“Nathaniel's coat, sir, was not fully made,
And Gabriel's pumps were all unpink'd i' th' heel;
There was no link to color Peter's hat,
And Walter's dagger was not come from sheathing;
There were none fine, but Adam, Ralph, and Gregory.”
--Shakespeare.
After winding along the side of the mountain, the road, on reaching the
gentle declivity which lay at the base of the hill, turned at a right
angle to its former course, and shot down an inclined plane, directly
into the village of Templeton. The rapid little stream that we have
already mentioned was crossed by a bridge of hewn timber, which
manifested, by its rude construction and the unnecessary size of its
framework, both the value of Labor and the abundance of materials. This
little torrent, whose dark waters gushed over the limestones that
lined its bottom, was nothing less than one of the many sources of the
Susquehanna; a river to which the Atlantic herself has extended an arm
in welcome. It was at this point that the powerful team of Mr. Jones
brought him up to the more sober steeds of our travellers. A small hill
was risen, and Elizabeth found herself at once amidst the incongruous
dwellings of the village. The street was of the ordinary width,
notwithstanding the eye might embrace, in one view, thousands and tens
of thousands of acres, that were yet tenanted only by the beasts of the
forest. But such had been the will of her father, and such had also met
the wishes of his followers. To them the road that made the most rapid
approaches to the condition of the old, or, as they expressed it, the
down countries, was the most pleasant; and surely nothing could look
more like civilization than a city, even if it lay in a wilderness! The
width of the street, for so it was called, might have been one hundred
feet; but the track for the sleighs was much more limited. On either
side of the highway were piled huge heaps of logs, that were daily
increasing rather than diminishing in size, notwithstanding the enormous
fires that might be seen through every window.
The last object at which Elizabeth gazed when they renewed their
journey, after their encountre with Richard, was the sun, as it expanded
in the refraction of the horizon, and over whose disk the dark umbrage
of a pine was stealing, while it slowly sank behind the western hills.
But his setting rays darted along the openings of the mountain he was
on, and lighted the shining covering of the birches, until their smooth
and glossy coats nearly rivalled the mountain sides in color. The
outline of each dark pine was delineated far in the depths of the
forest, and the rocks, too smooth and too perpendicular to retain the
snow that had fallen, brightened, as if smiling at the leave-taking of
the luminary. But at each step as they descended, Elizabeth observed
that they were leaving the day behind them. Even the heartless but
bright rays of a December sun were missed as they glided into the cold
gloom of the valley. Along the summits of the mountains in the eastern
range, it is true, the light still lingered, receding step by step from
the earth into the clouds that were gathering with the evening mist,
about the limited horizon, but the frozen lake lay without a shadow on
its bosom; the dwellings were becoming already gloomy and indistinct,
and the wood-cutters were shouldering their axes and preparing to
enjoy, throughout the long evening before them, the comforts of those
exhilarating fires that their labor had been supplying with fuel.
They paused only to gaze at the passing sleighs, to lift their caps to
Marmaduke, to exchange familiar nods with Richard, and each disappeared
in his dwelling. The paper curtains dropped behind our travellers in
every window, shutting from the air even the firelight of the cheerful
apartments, and when the horses of her father turned with a rapid whirl
into the open gate of the mansion-house, and nothing stood before her
but the cold dreary stone walls of the building, as she approached them
through an avenue of young and leafless poplars, Elizabeth felt as if
all the loveliness of the mountain-view had vanished like the fancies of
a dream. Marmaduke retained so much of his early habits as to reject
the use of bells, but the equipage of Mr. Jones came dashing through the
gate after them, sending its jingling sounds through every cranny of the
building, and in a moment the dwelling was in an uproar.
On a stone platform, of rather small proportions, considering the size
of the building, Richard and Hiram had, conjointly, reared four little
columns of wood, which in their turn supported the shingled roofs of the
portico--this was the name that Mr. Jones had thought proper to give to
a very plain, covered entrance. The ascent to the platform was by five
or six stone steps, somewhat hastily laid together, and which the frost
had already begun to move from their symmetrical positions, But the
evils of a cold climate and a superficial construction did not end
here. As the steps lowered the platform necessarily fell also, and the
foundations actually left the superstructure suspended in the air,
leaving an open space of a foot between the base of the pillars and the
stones on which they had originally been placed. It was lucky for the
whole fabric that the carpenter, who did the manual part of the labor,
had fastened the canopy of this classic entrance so firmly to the side
of the house that, when the base deserted the superstructure in the
manner we have described, and the pillars, for the want of a foundation,
were no longer of service to support the roof, the roof was able to
uphold the pillars. Here was, indeed, an unfortunate gap left in the
ornamental part of Richard's column; but, like the window in Aladdin's
palace, it seemed only left in order to prove the fertility of its
master's resources. The composite order again offered its advantages,
and a second edition of the base was given, as the booksellers say,
with additions and improvements. It was necessarily larger, and it was
properly ornamented with mouldings; still the steps continued to yield,
and, at the moment when Elizabeth returned to her father's door, a few
rough wedges were driven under the pillars to keep them steady, and to
prevent their weight from separating them from the pediment which they
ought to have supported.
From the great door which opened into the porch emerged two or three
female domestics, and one male. The latter was bareheaded, but evidently
more dressed than usual, and on the whole was of so singular a formation
and attire as to deserve a more minute description. He was about five
feet in height, of a square and athletic frame, with a pair of shoulders
that would have fitted a grenadier. His low stature was rendered the
more striking by a bend forward that he was in the habit of assuming,
for no apparent reason, unless it might be to give greater freedom
to his arms, in a particularly sweeping swing, that they constantly
practised when their master was in motion. His face was long, of a
fair complexion, burnt to a fiery red; with a snub nose, cocked into an
inveterate pug; a mouth of enormous dimensions, filled with fine teeth;
and a pair of blue eyes, that seemed to look about them on surrounding
objects with habitual contempt. His head composed full one-fourth of his
whole length, and the cue that depended from its rear occupied another.
He wore a coat of very light drab cloth, with buttons as large as
dollars, bearing the impression of a “foul anchor.” The skirts
were extremely long, reaching quite to the calf, and were broad in
proportion. Beneath, there were a vest and breeches of red plush,
somewhat worn and soiled. He had shoes with large buckles, and stockings
of blue and white stripes.
This odd-looking figure reported himself to be a native of the county of
Cornwall, in the island of Great Britain. His boyhood had passed in
the neighborhood of the tin mines, and his youth as the cabin-boy of
a smuggler, between Falmouth and Guernsey. From this trade he had been
impressed into the service of his king, and, for the want of a better,
had been taken into the cabin, first as a servant, and finally as
steward to the captain. Here he acquired the art of making chowder,
lobster, and one or two other sea-dishes, and, as he was fond of saying,
had an opportunity of seeing the world. With the exception of one or two
outports in France, and an occasional visit to Portsmouth, Plymouth, and
Deal, he had in reality seen no more of mankind, however, than if he had
been riding a donkey in one of his native mines. But, being discharged
from the navy at the peace of '83, he declared that, as he had seen all
the civilized parts of the earth, he was inclined to make a trip to the
wilds of America We will not trace him in his brief wanderings, under
the influence of that spirit of emigration that some times induces a
dapper Cockney to quit his home, and lands him, before the sound
of Bow-bells is out of his ears, within the roar of the cataract of
Niagara; but shall only add that at a very early day, even before
Elizabeth had been sent to school, he had found his way into the family
of Marmaduke Temple, where, owing to a combination of qualities that
will be developed in the course of the tale, he held, under Mr.
Jones, the office of major-domo. The name of this worthy was Benjamin
Penguillan, according to his own pronunciation; but, owing to a
marvellous tale that he was in the habit of relating, concerning the
length of time he had to labor to keep his ship from sinking after
Rodney's victory, he had universally acquired the nick name of Ben Pump.
By the side of Benjamin, and pressing forward as if a little jealous
of her station, stood a middle-aged woman, dressed in calico, rather
violently contrasted in color with a tall, meagre, shapeless figure,
sharp features, and a somewhat acute expression of her physiognomy. Her
teeth were mostly gone, and what did remain were of a tight yellow. The
skin of her nose was drawn tightly over the member, to hang in large
wrinkles in her cheeks and about her mouth. She took snuff in such
quantities as to create the impression that she owed the saffron of
her lips and the adjacent parts to this circumstance; but it was the
unvarying color of her whole face. She presided over the female part
of the domestic arrangements, in the capacity of housekeeper; was a
spinster, and bore the name of Remarkable Pettibone. To Elizabeth she
was an entire stranger, having been introduced into the family since the
death of her mother.
In addition to these, were three or four subordinate menials, mostly
black, some appearing at the principal door, and some running from the
end of the building, where stood the entrance to the cellar-kitchen.
Besides these, there was a general rush from Richard's kennel,
accompanied with every canine tone from the howl of the wolf-dog to
the petulant bark of the terrier. The master received their boisterous
salutations with a variety of imitations from his own throat, when the
dogs, probably from shame of being outdone, ceased their out-cry. One
stately, powerful mastiff, who wore round his neck a brass collar,
with “M. T.” engraved in large letters on the rim, alone was silent.
He walked majestically, amid the confusion, to the side of the Judge,
where, receiving a kind pat or two, he turned to Elizabeth, who even
stooped to kiss him, as she called him kindly by the name of “Old
Brave.” The animal seemed to know her, as she ascended the steps,
supported by Monsieur Le Quoi and her father, in order to protect
her from falling on the ice with which they were covered. He looked
wistfully after her figure, and when the door closed on the whole party,
he laid himself in a kennel that was placed nigh by, as if conscious
that the house contained some thing of additional value to guard.
Elizabeth followed her father, who paused a moment to whisper a message
to one of his domestics, into a large hall, that was dimly lighted by
two candles, placed in high, old-fashioned, brass candlesticks. The door
closed, and the party were at once removed from an atmosphere that was
nearly at zero, to one of sixty degrees above. In the centre of the hall
stood an enormous stove, the sides of which appeared to be quivering
with heat; from which a large, straight pipe, leading through the
ceiling above, carried off the smoke. An iron basin, containing water,
was placed on this furnace, for such only it could be called, in order
to preserve a proper humidity in the apartment. The room was carpeted,
and furnished with convenient, substantial furniture, some of which was
brought from the city, the remainder having been manufactured by the
mechanics of Templeton. There was a sideboard of mahogany, inlaid with
ivory, and bearing enormous handles of glittering brass, and groaning
under the piles of silver plate. Near it stood a set of prodigious
tables, made of the wild cherry, to imitate the imported wood of the
sideboard, but plain and without ornament of any kind. Opposite to these
stood a smaller table, formed from a lighter-colored wood, through the
grains of which the wavy lines of the curled maple of the mountains
were beautifully undulating. Near to this, in a corner, stood a heavy,
old-fashioned, brass-faced clock, incased in a high box, of the dark
hue of the black walnut from the seashore. An enormous settee, or sofa,
covered with light chintz, stretched along the walls for nearly twenty
feet on one side of the hail; and chairs of wood, painted a light
yellow, with black lines that were drawn by no very steady hand, were
ranged opposite, and in the intervals between the other pieces of
furniture. A Fahrenheit's thermometer in a mahogany case, and with a
barometer annexed, was hung against the wall, at some little distance
from the stove, which Benjamin consulted, every half hour, with
prodigious exactitude. Two small glass chandeliers were suspended at
equal distances between the stove and outer doors, one of which opened
at each end of the hall, and gilt lustres were affixed to the frame
work of the numerous side-doors that led from the apartment. Some little
display in architecture had been made in constructing these frames and
casings, which were surmounted with pediments, that bore each a little
pedestal in its centre; on these pedestals were small busts in blacked
plaster-of-Paris. The style of the pedestals as well as the selection of
the busts were all due to the taste of Mr. Jones. On one stood Homer, a
most striking likeness, Richard affirmed, “as any one might see, for it
was blind,” Another bore the image of a smooth-visaged gentleman with a
pointed beard, whom he called Shakespeare. A third ornament was an
urn, which; from its shape, Richard was accustomed to say, intended to
represent itself as holding the ashes of Dido. A fourth was certainly
old Franklin, in his cap and spectacles. A fifth as surely bore
the dignified composure of the face of Washington. A sixth was a
nondescript, representing “a man with a shirt-collar open,” to use the
language of Richard, “with a laurel on his head-it was Julius Caesar or
Dr. Faustus; there were good reasons for believing either.”
The walls were hung with a dark lead-colored English paper that
represented Britannia weeping over the tomb of Wolfe, The hero himself
stood at a little distance from the mourning goddess, and at the edge of
the paper. Each width contained the figure, with the slight exception of
one arm of the general, which ran over on the next piece, so that when
Richard essayed, with his own hands, to put together this delicate
outline, some difficulties occurred that prevented a nice conjunction;
and Britannia had reason to lament, in addition to the loss of her
favorite's life, numberless cruel amputations of his right arm.
The luckless cause of these unnatural divisions now announced his
presence in the halt by a loud crack of his whip.
“Why, Benjamin! you Ben Pump! is this the manner in which you receive
the heiress?” he cried. “Excuse him, Cousin Elizabeth. The arrangements
were too intricate to be trusted to every one; but now I am here, things
will go on better.--Come, light up, Mr. Penguillan, light up, light up,
and let us see One another's faces. Well, 'Duke, I have brought home
your deer; what is to be done with it, ha?”
“By the Lord, squire,” commenced Benjamin, in reply, first giving his
mouth a wipe with the back of his hand, “if this here thing had been
ordered sum'at earlier in the day, it might have been got up, d'ye see,
to your liking. I had mustered all hands and was exercising candles,
when you hove in sight; but when the women heard your bells they started
an end, as if they were riding the boat swain's colt; and if-so-be there
is that man in the house who can bring up a parcel of women when they
have got headway on them, until they've run out the end of their rope,
his name is not Benjamin Pump. But Miss Betsey here must have altered
more than a privateer in disguise, since she has got on her woman's
duds, if she will take offence with an old fellow for the small matter
of lighting a few candles.”
Elizabeth and her father continued silent, for both experienced the same
sensation on entering the hall. The former had resided one year in the
building before she left home for school, and the figure of its lamented
mistress was missed by both husband and child.
But candles had been placed in the chandeliers and lustres, and the
attendants were so far recovered from surprise as to recollect their
use; the oversight was immediately remedied, and in a minute the
apartment was in a blaze of light.
The slight melancholy of our heroine and her father was banished by
this brilliant interruption; and the whole party began to lay aside the
numberless garments they had worn in the air.
During this operation Richard kept up a desultory dialogue with the
different domestics, occasionally throwing out a remark to the Judge
concerning the deer; but as his conversation at such moments was much
like an accompaniment on a piano, a thing that is heard without being
attended to, we will not undertake the task of recording his diffuse
discourse,
The instant that Remarkable Pettibone had executed her portion of the
labor in illuminating, she returned to a position near Elizabeth, with
the apparent motive of receiving the clothes that the other threw aside,
but in reality to examine, with an air of curiosity--not unmixed with
jealousy--the appearance of the lady who was to supplant her in the
administration of their domestic economy. The housekeeper felt a little
appalled, when, after cloaks, coats, shawls, and socks had been taken
off in succession, the large black hood was removed, and the dark
ringlets, shining like the raven's wing, fell from her head, and left
the sweet but commanding features of the young lady exposed to
view. Nothing could be fairer and more spotless than the forehead of
Elizabeth, and preserve the appearance of life and health. Her nose
would have been called Grecian, but for a softly rounded swell, that
gave in character to the feature what it lost in beauty. Her mouth,
at first sight, seemed only made for love; but, the instant that its
muscles moved, every expression that womanly dignity could utter played
around it with the flexibility of female grace. It spoke not only to the
ear, but to the eye. So much, added to a form of exquisite proportions,
rather full and rounded for her years, and of the tallest medium height,
she inherited from her mother. Even the color of her eye, the arched
brows, and the long silken lashes, came from the same source; but
its expression was her father's. Inert and composed, it was soft,
benevolent, and attractive; but it could be roused, and that without
much difficulty. At such moments it was still beautiful, though it was a
little severe. As the last shawl fell aside, and she stood dressed in a
rich blue riding-habit, that fitted her form with the nicest exactness;
her cheeks burning with roses, that bloomed the richer for the heat
of the hall, and her eyes lightly suffused with moisture that rendered
their ordinary beauty more dazzling, and with every feature of her
speaking countenance illuminated by the lights that flared around her,
Remarkable felt that her own power had ended.
The business of unrobing had been simultaneous. Marmaduke appeared in
a suit of plain, neat black; Monsieur Le Quoi in a coat of snuff-color,
covering a vest of embroidery, with breeches, and silk stockings, and
buckles--that were commonly thought to be of paste. Major Hartmann wore
a coat of sky-blue, with large brass buttons, a club wig, and boots;
and Mr. Richard Jones had set off his dapper little form in a frock of
bottle-green, with bullet-buttons, by one of which the sides were united
over his well-rounded waist, opening above, so as to show a jacket of
red cloth, with an undervest of flannel, faced with green velvet, and
below, so as to exhibit a pair of buckskin breeches, with long, soiled,
white top-boots, and spurs; one of the latter a little bent, from its
recent attacks on the stool.
When the young lady had extricated herself from her garments, she was
at liberty to gaze about her, and to examine not only the household
over which she was to preside, but also the air and manner in which
the domestic arrangements were conducted. Although there was much
incongruity in the furniture and appearance of the hall, there was
nothing mean. The floor was carpeted, even in its remotest corners.
The brass candlesticks, the gilt lustres, and the glass chandeliers,
whatever might be their keeping as to propriety and taste, were
admirably kept as to all the purposes of use and comfort. They were
clean and glittering in the strong light of the apartment.
Compared with the chill aspect of the December night without, the warmth
and brilliancy of the apartment produced an effect that was not unlike
enchantment. Her eye had not time to detect, in detail, the little
errors which in truth existed, but was glancing around her in delight,
when an object arrested her view that was in strong contrast to the
smiling faces and neatly attired person ages who had thus assembled to
do honor to the heiress of Templeton.
In a corner of the hall near the grand entrance stood the young hunter,
unnoticed, and for the moment apparently forgotten. But even the
forgetfulness of the Judge, which, under the influence of strong
emotion, had banished the recollection of the wound of this stranger,
seemed surpassed by the absence of mind in the youth himself. On
entering the apartment, he had mechanically lifted his cap, and exposed
a head covered with hair that rivalled, in color and gloss, the locks of
Elizabeth. Nothing could have wrought a greater transformation than the
single act of removing the rough fox-skin cap. If there was much that
was prepossessing in the countenance of the young hunter, there was
something even noble in the rounded outlines of his head and brow. The
very air and manner with which the member haughtily maintained itself
over the coarse and even wild attire in which the rest of his frame was
clad, bespoke not only familiarity with a splendor that in those new
settlements was thought to be unequalled, but something very like
contempt also.
The hand that held the cap rested lightly on the little ivory-mounted
piano of Elizabeth, with neither rustic restraint nor obtrusive
vulgarity. A single finger touched the instrument, as if accustomed to
dwell on such places. His other arm was extended to its utmost length,
and the hand grasped the barrel of his long rifle with something like
convulsive energy. The act and the attitude were both involuntary,
and evidently proceeded from a feeling much deeper than that of vulgar
surprise. His appearance, connected as it was with the rough exterior of
his dress, rendered him entirely distinct from the busy group that were
moving across the other end of the long hall, occupied in receiving the
travellers and exchanging their welcomes; and Elizabeth continued
to gaze at him in wonder. The contraction of the stranger's brows in
creased as his eyes moved slowly from one object to another. For moments
the expression of his countenance was fierce, and then again it seemed
to pass away in some painful emotion. The arm that was extended bent and
brought the hand nigh to his face, when his head dropped upon it, and
concealed the wonderfully speaking lineaments.
“We forget, dear sir, the strange gentleman” (for her life Elizabeth
could not call him otherwise) “whom we have brought here for assistance,
and to whom we owe every attention.”
All eyes were instantly turned in the direction of those of the speaker,
and the youth rather proudly elevated his head again, while he answered:
“My wound is trifling, and I believe that Judge Temple sent for a
physician the moment we arrived.”
“Certainly,” said Marmaduke: “I have not forgotten the object of thy
visit, young man, nor the nature of my debt.
“Oh!” exclaimed Richard, with something of a waggish leer, “thou owest
the lad for the venison, I suppose that thou killed, Cousin 'Duke!
Marmaduke! Marmaduke! That was a marvellous tale of thine about the
buck! Here, young man, are two dollars for the deer, and Judge Temple
can do no less than pay the doctor. I shall charge you nothing for my
services, but you shall not fare the worst for that. Come, come, 'Duke,
don't be down hearted about it; if you missed the buck, you contrived to
shoot this poor fellow through a pine-tree. Now I own that you have beat
me; I never did such a thing in all my life.”
“And I hope never will,” returned the Judge, “if you are to experience
the uneasiness that I have suffered; but be of good cheer, my young
friend, the injury must be small, as thou movest thy arm with apparent
freedom.
“Don't make the matter worse, 'Duke, by pretending to talk about
surgery,” interrupted Mr. Jones, with a contemptuous wave of the hand:
“it is a science that can only be learned by practice. You know that my
grandfather was a doctor, but you haven't got a drop of medical blood
in your veins. These kind of things run in families. All my family by my
father's side had a knack at physic. 'There was my uncle that was killed
at Brandywine--he died as easy again as any other man the regiment,
just from knowing how to hold his breath naturally. Few men know how to
breathe naturally.”
“I doubt not, Dickon,” returned the Judge, meeting the bright smile
which, in spite of himself, stole over the stranger's features, “that
thy family thoroughly understand the art of letting life slip through
their lingers.”
Richard heard him quite coolly, and putting a hand in either pocket of
his surcoat, so as to press forward the skirts, began to whistle a tune;
but the desire to reply overcame his philosophy, and with great heat he
exclaimed:
“You may affect to smile, Judge Temple, at hereditary virtues, if you
please; but there is not a man on your Patent who don't know better.
Here, even this young man, who has never seen anything but bears, and
deer, and woodchucks, knows better than to believe virtues are not
transmitted in families. Don't you, friend?”
“I believe that vice is not,” said the stranger abruptly; his eye
glancing from the father to the daughter.
“The squire is right, Judge,” observed Benjamin, with a knowing nod of
his head toward Richard, that bespoke the cordiality between them, “Now,
in the old country, the king's majesty touches for the evil, and that is
a disorder that the greatest doctor in the fleet, or for the matter of
that admiral either: can't cure; only the king's majesty or a man that's
been hanged. Yes, the squire is right; for if-so-be that he wasn't, how
is it that the seventh son always is a doctor, whether he ships for
the cockpit or not? Now when we fell in with the mounsheers, under De
Grasse, d'ye see, we hid aboard of us a doctor--”
“Very well, Benjamin,” interrupted Elizabeth, glancing her eyes from the
hunter to Monsieur Le Quoi, who was most politely attending to what fell
from each individual in succession, “you shall tell me of that, and
all your entertaining adventures together; just now, a room must be
prepared, in which the arm of this gentleman can be dressed.”
“I will attend to that myself, Cousin Elizabeth,” observed Richard,
somewhat haughtily. “The young man will not suffer because Marmaduke
chooses to be a little obstinate. Follow me, my friend, and I will
examine the hurt myself.”
“It will be well to wait for the physician,” said the hunter coldly; “he
cannot be distant.”
Richard paused and looked at the speaker, a little astonished at the
language, and a good deal appalled at the refusal. He construed the
latter into an act of hostility, and, placing his hands in the pockets
again, he walked up to Mr. Grant, and, putting his face close to the
countenance of the divine, said in an undertone:
“Now, mark my words--there will be a story among the settlers, that all
our necks would have been broken but for that fellow--as if I did not
know how to drive. Why, you might have turned the horses yourself,
sir; nothing was easier; it was only pulling hard on the nigh rein, and
touching the off flank of the leader. I hope, my dear sir, you are not
at all hurt by the upset the lad gave us?”
The reply was interrupted by the entrance of the village physician.