The Byle episode put Burr in a merry mood, quite diverting his
thoughts from Mexico and the future to the happenings of the hour. A
reckless spirit of frivolity took possession of him, and he astonished
his fellow traveller by the ebullience of his humor and the play of
his extravagant fancy. He mimicked the speech and grotesque gestures
of Plutarch, and laughed over the ludicrous _finale_ of the encounter
with that free-spoken genius.
"Mr. B-y-l-e, Byle, is exquisite! It is worth coming a thousand miles
by stage coach and flatboat, to meet so droll an adventure with such a
nondescript amphibian. He has a prodigious gift of gab, plain and
ornamental. Did you take note of his metaphors? 'Rose of Sharon' is
good.--By the way, we can't be far from the Bower of Bliss. We must
tie up our Argo there as Brackenridge recommended, and go in quest of
those exotic and visionary Blennerhassetts."
"What do you know of them, colonel, further than we learned in
Pittsburg?"
"But little. They stopped in New York for a few months, after arriving
in this country, ten or twelve years ago. The man is a barrister,
educated in Dublin. He claims to be a descendant of King John. The
lady is a daughter of the governor of the Isle of Wight, and a
granddaughter of the late Brigadier-General Agnew, who was killed in
the battle of Germantown."
"A British general, you say?"
"Oh, certainly--a violent royalist."
While the gentlemen were thus chatting, the boat drifted lazily on,
following the windings of the current. The broad Ohio glowed like
liquid gold, in the slant sunshine of mid-afternoon, and the interplay
of shade and color, shifting from object to object along the shores,
gave the varied scenery an ethereal beauty almost supernatural. The
distant, forest-crowned uplands, seen dimly in the direction toward
which the ark floated, looked as unsubstantial as clouds. A
delightful, spicy fragrance exhaled from the blossomy thickets which
fringed the river margin.
Burr took a deep breath, and began to hum a half-remembered verse
advising youth to "gather the rose whiles yet is prime."
"Yonder is Bacchus Island," said Arlington, pointing down stream.
"I suppose you are right. The _Western Navigator_ locates the spot
somewhere about here. But beware of illusions, my friend. I begin to
doubt the testimony of my senses. Perhaps yonder prospect is a mirage,
and Byle was only a goblin of the mind. This interminable river is
enchanted. I sympathize with La Salle's conviction that the Ohio runs
to Cathay. Maybe we have sailed round the globe and are now in sight
of the Indies. Or we have come to Arabia. Does not the vision resemble
some Mohammedan Isle of the Blest--one of the happy seats reserved
for blameless souls such as yours and mine? I shall expect to discover
the rivers of clarified honey, the couches adorned with gold, and the
damsels having complexions like rubies and pearls, as the Koran
promises."
Arlington laughingly replied in the same extravagant vein.
"Colonel, you have eaten of the insane root. This island belongs to
the Hesperides, not to the East. The best luck we can hope for is to
steal one or two golden apples."
"That may prove a risky adventure even for a bold Virginian. If there
is a dragon to slay I leave the bloody business to you. I stick to my
Oriental paradise."
"Very well; golden apples for me and pearl-ruby damsels for you. But I
am scandalized that a Puritan Senator permits himself to dream of
Mohammed's heaven, and its honey and houri felicities."
"Mr. Arlington, you are the first and only anchorite that Virginia has
produced. You will grant that it is in character for a Senator to pay
his _devoirs_ to a sultana. Something too much of this. See there over
the willows; that must be the house."
They both gazed forward, and caught glimpses of the secluded mansion,
gleaming, snow-white, through forest vistas. Burke Pierce, who knew
the private wharf, steered to the landing, and the boat was moored
fast to a huge sycamore tree.
The travellers disembarked, and following a path which wound among
mazes of shrubbery and early blooming flowers, came to the
semicircular plot of green sward fronting the piazza.
"The place _is_ marvellously beautiful!" remarked Arlington.
"A new Garden of Eden!" answered the other.
On approaching the main entrance, they heard, within, the twangling
music of a harp.
The hall door was decorated with a large, bronze knocker of curious
design. A tap of the falling hammer on its metallic plate, brought to
the threshold a jet-black maid-servant wearing a gaudy turban. She
ushered the visitors into a spacious drawing-room and took their cards
and a note from Judge Brackenridge, to her mistress.
The guests while waiting could not fail to be impressed by what they
saw around them. Walls, ceilings and doors were unique in their
decorative effects. The furnishings of the apartment were elegant and
sumptuous. There were rich hangings at the windows and costly Persian
rugs on the floor.
Soon was heard a swish and rustle of brocade on the stairs, and, a
moment later, the gentlemen rose to meet Madam Blennerhassett, who
came in, smiling a cordial welcome. She was dignified, even stately,
in her demeanor, and looked, not indeed the ideal sultana, but rather
every inch an empress.
Burr was at once upon his mettle. No levity, nothing of the jester, no
trace of ennui lingered in his manner. The presence of the magnificent
woman transfigured his body and called up all his social resources.
His eye kindled its sparkling fires, his lip took a deeper glow of
vital red. These manifestations were spontaneous, almost involuntary,
though he was conscious of an obscure design.
"Gentlemen, it hardly needed this note from Judge Brackenridge to
insure you a welcome here; you do us a great honor by seeking out our
lonely island home." These words, though addressed to both the
visitors, were meant for the elder and more distinguished guest, who
replied suavely:
"Madam, we made bold to invade the privacy of these grounds in the
hope of forming the acquaintance of a family well known by
reputation."
Returning a formal bow and a look of appreciation, the lady continued:
"I regret that you do not find my husband at home; his affairs called
him to Farmers' Castle, just across the river, but I am expecting him
to return at any minute. You must not go without seeing him. Of
course, you will take dinner with us."
The wayfarers, having come ashore for idle adventure and recreation,
were easily persuaded to linger. Burr tactfully advanced to the
borders of familiarity by giving Madam Blennerhassett an embellished
report of the encomiums which Brackenridge had bestowed upon her and
her ancestors. He was lauding the name of Agnew, when a sound from the
vestibule suspended his eloquence, and quickly thereafter the figure
of a graceful girl appeared in the entrance to the drawing-room. The
maiden paused a moment, a glowing picture in the deep doorway. She was
a peerless blonde, blue of eye, scarlet of lip--and her fair head and
face were so aureoled by locks of sunniest yellow, that she seemed to
radiate light and warmth. Her exceeding loveliness smote through
Arlington's nerves and set his southern blood tingling.
"Ah, Evaleen, did you enjoy your ramble?" asked the hostess,
affectionately, as she rose to receive the young lady. "Colonel Burr,
this is my very dear friend, Miss Evaleen Hale."
The American Chesterfield made a courtierly obeisance.
"Permit me to introduce Mr. Arlington, of Richmond."
"Miss Hale, gentlemen, like myself is a sojourner in a far country.
She comes to us from Boston."
Having complied gracefully with the demands of convention, the maiden,
in wilful abstraction, busied herself with some wild flowers which she
had just gathered in the woods.
"Where did you leave the boys?" inquired madam, referring to the lads
Dominick and Harman.
"They are out of doors, making a cage for a young squirrel which I had
the luck to catch. But the lively creature bit me; see here,
Margaret!"
Evaleen held up a dainty hand, on the whiteness of which the teeth of
the captive had left a small purple wound. In her playful
carelessness, she let fall a sprig of wind-flowers and two or three
violets. Arlington gallantly picked up the flowers.
"What peculiar violets," said he, as he offered to return them.
"Yes, they are of a variety found only on this island, I am told. You
may keep them if you like."
"I presume, Mr. Arlington," said Burr, "that you understand the
language of flowers. When I was of the sentimental age I knew the
floral alphabet and could convey all manner of covert messages through
the agency of pinks and pansies and rosebuds and all the sweet
go-betweens of Cupid's court. The blue violet, I believe, signifies
modesty, does it not?"
The question was accompanied by a look at Miss Hale, who made no
reply, not appearing to notice the appeal.
"Our native Western plants," said the hostess, "have no poetical
association. The Indians were devoid of sentiment. It is only in
Persia and such romantic lands that they make roses and lilies talk.
But this island is rich in its flora. Before you resume your voyage
you should take time to visit a beautiful spot which Miss Evaleen
calls her Violet Bank. It is on a bluff overlooking the river, only a
short walk from here."
At Burr's request, Mrs. Blennerhassett was induced to talk of her
island home and of her husband's pursuits. It gave her evident relief
of mind to narrate the story of her life's trials and vicissitudes
since her marriage. She spoke with less reserve than was wise, and
notwithstanding the reverence with which she alluded to him, the
consort she unconsciously described seemed at best the prince of
Utopians. That he was wealthy and lavish could not be doubted. The
wife's unguarded revelations gave Burr food for speculation. Many
pertinent questions by him elicited answers which he locked away in
the safe of memory.
The minutes flew rapidly--an hour went by, yet the master of the
house came not, and at length Madam Blennerhassett renewed her
suggestion that an excursion to the edge of the island might prove
pleasant.
"We shall see him return from the Ohio shore; at least, I hope so."
She reminded her guests that she was an Englishwoman, accustomed to
long walks, and, with the buoyant energy of an Artemis, led the way to
the near green wood.
"I will pilot ahead with Colonel Burr, and you, Mr. Arlington, shall
be taken care of by Miss Hale, who is as familiar as a dryad with
these glades. How romantic! Virginia and New England wander together
on a solitary island in the Ohio."
The elevated level of ground upon which the party halted lay open to
the sunshine, and it was completely covered by a thick bed of wild
pansies.
The view from this fragrant knoll surpassed expectation. While the
admiring spectators were gazing across the river, now on the village
of Belpre, now on the farther off rude fortress aptly named Farmers'
Castle, there came floating by a long, slender craft, rigged somewhat
like a schooner, and displaying from its mast the flag of the United
States. The music of a violin, faintly heard, was wafted across the
water from the deck, upon which could be seen a bevy of ladies, a few
dancing, others waving handkerchiefs to those watching from the
island. By means of a field-glass which Mrs. Blennerhassett handed
him, Burr could bring out plainly the forms and faces of the
passengers. His attention was immediately fixed upon one striking
figure--that of a woman in black, who stood apart from her
fellow-voyagers in a pensive attitude, gazing into the sky. A cheer
arose from the boat's crew, and the report of a small cannon boomed
and echoed along the woody shores; yet Burr still held the magnifying
lens before his eye, and a certain agitation was observable in his
behavior.
"That," said he, handing back the glass, "is General Wilkinson's
barge. He is bound for St. Louis, to take possession of his domain as
governor of Upper Louisiana and commander-in-chief of the Army of the
West."
For a time the four stood gazing in silence at the receding craft.
Then Madam Blennerhassett, speaking aside to Miss Hale, asked:
"How long does the captain intend to remain with you in Marietta? I
understand he has orders to proceed to the general's headquarters for
duty."
The answer was spoken softly and with a rising blush, noticing which,
Arlington was disquieted by a feeling much akin to jealousy.
"We do hope he may stay with us at least another fortnight."
"In that case we will expect him to spend a few days here. I wonder
what detains Harman? He may have crossed over while we came through
the grove. Perhaps we shall find him at home waiting for us."
With sauntering steps the four returned through the twilight of the
woods, breathing the scent of new leaves and now and then stopping to
pick a stem of sweet dicentra or a white addertongue. Soon after they
reached the house dinner was served in a style distinctively English.
During this meal, and afterward, when the cheerful party repaired to
the drawing-room, Burr, as was expected of him, assumed the leadership
in conversation.
The affluence and the brilliancy of his discourse seemed appropriate
to the splendor of the surroundings. He did not monopolize the talk,
and never failed to return an appreciative response to any remark or
question. To the ladies he gave the most deferential attention.
Arlington, a peer in the social realm, felt piqued to admit himself
outrivalled by an undersized widower who was a grandfather.
The conversation, in which Miss Hale now more freely participated,
flowed afresh in livelier and more sparkling stream--ripples of wit
and humor--foam-bells of nonsense. The Geneva clock in the room
across the hall struck nine--struck ten--but its musical warning was
not heard. Nor yet did the lord of the mansion make his appearance.
Madam Blennerhassett concealed the secret uneasiness she felt, and did
all she could to contribute to the pleasure of the occasion by every
delicate art of hospitality. She sang a Scottish song, she spoke
piquantly of the amusing phases of life in a new country, and of her
husband's need of congenial literary associates.
"He is compelled more and more to depend upon his books. Would you
like, colonel, to look into the library for a moment?" Burr promptly
rose and followed his queenly hostess into the adjoining apartment.
The couple left together in the drawing-room verified the homely
adage, "Two is company." Arlington might have said, "My blood speaks
to you in my veins," but he could not consistently quote Bassanio's
other words, "Madam, you have bereft me of all speech." From the
presence of Evaleen he received access of eloquence; the two were
conscious of a silent interchange of sentiments more meaningful than
any spoken word. While Evaleen sat listening with responsive interest
to some frank personal disclosures of the young man's hopes and
ambitions, her attention was diverted by a slight sound on the porch.
She glanced up, and saw, or thought she saw, an ugly face staring at
her through a window-pane. Her sudden pallor and dilated eye were
observed by Arlington, who asked in a tone of gentle solicitude:
"What is it?"
"I saw a face at the window--a man staring in."
Arlington immediately left the room and, softly opening the door,
stepped out upon the piazza and looked searchingly in every direction.
Not a sign could be discovered of the prowling eavesdropper whose
shadowy features had frightened Miss Hale.
"I may have been mistaken," she said, when Arlington came back, "but I
am almost certain that I saw a hideous face at the window."
The effect of the incident was to give the conversation of the two a
somewhat more intimate character, and the gentleman's manner assumed
an air of protective regard which the New England beauty did not
repulse. Her resiliant spirit soon regained its wonted gaiety.
Meanwhile, what had Aaron Burr found to interest him so long in the
_sanctum sanctorum_ of the lord of the island?
Blennerhassett's study was both library and laboratory, containing
philosophical apparatus, musical instruments and books. The shelves
were piled with scientific works and standard editions of the ancient
classics. On the wall hung a large oil portrait of a man with an
amiable, meditative face, not wanting in agreeable features, yet not
indicative of force. Burr scanned the indecisive mouth, the handsome,
trustful eyes, the low forehead, at the middle of which was parted the
slightly curling mass of brown hair. While her visitor was studying
the picture, the lady stood at his side, perusing him.
"Well, what is your verdict?"
"A noble face! A noble face!" he repeated, turning to her with an
expression subtly suggestive that his interest was passing from the
flat, dead canvas of the absent husband to the breathing, beautiful
woman he was addressing. "A noble face; but one fact puzzles me.
Madam, pardon my candor. I cannot understand how your husband contents
himself to spend an obscure life in this out-of-the-way spot, when his
education, talents and fortune qualify him for a career so much more
ambitious and useful. I am at equal loss to conceive how a lady of
your distinguished birth, breeding and accomplishments could consent
to exchange the splendid opportunities of social life in lofty places
for the domestic quietude of a rural home, however luxurious. Things
cannot make us happy, human associations only can do that. Is it
possible that you are satisfied with your present limited sphere?"
"No," she replied, speaking low, "nor is he." She glanced at the
portrait. "We have had quite enough of this self-banishment. We grow
discontented and would gladly dispose of the estate."
"Madam, you are not unacquainted with the world. You derive your blood
from a noble source. The granddaughter of General Agnew inherits all
advantages that women covet--rank, wealth, culture, beauty--and you
have a husband who appreciates you." When in the enumeration of her
endowments Burr pronounced the word beauty, the lady's eyelids drooped
and a perceptible constraint came over both the woman and the man--he
not feeling sure he had chosen a safe approach to her favor--she in
doubt whether to invite or to repulse further personal compliment. It
entered his consciousness that she might become part of his political
plan--might somehow abet his magnificent purposes. In the pause which
succeeded his appeal to her self-love and ambition she once more
scanned the mild, meditative countenance beaming from the pictured
canvas.
A mesmeric influence drew her eyes from the portrait to encounter
those of Aaron Burr, regarding her with a gentle look of wistful
melancholy. The color deepened in her cheeks, and her bosom labored
with an inaudible sigh.
"Ah, madam, you should give your husband back to the world of great
actions suited to one in whose veins runs the blood of a king. How I
wish he were here that I might tell him so in your presence. Give him
my profound regrets. We have tarried too long."
Madam Blennerhassett never forgot this _tête-à-tête_ with Burr; but
an inexplicable qualm kept her from mentioning it to her belated lord
on his return from Farmers' Castle. It was nearly midnight when the
two visitors reluctantly took leave of the ladies and stepped out into
the diffused light of the May moon.
"Pretty late," called out Burke Pierce familiarly from the stern of
the boat where he stood, ready to resume his piloting.
No tattling breeze carried to the ears of the ladies the comments
spoken by Burr as he stood in the moonlight on the roof of the vessel,
beside Arlington.
"Exceedingly fine women, are they not?"
The Virginian made no reply. He was pinning to the lapel of his coat a
tiny bunch of violets, and his face was turned from his
fellow-voyager.
"Both are ladies of decided individuality. They are amazingly
beautiful, too, and possess unusual force of character, especially the
captain's lady."
"Damn the captain."
"So say I. You stole a march on him in the Hesperian Garden, and we
both escaped the jaws of the absent Dragon."
Soon after their guests left the house Madam Blennerhassett and
Evaleen Hale, standing by an open window in a chamber upstairs, looked
out toward the wharf. They heard the voices of the watermen and the
noise made in shoving out from the gravel beach. Then came silence,
and they knew the ark was adrift, bearing away two passengers whom
they could not easily forget, but expected never to meet again.
"How delightful he is!" mused the madam, speaking more to herself than
to her friend.
"Do you think so?" returned Evaleen abstractedly.
"Perfectly captivating! A brilliant mind! I am charmed with him, are
not you?"
"He is pleasant enough, but too bold, too audacious, isn't he?"
"Not, I think, Evaleen, for a person of his age. We expect more
freedom in elderly men."
"Elderly! Why, he can't be more than twenty-five!
"Twenty-five! My dear child, he has a married daughter!"
"Oh, you are speaking of Colonel Burr! I _hate_ him."