'RIME
 
 Y *
 
 OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES
 
 PACTOLUS PRIME
 
 JUDGE TOURGEE'S BOOKS. 
 
 The following list of the works of the distinguished 
 author of Pactolu Prime, with the date of 
 publication of each, will be of interest to many 
 thousands of his readers : 
 
 A ROYAL GENTLEMAN (first styled TOINETTE), 1874 
 FIGS AND THISTLES, 1879 
 
 A FOOL'S ERRAND, 1879 
 
 BRICKS WITHOUT STRAW, 1880 
 JOHN EAX (and MAMELON), 1882 
 HOT PLOWSHARES, 1883 
 
 AN APPEAL TO C^SAR, 1884 
 
 BLACK ICE, 1885 
 BUTTON'S INN, 1886 
 
 THE VETERAN AND His PIPE, 1887 
 LETTERS TO A KING, 1888 
 
 WITH GAUGE & SWALLOW, 1889 
 PACTOLUS PRIME, 1890 
 
 L
 
 PACTOLUS PRIME 
 
 BY 
 
 ALBION w. TOURGE 
 
 
 
 AUTHOR OF "A FOOL'S ERRAND," ETC., ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 CASSELL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 104 & 106 FOURTH AVENUE
 
 COPYRIGHT, 
 
 1890, 
 BY O. M. DUNHAM. 
 
 All r/f/itt reserved. 
 
 PRESS W. L. MERSHON & CO. 
 KAHWAV, N. J.
 
 PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. 
 
 / T A HE works of the author of this volume have 
 1 probably covered a wider range of types and 
 embraced a greater variety of characters than 
 those of any living American novelist. Steadily 
 refusing to be affected by the craze to be counted 
 a disciple of any particular " school of fiction," he 
 has pursued his own course of depicting men and 
 women as they are, the creatures of motive and 
 environment. As a result his works are crowded 
 with strongly drawn, life-like types, each one the 
 result of a distinctly traced inheritance and a 
 specific environment, the effects of which are never 
 lost sight of by the reader. 
 
 In method he is not only original, but almost 
 unique. He does not develope his characters by 
 self-analytic monologue or the unnatural expedient 
 of making them constant seekers for advice ; but 
 he allows his readers to see them in their acts and 
 attendant conversation, and in the reflected life of 
 associated lives. The excellence of this method 
 has been abundantly shown by the peculiarly vivid 
 impressions his works have left on the minds of 
 
 21331B8
 
 PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. 
 
 their readers. No one is able to escape its power ; 
 once begun, one of his stories must be read to 
 the end. 
 
 His latest work is a striking exposition of his 
 peculiar qualities as a novelist, and stamps upon 
 the mind a picture which no reader can ever forget. 
 Pactolus Prime is one of those vivid creations of 
 the novelist which will stand out in the history of 
 literature as a type in which the sentiment of an 
 epoch is made incarnate. He is the Edipus of 
 American fiction, not less marked than his classical 
 prototype in the singular pathos of his life, in the 
 patience and hopeless bitterness with which he 
 faces his destiny, and in the exalted philosophy 
 with which he passes by the half-unconscious in- 
 struments of his doom, to denounce and defy the 
 impalpable tendencies which impel him and them 
 toward a fate as inexorable as that which the weird 
 sisters meted out to the woful victim of the most 
 thrilling of the Greek tragedies.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. AN ADVENT MORN, i 
 
 II A CROWDED INN, - ... 5 
 
 III. A PROFESSOR OF THE BLACK ART, - 20 
 
 IV. MASTER AND DISCIPLE, - ... 33 
 
 V. WHAT THE HERALD-ANGELS SAW, - - 51 
 
 VI. AN ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES. - 70 
 
 VII. SOME EXPERT TESTIMONY, - - 81 
 
 VIII. COUNTERCLAIM AND SET-OFF, - - 93 
 
 IX. " IF WISHES WERE FISHES," - 100 
 
 X. A BASIS OF COMPOSITION, - 108 
 
 XI. THE FEET OF Two ADMINISTRATIONS, - 131 
 
 XII. AN UNSATISFACTORY CLIENT, - - 144 
 
 XIII. A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR, - ... 157 
 
 XIV. PROFESSIONAL COURTESY, 175 
 XV. BAFFLED ENTERPRISE, - - - 181 
 
 XVI. AN INTRACTABLE DONEE, - - - 192 
 
 XVII. THE BOUNDARY OF RIGHT, - - - 211 
 
 XVIII. AN UNEXPECTED CALL, - ... 219
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGfc 
 
 XIX. A PROMISE FULFILLED, - - 229 
 
 XX. THE FIAT OF SCIENCE, .... 236 
 
 XXI. "AND FATE AT LENGTH WAS KIND," 256 
 
 XXII. THE RETURN OF PROCESS, 268 
 
 XXIII. THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING DEAD, - - 284 
 
 XXIV. A TRUE RECORD, - 290 
 XXV. "BLOOD WILL TELL," - 324 
 
 XXVI. THE LAW OF PROGRESS, - - - 330 
 
 XXVII. WHAT IT is TO BE A HERO, - - 347 
 
 XXVIII. PENALTIES, - 353
 
 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 I. 
 
 AN ADVENT MORN. 
 
 IT was Christmas morning in Washington. 
 The eastern sky was just light enough to 
 show the dark outlines of the Capitol standing 
 out against it. A driving wind swept clouds of 
 dust and billows of fine, hard-frozen snow along 
 the Avenue, heaping its curiously mingled bur- 
 den for a moment in the sheltering door-way 
 and then sucking it out with some queer freak 
 of changeful purpose and racing to the near- 
 est crossing, as if to hide it from the swift 
 pursuing gust. The signs and shutters creaked 
 and slammed. The streets were deserted, save 
 here and there some lonely figure half-walked, 
 half-trotted before the gale, or with bowed 
 head waveringly faced its force. The long rows 
 of lamps shimmered coldly in the distance, 
 while on the wide Avenues the electric lights 
 glared down hissing and flickering in their un- 
 canny radiance, covering the dark, wind-swept 
 pavement with strange, unreal shadows.
 
 2 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 The festivities of Christmas Eve had ceased ; 
 they had been too furious to last. The deni- 
 zens of the city slept ; some pillowed on pleas- 
 ant memories, some happily oblivious of evil 
 deeds, and all expectantly dreaming of to- 
 morrow's joys. The bells of St. Aloysius had 
 sounded at midnight the Annunciation chimes ; 
 the sleepers had waked to smile ; the revelers 
 had paused to approve. The Advent morn 
 had come to the Christian capital of a Chris- 
 tian nation, bringing a thrill of complacent 
 joy to the hearts of a Christian people, sin- 
 cerely grateful that they are " not as other 
 men." 
 
 The masses who rule and the officials who 
 serve slept in peace. No enemy thundered 
 at the gates ; no traitor plotted within the 
 walls ; no peril threatened the Republic. Free- 
 dom held its court beside the broad Potomac. 
 Prosperity filled all the land ! Well might the 
 nation rejoice and the denizens of the metropo- 
 lis rest in peace ! The hour marked the flood- 
 tide of contentment in the happy homes 
 of a favored nation. Founded in justice, it 
 had gathered rich harvests of " the peaceable 
 fruits of righteousness." Its bursting garners 
 and overflowing treasury demonstrated how 
 "righteousness exalteth a nation," and its 
 happy people pitied the luckless dwellers in
 
 AN ADVENT MORN. 3 
 
 unfortunate lands where lean exchequers and 
 impoverished homes attest that " sin is a dis- 
 grace to any people." No wonder they pitied 
 " the heathen Turk," and all of " those who sit 
 in darkness," on which the star of Bethlehem 
 hath not shone. Embosomed in righteousness 
 lay the capital city of that nation which is 
 the consummate flower of the ripening perfec- 
 tions of the nineteenth century of the Christ- 
 Child's blissful reign ! 
 
 Even vice was silent and crime was still as 
 the blessed dawn approached, for vice was 
 palsied by anticipatory revels, and crime had 
 destroyed its potency for evil by the fervor 
 of its joy at the approach of the holy festival. 
 The halls of legislation were silent. The Lobby 
 rested. The White House door was shut. 
 The Departments were deserted. The gam- 
 bling-hells were closed. The saloons were 
 dark. Only carved heroes and invisible police- 
 men watched over the slumbering city. They 
 and the angels, of course the herald angels 
 who sang above Judea's hills so many centuries 
 ago, who certainly would not miss an oppor- 
 tunity to witness the fruition of the message 
 which they brought, " Peace on earth ; good 
 will among men." They, naturally lingered 
 above the capital city of the most Christian 
 nation of the most enlightened epoch of the
 
 4 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 Christian era, to note the fulfillment of proph- 
 ecy the influence of that transforming 
 thought, 
 
 The Holiest brought to earth and set, 
 Before a wondering world on Olivet ! 
 
 How they were pleased with what they be- 
 held it would not beseem mortal to inquire. 
 What they saw, if they waited until the gray, 
 cold dawn, that alone we may presume to tell. 
 And this, in truth, is all that can be of serious 
 interest to the world of to-day. Angelic opin- 
 ions are at a discount in this age. Even what 
 our neighbor thinks is of far less consequence 
 to us than what he does. What he thinks con- 
 cerns himself alone; what he does touches 
 us as well. We pity his woes pity is very 
 cheap and show our " good will " thereby on 
 each recurrent anniversary of the Christ-Child's 
 birth. We cannot watch all our neighbors, or 
 tell what all of them did on the "blessed day " 
 of which we write ; but what some of them 
 were doing that Christmas morning, " before it 
 was yet day," these pages will reveal.
 
 II. 
 
 A CROWDED INN. 
 
 IT is the habit of inns to be full at Christmas 
 time, a habit of long standing, it would 
 seem, for there was no place for the mother of 
 our Lord in the one at Bethlehem, some nine- 
 teen centuries ago. The inns of Washington 
 are no exception to this general rule. Despite 
 the customary legislative recess, the great 
 caravanseries of the national capital are sure to 
 be crowded to overflowing at this season. 
 The guests begin the Christmas festivities 
 early the day before, fearful, no doubt, that 
 they may miss some of the exhilarating in- 
 fluences of this holy festival. As Christmas 
 Eve closes in, the tide of life that throngs the 
 great rotunda, surges along the tesselated 
 halls, crowds the spacious bar and chatters, 
 roars, and lounges in the capacious waiting- 
 rooms, is almost unprecedented in any other 
 city of the land. But the exhilaration is too 
 keen to last. By and by the ebb sets in ; the 
 callers depart ; the bar is closed ; the absent 
 guests return. Finally the last roysterer is 
 5
 
 O PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "steered" to the safe harbor of his room, and 
 the last " dead-beat " unwillingly persuaded to 
 abandon the kindly warmth of its corridors 
 and the slumberous comfort of its chairs. 
 Then the lights are turned down and guests 
 and servants enjoy a brief period of repose. 
 Only the clerk, a bell-boy or two, and the night- 
 watchmen are alert of all the mass of slum- 
 bering life that fills its crowded rooms. 
 
 Naturally enough, Christendom sleeps late 
 on Christmas morn, and nowhere wakes more 
 unwillingly than in the capital of the Republic. 
 Not only the night's festivities, but some 
 lingering relics of the slave's saturnalia have 
 served to abbreviate the hours of slumber. 
 The " Best House " named after its proprie- 
 tor, though the term was punningly applied to 
 its quality also, was still silent, therefore, its 
 windows darkened and its corridors empty, in 
 the early morning, while the storm raged with- 
 out. The clerk had abandoned the circular 
 inclosure, the counter surrounding which was 
 piled high with Christmas gifts, and reclining 
 in an easy-chair with his legs resting on another 
 so as to expose the soles of his feet to the 
 grateful warmth of a corrugated steam-heater, 
 slumbered peacefully. A single hall-boy dozed 
 upon the hard seat allotted to the strong- 
 legged Mercurys of the modern hotel service,
 
 A CROWDED INN. 7 
 
 who, lacking wings, and forbidden to use the 
 elevator, illustrate, to the waiting guests' fre- 
 quent discomfiture, the mechanical axiom, that 
 " what is gained in power is lost is time." He 
 slept leaning uncomfortably over the iron 
 elbow-rests which prevented him from lying 
 down, and were intended to keep him awake. 
 Sitting bolt upright before the counter on 
 which lay the open register wherein the names 
 of guests were entered, snored the night-watch- 
 man. He had evidently made a hard fight to 
 keep awake. With legs spread wide apart and 
 hands grasping firmly the arms of the chair, he 
 seemed even yet to bid defiance to the slum- 
 berous tendency, save that his head, slightly 
 tipped backward, rested just at its base against 
 the edge of the marble counter which bounds 
 the clerk's domain, and the traitorous trumpet 
 of his nose gave evidence of his unconditional 
 surrender. The hands of the clock pointed to a 
 quarter of five. The lights were low and few, 
 and the spacious office was in uncertain shad- 
 ow. The great hostelry seemed almost de- 
 serted. 
 
 The storm-door opened and closed with a 
 dull thud. There was a rustling of garments, 
 a scraping of feet on the woven-wire mat, 
 and the great inner door swung noiselessly 
 back, admitting a gust of cold air and a man
 
 8 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 wearing a long overcoat, cut in the fashion of 
 a private soldier's, but of a dull brown color, 
 and a worn silk hat, the brim of which was full 
 of particles of snow. The automatic portal 
 closed slowly after him with its accustomed 
 pneumatic sigh. The new-comer paused as if 
 to recover breath after his struggle with the 
 storm without ; rubbed his hands together 
 briskly for a moment, hanging the crook of a 
 heavy cane over his arm in order to do so, un- 
 did the mufflings about his neck and walked 
 slowly toward the desk. A pair of spectacles, 
 with very large glasses and heavy bows, was 
 all that relieved a face of singularly uniform 
 darkness. He appeared to take in the situa- 
 tion at a glance, and smiled to think that those 
 whom so many trusted to guard their slumbers 
 were themselves asleep. He was evidently on 
 familiar ground. Advancing cautiously, with 
 a curious shuffling gait, he touched the slum- 
 bering watchman's shoulder and said in a low 
 whisper: 
 
 "Isn't it time you called the girls, Mike! " 
 " Troth, it's right ye are," answered the 
 watchman in the same guarded tone, springing 
 to his feet as he spoke, " an' it's a thrate I'm 
 owin' ye, Misther Prime, fer savin' me a dollar 
 an' beloike a ratin' too, if the clerk had caught 
 me nappin'. Lucky I'm in toime to make up
 
 A CROWDED INN. 9 
 
 the riccord, too it's not foive yet, an' it's 
 always four till it's foive, ye know." 
 
 He went inside the circular inclosure and 
 touched the spring of the time-clock, the punc- 
 tured dial of which was the guaranty that 
 some time within the hour he had been awake, 
 and then stole off on tiptoe to perform his 
 duty of waking the other servants. The little 
 stir thus caused roused the clerk, whose 
 slumber, accustomed to interruptions, was of 
 the lightest. 
 
 "Mike!" he called, sleepily. The new- 
 comer waited until the watchman had disap- 
 peared down the dim-lighted hall, and then 
 answered : 
 
 " Mike is not here, Mr. Carson : it's likely 
 he has gone to call the scrubbers." 
 
 "Is it as late as that, Prime?" exclaimed 
 the clerk, throwing off his drowsiness, sitting 
 up in his chair and taking his feet off the 
 other. " I must have overslept myself, and I 
 guess Mike has been asleep, too ! " 
 
 " I am a little early," was the evasive answer, 
 as the other shuffled along until he stood be- 
 fore the sleepy clerk. " Mike has probably 
 been looking after the fires ; it's mighty com- 
 fortable here." 
 
 He pressed his hands upon the heater and 
 coughed and shivered as he spoke.
 
 io PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " And. pretty rough outside, I reckon," com- 
 mented the clerk, glancing at the other's hat. 
 
 "Cold and blowing," replied Prime, taking 
 off his hat and shaking the round, hard pellets 
 out on the stone floor. " Everything's a-flying, 
 and the sleet stings like shot." 
 
 The man rubbed his face as he spoke as if to 
 remove the sensations he described. 
 
 " A bad day for Christmas," said the clerk. 
 "By the way, 'Merry Christmas!' to you, 
 Prime." 
 
 "Thank ye; sir," said the other, bowing con- 
 strainedly. " I hope you'll have a pleasant 
 time." 
 
 " Of course I shall," was the hearty answer. 
 " Don't you expect the same ? " 
 
 " Christmas is jes' ez good as any other day 
 ter me, Mr. Ca'son," said the other carelessly, 
 with a touch of the negro dialect, not before 
 noticeable in his speech. 
 
 "As good as any other day! Oh, I say, 
 Prime, a fellow isn't half-white unless he has 
 a better time Christmas than any other day in 
 the year." The clerk stretched and yawned, 
 rubbing his eyes with his hand and bending 
 his slender body backward with the healthy 
 abandon of half-awakened youth as he .spoke. 
 
 " Perhaps that's the reason I don't expect it," 
 said the other grimly. He wore a black knitted
 
 A CROWDED INN. 1 1 
 
 cap underneath his hat, covering his forehead 
 almost to the brims of his glasses. Not so 
 much as the white of an eye was visible as he 
 turned a sharp, hard face toward the young 
 man. 
 
 " Don't be so touchy, Prime ; I didn't mean 
 that, of course," said the clerk apologetically. 
 " Though a nigger gets his share of Christmas 
 all the same. ' No distinction of race, color or 
 previous condition ' about that institution. 
 The only trouble is that he isn't satisfied with 
 one day ; he wants a week of Christmases at a 
 stretch. Eh, Prime?" He laughed lightly at 
 his own jest as he stepped across to wake the 
 sleeping hall-boy. 
 
 " If he had a year at a time he wouldn't any 
 more'n catch up, would he ? " asked Prime in a 
 tone that seemed to stop just short of a sneer. 
 
 " Well, I don't know ; I guess the nigger's 
 always had his share of whatever good times 
 there were going." 
 
 " Oh, of course, he's had his sheer" said the 
 other, with a thin, derisive laugh " his sheer! 
 That's certainly good, Mr. Ca'son ! His sheer! " 
 
 Again the negro dialect betrayed itself more 
 strongly than before, seeming strangely incon- 
 gruous with the low, even tone and now un- 
 mistakable sneer, while a row of white teeth 
 showed between the dark lips with almost
 
 12 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 startling ghastliness, as he continued, almost 
 hissing out the words : 
 
 " There's one little difficulty 'bout it. Who 
 decided what was his sheer? Who measured 
 it out to him ? How did it come to be his 
 sheer? How did he git it?" 
 
 "Oh, I can't tell," laughed the clerk, " stole 
 it most likely. That's the way a nigger usually 
 gets what he's too lazy to work for. Come, be 
 lively there ! " he added, turning to the scrub- 
 bing-women who had just entered at the other 
 side of the room with buckets and brushes. 
 "Be lively! You're a half-hour late and 
 people are bound to be stirring early to-day. 
 Turn on the lights there, Mike, and move the 
 chairs out of the way ! " 
 
 He spoke good-naturedly, and hummed a 
 Christmas hymn as he turned to his desk while 
 the row of wrinkled women with dresses pinned 
 up at the sides, showing coarse, dirty petti- 
 coats and heavy shoes, fell upon their knees 
 and began to scrub and wipe the alternate 
 black and white squares of the polished stone 
 floor. They backed away from their work as it 
 progressed, with a queer, sidling motion neces- 
 sary to prevent their nether limbs from slipping 
 beyond the sheltering skirts. 
 
 Prime still stood by the heater warming 
 himself. The clerk sauntered back and stood
 
 A CROWDED INN. *3 
 
 beside it also, his hands clasped behind him 
 while he watched the line of women slowly mov- 
 ing across the floor on their hands and knees. 
 
 " They are white ! " he said significantly. 
 
 "Yes," answered the other absently. 
 
 " Not much better off than niggers, are 
 they ? " 
 
 " Didn't the daughter of one of your scrub- 
 bers marry a Senators son r " 
 
 "Why, yes," dubiously. 
 
 " She was white, you see nearly as white 
 as as my boy Ben ! Now if she had been 
 his sister that would have been wicked, you 
 know positively wicked, Mr. Ca'son ! " 
 
 " Pshaw ! you must have got out of bed 
 wrong foot first this morning, Prime," said the 
 clerk heartily, laying his hand on the other's 
 shoulder, "this isn't the time to be grouty and 
 ill-tempered. This is Christmas Day, old 
 man ! " 
 
 " The birthday of the white Christ ! " sneered 
 Prime. 
 
 " The what ? " asked the ather curiously. 
 
 " The white Christ the white man's Sav- 
 iour? " 
 
 " Now, Prime, I'm not much on religion, as 
 you know, but I vow that's too bad ! You're 
 morbid, man ! Get something for your liver as 
 soon as the bar is open, and tell Hank to mark
 
 14 PACTOL US PRIME. 
 
 it down to me. The White Christ ! What 
 are you thinking of? White? Not much, I 
 should say ! Why, man, wasn't the Saviour 
 born in a stable and cradled in a manger? 
 Don't you remember the old carol we used 
 to sing? How was it?" The clerk hummed 
 the air as if to aid his recollection. "You 
 ought to know it, Prime? I'll lay a hundred 
 to one you've sung it many a Christmas in old 
 Virginia?" 
 
 "Neither in old or new Virginny, Mr. Ca'- 
 son," said the dusky listener with his quiet 
 sneer. "I may have believed a nigger had 
 some sheer in Christmas when he was a slave, 
 but since he has been free wal, let them sing 
 Christmas hymns that choose : my voice is too 
 badly cracked." 
 
 His chuckling laugh was drowned in the 
 cough that followed. 
 
 " Oh, bother your nonsense ! You know 
 what I mean," said the clerk. " How did it 
 go? I don't wonder it makes you cough. 
 It's a bit of slashing, open-handed, free-grace 
 and salvation-for-all doctrine that ought to 
 make such a snarling old ne'er-content as you 
 sick for life. Oh, I remember : 
 
 " Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining, 
 
 Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall ; 
 Angels adore Him in slumber reclining, 
 Maker and Monarch and Saviour of all."
 
 A CROWDED INN. 15 
 
 The young man sang in a full baritone which 
 rolled melodiously through the half-lighted 
 room and dim branching corridors. The 
 women looked up and turned to each other 
 with a pleasant word of greeting. 
 
 " Sure, but I'd forgot it was Christmas 
 Day ! " said Mike, crossing himself and mut- 
 tering a hurried prayer. 
 
 One of the women turned partially away 
 from the others, straightened up on her knees, 
 and letting her brush fall, whispered a prayer 
 also. Over the others there seemed to steal a 
 tender feeling, but they did not intermit their 
 labors. Some moved their lips, and one or 
 two made the sign of the cross. 
 
 " Now what have you got to say to that, 
 you sneering old stick-in-the-mud ?" asked the 
 clerk good-humoredly. 
 
 " I suppose I should feet the same way 
 about it," said Prime wistfully, " if if I was a 
 white man ! " 
 
 He picked up his hat which had dropped 
 on the stone pavement, and putting his left 
 hand in the pocket of his great-coat and lean- 
 ing on his cane started with his curious dragg- 
 ing gait along the wide hall. The clerk 
 returned to his desk whistling softly the air he 
 had just sung. 
 
 " By the way, Prime," he called to the
 
 1 6 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 figure disappearing down the corridor, " I have 
 a package here for you." 
 
 "For me, Mr. Ca'son?" asked the old man 
 in some surprise, shuffling back to the desk. 
 
 "Yes, sir! for you! Santa Claus hasn't 
 forgotten you, even if you do talk so mean 
 about the day we dedicate to him. Ah, here 
 it is," dragging out a large oblong box carefully 
 tied up. "'Pactolus Prime'; that's you, I 
 take it ? " 
 
 He laid the package on the counter as he 
 spoke, and looked quizzically into the other's 
 face. 
 
 " ' Pactolus Prime, Esquire,' " said the old 
 man, slowly scanning the address and laying a 
 scornful stress upon the title. " That's ce'tainly 
 meant for me, Mr. Ca'son, and by the same 
 token, it don't take much guessin' to tell who 
 the fool is that sent it." 
 
 His countenance relaxed, however, as he 
 spoke, and his tone grew softer despite the 
 harsh words he uttered. 
 
 " Why, of course not ; it was Santa Claus, 
 you old unbeliever ! " was the laughing reply. 
 
 " May be you're right, Mr. Ca'son," said 
 Prime as he lifted his bundle from the desk, 
 and relapsing into his former sarcastic tone, 
 he repeated : " May be you're right. I've heard 
 that Santa Claus was really some sort of
 
 A CROWDED INN. 17 
 
 heathen god just made over to suit later 
 notions. He might not be troubled at my 
 complexion might be color-blind, you know ; 
 but the Christ, Mr. Ca'son, your white Christ, 
 don't ever make such mistakes. He may make 
 niggers welcome enough in Heaven, if any of 
 'em are allowed to git thar, but he ce'tainly 
 hasn't any use for 'em on earth. His followers 
 have a heap to say about ' jestice and mercy ' 
 always puttin' the jestice first ; but when it 
 comes to dealin' with a nigger, they leave the 
 jestice out entirely and expect him to be 
 mighty grateful for his sheer of what's left! 
 His sheer of the mercy, you know ! " 
 
 There was an angry flash under his spec- 
 tacles as the lame man turned away. 
 
 " What an incorrigible old sinner ! " said the 
 clerk to himself, as he watched the retreating 
 figure. " With all his queer notions, though, 
 God hasn't made many whiter men than that 
 same Prime according to my idea, that is, and 
 just for common, every-day use," he added, as 
 if apologizing to himself for the extravagance 
 of his first assertion. 
 
 A bell tinkled, and a white disk upon the 
 indicator dropped out of its place, revealing 
 a numeral beneath. 
 
 " Front ! " exclaimed the clerk, dropping his 
 hand instinctively upon the call-bell. " Answer
 
 1 8 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 two-forty-five ! " he said sharply to the sleepy 
 boy as he touched a button and restored 
 the disk to its place. Hardly had he done so, 
 when the bell sounded again and another disk 
 fell out of place, and almost before he had 
 time to note the number, another and an- 
 other. 
 
 " Now comes the rush," he muttered. " Call 
 the other boys, Mike ! Lively now ! Every 
 man, woman and child, or child, woman and 
 man rather, in the whole blessed house will 
 ring from one to forty times during the next 
 two hours to inquire for Christmas gifts. 
 That's the sort of Christmas a hotel clerk gets ! 
 I'd about as lief be a nigger ! " 
 
 He pulled a lever under the counter, and a 
 bell clanged harshly in some remote region of 
 the great building. A moment after a porter 
 answered, and the bell-boys came dragging 
 sleepily in one after another. 
 
 " Make the five-thirty calls ! " said the clerk 
 to the porter, handing him a list. " Look alive 
 now, and make no mistakes ! " 
 
 " T-r-r-ring! T-r-r-ring ! " went the electric 
 bells. Disk after disk fell on the indicator. 
 
 " Front ! One-sixty-three ! Front ! Four- 
 forty-eight ! " 
 
 The boys hurried off one after another, and 
 Christmas had begun in the great hotel. Prime
 
 A CROWDED INN. 19 
 
 crept along the corridor and disappeared down 
 a passage to the left, up which came a faint 
 glimmer of light and the sound of running 
 water.
 
 III. 
 
 A PROFESSOR OF THE BLACK ART. 
 
 PRIME was the bootblack of 
 Ithe "Best House." Most of the hotels in 
 the national metropolis are "houses " of some 
 sort. The style serves to mark the evolution 
 of the hostel. The inn or tavern became first 
 a " hotel," then a " house," and finally has 
 dropped all descriptive modifiers, and bullies 
 the traveler with the puzzling uncertainty of a 
 name alone. Our grandfathers found " enter- 
 tainment for man and beast " at the " Wayside 
 Inn " ; our fathers at the "Grand Hotel," while 
 the aspiration of our own younger days was 
 to put up in style at the new " Monument 
 House," and we now instruct the cabman, with 
 a bit of cockney flavor in our tone, to drive us 
 to " The Brunswick." The one thing to be 
 thankful for about Washington caravanseries 
 is that they have not yet ceased to be " houses." 
 It sounds provincial, but it implies comfort 
 and a certain amount of liberty. The guest of 
 the hotel which sports a single name, as if it 
 were the one distinctive thing so-named on
 
 A PROFESSOR OF THE BLACK ART. 21 
 
 earth, is apt to be a prisoner who submits to 
 being bullied at extortionate rates for the 
 honor of inditing his letters on its specially 
 embossed paper. 
 
 The Best House needs no description. 
 Everybody knows its character and location. 
 It fronts on two streets and one avenue ; is ac- 
 cessible from each ; has the most unpretentious 
 of entrances ; innumerable tiled corridors ; a 
 spacious office ; a magnificent dining-room ; 
 a bar notable alike for its ornamentation, its 
 service, and the quality of its decoctions ; 
 smoking-rooms, billiard-rooms, writing-rooms, 
 and half a thousand sleeping-rooms. Where 
 the army of servants work or lodge or what is 
 the number of them, none knoweth save he 
 who bears the imperial title of " Manager." 
 Him the guests seldom see, but his authority is 
 represented and his dignity suffers no diminu- 
 tion in the person of the " Clerk," who in the 
 category of the modern hotel officials ought 
 more properly to bear the title of " Lord of 
 the Bed-chamber," he having the care, and 
 being responsible for the safety and comfort, 
 of the guest, asleep or awake. 
 
 The bootblack's stand was in the basement, 
 adjoining the public wash-room. The " stand " 
 consisted of four chairs placed upon a dais 
 raised a couple of steps above the level of
 
 2 2 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 the floor. There was a pivoted iron foot-rest 
 in front of each of these, and behind them 
 a window, the lower sash of ground glass, the 
 upper one showing a whitewashed area wall 
 with its railed enclosure above. Through this 
 railing one had a glimpse of the street and 
 sidewalk. The pavement sloped backward 
 from the front of the house, pretty sharply, 
 on the side-street. At the upper edge of the 
 window one barely saw the knee of the passer- 
 by; at the lower, the vision extended almost to 
 the middle. Only the faces of dwarfs and chil- 
 dren were ever visible. Pactolus Prime loved 
 to watch this queer procession of toe and heel in 
 the intervals of his work. His calling it was 
 something more than avocation to him had 
 made him observant of feet, and especially of 
 foot-gear. He noticed the shape, the make of 
 the shoe, the play of the instep, the swing of 
 the leg, and the turn of the ankle with discrim- 
 inating knowledge. He probably knew more 
 men and women by their feet or rather by 
 their shoes than any other man in the coun- 
 try ; more indeed than most men know by 
 memory of faces. Most of the accustomed 
 passers-by and all the regular patrons of his 
 stand he knew by name. Many a man would 
 have gone another way had he known that ob- 
 servant eyes rested on his boots as he strode
 
 A PROFESSOR OF THE BLACK ART. 23 
 
 by Prime's window, and many a lady would 
 have blushed had she known that her feet 
 were recognized by one who had never seen 
 her face. 
 
 Pactolus Prime had occupied this " stand " 
 twelve years. Every guest of the great hotel 
 knew him, and many more, for he had blacked 
 boots somewhere in the city, years before he 
 became a feature of the Best House just how 
 many nobody seemed to know, and he was 
 little inclined to talk about himself. Indeed, 
 beyond the fact that he was not only the boot- 
 black of the Best House, but the best boot- 
 black in any house North or South, or East 
 or West, and so conceded to be by the travel- 
 ing public whom he served very little was 
 known of him or his life. He rented his stand, 
 hired his own assistant, boarded himself, lived 
 somewhere in the suburbs, was always at his 
 post by daylight and usually remained until 
 dark. His assistant stayed until nine or ten 
 at night, and came later in the morning there 
 was not often more than one could attend to 
 until after eight o'clock. Two days in each 
 week Pactolus Prime himself remained until 
 ten and his assistant left at noon. One or two 
 days in the week he took a holiday, and in 
 the afternoon was usually found in one of 
 the galleries at the Capitol, listening to the
 
 24 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 debates. Here he always occupied the same 
 seat unless it chanced to be filled on his arrival, 
 and then sat in the one nearest to it which he 
 found vacant. Nearly everybody in Washing- 
 ton knew him by sight, and many members of 
 Congress and high officials of the government, 
 by name. 
 
 He was not a man of many words, but his 
 deeds were unexceptionable. No boot ever 
 left his hands until its luster was perfect, 
 and no customer departed from his stand with 
 any removable dust upon his clothing. Some- 
 times he talked with his customers, but never 
 about them. If he heard what they said of 
 each other, he never repeated it. He never 
 answered inquiries about them, either. No 
 matter how recently he had tapped a gentle- 
 man's foot to show that his work was done, he 
 could never be made to remember when he had 
 last seen him. He baffled all questions by an 
 unhesitating denial of recollection ; his assist- 
 ant by the denial of knowledge. No detective 
 had ever learned anything from him to a 
 patron's disadvantage, and no assistant of his 
 had ever been called to testify as to the where- 
 abouts of a customer at a particular hour. 
 
 But if he said little, he well knew how to 
 make others talk, and was considered a very 
 superior man for one in his station, by those
 
 A PROFESSOR OF THE BLACK ART. 25 
 
 who loved the sound of their own voices. So, 
 too, though he would not gossip, he was always 
 eager to listen to the discussion of public 
 affairs, and never hesitated to express an 
 opinion thereon. He was not exactly a poli- 
 tician, but had his own ideas, was considered 
 a close observer, and not seldom proved him- 
 self a sound adviser. Statesmen were not 
 ashamed to consider his warnings, and more 
 than once sporting men had risked their money 
 on his political predictions with noticeable 
 advantage. He knew the " blue-book " by 
 heart, and needed no mark of rank to enable 
 him to give any accustomed patron his proper 
 title. He was familiar with the status of most 
 of those upon the civil list, and the aspirations 
 of many who desired to get there. Perhaps a 
 majority of the guests of the great hotel, at 
 one time or another, confided to him some- 
 thing of their hopes or fears ; and not a few 
 condescended to ask his advice some of them 
 his aid. He paid more for his stand than many 
 of the clerks in the Departments receive as 
 salary, yet the proprietor leased to him at a 
 lower figure than he would to another, because 
 of the prudence which made him popular with 
 the guests. 
 
 Nobody knew whether his profits were great 
 or small, unless it was his assistant. He never
 
 26 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 boasted of good fortune nor bewailed bad luck. 
 Some thought he must have grown rich, others 
 wondered how he could live and pay the rent 
 he did. It was whispered among the guests 
 that he was a good man to apply to in an 
 emergency. The clerk, after a peculiarly pite- 
 ous appeal from an unfortunate player or un- 
 expectedly embarrassed wayfarer, sometimes 
 dropped a hint that Prime might help him out 
 of his trouble. He often raised small sums, 
 sometimes very considerable ones, to accommo- 
 date people in such unpleasant predicament. 
 He always acted cautiously, yet he had been 
 known to obtain money on all sorts of pledges, 
 watches, diamonds -even horses and patents 
 which were not regarded as absolutely good 
 security for the sums advanced. If these 
 ventures ever resulted in loss no one knew it, 
 neither the profit, if any there were. Some 
 thought he ventured his own money, some 
 that he was another's agent. There was a 
 general belief that he was very fortunate in 
 these ventures, and among gamblers there was 
 a superstition that it brought good luck to 
 borrow of him. It was noticeable that he could 
 never be induced to serve one whom he had 
 once refused. 
 
 This was about all the clerk, proprietor, or 
 any employ^ of the " Best House" could have
 
 A PROFESSOR OF THE BLACK ART. 27 
 
 told about Pactolus Prime, for though he was 
 a man of mark in his way, he lived his own life 
 and seemed to have neither family nor intimates. 
 Those whom he served usually spoke of him 
 as " Prime "; some called him " Uncle Prime," 
 or simply " Uncle "; one or two addressed him 
 as " Pactolus "; while to the servants at the 
 hotel and his assistant, he was always "Mistah" 
 Prime. Though respected by all, he was very 
 far from being popular with the colored ele- 
 ment of the city's population. Indeed, he 
 seemed to be shunned rather than sought by 
 his own people, except in emergencies when 
 the interests of the race were clearly at stake. 
 His appearance was very striking, full of 
 incongruities that attracted attention yet 
 were hard to define. At first sight and at a 
 little distance, he seemed an old man ; on 
 closer inspection one detected neither wrinkles 
 nor muscular deterioration. In his prime he 
 must have been above the medium height, 
 slenderly rather than strongly built. He was 
 stoop-shouldered, but his chest did not lack 
 depth. His arms were long and his hands 
 narrow, with white, hard nails that somehow 
 seemed out of place upon the fingers of one in 
 his condition. A racial expert one of the old 
 slave-traders, for instance would have found 
 it hard to reconcile those nails with the color
 
 28 PACTOL US PRIME. 
 
 of the hands, according to the thories that pre- 
 vailed among the sagacious dealers in human 
 flesh of a generation ago. The sense of narrow- 
 ness in his figure was perhaps increased by the 
 fact that his right leg seemed to turn inward 
 at the knee, or rather turned outward below 
 the knee, until the foot was almost at a right 
 angle with its fellow. It dragged after the 
 other in walking, and was used as a sort of 
 fleshly ratchet to hold what the left had gained, 
 instead of being sent forward to conquer space 
 on its own account. 
 
 But the countenance of the bootblack of the 
 " Best House " was even more noticeable than 
 his form. A narrow, almost pinched face, 
 growing broad across the eyes, with a high 
 forehead, a straight nose having that flexi- 
 bility of nostril which is claimed to be indica- 
 tive of the Caucasian, thin lips, and a peculiar 
 leaden-gray complexion that seemed singu- 
 larly pervasive of his whole being, were the 
 things which first attracted the attention of a 
 stranger. Closer observation showed that the 
 same blue-gray tint seemed to be even intensi- 
 fied upon the lips, which lacked all trace of red- 
 ness, so that the rows of short, even teeth 
 showed with startling whiteness between 
 them. After a time, one became conscious, as 
 he studied the physiognomy, that a part of its
 
 A PROFESSOR OF THE BLACK ART. 29 
 
 strange effect was due to the entire absence of 
 hair. His head was bald not partially, but 
 absolutely. The black knitted cap he wore 
 could not conceal that fact. There was no 
 trace of beard, and even the great, round, sil- 
 ver-mounted spectacles could not hide the 
 absence of eyebrows on the somewhat promi- 
 nent forehead. These glasses effectually con- 
 cealed his eyes, except when the light was 
 good, as it seldom was in the wash-room of the 
 great hotel. 
 
 Such, as near as words can picture him, was 
 the man who came down the stairs, turned up 
 the lights in the wash-room, and began to undo 
 the package he had received from the clerk. 
 When he had taken off the cover of the box and 
 undid a light paper wrapping, he took out an 
 overcoat made of rich material, with a fur 
 lining and furred sleeves. 
 
 " That's a nice coat," he said, after examining 
 it carefully, " and it was kind in Ben to get it 
 for me. He ought not to have done it, though ; 
 he don't get wages enough not to have plenty 
 of use for his money without buying such a 
 present as that for me. I had about made up 
 my mind to offer him a better chance, and 
 this opens the way to do it." 
 
 There was hardly a trace, in this monologue, 
 of the negro dialect which had been noticeable
 
 3 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 
 
 in his conversation a little while before, but 
 on the contrary a smoothness and accuracy of 
 enunciation which showed that the bootblack 
 of the "Best House" had not associated with 
 the brainiest men of the nation without learn- 
 ing the refinements of speech that prevail 
 among them. He took out a card which he 
 found in one of the pockets of the coat and 
 read : 
 
 "For PACTOLUS PRIME, ESQ. 
 
 CHRISTMAS GIFT." 
 
 "What does he want to tag the ' Esquire 'to 
 it for? The idea of calling a man of my com- 
 plexion ' Esquire ! ' No one but a nigger 
 would think of doing so. It doesn't mean 
 anything among white men, but no white man 
 would ever use it in addressing a nigger. If it 
 does not mean rank.it at least means equality. 
 ' Christmas Gift,' too ! Well, I'm glad he's a 
 nigger. I should hate to get a present that 
 really meant consideration from a white man. 
 There's no danger, though," he added with a 
 quiet laugh. " I suppose I'll get the worth of 
 that coat in extra fees to-day, but it will all 
 be flung to me like a biscuit to a dog after a 
 good day's sport. That's a white man's notion 
 of kindness to a nigger." 
 
 The white teeth, showing between the drawn 
 blue lips, made the man's sneer horribly sar-
 
 A PROFESSOR OF THE BLACK ART. 3 1 
 
 donic. He threw the coat on one of the 
 chairs, took out a bunch of keys, opened a 
 drawer in the dais, and spread out on the plat- 
 form the instruments of his vocation a half 
 dozen brushes, a sponge, a scraper, and a bunch 
 of cotton waste. Then he lifted out a flat 
 marble slab, took it over to one of the wash- 
 stands, sponged it off, and bringing it back 
 wiped it dry with the shreds. After that he 
 put on it a small quantity of blacking with a 
 spatula, moistened it with liquids from two or 
 three different bottles ejecting them with a 
 quick jerk through quills set in the corks 
 worked it evenly and carefully with the spatu- 
 la, testing its consistency now and then until 
 he seemed satisfied with the result. 
 
 " Queer, nobody ever found out the secret of 
 this mixture," he said, as he watched it drip 
 from the edge of the spatula. " Ben mixes it 
 almost as well as I do, but I don't think he has 
 any idea what it's made of. I've made a good 
 thing by it and there's a fortune in it yet. 
 Everybody thinks the excellence and dura- 
 bility of our " shines " depend upon the way 
 the work is done and there's a good deal in 
 that, too but all the pains in the world 
 wouldn't do it with any other blacking ever in- 
 vented. I've thought sometimes I'd patent it, 
 but if I did I'd have to reveal the secret. I'm
 
 3^ PACTOLVS PRIME. 
 
 going out of business pretty soon, but I'll give 
 it to Ben ; and he well, maybe he'll find as good 
 a man to give it to when he comes to retire. 
 To retire ! Think of it ! A bootblack retir- 
 ing as if he was a banker! A nigger boot- 
 black, too ! " 
 
 The man laughed at his strange conceit, 
 looked at his watch, then at the window where 
 the day was beginning to show, and turned his 
 attention to preparing another portion of the 
 liquid whose virtues he had commemorated for 
 the use of his assistant.
 
 IV. 
 
 MASTER AND DISCIPLE. 
 
 " T HOPE Benny won't forget it's Christmas," 
 1 said Prime, when he had put everything 
 in order for the day's labor. " They'll be a 
 little slow at the start, but when they begin 
 to come, there'll be a jam everybody in a 
 hurry and each one wanting to be served first. 
 It's queer how much more leisure people have 
 on work-days than on holidays. The rush may 
 not begin for an hour probably won't, but 
 I wish Benny would come for all that. It's 
 always better to wait for the crowd than ex- 
 pect a crowd to wait for you." 
 
 Hardly had he uttered these words when a 
 smartly dressed young man, with blue eyes, 
 dark curling hair, and trim, erect figure, came 
 running down the stairs. 
 
 " Good morning, Mr. Prime," he exclaimed, 
 " Christmas Gift, sir. Were you afraid I'd be 
 late ? I meant to have told you I'd be on time. 
 Take a seat, sir, and let me give you a shine 
 before the rush begins. Plenty of time, sir," 
 he added, as Prime hesitated. 
 33
 
 34 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 The young man bustled about, taking off his 
 gloves and removing his coat and cuffs as he 
 spoke. He was Prime's assistant, whom he 
 had called a " nigger," though it was difficult 
 to find any trace of African lineage in form or 
 feature. His manner to his employer was dis- 
 tinctly deferential, though he rattled on with the 
 self-consciousness which betrays its purpose. 
 
 " How are you feeling this morning, sir ? 
 Must have been pretty cold getting in so early. 
 You ought to have a better overcoat than the 
 old one you have worn so long. I declare it's a 
 disgrace to the shop. Hello? What's this?" 
 he asked in pretended surprise, taking up the 
 Christmas Gift which Prime had left on one 
 of the chairs. " Oh, I see Santa Claus has 
 remembered you ! Just the thing you needed, 
 too ! Well, well, Mr. Prime, you are in luck 
 as usual." 
 
 "Thar, thar, Benny," said the old man, laps- 
 ing readily into the dialect he sometimes used, 
 as he spoke' to his assistant, " ye needn't go on 
 a-makin' strange o' that ar coat. Ye know 
 mighty well whar it come from, an' I 'spect it 
 made quite a hole in your pocket-book, too. 
 I'm sure I'm much obleeged to ye. 'Twas very 
 thoughtful, though it's much too good for my 
 wear. It would ruin my business if I was seen 
 with it on it would, really."
 
 MASTER AND DISCIPLE. 35 
 
 The last words were hurried, as if to avoid 
 the cough that came after them. 
 
 " But your cough has been very bad of late," 
 said the young man anxiously. 
 
 " It has been mighty troublesome," said the 
 old man. "Can't imagine how I got such a 
 deep cold. Everybody says it's workin* down 
 here where it's hot an' damp, but this is just 
 about the only place I'm free of this cough. 
 You know I hardly ever have a bad spell here." 
 
 " Don't you think you ought to favor your- 
 self more ?" asked the assistant. 
 
 " I'll wear your coat, if that's what you 
 mean," answered the old man with a smile on 
 his thin lips. 
 
 " Don't you think you ought to ride back 
 and forth? 
 
 " La, Benny, I aint sick." 
 
 " You haven't eaten your lunch in ever so 
 long," asserted Benny dubiously. 
 
 " I don't have much appetite, that's a fact. 
 But don't you be troubled ; I'll come out all 
 right. I've been sort of ailin' for a little while ; 
 lucky it's always worst when there's least to 
 do. Perhaps you're right, though : it's most 
 sure to come on after an hour or two of hard 
 work or a bit of walk in the cold. How d'ye 
 think t'would do for me to take a partner ?" 
 asked the old man, eyeing the younger keenly,
 
 36 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 as he applied the blacking to one of his 
 shoes. 
 
 " Wouldn't it be better to give up business 
 entirely ? " asked the other. " I don't want to 
 pry into your affairs, Mr. Prime, but everybody 
 says you could afford it, and if you can, it 
 seems to me it really does, sir," he repeated 
 deprecatingly. He did not finish the sentence. 
 
 "Perhaps I could and perhaps I couldn't,' 
 interrupted Prime sharply. " I haven't any 
 notion of doing it just now, that's certain : but 
 I am goin' to take a partner." 
 
 The young man made no reply, and the elder 
 watched him narrowly, as he worked the brushes 
 back and forth with swift, skillful strokes. 
 
 " You know I don't give Christmas presents ? " 
 he said querulously after a while. 
 
 " I have heard you say so, sir." 
 
 " I shan't give you any." 
 
 " I didn't expect it." 
 
 "You didn't? Why?" 
 
 " There is no reason why you should." 
 
 " Why did you give me one, then ? " 
 
 " To show my respect, sir." 
 
 " Oh ! " almost sneeringly. " You think you 
 are able to make such presents, I suppose?" 
 
 " You have been very kind to me, sir, more 
 like a father than an employer. Mother always 
 says so.'
 
 MASTER AND DISCIPLE. 37 
 
 "Does? Judges me by your father, prob- 
 ably." 
 
 The young man flushed even to his neck and 
 ears under the brutal taunt. 
 
 "She meant it kindly, sir," he answered 
 after a moment. His voice trembled. 
 
 " Of course," apologetically; " she must be a 
 good woman." 
 
 " Indeed she is," said the young man, ac- 
 cepting the tacitly proffered reparation. " You 
 ought to know her." 
 
 " I ? " exclaimed the elder with a start, " I 
 don't need to I I've known women enough." 
 
 The young man did not answer, but having 
 given a finishing touch to the boot on which 
 he had been working, he gave it the smart pro- 
 fessional tap which indicates that the operator 
 has completed his task and is ready for the 
 other. 
 
 "You're a good boy, Benny," said Prime in 
 a softer voice when the other boot had been 
 adjusted to the foot-rest. 
 
 " Thank you, sir." 
 
 " You've always been a good boy, Ben, an' 
 I want to see you do well. How long is it 
 you've been with me ? " 
 
 " Five years, sir." 
 
 " Is it, now ? Well, well, how time does fly ! 
 An' you're how old? "
 
 38 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " Past twenty, sir." 
 
 " So ? I didn't think it. Well, you've been 
 a good boy couldn't hardly have done better 
 if you'd been my own child." 
 
 " I've often wished I were," said Ben 
 earnestly. 
 
 " Were what ? " asked the old man sharply. 
 " My child ! Don't ever let me hear any such 
 foolishness again ! Don't ever lisp it ! Don't 
 ever dream of it ! Thank God you're as near 
 white as you are so near one would need a 
 spy-glass to find out whether you are black or 
 white ! Thank God for it every day. It's 
 about all you've got to thank him for ; so you 
 need to do it all the more. A nigger is ex- 
 pected to have more gratitude for smaller 
 favors than any other created bein', an' you 
 ought to begin to practice thankfulness early. 
 You'll need a good deal of grace to keep you 
 from gettin' tired of the business 'fore you git 
 to my age, anyhow. 
 
 . " Thank God every day that you're white 
 to all appearance, at least. Of course, it 
 won't do you any good just here an' now. 
 You're known here as a nigger, an' the whiter 
 a nigger is, the less a white man cares for him. 
 As long as a man's black he only just despises 
 him ; but when he begins to grow white he 
 hates him."
 
 MASTER AND DISCIPLE. 39 
 
 "Why should that be?" 
 
 " Why ? Don't ask me," answered the old 
 man testily. " You might as well ask why 
 one man is white and another black why God 
 gave the white man a right to take all he 
 could get, and made it the nigger's duty to be 
 grateful for what's left. Perhaps no one is very 
 fond of the evidence of his own evil, and every 
 one like you is a living testimony of the white 
 man's falsehood, treachery and crime. Don't 
 ask such questions, Benny. Be grateful you're 
 white an' don't be too inquisitive about how 
 you became so. It^ may not do you much 
 good, but your children may have a heap bet- 
 ter chance in this world, and an even show 
 for the next because of it. If you work it right 
 you may even get to be a white man yourself." 
 
 "I'm a Negro, sir," said the young man 
 proudly, raising his head as he spoke, " and I 
 do not care who knows it : I've no wish to be 
 anything else." 
 
 " Don't say that, Benny, don't ever utter any 
 such foolishness ! There can't any colored 
 man have an even chance in this world nor a fair 
 show of gettin' to the next. You might as well 
 say you'd rather go a-foot than ride on a train. 
 Instead of talking in that way you ought to 
 look things square in the face, do the best for 
 yourself, an' get to be a white man as fast as
 
 4 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 possible. An' the first thing is to get rich. If 
 you were rich, Benny, with your good looks, 
 all you'd have to do to be white, would be to 
 go where you wasn't known. Now, that's just 
 what I've planned out for you to do. I'll take 
 you into partnership this year; I'm not going 
 to tell you what it's worth. There's more'n 
 boot-blackin' in it, if it's run right. Then next 
 year, I'll get out entirely. We'll patent the 
 blackin', an' I'll 'tend to makin* an' sellin' that. 
 You can hold on here as long as you like : sell 
 out; take a trip to Europe: come back, settle 
 down somewhere out West or anywhere else, 
 take a new name I don't reckon you've any 
 special claim to the one you've used thus far 
 and keep right on makin' money, never lettin' 
 on that you're not as white as anybody. 
 That's the future for you, Benny, an' you ought 
 to be glad of one that aint any harder. It 
 seems queer, but the one thing you've got to be 
 thankful for is not. the goodness of God, but 
 the meanness of man. God made your people 
 black, and man's wickedness made you mighty 
 near white. Don't quarrel with your luck, Ben- 
 ny. It's better to be a white pauper than a rich 
 nigger ; but there aint any reason why you 
 shouldn't be rich and white both. Don't pre- 
 tend you don't want to be white. It's like the 
 devil claiming he wouldn't care to be in heaven.
 
 MASTER AND DISCIPLE. 4* 
 
 He may feel himself just as good as the best of 
 the angels, but he don't have as good things as 
 they, and isn't half as much respected as the 
 meanest of them. You can't help the rest of 
 the colored race by remaining a nigger, and 
 you can do a good thing for yourself and save 
 your children from an inheritance of woe by 
 making yourself white. That's sense now, 
 Benny, and I offer you an easy way to do it. 
 What do you say to it?" 
 
 The young man worked on in silence. 
 
 "What do you say, Benny? " asked the old 
 man anxiously. "I couldn't advise you better 
 if you were my own son ; I couldn't, really. 
 There's a fortune in the blacking itself, when 
 it comes to be known. And I'll work it on 
 equal shares and you needn't be known in 
 the matter at all. Don't you like the plan, 
 Benny? " 
 
 There was something pathetic in the expres- 
 sion of the pinched face which looked down 
 upon the young man, while its owner thus vol- 
 unteered to devote himself to the happiness of 
 the other. 
 
 Though unfinished, he tapped the boot on 
 which he was engaged with the brush from 
 force of habit, and straightening up looked 
 into his patron's face as he replied : 
 
 " It's very kind of you, Mr. Prime. You've
 
 42 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 always been good to me very good, indeed 
 but I can't do it, sir I can't do it." 
 
 "Can't do it? asked the elder in surprise. 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "You know I've been studying, sir?" 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "And I've decided upon another profes- 
 sion." 
 
 "Another what?" 
 
 " I'm going to be a lawyer, sir." 
 
 "Oh, I see; you are getting above your busi- 
 ness !" exclaimed Prime, springing to his feet 
 and hopping off the platform. " Don't you 
 touch my boots again, sir! I can't have a man 
 black my shoes that thinks he's too good 
 to handle a brush ! You jes' git outen this ! 
 I don't want any fine gentleman workin' at my 
 stand! " 
 
 "As you please, Mr. Prime," said the young 
 man quietly. " I am willing to stay until you 
 can get a man in my place, but I am not going 
 to be a bootblack all my life just because I 
 happen to have a little colored blood in my 
 veins." 
 
 " You fool ! " shouted the old man, towering 
 over his assistant, his face distorted with rage. 
 " You think it is the calling that makes one a 
 nigger, not the color of the skin. Don't you 
 know that if the most gifted man in the land
 
 MASTER AND DISCIPLE. 43 
 
 was known to have a drop of Negro blood in 
 his veins, nine-tenths of all the Christian people 
 in the country would shun him as he were a 
 monster? It don't hurt a white man to black 
 boots and won't help a nigger to practice law. 
 He'll be a nigger, just the same ! " 
 
 " I'd rather be a man and black, than a mere 
 money-bags and white," said the young man, 
 doggedly. 
 
 " Who wants you to be any less a man?" 
 growled Prime, as he shuffled along the dais 
 and began to re-arrange his brushes. " Isn't it 
 better to be a man and white, than be the same 
 man and black ? " 
 
 " Not if one is black," said the youngster 
 sullenly. 
 
 "But suppose he might be either; how 
 would he count the most enjoy the most 
 as a white man or as a nigger ? " 
 
 It is impossible to describe the scorn and 
 bitterness the old man threw into the term he 
 always employed to describe his race. It has 
 been denominated an "Americanism," by a 
 recent English writer, but it might more prop- 
 erly be called an Anglo-Saxonism. It is uni- 
 versal rather than local in its use, and what- 
 ever may have been its origin has come to 
 represent the concentrated gall of Anglo- 
 Saxon hatred and contempt for any people
 
 44 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 they can oppress without fear of interference 
 by other nations. It is the unconscious ex- 
 pression of the irrepressible tendency of this 
 liberty-loving, Christian race, the world over, 
 to oppress the poor and degrade the weak in 
 order conclusively to demonstrate their own 
 " inherent superiority " and the ennobling influ- 
 ence of that religion which commands nations 
 and peoples, as well as individuals, to " do 
 unto others as ye would that they should do 
 to you." The English tongue has carried it, 
 as a scepter of authority, around the globe. 
 Black and brown and yellow, all on whom it 
 has set its foot, the white slaves of the Bar- 
 badoes, the varied types of India, the Malay, 
 the Chinaman, the Soudanese, the Maori, the 
 Bushman, the Kaffirs, the Zulus, and whatso- 
 ever other race the just, humane and liberty- 
 loving Englishman has found it profitable 
 to oppress or destroy these he has always 
 marked for reprobation, and cut off from any 
 claim to equality of right or display of sym- 
 pathy on the part of others, by bestowing upon 
 them this term expressive of the concentrated 
 contempt of centuries " nigger ! " 
 
 That the old man felt to the full extent its 
 degrading force there could be no doubt, and 
 the young man's flushed face showed how 
 keenly he felt the poisoned lash of the other's
 
 MASTER AND DISCIPLE. 45 
 
 sarcasm. He said nothing, however, but went 
 quietly on with his preparations for the day's 
 work. 
 
 " Listen to my words, Benny," said the old 
 man at length, in a changed voice. " I've 
 trod the wine-press, and I know what it is to 
 live under the curse of God and the contempt 
 of man. Don't volunteer to carry a load you 
 ain't called upon to bear. Be as much of a 
 man as you choose, but be a white man. 
 Don't transmit the degrading curse to your 
 children! Remember it is more tolerable to 
 be a leper than to be a Negro in a Christian 
 land ! I have known women, Benny good 
 women, too, who sincerely believed that the act 
 would doom their souls to the pangs of endless 
 torment, who throttled their innocent off- 
 spring to save them from the doom of the 
 slave. I have heard gray-haired mothers 
 more than one of them exult in their child- 
 less condition, and thank God for the courage 
 which had enabled them to face the fires of 
 hell in order to save the sweet little ones they 
 had borne from the stain of pollution. It is 
 horrible, but I never dared to blame them, 
 Benny. Yet slavery was never half so great a 
 curse as that brand of infamy which stamps 
 the soul at its birth with ineradicable inferiority. 
 If the white Christian's idea of the Negro is
 
 4<5 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 a true one and you must remember that we 
 have no means of judging a faith but by the 
 words and works of its followers, the man who 
 begets colored children to suffer the pangs of 
 such incurable and predestined inequality, is 
 worse than a brute. It would be a thousand 
 times more merciful to kill the little innocents 
 than to permit them to suffer the woe of hope- 
 less debasement. If this infamous doctrine be 
 true, the Christian God is a being of more sub- 
 tle and relentless cruelty than any pagan deity 
 the human mind ever conceived. Remember, 
 Benny, when you think of becoming a colored 
 man by choice, or refusing to make yourself a 
 white man, as you might, what a world of un- 
 merited degradation you are bequeathing to 
 your children and their offspring, God only 
 knows for how many ages ! Remember this, 
 while you are thus lightly choosing debase- 
 ment as your lot, that there are thousands of 
 your race that would gladly lie down and be 
 flayed alive, if they might rise up white the 
 peers of white men and equal heirs of right and 
 privilege with white Christians ! " 
 
 There was something very solemn in the old 
 man's tones, and his unusual use of the correct 
 racial term made his words peculiarly impres- 
 sive. The young man looked at him in won- 
 der not unmixed with dread, for the uncanni-
 
 MASTER AND DISCIPLE. 47 
 
 ness of his visage was greatly heightened by 
 excitement. He could not controvert the 
 views of the man upon whose judgment and ex- 
 perience he had come to rely with peculiar con- 
 fidence, and his mind was filled with horror at 
 the picture his companion had drawn. Rarely 
 had he known him to manifest excitement on 
 any subject, and never before had he heard 
 him express himself upon their race's rela- 
 tion to civilization and Christianity, with any- 
 thing like such intensity and force of language. 
 He was appalled, almost stunned, by the terri- 
 ble words all the more that he could not deny 
 their truth. As he stood dumbly picking at the 
 brush he held, now and then running his palm 
 absently along its bristled face, a thousand 
 facts in his own experience rose up to confirm 
 the old man's words. His heart cried out 
 against it. His very nature revolted at the 
 thought that truth could be so terrible. He 
 had been so full of hope, aspiration the desire 
 to do great things, to rank with the best and 
 be deemed as worthy as the worthiest ! He 
 had been so strong! His hope had been so 
 bright and his courage so high ! And now all 
 this dream had faded. He was a nigger ! 
 He sighed wearily, sat down upon the edge of 
 the dais, and tried manfully to pull himself 
 together to face his destiny.
 
 48 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 The chill morning light had crept into the 
 window, while this conversation had been 
 going on. A closed coupe whirled swiftly past, 
 going toward the front of the hotel. Prime 
 glanced up at the little rifts of dust and snow 
 the wind bore backward from the wheels. 
 
 " It's goin' to be a bad day," said he, breaking 
 the silence and relapsing into his ordinary tone. 
 
 " I'm afraid so," responded Benny, absently. 
 
 The old man took his Christmas gift from th'e 
 chair on which it had lain and hung it on a 
 hook at the farther end of the long, narrow 
 room, giving it an instinctive brush with the 
 wisp-broom he held in his hand as he did so. 
 As he shuffled back to his place, footsteps were 
 heard upon the stairs. 
 
 " Christmas Gift, Pactolus," said a cheerful 
 voice. 
 
 " Mornin', sir; same to you, sir," answered 
 the old man suavely as he turned, and helped 
 to remove the gentleman's overcoat. " You 
 are in a mighty hurry for a shine this morn- 
 in', Mr. Phelps," he continued as he adjusted 
 the patron's foot more firmly on the rest and 
 prepared to begin his work. "You're our very 
 first customer." 
 
 The boot-black of the Best House addressed 
 his early patron with deferential familiarity. 
 
 " Well, I had not much the start," was the
 
 MASTER AND DISCIPLE. 49 
 
 answer, with a nod toward the stairway from 
 which the hum of voices came. 
 
 " Here they come," said the elder man 
 with a quick glance at his assistant, while 
 he addressed himself vigorously to his task. 
 "Look alive, now! Time's money to-day," 
 he said in an explanatory undertone to his 
 patron. 
 
 The Christmas rush which had begun an 
 hour ago at the office of the Best House had 
 reached the stand of Pactolus Prime. The old 
 man and his helper both worked with the 
 rapidity and skill which come only from long 
 practice. 
 
 " What do you think he'll average to-day? " 
 asked one customer of another as they came 
 down the stairs. 
 
 " Well," said the other sagely, " probably 
 twenty an hour both of them, that is." 
 
 " That's twenty dollars a day, at a dime 
 apiece ! " 
 
 "And half of them will be quarters to-day." 
 
 " Who wouldn't be a boot-black ! Why, he 
 ought to be a millionaire ! " 
 
 " But he pays a higher rent for his stand 
 than you do for your house." 
 
 "You don't say? Is this taffy he's giving 
 me, or are you really a bloated bondholder, 
 Uncle ? " asked the first speaker as he tucked a
 
 5 o PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 newspaper under his arm and lighted a cigar 
 while waiting his turn. 
 
 " Oh, I've made a little money at the busi- 
 ness," answered Prime quietly, without inter- 
 mitting his work. 
 
 There was a laugh from the bystanders. 
 Every one is good-natured on Christmas Day, 
 and a laugh is easily started. Phelps looked 
 down at the old man bending over his boot, 
 with a quizzical smile.
 
 V. 
 
 WHAT THE " HERALD-ANGELS " SAW. 
 
 IT is only reasonable to suppose that the 
 " herald angels" should feel some curiosity to 
 observe the results of that religious force they 
 were selected to announce to the world, and it 
 is but natural to infer that this desire must 
 grow all the stronger 
 
 " 'gainst that season comes , 
 
 Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated." 
 
 However pure in purpose, it is hardly to be 
 supposed, that even the angelic nature is uni- 
 versal in its scope ; and curiosity, it is pre- 
 sumable, must always exist until perfect knowl- 
 edge has left nothing to be made known. It 
 would seem equally natural, also, to infer that 
 these supernal existences, not being gifted, 
 so far as we are informed, with the divine 
 attribute of omniscience, would naturally select 
 the capital of the American Republic as the 
 most advantageous position for noting the 
 growth and exemplification of Christian ideas, 
 after almost nineteen centuries of application 
 51
 
 52 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 to human life, and more than ten centuries of 
 undisputed sway among a people admittedly 
 foremost in their devotion to Christian prin- 
 ciples. For it cannot be doubted that these 
 notable intelligences must be aware that the 
 American people claim a paramount position 
 among the nations of the earth, as exponents 
 of the essentially Christian ideas of liberty, 
 justice, and equality of right, privilege, and 
 opportunity. They would certainly not be 
 ignorant of the fact that we have become, by 
 virtue of our pre-eminent religious zeal, the 
 missionary center of the world, sending de- 
 voted proselyters to uprear the standard of the 
 Faith in every land among the hills where 
 the Holiest wandered " an hungered," and 
 taught those who " knew not whereof he 
 spake " ; amid the sands of the desert, whence 
 Augustine, the Numidian, went forth in search 
 of the Christ whose apostle had declared that 
 " All are one in Christ Jesus " ; in the very city 
 where Luther proclaimed anew the unfettered 
 truth ; in the islands of the sea and " the utter- 
 most parts of the earth," according to the 
 Divine commandment. Knowing this, they 
 would no doubt expect the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of the new dispensation, of whose birth 
 they were the primal witnesses, to have become 
 instinctive impulses among our people, so that
 
 WHAT THE " HERALD-ANGELS" SAW. 53 
 
 in all collective as well as individual matters, 
 the first inquiry of the Nineteenth Century 
 American, in whatever juncture of private or 
 public affairs, would naturally be, " What do 
 justice and equity toward my fellow-men re- 
 quire that I should do?" 
 
 If the angels aforesaid were really permitted 
 to indulge this very natural desire to witness 
 the perfect flower of the ideas whose germi- 
 nation they once hailed with exuberant acclaim, 
 and did actually hover about the gusty pur- 
 lieus of Washington on that Christmas morn- 
 ing in the year of grace 18 , I greatly fear 
 they may have been disappointed in their ex- 
 pectations. Of course, they would make due 
 allowance for the weather, understanding very 
 well that heat expands and cold contracts all 
 substances, and that nothing is more sensitive 
 to climatic change than religious sentiment. 
 It is doubtful if they would give much atten- 
 tion to the church services. They must know 
 that people always wear their best clothes, 
 morally as well as physically speaking, on such 
 occasions, and would naturally desire, unless 
 gifted with that Divine power of intro-spection 
 which leaves eacTi soul naked to the inquirer's 
 gaze, to see the life of the Christian capital in 
 its more ordinary and less restrained conditions, 
 in order that they might fairly judge of the in-
 
 54 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 fluence upon the general life, of those mighty 
 truths which were expected to so change the 
 character and conditions of universal humanity 
 as to revolutionize human impulses and mini- 
 mize human wofulness. 
 
 For such a purpose one could hardly imagine 
 a better point of observation than the base- 
 ment of the Best House. The office and 
 corridors above were by this time so full of 
 surging, clamoring crowds that even an angel 
 might well ask to be excused from attempt- 
 ing a correct estimate of their individual or 
 collective character. In the barber shop and 
 at the boot-blacking stand, however, there is 
 not only a sufficient pause to enable one to 
 study his man a little at leisure, but the observer 
 is apt to take him somewhat off his guard and 
 get glimpses of his nature that he is not accus- 
 tomed to reveal. It is always to one beneath 
 him in the social scale that one shows his true 
 character. That is why no man is ever a hero 
 to his valet. The boot-black enjoys similar 
 advantages and is pretty sure, if he wishes, to 
 see completely through the man he looks up 
 to. It is possible, however, that some angels, 
 like certain Christians, may be a little scrupulous 
 as to the company they keep, and so would pre- 
 fer never to know the truth, than to go where 
 it may best be learned. At any rate, Prime's
 
 WHAT THE "HERALD-ANGELS" SAW. 55 
 
 shop would have been a good location for an 
 angel who wanted to obtain reliable data for a 
 little cherubic figuring on the "times" and 
 " seasons " of the Apocalypse. 
 
 Before Pactolus Prime had finished cleaning 
 the right shoe of his first customer the chairs 
 upon the dais were all occupied, and two or 
 three other patrons were waiting their turns 
 here and there about the room. All of them 
 greeted the proprietor of the " stand " pleas- 
 antly, and he assured each that he would be 
 ready for him, " in jest a minit." Most of 
 them spoke to Ben, also, for the young man, 
 instead of taking his excited employer at his 
 word, had remained at his post, and was show- 
 ing himself a worthy pupil of the boot-black 
 of the " Best." In fact, both Prime and his 
 assistant were experts, the tools they used were 
 the best obtainable and always ready to their 
 hands. The boot was first brushed clean ; the 
 surface lightly sponged ; the blacking, already 
 prepared, was quickly and evenly applied; a 
 few strokes with long, soft brushes ; then the 
 swift recurrent play of a pair with stiff bristles ; 
 some strokes across the instep, a quick breath 
 upon the toe, and the even, polished surface 
 needed no farther touches. A tap upon the 
 foot ; the process is repeated ; the patron steps 
 down ; another takes his place ; the ever-ready
 
 5 6 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 wisp-broom searches the bits of dust upon the 
 clothing ; a dime passes from hand to hand on 
 Christmas it is perhaps a quarter, and the cus- 
 tomer says: " Never mind the change! " Then 
 there is a bow. a word of thanks, and the Christ- 
 mas greetings are repeated with as much fer- 
 vor as anywhere, and probably as much sin- 
 cerity as usual. 
 
 It was not until Prime was applying the 
 blacking to the second boot of his first cus- 
 tomer that he again addressed him : 
 
 " Tears to me you are out mighty early this 
 mornin', Mr. Phelps?" he said inquiringly. 
 
 The grave, kindly face looked down upon 
 the black head bowed over his foot, with a 
 curiously expressive smile. 
 
 "Well, yes," the patron, who was evidently 
 a favorite with the owner of the stand, replied, 
 in a tone that betrayed the familiarity between 
 them. " You see I have been intrusted with 
 the delivery of a Christmas gift of some value, 
 and it behooves an assistant of St. Nicholas to 
 be stirring early." 
 
 " So ? " rejoined the bootblack, significantly. 
 " I shouldn't have thought you'd have waited 
 ter have yer boots blacked at all." 
 
 "But it's a lady, Prime, and you wouldn't
 
 WHAT THE "HERALD-ANGELS" SAW. 57 
 
 have even the agent of Santa Claus enter a 
 lady's presence without due preparation?" 
 
 "Plenty of time for that," said Prime, draw- 
 ing back his head to inspect his work. " I'll 
 lay a bit to a nickel she ain't out of bed yet." 
 
 "Oh, you don't know her, or I am sure you 
 wouldn't say that." 
 
 " Course not ; I was jes' speakin' on general 
 principles." 
 
 " General principles wont do for particular 
 cases. You see this young lady's been badly 
 treated and cannot be expected to sleep 
 late." 
 
 " Been flirtin' with some youngster, I 
 s'pose." 
 
 " Worse than that." 
 
 "Worse? In love, then." 
 
 " Yes, and with an old man, too ! " 
 
 " Sho! sho ! 'taint so, now? An' he's send- 
 in' her a present? " 
 
 " Exactly." 
 
 " An' you a-carryin' it for him ? " archly. 
 
 " Just so," meaningly. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Phelps, I shouldn't hev thought 
 it an' you a family man, too ! " 
 
 There was a laugh among the bystanders, 
 and expressions of mock concern for the 
 grave-faced lawyer, who made no attempt to 
 check the merriment.
 
 5 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " You mustn't tell on me, Pac," said Phelps in 
 assumed anxiety, biting the corners of his lip 
 as if to repress a smile at the old man's mirth. 
 
 "Not for the world, sir !" answered Prime 
 gaily, " but if I did the Missus wouldn't be- 
 lieve me known you too long for that, sir. 
 'Taint your fault, nuther jes' yer misfortin'. 
 Comes of bein' a lawyer, I reckon." 
 
 " Certainly ; the old man wouldn't do the 
 errand himself, you see, so I have to do it for 
 him." 
 
 " 'Fraid she'd catch him in a lie, I reckon." 
 
 " Something of that sort, I think." 
 
 " Wai, he's an old rascal, that's what he is," 
 said Prime, emphatically. " Did you ever notice 
 that most bad men are old, Mr. Phelps ? But 
 a lawyer has to serve them just the same 
 saint and sinner Christmas and week-days, I 
 s'pose." 
 
 " Well, of course ; a client is a client, but I 
 have rarely had a more unpleasant task than 
 this." 
 
 There was a curious cadence in his voice that 
 half-belied his words, or seemed intended to 
 convey a special meaning to some of his 
 hearers. 
 
 " I should not think you would do it. then," 
 said a mild-looking man wearing a white tie, 
 who sat in the chair next to him. " It always
 
 WHAT THE ''HERALD-ANGELS" SAW. 59 
 
 seems like sinning on the Sabbath to do a 
 questionable act on Christmas day." 
 
 " A sort of aggravation of the offense, eh? " 
 asked, the lawyer with a smile. 
 
 "Well, yes," responded the minister, "of 
 course, wrong is wrong, and time or place can 
 make no difference to the Divine, but it does 
 seem worse to us ; doesn't it now ? " 
 
 " Undoubtedly," said the other, " but I do 
 not regard the act I am commissioned to per- 
 form as involving any moral obliquity only 
 monumental stupidity." 
 
 " Do you have such cases often ? " asked 
 Prime, who seemed to have lost his ill-temper 
 and to be enjoying the conversation with a 
 zest hardly to be accounted for by its charac- 
 ter. " I'd like ter know ; cause Benny here, has 
 got tired of blackin' boots like a nigger, and 
 wants to be a lawyer like a white man." 
 
 " Well, why shouldn't he be one? " asked the 
 lawyer, drawing his eyebrows down and look- 
 ing sharply under them at the old man. 
 
 " He can't be a white man, no matter 
 what he does ; and the nearer white he is, the 
 less use white folks will have for him. They 
 can afford to be kind to a black nigger like me, 
 you see, but one who is whiter than some white 
 men, like Ben pshaw ! such a one is an object 
 of suspicion as far as you can see him ! He's
 
 60 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 got no chance to be anything more or less 
 than a nigger, and a nigger's got no call to be 
 a lawyer. What's the good of law to him or 
 religion either, for that matter? Money's the 
 god he ought to worship. Let him get money 
 and buy whatever can be bought ; and let the 
 rest go. It may do for white folks to worship 
 God ; but niggers ought to worship Mammon. 
 That's their only chance for salvation." 
 
 "You shouldn't speak so lightly of religious 
 matters, my friend," said the minister, gravely. 
 
 " Lightly ! " exclaimed Prime. " I was never 
 more in earnest in my life. Isn't that what 
 you tell them, sir? Don't you tell them they 
 must wait for their rights until they get rich 
 until they have property, and don't you know 
 all the time they can't get property, not much, 
 at least, until they have knowledge ? That's 
 what a President said I heard him myself, 
 right over yonder, when we asked him to try 
 and do something to give us a little learning, 
 and a sort of fair show in the world. He 
 didn't say he couldn't do anything; he didn't 
 seem to think there was anything to be done. 
 He just told us to go home and wait and 
 work until we got as much money as white 
 folks, and then " 
 
 "What did he promise you then?" asked 
 Phelps.
 
 WHAT THE "HERALD-ANGELS" SAW. 6 1 
 
 " Nothing," said Prime. " He didn't seem to 
 think we'd need anything more : an* 'taint 
 likely we would. Now, I ask you, Mr. Phelps, 
 what'll Benny gain by a change of trade ? He'll 
 still be a servant, won't he? Is it any less 
 honorable to black boots for dimes, than do 
 errands you don't approve of for dollars? I'll 
 warrant your task is the more unpleasant." 
 
 " No doubt it is," said the other meaningly, 
 "but you need have no fear that he will ever 
 have such an errand to perform." 
 
 " Why not ? " asked the old man boldly. 
 
 "The conditions are not likely to occur 
 again." 
 
 " The conditions ! " repeated Prime, who had 
 now finished his work and standing up before 
 his patron peered at him excitedly through 
 his glasses, " the conditions ! Remember, Mr. 
 Phelps,. 'yesterday's miracle is to-morrow's 
 commonplace.' The conditions which come 
 only once in a lifetime now, may happen every 
 day in the future." 
 
 " Possibly," said the lawyer gravely. He 
 stepped down from the dais and extended his 
 hand with a coin between the fingers, as the 
 old man finished brushing his hat. 
 
 " Thank you, sah, not to-day," said the old 
 man with serio-comic gravity. " I wouldn't 
 want to take money from a man on such an
 
 62 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 errand to-day might bring me bad luck, you 
 know! " 
 
 " All right," said the lawyer pleasantly, put- 
 ting the money in his pocket. "You can't 
 escape my good wishes, though. By the way, 
 Pactolus," he added carelessly, " you are quite 
 sure that those papers I drew up for you the 
 other day are just right ? " 
 
 " Just right, sir, just right." 
 
 "Because if they are not, they have not 
 yet been delivered, you know." 
 
 He looked at the other earnestly, as if hoping 
 for an answer which he did not expect. 
 
 "Quite sure, sir; they're just right!" an- 
 swered the old man firmly, meeting his glance 
 for an instant, and then turning back to serve 
 the next patron. 
 
 The lawyer started to ascend the stairs with 
 a troubled look upon his face. 
 
 "Good-morning, Mr. Phelps," said a young 
 man approaching him with an easy, familiar 
 manner; ""can't you give me an item for a 
 'Christmas gift'? Small favors thankfully 
 received, you know ; anything from half a 
 page to half a stickful." 
 
 " I believe not this morning, Mr. Stearns," 
 was the pleasant reply as the lawyer extended 
 his hand. " How are you getting along on the 
 Index f Well, I hope ? "
 
 WHAT THE " HERALD-ANGELS" SAW. 63 
 
 " Oh, I can't complain ; I've a fair enough 
 lay, thanks to your endorsement." 
 
 " Not at all ; that merely gave you a chance. 
 One may open the gate for another get him 
 enttered in the race of life but each must do 
 his own running." 
 
 " So I suppose ; well, I will try not to make 
 you sorry for giving me a chance." 
 
 " I have no fear of that," said the elder 
 heartily. " How is your mother now ? " 
 
 " Oh, much better, thank you." 
 
 "Well, you know the nautical injunction to 
 the man at the wheel," said the lawyer, shak- 
 ing his finger at him impressively, " ' Keep 
 her so ' ! " 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir," answered the youngster 
 smartly, touching his hat. 
 
 The lawyer smiled approvingly. 
 
 " Give her my Christmas greeting, if I should 
 be unable to see her to-day," he said moving* 
 toward the stairs. 
 
 " Thank you, sir," replied the other " but 
 Mr. Phelps " 
 
 " Well? " looking back inquiringly. 
 
 "That matter you were speaking about just 
 now, excuse me there seemed to be a chance 
 for an item there if if you are at liberty to 
 speak of it, that is. A rumor of that sort, 
 you know '
 
 64 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 The young man's enthusiasm seemed to die 
 out as he watched the lawyer's grave, immo- 
 bile face. 
 
 A good many had come and gone while 
 Phelps had occupied the chair, for the old m#n 
 had dallied unaccountably with his first custo- 
 mer, but there were still two or three who had 
 heard the conversation with Prime. These 
 leaned eagerly forward to hear what reply 
 would be made to the reporter's request. Ben 
 glanced curiously around and was evidently on 
 the alert to catch every word of the conversa- 
 tion going on behind him. Pactolus Prime 
 worked on in silence, apparently indifferent. 
 
 " No," answered the lawyer earnestly, glanc- 
 ing at Prime as he spoke. " I cannot reveal a 
 client's business. Yet this is a case which I 
 wish all the world might know about. An old 
 man insists upon giving a young lady the better 
 part of the savings of a lifetime ! " 
 
 "Humph!" said Prime with a snort, " an' 
 his blessin' with it, I'spose !" 
 
 " And the young lady? " asked the reporter, 
 scarcely repressing a smile of sarcastic pity for 
 the verdancy of his elderly friend, " she is ex- 
 pected to be very grateful to this benefactor 
 of course?" 
 
 " He has made it impossible for her to learn 
 the source of her good fortune."
 
 WHAT THE "HERALD-ANGELS" SAW. 65 
 
 " Impossible ! " 
 
 "Absolutely." 
 
 " Do you mean to say he would not receive 
 any credit for generosity should he choose to 
 reveal himself? " 
 
 " Not the least," replied the lawyer with 
 emphasis. 
 
 " And this Christmas gift amounts to a con- 
 siderable sum ? " 
 
 " A very respectable fortune." 
 
 " And the giver does not expect any re- 
 ward ? " 
 
 " He hopes to make the lady happy." 
 
 " W-h-e-w ! " whistled the reporter. " That's 
 too sensational ! " 
 
 " No relation of his ? " asked the mild-faced 
 divine. 
 
 " None whatever." 
 
 " Well, he is a big fool ! " grunted Prime. 
 
 " He must be a good Christian," said the 
 minister. 
 
 "He is not so considered, I am sorry to say," 
 answered Phelps with some show of irritation 
 on his wrinkled brow. 
 
 " It's a pity," rejoined the other with a sigh. 
 
 ''That he is not esteemed a Christian?" 
 asked Phelps sharply. 
 
 "Oh, no," answered the other gently ; "that 
 matters little ; it is a pity there are so few like
 
 66 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 him. It makes no difference what a man is 
 called if he seeks the happiness of others, for- 
 getful of himself." 
 
 " Suppose you called him a ' nigger,' " said 
 Prime, looking up from his work with one of 
 his ghastly grins. 
 
 " Don't think because you are an unbeliever 
 that all your race are infidels or hypocrites, 
 Uncle," rejoined the mild-faced man with some 
 severity. "Remember that a greater pro- 
 portion of the colored people of the United 
 States are Christians than of any other people 
 in the world ! " 
 
 " And a bigger portion of them fools, too ; 
 isn't that so, Dominie ? " asked Prime with a 
 chuckle. 
 
 " There are a good many illiterates among 
 them, it is true, but still 
 
 " About how many nine out of ten ? " 
 
 " Well, probably of the adults." 
 
 " And what made them so ? Who kept them 
 in darkness? " exclaimed Prime fiercely, going 
 on with his work but jerking his head over 
 his shoulder with every backward movement 
 and looking up over his glasses at the minister. 
 
 "Why, slavery, of course, Uncle" apolo- 
 getically. 
 
 "And what was slavery, sir?" exclaimed 
 the old man, dropping one of his brushes and
 
 WHAT THE "HERALD-ANGELS" SAW. 67 
 
 leaning toward his listener with uplifted finger. 
 " What was slavery ? Only another name for 
 the worship of the White Christ ! You made 
 the Negro a Christian by holding him down and 
 pouring your doctrine into him ! He was not 
 free to choose. ' He was bullied, coerced and 
 deceived.' He did not know what it was he 
 professed to believe. He was not permitted 
 to know. You would .not even let him read 
 your Holy Book ! He was taught a lie that 
 God could be unjust could hate and oppress 
 a race because of the color of 'its skin ! Do 
 you think salvation can ever come through 
 falsehood and crime? Will they always be- 
 lieve what they accepted in this way ? Will 
 not the Christianity of the children be colored 
 by the wrongs of the parents ? Oh, I know they 
 pray and sing aye, and almost starve them- 
 selves to give for the church ; but you might 
 almost as well call a man a drunkard because 
 he reels and staggers and babbles when alcohol 
 has been injected into his veins, as call these 
 ignorant and deceived victims of a faith which 
 measures right and wrong by the color of the 
 skin, Christians! God! that the followers of 
 Christ should claim merit even on Christmas 
 Day, for the devil's work ! " 
 
 " Pactolus!" said the lawyer sternly. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Mr. Phelps," said the
 
 68 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 old man, turning towards him with great beads 
 of sweat on his brow, " I aint a-meanin' you. 
 If they was like you, I'd be a Christian too, I 
 would I swear ! " 
 
 " Never mind, Pactolus, you know what I 
 think about these things. All in good time 
 in good time, my friend." 
 
 The lawyer turned and extended his hand 
 with a smile as he spoke. The old man looked 
 at his own grimy hand ; wiped it instinctively 
 on the cloth beside the foot-rest, and then 
 clasped the other's and shook it heartily. 
 There was just enough of incongruity in this 
 to waken a murmur of approval, followed by a 
 hearty laugh, on the part of the bystanders. 
 
 " Never mind, Pactolus," the lawyer re- 
 peated pleasantly, " you've done enough to 
 vindicate the claims of your race to recogni- 
 tion to-day. It does no good to disturb others' 
 enjoyment because you see what they cannot 
 discern." 
 
 " I 'spose you're right, Mr. Phelps, and I 
 give you notice, gentlemen, that if any one 
 says another word to me about religion to-day, 
 he may black his own boots, for all of me. 
 You're a Christian, Mr. Phelps, and I am only 
 a black pagan, but we manage to understand 
 each other pretty well. Good-day, sir." 
 
 He turned to his work.
 
 WHAT THE " HERALD-ANGELS" SAW. 69 
 
 <l Good-by," said Phelps. " Good-morning, 
 gentlemen." 
 
 The lawyer went up the stairs, the reporter 
 following carelessly. He entered a coupe that 
 was in waiting, and the reporter hurried after it 
 as it was driven rapidly away.
 
 VI. 
 
 AN ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES. 
 
 I AM afraid, uncle," said the minister very 
 gently, as Phelps and the reporter disap- 
 peared, "that you are too impatient your peo- 
 ple I mean ; you want everything at once." 
 
 "Did anybody ever owe you money?" asked 
 Prime. 
 
 "Unfortunately, yes," answered the other 
 with a smile. 
 
 "When did you ask for payment?" 
 
 "When it was due, of course. I've never had 
 enough to grow careless in that respect." 
 
 "Was it ever refused?" 
 
 "Well," said the minister, still smiling, "it 
 has often been neglected." 
 
 "I suppose when payment was neglected 
 you ceased to ask or desire it, didn't you?" 
 
 "I have sometimes ceased to ask never to 
 desire." 
 
 "And why did you cease to ask?" 
 
 "Because I grew hopeless, I suppose." 
 
 "Did it make you especially happy to be de- 
 prived of what you had a right to receive?" 
 70
 
 AN ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES. 7 1 
 
 "Certainly not, but 
 
 "Wait a minute! If the amount thus un- 
 justly withheld from you had embraced every 
 cent you had earned in your whole life the 
 entire earnings of your parents and their pa- 
 rents for two centuries and a half, depriving 
 them of every luxury, every opportunity, every 
 privilege, every right everything in fact except 
 the barest necessities of existence would you 
 think you ought to be called ' impatient,' if 
 you began, after waiting uncomplainingly so 
 many years, to speak a little roughly of your 
 debtor?" 
 
 "I suppose not; but you see " 
 
 "One word more," said Prime respectfully, as 
 he finished brushing the coat of his reverend 
 customer and turned to begin work upon the 
 boot of another who had already taken the 
 seat, "I don't want to hurt your feelings, sir, 
 nor to say anything you might consider disre- 
 spectful, either to yourself or your profession, 
 but I have more feeling in this matter than you 
 might suppose." 
 
 "Very naturally," rejoined the other, waiting 
 to continue the conversation. "You are a col- 
 ored man." 
 
 "Well, yes," said Prime, glancing up with a 
 sardonic grin, his white teeth showing through 
 the dark lips, "I am so taken and accepted ; but
 
 72 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 then you are white, so the interest should be 
 mutual." 
 
 "1 hardly see it," said the other inquiringly; 
 "you naturally feel the wrongs your race has 
 suffered, or which you fancy they have suffered, 
 more keenly than we." 
 
 "In other words, you think the one who suf- 
 fers is more likely to remember the wrong than 
 the one who perpetrates it. Very likely. It 
 doesn't seem as if it ought to be so, does it? 
 Seems as if it ought to be just the other way 
 the man who does wrong ought never to be able 
 to forget it. Perhaps that would make us all 
 too unhappy, though. Well, I'll tell you, sir, 
 how I feel about it. I feel as if Christianity 
 the followers of the white Christ had robbed 
 my people of two hundred and fifty years of 
 bodily toil and rightful opportunity, taking the 
 proceeds to add to their own wealth, their own 
 luxury, the education of their children, the 
 building of churches and colleges, whatever 
 they chose which was to their own exclusive 
 advantage. Not a dollar nor a cent came back 
 to us in any form. We gave and you took; 
 that is all there is of it. You said, 'Blessed be 
 the name of the Lord,' as well you might ; and 
 we were expected to say the same in order that 
 we might be allowed the credit of having souls. 
 You American civilization, American Chris-
 
 AN A SSESSMENT OF DA MA GES. 7 3 
 
 tianity, sir, took our money, the honest 
 wages of our toil, and no shuffling or evasion 
 can avoid the responsibility. As Mr. Phelps 
 said one day, 'it's a debt that can't be barred 
 by any statute of limitation.' ' 
 
 "Well," interrupted one to whose finely 
 shaped boot Benny was giving a final touch, a 
 thin-faced, positive man whose fingers worked 
 nervously while his eyes flashed angrily as he 
 spoke, "I wish you niggers would find out just 
 how much the country owes you, or how much 
 you would be satisfied with, and let us pay you 
 off and quit fussing about it ! I don't seem to 
 have heard of much else in my day except the 
 wrongs of the nigger, and I'm tired sick of 
 the whole matter! I'd like to have the account 
 settled and be done with it !" 
 
 "You would find it a pretty hard one to 
 state, and harder still to pay off," said Prime 
 solemnly. "Such claims as ours grow fast and 
 draw big interest." 
 
 "Oh, we wouldn't be particular about the 
 amount," said the last speaker. "I don't think 
 we would even ask credit for any counterclaim 
 or set-off, if we could only stop the race's whin- 
 ing and have them own up that they were sat- 
 isfied for once. I've had enough of it myself. 
 I'd like to see the account squared and start 
 fresh, with the understanding that each race
 
 74 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 was to keep up its own end hereafter and ask 
 no favors. It wouldn't be long before you'd 
 get tired." 
 
 "You would be the first to get tired of such 
 a bargain," said the old man confidently. 
 
 "How so?" 
 
 "In trying to square the account." 
 
 "Why, how much do you suppose the whole 
 value of the Negro's work in the United States 
 as a slave would amount to?" asked the other 
 defiantly. "During the whole time, I mean, 
 from the day the first slave was landed at 
 Jamestown until the last one was set free?" 
 
 "A good deal more than you would care to 
 pay." 
 
 "Well, how much?" said the other, taking out 
 paper and pencil. "Out with it! Let's come 
 down to figures. I'm a traveling man and ac- 
 customed to narrow margins. Come now, set 
 your price!" 
 
 "Well," said Prime as he finished with an- 
 other customer, "I 'spose ten cents wouldn't be 
 too high a price for a day's work, would it, 
 over and above such board, clothes and attend- 
 ance in sickness as we received?" 
 
 "Well, probably not," answered the traveling 
 man with characteristic promptness, and evident 
 surprise at the moderation of the demand. 
 
 "And I s'pose it wouldn't be out of the way
 
 AN ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES. 75 
 
 to estimate three-fifths of each life as work- 
 time, at that rate, leaving out two-fifths for in- 
 fancy, old age and sickness?" 
 
 "I should say that was a liberal basis on which 
 to estimate it," interposed the minister. 
 
 "Well," said the drummer, squinting up his 
 eyes as if making a close bargain, "consider- 
 ing the price per day, it can't be called un- 
 fair. That is certainly low too low. You'll 
 fall behind at that rate, old man. We'll pay 
 you off at your own price and not feel it. 
 About a cigar a day less, for each smoker in the 
 country for a week or so, would make it all 
 right, I should say. Put up your figures, man ! 
 Say fifteen or twenty cents a day, anyhow!" 
 
 The drummer spoke in a confident, bantering 
 tone, shifting his cigar from one side of his 
 mouth to the other by the motion of his lips, 
 as he spoke, but Prime answered quietly : 
 
 "No; ten cents will do; and that'll be a heap 
 more than we'll ever get." 
 
 "How much would it amount to? I suppose 
 you have looked the matter up, you speak so 
 confidently." 
 
 "Figure it out yourself," said Prime. "You 
 kept us ignorant on purpose that we might not 
 know what was our due and how it was taken 
 from us. It isn't a hard sum. Benny here 
 worked it out the other day, all by himself, so
 
 7 6 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 it must be easy, for he's a nigger, gentlemen ; 
 he couldn't do a hard sum ! Tell 'em about it, 
 Benny." 
 
 "Oh, it's not difficult," said the young man, 
 with a flush on his fair face. "You see 
 there were two hundred and forty-seven years 
 of bondage ; there were twenty-six slaves at 
 first and five millions at the last. Making it 
 an even progression, counting only three hun- 
 dred days to the year, and throwing off two- 
 fifths of the whole for childhood, old age and 
 sickness, and putting the rest at ten cents a 
 day, and it would amount to more than ten 
 billions of dollars ! " 
 
 "What !" exclaimed the commercial man. 
 "It can't be! Do you want the earth?" 
 
 "You can work it out by yourself if you 
 think I have made a mistake," said the young 
 man proudly. 
 
 The salesman's pencil flew over the pad. 
 The others waited in silence for his decision. 
 
 "Well, I vow!" he muttered, as he added a 
 cipher and marked off the decimals, "I wouldn't 
 have thought it !" 
 
 "Is he right?" asked the minister earnestly. 
 
 "Right!" exclaimed the expert, "he's fully 
 a half billion below the truth!" 
 
 "You don't say," murmured several of the 
 bystanders.
 
 AN ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES. 77 
 
 "We'll throw off the odd half billion and take 
 the rest in long-time bonds at two per cent, in- 
 terest, if you please. That's fair, isn't it, Mister?" 
 said Prime, addressing the man of samples. 
 
 "Uncle," said the other, as he put up his 
 book and pencil and slipped down to be 
 brushed off. "You've got me ! You're right ! 
 We're your debtors and aren't likely to get 
 square with you, either! I'm with you; send 
 in your account ! Blamed if I ever snarl at a 
 nigger for grumbling, again." 
 
 "But the ground of indebtness hasn't been 
 half stated yet." 
 
 "Don't want to hear any more; I've had 
 enough. Good-by, uncle." 
 
 He dropped a liberal douceur into the young 
 man's hand, shook his head when offered 
 change, and had disappeared up the stairway 
 by the time another was seated in the chair. 
 
 "I must go too," said the minister apologeti- 
 cally. "I had never thought of the matter in 
 this light before. Your people certainly can- 
 not be blamed for feeling that they have been 
 bitterly wronged ; but was it Christianity that 
 did it, my friend?" 
 
 "It was Christian men and women who did 
 it the earthly exponents of the Christian 
 idea, and they received the advantage," an- 
 swered Prime.
 
 7 8 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "But Christianity is not responsible for all 
 that is done even by its votaries." 
 
 "Why not? You hold Mahometanism re- 
 sponsible for all the ills of Turkish life and gov- 
 ernment, and credit heathenism with the woes 
 that befall the people who practice idolatry. 
 In like manner, Christianity is responsible for 
 every evil it permits to exist among a Christian 
 people or that results from a Christian gov- 
 ernment. This amount is only a tithe of what 
 Christianity owes my people. Who shall esti- 
 mate the damages for lost opportunity, to say 
 nothing of violated right? Who shall state the 
 money value of two centuries of enforced igno- 
 rance and depravity? What sum could com- 
 pensate a people for the stain of universal ille- 
 gitimacy, the denial of fatherhood, the violation 
 of maternal right, the debasement of female vir- 
 tue, the utter effacement of all family ties and 
 family relations, the refusal of even a family 
 name?" 
 
 "I I don't know," said the minister blankly. 
 "I never thought of it in that light before. 
 Good-morning, sir." 
 
 He seemed to forget the color of the old 
 man's skin as he bowed respectfully to Prime 
 and went slowly and thoughtfully up the stairs. 
 
 Several customers had come and gone during 
 this conversation. The hands of the boot
 
 AN ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES. 79 
 
 black and his assistant had not been idle. The 
 knitted cap had been pushed back on Prime's 
 head, showing the dingy scalp almost to the 
 crown. The sweat beads stood upon his brow. 
 The right side of his face twitched nervously, 
 and the words flowed from his lips as if he were 
 uttering the stored-up thoughts of a lifetime. 
 Those who were accustomed to his usually quiet 
 demeanor were surprised at the feeling he dis- 
 played, while his assistant glanced up at him 
 now and then with a look almost of reverence. 
 "I wonder if he is right," mused the minister 
 as he walked along the street toward a church 
 whose echoing chimes invited a thronging multi- 
 tude of well-dressed worshipers. "Who would 
 have dreamed there could be such a difference 
 in the views that may be taken of the Saviour 
 of Mankind and the Message which ushered in 
 the Christian Era! Can it be that he is right? 
 Those are terrible truths which he recounts; 
 can it be that the followers of the Christ have 
 made Him seem to be only the friend and Sa- 
 viour of the white man? Is Prime right in call- 
 ing Him the "White" Christ? Will we never 
 learn the Master's lessons? Will the rich and 
 strong and brave who profess His name, never 
 learn to put themselves in the place of the weak 
 and poor and timid? Must His very name be 
 a thing of terror and distrust to those for whom
 
 8o PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 He died? It is hard enough to be black with- 
 out having the curse of eternal hopelessness 
 added to it ! It must be difficult to reconcile 
 such an apparent curse with the idea of Divine 
 mercy ! And then to think, to feel, to believe, 
 that the Christ the divine and universal lover 
 of humanity to think that His church is but 
 the cult of the wrongdoer the oppressor! 
 God help us ! how little we know of each other's 
 burdens and how our own acts may make heavier 
 the load our neighbor bears ! Yet what can we 
 do? God help us it is a terrible problem ! " 
 
 The good man brushed aside a tear as he 
 went up the marble steps, and his face was very 
 sad as he passed through the vestibule of the 
 great church thronged with happy faces and 
 full of the soft echoes of half-suppressed but 
 joyful greetings. The hymns and prayers 
 seemed full of the idea of the "White" Christ ! 
 His heart stood still with horror, even as he lis- 
 tened to the songs of jubilee, as he thought 
 what would have been his own religious status 
 had the Man Jesus Christ been black, and the 
 circumstances of his life and that of Pactolus 
 Prime been reversed. He was a good man, and 
 tried faithfully to picture to his own mind the 
 terrors of such a transformation. Yet how far 
 below the fact did the wildest effort of his 
 fancy fall !
 
 VII. 
 
 SOME EXPERT TESTIMONY. 
 
 WELL, Uncle," said the man who took 
 the commercial traveler's place, "I am 
 not an expert accountant, but you can't hum- 
 bug me with such figures as we've been having 
 here. I know something about the facts of his- 
 tory, and something about niggers too; and 
 when you come to talk about the white people 
 of this country being indebted to the colored 
 man, I tell you it's all nonsense. When a nig- 
 ger got his board and clothes, house and fire- 
 wood, and a doctor to attend him when he was 
 sick, he got all his work was worth, and gener- 
 ally a good deal more." 
 
 "He raised what he ate, didn't he?" asked 
 Prime sharply. 
 
 The bystanders smiled at the evidently perti- 
 nent inquiry. 
 
 "Why, of course ; all but the sugar and coffee 
 and whisky and tobacco and things of that 
 sort," boastfully answered the undismayed as- 
 sailant. 
 
 8r
 
 82 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "And how much did the slave's sugar and 
 coffee and 'things of that sort' average a year, 
 do you think?" asked Prime blandly. 
 
 "Well not a great deal, that is true," was 
 the careless reply. 
 
 "How many masters furnished such luxuries?" 
 
 "Not so many, perhaps; though many fur- 
 nished tobacco, and molasses, and most of them 
 allowed deserving slaves to raise truck for them- 
 selves, with which to buy little things of that 
 sort. This amounted to the same thing as pro- 
 viding it. You see it was the master's land 
 they worked, the master's time they used, and 
 the master's niggers that did the work. So you 
 may as well say the master furnished them." 
 
 The man spoke with such positiveness as to 
 make himself offensive to the listeners, as their 
 countenances clearly showed. Prime did not 
 seem to mind it, but said quietly, as he finished 
 mixing a new supply of blacking on the marble 
 block: 
 
 "In other words, you mean that after the 
 bondman got through his day's work, they 
 allowed him to use the time he otherwise might 
 have wasted in rest or recreation which a free 
 man would perhaps have employed in reading, 
 study and self-development in cultivating a 
 crop to buy himself the ordinary creature com- 
 forts."
 
 SOME EXPERT TESTIMONY. 83 
 
 "Of course," said the other with a sneer, 
 "he wasn't sent to school !" 
 
 "No," answered Prime, "and he was pre- 
 vented by law from learning anything that is 
 taught in the schools, wasn't he?" 
 
 "Well, sometimes." 
 
 "Sometimes! Was it not a crime a viola- 
 tion of the statute law punishable as a felony, 
 to teach him to read or write?" 
 
 "Yes, that was the law, but it was not always 
 enforced. There were a good many who al- 
 lowed their slaves to learn to read and write." 
 
 "How many slaves did you ever know who 
 had such acquirements?" 
 
 "Well, I've heard of quite a number." 
 
 "How many have you known? how many 
 could you name?" 
 
 "Not many; one or two." 
 
 "I have known more than that number," 
 said Prime frankly. "I suppose I could recall 
 a half-dozen. I was one myself. But they 
 were not numerous; they did not average one 
 in a thousand hardly two in ten thousand." 
 
 "Oh, there must have been more than that!" 
 
 "Fortunately, the matter is not left to be 
 guessed at. There were a few, a very few, who 
 slipped by the sentinel who stood with a flam- 
 ing sword at the gate of the garden in which 
 grew the tree of knowledge ; but two years
 
 84 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 after the close of the war it was next to impos- 
 sible to find a score of grown colored men in 
 many of the counties of a half-dozen States, 
 who could read ten lines intelligibly. That I 
 know; and I think it a high estimate to say 
 that two in ten thousand of the five millions of 
 slaves could read and write when liberated. 
 Even these few were the result of unlawful 
 indulgence on the part of individual masters, 
 or of exceptional enterprise and daring on the 
 part of the men themselves. They were un- 
 lawful trespassers in the field of knowledge, 
 and liable to the severest punishment if their 
 offense was discovered. If they dared acquire 
 knowledge they were compelled to conceal and 
 deny its possession." 
 
 "The masters could not afford to educate 
 their slaves." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Why not!" 
 
 Yes; why not? The free men of the North 
 educated themselves by their own labor, didn't 
 they? And had a surplus to invest in homes 
 and luxuries, besides?" 
 
 "Of course." 
 
 "If an average laborer at the North could 
 support himself and family and educate his 
 children, besides earning a surplus for invest- 
 ment or luxury, why should not the men who
 
 SOME EXPERT TESTIMONY. 85 
 
 enjoyed the proceeds of the slave's labor have 
 been able to afford him at least the rudiments 
 of an education?" 
 
 "Yes," said the questioner hesitatingly, "but 
 it was the States that educated the people of 
 the North." 
 
 "Exactly; but the State schools were sup- 
 ported by the tax-payers, and the tax-payers 
 represented the results of labor, didn't they? 
 Then why should not a Christian State that 
 added the labor of the slave aye, even the 
 slave himself, to its taxable aggregate why 
 should it not have educated his children?" 
 
 "Now. Uncle, what is the sense of talking in 
 that way?" burst out the objector angrily. 
 "You know it would.not have done to educate 
 the slaves. They would have been burning and 
 killing the white people in no time if they had 
 been educated. Why, man, it would have 
 needed a regiment in every county to keep 
 them down, and you know it. But what's the 
 use of fussing about the matter now?. Slavery 
 is dead and gone. You are just as free as I am. 
 What do you want to keep harping on what 
 two-thirds of the people now living know noth- 
 ing in the world about, except by hearsay?" 
 
 "If a man robbed you, I suppose you would 
 say nothing about it?" 
 
 "Not if there were no chance for me to get
 
 86 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 back what I had lost, certainly not after he 
 was dead and gone." 
 
 "Not if you saw his children flaunting the 
 fruits of his wrong in your face, and boast- 
 ing of it every day?" exclaimed the old man, 
 straightening up while his customer put his 
 other foot upon the form. 
 
 "Who's got the money the nigger earned?" 
 angrily shouted the other, shaking his folded 
 newspaper in the old man's face. "Can any- 
 body trace it? Does anybody know how much 
 it is? Where is it deposited? In what is it in- 
 vested? I am tired of these indefinite state- 
 ments. If a man can prove his property, he 
 has a right to take it, not otherwise. That is 
 the law!" 
 
 * 
 
 "That is the law; but it is not equity, and 
 our case is in equity. We do not ask to follow 
 that which is ours, in specie. Our demand is 
 for an equivalent, or a partial equivalent, for 
 what has been wrongfully taken from us and 
 converted to the use of the taker." 
 
 It was Ben who spoke. Up to this time he 
 had taken no part in the conversation, and his 
 words were greeted with applause by most of 
 those present. 
 
 "Well done, youngster," said a gruff man 
 upon whose boot the young man was at work. 
 "You haven't studied law for nothing; but
 
 SOME EXPERT TESTIMONY. 87 
 
 when one tries to apply the rules of equity to 
 the practice of peoples and nations, I am afraid 
 he will run foul of a good many obstacles." 
 
 "But the rules hold good though they cannot 
 be enforced, do they not, Judge?" asked the 
 young man respectfully. 
 
 "Oh, of course ; they must if they are, as we 
 are fond of declaring them to be, 'what the 
 common reason of mankind approves as just 
 and true.' ' 
 
 "In equity then," the young man continued, 
 "those who received the labor of our people un- 
 justly, became trustees for us by their own 
 wrongful act, and it is not necessary that we 
 should follow and designate our own. The 
 trustee de son tort who mingles the trust fund 
 with his own becomes a debtor to that amount." 
 
 "True enough," said the gruff man with 
 kindly condescension, "but where is the fund? 
 Who is the tortfeasor ? What estate will you 
 subject to the slave's claim?" 
 
 "It seems to me, sir," said the young man, 
 looking frankly up into his interlocutor's face, 
 "that the slave's labor has gone into the national 
 wealth that immense aggregate we have re- 
 cently seen paraded before the world's eyes with 
 so much boastfulness I don't know how many 
 billions it is and that all this is, in equity, 
 charged with whatever sums may be necessary
 
 88 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 to recompense our people, so far as may be, for 
 the wrong done them in the past." 
 
 "That is a bold claim, young man," said the 
 jurist, in a tone which of itself expressed warm 
 commendation. , "If the principles of equity 
 could be applied to national affairs, or rather to 
 collective relations, it is not easy to see how 
 such a claim could be avoided. One objection 
 would be that there is no means of making any 
 distinction between the slaveholder or his de- 
 scendants, and those who remonstrated against 
 the injustice of slavery and opposed its con- 
 tinuance." 
 
 "It is the duty of all the people to see that 
 the law wrongs no man, is it not?" 
 
 'Very true," said the judge affably, "but you 
 understand that in our dual system of govern- 
 ment the people of one State are not responsi- 
 ble for what the people of another State may 
 do, except within certain limits." 
 
 "I understand that," said the young man ; 
 "at least I have tried to understand it." 
 
 "That is as near as anybo'dy gets, my son," 
 answered the judge, laughing. "I've been try- 
 ing a long time to make out the puzzle, and 
 am free to confess that it doesn't grow easier. 
 I suppose it will take another hundred years to 
 decide just where the boundary lies between 
 state and national power and state and national
 
 SOME EXPERT TESTIMONY. 89 
 
 responsibility for the rights and privileges of 
 the citizen. For myself, I must say I never 
 approach the subject without feeling like a sur- 
 veyor setting out to find a way through an 
 unexplored wilderness." 
 
 "Of course, I don't know much about the 
 matter, Judge," said the young man modestly, 
 "but it seems to me that the people of all the 
 States are estopped from denying their responsi- 
 bility for slavery and, therefore, their moral 
 liability for its results. You see slavery pre- 
 vailed in every one of the original thirteen 
 States ; and although hundreds of slaves fought 
 in the Continental armies to secure the inde- 
 pendence of the Colonies, yet when these Colo- 
 nies these sovereign peoples if you please 
 came to form 'a more perfect union/ each one 
 of them agreed that every other one might hold 
 men in bondage, take from them every right 
 and privilege, even to life itself, simply because 
 they had more or less of colored blood in their 
 veins. They stood by consenting, and 
 
 "Like Saul at the stoning of Stephen, eh?" 
 exclaimed the judge. "There is something in 
 that, certainly. But how about the new States?" 
 he asked, seemingly desirous of drawing the 
 youngster out. 
 
 "They derive their powers and privileges 
 through the action of the older States, and are
 
 9 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 morally as well as legally, subject to the same 
 responsibility. In other words, they are only 
 convenient extensions of the original thirteen. 
 Now the fact that any of these States at a sub- 
 sequent time abjured the doctrine of slavery 
 and found their hands tied by the Constitution 
 so that they were unable to interfere with it in 
 others, does not relieve them from responsibility, 
 because they themselves assented to this re- 
 striction of their power. They not only sub- 
 mitted to have their hands tied but helped to 
 tie them." 
 
 "But, of course, you cannot hold the whole 
 people of a State responsible for the wrong-do- 
 ing of a part of them," said the judge gravely. 
 
 "Not unless the wrong is a result of some 
 public act or neglect, but in such cases the 
 courts frequently hold the whole responsible 
 for the resultant injury, do they not? For in- 
 stance, if a State takes a man's property, the 
 whole body of the people is taxed to make the 
 owner whole. So too, if property is destroyed 
 in a riot, the muncipality which did not afford 
 sufficient protection is responsible for the dam- 
 ages." 
 
 "Well said, young man, well said," exclaimed 
 the judge heartily, as he relieved the groaning 
 chair of its burden of flesh and stepped gingerly 
 off the platform. "Mr. Phelps has reason to be
 
 SOME EXPERT TESTIMONY. 91 
 
 proud of his pupil. I hope to see you at the 
 bar very soon, sir, and do not doubt you will 
 have occasion to express your views upon these 
 matters more effectually when I am dead and 
 gone." 
 
 "That isn't all," said Prime eagerly; "I ain't 
 a lawyer like Benny, but I've thought a heap 
 about this matter, Judge, and I reckon justice is 
 about the same thing whether she's seen through 
 your glasses or mine." 
 
 "Well, as she is always represented as blind- 
 folded we may infer she is not particular about 
 her appearance and doesn't care who sees 
 her; though it seems inconsistent to speak of 
 her as a woman if that is the case," answered 
 the judge, with humorous complaisance. 
 
 "I don't know about that," said Prime seri- 
 ously. "But this is what seems to me to put 
 an end to any such claim. They all shared in 
 the proceeds of the wrong. It could not be 
 otherwise, you see." 
 
 "It's a great question a great question," 
 responded the judge as he started to leave. 
 "God has a strange way of keeping his ac- 
 counts the debit and credit of right and 
 wrong between races and peoples and settling 
 them according to His own notions. He holds 
 the scales between them as courts do between 
 man and man, only a great deal steadier. Our
 
 9 2 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 equity is only a faint reflection of His justice, 
 but the procedure in the Heavenly Chancery" 
 he pointed upward with the fat forefinger of his 
 left hand, an awkward but impressive gesture, 
 and shook his great head as he glanced round 
 upon the listeners "the procedure up there is 
 different from ours. There's no shuffling, and 
 the judgments entered there are always en- 
 forced always enforced, gentlemen!" 
 
 The little group were silent as he turned 
 away and climbed the steps with a ponderous 
 strength which concealed the effort it must 
 have required. The respect which had kept 
 others silent while he took part in the conver- 
 sation, was not so much due to the exalted posi- 
 tion which he held, as to that innate respect for 
 his moral and intellectual qualities which has 
 been the bulwark of the American judiciary.
 
 VIII. 
 
 COUNTERCLAIM AND SET-OFF. 
 
 ' QO you claim about ten billion of dollars. 
 ^J ' for work and labor done,' do you, 
 Prime?" jocularly asked one who had taken 
 no part hitherto in the conversation, " and the 
 old judge actually drops an intimation that 
 you have a good cause of action. Don't be- 
 lieve it, old man ; the most unreliable opinion 
 in the world is that of a judge out of court. 
 You see it takes the solemnity of an oath to 
 bring him up to a sense of duty sufficient to 
 impel him to carve a claim according to rule 
 and precedent." 
 
 "Oh, we don't make any claim," said Prime 
 good-naturedly. "What's the use of our 
 claiming anything ? Who would pay our de- 
 mand if it was allowed ? What white people 
 would think it worth their while to pay any 
 claim the Negro might have against them ? 
 The Christian idea of justice never gets across 
 the color line. It counts it wicked to rob the 
 strong, but no crime to mulct the weak under 
 the form of law. Right is always white in 
 93
 
 94 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 Christian law ; so we do not claim anything 
 never have claimed anything. We have merely 
 asked for justice, asked so humbly and for 
 so little that the world has looked upon us as 
 mere beggars by the wayside, seekers for alms 
 rather than heirs of equal right. If the 
 followers of Christ really believed what they 
 profess if they believed that He died for any- 
 body but white men they would never dare 
 ask for mercy until they had tried to render 
 justice. It is not recompense that we seek, 
 but right. Justice to-day, pays all the debts of 
 yesterday, and nothing else will." 
 
 " Now see here, Prime," said a cheery voice, 
 as a man with an empty sleeve pinned across 
 his breast took his seat upon the dais, " I've 
 been listening to what has been said here for 
 the last half-hour, and while I admit that you 
 colored folks have had a hard time I'll be 
 hanged if you aren't going a little too far. 
 You don't state the case fairly when you 
 charge up all your wrongs against us and omit 
 to give credit for what you have received 
 from us." 
 
 " If there are .any credits if the white race 
 has done any good thing to the Negro or made 
 any sacrifice for his sake they are entitled to 
 double credit," said Prime earnestly. 
 
 " Well, just give us credit among other
 
 COUNTERCLAIM AND SET-OFF. 95 
 
 things for this arm, will you? " said the other 
 gayly, lifting up the stump to a level with the 
 shoulder. 
 
 " That I will, Major and mighty willingly, 
 too," returned Prime heartily, "if you say I 
 ought to. I remember when you lost that 
 arm, and shall never forget" how neatly you 
 caught the sword in your left hand as it fell, 
 and cried out, 'Come on, boys! I've always 
 wanted to use my left hand, but it was contrary 
 to Regulations! ' ' 
 
 "You see I was left-handed," said the Major, 
 flushing with modesty under the approving 
 glances that rested upon him after this speech. 
 " But how did you come to see it? Were you 
 one of the ' niggers ' we captured that day?" 
 
 " No, I was one of the ' niggers ' that followed 
 you that day," said Prime with a chuckle. 
 
 '" You ? Why, there wasn't a nigger in the 
 whole army that charged on Mission Ridge 
 that day ! " 
 
 " /was there, all the same," said Prime dog- 
 gedly, " and wasn't twenty steps away when 
 you fell and Sergeant Cushman caught yon 
 and started for the rear." 
 
 " I remember," said the other enthusias- 
 tically, " I had just sense enough left to think 
 we had been repulsed. 1 cared a great deal 
 more for that than I did for my wounds. Cush-
 
 96 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 man was shot, poor fellow, and I should have 
 been left there and bled to death, I think, if it 
 hadn't been for the color-bearer, Smith what 
 was it the boys used to call him Oh, yes 
 Pepper-pod his initials were P. P., you see," 
 he explained to the bystanders "he was a gal- 
 lant fellow! Did you know him?" 
 
 Prime answered with a nod, without looking 
 up from his work. 
 
 "I wonder what became of him? I never 
 saw him afterward. He was promoted, you 
 see, and given a commission in a colored regi- 
 ment before I got back." 
 
 Prime made no reply. The Major was silent 
 for a moment, evidently thinking of the time 
 when his life was at the climacteric. 
 
 "Whose servant were you then?" he asked 
 after a while. 
 
 "I don't know exactly," answered Prime, 
 dryly. 
 
 "What the dickens were you doing up there, 
 anyhow?" 
 
 "Well, Major, I was doing a little fighting, 
 about that time." 
 
 "On your own account, eh? I don't blame 
 you," said the other with a laugh. 
 
 "No, Major, I was fighting on your account 
 just then. I was an enlisted man, and the army 
 of the United States fought for the Union, not
 
 COUNTERCLAIM AND SET-OFF. 97 
 
 for the freedom of the slave. I was a slave 
 fighting for the Union for your advantage, 
 you see, not mine." 
 
 "Well, that followed. We gave you your 
 freedom as soon as we got through with the. 
 Confederacy, and you ought to give us credit 
 for it. Isn't that so, old man?" 
 
 "Did you give us our freedom? Was it not 
 ours by right already?" 
 
 "Well, we stopped the other fellows from 
 taking it from you. What's the difference?" 
 asked the maimed veteran with a confidence 
 that evoked nods of approval from the lis- 
 teners. 
 
 "We were talking about a fair account be- 
 tween the Negro and the white man, Major." 
 
 "Certainly. Didn't the white man give you 
 your freedom?" 
 
 "Didn't he first deprive us of liberty?" 
 
 "Yes, but he ought to have credit for giving 
 it back all the same." 
 
 "In other words, having deprived us of all 
 our rights for two hundred and fifty years, we 
 ( became the debtor of the race as soon as they 
 give us backaflart of what the laws of God 
 and nature declare to be our own. Is that 
 what you mean, Major?" 
 
 "Really, that seems to be about the size of it, 
 Prime," said the Major laughing, as he buttoned
 
 9 8 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 his overcoat and prepared to depart, "but I 
 never thought of it in that light. I don't see 
 that we can claim much credit, as a people, for 
 giving the Negro back his freedom ; but there 
 is one thing we did give you that was not yours 
 before, and to which you had no moral or legal 
 claim ; we made you citizens of the United 
 States." 
 
 "True," said Prime solemnly, "that is a fair 
 credit, but how much is the right or privilege 
 you always boast of it as a right and then deal 
 with it as a privilege how much is it worth to 
 the colored race? You gave us a legal right to 
 exercise the power of the citizen so you said 
 at least and then permitted its exercise to be 
 made a matter of mortal peril to the colored 
 man who seeks to benefit himself or his people, 
 thereby. As a business man, Major, what 
 would you give for the Negro's right, as a citi- 
 zen, anywhere south of that river?" said Prime, 
 nodding his head toward the Potomac. 
 
 "I'm sure I don't know, Prime," answered 
 the Major with a shrug. "Ask me something 
 easy." 
 
 "Is it worth more than the blood the Negro 
 shed for the Republic, from Crispus Attucks's 
 day until the last poor fellow who offered his 
 life in the assertion of this new-found privilege? 
 Remember, Major, that the Negro gave his
 
 COUNTERCLAIM AND SET-OFF. 99 
 
 blood in the Revolution and two hundred thou- 
 sand of the race offered their lives for the life 
 of the Republic as willingly and as bravely even 
 as you, in what you used to call the 'War of 
 Rebellion !' You generally use some politer 
 phrase now, but you know what I mean. Have 
 they received has the race received from the 
 American people more than the value of their 
 blood?" 
 
 "Candidly, Prime," said the Major, turning 
 toward him, "I don't believe they have nor 
 half that amount. But I never thought of the 
 matter in that light before. I must come in and 
 talk it over with you again some day when 
 I have more time. I want to know what you 
 were doing at Mission Ridge, too. Good-by." 
 
 The good-natured veteran was half-way up 
 the stairs before he had finished speaking. His 
 hearty tone showed how community of peril, 
 the comradeship of battle, fuses lives together 
 so closely as to burn away even the barriers 
 between black and tvhite manhood.
 
 IX. 
 
 "IF WISHES WERE FISHES." 
 
 "T^OR my part I wish every 'nigger' could be 
 
 1 sent back to Africa where they belong," 
 
 said an elegantly dressed young man, as he 
 
 flecked the ashes off his cigar and took his seat 
 
 in one of the chairs. 
 
 "Now you're talking," rejoined another, a 
 sallow, narrow-faced man with a long beard who 
 sat scowling behind a paper he had pretended 
 to be reading in another chair. "Here I've 
 been waiting the best part of an hour to get 
 my boots blacked. If the weather hadn't been 
 so bad I'd have gone out and got it done some- 
 where else. I wish I had, anyhow, for I've 
 been compelled to listen to the most disgust- 
 ing tirade on the wrongs of the 'nigger' I have 
 ever heard. I suppose this old beggar makes 
 more money than half the white men in the 
 city, but he aint satisfied no nigger ever will 
 be it's the nature of the race they're always 
 wanting something they haven't earned. I 
 go farther than you, sir, and wish there never 
 had been a nigger in the country. We might 
 
 TOO
 
 "IF WISHES WERE FISHES" 101 
 
 at least have had a Christmas then, without 
 being compelled to listen to their complaints. 
 I wish as Henry Clay did, that 'the foot of the 
 Negro had never rested on American soil.' " 
 
 "Amen !" said Prime, solemnly, as he bent 
 over the speaker's foot. This fervent response 
 brought a laugh from the bystanders. 
 
 ' 'Well said, old mole,' " quoted one who 
 seemed to be an actor, as he lighted his cigar 
 and drew on his gloves. 
 
 "Where would you have been, I'd like to 
 know, if that had been the case?" asked the sal- 
 low-faced man angrily, looking down upon the 
 old man as he shot his arms back and forth 
 each side of the boot upon the form. 
 
 "That doesn't make any difference, sir. I 
 wish there had never been any ' niggers ' here 
 all the same," answered Prime. "In fact, I 
 wish there had never been any colored people 
 created." 
 
 "It's a pity the Lord didn't consult you before 
 he made them," said the young man with a 
 laugh. 
 
 "It certainly would have saved a heap of 
 trouble in this country," rejoined the other, "and 
 it would have been aheap better place for white 
 people to live in, too. Just about all the 
 trouble we've had has come from the 'niggers,' " 
 
 "And the Indians," suggested Prime.
 
 102 FACTO LUS PRIME. 
 
 "Well, yes, we've had some trouble with 
 them not much." 
 
 "Except the trouble of killing them," re- 
 joined the old man. 
 
 "Yes, we've had to kill some. They couldn't 
 expect to stand across the path of civilization 
 and not get hurt." 
 
 "Of course not," sneered Prime as he tapped 
 his customer's boot as a sign that his work was 
 done, and straightening up looked him squarely 
 in the eye, "and they couldn't expect the doc- 
 trine, 'Do unto others as you would that they 
 should do to you,' should regulate the white 
 man's relations with any people having a dusky 
 skin." 
 
 "Don't quote Scripture to me, you black ras- 
 cal !" exclaimed the customer as he sprang to 
 his feet and stepped off the dais. "What 
 would your whining, thieving race have known 
 about Scripture or religion if the white men had 
 not brought you to this country? Do you 
 think the Negroes on the Congo coast are any 
 better off than those in the United States? 
 What you owe the white man is infinitely 
 more than his indebtness to you. It can't 
 be estimated. It can only be imagined by 
 considering the distance between the Afri- 
 can and the American Negro of to-day. That 
 is what you owe to Christianity and civil-
 
 "IF WISHES W 'ERE FISHES." 103 
 
 ization. Do you hear, you ungrateful black 
 rascal?" 
 
 "Oh, I hear, sir, I hear," answered Prime, 
 coolly brushing the gentleman's coat. "I hear, 
 and I don't doubt you think that is the correct 
 view. I don't deny that it was a great advan- 
 tage to the colored race to be brought to this 
 country greater than one can well conceive. 
 I do not doubt that God did it ; but no follower 
 of the white Christ is entitled to any credit for 
 it. It was not done because He commanded it, 
 for His glory, nor because He is the Saviour of 
 men. It was not done for our advantage, nor 
 as a religious duty, nor to rescue us from barbar- 
 ism. It was done for the same reason that the 
 Indian was killed simply because it was to the 
 white man's advantage! It was done in the 
 name of the white Christ, and with the claim of 
 having His sanction and approval! The white 
 man has no more right to commendation for 
 any good that resulted from those two centuries 
 and a half of wrong, than had Pilate or Judas to 
 take credit for the salvation that came through 
 a Crucified Redeemer! You did not mean to 
 do us good, and it is only intended results for 
 which the white race can claim our gratitude!" 
 
 "People ought to be thankful for what good 
 they receive in this world, whether it was in- 
 tended or not," growled the other.
 
 1 04 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 "Do you think so?" asked Prime. "Look 
 at Benny there ! Whom does he remind you 
 of? Who does he look like?" 
 
 "I don't know," responded the other, care- 
 lessly glancing at the young man. 
 
 "Oh, yes, you do. You know there's but one 
 family in the country that has those features, 
 and you know very well what name that family 
 bears. It's a good family; I haven't anything 
 to say against that, and there's no doubt he'll 
 be a smarter man for having such blood in his 
 veins, but does he owe any gratitude to those 
 from whom it was derived? Do you want to 
 claim credit for that, sir?" 
 
 "Do you mean to insult me?" exclaimed the 
 customer angrily, as he saw the smile that came 
 to the lips of thos'e who were listening. "I'll 
 make it warm for you, you miserable black 
 nigger! I'll tell the proprietor how you treat 
 his guests!" 
 
 He started toward the stairs, as if to allow 
 no time to escape before the execution of his 
 threat. 
 
 "I don't think you will, Mr. Collins," said 
 Prime coolly. 
 
 The customer turned sharply on his heel, and 
 after scrutinizing the old man for a moment as 
 he bent over the foot of another patron, asked : 
 
 "How did you come to know my name?"
 
 "IF WISHES WERE FISHES." 105 
 
 "I'm no stranger to it," said Prime carelessly, 
 sponging off the boot on which he was at work. 
 "You didn't s'pose as great a man as you could 
 come up North without bein' realized, did 
 you?" he asked, with a sarcastic grin. 
 
 "What did you mean by saying I would not 
 tell the proprietor?" asked the other sternly. 
 
 "Wai, I thought you mightn't want him to 
 tell you he'd rather part with you than try to. 
 get along without me," said Prime suavely. 
 "Besides it wouldn't be a bit of use. He's 
 known me a heap longer'n he has you, and I've 
 known you a heap longer'n I have him, too, as 
 it happens!" 
 
 The last words were uttered with an unmis- 
 takable sneer. 
 
 "What do you mean by that, you impudent 
 rascal?" exclaimed the stranger, turning threat- 
 eningly upon him. 
 
 "Jes what I say, Mars Ephrum !" said Prime, 
 straightening up and facing the other defiantly. 
 "Ain't no harm in dat, is dey? Ain't nobody 
 gwine ter get killed fer 'spressin' his 'pinion 
 'bout here, is dar?" 
 
 There was an insulting leer in the words em- 
 phasized by the broad negro dialect in which 
 they were uttered. The other paused and 
 scrutinized the sphinx-like face before him, as 
 if seeking to find some recognizable feature,
 
 106 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 Prime smiled scornfully. 
 
 "Hope yer satisfied, Mr. Collins," he said with 
 mock reverence. "Did ye think ye'd found a 
 lost nigger?" 
 
 "Don't you fool with me, old man !" ex- 
 claimed the other, taking a step forward. 
 
 Benny, who had been carefully observant of 
 what was going on, now left his work and 
 stepped between the angry disputants, facing 
 the white man. 
 
 "Aha! Stirred up de young cub, haint ye?" 
 said Prime tauntingly. "Why don't yer hit 
 him, Mr. Collins? Looks as if yer had a right 
 ter lick him, don't he now, gentlemen?" 
 
 "There, there!" said two or three, accepting 
 at once the role of peacemaker. "Don't let's 
 have any trouble !" 
 
 "I'll see if the proprietor of this house will 
 allow his guests to be treated in this manner!" 
 said Collins, white with wrath, turning toward 
 the stairway. 
 
 "I'd go easy ef I was you, Mr. Collins!" said 
 Prime mockingly. "They hev a coroner here ; 
 an' don't have to wait till the buzzards hev 
 picked a man's bones afore they find out he's 
 dead! Don't be fractious, Mars Ephrum, her 
 fergit yer latitude! A man's apt to be more 
 in the way atter he's dead than when he's alive, 
 here in these parts. Ain't no swamps handy, 
 yer know!"
 
 "IF WISHES WERE FISHES." 107 
 
 The pallor of the stranger's face grew 
 deathlike as he listened to the words the old 
 man hurled after him. He rallied, however, and 
 turned at the foot of the stairs to say in a mild 
 enough voice : 
 
 "You have evidently made some mistake ; I 
 will see you again." 
 
 "God knows I hope I hev, Mahrster," said the 
 old man with sudden emotion. Benny glanced 
 up at his employer with a look of reverence as 
 he resumed his work.
 
 X. 
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. 
 
 TT7HAT do you know about that man?" 
 VV asked one of those who stood by. 
 
 "Nothing in the world, Mr. Hunt, and if I 
 did it wouldn't be worth your while to ask about 
 it. There ain't any need for detectives now, 
 when a nigger disappears not in this country ! 
 There used to be a good deal of business of 
 that sort profitable too but since they've 
 quit buying and selling them, it don't pay for 
 you detectives to track a missing nigger!" 
 
 There was a laugh at the expense of the in- 
 quirer, whose occupation was thus disclosed. 
 
 "You don't mean to say you were shooting 
 in the dark?" he asked. 
 
 "Well, no, not exactly," answered Prime. "I 
 happened to see his name on the register this 
 morning, and he had a letter in his hand when 
 he sat down here that's how I knew his given 
 name. I remembered there was some talk 
 about the disappearance of niggers in the place 
 he hails from, some few years ago that's all." 
 
 "Well, you made a hit," said the detective 
 carelessly as he strolled up the stairs. 
 108
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. 109 
 
 A moment after he had introduced himself to 
 Mr. Collins, whom he found in the reading- 
 room, and placed his services at the disposal of 
 that irate but worthy stranger. His proffer 
 was accepted with alacrity, and after the pay- 
 ment of a liberal fee he was commissioned to 
 do two things: first, to find out what he could 
 about Prime and what he meant by the lan- 
 guage he had used ; second, to examine the re- 
 cords and learn what he could of one P. P. 
 Smith, formerly an officer of the th U. S. 
 Colored Infantry. The man himself, Mr. Col- 
 lins thought, was dead, but it was important 
 for him to find his heirs. 
 
 Thereupon, the detective told him what he 
 had learned from the boot-black after Collins 
 had come away. The latter listened with a 
 look of relief, and the information seemed to 
 give him a very high opinion of the value of the 
 detective's services, for he added of his own ac- 
 cord a double eagle to the fee he had already 
 paid, and invited the detective to go down to 
 the oar with him for a Christmas dram. Prime 
 smiled as he saw the feet of the two pass un- 
 steadily by his window an hour afterward. 
 
 "You ought not to take such liberties with a 
 stranger," said a dignified-looking man who sat 
 in Prime's chair. "Your careless remark might 
 have ruined the reputation of a very good
 
 1 1 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 man. I am, as you know, very far from being 
 an apologist for the wrongs that have been done 
 your race, but, fortunately, it is but a small por- 
 tion of the Southern people who are responsible 
 for, or approve of, such things." 
 
 The gentleman's tone was that of unques- 
 tioned superiority. 
 
 "No doubt you know all about the Southern 
 people, Senator most Northern men do," said 
 Prime sharply, "especially those in Congress." 
 
 "I have made the matter a special study," 
 rejoined the Senator severely. "Have you 
 read my speeches?" 
 
 "No," answered Prime dryly, "but I have 
 heard parts of them." 
 
 "What do you think of them?" eagerly. 
 
 "They seemed very wonderful to me." 
 
 "You could see that I had studied the sub- 
 ject thoroughly?" 
 
 "Did you hear what Professor Wryneck sa : d 
 in here the other day?" 
 
 "No indeed," the Senator rejoined with a 
 smile ; "something good no doubt ; he is a very 
 learned man." 
 
 "He said he had been studying the moon for 
 forty years, and didn't know as much about it 
 now, as a perfect stranger would know if he could 
 just stand on its surface five minutes." 
 
 "And you think "
 
 A 8ASIS OF COMPOSITION. ill 
 
 "I think," interrupted Prime, "that even a 
 'nigger,' who studies Southern life every day he 
 lives, at first hand and short range, is apt to 
 know more about it than a Northern man who 
 never gets nigh enough to it to feel it. There 
 are some things, Senator, that a man can't learn 
 from reports. He must see them, feel them, 
 for himself!" 
 
 "But one must rely upon testimony," urged 
 the legislator. 
 
 "No doubt, but he should hear all the testi- 
 mony and hear it fairly; and then he must 
 study the witnesses as well as the question." 
 
 "Well, we wont discuss that," said the Sena- 
 tor good-naturedly, "but you must admit that 
 the bill providing for 'National Aid to Educa- 
 tion' is a step in the right direction." 
 
 "You can't expect a 'nigger' to know much 
 about such things, sir," answered Prime eva- 
 sively. 
 
 "Oh, you can't escape in that way," laughed 
 the Senator. "I see you don't like it. Now 
 tell me why. You were complaining a while 
 ago, that the country did nothing to compen- 
 sate your people for enforced ignorance. Now 
 here's a measure designed to accomplish that 
 very thing and yet you shake your head and 
 look dissatisfied with it. Now tell me the 
 reason."
 
 .112 . PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 "Well, Senator, let me ask you candidly, is 
 that the purpose of the bill?" 
 
 "Well, not professedly, of course, but inci- 
 dentally ' 
 
 "Don't you think, Senator, that it is about 
 time the country ceased to make the Negro 
 merely an 'incident,' except when it does him 
 injustice? There used to be no difficulty about 
 dealing with him directly. Nobody ever held 
 the Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional." 
 
 "Well, this bill is intended to promote the 
 education of all white and black alike, accord- 
 ing to their illiteracy. If there is an illiterate 
 Negro, the State gets a sum certain, to be used 
 in the education of that Negro's child or the 
 child of some other Negro, and the same in case 
 of an ignorant white man. It is just as fair for 
 the one as for the other. You don't want any- 
 thing more, do you? If there are more colored 
 than white illiterates in any State, your race 
 will get the greater share of advantage at least 
 until an equilibrium is produced. What more 
 can you ask?" 
 
 "That would be good enough, if true ; but it's 
 just too good to believe, Senator," said Prime 
 pleasantly. 
 
 "But I assure you it is all true," urged the 
 legislator. "Can't you accept my statements?" 
 
 "I've no doubt you think so, and am sure the
 
 A j&ASfS OF COMPOS/T/OM H3 
 
 bill is intended to do that very thing. But it's 
 just there you've made your mistake. Any 
 'nigger' could tell you it won't do it. Who is 
 to distribute and apply this money, Senator?" 
 
 "Why, the States, of course. The general 
 government has no power 
 
 "I understand," interrupted Prime, "the gen- 
 eral government is always short of power where 
 a 'nigger' is to be benefited even 'incidentally.' 
 Who controls the States where the Negroes are, 
 and where the black illiterates you wish to 
 benefit are to be found?" 
 
 "Why, the people of course." 
 
 "Do they?" 
 
 "Well, Congress has nothing to do with 
 that just now, at any rate," said the Senator 
 pettishly. 
 
 "Well, we have," said Prime, straightening 
 himself up ; "we have suffered injustice enough 
 and do not care to advertise for any more. 
 You knoiv that in the States where our people 
 equal or even exceed the whites in number, they 
 would have no voice in the control or applica- 
 tion of this munificent bequest, according to the 
 plan of this bill, and you know that no people 
 were ever good enough to be trusted with the 
 interests of a powerless and subordinate race. 
 You say you are giving a fair proportion of this 
 sum to our people, and the world will hold us
 
 H4 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 responsible for proportionate progress; yet 
 you put the fund where we cannot control it f 
 nor any part of it, and where every principle of 
 human nature shows you we shall not get a fair 
 share of its benefits. You would not offer to 
 treat us in this way if we were not 'niggers' !" 
 
 "But I assure you, Mr. Prime " 
 
 "Just let me say one word more, Senator. 
 You have the Record and the press to give cir- 
 culation to your ideas. I have only the men 
 who sit in my chairs or who are waiting for 
 places in them, to talk to. This bill which you 
 think such a fine thing, to my mind is only a 
 plan for using a 'nigger's' fingers to pull chest- 
 nuts out of the treasury for the benefit of 
 the white people of those States !" 
 
 "How can that be when one counts the same 
 as the other a black man just as much as a 
 white one?" asked the Senator with evident 
 annoyance. 
 
 "Easy enough. You haven't followed your 
 fund haven't traced it into the schoolhouse 
 or you'd see it yourself. In those States the 
 public schools are not open to all some are 
 for the white race and some for the black 
 people." 
 
 "But the bill provides that they shall be put 
 on the same footing." 
 
 "Very true; but look at its operation. Say
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. 115 
 
 a million dollars a year goes to Virginia that's 
 about the sum proposed, I think. Two-thirds 
 of her illiterates are colored, but only about 
 one-third of her population. That is true, 
 isn't it?" 
 
 "Yes, approximately." 
 
 "Of course, I cannot give the figures as you 
 would ; but now answer me this question : Why 
 would Virginia receive this money ? Two-thirds 
 would be given on account of colored illiteracy, 
 wouldn't it?" 
 
 "Certainly." 
 
 "Now, where would it go?" 
 
 "Why, to the colored schools, of course." 
 
 "Let us see. How is the money distributed 
 to the counties from the State treasury?" 
 
 "According to the population per capita, as 
 we call it." 
 
 "And how to the school districts?" 
 
 "In the same way." 
 
 "Exactly." 
 
 "Well, two-thirds of the population is white, 
 isn't it?" 
 
 "Certainly." 
 
 "Then the white schools would get two-thirds 
 of the fund, wouldn't they?" 
 
 "I suppose so, but ' 
 
 "Hold on! Then the United States, by this 
 bill, would give two dollars to cure white illit-
 
 1 1 6 f>A CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 eracy for every one it gives to cure colored 
 illiteracy, though there are as many again col- 
 ored as white illiterates. Isn't this rather un- 
 fair even for 'incidental' justice?" 
 
 "But what would you have? We cannot 
 undo all the wrongs of the past at once !" 
 
 "True enough, Senator; but it is better to do 
 nothing than add a new wrong to the long 
 category of the old ones." 
 
 "The fact that a man is black does not prove 
 that he knows what is best for the colored race," 
 petulantly. 
 
 "Very true, sir; but it's a universal rule that 
 the man who wears a shoe knows best where 
 it pinches." 
 
 "But he may not know how to mend it." 
 
 "Very likely, nor will the cobbler, until he 
 learns just where it rubs. I know what it is to 
 be a 'nigger,' Senator, and you don't ; and you 
 never will be able to devise an efficient remedy 
 for our ills until you have learned just what 
 that means ! " 
 
 "Perhaps you are right," said the Senator in 
 a dissatisfied tone, as he turned thoughtfully 
 away. "It's a very difficult problem to deal 
 with. We try to be as considerate and charita- 
 ble as we can ; but it seems as if the more we 
 did for the colored man the more dissatisfied he 
 becomes."
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. H7 
 
 "Suppose you try a little justice, Senator; 
 Charity is a good thing, but I think a pound of 
 justice would go further than a ton of charity." 
 
 "But what is justice?" said the Senator. 
 "That is the question." 
 
 "With submission, sir, I do not think that 
 ought to be the question. The question ought 
 to be 'What is injustice? ' ' 
 
 "I do not see any difference." 
 
 "Perhaps there is none; but it seemed to me 
 that to do justice might mean to make com- 
 pensation for the past, which cannot be ex- 
 pected ; while not to do injustice, pertains only 
 to the future and is always possible." 
 
 "But I thought you were speaking of the 
 matter of debit and credit?" 
 
 "That was not my idea, sir. A gentleman 
 who believes that political society is merely a 
 business association for business purposes, to be 
 managed on purely business principles, proposed 
 the inquiry. So far as our people are con- 
 cerned, it serves only to show that they are en- 
 titled to consideration at the hands of the 
 American Republic should not be treated 
 with farther injustice, I mean." 
 
 "Well, how shall we avoid injustice in this 
 matter? We cannot compel the Southern 
 states to admit colored children to their white 
 schools,"
 
 1 1 8 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 "That is very true ; and if you had the power 
 it would be folly to attempt to exercise it. 
 Prejudice, whether right or wrong, can rarely 
 be legislated out of existence, and the schools 
 of the South would be valueless to the colored 
 people if they were opened by compulsion to 
 them." 
 
 "How, then, can we prevent the injustice of 
 which you complain?" 
 
 "It seems to me so easy that I wonder any 
 one should think it difficult. The fund, it is 
 admitted, should be distributed to the States 
 according to their illiteracy; why not distribute 
 it direct to the counties, or school-districts, ac- 
 cording to the same plan?" 
 
 "The States have a right to distribute the 
 school funds as they see fit." 
 
 "Their own funds, of course ; no one ques- 
 tions that. But a gift may be conditioned," 
 interposed Benny, "and you have already at- 
 tached conditions to this gift looking to its 
 forfeiture in case of non-compliance." 
 
 "That is true," said the Senator. 
 
 "It seems to me," said Prime, "very easy and 
 very natural to go a little farther. What is 
 the purpose of the act?" 
 
 "Why, to promote education." 
 
 "I thought it was to prevent or cure illit- 
 eracy."
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. 119 
 
 "Are they not the same things?" 
 
 "Not in this case : It is claimed, and with 
 some show of reason, that the Nation has no 
 right to provide schools or education for the 
 sake of the individual. I have heard the mat- 
 ter discussed a good deal, for I always go to the 
 Capitol when it is coming up. Of course, the 
 argument cannot be sustained by the history of 
 the government. You have them there. Edu- 
 cation as a personal advantage an individual 
 luxury, so to speak has been aided and pro- 
 moted in many States all of them, in fact, by 
 National grant. But in this case, I take it, it 
 is the necessity of the government, rather than 
 the advantage of the citizen, that is to be con- 
 sidered. In other words, the government pro- 
 poses to provide for the enlightenment of the 
 citizen for the same reason that it builds 
 forts and ships, prepares charts and constructs 
 levees, simply in order that the Republic may 
 derive benefit thereby may receive no damage 
 from their ignorance." 
 
 "Of course: the government proposes to 
 aid in the education of the citizen because it 
 make's him a more valuable element of the 
 National life," said the legislator, with sen- 
 tentious positiveness. 
 
 "Is it not rather that he may be a less dan- 
 gerous element? Does not the whole theory of
 
 120 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 National aid to education rest on the idea that 
 the ignorant voter is a source of actual peril 
 less likely to know what he ought to do and 
 quite powerless to do even what he may 
 perceive ought to be done?" 
 
 "Of course, there is something in that." 
 
 "Is not that the real ground of the Nation's 
 right to interfere? Has not the Nation the 
 right, in order to provide for the 'general wel- 
 fare of the United States,' to declare that every 
 man who holds a ballot shall be enabled to 
 read it? And is not this the sole ground of 
 National aid to common schools not to edu- 
 cate the citizen for his own advantage, but to 
 disarm the ignorant voter for the general ad- 
 vantage?" 
 
 "Certainly," said the Senator, graciously, 
 "that is one reason ; but it is also good policy 
 from the other point of view. An educated 
 citizen is a better, a more profitable ingredient 
 of society than the ignorant one can be." 
 
 "To the State he may be: to the United 
 States, I cannot see that it makes any appre- 
 ciable difference. The Nation does not regu- 
 late morals nor provide for individual efficiency 
 or success. It would, no doubt, be a good 
 thing if every man were compelled to master 
 some trade or manual calling, but the Nation 
 has no power to provide that they shall be
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. 12 1 
 
 so taught. The Nation has, however, an un- 
 doubted right to provide for its own safety, 
 and in a republic, safety may very often depend 
 on the ability of the voter to read and write. 
 The purpose of National aid to education in 
 the various states, therefore, is simply to cure 
 illiteracy." 
 
 "Well, suppose it is? How does that affect 
 the plan of distribution of the fund?" 
 
 "In this way, as ifr seems to me. The Nation 
 says to the State, after taking a census of its 
 people : Fifty-one per cent, of your voters are 
 unable to read or write. This is a dangerous 
 state of affairs. Now, I will give two dollars 
 apiece for each one of your illiterate popula- 
 tion, in order to help cure this evil. But, in 
 order that I may feel assured that the fund 
 will be applied to this specific purpose and in 
 the most effective way, I must attach certain 
 conditions to the grant. First, the remedy 
 must be applied directly to the disease. In 
 one-half your territory there is no illiteracy. 
 Now this fund must not be applied to schools 
 in that part of the State, but must be applied 
 to each county in proportion to its illiteracy, 
 and in each school-district according to its 
 illiteracy." 
 
 "That would not be a bad idea," said the 
 Senator thoughtfully.
 
 122 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 "You must remember, sir," continued the old 
 man, "that in this respect the South is not like 
 the North. The country counties of the North 
 are by far the more intelligent have less illit- 
 eracy, I mean. At the South, it is just the 
 other way ; the cities have a smaller propor- 
 tion of illiterates than the country." 
 
 "Are you sure of that?" 
 
 "You have only to examine your own figures 
 to prove it. If you were acquainted with the 
 South, you would not need any figures. The 
 result of the system proposed by the bill as it 
 stands, you see, would be to give the counties 
 where there was the smallest proportion of 
 illiteracy the largest proportion of aid for their 
 schools." 
 
 "It does seem so, indeed." 
 
 "The futility of this plan is seen all the more 
 readily when you apply it to the two races. 
 Two-thirds of the fund would be given because 
 two-thirds of the illiterates are colored, but two- 
 thirds of the whole population are white. 
 That is, under, the present plan the government 
 would give to Virginia, say two dollars in aid of 
 education, for every illiterate white or black. 
 Now two-thirds of the illiteracy being black 
 and two-thirds of the population white, if the 
 State distributes this fund per capita, not only 
 will the more intelligent counties get the larger
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. 123 
 
 proportion, but the white schools will get two 
 dollars for each white illiterate and the colored 
 schools only one dollar for each colored illit- 
 erate." 
 
 "Oh, that cannot be !" exclaimed the Sena- 
 tor. 
 
 "I have never believed that was what your 
 co-workers desired, but that is certainly the 
 result of the bill to which you refer. That is 
 why I said it was unjust." 
 
 "And how would you remedy that injus- 
 tice?" 
 
 "Simply by providing that the fund should 
 be distributed to the counties, or better still to 
 townships, according to the number of illiter- 
 ates in each, and wherever separate schools for 
 the two races are maintained, every dollar 
 granted on account of white illiteracy should 
 be applied in aid of white schools, and every 
 one granted on account of colored illiteracy 
 should be applied to the maintenance of col- 
 ored schools." 
 
 "That would seem to be feasible and just." 
 
 "That would not be unjust,'" answered Prime. 
 "If the National government will not distribute 
 this fund directly to the schools as is done with 
 the Peabody Fund, which would be much the 
 cheaper, safer, and more effective method, let it 
 at least save our people the mockery of using
 
 124 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 their past wrongs as a cloak and an excuse for 
 fresh ones." 
 
 " But your people, hundreds and thousands 
 of them, have asked for this very measure which 
 you denounce." 
 
 " So they have, sir ; can you blame them ? 
 Did you ever see the inside of a prison-pen 
 during the war, in which men had been kept 
 on half-rations for months ? " 
 
 " I never had that privilege," said the Sena- 
 tor coolly, " and I do not think any good can 
 come from alluding to such things." 
 
 " It's easy to forget another's suffering. 
 But I'm not blaming anybody. It don't make 
 any difference whether it was right or wrong, 
 necessary or unnecessary, so far as my point is 
 concerned. You say you never had that ' privi- 
 lege.' Well, I did, and counted it a real privi- 
 lege, strange as that may seem. It is the 
 grandest thing I ever knew those men who 
 did not know who might see the morning, 
 singing in quivering tones as the sun went 
 down : ' As He died to make men holy, let us 
 die to make men free ! ' Perhaps that is why 
 I haven't forgotten it. But what I want to say 
 is, that I suppose you won't deny that a com- 
 pany of those prisoners of war, educated 
 white men, you know, were as good judges 
 of what they needed and ought, in common
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. 125 
 
 right, to receive as the average colored 
 man ? " 
 
 " Why, of course," irritably. " What is the 
 use of asking such a question ? " 
 
 "Don't be angry, sir; I mean no offense. 
 What I want to say, is merely that no one 
 who has seen some thousands of men who have 
 hardly had a full meal for months at feeding- 
 time, will ever forget the ravening fierceness 
 with which they fought and scrambled for 
 even the crumbs and shreds of food that fell 
 upon the ground in the distribution of their 
 meager supply." 
 
 " Very naturally, I should suppose," said 
 the legislator. 
 
 " Of course ; but would any one claim that, 
 because men were eager to get the scraps, 
 they thought these were all they required." 
 
 " Certainly not." 
 
 " Well, that is the way with the colored peo- 
 ple. They have been starved so long and are 
 so eager for knowledge that they are willing 
 and glad to get even the scraps they hope they 
 may receive by this measure. Besides, a good 
 many of them have despaired of anything like 
 justice. They say the nation will never do any- 
 thing for education unless it gives the white 
 man two dollars for every one given to the 
 ' nigger.' So they say, ' Give us the scraps ! '
 
 126 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 There are a good many more who actually be- 
 lieve the claim which has been so assiduously 
 put forth, that nothing more can be done; 
 they have come to believe the argument made 
 solely for the purpose of depriving them of the 
 advantage while pretending to accord them 
 right, that if the nation gives a dollar toward 
 the enlightenment of the people it must allow 
 each State to declare just how the portion 
 assigned to its people shall be applied. They 
 think they cannot get anything better, and 
 so say : ' Even half a loaf is better than no 
 bread.' " 
 
 " You do not believe the advocates of this 
 measure are sincere, then ? " 
 
 " I do not question that, at all ; but they do 
 not recognize the fact that this is a matter of 
 right rather than one of sentiment. If there 
 were no question of color in it, there would be 
 no difficulty about distributing the fund to 
 the schools of each township. It is a method, 
 simple, cheap, equitable, and makes any com- 
 plication with State authority impossible. 
 But the trouble is, it gives just as much for 
 each colored illiterate as for each white illite- 
 rate ; and the only way to avoid that just 
 and righteous division of the fund, if this 
 plan were adopted, would be to open the 
 schools of a State to both races. But the
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. 127 
 
 people of the South say, in effect : ' Such a 
 thing cannot be thought of, we would rather 
 have no schools at all. The schools are ours; 
 we are willing to let the ' nigger ' have what we 
 think he needs, and what we can afford. We 
 have taken his labor to educate our sons and 
 daughters for two hundred years and are will- 
 ing to be liberal with him now ; but it wont 
 do to have him think that he has a right to 
 control his own schools, or have any more for 
 their support than we see fit to give him. 
 This is our right; this is necessary to enable 
 us to control the 'nigger.' So if the National 
 government wants to contribute toward the 
 cure of illiteracy among the 'niggers,' it must 
 put two dollars into white schools for every 
 one that goes into colored schools, and admit 
 our right to control the application of that one! ' 
 " And you would admit this claim rather 
 than put yourself in the attitude of demanding 
 justice for the Negro, or have the government 
 recognize the fact that he is entitled to be 
 justly treated. That is all there is of it. You 
 know it is not right, but you make yourself 
 the instrument of wrong, this unnecessary 
 and inexcusable wrong, simply because you 
 believe the people of the North will never 
 consent that justice shall be done the Negro as 
 long as the white man of the South desires to
 
 128 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 hold him in subjection. Having made him a 
 voter, you refuse not only to protect him in 
 the exercise of that right, but are unwilling 
 even that he should learn to protect himself." 
 
 "You have a poor opinion of Northern sen- 
 timent. You should remember what Northern 
 charity has done for your race," said the Sena- 
 tor sternly. 
 
 " No colored man can forget it, sir," said the 
 old man fervently. " It is the conscience of a 
 great people, rebuking the sycophancy of a 
 great fcation. The charity of the North is as 
 boundless as its faith. It is its want of justice 
 of which we complain. Its ' long-suffering 
 kindness ' is inexhaustible, so long, especially, 
 as somebody else does the suffering, and it is 
 only required to be kind. It does not think it 
 very hard for the Negro to suffer injustice, he 
 is used to it, you see ; but they think it would 
 be very hard upon the white people of the 
 South to be compelled to treat the Negro 
 justly, or even to see him receive justice from 
 the Nation, for they are not used to that. So 
 the very same charity that pities our weak- 
 ness, becomes the shield and excuse for farther 
 injustice." 
 
 "There may be something in that," rejoined 
 the Senator musingly. 
 
 " Perhaps I am a little hot against the North
 
 A BASIS OF COMPOSITION. 129 
 
 in this matter, because there seems no reason- 
 able motive to excuse its course. I can under- 
 stand the motive of a Southern white man in 
 opposing National Aid to education in any 
 form, and especially in a form that would do 
 justice to the Negro or decrease in any degree 
 his dependence on the Southern white man. 
 He wants to keep him a menial. He is profit- 
 able in that position, and the degree of profit 
 depends on his helplessness. He has the same 
 interest in keeping him dependent that the 
 slaveowner had in slavery, it means cheap 
 labor, and cheap labor means profit. The 
 South would never have rebelled if it had not 
 been for the profit there was in slavery. It 
 may have been unprofitable to the State, bad 
 policy for the people, but for the man who 
 owned the slave, it was a good thing. But for 
 this, not a shot would ever have been fired to 
 save it from extinction. I can understand 
 such a motive and, in a sense, excuse it. But 
 I can see no reason why the North should be 
 unwilling to do plain and simple justice to 
 the Negro except the mere fact of his color; 
 I do not believe there is any other." 
 
 "I cannot agree with your ideas, in regard 
 to this ' great National charity,' " said the Sena- 
 tor as he started to go, " but I must admit 
 there is a good deal of force in what you say."
 
 13 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "Don't call it charity, please," said Prime, 
 gazing earnestly after him. " It is a great de- 
 fensive policy on which the peace and welfare 
 of the United States are certain some time to 
 depend."
 
 XL 
 
 THE FEET OF TWO ADMINISTRATIONS. 
 
 IT was past noon, and the crowd that had 
 thronged the bootblack's stand in the base- 
 ment of the "Best House" all the morning had 
 disappeared. Pactolus Prime had counted up 
 his morning's receipts. His assistant had been 
 out for the luncheon which he always took at a 
 modest "dairy" upon the side street, where the 
 clerks from the Treasury go to get a glass of 
 "pure country milk," to wash down the "snacks" 
 they bring from home. Returning, he had swept 
 the floor; examined the brushes and filled some 
 of the bottles out of a larger one in another 
 drawer ; in short, put the stand in order. His em- 
 ployer sat in one of the customer's chairs, now 
 turned so as to face the window, watching the 
 people or rather the feet, that went by. The 
 young man took a book out of one of the drawers 
 and sat down on the edge of the dais. One who 
 was versed in such matters would have known 
 at a glance that it was a law book, though it 
 had been carefully covered with heavy brown 
 paper, either to disguise its character or to pre- 
 131
 
 132 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 vent its becoming soiled. He opened it and 
 allowed the leaves to fly back as they slipped 
 through his thumb and finger, noting regretfully 
 one chapter after another, and stopping now 
 and then to read a few lines. At last he closed 
 the volume and looked resolutely up at his em- 
 ployer. The old man had been very nervous 
 and excited all the morning. He looked very 
 weary now as he watched the feet of the pass- 
 ers-by and commented to himself in an under- 
 tone upon their possessors. He had coughed a 
 good deal, too, and the assistant's look showed 
 the anxiety he felt, as he scanned his master's 
 face. 
 
 "Mr. Prime," he said at length. 
 
 "What is it, boy?" answered the other, not 
 removing his eyes from the thronging feet upon 
 the pavement, and continuing the comments he 
 had been making to himself in an undertone. 
 "I think I never saw so many badly shod peo- 
 ple on a Christmas here in Washington in my 
 life, Benny. It's hardly two months since the 
 election, you see, and only two more to a 
 change of administration. There's lots of 
 clerks who gave one or two months' wages to 
 keep the party in power, and they will have to 
 pinch and starve to get even before they are 
 turned out ; and the very first place they be- 
 gin to economize they and their families is
 
 THE FEET OF TWO ADMINISTRATIONS. 133 
 
 in their shoes. Nine out of ten of them black 
 their own boots now, because they are ashamed 
 to let a professional see the condition of their 
 footgear. The Congressmen who were de- 
 feated, too, are perfectly reckless about their 
 appearance. None of them have their wives 
 here this winter. No woman ever wants to go 
 to Washington for a last term. Well, things 
 will begin to hum about February. I shall 
 have to put on one or two more hands if there 
 is an extra session. I wonder where I shall 
 get them?" 
 
 "If you please, sir, I think I should like to 
 stay." 
 
 "What ! I thought you wanted to be a law- 
 yer," said Prime, turning sharply on his assistant. 
 
 "Mr. Prime," answered the young man, "I 
 want to do what is best for our race that's 
 what we ought all to think of now, before any- 
 thing else and I am sure you know what that 
 is better than I." 
 
 "Every one to his trade, Benny. I was 
 made for a bootblack, you see or thought I 
 was until to-day. Never made a customer mad 
 before in my life. It's been a good business, 
 too. I've made money at it, Benny, more 
 than people think. In the whole time I've 
 been here, the poorest month I've had has 
 netted me more than a hundred dollars, and
 
 134 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 I have gone as high as four hundred clear, in 
 thirty days. It's brought chances, too, that 
 have been worth more than the business, and I 
 haven't neglected them. I thought if I made 
 money, perhaps I might get to be something 
 more than a ' nigger.' But 'taint no use, 
 Benny." 
 
 "That's mother's notion, too," said Benny 
 with a sigh, "she says it's no use to try and get 
 rid of the taint that a single drop of colored 
 blood will curse forever." 
 
 "Well, it is not an easy thing to shake off, 
 even for one as white as you." 
 
 "I've found that out." 
 
 "Already?" 
 
 "Long before I came here : I wanted to be a 
 cash-boy, you know/' 
 
 "In a store, yes: nice place, and you as neat, 
 well-mannered a lad as could be found in 
 the city. Well-educated and good-tempered, 
 too, just the kind of boy for such a place." 
 
 "They seemed to think so till they heard 
 mother was a colored woman, or so consid- 
 ered by some of our neighbors." 
 
 "And they wouldn't take you?" 
 
 "Turned me off, sir; said it wasn't the color 
 but the name." 
 
 "Nigger?" 
 
 "Of course."
 
 THE FEET OF TWO ADMINISTRATIONS. 135 
 
 "They were right, Benny; you must be a 
 white man." 
 
 "I hate the very thought." 
 
 "Don't say that, Benny. Take the world as 
 it comes. It's kicking at what can't be helped 
 that makes most of the trouble in the world. 
 You're white. You are not responsible for it ; 
 and can't change the fact, but you are respon- 
 sible for the use or misuse you make of it. 
 The question is whether you will give your 
 children the advantage of being regarded as 
 superior beings to whom all opportunities are 
 open, or leave them to struggle with the same 
 difficulties that confront you." 
 
 "But don't you think there will be any 
 change, Uncle Pac? Don't you think the 
 good Christian men and women who have done 
 so much to enlighten our people, will see that 
 there cannot be peace and prosperity and true 
 Christian feeling without equality of opportu- 
 nity?" 
 
 "That's a hard question, Benny. Christianity 
 is a very flexible idea. It is a religion that runs 
 with popular thought and adapts itself to popu- 
 lar prejudices. It does not rule but follows; I 
 mean Protestantism, of course. What the best 
 people of a nation prefer, that it is. As a 
 noted divine has recently said, 'It is the religion 
 of respectability ; it has no welcome for rags
 
 1 3 6 PACTOL US PRIME. 
 
 and grime only pity and alms.' Now, black 
 is not a respectable color. That is all there is 
 of it, Benny. Every white man is afraid other 
 white men might think less of him if he recog- 
 nized the Negro as an equal. They don't 
 even think his name worth a capital letter; 
 the poorest printer puts it all in ' lower-case.' 
 This feeling is not likely to change in a good 
 many years perhaps not in a good many cen- 
 turies, and you cannot afford to wait." 
 
 "It seems like deserting my race," said the 
 boy, ingenuously. 
 
 "That is because you think of yourself as 
 a nigger the poison has entered your own 
 veins. I do not mean that you think any less 
 of yourself in fact I believe you are a little 
 proud of it. I don't know that you have 
 any reason to. Thus far, it's been a misfor- 
 tune to be black or brown or yellow or for 
 that matter anything but white. It's a misfor- 
 tune to you that some of your mother's fore- 
 bears were black: and it's your good fortune 
 that others of your progenitors were white. 
 Now, what you've got to do is to forget your 
 mother's side of the family-tree. It wont be 
 hard to do. The slave had no family. Perhaps 
 it's just as well. Generations of bondage might 
 as well be forgotten ; there is no honor in them. 
 Your mother knows, perhaps, her mother's
 
 THE FEET OF TWO ADMINISTRATIONS. 137 
 
 name, Parthenia or Elvira, or whatever it may 
 have been, possibly her grandmother's, though 
 it's not likely. She may have had a brother 
 or a sister, but there is no paternal side to 
 her pedigree. She had no father, neither her 
 mother nor her mother's mother for two hun- 
 dred years at least. Christianity did not allow 
 the slave to have a father. It was an offense 
 against good morals for a white man to be ille- 
 gitimate, a nobody's son, but Christian law pro- 
 vided expressly that every slave should bear 
 this added infamy as a badge of the greater 
 wrong of bondage, and the Christian church 
 permitted and endorsed this wholesale wrong, 
 simply because they were niggers. It up- 
 held slavery as a divine institution especially 
 designed for the benefit of the colored man, 
 and rigidly forbade marriage to the slave lest 
 he should gain a pride of ancestry or build 
 thereon a claim of right. It was done, simply 
 because Christianity does not demand or re- 
 quire that its followers should do justice to 
 other men if they happen to be 'niggers.' It 
 was a terrible wrong, but -is that any reason 
 why the children of the victims should refuse to 
 take advantage of its benefits? God has so or- 
 dered events that the worst wrongs sometimes 
 bring advantage to the oppressed. Slavery 
 made your mother the victim of a master's lust.
 
 138 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 You did not inherit his name, but no human 
 law can prevent the transmission of qualities." 
 
 "I hate the very thought of him," said Benny 
 hotly. 
 
 "Don't say that, my child. It's natural that 
 the children of those who have been wronged 
 should hate the oppressor; but no good will 
 come from indiscriminate hatred of the white 
 man by the Negro. The one advantage that 
 the Negro has over all other races is that he 
 can wait longer for his rights and gather more 
 strength from adversity while he waits, than any 
 other. We are the answer of Samson's riddle, 
 'Out of the eater came forth meat ; out of the 
 strong came forth sweetness.' American slav- 
 ery would have killed any other race, but we 
 gathered civilization and strength from it. 
 Those who held us in bondage did not mean 
 it for our good, but we should not forget to be 
 grateful to that divine power which brought us 
 good out of intended evil." 
 
 "Do you mean to say, that I ought to be 
 grateful to the author of my mother's shame?" 
 said the young man 1 angrily. 
 
 "Well ; it's a good deal better for you than if 
 your father had been a colored man," said 
 Prime, with an expressive shrug. 
 
 "How can you say that?" 
 
 "It's not a pleasant doctrine: there is noth-
 
 THE FEET OF TWO ADMINISTRATIONS. 139 
 
 ing high-sounding or flattering to our ideas of 
 propriety about it ; yet a million facts prove it 
 to be true. I have no doubt God intended 
 these things for our advantage. Perhaps the 
 Christ the true Christ, not the white Christ 
 whose worship is tainted with apology for lust 
 and greed meant thereby to teach those who 
 would condition His grace and prescribe the 
 method of its operation and extension, that 
 He is, after all, no respecter of persons, and will 
 make even their pride and sin to minister to 
 His mercy and love." 
 
 "You are a strange man," said the assistant 
 wonderingly. "One would think, sometimes, 
 that you were an enemy of everything like 
 religion, and then again your words are more 
 solemn than another's prayer." 
 
 "I am an enemy of everything that calls 
 itself religion, which lifts one man above an- 
 other in earthly privilege or opportunity 
 which separates between the rich and the poor, 
 between the black and the white. God can 
 have but one people, one church, one measure 
 of right for all. Whatever else there may be is 
 of the devil!" 
 
 "Yet you would have us grateful for these 
 very things." 
 
 "The devil often builds the ladder by which 
 truth climbs up. I would not have you throw
 
 140 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 away advantages because they happen to have 
 come to you in a way you- do not approve. It 
 is not only a privilege to be white, but it's a 
 decided advantage to belong to such a family 
 as you spring from." 
 
 "You know my father?" 
 
 "I know the family, child. Most everybody 
 that knows the country does, for that matter. 
 They've always been noted for having their 
 own way being always in the lead and espe- 
 cially for their ability to get and hold money. 
 They have always been rich and always will be, 
 I reckon. They grew rich in slave times and 
 freedom hasn't made them poor. The fact 
 that you've got that blood in your veins makes 
 it certain that you'll succeed, if you don't let 
 the stubbornness you inherit with it, spoil your 
 chances." 
 
 "But can't I do something for the race?" 
 asked the young man with pathetic earnestness. 
 
 'As a white man you can do more than a 
 thousand colored men. It is white sentiment, 
 white civilization, white Christianity that needs' 
 to be modified. The colored race asks no 
 special privilege, no peculiar consideration, no 
 distinctive favor. If equality of right, privilege 
 and opportunity is secured to them, they 
 desire nothing more. If this is not secured 
 they will, some time, grow sullen, resentful and
 
 THE FEET OF TWO ADMINISTRATIONS. 14 * 
 
 dangerous. In this coming warfare of opinion 
 you may be a much more important factor as a 
 white than as a colored man. At all events 
 you have it in your power to lift one family 
 from the gulf of despair. If every one could 
 do as much, the race-problem would soon be 
 solved." 
 
 "How did you come to have such thoughts 
 so different from others?" asked the young 
 man. 
 
 "I have had a different experience, I sup- 
 pose," answered Prime, meditatively gazing out 
 of the window, "an experience to give a man 
 new ideas if not strange ones. I saw I tried 
 once, to help in the lifting up of a race and 
 securing its rights. Since that I I have been 
 content to help individuals. It's all I can do 
 being a nigger and perhaps I owe something 
 of my power to do even this to the same forces 
 which make you capable of doing more." 
 
 "How do you think I might be able to 
 accomplish any good, in this direction?" 
 
 "I can't tell, Benny. I've quit trying to 
 guess how things will come about or even 
 saying hoiv they ought to be done. Any 
 man can decide, if he will think a little, what 
 ought to be done, in any given state of affairs; 
 but hoiv it may be accomplished Ah, that is 
 God's part of the riddle ! And he works it out,
 
 142 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 sometimes with blessings, but quite as often 
 with curses. It is the curse he visits on the 
 wrong-doer that ripens into blessing on the 
 head of the helpless victim. Anybody who 
 will sit down and study calmly what he sees 
 to-day, can prophesy with a good deal of cer- 
 tainty what will come out of it sooner or later; 
 but when it will come, or how it will come, only 
 a fool will try to guess. The essential equality 
 in right, power, privilege and opportunity 
 of the Negro in America is sure to be estab- 
 lished. When or how nobody knows. It may 
 be within a generation ; it may take a decade 
 of centuries. It may be by reason ; it may be 
 by force. It may be by a change of Christian 
 ideals ; it may be by a message from heaven 
 written in blood. Perhaps if I had had your 
 advantages and been as white as you, I might 
 have known more or done better in my day." 
 
 A half-sneer curled the thin lips as he spoke. 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Prime!" said the young man re- 
 proachfully, "don't talk like that ! You know 
 I ain't fit to black your boots!" 
 
 "Well, you've done it times enough," an- 
 swered the old man cheerfully, "and that re- 
 minds me that one of them hasn't been only 
 about half-shined to-day. You may as well 
 give it a touch now." 
 
 He wheeled round and put his foot on the
 
 THE FEET OF TWO ADMINISTRATIONS. 143 
 
 rest while Benny completed his morning's 
 interrupted task. 
 
 "What's that you say?" he exclaimed, pres- 
 ently, turning to a messenger boy who inquired 
 for him. "Something for me? Hand it here!" 
 
 He took a note from the boy ; tore it open ; 
 glanced at its contents and sprang to his feet. 
 
 "Never mind it, Benny; I must go right 
 away right away. Hand me my coat not 
 that one yes, you may, too ! You're a good 
 lad, Benny, and I'll stand by you." 
 
 He took his hat and stick, dragged his lame 
 leg to the foot of the stairs, came back and said 
 to the young man in an intense whisper: 
 
 "Remember, Benny, whatever happens you 
 are to be a lawyer, and a white lawyer too !" 
 
 Before the young man could answer, Prime 
 had hobbled up the stairway and made his way 
 through the crowded office to the door. The 
 young man stood half-dazed by what he had 
 heard, until the sound of his employer's cough 
 came to his ears as he descended the hotel steps 
 into the street. Then he picked up his law book, 
 sat down on the dais he never sat in the chairs, 
 customers did not like it, he thought opened 
 it, but had hardly read a word when, half an 
 hour later, a patron roused him from his reverie 
 by a demand for his services.
 
 XII. 
 
 AN UNSATISFACTORY CLIENT. 
 
 TS there anything wrong, Mr. Phelps?" 
 1 It was Pactolus Prime who asked the 
 question as he entered the spacious office on the 
 door of which was the modest sign, "Willard 
 Phelps, Attorney." The lawyer, whose ac- 
 quaintance we have already made, was its only 
 occupant. The clerks were absent and their 
 desks were closed. Only the self-employer 
 labors willingly on Christmas. The hat and 
 gloves lying on the baize-covered table desk at 
 which he usually sat, showed that even the pres- 
 ence of the proprietor was meant to be but 
 temporary. The disciples of Themis are scrup- 
 ulous about the observance of holidays as well 
 as other legal duties. Sitting before the open 
 grate, from which the blower had but recently 
 been removed, the lawyer shielded his face 
 from the ruddy glow of the mass of anthracite 
 with his left hand, as he waved his visitor 
 toward a chair with a slight movement of the 
 right. There was a shade of annoyance on his 
 144
 
 AN UNSA TISFACTOR Y- CLIENT. 145 
 
 brow as he answered the inquiry with brief 
 decisiveness: 
 
 "Just as I told you !" 
 
 "She wont take it?" asked Prime anxiously, 
 as he seated himself with the sidling movement 
 made necessary by the peculiar deformity of 
 his right leg. He held his hat in his hand in a 
 way to show the pathetic dependency of habit 
 that seems to be the inevitable inheritance of 
 slavery. "You say she wont take it, sir?" he 
 repeated with plaintive importunity. 
 
 "Not under those conditions." 
 
 "You explained to her, I suppose, that that 
 it was her father's property, and that the the 
 conditions were in accordance with his desire?" 
 
 "I did my best to convey that impression, 
 Prime. I am not accustomed to lie, and may 
 not have succeeded very well. I told her I was 
 so informed ; that was as far as I could go." 
 
 "Of course of course," rejoined Prime 
 eagerly, as the lawyer paused, "and she what 
 did she say?" 
 
 "Just what any good girl would, of course." 
 
 "Yes?" assented Prime inquiringly. 
 
 "That she did not care for wealth under 
 those conditions." 
 
 "You don't say?" exclaimed the old man with 
 unconscious exultation in his tone. "Didn't 
 take any time to think about it?"
 
 146 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "She did not seem to require any," said the 
 lawyer, his countenance relaxing as if he found 
 the idea amusing. 
 
 "Did she ask any questions seek any ex- 
 planations?" 
 
 "She wanted to know whether this P. P. 
 Smith, who claimed a paternal interest in her, 
 was alive, and whether she could see him?" 
 
 "And you you told her what?" asked the 
 old man anxiously. 
 
 "I told her I inferred that he was alive, but 
 that he desired to keep his identity a secret 
 for the present at least." 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 "Then she wanted to know where he was 
 if I had ever seen him and asked half a dozen 
 other questions interspersed with remarks not at 
 all complimentary either to me or my client." 
 
 "And you told her ?" 
 
 "I told her that I had not the honor of the 
 gentleman's acquaintance," answered the law- 
 yer bluntly. 
 
 "But you showed her the picture gave her 
 the commission, and informed her that that he 
 was a respectable man and of good family?" 
 
 "I showed her the papers left them with her 
 in fact and told her I believed he was a man 
 of considerable wealth as indeed the deeds 
 showed."
 
 AN UNSATISFACTORY CLIENT. H7 
 
 "And then ?" 
 
 "She wanted to know why he did not come 
 himself and do his own errand, instead of send- 
 ing an attorney. You ought to remember she 
 is not a child, Prime," said the lawyer almost 
 irritably. 
 
 "But you explained to her that there were 
 circumstances that it was necessary " stam- 
 mered the client. 
 
 "I told her the deeds were genuine that 
 much I felt able to assure her. As to why her 
 father chose an agent in communicating with 
 her, I could not tell the truth and so attempted 
 no explanation. I did say I presumed he had 
 a motive which was sufficient for him and con- 
 sequently for me." 
 
 "And and what then?" 
 
 "She naturally wanted to know why he had 
 waited so long before recognizing her claim 
 upon him?" 
 
 "You told her he had always provided for 
 her?" 
 
 "I said I was so informed," answered the 
 lawyer dryly. 
 
 "Well, how did she receive that?" 
 
 "Like a queen ; said she was glad to know 
 something creditable about him." 
 
 "But you told her he was a brave soldier was 
 promoted for gallantry, and and all that?"
 
 1 48 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 "I called her attention to those facts." 
 
 "That must have gratified her." 
 
 "She smiled contemptuously, and said she 
 had never supposed her father could have been 
 a coward !" 
 
 "But she took the deeds?" interrupted the 
 old man, eagerly. 
 
 "I left them with her." 
 
 "It's all right then ; the property is hers ; that 
 is a delivery, isn't it ; the rest will come." 
 
 "Well, I don't know about that. She said 
 she would never wear the name except long 
 enough to transfer the property to her Uncle 
 Pac, who has been more than a father to her, 
 and authorized me to tell the man claiming to 
 be her father, that unless she was openly 
 acknowledged and given leave to do as she 
 chose in regard to you, she would petition the 
 court to have her name changed to yours and 
 publicly avow herself your daughter!" 
 
 "But she can't do that that that would be 
 ruin !" exclaimed Prime, leaning forward anx- 
 iously. "You wont let her do that, Mr. 
 Phelps?" 
 
 "She is not a person to be easily managed, 
 Prime. You know I advised against any sub- 
 terfuge at first. Now that her suspicions are 
 aroused, it will be difficult to deceive her 
 further."
 
 AN UNSATISFACTORY CLIENT. 149 
 
 "Her suspicions!" 
 
 "Yes; she inquired flatly whether I knew 
 anything about her mother." 
 
 "You told her she was dead." 
 
 "I told her that I had been so informed." 
 
 "Certainly that was right quite right." 
 
 "And then she asked me if I could tell her 
 anything about herself who she looked like, 
 you know?" 
 
 "Of course you could not." 
 
 "I did not, at any rate." 
 
 "That satisfied her, I suppose?" 
 
 "It didn't seem to; she asked me point-blank 
 if I had any reason to suppose her mother was 
 of colored blood." 
 
 "Of colored blood ! you told her no, of 
 course." 
 
 "I told her I had no knowledge on the sub- 
 ject." 
 
 "How do you suppose she came to ask such 
 a question?" asked Prime in an anxious tone. 
 
 "Something you had said years ago, which 
 she remembered, seemed to have awakened a 
 suspicion of that sort." 
 
 "I wonder what it could have been?" 
 
 "I am sure I don't know. You remember 
 the adage about ' little pitchers.' This is not 
 the only thing she seems to have remembered 
 of that time. She wanted to know if the
 
 150 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 officer the man whose photograph you sent 
 was not somehow related to you?" 
 
 "That's likely " said Prime with an uneasy 
 laugh. "Looks like me, don't it? Did she 
 think he* was a 'nigger' too?" 
 
 "She said she had seen the portrait before 
 or one like it in your possession." 
 
 "Of course what could be more natural?" 
 
 "She remembered what you said about it, 
 too." 
 
 "What was that?" 
 
 "She did not tell me but she said enough to 
 lead me to understand that she had listened to 
 more than one of your diatribes on the status 
 of the colored race, and had fully made up her 
 mind as to what she ought to do." 
 
 "And what is that?" 
 
 "She thinks she is somehow connected with 
 that unfortunate people ; but whether she is or 
 not, she feels certain that you have supported, 
 cared for and educated her, and she is deter- 
 mined that where you are, she will go. In the 
 words of Ruth, she is ready to say, 'Your peo- 
 ple shall be my people and your God my God.' " 
 
 "But I am a 'nigger'!" said the old man bit- 
 terly. 
 
 "And she believes herself your daughter." 
 
 "My daughter! But that is impossible! 
 Look at me! Is it likely that beautiful young
 
 AN UNSA TISF ACTOR Y CLIENT. T$ I 
 
 lady could be my child? You told her it was 
 absurd, of course?" 
 
 "You can argue the case with her yourself, 
 Prime ; but I doubt if mere physiological argu- 
 ment will prevail. Women reason with their 
 hearts, you know. She does not stop to in- 
 quire how it can be, but simply believes that 
 it is. I told her I knew nothing about the 
 matter, and, therefore, could have nothing to 
 say about it. I said farther that I had been 
 given to understand that her parents had sepa- 
 rated on account of some difference, and that 
 you had acted as her father's agent in this 
 matter." 
 
 "But you should have reasoned with her 
 convinced her! I'm glad she don't want to for- 
 get me; but she must be content to know that 
 I am not likely to suffer; she must cut loose 
 from me though ! The very suspicion ef any 
 relationship with me would ruin her ruin her 
 forever ! Tell her so, Mr. Phelps tell, her I 
 say so tell her it must be so !" 
 
 The old man spoke with great excitement, 
 pulling off his glasses to wipe the sweat from 
 his face. The lawyer regarded him attentively 
 for a moment ; rose and turned the key in the 
 door, and returning to his seat, said : 
 
 "You may tell her what you choose yourself, 
 Prime, but as for me
 
 152 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "Don't say that !" interrupted the old man 
 "don't, Mr. Phelps, don't ! You've always been 
 my friend. Don't say you wont stand by me 
 now! Don't say you wont help me. You've 
 known me a long time. Did you ever know 
 anything bad of me? Haven't I been a man 
 a man among men if I am black? Did you 
 ever know me to lie or do anything mean? 
 You know how I love her you know I only 
 want to secure her happiness ! Don't say you 
 wont help me!" 
 
 The old man's petition was like a wail of de- 
 spair. He grasped the lawyer's hand and seemed 
 about to go down on his knees before him. 
 
 "I do esteem you, Prime," answered the law- 
 yer, preventing this purpose by extending his 
 hand ; "not many men whom I have known have 
 shown either the ability or integrity you have 
 displayed. You have not always taken my ad- 
 vice. I have warned you against the mystery 
 you have persisted in maintaining about your- 
 self. I do not wish to pry into your secrets, 
 and have no doubt you think you are doing 
 right ; but I cannot consent to advise about a 
 matter in which I am uninformed, or take the 
 responsibility of countenancing a course which 
 may be fraught with misery to another, when I 
 do not know the facts. It has long been evi- 
 dent to me that you are laboring under some
 
 AN UNSA TISFA CTOR Y CLIENT. 153 
 
 morbid sentiment, if not actual delusion in 
 regard to this matter. You know I am well 
 aware that this property does not belong to 
 this man, Smith if indeed the man himself is 
 not a myth." 
 
 "But Mr. Phelps, I assure you it does I 
 swear to you 
 
 "There, there, Prime," said the lawyer firmly, 
 "do not make any such protestations. I have 
 not been your counsel for fifteen years not to 
 know to whose thrift and sagacity the ac- 
 cumulation of this property is due. We came 
 here about the same time. I was a lawyer 
 in good practice : you a boot-black on the 
 street. I had everything in my favor: you 
 everything against you : I have watched your 
 course in the acquisition of this estate; I 
 have seen your wise forecasting of events 
 a forecast that not seldom outran my judg- 
 ment. It has given me pleasure even to be 
 outdone, for I have felt that you were dem- 
 onstrating the capacity of your people and 
 doing more than any stranger could, to deter- 
 mine their future. After a time this man Smith 
 began to buy lots in Washington. You acted 
 for him. Now he is rich, he could buy me out 
 two or three times over. You want I should 
 believe that he did it all. I decline. I say you 
 made this fortune, and I don't believe in Smith !
 
 154 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "You know my feeling in regard to your race. 
 Sympathy and sentiment are well enough, but, 
 say what we will, money is the secret of suc- 
 cess, and the power to make money the test of 
 merit. The ladder on which your race must 
 rise has golden rounds. When they become 
 the owners of railroads they will be able to 
 travel first-class anywhere. As soon as they 
 own the majority of acres in any State, they 
 will control its legislation. Power is regulated 
 by the dollar-mark ; so are privilege and esteem. 
 That is the law of our civilization. That is 
 why I was anxious to see you come out from 
 under the cover of this name and acknowledge 
 your own success. You may have been under 
 obligations to the father of this girl. It is pos- 
 sible that this Smith, in whose name you have 
 bought lot after lot until he is accounted one of 
 the largest property-holders of the District I 
 say it is possible he may have aided you at 
 first but I do not believe it. You know I am 
 the attorney of the bank in which you have 
 always kept your account, and though the 
 checks with which the purchases were made 
 have generally been in my name, I know 
 that the account of Pactolus Prime has been 
 behind them, and that account has been the 
 foundation of this fortune. I know, too, that 
 this fortune did not begin to develop until
 
 A N UNSA TISFA C TOR Y CLIENT. 1 5 5 
 
 your bank-account showed a snug balance in 
 your favor, made up at first by weekly, and 
 afterward by daily, deposits of your earnings. 
 I have protested against this, and tried to pro- 
 tect you and those you desire to benefit from 
 possible loss thereby ; but I will go no farther. 
 You may have good reasons for what you 
 have done, but f will not be a party to such 
 deception longer, unless I know what those 
 reasons are. You must either confide in me 
 fully, or get some one else to act for you." 
 
 '"Taint no use, Mahster Willard 'taint no 
 use !" pleaded the old man. "You couldn't 
 change things if you tried nobody can't 
 change them ! God couldn't do it unless he 
 first changed the color of my skin. 'Taint 
 money, Mr. Phelps money makes a white 
 man, that's true: but even money can't help 
 a 'nigger' : he's nothing but a 'nigger,' no mat- 
 ter how rich. The only thing for him to do is 
 to get to be white or pretend to be white. If 
 he can't do either, he must hide behind a white 
 man's name. If you knew all there is to tell, 
 you'd say I couldn't have done any different." 
 
 "That may be, Prime, but I must know it all 
 before I say anything more. If you cannot 
 trust me " 
 
 "Don't say that, Mahster Willard" 
 
 "Why do you call me that? You never did
 
 156 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 before ; don't do it again," said the lawyer with 
 some irritation. "If there is any bit of Scrip- 
 ture the colored man should construe literally, 
 it is the command to "Call no man Master." 
 You ought not to perpetuate even the language 
 of slavery much less its spirit." 
 
 "I wont, Mr. Phelps, I wont; but don't inti- 
 mate again that I don't trfist you or that 
 you wont help me. I'll tell you everything 
 you choose to ask. I can't do any more. Just 
 ask me what you want to know and I'll answer 
 truly: I will Mr. Phelps only don't ask any- 
 thing you don't need to know please don't '"
 
 XIII. 
 
 A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR. 
 
 ALONG conversation between counsel and 
 client ensued. The lawyer's questions 
 were keen and pertinent ; the client seemed to 
 shrink from them as from the edge of a knife, 
 yet he answered, unwillingly sometimes, but 
 clearly. When it was over he seemed to have 
 aged a score of years. 
 
 The lawyer rose and walked back and forth 
 across the room, his hands clasped behind his 
 back, a furrow stretching from side to side 
 above the gray, overhanging brows, beneath 
 which the blue eyes looked pityingly down 
 upon the bent and relaxed figure in the chair. 
 Pactolus Prime's hat had fallen to the floor; 
 his long, thin hands feebly grasped the arms of 
 the chair, out of which his form seemed inclined 
 to slip. The knitted black cap lay upon the 
 floor beside him, and the great silver-rimmed 
 spectacles, held by one bow, dangled from his 
 left hand. The sharp-lined countenance, nar- 
 rowing from the wide, high brow to the pinched- 
 up mouth, and pointed chin, with the mobile 
 157
 
 158 PA C TOL US 'PRIME. 
 
 nostrils swelling and contracting, formed a 
 curious contrast with the even blue-gray color 
 of the smooth, hairless poll. His eyes were 
 fixed upon the grate, and his attitude was one 
 of utter despair. His countenance had lost 
 its boldness and retained only its sharpness, 
 incongruity, and even more pathetic hopeless- 
 ness. He coughed frequently. 
 
 The lawyer glanced < at him furtively as he 
 passed and re-passed, biting his lip and giving 
 his massive head an almost imperceptible shake 
 each time, as if he found it impossible to recon- 
 cile two trains of thought which were passing 
 through! his mind. Picking up a small photo- 
 graph from the table, he glanced from it to the 
 shrunken figure in the chair. The frown grew 
 deeper on his brow and he shook his head more 
 positively still, as he went to the window and 
 looked out upon the avenue. The storm had 
 died with the advancing day, but a sharp, dry 
 wind swept the streets on which the winter sun 
 looked down with chill, glittering radiance. 
 But no sort of weather can deprive the Christ- 
 mas festival of cheerfulness. The sidewalks 
 were crowded with chattering throngs whose 
 garments the wind tossed recklessly about, 
 while the sun lighted up the bright colors and 
 flashed back from folds of satin and points of 
 jet. Rich equipages rolled almost noiselessly
 
 A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR 159 
 
 along the smooth concrete pavement ; gay 
 greetings passed back and forth between their 
 occupants and the bustling tide upon the side- 
 walks. The street was alive with Christmas 
 merry-making; the city resonant with Christ- 
 mas joys. The lawyer gazed upon the bright 
 scenes with a sigh. 
 
 There was a hollow, spasmodic cough from 
 the figure sitting by the grate. The lawyer 
 turned and looked at his client. He had 
 thrown off the fine new overcoat the Christ- 
 mas gift of his assistant upon the back of the 
 chair in which he sat, and a furred cuff dragged 
 on the carpet, one on either side, while the 
 slender figure writhed with the paroxysmal 
 effort. The lawyer walked back and stood be-' 
 side him. When the paroxysm had ceased, he 
 laid a soft white hand upon the thin, brown 
 one which clasped the chair-arm tightly. 
 
 "What are you doing for that cough, Pacto- 
 lus?" he asked. 
 
 "Oh, it is nothing nothing, sir," said the 
 other catching his breath after the convulsive 
 effort he had made, and wiping away the mois- 
 ture which had involuntarily gathered in his 
 eyes. The lawyer noticed that the handker- 
 chief he used was white and fine and bore in 
 the corner a delicate monogram. 
 
 "Have you eaten anything to-day?"
 
 160 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "Oh, I'm all right, Mr Phelps." 
 
 The man straightened up as if resenting the 
 imputation of weakness. 
 
 "But have you eaten?" 
 
 "I declare, I've most forgot. You see I was 
 so anxious about this matter so afraid some- 
 thing would go wrong and I might lose all I 
 had worked for, all my life. Besides, I haven't 
 quite got used to my new quarters yet." 
 
 "You should not have made a change at this 
 time of the year," said the lawyer in a tone of 
 grave rebuke. 
 
 "But you see, Mr. Phelps he put his 
 hands together aimlessly as if to express some- 
 thing he found it difficult to utter. 
 
 "I know," said the lawyer gently, "it was 
 part of a very foolish plan, but it was kindly 
 meant bravely intended," he added heartily 
 after a moment's pause, as if he were unaccus- 
 tomed to words of praise "I will say that, 
 though I wish you had not done it. By the 
 way, where did you go?" 
 
 "Oh, I am very comfortably fixed, very com- 
 fortably." He looked up with a smile that 
 showed his appreciation of the other's sym- 
 pathy, but did not answer the question. There 
 was something furtive about it, as if he pur- 
 posely avoided the inquiry. 
 
 As he did so, the lawyer noticed that the
 
 A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR. 161 
 
 whites of his eyes were of a dull, bluish tint, as 
 if the color of the lids had somehow become 
 spread over them, leaving the iris not indis- 
 tinct, indeed, but showing with curious inten- 
 sity that was little less than horrible. He 
 had never seen him without glasses before. 
 Even the trained lawyer's face could not con- 
 ceal an expression of surprise, almost of aver- 
 sion, as he caught sight of the strange eyeballs. 
 
 "I forgot I had taken off my glasses," said 
 the old man meekly, as he let his gaze fall, and 
 adjusted the spectacles upon his nose. He 
 looked around for the knitted cap and drew it 
 also into place with the deftness that marks 
 accustomed movements. 
 
 "It might be well that I should know your 
 address," said the lawyer with evident embar- 
 rassment. 
 
 "Oh, you will always find me at the 'Best 
 House'; we keep early hours there, and gen- 
 erally late ones, too." 
 
 The lawyer saw that his client did not mean 
 to give his address. He waited a moment, 
 then unlocked the door, stepped around to the 
 other side of his desk, touched an electric but- 
 ton, took out a pad of paper, and lifting the 
 cover of a curiously shaped brass inkstand 
 began to write. The door opened after a mo- 
 ment, and a man entered. He did not seem
 
 1 62 . PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 pleased at being disturbed. No one likes to 
 perform even a customary duty on a holiday. 
 The man's contract was for every day in the 
 year, but he did not expect to work on Christ- 
 mas, though he would not fail to demand pay 
 for it as well as every other day. 
 
 "I am sorry to call you to-day, Jerry; but I 
 have some business that will not wait for 
 Christmas," his employer said pleasantly, as he 
 tore the sheet from the pad, folded it, took a 
 bill from his pocket and gave them, with some 
 whispered directions, to the servitor. 
 
 "I 'spose I might as well be going," said 
 Prime. His tone showed that he thought 
 he might be in the way, but he did not look 
 up. 
 
 "Wait a while," was the answer. "I must 
 have some farther talk with you." 
 
 The lawyer resumed his seat by the fire and 
 began to ask questions about the subject of 
 their previous conversation. After a time the 
 servitor reappeared with a basket in his hand 
 followed by a colored waiter from a neighboring 
 restaurant, bearing a tray. The lawyer nodded 
 toward the desk. The servant removed the 
 inkstand ; the waiter spread a cloth over the 
 green baize and placed on it a tempting lunch- 
 eon. There were covers for two. Pactolus 
 Prime paid no attention to what was going on.
 
 A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR. 163 
 
 Jerry handed the change to the lawyer. He 
 took one of the coins and gave it to the waiter, 
 who bowed and grinned, scraping his foot back- 
 ward as he did so. 
 
 "Thank'e, sah ; wish hit was Chris'mas ebery 
 day in de year, sah." 
 
 The lawyer waved his hand slightly in accus- 
 tomed acknowledgment. 
 
 "You may get the baby a Christmas gift with 
 the rest, Jerry," he said, pushing away the hand 
 that held the change. 
 
 The man's face brightened as he acknowl- 
 edged the present. 
 
 "Call a cab for me in an hour," added the 
 attorney, consulting his watch. 
 
 Both the servants cast an inquiring glance 
 at the crouching figure in the chair as they 
 passed out. 
 
 "What yer 'spose de matter wid Uncle 
 Prime?" asked the waiter as they went along 
 the hall. A lawyer's servant is usually a very 
 prudent person ; besides this, Jerry had the 
 larger moiety of the bill Mr. Phelps had given 
 him still firmly clutched in his hand, so he was 
 not inclined to be communicative. 
 
 "Well, Prime," said the lawyer after a time, 
 "I cannot work, even on Christmas, without 
 something to eat, so I sent out for a little 
 snack. Sit up and help me eat it."
 
 164 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 "But, Mr. Phelps " began Prime apologeti- 
 cally. 
 
 "I am not accustomed to having such invi- 
 tations declined," interrupted the other cour- 
 teously, but with a firmness that made further 
 refusal impossible. 
 
 He moved a couple of chairs to the side of 
 the desk ; picked up the other's hat from the 
 floor and hung it with his overcoat upon a rack 
 behind the desk where the servant had placed 
 his own. Then pointing to the other chair, he 
 sat down and began to serve the viands with 
 the skill which only a bon vivant ever attains ; 
 for Willard Phelps was not only one of the first 
 lawyers of the national capital, but also one of 
 the most polished gentlemen of the country. 
 His courtesy was of that unconscious kind 
 which gave warmth to all he did, and not only 
 made him a welcome guest in the most exclu- 
 sive circles of society, but rendered an invita- 
 tion to his board a privilege to be prized by 
 the highest. He was a man as well known in 
 society as in his profession, one who had sat in 
 the councils of more than one President, yet 
 who was remembered by all who knew him 
 rather as a man than as an official. 
 
 It was a strange Christmas feast the host, 
 the courtly leader of the bar of the capital city 
 of the most Christian nation ; his guest, the
 
 A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR. 165 
 
 dusky boot-black of the Best House! The 
 white Christian and the black pariah sitting at 
 the same board ! Yet there was no lack of 
 courtesy on the part of the one, and no unaccus- 
 tomed awkwardness on the part of the other! 
 But the door was locked. It was only an 
 informal lunch a "snack" as the lawyer had 
 called it. Besides it was Christmas, when even 
 a white saint might perchance be permitted to 
 break bread with a fainting fellow of dusky 
 hue without reproach, "so blessed and so hal- 
 lowed is the time !" Yet the door was securely 
 locked. The lawyer had turned the key to 
 save his guest from embarrassment, quite as 
 much as to screen himself from reproach. He 
 was not one who feared the world, and what he 
 believed it his duty to do was sure to be done 
 regardless of consequences to himself; but he 
 had no desire to incur unnecessary odium, and 
 knew that the act in which he was engaged, 
 however harmless it might seem to some, was 
 not one that would pass unchallenged even 
 amid the kindly festivities of the Christmas- 
 tide. The law had opened the door of the 
 public hotel to the unfortunate wayfarer of 
 dusky hue, but there were very few in all the 
 city who would not be shocked could they look 
 in upon him and his strange guest. He knew 
 Prime well enough, too, to understand that if he
 
 1 66 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 suspected it would be known, nothing could 
 induce him to imperil in the least degree the 
 social status of his entertainer. He did not 
 once think of the words of the Master, "As ye 
 did it unto one of the least of these, my bre- 
 thren," but he did wonder what welcome the 
 Saviour would receive should he come again 
 to earth without the pomp of an angelic fol- 
 lowing, and clothed in a fleshly garment of 
 dusky hue. 
 
 When their repast was over and they had re- 
 turned to their seats beside the grate, the law- 
 yer lighted his cigar, and said : 
 
 "You haven't told me about your wife, 
 Prime." 
 
 "I don't know nothing 'bout her an' don't 
 want to," answered the other sullenly. 
 
 "I should be glad to spare you, but as your 
 counsel I must know all that you know. If I 
 am going to help you in this, I must not act 
 blindfolded any more." 
 
 After some further remonstrance the client 
 complied with his companion's request. 
 
 "And that is all you know about her?" the 
 lawyer asked after listening to his story. 
 
 "The very last thing. I never wanted to 
 know anything more, and so asked no ques- 
 tions." 
 
 "But Benny ?" suggested the lawyer.
 
 A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR. 167 
 
 "Yes, I recognized him, or rather guessed 
 as he grew older." 
 
 "And you asked no questions?" 
 
 "Not a word, sir. I was glad to do him a 
 kindness ; I don't bear no ill-will only I don't 
 want to know." 
 
 "And you think he does not suspect the 
 truth?" 
 
 "Not a word, sir, not a word, and he must 
 never suspect it. He'd better be thought a 
 white man without a dollar than have much 
 more than I could give him and be counted a 
 nigger." 
 
 "I'm not sure but you are right, Prime. I 
 don't like deception, but when people are so 
 so nearly " 
 
 "Just as white as anybody!" exclaimed 
 Prime excitedly. "Why, Benny could take his 
 mother, sir, and go anywhere among strangers, 
 and nobody 'd ever dream they weren't white. 
 An' he's got good blood in him, Mr. Phelps 
 ain't no better in all the South. Never was any 
 real no-count ones among 'em until Marse 
 Junius, an' I don't know as he'd have been if 
 he hadn't been bewitched." 
 
 "Did you know he became very rich?" 
 
 "No, did he?" 
 
 "So I hear." 
 
 "Well," said Prime, with evident satisfac-
 
 1 68 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 tion, "it's in the Wood to get on ! I tell you, 
 Benny '11 make a man an' no mistake. If he 
 was only white I'd back him to be President 
 I would for a fact. It's in the blood. But 
 how'd Marse Jun make his money? I hain't 
 no cause to feel kindly toward him, but I'm 
 glad he's got on for the sake of the family 
 name, you know!" He laughed bitterly, but it 
 was plain to see that his pride was gratified. 
 
 "I understand it was in fertilizers phos- 
 phates, I believe." 
 
 "In Alabama?" asked the old man, keenly. 
 
 "No South Carolina." 
 
 "On the Ashley?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Not you don't mean?" 
 
 The old man sprang to his feet and his eyes 
 glowed through his glasses with unconcealed 
 hate. 
 
 "That is my understanding." 
 
 "By God ! that is too much ! How did he 
 get it?" 
 
 "Bought it for a song of tJie widow," sig- 
 nificantly. 
 
 "And what did he do with her?" asked 
 Prime with brutal coarseness. 
 
 "She ran away as soon as she got the 
 money. It wasn't much, but she did not 
 squander it."
 
 A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR. 169 
 
 "And Benny's been a help to her," mused 
 Prime 
 
 "Indeed he has." 
 
 "An' so Marse Bug got his hand onto that, 
 too? The rascal !" exclaimed the old man, "to 
 cheat his own kin and he a nigger /" 
 
 "You did not know he was dead?" 
 
 "No, is he? I'm glad on't," said the other 
 savagely. "I shant have to kill him now. I 
 don't know how I've kept my hands off him so 
 long. I've always meant to do it some time; 
 jes' been puttin' it off for for her sake, you 
 know. Now I shant have that to answer for. 
 Who's got the plantation now?" 
 
 "His brother." 
 
 "Marse Ephrum? Heired it, I s'pose. Can't 
 he be put out, Mr. Phelps? Couldn't Benny 
 oust him?" 
 
 "Benny has no title." 
 
 "But if he had? Suppose he had a deed 
 from the owner?" 
 
 "That might involve a judicial inquiry which 
 would prevent his being well, anything else, 
 you know." 
 
 "I see; he'd have to admit himself a 'nigger' 
 to get possession !" 
 
 The old man sprang to his feet and paced 
 back and forth across the office, dragging 
 his lame leg after him as if unconscious of
 
 1 70 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 his infirmity. Then he looked around and 
 said : 
 
 "He's got to have it, Mr. Phelps, Benny's 
 got to have it ; but how? tell me how. You're 
 a lawyer; you ought to know. That rascal 
 shan't keep it !" 
 
 "If it was deeded to another, a stranger 
 perhaps " said the lawyer musingly. 
 
 The client stumped back and forth across the 
 office once or twice before he spoke. The law- 
 yer watched him with grave concern. At 
 length the old man said still keeping his face 
 turned away from the other's gaze : 
 
 "Mr. Phelps, do you know where Mazy is?" 
 
 "Yes, Prime, I do." 
 
 "She's gettin' along well, I 'spose?" His 
 voice trembled. 
 
 "Do you want to know where she is?" 
 
 "I I'd like to see her just once." 
 
 "You know Benny's name?" 
 
 "Of course." 
 
 "Do you know any one else of that name?" 
 
 The man turned like a flash. 
 
 "You don't mean to say ?" 
 
 The lawyer nodded an affirmative reply to 
 the half-spoken question. 
 
 "This is your work, Mr. Phelps!" 
 
 "Yes, Prime I did it." 
 
 "You you why did you do it?"
 
 A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR. 171 
 
 "I wanted to do you a kindness." 
 
 "And she is white! she's crossed the color- 
 line! You put her across it?" 
 
 The lawyer bowed assent. 
 
 "And she knows?" 
 
 "She does not even suspect." 
 
 "Strange that that I didn't !" 
 
 "Gray hairs," said the lawyer sententiously. 
 
 "She's grown stouter, too." 
 
 "Naturally." 
 
 The client resumed his halting walk across 
 the floor. After a time he came and stood be- 
 fore the lawyer. He spoke calmly, and there 
 was no trace of emotion in his voice. The dia- 
 lect came out strong in his speech, however, 
 showing his agitation. 
 
 "I see my way clar, now, Mr. Phelps jes ez 
 clar ez day. They'd all be white ef hit warn't 
 fer me no denyin' that. Hit's bein' con- 
 nected with me that makes 'em black or 
 makes people think of 'em ez black. What's 
 the remedy? Take me out'n the case -send 
 me away wipe me out !" 
 
 "But I don't see ?" 
 
 "Don't stop me I'll tell ye how. I'm gwine 
 away no matter whar ner fer how long 
 nuther. I'm gwine ter leave everythin' ter 
 you all but the money in the bank that's 
 enough fer me; an' you you're to do with it
 
 172 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 jes' what you think's fer the good of all on 'em. 
 I'll be their scape-goat I'll take their sins, or 
 at least their blackness, into the wilderness an' 
 leave them 'ez white ez wool,' as the Scriptur 
 says. Wool's changed sence them days," he 
 added with a laugh; "it aint esteemed a sign 
 uv whiteness now! That's what I'm goin' to 
 do, Mr. Phelps. Make out the papers right 
 away!" 
 
 "But, Prime, if you make me your trustee ?" 
 
 "Who said anythin' 'bout a trustee? I'm 
 gwine ter give hit to ye out an' out don't 
 yer see? Nobody'll ever suspect you of bein' a 
 'nigger' !" 
 
 "But I might 
 
 "Oh, I kin trust you or if you should con- 
 clude ter keep it fer yerself, I wouldn't feel so 
 very bad about it. They've got enough, an' 
 Benny '11 git along I'll resk him! You're the 
 next one, anyhow. I shan't feel bad 'specially 
 ef you should need it. Keep half on't ef you 
 want to; you're welcome to it. Only make 
 Marse Ephrum smart ! That's what I want." 
 
 After some farther conversation the lawyer 
 prepared certain papers, the client signed them, 
 and the servant was called to witness the signa- 
 tures. He was not in the most discriminating 
 condition of mind ; the lawyer's gratuity, or the 
 influence of the joyous season, having some-
 
 A PUZZLED COUNSELLOR. 173 
 
 how unstrung his nerves, but the soberest man 
 in the city could not have signed his name with 
 more unmistakable certainty, and that is the 
 chief thing required of a subscribing witness. 
 
 When this was done the client put on his coat 
 and prepared to take his leave. 
 
 "Good-by, Mr. Phelps," he said, extending 
 his hand. "The sooner I get away the better. 
 You can make my excuses at the Best House. 
 I hate to leave it's been a good job, and we've 
 never had any trouble. Tell Benny not to be 
 in a hurry to sell out. The new Administra- 
 tion will make things lively here in Washing- 
 ton for a while, anyhow; always does. I 
 don't know when I'll see you again perhaps 
 never!" 
 
 "Do you think you had better do this, 
 Prime?" asked the lawyer with emotion. 
 
 "Don't try to persuade me. My mind's 
 made up. Good-by." 
 
 He wrung the hand held out to him and 
 started hastily away. The lawyer heard him 
 going down the stairs. Several minutes had 
 elapsed when he opened the door again and 
 said without coming in : 
 
 "I hope you'll pardon me for what I said 
 about the 'White Christ,' Mr. Phelps. I was 
 wrong, sir. There ain't many He's been as 
 good to as to me. I don't know what He
 
 t?4 PACTOLUS PRIME. ^ 
 
 means by the way He's allowed my people to 
 be treated, and it ain't necessary I should know. 
 He knows, and that's enough. It's sufficient 
 for me that He's showed me a way to take the 
 curse off from the ones I love my own par- 
 ticular ones. I'd like to wish you a Merry 
 Christmas, sir, and have you wish me one." 
 
 "Very gladly, indeed, Prime," said the law- 
 yer, going to the door and extending his hand, 
 "Merry Christmas and many Happy New 
 Years to you !" 
 
 "Thank ye, sah : the same to you." 
 
 He bowed respectfully. They shook hands 
 again. 
 
 "Good-by, sah." 
 
 "Good-by, Prime." 
 
 The lawyer listened to the dragging steps 
 along the hall, and wondered when he would 
 hear them again. While he waited he took 
 some blanks from his desk and filled them out. 
 
 "The cab's a-waitin', sir." 
 
 The lawyer put on his hat and gloves, told 
 the servant he would not be in again during 
 the day, and was driven rapidly away.
 
 XIV. 
 
 PROFESSIONAL COURTESY. 
 
 "A MAJOR!" cried Phelps, as he sig- 
 w naled the driver to stop, and drew up to 
 the pavement on E Street, along which the one- 
 armed veteran was making his way as if the 
 fate of the nation depended on his reaching his 
 destination within a time limited. "I was just 
 going to your office, Major Wolcott, on the 
 chance of finding you in a poor chance, I sup- 
 pose, to-day?" he added with a smile. 
 
 "Not at all," answered the Major cheerfully. 
 "My practice isn't heavy enough to prevent 
 my taking a day off now and then, but the 
 bother of it is I'm always afraid a good thing 
 may happen along when I'm out, you know. 
 If I had yours, now," he added, but without 
 a touch of envy, "I should be quite above 
 watching for clients on Christmas Day though 
 it's always been a lucky day for me in that 
 respect." 
 
 "I hope this one has been no exception," 
 said Phelps graciously. 
 
 175
 
 1 7 6 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 "Well, it's three o'clock," rejoined the other 
 with a grimace, "and thus far I haven't caught 
 so much as the promise of a retainer." 
 
 "Get in then," said Phelps, making room for 
 him, "if you have a little time to spare, and let 
 me see if I can't change your luck." 
 
 "I don't know any better way to do so than 
 to be seen hobnobbing with you," said the 
 other gracefully, as he took his seat. 
 
 "Good," said Phelps with a laugh. "The 
 Marshal's office," he called to the driver as he 
 shut the door. "You ought to have been a 
 courtier, Major." 
 
 "Just my luck," said the veteran gayly. "I 
 tried to be a soldier and made a poor out at it ; 
 tried to grow cotton for a while ; tried my hand 
 at speculation ; edited a paper; got a clerkship, 
 and for the last three years have been practic- 
 ing law. I don't think I have been a stunning 
 success in either of these roles. Perhaps I 
 ought to have been a courtier, as you say. If 
 you know of an opening in that line just tip me 
 a wink, won't you?" 
 
 "Indeed, I will, Major," said the successful 
 lawyer, with an admiring glance at the veteran, 
 whose seedy clothes were worn with a jaunti- 
 ness that showed how foolish it was for fate to 
 try to break his spirit, "but just now I have a 
 little business in which I may need your help."
 
 PROFESSIONAL COURTESY. 177 
 
 "Well, that will do while we are waiting for 
 the other. What is it?" 
 
 "Have you been consulted by a man named 
 Collins?" 
 
 "Collins? Collins?" repeated the Major, knit- 
 ting his brows. "Candidly, sir, I do not think 
 that among the limited number of those who 
 have been so unfortunate as to consider my 
 services indispensable to their interests, indeed, 
 I may say I am quite sure not one is so for- 
 tunate as to bear that illustrious patronymic. 
 I did have a Washington once one of the 
 genuine stock, too, but he happened to belong 
 to the colored branch of the family. No, I have 
 no such client in presenti, or so far as I know, 
 in prospectu." 
 
 "Then you are open to a retainer against him ?" 
 
 "Open! My dear sir, it's what I've been 
 waiting for 'from days to which the memory of 
 man runneth not to the contrary.' ' 
 
 "Consider yourself retained, then," said the 
 other carelessly, handing him a bill. 
 
 "Thanks, awfully," returned the veteran as 
 he took the money, "but candidly, Mr. Phelps," 
 he added with a wistful look in his eyes, "this 
 is a most inconvenient size of bill for me to 
 change just now." 
 
 "That's all right," said the other with a 
 deprecatory wave of the hand.
 
 178 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 "Honor bright? You didn't expect me to 
 break it?" 
 
 "Certainly not." 
 
 "Then here goes," he said, thrusting the 
 money in his pocket. "What's the business? 
 I don't need to tell you I'm obliged; but I will 
 tell you, that your ears will burn when my wife 
 gets her Christmas present. Candidly, the good 
 Saint missed our house last night," he added 
 with a shrug, looking out of the window of 
 the carriage and dashing his hand across his 
 eyes. 
 
 His companion pretended not to notice his 
 embarrassment, and after a moment, said in a 
 perfectly matter-of-fact manner: 
 
 "I am anxious to get service on a man named 
 Ephraim Collins, who is stopping at the Best 
 House, at once. I'm afraid we shall not find 
 any one at the Marshal's, but you can arrange 
 to get the papers into his hands to-night, I 
 hope." 
 
 "I'll do it or die a-trying," answered the 
 Major confidently. "Slippery?" 
 
 "Not at all; you'll have plenty of time after 
 getting your present for the Madame." 
 
 "Business first," said the veteran. "That's 
 always been my motto, and you see what it's 
 brought me to," glancing at his cloak. 
 
 The two men laughed heartily the one at
 
 PROFESSIONAL COURTESY. 179 
 
 his companion's invincible good-nature, the 
 other because he felt like laughing. 
 
 "Here are the papers," said Phelps drawing 
 an envelope from his pocket. "You will mark 
 your name as attorney, please." 
 
 "What did you say is our client's name?" 
 
 "I have the honor to be your client." 
 
 "What ! The honor is mine, sir. Here, I 
 cannot take money from you, sir." The gallant 
 fellow's face fell, but he pulled the bill from his 
 pocket and handed it back to his companion. 
 "It would be unprofessional, you know." 
 
 "Allow me to waive my privilege thanking 
 you all the same." 
 
 "I can't do it, sir; besides, the privilege of rep- 
 resenting you will be ample compensation 
 it will make my fortune, sir." He pressed the 
 bill into the other's hand as he spoke. 
 
 "Will you allow me to make a present to 
 your wife, Major?" 
 
 "Really, I don't see that I could object 
 your reputation is not bad enough to justify 
 me in doing so," he added jocularly. 
 
 "A gift would lose half its value if you did 
 not carry it, and really my time is very much 
 occupied. Please oblige me. Here we are at 
 the Marshal's. Good-day." 
 
 He slipped the bill into the envelope and 
 handed the parcel to his companion as he
 
 1 80 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 stood upon the sidewalk. The door closed 
 and the cab drove away before the one-armed 
 veteran had a chance to make farther objec- 
 tion. 
 
 "I've heard a lot of kind things of him," said 
 the latter, looking after the carriage with tears 
 in his eyes, "but this beats them all. Well, he 
 shan't lose anything by it this time. Hello !" 
 he added as he walked up the marble steps. 
 "What's this? 'Assignee of P. P. Smith.' 
 Wonder if old 'Pepperpod' has turned up 
 again?"
 
 XV. 
 
 BAFFLED ENTERPRISE. 
 
 THE lawyer's cab halted before a handsome 
 residence fronting on one of the numerous 
 little parks which mark the intersection of the 
 Streets and Avenues of the capital city. Mr. 
 Phelps alighted, went up the steps and rang 
 the bell. 
 
 "Can I see Miss Eva?" he asked of the ser- 
 vant who opened the door. 
 
 "She's in the parlor, answered the maid. 
 "Walk right in, sir; 'taint hardly a minit since 
 the young man from your office come." 
 
 "From my office!" repeated the lawyer in 
 surprise. 
 
 "So he said, sir, an' a nice young man he is, 
 too. He said he wanted to see Miss Eva on a 
 matter of great importance as you had sent 
 him about." 
 
 "Ah," said the lawyer carelessly. "You may 
 show me into the back parlor, if you please. I 
 must see Miss Eva about quite another matter; 
 but there is no haste. You need not disturb 
 her; she knows I was to call at this hour. I
 
 1 8 2 PAC TOL US PRIME, ' 
 
 will amuse myself until she is at liberty. Here 
 is something for Christmas." 
 
 He dropped a coin into the girl's hand and 
 was left alone. 
 
 The portiere between the rooms was only 
 half-closed, and if fully drawn could hardly have 
 prevented what passed in the one from being 
 heard in the other. The lawyer walked delib- 
 erately across the room in order that his pres- 
 ence might become known, seated himself at a 
 side window which looked out upon the inter- 
 secting avenue, and soon became conscious of 
 the tenor of the conversation going on upon 
 the other side of the curtain. 
 
 "I thought you said you came from Mr. 
 Phelps?" a woman's voice said in a tone of 
 surprise. 
 
 "Not exactly from him," was the reply, "but 
 he was speaking to me about a very interesting 
 matter in which you are interested, in which he 
 was to play the part of the good St. Nicholas. 
 Of course, being a lawyer he could not divulge 
 the secrets of his clients, but well, he intima- 
 ted that we might obtain the information at 
 headquarters; so I came straight to you. The 
 Index always gets its facts at first hand if pos- 
 sible." 
 
 "I really do not understand you, Mr. 
 Stearns," answered the lady with evident cool-
 
 BAFFLED ENTERPRISE. 183 
 
 ness. Something in the tone convinced the 
 lawyer that she knew her words were heard by 
 him that indeed she intended them to be. 
 
 "Oh, do not say that, Miss Smith!" 
 
 "Collins, sir my name is Collins," said the 
 young lady severely. "If Mr. Phelps sent you 
 he should at least have told you my name." 
 
 "Oh, he did not send me," responded the 
 gentleman, whom he now recognized as the re- 
 porter Stearns ; "indeed he did not know of my 
 coming. He half-told his own errand .and I 
 found out the rest. You are not the happy 
 recipient then of the munificent Christmas gift 
 he brought. But perhaps you can tell me 
 something about this lucky Miss Smith into 
 whose mouth no doubt a charming one for- 
 tune drops such exceptionally succulent plums." 
 
 "I do not understand you, sir." 
 
 "Ah, I beg pardon. The matter seems to be 
 almost as elusive as it is romantic." 
 
 "To what do you refer, sir?" 
 
 The young lady's tone was icy and the in- 
 quirer was evidently not making very satis- 
 factory progress. 
 
 "Can it be possible that you are unacquain- 
 ted with the romantic episode that has to-day 
 transpired touching the very house you occupy? 
 A Mr. Smith P. P. Smith," he repeated "has 
 given property amounting to more than a hun-
 
 1 84 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 dred thousand dollars in value, including this 
 very house, to one Eva C. Smith, for the con- 
 sideration of one dollar and natural love and 
 affection." 
 
 "She is very fortunate." 
 
 "But you do not know her?" 
 
 "I have no acquaintance with any such per- 
 son,"was the reply. 
 
 "I beg pardon, but in that case you know 
 nothing, I suppose, of Mr. Smith, either?" 
 
 "Nothing, sir." 
 
 "It is very strange," said the reporter mus- 
 ingly. "There are the deeds registered in due 
 form, covering a large amount of property evi- 
 dently intended as a gift, and neither donor nor 
 donee to be found in the directory or known 
 to any resident of the District." 
 
 "You seem to have taken considerable 
 trouble in the matter." 
 
 "I have been on the track of Mr. Smith ever 
 since Mr. Phelps left your house early this 
 morning." 
 
 "And you find no trace of him?" 
 
 "Oh yes, I find traces enough, deeds, mort- 
 gages, bonds the records are full of him. For 
 a dozen years he has bought and sold real estate 
 in Washington, usually operating with singular 
 sagacity. He is supposed to be a man of large 
 wealth, but nobody appears to have ever seen
 
 BAFFLED ENTERPRISE. 185 
 
 him. Almost every deed he has given has 
 been witnessed and proved by his attorney, 
 who seems to have been the only man who is 
 known to have set eyes on him in that time. 
 And now he makes a deed to a person just as 
 hard to find as himself. It is very provoking!" 
 
 "It must be," responded the young lady 
 tartly. "Why don't you have a law passed 
 that no one shall do anything interesting with- 
 out furnishing the details to the newspapers? 
 That would save you all this trouble." 
 
 "Of course, it is funny to you, but to a re- 
 porter who has to make his living by finding 
 out things, it is not so pleasant." 
 
 "And do you think the people find it pleas- 
 ant those into whose affairs you peep and pry 
 to gratify a morbid curiosity for the weakness 
 and misfortunes of others? What do you sup- 
 pose they think of such as you?" 
 
 "One has to live," said the reporter with a 
 shrug. 
 
 "Suppose that were accounted a sufficient 
 excuse for theft and burglary?" 
 
 "But our business is not unlawful, Miss," re- 
 torted the reporter. "It may be unpleasant, 
 but no one can claim that it is not honorable. 
 In fact, the press has been the great educator 
 the great civilizer of the world." 
 
 "The press? Oh, you mean the printing-
 
 1 86 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 press. No doubt it is a wonderful power for 
 good or evil. But that other thing that calls 
 itself 'the press,' the great scandal-monger with 
 its army of thieves and spies which feeds on 
 filth and misfortune, what good has it done? 
 What honor is there in its service?" 
 
 "You are too hard on us poor reporters. I 
 assure you " 
 
 "Spare me your protests, sir. I understand 
 that I am in your power just as much as if you 
 were a burglar with a deadly weapon in your 
 hand. You opened my door, not indeed with a 
 false key, but with a false pretense a false 
 token. You came here not to steal money or 
 jewels but to destroy my peace to blast my 
 good name if you could, in order to give the 
 readers of the Index a sensation. It was an 
 honorable purpose, perhaps I should say a 
 commendable one!" 
 
 "But surely so good a deed as this such a 
 munificent act of generosity you cannot think 
 it improper to wish to make it public?" 
 
 "Then why not make it public? Why not 
 speak of it as an act of princely generosity? 
 But that is not what you desire. You want to 
 find something mean something sinister 
 something unworthy in it ! Nothing but shame 
 and depravity will satisfy you. Only a month 
 ago, a man gave a million dollars to the holiest
 
 BAFFLED ENTERPRISE. 187 
 
 cause on earth. It was the chief part of the 
 honorable accumulations of a life-time. Twenty 
 lines told all you thought necessary to be said 
 about this man and his gift. On the same day, 
 a man paid the hundredth part of the sum thus 
 given, by compulsion of the law, to remedy a 
 wrong he had committed ; and you took three- 
 quarters of a column to describe the man, his 
 victim, and the wrong in other words, you did 
 all in your power to make his long-deferred 
 atonement worthless to its recipient." 
 
 "I wonder, since you have so ill an opinion 
 of the profession, why you do not order me 
 out of your presence have me expelled from 
 the house. " said the reporter, exasperated by 
 her taunts. 
 
 "Oh, I dare not, sir. I am in your power. I 
 must submit, not only quietly but smilingly, to 
 whatever indignity you may see fit to put upon 
 me. Ah, no, sir; I understand too well the 
 power you represent. If I do not answer your 
 questions I know you will make me an object 
 of contempt and ridicule to-morrow perhaps 
 even an object of suspicion. I have no idea 
 what figure I might not cut in your columns, if 
 I should be so unfortunate as to offend you. 
 You might make the neighbors shrink from 
 me close the doors of respectable houses in 
 my face, and make a thrill of horror run through
 
 1 88 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 the hearts of the assembled worshipers, if I 
 should venture inside a church door! Turn 
 you out? Dear me, I would sit here until I 
 dropped dead rather than have you think a rep- 
 sentative of the Index was not altogether wel- 
 come ! I would, I think, commit suicide rather 
 than let you know how I despise a liar, a sneak, 
 a gossip, who prowls about the doors and 
 steals into houses to find out things people 
 desire to keep hidden ! Oh, I want you to give 
 a good account of me! I do, indeed," cried 
 the satirical girl. "In the first place you must 
 make me out a beauty." 
 
 "I could not well help doing that," said the 
 reporter gallantly. 
 
 "Oh, yes, you could ; but you must make me 
 a smiling, wicked, ravishing beauty. You must 
 make my feet some sizes smaller than they are ; 
 my waist to measure less than eighteen inches ; 
 go into raptures over my hand, not forgetting 
 to hint that I have an eminent manicure to care 
 for the nails; turn your imagination loose on 
 my gown, and hint only just hint, remember 
 at an inexhaustible fund of latent wickedness 
 in my charming make-up! You will, of course, 
 say how delighted I was to see you ; how glad 
 I was that that a reporter especially such a 
 gallant, attractive and discreet reporter was 
 sent by the Index to inquire how I had passed
 
 SAFFLED ENTERPRISE. 189 
 
 my Christmas and what I thought of my neigh- 
 bors! 
 
 "Oh, yes, and you might add, just to give it 
 a little spice and make it especially interesting 
 to the best people in the city, that Mr. Phelps 
 called here before nine o'clock this morning, 
 stayed exactly forty-two and a half minutes, 
 while you marched up and down the other side 
 of the street with your thumb on the spring of 
 your stop-watch, waiting for him to come out. 
 You might add, too, that he found it hard to go 
 away ; that after he had opened the hall door, 
 he closed it again, came back and stayed some 
 seconds longer. Being a man of unblemished 
 reputation and having a family he adores, you 
 will not of course miss an opportunity to injure 
 him or annoy them. You might say, also, that 
 he made an appointment to return about the 
 time you called ; that while you were here a 
 coupe drove up, you heard the bell ring, the 
 front door open and shut, and some one was 
 ushered into the back parlor, where, you have 
 no doubt, the eminent lawyer sat patiently 
 awaiting your departure that he might once 
 more bask in the smiles of the fair siren, etc. 
 etc! 
 
 "That is what you will do, Mr. Stearns, be- 
 cause you wish to oblige me and to requite the 
 favor a good man has shown you. If you do
 
 1 90 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 it well, I shall take pleasure in sending you a 
 check for really I do not know what is the 
 proper fee for such carrion-birds but whatever 
 is the correct thing, that you will receive ! You 
 deserve a Christmas gift ; you have earned one 
 by your rugged display of Christian manhood ! 
 Now if you could excuse me, sir," the girl had 
 evidently risen and was approaching the por- 
 tiere "if it is not asking too much I would 
 like to go to Mr. Phelps. The business on 
 which he has called is of importance, and he is 
 one of the men who deserves his Christmas 
 dinner he is not a liar!" 
 
 Even the reporter's cheek was not proof 
 against this sarcastic tirade. He interrupted 
 the angry beauty as she swept across the room 
 toward the portiere, however, and said : 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Miss Collins. But if 
 you will allow me how did you learn these 
 things? how did you know I " 
 
 "How did I know you had dogged Mr. 
 Phelps's steps, and would call on me to-day? 
 Candidly, I knew it because he told me so. 
 That is what he came back for. He said there 
 was a young man on the Index whom he had 
 unfortunately recommended as a gentleman, 
 who, guessing something from a remark he 
 had accidentally overheard, was following his 
 track to see if he could not discover what the
 
 BAFFLED ENTERPRISE. 191 
 
 professional honor of a lawyer had prevented 
 him from disclosing. As he was to call about 
 this time, I infer that he is the visitor whom 
 you no doubt heard enter. Perhaps you would 
 like to meet him and inquire his business. He 
 said you would be sure to call. Just step this 
 way, please." 
 
 The reporter drew back. At that moment 
 Mr. Phelps pushed aside the portiere and 
 entered the room. 
 
 "Will you be kind enough to wait in my cab 
 outside, Mr. Stearns? I will not keep you 
 long." 
 
 The lawyer spoke quietly, but there was a 
 light in his blue eye that prevented any parley. 
 The reporter bowed and withdrew.
 
 XVI. 
 
 AN INTRACTABLE DONEE. 
 
 \TJELL?" said the young lady as soon as 
 VV they were alone, looking anxiously up 
 into the lawyer's eyes. 
 
 "I hope you have not lost confidence in me, 
 Miss Smith?" 
 
 "I shall if you call me by that name again." 
 
 "Yet that is the one to which you are en- 
 titled ; 'Eva Collins Smith' is your baptismal 
 name." 
 
 "I will have it changed I will not recognize 
 it ! I have been Eva Collins all my life and 
 will change the name for no other!" 
 
 "Is not that a pretty rash vow for a young 
 lady to make?" asked the lawyer smilingly. 
 
 "At least, until I see good reason to do so," 
 she added with a blush and a laugh. 
 
 "That is better," said her companion ap- 
 provingly. "Now we shall get on. I shall call 
 you Miss Collins, then, until you give me leave 
 to change the appellation. Will that do?" 
 
 "That will do," she responded gayly, "and 
 since you are so kind, I will agree never to 
 change my name until you advise me to do so." 
 192
 
 AN INTRACTABLE DONEE. 193 
 
 "Oh, don't put that responsibility on me ; I 
 have a daughter of my own, remember." 
 
 "You do not know how I envy her." 
 
 She cast down her eyes and the blood 
 surged up into her face. 
 
 The girl was hardly more than eighteen, 
 slight and fair. The eyes that had met the 
 lawyer's gaze so steadily were wide-open gray 
 ones, framed with heavy brows, the lids fringed 
 with long, dark lashes. Her hair, which was of 
 a neutral brown, was abundant and worn in a 
 simple coil at the back of the head, whose per- 
 fect outlines were thus clearly displayed. A 
 simple dress of dark blue cloth, a hint of white 
 at wrist and neck, with a dull gold pin having 
 a flat medallion head, shot dagger-wise across 
 the throat, were the only things about her cos- 
 tume that attracted the lawyer's attention as he 
 scanned face and figure as if he had never seen 
 her before. 
 
 "Will you sit down and tell me what you 
 know about yourself, Miss Collins?" 
 
 He extended his hand as if to offer a pledge 
 of sincerity. The girl laid her left upon it. A 
 woman seldom uses the hand-clasp as a pledge. 
 She gives her hand as a token of assent, surren- 
 der, confidence, but rarely as a pledge of pur- 
 pose. When custom impels her to do so, it 
 is apt to seem mannish and unnatural. In this
 
 i 94 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 case, the gesture was an instinctive expression 
 of confidence and was so construed. He led 
 her to a sofa and they sat down. 
 
 "I did not ask from mere curiosity," he said 
 after a moment, not apologetically but as if to 
 make it easier for her to begin. 
 
 "Oh, I understand," she answered absently. 
 "I was thinking what to say. I know so little," 
 she continued, looking up at him with earnest 
 candor. "If you would ask me questions, Mr. 
 Phelps." 
 
 Their hands rested on the sofa between 
 them, hers still clasped in his as if she had for- 
 gotten to remove it. 
 
 "What is your first memory? Where did 
 you live?" he asked. 
 
 "At the South." 
 
 Her eyes had fallen to the floor and she was 
 unconsciously following a figure of the carpet 
 with the toe of her slipper moving between it 
 and her eyes. 
 
 "Do you know where?" 
 
 "I do not. I was very young. I never heard 
 anything about it afterward and was afraid to 
 ask." 
 
 "Why afraid?" 
 
 "I hardly know, I was." 
 
 "Do you remember the house?" 
 
 "It was a large one, low and rambling, not
 
 AN INTRACTABLE DONEE. 195 
 
 stately but roomy. I should say it was un- 
 painted, though that seems absurd. There was 
 a river near, in front I think, and a hillside 
 sloping down to it. A good many large trees 
 stood about ; and back of it were barns and cul- 
 tivated fields. Somewhere near it, I seem to 
 remember a thick, dark growth of evergreens, 
 coming almost up to the house." 
 
 "Do you remember who lived there occu- 
 pied the house, I mean?" 
 
 "There was a man and a woman and ser- 
 vants, I think I am not sure." 
 
 "Your father and mother?" 
 
 "I suppose so." 
 
 "Can you describe them?" 
 
 "My father, I am almost sure he was my 
 father, but I don't know how to describe him. 
 I cannot remember his appearance, yet I think 
 I should know him." 
 
 "Does the photograph I brought resemble 
 him?" 
 
 "I think so. I have been studying it, and it 
 seems familiar. What I remember most clearly 
 is that he was always busy. I think he em- 
 ployed a number of laborers and worked with 
 them. He must have been very fond of me, 
 for I seem to recall being with him a great 
 deal. I think I used to ride behind him on 
 horseback."
 
 196 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "And the woman?" 
 
 "Yes, I think you would call her a woman 
 that is, I do not think you would call her a lady." 
 
 The girl looked up at him fearlessly. 
 
 "I understand," he answered kindly. "Can 
 you describe her appearance?" 
 
 "I think she resembled me, except her hair; 
 that was lighter, and her features were per- 
 haps more, well, more harmonious, I sup- 
 pose, that might express it." 
 
 She cast down her eyes again, and the lawyer, 
 noting the delicate curve of her neck and the 
 softened outline of the jaw, doubted if the com- 
 parison was just. He had seen many beautiful 
 women, but thought just then that he had 
 never seen one in whom there were clearer evi- 
 dences of high breeding. Everything about 
 her, from her frankness of manner to her soft- 
 ness of outline, confirmed this impression. 
 
 "You think she was your mother?" 
 
 "I I suppose so." 
 
 The lines of her mouth grew somewhat 
 harder as she spoke. 
 
 "You called her by what name?" 
 
 "Mammy." 
 
 The lawyer started as she pronounced the 
 word. Almost unconsciously he withdrew his 
 hand from hers. It was that unmistakable pro- 
 nunciation of the word, by which the Negro
 
 AN INTRA C TABLE DONEE. 1 9 7 
 
 child designates its mother and the white child 
 its nurse. 
 
 "Were there any other children?" 
 
 "I I think so. I think my father was a 
 harsh man." 
 
 "To whom?" 
 
 "Everybody, except me. He must have been 
 gentle with me or I would not have such a 
 tender feeling for him, I can hardly call it 
 memory." 
 
 "When did you leave this place?" 
 
 "I don't know. Something dreadful hap- 
 pened, something I ought to have remem- 
 bered, but I don't, and that is the end of 
 everything everything !" she repeated, spread- 
 ing her hands before her as if to show how 
 dense a wall had been built up between her 
 and her childhood's memories. 
 
 "And what do you next recall? Where 
 were you after that?" 
 
 "Here in Washington." 
 
 "Where? Can you describe the place?" 
 
 "Oh, perfectly. We must have lived there 
 until I was nearly ten years old." 
 
 "Whom do you mean by 'we' ?' 
 
 "Pac Uncle Pac and I." 
 
 "Was there no one else?" 
 
 "Never," said the girl positively. "I do not 
 remember that anybody came to visit us,
 
 I9 8 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 either. Oh, we were very, very happy though. 
 The house was small but very comfortable, 
 within, I mean ; outside it was much neglected. 
 It was a little house over toward Meridian Hill, 
 hardly more than a hut, but a big lot, over- 
 grown with weeds and briars. It was only the 
 front that was neglected. He seemed to want 
 it to look as if nobody lived there. I remem- 
 ber there was a big pokeberry bush that grew 
 almost as high as the eaves, just at the corner 
 of the house. I used to look through it at 
 the Monument and wonder why it seemed 
 the higher. Then there were raspberries and 
 mulleins, weeds of all sorts which made the 
 yard a thicket from one stone wall to the other." 
 
 "I see," said the lawyer, thoughtfully. "And 
 you remained there how long?" 
 
 "Until I was ten years old." 
 
 "And then?" 
 
 "I was sent to the Sisters." 
 
 "In Montreal, I think?" 
 
 The girl nodded, absently. 
 
 "You had attended school before that?" 
 
 "Yes; the public school here." 
 
 "Do you know why you were sent away?" 
 
 "I can only guess. One of the teachers came 
 to inquire about me. She wanted to know, she 
 said, what 'an old nigger like Uncle Pac' was 
 doing with a little white girl like me."
 
 AN INTRACTABLE DONEE. 199 
 
 "What did he tell her?" 
 
 "That I was his old master's child his old 
 master who was dead, and that he was taking 
 care of me." 
 
 "She went away satisfied, I suppose?" 
 
 "She went away, and in a few days he took 
 me to Montreal. On the way, he told me the 
 same story. I never believed it," said the girl, 
 looking up at her companion's face. 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Uncle Pac laughed after the teacher went 
 away, and said she was mighty smart, but not 
 smart enough to catch him." 
 
 "You do not' think you are his old master's 
 child, then?" 
 
 "I don't know," casting down her glance; "I 
 believe my mother was a a colored woman." 
 
 "What makes you think so?" 
 
 "I cannot tell." 
 
 "And Uncle Pac?" 
 
 "He is somehow related to me I think to 
 my father; he never mentions my mother, 
 and was angry with me once for asking about 
 her." 
 
 "You stayed at the Sisters, how long?" 
 
 "Five years." 
 
 "And went from there to the New England 
 College at which you graduated last summer?" 
 
 "Yes."
 
 200 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "And in all that time you saw no relative, 
 heard from none?" 
 
 "Only Uncle Pac." 
 
 "Exactly, and when you came back it was to 
 this house?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "You have a companion?" 
 
 "There is a housekeeper." 
 
 "A lady?" 
 
 "You would not call her so. A widow, 
 Southern very kind, motherly and capable, 
 but not exactly what you would call a lady." 
 
 "Who employed her?" 
 
 "Why, she says you did, Mr. Phelps," 
 answered the girl with a laugh. "You seem to 
 have paid all my bills, too at least your 
 checks did. If I did not hate to think ill of 
 you, I should say you were none other than 
 Mr. P. P. Smith himself. Indeed, I did think 
 so until this very day." 
 
 "And how came you to change your opin- 
 ion?" he asked gravely, though his face flushed. 
 
 "I think you would not lie; if you were my 
 father you would tell me so." 
 
 "I don't know," said the lawyer, 'rising and 
 walking across the floor, his head bowed and 
 biting his lip. 
 
 "I don't mean you would make it public, but 
 you would tell me," she said, going to his side,
 
 AN IN TRA C TABLE DONEE . 2 o I 
 
 laying her hand on his arm and gazing up into 
 his face. 
 
 "I I think I should/' he answered, looking 
 down upon her. 
 
 "And I," she said drawing herself up proudly, 
 "I would die at the stake before the fact 
 should ever become known to your discredit. 
 I am willing to hide a father's shame if need 
 be, but I will not obliterate myself for so much 
 money!" 
 
 "You persist in refusing this gift, then?" 
 
 "Unless I can have Uncle Pac to live with 
 me. He furnished me a home and cared for 
 me as a child, and I will not have him turned 
 out of any house that is to be my home. He 
 lived here until the day I was expected ; met me 
 at the station; brought me here; introduced 
 me to the housekeeper, and went away. Why 
 should he treat me in that manner?" 
 
 "You wish him to come and see you, now 
 and then?" 
 
 "I want him to come and live with me all 
 the time." 
 
 "But you would not like to treat him as an 
 inferior?" 
 
 "Why should I?" 
 
 "You know that if you treated him as an 
 equal a relative, for instance you could not 
 be received in society as as "
 
 202 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "As a lady," interrupted the girl. "Yes, 
 I know that. You yourself, would not dare 
 treat me as an equal. You would not think of 
 introducing me to your daughter, of asking me 
 to your table. Perhaps you would not even 
 care to be seen ringing the bell at my door ! Oh, 
 I understand what it is to be considered a col- 
 ored person, more especially a colored woman ! 
 I know that no merit, no ability, no refinement, 
 no accomplishment, can put me on a level with 
 even the lowest born and most vulgar white 
 woman of the land. It matters not how slight 
 the trace of color nor what the attendant come- 
 liness. The greater the beauty, indeed, the 
 more terrible the curse. No white woman can 
 call cuch an one her friend ; no white man offer 
 her love that is not an insult ! 
 
 "When I thought that you were my father, 
 that you were trying to make atonement, and 
 desired to place me beyond suspicion of a par- 
 entage that might entail illimitable sorrow, I 
 said to myself that if you trusted me, if you 
 confided in me and gave me a little love, I 
 would consent that it should be hidden for 
 your sake. You see, I hoped that you would 
 be proud of me ; and I worked hard to make 
 myself deserving of your pride. It was your 
 name on the checks, you see, this and the 
 remembrance of my early days that put such
 
 AN INTRACTABLE DONEE. 203 
 
 thoughts in my mind. I think I was almost 
 glad to be the child of your shame, for I 
 thought well, I thought I would make you 
 forget my origin ! 
 
 "Don't stop me! I want to say it and have 
 it over; besides we shall be separated, soon. 
 The bottomless pit lies between us. God may 
 bridge it over, but man never can. You are a 
 good Christian, but if Christ were black you 
 would not dare ask Him to your table ! I 
 know you pity me. I see you do not think 
 meanly of me, but if I were the loveliest and 
 most gifted woman in the world, and your son 
 loved me, you would bid him pluck his heart 
 out of his bosom rather than think of giving it 
 to me. Nay, if he were insane enough to think 
 of marriage, and I was weak enough to give 
 assent, you would order your door shut in his 
 face and pass him by unrecognized on the 
 streets!" 
 
 "Of course," said the lawyer, frowning until 
 his gray eyebrows met. "Society is stronger 
 than any man, and society is white !" 
 
 "Yes," she responded, "and the world is 
 white Christianity is white ! Only the refuse 
 and the dregs of either are possible to the col- 
 ored man or woman !" 
 
 She let go his arm and went and stood look- 
 ins out of the window.
 
 204 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "That is true in a sense," answered the 
 lawyer, hesitatingly. "It will change, though, 
 in time." 
 
 " 'And there shall be a new heaven and a 
 new earth !' " quoted the girl with mocking 
 emphasis. 
 
 "Oh, there will come a time before that," he 
 insisted, eagerly. "When the colored race shall 
 have acquired wealth, intelligence and power ' 
 
 "Will it make them white?" she asked, turn- 
 ing upon him a pale, set face. 
 
 "No, certainly not but then 
 
 "I am rich, am I not or may be, at least?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I do not lack intelligence?" 
 
 "Far from it." 
 
 "You do not deem me without attractions?" 
 
 "You are very charming, shall I say?" 
 
 "If I were known to be of colored blood to- 
 morrow, would not the poorest and meanest 
 white girl in the city be deemed my superior?" 
 
 "Probably; but you know the time must 
 come when the colored race will form a society 
 of its own, and know how to recognize each 
 other's merits." 
 
 "Ah !" she said, coming toward him with an 
 angry, impatient gesture. "Then you think 
 society will assume a dual form ; there is to be 
 a white aristocracy and a black aristocracy, a
 
 AN INTRACTABLE DONEE. 205 
 
 white people and a black people, a white church 
 and a black church ! Each is to be a duplicate 
 of the other! 
 
 Les belles dames font comme ca ! 
 Les beaux messieurs font comme 93 ! " 
 
 she sang mockingly, curtseying daintily as she 
 did so. "Oh, what a pretty, peaceful world we 
 shall have ! Will you go farther and have a 
 Black Christ as well as a White Christ? I sup- 
 pose they will maintain 'fraternal relations,' 
 while strictly avoiding all approach to equality. 
 Shall we have a dual millennium, too? And a 
 separate heaven for each? Or will the saints 
 all be white, as Uncle Pac says they used to aver 
 they would be, 'in the good old slave-times'?" 
 
 ''I am sorry to hear you speak so bitterly, 
 Miss Eva," said the lawyer with respectful sym- 
 pathy in his tone. He came closer to her as he 
 spoke, as if to give emphasis to his good will. 
 
 "Do you blame me?" she asked, looking up 
 at him almost fiercely. "Would you not rather 
 see your daughter dead than in my place? 
 Would you not rather be dead yourself than 
 suffer the contamination of a single drop of col- 
 ored blood? Talk about Christ! What was 
 the agony of the Cross to the humiliation of a 
 colored man in a white world? For the world 
 is white I know that my world the world 
 of ambition, art, literature, society, the world
 
 206 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 that contains all that one loves to enjoy the 
 world which it is life to be a part of, and worse 
 than death to be shut out from this is white 
 all white pure white ! All else is foul, infe- 
 rior tolerated only !" 
 
 The young girl twisted her fingers about each 
 other in agony. The lawyer looked at her in 
 surprise. It was the first time he had ever real- 
 ized the process through which the intelligent 
 young colored American must always go, before 
 our Christian civilization reduces him finally to 
 his proper level of "essential inferiority." 
 
 "It is for this very reason," he said at length, 
 "that I wished you should not be precipitate in 
 declaring your affinity with this unfortunate 
 race. Your father is wise as well as considerate, 
 in desiring that no suspicion of such parentage 
 should attach to you. Believe me, my dear 
 young lady, it is for this reason alone that he 
 has taken the step which is so distasteful to 
 you." 
 
 "You think he is not ashamed of me, of his 
 relation to me?" she asked eagerly. 
 
 "He loves you more than anything else on 
 earth !" 
 
 The lawyer put his hand upon her head as 
 he spoke, as if she had been a child who needed 
 to be assured of his sympathy. The words 
 and the act moved her visibly.
 
 AN INTRACTABLE DONEE. 207 
 
 "Perhaps he has others whom he must con- 
 sider, to whom he owes duty?" 
 
 Her lips trembled and tears gathered on her 
 lids. 
 
 "He thinks of you only; you are his only 
 child." 
 
 "What ! Why, then I don't understand 
 why does he seek to conceal our relationship? 
 Is there any any disgrace in it?" 
 
 She hesitated and cast down her eyes. 
 
 "You are his only child, born in lawful wed- 
 lock, and would inherit all he offers you to-day 
 and more, upon his death !" 
 
 "Then why why this mystery?" 
 
 "He does not wish it to be known that 
 you are his daughter. If you took by in- 
 heritance, that fact could not be concealed." 
 
 "But how would that hurt him, especially if 
 he were dead?" 
 
 "It is not of himself, child, that he is 
 thinking," answered the lawyer almost im- 
 patiently. "It is of you. Can you not see?" 
 
 "Ah !" she exclaimed with a gasp, sinking 
 into a chair. There was a moment's silence. 
 She was looking straight at the wall before her, 
 apparently oblivious of the fact that she was 
 not alone. 
 
 "Then he is a colored man, himself," she said 
 after a while.
 
 208 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 The lawyer did not answer. 
 
 "And wishes to save me from what he has 
 suffered?" 
 
 Her companion was still silent. 
 
 "His name is ?" 
 
 "The one attached to the deed." 
 
 "You have seen him?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And this is all true?" 
 
 She gazed at him keenly as she asked the 
 question. 
 
 "Entirely." 
 
 "You think it would grieve him if I should 
 not do as he wishes?" 
 
 "It would well-nigh break his heart." 
 
 "He is, a worthy man?" 
 
 "One of whom any daughter might be 
 proud !" There was an unmistakable enthusi- 
 asm in the lawyer's tones. 
 
 "You think he will let me know him some 
 day?" 
 
 "I hope so." His voice was getting husky. 
 
 "Tell him I I will do as he wishes." 
 
 "Thank you, in his name!" exclaimed the 
 lawyer, holding out his hand. She gave him 
 hers, the right one this time. 
 
 "I must go now," he said cheerfully. "I will 
 see you again in a day or two." 
 
 She walked beside him toward the door.
 
 AN INTRACTABLE DONEE. 209 
 
 "But, Uncle Pac," she asked, halting, when 
 she had taken a step or two." 
 
 "He is very comfortably situated." 
 
 "That is not enough ; he must come back 
 to his old place. I cannot enjoy any good for- 
 tune he does not share." 
 
 "But that will have to be " he hesitated. 
 
 "Of course ; I understand. He is my father's 
 old servant, though, as well as my faithful 
 guardian, and must not be separated from me. 
 That much, I will not yield." 
 
 "Well," said the lawyer thoughtfully, biting 
 his lip, "I think it can be arranged." 
 
 -"When will he come?" 
 
 "To-morrow, perhaps." 
 
 "He must come to-night. I cannot enjoy 
 my Christmas without him." 
 
 "Very well; I will send him." 
 
 She held out her hand. The lawyer took it 
 in both his own. 
 
 "Good-by," he said, hesitating for a moment, 
 then adding, "I I am glad to have known 
 you, Miss Eva and hope to see more of you 
 some time some time when when 
 
 " When right is wrong and day is night, 
 When morn is eve and black is white ! " 
 
 she repeated. "It will never come, Mr. Phelps. 
 The Christ may be the Saviour of both races; 
 but He will never make the white man willing
 
 2io PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 to do justice to the Negro. He may perhaps 
 change the colored man's skin even if he has 
 to blanch it with shame but he will never 
 change the white man's heart. That is too 
 great a miracle to hope for!" 
 
 "But you do not doubt my regard?" 
 
 "I think you pay me the very highest com- 
 pliment." 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 "You wish I were white that you might wel- 
 come me to your home." 
 
 "It is true," said the lawyer as he withdrew. 
 He paused in the vestibule to wipe his eyes 
 and draw on his gloves.
 
 XVII. 
 
 THE BOUNDARY OF RIGHT. 
 
 THE reporter of the Index was shivering in 
 the cab and the driver was stamping up 
 and down the pavement, whipping his hands 
 together as he waited impatiently for his fare. 
 
 "I am sorry to have kept you waiting so 
 long," said the lawyer as he ran down the steps 
 and took his seat. 
 
 "Oh, it's all right," responded the driver 
 cheerfully ; "it's all the same, here or elsewhere. 
 There are only so many hours, even on Christ- 
 mas day." 
 
 "I am not so philosophical," growled the re- 
 porter. "If you meant this as a penance, Mr. 
 Phelps, you made it severe." 
 
 "I was delayed longer than I expected to be," 
 answered the other gravely ; "but you have no 
 right to complain." 
 
 "I know you are angry with me, Mr. Phelps," 
 said the young man with boyish frankness, 
 "and I am sorry for it ; that's why I waited all 
 this time. But really, you ought not to blame 
 me; I was only acting in the line of profes- 
 sional duty, you know."
 
 212 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 "That is never a duty which requires one to 
 forget that he is a gentleman," was the severe 
 reply. 
 
 "You refer to that little fib about coming 
 from you?" laughed the young man. "Well, it 
 was rather shaky, though it ought not to have 
 taken any one in. There it was, as plain as 
 print can make it, on the card I sent in : ' The 
 Index' Anybody ought to know that nobody 
 but a reporter would wear that brand. It won't 
 do for a newspaper man to stand on as small 
 a matter as that, Mr. Phelps. He'd get 
 'scooped' every day if he did." 
 
 "I do not refer to the falsehood," said the 
 elder man, "though that is not a matter for a 
 gentleman to boast of; but I do not care to 
 engage in a casuistical discussion as to whether 
 falsehood is or is not ever justifiable. In this 
 case it clearly was not. Your purpose was 
 even more unworthy than your conduct." 
 
 "Why do you say that?" 
 
 "You went there to gain, by deceit and false 
 representation, knowledge in regard to a purely 
 private matter which had already been court- 
 eously refused when you asked it openly." 
 
 "One cannot expect to keep even personal 
 matters secret in these days," said the young 
 man sulkily. "People want to know what is 
 going on, and demand that the newspaper
 
 THE BOUNDARY OF RIGHT. 213 
 
 should tell them. That's our business. The 
 time has gone by when a man could shut his 
 castle's gate in the world's face and do what he 
 chose within its walls. We don't live in the 
 Middle Ages nowadays. The newspaper turns 
 on the light and lets the world see what is being 
 done. I am one of the servants of this great 
 force, and cannot afford to 'get left.' " 
 
 The boy spoke confidently almost boast- 
 fully. 
 
 "It makes no difference in what age we live," 
 said the other calmly; "the line between pri- 
 vate right and public privilege must always re- 
 main the same. A man has a right to keep his 
 personal affairs to himself as long as he does no 
 harm to others thereby." 
 
 "Certainly," was the jaunty response, "and 
 others have a right to find them out, if they 
 can !" 
 
 "It is not an indictable offense ; if that is what 
 you mean," was the cool reply. 
 
 "The newspaper would be mighty dry read- 
 ing if we did not report any one's personal 
 affairs." 
 
 "No doubt; 'and it is quite right that the 
 newspaper should report personal matters, if 
 they do not seek to pry into those which peo- 
 ple do not desire to make public." 
 
 "People should not do things that will not
 
 214 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 bear telling, if they do not want us to get hold 
 of them." 
 
 "Yet every one does things which are not 
 only harmless but even praiseworthy, the tell- 
 ing of which could only give sorrow and pain 
 without accomplishing any possible good." 
 
 "Perhaps," responded the young man hesi- 
 tantly, "but where shall we draw the line?" 
 
 "Whenever any one seeks to conceal an act 
 which is evidently harmless in its nature, a 
 gentleman will never seek to pry into it farther. 
 When one passes that limit he becomes a mere 
 gossip, worthy only of the contempt of honor- 
 able men." 
 
 "You think I had no right to inquire into the 
 secret of this unusual gift?" 
 
 "If there is any secret certainly not. The 
 deed is of record ; that is enough." 
 
 "But the man? People have a legitimate 
 interest in men who do unusual things." 
 
 "A man has a right to avoid publicity if he 
 desires, so long as the fact works no harm to 
 others." 
 
 "Perhaps you are right, but how was I to 
 know?" 
 
 "You would not have thought of sneaking 
 into my house to learn the contents of the stock- 
 ing my daughter hung in the chimney-corner, 
 in the good old-fashioned way, last night."
 
 THE BO UNDAR Y OF RIGHT. 2 1 5 
 
 "Probably not, for you would not have 
 thought of concealing it." 
 
 "On the contrary, I did take especial pains to 
 conceal it. As it happens, I wanted to make 
 her a present of a few thousand dollars of 
 bonds, and I took pains to have them regis- 
 tered in another name and then transferred to 
 her, just to save her from this very annoyance 
 of a newspaper report. Now that I have told 
 you, I suppose you will feel justified in publish- 
 ing the fact." 
 
 "Most certainly I shall not," said the re- 
 porter indignantly. 
 
 "Yet, when I told you that another matter 
 could not be made public without injury, or at 
 least annoyance, you still felt justified in seek- 
 ing to ferret out the details, and even lying to 
 attain your purpose." 
 
 "Well, you're" not complimentary, anyhow," 
 laughed the young man, "any more than Miss 
 Collins was. You heard what she said, I sup- 
 pose?" 
 
 "Yes; learning that you had come as my am- 
 bassador, I thought I had a right to hear what 
 you would say in my name." 
 
 "Oh, of course; but isn't she a stunner? 
 Have you known her long?" 
 
 "I have known her father for many years," 
 said the lawyer indifferently.
 
 216 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "Oh, I don't care about her father, but Miss 
 Collins where has she been? How has she 
 managed to live in Washington and not make a 
 sensation?" 
 
 "She has been away at school for eight, per- 
 haps ten, years." 
 
 "Oh, you know all about her then." 
 
 "I ought to," answered the lawyer with a 
 smile. "My checks paid her bills." 
 
 "You don't say? And yet I never heard of 
 her. Who is her father?" 
 
 "I thought you didn't care." 
 
 "Neither do I ; but I would like to let her 
 know I am something more than what she 
 seemed to think me." 
 
 "You can easily do that." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "By saying nothing in the Index concerning 
 her or the matter on which you called." 
 
 "But if the other fellows should get hold of 
 it." 
 
 "You need not fear. I will answer for your 
 having the earliest information, if it ever be- 
 comes proper to say anything. You may as 
 well understand, too, that I hold the key of the 
 situation ; and I do not mind telling you that 
 it would be the easiest matter in the world for 
 you to run the Index into a libel suit which 
 would cost more than many reporters."
 
 THE BOUNDARY OF RIGHT. 217 
 
 "The Index does not scare easily," said the 
 young man, coolly. 
 
 "And you are aware that I never give a cau- 
 tion, lightly," answered the lawyer with a quiet 
 smile. 
 
 "Of course," said the reporter with a shrug; 
 "and a row of that kind would lay me on the 
 shelf. I understand all that." He paused a 
 moment, then added: "I am sorry to have in- 
 curred your displeasure, Mr. Phelps, but how is 
 a poor reporter to know what he may, and what 
 he may not do?" 
 
 "The line between the gentleman and the 
 gossip is not very hard to trace." 
 
 "You would call it the 'reportorial con- 
 science,' I suppose?" 
 
 "I would call it the instinct of a gentleman; 
 that fine old word is good enough and should 
 not be allowed to go out of fashion." 
 
 "And how shall I regain your good will?" 
 asked the reporter, contritely, as they neared 
 the office. 
 
 "One shows himself most a man by making 
 stepping-stones of his mistakes," answered the 
 lawyer, extending his hand. 
 
 "Do you think Miss Collins could be induced 
 to subscribe to that doctrine?" The young 
 man's face flushed as he asked the question. 
 
 "I I hope so," said Mr. Phelps with a start,
 
 218 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 Curiously enough it cost him an effort, though 
 he could hardly have told why. 
 
 They drew up at the Index office and the 
 young man alighted and ran up the steps to 
 the editorial rooms.
 
 XVIII. 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED CALL. 
 
 HARDLY had the lawyer departed than the 
 young lady whom he had twice visited 
 that day, rang the bell and summoned her 
 housekeeper.- A woman with soft, white hair 
 and a timid, apprehensive look, responded. 
 
 "You will get Uncle Prime's room ready, 
 Mrs. Macey." 
 
 "Is he coming back?" asked the woman 
 hesitantly. 
 
 "I look for him at any moment," answered 
 the young lady in a tone of unconcealed 
 delight. 
 
 "And he will have the room over the back 
 parlor?" 
 
 "Cerainly the one next to mine. The dear 
 old man has cared for me so faithfully that I 
 am never going to let him go out of my sight 
 again, for a whole day at a time. He has given 
 up that horrid boot-blacking business of his 
 sold it to the young man who works with him 
 and will have nothing to do now except to think 
 he is taking care of me, while I, in fact look out 
 for him." 
 
 219
 
 220 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 "But, Miss Eva, would it not be better I 
 beg your pardon " stammered the woman, 
 "does Mr. Phelps know that you intend to give 
 this this old colored man the best room in the 
 house?" 
 
 "What difference does it make whether he 
 does or not !" exclaimed the young lady sharply. 
 "This is my house and I do not need any- 
 body's instructions as to what I shall do in it !" 
 
 "So I 'spose, Miss Eva, but I promised Mr. 
 Phelps I would advise you as if you \vas my 
 own daughter, and never let you go wrong 
 without speaking. I don't doubt but Uncle 
 Prime is a good man, and you ought to be 
 grateful to him for taking care of you and your 
 property so many years but you know, my 
 dear, he he's black!" 
 
 "Suppose he is. Haven't I a right to treat 
 a man who has been more than a father to me, 
 as well as I would a pet dog? Please to under- 
 stand, Mrs. Macey, that he is to be treated with 
 as much respect as the whitest man in the 
 world. He will take his meals in his own room, 
 because he insists on doing so but otherwise 
 he will be treated exactly as I should wish my 
 father to be, were he under my roof." 
 
 "I'm sure, I haven't any objection, Miss 
 Eva," said the housekeeper, "but what will 
 your friends say?"
 
 UNEXPECTED CALL. 221 
 
 "I haven't many not in the city at least 
 and want none who would have me forget what 
 I owe to this devoted old servant." 
 
 "As you please, Miss," said the housekeeper 
 curtly, "but I can't help thinking that your 
 father would rather you had given Uncle Pac 
 the front room in the basement. I've no doubt 
 he'd be more contented there, too. That and 
 the kitchen is all he occupied when he lived 
 here ; he must have done his own cooking, too, 
 by what I hear; and the girl says his things are 
 all there yet, which I presume is true, for he 
 hasn't given up the key. I've never seen the 
 inside of it." 
 
 "What do you know about my father?" asked 
 the girl eagerly. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know much about him," an- 
 swered the woman, meaningly. 
 
 "Do you know him?" the young lady re- 
 peated. 
 
 "Of course I don't know him ; but don't you 
 suppose his name is Collins: I happen to know 
 something about the Collins family. You don't 
 look like 'em not a mite ; though I must say 
 you act enough like 'em to make up for it. 
 But la, child, you ain't no Collins, more'n I am. 
 If Mr. Phelps ain't your father, then it's some- 
 body mighty close to him. But whoever 'tis, 
 he means to take care of you and do right by
 
 222 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 you. People don't give girls care and schooling 
 and end up with such presents as you've had 
 to-day, unless they've got some interest in 
 them." 
 
 "How did you learn these things?" 
 
 "Why, you told me about the present, your- 
 self, honey!" 
 
 "Yes; but the other things?" 
 
 "How? Why, this same old black man, 
 Prime, told me the day Mr. Phelps sent me 
 here. He didn't exactly say so, of course but 
 you jest depend upon it, Miss Eva, this old 
 nigger hain't lost nothin' takin' care of you. 
 He's feathered his nest you make sure of that ! 
 The front basement room's plenty good enough 
 for him plenty good enough. It's my opin- 
 ion the best thing about him is his name. I 
 don't see where he got that, nor what makes 
 every one that comes near him think he's such 
 an extr'ordinary good man. / think he's de- 
 ceitful that's what I think!" 
 
 "Mrs. Macey," said the young mistress with 
 cool decision, "I have listened to you, because I 
 wished to know exactly how far your imagina- 
 tion would carry you. While it is true enough 
 that I did not, until to-day, know my paren- 
 tage, it is now no longer a mystery. I know 
 who is my father. I am his only child and his 
 lawful, heir. You see what injustice your sus-
 
 AN UNEXPECTED CALL. 223 
 
 picions have done to a good man. Go now, 
 and prepare the room for Uncle Prime, as I 
 directed." 
 
 "Of course, Miss," said the elder woman with 
 curious submissiveness, "it's for you to say. I 
 promised faithfully to advise you and I've 
 done it. I hain't no call to do no more. I'm 
 sure it's very nice of you to be so good to an 
 old colored man. There ain't many would 
 think of such a thing, and I'm afraid you'll rue 
 it. There ain't ever any good comes of tryin' to 
 make white folks out of niggers. White folks 
 may git to be niggers, but niggers can't ever git 
 to be white folks. It may seem to be all right 
 for a time, but in the end there won't nothin' 
 but misery and misfortin' come on't. That's 
 what I honestly b'lieve, Miss Eva, and I ought 
 to know. That's the reason I said what I did. 
 I don't want to hurt you nor do any one harm, 
 but I do want to keep you from doing what 
 might bring you tears. God knows I do !" said 
 the woman passionately. "I've done enough 
 harm to want to do nothing but good the rest 
 of my life, and if God'll help me I will!" 
 
 She looked upward for a moment as if breath- 
 ing a prayer, while the tears rolled down her 
 face; then bending suddenly, caught the girl's 
 hands, kissed them, pressed them to her heart, 
 and rushed out of the room.
 
 224 PACTOLVS PRIME. 
 
 The young lady gazed after her with a puz- 
 zled frown on her brow, shook her head, and 
 then went and stood by the window looking out 
 upon the broad avenue, on which the throng 
 seemed to increase as the short winter day drew 
 to a close. The door suddenly flew open and 
 a servant-girl burst into the room. 
 
 "Miss Eva! Miss Eva! they wants you at 
 the telephone right away !" 
 
 "What is it?" she asked, noting the girl's 
 excitement. 
 
 "I don't know, Miss, somethin' 'bout Unc 
 Prime. Dat's what Mrs. Macey said. She was 
 takin' it, yer know, an' all of a sudden she yells 
 out, 'Prime! Unc Prime!' jes so; an' down 
 she drops in a faint, an' so I runs fer you." 
 
 The young lady went into the hall where the 
 telephone was attached. She found the house- 
 keeper half-unconscious beside the instrument, 
 her apron thrown over her head, moaning 
 brokenly. 
 
 "What is it, Mrs. Macey?" she asked in 
 alarm. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know, I don't know! Some- 
 thing's wrong. There's .always something 
 wrong where I am ! O Lord ! O Lord !" 
 
 Miss Collins took the instrument from her 
 hand and placed it to her own ear. 
 
 "Hello!" she called.
 
 AN UNEXPECTED CALL. 225 
 
 "Hello!" came the reply. 
 
 "Did you call No. M. Street?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 "Central Police Station. Who am I talking 
 with?" 
 
 "Miss Collins." 
 
 "Miss Eva Collins?" 
 
 "Yes; what do you want?" 
 
 "A colored man has just been brought in 
 badly hurt." 
 
 "What is his name?" 
 
 "He is unconscious, but has an envelope in 
 his pocket directed to Miss Eva Collins, and 
 addressed to your number. That's why we 
 called you. He's an old, bald-headed man. 
 What?" 
 
 "Nothing go on!" 
 
 "The chief thought he might be your ser- 
 vant, at least you might want the letter. Do 
 you know anything about it?" 
 
 "Yes, he belongs here." 
 
 "All right! We'll send the letter. What? 
 Wait a minute." 
 
 She could only hear a confused murmur. 
 Soon the same voice called again. 
 
 "He has just been identified as Prime the 
 boot-black at the 'Best House.' We have 
 sent an officer there to inquire about him."
 
 226 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "Is he able to be moved?" 
 
 "The doctor says he should be taken to the 
 hospital without delay." 
 
 "Is he dangerously injured?" 
 
 "He cannot tell it is serious." 
 
 "Have him sent here at once!" 
 
 "But the doctor says " 
 
 "Send him here!" 
 
 "Unless you are willing to undertake a great 
 deal of trouble " 
 
 "Send him here!" 
 
 "All right, ma'am ; you understand he would 
 receive good attention at the hospital, and you 
 could " 
 
 "Send him here!" 
 
 "All right. They are taking him to the 
 ambulance now. He is reviving! Good-by!" 
 
 "I say, Captain," she heard before the con- 
 nection was severed, "did you ever see the like 
 of that ! An aristocratic white woman insisting 
 on taking care of a banged-up old nigger!" 
 
 She rang the bell and called the Central 
 Telephone Exchange. 
 
 "Hello!" 
 
 "Is that the Central Exchange?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Give me Mr. Willard Phelps." 
 
 "Home or office?" 
 
 "Home."
 
 AN UNEXPECTED CALL. 227 
 
 "All right !" 
 
 She waited a moment. 
 
 "Hello!" 
 
 "Is that Mr. Phelps?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 She recognized the voice. 
 
 "Uncle Pac is badly hurt. Will you order a 
 physician here at once one you have full con- 
 fidence in?" 
 
 "What is the injury?" 
 
 "I do not know. Ambulance is on the way 
 here from the police station." 
 
 "All right ! Will call the doctor and come 
 myself within an hour. If needed before that 
 time call me!" 
 
 "La sakes!" said the servant, who stood 
 gnawing the corner of her apron and gazing at 
 her young mistress in amazement. "She do 
 beat anything!" 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Miss Eva," sobbed the 
 housekeeper in deep humiliation. "I know I 
 oughtn't to have given way so, but I can't hear 
 of nobody bein' hurt without all breakin' 
 down, never since he was killed ! I know it's 
 foolish after so long a time but I can't help it 
 indeed I can't ! And then to think I was wish- 
 ing this old man Prime was dead ; so't you 
 wouldn't have no bother with him ! I did, 
 Miss Eva I did ! Oh, what makes me so
 
 228 PA CTOL us PRIME. 
 
 wicked always wicked even when I try to be 
 good !" 
 
 "There, there, Mrs. Macey !" said the girl, 
 placing her hand soothingly on the housekeep- 
 er's head. "Don't give way now! I'm sure 
 you meant no harm ! We must get ready to 
 take care of him when he comes!" 
 
 "Not you, Miss Eva! Not you!" exclaimed 
 the woman, springing to her feet. "You 
 mustn't never do that; you can't! Let me do 
 it ! Let me do it for my sin, Miss Eva ! 
 There ain't no better nurse in Washington than 
 I am !" 
 
 The woman was wild with self-reproachful 
 anxiety. 
 
 "There! There!" said the girl, putting her 
 arm about the woman's neck and drawing the 
 gray head to her bosom, while she patted the 
 throbbing temples and wiped the tears from 
 her flushed face. "You shall take care of him 
 and I will help you !"
 
 XIX. 
 
 A PROMISE FULFILLED. 
 
 ambulance and the surgeon arrived al- 
 1 most at the same instant. Miss Collins 
 met the men with the stretcher as they came 
 up the steps. 
 
 "This way," she said, as she went before 
 them up the broad staiis. The physician 
 waited in the hall to divest himself of his outer 
 garments. The chamber to which she led the 
 bearers was a spacious one. They looked 
 around at the rich furniture and down at the 
 dark face upon the stretcher, questioningly. 
 
 "This is a very luxurious sick-room," re- 
 marked the hospital attendant, cautiously, "very 
 luxurious for a a servant." 
 
 "It is none too good," replied the lady, with 
 an angry flash of the eye. "Lay him here," 
 pointing to the open bed. The housekeeper 
 stood clinging to the footboard gazing at the 
 bare black head that sank with a groan into the 
 white pillows. Eva picked up the knitted cap 
 from the stretcher and restored it to its place. 
 It was not the first time she had done this 
 229
 
 230 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 
 
 service. In spite of her self-control the tears 
 fell upon the dark, upturned face. She took 
 her handkerchief and wiped them away. The 
 bearers folded up the stretcher and started to 
 leave half doubtfully. The physician whis- 
 pered to the hospital attendant who was in 
 charge. He shook his head and nodded toward 
 the young lady. Addressing her, the doctor 
 said, hesitantly: 
 
 "I was sent by the Hon. Willard Phelps ; 
 have I missed the number?" 
 
 "This is your patient." 
 
 "Do you know me Dr. Holbrook?" 
 
 "I do not ; I am almost a stranger in the city, 
 and asked Mr. Phelps to send me the best." 
 
 "Ah quite so." 
 
 He had followed the stretcher up the steps. 
 Understanding he was to attend upon a 
 wounded man, he naturally concluded that it 
 was his patient who was being taken from the 
 ambulance, and had been staggered when he 
 saw the color of his face. Now, satisfied that 
 there had been no mistake, he proceeded to 
 diagnose the case. The bearers and the atten- 
 dant went slowly down the stairs, the servant 
 following them. The housekeeper took the 
 young lady's arm and led her away. 
 
 "The injury is nervous rather than physical," 
 was the verdict of the physician after he had
 
 A PROMISE FULFILLED. 231 
 
 concluded his examination. "There seems to 
 have been a previous injury of the spine which 
 has been affected by concussion." 
 
 He made this report to the young lady in 
 the parlor a half-hour afterwards. The house- 
 keeper had been placed in charge of the sick- 
 room. 
 
 "He will recover?" she asked anxiously. 
 
 "It is hard to say. He is still under the in- 
 fluence of the opiate, hypodermically adminis- 
 tered by the hospital attendant who accompa- 
 nied the ambulance. He was suffering greatly, 
 it seems, talking incoherently, they said. 
 One can hardly tell what was his condition or 
 the extent of the injury. It is getting to be an 
 almost universal practice with these people to 
 use an injector. It is a fascinating instrument 
 and saves them trouble. When the effect wears 
 off we shall be able to judge better as to his con- 
 dition. It seems probable that paraplegia may 
 supervene partial paralysis, you understand." 
 
 "You will remain?" 
 
 "I will look in about ten; he is in good 
 hands. Your housekeeper is a very efficient 
 nurse. Nothing more can be done now." 
 
 The physician sat, with his gloves in one 
 hand and his hat in the other, during this con- 
 versation. He was a man of notable appear- 
 ance of strong, sharp features, his abundant
 
 232 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 gray hair contrasting oddly with his jet beard 
 and alert black eyes. 
 
 ''You feel a great deal of interest in this 
 case?" he inquired after a moment's silence. 
 
 "Very great, indeed." 
 
 "An old servant, I suppose?" 
 
 "He has been with us ever since I can re- 
 member." 
 
 "Indeed? Do you know anything of his 
 history physically, I mean?" 
 
 "I do not remember that he has ever been 
 ill." 
 
 "And his appearance?" 
 
 "Has always been the same." 
 
 "Your memory of him extends how far 
 back?" 
 
 "Fifteen years or more." 
 
 "And you have noted no change?" 
 
 "None whatever." 
 
 "He has evidently been wounded at some 
 time." 
 
 "I think, he was a soldier." 
 
 "Does he receive a pension?" 
 
 "I do not know about that, but I am sure he 
 was a soldier." 
 
 "Ah I will take another look at him." 
 
 The physician went slowly up the stairs with 
 a puzzled look upon his face. The police re- 
 port told him nothing of the case. No one had
 
 A PROMISE FULFILLED. 233 
 
 seen the man fall. He had been found lying 
 prone upon the Avenue. There were no contu- 
 sions, except a slight one on the head and a cut 
 on the right hand. The physician concluded 
 that he had been knocked down by a horse, and 
 that the driver had managed to avoid touching 
 him with the wheels. The shock had been 
 severe, and the signs of former injuries had led 
 him to expect the results he had indicated. 
 
 The housekeeper was a comely woman for 
 her age, with a feeble, apprehensive look, as if 
 trouble had destroyed what might have been 
 beauty in her young days. She sat holding 
 the sick man's hand, and started like a guilty 
 creature when she heard the physician's step, 
 letting the hand fall by the bedside. There 
 was only a small night-lamp in the room, and 
 he seemed not to notice her confusion. 
 
 "Will you turn up the lights, Mrs. Macey?" 
 he said, laying his hat and gloves .on the table 
 and going to the bedside. 
 
 She turned on the electric light. The doc- 
 tor folded back the clothing of the bed and 
 made a hasty examination of the patient's hip 
 and right leg. 
 
 "Exactly: gun-shot wounds from the rear, 
 too? She is probably right," he said, speaking 
 to himself. 
 
 "Have those old hurts anything to do with
 
 234 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 his condition now?" the housekeeper asked in a 
 scared voice. She was standing by the table 
 in the middle of the room. 
 
 "Perhaps," he returned, glancing sharply at 
 her. "Do you know anything about them?" 
 
 "Oh, no that is I've heard I've only been 
 here a short time a few weeks." 
 
 The woman flushed and stammered under 
 the doctor's penetrating gaze. 
 
 "If I knew what they were and when re- 
 ceived, it might help me," he said tentatively. 
 
 The woman shook her head. The doctor 
 pushed back the clothing on the patient's chest 
 displaying a small black crucifix and a little 
 flat parcel suspended from the neck. He stood 
 so that his own form intervened between the 
 nurse and the patient. 
 
 "Strange!" he muttered to himself, "how 
 many of the negroes are turning Catholics. 
 Will you bring me a little vinegar?" he added 
 aloud. 
 
 The woman left the room to procure it. As 
 soon as she was gone the doctor cut the string 
 by which the parcel was suspended, and open- 
 ing it quickly made a hasty examination of its 
 contents. 
 
 When he had done, a puzzled look came over 
 his face. He stepped back a little'way and care- 
 fully scrutinized the face of his patient, holding
 
 A PROMISE FULFILLED. 235 
 
 his hand above his eyes to screen them from 
 the light as he did so. Then he took a small 
 magnifying glass from his pocket and passed 
 it quickly over the patient's hand and nails; 
 pulled down the lids and examined the strange, 
 dark eyes ; scrutinized the scalp and regarded 
 attentively the side of the face. The woman 
 returned with a small pitcher of vinegar, a pretty, 
 glass-stoppered little jug which she carried as 
 if impressed by its diminutiveness. The physi- 
 cian took it carelessly, and, pouring a few drops 
 in his hand, rubbed them on the patient's fore- 
 head and then examined it again with the glass. 
 
 "You think he will live?" she asked. 
 
 "There is no present danger. You remem- 
 ber my directions?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, sir." 
 
 The woman instinctively dropped a little 
 curtsey, and turned to arrange the bedclothes. 
 The doctor saw it and smiled. 
 
 "There is nothing more. Good-night." 
 
 He went away shaking his head.
 
 XX. 
 
 THE FIAT OF SCIENCE. 
 
 u 
 
 WELL, I vow," the doctor said to himself 
 as he went down the steps, " that little 
 housekeeper is an oddity. I haven't seen a 
 white woman drop a curtsey before in forty 
 years. But the young lady is a thoroughbred. 
 There are not many who would give such atten- 
 tion to an old servant such a vulture-headed 
 old creature as that, too. He can't have been 
 a very valuable servant, either, for he has been a 
 boot-black for years, that I know. I wonder 
 can it be possible he has been supporting 
 this establishment ? I believe that's the key 
 to the mystery. Well, well, queer things do 
 happen life is made up of them in fact. 
 Talk about fiction ! Faugh ! it's stale to a 
 grown man who has had his eyes and ears 
 open ! " 
 
 He glanced keenly about him as he went 
 down the stairs and let himself out. 
 
 " Ah ! here you are," he exclaimed as he 
 came face to face with Mr. Phelps, on reach- 
 ing the pavement. "Just the man I wanted 
 236
 
 THE FIA T OF SCIENCE. 237 
 
 to see. What can you tell me about this old 
 fellow in here?" 
 
 "Who? Prime?" 
 
 " Of course." 
 
 "How is he?" 
 
 " Oh, well enough, that is, for the present. 
 What his condition will be when he recovers 
 consciousness, it is hard to tell." 
 
 " Is he badly hurt?" 
 
 " I don't know well, yes that is, he may 
 be. If I knew something about what he has 
 been, I could guess better what his chances 
 will be. Can you help me ? " 
 
 " Wait until I see Miss Eva, and I will ride 
 back with you." 
 
 "All right make haste ! " 
 
 It was hardly a moment before the lawyer 
 returned and seated himself by the physician's 
 side. 
 
 "Well, what do you know? In the first 
 place, who is that girl ? " 
 
 " Miss Collins?" 
 
 " Certainly. I mean what family does she 
 belong to? What stock is she? I don't sup- 
 pose I know everybody in the city certainly 
 not in the country but I know the old stocks 
 around here, and I do not recognize the type. 
 Yet she does not seem like a new importation." 
 
 " She is and she is not."
 
 238 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " From the SouthI'll wager on that." 
 
 "And lose at least you would be only half 
 right. Her father was a Western man, as I 
 understand, who settled in South Carolina at 
 the close of the war. Somehow, you and I do 
 not need to inquire how he made himself 
 obnoxious to the people of the region where he 
 lived, and 'disappeared,' as they say; in plain 
 English was killed. The widow was left with 
 her children on the plantation the husband 
 had bought and improved. After a time, the 
 youngest, a daughter, disappeared also. All 
 search for her proved unavailing, not a trace 
 could be found. At the first opportunity the 
 terrified mother sold the plantation and fled 
 herself, with the other child." 
 
 " And this boot- black Prime ? " 
 
 " He was with the girl's father in the service, 
 and remained with him afterward on the plan- 
 tation ; that is his story. He seems to have 
 been greatly attached to him, but somehow 
 distrustful of the wife. After the father's 
 death he stole the little girl, who was the 
 father's favorite, brought her here, and has 
 not only cared for her but has acquired con- 
 siderable property, taking the title always in 
 the father's name, so that she might think she 
 took rather by inheritance than as a gratuity 
 from him."
 
 THE FIA T OF SCIENCE. 239 
 
 " He seems to have been very considerate." 
 
 " No parent could have been more so. He 
 even used my checks to pay her school bills 
 that she might not think herself under obliga- 
 tion to him." 
 
 " And you advised this?" 
 
 " I did not know it until to-day. He has 
 been accustomed for a dozen years to exchange 
 checks with me in order to conceal his iden- 
 tity to cover up his tracks, as one may say. 
 i think he was distrustful of everybody else 
 never wanted any one to know that he had 
 money. I doubt if in all that time he has ever 
 signed a check I did not fill out, and usually 
 they have been made payable to me, I giving 
 my checks for them in such amounts as he 
 desired. This is the way all his purchases 
 have been made, and I knew nothing whatever 
 of his support of this young lady, or even of 
 her existence, until within a few months." 
 
 "This is his account of himself?*" 
 
 " Of course." 
 
 "And the young lady how much does she 
 know of this ? " 
 
 "Just what I have told you." 
 
 " No more ?" 
 
 " Well, she has her own memory." 
 
 " How old was she when he stole her? " 
 
 " Very young I judge about three years."
 
 240 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 11 Has she any memory of her mother ? " 
 
 " Only a very indistinct one." 
 
 " H'm," muttered the doctor knitting his 
 brows as he glanced up at an electric light that 
 flashed and spluttered as they came within its 
 zone of pallid radiance, "a queer case a very 
 queer case ! " 
 
 " The man's success has been remarkable, 
 otherwise I do not know as there is anything 
 very strange in it," said the lawyer, thought- 
 fully pursing up his lips as if rendering an 
 opinion on a mooted point. 
 
 "Humph! You think so? Well, here we 
 are at my house. Come in and let us talk it 
 over a little." 
 
 44 I don't know as I ought " hesitantly. 
 
 " Oh, come along ! " said the doctor, standing 
 on the sidewalk and speaking with that impe- 
 riousness which a man uses only towards fa- 
 miliar friends. " You have told me what you 
 know and I want to tell you what I have found 
 out about this man Prime, I mean." 
 
 The lawyer yielded ; they went up the steps 
 together; the doctor let himself in with his 
 latch-key and led the way at once to his con- 
 sulting-room. 
 
 44 Let me look at my slate," he said briskly. 
 44 The Scripture maybe a sufficient guide for 
 other people's footsteps, but the doctor and
 
 THE FIA T OF SCIENCE. 241 
 
 the politician can never dispense with the 
 slate. This is first-rate," he continued, touch- 
 ing an electric bell. " I rarely find myself 
 without imperative calls at this time of day, 
 but Christmas crowds even disease into the 
 background. James," he added, as a servant 
 appeared, " I shall be engaged for an hour. 
 Come in here, Mr. Phelps." 
 
 He led the way into his private room, library 
 rather than office, a nook reserved for friends 
 rather than patients, though the atmosphere of 
 the profession was not wanting in it. When 
 they had enjoyed for a few moments the 
 warmth of the glowing grate, the doctor 
 said : 
 
 "This is not the first time our tracks have 
 crossed in searching out the life-lines of other 
 people, Mr. Phelps. If I remember right we 
 have now and then treated one another to a sur- 
 prise, each in his own way. The fact is that 
 law and medicine lie a good deal closer to- 
 gether than most people suppose, but I doubt 
 if one ever imagined any bit of detective an- 
 alysis such as I am going to show you now. 
 You have told me what you know about 
 Prime, and would probably be surprised if I 
 should tell you that I have found out a good 
 deal more." 
 
 " I don't know, "said the lawyer meditatively,
 
 242 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " the world is not so large as it once was, and 
 I know of no man who is likely to learn more 
 of another's history than his physician." 
 
 " But I am not Prime's physician never 
 heard his name, except as a boot-black at 
 the Best House, until to-night. You have 
 been his attorney for years, but I am not sure 
 I have not learned more about him in one 
 visit than you have found out in all the time 
 you have known him." 
 
 There was evident satisfaction in the doc- 
 tor's tone, and his eyes twinkled with enjoy- 
 ment as he spoke. 
 
 " Possibly," answered the lawyer with a quiet 
 shrug. " Suppose you open your pack, how- 
 ever, and show your goods before you extol 
 their quality." 
 
 "All right, I will," responded the other with 
 a laugh. " In the first place, the man's name 
 is not Pactolus Prime at all !" 
 
 " Very likely," said the lawyer composedly, 
 " There are several millions of Negroes in this 
 country whose title to the names they bear 
 would be very hard to sustain. You must re- 
 member, doctor, that the name is altogether an 
 assumed and not an inherited attribute to the 
 Negro, in this country at least." 
 
 " But he is not a Negro ! " exclaimed the 
 doctor with emphasis.
 
 THE F1A T OF SCIENCE. 243 
 
 " Indeed ! " said the lawyer with a smile. 
 "That is a different matter. I should fancy 
 you would much more easily provoke an 
 argument on that proposition than on the 
 other, since you will hardly find any one who 
 would be likely to agree with you." 
 
 " But I can prove it," asserted the physician 
 'stoutly. 
 
 "By expert testimony, I suppose?" an- 
 swered the lawyer with a touch of sarcasm. 
 
 " Well, yes," said the other, " I know what 
 you would say, ' The evidence of things hoped 
 for and the testimony of things not seen!' 
 But the scientific expert cannot be sneered 
 out of court, much less out of the forum of 
 reason. But in this case, as it happens, my 
 testimony is historical rather than scientifi- 
 cally inferential." 
 
 " I thought you said you did not know 
 Prime until to-day." 
 
 " Neither did I, except casually. The man 
 Pactolus Prime, as he calls himself, I never 
 knew except as I may have heard him men- 
 tioned as the best boot-black in the city ; but 
 the body the man inhabits I have known for 
 a dozen years or more." 
 
 "Ah, you have examined him before?" 
 
 " Never ; but that body is part of the com- 
 mon property of our profession."
 
 244 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 "Never was such another, I suppose? " 
 
 " Never." 
 
 "Indeed!" There was unmistakable incre- 
 dulity in the lawyer's tone. 
 
 " That shows how little a lawyer, even a 
 great lawyer, knows," said the doctor, testily. 
 " If a bank cashier had shown you a counter- 
 feit bill and told you that it was the work of a 
 certain engraver, you would not have thought 
 it at all surprising, nor have questioned the 
 accuracy of his deduction, though he had 
 never seen the forger, nor a specimen of his 
 workmanship ; but when I tell you that I rec- 
 ognize a certain human body which I never saw 
 saw before, because it is one distinctly known 
 to the whole body of my profession, you at 
 once grow incredulous? " 
 
 " You see, doctor, my profession has learned 
 by sad experience not to put entire reliance 
 upon flesh-marks and experts ! " answered the 
 other with a smile. 
 
 " All right," said the physician, shaking his 
 finger threateningly at his companion, "I 
 shall punish you for your incredulity. Let me 
 go on. The man's real name is Smith ! " 
 
 " Why do you think so ? " asked the lawyer 
 with a frown. 
 
 "Aha!" exclaimed the physician gleefully, 
 "I touched the raw then, didn't I ? Hold
 
 THE FIA T OF SCIENCE. 245 
 
 on ; I'm not through yet. The young lady up 
 there, Miss Collins, is his daughter! " 
 
 The lawyer turned away with an expression 
 of impatience. 
 
 " You don't believe it ? " asked the physician. 
 
 " It is a very pretty bit of imagination, doc- 
 tor. Several knights of the lancet have 
 recently gone into fiction ; why don't you try 
 it? I think you would succeed." 
 
 " We cannot match the law in the number 
 of our novelists, nor can we boast of making 
 up in quality what we lack in quantity. Old 
 Sir Walter put you too far ahead to be 
 distanced by any other profession. But I 
 thank you for the compliment, all the same ; 
 it is a tribute to my skill in the use of 
 facts," said the doctor in the same banter- 
 ing tone. 
 
 " Facts ! You surely would not advertise 
 such a series of improbabilities as a story 
 'founded on fact,' even remotely?" 
 
 "That's like a lawyer's self-complacency! 
 What are facts ? Who deals with facts ? the 
 man whose premises are found in flesh and 
 blood or the one who guesses at results from 
 motive and circumstances?" 
 
 The lawyer made no reply. 
 
 " Now for the proof," resumed the physi- 
 cian after a moment's pause. " You shall fol-
 
 246 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 low me, step by step, and judge the correct- 
 ness of my conclusions. Is that fair?" 
 
 His listener nodded assent, and he pro- 
 ceeded : 
 
 " Well then, here is the first link in my 
 chain of evidence." He snatched an Index 
 Rerum from a side case of his desk and 
 turned its pages over rapidly until he found 
 the term, " Depilation." Handing the book 
 to the lawyer, he pointed to this word and 
 said : " You will observe that I haven't been 
 tampering with the witness. That minute 
 was made a dozen years ago and I have hardly 
 seen it since. Now, let me get the work re- 
 ferred to, and we shall see what you think of 
 my opening ; that is what you lawyers call it, I 
 believe." 
 
 He went to a book-case and ran his fingers 
 swiftly along a set of works which showed 
 evidences of frequent use. Taking one out, 
 he opened it at a particular place, cast his eyes 
 down the page, and handed it to the lawyer. 
 
 " Read that," he said. 
 
 The other took the book, put on his pince- 
 nez glasses, glancing first at the title with the 
 habitual caution of his profession, as if to de- 
 termine its value as an authority, and then care- 
 fully but rapidly perused an article entitled: 
 "A Curious Case of Argyria and Depilation."
 
 THE FIA T OF SCIENCE. 247 
 
 In the mean time, the physician had turned 
 to his letter-file, and after some search extract- 
 ed from it a paper, with which he returned 
 to his seat and waited until the lawyer fin- 
 ished reading. 
 
 "What do you think of that ?" he asked. 
 
 " Very curious indeed," answered the law- 
 yer, "and very interesting; but it strikes me 
 there is a pretty wide gap between your pre- 
 mise and conclusion. You have evidently 
 jumped to the conviction that Dr. Darling's 
 patient and your own are identical. There 
 seems to me no sufficient means of identifica- 
 tion". I suppose you do not claim that he is 
 the only man in the country affected with 
 argyria? " 
 
 "Not the only one, of course; but the 
 chances are about a thousand millions to one 
 that there were ever two people who would fill 
 the description there given." 
 
 " I don't understand why," said the lawyer, 
 biting his lip and contracting his brows, " if 
 such a result is produced by specific means in 
 one case, there should not be a thousand 
 other cases just like it ? " 
 
 " Of course you cannot ; neither can I ; but 
 we of the medical profession know as a fact 
 that one of the most difficult things in the 
 world is to duplicate either physical conditions
 
 248 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 or physical results. Now, this thing we call 
 argyria is one of the rarest forms of medical 
 resultants. There are probably hardly a score 
 of cases in the world to-day perhaps not as 
 many. And each one of these no doubt differs 
 from every other case in intensity and shade, 
 just as one old master's coloring differs from 
 another's. The remedy from whose action ar- 
 gyria results is not a rare one, at least it was 
 not a few years ago ; yet this particular result 
 is very unusual. It is a mysterious effect of 
 remedy or disease, one or both, upon the 
 pigmentum nigriim, which occurs only under 
 peculiar conditions and in rare cases. What 
 these conditions are no one knows. But you 
 will observe that this was not only a remark- 
 able, uniform and striking case of argyria, giv- 
 ing the man, as Dr. Darling says, ' the hue, 
 upon close inspection, of newly fractured cast- 
 iron, which,' he adds, 'was somewhat dulled 
 by exposure, becoming considerably darker 
 upon the exposed surfaces, as the hands and 
 face'; but you will observe that he goes further 
 and alludes to the discoloration of the whites 
 of the eyes. Now this is perhaps even rarer 
 than argyria itself. I have myself seen it but 
 once, and a distinguished oculist has recently 
 gone so far as to declare it to be due, in the 
 rare cases in which it does exist, not to excess-
 
 THE FIAT OF SCIENCE. 249 
 
 ive pigmentation, but to deterioration of the 
 sclerotic membrane itself. The important 
 fact to us is, that it existed in Dr. Darling's 
 case. Have you ever seen your client's eyes 
 without his glasses, I mean?" 
 
 " Once." 
 
 "You know, then, what I mean?" 
 
 The lawyer nodded. 
 
 " Now, how many chances are there that 
 these two rare phenomena would concur in an- 
 other human being?" 
 
 " Not a great many, it is true," said the law- 
 yer " but then 
 
 " Hold on ! You might as well save your 
 self the trouble of stating that argument. 
 You won't dare make it when I am through ! " 
 
 "You will observe," he continued, "that 
 Dr. Darling says that complete depilation en- 
 sued very rapidly upon the patient's recovery. 
 It was this which especially attracted my 
 attention to the case. I have always had a 
 strange fancy for this subject. I am satisfied 
 that some time science will discover not only 
 how the hair grows, but why it ceases to grow, 
 and be able to treat depilation as a disease 
 with a reasonable certainty of success. I 
 hoped once that such advance might come in 
 my day, and well, in fact, I hoped I might 
 be the discoverer. It is a dream that comes,
 
 250 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 I suppose, to every lover of his profession, 
 that he may do something that shall give his 
 name a sort of an immortality in connection 
 with its history, such an immortality as Har- 
 vey has won in ours and Blackstone in yours." 
 
 "They are hardly parallel cases; but go on, 
 I see your meaning," said the lawyer. 
 
 " Well, I had not quite gotten over this 
 fancy when that case fell under my eye, and 
 I wrote to Dr. Darling about it. That was 
 years ago, but of course I kept the letter 
 because it had a bearing on my hobby. In 
 this letter he reaffirms that the depilation was 
 complete, hair, beard, eyebrows, even the eye- 
 lashes. I examined Prime to-night with a 
 glass not a very strong one, it is true " he 
 added, taking the case from his pocket and 
 handing it to his listener " but the light was 
 good, and by passing it over the back of your 
 hand you will be able to guess whether I 
 could be mistaken, when I say there is not a 
 shadow of a hair on him." 
 
 The lawyer examined his own hand through 
 the magnifier and nodded assent to the other's 
 words. 
 
 " You may have seen one perhaps two or 
 three cases of absolute denudation ; but you 
 know yourself how rare they are. As if to 
 cut off all possibility of doubt, however, not
 
 THE FIAT OF SCIENCE. 251 
 
 only did these three among the rarest of 
 physical conditions argyria, sclerotic discolora- 
 tion and depilation obtain in Dr. Darling's 
 case, but the man, when he was first called to 
 see him, was suffering from two gunshot 
 wounds, one about the fourth lumbar vertebra, 
 from which he removed the ball, that no doubt 
 produced the nervous symptoms the involun- 
 tary muscular contractions he speaks of 
 which caused him to give the nitrate of silver 
 in such stiff, old-fashioned doses as to produce 
 such a beautiful case of argyria. This may 
 have been helped on probably was by the 
 sturdy doses of "blue mass" which the coun- 
 try practitioner, accustomed to heroic rem- 
 edies and tough subjects, used to reduce the 
 febrile excitement resulting from the patient's 
 wounds. Mercury often has an effect similar 
 in character, but less in degree, to that pro- 
 duced by silver-poisoning. The other wound 
 was a fracture of the inner surface of the head 
 of the tibia, to which the doctor says he paid 
 little attention, as he expected his patient to 
 die of the one in the region of the spine as 
 indeed he had good reason to anticipate. The 
 result was that the right knee and hip were both 
 affected so that the patient, though he recov- 
 ered, dragged this foot behind the other in walk- 
 ing. There it is now. Never since the vulture-
 
 252 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 headed Thoth disappeared from human thought 
 was a man so unmistakably marked. I would 
 have no more hesitation in swearing that this 
 man 'Prime 'is Dr. Darling's patient than I 
 would in testifying to your presence opposite 
 me now." 
 
 "I should think you would be safe in doing 
 so, Doctor," said the lawyer thoughtfully ; "but 
 I do not see how you arrive at the conclusion 
 that either of them is named Smith." There 
 was a twinkle in the lawyer's eye as he thus 
 laid his finger on the weak point of his friend's 
 reasoning. 
 
 " Well," answered the doctor with a laugh, 
 " that is nothing like so clearly ascertained as 
 the other ; though the testimony in reference 
 to it happens to be direct rather than circum- 
 stantial. Dr. Darling says in this letter that 
 his patient's name was Smith P. P. Smith. 
 He did not give it in his report, he says, 
 because it might have endangered the man's 
 life. He takes occasion to say, too, that the 
 charge against him, of falsely pretending to 
 be a white man was true, stating this on the 
 authority of a former master, who afterward 
 took great interest in the settlement of his 
 affairs or his wife's affairs, rather." 
 
 " Humph ! " was the lawyer's expressive 
 ejaculation.
 
 THE FIA T OF SCIENCE. 253 
 
 "So?" exclaimed the doctor lifting his eye- 
 brows. "I hadn't thought of that. Well all 
 this'is strengthened and confirmed by a curious 
 thing that came in my way to-night. Do you 
 see that? " 
 
 He laid a small parcel on the table as he 
 spoke It was only a rubber tobacco-pouch 
 with one side pushed into the other and a 
 string run through the loop thus made. 
 
 "What is it?" asked the lawyer, cautiously 
 pinching it and turning it over as he spoke. 
 
 " That is what I asked myself an hour ago, 
 and I am half-ashamed to tell you what course 
 I took to satisfy my curiosity. A physician 
 does not often meddle with what does not 
 concern him, and I would never have thought 
 of doing what I did, if I had not supposed my 
 patient to be a colored man." 
 
 " I don't see how that could affect the pro- 
 priety of your action." said the lawyer coolly. 
 
 "Well, I found that parcel carefully strung 
 around your client's neck. You know how 
 addicted the colored people are to carrying 
 charms and philters, and I supposed, of course, 
 that I had gotten hold of something of that 
 sort. So I tucked it into my pocket, and 
 when I had an opportunity, stole a look at it. 
 I meant to have put it back where I found it, 
 but the housekeeper, who by the way is per-
 
 254 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 fectly jellied with apprehension on this man's 
 account, wouldn't give me a chance, and I am 
 glad now, that I didn't. What do you suppose 
 it contains ? Nothing but papers which do not 
 prove any of my conclusions, yet make them 
 all indubitable." 
 
 He opened the pouch and took out some 
 scraps of paper carefully pasted together in 
 places where they had worn through. 
 
 "This," said he, opening the first, "is the 
 discharge of Color-sergeant P. P. Smith, who 
 was enlisted as a private in the th Indiana 
 Volunteer Infantry, near Shell Mound, Tenn., 
 on the i/th day of June, A. D. 1862, and was 
 discharged 'for promotion,' on the 6th day of 
 December, A. D . 1863, at Chattanooga. Now 
 what do you think of that ? " asked the physi- 
 cian exultantly. " Dr. Dowling's patient was 
 named P. P. Smith ; the girl's father was a 
 federal soldier ; this patient has carefully hid- 
 den about his person the discharge from the 
 military service of P. P. Smith; ergo, what 
 shall I conclude ? " 
 
 "You have certainly made out a very strong 
 prima facie case," said the lawyer seriously. 
 
 " Prima facie, man! What would you call 
 conclusive?" exclaimed the doctor excitedly. 
 
 " The law," answered the attorney gravely, 
 " usually demands a motive, and I think you
 
 THE FIA T OF SCIENCE. 255 
 
 would find it hard to find one in this case to 
 fit your hypothesis." 
 
 " There I confess you are right," said the 
 physician rising and beginning to walk impa- 
 tiently to and fro. "That a Negro should 
 wish to be thought white is natural enough. 
 I have heard hundreds of them declare they 
 would be willing to be flayed alive, if they 
 could be white afterward. And indeed, I do 
 not blame them. But why a white man should 
 wish to be thought a Negro, I confess I cannot 
 understand. I suppose you or I would rather 
 not be, than be black. I cannot think of any- 
 thing that would induce the meanest white 
 man in the country to permit himself to be 
 considered a colored man unless it were to 
 avert suspicion of a crime ; can you ? " 
 
 " I have never known 'such a case," an- 
 swered the lawyer gravely. 
 
 " Except this one, you mean," said the doc- 
 tor sharply. 
 
 " I make no exceptions," was the composed 
 reply.
 
 XXI. 
 
 "AND FATE AT LENGTH WAS KIND. 
 
 physician and the lawyer looked into 
 1 each other's eyes in silence for a moment. 
 Then the former spoke : 
 
 " I confess I cannot make it out ; can you ? " 
 
 " The question is not whether I can re- 
 solve your doubts, doctor, but whether I ought 
 to d'o so." 
 
 " Oh, very well," said the other petulantly. 
 "That is your affair, of course. You won't 
 deny, however, that I have spotted my man, 
 even if I haven't solved the whole mystery?" 
 
 " I am not called upon to a.dmit or deny 
 anything, Doctor," blandly rejoined the other. 
 " Have you any objection to telling me what 
 is the nature of the other paper you found 
 upon your patient ? " 
 
 " I suppose I ought to be as cautious as you," 
 was the reply, " but as it happens this has 
 nothing to do with the case. It is just a news- 
 paper clipping which no one could have any 
 interest in perusing. It was probably used 
 merely to wrap around the discharge, which 
 256
 
 "AND FATE AT LENGTH WAS KIND." 257 
 
 was carefully folded in it. There it is. You 
 will see that it is an advertisement and a clip- 
 ping from the Tuscumbia Times of June 3, 
 1862." 
 
 The doctor handed a loosely rolled bit of 
 paper to the other as he spoke. The lawyer 
 adjusted his glasses and read : 
 
 " A shocking tragedy occured at Briar Hill, 
 the well-known plantation of the late Hon. 
 McQueen Collins, on Sunday evening last. A 
 negro boy murderously assaulted his young 
 master, Captain Junius Collins, who is now 
 lying at the point of death in consequence. It 
 is supposed the difficulty arose because his 
 master attempted to correct a colored girl 
 with whom the boy had become enamored. 
 Captain Collins was severely beaten about the 
 head with some blunt instrument, supposed to 
 have been a fence-picket, as one was found 
 near the scene of the rencontre stained with 
 blood. He has been unconscious most of the 
 time since, but hopes are now entertained of 
 his recovery. 
 
 " Thus far no trace has been found of his 
 assailant. It is thought he will try to get into 
 the lines of the Federal army, and he may en- 
 deavor to go North as a white man, as he 
 shows very little trace of color and is remark- 
 ably intelligent, being able to read and write. 
 His conduct is another instance of the folly of 
 over-indulgence. He has always been more a 
 companion than a slave of his young master, 
 who was very fond of displaying his unlawful
 
 258 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 acquirements to special friends, and would 
 probably have set him free before this time 
 had it not been for the Yankee invasion. The 
 near approach of the Northern vandals un- 
 doubtedly inspired the boy with the pestifer- 
 ous ideas of freedom which they so industri- 
 ously disseminate among the slave population, 
 and which no doubt led to this bloody tragedy. 
 It is thought by some that he and the girl 
 were trying to escape when they were inter- 
 cepted by Captain Collins ; others think the 
 assault the result of jealousy on account of the 
 girl's preference for her young master. She 
 herself pretends entire ignorance of the affair. 
 She is of very attractive appearance, and seems 
 anxious for her master's recovery. 
 
 " The neighborhood is much excited, as the 
 fugitive has long been regarded as a dangerous 
 character by the owners of slaves in this re- 
 gion. There was a talk of giving him a taste 
 of hickory more than a year ago, but Captain 
 Collins interfered, so the matter was abandoned. 
 If the fellow is taken he will receive short shrift 
 at the hands of his pursuers, not only on his 
 own account, but as a warning to the slave 
 population who are, very generally, showing 
 signs of disaffection." 
 
 The lawyer sat looking over his glasses at 
 his friend, when he ceased reading the frayed 
 and grimy strip of paper he still held in his 
 hand, without speaking. 
 
 "Well," said the doctor banteringly, " you 
 seem to have found food for thought, even in
 
 ' 'AND FA TE A T LENG TH WA S KIND. " 259 
 
 that smudgy bit of paper accidentally wrapped 
 around this old man's precious memento." 
 
 The attorney rose and walked back and 
 forth across the floor, his great shapely head 
 hanging forward on his breast and the gray 
 hair shining like mingled silver and steel in 
 the light of the incandescent arc, beneath 
 which he paced to and fro. 
 
 " Doctor," he said at length, pausing to look 
 down into his friend's face, " you were in the 
 army, weren't you the Federal army, I mean ? " 
 
 " Yes, of course." 
 
 " I understand," said the other with a faint 
 flush. " You mean it is where every one who 
 counted himself a man in those days should 
 have been. You are quite right, too ; but I 
 was not there. I lived inside the Confederate 
 lines, and before I saw the matter in its true 
 light, it was too late for me to hope to do much 
 good, even if I had succeeded in getting out ; so 
 I waited for the end a mere inert atom, count- 
 ing for nothing in the great conflict. This 
 has given me a great reverence for the men 
 who fought for the right, and a sort of resent- 
 ful pity for those who fought for the wrong ; 
 but it has left me ignorant of a good many 
 things you must have come to regard as almost 
 instinctive knowledge, such as the constitution 
 and movement of your armies."
 
 26o PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " I see," responded the physician with a 
 quick nod. 
 
 " Now, does it strike you as at all singular 
 that this P. P. Smith should have been mus- 
 tered into an Indiana regiment ' near Shell 
 Mound, Tenn.'?" 
 
 " It was unusual, perhaps, hardly singular. 
 Men often journeyed to the front in order to 
 take service in a favorite corps," was the reply. 
 
 " No doubt. So, too, I suppose a resident 
 of that region who desired to enter the Union 
 service would enlist in a Northern regiment?" 
 
 " Very seldom, I think. Such men would 
 have been apt to join some of the various South- 
 ern regiments so-called at least. Special in- 
 ducements were offered to such recruits." 
 
 " Such a regiment, then, would afford a very 
 secure hiding-place for well, for a ' colored ' 
 boy, who was really white and could read and 
 write, like this one who had the difficulty with 
 his master? " 
 
 " It would have been an almost perfect 
 sanctuary for him." 
 
 "And suppose, doctor, taking all we know 
 would it simplify matters, supply a motive, if 
 we should say that the ' boy ' who ran away 
 was the soldier, P. P. Smith, who joined the 
 Union army ten days later? " 
 
 " It would account for everything every-
 
 ' 'AND FATE AT LENG TH WA S KIND." 261 
 
 thing ! " exclaimed the other emphatically, 
 " and besides that 
 
 " Besides that," interrupted the lawyer se- 
 verely, " besides that, doctor, it would destroy 
 a brave man's hope render vain the sacrifice 
 of a whole life, if it were known." 
 
 " How so ? I do not understand." 
 
 " Don't you see, Doctor, the man's whole life 
 has been a struggle against the curse of color? 
 First in his own person, and then for his child, 
 he has labored to throw off the fetters of caste 
 which civilization and Christianity has fastened 
 on his race the curse which makes the Negro 
 a hopeless inferior and invokes the law of God 
 the religion of Jesus of Nazareth to keep 
 him so ! " 
 
 " It is true," said the doctor, solemnly, " all 
 too true ; but what can I do to help or to 
 hinder?" 
 
 " It is necessary for the success of his scheme, 
 that he should live and die a Negro ! " 
 
 " I understand ; but you don't expect me to 
 kill him?" 
 
 " Not at all ; but you can guard his secret." 
 
 " The physician is never a tattler." 
 
 " I did not mean that ; I know you would 
 not reveal what what has been guessed ; but 
 if he should die?" 
 
 " Well ? "
 
 262 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " He must be buried as a Negro ! " 
 
 " Ah, I understand," said the physician, 
 catching his breath. " You mean the certifi- 
 cate? " 
 
 " Of course." 
 
 " I don't know." He gazed into the fire a 
 moment and added : " I never did such a thing 
 in my life." 
 
 " As what ? " 
 
 " Make a false certificate." 
 
 " Who asks it ? " 
 
 "Well, of course, there may be some little 
 admixture " 
 
 " How much colored blood does it take to 
 make a man a Negro?" 
 
 "I understand; a drop is enough even a 
 suspicion of a drop for the world, society 
 perhaps for the Church ; but medically, scien- 
 tifically " He shook his head. "You see," he 
 added, " I have always been accustomed to tell 
 the truth professionally, so far as I know it, at 
 least." 
 
 " Or have reason to believe, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " And have you not reason to believe that 
 this man is what is known and termed a col- 
 ored man? There is Dr. Darling, you know, 
 and 
 
 " I believe I have. At least I'll risk it for
 
 ''AND FA TE A T LENGTH WAS KIND." 263 
 
 once, giving him the benefit of the doubt of 
 which he himself took advantage. After all, a 
 physician is not bound to know more of a 
 man's pedigree than he himself declares. I 
 give you my word, that if your client dies on 
 my hands he shall be buried as a nigger, so far 
 as I am concerned at least. But how about 
 the others ? " 
 
 " His wishes will be law to them." 
 
 "Is it possible that this man Collins or any 
 of the family 
 
 " I will answer for them," interrupted the 
 lawyer. He opened and shut his right hand 
 as he spoke, as if clutching another's throat. 
 
 " Indeed ! " said the physician, catching the 
 suggestion. " Curious he chose that name 
 for the girl, isn't it ? Why do you suppose he 
 did so?" 
 
 " Family pride, mostly. It was the name 
 she should have been entitled to, and despite 
 its aristocratic quality, has probably never 
 been worn by one who deserved so well of the 
 country as he." 
 
 " Dear me ! dear me ! " said the doctor, 
 petulantly. " I thought when slavery was 
 abolished there would be an end of all 
 these things questions of color, I mean ; 
 but really, it seems as if they would never 
 disappear."
 
 264 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "Doctor," said the lawyer solemnly, "we 
 both claim to be true men and Christians. We 
 may as well recognize the fact that slavery 
 was but the seeding : the harvest is just 
 begun ! " 
 
 " And when will it end ?" 
 
 " When right is established and wrong is for- 
 gotten ! " 
 
 "A long time to wait for a cure," said the 
 physician with a shrug. 
 
 " So much the more need that the remedy 
 be not delayed." 
 
 "The remedy? Ah, my friend, we who 
 deal with the body have trouble enough with 
 remedies, but for the soul, for the body poli- 
 tic what specific is there ? " 
 
 " There is but one." 
 
 " And that" 
 
 Before the lawyer could reply, the telephone 
 bell in the consulting-room sounded a sharp 
 alarm. Both men started and looked in 
 each other's faces with apprehension. The 
 physician hurried to the instrument, and the 
 lawyer standing in the inner room listened 
 anxiously to the one-sided conversation which 
 was addressed to the office-wall. 
 
 " Hello!" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " All right."
 
 "AND FATE AT LENGTH WAS KIND." 265 
 
 There was a moment's pause, and then he 
 heard the doctor's voice again. 
 
 "Hello?" 
 
 "Yes; who is this?" 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 "You don't say ?" 
 
 " Very well ; I'll send him. Good-by." 
 
 He hung the instrument on its hook and 
 returned moodily to his friend. 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " It's all over." 
 
 " Poor fellow ! " 
 
 " It is best so. I knew it could not be long, 
 but did not expect it quite so soon. He was 
 worn out, you see the fight had been too 
 much for him. It was a very interesting case, 
 though, and I would liked to have studied it 
 more at leisure." 
 
 He sat down at his desk and drew toward 
 him a pad of printed blanks. 
 
 "Are you going with me? "asked the law- 
 yer as he drew on his overcoat. 
 
 " I may as well," was the reply as the certifi- 
 cate was speedily filled out. " Do you know 
 his age?" The lawyer shook his head. 
 " Look at the discharge ; that will give us a 
 clue." 
 
 The lawyer put on his glasses and read the 
 creased and worn document once more.
 
 266 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 "Twenty-four? That would make forty- 
 nine ! Phelps, he was a good ten years younger 
 than either of us and looked thirty years 
 older! He must have had a good constitution 
 too ; but such things as he endured have to be 
 paid for. Men live fast who suffer, and he died 
 of old age as surely as if his years had been 
 fourscore." 
 
 "You do not think it was the injury, 
 then?" 
 
 "Injury? Yes, such an injury as stops a 
 watch when the pivots are worn out a jar 
 that disengages the wheels ; that was all. 
 There it is." 
 
 He pushed the certificate across the desk. 
 It was endorsed : 
 
 Pactolus Prime, Colored. 
 
 Age, Seventy Years. 
 
 Cause, General Debility. 
 
 " I've done my part, you see. If the truth 
 breaks through that crust and causes trouble 
 to those whom he lived and lied so long to 
 save, it's not my fault. It is my opinion they 
 have only to maintain a prudent silence to be 
 regarded as ornaments of the best society and 
 allowed to go to heaven, side by side with the 
 richest and most exemplary Christians of the 
 city. Queer, isn't it, that a lie should be the
 
 "AND FATE AT LENGTH WAS KIND." 267 
 
 only key that can open to such deserving souls 
 the doors of a really respectable church, and 
 give them the entrde of respectable homes?" 
 
 The bells rang out the closing hours of 
 Christmas, as the lawyer folded the certificate 
 and put it in his pocket.
 
 XXII. 
 
 RETURN OF PROCESS. 
 
 IT was the day after Christmas. It was very 
 late when Mr. Phelps reached his office. He 
 placed his hat and coat upon the rack ; read in 
 an absent-minded way the memorandum of the 
 day's engagements his clerk had prepared for 
 him; opened a drawer of his desk ; took out a 
 bundle of papers, which he untied and ex- 
 amined, more as if to refresh his memory as to 
 its contents than for any other purpose, and 
 then went and stood before the fire. There 
 was a thoughtful frown upon his brow, and he 
 bit one side of his under lip, now and then, as 
 if greatly perplexed. The day was cold, but 
 as bright as the preceding one had been stormy. 
 The streets were thronged. The Christmas 
 festivities had not ended. The crowds were 
 very gay, as beseemed a Christian people after 
 such a holiday. He watched them through 
 the window meditatively, as if the sights 
 awakened unpleasant thoughts. 
 
 There was a knock at the door. 
 
 " Come," he said absently. 
 268
 
 RETURN OF PROCESS. 269 
 
 "Ah, Major," he exclaimed, as the one-armed 
 attorney entered. " How do you do this 
 morning? And the Madame I hope the 
 Christmas was a pleasant one to her." 
 
 "Thanks to you, yes," said the good-natured 
 fellow, taking the other's outstretched hand, 
 but quickly releasing it to remove his hat. 
 
 " Let me take it," said Phelps quietly, " and 
 your cloak." 
 
 He took hold of the lapel as he spoke ; the 
 new-comer turned quickly and left the garment 
 in his hand. The movement had that easy, 
 unexpected grace which only the unfortunate 
 acquire. 
 
 " Some improvement on yesterday," he 
 added, as he seated himself beside the open 
 grate. 
 
 " Real Washington weather," answered 
 Phelps carelessly. 
 
 '' Yes," said the other, with a shrug, " seven 
 months April and five months August." 
 
 " Is that the best you can say of our cli- 
 mate ? " 
 
 " Isn't it good enough ? It seems to me a 
 curiously unfortunate location for the capital, 
 between the North and South, socially, politi- 
 cally, and climatically. After all, as an old 
 neighbor used to say, ' It's a right good place 
 to be alive in.' "
 
 270 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 11 Just so," said the elder man, with an up- 
 lifting of the eyebrows to show his apprecia- 
 tion of the other's humor. Then, after a mo- 
 ment : "Well, did you get service on our 
 friend Collins, Major ? " 
 
 " That I did," answered the one-armed vete 
 ran. " Got deputized and did it myself." 
 
 " How did he take it ? " 
 
 "Mad enough at first, but when he had 
 cooled down a bit and looked at the papers, 
 not so unreasonable, after all." 
 
 " Did not object to it's being done on a holi- 
 day, then?" 
 
 "Didn't say anything about it." 
 
 " Does he mean to fight ? " 
 
 " He talked pretty loud, and I told him we 
 didn't expect anything else; that to my mind 
 a fight was all the fun there was in a lawsuit, 
 and all the money there is in one for a lawyer. 
 This seemed to strike him as a new idea, 
 though it is the oldest kind of a notion to me ; 
 and he asked me to sit down while he read the 
 papers carefully. He isn't half a bad fellow, 
 though the moss has grown on his back so 
 thick that one has to sink a shaft through it, 
 to get at him." 
 
 " I understand," said Phelps, with an appre- 
 ciative nod. 
 
 " Well, I sat down, and he put on his spec-
 
 RE TURN OF PROCESS. 2 7 1 
 
 tacles and went through those papers as sol- 
 emnly as an owl. He's got plenty of horse- 
 sense, and would be a bad man to fool with if 
 once aroused, though he hasn't rubbed up 
 "against the world a great deal lately. He's one 
 of those men who know things without having 
 to study details, and when he got through 
 reading the papers he knew a deal more about 
 the case than your counsel did, though I had 
 not failed to look them over pretty carefully, 
 myself." 
 
 " You did not have the key that he pos- 
 sesses," said the other smiling. 
 
 " That was evident the very first word he 
 said," laughed the Major. 
 
 "What was that?" 
 
 " After he'd read the papers all through, he 
 took off his glasses, stroked his beard, looked 
 out of the window, as if he had all of time and 
 a good deal of eternity to do his business in. 
 I wasn't in any hurry either, so I waited. 
 Besides, the man interested me, and I began to 
 think there might be something in him." 
 
 " Couldn't be a Collins and not be worth 
 studying." 
 
 " So I found out. Well, after a time, he 
 turned to me and asked without any prelimi- 
 naries ; ' What do you know about this man, 
 P. P. Smith?"'
 
 2?2 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 Phelps laughed dryly. 
 
 "What did you tell him, Major? I'm curi- 
 ous to know what answer you would make to 
 such a question." 
 
 " 'Twasn't easy to know what I ought to say, 
 but I concluded to fall back on that last refuge 
 of the unwilling witness the truth. So I told 
 him 'the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
 but the truth,' as if I had been on oath." 
 
 "And what was that?" 
 
 " That I didn't know a blamed thing about 
 the man with the pluperfect name, except what 
 appeared in the papers." 
 
 " That ivas a safe answer," said Phelps, 
 laughing heartily. 
 
 " It turned out to be the very best one I 
 could have made. The old fellow thawed out 
 and limbered up, and laughed until the tears 
 came, over that answer, as if it was the best 
 joke of the season. Finally, he caught his 
 breath long enough to say that he could see I 
 had not a very large practice. I told him his 
 conclusion was correct, but that his manners 
 were simply execrable. Thereupon he sobered 
 down at once, begged my pardon, and said he 
 only meant that I was too much inclined to 
 truth-telling to get on at the bar. I answered 
 him that it was rather tough to have one's 
 veracity complimented at the expense of his
 
 RETURN OF PROCESS. 273 
 
 professional standing. Whereupon the old fel- 
 low came quite down; asked me to take "a 
 ' nip ' with him, and said that as I had been so 
 candid with him, he would be equally frank 
 with me. So, while we absorbed the refresh- 
 ments he ordered up, he told me as queer a 
 story as I've ever listened to. 
 
 " In the first place, he said, there was no use 
 of any litigation, at all, if the man we represent 
 can identify himself as actually the man he 
 claims to be. In that event, he said, there was 
 no doubt that, as executor of his brother, Junius 
 Collins, he would not only have to surrender 
 the plantation, but account for the mesne 
 profits. The estate he said was amply good, 
 and as he was the only heir who could interpose 
 an objection, we might rest satisfied that there 
 would be no factious opposition. Then he told 
 me that some few months ago his brother had 
 died, leaving a will in which he bequeathed 
 this property, and a good part of his estate 
 beside, to the widow of this same P. P. Smith, 
 if living, and in case of her death, to a son of 
 said widow, born before her marriage, and di- 
 rected his executors to expend a certain sum 
 in discovering the said devisees, or either of 
 them. In case proof of the death of both was 
 obtained, the will directed that the property 
 should go to the residuary legatee, which is
 
 274 PAC TOL US PRIME. 
 
 the brother himself. Until such proof is 
 secured, his title remains imperfect and con- 
 tingent merely. That is evidently the cause 
 of his special interest in the health and safety 
 of our P. P. S., who seems to be one of those 
 lucky mortals who live to witness not only the 
 grief of his own widow, but the frantic efforts 
 of the stranger to console her woe." 
 
 As the Major proceeded with his recital, his 
 client nodded now and then in confirmation of 
 his statements. 
 
 " He said," the other continued, " that he 
 did not suppose a man of your character and 
 position would yourself become a party to such 
 an action, unless you were able to show very 
 clearly 'the identity of- the person through 
 whom you claimed with the former, or per- 
 haps he ought to say, the real owner of the 
 property. As to his brother's title, he did not 
 hesitate to say that it was good only against 
 the widow of Smith, and only to the extent of 
 her interest in her husband's estate, if she were 
 really a widow at the time she signed the deed. 
 This, he said, he had already had reason to 
 doubt, and if you could establish that fact, he 
 should make no further contest in the matter." 
 
 " I am sure," said Phelps, " that was very rea- 
 sonable especially when you consider the 
 man and his relation to the estate."
 
 RETURN OF PROCESS. 275 
 
 "Yes," answered the Major, " and his broth- 
 er's relation to the matter, too." 
 
 "Did he tell you that?" 
 
 " I think he told me all he knew, keeping 
 nothing back. Anyhow the story was strange 
 enough to be a true one. You know all the 
 wonderful things are facts, nowadays, and only 
 the commonplace ones, fiction. Well, to make 
 what was a long story as he told it, short, 
 because I cannot do it justice in the telling, he 
 says that some time along about the begin- 
 ning of the war, his brother, who was a Con- 
 federate officer by the way, became enam- 
 ored of a very pretty slave-girl belonging to 
 their mother, who was a widow. His infatu- 
 ation led him to come home from the army 
 without leave, and he was only saved from 
 being proceeded against as a deserter, by the 
 fact that he was assaulted by the girl's Negro 
 lover, and so badly injured about the head that 
 he was unable to return to duty. 
 
 " For a long time he was thoroughly de- 
 mented and would allow nobody to approach 
 him or care for him except the girl, whom he 
 would hardly permit out of his sight. His 
 brother, the defendant in your action, who had 
 remained at home to look after the plantation, 
 took his place in the army, this fact, together 
 with his mental condition, saving him from con-
 
 2 7 6 PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 dign punishment. Toward the close of the 
 war, his condition seemed to improve, but he 
 never fully recovered his former mental sound- 
 ness ; so his brother thinks at least." 
 
 " He showed very good sense in the manage- 
 ment of this property," said Phelps, with an 
 incredulous smile. 
 
 "That his brother admits," responded the 
 Major, " but he says it's a family failing. 
 ' A Collins,' he says, ' don't need good sense to 
 make money.' ' 
 
 " Perhaps it is not the very highest quality 
 of mind," said the elder lawyer, with mock 
 gravity. 
 
 " It's always been just a peg above my 
 capacity, anyhow," replied the other good 
 naturedly, as he took out a paper of tobacco, 
 laid it on his knee, and with his one hand 
 deftly separated a portion, rolled it between 
 his fingers and deposited it in his mouth. 
 
 The elder observed him without seeming to 
 do so, wondering at the skill displayed in the 
 manipulation of the package. 
 
 "Well," continued the Major, "he says, at 
 any rate, that his brother never got over his 
 infatuation for the girl, and that made him a 
 fool always afterwards. It seems that soon 
 after the close of the war, the girl ran away 
 with this P. P. Smith, who was an officer in
 
 RETURN OF PROCESS. 277 
 
 a colored regiment stationed near where his 
 brother lived, taking with her a child born some 
 two years before. She was a very attractive 
 woman, it seems, and, as Collins says, very rea- 
 sonably preferred being the wife of a low-down 
 white man, to remaining the mistress even of a 
 Collins, now that freedom had cast the respon- 
 sibility of self-control upon her. As to the 
 man who married her, he thinks that she 
 passed herself off to him as a widow and 
 white, which he says she might easily have 
 done, as there was no trace of colored blood 
 about her. She was not one of the regular 
 stock of slaves belonging to the family, 
 but had been purchased, nominally as a maid 
 for their sister, but really, as I gathered, to 
 save the brother from having a liaison with a 
 slave belonging to another family. 
 
 " After her disappearance, it seems, he did not 
 rest until he had traced her out. It took him 
 several years, and then it was more by accident 
 than skill that he found her and her husband 
 settled on a valuable plantation in South 
 Carolina. Just what occurred, after this, Col- 
 lins says he has been unable to learn. His 
 brother settled in the neighborhood, and he 
 infers resumed his old relations with the 
 wife. Of this, however, he has no certain 
 evidence. Soon afterwards the husband dis-
 
 278 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 appeared was reported to have been killed. 
 He had been active in politics and had made 
 himself ' obnoxious,' as the saying 'is in that 
 section, to the ' respectable people ' of the 
 region by the free expression of his opinions. 
 Whether his brother had anything to do with 
 this affair or not he does not know, but can- 
 didly states that he deems it very probable 
 that he had. 
 
 " After the husband's disappearance, his 
 brother took up his residence with the widow, 
 ostensibly to protect her from violence. This, 
 his brother believes to have been a mere 
 pretense. Soon afterwards he secured a lease 
 of the plantation from the widow, and not long 
 after she executed to him a deed. He is 
 known to have paid her a considerable sum of 
 money, though nothing like the real value of 
 the property, on which he soon developed some 
 of the richest phosphate beds in the State, from 
 which he derived a large revenue up to the 
 time of his death and which are still very valu- 
 able. Soon after the purchase of this property 
 the widow, too, disappeared, taking her eldest 
 child with her. Another child had been born 
 during her marriage, but this one a girl had 
 somehow disappeared soon after the killing of 
 her husband. He does not conceal his belief 
 that his brother was privy to the child's dis-
 
 RE TURN OF PROCESS. 2 7 9 
 
 appearance as well as that of the father. 
 This was, he admits, the general impression 
 in the neighborhood both at the time and 
 since." 
 
 " It is a very curious condition of society that 
 permits such things," mused the elder man. 
 
 "Curious?" exclaimed the other. "You 
 take it very coolly, because, I suppose, you are 
 more familiar with its aspects than I. For 
 myself, I must confess, my feelings vibrated 
 between rage and wonder during the recital. 
 It did not seem possible that it could be the 
 latter half of the nineteenth century in which 
 these things happened, or an intelligent, well- 
 educated, upright, Christian American, who 
 spoke so lightly and coolly of them. I think 
 I should have pinched myself to see if I was 
 awake, if I had had an extra hand not needed 
 to hold my glass." 
 
 " What became of the woman and child ? " 
 
 " That, he says, is a mystery he is unable to 
 solve as yet. His brother was unable to find 
 them, though he made diligent search for 
 them after some little time had elapsed. At 
 first, it would appear as if he expected her 
 to return of her own accord, or at least give 
 some hint of her whereabouts. After he had 
 given up hope of this, it seemed that the track 
 got too cold to permit of her being traced."
 
 280 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 " It must have sounded like a romance to 
 you, Major," said Phelps meditatively. 
 
 " Romance ! " exclaimed the Major with a 
 shrug. " Say rather an o'er true tale of some 
 dark age brought suddenly into juxtaposition 
 with ours. Especially was this so when he 
 tried to connect the poor fellow with one of 
 the bravest men I ever had in my command, 
 the color-sergeant of my regiment, who was 
 promoted for gallantry in being the first man 
 to get the flag to the top of Mission Ridge." 
 
 " Same name? " asked Phelps carelessly. 
 
 " Yes ; and the same nickname, too, ' Pepper- 
 pod.' ' 
 
 " Perhaps the same man." 
 
 " I declare, I hope not. He was too good a 
 fellow to have so much bad luck." 
 
 " Getting killed, you mean ? " 
 
 "That and everything! " 
 
 " Do you think you would recognize your 
 old sergeant ? " 
 
 " I don't know : twenty-five years makes a 
 difference in a man's appearance, especially if 
 he spent a quadrennium in the service." 
 
 " Ever seen him since? " 
 
 " Never ; and hadn't thought of him for 
 years until yesterday in the Best House. By 
 the way, old man Prime seemed to know 
 him and me too. I meant to have had an-
 
 RETURN OF PROCESS. 281 
 
 other talk with him, but I see the old fellow is 
 dead." 
 
 " Died last night," said Phelps, as he went 
 to his desk and picked up the package of 
 papers lying on it. Selecting one, he returned 
 and handed his friend a small photograph, evi- 
 dently a copy from some other style of picture. 
 
 " That's the man," said Wolcott as soon as 
 he caught sight of the face. 
 
 The elder man nodded. 
 
 " Poor fellow ! " said the veteran, medita- 
 tively, " He deserved better luck." 
 
 " He became very rich after he came here." 
 
 " I'm glad of that. I was afraid this suit 
 was the only chance he had for any comfort in 
 his old age." 
 
 " Well, this estate is quite a plum of itself." 
 
 " So it is. By the way, if you can satisfy 
 Collins about the matter without letting him 
 know the whereabouts of your client or your 
 alienee rather, though I suppose the terms are 
 synonymous " 
 
 The other assented with a nod. 
 
 " Well, as I say, if you can keep from putting 
 him in possession of his whereabouts, I think 
 you had better do so. He seems willing 
 enough to give up the property, knowing he 
 can't hold it, but somehow, I've a notion that 
 he's got a different sort of an account to settle
 
 282 PA CTOL US PRIME. 
 
 with Mr. P. P. Smith if he should ever set eyes 
 on him." 
 
 " For what ? " 
 
 " I hardly know. He intimated that a party 
 of Negroes at least he supposes they were 
 Negroes, and considering what he admits had 
 already occurred, it would seem natural that 
 they should be, if there is any human nature 
 in the race at any rate, somebody broke into 
 his brother's house, some few months after he 
 had taken charge of the dead man's affairs, and 
 treated him pretty bad mutilated him, you 
 know. I think he has a notion that Smith had 
 something to do with it." 
 
 " The man is dead," said Phelps gravely. 
 
 "Well, I'm glad of it," answered the other 
 with a sigh of relief. 
 
 "I declare, Major," laughed Phelps, "you 
 are a contradiction. A little while ago you 
 were pitying the poor fellow's bad luck, and 
 now here you are thanking your stars that he 
 is dead ! " 
 
 " It does seem queer," answered the Major 
 gravely, " but I was in earnest both times. 
 There's something eerie about the whole mat- 
 ter, and I'm glad there can't be any more of it. 
 When can you see Mr. Collins ? " 
 
 "At two o'clock, if convenient for him," re- 
 sponded Phelps, consulting his memorandum.
 
 RETURN OF PROCESS. 283 
 
 " All right. I know that will be satisfactory. 
 Do you wish me to be present." 
 
 " I guess we shall want you afterwards," 
 was the reply with a meaning smile. 
 
 " I understand," said the Major. 
 
 Before the other could bring his hat he had 
 taken it from the rack, clapped it on his head, 
 and with a deft movement of body and arm 
 swung his cloak upon his shoulders. 
 
 " Good-by," he called as he slipped out, 
 catching the door-knob with his one hand as it 
 closed behind him, and ran briskly down the 
 stairs.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING DEAD. 
 
 AT the hour designated Mr. Phelps sat at his 
 desk, and facing him across the corner of 
 the green baize top was Mr. Ephraim Collins. 
 Tall, narrow, his forehead high and his beard 
 and hair of that dull brown so often met with 
 at the South as to be almost characteristic of 
 that section, he was a good type of its best 
 life. To see him as he sat, neither lounging 
 nor erect, in the large arm-chair, but just ac- 
 commodating his attitude to the requirements 
 of ease and absolute attention, one readily 
 recognized him as a product of plantation- 
 life not, as it has been so often pictured, clam- 
 orous and self-assertive, but reserved, intense, 
 careless of personal surroundings but full of 
 power, capable of long-sustained effort and of 
 unconquerable determination. His small gray 
 eyes were fixed steadily upon the lawyer's face, 
 not with any expression of suspicion but with 
 that intentness which comes from habitual iso- 
 lation and constant association with inferiors. 
 284
 
 THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING DEAD. 285 
 
 " There is no need for us to beat about the 
 bush, Mr. Collins," the lawyer was saying. " I 
 claim the property by demise from P. P. Smith. 
 There is the deed ; I think it is in due form." 
 
 The other glanced carelessly at the docu- 
 ment, laid it down upon the desk, rested his 
 left hand upon it, and looked up at the lawyer 
 without making any reply. 
 
 " Here," continued the latter, " is a photo- 
 graph of my alienor taken several years ago." 
 
 Mr. Collins took it, gazed at it intently, and 
 raised his eyes again to the lawyer's, still re- 
 maining silent. 
 
 " These are photographs of his wife, one of 
 them taken several years ago, the other re- 
 cently. If you have any doubt in regard to 
 the matter she can be produced." 
 
 " I haven't any doubt that she's alive, Mr. 
 Phelps, because you tell me so, and even if you 
 were inclined to do otherwise, a man in your 
 position cannot afford to speak anything but 
 the truth in regard to such a matter. And as 
 it seems she was not a widow when she exe- 
 cuted the deed, my brother's claim of title 
 falls. The only question between us now is, 
 what his estate ought to pay for the use of the 
 property. I don't reckon we'll disagree very 
 greatly about that. My brother's books show 
 exactly what he made each year, and I will
 
 286 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 submit them to your inspection. I don't sup- 
 pose the owner really had any right to assign 
 his claim for mesne profits, but I make no ob- 
 jection. They might as well be settled in this 
 suit as in another ; but I'd like to ask one 
 question." 
 
 The gray eyes beamed like fire under the 
 overhanging brows, but not a muscle of his 
 face moved nor did his voice betray any un- 
 usual emotion. 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 " I want to know where this man, P. P. 
 Smith, is?" 
 
 " Why do you wish to know ? " 
 
 " I want to see him once just once." 
 
 " I think it might be arranged if you deem 
 it necessary to resolve any doubts as to kis 
 identity." 
 
 " I don't believe I shall ever be fully satis- 
 fied until I have looked him in the face." 
 
 " Is it necessary you should see him before 
 our business is concluded ? " 
 
 " Oh, not at all : I can wait. In fact I'd 
 rather not see him until our matters are all 
 settled." 
 
 "I hope you do not seek any personal difrl- 
 c ilty with him ? " 
 
 " My reasons for desiring to make his ac- 
 quaintance are satisfactory to myself, sir.
 
 THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING DEAD. 287 
 
 I suppose I am not called upon to say 
 more." 
 
 The tone was nonchalant, almost defiant, 
 but low and even, and the man did not move a 
 muscle of face or body as he spoke. 
 
 " I only wished to inform you," said the law- 
 yer, "that any such intention, if you have it, 
 must be abandoned." 
 
 "May I inquire why?" There was the 
 slightest possible trace of a sneer, as he added, 
 " If you do not care to introduce me, I can 
 find him myself. I am in no hurry, and the 
 world is not very large." 
 
 " The man is dead." 
 
 "You said I could see him?" incredulously. 
 
 "You can," gravely. 
 
 The other was silent for a moment. Then 
 he said in a softened voice : 
 
 " I am glad of it. I thought I had an ac- 
 count to settle with him, but perhaps, instead 
 of a settlement, it would have been just open- 
 ing an new one. I don't know as I blame him 
 much, but it was one of those things no man 
 can do to a brother of mine, and live long 
 after I set eyes on him." 
 
 " So bad as that?" asked the lawyer, with 
 real concern in his voice. 
 
 " Don't ask me, sir ; it is one of those things 
 we cannot speak about. I would still like to
 
 288 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 ask one question. If you do not wish to do 
 so, of course you will not answer it. What 
 sort of a man was he ? " 
 
 " He was a very correct man in his business 
 affairs, and very highly esteemed by all who 
 knew him." 
 
 " Very likely. That is not what I mean- 
 exactly. Was he what would be termed a 
 gentleman ? You know what I mean." 
 
 " I do not think he was," answered Phelps 
 impassively. 
 
 " I am glad of that, too," emphatically. 
 
 "Yes? May I ask why?" 
 
 " Well one pities a gentleman, sometimes 
 when well, there's a difference, you know." 
 
 " If you would care to read it it might in- 
 terest you here is an account of his life writ- 
 ten by himself." 
 
 The lawyer picked up a red, morocco-cov- 
 ered book marked, " Cash Book " on the back, 
 and broke the leaves over his finger as he 
 spoke. 
 
 " I think, if you are willing, I would like to 
 look it over." 
 
 "There are some things in it you under- 
 stand some things that might affect the hap- 
 piness of others, innocent parties. If you are 
 willing to give me your promise ? " 
 
 "You have my word of honor, sir; not a
 
 THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING DEAD. 289 
 
 hint of its contents shall pass my lips. It shall 
 be as if I had never seen it." 
 
 "You will be less liable to interruption if 
 you sit over there by the window," said Phelps, 
 handing him the book. 
 
 Ephraim Collins seated himself as directed, 
 opened the book, and read :
 
 XXIV. 
 
 A TRUE RECORD. 
 
 (i I" WRITE these pages in order that the 
 i happiness of those I love may at no time 
 be imperilled by a lack of knowledge of the 
 events of my life. I shall leave the book in 
 my counsel's hands, with directions to make 
 known its contents to whomsoever he may 
 deem it advisable to impart the secret of my 
 life, and whensoever he believes its perusal 
 may result in any good or the prevention of 
 any evil. I have done little enough of good in 
 my life not to desire to be the unconscious cause 
 of farther beneficence ; and I have done enough 
 of evil to wish to prevent others from doing 
 more, if I may. 
 
 "Accident divided my life into three parts, 
 apparently almost unrelated to each other. In 
 each case, this was done without my volition, 
 though when once effected, I did all in my 
 power to prevent any trace of my former 
 identity from being discovered. Aside from 
 this, mine has hardly been an exceptional ca- 
 
 2QO
 
 A TRUE RECORD. 291 
 
 reer save in one thing. During the first period, 
 or until my twenty-first year, my life was in 
 all respects more tolerable than the average 
 of the class to which I belonged. Indeed, it 
 may be doubtful if, among the millions sus- 
 taining the same relation, there was a single 
 other who enjoyed like advantages and equal 
 opportunities. I certainly never heard of one 
 so highly favored, and to that fact, no doubt, 
 is traceable much that I have enjoyed, and 
 practically all that I have suffered, since that 
 time. 
 
 " So far as I am responsible for the tenor of 
 my life, I have little apology to make for its 
 character. I have not been a good man, as the 
 world measures goodness at least, nor have I 
 always wished to be good. In a few instances, 
 I have wrought evil to my fellows from a set 
 purpose to do them harm ; in many more, 
 I have, I fear, done wrong through lack of 
 knowledge or careless disregard of what I 
 might have learned. In some few cases, my 
 conduct has been animated by revenge, but 
 usually a blind, passionate desire for the hap- 
 piness of those I loved, has been the con- 
 trolling impulse of my life. As a rule, I can 
 honestly claim to have done the best I was 
 capable of doing under the circumstances. In 
 those cases where it would seem that I might
 
 2p 2 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 have done better, the impartial reader will 
 see that antecedent conditions rendered it 
 well-nigh impossible for me to adopt any other 
 course. In addition to that hereditary bias 
 which colors to so great a degree all lives, mine 
 has been shaped by the operation of great 
 natural laws which govern general conditions 
 and are as inflexible as the laws of matter. 
 
 " A knowledge of this fact has taught me to 
 believe in God and in the wisdom and justice 
 of .His dealings with humanity, not that I can 
 clearly see them exemplified in my own life, 
 but because I perceive that my life must be 
 judged by its relation to all other lives past 
 and future and the wisdom of its Author by 
 the sum of all the relations of all human lives. 
 I cannot apply such a measure. I cannot 
 judge of even one life's worth or worthlessness- 
 Its good and evil have not fruited, perhaps 
 have hardly seeded, yet. They may touch 
 other lives yet unborn : so that the works 
 by which it must be judged are yet largely 
 unperformed. Only Infinity, therefore, can 
 rightly judge even the commonest human life. 
 Because of this I have long striven to abstain 
 from blaming individuals for acts that seem to 
 me unjust. I simply do not know how much 
 of the fault belongs to them, and how much is 
 attributable to influences for which they are
 
 A TRUE RECORD. 293 
 
 not responsible. I have ceased to blame the 
 instrument, and learned instead to seek out 
 and hate the force by which it is impelled. 
 
 " My life has been the prey of malign influ- 
 ences which warped the conscience and dulled 
 the apprehension of a whole people, making 
 wrong seem right, and evil to appear more 
 tolerable, when done to one man than if done to 
 another. Those who did these things I have 
 forgiven : the forces which prompted or ex- 
 cused their conduct, I can never hate enough. 
 Of the evil which affects individual lives, only 
 a small portion springs from individual inclina- 
 tion, is what may properly be termed intended 
 wrong. The great bulk of it comes from, 
 habitual apathy to individual right, injustice 
 inspired by greed, or ambition, or even the 
 misapprehended teachings of religion until 
 peoples become crystallized malignities, im- 
 pelled almost irresistibly to do evil. These 
 tendencies it is permissible to hate : these it is a 
 duty to hate a duty which each man owes to 
 his fellow who is wronged thereby, and to God 
 whose beneficence is thwarted by their malign 
 potency. 
 
 " Of the forces which have thus balefully 
 touched my life, the chief is that monster which 
 has been the source of so many woes, the 
 idea that God created one human being infe-
 
 294 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 rior to another, and destined to be forever sub- 
 ordinate and subservient. It is the cloak and 
 cover of all enormity, the shield of oppression, 
 and the ready excuse for unutterable infamy. 
 The man who believes in and practices this 
 dogma may be all that is good and pure, or he 
 may be a leper unconscious of his own foul- 
 ness. The society the people affected by it, 
 become inevitably degraded. Things done at 
 its behest seem pure in their eyes, which done 
 from any other motive would seem inexpressi- 
 bly vile. It becomes an excuse for all crime 
 and an unresting impulse toward fresh injustice. 
 A community which has once yielded to its 
 sway can never halt in the path of oppression 
 until it reaches the climax of evil, or some 
 stronger force compels it to turn backward. 
 It drives, with relentless malignity, the patri- 
 archal slavery of the early days on into the 
 leprous foulness, the inexpressible infamy of its 
 closing years. Beginning to act in the same 
 direction, as soon as the restraining force was 
 removed, it is now urging the same peoples 
 who were affected by its power, on toward 
 another gulf of horror equally wide and deep, 
 which yawns before oppressor and oppressed 
 alike. Wisdom cannot be grafted on the 
 stock of slavery: justice cannot be estab-
 
 A TRUE RECORD. 295 
 
 lished without denunciation and disapproval 
 of the wrong. 
 
 " The American people have not yet learned 
 this lesson. It is not certain that they ever 
 will. They desire credit for having eradicated 
 evil; but are unwilling to discountenance the 
 impulse from which it sprung. They abolished 
 slavery, but in the same breath said to those 
 who had drenched a continent in blood in sup- 
 port of its infamies, in effect: 'Though you 
 shall no longer enslave this race who have been 
 your bondsmen, yet, in consideration of the 
 habit of domination which has become an 
 established part of your nature, we will not 
 give them any efficient safeguard against vio- 
 lence or rapacity, and whatsoever other evil, 
 short of legalized bondage, you may see fit to 
 impose on them, that you are at liberty to 
 perpetrate. We will not listen to their cries ; 
 we will not defend their rights ; we will not 
 redress their wrongs ! ' 
 
 "So the stock of slavery, the underlying 
 principle of the essential inferiority of a race, 
 being freely watered with the blood of free- 
 men, is sending up new and more vigorous 
 shoots, which are already yielding fruits hardly 
 inferior in acrid horror to those which hung 
 upon the tree which was cut down with such 
 a show of earnest purpose to destroy.
 
 296 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 "The other force which is most responsible 
 for the conditions which have affected not only 
 my life, but millions of others, is that religious 
 sentiment which was at once the servant and 
 defender of the other, the worship of a deity 
 which is said to permit, ordain and decree the 
 essential inferiority of one part of humanity to 
 another, and to sanction and approve the sub- 
 ordination of the interests, rights and privi- 
 leges of one section of His believers, to the 
 pleasure, greed and prejudice of another a 
 religion which at one time openly, and at 
 another tacitly, maintains that the right of 
 one class of believers one type of human 
 beings, is essentially inferior to the privilege of 
 another. It has made the Christ the defender 
 of caste the tutelary head of a religion which 
 has one measure of right, of privilege and 
 opportunity for a white man or a white woman, 
 and another standard of right and privilege for 
 a colored man or woman. This religion excuses 
 the white man's license and suppresses the 
 colored man's complaint. For every wrong 
 done the colored man, it finds some palliation ; 
 for the evil he suffers, it urges only patient 
 endurance and offers no hope of remedy this 
 side the grave. It is a religion of injustice and 
 inequality. Its mission is to find excuse for 
 wrong, rather than a remedy for evil. It admin-
 
 A TRUE RECORD. 297 
 
 isters soporifics rather than purgatives, to the 
 troubled conscience. 
 
 " I do not mean by this to assail Christianity. 
 I know little about it except in the abstract, 
 for my own ideas have become so warped that 
 I can hardly imagine a church which has not 
 one door for black and another for white 
 believers, or in which one of the inducements 
 to the colored believer is not that in the king- 
 dom of heaven he shall be accounted white, or 
 at least, as good as a white man. I could not 
 worship such a deity. I would rather suffer 
 eternal torture than accept a God who would 
 measure one man's right by the yard and 
 another's by the barleycorn, or accord to one 
 license to do evil because he is white, and 
 impose on another intolerable wrong because 
 he is black ! 
 
 " Yet I believe in the Carpenter's Son of 
 Nazareth the Christ who came to -bless and 
 cure to whom all men are alike, who did not' 
 wink at the sins of the rich nor magnify the 
 errors of the weak. His teachings I revere as 
 God's ideal of the relation which should sub- 
 sist between man and man, both individually 
 and collectively. The 'white' Christ is man's 
 distortion of that ideal. Yet I believe the 
 ' white ' Christ will continue to dominate the 
 Christian thought, and consequently to mould
 
 298 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 the public sentiment, of this country perhaps 
 of the world, for ages, perhaps forever. Thus 
 far, no free colored race has accepted the relig- 
 ion of the white Christ except to insure its 
 own destruction. The Sandwich Islanders em- 
 braced it, and were destroyed. In Africa, the 
 Cape of Good Hope, the United States, 
 everywhere it has been the accompaniment of 
 bondage, or the precursor of destruction, to 
 the colored man. It is a cult that believes 
 in ' dead Indians,' and subject Negroes. It 
 sends missionaries to proclaim salvation to the 
 heathen, but never thinks of offering justice 
 to him while he remains on earth. 
 
 " These two forces have made my life what it 
 has been. I do not mean to complain. Perhaps, 
 when the Divine test is applied, it will be found 
 that the general welfare of humanity demanded 
 that I should know and feel these very things, 
 that my life has been as easy and as sweet as 
 Divine justice could make it, consistently with 
 the tenor of the lives that went before it, and 
 the good of those that are to come after it. 
 
 " I have, no doubt, often misconceived my 
 duty, and may have wholly failed to correctly 
 interpret my environment or to comprehend 
 the duties and obligations it imposed: I shall 
 relate the story of my life, not to excuse or 
 justify myself. Whether I have acted rightly
 
 A TRUE RECORD. 299 
 
 or wrongly, will be of little consequence to any 
 who may read this record. A knowledge of 
 the influences that inclined me to do well or 
 ill, may possibly help some other soul to avoid 
 my errors and improve upon my successes. I 
 desire to bind no one to my conclusions, but 
 leave each to draw what lesson he may from the 
 story of a life remarkable only for its diffi- 
 culties and disappointments, to determine 
 whether I rightly or wrongly interpreted that 
 riddle of Yesterday which To-morrow forever 
 guesses better than To-day.
 
 " MY FIRST. 
 
 " At my birth I was named Pac nothing 
 more. I was not christened : the law did not 
 permit it. In truth, there was no need ; god- 
 parents were an absurdity to one having a 
 master. When one day old, I was regarded as 
 of the value of one hundred dollars in current 
 funds. From this, I infer that I was a healthy 
 and well-developed infant. I was the fifth 
 child of my mother, who was yet a young 
 woman when I was born. She had no hus- 
 band ; the law forbade the marriage of such as 
 she. She was a comely woman, which was no 
 doubt the reason she found favor in my mas- 
 ter's eyes. I do not remember that there was 
 any trace of African blood in her appearance. 
 Her children all had a striking resemblance 
 to my master. She herself had also a strong 
 resemblance to the females of my master's 
 family. She was a very capable woman and 
 tender-hearted. She sometimes feared her 
 children. might be taken from her, but our mas- 
 ter soothed her with promise^. That she was 
 a profitable servant is apparent from the fact 
 300
 
 MY FIRST. 301 
 
 that, ' Eudice, aged thirty, with seven chil- 
 dren,' was entered as, ' Lot No. 10,' on the 
 administrator's schedule after my father died, 
 and assessed, for the purpose of distribution 
 among the heirs, the Collinses did not sell 
 slaves, though they sometimes bought them, 
 at the sum of $5400 a very moderate price, 
 as I have been assured by those familiar with 
 the market rates, at that time. She was de- 
 scribed as having " very light hair and eyes, 
 medium size, healthy, still in her prime a 
 choice lot. 
 
 " I was then six years old. As I remember 
 her, my mother fully justified this description, 
 which I happened to find attached to the Ad- 
 ministrator's Returns among the records of the 
 County Court many years afterwards. I think 
 she was as good as as most women would 
 have been with her environment. She loved 
 my father, and he was undoubtedly fond of 
 her. The latter fact was of advantage in ame- 
 liorating the conditions of her life. Otherwise, 
 it was of little moment. If it had not been 
 McQueen Collins, it would have been some 
 other man of the same class. Such women as 
 my mother had no other prospect before them. 
 That she was entirely satisfied with her condi- 
 tion is hardly probable ; that she was greatly 
 disturbed by it, I think altogether improbable.
 
 302 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 She held the highest rank one of her class 
 could aspire to ; and was greatly esteemed by 
 the whole of my master's family, some of whose 
 white children she had nursed along with her 
 own. 
 
 " My father was a man highly esteemed by 
 all who knew him, and not without public dis- 
 tinction. His family was an old and honorable 
 one. They owned great estates, and had always 
 been successful in business affairs. He was a 
 member of Congress, and I have heard that I 
 was born here in Washington. He was of 
 strict religious habits ; and upon the whole a 
 very good man, and I have reason to believe, 
 an excellent master. My mother mourned 
 very deeply at his death, partly no doubt from 
 sorrow and partly from apprehension as to her 
 own future and the fate of her children. In 
 the settlement of the estate, she fell to one of 
 the daughters, and was taken to another State. 
 I have heard that her new master was very 
 kind to her. She had several children to take 
 the place of those she lost. Those born during 
 my master's life were scattered here and there 
 among the heirs. I fell to Marse ' Bug,' and 
 remained at the home plantation. I saw most 
 of the others after emancipation, but did not 
 reveal my identity to them. It was useless to 
 do so : I could not do them any good. I have
 
 MY FIRST. 303 
 
 helped some of their children to become white, 
 I hope their children will be able to forget their 
 origin. The one fortunate thing about slavery 
 was that it left no family tree to blight with 
 the shade of its dead branches the new shoots. 
 
 " Marse ' Bug,' was very kind to me. He 
 was younger by three years, and I had been 
 his ' boy ' ever since he was born. He was an 
 easy, good-natured fellow, who liked a good 
 time better than his books. His mother had 
 me taught the same lessons in order to stimu- 
 late him. I did not like the tasks any better 
 than he. Being so nearly of an age, we grew 
 up very much like brothers. There was, in- 
 deed, so striking a resemblance between us 
 that the most casual observer could not fail to 
 notice it, and we were sometimes mistaken for 
 each other. As we grew older, I still shared 
 his lessons and his sports, not unfrequently 
 his dissipations, also. 
 
 " Of course the difference in our positions 
 galled me some, but I do not think I minded 
 it much until I fell in love. I had the thrifty 
 habit of the family, and had already accumu- 
 lated quite a little stock of coin, which I had 
 hidden in a safe place, not with any idea of 
 ever having a use for it, but from the mere 
 instinct of acquiring and hiding. Just before 
 the war, I became acquainted I may as well
 
 304 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 say, infatuated with a girl living on a neigh- 
 boring plantation. Her name was Mazy, 
 that's what they called her, at least. Her 
 mother had belonged to the Mays in her young 
 days, which was probably the reason for the 
 name. Slavery made some queer derivatives. 
 Marse ' Bug ' was christened Junius ; but 
 Junius became 'June-bug/ in the ' quarters/ 
 and finally mere ' Bug,' for convenience. Of 
 course, it was not long before Marse Bug knew 
 about my love affair. We were just back from 
 college, where I not only waited on him, but 
 had studied his lessons with him too, when the 
 whim seized him to have me do so; as it very 
 often did. He had a notion that it helped 
 him to master his tasks if he required me to 
 memorize them first and then repeat them to 
 him by rote. I had a sort of pride in it, too, 
 though I took no real interest in study. Why 
 should I ? Of what value was knowledge to 
 the slave? 
 
 " I was fond of reading, however, and read 
 everything I could lay my hands on. It was 
 against the law to teach a slave, but Marse Bug 
 was very proud of his 'educated nigger,' as he 
 called me, much as if I had been a trick dog or 
 a 'learned pig.' When he first began to study 
 Latin, he had named or rather nicknamed 
 me, Pactolus. Perhaps that was what the
 
 MY FIRST. 305 
 
 original ' Pac,' was intended for. One night 
 some of his cronies at the University were hav- 
 ing a carouse, and I was called upon to show 
 off my acquirements. One of them, swearing 
 I was the first 'nigger' student who had ever 
 been at the institution, proposed that I be 
 dubbed Pactolus, Prime, and required to cele- 
 brate the event by drinking an immense bowl 
 of punch, and performing sundry other antics 
 for their entertainment. They set out to cele- 
 brate my 'matriculation,' as they termed it, by 
 a roaring debauch, in which I was made to 
 share for their amusement. I may as well con- 
 fess that I did so not at all unwillingly. 
 
 "The programme was carried out to the 
 letter, and I was rolled under the bed drunk 
 by our drunken guests, and my master put in 
 the bed also drunk. So they thought at least. 
 In the morning I found myself in the bed, and 
 Marse Bug under it. The matter got out, and 
 he was sent home in disgrace for the rest of 
 the year. We never returned. It was during 
 this period of rustication that I met my Mazy. 
 
 " I went to see my sweetheart at every 
 opportunity ; but I was startled enough when 
 I learned that ' Miss Mary ' that was Marse 
 Bug's mother had bought her in order, so he 
 told me, that I ' needn't have to be away from 
 home so much.' From that time I was jealous
 
 36 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 of my master. Then the war came on and he 
 went into the service. I went with him. He 
 was not often at home, and always left me in 
 the camp when he went. 
 
 " One day along in the second year of the 
 war, he told me to take his things down into 
 the city, near which we were in camp. When 
 I did so, he went to the station, and told me 
 he had got leave to stay in town for a week, 
 but was going home, instead. I was to remain 
 in the city until his return. Instead of obey- 
 ing, I took the next train and followed him. 
 I had no difficulty about getting a pass, having 
 forged a letter to the Commander of the Post, 
 from Marse Bug, asking leave for his servant 
 to go home and bring on some ' supplies.' I 
 was hardly six hours behind my master. It 
 was night when I arrived. The house was 
 brilliantly illuminated in honor of his return. 
 I approached through the garden, passing 
 under a long arbor. It was the place where I 
 had been accustomed to meet my sweetheart, 
 and my mind was full of her as I stood in the 
 flower-scented shadow of the vine. Passing 
 through I saw, in the moonlight at the end, 
 the subject of my thought, in my master's 
 arms ! To wrench off a piece of the railing and 
 deal him a blow that came near being fatal, 
 was the work of an instant. I supposed him
 
 MY FIRST. 307 
 
 dead, and have always regretted that the 
 stroke was not mortal. I suppose God knows 
 why he was permitted to live ; I do not. The 
 girl fled without a word. I took a horse from 
 the stables ; dug up my little store of money, 
 and three days after was in the Federal lines. 
 
 " Thus ended the first chapter of the story of 
 my life. Henceforth, I was to be not myself, 
 but another.
 
 " MY SECOND." 
 
 " My second life began when the first ended.. 
 I was mistaken for a white man by the picket 
 which captured and marched me into the 
 Federal camp. It was not strange that they 
 should err in this respect : I was fairly well- 
 dressed, and the regiment whose lines I en- 
 tered was made up of Northern men, who were 
 unfamiliar with the peculiar earmarks of bond- 
 age. Very naturally, I had not so many of 
 these distinguishing features as some of my 
 fellows. I was suspected of being a spy, and 
 was taken before the Colonel. He was a man 
 of middle age; a lawyer, keen, observant, and 
 not so trammeled with regard for orders and 
 regulations as if his life had been purely mili- 
 tary. I invented a story to comport with the 
 mistake my captors had made, and this was 
 repeated by the sergeant who took me to the 
 commanding officer. I had assumed the role 
 of a Union man fleeing from the Confederate 
 conscription. It was a common enough ex- 
 perience, and I had no idea I would be tripped 
 in the story I meant to tell. The Colonel 
 308
 
 MY SECO.VD. 309 
 
 scanned me closely, and then began to ask 
 questions. After a time we were left alone. 
 
 "'Pac,'said the Colonel, in a sharp, low tone, 
 
 " I sprang to my feet in an instant, I had 
 been sitting on a camp-stool and before I 
 knew it, had dropped my hat and answered, 
 ' Sah ! ' 
 
 " ' I thought so,' said the Colonel with a 
 smile. 'Sit down.' 
 
 " He then showed me a newspaper one of 
 his scouts had brought in, which gave a full 
 account of my assault upon my master. He 
 questioned me about it. 
 
 " I told him the whole truth. He closed the 
 tent-flap, and informed the sentry that he was 
 not to be disturbed for a little while. 
 
 " ' I am required,' he said, ' by general 
 orders not to harbor runaways. To put you 
 outside of my lines would be to return a man 
 to slavery who is as white as I am ; and also 
 to condemn you to death for an act which 
 all civilized codes justify. By God ! I will 
 not do it ! ' 
 
 "He walked across the tent once or twice- 
 and then continued : 
 
 " ' Of course, you cannot stay here as a Negro. 
 You have come in as a white man, why not 
 remain one ? ' 
 
 " To this proposition I made no objection.
 
 31 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " ' See here,' said he after a moment's 
 thought : ' Why not enlist and become one 
 of my scouts ? You know this region and 
 ought to be of service to us.' 
 
 " I told him then about a lot of Confed- 
 erate stores I had seen but slightly guarded 
 at a neighboring railway station, on my way 
 home. 
 
 " ' That's just the thing,' said he. ' You 
 can enlist ; I will give out that you have 
 brought valuable information, and we will 
 move from here to-morrow.' 
 
 " Twenty minutes afterwards I had donned 
 the uniform of a Federal soldier. Thereafter, 
 for half a dozen years, I was to be known only 
 as P. P. Smith. We marched at daylight : my 
 information proved correct, and the movement 
 added another to the well-earned feathers in 
 the cap of our Colonel. He was breveted a 
 Brigadier; I was appointed a Sergeant. A 
 year afterwards, I was promoted to a Lieuten- 
 ancy in a colored regiment on his recommen- 
 dation. A short time after this, he was killed 
 in battle. I was then the only one who knew 
 the secret of my first life. 
 
 " After the close of the war, my regiment 
 was ordered on duty near my old home. No 
 one recognized me. A uniform and shoulder- 
 straps made an impenetrable disguise, especially
 
 MY SECOND. 311 
 
 as the slave-boy's face had been bare, and the 
 lieutenant's was bearded. 
 
 " My infatuation revived at sight of my 
 former sweetheart. She had a child, now. I 
 made myself known to her, with no honorable 
 intentions, I will admit. The story she told 
 melted my heart. She had been deceived by 
 my master, who sent her to the arbor to meet 
 me, and had caught her in his arms before 
 she knew who it was. So she said, at least ; I 
 do not know whether she spoke truly, or not : 
 and it is of no consequence now. That she 
 afterwards yielded to his desires, was hardly 
 to be counted to her discredit : the law did 
 not excuse disobedience nor justify resistance. 
 She bore marks of the lash that seemed to 
 attest her faithfulness. It is a short story: I 
 supplied her with funds : she came North, 
 when my regiment was mustered out, and we 
 were married. 
 
 " I bought a plantation in South Carolina 
 and removed there. I prospered, as a Collins 
 always does. Saying nothing about our racial 
 affinities, we were accepted as white. Why* 
 should we not have been ? An expert could 
 not have detected a trace of color in either; 
 though he might have found traces of servile 
 condition, no doubt, in both. One who has 
 been a slave can never be made wholly free.
 
 3 12 PACTOLUS PRIMED 
 
 Liberty is a growth an evolution not an 
 instantaneous fact. 
 
 " I tried to do my duty as a citizen, and took 
 an active part in the political events of the 
 time ; but my plantation, my business, was my 
 delight. Both my politics and my prosperity, 
 however, made me enemies. Returning from 
 the city one night, I was shot and left for dead 
 upon the highway. A woman found me one 
 of those curious types of the colored race, in 
 which it seems as if something of the savage 
 still exists, and impels them to live alone. Tall, 
 straight as an arrow, the brown of her cheek 
 had been changed to bronze by race admix- 
 ture. Her name was Martha: if she had any 
 other, I never knew it. Her hair was long and 
 snow-white, though she could hardly have been 
 more than thirty. She would never talk about 
 herself, and grew moody and savage if ques- 
 tioned. Some uncontrollable frenzy had sent 
 her to the swamps when hardly grown. The 
 war was in progress then : between the lines of 
 the two armies she was safe, but always on the 
 alert for danger. It was not difficult to live 
 under the circumstances ; but the life was that 
 of a savage. After peace came, she built a hut 
 on the edge of the swamp. She worked some- 
 times, but not regularly. The colored people 
 regarded her with fear, as a conjurer ; the whites
 
 SECOND. 313 
 
 with suspicion, as a pilferer. She took me to 
 her hut and brought a physician. It was a long 
 while before I recovered : when I did it was to 
 find myself a cripple. Worse than that, my hair 
 had fallen out, and my skin had become what 
 it is now. The doctor said it was the effect of 
 the remedies he had used. 
 
 " I hardly cared : perhaps I was even glad to 
 be thus disguised. When I asked about my 
 family, both the doctor and the woman main- 
 tained a discreet silence. Finally, I was well 
 enough to return to my home. Arriving at 
 the gate, I saw my sometime master sitting on 
 the porch. He ordered me off the lot, and 
 would have set the dogs upon me but they re- 
 fused to obey him. My wife stood looking on. 
 My little daughter clambered down the steps 
 and came wonderingly up to me. As I stood 
 there fondling her cheek, I determined on my 
 plan. I returned to the hut and took the 
 woman into my confidence, Fortunately, I 
 had a considerable sum of money about me 
 when I was shot. I had wondered why it had 
 not been taken. As soon as I saw my old 
 master, I knew who had been my assailant, and 
 why. I did not question my wife's guilt, and 
 cannot understand why I did not kill them 
 both. Instead of that, I stole my child from 
 her room, and left my knife sticking in the
 
 3*4 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 head-board of the bed. If she had awakened, 
 I should have driven it to her heart. 
 
 " The woman took the child to the city, 
 where she had already rented a lodging. I 
 went to her old haunt in the swamp. There 
 was not much search for the child at least, I 
 did not hear of much. When I went back to my 
 plantation again, my old master was living alone 
 in a new house he had built in the yard. I 
 thought I knew the reason of the change. Per- 
 haps I was wrong. I never saw him afterward. 
 
 " I returned to the city, and remained for a 
 time with the woman who had nursed me. She 
 was very fond of mo, and as faithful as a hound, 
 but could not bear restraint. She wanted to 
 go back to the swamps. I think she resented 
 my misfortune even more bitterly than I. I con- 
 cluded to give up the struggle to be white and 
 respectable, return with her and take on the 
 role of a lame, vagabond ' nigger,' for the rest 
 of my life. On mentioning my design to her, 
 I was surprised to meet objection. She said I 
 must take the child and go away. She had all 
 along been apprehensive in regard to my safety. 
 She refused to accompany me, preferring to 
 look out for herself. I think she felt a sense 
 of inferiority, that made my presence irksome. 
 I divided the money I had left with her, and 
 came onto Washington with my child. I have
 
 MY SECOND. 315 
 
 never heard of her since. She was a true friend : 
 I mean to go back and find her, if the "plan I 
 have in mind succeeds. Somehow, I do not 
 feel that I have treated her exactly right. I 
 am sure she has watched and waited for me, 
 and I should like to see her once more. Who 
 knows but I may yet end my life as a crippled 
 nigger?
 
 " MY THIRD. 
 
 " With my arrival in Washington, commences 
 the third period of my life. I began work as a 
 boot-black, calling myself Prime, and afterward 
 Pactolus Prime, my old slave nickname. When 
 I got a little ahead and wanted to do business, 
 I used the name P. P. Smith, whose agent I 
 professed to be. I have so carefully kept the 
 secret of my identity, that I think no one but 
 my counsel suspects that the well-known dealer 
 in real estate is none other than the boot-black 
 of the Best House. 
 
 " I fully intended to return some time and 
 kill the man who had robbed me of so much, 
 and I do not know why I did not, unless it was 
 that my love for my daughter prevented. I 
 did not want to leave her alone. It disarmed 
 me curiously, too, when I thought of my wife. 
 I do not think I hated her as one would sup- 
 pose. Her falsehood overwhelmed me. I did 
 not know the extent of her guilt. I did not 
 wish to know it. I hoped always that she might 
 not have yielded until she thought me dead 
 that she might not have yielded at all. 
 316
 
 MY THIRD. 317 
 
 " It was foolish no doubt, but while I waited 
 and tried to think what I would do what form 
 my vengeance should take, somehow I lost the 
 desire. I became interested in little business 
 ventures, growing constantly larger and almost 
 always successful. I bought the neglected 
 place I had rented. It was almost hidden by 
 weeds. I gave up the front-yard to them and 
 encouraged them to grow. Sorel and briers 
 and mulleins and burdocks and thistles, it did 
 me good to see them usurp the whole premises 
 all but a little path at one side next the thick, 
 thorny osage-orange hedge. I was told that 
 a crazy poet owned it once, and liked the weeds 
 to swarm about his den. It suited my mood 
 too, and as there was no change, the neighbors 
 troubled themselves little about the black crip- 
 pled misanthrope who occupied it. 
 
 " But within I had my jewel, the daughter, 
 my old master's daughter, I told every one, 
 whose face grew fairer and dearer until I hardly 
 thought of anything else on earth. All I did 
 or ventured was for her. I furnished the inte- 
 rior of the old stone house over which the wood- 
 bine clambered and around which the weeds 
 flourished, until those who pitied me would 
 have wondered had they known how bright it 
 was within. 
 
 " Those were happy days by far the hap-
 
 318 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 piest of my life. All the love I had given to 
 the mother, I gave now to % the daughter, and 
 more. Because I loved her so, I forgave the 
 mother, tried to think of her as dead, and 
 blessed her for this fair flower. It was very 
 foolish, but one shut off from other men's lives 
 and hopes, doubly branded must have his 
 own life. I had mine. 
 
 " We lived alone. . The years went by so 
 swiftly that I hardly noted them so sweetly 
 that I have never numbered them. It was one 
 long bright day. I was her ' Uncle Pac,' the 
 one being she knew and loved. I had enough ; 
 so we lacked for nothing. Every evening I 
 spent with her : and everything I touched 
 prospered. I almost forgot that I had ever 
 been anything else, and wondered often what 
 those who pitied my condition would have 
 thought, if they had really known what it was. 
 
 " But the sweet dream could not last forever. 
 I awoke from it to find that the child was grow- 
 ing up to womanhood, and'the followers of the 
 white Christ were seeking to take her from me. 
 What had such an old ' nigger' to do with so 
 fair a flower? People began to talk solicitously 
 about her; very shamefully about me. Her 
 teachers were especially interested in her. They 
 did not exactly propose to take her from me, 
 but I knew what was coming, separation or
 
 MY THIRD. 319 
 
 shame. I must decide between shame for her, 
 and sorrow for myself. I could not hesitate, 
 but took her to the good Sisters, as far away 
 as I could from myself and my surroundings. 
 She knew nothing of my business or my occupa- 
 tion. To her I have been only her father's old 
 servant. 
 
 " Hardly had she gone, when I began to 
 plan for her return. When I found Benny was 
 in the city, I was for a time in fear that my 
 wife would find out my secret, and profane it 
 with the claim of sharing my success and my 
 love. I asked no questions, fearing to risk 
 even my unnatural mask. It was not so much 
 from dislike or distrust of her, as from jealousy; 
 I did not want to share my child her love, 
 her happiness, with the mother. 
 
 " My wife, I did not love her any more. 
 Come to look back upon it, I doubt if I ever 
 have loved her since I saw her in my master's 
 embrace. But she was fair and I was ambi- 
 tious. I wanted to make her rich to gratify all 
 her desires, and have her thank me for all she 
 enjoyed. Now, my ambition had taken a new 
 direction. I wanted to see my daughter rich, 
 accomplished, and without suspicion of her true 
 lineage. To my mind the mother was the daugh- 
 ter's enemy. I took Benny into my employ, 
 simply that I might keep track of this enemy.
 
 320 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " I have succeeded. My child will soon re- 
 turn : she will live in her own house. I will 
 go back to my weed-hidden snuggery. Benny 
 will go away, I will make it an object for him 
 to do so ; or better yet, he shall have my busi- 
 nesss, and / will go away. He foolishly insists 
 on being a Negro. Perhaps it is best. His 
 father deserves to be crucified in him. But his 
 children ? I do not think I am as nearly white- 
 souled as I once was. Perhaps with the dark 
 integument, I have received some of the nature 
 of the dark race. At least, I cannot bear to 
 think of a father condemning his children to 
 debasement. Of course, if I were really white, 
 I should not mind it perhaps would count it 
 praiseworthy in a man, to put an impassable 
 abyss between himself and the children of his 
 shame ! But as it is, I shudder at the thought 
 that a man should beget souls, whom he knows 
 must transmit the curse of inferiority, the 
 ever-present thought of injustice and debase- 
 ment, to unnumbered generations, transform- 
 ing the bequest of love into an inheritance of 
 reproach and hate. I shall disappear when I 
 have seen her, I hardly dare call her my child 
 now, even in these pages fairly started in life. 
 Perhaps I may induce Benny to abandon his 
 Quixotic notions and look out for the happi- 
 ness of himself and his own. These things
 
 MY THIRD. 321 
 
 would make a good ending of a life that has 
 been vainly devoted to obliterating the curse 
 that rested on it. I would be willing to suffer 
 more than I have, to see these purposes even 
 half-accomplished. There is no reason why I 
 should not succeed, but somehow I am afraid 
 of failure. 
 
 My blue-eyed, fair-haired daughter does not 
 imagine that I am her father. I have cared 
 for her only as the servant of her dead parent. 
 God! How hard it has been! Especially in 
 these later years when I saw her blossoming 
 into beautiful womanhood ! But that way only 
 lies salvation for her. Once known to be my 
 daughter, or even suspected of relationship 
 with me and all the influences of Christian 
 civilization will be arrayed to drive her back 
 into the abyss of shame from which I have 
 struggled to save her her and her children, 
 who I trust may yet rise up and call her 
 blessed ! 
 
 " The white Christ does not permit even 
 the fairest and purest to enter that most ex- 
 clusive of civilized castes, the rank of his 
 favored disciples, if a hint of color can be 
 found in their lineage. It is true that Negro 
 worshipers are permitted at His altars, but it 
 is on sufferance, merely. They must not ap- 
 proach too nearly the white believers, even in
 
 322 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 prayer. Its law is inflexible : the white man 
 may touch the colored race without shame, 
 only to do it wrong. Sins which would be 
 mortal, if done against a white man, are but 
 venial if perpetrated against the Negro. As 
 for the colored woman, this is the openly 
 declared edict of Christian civilization, which 
 no man dare deny 'One drop of Negro blood 
 known to exist in the veins of a woman draws 
 her down to the social status of the Negro, 
 and impresses upon her whole life the stamp 
 of the fateful Negro caste, though she may 
 rival the Easter lily in the whiteness of her 
 skin, and the purity of her soul.' 
 
 "So I have kept my Easter lily white. Her 
 friends are white; and her faith? I do not 
 know about that. I could not bring myself 
 to have her taught that form of Christian faith 
 which has been so fateful to all colored peo- 
 ples. While I wished her to be white, I could 
 not bear that she should be taught to despise 
 the race with which she is even remotely allied. 
 She has been educated by the Good Sisters ; 
 but they were instructed that no effort to 
 proselyte her would be tolerated. I have seen 
 her only twice since she went away. I trust 
 she still believes in Christ, whether she be- 
 lieves in Christianity or not, is of little moment. 
 The followers of the white Christ are tolerant
 
 MY THIRD. 3:3 
 
 of unbelief. The most notorious mocker that 
 ever lived, if he be but white, is accounted 
 better than the saintliest black who ever 
 sought Divine mercy for those who sinned 
 against him. My hope is that the child has 
 never suspected her own origin, and if that be 
 the case, it is my explicit request that she may 
 never know it. 
 
 " Should she have such suspicion, however, 
 and manifest any inclination to identify herself 
 in whatever mariner, and for whatever purpose, 
 with that most unfortunate people, I desire 
 that she shall first read this account of my life, 
 and determine for herself what is the duty she 
 owes to herself and her posterity. I do not 
 wish to impose conditions upon her, but I hope 
 she may not decide hastily. 
 
 "There is not much more to tell. I would 
 be glad to have her take the name which I 
 made honorable as a soldier, both because of 
 that fact, and because it would take her farther 
 away from the suspicion it is of all things 
 needful for her to avoid."
 
 XXV. 
 
 " BLOOD WILL TELL." 
 
 WHEN Mr. Ephraim Collins had finished 
 the perusal of this record, he sat a long 
 while looking out upon the crowds who were 
 passing to and fro on the other side of the 
 Avenue. Yet he did not seem to be notic- 
 ing them. On the contrary, as he held the red- 
 covered book tightly clasped in his hand, he 
 seemed to behold faces no longer visible to 
 be living over a momentous past, or perhaps 
 speculating in regard to a still more momen- 
 tous future. It may be that he was only try- 
 ing to solve that ever-recurring problem of 
 human life : How will Yesterday's conditions 
 affect To-morrow's tendencies and the world's 
 destiny? 
 
 After a time, he crossed the room and laid 
 the book upon the lawyer's desk. His face 
 was very grave, and his voice earnest and sub- 
 dued, as he said : 
 
 " I am sorry I didn't see him, to know him, 
 that is. He had a hard time, certainly, without 
 324
 
 "BLOOD WILL TELL." 325 
 
 being very much to blame himself, as it seems 
 to me. What he says is all true so far as I 
 know. As for the blow my brother received, 
 though I don't think he ever got over it, I 
 must say I don't blame Pac. As to what hap- 
 pened afterwards, I never knew it until after 
 he was dead. The doctor told me, the same 
 one who attended Pac when he was shot. He 
 told me about that, too, the shooting I mean, 
 not the transformation and I naturally put 
 the two things together. I suppose the doctor 
 thought I would "never know the man again, 
 even if I found him, as proved to be the case. 
 It's well I didn't, too ; but now I've read what 
 he has written I think it must have been the 
 woman's doings Martha's, I mean. They're 
 queer, sometimes, those nigger-women ; get 
 desperate, you know, and are as unaccountable 
 as as if they were white. It's more like a 
 woman such a revenge and then her stay- 
 ing with brother Jun afterwards. 
 
 " You wonder what I'm talking about ? I 
 told you my brother had suffered an injury. 
 It must have been about the time he bought 
 the place of the widow as everybody sup- 
 posed she was, at least somebody broke in on 
 brother Bug one night, tied him up and abused 
 him, shamefully. He wasn't ever the same man 
 afterwards. The widow, she ran away afraid
 
 3 2 6 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 of her life as I take it, though perhaps she'd 
 no reason to be and this woman, Martha, 
 came and took care of him. She always lived 
 with him afterwards, and is on the place man- 
 aging it now. The doctor says the truth never 
 got out, and I expect that this woman was 
 at the bottom of the whole matter, doing 
 it to revenge Pac's injury, you see. However 
 that may be, brother Bug came to feel mighty 
 kindly toward her, before he died, and left her 
 enough to make her well off. She said she 
 didn't want it, though ; she'd promised him to 
 stay on the plantation until them that was 
 entitled to it came to take possession ; then 
 she was going back to the Swamp." 
 
 " She will not be disturbed," said the lawyer. 
 
 "I. doubt if she stays when she learns the 
 man is dead," added Collins. " She's a good 
 manager, though," he continued thriftily. 
 
 " I suppose he made a good deal of money 
 here?" he inquired after a moment. " Pac, I 
 mean." 
 
 " He was very well off," answered the law- 
 yer cautiously. 
 
 " So I hear : I'm glad of it, too, glad of it. 
 As he says, it's in the blood to get along. He 
 couldn't have been a Collins and missed the 
 chances he's had here, What's the daughter 
 like ? "
 
 "BLOOD WILL TELL." 327 
 
 The lawyer opened a drawer of his desk, and 
 took from it a photograph, which he handed 
 to the other, who scanned it closely. 
 
 " Favors her mother, don't she ? " he said. 
 " One can see she's a Collins, though," he 
 added with a touch of pride in his tone. " Got 
 any amount of sense, I'll guarantee." 
 
 The lawyer smiled. 
 
 " Has she any idea of of the truth ? " 
 
 "Not a doubt of it." 
 
 "What'll she do?" 
 
 " What can she do ? " 
 
 " Why, she's rich, educated, handsome." 
 
 The lawyer shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " Nobody would know," suggested Collins 
 earnestly. 
 
 " She would know." 
 
 " You don't mean that she will throw away 
 all the chances her father worked so hard to 
 give her, and become a nigger ! " 
 
 A look of supreme disgust passed over the 
 speaker's face as he uttered these words, show- 
 ing how sincere was his estimate of the degra- 
 dation attaching to such a course. 
 
 " I do not know what she will do," said the 
 lawyer, wrinkling his brow and biting the side 
 of his mustache. " I do not suppose she her- 
 self has any idea yet : but one thing I feel sure 
 about : she will never sail under false colors,
 
 3 28 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 and she will never submit to be regarded as an 
 inferior." 
 
 " But her father's wish," urged the other. 
 
 " She is much more likely to heed his ex- 
 ample than his words. He struggled all his 
 life to win equality of opportunity and esteem. 
 He concluded that such struggle was hopeless: 
 that color-caste has become a part of Christ- 
 ianity, or at least of Protestant Christianity, 
 and that it is useless to combat it. He advises 
 dissimulation, therefore, as the only means by 
 which his daughter and her posterity may 
 obtain the paltry privilege of standing on a 
 level with thousands who are in every respect 
 her inferiors. This involves, of course, a denial 
 of her paternity. Such denial she will never 
 make, nor allow to be made by any implication, 
 on her behalf. She may leave the country, 
 defy public sentiment or do anything else, 
 except deny her relationship to a father whom 
 she worships as a hero." 
 
 " I don't blame her," said Collins medita- 
 tively ; "but it it don't seem necessary. If 
 the country was all Southern, it would be 
 different but the people of the North, " 
 
 '* You're wanted at the telephone, sir," 
 said a clerk entering from another room. " Dr, 
 Holbrook, I think," he added. 
 
 " Excuse me," said the lawyer rising.
 
 "BLOOD WILL TELL." 329 
 
 When he returned a few minutes after- 
 wards, the conversation was not resumed. 
 The details of settlement and adjustment 
 were left to be determined between Collins 
 and the Major.
 
 XXVI. 
 
 THE LAW OF PROGRESS. 
 
 IT was only a few minutes after Ephraim 
 Collins left, that Dr. Holbrook entered the 
 office. 
 
 "How do you do, Doctor?" said Phelps 
 cordially, as he extended his hand for the wraps 
 which the other, with professional carefulness, 
 was proceeding unbidden to remove. " I hope 
 you are none the worse for last night's expo- 
 sure ? " 
 
 " Oh, that is nothing," answered the physi- 
 cian. " Of course, I do not go out at night pro- 
 fessionally, as a rule not after ten o'clock, that 
 is. It is a matter of self-defense when one comes 
 to my time of life. Besides that, it is only fair 
 to the young fellows. It is no easy matter to 
 start a practice in a great city, and if those who 
 have attained rank in the profession did not 
 give the youngsters a chance, there would be no 
 way for them to get on at all, until somebody 
 died. I can remember when I thought it the 
 330
 
 THE LA W OF PROGRESS. 331 
 
 very acme of good fortune that an emi- 
 nent physician should send his night-cases 
 to me." 
 
 " So you 'are doing a like favor for another?" 
 
 " Certainly ; it is the common tariff of good- 
 will, which every one must pay who would be 
 esteemed worthy of a place in the great repub- 
 lic of science. Only a hog climbs up the ladder 
 of success and remains indifferent to those upon 
 the rungs below him." 
 
 " I am afraid few practice such liberal phil- 
 osophy," said the lawyer smiling. 
 
 " More than you think, sir, more than you 
 think," answered the physician enthusiastically. 
 " Men do more good than we give them credit 
 for, anyhow do it almost unconsciously. It is 
 only when they become possessed with an idea 
 that they are exceptionally good or wise or 
 capable, that they become thoroughly selfish. 
 Individuals, classes or peoples who are pos- 
 sessed with an idea of their own inherent supe- 
 riority are always deaf to any consideration of 
 justice to another. Their wish, inclination, 
 pleasure, over-rides another's right, and makes 
 injustide seem a natural and proper thing for 
 them to do. These are swinish ethics, whether 
 manifested in the life of the individual or so- 
 ciety. There is much less of it than one would 
 suppose, individually, but collectively it gets to
 
 33 2 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 be a fashion in every state of society in which 
 the attention of individuals becomes, as it 
 were, introverted, fastened upon their own lux- 
 uries and enjoyment, instead of being fixed 
 upon new duties and fresh achievements. Pro- 
 gress is always liberal." 
 
 " One would think, Doctor, that you supposed 
 all physical analogies to hold good in the moral 
 and social world." 
 
 " I told you last night how hard it is for me 
 to let go of a line of thought on which I have 
 once started. I may take a rest upon it for 
 years, but when something calls it up again, off 
 I go as fresh as a hound who strikes a trail after 
 having lost it. Our experience last night 
 started me on one of these trails, and I thought 
 I would come around and tell you of it while it 
 is fresh in my mind. I don't suppose I shall 
 ever elaborate it any further, but I really think 
 it has in it the kernel of a great philosophy. I 
 do not know that the proposition is a universal 
 one, but its illustrations are frequent enough to 
 show that it is not limited to the physical world 
 at least. The idea is this, that the penalty of 
 evil-doing partakes, generally, if not always, of 
 the nature of the sin itself. That this is a 
 divine law appertaining to nations and peo- 
 ples as well as to individuals. 
 
 "Of course, in the physical world, it has
 
 THE LA W OF PROGRESS. 333 
 
 hourly exemplifications. Disease is, in most 
 cases, the result of the physical sin of the indi- 
 vidual or of those responsible for his tendencies. 
 A man abuses the organs of his body, and is 
 punished by their rebellion. That is all there 
 is of it. The sin may be through ignorance, 
 accident, or sheer neglect. No matter, it is all 
 sin a violation of physical law and the pen- 
 alty follows. A man overloads his stomach and 
 is punished by its qualms ; he overtaxes his 
 nerves and his hand becomes unsteady, his 
 eye refuses to do his bidding, or his brain plays 
 him false in its deductions. In every case, the 
 penalty partakes of the very character of the 
 crime." 
 
 " But suppose it is-an inherited or epidemic 
 disease ? " 
 
 " Then you merely separate cause and effect 
 and make it harder to ascertain the fact of simi- 
 larity. Somebody has sinned blindly or will- 
 fully against physical health, and that sin has 
 produced either a heritable tendency or an 
 avenging spore, which carries the very type 
 of its cause into other lands, or sends it 
 down to scourge the descendants of the of- 
 fender." 
 
 " That seems clear enough, so far as heri- 
 table disease is concerned." 
 
 11 But hardly accounts for contagion, you
 
 334 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 think ? Very probably not, and yet there are 
 a good many things that point that way. Of 
 course, we know the origin of but few such dis- 
 eases, yet what we do know about them is 
 consistent with this theory. There is cholera, 
 for instance. Universal tradition points to its 
 origin among the weak, half-starved, thirst- 
 parched pilgrims of the eastern world. How 
 suggestive of the prostration resulting from 
 these combined causes, is that sudden collapse 
 which is the special symptom of this disease ! 
 The spore reproduces, you see, with deadly cer- 
 tainty the very types of human suffering which 
 resulted from the primal violation of physical 
 law, the causative sin. It is merely a multi- 
 plied avenger whose function is to destroy so 
 many that such violations of natural law shall 
 be prevented cured, remedied, don't you see ? 
 It is the lash of fear applied to human con- 
 sciousness. There are other diseases which 
 even more clearly illustrate this, and some, I 
 must admit, of the origin of which we know 
 too little to make any reliable deduction in 
 regard to them." 
 
 " But how do you get across the dividing line 
 and apply your principle to evil which is not 
 of a physical character, or which is general in 
 its application to nations or races? I confess 
 I do not see."
 
 THE LA W OF PROGRESS. 335 
 
 " Yet you frequently act oil the idea, that it 
 does," said the physician. " You admit the 
 principle that violence begets violence : that 
 every act of larceny increases the number of 
 those inclined to steal ; that reckless greed of 
 gain stimulates fraud ; arid the making wealth 
 the sole measure of merit comes, at length, to 
 curse the perpetrators in their strength. Look 
 at the robber-nation which discovered the New 
 World. More than half of it became subject 
 to her sway. The very spirit of pillage which 
 was implanted in the breasts of her people 
 has wrought her own destruction. England's 
 greed for individual wealth has given her a 
 horde of dependent paupers whose lust for 
 possession is beginning to threaten, not merely 
 her peace, but the overthrow of the very system 
 by which her boasted wealth was acquired. If 
 history teaches anything, it is, to my mind at 
 least, that the nation which perpetrates wrong 
 upon another nation or people, simply plaits 
 the scourge that shall some time be laid upon 
 its own back." 
 
 " Figuratively, you mean, of course." 
 " Literally. I mean that there is that mys- 
 tical quality attached to the very act of wrong- 
 doing that sets in motion the causes which 
 produce retributory consequences of similar 
 character. Sometimes they are physical,
 
 33 6 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 sometimes they are moral, sometimes eco- 
 nomical." 
 
 " Then you would make the innocent suffer 
 as well as the guilty ? 
 
 " There is no question of guilt or innocence 
 in it, because it does not depend in the least 
 degree upon intent. A law is violated : the 
 penalty must be paid : that is all there is of it. 
 Whether it is the doer of evil ; those who profit 
 by his acts ; those who are sureties for his good 
 behavior, or those on whom the heritage of his 
 evil descends, it matters not. The penalty must 
 be paid, and as the wrong is, such in type must 
 be the expiation. 
 
 "Yes, the innocent suffer with the guilty. 
 That is the way God applies the lash to human- 
 ity so as to secure amendment. You remem- 
 ber how the typhus swept over the city a few 
 years ago when the great sewer burst. It was 
 a crime. The laws of nature had been violated : 
 dishonest work done : insufficient safeguards 
 provided. We have hardly ceased to pay the 
 penalty yet. Every now and then, the spores 
 then scattered, spring into new life and we bury 
 another victim. Good and bad, innocent and 
 guilty alike suffered. The Divine scourged 
 and terrified. We made haste to apply the 
 remedy no, not the remedy ; there could be 
 none ; the time for remedy had passed : the
 
 THE LA ic OF rxoGxxss. 337 
 
 dead were dead ; the dying doomed. But we 
 provided a safeguard, a prevcntative of future 
 evil of like character we made a sufficient 
 and reliable sewer." 
 
 " Well, Doctor," said the lawyer gravely, " no 
 one can accuse you of building on a narrow 
 foundation. You would make every day's life 
 a lesson taught by the Divine." 
 
 " And why not ? He whose wisdom framed 
 the laws of life must be a continuing teacher 
 of those that live and have intelligence to ken 
 the lessons He would impart. Not more cer- 
 tainly is it true that ' necessity is the mother 
 of invention,' than that suffering is the seed of 
 progress. You see it in the law. Some man's 
 smart has been the source of other's safety in 
 every branch of legislation and jurisprudence. 
 Every flower of political progress has sprung 
 from some kernel of oppression. Wrong is the 
 only subsoil from which legal right has ever 
 come." 
 
 " I do not know but you are right," said the 
 other cautiously. 
 
 " In material progress the same is true. 
 Weakness and terror are the only sources of 
 progress. The lightning killed for ages : the 
 philosopher sought a way to restrain it and dis- 
 covered the mightiest servant of man. The 
 winds are slow and treacherous: we imprison the
 
 33 8 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 mist and mock alike at their violence and their 
 lagging. The sea overflows and destroys ; we 
 build a dike. A reservoir gives way and thou- 
 sands perish : we are taught the use of a waste- 
 gate. The agony of millions wrings the heart 
 of man until, groping for relief, we find an 
 anaesthetic. In everything suffering actual or 
 prospective isthe chief impulse toward amend- 
 ment. Sometimes it takes the form of cure, 
 sometimes the higher form of prevention. 
 Why should we not trace this law in the 
 molar movements of history as well as in the 
 restricted domain of medicine, law, and ma- 
 terial science?" 
 
 " Perhaps it might be done." 
 
 " Well, I did not come to convert you to 
 my new doctrine nor trap you into dangerous 
 admissions. What I wanted to tell you was 
 a strange illustration of this theory which came 
 into my mind after I left you last night, and 
 kept me awake the greater part of the time 
 until morning. Did you ever trace the origin 
 of the yellow fever?" 
 
 " I do not remember to have heard it, though 
 I have an impression that it somehow came 
 from Africa." 
 
 "You are just half right: it was generated 
 on the way from Africa. It was born on the 
 coast of America of the African Slave Trade.
 
 THE LA IT OF PKOGKESS. 339 
 
 It is the child of. its horrors. Now, see the 
 application of my theory. The yellow fever 
 appeared first in the slave ports of the New 
 World, two hundred and fifty years ~go. It 
 was never heard of in Africa until within the 
 last half-century. This is not strange, for it 
 preys only on the white man or those having a 
 modicum of white blood in their veins. 
 
 "What was its cause? Evidently, as says 
 a noted author,' the unique unwholesomeness of 
 the life summed up in the phrase, 'the horrors 
 of the middle passage.' ' Among such horrors, 
 nostalgia, despair, the sense of wrong were not 
 the least. To these were added perpetual and 
 overwhelming terror, fear of future nameless 
 evil. These are the very emotional conditions 
 that have been known, now and then, in the 
 ordinary way of life, to produce that very con- 
 dition of the visceral organs which is the 
 distinctive 'note' of yellow fever, what we 
 term acute atrophy of the liver." 
 
 " It is very singular." 
 
 "Singular!" echoed the physician, turning 
 fiercely upon his friend, " singular ! You speak 
 of one of the mosi beautiful and terrible acts 
 of Divine justice as you would of the stuffed 
 skin of a two-headed calf in a dime museum ! 
 Singulai 1 ! It is as amazing, sir, as the wisdom 
 which calculated the weight of the planets and
 
 340 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 hung them circling in their orbits through the 
 trackless realms of space ! The least is not less 
 wonderful than the greatest. It shows Him to 
 be the God of atoms as well as of worlds. 
 Singular! Let us look at its ' singular* fea- 
 tures. Yellow fever is a form of typhus ; 
 typhus springs from filth. The filth of the 
 slavers was so great that the smell was some- 
 times detected almost before they were sighted 
 at sea. So said a British officer, whose experi- 
 ence in the matter was very great, in the pages 
 of an official report. Typhus is the penalty of 
 filth, and typhus naturally appeared in the ports 
 where these ships discharged their cargoes. 
 So far there is nothing ' singular ' about it, we 
 may say, because humanity has become accus- 
 tomed to this peculiar penalty for this particu- 
 lar sin. 
 
 " Just here comes the ' singular ' thing. God 
 stamps this as a peculiar form of typhus by 
 giving it the physical features which had 
 marked the suffering of the slaver's cargo 
 during those terrible days of darkness, storm, 
 heat, terror, and all the untold horrors of that 
 crowning enormity of man to man. Only 
 think of it ! Of nine millions that left the 
 African coast more than two millions perished 
 on the passage ! 
 
 " And God wrought out of their sufferings a
 
 THE LA W OF PROGRESS. 341 
 
 scourge for the oppressor and those allied to 
 him in blood and interest. This is the ' singu- 
 lar feature : the yellow fever did not touch 
 the Negro, and even yet only smites the col- 
 ored man when the white man's blood is in 
 his veins and he has become a joint heir of the 
 curse attached to the white man's sin." 
 
 " This might result from racial differences, 
 might it not ?" asked the lawyer. 
 
 " Some have sought to weaken the too appa- 
 rent force of the conclusion I have given, by 
 that hypothesis. Some authors even go so far 
 as to declare that ' the emanations of the Negro 
 are poisonous to the more delicately organized 
 superior white race.' They would have us 
 believe that this disease was not given its char- 
 acteristic ' note ' because of the wrong done to 
 the slave, but because he was a Negro. We 
 are not left in doubt, however, in regard to the 
 truth. Having fashioned the sword for the 
 punishment of a particular evil, God is not slow 
 to apply it to the perpetrators of that wrong; 
 whether the victims are of one race or another. 
 A form of yellow fever, hardly distinguishable 
 from that which tracked the course of the 
 African slaver, sprang up in the ports of Peru 
 and Chili, where it had before been unknown, 
 only a score of years ago, in the wake of 
 the Chinese Coolie-trade an enormity only a
 
 34 2 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 shade less horrible than the African slave- 
 trade. Mark now the result, the Coolies 
 were exempt from its scath ! Do you think 
 that merely 'singular' too?" 
 
 The lawyer's lips were closely shut. Hold- 
 ing one hand between his face and the glow- 
 ing grate, he was gazing intently at his 
 friend. 
 
 " It is very strange," he said, solemnly. 
 
 " Strange ? Why should you term it strange ? 
 Is it any more strange, than any other great 
 and terrible fact of nature ? Is it not about 
 time that the world, that Christianity, if you 
 please, began to recognize God as a force in 
 life and history ? Have we not sinned and suf- 
 fered long enough to perceive the great, beauti- 
 ful, yet terrible truth that the laws of nature 
 are not restricted by visible barriers, but that 
 mind and matter touch each other in cause 
 and consequence, that an evil done to the 
 soul may be punished through the body and 
 may blast the life of the wrong-doer or those 
 whose lives spring from his life, without harm- 
 ing his victim ? Isn't it about time that we 
 began to realize and to teach that justice is 
 the prime ingredient of political economy." 
 
 " What happened to set you off on this line 
 of thought just now, Doctor? " 
 
 " Prime," answered the physician sharply,
 
 THE LA W OF PROGRESS. 343 
 
 " his family and the anomaly he represents. I 
 wondered what the penalty would be that 
 will assuredly attach to our race for centuries 
 of wrong done to his race. We forbade mar- 
 riage to millions : will the marriage tie be- 
 come a mockery with us? We falsified our 
 religion and our laws, in order to make them 
 an excuse and a justification for wrong : shall 
 we suffer in our liberties and our faith ? We 
 robbed him of the proceeds of his toil ; is it 
 possible that we ourselves may become the 
 victims of an intangible but irresistible trans- 
 lation of power from the hands of the many 
 to the hands of the few? " 
 
 The two men sat a few moments, looking at 
 each other in silence. 
 
 " Why do you not elaborate your theory, 
 Doctor, and give it to the world in permanent 
 form ?" 
 
 " I haven't any theory," replied the physi- 
 cian thoughtfully ; " I wish I had. It only 
 seems as if I could feel the edge of a truth too 
 great for me to grasp, and which may yet be as 
 familiar to the common mind as the marvels of 
 electricity are to the boy of to-day. It seems 
 to me as if we were just on the verge of the 
 discovery of some universal law of life, by which 
 effects may be forecasted in the moral and 
 political world with the same accuracy as in
 
 344 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 the physical. Perhaps I thought you might 
 help me. In our profession we have carried 
 the study of cause and effect far enough so 
 that if you tell me what physical sin a man or 
 a people are committing, I can tell you, in a 
 general way of course, what will be the penalty 
 they will have to pay. Has anybody done 
 the same with collective moral ills? " 
 
 " I am afraid not," answered the other. 
 
 " Do you suppose .anybody believes in such 
 consequences as I do in the results of the 
 violation of physical laws, I mean ? " 
 
 "Very few, I should say." 
 
 " Do you suppose any considerable number 
 of people believe that the sin a nation com- 
 mits to-day will surely attach to its people 
 to-morrow, unless it is remedied and its ten- 
 dency rebutted ?" 
 
 " I am afraid not." 
 
 " I suppose not. Well, it was a good while 
 before our profession began the study of causes 
 rather than effects. It is hardly a century, but 
 in that time we have made more progress, in 
 remedial and preventative knowledge, than in 
 all time before. Perhaps we may yet apply 
 the same system of inquiry to moral evils 
 social, political and economic. Why should 
 we not ? " 
 
 " It wouldn't be a bad idea if the theory
 
 THE LA IV OF PROGRESS. 345 
 
 were true," said the lawyer musingly. " If one 
 could determine the causes of crime and 
 poverty and injustice, it might help to pre- 
 vent them, if it were no aid in curing 
 them." 
 
 " That is it," replied the doctor; " causative 
 knowledge may be of very little value in curing 
 disease, but it is the foundation of all preventive 
 science. Well, I must be going. I don't often 
 have such an attack ; you may be thankful for 
 that." 
 
 He put on his wraps, and was soon absorbed 
 in considering a case more easily diagnosed 
 than the moral ills of his time. 
 
 " That," said the lawyer to himself as the 
 door closed on his friend, " is the way science 
 compels progress in religion and government, 
 as well as in its own domain. Perhaps he is 
 right. If he is, it simply enlarges the sphere 
 of individual duty and adds to the weight of 
 individual responsibility. So, again, extremes 
 meet and the character of the greatest hinges 
 onithe nature of the least the events of his- 
 tory on the nature of the constituent atoms of 
 epochal life. 
 
 " It would seem strange if the climacteric 
 sin of the centuries American slavery should 
 have left behind it a mysterious spore which 
 should breed a scourge similar in character to
 
 346 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 itself. Yet it is not impossible. After another 
 generation, how many will dare resist the de- 
 mands of accumulated wealth and corporate 
 power? Even to-day how many must face the 
 alternative: 'Yield or die?' I wish the doctor 
 had not broached his uncanny doctrine. I do 
 not like to think of it."
 
 XXVII. 
 
 WHAT IT IS TO BE A HERO. 
 
 flavor of the Christmas season still 
 1 hung about the capital when Pactolus 
 Prime was buried. The wealth, the respecta- 
 bility, a good deal, of the official aristocracy, 
 and not a little of the beauty and fashion of 
 the city, crowded to the stately church to do 
 him honor. The Index had told with flaming 
 headlines, and that skill which so readily 
 weaves fact with fancy, the story of the boot- 
 black of the Best House, who had given a life- 
 time of labor and self-sacrifice to restore his old 
 master's daughter to ease and luxury. It was 
 a beautiful story, and the lame, dark-visaged 
 Thoth made a peculiarly attractive hero. It 
 was thought very noble for him thus to devote 
 himself to the child of those whom he had 
 served as a slave. A thousand tongues were 
 ready with strange, half-real stories of what he 
 had said and done in those years when the suc- 
 cessful speculator was hidden under the guise 
 of the menial. The city was .resonant with 
 347
 
 34^ PA C TOL US PRIME. 
 
 acclaim for his faithfulness, self-denial and 
 sagacity. 
 
 In all the Christian Metropolis there was not 
 one who did not extol his name as one worthy 
 to be held in especial reverence by his race. 
 He had done, they said, just what a Negro 
 ought to do, been patient, humble, respectful, 
 and never sought to thrust himself forward or 
 claimed to be the equal of white folks, though 
 he had been so much more successful than 
 many of them. And to give it all to his old 
 master's daughter who had been ruined by the 
 war! How beautiful! How romantic! If 
 there were only more like him among the 
 " niggers," it would not be so hard for white 
 people to get along with them ! 
 
 It was a touching romance, and the hearts of 
 the Christian Metropolis, already softened by 
 the holy festival, responded nobly to the ap- 
 peal for recognition of this phenomenal col- 
 ored man who had so faithfully devoted himself 
 to the happiness of one of the "superior race." 
 Of course, they said, he did nothing more than 
 his duty, but it is so rare to find one of his 
 race willing to recognize any duty to those who 
 kept and cared for them so long, and taught 
 them the blessed truth, " a servant of servants 
 shalt thou be unto thy brethren ! " No won- 
 der he loved a master so devoted to his inter-
 
 WHA T IT /s TO //: ../ IH-.RO. 349 
 
 ests that he actually died to prevent him from 
 being contaminated by the vices of freedom. 
 The heart of the American people melted with 
 compassionate approval as they read the touch- 
 ing story of the successful freedman voluntarily 
 re-enslaving himself from a sense of duty to the 
 child of a master he adored. Even yet the 
 story lingers about the purlieus of the capital 
 city of the Republic, of the true-hearted but 
 infirm old slave who, freed from bondage by 
 the event of war, brought his master's orph- 
 aned and impoverished daughter in his arms 
 to the metropolis, and devoted his few years 
 of freedom to her reinstatement in wealth and 
 luxury. 
 
 Curiously enough, his own race did not seem 
 to manifest as much enthusiasm in regard to 
 the dead man as the white people thought they 
 should. There were some who spoke disap- 
 provingly of the application of his wealth to 
 secure luxury to his .master's child instead of 
 using a portion of it to uplift his own race; 
 and some who even referred disparagingly to 
 the woman who would accept such a munifi- 
 cent bequest, while the kinsmen or at least 
 the fellow-servants of the donor endured 
 the poverty and ignorance which was their 
 only inheritance from Christian slavery. Of 
 course, this only showed how incapable the
 
 35 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 race were, as a whole, of appreciating the really 
 exalted character of the deceased. 
 
 It was a notable burial ! The Christmas 
 decorations on the church wall yet heralded 
 to the world the recently amended angel- 
 greeting of the " new version," a greeting so 
 much sweeter and more consoling than the old 
 one : 
 
 " Glory to God in the highest and on earth 
 peace among men, with whom He is ivell 
 pleased .' " 
 
 If the Divine was "well-pleased " with men in 
 the days when Herod, the terrible, sought the 
 Young Child's life, how rapturous must be 
 His approval of the most respectable society 
 of the American metropolis, met to do honor 
 to a humble hero of a despised race, who lived 
 and died only to bless' a child of that people 
 to whom He has given " glory and honor 
 and dominion," because they are white ! To 
 whom He has committed the interpretation 
 of His will and the redemption of all other 
 people's ! Who are His petted children, to 
 whom He has granted the right to subordinate 
 and control all other races, and if need be 
 to deport or destroy them " in order to save 
 Christian civilization from impending peril " ! 
 
 So, thousands looked upon the dark face as 
 it lay in the costly casket, the great silver-
 
 II' If. IT IT IS TO BE A HERO. 3jl 
 
 bowed glasses hiding the unseeing eyes, and 
 the thin lips smiling grimly and triumphantly 
 up at the arched and decorated ceiling of the 
 great church whose worshipers would have felt 
 it almost contaminated by his presence while 
 alive. They buried him as a hero because he 
 had given wealth to the child of another, the 
 daughter of a "superior race." If they had 
 known how he had immolated himself to lift 
 his own progeny from shame to honor, they 
 would have spat upon his bier ! The coun- 
 try's officials came gladly to do honor to one 
 who had devoted himself to the child of an 
 enemy, who died in striking at the Nation's 
 heart. They would have jeered as the hearse 
 went by if they had known that the maimed 
 and crippled form had once fought for Liberty 
 and Union, and that the still heart loved 
 above all things, save the child who dared not 
 even weep upon his bier, the flag his courage 
 had saved from dishonor. 
 
 The misjudged hero sleeps in an honored 
 tomb ! A shaft of black granite rises above his 
 grave, his soldier-name is inscribed upon it, 
 the name he loved because he had created and 
 honored it. The flag for which he had fought 
 looks approvingly down from the white dome 
 of the Capitol. The wandering pilgrim listens 
 to the oft-told tale of his devotion, and flushes
 
 35 * PACTOLL'S PKIME. 
 
 with admiration as his lips frame the tribute, 
 " A Hero ! " How they would mock and spurn 
 the dead, if the true record of his heroism were 
 told! It is a grand thing for a slave to be 
 true to a master, but to have served Liberty, 
 to have lived and fought in starless night to 
 save one loved one from degradation, ah, me ! 
 how terrible would be the burst of wrath if the 
 black pillar should reveal the fraud and tell 
 the truth of him who molders beneath it ! 
 And his sacrifice, did it avail anything to 
 those he loved ?
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 PENALTIES. 
 
 WELL, I have found her." 
 It was Mr. Stearns who spoke. The 
 autumn glow had come upon the Virginia 
 hills. The poke-berries were ripe in the neg- 
 lected lot on Meridian Hill. The breeze came 
 coolly up the Potomac, but the sun still glared 
 down upon the pitchy pavements and made 
 the shadows of the awnings grateful. The 
 young man sat confident and triumphant 
 before the desk of Mr. Phelps. 
 
 " Miss Collins-Smith, I mean." 
 
 " So I suppose," said the lawyer quietly, 
 taking the corner of his under lip between his 
 teeth and frowning as he spoke. 
 
 "Yes: you wouldn't tell me where she was; 
 so I set myself to hunt her up. The world 
 is too small for such a woman to hide in, 
 now." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " I found her; laid siege to her heart in due 
 form, and a fortnight ago demanded a sur- 
 render, in due form." 
 
 353
 
 354 PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 " You asked her in marriage? " 
 
 "That's about the size of it, ' Old Style/ 
 that is." 
 
 "What did she say? " 
 
 " Claimed it was a surprise, of course ; and 
 to tell the truth looked as if one might have 
 knocked her down with a feather ; but stood 
 me off stoutly, wouldn't give me a kiss or 
 even a word of encouragement, though one 
 could see she was hard hit, but sent me to 
 you." 
 
 "To me?" asked the lawyer, starting un- 
 easily. 
 
 " Yes ; gave me this note, and told me that 
 after I had read what you would show me, if I 
 chose to renew my proposal she would be 
 ready to give me an answer." 
 
 He handed out a thin, square envelope as he 
 spoke. The lawyer picked up a quaint corne- 
 lian paper-cutter which lay upon the desk, and 
 opened it. When he had read the note it con- 
 tained, he went to a safe and took out a red- 
 covered book, which he placed upon a small 
 stand by the window. 
 
 " You are to read that," he said gravely as 
 he returned to the desk. " It will not take 
 you long, but I will turn the key in the door 
 of the clerk's room and spring the latch as I go 
 out, so you will not be disturbed. You must
 
 355 
 
 excuse me ; I have to be in court this morn- 
 ing." He took up his hat as he spoke. 
 
 "What is it?" asked the young man in a 
 tone of annoyance. "A family history? It 
 don't matter though : I am too much in love 
 to mind what her family has been. If you 
 are not back before twelve, you will miss 
 me. I am going to catch to-morrow's steamer, 
 and you may look for my wedding cards in a 
 month. I shall grant no quarter when I sum- 
 mon her again." 
 
 The lawyer made no answer. The young 
 man threw his hat and stick impatiently upon 
 the table and lounged over to the stand beside 
 the window. 
 
 " Well, good-by," said the lawyer, as he 
 started out. 
 
 The drone of conversation and the rumbling 
 of vehicles over the softened concrete came up 
 through the window as the young man sat 
 down to the task love had enjoined upon him. 
 
 When, an hour later, the lawyer let himself 
 in with the latch-key, he smiled grimly to find 
 no one within, and the red-covered book lying 
 closed upon the stand. 
 
 The Christmas-time had come and gone, 
 since the bootblack of the Best House had 
 passed over to the majority. His memory was
 
 35^ PACTOLUS PRIME. 
 
 already a tradition. The holy season was 
 again near at hand when Mr. Stearns sought 
 once more the lawyer's office. There had been 
 a great deal of change in the meantime, the 
 change which makes Washington the great 
 sand-beach of American life, not its center as 
 other capitals are, but the shore on which the 
 waves of Oblivion break. The name upon the 
 door was " Phelps & Wolcott " now ; but the 
 same calm-faced man sat at the desk. The 
 reporter had prospered, too : he was a city 
 editor now, and bade fair to become a lumi- 
 nary in his profession. He seemed much an- 
 noyed at something, and held a newspaper in 
 his hand. The greeting which passed between 
 the two was somewhat constrained. 
 
 " Have you seen that ? " asked the young 
 man, laying the newspaper on the other's desk 
 and pointing to a paragraph as he spoke. 
 
 The lawyer read the following : 
 
 " A very interesting ceremony will take 
 place in this city on Christmas Eve. It is 
 understood that a wealthy young lady, for- 
 merly of Washington, will at that time take 
 the vows of a noviciate of the order of 'Sisters 
 of Mercy,' devoting herself especially to work 
 among the colored people. Her fortune, which 
 is said to be a large one, has already been 
 placed in the hands of trustees to be used for 
 advancing the interests of that race. Her life
 
 PENALTIES. 357 
 
 is believed to be full of mystery and romance, 
 but just what the reasons are which induce 
 a young, lovely, and accomplished lady to 
 take this step, it seems almost impossible 
 to conceive. It is rumored that the pos- 
 tulate will take the name of ' Sister Pac- 
 tola.' " 
 
 When he had concluded its perusal, he 
 looked quietly up at the young man's flushed 
 face. 
 
 "You knew about it?" asked the editor, 
 hotly. 
 
 The lawyer bowed gravely. 
 
 "It is ?" 
 
 The lawyer bowed again. 
 
 "And you advised it, I suppose?" The 
 young man spoke bitterly. 
 
 " My advice was not asked." 
 
 " Why didn't you stop it why don't you 
 stop it now?" 
 
 His companion smiled sadly, but made no 
 answer. 
 
 "It ought to be done; it shall be done! 
 She is throwing herself away ! Where is her 
 brother?" 
 
 No answer was given to the imperious 
 inquiry. 
 
 "Oh, I will find out! You need not think 
 you can balk me. You would not tell me
 
 35 8 PACTOLUS PKIMR. 
 
 where she was hidden; but I found her!" 
 The young man spoke very confidently. 
 
 " Did any good result ? " asked the lawyer, 
 gravely. 
 
 The younger man's face flushed. 
 
 " Of course, I couldn't if it had not been 
 for my mother perhaps 
 
 " Do not excuse yourself," interrupted the 
 lawyer, commiseratingly. " You are only one 
 of many very many who dare not for- 
 get." 
 
 " But her brother, he might I am sure I 
 could make him interfere 1 I will too. If 
 you will not tell me where he is, I will find 
 him." 
 
 "Is not one victim enough?" asked the 
 other, impressively. "Would it not be better 
 to leave him to work out his own destiny ! " 
 
 " But why does she do it what reason does 
 she give ? " 
 
 " She says," replied the lawyer gravely, 
 "that she sees no other way to avoid either 
 deception or the confession of inferiority." 
 
 " But she has no right to bury herself one 
 with her gifts! Did you tell her that?" 
 
 " I had no right to do so." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " I could not deny the truth of her words." 
 
 "My God!" exclaimed the young man,
 
 PENAL /7/-: .V. 359 
 
 starting to his feet, and staggering blindly 
 toward the door. He forgot the accustomed 
 parting words, and the lawyer after a moment's 
 pause, and a long-drawn sigh, went on with 
 his work. But before him across the open 
 page floated often the fateful words, " Sister 
 Pactola." 
 
 THE END.
 
 A 000 041 846 7
 
 ft!