CHAPTER XXV.
VARIOUS KINDS OF SOCIETY.
Peter spent Christmas with his mother, and found her very much worriedover his "salooning."
"It's first steps, Peter, that do the mischief," she told him.
"But, mother, I only go to talk with the men. Not to drink."
"You'll come to that later. The devil's paths always start straight, myboy, but they end in wickedness. Promise me you won't go any more."
"I can't do that, mother. I am trying to help the men, and you ought notask me to stop doing what may aid others."
"Oh, my boy, my boy!" sobbed the mother.
"If you could only understand it, mother, as I have come to, youwouldn't mind. Here, the saloon is chiefly a loafing place for the lazyand shiftless, but in New York, it's very different. It's the poor man'sclub. If you could see the dark, cold, foul-aired tenements where theylive, and then the bright, warm, cheerful saloons, that are open to all,you would see that it isn't the drink that draws the men. I even wishthe women could come. The bulk of the men are temperate, and only take aglass or two of beer or whisky, to pay for their welcome. They really gofor the social part, and sit and talk, or read the papers. Of course aman gets drunk, sometimes, but usually it is not a regular customer, andeven such cases would be fewer, it we didn't tax whisky so outrageouslythat the dishonest barkeepers are tempted to doctor their whisky withdrugs which drive men frantic if they drink. But most of the men are toosensible, and too poor, to drink so as really to harm themselves."
"Peter, Peter! To think that three years in New York should bring you totalk so! I knew New York was a sink-hole of iniquity, but I thought youwere too good a boy to be misled."
"Mother, New York has less evil in it than most places. Here, after themills shut down, there's no recreation for the men, and so they amusethemselves with viciousness. But in a great place like New York, thereare a thousand amusements specially planned for the evening hours.Exhibitions, theatres, concerts, libraries, lectures--everything totempt one away from wrong-doing to fine things. And there wickedness iskept out of sight as it never is here. In New York you must go to it,but in these small places it hunts one out and tempts one."
"Oh, Peter! Here, where there's room in church of a Sabbath for all thefolks, while they say that in New York there isn't enough seats inchurches for mor'n a quarter of the people. A missionary was saying onlylast week that we ought to help raise money to build churches in NewYork. Just think of there being mor'n ten saloons for every church! Andthat my son should speak for them and spend nights in them!"
"I'm sorry it troubles you so. If I felt I had any right to stop, I'd doit."
"You haven't drunk in them yet, Peter?"
"No."
"And you'll promise to write me if you do."
"I'll promise you I won't drink in them, mother."
"Thank you, Peter." Still his mother was terrified at the mere thought,and at her request, her clergyman spoke also to Peter. He was easier todeal with, and after a chat with Peter, he told Mrs. Stirling:
"I think he is doing no harm, and may do much good. Let him do what hethinks best."
"It's dreadful though, to have your son's first refusal be about goingto saloons," sighed the mother.
"From the way he spoke I think his refusal was as hard to him as to you.He's a good boy, and you had better let him judge of what's right."
On Peter's return to the city, he found an invitation from Mrs. Bohlmannto come to a holiday festivity of which the Germans are so fond. He wastoo late to go, but he called promptly, to explain why he had notresponded. He was very much surprised, on getting out his dress-suit,now donned for the first time in three years, to find how badly itfitted him.
"Mother is right," he had to acknowledge. "I have grown much thinner."
However, the ill-fit did not spoil his evening. He was taken into thefamily room, and passed a very pleasant hour with the jolly brewer, hisfriendly wife, and the two "nice girls." They were all delighted withCatlin's election, and Peter had to tell them about his part in it. Theydid not let him go when he rose, but took him into the dining-room,where a supper was served at ten. In leaving a box of candy, saved forhim from the Christmas tree, was given him.
"You will come again, Mr. Stirling?" said Mrs. Bohlmann, warmly.
"Thank you," said Peter. "I shall be very glad to."
"Yah," said Mr. Bohlmann. "You coom choost as ofden as you blease."
Peter took his dress-suit to a tailor the next day, and ordered it to betaken in. That individual protested loudly on the ground that the coatwas so old-fashioned that it would be better to make a new suit. Petertold him that he wore evening dress too rarely to make a new suit worththe having, and the tailor yielded rather than lose the job. Scarcelyhad it been put in order, when Peter was asked to dine at hisclergyman's, and the next day came another invitation, to dine withJustice Gallagher. Peter began to wonder if he had decided wisely invamping the old suit.
He had one of the pleasantest evenings of his life at Dr. Purple's. Itwas a dinner of ten, and Peter was conscious that a real compliment hadbeen paid him in being included, for the rest of the men were not merelyolder than himself, but they were the "strong" men of the church. Twowere trustees. All were prominent in the business world. And it pleasedPeter to find that he was not treated as the youngster of the party, buthad his opinions asked. At one point of the meal the talk drifted to aBethel church then under consideration, and this in turn brought up thetenement-house question. Peter had been studying this, both practicallyand in books, for the last three months. Before long, the whole tablewas listening to what he had to say. When the ladies had withdrawn,there was political talk, in which Peter was much more a listener, butit was from preference rather than ignorance. One of the men, awholesale dealer in provisions, spoke of the new governor'srecommendation for food legislation.
"The leaders tell me that the legislature will do something about it,"Peter said.
"They'll probably make it worse," said Mr. Avery.
"Don't you think it can be bettered?" asked Peter.
"Not by politicians."
"I'm studying the subject," Peter said. "Will you let me come down someday, and talk with you about it?"
"Yes, by all means. You'd better call about lunch hour, when I'm free,and we can talk without interruption."
Peter would much have preferred to go on discussing with the men, whenthey all joined the ladies, but Mrs. Purple took him off, and placed himbetween two women. They wanted to hear about "the case," so Peterpatiently went over that well-worn subject. Perhaps he had his pay bybeing asked to call upon both. More probably the requests were due towhat Mrs. Purple had said of him during the smoking time:
"He seems such a nice, solid, sensible fellow. I wish some of you wouldask him to call on you. He has no friends, apparently."
The dinner at Justice Gallagher's was a horse of a very different color.The men did not impress him very highly, and the women not at all. Therewas more to eat and drink, and the talk was fast and lively. Peter wasvery silent. So quiet, that Mrs. Gallagher told her "take in" that she"guessed that young Stirling wasn't used to real fashionable dinners,"and Peter's partner quite disregarded him for the rattling, breezytalker on her other side. After the dinner Peter had a pleasant chatwith the Justice's seventeen-year-old daughter, who was just from aCatholic convent, and the two tried to talk in French. It is wonderfulwhat rubbish is tolerable if only talked in a foreign tongue.
"I don't see what you wanted to have that Stirling for?" said HonorableMrs. Justice Gallagher, to him who conferred that proud title upon her,after the guests had departed.
"You are clever, arn't you?" said Gallagher, bitingly.
"That's living with you," retorted the H.M.J., who was not easily putdown.
"Then you see that you treat Stirling as if he was somebody. He'sgetting to be a power in the ward, and if you want to remain Mrs.Justice Gallagher and spend eight thousand--and pickings--a year, yousee tha
t you keep him friendly."
"Oh, I'll be friendly, but he's awful dull."
"Oh, no, mamma," said Monica. "He really isn't. He's read a great manymore French books than I have."
Peter lunched with the wholesale provision-dealer as planned. The lunchhour proving insufficient for the discussion, a family dinner, a fewdays later, served to continue it. The dealer's family were not veryenthusiastic about Peter.
"He knows nothing but grub talk," grumbled the heir apparent, who fromthe proud altitude of a broker's office, had come to scorn the familytrade.
"He doesn't know any fashionable people," said one of the girls, whohaving unfulfilled ambitions concerning that class, was doublyinterested and influenced by its standards and idols.
"He certainly is not brilliant," remarked the mother.
"Humph," growled the pater-familias, "that's the way all you women goon. Brilliant! Fashionable! I don't wonder marriage is a failure when Isee what you like in men. That Stirling is worth all your dancing men,but just because he holds his tongue when he hasn't a sensible thing tosay, you think he's no good."
"Still he is 'a nobody.'"
"He's the fellow who made that big speech in the stump-tail milk case."
"Not that man?"
"Exactly. But of course he isn't 'brilliant.'"
"I never should have dreamed it."
"Still," said the heir, "he keeps his eloquence for cows, and not fordinners."
"He talked very well at Dr. Purple's," said the mamma, whose opinion ofPeter had undergone a change.
"And he was invited to call by Mrs. Dupont and Mrs. Sizer, which is morethan you've ever been," said Avery senior to Avery junior.
"That's because of the prog," growled the son, seeing his opportunity tosquare accounts quickly.
Coming out of church the next Sunday, Peter was laid hold of by theBohlmanns and carried off to a mid-day dinner, at which were a lot ofpleasant Germans, who made it very jolly with their kindly humor. He didnot contribute much to the laughter, but every one seemed to think himan addition to the big table.
Thus it came to pass that late in January Peter dedicated a week ofevenings to "Society," and nightly donning his dress suit, calleddutifully on Mrs. Dupont, Mrs. Sizer, Mrs. Purple, Mrs. Avery, Mrs.Costell, Mrs. Gallagher and Mrs. Bohlmann. Peter was becoming veryfrivolous.