^BH^HP^^^ 
 
 BY THE ETERNAL * 
 
 *
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UN!-- HTY OF 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 SAN DIEGO
 
 x/
 
 "By the Eternal" 
 
 A NOVEL 
 
 By 
 
 OPIE READ 
 
 Author of 
 
 " The Son of the Swordmaker," " Turkey-Egg Grif 
 fin," "The Starbucks," "The Harkriders," 
 " The Jucklins," " A Kentucky Colonel," 
 "A Tennessee Judge," "The Carpet 
 bagger," "Old Ebenezer," 
 " On The Suwanee River," 
 etc. 
 
 SPECIAL ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 CHICAGO 
 LAIRD & LEE, PUBLISHERS
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1906, 
 
 By WILLIAM H. LEE, 
 
 in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
 
 C~T*HEODORE ROOSEVELT once re- 
 
 4. marked: "I was nevermore compliment 
 ed than when an old man called me a 
 Jackson Democrat" And to that president, 
 who, more than any other, has influenced legis 
 lation for the benefit, not only of his own people, 
 but for all mankind to this exponent of true 
 democracy to this man, not of the dim past 
 but of the vivid present to Theodore Roose 
 velt this book is most respectfully dedicated by 
 the author.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON was not only one of the 
 strongest characters in American history, but 
 one of the most striking individuals of all time. 
 With him every narrowness was a farce and every 
 prejudice an aggressive weapon. It is related that 
 once when he spoke of appointing an obscure man to 
 an important office, a member of the cabinet re 
 marked: "But Mr. President, are you sure that he 
 is able?" And Jackson answered: "Sir, all of my 
 friends are able." In this lay his character. To be his 
 friend was to be competent. His friends were right, 
 mid his enemies were all of them wrong. But there 
 never lived a man of more integrity, and had he 
 continued to live, a war between the North and the 
 South would have been impossible. His duel with 
 Dickinson, which in this story he is made to relate in 
 his own words, was one of the most famous incidents 
 in all the history of the "field of honor," and upon 
 good authority it is told that while he was on his death 
 bed, a minister sought to evoke from him an expression 
 of remorse concerning the death of that popular young 
 man. "General," said the preacher, "in looking back 
 over your past life is there anything that you par 
 ticularly regret?"
 
 iv "By the Eternal." 
 
 "Yes, there is," he answered. Ah, the confession 
 was coming. "I regret that I didn't hang John C. 
 Calhoun." 
 
 I was born not far from the "Hermitage," and as a 
 boy played on the ground where many of old An 
 drew's stirring scenes were enacted. I have listened 
 to the talk of old men who were his intimates "able 
 men," for they were his friends. But in reading the 
 many lives of Old Hickory, and searching closely the 
 many unpublished papers now in possession of the 
 Tennessee Historical Society, I failed to find a num 
 ber of (< facts" which I have since discovered m my 
 own book. The Author.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE 
 
 I The Old Fellow With The Hairy Jaw.. 7 
 
 II They Whispered 14 
 
 III His Respect For the Poets 21 
 
 IV The Jolly Ferryman 28 
 
 V At the Ball 33 
 
 VI Arabella Crenshaw 38 
 
 VII With Contempt 49 
 
 VIII A Perfumed Night 57 
 
 IX In the Interest of Another 65 
 
 X Carrying the Message 76 
 
 XI An Understanding 82 
 
 XII Sneaked Out of the House 86 
 
 XIII An Old Acquaintance from the Nursery 100 
 
 XIV He Had Something to Tell 106 
 
 XV At the Hermitage 113 
 
 XVI Mahone Sees More Trouble Coming. . .129 
 
 XVII In the Buggy 145 
 
 XVIII She Begged Him to Let Her Stay 155 
 
 XIX Grew Lighter at the Window 170 
 
 XX I Am Denounced 176 
 
 XXI He Did Not Regret 191 
 
 XXII Mrs. Hilliard and Her Academy 202 
 
 XXIII Just Waiting 208 
 
 XXIV News That Was Not Good 225 
 
 XXV A Taste of Fire 233 
 
 XXVI Had Become Soldiers ; 249 
 
 XXVII At Horseshoe Bend 261 
 
 XXVIII A Message from Washington 275 
 
 XXIX Twenty-Five Minutes 290 
 
 XXX Conclusion T 296
 
 " 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 THE OLD FELLOW WITH THE HAIRY JAW. 
 
 AS SOON as I had mounted the stairway of that 
 rude inn, I felt that the proprietor would at 
 tempt to murder me before morning. I was 
 traveling, horseback from Jonesboro to Nashville, 
 Tennessee, the new commonwealth that had just arisen 
 out of the troublous, not to say desperate state of 
 Franklin. The country was wild. Strong, moral 
 men, unconscious poets, conscious patriots, with senti 
 ment unto death in their powder horns, constituted 
 the backbone of the recently built state. But the very 
 current of their enterprise drew after it thieves and 
 desperadoes; men to whom human blood meant no 
 more than muddy water. 
 
 An adventurous youngster, not more than nineteen, 
 late from an old field pine log academy in North Car 
 olina, I had set forth to find fortune, with a vague 
 idea that it lay somewhere beyond the hills. My 
 parents had passed away some years before, my guar 
 dian had recently died, and now my possessions con 
 sisted of two suits of clothes, two pistols and a horse, 
 bridle and saddle. 
 
 It was near the close of a day in summer. From 
 the hillsides came the sweet and ever thrilling breath 
 of June. The scenery about the place was a great 
 
 7
 
 8 "By the Eternal." 
 
 and wasteful picture, with here and there a violent 
 dash of color. 
 
 The proprietor, a grizzled old man in short sleeves, 
 came out of the house, when I had dismounted, grunt 
 ed a sort of welcome, gave over to a negro the care 
 of my horse and led the way into the house. Taverns 
 in those days and of this part of the country were 
 rough indeed. This one was the roughest of its class. 
 It was constructed of oak logs with the bark still on 
 fhein. The two chimneys, one at each end, were built 
 of sticks and plastered with clay. The floor impressed 
 me, not on account of its rareness, but for a certain 
 danger it held ; it was laid in slabs riven from logs and 
 was so thick set with splinters as to arouse within me 
 a painful fear for my new calf -skin boots. 
 
 At an open fire place, a large, red-haired woman 
 was cooking. She turned about, pot-hooks in hand, 
 nodded, half smiled, revealing a tobacco-stained tusk, 
 and apparently dismissed me from whM I' conceived 
 to be her red mind. 
 
 The old man motioned toward a bench. ''Set 
 down," said he. "How fer have you come to-day?" 
 
 "Forty miles, I should think." 
 
 "Horse ain't blow'd much. Putty good cattle, I 
 take it." 
 
 "Blooded," I answered with a youngster's van 
 ity. The woman looked around at me. The man nod 
 ded and scratched his hairy jaw. I put my two pis 
 tols, in holsters, on a bed and sat down. As yet he 
 had not aroused my suspicions. 
 
 In answer to an inquiry as to whether he had any 
 other guests for the night, he said: "No, you hap 
 pen to be the only one. The increase of travel has 
 shut me out, somewhat; has caused the buildin' of
 
 The Old Fellow With the Hairy Jaw. 9 
 
 another house about two miles west of here. But I 
 don't reckon I'll starve. There's always a reward 
 fer the fellow that works hard and attends to his own 
 business. Puss, you'd better hurry up the gentle 
 man's supper." 
 
 "I'm gettin' it as fast as I can," the woman re 
 plied. "Meat don't fry no faster because you're anx 
 ious. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Hit me on the top of the head, ' ' the old fellow re 
 joined. "I reckon she's got more truths that you 
 ain't a-lookin' fer than any woman in the country. 
 Goin' out to the new settlements to start in prac- 
 ticin ' law, young man ? ' ' And without giving me time 
 to answer, he added: "Yo' supper's ready." 
 
 I expected him to join me, as a tin plate, a knife and 
 fork had been placed opposite to those of their rude 
 kindred, which I was to use, but he did not; he re 
 mained in the background, talking continuously. The 
 woman stood in front of me, replying to the old man 
 when I failed to show interest in what he was say 
 ing. Once she addressed me : " You are putty young 
 to go wanderin' around the country by yourself; but 
 I don't reckon anybody's goin' to harm you very 
 much. There was a time when this country along 
 here was putty tolor'bl dangersome, but it has settled 
 down mightily within the past year. Why, it's 
 mother's milk now compared with what it was when 
 we came here. Why then, in that late day, a year 
 ago or more, folks would steal from you every time 
 you wan't lookin'. Stold my husband's Bible one 
 day right out of his saddle bags, they did; and if he 
 hadn't been one of the religiousest men, somebody 
 would 'a' got a good cussin'. And Sam'l could cuss, 
 too, before he j'ined the church and became an ex-
 
 10 "By the Eternal." 
 
 horter. Have some more of that bread. It ain't right 
 good fer there ain't no mill near here and we have to 
 beat the corn into meal with a hominy pess'le. Sam'l, 
 ain't you goin' to eat a bite with the young gentle 
 man?" 
 
 "Wall, don't mind if I do," "Sam'l" answered; 
 and coming forward, he took a seat opposite me. 
 
 Through the window I could see the dusk-deepening 
 flush of the sun, now sunk beyond the hills. The 
 evening was made sweetly melancholy with the songs 
 of birds ; and from some distant valley came the sad 
 dest of all love-calls, the notes of the whippoorwill. 
 In the sunrise, when the dew was sparkling, in the 
 noon-tide when squirrels reposed dreamily in the 
 grateful shade, I had mused with not much concern 
 upon what I was to do for a living, believing, in these 
 roseate hours of Nature's promise, that the very 
 brightness of the world was a prediction of for 
 tune. But in the sad, bird-choired, dun light of the 
 evening, my thoughts, like winged things, but with 
 no songs in them, flapped and fell against the dark 
 curtains of the Future. So now it was that I sat mute, 
 thinking in soberest mood ; and in this life, no mood is 
 more serious than some of those that fall upon us in 
 youth, before we have climbed many of the hills, be 
 fore many of the valleys have been crossed. 
 
 "You ain't eatin' much," said the old man. "Help 
 yourself, here, to some more of the fry. If you could 
 stay with us a day or two we could git you out of 
 the dumps that you 'pear to be fallin' into. Cheer up 
 fer you'll find everything over in the settlements all 
 right, I reckon ; and then you can sail right along, and 
 when you're old enough, be elected a Justice of the 
 Peace "
 
 The Old Fellow With the Hairy Jaw. 11 
 
 "He's mighty nigh old enough fer a constable 
 now, ' ' the woman spoke up ; and thus having flattered 
 me she passed the bread. 
 
 "I was a constable once in North Caroliny," said 
 the old man. "But I had to levy on property that 
 belonged to poor folks, and I never could stand that 
 sort of business ; so I give it up and came out here and 
 started a hotel, a feedin' of folks ruther than a takin' 
 of bread out of their mouths. Well, Puss, he 'pears 
 to have eat enough; and I reckon you might as well 
 clear away the things." 
 
 There were no things to be cleared away except to 
 remove a few tin plates ; and this she did with a sweep 
 of her great, red hand. Then she lighted an earthen 
 lamp, with a rag wick, placed it upon the mantelpiece, 
 sat down in a corner and began her evening's work, 
 carding cotton batts. With a shovel, the old man cov 
 ered up the fire, patting the ashes, like a sexton pat 
 ting a grave, talking the while of the great improve 
 ment that had taken place in the country since his 
 arrival. On the mantel shelf a battered old clock, 
 with only the hour hand to mark the time, was ticking, 
 louder, now that the birds had hushed. 
 
 I glanced at this ignorer of moments and the un 
 certain teller of the hours, and the old man said: 
 "We lost one of the hands as we were movin' out 
 here and I ain't had time to whittle out another one. 
 Sorter looks like a waste of time, don't it?" And 
 dropping his chin upon his hairy chest he laughed. 
 "Wife there, has sorter stirred me up about it a time 
 or two, but I always tell her we can do without an 
 other hand ourselves and apologize when we've got 
 company. Young feller, you look like you might be 
 sleepy. Yo ' bed 's ready fer you up stairs. ' ' He nod-
 
 12 "By the Eternal." 
 
 ded toward a ladder that led to the loft. "You won't 
 find no gold candlesticks up there, but you can take 
 a hog-fat lamp, and that will sorter skeer off the 
 darkness. Puss, light tuther lamp fer him, will you? 
 We may economize as to the hands of a clock, but 
 when it comes to lamps, why we are as wasteful as 
 now what do they call him? Hearn a preacher talk 
 about him not long ago. Some sort of a son. ' ' 
 
 "Prodigal son," I answered out of my limited store 
 of Scriptural learning. 
 
 "You hit it on the head, sir. Why, you're edu 
 cated right up to the handle, ain't you?" 
 
 The woman lighted another lamp and gave it to 
 me, and turning to the bed I took up my pistols. 
 
 "I can help you up with 'em if they're too heavy 
 fer you," the old man laughed. 
 
 "I can manage them," I answered, throwing the 
 holsters over one shoulder, dividing them like a pair 
 of saddle bags. Bidding my host and his wife good 
 night, I climbed the ladder to the room above. Then 
 it was, and I couldn 't have told exactly why, that the 
 suspicion of murder crossed my mind. A shudder 
 crept over me; a cold shudder, just alive enough to 
 creep, frightening me with paralytic numbness. In 
 the middle of the room was a legged slab intended to 
 serve as a table, and placing the lamp upon it I looked 
 about me. In one corner was a bed, a mere heap of 
 straw spread over with a quilt. Near the bed was a 
 low stool, and upon it I sat down to think. The pis 
 tols in the holsters were still across my shoulder. 
 Suddenly the scene at the supper table arose before 
 me. Why had the old man placed the bench so that I 
 should sit with my eyes turned from the pistols on the 
 bed? Why had he remained so long behind me, talk-
 
 The Old Fellow With the Hairy Jaw. 13 
 
 ing incessantly? And then, when he became silent, 
 why had his wife sought so eagerly to seize upon my 
 attention and to hold it? 
 
 I took the pistols out of the holsters and examined 
 the priming. It had not been disturbed. But with 
 ramrod I sounded the barrels. The powder and balls 
 had been withdrawn. This was a complete confirma 
 tion of my fears. As quickly as possible I reloaded 
 the weapons. Then, moving the stool over into an 
 other corner, as far as I could get from the hole up 
 through which the ladder led, I put out the light, sat 
 down and waited.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THEY WHISPERED. 
 
 TO WAIT was the utmost extent of possible en 
 terprise. There was no window, no way to get 
 out; not even through the roof, for I had no 
 ticed from the outside, that the riven boards 
 that composed it were weighted down with heavy 
 logs. So, to wait was all that I could do. 
 In the floor were large cracks and up through 
 them streaked the yellow light. The door below 
 opened and closed. I could not through any of the 
 cracks command a full view of what was taking place, 
 but I fancied that the old man had looked out to make 
 sure as to whether any traveler was passing along the 
 road. Suddenly, I heard whispering, and placing my 
 ear close to a crack, I had no difficulty in catching 
 not only the import but the minutest accents of the 
 words. "If you would make a crowd hear, whisper," 
 I once heard an orator say ; and now I thought of it, 
 as I lay with my ear against the floor. Toward cau 
 tion on their part there seemed to be not much of an 
 effort. It may be easier to gauge the carrying force 
 of a shout than of a whisper. 
 
 "There's no other way out of it," came from the 
 old man. I could distinguish his whisper though I 
 had never heard it before, but in it were notes iden 
 tical with his wheezy laugh. "No other possible way. 
 There won't be no blood to speak of. I'll just finish 
 him with a stick of wood." 
 
 14
 
 They Whispered. 15 
 
 "But he's so young," the woman whispered. 
 
 "Wall, the younger they are the better prepared 
 they are to go, I can tell you that. What are you so 
 squeamish about now ? Ain 't gone off in a corner and 
 'f essed religion when I wan 't a lookin ', I hope. Wan 't 
 you sent to the penitentiary fer life in North Caroliny 
 for murder, and didn't we both escape from there to 
 gether, as man and wife should?" 
 
 "I ain't squeamish and I ain't weakening " the 
 Avoman answered. "I jist want to be eareful, that's 
 all." 
 
 "Careful!" he repeated. "I'm goin' to be jist as 
 careful as there's any use of bein'. All we've got to 
 do after the job's done is to drag him off into the 
 woods some whar, and when he's found, why it's the 
 Indians that fixed him. There ain't such a hoss been 
 along here in many a day," he added after a short 
 pause. "And it ain't right to let him pass on and 
 be rid around useless. A man's conscience will tell 
 him, if he gives it half a chance, that a hoss ought 
 to be put to good use. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Is that stick you 've got there heavy enough ? ' ' she 
 inquired; and the old man answered : "Heavy enough 
 to maul rails with and I reckon it ought to do for 
 him." 
 
 "But don't you hate to do it, Sam'l and at yo' 
 
 ' ' Weakenin ' ag 'in, are you ? What 's age got to do 
 with it ? Nothin ', except to make a man set his gums 
 instead of his teeth. And when a man sets his gums, 
 I tell you he 's got it in fer natur ' right thar and then. 
 When a man has lived beyond his teeth, life ain 't ful 
 filled many of it 's promises, I '11 tell you that. ' ' 
 
 "You ought to have kept on preachin', Sam'l."
 
 IQ "By the Eternal." 
 
 "I would if they hadn't proved it on me that I 
 stol'd the hoss and started me down hill when I was 
 tryin' to climb up. But there ain't no use for you to 
 argy with me or fer me to argy with myself, 
 fact is that natur' made me a rascal and it ain't worth 
 while to try to stand in her way." 
 
 Peering down through the crack I could now see 
 him, standing with his back toward, the fire-place, 
 with the bludgeon in his hand. The lamp, on the 
 mantel-shelf, to the left, shed light upon his counte 
 nance. It looked like an indictment for murder drawn 
 in red. Civilization was marching, with its rifle, its 
 plow and its prayer book, but in that day, as it may 
 be on the day now most distant, depravity skulked in 
 its train. 
 
 If I could find a place broad enough in the crack- 
 no, he moved, and I could not shoot him. 
 
 "Ain't you goin' to take the light?" the woman 
 'inquired. "It's dark up there." 
 , "No, I can see well enough. The moon is shinin' 
 through the chinks. You can bring the light when I 
 call fer it. I don't think there's any body else comin' 
 along to-night, and we better have it over with. You 
 might as well hold the light at the foot of the stairs, 
 I reckon." 
 
 A shifting of shadows told me that she had taken 
 down the lamp and was preparing to obey him. I 
 heard them moving about ; up through the hole in the 
 floor, over against the wall, there came a yellow light, 
 thick, like stagnant water, not dispelling the dark 
 ness, but showing where it lay. I heard his boot strike 
 the ladder. The light thickened; he was ascending, 
 obscuring it. With pistol leveled, I waited. There 
 was light enough to direct my aim. His death was
 
 WITH PISTOL LEVELED, I WAITED.
 
 They Whispered. 17 
 
 sure. But suddenly he seemed to hesitate, and then 
 I heard him say : ' ' Take away the light. It will inter 
 fere with the moon." 
 
 The yellow flood sank down. Now all was dark, 
 save for the moon-ribbons, streaming through the 
 "chinks" of the wall; but to the left of the stairway, 
 they offered no advantage to my pistol; and now I 
 must estimate rather than aim. I could hear the tick 
 ing of that old, one-handed clock. Was it a mile up 
 the stairs? If but a moonbeam would pierce that 
 gloom! Were heaven-sent rays ever so unkind be 
 fore? Was that a deeper darkness over there? The 
 pistol flashed, fired ; and with the pent up violence of 
 the shock my very temples seemed to burst. And 
 then a silence, as short as the pause between the draw 
 ing of a long breath and the escape of a sigh; and 
 then, a cry as something heavily struck the floor be 
 low. 
 
 "Sam'l are you hurt?" 
 
 The answer was a roar that denied my victory: 
 ' ' Fetch me the blunderbuss and I '11 blow him through 
 the roof!" 
 
 At this moment there came a furious knocking at 
 the door. Out went the light. 
 
 "Open this door," a voice demanded. All was 
 silent within. 
 
 "Strike that light again and open this door." 
 
 "There's no other way," said the old man in his 
 penetrating whisper, "I've hit on something." And 
 then in a loud voice he answered the summons : ' ' All 
 right, in a minute. It will take some time to strike 
 the light fer the fire has to be uncovered and there 
 ain't no blaze." 
 
 "Be as quick as you can."
 
 18 "By the Eternal" 
 
 "Yes, sir, whoever you are, and I want to say that 
 I'm mighty glad you've come. We've trapped a rob 
 ber upstairs and we'll have to shoot him. Puss, can't 
 you git that light?" 
 
 I heard the old woman blowing at the fire. The 
 feeble light crept through the darkness. The door 
 was opened. There seemed to be several men with 
 out. "You are under arrest!" I heard some one ex 
 claim; and then it was the old man's voice that made 
 answer. 
 
 "What fer, gentlemen? Because a robbber gits into 
 my room up stairs and shoots at me? That's a putty 
 come off." 
 
 And then a voice which I had not heard before 
 spoke up. "Oh, we know you well enough, Brother 
 Ferguson; we've got your pedigree, and we know 
 where your company is most desired over in the 
 North Carolina penitentiary; and as I am an of 
 ficer of that state, and have a warrant for you, I'll 
 see that you get back there safe enough. Put on 
 the irons, Jim." 
 
 "By the Eternal, not on the woman," spoke up 
 the man whose voice had first demanded admission. 
 
 "All right, Judge, but she's a bad one." 
 
 "No matter how bad, sir, but still a woman, and 
 therefore shall be treated with all reasonable consider 
 ation. But we are forgetting the old man's robber 
 up stairs." 
 
 It did not require even a second hint to extract 
 me from that dark loft ; and when I had come down, 
 a tall, grave man stepped forward, looked at me. 
 smiled slightly and said: "A mere boy. Young 
 man, I congratulate you upon your determined de 
 fense and I will not add, upon the luckiness of our
 
 They Whispered. 19 
 
 arrival, for your own bravery would have saved 
 you, sir." 
 
 I thanked him, and then in the dim light strove to 
 get a good view of his features, but his countenance 
 was as a page in ^Eschylus to one who did not know 
 the text. In a moment, though, I was fascinated. 
 His voice thrilled me. I felt that I would follow him 
 to the frontier of any desperate measure; and in his 
 slight smile, which made his face really graver than 
 it was before, there was a something, a light, a more 
 than a light, the dazzle of a great soul. 
 
 There were two other men in the room, and having 
 merely nodded to me, as if I were one of the many 
 necessary incidents that fell to their lives, they were 
 soon busy with ironing the inn-keeper. The old 
 woman stood by, wailing. 
 
 "We didn't intend to hurt you," she said to me. 
 ' ' We had just been talking about what a nice boy you 
 were, and Sam '1 was goin ' up to see if everything was 
 all right in the room, and you shot at him, and then 
 we thought you were a robber. Didn't we, Sam'l?" 
 
 ' ' Shut up ! ' ' the old man shouted. 
 
 ' ' That is a poor recompense to her for all her fidel 
 ity to you, you infernal old brute," said the tall, 
 grave gentleman. "No matter how deep in crime she 
 may be, she is better than you, and deserving of your 
 respect. Madam, will you go along without any 
 trouble? I should hate to see them handcuff you. 
 But you must promise to behave yourself." 
 
 Most fervently she promised that she would. H* 
 bowed to her, and speaking to one of the officers, cau 
 tioned him to treat her kindly. Then he addressed 
 himself to me.
 
 20 "By the Eternal" 
 
 "Young man, there is a place a few miles further 
 on, where we may find accommodations. If you wish 
 it, you may come with me." 
 
 I thanked him and went on the keen bound to 
 saddle my horse. The lustiest of shouting failed to 
 draw the negro from his hiding place. But the stable 
 door was not locked, and soon I was ready to take 
 the road. My companion was splendidly mounted. 
 For a time we proceeded swiftly, in silence. I was 
 loth to break in upon his reserve. But curiosity was 
 riding me with a sharper spur than the one bound to 
 my own heel, and so I was prodded into inquiring 
 his name. 
 
 "Andrew Jackson," he answered; and I asked if 
 he would permit me to shake hands with him, there in 
 the forest, with the moon sparkling upon us. How 
 often has my mind flown back to the scene, the mo 
 ment of that hand-grasp ! And I can see him now as 
 he sat on his horse, dark majesty, fated scourger of 
 men who had never known defeat men who were to 
 over-topple Bonaparte and send him to Elba Pack- 
 enbfim's Nemesis speeding through the wild. 
 
 He was not unknown. I had heard of him, of his 
 bravery as an Indian fighter, and of his term in 
 Congress at Philadelphia, first representative from 
 the state of Tennessee. But while his reputation laid 
 just claim upon my admiration, yet that alone did 
 not excite my wonder. I had seen Congressmen in 
 North Carolina, at my father's house had seen them 
 drunk at our table ; and as for bravery verging upon 
 rashness, it was almost as common as caution is now. 
 It was the man himself, name unknown, that laid 
 strange hold upon me. Something told me that to 
 know him was to be a part of history.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HIS RESPECT FOR THE POETS. 
 
 AT AN inn not a great distance along the road 
 toward the west, we found what was in that 
 day "ample accommodations," which meant 
 not more than two in a bed. In consideration of the 
 fact that Jackson had served a term in Congress, he 
 was given a bed alone ; and, commenting upon it, the 
 "circuit rider" who had been assigned to share a 
 bunk with me, delivered this impressive homily: 
 "Just see what comes to a man who accomplishes 
 something in this life. And no wonder there is such 
 incentive to be ambitious when fame is attended by 
 such reward." 
 
 "Fame not only lies alone but often stands alone," 
 I ventured to remark. 
 
 "Yes," he agreed with me, "fame is lonesomeness, 
 I should think. Now, if I were a bishop but I won 't 
 permit myself to be ambitious. My aim is to persuade 
 men from noisy strife in the blazing light of the 
 devil's affairs, and to induce them in quiet, to think 
 upon their soul's salvation. That old man and his 
 wife had you in a close place. For a long time they 
 have been suspected. Recently, evidence became 
 strong enough, and so officers came with warrants 
 aud in the nick of time, too, for you, it would seem. 
 Jackson didn't have anything to do legally with their 
 arrest, but happening to fall in with the officers, he 
 couldn't keep out of it he never can. I suppose he 
 
 21
 
 22 "By the Eternal." 
 
 could keep out of a fight, but I don't believe he ever 
 tried. Among my different charges is a meeting 
 house at Black Creek. Not long ago, I was holding 
 services there, and was pleased to see him enter the 
 room and become a part of my congregation. I was 
 selfish enough to hope that I might be the means of 
 his conversion. He's a great man, it is true enough, 
 but still he is a wanderer from the fold fights chick 
 ens and occasionally knocks down a man who does 
 not happen to agree with him." 
 
 "If he'd been meeker, we might never have heard 
 of him," said I; and my companion, turning over, 
 further away from me, thus replied: 
 
 "It would seem that you must have seen, yea, 
 looked into that infamous book by Thomas Paine. But 
 no matter, I will proceed with what I was going to 
 relate. In the neighborhood, as might have been ex 
 pected, there was a very rough element, known as the 
 Simmon's gang. They had made their boasts against 
 me said that they were going to break up my meet- 
 iug. Not knowing any of them by sight, I had no 
 means of determining whether or not they were in 
 the congregation. But I wasn't long in doubt, for I 
 hadn't more than taken my text when a clay ball 
 came whizzing past my head. Pretending not to 
 have noticed it, I proceeded. Pretty soon there sped 
 another one, and with better aim. It struck me square 
 upon the bosom of my white shirt, the only vanity I 
 possessed, and the only white shirt, too, for that mat 
 ter. A laugh broke out. Oh, any of them would 
 rather have seen a fight than to have heard a sermon. 
 The fight wasn't long in coming. I heard some one 
 exclaim i "By the Eternal!" Then I saw Jackson 
 in among a number of rough men, cracking their
 
 His Respect for the Poets. 23 
 
 heads with a cane, right and left. And when they 
 made a show of resistance he whipped out his knife, 
 and not only quelled them, but compelled them to 
 come forward, take a seat on the front bench and 
 listen attentively to my sermon. ' ' 
 
 "That not only aroused your gratitude but must 
 have challenged your admiration," said I, with the 
 picture of the fight in my mind. 
 
 "Yes, but it had a sad termination. Jackson 
 spoiled it all by a subsequent action. That very 
 afternoon, I saw him with a game-cock under his arm 
 going over the creek to have a fight. But I repri 
 manded him." 
 
 * ' How did he take it ? " I inquired. 
 
 "With a slight inclination of the head and with 
 his peculiar half smile. This attitude led me to be 
 lieve that he was repentant; but he spoiled that, too, 
 and by a very irreverant remark. 'Parson,' said he, 
 'if the Lord had made you as game as this bird, I 
 reckon you could preach most anywhere.' That was 
 no way to talk to me. ' ' 
 
 "But there was truth in it," said I; and flouncing 
 still farther away from me he declared with much 
 irritation : ' ' Young sir, that is no way to talk to me. 
 I bid you good night. ' ' 
 
 Early on the following day, Jackson and I set forth 
 on our journey to Nashville. He bade me good morn 
 ing, and said nothing more for some time, and then 
 he remarked: 
 
 "I like your modesty, sir." 
 
 Not aware that I was modest this surprised me. 
 But I made no denial; I bowed and waited for him 
 to explain. He did. 
 
 "Last night when you inquired my name, you did
 
 24 "By the Eternal" 
 
 not give me your own. That was not like the youth 
 of the present day, sir; it was more like the self -sup 
 pression of a day that has gone. Now, sir, on this 
 impudent rim of experimental time, a young fellow is 
 likely to shout his own name the moment he sees you, 
 believing that you cannot help but find interest in it. 
 What is your name ? ' ' 
 
 "Richard Staggs, sir." 
 
 "Staggs, eh? Related to Potter Staggs?" 
 
 "He was my father." 
 
 "Ah; you say he was your father. Dead?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, both my mother and father were 
 drowned while crossing a river nearly five years 
 ago." 
 
 ' ' I am sorry. I remember him he was kind to me. 
 Years ago when I was a boy, I stopped at his house 
 bleeding, sir. Your father was very young, had just 
 been married." 
 
 "You say you were bleeding." 
 
 "I was. A British officer had ordered me to clean 
 his boots; and, by the Eternal, I told him that I 
 would see him in hell first. With that he came down 
 upon me with his sword. I warded off the blow, but 
 .my hand and my head were cut. Your father dressed 
 the wound cared for me until I was able to go on 
 my way. And now, tell me, what is it your intention 
 to do in Nashville?" 
 
 " It is my wish to be a part of that new community. 
 But as to just what sort of a part I don't know. It 
 was my father's aim, as I have understood, and I 
 know that it was the aim of my guardian, who died 
 recently, that I should be put to the law, and with 
 that end in view I went to school." 
 
 "And you think that now you have education
 
 His Respect for the Poets. 25 
 
 enough to enable you to become a good lawyer, I sup 
 pose. But before you answer, let me assure you that 
 I have never seen a young man go into study of the 
 law with education enough. There is in Nashville a 
 comparatively new institution and a very worthy one, 
 known as the Davidson Academy. I am one of the 
 trustees of it, and I advise you to go there for at 
 least one term before beginning the study of the law. 
 Do not urge, sir, that you are not able financially. I 
 will arrange that part of it. So that is settled. 
 Young man, it has always been the keenest grief of 
 my life that I was not schooled so as to read of the 
 great Greek and Latin heroes in the language in 
 which their exploits were first recorded. Years ago, 
 some one gave me Chapman's Homer, and when I 
 read it, I wept bitterly because I could not read the 
 original; and I struggled hard to acquaint myself 
 with that knowledge, but the time was passed, my 
 mind was too rebellious. Have you read the great 
 poets in the original, sir?" 
 
 I answered that I had, after a perfunctory fashion, 
 and ventured to add that so far as I was able to judge, 
 the poets would take their own time in helping me to 
 ward any achievement in the practice of the law. To 
 ward me he turned that strangely grave face ; and he 
 was in the sunlight now, but still a dark majesty. In 
 his countenance there was nothing born of darkness 
 his eyes seemed gray, shooting blue spears of light ; 
 his hair, borrowing of the future, had begun slightly 
 to turn gray, and yet to me a general view of him 
 was dark. It must have been his avenging spirit 
 that had taken hold upon my senses. 
 
 "Everything that teaches you human nature leads 
 you to achievement in the law," he said. "Poetry
 
 26 "By the Eternal" 
 
 is the blossom in the forest of human nature. Mark 
 me, sir, I didn't say rhyme; I said poetry." 
 
 "In your family, beyond the seas, there must have 
 been poets," I suggested, and thus he answered, after 
 riding for a time in silence: "In my family there 
 has always been rebels against oppressive authority, 
 and the poet may be the lawless champion of the hu 
 man heart." Suddenly he broke off: "But in 
 America, our poetry is not gentle measures, but heavy 
 blows. Other countries may have reached the state 
 where they may muse, but with us, it's fight. And 
 a man is but a part of the country; and to do any 
 thing he must fight. If a man isn't willing at all 
 times to die for what he believes to be right, then he is 
 not fit to live. Honesty, not backed by courage, is 
 but a one-legged virtue. A brave man will become 
 honest eventually, if you give him a chance. ' ' 
 
 I might not have agreed with him in all that he 
 said, but I took no issue; I listened. 
 
 "If you would be a leader, you must inspire not 
 love, but admiration tinctured with fear. We take 
 persuasive issue with one we love; we are bold to 
 tell him he is wrong, but if we fear him, we wait, 
 half believing that he may be right." 
 
 Was he experimenting with himself or with me? 
 I have known men, great men, too, that experimented 
 with themselves, seeking to draw themselves out, as it 
 were, and sometimes I have fancied that they won 
 dered as to what they might say next. No man lives 
 up to or down to the discoveries w r hich he makes in 
 himself; no man wholly acts the better or the worse 
 part of his talking self; and the mind is sometimes 
 as aimless when we are awake as when we sleep. 
 
 Along toward noon, we halted at an inn near the
 
 His Respect for the Poets. 27, 
 
 roadside. Here were gathered a number of men en 
 gaged in holding a local election. My companion 
 was at once keenly alive. I was hungry and went 
 straightway into the dining-room, but he remained 
 outside, and when I returned to him, I found that he 
 had canvassed the merits of the three candidates for 
 Justice of the Peace, hitherto strangers to him, and 
 was standing on a stump hotly advocating the claims 
 of one of them. His assertions were dogmatic and 
 his manner was violent. He swore that unless Joyce 
 were elected the neighborhood would sink into moral 
 nothingness. Hilton, another candidate, resented the 
 interference, and then there was a fight. Joyce, who 
 was present, showed the white feather; and Jackson, 
 turning from him in disgust, threw his influence over 
 to Hilton, who had stood up for himself until he 
 had been knocked down. The polls were not to close 
 until four o'clock, and my companion would not lis 
 ten to a hint at departure until the votes had been 
 counted. Some of the men addressed him as General 
 and some as Judge, and every one showed him great 
 respect, especially Hilton, who had been introduced 
 to two of his most active forces, his enmity and his 
 advocacy. When the ballots had been counted it was 
 found that Hilton had won by the handsome plural 
 ity of three votes, and then the General could not 
 leave until after he had taken part in the celebration 
 of the victory.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE JOLLY FERRYMAN. 
 
 IT WAS nearly nightfall when we mounted our 
 horses again. Large quantities of whisky, 
 greened with bruised mint, had been served, but 
 the General had partaken sparingly, and his mood 
 seemed to have been sobered rather than enlivened. 
 
 The moon arose and the graceful hills were flooded 
 with light. The world seemed one great poem in ac 
 cents of silver. In the sunlight the General had 
 spoken of the poets, and I expected now to hear him 
 break forth in rhapsody over them, now that we were 
 in their natural zone, the moonlight, amid the 
 shadowy, mysterious etchings; his mind, however, 
 was not upon poetic hill-tops, but down in political 
 jungles. 
 
 "The man who makes politics a profession may not 
 be a good citizen, and still he is a far better citizen 
 than the man who neglects to vote. In this regard, 
 negligence is a crime. There are men, both North 
 and South who already have begun to talk about a 
 possible dissolution of this union. Such men ought 
 to be hanged as high as Haman. Better that every 
 man in the country should be dead than that the 
 country should be divided. Power can come only 
 from solidity. Richard, shall I tell you what is my 
 life dream?" 
 
 "If you please, sir," I answered. 
 
 He turned his face toward me, and in the light of 
 28
 
 The Jolly Ferryman. 29 
 
 the moon I could see the gleam of his strange, thrill 
 ing smile. 
 
 "Kichard, with her sword old England struck me 
 a defenseless boy a poverty-stricken boy; and, by 
 the Eternal, it is my dream that she shall pay for it. 
 With money ? No, with her best blood. In a cabin in 
 Ireland my people starved. Across the sea there lay 
 a promise, and they left their endeared home, of 
 starvation, and came over here, but the hand of op 
 pression was reached forth after and clutched them 
 struck me with a sword, and to the grave I shall carry 
 the scar, but I will make a scar on England's brow 
 and she shall wear it." 
 
 I wondered if all great men were such egotists. 
 That they are, years of subsequent observation have 
 convinced me. The man of action must believe in 
 himself. It is only the deep thinker that is made 
 weak by a want of faith. This man 's most quiet medi 
 tation seemed to look forward to action. That part 
 of thought which is a sort of graceful sloth was not 
 of him. His friends were to be many and blindly 
 ardent, and his restless enemies were to inhabit the 
 earth. Thousands of views were to be written of his 
 character. I have read many of these estimates, some 
 of them written by the ablest thinkers of the age. 
 Acknowledging only average intelligence and deplor 
 ing crudeness of expression, yet out of the vanity of 
 my personal contact with him, I feel that here and 
 there, I may discover in his character a light, a shade, 
 a whim, that escaped the observation of those who 
 looked wholly up or wholly down, gazing rather than 
 searching. The university lays slow hold upon a vio 
 lence of temperament and tones it down to hair-split 
 ting polemics; and I believe that Andrew Jackson's
 
 30 "By the Eternal" 
 
 violence in action was resultant from his inability to 
 find at the right time the doctrinaire word. He ex 
 pressed himself physically. This applies more par 
 ticularly to the latter years of his life. 
 
 About eleven o 'clock in the night we came to a 
 river. The opposite shore, "shrouded with shadows, 
 seemed miles away. There was a boat, chained and 
 padlocked to a tree. We shouted for the ferryman 
 but there was no answer. Nowhere was there a light ; 
 but the General said that the ferryman lived on a hill 
 not far away, and instructed me to go to his cabin and 
 request him to set us over the river. 
 
 The house faced from the road, and I saw no gleam 
 of light until I had gone around in front and then 
 1 discovered that a lamp was burning within. The 
 door was open. I heard voices; and looking in I saw, 
 seated about a blanket spread upon the floor, three 
 men playing cards. Standing at the door, I spoke, 
 asking if the ferryman were present. One of the 
 meft looked up and answered: 
 
 -'He is, but he ain't doin' no ferryin' to-night." 
 
 "It isn't very late, and it is necessary that Judge 
 Jackson and I should cross the river." 
 
 "Well," he answered, playing a card, "a man 
 that's smart enough to be a judge ought to have pa 
 tience enough to wait. ' ' 
 
 "Well put, Crutcher," cried out one of his com 
 panions. "I tell you, Crutch, he's got sense enough 
 to be a judge himself." 
 
 "Much ableeged to you," said the ferryman, ac 
 knowledging the compliment; and then he added, 
 speaking to me: "Good night, before the dogs bite 
 you."
 
 "HOLD ON, SIR, HOLD ON,
 
 The Jolly Ferryman. 31 
 
 "And must I tell the Judge that you refuse to set 
 him over the river?" 
 
 "As I am feelin' particular well to-night, I don't 
 care what you tell him. Pass the bottle. It's my 
 drink, and Timothy's smell of the cork." 
 
 Just then Jackson passed me, with swift stride, 
 into the house. I followed him. The ferryman was 
 drinking out of a bottle. 
 
 "I don't mind visitors as a general thing," said 
 he, putting the bottle aside and wiping his mouth, 
 "but I don't like for 'em to be so infernal sudden. 
 Anybody ask you fellows to take a hand?" 
 
 "No," answered the General, reminding me of a 
 calm that was almost a silence, "but we ask you to 
 take a hand and to put it to the oar. I beg your par 
 don for interrupting your game, but I take it that you 
 are a licensed ferryman, and J therefore demand that 
 you row us over the river or lend us your boat, just as 
 you please." 
 
 "To that I could say all right, but I won't; I'll say 
 all wrong." 
 
 "Meaning that you'll do neither?" 
 
 "You guess putty well." 
 
 That was all the guessing that was done. Jackson's- 
 pistols were out in less than a second; and giving 
 the fellow a kick he said : 
 
 "Get up." 
 
 "Hold on, sir, hold on; that't just what I was 
 thinkin' about doin' myself. You must be the Andy 
 Jackson that I Ve heard 'em talk about. ' ' 
 
 He was up. "Timothy, you an' Dave run things 
 here till I come back." 
 
 All three were on their feet. The one addressed as
 
 32 "By the Eternal." 
 
 Timothy appeared to be drunker than his com 
 panions. 
 
 "Crutch, I'll be hung, draw'd and quartered if I'd 
 go down thar this time o' night unless I wanted to," 
 he said. 
 
 "Now, Timothy, you wouldn't be so unaccommo 
 dating would you?" 
 
 "Lead on," commanded the General, "I'm wait 
 ing." 
 
 "Yes, sir, as soon as I find my key to the padlock. 
 Here it is. Would have 'lowed that I left it in my 
 other clothes, but happened to recollect that I ain't 
 got none." 
 
 The General ordered him to go in advance of us, 
 and he took the lead as cheerfully as if he had been 
 conducting an expedition purely for his own pleas 
 ure. He broke out in song. 
 
 The river was swift, but Crutch knew his business 
 and soon had us across. I thought that finally he 
 would haggle about the price, but his mind had 
 soared so high above such trifles that he insisted 
 upon tendering our passage as a compliment due from 
 himself; and when the General had forced him to ac 
 cept his regular fee, he took it with a bow of deep 
 gratitude. 
 
 "General," he said, "whenever you come along 
 this way, no matter how deep I am in the game 
 whether it's my drink or Timothy's smell of the cork, 
 you just holler and I'll be with you. Good night; 
 mighty glad you dropped by to see me."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AT THE BALL. 
 
 IN THOSE days, Nashville was a small town, but 
 to me it was a city. It was in the afternoon 
 when we entered the place. The streets were 
 crowded with buyers and sellers, and surely I had 
 never beheld so busy a scene. There were great ox 
 \vagons loaded with tobacco, and the river was cov 
 ered with flat boats weighted down with timber to be 
 used in the construction of the many houses that were 
 building. 
 
 As we passed through the streets toward the inn 
 where we were to lodge, many of the people bowed 
 to the General, and not a few of them came from 
 the sidewalks, out into the mud, to shake him by the 
 hand. The inn was a great structure, built of logs, 
 and must have contained as many as ten rooms. In 
 this hostelry there was a ball that evening, and I had 
 an opportunity to look in upon the beauty and the 
 fashion of the place. In the main hallway a little 
 misunderstanding took place, concerning some women, 
 I gathered; and a man was stabbed, but he did not 
 die immediately, and thus what might have been a 
 damper upon the gaiety of the occasion was happily 
 averted. The sheriff came around to see the gentle 
 man who had done the stabbing, but learning that it . 
 was in the defense of a woman's honor, bade him good 
 night and returned to the livery stable, where the 
 
 33
 
 34 "By the Eternal." 
 
 two best known bulldogs of the community were to 
 fight, bets running high on each side. 
 
 Nothing further had been said concerning my mat 
 riculation at the Davidson Academy, and believing 
 that I possessed sufficient education to fit me for an 
 immediate beginning in the study of the law, I hoped 
 that the General had forgotten having proposed it. 
 l was not, however, given much time for speculation. 
 On the following morning, while we were at breakfast 
 he said to me: 
 
 "Richard, to-day I am going to the Hermitage, my 
 home, about twelve miles up the river, but before set 
 ting out I will go with you to the academy to see 
 that you are properly entered there. As I said be 
 fore, you must not take the expense into account. 
 Andrew Jackson never left a debt unpaid, never per 
 mitted an obligation to fade dim in his memory. ' ' 
 
 "But, sir," I interposed in the mildest manner pos 
 sible, "what my father did for you he would have 
 done for any one else, and did not expect you to re 
 member it as an obligation." 
 
 "Ah, and therefore the more generous, and the 
 more reason I should have to discharge the debt. Over 
 at Mrs. Crenshaw's, on Cherry street, you will find 
 an excellent boarding place. She was at the ball here 
 last night, and I meant to introduce you to her, but 
 just at that time something happened to distract my 
 attention. However, I spoke to her concerning you, 
 and all the arrangements have been made. If you 
 are diligent in the academy, as I know you will be, 
 you may, in a year's time, enter the law department." 
 'It shall be as you desire," I answered, and smil 
 ing he replied: "Becomingly meek for a young man 
 who owns two horse pistols. ' '
 
 At the Ball. 35 
 
 I bowed my acknowledgments. "It is true that I 
 have very little money at present," said I, "but I 
 have well, distant prospects in Virginia." 
 
 "We will not discuss them, sir, be they far or near. 
 Did you mingle any in society last night? I left the 
 ball rather early. It was a desperate fight I mean 
 the dog fight around at the stable. There was an Eng 
 lish gentleman present, conceited to an unbearable 
 degree, persistent in the assertion of his opinion that 
 Cliff Robinson's dog would be the victor. I remarked 
 to him that I might defer to his superior knowledge 
 of ceremony, in a drawing-room in London, but that 
 in an American livery stable I conceded nothing. 
 Rather than to anger this seemed to please him, and 
 taking out his wallet he remarked that he had a few 
 pounds that he was willing to lay upon his judgment. 
 I had some American money which did not seem fated 
 to be taken out of the country by him, and I bet him 
 one hundred dollars. Saveley's dog was the favorite, 
 the better proportioned, and it surprised me, sir, that 
 a world sportsman should choose the other animal." 
 
 ' ' I hope you won, sir. ' ' 
 
 "I thank you for your interest, Richard, but that 
 Englishman walked off yawning, with my money. 
 Saveley's dog was killed; and, sir, I should not have 
 minded it so much if he had died game. But he 
 didn't; he howled before he died." 
 
 Ah, they have never succeeded in sainting this man. 
 Nor have his enemies ever acknowledged the unosten 
 tatious but certain moral reformation that came upon 
 him. Historians take into account the age in which 
 a man has lived ; the world grows more moral, gentler. 
 But at the time of which I write, with the exception, 
 perhaps, of New England, which was dark and intol-
 
 36 "By the Eternal." 
 
 erant under Puritanic restraint, society was loth to 
 condemn a man for drinking or gambling. And out 
 of this atmosphere there arose great men, not be 
 cause of the taint in average life, but because they 
 were strong enough to withstand temptation or to re 
 form; and I remember having heard an old fellow 
 say, "It ain't what he refuses to do in this life that 
 makes a man strong it's what he quits doin'." 
 
 After breakfast we repaired to the academy, the 
 most pretentious school that I had ever seen, and here 
 1 was solemnly entered as a student. 
 
 "And now," said the General, as I walked down 
 the hill with him, to see him on his way home, "re 
 member that the harder you work the better you will 
 please me. I shall see you from time to time, as I am 
 in town every few days; and when Mrs. Jackson re 
 turns she is now visiting relatives in Kentucky I 
 shall expect you to come out and break bread with 
 me at my own table. Ah, let me see. There was 
 something else that I was going to say. Yes, I re 
 call. Get along with your fellow students the best 
 you can, but always bear in mind that you are to 
 suffer no indignity whatever. 'Better be with the 
 dead,' sir, said a poet whom I can read in the original ; 
 'better be with the dead.' " 
 
 He shook my hand and left me, striding slowly 
 down the gently sloping path, a picture of majesty, 
 as if he had conquered every inch of ground on 
 which he set his foot. 
 
 On this day I resumed my neglected studies. But 
 looking back, it seems to me that our system of edu 
 cation was most impractical; and the further back 
 you go, the more impractical it appears, until you 
 wander to the groves of Greece, where young men
 
 At the Ball. 37 
 
 were taught to memorize poetry and fancies called 
 philosophy; and from these groves they were sent 
 forth into the streets, orators, indeed, but exhibiting 
 no advancement over their predecessors. In the rude 
 states of America, education was little better than 
 a rhapsody committed to memory. It was thought 
 that the mind ought to be more graceful with vague 
 theory before it should be strengthened with prac 
 tical truth. My instructor was an Irishman, mellow 
 with humor. His name was Mahone; and, what 
 seemed strange to me, he was inclined to be a free 
 thinker, a term which in those days meant a dark 
 reproach. The circuit rider who had flounced over 
 in bed from me had accused me justly when he de 
 clared that I had read Tom Paine, whom I believed 
 a true worshiper of wondrous Nature's God.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ARABELLA CRENSHAW. 
 
 MAHONE made up to me at "recess," invited 
 me to take a walk with him, and when we had 
 reached a lonely spot down in the woods, he 
 drew forth a bottle and bade me help myself. I de 
 clined, and he seemed hurt. 
 
 "Oh, don't be exclusive just because your sponsor 
 here is one of the gamest men in the world to-day. 
 Come, now, how are you ever to get at the spirit of the 
 poets in Old Ireland if you don't take just a wee bit? 
 And this came from the Old Sod. I'm sure the Gen 
 eral himself would jump at the chance like a fish at a 
 worm. That's right, drink it while you're smiling, 
 for a smile adds zest to good liquor. ' ' 
 
 I took a swallow, and he clapped me on the shoul 
 der. "Ah, surely now you have matriculated. The 
 Irish poets would claim you as one of their own 
 brawny lad that you are. Ah, I have seen many a one 
 of them set sail across the sea, for their only home, 
 America; and one of these days they will go back 
 again, I am thinking, with rods in their hands to 
 scourge the oppressor. Let us walk down further on, 
 in the valley, yonder where the grass is so green. 
 Sure it is like the old home." 
 
 I went with him down into the cool depths of the 
 green valley, and plucking up a handful of the rich 
 grass he sprinkled it upon his bare head. 
 
 38
 
 Arabella Crenshaw. 39 
 
 4 ' I know your mother must have been Irish, ' ' he 
 said, his eyes beaming upon me. 
 
 "She was," I answered. 
 
 "Ah, I could see it in your fine countenance, sir; 
 blessed be her name." He turned about and looked 
 up toward the schoolhouse, on the hill. "It is not 
 all of them up there that hold Old Ireland dear in 
 their hearts, sir; they are democrats, but they take 
 pride in their English ancestry. I don't blame them 
 for that, mind you, but no matter how great a coun 
 try may be, no man should be proud of her lack of 
 heart and sympathy. In England they sigh over the 
 slave trade, but cry 'traitor' if one weeps over the 
 suffering in Ireland. And now, in memory of that 
 suffering, we will take just another wee drop in 
 silence." 
 
 "Not for me, Professor; with me the drinking of 
 liquor would be a crime. It shoots through my blood 
 and makes me restless; besides, there is not more than 
 enough in the bottle for yourself. You'll need to 
 sympathize again later in the day. ' ' 
 
 He clapped me on the shoulder. "Ah, what a 
 broth of a lad. You would teach an Irishman to be 
 provident; and, ah, sir, that is a degree that no uni 
 versity can confer." 
 
 He drank again, his sympathy showing in his eyes ; 
 and then he asked me to sit with him upon a green 
 bank, beneath a red haw tree, to keep him company 
 while he smoked his pipe a bit of clay as black as 
 any pot. With a flint and steel he struck a light, and 
 for a time he smoked with a succession of loud 
 smacks, seeming greatly to enjoy the exertion. 
 
 "I believe you are coming over to board at the 
 Widow Crenshaw 's," he said. Then he smacked his
 
 40 "By the Eternal." 
 
 mouth louder than before. "There's a young widow 
 among a million, sir; and I am sure that if her hus 
 band hadn't .been killed he must sooner or later have 
 died of joy. The likes of her eyes was never seen 
 before, and her smile " he took the pipe out of his 
 mouth and slowly shook his head. "Shall I ever get 
 over that smile? And the young fellows are all 
 breaking their necks after her, bad luck to them ; and 
 I suppose you will be, too. Won't you now? Come 
 tell me." 
 
 I strove to assure him that I was not much given 
 that way, but he shook his head. "I have been try 
 ing to induce her to skip my looks and to center her 
 beautiful mind on my spirit," he continued, "and 
 sometimes I think she does, but not always, sir; she 
 laughs, but I don 't know whether she laughs at me or 
 with me. But no matter. The man that takes her 
 away from me will have a struggle to the end. I 
 think you will have trouble with Lismukes, sir. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Lismukes ! Who is he ? " 
 
 "The leading young man of our school. He ex 
 pects every student to pay him homage. ' ' 
 
 "He needn't expect it of me," I hotly replied. 
 
 "There spoke a man. But he will." 
 
 "And he will find out that I won't." 
 
 "Ah, such beautiful talk cheers me to the soul of 
 me," said the professor. In a way he was a scholar, 
 but, above all, a native of Ireland. "Lismukes is off 
 now on leave of absence," he continued, slowly smok 
 ing, "and will be gone as long as it suits his fancy. 
 You might say that he runs things pretty much to suit 
 himself, simply because no one cares to have trouble 
 with him, knowing that it might be far-reaching in 
 its results. His people, some of them, are educated
 
 Arabella Crenshaw. 41 
 
 in a way, but the majority of them are tough custom 
 ers. They have no fondness for Andrew Jackson. 
 They have come to remember him. He had trouble 
 with one of them while he Avas judge. The affair 
 is famous throughout this part of the country. The 
 fellow, a ruffian who in Ireland Avould have had his 
 head constantly broken with a blackthorne, committed 
 a depredation and swore that they shouldn't arrest 
 him. He came to the place where Jackson was hold 
 ing court, and parading up and down in front of the 
 Hall of Justice, flourished his weapons and defied the 
 very name of law. The Judge ordered the sheriff to 
 arrest him, and the sheriff, who had no nerve at all, 
 went out and begged the ruffian to let himself be ar 
 rested, for the good of society; and the fellow, cock 
 ing his pistols and raising his voice into a bawdy song, 
 improvised an oratorio to the effect that society might 
 be damned. This greatly humiliated the sheriff, for 
 lie had a daughter in society at the time was attend 
 ing a quilting party that very day ; and so he begged 
 the ruffian to revise and to modify his sweeping state 
 ment, but he wouldn't. The sheriff being a man of 
 few words, refused to argue with him, and, being 
 also a man of quick decision, decided to withdraw 
 from the contest and to report to the Judge that the 
 ruffian was in no humor to be arrested. Then the 
 Judge ordered that he himself might be summoned, 
 which was done ; and out he went with a pistol in 
 each hand, walked up to the fellow who was enter 
 taining a party of admirers, scared him into fits and 
 then arrested the fits. When asked afterward why 
 he didn't shoot the Judge, he said: 'I couldn't. With 
 his knife-blade eyes he had cut my nerves in two.' 
 Yet the fellow was game, for afterward he shot a
 
 42 "By the Eternal." 
 
 man under most unfavorable circumstances. I tell 
 you this to show what sort of a faction you will have 
 to deal with unless you pay homage to Lismukes." 
 
 I felt my blood bubble with heat. I, the son of a 
 man who, every one had said, did not know the mean 
 ing of the word ''fear!" Should I stand in awe of 
 this this fellow, whatever his name might be ? The 
 Irishman enjoyed my anger. I wondered if Lismukes 
 had been in Jackson's mind when he warned me to 
 put up with no indignities. 
 
 "But there is one thing that we may both con 
 gratulate ourselves on, which is that Lismukes does 
 not live at the house of the charming Mrs. Cren- 
 shaw," said the professor. 
 
 "It wouldn't make any difference to me if he did," 
 I answered. 
 
 "Possibly not," the schoolman agreed, "but it 
 would make a big difference to me." 
 
 "How have you managed not to have trouble with 
 this fellow?" I inquired. 
 
 "For the reason that I made up my mind to put 
 up with everything from him until after a certain 
 event takes place, and then I will break every bone in 
 his body and leave the country. The event I refer to 
 is my marriage with Mrs. Crenshaw." 
 
 I inquired as to what difference his marriage could 
 make, and slowly he shook his head. "Ah, sir, they 
 are distantly related, and it is singular, but out here' 
 in this wild country it would seem that blood is 
 thicker than matrimony much thicker than mine 
 with her if I should have a fight with him before 
 hand." His pipe was out. Again he struck the flint 
 and steel together, caught a spark in the fluffy tow 
 and relighted it. My anger, stirred by the absent Mr.
 
 Arabella Crenshaw. 43 
 
 Lismukes, had cooled and this man's humors made 
 my nerves laugh. * 
 
 "You will be moving into your new home about 
 supper time," said he. "And then, sir, you will see 
 one of the grandest sights that ever fell to mortal 
 view Mrs. Crenshaw, sitting at the head of the table, 
 all unconscious of the fact that she is the most beauti 
 ful woman in the world." 
 
 Now he was becoming tiresome. Humor, individ 
 uality, character, all are alike when they prate of the 
 object of their love. All the world may love a lover 
 if all the world's in love, but I was not. I was one 
 of the few youngsters who had not fallen in love with 
 a dame almost old enough to be their mother. 
 
 Soon we returned to the academy, new shades of 
 ancient learning, and during the remainder of the 
 day I was busy with odes and philippics. In the 
 evening I returned to the inn, gathered up my scant 
 belongings, and repaired to the Widow Crenshaw 's 
 home, the chief physical characteristic of which was 
 its construction of "frame" rather than of logs. The 
 mansion of the town, it was set back from the street 
 in the midst of a grove of graceful trees. Mahone 
 met me at the hall door and conducted me into a large 
 sitting-room, furnished, as you must know, to suggest 
 necessary economy rather than extravagance. On 
 the walls there were several portraits, one of a woman 
 stroking the head of a stag hound, and another of a 
 man with a hawk resting on his head. Mahone was 
 quick to tell me that they were family portraits, one 
 representing the widow and the other her husband, 
 which I surmised; but I did not quite understand the 
 significance of the hawk until my friend assured me 
 that the late Mr. Crenshaw was of a very ancient
 
 44 "By the Eternal." 
 
 house, dating back to the time when hawking was the 
 favorite pastime of kings. Both portraits had been 
 done about two years before by a Frenchman who 
 had come up from New Orleans, and who had ex 
 changed these works of art for six months domiciliary 
 accommodations, as the professor termed it. Mr. 
 Crenshaw's death had been sudden, if not instanta 
 neous, he having been kicked by a horse that was much 
 pestered by flies. It was a sad, not to say a mean, 
 ending for a man whose kinsfolk had sent hawks sail 
 ing against the wind ; still, it might have been worse, 
 for the horse was a blooded animal and had been 
 "complimented" by Governor John Sevier. 
 
 After a time several other boarders entered the 
 room; Judge Black, who had been a Justice of the 
 Peace in North Carolina, a young storekeeper named 
 Harvey, and a woman who was looking for her hus- 
 Band, having heard that he had come down the Cum 
 berland River on a raft of logs. She put on her 
 spectacles, looked at me and slowly shook her head. 
 Evidently, I was not her husband. Judge Black had 
 heard of me not that I was of good family or that I 
 had done ought to commend myself to the public, but 
 that I was the reputed owner of a fine horse. He 
 shook me heartily by the hand and inquired the age 
 of my horse. 
 
 "We welcome you to our rapidly developing city," 
 said he, reaching for my hand again and giving it an 
 other squeeze. "We have need of young and enthu 
 siastic blood. What will you take for your horse ? ' ' 
 
 I answered that I was not on the look-out for a pur 
 chaser, which, adding value to the animal, caused the 
 Judge to smile upon me with renewed light. Soon 
 there came the ringing of a bell, mellow as a cow-
 
 Arabella Crenshaw. 45 
 
 bell rung at sunset and the Judge, forgetting me, 
 and perhaps with a dimmer memory of my horse, has 
 tened toward a door opening off into another room. 
 The bell had announced supper. Mahone took me by 
 the arm, led me to the head of the table and presented 
 me to Mrs. Arabella Crenshaw; and, as I bowed low, 
 the Judge brayed out: "The young man that owni 
 the horse." 
 
 Mrs. Crenshaw smiled and said: "I am much 
 pleased to meet you, Mr. Horse I beg your pardon, 
 I mean Mr. Staggs." 
 
 The Judge clapped me on the shoulder as if I had 
 been complimented by the widow's mistake, and the 
 woman whose husband had been rafted away from 
 her, coughed and remarked that such "verbal mis 
 haps" were most natural, as she had often made them 
 herself. 
 
 Mrs. Crenshaw laughed like a dove cooing, and 
 Mahone whispered to me: "Did you ever hear the 
 like of that?" It was music, melancholy and sweet; 
 and I looked into Mrs. Crenshaw 's eyes, into the 
 great depths of them, where mischief sprites were 
 sporting in an azure sea. I said something, a foolish 
 something, of course; and down from a black cloud 
 floating above the sea, there shot one of the family's 
 ancestral hawks, and I knew that she had made a 
 witty reply, for I heard the company laughing and 
 felt myself grow red. 
 
 Some scribbler wrote,- "a woman's glory-mark is 
 thirty." This woman had not reached this golden 
 age. It seemed that she was just old enough for what 
 she was, a charming widow, a conscious wringer of 
 hearts. But in those days I was ignorant. Ah, and 
 who shall say that as man grows older he grows wiser?
 
 46 "By the Eternal." 
 
 It is true that he knows more of man, and it is true, 
 also, that he may know less of woman. 
 
 Nature said to the mathematician: "I will give 
 you a problem which you cannot solve." Time 
 passed; and the mathematician, in the ripeness of his 
 victorious years, inquired of Nature: "Where is 
 the problem you were to give me the one I could 
 not solve?" And Nature smiled and thus made an 
 swer : ' ' I gave it to you years ago your wife. ' ' And 
 the mathematician bowed his head and was mute. 
 
 The widow laughed, and spring-time waters were 
 loosened in the hills. Well could I now catch at the 
 spirit of the schoolman's infatuation. She passed 
 the bread, and I felt that she had knighted me; she 
 smiled, and for a moment I knew that I wore a 
 crown. 
 
 ' ' General Jackson has spoken so highly of you, Mr. 
 Staggs, and we are so pleased to have you with us," 
 she said, and I whispered to the Irishman: "Did 
 you ever hear the like of that ? ' ' And it seemed that 
 his eyes groaned in jealousy as he looked at me. Was 
 I in love, too ? Oh, no ; but for her sake, I would do 
 homage to Lismukes, her ruffian kinsman ; with rever 
 ent hands I would tallow his rawhide boots, curry his 
 horse, give him my own. 
 
 "Don't you think we have a charming city for so 
 new a place?" sweetly she made remark, passing a 
 platter of fried venison; and with a lump of gold in 
 my throat I answered: "Madam, while approaching 
 it, had I seen all its charms, I should have thought it 
 the new Jerusalem, coming down out of the clouds." 
 
 "Oh, you blasphemous boy," she cried, and per* 
 haps I said it, perhaps dreamed afterward that I did 
 say it to the Irishman: "Sweep me a place on the
 
 Arabella Crenshaw. 47 
 
 floor, that I may fall there and at her feet expire in 
 humiliation." Waving my knife, and doubtless at 
 my own throat, I shouted that I was not a blasphemer 
 but a worshiper. At this moment Judge Black's 
 voice hammered at my ear: 
 
 "Is your horse a single footer?" 
 
 ' ' Oh, yes, do tell us something about his accomplish 
 ments, " cried Arabella. I could no longer think of 
 her as Mrs. Crenshaw, no matter if the kings who had 
 the honor of establishing her husband 's family hawked 
 the skies. 
 
 "Madam," I answered, bowing low over the gravy, 
 "to-morrow you shall ride him ride him to the place 
 of your nativity, the end of a June rainbow if you 
 promise to come back to us." 
 
 She dropped a napkin to clap her hands, and that 
 which had been a dip candle but now a Jove-torch, 
 seemed to sweep my cheek with its flame. She told 
 me that I was not eating anything. How could she 
 have said that? Eating! I was eating her. She 
 handed a glass of milk to the Irishman, and I won 
 dered as to the exact time on the following day when 
 I should kill him. 
 
 When we returned to the sitting-room, Harvey, the 
 merchant, asked me if I would like to walk down to 
 the store with him. Store ! My pistols were not 
 within reach, and so, I did not shoot him, except with 
 a look that ought to have been fatal. And what was it 
 that Arabella was saying? "Oh, I think you would 
 enjoy a visit to Mr. Harvey's store it's such an 
 emporium of trade." 
 
 Trade at this time, when there should be no barter 
 save the exchange of sentiment, the swapping of 
 poetry ! She said that she would like to go, and Ajax,
 
 48 "By the Eternal" 
 
 Hercules could not have held me. I swore that I 
 was charmed with emporiums, loved them ; and when 
 she bade me tie the ribbons of her bonnet beneath her 
 chin, I did not believe that I could possibly live 
 through it, or wish to survive it. She laughed at me ; 
 declared me awkward; and &s we were going out it 
 is a thousand wonders that I didn't butt my head 
 against the door, so completely had I lost control of 
 it. The Irishman stepped forward, offered his arm; 
 and she took it and I walked with the ' ' emporium. ' '
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 WITH CONTEMPT. 
 
 SOMETIMES beneath a lamp hung in front of a 
 door, she would turn her face back toward me, 
 and at such times the Irishman would hasten 
 her forward into the dark again. Through black 
 gaps I reached the store. The proud young merchant 
 lighted the candles and showed us his stock of goods, 
 brought in wagons and on pack mules from distant 
 Philadelphia. How her eyes sparkled as she viewed 
 a piece of silk; and the sordid wretch, the merchant, 
 stood there and saw her covet it looked on without 
 emotion did not fall upon his knees and beg of her 
 to accept it. Ah, but if he had, surely I should have 
 slain him and set fire to his house. 
 
 I cannot recall an incident of our return, except 
 that walking with the Irishman she looked back at 
 me. I don't know how I got into the house, up the 
 stairway, into my room. I remember dropping down 
 upon the bed, hillock of feathers remember staring 
 at the ceiling till the candle burned out, and then, 
 of gazing upward into the dark. A wink and it was 
 still dark; another wink and the sun was shining. I 
 sprang from the bed and looked out through the win 
 dow, down into the front yard, and there was Ara 
 bella, with sleeves rolled up, watering the flowers. 
 She looked as if she had slept in the moon, brought 
 down about her head the raveled dawn, and absorbed 
 the early sunbeams with her snappy eyes. There 
 
 49
 
 50 "By the Eternal." 
 
 came the sounds of rapid hoofs, and then a majestic 
 figure was at the gate General Jackson. She waved 
 a kiss at him as he dismounted ; and then he took her 
 hand and gallantly touched it with his lips. 
 
 "You are just in time for breakfast," she said. 
 ''There's the bell now." 
 
 "You townspeople are lazy. I breakfasted more 
 than two hours ago," he answered. "Ah, my young 
 friend Staggs isn't he up yet?" 
 
 She said that she thought not, slowly walking with 
 him toward the house. 
 
 "He is a fine and spirited young man, madam." 
 
 Why didn't she speak out so that I could hear? 
 What was that ? An amusing boy ? Oh, and was that 
 all? And this, after my devotion. Now there was 
 but one course for me to pursue, to treat her with the 
 contempt she deserved. 
 
 The General greeted me cordially as I entered the 
 sitting-room. Arabella or rather the widow of that 
 pretentious fellow named Crenshaw was not present, 
 and it was just as well for her that she was not. What 
 difference, however, could it make to me? I had 
 dismissed her from my mind. Perhaps she was right. 
 Her age warranted the remark that I was an amusing 
 boy, but after this she would not find me so amusing. 
 I would humiliate her with her own ignorance. 
 
 "Of course you haven't had time to get your bear 
 ings," said the General, "but how do you like your 
 school thus far?" 
 
 "I am much pleased with it, sir." 
 
 "I am glad to hear you say so. I never attended 
 one half so good. ' ' 
 
 ''But to genius, sir," I answered, "one school is as 
 good as another."
 
 With Contempt. 51 
 
 He smiled, and I can see him now as he stood on the 
 hearth, his back toward the fireplace. "Young man, 
 genius is will. Creative force is will. The meek tell 
 us that God is love, but I know that God is will. And 
 they who have within them more of will for good have 
 inherited more of the spirit of the Master. Some of 
 the mightiest minds have been impatient of the min- 
 utia of learning. There was many a drill sergeant 
 that could give Washington points, and I cannot 
 imagine Shakespeare tying the wing-tips of his soar 
 ing mind with that hempen string a rule in gram 
 mar. Just now, sir, you paid me a high compliment, 
 inferring that I am a genius. I am not ; I have had a 
 disappointment that convinced me. I had thought 
 that to take a seat in the United States Senate would 
 surely develop certain latent powers that I felt within 
 me, but upon attaining this exalted position I found 
 that I was out of place. Able men arose and con 
 tented themselves with the splitting of hairs when, 
 by the Eternal, I had thought to see them break 
 chains. I felt myself out of place, and so I resigned 
 my seat and came back home. If I am to be quiet, let 
 me be quiet in private life." 
 
 At this moment, the widow appeared at the door, 
 and smiling upon me but it was lost asked me if 
 I would be so obliging as to walk out to breakfast. 
 The General said that he would come, too, and take a 
 cup of coffee. 
 
 "There is one thing when I am ill that I always 
 tell the physician," he remarked as he seated himself 
 at the table, "and that is that he may save himself 
 the trouble of ordering me to give up coffee and to 
 bacco. Dr. Robinson once told me that I had to leave 
 off my pipe, and on this occasion I came near doing
 
 52 "By the Eternal." 
 
 it, not because of his advice, but because Mrs. Jack 
 son decided in his favor; but, happily, I won her over 
 to my side. There is nothing so sweet as an old pipe, 
 and when a man, who for years has tasted of its 
 sweetness, gives it up, he lives the remainder of his 
 life in impenetrable solitude. He may attain riches 
 and see his ambitions rounded out to full measure, 
 but he will be alone, with nothing to look forward to ; 
 he will live in the past. Therefore, Richard, don't 
 wed yourself to the habit of smoking. ' ' 
 
 "Bravo!" cried the Irishman; and Judge Black 
 looked up and remarked: 
 
 "Yes, and good liquor is right hard to quit, too." 
 
 "But I should think," said Crenshaw's widow, 
 "that a man could give up anything for the woman 
 he loves." The Irishman's jaw dropped. She ap 
 pealed to him: "Don't you think so, Professor?" 
 
 "Surely, surely," he answered, looking forward to 
 his pipe beneath the trees after breakfast. 
 
 "What do you think, Mr. Richard?" she asked of 
 me. 
 
 "It may be an evidence of a man's love when he 
 gives up everything, but it's no proof of a woman's 
 love when she asks it," I answered. 
 
 "Very reasonable, sir," the General spoke up, and 
 instead of showing resentment, which I thought she 
 would, the widow looked up with a smile. 
 
 ' ' But, ' ' she said, ' ' a woman must know whether or 
 not a man loves her before she gives herself to him, 
 and she can't take merely his word men have so 
 many words for women, you know. Don't you think 
 so, Professor?" 
 
 "Surely, surely," cried Mahone. 
 
 "How easy it is to be a coward," I whispered to
 
 With Contempt. 53 
 
 him, and in a whisper he answered: "And, sir, at 
 times how impossible not to be." 
 
 I kept my eyes off the woman. I was free now. 
 Cool judgment had emancipated me; but there was 
 such music in her voice that whenever she spoke I 
 felt myself trembling. 
 
 I thought that the General might have something 
 of particular moment to say to me, but he had not. 
 As we were walking out beneath the trees after 
 breakfast, he said that he had come to town on busi 
 ness, as he did nearly every day. "And no matter 
 what your aspirations are, you must not despise busi 
 ness, Richard," said he. "Such a disposition has 
 ruined many a lawyer. When I was a candidate for 
 Major General of militia, it was brought against me 
 that I had kept a country store, but I made no denial 
 of it." He halted in his speech and smiled. "I was 
 keeping a country store at that time. The necessary 
 attention given to any sort of business makes us ex 
 ecutive, and the most successful kings have been men 
 of business. So, don't think that success in the prac 
 tice of the law depends wholly upon oratory. I was 
 thinking that it would not be a bad idea for you to 
 go down to Harvey's store, of a Saturday, and help 
 him out, just for the experience." 
 
 Gratitude sometimes makes a liar of a man, and I 
 answered that I thought it an excellent idea. This 
 pleased him. And what was it I would not have done 
 to have won" his approbation? 
 
 He walked with Mahone and me toward the school. 
 The poetry of the morning and a smile from the 
 widow gave exuberance to the Irishman's spirits. The 
 man who is easy to cast down is easy to elate. It is 
 stubborn virtue that stands cool upon a knoll of the
 
 54 "By the Eternal." 
 
 middle ground, knowing not moments of supreme hap 
 piness because unacquainted with the depths of 
 misery. Mahone knew both extremes, and I believe 
 nearly all Irishmen do. If they do not, charge the 
 failure to their nearness to Scotland. 
 
 "You seem to be happy this morning," said the 
 General. 
 
 "I am that same, sir," Mahone answered. 
 
 "Creditable to a good night's rest, I presume." 
 
 "Ah, to a good morning and a look, sir." 
 
 "The Widow Crenshaw?" 
 
 "The same, sir. She has as good as confessed that 
 my love is not in vain. ' ' 
 
 "You are hopeful," said the General, and in a sec- 
 ond it seemed that the uplifting spring fell out of the 
 Irishman's walk. 
 
 "Do you think it was only my hope, sir? Do you 
 think that? I thought it was the look that gave me 
 the hope, forgetting that out of my own hope might 
 have come what I thought to be the look. You gen 
 tlemen walk on. I will return to the house just for a 
 moment, to satisfy myself." 
 
 We halted and the General apologized. "I have 
 discouraged you, sir, and I regret it." 
 
 "Oh, not at all," the Irishman declared, bat I 
 could see that his heart was low. He turned back, and 
 we walked on, slowly. "She will never marry him," 
 said the General. I was silent, wondering whom she 
 would marry. "She was never happy with her hus 
 band," the General remarked. 
 
 "You surprise me, sir. I thought that she and her 
 husband were devoted to each other." 
 
 "Oh, no. She was much Crenshaw 's superior. And 
 besides, he was not a brave man. No matter how
 
 With Contempt. 55 
 
 timid a woman may be, she has a contempt for a man 
 when she discovers that he is wanting in physical 
 courage. One night at a ball a man asked Mrs. Cren- 
 shaw to dance with him. She declined and he said 
 something rude to her. She told her husband. He 
 demanded an apology from the fellow. It was not 
 given, and Crenshaw took his wife home, sir. After 
 that they did not get along well together. She has 
 her faults, but Mrs. Jackson and I are very fond of 
 her. If she were faultless, she would not seem so 
 much a daughter to me. I have never known but one 
 faultless woman Mrs. Jackson, sir; and Heaven sent 
 her to me, not as a reward for any good I may have 
 done, but as a stimulus toward good in the future." 
 
 He halted and looked back over the pathway. 
 "Well, I will leave you here, with another assurance 
 that as soon as Mrs. Jackson returns, you shall break 
 bread at our house. Ah, one word more concerning 
 Mrs. Crenshaw: I take you to be a sensible young 
 fellow, and therefore it may not be necessary to warn 
 you, but you must know that she is careless with 
 hearts. Here comes your friend." 
 
 He bade me good morning, striding down the hill 
 as he strode before, as if he had conquered every foot 
 of it; and I waited for Mahone, observing long be 
 fore he came up to where I stood that his spirits were 
 heavy. 
 
 ' ' I walk on the earth a dead man, Master Richard. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, but your death doesn't give you the leave to 
 call me Master Richard. I am nearly twenty years 
 old, sir." 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Mr. Richard, but a dead man 
 ought not to be accountable for what he says. I 
 went back there and she killed me. She says, says she,
 
 56 "By the Eternal." 
 
 sitting on a chain with one pretty foot on a stool a 
 negro girl brushing her hair 'oh,' says she, 'why 
 did you come back so soon?' All of my wits flew 
 away, and like the fool that I was, I said that I had 
 come back after my pipe ; and she pouted and tapped 
 her foot upon the stool and answered : ' Oh, I thought 
 you told me you'd quit smoking.' It was then that 
 I became a corpse a most ordinary and uninterest 
 ing corpse." 
 
 We were now near the school and he slackened his 
 pace, remarking as he dragged his feet along : ' ' Last 
 night for a time you made me sick with jealousy, but 
 then I discovered that she cared nothing for you." 
 
 "You did, did you? And I wish you to understand 
 that I don't give a snap for her." 
 
 This did not offend him. Indeed, he was so grate 
 ful that he halted and insisted upon shaking hands 
 with me.
 
 "IT WAS THEN THAT I BECAME A CORPSE."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A PERFUMED NIGHT. 
 
 AMONG the members of my class in a very pre 
 tentious study, and of which we learned but 
 little save a few names in our class in as 
 tronomy was a young fellow named Atcherson. We 
 sat at the same desk where we could look out through 
 a window upon the green country. On this, my sec 
 ond morning, Atcherson said to me : " The Irishman 
 is deep down in the valley to-day. The widow must 
 have winked at you. And she'll wink at anybody. 
 There's no more sympathy in her heart than there is 
 in a catamount's. Oh, I know her I had my whirl 
 with her I wasn't much over seventeen, but I had 
 my whirl, just as you will have just as everybody 
 has. I boarded there for a week. I was born and 
 brought up in Philadelphia, and necessarily must 
 have seen a good many women, but I never saw one 
 to equal her." 
 
 "But she's ignorant, isn't she?" I ventured, and 
 he answered : ' ' Don 't you fool yourself there. She 's 
 read more than either of us ever did. She is the dove 
 that's as wise as the serpent. Cal Lismukes is a sort 
 of cousin of hers, but she wrung his heart like wring 
 ing the neck of a chicken and they say that he lay 
 down on the ground and actually bawled." 
 
 "But," said I, with a sore spot in my mind, if not 
 in my heart, ' ' I believe she will marry Mahone. ' ' 
 
 "He's got just as much chance in the next world, 
 57
 
 58 "By the Eternal." 
 
 where they are not given in marriage. I'm sorry for 
 him, for he's a good fellow and as game as a pea-' 
 cock." 
 
 I was not happy during that day ; I was sorry for 
 Mahone. As for myself why, I was thoroughly 
 cured. That night there was company in our sitting- 
 room, young women and young men, but I gave to 
 them none of my attention. I gathered my book and 
 sat down in a corner alone ; but I tore out a leaf and 
 chewed it up, hating all the world, and especially 
 that woman who stood smiling in her devilish grace. 
 After a time she came over to me and said : 
 
 "Old Luke, the fiddler, has come and we are going 
 to have a dance. Won't you please join us? Please, 
 come on and dance with me, won't you?" 
 
 I didn 't wish to create a scene ; I hoped that I was 
 a gentleman, so I yielded. And when the company 
 were all gone and I was lying in bed, I mused in deep 
 self-reproach that I had been exceedingly happy. 
 Then followed days when I did not seem to know any 
 thing. I sat with Atcherson, and in a sort of skeleton 
 way I walked with Mahone, of an evening, but all 
 was vague. 
 
 One evening it must have been a week later the 
 Irishman's services were required at the school, and 
 I was left at home, alone with Arabella. For a time 
 the stupid Harvey had sat about, contributing an oc 
 casional husk, some bit of fodder, relative to trade; 
 but finally he went down to the emporium, thinking, 
 doubtless, that he might possibly sell a yard of red 
 calico. And now we were alone, I and this princess. 
 How I had misjudged her; how envy had slandered 
 her. It could not be denied that she had wrought 
 misery, but this was no fault of her own ; it was the
 
 A Perfumed Night. 59 
 
 fault of the riot that nature had run with her, of the 
 wasteful glory of her hair, the re-caught and intensi 
 fied Paradise light in her eyes. We walked across 
 the room to look at a picture that I had seen a hun 
 dred times, and returning, shoulders touching, sat 
 down together on a sofa. The windows were up, and 
 from a garden of roses nearby, there came a breeze 
 ladened with a perfume rich almost to intoxication. 
 Had there ever been such another night? The moon 
 was at the full, and birds that had followed civiliza 
 tion from the older haunts of men, poured forth their 
 melody tribute to this most wondrous hour of sky 
 and air. 
 
 "At one time you were angry at me," she said, 
 and a stupid, intoxicated calf replied, "At you?" 
 
 "Yes. For days at a time you scarcely spoke to 
 me." 
 
 And a liar answered: "I was deep in the study 
 of my books to make myself more worthy of your 
 regard. ' ' 
 
 "How aptly spoken you are. You must already 
 have studied hard." 
 
 ' ' No, for not until lately did I have an incentive. ' ' 
 
 "And where did you find one lately?" 
 
 "In this house." 
 
 "This house," she said looking upward, her eyes 
 throwing light upon the ceiling, "it is not old, but it 
 has a history. It was to this place that Mr. Cren- 
 shaw brought me a girl, a mere child 
 
 "Oh, let us not talk about him," I moaned. 
 
 "Why not, pray? Wasn't he my husband?" 
 
 "Yes, and that's the reason I don't want to talk 
 about him. Arabella, listen to me, I " 
 
 "Why Richard!"
 
 60 "By the Eternal.'' 
 
 "You must listen you shall. In your sight I may 
 be only an amusing boy, but I shall soon be a man 
 I'm growing old very fast now have been for some 
 time, and I have prospects in Virginia that will make 
 me rich. I love you and I offer you everything." 
 
 "And your horse, too, Richard?" 
 
 "Oh, everything my life." 
 
 "But what am I to do with all this? What use am 
 I to make of it all, and what compensation can I 
 offer?" 
 
 "Is it possible you don't catch my meaning?" I 
 groaned. ' ' Arabella, you must be my wife. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, Richard, how you shock me. Marry you! I 
 couldn't think of such a thing. Why, what would 
 General Jackson say?" 
 
 "He would say that you'd make a man of me. Ara 
 bella I" 
 
 "Oh, but Richard, I haven't time to be making 
 men out of boys, you know." 
 
 "But if you did not intend to marry me, why did 
 you encourage me?" 
 
 "Encourage you! Why how can you say that? Of 
 course I have encouraged you in a way, because I do 
 think so much of you more of you than of anybody 
 in the world, so there, doesn't that satisfy you?" 
 
 Satisfy me ! It brought about a greater hunger, a 
 starvation; and I dropped upon my knees. Sudden 
 ly she sprang to her feet with a cry: "Cousin Cal 
 Lismukes, where did you come from?" 
 
 Before I could possibly spring to my feet afad 
 I was not slow I saw him, standing at the window, 
 holding the curtain aside, looking in upon us. Ara 
 bella flew to the door, opened it and called him, but 
 he continued to stand at the window, with his eyes
 
 A Perfumed Night. 61 
 
 fixed on me. She went out after him, brought him 
 iijto the hall-way and led him into the room. 
 
 "Cousin Cal Lismukes, this is my young friend 
 Kichard I mean Mr. Staggs." 
 
 He gave me a short nod. "How are you, Mr. 
 Staggs?" 
 
 I gave him a nod as short as his own and told him 
 that I was well, a fact which I expected soon to be 
 compelled to prove to him. 
 
 "Please be seated," said Arabella. "Cousin Cal, 
 you sit over here on the sofa by me." 
 
 He sat down beside her, and she looked up at him 
 with a smile that made me sick at heart; and meet 
 ing her look he said: 
 
 "Don't shut off your smile, Arabella, There's no 
 harm in it for me now I am cured. But I see you 
 are up to your old tricks. How long have you known 
 this fellow? Ten minutes?" 
 
 ' ' Sir ! " I exclaimed, but with mellow laughter Ara 
 bella drowned me into silence. "Why, Cousin Cal, 
 he lives here goes to the Academy. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, he does." 
 
 How I hated him! How my blood stewed as I 
 looked at him. 
 
 "I have just returned," said he, "found my room 
 mate drunk, the inn stocked up two in a bed, and 
 I'd like to find lodgings here tonight." 
 
 "I haven't a spare bed, Cousin Cal, but perhaps 
 Mr. Eichard wouldn 't mind sharing his bed with you. 
 I know he would to oblige me." 
 
 "Surely," I cried, in imitation of Mahone, but my 
 cry was weak. 
 
 "No, we won't put things to that strain," he said. 
 "I'll go over on the hill and if Jim isn't sober enough
 
 62 "By the Eternal." 
 
 to sleep with, I'll throw him out. Good-night, Mr, 
 Staggs," he said, showing no disposition to depart. 
 
 "Yes, good night, Richard," she rang in her silver 
 bell to chime with that cankered brass. "I'll see you 
 in the morning. Pleasant dreams!" 
 
 Thus was I driven out, and fuming I trod my way 
 up to bed. In the dark I stroked my pistols, with my 
 mind on that brute. How any woman could think of 
 loving him how any woman could call him even 
 cousin ! Tall, high shouldered, angular, with a snarl 
 for a mouth and two evil lights for eyes, he was a 
 man to be shunned. I say a man, for he must have 
 been nearing thirty, and I couldn't see what object 
 he had in attending the school, but soon I learned 
 that he was there only as a student of the law. The 
 Irishman's assertion that I was likely to have trouble 
 with this fellow was not to be wondered at, for now 
 in my heart I felt that I should be compelled to kill 
 him. I heard him take his leave of her. I went to 
 the window and looked down upon them as they 
 stood on the flag-stones that paved the way from the 
 front door to the gate. 
 
 ' ' Oh, I 'm not going to have any trouble with him, ' ' 
 I heard Lismukes say, as she stood near him, seeming- 
 ly looking up into his face ; and I knew that she had 
 been pleading for me. "Why should I?" he went 
 on. "It's nothing to me how much any fool thinks 
 of you. You didn't care anything for me and werei 
 honest enough to tell me so. Why don't you be equal 
 ly honest with him?" 
 
 "Why, Cousin Cal, he is a mere boy." 
 
 "Then why don't you box his jaws if he's too young 
 to understand what you tell him? You can tell some 
 people plainly enough."
 
 A Perfumed Night. 63 
 
 ' ' I told you I loved you as a cousin, ' ' she answered 
 in a voice sweet and low. 
 
 ' ' Oh, that was all right, ' ' he answered. ' ' I got over 
 it in a day hurt my pride a little at first and that 
 was all. I am not a man to favor any woman long 
 I'm not put up that way. The best thing you ever 
 did for me was to refuse to marry me. Why, the 
 man that marries you will have to shoot some fellow 
 at least every other day or night." 
 
 "If I didn't know you so well I should feel in 
 sulted. But," she laughed, "having to kill a fellow 
 every other day or night wouldn't inconvenience 
 you; it would be to your liking." 
 
 "Would it? Well, I haven't committed murder 
 yet, and that's some little credit." 
 
 "You have shaded it pretty close, however, Cousin 
 Calvin. It took you some time to explain to a very 
 easy court why you killed young Nevins; and I've 
 heard that if General Jackson had been judge at the 
 time you would have stretched hemp. These were the 
 words of " 
 
 "Jackson himself, I reckon," he broke in. "But 
 that's all right as far as it goes, but it doesn't lead to 
 anything. The question is, are you going to let me 
 have the money?" 
 
 "I would if I could, cousin, but I really cannot. I 
 should have to mortgage my house." 
 
 "Well, that would be all right. I'd take it up on 
 time." 
 
 "No, I will not risk it." 
 
 "Then I withdraw my promise." 
 
 "What promise?" 
 
 ' ' That I will not seek trouble with that young fool. ' * 
 
 "Oh, Cousin Calvin, you couldn't have chosen a
 
 64 "By the Eternal." 
 
 poorer way to threaten me. Good-night. Let us part 
 friends, won't you?" 
 
 ''I must part with a better understanding concern 
 ing the thousand dollars. I tell you I must have it, 
 to save the old home in North Carolina." 
 
 "Good-night, pleasant dreams," she said. 
 
 ' ' Good-night, and no promises, ' ' he answered, turn 
 ing abruptly from her and striding rapidly toward 
 the gate.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IN THE INTEREST OF ANOTHER. 
 
 WHEN a fool is suddenly cured, it would seem 
 that the days of miracles were not yet over. On 
 the following morning, I went down the stairs 
 cured, not of my admiration for Mrs. Crenshaw, but 
 of my blind folly toward Arabella. On this day 
 there was no session of the school, the day being Sat 
 urday, and I sought an early opportunity to "ex 
 plain" myself to the widow. There was nothing to 
 explain, it is true, nothing to say except to assure 
 her that I had been foolish, of which there was no 
 need; but it seemed to me that I had something of 
 almost desperate importance to say to her. And as 
 I sat at the breakfast table, staring out into the yard, 
 I wondered if the world would look the same after 
 I had said it. Would that bush with its pink flowers 
 be just as bright? Would that robin's song be just 
 as full of melody? Then I wondered as to what I 
 vras going to say to her, and then sat speechless as 
 to what I could possibly say. At the head of the 
 table, in her short sleeves and somehow I could al 
 ways see her arms she poured the coffee, and her 
 voice belonged to the sweet clear notes of the morn 
 ing, and her eyes were of the garden where the dew 
 was sparkling. Yes, I came down the stairs cured of 
 my folly; still I didn't exactly like the smile she gave 
 lo the Irishman. 
 
 Remembering the General's suggestion regarding 
 65
 
 66 "By the Eternal." 
 
 my holiday employment at Harvey's store, I spoke to 
 the merchant, who sat opposite me, offering my ser 
 vices. He had not the graciousness to thank me, but 
 he did not appear displeased, and so long as Com 
 merce does not frown, you have not committed against 
 it an unpardonable sin. 
 
 "Oh, you can come in whenever you feel like it. 
 Glad to have you and all that, but I can't use you 
 got two clerks already." 
 
 "I should think it would be charming to sell 
 goods," said well, I had determined to think of her 
 as Arabella until after my final "explanation" with 
 her. 
 
 "Don't you think it would be just as charming to 
 buy 'em?" Judge Black spoke up. 
 
 "To wear them," she suggested, beaming in turn 
 upon us all. 
 
 "The woman spoke that time," said Harvey; and 
 I wondered if he were quite as much mutton-head as 
 he looked. 
 
 "What do you know about women?" the Judge 
 inquired. 
 
 ' ' What do I know about them ? Funny question to 
 ask me, Judge. I know all about them. I am a busi 
 ness man." 
 
 "But does that give you any particular insight in 
 to woman's character?" 
 
 "Of course. For woman, with all her sentiment is 
 business. ' ' 
 
 The brute. I looked at Arabella, and had she given 
 me the slightest encouragement I would have thrown 
 him out of the dining-room. 
 
 "Mr. Harvey hasn't a very high opinion of us," 
 she said.
 
 In the Interest of Another. 67 
 
 "Oh, yes," he answered. "Woman is very neces 
 sary. ' ' 
 
 "Is it possible ! ' ' she cried. ' ' What an admission. ' ' 
 
 "Sir," gallantly roared the Judge, "woman rounds 
 out and completes the glory of creation. Sir, your 
 mother was a woman." 
 
 "Yes, a fact attested by my own recollection, by 
 tradition and the family Bible. She is still living, in 
 Virginia, and adorns a charming circle in society. 
 And whenever I meet a woman with as many as one- 
 third of her virtues I '11 marry her or find out the rea 
 son why I can't." 
 
 The Judge bowed. "You have redeemed yourself, 
 sir," he said. 
 
 During this time the Irishman had said nothing. 
 Now he spoke. ' ' The Anglo-Saxon turns to his mother 
 with affection and admiration the Irishman turns to 
 his mother with love and with tears. He recalls her 
 sad song as she labored from morning till late in the 
 night, battling against oppression, starving herself to 
 give him a start in life. And if there had been no 
 heaven, justice would have created one for her." 
 
 Mahone had spoken with much feeling, and it 
 pleased me when Arabella smiled upon him, which she 
 did as a reward, and I saw him tremble and I knew 
 that his great heart was arising strong within him. 
 But after breakfast I wished that he would go away, 
 to give me an opportunity to explain. When the 
 others had taken their leave, he and I sat in the shade 
 on the front veranda. I asked him if he had seen Lis- 
 mukes. 
 
 "No, has he come back?" 
 
 ' ' He returned last night and I met him, and he in 
 sulted me."
 
 68 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "He couldn't have helped that, sir. His mere 
 presence was quite enough for that. He is a desper 
 ate fellow, and you must pocket up a wrong or cock 
 a pistol." 
 
 "I have two," I answered. 
 
 He placed his hand upon my arm. "To fight for 
 cause is a virtue, but patience is a virtue, too. Ee- 
 member that." 
 
 "Yes, and I'll have patience until the time comes, 
 and then he will force me to kill him." 
 
 "He is a fine shot, Richard. You can't shoot him 
 down in the road you'll have to meet him according 
 to custom. And when you do, escape on your part 
 will be almost a miracle. It is well enough to be 
 brave, but it's a crime to throw your life away." 
 
 "But he is going to pick a quarrel with me. I 
 heard him say as much, to Arabella, as he was taking 
 his leave of her last night, standing out there near 
 the gate ; and she pleaded with him in my behalf. ' ' 
 
 "Angel that she is," he replied. "Ah, did you see 
 the look she gave me this morning? And surely, 
 Richard, in that look there must have been love." 
 
 I was willing that he should be "characteristic," 
 but he was never interesting when he speculated upon 
 Arabella's looks or intentions relative to himself. 
 From some distant part of the house came her voice, 
 singing ; and looking at this man, my friend, I saw his 
 blood leap. With regard to my feelings toward her I 
 was deceiving him. But I would do so no longer. 
 
 "Professor my friend," said I, "you have shown 
 me your heart, with Arabella pictured upon it, but I 
 have not shown you mine, with that same picture there 
 in purple. Last night I declared my love for her,
 
 In the Interest of Another. 69 
 
 but this morning I am going to withdraw it and stand 
 as advocate of your cause." 
 
 He clutched my arm, and we sat staring at each 
 other, earnest and ' ' mottled fools in the forest. ' ' He 
 muttered, and I knew that his grateful heart, muffled 
 in its own emotion, was striving to express grati 
 tude. Man, drowning in the sea of love not only 
 clutches at the straw, but at the fleeting shadow 
 thrown by the insect's gossamer wing. "Leave me 
 alone with her for a short time this morning, ' ' said I ; 
 ' ' go over into the valley and smoke your pipe beneath 
 the red haw tree." 
 
 Simultaneously we arose, moved by the resolve of 
 one great purpose. He grasped my hand, and doubt 
 less in unconscious reminiscence of some old Dublin 
 play, he said: "I go." 
 
 I went with him to the gate and opened it for him. 
 He passed through but halted and faced about. "Yes, 
 I go." The distance was not more than half a mile 
 but it was a "sentimental journey," and the signifi 
 cance of such journeys is not measured by the county 
 surveyor. "Richard, in your hands I placa my fu 
 ture. I have not had the courage to tell her of my 
 love, but you tell her. She has a high opinion of your 
 veracity and I think she will believe you. Withdraw 
 ing in my favor you show the unselfish nobility of 
 your nature. I would have done the same for you 
 will do it now if you say so." 
 
 He made as if he would open the gate, to re-enter 
 the yard, but in his eyes there was a look that begged 
 me to shove him out into the road, to knock him down, 
 to keep him from the sacrifice. 
 
 "To the red haw tree," I commanded. 1 had seen 
 a play myself, in Raleigh, done by a company that
 
 70 "By the Eternal." 
 
 brought medals from London and exhibited them on 
 a board, leaning against the front entrance of the liv 
 ery stable. 
 
 In violent gratitude he grasped my hand, pressed 
 it against the top bar of the gate and said : "I thank 
 you." With that he turned quickly and hastened 
 away. Now had I taken upon myself the greatest 
 mission of my life, and slowly I walked back toward 
 the house. I heard Arabella singing as she came down 
 the stairs and going into the sitting-room I waited for 
 her, bold in the magnanimity of my cause until she 
 entered, and then my hands fell off into embarrassed 
 fumblings, and I squeaked that I had something of 
 importance to say to her. 
 
 "But for pity sake don't be so scared about it," 
 she answered, plucking a rose from her hair and play 
 fully throwing it at me. Confound it, could woman 
 never be fair in her dealings with a heart? I caught 
 the rose and pressed it to my lips. The despot 
 laughed. She sat down on the sofa and bade me sit 
 beside her. Through the window a ray of sunlight 
 streamed and revealed a yellowish spot on her cheek. 
 How slight a defect in woman will sometimes serve to 
 make a man strong with her! 
 
 "Arabella." 
 
 "Sir!" 
 
 "Mrs. Crenshaw." 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Last night I was very foolish." 
 
 "With my Cousin Calvin?" 
 
 "With you. Your Cousin Calvin doesn't exist, so 
 far as I am concerned." 
 
 "Sophomoric declaimer, they will send you to the 
 legislature. But proceed. You were foolish with me,
 
 In the Interest of Another. 71 
 
 and now you are going to be foolish again. Eh?" 
 
 That "eh" was a pop to a silken whip. "No, I am 
 going to be strong with you. ' ' 
 
 She shouted with laughter, snatched the rose out 
 of my hand, plucked off a leaf, puffed it towards me, 
 like a thistle-down, and asked me if she should bring 
 the rope. 
 
 "The rope? What for?" 
 
 "I didn't know but in your strength you were go 
 ing to tie my hands. ' ' 
 
 "I would rather tie your heart." 
 
 "Now you are getting weak again," she said, pre 
 tending disappointment. "I hoped you were going 
 to be strong I like to look at men when they are 
 strong. ' ' 
 
 "I am not going to be weak, Mrs. Crenshaw. " 
 
 "Oh, then you are going to disappoint me. I didn't 
 think you'd do that. Are you going to tell me what 
 an old fright I am? That's the way men are strong 
 with women. What are you going to do?" 
 
 "Arabella." 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Last night I told you I loved you." 
 
 "Did you? Oh, of course you did, just as Cousin 
 Calvin appeared at the window. How embarrassing 
 that must have been for you." 
 
 ' ' Will you please be serious with me ? " I implored, 
 and she answered : ' ' Not if you are going to be seri 
 ous with me." 
 
 "But I am going to be serious and, therefore, sen 
 sible with myself," I insisted. "You persist in re 
 garding me as a mere boy, and " 
 
 "As a boy somewhat overgrown intellectually," 
 she broke in "as a pedantic boy. And don't you
 
 72 "By the Eternal." 
 
 know that such boys can make themselves very disa 
 greeable to women?" 
 
 "Mrs. Crenshaw, I am not to be driven from my 
 purpose." 
 
 "Gracious me, child, then let us get at it, whatever 
 it is." 
 
 "I don't like that tone." 
 
 "Of course not, but the purpose. Let us get at it." 
 
 "I am here to acknowledge that last night I was 
 exceedingly foolish." 
 
 "Yes, go ahead, but you have already acknowledged 
 that." 
 
 "Well, then, let me now accent the acknowledg 
 ment by withdrawing from my former position." 
 
 "Why then, you don't love me any longer?" 
 
 She plucked at my sleeve and I knew that her eyes 
 were searching for mine, but I knew that to meet them 
 would mean surrender, and so, bowed over, I gazed 
 down at the floor. 
 
 "No one can help loving you," I said. "You are 
 surely not the handsomest woman in the world, but I 
 do believe you are one of the most powerful. You 
 have a thousand little' traps, baited with graces, and 
 these traps are constantly snapping ; but I am reciting 
 to you your own primer." 
 
 "Your own poem, Mr. Richard." 
 
 "Snap went another trap," I replied, and my blood 
 danced to the music of a jingling rhyme she was 
 laughing. When she ceased laughing she said that 
 she was listening. That is a way a woman has of 
 assuring a man that whatever he may say can possess 
 no interest for her. 
 
 ' ' Mrs. Crenshaw, let us be friends. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, dear friends," she answered quickly, and
 
 In the Interest of Another. 73 
 
 again she plucked at my sleeve, but I did not look up 
 at her. 
 
 "Entertaining the sentiment of friendship rather 
 than the sentimentality of love," I said. 
 
 "Put aside Clarissa Harlowe and tell me what you 
 mean," she replied. 
 
 "I do not need to put aside something which I 
 have not taken up, but I can tell you what I mean. I 
 am now talking in the interest of another. ' ' 
 
 "I should not have suspected it." 
 
 "But I am of a man who loves you down to the 
 depths of measureless devotion ; a man, the most hon 
 orable of his of his sex Professor Mahone. I have 
 crushed myself to withdraw in his favor, and I urge 
 you to listen to his suit." 
 
 4 ' You silly boy, look at me and let me tell you some 
 thing." 
 
 "I must not look at you. If I did, you could tell 
 me only one thing to make me listen that you love 
 me." 
 
 ' ' What a March hare you are ; but if you withhold 
 your eyes you will at least grant me your ears. Per 
 haps in many respects I am the silliest creature you 
 have ever met. I love admiration it seems my very 
 air, but at times I can be sensible and I am going to 
 be sensible now. I know that my time is slipping 
 away, and that I should be making the most of it, but 
 I am not. I am shaking the dewdrops from the 
 honey-suckle trying to catch them in my mouth. No 
 matter how much I might love you I couldn't marry 
 you. You are only an intoxicated boy, threatening 
 even now to open your eyes and to find yourself 
 sober. ' ' 
 
 "But I am not asking you to marry me."
 
 74 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "Ah, you are sober." 
 
 She plucked again at my sleeve and I looked into 
 her eyes and they were laughing at me. 
 
 "You are a charming, great, big, awkward boy, 
 Richard, and one of these days the community 's finest 
 woman will be proud to call you husband. And now, 
 after I have told you so much, won't you promise me 
 something that you will try in every possible way to 
 avoid trouble with Calvin Lismukes? Oh, you don't 
 know how desperate he is. Human life doesn't mean 
 anything to him not a thing; and he is one of the 
 deadliest shots in the whole country." 
 
 "But to tell me how deadly a shot he is can have 
 no weight in keeping down trouble between him and 
 me. I may be a deadly shot, too." 
 
 In my mind there was no memory of prowess with 
 the pistol. But all boys, as indeed nearly all men, 
 are gamblers with Fate, standing ready to shake dice 
 with her. 
 
 "Oh, yes, of course," she said, "but being a goad 
 shot could only inflict harm upon the enemy. It 
 could not save yourself. ' ' 
 
 "Let us talk about Mahone," said I. 
 
 ' ' Oh, yes, about him when you have promised. And 
 you do promise, don't you, because you like love 
 me." 
 
 "I am a fool again and I promise." 
 
 "Thank you so much, and I know you will keep 
 your word, for who is it that cannot see in you the 
 soul of honor? And now about Mr. Mahone! He 
 has been most kind and attentive to me, but how do 
 I know he loves me when he has not told me so ? But 
 wait, he must not tell me so now. If he has any such 
 intention let him wait a little while longer."
 
 In the Interest of Another. 75 
 
 "But why should he wait?" 
 
 "Oh, you don't understand." 
 
 "No, I am willing to swear to that fact." 
 
 "But you must not be so ready to swear. I must 
 
 have time to think, you know. I am almost certain 
 
 that I shall consider him favorably, but he must 
 
 wait two weeks. Doesn't that seem reasonable 
 
 enough ? ' ' 
 
 "No, it seems out of all reason. I don't see why 
 
 he should wait unless you have some one else in 
 
 view. ' ' 
 
 "How can you be so heartless as to say that? Of 
 
 course I have no one in view. Now go and tell him. ' '
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CARRYING THE MESSAGE. 
 
 FEELING- that I had not been wholly worsted, 
 I hastened out to find Mahone. My heart 
 was not light and yet it was not heavy. Re 
 garding myself as a hero, having yielded to sacri 
 fice, as one who had given up everything for his 
 friend, the humiliation of my own personal loss was 
 not crushing. That yellow blemish on her cheek 
 was a strong feature in my consolation. 
 
 I saw Mahone walking up and down, near the red 
 haw tree. With a start he caught sight of my ap 
 proach and came hastening to meet me. As he drew 
 near I smiled, and then he came running, with his 
 arms held out as if he would gather me from the 
 earth, but I held up my hand and he stumbled into a 
 walk. 
 
 "Don't tell me," he said. 
 "There is nothing bad to tell." 
 His eyes brightened. "Then tell me." 
 We walked back to the red haw tree and sat down 
 upon the green bank ; and when I had told him, add 
 ing encouragements of my own as I proceeded, he 
 put his arm about me and pressed me to him. 
 
 "It will be a long time to wait, it is true, Rich 
 ard," he said, "but when I have waited oh, when 
 I have waited! I believe it is because she wishes to 
 study her own heart. It can't be that she wishes to 
 investigate my prospects, for she must know already 
 
 76
 
 Carrying the Message. 77 
 
 that aside from my energy, I have none at all. Some 
 times I have been most woefully cast down, but I 
 have always believed that she is to be my wife. And 
 now, my boy, what can I do for you ? ' ' 
 
 "You can be my friend, that's all." 
 
 "I shall be that, until death. Ah, here comes Lis- 
 mukes. ' ' 
 
 My mortal enemy, for only as such could I regard 
 him, came swinging along down the path. In his 
 hand he carried a switch and was lashing at his legs. 
 He whistled, and a dog that had been smelling about 
 for a rabbit, came out of the briars and ran up to him 
 and with his switch he lashed the trusting creature 
 and roared with laughter ; the dog howled. 
 
 "He's got a good voice," said the brute as he came 
 up to where we were sitting the two-legged brute, 
 for compared with him the dog was a Wilberforce in 
 gentleness and a Chesterfield in manners. "If he 
 hadn't debased himself with rabbits he might make 
 music after a fox." 
 
 He halted and stood in front of us, but I did not 
 bestow upon him the recognition of even a nod. 
 "Staggs, I believe," he said. 
 
 "My name is Staggs," I answered. 
 
 "Yes, met you last night." He laughed. 
 
 "I believe so." 
 
 "You believe so. Trying to forget, eh?" 
 
 "A man that would not try to forget some things 
 and some people has but a poor opinion of the uses 
 of his own memory," I answered, and rather pleased, 
 too, I was for what seemed to me a sort of inspira 
 tion. Was I forgetting my promise to Arabella ? Her 
 cousin Calvin whistled. 
 
 "The dog will not trust you a second time," I
 
 78 "By the Eternal." 
 
 could not refrain from saying. Ignoring me he spoke 
 to the Professor. "Mahone, your little school is get 
 ting to be too stupid for me. And I don't know but 
 I'll find the law just a trifle dull. I am thinking of 
 joining the army. It would give me scope for my ac 
 complishments, you know. I am better trained in 
 shooting than in argument." 
 
 "You are well trained in both, Mr. Lismukes," the 
 Irishman answered. 
 
 "Yes, but argument is too slow. It takes too long 
 to convince. Well, I'll bid you good morning. 
 Staggs " and he looked hard at me "I'll see you 
 again." 
 
 He strode away, and when he was beyond the reach 
 of a low tone, the Professor said: 
 
 "Trouble, Richard; I can see it coming." 
 
 "And I am not going to humiliate myself in order 
 to avoid it," I answered. "I promised Arabella, but 
 I also promised the General that I would put up with 
 no indignity ; and my promise to him was made first. 
 Why, my father would turn over in his grave and 
 my Irish mother, too. if I were to let that hound yelp 
 over me." 
 
 "Yes, I know, but I wish you oould put it off two 
 weeks." He said this in a tone of such comical dis 
 tress that I had to laugh. He shook his head sadly. 
 
 As we were nearing the house we heard Arabella 
 singing. Mahone grasped my arm and whispered 
 that she seemed to be happy. She came into the room, 
 in short sleeves, those graceful arms still showing; 
 and at the moment of her appearance, Mahone gasped, 
 as he always did. I thought it a part of my heroism 
 to leave them alone, and I would have quitted the 
 room but she gave me a look that commanded me to
 
 Carrying the Message. 79 
 
 stay. She spoke of the beauty of the day, slowly 
 rocking in a chair out of which she had shaken the 
 household cat, and Mahone, sitting beside me on the 
 sofa, whispered in my ear: " Poetry from the Old 
 Sod." 
 
 Then she inquired: "Did you see my cousin dur 
 ing your walk?" 
 
 "Yes, Madam," Mahone spoke up, "we had a 
 charming talk with him beneath the red haw tree. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, did you beneath the red haw; and how ap 
 propriately that tree is named, for more than once its 
 roots have been stained with blood. It was there that 
 Anderson shot Pruitt, and there, also, that Menifee 
 fell, shot by Colonel Caruthers. A dueling ground, 
 and so close to a seat of learning." 
 
 "At Heidelberg, Madam, and I might say at old 
 Trinity, where merry Oliver got through by the nar 
 rowest squeak, they fight in the very halls of learn 
 ing." 
 
 "Professor, I hope you don't defend dueling." 
 
 "Ah, Madam, I deplore it from from the bottom 
 stratum of my soul. It is unchristian." 
 
 ' ' How glad I am to hear you say that. You speak 
 of it being unchristian. What church do you at 
 tend?" 
 
 "The the Methodist, Madam." 
 
 "Are you quite sure?" 
 
 "As certain as that I am sitting here, Madam. 
 And it was my mother 's hope that I should be a min 
 ister." 
 
 "How interesting." 
 
 "Yes, Madam, and I often regret that her wishes 
 could not be carried out, but the drouth came and I 
 was forced to make my way to America. ' '
 
 80 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "It is not too late yet, ' ' she said with a sharp look 
 at me ; and this big-hearted liar, believing that all was 
 fair in love, told her that he spent much of his spare 
 time in the study of theology. Again I made a mo 
 tion to quit the room, but she restrained me with a 
 look. 
 
 It was now about noon time, and I was not sorry 
 to hear the Judge's heavy tread upon the veranda. 
 He came in, soon followed by Harvey. The young 
 merchant spoke to us in a business-like way, took a 
 notebook out of his pocket, made a few figures in it, 
 and asked Arabella if dinner were nearly ready. She 
 said that she would see, and went out, and the Irish 
 man gave Harvey a look that was quite enough to 
 over-topple any man not braced and strengthened by 
 business. The Judge asked Harvey if trade were 
 good, and with a swell of pride the young man an 
 swered that it was so rushing as to necessitate the 
 early adding of a shed-room to his already extensive 
 establishment. Arabella, who had just re-entered, 
 caught this last remark, and clapping her hands, her 
 sleeves falling back upon her shoulders, she cried out : 
 "Oh, isn't that grand news!" 
 
 "Yes," said the merchant, "and the next week's 
 number of the newspaper will have a long account of 
 it." 
 
 "And I have some news," the Judge spoke up. 
 "You doubtless recall the lady that was looking for 
 her husband who floated away from home on a raft. ' ' 
 
 "Yes," said Harvey, "what's become of her? The 
 fact is, I didn't blame her husband for leaving." 
 
 "Sir!" cried the Judge, "be careful. She discov 
 ered that her husband had been drowned up the river.
 
 Carrying the Message. 81 
 
 She is now at the house of a friend in this town and 
 sir is soon to become my wife." 
 
 ' ' Then, sir, I beg your pardon, ' ' said Harvey. 
 
 "That is easy enough," the Judge snorted, "but 
 I'll have you to know that men have been called out 
 for less than what your remark implied, sir." 
 
 "Gentlemen, gentlemen!" cried Arabella, "remem 
 ber where you are. ' ' 
 
 The Judge bowed to her. The business man nod 
 ded. The Irishman, student of theology during his 
 spare time, stood fuming, ready to knock some one 
 down for Arabella's sake. 
 
 "Yes," said Harvey, "men have been called and 
 some of them had the moral courage not to go. I 
 apologize for making the remark, it was thoughtless, 
 not to say ungentlernanly, and I humbly beg your par 
 don." 
 
 "Spoken like a man," shouted Mahone. 
 
 The Judge bowed. ' ' I accept your apology, sir, and 
 am free to express my gratitude that I am not com 
 pelled to v take further steps in the matter. ' ' 
 
 "Walk out to dinner," said Arabella.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 AN UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 AT SCHOOL on the following Monday, Lismukes 
 granted me the distinction of paying no atten 
 tion to me, and thus it was during the week. 
 A number of times he passed me on the play-ground, 
 our eyes meeting the first time, but we walked on 
 without recognition, and after this we did not so much 
 as look at each other. Atcherson, my desk mate, re 
 marked one day: "Oh, Lismukes is likely to break 
 out when you least expect it. He knows you are not 
 afraid of him, and he's saving you as food for his 
 temper whenever he doesn't happen to feel well. 
 That's a part of his peculiar disposition. It's the 
 way he served young Bethpage; and when the time 
 came he tried to force a challenge. Bethpage was a 
 Quaker and had scruples against fighting. When Lis 
 mukes found this out he posted him as a coward and 
 the real cowards nagged the poor fellow until he had 
 to quit school. But you're not a Quaker." 
 
 "No more than Mahone is a Methodist," I an 
 swered. I had told him of the Irishman's apostasy. 
 And in this we had agreed he was not worse than the 
 great poet Dryden who changed back and forth to 
 suit the humor of that day, when pensions were dearer 
 than the heart's true sentiments. It was just after 
 this talk with Atcherson that the Irishman, at play 
 time, said to me: 
 
 "Only a few more days now to wait, Richard. And 
 82
 
 An Understanding. 83 
 
 in her precious mind I think she has decided al 
 ready. ' ' 
 
 "But, Professor, what will she say when she finds 
 out that you're not a Methodist?" 
 
 He answered with his feet on the "Old Sod": "Be- 
 gorry, how is she ever to find it out? I can play 
 Methodist as fast as she can ply questions." 
 
 "But you can't deceive her always." 
 
 "Ah, trust true love for deception, sir. And be 
 sides, she ought to think more of me to know that I 
 have risked my soul for her. The truth is, friend 
 Richard, that I am not a communicant of any church. 
 Begorry" with his feet again thrust back upon the 
 "Old Sod" "for her I could become not only a 
 preacher but a highwayman, if she insisted. How 
 ever, neither of the two will be necessary, for when 
 we are married she will find me an ideal landlord." 
 
 "But is she to continue keeping boarders after her 
 marriage ? ' ' 
 
 We were walking in the green valley. He placed 
 his hand on my arm. "Richard, the feeding of the 
 hungry is a pleasure, and sure it is a brute that would 
 deprive his wife of a harmless enjoyment. Didn't I 
 tell you about her as she sat at the head of the table, 
 a veritable queen? She would adorn any position, 
 but here her grace is supreme, and sure it is a hus 
 band's duty not to restrict his wife's graces. In this 
 respect I am not at all jealous. And it's only a week, 
 now. ' ' 
 
 "What if she should decline? Have you thought 
 of that?" 
 
 He gripped my arm. "I have thought of it Rich 
 ard, you may well know, and while my belief in the 
 devil is not strong, yet I have thought that it might
 
 84 "By the Eternal'' 
 
 please him, evil one that he is, thus to punish me for 
 saying that my mother wanted me to be a preacher. 
 Speaking of the evil one, here comes Lismukes. 
 
 We were not far from the school building when we 
 met him, and a number of the boys were near. He 
 halted and said: 
 
 "Staggs, I have something to say to you." 
 
 "Very well, sir, I am here." 
 
 "I understand that you have been talking about 
 me." 
 
 "Did you understand what it was I said?" 
 
 "I understand enough." 
 
 "Then that ought to satisfy you." 
 
 "It does. It convinces me of something I might 
 have known the moment I saw you that you reflect 
 the spirit of your sponsor." 
 
 "You mean General Jackson? I should like to re 
 flect his spirit." 
 
 Several of the boys came up and stood about. 
 
 "Ah, and you say this without a blush. You wish 
 to reflect the spirit of a blackguard and a wife 
 stealer. ' ' 
 
 "Wife stealer," I echoed, for a moment forgetting 
 myself to muse upon the strangeness of his accusa 
 tion. 
 
 "Oh, you needn't marvel at it it is well known 
 here. Jackson was boarding at the house of a Mrs. 
 Donaldson, and her daughter Rachel, Mrs. Robards, 
 came from Kentucky to visit her with her husband. 
 Jackson persuaded her not to return with him, and 
 after a time he took her down to Natchez and brought 
 her back as his wife said she had been divorced 
 when every one knew that it was a lie that she was 
 not his wife that he has her now, anothei man's
 
 An Understanding. 85 
 
 wife, and is living with her, "in defiance of the law. 
 This man is your champion here, the cause of your 
 being here, you pauper, and you go about, you liar, 
 talking about me." 
 
 I slapped his face. 
 
 There was a general outcry. Some of the boys ran 
 away. The Irishman stood beside me. Lismuke's hat 
 had fallen. He stooped to recover it, and as he 
 straightened up I saw an evil glint in his eyes. I 
 had done what it was his aim to provoke. He smiled. 
 He was cool. The perfect understanding had come. 
 
 ' ' I suppose you will be in your room this evening, ' ' 
 he said. 
 
 And with a forethought which I imagined did me 
 credit, I answered, "Not at Mrs. Crenshaw's at the 
 inn." 
 
 "Very well. Boys, I shall hold personally respon 
 sible any one that makes neighborhood news of this 
 little affair. Good-day, Mr. Staggs." 
 
 "Ah, at times he can be almost a gentleman," said 
 the Irishman.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SNEAKED OUT OP THE HOUSE. 
 
 AT THE supper table I was pleased to observe 
 that no one seemed to have got wind of the 
 "little difficulty." Arabella was gracious, 
 with her sleeves shorter than ever, the merchant was 
 full of business and the Judge sentimental. 
 
 "Mr. Mahone," said Arabella, "you seem to be 
 very thoughtful this evening." 
 
 "Ah, Madam, if I appear so, it is because I am re 
 straining myself to keep from being too hilarious," 
 the Irishman answered. 
 
 "Were your duties in school pleasant to-day?" she 
 inquired. 
 
 "As heart could wish, Madam." 
 
 "You are not in the law department, but you must 
 have met my cousin Calvin somewhere on the 
 grounds ? ' ' 
 
 I began to wonder if she had heard anything. 
 
 "Had a very pleasant talk with him in the after 
 noon. He is a fine talker, Madam." 
 
 "Yes, but I wish you wouldn't call me Madam 
 every time you speak." 
 
 "I thank you for the suggestion," he said, and this 
 unblushing lover of prevarication proceeded to add: 
 "I had thought of it myself, and as we were coming 
 on home I said to Richard that I didn't much like 
 the word Madam when applied to you and that I 
 should be much pleased to call you Miss." 
 
 86
 
 Sneaked Out of the House. 87 
 
 "Oh, thank you, and if you wish you may call me 
 Miss." 
 
 "It would tickle me to the soul, Miss, and I shall 
 take the first opportunity of doing so." 
 
 "What tomfoolery is all this," spoke up the mer 
 chant. 
 
 Arabella seemed hurt, and in the Irishman's neck 
 I saw the veins begin to swell. "Say the word, 
 Madam Miss, I beg your pardon and out through 
 the window he goes," Mahone exclaimed, striking the 
 table with his fist. She laughed, and the quick per 
 ceiving son of Erin bowed to the merchant and begged 
 his pardon. "I wouldn't injure you for the world, 
 sir," he declared, and then added: "And as they say 
 in old Ireland, may your soul be in heaven before the 
 devil knows you're dead." 
 
 After supper when Mahone had gone to my room 
 with me I said to him: "You are not to act as my 
 second in this affair. They would turn you out of the 
 school, and besides, Arabella would never speak to 
 you again." 
 
 "That is all very true, sir, but when that fellow 
 kills you, you'll find Dan Mahone standing beside 
 you. Didn't you make a great sacrifice for me? 
 Didn't you go to her like the man you are and with 
 draw in my favor without any hope of reward? You 
 did, sir, and where 's the gentleman that could have 
 done more?" 
 
 "Dan, my sacrifice amounted to nothing. I had 
 only discovered that she didn't love me, but what is 
 more, that I didn't love her." 
 
 "No, sir," he persisted. "You are simply trying 
 to make it easy for me. Then let me make it a little 
 easier on my side. I have discovered that I don't
 
 .88 "By the Eternal" 
 
 don't love her, either; and as for the school, I was 
 thinking about quitting to-morrow on my soul, 
 yes." 
 
 "Glorious liar," I said to him.. 
 
 ' ' The truth, Richard, if I ever told it, ' ' he declared, 
 but his voice shook and his eyes were cast down. 
 "And besides it all, sir," he continued, "wasn't your 
 mother an Irish woman, and over here far from her 
 native home didn't she sing the old songs to you? 
 And what sort of a traitor would I be not to stand by 
 you now ? ' ' 
 
 I put my arms about him, there in the candle light 
 where the shadows were dancing. We heard Ara 
 bella singing and I felt him quaver against my 
 breast. 
 
 "No, Dan, it cannot be," I said. "It would be an 
 insult to Atcherson. I have already put the matter 
 in his hands, and he will meet me at the inn. ' ' 
 
 "Are you sure, Richard?" 
 
 "On my honor, yes." 
 
 "Then of course I am out of it. But I want you 
 to know " 
 
 "I do know, Dan, and with my last breath I shall 
 thank you, and tell you how true I know your heart 
 is." 
 
 "But I'll go to the inn with you out to the meet 
 ing to see that every thing is square. You can't ob 
 ject to that, and neither can the rest of them." 
 
 "I cannot decline that service, Dan. And it's time 
 now we were going to the inn." 
 
 I brought out my horse pistols and putting them on 
 the bed, stood looking at them, stroked them, wonder 
 ing which one of them should end their master's life.
 
 Sneaked Out of the House. 89 
 
 Mahone shuddered. "By the Lord, are they to be 
 used?" 
 
 "Yes, I have no dueling pistols." 
 
 "But they are cannons!" 
 
 "Yes, but they give me some shadow of hope, for 
 not being rifled and less true of aim than regular duel 
 ing pistols they lessen the difference between that fel 
 low's skill and my awkwardness." 
 
 "If you could only shoot wuh as much directness 
 as you talk ! What you say is true and he '11 bat his 
 eyes when he sees these blunderbusses. See, I can al 
 most get my thumb in the bore. Have you got bul 
 lets to fit them or will you load them with buck 
 shot ? ' ' 
 
 "Bullets to fit tight," I answered. "You'll find 
 them in my saddle-bags hanging over there against 
 the wall. Get out half a dozen, please. We'll have 
 to sneak these pistols out. You carry one under your 
 coat and I'll manage the other." 
 
 We passed down the stairs and sneaked through 
 the hallway without attracting attention. Nothing 
 would have been thought had we walked out boldly, 
 but the secrecy of the mission built out of every 
 shadow the substance of detection. Out in front sat 
 a man in an open-top buggy. Wondering if it were 
 Atcherson, I spoke, and Harvey, the merchant, an 
 swered me. 
 
 "What do you suppose he's doing there with that 
 rig?" Mahone remarked as we passed on. "Do you 
 think he's going to take Arabella out riding?" 
 
 "She wouldn't ride with him she has a contempt 
 for him," I answered. "He must have come to take 
 the Judge over to marry the up-river woman to
 
 90 "By the Eternal." 
 
 make stronger his apology for having spoken slight 
 ingly of her." 
 
 "Forget your grammar, Richard, and strike at a 
 better explanation. He has come for Arabella. And 
 if this belief in me were a little stronger, I'd walk 
 back and cut his traces. What impudence in him, 
 the calico measurer, to drive with her, and in the 
 night, too." 
 
 Shortly afterward a buggy passed us, but in the 
 dark we could not determine whether it contained one 
 or two persons. Mahone, however, swore that it was 
 Arabella with Harvey. "And to think that I de 
 clared myself a Methodist for this," said he. "And 
 I warrant you they are going now to hear some cane- 
 brake preacher roar over his creed. If I had a horse 
 I'd follow them. Richard, I wonder why it is that a 
 widow, no matter how beautiful and pure and high- 
 minded, is full of tricks." 
 
 "She must have learned them from her husband," 
 I answered. 
 
 "Ah, you are a wise young dog yourself." 
 
 Ateherson had engaged a room at the inn and was 
 waiting for us. The importance of his office con 
 ferred upon him a degree of exceeding gaiety. He 
 seized my hand and congratulated me. He assured 
 us that he had, after paying an extra price, rented the 
 best room in the hostelry, the bridal-chamber, and 
 with many a flourish he conducted us to it, comment 
 ing upon the fact that the table had carved legs and 
 that the walls were actually papered. 
 
 "Sit down," he said, "and make yourselves at 
 home. I suppose Lismukes' friend will be here pretty 
 soon Bill Vance, I believe. Of course you know him, 
 Dick. He has acted before and will know exactly
 
 Sneaked Out of the House. 91 
 
 what to do was Lismukes' second when he shot a 
 young medical student over in North Carolina. There 
 is one thing, Dick, you won't have to fear being 
 crippled. Professor, you'll find that rocking chair 
 more comfortable. Gentlemen don't forget to notice 
 our furniture. Won't have to fear being crippled, 
 Dick. Lismukes is not a maimer he does complete 
 work. ' ' 
 
 "You are very complimentary to the furniture and 
 woefully discouraging to our principal," Mahone re 
 plied, seating himself in the rocking chair. 
 
 "Ah, not at all," Atcherson disclaimed. "When 
 all parties know the truth there is no use in attempt 
 ing to disguise it. Why, Lismukes can't miss Dick. 
 Out of the force of habit he could hit him with his 
 eyes shut." 
 
 ' ' And, ' ' said I, ' ' with no force of habit, I may pos 
 sibly kill him with my eyes open." 
 
 ' ' Oh, yes, you Ve got that to encourage you ; but I 
 suppose you've made your will." 
 
 "No, I hadn't thought of that." 
 
 "Well then, you'd better attend to it at once. Pro 
 fessor, would you mind pulling the bell-cord for a 
 lawyer? Hello, we haven't a bell cord; but gentle 
 men, you must remember that this is the bridal and 
 not the dueling chamber. But there are a score of 
 lawyers about the hotel. Professor, w r ould you mind 
 looking for one?" 
 
 The Professor went out. My second continued. 
 ' ' Are those the pistols over there on the bed ? Whop 
 pers, " he exclaimed, taking up one of them. "What 
 is the legal bore for a pistol? Strikes me that this 
 this hollow log is a little beyond precedent. What 
 would you call this thing? Artillery? Are you
 
 92 "By the Eternal" 
 
 going to load with stones as they did at the battle of 
 Cre'cy?" 
 
 It did not strike me that he was heartless, for the 
 age was an age of false gallantry, of hollow laughter 
 that comes of desperation an age of morbid honor, 
 and no matter in how great a degree a man might 
 stand in abhorrence of death, on account of his re 
 sponsibilities here upon earth, to give evidence of it 
 was a weakness which all gentlemen deplored. 
 
 "My father is a Presbyterian, you know, and for 
 me it was an easy jump into fatalism. So, if your 
 time has come you might just as well accept it good 
 humoredly," said Atcherson, smiling. 
 
 There came a tap at the door. Atcherson opened 
 it, and with a bow which it seemed he must have 
 practiced as he came along, Bill Vance entered the 
 room. He shook hands with me, with Atcherson and 
 sat down. He spoke of the weather, of the scarcity of 
 corn, complained of the farmers, and then taking 
 from his pocket a paper neatly folded, handed it to 
 me. I glanced at it and passed it over to Atcherson. 
 Vance arose and with another practiced bow took his 
 leave. Shortly afterward, Mahone came in with a 
 lawyer, but before giving my attention to the will, I 
 drew up a brief answer to the significant communi 
 cation brought by Vance and gave it to Atcherson, 
 who withdrew, also with a bow. The lawyer wasted 
 no time with bowing. He was there on business and 
 from him was not expected the luxury of over polite 
 ness. My will consisted of no long list. For owner 
 ship of a few cherished books, my pistols and my 
 horse, I named my friend Mahone, and my prospects 
 in a dim Virginia estate I willed to General Jackson. 
 The lawyer said that five dollars would be enough for
 
 Sneaked Out of the House. 93 
 
 his services, and as Mahoue and I between us could 
 not raise more than three dollars, I was inclined to 
 think so, too. But the lawyer, being young and ac 
 commodating, accepted our meager silver as discharge 
 in full of the obligation, and withdrew. 
 
 "Richard," said the Irishman, "I feel uneasy." 
 
 "Quite natural under the circumstances, and still 
 it can serve no purpose. If my time has come, why 
 it can't be helped." 
 
 "I mean that I'm uneasy about that infernal 
 buggy. I believe Arabella was with that counter- 
 jumper." 
 
 "But what of it, even if she was? He'll have to 
 take her home when the time comes." 
 
 "Yes, I know, but I don't want her to be riding 
 around with him. He may not be able to talk silken 
 but he owns silk, and that goes a devilish long ways 
 with a widow. You may talk buckskin to a girl, 
 but to the majority of women that have been mar 
 ried no oftener even than once, why it must be bright 
 goods of fine texture. Ah, but w r hat am I growling 
 about? Didn't she give you her word for me, and 
 won't she give me her blessed answer less than one 
 week from to-night? And Richard, you shall be my 
 best man." 
 
 "I may not be here," I answered. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, I forgot." 
 
 He did not attempt to give me hope ; he sat, silent, 
 slowly rocking himself, tapping his heels on the floor. 
 
 "Of course you left all the details to Atcherson," 
 he said after a silence that seemed to come from afar, 
 out of the dark night, settling in the room. 
 
 "Yes," I answered, looking toward the pistols, 
 their brass mountings gleaming in the candle light.
 
 94 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "Ah," said Mahone, "and he goes about it as 
 cheerfully as if it were a Christmas pie, baked by his 
 grandmother. But it's just as well, for whatever 
 you've got to do, do it with a vim. Would you mind 
 if I'd light my pipe?" 
 
 "Not at all. Why do you ask?" 
 
 "Well, my old clay is pretty fetching and I didn't 
 know but it might disturb your thoughts on this 
 solemn occasion. Were you ever at a wake? Ah, 
 there's where you encounter more pipes than can 
 walk about the room. The guests are supposed to 
 smoke the new pipes furnished by the host or the 
 hostess as the case may be, but they don't they puff 
 the gags they bring with them, desiring to feel com 
 fortable and at home. I remember Jerry Ragan. 
 There was a man, Richard. Fight a duel! He 
 wouldn't leave breath enough in a man's body to chal 
 lenge him. Well, when he died they brought out 
 every old pipe in the neighborhood and you could 
 smell that wake for ten miles or more. It was the 
 night my father fought with Gorman, a pretty good 
 man, too, Gorman was, but even if he had had no 
 whisky he couldn't have stood up with Dan Mahone, 
 senior. I can't remember much about it, but my 
 mother often told me it was a beautiful fight. That 
 must be Atcherson at the door." 
 
 Atcherson came in, his face as bright as the brass 
 on my pistols. He threw his hat on the table and 
 said that everything had been arranged in a most 
 satisfactory manner. The time for the meeting was 
 to be sunrise on the following day, and the place, the 
 red haw tree. "Many is the time I have smoked my 
 pipe there," said Mahone, "but I am afraid that I 
 shall have to avoid that nook hereafter. It was there
 
 Sneaked Out of the House. 95 
 
 that Richard and I had our first talk when I told 
 him of the beautiful widow." 
 
 " It is even more historic than that in my affections, 
 for it was there that I first met Mrs. Crenshaw," At- 
 cherson replied. "I was coming along just before 
 sunset one evening, and there she was. She had play 
 fully thrown her bonnet up into the tree and couldn't 
 get it down." 
 
 "Don't," said the Irishman, putting up his hand, 
 "don't the picture is too strong for me." 
 
 "And for a long time it was too strong for me, 
 too," Atcherson declared. "Ah, I beg your pardon, 
 I believe you are in love with her at present, Pro 
 fessor. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, sir, and shall be till the sun goes down for 
 the last time. But Richard will need sleep and we 
 are keeping him from it." 
 
 "Yes, that's a fact. You are thoughtful, Profes 
 sor; and as this is one of the times when a man would 
 naturally prefer to be alone, we'd better leave him to 
 himself. Dick, we'll get another room, and don't you 
 be afraid to sleep, for I will call you in plenty of 
 time." 
 
 ' ' One moment, ' ' said the Professor. ' ' Did you see 
 Lismukes just now?" 
 
 "Yes, he was in the room while Vance and I were 
 completing the arrangements." 
 
 "How did he seem? Regretful?" 
 
 "That fellow? I never saw him in as high spirits. 
 He walked up and down the room and whistled, leav 
 ing off occasionally to make some pleasant remark. 
 He may be a beast but he's not a coward. And I never 
 saw a man with such confidence in himself. One of 
 the boys told me in a whisper that he went out late
 
 96 "By the Eternal." 
 
 in the afternoon and took a few practice shots with his 
 pistols. ' ' 
 
 "But little good that will do him," Mahone replied. 
 "And I warrant you his jaw will drop a bit when he 
 catches sight of Richard's fuzees. He may practice 
 tills doomsday with rifled barrels and that won 't give 
 him much of a call with these old smooth bores. They 
 are as whimsical as a woman, and the more powder 
 you put in, the more they act according to their own 
 notion. Richard, my boy, we'll see you in the morn 
 ing. Let the justice of your cause sustain you." 
 
 "Don't try to sustain yourself with anything but 
 fate," said Atcherson. "Just consider yourself as 
 having never been born. That's the proper way to 
 get at it." 
 
 "Our young friend here," remarked Mahone, halt 
 ing at the door, "has just attained his atheistic ma 
 jority, which means that he has not cut his philosoph 
 ical teeth. You'll be a preacher one of these days, 
 Atcherson." 
 
 "I'm already a preacher of truth," my second 
 answered. Then he turned to me. "Good night, old 
 fellow. Dream as pleasantly as you can. This is not 
 a formal leave-taking, understand. We'll see you 
 early to-morrow morning." 
 
 Mahone went out last, looking intently upon me 
 and then carefully closing the door. And now for 
 the first time a sensation of weakness flew over me, 
 and I seized hold of the table to steady myself. It 
 was not fear, it was a weakening wonder if my time 
 had really come, a flash of cold speculation as to 
 whether I was prepared to meet it. Suddenly I heard 
 footsteps approaching my door, heard a voice which 
 I recognized, and opening the door I stood face to face
 
 Sneaked Out of the House. 97 
 
 with General Jackson. Just behind him stood Ma- 
 bone. The General held forth his hand with that 
 dignified cordiality that made him so winning both 
 with women and with men. 
 
 "I was surprised to learn that you were here, 
 Richard," he said, entering the room. "Why did you 
 quit Mrs. Crenshaw's?" 
 
 I offered him a chair, but he remained standing. 
 "Why are you here?" he asked before I had an 
 swered him. 
 
 "I am here only temporarily, sir." 
 
 Just then he caught sight of the pistols on the bed. 
 He looked at me, at Mahone, and then fixing his eye 
 on me, he said: 
 
 "I demand to know, sir, what this means? Why 
 have you quitted your abode to come here to nurse 
 pistols at this time of night?" 
 
 "The pistols, sir," said I, have been put to bed to 
 be aroused at daylight. Mr. Mahone, I will leave 
 the room while you explain to the General." 
 
 I hastened out, glad to escape from the necessity 
 of explaining, because I dreaded to repeat in his 
 presence the words of Lismukes. Not far off I stood 
 waiting in the hallway, intending to give Mahone 
 time enough, and thinking that I had, I was return 
 ing when I heard the General exclaim, ' ' By the Eter 
 nal ! ' ' Then I knew that the climax had been reached. 
 ! Just outside the door the General met me gripped 
 me tightly by the arm, drew me into the room. 
 "Richard," he said, and there was that strange 
 smile, but now as cold as frost, "Richard, this affair 
 is mine I must assume it I demand it as my 
 right." 
 
 "That is impossible, General. The arrangements
 
 98 "By the Eternal." 
 
 have all been made. No, I must meet him to-morrow 
 morning, and if he escapes he may answer to you. 
 He has insulted me time after time met me first 
 with an insult, has done everything he could to bring 
 about a meeting, believing that my blood is within 
 his easy reach. Mahone said at first that there was 
 bound to be trouble Mrs. Crenshaw knew it was 
 coming and made me promise to do everything I 
 could to avoid it, but I could not put up with his in 
 sults." 
 
 He took my hand and pressed it hard. "Richard, 
 for years I have kept on my mantelpiece two pistols, 
 cocked for just such scoundrels as this fellow. And 
 he shall die, if not by your hand, by mine. Richard, 
 and you, Professor Mahone, it is not necessary to ex 
 plain to you, but I will. In the case of Robarts and 
 his wife, the legislature of the State of Virginia 
 granted a divorce. On this subject that is all I have 
 to say, except that she is as pure as a heaven-sent 
 angel; and when any man breathes suspicion against 
 her fair name, be he Governor or President, I will 
 send his soul to hell. But my brave boy, enough of 
 this. It is of no use for me to tell you to keep your 
 courage up. You will not falter. And when the 
 times comes, aim at his breast, rather low down. Don't 
 risk his head. Those are old army pistols, are they 
 not? I have better ones." 
 
 "They might be better for him and not for me," I 
 answered. 
 
 "That is true enough, sir. You are thoughtful. 
 Ah, I had come to tell you of Mrs. Jackson's return 
 and to invite you out to visit us, but in this life we 
 can foresee nothing." 
 
 He walked off from me, as straight between the
 
 Sneaked Out of the House. 99 
 
 shoulders as an Indian chief, then returned, and in 
 his eye there was a deadly fire, but with it all a ten 
 derness for me; and I felt my heart swelling with 
 gratitude toward him, so much do the really great 
 demand from us. 
 
 "Richard, forgive my harshness in demanding 
 from you the surrender of your right to avenge a 
 gross insult. But you understand my motive." 
 
 "I do, General, and appreciate it." 
 
 "I thank you. And now we will bid you good 
 night. I shall see you in the morning."
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE FROM THE NURSERY. 
 
 IT was now past midnight. I went to the window 
 and looked out. Nowhere was there a light. I 
 heard the heavy tread of the watchman, slowly 
 pacing his round. The candle was burning low, and 
 I lay down, without undressing, and gazed at the 
 nickering light as it rose and fell. On the wall the 
 shadows danced. Suddenly all the world was one 
 great impenetrable shadow. The candle's flame had 
 died. I strove to fix my mind on serious subjects but 
 they eluded me. I thought of a rabbit that I had 
 caught in a trap, many years ago; of an early play 
 mate, a stammering negro boy. My lips fashioned a 
 prayer, but in my mind there arose a foolish tune I 
 had heard a boatman whistle. Then there came 
 nursery rhymes and I wondered why Jack Sprat 
 could eat no fat. If he were hungry he might have 
 eaten almost anything. I offered him a piece of meat 
 on a toasting fork, but he shook his head, declaring 
 that it was. fat. But his wife took it and thanked me, 
 too. What an engaging creature she was. Of course, 
 I had met her a number of times, in a casual way, 
 but somehow this was my first opportunity to get a 
 good look at her. I asked her why she had married 
 such an obstinate clown, and she said that it was 
 because he signed a contract to milk the cow. I in 
 quired as to whether he had kept his agreement, and 
 she answered that he no doubt would have done so, 
 
 100
 
 An Old Acquaintance From the Nursery. 101 
 
 but that thus far he had failed to provide the cow. 
 Then she turned her face fuller toward me and I saw 
 a blemish on her cheek. Why, this Mrs. Sprat was 
 Arabella, and she laughed when she found that I had 
 discovered her, and taking down a pair of shears 
 from a nail on the wall she cut off her sleeves, threw 
 her bare arms about my neck and told me that she 
 loved me, had loved me long before Crenshaw's fore 
 fathers, the kings, had sported with hawks on the 
 downs of England. She kissed me and I asked her 
 why her lips were so cool, and she answered that it 
 was because she had just whistled to a man that had 
 ice for sale. This explanation being satisfactory I 
 permitted her to kiss me again. Then she sprang 
 away from me with the cry, "Cousin Calvin Lis- 
 inukes, where did you come from?" He stood at 
 the window holding the curtain aside, looking in upon 
 us. She led him into the room, and suddenly he was 
 no other than plain Jack Sprat. But he said that 
 I had taken his wife from him and that I should have 
 to pay for it, and when I protested my innocence he 
 swore that I had taken her down to Natchez and 
 brought her back as my wife, and that he was going 
 to shoot me ; and with that he snatched a blunderbuss 
 down from the wall and fired and I jumped off of 
 the bed. Some one was knocking at the door. 
 
 It was Atcherson. I opened the door and a flood of 
 light poured into the room. He had brought a candle. 
 
 "You're already dressed, eh? It's well enough as 
 we haven't any time to lose. The General and Ma- 
 hone are down stairs, waiting." 
 
 He gathered up the pistols, concealed them under 
 his coat, and I followed him down the stairs. The 
 General came forward and took my hand and held it
 
 102 "By the Eternal." 
 
 for a few moments. ''Your nerves are strong, sir," 
 he said. The sleepy clerk followed us to the door 
 and inquired if we were going out for a hunt. 
 
 "For a wolf hunt, sir," the General answered. 
 
 The streets were dark, but in the east the sables of 
 night were laced with gray. 
 
 Mahone had gripped me by the arm, as was his 
 habit, but had not spoken. After a time, as we walked 
 briskly along, he said: 
 
 "I dreamed that Arabella drove over me in a 
 buggy, Kichard. On more accounts than one of them 
 my heart is heavy this morning. Did you sleep ? ' ' 
 
 ' ' Dozed. But I feel strong. ' ' 
 
 "May the saints make you stronger." 
 
 I spoke to the General, who walked just in front 
 of me: "I should think, sir, that it would be best 
 for you not to be seen at the place of meeting. Re 
 port would associate you with the arrangements and 
 the conduct of the affair, and that would injure the 
 academy. ' ' 
 
 "Spoken with Supreme Court precision," laughed 
 Atcherson. 
 
 "And with quite as much thought, sir," the Gen 
 eral replied. "You are right, Richard. I will halt 
 just a little this side. But remember that I will be 
 near. ' ' 
 
 "This will be a notable day in the recollection of 
 young Hanie," remarked Atcherson. "He is to be 
 one of the surgeons, and this is his first case. ' ' 
 
 It was now just light enough to observe that upon 
 saying this he looked back at me. 
 
 What an outcry the neighborhood roosters were 
 making. At the edge of the pathway I trod upon a
 
 An Old Acquaintance From the Nursery. 103 
 
 stick, and it snapped, like a pistol missing fire. From 
 the river came the song of the early ferryman. I 
 could hear him plying his oars. It was now Glen- 
 dower's time, "As is the difference betwixt day and 
 night, the hour before the heavenly-harnessed team 
 begins his golden progress in the east." 
 
 "I will halt here behind this clump of bushes," 
 said the General. He knew the red haw tree, knew 
 where it was knew that its roots had been dyed with 
 blood. Facing about he placed one arm on my shoul 
 der and with the other one took mine. "Richard," 
 he said, "I believe in God. Put your trust in Him, 
 and your aim will be steadier. In England it was 
 the steadfastness of that trust that enabled the people 
 to chop off a king's head. Remember, aim low. Ten 
 bullets fly in mid air where one strikes the ground." 
 
 "I shall remember, sir." 
 
 He pressed my hand, and we left him, and looking 
 back I saw him standing near the edge of the thicket, 
 a majestic statue, carved out of the night and set 
 there in the graying dawn. 
 
 Our party was first to arrive. Atoherson said that 
 it was because Lismukes always liked to defer a pleas 
 ure, to make it last longer. 
 
 "It's time now to leave off your joking," Mahone 
 replied. 
 
 "Joking! I'm as serious as a mourner's bench." 
 
 We sat down beneath the tree and I asked Mahone 
 if he wouldn't light his pipe. 
 
 "No, Richard, I have smoked here for the last 
 time." 
 
 "There's the rim of the sun," said Atcherson 
 "and yonder come the others, surgeons and all.
 
 104 "By the Eternal" 
 
 Steady, everybody. You're making history, and 
 that ought to be a painstaking business." 
 
 Lismukes came up, dressed jauntily. He shook 
 hands with Atcherson, and offered his hand to Ma- 
 hone, who declined it with a bow. I did not suppose 
 that he would grant to me even the heed of a nod, that 
 he would appear loftily unaware of my presence until 
 he drew his bead on me, but he could not refrain from 
 an insult. "I believe I've forgotten your name," he 
 said. "Stubbs, is that it? Oh, yes, Staggs. Well, 
 Mr. Staggs, I am at your service." His second 
 stepped forward and protested with him. "All 
 right," he said, "but why this delay?" But he 
 frowned when he saw my pistols, lying on a shawl. 
 
 In position there was no particular advantage to 
 be sought. The ground was stepped off, ten paces. 
 The pistols were carefully loaded. We took position. 
 The rising sun was to my right, his left. One of the 
 weapons was given to me. I saw that Lismukes had 
 the other, looking at it seeming to weigh it. The 
 signal was to be, one, two, three fire. I wondered 
 why I wts not more nervous. Had Atcherson 's fatal 
 ism struck in upon me, and had I perforce accepted 
 this as my time to die ? 
 
 Before leveling my pistols to take aim, during that 
 hour-minute, it seemed that Lismukes was sometimes 
 close to me, sometimes afar off, on the very edge of 
 the horizon. When I sighted at him, along the bar 
 rel of the pistol he was far away, but coming closer 
 as the slow counting began. "One" seemed to fall 
 down out of the sky; "two" came up out of the 
 ground, from beneath my feet "three" was weak, 
 coming from a great distance. And "fire" was a clap
 
 An Old Acquaintance From the Nursery. 105 
 
 of thunder. Then ! All my breath burst out in a 
 gasp, and fainting I fell to the ground. That was 
 all I knew. I remember the gasp, the fall, but noth 
 ing more.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HE HAD SOMETHING TO TELL. 
 
 IT seemed that for hours I was struggling in a 
 continuous attempt to open my eyes. Sometimes 
 there came a low hum into my ears, and once I 
 thought that I heard the General's voice. Then there 
 would fall deep silence and deep darkness. And then 
 it seemed that after a lapse of interminable time my 
 eyes were suddenly torn open ; and through my mind 
 a bird, a hawk, was flapping its wings flown con 
 sciousness flying home. I was lying on a bed, in a 
 room not wholly strange to me as I looked about the 
 bridal chamber of the Nashville inn. My mind was 
 now perfectly clear. General Jackson was standing 
 near the bed, looking down upon me I heard the rip 
 of some sort of cloth, and then into my nostrils came 
 a scent that turned me deathly sick. But from this 
 I soon rallied drank something that was given to me 
 in a large spoon. I recognized Hanie, the young 
 surgeon, and observed that he consulted an older 
 man who stood near. 
 
 "Do you think he can stand the journey?" Gen 
 eral Jackson inquired. And the older physician an 
 swered : 
 
 "Made as easy as possible, I hardly think it will 
 lessen his chances of recovery." 
 
 "Richard," said the General, "I am going to take 
 you home with me. The doctors say you can stand 
 the journey. Out at my house you will receive the 
 
 106
 
 He Had Something to Tett. 107 
 
 tenderest and most loving care care that can but in 
 sure an early recovery." 
 
 "Yes, sir, I shall be glad to go. Where is Ma- 
 hone?" 
 
 "He comes to the door every five minutes to ask 
 how you are he can 't stand it in here, looking at you 
 long at a time, though we have assured him that there 
 is no immediate danger," Dr. Haiiie answered. "Here 
 he is now." 
 
 The Irishman entered the room. He looked like a 
 ghost. But he smiled upon seeing that I recognized 
 him. "I have something to tell you, Richard," said 
 he. 
 
 "But not now," the old doctor spoke up. 
 
 "I should like to hear it," I insisted, but the phy 
 sician shook his head. Then I asked how long I had 
 been lying there and the answer was, "Since the day 
 before yesterday." 
 
 "Why is the church bell tolling?" I inquired. 
 
 "You must not ask," said Mahone. 
 
 "That is as bad as telling him," said the old doctor. 
 "At the church they are holding services. It is the 
 funeral of Lismukes." 
 
 I saw General Jackson's cool smile. "Did you 
 kill him?" I asked. 
 
 "You killed him, Richard." 
 
 "I aimed low, as you instructed." 
 
 "But your bullet struck him almost squarely be 
 tween the eyes. He fired a second before you did, it 
 seemed. They tell me that your weapon was not dis 
 charged until after you were struck." 
 
 "Is this what you were keeping from me, Mahone?" 
 I asked.
 
 108 "By the Eternal." 
 
 He shook his head. "Something worse," he an 
 swered. 
 
 ''Tell him," said the old doctor. "He seems to 
 be able to stand anything." 
 
 Mahone sat down on the edge of the bed, took my 
 hand and proceeded to make such a demonstration 
 that the old physician cautioned him. 
 
 "The world has come to an end," said Mahone. 
 "The widow was in the buggy with Harvey; and he 
 took her out into the country to the house of a Justice 
 of the Peace and married her. I went to her house 
 the next morning, and that old fossil, Black, that 
 calls himself a judge, was walking up and down in 
 front of the house, just as if nothing had happened, 
 to pinch the vitals of this old earth; and he told me. 
 Then, sir, the devil rose up within me, and I asked 
 him if she were in the house, and he said she was. 
 'Then, sir,' said I, 'present to her the compliments 
 of Daniel Mahone and assure her that he had the ex 
 ceeding satisfaction of seeing her cousin Calvin's soul 
 fly away to the devil about sunrise this morning, sir. ' 
 And now they may go to the funeral on their wedding 
 journey. ' ' 
 
 "There," commanded the doctor, "you have said 
 enough." 
 
 I was fully alive to what had been said, and I sym 
 pathized with Mahone, with, however, a feeling of 
 humor stealing through me into the right side of 
 my breast, where the wound was pulling at me 
 sharply, there, and then my mind dwelt upon the man 
 I had killed. It was not, however, with a feeling of 
 regret. Now, in this latter day, when in exultation 
 men crush one another in the financial fight and send 
 women and children weeping to the poorhouse, it may
 
 He Had Something to Tell. 109 
 
 seem that I was wanting in Christian training ; brutal. 
 But to my conscience I turned for no palliation of 
 the deed. I had been provoked, I went out to kill 
 him if I could, had killed him, and there were no 
 apologies to be made. 
 
 My wound was serious, you may well believe, but 
 not so dangerous, as the physicians, especially the 
 younger one, at first made it appear. The bullet had 
 ranged round, had missed the lung, and had been 
 extracted near the shoulder blade. 
 
 The weather was fine, and the journey, twelve 
 miles, up the river to the Hermitage, was not a hard 
 ship, after I had been placed on a boat manned by 
 half a dozen able-bodied negroes. The young sur 
 geon accompanied the expedition, pleased to assume 
 entire charge of a patient who necessarily had created 
 a sensation in the neighborhood. 
 
 "Am I to go? Mahone inquired, looking with sad 
 appeal at the General, but stepping aboard. 
 
 "Yes, sir," Jackson answered, "and you are to re 
 main there until our young friend is thoroughly re 
 covered." 
 
 "But what about your duties at the academy, Pro 
 fessor?" I inquired. 
 
 "Ah," he answered, "I no longer have any duties 
 there. They informed me this morning that they 
 could manage to get along without my services. They 
 made my my active sympathy with the duel a pre 
 text for my dismissal, but it was only a pretext, for 
 when I pinned them down to it they declared that I 
 was incompetent, anyway. I told the man that said 
 it that if he would step outside I would give him an 
 example of physical competence that would keep 
 beef on his eyes for the better part of a week, but he
 
 110 "By the Eternal" 
 
 declined my invitation, although I assure you it was 
 given in the best possible spirit." 
 
 "You need not worry as to future employment," 
 said the General. "On my estate I need just such 
 a man as you are, and will pay you more than you re 
 ceived at the academy." 
 
 "I thank you, true gentleman that you are and a 
 competent General, too, if it ever comes to the test. I 
 will attend to your affairs the best I can, but you 
 must know, sir, that grief holds me down to the earth. 
 I shall not live long, sir. ' ' 
 
 "Let me feel your pulse," said Dr. Hanie. 
 
 "Feel of them, sir, and not much good can you get 
 out of them," Mahone replied, thrusting forth hia 
 hand. "Weak as a bird's, sir." 
 
 "Strong as an ox," said the doctor. 
 
 "I hear you say so, sir, but I know it to be one 
 of the many mistakes of the medical profession. ' ' 
 
 General Jackson smiled and remarked: "Perhaps 
 you need bleeding." 
 
 "Ah, General, badinage may be good salve at times, 
 but not for the heart when a woman is its concern, 
 sir. ' ' 
 
 "I beg your pardon," said the General. "Those 
 who do not know how to joke should never attempt it. 
 I beg your pardon. The rapid improvement in our 
 young friend here, led my spirits astray. I beg your 
 pardon." 
 
 "Ah, and it was joking that you were with me! 
 I beg your pardon myself for misunderstanding you. 
 I am the last man to feel hurt at a joke. It is joking, 
 sir, that has kept old Ireland's heart from breaking; 
 but as to my own individual heart, it is beyond the 
 medicine of fun. You know the woman well, sir.
 
 He Had Something to Tell. Ill 
 
 the Mrs. Crenshaw that was, and you know what a 
 fine wife she could have made me if she had only been 
 a mind to. Then there wouldn't have been any ques 
 tion at the school as to my education and fitness for 
 the position. But it is too late now; and I have seen 
 my best days, all of my days, in truth, except a few 
 remaining dark ones." 
 
 The General appeared to be greatly moved. He 
 had cause to worship his own wife, for her temper 
 was sweet, her nature devout; but concerning women 
 at large, or rather, I should say, in society, this great 
 man had no judgment whatever. The fact that she 
 wore skirts, that her eyes were ready to weep -the 
 fact in fact that she was a woman established her in 
 his mind, if not an angel, as a being but little less in 
 grace. In his presence no one was permitted to re 
 peat a scandal against a woman, no matter how frail 
 she might have proved her own character. 
 
 "I do not think that Mrs. Crenshaw meant to de 
 ceive you, sir," lie said. "There must have been 
 some misunderstanding. Perhaps she looked upon it 
 all as the mere play of an idle hour." 
 
 "She did, and without a doubt," Mahone was quick 
 to reply. "As her own play and her own hour all 
 her own twice over. And if it wouldn't have the 
 awkward appearance of suicide I'd jump into the 
 river now." 
 
 "God made no man, marking him out for self-de 
 struction," said the General. "And whenever a man 
 does that, regardless of what the cause may be, he in 
 sults his Maker." 
 
 "But suppose a man is brought face to face with 
 the fact that he has no further end to serve here upon 
 earth," Mahone suggested. "What must he do then?"
 
 112 "By the Eternal" 
 
 ' ' He must wait, sir. His sight is too short to pene 
 trate the future, even to the extent of one day. Let 
 him wait, for, by the Eternal, the morrow may bring 
 an obvious duty to be performed, a duty that shall 
 revive his hope." 
 
 "If I thought that," said the Irishman, "I'd sit 
 up all night, waiting for to-morrow 's sun to rise. But 
 ah, sir, the broken mind may be mended, like a spider 
 mending his web, but there is no mending of a broken 
 heart. The mind has many lives, like a cat, but the 
 heart has only one." 
 
 "Sir," said the General, "there is a noble woman 
 waiting for every noble heart. Bide your time." 
 
 The boat reached the landing at the Hermitage in 
 the cool of the evening. A negro boy had been sent, 
 horseback, to apprise Mrs. Jackson of our coming, 
 and she was down at the bottom of the garden to meet 
 us. She came forward, embraced the General, and 
 then with gentle touch placed her hand on my brow, 
 walking beside the mattress as they bore it along the 
 path.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 FROM my window I could look out upon the river, 
 and the cool banks upon the opposite shore. It 
 was from those shades that the birds came in 
 the late afternooon to present their opera, in the 
 garden, like Handel driven by neglect out of London 
 to give the Messiah in Dublin. This was Mahone's 
 fancy. "I have read about it, but I have heard my 
 uncle tell of some of its phases not to be read of," 
 said he one evening as he sat beside my bed. ' ' It was 
 a fact, hardly as historic as some facts taken account 
 of by kings, but nevertheless historic, that my father, 
 Daniel Mahone, senior, was in Dublin at the time. 
 What did he know about Handel? Blessed little, I 
 assure you ; but he heard that there \vas to be a show, 
 given by a great man, and that was enough for him. 
 So in he goes, and the first thing that attracted his 
 attention was an understrapper who volunteered the 
 information that he couldn't smoke his pipe in there 
 one of those country wake pipes, I'm telling you. 
 Now, my father being a polite man, thanked the obli 
 ging understrapper, but went right on pulling at the 
 gag. But for a time only. A big six footer came up 
 and knocked the pipe out of my father's mouth, and 
 it was then that the performance began. And my 
 uncle who was present and therefore somewhat mixed 
 up in it assured me without boasting that for a time 
 it was the liveliest opera ever given in the town. It 
 
 113
 
 114 "By the Eternal" 
 
 was a great Richard," he suddenly broke off, gazing 
 through the window. "Richard, have you taken note 
 of that young girl here that beauty ? I was talking 
 to her, out in the yard this forenoon. She is very 
 distantly related to Mrs. Jackson and has been 
 adopted as her niece. And sure, St. Patrick would 
 claim her for a niece of his own. Her name is Nettie 
 Blakemore > and she asked me to-day as true as I 
 am sitting here, how long it would be before they 
 would let her come in and sit here and read to you. 
 Have you taken note of her ? ' ' 
 
 I had, but I did not know but that she was one of 
 the dreams that had passed through my mind. Since 
 my coming a week had gone by; a week, not of 
 much pain but of weariness. This, though, was made 
 bearable by the kindness, the gentle solicitude of the 
 General and his wife of every one. And this girl! 
 Then she was not a dream. I thought that she had 
 stood near my bed, smiling upon me, that she had 
 put the hair back out of my eyes, but with the thrill 
 of her touch I seemed to awake, and was alone. 
 
 "No, she is not a dream, and yet she can be nothing 
 else," said the Irishman. "She is as yet little more 
 than a child not sixteen, I should think with scarce 
 ly any of the ways of a woman about her talks just 
 as if Adam hadn't been turned out of Eden. Let me 
 lift you up and you can see her as she stands now, 
 beneath the plum tree. Now, can you see her ? ' ' 
 
 I could see her, my dream with hair blacker than 
 the first night that had fallen on Adam after he was 
 turned out of Eden. She wore no bonnet. And when 
 suddenly she leaped to run away, I saw that she wore 
 no shoes. 
 
 "She jumps and runs not that she desires to leave
 
 At the Hermitage. 115 
 
 one place to go to another, but on account of the life 
 that is within her," said Mahone. "If a painter 
 could catch her his fortune would be made in any 
 court in Europe. And to think that when you are 
 well enough she is to read to you! Begorry, with 
 such a reward in store, they might shoot me to 
 pieces. ' ' 
 
 "Dan, have you forgotten the widow?" I asked. 
 
 ' ' Sure, sir, and didn 't the General command me to ? 
 And being employed by him, must I not take his 
 orders? But, confidentially, I will tell you that I 
 have not forgotten her. I loved her, but this young 
 girl no one could love her for being lost in awe, sir. 
 Aside from the extreme youth of her, I don't see how 
 a man could think of making her his wife. She is an 
 elf, out of the woods, and they must have caught her 
 where the vines were thickest. But, changing the 
 subject, would you mind telling me something? But 
 it is a delicate question." 
 
 "I will answer it if I can." 
 
 "And you won't feel offended or shocked ?" 
 
 "I think not. What is it?" 
 
 ' ' Well, sir, lying here alone in the dark, when every 
 one else is asleep, do you ever imagine that you see 
 Lismukes ? ' ' 
 
 "I have dreamed aoout him a number of times." 
 
 "And does it frighten you to dream about him?" 
 
 "Not at all." 
 
 "How does he look to you?" 
 
 "Always insulting. And when I wake, I am never 
 sorry that I killed him." 
 
 ' ' And in the dark, too ? I should be afraid of him. ' ' 
 
 "I wasn't afraid of him while he was alive." 
 
 "And I should think that he has found that out
 
 116 "By the Eternal" 
 
 himself by this time. Oh, I 've some news. I was out 
 walking on the road this morning and here came driv 
 ing along Judge Black and his wife and in that same 
 buggy, too, I warrant you, that took Arabella away 
 from me. That was a bad night, Kichard. He drew 
 rein and I had the hardihood to ask him how the 
 widow was getting along with her new husband and 
 the woman laughed right out she whose husband 
 came down the river on a raft. And it was a delight 
 to her to volunteer the information that Arabella 
 was perfectly happy. And this may be true, but I 
 wanted to call her a liar. But the news I wanted 
 to tell you is this: She does not take the death of 
 her cousin much to heart, neither does she blame you. 
 He told her he was going to kill you, and when she 
 asked him why, he answered 'Oh, just for the fun 
 of seeing him fall!' A lot of fun he got out of it." 
 
 Mrs. Jackson entered the room, followed by a 
 negress with my supper. 
 
 ' ' I wouldn 't have him talk too much, Mr. Mahone, ' ' 
 said the prudent woman; and my friend answered: 
 "I was just telling him, madam, that he must be 
 very careful. I have been a student of medicine my 
 self." 
 
 "And gave it up for theology," I suggested, de 
 termined to punish him for his lying to this gentle, 
 motherly woman. His jaw dropped. "There, don't 
 remind me of my foolish escapades, Richard," he 
 said. "I have a good deal to answer for, but don't 
 compel me to answer until the times comes. Ah, here 's 
 the General, fresh from town with all the news." 
 
 The General came in, bowed to his wife as if he 
 were in the presence of a queen, and then embraced 
 her with most loving tenderness. I have been an ob-
 
 At the Hermitage. 117 
 
 server in my time, have noted relationships among 
 men and women in society and in the family circle, 
 but in my judgment there was never such unabated 
 consideration, such congeniality, such constant af 
 fection as that which characterized the home of An 
 drew Jackson. 
 
 "Mr. Jackson, our patient is doing finely," said 
 my hostess, my nurse, indeed my mother. 
 
 "Coming out like a vine," the General answered. 
 He drew his chair up near the bed, asked me several 
 questions concerning myself, and then addressed him 
 self to Mahone, to discuss affairs on the estate. Here 
 business had many features, planting, boat building, 
 the breeding of fine horses and a mercantile trade of 
 no mean dimensions. It was here that the famous 
 race horse "Truxton" was bred. Jackson's passions 
 were varied, his love for the turf being among the 
 uppermost. 
 
 Mahone had been assigned to duty in the general 
 plantation store. It was thought that his "student 
 habits" at the academy would fit him for the almost 
 solitary confinement of book-keeping, but as this did 
 not require all his time, he was promoted to the posi 
 tion of salesman and general manager, to rely upon 
 his own judgment in the event that no one else hap 
 pened to be near. His first exercise of this function 
 of judgment, or at least the first that marked his 
 initiative inclination, was patriotic in a way. Over 
 the mountains from Philadelphia had driven a book 
 peddler, a young fellow named Billings, afterward 
 known to nearly every school boy in Middle Ten 
 nessee. Billings was a literary pioneer, drove a cov 
 ered wagon, heavily laden with fancies, Walter Scott, 
 from whom the South was to receive her romantic
 
 118 "By the Eternal." 
 
 tone, and the earlier poems of Tom Moore. Mahone 
 felt under deep obligations to his employer; through 
 the woods at night he had walked, wondering as to the 
 quickest and best methods of discharging by a show 
 of his own worth his debt of gratitude; so from Bil 
 lings he bought a hundred volumes of Moore, and 
 stacked them upon a shelf, just above speckled calico 
 and just beneath brown jeans. The General did not 
 care particularly for Tom Moore, a melodist rather 
 than an exponent of action, but his strictures were 
 not severe. He simply remarked to Mahone that if 
 business became active in the autumn he might pos 
 sibly dispose of half of the Moore books, provided 
 that counterfeit money were accepted. The Irish 
 man grieved for a day, wondering how he could re 
 deem himself. And on this day, not long before the 
 General returned from town, he had, in his own 
 opinion, more than succeeded. 
 
 ' ' General, ' ' said he, ' ' I have worked up a fine trade 
 to-day." 
 
 ' ' I am pleased to hear it, Professor. ' ' 
 
 "I have, and there's no mistake. I sold one bill for 
 two hundred and ten dollars." 
 
 "You surprise me." 
 
 "But it is the Lord's truth, or, rather I should say, 
 the Saint's truth, since the Lord takes no cognizance 
 of such matters. Along -in the afternoon to-day, 
 while business was as slack as a rope with nothing 
 tied to the other end of it, I sat out under the syca 
 more tree for a few whiffs at the pipe, when along 
 came an old gentleman that might have been the 
 governor of Virginia. He got out of his gig, ah- 
 hahing a good deal and asked me if I had any water 
 handy. I told him that as all of the negro boys were
 
 At the Hermitage. 119 
 
 off fishing somewhere I had compensated a white boy 
 that had ambitions to rise in the world compensated 
 him to the extent of giving him a hickory cigar to 
 fetch me a pail of water, which was still fresh and at 
 his service. I went with him into the store I tell 
 you all this to show you that I am gradually master 
 ing the necessary details of trade." 
 
 ' ' Proceed, ' ' said the General, ' ' I am listening, sir. ' ' 
 
 "I thank you. Into the house with him, and after 
 he had satisfied his thirst he looked about and said 
 that we had a fine array of goods, and I acknowledged 
 to him that \ve had that same. Then he began to ex 
 amine our stock and before he could make his escape 
 I succeeded in selling him a bill of two hundred and 
 ten dollars' worth, whieh he carried away himself, to 
 satisfy my suspicious nature that the sale was genu 
 ine. He resides over the river not a great distance 
 from here, and he said he would settle the account on 
 the presentation of the bill. He is no other, sir, than 
 Colonel Lavite Bradshaw." 
 
 I was looking at the General as Mahone concluded. 
 The master of the Hermitage bowed to his wife and 
 said: "Mrs. Jackson, if it is not asking too much, 
 will you please leave the room while I tell this Irish 
 man that he has played hell!" 
 
 "Why, Mr. Jackson!" 
 
 "Mrs. Jackson, I humbly beg your pardon." 
 
 Mahone 's eyes were popping out. "Is it possible 
 that I have made a mistake, sir," he gasped. 
 
 ' ' Only to the extent that you have given my goods 
 to old Bradshaw. He owes me three hundred already 
 and is law proof." 
 
 "Will you think of that, now!" cried the Irishman. 
 "Law proof, and he looked like the law itself! If he
 
 120 "By the Eternal." 
 
 were a younger man, General, I would compensate 
 you." 
 
 ' 'If he were a younger man?" 
 
 "The same, sir. I would go over and take it out 
 of his hide." 
 
 It was not often that the General laughed, but he 
 laughed now; and Mrs. Jackson's face beamed with 
 pleasure to see her solemn lord diverted. In that 
 merriment, slight though it was, the Irishman read 
 the pardon of his fault. But he was not wholly to 
 escape. 
 
 "Professor," said the General, "I value your serv 
 ices highly, but hereafter when your judgment tells 
 you to do one thing, do the other." 
 
 "That is not a bad suggestion," Mahone agreed, 
 heartily accepting it. "My father, Daniel Mahone, 
 was almost a failure till he adopted that same idea 
 with regard to himself." 
 
 Mrs. Jackson withdrew and the General said to me : 
 "I have some news for you. But first let me remind 
 you that you have not seen Atcherson since the morn 
 ing of that unfortunate affair." 
 
 "That is true, and several times I have thought to 
 inquire about him, but something always came up to 
 eliminate him from my mind," I answered. 
 
 "His grammar again," the Irishman murmured. 
 
 "Well, I now have news for you concerning him," 
 said the General. "I met him in town to-day, and a 
 more changed young man, both in appearance and in 
 voice, I don't think I ever saw. The part he played 
 in the duel wrought so heavily upon him that for 
 several nights afterward he couldn't sleep. Just 
 about this time he met a Methodist preacher who was 
 conducting a revival meeting in a church over on the
 
 At the Hermitage. 121 
 
 hill; and what did Atcherson do but go over and 
 drop upon his knees at the mourners' bench. In due 
 time he professed religion and now he is studying for 
 the ministry." 
 
 "I told him so before he knew it himself," said 
 Mahone. "I saw it coming, sir. I can always see 
 such things coming. It is then, sir, that I don't have 
 to depend upon reverse judgment for correctness of 
 view. And I'll warrant you, sir, that he'll make a 
 very troublesome preacher. I don't mean quarrel 
 some, but persistent, always pulling and hauling, you 
 understand one of the narrow sort that can never 
 see anything good outside of his own creed." 
 
 ' ' We must give him credit for sincerity, ' ' said the 
 man whom they have never succeeded in sainting. 
 
 "I shall do that, sir, and at the same time request 
 him to let me walk my own way. Yes, sir, when that 
 fellow was so glib, I thought we should have trouble 
 with him." 
 
 After a time when the General had given me a few 
 words of his usual encouragement, he withdrew into 
 his sitting-room, and soon I heard his wife reading 
 the Bible to him. It was known that she had greatly 
 "reformed" him. He had game cocks on the place 
 but he discouraged their fighting on Sunday ; and it 
 was said that of late the wagers he laid at horse races 
 had much diminished. Within him she had awakened 
 an admiration, if not a love, for the Bible, but it 
 was apparent that his fondness for Moses and the 
 warlike leaders was more pronounced than for the 
 quiet and poetic musers. In truth, he did not care 
 to be led beside the still waters, but to stand where 
 roared the cataract. 
 
 After the General had quitted the room Mahone re-
 
 122 "By the Eternal." 
 
 marked: "Richard, I have made the discovery that 
 I am not an egotist; and this naturally leads me to 
 the acknowledgment of the fat that I am not a suc 
 cess as a business man. Didn't I read in an Irish 
 newspaper that the American people loved Tom 
 Moore? I did. ' Don't business men read market 
 reports and follow them in their buying and selling? 
 They do. But when I buy goods, why, it is soon 
 discovered that I made a mistake. What is a man to 
 do ? If yoia can 't reduce trade to some sort of system, 
 what is to become of commerce ? And that old party 
 in the gig! How did I know he was proof against 
 the law when he bore no evidence of it ? Why doesn 't 
 the law compel such men to wear signs, setting forth 
 the fact? Richard, I think I am better fitted for law- 
 making than for business. Ah, see the failures and 
 the humiliation Arabella put upon me! What is it 
 that a woman can't do for a man? She could have 
 made something out of me the ideal landlord of the 
 community; in time we could have established a fine 
 inn, and our children might have amounted to some 
 thing, but as it is, what can be expected of them? It 
 it not a matter for laughter, friend Richard, although 
 I assure you it does me good to see you laugh. I ex 
 ercised your horse this morning and he seemed proud 
 of the fact that you are getting well. And that little 
 barefooted elf they call Nettie! Ah, but you've got 
 something in store for you. ' ' 
 
 On the following day, just after I had eaten break 
 fast, the elf came into the room. She was not more 
 than a child sixteen Mahone had said she peeped 
 in at me with those great Italian eyes and inquired if 
 I were well enough to see her then slammed the door 
 to, opening it again slowly, peeping at me.
 
 F^^^^BBi 
 
 "SHE LOOKED AT ME."
 
 At the Hermitage. 123 
 
 "Yes, come in," I called. 
 
 She came, shaking the dew from her hair as she 
 nodded at me, and I asked her if she had spent the 
 night in the trees with the birds, and laughing as she 
 drew a chair nearer toward the bed, she answered 
 that she had slept in the house, but that she had gone 
 out early to see them haul the hay. She sat down. 
 "I have been wanting to come in here, oh, ever so 
 long!" she said. "But Aunt Kachel was afraid I'd 
 bother you. I did slip in once, though. Mr. Mahone 
 -and he's so funny well, he said you was a regular 
 grammar; and then I was afraid of you, but I asked 
 Aunt Rachel and she said you wasn't any grammar 
 at all, so far as she could see. Then I said I'd come 
 some time and read to you, whenever they'd let me. 
 I didn 't bring my book this time I came this time so 
 we could get acquainted, and when we do it won't 
 make any difference much whether I bring a book at 
 all or not, for we can talk, then. I've got on new 
 shoes. Uncle Andrew brought them from town yes 
 terday, because there wasn't any in the plantation 
 store good enough for me, he said. When they told 
 Aunt Rachel about you fighting the man, oh, how she 
 did cry. And Uncle Andrew said as loud as he almost 
 could 'I've always got two pistols cocked for such 
 scoundrels.' Why did you want to fight the man?" 
 
 ' ' Because he insulted me, ' ' I answered. She looked 
 at me, studying my face, shrewdly searching for my 
 conscience through my eyes, it seemed. But in her 
 gaze there was naught that was embarrassing on either 
 her part or mine. I felt as if she were pouring some 
 thing deliciously warm upon me; a cordial into my 
 mind.
 
 124 "By the Eternal." 
 
 ''How did he insult you?" she inquired, and her 
 eyes seemed to repeat the question after her lips. 
 
 "He called me a pauper, a liar and a coward." 
 
 "But what was it he said about Aunt Rachel?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing at all." 
 
 Again she searched for my conscience through my 
 eyes. Then she shook her head and sighed, this beau 
 tiful mid-way woman; ah, how women have shaken 
 their heads with tears in their eyes, and how they 
 have sighed at the window in the night, peering out 
 into the dark, waiting for men to come, striving to 
 understand why love when it was so free to come 
 home should remain away. 
 
 ' ' My father was killed like that, ' ' she said. ' ' I can 
 just remember it ; and I have heard them talk, and I 
 know that my father challenged the man, because 
 he had said things about my mother. My mother 
 came here, when she was a girl, from away off from 
 Italy ; she was a music teacher. My father and Uncle 
 Andrew loved each other, and when Uncle Andrew 
 does love, he loves harder than anybody, but he 
 doesn't say much about it." 
 
 I let her wander along, desiring that she should 
 give me her history in her own way. "My father 
 and Aunt Rachel were were almost kin to each 
 other." 
 
 That reminded me of Mahone, and I smiled. "Yes, 
 they were," she insisted, "almost kin. Why do men 
 say things about women that have to make them be 
 killed or kill somebody?" 
 
 Because some men are scoundrels, ' ' I answered. 
 
 "Yes," she assented, nodding her head, "and that 
 is the sort Uncle Andrew says he has his pistols cocked 
 for."
 
 At the Hermitage. 125 
 
 As I looked at her, studied the radiant harmony of 
 her features and the blue-black thicket of her hair, 
 I wondered why she had not been more spoiled, in 
 that age, when to flatter gracefully was thought to be 
 one of the highest qualities of the gentleman. The 
 era of the hair-trigger was also the era of compliment. 
 But this creature, to whom nature had willed so much 
 of beauty, although she was approaching womanhood, 
 seemed unconscious of her extravagant inheritance. 
 
 "My name is Nettie Blakemore now," she said, 
 smiling mischievously at me, "but it will be Nettie 
 something else when I am eighteen. Then it will be 
 Nettie Page. Ah, hah. Wilbur Page is my third 
 cousin, and is more than twenty-one now, and I am 
 to marry him. That was all made up a long time ago, 
 and I promised my mother before she died." 
 
 "But you may not love him when you are eight 
 een," said I. 
 
 "Oh, yes, I will, for I have promised." 
 
 She had promised! How like the fate of woman! 
 "Nobody could keep from loving him," she went on. 
 "And he is going to be a doctor and cure people. 
 Doctors don't have to fight duels as much as lawyers 
 do. They don't have to argue so much. Lawyers get 
 mad so easily. Uncle Andrew has quarrels with them 
 nearly all the time. I wonder why they keep on try 
 ing to fight him when they know he can whip them. 
 One time not long ago we were driving in the car 
 riage, me and Aunt Rachel and Uncle Andrew, and 
 we met a lawyer on a horse; and Uncle Andrew told 
 the driver to stop, and he took his cane and beat the 
 lawyer, and then we drove on. After quite a long 
 time Aunt Rachel she says, 'Mr. Jackson, may I ask 
 what was the trouble between you and the man back
 
 126 "By the Eternal." 
 
 yonder ? ' And Uncle Andrew he smiled dry and said : 
 'It was no trouble, I assure you, Mrs. Jackson it was 
 a pleasure.' ' 
 
 Her eyes glowed with humor ; her lips were buds of 
 mirth, ever bursting into the rose of full blown laugh 
 ter. It was as Mahone had said: She was not to be 
 fallen in love with ; and for two reasons, one because 
 she was in years a child, the other I don't know 
 what, unless it was that the constantly startled heart 
 beat too fast, beat itself out of all the gentler paces 
 of love. But my mind was on that young doctor. 
 
 ' ' How long has it been since you saw him the man 
 you are going to marry?" I asked. 
 
 "Oh, Cousin Wilbur? A long, long time nearly 
 a year, I should think. And he had on the prettiest 
 shirt you ever saw all ruffled, without a speck of dirt 
 on it. He wanted me to kiss him, and I told him I 
 would as his cousin, but couldn't as his sweetheart 
 until it was nearly time for me to marry him. He 
 said he didn 't want my cousin kisses ; he said he could 
 get them most any time and most anywhere, as he 
 had kin folks scattered all up and down the river. I 
 told him them was the only kind I had. He's got 
 curly hair and some gold on one of his teeth." 
 
 "And you know you will love him when you are 
 seventeen ? ' ' 
 
 "Oh, yes, for how could I help it when he is my 
 cousin now and to be my sweetheart for a month or 
 two, and then to be everything. Of course, I'll love 
 him. Do you want me to get my book and read to 
 you?" 
 
 "I'd rather you would talk to me." 
 
 "About Cousin Wilbur? All right. I know you 
 will like him. I was at his house one day and he
 
 At the Hermitage. 127 
 
 tried to ride a calf. It was the funniest thing, for a 
 little while, and then it wasn 't, for the calf threw him 
 over into the hog lot and nearly killed him. His eyes 
 are blue. What color are your eyes? They are 
 brown, ain't they? Yes, they are. That was what 
 Aunt Rachel said when I asked her; and then Uncle 
 Andrew said the color of a man's eyes didn't make 
 any difference it was what he saw out of them that 
 counted. Did you think your time had come when 
 you stood up waiting for that man to shoot at you? 
 Of course, you must, for you and everybody else 
 knew he was a good shooter. You have heard about 
 Uncle Andrew killing Mr. Charles Dickinson, a long 
 time ago, haven't you?" 
 
 Before leaving North Carolina I had heard of this 
 famous duel, the most famous ever fought in the 
 Western country. In nearly every household there 
 was a copy of the Nashville Impartial Review, now 
 growing old, in which was set forth an account of that 
 sad affair. I had been close to Jackson's heart, on the 
 morning when he walked with me toward the place 
 where I was to take life and to shed my own blood, 
 and I knew that he held me strong in his affections, 
 but to me he had never mentioned the Dickinson duel. 
 Accounts of it had been printed everywhere through 
 out the country and in England as well, and every de 
 tail of it was familiar to me, but what would I not 
 have given for the story, told by the General him 
 self? The newspapers had begged him for his 
 "statement," meaning his recital, and the preachers, 
 some of them his warm personal friends, had begged 
 him to express his regret, for the influence that it 
 might have among young men, but he had remained 
 silent and grim. But it was my hope that he might
 
 128 "By the Eternal" 
 
 unbutton his almost echoless breast to me kin, al 
 most one, in this instance, because it was Mrs. Jack 
 son's name that had caused both the death of Dickin 
 son and of Lismukes. The public, let me explain, did 
 not know why, in my case, the "field of honor" had 
 been measured. All parties were close of mouth and 
 the details had been withheld from the newspapers 
 it was a student quarrel. I may say here that the 
 courts took a side-glance notice of it, that construct 
 ively I was a prisoner to await trial, but that the 
 trial was never called, mainly because every one be 
 lieved that the death of Lismukes was good for the 
 community. 
 
 "What are you thinking about so long?" the girl 
 inquired. 
 
 "Of the time when you are to be eighteen." 
 This pleased her and she laughed; and I wished 
 that I might be permitted to kiss her, even as a cousin, 
 or even as a grandfather.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MAHONE SEES MORE TROUBLE COMING. 
 
 IT was a day of encouragement when the physician 
 permitted me to get out of bed and to put on 
 my clothes. In a rocking-chair I sat, near the 
 window, looking out upon the river. In this home 
 was a bright and rosy boy, relative of Mrs. Jackson, 
 taken when an infant, given the name of Andrew, 
 and adopted by the General as his own son and heir. 
 Of his own, the General had no child, but as Mahone 
 remarked, he could not have loved his own twins more 
 than he loved this mischievous youngster. He used 
 to race through the house on a crutch horse. Surely 
 there never was a household where crutches were 
 more abundant. They appeared to be standing be 
 hind every door, in every corner. And it seemed that 
 there were not many months at a time when the 
 General did not require a set of them. So, in his line, 
 young Andrew had the finest stable in the country. 
 There was one crutch at least six feet high. This 
 with its mate, now lost, had been sent to the General 
 by an admirer who had never seen him but who imag 
 ined him a giant eight feet tall. This crutch-horse 
 the boy named Truxton, after the General's famous 
 race horse. His race course lay through my room, 
 out upon the veranda. On the morning of my getting 
 out of bed he won a great race and had come in to tell 
 me about it. He said that they had tried to drug his 
 
 129
 
 130 "By the Eternal." 
 
 horse and that if he found the fellow he was going 
 to shoot him. This was an echo from the real stable. 
 While he was talking to me I heard Nettie Blakemore 
 utter a cry, and then I saw her run swiftly down the 
 veranda, and into the yard. Andrew, scenting adven 
 ture, seized his corn-cob pistol, mounted his horse and 
 dashed after her. . I would have followed, but was 
 too weak. I leaned out of the window, straining to 
 discover the cause of the girl's excitement. It was 
 not long a mystery. A young man had dismounted 
 at the gate ; and now she was coming toward the house 
 with him, clinging to his arm. Not even instinct 
 was needed to tell me that the young doctor had ar 
 rived. And now my first feeling toward him was 
 generous, I thought. I was resolved not to hate him. 
 The General was in town, Mrs. Jackson busy some 
 where with her numerous duties, and so, the exuber 
 ant miss conducted him into my room, and in a warm 
 glow of pride introduced him to me. I stood up to 
 shake hands with him; and, as he had heard some 
 thing of my case, he began at once to talk about gun 
 shot wounds, telling me that formerly on the field of 
 battle they had poured hot oil into them "the 
 wretched barbarians," he added. The girl smiled 
 and shook that cluster of clouds, her hair. 
 
 I was resolved not to hate him, but Christian duty 
 did not demand that I should actually love him. His 
 face was too pale, his forehead too white. He as 
 sumed a carelessness of learning, mispronounced a 
 word, accenting it to show that he knew how it ought 
 to be pronounced. He wore with his other finery a 
 "westcut," flowered with green vines and yellowish 
 blossoms. They might have been herbs from which 
 he intended to extract his medicines.
 
 Malione Sees More Trouble Coming. 131 
 
 lie asked me what sort of medicine I was taking, 
 and I nodded toward a phial on the mantelpiece. He 
 arose, took down the phial, uncorked it, held it to his 
 nose, shook his head, recorked it and sat down. It 
 was evident that my physician was giving me the 
 wrong stuff. He asked Nettie if she were glad to see 
 him and she said yes, and told him that she knew 
 where there was a bird's nest, but that she wouldn't 
 tell Andrew. The boy, listening, jumped upon his 
 horse and galloped forth to find it. 
 
 "How are you getting along at school?" the young 
 doctor inquired. 
 
 "I get along better when I'm not there," she an 
 swered. "I don't like school. It makes me sleepy." 
 
 He frowned. "You mnsn't feel that way. I ex 
 pect you to study, so that you may grow into a smart 
 woman." 
 
 "But I don't want to be smart, if it makes me 
 sleepy," she replied. "What's the use of smartness, 
 anyway? Smart people don't have any fun. They 
 have to argue and then quarrel and then fight. They 
 say Mr. Staggs is a grammar, but he had to kill a 
 man and be shot himself. Oh, I know that ladies 
 don't have to fight, but men have to fight about 
 smart women. I don't like fighting, except roosters. 
 Last Sunday morning me and Uncle Andrew were out 
 by the barn, and a dominicker rooster kept on jump 
 ing up on the fence and crowing just because there 
 was a red rooster walking about over in the lot. Uncle 
 Andrew looked at the dominicker and said: 'Old 
 fellow, with your crowing you have drawn attention 
 to the fact that you are a strange bird and don't 
 belong here.' Then he opened the gate and shood 
 him through to where the red rooster was, and they
 
 132 "By the Eternal" 
 
 were making the feathers fly, when along came Mr. 
 Peter Cartwright, the preacher. Wasn't he fretted 
 to see Uncle Andrew standing there watching the 
 roosters fight, and on Sunday, too! My, but he was 
 mad, and he began to scold. 
 
 "Uncle Andrew likes Mr. Cartwright, because he 
 knocks sinners down when they disturb the meeting, 
 so he didn't get mad. He just said, 'Brother Cart 
 wright, the red rooster will whip him in less than ten 
 minutes. ' 
 
 "Mr. Cartwright took off his hat as he sat there on 
 his horse and blowed his breath like he was tired, and 
 said, 'I need about ten logs to finish that new church 
 up the river. I never bet, of course, but I'll lay five 
 barrels of corn that have just been given to me against 
 the ten logs I need for the church, that the dominicker 
 whips him. ' 
 
 " 'Taken/ said Uncle Andrew. 
 
 "Then Mr. Cartwright said to me, 'Sissy, you run 
 on into the house,' and I told him I would as soon as 
 I saw who won, and he frowned at me and said I 
 mustn't talk about winning, and then sat gazing at 
 the chickens. After a while the dominicker got the 
 red down and pecked him and pecked him until he 
 was dead. 
 
 "Then Mr. Cartwright said: 'Well, Brother Jack 
 son, I've got to go on over to meet my appointment. 
 I wish you 'd have your darkies cut those logs as early 
 in the week as possible, as we are anxious to get the 
 new church done.' 
 
 "Uncle Andrew said he would; and when he waa 
 gone Uncle Andrew said to me: 'Old Peter is a 
 smart man. He knows how to get logs.' " 
 
 "But my dear child, I don't care to hear all this,"
 
 Mahone Sees More Trouble Coming. 133 
 
 said young Page. "I would much rather you'd tell 
 me something from your school books." 
 
 "But," she answered, "you can take up my books 
 yourself and find out all there's in them, but you 
 never would have known about this if I hadn't told 
 you. You wanted to hear about it, didn't you, Mr. 
 Staggs?" 
 
 ' ' I was delighted with it, " I answered ; and at that 
 moment there was a look in the doctor's eye that told 
 me he could never be my friend. I wondered how long 
 he might remain a guest at this house, where I was 
 compelled to stay ; and I remember having had a feel 
 ing that the air, with him nowhere in sight, would be 
 easier to breathe. Among other things that I did not 
 like about him was his smile. It looked like an 
 apology, never willing to come out with complete ac 
 knowledgment of good humor. He had a sort of rice- 
 pudding countenance, with no firmness of crust; and 
 I know that he had been a "mammy boy" and flat 
 tered, for occasionally he would lean back and look 
 to catch his reflection in a mirror that was hanging 
 on the wall. 
 
 "I suppose, sir, that you have settled upon a pro 
 fession," he said, giving me a weak smile a thin 
 crack in the rice pudding. I answered that I had 
 decided upon the law. 
 
 "Law," he repeated. "But don't you think that it 
 is already overcrowded? It is so easy to pass an ex-, 
 amination for that profession, you know. A few 
 commentaries read, a few rules committed to memory 
 and there you are. Nettie, bring me a drink of water, 
 please. A profession questioned by geographical 
 lines, for a man may be a good lawyer in one part of
 
 134 "By the Eternal." 
 
 the world and not a lawyer at all in another part, 
 while medicine is as universal as man himself." 
 
 "But," said I, "it is narrowed down to man's body 
 and wholly misses his mind, except to deceive him as 
 to the nature of his disease. When you have dis 
 sected a man you don't know anything about him 
 except to the extent that he is a machine." 
 
 Nettie brought him a dipper of water. He drank, 
 thanked her with a hair-line crack in his countenance, 
 and turned a more decided face toward me.. He 
 frowned. "The law couldn't keep you out of this 
 sort of trouble, but surgery steps forward to save 
 you. ' ' 
 
 Nettie stood by, shaking the dipper at us. "Smart 
 men getting into a quarrel," she said. 
 
 "Not at all," Page answered. "We are just argu 
 ing a point." 
 
 "Yes," she replied, "and that is what they do with 
 Uncle Andrew at first. Come on with me, Cousin 
 Wilbur, and I will show you the bird's nest." 
 
 "But we should be leaving our friend alone," he 
 said. 
 
 "Oh, don't mind me," I spoke up quickly. "I 
 shall not be alone, for here comes my friend, Profes 
 sor Mahone." 
 
 He arose to go just as Mahone entered the room. I 
 introduced them. The Irishman bowed stiffly but 
 took the doctor's hand when he offered it. They ex 
 changed a few words, and when Page had gone out 
 with the girl, Mahone sat down, silent for a few mo 
 ments, and then he blurted: "More trouble, Rich 
 ard." 
 
 "With that fellow? 'Oh, no, Nettie loves him." 
 
 "Begorry, and that will be the cause of it."
 
 Mahone Sees More Trouble Coming. 135 
 
 "Why, Dan, you don't mean 
 
 "I do mean that same, Richard. It can't be other 
 wise; it must come. Lord love us all, what a world! 
 When we are thick in the head we sit in the shade 
 and nod, and when at last we are clear of brain we 
 look up with keen eye and see a quarrel coming; but 
 let us be cheerful over things that can't be avoided. 
 She will be more than worth every blow you deal to 
 win her." 
 
 "But I thought you said no man could love her as 
 he would a sweetheart or a wife. ' ' 
 
 "Surely I did, and meant as she is now, but she 
 will grow out of the elf and become the most mag 
 nificent of women." 
 
 "But am I to fall in love with her on that ac 
 count?" I sparred. "Must I fall in love with every 
 woman because she happens to be beautiful?" 
 
 "Oh, no, but you are to love, begorry, to the death 
 when along comes a woman with Fate in her hair and 
 her eyes. Mind that now." 
 
 "Then your warning won't help matters any." 
 
 "Not at all," he answered. "All the warning of 
 all the saints wouldn't have kept me from falling in 
 love with Arabella, Mind that." 
 
 "You have almost forgotten her, Dan." 
 
 "Forgotten her when. I would water the flowers on 
 her grave, and that gladly every day, if she only had 
 one. And willingly would I make her one if she 
 needed it. Richard, you could no more drive the 
 thoughts of her out of my mind than you could drive 
 a flock of geese, headed by an obstreperous gander, 
 across a windy plain. Did you ever attempt to drive 
 geese in the mind? Try it once and you will see the 
 force of my illustration. I wish you would make
 
 136 "fty the Eternal." 
 
 haste with your recovery," he continued, having fal 
 len for a few moments into a dream. "I get very 
 lonesome in the heat of the day, over at that store, 
 not a soul passing along, and with dazzling heat 
 dancing away down the road as I sit out in the shade, 
 looking drowsy-eyed down the road. The birds are 
 then hidden among the leaves with their songs tucked 
 away into silence. From the blue of the distance into 
 the white clazzle overhead shoots the briar-eyed hawk, 
 a feathered hunger, a winged famine; and the birds 
 looking down from among the leaves see an awful 
 shadow, cutting through the sun-blaze lying on the 
 earth, and they shudder in fear. It is a lonesome 
 time of day then, Bichard. Tom Moore drops from 
 my hand, and then I know nothing till I hear a thump 
 from the inside of the store, and then out runs a stray 
 dog, with a sugar-cured ham by the shank. It is not 
 a lonesome time of day for him. Mind that. And 
 after I have tried to pull up the root of a tree to 
 throw at him after I have followed along, whooping 
 at him till he has disappeared down in the woods, I 
 muse, 'that's all right, old fellow, I don't blame you 
 much,' and then return to the shade. That reminds 
 me. I have disposed of one copy of Moore's poems. 
 Yes, sir to a young woman. I presented it to her, 
 with my compliments. And we can't tell how fast 
 they'll go now that they've got a start. But am I 
 tiring you with all this?" 
 
 "No, you entertain me." 
 
 "Richard, I thank you for that lie. But don't 
 fear to take any of the conceit out of me. In truth, 
 what little I had left is gone from me. Beneath the 
 tree yesterday, I looked back over my past to see how 
 how very unlearned I am. And I said to myself,
 
 Mahone Sees More Trouble Coming. 137 
 
 'What, sir, have you ever said to make any man 
 think?' Put your mind down on that, Richard. To 
 make any man think. What is the worth of one man 
 to another? Not to lend him money, not to help him 
 materially, but to make him think. That is the use 
 of books the whole of education. But as I looked 
 back I couldn't see that I had made any one think. 
 And I said to myself, 'You shallow Latin poets and 
 you incomprehensible Greek tragedians, what have 
 you done for me ? Through me you have transmitted 
 no thought to my fellow man. ' I make men smile, but 
 they smile when a fellow 's hat blows off. I shall soon 
 be thirty-three, and here I am without an occupation. 
 The trouble is I have not been able to make men 
 think. Why is a Scotchman successful? Because he 
 cannot make people laugh. Sometimes he may make 
 them think he is a dull ass, but they have to stop and 
 look at him to do that, and when they do he sells them 
 something. ' ' 
 
 The brass knocker at the front door cut him off 
 from his recital. "There's no one besides ourselves 
 in the house, and you'll have to see who that is," 
 said I. 
 
 He hastened to the door and I heard him cry : ' ' Ah, 
 who can this be but yourself! Come in." 
 
 The visitor spoke but I did not recognize the voice 
 other than that it was the tone of a man. "You 
 will find him inside, sir, sitting up like the lark he 
 is." 
 
 In came Atcherson. He smiled in a manner becom 
 ing to his new course of study and sedately shook 
 hands with me. "Mr. Staggs," he said, and the tick 
 ing of a midnight clock could not have been more 
 solemn, "the Lord has forgiven me."
 
 138 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "Let us join in with that hope," the Irishman re 
 plied. "But in the meantime, kick off your braided 
 slippers and out of consideration for us stand in the 
 shoes of a man." 
 
 It was so much in accord with what was in my own 
 mind that I laughed. The sprouting Reverend, smil 
 ing, made answer: "I stand in the shoes that walk 
 the narrow way." 
 
 "Begorry, if you stand you don't walk," said Ma- 
 hone. "Sit down and rest while you're standing." 
 
 "Brother Staggs," Atcherson began, and the 
 Irishman cried : ' ' Put your mind on that, Richard. ' ' 
 
 Atcherson, now in the rocking-chair with the tips 
 of his fingers pressed together, smiled faintly at him 
 and then proceeded to address me : " Brother Staggs. 
 I have been exceedingly busy with my studies or I 
 should have been out to see you sooner. And I may 
 say now that I am much pleased to see you doing so 
 well in the flesh, this heavy flesh of earth." 
 
 "His flesh is not so heavy as it was," answered the 
 Irishman. ' ' They have extracted the bullet. ' ' 
 
 Again Atcherson smiled at him, though weak and 
 feebly. The Irishman gave him a broad, good hu 
 mored grin. 
 
 "Brother Staggs," said the embryo preacher, "I 
 have come out to have a little talk with you, and my 
 hope is that it may be profitable." 
 
 Mahone asked if he did not think that he ought to 
 have deferred his talk until I should be stronger, but 
 to this he did not accede. He shook his head slowly 
 and addressed himself to me. 
 
 "Brother Staggs" 
 
 "Atcherson," I broke in upon him, "you called me
 
 Methane Sees More Trouble Coming. 139 
 
 Staggs at school. Don't bother with calling me 
 brother now." 
 
 "Forget his rhetoric," murmured Mahone. 
 
 "Oh, be it as you wish," said Atcherson. "But 
 from my present point of view Staggs sounds harsh. ' ' 
 
 The Professor spoke up. "From points of view 
 things appear. They do not sound." 
 
 "As you wish, sir," Atcherson agreed. 
 
 "Not as I wish but as it is." 
 
 ' ' Very well, sir ; but no quibble shall keep me from 
 my purpose. I wish to talk to Richard concerning 
 his soul." 
 
 The Irishman bowed. "It is man 's privilege, not to 
 say his province, to talk on subjects of which he knows 
 nothing. ' ' 
 
 "Atcherson," said I, "as to my soul, it is in good 
 hands in the hands of its Creator, and the mere 
 fact that you have been stricken with remorse, does 
 not make you better acquainted with it than I am." 
 
 "Richard," said he, "do not say stricken with ra- 
 morse but repentance ; and the man who repents is 
 nearer unto grace than the man who does not." 
 
 ' ' Well, what is it you want me to subscribe to ? " 
 
 "I solicit no humiliating subscription, Richard, but 
 I do yearn to see you humbled in repentance. ' ' 
 
 "Atcherson," said Mahone, "it hasn't made you 
 humble but arrogant. You may not know it, but it 
 has. I believe you are sincere mind that but as 
 yet there are a few weeds growing in this new garden 
 of yours, and you ought to root them out .before you 
 come it too strong with other men. It is easy enough 
 for one that has been of us to come around and to de 
 clare that he has vomited up his part of the devil, 
 eaten for us all by old Adam. And we accept his pal-
 
 140 "By the Eternal" 
 
 lor and his cold sweat as the evidences of his violent 
 wretching. That is well enough. But we can't help 
 seeing that he is proud of his humility, and as the 
 dramatist says, 'This gives us pause.' Wait till your 
 new garments settle better upon you before you de 
 mand of us that we shall follow your fashion. Tell 
 us some news, Atcherson. What is going on in town ? ' ' 
 
 Atcherson's countenance had undergone a change, 
 had softened into an expression of charity. "Profes 
 sor," he spoke, "there is truth in what you have just 
 said. And I feel already that I am going to profit 
 by it. We are too much inclined to make a boast of 
 our humility. There is a better way of getting at 
 each other 's faults than by assuming a moral superior 
 ity ; it is by the true fellowship of gentleness and for 
 bearance. And, Professor, I am beholden to you." 
 
 "A good old accommodating word, beholden," the 
 Irishman replied, his countenance brightening. ' ' And 
 I thank you for taking what I said in such good part. 
 You have never been a bad fellow, Atcherson ; I told 
 you so the day when I took the knife out of your 
 hand, and kept you from stabbing Foster Pryor. But, 
 of course, you have repented of all such little whims, 
 and when the time comes for you to preach, we will 
 all be there, and begorry, we'll cry 'Amen' upon the 
 first word and thank you for the last one. Now that 
 we have got back down into the low ground of human 
 nature you can tell us the news, I hope." 
 
 "The town is becoming a city very fast," said At 
 cherson. "And morality is striving to keep pace 
 with material progress. They have passed a law 
 against billiards, and we hope after a while to get an 
 enactment that will effectually prevent dueling. The 
 forthcoming numbers of the weekly newspapers may
 
 Mahone Sees More Trouble Coming. 141 
 
 record these things, together with the fact that night 
 before last John Slater shot and killed Moses C. Tabb, 
 the difficulty arising out of the disputed ownership 
 of a negro man, Slater claiming to have won him. 
 But Tabb persisted that Slater had filched a card 
 from the deck and " 
 
 "Meaning thereby," broke in the Professor, "that 
 the transfer of property right -was irregular. ' ' 
 
 ' ' The same, ' ' said Atcherson. ' ' And you remember 
 Brad Royston, don't you!" 
 
 "Very well," Mahone answered. "The last time I 
 saw him we had a dish of cove oysters together. Does 
 he own that greyhound yet?" 
 
 ' ' I am sorry to relate that he doesn 't own anything, 
 and that is what I was going to speak about. He was 
 usually a peaceable fellow, except when in his cups 
 and" 
 
 ' ' In his half -gallon measures, ' ' Mahone interrupted. 
 "Mere cups were too shallow for him." 
 
 "Yes, he drank deep or not at all. Well, he was 
 drinking deep when he and Nat Roscoe met; nor was 
 it long before they drew and fired. Royston fell on 
 the sidewalk in front of Harvey's store and 
 
 "And the Harveys, sir, how are they getting 
 along?" Mahone broke in. "Do they keep boarders, 
 or does Mrs. Harvey that was or rather Arabella 
 that was and Mrs. Harvey that is does she stand in 
 the store, giving to silk a smile for a shimmer? Tell 
 me about her. Never mind Royston. It is enough to 
 know that he's dead, saints rest his soul. Does she 
 look happy?" 
 
 ' ' I thought so when I saw her the other day, ' ' said 
 Atcherson, dropping the Royston tragedy. "She ap 
 peared in excellent health."
 
 142 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "A fine compliment to me," the Professor replied. 
 "But tell me, does she seem to be fond. of that counter 
 jumper? Don't disguise the truth from me. I am 
 prepared to stand it." 
 
 "I should think you would be," I remarked. 
 
 "I am, sir, and there's no mistake." 
 
 "She is devoted to him," said Atcherson. 
 
 "Easy, now, easy,", the Irishman warned him. "I 
 can stand much but not everything. Easy. Such as 
 surances, sir, rob me of my last vestige of hope." 
 
 "Why, what hope could you have had after she was 
 married ? ' ' 
 
 "I could have that very natural, that human na 
 ture hope, sir, that she might be miserable. Does her 
 husband look strong?" 
 
 "He is not fat, but he looks well." 
 
 "Tell me no more. So Royston is dead. He was a 
 good fiddler and the community will miss him. Well, 
 as I left the store open and as there 's no one to look 
 after things it is time I was getting back. Atcherson, 
 I am much obliged for your news, and I am glad you 
 took in good part what I said to you." 
 
 After Mahone had gone, Atcherson began to sound 
 my conscience. He asked if it did not weigh upon 
 me dreadfully that I had killed a man, although it 
 could not well have been avoided. He seemed disap 
 pointed when I assured him that I had lost no sleep. 
 
 "It was my hope," said he, "that you might turn 
 as I have and become a preacher of the Word. Then 
 together we could go throughout the country, doing 
 a great work. I feel that I have been called." 
 
 "And when I feel that I have, I shall go," I an 
 swered. 
 
 "But, perhaps, you have been called and do not
 
 Mdlione Sees More Trouble Coming. 143 
 
 yet feel it. It may be that I shall interpret that call 
 to you." 
 
 "Atcherson, I accepted something of your former 
 faith in Fate, and I believe that she has singled me 
 out for some other purpose. From instant death I 
 was almost miraculously saved, and for a purpose 
 which after a while will be made plain to me. If it 
 be to preach, I shall accept it. Whatever it may be 
 1 shall take it up. In yourself have all possible faith, 
 but let me warn you not to believe you have been ap 
 pointed to convert me." 
 
 "Then my coming has been vain." 
 
 "Not at all; I am glad to see you. Tell me some 
 thing about the school." 
 
 He arose to take his leave. In an after year, amid 
 fire and smoke, I saw him stand just as he stood now, 
 thoughtful, youth in the habiliments of deep solemn 
 ity. From the hallway his retiring footsteps were 
 still echoing when in ran Nettie, the elf, with her 
 hands full of dew-berries; and she insisted upon 
 feeding them to me, one at a time, her purple fingers 
 touching my lips. 
 
 "Cousin Wilbur saw Uncle Andrew coming and 
 went to meet him and they have gone out to the pas 
 ture to look at the colts," she said, standing beside 
 me, slowly putting the berries into my mouth. 
 "Cousin Wilbur asked me if I wanted to go, too, and 
 I told him I had to come in here and give you these 
 berries, and he said I mustn't be foolish. And you 
 know what he said to me? That I must go away off 
 somewhere to a boarding-school. He said his mother, 
 Aunt 'Riah, wanted me to here's another one, big 
 one and I told him I loved Aunt Rachel better than 
 Aunt 'Riah. That's what I told him. Here's the
 
 144 "By the Eternal." 
 
 last one. And I have come to like you, now," she 
 said in her innocence. "We don't want to go away 
 just as soon as we like anybody, do we? Of course, 
 I'm ignorant, but I don't want to be smart it's so 
 dangerous. Would you fight for me if I were smart ? ' ' 
 "What nonsense are you talking?" I heard from 
 without, and looking up, I saw Page standing near 
 the window.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 IN THE BUGGY. 
 
 WHEN I awoke on the following morning, after 
 a night not wholly of sound sleep, my first 
 thought was in the form of a speculation as 
 to how long that fellow Page might remain. In some 
 way, he was distantly related to Mrs. Jackson, and 
 this was quite sufficient to endear him to the General. 
 I had no right to wish him to go. I felt that any ex 
 cuse I could find for my dislike of him must be con 
 temptibly petty. 80, I w r as still resolved not to hate 
 him. I compromise J Vvith not to like him. Of 
 course, at the proper time i3 would marry the girl, 
 as was his right; nor had I aught to say or to feel 
 against this arrangement. It was not possible that I 
 could so soon be in love, after Arabella, and that, too, 
 with a child. But how different were the two situa 
 tions! Arabella had come at me with the perfected 
 art of an experienced woman, and I yielded to it, but 
 this girl had no art at all. Indeed, I had not really 
 known what this art was until she taught me what it 
 was not. My admiration for Arabella could have been 
 none other than vanity on my own part. To bring 
 out her smiles, mechanical as they were, had thrilled 
 me with my own sex prowess. And when I was on 
 my knees at her feet, pleading for her love, there was 
 somewhere within me a contempt for myself. But 
 this girl ! When one by one she was placing the dew- 
 
 145
 
 146 "By the Eternal." 
 
 berries to my lips, I felt that she was feeding to me 
 bits of her own sweet nature. . 
 
 As I was sitting at the window, she came down the 
 veranda, or gallery, as we then termed it, books in 
 satchel, moping her way to school in unconscious 
 grace. She halted, looked back and then spoke to me : 
 
 "They said I had to go and I must. Ain't you 
 sorry for me?" 
 
 "Yes, I am," and I told her the truth. "I am as 
 sorry for you as I am for all imprisoned birds." 
 
 "Thank you so much. But Cousin Wilbur is look 
 ing and I must go. Good-bye." 
 
 She pretended to run away, looking back, and her 
 bud lips burst into a rose. 
 
 Not long afterward Page came into the room. 
 "How that girl hates to go to school," he said, sit 
 ting down. ' ' I suppose you know she is to become my 
 wife at the proper time." 
 
 "Yes, I have heard so." 
 
 "Family arrangement," he said. "But a very 
 good one I am inclined to think. I believe somewhere 
 in the Bible it says that a soldier is better accommo 
 dated than with a wife, but it does not say a physi 
 cian." 
 
 "Bible your grandmother's cat," exclaimed Ma- 
 hone, of whose presence I had not been aware. "It 
 was spoken by Bardolph, one of the immortal dis 
 reputables, with reference to his master, Sir John, tal 
 low ketch, larder of the lean earth." 
 
 "I am still in the woods even after all that lucid 
 ity of explanation," the doctor acknowledged. "But 
 I beg your pardon, I did not know that I had been 
 addressing you." 
 
 "No offense, I assure you," answered the Irish-
 
 In the Buggy. 147 
 
 man. "Richard, the General says I am to have you 
 lifted into the buggy arid to take you for a drive. ' ' 
 
 This was delightful news, and I felt strong enough 
 to walk out to the gate, but two negroes came in to 
 carry me. Page followed along, with words of cau 
 tion. The General stood out by the horse-block. He 
 had just come in from a fox chase, and his hounds 
 were gathered about him, some of them stretched up 
 on the ground, weary with their night's work. One 
 old fellow, a veteran, sat gazing up at his master's 
 face. 
 
 "I thought that a drive would do you good," said 
 the General. "But wouldn't you feel safer with Dr. 
 Page?" 
 
 ' ' I have been a medical student, sir, ' ' Mahone spoke 
 up. "But of course we will leave it to Richard." 
 
 It was rather an awkward position, but I decided 
 almost instantly. I said that as the Professor and I 
 were old friends and therefore had many things in 
 common to discuss, I preferred him. "And very nat 
 urally so," Page good humoredly answered. 
 
 "I was afraid that courtesy would influence your 
 decision against me," said Mahone as we drove along. 
 "I knew that fellow would spoil it all for you. See 
 that rabbit hop over there with the sun shining 
 through his thin ears. Ah, if everything were all 
 right and there was nothing to worry over, what a 
 glorious thing it would be to live. By the way I 
 have succeeded in disposing of another copy of Tom 
 Moore. You remember I told you of my giving one 
 to a young woman. Well, she came back, so pleased 
 she was with hei* bargain, and said she wanted an 
 other copy, for her aunt. How does this air make 
 you feel?"
 
 148 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "As if I were flying. But why are you turning 
 off into this lane?" 
 
 "Ah, do you see that little house over yonder be 
 neath the big trees? Well, that is the school-house." 
 
 My heart jumped. 
 
 "And we are going to drive by there slowly and 
 perhaps stop for a moment or two, ' ' said Mahone. ' ' It 
 will be recess by the time we get there and I want 
 you to see a beautiful sight, the elf racing about on 
 the grass. I've been over before I made them a 
 speech; and the one that clapped hands the loudest 
 was the elf herself. But let me ease your mind. I 
 shall never be in love with her. No, sir. In the case 
 of Arabella you sacrificed yourself in my favor, and 
 now I shall do as much for you. And it does me good 
 to see that you are stealing her heart away from that 
 fellow who never had it at all. See, they are piling 
 out of the door, and there she is I could tell her a 
 mile off. Richard, she is a child, but you are in love 
 with her." 
 
 "Dan, I must beg of you not to talk that way. 
 You must never do so again. I should be a wolf to 
 attempt to steal her love, and I could not possess it 
 in any other way." 
 
 "Surely not. Who ever possessed the love of a 
 woman that he didn 't steal it ? A woman expects her 
 love to be stolen, when she leaves it exposed, and little 
 respect she has for a man if he does not steal it. 
 Mind that. Ah, she sees us and is coming out to the 
 fence. ' ' 
 
 She came, bonnetless, her hair a blue-black blaze in 
 the sun. "Oh," she cried, "did you come to see me? 
 Thank you so much. Mr. Mahone, you get out and
 
 In the Buggy. 149 
 
 let me drive Mr. Richard around, just a little bit, 
 won't you please?" 
 
 "I will and there's no mistake," Mahone answered. 
 ' ' Ha, if she hasn 't climbed the fence like a squirrel. ' ' 
 
 Mahone got out and she was in the buggy before 
 he could assist her. "You must let me drive," she 
 said, catching up the lines. "Oh, I'm a good driver. 
 Good-bye, Mr. Mahone. Give our love to everybody. ' ' 
 
 Was there a music of the spheres? Was that sweet 
 melody the hum of this old earth? 
 
 The lane led out into the grassy woods, a river 
 emptying into the sea. I spoke this fancy, and point 
 ing to a moss-covered log she said: "And there is an 
 old whale resting himself." 
 
 "After having had to give up Jonah," I said, and* 
 holding the lines with one hand she made as if she 
 would stop my irreverent mouth with the other. 
 
 "It is wicked to make fun out of the Bible," she 
 declared. "But Jonah must have felt awfully q*ueer, 
 there in the dark, for a whale hasn't any lights, like 
 an animal has." She bowed over the lines and 
 shrieked with laughter at this conceit. I joined with 
 her, and looking up she said that we ought to be 
 ashamed of ourselves. 
 
 "Oh," she cried, "I know where some dew-ber 
 ries are, over by the fence at the edge of the woods; 
 and we'll drive over there and I'll pick them for 
 you." 
 
 "But I'm afraid we shall not have time," I pro 
 tested, weakly, hypocritically. "The bell will ring 
 pretty soon." 
 
 "Yes, but we can't hear it from there," she laughed. 
 "And they can't blame us if we didn't hear the bell. 
 Oh, isn't it fine to be out here? There oughten't to
 
 150 "By the Eternal" 
 
 be any winter, ought there? Winter comes after the 
 year has gone to school and is smart." 
 
 "You are poetry, like a blossom," I said. 
 
 ''If Cousin Wilbur talked to me like that I'd be 
 sorrier when he goes away. I love poetry because it 
 doesn't try to teach me anything. But Cousin Wil 
 bur may talk like that after a while, when we are 
 married and have a house of our own." 
 
 If she had wanted to escape from him she did not 
 seem to think that there was any possible way. The 
 plan of her marriage to him was engrafted upon her 
 very nature. It was -to come as naturally as that a 
 birthday should fall, a yellowed autumn leaf. Wo 
 man, the necklace of pearls and of diamonds you 
 wear is a rusty chain, if you could see it in the light 
 of truth; and its name is obligation to man. Nearly 
 all of your jewelry, your bracelets and your rings, 
 are but glittering reminiscences of ancient bondage. 
 And in what lies the only hope of your emancipation ? 
 Not in the discharge of your duty, not in the love 
 you may bear your children, but in that love which 
 must be enkindled to light the heavens and the earth 
 the love between you and not your master, but 
 your companion a man. 
 
 ' ' He will talk to me that way, won 't he ? " she said, 
 and out of the depths of an ache, which I thought was 
 an honorable heart, I answered, "Oh, yes, when the 
 time comes. There 's the bell. " 
 
 She dropped the lines and clapped her hands to 
 her ears. "I don't hear it," she said. "Has it 
 stopped?" 
 
 I nodded. She took her hands from her ears and 
 gathered up the lines. I told her that we must turn 
 back. "Oh, not yet," she pleaded with her lips and
 
 In the Buggy. 151 
 
 with her eyes turned full upon me. "We haven't got 
 any dew-berries yet not a single one, and they 
 oughtn't to expect us to come back now. Mr. Ma- 
 hone will tell them." 
 
 "But he can only tell them that we haven't come 
 back," I laughed, making no effort to turn the horse 
 about. 
 
 "And that's all they need to know." 
 
 We came to a brook. She said that old Tom, the 
 horse, wanted a drink, and without halting him she 
 walked out upon the shaft, holding on, laughing, pre 
 tending that she was about to fall, and unhooked the 
 check rein. She patted him on the back as he drank, 
 beads of water trickling from a corner of his mouth, 
 and told him how good it was of him not to turn 
 around when he heard that miserable old bell. When 
 she hooked the check rein and came back to her seat 
 beside me, she seemed so free and so happy that I 
 had not the heart to do my duty, to insist upon her 
 returning to the school house ; and so we drove along 
 through the cool woods, charmed with everything we 
 saw, a brown thrush with a proud spread of tail, a 
 wavy gray streak of squirrel drawn across the sward. 
 
 "This is the way Cousin Wilbur and I will drive 
 to church, one of these days, ' ' she said, and to .myself 
 I mused, "Oh, velvet kitten, how sharp can be thy 
 claws. ' ' 
 
 We had not come within sight of the fence where 
 the dew-berries were, so I said to her: 
 
 ' ' Nettie, we must go back. If we don 't your cousin 
 will have good cause to scold us both." 
 
 Without a word she turned old Tom about, and 
 with the lines tapped him into a trot. "And I do 
 hate to have him scold me," she said.
 
 152 "By the Eternal," 
 
 "Because it seems to hurt him so?" I inquired. 
 
 "No, because it seems to do him so much good, but 
 after a while when I am older I will scold him. After 
 she is married a woman can beat a man scolding, all 
 to pieces, my Uncle James used to say. Poor Uncle 
 James, he went away to fight the Indians and they 
 killed him. Nearly all my men kinfolks have been 
 killed. A girl that came to visit at Aunt 'Riah's 
 house that's Cousin Wilbur's mother said that in 
 New York. State where she lived they didn't kill 
 people at all. She said not one of her kinfolks had 
 been killed, and I said to her, 'why how funny you 
 must feel. ' She looked at me as if she thought I was 
 crazy. How many people there are that don 't know 
 when you are joking with them. Well, yonder 's that 
 hateful old school. It's not much trouble for me to 
 learn, and I suppose I'll have to after a while, but 
 somehow I've always wanted to put it off as long as 
 possible. Do you want me to learn?" 
 
 "Yes; and when I have learned, too, you and I 
 shall have something in common aside from " 
 
 "Aside from merely liking each other," she broke 
 in, with a laugh. "Then I will learn I will begin 
 today and I '11 study hard, but you must let me be nat 
 ural and talk like I want to for a long time yet. You 
 know they told me what a student you were but I 
 shouldn't have guessed it, for with you I always feel 
 so free and easy. There's Mr. Mahone, walking up 
 and down the lane, worrying fit to kill himself. I 
 can't help it. I didn't hear the bell." 
 
 Refusing to let Mahone help her down, she jumped 
 out of the buggy, climbed the fence and ran into the 
 house. The Irishman got in, his face beaming. He
 
 In the Buggy. 153 
 
 was silent until we had driven half way back to the 
 main road. Then he blurted: 
 
 "She loves you Richard. Don't protest with me, 
 for I am one that knows. She doesn't know it yet, 
 and it may be some time before she finds it out, but 
 the time will come and before the day set for her 
 marriage with that that pale spalpeen. Ah, how 
 much better they must be when you catch them young 
 children ; how much better than to let them become 
 widows before you land them, for then you may have 
 them not. You're silent my boy, and it becomes you. 
 Nor was it your talk that won the child. Them that 's 
 won by talk are sometimes lost by the same. What 
 did win her for you ? Yourself and the fact that you 
 were wounded and needed tenderness; and when a 
 girl sees a likely youth in that same fix, her heart 
 melts and runs down to the tips of her fingers, and 
 then it is that she wants to touch his lips or his brow, 
 and then it was that this child slipped into the room 
 and put the hair back out of your eyes. Yes, but it 
 means trouble, Richard. That fellow won't give her 
 up without a struggle. He is pale, and the average 
 pale man will shoot you if the occasion arrives and 
 he doesn't always wait till. you have chosen your sec 
 ond." 
 
 "Dan," said I, "taking for granted that there is 
 truth in all that you say, what am I to do?" 
 
 ' ' Arrah, well put. You will do what Fate tells you 
 you will wait. You can't run away from that girl. 
 A saint himself couldn't do that. You can't do any 
 thing to cause her to think ill of you. That would 
 shock the devil himself. Ah, it's always my luck to 
 see trouble coming. But for the first bud of a love 
 like that, I'd let myself be filled so full of lead that
 
 154 "By the Eternal." 
 
 they might beat me out flat and cover the roof of a 
 church with me. Education might make an English 
 man of any son of Adam, but the sight of a young 
 girl like that would make him Irish all over. Well, 
 so far as you are now concerned, Richard, the drive 
 is over and we might as well go to the house." 
 
 I assented, and from the lane we turned toward 
 the Hermitage. Not far in front of us was a buggy, 
 and in it were a man and a woman. 
 
 ' ' We will give them a taste of our speed, ' ' said Ma- 
 hone "Old Tom is a famous trotter. Look out for 
 us." 
 
 The woman looked around. Mahone seized my arm. 
 "Arabella!" he gasped.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ^HE BEGGED HIM TO LET HER STAY. 
 
 THE buggy halted at our gate and Harvey was 
 helping his wife to alight as we drove up. "Oh, 
 I am so glad to see you out and looking so well," 
 she cried, running toward me. "And how are you, 
 Mr. Mahone?" she added, halting at the wheel. She 
 seized me by the hand. "Dear old Richard," she 
 said. During this time Mahone was sputtering, mak 
 ing no effort to get out. 
 
 "I I am as well, Madam beg your pardon, 
 Miss. As well as the circumstances of the occasion 
 will permit. With your permission, I will alight." 
 He jumped out, striking the ground like a log, end 
 first. "Beautiful weather, Mrs. Crenshaw that was 
 Mrs. Harvey. We were going to have rain last night, 
 but didn't. Ah, and there is your husband." 
 
 Having tied his horse, Harvey came forward. He 
 took my hand rather cordially for him, and then shook 
 hands with Mahone as unconcernedly as if nothing 
 had ever chanced, and asked him if he were well. The 
 Irishman swore that he had never been so well in his 
 entire life, and Arabella cried, "Oh isn't that nice!" 
 
 ' ' Don 't try to get out, ' ' Mahone cautioned me. " I '11 
 get the negroes to help you into the house." 
 
 ' ' Give me your hand and I '11 need no other help, ' ' 
 said I. "Thank you, Mrs. Harvey." She was assist 
 ing me ; and with her on one side of me and Mahone 
 on the other I walked easily. There was something in 
 my heart that made me light. 
 
 1 55
 
 156 "By the Eternal." 
 
 Harvey walked behind us, commenting upon the 
 shaded beauty of the place. ' ' Oh, ' ' his wife laughed, 
 "and is it possible that you have discovered it? You 
 know, Richard, he rarely ever sees anything but a 
 price mark.'* 
 
 "I saw a pretty high one on you, my lady," he an 
 swered. 
 
 "Indeed you did," she replied. "And the market 
 value hasn't stopped going up yet, I tell you. Oh, 
 Richard, who is that beautiful girl, out there? Why 
 don 't you answer me ? Is it possible you don 't know 
 that that magnificent witch? Here she comes. Look 
 out, you are stumbling. ' ' 
 
 "She is Miss Blakemore," I answered; "One of 
 the army of the adopted." 
 
 Nettie came running, the dogs following her. I 
 waited for Mahone to introduce her, which he did 
 with many marks upon the path; and when the girl 
 had acknowledged the introduction, which she did 
 with laughter and the shaking of her marvelous head, 
 to throw the hair back from her eyes, she playfully 
 ordered Mahone to get away. "I am going to help 
 take him into the house," she said. She took hold of 
 my arm, peeping at Arabella. 
 
 "Do they send you to search for the black tulip ? ' ' 
 Arabella asked, smiling at her. 
 
 "No, they put a black book in my hand and send 
 me to school. And I steal away sometimes and look 
 at the old whale that swallowed Jonah." 
 ^ "Jonah," cried Arabella. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Jonah, then. Come on into the house 
 now, and then we'll all see whether we are glad you 
 came or not. There is my cousin Wilbur standing in 
 the door. See," she cried, "I am helping to bring 
 him."
 
 She Begged Him to Let Her Stay. 157 
 
 The young doctor stepped down gracefully, to meet 
 the visitors, but to me it seemed to concern him but 
 little whether I was brought in or turned out upon 
 the road. He gave me a look that I didn 't like, but I 
 was still resolved not to hate him. Harvey glanced 
 at his ' ' price mark, ' ' and mechanically took his hand, 
 but Arabella gushed over him, and Mahone whispered 
 to me : ' ' Do you mind that, now ! ' ' 
 
 With her ever present air of motherly dignity Mrs. 
 Jackson met us in the parlor. Arabella, who really 
 loved her, I believe, kissed her rapturously, and again 
 the Irishman whispered to me, ' ' Wasted. ' ' The Gen 
 eral was out on the estate somewhere, but soon came 
 in. Arabella ran to him and tip-toeing, put her arms 
 about his neck; and as it seemed to be my time to 
 whisper I inquired of Mahone if that were wasted. 
 "Begorry, I am not so sure about that," he said. 
 "But I know one thing he can stand a good deal of 
 it." 
 
 The General requested us to come out upon the gal 
 lery, where it was cooler, and then he sent for his pipe. 
 I had noticed that always immediately after lighting 
 it some philosophical iitterance followed, and I often 
 caught myself speculating as to what it might be, pol 
 itics, trade or religion. "I was talking to Preacher 
 Ball today," he began, "and was informed by him 
 that the world attained its highest civilization away 
 back in the days of Babylon, and that it could never 
 again reach that point. 'Then,' said I, 'ever since 
 Babylon, God has been a failure.' ' Mrs. Jackson 
 looked up in surprise. "I mean no irreverence, my 
 dear. I simply said it to stump that old fogy. Ha, 
 ladies and gentlemen, the fact is that civilization has 
 not as yet much more than sprouted. ' ' 
 
 "But do you think the world is as good as it used
 
 158 "By the Eternal." 
 
 to be?" Arabella inquired, not that she had ever 
 thought on the subject and surely not that she cared, 
 but simply to ask a question. 
 
 "It is many fold better, madam," he answered. 
 
 "And with wars going on all the time, too?" 
 
 "Madam, the world advances after every war. 
 The days of bigotry and intolerance follow long peri 
 ods of peace. War is the thunder storm the light 
 ning that clears the atmosphere. It stimulates patriot 
 ism, the noblest quality in man for when one man 
 arises that is willing to die for his country, there fol 
 low ten men worthy to live for it. But understand 
 me : war should never be waged except in the interest 
 of human freedom of body and mind. The coward 
 does not deserve to be free or to think. I have heard 
 of timid men that were highly honorable, but I don 't 
 think I ever had dealings with one." 
 
 "But don't you think," said Harvey, "that com 
 merce has had a great deal to do with the advance 
 ment of the world?" 
 
 "Undoubtedly, sir, for trade has followed war." 
 
 The dinner bell rang. At the Hermitage there was 
 always enough for company. The house was open. 
 At meal time any man was privileged to come in off 
 the road and to take a seat at the table. If the guest 
 were a man, and if he bore the appearance of being a 
 "person of affairs," his name might be asked, as a 
 compliment to him. 
 
 This was the first time that I had entered the din 
 ing-room. It was large and plain, a room designed for 
 comfort, for air; and I observed that there had been 
 no disposition to over-furnish it an ostentation which 
 even at this early day had begun to be apparent in 
 the neighborhood. 
 
 The talk now became chatty.. I sat to the left of
 
 She Begged Him to Let Her Stay. 159 
 
 Arabella, with the elf and her cousin opposite. Ma- 
 hone was between his "former Fate" and her hus 
 band. She gave me that old look and cooed: "I 
 came out purposely to see you I couldn't wait any 
 longer. ' ' 
 
 Confound her, could she never be honest ? Mahone 
 was talking to Harvey. He did not know that she 
 was "syruping" me. "I was so glad when I heard 
 that you had escaped death at the hands of that awful 
 man," she said. "He was my cousin in a way, but 
 I was afraid of him. He would have ruined me if 
 he had lived would have wrung money my home 
 out of me. And and ' now she whispered "he 
 swore that if I married Mr. Mahone he would shoot 
 him down like a dog." 
 
 "Is that the reason you didn't marry him?" I 
 asked, low of tone for the Irishman and the merchant 
 had ceased to talk. 
 
 ' ' Oh, I won 't say that ought not to say it ; but he 
 would have shot the Professor. Tell me, did he take 
 it hard? Oh, I hope not, but did he?" 
 
 Mahone and Harvey were talking. The General 
 was telling Page about some of the numerous surgeons 
 that chance had summoned to him. Arabella cooed in 
 my ear, "Oh, I hope not." 
 
 "You trod upon a noble heart," I said. 
 
 "Yes, I am afraid so. But Mr. Harvey do you 
 know that 
 
 "Do I know what?" 
 
 "That he was so persuasive, and at the time when 
 Cousin Calvin threatened so terribly. I just didn't 
 know which w r ay to turn. ' ' 
 
 "It seems that you did." 
 
 "Well, I happened to turn the right way, for Mr.
 
 160 "By the Eternal" 
 
 Harvey is so kind and thoughtful. Of course he's not 
 romantic, but 
 
 "But he's got the goods," Mahone exclaimed. "I 
 mean, General, that old law proof fellow." 
 
 I knew that this was a ready turn-off of his loud 
 blurt; and the General accepted it as genuine, but 
 Arabella comprehended, as he had intended that she 
 should. 
 
 I looked across the table. Nettie was gazing at me, 
 and her eyes seemed to have brought away pictures of 
 the lights and the shades we had looked upon in the 
 woods. Page was talking to her. He was good 
 humored. Evidently he had not heard of our truant 
 drive. 
 
 "And so you don't like school," said Arabella. 
 
 "Hate it," Nettie answered. "But after this I am 
 going to study hard. I promised somebody, and I 
 will." 
 
 "Ah, and have you at last promised me?" Page 
 spoke up. "Well, now, see that you don't let that 
 promise slip out of your mind." 
 
 She looked at me, a mischievous smile playing about 
 her mouth, hiding in the corners, coming out again; 
 and I knew that Page, in the conceit of his authority 
 had deceived himself. 
 
 Arabella inquired of Mrs. Jackson if there were 
 much sickness in the neighborhood. She knew how to 
 touch about to find the live nerve of interest. Mrs. 
 Jackson answered that there was considerable shaking 
 with chills up and down the river, with only here and 
 there a case of fever that might not recover. Not a 
 great ways off a number of very poor people had just 
 moved in from North Carolina, having been told that 
 all they had to do to attain riches was merely to reach 
 Tennessee. During all the day before she had kept
 
 She Begged Him to Let Her Stay. 161 
 
 two negroes and a wagon busy hauling provisions to 
 them. She was greatly distressed concerning them. 
 But the Lord surely would provide. 
 
 The General bowed to her. This was his method of 
 communicating to her the fact that he was about to 
 say something. "Mrs. Jackson," said he, "the Lord 
 will provide every time you discover that any one is 
 in need." 
 
 "Hear, hear," cried Harvey. It seems that before 
 beginning business he had visited London, to study 
 the methods of trade in that city, and that while there, 
 had looked in upon a debating society known as the 
 "Free Parliament." 
 
 Arabella began again to coo into my ear. "That 
 young man just across from us is so interesting, don't 
 you think?" 
 
 "I do not," I answered. 
 
 "Why, how can you say so?" 
 
 Confound her, she had discovered a new nerve and 
 was picking at it. "He is to be a doctor, too," she 
 went on. "And that witch in the sunrise is his 
 cousin." There was a lull in the general talk about 
 the board, and she hushed, but when the chatter was 
 resumed, she continued: "She is mortgaged to him 
 by some family shortsightedness, of course. I can see 
 it in the authority by which he thinks he holds her. 
 But she will walk the plank they have thrown out for 
 her. Isn't it sad that a woman is always so ready to 
 sacrifice herself?" 
 
 "And others," shouted Mahone "old Bill Others, 
 General. I don 't suppose you ever heard of him, but 
 he talked loud against your appointment as major- 
 general of militia, in the tavern one night, and I led 
 him out by the nose." 
 
 "And you acted rightly, sir," the General did not
 
 162 "By the Eternal." 
 
 hesitate to declare. Convinced of his own fitness for 
 any position whatsoever, it was, in his opinion, out 
 rageous to oppose him. To be his friend was to be 
 right. To share his political views was to partake of 
 the wisdom of statesmanship. Never to be wrong is 
 narrow, of course ; but always to be right is strength, 
 even though it be error. I am convinced that Jack 
 son believed himself appointed by the Almighty to 
 achieve certain purposes. With no religious bigotry, 
 except as to unswerving faith in his own divine ap 
 pointment more impetuous, with more of the easily 
 observed frailties of human nature, he was a Crom 
 well in the backwoods. The Lord had repented that 
 He made Adam, but not that He made Andrew. 
 
 After dinner, the General withdrew to his room for 
 a nap, and his wife, as was her usual custom, excused 
 herself that she might sit near him until he should 
 fall asleep, reading to him the heroic measures of the 
 Bible, the one hundred and ninth- psalm, wherein 
 David curses his enemies. 
 
 The rest of us, with the exception of Nettie sat be 
 neath the trees in the yard. The girl, hoping to es 
 cape notice, hid about in the shrubbery ; but Page de 
 tected her. She was not far from me and I heard 
 him say to her, "No, you must go to school." 
 
 "Let me stay just a little while. These visitors will 
 think it strange if I run away and leave them." 
 
 ' ' No they won 't. Remember, you promised me. ' ' 
 
 "I didn't promise you anything," 
 
 "What, have you forgotten already? There, now, 
 run along, and when you come back we '11 hitch up old 
 Tom for a drive over into the woods." 
 
 "I don't like to drive I hate the woods. I just 
 want to sit down and rest." 
 
 "Well, then," he persisted, "run along and when
 
 She Begged Him to Let Her Stay. 166 
 
 you come home from school you and I will sit down 
 together, and you may rest while I talk to you." 
 
 "But Cousin Wilbur, you don't seem to understand 
 that when I put it off so long rest don't do me any 
 good. What is the use of being a doctor if you don't 
 know any more about people than that?" 
 
 He would not yield. We do not have to go very far 
 back into the past to discover how complete was man's 
 mastership over woman how complete he thought it 
 was, when in him was vested a little authority. ' ' You 
 must go," he said. "It is your duty to me." 
 
 Without another word she went, walking briskly, 
 nor did she look back at us as we sat beneath the trees. 
 About this time Harvey, half asleep, nodded out some 
 word about business, and then it was that the Irish 
 man chanced to remember that he had left the store 
 open with no one to look after it. 
 
 "Oh, must you really go?" said Arabella, and I 
 could have pulled her ears, for in her tone and her 
 eyes there was a strong appeal against his going. He 
 had jumped out of his chair, but now he halted. 
 
 "I ought to," he mumbled feebly. 
 
 "-Yes, you ought," spoke up the doctor, man of 
 duty. 
 
 "For your quick readiness to decide," replied the 
 Irishman, bowing to him, "I thank you most most 
 heartily. But, sir, I hope that in the future I shall 
 not be called upon to answer for your patients when 
 you render decision after so little meditation." 
 
 Arabella laughed and Harvey awoke to a mild grin. 
 But the young doctor was neither enlivened by mirth 
 nor ruffled in resentment. "Oh," said he, "my pa 
 tients will take care of themselves." 
 
 ' ' Let us trust that they may be granted that privi 
 lege, " Mahone replied. He bowed himself off; and
 
 164 "By the Eternal." 
 
 Arabella turning to me, asked me to go with her into 
 the garden to look at the roses. 
 
 "Now don't speak of the heat of the day," she said 
 to her husband. ' ' You know I don 't mind heat. Come 
 on, Eichard. It is only a few steps and I will help 
 you to walk." 
 
 ' ' I am not his physician, but if I were I should for 
 bid his going," said the doctor. 
 
 "Of course you would," she replied. "Come on, 
 Richard." 
 
 She took my arm and slowly led me into the garden. 
 ' ' I just wanted to talk to you, ' ' she said. ' ' You knew 
 that, didn't you?" 
 
 I knew it well enough. ' ' Let us go into the summer- 
 house and sit down, Richard." And when we had 
 seated ourselves beneath the lattice work and the 
 clambering vines she said: "It is so delightful to be 
 here alone. ' ' 
 
 "Mrs. Harvey," I began, but she stopped me with 
 an " oh. " Then, as I looked at her, into her eyes, she 
 said: "But of course I shouldn't expect you to call 
 me Arabella now. What were you going to say ? ' ' 
 
 ' ' I was going to ask you when you intended to stop 
 flirting." 
 
 "What I flirting? You astonish me. Can't I 
 be friendly and with you?" 
 
 "Yes, and it is not very dangerous " 
 
 "For the reason that the child- witch has put a real 
 spell upon you," she broke in, laughing. "But then, 
 why should you reprove me, or rather censure your 
 self through me?" 
 
 "I was not thinking of myself, but of Mahone. 
 Why do you make eyes at him ? ' ' 
 
 "Do I? Honestly now, I didn't intend to. Rich 
 ard, if I were to say something would you think me
 
 She Begged Him to Let Her Stay. 165 
 
 the most contemptible woman in the world? Yes, 
 you would, and therefore I won't say it." 
 
 ' ' Which means that I must urge you. ' ' 
 
 "No, it doesn't." 
 
 "You can't be honest." 
 
 "Not in your opinion when you are determined to 
 set yourself against me." 
 
 "I admit your conquest. Say what was in your 
 mind. ' ' 
 
 "It was about love." 
 
 "That's a fair start." 
 
 "About the only man I ever loved." 
 
 "Married twice and you are not going to confess 
 that you love your husband, or that you loved the one 
 whose ancestors flew the hawks." 
 
 "No, to my shame." 
 
 "You mean to the interest of your confession. His 
 name ? ' ' 
 
 "Mahone, " she answered. "It is true, and I con 
 fess myself a a weak fool, but I am determined to 
 tell you the truth. But there is this one feature of 
 redemption : I didn 't know how much I loved him 
 until I married Mr. Harvey." 
 
 "I suppose that is the usual way a woman discov 
 ers her love for some one else." 
 
 "Wiseacre, what do you know about women? Read 
 this." 
 
 From her sleeve, which was now not short, she took 
 a bit of folded paper, a note. 
 
 "Do you recognize the writing?" 
 
 "Yes. I once received a communication traced by 
 the same pen. Lismukes. " 
 
 "Yes, read it." 
 
 It ran: "Listen to me. If you marry that Irish 
 man I will shoot him down like a dog. You refused
 
 166 "By the Eternal" 
 
 to marry me, and my right to kill him lies in the privi-' 
 lege of the rejected lover, not recognized by the law, 
 but by one 's own conscience. But why should I speak 
 to you about conscience, something you have never 
 been known to possess! Of course it has not entered 
 your head to marry that young prig, Staggs. You 
 can wind him about your finger like a rag, and his 
 poverty would mean nothing but rags. The Irishman 
 has no prospects, it is true, but I think you love him 
 and love, as I have found out, is a fool. I have begged 
 the loan of money from you and you have refused. 
 You said that you would have to sell your home. Now, 
 you marry Harvey and all will be well. I'll never 
 mention the loan to you again. It is the right course 
 for you to take, for marriage is a business contract. 
 If not it is a romantic failure. There are many things 
 I am and a few things I am not, and prominent among 
 the things I'm not is that I am not a liar. Marry 
 Mahone and you murder him." 
 
 I folded the paper and handed it back to her. "I 
 want you to keep it," she said.' "And one of these 
 days, years from now when Mahone has forgotten me, 
 I want.you to give it to him. Perhaps it is asking a 
 great deal of you, to believe me honest. You have al 
 ways said I wasn't; but I am not bad, in a way you 
 think I am. And I acknowledge that is wasn't Cousin 
 Calvin's threat that wholly influenced my action, 
 though it had much weight. I was fool enough to 
 believe that by a marriage with prosperity I could ad 
 just myself to happiness; but it was impossible. We 
 do not quarrel, but I am the most wretched woman 
 alive. He is far from stupid, but I have a contempt 
 for his petty soul. You are the only one to whom I 
 would confide this, and you must keep it until you
 
 She Begged Him to Let Her Stay. 167 
 
 think the time has come, and then you may tell him. 
 Will you do this, for me ? " 
 
 She had spoken with more than frankness, not alone 
 with her lips but with her manner, her eyes. No mat 
 ter what she might have said or what proof she might 
 have been able to offer I should still have been sus 
 picious of her, and yet I could not but believe that 
 there was much of truth in her "confession." Into 
 my pocket I put the note, before uttering a word in 
 answer to her appeal, and she sat looking at me, with 
 what I could not help regarding as a half treacherous 
 sadness in her eyes. 
 
 ' ' I will keep the note and some day I will give it to 
 him," I said. "But if I wait until he has forgotten 
 you, his hand will never touch it. He is full of fan : 
 cies and is unconsciously humorous. Such qualities 
 may drive away many a care, but from his heart they 
 cannot banish you." 
 
 "Gracious me, when do you study up all those set 
 speeches? But do you think so, really? Oh, I hope he 
 won't, and yet I ought to wish for his sake that he 
 will cease to think of me. Now do you think I 'm con 
 temptible?" 
 
 "No. Was ever a handsome woman contemptible 1 ?" 
 
 "To hear you say that more than atones for all 
 the humiliation of my confession. ' ' 
 
 "It was not a humiliation but a pleasure," I re 
 plied. 
 
 Upon returning to the yard we found Page and 
 Harvey warm in a discussion over free trade, the mer 
 chant swearing that there ought to be no custom 
 houses while the doctor swore that it was the tariff 
 that developed the genius of home production. 
 
 "My dear," said Arabella, speaking to her hus 
 band, "I am ready to go as soon as you are," but I
 
 168 "By the Eternal." 
 
 noticed that she gazed wistfully up the road, toward 
 the store where the Irishman must have been agon 
 izing in loneliness. 
 
 "I am ready now," Harvey answered, always will 
 ing to return to his counter. 
 
 A negro was ordered to harness their horse; and 
 when it was announced that the vehicle was ready, I 
 walked with Arabella out to the gate. ' ' Coming here 
 has done me a great deal of good, ' ' she said. ' ' I don 't 
 feel that I'm half the criminal I was. I wonder if 
 he'll come to tell me good-bye when he sees I'm go 
 ing." We were now at the gate, and she stood, gaz 
 ing up the road, her hand upon my arm. 
 
 "Are you making your hand tremble?" I asked in 
 a low tone, and she whispered: "Richard, can't you 
 have just a little faith in me ? I am not all shallow- 
 ness and deceit. He is not coming," she added, still 
 gazing up the road, while her husband stood apart 
 from us, to clinch a final point with Page. "He has 
 forgotten me already.' No, he is coming." 
 
 As Mahone came, pretending to be interested in 
 something far down the road, she stood, silent, with 
 her hand trembling on my arm. I had never seen an 
 actress of any great power, but at this moment I felt 
 that she was one. 
 
 "So glad you didn't let me us go without saying 
 good-bye, Professor," she said; and the Irishman an 
 swered: "Madam, I couldn't see you take your de 
 parture unnoticed by me." 
 
 "Oh, delightful. My dear ' this was aimed at 
 Harvey, but it pierced Mahone like a dart "how can 
 you so completely ignore me? Professor, will you 
 please assist me into the buggy ? ' ' 
 
 They drove off, the doctor popping at the merchant 
 the final lash of his argument. Then Page remarked
 
 She Begged Him to Let Her Stay. 169 
 
 to us: "Devilish handsome woman; and I don't think 
 it was his argument that caught her must have been 
 his calico." 
 
 "You do her wrong," Mahonc answered. "She 
 could never have been caught with calico. It was 
 with silk, sir fifteen bolts fresh from France by way 
 of Stephen Girard, Philadelphia." 
 
 "Thank you for your information. By the way, 
 how far is it to the school-house? I believe I'll go 
 over and walk home with Nettie." 
 
 "If it is not too far for her I should think you 
 could stand the walk," Mahone answered. 
 
 "I have thanked you for your information, and 
 now I am indebted to you for your logic," said the 
 doctor. "But let me add that no matter what the 
 distance may be, the young lady has demanded the 
 privilege of walking. She could ride if she wanted 
 to." 
 
 He strode away. Mahone said to me: "He bows 
 under the weight of his conceit ; but ah, hah, me ladi- 
 buck, it will take more than silk on your part to hold 
 the elf."
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 GREW LIGHTER AT THE WINDOW. 
 
 FEELING that I had exerted myself too much, 
 I went to my room, lay down, fell asleep, and 
 when I awoke it was dark. I heard some one 
 calling Nettie, and instantly the window was lighter. 
 Had she been standing there, on the veranda? Going 
 into the sitting-room, I found Mrs. Jackson search 
 ing the Bible for fighting passages with which to 
 soothe her husband at bed time. 
 
 "I would not let them call you for supper because 
 I thought you needed sleep," she said. "The Gen 
 eral and Mr. Peter Cartwright, the preacher, are still 
 at the table. Just walk out and see to it that you are 
 served, Richard. Don't let their discussion blind you 
 to your own interest." 
 
 They called Peter Cartwright old, but he was still 
 in the prime of life. He was a most impressive man, 
 not only a soldier of the Lord, as he termed himself, 
 but in many respects a statesman of the Lord. With 
 him, when religion was not humility, it was warfare. 
 With him the sublimation of the spiritual atmosphere 
 of the Book was the sling of David and the sword 
 with which Peter smote off the servant 's ear. Physic 
 ally, he was not tall, not heavy, but his appearance 
 suggested condensed power. When I was presented 
 to him by the General, he arose, took my hand and 
 looking with piercing steadiness into my eye, asked 
 me if I were a saved man. 
 
 "I hope so, sir," I answered. 
 170
 
 Grew Lighter at the Window. 171 
 
 "You hope so. That is not enough you must feel. 
 Have you ever felt the outpouring of grace? Speak 
 up, sir. Don't hang your head." 
 
 "Sir," said I, "it is quite possible that my belief 
 may differ from yours and at the same time be just 
 as honestly held." 
 
 "Satan's inspired quibble," he exclaimed. "He is 
 after your soul. Have you ever heard me preach?" 
 
 "No, sir, I have never had that opportunity." 
 
 "Then see that the opportunity is not lacking in 
 the future. ' ' With a jesture he dismissed me and ad 
 dressed himself to the General. Jackson was ready 
 for almost anything, but not for a religious argu 
 ment. He did not dispute, preferring to let every 
 man believe as he himself might elect; and although 
 he was a strong believer in God, yet concerning form 
 ulated creeds of all sorts, he was skeptical. Once in a 
 while as we sat in the dining-room, he would ask old 
 Peter a question, mainly, I thought, to keep from an 
 swering one. 
 
 As soon as I could escape, I did so went out upon 
 the veranda, and there I sat, looking across to the dis 
 tant hill where the sickle moon was hanging. Sud 
 denly there came a footstep, light and thrilling, and 
 I knew that Nettie was near. I arose to give her my 
 chair. 
 
 "No," she said, "I haven't time to sit down. I 
 am in my room, studying my lessons. Have you heard 
 what they are going to do with me? I'll tell you. 
 They gave me my choice, to go to Aunt 'Riah's and 
 attend school from there, or to go to the boarding- 
 school in Nashville. And I am not going to Aunt 
 'Riah's. It is always so pleasant not to go there. 
 From Nashville I can come out here every Saturday 
 night, and then you can help me with my studies, if
 
 172 "By the Eternal." 
 
 it's not too much trouble. Cousin Wilbur hasn't 
 found out that we drove over into the woods. I 
 thought it was my duty to tell him. ' ' 
 
 ''But you didn't, did you?" 
 
 "No, but I may after a while. Duties keep a long 
 time, you know. As Cousin Wilbur was coming along 
 from school with me, he gave me a lecture. He said 
 I was almost a grown woman and ought to be more 
 careful how I talk. It was all true, but I knew it be 
 fore he said it. Isn't it strange how much people tell 
 us that we already know? I told him that the time 
 for seriousness would come soon enough. He said it 
 was already here said his mother was married at 
 sixteen; and then I answered, 'oh, that was serious, 
 wasn 't it ? ' And he didn 't seem to like it very much. 
 Well, I must go now and make like I'm studying 
 whether I am or not. But I am going to study, Rich 
 ard; I'm going to get me some big words, and use 
 them as soon as I put on a longer dress. Did I say 
 good-night before? If I didn't I say it now." 
 
 The General and Cartwright sat long at their dis 
 cussion, and when the preacher had taken his leave, 
 which he did after many "final" words, I heard Mrs. 
 Jackson giving her husband his "night cap," a pass 
 age from Scripture, dealing with the sacking of Jeri 
 cho. 
 
 About the time I was preparing for bed, Mahone 
 came to my room. "Richard," he said, sitting down 
 with a sigh, "I have been wondering whether or not 
 it would be proper for me to send a copy of Tom 
 Moore, modestly inscribed, to Arabella." 
 
 "I should think it would largely depend upon the 
 inscription," I answered. 
 
 "Socratic wisdom," he murmured. "You know
 
 Grew Lighter at the Window. 173 
 
 I had thought of that myself, and I ruined three 
 copies, getting at the proper dedication." 
 
 "Why didn't you write it first on a separate sheet 
 of paper and then transcribe it to the book ? ' ' 
 
 "Begorry, Richard, that's where my own wisdom 
 failed me. I didn't think of it. But wisdom must 
 fail somewhere, you know. If it didn't it would en 
 croach upon Divine preserves. But I can stimulate 
 trade by selling the damaged copies at half price. 
 Richard, she gave me a look that started new blood to 
 circulating. And I have thought that even if she did 
 marry him she must have had cause. ' ' 
 
 ' ' It would seem so. ' ' 
 
 "A very profound observation, Richard. But of 
 course I have kept all suggestion of that look out of 
 the inscription, otherwise it would not be fair to the 
 husband. Here is what I have written." He took a 
 package from beneath his arm, where he had held it 
 skillfully concealed, unwrapped it, took out a book, 
 cleared his throat and read: "To Arabella Harvey, 
 with the most Platonic regard, and with memories of 
 eyes and lips that can never perish from the mind of 
 one who is silent. ' ' 
 
 "Is that plain enough now?" he asked. "Does it 
 set forth the purposes of its own intention? What 
 are you smiling at?" 
 
 I explained, as guardedly as I could, that it would 
 hardly be looked upon as appropriate. "Then you 
 may write it yourself, sir," he said, as if I had en 
 gaged him to perform the delicate task. 
 
 "Don't misunderstand me, Dan," I replied. "It 
 would be wholly appropriate for her and I know she 
 would like it, but you know we must consider Harvey, 
 too. He might look upon it as too strong a draft on 
 well, on the near past."
 
 174 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "You are right, Richard. He is entitled to some 
 consideration, under the law, and we will give it to 
 him. I will be elegant by being more than simple. 
 How would this do : 'For Mr. and Mrs. Harvey, with 
 compliments to the latter?' ' 
 
 "That's just a little awkward, isn't it?" 
 
 "It is if you think so, and it seems that you are 
 determined in that direction. Ah, I have it," he 
 cried, his countenance brightening. "I will sleep over 
 it, and to-morrow morning I may decide not to send 
 the book at all. That will be the best plan, and I 
 wonder that I didn't think of it before. Tell me, in 
 her talk with you did she touch upon the somewhat 
 delicate subject of your killing her relative? But 
 perhaps he was not near enough kin to render the 
 subject delicate. But did she mention it?" 
 
 ' ' Yes, but not reproachfully. ' ' 
 
 "A generous woman, Richard; yes, sir, notwith 
 standing her selfishness. By the way, the young doc 
 tor was over at the store just before supper time, and 
 he was most glib about his prospects. After his mar 
 riage he is going to settle down over in the town of 
 Gallatin, not far from here. Somehow he had heard 
 of my affair with the widow that was and he said 
 I didn't know how to manage her. I told him, be- 
 gorry, that he was right. He said that man inherited 
 authority over woman, and that when he showed the 
 least sign of mismanagement, she began to slip away 
 from him. In dealing with a woman a man must 
 never permit his love to weaken him into a lack of 
 firmness. She might for a while pout at his decisions, 
 but soon she would come to respect them; that an 
 ounce of genuine respect was better than a pound of 
 emotional love. He called my attention to the excel 
 lent training he was giving the elf. I had my sleeves
 
 Grew Lighter at the Window. 175 
 
 rolled up at the time, having been lifting some boxes, 
 but I rolled down one of them and laughed into it. If 
 she doesn't love him now, Richard, she never can, but 
 here arises that same trouble that comes upon so many 
 women she will think she must of necessity love him 
 after marriage. And the trouble with the elf is that 
 at heart she is I might say oppressed with a sense 
 of duty. I don't say this, though, to discourage you, 
 for the Lord knows you don't need any discourage 
 ment. And if she should pull away from what she re 
 gards as her duty to him, then the trouble will begin 
 sure enough. He thinks he needs her and he won't 
 give her up. Then I hinted in the most skillful way. 
 
 " 'But suppose,' said I, 'that some fellow wins her 
 love, what then ? ' 
 
 " 'You are supposing that she is to be created 
 anew,' he answered. And when I said I was not so 
 sure about that, he replied: 'When a man knows 
 what it means, he will not be so likely to attempt to 
 win her love. She was born for me, was given to me 
 by her mother, and I will see to it that there shall be 
 no transfer.' 
 
 " 'Of property,' I delicately suggested, and he 
 said, 
 
 " 'Well, yes, if you desire to put it that way.' ' 
 
 ' ' But Dan, do you consider the fact that I shall not 
 try to take her away from him?" 
 
 "You've done so already, without consideration 
 and that is why I see trouble coming, but I won't op 
 press you with it, although it will be the sweetest 
 trouble a man ever engaged in. Good-night. I can 
 not leave you in pleasanter company than with your 
 self."
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 I AM DENOUNCED. 
 
 AFTER sleeping over his "idea" Mahone sent to 
 Arabella a copy of Moore, inscribed, "With 
 the compliments of an unknown friend." The 
 negro who bore this precious gift was instructed that 
 under no circumstances was he to let it be known 
 that he had been sent from the Hermitage, and that 
 if she seemed to suspect it he must declare himself a 
 "free negro, acting without authority." The darky 
 had just passed from sight when the Irishman began 
 to speculate as to the contents of the note Arabella 
 might send back by him; and when in the afternoon 
 he returned with no message, Mahone said to him: 
 "It's the last time I'll ever send you anywhere. 
 Mind that, now." 
 
 He waited all day for a special messenger from 
 town waited during three days, and then he charged 
 Arabella with ingratitude. "I have taken no snap 
 judgment in this matter," he remarked to me, sitting 
 in my room. "I have given her plenty of time and 
 ample opportunity to redeem herself, and she stub 
 bornly refuses. Now, sir, I shall permit her to take 
 her own course." 
 
 I was now well enough to enjoy thoroughly the 
 humor of his distress and I did not care to reason 
 with him. But when with repetitions he had ceased 
 to be amusing, I said: "Dan, perhaps she hasn't 
 been able to guess who sent the book. Does she know 
 your handwriting?" 
 
 176
 
 I Am Denounced. 177 
 
 ' ' Begorry, she 's had time enough now to become ac 
 quainted with it. I sent her the book three days 
 ago." 
 
 "But did she ever see any of your writing be 
 fore?" 
 
 "Well, in sentiment if not in form. I am the au 
 thor of an epitaph cut on a tomb-stone in the grave 
 yard, and it was myself that had the pleasure to 
 stand near by one Sunday afternoon and hear her 
 read it. The lines were descriptive of the virtues of 
 one Dennis Gorman, the same that imported the first 
 Irish whisky into the town, and who lost his life while 
 patrioticalh r trying to roll out a barrel of it when his 
 place of business was burning down. I made bold to 
 take oil' my hat and to tell her that I was the author 
 of the sentiments chiseled in the stone, and the smile 
 of her approval compensated me for the fact that 
 poor Dennis was no more. Richard, I have a piece 
 of news for you. Just before I came into the room 
 I heard the young doctor say to Mrs. Jackson that he 
 intends to take his departure early to-morrow morn 
 ing, the same time that the elf drives in to her new 
 school. What do you say to that, now?" 
 
 "Well, it ought not to concern me very much but 
 I'm glad he is going." 
 
 "Spoken with absolute sincerity. By the way, 
 Cartwright preaches to-night in a church about half 
 way between here and town. I heard the young doc 
 tor say he was going to take the elf. Wouldn't you 
 like to go along with me ? But why do I ask ? I know 
 you would. And Richard, we '11 start early enough so 
 we can drive into town and out again we'll drive 
 around by Arabella's house and note the many changes 
 that have taken place since the notable events hap-
 
 178 "By the Eternal." 
 
 pened. You haven't been back there and neither 
 have I, and it 's been long enough now so that a storm 
 won't be raised over our appearance. Arrah, that 
 was an inspiration." 
 
 When the time came to go, and it came early, Ma- 
 hone closed the store, remarking that as business had 
 been rather active of late, the place as well as himself 
 was in need of rest. 
 
 The town was busy, and as we drove through the 
 streets, no one seemed to take note of me. My "little 
 affair" had blown over. We did not go near Har 
 vey's store, Mahone declaring that he did not wish 
 to look upon anything that might remind him of busi 
 ness, but drove around by our old home. We did 
 not hear Arabella singing, but as we drew near we 
 saw her sitting on the veranda, reading a book. Ap 
 pearances did not demand that we should give an ex 
 cuse for halting, but the Irishman was ready with 
 one. 
 
 "Hah, pleasant time of day to you, Mrs. Harvey. 
 We have stopped to deliver two fine chickens sent by 
 Mrs. Jackson, thoughtful and generous body that she 
 is but confound that negro, he has forgotten to put 
 them into the buggy. Mind that, Richard; and I'd 
 hate to stand in his shoes, the negligent scoundrel. 
 I am very sorry, Madam; and as we have been 
 thwarted of the object of our mission we might as 
 well drive on, as we are in a bit of a hurry." 
 
 "Oh, I'm so sorry you forgot the chickens," she 
 said, holding up her book and coquettishly peeping at 
 us over the top of it. 
 
 "It was not ourselves that forgot them, madam, 
 but the negligent negro. We saw them after they had 
 been caught and tied, and Richard remarked of one
 
 I Am Denounced, 179 
 
 of them that he was as fine a specimen as he had ever 
 seen. But as we are in a bit of a hurry 
 
 "Won't you get out and come in just for a few 
 moments?" she cut him off. 
 
 ' ' Oh, well, Madam, since you have so kindly insist 
 ed, we might." 
 
 She brought out chairs and we sat down. Mahone 
 spoke of the genial warmth of the day it was almost 
 hot enough to singe a cat and then remarked: "It 
 appears to be a beautiful book you are reading, 
 Madam. Would you mind letting me look at it?" 
 She handed it to him. "Ah, Tom Moore," he ex 
 claimed with enthusiasm. "Now where did you 
 come across this precious volume?" 
 
 "Eead the inscription," she said, with a sly look 
 at me. 
 
 "Ah, it is a fine bit of sentiment," he declared. 
 1 ' ' From an unknown friend. ' Judging from the hand 
 writing I should think that the friend is a lady." 
 Mahone 's quill had been used for price-marking, and 
 the writing looked as if it had been clone with a split 
 shingle nail. "It was Hamlet, Madam, who says that 
 the hand of least employment hath the daintier 
 touch. You may therefore observe that this hand is 
 not a slave to writing." 
 
 "Mr. Harvey thought it must have come from a 
 man, ' ' she said, with a slight cough. 
 
 "Did he, Madam? Surely he must be a man of 
 great discernment to hit upon such a conclusion. 
 However, on closer inspection I admit that it might 
 possibly have been done by a man. But we are in a 
 great rush, and I hope you will pardon what might 
 seem undue haste." 
 
 As w r e were driving away the Irishman said to me :
 
 180 "By the Eternal." 
 
 ' ' Why the devil didn 't you knock me down ? Couldn 't 
 you see I didn't want to go? Didn't I hobble to the 
 gate like a ham-strung horse ? And you sat there and 
 let me deny having sent her the book. Now she never 
 will write me a note telling me how charmed she was 
 to receive it. But Richard," and he gripped my arm. 
 ' ' I '11 tell you what I can do and I will. Do you hear 
 me now? I will buy a couple of chickens and take 
 them back to her with their feet tied, and tell her that 
 we found them by the roadside, where they had flut 
 tered out. What an inspiration that is, now!" 
 
 It was a measure so full of humor for me that I 
 offered no word against it. And so, he bought two 
 chickens, pawning his word for them, swearing as 
 we drove back toward Arabella's house, that it was 
 the saints themselves that had enabled him to obtain 
 credit with the poulterer, a stranger. Arabella was 
 on the veranda with her book. ' ' We found the chick 
 ens not far from here, Madam," Mahone cried as we 
 drew up at the gate. "Yes, Madam, a little boy saw 
 them as they fluttered out of the buggy and kept them 
 for us and here they are." 
 
 He came forward, carrying the squawking hens by 
 the feet, and with a bow presented them to her with 
 the compliments of Mrs. Jackson. 
 
 "Oh, I am so much indebted," she replied, taking 
 the chickens and then calling a negress to convey 
 them to the place of future execution. "Oh, thank 
 you so much for all your trouble, Mr. Mahone. And 
 this very day, I will write a note of thanks to Mrs. 
 Jackson and send it by a special messenger." 
 
 Mahone 's jaw fell. "Oh, I don't think she desires 
 you to feel under such obligations, Madam. I'm 
 quite sure she does not. And now I remember her
 
 I Am Denounced. 181 
 
 saying that she hoped you wouldn't take the trouble 
 to write. She is one of the most charming of women, 
 Madam, but she is peculiar that way. Richard heard 
 her when she said you really must not write. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, it will be a pleasure rather than a trouble," 
 Arabella replied. 
 
 "Oh, no, Madam. You may think so, but I assure 
 you, as a man of more experience than yourself that 
 it will not." 
 
 "But I know her better than you do, Professor," 
 Arabella insisted. "Once she sent me five pounds 
 of butter with explicit instructions that I must not 
 write my acknowledgments, and because I didn't she 
 seemed hurt the next time I met her." 
 
 Mahone was an easy if not always a graceful shifter 
 of positions. "Perhaps you are right," he admitted. 
 "Write, and confer upon me the honor of bearing 
 the note." 
 
 Arabella shook her head. Was this woman ac 
 quainted with every trick that man could devise? 
 "That would look too much like a business receipt," 
 she declared. 
 
 "Ha, Madam," Mahone cried, "you may not know 
 it, but Mrs. Jackson, gentle and affectionate as she 
 is, loves business. She insists upon writing all the 
 General's receipts. And I think she would like your 
 acknowledgments much better in the form of a re 
 ceipt." 
 
 "Well, perhaps I'd better not write at all," she 
 finally decided, and Mahone drew a long breath as if 
 he had just reached the last step of a long flight of 
 stairs. 
 
 "Richard," Arabella said to me, "have you set 
 out determinedly to cultivate the habit of silence? Or
 
 182 "Ey the Eternal" 
 
 has the midnight-eyed little witch stolen your tongue 
 as well as your heart?" 
 
 "Whenever there are hearts to be stolen you de 
 mand that they shall be left for you to steal," I an 
 swered, with good humor and with such she accepted 
 it, replying that when a woman ceased to lay modest 
 claim upon hearts it soon followed that she lost not 
 only the esteem of men but even the commonplace 
 regard of her own sex. 
 
 "Begorry begging your pardon for the expres 
 sion " Mahone began, "but the hearts of men are 
 like wild cattle ; they belong to those who catch them 
 and brand them. But sometimes the branding is 
 done with an iron that has been heated to white heat, 
 and then then the devil's to pay I beg pardon, 
 Madam. But we are still in a great hurry, Mrs. Har 
 vey, and must go, thanking you for your kindness." 
 
 She did not say a word that might detain him; 
 she hoped that he would come again, some Sunday 
 when there was no business to keep her husband at 
 the store, and she shook hands with him, her lip 
 trembling, I thought, now that her almost unconquer 
 able spirit of mischief had subsided. 
 
 Mahone did not speak until we had driven some 
 distance and then he remarked: "Are you a Biblical 
 scholar, Richard?" 
 
 "Not to boast of. Why?" 
 
 "I want to know what the Book says about man, 
 born of woman." 
 
 "Says that he is of few days and full of trouble." 
 
 "But are you sure it doesn't say he's an arrant 
 fool, a few days and full of trouble? If it doesn't, 
 it implies as much. If I hadn't waved that branding 
 iron we might now be sitting there in her presence,
 
 I Am Denounced. 183 
 
 receiving grace from a mere look of her eye. But I 
 had to be a fool ; I had to proclaim that my heart had 
 been branded burnt to the core. Then self-respect 
 insisted that I should no longer remain in her pres 
 ence. But do you think she knows who sent her the 
 book, Richard?" 
 
 "Jnst as well as you do." 
 
 "Then there's something to be thankful for. But 
 wasn't that chicken trick a shrewd one? In that de 
 vice we have her completely deceived." 
 
 "It was as plain to her, Dan, as your writing in 
 the book." 
 
 "What, do you think so now? Surely not, Rich 
 ard." 
 
 "Just as plain as your writing was to yourself," 
 I insisted ; and leaning back with a sigh he swore that 
 never for a single moment did the devil lose track of 
 him. ' ' And you sat there, Richard, and saw me make 
 a fool of myself." 
 
 "We had both made fools of ourselves before we 
 got there." 
 
 "It is most charitable of you to include yourself. 
 Hah," he cried, "but if she has at last discovered 
 who sent the book, she will write her grateful 
 acknowledgments and I can press the precious docu 
 ment to my lips." 
 
 His mood was so enlivened that I had not the heart 
 to rob him of a happiness which with him was so 
 easily snatched from the atmosphere and so easily 
 turned loose, to fly away like a bird ; and as we drove 
 along, out toward the church, we were silent for the 
 most part, Mahone falling occasionally into deep 
 meditation.
 
 184 "By the Eternal." 
 
 The keeper of a way-side tavern, not far from the 
 church, requested us to halt and to have supper with 
 him, which we were more than willing to do; and 
 when the negro waiter had brought a roasted chicken 
 and placed it before Mahone, to be carved, the Irish 
 man said to me: "Even the fowls of the barnyard 
 remind us of our folly. Did you notice, Richard, 
 that those two chickens, the last in the coop, were 
 about the oldest in creation ? ' ' 
 
 "If you noticed it why did you take them?" I 
 asked. 
 
 "Because I didn't notice it at the time, but now, 
 with my memory; and that is the trouble with me 
 I notice too much from recollection. In that lies the 
 difference between a man of judgment and a man of 
 regret. ' ' 
 
 Then he proceeded to explain to the inn-keeper and 
 his wife that he had bought from a poulterer named 
 Mason, two hens that must have escaped the famine 
 at Jamestown, during the earlier days of that settle 
 ment, and the inn-keeper and his thrifty better half 
 broke out in loud laughter. "We let Mason have 
 them a week ago for three yards of calico," said the 
 man, "and early this morning when I was in town 
 he said he hadn't been able to get rid of them. We 
 had three, all of the same family, and tried to eat 
 one of them, the youngest, I believe, and she held her 
 own with two preachers a whole day, and when a 
 hen can do that you may know she came out of the 
 ark." 
 
 "Richard, mind that now," said Mahone. "What 
 am I to do about it?" 
 
 "Go back and tell her that they were not intended 
 for the table but for the nest," I answered.
 
 I Am Denounced. 185 
 
 He looked at me quizzically. ''Do you mean that 
 now? It would bring about an awkward situation, 
 and you know that is something I cannot abide. No, 
 sir, I'll let those hens take their own chances." 
 
 The inn-keeper said that the chances were all in 
 their favor, whereupon his wife remarked: "They 
 oughtn't to be put in with other chickens for they 
 are inflicted with mites, the littlest insects you ever 
 saw, and if they get on you they are the most annoy 
 ing things you ever did see, that is, if you could see 
 them, but you can't and that's where the trouble 
 comes in." 
 
 It was now nearly sunset, and as services were to 
 begin at early candle-lighting, we drove over to the 
 church. Those were surely the days of intense re 
 ligious fervor. As an organization, the Methodist 
 church was comparatively young. Very old men who 
 had heard Wesley and Whitefield in Georgia were 
 still living, and dated the real reformation from that 
 time. The circuit rider was more than a preacher 
 more than a path-finder; he was a path-maker. If 
 in the cane brake you heard two sticks snap, one was 
 broken by a bear, the other by an itinerant preacher 
 of the Methodist church. One of the requisites of a 
 minister of this faith was absolute fearlessness. 
 
 From every direction the people were coming, 
 through the dusk, many of them singing hymns. 
 During more than a week a revival had been in prog 
 ress, but it was Peter Cartwright's first night in this, 
 a new church. The house was soon filled to over 
 flowing, the women and girls all sitting on one side 
 of the aisle, the men and boys on the other. All was 
 quiet before Cartwright arose, and when he did arise 
 there fell a silence, a pulsating hush that was pain-
 
 186 "By the Eternal." 
 
 ful. The healing wound in my side throbbed. It 
 seemed that I could hear it. 
 
 We know that all great orators are great actors. 
 Cartwright had doubtless never seen the inside of a 
 theatre, but he was a wonderful actor. And at times, 
 every gesture was a climax. Not with the pen, not 
 with spoken words themselves could an adequate idea 
 of the range, the modulation and the power of his 
 voice be conveyed. In speaking of the greatest of all 
 emotional preachers, the copied master of Cartwright, 
 of Lorenzo Dow and of thousands of others who have 
 followed in speaking of Whitefield, David Garrick 
 is said to have remarked: "He can pronounce the 
 word 'Mesopotamia' in such a way as to move an 
 audience to tears." 
 
 In the light of day, in print, Cartwright 's words to 
 any reasoning mind would have been, not even rhet 
 oric of the most flamboyant order, but bombast of 
 most ridiculous degree coarse, not to say at times in 
 decent; but spoken in the candle light, now in trem 
 ulous melody, now in a bugle call, their effect was 
 miraculous. Sometimes he sobbed, and in one sob 
 was a torrent of words. The house no longer held an 
 audience, but an emotional mob. Women fell upon 
 the floor, shrieking; and an old man sitting near me 
 sprang to his feet and cried out: "If the devil is 
 present, let him step forward and I will meet him 
 face to face I will fight him." 
 
 "Sit down, deluded brother," the preacher ex 
 claimed. "Know ye all that the only way the devil 
 can be fought is with fire, not with his own fire, but 
 with fiery zeal for the Lord. But there is one among 
 you ' ' and at this moment his eye pierced me ' ' one 
 among you, if no more, who defies the power, who
 
 I Am Denounced. 1ST 
 
 sets himself up as his own criterion. Oh, young man, 
 put aside your vanity, come forward and kneel with 
 us at this altar. Because you narrowly escaped the 
 devil once, do not persuade yourself that you can do 
 so all the time. Pride and a fine horse will drag you 
 down. ' ' 
 
 It was a long time since I had heard of my horse. 
 Other things having arisen to occupy my mind I had 
 forgotten him, except when I chanced to meet him in 
 the pasture and even then not making much over him, 
 not being particularly enamored of horse flesh. 
 
 ' ' When you think you are well mounted and safest, 
 young man, you may find yourself floundering in the 
 muck and the mire of perdition. Come while it is yet 
 time. Think of the promises you may have made to 
 some young girl or to your mother. Don't let Satan 
 shout ' coward ' in your ear. He is stubborn, ' ' and he 
 shook his finger at me, a fiery lash. "But let him go 
 his way, Satan's way. The dews of death may lie 
 cold upon his countenance, frozen in the agony of 
 despair. Let him go, not that his soul is not precious 
 in our sight, but that his fate may serve as an ex 
 ample. Shall he perish?" 
 
 ' ' No, ' ' shouted a man, seizing me by the arm. ' ' No, 
 we will drag him to the altar." 
 
 How I escaped from him and got out of the house I 
 am unable to tell. I remember, however, that the 
 man clung to me until the preacher cried : ' l Let him 
 go his way. Those that we must force to come are so 
 full of the devil's commandments that they would 
 pollute this altar. Let him go his way." 
 
 -I thought that I had been offered up as a spectacle 
 to the whole congregation, but found afterward that 
 it was an incident too common to be recalled. Out-
 
 188 "By the Eternal.' 1 
 
 side in the grove, wives were searching for their hus 
 bands, mothers for their sons, shouting for them to 
 come out of the darkness into the fold before the 
 gates were closed forever. One woman seized me by 
 mistake, and even as I was trying to explain that I 
 was not her son, she strove to drag me back into the 
 house. 
 
 I found Mahone sitting in the buggy. "How did 
 you escape?" I inquired. 
 
 "Begorry," he answered, "I soon found that it 
 was no place for an Irishman, and I got out about the 
 time I went in. Did you see the elf?" 
 
 "No. Is she there?" 
 
 "Ah, is she? A beautiful flower in the midst of 
 the wind; and although the tears were streaming 
 down her face, yet I could see that she is not of this 
 this exorbitant faith. Get in, and if the sinners that 
 have taken refuge in the darkness haven't cut our 
 traces we'll drive out of this. Did you see the young 
 doctor? He was there, and I looked through the 
 window at him, and his countenance was as smooth 
 as a silk handkerchief folded and ironed out. At the 
 beginning of the discourse when the preacher touched 
 upon Christian duty, the doctor looked over, caught 
 the eye of the elf and smiled, turning it all to his own 
 account. ' ' 
 
 Shortly after we reached home, and while I was 
 walking alone beneath the trees, the doctor and Net 
 tie drove up to the gate. I stood apart in the shadow 
 to let them pass me on their way to the house. To 
 gether they entered the front door, but a few mo 
 ments later the girl came out, alone, walking slowly 
 down the path, towards me. "Richard," she softly
 
 / Am Denounced. 189 
 
 called, but when I stepped out into the pathway she 
 seemed frightened. 
 
 "Why, I really didn't know you were here," she 
 said. ' ' I didn 't see any one at all. And I called be 
 cause I was thinking about you how they treated 
 you over at the church. But I am sure they didn't 
 mean any harm by it. I could have told them that 
 you had been baptized in the Episcopal church. How 
 did I know? I was talking to Aunt Rachel about you 
 and she told me. Cousin Wilbur said it was a good 
 joke, the way they treated you, but it made me feel 
 awfully bad." 
 
 She took my arm and we walked out toward the 
 gate. "I am glad I found you," she said. "Twice 
 I Ve called you out in the dark, and you were not 
 there. I wanted so much to see you to-night because I 
 am going to town to school to-morrow, and can't 
 come out here again for nearly a week, but ofter that 
 I will come out every Saturday night. Are you cold 
 this hot night? You shake like you had a chill." 
 
 I told her that I was not cold, declared that I was 
 not shaking, spoke a hundred meaningless words; 
 and, hanging lightly on my arm, she laughed at me. 
 "Are you glad I'm going to stay here instead of go 
 ing over to Aunt 'Riah's?" she asked, and I could 
 but answer in commonplace assurance that I was 
 "very glad indeed." 
 
 "Now we must walk right straight back again," 
 she declared when we had reached the gate. "For 
 the first thing I know, Grandpa Cousin Wilbur will 
 wake up and think it his duty to find out where I 
 am. And it is, too, I suppose. Come on." 
 
 She swung me about, and with increasing slow 
 ness, as Mahone would have said, we walked toward
 
 190 "By the Eternal" 
 
 the house. At the door we halted, neither of us 
 knowing what for, and on the step above me she stood, 
 just within the fan light. Nothing is too vague for 
 the fancy of youth and I imagined that from her 
 hair perfumed shadows were falling. "Good-night," 
 she said, and nothing but shadows remained.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 HE DID NOT REGRET. 
 
 I did not see Nettie before she was driven into 
 town on the following morning, but I had what I had 
 long looked for, the opportunity to bid Wilbur Page 
 good-bye. He said that he would like to speak with 
 me alone, and together we walked out toward the 
 barn. I felt that something was coming and it made 
 me nervous. It could not, thus early, be the trouble 
 that Mahone predicted, but I knew that it could not 
 bi- a pleasure; and with him I walked in dread of 
 what was coming. 
 
 "Fine day," he began, with natural skirmish, 
 leading up to the engagement of all his forces, and I 
 agreed that it was. 
 
 ' l Mr. Staggs, there is something I wanted to talk to 
 you about." 
 
 ' ' I presumed as much, sir, and I hope that you will 
 proceed at once." 
 
 We had halted at the fence. From a rail he ripped 
 a sliver and with his knife began to whittle upon it. 
 1 knew what it was to be shot, but I didn't w 7 ant to 
 know what it was to be stabbed, so I kept a sharp eye 
 on him. 
 
 "I know, sir, that you are strongly attached to " 
 
 "Only in a most honorable way, sir," I broke in. 
 
 ' ' Yes, ' ' he said, plying his knife, ' ' attached to your 
 horse, but 
 
 "To my horse?" 
 
 191
 
 192 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "Yes, and very naturally so." 
 
 "Is it my horse you want to talk about? Then go 
 ahead without any embarrassment." 
 
 "Oh, no embarrassment, I assure you except 
 well, the truth is, he is the very animal I shall need 
 in my practice, and while I do not desire you to men 
 tion it to the General, or to any one else, for that 
 matter, yet I should like to buy him and give you my 
 note." 
 
 I was almost grateful enough to have given him the 
 horse, but I answered : ' ' Your note is perfectly good, 
 no doubt, but I don't care to sell him even for cash." 
 
 "I hope you'll think better of it, sir." 
 
 "That is the best I can think of it." 
 
 "Well, then, I'm sorry don't mention it good 
 bye." 
 
 "While I was standing there, Mahone came along, 
 taking a short cut from the store, never taking one 
 toward it. I told him the outcome of my dreaded 
 talk with Page, and he roared, and when he could 
 speak without laughing, he said: "Why, he thinks 
 his authority over her is so well established that 
 that he doesn't need to warn you." 
 
 "But you mistake me, Dan. I shall never attempt 
 to to swerve her from her duty to him. We ought 
 not to love where we have no right." 
 
 "Oh, the moralist. If Mr. Addison were not dead, 
 I would write to him. I would ask him to compose an 
 essay on the moral obligation of a duelist. Love is 
 like a new country it is a matter of conquest; and 
 when a woman, either consciously or unconsciously 
 gives a man an opportunity to take her love and he 
 doesn't why she always holds it against him after 
 ward. I am a man of vast experience "
 
 He Did Not Regret. 193 
 
 "How many love affairs have you had, Dan?" 
 
 ' ' Only one, but in that one the experience was vast. 
 And let me tell you: A man that would speak of a 
 horse as this fellow did when he had good cause to 
 speak of a girl, and one of the handsomest in the 
 world, at that, deserves to be robbed it would be a 
 Christian duty to rob him." 
 
 The moral duty of a duelist ! I thought of it many 
 times during the day, while walking about, while try 
 ing to read; and I must confess that there were mo 
 ments when my obligation to moral duty did not seem 
 strong. 
 
 That night when the General returned from town 
 rather late, he sent word to my room that he desired 
 to see me in his library, on important business. Dress 
 ing as hastily as I could, I went to his "library," a 
 room where on the walls there were a few books, 
 many pistols, swords and the tails of foxes. He was 
 sitting in his arm chair, but as I entered he arose as 
 if I had been a man of importance, and bowed to me. 
 "Sit down," he said, and when I had done so, won 
 dering what was to come out of this late meeting, he 
 inquired : ' ' How long has it been since you had any 
 direct information relative to your estate in Vir 
 ginia ? ' ' 
 
 "Not since I came to Tennessee. There was such 
 a tangle " 
 
 "Not so much of a tangle as you may have been 
 led to believe, ' ' he interrupted. ' ' To-day there ar 
 rived a lawyer named Beal. Have you ever had any 
 correspondence with him?" 
 
 "If I remember rightly, he wrote to my guardian, 
 some time ago." 
 
 "Well, he has come out here to see you, is at the
 
 194 "By the Eternal" 
 
 Nashville inn now and will be at the Hermitage early 
 to-morrow morning. The matter of your interest has 
 come up for final adjustment and it will be necessary 
 for you to go to Virginia at once. Are you able ? ' ' 
 
 "Yes, sir, I feel strong, and my wound doesn't 
 pain me any." 
 
 "Have you any idea as to what you may be worth, 
 when you return?" 
 
 "None whatever, sir." 
 
 "Yet you intend to practice law, which is states 
 manship as well as business. You ought to be worth 
 at least a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. And, 
 sir," and here his voice wavered, "I have learned by 
 accident that you made me heir to this estate, in the 
 event of your death at the hand of Lismukes." 
 
 "The amount involved made no difference, Gen 
 eral. It would have been the same if I had thought 
 it was worth a million." 
 
 "Yes, I understand that. But it moves me deeply. 
 I know how you felt on that morning, walking to 
 meet a sure shot almost certain death. Of course 
 you have heard of my trouble with Dickinson." He 
 glanced up at two pistols, crossed on the wall just 
 above his head. "The one with the butt toward you 
 killed him has a slight notch, cut in the stock on that 
 morning. His aim was known as certain death. He 
 could stand off ten steps, and upon the word, put as 
 many bullets as he chose to fire in a space not bigger 
 than a half dollar." 
 
 "I have read numerous accounts of your meeting 
 with him," I answered "all thrilling; but I should 
 esteem it a great favor if you would tell me the story 
 yourself You never speak of it, I know, and I have 
 heard that many attempts have been made to induce
 
 He Did Not Regret. 195 
 
 y*u to express yourself, to tell how you felt and how 
 you still feel I strove to put it in other words 
 but heard myself say "toward that unhappy oc 
 currence. ' ' 
 
 "Unhappy indeed," the General replied. "I had 
 resolved, Richard, never to speak of it to any one, 
 but I owe you, my son owe you more than any man 
 could pay; but mind you, I shall not do so as a dis 
 charge in part of my great obligation, but as a con 
 fession of the close kinship that lies between us." 
 
 He arose and began slowly to walk up and down 
 the room, having with a gesture enjoined silence upon 
 me, not wishing me to thank him. 
 
 He began : ' ' Charles Dickinson, a young man, had 
 come here from Virginia, was, as we understood, 
 from an excellent family, and in consequence was 
 highly respected. To say that he was not always 
 sober would be the truth, but the same could be said 
 riot only then but now, concerning nearly every 
 prominent man in the State. I had done him no in 
 jury, had uttered no word against him, and I am un 
 able to find a cause for the violent dislike he formed 
 against me. The byways leading to the main issue 
 were many and wearisome, but one day, word was 
 brought me that he had spoken of Mrs. Jackson. By 
 the Eternal! He had uttered the hell-invented false 
 hood that the scoundrel Lismukes afterward repeated 
 in your hearing, and which, as you know, could not 
 help but have cost him his life. Well, I sought Dick 
 inson, found him and in the most quiet manner 
 asked him if the report regarding what he had said 
 were true. He answered without hesitation that he 
 may have spoken to that effect but that he was drink 
 ing at the time and therefore he was not responsible.
 
 196 "By the Eternal." 
 
 I pardoned him and went my way. This ought to 
 have ended it, but did not. He took occasion to de 
 nounce me, and, sir, to repeat his slander. And now 
 it was clear that his intention was to force a chal 
 lenge. 
 
 "One day General Thomas Overton rode out to my 
 place with a piece of decisive information that 
 Dickinson had written an infamous attack about me 
 and had submitted it to the editor of the Impartial 
 Review, for publication. 'General Overton' said I, 
 'go back to town as quickly as you can, ask to see the 
 article and return here with your mind made up as 
 to what I must do.' He did so, galloping away, and 
 I waited, mortal hour after mortal hour. 
 
 "When Overton returned he said: 'You must chal 
 lenge him.' I knew that it was an affair of death, 
 and I answered that I must see the article myself. 
 And so, I mounted my horse and rode to town. Mr,. 
 Eastin, the editor, did not hesitate to show it to me. 
 It has been published and you know that a more 
 scurrilous lie could not have been written. A mo 
 ment after looking at it I had made up my mind, and 
 within an hour later I handed my answer to Overton 
 a challenge. Then, when the thing was done there 
 came a sort of relief. The trouble had been long 
 drawn out after one of his denunciations of me, 
 Dickinson had gone on a long voyage down the river 
 and had just returned ; and, sir, I had heard that dur 
 ing the whole of the time of his absence he had prac 
 ticed with his pistol to render his deadly aim more 
 deadly. On the same day my challenge was sent, 
 Overton received from Dr. Catlet, Dickinson's sec 
 ond, an acceptance. Both seconds conferred and 
 drew up articles, agreeing that we, the principals,
 
 He Did Not Regret. 197 
 
 should meet on a Friday the thirtieth instant at Har 
 rison Mills, in Logan county, Kentucky, but when the 
 paper was submitted to me, I objected to waiting a 
 week. Catlet had urged delay on the ground that his 
 principal had no dueling pistols and that it would 
 take time to procure them. 
 
 ' ' ' He shall have choice of mine, ' said I. This was 
 on Saturday, May 24th, and it was finally settled that 
 the meeting was to take place on the following Fri 
 day. What an age can be held within the bounds 
 of so short a time ! I had to keep it from Mrs. Jack 
 son; had to seem that nothing ef unusual moment 
 was on my mind; and at night I sat, listening to her 
 as she read the Bible. Thus the days crawled along. 
 Often I detected myself wondering, 'what shall I 
 know this time next week ? Shall all the hidden mys 
 teries that religion has sought to fathom, be plain 
 to me?' 
 
 "One night two nights before the meeting, Mrs. 
 Jackson, after having read from the Bible, which 
 I preferred to the New Testament, put the book aside 
 and requested me to let her read the story of the con 
 version of Paul. I consented, of course, and for a 
 long time I reflected over that great man. For all 
 churches I have respect, but my own views were Cal- 
 vanistic. I believed that if I had been created to be 
 saved, nothing could destroy my soul. But my body ! 
 Overton, who knew Dickinson well, and who had seen 
 him fire at a mark, could give me no encouragement, 
 other than that I might also kill him and with all 
 of my speculations over Paul, this was the sweetest 
 hope he could have given. 
 
 ' ' Thursday came. The place of meeting was a day 'a 
 ride. With my party, whom I met in Nashville, I was
 
 198 "By the Eternal." 
 
 on the road before sunrise, but Dickinson and his 
 friends had preceded us. This was brought to my no 
 tice in a most significant manner. It is true, as has 
 been printed in the several newspaper accounts, that 
 while riding along, Dickinson engaged the attention 
 of his friends with fine shooting, and that at a public 
 house, having with his bullet cut a string that hung 
 from a tree, he told the landlord to call my attention 
 to the feat. The landlord did so, remarking in his 
 rough way that if he had a negro with no better hold 
 on his life he would sell him cheap on credit. I need 
 ed nothing to make me more serious. The sad faces 
 of my friends were enough, but Overton was inclined 
 now to be hopeful, not however that escape on my 
 part was possible, but that I might be only wounded. 
 In the fine shooting of Dickinson along the road he 
 read signs of over confidence. 
 
 "The method which had been decided on was far 
 out of the ordinary. We were to stand with pistols 
 down until the word was given to fire. There was to 
 be no counting, no word of warning. At the command 
 each was to fire as soon as possible or to wait, at dis 
 cretion, just as he thought best. There was a bare pos 
 sibility that by firing first I might hit him, but Over- 
 ton stood against this notion. He declared that Dick 
 inson being quicker was sure to fire first. After some 
 discussion of the chances of being wholly disabled, I 
 agreed to take his fire. Late in the afternoon we ar 
 rived at an inn not far from the shores of the Red 
 River. Here we put up for the night. Dickinson and his 
 party found accommodations at a tavern not far 
 away. I am passing over many details because they 
 must already be familiar to you. After supper, and 
 I had been hungry, my spirits rose, and I felt livelier
 
 He Did Not Eegret. 199 
 
 than for more than a week past. Occasionally, the 
 picture of my home would arise before me, but with 
 an effort I would blur it and join in with my friends, 
 telling stories. 
 
 Overton had been an old Revolutionary soldier, 
 and I never grew weary of hearing him tell of the 
 hardships he endured, of the battles in which he had 
 been engaged. It was late when we went to bed, but 
 we were up early, and before breakfast rode down the 
 river to the place appointed for the meeting. When 
 we had dismounted and were approaching the field, 
 one of my party whose countenance was anything but 
 encouraging, asked me how I felt about the situation. 
 1 told him that I felt well and had perfect control 
 over myself, 'and I shall bring him down,' I added, 
 but I saw by the expression of his countenance that 
 he did not believe it. The other party had arrived. 
 There had lately been rain, and the country was fresh 
 and beautiful. I recall a red bird flying, like a bit of 
 flame, across the small open space. Down near the 
 river bank, where a field fence ran, a quail was call 
 ing. 
 
 "Dr. Catlet won choice of positions for Dickin 
 son, but to Overton fell the office of giving the com 
 mand to fire. There was no unnecessary deliber 
 ation. We were placed in position, and Overton in 
 quired of us individually if we were ready; and 
 upon receiving the assurance that we were, Dickin 
 son speaking last, my second cried 'Fire.' 
 
 "Instantly I felt a terrible shock, and a moment 
 later a feeling of great exultation came over me. I 
 was hit, but not mortally and through my mind 
 there shot the thought, like the flight of the red bird,
 
 200 "By the Eternal" 
 
 like a flame: 'The vengeance of justice shall cut 
 down the slanderer.' 
 
 "Overton was gazing at me had, as he afterward 
 said, seen a puff of dust from the left breast of my 
 coat, saw me raise my left arm, stared in dread of 
 my falling; and then drew a long breath of relief. 
 It had been Dickinson's aim to shoot me through the 
 heart, and his aim had been almost perfect, but the 
 buttoning of the lower button of my coat, puffing 
 the upper part, had deceived him as to the size of my 
 body, though this being my habit I had not thought 
 to deceive him. 
 
 "Ha, I remember his wild look of terror when he 
 realized that I was not to fall. ' Great God ! ' he cried, 
 'have I missed him?' And Overton, with his pistol 
 raised, thundered: 'Back to the mark, sir.' Dick 
 inson had fallen back, but instantly he stepped for 
 ward and stood resigned. He knew that his time had 
 come, and I knew it, for as I was reported to have 
 said, I should have remained standing long enough 
 to kill him if he had shot me through the brains." 
 
 The General paused and took down the pistols, the 
 one with the notch cut in the stock. The candle was 
 burning low. Shadows flew about the walls, red 
 birds, black birds. 
 
 "Yes, by the Eternal God, his time had come. In 
 my heart there was no more of forgiveness than 
 there is in the heart of nature when man has out 
 raged her. I raised my pistol, this pistol, and took 
 steady aim. I felt my blood flowing, but my nerves 
 were steel. I pulled the trigger. The hammer stopped 
 at half-cock. Enemies said that I had done this to 
 prolong the agony, but I had not. My agony was to 
 see him still alive, the slanderer of of her." He
 
 He Did Not Regret. 201 
 
 pointed toward the room where his wife was sleep 
 ing. "I recocked the pistol, took another aim, as 
 steady as before, and fired. Dickinson staggered. 
 His friends ran forward and caught him and eased 
 him to the ground. Overton walked up, looked at 
 him, as they were stripping off his clothes, came back 
 and said to me: 'He doesn't need anything more 
 from you, General.' Then he discovered that I was 
 bleeding. I assured him that my wound was not 
 serious. But to the main point, the expression that 
 so many have sought to extract from me. I deplore 
 the necessity, but I do not regret the act. There can 
 never come a time when I shall not believe it was a 
 righteous decree his death at my hand." 
 
 He stood, a grim statue; and then, darkness. The 
 candle was out.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MRS. BILLIARD AND HER ACADEMY. 
 
 ATTORNEY BEAL came out early on the fol 
 lowing day. He first went to the pastures to 
 look at the stock, and then was kind enough to 
 mention to me the nature of his important business. 
 It was soon decided that on the next day we were 
 to set out, horse-back, for Virginia. Then he went 
 over to another pasture to look at the cattle. In the 
 afternoon I sat with Mahone, beneath the trees, in 
 front of the store. With the thought of my leaving 
 him he was greatly depressed. But soon he bright 
 ened. 
 
 "Richard," said he, "I've been thinking of a great 
 scheme for us both. In the event that the lawsuit is 
 settled in your favor you will want to invest some 
 of your fortune. To a man of my industrious hab 
 its it would seem a crime to let it lie idle. So now 
 I have a plan. I have shrewdly observed that all up 
 and down this river there are fine sites for stores. 
 Build one and put me in charge of it as your active 
 partner. I might suggest larger operations, in Nash 
 ville, but it would look too much as if we had de 
 signs on Harvey, to rob him of his trade because ho 
 had robbed me of the widow that was. What do you 
 think of it?" 
 
 ' ' I think we 'd better postpone any definite arrange 
 ments until we settle up the estate." 
 
 "Perhaps you are right. Yes, that was well thought 
 out. How long do you suppose it will take?"
 
 Mrs. Billiard and Her Academy. 203 
 
 "Well, you know what courts are." 
 
 "I do, sir; my father's brother had a small case 
 in court, and it wore along till the court itself was 
 finally abolished and no one ever knew what became 
 of the suit. My father said it must have fallen out 
 of the wagon as they were hauling off the ancient 
 furniture. But tell me : Will you see the elf before 
 you take your long journey?" 
 
 "I'll ride into town this evening to see her." 
 
 "Arrah, I applaud your decision. But mind you, 
 don't leave her without saying something. Some 
 times, you know, a man beats about the bush till 
 there is nothing left but bushes to beat. Mind that." 
 
 I did mind it as I rode along toward town, but 
 with the tongue shut in the hard stocks of duty, what 
 can one say? 
 
 The school building was not pretentious. It was 
 constructed of logs, "frame," and with a new addi 
 tion of brick. A brass plate on the front door in 
 formed me that it was "Mrs. Hilliard's Academy for 
 Young Ladies." I lifted an enormous bronze knock 
 er, head of a lion, let it fall, and the whole neighbor 
 hood was reverberant with noises, a great sound shat 
 tered, the fragments meeting one another at corners, 
 in the garden, to blend and then to split, to fly off 
 into the distance and to fall down upon the hills. 
 If no one had come I should not have knocked again. 
 I would not have run another risk of fracturing the 
 community. Fortunately, some one came, a negress, 
 who asked me if I wished to see any one, and upon 
 receiving unqualified assurance that I did, she in 
 vited me into the parlor, where there were pictures 
 that looked like the portraits of governors. In a 
 corner stood a harp, and as I was looking at it, won-
 
 204 "By the Eternal." 
 
 dering how many hands had swept its strings, in 
 came a woman stately enough to have aroused the 
 envy of Martha Washington. And as I bowed lower 
 and lower, I thought of something said of the elder 
 Pitt, by Chesterfield, I believe, that in the presence 
 of royalty you could stand behind this great de 
 fender of the Americans and see his hook nose down 
 between the calves of his legs. 
 
 She said that she was Mrs. Hilliard, which I would 
 not have doubted for the world, and then she asked 
 if she might be so bold as to inquire as to the object 
 of my visit. I believe that at this moment, had the 
 window been raised a little higher, I should have 
 leaped through it and run away after the shattered 
 noises, to fall down with them upon the distant hills, 
 but as there was no way of escape open I bowed again 
 and mumbled, "Miss Nettie Blakemore." 
 
 "Ah, a relative?" 
 
 It would have been hazardous to declare myself 
 her cousin. Cousins were as dangerous then as now; 
 and I feared to proclaim myself her uncle. I hesi 
 tated. 
 
 "A relative, sir?" 
 
 I thought of Mrs. 'Jackson's host of "distant con 
 nections." "Yes, madam, her her adopted she is 
 my adopted sister. I adopted her with the consent 
 of of all parties concerned." Again I bowed. 
 Straightening up I saw that she was looking at me 
 fixedly. 
 
 "Will you please state your business with her?" 
 
 "I would most willingly; yes, madam, but the fact 
 is I have no business, except to tell her good-bye. 
 My name, begging your pardon for not having intro 
 duced myself but the fact is, if I must acknowledge
 
 Mrs. Billiard and Her Academy. 205 
 
 it, that with your unexpected grace you have over 
 whelmed me." It was time for another bow, and 
 when I looked up she was smiling. "Madam, I am 
 Richard Staggs, from the Hermitage." 
 
 "Ah, why didn't you tell me where you were 
 from?" That seemed to make more difference than 
 who I was. "I will send Miss Blakemore down at 
 once. Be seated." 
 
 She floated out of the room, and without seeming to 
 employ her feet, ascended the hall stairway. I stood 
 with my back toward the door, looking at a portrait 
 and then my blood rippled. Nettie was in the 
 room, laughing. 
 
 "Let us sit over here on the sofa, where none of 
 the girls can peep at us down the stairs. Oh, but it's 
 good to see some one from home, for it seems like a 
 year since I left there. And you are looking so well. 
 Your face isn't half so pale as it was. Did Cousin 
 Wilbur tell you good-bye?" 
 
 "Yes, he led me over toward the barn and ' 
 
 "And said something about me. I know he did, 
 although he promised not to. What did he say?" 
 
 "Not a word about you." 
 
 "He didn't not a word? The the stingy thing." 
 
 "What did you expect him to say?" 
 
 "Oh, I thought he might tell you how much he 
 thought of me." 
 
 "No, that isn't it. As Mahone would say, you are 
 beating about the bush. Tell me, didn't he lec 
 ture" 
 
 "Oh, he always does that. He can't talk with 
 out lecturing. He is the lecturingest man in the 
 world. How is Mr. Mahone? Oh, Mrs. Harvey was 
 over here last night, and she walked about in the yard
 
 206 "By the Eternal." 
 
 with me and talked about him all the time; and I 
 wondered why she didn 't marry him, but I suppose it 
 was her duty to marry Mr. Harvey she must have 
 promised she would, and Aunt 'Riah and the 
 preacher that comes there, say that promises of that 
 sort are almost as sacred as marriages, and I suppose 
 they are, don't you?" 
 
 "No, I don't I mean I don't know. But Nettie, 
 I do know ' 
 
 "Know what, Mr. Wise?" 
 
 "I know that marriage without love is a great 
 crime. ' ' 
 
 I was looking into her eyes, and she opened them 
 wider that was all. Her countenance did not 
 change. ' ' But when people marry there must be love, 
 of course. Why, they are married then." 
 
 "But, Nettie, marriage does not always mean 
 love." 
 
 "I thought it did. But don't let us talk about it. 
 Do I look as if I 'd been studying hard ? I have as 
 hard as ever I can ; and pretty soon when you come 
 to see me I can talk just like Mrs. Hilliard and 
 walk like her, too. She tries to teach all the girls to 
 walk that way, and it gets so funny that I have to slip 
 off somewhere and laugh. But I'm not giving you a 
 chance to say a word, and they won't let you stay 
 very long after the negro woman lights the candles. 
 Here she comes now." 
 
 The candles were lighted. I heard some one cough 
 ing slightly, at the head of the stairs, and I knew 
 that Mrs. Hilliard had sounded the first alarm. 
 When the negress had gone out, I said : 
 
 "Nettie, I have come to tell you good-bye." 
 
 ' ' Why don 't you put it, come to say howdy ? ' '
 
 Mrs. Hilliard and Her Academy. 207 
 
 "I mean that I am to be gone for a long time, in 
 Virginia, to settle an estate that has been in the 
 courts many years. A lawyer has come for me, and 
 I am to go back with him to-morrow morning." 
 
 She sat perfectly still. She did not utter a word. 
 I took her hand, but it lay limp, but warm, like a 
 bird just shot dead. "But I shall be back long be 
 fore you are are eighteen." The bird fluttered to 
 life, flew away. 
 
 "Oh, I am awfully sorry," she said, and now her 
 face was pale. "And I do hope you will come back 
 before before then." 
 
 "If I should be gone a very long time, I hope you 
 won't forget the ride we had in the woods." 
 
 "The old whale that swallowed Jonah," she said, 
 smiling faintly. "No, I can't forget that can't 
 forget anything." 
 
 The cough was coming down the stairs. I arose 
 and took her hand both hands. Gently I drew her 
 toward me, nearer and our lips met. 
 
 The cough had formed itself into a loud "ahem," 
 at the door.
 
 CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 JUST WAITING. 
 
 BY sunrise the next morning, Mr. Beal and I 
 were under way to Virginia. Mahone * had 
 arisen before day, to ride with me the first few 
 miles of the long journey. Beat's horse trotted along 
 in advance of us. The day was cloudy, as were my 
 spirits, and yet within my heart a happiness came, to 
 throb, to die away and then to come again. It was a 
 memory sweeter than the honey of the poplar bloom. 
 Her lips had come gladly to meet mine. There had 
 been no beating about the bush, and I told Mahone so, 
 as we rode along. 
 
 "Arrah, you are getting a little sense in your old 
 age," he said. "And if you want her, I don't see 
 how the devil himself can take her away from you. 
 I blame myself for being so conscientious with the 
 widow. Conscience is all well enough between man 
 and man, but when it comes to woman, you've got to 
 use your judgment, and the sharpest judgment you 
 have. And the more time you give her to think, the 
 less she thinks of you. Of course, you'll write to 
 her. But don't write in care of that school. That 
 Mrs. Hellion, or whatever her name happens to be at 
 the time, would read it publicly and then order it 
 burnt by the hangman. Richard, an inspiration. 
 Send it in my care and I will take it to Arabella, and 
 she will take it to the elf. I wouldn't take a thou- 
 
 208
 
 Just Waiting. 209 
 
 sand dollars and a pair of mules for this mind of 
 mine. ' ' 
 
 "I don't think I'd better write to her, Dan." 
 ' ' Of course you don 't. I could have told you that. 
 And you'll think that way up to the time you take 
 your pen in hand. By the way, as old Falstaff would 
 speak it, there is villainous news abroad. Did you 
 see the paper yesterday? It says that a gentleman 
 whose word cannot be questioned has arrived from 
 Washington \vith the information that war will soon 
 be declared with England. And if it should be, where 
 will you find Daniel Mahone? In the front rank, 
 where he belongs. I'm getting tired of this mercan 
 tile life. I was not cut out for these costermonger 
 times. And if the war should come, hurry back as 
 soon as you can and we will go in together." 
 "I'll give you my hand on that, Dan." 
 We drew up and solemnly shook hands. "This is 
 a good time to leave you," said he. "How few men 
 know when they have reached the proper climax. 
 Take care of yourself, and the Lord bless you." 
 
 I overtook Mr. Beal, and as I was now full of a sub 
 ject which I had heard the General discuss, which 
 had been talked about for a long time before the gen 
 tleman whose word could not be questioned had ar 
 rived from Washington the war, I spoke of it to my 
 companion. He shook his head gravely and an 
 swered that he feared there would be trouble. This 
 angered me somewhat, believing as I did that every 
 patriot ought with enthusiasm to welcome the event 
 of war. He admitted as a truth, that England in 
 sulted us on the sea, and everywhere, for that matter ; 
 he acknowledged that the great Mississippi valley 
 would become stagnant unless we owned without
 
 210 "By the Eternal." 
 
 question the mouth of the river, "and yet," he de 
 clared, again gravely shaking his head, "I hope that 
 there will be no war. It would ruin our commerce 
 and" 
 
 "Sir," I exclaimed, "a people that are afraid of 
 losing their commerce who place their shipping 
 above everything else, do not deserve liberty." 
 
 "Tut, tut," he said, "you are a boy in a debating 
 society. You stand ready to declaim, 'I come not 
 here to talk. You know too well the story of our 
 thraldom. We are slaves.' Now my father was a 
 soldier during the Eevolution, and I know something 
 about war." 
 
 "On which side was your father, sir?" I de 
 manded. 
 
 "Tut, tut. 'On the Grampian hills,' and so forth. 
 If this war comes up, a decision in your case might 
 hang fire for years." 
 
 "I don't give a snap for the estate as compared 
 with the honor of the country," I shouted, and boy 
 like, meant it, too. 
 
 "Pish, tish, 'an honest man, my neighbor, there he 
 stands' but we know all about it." 
 
 I sulked behind and did not join him again until 
 evening, when we halted at an inn for the night. 
 Then I found that he was simply having fun with 
 me, and as soon as I discovered his humor, our re 
 lationship became pleasant enough; and so, by the 
 time we reached the little town of Ashport, the end 
 of our journey, we were friends. 
 
 The town was old and shabby, and exceedingly 
 aristocratic, though the long-drawn lawsuit, but more 
 especially my horse, got me into good society. I had 
 no ready money, but the tavern-keeper was willing to
 
 Just Waiting. 211 
 
 trust my horse. Every day or so I would go to the 
 courthouse to see what progress my affairs were mak 
 ing, and each time was told that they were moving 
 with all the swiftness that circumstances would al 
 low. I could not see why my presence was required. 
 Nothing was referred to me. I asked Beal why he 
 came for me, and he answered that I might be needed 
 at any moment to sign important documents. 
 
 There was a round-about mail between Ashport 
 and Nashville, and I wrote to Nettie every night 
 during the first three weeks, but did not send one 
 of the letters. But I sent a letter to Mahone, and in 
 due time received an answer. 
 
 "As you doubtless know," he said, "the war talk 
 is still kept up. For the life of me, I can't see why 
 they want to be so slow. Deliberation is a fine thing, 
 Richard, but too much of it has lost many a battle. 
 On last Sunday who should drive out but Arabella, 
 and that 'yardstick' which the law forced upon her. 
 And now something is coming. At the dinner table 
 Arabella says to Mrs. Jackson: 'Aunt Rachel, I 
 want to thank you for the beautiful hens you sent 
 me some time ago.' 
 
 " 'Hens,' says Mrs. Jackson, in great surprise, 'my 
 dear, I didn't send you any hens.' 
 
 ' ' Arabella looked at me with a smile that could have 
 been stirred off into sugar ; and then it was time foi 
 me to explain, which I did immediately. 'Oh, yes, 
 madam, you did send them,' I said to Mrs. Jackson. 
 'You may not think so, but surely you did.' And 
 then, adroitly, I changed the subject I says, 'Come 
 now, let us talk of something else. ' But Mrs. Jackson 
 wanted to talk about those damned chickens, till at 
 last a happy inspiration saved me. I put it all on
 
 212 "By the Eternal." 
 
 you, Bichard. I said it was a joke you played on 
 Mrs. Harvey. 'In the toughness of the fowls lay the 
 fun of it,' I says. Wasn't that a shrewd way to get 
 out of it ? There is an important piece of news which 
 I have neglected to set forth in the foregoing re 
 marks. It is this: The plantation store at the Her 
 mitage has been disposed of, and I am no longer an 
 active force in the great American world of barter. 
 And thus you see, as I predicted, all the copies of 
 my Tom Moore investment have been sold. The new 
 owner, a man named Quincey is not, in my opinion 
 the author of the Junius letters. While we were 
 taking stock I called his attention to the beautiful 
 books, and with the characteristic comment that busi 
 ness has for literature he said: 'Damn the books. 
 Count them hams. ' Will he succeed ? He will. Why ? 
 Because he does not deserve to. I am not, however, 
 to be out of employment long. Soon, I am to take 
 charge of the school, now historic in your affections, 
 held in the unpretentious house beside the lane. It 
 is said that some of the youngsters are real students, 
 and if this be true, it will necessitate a little brushing 
 up on my part, for about me there is so little of the 
 pedant that I forget my learning almost as soon as 
 I have turned my back upon it. If you decide to 
 enter with me into the commercial life, I can give up 
 the school very easily. All I'll have to do is to turn 
 it loose, and it affords me an opportunity to tell 
 truth in saying that this will undoubtedly be a great 
 pleasure. It is always a relief to do something else, 
 no matter what you may have been doing previously. 
 It is thus that we inculcate diversity and make the 
 world move; but I am becoming philosophical, and 
 this should be avoided.
 
 Just Waiting. 213 
 
 "The General bristles with the spirit of the com 
 ing war. His hair is on end. The other day, after 
 having engaged in the social amenities of the town, 
 he came home with his collar bone broken, but two 
 of his enemies, when they come out again, will appear 
 on crutches. He could lend them a few sets, includ 
 ing the long one that the boy Andrew still rides about 
 the house. In case of war the General, as command 
 er of the Tennessee militia, will offer himself and 
 twenty-five hundred men. It is now understood that 
 Tecumseh, the famous chief, has again visited the 
 Indian tribes in Alabama, urging them to unite with 
 the British against the Americans. If the Indians 
 should heed him, and they undoubtedly will, as he is 
 a great organizer, the country may expect more 
 trouble from the savages than from the English." 
 
 The months dragged by. A decision was rendered 
 in my favor, which gave me great pleasure until there 
 came a frown from Beal the information that an 
 appeal had been taken. "But now we are getting 
 down to it in earnest," said he. I thought so myself. 
 Then I asked him how long it might take, and he 
 seemed hurt. "How long indeed!" he murmured, 
 untying a bundle of papers and tying it up again. 
 ''You must know that law is deliberative, not to say 
 solemn." I told him that I thought it solemn, where 
 upon he seemed hurt again. 
 
 Winter came, and the inn-keeper began to grow 
 suspicious of my horse. But as my case was now 
 rushing, having almost reached the front door of the 
 court above, I succeeded in borrowing a thousand dol 
 lars, paid my bill, and received a gracious smile. 
 Spring came, and with it hot wind from the blast 
 furnace of war. Early summer, and war was de-
 
 214 "By the Eternal." 
 
 clared. I decided to return at once to Tennessee and 
 to offer my services to General Jackson. 
 
 Beaching Nashville in the evening, I found the 
 "city" in the throes of great excitement. The jour 
 ney had been long and wearisome, but there was an 
 especial cause to keep me out of bed General Jack 
 son was making a speech on the public square. In 
 the glare of bonfires and torches he stood upon a 
 hogshead of tobacco, haranguing a great and enthu 
 siastic throng of citizens. The government had ac 
 cepted the offer of his services, and he was now call 
 ing for volunteers. Amid the clamor I heard the dis 
 tant shout of "Arrah, arrah!" and peering through 
 the crowd I saw Mahone standing with one hand rest 
 ing on the orator's persuasive "pulpit," a pulpit in 
 deed, whence came thundering forth the doctrine of 
 Patriotism. It required some time and not a little 
 force, but finally "edging" myself within reach of 
 the Irishman, I touched him on the shoulder. He 
 looked around and then with a louder "Arrah," he 
 seized me. Then the General's eye fell upon me, and, 
 reaching down, with a pause in his fervid appeal, he 
 grasped my up-raised hand. As soon as we could, 
 Mahone and I "wormed" our way out to the edge of 
 the crowd. For a long time we spoke but little and 
 in low words, giving our attention to the General's 
 speech, but when the orator had closed, Mahone 
 broke forth: 
 
 .- "By the faith of me, I expected you, and this very 
 night, too. I don't know why, but I did. Come, let 
 us go on over to the inn and be near the General. 
 Each word he utters has peculiar significance for me 
 now he is my commander, and yours." 
 
 As we proceeded toward the inn, I asked the one
 
 Just Waiting. 215 
 
 question nearest ray heart. It was vacation time and 
 I inquired if Nettie were at the Hermitage. "The 
 news I have for you is bad, but I will break it gen 
 tly, not to say adroitly. Therefore, we will talk 
 about something else, leading up to it. The 
 
 "Confound it, tell me, man." 
 
 "I will, then. She was there until yesterday after 
 the school turned out, and then she was dragged 
 away on a visit to her Aunt 'Riah, the young doctor 
 having come after her. She had been talking to me 
 about your coming, and a happier creature I never 
 saw, but along had to come that spalpeen. She put 
 as bright a face 011 it as she could, but I saw her cry 
 ing behind the currant bushes. Go ahead, Richard, I 
 don 't blame you for cursing the luck ; I did it for you 
 before you got here." 
 
 "Have you any idea as to how long they are going 
 to compel her to stay?" 
 
 "Until school begins in September, and by that 
 time we'll be far into the war, if not well into 
 eternity. Don't grieve, for it is a sure shot that she 
 loves you, and when a man is assured of a woman's 
 love, he oughtn't to care so much then what becomes 
 of her." 
 
 Out of this "logic" I drew but little consolation. 
 Love, loving is never assured of love in youth, in 
 absence. It was a trick of that infernal doctor's. 
 He knew that the beating of the drum would call me 
 home. 
 
 At the tavern there was much clamor, much drink 
 ing. In the bar-room two men sat at a table taking 
 down the names of volunteers. Mahone and I were 
 soon enrolled. The General was so busily employed 
 here and there that I had but small chance to talk to
 
 216 "By the Eternal." 
 
 him, but he requested me to ride out home with him, 
 saying that he would take his leave about midnight. 
 
 "I reckon that young fellow will fight," said an 
 old man, pointing to me, and the General answered: 
 "Sir, I would stake my existence on his bravery." 
 
 This made me feel as proud as if I had captured 
 a British battery. Numerous men came forward to 
 shake me by the hand, as if I had really done some 
 thing, and for a time I was a hero, so great do we 
 weak mortals regard one who stands in the light of 
 authority's favor. 
 
 It was past midnight when we set out for home. 
 Absence and imagination had rendered objects along 
 the road familiar to me, and I looked for them. Here 
 and there by the wayside, bonfires were burning, and 
 in front of the tavern where Mahone and I had eaten 
 supper just before going to hear Cartwright preach, 
 a man was beating a war drum. The General in high 
 spirits, said: "I am a stranger to the powers in 
 Washington, or if known at all, better known through 
 rny enemies than my friends, and the government's 
 ready acceptance of my services was a surprise to me. 
 I did not support Mr. Madison for the Presidency, 
 and my friendship for Aaron Burr stood against me. 
 Mahone, to-morrow morning you start out and do 
 what you can toward raising a company, and you 
 shall have a commission as captain of infantry." 
 
 "Arrah!" cried Mahone, "I'll start with the first 
 peep of day, and it is not for me to boast, General, 
 but I will merit the confidence and the commission. 
 No one can love this country more than an Irishman, 
 sir and no one is more ready to shed his blood for 
 any cause whether he thinks it's right or not. In 
 fantry! I like to walk, and you would see me walk-
 
 Just Waiting. 217 
 
 ing now, but for the fact that I couldn't keep up 
 with more than one of you at a time. Something will 
 rouse the early bird from her nest in the morning, 
 and it will be no other than myself. " 
 
 The General waited patiently until Mahone was 
 done, and then he said to me : ''And, Richard, there'll 
 be need of you, close to me. You shall be on my staff, 
 with the rank of captain. Governor Blount will 
 make out the commissions at my request, to-mor 
 row. ' ' 
 
 My much-praised horse had never seemed so high 
 before. On him I was trotted, just beneath the stars. 
 1 do not know what extravagant words of gratitude 
 I uttered, in the emotion-blindness that had fallen 
 into my eyes, there in the darkness. 
 
 The next morning Mahone aroused me before day 
 light. "I hope I find you well, Captain," he said 
 when I had lighted a candle. "Begorry, it was little 
 I slept, but it makes a great deal of difference in a 
 man's feelings when he hasn't slept much and gets 
 up before day, what he gets up for. No matter how 
 well he might have slept he wouldn't feel well, get 
 ting up to be hanged, but you and I get up for great 
 purposes, Richard, and the lark in the dew is no 
 fresher than I." 
 
 The General was astir early, too, and we ate break 
 fast by candlelight. Mrs. Jackson made no pretense 
 of deploring the coming of war; she was pleased be 
 cause her husband was delighted. At the table he 
 beamed upon us, like one inspired with a great mis 
 sion, and surely it was his conviction that he had 
 been appointed by a higher power than the govern 
 ment at "Washington. On his long crutch the boy 
 Andrew rode to the table, now no longer a mere
 
 218 "By the Eternal." 
 
 race horse but a war steed. Outside the roosters were 
 crowing war, and the birds, when the day grew 
 lighter, twittered their call to arms. 
 
 History proves that republics are rarely prepared 
 for war. Where there is much liberty there is also 
 much blind faith in the justice of the cause. Equip 
 ment decides battles, and the justice of the unfor 
 tunate cause is afterward pointed out by the states 
 man as a warning. But Tennessee was better pre 
 pared than' almost any other state, not because she 
 had an organized militia, but because nearly every 
 man was a sharpshooter. The farmer that shot a 
 squirrel in the body rather than in the head was ac 
 counted a poor marksman. But with all the drum 
 beating and the rapid enrollment of the men, real 
 progress was slow; not from any lack of incentive at 
 home, but due to the sloth at Washington. The Ten 
 nessee troops were expected to furnish their own 
 small arms and clothing their own horses, in fact 
 but the government was negligent in providing artil 
 lery, ammunition and tents. Hull had disgraced his 
 country with his cowardice, the shameful surrender 
 at Detroit, and throughout the North there was the 
 deepest melancholy. In the South the great Indian 
 tribes, the Cherokees and the Creeks, stood ready to 
 murder the whites, by this time persuaded by Tecum- 
 seh and his brother, the Prophet, to espouse England. 
 Europe was shaking with Napoleonic ague. The 
 world was groaning, and little thought was given by 
 the Northern press to the ambitions of a backwoods 
 General of raw militia, clamoring for a sight of the 
 enemy. Jackson had succeeded in enrolling more 
 than two thousand men, a great army considering the 
 thinness of the settlements lying among the hills re-
 
 Just Waiting. 219 
 
 mote from the river. At last encouraging word came 
 from the Secretary of War, and an order was issued 
 for a "massing" of the troops in Nashville, early in 
 December. 
 
 Mahone 's activity had not surprised me ; I had an 
 ticipated it, but I was astonished at his executive 
 force. He not only raised one hundred men, but soon 
 fashioned them into the best-drilled company in the 
 regiment. Colonel Coffee, of the cavalry, who had 
 taken to wife one of the numerous nieces of Mrs. 
 Jackson, remarked one day to the General: "It 
 doesn't seem possible that your Irish captain is the 
 same man that used to sit about the store. Why, 
 this fellow has genius." 
 
 "Ah," the General replied, "genius deprived of alt 
 opportunity is like a candle, unlighted; and there 
 are times when it can no more make opportunity 
 than a candle can furnish its own lire." 
 
 Mahone 's commission and mine also had been made 
 out and signed by the governor. Mrs. Jackson super 
 vised the making of our uniforms, and we were two 
 of the most gorgeous men in the army. The Irishman 
 loved the parade, the panoply of war, and one after 
 noon as we were walking about in the yard, casting 
 glances down the road toward Nashville, longing for 
 the call to battle, he turned upon a rooster that 
 thought to outstrut him: "Aroint you fop, or I will 
 pull out your tail to adorn my hat." 
 
 Had he been furnished with a pretext he would 
 have worn the entire chicken. "When you go in 
 swimming, ' ' said he ' ' take off your clothes, but going 
 to war, put on gilt and brass. It is a part of the 
 game. There have been commanders noted for their 
 slouchiness, but as a general thing the dressiest sol-
 
 220 "By the Eternal." 
 
 dier is the best. I was anxious for Arabella to see 
 me in my regimentals, but bethought myself that I 
 ought not to excite her regret. Ah, and with the 
 women it takes a fast bolt of silk to run a race with 
 shoulder straps. If the elf could only see you now, 
 Richard, she would forget her duty to the spalpeen. 
 Have you written to her since you came back?" 
 
 "No, it wouldn't be wise." 
 
 "Wise is it? In love with a girl and expect to be 
 wise ! You can 't be both at the same time. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Why, the doctor or her Aunt 'Riah would be sure 
 to see the letter, intercept it, no doubt, and that 
 would make it unpleasant for her." 
 
 "You are right. A man cannot be wise and in 
 love, but sometimes he may love and be right. The 
 weather is turning cold, do you notice? And to 
 morrow we meet in grand review. I w r ish the enemy 
 were in front of us and it was an order to fire. ' ' 
 
 That night there came the heaviest fall of snow 
 that had been known since the settlement of the coun 
 try. Shelter could not be furnished for the troops 
 in the town, and so, poorly provided as they were, 
 they camped on the common. A thousand cords of 
 wood were burnt to keep them from freezing. The 
 General set the example and the officers remained 
 with the men. Among these hardy pioneers there 
 was no complaint, except that there was no enemy to 
 be encountered. On the morning after this desperate 
 night, the General entered the inn where a number 
 of "civilians" were sitting about the fire. One of 
 them, a red-faced drover, was expressing his opinion 
 at the time, and evidently he did not know Jackson by 
 sight. 
 
 "What a shame it is," he said, "that those poor fel-
 
 Just 'Waiting. 221 
 
 lows had to suffer in the cold out there all night while 
 the officers were tucked up in bed. ' ' 
 
 "You infernal scoundrel," the General exclaimed, 
 "let me hear another word out of you and I'll teach 
 you what it is to be warm. I '11 ram that red-hot and 
 iron down your throat." 
 
 Every one waited, but the drover was silent. 
 
 A number of flat boats had been constructed, and 
 before noon, the troops were embarked for Natchez, 
 by water eight hundred or a thousand miles distant. 
 Colonel Coffee with his cavalry proceeded by land. 
 
 "The luck of him," Mahone remarked. "He'll be 
 sure to get into a fight, while we can do nothing but 
 float safely down the river." 
 
 Jackson was a patriot, as the world knows, but he 
 was also a man a human being. It was his determi 
 nation, in the absence of explicit orders, to disembark 
 at Natchez rather than to proceed to New Orleans. 
 General Wilkinson was commander of the forces oc 
 cupying the Crescent City, and he and Jackson were 
 not friends. Reporting to him would have chilled old 
 Andrew's soul, besides, no enemy had been seen on 
 the southern coast. It was our hope to encounter the 
 Indians and the English somewhere in Mississippi. 
 
 Our quarters at Natchez were comfortable enough, 
 but as the impatient General remarked, as we waited 
 for orders to march into the interior, we were com 
 fortable at home. One day he wrote to the War De 
 partment, almost demanding service, submitting a 
 plan for leading his men against the Canadians. How 
 anxiously he waited for an answer! I well recall 
 the morning it came. I never saw him more excited 
 than when he received the paper. He ripped it open, 
 and then I had to turn my face away. I could not
 
 222 "By the Eternal.' 9 
 
 endure that suffering countenance. The order was, 
 in short, that the troops were not needed, that they 
 should be disbanded immediately, and that the muni 
 tions should be turned over to General Wilkinson. 
 It was soon known throughout the camp that the 
 news was bad; and it was soon understood, too, that 
 the peremptory order was not to be obeyed, except in 
 part. 
 
 ' ' Disband my men here and let them wander home 
 like sheep ! In Washington, they must take me for 
 an idiot. Turn my guns over to Wilkinson ! By the 
 Eternal! he shall not have one of them." 
 
 But it required money to move even this little 
 army. We had floated down, but we couldn't float 
 up, and the boats were therefore useless. The men 
 were, many of them, in need of shoes, and for the 
 sick transportation was required. To the merchants 
 of the town Jackson pawned his own word for shoes 
 and clothing, in the event that the government re 
 fused to pay; and so, one morning we broke camp 
 and sadly marched toward home, five hundred miles 
 distant by land. The horses were needed for the 
 sick. The General walked, striding in advance, and 
 it was at this time that to him was given the nick 
 name of Old Hickory, the latter because he was so 
 tough, and "old" because the men looked upon him 
 as their father, facts set forth in history, and the 
 "lives" written of this remarkable man. 
 
 On the way we met a modification of the perempt 
 ory order to disband, but nothing was said about ex 
 penses or the payment of the soldiers, who for their 
 services and their hardships had not received a 
 penny. 
 
 Mahone was crushed. "It is a death blow to all
 
 Just Waiting. 223 
 
 hope," he said to me one night as I sat with him in 
 his improvised tent. "The President and all the 
 secretaries at Washington are a lot of kittens with 
 their eyes not open. The idea that such men as these 
 not being needed at a time of war! What is war 
 getting to be? A 'good morning to you,' the drink 
 ing of a glass of skimmed milk, and the yawning and 
 stretching and gaping of one wasted day into an 
 other ? I am now fully convinced that I was intended 
 for a soldier, but along conies Fate and befuddles her 
 own design." 
 
 In such lamenting was shown the spirit of every 
 man, in bivouac by night and in weary march by 
 day. It seemed an army returning -from defeat ; and 
 when at last we marched into Nashville, the cheering 
 of the people fell as taunting mockeries. Drawn up 
 in order, we were compelled to listen to welcoming- 
 addresses, to hear such empty, such humiliating 
 words as "our gallant volunteers our brave sons." 
 The ladies had made for us a silken banner, pictured 
 with scenes of victory; and we accepted it, the flag, 
 the lies tapestried upon it, and hung our heads. 
 There was now nothing to do but to go home, and so, 
 we were disbanded. 
 
 Together, Mahone and I rode out toward the Her 
 mitage, and now I did not care to look upon ob 
 jects that absence and imagination had rendered 
 dear and familiar to my dreams. "The world may 
 stagger along a few days more," said Mahone, "but 
 I doubt it. It's wheezing for breath. A nag was it 
 they gave us? Why didn't they bring us out a rusty 
 chain forged in Birmingham? And I am now to 
 throw off this cocked hat, and set in its place the dull 
 and dusty cap of the schoolman. I am to prate to
 
 224 "By the Eternal." 
 
 the children about patriotism when the government 
 hasn't any more than could flounce about in plenty 
 of room on the point of a pin. Ah, Arabella, you 
 were wise in marrying a man of the times. And if 
 he sells a few more bolts of silk this year, I have no 
 doubt they will make him Secretary of War the 
 next." 
 
 Upon arriving at the Hermitage I found a letter, 
 calling me back to Virginia.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 NEWS THAT WAS NOT GOOD. 
 
 MY cause had progressed. It had been taken 
 to a higher court,- had actually succeeded in 
 obtaining recognition. The judges did not 
 know, of course, that it had arrived, but the lawyers 
 were aware of the fact. This higher court sat in 
 Richmond, and to that city I took my way, and, upon 
 arriving, plunged into dissipation went to a theater. 
 The play was Macbeth, and although there was some 
 prejudice against it, having been written by an Eng 
 lishman, yet the ill feeling largely subsided when a 
 man came before the curtain and stated, on behalf of 
 the management, that the author, though a Britisher, 
 had died long before there arose any trouble between 
 England and America. 
 
 "He was a Monarchist," some one shouted. 
 
 It was admitted, on the part of the management, 
 that this might be true. "But," the speaker pro 
 ceeded, "in his plays he made kings kill one another, 
 and this was about as good a service as he could have 
 rendered America." 
 
 The interrupter withdrew his objections, the 
 candles were snuffed and the play proceeded. Lawyer 
 Beal, who sat beside me, wanted to talk about my af 
 fairs. But I was living in another world; a world 
 that will be real when many a hard reality of this 
 world shall have passed away, when the conqueror's 
 cannon, in the distant future, shall have been blown 
 
 225
 
 226 "By the Eternal" 
 
 away dust; when knowledge, a proper understand 
 ing among men, shall forever do away with war. 
 
 Along toward the end of the drama a man who sat 
 next to Beal became much excited. "They can't 
 whip old Macbeth," said he. "He's as mean as the 
 devil, but, like the devil, he will come out on top." 
 
 "McDuff kills him," Beal answered. 
 
 "Bet you ten dollars he don't," bristled the man. 
 ' ' He can 't he hasn 't ^ot the force. Why, Macbeth 
 is twice as strong." 
 
 "But my friend," Beal laughed, "it is written that 
 McDuff must kill him in the end." 
 
 "I don't care how it's written I'm looking at the 
 men, and I want to tell you that I know men when I 
 see them." . 
 
 When the final scene came, with McDuff bearing 
 the head of the tyrant, Beal's neighbor cried out: 
 "Jugglery, sir. That's some other fellow's head." 
 * That night, in bed, I thought of the play more than 
 of my own affairs, and I was still musing over it the 
 next morning at breakfast, when Beal came to drive 
 me about the city. The lawyer assured me that my 
 case would be rushed. The docket was about clear 
 and there was no cause for delay. Had I been wiser, 
 I could have told him that causes for delay made no 
 difference since delay without cause was a privilege 
 inherited from the first bench set up by man. 
 
 One morning I was pleased to receive a bulky letter 
 from Mahone. He addressed me as ' ' Dear Captain. ' ' 
 But his news was not pleasant. "The General is in 
 his normal condition," said he, "in bed and shot full 
 of holes. Business being dull, he had a little dif 
 ficulty with his friends, Thomas H. Benton and 
 brother. I say friends because they had been such.
 
 News That Was Not Good. 227 
 
 If it hadn't been for Benton's persistent activity, 
 the General would have had to pay for those supplies 
 in Natchez, and all of the expenses of bringing the 
 army home, but that made no difference the time 
 was in bloom for fight and it had to come. The Gen 
 eral and Colonel Coffee, and he has a keen relish for a 
 row, too, let me tell you, met the Bentons at the inn, 
 and as the affair had been properly led up to, the en 
 gagement opened with derringers, pistols of more 
 polite and smaller caliber, suitable for spring wear, 
 and with dirks intended for hot summer weather. 
 Everybody was down at one time or another, and if 
 it hadn't been for the failure of a pistol to fire now 
 and then the undertaker would have been kept busy. 
 When the smoke cleared away, it was found that 
 among the other calamities the General was badly 
 wounded, left shoulder broken among other visita 
 tions of cuts and bruises. Those Bentons can shoot 
 hard. And so the General is in bed, and Mrs. Jack 
 son is reading to him about Joshua, commanding his 
 men, if they were willing to fight, to get down and 
 lap like dogs. She wanted to read something about 
 Lazarus, but he declared that he hadn't time for that, 
 just at present. It struck me, however, that he had 
 about all the time he could use. His disability comes 
 inopportunely. The Creek Indians are more restless 
 than ever, and more than likely we shall be ordered 
 out again very soon. But what will it avail you and 
 me if the General is not able to take command'/ I 
 spoke to him about it, and he said, 'By the Eternal, 
 sir, I'll be there. Don't you fret. Let them put it 
 off for a month and I will ask no other odds.' I 
 asked him how long it usually took him to get well. 
 Before he answered, Mrs. Jackson came in to blow
 
 228 "By the Eternal" 
 
 the ram's horns about the walls of Jericho for him, 
 and so I got out, having heard those horns till I could 
 recognize them if blown at night with a pack of 
 hounds following. Now, my advice to you is this: 
 Get back here as soon as you can, for, unless all signs 
 fail, something is going to happen. ' ' 
 
 After reading this letter, I asked Beal if he thought 
 that my remaining would have any influence toward 
 hastening the proceedings of the court, and failing 
 to see the point of my shrewd joke, he answered: 
 "Why, sir, the presence of the Governor himself 
 could have no such influence." 
 
 ' ' In that event I shall return at once to Tennessee, ' ' 
 said I. ' ' And in the years to come, when gray-haired 
 and toothless, I hobble back here on crutches, you 
 may be able to tell me something definite." 
 
 He argued against my leaving; he said that while 
 my remaining could have no possible bearing on the 
 court, yet it might weigh upon the general atmos 
 phere of the cause. In the absence of any possible 
 reason, this might have been a good thing to say, since 
 more than half of what we utter in this life is mean 
 ingless, but it could not restrain me from my pur 
 pose. I know now what my nearness to the scene of 
 the decision meant to him, that he would earlier get 
 his share of the "clean up." 
 
 Again I was on the road. In every little news 
 center along the highways men discussed the desper 
 ate state of our affairs, and in a village one night I 
 was enraged to hear a public speaker declare : ' ' This 
 sand rope known as the United States has about had 
 its day. Nearly all its days have been dark, but a 
 darker one is soon to come. The great men who 
 brought about the Revolution have nearly all of them
 
 News That Was Not Good. 229 
 
 passed away, leaving us weaklings to revert to c the 
 King of England, our original owner." Such was 
 the melancholy opinion held in some parts of the 
 South and largely throughout the North. Disaster 
 after disaster would naturally weaken a people's 
 spirit, but in the North it was not disaster that 
 aroused a loud clamor against the war; it was the 
 loss of commerce. A convention at Hartford prayed 
 for peace at any price; but committees lying remote 
 from the sea did not beg for peace. About the time 
 the Hartford convention was supplicating the loud 
 est, the Tennessee Legislature was passing an act for 
 the appropriation of money to equip Andrew Jack 
 son's army. 
 
 I found the General sitting up, with that active 
 cavalryman, the boy, riding about him on his crutch 
 horse. The bullet-shattered man arose to greet me, 
 and then dropped back in his chair. I remarked, 
 with all the enthusiasm I could draw from a reservoir 
 not well supplied, that I was surprised to see him so 
 nearly recovered, and grimly smiling he answered: 
 "Captain, I shall be ready when the troops are. This 
 time, by the Eternal, this time, it is not to be a mean 
 ingless march, and the presentation of. an unearned 
 banner; this time it means blood, for I shall march 
 into the enemy's country. We no longer lack an in 
 centive. Look at the massacres by the Creeks. Get 
 into your uniform, sir." 
 
 Into my uniform! Brave words, in few accents a 
 promise of fame. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson came in to tell the General that he 
 must not sit up too long. Upon my arrival she had 
 greeted me as a mother greeting a son, with tender-
 
 230 "By the Eternal." 
 
 ness; and as I turned toward Jackson's room she had 
 cautioned me not to say anything to "stir him." 
 
 "Why, my dear," he said, "the longer I sit up the 
 stronger I feel. A man gathers most strength when 
 his determination is exerted the most. Lying down, 
 in the position of the vanquished, we cannot feel very 
 determined. ' ' 
 
 "But it is bed time, Mr. Jackson," she gently per 
 sisted. To her he was never a soldier; he was always 
 "Mr. Jackson," her loving husband. 
 
 "Mrs. Jackson, my dear," he tenderly fought, 
 for he could not plead "it should not be bedtime 
 for those who are not sleepy." But at that moment 
 he caught sight of her Bible, and he therefore knew 
 that his hour had come. I wondered as to whether 
 his sleeping potion was to be the ram's horn or the 
 sling of David, and as he bade me stay, I waited, as 
 sisting him to bed. But he asked for neither the 
 horn nor the sling. His mind was dwelling, no doubt, 
 upon some tardy official in Washington, and he there 
 fore requested the hanging of Haman. He listened 
 to the reading as a child listens to a fairy story, 
 thrilled by every detail. "Ah," he said when his 
 wife had ceased to read, "in another book scarcely 
 less immortal there is this warning : ' Heat not a fur 
 nace for a foe so hot that it do scorch yourself.' I 
 can sleep now." 
 
 A moment later he was asleep, and we tip-toed out 
 into the sitting-room. Knowing that Mrs. Hilliard's 
 Academy for Young Ladies had again called to books, 
 to an attempt to walk "like the president," I asked 
 Mrs. Jackson if Nettie came out every Saturday 
 night. 
 
 ' ' Why, ' ' she answered, ' ' they have sent her to some
 
 News That Was Not Good. 231 
 
 high-sounding school somewhere in Kentucky. I had 
 a letter from her not long ago, and she seemed to be 
 very much dissatisfied. She wanted to come back 
 here said she had never been so happy in her life as 
 she was at our house. When she came here I thought 
 she was to make this her home, until the time for her 
 marriage. Why, she is my adopted niece, but, of 
 course, 'Eiah, as Wilbur's mother, has more of a 
 claim on her. Nettie told me to say to you that she 
 never could forget you you had been so kind to her. 
 She said, too, that she would come here on a visit just 
 as soon as possible." 
 
 ' ' They will not let it be possible, ' ' I answered 
 bitterly. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson did not pretend that she misunder 
 stood me. With motherly tenderness she looked at 
 me. "It is very unfortunate, ' ' she said. ' ' I told the 
 child I could not keep from telling her that obedi 
 ence to the will of others instead of to the demands 
 of her own heart would ruin her life. I told her 
 that with my first husband a duty marriage I had 
 been worse than wretched ; and the poor child begged 
 me not to tell her any more. Of course, promises to 
 a dying mother ought to be kept sacredly, so far as 
 possible; but from the deathbed even mothers cannot 
 always look forward and see what is best for their 
 children. It is deplorable, but when the time comes 
 Nettie will sacrifice herself." 
 
 "I cannot believe it," I answered. "It is not in 
 human nature. She " 
 
 Slowly shaking her head, Mrs. Jackson shut me 
 off. "Yes, it is in human nature, my son; it always 
 has been and doubtless always will be. And, the 
 more character a woman has, the more sacrifice. Net-
 
 832 "By the Eternal." 
 
 tie believes, as most girls do, I suppose and 
 as I believe that love must surely follow marriage. 
 It is not impossible, is true very often but I think 
 I heard Mr. Jackson calling me." 
 
 She hastened from the room, and I went to my bed, 
 to dream of Mrs. Billiard 's door knocker, of a cough 
 at the head of the stairs, of willing lips coming to 
 meet mine.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 A TASTE OF FIRE. 
 
 NEXT day, I found Mahone in camp, chaffing 
 because he was not on the march. "We are 
 waiting till the Creeks show they are in 
 earnest by scalping the Governor. This ought to be 
 written down in history as the tortoise war. Rich 
 ard Captain, begging your pardon, come off here 
 with me. I have something of import to say to you. ' ' 
 
 He led me to a tree, and beneath it we sat down. 
 With his cocked hat he fanned himself, and I noticed 
 that to complete his military adornment he had not 
 yet robbed the rooster of his tail. "Captain," he be 
 gan, but I cut in upon him. "Don't Captain me. 
 Be your own self." 
 
 "Surely, Richard, and glad of the opportunity. 
 And now this leads me up to what I was going to say. 
 You know Harvey but of course you do. Well, for 
 some time his lungs haven 't been acting up to regula 
 tions, and so the doctor told him that what he needed 
 to keep off death was an outdoor life. And then 
 what does Harvey do? What indeed! He joins 
 the army as a quartermaster with the rank of major, 
 and, begorry, he wears a uniform that makes mine 
 look like a set of cast-offs. Isn 't that luck for you ? ' ' 
 
 "But what difference does it make? Why should 
 you care how fine is his uniform?" 
 
 "Why should I care? Begorry, he'll keep on till 
 he wins that woman's love. And do you know what 
 
 233
 
 234 "By the Eternal." 
 
 I 'm going to do ? I 'm going to consult the authorities 
 as to what is the regulation uniform for a quarter 
 master, and if he has overdressed the part, I am 
 going to make him come out of it. Mind you, it is 
 not patriotism on his account ; it is only a make-shift 
 to preserve his bellowses. But it gives Arabella a 
 grand opportunity to stand in the store as the chief 
 head and supreme reference of the establishment, 
 and nothing could please her more than that, for, 
 Richard, when a woman has once been a widow, no 
 matter whatever else she may be, she is business. I 
 went around to the store to buy something so it 
 would seem and there she was issuing orders like 
 the commander of a division. She appeared to be 
 glad to see me, and thus appealed to, I said 'Madam, 
 I will be frank with you. I have no right to be here. ' 
 But did she blush? She did not. She simply an 
 swered, with a long bit of ribbon in her mouth, 'Oh, 
 this is a public place and any one has the right to 
 come in, under the constitution of the country,' she 
 says, and then I answered, 'Oh, and if that is the 
 case, Madam, I bid you good day. ' And I did ; for I 
 wish to say right now that no woman can throw the 
 constitution at me with impunity." 
 
 I could never tell by Mahone's manner, by the 
 tone of his voice, whether he were in earnest or play 
 ing me on his humorous line, like a bass; I never 
 knew when he was in real distress but not even his 
 sorrows could be dark, for upon them a whimsical 
 light was sure to fall. 
 
 "Have you seen Atcherson?" he inquired, and in 
 stantly he added: "If you haven't you will very 
 soon. Is he a full-fledged preacher now? He is. 
 And is he more than that ? By that same token he is
 
 A Taste of Fire. 233 
 
 yes, a chaplain in the army, and the first thing you 
 know he'll be around to pray with you. He came 
 around to see me said he was glad I was in the army, 
 and begging his pardon in advance, I says, 'And 
 where the devil did you expect to find me?' 
 
 " 'Not at church,' says he, scoring one. Richard, 
 I suppose you have seen the order for the grand rally 
 of the troops, at Fayetteville, six days from now. It 
 is more than eighty miles away, and how the General 
 is to ride horseback that far when it is as much as he 
 can do to sit in a rocking-chair, is beyond me." 
 
 "When the time comes, you will find him at the 
 head of the troops," said I. 
 
 "That may be," he admitted, "but it will take 
 some pretty strong doses poured out of the ram's 
 horn, I arise the same to remark. In the meantime 
 let us hope, and pray in case Atchersoii gives us the 
 opportunity. ' ' 
 
 That night I called at Arabella's house, and there 
 she was, handsomer than ever, I thought. Major 
 Harvey, her husband, thinking that there was plenty 
 of time for the fresh air cure, continued to remain at 
 the house. Out of his bright uniform there came a 
 slight cough; and I looked at Arabella, but she did 
 not appear to have noticed it. The major said that 
 he longed to be on the march. There was nothing 
 particularly the matter with him, he declared. As to 
 his lungs they were perfectly sound; he had been 
 confined too closely, that was all. I did not see any 
 thing in his condition to excite alarm, nor did his 
 wife, for though very gentle with him, she joked 
 him on his bearing as a soldier. Pretty soon he began 
 to fret over his business, and then, becoming serious,
 
 236 "By the Eternal." 
 
 Arabella assured him that his affairs had never been 
 more prosperous, and that under her management 
 they would continue to improve. After a time he 
 went up to his room, and I heard him coughing after 
 he had gone to bed. 
 
 "The doctor assures me that all he needs is a few 
 months of open air life," said Arabella. "We we 
 have been getting along better of late," she added, 
 recalling, of course, what she had said to me in the 
 garden at the Hermitage. "Oh, we never did quar 
 rel, you understand, but he seems to know me better 
 than he did. I had a letter from the elf. You may 
 draw your own conclusions as to why she wrote to me. 
 We were not so well acquainted, you know." She 
 looked at me with her old-time smile. Then she 
 spoke of the General, of Mrs. Jackson, of Atcherson 
 of every one but Mahone, nor did I mention his 
 name. When I returned to the camp the Captain 
 asked me, knowing in what direction my visit lay, if 
 she had inquired concerning him, and when I an 
 swered that she had not, he remarked: 
 
 "His failing health and that uniform have won 
 her, two most potent factors, Richard. A woman is 
 nearly always congenial with the man she nurses 
 for then she's got him helpless in her hands. Well, 
 out in the field, I'll do all I can for him to cheer him 
 up. I'll tell him that after he's gone I'll not try to 
 marry her." 
 
 "No, Dan, you must never do that," said I, know 
 ing that it was like him to "console" Harvey in that 
 way. 
 
 "And why not? Am I not that generous? I will 
 show you." 
 
 At this moment, the flap of the tent was put aside,
 
 A Taste of Fire. 237 
 
 and Captain Atcherson entered. Some preachers so 
 subdue themselves that you can never tell whether 
 they are really glad to see you or whether their 
 smiles and tempered handshakes are given to all men 
 in common. But Atcherson appeared pleased to see 
 me again. Nor was it long before he inquired as to 
 the condition of my Virginia estate. General Jack 
 son had spoken of the amount involved, and with 
 that sum of money a great deal of good could be ac 
 complished toward the betterment of man's condition 
 in the Western country. There were many com 
 munities where churches were needed. 
 
 "And schoolhouses, too, remember, as you go 
 along," said Mahone. 
 
 Atcherson sighed "and admitted that no doubt at 
 least a few more schoolhouses ought to be built. Then 
 he asked me as to the condition of my soul, whether 
 or not I was ready 
 
 "To meet the Creeks?" Mahone blurted. "Be- 
 gorry, yes, and we are only waiting for the word to 
 march. And now, Brother Atcherson, don't worry 
 over our souls. Or, if you do, worry over the army 
 in a lump and let the individuals alone. We know 
 you are sincere, now, so don't fret about that; and 
 we know, also, being men of emancipated understand 
 ing, that no man can save the soul of another man 
 and, wait a moment, we know, too, that if one man 
 tries to save souls to make his own shine brighter 
 why, it is a sort of soul fame, a selfishness. Forgive 
 these few remarks, and join us in a bite to eat. ' ' 
 
 My duty was not at the camp, but at the General's 
 headquarters his bedside; and as the slow days 
 dragged along, it seemed that for some time to come 
 the sick room would continue to comprise the scope
 
 238 "By the Eternal." 
 
 of his military activity. The regiment to which Ma- 
 hone belonged was ordered to "mobilize" with the 
 army at Fayetteville, and a few days later the Gen 
 eral and his staff set out. 
 
 Up to the very hour of his departure, I did not see 
 how it was possible for him to go, except in an am 
 bulance; but he arose and dressed himself when his 
 horse had been led around to the steps of the veranda. 
 It was only with the utmost difficulty that he could 
 walk out of the bedroom; but when we had helped 
 him on his horse he seemed suddenly to gain strength. 
 Still he looked a sorry conqueror, with his left arm 
 in a sling and a bandage about his head. He rode, 
 though, like a warrior, erect and grim; but with all 
 his determination he could not reach Fayetteville at 
 the appointed time, so he wrote an address to the 
 troops and sent it forward by Major John Reid and 
 myself to be read to them. Like the Romans, Old 
 Hickory believed in haranguing his men, and not in 
 frequently, he seemed to forecast the possibilities of 
 success by the force which had shown in his "docu 
 ment," as the soldiers termed his military effusions. 
 
 Major Reid "addressed" the troops, and there was 
 much cheering. Reports had already been received, 
 announcing that a large body of Creek warriors and 
 renegade whites were- marching upon us, and this put 
 the men in high spirits. Coffee, now a General, com 
 manding the cavalry, had already captured and de 
 stroyed an Indian village, killing in the operation, a 
 number of warriors; and Mahone, still morbidly im 
 patient said to me: "Ah, the luck of that man. 
 Didn't lose but a few men, and each of them that was 
 killed stood a chance of killing an Indian! I was 
 talking to Quartermaster Harvey to-day, and he gave
 
 A Taste of Fire. 239 
 
 me the unwelcome assurance that there is going to 
 be trouble about supplies. And it would be just my 
 luck to starve to death. Poor Harvey, he'll never be 
 able to starve. His cough's getting worse all the 
 time. But I haven't said anything to him about my 
 generous resolve. He thinks he's getting better. May 
 the Lord help him and at the same time give him 
 the needed assistance toward getting supplies for 
 the army." 
 
 There was great cheering when the General ar 
 rived, for additional information had come assur 
 ing us that the Creeks in full force were marching 
 rapidly to give us battle. The old Indian fighters 
 smiled. Their Indian was not the red man of romance, 
 but of the real woods, the sneak and the slaughterer. 
 They know, however, that of all the Indians of the 
 South, the Creeks were the most to be dreaded, being 
 the shrewdest to find advantage and the most merci 
 less afterward. The "alarming news" pleased the 
 General. "Ah," he said, "the enemy having heard of 
 my physical condition has most kindly consented to 
 assist me in cutting short the distance between us." 
 
 But a forced march of many miles failed to bring us 
 within sight of the enemy. The accounts of his dis 
 position to accommodate the General had been over 
 drawn. So we crossed the Tennessee River, went into 
 camp and waited for supplies. No matter what we 
 might be doing, the next thing was to wait for some 
 thing to eat. 
 
 There was now, however, no doubt of the fact that 
 all the Indians of the Southern border, having listened 
 to the appeal of Tecumseh, were the allies of Great 
 Britain. The old Indian fighters knew that there 
 would soon be work enough for us to do ; nor was the
 
 240 "By the Eternal" 
 
 first task of that work long deferred. But I have not 
 essayed to write the annals of this or any other cam 
 paign. The Creek war, historical by many pens, is on 
 many a shelf; and the Tennessee Historical Society 
 possesses a thousand letters written from its battle 
 fields. My only object is to give a bit of character 
 here and there, to recall to myself those blusterous 
 days; to dream in quiet over them. 
 
 Our first taste of fire was the battle of Talladega. 
 We had been waiting for reinforcements, and for sup 
 plies, of course. Neither had come. We did not care 
 so much for reinforcements as for refreshments. The 
 General resolved to strike while yet he had some' 
 little strength. Shrewd white men among the Indians 
 knew the weakness of his meager army; they were 
 counseling an attack upon him, in his camp, and could 
 not imagine the desperation of his attack upon a su 
 perior and well-fed force. And when he did hurl 
 himself upon them, there was no other conclusion than 
 that he had suddenly received large reinforcements. 
 But the Creeks made a brave stand. 
 
 It was not a great battle, it is true, but to me it was 
 a thrilling sight. I saw Mahone, with his sword, cut 
 down Black Paw, a chief. I saw Atcherson among the 
 men, exhorting them saw him seize a dead man's 
 musket and turn it upon the enemy. I was near him 
 I spoke to him and he blushed as if I had detected 
 him in some worldly sport. 
 
 One body of our men, mistaking an order, began to 
 fallback. In a moment the General's ire was up. He 
 had his own way of issuing an order or of speaking 
 a command. "Head those damned sheep!" he yelled 
 to me. They were easily "headed." They turned 
 back and did good work. Soon the battle became a
 
 A Taste of Fire. 241 
 
 chase and then a hunt in the hills. "Improvident 
 devils," said the General, "why couldn't they have 
 been better provisioned? Why, they have devoured 
 their corn down to the last peck. ' ' 
 
 Harvey was active in his search for supplies, so 
 much so, it afterward developed, that he forged be 
 yond the line of discretion. Three warriors, springing 
 from ambush, seized him. His gorgeous uniform spoke 
 great words to them. England would pay big for his 
 scalp. He must be Jackson himself. Tecumseh had 
 told them that the King of Britain wanted scalps 
 rather than prisoners. Here was one of greatest value. 
 The king-chief would wear it in. his belt at council. 
 There was no time to waste. They would kill the pris 
 oner and then dispute as to who should bear off the 
 trophy, his scalp. At this moment Mahone came clam 
 bering over the rocks. In a second he saw it all. He 
 rushed upon them. AYith his pistols he shot two of the 
 Indians. The other one, with tomahawk, turning sul 
 lenly upon him, threw his weapon. The Irishman 
 dodged it, and, as the Indian was scrambling to scale 
 a rock, sabered him. Harvey was almost dead, they 
 had so roughly handled him. Atcherson, who had been 
 striving to lend his aid, and who now came up, re 
 ported to me what had passed. 
 
 "Major Harvey, I hope I find your health improv 
 ing, sir," said Mahone. 
 
 ' ' Captain Mahone, you have most desperately risked 
 your life to save mine." 
 
 ' ' Major Harvey, have you found any cold roast beef 
 among the remains of the enemy? I wouldn't mind 
 eating a snack." 
 
 "Captain, I don't know how to thank you." 
 
 ' ' Say grace over some potatoes, ' ' said the Irishman.
 
 242 "By the Eternal.'' 
 
 We had slaughtered the enemy, but our own loss 
 had been light. Great, though, was our disappoint 
 ment in not obtaining provisions. After the battle 
 the General issued an address. 
 
 "Echo of the ram's horn," said Mahone to me, as a 
 staff officer began to read the address. And then he 
 began to wince under the mention of his own name for 
 conspicuous bravery. He was recommended for pro 
 motion, and that night, when the General had sent for 
 him he entered the tent like an embarrassed boy. 
 
 "Captain Mahone," said the General, "your com 
 mission as Colonel will soon be on the road to meet 
 you." 
 
 "Begorry, I thank you, sir. And it is fine weather 
 we are having." 
 
 "Your rescue of Major Harvey, to say nothing of 
 your other acts of gallantry, was most brilliant, sir. ' ' 
 
 "The major and I are old friends, sir we used to 
 board at a place where we had more to eat than we 
 have now, not only when there was company, but on 
 wash days as well. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Captain, I hear of mutinous mutterings among the 
 men particularly among those whose term of enlist 
 ment has about expired. What have you to report ? ' ' 
 
 "This, sir, that the first one of my men that turns 
 his back on you will find a sword in front, cutting at 
 his throat." 
 
 ' ' I mean, have you heard any complaints or the ex 
 pression of any determination to march off in a body ? 
 Mind you, there is no fear of individual desertion. ' ' 
 
 "If there has been such talk among the men, Gen 
 eral, it has been kept from me. I remember now hear 
 ing a sergeant say that no man ought to be expected 
 to stay after the expiration of his three months ' term.
 
 A Taste of Fire. 243 
 
 of enlistment. I did not pretend to cope with this 
 man in logic he having made a specialty of that 
 branch of learning. I always try to avoid an argument 
 with a man in his own particular field. I remember 
 a professor of chemistry who 
 
 ' ' But what did you say to the sergeant, sir ? " 
 
 "Oh, the sergeant. Why, I made some casual re 
 mark, sir, to the effect that if he continued to spread 
 such talk as that I 'd have him shot. He saw that I did 
 not care for a polemical discussion, and he took it in 
 good part said, as inoffensively as he could, that he'd 
 go home as soon as he got ready ; and not to be outdone 
 in good humor, I assured him that the home to which 
 he referred might be the one that man stayed away 
 from as long as possible. And with that we parted 
 never to meet again on this earth, for shortly after 
 ward he was drowned in the Tennessee River, sir, and 
 I am now reporting his death to you. ' ' 
 
 Mutterings among the troops arose in loud threats. 
 Hunger was their complaint. They had come out to 
 fight and not to starve. The officers assured them that 
 if they remained, the General would furnish them with 
 fighting enough. 
 
 For the man who was destined to become the hero 
 of the Nation these were desperate days. To the Gov 
 ernor of Tennessee he wrote most piteous letters, beg 
 ging for provisions. I can see him now as he stood on 
 a mountain top, gazing toward the land whence might 
 come a wagon train ; but the days slowly limped away 
 and no provisions came. But one day there arrived a 
 letter from Governor Blount. He was a good corre 
 spondent. He knew that letter writing was an art, 
 and he had cultivated it. He was a man of varied 
 accomplishments, but the knack of raising immediate
 
 244 "By the Eternal." 
 
 supplies was not one of them. In this letter he said 
 that he was sorry. He knew what it meant when a 
 number of men were hungry. He knew what he would 
 do; if food were not sent to him he would repair to 
 some place where it might be had. Then he advised 
 the General to disband the army, for unless the volun 
 teers were accepted as soldiers in the pay of the gen 
 eral government, the expense would soon ruin the 
 State of Tennessee. Disband his troops ! The General 
 refused to take this advice. He would have refused 
 a peremptory order. He wrote again, one of the most 
 pathetic appeals ever sent from one man to another. 
 In the meantime trouble broke out. The militiamen 
 swore that they would march home in a body. Their 
 time had expired, and besides, the weather was not 
 pleasant. The General appealed to the sentiment of 
 the volunteers. 
 
 In an address delivered by himself and in a manner 
 that would have made the fortune of an actor, he ap 
 pealed to their sentiment. He reminded them that 
 when the Secretary of War, of the nation itself, had 
 ordered him to disband them at Natchez he had, at 
 the risk of his own eternal ruin, refused to obey the 
 command, and had led them home. Would they desert 
 him now ? The volunteers swore that they would not. 
 They cheered the address. So, on the following day 
 when the militia formed in marching order they found 
 the volunteers drawn up to oppose them. And there 
 was the General with his address. He called them 
 brave men, and they were ; he said he knew they were 
 hungry, but, by the Eternal, he would shoot down 
 the first and the last man who attempted to cross the 
 dead line, a mark not visible but well understood. Yes, 
 the militia were brave enough, but they did not de-
 
 A Taste of Fire. 215 
 
 sire to die in such a cause, so' they returned to their 
 duty. This was most encouraging. But two nights 
 later, Mahone came to the General's tent with the dis 
 tressful news that the volunteers had decided to march 
 home on the following day. The commander roared 
 that the last one of them should be shot down. Ma- 
 hone admitted that this would be just. "But, Gen 
 eral," said he, "who is going to shoot them?" 
 
 "The militia, sir," the General thundered. 
 
 Then he rushed forth to address the militia. He 
 told them that the volunteers had kept them from 
 going home Now it was their turn to compel the 
 volunteers to remain. The militia cheered. And on 
 the following day when the volunteers formed to 
 march off, there in front of them arose the militia 
 with their guns cocked. Thus order was again re 
 stored. But only for a brief time. The men were 
 almost starving, and hunger is a restless rebel. 
 
 One morning there came another letter from Gov 
 ernor Blount. It was courteous and graceful, but it 
 was something more. It contained information. The 
 general government had accepted Tennessee's offices, 
 and in due time would pay the expenses of the cam 
 paign. Therefore he had ordered supplies to be for 
 warded with all possible expedition. When this news 
 was communicated to the men they cheered, but 
 rather faintly. Nearly every man and many of the 
 officers had resolved to return home at once. Their 
 time had expired. They were not strong enough nu 
 merically to march into the enemy 's country, and 
 soon they would be unable to defend their own posi 
 tion. This could not be denied. One man swore that 
 he would lead the way. 
 
 "Then you will lead the way to hell," Old Hick-
 
 246 "By the Eternal." 
 
 ory exclaimed. He seized a musket and resting it on 
 a horse, leveled it at him. The rebel, being a quick 
 thinker, thought better of it and sat down. 
 
 "Now," said the General, "I have a proposition to 
 make. Wait two days longer and if supplies do not 
 arrive, I will lead you home." 
 
 Then there was cheering. 
 
 Before sunrise on the following day the General 
 was on the hill-top, gazing across the country. The 
 sun set, and the supplies had not arrived. That was 
 an anxious night for Old Hickory, tough as he was. 
 Up and down he walked, in front of his tent. The 
 moon was shining. Mahone and I sat on a rock not 
 far off. From a tent near by there came an occa 
 sional cough. 
 
 ' ' Who is in that tent ? ' ' Mahone inquired, inclining 
 his head. 
 
 "Harvey," I answered. 
 
 "Ah. He ought to be at home. Why doesn't he 
 go?" 
 
 "I heard the General tell him that he must go to 
 morrow. ' ' 
 
 "Begorry, there'll be a lot of them that will go, 
 then, too. Richard, I hate a monarchy, and yet in 
 time of war republics are failures till they are al 
 most whipped. They won't fight don't know how 
 to get at it until they have both cheeks smacked. 
 Look at that restless, almost deserted old hero out 
 there, walking up and down, a lion with a rusty chain 
 about him." 
 
 "Dan, I was thinking what a change your char 
 acter has undergone since I first met you, a profes 
 sor." 
 
 "My character has not changed, Richard. You
 
 A Taste of Fire. 247 
 
 were simply unable to read it rightly. As a teacher, 
 I was always struggling to hold myself down; and 
 you must know that an Irishman under restraint is a 
 cripple. Hah, hear that poor fellow cough! The 
 Lord knows that I would do anything for him that 
 lies within my power." 
 
 "And he knows it, too, Dan." 
 
 "Yes, I believe he does. The other night he came 
 over to my tent, took my hand and wept like a child. 
 And he said things to me that I can't repeat even to 
 myself. He spoke of the great wrong he had done me. 
 Then I began to bat my own eyes, I tell you, but I 
 couldn't see where he had done me a wrong. To be 
 sure, he had married the woman I loved, and I told 
 him that was his right, that I would have done the 
 same thing myself. But he insisted that he hadn't 
 done so altogether in a fair way; intimated that he 
 told her that with me she would have a very hard 
 time of it, over the wash-tub probably, when I had 
 squandered her little home, but that he would put 
 silks on her, and says I to him, with the candle light 
 blurring, 'begorry, you have done that same.' Then 
 he told me that whomever she may have loved, she 
 didn't love him. He had put laces on her shoulders, 
 but he couldn't tie a ribbon about her heart. Men 
 can get very close to one another in a tent, in the 
 light of a candle, Richard. They can and no mis 
 take ; and he said things to me that I shall not repeat 
 but not the one thing that I longed to hear, that she 
 had confessed to him that she ever loved me. Sure 
 ly she did not; and when he has passed away I shall 
 not renew my suit, for she will be a rich woman then, 
 and the judges and the great men will be reaching 
 after her."
 
 248 "By the Eternal" 
 
 In the pocket of my coat was buttoned up the letter 
 that Lismukes had written to Arabella. But the time 
 had not come, and it remained buttoned up. I heard 
 the dying man cough.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 HAD BECOME SOLDIERS. 
 
 THE General walked late, but he was on the hill 
 top at sunrise. The hours melted slowly away. 
 Noon, and no provision train within sight. The 
 men had their fires built, their pots and pans ready; 
 and then began to make ready with something else 
 their knapsacks. When the sun had set, the General 
 issued orders for the march to begin early on the fol 
 lowing day. There was some growling but no threat 
 of mutiny. That night there was hunger in the camp, 
 but the men were cheerful, and sitting about the fires 
 they sang home songs. Hearing continuous roars 
 of laughter from a group gathered about a burning 
 stump, I joined the circle, and not long was it before 
 I discovered the cause of the merriment. A tall, 
 graceful backwoodsman, the picture of strength and 
 agility, humorous with every expression of counte 
 nance, entertaining every moment, was telling stories, 
 the quaintest I had ever heard. Of some one near 
 me I inquired the name of this unique entertainer, 
 this great character, for such I instantly knew him 
 to be. 
 
 "Davy Crockett, the scout," I was informed, and 
 though at that time I had not heard of him, yet I re 
 quested an introduction, and felt, as I took his hand, 
 that I was gripped by a man destined to grasp the 
 great affairs of this life. I shall not attempt to re- 
 
 249
 
 250 "By the Eternal." 
 
 produce his dialect. Indeed, it was not a dialect so 
 much as an accent, soft and musical. 
 
 "Yes, boys," he said, "I'll go home if the rest of 
 you do, though it don't make much difference to me 
 where I am at home anywhere I find a bear track, 
 and keeping house if I find the bear himself. Not 
 long ago my boy wanted a cub bear for a pet, and I 
 told him he'd better take up with something that 
 wouldn 't keep him quite so busy that wouldn 't make 
 him sweat so much during the hot weather but he 
 was hungry for bear, and when a fellow feels that 
 way, why, nothing else will satisfy him. So, I prom 
 ised him a cub bear, and I always try to keep my 
 promises, even to my wife and children except when 
 I 'm in politics. On my hunfe I kept a sharp lookout 
 for a bear 's nest, and one day I found one, in the hol 
 low of a big red oak. I looked in, delicate like, for 
 I wasn't acquainted there, and discovered that old 
 Miz Bear wan't at home. This suited my purpose 
 just as well, fer I don't like to kill a bear that's en 
 gaged in keeping house. There was only one cub, a 
 mighty likely little fellow; and so I climbed up and 
 got down into the house, woke him up and told him I 
 had come for him. He didn 't appear to mind it much 
 sorter boxed at me with his paw and wanted to go 
 to sleep again, but I told him I reckoned not. So I 
 gathered him and climbed up, and just as I stuck 
 my head out of the hole, I saw old Miz Bear on the 
 ground, looking up at me. I had left my gun out 
 side, and while I am right sociable with a knife, I 
 don't like to use it, especially when a bear has taken 
 it into her head that her duty to her family demands 
 that she shall squeeze me to death before I can use it. 
 It was she bears, you may have heard your mothers
 
 Had Become Soldiers. 251 
 
 and wives read about, that the old prophet 'Ligy or 
 'Lisha I always get 'em mixed called on to help 
 him with the children that made fun of his bald 
 head. He knew what sort of bears he was calling on, 
 ior he was a wise man and was possessed of a good 
 deal of experience. Well, I looked at old Miz Bear 
 and she looked at me, but neither on my part nor on 
 hern was there a sign of recognition. It was clear to 
 be seen that we had never met before. I said to her, 
 'Madam, if you'll give me the opportunity I'll bid 
 you good day.' But she just kept on looking at me. 
 About this time something hit the ground on the in 
 side of the hollow. It was a cub bear, and I didn't 
 think he was intended for my son, either. About the 
 time he hit the ground he bawled ; and then I wanted 
 to see my home worse than some of you men do this 
 minute. Here she came. There wasn't any way for 
 me to compromise matters. I couldn't use my knife 
 hanging there, so I dropped back into the hollow, 
 fell against the side and busted a hole through the 
 rotten shell. Just happen to hit it in the right place. 
 But I reached back, grabbed up the cub and away I 
 went wanted to keep my word with my boy, you 
 know ; but pretty soon I says to myself, ' Now, mebbe, 
 old Miz Bear is more attached to this cub than my 
 son is. And as betwixt me and the cub there ain't no 
 kin at all. ' And I dropped him. ' ' 
 
 Just at this moment an orderly came up and in 
 formed Crockett that General Jackson desired to see 
 him. Shortly afterward I entered Old Hickory's 
 tent. 
 
 "But, General, you have given them your word," 
 Crockett was saying. "You must not break it. The 
 men all love you, but the powers at home ain't treat-
 
 252 "By the Eternal." 
 
 ing them right. There's too much self-interest and 
 politics behind us. Somehow, we didn't get our best 
 foot down first, and if we ain't barkin' up the wrong 
 tree, we're barkin' mighty weak." 
 
 "There is weight, sir, in what you say. You are a 
 sort of independent here, but Captain Crockett, will 
 you remain at all hazards?" 
 
 ' ' General, I am a whig and this is a sort of a demo 
 crat war, but show me an Indian that ought to be 
 dead and I'll stay till he's shot. But my neighbors 
 are determined to go home. They have more than 
 served their time out; they are tired of this thing 
 and want to do something else. You can't accuse 
 them of cowardice." 
 
 "Nothing is farther from my thoughts, sir. But I 
 tell you we must stand our ground. Not only that, 
 we must advance. Our southern coast is practically 
 defenseless what little of it we can really call ours 
 and the first thing the government knows the British 
 and Indians will be swarming across the state line of 
 Tennessee herself, sir." 
 
 ' ' The first thing the government knows ! Why, of 
 course. The most impossible may happen before the 
 government knows anything. Is that all you wanted 
 with me, General?" 
 
 " All ! By the Eternal, isn 't that enough ? ' ' 
 
 "Well, yes, I reckon it is nearly. But these men 
 feel that they have done their duty. And it now re 
 mains for duty to be done in another quarter. There 
 ain't nothing fairer than turn about. Good night." 
 
 I expected to hear the General denounce Crockett 
 but he did not. "There is a man that will do great 
 things," said he, "but his time is not yet ripe. Well, 
 Captain Staggs, to-morrow morning we begin our
 
 Had Become Soldiers. 253 
 
 ignominious march; and it was for that that I tore 
 myself in agony out of my bed. Yes, I will keep my 
 word with them. Orderly ! ' ' 
 
 A soldier stepped forward and touched his hat. 
 "Has everything been done to render the transporta 
 tion of Major Harvey as comfortable as possible?" 
 
 ' ' Yes, General everything. ' ' 
 
 "Very well. Captain Staggs, will you look after 
 him on the way?" 
 
 "Yes, General, that is, if I go." 
 
 "What do you mean, sir?" 
 
 "I mean that something might possibly turn up 
 reinforcements; and in that event I shall ask permis 
 sion to remain here." 
 
 "Ah, and do you still hope? Give me your hand, 
 sir. Come in Colonel Mahone." 
 
 "A sweet sound that would have for me Colonel 
 in the presence of the enemy ; but I fear now that it 
 is empty. I just met Atcherson, and I told him to 
 pray for us while he had nothing else to do. He 
 had preached obedience to the men until they left him 
 standing alone." 
 
 The General made no answer. He strode out into 
 the dark, and we heard him walking up and down, 
 and we knew that his mighty spirit was still battling. 
 "1 wonder," said Mahone, "how many military 
 geniuses have been snuffed out in that manner. Crom 
 well could have died a brewer's horse; Washington 
 as a surveyor could in obscurity have dragged his 
 chain through the woods; Bonaparte could have re 
 mained an unheard-of leftenant of artillery, and the 
 great Frederic himself could have rested under no 
 other reputation than that his father snatched a flute 
 out of his hand and broke it over his head. Think
 
 254 "By the Eternal." 
 
 of how many generals have died in the cradle, and, 
 for the matter of that, how many that never lived 
 at all. Doubtless just as great men failed to be born 
 as were born. Mind that now." 
 
 I told him that he could not long be serious. ' ' Se 
 rious is it?" he replied. "I am the very soul of se 
 riousness itself. But at the same time I am a specula 
 tor; and, to casual observation, speculation never ap 
 pears serious. Well, the morning will tell a sad story, 
 I am afraid; am afraid, it will snuff out more than 
 one military genius not meaning mine, of course, 
 but leaving Fate to draw her own inferences." 
 
 When the drums beat the next morning, the men 
 more than exhibited their willingness to march. To 
 those of us who desired to remain, it seemed a shame 
 ful enthusiasm. The General was yellow with sup 
 pressed rage. He did not issue an address. He was 
 silent. There was no breakfast to be prepared, no 
 kettles to be washed, but rusting from lack of use 
 they were thrown upon the wagons. At the first step 
 forward some home-sick youth lifted his weak voice 
 in song. The General heard him. "Stop that!" he 
 demanded. "Sing your puny lays when you have 
 reached your effeminate fireside." 
 
 Ah, but we had not marched more than two hours 
 when a thrilling sight burst into view a drove of 
 cattle coming over the hills to meet us. Steers were 
 never more welcomed. Cheering, the men rushed for 
 ward to meet them. Then there followed a wolfish 
 feast. How narrow the channel that separates civil 
 ized man from the savage ! And that channel is not 
 literature; it is the belly, upon which Frederick the 
 Great said, an army moved like a snake. 
 
 When the gluttons had gorged themselves, the Gen
 
 Had Become Soldiers. 255 
 
 era! issued an address. He declared that as they now 
 had provisions they must return to their duty. But 
 the leaders among them swore that their duties were 
 at home. Their time of service had expired. They 
 were beyond command, and so the General called for 
 volunteers. He swore to them' that the State had 
 called for a new army, which was true, and that they 
 would soon be honorably relieved; but a large ma 
 jority of them, declaring that as they were now 
 private citizens, they were going home and they did. 
 
 With a few hundred men Jackson returned to his 
 former position. Out of a company of ninety-six, 
 Mahone reclaimed thirty-four, a good showing the 
 commander assured him, and he answered as we 
 marched along: "Pitiful blackguards, and I shall 
 hold the rest of them personally responsible. And it 
 is a good thing that I hadn't completed the organ 
 ization of my regiment in furtherance of my com 
 mission as Colonel. I would have had my hands full 
 of personal responsibility, for Richard," he said to 
 me, "some day I expect to thrash each one of those 
 fellows individually." 
 
 The new army was soon formed, too weak for an 
 invasion of the enemy 's country, it was true, but with 
 old Jackson that made no particular difference. Fort 
 Strother was established as a basis of scant supplies. 
 No regular army officer would have counseled the in 
 vasion. The Creeks were savages, but they were more 
 accustomed to war, better disciplined, indeed, than 
 the militiamen from the plow and the cross-roads 
 store. The few hundred of our men who had been 
 under fire were regarded as seasoned veterans; but 
 the majority of the fifteen hundred, or fewer, of the 
 new levy were ignorant of the word of command.
 
 256 "By the Eternal" 
 
 They had joined the army for a three months' lark, 
 and had engaged to serve no longer. This was agreed 
 upon and at the expiration of the term they were free 
 to go home. Thus it was that our army was constant 
 ly forming and as constantly disintegrating. Jackson 
 was determined that the "three months men" should 
 see service, that they should eat powder and breathe 
 smoke. The first battle was not long in coming. The 
 Creeks were more than willing to meet us. Some 
 of the friendly Indians had gone to them, laughing 
 derisively at our appearance. One morning we were 
 attacked by a vastly superior force. Almost instantly 
 the rawest of our militia were thrown into confusion. 
 They not only began a retreat but ran over one an 
 other, but Jackson met them with his sword flashing 
 in the sun. He presented an aspect more terrible 
 than a Creek ; he was Vengeance on horseback. ' ' You 
 scoundrel!" he cried, halting a big plowboy at the 
 point of his sword, ''why are you running away?" 
 
 "Me! Am I running? I'll be danged if I knowed 
 it. Just show me which way you want me to go, and 
 I '11 travel in that direction. Come on back, boys, and 
 let's look into this thing a leetle." 
 
 The flying men rallied and redeemed themselves. 
 "Fightin' is all well enough," I heard one of them 
 say, "but it seems to me that this thing needn't to 
 have been so blamed sudden." 
 
 The Creeks had never fought with greater energy, 
 and with what was worse, more tact. Here and there 
 the effect of British training plainly could be dis 
 cerned, but nothing could stand against the determi 
 nation with which Jackson inspired his men ; and, as 
 I flew about the field, delivering his orders here and 
 there, it seemed to me as it must have seemed to many
 
 Had Become Soldiers. 257 
 
 others, that a word of commendation from him was 
 worth the risk of a life. 
 
 The Indians were defeated but not in a manner to 
 please Old Hickory. To see them run away meant 
 nothing to him so long as he thought that they might 
 rally again; he demanded that they should lie bleed 
 ing on the ground. On this occasion, one of the of 
 ficers sought to congratulate him. I had learned bet 
 ter. ''Please, keep your fair words until I deserve 
 them," said he. 
 
 Soon afterward there came a hotter fight, and an 
 other wing of "three months men" turned about to 
 fly. But Jackson was among them with his sword, and, 
 what was more terrible, with his oaths. It seemed 
 that when he swore the grass began to turn yellow 
 and the leaves to wither on the trees. The troops ' ' re 
 covered their shame," or at least, the commander 
 compelled them to recover it by plunging for it 
 among the savages. Again the Creeks were defeated 
 and with considerable loss; but Jackson was sullen, 
 complimenting a few, but looking upon the majority 
 of those raw fellows with contempt. Better prepara 
 tion, and above all better discipline was necessary; 
 and so, being in need of supplies, of course, the army 
 was led back to Fort Strother. 
 
 At last Old Hickory had begun to attract notice 
 in the North. Newspapers opposed to the administra 
 tion had made little of American victories, magnify 
 ing American disaster, until the average reader be 
 lieved that the country was ruined. But Jackson's 
 fighting qualities offered some few rays of hopeful 
 light; and the general government "observed" him, 
 not merely with a compliment, which to him would 
 have meant nothing, but by sending to his aid a de-
 
 258 "By the Eternal." 
 
 tachment of six hundred regular troops. There was 
 great rejoicing in camp when these men arrived. 
 Among them was a young ensign whose appearance 
 caused me to seek his acquaintance, Sam Houston, he 
 who was to stand so high in heroic annals. Jackson 
 had known him, a youthful lawyer, in Tennessee 
 knew his metal, and upon meeting him, said : ' ' Sam, 
 some men look for a chance to run away. See, sir, 
 that you don 't seek for an opportunity to get killed. ' ' 
 
 "I shall do my duty, General," the young officer 
 answered; "and if it lies in that direction, so be it." 
 
 The General turned to Mahone. "Colonel," said 
 he, "I desire you to understand, sir, that impetuosity 
 is not primarily a soldier-like quality. Don't let your 
 enthusiasm make a horse of your judgment, to ride it 
 into a bog." 
 
 "Begorry, and that's sweet flattery," Mahone an 
 swered. 
 
 ' ' I mean it as a reprimand, ' ' the General replied. 
 
 "And, sir," the Irishman retorted, "with no dis 
 position to dispute your authority, let me say you 
 might take a fair dose of that same medicine your 
 self, leaving a sip in the glass for our friend Richard, 
 here." 
 
 The General smiled grimly. 
 
 Among troops of such individuality, it was almost 
 impossible to enforce discipline. The commander 
 repeatedly issued orders, warning the men that some 
 one might be called upon fo suffer, but, despite all 
 this, there were now and then ugly evidences of mu 
 tiny. One day a young soldier, John Woods, whose 
 name is still remembered when the deeds of heroes 
 have been forgotten, walked off from his post as 
 sentinel in camp and proceeded to eat his breakfast
 
 Had Become Soldiers. 259 
 
 in his tent. An officer came along and seeing a num 
 ber of beef bones scattered about, ordered Woods 
 to gather them up. Woods answered that this was 
 at present out of the line of his duty, that he was on 
 guard, but had left his post by permission. The of 
 ficer persisted. Woods became violent. The officer 
 ordered his arrest. Woods seized a musket and at 
 tempted to shoot him. Jackson heard the noise and 
 came roaring upon the scene. "The scoundrel shall 
 die," he swore. The young soldier was subdued, put 
 into the guardhouse and in due time court-martialed. 
 The majority of the officers, including Colonel Wil 
 liams, commander of the regulars, thought that noth 
 ing would come of it, other than a sharp reprimand ; 
 but I knew better and so did Mahone. We had heard 
 the "old man" swear, "By the Eternal, the time is 
 more than in the harvest and I will make an example 
 of him." 
 
 The court-martial found Woods guilty and sen 
 tenced him to be shot in "full view of the entire 
 army. ' ' And then there arose a loud clamor for clem 
 ency. Chaplain Atcherson called on the General to 
 exert his influence on the side of mercy. ' ' General, ' ' 
 said he, "I desire to speak to you concerning John 
 Woods." 
 
 "Then be brief, sir, unless you desire to speak of 
 the dead." 
 
 "General, he is the sole support of an aged father 
 and mother." 
 
 "I am sorry for them they have my sympathy, 
 but war is war. So long as it is play, mere parade, 
 it is a disgrace to one's country. And this war has 
 been prolonged by insubordination by open mutiny. 
 It has been declared time and again that I did not
 
 260 "By the Eternal." 
 
 dare visit severe punishment upon a fellow citizen. 
 Sir, it is to the interest of the country that I com 
 mand soldiers, not citizens, and if they are not sol 
 diers now, some of them will think better of it before 
 night. Do you hear those drums ? Do you know what 
 they mean? They mean that your mission of clem 
 ency has been fruitless. I admire your bravery and 
 your zeal, but I wish you good morning. ' ' 
 
 Woods was shot. Sadness fell upon the camp ; but 
 when the sun went down there was about the fires no 
 talk of mutiny. The citizens had become soldiers.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 AT HORSESHOE BEND. 
 
 THE Creeks were determined upon a final stand 
 at Horseshoe Bend, a peninsula formed by the 
 Tallapoosa River. This place was fortified in 
 a way that showed more than the redman's military 
 training. A fort of enormous logs had been con 
 structed. A great stockade had been built. Hun 
 dreds of canoes were in readiness along the shore. 
 They presented the appearance of a primeval navy. 
 Prophets had convinced the Indians that the place 
 was impregnable. 
 
 Horseshoe was more than fifty miles from Fort 
 Strother. Between the two points there was a dense 
 forest. Through the trackless thicket a road had to 
 be cut. This required labor and time ; but there was 
 no shirking, no mutiny. I heard one man remark to 
 another: "If your time is out why don't you men 
 tion it to the General?" 
 
 "Oh, I'd rather not," his companion answered. 
 ' ' The old man 's watch don 't keep very good time, but 
 he doesn 't like to be told of it. ' ' 
 
 It was many days before we arrived within sight 
 of the fort, with our two little spit-fire cannons. Our 
 force numbered about two thousand. The Indians 
 were fewer, but they were the most stalwart of the 
 Creeks, and so advantaged that one man could count 
 against five. General Coffee, who had been wounded, 
 but who was again in command of the cavalry, 
 
 261
 
 262 "By the Eternal." 
 
 crossed the river to attack, if possible, from the other 
 side. Jackson at once ordered the "artillery" to 
 open. From the top of a hill, the two little guns be 
 gan to bark, and the Indians began to shout with 
 laughter. The balls were embedded in the great logs 
 and wrought no damage. In the meantime Coffee's 
 men crossed over to the peninsula, set fire to the 
 cabins in the rear of the stockade and captured 
 the canoes, rendering an Indian retreat impossible. 
 And now silencing the guns, Jackson ordered a 
 charge upon the fort. The men sprang forward with 
 a shout. It was difficult to scale the walls, and 
 through the portholes the soldiers and the Creeks 
 fought, muzzle to muzzle. Young Ensign Houston 
 was the first to leap over into the fort. In an in 
 stant he was pierced through the thigh with an ar 
 row, and would have been dispatched but for Mahone 
 and his men, who had followed at his heels. 
 
 He requested Mahone to pull out the arrow; and 
 the Irishman answered: "This is my busy season 
 and I'm not much of a surgeon, but I'll do the best 
 I can. ' ' He pulled, but the arrow was barbed and 
 would not come. ''Harder," Houston shouted, and 
 Mahone brought it out, tearing the flesh so badly that 
 Houston was taken fainting from the fort. They 
 stretched him upon the ground. Soon he began to 
 revive. Jackson saw him, and said as he cast a 
 glance back toward the fort : ' ' Houston, I positively 
 order you not to go back in there. ' ' But shortly aft 
 erward, amidst the slaughter in the fort, Jackson 
 looked up and found Houston at his side, but there 
 was no reprimand. It was not for such insubordina 
 tion that Old Hickory censured. 
 
 It was known that the Indians would neither give
 
 At Horseshoe Bend. 263 
 
 nor accept quarter, and thus with a complete under 
 standing of the situation, the white men proceeded 
 with their work of extermination. During all this 
 time the fire started by Coffee's men was raging. The 
 shanties were dry and burned rapidly. The walls of 
 the fort were soon ablaze. Hundreds of Indians were 
 shot in the river. Some of them killed themselves 
 when they found that escape was impossible. The 
 last remnant of them, about two hundred, took posi 
 tion behind a huge pile of logs at the upper end of 
 the peninsula. The cannon could not make any im 
 pression upon their defense. Jackson called for 
 volunteers to dislodge them by assault. Young Sam 
 Houston, without waiting to see whether or not he 
 was to have followers, sprang forward to the attack. 
 He was called upon to halt, and he did, but not until 
 he was almost riddled by a volley from the enemy. 
 Then he was carried away and laid upon the ground 
 to die. The surgeons said that there was no hope 
 for him. 
 
 The Indians were dislodged, butchered; and then 
 began a still hunt through the woods. From off amid 
 the timber came the occasional cry "Remember Fort 
 Mims. " It was here that the war began, the mas 
 sacre of hundreds of whites, women and children. 
 The day and the night of vengeance had come. Jack 
 son would have spared the Indians, would have treat 
 ed the prisoners kindly, but we could not make the 
 Creeks understand that there was mercy in our hearts. 
 Some of the warriors, dying, fired on our men who 
 were striving to aid them. In the night, out in the 
 darkness there was the slow, deliberate firing of the 
 huntsman. Finally all was quiet; but a few of the 
 Indians had escaped. More than six hundred had
 
 264 "By the Eternal." 
 
 been killed. Our loss in killed and wounded was 
 fewer than a hundred. 
 
 Houston lay without attention until past midnight. 
 The surgeons, declaring that he was beyond aid, ad 
 ministered to those who had a fighting chance for 
 life; but they found, along toward the turn of the 
 night, that he was battling for life. They then dressed 
 his desperate wounds. The General came to him. 
 
 "Sam, do you know me?" 
 
 "Old Hickory," Houston murmured, faintly. 
 
 "I begged you " he did not say commanded now 
 "I begged you not to go back into the fort." The 
 General was kneeling beside him. How tender he 
 could be! "I begged you, Sam." 
 
 "Yes, I know. But don't worry over me. I'm all 
 right." 
 
 Jackson's headquarters were beneath a tree. A 
 fire burned. He stood near it, reading some dis 
 patches that had just been brought from Governor 
 Blount. Out in the dark, a rifle popped like a coach 
 whip, and a bullet whizzed between his face and the 
 paper he was reading. "See who that is," he said 
 to an orderly. The orderly went out into the dark, 
 was gone a few moments and, returning, saluted: 
 "An Indian paying his last respects to you, sir," he 
 responded. "He is dead." 
 
 The General handed me one page of a letter. 
 "From Mrs. Jackson containing news that will in 
 terest you," he said. I read the news and returned 
 the paper to him. Then I went forth to look for Ma- 
 lone. I found him sitting on a log, in the light of a 
 fire, smoking his pipe. ' ' These red devils know what 
 good tobacco is, Richard," said he. "Sit down. I 
 found some of it, and it tastes like a wild rose smells.
 
 At Horseshoe Bend. 265 
 
 Well, how's all over your way? But first let me tell 
 you, lad, that you did fine work. Begorry, anybody 
 could tell that your mother was an Irish woman. Ah, 
 and if the little elf had seen you to-day, she wouldn't 
 be proud of her cousin, the doctor, I'll tell you that. 
 What 's that paper you 've got there ? ' ' 
 
 ' ' A letter from Lismukes, ' ' I answered. 
 
 "The devil you say!" he cried, moving farther 
 away from me. "And how can you keep up a cor 
 respondence with him now that he's been dead so 
 long?" 
 
 "Dan, will you listen to me for a moment?" 
 
 "Sure I will, gladly." 
 
 "This letter was written to Arabella on the day 
 before the duel. Read it." 
 
 He read it over and over again, and then asked: 
 ' ' How long have you had it ? " 
 
 "Ever since that day she and her husband drove 
 out to the Hermitage. When you went over to the 
 store she and I sat in the summer house, in the gar 
 den and she gave it to me then, and told me to give 
 it to you at some time in the future, 'when he has 
 forgotten me,' she said." 
 
 "But I have not forgotten, Richard never can, 
 and why should you give it to me now?" 
 
 "Because her husband is dead." 
 
 "Arrah I mean I'm sorry. What a fool mouth a 
 man can have. How do you know?" 
 
 "I have just seen a letter written by Mrs. Jackson 
 to the General." 
 
 "Then," said he, "I don't suppose there can be 
 any mistake about it ; couldn 't be much of a mistake 
 anyway for he was nearly dead when he left us.
 
 266 "By the Eternal." 
 
 Well, I tell the truth as nearly as I can when I say 
 I'm sorry." 
 
 "Yes, I believe you. You did everything you 
 could to save him, but disease devoured him and you 
 couldn't save him from that." 
 
 "And my thinking about Arabella at this moment 
 doesn't make his fatal disease any more fatal." 
 
 ""She has always loved you, Dan. She told me 
 you were the only man she ever loved." 
 
 "Yes, Richard, but didn't she have a quaint way 
 of showing it ? Probably she loved me more after she 
 found out that she loved drygoods less. I ought to 
 tell her to go to the devil, but begorry, I'm afraid 
 she might do it. Now what am I to do? Write her 
 a letter of condolence ? That would look as raw as a 
 militia man that wants to go home." 
 
 "You couldn't write her a letter of congratula 
 tion." 
 
 "Couldn't I? But I could say I am sorry her 
 husband is dead but glad she's a widow. No, I'll 
 leave it to time, the great healer and adjuster; I'll 
 wait till tomorrow." 
 
 The power of the Creeks was broken. Nothing 
 more was to be done here at the Horseshoe. Jackson 
 took up his line of march to Fort William, at least 
 sixty miles distant. Progress through the wilderness 
 was slow, but finally, and without meeting any hostile 
 Indians, the Fort was reached. Beyond this point, 
 lay the land which the Creeks called Holy Ground. 
 Their prophets had told them that no white man 
 could set foot upon it. They had not measured old 
 Andrew's feet. Holy Ground was entered. The war 
 party fled to the swamps- of Florida. Chief after 
 chief came in and surrendered. Fort Jackson was
 
 At Horseshoe Bend. 267 
 
 constructed, and it was to this place that the great 
 chief Billy Weathersford came to give himself up. 
 He was a splendid looking fellow. His father was a 
 white man, his mother a Seminole woman. She must 
 have been handsome. He came into the General's 
 tent bringing with him a deer that he had shot on the 
 way. He threw down the deer and said: "General 
 Jackson I am not afraid of you. They accused me 
 of murdering the women and children at Fort Mims. 
 That was a lie. I tried to save them ; but I have not 
 come to beg mercy for myself. You may kill me as 
 soon as you like. But I do beg mercy for our women 
 and children. They are starving in the woods, and 
 unless you feed them, they must die. I did not kill 
 women and children. I kill strong men." 
 
 The General took his hand. "Weathersford, I be 
 lieve you," said he. "You are a brave man. You 
 know how to fight. Your women and children shall 
 not starve. Nor shall you remain here a prisoner. 
 You are free." 
 
 Jackson kept his word. The women and children 
 did not starve. 
 
 It was now time for an address from the Gen 
 eral and it came. He thanked his soldiers, called 
 them brave, and assured them that they should soon 
 return home. I noticed that Mahone did not frown. 
 
 Soon after this, General Pinkney, of the United 
 States army, arrived and took command. In this 
 qliarter Jackson's work was done for the present. 
 Pinkney complimented the troops and praised our 
 commander. A banquet followed, and then our army 
 was disbanded. The homeward march was swift, and 
 Mahone kept up with the best of them. As we were 
 riding along, I asked him if he had written to Ara-
 
 268 "By the Eternal." 
 
 bella. "I have not," he answered. "It was a deli 
 cate thing to do. It has been three months since her 
 husband died, and I suppose she has married some 
 one else. When a widow gets into the habit of mar 
 rying it is a hard matter to stop her. Give my re 
 gards to her." 
 
 "Why, you'll see her as soon as I do." 
 
 He shook his head. "I think not. I am going to 
 join the regular army and fight my friends, the 
 British. The General will recommend me for a com 
 mission. If I don't get it I'll go in as a private." 
 
 But the next day, he told me that he had written to 
 Arabella. I remarked that he would reach Nash 
 ville as soon as his letter, and he answered: "No, I 
 can halt outside the town while you take it in. I am 
 going to send it by you. And perhaps I'd better let 
 you read it. I wish you would. Here it is. ' ' 
 
 He gave me the letter and this is what I read: 
 ' ' Honored Madam : Captain Staggs gave me the Lis- 
 mukes letter, not because I had forgotten you, but 
 because there did not seem to be any immediate need 
 that I should. I could never forget you. In the 
 songs of the birds lives your voice, and while they 
 sing I hear your words. I have been thinking a 
 great deal since I read that letter, and for the matter 
 of that, I thought a great deal before reading it. I 
 recall that desperate night, that buggy out in front. 
 Ah, it was a hearse in which my heart was to be 
 hauled away. But a heart may be a Lazarus it may 
 arise from the dead. It is still too early since your 
 late bereavement for me to ask you to be my wife, but 
 it is my secret wish that you will. I can bring you 
 no fortune, but this ought not to make any differ 
 ence since you have one of your own. If I had one
 
 At Horseshoe Bend. 269 
 
 ten times as big you should have it. This letter, as 
 by this time you will have observed, is handed to you 
 by Captain Staggs. You may tell him what you 
 think of it, or write to me, just as you yourself elect. 
 I never had but one letter from you and that was 
 written by Lismukes, a dead man. I am sorry you 
 feared him. Had I known it at the time I would have 
 killed him myself. 
 
 ' ' Speaking of your fortune reminds me that I am a 
 provident man. No man can point to any money I 
 ever squandered, and assure yourself that your money 
 will be just as safe with the both of us as with you 
 alone. I was thinking that you might give it to some 
 charitable institution, reserving, of course, enough for 
 yourself, the amount to be determined by your own 
 judgment. Let me remind you that everything pos 
 sible was done to prolong the life of the departed one ; 
 but in this life events shape themselves. I am not a 
 Fatalist, but had it been intended for him to live 
 longer he would doubtless have done so, regardless of 
 what might follow. Richard had hinted to me that 
 you were not happy with him, but this is a point 
 which it is both premature and too late to discuss. 
 But neither is it too early nor too late for me to tell 
 you that I love you. The poets have said that love is 
 a disease, and if this be true, I am mortally stricken. 
 If I could have 'unloved' you I would have done so, 
 but after meeting you the first time it was too late. If 
 I do not speak plainly enough, you must draw your 
 own conclusions, and I request you not to be too mod 
 est in doing so. In the event that you are not already 
 married, this is hoping that it may find you well ; and 
 in case you answer this letter, I shall gladly receive 
 the same."
 
 270 "By the Eternal.' 9 
 
 "What do you think of it?" he asked as I re 
 turned the letter to him. 
 
 ''Dan, I don't believe I'd send it." 
 
 "Ah, and do you know I was thinking of that same 
 thing myself ? I was. A man may be silent and pass 
 for wise, but put a pen in his hand, and how easy it is 
 to be foolish. What do you think I ought to do ? " 
 
 "Leave it all to chance," I answered, and he 
 winced. 
 
 "Begorry, I did that once and you saw what came 
 of it. Chance has never been my friend, Richard. ' ' 
 
 "But I think she will be this time." 
 
 "You do? But would you mind making chance 
 masculine instead of feminine? Let me try him 
 rather than her this time." 
 
 I agreed to make chance masculine, and he bright 
 ened. 
 
 Swift horsemen had sped the news of our victories. 
 In the settlements through which we passed there was 
 great rejoicing, and food in abundance was provided 
 for us. To the victors belong not only the spoils of 
 war but the hospitalities of peace. Nashville was 
 wild with excitement. Troops of gentlemen on horse 
 back rode out to escort us into the city. Dinners were 
 spread in every passage-way, and at the Bell Tavern 
 a grand ball was given in ' honor of the officers. 
 Everything was in readiness before we entered the 
 town. Mrs. Jackson did not approve dancing, but 
 she met her husband at the Tavern. In our worn uni 
 forms we cut but a sorry figure, amid broadcloth and 
 silk, but our deeds were bright, and a faded shoulder- 
 strap was glory's dazzling mark. I saw Mahone 
 dancing with the daughter of the president of the 
 Cumberland University, formerly our old Davidson
 
 At Horseshoe Bend. 271 
 
 Academy. When the "set" was over the Colonel 
 came to me, drew me aside and said: 
 
 "Richard, I don't see the widow that was and is." 
 "Of course not," I answered. "Did you expect to 
 find her at a ball so soon after her husband 's death ? ' ' 
 "Begorry, I never thought of that. It is astonish 
 ing how many things I never think of; but do you 
 suppose she will think ill of me for coming so soon 
 after that sad event?" 
 
 "Of course not. You have nothing to do with it." 
 "But she might have sent me some word?" 
 "In answer to the letter you didn't send her?" 
 "I hadn't thought of that, either. Hold on, the 
 General is going to deliver an address." 
 
 The Commander's speech was full of praise for his 
 men. He did not mention mutiny or any of his 
 troubles. A stranger would have supposed that his 
 work had been a willing co-operation with soldiers 
 still more willing. Among those who applauded 
 loudest were former officers who led their men home 
 before the Creeks had been subdued. When we had 
 received what we knew was to come, the address, I 
 asked Mahone if he would join me in a stroll about 
 the town. He looked at me. "Yes," said I, "in the 
 direction of Arabella's house." In a moment his hat 
 was on his head. Out upon the street he began to 
 caution me. 
 
 "Now, if we go in, which we must not, don't tell 
 her you gave me the Lismukes letter. Let time work 
 that out." 
 
 I promised and we strode on. When we turned a 
 corner and saw that Arabella's house was ablaze with 
 light, he gripped my arm.
 
 272 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "Begorry, it looks like a wake," he said. ''I don't 
 think that I've got the courage to go in." 
 
 "But I am going to take you, Dan." 
 
 "All right. In that event I'll go along peace 
 ably." 
 
 Our knock at the door was answered by the negress 
 whom we knew so well. She did not take our names 
 to her mistress, but ushered us at once into the sitting- 
 room. Arabella had arisen and was coming toward 
 the door when she caught sight of us. She hastened 
 forward, took my hand with some murmured word of 
 welcome, some inarticulate emotion, and turning to 
 Mahone, holding forth her hand she said: "And 
 you, too, Captain Mahone." 
 
 "Colonel, Madam or Miss, I beg your pardon," 
 the Irishman answered, taking her hand and bowing 
 low over it. "I hope you are well." 
 
 "Very well, I thank you. Ah, you remember our 
 friends, here."" 
 
 In the room were Judge Black, and his wife whose 
 former husband, it will be remembered, came down 
 the river on a raft. The Judge cried out, ' ' Why bless 
 my soul ! ' ' And in turn warmly grabbed each of us. 
 His wife remembered us with a cool smile and a thin 
 hand. We sat down while Arabella seemed to nutter 
 about, looking for something, and the Judge, clear 
 ing his throat, preliminary to some important obser 
 vation, remarked that some time had elapsed since 
 last we met. Arabella's sleeves were short again, and 
 though arrayed in black, she did not seem to have 
 passed through a season of very profound sorrow. 
 She observed that the weather was pleasant, and Ma 
 hone blurted that if she said so he would swear to 
 it, and then begged pardon for his impetuosity, de-
 
 At Horseshoe Bend. 273 
 
 daring that the General had reprimanded him "for 
 that same." 
 
 Knowing that Arabella had not begun to take 
 boarders again, I wondered as to how long the Judge 
 and his wife might be disposed to inflict us with their 
 uninteresting not to say hampering company. And 
 Mahone, who was sometimes as quick to understand a 
 situation as at other times to misunderstand it, re 
 marked to Arabella that she must pardon us for call 
 ing so late. It was politeness for her to protest that 
 it was not late, but nothing demanded that this fool 
 Judge should agree with her. He did, though; he 
 said it was just turning the elbow of the evening. 
 Then he spoke of the great improvement that had 
 taken place in the city since we left. 
 
 "And if we had not left and stayed away so long 
 as we did there might not be any city at all here 
 now," Mahone spoke up. "The Creeks would have 
 burnt it down." 
 
 "Oh, perhaps not that bad," the Judge replied, 
 yawning. "They would have found us ready to de 
 fend our homes." 
 
 I looked at Mahone to restrain him, but it was too 
 late. "As soon as you had caught sight of a Creek 
 warrior, your thumping heart would have knocked 
 out the memory of all your possessions except as to 
 your legs, sir," the Irishman declared, and Arabella 
 laughed to cover his affront. 
 
 "I have never run away from home yet, sir," the 
 Judge retorted. ' ' You will always find me there. ' ' 
 
 "I don't doubt that," Mahone roared with laugh 
 ter. "And there are many of the same sort; but I 
 beg your pardon, Judge. I didn't mean to offend 
 you."
 
 274 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "In that event, sir, all is smooth between us; but 
 my dear," he added, addressing his wife, "it is time 
 we were going home." 
 
 Arabella went with them to the door. She returned 
 laughing. Mahone begged her pardon. She assured 
 him that he had committed no offense. In a rocker 
 she took a seat, between Mahone and me. I wondered 
 what blunder was to come next, on the part of my 
 friend. I did not wait long. 
 
 "Death is a sad thing, madam," said he. She did 
 not answer. "I mean outside the army," he ex 
 plained, and realizing he made a bad start, he looked 
 to me for help. I pretended not to notice his dis 
 tress. Finally he roared at me : " Richard, why the 
 devil begging your pardon, Miss don't you say 
 something ? ' ' 
 
 "I was waiting for you, Dan." 
 
 ' ' But haven 't you got better sense than that ? And 
 I suppose if I were to get up to go right now you 
 would let me, as you did. on a former occasion. Mrs. 
 Harvey, I have much trouble with my friend Rich 
 ard, but for all that I am under many obligations to 
 him ; and that was a fine letter he gave me that you 
 gave him from Lismukes " 
 
 She did not speak but she looked at him and he 
 was silent, till she held out both hands toward him, 
 and then he gulped and struggled with himself, and 
 said, looking at her hands, reached out to him: "For 
 me, Madam?" 
 
 "For you, Dan always." 
 
 I turned away. "I am ready to go now, Rich 
 ard," he said after a time, and when I looked back, 
 the great big-hearted fellow was wiping his eyes.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 A MESSAGE FROM WASHINGTON. 
 
 M AH ONE sang his way out to the Hermitage, in 
 the dawn; and I let him sing, knowing that 
 there had never been a heart more truly full 
 of music. We slept till noon, and then I walked past 
 the school-house, into the woods, where the old 
 "whale" lay, covered with moss. As I was coming 
 home, Mahone met me in the road and turned back 
 with me. "Ah, my friend," he said, "happiness is a 
 great thing to be sure. It is worth waiting for ; but 
 here arises a trouble. I've got to go back into the 
 army again before we marry. Society demands that 
 her husband shall have been deceased a respectable 
 length of time before she ought to marry again, and 
 I 'm not going to sit down and wait on society I '11 tell 
 you that. And besides I am not going to become a 
 peaceable citizen so long as America has a British 
 enemy. Among the letters waiting for the General, he 
 told me just now, is one from the War Department 
 offering him a brigadier's commission in the United 
 States army. But I don 't believe he '11 accept. And he 
 ought not to. They ought to rate him higher than 
 that, and I believe they will very soon, and when they 
 do, it will mean a chance for you and me. ' ' 
 
 "But Arabella may object to your going into the 
 army again," said I. 
 
 "Do you think that, now? Well, I don't want to 
 dispute with my wife that is to be, but I 'm going into 
 
 275
 
 276 "By the Eternal." 
 
 the army. It's a man's duty to be a patriot before he 
 is a husband. ' ' 
 
 Mrs. Jackson told me that Nettie had visited her 
 once during my absence. "And every day," said this 
 tender, artless woman, ' ' she would walk over into the 
 woods with little Andrew, and would talk about a 
 great whale that they had seen the very whale that 
 swallowed Jonah, the little fellow said." 
 
 "I wish some whale would swallow a Jonah or two 
 in the War Department" the General spoke, looking 
 up from his papers. ' ' If the news is true that Napol 
 eon has fallen and is to be sent to Elba, and there seems 
 to be now no possible doubt of it, there will fall upon 
 America perhaps the darkest day in her history. Eng 
 land no longer compelled to struggle on the continent, 
 will concentrate her revengeful energies upon us. 
 Our very life as a nation is in danger; and there is 
 not a country in Europe that will help us. Abroad 
 we are accused and by the Federalists at home of 
 a sympathetic alliance with Bonaparte against all es 
 tablished order. This will mean at least the moral 
 support of the world against us, in favor of Britain. 
 New England cries that her ships are rotting at the 
 wharves. Our credit is exhausted. Girard and As- 
 tor have refused to advance more money. The treas 
 ury echoes like a church. The President and the Sec 
 retary of State have had to pledge their private es 
 tates for the loan of not more than two million dol 
 lars. Spain pretends to be friendly, but the Spanish 
 Governor at Pensacola, is harboring the fugitive 
 Creek chiefs and the English will arm them and put 
 them into the field against us. I see the situation in 
 a noon-day sun and, by the Eternal, they offer me a
 
 SEARCHING FOR THE SOOTHING MUSIC OF A QUIET PSALM.
 
 A Message From Washington. 277 
 
 commission as brigadier-general, to serve under some 
 old incompetent. I will not accept it." 
 
 "Oh, no, you must not accept it," his wife de 
 clared. "It seems to me, Mr. Jackson, that you have 
 done fighting enough. You are not well anyway, and 
 your wounds are not completely healed. You have 
 need of rest." 
 
 She took down the Bible, turned past the ram's 
 horn and the sling, and I think, was searching for 
 the soothing music of a quiet psalm, when there came 
 a knock at the front door. From town there had come 
 a courier, bearing a special message from the War 
 Department. 
 
 "Wait a moment," said the General when he had 
 opened the packet and glanced over its contents. And 
 then, seizing his turkey feather he wrote rapidly for 
 a few moments, folded the paper, sealed it, addressed 
 it, and handing it to the courier, dismissed him. Then 
 he walked up and down the room. 
 
 "Was it anything very important, Mr. Jackson?" 
 his wife inquired. 
 
 "Yes, Mrs. Jackson, very important. Major-Gen- 
 eral William Henry Harrison has resigned. The ma 
 jor-generalship, with assignment to duty as com 
 mander of the southern division, has been offered to 
 me, and I have accepted it. Richard, this means that 
 you are to retain your position on my staff. I shall 
 apply at once for your commission." 
 
 "I am deeply grateful, sir," I answered. 
 
 "Grateful because you are a patriot. Where is 
 Colonel Mahone?" 
 
 I went out to look for him, called, but received no 
 answer. Then it occurred to me that he must have 
 gone to town, and so I reported to the General.
 
 278 "By the Eternal." 
 
 "Ride in and inform him that I desire his presence 
 here, at once." 
 
 I found Mahone in Arabella's sitting-room. I also 
 found her there. As soon as I entered she said: 
 "Richard, tell him he is not going to the war. I just 
 know if he goes he'll never get back alive. I really 
 can't let him go." 
 
 Then he blurted: "Begorry, you ought to be used 
 to husbands going by this time I beg your pardon, 
 sweetheart, I didn't know how that would sound. But 
 really, you must not try to persuade me. I like so 
 ciety very much and have all sorts of faith in its good 
 sense, but I can't sit around here like a village post 
 master because it says that Major Harvey hasn't been 
 dead quite long enough didn't know how that was 
 going to sound, either. 'Just let me have my way this 
 once and I'll make you the most obedient husband 
 you ever had ever saw." 
 
 She sat smiling at him. Then she appealed again 
 to me. "I can't help you any," I answered. "The 
 fact is that a major-general of the United States army 
 has sent for him." 
 
 "Arrah," he cried. "A major-general? And who 
 is he, pray?" 
 
 "Andrew Jackson. His appointment came just 
 now and he has accepted it." 
 
 "Where is my hat. Sweetheart, you must not hide 
 my hat. Give it to me, please." 
 
 She brought his hat and tip-toeing, put it on his 
 head. "You'll come back, Dan, to tell me good-bye, 
 won't you?" 
 
 "Yes, gladly I mean I will." 
 
 She put her arms about his neck and kissed him; 
 and when we had mounted our horses at the gate, he
 
 A Message From Washington. 279 
 
 said : ' ' Richard, it begins to look as if she really does 
 love me." 
 
 "When a wealthy widow marries a penniless man 
 the natural inference is that she loves him," I an 
 swered. 
 
 "Arrah, there's encouragement in that wise obser 
 vation. ' ' 
 
 The hour was late but the General was waiting for 
 us. "Colonel Mahone," he said, "I don't know that 
 I can obtain for you a commission as Colonel in the 
 United States army, but feel assured that I can as 
 Captain of Cavalry. Would you 
 
 "You delight me, sir." 
 
 "That is sufficient. Good night." 
 
 Within a few days there came a letter from Beal 
 announcing that the Supreme Court had sustained 
 the numerous decisions of the courts below, and that 
 I was now the undisputed possessor of a handsome 
 estate. Along with this news came a statement of the 
 amount due for attorney fees. Being a careful man 
 it was not likely that Beal would overlook even so 
 minor a point. As it was the General's determination 
 to start for the south within a few weeks, I had not 
 the time to go to Virginia, so I sent Beal a check for 
 the amount due him and in a letter told him that if 
 they should by any possible chance establish a higher 
 court, to keep my affairs out of it until I could get 
 there, which meant until after peace should be estab 
 lished between Great Britain and the United States. 
 
 Within one day from the time set for the General's 
 departure our commissions arrived, but Mahone was 
 not sent off somewhere to find a vacancy in the caval 
 ry; he was assigned to duty on the General's staff. 
 Over this good fortune he whooped like a boy.
 
 280 "By the Eternal" 
 
 "Now, sir," he said to me, "Arabella wouldn't 
 want me to stay even if I should make of it a special 
 request. Well, no, I don't want to think that," he 
 corrected himself. "But surely it ought to make 
 her a very proud woman not to be the wife of a 
 militia officer." 
 
 Once more, on the night before we took our leave, 
 the sling and the ram's horn were brought out. But 
 the reading, though the hour had grown late, was in 
 terrupted by a number of visitors who had come to 
 bid the General good-bye. Among them was Governor 
 Blount himself, a quiet, dignified gentleman, from 
 whom you might expect a well-written letter with 
 very little news in it. He had just issued a call for 
 more troops, and he knew that the brave sons of Ten 
 nessee would rush forward to fill the quota. And 
 such afterward proved to be true; indeed, so eager 
 were they that after the quota was filled sums as 
 high as one hundred dollars were paid for the places 
 already held by early applicants. 
 
 The general tenor of the news brought by the Gov 
 ernor was bad. He had been shown a letter written 
 by Mr. Albert Gallatin from abroad, which more than 
 confirmed the reports that England, with both hands 
 now free, was going to box the jaws of America. 
 
 "And that red-sashed assassin, Spain!" exclaimed 
 the General. "She is secretly aiding England by 
 arming the Creeks that have fled from our just 
 vengeance." 
 
 The Governor said that he hoped not, whereupon 
 the General exclaimed : ' ' But I have direct evidence 
 of the fact, sir, and when I know a thing, I know it. ' ' 
 
 The Governor admitted that when a man knew a 
 thing he knew it. He shook hands with the General,
 
 A Message From Washington. 281, 
 
 and did not tell him that he would write soon, but I 
 knew that he would. 
 
 Nothing can be slower than war, except, perhaps, 
 the formation of a satisfactory treaty with Indians. 
 In the "Holy Ground," during weather hot enough 
 to bake a lizard, week after week, the General was 
 detained. Instructions from Washington assured him 
 that in relation to the Creeks he was treating with a 
 conquered people, but Old Hickory needed no such 
 assurances. He knew it and the Creeks felt it. The 
 government insisted that the Indians should cede land 
 enough to compensate for the expenses of their own 
 defeat, and this staggered them. Week after week the 
 chiefs argued in secret council, and occasionally we 
 heard of one of them running away to receive the 
 shelter of the Spanish governor at Pensacola:. But 
 finally everything was "signed up" in a satisfactory 
 manner to the government, the Indians ceding nearly 
 the entire territory of Alabama. 
 
 The General now proceeded to take command of 
 his army, three thin regiments of United States 
 troops; but the Tennessee levy was on the march 
 and soon joined us. It was more of a great hunting 
 party than an army. The youngsters had wandered 
 off from the ranks and shot squirrels by day and 
 had howled their coarse and tuneless songs at night; 
 and now, under actual military restraint, some of 
 them began to talk mutiny. Then there came from 
 headquarters a piece of information: "Young re 
 cruits will please remember that they are now in the 
 service of the general government, commanded by a 
 Major-General, not of militia, but of the regular 
 army." After this bit of not vital intelligence fol 
 lowed a paragraph that caused the squirrel hunters to
 
 282 "By the Eternal." 
 
 bat their eyes: "Any one stimulating mutiny will 
 be promptly shot. ' ' 
 
 Again had "fellow citizens" become soldiers. How 
 orderly they were, under Old Hickory's "kind ad 
 vice!" Raggedly they marched, of course, for an 
 army's grace must come of long, unconscious acquire 
 ment, not of sheer determination, but there was no 
 whooping after squirrels through the woods. 
 
 It was delightful, coming out of the timber 's stifled 
 air into the cool breezes of the gulf. And there was 
 another stimulus we were to encounter a civilized 
 foe. The English had effected a landing on the coast. 
 Indeed, Colonel Nichols had, with a force of ex- 
 Britain troops, found entertainment with the Span 
 ish governor at Pensacola, had issued a most insult 
 ing proclamation to the people of Louisiana, calling 
 upon them to support the cause of England, applying 
 to the Americans every hard name that ink could 
 spread. Jackson's always ready turkey feather flew 
 to business. He opened up a polite correspondence 
 with the Spaniard, and incidentally inquired why, as 
 agent of a friendly government, he not only gave 
 refuge to murderous savages but harbored an English 
 armament, avowed enemies of America. The Span 
 ish governor answered in great astonishment. He 
 could not understand why his dear friend, General 
 ah, yes, Jackson, should so accuse him. The Indians! 
 Those whom he had succored were subjects of his 
 majesty, the King of Spain. The English! Why, 
 they were his guests, and in honor of a nation which 
 Spain revered so much, he had hoisted their flag over 
 his fort, along with the colors of his own dear country. 
 Jackson wrote again and came so near calling the 
 Spaniard a liar that the agent of the once mighty
 
 A Message From Washington, 283 
 
 peninsula reprimanded him for his American lack of 
 diplomatic procedure. Jackson's turkey feather flut 
 tered. He reminded the governor that the corre 
 spondence on his part was no attempt to bring about 
 a love affair. He had not the time for a polite 
 flirtation, and he made one of his natural demands. 
 The British must be instantly expelled. The town 
 and all munitions must be surrendered. For the 
 stores, receipts would be given, and at the proper 
 time everything should be returned to the Spanish 
 owners, -together with all necessary explanations. 
 This was outrageous. The governor strutted forth in 
 front of his "palace" and pawed the earth. There 
 was great applause. Sturdy Englishmen clapped 
 their hands and then laughed in their sleeves. Jack 
 son sent an envoy to confer with the Spanird. He 
 was fired on. Still the General hesitated. He sent 
 another pleader for peace and quiet, a Spaniard. 
 The governor sent back words which sounded like 
 "bah, pah, fudge." Then we opened fire on the town, 
 charged, routed out the English, who, blowing up a 
 fort at the entrance of the harbor, sailed away. We 
 captured the Spaniards, those of them who were not 
 killed by grape-shot, with which we raked the streets, 
 and put the governor in the calaboose, feathers and 
 all. And, on the part of our government, with the 
 most statesmanlike pen of an Adams, it took a long 
 time to ' ' explain this little incident. ' ' 
 
 With all its blustering promises, in the low coun 
 try the war lagged. The hot weather passed and 
 autumn set in. Every day, though, there was a fresh 
 promise and so we were in no want of encouragement. 
 The General's health was bad. Mahone termed him 
 "a grim epidemic ready to seize upon the vitals of
 
 284 "By the Eternal." 
 
 the enemy." "Ah," the Irishman said to me one 
 night as we sat where the moon was sparkling through 
 the pines, "I have a letter from that most charming 
 of all women. And, Richard, she is afraid that I 
 have not quite forgiven her for marrying Harvey, as 
 if that was anything to me I mean, as if I had any 
 authority over her at that time. She tells me that 
 I don't love her as much as she does me. Mind that, 
 now, as you go along. She wants to have a grand 
 wedding. I didn't approve of it, but I told her I'd 
 be there, no matter what sort of a wedding she had. 
 With your fine estate, Richard, you are not going to 
 remain in the army after peace is declared, are you ? ' ' 
 
 "No. It would be insupportably dull. My inten 
 tion is to buy a tract of land somewhere up the river 
 from the Hermitage, and live like a gentleman. ' ' 
 
 "A fine way to live, to be sure." 
 
 The General came upon us, in one of his meditative 
 walks. He halted, and arising we offered him our 
 log, but he remained standing. "It is now clearly 
 the intention of the enemy to concentrate his forces 
 for a blow at New Orleans," said he. "And to-mor 
 row we march in that direction." 
 
 Upon his face the moon sprinkled her light, gauzing 
 his countenance with a silver veil. He stood for a 
 few moments, in silence, and then he strode off, 
 amid the black shadows of the pines. 
 
 On the following day we took up our line of march. 
 A ragged array, indeed, to encounter the very flower, 
 the bloomed rose of the British army. The way was 
 for the most part worse than rough; it was mire, 
 arid, after marching with all possible haste, we ar 
 rived at New Orleans on the first of December. The 
 city had for some time been in extreme alarm and
 
 A Message From Washington. 285 
 
 now was in great excitement. The legislature was 
 in session and Governor Claiborne was issuing an oc 
 casional address, requesting the people to be quiet. 
 The legislature passed a joint resolution, declaring 
 that the British should not enter the city. A copy of 
 this resolution, when presented to the ladies, ought to 
 have allayed their fears, but did not. There were 
 mutterings of sedition in this mixed population; but 
 this pleased Old Hickory. It gave him the opportu 
 nity to declare martial law. 
 
 It was now known that on the gulf, near New Or 
 leans, there were fifty English warships. Some of 
 these vessels commanded by Nelson, had fought in the 
 Battle of the Nile. The soldiers were of equal re 
 nown. They had achieved victory under Welling 
 ton. They had captured Washington City. Among 
 them was the famous Highland regiment whose backs 
 no enemy had ever seen. This armament comprised 
 about twenty thousand men. Jackson's army, in 
 cluding regulars and militia, numbered fewer than 
 three thousand. He knew that reinforcements were 
 not likely to reach him; that in Europe such odds 
 would compel retreat, but with his awkward squad, 
 his long haired riflemen, he felt supreme, and chafed 
 because the enemy came in such deliberation. But 
 even in fretful mood he neglected no detail. His 
 restless eye saw everything noted it. He could eat 
 only boiled rice, a few spoonfuls a day, and he did 
 not sleep more than an hour at a time, on a couch in 
 his office. Every assailable point was fortified with 
 earth and logs, and so careful was the General of his 
 stores, that as Mahone remarked, he would have 
 picked up a grain, of powder had he found it in the 
 street.
 
 286 "By the Eternal" 
 
 The days passed with "alarms and excursions," 
 and with an occasional letter from Governor Blount. 
 December was more than half gone, and still no enemy 
 had shown himself within the vicinity of New Orleans. 
 The legislature continued its session. One thought 
 ful member declared: "As we are under martial law 
 we might as well quit." But another member, equal 
 ly thoughtful, thus answered him: "No, we ought 
 not to adjourn until we have passed a few more laws 
 for the next general assembly to appeal." 
 
 The French part of the city was exceedingly gay. 
 It was not intended that war should interfere with 
 sociability. Paris did not grant such a right to a 
 siege, and here was Paris in the swamps of America. 
 
 "Ah," said Mahone, "if the British can shoot as 
 straight with their muskets as these Creole women can 
 with their eyes, not one of us will be left alive after 
 the battle." 
 
 From time to time, came information that the Brit 
 ish forces had effected a landing, to be disproved by 
 later more careful scouts. Finally, on the twenty- 
 third of December, there came positive news, brought 
 by Major Villere, a Creole planter who had been cap 
 tured by the enemy and who had escaped. Having 
 approached as near to the city as they could by 
 water, the river being too shallow for the great ships, 
 the English had landed at Bayou Bienvenue, in the 
 delta, not more than ten miles from Jackson's head 
 quarters. They were now camped on Villere 's plan 
 tation. 
 
 "By the Eternal," the General exclaimed, "they 
 shall not sleep there undisturbed. We must attack 
 them to-night." 
 
 It was now nearly two o'clock in the morning.
 
 A Message From Washington. 287 
 
 Jackson had not lain down during two days, and a 
 moment before receiving the news he looked yellow 
 and feeble ; but now he appeared strong an avenger. 
 Orders were at once issued for a forward movement; 
 but to deliver these orders required time. There were 
 so many points to be defended that the small bodies 
 of troops were widely separated ; but by daylight our 
 men, having been commanded to march first to New 
 Orleans, were pouring into the city. The "navy" 
 consisted of one ship, light of draft, and now at 
 anchor off the levee. Astride his horse, in the square 
 in front of the old Spanish Cathedral, the com 
 mander reviewed his army: regulars Tennesseeans, 
 Kentuckians, Mississippians, Creoles, Chocktaw In 
 dians and a company of free negroes a motley array 
 to any military eye. Many of the men were ragged 
 and without shoes. How different the scene among 
 the British we could easily imagine rich young men 
 seeking reputation; veterans who had achieved it: 
 Major-General John Keane, known for his valor and 
 his skill on many a field; and Sir E. Packenham, 
 commander-in-chief, favorite at court. 
 
 When our troops had all passed, the ship Carolina 
 weighed anchor and sailed slowly down the river. 
 'Jackson spurred his way to the head of the column. 
 The march was of necessity a cautious, feeling-for 
 ward move, and it was nearly dark before we discov 
 ered a red coat, a line of pickets. The General was 
 eager but restrained himself. There was no oppor 
 tunity to issue an address, and this must have weighed 
 upon him. In order not to expose to British view his 
 meager force, he resolved to wait for darkness. A 
 night attack is a desperate thing. All rules of war 
 fare are then forgotten. In the west there was still a
 
 288 "By the Eternal" 
 
 glow. We waited. Among the men deep silence lay. 
 The British were led to believe that the Americans 
 never attacked. Nothing but the actual fact could 
 have convinced them that "one Andrew Jackson Es 
 quire," as he had been named in a proclamation, 
 would rush upon them in the night. There was no 
 moon. The cypress woods were black. 
 
 Mahone whispered to me. "Begorry, she may be a 
 widow again before she marries me. Ah, there's a 
 good many of us that will not come out of that woods 
 alive." 
 
 Suddenly there came a boom from the river. The 
 ship Carolina had opened with her guns. "Forward," 
 was the word of command. I can never recall that 
 night without a shudder of horror. A British officer, 
 writing of it long afterward, declared it to be one of 
 the most desperate memories of history. In the dark 
 ness and among so many obstacles, nothing like order 
 could be maintained. Officers and men were jumbled 
 together or scattered wide apart. Jackson and his 
 staff were on foot. We could discern no enemy; did 
 not know where he was tilFa sudden flash of mus 
 ketry revealed for a second his red coat. The bullets 
 whistled above us. Then came the order to charge. 
 It was individual man leaping forward. Now it was 
 a hand to hand fight, friend and foe almost unable to 
 distinguish each other. There was no time to reload 
 after the first fire. The underbrush and dry grass 
 ignited, blazed; and in the glare there was many a 
 fearful sight, men with their brains dashed out with 
 musket butts throats cut with hunting knives. I 
 saw two men locked together, one dead of a knife 
 stab, the other of a bayonet thrust. At times I lost 
 all track of the General, till I heard his voice above
 
 A Message From Washington. 289 
 
 the murderous cries. Twice I was captured, once re 
 taken by Coffee's men and once escaped by seizing a 
 momentary advantage by knocking down my guard, 
 with a leap out into the dark. 
 
 Only a few groups of our men were engaged in 
 this fight. The most of them were scattered through 
 the woods, and unable to distinguish friend from 
 enemy, were afraid to fire. The knotted battle this 
 murder in the dark, lasted about an hour and a half, 
 and while we could not claim victory to any great 
 sense of advantage, yet our army bivouaced closer to 
 the enemy's headquarters that night than had we not 
 attacked him. This, however, was but a brief state 
 ment of our case. The argument was to follow,
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES. 
 
 I SHALL give from recollection, rather than from 
 notes, only a brief account of a battle so well 
 known to the school boy only a few glimpses 
 mainly to catch sight of Jackson 's character, here and 
 there, as he flashed its different aspects. 
 
 In the morning, Jackson began to fortify his posi 
 tion. Some Frenchman suggested cotton bales. Ac 
 cepted in a moment. A ship near by was unloaded 
 and the bales of cotton erected into a wall. An easy 
 rampart to build. The enemy used hogsheads of 
 sugar. Both schemes totally failed. But cotton was 
 not accepted as a complete defense. Earth works 
 were thrown up mud works, for the soil was soft. 
 Jackson was here, there, everywhere up and down the 
 one mile of his battle-front. He said to me: 
 
 "Here is where I forfeit my life if I do not suc 
 ceed. Defeat, and that trench is to be my grave. 
 Fail! By the Eternal, we cannot fail. It is impos 
 sible, sir." 
 
 Doubtless a world-educated soldier would have re 
 garded failure as lying somewhere within the broad 
 domain of chance. With what reinforcements had 
 come up our force was still below three thousand, 
 and to Napoleon or Wellington it might have seemed 
 at least barely possible for an army of more than 
 three times our number the best disciplined soldiers 
 
 290
 
 Tiventy-five Minutes. 291 
 
 in the world seemed this side the miraculous that 
 they might overcome these backwoodsmen. 
 
 In the night attack I had lost sight of Mahone, as 
 I did of every one and everything else, and I was 
 anxious concerning him, till I found him the next 
 morning sitting on a log. "Ah, and it is you, is it 
 Richard," he cried. "A fine lad to give me such a 
 scare about yourself. I didn't know what had be 
 come of you. I should know better than to stray off 
 that way. There is going to be some business tran 
 sacted here very soon. Before I forget it let me say 
 that I've just had a letter from Arabella; and for 
 the purposes of modest display she wants to know 
 something about my ancestral roof. Begorry, I re 
 member once, when we couldn't pay the rent, the 
 landlord had the roof taken off so that it would rain 
 in on us; and I have sent her that gratifying intel 
 ligence. Well, lad, either one way or another this 
 will soon be over." 
 
 Along toward noon, a number of dispatches were 
 brought to the General. He considered them briefly, 
 put them aside as soon as he could, and long and lov 
 ingly held in his hand a letter from his wife. "She 
 sends her love to you, Richard," he said. "Noblest 
 creature on the earth," he mused aloud. "God was 
 kind to the world when your tender soul was cre 
 ated." 
 
 It has always been a wonder to me that the British 
 permitted us, unmolested, to construct our long line 
 of works. Undoubtedly, they were totally ignorant of 
 our strength, and were waiting for reinforcements 
 and heavier cannon from the ships. Keane may have 
 been a brilliant soldier, as Europe had proclaimed 
 him, but on this day he was blind.
 
 292 "By the Eternal." 
 
 What a hearse of time, even active war ! The days 
 dragged. On the twenty-seventh, three days after the 
 battle of the night, Jackson had not slept a moment. 
 His longest pause from activity, it seemed to me, was 
 while he held his wife's letter in his hand. It has 
 been asserted, and it is true, that not during four 
 nights did he lie down to sleep, this gaunt man; nor 
 did he sit down to a meal. But he appeared more 
 vigorous as the time of trial drew near. He was 
 more cheerful than I had ever known him ; exchanged 
 pleasantries with the men as he rode up and down the 
 line, calling many of them by name. "See that you 
 keep your flint well picked, old Bill Brown. You've 
 shot many a squirrel's eye out. See that you give it 
 to that old fox squirrel, Red Coat, between his two 
 eyes. Glad to see you, Parson Atcherson. In case 
 you forget your calling and grab a musket, grab a 
 good one." 
 
 The little Carolina did great work, continuously 
 raking the enemy, and this is no doubt the reason why 
 Jackson's work on his line of defense was allowed 
 to proceed without molestation. Now it was obvious 
 that all attention would be concentrated against our 
 "navy," strengthened by the Louisiana, a still smaller 
 vessel, which was anchored several miles further up 
 the river. Large guns and furnaces for heating shot 
 were brought from the ships during the night of the 
 twenty-sixth, and planted on the levee. This meant 
 that it was all over with the brave little craft. She 
 was blown so nearly out of the water with the first 
 few discharges from the enemy, and was set on fire 
 in so many places, that she was abandoned. 
 
 A loud cheer in the British ranks told us that the 
 court favorite, Sir Edward Packenham, had arrived
 
 Twenty -five, Minutes. 293 
 
 to assume command. Through a battered telescope 
 Jackson observed it all. Sir Edward soon decided to 
 "feel" of us, and it cost him the lives of fifty of his 
 men. Then he withdrew and spent the time in con 
 sultation with his officers. Although his advance had 
 been met with such opposition, and although, as one 
 of his officers afterward wrote, he was given an exhi 
 bition of the finest artillery work he had ever seen, 
 yet he and his advisers continued to hold the Ameri 
 cans in contempt, believing that they were only wait 
 ing for an opportunity to run home. 
 
 Jackson continued to strengthen the weak places 
 along his line; continued to cheer his men. Had Sir 
 Edward met this "Andrew Jackson Esquire" he 
 would have smiled. The General's boots were rusty, 
 his cloak almost thread-bare, his general appearance, 
 to the eye that does not search for the soul, anything 
 but "victorious." But we who knew him could see 
 victory in his countenance. 
 
 Headquarters were in a mansion house about two 
 hundred yards from the breastwork, and here at the 
 window the General would stand, with the battered 
 telescope, viewing the enemy. New Year's day. We 
 had eaten breakfast. The General was at the window. 
 Suddenly there came a bombardment and a crash. 
 Two batteries had opened on the mansion, and with 
 in a few moments it was almost a mass of ruins. Our 
 escape was miraculous. 
 
 The long season of silence between the army was 
 to end. "It will be a cock-fighting from now on," 
 said Mahone, looking out over the plain lying be 
 tween the two armies. "And in my opinion we're as 
 well heeled as we'll ever be." 
 
 "We had ten guns in position to rake this "review
 
 294 "By th 
 
 ground." The artillery men were ready, with 
 matches lighted. The hair-triggers of the riflemen 
 were set. The enemy's batteries, thirty heavy guns, 
 opened fire. It was instantly returned. Our cotton 
 bales were tumbled about and many of them set on 
 fire. The smoke was blinding. 
 
 The thunder was so great it seemed that the river 
 was to be shaken out of its banks. We could not, on 
 account of the smoke, observe the effect of our work ; 
 but we knew that the artillerymen fired a cannon with 
 the precision of a squirrel rifle. Along toward noon 
 the enemy's fire began to slacken, then ceased. The 
 first sight of the result of our splendid work caused 
 a shout from every American throat. The British 
 batteries had been demolished. The sailors were flee 
 ing to the rear. Old Hickory smiled. "Everything 
 is going well," he said. We waited for a renewal of 
 the attack waited four days. On the second day we 
 were reinforced by two thousand Kentuckians, rag 
 ged, barefooted, and for the most part, unarmed. A 
 little later the British were strengthened by sixteen 
 hundred soldiers fresh from victory in Europe. Then 
 fell another lull. The quiet was so suspicious that 
 we feared a new design upon the city, a counter move 
 ment. But reconnoissance proved this anxiety to be 
 groundless. The enemy was resting, still in the en 
 joyment of his contempt. It was now known that 
 Packenham would storm the works. 
 
 Eighth of January. At one o'clock Old Hickory 
 left his couch, and strode up and down the lines. 
 "They will be upon us soon," he said as cheerfully 
 as if he looked forward to the visit of a friend. Day 
 light lagged in mist. Up into the slowly yellowing 
 air a rocket sped. It was the Britains signal for the
 
 Twenty-five Minutes. 295 
 
 storm. The mist flew like a cloud, the sun came out ; 
 and then I stood in wrapt astonishment at the mag 
 nificent demonstration on the plain. I had never be 
 fore seen a real army, "accoutered with dazzle" and 
 moving like the perfection of some great mathematical 
 design. The gallant General Gibbs was in the van of 
 this majestic tread, he and his men all too confident, 
 contempt within their hearts. The guns opened fire, 
 the small arms were held in reserve. Was there ever 
 such needless slaughter ! A great guri doubly charged 
 and crammed to the muzzle with musket balls belched 
 forth its tide of death, and mowed them down like 
 grass. But re-forming, still they came, until within 
 the rifle's reach and then they reeled, and those who 
 had not fallen, turned and fled. Their commander 
 strove in vain to rally them; stormed, begged, hacked 
 at them with his sword, there within full view and 
 easy shot of us. But bravery threw its spell and no 
 sharp-eyed rifleman drew a bead on him. 
 
 Then came the praying Highlanders, dreaded nine 
 ty-third, with bagpipes that had urged them on to 
 many a victory. Old coon-skin cap, old homespun 
 from the woods sighted long, and then upon the word 
 let fly his lead. Five hundred of the Scotchmen fell ; 
 the others, halting, stood a glittering mark, received 
 another fire, and then the remnant broke and in 
 panic flew. Up dashed Sir Edward, shouting brave 
 words and fell to shout no more. It had been just 
 twenty-five minutes since the first fire, and the British 
 army was riddled. A thousand insults, the burning 
 of Washington had been avenged. Old Jackson looked 
 out over the scene, at the flying enemy, at the ground 
 covered with the slain. His hat was off and on his 
 head I saw a scar, the saber cut of so many years ago. 
 England had paid for it with her best blood.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 1HAVE no disposition to linger over the scenes 
 that followed; the exultation, the wild joy in 
 New Orleans. The war was done, the treaty had 
 been signed which we did not know and Jackson 
 was to be an idol not only in his own state but of the 
 nation. A new world-man had arrived. We were to 
 linger for some time in this delivered city, long 
 enough for the General to issue an address or two, 
 engage in a personal encounter and to play Cromwell 
 with the legislature. Mahone requested leave to de 
 part for home in advance, assuring the General that 
 he had some rather important business to transact, 
 and permission was granted him. 
 
 "Richard," said he, "I should like very much for 
 you to be at the only wedding I've ever had, and we 
 will wait, but if you halt for old hero there's no tell 
 ing when you '11 be back. ' ' 
 
 I accompanied him on his way an hour's ride and 
 returned to the city, now the gayest place on the con 
 tinent; but this life, this constant flattery meant 
 nothing to me. I longed to buy an estate on the Cum 
 berland river; to build a house after my own notion, 
 and that was as far as I could see. Time had been 
 dragging while we were in the Creek War, while we 
 were under arms facing the British, but it had been 
 flying, too. Since first I came across the hills of East 
 Tennessee the yearg had passed. 
 
 296
 
 Conclusion. 297 
 
 It was a great pleasure when the General announced 
 his intention to visit his home. The journey was too 
 triumphal a progress to be expeditious. Man had a 
 new hero and demanded the right not only to look 
 upon him but to take him by the hand. Negroes 
 fought one another for the privilege of leading his 
 horse. 
 
 Nashville was more than wild ; it was mad with en 
 thusiasm. But the General did not halt to receive or 
 to deliver addresses; his desire now was to reach his 
 home and there to await orders from the War De 
 partment, for he was still of the army. When we 
 came within sight of the Hermitage and looked upon 
 the dark mass of people gathered there, he remarked 
 to me: 
 
 ' ' I now feel, sir, that I am entitled to a few days of 
 rest and of quiet; but I do not see that either is 
 waiting for me. ' ' 
 
 Neither could I see it. I knew, as he must have 
 known, that the sun of his fame was just now fairly 
 ablaze, over the hill; that the voice of the Nation 
 would call him. 
 
 The weather was pleasant for the time of year, and 
 a great dinner was served on the lawn. I looked 
 about for Mahone, but did not find him until rather 
 late in the afternoon. Then, with Arabella beside 
 him in a buggy, he drove up to the gate. "Arrah," 
 he cried, ''it is yourself, is it? And you were smart 
 enough to give us the slip. Arabella, my dear, jump 
 out like the feather you are." He caught her in his 
 arms as she sprang from the buggy. "Kiss her," he 
 said to me "kiss her that was and is Mrs. Daniel 
 Mahone. Yes, we were married a month ago, and a
 
 298 "By the Eternal" 
 
 happier pair I have never seen. You may kiss her 
 again if she don't object, and I know she won't." 
 
 There was no conjecture now as to the state of Ara 
 bella 's mind. For the first time her every look, tone, 
 word, seemed genuine. ' ' Oh, I thank you so much for 
 sending him back to me," she said. 
 
 "But I didn't send him," I answered. "He wanted 
 to come and the General granted him leave." 
 
 "Still the same old bush-beating Richard," she re 
 plied. "Wretch, don't you remember having saved 
 this life in the night attack?" 
 
 "I do not. But I did a good deal of running on 
 that occasion, and I might have run over some one 
 that was close after him." 
 
 "Listen to the vain boaster, will you!" cried Ma- 
 hone. ' ' But come, let us get inside. Since taking up 
 my abode amid luxuries, I don't like the edge of this 
 cutting wind." 
 
 It was a long time that night before we were per 
 mitted to sit in quiet about the fire-side ; and when at 
 last this boon was granted us the General, his wife 
 and me it was good to see the warrior rest, in his 
 easy rocking chair. The cool wind whistling about 
 the house, the comfort within, the fire muttering, ex 
 erted their soothing influence, and the soldier slept. 
 
 ' ' This is the first opportunity to tell you the news, ' ' 
 said Mrs. Jackson, speaking in a low tone. "Nettie 
 will be here tomorrow." I started up, but the sad 
 ness of her look restrained me from uttering a word. 
 I waited. 
 
 "Day after to-morrow she will be eighteen. How 
 time does fly ! And on that night, here in our house, 
 she is to be married. She has yielded every point to 
 "Wilbur and his mother, save one her determination
 
 Conclusion. 299 
 
 to be married beneath our roof. 'Riah urged her own 
 physical inability to make the journey, which in fact 
 is not far, but Nettie would not yield. Richard, I 
 have prayed " 
 
 ' ' Don 't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes, ' ' 
 the General muttered, then awoke. "Ah," he said, 
 "I was back there on the field at New Orleans. Mrs. 
 Jackson, my dear, I believe I will go to bed." 
 
 "I think it would be well, Mr. Jackson, for you 
 must be very tired," she answered. Her Bible was 
 ever handy and in a moment she had it in her hand; 
 and the book-mark, hanging down from between the 
 leaves showed to my accustomed eye that the "po 
 tion" was to be neither the "sling" nor "ram's 
 horn." And conjecture was right, for shortly after- 
 \vard I heard the voice of the gentle woman, calling 
 him down beside the "still waters." 
 
 I did not wait for her to come back. She had told 
 me enough. 
 
 It was about ten o'clock in the forenoon of the fol 
 lowing day when Nettie and Wilbur Page drove up 
 to the gate. I did not go forth to meet them; I went 
 to my room, and remained there until Mrs. Jackson 
 sent for me to come into the parlor. 
 
 In the young woman every promise of the girl had 
 been kept. She was radiantly beautiful. Wilbur 
 came forward and shook hands with me, and then I 
 took her hand, looked into her eyes, and had we been 
 alone, I should have drawn her toward me, her lips to 
 meet mine as they once met; and over me came the 
 feeling that she would not resist. By the young fel 
 low's air I could see that in his belief his "authority" 
 was settled into ' ' divine right, ' ' and that on her part 
 there could be no resistance. Still, he kept a sharp
 
 800 "By the Eternal" 
 
 lookout for me, I thought, sometimes finishing a sen 
 tence for me when I addressed myself to her. The 
 General said that he was going out to look at the colts, 
 and inquired of Wilbur, and most innocently, too, if 
 he cared to go along ; but he answered that he believed 
 not. Nor during the entire afternoon did he budge. 
 But my mind toward the girl was made up. I would 
 save her from him if I could, presuming, of course, 
 that she desired to be saved. However, I did not 
 wholly like her humor; there was not enough of sad 
 ness in it, so great a sacrifice on her part being near, 
 and I wondered if she had finally learned to love him. 
 Night came and still I had not spoken for her ears 
 alone bed-time, and there he sat by the fire, in his 
 new boots, and their shine angered me, for much of 
 his vanity lay in his foot. 
 
 Early on the following day, I heard some talk about 
 the county clerk, of marriage license, and my blood 
 turned chilly. There did not seem to be any hope; 
 but in the afternoon Wilbur went with the General 
 out to the meadow. I asked Nettie to take a stroll 
 with me, in the garden. She hesitated. She said 
 that the air was cold, and it was becoming more so, 
 it seemed to me ; but I saw that she was putting on a 
 wrap. Knowing that our time would be short, I was 
 much disposed to bid her make haste, but when I 
 showed impatience she reproved me with a light in 
 her countenance which she no doubt intended for a 
 frown. 
 
 We walked out toward the summer-house, and 
 though it was past the middle of March the air came 
 cold from the north. She was lively, joking with me 
 until we entered the summer-house, and then a sad 
 ness came upon her, showing how beautiful her face
 
 " YOU SHAT.L NOT!'
 
 Conclusion. 301 
 
 could be when serious. She sat down, I beside her, 
 and I would have thought that she sighed but I had 
 lost too much hope for that degree of self -congratula 
 tion. 
 
 "A long time has passed," she said, "since 
 
 "Yes, since our lips met, in the candle light," I 
 boldly broke in, and she finished: "Since we to 
 gether saw the old whale that swallowed Jonah." 
 
 "Ah," I answered, "and on that day a life was 
 swallowed. By fate my life." 
 
 She sighed now, and our eyes met. She was won 
 drous calm, for her, and her face was pale. But she 
 smiled and said: "I haven't yet learned very many 
 big words, as I told you I would. They did not come, 
 with the long dresses. I like the simple words that 
 called us so close to happiness, in that dear time so 
 long ago." 
 
 "Yes, how much sweeter are the simpler words 
 the words, 'Nettie I have always loved you and beg 
 you not to take a step that may make you unhappy. 
 We were born for each other; we have known it dur 
 ing these years. You must be my wife you shall 
 not' " 
 
 "Here comes Wilbur," she said; and her hand, 
 which I had seized, fluttered like a bird within my 
 grasp. She arose and was standing some distance off 
 when Page came to the door. "Several visitors are 
 at the house waiting for you," he said to her; and 
 without a word she left me. Page walked off with her, 
 having merely looked at me; and toward him my 
 anger arose, as it had arisen when I slapped Lis- 
 mukes' face. But I was just enough toward him, 
 with all my boiling blood, to know that I had no real
 
 302 "By the Eternal" 
 
 cause for violence. He had simply insulted me with 
 a look of contempt. 
 
 When the candles were lighted and the guests be 
 gan to assemble, the General came to my room. ' ' Mrs. 
 Jackson has just told me something which I suppose 
 I ought to have observed, Richard. I am sorry for 
 you, and by the Eternal, for her but it cannot be 
 helped. The southern woman, sir, is educated to be 
 lieve that she was created to sacrifice herself. They 
 are nearly ready. Come on, Richard, and bear it like 
 a man." 
 
 As I entered the parlor Mahone seized my hand, 
 and I remember Arabella 's sad face. ' ' Here is Chap 
 lain Atcherson," said the Irishman. "Knowing that 
 he would be welcome to all concerned, I took it upon 
 myself to invite him." 
 
 Everything seemed to be in readiness. The clergy 
 man selected by Page had arrived. At the parlor 
 door Page stood waiting for Nettie. She was to join 
 him there. But why did they wait so long ? Sudden 
 ly Mrs. Jackson came swiftly through the door. 
 "Miss Blakemore has fainted," she cried. Page 
 leaped through the door into the room. 
 
 "By the Eternal, the wrong physician," Old Hick 
 ory roared. 
 
 Arabella hurried after Page. "Arrah," cried Ma- 
 hone, "if there's any news she'll fetch it." 
 
 A few moments later Arabella came out. "Nettie 
 has asked for you," she said to me. 
 
 I must have run over some one getting into that 
 room. Nettie was sitting on a couch. She bade me 
 sit down beside her, and when I obeyed she turned 
 her glorious eyes full into mine. "You asked me to
 
 Conclusion. 303 
 
 be your wife," she said, and she put her arms about 
 my neck. 
 
 "I won't stand this," Wilbur Page cried out. 
 
 "Yes, you will," said Old Hickory. "It is the de 
 mand of the Eternal, sir." 
 
 Page bowed, and without uttering another word, 
 strode out. 
 
 I was in a daze. I strove to speak failed; and 
 then I heard some one speak of sending to town for 
 "a new license." 
 
 "Begorry, that is unnecessary," spoke up Mahone. 
 "I have it here, together with Preacher Atcherson. I 
 did not think the previous set would mature." 
 
 Old Hickory took my hand, Nettie's hand, and said 
 to us : " This gives me great happiness. Colonel Ma- 
 hone, by the Eternal, you are a genius, sir; and I 
 wish to recall my reprimand for impetuosity." 
 
 I saw Atcherson standing in front of me felt a 
 touch upon my arm. The old earth, soloist of the 
 spheres, was singing.
 
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