Altsheler, Joseph - [Novel 05] Read online

" It seems that the Government, even at the most critical periods, does not work all the time, but takes its ease on occasion like other people."

  I would have made some sharp reply, for the intent of offence was manifest in his manner, but Marian's eyes met mine in a warning look, and she interrupted lightly:

  " Let the Government take care- of itself; we will talk of other things."

  The look which she had given me, which had indi cated a confidence, a feeling between us not shared by others, was sufficient to reward me for silence and a fail ure to reply to Bidwell's sneer, and I spoke of such light topics as the time afforded of " Tom Jones " and " Eve lina," and Mr. Irving's ingenious Knickerbocker's History

  A LADY AND OTHERS. 19

  of New York, and the latest dances that had come from Paris, where the court of Napoleon was acquiring new splendours and the old French taste for. gaiety was blos soming again.

  There were two ladies from the North present, the Misses Constance and Fanny Eastlake, handsome and of fine figure, but not so fair of complexion as our Ken tucky women; and Mercer, of Tennessee, my friend, a thin, dry man, two or three years older than myself, who had spent a year or two abroad and knew the world to criticise it, wherefore he was now a lawyer in Washington; and two or three others of the capital's society.

  Cyrus Pendleton came over to me presently and be gan to scoff at what he called the Government's inde cision and cowardice, for he, like all our people of the West, was eager for war, sure that we could redress our wrongs only on the battlefield an opinion which I shared though, owing to my position in the office of the Secre tary of the Treasury, I was more chary in expressing it. As I have said, I have never seen a man animated with more hatred of the English, especially the ruling classes of England, though he and all the other rich men of Ken tucky were seeking to build up in our own State a baron ial and landed aristocracy, precisely like that which their ancestor s had left behind them in the old country. That I knew to be the chief reason why Cyrus Pendleton looked with so much favour upon Bidwell, whose many acres adjoined the five thousand within a ring fence that were his own. The prospect of extending that five thousand so easily was too tempting for a man of his ambition to overlook.

  Marian stood near her father for a moment, and the contrast between them, despite their resemblance, struck me with curious force: he so rugged and seamed, she so fair and gentle, yet with the same expression of strength and courage. But it should not have seemed strange to

  20 A HERALD OF THE WEST.

  me; we see it throughout the West every day, fair daugh ters of rough fathers.

  " Handsome,.isn't she? " said Mercer in my ear.

  "You think so?" I replied.

  His face flushed faintly, much to my surprise.

  " One has no choice; one must think so," he replied in his dry tones; "but remember, Philip, my boy, that there are other handsome women in the world, and the old gentleman has not chosen her for you."

  There seemed to be a suggestion of warning in his tone, and of sympathy too. Which preponderated I could not tell, and I affected to notice neither, though I could not account even to myself for the faint tinge of red that had come into his face when he spoke first.

  I left early, before any of the others, and Marian, after the custom, accompanied me to the door, giving me her hand as I stepped out and permitting it to rest in mine for an infinitesimal moment.

  " Marian," I said, " I may continue to come? "

  " Until I bid you stay away."

  " Which will be never, I hope."

  She smiled, and I walked away in the darkness, but before I had taken half a dozen steps I looked back and saw that she lingered for a few moments in the doorway.

  She stood there, the lights of the room shining upon her, all else in darkness, like a picture illumined from above. The smile was still on her face, and I believed that it was for me.

  Do not think I was over-sentimental, but my years were only twenty-four, and there are moments in every man's life then that he wishes to remember.

  The door closed and the darkness became complete, but, far from being oppressed by it, I felt a certain ex hilaration and I trod with light step. The night was cloudy but cold, and, not caring to return just then to my bare little room, I turned into Pennsylvania Avenue and walked toward the Capitol.

  A LADY AND OTHERS. 21

  Mists and clouds were gathered around the lofty walls of the unfinished building, yet the faint gleam of white stone and marble showed through the veil of va pour, though all the rest of the city was buried in dark ness, save for the few lights that glimmered far apart.

  My mental elation communicating itself to my mus cles, I felt less than ever like sleep, and the brisk cold, too, inciting me to physical exertion, I walked on up Penn sylvania Avenue, avoiding the pools of water and the mud holes. Street lamps burned dimly at two corners, their lights flickering in the February wind, but I thought little of these things and continued swiftly on, the Capitol emerging from the clouds and mists as I ap proached, though its walls still remained shapeless and undefined, lofty columns of vapour against the darker vapours of the night.

  CHAPTER III.

  FROM THE OTHER SIDE.

  I WALKED up the hill toward the Capitol, because it was a favourite stroll of mine, whether by day or by night. I suppose that every one has a desire to be alone at times, to feel the full force of Nature, and there was no place in Washington more solitary, seemingly more abandoned by the world, than the Capitol at night. When the darkness covered the rawness and newness of everything, it was easy to fancy that the unfinished walls were not unfinished walls at all, but the crumbling ruins of an old temple, and the scattered houses that lay be low the remains of an ancient city. While we of the West did not trouble ourselves much about old times and old things, but gloried rather in the newness and freshness of our country, yet it pleased me to do this now and then, for I had read the old histories, and I missed sometimes the glamour of ages, which the com monest country of Europe had, and we had not.

  I ascended the last slope, and on my way passed the lone watchman of the building, who knew me, and, re turning his nod, I entered the portico. The watchman, continuing his round, was soon hidden from my sight by the walls, and I stood alone looking down at the town, and seeing but little of it. I knew one dim shape to be the Treasury, and the dark line was a row of trees that shut out the White House. I could calculate just where the Pendleton house stood, but no light shining there, I sup posed that all the guests had now gone home. There 22

  FROM THE OTHER SIDE. 23

  were but a few signs of life, and the whistling of the wind through the trees was like one of the ordinary noises of the wilderness. When the gusts struck the stone walls of the Capitol they curved around it with a moan and a shriek, and my fancy to make it an old ruin, haunted hy the winds, was never more vivid.

  I turned my eyes from the town, and they caught at the far end of the portico a gleam of scarlet. It was faint, just a flash, and then gone, but it was enough to attract my curiosity, and I stepped lightly down the por tico, intent to see.

  I was convinced that it was some one in a red coat, who had no business about the Capitol, and being in the Government employ myself I felt that I had in some sort as much right as a watchman, for instance, to fol low the wearer of the coat and see who he might be and what he intended there. The gleam of scarlet was hidden by one of the pillars, and stepping behind another column I waited for its second appearance, which was delayed but a moment.

  Major Northcote stepped from the shadow of the pillar, and I was sure that I heard him speaking in a low tone to some one, being strengthened in this belief when I caught a glimpse of a figure disappearing at the end of the portico and into the darkness beyond. Yet I could not say with absolute certainty, since the night was so black and one's eyes were liable to deception. But of Major Northcote there could be no mistake, as he came forward from the shelter of a pillar and stood near at hand where I could
see him very well, and in all his splendour.

  He was dressed in the brilliant red, white, and gold uniform of an officer in the British army, his epaulets heavy with gold braid and tassels, and a jewel-hilted sword which I coveted at his side. He wore a large black cloak lined with red, which was thrown back from his chest, revealing the red interior of the cloak and the

  24: A HERALD OF THE WEST.

  facings of his uniform. He seemed to have adorned himself with his most splendid attire, as if he were a young man preparing for a festival; and in truth I had noticed before that he was fond of fine clothing of bril liant colours a taste which I confess to having myself to a slight extent, due perhaps to that touch of the South ern sun which we feel in Kentucky, and which they say breeds the love of colour.

  He came toward me without any trace of hesitation or embarrassment, his face, so far as I could see, expressing only welcome and good breeding.

  " And do you, too, walk alone at night, Cousin Phil ip?" he said in his full, mellow tones. "It is the best time to think, and I have come here, for where could one be more solitary than within the shadow of this Capi tol building of a nation ? But I was growing lonely when I saw you; now we will stay a while together."

  His manner was so graceful and easy, so natural, so full of cheery good humour, that it seemed impossible for his words to be false, and yet the faint sneer at the nation made me distrust him for the moment.

  " Come," he said, taking me by the arm, " let us walk together while we talk."

  I yielded to the influence of his manner and asked him nothing about his presence there, which, untimely as it seemed, despite his explanation, was not a matter that I had any real right to question. He was silent for at least five minutes, and I was silent too, waiting for him to speak first.

  " Philip," he said presently, " you are my kinsman, and I can speak to you plainly."

  I bowed.

  "And in confidence?"

  " If I ought to retain it so," I said, growing cautious.

  He laughed a little.

  " That was a statesmanlike reservation," he said, " and I think well of you for it."

  FROM THE OTHER SIDE. 25

  I could not tell from his manner whether he meant it as a compliment or a gibe, and I was silent.

  " Yes, Philip," he continued, " you are my kinsman, and, distant as the relationship is, I wish to remember it, for I have some of that feeling of kinship which you Kentuckians cherish."

  " I am flattered," I said.

  " And I am glad to observe," he continued, without noticing the interruption or my manner, " that you show more wit and spirit than most of those around you."

  " Shall I take that as a compliment to myself, or a slur upon my countrymen ? " I asked.

  " I am speaking seriously, and because I am inter ested in you," he replied with some rebuke in his tone. " 1 am an old man and I do not jest."

  I was silent, for I felt that his manner had the ad vantage of mine, and I did not wish to appear the inferior of anybody in wit and presence.

  " This is a convenient time and place for me to say to you what I wish," he continued. " You and I were together to-day, and we listened to your Mr. Clay."

  " He spo ke words of wisdom."

  " Not at all not at all! They were the words of a young enthusiast blinded by his own ignorance. He spoke of making war upon England; of this country, without an army or a navy, divided into many factions and scattered over vast distances, declaring war upon Great Britain, the greatest power in the world, greater even than Bonaparte, despite the vast military machine that he holds under his hand. One could not believe such monstrous folly did he not hear it urged daily and know that it would be done."

  " Then war is sure to come? "

  " Certainly; not in a month or six months, perhaps, but in its own good time."

  "And the result?"

  He lifted his head with a peculiar motion of pride,

  8

  26 A HERALD OF THE WEST.

  and a triumphant flush swept over his face. I knew well what the answer would be, and I felt a sickness at the heart, for he seemed to me at that moment, in his resplendent uniform, with his red-lined cloak thrown back from his shoulders, his sword at his side and his figure drawn up, to typify the haughty and arrogant na tion which even then was all-powerful wherever Bona parte was not, and with all his power the emperor could not pass the line of English ships that belted Europe in.

  But Major Northcote's show of triumph was only for a moment, a mere passing flash, and he answered in a quiet tone without any emphasis, but all the more con vincing because of it:

  " There can be only one result, and it will be even more sweeping than you expect, for you must know the disproportion between the two nations. These colonies will be returned to their old allegiance. Colonies they are! You can not call this a nation! "

  He made a gesture of contempt toward the city that lay in the darkness below, and then another to the walls that rose above us.

  "Is this a capital, Philip?" he asked; "a muddy village in the woods, and some rough stone walls be tween which farmers meet and make what they call laws?"

  "They will be finished," I said; "both the capital and the Capitol."

  " Never! " he replied, speaking with emphasis, and in such a tone of conviction that I could not fail to be im pressed. " England will soon claim her own again, and we exiles of Canada, American by birth, but sons of England yet, will come back with her. When we were building new homes in the Canadian woods we never forgot our old ones here. You have heard of the Moors in Africa, who still keep the keys of the houses of their ancestors in Spain ? "

  " But the Moors have never gone back to Spain."

  FROM THE OTHER SIDE. 27

  " You can not say they never will. But it will not be long before the English flag will wave here again. England is the greatest power in the world. I am not boasting. Can not you see it? Look at her! Has she ever been beaten by anybody? "

  " Yes, by us. You forget our own Revolution."

  " But an incident that will be reversed. She never fails. No nation in Europe can prevail against her. She is always victor in the end. She broke the power of Louis the Great. She has driven France out of Amer ica and India. The navies of France, Holland, Spain, and Denmark have crumbled to pieces before hers. Bonaparte, too, great as he seems, must yield to her, for England grows stronger every day she fights, since her trade, her agriculture, and her manufactures go on the same in peace or in war, and meantime France becomes weaker. When Bonaparte is crushed you will be left to confront England alone."

  He spoke with the greatest fervour and his air of indifference was gone, leaving me to see the soul of this man and his dearest ambitions, a man who knew the world, both that of Europe and that of our own country, and the relative power of nations. I had seen perhaps more of these things than most people of the West who had not the same opportunities, and understanding them thus there was no reply that I could make to him just then.

  " If I believed in omens and prophecies and cared for dramatic illustrations," he said, resuming his easy and careless manner, " I would point to the clouds and va pours which hang over this capital and tell you that it is doomed."

  " I do not think so," I said, though I had been af fected deeply by his predictions and the more substan tial array of forces to support them.

  " You know the only possible result of this war," he said, speaking again with emphasis and a certain enthu-

  -

  28 A HERALD OF THE WEST.

  siasm like that of a young man. " And why should you care?"

  " I care very much."

  " A mere passing phase of feeling, soon over. Why should you care, I say? You are a young man of sense and spirit. You have ambitions, political, perhaps of high place, the right of every young man. What sort of a stage does this country offer to you? Suppose you reach the presidency itself! Merely the chief farmer among a crowd of rusty farmers talking at your cabinet mee
tings about the crops and the sordid cares of a small nation that has no cultivation and no interests beyond the most primitive. This country is only a fringe of set tlements in the woods of a vast continent. The great world is yonder in Europe. But when Britain comes back and reclaims her colonies, you become an Englishman. You will be in the British Empire, and you can play your part upon the greatest and most brilliant stage in the world. Is not the exchange worth while? What have you to lose? Nothing! To gain? Everything! With the British Empire restored and whole, with this country to receive England's surplus population and to aid her and re-enforce her at every turn, that empire will rule the world, a wider and greater world than ever acknowledged old Rome as mistress. What a destiny for the Anglo- Saxon race, and do you not wish to have your part in it rather than wear your life out here? Eepublics are tawdry, mean, commonplace. An aristocracy must gov ern if a country is to be governed well."

  I confess that I was dazzled for the moment by his picture and the manner in which he drew it, but it was my imagination only, and not my judgment, ,the better part of me, that was overcome. Nor was the thought new to me, and I had heard other Americans speculate upon the future might and grandeur of the Anglo-Saxon race had it remained united, though the quarrel between the two branches was daily growing more bitter and I was one

  FROM THE OTHER SIDE. 29

  who shared in the strongest prejudices against the old country. Wishing to know the point to which he would lead, I asked him why he said these things to me.

  " It may be that I said them to enlighten you," he replied with cynical emphasis. " You are my kinsman, and perhaps I might wish to help you in the good time coming when an allegiance to the Government that meets here, if not too warm, would not be remembered against you. The British service will be open to its citizens of American birth as freely as to any others. Americans, the exiled Loyalists, have already won many honours there. The army and the navy swarm with them. They are serving in India, with Wellington in Spain, every where."