When Avery took his seat in the Assembly he learned that Ettie Berton's
father had been true to his calling. He still might be described as a
professional starter. Any bill which was in need of some one to either
introduce or offer a speech in its favor, found in John Berton an
ever-ready champion.
Not that he either understood or believed in all the bills he presented
or advocated. Belief and understanding were not for sale; nor,
indeed, were they always very much within his own grasp. He was in the
Legislature to promote, or start, such measures as stood in need of his
peculiar abilities. This was very soon understood, and many a bill
which other men feared or hesitated to present found its way to him and
through him to a reading. For a while Avery watched this process with
amusement. He wrote to Gertrude, from time to time, some very humorous
letters about it; but finally, one day a letter came which so bitterly
denounced both King and Berton, that Gertrude wondered what could have
wrought the sudden change.
"He has introduced a bill which is now before my committee," he wrote,
"that passes all belief. It is infamous beyond words to express, and,
to my dismay, it finds many advocates beside King and Berton. That a
conscienceless embruted inmate of an opium dive in Mott Street might
acknowledge to himself in the dark, and when he was alone, that he could
advocate such a measure, seems to me possible; but men who are in one
sense reputable, who--many of them--look upon themselves as respectable;
men who are fathers of girls and brothers of women, could even consider
such a bill, I would not have believed possible, and yet, I am ashamed
to say that I learn now for the first time, that our state is not the
only one where similar measures have not only found advocates, but
where there were enough moral lepers with voting power to establish such
legislation. It makes me heartsick and desperate. I am ashamed of the
human race. I am doubly ashamed that it is to my sex such infamous laws
are due.
"You were right, my dear Miss Gertrude; you were right. It is outrageous
that we allow mere conscienceless politicians to legislate for
respectable people, and yet my position here is neither pleasant, nor
will it, I fear, be half so profitable as you hope--as I hoped, before I
came and learned all I now know. But, believe me, I shall vote on every
bill and make every speech, with your face before me, and as if I were
making that particular law to apply particularly to you."
Gertrude smiled as she re-read that part of his letter.
She wondered what awful bill Ettie's father had presented. She had never
before thought that a legislator might strive to enact worse laws than
he already found in the statute books. She had thought most of the
trouble was that they did not take the time and energy to repeal old,
bad laws that had come to us from an ignorant or brutal past.
It struck her as a good idea, that a man should never vote on a measure
that he did not feel he was making a rule of action to apply to the
woman for whom he cared most; she knew now that she was that woman for
Selden Avery. He had told her that the night he came to bring the news
that he was elected. It had been told in a strangely simple way.
Her father and mother had laughingly congratulated him upon his
election, and Mr. Poster had added, banteringly: "If one may
congratulate a man upon taking a descent like that."
Gertrude had held one of her father's hands in her own, and tried by
gentle pressure to check him. Her father laughed, and added: "The little
woman here is trying to head me off. She appears to think--"
"Papa," said Gertrude, extending her other hand to Avery, "I do think
that Mr. Avery is to be congratulated that he has the splendid courage
to try to do something distinctly useful for other people, than simply
for the few of us who are outside or above most of the horrors of life.
I do--" Avery suddenly lifted her hand to his lips, and his eyes told
the rest. "Mr. Foster," he said, still holding the girl's hand, and
blushing painfully, "there can never be but one horror in the world too
awful for me to face, and that would be to lose the full respect and
confidence of your daughter. I know I have those now, and for the rest
--" He glanced again at Gertrude. She was pale, and she was looking with
an appeal in her eyes to her mother.
Mrs. Foster moved a step nearer, and put her arm about the girl. "For the
rest, Mr. Avery, for the rest--later on, later on," she said, kindly.
"Gertrude has traveled very fast these past few months, but she is her
mother's girl yet." Then she smiled kindly, and added: "Gertrude has set
a terrible standard for the man she will care for. I tremble for him and
I tremble for her."
"Tut, tut," said her father, "there are no standards in love--none
whatever. Love has its own way, and standards crumble--"
"In the past, perhaps. But in the future--" began his wife.
"In the future," said Gertrude, as she drew nearer to her mother, "in
the future they may not need to crumble, because,--because--" Her eyes
met Avery's, and fell. She saw that his muscles were tense, and his face
was unhappy.
"Because men will be great enough and true enough to rise to the ideals,
and not need to crumble the ideals to bring them to their level."
Avery bent forward and grasped her hand that was within her mother's.
"Thank you," he said, tremulously. "Thank you, oh, darling! and the rest
can wait," he said, to Mrs. Poster, and dropping both hands, he left the
room and the house.
Gertrude ran up-stairs and locked her door.
Mr. Foster turned to his wife with a half amused, half vexed face.
"Well, this is a pretty kettle of fish. What's to become of Martin, I'd
like to know?"
"John Martin has never had a ghost of a chance at any time--never," said
his wife, slowly trailing her gown over the rug, and dragging with it a
small stand that had caught its carved claw in the lace. It toppled and
fell with a crash. The beautiful vase it had held was in fragments. "Oh,
Katharine!" exclaimed her husband, springing forward to disengage her
lace. "Oh, it is too bad, isn't it?"
And Katherine Foster burst into tears, and with her arms suddenly thrown
about her husband's neck she sobbed: "Oh, yes, it is too bad! It is too
bad!" But it did not seem possible to her husband that the broken vase
could have so affected her, and surely no better match could be asked
for Gertrude. It could not be that. He was deeply perplexed, and
Katherine Foster, with a searching look in her face, kissed him sadly as
one might kiss the dead, and went to her daughter's room.