CHAPTER XXVI.
"If men desire the rights of property, they must take their consequences; distinction in social classes. Without the rights of property civilization can hardly exist, while the highest class of improvements is probably the result of the very social distinctions that so many decry. The great political problem to be solved is to ascertain if the social distinctions that are inseparable from civilization can really exist with perfect equality in political rights. We are of opinion they can; and as much condemn him who vainly contends for a visionary and impracticable social equality, as we do him who would deny to men equal opportunities for advancement."--_Political Essay._
My interview with Opportunity Newcome remained a secret between thosewho first knew of it. The evening service in St. Andrew's was attendedonly by the usual congregation, all the curiosity of the multitudeseeming to have been allayed by the visit in the morning. The remainderof the day passed as usual, and after enjoying a pleasant eventide, andthe earlier hours of the night in the company of the girls, I retiredearly to bed, and slept profoundly until morning. My Uncle Ro partook ofmy own philosophical temper, and we encouraged each other in it by ashort conversation that occurred in his room before we respectivelyretired to rest.
"I agree with you, Hugh," said my uncle, in reply to a remark of my own;"there is little use in making ourselves unhappy about evils that _we_cannot help. If we are to be burnt up and stripped of our property, we_shall_ be burnt up and stripped of our property. I have a competencysecured in Europe, and we can all live on _that_, with economy, shouldthe worst come to the worst."
"It is a strange thing to hear an American talk of seeking a refuge ofany sort in the Old World!"
"If matters proceed in the lively manner they have for the last tenyears, you'll hear of it often. Hitherto, the rich of Europe have beenin the habit of laying by a penny in America against an evil day, butthe time will soon come, unless there is a great change, when the richof America will return the compliment in kind. We are worse off than ifwe were in a state of nature, in many respects; having _our_ hands tiedby the responsibility that belongs to our position and means, whilethose who choose to assail us are under a mere nominal restraint. Theymake the magistrates, who are altogether in their interests; and theyelect the sheriffs who are to see the laws executed. The theory is, thatthe people are sufficiently virtuous to perform all these duties well;but no provision has been made for the case in which the peoplethemselves happen to go astray, _en masse_."
"We have our governors and masters at Albany, sir."
"Yes, we _have_ our governors and servants at Albany, and there theyare! There has not been the time, probably, since this infernal spiritfirst had its rise among us, that a clear, manly, energetic andwell-principled proclamation alone, issued by the governor of thisState, would not have aroused all the better feelings of the communityand put this thing down; but, small as would have been that tribute tothe right, it has never been paid, and, until we drop double-distilledpatriots, and have recourse again to the old-fashioned, high-principledgentlemen for offices of mark, it never will be done. Heaven preserve mefrom extra-virtuous, patriotic, and enlightened citizens; no good evercomes of them."
"I believe the wisest way, sir, is to make up our minds that we havereached the point of reaction in the institutions, and be ready tosubmit to the worst. I keep the 'revolver' well primed, and hope toescape being burnt up at least."
After a little more such discourse, we parted and sought our pillows,and I can say that I never slept more soundly in my life. If I did losemy estate, it was what other men had suffered and survived, and whymight not I as well as another? It is true, those other men were, in themain, the victims of what are called tyrants; but others, again, hadcertainly been wronged by the masses. Thousands have been impoverishedin France, for instance, by the political confiscations of themultitude, and thousands enriched by ill-gotten gains, profiting by thecalamities of those around them; and what has happened there mighthappen here. Big words ought to pass for nothing. No man was ever a whitmore free because he was the whole time boasting of his liberty, and Iwas not now to learn that when numbers did inflict a wrong, it wasalways of the most intolerable character. Ordinarily, they were not muchdisposed to this species of crime; but men in masses were no moreinfallible than individuals. In this philosophic mood I slept.
I was awoke next morning by John's appearing at my bedside, after havingopened the shutter of my window.
"I declare to you, Mr. Hugh," began this well-meaning, but sometimesofficious servant, "I don't know what will come next at Ravensnest, nowthe evil spirit has got uppermost among the inhabitants!"
"Tut, tut, John--what you call the evil spirit is only the 'spirit ofthe institutions;' and is to be honored, instead of disliked."
"Well, sir, I don't know what they calls it, for they talks so muchabout the hinstitutions in this country, I never can find out what theywould be at. There was a hinstitution near where I lived in my lastplace, at the West End, in Lun'on, and there they taught young mastersto speak and write Latin and Greek. But hinstitutions in Hamerica mustmean something, for them as doesn't know any more Latin than I do seemsto be quite hintimate with these Hamerican hinstitutions. But, Mr. Hugh,would you, _could_ you, believe the people committed parricide lastnight?"
"I am not at all surprised at it, for to me they have seemed to be benton matricide for some time, calling the country their mother."
"It's hawful, sir--it's truly hawful, when a whole people commits such acrime as parricide! I know'd you would be shocked to hear it, Mr. Hugh,and so I just came in to let you know it."
"I am infinitely obliged to you for this attention, my good fellow, andshall be still more so when you tell me all about it."
"Yes, sir, most willingly; and most unwillingly, too. But there's no usein 'iding the fact; it's gone, Mr. Hugh!"
"What is gone, John? Speak out, my good fellow; I can bear it."
"The pew, sir--or, rather that beautiful canopy that covered it and madeit look so much like the lord mayor's seat in Guildhall. I 'ave hadmiredand honored that canopy, sir, as the most helegant hobject in thiscountry, sir."
"So they have destroyed it at last, have they? Encouraged and sustainedby an expression of public sentiment, as proclaimed in a meeting thathad a chairman and secretary, they have actually cut it down, Isuppose?"
"They have, sir; and a pretty job they've made of it. There it stands,up at Miller's, hover his pig-pen!"
This was not a very heroic termination of the career of the obnoxiouscanopy; but it was one that made me laugh heartily. John was a littleoffended at this levity, and he soon left me to finish my toilet myself.I dare say, many of the honest folk of Ravensnest would have been asmuch surprised as John himself, at the indifference I manifested at thefate of this dignified pew. But, certainly, so far as my own socialelevation, or social depression, was concerned, I cared nothing aboutit. It left me just where I was--neither greater nor otherwise; and asfor any monuments to let the world know who my predecessors had been, orwho I was at that moment, the country itself, or the part of it in whichwe dwelt, was sufficient. Its history must be forgotten, or changed,before our position could be mistaken; though I dare say the time willcome when some extremely sublimated friend of equality will wish toextinguish all the lights of the past, in order that there may not existthat very offensive distinction of one man's name being illustrated,while another man's name is not. The pride of family is justly deemedthe most offensive of all pride, since a man may value himself on apossession to which he has not the smallest claim in the way of personalmerit, while those of the highest personal claims are altogetherdeprived of an advantage, to the enjoyment of which ancestors alone havecreated the right. Now, the institutions, both in their letter and theirspirit, _do_ favor justice in this particular, as far as they can;though even they are obliged to sustain one of the most potent agents tosuch distinctions, by declaring, through the laws,
that the child shallsucceed to the estate of the father. When we shall get everythingstraight, and as it ought to be, in this progressive country, heavenonly knows; for I find my tenants laying stress on the fact that _their_fathers have leased my lands for generations, while they are quitewilling to forget that _my_ fathers were the lessors all the while.
I found all four of the girls on the piazza, breathing the air of asbalmy a summer morning as a bountiful nature ever bestowed. They hadheard of the fate of the canopy, which affected them differently, andsomewhat according to temperament. Henrietta Coldbrooke laughed at itviolently, and in a way I did not like; your laughing young lady rarelyhaving much beyond merriment in her. I make all allowance for youthfulspirits, and a natural disposition to turn things into fun; but it wastoo much to laugh at this exploit of the anti-renters for quite half anhour together. I liked Anne Marston's manner of regarding it better. Shesmiled a good deal, and laughed just enough to show that she was notinsensible to the effect of an absurdity; and then she looked as if shefelt that a wrong had been done. As for Patt, she was quite indignant atthe insult; nor was she very backward in letting her opinions be known.But Mary Warren's manner of viewing the affair pleased me best, asindeed was fast getting to be the fact with most of her notions andconceits. She manifested neither levity nor resentment. Once or twice,when a droll remark escaped Henrietta, she laughed a little; a verylittle, and involuntarily, as it might be--just enough to prove thatthere was fun in her--when she would make some sensible observation, tothe effect that the evil temper that was up in the country was the truepart of the transaction that deserved attention; and that she _felt_this as well as saw it. Nobody seemed to care for the canopy--not evenmy excellent grandmother, in whose youth the church had been built, whendistinctions of this sort were more in accordance with the temper andhabits of the times than they are to-day. I had been on the piazza justlong enough to note this difference in the manner of the girls, when mygrandmother joined us.
"Oh! grandmother, have you heard what those wretches of 'Injins,' asthey are rightly named, have been doing with the canopy of the pew?"cried Patt, who had been at the bedside of our venerable parent andkissed her an hour before; "they have torn it down, and placed it overthe pen of the pigs!"
A common laugh, in which Patt herself now joined, interrupted the answerfor a moment, old Mrs. Littlepage herself manifesting a slightdisposition to make one of the amused.
"I have heard it all, my dear," returned my grandmother, "and, on thewhole, think the thing is well enough gotten rid of. I do not believe itwould have done for Hugh to have had it taken down under a menace, whileit is perhaps better that it should no longer stand."
"Were such things common in your youth, Mrs. Littlepage?" asked MaryWarren.
"Far from uncommon; though less so in country than in town churches. Youwill remember that we were but recently separated from England when St.Andrew's was built, and that most of the old colonial ideas prevailedamong us. People in that day had very different notions of socialstation from those which now exist; and New York was, in a certainsense, one of the most, perhaps _the_ most, aristocratic colony in thecountry. It was somewhat so under the Dutch, republicans as they were,with its patroons; but when the colony was transferred to the English,it became a royal colony at once, and English notions were introduced asa matter of course. In no other colony were there as many manors,perhaps; the slavery of the South introducing quite a different systemthere, while the policy of Penn and New England generally was moredemocratic. I apprehend, Roger, that we owe this anti-rent struggle, andparticularly the feebleness with which it is resisted, to the differenceof opinion that prevails among the people of New England, who have sentso many immigrants among us, and our own purely New York notions."
"You are quite right, my dear mother," answered my uncle, "though NewYorkers, by descent, are not wanting among the tenants to sustain theinnovation. The last act either from direct cupidity, or to gainpopularity with a set, whereas, as I view the matter, the first areinfluenced by the notions of the state of society from which either theythemselves, or their parents, were directly derived. A very largeproportion of the present population of New York is of New Englandorigin. Perhaps one-third have this extraction, either as born there, oras the sons or grandsons of those who were. Now, in New Englandgenerally, great equality of condition exists, more especially when yourise above the lower classes; there being very few, out of the largetrading towns, who would be deemed rich in New York, and scarcely such athing as a large landholder at all. The relation of landlord and tenant,as connected with what we should term estates, is virtually unknown toNew England; though Maine may afford some exceptions. This circumstanceis owing to the peculiar origin of the people, and to the fact thatemigration has so long carried off the surplus population; the bulk ofthose who remain being able to possess freeholds. There is a naturalantipathy in men who have been educated in such a state of society toanything that seems to place others in positions they do not and cannotoccupy themselves. Now, while the population of New York may beone-third, perhaps, of New England descent, and consequently more orless of New England notions, a much larger proportion of the lawyers,editors of newspapers, physicians, and active politicians, are of thatclass. We think little, and talk little of these circumstances; for nonation inquires into its moral influences, and what I may call itspolitical statistics, less than the Americans; but they produce largeconsequences."
"Am I to understand you, sir, to say that anti-rentism is of New Englandorigin?"
"Perhaps not. Its origin was probably more directly derived from thedevil, who has tempted the tenants as he is known once to have temptedthe Saviour. The outbreak was originally among the descendants of theDutch, for they happened to be the tenants, and, as for the theoriesthat have been broached, they savor more of the reaction of Europeanabuses than of anything American at all; and least of all of anythingfrom New England, where there is generally a great respect for therights of property, and unusual reverence for the law. Still, I think weowe our greatest danger to the opinions and habits of those of NewEngland descent among us."
"This seems a little paradoxical, uncle Ro, and I confess I should liketo hear it explained."
"I will endeavor so to do, and in as few words as possible. The realdanger is among those who influence legislation. Now, you will findhundreds of men among us who feel the vast importance of respectingcontracts, who perceive much of the danger of anti-rentism, and who wishto see it defeated in its violent and most offensive forms, but who leanagainst the great landlords, on account of those secret jealousies whichcause most men to dislike advantages in which they do not share, and whowould gladly enough see all leases abolished, if it could be donewithout a too violent conflict with justice. When you talk with thesemen, they will make you the commonplace but unmeaning profession ofwishing to see every husbandman the owner in fee of his farm, instead ofa tenant, and that it is a _hardship_ to pay rent, and quantities ofsuch twaddle. Henry the Fourth, in a much better spirit, is said to havewished that each of his subjects had "_une poule dans son pot_," butthat wish did not put it there. So it is with this idle profession ofwishing to see every American husbandman a freeholder. We all know sucha state of society never did exist, and probably never will; and it ismerely placing a vapid pretension to philanthropy in the foreground of apicture that should rigidly represent things as they are. For my part, Iam one of those who do not believe that this or any other country wouldbe any the better for dispensing with landlords and tenants."
"Mr. Littlepage!" exclaimed Mary Warren, "you surely do not mean thatcompetency widely diffused is not better than wealth in a few hands andpoverty in a great many!"
"No, I shall not go as far as that; but I do say, that what this countrymost wants just now is precisely the class that is connected with theindependence of character and station, the leisure, with its attendantcultivation and refinement, and the _principles_ as well as taste thatare connected with all."
"Princi
ples! Mr. Littlepage!" added my uncle's sweet interlocutor; "myfather would hardly uphold _that_, though he agrees with you in so muchof what you say."
"I do not know that. I repeat the word _principles_; for when you have aclass of men who are removed from a large range of temptations, withoutbeing placed above public opinion, you get precisely those who are mostlikely to uphold that sort of secondary, but highly useful morals whichare not directly derived from purely religious duties. Against the lastI shall not say one word, as it comes from the grace, which is of thepower of God, and is happily as accessible to the poor as to the rich,and more too; but, of men as they are, not one in a hundred regulateshis life by a standard created under such impulses; and even when theydo, the standard itself is, in some degree, qualified by the ordinarynotions I apprehend. The Christian morality of an East Indian is notidentical with that of a Puritan, or that of a man of highly cultivatedmind with that of one who has enjoyed fewer advantages. There is oneclass of principles, embracing all those that are adverse to thelittlenesses of daily practice, which is much the more extended amongthe liberal-minded and educated, and it is to that set of principles Irefer. Now we want a due proportion of that class of men, as our societyis getting to be organized; of those who are superior to meannesses."
"All this would be deemed atrociously aristocratic, were it told inGath!" exclaimed Patt, laughing.
"It is atrociously common sense, notwithstanding," answered my uncle,who was not to be laughed out of anything he felt to be true; "and thefacts will show it. New England early established a system of commonschools, and no part of the world, perhaps, has a population that isbetter grounded in intelligence. This has been the case so long as toput the people of Connecticut and Massachusetts, for instance, as awhole, materially in advance of the people of any other State, New Yorkincluded; although, by taking the system from our eastern brethren, weare now doing pretty well. Notwithstanding, who will say that NewEngland is as far advanced, in many material things, as the MiddleStates. To begin with the kitchen--her best cookery is much below thatof even the humbler classes of the true Middle States' families; takeher language for another test, it is provincial and vulgar; and there isno exaggeration in saying that the laboring classes of the MiddleStates, if not of New England origin, use better English than thousandsof educated men in New England itself. Both of these peculiarities, as Iconceive, come from the fact that in one part of the country there hasbeen a class to give a tone that does not exist in the other. Thegentlemen of the larger towns in the East have an influence where theylive, no doubt; but in the interior, as no one leads, all these mattersare left to the common mind to get along with as well as it can."
"Aristocratic, sir--rank aristocracy!"
"If it be, has aristocracy, as you call it, which in this instance mustonly mean decided social position, no advantages? Is not even a wealthyidler of some use in a nation? He contributes his full share to thehigher civilization that is connected with the tastes and refinements,and, in fact, he forms it. In Europe they will tell you that a court isnecessary to such civilization; but facts contradict the theory. Socialclasses, no doubt, are; but they can exist independently of courts, asthey can, have, do, and ever will in the face of democracy. Now, connectthis class with the landed interest, and see how much your chances formaterial improvement are increased. Coke, of Norfolk, probably conferredmore benefit on the husbandry of England than all the mere operativesthat existed in his time. It is from such men, indeed, from theirenterprise and their means, that nearly all the greater benefits come.The fine wool of America is mainly owing to Livingston's connection withland; and if you drive such men out of existence, you must drive thebenefits they confer with them. A body of intelligent, well-educated,liberalized landlords, scattered through New York, would have moreeffect in advancing the highest interests of the community than all the'small potato' lawyers and governors you can name in a twelvemonth. Whatis more, this is just the state of society in which to reap all thebenefits of such a class, without the evils of a real aristocracy. Theyare and would be without any particular political power, and there is nodanger of corn-laws and exclusive legislation for their benefit. Richand poor we _must_ have; and let any fair-minded man say whether he wisha state of things in which the first shall have no inducement to take anextended interest in real estate, and the last no chance to becomeagriculturists, except as hired laborers?"
"You do not mince matters, uncle Ro," put in Patt, "and will never go toCongress."
"That may be, my dear, but I shall retain my own self-respect by fairdealing. What I say I _mean_, while many who take the other side do not.I say, that in a country like this, in which land is so abundant as torender the evils of a general monopoly impossible, a landed gentry isprecisely what is most needed for the higher order of civilization,including manners, tastes, and the minor principles, and is the veryclass which, if reasonably maintained and properly regarded, would dothe most good at the least risk of any social caste known. They _have_always existed in New York, though with a lessening influence, and arethe reason, in my judgment, why we are so much before New England inparticular things, while certainly behind that quarter of the country inmany others that are dependent on ordinary schooling."
"I like to hear a person maintain his opinion frankly and manfully,"said my grandmother; "and this have you done, Roger, from boyhood. Myown family, on my father's side, was from New England, and I subscribeto a great deal that you say; and particularly to the part that relatesto the apathy of the public to this great wrong. It is now time,however, to go to the breakfast-table, as John has been bowing in thedoor yonder for the last minute or two."
To breakfast we went; and, notwithstanding incendiaries, anti-rentism,and canopies of pig-pens, a merry time we had of it. HenriettaColdbrooke and Anne Marston never came out with more spirit, though intheir several ways, than each did that morning. I believe I looked alittle surprised, for I observed that my uncle stole occasional glancesat me, that seemed to say, "There, my fine fellow, what do you think ofthat, now?" whenever either of his wards uttered anything that hefancied cleverer than common.
"Have you heard, ma'am," asked my uncle Ro of my grandmother, "that weare to have old Sus and Jaaf here at the Nest, shortly, and both ingrand costume? It seems the red men are about to depart, and there is tobe smoking of pipes and a great council, which the Trackless fancieswill be more dignified if held in front of the house of his pale-facefriends than if held at his own hut."
"How did you ascertain that, Roger?"
"I have been at the wigwam this morning, and have the fact directly fromthe Onondago, as well as from the interpreter, whom I met there. By theway, Hugh, we must shortly decide what is to be done with the prisoners,or we shall have writs of habeas corpus served on us, to know why wedetain them."
"Is it possible, uncle Ro," for so his wards called him habitually--"torescue a gentleman from the gallows by marrying him?" asked HenriettaColdbrooke, demurely.
"That is so strange a question, that as a guardian I feel curious tohear its meaning."
"Tell--tell at once, Henrietta," said the other ward, urging hercompanion to speak. "I will save your blushes, and act as yourinterpreter. Miss Coldbrooke was honored by Mr. Seneca Newcome with thisletter, within the last twenty-four hours; and, it being a familymatter, I think it ought to be referred to a family council."
"Nay, Anne," said the blushing Henrietta, "this is hardly fair--nor am Isure that it would be quite lady-like in me to suffer that letter to begenerally known--_particularly_ known to you it certainly is already."
"Perhaps your reluctance to have it read does not extend to me,Henrietta?" said my uncle.
"Certainly not, sir; nor to my dear Mrs. Littlepage, nor toMartha--though I confess that I cannot see what interest Mr. Hugh canhave in the subject. Here it is; take it and read it when you please."
My uncle was pleased to read it on the spot. As he proceeded a frowncollected on his brow, and he bit his lip like one provoked as wel
l asvexed. Then he laughed, and threw the letter on the table, where no onepresumed to molest it. As Henrietta Coldbrooke was blushing all thistime, though she laughed and seemed provoked, our curiosity was so greatand manifest that my grandmother felt an inclination to interfere.
"May not that letter be read aloud, for the benefit of all?" she asked.
"There can be no particular reason for concealing it," answered uncleRo, spitefully. "The more it is known, the more the fellow will belaughed at, as he deserves to be."
"Will that be right, uncle Ro?" exclaimed Miss Coldbrooke, hastily."Will it be treating a gentleman as he----"
"Pshaw!--it will not be treating a gentleman at all. The fellow is, atthis moment, a prisoner for attempting to set an inhabited house onfire, in the middle of the night."
Henrietta said no more; and my grandmother took the letter, and read itfor the common benefit. I shall not copy the effusion of Seneca, whichwas more cunning than philosophical; but it contained a strongprofession of love, urged in a somewhat business manner, and a generousoffer of his hand to the heiress of eight thousand a year. And thisproposal was made only a day or two before the fellow was "taken in theact," and at the very time he was the most deeply engaged in his schemesof anti-rentism.
"There is a class of men among us," said my uncle, after everybody hadlaughed at this magnificent offer, "who do not seem to entertain asingle idea of the proprieties. How is it possible, or where could thechap have been bred, to fancy for an instant that a young woman offortune and station would marry _him_, and that, too, almost without anacquaintance. I dare say Henrietta never spoke to him ten times in herlife."
"Not five, sir, and scarcely anything was said at either of those five."
"And you answered the letter, my dear?" asked my grandmother. "An_answer_ ought not to have been forgotten, though it might have properlycome, in this case, from your guardian."
"I answered it myself, ma'm, not wishing to be laughed at for my part ofthe affair. I declined the honor of Mr. Seneca Newcome's hand."
"Well, if the truth _must_ be said," put in Patt, dryly, "_I_ did thesame thing, only three weeks since."
"And I so lately as last week," added Anne Marston, demurely.
I do not know that I ever saw my uncle Ro so strangely affected. Whileeverybody around him was laughing heartily, he looked grave, not to sayfierce. Then he turned suddenly to me, and said:
"We must let him be hanged, Hugh. Were he to live a thousand years hewould never learn the fitness of things."
"You'll think better of this, sir, and become more merciful. The man hasonly nobly dared. But I confess a strong desire to ascertain if MissWarren alone has escaped his assaults."
Mary--pretty Mary--she blushed scarlet, but shook her head, and refusedto give any answer. We all saw that her feelings were not enlisted inthe affair in any way; but there was evidently something of a moreserious nature connected with Seneca's addresses to her than inconnection with his addresses to either of the others. As I have sinceascertained, he really had a sort of affection for Mary; and I have beenready to pardon him the unprincipled and impudent manner in which hecast his flies toward the other fish, in consideration of his taste inthis particular. But Mary herself would tell us nothing.
"You are not to think so much of this, Mr. Littlepage," she cried, sosoon as a little recovered from her confusion, "since it is only actingon the great anti-rent principle, after all. In the one case, it is onlya wish to get good farms cheap--and in the other, good wives."
"In the one case, other men's farms--and in the other, other men'swives."
"Other men's wives, certainly, if wives at all," said Patt, pointedly."There is no Mr. _Seneky_ Newcome there."
"We must let the law have its way, and the fellow be hanged!" rejoinedmy uncle. "I could overlook the attempt to burn the Nest House, but Icannot overlook this. Fellows of this class get everything _dessusdessous_, and I do not wonder there is anti-rentism in the land. Such amatrimonial experiment could never have been attempted, as between suchparties, in any region but one tainted with anti-rentism, or deluded bythe devil."
"An Irishman would have included my grandmother in his cast of the net;that's the only difference, sir."
"Sure enough, why have you escaped, my dearest mother? You, who have afair widow's portion, too."
"Because the suitor was not an Irishman, as Hugh intimated--I know noother reason, Hodge. But a person so devoted to the ladies must notsuffer in the cruel way you speak of. The wretch must be permitted toget off."
All the girls now joined with my grandmother in prefering this, to them,very natural petition; and, for a few minutes, we heard of nothing butregrets and solicitations that Seneca might not be given up to the law."Tender mercies of the law" might not be an unapt way to express theidea, as it is now almost certain that the bigger the rogue, the greateris the chance of escape.
"All this is very well, ladies; mighty humane and feminine and quite incharacter," answered my uncle; "but, in the first place, there is such athing as compounding felony, and its consequences are not altogetheragreeable; then, one is bound to consider the effect on society ingeneral. Here is a fellow who first endeavors to raise a flame in thehearts of no less than four young ladies: failing of which, he takesrefuge in lighting a fire in Hugh's kitchen. Do you know, I am almost asmuch disposed to punish him for the first of these offences as for thelast?"
"There's a grand movement as is making among all the redskins, ma'am,"said John, standing in the door of the breakfast parlor, "and I didn'tknow but the ladies, and Mr. Littlepage, and Mr. Hugh, would like to seeit. Old Sus is on his way here, followed by Yop, who comes grumblingalong after him, as if he didn't like the amusement any way at all."
"Have any arrangements been made for the proper reception of our gueststhis morning, Roger?"
"Yes, ma'am. At least, I gave orders to have benches brought and placedunder the trees, and plenty of tobacco provided. Smoking is a great partof a council, I believe, and we shall be ready to commence at that assoon as they meet."
"Yes, sir, all is ready for 'em," resumed John. "Miller has sent an'orse cart to bring the benches, and we've provided as much 'baccy asthey can use. The servants 'opes, ma'am, they can have permission towitness the ceremony. It isn't often that civilized people _can_ get asight at real savages."
My grandmother gave an assent, and there was a general movement,preparatory to going on the lawn to witness the parting interviewbetween the Trackless and his visitors.
"You have been very considerate, Miss Warren," I whispered Mary, as Ihelped her to put on her shawl, "in not betraying what I fancy is themost important of all Seneca's love secrets."
"I confess these letters have surprised me," the dear girl saidthoughtfully, and with a look that seemed perplexed. "No one would beapt to think very favorably of Mr. Newcome; yet it was by no meansnecessary to complete his character, that one should think as ill asthis."
I said no more--but these few words, which appeared to escape Maryunconsciously and involuntarily, satisfied me that Seneca had beenseriously endeavoring to obtain an interest in _her_ heartnotwithstanding her poverty.