V. CHEVILLERE TO B. RANDOLPH.
"New-York, 18--.
"DEAR CHUM,
"Events which seem to me worth recording, crowd upon us so fast
now, that it is almost impossible to give you, according to
promise, even a profile view of our movements.
"This morning, about the same hour at which we went to church
yesterday, we strolled down Wall-street (and we seemed the only
strollers there) to see the Shylocks in their dens, if any such
could be found. I was instantly struck with the concentrated
looks, and absorbed countenances of all the persons we met. Most
of them were running in and out of the banks, with their little
bank books in their hands, making mental calculations of notes to
be taken up, deposites where made, and how much. Brokers were
standing behind their counters, ready to commence their brisk, and
(in this country) almost unhazardous game. Many of them amass
immense fortunes; it is not at all uncommon for one of these
houses to loan to a state several millions at once.
"We went upon 'change at the hour of twelve. There, in the large
room of the rotunda, or circular part of the exchange, merchants,
and brokers, and bankers, and moneyed men meet, pretty much after
the same fashion as our jockeys and racers upon the turf. The
light falls from the dome upon these faces, and reveals the best
study for a picture I have ever seen. The seller and the sellee,
the shaver and the shavee, or diamond cut diamond, as Damon
expresses it:--bear with me but a moment while I go over these
dull details, and in return I will tell you something more of the
lady with the black mantle.
"The most predominant expression that I saw upon 'change was
_affectation_; the affectation of business; not the silly
school-boy affectation which wears off with the improving mind,
but that which is first put on by business men, to disguise the
real operations of the mind, and which afterward grows into a
confirmed habit, and is seen deeply set in wrinkles, long after
the first exciting cause has disappeared.
"This symptom, among the moneyed men, varies according to
character and strength of mind in the individual. One man I saw
standing with his back against a window, his thumbs stuck into the
armholes of his waistcoat, his quill toothpick tight between his
teeth,--his features large and fleshy, his complexion between a
copper and an apoplectic dapple of blue and red,--his teeth large,
white, and flat, his eye small and gray, and his head grizzled; he
had evidently been a free, but what is _called_ a _temperate_
liver. I tried to trace back through the wrinkles in this man's
face, what the emotions were which in his younger days he had
attempted to engrave upon it, and which long habit had now made
part of his nature; but I should first attempt to describe _the_
expression itself. His upper lip was turned into a curl of
contempt; his eye was thrown a little down, and the eyelid raised
high, so as to show much of the white of the eye, as when a person
is in the attitude of profound thought upon some far distant
subject. This man had, I thought, the best chosen affectation; it
expressed profound abstraction in _one_ direction, when he was no
doubt really abstracted in another.
"His right-hand neighbour had not been so fortunate in his
selection of a vizor for the moneyed masquerade. He had chosen
comedy; and attempted to hide pounds, shillings, and pence under a
comic visage. It was not well chosen. His business-laugh was too
horrid. It displayed teeth, gums, and throat, and was too
affectedly sincere. He too frequently passed his glances quickly
round from one face to the other, to see if they enjoyed the
sport. This species of affectation had its origin in a settled
contempt for the sense of his associates, and an exalted
conception of his own, and especially of his powers to amuse. He
frequently drew the corners of his mouth towards his ears, by a
voluntary motion, without exercising the corresponding risible
muscles; elevating his eyebrows at the same time in a knowing
way. Do this yourself, and you will have the expression instantly.
His only additional comic resource consisted in sticking one thumb
directly under his chin, like a pillar. This man is celebrated on
'change for telling what _he_ considers a good story.
"Another description of affectation here seen, and by far the most
common, is the affectation of decision, firmness, stability, and
concentrated purpose.
"Various methods, I saw, had been practised through long lives to
attain this safe look. Some, to whom it was not natural to do so,
pushed out the under jaw, like a person who (to use a Southern
term) is _jimber_-jawed. Others carried the head on one side, drew
up the muscles at the outer angle of one eye, and kept the
nostrils distended. Others clenched the teeth, looked fierce and
steady, and habitually patted one foot upon the floor, as if in
high-spirited impatience. Some looked pensive and sad, and
occasionally drew long sighs. Beware of these, if you ever trade
in the money-market.
"The most ludicrous of all moneyed whims is a desire to make
others suppose that you think yourself poor. A heartless man
begging for sympathy is, of all kinds of affectation, the most
contemptible. But the most dangerous of all others, and the most
apt to deceive a candid and upright mind, is the affectation of
being unaffected. Such is the sin of those who affect bold,
independent, and reckless looks. If good fortune had not made
them brokers, bad fortune (they seem to say) might have made them
robbers.
"There is yet another class to describe--the sincere and the
honest. These are easily descried. Something like an electric
intelligence passes from the eye of one honest man to that of
another. These are usually modest, retiring, and humble. I speak
of real humility, which is best displayed in a respect for the
understanding of other men; a desire to place one's companions at
their ease; and a tenderness and sympathy towards the failings of
the bankrupt, the vicious, and the unfortunate generally.
"Not that these indications occur only on 'change; they may be
seen in the pulpit, at the bar, at the bedside, and behind the
counter. As you read my descriptions, try to produce the
expression upon your face; then call up some individual of your
acquaintance, who may have sat for such a picture--poor, indeed,
in its finish, but if it convey to you the idea, my ambition is
satisfied. This is a severe test, but I think you may muster up
_dramatis personae_ for all the characters.
"As I am now upon this subject, permit me to make one or two
general remarks.
"I have learned to hold no intimacy with those men who are harsh
and uncompromising towards unfortunates and criminals. These
feelings often arise from the identical weaknesses, or faults,
which drove their victims to ruin. You have, doubtless, seen two
slaves quarrel because one belonged to a rich and the other to a
poor man.
"As one well-fed dog is sure to be snarlish to a poorer
brother--poor human nature--this currish principle is but too true
when applied to us.
"There is none who appears so virtuously indignant at crime as the
man who is a rogue in his heart. A horse-stealer who has blundered
into better fortune is scandalized at his former craft; and a
sheep-stealer can weep in the very face of the lamb which another
has stolen.
"Those ladies, the purity of whose characters is most
questionable, are uniformly the first to cease visiting an openly
suspected sister.
"But I see plainly that if I go on, the subject must become too
revolting; at all events I must give it to you in broken doses;
and by the time Arthur introduces me into the human catacombs,
where the living are _soul_-dead, you will be ready to take
another view of those dark and dismal abodes, and attempt further
observations of humanity in its darker developments.
"A malignant disease, as Arthur thinks, has broken out in the
portions of the city alluded to; if so, I will remain with him.
This is the time to see fearful sights; and we Southerns, you
know, have looked the grim monster too often in the face in this
shape to be easily frightened from a cherished purpose.
"Damon begins to be very uneasy under these reports of sudden
deaths, and black infections sweeping through the air."
* * * * *
V. CHEVILLERE TO B. RANDOLPH.
(In continuation.)
"New-York, 18--.
"I have seen her, Randolph, and seen her far more captivating and
beautiful than ever!
"Yesterday, after I had finished the former part of this letter, I
met, on my way down to dinner, Arthur and young Hazlehurst. The
latter had come expressly to invite Lamar and myself to spend the
evening at their house. As you may suppose, it was not refused; we
pressed them to go in with us, as they had not yet dined, to which
they finally consented.
"I find Hazlehurst an intelligent young man, but with many
erroneous opinions concerning the south, of which he must be
disabused. He imagines us to be a generous and hospitable people,
but in a rather semi-barbarous state.
"As this very subject occupied our attention in presence of the
ladies, I prefer giving you an imperfect sketch of the discourse.
I must not omit a table lecture of Lamar's on nicotiana, however
impatient you may be to hear more of a certain fair one.
"The subject of tobacco was introduced simultaneously with the
segars, after most of the company had retired. One having been
offered to young Hazlehurst, he declined it, saying that he did
not use tobacco in any shape.
"'Not use tobacco! not smoke!' said Lamar; 'why, sir, you have yet
to experience one of the most calm, delightful, and soothing
pleasures of which human nerves are sensible.'
"'I have always understood,' said the other, 'that the stimulus
leaves one far more miserable than if he had not applied it.'
"'Then you labour under some mistake,' said Lamar; 'and if you
will permit, and your doctorships will forbear laughter, I will
explain to you the effects of a fine segar upon my system, and
"suit the action to the word."
"'When a man takes a genuine, dappled Havana segar in his mouth,
places his legs upon a hair cushioned chair, his head thrown back
on that upon which he sits, or against the wall; his arms folded
upon his chest,--the following phenomena occur:
"'_First stage._ He becomes heroic and chivalrous, or perhaps
eloquent; if the last, and thinks himself alone, you will see him
wave his hand in the most graceful and captivating style of
oratory. His eye is the soul of imaginary eloquence, his features
are all swelled out until they seem grand--gloomy--and profound;
his nostrils pant and show their red lining, like a fiery and
blooded steed. He rolls out thick volumes of smoke, and puffs it
from him like a forty-two-pounder. He draws down his feet, and
raises his head and looks after it, as if victory or conviction
had been hurled upon its clouds. Perhaps some one laughs at him,
as you laugh now at me.
"'He replaces his legs, leans back his head again; the _second
stage_ is come; he smiles, perhaps, at the laurels just won; he
closes his eyes, delightful visions of green meadows and lawns,
fragrant flowers, meandering streams, limpid brooks, beautiful
nymphs, twilight amid tall and venerable trees, and lengthening
shadows, flit before his imagination. His face now is towards the
heavens; his features are calm and serene; he wafts the smoke
gently upward in long continued columns, and wreaths, and
garlands; his hands fall by his side--the diminished stump falls
from his hand.
"'And now, in the _third stage_, he is in a revery. A servant
touches him three times, and tells him a gentleman wants to see
him; he kicks his shins; servant retreats. Eyes being still
closed, he draws a long sigh or two, but full, pleasant, and
satisfactory. Servant returns; shakes him by the shoulder; he
jumps up and throws an empty bottle at his head, as I do this one,
at that grinning fellow there (making a mock effort), and then the
trance is over.
"'Now where are the bad effects, except upon Cato's shins, if he
should happen to be the man?'
"We all applauded Lamar for his treat, with three hearty cheers,
in a small way.
"I am sorry to see a little sly, stealthy, unmentionable coldness
arising between Lamar and Arthur. I first discovered it in little
acts of what the world calls politeness, but which I call
formality, towards each other. They are unconscious of it, as yet,
for it seems to have sprung up by irresistible mutual repulsion
between them: deep seated self appears to have warned each of a
dangerous rival in the other. These are little secret
selfishnesses of the soul, which lie deep, dark, and still,
running in an unseen current, far below the soundings of the
self-searching consciousness. How mysterious is the mind of man!
We may draw up the flood-gates, and let loose the dammed-up waters
in order to find some secret at the bottom; but the flood rolls
by, and the secret still lies buried as profoundly as before. At
some future day, when the thunder and the storms shall come, these
secrets may, perhaps, be washed up to the surface, like wonders of
the deep, when least expected!
"At about eight o'clock, Lamar and I sallied out to find Mrs.
Hazlehurst's house in Broadway; amid music from clarionet, violin,
and kent bugle. These were stationed in the balconies of the
different museums. Carriages were just setting down their company
at the old Park Theatre. Little blind and lame boys sat about the
iron railing at St. Paul's church, grinding hand-organs, and
making music little better than so many grindstones--all for a
miserable pittance which they collect in the shape of pennies,
perhaps to the amount of a dozen a day.
"Negroes were screaming 'ice-cream' at the top of their lungs,
though it is now becoming cold in the evenings and mornings. At
every corner some old huckster sang out 'Hot corn! hot corn!'
though the regular season of 'roasting-ears,' has long since
passed by. Little tables of fruit, cakes, and spruce-beer were
strewed along the walks and under the awnings, which often remain
extended during the night.
"We at length found the house, and entered with palpitating
hearts. I had a sort of presentiment that I was to meet Miss St.
Clair, from what the lively Isabel had said.
"When we entered the saloon she was nowhere to be seen! my
disappointment was no doubt visible, for I saw an arch smile upon
Isabel's countenance, and, I must say, a very singular one upon
that of her brother. The idea first struck me that he is either
now, or has been, a suitor of the absent lady! Was there a lurking
jealousy at the bottom of my own heart, at the very time that I
was fishing up green monsters from Lamar's mental pandemonium?
Randolph, Oh! the human heart is deceitful above all things; and
it oftener deceives ourselves than others. We have radiated rays
of light for our mental vision outwards which we may extend _ad
infinitum_, but once turn our observations inwards, and it is like
inverting the telescope.
"We were presented to the lady of the mansion immediately upon our
entrance. She is benignant and bland, yet aristocratic withal. She
discovers a warm heart towards the South, probably from an idea of
a kindred aristocratic feeling in us. The two are, however, very
different in their developments. It is necessary here to have many
more bulwarks between this class and those below them than is
needful with us; as there is here a regular gradation in the
divisions of society. The end of one and the beginning of the next
are so merged, that it would be impossible to separate them
without these barriers. What are they? you would ask. They consist
in little formalities,--rigid adherence to fashion in its higher
flights,--exhibition of European and Oriental luxuries, et cetera,
et cetera.
"We were presented to the company in general; most of the
fashionable ladies were sitting or standing around a fine-toned
upright piano-forte, at which two of the party were executing, in
a very finished style of fashionable elegance, some of Rossini's
compositions, accompanied by a gentleman on the flute. And in good
truth, they produced scientific and fashionable music; but,
Randolph, it was not to my taste. You know that I have cultivated
music as a science, from my earliest youth; that I am an
enthusiast here, and not altogether a bungler in my own execution.
I have now discovered either that I lack taste, or that the
fashionable world is therein deficient. You shall decide between
us at another time.
"Lamar very soon contrived (how, heaven only knows) to throw me
completely in the shade; but the first evidence I had of it was
his sitting bolt upright between the gay Isabel and her mother. He
had already betrayed them into laughter,--not fashionable
laughter, for I saw the old lady wiping the tears from her eyes.
It is almost impossible for any one to adhere long to conventional
forms, when he is of the party,--so manly, generous, and sincere
is he. My chagrin at not finding myself situated equally to my
heart's content did not escape him, and he perhaps discovered my
awkwardness, for he attempted to draw me into a discussion
concerning the provincial rivalry of the North and South. I evaded
his friendly hand, but soon the younger lady renewed the attack.
"'Come, Mr. Chevillere, you will tell us what peculiarities you
have observed, as existing between the northern and southern
ladies as to polish,--fashion,--education,--any thing! This
gentleman is so wonderfully free from prejudices and rivalry, that
he declares the instant he beholds a beautiful woman, he forgets
that she has a local habitation upon earth. You, sir, I hope, are
not so catholic an admirer of beauty?'
"'I too, madam, am always disarmed of local prejudices when I see
a beautiful northern lady; but that is not what you wish me to
answer. If I understood you right, I suppose you wish to know
whether any peculiarity in fashion, habits, or manners strikes us
at first sight disagreeably.'
"'Precisely. Your general opinion of us.'
"'I am glad to be able to say, then, that with regard to this city
I am a perfect enthusiast. Every thing is arranged as I would have
it. Nature appears to be the criterion here in matters of taste;
utility and improvement seem to prompt the efforts of your men of
talents, and that delightful politeness to prevail, which consists
in placing all well-meaning persons at their ease, without useless
conventional forms.'
"I hate this formal speech-making, Randolph, across a room _at_
people, so I thought I would be myself at once. I therefore
continued my remarks for the remainder of the evening rather more
in a nonchalant way, and as an introduction to a more free and
easy tone to the company. I asked Lamar to repeat his lecture of
the day, on smoking. Hazlehurst, as soon as he heard the subject
mentioned, began to describe it to a party of young ladies who
stood round the piano. Their curiosity was excited immediately;
and though Lamar frowned at me, the ladies entreated until he was
forced to comply.
"He set the room in a perfect roar of laughter, and then a
delightful confusion prevailed. Lamar did not repeat exactly the
same things which he had treated us with at the dinner-table, but
he preserved the stages, dwelling a much shorter time on the
heroic, and much longer on the two latter.
"He introduced a heroine into his shades and bowers, and painted
Isabel as he saw her at the Springs; so, at least, I suspect from
a certain mantling of the colour into her cheeks.
"'Then,' said he, speaking of the third stage, 'his hands fall by
his side, his eyes are closed, he sighs profoundly, but
comfortably and _somnolently_; perhaps he is married; his wife
steals gently up and kisses him. 'My dear, the milliner's bill has
come.'--'O _dam_ the miller!' In a short time she returns--'My
dear, my pin money is out: come now, you are not asleep, I know:
and that is not all--the carriage wants painting; the house wants
repairs; the children want toys; servants want wages.' He rolls
his head over on one shoulder, opens his eyes, and fixes them in a
deliberate stare, as I do now, upon Miss Isabel.' This last idea
became either too sentimental or too ludicrous for Lamar; and he
jumped up in an unsuppressed fit of laughter. You know Lamar,
therefore I need not tell you that this is a very imperfect sketch
of the manner in which he acted the ludicrous and careless, but
_hen-pecked_, husband. I do not wonder that he laughed, when he
looked at Isabel, for her face was indescribably arch and
sanctimonious.
"Hilarity and glee seemed now to be the order of the evening with
all except poor Arthur. I thought that Lamar would actually sow
the seeds of a future quarrel, while discussing something
relating to the West. How introduced I do not know, unless Lamar
was talking of Damon. However, Arthur stated one fact which
surprised us all, and of which we had been all equally ignorant.
He stated that Kentucky had one more college than any other State
in the Union; half as many as all New-England; and more than North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, united.
"While these things were going on, I heard a gentle and scarcely
perceptible step behind me, on the carpet; and seeing the other
gentlemen rise, I mechanically rose also--to be electrified by the
vision of Miss St. Clair. She was pale and trembling, but far more
beautiful than I had ever seen her. It was not the beauty of the
waxen figure, or the picture; it was the beauty of feeling,
sensibility, and tenderness. You have seen that little plant which
shrinks at the rude touch of man, Randolph; that should be her
emblem.
"She glided into a rather darkened recess of the room, near where
I stood, and seated herself alone, as if to be out of the reach of
observation; yet by some means I was seated by her side, almost as
dumb as a statue. I even longed for more of Lamar's delineations,
if for nothing else but to see her smile again, and light up those
features which nature evidently made to smile. Her hair was still
parted over the forehead in the Grecian manner; a single ringlet
stole down behind her ear. Her dress was simplicity itself,
exceedingly plain and tasteful.
"I need not tell Miss St. Clair how much gratified I am at again
meeting her in a circle composed almost entirely of my friends and
my friends' friends; but, if I have been rightly informed, we are
more indebted to accident than to any benevolent designs on her
part for this meeting.
"'A strange accident indeed, my being here. Not less so than your
own. But _you_ are not a believer in accidents.'
"How beautiful a little act sometimes appears, Randolph, when it
sits upon the countenance of one so artless by nature that you can
see all the machinery which she imagines is so completely hidden,
as a child often hides its eyes and vainly supposes itself unseen.
This _ruse_, intended to draw me into some argument about
accidents, and to avoid the real case at issue, really amused me;
I was willing, however, to follow her lead for a time.
'Accidents,' said I, 'seem to us, at first sight, to be without
the usual train of cause and effect; but, if they were all placed
in my hands, I think I could govern the destinies of the world, so
long as I could control my own destiny.'
"'I do not understand you, sir,' said she, with the simplest
cunning imaginable; feigning deep interest, though her countenance
would not join in the plot.
"'The condition,' I continued, 'and the present circumstances of
every individual now in this room might be traced back to some
accident which has happened--to the person, his father, or his
grandfather; the death of one friend, the marriage of another, may
affect the destinies of the persons themselves and all connected
with them.'
"Ah, Randolph! there was a tender chord touched. Did you ever see
a person shot through and through? The countenance expresses a
whole age of misery in an instant. The soul is conscious of it
before the body. One will even ask whether he is shot--while his
countenance proclaims death more forcibly than a hundred tongues
could utter it. There is a writhing, convulsive, retreating
misery; part of which I saw I had inflicted upon this gentle
being. This mystery must be solved. The system on which she is
treated by those around her is false.
"You have, perhaps, seen a whole family after the death of one of
its members, religiously observe profound silence on the subject.
Should any one rudely or even gently mention the deceased, all are
instantly horrified. Each fears that the feelings of all the rest
have been shocked. At this moment, a calm and judicious friend,
when the ice is once broken, may cure all this amiable weakness by
steadily and tenderly persevering. I was determined to try the
experiment in this case. A bold measure, when you consider the
person and the circumstances.
"'Miss St. Clair,' said I, after she had recovered her composure;
'allow me to ask whether your family is related to that of General
St. Clair?'
"'I believe not,' she composedly answered.
"'Has your father been long dead?'
"'Not a very long time: and the loss is the greater, as I have
never known the value of a brother or a sister.'
"'You do not seem to labour under the usual disadvantages of
step-daughters.'
"'Never was step-father more devoted and affectionate than mine,
in his own peculiar way; and with that I am quite contented.'
"Now, Randolph, you know that impertinence had no share in
dictating these questions, but could impertinence have gone
farther? what ramification could I next attempt? Here was nearly
the whole genealogical tree, but farther down there was no hope of
touching the true branch.
"Her own gentle heart alone remained to be suspected. How could I
suspect it, Randolph? so young, so pure, so gentle, so beautiful!
Alas! that is but a poor protection against suitors. Besides, she
is said to be rich. Must the question be asked? I resolved upon
it! Was I not justifiable in doing so? Am I not an avowed suitor?
at least have I not shown myself ready to become so? The
opportunity was good; the company were all engaged in little
coteries around the saloon. My previous questions seemed rather to
have tranquillized her than otherwise; it was a trying moment!
but no other step could be gained until this obstacle was
surmounted. I therefore proceeded to make one or two anxious
inquiries, critical as it regards my happiness, but which a lover
cannot confide even to the ear of Randolph.
"My object was to know whether I had aught to fear from rivalry.
Her lips moved, but no sound issued from them. I resumed; 'Believe
me, that this pain would not have been inflicted, if my supposed
relation to yourself had not imboldened me to ask whether any
other man were so happy as to render me miserable.'
"'I see no impropriety in answering your question, though it can
avail nothing; my _affections_ are now as they have always
been--disengaged.'
"These words were wafted along the vestibule of my ear, like some
gentle breathings of magic; you have heard the soft vibrations of
the Aeolian harp, as a gentle summer breeze bore them along the
air, redolent of the rich perfumes of summer flowers, and attuned
to the wild music of songsters without.
"Sweeter, far sweeter, was her voice; a silvery voice is at all
times the organ of the heart, but when it dies away in a thrilling
whisper from the profoundness of the internal struggle, the ardent
sympathy of the hearer is involuntary. Tragedians understand this
language of the heart, insomuch that custom has now established
the imitation, in deep-toned pathos.
"She placed emphasis on the word _affections_; why was this,
unless her hand is engaged without them? This idea flashed upon me
with electric force; you can well imagine how suddenly it broke
asunder the links of the delicious revery of which I have
attempted to give you a glimpse. Another more painful question
than any of the former now became absolutely necessary;
consequently I resumed: 'I think that I know Miss St. Clair
sufficiently well to presume with a good deal of certainty that
her hand is not pledged where her heart cannot accompany it?'
"'My hand, sir, is like my affections.'
"Her head now hung down a little, and her eye sought the carpet;
my own expressive glances, sanguine as they perhaps had
occasionally been, were themselves much softened and humbled; but
again I summoned my scattered thoughts to the charge.
"'Will Miss St. Clair grant me an interview on the morrow, or some
other day more convenient to herself?'
"The words had hardly escaped my mouth, when Isabel stood before
us. Lamar was soon by her side. I also arose.
"'My dear Frances,' said she, taking my seat, and locking her hand
where I would have given kingdoms to have had mine; 'we are
talking of making up a little equestrian party to the Passaic
Falls. Will you be of the company? Pray join us, like a dear girl;
it is only fifteen miles.'
"The lady addressed shook her head gravely. Isabel arose, and
turning to me, 'I leave the case in your hands, sir, and you are a
poor diplomatist for a southern, if you do not succeed in
persuading her to go.'
"I was much alarmed to hear many ladies calling for shawls and
bonnets. I was not long, therefore, in urging the case, for it was
emphatically _my_ case.
"'I cannot go,' said she; 'in the first place, I have not been on
horseback since my boarding-school days; and in the next place, I
could not undergo the fatigue.'
"'But if all these objections could be obviated?' I eagerly
inquired.
"'Then I should certainly be pleased to go, and still more pleased
to gratify others by going.'
"To make the story a short one, as my letter has already become
too long, she finally consented that I should drive her in a
cabriolet, provided her father, who was not present, thought it
proper for her to go.
"I reported progress to Isabel, who looked sly and arch; her
brother was as solemn as a tombstone. I do not say this in
triumph, Randolph, for God knows I have little cause as yet. I
merely state the fact in all plainness and honesty, that you may
have the whole case before you.
"'This augurs well for you, Mr. Chevillere,' whispered the lively
girl.
"'I am not so certain of that,' said I.
"Finally, we agreed to go, 'weather permitting,' as they say at
country sales, on the day after to-morrow.
"I did not urge this interview any farther, for a reason which you
will easily perceive. What has become of you? I write two pages to
your one now. Is the North more prolific than the South in
incidents?
"Your Friend and Chum,
"V. CHEVILLERE."