my state of excitement +it was hard work keeping her down to the moderate pace my uncle had +recommended. + +I sought the Champs-Élysées, for it was the fashionable hour for +driving, and I hoped that she might be taking the air there with all +the rest of the world, though I hardly thought it probable so soon +after her arrival. I rode slowly up and down the avenue, bowing to +many acquaintances, and looking eagerly at every beautiful woman, +whether I knew her or not, for fear that, seeing her in a strange city +with strange surroundings, I might pass her and not know her. + +I was about to give up the quest and go home, when I saw coming toward +me a carriage that had just turned into the avenue from a street +leading to the Faubourg St. Germain. It was more magnificent than any +I had seen, with outriders in gorgeous liveries, but I thought that +hardly accounted for the way people were staring, stopping to look +back when the carriage had passed, and the young men bowing to the +ground. My heart began to beat tumultuously, as if it knew what my +eyes were soon to look upon; yet I am not sure that I really believed +it until it burst upon me, a vision of dazzling loveliness. Had I +forgotten how beautiful she was? or was it that the fine Parisian hat +and dress had added the transcendent touch? Unconsciously I drew +Fatima to one side, so dazzled was I by her radiance; and so she did +not see me, though she was looking eagerly from side to side, trying +to take in at once all this wonderful Paris of which she had heard so +much. She seemed to me like a happy child, eyes and lips smiling with +delight, and I was happy just to be looking at her, though I liked not +the face of the proud and haughty lady who sat beside her, and who, I +feared, would never let her speak to her old St. Louis friend. + +The carriage passed, and I, too, looked back, as did all the rest of +the world. Alas! in one moment was my joy turned to bitterness; for, +sitting with his back to the horses and facing Pelagie, a proud smile +as of ownership on his evil but handsome face, sat the Chevalier Le +Moyne! + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE CONSUL'S SENTENCE + + "'Tis an old maxim in the schools, + That flattery's the food of fools; + Yet now and then your man of wit + Will condescend to take a bit." + + +"I wonder what her cousin will say about it? He is her next of kin, +and I suppose will have some authority." + +"You mean the young Duc d'Enghien? He is in Baden, you know, and not +in a position to say anything. He is still émigré, and likely to +remain so; for the First Consul distrusts all Bourbon princes." + +"Yes; but he might use his authority with his royal cousin, even at a +distance. I had always thought he and the Comte d'Artois had other +plans for the comtesse--that she was to strengthen their house by an +alliance with one of the royal houses of Europe." + +"Without doubt that was their plan, but the other side of the house +got ahead of them. It is to prevent just such an alliance, I believe, +that the wily old duchesse is planning this marriage with the +chevalier. He is too far down in the royal ranks to be a dangerous +_parti_." + +"Have her estates been restored, do you know?" + +"I am not sure, but I think not. I have heard that Bonaparte is making +this marriage a condition. He, too, wants to prevent anything that +will strengthen the power of the Bourbons." + +"Oh, then the marriage is assured, and the duchesse has accomplished +her purpose. I am sorry. I wish the comtesse had remained a little +longer in America." + +"I am not quite so sure about it. It seems the comtesse herself is +making difficulties. Perhaps, now that she has discovered her true +rank, she does not consider the chevalier sufficiently noble." + +"It will make no difference what she thinks or feels, poor child; with +the duchesse and the First Consul both against her, she is as helpless +as a bird in the snares of the fowler." + +I was one of the group where this conversation took place, and so, +though I had no part in it, I could not be considered an eavesdropper +(for I had sworn that, rather than listen again to what was not +intended for my hearing, I would go about with my ears stuffed with +wax and be deaf to the whole world). No name had been mentioned, yet I +knew well it was of the Comtesse de Baloit they were speaking, and +every word pierced my soul like a knife. + +A stir at the upper end of the grand salon put a stop to the +conversation. Every voice was hushed, and all eyes were turned to +where Madame Bonaparte and the First Consul were making a grand entry. +They were followed by a throng of ladies and gentlemen in attendance, +and the scene could not have been more magnificent had they been king +and queen holding royal court, with lords and ladies in waiting. + +I had eyes at first for no one but Madame Bonaparte (since coming to +live at the Tuileries she was no longer called Citizeness Bonaparte), +whom I had not yet seen, this being my first levee, and of whom I had +heard almost as much as of the First Consul. I had heard that she was +not faultlessly beautiful, but of great charm, and I could see at once +that this was true. I do not know why she was not perfectly +beautiful--perhaps her features were a little heavy, her nose a little +long, her cheek-bones a little high, which just prevented her face +from being faultless; but her eyes were large and lustrous and beaming +with kindness, and her hair was soft and dark and abundant and +gathered under a Grecian _filet_ in rich waves and curls, and her skin +was of that creamy whiteness so often seen in creoles, and which sets +off so well dark hair and eyes. I have never seen more beautiful neck +and shoulders and arms; they looked to me more like some of those +beautiful figures in marble in the Louvre Museum, that Bonaparte +brought back with him from Italy, than like real flesh and blood. + +She was dressed all in white, and my aunt whispered to me that the +First Consul liked her best in white, and that it was said when Madame +Bonaparte (who was herself fond of more gorgeous costumes) appeared in +white, it was a sign either that she was jealous of her husband and +was trying to win back his straying affections, or that she wanted +some special favor granted. Very likely this was only idle court +gossip, but it might easily be true, for I could hardly think her so +nearly beautiful in any other dress as in that softly falling white, +with high girdle of gold, richly jeweled, and her dark waves of hair +caught in a golden net under the Grecian filet. + +The First Consul was very magnificent also; I think he likes dress as +well as his wife. When I had looked well at these two, I had leisure +to look at their retinue; and I looked first at the gentlemen, many of +whom were wearing the brilliant uniforms of army officers. To my +chagrin, my eyes fell almost instantly upon the Chevalier Le Moyne, +wearing the very gorgeous uniform of aide to General Bonaparte. As I +looked at him his eye caught mine, and I saw him start, turn pale, and +then color violently. In a moment he forced a quick smile to his lips +(to his teeth, I had almost said, for there was always something +wolfish to me in his smile), and then he bowed. I returned his bow +very coldly, and his presence there suggesting to me that I might +possibly find Pelagie among the court ladies (for so 'tis the fashion +to call them in jest), I turned to look for her. Yes, she was there, +and, like Madame Bonaparte, all in white. Only Pelagie's white was +filmy and lacy, and fuller and more flowing than madame's, with jewels +shining in its folds and in her waving hair. And whereas Madame +Bonaparte made me think of a Greek goddess, Pelagie reminded me of one +of Mr. Shakspere's fairies, sparkling, graceful, exquisite. + +She did not seem to see me, and I could gaze at her no longer, for the +First Consul was already moving about from group to group of the +assembled guests, saying a few words to each, and he was just +approaching our party. He greeted my aunt and uncle and those standing +with us, whom he knew, very affably; then he turned his quick glance +on me, and my uncle presented me. + +"Ah," he said, "I was not mistaken. I thought you were from America +when I saw you in church on Easter morning"; and, turning to my uncle, +he added: + +"We do not grow such great fair men in France, Citizen Minister." + +"No," said my uncle, quickly; "we have small dark great men in France, +Citizen First Consul." + +Bonaparte laughed, pleased both with the play on words and my uncle's +compliment, and turned quickly to the next group before I had time to +stammer out how flattered I felt at his remembering me. + +The next group happened to be the English ambassador, Lord Whitworth, +and his friends. The Consul had been very affable with us, and I had +discovered that his smile was of rare sweetness and gave great beauty +to his face. But as he turned to Lord Whitworth the smile vanished and +his brows were drawn together in a dark frown. Without the slightest +word of greeting, he spoke to him abruptly and harshly: + +"I find your nation wants war again." + +Lord Whitworth bowed low, and a dull red slowly spread over his face +as he answered: + +"No, sir; we are very desirous of peace." + +"You have just finished a war of fifteen years," said Bonaparte again, +in the most offensive of tones, almost a sneer. + +The ambassador bit his lip in his effort at self-control, but he +answered with great suavity: + +"It is true, sir; and that was fifteen years too long." + +"But you want another war of fifteen years," insisted Bonaparte, his +tones every moment harsher and louder, so that every one in that part +of the salon could not help but hear. All conversation ceased, and +every one listened with strained and painful attention. Lord Whitworth +quietly reiterated: + +"Pardon me, sir; we are very desirous of peace." + +Then, in a tone that rang out like the harsh clang of crossing swords, +Bonaparte cried: + +"I must either have Malta or war!" + +A shock ran through the whole assembly. No man dared look at his +neighbor. This was nothing less than a declaration of war, and in the +most insulting manner. Whether the proud representative of the +haughtiest nation on the globe would receive such a rude insult to +himself and his country calmly was very doubtful, and we all awaited +Lord Whitworth's reply in trembling silence. With compressed lips and +eyes that flashed in spite of himself, but with a calmness in marked +contrast to Bonaparte's petulance, he replied: + +"I am not prepared, sir, to speak on that subject; and I can only +assure you, Citizen First Consul, that we wish for peace." + +Bonaparte's frown grew darker, but he said no more; and with a curt +nod, and almost a sneer on his lips, he withdrew at once into a small +cabinet opening into the salon, leaving the rest of his guests without +addressing a word to them, which I was told afterward was very +unusual with him, and showed that his irritation must be very great. + +An embarrassed silence followed the First Consul's exit. I had been +looking forward to this levee for weeks, but it promised to be a very +uncomfortable occasion for me as well as for others. I had a great +desire to speak to the British ambassador and assure him of my +sympathy, for none of the Frenchmen so much as dared to look at him, +now that he was in disgrace, lest it be reported to the Consul, and +they themselves fall under suspicion. But I feared it would be +presumption in one so young and unknown, and I dreaded meeting the +haughty British stare with which an Englishman petrifies one he +considers unduly forward. Much to my relief, and indeed to the relief +of the whole company, my uncle turned to him and began at once to talk +in a most animated manner of the doings in the American Congress. That +the relief was general was evident, for conversation was at once +resumed, and with a gaiety that was somewhat feverish, I thought. + +It was our turn now to pay our respects to Madame Bonaparte. I had +been eager to meet her until I discovered the presence of Pelagie; but +now it had suddenly become a trying ordeal to walk forward and salute +madame, and perhaps stand talking to her a few moments, conscious that +Pelagie's eyes, if they cared to, might be watching every movement. +Should I be awkward (as I feared I would under such a scrutiny), I was +sure there would be the old mocking light in them I had so often seen, +and dreaded to see, in St. Louis. I resolved not to glance at her +once while I was going through my ordeal, lest she should prove my +undoing; and I tried to think only of the charming woman who smiled +bewitchingly when I made gallant speeches, and who tapped me with her +fan in much the same playful fashion as Mistress Madison had tapped me +with her jeweled snuff-box. Indeed, she reminded me much of the lovely +Washington lady. Both had the same kind way of putting an awkward lad +at his ease, and seeming to like him and be pleased with his speeches, +especially if they savored a little of audacity. But Madame Bonaparte +had not the dash and sparkle of Mistress Madison; instead, she had a +lazy Southern fashion of speech and a wonderfully winning gentleness +that I am not sure was not more charming than the gay brilliancy of +the other. + +She kept me talking to her longer than I had expected (or hoped for), +and I began to see significant glances exchanged, while my color was +steadily rising; and I was sure mademoiselle (if she looked at me at +all), noting my shining curls, as yellow as the gold lace on my white +satin court-dress, and my cheeks flaming like any girl's, was saying +to herself with infinite scorn, "Pretty boy!" + +I think Madame Bonaparte saw the significant glances also, for she +said presently: + +"You must meet the Comtesse de Baloit. She has just returned from your +America, and you will have much in common to talk about." + +And so I found myself bowing low over Pelagie's hand, and a moment +later looking straight down into her lovely dark eyes, which looked +straight up at mine with no hint of scorn in their shadowy depths, but +only a great wonder, and a little of something else that set my pulses +to beating like trip-hammers. + +"I cannot understand, Monsieur," she said. "I shall have to ask you, +as you asked me in Washington--how did you get here?" + +"It was a lodestar drew me," I murmured. + +But the warm light in her eyes changed quickly to proud disdain. + +"I like not idle gallantries between old friends. Keep those for +Madame Bonaparte. I saw they pleased her greatly, and that you were +much flattered by their reception." + +Could the Comtesse de Baloit be jealous? or was it the haughty +Faubourg St. Germain scorning the parvenue of the Tuileries? I hoped +it was the first, but in either case it behooved me to make quick +_amende_. + +"Forgive me, Comtesse," I said, as coldly as she had spoken, but in +English, and so low that I hoped no listener could understand even if +he knew the tongue. "It was true, but you could not know how true, and +I have no right to tell you. I know well how great a distance lies +between the proud Lady of France and a simple American gentleman. +Permit me to inform you, Comtesse, that I have been in Paris for more +than a month with my uncle, Monsieur Barbé Marbois. And permit me to +add, as a simple fact in which you may be interested or not, that this +is the moment for which I have lived through that month--the moment +when I should meet again the Comtesse de Baloit." + +It had ever been the way with the little Pelagie in America to meet +her hauteur with hauteur, but I was not sure it would work here, and I +trembled inwardly while I spoke so calmly. But it did. Her lids +dropped for a moment, and a soft color stole up to her temples. When +she lifted her eyes again, there was a sweet, shy light in them. + +"Monsieur," she said softly, in her pretty English, "why do you call +me Comtesse? Have you forgotten?" + +"Is it still to be Mademoiselle?" I cried eagerly, and had hard work +not to pick her up in my arms and run away with her, so adorable was +she in her sweet friendliness. + +"Mademoiselle always, unless it is--" But then she broke off suddenly +and turned a rosy red, and added quickly, with something of her old +sauciness: "Never Comtesse, unless I am very, _very_ naughty." + +My heart told me what she had meant to say, and I whispered proudly: + +"Unless it is some day--Pelagie"; and I know my eyes told her all the +rest I did not dare to say, for she looked away from me quickly, and +I, glancing up, met a black scowl on the face of the chevalier, who, I +knew, must have been watching this little by-play, though he could not +have heard a word, such was the buzz and clatter of conversation about +us. His face cleared instantly, and he stepped quickly forward with a +forced smile and an extended hand. + +"Permit me to greet an old friend," he said gaily. "When did you +arrive in Paris?" + +It would have been well for me if I could have swallowed my pride +sufficiently to take his proffered hand; but it seemed to me the hand +of a scoundrel and a dastard, and I could not bring myself to touch +it. I pretended not to see it, and I hoped the chevalier and those who +were looking on might be deceived into thinking I did not, as I +answered politely enough: + +"The Chevalier Le Moyne is very kind to welcome me so cordially to +Paris." + +And then, with a sudden recollection of our last encounter, and hoping +to throw him off the track, I added: + +"I have been in Paris but a short time; this is my first visit to the +Tuileries." + +But I had not deceived him. The black scowl returned quickly at my +rejection of his proffered hand, and stretching himself to his full +height, so as to be as near my ear as possible, he said between his +teeth: + +"It may be your first visit to the Tuileries, Monsieur; but, if I +mistake not, you have been at St. Cloud before. If I had known you +were in Paris I would have been at no loss to account for the +mysterious horse and his rider. I suppose you have brought that +accursed mare with you?" + +I may have turned pale, for I saw black ruin yawn before me, but I +answered steadily: + +"I do not understand you, Monsieur. I beg you will explain." + +"Diable! You understand well enough, Monsieur," he sneered, and +turned and walked away with an exaggerated limp--it had been scarcely +perceptible when he came to greet me. + +I had little time to worry over this new peril that threatened, for my +uncle came up to present me to more of the "court ladies," and I did +my best to talk and be merry, while in the background of my thoughts I +was trying to plan some way of escape from the meshes of the net I saw +closing around me. Paris was no longer any place for me. I must tell +my uncle at the first opportunity, and ask his help in getting away as +quietly as possible to America; and at that thought, and that I was +cutting myself off from ever seeing again the Comtesse de Baloit, I +groaned inwardly, and could have cursed the reckless folly that had +brought me to such a pass. + +In the midst of my troubled thoughts I saw an officer approach the +Comtesse de Baloit (for, no matter to whom I might be talking, the +Comtesse was ever in my sight), bow low, and apparently deliver some +message to her. I saw her turn to the lady who stood near her (the one +with whom I had seen her driving, whose bearing was so stern and +haughty, and who, I did not doubt, was the duchesse I had heard spoken +of as desiring to marry her to the chevalier), and then the officer +offered an arm to each of them and bore them away to the cabinet to +which the First Consul had withdrawn. + +I did not know why this should be cause for anxiety on my part, but +none the less I felt anxious. When, a few minutes later, the same +officer approached the Chevalier Le Moyne and delivered to him also a +message, and the chevalier deliberately turned to me with a smile of +triumph, and then followed the officer to the same cabinet, I felt +doubly anxious. Indeed, so great had my anxiety become that it was +almost impossible for me to keep up longer the semblance of gay +converse with the witty beauties about me. + +The chevalier's smile of triumph meant one of two things--either +terrible for me, but one impossible to think of. It meant, "You see, +now I have my chance to denounce you to the First Consul, and I shall +use it"--which would mean nothing less than death for me; or, it +meant, "You see, the First Consul is bringing his influence to bear +upon my marriage with the Comtesse de Baloit; it is all +arranged"--which would mean something far worse than death for me. + +I was not surprised, therefore, and I was almost relieved when ten +minutes later the officer touched me on the shoulder. + +"The First Consul desires your presence in his cabinet, Monsieur," he +said; and I turned and followed him, conscious that I was followed in +turn by all eyes. There had been no surprise when first the comtesse +and then the chevalier had been summoned, for every one thought he +understood--the First Consul's powerful influence was to be brought to +bear upon a recalcitrant maiden; and while some pitied, none doubted +that the First Consul's influence would avail. But no one knew what +connection I could have with the affair, and the first moment of +startled surprise was followed by a murmur of curious surmises. + +Amid that murmur I walked as one who goes to his execution; for from +the moment the officer touched me upon the shoulder I had known what +the chevalier's smile of triumph meant, and I knew that I was on my +way to be accused and condemned, and, for aught I knew, marched off to +instant execution under the eyes of the Comtesse de Baloit. As I +passed Monsieur Marbois, his eyes, filled with a startled alarm, met +mine. I tried to reassure him with a smile, but I fear it was sorry +work, for a sudden rush of remembrance of all his goodness to me +overwhelmed me and came near to unmanning me. + +Just inside the door of the cabinet the officer stopped, and motioned +to me also to stay my steps. On whatever errand I had been sent for, +it was evident that neither the First Consul nor any one else was +quite ready for me. The Consul was seated, while on one side of him +stood the chevalier, and on the other the duchesse and the Comtesse de +Baloit; and that any man should remain seated in the presence of the +comtesse filled me at once with a blind rage that ill prepared me to +play my part in what was about to follow. The attitude of the three +struck me at once as significant: the duchesse complacent, with almost +a smile upon her haughty features, and to the best of her ability +beaming upon the First Consul; the chevalier eager, obsequious, +fawning; the comtesse her head held proudly up, a little frown between +her brows, her eyes flashing; impatience, annoyance, disdain expressed +in every feature. The First Consul was speaking as we entered, and I +thought his tones were meant to be persuasive; they were less rasping +than I had often heard them. + +"The estates are very great, Mademoiselle." (And again I was indignant +that he should address her as Mademoiselle, a title which I felt +belonged to no man to use but to me. I knew, of course, that it was +but the common usage,--that titles were not permitted in republican +France,--but none the less I was angry.) "Your father was almost the +richest man in France," he was saying. "Should I restore these estates +to you, I must have some guaranty that they will be used for the +welfare of the republic, and not against it. Citizen Le Moyne is such +a guaranty. His sword is already pledged to the service of the +republic, and to the Citizeness Le Moyne I will restore all the +estates of her father." + +A bright red spot burned in each of Pelagie's cheeks. I know not what +she might have said (though she looked not as if she would meekly +yield assent to this powerful plea), for at that moment the First +Consul discovered our entrance and turned to the chevalier. + +"Citizen Le Moyne," he said, "you asked us to send for this young man. +He is here. What has the nephew of Monsieur Marbois to do with this +matter?" + +A malicious smile played round the chevalier's lips. + +"If you remember, Citizen First Consul," he said "I told you that at +one time mademoiselle was not averse to my suit--that in all +probability I would have won her hand in St. Louis, but that her mind +was poisoned against me by malicious insinuations and fabrications, +the work of a rival who desired to win her for himself?" + +The chevalier waited for the Consul's reply, and he nodded curtly. + +"Well?" + +"Citizen First Consul, that rival is the nephew of Minister Marbois, +and I have brought him here to ask him to renounce publicly all claims +to the hand of the Citizeness de Baloit." + +I saw a flash in the beautiful eyes, and a proud toss of the little +head that I well knew meant, "He has no claim," and I hastened to +speak. + +"Sire," I said quickly, and then stopped in confusion. How could I +have made such an egregious blunder as to address the first citizen of +the republic by a royal title? Yet it was a natural enough mistake, +for no Czar or Sultan or Grand Mogul was ever a more autocratic ruler +than he, or made men tremble more at his nod. I thought I had no doubt +ruined my cause in the very outset, for a dark frown gathered between +the Consul's brows, but it quickly disappeared. + +"I believe you spoke innocently, young man," he said, with a smile of +rare sweetness. "Speak on!" + +"Pardon, Citizen First Consul," I said--"it was indeed an innocent +mistake"; and then I added with a sudden impulse of audacity, "but a +very natural one." + +The Consul answered me only with his flashing smile, that transfigured +his face, and I hurried on: + +"I wish to say, sir, that I have no claim to the hand of Mademoiselle +la Comtesse." I saw from the tail of my eye her head take a prouder +pose and her lips curl scornfully as she perceived that I was tamely +renouncing my "claim" at the chevalier's bidding; but I went calmly +on: "I have always known that there was a great gulf fixed between the +proud Lady of France of royal blood and a simple American gentleman. +Mademoiselle la Comtesse has never given me any reason to hope that +that gulf could be crossed, but," and I turned and looked straight at +the chevalier,--and if my head was flung back too proudly and my eyes +flashed too fiercely and my voice rang out too defiantly, it was from +no lack of respect to the great Bonaparte, but because my soul was +seething with wrath and indignation against that cowardly villain "but +should Mademoiselle la Comtesse give me the faintest hope that the +honest love of an honest American heart could weigh with her against +lands and titles, that the devotion of a lifetime to her every thought +and desire could hope to win her love, then no argument the Chevalier +Le Moyne could bring to bear would have a feather's weight with me. I +would renounce my 'claim to her hand' only with my life!" + +The First Consul's eyes were smiling as I ceased speaking; there was +no frown on his brow. The duchesse looked aghast, as if it were +inconceivable blasphemy that I should think of aspiring to the +comtesse, and the chevalier's face was dark, with an ugly sneer +distorting his lips. But I cared little how Consul or duchesse or +chevalier took my speech: I cared only for what mademoiselle might +think. I glanced quickly at her. Her head was drooping, her long +lashes were sweeping her cheek, her face was rosy red, and a +half-smile was playing about her mouth. My heart beat high with +exultant joy. I turned proudly to the chevalier and awaited the +thunderbolt I knew was sure to fall. He, too, had seen mademoiselle's +soft and drooping aspect, and the sight had lashed him to fury. But +before he had a chance to speak, the First Consul himself spoke with +good-natured raillery: + +"I think, Citizen Le Moyne, your golden-haired giant makes a very good +plea for himself. Suppose I offer him a position on my staff and make +a Frenchman of him, and then let the Citizeness de Baloit choose +between you? Perhaps her estates would be as safe in his hands as in +yours." + +Had the First Consul uttered his speech with the purpose of lashing +the chevalier to fury and goading him to still greater venom against +me, he could have taken no better course to accomplish it. + +"Safe!" he hissed. "Safe in the hands of an assassin! You would give +mademoiselle and her estates to the man who hid in your closet to +attempt your life in your bath! Regardez! the coward--the sneak--the +villain! When your Mameluke discovers him he flees. I run to your +defense. Does he meet me with his sword like an honorable gentleman? +No! he trips me with the foot like a school-boy, and throws me down +the stair, to be the laughing-stock of my fellow-officers! Because he +is a giant, he falls upon your sentry of small stature and hurls him +down the terraces! He calls to his trick horse,--trained in the +circus, I do not doubt,--and rides away in the dark, and thinks no one +will ever know! But _I_ know. I have seen his tricks in America. He +is a clown--a mountebank! No gentleman would touch his hand!" + +The chevalier's voice had grown shriller and higher with each word, +till he ended in a scream, tearing his hair, rushing up and down the +cabinet in his fury, and pointing every epithet with a long finger +extended toward me. I could have smiled at such childish rage but that +it was too serious a matter to me for smiling. Mademoiselle's eyes +were wide with terror and amaze, and the Consul's brow grew darker +with every word of the chevalier's. + +"Officer, call the guard!" he said in his rasping voice, as soon as +the chevalier gave him a chance to speak, and I knew my doom was +sealed. + +But mademoiselle sprang forward, one arm outstretched to stay the +officer, and one extended toward the Consul in supplication. + +"No, no, officer, not yet!" she cried, and then to Bonaparte: + +"Oh, Citizen Consul, it is all a terrible mistake! I know him well. He +could not be guilty of so dreadful a crime! He could not do anything +mean or low or dishonorable. There is no gentleman in the world more +generous and noble! And the man who denounces him owes his life to +him!" + +"Look at him, Mademoiselle," said the Consul, harshly, "and see if his +looks do not confess him the culprit." + +I knew that I must look the very picture of conscious guilt, for every +word mademoiselle had uttered had pierced me like a two-edged sword. I +might have braved the chevalier's accusations and the First Consul's +suspicions (for, after all, neither had any evidence against me), but +I could not bear her generous confidence in me, feeling that I had so +miserably forfeited my right to it by indulging in a foolish boyish +prank. I did not raise my head (where it had sunk in shame), but by +reason of being so much taller I yet could see her turn toward me, see +her look of implicit trust change slowly to doubt and fear. Then I +heard her utter one low cry, "Oh, Monsieur, Monsieur!" and turn away. +In a moment my resolve was taken. I would make a clean breast of it; +she should not think me worse than I was. I lifted my head. + +"Mademoiselle!" I cried, and she turned quickly toward me and looked +straight into my eyes with a look that was hard to bear. "I am guilty +Mademoiselle! I am the man who was in the First Consul's closet, and +who escaped on Fatima's back." + +The Consul made a motion toward the officer, but I turned to him +quickly. + +"I beg you, sire,"--and this time I did not know that I had said it, +not until long afterward, when one of those who heard told me of +it,--"that you will not send your officer for the guard until I have +made my confession; then you can send for it, and I will go away +quietly, without resistance." + +"Very well, officer; you can wait," said Bonaparte, still harshly. The +rest of my confession I addressed directly to him. + +"I am no clown, mountebank, or circus rider in my own country, sir, as +the Chevalier Le Moyne would have you believe; I am the son of a +Philadelphia gentleman, and the nephew of Madame Marbois. +Unfortunately, life in my native land has bred in me a spirit of +adventure that has many times been near my undoing. It has also bred +in me a great love for the life of a soldier, and a great admiration +for the famous soldiers of history. When I accompanied my uncle to St. +Cloud, and knew that he was summoned there to meet the First Consul, I +was seized with a desire to enter the palace and roam through the +rooms where the First Consul dwelt. When I found admission was not +permitted I thought it would be a fine adventure to find my way in +without permission. It was a boy's wild spirit of daring, and a boy's +almost idolatrous hero-worship that led me into such a scrape." + +The Consul interrupted me here, but I thought his tones a little less +harsh than before: + +"Did your uncle know of your intention to enter the palace?" + +"Most certainly not, Citizen First Consul," I answered, "else had I +never accomplished it." + +"Then how did you find your way to my closet?" + +"I followed a servant through some winding corridors, but an officer +suddenly appeared. I fled, opened the first door I came to, saw myself +in a dressing-room, opened another, and found myself in the closet +connecting with your cabinet." + +All of which was literally true, and implicated neither Gaston nor +Félice, I hoped. The Consul signed to me to go on with my story. + +"All would have been well, and I should have slipped out the way I +came, had not the First Consul decided to take a bath." + +I was watching my auditor narrowly as I talked, for I felt my life +depended upon his change of mood, and I thought I saw here the least +glimmer of a twinkle in his eye; but if it was there it was banished +instantly, and his face was as set and stern as before. + +"I have never heard any words, your"--I started to say "your Majesty," +caught myself, and stumbled miserably--"your--your--Excellency, that +filled me with greater dismay than these: 'Tell my valet to prepare my +bath'!" + +Again I thought I caught that fleeting twinkle of the eye, but could +not be sure. + +"There was no hope for me," I went on, "but to wait for the First +Consul to finish his bath; but, unfortunately for me, he is fonder of +his bath than most men, and I stood in that dark closet in an agony of +suspense, and revolving in my mind every conceivable plan of escape, +for what seemed to me many long hours. All might still have been +well,--for in the nature of things even the First Consul's bath must +come to an end sometime,--had I not made a slight noise which the +quick ears of the Consul and the Mameluke heard. I was discovered, +and there was nothing for me to do but to flee through the +audience-chamber and the main corridor, surprising the guard at the +door, who, in his turn, raised the whole palace in pursuit. + +"I was distancing my pursuers, and should have gotten out of the +palace without difficulty, but that at the head of the grand staircase +I met the Chevalier Le Moyne, running from the opposite end of the +corridor. I would not under ordinary circumstances refuse a sword +encounter with the chevalier (though I would prefer an opponent with a +nicer sense of honor), but there was no time for such an encounter now +if I would not have the whole palace upon me, and, besides, it was +most important that the chevalier should not recognize me. There was +nothing to do but to hide my face with my arm as if shielding it from +his sword, and trip him up, as he says, school-boy fashion. I am sorry +that it should have hurt his self-esteem to be vanquished by such a +youthful trick, and regret still more that he should have suffered in +the estimation of his fellow-officers thereby." + +This time the twinkle in the Consul's eye was unmistakable, and I +could hear the chevalier grinding his teeth with rage. + +"As for your sentry," I continued, "he was aiming his gun to fire at +me. There was no time for ceremony. I could have spitted him upon my +sword, which was in my hand, and it might have been more respectful; +but I dislike bloodshed, unless it is absolutely unavoidable, and so I +threw up his gun with my arm, and sent him spinning after it in the +dark. I had left my mare Fatima--who is no trick horse, but a young +Arabian trained by myself from colthood to do my bidding--in a pine +thicket close by. I was on her back and away just in time to escape +your mounted guards, who thundered out the gates of the park scarce +twenty paces behind me. Had Fatima been less swift I had not been +here to tell the tale. I hope the First Consul will believe me when I +say I have suffered much from remorse for my rash and thoughtless act. +It was a wild spirit of adventure that led me into it, but I see +clearly now that does not in the least excuse it, and I am ready to +atone for it in any way you decree." + +The eye of the First Consul, clear, piercing, heart-reading, had been +upon me through the whole of this recital; but I, feeling that I was +keeping nothing back (save only Gaston and Félice), and being nerved +up to meet whatever fate should befall, bore its scrutiny well. He was +silent for a moment after I had finished speaking, and my heart sank +steadily down, for life looked very bright to me and I began to be +very sure I had forfeited it by my foolishness. Suddenly the Consul +spoke, but it was not to me nor to the chevalier; he turned to +Pelagie. + +"Mademoiselle, that was a boyish escapade, certainly, and it was a +very pretty boy that contrived it. What do you think would be suitable +punishment for such a crime? You shall be the arbiter of his fate." + +Mademoiselle gave me one fleeting glance, saucy merriment dancing in +her eye; then she turned to Bonaparte, and, curtsying low, she said +with pretty archness: + +"Citizen First Consul, I know him well, and I know that only death +could be a greater punishment to him than to be called a 'pretty boy'! +Do you not think his crime is atoned for?" + +Bonaparte's wonderful smile lighted his face and fell on mademoiselle +with almost too great sweetness, I thought. + +"It is as you say, Mademoiselle," he replied. "Officer, you need not +call the guard." + +But I, suddenly relieved from the fear of death, stood there scarlet +with confusion, head drooping, and ready to sink through the floor +with shame, while I mentally anathematized my yellow curls and rosy +cheeks and blue eyes, and most of all my _domtiferous_ vanity that had +led me to array myself in shining white satin and glittering gold +lace, that I was sure made me look fairer and rosier and more than +ever like a big blond baby. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +A NEW CHEVALIER OF FRANCE + + "Our hopes, like towering falcons, aim + At objects in an airy height." + + +"Officer," said Bonaparte, in his iciest tones, "conduct Citizeness +Capet and Citizen Le Moyne back to the salon. I have something to say +to the others that it will not be necessary for them to hear. You need +not return yourself until I ring for you." + +Madame la Duchesse glared at the little figure lazily and haughtily +reclining at ease in the deep-armed chair while we all stood meekly +before him. I think for a moment she was tempted to spring upon him +and tear his eyes out. That the parvenu ruler of the republic should +so address a member not only of the old nobility but the old royalty, +was more than she could bear. A cool stare from the fathomless eyes of +the Consul made her think better of it; she turned and accompanied the +chevalier (who was nigh to foaming at the mouth with ill-suppressed +rage) back to the salon. + +As they left the cabinet, conducted in state by the officer, Bonaparte +turned to Pelagie. + +"Mademoiselle la Comtesse," he said in tones whose suavity were in +marked contrast to the coldness of his last speech, "will you not be +seated? I am sorry to have kept you standing so long. I have asked you +to wait while I spoke to this young man, because I have something more +to say to you on the subject we were discussing. I beg, therefore, you +will make yourself perfectly comfortable while you wait." + +I think Pelagie was of half a mind to decline the Consul's courtesy, +for she hesitated a moment, and I saw a dangerous spark leap into his +eyes. I do not know whether she saw it also, or whether she simply +decided it was better to be as complaisant as possible in small +matters, since she might have to be recalcitrant in great ones. She +sat down, apparently cool and collected, but in the chair most distant +from the First Consul. I had noted the change in the form of his +address, and wondered at it; but I believe he liked titles, and was +glad to use them when there were no jealous ears about to find fault +with his lapse from republican simplicity. He did not ask me to sit +down, but turned to me as soon as Pelagie had taken her seat, and +began abruptly: + +"I made a proposition a few moments ago in jest; I now make it in +earnest: I offer you a position on my staff as military aide. The +young man who has the skill to extricate himself from such an escapade +as yours is of the stuff I would like to use in my service, and when +he adds to his other qualities the ability to tell his story so +discreetly that it is impossible to guess whether or not he has heard +anything of state councils and family quarrels, he is of still greater +value in such a capacity." + +I was overwhelmed. Lifted from the depths of disgrace and fear of +death to the pinnacle of my day-dreams realized (for it had ever been +my fondest dream to be a soldier of fortune, and to serve under the +great Bonaparte--one that I had hardly dared to confess to myself) was +almost more than brain could stand. More than that, to hear such words +of commendation from the great soldier, when I had expected severest +censure, set heart throbbing and head whirling. I could only stammer +out: + +"It would be the greatest joy and glory of my life to serve under the +First Consul! I shall have to get my uncle's permission; may I defer +my answer until I have an opportunity to consult him?" + +The Consul frowned quickly; I have no doubt he was used to receiving +only instant acceptances of his offers. But in a moment his +countenance cleared, and he answered, pleasantly enough: + +"Very well; I shall expect to hear from you the day after to-morrow"; +and with a slight nod from him I understood myself dismissed. + +Somehow I liked not leaving Pelagie there alone with him, but there +was no alternative. I thought, too, as I made my low bow to her in +leaving the room, that her eyes met mine with a look of appeal in +their dark depths it was hard to withstand. I determined to take my +station in the salon near the cabinet door, so that if she should need +me I would be near at hand. + +And thus it happened that a few minutes later I heard the Consul's +bell ring violently, saw the officer on duty enter the cabinet +hastily, and immediately return, conducting Pelagie. Her eyes were +shining with a fierce light, a bright spot was burning in either +cheek, and her head was held so high and she was looking so straight +forward with an unseeing gaze that she did not see me as she passed. I +saw her take her place among the court ladies and Madame Bonaparte +look at her with cold displeasure. Being no longer on sentry duty, I +joined my aunt, and she whispered to me: + +"The pretty Comtesse is in trouble. Madame will not easily forgive her +husband spending ten minutes alone with her in his cabinet." + +My soul raged within me, for I could see that others also were +whispering about her, and for a moment I was ready to challenge all +the world, including the great Bonaparte himself, who (though, I +believed, innocently) had given occasion for the whisperings. Of +course I knew that his interview with Pelagie had been entirely in +behalf of the chevalier, but others did not seem to be so certain of +it, and especially did Madame Bonaparte's attitude toward her give +rise to unpleasant comment. I longed eagerly for a word with Pelagie +herself, but I saw no chance of obtaining it. Yet fortune favored me, +for later in the evening, when they were preparing the piquet-tables, +I found myself placed next to her; and once, when excitement over some +disputed point in the game was running high, and the din of contending +voices made a friendly cover for a low-toned speech, I managed to say +to her: + +"You look troubled, Mademoiselle; is there any way in which I can be +of service to you?" + +She smiled up at me with a look of trust that touched me greatly, and +said hurriedly, mentioning no names (which might have been dangerous): + +"I wanted this chance to tell you. He insisted on that marriage, and +when I told him I would never marry a man who had denounced and +betrayed in such cowardly fashion the man to whom he owed his life, he +was very rude to me." + +"Rude to you!" I whispered fiercely. "Then I cannot take service under +him." + +But she looked greatly alarmed when I said that, and whispered +eagerly: + +"No, no, Monsieur; do not say that! Take the place, if you can, for +your own sake,"--and then she hesitated a moment,--"and for mine." + +There was no chance for another word; the game was breaking up, and +the old duchess came and carried her off with a glare of distrust and +suspicion at me, and I had no doubt she had been watching our +whispered consultation. + +There was no chance, either, to tell my uncle of my interview with the +Consul; for I could say nothing before my aunt without entering into +explanations that I did not want to make to her, and I knew the fact +of my returning to the salon instead of being hurried off to prison +had quieted his alarms. The hour was late, and we said good night to +each other in the corridors when we returned home, going at once to +our rooms. + +I hurried down-stairs the next morning, hoping to find my uncle taking +his morning coffee in the garden, as he often did in this lovely +spring weather; but I had overslept, and he was already gone. Late in +the afternoon I sought him in his library, for I knew my answer to the +First Consul must be decided upon at once, and I was anxious to tell +him all about my interview. He answered my knock by a quick "Enter, +enter!" and I found him brimming over with gay good humor and +excitement. + +"You are just in time, my boy," he cried. "I am expecting the American +ambassadors every moment, and, if they offer no objection, you may +stay and see how history is made. We are to sign the treaty that is to +give the First Consul the munitions of war, and that will place +America in the very front rank of nations." + +My own affairs seemed of small moment beside such stupendous ones, and +I saw that my uncle had entirely forgotten his alarm of the evening +before. I was myself very greatly excited, for this was the moment to +which I had been looking for nearly a year, though the realization +about to be consummated was far exceeding my wildest fancies. + +The two gentlemen were announced a moment later, and they both greeted +me cordially, for they knew my family at home and I had called on them +several times in Paris. Nor did my uncle have to prefer a request that +I should be permitted to be a witness of the signing of the treaty. +Mr. Livingston himself suggested that I be invited to remain, and, the +others assenting most cordially, I thanked them heartily for their +courtesy, and retired to a seat in the background, where I might not +intrude upon their deliberations. + +The document seemed long, and in fact, as I understood it, there were +three documents--one which they called the treaty, and two others they +called "conventions." They read them all over carefully several times +before signing, and I heard the article read that I had seen the First +Consul write, and discovered that one convention was to determine in +what manner the sixty million francs were to be paid to France, and +the other convention was concerned with the twenty million francs to +be paid by the United States to such of its citizens as held claims +against France. + +There seemed to be some little discussions on a few minor points which +were easily settled, and then very solemnly they each signed the three +documents, Mr. Livingston writing his name first, then Mr. Monroe, and +then my uncle. When this was done, the three gentlemen, as by a common +impulse, rose to their feet and shook hands, their faces shining with +a solemn light which I believe had nothing to do with self-glory, but +with an unselfish joy at having accomplished an act that would bring +honor and benefit to two great nations and to future generations. I, +in my corner, was almost as proud as they, and quite as happy (when I +thought of the honor that was to come to my country, and especially +the blessings to that great West I was so interested in), and for the +first time in my life I felt it might be almost finer to accomplish +such great things by statesmanship and a stroke of the pen than to +win fame and glory by the sword. Then I saw that Mr. Livingston was +beginning to speak. He stood up straight and tall and fine-looking, +and his manner was very impressive and full of dignity and a kind of +solemn joy. I was very proud of him as a representative of my country, +and each word that he spoke made me prouder and happier. + +"We have lived long," he began, "but this is the noblest work of our +whole lives. The treaty which we have just signed has not been +obtained by art or dictated by force; equally advantageous to the two +contracting parties, it will change vast solitudes into flourishing +districts. From this day the United States take their place among the +powers of the first rank. The English lose all exclusive influence in +the affairs of America. Thus one of the principal causes of European +rivalries and animosities is about to cease. The instruments we have +just signed will cause no tears to be shed; they prepare ages of +happiness for innumerable generations of human creatures. The +Mississippi and Missouri will see them succeed one another, and +multiply, truly worthy of the regard and care of Providence, in the +bosom of equality, under just laws, freed from the errors of +superstition and the scourge of bad government." + +My uncle and Mr. Monroe seemed greatly impressed by his words (as, +indeed, no one who heard them could help being); and then there was +half an hour of pleasant talk, in which the three gentlemen kindly +included me. As the American ambassadors took their leave, my uncle +turned to me. + +[Illustration: The Signing of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty by +Marbois, Livingston, and Monroe] + +"Well, my boy," he said, his kind face beaming, "we have settled the +affairs of two great nations most satisfactorily; now we will settle +yours. What did the First Consul want of you last evening?" + +I had made up my mind to tell my uncle all about my acquaintance with +the Comtesse de Baloit and the Chevalier Le Moyne, if he had time to +listen,--for otherwise it would be difficult to explain my interview +with the Consul, or how I happened to be summoned to his +presence,--and I asked him if he had time to hear a long story. He +replied that he considered he had accomplished enough for one day, and +he should do nothing more, until dinner at least; he might possibly be +summoned to an interview with the First Consul at the Tuileries later +in the evening. + +He scarcely interrupted me through my long recital, unless an +occasional heavy scowl at some special perfidy of the chevalier's +could be called an interruption. He chuckled with delight when I told +how I tripped up the chevalier on the grand staircase of St. Cloud, +and uttered a vigorous "Diable!" when he heard how I came to be +summoned before the First Consul. He listened almost breathlessly to +my account of my interview with the Consul, and drew a great sigh of +relief as I finished. + +"Why, my lad," he said, "you have been having great experiences! I +wonder you could forget them sufficiently to be so deeply interested, +as you seemed to be, in the doings of three old diplomats." + +I assured him that what the three diplomats had just accomplished was +of greater interest to me than any of my own affairs could possibly +be. In all my story I had touched as lightly as I could on the +Comtesse de Baloit, hoping that my uncle would not discover that I had +any special interest in that direction; but he was too astute a reader +of human nature to be easily misled. + +"That is all very well," he said, in reply to my assurance of a deeper +interest in affairs of state than in my own; "I do not doubt for a +moment that you believe what you say, and I could easily believe it, +too, if it were not for the Comtesse de Baloit. Such affairs are more +engrossing than all others in the world, if I remember my own youthful +days aright. But I had no idea the wind sat in that quarter, as your +Mr. Shakspere would say. Have you any idea how high you are aspiring? +I know you Americans stop at nothing; but, my dear boy, you might as +well aspire to the hand of the Princess Charlotte of England!" + +"I am aspiring to the hand of no one, sir," I answered rather hotly, +for I knew so well how hopeless any dreams of mine might be that I +liked not to have any one think I was cherishing false hopes. +"Whatever my feeling toward the Comtesse may be, I have never had the +slightest hope. If Citizeness Capet, as the First Consul calls her, +does not succeed in marrying the comtesse to the Chevalier Le Moyne, +then her cousins the Comte d'Arbois and the Duc d'Enghien will +probably marry her into one of the reigning houses of Europe. +Mademoiselle la Comtesse has shown me some kindness, but only such as +any right-feeling young maiden would show to one who has been able to +do her some little service, and I am not one to presume upon her +grateful feeling." + +My uncle looked at me for a moment with a little frown between his +brows, as if he were trying to solve some perplexing question, and +then the frown cleared away and he spoke smilingly: + +"Well, well, we will dismiss the Comtesse; that is too difficult a +problem. And now for what is, after all, a question of more practical +importance. Do you want to accept this offer of the First Consul's?" + +"Very much, sir," I answered eagerly. + +"I doubt whether I have any right to give you permission to do so," +responded my uncle; "but this much authority I will assume. If the +First Consul is willing to take you subject to the commands of your +father when we can hear from him, I will give my permission, and I +will write to your father by the first packet. It will be ten or +twelve weeks before we can possibly hear from him, and it may be much +longer. But I am rather relieved that you desire to accept the First +Consul's offer. He does not like his favors rejected, and he is quite +capable of holding me responsible for having influenced you, should +you decline." + +The First Consul was willing to take me on those conditions (I think +he felt no doubt of my father's answer; such confidence had he in the +magnetism of his own name that he believed any man would feel proud to +have his son serve under him), and a very few days saw me arrayed in +my glittering uniform and spending every spare moment, when I was off +duty, riding up and down the Champs-Élysées in the hope not so much of +seeing the Comtesse de Baloit as of being seen by her. For I felt that +half the joy I had in my gorgeous trappings would be gone if she could +not see them and admire them too. + +And as my sword clanked and my spurs jingled while Fatima pranced and +curveted under me in the bright spring weather, my heart sang an +accompaniment to them. + +Could it be possible that the great Bonaparte might turn the rest of +his speech from jest to earnest? Would he, perhaps, now that he had +made me his aide, trust her to me as willingly as to the chevalier? + +And higher still sang my heart as Fatima, in answer to my excited +touch, leaped and bounded along the avenue, and I remembered that +night upon _La Belle Rivière_ when mademoiselle had wished that I was +a chevalier of France. Was I not one now in fact, if not in name? + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE COMTESSE DE BALOIT SENDS FOR HER HUNTER + + "Take a straw and throw it into the air; you may see by that + which way the wind is." + + +All my riding up and down the Champs-Élysées was like to have been for +naught. We had received orders to be in readiness to start on the +morrow for Belgium, where Bonaparte was to make his headquarters while +preparing for war with England, and still I had not seen the comtesse, +and she had not seen my beautiful regimentals. + +My packing was done, my last arrangements made, most of my good-bys +said; there was nothing left to do but to take my last ride down the +avenue. And this time not in vain! There she sat in her gorgeous coach +of scarlet and gold with the footmen and coachmen in dazzling liveries +of gold lace and scarlet plush, and beside her, not the stern duchesse +this time, but a younger woman who looked as if she might be a less +formidable guardian. + +She saw me, though for a moment she did not recognize me in my new and +gaudy plumage. When she did, her eager look of welcome more than +repaid me for my fruitless rides up and down the avenue. She signaled +to her coachman to stop, and with a pretty little peremptory gesture +summoned me to her side. She seemed to have no fear of the lady beside +her, and no doubt she was merely a paid companion, for she ignored her +entirely, or noticed her presence only by using English when she had +anything of serious import to say. + +"'Tis Fatima I wish to see, sir," she said as I drew up by her coach, +my hat tucked under my arm. She put out her little hand and gently +stroked the white star on Fatima's forehead, and the mare whinnied +softly and rubbed her nose against the little gloved hand as if to +say, "I remember you well; those were famous rides we had in old St. +Louis." + +"And 'tis you I wish to see," I responded boldly. "I have been looking +for you for many days; why have you deserted the Champs-Élysées?" + +She looked up at me quickly, as if pleased with the audacity of the +first part of my speech, but as I finished with my question she +dropped her eyes and seemed embarrassed. In a moment she spoke in a +low, constrained voice, and in English: + +"My aunt and I have had misunderstandings. She wishes me to appear in +public with a man I do not like. In Paris that means fiancé. I will +stay in my hôtel with headaches rather than ride on the avenue beside +him!" with sudden fire. Then she added with an attempt at her old +lightness: + +"But I must drive on. Should it be reported to madame that I stopped +to talk to Monsieur, I might have to suffer for it." + +A sudden horror seized me. + +"Mademoiselle, they do not use force?" I cried. "You are not held a +prisoner?" + +"No--not yet," she said slowly. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, looking steadily into her eyes, "I have tried +to see you to say good-by; I leave Paris to-morrow." + +I saw her go suddenly white, but in a moment she spoke very calmly, +and in French: + +"Do you go back to America, Monsieur?" + +"No, to Belgium with the First Consul: to Antwerp, I believe." + +I spoke also in French, but added in English: + +"Mademoiselle, if you need me, I will not go to Belgium; I will +resign." + +She shook her head. + +"No; I am sorry you are going, but I would not have you resign. The +First Consul is vindictive, they say; should you reject his favors, he +may remember your St. Cloud offense." + +"I care not for that!" And then I added moodily, "They will compel you +to marry him." + +She threw up her head in much the same fashion Fatima throws up hers +when she scents conflict in the distance. + +"They cannot coerce me!" she said proudly, and then she added, half +playfully, half defiantly: + +"They tell me I have royal blood; they shall see I know how to use my +royal prerogative." She held out her hand to me and spoke again in +French: + +"Good-by, Monsieur, and bon voyage!" + +I bent low over her hand. + +"Let me stay, Mademoiselle," I whispered. + +"What! and lose your beautiful uniform! 'Tis too severe a test of +friendship. No, no, Monsieur," with the old mocking laugh. But before +I had time to resent her teasing speech, her mood had changed. She +leaned far out of the carriage and threw her beautiful arm over +Fatima's arching neck. + +"Good-by, Fatima," she cried--"dear, dear Fatima!" And as Fatima, in +answer to her caress, drew closer to her, she dropped a light kiss on +her soft muzzle, leaned back in her carriage with a signal to the +coachman, and rolled away. + + * * * * * + +The weeks that followed were in some respects the strangest weeks of +my life, and often in memory they return to me as a confused dream. +War had been declared with England, and in Antwerp, in Dunkirk, on the +Loire, in every little bay and inlet that indented the coast from +Brest, where a great squadron was gathered, to Boulogne, where another +was getting together, ships were building of every kind: floating +fortresses of wood, light pinnaces and yawls for carrying the swift +van of an army, and heavy barges for the impedimenta of war. A mighty +flotilla, gathering from the Scheldt to the Garonne, from Toulon and +Rochefort to Calais and Antwerp, to bear a vast invading army to the +shores of England. + +In constant communication with the great captain, I yet saw little of +him, for day and night I was kept riding over the green fields of +France, through the beautiful May and June, carrying orders, +sometimes to little inland streams where tiny yawls were building, +sometimes to great city dockyards where mighty ships were on the +stays. And though these were not the deeds of valor I had dreamed of, +I began to realize what a wonderful mind was planning all these +wide-spread activities, and to understand that a great captain must be +something more than a good fighter, and prowess on the field of battle +was not all that was required of a soldier. + +Yet I began to long for the din and stir of conflict and to see my +hero, as in dreams I had often seen him, calm and unmoved, 'midst +smoke and carnage, directing with unerring genius masses of men, +infantry, cavalry, artillery, through the mazes of battle; or himself +leading a resistless charge, sword extended, waving his men forward to +victory and glory. + +So when an old officer who had seen many wars told me he had no doubt +it would be two years before the preparations for war were finished +and war actually begun, my heart sank within me. Two years of hard +work day and night and no glory! To be aide to the First Consul was +not what I had dreamed of, and my thoughts turned longingly back to +Paris and the Comtesse de Baloit. All the more did my thoughts turn in +that direction because the Chevalier Le Moyne, who was also on the +general's staff, had been for some weeks absent from headquarters. I +always studiously avoided him if we happened to be in quarters at the +same time, and so I did not at first miss him; but when day after day +and even weeks passed without his reporting at mess, I began to be +greatly troubled. My imagination pictured him as back in Paris urging +his suit to Pelagie, and I feared greatly, either that she would at +last yield to his importunities, seeing no way of escape, or that some +trouble would come to her if she persistently scorned him. + +In the midst of my anxieties a letter was brought me from home. The +ten weeks were up when I could begin to expect an answer to my uncle's +letter asking my father's permission for me to take service under +Bonaparte, and I tore it eagerly open, hardly knowing, since +hostilities would be so long delayed, whether I most hoped that it +would contain his permission or his refusal. In my haste I had not +noticed that it was not my father's writing on the outside, and that +made it the greater shock to find within, in my mother's dearly loved +penmanship, only these few words: + +"Your father is very ill; come home at once." + +I had never known my father to be ill even for a day. I knew this must +be no ordinary illness to cause so brief and so peremptory a summons +home, and all my world seemed suddenly topsy-turvy. + +I loved my father, but I had been much away from home, in school at +Princeton, and in my short vacations I had found him somewhat cold and +stern in manner; so that my love for him was more of reverence and +honor than the tender affection I felt for my beautiful mother. None +the less was my heart torn with anguish at the thought of what might +befall in the long weeks before I could possibly reach his side, and +how vainly I wished that I had been a better son, and shown him more +of the love that was really in my heart for him. + +There was no time to be lost, and my first duty was to seek the First +Consul and show him my letter. He was more kind and considerate than I +could have expected. + +"You have my sincerest sympathy," he said. "There is no question as to +your course. Your first duty is to your father. I am sorry to lose my +officer whom I have found even more efficient than I had expected and +for whom I predicted great glory as soon as actual war should +commence. But it may be possible you will find your father entirely +recovered on your arrival at home; in that case, and should you have +his permission to return, your old position will be open to you." + +I hardly knew how to thank him suitably and to express my regret at +leaving his service, and I have no doubt I did it awkwardly enough. As +I was leaving the room he called me back. + +"Will you go to Paris before you sail?" + +There was nothing in the question to make me blush and stammer, yet I +did both. + +"I must sail on the earliest packet, sir," I said; "but if one is not +sailing immediately I would like your permission to return to Paris +and settle my affairs there and say good-by to my aunt and uncle." + +"It is no doubt the wiser course," replied Bonaparte. "In sailing from +Antwerp you are liable to fall into the hands of the English in +passing the Straits of Dover. From Paris you can find a ship sailing +from Le Havre carrying the American flag. It will be safer, and you +will save time in going by Paris. Should you decide to do so, I shall +have a commission to intrust to you." + +Since the First Consul advised it, I decided on the moment, and an +hour later, saddle-bags packed, my man Cæsar holding his own horse and +Fatima at the door, I was ready to start, only awaiting the Consul's +commission. An officer rode up and handed me a packet. + +"From General Bonaparte, sir," he said; and as I opened my saddle-bags +to put the packet away for safe keeping, my eye caught the directions +on the wrapper. + +"To be delivered to the Comtesse de Baloit, Faubourg St. Germain." + +The sight of the inscription gave me only pleasure, and I was tempted +to think that the Consul had devised this commission especially to +give me an opportunity of seeing the comtesse. It seemed to me an +evidence of wonderful delicacy of feeling and thoughtfulness for +others on the part of the great general, and I could not sufficiently +admire him or be grateful to him. There was no question but that his +commission would be faithfully executed the very first possible moment +after my arrival in Paris. + +It was early morning, the dew still on the hedges and the lark still +singing his matins, as we entered the city with a stream of +market-carts bringing in fresh fruits and vegetables and flowers for +the early morning markets. Only working-people were in the streets: +men going to their day's labor, blanchisseuses with their clothes in +bundles on their heads, cooks and maids of all work with their baskets +on their arms going to the market for the day's supply of food for the +family. + +Crossing the Place de la Bastille, a man on horseback rode up beside +us and gave us good day. He had evidently come in with the country +folk and was himself without doubt a small market-gardener, for the +loam of the garden was on his rough cowhide boots and his blue smock +was such as a countryman wears. I thought at first there was something +strangely familiar in his face, and then I remembered I had seen him +the evening before at the little country inn, twenty miles out from +the city, where we had spent the night. He, like us, must have started +at early dawn to reach the city by seven o'clock, very like for the +same reason--to take advantage of the cool of the day; and like us +also, he must have had a very good horse to make that distance in that +time. I glanced at his horse as the thought occurred to me, and saw +that it was indeed a good horse. Coal-black, except for a white star +on his forehead and one white stocking, he was powerfully built, and +yet with such an easy stretch of limb as promised speed as well as +endurance. I thought it a little strange that a country farmer should +own a horse of such points and breeding as this one showed itself to +be, and perhaps my thought appeared in my face, for the countryman +answered it. + +"'Tis a fine horse, Monsieur, is it not?" he said. + +I noticed that he spoke with a very slight lisp, but that otherwise +both his language and his intonations were better than I could have +expected. + +"Yes," I said. "Did you breed him yourself?" + +"Not exactly," he answered, "but he was bred on an estate belonging to +the Comtesse de Baloit, where I work, and I have helped to train him." + +He must have seen my irrepressible start when he mentioned Pelagie's +name, for he looked at me curiously with something like either alarm +or suspicion in his glance. I was tempted to tell him that I knew his +mistress and expected to see her that very day, but I was saved from +making such a foolish speech by the fellow himself. + +"I am bringing him into the city for the comtesse to try," he said. +"He is a very fine hunter." + +"Then your mistress intends to follow the chase?" I asked, feeling a +queer little pang that I did not stop to explain to myself at the +thought. + +"I suppose so, Monsieur, since she has sent for her hunter." + +We were now well down the Rue de la St. Antoine, just where the narrow +street of François-Miron comes in; and as if a sudden thought had +struck him, the countryman said: + +"I go this way, Monsieur; adieu," turned into the narrow street, and +Cæsar and I rode on into the Rue de Rivoli, past the Hôtel de Ville, +and so toward my uncle's house. + +"Marsa," said Cæsar, as we turned off the Rue de Rivoli, "dat fellah +had a gold belt and a little dagger stuck in it under his smock. I +seed it when I's ridin' behind youse bof and de win' tuk and blew up +his smock-skirt." + +I believed the "gold belt" and the "little dagger" were inventions of +Cæsar's, for he loved to tell wonderful tales; but none the less was I +uneasy and troubled, for suppose it should be true! I liked not the +thought of a man wearing a concealed weapon going on a plausible +errand to the Comtesse de Baloit. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE CONSUL'S COMMISSION + + "Hope tells a flattering tale, + Delusive, vain, and hollow. + Ah! let not Hope prevail, + Lest disappointment follow." + + +Not many hours later saw me seeking admittance to the stately but +dilapidated hôtel of the Comtesse de Baloit in the Faubourg St. +Germain. I was determined to see Pelagie, and if possible alone, so I +sent up word that a messenger from the First Consul desired to see +Mademoiselle la Comtesse on business of importance. I feared, should I +send up my own name, that the duchesse would not permit her to see me, +but, had I known it, I could have sent no message less likely to win +Pelagie's consent to an interview. It was only through a lurking +suspicion of whom the messenger might be that she consented to see me. + +I was ushered into a room very luxuriously furnished, but in which +everything had an air of faded grandeur--as if belonging to another +age. The tapestries were not only faded but rapidly growing +thread-bare, and the gold of the buhl furniture was peeling off in +strips, and in tables inlaid with fine mosaics many of the stones were +wanting. All this lack of care or evidence of poverty rather surprised +me, remembering the magnificent coach and gorgeously liveried servants +I had twice seen on the avenue. Then I recalled what I had often heard +since coming to Paris, that the nobility of the old régime would +starve and go cold at home to make the display in public they +considered befitting their dignity. It seemed very sad to me, and I +wondered if it could be because mademoiselle did not have enough to +eat that she had seemed of late to be growing thin and pale. To me, +who am both somewhat of an epicure and a valiant trencherman (and +remembering the abundance she had been used to in America), nothing +could seem more pitiful than to think of my little Pelagie as going +hungry. + +Yet when, in a few minutes, she came in, radiantly beautiful in some +Frenchy flowing gown of pale rose-color and much soft lace and +ribbons, no one could think of her as hungry or poverty-pinched in any +way, but only as some wonderful fairy queen who dined on peacocks' +tongues and supped on nectar and ambrosia. + +She was greatly surprised to see me; I think she thought of me as a +kind of Daniel venturing into the lion's den. But the old lioness, the +duchesse, was not with her, only the same companion I had seen in the +carriage on the Champs-Élysées, and I felt once more that fate smiled +on me. It meant much to me, for I knew not whether I should ever see +her again, and I longed greatly to have a few minutes' untrammeled +conversation with her, such as I had often had in St. Louis in those +days that seemed so far away. + +Perhaps my eyes dwelt too eagerly upon her. I never could quite +remember how beautiful she was when I was away from her, and so every +time I saw her I was dazzled afresh. This time, too, I was trying to +fasten every lovely curve of cheek and throat, and glowing scarlet of +lips, and shadowy glory of dark eyes and waving hair, and witching +little curls about white brow and neck, yes, and every knot of lace +and ribbon, so firmly in my mind that I might always have the +beautiful picture to look on when there was no longer any hope of +seeing again the bright reality. + +So absorbed was I in fixing fast in memory every little detail of the +bright picture that I think I must have forgot my manners: it was only +seeing the long lashes on the rose-tinted cheek that brought me to +myself. I bent low over her hand and then put into it the packet the +First Consul had intrusted me to give to her. + +"For me? From the First Consul?" she said, in slow surprise. + +"Yes," I said; "and when you have opened it, Mademoiselle, then I +crave a few minutes' speech with you." + +I turned and walked to one of the windows and stood looking down into +the courtyard where Cæsar was holding our horses, that mademoiselle +might examine its contents unobserved. + +I knew not what was in the package nor the contents of the note that +accompanied it, but somehow I had had a feeling (perhaps because the +First Consul had seemed so kind in his manner at our last interview, +or perhaps only because my hopes pointed that way) that the Consul's +note was to use his influence with her in my behalf, as he had once +used it for the chevalier. Therefore as I stood with my back to her, +looking down into the courtyard, my eyes saw not what they were +looking at, for they were filled with a vision of future happiness and +I was trembling with the beauty of the vision. + +"Monsieur!" I turned quickly, for the voice was cold and hard, and it +fell on my heart like the sleet of early spring falling on opening +buds to chill them to death. And when I turned, the Pelagie that met +my gaze was the Pelagie I had first seen in Mr. Gratiot's house: eyes +blazing with wrath, little teeth close set between scarlet lips, and +little hands tightly clenched. My heart froze at the sight. Could the +Consul's plea for me have been so distasteful to her? + +"Monsieur," she repeated, every word a poniard, "how did you dare +bring me such a message!" + +I found no words to answer her, for if the message was what I had +hoped, then I began to wonder how I had dared, though my spirit, as +proud as hers, brooked not that she should take it as an insult. But +she did not wait for any answer. + +"You!" she said, with inexpressible bitterness. "Has wearing the First +Consul's uniform so changed you from the American gentleman I once +knew that you delight to humiliate a poor and helpless lady of +France?" + +"Mademoiselle la Comtesse," I said coldly, for still the foolish idea +clung to my brain that the First Consul had wished to further my suit, +and that mademoiselle had regarded it as humiliating that I should so +presume, "I know not the contents of the First Consul's note, but I +think la Comtesse knows I would never willingly humiliate her." + +"You know not!" and she half extended the note toward me, as if to +show it to me, and then drew it quickly back, a sudden change in her +manner from proud anger to shrinking shame. She turned to her +companion and said in a cool tone of command: + +"You may wait for me, Henriette, in the blue salon; I have something +to say to Monsieur." + +Henriette seemed to hesitate. No doubt in France it was not permitted +to see a young gentleman alone, or perhaps Henriette had instructions +from the duchesse to be ever on guard when she herself could not be +present. Mademoiselle saw her hesitation. + +"Go!" she said haughtily, and I believe no being on earth would have +dared disobey that ringing tone of command. Henriette shrank from it, +and as she hastened to obey, mademoiselle added in a gentler tone: + +"You may return in five minutes." + +As she left the room, mademoiselle turned quickly to me, as if to lose +no moment of the few she had given herself. + +"Monsieur," she said, and her manner was the manner of the old +Pelagie, "I hope you will forgive me for supposing for a moment that +you knew the contents of the First Consul's note. I cannot show it to +you, but I am going to place a great trust in you. Monsieur, I cannot +stay longer in France. Between the duchesse, the chevalier, and the +First Consul, I will be driven to marry the chevalier, or--worse. Ah, +Monsieur, if I had never left St. Louis!" + +She had spoken hurriedly, as if fearing to lose courage otherwise, but +she looked not at me as she spoke, and her face was dyed with painful +blushes. A horrible suspicion of the contents of that note almost +froze my blood, but the next thought, that mademoiselle must fly from +France, sent it rushing hotly through my veins. + +"Mademoiselle," I cried impetuously, "go home with me to America." + +I saw her turn pale and draw herself up proudly. I did not dream she +could misunderstand me: I only thought she scorned so humble a suitor. +And the thought set fire to a pride that was equal to her own. + +"Mademoiselle," I said sternly, "I cannot set you upon a throne nor +place a crown upon your head, but in America the wife of an honorable +gentleman is a queen always, his heart is her throne, his home is her +kingdom, his love is her crown." + +To my amazement, she was all soft and drooping and rosy and smiling. I +was ready to pick her up and fly with her that moment, so adorable was +she in this mood, but she would not let me come near her. + +"Monsieur," she said, looking up at me most sweetly, "to be the wife +of an honorable American gentleman, it seems to me, would be great +happiness; but you have not your father's permission to marry: he +would not thank you for bringing home an émigré bride." + +There came to me a sudden vision of my stern father. He would +certainly think that was a matter on which he should be first +consulted. He was capable of making it very unpleasant for my wife +should I bring one home unannounced, and if he did not cut me off with +a shilling, he might easily put me on so small an allowance as would +make it impossible for me to maintain her in the luxury suited to her +position. I would be glad to work for her, early and late, but I knew +nothing about earning my own bread, and while I was learning to earn +hers she might suffer for the comforts of life. + +Mademoiselle was quick to see my embarrassment, and I suppose her +pride was touched, for when she spoke it was with her old hauteur. + +"It is very kind of Monsieur to think of offering me a refuge, but my +plans are made." + +I hardly heard her, for I was busy with my own thoughts. I interrupted +her eagerly: + +"Mademoiselle, let me take you back to St. Louis and put you in Dr. +Saugrain's care; then I will make all necessary arrangements with my +father and come for you." + +"You did not understand me, Monsieur," she answered coldly; "my plans +are made: I am going to my cousin the Duc d'Enghien." + +"The Duc d'Enghien!" I repeated, in a dazed fashion. Had I not heard +that her cousin would marry her into one of the royal families of +Europe? This, then, was the knell to all my hopes! This was the reason +she answered me so coldly: there was something better in store for her +than to be the wife of a simple American gentleman. + +Well, I had never cherished any hopes; had I not told both my uncle +François and the First Consul so? Ah, but had I not? Had not every +moment since I had first known her been a fluctuation between hope and +despair? I had told the First Consul she had not given me any reason +to hope; but had she not? Did she not seem a few minutes ago almost +willing to become the wife of an American gentleman? What had changed +her mood? + +While I was trying to collect my scattered thoughts she spoke again, +hurriedly: + +"I am telling you this in great confidence, Monsieur, because I can +trust you. No one must know--least of all, any one in this house." + +For a moment I could not speak. I turned away to the window and looked +down once more into the courtyard with unseeing eyes. But it was no +beautiful vision of the future that dimmed their gaze this time: it +was the black darkness of despair that blinded them like a pall. + +Then I made a great resolve. The Comtesse de Baloit, the Bourbon +princess, was not for such as I; but to mademoiselle, to my little +Pelagie, I might still be loyal friend and offer devoted service. I +turned toward her again. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "I will go with you to the Duc d'Enghien. I +will never leave you until I see you safe under the protection of your +cousin." + +"What! The young officer of the First Consul aiding and abetting an +émigré who flees from the First Consul! It is rank treason, Monsieur!" +and Pelagie smiled with something of her old merry raillery. + +"I am no longer an aide, Mademoiselle," I said seriously. "I have been +called home by the illness of my father, and General Bonaparte has +relieved me from duty." + +Her quick sympathy was sweet to see and to feel, but I did not dare +linger in its warmth, for the five minutes, I knew, must be nearly up. + +"Now, Mademoiselle," I said, "since I am no longer in service to the +First Consul, there will be no treason in helping you in your +flight--" + +But she interrupted me: "No, Monsieur, it is not necessary; the Prince +de Polignac has made every arrangement and will see me safe to my +cousin." + +"The Prince de Polignac!" I exclaimed, in surprise. "But he is in +exile, and almost as much under the First Consul's ban as Cadoudal +himself; how can he help you?" + +In my astonishment that she should think of relying upon Polignac, +whose life I believed would be forfeit if he dared to enter Paris, I +had unconsciously spoken his name with raised voice. We had heretofore +been speaking almost in whispers for fear of a possible listener. As I +uttered his name Pelagie started and looked nervously toward the door +of the blue salon. + +"I beg you to be careful, Monsieur," she said anxiously. "As you say, +his life would be forfeit if any one suspected his presence in Paris. +I do not know that he is here, but I am hourly expecting to hear from +him. There is no one in the world I would have trusted this secret to +but you, and I am relying on your discretion as well as your honor." + +I bowed my thanks, grateful for her confidence and ashamed of the +indiscretion that might so easily have betrayed her secret. But I had +not gained my point. + +"You will let me help in this flight, too, Mademoiselle! It is a great +peril you are undertaking, and one more sword, whose owner will +lightly risk his life for you, cannot come amiss." + +But she only shook her head and whispered, "It is impossible," and at +that moment Henriette entered the room. + +"Mademoiselle la Comtesse," she said timidly (I fear Pelagie must have +been at times something of a little tyrant, to make her companion +stand in such awe of her), "I have stayed away, not five minutes, but +ten. I come to remind you that the hour has arrived at which Madame la +Duchesse returns." + +"Thanks, my good Henriette," said Pelagie, sweetly; "it is true, and I +had forgotten it." + +She turned quickly to me: "You must go at once, Monsieur! It is much +better the duchesse should not find you here." + +"And can I not see you again? Shall I never see you again?" I asked +eagerly, in English. + +"No, no! Do not try--I will send word," she answered, also in +English, and then put out her hand, "Go, Monsieur," she said in +French, "and farewell!" + +I took her hand and bent low over it. + +"Farewell, Mademoiselle," I said, for it cut me to the quick that she +had not said "Au revoir," as she had said it on La Belle Rivière. + +Down in the courtyard, in the act of throwing my leg over Fatima's +back, there rode under the arch of the entrance the countryman who had +overtaken us in the morning, leading the magnificent horse he had said +was for Mademoiselle la Comtesse, and riding another. It was not +strange that he should be bringing mademoiselle her hunter, but it +struck me as somewhat strange that the moment he caught sight of me a +quick scowl should darken his brow and as quickly be cleared away: as +if it had come unbidden and been driven away from a sense of +expediency. As I passed him on the way out he touched his cap to me +politely, and the sleeve of his rough jerkin falling away a little in +the act, I thought I caught a glimpse of a lace wrist-ruffle. + +"Perhaps Cæsar was not mistaken, after all," I said to myself; "if he +wears lace ruffles at his wrist he may well wear a gold belt and +poniard at his waist. A strange countryman, forsooth!" And a secret +uneasiness that I could neither explain nor dismiss returned to me as +often as he came into my thoughts. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +"GOOD-BY, SWEETHEART!" + + "I have found out a gift for my fair." + + +There was nothing to keep me in Paris. I could not see mademoiselle; +she would not let me help her in her flight. I was restless and +impatient to be off. No boat would sail from Le Havre for nearly a +week. It would not take a week either by horse, as Cæsar and I would +go, or by the river, where my baggage was to be floated down in a +small yawl in the charge of a trusty boatman. But if I stayed in Paris +I would be eating my heart out; it was better to be on the way and +taking the route by slow stages. + +So I made the plea to my aunt and uncle that I feared some unforeseen +delay might cause me to miss my ship, and with feverish haste I made +all arrangements for departure that very night. To my aunt my +impatience seemed only natural. She herself was greatly distressed at +the news of my father's illness, and would have accompanied me to +America if it had been possible. + +My first act on reaching home after leaving mademoiselle had been to +tear off my gorgeous uniform, with such a mingling of loathing and +regret as rarely comes to a man. If my suspicions of the contents of +mademoiselle's note were correct, then I could not quickly enough rid +myself of every emblem of the allegiance I had once owed to the First +Consul. And yet when I remembered his invariable kindness to me, the +magnanimity he had shown for what must have seemed to him criminal +eavesdropping, the tenderness of heart I had seen displayed more than +once, the wonderful powers of the man, master alike of the arts of +peace and war, the idolatry in which his soldiers held him and in +which I had hitherto shared, my heart lamented bitterly that its idol +should have been so shattered. + +Since we had time to spare and it was now the meridian of summer, I +had decided to use only the cool of evening and the early morning +hours for travel, as much, I think, for the sake of sparing Fatima as +Cæsar and myself. Our first stage was to be to the same little inn, +twenty miles out, which we had left only that morning to come into the +city. It was not, perhaps, on the most direct route to Le Havre, but a +large part of the way would lead through the forests of Montmorency +and Chantilly and would be pleasant riding, and the inn was almost the +cleanest and most comfortable of its kind I had found in France. My +weeks under Bonaparte bearing messages to every little river big +enough to build a boat upon had taught me the roads well; all this +northern France was like an open book to me and I would find no +difficulty in cutting across from the forest of Chantilly to the +banks of the Seine, if I preferred to follow its windings to Le Havre. + +So the long shadows of the late afternoon saw us riding under the +Porte St. Martin; at sunset we were passing the hoary Basilique of St. +Denis, tomb of the kings; through the long twilight we skirted the +forest of Montmorency; and by moonrise we were entering the forest of +Chantilly. Not more beautiful by early dawn and dew had been this +ride, than it was through lengthening shadows, and violet glow of +sunset, and silvery light of moon, the peaches ripening on sunny +walls, and the odors of mint and sweet-smelling herbs rising through +the gathering damps of evening, the birds singing their vesper songs, +and in the deep forest glades the lonely nightingale pouring out his +soul to the moon. + +Yet my heart was heavier. On my long ride from Antwerp, with the +buoyancy of youth, I had passed through all the phases from anguished +fear to the almost certitude of hope, and I had entered Paris feeling +sure that I would find my father well again when I should reach +America. I had entered Paris also joyous with the thought of seeing +mademoiselle once more, and with the unconfessed hope that the budget +I was bearing from the great Bonaparte might be the means of bringing +me the crowning happiness of my life. I was leaving it now with one +word ringing in my ears as the death-knell to all my hopes--Farewell! + +The hour was still early and my inn but a little way off on the +western borders of the forest; I would make a little detour and see +the château and park and still be not too late for a good supper and +a comfortable night's rest. I left the "old road" (which crossed the +forest directly) at the Carrefour de la Table, where twelve roads met +in an open circular space surrounding a great stone table. From there +I took one leading straight to the Grille d'Honneur. We crossed a +little bridge that spanned the moat, and looking down into its waters, +we heard the splash of the ancient carp that filled it. Then through +the Grille d'Honneur and between two stone dogs at the foot of the +slope that led up to the ruins of the Grande Château. There I drew +rein and looked over the beautiful domain. + +At my right was the ruined château; in front of me the châtelet, in +perfect preservation, apparently floating on the bosom of a silvery +lake that entirely surrounded it. Beyond were the famous stables of +the Great Condé, holding two hundred and sixty horses in his lifetime. +Beside them was the chapel, and everywhere a network of basins and +canals gleaming white under the flooding moonlight. At my back were +the gloomy towers of the Château d'Enghien, built to house the guests +of the Condés who overflowed the Grande Château and the châtelet; and +beyond was a mass of rich foliage belonging to the Park of Sylvie. + +As I gazed a thousand thoughts crowded into my mind. This was the home +of mademoiselle's ancestors; it should now be the home of the Duc +d'Enghien; perhaps when mademoiselle came into her own it would be +hers. No doubt in these very parks she had played in infancy. +Generations of grandeur, of princely splendor, were behind her. How +had I dared to dream of her! How had I dared to think she would stoop +to my lowly rank! + +I gave Fatima's bridle to Cæsar and told him to wait for me while I +walked down the green slope into the Park of Sylvie. Enchanting vistas +opened before me, the moonlight filtering through arched canopies of +foliage just enough to show me the way. Old tales of the Duchesse +"Sylvie" and the poet-lover, condemned to death, whom she had hidden +in this park and its little château floated through my mind strangely +mingled with dreams of a later daughter of Montmorency. + +And then suddenly I came upon something that for a moment I almost +believed to be a continuation of my dreams. I had turned to my right +and a new vista had opened before me, closed by the little "Château of +Sylvie." On the wide lawn before it, half hidden by the shadow of the +château, half in the broad moonlight, was a strange group: a carriage +and what seemed to me many horses and many men. I thought for a moment +I had landed upon a nest of bandits such as might easily infest a +forest like this, and it would behoove me to steal silently back to +the horses and make good my escape; but I caught a glimpse of +petticoats: they were not bandits; they must be Gipsies. + +Then as I gazed there stepped out into the full moonlight a man +leading a powerful black horse with one white stocking and a white +star in his forehead. I heard the man call some brief order to some +one in the shadow, and there was a slight lisp in his voice. In a +moment I understood it all, although the man was no longer wearing a +countryman's coat, but the livery of a gentleman's servant. It was +Pelagie and her party fleeing to Baden and the Duc d'Enghien! + +I knew not whether I would be a welcome guest or an intruder, but I +knew I was not going to miss this opportunity of seeing Pelagie once +more. I stepped out boldly from under the shadows of the trees into +the moonlight, and in so doing came near losing my life. There was the +click of a lock and the flash of a gun-barrel in the countryman's +hands. + +"Don't shoot, Monsieur," I cried; "it is a friend." + +There was a short, sharp cry, half suppressed, and Pelagie came +running out of the shadow, both hands extended and her face glowing in +the moonlight. + +"Is it you, Monsieur?" she cried. "How came you here?" + +I suppose I answered her in some fashion. I know I took her hands in +mine and looked down into her beautiful eyes, but I know not what I +said. She was wearing the cap and apron and simple gown of a lady's +waiting-maid, and as she saw me look curiously at it she said, with +the shrug of her pretty little shoulders that I had learned to know so +well in St. Louis: + +"It is a fright, is it not, Monsieur? But I am no longer the Comtesse +de Baloit: I am Susanne, the maid of Madame du Bois, with whom I am +traveling." + +Her voice had the happy ring of a child's, as if she were glad to be +free, even if only for a time, from the cares of rank and position; +or, perhaps more truly, glad to be away from the surveillance of the +duchesse, happy that she need no longer fear the chevalier and the +First Consul. I longed to think that a part of the gladness was in +seeing me once more so unexpectedly; but I knew this was only my +foolish vanity, and I steadied my brain by saying over to myself, "She +is a princess of Condé in her ancestral home; you are only the son of +a plain American gentleman." So I made her such a speech as I would +have made to a princess of Condé. + +"If Mademoiselle were not the Comtesse de Baloit I could wish she were +always Susanne the maid of Madame du Bois. 'Tis a bewitching costume." + +It was, and she knew it, as I could see by her dancing eyes and the +smile (that she vainly tried to suppress) playing hide-and-seek with +the roses in her cheek as I spoke. Being a man, I could not name each +article of her costume; but what I saw was a vision of little ringlets +escaping from under a coquettish cap, dainty ankles that the short +blue skirt did not pretend to hide, a snowy apron that almost covered +the blue skirt, and a handkerchief demurely crossed over the beautiful +shoulders. + +She turned quickly, as if to escape my gaze, and called to the +countryman: "Monsieur le Prince, this is the friend of whom I have +spoken; I want him to meet the Prince de Polignac." + +The prince came forward at once; and as we grasped each other's hands +and looked into each other's eyes, I think he knew that he need no +longer regard me with suspicion, and I knew that here was a man to +whom I could trust even Pelagie. + +We laughed a little over our first meeting, and I told him how Cæsar +had detected his weapon; and then out of the shadows came other +figures: Henriette, to whom, as her mistress, Madame du Bois, Pelagie +gaily presented me; a man in the costume of a well-to-do bourgeois, +whom they called Monsieur du Bois, but who, Pelagie whispered to me, +was the prince's trusted body-servant; and Clotilde, whom I had not +seen since I had seen her on La Belle Rivière, and who wept at the +sight of me, a tribute to the memory of other days. Last of all there +came out of the shadows my burly host of last night's inn. He had +brought over to the little château a relay of fresh horses and a +hamper of supper. All arrangements had been made at his inn the night +before by the Prince de Polignac in the guise of a countryman; for +careless Boniface as my host had seemed to be, he was devotedly +attached to his old masters, the Bourbon princes, and could be trusted +to the death. + +It amazed me greatly that they should have accomplished this journey +in a shorter time than I, and still more that they should have +succeeded in getting safely, out of Paris with so large a party, and I +so expressed myself to the prince. + +"It had been all carefully planned, Monsieur," he told me. "My man, +'Monsieur du Bois,' had a traveling-carriage waiting at a little house +near the Porte St. Denis, where an old servitor of the family lives. +He had passports made out for Madame and Monsieur du Bois from New +Orleans, traveling with their negro servant Clotilde, and with a maid +Susanne, and a man François. Mademoiselle la Comtesse arranged to try +her hunter at three o'clock in the Bois, accompanied by her companion, +Henriette (who in these few weeks has become devotedly attached to the +comtesse), and by the countryman who had brought her the horse and +understood him more thoroughly than a groom from the stables of the +duchesse would have done. At the same hour the negro maid of the +comtesse strolled out into a quiet street at the rear of the hôtel, +where she was met by my man and conducted to the little house near the +Porte St. Denis. At a little before four we had all gathered there; by +half-past four the transformation had been made and we were leaving +the house, Madame du Bois and her two maids in the carriage, Monsieur +du Bois on the comtesse's hunter, I on my own horse and leading the +one Henriette had ridden. We had arranged to meet Pierre here with +fresh horses and provisions, and spend half an hour in changing +horses, resting, and supper. Your unexpected appearance, Monsieur, has +alarmed me. I had thought the Park of Sylvie sufficiently secluded to +insure us secrecy, but if you have found it, others may whom we would +be less glad to see, and I think I will form my little company into +marching order at once. The comtesse is taking it all as a grand +adventure; her spirits have risen with every step away from Paris: +that is the princely blood of Condé that loves deeds of daring, and I +would not say a word to dampen her ardor; but we know, Monsieur, it is +a serious matter, and so, though our half-hour is not quite up, I +think I will order the advance." + +"You are quite right, Monsieur le Prince," I replied. "My man is +waiting for me with our horses in the Court d'Honneur; will you permit +me to ride a little way with you?" + +The prince hesitated a moment, and then in his courtliest manner he +replied to my request: + +"I am sure Monsieur will not misunderstand me when I say nothing could +give us greater pleasure if it seemed safe. But Monsieur's size +and--appearance," with a bow and a smile flattering no doubt, but +discouraging, "have made him well known in France. Moreover, +Monsieur's friendship for the comtesse (which does him honor) is known +also, and should a pursuing party make inquiries along the road, and +should our party be described with you in attendance, I fear they will +be able to identify us at once." + +"I understand, Monsieur le Prince," I answered, much crestfallen. And +then into my slow brain there popped another question. + +"But will not the negro maid Clotilde betray you also?" + +"Monsieur is very astute," answered the prince. "He has touched upon +our weak point, and I am going to prove my friendly regard for +Monsieur by asking of him a great service. We could not leave the +negress behind in Paris: the comtesse would not stir one step without +her, fearing that she would be very unhappy, if not come to want and +suffering in a strange city. All the way from Paris I have been +revolving plans in my mind as to how best to separate her from our +party. I had thought of letting Pierre take charge of her, but that +would not do; for should she be discovered, that would make Pierre +'suspect,' and he would be thrown into prison for aiding and abetting +the flight of the comtesse, and it would be a clue to trace us. When I +saw you, Monsieur, I said, 'There is a way out of our dilemma. If +Monsieur will take Clotilde back with him to America, we are safe.'" + +Joy filled my heart that I was at last to be allowed to do something +for the comtesse. + +"Gladly, Monsieur!" I exclaimed; "and it can be very easily arranged. +We will strike across country to Pontoise and the forest of St. +Germain, and head off my boatman. He was to tie up for the night at a +little village near Marly-le-Roi. I will find him there and put +Clotilde in his wife's care. His wife accompanies him, for the voyage +and to cook his meals." + +The prince's gratitude seemed to me incommensurate with so small a +service, and so I told him. And then another difficulty suggested +itself to me. + +"Monsieur le Prince," I said, "I recognized you from the hunter of +Mademoiselle la Comtesse; will not perhaps others also?" + +"I have thought of this, Monsieur," he said; "but it seemed even more +difficult to arrange than the other. It is necessary that the comtesse +should have a swift and powerful horse, for if we are pursued, she and +I will take to our horses and leave the others to shift for +themselves. I had thought of asking Pierre to try to find another as +good as this (though for speed and endurance I do not believe he has +his equal in France), but even then I should not know what to do with +this one. I could not give him to Pierre: that again would bring him +under suspicion. I should have to shoot and bury him. However, it is +too late now to make the change; we will even have to take the risk." + +"Monsieur," I said slowly, for willingly as I would make any sacrifice +for mademoiselle, even to my life I could not lightly do that which I +was about to do--"Monsieur, I have a horse who for speed and endurance +has hardly her equal in the whole world. She knows Mademoiselle la +Comtesse well and will do her bidding as she does mine. I will change +horses with you. The comtesse shall have my chestnut mare and I will +take her black beauty." + +The prince did not know that this was a far greater sacrifice on my +part than taking charge of Clotilde had been, yet he knew a man loves +his own mare well, and in so far he appreciated the service and +thanked me for it. + +But the matter of separating Clotilde from her mistress had to be +broached to mademoiselle, and the prince begged me to undertake the +difficult task. All the time while the prince, and I had been holding +our conversation together aside from the others, she had been +exploring the purlieus of the little château with frequent +exclamations of delight, not one of which fell unheeded on my ears, +although I was deep in consultation. Now she came running up to me +joyously. + +"Monsieur, Monsieur," she exclaimed, "I have found the little arbor +where I used to take my dolls and play at housekeeping! Ah, how well I +remember it! How often I have thought of it! And how little I ever +expected to see it again!" and her eyes were as bright and as soft as +the waters of the little lake stretching from our feet to the Grille +d'Honneur and shining in the misty moonlight. I knew how quickly those +eyes could change from dewy softness to lightning flashes, and it is +not to be wondered at that I plunged into my subject with nervous +haste. + +"Mademoiselle," I said (and I thought the prince liked not the lack of +formality in my address), "the Prince de Polignac has assigned to me +an unpleasant duty; it is to tell you that we find it necessary for +your safety to take away Clotilde." + +Perhaps I was too abrupt; at any rate, much as I had expected a +tempest I was not prepared for the tornado that ensued. + +"Take away my Clotilde!" she interrupted. "Never! never! never!" And +then there followed a torrent of tears mingled with reproaches as she +threw herself upon Clotilde's breast--the breast she had wept upon +since she was a babe of six. But Clotilde's cries were stormier than +her mistress's: she literally lifted up her voice and wept. The prince +was the picture of distress and dismay: there was danger that the +sound of weeping might penetrate to unfriendly ears. Mademoiselle in +tears was ever more formidable to me than an army with banners, but +there was no help for it; I took my courage in my hand. + +"Mademoiselle la Comtesse," I said sternly, "you are causing the +Prince de Polignac great distress. You are in danger any moment of +betraying his retreat to an enemy, and if he is captured, his life is +forfeit, as you know." + +I spoke thus to arouse her from a contemplation of her own woes to his +danger, for well I knew her generous soul would respond at once to +such a plea, and I was not mistaken. Her sobs ceased instantly and she +stilled Clotilde with a word; then she turned and looked at me quietly +while I went on with what I had to say: + +"It is to anticipate the danger of such discovery that we remove +Clotilde, who, being almost the only negress in France, would betray +your identity at once. I will take her with me to America, and from +Philadelphia I will send her under safe escort to Dr. Saugrain in St. +Louis, and when you are safely established in your own home you can +send for her again." + +I think the thought of seeing St. Louis once more half consoled +Clotilde for the parting, though she was a faithful creature and loved +her mistress, and would have followed her to the ends of the earth. I +know it helped to console Pelagie, for it was the thought of leaving +Clotilde alone and unprotected in a foreign country that disturbed her +most. + +But all this had taken much time, and the half-hour the prince had +allowed for rest was more than up. They had had their supper, the +carriage-horses had been changed, the saddle-horses had been fed and +watered, and the prince was in feverish haste to be off. I ran swiftly +to the Court d'Honneur, where I had left Cæsar, and found him +wondering anxiously what had kept me so long. He had fed and watered +both horses and was now letting them crop a little of the luxuriant +grass at their feet. I did not stop for explanations, but bidding him +follow me with his horse, I led Fatima by a shorter and more direct +route straight from the Grille d'Honneur to the little château. I +found the carriage with "Monsieur and Madame du Bois"; the coachman +and outriders had already started. Pierre had set out a luncheon on +the little stone table for Cæsar and me (for since we were not to go +to his inn there was no prospect for supper for us), and was getting +the two carriage-horses ready to take them back with him. Clotilde was +silently weeping and Pelagie was trying to comfort her. I led Fatima +straight to Pelagie. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "the Prince de Polignac permits me to give you +a farewell present. Will you take Fatima and keep her for me? She will +bear you to your destination, I believe, more safely and more surely +than any horse in the world." + +"Oh, Monsieur, Monsieur!" she said, and then could say nothing more, +her little chin quivering piteously. I could not bear to see it. I had +motioned to Cæsar to put on Fatima the side-saddle lying on the grass, +and now I said, + +"Let me put you on her back," and bent to lift her; but she drew back. + +"Oh, no, no, Monsieur!" she cried. "I know why you do it, and I know +what a sacrifice it is to you. I cannot let you give up Fatima!" + +"Then you are depriving me of a great happiness," I softly answered. +"I had hoped you would take her and keep her and love her. It would +be a great comfort to me in distant America to think of you as being +kind to her sometimes for the sake of old St. Louis memories." + +I looked steadily into her eyes. + +"Mademoiselle, may I put you on her back?" + +She bowed her head, and I lifted her to her seat, put her foot in the +stirrup and the bridle in her hand. Then I threw my arm over Fatima's +neck. + +"Good-by, Sweetheart," I whispered, "take good care of your mistress," +and kissed her on the white star on her forehead. Still with my arm +over her neck I reached up my hand to mademoiselle. + +She put her hand in mine, and I kissed it as I had kissed it when she +chose me her king; then I lifted my eyes and looked straight into +hers. + +"Good-by, Mademoiselle, and au revoir," I said, and dropped her hand. + +She could not answer for the same piteous quivering of the chin, but +her lips formed "Au revoir"; and then she turned Fatima and rode +slowly under the leafy arch that led through a long tunnel of foliage, +due east. + +"Monsieur," said the prince, and I started; for a moment I had +forgotten his existence. + +He had withdrawn courteously while I was making my adieus with +mademoiselle, busying himself with little preparations for departure. +Now he had mounted and drawn his horse to my side. + +"Monsieur, you have taught me to honor and admire all American +gentlemen. If there is any service I can ever do you, I hope you will +give me the opportunity of showing you how much I appreciate the great +service you have done us this night." + +"Monsieur le Prince," I answered quickly, too eager with my own +thoughts to thank him for his kind words, "there is one kindness you +can show me that will more than repay me for anything I have ever done +or ever could do. Write me of mademoiselle's safe arrival when you +reach Baden. I will give you my address," and I tore a leaf from my +memorandum-book, wrote my address upon it, and thrust it into his +hand. + +"It is a small commission, Monsieur," he answered, "but I will be most +happy to execute it." + +He grasped my hand, said "Au revoir," and cantered quickly away after +mademoiselle. + +I watched them riding side by side under the leafy dome until their +figures were lost in the darkness, mademoiselle still with bent head, +and he with his face turned courteously away as if not to seem to see +should she be softly crying. And if there was for a moment in my heart +a jealous envy that he should ride by mademoiselle's side and I be +left behind, I put it quickly away, for I knew him to be a noble and +courteous gentleman, and one to whose honor I could trust the dearest +thing in life. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +EXIT LE CHEVALIER + + "The King of France with forty thousand men, + Went up a hill, and so came down agen." + + +Clothilde, Cæsar, and I had ridden late into the night before we had +reached the little village on the Seine where my boatman, Gustave, was +to tie up. But it was moonlight and we rode through a beautiful +country dotted with royal châteaus,--the birthplaces of illustrious +kings,--and I had my thoughts, and Clotilde and Cæsar had each other: +for Cæsar was the first of her kind Clotilde had seen since coming to +France, and much as she might enjoy the attentions of footmen in +gorgeous liveries, after all they were only "white trash," and she +loved best her own color. Clotilde was rapidly becoming consoled; and +though she only spoke creole French, and Cæsar only English, save for +the few words he had picked up since coming to Paris, they seemed to +make themselves very well understood. + +So the ride had not been so tedious as it might have been. And when we +had found Gustave's boat tied to the bank and had routed up him and +his wife, and delivered Clotilde into their care (and their +admiration and awe of the black lady was wonderful to see), and Cæsar +and I had hunted up a fairly comfortable inn and had two or three +hours of sleep, we were all quite ready to start on again. + +Feeling that Clotilde was a sacred trust, I was anxious both for her +safety and for her welfare, and thus it was that the early morning +found me following the windings of the Seine by a little bridle-path +on its banks, hardly twenty feet from Gustave's boat dropping down +with the tide. Gustave's wife was in the forward part of the boat, +preparing breakfast for the three, and the savory odor of her bacon +and coffee was borne by the breeze straight to my nostrils on the high +bank above her. Gustave himself was in the stern of the boat, lazily +managing the steering-oar and waiting for his breakfast, and +incidentally grinning from ear to ear at Cæsar, riding a pace behind +me and casting longing glances at the thatched roof of the little +boat's cabin, whence issued in rich negro tones the creole love-song +Yorke had sung to Clotilde on the Ohio boat: + + "Every springtime + All the lovers + Change their sweethearts; + Let change who will, + I keep mine." + +I had straitly charged Clotilde that she must keep herself closely +concealed within the cabin, but I had said nothing to her about also +keeping quiet. Now I was idly thinking that perhaps I had better give +her instructions upon that point also, when down the stony road some +three feet higher than the bridle-path, and separated from it by a +bank of turf, came the thunder of hoofs. I glanced up quickly. A +little party of horsemen, five or six in number, were dashing down the +road toward us, and in the lead was the Chevalier Le Moyne! At sight +of us they drew rein, and the chevalier, looking down on me (for the +first time in his life), brought his hat to his saddle-bow with a +flourish. + +"Good morning, Monsieur. I hear you are off for America." + +"Good morning," I answered coolly, merely touching my own hat. "You +have heard correctly"; and I wished with all my heart that I had had +time to tell Clotilde to keep still, for up from the boat below, +louder and clearer than ever, it seemed to me, came the refrain of her +foolish song: + + "Tous les printemps, + Tous les amants + Changent de maîtresses; + Qu'ils changent qui voudront, + Pour moi, je garde la mienne." + +The chevalier was listening pointedly. + +"An old song, Monsieur, that I have often heard in St. Louis. And the +voice, too, I think is familiar. It is the black maid of the Comtesse +de Baloit, is it not? Perhaps her mistress is with her; if so, our +quest is at an end." + +"What do you mean, Monsieur le Chevalier!" I exclaimed, affecting +virtuous indignation, and feeling a little of it, too, for I liked not +the chevalier's manner. + +"You have heard, I suppose," he answered, with a light sneer, "that +the comtesse has disappeared from Paris. At almost the same moment it +was announced that monsieur had started for America, and some of the +comtesse's friends thought it not impossible that they had gone +together. From the warbling of that nightingale yonder I judge they +were not far wrong." + +Not until this moment had it occurred to me that any one would connect +the flight of the comtesse with my departure, and I hardly knew +whether I was more ragingly angry at the thought or secretly glad. +There was no question as to my state of mind toward the chevalier. +That he should speak in such a light and sneering tone of any lady, +but most of all that he should so speak of the loveliest lady on +earth, was not to be borne. Yet I was glad, for some reasons, that +such a mistaken surmise had arisen: it would throw pursuit off the +track until Pelagie was well on her way to the German frontier, and +the truth would come out later and my lady not suffer in her +reputation (which indeed I could not have endured). + +So instead of giving free vent to the anger that raged in my heart, as +I longed to do, I thought it wise to dally with the chevalier and keep +him as long as possible on the wrong scent, for every moment of delay +to the chevalier was setting mademoiselle farther on her way. + +"Your news, Monsieur," I said, "is most astonishing, but your +insinuations also most insulting to a lady whose honor and reputation +shall ever be my dearest care." + +Now the chevalier was five to one (for I could not count upon Cæsar +for fighting, as I might have counted upon Yorke). I do not say that +that fact made the chevalier more bold or less careful in his manner, +but I certainly think that had we been man to man he would not have +answered as he did. + +"Your virtuous indignation is pretty to see, Monsieur," he answered; +"but I have the warrant of the republic to search whatever domains I +may suspect of harboring the comtesse, and I think I will use my +rights on yonder boat, where I see the face of her maid at the +window." + +I glanced quickly at the boat. Sure enough, in the little square of +glass that formed the window of the cabin was framed Clotilde's black +face. And her nose (already broad enough) being flattened against the +glass, and her eyes rolling wildly with curiosity and fear as she +gazed at the party of armed horsemen on the bank, she made a ludicrous +picture indeed. I would have liked to laugh heartily but that it was +my rôle to display chagrin and anxiety rather than a careless levity. + +"Monsieur," I said seriously, "you are quite right: that is Clotilde, +the maid of Mademoiselle la Comtesse. I was requested last evening to +take her back to America and return her to her friends in St. Louis. +It will always be my greatest pleasure to render the comtesse any +service within my power, and I did not stop to question why she wished +to get rid of her maid." + +"Your explanation is most plausible, Monsieur,"--the chevalier's tone +was intentionally insulting, and, but that I had mademoiselle's +interests more at heart than my own sensitive self-esteem, would have +been hard to brook,--"but since I hold a warrant of search, if +Monsieur permits, I will do myself the honor of visiting his boat." + +Now I cared not at all whether the chevalier visited the boat or not, +knowing well he would not find the comtesse there. My only anxiety was +to temporize as long as possible and keep him still suspicious of my +complicity with mademoiselle's flight, that she might profit by his +delay in discovering the true scent. So I answered sternly: + +"Monsieur, that boat is for the time being United States territory. +You step upon its planks without my consent at your peril. I will at +once report the matter to our minister at Paris, Mr. Livingston, and +if a war between the United States and France is the result, you will +have to give an account to the First Consul of your acts which caused +that war." + +I was not enough of a diplomat to know whether I was speaking within +my rights or not, but I trusted to the chevalier being no better +informed than I, and at the best I was but speaking against time. The +effect of my speech was all that I could have desired. The chevalier +looked immediately crestfallen, and turned to consult with his +comrades. For full five minutes (I could have wished it ten times +five) they carried on a conference that at times appeared to be +heated, though always low-toned. Then the chevalier turned to me +again, and his manner was no longer insulting, but of such respect as +is due one gentleman from another. + +"Monsieur," he said, "perhaps I have no right to _demand_ that I be +allowed to search a boat belonging to an American gentleman, but if +Monsieur will permit me to do so he will oblige me greatly, and it +will be the means of clearing him at once of suspicions that may have +unjustly accrued to him." + +There was no wisdom in delaying longer. + +"Since Monsieur puts it in that way," I said, "I can have no object in +refusing his request. I shall have to ask you, however, that you wait +a few minutes until I step aboard and warn Gustave and his wife of the +purpose of your visit, lest they be unnecessarily alarmed." + +The chevalier showed that he liked not the last part of my speech. He +no doubt thought that my purpose in going aboard first was to find a +secure hiding-place for the comtesse. However, he had no alternative +but to acquiesce. My real purpose was to warn Gustave and his wife +that on no account were they to betray at what hour or where Clotilde +had come aboard. She was to have come aboard at Paris at four o'clock +the day before; and they, having no inkling of the true state of the +case, but suspecting, I believe, some intrigue between the "dark lady" +and her lovers, sympathetically promised implicit obedience. With +Clotilde I was even more strenuous. Her story must agree with +Gustave's: she had boarded the boat in Paris at four of the afternoon; +but especially was she to know nothing of her mistress's plans--why +or where she had gone. With her I appealed to her love for her +mistress, and warned her that the comtesse's liberty, possibly her +life, might depend upon her discretion. With the others a promise of +liberal rewards if they proved true, and dire threats should they +betray me, I believed secured their fidelity. + +I had had Gustave tie the boat to the bank before boarding it myself; +I now invited the chevalier and his friends to come aboard. Leaving +two of their comrades to hold their horses, the three others climbed +down the bank and hastened to comply with my invitation. As they did +so I saw Cæsar dismount, tie his own horse and mine securely to two +saplings, and clamber up the bank beside the horsemen. I thought his +motive was probably to take advantage of this opportunity to stretch +his legs, and perhaps also to indulge his curiosity with a nearer view +of the French gentlemen, and I saw no reason to interfere--especially +as the two gentlemen, young blades whom I knew by sight, not only +offered no objections, but began at once to amuse themselves with his +clownish manners and outlandish speech. + +Of course the chevalier's quest was futile, as also was his +examination of his three witnesses. They all stuck to their text,--the +embarkation of Clotilde at four o'clock on the afternoon previous in +Paris,--and Clotilde was as stupid as heart could desire, professing +absolute ignorance of her mistress's plans, and knowing only that she +herself was being sent home to America because she was homesick; and +with a negress's love of gratuitous insult when she thinks she is +safe in offering it, she added in her creole dialect: + + "De Lord knows, I's sick o' white trash anyhow. I's mighty + glad to be gittin' back to a country ob ladies and + gen'lemen." + +The chevalier's two companions laughed, but the chevalier looked +perplexed. + +"Monsieur," he said, with an air of exaggerated deference, "I have +discovered nothing on your boat, either by search or by examination of +the witnesses, that can implicate you in any way with the flight of +the Comtesse de Baloit. But will you permit me to ask you one +important question? How does it happen that you are not riding Fatima, +and that you are riding the horse which answers exactly to the +description of the one the comtesse was riding when she disappeared?" +and the chevalier could not quite keep the tone of triumph out of his +voice as he propounded his question. I had been expecting it, and I +was prepared for it. I should have been much disappointed if he had +not asked it. + +"Monsieur," I answered, "Fatima met with a serious accident just after +leaving Paris. I was obliged to leave her in the hands of a veterinary +surgeon on the outskirts of St. Denis, who has also a small farm +connected with his establishment for the care of sick horses. He +promised me to take the best of care of her and to return her to me in +America as soon as she was sufficiently recovered. I bought this horse +from a dealer to whom the surgeon directed me. I cannot say whether it +resembles the horse on which the Comtesse de Baloit left Paris; I did +not see the comtesse when she left Paris." + +Which was the only truth in my statement; but I did not for a moment +consider that I had told a lie, but only that I had employed a ruse, +perfectly permissible in war, to throw the enemy off the track. He +snatched at the bait. + +"Will Monsieur give me the address of that horse-dealer?" + +"With pleasure, as nearly as I am able," and thereupon I described +minutely a place in St. Denis that never existed. But St. Denis was +only four miles this side of Paris, and should the chevalier go all +the way back to find out from the mythical horse-dealer where he had +procured my horse, much valuable time would be lost and mademoiselle +would, I hoped, be beyond all risk of being overtaken. + +By one little artifice and another we had already managed to delay +them for a good three quarters of an hour, and now, by an apparently +happy accident, as long a delay again was promised. A great noise of +shouting and trampling of horses' hoofs arose on the bank above us. + +We looked up and saw the five horses plunging frantically, with the +two Frenchmen uttering excited cries as they tried to hold them, and +Cæsar doing his share in trying to hold the horses and more than his +share in making a noise. As we looked, one of the horses broke away +and started up the road toward Paris. The two Frenchmen dashed wildly +in pursuit, each man leading a horse with him, and Cæsar running on +behind gesticulating madly, and bellowing at the top of his lungs. + +I had taken advantage of the excitement of the fracas to slip from the +post the rope that held us to the bank. We glided gently away down the +river, with no one (unless it might have been Gustave, but he said +nothing) noticing that we were moving until we were many yards below +our mooring-place. The anger of the chevalier and his friends when +they discovered it knew no bounds. Gustave was full of apologies for +his carelessness, as he called it; I was dignified. + +"Gustave," I said severely, "make a mooring as quickly as possible, +that Monsieur le Chevalier and his friends may rejoin their horses." + +Gustave made all haste apparently, but without doubt he fumbled, and +we were some two or three hundred yards farther down the river before +we were finally tied to the bank. + +"Good-by, Messieurs," I said politely as the three hastened to leap +ashore. "I trust you will have no difficulty in recovering your +horses." + +They stayed not upon the order of their going, as Mr. Shakspere says, +but scrambled up the bank and on to the hot and stony road, and the +sun, now well up in the sky, beating strongly on their backs, they +started at a round pace toward Paris, their horses by this time out of +sight around a distant bend in the road. + +Cæsar had given up the pursuit and returned to where he had tied our +horses. I signaled to him to bring them down the river, and mounting +his and leading mine, he was soon at our mooring-place. + +Riding down the soft turf of the shady bridle-path a few minutes +later, I heard Cæsar chuckling behind me. I turned in my saddle: + +"What is it, Cæsar?" + +"I done it, Marsa!" + +"Did what, Cæsar?" + +"Done mek dat hoss run away. I put a burr un'er his girth. Den when he +plunged I cotched de bridle and let him loose. He, he, he! Hi, hi, +hi!" and Cæsar rolled in his saddle in convulsions of mirth, while the +shore echoed to his guffaws. + +I looked at him in astonishment for a moment. Then he had planned it +all: tying the two horses, clambering up to the road, making himself +the jest of the two Frenchmen, and all the time the burr concealed in +his hand, no doubt, waiting his chance. + +"Cæsar, you are a general!" I said. "Yorke could not have done +better." And then, his mirth being contagious, I threw back my head +and laughed as long and as loud as he. + +I turned in my saddle once more and looked up the road. Through the +hot sun plodded the three figures: the chevalier with bent head and, I +doubted not, with gnashing teeth. I waved my hand toward him and +called, though he could neither see nor hear: + +"Good-by, Chevalier Le Moyne; this cancels a few debts!" + +I have never seen him since. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +UNDER THE OLD FLAG + + "And many an eye has danced to see + That banner in the sky." + + +It was in the early days of March, some eight months later, that the +big barge in which I had come down the Ohio, and thus far on the +Mississippi, put me ashore at New Madrid with my saddle-bags and my +horse Bourbon Prince; for so I had promptly named the black beauty for +whom I had exchanged my chestnut mare. He could never quite take the +place of Fatima in my affections, but I had grown very fond of him: +partly for his virtues, for he was a thoroughbred of famous lineage, +and partly, I have no doubt, because he had once belonged to +mademoiselle. + +Of mademoiselle I had not heard for many months. I had arrived at home +in the late summer, to find my father a physical and almost a mental +wreck from the stroke of paralysis that had laid him low nearly three +months before. Yet I had never loved my strong, stern father in the +prime of manhood, managing great business enterprises, occupying +places of honor and responsibility in the State, as I loved this +feeble and broken old man with the face and the manner of a little +child. As the weeks went on and he gradually grew able to move about, +it was my pride and my joy to walk slowly down Chestnut Street, my +father leaning heavily on my arm, and looking up into my face to +comment with childish delight upon whatever pleased him in the +streets. + +I had had to assume, to the best of my ability, his heavy business +responsibilities, and the charge of his great properties, and but that +my mother was herself a fine business woman and thoroughly informed on +my father's affairs I might have made shipwreck of it all. It was not +the life I had chosen for myself, but it lay so directly in the path +of duty there was no escaping it, and it kept every moment so fully +occupied there was no time left for brooding over private troubles. + +I had received a letter from the Prince de Polignac about two weeks +after my return home, telling me of the safe arrival in Baden of the +Comtesse de Baloit. It was a very courteous letter, thanking me once +more for the great services I had rendered them on that eventful night +in the Chantilly parks, and inclosing a pleasant message of +acknowledgment from the Duc d'Enghien for the kindness shown his +cousin the countess. Mademoiselle had added a line in her own writing: + + "Fatima is well, and I love her for the sake of dear old St. + Louis. + + PELAGIE." + +To most people that might seem a very common-place little message; to +me those sixteen words were the most wonderful ever written. I twisted +and turned them until each one became a volume of tender sentiments, +and the little signature "Pelagie" almost too sacred to be looked at, +and only to be kissed, shut up in my own room in the dark, or with +none but the moon to see. + +I had replied to the prince's letter immediately, sending a courteous +message to the duke and a special one to Pelagie about Clotilde, whom +I had sent under safe escort to St. Louis. But although I had +intimated to the prince that it would give me very great pleasure to +hear occasionally of the welfare of the countess, I never heard from +any of them again. + +This, of course, was an especial grief to me on Pelagie's account, but +also it touched me a little that the prince should so soon have +forgotten me and what he was pleased to term my "great services" to +him, for I had been strongly attracted to him by his noble bearing and +chivalrous protection of mademoiselle. Often, in thinking of them,--he +a noble young prince of great manly beauty and endowed by nature with +all charming and lovable qualities; she the most exquisite of +womankind,--I thought it would be strange indeed if in the intimate +companionship of that long ride together they had not become so deeply +interested in each other as to forget the existence of a young +American gentleman three thousand miles away. + +When in the winter there came news of the Cadoudal plots against the +life of Napoleon, in which the young Prince de Polignac and his older +brother the duke were involved; that both brothers had been arrested, +tried, and condemned to death; and, later, that Napoleon had granted +them a free pardon, I could easily believe that other interests than +love and marriage had so absorbed the prince as to make him forgetful +of a distant acquaintance. + +On the heels of this appalling news, which shook the world and which +yet left me glad and grateful that the chivalrous young prince had +been saved from the ignominious death of an assassin, there came a +letter to me from Captain Clarke, written in St. Louis, inviting me to +join the expedition of discovery and exploration which Mr. Meriwether +Lewis and he were to conduct up the Missouri River and across the +mountains. + +Few duties have come to me in life more difficult to perform than the +writing of that letter declining the invitation. It was the life I +longed for, to be had for the taking, and an expedition of such kind +under the leadership of two men like my captain, whom I still adored, +and Mr. Meriwether Lewis, whom I greatly admired, was the strongest +temptation that could be presented to me. + +But I knew well it was not for me. It would, no doubt, be a year or +two in the accomplishing, with many hazards to life and limb, and I +was now the virtual head of the family, with mother and sisters and +invalid father all looking to me for protection and guidance and +comfort. No, it was not to be thought of. + +Without consulting any one I sent my answer, but I suppose my face was +an open book to my dear mother, and in some moment of abstraction I +had forgotten to be cheerful and so betrayed that something was +troubling me. At any rate, she came to my room one night, and there, +in the way that mothers have, she beguiled my secret from me. She +agreed with me that it would never do in my father's state of health +to join such an expedition, but she was greatly distressed for what +she called my disappointment, though I tried to assure her it was not +enough to think about. + +Now mothers have a way of finding a salve for every hurt. I suppose it +is a talent God has given them, that this world may be a pleasanter +place for living in, and that the rugged path we have to tread through +it may be smoother and pleasanter to our feet. (Though I hope no one +will think because I have said this that I am one of those long-faced +people who think this world a vale of woes to be traversed as quickly +as possible, looking neither to the right nor to the left, lest they +see something to please their eyes. I have ever found it a pleasant +world, and my path through it of exceeding interest, with some sorrows +and many difficulties to test one's mettle and add to the zest of +living; but also with many wonderful and beautiful things lying all +along the path, that God has placed there that one may stop and enjoy +them and rest by the wayside.) + +Now the salve my mother found for this hurt was one to my especial +liking. + +"Though you could not be gone from home two or three years, my son," +she said, "a matter of two or three months could make no great +difference to any one; why not go out to St. Louis, see your friends +there, and help the expedition get under way?" + +My heart gave a great leap. "And get news of mademoiselle from Dr. +Saugrain," I said to myself; but then I hesitated. Would my father +miss me too sadly? for he had seemed to lean upon me much for comfort +and companionship. When I expressed my fears to my mother, she +hesitated also, but we both finally agreed we would leave it to her to +broach the matter to my father, and if it seemed to distress him too +greatly, we would say nothing more about it. + +To my surprise, he was almost more eager for it than my mother. It +need not have surprised me, for even in the old days my father, though +stern, had never been selfish, and now all the unselfishness of his +nature had seemed to grow strong with his feebleness. + +Thus it was that I stood once more on the shores of the Great River. +Had my impatience permitted me to wait a little longer at Pittsburg, I +might have found a boat going all the way to St. Louis, but I had +rather take the ride of nearly a hundred and fifty miles on Bourbon +(for so I had shortened his name) than to spend a day in idle waiting. +A barge going to New Orleans (New Orleans had been under our flag +since the twentieth of December, and the river was teeming with craft +bearing our merchandise to the once prohibited market) took me on +board and put me ashore at New Madrid in the early morning, and I lost +not a moment's time in getting started on my northward way. + +The spring was early that year, and in the warm and sheltered valley, +lying open to the south, where New Madrid nestles, the orchards were +already a pink and white glory, and in the forest glades the wild +azaleas and the dogwood were just ready to burst into bloom. Riding +under leafy archways of tall trees garlanded with wild vines, or +through natural meadows dotted with clumps of shrubbery, as if set out +by the hand of man for a park, where the turf was like velvet under +Bourbon's feet; crossing little streams that a sudden rush of +headwater from the hills had swollen to dangerous torrents, or other +streams that backwater from the Great River had converted into inland +lakes; the air sweet with the fragrance of the wild crab and +blossoming grape; wood-thrush and oriole, meadow-lark and +cardinal-bird, making the woods ring with their melodies--this ride +through Upper Louisiana in the early springtime was one long joy to +eye and ear and nostril. Farther north the spring was less advanced, +only little leaves on the trees, and for flowers a carpet, sometimes +extending for miles, of creamy-white spring-beauties, streaked with +rosy pink, laid down for Bourbon's feet to tread upon; and for birds +the modest song-sparrow and bluebird, earliest harbingers of spring. + +I stayed the first night in Cape Girardeau (and thought of the +chevalier in hiding for weeks among the Osages near by); the second +night I spent with the Vallés in Ste. Genevieve. I had known young +François Vallé in St. Louis the winter before, and meeting me on the +street as I rode into town, he carried me off at once to his father's +house with true Louisiana hospitality--a hospitality that welcomed the +coming but did not speed the parting guest. I found it hard work to +get away the next morning, with such friendly insistence did they urge +me to remain for a visit, seeming to feel also that I was putting a +slight upon their quaint old town--the oldest in Upper Louisiana--by +so short a stay. + +But I was impatient to be on my way, and my impatience grew as I +neared St. Louis. A long day's ride brought me toward evening to the +banks of the Maramec, full to the brim of its high banks with +backwater from the Mississippi. I thought, at first, I would have to +swim it, but, fortunately, I spied a horn hanging from the limb of a +sycamore above my head, and I knew enough of the ways of this frontier +country to know that a horn by a river-bank meant a ferry. So I blew +it lustily, and in five minutes there appeared from under the +overhanging trees of the opposite bank a flatboat, paddled by an old +man, who not only ferried Bourbon and me safely across dry-shod, but +persuaded me to spend the night with him in his little cabin; for the +night was coming on cloudy and dark, and there were still nearly +twenty miles to ride, and swollen streams to cross that might mean +trouble in the dark. He had not the great house of the Vallés, with +troops of slaves to wait on us and an abundance of frontier luxuries +(for Mr. François Vallé, Sr., was the richest man in all that country) +but his hospitality was as genuine. For the ferriage he took money, +since that was his business; for the night's lodging and supper and +breakfast he would have none of it. True, my bed was only a bearskin +on the hard floor, and my supper and breakfast were the same,--a slice +of bacon and a bowl of hominy,--but such as he had he gave me of his +best. + +In the early dawn I had a plunge in the Maramec for bath (and its +waters had the icy tang of the melting snows on the distant +mountains), and then I made a careful toilet, for in a few hours I +would see my old friends in St. Louis, and, at thought of the merry +glances from bright eyes I would soon be meeting, my heart sank within +me that Pelagie's would not be among them. + +As I neared St. Louis, every step of the way was full of reminders of +her. Crossing La Petite Rivière, I thought of the day of the picnic on +Chouteau's Pond, and involuntarily I listened for the call of the +whippoorwill. But instead there was the happy song of the spring birds +filling the woods that crested the banks, and my heart grew lighter in +response to their joyous melodies. + +I entered the town by the lower entrance, leading through the stockade +on to the Rue Royale, for I was of a mind to ride through the streets +of the town and see whom I should chance to meet before presenting +myself at Dr. Saugrain's. + +I had advanced no great distance when I saw coming to meet me a +splendid procession: young men and maidens, parents and children, the +whole population of the town, I should think, in gala array, and +singing as they came. + +I was overwhelmed at the prospect of such honor accorded me, and +greatly touched, too, that my old friends should welcome me back so +gladly, but I was in a quandary what to do: whether it would be more +dignified to stay Bourbon in the middle of the road and await their +approach, or whether to advance to meet them. + +It puzzled me greatly, also, that they should have known the exact +moment of my arrival, for although both Dr. Saugrain and Captain +Clarke knew of my intended visit, they could hardly have calculated to +such a nicety not only the day but the very hour of my entry into +town. It must be that pickets had been stationed to descry my approach +from a distance and give the signal. + +Still puzzling my brains over the wonder of it all, and hardly knowing +whether to feel more proud or more frightened at the honor intended +me, and wishing with all my heart that I had known of it that I might +have arrayed myself in a costume befitting the occasion, I slowly drew +near the procession, and the procession drew near me. + +Then suddenly I discovered what nothing but my domtiferous vanity had +prevented me from discerning from the first: this was a religious +procession bearing the banners of the church and singing Aves and Te +Deums. I had known such processions before in St. Louis on saints' +days, and always headed by the two most beautiful maidens in the town, +bearing silver plates, who, as the procession drew up to the church, +stood on either side of the door holding the plates to receive alms. I +drew Bourbon to one side of the road and waited. + +Yes, there were the two beautiful maidens with the silver plates, and +I was not surprised to see that one was Mademoiselle Chouteau; and as +she drew near she could not resist a saucy look of recognition in her +dancing eyes, entirely out of character in the leader of a religious +procession. I smiled back at her, my heart already growing warmer and +lighter with her friendliness, and then I glanced at the other: a wavy +mass of soft, dark hair, little ringlets about white neck and brow, +lips like a scarlet pomegranate blossom, and long, black lashes lying +on an ivory cheek, where the pale rose was fast turning to crimson +under my gaze. + +It was Pelagie! Her cheek told the tale that she knew I was looking at +her, yet not once did she lift her eyes and look at me. I wonder that +my heart did not break through my breast, so great a bound it made +when I discovered her, and then all the blood in my body flowed back +upon it, and I sat on Bourbon as one carved in marble, while friends +and acquaintances passed by and smiled up at me in kindly welcome. Not +until Josef Papin left the ranks and came up to me with outstretched +hand could I recover myself and begin to feel alive again, with the +blood slowly running back in its courses and tingling in my +finger-tips. + +"Come," he said, when the first greetings were over, "tie your horse +to the tree, and we will fall in at the end of the line and go up to +the church together. This is no saint's day, as you might think, but +we are to have mass for the last time under the old rule. The United +States troops come over to-day from Cahokia and take possession." + +This was wonderful news to me, and I could not but feel a great +sympathy with him, for he spoke with a voice that faltered. What would +it not have meant to me if my own city of Philadelphia were being +transferred to the rule of France or Spain! + +On our way he told me what my soul most longed to hear: how +mademoiselle came to be in St. Louis. + +Her cousin, the Duc d'Enghien, had begun to feel that his home was no +longer a safe place for her, for Bonaparte's spies were watching him, +and he felt that though Baden was neutral territory he might at any +moment be arrested and thrown into prison. That would leave Pelagie +entirely unprotected, and he had begun to consider some other safer +retreat for her. When mademoiselle found that she was to be sent away +from Ettenheim, she begged that she might return to St. Louis, the +only place she had known as home, and to the people she loved, who had +been to her kindred and friends. It was only after much pleading that +the duke had been persuaded to let her go so far from home again, but +mademoiselle's heart was set on it. + +"And," said Josef Papin, "as we both know, when she will, she will; I +defy any man to gainsay her. She arrived two weeks ago by way of New +Orleans, with a Monsieur and Madame Dubois, newly married, I believe, +who were coming over to America to settle." + +"Monsieur and Madame Dubois!" I said, in some excitement. + +"Yes; do you know them?" asked Josef, curiously. + +"I am not sure. I may have met them; I met a Monsieur and Madame +Dubois once at Chantilly near Paris," I answered carelessly, "but very +likely they are not the same." + +"No, they could not be," answered Josef, "for they were married only +just before leaving for America." + +And then there was no chance to say anything more, for our end of the +procession was nearing the church door, where on either side stood +Mademoiselle Chouteau and Pelagie, holding out their silver plates +already piled high with livres. + +As I glanced at Pelagie I felt as if royalty radiated from her--from +the proud pose of her dainty head to the high-bred arch of her little +foot. "A princess of Condé!" I exclaimed to myself half angrily, "and +meekly holding the church plate for negroes and Indians and humble +habitans, and smiling up into the faces of her old friends with a +royal sweetness." + +I was on the side next her as we drew near the door. Will she look at +me? I wondered. We were the last in the line; it would hinder no one +if I stopped a moment beside her. + +But I could not make her look up at me. One louis d'or after another I +piled upon her plate, but the only effect it had was to make it +tremble in her hands and the color deepen steadily in her face. I +could not stand there gazing rudely at her, and I went into the church +beside Josef Papin as in a dream, half doubting it was mademoiselle, +yet watching her eagerly as she and Mademoiselle Chouteau bore the +plates up the aisle and held them aloft before the altar for the +priest to bless. + +The service that followed was indescribably solemn and touched me +greatly; it was as though it were a service for the dead, and the +people (the whole village was there, every man, woman, and child I had +known the year before) chanted the responses with the tears running +down their cheeks. Josef Papin had told me that the old priest who had +baptized all the younger generation and married their parents was +going away with the Spaniards, unwilling to be subject to a foreign +rule, and the mourning of the people for their father was from the +heart. + +As they knelt upon the floor to receive the benediction (and the sound +of their kneeling was like the breeze among the dry leaves of autumn) +they broke out into a long, low wail that rose and swelled and then +died away in the sound of suppressed sobbing. Nevermore under Latin +rule would they kneel in their dear old church, but under the rule of +the hated Anglo-Saxons, their hereditary foe. Nevermore would the +priest they had loved and reverenced for years extend his hands over +them in blessing. The good father's voice broke again and again as he +tried in vain to utter the familiar words, until at length, his hands +upraised to heaven, tears streaming from his eyes, he uttered the +simple words, "Go in peace, my children." + +I was near the door and I slipped quietly out. It was not a time to +meet old friends, and I felt like one intruding upon a house of +mourning. Heads were still bowed in the solemn hush that followed the +benediction and no one saw me go. I hurried back to where I had left +Bourbon, mounted him, and rode slowly up toward Government House. + +Long before I reached it the streets were filled. With the quick +change from grave to gay, natural to these volatile creoles, the same +people that a few moments ago had been all tears and sorrow were now +all excitement and curiosity. Down from the fort on the hill marched a +troop of Spanish soldiers, stopping at Government House to salute the +governor, and then forming in company order in front of the house to +await the coming of the United States troops. + +Beside Governor Delassus on the gallery of Government House stood my +old friend Mr. Meriwether Lewis; for he seemed an old friend to me, +though I had known him but that one memorable day in Washington. In +response to a friendly wave of the hand from both I dismounted and ran +up the steps to speak to them for a moment. They presented me to a +third officer, Captain Stoddard, the officer in command of the United +States troops who were to take possession, and also, as Governor +Delassus informed me, empowered by the French prefect at New Orleans +to receive the city for the French republic from the Spanish. + +I stayed only a moment, for Captain Lewis told me I would find Captain +Clarke and Dr. Saugrain at the landing at the foot of the Rue +Bonhomme, so I followed in the wake of the motley crowd of habitans, +negroes, and Indians trooping along the Rue Royale and filling La +Place with a many-colored throng, as they had filled it on the day I +first set foot in St. Louis. + +Bourbon Prince picked his way carefully along the steep path that led +down the bluff to the landing at the foot of the Rue Bonhomme, where +the boats from Cahokia bearing the United States troops were already +approaching the shore, and where I found awaiting them, as Captain +Lewis had said I should, my old friend, the little doctor, and my +captain (for so I shall always call Captain Clarke), and the warmth of +their greeting set my heart to dancing merrily. + +My spirits had been rising steadily every moment since I had recovered +from my stupefaction at the sight of Pelagie. What though she would +not look at me, I was nothing daunted; for now that she was safe on +American soil,--yes, _American_, Spanish no longer,--nor chevaliers +nor dukes nor First Consuls should deter me from boldly trying to win +her. For the first time since I had known her I felt that I had a +right to try. She was no longer a titled lady of France, and I was now +my own master and could maintain her in greater luxury than she had +ever known. I would take her home with me to Philadelphia! and my +dear mother and my fond old father would love her as they loved my +sisters. My spirit was exultant, and that she dared not meet my eyes +lent more of hope than discouragement. + +So it was with a happy heart that I met the little doctor's beaming +glance, and felt the strong grasp of my captain's hand as he uttered +his hearty "Welcome home, my lad." And little I cared that he called +me lad; indeed, had he addressed me by any other title I should have +missed some of the friendliness of his greeting. + +"You are to stay at Émigré's Retreat, you know," said Dr. Saugrain; +"Madame Saugrain is as happy in the thought of your home-coming as if +you were her own boy." + +But Josef Papin coming down the bluff at that moment and overhearing +the doctor, interposed: + +"No, Dr. Saugrain, he is my guest this time. You had him all last +winter, and you have had Captain Clarke and Captain Lewis all this +winter; you must share some of your honors with me." + +It was not for me to decide a question of such kind, and though my +heart turned longingly to the hospitable hearth that had first +entertained me in St. Louis, feeling that in no other house would it +seem so truly a home-coming, yet I was not sure but it was better that +it was finally decided that I should stay with Josef Papin, for I was +determined to put my fortune to the touch, and should Pelagie prove +unkind (a contingency, however, that I refused to contemplate), it +would be embarrassing indeed to be under the same roof with her. + +But now there was no longer time for discussion of any kind, for the +boats were running their keels into the bank, and Lieutenant Worrall, +temporarily in command of the troops, was the first man to leap +ashore. We all went down to meet him, and when he had formed his +battalion in line, we accompanied him up the steep bluff and down the +Rue Royale to Government House, a great throng following. + +Then Lieutenant Worrall drew up his troops facing the Spanish troops. +The open space where the Rue Royale crossed the Rue de la Tour was +densely packed with people. Every man, woman, and child of the +village, it seemed to me, must be there, yet I looked in vain for +either Madame Saugrain or Pelagie. I fastened Bourbon farther up the +street, and at the invitation of Governor Delassus sent us by an +orderly I accompanied Dr. Saugrain, Josef Papin, and my captain to the +gallery of Government House, where we found also both the Chouteaus +and many of the leading citizens of the village. + +As soon as the American troops were drawn up in line, Governor +Delassus stepped to the front of the gallery, holding in his hand a +document bearing the seals of the United States and of Spain, and at a +sign from him, Captain Stoddard stepped to his side, a similar +document in his hand. Then Governor Delassus held the paper up so that +all the people might see, and, as every voice was hushed and all eyes +turned on him, he read: + + "Now be it known unto all men by these presents that I, + Carlos D. Delassus, in quality of lieutenant-governor, at + the requirement duly made to me by Amos Stoddard, agent and + commissary of the French republic, have delivered to him the + full possession, sovereignty, and government of Upper + Louisiana, with all the military posts, quarters, and + fortifications thereto belonging or dependent thereof." + + Immediately Captain Stoddard took up the refrain, reading on + from where the governor stopped: + + "And I, Amos Stoddard, commissary as such, do acknowledge to + have received the said possession on the same terms + mentioned in these presents, of which I acknowledge myself + satisfied and possessed on this day. In testimony whereof + the lieutenant-governor and myself have respectively signed + these presents, sealed with the seal of our arms, being + assisted with the witnesses signed below. Of which + proceedings six copies have been made out, to wit, three in + the Spanish and three in the English languages. + + "Given in the town of St. Louis of Illinois, 9th March, + 1804. + + "Amos Stoddard (seal) + + "Carlos Dehault Delassus (seal) + + "In presence of + Meriwether Lewis, + Captain First United States Regiment Infantry. + Antoine Soulard, + Surveyor-General, etc. + Charles Gratiot." + +As Captain Stoddard finished reading, the governor turned to him and +with formal courtesy placed him in possession of Government House. +Captain Stoddard accepted it with a brief and appropriate speech, and +then, the silence still unbroken, the stately don turned once more to +the people and spoke to them directly: + +"Inhabitants of Upper Louisiana: + +"By the king's command I am about to deliver up this post and its +dependencies! + +"The flag under which you have been protected for a period of nearly +thirty-six years is to be withdrawn. From this moment you are released +from the oath of fidelity you took to support it." + +There was a stir among the people. Tears were running down the +weather-beaten faces of some of the older men, and many of the women +were sobbing quietly. Visibly moved himself, the governor added +another word: + +"The fidelity and courage with which you have guarded and defended the +flag will never be forgotten; and in my character of representative I +entertain the most sincere wishes for your perfect prosperity." + +The governor bowed and stepped back, and instantly there broke from +the people a storm of _adios_ and _benitos_ with tears and waving of +hands. + +The governor motioned to a soldier standing by. The soldier stepped to +a corner of the gallery which could be seen from the fort on the hill, +and waved his hat. Instantly puffs of white smoke issued from the +full battery of the fort, followed by the roar of the cannon rolling +across the wide river to the distant bluffs of Cahokia. As the last +echo died away the soldier waved his hat once more. Slowly the flag of +Spain floating above the white tower sank. Once more the cannon +roared, and slowly the banner of France rose, higher and higher, until +its folds were flung proudly to the breeze, above the tower on the +hill, above the Great River, above the old French town where it had +floated thirty-six years before. + +Almost every soul, save negroes and Indians, in that multitude +watching in breathless silence the exchange of the flags, was French, +and as the banner of the land they had never ceased to love and to +call home floated out on the breeze, with one accord they fell on +their knees, eyes streaming, arms outstretched toward the loved symbol +of their fatherland. + +It had been the intention that the flag should remain there but a few +minutes--just long enough to show that Upper Louisiana was French, and +that France ceded it to the United States. But now Pierre and Auguste +Chouteau, the older Papin, Dr. Saugrain, all the leading citizens on +the gallery of Government House, gathered around Captain Stoddard and +begged him, with trembling voices and misty eyes, to let the old flag +stay for another day. + +"Let us be Frenchmen for twenty-four hours," they begged, "and after +that we will try to be loyal citizens of the United States, as we have +been loyal citizens of Spain." + +When Captain Lewis and Captain Clarke added their plea for the +Frenchmen, Captain Stoddard willingly granted it, and stepping to the +front of the gallery, he announced that for twenty-four hours the flag +of the French republic would float over St. Louis. + +Then broke forth a delirium of joy. Men threw their arms around one +another and embraced and kissed in a fashion strange, indeed, to us +Anglo-Saxons; and women fell into one another's arms and sobbed. The +roar of the cannon had not ceased to roll over the heads of the people +at intervals of every two minutes, and now the United States troops +took their line of march up the Rue de la Tour to the fort on the hill +(for though the American flag did not float from it, they were to hold +it in the name of France); and the Spanish troops marched away. + +The ceremonies for the day were over; the cannon ceased to roar, and +Captain Stoddard who was now in possession of Government House, +invited us all to stay to déjeuner. The meal was a long and +ceremonious one, with the Spanish don on Captain Stoddard's right and +one of the Chouteaus on his left, and I far down the table with some +of the younger men; and through it all I was thinking of that first +meal I had taken in St. Louis in this same Government House a year and +a half before, and of the toast that roused such enthusiasm then; and +every moment my impatience grew to get away and visit Émigré's Retreat +and Madame Saugrain, and--the Rose of St. Louis. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +THE ROSE OF ST. LOUIS + + "What's in a name? that which we call a rose + By any other name would smell as sweet." + + +But my impatience was of little avail, for before we left Government +House Dr. Saugrain invited me to dinner at Émigré's Retreat, and +restless and impatient as I might be, I did not dare show myself there +until the dinner-hour. + +Five o'clock found me sitting in the dear old living-room, awaiting, +with trembling the entrance of madame and Pelagie. It was the same +dear old room I had pictured to myself so often, and all the grand +salons of Paris that I had seen since last I saw it did not make it +look any the less cozy and homelike to my eyes. It was a warm spring +afternoon, and the western windows were open, and the white curtains +were stirring in the breeze, only there was no maiden in white on the +low seat by the window, and no guitar and no Leon. + +I had but a moment to wait. The door opened and in came madame, both +hands outstretched and running to meet me, and as I bent low before +her, taking my face in both her hands and putting a kiss on my cheek +and calling me "My son." And behind her came Pelagie, walking slowly +but looking up at me, yes, looking at me at last, with starry eyes and +a great pulse throbbing in her snowy throat, and little tongues of +color coming and going in her cheeks. I was almost of a mind there, +right before madame, to take her in my arms and call her mine, for +mine I was determined she should be; and I looked at her with such a +threatening glance I think she divined my half-purpose and shrank back +a little. + +So instead I merely bowed over her hand and said gaily: + +"You condescend to look at me at last, mademoiselle; I feared to-day I +was to be forever banished from your friendly glances." + +And she, relieved from her first apprehension, answered saucily: + +"If monsieur comes unannounced, how can he expect to be recognized +after so many months of absence?" + +And then in stalked, majestically Leon, limping very slightly, and +when he caught sight of me coming up to me and sniffing at me a +moment, and then springing upon me with such wild bounds of delight +that I had to call hold, lest his great paws play havoc with my fine +Paris clothes that I had donned in mademoiselle's honor. And to quiet +him I said in a high, small voice, in palpable burlesque of +mademoiselle: + +"Taise-toi, mon ange!" and we both laughed merrily. + +I was so happy that I was ready to do everything that was foolish, +and I believe mademoiselle was happy, too, for nothing that I did was +too foolish for her to laugh at. + +Then in came the little doctor, running up to me and insisting on +embracing me (because I was in his own house), pulling down my head +and kissing me on each cheek, at which I blushed greatly, though I had +not blushed when madame kissed me. And then came my captain and +Captain Lewis, and everyone talked at once, asking all manner of +questions on all manner of subjects, and I had scarcely a chance to +say another word to Pelagie. + +And then came dinner. As usual, madame put me beside her, and Pelagie +sat at the other end of the table. But there was no scorning this +time, and I had better chance to look at her than if she sat beside +me, and perhaps that was best, for my eyes could say to her much more +than my lips would dare in such a company. + +Narcisse waited on the table, and was all smiles of welcome; and +half-way through dinner, on some pretext or other, in came Clotilde, +and greeted me, half crying through her smiles at memory of our trials +together. And last of all came Yorke, grinning from ear to ear, and +"declarin' to gracious I'd growed a foot sence," whereupon I was of a +mind to thrash him on the spot, and told him so, which made him grin +the more, if that were possible. + +It was a grand dinner, and I told Madame Saugrain I had never tasted +in Paris anything half so good as her wild turkey and croquecignolles +and gooseberry wine, which I meant with all my heart, and which +greatly pleased her housewifely soul. + +Back in the living-room, when dinner was over, I missed something, and +looked around the room to discover what it was. It was the long French +mirror in which I had once watched Pelagie--the pride of madame's +heart. + +"Why, madame," I said, "what have you done with your mirror?" + +She shrugged her shoulders and looked ruefully at her husband. + +"Antoine," she said, "needed some quicksilver for his experiments. +Voilà! my mirror!" + +I glanced at Dr. Saugrain; he blushed and looked guilty, and so, for +some reason, I thought, did Captain Lewis. + +"I will explain," said my captain. "You must know, my lad, that these +two," indicating the doctor and Captain Lewis with a wave of his hand, +"have been confederates all winter in black art. They have lived in +the laboratory, and the instruments they have evolved for our trip up +the Missouri and over the mountains are fearful and wonderful to +behold. We are each of us provided with a box of little phosphorus +sticks by which we are to do away entirely with all use of tinder. But +much more wonderful than those, out of madame's mirror Dr. Saugrain +has fashioned little glass tubes holding quicksilver, and with a +measure laid off on the side by which we may be able to tell just how +hot or how cold it may be. And more wonderful still, he has fashioned +other little tubes by which we are to tell when it is going to storm +and when it will be fair weather. And I cannot begin to tell you all +the wonderful appliances this magician has fashioned for our comfort +and safety this winter, aided and abetted by his willing slave, +Captain Lewis." + +That unloosed the doctor's tongue, and there was no getting away the +rest of the evening from the wonders of science; and so strange were +the things he and Captain Lewis had to tell of what science could do +that I could have greatly enjoyed their talk had I not been longing +for a few words with Pelagie. + +I determined that another day should not go by; without my having +them, and so, in the course of the evening, I managed to ask her if +she would ride with me the next afternoon to Chouteau's Pond. A +riding-party of two to Chouteau's Pond was of frequent occurrence in +the village, and I would not have feared a refusal but that Pelagie +had now been living so long where stricter social forms prevailed, so +I awaited her answer with trembling. But she gave a shy assent, and +for me the evening at Émigré's Retreat was a grand success. + +Twelve o'clock the next day, March the tenth, saw us all once more at +Government House; and once more the American troops were drawn up +before it, and once more the people filled the streets. + +The people were very quiet; there was no longer any rejoicing; but +every eye was lifted to the flag that was so soon to sink from sight. + +There were many Indians in the streets,--Delawares, Sacs, Shawnees, +and others,--attracted to the town by the noise of firing the day +before. Captain Stoddard had asked Governor Delassus to speak to them +and explain to them the change of government, and the soldiers had +been sent to gather them up close to the gallery of Government House, +where Don Delassus might speak to them. A dark-faced throng, serious +of countenance, they stood looking up at us, not a muscle of their +countenances changing while the governor spoke to them in the formal +and stately fashion they loved. + +"Delawares, Sacs, Shawnees, and others, my red brothers: + +"Your old fathers, the Spaniard and the Frenchman, grasp by the hand +your new father, the head chief of the United States. By an act of +their good-will, and in virtue of their last treaty, I have delivered +up to them all these lands. They will keep and defend them, and +protect all the white and redskins who live thereon. You will live as +happily as if the Spaniard were still here. + +"I have informed your new father, who here takes my place, that the +Delawares, Shawnees, and Sacs have always conducted themselves well; +that the chiefs have always restrained their young men as much as +possible. + +"For several days we have fired off cannon to announce to all the +nations that your father the Spaniard is going, his heart happy to +know that you will be protected and sustained by your new father, and +that the smoke of the powder may ascend to the Maker of life, praying +him to shower on you all a happy destiny and prosperity in always +living in good union with the whites." + +There were many guttural "Ughs!" as he finished, and I think, from the +way the dark eyes scanned the faces of the new officers, they +comprehended at least a part of what had been said to them. + +Once more a soldier at the corner of the gallery waved his hat toward +the white tower; once more the cannon boomed and slowly the tricolor +of France descended, while the Stars and Stripes rose to meet it. +Half-way up the flagstaff they stopped. For a moment they floated in +the breeze, side by side, and an involuntary cheer sprang from the +people at the friendly sight. Then slowly the tricolor sank, and +slowly rose the starry banner, flinging out its broad bars of white +and crimson, beautiful emblem of liberty and the sovereignty of a free +people, over the little village, nestling among the trees on the +bluffs, that may one day be a mighty city; over the Great River +flowing to the Gulf that a not far future may see bearing the commerce +of a world on its bosom; over the broad prairies stretching to the +distant mountains which coming years will surely see peopled with +happy millions. + +My heart swelled within me. I swung my hat high in the air and lustily +led the cheers of our troops and our little party on the gallery. But +we were only a small band, and we made not much noise, and all the +French and Spaniards stood and looked sadly on. And because our hearts +were touched by their sorrow, we cheered no more, but looked up at +our beautiful banner with pride and joy and love in our hearts. + + * * * * * + +Three hours later I was sitting on the gallery at Émigré's Retreat +waiting for mademoiselle, as I had waited for her on the day of the +picnic at Chouteau's Pond. Narcisse was holding Bourbon Prince by the +driveway below, and I was struggling to preserve a calm exterior, for +my heart was going like a trip-hammer while I listened for my lady's +coming. + +Out upon the gallery she stepped, riding-habit and hat and veil of +latest Paris mode--not the little Pelagie of the picnic day, but +Pelagie a princess of Condé, and my heart almost failed me. + +I looked at her, and she was smiling at me with a smile I did not +understand. Then she looked away, and my eyes followed hers. Around +the corner of the house Yorke was leading a horse,--a white star on +the forehead and one white foot like Bourbon Prince, but beautiful +chestnut in color. For a moment I forgot my lady. Down the steps I +sprang, and my arm was around the neck of the chestnut mare. + +"Sweetheart!" I whispered in her ear. "Do you know me, sweetheart?" + +She whinnied with joy and rubbed her soft muzzle up and down my arm, +and whinnied again, while Yorke showed all his teeth in his delight, +and my lady laughed and clapped her hands like a happy child. + +I had not thought it possible she could bring Fatima with her and so +had not asked for her, though, truth to tell, I had had but little +chance to ask her about anything. + +When I said so to her, "I would not have come without her," she said, +looking shyly at me. "But I hope you do not want her back, for I love +her dearly." + +Yes, I wanted her back, I said to myself; but with her mistress, too; +but my only answer to mademoiselle was a smile that I think she +understood, for she looked quickly away from me. + +Then I put her on Fatima's back, who bore a Parisian saddle now +instead of a pillion, and out through the stockade we rode, and down +the rough path to La Petite Rivière, and through the ford (deeper now, +from spring freshets, than it had been when I listened to the +whippoorwills), and along the wooded bank on the other side, where we +had raced to get away from the redskin (though that she never knew), +and still I had not said the words I meant to say. + +Under the tree that had been the goal for our race I drew up a minute. +Here, I thought, will be a place of happy omen, for here I won my +first dance with her, and here I will win her. But suddenly I recalled +that this was the spot where I had first seen the chevalier; no, it +was of evil omen. "By hairbreadth escapes we always win," he had said. +I feared, the "luck of the Le Moynes" and their baleful motto. + +Where we had stopped to look at the lake before, I stopped again. It +was almost more beautiful in its setting of the soft pinks and greens +of early spring than it had been under the golden sun of autumn, and +here, I thought, I will say it. But the glimpse of the ivied mill +tower among the trees, and the beautiful water and its wooded banks, +reminded Pelagie of Ettenheim, and she began to tell me of a letter +she had just received from the Duc d'Enghien, which made her very +anxious. + +"He writes," said Pelagie, "that he is being followed everywhere by an +Englishman who, he feels sure, is a spy in the pay of Bonaparte--I +will never call him emperor!" said Pelagie, with fiery eye. "And while +he says he feels no alarm for himself, he is more and more glad to +think that I am so safely away from all dangers." + +But the thought of her letter had saddened Pelagie for a while, and I +would not speak then. How little we dreamed that on that very day, +perhaps at that very hour, the young duke was being seized by +Napoleon's emissaries, in violation of all treaties of neutrality, and +hurried to the gloomy fortress of Vincennes, where, ten days later, +after a mock trial of two hours in the dead of night, with no chance +of defense given him, he was taken out and shot and buried in the +trench where he fell. When the dreadful news reached us, weeks later, +it darkened for a while my sweet Pelagie's life, as it was the one +crime not even the friends of Napoleon can excuse or forgive: the one +dark blot on his fame time will never erase. + +But that afternoon we were in happy ignorance of what was happening +four thousand miles away, and Pelagie's sadness was but a passing +shadow and in a little while we were both joyous again. + +"Rock Spring," I thought, "beloved of lovers, will be the place." But +at Rock Spring I could think of nothing but Yorke astride the +chevalier's back, the grimy spectacle the chevalier presented when +Yorke was dislodged, and then the fearful peril Pelagie had been in +when I fled with her in my arms on Fatima's back. No, Rock Spring was +not the place. + +And so we were once more back at the ford, almost home, and the long +shadows lying on the cool water, and a thrush singing his evening-song +in the wooded crests behind us, and my tale had not been told. We had +had much sweet converse, and many times the words were on my lips, but +somehow--I know not how--Pelagie always managed to turn me aside. At +least I think she did, for with the words on my lips I would find +myself talking of something else. + +Now, as our horses swashed their noses in the cool water, and sent the +bright drops in showers about us, I looked down upon her, the dark +green of her riding-habit making a rich foil to the soft glow of her +cheek, and the drooping plume of her hat falling over her snowy neck +and mingling with the dark ringlets, and one little hand from which +she had drawn the glove playing with Fatima's tawny mane--and I took a +sudden resolution. + +"Mademoiselle," I said, "do you know that to-day you are no longer a +proud lady of France, but a simple American maiden?" + +She looked up at me, startled. I think she knew what was coming, but +she answered bravely, though softly: + +"Yes, monsieur," and then dropped her eyes and fell to playing with +Fatima's mane again. + +"Mademoiselle, do you remember on La Belle Rivière the wager you would +not let me make?" + +"Yes, monsieur," still more softly. + +"Mademoiselle, if I had made that wager then I would have won it +to-day. You taught me better, and I would not win you by a wager now +if I could. But oh, mademoiselle, you said by worth and deeds of +prowess a maiden's hand should be won; and there is no one in the +world--least of all I--worthy of you, mademoiselle, and no deeds of +prowess could be grand enough to deserve you, and I have nothing to +win you with but my great love; will that avail me,--Pelagie?" + +She did not answer for a moment; she was all rosy and drooping, and +with a happy smile about her lips, as she had been in the cabinet of +the First Consul. + +I put my great hand on her little one, still playing with Fatima's +mane, and clasped it tight, though it fluttered like a bird at first +and then lay quiet. + +"Pelagie, Pelagie, look up at me," I whispered. "I may call you +Pelagie, may I not?" + +Swiftly and shyly she looked up into my eyes, and I looked down into +heaven. + +"Yes, monsieur," she whispered. + +Suddenly she broke into a low laugh, and tried to draw her hand away +from mine. + +"My name is not Pelagie," she said. + +"Not Pelagie!" I exclaimed, thinking she was playing me some merry +trick, and wishing she had chosen some other time to play it. + +"No, monsieur," she said soberly. "They named me Pelagie when they +brought me over sea, but my name is Louise Adelaide, for my aunt the +Abbess of Remiremont." + +I was silent for a moment, for I liked not to think of little Pelagie +by any other name. Then I gently took her hand again and raised it to +my lips: + +"Louise Adelaide," I said, "may do for a princess of Condé, but you +will always be my little Pelagie to me," and so great was the love in +my heart that my voice trembled as I spoke, and we were both very +still for a little, while her hand lay quietly in mine. + +Suddenly a thought struck me: + +"Pelagie," I said, "you have never spoken my name; I do not believe +you know what it is." + +"Yes, I do, monsieur." She looked up at me saucily. "Shall I tell you +what it is?" + +"Call me by it!" I implored her softly. + +For answer she lifted her arms and drew my head down toward her and +whispered it in my ear. + +And I, what did I do? + +What would any man have done whose heart was running over with love +for the most adorable maiden in the world, and her sweet face so +near? + + + + + * * * * * + +FAMOUS COPYRIGHT BOOKS IN POPULAR PRICED EDITIONS + + +Re-issues of the great literary successes of the time. Library size. +Printed on excellent paper--most of them with illustrations of marked +beauty--and handsomely bound in cloth. Price, 75 cents a volume, +postpaid. + +BEVERLY OF GRAUSTARK. By George Barr McCutcheon. With Color +Frontispiece and other illustrations by Harrison Fisher. Beautiful +inlay picture in colors of Beverly on the cover. + +"The most fascinating, engrossing and picturesque of the season's +novels."--_Boston Herald._ "'Beverly' is altogether charming--almost +living flesh and blood."--_Louisville Times._ "Better than +'Graustark'."--_Mail and Express._ "A sequel quite as impossible as +'Graustark' and quite as entertaining."--_Bookman._ "A charming love +story well told."--_Boston Transcript._ + +HALF A ROGUE. By Harold MacGrath. With illustrations and inlay cover +picture by Harrison Fisher. + +"Here are dexterity of plot, glancing play at witty talk, characters +really human and humanly real, spirit and gladness, freshness and +quick movement. 'Half a Rogue' is as brisk as a horseback ride on a +glorious morning. It is as varied as an April day. It is as charming +as two most charming girls can make it. Love and honor and success and +all the great things worth fighting for and living for the involved in +'Half a Rogue.'"--_Phila. Press._ + +THE GIRL FROM TIM'S PLACE. By Charles Clark Munn. With illustrations +by Frank T. Merrill. + +"Figuring in the pages of this story there are several strong +characters. Typical New England folk and an especially sturdy one, old +Cy Walker, through whose instrumentality Chip comes to happiness and +fortune. There is a chain of comedy, tragedy, pathos and love, which +makes a dramatic story."--_Boston Herald._ + +THE LION AND THE MOUSE. A story of American Life. By Charles Klein, +and Arthur Hornblow. With illustrations by Stuart Travis, and Scenes +from the Play. + +The novel duplicated the success of the play; in fact the book is +greater than the play. A portentous clash of dominant personalties +that form the essence of the play are necessarily touched upon but +briefly in the short space of four acts. All this is narrated in the +novel with a wealth of fascinating and absorbing detail, making it one +of the most powerfully written and exciting works of fiction given to +the world in years. + +BARBARA WINSLOW, REBEL. By Elizabeth Ellis. + +With illustrations by John Rae, and colored inlay cover. + +The following, taken from story, will best describe the heroine: A +TOAST: "To the bravest comrade in misfortune, the sweetest companion +in peace and at all times the most courageous of women."--_Barbara +Winslow_. "A romantic story, buoyant, eventful, and in matters of love +exactly what the heart could desire."--_New York Sun._ + +SUSAN. By Ernest Oldmeadow. With a color frontispiece by Frank +Haviland. Medalion in color on front cover. + +Lord Ruddington falls helplessly in love with Miss Langley, whom he +sees in one of her walks accompanied by her maid, Susan. Through a +misapprehension of personalities his lordship addresses a love missive +to the maid. Susan accepts in perfect good faith, and an epistolary +love-making goes on till they are disillusioned. It naturally makes a +droll and delightful little comedy; and is a story that is +particularly clever in the telling. + +WHEN PATTY WENT TO COLLEGE. By Jean Webster. With illustrations by C. +D. Williams. + +"The book is a treasure."--_Chicago Daily News._ "Bright, whimsical, +and thoroughly entertaining."--_Buffalo Express._ "One of the best +stories of life in a girl's college that has ever been written."--_N. Y. +Press._ "To any woman who has enjoyed the pleasures of a college life +this book cannot fail to bring back many sweet recollections; and to +those who have not been to college the wit, lightness, and charm of +Patty are sure to be no less delightful."--_Public Opinion._ + +THE MASQUERADER. By Katherine Cecil Thurston. With illustrations by +Clarence F. Underwood. + +"You can't drop it till you have turned the last page."--_Cleveland +Leader._ "Its very audacity of motive, of execution, of solution, +almost takes one's breath away. The boldness of its denouement is +sublime."--_Boston Transcript._ "The literary hit of a generation. The +best of it is the story deserves all its success. A masterly +story."--_St. Louis Dispatch._ "The story is ingeniously told, and +cleverly constructed."--_The Dial._ + +THE GAMBLER. By Katherine Cecil Thurston. With illustrations by John +Campbell. + +"Tells of a high strung young Irish woman who has a passion for +gambling, inherited from a long line of sporting ancestors. She has a +high sense of honor, too, and that causes complications. She is a very +human, lovable character, and love saves her."--_N. Y. Times._ + +THE AFFAIR AT THE INN. By Kate Douglas Wiggin. + +With illustrations by Martin Justice. + +"As superlatively clever in the writing as it is entertaining in the +reading. It is actual comedy of the most artistic sort, and it is +handled with a freshness and originality that is unquestionably +novel."--_Boston Transcript._ "A feast of humor and good cheer, yet +subtly pervaded by special shades of feeling, fancy, tenderness, or +whimsicality. A merry thing in prose."--_St. Louis Democrat._ + +ROSE O' THE RIVER. By Kate Douglas Wiggin. With illustrations by +George Wright. + +"'Rose o' the River' a charming bit of sentiment, gracefully written +and deftly touched with a gentle humor. It is a dainty book--daintily +illustrated."--_New York Tribune._ "A wholesome, bright, refreshing +story, an ideal book to give a young girl."--_Chicago Record-Herald._ +"An idyllic story, replete with pathos and inimitable humor. As +story-telling it is perfection, and as portrait-painting it is true to +the life."--_London Mail._ + +TILLIE: A Mennonite Maid. By Helen R. Martin. With illustrations by +Florence Scovel Shinn. + +The little "Mennonite Maid" who wanders through these pages is +something quite new in fiction. Tillie is hungry for books and beauty +and love; and she comes into her inheritance at the end. "Tillie is +faulty, sensitive, big-hearted, eminently human, and first, last and +always lovable. Her charm glows warmly, the story is well handled, the +characters skilfully developed."--_The Book Buyer._ + +LADY ROSE'S DAUGHTER. By Mrs. Humphry Ward. With illustrations by +Howard Chandler Christy. + +"The most marvellous work of its wonderful author."--_New York World._ +"We touch regions and attain altitudes which it is not given to the +ordinary novelist even to approach."--_London Times._ "In no other +story has Mrs. Ward approached the brilliancy and vivacity of Lady +Rose's Daughter."--_North American Review._ + +THE BANKER AND THE BEAR. By Henry K. Webster. + +"An exciting and absorbing story."--_New York Times._ "Intensely +thrilling; in parts, but an unusually good story all through. There is +a love affair of real charm and most novel surroundings, there is a +run on the bank which is almost worth a year's growth, and there is +all manner of exhilarating men and deeds which should bring the book +into high and permanent favor."--_Chicago Evening Post._ + +THE SPIRIT OF THE SERVICE. By Edith Elmer Wood. With illustrations by +Rufus Zogbaum. + +The standards and life of "the new navy" are breezily set forth with a +genuine ring impossible from the most gifted "outsider." "The story of +the destruction of the 'Maine,' and of the Battle of Manila, are very +dramatic. The author is the daughter of one naval officer and the wife +of another. Naval folks will find much to interest them in 'The Spirit +of the Service.'"--_The Book Buyer._ + +A SPECTRE OF POWER. By Charles Egbert Craddock. + +Miss Murfree has pictured Tennessee mountains and the mountain people +in striking colors and with dramatic vividness, but goes back to the +time of the struggles of the French and English in the early +eighteenth century for possession of the Cherokee territory. The story +abounds in adventure, mystery, peril and suspense. + +THE STORM CENTRE. By Charles Egbert Craddock. + +A war story; but more of flirtation, love and courtship than of +fighting or history. The tale is thoroughly readable and takes its +readers again into golden Tennessee, into the atmosphere which has +distinguished all of Miss Murfree's novels. + +THE ADVENTURESS. By Coralie Stanton. With color frontispiece by +Harrison Fisher, and attractive inlay cover in colors. + +As a penalty for her crimes, her evil nature, her flint-like +callousness, her more than inhuman cruelty, her contempt for the laws +of God and man, she was condemned to bury her magnificent personalty, +her transcendent beauty, her superhuman charms, in gilded obscurity at +a King's left hand. A powerful story powerfully told. + +THE GOLDEN GREYHOUND. A Novel by Dwight Tilton. With illustrations by +E. Pollak. + +A thoroughly good story that keeps you guessing to the very end, and +never attempts to instruct or reform you. It is a strictly up-to-date +story of love and mystery with wireless telegraphy and all the modern +improvements. The events nearly all take place on a big Atlantic liner +and the romance of the deep is skilfully made to serve as a setting +for the romance, old as mankind, yet always new, involving our hero. + +LAVENDER AND OLD LACE. By Myrtle Reed. + +A charming story of a quaint corner of New England where bygone +romance finds a modern parallel. One of the prettiest, sweetest, and +quaintest of old-fashioned love stories * * * A rare book, exquisite +in spirit and conception, full of delicate fancy, of tenderness, of +delightful humor and spontaneity. A dainty volume, especially suitable +for a gift. + +DOCTOR LUKE OF THE LABRADOR. By Norman Duncan. With a frontispiece and +inlay cover. + +How the doctor came to the bleak Labrador coast and there in saving +life made expiation. In dignity, simplicity, humor, in sympathetic +etching of a sturdy fisher people, and above all in the echoes of the +sea, _Doctor Luke_ is worthy of great praise. Character, humor, +poignant pathos, and the sad grotesque conjunctions of old and new +civilizations are expressed through the medium of a style that has +distinction and strikes a note of rare personality. + +THE DAY'S WORK. By Rudyard Kipling. Illustrated. + +The _London Morning Post_ says: "It would be hard to find better +reading * * * the book is so varied, so full of color and life from +end to end, that few who read the first two or three stories will lay +it down till they have read the last--and the last is a veritable gem +* * * contains some of the best of his highly vivid work * * * Kipling +is a born story-teller and a man of humor into the bargain." + +ELEANOR LEE. By Margaret E. Sangster. With a frontispiece. + +A story of married life, and attractive picture of wedded bliss * * * +an entertaining story or a man's redemption through a woman's love +* * * no one who knows anything of marriage or parenthood can read +this story with eyes that are always dry * * * goes straight to the +heart of everyone who knows the meaning of "love" and "home." + +THE COLONEL OF THE RED HUZZARS. By John Reed Scott. Illustrated by +Clarence F. Underwood. + +"Full of absorbing charm, sustained interest, and a wealth of +thrilling and romantic situations." "So naively fresh in its +handling, so plausible through its naturalness, that it comes +like a mountain breeze across the far-spreading desert of similar +romances."--_Gazette-Times, Pittsburg._ "A slap-dashing day +romance."--_New York Sun._ + +THE FAIR GOD; OR, THE LAST OF THE TZINS. By Lew Wallace. With +illustrations by Eric Pape. + +"The story tells of the love of a native princess for Alvarado, and it +is worked out with all of Wallace's skill * * * it gives a fine +picture of the heroism of the Spanish conquerors and of the culture +and nobility of the Aztecs."--_New York Commercial Advertiser._ + +"_Ben Hur_ sold enormously, but _The Fair God_ was the best of the +General's stories--a powerful and romantic treatment of the defeat of +Montezuma by Cortes."--_Athenæum._ + +THE CAPTAIN OF THE KANSAS. By Louis Tracy. + +A story of love and the salt sea--of a helpless ship whirled into the +hands of cannibal Fuegians--of desperate fighting and tender romance, +enhanced by the art of a master of story telling who describes with +his wonted felicity and power of holding the reader's attention * * * +filled with the swing of adventure. + +A MIDNIGHT GUEST. A Detective Story. By Fred M. White. With a +frontispiece. + +The scene of the story centers in London and Italy. The book is +skilfully written and makes one of the most baffling, mystifying, +exciting detective stories ever written--cleverly keeping the suspense +and mystery intact until the surprising discoveries which precede the +end. + +THE HONOUR OF SAVELLI. A Romance. By S. Levett Yeats. With cover and +wrapper in four colors. + +Those who enjoyed Stanley Weyman's _A Gentleman of France_ will be +engrossed and captivated by this delightful romance of Italian +history. It is replete with exciting episodes, hair-breath escapes, +magnificent sword-play, and deals with the agitating times in Italian +history when Alexander II was Pope and the famous and infamous Borgias +were tottering to their fall. + +SISTER CARRIE. By Theodore Drieser. With a frontispiece, and wrapper +in color. + +In all fiction there is probably no more graphic and poignant study of +the way in which man loses his grip on life, lets his pride, his +courage, his self-respect slip from him, and, finally, even ceases to +struggle in the mire that has engulfed him. * * * There is more tonic +value in _Sister Carrie_ than in a whole shelfful of sermons. + +DARREL OF THE BLESSED ISLES. By Irving Bacheller. With illustrations +by Arthur Keller. + +"Darrel, the clock tinker, is a wit, philosopher, and man of mystery. +Learned, strong, kindly, dignified, he towers like a giant above the +people among whom he lives. It is another tale of the North Country, +full of the odor of wood and field. Wit, humor, pathos and high +thinking are in this book."--_Boston Transcript._ + +D'RI AND I: A Tale of Daring Deeds in the Second War with the British. +Being the Memoirs of Colonel Ramon Bell, U. S. A. By Irving Bacheller. +With illustrations by F. C. Yohn. + +"Mr. Bacheller is admirable alike in his scenes of peace and war. +D'ri, a mighty hunter, has the same dry humor as Uncle Eb. He fights +magnificently on the 'Lawrence,' and was among the wounded when Perry +went to the 'Niagara.' As a romance of early American history it is +great for the enthusiasm it creates."--_New York Times._ + +EBEN HOLDEN: A Tale of the North Country. By Irving Bacheller. + +"As pure as water and as good as bread," says Mr. Howells. "Read 'Eben +Holden'" is the advice of Margaret Sangster. "It is a forest-scented, +fresh-aired, bracing and wholly American story of country and town +life. * * * If in the far future our successors wish to know what were +the real life and atmosphere in which the country folk that saved this +nation grew, loved, wrought and had their being, they must go back to +such true and zestful and poetic tales of 'fiction' as 'Eben Holden,'" +says Edmund Clarence Stedman. + +SILAS STRONG: Emperor of the Woods. By Irving Bacheller. With a +frontispiece. + +"A modern _Leatherstocking_. Brings the city dweller the aroma of the +pine and the music of the wind in its branches--an epic poem * * * +forest-scented, fresh-aired, and wholly American. A stronger character +than Eben Holden."--_Chicago Record-Herald._ + +VERGILIUS: A Tale of the Coming of Christ. By Irving Bacheller. + +A thrilling and beautiful story of two young Roman patricians whose +great and perilous love in the reign of Augustus leads them through +the momentous, exciting events that marked the year just preceding the +birth of Christ. + +Splendid character studies of the Emperor Augustus, of Herod and his +degenerate son, Antipater, and of his daughter "the incomparable" +Salome. A great triumph in the art of historical portrait painting. + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK + + + + +PRINCESS MARITZA + +A NOVEL OF RAPID ROMANCE. +BY PERCY BREBNER + +With Harrison Fisher Illustrations in Color. + +Offers more real entertainment and keen enjoyment than any book since +"Graustark." Full of picturesque life and color and a delightful +love-story. The scene of the story is Wallaria, one of those mythical +kingdoms in Southern Europe. Maritza is the rightful heir to the +throne, but is kept away from her own country. The hero is a young +Englishman of noble family. It is a pleasing book of fiction. Large 12 +mo. size. Handsomely bound in cloth. White coated wrapper, with +Harrison Fisher portrait in colors. Price 75 cents, postpaid. + + +Books by George Barr McCutcheon + +BREWSTER'S MILLIONS + +Mr. Montgomery Brewster is required to spend a million dollars in one +year in order to inherit seven millions. He must be absolutely +penniless at that time, and yet have spent the million in a way that +will commend him as fit to inherit the larger sum. How he does it +forms the basis for one of the most crisp and breezy romances of +recent years. + +CASTLE CRANEYCROW + +The story revolves around the abduction of a young American woman and +the adventures created through her rescue. The title is taken from the +name of an old castle on the Continent, the scene of her imprisonment. + +GRAUSTARK: A Story of a Love Behind a Throne. + +This work has been and is to-day one of the most popular works of +fiction of this decade. The meeting of the Princess of Graustark with +the hero, while travelling incognito in this country, his efforts to +find her, his success, the defeat of conspiracies to dethrone her, and +their happy marriage, provide entertainment which every type of reader +will enjoy. + +THE SHERRODS. With illustrations by C. D. Williams + +A novel quite unlike Mr. McCutcheon's previous works in the field of +romantic fiction and yet possessing the charm inseparable from +anything he writes. The scene is laid in Indiana and the theme is best +described in the words, "Whom God hath joined, let no man put +asunder." + +Each volume handsomely bound in cloth. Large 12 mo. size. Price 75 +cents per volume, postpaid. + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers +52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK + + + + +GET THE BEST OUT-DOOR STORIES + +Stewart Edward White's +Great Novels of Western Life. + +GROSSET & DUNLAP EDITIONS + +THE BLAZED TRAIL + +Mingles the romance of the forest with the romance of man's heart, +making a story that is big and elemental, while not lacking in +sweetness and tenderness. It is an epic of the life of the lumbermen +of the great forest of the Northwest, permeated by out of door +freshness, and the glory of the struggle with nature. + +THE SILENT PLACES + +A powerful story of strenuous endeavor and fateful privation in the +frozen North, embodying also a detective story of much strength and +skill. The author brings out with sure touch and deep understanding +the mystery and poetry of the still, frost-bound forest. + +THE CLAIM JUMPERS + +A tale of a Western mining camp and the making of a man, with which a +charming young lady has much to do. The tenderfoot has a hard time of +it, but meets the situation, shows the stuff he is made of, and "wins +out." + +THE WESTERNERS + +A tale of the mining camp and the Indian country, full of color and +thrilling incident. + +THE MAGIC FOREST: A Modern Fairy Story. + +"No better book could be put in a young boy's hands," says the New +York _Sun_. It is a happy blend of knowledge of wood life with an +understanding of Indian character, as well as that of small boys. + +Each volume handsomely bound in cloth. Price, seventy-five cents per +volume, postpaid. + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers +52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK + + + + +_THE GROSSET AND DUNLAP SPECIAL EDITIONS OF POPULAR NOVELS THAT HAVE +BEEN DRAMATIZED_. + +BREWSTER'S MILLIONS: By George Bar McCutcheon. + +A clever, fascinating tale, with a striking and unusual plot. With +illustrations from the original New York production of the play. + +THE LITTLE MINISTER: By J. M. Barrie. + +With illustrations from the play as presented by Maude Adams, and a +vignette in gold of Miss Adams on the cover. + +CHECKERS: By Henry M. Blossom, Jr. + +A story of the Race Track. Illustrated with scenes from the play as +originally presented in New York by Thomas W. Ross who created the +stage character. + +THE CHRISTIAN: By Hall Caine. + +THE ETERNAL CITY: By Hall Caine. + +Each has been elaborately and successfully staged. + +IN THE PALACE OF THE KING: By F. Marion Crawford. + +A love story of Old Madrid, with full page illustrations. Originally +played with great success by Viola Allen. + +JANICE MEREDITH: By Paul Leicester Ford. + +New edition with an especially attractive cover, a really handsome +book. Originally played by Mary Mannering, who created the title role. + +These books are handsomely bound in cloth, are well-made in every +respect, and aside from their unusual merit as stories, are +particularly interesting to those who like things theatrical. Price, +postpaid, seventy-five cents each. + +GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS +52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's notes: + + The list of Illustrations was not part of the original book. + + Page 97: droping changed to dropping (cook was droping still + more into the kettle of boiling fat). + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROSE OF OLD ST. LOUIS*** + + +******* This file should be named 20911-8.txt or 20911-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/9/1/20911 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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