CHAPTER XXVII.
"With woful measures, wan despair-- Low, sullen sounds his grief beguil'd, A solemn, strange, and mingled air; 'Twas sad by fits, by starts 'twas wild."--Collins.
Thousandacres had been shot in his chair, by one of the rifles firstdischarged that night. As it turned out, he was the only one that wecould ascertain was hurt; though there was a report, to which manypersons gave credence, that Tobit had a leg broken, also, and that heremained a cripple for life. I am inclined to believe this report mayhave been true; for Jaap told me, after all was over, that he let fly ona man who had just fired on himself, and who certainly fell, and wasborne off limping, by two of his companions. It is quite probable thatthis hurt of Tobit's and the fate of his father, was the reason wereceived no more annoyance that night from the squatters, who had allvanished from the clearing so effectually, including most of the femalesand all the children, that no traces of their place of retreat were tobe found next morning. Lowiny, however, did not accompany the family,but remained near Dus, rendering herself highly useful as an attendantin the melancholy scene that followed. I may as well add here, that noevidence was ever obtained concerning the manner in which Thousandacresreceived his death-wound. He was shot through the open door, beyond allquestion, as he sat in his chair; and necessarily in the early part ofthe fray, for then only was a rifle discharged very near the house, orfrom a point that admitted of the ball's hitting its victim. For myself,I believed from the first that Susquesus sacrificed the squatter to themanes of his friend Chainbearer; dealing out Indian justice, withouthesitation or compunction. Still, I could not be certain of the fact;and the Onondago had either sufficient prudence or sufficient philosophyto keep his own secret. It is true that a remark or two did escape himsoon after the affair occurred, that tended to sustain my suspicions;but, on the whole, he was remarkably reserved on the subject--less fromany apprehension of consequences, than from self-respect and pride ofcharacter. There was little to be apprehended, indeed; the previousmurder of Chainbearer, and the unlawful nature of all the proceedings ofthe squatters, justifying a direct and sudden attack on the part of theposse.
Just as Malbone and myself discovered the condition of Thousandacres,this posse, with 'Squire Newcome at its head, began to collect aroundthe house, which might now be termed our hospital. As the party waslarge, and necessarily a little tumultuous, I desired Frank to lead themoff to some of the other buildings, as soon as a bed had been preparedfor the squatter, who was placed in the same room with Chainbearer todie. No one, in the least acquainted with injuries of that nature, couldentertain any hope for either; though a messenger was sent to thesettlements for the individual who was called "doctor," and who wasreally fast acquiring many useful notions about his profession, bypractising on the human system. They say that "an ounce of experience isworth a pound of theory," and this disciple of Esculapius seemed to haveset up in his art on this principle; having little or none of the last,while he was really obtaining a very respectable amount of the first, ashe practised right and left, as the pugilist is most apt to hit in hisrallies. Occasionally, however, he gave a knock-down blow.
As soon as the necessary arrangements were made in our hospital, I toldDus that we would leave her and Lowiny in attendance on the wounded,both of whom manifested weariness and a disposition to doze, while allthe rest of the party would draw off, and take up their quarters for thenight in the adjacent buildings. Malbone was to remain as a sentinel, alittle distance from the door, and I promised to join him in the courseof an hour.
"Lowiny can attend to the wants of her father, while you will have thetenderest care of your uncle, I well know. A little drink occasionallyis all that can alleviate their sufferings----"
"Let me come in," interrupted a hoarse female voice at the door, as awoman forced her way through the opposing arms of several of the posse."I am Aaron's wife, and they tell me he is hurt. God himself has orderedthat a woman should cleave unto her husband, and Thousandacres is mine;and he is the father of my children, if he _has_ murdered and beenmurdered in his turn."
There was something so commanding in the natural emotions of this woman,that the guard at the door gave way immediately, when Prudence enteredthe room. The first glance of the squatter's wife was at the bed ofChainbearer; but nothing there held her gaze riveted. That gaze onlybecame fixed as her eyes fell on the large form of Thousandacres, as helay extended on his death-bed. It is probable that this experiencedmatron, who had seen so many accidents in the course of a long life, andhad sat by so many a bedside, understood the desperate nature of herhusband's situation as soon as her eyes fell on the fallen countenance:for, turning to those near her, the first impulse was, to revenge thewrong which she conceived had been done to her and hers. I willacknowledge that I felt awed, and that a thrill passed through my frameas this rude and unnurtured female, roused by her impulses, demandedauthoritatively:
"Who has done this? Who has taken the breath from my man before the timeset by the Lord? Who has dared to make my children fatherless, and me awidow, ag'in law and right? I left my man seated on that hearth,heart-stricken and troubled at what had happened to another; and theytell me he has been murdered in his chair. The Lord will be on our sideat last, and then we'll see whom the law will favor, and whom the lawwill condemn--!"
A movement and a groan, on the part of Thousandacres, would seem firstto have apprised Prudence that her husband was not actually dead.Starting at this discovery, this tiger's mate and tiger's dam, if nottigress herself, ceased everything like appeal and complaint, and setherself about those duties which naturally suggested themselves to oneof her experience, with the energy of a frontier woman--a woodman'swife, and the mother of a large brood of woodman's sons and daughters.She wiped the face of Thousandacres, wet his lips, shifted his pillow,such as it was, placed his limbs in postures she thought the easiest,and otherwise manifested a sort of desperate energy in her care. Thewhole time she was doing this, her tongue was muttering prayers andmenaces, strangely blended together, and quite as strangely mixed upwith epithets of endearment that were thrown away on her stillinsensible and least unconscious husband. She called him Aaron, and thattoo in a tone that sounded as if Thousandacres had a strong hold on heraffections, and might at least have been kind and true to _her_.
I felt convinced that Dus had nothing to fear from Prudence, and I leftthe place as soon as the two nurses had everything arranged for theirrespective patients, and the house was quite free from the danger ofintrusion. On quitting her who now occupied most of my thoughts, Iventured to whisper a request she would not forget the pledges given mein the forest, and asked her to summon me to the bedside of Chainbearer,should he rouse himself from the slumber that had come over him, andmanifest a desire to converse. I feared he might renew the subject towhich his mind had already once averted since receiving his wound, andimbue his niece with some of his own set notions on that subject. Ursulawas kindness itself. Her affliction had even softened her feelingstoward me more than ever; and, so far as she was concerned, I certainlyhad no ground for uneasiness. In passing Frank, who stood on post sometwenty yards from the door of the house, he said: "God bless you,Littlepage--fear nothing. I am too much in your own situation, not to bewarmly your friend." I returned his good wishes, and went my way, in onesense rejoicing.
The posse, as has been stated, were in possession of the differentdeserted habitations of the family of Thousandacres. The night beingcool, fires were blazing on all the hearths, and the place wore an airof cheerfulness that it had probably never before known. Most of the menhad crowded into two of the dwellings, leaving a third for theconvenience of the magistrate, Frank Malbone, and myself, whenever wemight choose to repair to it. By the time I appeared, the posse hadsupped, using the milk and bread, and other eatables of the squatters,_ad libitum_, and were disposing of themselves on the beds and on thefloors, to take a little rest, after their long and rapid march. But inmy own quarters I found 'Squire Newcome alone, unless the sil
ent andmotionless Onondago, who occupied a chair in a corner of the fireplace,could be called a companion. Jaap, too, in expectation of my arrival,was lounging near the door; and when I entered the house, he followed mein for orders.
It was easy for me, who knew of Newcome's relations with the squatters,to discover the signs of confusion in his countenance, as his eye firstmet mine. One who was not acquainted with the circumstances, mostprobably would have detected nothing out of the common way. It will beremembered that the "'squire" had no positive knowledge that I wasacquainted with his previous visit to the mill; and it will be easy tosee that he must have felt an itching and uneasy desire to ascertainthat fact. A great deal depended on that circumstance; nor was it longbefore I had a specimen of his art in sounding round the truth, with aview to relieve his mind.
"Who'd 'a' thought of findin' Major Littlepage in the hands of thePhilistines, in sich an out o' the way place as this!" exclaimed Mr.Newcome, as soon as our salutations had been exchanged. "I've heern saythere was squatters down hereabouts; but such things are so common, thatI never bethought me of givin' him a hint on the matter when I last sawthe major."
Nothing could surpass the deferential manner of this person when he hadan object to gain, it being quite common with him to use the thirdperson, in this way, when addressing a superior; a practice that hasalmost become obsolete in the English language, and which is seldom ifever used in America, except by this particular class of men, who deferbefore your face, and endeavor to undermine when the back is turned. Myhumor was not to trifle with this fellow, though I did not know that itwas exactly prudent, just then, to let him know that I had both seen andheard him in his former visit, and was fully aware of all his practices.It was not easy, however, to resist the opportunity given by his ownremarks, to put him a little way on the tenter-hooks of conscience--thatquality of the human mind being one of the keenest allies an assailantcan possess, in cases of this sort.
"I had supposed, Mr. Newcome, that you were generally charged with thecare of the Mooseridge lands, as one of the conditions annexed to theRavensnest agency?" I somewhat dryly remarked.
"Sartain, sir; the colonel--or gin'ral, as he ought to be called now, Ido s'pose--gave me the superintendence of both at the same time. But themajor knows, I presume, that Mooseridge was not on sale?"
"No, sir; it would seem to have been only on _plunder_. One would thinkthat an agent, intrusted with the care of an estate, and who heard ofsquatters being in possession, and stripping the land of its trees,would feel it to be his duty at least to apprise the owners of thecircumstance, that they might look to the case, if he did not."
"The major hasn't rightly understood me," put in the 'squire, in amanner that was particularly deprecatory; "I don't mean to say that I_know'd_, with anything like positiveness, that there was squattershereabouts; but that rumors was stirrin' of some sich things. Butsquatters is sich common objects in new countries, that a body scarceturns aside to look at them!"
"So it would seem, in your case at least, Mr. Newcome. ThisThousandacres, however, they tell me, is a well-known character, and hasdone little since his youth but lumber on the property of other people.I should suppose you must have met him, in the course of five-and-twentyyears' residence in this part of the world?"
"Lord bless the major! met Thousandacres? Why, I've met him a hundredtimes! We all know the old man well enough; and many and many is thetime I've met him at raisin's, and trainin's, and town meetin's, andpolitical meetin's, too. I've even seen him in court, thoughThousandacres don't set much store by law, not half as much as he andevery other man ought to do; for law is excellent, and society would beno better than a collection of wild beasts, as I often tell MissNewcome, if it hadn't law to straighten it out, and to teach themisguided and evil-disposed what's right. I s'pose the major willcoincide with that idee?"
"I have no particular objection to the sentiment, sir, but wish it wasmore general. As you have seen this person Thousandacres so often,perhaps you can tell me something of his character. My opportunities ofknowing the man have been none of the best; for most of the time I washis prisoner he had me shut up in an out-building in which I believe hehas usually kept his salt, and grain, and spare provisions."
"Not the old store'us'!" exclaimed the magistrate, looking a littleaghast, for the reader will doubtless recollect that the confidentialdialogue between him and the squatter, on the subject of the lumber, hadoccurred so near that building as to be overheard by me. "How long hasthe major been in this clearin', I wonder?"
"Not a very great while in fact, though long enough to make it appear aweek. I was put into the storehouse soon after my seizure, and havepassed at least half my time there since."
"I want to know! Perhaps the major got in that hole as 'arly asyesterday morn?"
"Perhaps I did, sir. But, Mr. Newcome, on looking round at the quantityof lumber these men have made, and recollecting the distance they arefrom Albany, I am at a loss to imagine how they could hope to get theirill-gotten gains to market without discovery. It would seem to me thattheir movements must be known, and that the active and honest agents ofthis part of the country would seize their rafts in the water-courses;thus making the very objects of the squatters' roguery the means oftheir punishment. Is it not extraordinary that theft, in a moral senseat least, can be systematically carried on, and that on so large ascale, with such entire impunity?"
"Wa-a-l--I s'pose the major knows how things turn, in this world. Nobodylikes to meddle."
"How, sir--not meddle! This is contrary to all my experience of thehabits of the country, and all I have heard of it! Meddling, I have beengiven to understand, is the great vice of our immigrant population, inparticular, who never think they have their just rights, unless they areprivileged to talk about, and sit in judgment on the affairs of allwithin twenty miles of them; making two-thirds of their facts as they doso, in order to reconcile their theories with the wished-for results."
"Ah! I don't mean meddlin' in that sense, of which there is enough, asall must allow. But folks don't like to meddle with things that don'tbelong to them in such serious matters as this."
"I understand you--the man who will pass days in discussing hisneighbor's private affairs, about which he absolutely knows nothing butwhat has been obtained from the least responsible and most vulgarsources, will stand by and see that neighbor robbed and say nothing,under the influence of a sentiment so delicate, that it forbids hismeddling with what don't belong to him."
Lest the reader should think I was unduly severe upon 'Squire Newcome,let me appeal to his own experience, and inquire if he never knew, notonly individuals, but whole neighborhoods, which were sorely addicted toprying into every man's affairs, and to inventing when facts did notexactly sustain theories; in a word, convulsing themselves with thatwith which they have no real concern, draw themselves up in dignifiedreserve, as the witnesses of wrongs of all sorts, that every honest manis bound to oppose? I will go further, and ask if a man does happen tostep forth to vindicate the right, to assert truth, to defend the weakand to punish the wrong-doer, if that man be not usually the one whomeddles least in the more ordinary and minor transactions of life--theman who troubles his neighbors least, and has the least to say abouttheir private affairs? Does it not happen that the very individual whowill stand by and see his neighbor wronged, on account of hisindisposition to meddle with that which does not belong to him, willoccupy a large portion of his own time, in discussing, throwing outhints, and otherwise commenting on the private affairs of that veryneighbor?
Mr. Newcome was shrewd, and he understood me well enough, though heprobably found it a relief to his apprehensions to see the conversationinclining toward these generalities, instead of sticking to thestorehouse. Nevertheless, "boards" must have been uppermost in hisconscience; and after a pause he made an invasion into the career ofThousandacres, by way of diverting me from pushing matters too directly.
"This old squatter was a desperate man, Major Littlepage," he answer
ed,"and it may be fortinate for the country that he is done with. I hearthe old fellow is killed, and that all the rest of the family hasabsconded."
"It is not quite so bad as that. Thousandacres is hurt--mortally,perhaps--and all his sons have disappeared; but his wife and one of hisdaughters are still here, in attendance on the husband and father."
"Prudence is here, then!" exclaimed Mr. Newcome, a little indiscreetlyas I thought.
"She is--but you seem to know the family well for a magistrate, 'squire,seeing their ordinary occupation--so well, as to call the woman by hername."
"Prudence, I think Thousandacres used to call his woman. Yes, the majoris very right; we magistrates do get to know the neighborhood prettygin'rally; what between summonses, and warrants, and bailings-out. Butthe major hasn't yet said when he first fell into the hands of thesefolks?"
"I first entered this clearing yesterday morning, not a long time afterthe sun rose, since which time, sir, I have been detained, here, eitherby force or by circumstances."
A long pause succeeded this announcement. The 'squire fidgeted, andseemed uncertain how to act; for, while my announcement must have givenrise, in his mind, to the strong probability of my knowing of hisconnection with the squatters, it did not absolutely say as much. Icould see that he was debating with himself on the expediency of comingout with some tale invented for the occasion, and I turned toward theIndian and the negro, both of whom I knew to be thoroughly honest--afterthe Indian and the negro fashions--in order to say a friendly word toeach in turn.
Susquesus was in one of his quiescent moods, and had lighted a pipe,which he was calmly smoking. No one, to look at him, would suppose thathe had so lately been engaged in a scene like that through which he hadactually gone; but, rather, that he was some thoughtful philosopher, whohabitually passed his time in reflection and study.
As this was one of the occasions on which the Onondago came nearest toadmitting his own agency in procuring the death of the squatter, I shallrelate the little that passed between us.
"Good evening, Sureflint," I commenced, extending a hand, which theother courteously took in compliance with our customs. "I am glad to seeyou at large, and no longer a prisoner in that storehouse."
"Store'us' poor gaol. Jaap snap off bolt like pipe-stem. Won'erT'ousandacres didn't t'ink of d'at."
"Thousandacres has had too much to think of this evening, to remembersuch a trifle. He has now to think of his end."
The Onondago was clearing the bowl of his pipe of its superfluous ashesas I said this, and he deliberately effected his purpose ere heanswered--
"Sartain--s'pose he kill _dis_ time."
"I fear his hurt is mortal, and greatly regret that it has happened. Theblood of our tried friend, Chainbearer, was enough to be shed in somiserable an affair as this."
"Yes, 'fair pretty mis'rable; t'ink so, too. If squatter shoot surveyor,must t'ink surveyor's fri'nd will shoot squatter."
"That may be Indian law, Sureflint, but it is not the law of thepale-face, in the time of peace and quiet."
Susquesus continued to smoke, making no answer.
"It was a very wicked thing to murder Chainbearer, and Thousandacresshould have been handed over to the magistrates, for punishment, if hehad a hand in it; not shot, like a dog."
The Onondago drew his pipe from his mouth, looked round toward the'squire, who had gone to the door in order to breathe the freshair--then, turning his eyes most significantly on me, he answered--
"Who magistrate go to, eh? What use good law wit' poor magistrate?Better have redskin law, and warrior be his own magistrate--own gallows,too."
The pipe was replaced, and Sureflint appeared to be satisfied with whathad passed; for he turned away, and seemed to be lost again, in his ownreflections.
After all, the strong native intellect of this barbarian had let himinto one of the greatest secrets connected with our social ills. Goodlaws, badly administered, are no better than an absence of all law,since they only encourage evil-doers by the protection they affordthrough the power conferred on improper agents. Those who have studiedthe defects of the American system, with a view to ascertain truth, saythat the want of a great moving power to set justice in motion lies atthe root of its feebleness. According to theory, the public virtue is toconstitute this power; but public virtue is never one-half as active asprivate vice. Crime is only to be put down by the strong hand, and thathand must belong to the public in truth, not in name only; whereas, theindividual wronged is fast getting to be the only moving power, and invery many cases local parties are formed, and the rogue goes to the barsustained by an authority that has quite as much practical control asthe law itself. Juries and grand juries are no longer to be relied on,and the bench is slowly, but steadily, losing its influence. When theday shall come--as come it must, if present tendencies continue--thatverdicts are rendered directly in the teeth of law and evidence, andjurors fancy themselves legislators, then may the just man fancy himselfapproaching truly evil times, and the patriot begin to despair. It willbe the commencement of the rough's paradise! Nothing is easier, I amwilling to admit, than to over-govern men; but it ought not to beforgotten, that the political vice that comes next in the scale offacility, is to govern them too little.
Jaap, or Jaaf, had been humbly waiting for his turn to be noticed. Thereexisted perfect confidence, as between him and myself, but there werealso bounds, in the way of respect, that the slave never presumed topass, without direct encouragement from the master. Had I not seen fitto speak to the black that night, he would not have commenced aconversation, which, begun by me, he entered into with the utmostfrankness and freedom from restraint.
"You seem to have managed your part of this affair, Jaap," I said, "withdiscretion and spirit. I have every reason to be satisfied with you;more especially for liberating the Indian, and for the manner in whichyou guided the posse down into the clearing, from the woods."
"Yes, sah; s'pose you would t'ink _dat_ was pretty well. As for Sus,t'ought it best to let him out, for he be won'erful sartain wid herifle. We should do much better, masser Mordy, but 'e 'squire so werrybackward about lettin' 'e men shoot 'em 'ere squatter! Gosh! massarMordy, if he only say 'fire' when I want him, I don't t'ink so much ashalf a one get off."
"It is best as it is, Jaap. We are at peace, and in the bosom of ourcountry; and bloodshed is to be avoided."
"Yes, sah; but Chainbearer! If 'ey don't like bloodshed, why 'ey shoot_him_, sah?"
"There is a feeling of justice in what you say, Jaap, but the communitycannot get on in anything like safety unless we let the law rule. Ourbusiness was to take those squatters, and to hand them over to the law."
"Werry true, sah. Nobody can't deny dat, masser Mordy, but he nodderseize nor shot, now! Sartain, it best to do one or t'odder with sichrascal. Well, I t'ink dat Tobit, as dey calls him, will remember JaapSatanstoe long as he live. Dat a good t'ing, anyway!"
"Good!" exclaimed the Onondago, with energy.
I saw it was useless, then, to discuss abstract principles with men sopurely practical as my two companions, and I left the house toreconnoitre, ere I returned to our hospital for the night. The negrofollowed me, and I questioned him as to the manner of the attack, andthe direction of the retreat of the squatters, in order to ascertainwhat danger there might be during the hours of darkness. Jaap gave me tounderstand that the men of Thousandacres' family had retired by the wayof the stream, profiting by the declivity to place themselves undercover as soon as possible. As respects the women and children, they musthave got into the woods at some other point, and it was probable thewhole had sought some place of retreat that would naturally have beenpreviously appointed by those who knew that they lived in the constantdanger of requiring one. Jaap was very certain we should see no more ofthe men, and in that he was perfectly right. No more was ever seen ofany one of them all in that part of the country, though rumors reachedus, in the course of time, from some of the more western counties, thatTobit had been seen there, a cri
pple, as I have already stated, butmaintaining his old character for lawlessness and disregard of therights of others.
I next returned to Frank Malbone, who still stood on post at no greatdistance from the door, through which we could both see the form andfeatures of his beautiful and beloved sister. Dus sat by her uncle'sbedside, while Prudence had stationed herself by that of her husband.Frank and I advanced near the door, and looked in upon the solemn andsingular sight that room afforded. It was indeed a strange and sadspectacle, to see those two aged men, each with his thin locks whitenedby seventy years, drawing near their ends, the victims of lawlessviolence; for, while the death of Thousandacres was enveloped in acertain mystery, and might by some eyes be viewed as merited and legal,there could be no doubt that it was a direct consequence of the previousmurder of Chainbearer. It is in this way that wrong extends andsometimes perpetuates its influence, proving the necessity of takingtime by the forelock, and resorting to prevention in the earliest stagesof the evil, instead of cure.
There lay the two victims of the false principles that the physicalcondition of the country, connected with its passive endurance ofencroachments on the right, had gradually permitted to grow up among us.Squatting was a consequence of the thinness of the population and of theabundance of land, the two very circumstances that rendered it the lessjustifiable in a moral point of view; but which, by rendering the oneside careless of its rights, and the other proportionably encroaching,had gradually led, not only to this violation of law, but to theadoption of notions that are adverse to the supremacy of law in anycase. It is this gradual undermining of just opinions that forms theimminent danger of our social system; a spurious philanthropy on thesubject of punishments, false notions on that of personal rights, andthe substitution of numbers for principles, bidding fair to produce muchthe most important revolution that has ever yet taken place on theAmerican continent. The lover of real liberty, under such circumstances,should never forget that the road to despotism lies along the borders ofthe slough of licentiousness, even when it escapes wallowing in itsdepths.
When Malbone and myself drew back from gazing on the scene within thehouse, he related to me in detail all that was connected with his ownproceedings. The reader knows that it was by means of a meeting in theforest, between the Indian and the negro, that my friends first becameacquainted with my arrest, and the probable danger in which I wasplaced. Chainbearer, Dus, and Jaap instantly repaired to the clearing ofThousandacres; while Malbone hastened on to Ravensnest, in pursuit oflegal aid, and of a force to render my rescue certain. Meditating on allthe facts of the case, and entertaining most probably an exaggeratednotion of the malignant character of Thousandacres, by the time hereached the Nest my new friend was in a most feverish state ofexcitement. His first act was, to write a brief statement of the factsto my father, and to dispatch his letter by a special messenger, withorders to him to push on to Fishkill, all the family being there at thetime, on a visit to the Kettletases; proceeding by land or by water, asthe wind might favor. I was startled at this information, foreseeing atonce that it would bring not only the general himself, but my dearmother and Kate, with Tom Bayard quite likely in her train, posthaste toRavensnest. It might even cause my excellent old grandmother to ventureso far from home; for my last letters had apprised me that they were allon the point of visiting my sister Anneke, which was the way Frank hadlearned where the family was to be found.
As Malbone's messenger had left the Nest early the preceding night, andthe wind had been all day fresh at north, it came quite within thebounds of possibility that he might be at Fishkill at the very moment Iwas listening to the history of his message. The distance was about ahundred and forty miles, and nearly one hundred of it could be made bywater. Such a messenger would care but little for the accommodations ofhis craft; and, on the supposition that he reached Albany that morning,and found a sloop ready to profit by the breeze, as would be likely tooccur, it would be quite in rule to reach the landing at Fishkill in thecourse of the evening, aided by the little gale that had been blowing. Iknew General Littlepage too well, to doubt either his affection or hispromptitude. Albany could be reached in a day by land, and Ravensnest inanother. I made my account, therefore, to see a part if not all of thefamily at the Nest, as soon as I should reach it myself; an event notlikely to occur, however, for some little time, on account of thecondition of Chainbearer.
I shall not deny that this new state of things, with the expectationsconnected with it, gave me sufficient food for reflection. I could notand did not blame Frank Malbone for what he had done, since it wasnatural and proper. Notwithstanding, it would precipitate matters asregarded my relation to Dus a little faster than I could have wished. Idesired time to sound my family on the important subject of mymarriage--to let the three or four letters I had already written, and inwhich she had been mentioned in a marked manner, produce their effect;and I counted largely on the support I was to receive through thefriendship and representations of Miss Bayard. I felt certain that deepdisappointment on the subject of Pris would be felt by the whole family;and it was my wish not to introduce Ursula to their acquaintance untiltime had a little lessened its feeling. But things must now take theircourse; and my determination was settled to deal as sincerely and simplyas possible with my parents on the subject. I knew their deep affectionfor me, and relied strongly on that natural support.
I had half an hour's conversation with Dus while walking in front of thehospital that night, Frank taking his sister's place by the side ofChainbearer's bed. Then it was that I again spoke of my hopes, andexplained the probabilities of our seeing all of my immediate family soshortly at Ravensnest. My arm was round the waist of the dear girl as Icommunicated these facts; and I felt her tremble, as if she dreaded thetrial she was to undergo.
"This is very sudden and unexpected, Mordaunt," Dus remarked, after shehad had a little time to recover her recollection; "and I have so muchreason to fear the judgment of your respectable parents--of yourcharming sister, of whom I have heard so often through PriscillaBayard--and indeed of all who have lived, as _they_ have done, amid theelegancies of a refined state of society; I, Dus Malbone--achainbearer's niece, and a chainbearer myself!"
"You have never borne any chain, love, that is as lasting or as strongas that which you have entwined around my heart, and which will foreverbind me to you, let the rest of the world regard us both as it may. Butyou can have nothing to fear from any, and least of all from my friends.My father is not worldly-minded; and as for my dear, dear mother, AnnekeMordaunt, as the general even now often affectionately calls her, as ifthe name itself reminded him of the days of her maiden loveliness andpride--as for that beloved mother, Ursula, I do firmly believe that,when she comes to know you, she will even prefer you to her son."
"That is a picture of your blinded partiality, Mordaunt," answered thegratified girl, for gratified I could see she was, "and must not be toofondly relied on. But this is no time to talk of our own futurehappiness, when the eternal happiness or misery of those two aged men issuspended, as it might be, by a thread. I have read prayers once alreadywith my dear uncle; and that strange woman, in whom there is so much ofher sex, mingled with a species of ferocity like that of a she-bear, hasmuttered a hope that her own 'dying man,' as she calls him, is not to beforgotten. I have promised he should not be, and it is time to attend tothat duty next."
What a scene followed! Dus placed the light on a chest near the bed ofThousandacres, and, with the prayer-book in her hand, she knelt besideit. Prudence stationed herself in such a posture that her head wasburied in one of her own garments, that was suspended from a peg; andthere she stood, while the melodious voice of Ursula Malbone poured outthe petitions contained in the offices for the dying, in humble butfervent piety. I say stood, for neither Prudence nor Lowiny knelt. Thecaptious temper of self-righteousness which had led their ancestors toreject kneeling at prayers as the act of formalists, had descended tothem; and there they stood, praying doubtless in their hearts, but
ungracious formalists themselves in their zeal against forms. Frank andI knelt in the doorway; and I can truly affirm that never did prayerssound so sweetly in my ears, as those which then issued from the lips ofUrsula Malbone.