FLIPPING THE SHILLING
Shortly after the departure of the strolling players from the tavern,
Mauville summoned his servant and ordered his equipage. While waiting
he strode impatiently to and fro in the dining-room, which, dismantled
of the stage, by very contrast to the temporary temple of art, turned
his thoughts to the players. The barrenness of the room smote him
acutely with the memory of those performances, and he laughed
ironically to himself that he should thus revert to them. But as he
scoffed inwardly, his eyes gleamed with vivacity, and the sensations
with which he had viewed the young girl night after night were
reawakened. What was one woman lost to him, his egotism whispered; he
had parted from many, as a gourmand leaves one meal for another. Yes;
but she had not been his, insinuated vanity; another had whipped her
off before his eyes.
"Why the devil didn't you tell me he was going with them?" he demanded
of the landlord while settling his account.
"He--who?" asked the surprised inn-keeper.
"That adventurer you have been harboring here. How far's he going with
them?"
"I don't know. The night after the performance I heard the manager ask
him to join the company; to write a temperance play."
"Temperance play!" sneered Mauville. "The fool's gone with them on
account of a woman."
"I did think he was mighty attentive to one of the actresses," said
the landlord, reflectively. "The one with them melting eyes. Purty
good-looking! Quiet and lady-like, too! So he's gallivanting after
her? Well, well, I guess actresses be all alike."
"I guess they are," added the heir savagely. "And this one took me
in," he thought to himself. "Holding me off and playing with him, the
jade!" Then he continued aloud: "Where are they going?"
"Didn't hear 'em say," answered the other, "and I didn't like to
appear too curious."
"You didn't?" returned Mauville, ironically. "You must have changed
lately."
"I don't know as I understand you quite," replied the landlord with
sudden dignity. "But here's your carriage and your things are all on.
I guess your tenants will be glad to see you," he continued, not
resisting a parting shot.
"Curse the tenants!" muttered the guest in ill-humor, as he strode
from the tavern without more ado.
He was soon on his way, partly forgetting his vexation in new
anticipations, and traveling with spirit to his destination, which he
reached late that afternoon. The residence of the old patroons, a
lordly manor where once lavish hospitality had been displayed, was
approached through great gates of hammered iron in which the family
arms were interwoven, leading into a fine avenue of trees. The
branches of the more majestic met overhead, forming a sylvan arch that
almost obscured the blue sky by day and the stars by night. Gazing
through this vista, a stately portico appeared, with Corinthian
columns, affording an inviting termination of the view. The grounds
bore evidence of neglect in the grass growing knee-high and rank with
weeds; the flower beds almost obliterated; a corn-crib sunk to one
side like a quadruped gone weak-kneed; and the stream that struggled
vainly through the leaves and rubbish barring its passage across the
estate. The fence resembled the "company front" of an awkward squad,
each picket being more or less independent of its neighbor, with here
and there a break or gap in the ranks.
Passing through the leafy archway over a noiseless road and drawing
near the manor, the heir could see that the broad windows, with their
quaint squares of glass, were unwashed, the portico unswept and the
brass finishings of the front door unpolished. At the right of the
steps leading to the portico, moss-covered and almost concealed by a
rose-bush, stood a huge block of granite upon which rested the
"lifting-stone," as it was called, of one of the early masters. This
not inconsiderable weight the new retainers had been required to lift
in days of old, or failing, the patroon would have none of their
services, for he wanted only lusty, broad-backed varlets for farmers
or--when need were--soldiers.
In answer to repeated summons from the ponderous knocker, shuffling
footsteps were finally heard within, the door was opened a few inches
and the gleaming teeth of a great, gaunt dog were thrust into the
opening, followed by an ominous growling. Mauville sprang back a step;
the snarling resolved itself into a yelp, as some one unceremoniously
dragged the canine back; the door was opened wider and a brawny
figure, smoking a long-stemmed pipe, barred the way. The dog, but
partly appeased, peered from behind the man's sturdy legs, awaiting
hostilities. The latter, an imperturbable Dutchman, eyed the intruder
askance, smoking as impassively in his face as one of his ancestors
before William the Testy. From his point of vantage on the threshold
the care-taker looked down upon the master so indifferently, while the
dog glared so viciously that the land baron cried angrily:
"Why the devil don't you get out of the way and call off that beast?"
The man pondered. "No one but the heir would give orders like that,"
he said, so accustomed to speaking his thoughts in the solitude of the
great rooms, that he gave way to the habit now. "This must be the
heir."
Slowly the care-taker moved aside, the hound shifting his position
accordingly, and Mauville entered, gazing around with some interest,
for the interior of the manor realized the pretensions of its outward
aspect. The floor of the hall was of satinwood and rosewood, and the
mahogany wainscoting, extending almost to the ceiling, was black with
age. With its rich carvings, the stairway suggested woody rioting in
balustrades lifting up to the support of the heavy beams in the
ceiling. The furnishings were in keeping, but dust obscured the
mirror-like surface of the mahogany tables, the heavy draperies were
in need of renovation, while a housewife would have viewed with
despair the condition of brass and ebony inlaid cabinets, ancient
tapestries, and pictures, well-nigh defaced, but worthy, even in their
faded aspect, of the brush of Sir Godfrey Kneller, Benjamin West and
the elder Peale.
Having casually surveyed his new home, the heir was reminded of the
need for refreshment after his long journey, and, turning to the
care-taker, asked him what there was in the house? The servant smoked
silently as though deeply considering this momentous question, while
the rear guard maintained unabated hostility between the man's
firmly-planted feet. Then abruptly, without removing his pipe, the
guardian of the manor ejaculated:
"Short-cakes and oly-koeks."
The other laughed, struck his knee with his light cane and demanded to
be shown to the library, where he would have these outlandish dishes
served.
"And bring with them, Mynheer Oly-koeks, a bottle of wine," he
continued. "At the same time, chain up the dog. He eyes me with such
hungry hostility that, gad! I believe he's an anti-renter!"
Mauville was ushered into a large room, where great leather-bound
volumes filled the oak shelves to the ceiling. The care-taker turned,
and, with echoing footsteps, slowly departed, followed by his faithful
four-footed retainer. It is true the latter paused, swung half-around
and regarded the land-owner with the look of a sulky and rebellious
tenant, but, summoned by a stern "Oloffe!" from his master, the dog
reluctantly pattered across the hard-wood floor.
In surveying his surroundings, the land baron's attention was
attracted by a coat-of-arms deeply carved in the massive wood of the
book-case--on a saltire sable, a fleur-de-lys or. This head of
heraldic flowers appeared to interest Mauville, who smiled grimly.
"From what I know of my worthy ancestors," he muttered, "and their
propensities to prey on their fellow-men, I should say a more fitting
device would be that of Lovett of Astwell: Gules, three wolves passant
sable, in pale."
Pleased with his own humor, he threw himself upon a couch near the
window, stretching himself luxuriously. Soon the man reappeared with
the refreshments and a bottle of old-fashioned, substantial girth,
which he uncorked with marked solicitude.
"Where are the oly-koeks?" exclaimed the heir.
The watchman pointed to a great dish of dark blue willow-ware
pattern.
"Oh, doughnuts!" said Mauville. "You know where the family lawyer
lives? Have my man drive you to his house and bring him here at
once."
As the care-taker again disappeared the heir bent over the curiously
shaped bottle in delight, for when the cork was drawn a fragrance
filled the musty apartment as from a bouquet.
"Blessings on the ancestor who laid down this wine!" he muttered.
"May his ghost wander in to sniff it! These oly-koeks are not bad.
I suppose this man, Ten Breecheses, or whatever he is called, is at
once cook and housekeeper. Although I don't think much of his
housekeeping," ruminated Mauville, as he observed a herculean spider
weaving a web from an old volume of Giraldus Cambrensis, antiquary,
to the classical works of one Joseph of Exeter. There is a strong
sympathy between wine and cobwebs, and Mauville watched with
increasing interest the uses to which these ponderous tomes had
sunk--but serving the bloodthirsty purpose of the nimble architect,
evolving its delicate engineering problem in mid air.
A great blundering fly had just bobbed into the net and the spider,
with hideous, carnivorous zest, was scrambling for it, when the
guardian of the manor returned with the family solicitor, a little man
who bore in his arms a bundle of papers which, after the customary
greetings, he spread upon the table. He helped himself to a glass of
burgundy and proceeded forthwith to enter into the history of his
trust.
Mynheer, the patroon, Mauville's predecessor, a lonely, arrogant man,
had held tenaciously to the immense tracts of land acquired in the
colonial days by nominal purchase. He had never married, his desire
for an heir being discounted by his aversion for the other sex, until
as the days dragged on, he found himself bed-ridden and childless in
his old age. Unfortunately the miser can not take his acres into
Paradise, and the patroon, with many an inward groan, cast about him
for some remote relative to whom he would reluctantly transfer his
earthly hereditaments. These were two: one a man of piety, who prayed
with the tenants when they complained of their lot; the other,
Mauville, upon whom he had never set eyes.
When the earliest patroons had made known to the West India Company
their intention of planting colonies in New Netherland, they had
issued attractive maps to promote their colonization projects. Among
those who had been lured to America by these enticing advertisements
was an ancestor of Edward Mauville. Incurring the displeasure of the
governor for his godless views, this Frenchman was sent to the
pillory, or whipping post, and his neighbors were about to cast out
the devil of irreverence in good old-fashioned manner, when one of
Mynheer's daughters interceded, carried off the handsome miscreant,
and--such was her imperious way!--married him! He was heard in after
years to aver that the whipping would have been the milder punishment,
but, be that as it may, a child was born unto them who inherited the
father's adventuresome and graceless character, deserted his home,
joined hands with some ocean-rovers and sailed for that pasture-ground
of buccaneers, the Caribbean sea. Of his subsequent history various
stories may be found in the chronicles of New Orleans and Louisiana.
The only other person who might have any pretensions to the estate was
a reverend gentleman who had been a missionary among the Indians,
preaching from a stump, and called "Little Thunder" by the red men
because of his powerful voice; a lineal descendant of the Rev. Doctor
Johannes Vanderklonk, the first dominie of the patroons, who served
for one thousand guilders, payable in meat or drink, twenty-two
bushels of wheat and two firkins of butter. He saved the souls of the
savages, while the white men cheated their bodies. Now and then, in
those early days, the children of the forest protested against this
evangelizing process and carried off the good dominie to the torture
stake, where they plucked out his finger nails; but he returned with
as much zest to his task of landing these simple souls in Paradise as
those who employed him displayed in making an earthly Paradise out of
the lands the red men left behind them.
When by this shrewd system the savages were gradually saved, and
incidentally exterminated, Little Thunder's occupation was gone and he
became a pensioner of Mynheer the Patroon, earning his bread by an
occasional sermon to the tenants, exhorting them to thrift and
industry, to be faithful and multiply, and to pay their rents
promptly. As Mynheer's time drew near he sent for his attorney and
commanded him to look up the life, deeds and character of Edward
Mauville.
"This I did," said the lawyer, "and here it is." Waving a roll of
papers before his interested listener.
"A nauseating mess, no doubt," carelessly remarked the land baron.
"Oh, sir!" deprecated the lawyer, opening the roll. "'Item: Religion;
pupil of the brilliant Jesuit, Abbe Moneau. Item: Morals; Exhibit A,
the affair with Countess ---- in Paris, where he was sent to be
educated after the fashion of French families in New Orleans; Exhibit
B--'"
"Spare me," exclaimed Mauville. "Life is wearisome enough, but a
biography--" He shrugged his shoulders. "Come to your point."
"Of course, sir, I was only trying to carry out his instructions. The
same, sir, as I would carry out yours!" With an ingratiating smile.
Whereupon the attorney told how he had furnished the patroon this roll
and fastened it to his bed, so that he might wind and unwind it,
perusing it at his pleasure. This the dying man did, sternly noting
the damaging facts; thinking doubtlessly how traits will endure for
generations--aye, for ages, in spite of the pillory!--the while Little
Thunder was roaring petitions to divinity by his bedside, as though to
bluster and bully the Almighty into granting his supplications. The
patroon glanced from his pensioner to the roll; from the kneeling man
to that prodigious list of peccadillos, and then he called for a
shilling, a coin still somewhat in use in America. This he flipped
thrice.
"_Roue_ or sham," he said the first time.
"Rake or hypocrite," he exclaimed the second time.
"Devil or Pharisee," he cried the third time.
He peered over the coin and sent for his attorney. His soul passed
away, mourned by Little Thunder until the will was read, when his
lamentations ceased; he soundly berated Mynheer, the Patroon, in his
coffin and refused to go to his burying. Then he became an ardent
anti-renter, a leader of "bolters," a thunderer of the people's cause,
the devoted enemy of land barons in general, and one patroon in
particular, the foreign heir of the manor.
"But let him thunder away, sir," said Scroggs, soothingly. "The
estate's yours now, for the old patroon can't come back to change his
mind. He's buried sure enough in the grove, a dark and sombrous spot
as befitted his disposition, but restful withal. Aye, and the marble
slab's above him, which reminds me that only a month before he took to
his bed he was smoking his pipe on the porch, when his glance fell
upon the lifting-stone. Suddenly he strode towards it, bent his back
and raised it a full two inches. 'So much for age!' said he,
scoffing-like. But age heard him and now he lies with a stone on him
he can not lift, while you, sir"--to his listener, deferentially--"are
sole heir to the estate and to the feud."
"A feud goes with the property?" remarked Mauville carelessly.
"The tenants object to paying rent," replied Scroggs, sadly. "They're
a sorry lot!"
"Evade their debts, do they?" said the land baron languidly. "What
presumption to imitate their betters! That won't do; I need the
money."
"They claim the rights of the landlord originated in fraud--"
"No doubt!" Yawning. "My ancestors were rogues!"
"Oh, sir"--deprecatorily.
"If the tenants don't pay, turn them out," interrupted Mauville,
listlessly, "if you have to depopulate the country."
Having come to an understanding with his client, the lawyer arose to
take his departure.
"By the way," he said, obsequiously, selecting a yellow, well-worn bit
of paper from his bundle of documents, "it may interest you to keep
this yourself. It is the original deed for all these lands from the
squaw Pewasch. You can see they were acquired for a few shillings'
worth of 'wet and dry goods' and seventeen and a half ells of
duffels."
"The old patroons could strike a rare bargain," muttered the heir, as
he casually surveyed the ancient deed, and then, folding it, placed it
in his breast pocket. "For a mere song was acquired--"
"A vast principality," added the solicitor, waving his hand toward the
fields and meadows far in the distance.