^'^f'^. ^0 7 _, Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/eustisnovelOOboitrich EUSTIS A NOVEL BY ROBERT APTHORP BOIT iw > J J :> J J BOSTON JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY 1884 Copyright, 1884, By Robert Apthorp Boit. All Rights Reserved. • • • • •••••• *• CONTENTS CHAPTER. PAGB. I. Southward Bound 5 II. Captain Lee 14 III. Tlic Southeaster 26 IV. At Anchor 34 V. TheEustises 45 VI. At the Polls 59 VII. Madge .74 VIII. The Oaks 82 IX. The Dinner 97 X. Deer-Hunting . .... 113 XI. Home-life and the New Regime . . . 136 XII. Mr. Brown's views of Florida ... 151 XIII. At School 158 XIV. Confidences 171 XV. Christmas— "The Point" . . . .179 XVI. The Old Nurse 187 XVII. The Ball 198 XVIII. An Evening Call 217 XIX. A Ride 235 XX Colonel Richard Shorter .... 247 XXI. On the Porch . . . . . .260 XXII. Advice .270 XXIII. An Encounter 281 XXIV. An Explanation 292 XXV. Midnight 303 XXVI. Morning 315 XXVII. Leave-takings 328 XX!VIII. Down the River— Beachgrove— Epilogue . 339 ivi?^21f>33 EUSTIS CHAPTER I. SOTJTHWABD BOUND. TN the autumn of 1868 I was called home from •^ Europe, where I had been travelling in search of pleasure, by the sudden death of my mother. She had lived for many years with my only sister and her children, at our old family place in the neighborhood of one of the pleasantest of New England cities. My father, Henry Strong, after whom I was named, had died when I was a mere lad, and the settlement of a large estate, left in trust to my mother during her lifetime, devolved upon me at her death. The whirl of business into which I was at once plunged, and for which I was entirely unprepared by experience, served an excellent purpose in dis- tracting my mind at a distressing time. But although I succeeded, with the assistance of my brother-in-law, in arranging our affairs more or less to my satisfaction, I develojied no taste for 6 EUSTIS, work of this nature, and was very glad to be able at last to leave my interests in his hands and shake myself free from business. As good fortune would have it, just at this time, and in the autumn of the second year after my return to America, I received a cordial letter from my old classmate, James Eustis, asking me to pass the winter with him in the South. The invitation could not have come more opportunely. I seized upon the idea with delight, and made my prepa- rations for a speedy departure. According to the old custom of the Southerners, Eustis had been educated at the North. We had first become schoolmates at fourteen, and soon such a strong intimacy grew up between us, that when we entered college we became " chums," and lived to- gether as long as he remained at the university. But, when the civil war broke out, our pleasant com- panionship came to an end, for Eustis felt obliged to return to the South, where, shortly afterwards, he entered the Confederate army. In our schooldays, my sister Alice had been very fond of Jim, who seemed, indeed, almost like a second son in my mother's house ; and now she heartily rejoiced with me at the thought of our meeting again. Yet, at the same time, if I remem- ber aright, she did not abstain from mingling her sisterly farewells and messages to the Eustises with certain admonitions against the wiles of southern women, whom, for reasons best known to herself, she appeared to regard with considerable distrust. EUSTIS. 7 I left home early in !N"ovember, and having en- gaged my passage by a steamer that was to sail from New York, I was obliged to stop there over- night, and in the morning, after a late breakfast at one of the best restaurants in the world, and with still an hour or so to sj^are, I took a carriage for the pier. As I drove down the principal thoroughfare of the city, watching with interest the endless flow of vehicles and humanity on either side, my reflections upon this turbulent river of life were arrested by the sudden stoppage of my carriage. At the same time, I heard an unintelligible volley of shouts and oaths, and on looking out of the window for the cause of the disturbance, found that the street was blocked, and that all the vehicles near me were wedged hopelessly together, and had, like my own, come to a standstill. Just in front of me, and where the torrents of Bil- lingsgate rained fiercest, I saw a carriage that had been struck and half upset by a heavily loaded dray. Its occupants, who were evidently travellers, were clambermg out to the sidewalk, as best they could, with their shawls, umbrellas, and portman- teaus. As there seemed no immediate prospect of the block giving way, I got out, and, led by curiosity, pushed my way through the crowd to where the unfortunate party now stood, looking helplessly at the wreck. In the centre of the group was an elder- ly and distinguished looking man. He was stout. 8 EU8TI8. erect, and somewhat above the average height. His features were clear cut, and his complexion ruddy. His eyes and eyebrows were black, in striking con- trast to his long gray moustache. The faces of the two ladies with him were con- cealed by heavy veils; but their general air and similarity of dress and figure seemed to suggest that they were mother and daughter. Behind them stood a negro maid, weighed down with their many wraps. As I drew near, I heard the gentleman say, — " Well, my dear, we seem to be in a rather un- fortunate predicament. The steamer sails in half an hour, and I see no chance of getting another car- riage in time to catch it ; so we must make the best of it and remain here for another week, unless you can be induced to go by rail." " No," replied the elder of the two ladies, rather fretfully, " I do not feel equal to the fatigue of the journey by land. But I should think something might be done. It is too provoking to be stopped in this way ! " I listened for a few moments to their discussion, and then, agreeing with the lady that the case was a hard one, I stepped slightly forward and said to the gentleman, — " Excuse me, sir, for intruding upon you, but my carriage is just at hand, and I should be most happy to have you use it. It will not put me to the least inconvenience." After considerable hesitation on his part, and IJUSTIS, 9 many assurances on mine, he finally transferred his traps to my carriage, and by that time the police had succeeded in extricating the vehicles from their confusion, and the noisy stream was again in motion. As the gentleman was about to enter the carriage, into which I had already helped the ladies, he stopped and said', — " By the way, sir, will you kindly favor me with your card ? I should be much pleased to know to whom I am indebted for this kindness," and at the same time he handed me his own. I did as he requested, and, as I closed the door of the carriage after him, the younger lady raised her veil, and, for an instant before they drove away, gave me a glimpse of an attractive face. I had not a moment to spare, so I hailed the first stage that would take me to the neighborhood of the pier from which the steamer was to sail, and suc- ceeded in reaching it just in time, for I had scarcely gained her deck before the hawsers were cast off, and the vessel backed slowly out into the stream. With some anxiety as to whether my luggage had arrived — which I had forwarded before break- fast from the hotel — I went at once to my state- room, where I was relieved to find it all safely packed away as I had ordered. After a hasty survey of my nan'ow and rather un- savory quarters, I lighted a cigar and strolled up on deck to enjoy the sail down that beautiful bay with which I was not altogether unfamiliar. It was a perfect November noon ; the air as clear as a bell. 10 EUSTIS. The sails and rigging of the vessels, and the out- lines of the forts and headlands, stood out sharp and well-defined against the deep blue sky, that gave its color to the water ; and the little waves glittered and danced, as they rose to the northwest wind. I had been standing for some time by the rail on the quarter-deck, lost in the scene about me, when I heard a voice at my shoulder say, with an exclama- tion of surprise, " Why, Harry Strong ! you here ? " and turning, I discovered it to be that of Frederick Brown, an old schoolmate of mine, but a man whom I had seldom met of late years. He had been born and bred in the village near our country place, and, although we had never been intimate, I had known him all my life. "Well, this is good luck!" he said; "I was afraid I should find no one I knew on board. As soon as I arrived I went to the passenger list to read the names, and I wondered if the "H. Strong" might not possibly be you ; so I was on the lookout for you, and I thought I saw all the people come up the plank, but somehow I missed you. When did you come ? Where are you going ? " Upon my ex- plaining the cause of my arrival at the last moment, he went on. "Well, that's the reason, then, for when the bell rang I went to look after my things ; I was afraid, you know, some one might run ashore with them just as the steamer was leaving. So you are going to ? Well, I am also, if this old craft ever manages to get there, for I don't think she looks very new and strong, do you ? " EUSTI8. 11 « To tell you the truth," I answered, " I have not thought much about it. I should judge, however, that she is seaworthy enough." " Well," he replied, " I must say I don't much like her looks. Then the staterooms and the berths are so small, and it smells so downstairs ! But that does not so much matter, for I shall pass most of my time on deck. This is my first experience of the sea, you know, and, in fact, I was never before even inside of one of these steamei'^. I almost wish now, I had gone by land, but I wanted to try the life, you see ; and, besides, the doctor thought the sea air might do me good. It was the doctor, you know, who ordered me to go South, or I never should have done it, for I don't like either the country or the people — to be sure I have met very few Southern- ers — but, then, I understand just what they are." " Perhaps," I put in, as he paused to take breath, ''l^erhaps, you will change your mind when you come to know them better." "O no, I shan't," he replied. "1 know them through and through. I haven't read the papers for the last ten years for nothing ! Still, I intend to judge for myself and entirely without prejudice, and I expect to take very careful notes of all I see and hear. I hope I shall have the good fortune to meet some rebel generals, for I should like so much to hear what they have to say about our march to the sea, and our taking of Vicksburg and Richmond ! I think they cannot fail to have a certain amount of admiration and respect for both Sherman and Grant, 12 EUSTI8, don't you ? Halloo ! we're almost out to sea, aren't we ? I say, Strong, do you suppose it will rock a great deal more than this, when we get out of sight of land ? I don't believe I shall be sick, though, do you ? Yf hy, I have been out rowing sometimes when it was really very rough, and I didn't mind it in the least. I think I'll go downstairs now, and look for my pipe, but I'll be back in a few minutes." And so my loquacious friend left me. Fred Brown was a man of about my own age ; tall and slight, and with rather sloping shoulders. His complexion, hair, and moustache were all of a like neutral yellow tint; his forehead was high, but narrow ; his features sharp 5 and the eyeglasses, that he habitually wore, added to his general air of inquisitiveness. He and I had gone to the same school when we were boys, but in early life our paths had separated, and now I suspected that there must be as little sympathy between us in our thoughts and tastes, as there had been similarity in our lives and surroundings. Fred, after graduating with honors from our Normal School, had obtained a good position as teacher at an Academy in one of the neighboring towns ; but, as I learned from him afterwards, the sedentary life had undermined his naturally some- what weak constitution, until his doctor had in- sisted upon the necessity of rest and a winter in a milder climate. Thus his days had been passed, until now, in a small provincial circle, and his mind had had every opportunity to sink deeper and deeper into its narrow ruts. EUSTIS. 13 He had always been a hard worker, and when a boy at school had often, at trying times, helped me with my arithmetic, in which I was backward for my age. I had not forgotten it, and still felt a cer- tain sense of gratitude towards hlxr., for having saved me from many an hour of confinement after school, and more than one sound flogging. 14 EUSTIS, CHAPTER II. CAPTAIN LEE. TN the mean time we had left far astern the last points of land that guarded the harbor's mouth, and were racing with the following waves and winds for the ojjen sea. The foresail was set to speed the ves- sel on; and she rose and fell with easy motion to the ground-swell that rolled in from the eastward, pos- sibly the forerunner of a storm. When at length I arose from my seat to stroll about the deck, I recognized at a distance the gentleman to whom, in the morning, I had given my carriage. He was standing near the wheelhouse, looking out over the vast plain that stretched away to the southward and eastward. I was not sur- prised to see him, for, without giving it much thought, I had felt instinctively that we should meet again. When we parted I had been so much absorbed in the idea of making my own connections, that I had thrust his card hastily into my pocket, and now, with a slight feeling of curiosity, I drew it out to look at it. It read. Captain George Lee — and the name did not sound unfamiliar, though at the moment I could not remember where I had heard it. Meanwhile, the captain had turned from his con- EUSTIS. 15 templation of the sea, and came towards me. When he drew near, he recognized me at once, and stopped to speak. " Well, sir " he said with pleasant dignity, " I am surprised and pleased to meet my good Samaritan so soon again, and to have the opportunity of thanking him for his kindness this morning ! " " Don't mention it " I replied, " I am happy to have been of service to you." *'I see by your card," he continued, "that your name is Henry Strong. Is it possible you are the son of Harry Strong of Ingleside ? " Upon my answering in the affirmative, his face lighted up with unfeigned interest. " Well, then, I am truly delighted to meet you. Your father and I were great friends some thirty or forty years ago. I was a young lieutenant in the navy and stationed at Washington, where, as you know, he passed several years in his official capacity. We saw much of each other and became fast friends. He was one of the best fellows, and most honorable gentlemen, I ever met. Why, did you never hear him speak of me ? " " My father died when I was very young, I said, " perhaps you did not hear of it ? " " O yes, I did, poor fellow, but time flies by on such swift wings with us old people, that I did not realize it could have been so many years ago. He was about your age, or younger, when I first knew him, and a fine manly looking fellow. You may well be proud, sir, to have inherited something of his 16 EUSTIS. expression and figure, though, perhaps, not his perfect regularity of feature," and the old gentleman looked at me so critically and gravely, that I felt somewhat abashed. " He was a great favorite among us naval officers, and was equally favored by the ladies. We were both young and unmarried then, you know. Perhaps you never heard that I acted as his second in that little difficulty of his with Labouchere, of New Orleans. No? Duelling was not common even then among Northerners, and I am glad to think it is going out of fashion everywhere in these days. But there may be circumstances under which it is unavoidable, and if ever a man acted with honor and dignity your father did, sir ! The young lady, however, was much to blame, as is so often the case ! Ah, there's the loud tocsin sounding the alarm ! We must secure our places at the table. It will give me great pleasure, after dinner, to present you to Mrs. Lee and my daughter." So we separated at the foot of the staircase, the captain going in search of his ladies, and I to my stateroom. The captain's face and manner had greatly pre- possessed me. I felt much interested in his conversa- tion, as in everything that touched my father and his life, whose memory I had from boyhood inter- woven with virtue and honor, and every manly grace, and now my feelings warmed towards the man whose affectionate reminiscences tallied in a measure with my ideal. After dinner, I went again on deck in search of my new friend. I espied Brown leaning over the EUSTI8, 17 rail near the gangway, watching the mate counting the knots as the sailors drew in the log-line, and was not sorry to escape his notice ! I soon found Ca^^tain Lee and his party, comfort- ably seated in wraps and sea-chairs. When he saw me, he got up and introduced me to his wife and daughter, and drawing to his side a vacant chair bade me to be seated. " This is our friend of the morning, Mrs Lee, and as good luck Avould have it, the son of Henry Strong, of whom you so often have heard me speak. Sit down and let me offer you a cigar. The ladies are quite used to it, I assure you. In fact, they like it." I always do smoke at sea, and though the after- dinner cigar is the pleasantest of the day, on this occasion I denied myself the luxury, whether from politeness, or the desire of making a good impression on the ladies, I am not prepared to say. Mrs. Lee was an aristocratic looking woman ; with regular features that showed signs of beauty in her youth. Her eyes were good and her smile, though rare, was pleasant and disclosed a set of white and perfect teeth. But there were careworn wrinkles about her face, and its expression in repose was re- served and melancholy. As to her daughter, how shall I describe her? I cannot with justice. Her eyes were brown and fringed with long dark lashes ; her nose was straight and delicate ; and her mouth well shaped, not small, but ever varying in its expression. Her complexion was almost that of a brunette, but the brown in her 18 EUSTIS. cheeks changed softly to a snowy white at throat and temples. Her hair, too, was brown, and fell in waves above her broad white forehead. She was above the average height, and her figure, rather slight than stout, was simply perfect; well de- veloi^ed, but still having lost nothing of its childish grace. After the usual commonplaces that follow an in- troduction, giving time for that first survey of face, dress, voice, and attitude, from which deductions of character are often so erroneously drawn, Mrs. Lee said, — " I suppose, Mr. Strong, you are going to Florida for the winter. It is becoming more poj^ular with Northerners every year." " So I have heard," I answered, " and perhaps I shall get a chance to run down there for a while, but now I am on my way to , I expect to pass the winter with a friend of mine who has a rice plantation near there, — James Eustis, perhaps you may have heard of him?" " Jim Eustis ! " exclaimed the captain, " why, his plantation is next to ours, in Churchill County. Know Jim! We have all known him from the cradle up, haven't we Mary ? " " Well, hardly that," answered Miss Lee smiling. "Jim and I are great friends," continued the captain, " he is one of the best fellows that ever lived. Many's the good hunt we have had together, and will have still, I hope. Do you remember, Mary, that mag- nificent buck we brought home last Christmas morn- IJUSTIS. 19 ing ? — O no ! I forgot, you were away at school — ^but your mother remembers. It was one of the largest ever shot in the county. It weighed, dressed, forty pounds to the quarter. His antlers were perfect. Why, when Jim and I hauled him by a rope up into a tree, to keep him from the hounds till the cart came, he looked as large as one of our native cows ; and we shot him, too, within half a mile of The Oaks ! He came out of the thicket within twenty yards of me, right in the ' open ' — and I gave him a regular •broadside ! He bounded away like a shot from a cannon and did not fall till just after passing Jim ; but, bless you ! I couldn't have missed him ! Jim didn't say so — but I saw he thought he did the kill- ing! However, he is, perhaps, just the least trifle conceited about his shooting ! It's natural enough, you know ! He's young, and certainly an excellent shot ! Well, sir, if you are fond of sport, we will give you some fine hunting and fishing before you leave us." I expressed my liking for sport of all kinds, but, at the same time, my doubts as to the result of my inexperience in an unfamiliar country ; and on this and kindred subjects, the captain and I talked for half an hour or more. Sport was evidently a theme he loved, but I judged from his conversation, that, although an ardent, he had not been an alto- gether successful huntsman. At length we were interrupted by Mrs. Lee, who claimed the captain's services to unlock a refractory trunk and they left us, having first asked me to 20 EUSTI8. arrange a blanket shawl which they insisted their daughter must add to the burden of her wraps. The task was not an unpleasant one, and in retalia- tion for a little laugh on her part, at my clumsiness, I securely pinioned both her hands and feet in its generous folds. " You have indeed made me your prisoner," she said, looking up at me with a smile. " Then I should, no doubt, consider myself very fortunate," I answered lightly. Her smile vanished as I spoke, and fearing that she thought my remark impertinent, I added soberly, — " I will set you free at once, if you wish me to." " Oh, no ! " she replied, " I am very comfortable. Is not the sunset lovely ? " " Yes,^ I said, looking at the brilliant tints in sea and sky. " It seems to me at this moment that I never before saw a more beautiful one ; but within a month I shall, no doubt, think the same of half a dozen others, and the colors in the sky to-night will be forgotten." " Do they make so little impression upon you ? " " No, they delight me while the colors last, but I cannot remember them, even for their beauty, if that is all ! The thoughts and feelings with which they are in unison, or contrast, alone imj)ress them upon my mind. Free from associations, like songs without words, though 23erhaps beautiful in them- selves, I soon forget them ! " " You are very poetical ! " she said, turning from the sky and glancing mischievously at me. EUSTIS, 21 " No," I replied, a little disconcerted, " I have no aspirations in that direction." " Ah ! then I was mistaken ? " she said softly, as she turned to the sky again. I felt provoked, as one does when the expression of a sober thought meets suspected ridicule, al- though I was aware that I had laid myself open to it. Neither spoke for a few moments. At length she said, — " So this is your first visit to the South, Mr. Strong?" "Yes ; and I have looked forward to it with the greatest pleasure. It will have all the novelty of a visit to a foreign country, with the additional advan- tage of being able to use one's own tongue." " I suppose you expect to find a land of barba- rians?" " Oh, no ! " I said laughing. " Some of my best friends have been Southerners, and they were much like the rest of the civilized world. I suppose I shall find many customs and peculiarities that may or may not please me ; but then, you see, whatever I like I shall call American, and what I disapprove, Southern ! " "Then I shall always look for compliments in your disapprobation," she answered, smiling at me over the top of her blanket shawl. " Of course you will never merit it," I said. "Which?" she asked quickly, "the compli- ments or the disapprobation? With your assist- ance I will leave you now. Will you carry some 22 EUSTIS. of these things below for me ? Thank you," she said, as I unwound the shawl and she arose. *'I shall have to trouble you to give me your arm, the vessel is rolling so ! " And with steps worthy of Bacchanals we crossed the deck to the companion- way. " I know you will be very glad to leave me," she added, as we parted at the foot of the staircase. " Now you can smoke your cigar in peace, and you have just time before tea. I suppose," she con- tinued, hesitating for a moment, "you could not get a seat at the captain's table ? " " I shall certainly do my best to secure one to- night," I replied, feeling flattered by her apparent interest. " Yes, do," she said, " and please take the seat just opposite mine, for a German sat there at dinner, and distressed me by trying to commit suicide with his knife ! " and with an amused smile she left me. I lighted my cigar and went on deck again, to think over my new friends. My thoughts centred on the youngest of the party, and I found myself dwelling upon the fulness of her voice and the sweetness of her southern accent. Her ease of manner and her grace, struck me as strange in a young girl, and there was a touch of satire, or coquetry, perhaps, in her words that piqued and at the same time interested me. After much idle speculation, I concluded that I should find no pleasanter occupation for the next EUSTIS. 23 few days, than to study this new and beautiful creation. How many have spent the best years of their lives far less distractingly, and to as little pur- pose ! That evening, although the German's seat was empty, I did not avail myself of the opportunity, but took my place at the lower end of the saloon. Outside of my few friends, the ship's company was not an interesting one, composed chiefly of German Jews, travelling salesmen, and consump- tives in every stage of the disease, in search of that which many of them had never lost, and few would ever find. Nor was the ship's "cuisine" out of keeping with her company. There was no lack in the number of the dishes, but they were unsavory to the palate, as unappetizing to the eye. After supper, I returned to the upper deck. It was a starlight night with scarce a breath of air stirring. The steamer rolled lazily along, leaving a snowy wake on the black surface of the water. As I strolled about the deck, smoking, I saw Brown in the wheelhouse, immersed in the charts or compasses. I left him undisturbed, and having caught a glimpse, in the darkness, of my Southern friends sitting near the stern I joined them. The Captain did his full share of the talking that night, for the rest of our little party was in a quiet mood, induced by the starlight overhead, and the easy sway of the vessel. I enjoyed listening to his many stories of adventure. How narrowly he had escaped in the dead of night, in swift blockade 24 EUSTIS. runners, through the ironclad fleets that guarded the Southern coast, and how once, in broad daylight, on finding a squadron stationed at the mouth of the harbor which he was about to enter, he had hoisted the Union Jack, put on a full head of steam, made straight for the Flag Ship, run close under her port guns, " And, by jove, sir ! you would hardly believe it, but I had passed into the harbor and reached the cover of the forts, before they had sufficiently recovered from their surprise to give me a parting shot ! " It needed only an occasional word to lead him on, and this I was ever ready to supply. At length, however, as the night wore on and the deck was deserted by all but ourselves, the Captain said, turning to his daughter, — "Now, Mary dear, give us a little song before we turn in for the night." " Perhaps Mr. Strong does not care for singing, papa," she replied. " Try me," I said, " and see if I am not a good listener." She did not answer, but shortly after began to sing, in a full mellow mezzo-soprano voice, — " When stars are in the quiet sky." It was an old song, familiar to me from child- hood, but I had never before heard it sung so sweetly. When she had finished, I waited a mo- ment, and then said, " I am very fond of those old- time songs. Won't you sing again ? " EUSTIS. "26 " Certainly, if you wish it," she answered simply, and again her sweet voice filled the night air. This time she sang the old love song, — " I do not love thee ! No, I do not love thee ! But yet when thou art absent — I am sad, And envy e'en the bright blue sky above thee, Whose quiet stars may see thee — and be glad. ** I do not love thee ! Yet, when thou art gone, I hate the sound, though those who speak be dear, That breaks the lingering echo of the tone Thy voice of music leaves upon mine ear ! " I do not love thee ! Yet, I know not why, Whate'er thou dost seems still well done to me, And often in my solitude I sigh, That those I do love — are not more like thee ! '* Her voice was not, perhaps, very highly cultivated, but rich and sympathetic ; one that once heard could not be easily forgotten. " Bravo, Mary ! " said the Captain, " you sing almost as well as your mother did at your age ! Come, now, we must all go below or we shall have to get to bed in the dark, for they turn the lights out at ' five bells.' " Little else was said. I helped them with their shawls down the companion-way, and retired to my stateroom with the music still ringing in my ears I 26 EUSTIS, CHAPTER III. THE SOUTHEASTER. T PASSED many hours of the next day with my new acquaintances, and by sunset we had be- come almost like old friends, such, at least, was the case with the Captain and myself. As it is so apt to be with officers of the navy, he was genial and talk- ative, and with a large fund of general information gathered from experience and ready observation. His anecdotes and reminiscences, and his broad views, the result of a long and varied intercourse with men and countries, made him an agreeable companion. Mrs. Lee I found it difficult to know, as she was quiet and reserved, but Mary and I rapidly estab- lished ourselves upon a friendly footing, as young people so naturally do when thrown together on shipboard. She had left school the previous spring, and had passed the summer travelling about the North. The coming winter was to be her first in society, and she was full of girlish anticipations. Thus far our passage had been smooth, with light following winds, but during the second night we doubled Cape Hatteras, and came into the teeth of a southeaster. The good ship plunged fearlessly on, rocking and pitching greatly to the discomfort of EUSTIS. 27 her passengers ; and late on the following moraing I found Fred Brown still m his berth. He had not "turned out," though it was nearly noontime, and was in a most pitiable and helpless condition. What little it was possible to do for him, I did, and promising to return again in the course of an hour or so, I went in search of the Lees. Mrs. Lee was in lier stateroom, Avith the Captain in attendance, from whom I learned that Mary was on deck. Thinking that it might be of use I took from my stateroom a double blanket shawl, and went to find her. The vessel was rolling heavily as I made my way along the slippery deck to the leeward of the wheelhouse where Miss Lee was sitting alono, watching the gray sky and the foaming waves as they rushed past. Excitement had heightened the color in her cheeks, and the smoke of the south- easter had gathered in tiny drops upon the waving hair above her forehead. At times the jealous wind swept in among her shawls as if determined to tear them from her ; but she only clasped them more tightly about her, and, with lips compressed, looked defiantly into the storm. " You are having quite a little battle with the ele- ments this morning. You are very brave," I said, when I reached her side. She had been loo busily engaged to see me coming, but when I spoke she turned to me with a quick smile, — " You must use my shawl," I continued. " You are not properly protected from these blasts of wind and rain," and I becran to wind it around her. 28 ELfSTIS. " I will not take it all, Mr. Strong, you must uso the rest, I insist upon it," she expostulated, before I had done. I did not require to be urged, and drawing \ip a chair I sat down beside her, and held the re- jected end about me. After all a storm at sea may- have its bright side. What a pleasant talk we had ! The wildness of the elements quieted us both, and our conversation took that meditative tone that seems to draw people near together. I caught little glimpses of her inner life and mind, and feared lest some inadvertent word might break the gentle cur- rent of her thoughts. At length she said in a low voice, — " Were you very bitter against the South during the war?" " Plow could I have been, with some of my best friends in the Southern army? No, I supposed it a social crisis that sooner or later must inevita- bly be reached. I deprecated the causes that led to it, and forced the settlement to one of arms. But when arbitration was no longer possible, I naturally desired the success of the Northern armies. The whole thing was terribly sad to me, and the South fighting as they did, or thought themselves to be, for their homes and constitutional rights, were never without my sympathy. We both have much to forgive, but your part is far the hardest ! " " Perhaps, then, after all we can be friends," she said quietly. " Why do you doubt it for a moment ? " EUSTIS. 29 " I have always said I could never like a ISTorth- erner, and those that have come among us since the war have not lessened my prejudices." "Believe me," I answered warmly, and with a touch of satire, "there are many good and consci- entious gentlemen north of Mason and Dixon's line ! " " I do not doubt it, but their ideas and education are. so different from ours, that we seem to have no common ground to stand upon." "We have at least the common ground of all hu- manity, truth and honor! and what is more, the same religion, and the same blood ! " " Yes, but when I remember all the sufferings of our people, I find it hard to believe there can be anything good in those who brought them upon us ! " " Well," I said, turning it off with a smile, " let us not discuss it. It is useless. Forget that I am a Northerner ; or, if that is asking too much, try to think that one of them, at least, may not be so very horrid and wicked. Will you not promise to try to be my friend ? " " No, I shall make no rash promises — I shall treat you simply as you deserve." " Then I am confident you will become very fond of me before the winter is over ! " said I laughing. " You take altogether too much for granted ! " she answered with some spirit. " Not at all, for whether I deserve it or not, you shall like me before the winter is over, if I wish you to ! " I replied with quiet impertinence. ^ 30 EtlSTia, " Your present tone, certainly, is not likely to in- crease my admiration ! " " Then the simple truth is distasteful to you ! " I coolly answered. "No, I like to hear the truth when I can recog- nize it as such, but your presumption is most dis- agreeable ! " I saw the rising flush upon her cheek but could not resist the temptation to continue, — "You are unjustly severe. I simply said " " I do not wish to hear what you said ; it was not worthy of repetition ! " " There again you are unjust, for I am certain it was no presumption on my part to say, that if I wished, I could make you like me ! I really have hardly tried to make myself agreeable yet, you know, and still I think already you rather fancy me!" " I hate you ! " she exclaimed, turning upon me with flashing eyes, and at the same time trying to rise from her seat. "Wait a moment" I said with imperturbable gravity and slowly freeing my end of the shawl, " I hope you will give me full credit for my gallantry in releasing you ! " " I shall give you full credit for your impertinence, sir, you may be sure ! " she answered, drawing her- self up with angry dignity, " I am ashamed of hav- ing listened to you so long. No I thank you " she added, rejecting my proffered arm, " I can manage very well for myself," and with hesitating, unsteady EUSTIS. HI steps, she started towards the companionway. I followed near at hand, but without speaking. She had almost reached it when the vessel gave a sud- den lurch, and in an instant she had lost her bal- ance. I sprung forward, and bracing myself as best I could, caught her in my arms, saving her from an ugly fall against the bulwarks. For a moment her face was close to mine, and her hair touched my cheek ! She hurriedly disengaged herself and re- gained her feet. " I suppose I must say thank you," she said turn- ing her flushed face towards me, and with a look in her eyes that spoke of anything but thanks. "Don't mention it." I answered "it must be so very disagreeable to feel under an obligation to a man you hate ! " "It is, I assure you," she said with much as- perity. " I would infinitely rather have fallen ! " Her eyes were brimming with tears of indigna- tion as she spoke. " Very well, on the next occasion I will be more considerate of your feelings," I answered as she turned away. We had now reached the compan- ion-way and there we parted without another word. When left to my own reflections I was not par- ticularly proud of the part I had acted ; in fact, I went so far as to call myself names. Yet, still, there lurked within, that certain satisfaction which the evil-minded feel on having been successfully aggravating. Then, too, her beauty in her anger harmonized so well with the grandeur of the angry 32 EUSTIS. sea! Plowever, what had it profited me ? The dislike of an attractive woman; the loss of an agreeable companion, and much introspection not altogether flattering to my self-esteem. In penance 1 23assed the remainder of the day in the lugubrious company of my friend Brown, who had not sufficiently recovered to leave his stateroom, and I was rewarded before nightfall by drawing him into a talkative and cheerful frame of mind. " By the way. Strong," he asked, " who are those people I have seen you with so much ? " " Well," he continued after my reply, " the Captain is a fine looking man and his daughter is certainly a beauty; but they all look awfully proud; did they own slaves ? Two or three hundred ! I wonder if they used to sell them and divide up their families like a herd of cattle ? It is really dreadful to think how they treated those poor creatures, breaking up their homes and domestic ties without pity ; selling their wives and daughters naked in the market- place ; and separating the fathers and mothers from their children, just as if they had no human affec- tions. I should be much obliged if you would in- troduce me to Captain Lee. I should like to ask him a few questions about slavery. If he is a man of sense, I think I could persuade him how bad the system was and how fortunate it was for the honor of the country that the North took the cause of the persecuted negro in hand." " I think, perhaps, you would waste your sjm- pathy, on those that belonged to the Laptain, at JEUSTIS. 33 least, for he tells me nearly all his old slaves are still with him." " Then it is only because they were brought up in too much ignorance to appreciate liberty when they got it." " Perhaps, on the other hand, it was because they had sufficient sense to appreciate the comforts of their old home, and the kindness of their master." " I doubt it," said Brown, with a sagacious shake of his yellow head. , " Well, I will give you a chance to talk the matter over with the Captain to-morrow, if I can get you on your feet again, and now the best thing for you is a long night's rest. The wind is going down, and 1 hope for fair weather by sunrise." "I trust you are right, for they say to-morrow evening we may get in. I woidd not, for anything, miss seeing the coast and harbor, and especially the old fort at its mouth. They say our batteries just knocked it all to pieces." " Good night. I will look in in the morning and see how you are getting on. Don't try to read any more to-night. Sleep is the medicine you need, and the biijirer the dose the better." That evening Miss Lee did not appear on deck. The Captain told me she was not feeling well, and insisted upon sitting with her mother. He, too, turned in early, and as the solitude of the dark night and wet decks depressed me, I, soon after, flung my damp cigar into the phosphorescent sea and betook myself to a land of disquieting dreams. 84 EU8TIS. CHAPTER IV. AT ANCHOR. f\^ the following morning the sun rose in a clear ^^ sky, as I had hoijed. There were more strag- glers on deck than during the previous day, but the sea was still too rough to tempt the timid from below. The seagulls followed us, now high in air and again swooj^ing down into our smooth wake. I was standing well aft, with several other men, watching their graceful flight, when Brown sug- gested shooting at them ; so I offered them the use of my rifle, and brought it from my stateroom. There was much joking and laughing over the frequent failures of the party, till at last Brown, who had missed a gull that was floating very near us on the water, said, handing the rifle to me with an expression of disgust, — " Come, Strong, take your old gun and show us how to use it." K )W I was, or thought myself, a good shot, and this WCLS my pet Winchester, so taking it with some confidence, I said, — " Very well, gentlemen, I'll wager the cigars that I can bring down that large dark fellow, flying just above the others ! " EUSTIS, 35 " Taken ! " exclaimed two or three voices at once. I threw the rifle to my shoulder and was on the point of firing, when I was stopped hj a light touch upon my arm and a woman's voice saying, — " Please don't, Mr. Strong." "Certainly not, if you object," I answered, at once lowering my rifle, as I recognized Miss Lee, and before I could say more, she had thanked me quickly and crossed the deck, to where she and her mother had been sitting unobserved. My companions, disconcerted at this sudden in- terruption of their sport, stood gazing rather blankly and in silence at each other and the gulls. " Well, gentlemen," I said, laughing, "I certainly owe you the cigars," and after a few words more I left the group, to return the ill-used Winchester to its case. When I was going below, Brown reminded me of my promise to introduce him to Captain Lee, and added, — " I say. Strong, why do you suppose Miss Lee stopped our shooting ? " " I have no idea," I replied, " but perhaps you will have a chance to ask her yourself this after- noon." So, after dinner, as I happened to see the Lees sit- ting together, I hunted up Brown and having warned him not to be too severe in his comments on the past, I gave him, with some misgivings, the intro- duction he desired. The captain shook Brown cordially by the hand, 36 EUSTIS. and said he was glad to meet any friend of mine. The ladies too received him kindly. I felt doubtful how Miss Lee would treat me after yesterday's little passage at arms, and, think- ing it best to be on the safe side, I conferred the pleasure of her society upon Brown, and tried to give my own attention to her parents. However, after awhile, I could not help listening to the talk of the younger people and I heard Brown say, — " Well, Miss Lee you spoiled some good shoot- ing this morning." " Did I ? " she answered smiling, " I really was not aware of it." " You are undoubtedly right," he replied, " if you judge only by the results. But two of those men are regular out-and-out sportsmen. Really their stories of hunting experiences are awfully interesting. They tell me they have shot no end of buffaloes, and that sort of thing, out West." " Probably they were not used to such small game as that of to-day ! " " I guess you must be right," he answered reflec- tively, and added, " I suppose you don't approve of sport ! " " O yes, I do, my father is a devoted sportsman. I have grown up in the midst of it." " Then, why did you stop us this morning ? " "01 do not consider that sport at all, simply to kill for diversion, with no hope or desire of re- covering your game ! " " Then, I suppose, you take the ground that noth^ EUSTIS. 87 ing should be killed unless for self-protection or for food," he answered, waxing argumentative, " now I think I can show you there are other politico-econ- omical reasons, even stronger than those you have mentioned." "Pardon me, Mr. Brown," she said, laughing good-humoredly, "I mentioned no reason. In fact, I doubt if I have any. I am not at all logical, but some things strike me instinctively as cruel. I will grant that I am entirely wrong and unreasonable, rather than argue the point. I feel certain I should have the worst of it, and you know when women are argued down they become very dangerous and fly to their only safe refuge, — personalities." " Certainly we won't discuss it, if you don't wish to, but I heard a very interesting lecture on that subject, and thought I might give you one or two rather good hints about it." " Well hints have never been good friends of mine — for, do you know, whenever I have felt in- clined to give them, I have found the mind that provokes the hint is incapable of understanding it." "Yes, I think I agree with you," he replied. "And few hints, on any subject, are of themselves of value, only the mind that diligently pursues the subject can make good use of them as stepping- stones or signposts. Without previous education the hint falls on the sterile mind, like seed upon stony ground." " Yes, undoubtedly," she answered, with a twinkle of amusement in her eye, " and by the way, 38 EUSTIS. Mr. Brown, speaking of signposts, it is time our sign- post, the lightship off the shoals, should be in sight, is it not?" "01 had forgotten about it ! Why, yes," looking at his watch, " it ought, by the purser's time, to have been in sight for the last half hour. Please excuse me," he added, rising hastily. "I must go and see about it at once ! " And with an air of importance that augured ill for the keeper of the lightship if he did not bring his vessel in sight at the appointed time, he bustled away towards the wheelhouse. At the same time,. the Captain and Mrs. Lee went forward to watch a pilot boat that was bearing down upon us, and Mary and I were left alone to- gether. I felt heartily ashamed of my yesterday's conduct and would gladly have begged forgiveness, if I had not feared my overtures might be repulsed. Thus for a few minutes we sat in silence, Mary looking down into her lap, and I gazing absently out over the water. At length I turned towards her, and blushing and smiling she raised her eyes to mine. In a moment I had moved my chair to her side, and had besought the forgiveness that I knew was mine without the asking. It is rather pleasant to abase ourselves at times, if only for the sake of being told that we really are not quite so bad as we choose to paint ourselves, and especially is this the case, when a pretty and forgiving woman consents to raise us from humilia- EUSTIS. 39 tion to the level of our usual self-esteem ! However, it is a pastime on no account to be indulged in, without sufficiently strong grounds for thinking that the helping hand will indeed be offered, and that we shall not be left to brush off, unaided, the mud with which we have bespattered ourselves. At length I said, " Will you give me your hand in pledge of your friendship ? " " Yes," she answered, holding it out frankly. I took the little outstretched hand in mine. It was so white and perfect, that I could not resist bending hurriedly down, and pressing it to my lips. She drew it hastily away, and with flushed face and sparkling eyes, said, " Why will you always say or do something disagreeable at the very time I think I almost like you ? " " If your hand itself is not excuse sufficient, I have none to offer. Indeed," I added, " you must not make me unhappy. Do not be angry with me so soon again. I meant no hann, but it struck me as a very fitting seal for our compact of amity. Now, you see, it is signed, sealed and delivered, and all in your own hand ! " " Yery well," she said, smiling again ; " I will try you once more, but I have very grave doubts as to how long our friendship will last. You are too changeable, I fear. I like to have my friends al- ways the same, and at the very least consistently polite." " I promise from this moment to be everything you desire. Never disagreeable, provoking, nor 40 EU8TI8. angry, always placid and even-tempered, and while you favor me by watching this glorious transforma- tion, you may, at the same time, attribute it all to your own iJnvarying example ! " I answered. By this time the sun was setting, and the low coast line was clearly visible on our starboard bow. Captain Lee, passing in his perambulations, told lis we should make the river's mouth by eight o'clock, but owing to the tide could not run up to the city before morning. Though he seemed an noyed at the necessity of passing another night on board, I could not respond very heartily to his re- grets. In fact, it would not have worried me to have been told aiir voyage must last another week. As Mary and I sat in the twilight, I asked her many questions about our mutual friend, Eustis, and his family. " You will not find him changed," she said. " He is the same bright, energetic, merry fellow he has always been. I am sure, after you have been with him an hour you will feel as if he left you only yes- terday." Then she added thoughtfully, after a mo- ment's pause, " He is so kind and good to his sis- ters ! " " His elder sister, Kate, is a widow, is she not ? " I asked. " Yes, and both she and Margaret have lived with him ever since their father and mother died. To be sure, Mrs. Jackson has a house in the city, but she passes most of her time at the plantation. Madge is just my own age. She is an intimate friend of EUSTIS. 41 mine. How strange you should know Jim so well, and yet never have met his sisters ! " " I did know Mrs. Jackson years ago," I answered. " While Jim and I were at school together, she stayed with my sister one winter. I only recollect that she was very lively and full of fun. They said she was a great belle, and received no end of atten- tion. Two or three men were supposed to be heart- broken when she left us. But Jim and I were too much absorbed in our own pursuits, then, to take much interest in such things. What a fine manly fellow he was ! " This seemed to be a pleasant subject to us both, and I recounted many of our youthful escapades, in which Jim was always the leader. There was nothing too daring and venturesome for his high spirits and youthful prowess. Quick and hot-tempered, but al- ways ready to repent and ask forgiveness, or ac- cept apology. Wai-m in manner, and true at heart ! And as we sat there talking, how vividly I re- called the scenes of the night before he left us ! A dozen or more friends had met together in our col- lege rooms to bid him good-by, and, in honor of the occasion, a supper was spread that, to our not over fastidious appetites, seemed worthy of Epicurus and his disciples ! Their wines might have been purer, but they did not have our Jim to mix and sweeten them into that insidious punch, pronounced by all the crowning effort of his life. That night he was, as ever, the brightest and liveliest of our party. 42 EUSTIS, How merrily the jests went round ! Followed, per- haps, by gloomy speculations of what the war might bring, to be in their turn banished by the wild joke and ringing laugh ! The next day, in the gray morning, I went to the railway station to see him off, and we had never met again. Occasionally we had heard from one another, and after the close of the war had kept up a desultory correspondence. But friendship may live, though correspondence dies, and my affection for his warm-hearted, impulsive nature remained as strong as when we parted. At the expected time the steamer entered the river's mouth, and dropped anchor in the quiet bay to await the returning tide. The few hours left were precious to me ; and, after supper, Mary and I went on deck again, to walk up and down in the starlight. The absence of the sound of paddle-wheels and engine, which for the last few days had been incessantly thudding in our ears, intensified the stillness of the night. There was scarce a ripple on the surface of the bay, and the great beacon on the headland threw its path of yellow light across the water to our feet. The silence was unbroken, save by an occasional bugle call from the fort hard by, or the cry of the sentinel marsh-hen warning her fellows of our late and mysterious arrival. We talked long and low, not wishing to break the spell of the quiet night, and once more in semi- confidential utterances, dangerous to one's peace EUSTIS. 4S of mind at all times, but oh ! how much more so, when nature encourages the folly with her most seductive influences. The time flew by unheeded, and it was nearly twelve before Captain Lee came to remind us of the hour. But when he left us, with Mary's promise to go below, we still lingered for a little while. It seemed a pity that the moonlight should be wasted upon the deserted decks. At length she arose to go, and I said, half jestingly, "This is the pleasantest voyage I ever made. I wish it had never begun or might last a lifetime." "Unless the lifetime were very short indeed, I fear you would tire of it," she answered, handing me her shawl to carry. " I hardly think so," I replied, " though, of course, you may be right. However, you should have too much confidence in yourself to say so ! " "O no," she said, as we walked slowly along, "it is not that, but because I have so little confi- dence in man." "I should hardly think your experience could have been exhaustive," I answered. "Perhaps not — and yet," she added seriously, after a little pause, " I have little faith in their con- stancy to anything, except to themselves? Their professions are too ready and profuse to be sin- cere ! " "If you were forty, single, and soured, your doubts might be natural enough," I answered, as we 44 EU8TIS. reached the companion-way, " but as it is they must arise simply from wilfulness or inexperience ! Ah I what a lovely night," I added, looking out over the sparkling water, " will you not give me something to remember it by ? you know my memory is very poor, and I should like to remember to-night ! " "Yes," she answered, "I will, though you are not flattering ! But you must promise to return it to me, if I ever ask for it," and unfastening a little confederate coin from her watch chain, she handed it to me, " you must not lose it," she continued, as I attached it to mine, " I have had it for years and years." " I shall not lose it until I lose your friendship. When you ask me to give it back, I shall know that you have ceased to be my friend ! How long shall I keep it?" "No doubt longer than you deserve!" she answered, holding out her hand, and bidding me good night. After she left me I stayed on deck to smoke a last cigar. I felt unaccountably cheerful and happy, notwithstanding the pleasant voyage was at an end. I did not care to scrutinize my feelings too closely — content to leave the future to itself. EU8TIS, 45 CHAPTER y. THE EUSTISES. TXT HEN in the morning I made my rather tardy ^ ^ appearance, everything on board was in a state of great disorder. The saloon was blockaded with traps and luggage of every description, disgorged from the adjoining staterooms. The passengers, many of whom I had not seen during the voyage, were rushing aimlessly about, calling to one another and the waiters, or sitting be- wildered in the midst of the confusion. I made my way, as best I could, to the upper deck and just in time to see the Lees to their carriage on the wharf. " Well, Strong," said the Captain, as he bade me good-by "is there anything I can do for you?" " Nothing, thank you," I replied, " I suppose Jim will come to town in the course of the day, and look me up. I shall wait for him at the hotel." "Won't you come and breakfast with us," he asked, " and let him follow if he makes his appear- ance ? " " Thank you," I answered, glancing at Mary for a word of encouragement, but as she said nothing, I continued, " I have so many things to attend to, it will be imj)ossible this morning." 46 EUSTI8. "Well, I am sorry," he said, "but we shall soon meet again. We are going out to the plantation in a few days. Good-by ! Tell Jim not to make any plans for hunting, without consulting me. Now Moses, drive on ! " and with a smile but not a word from Mary they were gone ! As I stood watching the unfamiliar scene about me, Fred Brown came rushing past, with more lug- gage than he could well manage. " Halloo, Brown ! " I called after him. "What's your hurry? Let me take some of that burden from your over- taxed shoulders ! Where are you going at such a pace ? Is it the returning appetite, anxious to make up for its long inaction ? " " Thank you, Strong," he gasped, " If you will just take one or two of these things to the 'bus for me. No, I am off for Florida, and have just time to catch the train. It is a perfect nuisance having to hurry off in this way. I had laid out the entire day to be spent here, but find, what with the boat up the river from Jacksonville and the trains from here, I can't manage it. But I shall be back after a while to spend a month or more. I can't stop now, with- out wasting my excursion ticket. Jove ! I wish you were coming with me to the land of the palm and the crocodile ! Good-by ! " There was no object in my waiting idly on the pier after my friends had gone, especially as I had had no breakfast and was growing uncomfortably hun- gry, so I returned to my stateroom to put up the few things still unpacked. I had just strapped my EUSTI8, 47 portmanteau, when there was a knock at the door, and before I could say, " Come in," a great, hand- some, black-bearded man rushed in and seized me by both hands. " Halloo, old man ! Is it really you, at last ? Why it's good for ' sore eyes ' to look at you again ! And not so very much changed either ! Barring moustache, and — ' weeijers ' did we use to call them? and some twenty pounds of flesh, you are just the same dear old fellow I left fifty years ago ! By Jove ! " he exclaimed, standing back and looking at me with an expression full of happiness and welcome. " This is just the j oiliest thing out ! But come, let's get out of this spooky hole into the fresh air ! Here, David, take Mr. Strong's things to the carriage. I'm glad to see you've not forgotten your guns ! There, let me cany this case for you. It feels like a rifle. Winchester is it ? Well we'll try to worry up something for you to shoot ! " I was not disappointed. He was just as of old, and, infected with his good spirits, I felt as young again, as when in the spring mornings at home we chased each other through the fields and woods at hare and hounds ! The carriage took us from the street that skirted the quays, where the tall buildings cast their deep cool shade, up through a granite-walled cut in the Bluff to the surface of the plateau upon which the city was built. It was odd to see the buildings, whose five or six stories towered up so high above the wharves on the river-side, dwindle to rather mean proportions upon 4B EUSTIS. the higher level of the broad street on which they faced. On we went, over the rattling pavement, past endless lines of mule-drawn drays, loaded with cot- ton, until, leaving the business part of the city be- hind, we turned into a sandy street whose great shade trees on either side lapped their branches above our heads. On past many picturesque little parks and squares (the "lungs" of the city, Jira called them), each with its flow^crs, its monument or fountain, its w^idespreading trees, and grouj^s of children playing in the shade. "Well, Jim," I said, pointing to the throng of youngsters, "There's apparently little danger of your city's becoming depopulated." "No," he answered, laughing, "we are doing our best to make up for the ravages of war." At length we drew up in front of a large white house facing one of the parks. It was not white after the manner of fresh paint, but rather of a soft, grayish color, losing all garishness from the uneven surface of the material with which it was built, called "coquina," and quarried on the Sea Islands near by. In front of the house, and enclosed by an iron railing from the street, was a garden with well or- dered flower beds, and many shrubs whose names I did not know, although, among them I recognized the long drooping leaves of the banana. The path through the garden, diverging near the EUSTIS. 49 gate, led to the steps on either side of a pillared porch that shaded the front entrance. We passed from the fragrant air up into a marble hall that ran through the centre of the house, and through the open door at the rear I caught sight of still another garden, and a jet of water sparkling in the sun. " This is Mrs. Jackson's town house, Harry. She is at the plantation, but I thought we had better breakfast here before driving out, as it is twenty miles or so. Bring in breakfast at once, Sam." It is needless to say I did full justice to the tempting repast that was spread before me. But we had little time to waste, and within an hour were on our way to the jDlantation in Jim's buggy, and behind a sturdy looking horse. We drove through the shady streets, past brick and stucco houses, with piazzas often running to the second story, all shut in with green blinds, and with yards surrounded by solid eight-foot walls, useful in old times for imprisoning the slaves after the evening hour, but not ornamental in the eyes of the new civilization ; then past clusters of shanties, and plats of stunted grass and sand, the playgrounds of the negro children; past the dirt and squalor that gather on a city's outskirts, to the more open country beyond, where, here and there, white houses with little flower gardens in front, and well kept market farms around them, besj^oke much thrifty labor and frugal comfort. " This old mound," said Jim, " with the stagnant 50 EUSTIS. pool below it, is part of the wall thrown up for the defence of the city. If you look across the fields you will see it rising there at intervals as far as the eye can reach, but the ploughshare has done good work, and before long not a vestige will remain. In old times the forest came pretty well up to where we are, but this half-mile or more was cleared when the city was invested." Presently we left the open land and entered the shade of the forest which did not again desert us for many a mile, unless at the clearing of some squat- ter, or some negro hamlet, or at the crossing of some dark river with its adjacent rice-fields diked and ditched in great quadrangles. The dead-level of the country, and the seemingly endless forests, that for an hour at a time enclosed us, gave a welcome charm to the occasional glimpses of broad, sunny marsh that lay along these river banks. At length we came to an opening in the woods, where, near the roadside, stood a long, low shanty, and before it a team of mules and open wagon in which I recognized my luggage. " Halloo ! " said Jim, " confound that January ! He has stopped to get a drink at Isaac's. These Jew grocery stores are the pest of the county. They ruin the negroes with bad whisky ! I wish we could run them out of the place ! Halloo ! January, I say ! Halloo there ! " and as he shouted an, old darkey hurried out of the shop, climbed to his seat on the wagon, gathered up the reins and started the mules without looking at us. EUSTIS. 61 "Halloo, January ! " cried Jim, "what were you up to in there ? " "Halloo, Massa Jim! youthar!" said the negro, turning towards us with well feigned astonishment. "De troof ob de matter is, Massa Jim, de off mule, she seem berry fursty. I jes' done fetch de bucket into de shop. Miss Katie and Miss Mar- garet gone by heah about free minutes ago ! " "Well, January, you know this is against orders. You promised me last week never to go to Isaac's again. All is, if I catch you at it after this, you'll have to find your meat where you get your drink." " 'Fore de Lord, Massa Jim ! I'se nebber touch an- udder drop ! But de troof is, dat ole gray mule, Massa Jim, she jes' put her hoofs in de san' an' won' go by Isaac's till she ketch her bref ! " "Well, don't waste yours, January, and mind what I say, for I mean it," and he added as we drove on, " Poor old fellow ! he can no more help taking in whiskey than the sea the Altamaha! By the way, Harry, do you see those fields of stubble over there ? Well, you would be amused at the strange vagaries some of your shrewd fellow- countrymen have indulged in down here, since the war! That was a cotton plantation, and a good one too in its day. It lies next to • Palmetto Grove,' the Lees' place. It was bought a few years ago by a man named Gore, from your State, who in a couple of seasons exhausted his capital in the ex- periment of raising cotton under glass ! He aban- doned the place last year and has returned to his 52 JSUSTIS. native town very thoroughly disgusted, I am told, with this part of the country. Ah, there are the ladies on the hill near the gate. Don't you see them ? " And in the distance down the straight road I descried an object or objects, that, to my inexperi- enced eyes, might have been anything, from a horse to a house. " Yes, I think I see something. But where's the hill, Jim ? " I said, looking along the dead level be- fore me. " Why man ! " he answered laughing, " there at the gate of ' The Oaks,' where they are stopping ! Don't you see how the land rises from the hollow yonder ? We are very proud of that hill ! It is the Mont Blanc of the county ! " We soon reached the gate, and turned into the shady driveway. Through the long vista of oak-trees, whose moss-hung branches were interlaced above us, we could catch a glimpse of the old white house. These old oaks, which had given the place its name, were magnificent ; their girth of trunk and limb told a tale of sturdy growth through cen- turies of storm and sunshine. The place had belonged to the Eustises for more than a hundred years, and this avenue of oaks was their especial pride. Several generations of youth and maiden had passed up together, hand in hand, beneath their cool shade, with all the joyousness of life's maytime; in turn, at length, to pass down again one by one under the weeping moss on their last solitary journey ! EUSTIS. 53 Yet the old oaks lived on in their defiant stren^^h, untouched by time, and gathering to themselves the life of the more ephemeral nature around them, lengthened, year by year, their giant limbs, and pushed out their fresh green leaves with each re- curring spring. Behind them, on either side, was a belt of pine woods, and beyond lay open farming land. It was a grand old avenue ; and yet I was glad to leave its spectral looking moss and chilly shade, for the warm sunlight again, as we drew up in front of the picket-fence, that surrounded the garden be- fore the house. Goats, and poultry of all kinds, were running wild about the half-dozen acres of open land, in the centre of which stood the house and garden ; and, under the trees on the outskirts of the clearing, lean, high-backed swine were grubbing in the leaves and underbush. We heard the hounds baying in their distant kennels at our approach, and as Jim alighted and hitched the horse to a picket of the fence, two or three black and tan-colored pups, with short legs, long bodies and drooping ears, entangled themselves about his feet with whines and awkward demon- strations of affection. " Well, Harry, my boy ! " he said, " here we are at last ; and there are the girls waiting for us on the piazza ! Down, Jack ! down sir, I say ! Halloo, Bill ! '* as a stalwart negro boy came from behind the house, grinning, and touching his brimless hat, 54 EUSTI8. " give Charley a good grooming when you take him out. Hear? And when January comes, help him take Mr. Strong's things to his room. Leave the gun cases in the smoking-room. Hear? Well, come on, Harry ! " We passed through a garden, full of rose bushes and japonica trees, and up the steps to a broad piazza which, supported by brick columns, ran along the front of the house above the high brick basement. Two ladies were sitting there, and, as they arose to meet us, I saw at a glance that both were pretty, and that one had the advantage of greater youth and was the taller of the two. " Wei], girls, we've captured Harry, at last ! " ex- claimed Jim, as we came up the steps. " I am delighted to see you again, Harry ! " cried Mrs. Jackson. " It was so nice of you to come to us. I do not dare to think how many years ago I stayed with you all at ' Ingleside ' ! and how is Alice ? and how are the little ones ? We drove down to meet you this evening, but you were later than we expected. This is my sister Margaret, Harry. I believe you have never meet." As I shook the shapely hand, so cordially extended, I said, " I should have known you anywhere from your likeness to Jim, although your coloring is so different." " Would you like to go at once to your room ? " continued Mrs. Jackson; " or will you sit down and rest after your long drive ? Please move the chairs EUSTIS. 55 to the end of the piazza, Jim ; there is a nice breeze there. Now, Harry, take that smoking-chair, and make yourself at home, and tell me all about every- thing." " Won't you come and take a little something first, Harry ? just to lay the dust," said Jim, coax- ingly, and laying his hand on my shoulder, " What say you, now, to a drop of the light wine of the country ? " "No, thank you," I answered, looking up into his handsome sun-browned face, " not just now ; I am altogether too comfortable to move at present." And thus with easy cordiality they welcomed me. How could I help feeling at home in such cheerful, home-like company ? And half reclining in a long, low chair, with swinging canvas seat and back that seemed to afford relief to every muscle, I drank in the odor of the pines, watched the sunlight play with the shadows under the trees, and enjoyed the pleasant consciousness of being a welcome guest. As we sat talking and laughing, old January with his mule team came slowly up the avenue, and, shortly after, the sound of the dinner bell called me to my room That evening, when we were sitting together on the piazza, in the breeze and starlight, Jim said, — " Perhaps you did not know, Harry, that to-mor- row is election day ? Wouldn't you like to drive down with me in the morning to the ' Corner ? ' It will give you a chance, by the way, to see the 56 EUSTIS. great privilege of the country in the hands of our peers from the rice-fields." " Yes, thank you," I answered, " I will go with pleasure. But I did not supjjose that here, where you held the entire control, the negroes were allowed to vote — at least, not freely." " O yes ! " he replied, " they vote as they please, as you will see to-morrow." "O, Jim tells me, Harry," said Mrs. Jackson, changing the subject, "that you came out on the steamer with the Lees. Did you like them ? I hope so, for we are near neighbors and thrown much together. The Captain is just as nice as he can be, and Mrs. Lee is perfectly lovely, one of the best and sweetest of women ; then, you know, she has suffered so much on account of her son's death. He was killed in the war, and in such a sad way, too ! And as for Mary ! Well, we must ask Jim his opinion of Mary ! But, no ! I am afraid he is too pre- judiced. Have you seen her yet, Jim? What, not seen her, and a whole morning in the same city ? Ah ! I am afraid you are losing your one redeeming quality of truthfulness ! Well, tell me, Harry, what did you think of Mary ? " "I really do not think I know, myself," I an- swered. " Nonsense," she exclaimed, " of course you know ! Well, did you not think her pretty ? " " Yes, rather," I replied, doubtfully, yet knowing that I thought her the loveliest of women ! " Has she not a sweet voice ? " she asked. EUSTIS. 57 " Not so sweet as her mother's at her age," I an- swered, laughingly, as I recalled the opinion of the Captain. "Are not her eyes lovely?" she rejoined, "and her figure simply perfect? Well, if you don't admire Mary, you must be very hard to please ! " " But," said I, " perhaps she did not try to please me." " There ! now, I suspect you are coming nearer the truth ! Do you know, Mr. Harry, I have a dim suspicion she must have piqued you ! You are the first person I ever met, who did not, at least, allow that she was handsome ! But she feels ex- ceedingly bitter against the Korth, and 2>i*obably something you said annoyed her ; and she can be very severe if she likes," she said, half inquiringly. " O no ! we got along very amicably, but then, really, you know, the sea is not famed as a beautifier, beautiful as it is itself ! " I answered, hypocrite that I was ! For while I spoke, the vision of a face with flashing eyes, and hair sparkling with the sea mist, swept through my mind ! After a moment I added, "I thought them all exceedingly pleasant, and I liked the Captain espe- cially, he seemed so kindly and whole-souled ! " " They are coming out here in a day or two," said Margaret, as she rose to go into the house, "and you shall reverse your opinion of Mary, Mr. Strong." " Don't call Harry — Mr. Strong — ^Madge, I won't have it," exclaimed Jim, 58 EUSTIS, " Well, good night, Harry, if you will let me call you so ! " she answered, hesitating and smiling as she held out her hand to me. " Come, sister." And Mrs. Jackson rising bade us good night, and followed her into the house, warning Jim, as she left us, that breakfast would be at eight, and that I required a good night's rest after my journey. EUSTIS, 59 CHAPTER VI. AT THE POLLS. T CAME down next morning much refreshed by -■- a good night's sleep, and finding that I had half an hour to spare before breakfast, I concluded to improve the opportunity by becoming better ac- quainted with my surroundings. It was a large square house, of the old-fashioned style found so frequently in all parts of our coun- try. The broad piazzas at front and rear, and the wide hall running through the centre of the house, into which opened on either side, the library, draw- ing-room, morning-room and dining-room, might have been copied from a hundred such in our New England villages. The billiard and smoking-rooms were in the high brick basement which was, per- haps, the one exceptional feature of the building. It was a bright November morning, and when I stepped out upon the back piazza, attracted by the many sounds that reached me, I came upon a scene busy with life. The picket-fence encircling the garden at the front continued its way to the rear of the house, forming there a large enclosure, at the further end of which were half a dozen low wooden buildings occupied by the servants. On my left, and nearer to the house, was a similar building used 60 EUSTM, as a kitchen, and from its chimney the smoke floated lazily up into the hazy air. On my right, and opposite the kitchen, stood the granary, raised upon brick pillars at its four corners, and the smoke- house, which completed the little settlement within the enclosure. Like the main house and fence, all were painted white, contrasting, not unpleasantly, with the dark foliage of four great live-oak trees that cast their shadows over the yard. Negro children, of all sizes, were playing near the doorsteps of the cabins. Flocks of ducks, geese and turkeys were marching and counter- marching to quack and cackle in ever changing orders. A couple of young setters were barking and chas- ing each other about ; now and then, in their awk- ward gambols, throwing the ranks of the j^oultry into wild confusion, or driving them with flapping wings into the pool near the centre of the yard; while, just outside the fence, a venerable sow with snout between the palings, grunted her disapproval of such levity. Negro men and women were passing to and fro, with merry laugh and chatter, in pursuance of their various avocations, and the whole place seemed instinct with morning life. As I stood, leaning against the piazza railing, lost in the diverting scene, Madge's voice saluted me from the doorway of the hall, — "Good-morning, Mr. Harry," she said. "You seem to be an early riser," and as she came forward and shook me by the hand, she continued, " Won't EUSTIS. 61 you come into the garden, or do you prefer to keep an eye on the kitchen door? But don't despair, breakfast will soon be ready, and I should like you to see some of our last roses. I think they look so much prettier when the dew is upon them." She looked very fresh and lovely in her light morning dress, that fitted to a nicety her tall and graceful figure. We passed together through the hall, and out . into the front garden, where the late roses were still in bloom. She picked a little nosegay while I held back her skirts from the wet box border that enclosed the beds. " There now, let me reward you," she said, select- ing a bud for me. " If you will keep still a moment, I'll put it in your buttonhole." And with deft, slender fingers she fastened it to the lapel of my coat. Then raising her eyes cuddenly to mine, she asked, "Well, do you like our southern roses?" "You must remember my experience has been very brief," I answered. " Those I have thus far seen appear surpassingly lovely — but I have not yet felt their thorns. It is one thing to admire, and an- other to gather ! " She looked into my face a moment longer, as if to discover whether there was anything implied be- yond the simple meaning of my words, then turning away, she said, — " To me the risk of being stung adds to the pleas- ure of gathering them. I think there is little fun in this world without a spice of danger." 62 EUSTI8. " Well, Miss Madge, when you have arrived at my years of discretion " "I hate discretion," she interrupted, "it just spoils everything ! The man who had the audacity to couple it with valor, must have been reared in a calculating and unromantic community ! " " Very well," I answered laughing, " you must let me sit at your feet and learn the folly of discre- tion ! " " Madge, breakfast is ready ? " called Mrs. Jack- son from the piazza above us, and as we returned to the house in answer to her summons, I said, — " Now, Miss Madge, pleasure would incline me to remain here with you in the garden, but discretion bids me hasten to the breakfast table ! " " While common sense might possibly suggest," she added gayly, " that you would remain here by yourself." " Well, Harry," said Jim, after kissing Madge and shaking hands with me, as we entered the breakfast room, " a night's sleep in the piney woods has done you good. Depend upon it, there's noth- ing like it. Why, you look as fresh as the rose in your buttonhole ! Not much of a rose, by the way, though it is Madge's favorite. It does very well in the bud, gives good promise, but does not open up well — all hollow inside. I don't like that style, either in the vegetable or animal kingdom, do you ? Though, by the way, that is rather applicable to my own feelings just at present ! " Nero, have ' Buckshot ' and the wagon at the EUSTIS. 63 door at nine sharp. Hear ? " And turning to me again, he continued, " I suppose you have not changed your mind about going to the polls with me this morning ? " " O no ! " I replied, " I am anxious to see the sport ! " " Well, in point of fact," he said, " it amounts to little else, for, of course, you know, most of niy negroes vote as I tell them to, and the same with those of the other gentlemen about here. It should be so, for our interests are identical. You might as well take your 'Winchester' along with you, for we may get a crack at an alligator on the way, January told me he saw one at the bridge last night." After breakfast we lighted our cigars and went to the garden gate, where a spirited looking thorough- bred, harnessed to an open wagon, was waiting for us, with* Nero at his restless head. Jim jumped into the wagon and I after him, rifle in hand. " Now, Nero, give him his head ! " cried Jim, and with a rear and a plunge away we sped, out of the sunlight and down the shady avenue at a breakneck pace ! " He's a little lively this morning," said Jim, puffing away complacently at his cigar and without making an effort to restrain his running thorough- bred. His remark hardly seemed to call for a reply ; so I said nothing, but clung firmly to the seat, expecting at any moment to be flung into the un- derbrush ac the side of the avenue. 64 EUSTIS. He did, however, check the beast for an instant, with a firm hand, as we swept out of the gate and down the long straight road through the forest. " He will tire himself out in a couple of miles or so," he said, indifferently, " and be as gentle as a lamb the rest of the morning." Jim evidently knew his horse, for after another ten minutes of anxiety on my part, he came down, panting, to a quiet trot, and I was free to settle my- self in comfort, relight my neglected cigar, and enjoy tho coolness and fragrance of the woods. " This is the place where January saw the alliga- tor," said Jim, at length drawing in his horse, as we neared a wooden bridge, over a small stream ; and through the underbrush on my left, I could see the glinting surface of a boggy-looking pond. " Now, get your rifle ready, and keep very quiet. By Jove ! there he is ! " whispered Jim, as we stopped at the end of the thicket, next to the bridge. I followed the direction of his eyes and there upon the black trunk of a tree that had fallen across the swamp some thirty yards away, lay, at full length, the brown monster, basking in the sun. " Strike him just behind the shoulder," whispered Jim, as I raised my rifle. I took deliberate aim and fired. " Bravo, Harry ! well done ! " shouted Eustis, as with a sweep of his great tail, the beast plunged into the black water, and sank out of sight. " I'm afraid I missed him," I said, feeling rather chagrined at this sudden disappearance. EU8TIS. 65 « Not a bit of it, old fellow ! His hunting days are over. Didn't you see him swing his arm up over the water as he went down ? That is their way of saying good-by to the world. It's a sure sign the shot was fatal." "Will he not come to the surface again? I should like to get a nearer view of him ; he must have been ten feet long." " All of that," answered Jim, " he may come up in a couple of hours or so ; but we could never reach him through the swamp." " It seems a pity, though, to leave him to go to pieces so near the road," said I, as we drove on, thinking of the unpleasant probability of passing that way again in the course of a week or two. " O, no ! " replied Jim, as we started on ; " the buzzards will soon scent him out and make short work of him." As we neared the spot where the vox 2Jopuli was about to manifest itself, we passed, from time to time, groups of rough and ragged-looking negroes, plodding quietly along in the same direction as our- selves. Both in dress and physiognomy, these rice-field negroes were more uncivilized and wretched-looking than any of the race I had hitherto seen, and, as I afterwards learned, it was impossible for one not brought up among them to understand their pecu- liar jargon. But though a sulky, surly-looking set, 1 noticed that, with few exceptions, they smiled pleasantly as they touched their hats in answer to 66 EUSTIS. Jim's morning greeting. How he recognized them all, addressing each by name, seemed marvellous to me, in whose eyes they differed only in their dress and size. At length we came to a white picket-fence, sur- rounding the poultry yard and kitchen garden of a long, low building with its back towards us, and facing on an opening, where the crossing of two roads gave the Corner its name. The building, which served for dwelling, post- office, grocery store and polling station was raised from the ground on wooden posts, thereby afford- ing shelter to many swine. Covered piazzas, with delapidated steps ran the entire length of the building, on the front and rear. Glass and window sashes there were none, but the openings for air and ventilation were protected by wooden shutters against the cold and rain. We drove up to the end of the fence, where Jim hitched "Buckshot" to one of the palings; and then, after warning me of the light fingers of the negroes, we proceeded with whip and gun in hand, down the road to " the Corner." On turning the end of the house, what was our astonishment to find ourselves confronted by an encampment of two hundred or more negroes. They were lying about in groups upon the grass, with muskets stacked near by, while here and there fires of fagots were burning, with gipsy kettles hung above them upon tripods. " What the devil does all this mean ? " exclaimed EUSTI8. 67 Jim, as a tall, thin, swarthy, red-nosed man ap- proached us. whose long black hair fell below the collar of his coat. " They're a bad lot, Mr. Eustis ! " answered the man, whom I afterwards found to be the postmaster. " They came over from the next county before day^ break and say, they'se going to carry the 'lection to-day, anyhow." " Why didn't you send the rascals home, Jones, with a couple of loads of buckshot in them ? " asked Jim. "Well, you see," replied our postmaster, in a monotonous drawl, " there's only me and Ned, and they'se rather too many for us, with that man Armstrong to lead um. He'd beat the devil him- self ! And there's scarce a nigger among um would dare act contrary when he's around! Some of your boys is with um, Mr. Eustis, but mostly they kep' out of the way." " I'll soon put a stop to that," said Jim excitedly, " Halloo, Sam ! " he called to a negro sitting on the steps, near by, " go down among those rascals and tell my boys to go home at once, or I'll cut off their rations from Mr. Jones for the next month, and tell Tom Armstrong I've just a word to say to him ! " Most of the negroes were some little distance from AvherG we were standing, and though, perhaps, they could not catch the words, the sound of Jim's voice raised in excitement, aroused them to sullen watchfulness. They were an unpleasant-looking set, and, feeling that Jim was in no mood to calm 68 :EUSTI8, the troubled waters, even if he did not actually imperil our safety, I suggested quietly that, perhaps, our best course would be to go home and let the courts, or other higher authorities see that justice was done to the county. He looked up at me with quick suspicion and said, — "Very well, Harry, you go back to the wagon and unhitch the horse. I will not keep you waiting long." I did not think it necessary to reply, and stayed with him to see the issue. A moment later, a large, powerful-looking negro, gun in hand, approached us from the crowd. He came steadily on with a swinging, shuffling gait. The brim of his felt hat was drawn close down upon his shaggy brows, and from beneath their ugly scowl, shone a pair of small, beady black eyes. He was a shade or two lighter in coloring than most of his fellows, and his high cheek-bones and com- paratively straight nose, suggested a slight admix- ture of Indian blood. His army-blue trousers, hung several inches short of his long ankles and ponderous ill-clad feet. His flannel shirt, half open to the waist, disclosed a thick, muscular neck and hirsute breast ; and the remnants of an old black coat, whose sleeves, scarcely reaching below the elbows, left bare his sinewy wrists and arms, com- pleted his attire. A creature not pleasant to con- template as a peer and equal ; nor one to be chosen as a companion for a dark night in the forest ! EU8TIS. 69 The negroes, who had hitherto been sitting or lying on the grass, now arose, unstacked their arms, and drew a trifle nearer. "Well, Armstrong," said Jim, when the negro reached us, and stood leaning upon his gun, with both hands crossed upon its muzzle, " What do you mean by bringing a crowd of armed men into the county ? " " What do we mean, Misser Jim ? " he retorted, with an insulting sneer, " Why, we mean to carry de 'lection, Misser Jim, dat's what we mean, and we'se gwine to do it, too. We'se gwine to hab our rights ! " I saw the color rising to Jim's face, but he re- plied with composure. "Why, Armstrong, this is all nonsense, your votes will amount to nothing here, they will all be thrown out, and you and those poor devils you have brought over with you, will stand in danger of the chain-gang." '^ What you took me f o', Misser Jim. You can't come ober dis colored man. Guess we knows our rights. White man wore de breeches long enough ! But deys better go home and look arter de chick- ens, now ! " " Well, you're a fool, Armstrong, and you'd best look out for yourself after this. If you're caught again in this county, it will be as much as your life's worth, and the buzzards will get some poor pickings ! " said Jim, turning angrily away. " Hold on, Misser Jim. Don't try to talk big like 70 EUSTIS. dat. De bottom rail 's on top. All de bnckra in de county can't keep dis nigger away ! I'se like to see um try. I'se not scared o'you or any udder white trash!" " You black hound ! " cried Jim, turning upon him with eyes all ablaze ; and quick as a flash ho dealt him a stinging blow with his whip, full across the face. The negro stepped backward with a howl of pain and rage, and in a moment had covered Jim with his musket. The instant Jim struck the blow, the other ne- groes, with a wild yell, came rushing down upon us. It was only the work of a second, and I had knocked up Armstrong's gun and placed the muzzle of my Winchester close against his head, " Drop your gun or I'll blow your head off, you scoundrel ! " I shouted. The touch of the cold steel upon his cheek seemed to bring him at once to reason, and he obeyed me. This sudden change in the aspect of affairs, and the somewhat precarious position of their leader, brought the negroes to a standstill within a dozen yards of us, and I succeeded in quieting them still further, by explaining, with such emphasis as I had at com- mand, that besides the ball for Armstrong, there were sixteen more in my rifle for them if they dared to move. In the mean time Jim had picked up the negroe's discarded blunderbuss, and Jones, who at the first sound of approaching strife had rushed to the house, EUSTIS. 71 now returned with his son, 'Ned, both armed with long, dangerous-looking rifles. With mine still at his head, I ordered Armstrong to move on, while Jim kept a sharp lookout for any movement on the part of the threatening mass of blacik men in our rear. In this manner we proceeded to the wagon, and, as we turned the corner of the house, the negroes gave vent to their feelings of anger and defeat in a burst of wild yells and shouts. However, they did not follow us. We made our burly prisoner seat himself on the floor of the wagon behind us, and, having carried him a mile or more up the road, dropped him by the wayside, after imparting some sound and wholesome advice, which he received in dogged silence. As we were about to drive on, he raised for an in- stant his brutal face, and fixing his eyes on Jim, said, — " You'll hear of me again, Misser Jim ! " " Yes," Jim answered, " I expect to, right soon, and in the chain-gang. But, mind, Tom, what I told you about coming this side of the river ! " and with that we left him by the roadside, where he stood motionless until we were out of sight. " Well, Jim, rather a narrow escape," said I to my companion, who had been silent for an unusual length of time. " Yes," he said, " and if it had not been for you, we should have been carried up under the Oaks, feet foremost to-night." He spoke quietly, and, from his 72 EUSTIS. manner, I savr that something was weighing on his mind. Suddenly, he looked up at me, with moist eyes, and, in his impetuous way, went on, — " By Jove, old fellow ! you must forgive my doubting you for one moment. I ought to have known you too well." "Nonsense, man," I said, interrupting him with a hearty slap on the back. " Mind your horse, or you'll have us both in the ditch." We said little after this, each being occupied with his own thoughts. To me this outburst of lawlessness on the part of the blacks was most surprising, for I had read much of their oppression, and how, with an iron hand, they were held in bonds more terrible than those of slavery. My conversations with Southerners had led me to believe that there was nothing to be feared from the blacks, and I had shared, in a measure, their con- tempt for them, as physical antagonists. I had thought them an utterly servile race, and here, almost upon our first acquaintance, they had shown themselves free in action, insolent in bearing, and not devoid of courage. In fact, I found them more unruly and dangerous than I had supposed ; and it seemed to me it could be hardly safe to live in these country districts, sur- rounded by their largely outnumbering population, until they should have reached a higher state of civilization. Jim dropped me at the gate of the Oaks, and con- EUSTIS. 73 tinned on his way to another polling place of the county, where his vote was properly recorded. When he came home to lunch, he said that after telling of our adventure to the men at the Polls, he had great difficulty in dissuading them from riding down in force to the comer, and driving the negroes over the border. It will, however, be a matter of satisfaction to my readers to know that the fraudulent vote was, in due course, very properly rejected by the higher powers, and the county returned with an over- whelming white majority ! 74 EUSTIS. CHAPTER VII. MADGE. TIM had to attend to matters of importance on his ^ plantation that afternoon, and Mrs. Jackson had letters to write, so it was arranged that Madge and I should go to drive. My companion j^roved as agreeable as she was pretty. She had much of her brother's liveliness of disposition, and seemed to be fairly brimming over with coquetry ; while her naivete and inno- cence of speech often betrayed her youth and inex- perience. She was more than pretty, and she naturally knew it. Her face was as changeful as that of the sea on a sj^ring day, when the shadows chase the sunlight over it ; one moment grave, and the next smiling mischievously up at you out of her bright gray eyes ! Dangerous eyes and a dangerous smile. Miss Madge, for the unwary I On our return we passed the avenue of Palmetto Grove, and learned from a negro boy who was swinging on the gate, that the Lees were expected home that night. As we drove on again, Madge said, — " Now, Harry, you will have a great rival in Jim's EUSTIS. 75 affections ! What a pity it is, you did not like Mary ! It would have been such fun to have seen you and Jim at swords' points ! He would become perfectly wild if he thought he had a really dan- gerous rival ! What a delightful little romance we might have had this winter, if you had not taken this unaccountable prejudice ! " The j^icture was not a pleasant one, but I did not think it necessary to set my fair companion right. Presently she continued, "I believe you have been abroad for several years, have you not? O how much I should like to go ! Do you know, I have never been out of this State since I was a child ? " " And how many years ago was that ? " I asked. " You need not laugh at me, sir ! " she answered, *' I am really getting very old. I was eighteen last May, and my grandmother was only fourteen when she was married." " I had no idea you were such a Methuselah ! " I rejoined, " have you learned to look forward with equanimity to maidenhood during your declining years?" " That can only come from my declining men, I assure you," she retorted, and then after a moment's pause went on, " Men are so silly ! They seem to be always falling in love and offering themselves ! They are ready to swear everlasting devotion to girls they have not met a dozen times ! The fun- niest part is that I think they really believe what they are saying, at the time, and sometimes almost 76 EUSTIS. persuade us to believe it too ! They rant and rave until they have reduced us to a terrible state of agitation and remorse, and within a week after they have left us, some other girl says to us, ' O, my dear, I had such a scene yesterday with Mr. so-and-so ! I feel very badly about it too, for I think he really cares for me ; but what could I say ? ' The joke of the matter is, that the men most given to that sort of thing, are the very ones who could not afford to marry, if we should say yes ! " " Why, then, do they do it, if it can lead to noth- ing?" I asked. " Why do they do it ? " she replied, with a little laugh, as she poised her head slightly on one side, and looked up at me, " Who can tell ? Really I am unable to enlighten you ! However, perhaps, they like the excitement of scenes ! Thrilling love scenes without the audience ! Then, too, I do not think they would object to being engaged, even if they could not marry ! " "I can imagine little pleasure in that." I an- swered, prosaically. " Ah ! what charming innocence ! " said she, with a quizzical smile, " How utterly devoid of imagina- tion you Northerners are ! You must, as you said, be the personification of discretion ! And yet, do you know, I thought discretion was the result only of experience." " No ! " I replied, " you do me more than justice, I assure you, I fear discretion with me, has been EUSTIS, 77 merely lack of temptation. But, honestly, I cannot imagine offering one's self without being thoroughly in earnest." " Oh ! they all are that," she said, " but I do trust that nothing will happen this winter to disturb the beauty of your philosophy. I shall warn all my friends not to lead you into temptation. It would be a terrible pity to spoil such an excellent young man ! " " Such certainly does not appear to be your in- tention," I answered laup'hing. " You would not have me, would you ? " she said, looking up again into my face. But at this moment we drew up at the garden gate, where Jim stood waiting for us, and nothing more was said. Jim drove the horse to the stable, and, as I followed Madge through the garden, she sto23ped to pick a rosebud and then turning to me, said — " I see you have kept the flower I gave you this morn- ing, so you shall be rewarded with a fresh one." So saying she took the faded rose from my coat and put it in her hair. Then in a hesitating tone she added, while she fastened the fresh bud in my buttonhole, "But perhaps you do not care for it ? " " How can I do otherwise ? " I answered. " Very well, then," she replied, " as long as I consider you sufficiently polite and attentive, I shall keep you well supplied ; but remember, I am very exacting ! " and with that she ran lightly up the steps and into the house. 78 EUSTI8. That evening, on the piazza, after dinner, Mrs. Jackson said, " I am worried about this trouble of yours with Armstrong, Jim." " Why so, my sweet sister ? I think Harry and I taught him a lesson to-day he will not soon forget." " Well, I am afraid of him, Jim ! He is such a desperate character. He is not a man to forget what he considers an injury and would hesitate at nothing to avenge it. I am confident he will at- tempt something in retaliation ! Do take good care of yourself, Jim. You know, as well as I do, how dangerous he is." " Don't let your anxiety get the better of your good sense, my dear girl," said Jim, " He knows after what I told him, that it will be as much as his life is worth to venture on this side of the river. He is, no doubt, an insolent, daring, fellow enough, but still, he has some appreciation of the value of his black hide !" " Has he ever done anything before ? " I asked. " O, yes," said Mrs. Jackson, " for the last ten years there has been no piece of rascality committed in the county, in which he has not taken part. He used to belong to the Lees and was supposed to have shot their overseer, against whom he bore a grudge. But it was never proved, and he escaped the hanging he, no doubt, richly deserved. After that, he was- sold to some one in Alabama, but eight or ten years ago, he wandered back to his old haunts. If your rifle had been accidentally dis- EUSTIS. 79 charged to-day, it would have freed the County of a great pest ! " " By the way, Madge," said Jim, changing the subject, " your friend, the Major, is coming up to- morrow to dine and pass the night. Now don't flirt with the poor fellow ! I warn you ! We should prefer not to have him shooting wild on Friday, as we are going to the " ten acre drive," where the stands are at best rather uncomfortably near each other ! " What do you mean by flirting, Jim ? " asked Madge, looking up at her brother with innocent composure, as he stood beside her chair. " You little goose ! " he answered laughing, "ask any of the half-dozen men you have seen in the last six months." " Really, if you wish me to mind you, I think you might tell me what you mean. Now, when, for in- stance, you say awfully sweet little things to Mary, do you call that flirting ? " " Do not tempt me to box your ears and send you to bed. Miss Impertinence," said Jim, laying a hand on each of her shoulders, and, at the same time, bending down his smiling face to hide his blushes. " Well, I think I understand you, Jimmy," she rejoined, " and I promise not to say any sweet little things to the Major ; but you must be equally good to Mary, or I shall not ask her to dinner to- morrow." "Why, when are they expected?" he asked quickly. 80 EUSTIS. " They arrived to-night. So Scipio told us at the gate." As the twilight deepened into night, Jim retired to attend to some business in his study, and shortly after, the ladies went into the house, leaving me alone with my reflections and cigar. I had much to think of, for to-morrow I should, in all 23robability, see Miss Lee again ; and the many hints let fall since my arrival at the Eustis's showed me plainly how delicate my position would become, if I allowed my admiration for her to grow into a deeper sentiment. If I had been actually in love the problem would have been altogether different, and, to my mind, capable of but one solution ; but, as I told myself, I, very fortunately, had not yet arrived at that point, and was, therefore, free to forward the interests of my host. And, in view of these plain facts, why could I not dismiss the matter ? Why should I feel a vague depression at the thought of my friend's good luck? Well, perhaps it is always rather hard to part with any romantic pos- sibility of life, even if it is first recognized when we must give it up. I assuredly had not been in love, and yet there had been a certain sentiment — a sympathy — a some- thing indefinable in our intercourse, that made the recollection of our voyage very pleasant to me ; and now, for the first time, I realized with how much interest I had looked forward to the renewal of our acquaintance. EUSTIS. 81 It was fortunate — most fortunate — that I had dis- covered the state of the case in time. Not of course that I should have become Eustis's successful rival, but I might, at least, have made my own life wretched. And when, for the hundredth time, I had come to this sage conclusion, I retired for the night to dream of a girlish face, blushing at the rude kiss of the southeaster. 82 EU8TIS. CHAPTER X. THE OAKS. rpHE next day, before breakfast, while Madge and I were' chatting together on the front piazza, we saw Jim come riding up the avenue at a canter on his thoroughbred, " Dangerous," and soon after he joined us. " Why, Jim," said Madge, when he had kissed her, "where have you been at such an early hour?" " I went over to ' Palmetto Grove ' to arrange with the Captain for the hunt to-morrow." " O, you went to see the Captain, did you ? " she asked, in a half-bantering tone. " Why, child, who else should I have been likely to see at this time in the morning ? " And then, turning to me, he continued, " We shall probably have Major Barnwell, Colonel Shorter and Mr. Holland with us to-morrow, and that, with the Cap- tain, will make six in all ; so we shall cover the ' ten- acre drive ' well. It will be somebody's fault, I expect, if we don't bring home some good venison." "Yes, but Jim," persisted Madge, "are you quite sure you saw nobody but the Captain ? " " No, I saw Peter. He held my horse. By the way, speaking of Peter, Harry " EUSTIS. 83 " I was not speaking of Peter, Jim, nor of Harry, either," she said, laughing. "Who else did you see 9" Mrs. Lee, for a moment, and she asked me "And Mary?" interrupted Madge, determined not to be driven from her point. " And Mary, confound it ! " he assented, laugh- ing, " yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes ! and look- ing as bright and fresh as a rose in the morning ! Now please let me alone, you plague ! you good for nothing tease!" he continued, patting her gently on the cheek, as she looked saucily up into his face. " Fresh as a rose in the morning ! " she repeated. " O, that reminds me, I have not given Harry his rose to-day ! " and with that she ran gayly down the piazza steps, while Eustis and I went to the break- fast room. A moment later she returned with a bright flush upon her face. " Why, Jim ! " she exclaimed, " there is not a good rose left upon my bush, and I saw at least twenty there last night ! Who can have taken them?" " Probably, Jim thought the bush needed prun- ing," said Mrs. Jackson, demurely. "I saw him wasting a good deal of his valuable time in the gar- den, before he set off this morning ! Perhaps he took the clippings to Mrs. Lee, she is so fond of flowers, you know ! " The guilty color betrayed Jim's ill-concealed S4 EUSTIS. little secret. But he said nothing, and received Madge's expostulations with a half-conscious smile, which seemed to say that he had no reason and, in- deed, no longer the desire to defend himself from her attacks. Did I envy him his canter to " Palmetto Grove ? " Well, yes, perhaps I did, a trifle, for the day was fair, and the woods cool and fresh in the early morning ! After breakfast, Jim and I rambled about The Oaks, but, as the day promised to be a warm one, the ladies did not join us. We visited the stables, with their half a dozen well stalled horses, and perhaps as many mules. We inspected the kennel, with its pack of short- legged, long-eared, sleek, sullen-looking hounds. Dogs that could be trained to follow the trail either of deer or man. Their enclosure was surrounded by a high picket-fence, with rails sunk a foot or more into the ground, to prevent them from bur- rowing out, and in the centre stood a low, roughly built shed, by the side of a sluggish brook that made its way through the yard. Near by was the old log cabin of the huntsman, its chimney built of laths and clay against the gable end. An oak-tree cast its shadow on the mossy roof, and at the door sat Pompey, adjusting a leathern thong to his hunting horn. He arose at our approach and touched his hat. He was a tall, thin, white-headed old man, with bright clear eyes, and erect, vigorous carriage. He had acted as EUSTIS. 85 huntsman at the Oaks for two generations, and was familiar with every swamp and brier patch in the County. " We are going to try the * Ten-acre Drive ' to- morrow, Pompey, and shall start at six in the morning. There will, probably, be six of us, Captain Lee, Major Barnwell, Colonel Shorter, Mr. Holland, Mr. Strong, and myself. I shall take the stand on the Schoolhouse Road, and shall place Mr. Strong by the three trees in the woods on my right, where I shot that doe last spring. Has * Spotted Tail ' come back yet ? " " Yes, Massa Jim, ums come in las' night — all use up and fag out. I'se hea' um barkin' in de woods yesday. Guess ums arter de rabbits. Ums no good, Massa Jim. Better shoot de old bitch ! " "Well, leave her in the kennel to-morrow. Be on hand sharp at six, Pompey. Hear ? " " Yes, Massa Jim." " By the way, here's a plug of tobacco, Pompey. It will keep that old pipe of yours full for a day or two." Leaving the old man and the hounds, we strolled on down the woodland path for a quarter of a mile or more to the bank of the river which separated, with its dark current. The Oaks proper from the rice plantation. From the bluff, on which, after emerging from the woods, we stood, some twenty feet above the river, we looked down upon the rice-fields, and the marshes stretching away for many miles beyond, to 86 EUSTIS. where a narrow strip of blue told us they ended in the sea. Along the belt of open land upon the bluff, both to the right and left of us, was a row of cabins, some twenty or thirty in number, facing the river, and backing upon well-tilled kitchen gardens. This was the plantation settlement, and as there was but little work in progress at this season, most of the negroes, men, women, and children* were sitting and lying about in the sunshine before their cabins, doing absolutely nothing; although a few, more energetic than the rest, were fishing in a lazy way from flat-bottomed boats anchored in the stream below the bluff. The first cabin to the right was larger than the others, and boasted the additional luxury of a covered piazza, entirely surrounded by a high rail- ing, with access by a gate above the steps. This, Jim informed me, was the nursery, and thither, when in busy times the men and women were alike called into the fields, all the little children of the settlement were carried in the morning, and left in charge of some old crone whose working days were over, to be again dis- tributed among their parents when they returned in the twilight from their labors. Poor youngsters ! 1 did not envy them their quarters ! And I pitied, even more, the unfortunate old woman whose lot it was to keep watch over this squalling, turbulent throng, through the long hot hours of a midsummer's day ! EUSTIS. 87 They were a rough, unkempt community, scantily and raggedly dressed. The women wore colored calico dresses, with skirts falling just below the knee, and gaudy turbans, mostly red and yellow, which gave a certain picturesqueness to their ap- pearance ; and some of the men, in lieu of coats and shirts, wore burlaps, with slits for head and arms, and with the brands of the grain or fertilizer for which they were originally intended, still legible upon them. We hailed a boat and, crossing the river, walked for a time over the long straight dikes. I examined the rude dams and sluice ways, and gathered some information as to the method of flooding and drain- ing these vast fields, and of drawing up and nurturing the sprouting rice under the gentle influence of a gradually deepening irrigation, until it should have gained sufficient size and strength to withstand, un- aided, the scorching summer heat. A method of culture requiring careful handling, but rewarding with its magnificent results all the attention it demands ; and haj^py is the man who, spared by the dreaded autumnal flood, gathers the well-earned crop into his cribs and mill. We returned home in time for lunch, having heart- ily enjoyed our morning ramble and very sharp-set for the mid-day meal. After lunch as I was sitting on the piazza, smok- ing and -glancing through the columns of a local newspaper, the blinds of the parlor window near me were thrown open and Madge, leaning out upon the window sill, interrupted my reading. 88 EUSTIS. " What do you find so absorbing in that old paper, Harry?" she asked. " I had just finished," I replied, " this glowing obituary upon Mr. Dibbles and a brilliant description of Miss Elmira Tompkins and her wedding, and was wondering whether all the men about here are as wonderful and the women as beautiful as these two!" " Of course our men are great and our women beautiful," she exclaimed, " you must see that your- self ! " " I suppose, at any rate, I shall have to admit the latter," I answered. She waited a moment before answering, and then said, hesitatingly, — " I am going to ask a great favor of you, Harry ! Do you feel very tired this afternoon ? " That dejDends somewhat upon the extent of your demands. Miss Madge ! Now, if you wish an egg from the nest at the top of that old pine down there, I may be obliged to plead fatigue, for the sun, you know, was very hot on the rice-fields this morn- ing. But if, on the other hand, you ask me to stroll with you down the avenue, or through the woods to the river, you will find me possessed " " You do talk as if you were possessed ! " she cried, interrupting me. " No, I am not going to require anything so adventurous or delightful as you suggest ! But it seems Jim forgot to ask the Lees to dinner to-night, and now he has been sent for to go down to the plantation, and sister and I are both EUSTIS. 89 busy this afternoon. Would you mind going over there with a message for me ? " she asked, as if half doubting my reply. I felt my face flush, but restrained the alacrity with which I was about to answer, and said, quietly, — " No, certainly not, if you wish it." She evidently mistook my expression and added, as if to lighten an unwelcome task, " You know, you need not stay. But I have no doubt you will find them very pleasant. They are always kind and hospitable. You don't really mind going, do you?" " O, not in the least, I assure you. It is just a pleasant walk," " You can ride if you prefer." " No, thank you, I would rather walk this after- noon." " Very well, then, I will bring you a note in a moment. I am ever so much obliged," she said, with a smile as she closed the blind. Presently, she returned and I started on my way. When I reached the garden gate I turned for a moment to look back. Madge was still standing, upon the piazza leaning against the railing, and, as she waved her hand, she said, " When you come home, Harry, I will try to reward you for your good nature." I walked down the avenue and along the public road until I came to a footpath diverging into the woods on my right, which, I had been told, would lead me by a short cut to Palmetto Grove. 90 EUSTIS. It was a pretty winding path with the under- brush growing thick and green on either side, and, as I strolled slowly on, my thoughts were so full of the coming meeting and of Jim's attachment for my fair travelling companion, that I was not altogether pleasantly surprised, on emerging suddenly from the woods, to find myself at the end of my walk. An acre or more of rose garden lay before me with well-trimmed box borders around beds of every shape and size, and across it stood a long, low, white house with its broad piazza closed in with vines. Behind the house rose the dark background of forest pines, while to the . left and half shut out by the shrubs bordering that side of the garden, was the universal white picket-fence of the back- yard. The afternoon sun lay bright on house and garden. Not a soul was in sight, and scarce a sound dis- turbed the peaceful stillness of the scene, as I stood for a moment in the shadow of the woods to enjoy its quiet beauty. Suddenly the silence was broken by the notes of a piano coming from the open win- dows of the house, followed by the music of a voice whose sweet full tones I could not mistake. I knew the song. It was " Waiting," and as I listened to the pensive expression of its opening bars, for a mo- ment I felt that it might be sung for me. It was only for a moment, and then smiling at the absurd- ity of the thought I left the woods and went quickly up the garden path. The last cadence had died away upon the air be- EUSTIS. 91 fore I reached the house. I ascended the steps, and walked along the piazza to an open window at the end, making at the same time, sufficient noise to give warning of my approach. On reaching it, I looked in and saw Miss Lee sitting at the piano op- posite and just across the room. As if to ascertain who the intruder might be she had turned half round and faced the window. She uttered a famt exclamation of surj^rise, and came forward to meet me with smiling face and outstretched hand. " Why, Mr. Strong ! I am very glad to see you," she said. " It seems a long time since we took our sea voyage together, does it not ? " " Yes," I re})lied, " it is impossible for me to re- alize that I have been here such a little while, the Eustises have managed to make me feel so thor- oughly at home ! " "1 knew you would like the girls ! Is not Madge as pretty as I told you ? " she asked. "I think her handsome, rather than pretty," I answered, " and altogether one of the most attrac- tive girls I ever met. And such a flow of si)irits ! " " Yes, she is always bright and pleasant," she said, motioning me to a chair near the open window. " I am sorry my father and mother are out driving this afternoon, they will be so disaj^pointed not to have seen you ! " " By the way, that reminds me of Miss Madge's note," I said, handing it to her. "They hope you will all come over to dinner this evening. I believe Jim forgot to deliver the message." 92 EUSTI8. "Yes? he is rather forgetful, but you must for- give him this time, for he was too much interested in telling of your adventure at the polls yesterday to think of anything else ! " " Well, I am very ready to forgive anything that gave me the opportunity of coming here ! But tell me," I added, to change the subject, " why is your place called ' Palmetto grove ? ' " " If you are not too tired for a little stroll, I will show you" she said, and in answer to my prompt reply she left me to get her hat. It was a pretty parlor in which I sat — low-stud- ded and cozy ; furnished in an old-fashioned way, and free from the bric-a-brac, old-curiosity-shop, appearance of the modern drawing-room. Old por- traits, more or less good, hung upon the walls, and among them I recognized one by Copley of some ancestral grandmother, taken in the prime of womanhood. The square, low-cut black silk dress displayed to full advantage the marble neck and swan-like throat ; while one wrist resting on the corner of a table, near which she sat, gave ample opportunity for those gentle curves of arm and drooping hand that the artist loved so well. On the mantel-shelf stood a miniature by Malbone, in a velvet frame, of a young man with long black wavy hair and incipient beard. The complexion was clear and ruddy, and the bright piercing eyes seemed to look with the expression of life, frankly and fearlessly into your own. It was painted with all the delicacy and strength of the master's hand, EUSTIS. 93 and was, no doubt, a portrait of the Caj^tain's father, taken during the great and gentle artist's sojourn in the South. At one end of the room was an open fireplace, with brass andirons and fender, on either side of which stood large Chinese vases of white and blue. Most of the furniture was of mahogany inlaid with brass. Some old-fashioned, straight-backed chairs were placed here and there against the wall, but to better accord with the more luxurious fashion of the present generation several heavily uj^holstered easy-chairs were scattered about the room. The entire arrangement of the parlor bespoke a refined and homelike taste, while the books and papers on the centre-table showed plainly that this was the general " living-room " of the family. On a little table, near the garden window, was a vase of roses like those with which Miss Madge had made me familiar, and I did not doubt that they were the spoils of Jim's morning depredation. Miss Lee soon returned and we went out together into the grove of pines, on the opposite side of the house from the rose garden, and on emerging from it found ourselves standing near the edge of a bluff some thirty or forty feet above the river and its marshy banks, and with an extended view to north and east and south. It was a landscape with which I was rapidly becoming familiar. The only type of scenery in this level land which could boast the attraction ot distance, and, perhaps, on this account, it had already 94 EUSTI8. found much favor in my sight, who had been accustomed to a hilly country with its comprehensive views. The broad river wound in and out among the marshes and in the middle of the stream, a quarter of a mile or more away, was a little island covered with a dense growth of trees and shrubs reaching to the very water's edge in tropical luxuriance. The western sun fell full upon it, and it rose high above the vast expanse of marshes around it, like an oasis in the desert. Many birds were skimming through the air above it in circling and uncertain flight, and as I looked a large white heron rose from amongst the verdure on its banks, and winged its way across the marshes until lost to sight in the soft hazy dis- tance. There was a rustic bench beneath the shadow of the pines and we sat down together to enjoy the view. A gentle breeze came in from the sea, laden with the peculiar odor of the salt marsh. How long we sat there I do not know, nor do I remember what was said, probably nothing of importance in itself. But we drifted half idly on from thought to thought in pleasant sympathy, forgetful of the hour, until at last we were warned by the lengthening shadows and arose to return to the house. As we walked back through the pine grove, it was flooded with a golden light, that seemed to fill all the air above and around us, and — a sensation rarely experienced elsewhere — we appeared to be not simply looking at the sunset, but absolutely EUSTIS. 95 standing in the midst of its bewildering bright- ness " How beautiful this is ! " I said as we left the woods and approached the house, " I never saw such a deluge of golden light ! Do you remember what a fine sunset we had at sea, the first day I met you?" " O yes," she answered " and how you said you should not remember it ! " " JS'o, not that exactly," I replied, " I think I said I should not remember it simply for itself. But I do remember it well ! " " Then, I suppose, you must have had a particu- larly good supper that evening ! " " Yes, that was probably it ! " I returned laugh- ing. " Have you heard from your friend, Mr. Brown, since he went to Florida ? " inquired Mary. "No." I answered, "but I hardly expect to hear from him. We have never corresponded. I hope the change of climate will do the poor fellow good and, no doubt, this trip will at least widen his men- tal horizon." "Why, do you think him wanting in intelli- gence ? " she asked. " No, not at all ! But this is his first experience of the outside world, and it will probably remove some of his provincial prejudices." " I think papa took rather a fancy to him," she said. " He considered him original, and altogether a character ! He has asked him to stop with us when he leaves Florida." m EUSTI8. " Has he ? That was very kind of him ! " " O, not at all," she answered. " He likes to meet new people, and especially young people." By this time we had reached the piazza steps, and, as I held out my hand to bid her good-by, I said, — " By the way, you have forgotten to show me the Palmetto Grove. I shall reserve it for my next call." " Very well," said she, " I will not be so remiss when you come again ! Tell Madge she may ex- pect us at dinner. Good-by, for the present ! " I shook her hand and left her standing there in the deepening light. The vines so full and green trailing up the lattice at her side and waving their sprays above her head, seemed a befitting framework for the sweet face and graceful form, thrown out in strong relief by the dark shadow of the piazza. If I had been an artist I should have passed many an hour in striving to reproduce the picture, and, no doubt, in the vain endeavor should have sacrified the vividness of the impression that now remains upon my mind. EUSTIS. 97 CHAPTER IX. THE DINNER. nnilE twilight settled clown rapidly into night, and when I reached home it was almost dark. The lights were burning in the parlor, and Madge was sitting by the centre-table reading. I delivered my message through the open window, and sat down on the piazza for a few moments to rest. Presently, I heard Mrs. Jackson enter the parlor, and say, — "Did you have a pleasant walk with Harry, Madge ? " " No, we did not go," she answered, very quietly. " Why, Madge, I thought when I saw you put- ting on your hat, you said you were going out to- gether." " Well, we did not," she replied, with some little impatience. There was a short pause, and then I heard Mrs. Jackson say, inquiringly, — " Surely, you have not been quarrelling, Madge ? " " What perfect nonsense, sister. Of course not. Harry went over to the Lees for me, and did not return in time, that was all." I arose and went to the open window. 98 EUSTIS. " Madge," I said, " why did you not tell me you expected me back to walk with you ? " "Really, it was not of sufficient consequence," she answered. I saw that she was not in an altogether amiable mood, and, thinking it best to say nothing more, I went to my room to get ready for dinner. I re- membered Madge's promise to reward me for my errand, and supposed she was provoked at being thwarted in her kindly intention by my delay. It seemed, however, rather unjust to make me the victim of her displeasure, when she had given me no intimation of her plans. "Well," I thought to myself, as I finished my toilet. " Although I do not pretend to understand the caprices of woman, certain I am that you, for one. Miss Madge, shall not take up arms against me on such slight provocation as this." As I descended from my room, a light buff over- coat and a spick-and-span sole leather portmanteau in the hall, told me of the arrival of Mr. Amsterdam Holland, of New York. Mr. Holland had, like my- self, come South for the winter in search of pleasure. He was of an excellent family, and reputed to be rich. He had brought letters to Jim, and had, in consequence, been asked to spend a week at " The Oaks." As, however, he has little to do with my story, it will be enough to state that he was a youth of medium height, light hair and sandy whiskers, and distinguished principally by the perfection of his dress, which impressed me deeply, even in the EUSTIS. 99 momentary glimpse I had of it, before Jim can*ied him off to make his preparations for dinner. Soon after I had entered the parlor, Major Barn- well and Colonel Shorter arrived, who, after their introduction to me, seated themselves on either side of Madge at the further end of the room, thus leaving me at liberty to speak to Mrs. Jackson, and learn from her something of their history. " That Major Barnwell, Harry " she began. " Which Major Barnwell ? " I asked. " There is only one, you stupid fellow, the stout, thickset one, with a pleasant face." " Ah ! yes, I see. It is a pleasant face, and par- ticularly pleasant in its expression of devotion to Madge." " Well, between you and me, Harry, he is very attentive to her. He would offer himself in a min- ute if she gave him the slightest encouragement, and she might do far worse." "Why? Is he rich?" " I might have known you would ask that. All you Northerners are so mercenary. No, not par- ticularly — but riches are not everything. " True, but they can procure everything." "Well, perhaps they can at the North. I am quite ready to believe you. But, thank goodness, we have not been educated up to that, yet, in this part of the country, the young men and women of the South—" " Now, excuse me, sister Kate, for interrupting you," I said laughing, " but you really must not de- 100 EU8TIS, prive me of the pleasure of personal discovery, by a summary of their virtues ; besides, I am interested to hear more of the gallant Major." " Well, there is not much to tell you about him — he is not rich, he is not particularly bright, nor par- ticularly handsome, nor particularly anything; but, nevertheless, he is an excellent man. He owns a rice plantation some three or four miles from here, at least his family used to own it, but he was obliged to mortgage it very heavily to run it after the war. He had a hard time at first to make the ends meet, but was careful and energetic, and is doing much better now, they say. Colonel Shorter is staying with him, and for that reason is here to-night, for to tell you the truth, I do not like the Colonel. I think him a dangerous man. He has been in ever so many scrapes and shooting affairs ; not all of them very reputable." " He is rather handsome," I said, looking at this sprig of Southern chivalry with growing interest. " O yes, he is good looking enough. He con- siders himself a great lady-killer, and, I regret to say, he has had more success in that direction than he deserves. Many women think him very fascinat- ing and romantic." "He does not appear to exert himself to be especially attractive just at present," I said. He was leaning back lazily in a low chair near Madge, taking no part in and apparently indifferent to the conversation between the Major and herself. " O no," replied Mrs. Jackson. " He is what one EUSTIS. 101 might call a tete d tete man. It is then only that he displays his wonderful powers. He never wastes his light upon general conversation. I hardly know why I have taken such a dislike to the man. Have you noticed how cold his eyes are ? " ** :N"o, I have not. What does he do ? " " He is a merchant, or factor, or something of the kind, in the city. He sells rice for all the planters, you know. I believe he lent the money to the Major to enable him to begin planting. Why! there are the Lees. I must go out to meet them," and so saying she arose hastily and hurried from the room, followed by Madge. I was very glad to meet the Captain again, with his cheerful, whole-souled way. He seemed to dif- fuse his sunny nature through the room, until every- body caught and reflected back a portion of its genial rays. I could not but feel flattered by his apparent interest in me, and his affectionate manner which arose, no doubt, from the recollection of his early intimacy with my father. Mary wore that evening a white muslin gown, cut open and pointed in front, showing to advan- tage her snowy throat and neck. I had never seen her look so lovely. She had on no jewelry nor or- naments, with the exception of a single rosebud in her hair, which I recognized as one of Madge's fa- vorites. Mrs. Lee was, as usual, in black, and, as usual, si- lent and dignified, Mr. Holland, who niade his appearance presently 102 EUSTIS. with Jim, was in full dress, and, no doubt, pleased to think himself the only suitably dressed gentle- man in the room. After a few minutes passed in general introductions and handshaking, dinner was served, and we filed into the dining-room, led by Captain Lee and Mrs. Jackson. Jim went in with Mrs. Lee, Mr. Holland with Madge, and I had the good fortune to be allotted to Miss. Lee, while Major Barnwell and Colonel Shorter were left to take care of themselves, or of one another, as they might prefer. The table was well lighted by silver candela- bra, and. in the centre, stood a handsome epergne of flowers. Usually, the minutias of the great event of the day make but little impression upon me. I rise from dinner pleased or otherwise by its tout ensemble^ but if called upon to give a reason for the feeling, find myself utterly unable to do so. The present occasion, was, however, an exceptional one, and, contrary to my custom, I do remember it well ; the delicious white stew of terrapin, with which the dinner began ; (had I not in the morn- ing, watched them basking in the sun, on a barrel head that lay beside the pool in the back-yard ?) and the royal wild turkey, roasted to a turn before the kitchen fire, and running with juice at the first touch of the carving-fork ; the melting slice of home- cured ham that imparted such a relish to the roast ; — what well-bred sideboard in the South is igno- rant of its spiced fat and pantaletted bone ? — the small game birds; the ivory palmetto cabbage, signal- EUSTIS. 103 ling the death of a forest tree ; the profusion of vege- tables with every course ; the tempting and insidious dessert, made from some great grandmother's re- cipe, an heirloom in the family ; the smooth, fra- grant Madeira, of three voyages and a hundred years, that by some special dispensation had escaped the eager eyes and thirsty lips of the invader ; — such a dinner as is seldom seen nowadays, except in Southern country houses. The conversation soon became general, turning ujDon the latest local news, the expected gayeties of the coming winter, the domestic affairs of people with names unfamiliar to me, the prospects of the coming crops, and, finally, ujjon the elections, and thence, naturally, to our adventure at the polls. Many questions were asked about it, and to my an- noyance most of them were addressed to me ; nor was my embarrassment lessened when I heard Jim exclaim, in an animated voice, — "Yesterday was the second time that Strong saved my life. If it had not been for him I should never have pulled through the winter I was im- prisoned at Johnson's Island." Almost for the first time in my life I felt thor- oughly provoked with him ! I tried to catch his eye, but could not ; and every inquiry that his re- mark drew forth was answered by him in full, thus drawing upon me the attention of the entire com- pany. As a rule I am not troubled with diffidence, but, at this moment, I had not a word to say, and sat 104 EUSTIS. there in silence, and apparently with the modest blush of conscious merit on my face. My position was indeed absurd ; for I felt that it must be evident to all, that, on the occasion referred to, I had merely sent him a few trifles to soften the hardships of imprisonment, for which he was over- grateful, from the fact, no doubt, that he had found it so pleasant to be remembered at all at such a time. However, before I had sufliciently recovered my self-possession to speak, the subject was changed, and the opportunity lost. Although I cared comparatively little what others might think, I wished, if possible, to set myself right with Miss Lee. I would not have her do me the in- justice to suppose I gave undue weight to such a trivial act of friendship. So when at length a general discussion arose as to the relative merits of fox and deer hunting, I turned to her and said, — " I do wish Jim had held his tongue about that Johnson's Island affair." "Why?" she asked. " Because it is absurd to make so much of such a trifle ! " " Do you think it a trifle to have saved his life ? " " No. But I did not. If I helped him at all, which I doubt, I am very glad of it. But what merit is there in any act without at least a touch of self-sacrifice, and there was none in that ; it cost me nothing ! " " I do not suppose, when he spoke of it to-night, EUSTI8. 105 that Mr. Eiistis was thinking of the pecuniary- obligation ! " she answered dryly. " I believe you wilfully misunderstand me ! " I exclaimed with indignation. " I am sorry you should think me capable of such a consideration ! " "If I was unjust I beg your pardon," she an- swered quickly, looking up at me. " But how should I know ? I do not understand you North- erners, and always expect to find something about them that I do not like. I wish I were not so sus- picious. I cannot help it. I am very sorry." I felt at once disarmed and reproved by her earnestness and simplicity, and, anxious to make amends for my over hastiness, I replied in a low tone, — " You see how much I dislike to be misjudged by you. Miss Lee. I hardly know why I care so much for your esteem, but such is the fact, and I beg you not to be so ready to think ill of me. Like, or dis- like me if you must, for myself, and not because I am a Northerner. Do not begin by suspecting me — but trust me until I prove myself unworthy of it — even then do. not condemn me without a hearing. Will you not promise me this ? " While I was speaking the ladies had risen from the table, and as Mary arose she turned to me with a slight flush and said, — " I will try — , yes, I will promise ! " At the same moment Madge approached us. " Why, you look as guilty as two conspirators ! " she exclaimed. " Don't trust Mr. Strong, May, he 106 EUSTIS, never keeps his promises or his engagements. I have found him altogether unreliable ! " and with a laugh and a discarding sweep of the hand, she linked her arm in Miss Lee's, and they passed to- gether out of the room. Before they were out of hearing I heard Madge say,— " I am very glad to see you and Mr. Strong get on so well together. I was afraid " After the ladies had left us, we sat for half an hour over our wine, making arrangements for the coming day's hunt. " What horses will you and Harry ride to-morrow, Jim ? " asked Captain Lee. " I shall ride ' Dangerous ' and Harry ' Gray Bess.' The mare is not handsome, as you know, but she is a very comfortable hunting nag. Then I thought Mr. Holland might ride ' Beauty,' she is working very well this fall." " Beauty gone carse ur shoe to-night, Massa Jim," said David, a mulatto, who acted either as Jim's body servant, coachman, or waiter, in which last capacity he was at present filling Col. Shorter's glass with Madeira. " Is that a fact ? Well I'm sorry to hear it," said Jim, then after a moment's reflection, he added, " I don't see, then, but that Mr. Holland must make his choice between the pony and 'Vixen,' and 'Vixen 'has not been ridden much lately. I am afraid she might be up to some of her old tricks." " Then, let me ride her, by all means," said Mr. EUSTIS, 107 Holland, cheerfully. " I like a good lively horse ! I always say to my riding-master in New York, * Riddle, give me one of your right down runaways.' I hate a horse that just goes walking along the street as if he took no interest in anything. Give me a horse with some life about him ! " " Very well, then, David, Mr. Holland will ride ' Vixen,' but put the curb on her. Do you remem- ber that day, Captain Lee, when she pitched me over her head into the brook, while you stood by laugh- ing, as if it were a good joke ? " " Ah, ah ! " shouted the Captain, as he recalled the scene, " It was enough to make a saint laugh ! When you dragged yourself out on to the bank, what with mud and water, you were a sorry sight, Jim ! And there stood * Vixen,' staring at you with a reproachful air, as much as to say she was mortified to think her master could not keep his seat better than that ! You lost a great deal, Jim, by not seeing it as I did." " I hope you will give me a chance some day, Captain," returned Jim, laughing. It was settled that the Captain should join us at Tha Oaks, and that we should start at six in the morning. Barnwell and Colonel Shorter were to ride their own horses, which were already standing in Eustis's stables. When we joined the ladies in the drawing-room, Madge and Mary were sitting on a sofa near the 108 EUSTIS. open window, and Major Barnwell and I, who were talking together as we entered, crossed the room to join them. After chatting for a few moments, the Major asked Madge to show him some fancy-work that she was doing, and as they left us to examine it near the light, I took the seat that Madge had left by Mary's side and settled myself for a talk. But my hope was not to be fulfilled, for a moment later Mrs. Jackson asked Mary to sing, and without hesitation, she arose and crossed the room to the piano. Much as I regretted the interruption, I could not fail to admire the grace with which she complied. "Do you not object to sing before so many people ? " I asked, as I opened the piano. " Yes," she answered, with decision. " I should never have guessed it from your man- ner," I said, and then added, as she turned over the music for a song she knew, " Please don't sing any of the songs you sung at sea." "Why? Did you not like them?" she asked, stopping and looking up at me with an expression of surprise. " Yes, every one of them," I said, " and so well that I do not wish to hear them again now. I would rather remember them as I heard them first." She looked down at the music again while I was speaking, but did not answer me. I would willingly have recalled the words a mo- ment after they were spoken, for I felt that I had EUSTIS. 109 overstepped the bounds within which, I had per- suaded myself, it was my duty to keep. I was provoked at having done so, and, at the same time, provoked to think I was not free to speak my mind. Thus it happened, that when Mary asked me to turn the pages of her music while she sang, I answered thoughtlessly and almost rudely, — • " No, if you will excuse me, I will listen to you from the piazza." I did not wait for her reply, but turned away, and walked slowly out of the room, pausing just long enough at the door to see Eustis join her at the piano. I did not catch his words, but I saw the bright, frank smile with which she greeted him, as she began the prelude to her song. For one who considered himself a philosopher I felt very thoroughly disturbed. I sat down alone on the piazza and lighted a cigarette. I called my- self "fool" and "idiot," and by other names of equal severity; but even this failed to afford the customary relief ; partly, no doubt, owing to a lack of sincerity in my self-condemnation, and partly to the combined influence of the sad, sweet-voiced song within the house, and the blackness of the night without into which I was looking. At length the sound of the singing ceased, and in its place arose the chatter of many voices. Presently, Madge's tall figure appeared in the lighted doorway, and after standing a moment in silence, she asked, turning towards me, — " Is it you smoking there, Harry ? " 110 EUSTIS. " It has a disagreeably strong likeness to me, Miss Madge. Won't you come and amuse me for awhile ? " I replied, getting Up and moving a chair for her near my own. " You know you promised to re- ward me for my gallant services this afternoon." "Well;" she answered, with a tone of resigna- tion, as she sat down beside me. "But I don't think you deserve it at all after breaking your en- gagement with me." " I had no idea you intended to go to walk." " You should have known," she said with sever- ity. " How, pray ? " I asked. " By — ^by intuition." " Well," I answered, " I fear my intuitive facul. ties are very imperfectly developed. Please don't make ' intuitive engagements ' for me in the future. It really is hardly fair ! Suppose a young woman should put a ring on her own finger, and then hold a man guilty of breach of contract unless he offered himself. What a predicament he would be in ! " "You need not have the least fear of that, I assure you." " O, I beg your pardon. I should not be uncivil enough to make the application personal, even in thought. I was only speaking of girls in general." "And so was I," she exclaimed, with a hearty laugh ; and then we made it up, if our little misun- derstanding deserved the importance the words " make up " imply. EUSTI8. Ill We chatted on for awhile to the accompaniment of several duets by Miss Lee and Jim who sung very pleasantly together. Jim had a good baritone voice and used it well ; nor was singing his only musical accomplishment; for with a natural aptitude, as pleasant as it is rare, he could play upon various instruments, and if not with great skill, yet with sufficient taste to give pleasure to all but the most critical. He played altogether by ear, but with so much vigorous sentiment and spirit, that his occa- sional liberties with the music could be forgiven. By the time the duets were finished, and Madge and I went into the house, the loquacity of my com- panion had restored my spirits. On entering the parlor, we found the party on the point of breaking up, owing to the early start expected for the morrow's hunt. I saw Mrs Lee to her carriage, which was waiting at the garden gate, and after she and the Captain had taken their seats, as Mary did not come, I went at their request to look for her. I met her walking slowly down the garden path with Jim. . The shrubbery concealed me from them, and they were so deeply absorbed in conversation that they did not notice me until I spoke. I heard Jim say, " To-morrow night, " and her answer spoken in a tone full of entreaty. — " Ah, Jim ! please don't, I beg of you!" " Your mother asked me to look for you. Miss Lee," I said, as I approached them ; and they both 112 EUSTIS. started at the sound of my probably unwelcome voice. " Oh, I am so sorry to have kept her waiting ! Good night, Mr. Strong ! " said she, and she hurried past me toward the gate. Jim followed her and I returned to the piazza thinking of her pleading tone, and wondering what her words had meant. Shortly after the departure of our guests, the men went down to the smoking-room to take a last pipe aii5 nightcap. I, however, did not join them^ wishing to secure an additional hour's sleep against the fatigue of the c( ming day. I took a few turns up and down the piazza, and then entered the house on my way to bed. I stopped for a moment at the drawing-room door to bid the ladies good night. Madge was sitting in a recess at the further end of the room talking with Colonel Shorter, who stood leaning against the win. dow near her. The Colonel was evidently in his ele- ment and to judge from Madge's animated face, was. whispering to not unwilling ears. They appeared to be so much engrossed, I thought it best not to disturb them, and as Mrs Jackson was not there, I passed on without entering the room and retired for the night EUSTIS. 113 CHAPTER X. DEER-HUNTING. rpHE morning of the hunt broke bright and clear. -^ I was up and dressed before the gray light in the east had given place to the streaks of red and gold that followed it. I am fond of early rising, and often have I crept noiselessly from the house in the obscurity of the dawning, to watch in the growing light, from some near height, the mists in the valleys and the rosy tints on the hilltops. How vigorously the grand old monarch rises from his couch, with beams of light and life and hope for all mankind ! As we watch him, the pulse quickens, and the ambitions rise ! We feel a restless desire for action ; a longing to begin at once upon our allotted tasks. Full of new-born strength and energy we hasten home to our breakfast, newspaper, and cigar, and then — well, then we relapse into our ordinary, easy going selves, and get through our daily troubles as best we can. Must we attribute this pitiable result to inherent 114 EUSTIS, weakness, an inborn lack of power for continuous effort ? or do the fumes of the tobacco rob us of our manly aspirations ? Whatever it is that cuts clown these shoots of ambition in their early growth, it is, at least, pleasant to have felt them sprout, if only for an hour ! With some such fancies in my mind, I descended from my room and passed through the garden, in- tending to steal a short morning walk before the others had made their appearance. My hand was already on the gate latch, when a window was thrown open and Eustis, in his shirt sleeves, called out to me that it was nearly break- fast time. So I returned to the house, and went to the smoking-room to put my rifle in order and fill my belt with cartridges. Shortly after, the men came dropping in, and by half-past five breakfast was announced. Our meal of rolls, eggs, and coffee was a hurried one, for all our little party were under the pressure of excitement, and anxious to be off and away. I said all, but should have excepted Colonel Shorter, who seemed entirely unruffled, and con- tinued to eat his breakfast with perfect equanimity, even when the sound of the horns and the baying of the hounds in front of the house, had caused the rest of us to leave the table and hurry to the scene of action. It is always provoking to see apathy in others when we are excited ourselves, and especially when our excitement is of a healthy character, and one in which those about us should naturally sympathize ; EUSTIS. 115 and certainly Colonel Shorter's nonchalance, on the present occasion, prejudiced me against him. There are, no doubt, times when calm self-control, amid scenes of extreme agitation, marks the great mind ; but, on the contrary, it is a sign of a mean intellect to be conspicuously selfish and unsympa- thetic in the little excitements of daily life ; and such a man might be the first to lose his self-posses- sion in the event of a great crisis. Yet, strange as it is, men will pride themselves upon this lack of impressibility, and will, with those about them, mistake it for coolness and depth of character. What a lively, bustling scene was now taking place! Old Pompey, the huntsman, was there, mounted upon a small, angular-looking mule, and surrounded by a pack of a dozen or more howling, whining hounds, which, by dint of horn and voice and lash he managed with difiiculty to keep to- gether. Three or four negro boys were walking back and forth with the horses we were about to mount. The horses themselves seemed to share in the general excitement, and their capers and antics gave the boys in charge all they could do to keep them from going a-hunting by themselves. I noticed that " Vixen " was particularly lively, and taxed to the utmost the powers of the groom at her head. She was a handsome thoroughbred ; and while I admired her graceful movements, her bright eyes and distended nostrils, I thought to myself that a day in the woods might be jjassed more comfortably on a less ambitious animal. I 116 EU8TI8, turned to see whether Holland appeared to be pleased with the prospect before him, and saw that none of the excited movements of the horse escaped his notice. At that moment Eustis approached him and said, — " I think, Mr. Holland, I will first try ' Vixen ' myself this morning." I had gone to the horse that I was to ride and was adjusting the stirrups when my attention was arrested by Barnwell's voice, crying, — " Take care, Jim, slack your rein, or she'll be over with you ! " I looked up over the pommel of my saddle and saw that Jim had mounted " Vixen," and was doing battle with her in dead earnest. She was plunging and rearing so viciously that I expected her to fling him over her head, or fall backwards with and upon him. But he stuck to her like a man, and when she found her efforts to dislodge him in this way futile, she began to buck, and, jumping with all four feet from the ground together, she arched her back, and sent her rider up into the air a foot or more from the saddle. Nothing but good luck settled him upon her again, but his feet were out of the stirrups* and before she could buck again he had wound them under her, clinging like grim death. He looked cool and determined, but I think the rest of us felt anxious for his safety. By this time Colonel Shorter had joined us and was leaning indolently back against the fence near by, with a supercilious smile upon his face. EUSTI8. 117 " Yixen " had done her best in vain, but, not yet disheartened, she gathered herself together for one final effort, and with a rear and a plunge away she shot down the avenue like an arrow from its string ! As they rapidly diminished in the distance, we saw Jim sitting as if welded to her. " I trust she will not throw him at the gate," whispered Barnwell at my elbow. No, out of the gate they swept and down the road, and before we finally lost sight of them in the forest, we could see Jim laying on the jash with every jump! "He's all right now," said Barnwell, " He'll be back in ten minutes or so, He's a fine rider and afraid of nothing." " There's not much to fear in that horse," inter- posed Shorter. " Had she been mine I would have thrown her at once and then have beaten her into submission. All this is very pretty to look at, but I don't think it worth our while to waste any more time over it. We might as well start at once." As no one opposed the Colonel's proposition we all mounted ; Holland riding " Dangerous," and I carrying Jim's rifle across my saddle; and to the sound of much discordant music (for each horse- man seemed to think it necessary to test the horn that was slung across his back) our little cavalcade proceeded down the avenue. As we rode slowly along we heard the notes of other horns, in answer to our own, and at the gate met Eustis with Captain Lee who had joined him on the road. A short delay ensued, while Jim exchanged horses 118 EUSTIS. with Plolland and took his gun from me, and at the same time arranged the different stands we each should take at the " Drive." How lovely was the morning as we strayed off, now in single and again in double file, through the woods. The very atmosphere to breathe and live in ; so cool and fresh and fragrant. The light haze was fast dissolving before the slanting sunbeams that had already found their way to the feet of the pines, and the merry horns waked echo after echo in the distant and more distant cloisters of the forest. With what distinctness the leaves rustled as the hounds went nosing along through the underbrush, and how sharply the dry twigs snapped beneath the horses' feet. And see, through the woods, in the shallow pool to the right, that tall white heron. How majestically erect he stands, poised on one foot, as motionless as a marble statue ! Wondering, no doubt, what noisy company dares thus invade his sacred solitude at this early hour. Let us not waste a bullet on the beautiful bird — but see ! as if sus- picious of the thought, he loses suddenly that haughty dignity of bearing, and with lowered and outstretched neck, with awkward skips and strident voice, he takes his flight, the sunlight playing with his snowy wings as he soars upwards through the pines ! On we went through the woods, until at last we came out upon a broad, straight road, stretching in either direction as far as the eye could reach. This EUSTIS. 119 road, I was told, bordered one side of the " Drive," and here Captain Lee and Mr. Holland dismounted to take their stands. The huntsman, with the hounds, continued up the road to enter the woods half a mile to windward, while I followed Jim down a bridle-path that ran into the woods at right angles to the road. Some forty rods from the place where we had left the Captain, we halted at the foot of three tall j^ines. Jim bade me dismount, and showed me in what direction I must look for the deer, and, then, after one or two parting injunctions, he kept on down the almost imperceptible bridle-path, to a point some distance to my right. Barnwell and Shorter were beyond Jim, and pro- tected, so I was told, the third side of the quadri- lateral. When Jim had disappeared in the woods, I led my horse back twenty or thirty yards from my stand, and hitched him to a sapling near a copse of dwarf palmetto, that effectually concealed him. Then I returned to my jDOst, and took a survey of my surroundings. On my left were the open woods, through which I had come from the main road. In front of me, with, perhaps, thirty yards of "open" intervening, was an apparently impenetrable thicket running off indefinitely in either direction. This was the thicket that the hounds and huntsman were about to beat ; around "t had our party formed, and within it lay the hope of the day's sport. 120 EUSTIS. To my right, toward the spot where I supposed Eustis to be standing, the woods were comparative- ly open, but with clusters of underbrush here and there to intercept the view. Behind me the trunks of the pines rose clear and free from undergrowth, with the exception of the palmetto thicket, where my horse was tied. I stood for awhile, leaning against one of the three pines, listening to the silence of the forest. I could not hear a sound, save an occasional movement of my horse. But, hark ! Yes ! I hear the huntsman's horn, blown at intervals, and growing fainter and fainter at each repetition, until I lose it altogether. Again silence reigns about me, but still I listen on intently. I stand up and listen, until I tire of standing. I sit down and listen, until the rough trunk of the j^ine at my back drives me again to my feet. Standing or sitting, I continue most per- sistently to listen, but nothing meets the ear but the creaking of the branches above me, the falling of the leaves from a withered tree near by, and the infrequent neighing of my horse. But one cannot listen intently to nothing forever. The counting of falling leaves becomes monotonous, and the number of times a horse can neigh in the bushes, ceases to be amusing. So I lean my gun against a tree and light a cigar- ette. I begin to ask myself how long I have been standing here, and mentally reply, " Well, at a guess, I should say forty minutes." I look at my watch, EUSTIS. 121 and find to my astonishment that it is half-past ten. And, as we started at six and were on the ground before seven, I find I must have been standing at my present post for at least three hours ! What has become of the huntsman ? Where are the hounds ? Have my companions gone home and forgotten me, or are they following the chase in some distant part of the forest ? Well, I certainly cannot stay here doing nothing and hearing nothing all the day long, and yet, as I dislike extremely to give it up and go home alone, I decide to remain where I am until eleven o'clock. I have scarcely formed the determination when I hear distinctly the crackling sound of breaking twigs in the thicket before me, as of some animal forcing his way through it. I seize my rifle, and stand ready at my post. The next moment, the loud blast of a horn re- sounds within a hundred yards of me, and then the deep voice of a single hound, followed in an instant by the music of the whole pack as they open wild- ly on a fresh trail ! Away they go under full cry, waking the echoes with their mad war song ! I see absolutely nothing, but that magic music sends the blood coursing through my veins, and I feel the strong throb of every pulse in my body ! O, for one shot at the deer that leads the pack ! But away they go — away they go ! Now nearer, and now farther off, as he doubles and re- doubles on his track, but never again so near as when they first broke in upon the dead silence of the forest. 122 EUSTIS. Hark ! That was a rifle shot. It must be Jim or Shorter, for only we three have rifles. But hark again ! Another rifle shot, and still another. They must be doing brave work in the woods beyond me ! As I turned in the direction of Jim's stand, whence the reports had come, I caught sight, for an instant, of a figure disappearing behind one of the clusters of underbrush that lay in that direction, and not a hundred yards away. I expected to see it emerge from the opposite side of the thicket, but no, whoever it was, he had evidently come to a standstill behind it. I whistled repeatedly but received no answer. I could not, surely, have been mistaken, and to satisfy my curi- osity I walked rapidly to the spot. I passed round the thicket. Nobody was there, and nobody was in sight beyond. I called and whistled, but still there was no response. Had a man passed either way from the place I must have seen him, unless, in- deed, he had retreated in a direct line from the spot where I had been standing, thus keeping the thicket between him and me ; but this appeared hardly pos- sible, for at fifty yards from it in that direction, the land fell away into a dense swamp. I went down to its edge and examined it. The underbrush looked impenetrable, and I could see the water glistening through the leaves. I was greatly perplexed, but felt myself finally forced to the conclusion that I must have been mistaken after all, and that my eyes had deceived me. So, having taken my little walk for nothing, I returned slowly to my stand. . EUSTIS, 123 In the mean time the sound of the hounds and horns grew more indistinct, and at last died away altogether, but, inasmuch as after the first shots I had heard others at a greater distance, I had hopes that some of the party, at least, had been more fortunate in their hunting than I. Thinking now that, so far as I was concerned, the hunt was virtually over, I unhitched my nag from the sapling, and throwing the rein over my arm, sauntered up the path to the road where we had left Captain Lee and Mr. Holland. There I found them sitting together on a bank in the shade (for the day had grown warm) smoking their pipes. "Well, Harry, what luck?" called out the Cap- tain as I approached. I explained that my only luck had consisted in hearing the hounds open near me, and added, — " But that in itself was worth waiting an hour or two to hear." "Yes, my boy," replied the Captain, "it is as thrilling as the bugles in a cavalry charge. But I am right down sorry you did not get a shot ! We heard the rifles banging away there and supposed you were in the thick of it. But, between you and me, I rather suspect these excellent young hunts- men of sometimes shelving new comers like you, and old fogies like myself. They tickle our ears, you know, with the music, and our palates with the ven- ison they have shot. But they tell us we must have made a noise, or been smoking at the wrong time, or that the wind changed. They have a thousand 124 EUSTI8. good reasons to account for the one Inevitable result —that the deer run right away from us and on to them ! Well, a morning in the woods is pleasant, at any rate," he added, as he rose from his mossy seat and shook the ashes from his pipe. " But I think we've had about enough of it for one day, and so, gentlemen, if you feel disposed to leave the field to our more cunning competitors, we may as well go home to lunch." Before leaving, the Captain gave two or three long calls upon his hunting horn, but their echo was the only answer, and we concluded that the rest of the party had probably deserted their stations and joined in following the dogs. When, half an hour later, we entered the gate of Palmetto Grove, we saw a lady walking slowly up the avenue ahead of us. " Why, there is Mary ! " cried the Captain, and forthwith blew a loud blast upon his horn. She turned at once and waited for us, waving her para- sol as we approached. "Well, father, what luck have you had?" she asked, at the same time greeting us, each in turn, with a i^leasant smile. " We have had the good luck, my dear," replied the Captain, "to get home in time for lunch, and with no innocent blood upon our heads. I am sorry we could not give these gentlemen a personal in- troduction to our game, but I tell them that next time the best stands are allotted them, they must be too polite to accept them. If you will show them EUSTIS. 125 the way to the house, Mary, I will hurry on and order lunch." When the Captain left us we both dismounted, and walked by Miss Lee's side. She looked very lovely in her well-fitting walking dress and broad-brimmed hat, that shaded her eyes and wavy hair. But then she always looks well, I said to my- self with almost a feeling of impatience at the thought ! I had not forgotten my rude behavior of the night before, and knowing it could not be easily ex- plained my position embarrassed me and, in conse- quence, I felt that my manner was constrained and cold. Mary, however, did not appear to notice it and treated us both with the same sunny serenity. But, from some inexplicable contrariness of disposi- tion, this very sweetness itself rather piqued and annoyed me. At the door of the house, a negro was in waiti'ng to take our horses to the stable, and we went in to lunch. Owing to some slight indisposition, Mrs. Lee did not come down and Mary presided in her stead. After an excellent hincheon, we retired to the piazza that overlooked the rose garden at the back of the house, and presently the Captain took Mr. Holland away to show him the stables and the view from the pine grove, and Mary and I were left to- gether. For awhile we spoke on subjects very foreign to my thoughts, but, at last, what was uppermost in my mind would find utterance, and I said, — 126 EUSTI8. " I beg your pardon for leaving you so abruptly last night," and then, as she did not reply, I added in- quiringly, " but, perhaps you did not notice it ! " " Why, yes, I think I noticed it," she answered slowly " Did you think it rude ? " I asked. " It certainly was not very flattering, but I attri- buted it to Northern manners." *' You must, then, think them very bad ? " " I have not wholly made up my mind, but they do apj^ear to be very uncertain, to say the least," she answered. " Would you have us always the same ! With emotions so completely under control as never to indicate them by word or act ? " " If they must take the form of rudeness, I can- not see the advantage of expressing them ! " What more could I say ? I could not mend the matter ! Why had I so stupidly referred to it ? I had only strengthened her impression of my inciv- ility by acknowledging that I was aware of it, and, at the same time, unable or unwilling to explain it. How gladly would I have told her that she had caught a glimpse, not of my feelings, but of the strong curb with which they were controlled ! The temptation was great, but after a moment's hesita- tation, I simply said, — " Yes, no doubt you are right. I only trust you will never again be called upon to pardon such an exhibition of my boorishness ! " At this moment the Captain returned with Mr. EUSTIS, 127 Holland and, declining the cordial invitation of our host to stay to dinner, we ordered our horses and started for home. About four o'clock we reached The Oaks and found, grouped at the garden gate, Mrs. Jackson, , Madge, and Major Barnwell, together with the hunts- man and hounds. The latter had just returned from the chase and had brought home two good- sized does as the result of their day's sport. They were examining their prizes and explaining to the ladies, who had come out to meet them, the directions taken by the fatal shots. " Well, Harry, where is your share of the spoils ? " asked Mrs. Jackson turning to me. " The fact is, Mr. Holland and I were so utterly famished, that we ate our two bucks in the forest, where they fell ! " I answered. " Did Jim kill anything to-day ? " "I don't know. Indeed I have not seen him since we first took our stands. But I heard his rifle just after the hounds opened. What luck did Jim have. Major Barnwell ? " " I don't know," said the Major, " We supposed him to be with you. We saw nothing of him after we left him at his stand. Has not Master Jim come home ? " he asked, turning to Jim's body-ser- vant, David, one of a group of negroes who had now gathered round the deer. " No, sir, I hasn't seen um." " See if his horse is in the stable." " No, Massa Tom, I jes' done come from dar." 128 EUSTIS. " Isn't he with Colonel Shorter ? " asked Madge. "No," replied the Major, " Shorter and I followed the hounds together — and, by the way, when I left him at the gate just now, he asked me to make his apologies for not coming up to the house to say good-by. He was obliged to go to town to-night and did not have a moment to spare." Madge looked up with an expression of surprise while Barnwell delivered his message, but the only comment made upon it by either of the ladies was an almost inaudible, " O, I'm so sorry ! " from Mrs. Jackson ; a painful effort of good breeding on her part. " Probably he went over to the Lees', " suggested Madge. "No, Mr. Holland and I lunched at the Lees' and have just come from there," I said. " I wonder where he can have gone then ! " she exclaimed. " No doubt he has ridden down to the Corner for the mail and then to the plantation settlement," Mrs. Jackson answered, and added, " Well gentle- men, as you must be hungry after your long day in the woods, we will have dinner at five. It is half past four now. Jim will undoubtedly be back by that time," and with that she and Madge left us and went into the house. Mr. Holland retired to his room, and Major Barn- well and I, thinking we had a few minutes to spare, went to the smoking-room to take a short pipe to- gether and clean our guns. EUSTI8. 129 After chatting awhile on matters of little moment, the Major said, "I don't know what got into Shorter to-day ! He must have gotten out of bed with the wrong foot foremost. I did not like to speak of it before the ladies, but he and Jim had a fuss this morning. Did you not notice his ill tem- per before we started ? " I answered affiraiatively, and he continued. " Well, nothing seemed to please him ! First he wanted us to go to a different drive, then he was dissatisfied with the place where the hounds were put in, and finally found fault with the stand allotted him. He was altogether in an ugly mood. We stopped at Jim's stand and when he came up Shorter took him to task. Jim bore it as good naturedly as possible, but this only seemed to make Shorter more provoking than ever, till at last Jim lost his temper and gave him a piece of his mind in very plain language ; if I had not been there to quiet them down there might have been serious trouble. I was sorry for it — but I must say it was entirely Shorter's fault. That is the reason he did not return to the house. It will probably all blow over but he is very ugly when he once gets the bit between his teeth ! " At this moment David entered the room, and said, — " January's jes' done come from de corner, Massa Tom ; say he see nuffin' of Massa Jim ! and I'se been to de settlement and Peter tell me he ain't gone dar all day ! " The Major looked perplexed and puffed away at 130 EUSTIS. his pipe for a few moments without speaking. At length he said, — "David, get out the horses for you and me and Mr. Strong at once, and lead them down to the thicket at the end of the Avenue ; keep quiet about it, for you might disturb the ladies," and, as David hurried off on his errand, he added, — " I think, upon the whole, we had better hunt Jim up ! I heard him fire just after the hounds struck the trail and I remember thinking it odd, that when the deer got by us, and Shorter and I decided to follow, he did not join us, for we called him several times, and he isn't the man to lag at such a moment ! At first I supposed that he must have taken some short cut, to head the deer, for he knows the woods almost as well as they do ; but as he did not turn up, after all, I came to the conclu- sion that he had gone back to you and Mr. Holland. We had better ride first directly to the stand and see if we cannot get track of him there." In the mean time we had left the house and hur- ried to the spot where David was to meet us with horses. He was there a moment later, and vrithout a word we vaulted into our saddles and swept down the road at a quick gallop. It was not far to the hunting ground and in a few minutes we were entering the woods at the point where we had left Captain Lee in the morning. We passed the three tall pines where I had kept watch so many hours and proceeded more slowly down the scarcely visible bridle-path. EUSTIS. 131 A hundred yards or so further on, the Major, who was in front, drew up his horse,and said, — "He must have taken his stand somewhere about here," and at the same moment, we heard the neigh of a horse and the rustling of the leaves, as he pulled and twitched at the saplings to which he was tied. We turned our horses at once in the direction of the sound, and found "Dangerous" hitched in a thicket near by. He seemed very restless. His saddle had slipped from his back and was hanging under him, and he had gnawed half through the slender trunk, round which the bridle rein was knotted. We dismounted in silence, and, after hitching our horses to the trees, followed Major Barnwell still further into the woods. The Major, who was a little in advance, had not gone a dozen yards, when, as he was passing a low clump of scrub palmetto, he suddenly stopped and exclaimed, in a low, suppressed voice, — " My God ! here he is — and shot ! " I sprang forward to where he stood, and bent down with him over the prostrate form at our feet. He was lying on his right side, with his right arm stretched at full length above his head. His face had dropped forward on the ground. His bare left arm told the story. A rifle ball had passed through it just above the elbow, and the red stains upon his arms and hands and clothing, showed how freely the blood had flowed. He was without coat or hat. He had torn the shirt sleeve from the 132 EUSTIS. wounded arm, and just above the bullet hole had wound and tied his handkerchief as best he could) and its ragged corner marked, how, with his teeth, he had striven to draw tight the knot. We saw his gun, coat, and hat, together with the remains of his shirt sleeve, some dozen yards from where he lay, and between them and him the ground bore evidence of his having dragged himself along in a desperate attemj^t to reach his horse before his strength failed him. We took little note of all these details, however, until later on, for, at first, our only thought was to discover, if possible, some sign of life. From the appearance of the wound, we judged that the blood must have stopped flowing several hours before we found him. We raised his head and laid him gently on his back, and as I held his wrist, I felt an almost im- perceptible beating of the pulse. Oh ! what a thrill of joy it gave me ! For a moment, I scarcely dared to breathe lest that gentle throbbing might cease ! " He is still alive ! " I whispered, looking into Barnwell's livid face. " Have you any whisky with you?" He drew a flask from his jiocket, and handed it me without speaking, and I, placing the boy's head in my lap, poured a few drops of the spirit between his tightly clenched teeth. " Go, get a wagon, David," I said, turning to the negro, who had been standing by with clasped hands, the picture of misery. And as he hurried off EUSTIS. 133 to his horse, I added, " Wait a minute. Fill the bottom of the wagon with straw, and mind to send some one you can depend upon to the city for a doctor, without a moment's delay, and, if possible, don't raise any alarm up at the house." "I'se get de wagon from Isaac's store. Mister Harry, and send um down heah. Den I'se ride right on to de town, and I'se fetch de doctor." "That's good; now be quick; don't waste a second. How soon will the wagon be here ? " " Quarter an hour, sir." " Well, make the best time you can. Remember, don't spare the horses." Almost before I had done speaking, he had gal- loped out of the wood. It seemed hours that we waited with our uncon- scious friend. We spoke little, but listened intent- ly for the sound of coming wheels. Barnwell, how- ever, did say to me in an undertone, " He must have shot himself." And I had answered, " No, I think not ; you see the ball entered on the outside of the arm." But neither felt inclined to continue the conversation, though, no doubt, both were busy with conjectures. At length the welcome sound of the approaching cart was heard, as the dry leaves crackled beneath the wheels, and presently, to our relief, old January appeared with the mule team. He drove close up to where Jim lay, and we gently raised him from the ground, and laid him upon the straw in the open wagon. 134 EUSTIS. "We gathered ii}^ his gun and coat and hat, and placed them beside him. Barnwell unhitched the restless "Dangerous," and led him by the bridle, and having again mounted our horses, our sad little procession, with the wagon in advance, filed slowly out of the woods. How I dreaded that home-coming, and the break- ing of the news ! But before we reached the gate of The Oaks, I had made up my mind that the un- pleasant task should be mine. So I spoke a word to Barnwell, and cantered on alone down the dark avenue. I will not describe the scene that followed in the brightly lighted drawing-room, where Mrs. Jackson and Madge were waiting for their tardy guests. They did not give way to useless lamentations, but, as soon as they had recovered from the first shock, set themselves to work, like the thoughtful, loving sisters that they were, and hastened to get everything in readiness for Jim's reception. How their practical good sense and forethought warmed my heart towards them ! It was far more affecting to me than if, as I had expected, they had given way to their feelings. Thus when the wagon an-ived and, with the assistance of Mr. Holland and January, we carried Jim to his room and laid him upon his bed, every possible preparation had been made for his comfort. I lingered yet a little while to help them in re- bandaging the wounded arm, and then left him to their tender care. By the time the doctor came EUSTIS, 135 it was ten o'clock, and meanwhile Jim had re- gained his consciousness and taken a little nourish- ment. As the doctor ordered him to be kept perfectly quiet, I did not see him again that night. Holland, Barnwell and I sat till a late hour in the smoking-room, discussing the pros and cons of the affair, but arrived at no very satisfactory conclusion. According to the best infomiation we could obtain from the negroes, Armstrong, towards whom our suspicions tended, had not been seen in the vicinity since election day and was supposed to have left that part of the country altogether. If the suspicion crossed my mind that Shorter might be in some way implicated, it was set at rest by the fact that according to Major Barnwell's statement they had been together for the greater part of the day. Hence it was evident that we must wait until Jim had sufficiently recovered to throw some light upon the matter himself. 136 EU8TI8. CHAPTER XI. HOME LIFE AND THE NEW REGIME. TIM passed a comfortable night and the doctor ^ told us, at breakfast, he was doing so well that his own services would be no longer needed. Rest, nourishing food, and good nursing he must have, and would have, and with these, in all probability, he would be himself again in three weeks' time. But he must avoid excitement or exertion of any kind, and obey implicitly the instructions that had been left with his sisters. The ball had passed entirely through the arm, but fortunately had not touched the bone. The doctor who was a brusque but good-natured and withal a loquacious man, monopolized the con- versation at breakfast, as we were glad to have him. It was wonderful what a sunny effect his dogmatic manner had upon us, and he left us in an altogether more cheerful frame of mind. Upon his getting into his gig, Holland, Barnwell and I vied with each other in plying him with cigars, and as he drove off down the avenue Barnwell turned to me and said, — " I reckon there ain't many better doctors than that, anywhere. He knows just what he wants to EUSTI8, 137 say, and doesn't waste much time saying it either ! " I assented, feeling at the moment that he must indeed be a remarkably clever physician or surgeon or both. It is strange how readily we confound good or evil tidings with the bearer of them, however in- nocent in the matter he may be. If they provoke the frown, we frown directly upon him; if they awaken smiles, he is the centre of them. So it is with our physician : when he banishes our hopes, we distrust him and his skill ; when he allays our fears, words fail to express our admiration for him and our confidence in his ability ! Soon after the doctor's departure, Barnwell told us that he, too, must return home at once, and ordered his horse to be saddled and brought to the gate. This was done, but the animal stood, hitched to the picket, for nearly an hour, while the good Major still lingered, walking up and down the piazza, or sitting upon the railing tapping his long boots with the end of his whip. Guessing at the cause of his delay, at length I took pity upon him and went in search of Madge. She had not come down that morning, but, as good luck would have it, I met her in the upper hall carry- ing a tray of breakfast things from Jim's room. " Good morning, Madge ! How does Jim seem to be?" I asked. "He is getting on splendidly, Harry. He has eaten some breakfast and has just fallen asleep. But you don't know how thin and pale he looks ! I 138 EUSTIS. should never have supposed such an accident could have altered his appearance so suddenly and com- pletely," she answered, rather mournfully. " Well, Madge," I returned, cheerfully, " I have the utmost confidence in your ministrations, and expect to see Jim down on the piazza in a couple of days at farthest. You must lend him a little of the coloring you use, to brighten up his cheeks. You cannot make me believe you sat up with him all last night ! " " I shall not try," she answered. "You must, at least, allow you took just a few winks of beauty sleep ! " " You are very saucy, sir, this morning ! " she said, smiling brightly at me, as she turned away to carry the tray downstairs. " O, stop a moment, Madge ! " I called after her. " I forgot to tell you that the Major ordered his horse an hour ago, but evidently cannot tear himself away, until he has said a word to you." " What does he wish to say ? " she asked in a tone of impatience. "Really, he has not taken me into his confidence; but probably — good-by ! " " Well, I have no time for such nonsense this morning," she answered, petulantly, " and you can tell him so." " O, that would be too cruel after all this wait- ing ! Why, he would be in such ill humor, that when he reached home, he would order all his darkies out and flog them in a row ! " EUSTI8, 189 " Well, I will see," she replied, doubtfully, " but I do wish he would show some sense ! " " I think he shows a great deal ! " I exclaimed laughing, and leaning over the banisters to watch her as she went downstairs. I returned to the piazza and found the Major still pacing the quarter-deck, watch in hand, and a moment later Madge made her appearance. When he saw her, his troubled face lighted up at once. " Good morning," he said, advancing towards her, and then added, hesitatingly, "I am going home now and wish to say good-by." " Good-by ! " she answered, looking at him, with- out a smile. He still stood there for a moment in silence, and then asked, with some embarrassment of manner, — " Is there anything I can do for you ? I may be going to town in a day or two ; perhaps I can get you something." " No, I thank you," she answered with perfect un- concern. " I can send for anything I need." " Well, then, good-by," he said, coming to where she stood. " Good-by," she answered icily, as he took her hand, and then added more cordially, as if conscious that she had been a trifle too discourteous, " I hope you will come to see Jim when he is able to sit up." " Oh, yes, thank you," he replied, his face again brightening. " I shall come often." 140 IIUSTIS, Poor fellow ! I pitied him ; his whole manner showed so plainly that he was in love. Ah, my good Major, you cannot hope to win it in return until you have learnt how to control yourself — no matter how deserving love may be, the ill-advised expression of it is never acceptable. I was provoked, too, at Madge's treatment of the Major, for I liked what I had seen of him, and the events of the day previous had afforded me no little insight into his character. He was a manly, straightforward fellow, not over bright, perhaps, but full of good feeling, and I was sorry to see the trouble in his face as he mounted his horse to start for home. Mr. Holland only remained at The Oaks for a day after the accident. He probably found our country life rather dull, and, perhaps, feared that his pres- ence might be a burden to the ladies of the house while so much of their time was required in the sick room. At first Jim regained his strength slowly, and it was not until about the middle of December that he was well enough to leave his room and join us downstairs. But from that time his recovery was rapid, and a week later he was almost himself again. In the mean time, the Lees were unremitting in their attentions, and hardly a day passed that did not bring from them some act of kindness. A mould of jelly or some fruit, brought by Mary to tempt the palate of the invalid, or a brace of EUSTI8. 141 birds (shot or bought, probably the latter), by the good Captain, who also took it upon himself to attend to the affairs of Jim's plantation, coming every morning for his orders, and doing it all in such a simple, matter of course way, that it was im- possible to believe he thought for an instant he was conferring a favor. Nor was he less thoughtful of me, and under his tutelage, during Jim's convalescence, I acquired a very general knowledge of the methods of rice and cotton culture, the social polity of plantation settle- ments, at present and in times past, and the diffi- culties that planters had been obliged to overcome at the introduction of the new regime. " It was very hard at first upon the negroes," the captain said to me one day, " for their main ideas of freedom, were freedom of motion and freedom from work, and it took a heavy dose of privation and suffering to cure them ; to bring them back to scenes and occupations in which alone they are fitted and able to keep the wolf from the door ; and to make them understand that by work alone could freedom from work be attained. It was a hard lesson to learn, but they have at least partially done so, and are fast settling down into a quiet and useful peasantry. It is not unnatural, however, that until the negroes fully appreciate the fact that the planters interests and their own are identical, they should occasion- ally,, under the influence of bad men, break out into exhibitions of lawlessness and folly such as you wit- nessed the other day at the polls. It is a mere ques- 142 EUSTIS. tion of time, however, and I am certain that all will come right in the near future. " There are, no doubt, some excejitions, but I venture to say the vast majority of my fellow plan- ters will bear me out in pronouncing the new sys- tem an immense relief. No, sir, we would not re- turn — if we could — to the old order of things. " There is no use denying that slavery gave op- portunities for cruelty, it is patent on the face of it ; and no doubt at times they were taken advantage of, but on the other hand it opened the door to lib- erality, kindness, and a deep personal affection such as seldom exists in any other relationship between master and man. " Why, our own slaves, for instance, were devot- edly attached to Mrs. Lee and she to them. Many's the night I've known her to pass in their cabins ad- ministering comfort by the death-bed of some old crone, or helping some mother to watch with her sick child ! And she was by no means the only planter's wife who made herself a slave to her own slaves ! " Alas ! that the thought of self-interest should inevitably attach itself to stories such as these in the minds of those who have been born and bred without the pale of slavery. How difficult for them to attribute such acts of kindness to purely disinter- ested motives ! Nothing but close intimacy with characters differing so much in thought and educa- tion from their own, will set their suspicions at rest, and enable them to mete out impartial justice. EUSTIS. 143 From time to time Eustis' friends came out from the city to see how he was doing and to pass a day or two at The Oaks ; and on several of these occa- sions we went hunting under the lead of Barnwell or Captain Lee, and had some very successful days in the woods. Barnwell frequently rode over from his plantation on one pretext or another, and rarely came without some little tribute, a bunch of flowers or a box of candy, to be offered at the shrine of his inamorata. Sometimes Madge would receive his attentions with good grace and would almost warm in her manner towards him ; but then again she would hardly notice him and would preserve in his pres- ence a quiet indifference that took all the light out of the good fellow's face. It was painful even to me, a mere looker on, to see how closely he watched her every look and movement, endeavoring to divine her thoughts and wishes, and how in his eagerness to do what might prove acceptable, he overshot the mark and covered himself with embarrassment and morti- fication. As already said, I had taken a liking to the man and his frank, blunt manners, and, from the close companionship into which we had been thrown by Jim's accident, had rather expected our intimacy to grow stronger ; but such was not the case, for I soon observed, without suspecting the cause, that al- though courteous and polite, he treated me with a marked reserve that seemed foreign to his character. Who shot Jim still remained a mystery, and as 144 EUSTIS. Mrs. Jackson said that he was very unwilling to talk about it, the subject was avoided in the sickroom during the first few days of his convalescence. Subsequently, however, while sitting with him one evening, I told him of my success that day in killing the first Churchill County deer that had given me a shot, and seeing how much he was interested, I ex- claimed, — " How I wish you could have been with us ! I thought of you so often while we were in the woods ! I cannot tell you how sorry I have been about this unfortunate affair. In fact " " O, never mind, old fellow ! " he broke in, evi- dently to stop me. " Accidents will happen, you know. Besides it makes no difference now, for you see I'm getting on splendidly, and shall be as well as ever in the course of a week or two." There was something so peculiar in Jim's manner that I suspected at once that he knew more than he was disposed to tell, and I continued earnestly, — " I really think, Jim, you ought to tell us all you know or suspect about this affair." " But I don't care to talk about it," he answered, emphatically. " I can see no possible good in concealment," I replied. " If it was simply an accident you can and should explain it, and if not, you should tell us what you know, to prevent us from suspecting perhaj^s those who are innocent." He was still very stubborn but finally acknowl- edged, to my utter astonishment, that he attributed EUSTIS. 145 his misfortune to my own carelessness or misdirected zeal ! He believed me to be ignorant of the mis- chief I had done, and intended to let me remain so How heartily I laughed at my quixotic friend ! It did not take me long to undeceive him and to show him how unworthy I was of such consideration ! But when we had talked the matter all over we were no nearer the truth than ever, and could hit upon no satisfactory solution of the mystery. Inquiries set on foot by Captain Lee and others corroborated the former statements of the negroes, that the man Armstrong had quitted his old haunts and gone no one knew whither. Of course, the place had been carefully examined where, on the day of the hunt, I thought that I saw a man disappear into the swamp, but no traces were to be found ; and as our suspi- cions pointed in no other direction, we were obliged for the present to let the matter rest. Meanwhile, I was becoming day by day more in- timate with Mrs. Jackson and Madge. The former treated me with all the kindness and familiarity of an elder sister. She was a most chann- ing hostess and always unobtrusively mindful of my happiness and comfort. With rare tact and the true spirit of hosi)itality, she left me entirely my own master, yet with the consciousness that I was never neglected nor forgotten. She had been pretty as a girl and still retained a fair portion of her good looks and figure ; but her complexion had lost its freshness at an age, when, 146 EUSTIS. in a colder climate, the roses would have lingered still in her cheeks. Early in life she had married a gentleman of her own State, who, dying shortly af- ter, left her a rich and still young widow. As she had always been, more or less, a woman of the world and a favorite in society, her friends had expected her to marry again, but although the days of her widowhood had long since past and there were said to have been many suitors for her pretty hand, she remained single and devoted her life to the care of Madge. As for Madge, she and I generally got on very well together. She was a high-strung girl, with a temper rather varialle at times, but withal full of kindly impulses and feelings. Her very changefulness lent her a certain charm, especially as it seemed to lie altogether on the surface of her girlish and coquet- tish nature. One rainy morning, which she and I were trying to while away over a desultory game of billiards, I asked, — " Why has sister Kate never married again Madge ? " " O, don't interrupt me, sir, just as I am go- ing to hole your ball ! There ! " she exclaimed as she made a fluke, pocketing her own ball instead and giving me the game, "it is all your fault, but I shall take my revenge by miaking you play another with me." " If that is the worst punishment you can inflict. I shall keep on beating you all the morning, if I EUSTI8. 147 can ! " I answered, arranging the balls. " But you have not answered me," " How should I know why my sister does not marry ? Probably because she is a sensible woman ! Besides, what would Jim and I do without her ? " " Get married too ! " " Perhaps Jim might. In fact, I suppose he and Mary will arrange matters before long, if she can only tell her own mind ! But think what a forlorn position that would leave me in ! " " Possibly some one might take pity on you, — the Major, for instance," I suggested. " Please don't, if you love me ! " she said, with a comically beseeching expression. " Of course I love you ! " I answered with mock solemnity. " But, all the same, I am certain you will marry the Major ! " " Never ! Not if he were the last man on earth," she replied emphatically, and then added lightly, — " There now isn't he just the man for sister ? She admires him so much, you know ! " She was standing with her back to the door and before she had done speaking, who should appear but the very gentleman whose hand we had been disposing of so freely! He wore a faded gray velveteen coat cut short and fitting close to his solid figure. His corduroy trousers and spurred top- boots, that reached above the knee, bore unmistak- able evidence of the miry condition of the roads. In his hand he carried his black sombrero and short- lashed whip. His face was broad, ruddy and clean- 148 EU8TI8. shaven, and as he stood there in the doorway, he did not look unlike an English country squire. " Good morning. Major," I said. At the sound of my words, Madge turned suddenly from the table and faced him. The color mounted to her cheeks and with marked embarrassment she exclaimed, as he took her hand. " Why, Major Barnwell ! I had no idea you were here. When did you come ? Have you seen Jim ? " The Major could not have failed to observe her heightened color and confused manner, but appar- ently mistook the cause. " I came only a few minutes ago," he answered^ with a bright cheerful smile that made his face for the moment almost handsome. " I had a little time to spare and thought I would ride over and see how Jim was. I have just come from his room and am glad to find him so much stronger and better ! " then stopping short, he took a little bunch of flow- ers out of his hat and added, hesitatingly, — " There are a few violets, Miss Madge, not very pretty — the first I have had from my garden this winter — but they are very fragrant. I thought you might like them." " Thank you ! " she said, as she held them to her face. " They are lovely and so sweet ! " " I am so glad you like them ! " he replied looking very happy. "I shall have much better ones before long. And now I must — I must say good morn- in