“Oh, that was before the days of the A. C!”
He, catching the infection, laughed also; in fact Mr. Johnson laughed,
but without knowing why.
“The 'A. C.'!” said Mr. Billings. “Bless me, Eunice! how long it is
since we have talked of that summer! I had almost forgotten that there
ever was an A. C.”
“Enos, COULD you ever forget Abel Mallory and the beer?--or that scene
between Hollins and Shelldrake?--or” (here SHE blushed the least bit)
“your own fit of candor?” And she laughed again, more heartily than
ever.
“What a precious lot of fools, to be sure!” exclaimed her husband.
Mr. Johnson, meanwhile, though enjoying the cheerful humor of his hosts,
was not a little puzzled with regard to its cause.
“What is the A. C.?” he ventured to ask.
Mr. and Mrs. Billings looked at each other, and smiled without replying.
“Really, Ned,” said the former, finally, “the answer to your question
involves the whole story.”
“Then why not tell him the whole story, Enos?” remarked his wife.
“You know I've never told it yet, and it's rather a hard thing to do,
seeing that I'm one of the heroes of the farce--for it wasn't even
genteel comedy, Ned,” said Mr. Billings. “However,” he continued,
“absurd as the story may seem, it's the only key to the change in my
life, and I must run the risk of being laughed at.”
“I'll help you through, Enos,” said his wife, encouragingly; “and
besides, my role in the farce was no better than yours. Let us
resuscitate, for to-night only, the constitution of the A. C.”
“Upon my word, a capital idea! But we shall have to initiate Ned.”
Mr. Johnson merrily agreeing, he was blindfolded and conducted into
another room. A heavy arm-chair, rolling on casters, struck his legs in
the rear, and he sank into it with lamb-like resignation.
“Open your mouth!” was the command, given with mock solemnity.
He obeyed.
“Now shut it!”
And his lips closed upon a cigar, while at the same time the
handkerchief was whisked away from his eyes. He found himself in Mr.
Billing's library.
“Your nose betrays your taste, Mr. Johnson,” said the lady, “and I
am not hard-hearted enough to deprive you of the indulgence. Here are
matches.”
“Well,” said he, acting upon the hint, “if the remainder of the
ceremonies are equally agreeable, I should like to be a permanent member
of your order.”
By this time Mr. and Mrs. Billings, having between them lighted the
lamp, stirred up the coal in the grate, closed the doors, and taken
possession of comfortable chairs, the latter proclaimed--
“The Chapter (isn't that what you call it?) will now be held!”
“Was it in '43 when you left home, Ned?” asked Mr. B.
“Yes.”
“Well, the A. C. culminated in '45. You remember something of the
society of Norridgeport, the last winter you were there? Abel Mallory,
for instance?”
“Let me think a moment,” said Mr. Johnson reflectively. “Really, it
seems like looking back a hundred years. Mallory--wasn't that the
sentimental young man, with wispy hair, a tallowy skin, and big, sweaty
hands, who used to be spouting Carlyle on the 'reading evenings' at
Shelldrake's? Yes, to be sure; and there was Hollins, with his clerical
face and infidel talk,--and Pauline Ringtop, who used to say, 'The
Beautiful is the Good.' I can still hear her shrill voice, singing,
'Would that _I_ were beautiful, would that _I_ were fair!'”
There was a hearty chorus of laughter at poor Miss Ringtop's expense.
It harmed no one, however; for the tar-weed was already thick over her
Californian grave.
“Oh, I see,” said Mr. Billings, “you still remember the absurdities of
those days. In fact, I think you partially saw through them then. But I
was younger, and far from being so clear-headed, and I looked upon those
evenings at Shelldrake's as being equal, at least, to the symposia of
Plato. Something in Mallory always repelled me. I detested the sight of
his thick nose, with the flaring nostrils, and his coarse, half-formed
lips, of the bluish color of raw corned-beef. But I looked upon these
feelings as unreasonable prejudices, and strove to conquer them, seeing
the admiration which he received from others. He was an oracle on the
subject of 'Nature.' Having eaten nothing for two years, except
Graham bread, vegetables without salt, and fruits, fresh or dried, he
considered himself to have attained an antediluvian purity of health--or
that he would attain it, so soon as two pimples on his left temple
should have healed. These pimples he looked upon as the last feeble
stand made by the pernicious juices left from the meat he had formerly
eaten and the coffee he had drunk. His theory was, that through a body
so purged and purified none but true and natural impulses could find
access to the soul. Such, indeed, was the theory we all held. A Return
to Nature was the near Millennium, the dawn of which we already beheld
in the sky. To be sure there was a difference in our individual views
as to how this should be achieved, but we were all agreed as to what the
result should be.
“I can laugh over those days now, Ned; but they were really happy while
they lasted. We were the salt of the earth; we were lifted above those
grovelling instincts which we saw manifested in the lives of others.
Each contributed his share of gas to inflate the painted balloon to
which we all clung, in the expectation that it would presently soar
with us to the stars. But it only went up over the out-houses, dodged
backwards and forwards two or three times, and finally flopped down with
us into a swamp.”
“And that balloon was the A. C.?” suggested Mr. Johnson.
“As President of this Chapter, I prohibit questions,” said Eunice. “And,
Enos, don't send up your balloon until the proper time. Don't anticipate
the programme, or the performance will be spoiled.”
“I had almost forgotten that Ned is so much in the dark,” her obedient
husband answered. “You can have but a slight notion,” he continued,
turning to his friend, “of the extent to which this sentimental, or
transcendental, element in the little circle at Shelldrake's increased
after you left Norridgeport. We read the 'Dial,' and Emerson; we
believed in Alcott as the 'purple Plato' of modern times; we took
psychological works out of the library, and would listen for hours to
Hollins while he read Schelling or Fichte, and then go home with a
misty impression of having imbibed infinite wisdom. It was, perhaps,
a natural, though very eccentric rebound from the hard, practical,
unimaginative New-England mind which surrounded us; yet I look back upon
it with a kind of wonder. I was then, as you know, unformed mentally,
and might have been so still, but for the experiences of the A. C.”
Mr. Johnson shifted his position, a little impatiently. Eunice looked at
him with laughing eyes, and shook her finger with a mock threat.
“Shelldrake,” continued Mr. Billings, without noticing this by-play,
“was a man of more pretence than real cultivation, as I afterwards
discovered. He was in good circumstances, and always glad to receive us
at his house, as this made him, virtually, the chief of our tribe,
and the outlay for refreshments involved only the apples from his
own orchard and water from his well. There was an entire absence of
conventionality at our meetings, and this, compared with the somewhat
stiff society of the village, was really an attraction. There was a
mystic bond of union in our ideas: we discussed life, love, religion,
and the future state, not only with the utmost candor, but with a warmth
of feeling which, in many of us, was genuine. Even I (and you know how
painfully shy and bashful I was) felt myself more at home there than in
my father's house; and if I didn't talk much, I had a pleasant feeling
of being in harmony with those who did.
“Well, 'twas in the early part of '45--I think in April,--when we were
all gathered together, discussing, as usual, the possibility of leading
a life in accordance with Nature. Abel Mallory was there, and Hollins,
and Miss Ringtop, and Faith Levis, with her knitting,--and also Eunice
Hazleton, a lady whom you have never seen, but you may take my wife at
her representative--”
“Stick to the programme, Enos,” interrupted Mrs. Billings.
“Eunice Hazleton, then. I wish I could recollect some of the speeches
made on that occasion. Abel had but one pimple on his temple (there was
a purple spot where the other had been), and was estimating that in two
or three months more he would be a true, unspoiled man. His complexion,
nevertheless, was more clammy and whey-like than ever.
“'Yes,' said he, 'I also am an Arcadian! This false dual existence which
I have been leading will soon be merged in the unity of Nature. Our
lives must conform to her sacred law. Why can't we strip off these
hollow Shams,' (he made great use of that word,) 'and be our true
selves, pure, perfect, and divine?'
“Miss Ringtop heaved a sigh, and repeated a stanza from her favorite
poet:
“'Ah, when wrecked are my desires
On the everlasting Never,
And my heart with all its fires
Out forever,
In the cradle of Creation
Finds the soul resuscitation!
“Shelldrake, however, turning to his wife, said--
“'Elviry, how many up-stairs rooms is there in that house down on the
Sound?'
“'Four,--besides three small ones under the roof. Why, what made you
think of that, Jesse?' said she.
“'I've got an idea, while Abel's been talking,' he answered. 'We've
taken a house for the summer, down the other side of Bridgeport, right
on the water, where there's good fishing and a fine view of the Sound.
Now, there's room enough for all of us--at least all that can make it
suit to go. Abel, you and Enos, and Pauline and Eunice might fix matters
so that we could all take the place in partnership, and pass the summer
together, living a true and beautiful life in the bosom of Nature. There
we shall be perfectly free and untrammelled by the chains which still
hang around us in Norridgeport. You know how often we have wanted to be
set on some island in the Pacific Ocean, where we could build up a
true society, right from the start. Now, here's a chance to try the
experiment for a few months, anyhow.'
“Eunice clapped her hands (yes, you did!) and cried out--
“'Splendid! Arcadian! I'll give up my school for the summer.'
“Miss Ringtop gave her opinion in another quotation:
“'The rainbow hues of the Ideal
Condense to gems, and form the Real!'
“Abel Mallory, of course, did not need to have the proposal repeated. He
was ready for any thing which promised indulgence, and the indulgence of
his sentimental tastes. I will do the fellow the justice to say that
he was not a hypocrite. He firmly believed both in himself and his
ideas--especially the former. He pushed both hands through the long
wisps of his drab-colored hair, and threw his head back until his wide
nostrils resembled a double door to his brain.
“'Oh Nature!' he said, 'you have found your lost children! We shall obey
your neglected laws! we shall hearken to your divine whispers I we
shall bring you back from your ignominious exile, and place you on your
ancestral throne!'
“'Let us do it!' was the general cry.
“A sudden enthusiasm fired us, and we grasped each other's hands in the
hearty impulse of the moment. My own private intention to make a summer
trip to the White Mountains had been relinquished the moment I heard
Eunice give in her adhesion. I may as well confess, at once, that I was
desperately in love, and afraid to speak to her.
“By the time Mrs. Sheldrake brought in the apples and water we were
discussing the plan as a settled thing. Hollins had an engagement to
deliver Temperance lectures in Ohio during the summer, but decided to
postpone his departure until August, so that he might, at least, spend
two months with us. Faith Levis couldn't go--at which, I think, we were
all secretly glad. Some three or four others were in the same case, and
the company was finally arranged to consist of the Shelldrakes, Hollins,
Mallory, Eunice, Miss Ringtop, and myself. We did not give much thought,
either to the preparations in advance, or to our mode of life when
settled there. We were to live near to Nature: that was the main thing.
“'What shall we call the place?' asked Eunice.
“'Arcadia!' said Abel Mallory, rolling up his large green eyes.
“'Then,' said Hollins, 'let us constitute ourselves the Arcadian Club!'”
“Aha!” interrupted Mr. Johnson, “I see! The A. C.!”
“Yes, you can see the A. C. now,” said Mrs. Billings; “but to understand
it fully, you should have had a share in those Arcadian experiences.”
“I am all the more interested in hearing them described. Go on, Enos.”
“The proposition was adopted. We called ourselves The Arcadian Club; but
in order to avoid gossip, and the usual ridicule, to which we were all
more or less sensitive, in case our plan should become generally known,
it was agreed that the initials only should be used. Besides, there was
an agreeable air of mystery about it: we thought of Delphi, and Eleusis,
and Samothrace: we should discover that Truth which the dim eyes of
worldly men and women were unable to see, and the day of disclosure
would be the day of Triumph. In one sense we were truly Arcadians: no
suspicion of impropriety, I verily believe, entered any of our minds. In
our aspirations after what we called a truer life there was no material
taint. We were fools, if you choose, but as far as possible from
being sinners. Besides, the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Shelldrake, who
naturally became the heads of our proposed community were sufficient
to preserve us from slander or suspicion, if even our designs had been
publicly announced.
“I won't bore you with an account of our preparations. In fact, there
was very little to be done. Mr. Shelldrake succeeded in hiring the
house, with most of its furniture, so that but a few articles had to
be supplied. My trunk contained more books than boots, more blank paper
than linen.
“'Two shirts will be enough,' said Abel: 'you can wash one of them any
day, and dry it in the sun.'
“The supplies consisted mostly of flour, potatoes, and sugar. There was
a vegetable-garden in good condition, Mr. Shelldrake said, which would
be our principal dependence.
“'Besides, the clams!' I exclaimed unthinkingly.
“'Oh, yes!' said Eunice, 'we can have chowder-parties: that will be
delightful!'
“'Clams! chowder! oh, worse than flesh!' groaned Abel. 'Will you
reverence Nature by outraging her first laws?'
“I had made a great mistake, and felt very foolish. Eunice and I looked
at each other, for the first time.”
“Speak for yourself only, Enos,” gently interpolated his wife.
“It was a lovely afternoon in the beginning of June when we first
approached Arcadia. We had taken two double teams at Bridgeport, and
drove slowly forward to our destination, followed by a cart containing
our trunks and a few household articles. It was a bright, balmy day:
the wheat-fields were rich and green, the clover showed faint streaks
of ruby mist along slopes leaning southward, and the meadows were yellow
with buttercups. Now and then we caught glimpses of the Sound, and, far
beyond it, the dim Long Island shore. Every old white farmhouse, with
its gray-walled garden, its clumps of lilacs, viburnums, and early
roses, offered us a picture of pastoral simplicity and repose. We passed
them, one by one, in the happiest mood, enjoying the earth around us,
the sky above, and ourselves most of all.
“The scenery, however, gradually became more rough and broken. Knobs
of gray gneiss, crowned by mournful cedars, intrenched upon the arable
land, and the dark-blue gleam of water appeared through the trees. Our
road, which had been approaching the Sound, now skirted the head of a
deep, irregular inlet, beyond which extended a beautiful promontory,
thickly studded with cedars, and with scattering groups of elm, oak and
maple trees. Towards the end of the promontory stood a house, with white
walls shining against the blue line of the Sound.
“'There is Arcadia, at last!' exclaimed Mr. Shelldrake.
“A general outcry of delight greeted the announcement. And, indeed, the
loveliness of the picture surpassed our most poetic anticipations. The
low sun was throwing exquisite lights across the point, painting the
slopes of grass of golden green, and giving a pearly softness to the
gray rocks. In the back-ground was drawn the far-off water-line, over
which a few specks of sail glimmered against the sky. Miss Ringtop, who,
with Eunice, Mallory, and myself, occupied one carriage, expressed her
'gushing' feelings in the usual manner:
“'Where the turf is softest, greenest,
Doth an angel thrust me on,--
Where the landscape lies serenest,
In the journey of the sun!'
“'Don't, Pauline!' said Eunice; 'I never like to hear poetry flourished
in the face of Nature. This landscape surpasses any poem in the world.
Let us enjoy the best thing we have, rather than the next best.'
“'Ah, yes!' sighed Miss Ringtop, ''tis true!
“'They sing to the ear; this sings to the eye!'
“Thenceforward, to the house, all was childish joy and jubilee. All
minor personal repugnances were smoothed over in the general exultation.
Even Abel Mallory became agreeable; and Hollins, sitting beside Mrs.
Shelldrake on the back seat of the foremost carriage, shouted to us, in
boyish lightness of heart.
“Passing the head of the inlet, we left the country-road, and entered,
through a gate in the tottering stone wall, on our summer domain. A
track, open to the field on one side, led us past a clump of deciduous
trees, between pastures broken by cedared knolls of rock, down
the centre of the peninsula, to the house. It was quite an old
frame-building, two stories high, with a gambrel roof and tall chimneys.
Two slim Lombardy poplars and a broad-leaved catalpa shaded the southern
side, and a kitchen-garden, divided in the centre by a double row of
untrimmed currant-bushes, flanked it on the east. For flowers, there
were masses of blue flags and coarse tawny-red lilies, besides a huge
trumpet-vine which swung its pendent arms from one of the gables.
In front of the house a natural lawn of mingled turf and rock sloped
steeply down to the water, which was not more than two hundred yards
distant. To the west was another and broader inlet of the Sound, out of
which our Arcadian promontory rose bluff and bold, crowned with a
thick fringe of pines. It was really a lovely spot which Shelldrake had
chosen--so secluded, while almost surrounded by the winged and moving
life of the Sound, so simple, so pastoral and home-like. No one doubted
the success of our experiment, for that evening at least.
“Perkins Brown, Shelldrake's boy-of-all-work, awaited us at the door.
He had been sent on two or three days in advance, to take charge of the
house, and seemed to have had enough of hermit-life, for he hailed
us with a wild whoop, throwing his straw hat half-way up one of the
poplars. Perkins was a boy of fifteen, the child of poor parents,
who were satisfied to get him off their hands, regardless as to what
humanitarian theories might be tested upon him. As the Arcadian Club
recognized no such thing as caste, he was always admitted to our
meetings, and understood just enough of our conversation to excite a
silly ambition in his slow mind. His animal nature was predominant, and
this led him to be deceitful. At that time, however, we all looked upon
him as a proper young Arcadian, and hoped that he would develop into a
second Abel Mallory.
“After our effects had been deposited on the stoop, and the carriages
had driven away, we proceeded to apportion the rooms, and take
possession. On the first floor there were three rooms, two of which
would serve us as dining and drawing rooms, leaving the third for the
Shelldrakes. As neither Eunice and Miss Ringtop, nor Hollins and Abel
showed any disposition to room together, I quietly gave up to them the
four rooms in the second story, and installed myself in one of the attic
chambers. Here I could hear the music of the rain close above my head,
and through the little gable window, as I lay in bed, watch the colors
of the morning gradually steal over the distant shores. The end was, we
were all satisfied.
“'Now for our first meal in Arcadia!' was the next cry. Mrs. Shelldrake,
like a prudent housekeeper, marched off to the kitchen, where Perkins
had already kindled a fire. We looked in at the door, but thought it
best to allow her undisputed sway in such a narrow realm. Eunice was
unpacking some loaves of bread and paper bags of crackers; and Miss
Ringtop, smiling through her ropy curls, as much as to say, 'You see,
_I_ also can perform the coarser tasks of life!' occupied herself with
plates and cups. We men, therefore, walked out to the garden, which we
found in a promising condition. The usual vegetables had been planted
and were growing finely, for the season was yet scarcely warm enough
for the weeds to make much headway. Radishes, young onions, and lettuce
formed our contribution to the table. The Shelldrakes, I should explain,
had not yet advanced to the antediluvian point, in diet: nor, indeed,
had either Eunice or myself. We acknowledged the fascination of tea, we
saw a very mitigated evil in milk and butter, and we were conscious of
stifled longings after the abomination of meat. Only Mallory, Hollins,
and Miss Ringtop had reached that loftiest round on the ladder of
progress where the material nature loosens the last fetter of the
spiritual. They looked down upon us, and we meekly admitted their right
to do so.
“Our board, that evening, was really tempting. The absence of meat was
compensated to us by the crisp and racy onions, and I craved only a
little salt, which had been interdicted, as a most pernicious substance.
I sat at one corner of the table, beside Perkins Brown, who took an
opportunity, while the others were engaged in conversation, to jog my
elbow gently. As I turned towards him, he said nothing, but dropped his
eyes significantly. The little rascal had the lid of a blacking-box,
filled with salt, upon his knee, and was privately seasoning his onions
and radishes.
I blushed at the thought of my hypocrisy, but the onions were so much
better that I couldn't help dipping into the lid with him.
“'Oh,' said Eunice, 'we must send for some oil and vinegar! This lettuce
is very nice.'
“'Oil and vinegar?' exclaimed Abel.
“'Why, yes,' said she, innocently: 'they are both vegetable substances.'
“Abel at first looked rather foolish, but quickly recovering himself,
said--
“'All vegetable substances are not proper for food: you would not taste
the poison-oak, or sit under the upas-tree of Java.'
“'Well, Abel,' Eunice rejoined, 'how are we to distinguish what is best
for us? How are we to know WHAT vegetables to choose, or what animal and
mineral substances to avoid?'
“'I will tell you,' he answered, with a lofty air. 'See here!' pointing
to his temple, where the second pimple--either from the change of air,
or because, in the excitement of the last few days, he had forgotten
it--was actually healed. 'My blood is at last pure. The struggle between
the natural and the unnatural is over, and I am beyond the depraved
influences of my former taste. My instincts are now, therefore, entirely
pure also. What is good for man to eat, that I shall have a natural
desire to eat: what is bad will be naturally repelled. How does the cow
distinguish between the wholesome and the poisonous herbs of the meadow?
And is man less than a cow, that he cannot cultivate his instincts to
an equal point? Let me walk through the woods and I can tell you every
berry and root which God designed for food, though I know not its name,
and have never seen it before. I shall make use of my time, during our
sojourn here, to test, by my purified instinct, every substance, animal,
mineral, and vegetable, upon which the human race subsists, and to
create a catalogue of the True Food of Man!'
“Abel was eloquent on this theme, and he silenced not only Eunice,
but the rest of us. Indeed, as we were all half infected with the same
delusions, it was not easy to answer his sophistries.
“After supper was over, the prospect of cleaning the dishes and putting
things in order was not so agreeable; but Mrs. Shelldrake and Perkins
undertook the work, and we did not think it necessary to interfere with
them. Half an hour afterwards, when the full moon had risen, we took
our chairs upon the sloop, to enjoy the calm, silver night, the soft
sea-air, and our summer's residence in anticipatory talk.
“'My friends,' said Hollins (and HIS hobby, as you may remember, Ned,
was the organization of Society, rather than those reforms which apply
directly to the Individual),--'my friends, I think we are sufficiently
advanced in progressive ideas to establish our little Arcadian community
upon what I consider the true basis: not Law, nor Custom, but the
uncorrupted impulses of our nature. What Abel said in regard to dietetic
reform is true; but that alone will not regenerate the race. We must
rise superior to those conventional ideas of Duty whereby Life is warped
and crippled. Life must not be a prison, where each one must come and
go, work, eat, and sleep, as the jailer commands. Labor must not be
a necessity, but a spontaneous joy. 'Tis true, but little labor is
required of us here: let us, therefore, have no set tasks, no fixed
rules, but each one work, rest, eat, sleep, talk or be silent, as his
own nature prompts.'
“Perkins, sitting on the steps, gave a suppressed chuckle, which I think
no one heard but myself. I was vexed with his levity, but, nevertheless,
gave him a warning nudge with my toe, in payment for the surreptitious
salt.
“'That's just the notion I had, when I first talked of our coming here,'
said Shelldrake. 'Here we're alone and unhindered; and if the plan
shouldn't happen to work well (I don't see why it shouldn't though),
no harm will be done. I've had a deal of hard work in my life, and I've
been badgered and bullied so much by your strait-laced professors,
that I'm glad to get away from the world for a spell, and talk and do
rationally, without being laughed at.'
“'Yes,' answered Hollins, 'and if we succeed, as I feel we shall, for I
think I know the hearts of all of us here, this may be the commencement
of a new Epoch for the world. We may become the turning-point between
two dispensations: behind us every thing false and unnatural, before us
every thing true, beautiful, and good.'
“'Ah,' sighed Miss Ringtop, 'it reminds me of Gamaliel J. Gawthrop's
beautiful lines:
“'Unrobed man is lying hoary
In the distance, gray and dead;
There no wreaths of godless glory
To his mist-like tresses wed,
And the foot-fall of the Ages
Reigns supreme, with noiseless tread.'
“'I am willing to try the experiment,' said I, on being appealed to by
Hollins; 'but don't you think we had better observe some kind of order,
even in yielding every thing to impulse? Shouldn't there be, at least, a
platform, as the politicians call it--an agreement by which we shall
all be bound, and which we can afterwards exhibit as the basis of our
success?'
“He meditated a few moments, and then answered--
“'I think not. It resembles too much the thing we are trying to
overthrow. Can you bind a man's belief by making him sign certain
articles of Faith? No: his thought will be free, in spite of it; and I
would have Action--Life--as free as Thought. Our platform--to adopt your
image--has but one plank: Truth. Let each only be true to himself: BE
himself, ACT himself, or herself with the uttermost candor. We can all
agree upon that.'
“The agreement was accordingly made. And certainly no happier or more
hopeful human beings went to bed in all New England that night.
“I arose with the sun, went into the garden, and commenced weeding,
intending to do my quota of work before breakfast, and then devote the
day to reading and conversation. I was presently joined by Shelldrake
and Mallory, and between us we finished the onions and radishes, stuck
the peas, and cleaned the alleys. Perkins, after milking the cow and
turning her out to pasture, assisted Mrs. Shelldrake in the kitchen.
At breakfast we were joined by Hollins, who made no excuse for his
easy morning habits; nor was one expected. I may as well tell you now,
though, that his natural instincts never led him to work. After a week,
when a second crop of weeds was coming on, Mallory fell off also, and
thenceforth Shelldrake and myself had the entire charge of the garden.
Perkins did the rougher work, and was always on hand when he was wanted.
Very soon, however, I noticed that he was in the habit of disappearing
for two or three hours in the afternoon.
“Our meals preserved the same Spartan simplicity. Eunice, however,
carried her point in regard to the salad; for Abel, after tasting and
finding it very palatable, decided that oil and vinegar might be classed
in the catalogue of True Food. Indeed, his long abstinence from piquant
flavors gave him such an appetite for it that our supply of lettuce was
soon exhausted. An embarrassing accident also favored us with the use of
salt. Perkins happening to move his knee at the moment I was dipping an
onion into the blacking-box lid, our supply was knocked upon the floor.
He picked it up, and we both hoped the accident might pass unnoticed.
But Abel, stretching his long neck across the corner of the table,
caught a glimpse of what was going on.
“'What's that?' he asked.
“'Oh, it's--it's only,' said I, seeking for a synonyme, 'only chloride
of sodium!'
“'Chloride of sodium! what do you do with it?'
“'Eat it with onions,' said I, boldly: 'it's a chemical substance, but I
believe it is found in some plants.'
“Eunice, who knew something of chemistry (she taught a class, though you
wouldn't think it), grew red with suppressed fun, but the others were as
ignorant as Abel Mallory himself.
“'Let me taste it,' said he, stretching out an onion.
“I handed him the box-lid, which still contained a portion of its
contents. He dipped the onion, bit off a piece, and chewed it gravely.
“'Why,' said he, turning to me, 'it's very much like salt.'
“Perkins burst into a spluttering yell, which discharged an onion-top he
had just put between his teeth across the table; Eunice and I gave way
at the same moment; and the others, catching the joke, joined us. But
while we were laughing, Abel was finishing his onion, and the result was
that Salt was added to the True Food, and thereafter appeared regularly
on the table.
“The forenoons we usually spent in reading and writing, each in his or
her chamber. (Oh, the journals, Ned!--but you shall not see mine.)
After a midday meal,--I cannot call it dinner,--we sat upon the stoop,
listening while one of us read aloud, or strolled down the shores on
either side, or, when the sun was not too warm, got into a boat, and
rowed or floated lazily around the promontory.
“One afternoon, as I was sauntering off, past the garden, towards the
eastern inlet, I noticed Perkins slipping along behind the cedar knobs,
towards the little woodland at the end of our domain. Curious to find
out the cause of his mysterious disappearances, I followed cautiously.
From the edge of the wood I saw him enter a little gap between the
rocks, which led down to the water. Presently a thread of blue smoke
stole up. Quietly creeping along, I got upon the nearer bluff and looked
down. There was a sort of hearth built up at the base of the rock, with
a brisk little fire burning upon it, but Perkins had disappeared. I
stretched myself out upon the moss, in the shade, and waited. In about
half an hour up came Perkins, with a large fish in one hand and a
lump of clay in the other. I now understood the mystery. He carefully
imbedded the fish in a thin layer of clay, placed it on the coals, and
then went down to the shore to wash his hands. On his return he found me
watching the fire.
“'Ho, ho, Mr. Enos!' said he, 'you've found me out; But you won't say
nothin'. Gosh! you like it as well I do. Look 'ee there!'--breaking open
the clay, from which arose 'a steam of rich distilled perfumes,'--'and,
I say, I've got the box-lid with that 'ere stuff in it,--ho! ho!'--and
the scamp roared again.
“Out of a hole in the rock he brought salt and the end of a loaf, and
between us we finished the fish. Before long, I got into the habit of
disappearing in the afternoon.
“Now and then we took walks, alone or collectively, to the nearest
village, or even to Bridgeport, for the papers or a late book. The few
purchases we required were made at such times, and sent down in a cart,
or, if not too heavy, carried by Perkins in a basket. I noticed that
Abel, whenever we had occasion to visit a grocery, would go sniffing
around, alternately attracted or repelled by the various articles: now
turning away with a shudder from a ham,--now inhaling, with a fearful
delight and uncertainty, the odor of smoked herrings. 'I think herrings
must feed on sea-weed,' said he, 'there is such a vegetable attraction
about them.' After his violent vegetarian harangues, however, he
hesitated about adding them to his catalogue.
“But, one day, as we were passing through the village, he was reminded
by the sign of 'WARTER CRACKERS' in the window of an obscure grocery
that he required a supply of these articles, and we therefore entered.
There was a splendid Rhode Island cheese on the counter, from which the
shop-mistress was just cutting a slice for a customer. Abel leaned over
it, inhaling the rich, pungent fragrance.
“'Enos,' said he to me, between his sniffs, 'this impresses me like
flowers--like marigolds. It must be--really--yes, the vegetable element
is predominant. My instinct towards it is so strong that I cannot be
mistaken. May I taste it, ma'am?'
“The woman sliced off a thin corner, and presented it to him on the
knife.
“'Delicious!' he exclaimed; 'I am right,--this is the True Food. Give me
two pounds--and the crackers, ma'am.'
“I turned away, quite as much disgusted as amused with
this charlatanism. And yet I verily believe the fellow was
sincere--self-deluded only. I had by this time lost my faith in him,
though not in the great Arcadian principles. On reaching home, after
an hour's walk, I found our household in unusual commotion. Abel was
writhing in intense pain: he had eaten the whole two pounds of cheese,
on his way home! His stomach, so weakened by years of unhealthy
abstinence from true nourishment, was now terribly tortured by this
sudden stimulus. Mrs. Shelldrake, fortunately, had some mustard among
her stores, and could therefore administer a timely emetic. His life was
saved, but he was very ill for two or three days. Hollins did not fail
to take advantage of this circumstance to overthrow the authority which
Abel had gradually acquired on the subject of food. He was so arrogant
in his nature that he could not tolerate the same quality in another,
even where their views coincided.
“By this time several weeks had passed away. It was the beginning of
July, and the long summer heats had come. I was driven out of my attic
during the middle hours of the day, and the others found it pleasanter
on the doubly shaded stoop than in their chambers. We were thus thrown
more together than usual--a circumstance which made our life more
monotonous to the others, as I could see; but to myself, who could at
last talk to Eunice, and who was happy at the very sight of her, this
'heated term' seemed borrowed from Elysium.
“I read aloud, and the sound of my own voice gave me confidence; many
passages suggested discussions, in which I took a part; and you may
judge, Ned, how fast I got on, from the fact that I ventured to tell
Eunice of my fish-bakes with Perkins, and invite her to join them. After
that, she also often disappeared from sight for an hour or two in the
afternoon.”
----“Oh, Mr. Johnson,” interrupted Mrs. Billings, “it wasn't for the
fish!”
“Of course not,” said her husband; “it was for my sake.”
“No, you need not think it was for you. Enos,” she added, perceiving the
feminine dilemma into which she had been led, “all this is not necessary
to the story.”
“Stop!” he answered. “The A. C. has been revived for this night only.
Do you remember our platform, or rather no-platform? I must follow my
impulses, and say whatever comes uppermost.”
“Right, Enos,” said Mr. Johnson; “I, as temporary Arcadian, take the
same ground. My instinct tells me that you, Mrs. Billings, must permit
the confession.”
She submitted with a good grace, and her husband continued:
“I said that our lazy life during the hot weather had become a little
monotonous. The Arcadian plan had worked tolerably well, on the whole,
for there was very little for any one to do--Mrs. Shelldrake and Perkins
Brown excepted. Our conversation, however, lacked spirit and variety. We
were, perhaps unconsciously, a little tired of hearing and assenting to
the same sentiments. But one evening, about this time, Hollins struck
upon a variation, the consequences of which he little foresaw. We
had been reading one of Bulwer's works (the weather was too hot for
Psychology), and came upon this paragraph, or something like it:
“'Ah, Behind the Veil! We see the summer smile of the Earth--enamelled
meadow and limpid stream,--but what hides she in her sunless heart?
Caverns of serpents, or grottoes of priceless gems? Youth, whose soul
sits on thy countenance, thyself wearing no mask, strive not to lift the
masks of others! Be content with what thou seest; and wait until Time
and Experience shall teach thee to find jealousy behind the sweet smile,
and hatred under the honeyed word!'
“This seemed to us a dark and bitter reflection; but one or another of
us recalled some illustration of human hypocrisy, and the evidences,
by the simple fact of repetition, gradually led to a division of
opinion--Hollins, Shelldrake, and Miss Ringtop on the dark side, and
the rest of us on the bright. The last, however, contented herself with
quoting from her favorite poet, Gamaliel J. Gawthrop:
“'I look beyond thy brow's concealment!
I see thy spirit's dark revealment!
Thy inner self betrayed I see:
Thy coward, craven, shivering ME!'
“'We think we know one another,' exclaimed Hollins; 'but do we? We see
the faults of others, their weaknesses, their disagreeable qualities,
and we keep silent. How much we should gain, were candor as universal
as concealment! Then each one, seeing himself as others see him, would
truly know himself. How much misunderstanding might be avoided--how
much hidden shame be removed--hopeless, because unspoken, love made
glad--honest admiration cheer its object--uttered sympathy mitigate
misfortune--in short, how much brighter and happier the world would
become if each one expressed, everywhere and at all times, his true and
entire feeling! Why, even Evil would lose half its power!'
“There seemed to be so much practical wisdom in these views that we were
all dazzled and half-convinced at the start. So, when Hollins, turning
towards me, as he continued, exclaimed--'Come, why should not this
candor be adopted in our Arcadia? Will any one--will you, Enos--commence
at once by telling me now--to my face--my principal faults?' I answered
after a moment's reflection--'You have a great deal of intellectual
arrogance, and you are, physically, very indolent'
“He did not flinch from the self-invited test, though he looked a little
surprised.
“'Well put,' said he, 'though I do not say that you are entirely
correct. Now, what are my merits?'
“'You are clear-sighted,' I answered, 'an earnest seeker after truth,
and courageous in the avowal of your thoughts.'
“This restored the balance, and we soon began to confess our own private
faults and weaknesses. Though the confessions did not go very deep,--no
one betraying anything we did not all know already,--yet they were
sufficient to strength Hollins in his new idea, and it was unanimously
resolved that Candor should thenceforth be the main charm of our
Arcadian life. It was the very thing _I_ wanted, in order to make
a certain communication to Eunice; but I should probably never have
reached the point, had not the same candor been exercised towards me,
from a quarter where I least expected it.
“The next day, Abel, who had resumed his researches after the True Food,
came home to supper with a healthier color than I had before seen on his
face.
“'Do you know,' said he, looking shyly at Hollins, 'that I begin to
think Beer must be a natural beverage? There was an auction in the
village to-day, as I passed through, and I stopped at a cake-stand to
get a glass of water, as it was very hot. There was no water--only beer:
so I thought I would try a glass, simply as an experiment. Really, the
flavor was very agreeable. And it occurred to me, on the way home, that
all the elements contained in beer are vegetable. Besides, fermentation
is a natural process. I think the question has never been properly
tested before.'
“'But the alcohol!' exclaimed Hollins.
“'I could not distinguish any, either by taste or smell. I know that
chemical analysis is said to show it; but may not the alcohol be
created, somehow, during the analysis?'
“'Abel,' said Hollins, in a fresh burst of candor, 'you will never be
a Reformer, until you possess some of the commonest elements of
knowledge.'
“The rest of us were much diverted: it was a pleasant relief to our
monotonous amiability.
“Abel, however, had a stubborn streak in his character. The next day he
sent Perkins Brown to Bridgeport for a dozen bottles of 'Beer.' Perkins,
either intentionally or by mistake, (I always suspected the former,)
brought pint-bottles of Scotch ale, which he placed in the coolest part
of the cellar. The evening happened to be exceedingly hot and sultry,
and, as we were all fanning ourselves and talking languidly, Abel
bethought him of his beer. In his thirst, he drank the contents of the
first bottle, almost at a single draught.
“'The effect of beer,' said he, 'depends, I think, on the commixture of
the nourishing principle of the grain with the cooling properties of the
water. Perhaps, hereafter, a liquid food of the same character may be
invented, which shall save us from mastication and all the diseases of
the teeth.'
“Hollins and Shelldrake, at his invitation, divided a bottle between
them, and he took a second. The potent beverage was not long in acting
on a brain so unaccustomed to its influence. He grew unusually talkative
and sentimental, in a few minutes.
“'Oh, sing, somebody!' he sighed in a hoarse rapture: 'the night was
made for Song.'
“Miss Ringtop, nothing loath, immediately commenced, 'When stars are in
the quiet skies;' but scarcely had she finished the first verse before
Abel interrupted her.
“'Candor's the order of the day, isn't it?' he asked.
“'Yes!' 'Yes!' two or three answered.
“'Well then,' said he, 'candidly, Pauline, you've got the darn'dest
squeaky voice'--
“Miss Ringtop gave a faint little scream of horror.
“'Oh, never mind!' he continued. 'We act according to impulse, don't we?
And I've the impulse to swear; and it's right. Let Nature have her
way. Listen! Damn, damn, damn, damn! I never knew it was so easy. Why,
there's a pleasure in it! Try it, Pauline! try it on me!'
“'Oh-ooh!' was all Miss Ringtop could utter.
“'Abel! Abel!' exclaimed Hollins, 'the beer has got into your head.'
“'No, it isn't Beer,--it's Candor!' said Abel. 'It's your own proposal,
Hollins. Suppose it's evil to swear: isn't it better I should express
it, and be done with it, than keep it bottled up to ferment in my mind?
Oh, you're a precious, consistent old humbug, you are!'
“And therewith he jumped off the stoop, and went dancing awkwardly
down towards the water, singing in a most unmelodious voice, ''Tis home
where'er the heart is.'
“'Oh, he may fall into the water!' exclaimed Eunice, in alarm.
“'He's not fool enough to do that,' said Shelldrake. 'His head is a
little light, that's all. The air will cool him down presently.'
“But she arose and followed him, not satisfied with this assurance. Miss
Ringtop sat rigidly still. She would have received with composure the
news of his drowning.
“As Eunice's white dress disappeared among the cedars crowning
the shore, I sprang up and ran after her. I knew that Abel was not
intoxicated, but simply excited, and I had no fear on his account: I
obeyed an involuntary impulse. On approaching the water, I heard their
voices--hers in friendly persuasion, his in sentimental entreaty,--then
the sound of oars in the row-locks. Looking out from the last clump of
cedars, I saw them seated in the boat, Eunice at the stern, while Abel,
facing her, just dipped an oar now and then to keep from drifting with
the tide. She had found him already in the boat, which was loosely
chained to a stone. Stepping on one of the forward thwarts in her
eagerness to persuade him to return, he sprang past her, jerked away the
chain, and pushed off before she could escape. She would have fallen,
but he caught her and placed her in the stern, and then seated himself
at the oars. She must have been somewhat alarmed, but there was only
indignation in her voice. All this had transpired before my arrival, and
the first words I heard bound me to the spot and kept me silent.
“'Abel, what does this mean?' she asked
“'It means Fate--Destiny!' he exclaimed, rather wildly. 'Ah, Eunice, ask
the night, and the moon,--ask the impulse which told you to follow me!
Let us be candid like the old Arcadians we imitate. Eunice, we know that
we love each other: why should we conceal it any longer? The Angel of
Love comes down from the stars on his azure wings, and whispers to our
hearts. Let us confess to each other! The female heart should not be
timid, in this pure and beautiful atmosphere of Love which we breathe.
Come, Eunice! we are alone: let your heart speak to me!'
“Ned, if you've ever been in love, (we'll talk of that after a while,)
you will easily understand what tortures I endured, in thus hearing
him speak. That HE should love Eunice! It was a profanation to her, an
outrage to me. Yet the assurance with which he spoke! COULD she love
this conceited, ridiculous, repulsive fellow, after all? I almost gasped
for breath, as I clinched the prickly boughs of the cedars in my hands,
and set my teeth, waiting to hear her answer.
“'I will not hear such language! Take me back to the shore!' she said,
in very short, decided tones.
“'Oh, Eunice,' he groaned, (and now, I think he was perfectly sober,)
'don't you love me, indeed? _I_ love you,--from my heart I do: yes, I
love you. Tell me how you feel towards me.'
“'Abel,' said she, earnestly, 'I feel towards you only as a friend;
and if you wish me to retain a friendly interest in you, you must never
again talk in this manner. I do not love you, and I never shall. Let me
go back to the house.'
“His head dropped upon his breast, but he rowed back to the shore, drew
the bow upon the rocks, and assisted her to land. Then, sitting down, he
groaned forth--
“'Oh, Eunice, you have broken my heart!' and putting his big hands to
his face, began to cry.
“She turned, placed one hand on his shoulder, and said in a calm, but
kind tone--
“'I am very sorry, Abel, but I cannot help it.'
“I slipped aside, that she might not see me, and we returned by separate
paths.
“I slept very little that night. The conviction which I chased away from
my mind as often as it returned, that our Arcadian experiment was taking
a ridiculous and at the same time impracticable development, became
clearer and stronger. I felt sure that our little community could not
hold together much longer without an explosion. I had a presentiment
that Eunice shared my impressions. My feelings towards her had reached
that crisis where a declaration was imperative: but how to make it? It
was a terrible struggle between my shyness and my affection. There was
another circumstance in connection with this subject, which troubled me
not a little. Miss Ringtop evidently sought my company, and made me, as
much as possible, the recipient of her sentimental outpourings. I was
not bold enough to repel her--indeed I had none of that tact which is
so useful in such emergencies,--and she seemed to misinterpret my
submission. Not only was her conversation pointedly directed to me, but
she looked at me, when singing, (especially, 'Thou, thou, reign'st in
this bosom!') in a way that made me feel very uncomfortable. What
if Eunice should suspect an attachment towards her, on my part. What
if--oh, horror!--I had unconsciously said or done something to impress
Miss Ringtop herself with the same conviction? I shuddered as the
thought crossed my mind. One thing was very certain: this suspense was
not to be endured much longer.
“We had an unusually silent breakfast the next morning. Abel scarcely
spoke, which the others attributed to a natural feeling of shame, after
his display of the previous evening. Hollins and Shelldrake discussed
Temperance, with a special view to his edification, and Miss Ringtop
favored us with several quotations about 'the maddening bowl,'--but
he paid no attention to them. Eunice was pale and thoughtful. I had
no doubt in my mind, that she was already contemplating a removal from
Arcadia. Perkins, whose perceptive faculties were by no means dull,
whispered to me, 'Shan't I bring up some porgies for supper?' but I
shook my head. I was busy with other thoughts, and did not join him in
the wood, that day.
“The forenoon was overcast, with frequent showers. Each one occupied his
or her room until dinner-time, when we met again with something of the
old geniality. There was an evident effort to restore our former flow of
good feeling. Abel's experience with the beer was freely discussed. He
insisted strongly that he had not been laboring under its effects, and
proposed a mutual test. He, Shelldrake, and Hollins were to drink it
in equal measures, and compare observations as to their physical
sensations. The others agreed,--quite willingly, I thought,--but I
refused. I had determined to make a desperate attempt at candor, and
Abel's fate was fresh before my eyes.
“My nervous agitation increased during the day, and after sunset,
fearing lest I should betray my excitement in some way, I walked down
to the end of the promontory, and took a seat on the rocks. The sky
had cleared, and the air was deliciously cool and sweet. The Sound was
spread out before me like a sea, for the Long Island shore was veiled in
a silvery mist. My mind was soothed and calmed by the influences of the
scene, until the moon arose. Moonlight, you know, disturbs--at least,
when one is in love. (Ah, Ned, I see you understand it!) I felt
blissfully miserable, ready to cry with joy at the knowledge that I
loved, and with fear and vexation at my cowardice, at the same time.
“Suddenly I heard a rustling beside me. Every nerve in my body tingled,
and I turned my head, with a beating and expectant heart. Pshaw! It was
Miss Ringtop, who spread her blue dress on the rock beside me, and shook
back her long curls, and sighed, as she gazed at the silver path of the
moon on the water.
“'Oh, how delicious!' she cried. 'How it seems to set the spirit free,
and we wander off on the wings of Fancy to other spheres!'
“'Yes,' said I, 'It is very beautiful, but sad, when one is alone.'
“I was thinking of Eunice.
“'How inadequate,' she continued, 'is language to express the emotions
which such a scene calls up in the bosom! Poetry alone is the voice of
the spiritual world, and we, who are not poets, must borrow the language
of the gifted sons of Song. Oh, Enos, I WISH you were a poet! But you
FEEL poetry, I know you do. I have seen it in your eyes, when I quoted
the burning lines of Adeliza Kelley, or the soul-breathings of Gamaliel
J. Gawthrop. In HIM, particularly, I find the voice of my own nature.
Do you know his 'Night-Whispers?' How it embodies the feelings of such a
scene as this!
“Star-drooping bowers bending down the spaces,
And moonlit glories sweep star-footed on;
And pale, sweet rivers, in their shining races,
Are ever gliding through the moonlit places,
With silver ripples on their tranced faces,
And forests clasp their dusky hands, with low and sullen moan!'
“'Ah!' she continued, as I made no reply, 'this is an hour for the soul
to unveil its most secret chambers! Do you not think, Enos, that love
rises superior to all conventionalities? that those whose souls are in
unison should be allowed to reveal themselves to each other, regardless
of the world's opinions?'
“'Yes!' said I, earnestly.
“'Enos, do you understand me?' she asked, in a tender voice--almost a
whisper.
“'Yes,' said I, with a blushing confidence of my own passion.
“'Then,' she whispered, 'our hearts are wholly in unison. I know you are
true, Enos. I know your noble nature, and I will never doubt you. This
is indeed happiness!'
“And therewith she laid her head on my shoulder, and sighed--
“'Life remits his tortures cruel,
Love illumes his fairest fuel,
When the hearts that once were dual
Meet as one, in sweet renewal!'
“'Miss Ringtop!' I cried, starting away from her, in alarm, 'you don't
mean that--that--'
“I could not finish the sentence.
“'Yes, Enos, DEAR Enos! henceforth we belong to each other.'
“The painful embarrassment I felt, as her true meaning shot through my
mind, surpassed anything I had imagined, or experienced in anticipation,
when planning how I should declare myself to Eunice. Miss Ringtop was
at least ten years older than I, far from handsome (but you remember her
face,) and so affectedly sentimental, that I, sentimental as I was then,
was sick of hearing her talk. Her hallucination was so monstrous, and
gave me such a shock of desperate alarm, that I spoke, on the impulse of
the moment, with great energy, without regarding how her feelings might
be wounded.
“'You mistake!' I exclaimed. 'I didn't mean that,--I didn't understand
you. Don't talk to me that way,--don't look at me in that way, Miss
Ringtop! We were never meant for each other--I wasn't----You're so much
older--I mean different. It can't be--no, it can never be! Let us go
back to the house: the night is cold.'
“I rose hastily to my feet. She murmured something,--what, I did not
stay to hear,--but, plunging through the cedars, was hurrying with all
speed to the house, when, half-way up the lawn, beside one of the rocky
knobs, I met Eunice, who was apparently on her way to join us.
“In my excited mood, after the ordeal through which I had passed,
everything seemed easy. My usual timidity was blown to the four winds. I
went directly to her, took her hand, and said--
“'Eunice, the others are driving me mad with their candor; will you let
me be candid, too?'
“'I think you are always candid, Enos,' she answered.
“Even then, if I had hesitated, I should have been lost. But I went on,
without pausing--
“'Eunice, I love you--I have loved you since we first met. I came here
that I might be near you; but I must leave you forever, and to-night,
unless you can trust your life in my keeping. God help me, since we have
been together I have lost my faith in almost everything but you.
Pardon me, if I am impetuous--different from what I have seemed. I have
struggled so hard to speak! I have been a coward, Eunice, because of my
love. But now I have spoken, from my heart of hearts. Look at me: I can
bear it now. Read the truth in my eyes, before you answer.'
“I felt her hand tremble while I spoke. As she turned towards me her
face, which had been averted, the moon shone full upon it, and I saw
that tears were upon her cheeks. What was said--whether anything was
said--I cannot tell. I felt the blessed fact, and that was enough. That
was the dawning of the true Arcadia.”
Mrs. Billings, who had been silent during this recital, took her
husband's hand and smiled. Mr. Johnson felt a dull pang about the region
of his heart. If he had a secret, however, I do not feel justified in
betraying it.
“It was late,” Mr. Billings continued, “before we returned to the house.
I had a special dread of again encountering Miss Ringtop, but she was
wandering up and down the bluff, under the pines, singing, 'The dream
is past.' There was a sound of loud voices, as we approached the stoop.
Hollins, Shelldrake and his wife, and Abel Mallory were sitting together
near the door. Perkins Brown, as usual, was crouched on the lowest step,
with one leg over the other, and rubbing the top of his boot with a
vigor which betrayed to me some secret mirth. He looked up at me from
under his straw hat with the grin of a malicious Puck, glanced towards
the group, and made a curious gesture with his thumb. There were several
empty pint-bottles on the stoop.
“'Now, are you sure you can bear the test?' we heard Hollins ask, as we
approached.
“'Bear it? Why to be sure!' replied Shelldrake; 'if I couldn't bear it,
or if YOU couldn't, your theory's done for. Try! I can stand it as long
as you can.'
“'Well, then,' said Hollins, 'I think you are a very ordinary man. I
derive no intellectual benefit from my intercourse with you, but
your house is convenient to me. I'm under no obligations for your
hospitality, however, because my company is an advantage to you. Indeed
if I were treated according to my deserts, you couldn't do enough for
me.'
“Mrs. Shelldrake was up in arms.
“'Indeed,' she exclaimed, 'I think you get as good as you deserve, and
more too.'
“'Elvira,' said he, with a benevolent condescension, 'I have no doubt
you think so, for your mind belongs to the lowest and most material
sphere. You have your place in Nature, and you fill it; but it is not
for you to judge of intelligences which move only on the upper planes.'
“'Hollins,' said Shelldrake, 'Elviry's a good wife and a sensible woman,
and I won't allow you to turn up your nose at her.'
“'I am not surprised,' he answered, 'that you should fail to stand the
test. I didn't expect it.'
“'Let me try it on YOU!' cried Shelldrake. 'You, now, have some
intellect,--I don't deny that,--but not so much, by a long shot, as you
think you have. Besides that, you're awfully selfish in your opinions.
You won't admit that anybody can be right who differs from you. You've
sponged on me for a long time; but I suppose I've learned something from
you, so we'll call it even. I think, however, that what you call acting
according to impulse is simply an excuse to cover your own laziness.'
“'Gosh! that's it!' interrupted Perkins, jumping up; then, recollecting
himself, he sank down on the steps again, and shook with a suppressed
'Ho! ho! ho!'
“Hollins, however, drew himself up with an exasperated air.
“'Shelldrake,' said he, 'I pity you. I always knew your ignorance, but
I thought you honest in your human character. I never suspected you
of envy and malice. However, the true Reformer must expect to be
misunderstood and misrepresented by meaner minds. That love which I bear
to all creatures teaches me to forgive you. Without such love, all plans
of progress must fail. Is it not so, Abel?'
“Shelldrake could only ejaculate the words, 'Pity!' 'Forgive?' in his
most contemptuous tone; while Mrs. Shelldrake, rocking violently in
her chair, gave utterance to that peculiar clucking, 'TS, TS, TS, TS,'
whereby certain women express emotions too deep for words.
“Abel, roused by Hollins's question, answered, with a sudden energy--
“'Love! there is no love in the world. Where will you find it? Tell me,
and I'll go there. Love! I'd like to see it! If all human hearts were
like mine, we might have an Arcadia; but most men have no hearts. The
world is a miserable, hollow, deceitful shell of vanity and hypocrisy.
No: let us give up. We were born before our time: this age is not worthy
of us.'
“Hollins stared at the speaker in utter amazement. Shelldrake gave a
long whistle, and finally gasped out--
“'Well, what next?'
“None of us were prepared for such a sudden and complete wreck of our
Arcadian scheme. The foundations had been sapped before, it is true; but
we had not perceived it; and now, in two short days, the whole edifice
tumbled about our ears. Though it was inevitable, we felt a shock of
sorrow, and a silence fell upon us. Only that scamp of a Perkins Brown,
chuckling and rubbing his boot, really rejoiced. I could have kicked
him.
“We all went to bed, feeling that the charm of our Arcadian life was
over. I was so full of the new happiness of love that I was scarcely
conscious of regret. I seemed to have leaped at once into responsible
manhood, and a glad rush of courage filled me at the knowledge that
my own heart was a better oracle than those--now so shamefully
overthrown--on whom I had so long implicitly relied. In the first
revulsion of feeling, I was perhaps unjust to my associates. I see
now, more clearly, the causes of those vagaries, which originated in a
genuine aspiration, and failed from an ignorance of the true nature
of Man, quite as much as from the egotism of the individuals. Other
attempts at reorganizing Society were made about the same time by men of
culture and experience, but in the A. C. we had neither. Our leaders had
caught a few half-truths, which, in their minds, were speedily warped
into errors. I can laugh over the absurdities I helped to perpetrate,
but I must confess that the experiences of those few weeks went far
towards making a man of me.”
“Did the A. C. break up at once?” asked Mr. Johnson.
“Not precisely; though Eunice and I left the house within two days,
as we had agreed. We were not married immediately, however. Three long
years--years of hope and mutual encouragement--passed away before that
happy consummation. Before our departure, Hollins had fallen into his
old manner, convinced, apparently, that Candor must be postponed to a
better age of the world. But the quarrel rankled in Shelldrake's mind,
and especially in that of his wife. I could see by her looks and little
fidgety ways that his further stay would be very uncomfortable. Abel
Mallory, finding himself gaining in weight and improving in color, had
no thought of returning. The day previous, as I afterwards learned, he
had discovered Perkins Brown's secret kitchen in the woods.
“'Golly!' said that youth, in describing the circumstance to me, 'I had
to ketch TWO porgies that day.'
“Miss Ringtop, who must have suspected the new relation between Eunice
and myself, was for the most part rigidly silent. If she quoted, it was
from the darkest and dreariest utterances of her favorite Gamaliel.
“What happened after our departure I learned from Perkins, on the
return of the Shelldrakes to Norridgeport, in September. Mrs. Shelldrake
stoutly persisted in refusing to make Hollins's bed, or to wash his
shirts. Her brain was dull, to be sure; but she was therefore all the
more stubborn in her resentment. He bore this state of things for about
a week, when his engagements to lecture in Ohio suddenly called him
away. Abel and Miss Ringtop were left to wander about the promontory in
company, and to exchange lamentations on the hollowness of human hopes
or the pleasures of despair. Whether it was owing to that attraction of
sex which would make any man and any woman, thrown together on a desert
island, finally become mates, or whether she skilfully ministered to
Abel's sentimental vanity, I will not undertake to decide: but the fact
is, they were actually betrothed, on leaving Arcadia. I think he would
willingly have retreated, after his return to the world; but that was
not so easy. Miss Ringtop held him with an inexorable clutch. They were
not married, however, until just before his departure for California,
whither she afterwards followed him. She died in less than a year, and
left him free.”
“And what became of the other Arcadians?” asked Mr. Johnson.
“The Shelldrakes are still living in Norridgeport. They have become
Spiritualists, I understand, and cultivate Mediums. Hollins, when I
last heard of him, was a Deputy-Surveyor in the New York Custom-House.
Perkins Brown is our butcher here in Waterbury, and he often asks
me--'Do you take chloride of soda on your beefsteaks?' He is as fat as a
prize ox, and the father of five children.”
“Enos!” exclaimed Mrs. Billings, looking at the clock, “it's nearly
midnight! Mr. Johnson must be very tired, after such a long story.
“The Chapter of the A. C. is hereby closed!”