T* T~* ' *A " i " ' 
 
 TH E LAN 
 
 ACTON DAV1ES & 
 CHARLES Nl

 
 The marine band orchestra worked 
 the woodwind and brass as it was 
 parked in the marble foyer as the 
 guests arrived, and the orchestra 
 dispensed music as the waiters dis- 
 pensed, the dishes at dinner. Those 
 who did not wear uniforms gold 
 epaulets shimmered on the shoulders 
 of the naval and military aides of 
 the president wore tail coats, all 
 except Father Edmund Walsh of 
 Georgetown university, who had on 
 his clerical garb and told some of 
 his experiences from the Potomac 
 to the Tigris, on which he lectured 
 the next night before the National 
 Geographical society. Rev. Harry 
 E. Fosdick chatted with Secretary 
 of War Hurley, who resembled a 
 movie leading man more than a se- 
 date cabinet member. Mrs. Livingston 
 Farrand, president of Dartmouth, 
 bowed to Mrs. Simon Flexner, wife 
 of the well-known doctor. 
 
 a a * 
 
 The large fireplace in the blue 
 room was filled with logs which 
 spluttered and threw out sparks, and 
 a screen protected the rugs from 
 having holes burned in them. In the 
 east room, where the wife of Presi- 
 dent Adams once hung the family 
 wash, were placed some chairs with 
 carved legs covered with gilt chairs 
 which have not been used since the 
 White House was remodeled in the 
 Roosevelt administration. Ferns, pink 
 roses and vines were scattered around 
 for decorations, but did not conceal 
 the old-fashioned sofa with its curved 
 gilded legs, matching the resurrected 
 chairs. No one sat on the sofa or 
 chairs. if Jf I 
 
 Dolly Madison, the peppiest first 
 lady ever to occupy the White House, 
 left a gold service set when she de- 
 parted. This was polished and used 
 at the dinner, the table being set 
 in U or horseshoe form. The flat 
 service, used to supplement what 
 Dolly left, was also gold, having 
 been given a gold bath during the 
 Harding administration. In the hol- 
 low of the U were tall ferns. Scat- 
 tered over the tablecloth were stream- 
 ers of stevia and snapdragons and 
 chrysanthemums all pink in color. 
 
 .T 
 
 OF GALIF. LIBRARY. LO8
 
 MISS ELSIE FERGUSON 
 AS "DOLLY TODD" 
 
 1
 
 FIRST LADY 
 7/7 ztfe LAND 
 
 or 
 
 WHEN DOLLY TODD 
 TOOK BOARDER/ 
 
 ACTON DAVIES 
 CHARLES NIRDLINGER 
 
 
 H.K.FLY COMIANY" 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1912. BY 
 THE H. K. FLY COMPANY
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I Mr. Jefferson Plays the Fiddle, Mrs. 
 Todd Routs a Foe and Beau Pinckney 
 Acquires an Ally I 
 
 II Lady Washington Writes a Note and 
 Mistress Sparkle Delivers it with Spec- 
 tacular Effect 15 
 
 III Young Sophia Sparkle Whispers Scandal 
 
 and Colonel Burr's Leg Corroborates 
 
 it 40 
 
 IV Colonel Burr Loses the Presidency by One 
 
 Vote and Mr. Madison Meets a 
 Charming Lady 50 
 
 V Mr. Madison Makes a Declaration and 
 Dolly Todd Declares Her Independ- 
 ence 71 
 
 VI Mr. Jefferson Turns Emissary and Dolly 
 
 Todd Learns a Deal of Politics 81 
 
 VII Mr. Burr Stays Out Late, is Duty Re- 
 proved, and Hears of Dreams and 
 Things 1 02 
 
 VIII Colonel Aaron Burr Pays a Debt and an 
 Early Morning Call on Mr. Alexander 
 Hamilton 123 
 
 21 29205
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 IX Lady Merry Damns Her Hairdresser and 
 Holds the American Republic Respon- 
 sible 133 
 
 X Dolly Turns to Colonel Burr for Good 
 Advice and Clotilde, Her Maid, Lets 
 a Most Important Cat Out of the Bag. 155 
 
 XI Colonel Burr Turns Musician and Mrs. 
 
 Todd no Longer Takes Boarders. ... 168 
 
 XII Mrs. Todd Has a Lady Caller and Mu- 
 tual Confidences are Exchanged in "The 
 Second Floor Front" 188 
 
 XIII Madam Jumel Plays Trumps and Wins 
 
 a Friend 208 
 
 XIV Colonel Burr and Mr. Hamilton Again 
 
 Meet in the Early Morning 217 
 
 XV Mr. Jefferson Gives a Dinner Party but 
 
 Loses Two of His Guests 231 
 
 XVI Colonel Burr Rides Many Leagues to 
 Ascertain if a Certain Widow is Still 
 Unmarried 257 
 
 XVII Fate Sets the Pace and Many Old Friends 
 Dance to it in Divers Ways While Mr. 
 Jefferson Plays the Fiddle 277 
 
 3D1
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Miss Elsie Ferguson as Dolly Todd Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "All that my great love can do to make your life 
 happy and all that my poor gifts can do to 
 make your life splendid I promise abso- 
 lutely" 78 
 
 "For my sake, for all our sakes, for the nation's 
 sake, I want you to be "The First Lady in 
 the Land" 91 
 
 "We may have both been rakes in our day, Burr, 
 but as fathers, by gad! Sir, no one can shake 
 a stick at us" 128 
 
 "Well, here's an end to Burr's chances for ever 
 and aye. What! Me marry a man who 
 sleeps on a bed as hard as that? Not for 
 all the Burrs in America" . , 216
 
 An engraving depicting Jefferson as chairman 
 of the committee appointed to draft the Dec- 
 laration of Independence
 
 THE FIRST LADY SN 
 
 HE LAND 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 MR. JEFFERSON PLAYS THE FIDDLE, MRS. TODD 
 
 ROUTS A FOE AND BEAU PINCKNEY 
 
 ACQUIRES AN ALLY 
 
 How doth the little busy bee 
 Improve each shining hour; 
 And gather honey all the day 
 From every fragrant flower ! 
 
 Old English Ballad. 
 
 "He is a little chimney and heated hot in a moment" 
 
 LONGFELLOW "Courtship of Miles Standish." 
 
 "The General so likes your music that he desires you, for love's 
 sake, to make no more noise with it." 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "Othello." 
 
 IN AN attic room close to the rafters of her old- 
 fashioned house on Fourth Street,- Philadelphia, 
 reclining on a couch, with her right leg carefully 
 propped up upon a cushion lay Landlady Dolly Todd. 
 It was long past noon but the proprietress of the 
 most fashionable boarding house in Philadelphia 
 showed no disposition to rise. No invalid, far from it !
 
 2 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 She was looking the very picture of health. It pleased 
 her for the moment to imagine that she was suffering 
 from a badly turned ankle. And it was her purpose 
 to nurture the strain. 
 
 Two sounds came home to the ears of the youthful 
 Mrs. Todd in her attic chamber. And it would be 
 hard to say which pleased her least. 
 
 One was the growling voice of Sir Anthony Merry, 
 the recently arrived English Minister who was lodging 
 a complaint with her maid downstairs; the other was 
 the sound of a violin, execrably played, which floated 
 in through the half open window from the tavern 
 next door. 
 
 "What's the matter with Sir Anthony now, CIo- 
 tilde?" exclaimed Mrs. Todd presently when her young 
 quadroon maid appeared in the doorway. "What a 
 fool I was to let the creature in my house ! I'd never 
 have done it if he hadn't been recommended by Mr. 
 Burr and if I hadn't needed the money! What did 
 he say to thee?" 
 
 Clotilde shrugged her shoulders unconcernedly. 
 
 "Oh! It was the same old row, Madam. Mr. 
 Jefferson and hes fiddle! That es always hes cry!'* 
 
 "Drat the man!" cried Mrs. Todd. "Can't a free 
 American citizen fiddle his head off if he wants to? I 
 admit he plays like the Devil true ! but I ask thee, 
 Clotilde, hasn't the man got a right to? He pays his 
 rent. If the tavern people can endure it surely this Eng- 
 lishman ought to be able to stand it at longer range. 
 Where's he sitting? In the parlor I'll be bound! And 
 there he'll remain anchored for the rest of the day. 
 Well I warn thee, Clotilde, we must get him out even
 
 MR. JEFFERSON PLAYS THE FIDDLE 3 
 
 if we have to use gun-powder. I'm expecting visitors, 
 Clotilde. Miss Sally McKean first; and then a gentle- 
 man, later on. Since I moved up here to make room 
 for my extra lodgers there's not a spot in the house I 
 can call my own saving the kitchen! And that I'd 
 have to share with the cook! Of course Miss Sally, 
 you might show up here ; but not the gentleman. Oh, 
 dear no!" She threw back her pretty head and 
 laughed. 
 
 "What am I a widow for if I don't know the value 
 of first appearances? My foot's feeling better now, 
 Clotilde. Thee may go to the second floor front and 
 borrow Mr. Burr's gold-headed cane. 'Twill be much 
 more becoming than a crutch and if worse comes to 
 worst I can use it on Sir Anthony." 
 
 Dolly laid back on her couch and laughed again. 
 
 "Wouldn't thee think, though, that, on a day like 
 this, with the town in a ferment; the very dogs flocking 
 to the Hall of Congress for the latest news, the man 
 would be out and abroad in the thick of it all like the 
 rest of his sex and most of the women! Damme 
 Clotilde, if I wasn't half a Quaker I'd curse the man! 
 Did thee see Mr. Burr this morning?" 
 
 "No, Madam. He left very early. He did not even 
 take his coffee. He told me 'Nevair mind' he was go- 
 ing to breakfast with Madam Jumel." 
 
 "Humph!" said Dolly. Nothing more. But there 
 was a world of contempt in that one exclamation. 
 
 "That will do, Clotilde. Go to thy duties and tell 
 the old ogre I'll soon be down." 
 
 Rising presently, she dressed herself and then threw 
 a look in her mirror.
 
 4 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 She was very young, very pretty and very much the 
 widow, which her demure, tight-fitting little widow's 
 cap proclaimed. In spite of her sprained ankle, Dolly 
 Todd, for the first time in all her eleven months of 
 widowhood, was thanking God she was alive! 
 
 "And to think, after all these years," she laughed to 
 herself, as, leaning on Mr. Burr's gold-headed cane, she 
 took a longer glance in the glass "that I should meet 
 the man by a slip on the ice! And yet dear Mother 
 was always warning me never to wear French heels! 
 This is what's come to thee, Dolly Todd, for not tak- 
 ing the advice of thy elders. Well who knows? 
 'Twas the tilt of Cleopatra's nose changed all the career 
 of Caesar! There's no telling what the tilt of Dolly 
 Todd's ankle may do for the destiny of Jimmie Madi- 
 son. I wonder what Sally will say to it all. Shan't tell 
 her I know who he was, though! That would spoil 
 everything. There's nothing like a mystery to keep 
 a woman interested," she remarked to herself as she 
 slowly made her way down stairs. 
 
 Dolly, while cogitating in bed that morning, had ar- 
 rived at the conclusion that she'd been a Quaker widow 
 long enough. For eleven full months she had ob- 
 served the accepted rights of widowhood most rigidly, 
 both as a member of the Society of Friends and as the 
 land-lady of the most fashionable boarding house in 
 all Philadelphia. Dolly felt that she had consistently 
 done her duty. Although she had never been particu- 
 larly in love with young John Todd and had married 
 him to please her father rather than herself, widow- 
 hood was one of those roles which Dolly had never 
 asked the Fates to thrust upon her. Still, as it had
 
 MR. JEFFERSON PLAYS THE FIDDLE 5 
 
 come her way, she had accepted the situation with due 
 philosophy, observed the conventions rigorously and 
 bought as many fetching mourning frocks as her in- 
 come would allow and which could be worn fittingly by 
 a pretty woman of twenty-two who happened to be 
 boarding house keeper and aristocrat at the same time. 
 
 As Dolly Todd limped her way into the big parlor 
 of her boarding house that winter's afternoon her eyes 
 were ashine, her cheeks alight and there was an air 
 of radiant youth and gaiety about her which ill became 
 the sombreness of her widow's garb and which indi- 
 cated before all else that, no matter how dire the injury 
 to her ankle might be, she had no intention of allowing 
 it to interfere with her good temper. Dolly might be 
 slightly lame but for all that she had plans afoot. To 
 carry them out effectively was now her immediate in- 
 tention. By Clotilde, the night before, she had dis- 
 patched a note to the youthful friend of her bosom, 
 Sally McKean. Dolly had worded the note in such a 
 manner that if she knew anything of Sally at all and 
 she assuredly did know a great deal! it would bring 
 that effusive young person in the greatest haste. 
 
 Philadelphia, at this moment in the throes of a 
 Presidential election, was so crowded with politicians, 
 soldiers and gentry that Mrs. Todd perforce had been 
 obliged to resign her own apartment in order to accom- 
 odate those New York grandees, who, since Aaron 
 Burr, and the young Marquis de Lafayette had given 
 her boarding house the stamp of fashion, vastly pre- 
 ferred to stay there in preference to any of the public 
 inns. 
 
 Sir Anthony, once dislodged from the parlor, that
 
 6 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 any one else would interrupt them for some hours at 
 least was scarcely likely. The whole town was so 
 wrought up on the political crisis that it was fair wager- 
 ing all the world and his wife would be flocking to the 
 Hall of Congress that afternoon. She would have 
 been there herself, to be sure, if it hadn't been for that 
 lame ankle; for in all Philadelphia's twenty thousand 
 inhabitants there was no woman more vitally interested 
 in the political outcome than she. If Mr. Thomas 
 Jefferson was elected, she, Dolly Todd, would be one 
 of the very first to congratulate him. Was he not one 
 of her late dear mother's first and most devoted school 
 boy sweethearts? And had he not, all through the 
 days of her marriage, and of her widowhood, singled 
 her out by his expressions of sympathy and deep es- 
 teem? If Thomas Jefferson was defeated well! 
 for Dolly at least, even that cloud would possess its 
 silver lining. The defeat of Jefferson would mean 
 that Dolly's "Second Floor Front" would be the next 
 President of the United States. Her "Second Floor 
 Front," in other words, was Colonel Aaron Burr, an 
 old friend of her family's, the man who, by his resi- 
 dence there for the past few months had made the 
 boarding house a shrine of fashion. And well, not 
 to put too fine a point upon it ! deep down in her heart, 
 like many another woman, Dolly Todd had a very 
 warm spot for Aaron Burr. 
 
 As Dolly entered the parlor, armed smilingly for the 
 fray, she found Sir Anthony, comfortably ensconced 
 on her favorite sofa, a bottle of good old port beside 
 him on a table, and a recently arrived London news-
 
 MR. JEFFERSON PLAYS THE FIDDLE 7 
 
 paper in his hands. Nothing short of the Sphinx could 
 have looked so immovable. 
 
 "You sent for me, Sir Anthony?" said Dolly, with 
 her sweetest smile. 
 
 Round the neck of her sombre Quaker dress, per- 
 haps, as an indication of her change of heart, or pos- 
 sibly merely as a harbinger of the coming Spring, Dolly 
 had tied a gayly colored kerchief, which set off the 
 pearly pink and white of her coloring to perfection. 
 As Sir Anthony turned his heavily jowled face toward 
 Mrs*. Todd. she, with a woman's instinct, saw that the 
 effect of this first little dash of coloring was even per- 
 ceptible to him. 
 
 "He's at it again, next door there," exclaimed Sir 
 Anthony, crustily. "Don't you hear it? That infernal 
 fiddle scraping." 
 
 The sound of a violin atrociously played was dis- 
 tinctly audible in the room. 
 
 "But, my dear Sir Anthony. That's Mr. Thomas 
 Jefferson at the inn next door. He's merely relieving 
 his pent up feelings. Poor man! Thee'd not have 
 me disturb him on a day like this. For all we know 
 he may be our next President 'fore night fall. Wait 
 till election's over, I beg thee, Sir." 
 
 "Election ?" grunted Merry. "What's that got to do 
 with it?" 
 
 "Don't you understand, Sir," exclaimed Dolly. "The 
 poor man's nervous. Let's be merciful ! He's merely 
 relieving his mind." 
 
 "And you mean to tell me, Madam, that a man who 
 fiddles as vilely as all that, may become the next Amer- 
 ican President?"
 
 8 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "It may be our folly, Sir," said Dolly, with a slightly 
 deprecating air, "but 'tis the custom of my country to 
 choose our President for his virtues not for his vir- 
 tuosity." 
 
 "Good God! What a country!" grunted Sir An- 
 thony, suddenly sitting down again, much to Dolly's 
 despair. 
 
 Just at that moment there was a diversion. Bollen 
 Pinckney, known to his friends as "Beau," another of 
 Dolly's boarders, entered the room. His clothes in 
 cut and color proclaimed him a dandy of his period, 
 and in a measure his speech, constantly interlined with 
 polite French oaths, and also the affectation of his 
 manner confirmed that impression. But Pinckney, for 
 all that, was nobody's fool. No one knew him better 
 than Dolly Todd. She liked the man, because she read 
 him thoroughly and knew that beneath all these out- 
 ward signs of foppery there lay strength, loyalty and 
 a subtlety which might make him a man to be reckoned 
 with one of these days. At this moment, no one short 
 of Sally McKean herself could have been more wel.- 
 come to her. She knew by instinct he would help her 
 to dislodge this turbulent old Britisher. Pinckney with- 
 out waiting for an introduction, promptly sprang into 
 the breach. 
 
 "Sir Anthony Merry, I believe," said Pinckney, ad- 
 vancing with his most elaborate bow. "My name's 
 Pinckney a fellow lodger formerly attached to the 
 Legation at Paris, where I met your wife and charming 
 sister-in-law." 
 
 "Ah, yes," said Sir Anthony. "I've heard my wife 
 speak of you, I think or was it Ena? Well, never
 
 MR. JEFFERSON PLAYS THE FIDDLE 9 
 
 mind! They'll be here in a few days, worse luck! 
 Poor creatures! How are they going to stand it? 
 That's one of the reasons why I've been complaining 
 to Mrs. Todd. My wife would never put up with 
 those execrable noises next door. Tell me " 
 
 But Dolly interrupted him. Turning to Pinckney she 
 remarked. 
 
 "I was just explaining to Sir Anthony when you 
 came in, that I wrote Mr. Jefferson" on this matter sev- 
 eral days ago. He was charming, wrote such a sweet 
 note in reply. In my letter I told him he played so 
 sweetly on the violin that he gave one of my lodgers 
 so severe a melancholia he's thinking of moving else- 
 where. Naturally I said I'd grieve to lose so charming 
 a patron " 
 
 "Don't misunderstand me, Madam," broke in Sir 
 Anthony in a more conciliatory key. 'Tis only on 
 Lady Merry's account I complain. She's all nerves. 
 And if this sort of thing went on I I well, really, I 
 don't know " 
 
 "No fear, Sir," laughed Pinckney gaily, "Mr. Jef- 
 ferson knows Mrs. Todd. He will deny her nothing." 
 
 "But tell me," pursued Sir Anthony, "You were in 
 France with him at the Legation. Did he do that sort 
 of thing in Paris? Frenchmen, you know, have very 
 sensitive ears." 
 
 "Only when troubled and worried as he is now by 
 the election," answered Pinckney. "But if 'twill please 
 you, Sir, I will gladly add my petition to Mrs. Todd's. 
 If Mr. Jefferson knew he was disturbing an English- 
 man, I'm sure at least he'd change his tune."
 
 io THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "That's kind of you. But do you think there's any 
 chance of immediate relief?" 
 
 "Tete Dieu! It's impossible to tell you," replied 
 Pinckney, throwing up his hands. "I'm just from the 
 Congress and they're as far from* a decision as ever. 
 They've been voting the night through always the 
 same result as for weeks past. Seven States for Mr. 
 Jefferson, seven for Mr. Burr and one, New Jersey, 
 for Mr. Adams." 
 
 "And what in the end," queried Sir Anthony, "is 
 this thing you call New Jresey going to do? That 
 seems to me to be the most important question." 
 
 "As for that, Sir," laughed Pinckney, "one never 
 can tell. New Jersey has always been notorious for 
 doing anything it likes. Why not go to the Congress 
 and see for yourself, Sir. I'm sure Mistress Todd 
 will forgive your running away. The experience might 
 increase your knowledge of our customs. May I have 
 the honor of fetching your coat and hat?" 
 
 "Thank you," said Sir Anthony, "I should be much 
 obliged." 
 
 Then turning to Dolly with his first attempt of 
 gallantry he continued, "May I have the pleasure of 
 your company to the Congress, Ma'am. I understand 
 there is promise of a lively debate?" 
 
 "Thanks. But a slight lameness keeps me indoors 
 to-day," smiled Dolly. "Will thee be having friends 
 to dinner to-night?" 
 
 "No. Not to-night, Ma'am. To-night I dine with 
 Mr. Alexander Hamilton. One of your rising solici- 
 tors, I believe. We have heard of him even abroad." 
 
 "Ah, Sir Anthony," said Dolly, "What splendid
 
 MR. JEFFERSON PLAYS THE FIDDLE n 
 
 memories you English have ! I feel sure such a com- 
 pliment will not be lost on Mr. Hamilton if thee 
 should choose to mention it to him. Like my friend, 
 Mr. Burr, he's rather a vain man. He likes to be 
 flattered. Au revoir, Sir Anthony. A very pleasant 
 afternoon to you!" 
 
 As the English minister shuffled on his gouty way, 
 Dolly turned to Pinckney and shook him warmly by 
 the hand. 
 
 "You're a true friend, Beau. I shall never forget 
 thy service of to-day. Without thee I could never have 
 dislodged him with less than a gun." 
 
 "It's nice to hear you say that, Dolly," he replied, 
 drawing close to her. "It may be in your power to 
 grant me many little favors sooner than you think." 
 
 "Thee shall have them for the asking, my dear boy, 
 if its possible. But what's afoot? How can Landlady 
 Todd serve that famous gallant, Mr. Pinckney?" 
 
 "They're coming here within a day or two." 
 
 "Thee talks in fables. Who dost thee mean?" 
 
 "Ena." 
 
 "And who, pray, is Ena? I know of no Ena. Ex- 
 plain thyself." 
 
 "The Honorable Ena Farrar and her unamiable 
 sister, that She Dragon Lady Merry! We've been in 
 love for years ever since Paris." 
 
 "What!" interrupted Dolly, "you and a She Dragon 
 in love! Heaven defend me!" And she rolled both 
 her lovely eyes skyward. 
 
 "No! No! Not the She Dragon!" exclaimed 
 Pinckney, dropping all his mannerisms and becoming 
 in his enthusiasm quite boyish. "It's Ena. She's a
 
 12 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 darling girl. You'll love her, Dolly. I know you'll be 
 fast friends; you'll become thicker than thieves. The 
 She Dragon Lady Merry loathes me. That's where 
 you can help me. You'll have to throw us together as 
 much as possible. You're such a natural born diplomat 
 you can do it easily." 
 
 "A woman can but do her best," said Dolly, humbly. 
 "That I'll try. Especially if 'twill offend the She 
 Dragon! Tell me about her. She's much more im- 
 portant than thy love affair. Is she so plain spoken 
 as they say?" 
 
 "Plain spoken! Tete Dieu!" cried Pinckney, hark- 
 ing back to his French airs again. "She's the Devil's 
 Bride. She's the Witch of Endor. She's a Fiend In- 
 carnate!" 
 
 "Pinckney, my boy!" expostulated Dolly, raising her 
 hand, "I fear me thee don't do her full justice." 
 
 "Well, justice or no justice," he replied, "she raises 
 the Devil so persistently that until this mission they 
 have always sent Merry to countries where she couldn't 
 speak the language. 'Tis the only way to keep her 
 tongue tied and prevent an immediate war. You'll 
 have your hands full with her, Dolly, I warrant you!" 
 
 "And they're such little hands!" laughed the Widow 
 Todd. "And I need them so much now that I've gone 
 lame of one foot! Give me thy prayers, Pinckney. 
 They may help me to withstand this latest British in- 
 vasion. You're a nice boy and I owe thee a debt this 
 day, so in return for thy prayers I'll help thee with thy 
 Ena. 'Tis a pretty name -and sounds almost Irish 
 like the better half of me." 
 
 "Thank you, Dolly, and God bless you ! Au revoir ! "
 
 MR. JEFFERSON PLAYS THE FIDDLE 13 
 
 Glancing at the clock in the corner, Dolly saw that 
 it was already past three o'clock. She called Clo- 
 tilde and inquired if she had surely carried the note to 
 Miss McKean. The sofa was empty now and the fair 
 Dolly felt communicative. 
 
 "Oh, yes, Madam, she is coming," answered Clo- 
 tilde, "but she had to stop at the Wax Works. She said 
 she might be late." 
 
 "Give me the bills, then. Are they all receipted? 
 Who dines at home to-night? Does Mr. Burr?" 
 
 "Oh, no, Madam. He is to dine to-night again at 
 Madam Jumel's." 
 
 "How dost thee know that?" asked Dolly, rather 
 sharply. 
 
 "At the market. I see Marie, Madam. She tell 
 me!" 
 
 "Marie! Who's Marie, pray?" 
 
 "Marie! Why you know, Madam Marie, my sis- 
 ter. She is still the maid of the French lady. She told 
 me about Monsieur Burr." 
 
 "Thee doesn't mean to say that thy sister is still 
 with the Jumel woman! Why, she went there ten 
 weeks ago and as a rule they say she can't keep a ser- 
 vant a fortnight." 
 
 "And Marie she say about Madam," broke forth 
 Clotilde anew, 
 
 "Marie's a chatterbox," snapped Dolly. 
 
 "Oui, Madam. But only with me her sister." 
 
 "Well, as long as thee don't confide in thy sister, 
 I have nothing to say. I wish to hear none of her 
 gossip, though." 
 
 "Very well, Madam. I will remember."
 
 i 4 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Dolly walked to the sofa and throwing herself down 
 began gazing into the fire. 
 
 "To-day of all days ! When he knows I'm anxious. 
 When he knows I'm praying my heart out for him to 
 win when he knows I'm so upset on his account that 
 I don't know whether I'm standing on my head, my 
 lame leg or my well one ! Seems to me he might have 
 dined at home to-night." 
 
 Then remembering something she jumped up, looked 
 at the clock again and exclaimed: 
 
 "Ah I . But I'd forgotten. He's got to be home at 
 four. He promised. Ronnie Burr never broke a 
 promise. At four he was to bring my friend to me 
 and introduce him properly. I'll forgive him his 
 dinner 'cause I know he'll keep his word. Clotilde ! 
 My hand glass and my rouge, please. It's going to be 
 a busy day."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE AND MISTRESS 
 
 SPARKLE DELIVERS IT WITH SPECTACULAR 
 
 EFFECT 
 
 Thou wqulds't be loved? then let thy heart 
 
 From its present pathway part not ! 
 Being everything which now thou art, 
 
 Be nothing which thou art not. 
 So with the world thy gentle ways, 
 
 Thy grace, thy more than beauty, 
 Shall be an endless theme of praise, 
 
 And love a simple duty! 
 
 EDGAR ALLAN POE. 
 
 "In our course through life we shall meet the people who are 
 coming to meet us from many strange places and by many strange 
 roads ; and what it is set to us to do to them, and what it is set 
 to them to do to us, will all be done." 
 
 DICKENS "Little Dorrit." 
 
 "V ON'T scold me now ! I know I'm late hor- 
 
 ?, j ribly late, my dear. When you've heard 
 
 all you'll excuse me. Everybody would 
 
 stop me to say 'How-de-do.' Then, of course, if they 
 
 were women, I had to show it to 'em. 'Couldn't resist 
 
 it my dear! It's the joke of the year. Such a lark and 
 
 so fine and shocking too ! I left Ma and old Mrs. Chew 
 
 laughing their heads off over it when they thought I 
 
 wasn't looking! Before me, of course, they pretended 
 
 15
 
 1 6 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 they were shocked to death. Mrs. Chew was for writ- 
 ing to the Mayor about it. Aren't old ladies funny, 
 Dolly? Wonder if you and I'll be like that, dear, when 
 we have wrinkles and a Paisley shawl." 
 
 It was Sally McKean, dressed in the height of that 
 season's fashion and bringing with her into Dolly's 
 room a fragrant whiff of the cold winter's day. The 
 prettiest girl in Philadelphia a girl whose high spir- 
 its had as much if not more of the devil in them than 
 Dolly's own. She threw her fur boa to one side; 
 tossed her huge muff on the table and then, crooking one 
 foot under her in that favorite fashion which has pre- 
 vailed among women since Eve's first upholsterer in- 
 vented a comfortable settee, she turned to Dolly burst- 
 ing with her news. 
 
 Dolly, who had several scraps of information to 
 impart herself, was slightly taken aback. 
 
 "Laws! Sally!" she exclaimed. "Never saw you so 
 excited in my life ! Must be something quite indecent 
 to put thee in such a flutter. What's afoot? Something 
 shocking I suppose?" 
 
 "Yes it is, dear! That's just it. That's what makes 
 it so delightful ! Some of the old dowagers have been 
 rendered speechless by it. As for Ma and Mrs. Chew 
 well! I told you about them" 
 
 Then, drawing a long breath and assuming a still 
 more mysterious manner, she went on. 
 
 "By sundown, 'twill be priceless! Lacave, my hair- 
 dresser, tells me that already a copy of it can't be 
 bought for love or money. Such a joke on all the 
 City Troop boys on all the gallants for that matter!
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 17 
 
 Wait 'till the papers get hold of it, my dear. Won't 
 they raise a merry fuss!" 
 
 "But laws girl!" broke in Dolly. "For the love of 
 Heaven get on with thy story!" 
 
 "Well," again she drew a long breath and from the 
 reticule which hung about her waist she drew a card 
 of invitation. 
 
 "I must explain first," she went on carefully con- 
 cealing the printed side of the card. "As you know, 
 of course, the Assemblies, under the new management, 
 are to be held at Oeller's Tavern. There's a glorious 
 ball room sixty feet square, my dear and a musi- 
 cians' gallery; the walls papered after the French taste 
 with Pantheon figures painted on the panels. Of course 
 you'll be invited Dolly but you won't get your invita- 
 tion to-day, nor to-morrow probably either. You see 
 your's would come under the 'T's.' Yesterday the 
 secretary who issued the invitations only got as far as 
 the 'M's.' Thank Heavens ! that included us, 'cause 
 now, of course, all the invitations are being called in." 
 
 "Why? What's that for?" asked Dolly, thoroughly 
 interested. 
 
 "That's what I'm coming to. Give me time! Ma 
 got her card at the breakfast table. My dear, she 
 nearly choked! Then Mrs. Chew came running over 
 from across the way. She was purple ! She said it 
 was rage, but I know better, 'twas laughter. The 
 minute Ma saw the card Mrs. Chew carried in her hand 
 she looked at her with great significance and imme- 
 diately sent me upstairs to get her knitting. They shut 
 the door but that didn't prevent me from hearing them. 
 I never heard Ma laugh so in my life. When I got
 
 1 8 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 back the cards had disappeared ! But I know the place 
 where Ma always hides things. The moment she 
 started to market I ran to her secret drawer ! There it 
 was, sure enough! And here it is, my dear!" 
 
 She handed Dolly the card which ran as follows: 
 
 REGULATIONS FOR THE ASSEMBLIES 
 
 I The Managers have the entire direction. 
 
 2 The Ladies rank in sets and draw for places as they 
 enter the room. The Managers have power to place 
 strangers and brides at the head of the Dances. 
 
 3 The Ladies who lead call the Dances alternately. 
 
 4 No Lady to dance out of her set, without leave of 
 a Manager. 
 
 5 No Lady to quit her place in the Dance, or alter the 
 figure. 
 
 6 No person to interrupt the view of the Dance. 
 
 7 The rooms to be opened at six o'clock every Thurs- 
 day evening during the season. The Dancers to 
 commence at seven and end at twelve precisely. 
 
 8 Each set having danced a Country-Dance, a Cotil- 
 lion may be called if at the desire of eight Ladies. 
 
 9 No Strangers admittable without a Ticket signed by 
 
 one of the Managers, previously obtained. 
 10 No Gentleman admittable in Boots, Colored Stock- 
 ings, or Undressed. 
 
 "Don't worry reading all the first part!" cried Sally 
 impatiently. "The joke's in the last line ! I've under- 
 lined it so you can't miss it." 
 
 "Faugh!" cried Dolly after she'd laughed her fill. 
 "That's funny enough but not half as interesting as 
 what I've to tell thee." 
 
 "Clotilde," she cried as the maid passed down the 
 hall. "Don't forget if any strangers should call, I'm 
 not at home." 
 
 "But for rooms, Madam?" questioned Clotilde, 
 "If some one inquires shall I not show them ze second 
 floor front. 'Tis your best room, Madam. We ought
 
 not to have it empty. And Monsieur Burr" she gave 
 a little sigh "he will be leaving us very soon." 
 
 "Don't bother about Mr. Burr or his room," said 
 Dolly sharply. "He won't be leaving 'till they've 
 chosen a President." 
 
 "Ah! Oui, Madam," persisted Clotilde. "But the 
 election it close to-day. To-day for sure, Madam. 
 Madam Jumel she says so herself. And then she say 
 to my sister Marie, that Monsieur Burr, eef he don't 
 be elected, he start at once for Jericho." 
 
 "Jericho!" laughed Dolly, more goodnaturedly, 
 "Laws! Where's that?" 
 
 "She means Mexico, my dear," explained Sally Mc- 
 Kean. "That bee has been buzzing in Ronnie Burr's 
 head for ages. 'Twill be the undoing of him yet, 
 Father says. 
 
 "Run along, Clotilde," repeated Dolly, "and re- 
 member once for all I forbid thee ever to mention 
 Madam Jumel's name in my house again. I'll have 
 no tale bearing between her house and mine. I don't 
 know the woman and I'll have naught to do with her. 
 Remember that!" 
 
 "Bien oui, Madam, I will remember." 
 
 "What's happened, Dolly," questioned Sally, as Clo- 
 tilde finally disappeared, "you're all aflutter. What's 
 afoot with you?" 
 
 "Well, my dear," broke out Dolly, breathlessly, 
 "can't keep the facts to myself any longer. I've been 
 looking at a gentleman." 
 
 Sally threw up her hands to express her shocked 
 condition. 
 
 "Hussy!" she cried. "But such a thing has occurred
 
 20 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 before. Remember, I have known you for quite ten 
 years, Dolly. Surely the mere revival of such an old 
 custom was not the real reason why you sent for me." 
 
 She had risen as she spoke and stood looking down 
 at Dolly from her full height in front of the fire. Her 
 hands were clasped behind her back and of a sudden 
 something judicial, almost Portia-like, had come into 
 her attitude. 
 
 "Tell me the truth, my dear. Bare your bosom. I 
 would hear thy secret!" 
 
 "Truth is, Sally, I've been found out." 
 
 "Ah! Ah! That sounds more interesting! Now 
 I'll sit down again." 
 
 She did not return to the sofa, but seated herself by 
 the little tea table directly opposite Dolly, where she 
 could look her friend more squarely in the eye. When 
 the gods made Sally McKean a woman, a great cross- 
 examiner was lost to the world! 
 
 "Who found you out?" 
 
 "I myself," answered Dolly. "I blush to own and 
 the gentleman, too!" 
 
 "Blushed?" 
 
 "No. Found me out. Discovered my immodesty." 
 
 "No gentleman would say so." 
 
 " 'Twasn't what he said, my dear: 'twas what he 
 'did!" 
 
 "Ruffian!" said Sally, with mock horror. 
 
 "Now I'll tell thee just how it happened " 
 
 "Perhaps I'd better be going," said Sally, suddenly 
 picking up her muff. "Remember, Dolly, I'm an un- 
 married woman," she laughed, "and a whole year
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 21 
 
 younger than yourself. Some old wives' tales are not 
 yet for me ! Besides, I'm due at the Wax Works." 
 
 "Don't tease," said Dolly, seizing Sally's hand. 
 " 'Tis well worth listening to. And I must tell some 
 one. My dear! the fellow had me in his 
 arms." 
 
 "Not really!" 
 
 "Well, quite enough to take notice." 
 
 Sally had dropped her muff and was back on the 
 sofa beside her friend. In all Philadelphia there was 
 no dowager, not even that notorious gossip Mistress 
 Sparkle, who so dearly loved a bit of scandal or a soup- 
 con of romance. 
 
 "Where! Where!" she queried eagerly. 
 
 "On the pavement. In full public my dear," and 
 Dolly's tones took on an added importance. "My dear, 
 he picked me up." 
 
 "You mean?" 
 
 By this time Sally's boa was off again. Dolly's 
 growing embarrassment showed her clearly that a con- 
 fession was coming which would be worth listening to. 
 As far as Sally was concerned, for an hour at least, the 
 Wax Works must wait. 
 
 "Now, I don't expect thee to believe this, Sally," 
 Dolly began, " 'tis just the sort of a tale a lady always 
 relates to explain some agreeable disaster. I'd been 
 to Meeting House for Wednesday prayer. Since my 
 widowhood, as thee knows, I have been most pious. 
 When I came away 'twas snowing to blind me. I chose 
 my steps most carefully but, what with the wind and 
 these abominable high French heels, of course, I had 
 to. Well, all went right and without mishap until I
 
 22 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 turned into Chestnut street. Just where I'd cross 
 there by the Hall of Congress a horseman loomed 
 in front. I drew back in a panic, my heel slipped and 
 well, thank Heaven I had on my best stockings!" 
 
 She lifted her Quaker skirt a foot or so, disclosing 
 in most symmetrical encasement as pretty a pair of 
 white silk stockings as had ever been smuggled out of 
 Paris. 
 
 "You mean to say you wore those? To prayer meet- 
 ing?" cried Sally, incredulous, and yet admiringly. 
 
 "Always on a windy day. Well, to continue! 
 When I came to, I'm quite sure I must have lost con- 
 sciousness for a moment! when I came to, I dis- 
 tinctly felt an arm about my waist. Oh, I felt it, I 
 assure thee ! 'Twas a manly arm and so strong! Then 
 I saw some one lean over me. I was fully conscious 
 by that time. Some one leaned over, his face so close 
 to mine that I saw the color of his eyes. They were 
 blue a beautiful blue!" 
 
 A pensive look came into the fair narrator's face. 
 She paused, as though she would feign linger over this 
 reminiscence. But Sally brought her back to the mo- 
 ment. 
 
 "Yes," she cried, ruthlessly, "go on. I'm listening." 
 
 "In a flash I realized 'twas some one I had seen 
 before. He helped me to my feet. He " 
 
 "But his arm! His arm!" quizzed Sally, now all 
 excitement. "Was it still about you?" 
 
 "Well, that is one thing which I can't recall. I have 
 tried to, earnestly, many times since. But I was so 
 flustered! 'Twas so long since I'd been in such a posi-
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 23 
 
 don and then, of course, not knowing the man ! You 
 can understand " 
 
 "Ah, certainly," responded Sally, with a nod of per- 
 fect comprehension. "But tell me! Was he a pretty 
 fellow?" 
 
 Dolly Todd, before answering, clasped her hands 
 ecstatically. Her whole face was alight. 
 
 "Pretty! Laws! pretty, Sally, is not at all the word 
 for him. He was too strong for that, too manly, too 
 forceful and yet so tender! He wasn't pretty at all. 
 How I loathe that word! He was beautiful; that's 
 what he was as beautiful as a young French abbe 
 on a fan." 
 
 "How splendid!' cried Sally, huddling herself up in 
 a heap, as young women will when intensely interested. 
 "And you, dear? No wonder you were flustered! 
 Then what did he do? What did you say? Who saw 
 you? You can't tell me, my dear, that all this hap- 
 pened on Chestnut street at that.hour and nobody look- 
 ing on?" 
 
 "As to that I am still oblivious," answered Dolly. "I 
 can't remember. I'm still wondering. Even what I 
 said to him I hardly know. I scarce had wit enough to 
 thank him. 1 remember asking him to set me on my 
 feet again; to release me; but it was all so swift, so 
 sudden and yet so delightful that I scarce know. But 
 I did try to dismiss him. Of that I assure thee. I 
 thanked him as politely as any lady should. I told him 
 that I could get along very nicely. I bade him let me go 
 my way. But he wouldn't. He simply insisted that 
 I couldn't walk alone. 'Twould be a crime! he said: 
 a cruelty to beauty in distress if he let go of me. 'Twas
 
 24 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 the grip of a grizzly bear he had, and yet the tender- 
 ness of a fawn. I was embarrassed, of course. Par- 
 ticularly when he spoke again. What do thee sup- 
 pose he said? He turned, still holding me, and looking 
 me fairly in the eyes, told me almost sternly that it was 
 impossible for me to walk alone because I had injured 
 my ankle. And he actually said the word, too, ankle!" 
 
 "Jamais!" cried Sally incredulously once more. 
 
 "Oh, yes he did, dear right out loud he said 
 ankle!" 
 
 "The libertine!" laughed Sally. 
 
 "Though I insisted I was not hurt at all," continued 
 Dolly, "after releasing me, most reluctantly, he made 
 me take his arm. He brought me to the door. Crowds 
 saw us and think of it ! I he didn't even tell me his 
 name. By this time all Philadelphia must know the 
 scandal." 
 
 "Was he forward?" 
 
 "Bless thee, no. A first rate gentleman in every 
 sense for all he did squeeze my hand." 
 
 "Yes, that's all very well, my dear," said Sally, with 
 a look of knowledge, "but there are many first rate 
 gentlemen who, given the chance " 
 
 "Ah! But not this one. He was* divine, my dear. 
 No Greek god could have shown better deportment or 
 worn more becoming clothes. Such manners! And 
 such diction, too! Though we scarcely spoke a word 
 all the way I realized that he had a most beautiful 
 voice so low, so soft, so gentle!" She paused a mo- 
 ment, and looked Sally in the eye. "Dost thee know, 
 dear, that until he spoke my name I never realized 
 what a pretty name Todd is."
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 25 
 
 "Then he knew your name," cried Sally, in surprise. 
 "That makes it more interesting." 
 
 "Oh, yes," said Dolly. "He knew I was Dolly 
 Todd. Also that I had been freshly widowed. But 
 he spoke of it all so beautifully that, Faith ! since I first 
 wore weeds I have never felt so consoled before." 
 
 "But who is he? What's his name? Is he rich man, 
 poor man, beggar man or thief?" 
 
 "Can't tell thee, dear," said Dolly. "Those are the 
 very things I've asked myself a hundred times. I don't 
 know." 
 
 "Did he volunteer no information?" 
 
 "Now, that would have been forward! He was far 
 too well bred for that." 
 
 "And you mean to say you didn't ask him his name?" 
 
 "Certainly not," said Dolly, with some asperity. 
 "Even a widow, Sally, can be maidenly." 
 
 "Well, my dear, all I have to say is," responded 
 Sally, "If a man had me in his arms even it if was 
 only en passant he would have to answer some ques- 
 tions. I certainly should want to know his name and 
 who he was, even if I didn't care a rap as to his morals. 
 And if, as you fear, all the town knows all about it, 
 why in Heaven's name, shouldn't you?" 
 
 "The very reason why I shouldn't," cried Dolly, 
 argumentatively. "My ignorance is my sole excuse. 
 As matters stand it was an accident, liable to happen 
 to any lady with flighty French heels. But one step 
 further and it would have become an adventure. What- 
 ever else they say of me they must admit I've always 
 kept my improprieties within bounds. And thee must
 
 26 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 insist on that on my behalf, Sally, when all the gossip- 
 mongers assail me." 
 
 "There's naught to fear as far as I can see," said 
 Sally, rising and adjusting her furs again. She was a 
 little disappointed at the tame ending of Dolly's ad- 
 venture. However, like a true woman of fashion she 
 masked her feelings, kissed her friend enthusiastically 
 and started for the door. But Dolly Todd was in no 
 mind to release her as yet. Long before Sally reached 
 the door Dolly had anticipated her and was drawing 
 her by slow degrees back to the fireplace. 
 
 "What does thee mean by nothing to fear?" she 
 asked with some fire. "Why, with Congress sitting 
 the town's a very hot bed of scandal. And simply be- 
 cause I am young and a widow that's no reason why I 
 should escape. Let your foot slip ever so little even 
 as mine did, for instance and your character hasn't 
 one leg to stand on." 
 
 There was a loud knock at the outer door and Sally, 
 snatching up her muff once more, made a fresh start 
 to go. 
 
 "Thee's not going yet, dear. I haven't half told 
 thee," cried Dolly. 
 
 "Oh, but I must. I've promised to visit the Wax 
 Works with the Marquis. That's most likely he at the 
 door come to fetch me." 
 
 "Bring him in, then, by all means," cried the ever 
 hospitable Dolly. "If you must marry a Spaniard, I 
 surely should like to look him over. But, tell me, is 
 it settled yet?" 
 
 "Well," hesitated Sally, "that's rather hard to say. 
 It is in a way and yet it really isn't."
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 27 
 
 As she spoke, with the toe of her pretty little boot 
 she was tracing out a pattern on the carpet and keep- 
 ing her eyes upon it as though afraid of meeting 
 Dolly's. 
 
 "Dost thee mean to say that he takes his time?" 
 asked Dolly abruptly. 
 
 "Not he: 'tis Father." 
 
 "Your Father! But, why? What has he to do with 
 it, except to give his consent?" 
 
 "Well, this is the way of it, if you must know. All 
 this mystery and postponement and philandering has 
 something to do with your 'second floor front.' ' 
 
 "Colonel Burr, you mean?" asked Dolly, rather 
 startled. 
 
 "Colonel Burr," corroborated Sally, with an em- 
 phatic nod. 'A. Burr,' as he's fond of calling himself! 
 Ronnie, as you love to call him!" 
 
 "Yes, admitting all that: But how's Ronnie Burr 
 mixed up in thy love affair? Heaven knows he's a 
 busy man and a heart breaker. All the world knows 
 that! but between thee and the young Marquis D'Yrujo 
 I can't see how this other man figures." 
 
 "Simply in this way. I know little about politics, 
 but this I do know," said Sally seriously. "Burr is a 
 plotter, a great schemer. You know that as well as I. 
 His vaulting ambition would jump over the moon itself 
 if he had his way. I haven't heard Father and Mr. 
 Alexander Hamilton talking about him for nothing! 
 Burr has a pet and secret scheme. It's a mania with 
 him. He means to wrest Mexico from D'Yrujo's 
 King. You know the nature of the man well enough
 
 28 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 how relentless, how implacable in pursuing some 
 scheme on which he has set his heart." 
 
 "But still, I don't see where thee and D'Yrujo come 
 into Ronnie Burr's buzzing bonnet. How crazy his 
 schemes are none knows better than I, and as thee 
 knows when I'm with him that is when he is near 
 me I well I'm very fond of him ! Between ourselves, 
 I wish it were otherwise. But it's so; it really is. Still 
 that's also neither here nor there ! I still ask what has 
 Ronnie Burr to do with thee and D'Yrujo?" 
 
 "If Burr accomplishes his design," answered Sally, 
 making her explanation more emphatic by tapping off 
 the points of the situation with the forefinger of one 
 hand on all the fingers of the other. "If he actually 
 succeeds in capturing Mexico from the King of Spain, 
 I shall remain a spinster as far as the Marquis is 
 concerned. If the Marquis isn't clever enough to 
 thwart Mr. Burr's design, the Marquis is going to 
 lose his appointment. If he loses his appointment 
 Father would send him running in short order." 
 
 "But, my dear, it's not a billet you're going to marry 
 I hope ; it's a Marquis. And anyway," continued Dolly, 
 by way of administering consolation, "Take it from me, 
 my dear! Ronnie Burr has no intention of going to 
 Mexico. The country's too far from Madam Jumel." 
 
 There was a little shade of bitterness in the way 
 Dolly Todd made this remark which did not escape 
 Sally's perception. 
 
 "Madam Jumel indeed!" cried Sally, suddenly fir- 
 ing up. "What a foe', you are, Dolly Todd ! 'Tis you 
 he's after! Not that bedizened French woman. Why, 
 my dear girl, I know from many sources that he cares
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 29 
 
 more for your little finger than he does for her whole 
 French carcass. She's witty, I own, and there's no 
 gain-saying that, politically, she is up to her eyes in 
 foreign affairs. But she's not our kind, Dolly, from 
 all they say; you know that as well as I do. As far as 
 I'm concerned I wish it were all true. I would dance 
 gladly at their nuptials if I heard that Ronnie Burr had 
 married the French hussy to-morrow." 
 
 Dolly's face flushed for a moment, and then paled. 
 
 "Why do you say that, Sally and with so much en- 
 thusiasm?" 
 
 "On your account, Dolly, darling," answered Sally, 
 kissing her. "Because I love you. Because you're the 
 dearest woman alive and I'd fight for you to my last 
 breath, and after. Even if I were dead, Dolly, I think 
 I could come and scratch the eyes out of any creature 
 who maligned you. That's why I'd like to see him 
 married to the Jumel jade. He's a fascinating devil. 
 I love him like all the rest of us. But" drawing Dolly 
 close to her "I'm thinking of you, dear. He's dan- 
 gerous, believe me. Your Ronnie Burr is a dangerous 
 man." 
 
 "Dangerous !" cried Dolly, throwing her hands aloft 
 in her usual manner, when surprised. ''Dangerous, eh? 
 My eye and Betty Martin! How's Ronnie Burr dan- 
 gerous to me, pray? He's never betrayed a friend. 
 He's never abused a foe nor harmed a good woman. 
 I would have thee tell me how a man as honest as that 
 can be dangerous to me. As a lodger, he's ideal. Pays 
 his bills the second they're due sometimes beforehand. 
 As a man he's as moral as the law allows no more! 
 perhaps a little less as a friend, well as a friend,
 
 30 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 the very best I have with the sole exception of yourself 
 He's Ronnie Burr, that's all in a word ! He has ene- 
 mies, of course; and he's frequently tactless. Men like 
 Hamilton love to attack and malign him. But I know 
 the real man, my dear. Take it from me, I know the 
 man." 
 
 "But good Lord! Dolly," cried Sally, "Think of the 
 man's reputation! It's something scandalous; and all 
 quite true at least so they say!" 
 
 "His reputation!" repeated Dolly, scornfully. "But 
 he has so many of 'em! Think of his record as a 
 soldier, Sally. A lad of twenty-four in the American 
 army who had won his way to a colonelcy. Remember 
 what he did at Quebec, on the Heights of Abraham, 
 he, a mere lad, carrying the dead body of that giant 
 General Montgomery out from under the enemy's 
 breast works into his own camp. Then as an aide to 
 General Washington himself and later still his great 
 fame as a lawyer! 'A. Burr' the only legal foe of Al- 
 exander Hamilton, who loathes him with his whole 
 heart and never loses an opportunity of showing it. 
 Oh, yes, I know Ronnie Burr's reputations, Sally, and 
 all the many sides of 'em ! As for his record as a heart 
 breaker, well, it seems to me that should prove warn- 
 ing enough for any woman who isn't courting trouble. 
 Take it from me, Sally, these so-called dangerous men 
 would not be half so dangerous if so many of us women 
 didn't try to find out the reason why." 
 
 There was another loud knock at the door and Clo- 
 tilde announced Mistress Sparkle and Miss Sophia. 
 
 "Good Lord!" cried Sally, "That dreadful old hen! 
 Now I will really leave you."
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 31 
 
 "Sally, as thee love me! Stay. You must, my dear, 
 to save thy own reputation." 
 
 Suddenly Sophia Sparkle, just sweet fifteen and ap- 
 propriately dressed for the role by an artistic mother, 
 burst into the room. Pretty, and with a roguish, mys- 
 terious look in her eyes, she .kissed both women timid- 
 ly, explaining: 
 
 "I ran ahead to put you on your guard, Mrs. Todd. 
 Something's amiss ! Storm signals are up ! Look out 
 for Ma!" 
 
 "There!" said Dolly, turning to Sally, "I told thee. 
 Thee mustn't leave me now. Let the Wax Works and 
 the Marquis attend to themselves! Quick, child!" she 
 added, turning to Sophia, "What is it?" 
 
 "Something in a letter which came by this morn- 
 ing's post." But she could say no further. At that in- 
 stant her mother, Mistress Sparkle, attended by her 
 footman who carried a huge velvet handbag, swept 
 into the room. Mistress Sparkle was fat and laced 
 to the point of cruelty. Richly gowned in green velvet 
 and littered with every accessory and impedimenta of 
 fashion, she represented not only her vastly hif:h esti- 
 mate of her own importance, but really looked the 
 grand dame which she was. Both the younger women 
 curtesied to the floor and then, as with one gesture she 
 imperiously waved the footman to the hall, with an- 
 other she acknowledged the salute. To Sally, she 
 turned a rather malignant eye and greeted her with a 
 frigid "How-d'ye do." 
 
 "That for you !" said Sally to herself mentally snap- 
 ping her fingers and promptly, much to Mistress Spar- 
 kle's rage, sat down.
 
 32 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Turning to Dolly the elder woman remarked point- 
 edly: 
 
 "I thought to find you disengaged, quite by your- 
 self, my dear Dolly." 
 
 "Just going, Ma'am," said Sally, almost routed, and 
 she reached for her furs. 
 
 But Dolly, who would brook no desertion, snatched 
 the muff and boa from her and held them in her arms. 
 Metaphorically, she was stripping for action and had 
 no intention of allowing the malicious old woman to 
 draw first blood. 
 
 "I have no secrets from Sally, as thee know, Mistress 
 Sparkle," said Dolly, with deliberation in her tones. "I 
 am sure that there is nothing which thee would have the 
 right to say to me which I should not be delighted for 
 her to hear." 
 
 "The morning's post, my dear," began Mrs. Spar- 
 kle in a tone which indicated that she could not have 
 felt her importance more keenly if she were delivering 
 to Dolly her death warrant, "the morning's post 
 brought me a most interesting letter." 
 
 She paused as it were to let the full impression of 
 her news sink in upon her auditors, then groped leis- 
 urely in the labyrinthine recesses of her reticule. She 
 brought forth a formidable looking letter bearing a 
 conspicuous seal. 
 
 At sight of it Dolly's legs almost gave way, for she 
 thought she guessed what was coming. But she man- 
 aged to whisper to Sally while she squeezed her hand: 
 
 "Laws! Stay by me. Don't leave me now!" 
 
 "A most interesting and delicate communication," 
 resumed the dowager, as she held the letter conspicu-
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 33 
 
 ously aloft. "Which concerns you, Dolly. It comes 
 from Mount Vernon." 
 
 "Oh, thank Heaven!" said Dolly inside her soul. 
 She cast one flash of relief at Sally, who was also 
 breathing easier, and then turning her sweetest smile 
 on Mistress Sparkle, Dolly cried: 
 
 "From Lady Washington? How sweet of her to 
 think of me ! How is the dear lady?" 
 
 "Lady Washington is in her usual excellent health, 
 which is as good as any widow's should presume to be." 
 
 "Ah!" laughed Dolly, "Be kind to us poor widows 
 Ma'am. Remember you're one yourself!" 
 
 Mistress Sparkle opened the letter and then resumed 
 in a still more impressive and sepulchral tone: 
 
 "She sends you expressions of her distinguished re- 
 gard and affection and writes me to inform you that 
 she wholly disapproves your present mode of life." 
 
 "Laws!" cried Dolly, "What have I done? What 
 am I doing? What's the matter with me? Have I 
 the plague, Ma'am ? Or which of my morals is it that's 
 fallen out? I pray thee tell me that I may adjust my- 
 self and once more become a la mode." 
 
 "Read for yourself, young woman," snapped Mis- 
 tress Sparkle, and she handed Dolly the letter. 
 i As Dolly withdrew to the window seat to read it at 
 her leisure the old dowager promptly turned her guns 
 on Sally. 
 
 "Well, Sally, I hear you're going to marry D'Yrujo, 
 the Spanish Minister?" 
 
 "He hasn't asked me yet, Ma'am," answered Sally, 
 casting down her eyes. 
 
 "He will, though if I know your Mother! Best
 
 34 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 catch of the season, though a great fool! I'd have 
 liked him for my Sophia, but that's out of the question 
 now. I have more than half promised her to the 
 French envoy Monsieur Pichon." 
 
 "Why, but, Ma'am, she's not fifteen yet," protested 
 Sally. 
 
 "What's that to do with it?" cried the dowager, de- 
 cisively. "At Sophia's age I was married and had ex- 
 pectations. What's he asking the Marquis?" 
 
 "What do you mean by 'asking' Ma'am," said Sally, 
 who had no intention of seeing through a stone wall 
 until she was compelled to. 
 
 "Nonsense ! You know what I'm driving at perfectly 
 well," snapped Mistress Sparkle. "The dowry 
 what's he ask?" 
 
 "Nothing, Ma'am," said Sally, as though to clinch 
 the matter. 
 
 "Nothing! Humph! Fancy that, now! How un- 
 easy your people must be !" Then turning suddenly on 
 Dolly who was still reading she inquired, "Well, 
 Ma'am? What have you to say for yourself now?" 
 
 Dolly raised her eyes from the letter and fixed them 
 on Mistress Sparkle's face. She spoke slowly but with 
 a great deal of seriousness. Her tone was almost omi- 
 nous as she said: 
 
 "Thee knows me well. Thee would not have me say 
 it." 
 
 "What! Are you not honored by the communica- 
 tion? Let the girls hear! I've no doubt they'll ap- 
 preciate the letter better than you." 
 
 Dolly rose and came toward them reading aloud: 
 
 "While no accident of fortune could affect in the
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 35 
 
 least degree the high regard and deep affection in which 
 I hold Mrs. Todd nor lessen in the least the timely ap- 
 preciation of her excellent qualities both of mind and 
 heart, yet I cannot regard with indifference her present 
 device of maintaining herself by the entertainment of 
 strangers be they of ever so high a quality, for a 
 stated weekly emolument " 
 
 Dolly paused and without smiling turned to Mistress 
 Sparkle. 
 
 "This, I take it, is Mrs. Washington's polite Chris- 
 tian expression for a boarding house." 
 
 " 'Tis so I take her meaning," said Mistress Sparkle, 
 as though putting her foot down hard. 
 
 "But I fail to see the error of my way," said Dolly, 
 calmly. "I do now only as my dear Mother did in 
 her days of stress." 
 
 "Ah ! But that was your Father's fault. You can 
 blame him for that." 
 
 "Blame him for what, pray," cried Dolly, growing 
 intolerant of the argument. "Because Fortune deserted 
 him?" 
 
 "Deserted him. What poppycock!" exclaimed the 
 dowager indignantly. "Why, he turned her out. He 
 literally drove Fortune off his estate when he freed his 
 slaves, the finest herd of blacks in the Old Dominion." 
 
 "My Father," answered Dolly proudly, "held no 
 honest man could keep slaves after the Declaration of 
 Independence." 
 
 "Mr. Washington kept his" cried Mistress Sparkle, 
 in a tone which was meant to end the argument. 
 
 "Yes, that's true," returned Dolly, "and as for that,
 
 36 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Ma'am, Thomas Jefferson keeps his and he wrote 
 The Thing." 
 
 "I'm surprised at you, Dolly Todd you who should 
 be flattered, instead of annoyed! Now that your sister 
 Lucy has married their nephew Steptoe Washington, 
 they make you one of the family as it were. You 
 should be honored instead of incensed." 
 
 "Perhaps I am, perhaps not," asnwered Dolly. "But 
 whether or not, their favors do not pay my landlord. 
 The Washingtons might make me the toast of the town, 
 but that doesn't put a crust of bread in my mouth. 
 There is no one more faithful to friends, both old and 
 new, than Dolly Todd if I say it myself! 'Benefits 
 forgot' is a phrase which can never honestly be thrown 
 at me. But friendship is one thing. Finance is an- 
 other. Like a proud, and I hope, a wise woman, I 
 strive to keep the two apart. Stripped of all verbiage, 
 my crime in Mrs. Washington's eyes lies in the fact 
 that I'm an honest woman who pays her debts and 
 earns her living!" 
 
 "Why not move to a smaller house, my dear?" sug- 
 gested Mistress Sparkle, beginning to trim sail as she 
 noticed Dolly's rising temper. "Why should a young 
 woman of your years insist on maintaining such a 
 mansion?" 
 
 "Faith, when one begins that one keeps on moving 
 to houses smaller and still smaller. IV no mind to be 
 squeezed to death in the walls of a hut while there's 
 money for the earning." 
 
 "Then in that case why not go and live with your 
 sister Lucy?"
 
 LADY WASHINGTON WRITES A NOTE 37 
 
 "What! As a poor relation! No, thank thee, 
 Ma'am. Not for worlds! 'Tis the first step towards 
 the Old Ladies' Home." 
 
 It was too much for Mrs. Sparkle, this last sally. 
 The rage of her was fierce to see as puffing like a 
 grampus she exclaimed: 
 
 "I'm ashamed of you, Dolly Todd! This is not the 
 spirit of your sainted father John Payne, the Quaker." 
 
 "No," cried Dolly with enthusiasm as she threw her 
 words, spoken in her broadest brogue, straight at Mis- 
 tress Sparkle: "No! Thank God! 'Tis the spirit of 
 my Irish mother that's speaking Mary Coles of En- 
 niscorty on the River Slancy, County Wexford Heav- 
 en rest her soul ! And look thee, Mistress Sparkle, for 
 all thy manners and fine words, if I didn't take board- 
 ers I should have to turn boarder myself. And even 
 the approval of the best society including yourself and 
 the Continental Congress wouldn't pay me for that!" 
 
 "Such manners!" cried Mistress Sparkle, rolling her 
 eyes heavenward and crossing her hands across her 
 capacious bosom. "And your temper, too, Ma'am! 
 'Tis beyond endurance!" 
 
 "My manners are my own, Ma'am," cried Dolly, 
 more quietly. "I have to invent them to meet certain 
 strange occasions of which I regret to say, this is one. 
 As for my temper, Ma'am" she was positively sweet 
 now sweet and smiling as a burst of sunshine after 
 rain. " 'Twas my dear Mother's. 'Twill be with me 
 always unlike my Father's slaves!" 
 
 "Your brogue proclaims that!" cried Mistress Spar- 
 kle as she prepared to make an honorable retreat.
 
 38 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Dolly, her temper quite expended, now was very close 
 to tears. 
 
 "Thy pardon, Ma'am. I had no right to speak so 
 curtly to a guest of mine and to an old friend of my 
 Father's. But 'tis hardly to be borne with patience, 
 such a charge as this! A woman left alone, after scarce 
 a year of marriage with just enough estate to pay the 
 debts and then rebuked in the kindliest spirit to be 
 sure! for wanting to keep a decent roof over her 
 head and a decent frock on her bones." 
 
 "Then why not marry, my dear?" Mistress Sparkle, 
 following Dolly's lead, was now also assuming a melt- 
 ing mood. 
 
 "Marry! Me marry? Thee would recommend 
 that ? And me not one year a widow ! " 
 
 "My dear child," said the dowager sagely, "a widow 
 isn't a cask of wine. She need not wait for age." 
 
 "But shouldn't she wait for love, Ma'am?" 
 
 "Now you're indelicate, Dolly positively indeli- 
 cate ! A young girl marries because she's in love or 
 thinks she is! A widow should marry to keep out of 
 it." 
 
 At that instant Clotilde rushed in all of a flutter. 
 
 A page from the Congress awaits Madam," she ex- 
 claimed to Dolly, "Monsieur Burr invites Madam 
 Todd to come to the gallery most immediately. 'Tis 
 very important, Madam, says the page." 
 
 "Mrs. Todd's compliments to Colonel Burr," said 
 Dolly, formally, "but she's with company at present 
 and cannot come." 
 
 "Oui, Madam!" acquiesced Clotilde, as she whisked 
 herself away. But the mention of Burr's name had
 
 39 
 
 been too much for Mistress Sparkle. She sank into 
 an arm chair breathing heavily. 
 
 "My snuff, Sophia quickly," then as she drew a 
 longer breath she gasped quite audibly, "If Martha 
 Washington could have heard that!"
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 YOUNG SOPHIA SPARKLE WHISPERS SCANDAL AND 
 COLONEL BURR'S LEG CORROBORATES IT. 
 
 He is gracious, if he be observed: 
 
 He hath a tear for pity, and a hand 
 
 Open as day for melting charity : 
 
 Yet notwithstanding, being incensed, he's flint, 
 
 As humourous as winter, and as sudden 
 
 As flaws congealed in the spring of day. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "King Henry IV" 
 
 OPHIA!" cried Mistress Sparkle in thunder- 
 ing tones, a few moments after Col. Burr's 
 message had come to Dolly, "Sophia, my 
 dear, leave the room!" 
 
 Sophia and Sally were holding a quiet chatter in 
 
 half whispers by the fireplace and this ultimatum from 
 
 her mother grieved and exasperated the child sorely. 
 
 "Oh, Ma! Please don't. I know all about him 
 
 any way, so you needn't send me out." 
 
 "Know all about whom, child? What are you talk- 
 ing about?" snapped her mother. 
 
 "About Col. Burr, Ma. It's he that you're going 
 
 to talk about. That's why you're sending me away." 
 
 "And may I be permitted to ask," said her mother, 
 
 all abristle with indignant curiosity which even her 
 
 anger could not hide. "What is it that you know about 
 
 40
 
 SOPHIA SPARKLE WHISPERS SCANDAL 41 
 
 this Monster in Human Form. Heavens above! 
 What on earth are we coming to when a child of your 
 age speaks in such familiar terms of so opprobrious a 
 man? Out with it, Sophia! and no prevarications 
 please. What do you know about him?" 
 
 "Only what they say at school, Ma," said Sophia 
 tremblingly, and yet with a certain bravado. 
 
 Back of all the chagrin caused by the banishment 
 which she now saw was sure to come, there was too, 
 even in her humiliation before her elders, a certain 
 glory in being made a martyr for her championship of 
 the great Aaron Burr. So Sophia tossed her pretty 
 tousled head, felt as she was quite sure Joan of Arc 
 must have felt on the eve of her auto-de-fee and gazed 
 at her mother with almost as much fire in her eyes as 
 once surrounded the hapless Joan. 
 
 "And what," this in a biting tone which caused 
 Sally and Dolly a vast amount of internal laughter, 
 "if I may ask again do they say at your school about 
 this Person." 
 
 For an instant Sophia hesitated: then she parried. 
 
 "Now please don't blame me for what I'm going to 
 say, Ma. Remember you asked! And all of this 
 wouldn't have happened at all if you hadn't insisted on 
 sending me out of the room just when things were 
 getting interesting." 
 
 "Go on, Sophia," cried her mother. "This is no 
 time for apologies or pleas for mercy. I want the 
 Facts!" 
 
 Sophia had now reached an heroic stage where even 
 the tirades of her mother could not awe her. Impaled 
 on the horns of a dilemma she might be; imprisoned
 
 42 
 
 and punished she certainly would; but she knew full 
 well that there by the fireplace were two women, older 
 than herself, who were admiring her pluck profoundly. 
 She knew she had an audience, an appreciative and 
 most enthusiastic audience, even if both members of it 
 had to look the other way in order to conceal their 
 laughter. It was in some such mood as this, thought 
 young Sophia, that her idol, Colonel Burr, was wont 
 to enter court and wrestle with his sworn antagonist 
 Mr. Alexander Hamilton in some great legal bout. To 
 feel herself Joan of Arc at one moment and Colonel 
 Burr the next may have been some serious strain upon 
 her young imagination and anatomy, but Sophia's brain 
 proved equal to it. As she turned to face her mother 
 once more she was an insurrectionist incarnate. 
 
 "I don't care what you say, Ma, nor how you scold 
 me. Colonel Burr is the greatest man that ever lived. 
 I've seen him twice. Once riding by the Schuylkill. 
 How he does ride, Ma ! and then once I shall 
 never forget it, never! when he came to our school 
 to call on one of the elder girls, a friend of his daugh- 
 ter Theodosia. Ah, what a man, Maf So charming, 
 so polite to everybody. Such beautiful delicate hands 
 he has; and such eyes, Ma, such eyes! Eyes that burn 
 you right through and through and then give you nice 
 little shivers! All the teachers fell in love with him. 
 And one of the day scholars has written a most 
 beautiful epitaph about him which she's going to place 
 on his grave if she's alive when he dies." 
 
 "Sophia," said her mother sternly, "I'm surprised 
 and most ashamed of you. This is all beside the ques- 
 tion. From now on you'll have a private governess.
 
 SOPHIA SPARKLE WHISPERS SCANDAL 43 
 
 But in the meanwhile, child, answer me. What do 
 your schoolmates say of Col. Burr?" 
 
 Sophia had reached the brink. Like a wise child 
 she plunged instantly. Leaning slightly forward and 
 speaking her words in a semi-whisper she cried: 
 
 "They say he has the finest leg of any man in Con- 
 gress!" 
 
 "Sophia, leave the room!" This time it was not 
 an ultimatum alone, it was a shriek, a wail of outraged 
 maternity. Mistress Sparkle paused an instant for 
 breath as poor Sophia tearfully winged her flight, 
 and then turning to her two former opponents she 
 exclaimed in search of sympathy: 
 
 "My God! What are we coming to here in Amer- 
 ica when a child of her years dares to wax enthusiastic 
 about a devil like Aaron Burr?" 
 
 This was Sally's chance the chance she had been 
 waiting for. She grasped it with her most bland and 
 childlike smile. And she looked so innocent, too ! 
 
 "But dear Mistress Sparkle, only a moment since 
 you were telling me that at Sophia's age you were not 
 only married but had " 
 
 "Hold your tongue, you forward minx!" shouted 
 Mistress Sparkle. "Between my daughter Sophia and 
 you and Dolly Todd God only knows what this old 
 town of Philadelphia is coming to ! And you," turning 
 with a sudden viciousness on Dolly, "God Almighty! 
 To think that you, a woman whose forebears were re- 
 spectable and above reproach, should harbor that rep- 
 robate here. No extremity can excuse it least of all 
 your widowhood!" 
 
 "I should never think to plead it, Ma'am,* said
 
 44 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Dolly promptly. "In my Mother's widowhood years 
 ago he lodged here. Now since perforce I have 
 had to use this old mansion to make my living in a 
 similar way he has been most scrupulous and most 
 considerate of my awkward circumstance. Whatever 
 his figure, Col. Burr is gentleman." 
 
 "He's a Presbyterian!" cried Mrs. Sparkle decis- 
 ively. 
 
 "A man can be a Christian in any church," said 
 Dolly. 
 
 "Perhaps. But a gentleman only in the Episco- 
 pal." 
 
 "If he were a Turk he'd be no less my friend." 
 
 "Of course not," snapped Mistress Sparkle. "You 
 always did like foreigners. There was Talleyrand to 
 say nothing of Lafayette ! 'Tis notorious enough that 
 Burr admires you. I am giving you the benefit of the 
 very mildest word!" 
 
 "My dear Madam, I should not be In woman's shape 
 if he did not." 
 
 Dolly had folded her hands in front of her and was 
 facing Mistress Sparkle once more as though ready to 
 do battle. 
 
 "Colonel Burr admires the sex, 11 pursued Dolly 
 calmly, "The pretty ones because they please him and 
 the ugly ones because he's sorry for 'em. His admira- 
 tion I rate lightly. But not his friendship. Thee might 
 deem thyself a very lucky woman, Mistress Sparkle, to 
 own the loyal friendship of Ronnie Burr as an offset to 
 thy middle age." 
 
 "It seems to me then," she exclaimed, "that he
 
 SOPHIA SPARKLE WHISPERS SCANDAL 45 
 
 could prove his affection for you best by lodging else- 
 where." 
 
 "My eye and Betty Martin! What is it thee's say- 
 ing? Bereave me, for mere respectability's sake, of 
 my foremost patron; who pays forty shillings the 
 week for the second floor front, twenty-five more for 
 his meals: dines out half the time and scarcely ever 
 home for breakfast I Why, woman, 't would be high- 
 way robbery, not to say cruelty to landladies! to 
 rob me of a lodger like that. " 
 
 "The wretch!" blurted out Mistress Sparkle, at a 
 loss for immediate words. 
 
 "Besides," pursued Dolly quick to realize that her 
 opponent was in retreat, "Col. Burr makes my house 
 the fashion. He gives my house a reputation, even if, 
 as you say, his presence robs me of my own." 
 
 "Well, he couldn't give you his: that's one comfort! 
 'Twas lost years and years ago. And even if adver- 
 tised for and recovered 'twould be found to be injured 
 beyond repair." She paused and then continued more 
 slowly, as though to give her words the greater weight. 
 
 "Remember, Dolly Todd, for all your enthusiastic 
 championship of Aaron Burr his reputation even years 
 ago was so bad that General Washington would not 
 receive him in his house." 
 
 "That was a matter of personal enmity, as thee 
 knows well," said Dolly with conviction. "Besides, if 
 we come to that! George himself was no Joseph!" 
 
 "But at least General Washington had the grace to 
 conceal his peccadilloes. This man Burr parades his 
 shame, boasts of his conquests, advertises his amours." 
 
 "Oh, never, never!" cried Dolly, seriously. "If
 
 46 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Colonel Burr kisses, he doesn't tell. That I promise 
 thee." 
 
 "You needn't promise me anything of the sort," 
 snapped Mistress Sparkle. Sally McKean, enjoying 
 the contretemps hugely in the corner, could not restrain 
 a sudden peal of laughter. 
 
 "I'm in no danger from Aaron Burr or any of his 
 kidney!" declared the dowager. 
 
 "Nor I, good friend," said Dolly, still more seri- 
 ously. "Though I thank thee none the less for thy 
 concern. As for us, Laws ! Ma'am, we're both women 
 of the world and, thee knows, as well as I that gal- 
 lantry's the fashion. The gentlemen all affect the air 
 of having a little French milliner behind the book case 
 when, as a matter of fact, there's nothing there but 
 cob webs! And thee and I, Mistress Sparkle, have 
 lived long enough to know that no one mere man 
 could be so wicked as they credit Col. Burr with being 
 and yet retain the esteem and the affection of his 
 countrymen. Look at him as he stands in the Hall of 
 Congress at this moment! Half the States voting 
 stubbornly, day after day, to make him President over 
 Jefferson, Adams, Rufus King, John Jay, the very 
 flower of the land forsooth! Doesn't that go to prove 
 to thee, that Col. Burr's not as black as he's painted ?" 
 
 "Oh, there's plenty of his same strip and kidney, 
 I'll admit," interrupted Mistress Sparkle, "and the 
 worst of it is and 'tie> a notorious fact, they all 
 stand by one another." 
 
 Sir Anthony Merry entered, but seeing company 
 present was about to withdraw with a murmured apol- 
 ogy when Dolly, spying him, cried cheerily:
 
 47 
 
 "Pray walk in, Sir. We're' dying of the ennui ! Do 
 tell the latest news. Mistress Sparkle, Sir Anthony 
 Merry." 
 
 "Your servant, Madam," said Sir Anthony, bowing 
 while Mistress Sparkle, ever fond of a title, strove 
 to look as alluring and as kittenish as her face and her 
 new French stays would allow. "As to news, Ma'am, 
 the debate is over, Mr. Burr bade me say: And also 
 that they have closed the gallery." 
 
 "Then they must be near a vote. How exciting!" 
 
 "It seems to me, Ma'am, that they were nearer to 
 blows than anything else when I withdrew." 
 
 "The boobies! How ridiculous this all is!" ex- 
 claimed Mistress Sparkle. "When all the fools have 
 got to do is to choose John Adams and the whole 
 matter is settled without any more to-do!" 
 
 "But thee remembers that is impossible," said Dolly. 
 "His wife has declared that under no conditions would 
 she consent to live at the new Capital." 
 
 "Perfectly right," retorted Mistress Sparkle. "I 
 don't blame her. They tell me it's all swamp and no 
 society." 
 
 "Oh, well! Of course it's too much to expect that 
 a lady accustomed to the gaieties, the dissipations and 
 the routs of Quincy, Mass " laughed Dolly, sar- 
 castically. 
 
 Sir Anthony interrupted her. "It's my opinion 
 there'll be no one elected. From the little talk and 
 the riotous actions in your Parliament just now I can 
 not conceive " 
 
 "Bah!" laughed Mistress Sparkle. "My dear Sir, 
 in half an hour you'll find 'em at the tavern next door,
 
 48 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 bumping glasses and as thick as thieves. Hamilton 
 and Burr may be arm in arm, Jefferson and Adams ex- 
 changing the time of day. 'Tis a family quarrel, a 
 brotherly tiff. We're all well used to it, for nobody 
 gets hurt except in their vocabularies. Are you mar- 
 ried, Sir?" 
 
 "Unhappily, yes," responded Sir Anthony, without 
 thinking. "Pardon me, Madam! I meant that the 
 sight of so much loveliness made me regret the fact." 
 
 "Ah! Then your lady is not with you?" 
 
 "Happily not," smiled Sir Anthony, quite good 
 naturedly now. "But she is on her way, poor soul! 
 I had to come first and make sure that Lady Merry 
 would be content here before she set foot out of Eng- 
 land. She's bringing a younger sister. She felt she 
 must have some woman of her own kind near her, the 
 reports about the country and the people had alarmed 
 her greatly." 
 
 "Poor Lady Merry!" laughed Dolly mischievously. 
 "Shure she'll have to find us as God made us barring 
 our clothes and a dash of rouge!" 
 
 "But the worst of it is," exclaimed Sir Anthony, 
 "she anticipates the worst." 
 
 "Well, surely that's something to be thankful for," 
 said Dolly. " 'Twill be impossible for us to disappoint 
 her." 
 
 "Thanks! Most amiable of woman!" smiled the 
 baronet. "When you thoroughly understand her I am 
 
 sure that you and Lady Merry " 
 
 "Well, we're sure to do that, '"said Dolly, "provided 
 you only stay long enough." 
 
 Suddenly a church bell started ringing; then two,
 
 49 
 
 then half a score. The conversation was dropped like 
 an overheated coal and every one made haste to the 
 windows. As Dolly and her friends stood there the 
 shouts and cheers of the crowds round the Hall of 
 Congress could be heard distinctly. Presently a can- 
 non boomed out and then a band playing martial 
 music went rattling down Fourth Street From the 
 window in the hall where young Sophia and Pinckney 
 stood the crowd extended as far as the eye could see. 
 
 "What's it mean? The bells and the cannon, 
 too," cried Mistress Sparkle. "From the row we 
 might be having another French Revolution only 
 so few of us Philadelphians speak really decent 
 French!" 
 
 " 'Tis the election, of course," cried Dolly excitedly. 
 "They've chosen a President!" Then half to herself 
 she added fervently, "Please God it's Ronnie Burr!" 
 
 "Let us hope they've picked a gentleman, at all 
 events," exclaimed Mistress Sparkle, as Dolly violently 
 rang the bell. 
 
 "Clotilde," she cried, as her maid entered, "run to 
 the Inn next door. Ask the news. Find who's elected. 
 Run, girl, run!" Just then a resounding knock came 
 at the outer door, so Dolly added, "See who that is, 
 
 first. Find who's at the door. They'll know ." 
 
 Then came the sound of a cheery, baritone voice. 
 Dolly's face brightened into radiance as she turned 
 towards the hall. Her hands were clasped in front 
 of her excitedly. 
 
 "Now we shall hear the news," she cried, "It's Col. 
 Burr!"
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 COLONEL BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY BY ONE VOTE 
 AND MR. MADISON MEETS A CHARMING LADY 
 
 At his birth an evil spirit 
 Charms and spoils around him flung, 
 And with well concocted malice, 
 Laid a curse upon his tongue. 
 
 He could plead, expound and argue 
 Fire with wit, with wisdom glow : 
 But one word forever failed him, 
 Source of all his pain and woe, 
 Luckless wight! He could not say it 
 Could not -dared not, answer No ! 
 
 CHARLES MACKAY. 
 
 OME, Sophia! We are leaving!" It was 
 Mistress Sparkle's voice. 
 At the mention of the new Vice-President's 
 name she had spread her skirts, grasped her reticule 
 and prepared to carry off the reluctant Sophia at any 
 cost. But Colonel Burr forestalled her. 
 
 "Better wait, Ma'am. Crowds block the way. I 
 assure you I had to fight my way here." 
 
 "Why? What's the matter? Anything wrong?" 
 asked Mistress Sparkle with a superb display of ig- 
 norance. 
 
 "That's a matter of taste, Ma'am," said Burr with a 
 slight shrug. "Mr. Jefferson's been chosen President." 
 
 so
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 51 
 
 "That atheist! Beats the Devil!" cried Mistress 
 Sparkle. 
 
 "And by only one vote, Ma'am. Eight States de- 
 clared for Mr. Jefferson seven for the other " and 
 he bowed profoundly as he spoke and smiled ironically 
 "candidate." 
 
 "Then you, of course, are Vice President," said the 
 dowager in a tone which indicated that she had quite 
 abandoned hope and was about to see her country go 
 entirely to the deuce. 
 
 "Alas! The law so orders!" said Burr with a 
 martyr's air. 
 
 "You! Vice President. 'Tis outrageous!" 
 
 But as she said the words she smiled coquettishly 
 and held her hand out. 
 
 Burr leaned over and kissed her hand. 
 
 "Thanks for the sympathy, Ma'am. God knows! I 
 'have done nothing to deserve this fate !" He raised his 
 head and laughed like a school-boy. "Think of it! 
 Vice President to Jefferson with his health of a stalled- 
 ox and sure of a second term ! Eight years of obscurity 
 for A. Burr! My compliments to Mr. Hamilton and 
 his friends! They've done for me this time, Vice 
 President! Ha! Ha!" He laughed again in that 
 (debonair way which was one of his greatest charms. 
 
 Probably in all the days of his long life in all the 
 disappointments, in all the disasters which had happened 
 and which were yet to come there never was a time 
 when Burr was smarting more acutely under his fate 
 than that moment when he entered Dolly Todd's draw- 
 ing room. Yet no one, save Dolly perhaps, would ever 
 have guessed. He seemed bursting with good nature
 
 52 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 and high spirits. His handsome and wonderfully ex- 
 pressive face seemed alight with enthusiasm. His 
 slender figure, somewhat under the medium height, so 
 sinewey, elastic and well proportioned that, in the 
 immaculate black costume of the period, it gave him 
 a singularly youthful appearance, swayed as he ban- 
 tered jokes with the dowager. And into his handsome 
 face there came that look of whimsical tenderness 
 which it always wore when he talked to a woman. 
 His voice, though not powerful, was round and full 
 and crisp; never loud, it could be tender and expressive 
 as the occasion required, and Burr, it must be remem- 
 bered, was a born elocutionist. He spoke tersely and 
 with a simplicity which was almost epigrammatic. 
 
 His diction was, next to his eyes, perhaps his great- 
 est charm, and when talking to a woman he always 
 lowered his voice to an almost confidential tone. No 
 man of his day, not even the great Hamilton himself, 
 possessed so full and expressive a vocabulary and none 
 ever expressed himself with more simplicity than 
 Aaron Burr. His hair, heavily powdered, was held 
 in place by a small tortoise shell comb and arranged 
 in such a way that his beautifully proportioned head 
 appeared to great advantage, and his high forehead 
 and large nose, with its expanding nostrils, gave to 
 his face both dignity and power. But it was his eyes 
 which made the charm of him. Perfectly round, not 
 large but deep black, marvelously penetrating, no man 
 could stand in the presence of this man with his own 
 eyes fixed upon him without realizing that they had 
 read his innermost thoughts. 
 
 There was a power in his look, a masterfulness which
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 53 
 
 amounted to an almost hypnotic effect. Men feared 
 those eyes; women they fascinated; but children and 
 dogs after a slight glance always came to him of their 
 own accord. His eyes might draw them for a moment 
 but it was his smile, a smile which lightened up his 
 rather melancholy face and made it beautiful, which 
 won children and dumb animals to him for life. 
 
 Debonair, polished, whimsical, he swaggered about 
 the drawing-room as though, to all appearances, this 
 was by all odds the happiest day of his life. Dolly 
 watched him narrowly but said little. It was blunder- 
 ing Sir Anthony who presently made a diversion by ex- 
 claiming: 
 
 "Well, all I have to say is, Jefferson's no friend of 
 England. As a nation, we had hoped for his defeat." 
 
 "You should have made that fact known, Sir," said 
 Burr with seriousness. 
 
 "Why? Do you think if I had done so it would 
 have changed the results?" 
 
 "No. Merely hastened it," laughed Burr. 
 " 'Twould at least have saved the country all these 
 months of doubt and wrangling such as you inter- 
 rupted to-day. You must have been hard put to keep 
 your face, Sir." 
 
 "But, my dear man, I took it all quite seriously," 
 said Sir Anthony slightly bewildered. "They spoke 
 well, some of your Congressmen. Why one of them 
 even quoted Latin." 
 
 "Ah! Yes," nodded Burr with no sign of a smile. 
 "That was Randolph of Roanoke. But you mustn't 
 hold that against him. He'd been drinking!"
 
 54 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 For the first time he turned to Dolly and addressed 
 her. 
 
 "You should have heard them abuse me," he ex- 
 claimed, laughing. "Hamilton's friends scarce left a 
 hair on my head. Just before the final vote, in their 
 rage, they didn't speak my name, they barked it. 'Burr ! 
 Burr! Burr!' they growled. I'm so sorry you didn't 
 hear them. I kept looking up in the gallery hoping that 
 you'd be there, then hurried a page to fetch you. 
 Lord! How they did abuse me! You'd have been 
 amused." 
 
 "You seem to forget, Sir, that Mrs. Todd's in 
 mourning," interrupted Mistress Sparkle stiffly. "Cus- 
 tom forbids her all amusement just at present." 
 
 "But to hear an old friend black-guarded!" cried 
 Dolly. "Oh! dear Mistress Sparkle, even the most 
 censorious, even thee, wouldn't deny one that pleasure." 
 
 "Oh! There'll be other opportunities, my dear. 
 Have no fear of that." 
 
 "Perhaps. But such a rare occasion, Ma'am, may 
 never occur even in your blooming lifetime," said 
 Burr with another bow to the dowager. "A tie in the 
 vote for President! A tie between T. Jefferson and 
 A. Burr, a tie for the which, if you please, I am 
 to blame. Oh! no, Ma'am, such an event does not 
 occur every day. I should have liked Mrs. Todd to 
 have been there. ' f 
 
 "You had a hand in it? How was that?" asked 
 Mistress Sparkle, growing curious. 
 
 "That's what they said in the house to-day, Ma'am 
 though much less politely," answered Burr. "And 
 for a similar tie when the election was moved into the
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 55 
 
 House of Representatives, they blamed me even for 
 that. As though I, Aaron Burr, carried the high 
 office in my vest-pocket. Preposterous! Isn't it?" 
 
 "Then am I to believe that one word from you," 
 asked Mistress Sparkle sarcastically, "would have 
 settled the whole business long ago?" 
 
 "Yes,'' interrupted Dolly proudly. "One word from 
 Colonel Burr a nod of his head, a crook of his 
 finger, would have made him President. Every one 
 knows that I" 
 
 "Perhaps though, Mrs. Todd, 'twas as well you 
 weren't in the gallery," said Burr by way of changing 
 the subject. "You'd have been throwing kisses to Mad- 
 ison. 'Twas he who spoke so manfully in my de- 
 fense." 
 
 "The great Madison?" asked Dolly in mock sur- 
 prise. 
 
 "Little Jemmy no less!" continued Burr. "He 
 declared the sixteen States would resent as imper- 
 tinent advice from either candidate as to how they 
 should cast their votes. Whether for or against me 
 I had no more right to urge my own defeat than that 
 of my opponent." 
 
 "How splendid! "cried Dolly. "What a man! Oh! 
 if I'd only been there!" 
 
 "It amazed me all the more, coming from Madison. 
 He's never liked me," returned Burr. "He's Jef- 
 ferson's friend. I vowed my electoral gratitude 
 told him if need be I would go to Hell for him 
 Pray don't look shocked, Mistress Sparkle ! He 
 promptly assured me that he would feel fully repaid 
 if I'd go no further than Fourth Street and bring him
 
 5 6 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 with me " Burr bowed obsequiously to Dolly as he 
 spoke "to Mrs. Todd's." 
 
 "Here? To see me? Why I doubt if the man has 
 ever laid eyes on me !" 
 
 "He caught a glimpse of you, it seems," said Burr 
 with rather a knowing smile. 
 
 "When, Sir? And where?" 
 
 Instinctively Dolly turned to Sally McKean as she 
 asked the question. 
 
 "He gave me no details. But I surmised from the 
 zeal of his admiration that he'd seen considerable of 
 you." 
 
 "Then that must suffice the man for the present. 
 'Tis my busy day " flat-footedly and with a little 
 air of arrogance "I'm glad he championed thy cause, 
 and soon in his presence I shall be pleased to thank him. 
 Next week, perhaps " 
 
 "The man's waiting now," said Burr bluntly. 
 
 "Waiting? What do you mean?" 
 
 "When he asked to come along with me what else 
 could I do? Presuming on your good nature I said 
 he might present himself at four o'clock unless advised 
 to the contrary. However, as you're not in the mood 
 I'll send him word." Burr walked towards the bell 
 rope, but young Sophia, turning eagerly to Dolly, bade 
 him pause. 
 
 "No, no! Do have him in just for a look, dear 
 Mrs. Todd. I'm dying to see him. 'Tis Mr. Mad- 
 ison you're speaking of?" she asked of Burr. 
 
 "Yes," he replied. "And do you know him too? 
 Lucky Jemmy!" 
 
 "The Constitution man, I mean," continued Sophia,
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 57 
 
 making sure of her ground. Then, as Burr nodded 
 corroboration, she continued. ''Yes. He's the .nan. 
 Oh! It's such a lovely story. So romantic! He's 
 the man jilted Kitty Floyd, the Long Island beauty, for 
 wearing rouge !" 
 
 "Oh! Laws!" cried Dolly laughing outright as she 
 touched her cheeks. "Don't look at me that way, 
 child. I don't use the stuff for vanity's sake, but 
 from motives of philanthropy. I wish to give pleasure 
 to those who look at me." 
 
 "Oh! But 'twas such a romantic story," continued 
 Sophia, not to be hushed so easily. "She Kitty Floyd 
 was just out of braids and after a most firey court- 
 ship 
 
 "What! Madison freyf Oh, never, never!" pro- 
 tested Colonel Burr. 
 
 "Sophia !" roared her mother who, to her own mind, 
 had been far too long out of the picture. "Where'd 
 you learn that?" 
 
 "At school, Ma. It was exciting! Some of the 
 girls had seen correspondence most passionate letters ! 
 Why they even say " 
 
 "You needn't, Sophia!" thundered her mother once 
 more. "You have said quite sufficient. Now we are 
 going home." 
 
 As Sophia moved towards the window, still detail- 
 ing to Sally her pet scandal in somewhat squelched 
 tones, Dolly, turning to Burr, whispered as she nodded 
 towards Mistress Sparkle: 
 
 "Win her. The woman hates thee." 
 
 "To think that a child of mine, before her skirts 
 are below her ankles, should talk of 'passionate letters.'
 
 5 8 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Oh! 'Tis too absurd!" cried Mistress Sparkle. 
 
 "Quite," said Burr in a voice intended for her alone. 
 "An exaggeration too, I warrant you. Believe me, 
 Madam, Mr. Madison never wrote anything 'passion- 
 ate' except, of course, the Constitution." 
 
 "Why Hamilton wrote that," said Mistress Sparkle, 
 looking Burr full in the eye. "At least his friends 
 say so." 
 
 "To be sure, Ma'am," said Burr with a touch of 
 sarcasm. "And the Declaration of Independence 
 he wrote that too! And the Bill of Rights; the 
 Treaty with England, and then of course, oh! yes, 
 I was forgetting! Washington's Farewell Address 
 he wrote that too! In short, to hear Hamilton's 
 friends, Ma'am, he wrote most everything important to 
 modern society except Ben Franklin's Almanac and 
 the Ten Commandments. And presently they'll have 
 him revising those!" 
 
 "Eh! What? A new quarrel between you two, 
 again?" said Mistress Sparkle, all agog for news. 
 "You speak bitterly. What's gone wrong now? 
 What's new?" 
 
 "Oh! nothing," laughed Burr, indifferently. " 'Tis 
 the same old story." 
 
 "The same! What d'you mean by that? That 
 French petticoat Jumel?" 
 
 "Nothing so charming, Ma'am. Nor yet so worth 
 while. Besides, speaking of that charming lady you 
 just mentioned, " he leaned towards Mistress Sparkle 
 and almost whispered "between ourselves, let me 
 enlighten you. She's French by descent only, and she 
 isn't a petticoat! She's a very brilliant woman, almost a
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 59 
 
 native of our own soil, Ma'am though she says she 
 was born at sea who has lived long in Europe and 
 learned much womanly wisdom there. But like myself 
 she was raised in New England." 
 
 "Europe, eh! Yes, I should think Europe would 
 have agreed with her remarkably well. I once heard 
 my old friend Benjamin Reath describe it accurately. 
 'Europe!' said he: 'Why Europe is merely a sunny 
 place for shady people.' It certainly should have 
 suited Madam Jumel." 
 
 "But what you say is news to be sure !" laughed Mis- 
 tress Sparkle. "It seems to me that as time goes on her 
 parentage becomes a sort of movable feast." 
 
 "How d'you mean, Ma'am?" said Burr with slight 
 interest. 
 
 "Oh ! Don't worry, Colonel Burr. For once you're 
 really innocent. Precocious as report says you used 
 to be in those old Connecticut days, no person in her 
 senses is going to accuse you of being the father of 
 Betty Jumel. I was speaking of a far more illustrious 
 and august person! Once, years ago in a New York 
 restaurant, in the days when she was Mrs. Croix, 
 from my seat at the next table, I heard the Jade 
 insinuate that Napoleon was her father. Later, of 
 course, since she's married old Jumel with all his, 
 riches and fandangoes since Lady Washington was 
 induced by some powerful influence to say 'How-do-do' 
 to her I hear she's changed her tune. She's all 
 American now, they say, and declares she's a daughter 
 of George himself!" 
 
 "You do her a great injustice, Ma'am," remarked 
 Burr seriously. Then taking a lighter tone, he ex-
 
 60 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 claimed "But, fie! fie! Why all this scandal? We 
 shall shock even Miss Sophia. Let's talk politics 
 let's go back to that old bone of contention between 
 Hamilton and myself. For I assure you it is all 
 politics nothing else in the world, Ma'am. You see, 
 when Washington died he bequeathed Hamilton two 
 of his most cherished possessions an antique silver 
 snuff-box and his ancient grudge 'gainst me. As Ham- 
 ilton no longer uses snuff he feels bound to display the 
 other bequest on every public occasion. But it's only 
 in public, Ma'am. Privately I " 
 
 "Yes, privately," sniffed Mistress Sparkle. "I hear 
 that you are very good friends." 
 
 "Quite true," assented Burr. "We have the same 
 tastes, habits and associations." 
 
 "Exactly. That's just what I meant," laughed the 
 dowager. And then Dolly, who had just caught the 
 last remark, exclaimed: 
 
 "Oh! There's no doubt of it! Colonel Burr is up 
 to snuff." 
 
 "Really! I don't quite see what snuff has got to 
 do with it," said Mistress Sparkle. 
 
 "Oh! My dear Ma'am. If you have forgotten 
 
 yours I'm sure that Colonel Burr " exclaimed 
 
 Dolly. 
 
 "Will you?" said Burr with alacrity. And he pro- 
 duced a jewelled box from his waistcoat pocket. 
 
 "Thank you, no!" said Mistress Sparkle. " 'Tis an 
 abominable habit." 
 
 "But such a pretty custom in some hands," smiled 
 Burr insinuatingly. "I had the honor to know your 
 first husband."
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 61 
 
 "Laws! Man," interrupted Dolly. "There never 
 was but one." 
 
 Burr still held the box towards Mistress Sparkle and 
 as he spoke again he fixed those wonderful black eyes 
 of his upon her rouged and wrinkled face. 
 
 "That was not the fault of my sex, I'm sure," he 
 murmured gallantly; and Mistress Sparkle, while Dol- 
 ly's head was turned, beamed upon him and took a 
 sly pinch of the snuff. 
 
 Burr and the dowager strolled to the sofa and sat 
 down, much to Sophia's relief. 
 
 "Tell me, Ma'am," said Burr, after they had chatted 
 for a season. "That pink of a girl Miss Sophia I 
 hear you call her she with the refreshing air of the 
 school-room is she your sister or your niece?" 
 
 "Why, she's my daughter," said Mistress Sparkle, 
 glowing at the compliment. "She's the youngest of 
 half-a-dozen. You may not believe it, but I've had 
 six." 
 
 "Six!" cried Burr incredulously. Then in his most 
 courtly tone he added: "I thank you, Ma'am!" 
 
 "Thank me! What on earth do you thank me 
 for?" 
 
 "On behalf of my sex, Ma'am for having shared 
 so freely your heritage of beauty. To my mind 
 that's the highest duty of lovely woman to replenish 
 the earth." 
 
 "Stuff and nonsense!" laughed Mistress Sparkle. 
 "Where did you get your wit f rom ?J^asn't jrmij* 
 grandfather the famous divine, Jonathan EdwardsJP^ 
 
 "Yes. The head of Princeton College, Ma'am,*, 
 said Burr, gravely.
 
 62 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "He was a pious man, Mr. Edwards, and a very 
 great preacher. How on earth, now, did " 
 
 "Oh! Yes!" said Dolly, breaking in on the con- 
 versation. "It was under his guidance that Colonel 
 Burr studied for the University." 
 
 "And your father," added Mistress Sparkle. 
 "Wasn't he a clergyman too?" 
 
 "Ah, yes, Ma'am. (_And his grandfather before him. 
 Like Mrs. Todd," said Burr, "I come from a line 
 of preadTers." 
 
 "What a heritage!" cried Mistress Sparkle. ''Such 
 responsibility!" 
 
 "Prodigious, Ma'am. One has to do the sinning 
 for the whole family." 
 
 Tea was brought in and served to all. Mistress 
 Sparkle, gushingly, begged Colonel Burr to join her 
 in a brew. 
 
 "No. Thank you, Ma'am. Never drink it. I 
 love tea-parties for the sake of the company. You've 
 heard the toast 'tis not mine ! in fact it was made 
 by a real poet but it's worth repeating." And pick- 
 ing up one of the tea-pots, Burr, holding it in mid 
 air, struck an attitude and recited: 
 
 "Tea! thou soft, thou sober, sage and venerable 
 liquid; thou female-tongue-running, smile-smoothing, 
 heart-opening, wink-tippling cordial, to whose glorious 
 insipidity I owe the happiest moments of my life, let me 
 fall prostrate! But 1 can't drink you." 
 
 "The last line, " he added "is my own." 
 
 "Bravo! No wonder they put you in the Senate, 
 Sir. You recite well. Now, after all that ecstasy on
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 63 
 
 the tea-leaf's behalf, can't I persuade you to try a 
 cup? One lump or two?" 
 
 "Thanks, Ma'am. I must refuse for my country's 
 sake. Otherwise my nerves might shatter at the pros- 
 pect of the long years of Vice-Presidential desuetude 
 which lie before me." 
 
 The clock in the hall struck four and on the last 
 stroke of it the door knocker was heard. At the sound 
 Sally and Sophia came in hurriedly from the hall. 
 
 "Madison on the stroke! Always punctual is 
 Jemmy," said Burr looking at his watch. "With your 
 permission I'll go meet him, for I warn you all, 
 'he's most timid with the ladies " 
 
 Dolly shot a hasty glance into the mirror above the 
 mantle-piece. 
 
 "Pray receive him for me," she asked of Mistress 
 Sparkle. "Sally, come with me, dear. Both our 
 noses are red." 
 
 "My dear, very little rouge now," cautioned Mis- 
 tress Sparkle. "Remember what Sophia said " 
 Then half sotto voice, she added "If you find him 
 too timid, Mrs. Todd, pass him along to me. I should 
 like to get hold of him for one of my girls." 
 
 Heavier than Burr and taller, as the two men came 
 in, Madison made comparatively little impression. 
 Few men there were who could stand beside Aaron 
 Burr and maintain their individuality. But Madison 
 had a clear cut, rather handsome face, an air of sin- 
 cerity and seriousness about him which, while it may 
 have at first sight seemed a trifle ponderous, assuredly 
 carried with it the conviction that here was a man to
 
 64 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 be reckoned with when it came to the serious affairs 
 of life. 
 
 "Let me introduce Mr. Madison, ladies," remarked 
 Burr while the dowager and Sophia dropped deep 
 courtesies. "My former class-mate at Princeton Col- 
 lege and " he patted Madison rather patronizingly 
 upon the back "our next Secretary of State." 
 
 "But, Sir, I beg of you! Nothing is settled yet as 
 to that. 'Tis premature to " 
 
 "You've accepted, haven't you?" asked Burr in a 
 tone which left no room for argument. 
 
 "Yes and no," said Madison, with that wavering 
 note in his voice which was so characteristic of the 
 man. 
 
 "Good! I congratulate you and the country. 
 You're the very man for the post," cried Burr. 
 
 "You're unmarried, I believe?" put in Mistress 
 Sparkle, who lived on the principle of making hay 
 even if the moon was up. 
 
 "Through no fault of my own, I assure you, 
 
 "Ah ! Then the error is more easily corrected. The 
 President being a widower, and the Vice President" 
 she fixed Burr with her weather eye "no better, 'twill 
 devolve on the State Department to provide 'The 
 First Lady in- the Land!' ' 
 
 "That is what Mr. Jefferson tells me, Ma'am." 
 
 "Then you should lose no time about it, Sir. 'Tis 
 important for both your sake and the country's that 
 you should take a wife without delay." 
 
 "May the cares of your office prove more domestic, 
 Sir," exclaimed Sir Anthony Merry. "But it seems
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 65 
 
 to me that a people so hostile among themselves as 
 I impressioned to-day, won't carry peace abroad." 
 
 "We have no anticipation of trouble, Sir," said 
 Madison shortly. 
 
 "But, my good Sir," continued Merry pompously, 
 " 'Tis the business of diplomacy to always anticipate." 
 
 "Then you, Sir? Are you a diplomat?" said Mad- 
 ison in surprise. 
 
 Burr intervened hastily. "Sir Anthony Merry's 
 come to look us over and, if he likes the place, he 
 will remain as British Minister at Conococheague." 
 
 "Where's that? What did you call it?" cried 
 Merry. "Why I thought the place's name was Wash- 
 ington." 
 
 "Yes, of course," said Burr. "You're right, Sir. 
 That's what they're going to call it Washington. 
 Foi myself I prefer the old Indian name." 
 
 "Why change it, then?" asked Merry. 
 
 "Yes or the place? The capital should remain 
 here in Philadelphia where it properly belongs," said 
 Mistress Sparkle with as much asperity as though she 
 were a tigress about to be robbed of her favorite 
 cub. 
 
 "But Philadelphia," explained Madison, "is too 
 fast and frivolous, Ma'am. At least so Congress has 
 found." 
 
 "But the other place this Washington. Our le- 
 gation reports it's a wilderness," cried Merry. 
 
 "Nothing but a swamp and a forest," ejaculated 
 Mistress Sparkle. "A horrible hole! And most 
 malarious!"
 
 66 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "But," interposed Burr deferentially, "let us re- 
 member, Ma'am, Mr. Madison chose it." 
 
 "Pardon me,'" cried Madison. "That was Mr. 
 Jefferson's honor. I merely approved." 
 
 "Well, I hope to God Lady Merry will too!" ex- 
 claimed Sir Anthony, half to himself. 
 
 Madison seemed a little ill at ease rather rest- 
 less. Drawing Burr to one side he asked "Will they 
 remain all these people?" 
 
 "No, No," laughed Burr, slapping him on the back 
 again. "Brace up, Jemmy! I'll see to it that you're 
 left alone." 
 
 "Do you think I've any chance with her?" he 
 whispered. 
 
 "Can't tell. But," encouragingly "at least she's 
 interested." 
 
 "How d'you know? Did she say so?" 
 
 "No. But she's decorating herself. That's always 
 a good sign!" 
 
 But before they could say further Mistress Sparkle 
 was down upon Madison like a hawk, leading him 
 towards the fire-place, and artfully drew Sophia, 
 nothing loath, into the conversation. 
 
 Merry turned to Burr and in a confidential tone 
 remarked: "To-day's events, I suppose, will entirely 
 change your plans, Colonel Burr?" 
 
 "On the contrary! Only confirm them." 
 
 "But, good Heavens, man!" exclaimed Sir Anthony 
 under his breath. "As Vice President of the United 
 States you can't take Mexico for yourself." 
 
 "My dear Sir Anthony," said Burr in an equally 
 confidential tone, "great ventures cannot stand on
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 67 
 
 small morals. When the time comes, if it's necessary, 
 I can easily resign the office. In the meantime you 
 get me, from London, the loan which I require." 
 
 "I'll write to-day," said Merry. "Two hundred 
 thousands dollars, isn't it?" 
 
 "Pounds, Sir," said Burr emphatically. "Two 
 hundred thousand pounds." 
 
 "Oh!" rather blankly "I thought you said dol- 
 lars." 
 
 " 'Tis an expedition I plan, Sir not a picnic," said 
 Burr. 
 
 To rollicking young Sophia, Madison's bashfulness 
 was a huge joke. Presently as the rustle of Mrs. 
 Todd's approaching skirts was heard she turned to 
 Pinckney and led him to the window-seat where they 
 might watch the meeting, comparatively unobserved. 
 
 "Isn't he gay!" she laughed. 
 
 'Tis my ankleman!" gasped Dolly as she entered 
 with Sally McKean. 
 
 "Mr. Madison, ladies!" said Burr. 
 
 "Charmed, I am sure !" said Dolly, as she courtesied. 
 
 There was an awkward pause during which Madison 
 stammered and cleared his throat. 
 
 "From the South, Sir, I believe?" asked Dolly. 
 
 "Yes, Ma'am." 
 
 "Virginia, I understand?" 
 
 "Mr. Jefferson's State, yes, Ma'am." 
 
 There was another pause much to Sophia's de- 
 light; for she was enjoying Madison's discomfiture 
 most hugely. 
 
 Then Dolly, growing desperate, asked: 
 
 "It snows there sometimes?"
 
 68 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Yes, Ma'am. In the winter." 
 
 "Repartee!" came in a muffled snicker from Sophia 
 in the window-seat. But Pinckney squelched her and, 
 laughingly, bade her mend her manners. 
 
 "Do you find our climate trying?" asked Dolly quite 
 solicitously. 
 
 "Yes and no," said Madison. 
 
 "Oh, the diplomat!" cried Sophia in a tone so loud 
 that her mother threatened to box her ears. 
 
 "But it has compensations," said Madison looking at 
 Mrs. Todd admiringly. 
 
 "Ah, yes," said Dolly seeming oblivious of his 
 glances. " 'Tis quite too gay here for Congress, so 
 they're leaving us. There are dinners, cards and 
 dances." 
 
 "Oh! But I was speaking more of our out-door 
 sports, Ma'am. Like walking." 
 
 "This is nobody's fool," said Dolly to herself. "He's 
 galloping towards that ankle of mine as fast as he can 
 trot." 
 
 "Then we have the theatre, " said Dolly, bound to 
 keep her foot out of the conversation. "Dost thee 
 visit the theatre often?" 
 
 "Yes, once in a while, Ma'am. But I am more fond 
 of the Wax Works. I was coming from there the other 
 day when " 
 
 "Ah! Yes. I see thee goes to the Wax Works to 
 encourage the Drama. Then too, I expect thee's fond 
 of music." 
 
 "Well, yes, Ma'am. Mr. Jefferson plays the fid- 
 dle " 
 
 "Oh! God help us!" interrupted Sir Anthony, who
 
 MR. BURR LOSES THE PRESIDENCY 69 
 
 had been standing by. "We all know that! We've 
 heard him." 
 
 "And sometimes I accompany him," said Madison. 
 
 "Thee! Second fiddle! I can't believe it," said 
 Dolly with a roguish smile. 
 
 "Banjo, Ma'am," said Madison with an amused 
 look. 
 
 "I dote on the banjo," cried Dolly clasping her 
 hands. " 'Tis the one musical instrument put on earth 
 that a man may play with impunity." 
 
 "Sophia!" came the raucous tones of Mistress Spar- 
 kle. "Come along! We are leaving." 
 
 Dolly flew to her. 
 
 "Now that you've spoken with Mr. Burr," said she, 
 "Thee sees he doesn't deserve what people say of him." 
 
 "Every bit of it !" snapped the old woman. Then with 
 a knowing smile, she whispered. "My dear! between 
 us, he's charming. If I'm ever driven to lodgers he 
 can have my second floor front!" 
 
 "Well. I must be going," said Burr. He slapped 
 Madison on the back again as he passed him. "Buck 
 up, Jemmie ! Now's your chance. We're leaving you 
 a clear field." Then to the entire company he ex- 
 claimed. "But I warn you all I've asked Mrs. Todd 
 to marry me." 
 
 A look of startled dismay came into Madison's face, 
 but Dolly was quick to reassure him. 
 
 "Of course thee has," she exclaimed to Burr. "And 
 so thee has asked scores of other women and just as 
 seriously! With Colonel Burr, I would have thee 
 know, a proposal of marriage is a polite ceremonial, 
 a mere courtesy. He offers his heart to the ladies with
 
 70 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 no more meaning than he offers his snuff-box to gentle- 
 men. He expects it returned after a pinch or two!" 
 
 "Mrs. Sparkle's carriage!'' called the footman and 
 Burr, advancing, extended his arm. 
 
 "My attendance, Ma'am." 
 
 Mistress Sparkle was about to take his arm then 
 suddenly she stopped: 
 
 "But, great Heavens, man ! I'll lose my reputation." 
 
 "Madam," cried Burr. "What matters that! You 
 shall have minel"
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 MR. MADISON MAKES A DECLARATION AND DOLLY 
 TODD DECLARES HER INDEPENDENCE 
 
 "If a man really loves a woman, of course he wouldn't marry 
 her for the world, if he were not quite sure that he was the best 
 person she could by any possibility marry." 
 
 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 
 
 How happy I could be with either, 
 Were tother dear charmer away ! 
 
 JOHN GAY "The Beggars Opera." 
 
 "Sing the lovers' litany 
 Love like ours can never die!" 
 
 KIPLING. 
 
 THE moment Burr and the other guests left the 
 room Madison's bearing suddenly changed 
 into open admiration. He beamed at Dolly, 
 came a step towards her and bending his handsome 
 head, murmured in a half whisper, "Really Mrs. Todd, 
 I had never dared hope for so speedy a renewal of 
 
 our " 
 
 But Dolly interrupted him: 
 
 "Mr. Madison," she said with conviction, "that 
 never happened." 
 
 And as she spoke her ankle gave her such a twinge 
 that Madison noticed her pained expression and smiled. 
 
 71
 
 72 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "No, of course not!" he said. "It couldn't have 
 happened. I've said that to myself twenty times over. 
 "It didn't happen, nothing so delightful ever did hap- 
 pen or could happen to me!' I must have dreamed it. 
 Eh? But tell me how's the ankle? Is it better?" 
 
 Dolly laughed again and answered him in kind with 
 another question. "Did thee lose thy supper?" 
 
 "I dreamed I did," said Madison. 
 
 "Thee gentlemen of Congress should vote the walks 
 kept free of ice," said Dolly. 
 
 "Never with my vote, Ma'am!" 
 
 "What! Not after last night's accident?" continued 
 Dolly. 
 
 " 'Twas no accident, Ma'am." 'Twas an act of 
 Providence a dispensation from Above." 
 
 "Well thee dost startle me!" said Dolly. 
 
 "That's the belief in which I stand here." 
 
 "Sit thee down," said Dolly. 
 
 And while she seated herself on the couch he sat 
 opposite her at the table. 
 
 "To-day's attack on Colonel Burr. 'Twas all against 
 courtesy and reason." Madison went on: "My im- 
 pulse to protest 'tho' I oppose his election. His extrav- 
 agant thanks! The proffer of any service in his gift. 
 And this interview. It's all Providence !" 
 
 "Seems to me," said Dolly. "Thee helped Providence 
 a bit. In any case thy name would have opened my 
 door at any time." 
 
 "Ah!" said Madison, "You see how I'm forced to 
 pay for my timidity." 
 
 "The world calls it," said Dolly, "by a sweeter name. 
 They say you're merely modest."
 
 MR. MADISON MAKES A DECLARATION 73 
 
 "No Ma'am, I know my deserts!" replied Madison. 
 "But one doesn't get from law books the graces of the 
 ball room. For some 'tis easier to frame a statute than 
 to turn a compliment and if I feared to enter here 'twas 
 only that well I knew you were sought by those ut- 
 terly beyond me in the ways which win women." 
 
 "Ah! But that only comes with practice!" laughed 
 Dolly. 
 
 "Then it's a gift of the gods denied to me," said 
 Madison. 
 
 "Surely thee wouldn't exchange?" she asked. 
 
 "Yes and no," said Madison. "There's been 
 times when I thought I'd like to. Those times when 
 I've seen you of an. afternoon in the fashion parade, 
 surrounded by all the famous wits and beaux. And 
 when I noted how completely their temper accorded 
 with your own, I would have gladly have changed places 
 with the veriest maccaroni of the lot." 
 
 "Don't tell it Sir!" protested Dolly. "Thee's re- 
 puted to be a serious man." 
 
 "Most unjustly." 
 
 " 'Tis no demerit," said Dolly. 
 
 "I know no greater obstacle to the favor of charming 
 woman." 
 
 Dolly laughed, put her head on one side, and then 
 said: "Thee should remember I married a Quaker." 
 
 " 'Tis that that gives me courage, Ma'am. That 
 beneath his broad brim you saw the spirit as little as 
 your own gay kerchief else I'd never dared offer my 
 hand and heart, nor begged to prove by a life of affec- 
 tion and devotion that I'm vastly more human than my 
 friends allow."
 
 74 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Why sir, you amaze me!" exclaimed Dolly and 
 her face was almost as red as her kerchief. 
 
 "Myself no less, Ma'am!" declared Madison. 
 
 " 'Tis a declaration?" 
 
 "That's exactly my meaning." 
 
 And Madison spoke the words as though he said 
 them from his soul. 
 
 "Laws, Sir!" cried Dolly throwing up her hands. 
 "Ten minutes in the house and a declaration! You've 
 made a wager some rakish wager? Supper for the 
 company at the Italian Inn or Peg Mullin's? oysters 
 and champagne wine that you propose to Widow 
 Todd before candle-light. Come, sir, tell me the truth. 
 It is a wager, you can't be serious." 
 
 "More than wager, Ma'am," said Madison earnest- 
 ly. "It's a vow a vow I made to myself last night 
 when your door closed between us. I swore to myself 
 then that if ever again I had the chance 'though it 
 came in church, street or market place even if the 
 whole world looked on and listened I'd speak the 
 words that quicken my heart and surge to my lips at 
 every thought of you 'Love me and be my wife.' ' 
 
 Dolly suddenly became business like. "To answer 
 thy bluntness in kind Sir, I have resolved not to marry 
 again." 
 
 "Were you unhappy last time?" asked Madison, 
 leaning forward solicitously. 
 
 "Oh, on the contrary, Sir, I was most happy with my 
 first husband." 
 
 "Then what better tribute to a sweet memory than 
 to seek it's renewal," cried Madison. "Persistent wid- 
 owhood is a poor elegy."
 
 MR. MADISON MAKES A DECLARATION 75 
 
 "My dear man you'll never swing for want of an 
 argument," cried Dolly, and her eyes were dancing. 
 "That's one I never thought of!" 
 
 "I've thought of twenty, a hundred, to persuade 
 you," he continued. "I've pondered and phrased them 
 'gainst this very moment that I felt must come. Often 
 mid the wrangles of Congress, a new one would rush 
 in on me and transfix me and I all of a sudden would 
 find myself groping helplessly in the debate. Why 
 even as I toiled and troubled over the Constitu- 
 tion " 
 
 "Never! Don't tell me that!" 
 
 "Yes! Yes! I believe, I shame to say, I could 
 point to this clause and that left vague and uncertain 
 only because my wayward thoughts had wandered off 
 to you." Of a sudden he leaned forward and with an 
 air of reverence, touched her hand. "Ah ! dear lady, 
 believe me, I've courted you long and fervidly." 
 
 "I hadn't noticed it," responded Dolly, as she looked 
 away. " 'Tho' I confess sometimes, now and then, as I 
 passed thee in the street, so it seemed to me at times. 
 Now and then but " 
 
 He had drawn closer to her as she spoke. 
 
 "Then came your marriage to Jack Todd," he con- 
 tinued. "The thought of returning here each season 
 of Congress to renew at every sight of you or the 
 mere mention of your name the memory of what I'd 
 missed disturbed me utterly; so that I planned to wash 
 my hands of public life. I was only dissuaded, finally, 
 by our good friend Mr. Jefferson." 
 
 "Who like the wise man he is doubtless sug- 
 gested more effective consolations," exclaimed Dolly.
 
 76 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "He urged even larger activities in the public ser- 
 vice. He spoke of a place in his cabinet in the event 
 of his election to succeed Mr. Adams. Meanwhile, he 
 suggested that I seek fresh distraction by travel in 
 strange lands !" 
 
 "Humph!" sniffed Dolly, "and so thee traveled all 
 the way to Long Island and a fresh distraction in that 
 strange land! Was she pretty?" 
 
 Madison started; his jaw fell. "I beg of you 
 Ma'am," he protested. 
 
 "You know whom I mean," insisted Dolly. "Miss 
 Floyd was she pretty?" 
 
 He placed his hand to his brow as though to jog his 
 lumbering memory, then he said, "I I don't recollect 
 "and he looked at her meaningly "now." 
 
 "Was she clever?" persisted Dolly. 
 
 "Well," admitted Madison, dubiously, "she had 
 some reputation for wit in Long Island." 
 
 "Blonde or dark?" 
 
 "Yes and no," replied Madison, relaxing into his 
 old formula. 
 
 "Well, she must have been one or t'other man. 
 Unless she was a chameleon!" 
 
 "Right, Ma'am, she was," he replied confidently. 
 "But which, I swear to Heaven, I cannot now recol- 
 lect." 
 
 "Well, her eyes then," continued Dolly relentlessly, 
 "were they brown or black or gray or like mine, per- 
 haps?" 
 
 She looked straight at him and he began to shake 
 his head.
 
 MR. MADISON MAKES A DECLARATION 77 
 
 "They were not like yours Ma'am, or I shouldn't be 
 here." 
 
 "Yes yes but thee must remember. Why did thee 
 jilt her?" 
 
 "Jilt her! I?" cried Madison in surprise. 
 
 "Yes; gossip says you jilted her for wearing rouge." 
 
 "The shoe's on wrong foot, Ma'am," answered 
 Madison. 
 
 "What! Thee don't mean she jilted thee," cried 
 Dolly indignantly. "And why pray? What right had 
 the minx to do a thing like that?" 
 
 "For the best of all reasons," laughed Madison,, 
 "She met someone whom she preferred to me." 
 
 "Reason enough!" said Dolly, "but he must have 
 been a paragon!" 
 
 "No, on the contrary Ma'am. He was a parson 
 and he played the forte-planer." 
 
 "Laws! What taste! A man at the forte-pianer!" 
 cried Dolly disgustedly. "When she might have had 
 one with a banjo! The forte-pianer! 'Tis a kind of 
 fancy work. I see now that thee didn't love her." 
 
 "Does one love twice?" queried Madison. 
 
 " 'What better tribute to a sweet memory,' " quoted 
 Dolly, mischievously. 
 
 "Then I may hope?" he asked her eagerly. 
 
 She shook her head and turned half from him. "No ! 
 I fear not but give me time to think it over." 
 
 "A year if you like forever! if only meanwhile 
 you marry me," he exclaimed. 
 
 And there was so much of deadly seriousness in 
 his tone that Dolly, for all her whims, could not quite 
 find it in her heart to turn him the cold shoulder.
 
 78 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "I dare assure you, you'll have no cause to regret 
 it," he went on with feeling. "All that my great love 
 can do to make your life happy and all that my poor 
 gifts can do to make your life splendid- I promise ab- 
 solutely. I only wish I could tell it you, less bluntly 
 and in a less awkward way." 
 
 Dolly was touched at last. There were tears in her 
 eyes and her voice quivered as she answered, laugh- 
 ingly, ''Faith, I've heard it done very much worse, Sir! 
 Thee must certainly call again." 
 
 She rose and held her hand out to him. 
 
 "Do come and see me when thee returns here for 
 the next Congress." 
 
 "But 'twill not meet here, Ma'am," said Madison 
 aghast. "The next Congress will be in the new Capi- 
 tol in Washington." 
 
 "Ah ! yes, I'd forgotten. Well then, when this Con- 
 gress adjourns." 
 
 "At the very end?" asked Madison. 
 
 "Not an hour before," said she decisively. "On that 
 I'm resolved." 
 
 "And I resigned," said Madison. "I shall keep 
 away until the Congress rises only, I swear it!" 
 
 She shook her finger at him warningly. " 'TIs not 
 necessary, Sir. Thy word will suffice." 
 
 "And yours," asked Madison, meaningly. "If you 
 should decide before." 
 
 " 'Tis not likely," she laughed. 
 
 "Ah!" said he, "but I have known ladies to change 
 their mind." 
 
 "Then, I will' write thee,' 5 said Dolly as though to 
 settle the matter.
 
 'ALL THAT MY GKKAT LOVK CAN DO TO MAKE YOUR LIKE HAPPY AND ALL THAT MY POOR 
 GIFTS CAN DO TO MARK YOUR LIFE SPLENDID I PROMISE ABSOLUTELY"
 
 MR. MADISON MAKES A DECLARATION 79 
 
 "Write! dear lady! "he said ruefully. "Alas! that 
 simply means " 
 
 "No! No! It doesn't," she cried impulsively, "I 
 assure thee on my honor I've no such thought at this 
 moment." 
 
 "Lord!" said Madison with a world of fervor, "if 
 Congress would only adjourn this moment!" 
 
 "And slight the nation's business, just for little 
 thee and me. Fie, Sir, you're no patriot!" laughed 
 Dolly. 
 
 Madison was red in the face by now; he was almost 
 stuttering as he exclaimed: 
 
 "What's the nation to a man in love ! Rather than, 
 
 miss this moment I'd I'd " he started for the 
 
 door, then suddenly turned. "What's holding them 
 all anyway?" he cried in an indignant tone, "their work 
 is done, what's the delay?" 
 
 "Thy presence might hasten matters," smiled Dolly 
 sweetly. 
 
 "Thank you Ma'am," said he, as he took her hand, 
 " 'Twas sweet of you to recall me to my public duty." 
 
 " 'Twas in the nation's interest only, Sir. Congress 
 cannot spare it's Mr. Madison." 
 
 "Thank you, Ma'am, thank you." And he bowed. 
 "But you will send me word?" 
 
 "Yes, I promise thee." 
 
 "The very moment?" persisted Madison. 
 
 "Exactly as agreed, Sir." 
 
 "And you'll send the message, where? To the Hall 
 of Congress?" 
 
 "Yes yes," she laughed, "to Fifth and Chestnut."
 
 80 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "No, Ma'am. To my lodgings The Indian Queen. 
 I might get it sooner." 
 
 "As you choose," laughed Dolly. 
 
 "No, better yet, Ma'am. Send to both places so one 
 will be sure to find me, else I'll be flying between them 
 like a boy at tag. You will send to both, won't you?" 
 
 "Yes yes." 
 
 "And now if you'd only ," began Madison. 
 
 "Good Heavens, man!" cried Dolly, "It's not a third 
 message you're going to ask me for?" 
 
 "No." He seized her hand again, "But give me 
 some assurance." 
 
 Dolly drew her hand away. "Laws, man! You 
 asking for assurance! Why you've got it and to 
 spare." 
 
 "Ah! but listen," he pleaded, "if you'd only prom- 
 
 ise." 
 
 "I'll promise thee nothing more," cried Dolly, "ex- 
 cept that till thee calls again, I'll take no more risks on 
 slippery pavements." 
 
 " Tis all I ask. And God bless you lady!" He 
 kissed both her hands fervently and hurried from the 
 room. 
 
 Dolly followed him to the front door and stood 
 there watching him as he went down the street. As 
 he turned the corner she suddenly burst out laughing. 
 
 "He timid!" she cried, "My eye and Betty Mar- 
 tin!"
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY AND DOLLY TODD 
 LEARNS A DEAL OF POLITICS 
 
 "Why, man, he doth bestride the world 
 Like a Colossus, and we petty men 
 Walk under his huge legs and peek about 
 To find ourselves dishonorable graves." 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "Julius Caesar* 
 
 "Stood for his country's glory fast 
 And nailed her colors to the mast." 
 
 WALTER SCOTT "Marmion." 
 
 But his cookery ! He cut our roots 
 
 In characters, 
 
 And sauced our broth, as Juno had been sick 
 
 And he her dieter. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "Cymbeline." 
 
 "He hangs up his fiddle behind the door " 
 
 Old English Song. 
 
 BEFORE Burr had escorted Mistress Sparkle to 
 her carnage, right under the lee of that vitu- 
 perative dowager, he had managed to whisper 
 to Dolly: "Wait up for me to-night. I shan't be late. 
 I'm fairly aching for a chat with you. I know you 
 don't want to, but do it for me!" 
 
 And now, at a few minutes past ten, as, candle in 
 
 81
 
 82 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 hand, she was wending her way upstairs to her attic 
 bedroom, Dolly had decided she'd do nothing of the 
 kind. She'd teach Ronnie Burr a thing or two ! 
 
 It was a glorious moonlight night and just for a 
 second, as she reached the second floor landing, she 
 paused at the big window to take a look at the moon. 
 At the instant she did so a pebble hit the window. 
 There was no question about it. The moment she heard 
 it Dolly knew it for a pebble. Pebbles had been thrown 
 at her window before! But like a true woman who 
 finds herself alone and nearly in the dark, she paused 
 and drew herself together before even uttering a fright- 
 ened "Oh!" She had not to wait long. Ten seconds 
 later another pebble some sizes larger and louder than 
 the first struck the glass again. Now there was only 
 one place from which a pebble could be thrown which 
 could possibly hit that window; that place was the lit- 
 tle area-way which ran along one side of the inn next 
 door. 
 
 As the second pebble hit the window, Dolly blew out 
 her candle and exclaimed, "I'll wager I know who that 
 is!" 
 
 Then walking fearlessly forward she threw open 
 the window. Down in the area-way stood a shock- 
 headed giant clumsily attired. 
 
 As she raised the window one of his giant hands was 
 lifted above his head in the act of throwing another 
 pebble. At the sound of the opening of the window 
 he paused; his huge hand dropped to his side. 
 
 "Why, Mr. Jefferson!" cried Dolly, leaning over 
 the moonlit casement like a more modern Juliet, "How 
 d'ye do!" My congratulations, Sir. I only hope that
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY 83 
 
 I am the first woman to wish you good luck and God 
 speed." 
 
 "I've seen to that, Dolly Todd," he laughed gruffly, 
 but with a remarkably good-natured smile. "That's 
 the whole cause of my present condition. I'm the 
 loneliest man in the United States to-night and the hun- 
 griest. I was desperate, Dolly Todd, I don't know 
 whether you expected to find a Romeo or a house- 
 breaker down here when you first looked out but as 
 you're to blame for the whole affair I'm not going.to 
 offer any apologies. If you're a kind hearted land- 
 lady you'll unlock your door, bid me enter and soothe 
 my ruffled feelings with some of your sage remarks and 
 possibly the breast of one of your cold fowls." 
 
 "Laws! No dinner! Why, Mr. Jefferson, do you 
 mean to say on such a night as this you've had nothing 
 to eat. Come in, Sir, immediately. Clotilde and the 
 best my house affords will be at your service on the 
 instant. 'Tis an honor that comes to few landladies to 
 feed a President of the United States on the night of 
 his election. Come along in!" She slammed the 
 window down and hurried below stairs, pausing only 
 to give a few brief directions to Clotilde before she 
 opened the door. Mr. Jefferson was already on the 
 doorstep. The instant the door had closed behind him 
 Dolly clasped his great freckled paw with her two 
 dainty hands. 
 
 "Congratulations, Sir, again," she said. " 'Twas 
 sweet of you to think of Dolly Todd on a night like 
 this." 
 
 "And is that all I get, 'on a night like this'?" said 
 Jefferson, in a disappointed tone. "Why I used to have
 
 84 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 better luck down at Monticello when you were staying 
 with my girls, and you all came down to breakfast. 
 Don't I get a kiss to-night, Dolly Todd?" 
 
 "Thee certainly does," and suiting the action to the 
 words, she reached her hands up, drew his great red 
 head towards her and kissed him enthusiastically 
 upon the forehead. 
 
 "Oh!" said Jefferson, rather disgruntled. "Well, I 
 suppose I shall have to be content with that." 
 
 She led the way into the sitting-room; closed the 
 door, waved him towards a huge arm-chair in front 
 of the fire-place and then, with a daintiness which 
 Clotilde herself could not have excelled, placed a 
 small card table in front of him and covered it with a 
 damask table cloth. 
 
 "Thy fowl will be here in a moment," said Dolly 
 "and now that we're comfortably seated, tell me, Sir, 
 seeing it's not Lent and you're no Catholic why, to- 
 night, did you fast for me?" 
 
 "That's simply told," said Jefferson. "After the 
 fuss and the riot and the decision, at the Hall of Con- 
 gress, I came back to my lodgings next door a very 
 lonely and disgusted man. I went to my bedroom and 
 locked my door. I couldn't play my fiddle as I should 
 have liked to do on account of that sweet little note you 
 wrote to me asking me not." 
 
 "But why were you disgruntled, Sir? On a day like 
 this when the whole people have bestowed on you their 
 greatest honor!" 
 
 "Honor be damned!" said Jefferson, "Think of my 
 garden! Dolly, you know? Think of what Monticello
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY 85 
 
 is to me ! How much am I going to see of it or of 
 my daughters in the next four years?" 
 
 "But what's a garden? What are daughters, Sir, 
 compared to being President of the United States? 
 Mr. Adams," she smiled, "would have sacrificed all 
 the gardens and all the daughters on earth to stand in 
 your shoes to-night, Sir." 
 
 "Well they're pretty large shoes, Dolly, and they're 
 often unpolished. I'm afraid they'd prove a size too 
 large for Adams. Besides, he's a very particular man 
 about the details of his dress." 
 
 "But thee hasn't answered my question yet, Sir?" 
 pursued Dolly, laughing. "Why on this day of jubila- 
 tion did thee fast for me?" 
 
 "Well, I'll tell you, Dolly," and he leaned forward 
 confidentially, "This is the way of it. You see, at 
 heart, though they call me athiest, I'm really a very 
 superstitious man. I pick up old nails for luck and I 
 salute the new moon over my left shoulder. But don't 
 tell anybody ! I should hate to have my enemies think 
 that Tom Jefferson's a human being. So to-day 
 the idea came into my head that it would bring God's 
 help and good luck to me if the best woman I knew 
 should be the first to congratulate me. That's why 
 I mewed myself up in my room. That's one reason 
 why I didn't play my fiddle. The awful sound of it' 
 would have brought crowds of enthusiasts to my door 
 and if I dared to go down to dinner every waitress in 
 the room would have been congratulating me. So I 
 bided my time and, finally, like David when he met 
 Goliath, I sought refuge in a pebble."
 
 86 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "But why didn't thee come to the front door, Sir? 
 Sure it's always been on the latch for thee." 
 
 "Ah, but in that case Clotilde would have fore- 
 stalled you. She'd have congratulated me first. No, 
 Dolly, I did the only thing a wise man could, I took no 
 chances; to me the matter was of too great importance." 
 
 Dolly pushed her chair slightly back from the table 
 and surveyed him incredulously. "Mr. Jefferson, you 
 amaze me, Sir. In all the years I have known thee and 
 thy dear family I have never seen thee in a mood like 
 this. I've heard thy friends and enemies call thee many 
 things but no one, till to-night, has ever charged thee 
 with being a flatterer. Now I do. 'Tis a new crime 
 to be laid at thy door, Sir." 
 
 "My dear girl " and he leaned back and ran his 
 
 fingers through his great shock of red hair. "A little 
 flattery will support one through a very great deal of 
 fatigue. But what I've said to you to-night has been 
 no flattery. I mean every word of it. You and I are 
 going to have a very serious confab before I leave this 
 room. Is Mr. Burr home yet?" 
 
 "No, he's dining out to-night." 
 
 "At Jumel's, eh?" said Jefferson succinctly. "They 
 tell me that woman's got a cook who is almost 
 as fine as my French chef at Monticello. But I've 
 never dined at her house yet in spite of many invita- 
 tions. You see I'm getting a trifle gouty and at my age 
 one has to be careful. I'm glad Burr's there to-night; 
 that insures us a free and undisturbed session. He 
 won't be home 'till morning!" 
 
 There was a pause. If he had expected that Dolly 
 was going to resent this remark he was disappointed for
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY 
 
 she dropped the conversation like a hot coal and began 
 plying his plate with more salad. Seeing he'd taken a 
 wrong turn, Mr. Jefferson tacked away in another di- 
 rection. 
 
 "You said something just now that interests me, 
 Dolly. Tell me some of the things that you've heard 
 my friends and enemies say about me." 
 
 "Oh, not on a night like this, Sir," protested Dolly, 
 raising her hand. "Don't let us destroy a happy even- 
 ing." 
 
 "Huh!" said Jefferson. "So that's the lay of the 
 land, eh? Evidently, in spite of my election, I'm not a 
 popular favorite." 
 
 "I don't mean to infer that, Sir," laughed Dolly, 
 "But every public man makes enemies. What would 
 be the good of him if he didn't?" 
 
 "The little devil!" said Jefferson to himself, "This 
 Burr affair is deeper than I thought. She's taking it 
 out on me now on account of what I said about Burr 
 and Jumel. It's the Irish in her! Well let her go 
 ahead; it's better to get it out of her system." 
 
 Then to Dolly, he said, more seriously: "No, but 
 I'm in earnest. You had the cream of society here in 
 your rooms this afternoon. Tell me, what did they 
 say of me the bad things I mean. To hell with the 
 compliments ! Tell me some of the things it would do 
 me good to hear. You see, Dolly Todd, we public 
 men are so surrounded by parasites and sycophants that 
 it's only when we read the opposition newspapers that 
 we ever hear the truth about ourselves. Now what did 
 Mistress Sparkle have to say of me, for instance?" 
 
 "My dear Sir," said Dolly, with some show of dig-
 
 88 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 nity, "you can scarce expect an humble land-lady to de- 
 tail the conversations which she overhears in her own 
 drawing room from her paying guests. But as far as 
 Mistress Sparkle is concerned, I haven't the slightest 
 compunction, knowing full well that every word the 
 dear lady said of you to-day she'd say to your face 
 to-morrow. She loves to set people by the ears." 
 
 "She certainly does," laughed Jefferson. "Well 
 come now, what did she say of me?" 
 
 "Well, for one thing, she said, 'He's an athiest.' ' 
 
 Jefferson threw back his head and roared with 
 laughter. "In the words of my friend James Madi- 
 son," said he, "'yes and no.' But to Hell with 
 religion, Dolly, come down to Hecuba, didn't she say 
 anything worse than that?" 
 
 "In the words of thy friend, Mr. James Madison, 
 'Yes and no,' " replied Dolly, with a subtle smile. 
 "She called you a hypocrite for one thing." 
 
 "The Devil she did!" exclaimed Jefferson, taken a 
 bit aback. 
 
 "Oh, yes, Sir," said Dolly gushingly. "And she was 
 most explicit about it, naming time and place and occa- 
 sion. And she also said and I must confess that 
 there were others who corroborated her! that you did 
 not scruple to use spies to gain your end." 
 
 "Oh! Spies, eh? She said that, did she? Well you 
 know, of course, Dolly, every nation must have its 
 secret service and as your friend, Mr. Burr, is so fond 
 of saying, 'great ventures cannot stand on small mor- 
 als.' ' Then changing the subject abruptly and assum- 
 ing a more confidential tone, "By the way, I noticed 
 you quoted Jemmy Madison just now. You met him
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY 89 
 
 for the first time to-day. He must have made an im- 
 pression. What did you think of my friend, Dolly?" 
 
 She paused for just a second before answering, then 
 looking her questioner squarely in the eye, replied: 
 "I found him gallant, discreet and charming; all that 
 a man should be who is to become a member of the 
 President's Cabinet." 
 
 "Do you mean by that," smiled Jefferson, "that a 
 man must be gallant in order to be in my Cabinet?" 
 
 "I think it would lend variety to it, Sir, said Dolly. 
 " 'Twould lend it the charm of contrast." 
 
 "Her Irish is still up," whispered Jefferson to him- 
 self. "I must placate her." "Well I'm glad you think 
 well enough of him, Dolly, to give him a recommenda- 
 tion. If I hadn't intended to give him an appointment 
 before, I should certanly do so now. But as a matter 
 of fact, with one exception, Jemmy Madison will be 
 the most important and most necessary member of my 
 Cabinet." 
 
 "Ah," said Dolly, unconsciously, falling into the trap, 
 "and the other? " 
 
 Before answering, Mr. Jefferson smiled sardonically. 
 "Trust a woman's curiosity to betray her!" he said 
 to himself, "the minx thinks I mean Burr and she's 
 bound she'll find out." 
 
 Then he said aloud, "Well Dolly, if you'll promise 
 you won't tell, I'll impart some information. You're 
 the only soul on earth I would tell. It's yourself." 
 
 "Me? "cried Dolly aghast. 
 
 "You/' 
 
 "But since when, Sir, have women been admitted to
 
 90 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 the Presidential Cabinet? Laws! we are to have in- 
 novations in the Jefferson regime." 
 
 "I'm talking seriously, Dolly. I never was more in 
 earnest in my life. Don't let us haggle or evade the 
 issue. I am confronted with the most tremendous task 
 which has ever faced a man on this continent and in 
 all the due respect which I don't usually show his mem- 
 ory, I don't except General Washington himself. I 
 have gone into this thing and I'm going to carry it 
 through. But it's going to be Hell, Dolly. Take it from 
 me, it's going to be Hell." 
 
 The seriousness of his tone infected Dolly immed- 
 iately. From that time on she threw aside all trace 
 of flippancy and badinage. Jefferson had risen from 
 the table and with his great hands clasped behind his 
 back was pacing up and down the room. Being a wise 
 woman Dolly Todd intuitively gauged the seriousness 
 of the situation and met it voluntarily in both a wise 
 and womanly way. It was Mr. Jefferson who did 
 most of the talking for some time. 
 
 "Listen to me, Dolly Todd," he said. "I am here 
 to-night as an emissary. If I was ten years younger 
 and I thought that you could throw a shred of love to 
 a battered old hulk like me I shouldn't be here as an 
 emissary at all, I should be here as a suitor. But 
 that's beyond the question ! Why, the youngest of my 
 daughters, Dolly, is at least a year older than you are. 
 So let that pass ! But in a way, I need you Dolly, as 
 really as ever a man needed a woman. Don't think 
 I'm making love to you; I'm not. I'm merely gauging 
 your value as a stateswoman. You don't appreciate 
 yourself, Dolly Todd. I've watched narrowly from
 
 "FOR MY S.\KK. FOR ALL OUR SAKKS. FOR THF. NATION'S SAKK. 1 WANT YOU TO BE 'THH 
 FIRST l.ADY IN THH LAND'"
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY 91 
 
 the days when you were knee-high and I've seen you 
 become, all unknown to yourself, a very, very wonder- 
 ful woman. You possess, without knowing it, that 
 rarest gift which God ever gives to a human being. I 
 don't mean charm exactly though you've got that, 
 God knows! and I don't mean brilliance of intellect 
 nor yet subtlety of mind. What I mean as nearly as 
 I can express it is, you're a load-stone, Dolly, a mag- 
 net. You draw all kinds and sorts of people to you 
 and often, again unknown to yourself! you meld 
 and mould them to your will. And it's a good will; a 
 sweet will, for" and he leaned on the edge of the ta- 
 ble and with tears in his eyes, looked down at her 
 "Dolly Todd you're a good woman and what's more to 
 my purpose, though you don't know it, you're a great 
 one. Listen, Dolly dear, it's the only thing I have to 
 offer a woman in my present great, but lonely, state" 
 he placed one of his big hands on her little one "for 
 my sake, for all our sakes, for the nation's sake, I want 
 you to be the 'First Lady in the Land.' ' 
 
 The tears were running down Dolly's cheeks by this 
 time and she was far too interested, too awed, and 
 too uplifted to even think of trying to wipe them away. 
 
 "Mr. Jefferson," she gasped, between her sobs, 
 "what am I to say to thee ? You've always been a sec- 
 ond father to me. You've loved and cared for me as 
 long as I can remember. You've treated me as one of 
 your own daughters. You loved my mother before me. 
 I know that, Sir; she told me once and now, after 
 to-night when thee comes to me like this, there's noth- 
 ing in the world that Dolly Todd won't do for you that 
 lies within her power."
 
 92 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Ah, but there's the rub!" said Jefferson, changing 
 his tone, "Dolly Todd can't do anything for me. That's 
 just the point. I always did hate that damn name 
 Todd," and he paced the floor again. "Believe me, 
 I told your father what I thought of him when he 
 made you make that marriage. He ought to have 
 been hamstrung. There's only one thing that Dolly 
 Todd can do for me," he smiled here and fixed Dolly 
 with his eye, "and that is to consent to undergo a 
 process of elimination. We must change the Todd to 
 Madison!" 
 
 He always was a rather crude man, Mr. Jefferson, 
 and at this moment the abruptness of his remark was 
 just a little too much for Dolly's Irish blood. She 
 sprang to her feet and faced him. 
 
 "Pardon me, Sir," she said, "What are you bring- 
 ing me by proxy to-night A proposal or a portfolio?" 
 
 "Now you're inconsistent! There you go again! 
 How like your dear Irish Mother!" he exclaimed, ten- 
 derly. 
 
 Dolly had shown him enough of her fine mettle for 
 one night and he was now most desirous of stroking 
 down her ruffled feathers. 
 
 "But there now, we'll drop Dolly Todd or Dolly any- 
 thing else for the moment. I'll be conceited. Let's 
 talk about Me, Do you know the greatest thing that 
 ever happened to me? 'Twas those years I spent in 
 France as the American Minister. I learned more in 
 those years, Dolly, than I have acquired of real knowl- 
 edge in all the other decades of my life. I went abroad, 
 1 accepted that mission because I had a definite end in 
 view. I wanted to equip myself to be an American
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY 93 
 
 statesman; to learn how to be a pilot who could guide 
 my country safely and sanely through the stormiest 
 sea. I knew there was only one way for me to get that 
 training and that was to go abroad; to see how the 
 nations of the old world conduct themselves, and if I 
 say it myself, Dolly, I don't think any man ever la- 
 bored harder, ever endured more, or made greater sac- 
 rifices than I did in the learning of my lesson. You 
 know how I love my home, Dolly. I've always felt tho 
 one thing that was in common between Washington 
 and myself was the fact that we were both farmers. 
 He was a country squire and I was well I was a 
 farm-hand if you like, in order to show the variance 
 between the rest of our two natures but we did love 
 the country, we did love our home. So, as I told you, I 
 went abroad, and I learned many things. I saw the wis- 
 dom of monarchies and the folly of them. I got what 
 I went after and now I feel it is my duty to utilize my 
 knowledge for the good of the American people. It's 
 going to be a terrible dose of castor oil, Dolly, but they 
 will have to swallow it if they're going to allow Thomas 
 Jefferson to be their President. I wonder if you realize 
 that, as a country, we are far more Royalist and Tory 
 now than we used to be in the days when we were a de- 
 pendency a string of colonies, before the days of the 
 Revolution. It's ridiculous, it's absurd, it's idiotic, it's 
 damnable ! No wonder the Europeans and the English 
 sneer and laugh at us when they see the airs and graces, 
 the fripperies and furbelows which we're putting on. I 
 don't care to speak any ill of the dead, Dolly, but did 
 you ever see one of General Washington's state proces- 
 sions in New York? God! what a harlequinade! With
 
 94 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 his great coach drawn by six grey horses, painted a 
 glowing white in honor of the occasion, and dear Lady 
 Washington at the receptions on her little dais, per- 
 suading herself, poor soul! that she was far, far more 
 than a queen. Dolly Todd, I'll make you a promise 
 now," and he held his long left arm out as though 
 uttering a prophecy "Wait until I go to the White 
 House for my inauguration I'll show them ! I'll teach 
 them the methods of a true republican ! The shock may 
 kill a good many of them including that arrant bastard 
 Tory, Mr. Alexander Hamilton. But they'll have to 
 stand for it The White House, when I take possession 
 of it, will become the Nation's House a place where 
 no man is to be marked inferior to any other, where 
 every guest at table will be the equal of every other 
 guestr^When I have anything to say about it, the princi- 
 ple of our society, as of our Government, shall be the 
 quality of the individuals composing it and to maintain 
 that principle and to put down the growth of social in- 
 equality is going to be the damndest task that Thomas 
 Jefferson has ever had to do." 
 
 Jefferson reached into the inside pocket of his coat 
 and drew forth a letter which had already been directed 
 but not sealed. Opening it he said to Dolly, "This 
 morning, over in my room in the Inn, when I was feel- 
 ing like the Devil himself, so distraught and nervous 
 that I couldn't sit still and I couldn't play the fiddle 
 because you had forbidden me to on account of your 
 damned English boarder " 
 
 "Why, but Mr. Jefferson," protested Dolly, "if I'd 
 only known the circumstances I'd have given thee a 
 special dispensation. Thee should have fiddled as long
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY 95 
 
 as Nero did when Rome was burning if I'd have known 
 thee was suffering from nerves." 
 
 "Well, scorn my fiddling as much as you will Dolly, 
 but you must admit it's been a great recreation for 
 great men ever since cat-gut was invented. Do you 
 know who taught me to play the fiddle, Mrs. Todd?" 
 No? Well, let me digress for just a moment then and 
 inform you. The man that taught me the fiddle was 
 one of the greatest orators that America will ever 
 know." 
 
 "But he didn't orate on the fiddle surely!" exclaimed 
 Dolly, as though wonders would never cease. 
 
 "He certainly did not," continued Jefferson. "They 
 used to say of us, in Congress years and years ago, 
 that there was only one man in America who could play 
 the fiddle as vilely as Thomas Jefferson and that was 
 his teacher, Patrick Henry. However, that's neither 
 here nor there, Dolly, we're talking politics now. As I 
 was saying: As you wouldn't let me play my fiddle this 
 morning, I suddenly thought of my old friend the Ital- 
 ian, Senor Mazzei, a great scientist who used to live 
 in Virginia, a neighbor of mine at Monticello long 
 ago. We've lost sight of each other for years so I sat 
 down and wrote him a letter to-day. It will be worth 
 your while to listen to it, my dear, for it may enlarge 
 your political horizon. This is what I wrote to Maz- 
 zei : 
 
 " 'The aspect of our politics has wonderfully changed 
 since you left us. In place of that noble love of lib- 
 erty and republican government, which carried us tri- 
 umphantly through the war, an Anglican Monarchical 
 Aristocratal party has sprung up, whose avowed object
 
 96 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 is to draw over us the substance, as they have already 
 done the forms, of the British government. The main 
 body of our citizens, however, remain true to their 
 republican principles; the whole landed interest is re- 
 publican, and so is a great mass of talents. Against us 
 are the Executive, the Judiciary, two out of three 
 branches of the Legislature, all the officers of the Gov- 
 ernment; all who want to be officers, all timid men, 
 who prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea 
 of liberty. British merchants, and Americans trading 
 on British capital, speculators and holders in the banks 
 and public funds, a contrivance invented for the pur- 
 pose of corruption, and for assimilating us in all things 
 to the rotten as well as to the sound part of the British 
 model. It would give you a fever were I to name to you 
 the apostates who have gone over to these heresies, 
 men who were Samsons in the field and Solomons in the 
 council, but who have had their heads shorn by the 
 harlot England.' " 
 
 "What do you think of that, Dolly?" 
 
 "It sounds like the Declaration of Independence, 
 Sir, though it's not so polite." 
 
 Jefferson winced a little and looked at her quizzi- 
 cally, out of the corner of one eye. For at least half a 
 mintue there was a silence. He was evidently waiting 
 for Dolly to express herself further; but that young 
 woman would have bitten her tongue off first. She 
 knew the value of a waiting game. Finally it was Mr. 
 Jefferson, not Dolly, who returned to the charge and 
 when he spoke his voice was both winning and tender. 
 "Now can't you see my predicament, my girl? Now 
 can't you comprehend why I need you? You have the
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURKS EMISSARY 97 
 
 social instinct, marvelously developed. You don't know 
 it but you have. Without her learning, you are Amer- 
 ica's Madame De Stael, but you have a gift greater 
 than any she possesses; you can make sworn foes leave 
 your drawing-room the best of friends. It's a gift be- 
 yond price, Dolly; a heritage above rubies. I can get 
 many diplomats, many soldiers to fight my political and 
 national battles but it's only' you, Dolly, with your in- 
 finite tact, your native wit, your good nature and your 
 warmness of heart who can pour oil or tea leaves on 
 the troubled carpets of my drawing-rooms. Come on 
 now, dear, be a good girl! Marry Madison." 
 
 She sprang to her feet and faced him with blazing 
 eyes. 
 
 "I'll do nothing of the sort, Sir. Just to prove 
 how fine an adopted father and how bad a born diplo- 
 mat you are I tell thee now and I mean it, I'm going to 
 marry Mr. Burr!" 
 
 "Don't break my heart as well as my Administration, 
 Dolly," he said in a low voice. "I know you don't 
 mean what you say, girl. I've been uncouth in my 
 handling of you. You're angered and you're half Irish 
 and as a result" he held a finger out and pointed 
 it at her "I can see it in your eyes already, you're 
 sorry that you said that." 
 
 "How dare thee say that to me, Sir! Why not call 
 me a liar at once?" 
 
 "I would in a moment if I thought that would pre- 
 vent you from marrying Aaron Burr. You know him 
 as well as I do, Dolly Todd; better perhaps, yes far 
 better! But back of all the charm of him and the
 
 9 8 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 bravery, the fascination and the braggadicio you know 
 he's a dangerous man." 
 
 "I know nothing of the sort, Sir," said she, "to me 
 and to mine, Colonel Burr has always been the soul of 
 honor. I possess no better friend in the world, not 
 excluding yourself, and laying all argument aside, Sir, 
 don't you think that to-night of all nights, the name 
 of Mr. Burr should be sacred both to you and to me. 
 He's my paying guest; my boarder, my second floor 
 front, but don't let yourself forget, Sir, that this very 
 day our people have appointed him your second in 
 command." 
 
 As a parting thrust she added: "Strictly between 
 ourselves, Mr. Jefferson, thee knows as well as I that 
 by the mere lifting of his little finger he could have 
 become the President himself." 
 
 "That's perfectly true, Dolly, corroborated Jeffer- 
 son frankly, "I do know that and to me it has been 
 the most extraordinary, the most inexplicable move 
 that I've ever known Burr to make. It's worried me 
 considerably but until I discover his motive I'm just 
 as willing as anyone else in fact I want to be the very 
 first to proclaim his magnanimity." 
 
 " 'Tis a strange method you're using, Sir," said 
 Dolly haughtily, " 'Tis even more deadly than faint 
 praise." 
 
 But if Dolly's shaft struck Mr. Jefferson he showed 
 no signs of it. He was busy with another idea. 
 
 "By the way Dolly in strict confidence, of course 
 speaking of our friend Mr. Burr and God! how his 
 ears must be burning by this time ! have you ever 
 heard him mention a country called Mexico?"
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY 99 
 
 "And if I have, what of it, Sir?" 
 
 "Oh! Nothing, nothing," said Jefferson as if wav- 
 ing the matter aside, "only it's just occurred to me 
 by Jove ! I believe I've struck it Mexico magnini- 
 mity; and they begin with the same letter, too! Has 
 it ever occurred to you, Dolly Todd, that his love of 
 Mexico and his magninimity towards me might be, in 
 a measure, merged?" 
 
 "Do you mean " began Dolly. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson raised his hand. 
 
 "I mean did it ever occur to you that by becoming 
 the President of the United States Mr. Burr would 
 have had to relinquish all chance of obtaining his 
 heart's desire, the conquest of Mexico?" 
 
 "But what's the difference, Sir? As Vice President 
 is he not equally bound?" 
 
 "Wait and see, girl," said Mr. Jefferson soothingly, 
 "Let us wait and see. In the meantime, Dolly," as he 
 rose, "I think I'll be saying good-night to you before 
 you turn me out of the house. I'm afraid you've found 
 me more of a thistle than a friend to-night. But we all 
 have our moods, Dolly, and whatever we may think 
 of each other now, we know each other so well that 
 we'll both have forgotten all about it in the morning. 
 Don't bear me any ill-will, dear girl, for you know that 
 whatever I've said, however uncouthly expressed, it's 
 all come from the heart." 
 
 "Of course I know that, Mr. Jefferson," exclaimed 
 Dolly, who feeling that she was the mistress of the 
 situation just now could well afford to smile. "What- 
 ever you've said to me I know well has come from
 
 ioo THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 your heart. But there's some terribly flinty spots in that 
 heart for some of my friends it seems to me." 
 
 Jefferson laughed, rather uneasily as, in his usual 
 awkward way, he shambled towards the door. 
 
 "You're a marvel Dolly, you are a marvel ! There's 
 a devil in you as well as an angel and I'm not politician 
 enough to solve which is in the majority." He pulled 
 out his watch and looked at it. "Good God!" he ex- 
 claimed, "It's nearly two! That Jumel woman cer- 
 tainly does keep late hours." 
 
 It was a parting and a Parthian shot, but Dolly 
 evaded it serenely. 
 
 "You've been splendid to-night Mr. Jefferson," she 
 said, "In spite of our disagreements, splendid is 
 the only word! Your theories have been magnificent, 
 Sir." 
 
 "Theories? What do you mean girl?" said Jeffer- 
 son, almost gruffly. "Theories? Why, good God! 
 woman, I've been giving you absolute facts." 
 
 "Facts that may be, Sir; but they're still in embryo. 
 Thy task is just double that of Alexander's?" 
 
 "Alexander's? What do you mean Dolly Todd? 
 Don't begin handing me riddles at this late hour.'* 
 
 "Remember your ancient history, Sir. Alexander set 
 out to conquer the world so have you this new 
 world, the United States. But in addition you've got 
 a woman to conquer too. And her name's still Dolly 
 Todd." 
 
 "Well I'll be damned!" said Mr. Jefferson, and he 
 turned on his heel. 
 
 "And remember this, Sir, always," laughed Dolly 
 from the door-way. "If ever I marry to go to the
 
 MR. JEFFERSON TURNS EMISSARY 101 
 
 White House 'twill be for a double purpose; to serve 
 thee faithfully while you are there and get thee out as 
 soon as possible to make way for my husband. And as 
 far as that part of the bargain goes, Sir, 'twill make no 
 difference whether my husband's name begins with a 
 B. or an M."
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE, is DULY REPROVED, 
 AND HEARS OF DREAMS AND THINGS 
 
 Then fill the fair and honest cup, and bear it straight to me; 
 The goblet hallows all it holds, whate'er the liquid be; 
 And may the cherubs on its face protect me from the sin, 
 That dooms one to those dreadful words, u My dear, where have 
 you been?" 
 
 HOLMES "On Lending a Punch-Bowl." 
 
 "Far from gay cities and the ways of men." 
 
 POPE "The Odyssey." 
 
 I had a dream of thee, 
 
 Oh ! it was sad as desert plain, 
 Mournful as midnight sea, 
 
 Yet- 'tho it haunted me by night, 
 And troubled me by day, 
 
 It touched all things with spirit light 
 And glorified my way. 
 
 Old English Ballad. 
 
 MR. JEFFERSON'S footsteps had scarcely died 
 away. Dolly had but snuffed out half the 
 candles when there was the rattle of a door 
 key and in walked Burr. His face broke into smiles at 
 the sight of Dolly standing in the dimly lit drawing 
 room and, according to custom, he took all the credit 
 for her being there to himself. 
 
 "This is a surprise ! To think of your waiting up 
 all this time for me. By !" 
 
 102
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE 103 
 
 "Don't think of it. I didn't," said Dolly brusquely, 
 as she made towards the stairs. "Don't flatter yourself 
 either. I gave up waiting for thee, Ronnie Burr, long 
 long ago. To-night I've been cultivating vastly more 
 important company. President's been here!" 
 
 "What! Jefferson? Holding his first cabinet meet- 
 ing, eh? And without me! How exclusive of him! 
 Did he inquire for the Vice President?" 
 
 "He didn't need to. He knows thy haunts and, 
 even he, has heard of the fame of her chef," replied 
 Dolly. "But don't look penitent now. I've no re- 
 proaches for thee. I've already told thee 'twas not 
 the chance of seeing thee that kept me up." 
 
 "Ah ! But Dolly, be generous !" cried Burr coaxing- 
 ly. "Give me half a minute at least particularly when 
 I assure you that it was on your account I stayed so 
 late." 
 
 "Listen to the man ! On my account. My eye and 
 Betty Martin ! How'll you ever make me believe that ? 
 In the first place thee knows I don't know the woman. 
 And in the second, I don't wish to." 
 
 "All the same, 'twas on your acount I tarried, 
 Dolly. God's truth it was ! I stayed to get you some- 
 thing, something which when I hand it to you I know 
 you will value highly not 'cause it came from poor A. 
 Burr, a mere vice-president elect: but because it comes 
 to you, through me, from a very famous man a mere 
 lad to be sure, full of all the cock suredness and arro- 
 gance ot youth, but a genius for all that. And one 
 whom you admire monstrously." He paused and 
 began to whistle significantly, "Believe me if all those 
 endearing young charms "
 
 104 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Hush! Thee'll have all the boarders awake!" 
 cried Dolly, entirely missing the point of his song. 
 "First thing we know Sir Anthony will be on top of us 
 in his flannel night shirt. If he hears one strain of 
 that whistle of thine he'll raise twice the fuss he did 
 when poor Mr. Jefferson merely played the fiddle. 
 But this gift that you bring me? My curiosity's 
 aroused. Surely now," she asked with feigned eager- 
 ness, "it couldn't be some work of art from the hand 
 of Mr. Madison?" 
 
 "I said genius, Dolly," replied Burr with a trace 
 of annoyance. "That acquits Jemmy Madison surely. 
 But don't let' s quarrel about it. You'll be charmed 
 with it, I know," he continued with his usual sang 
 froid and his boldest smile. "In fact, my dear, when 
 you see it you'll agree that we should preserve it with 
 the utmost care and bequeath it to our grandchil- 
 dren." 
 
 "Laws ! You are taking things for granted, Ronnie 
 Burr!" exclaimed Dolly in spite of herself. 
 
 She was half way up the stairs by now, and, leaning 
 forward, reached on white arm towards him as 
 though to grasp the unknown gift. "Give it to me, 
 for I'm half asleep. I'll hear thy explanation in the 
 morning." 
 
 But Burr was not to be dismissed so easily. He 
 retreated to the fire-place where a mass of embers 
 was still aglow. In his right hand he held a sheet of 
 manuscript, and as Dolly made her plea he planted 
 himself with legs wide apart on the hearth rug, both 
 his hands behind his back. It was a position which he 
 intended should indicate plante la!
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE 105 
 
 "No, my child, this is a gift which has a preface," 
 he began. "Preface must be delivered first. That 
 will take time five minutes at least. Come and sit 
 down, Dolly. You won't regret it. It's an historical 
 night in both our lives. And in any case 'twould be 
 a shame to miss such a fire as this. Then remember 
 too, we haven't had a chat together for a week. Come 
 on, Dolly dear!" 
 
 There was a wheedling tone to the man which Dolly 
 couldn't resist for the life of her. As a preliminary 
 to capitulation she yawned violently. 
 
 "But I'm so tired!" she exclaimed. "And then too, 
 I'm weary of listening. Seems to me I've done 
 nothing else all this day. I'd like to chatter myself 
 for a bit and get some of my mental complications 
 off my mind. But stir the fire up, Ronnie, if I've 
 got to sit down and listen to you." 
 
 "There we are! Cozy as can be!" he cried as 
 she slipped down into the big arm chair and he stood 
 facing her on the hearth rug. "Now who's to con- 
 fess first?" 
 
 "Better finish thine first," said Dolly, "and as you 
 are a good lawyer, for heaven's sake, make thy story 
 brief." 
 
 All of a sudden Burr burst out laughing. There 
 was no stopping him for a moment, and Dolly looked 
 both furious and perplexed. 
 
 "What might the joke be?" she asked loftily, when 
 at last he had sobered down. 
 
 "I was laughing at you, child. Think what a dear 
 little hypocrite you are with those 'thees' and 'thous' 
 of yours which slip off as easily as your Quaker
 
 io6 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 kerchief or an H off a cockney's tongue, and wh:ch 
 come and go with as much facility as your sweet 
 Irish complexion when you've forgotten to put 
 on the rouge. Dolly, you never were meant to be 
 a Quaker, and the good God who gave you that 
 coloring never intended that you should hide it in 
 the paint pot. You're one of the few women, Dolly, 
 who needs no affectation." 
 
 "My cheeks are my own to do with as I will, Mr. 
 Burr," said Dolly tartly. "As for my vocabulary, 
 if it does not please thee I've no doubt that at a 
 word from you, your friend Mr. Hamilton would 
 gladly expunge it." 
 
 "Well, then, 'thee' and 'thou' me as much as you 
 like, Dolly," he laughed, "only please don't send me 
 to bed. But to my story! There was quite a big 
 party at Madam JumePs to-night New Yorkers, 
 nearly all of them. You know, the usual crowd! The 
 Livingstons, the Boudinots, Gouverneur Morris, Lady 
 Kitty Duer, looking lovely in her weeds " 
 
 "Ah! Ha!" interrupted Dolly, "still another widow 
 for you to set your cap at, eh?" 
 
 "Well," continued Burr, good naturedly ignoring 
 her remark, "with them were two of the most brilliant 
 lads I've encountered since I left college. It made 
 me young to converse with them it really did ! One 
 of them, a lad of twenty or so, a New Yorker, was 
 Washington Irving, who is studying for the bar, and 
 who is by way of being a bit of a novelist too. That 
 lad will go far, I feel sure. But it was the other one, 
 an Irish boy just turned twenty-two, who's recently 
 arrived here from England by way of Bermuda,
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE 107 
 
 he's the one that would have interested you! Think 
 of it, Dolly! Just turned his majority and already 
 hailed the foremost poet of his country and his time !" 
 
 "Thee don't mean to say that it's " exclaimed 
 
 Dolly. 
 
 "I assuredly do," broke in Burr. "It was young 
 Thomas Moore, as large as life the lad who wrote 
 your beloved 'Believe me.' Some of the English 
 nobility have obtained for him a post in Bermuda, but 
 when he reached there he liked the island so little that 
 he promptly hired a deputy and is now returning home 
 by the next packet. Meanwhile the Livingstons and a 
 lot of other New Yorkers have been entertaining the 
 lad. Young Irving brought him over here to see 
 something of the election. He's enjoyed himself so 
 much in Philadelphia that he's scrawled some verses 
 in honor of the town and well, here they are, Dolly! 
 Each woman at the table had set her heart on getting 
 the script, but I had taken time by the forelock. 
 Before we sat down I had made him promise that 
 he'd give the script to me to give to you. 'Twould 
 have done your heart good to see the rage of all the 
 women. They were so furious that they almost for- 
 got their manners but they didn't. At least, not 
 until the moment when I told them that I was going 
 to give the script to you. Shall I read it aloud? 
 They're really charming verses, Dolly, though not, of 
 course, quite up to his highest standard." 
 
 "Please do!" cried Dolly, who was all excitement 
 now. She would have found it hard to say which had 
 pleased her most; the gift of his poem or the fury 
 which its giving had caused to her pet, though un-
 
 io8 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 known enemy, Madam Jumel. "I'll forgive thee a 
 whole lot for this, Ronnie Burr! Read, man, read 
 it to me." 
 
 LINES. 
 
 Thomas Moore. 
 Written on leaving Philadelphia. 
 
 Alone by the Schuylkill a wanderer roved. 
 
 And bright were its flowery banks to his eye. 
 But -far, very far were the friends that he loved, 
 
 And he gazed on its flowery banks with a sigh. 
 
 Oh Nature, though blessed and bright are thy rays, 
 O'er the brow of creation enchantingly thrown 
 
 Yet faint are they all to the lustre that plays 
 In a smile from the heart that is fondly our own. 
 
 Not long did the soul of the stranger remain 
 Unbless'd by the smile he had languished to meet ; 
 
 Though scarce did he hope it would sooth him again, 
 Till the threshold of home had been press'd by his feet. 
 
 But the lays of his boyhood had stol'n to their ear, 
 And they loved what they knew of 'so humble a name; 
 
 And they told him, with flattery welcome and dear, 
 That they found in his heart something better than fame. 
 
 Nor did woman oh woman! whose form and whose soul 
 Are the spell and the light of each path we pursue; 
 
 Whether sunn'd in the tropics or chill'd at the pole, 
 If woman be there, there is happiness too: 
 
 Nor did she her enamoring magic deny, 
 That magic his heart had relinquish'^ so long, 
 
 Like eyes he had loved was her eloquent eye, 
 Like them did it soften and weep at his song. 
 
 Oh, bless'd be the tear, and in memory oft 
 May its sparkle be shed o'er the wanderer's dream; 
 
 Thrice bless'd be that eye, and may passion as soft, 
 As free from a pang, ever mellow its beam ! 
 
 The stranger is gone but he will not forget, 
 When at home, he shall talk of the toils he has known, 
 
 To tell, with a sigh, what endearments he met, 
 As he stray 5 d by the wave of the Schuylkill alone. 
 
 " 'Tis a pretty poem!" said Dolly when Burr had
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE 109 
 
 finished reading. "I hope Mr. Moore will remember 
 it and not go attacking our manners and our ways 
 when he gets home again as most of these visiting for- 
 eigners do after we have entertained them well! I 
 shall have the poem framed." She continued mean- 
 ingly: "Then, as I never again intend to marry, I 
 shall leave it in my will to your daughter Theodosia's 
 little boy Grampillo, as you call him. Thus your 
 grandchild will inherit it surely enough, and without 
 inconvenience to me!" 
 
 "Ah! If only you could see my little Grampillo 
 once!" laughed Burr enthusiastically. "You'd adore 
 him ! Dolly, I assure you there never has been such 
 a 'child since the world began. You know well how 
 I have always loved children. You know how I 
 adore Theodosia, and how she worships me. Well, 
 it's simply fabulous almost unbelievable the fascina- 
 tion which that little youngster has for both of us. 
 When Grampillo is with us I call him that because 
 it's as near to pronouncing 'Grandpapa' as he has 
 been able to get when that child is with us, Theo- 
 dosia has no eyes for me, nor I eyes for her. As 
 for her husband, why I've told Joseph Ralston a 
 thousand times already that he's the only man I envy 
 on the top of the earth to be the father of such a 
 boy as Grampillo! Yes, Dolly," he added, suddenly 
 changing his tone, "if you do remain a widow, it must 
 go to Grampillo by all means. Otherwise you'll have 
 to marry me for the poem's sake so that it will be 
 sure to reach its ultimate destination! In the mean- 
 time here we are, Dolly, sitting up late and anticipating 
 history in front of a gloriously cozy fire."
 
 no THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 He held his hands out to the fire light and then 
 rubbed them together. 
 
 "Could any sane persons wish for any better fate 
 than that? 'Pon my word, Dolly, I'm so happy I've 
 almost forgot that I've just been elected Vice Presi- 
 dent" 
 
 "And what sort of a history are you going to make 
 for yourself as Vice President, Ronnie Burr?" asked 
 Dolly in a tone which conveyed considerable doubt 
 as to the sincerity of his intentions. 
 
 "Who can tell what history'll do to any of us?" ex- 
 claimed Burr. "That's one of the things that's not in 
 our keeping. It's in other hands than ours, Dolly, and 
 no matter what they say, be it good or evil, we won't be 
 here to deny or to corroborate. Just the same," he 
 added with a jolly laugh, "I should like to hear what 
 they'll be saying and writing of you and me a hundred 
 years from now. As far as our obituaries go, I can see 
 them just as plainly as though they were lying here 
 printed, with black borders, on the table at this moment. 
 'You married for the second time in the early twenties: 
 I for the second time in the earliest forties. We both 
 lived happy ever after, of course that goes without 
 saying, as we married each other! And we lived 
 till a very ripe old age. What think you of the nar- 
 native, Dolly?' " 
 
 "As far from the truth as obituaries usually are! 
 I think that in obituaries, as well as in many other 
 departments, you're a very bad prophet, Ronnie 
 Burr!" said Dolly seriously. "As for thee, I'm no 
 prophetess, but I tremble to think what history will 
 be saying of you, Ronnie, a hundred years hence or
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE in 
 
 even ten years hence, for the matter of that! if 
 you don't get that crazy, mad, blundering Mexico 
 enterprise out of your head." 
 
 "Ah! But Dolly, if you'd only listen! If you'd 
 only let me explain," he cried, now suddenly all eager- 
 ness. "Think of it! A new Empire: a Kingdom all 
 our own!" 
 
 "And what in the name of heaven has a Vice Presi- 
 dent of these United States to do with a new king- 
 dom, pray?" she asked indignantly. "'Twill be quite 
 a new Jeffersonian policy, I'm sure and one that he'll 
 see to it you have some trouble in carrying out. Take 
 it from me, Ronnie Burr: they're watching thee like 
 hawks already all of them Hamilton, Adams, Jef- 
 ferson, every one of them, I say and each for his 
 own ends. And here are you, the newly elected Vice 
 President ready and eager to play straight into your 
 enemies' hands from a sense of sheer bravado, pure 
 Quixotry, utter childishness! You're a soldier, you're 
 a gentleman and you're a lawyer, Ronnie Burr, but 
 neither God nor the Devil at his worst ever decreed 
 that thee should become a politician. There are two 
 things which mark my words! will be the ruin of 
 thee, body and soul, if thee pursues them: thy insane 
 hatred of Hamilton and thy mad love for this Mex- 
 ico which will never, never be thine!" 
 
 "But listen, Dolly! Just a moment!" said Burr, 
 now thoroughly serious. "What you say is neither 
 fair, nor just. You're the only woman in the world 
 whose advice I would listen to, because I know that 
 you give it for my good, and because, well perhaps 
 you may never admit it but all the same I know that
 
 ii2 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 deep down in your soul you love me more dearly and 
 in a different way from any one else. But let's get 
 at the bottom of things. Mexico, I admit: yes, I 
 love Mexico: to conquer her and to be her conqueror 
 I am willing to chance my life, my future, everything 
 in my career. For that end I'd become an Ishmael, 
 even a Lucifer; yes by God! to own Mexico I 
 believe if it were possible I'd sell my soul. All that 
 I admit. But don't charge me with hating Hamilton. 
 Because that's not true; it's false, and you know it 
 is, Dolly. You wouldn't have said that if you had 
 weighed your words at all. Because you know better 
 you know, just as well as I do, that all the personal 
 attacks have come from Hamilton. He may hate me 
 perhaps; but certainly I don't hate him. In politics, 
 at the bar, in our old military days we have been 
 rivals always, but I at least have never been Hamil- 
 ton's foe. Privately, as you know, we have been 
 the best of friends. It's true many small and petty 
 things he's said to have said have been brought back 
 to me; but knowing the many bitter and uncharitable 
 things which have been said of me, and knowing as 
 I do, how false most of them have been, I pause before 
 judging any man now upon hearsay evidence From 
 me Hamilton, as I would do for any old friend, 
 will always have the benefit of the doubt. Until I 
 know until I know! That, of course, would be a 
 different matter. Meanwhile, I don't hate Hamilton, 
 believe me. Why," laughing suddenly as an idea came 
 into his mind, "to prove what I say, listen, Dolly. 
 At this very moment I am in Sandy Hamilton's debt 
 to the amount of six hundred dollars. 'Twas bor-
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE 113 
 
 rowed at least two years ago, and I'd forgotten all 
 about it till this very day. But it's all right, Dolly. 
 It was between friends. Hamilton's never mentioned 
 it; I'll say that for him! Do you think that I'd allow 
 myself to owe money to n man I hate?" 
 
 Dolly was on her feet before he had finished. Her 
 face had gone white; her eyes were blazing. As she 
 gazed in mixed amazement and anger at Burr she 
 looked far more like a mother in some fit of righteous 
 indignation towards her son than a woman who was 
 little more than half his age in years. She was furious 
 with the man because she loved him and could not 
 bear to see him treat himself with such arrant dis- 
 respect. 
 
 "How much money have you in the house to-night, 
 Ronnie?" she asked sternly. "If you haven't as much 
 as six hundred dollars I'll lend you the balance till 
 the morning. Oh! don't let's mince matters," she 
 exclaimed sarcastically, as she saw him wince at her 
 proposal, "I'll see that you pay me back quick enough. 
 I'm no Hamilton! And at compound interest, too, 
 if I feel so disposed. But one thing thee shall do 
 this very night. Pay Hamilton, and pay him now, 
 if you ever want me to speak to thee again. I can 
 stand all sorts of idiots but a fool. Thee may draw 
 thine own inferences. They won't be wrong. To 
 play into an enemy's hand like that! What madness' 
 Lucky for you he was gentleman. We must always 
 thank his forbears for that! Go get your money now 
 if you've got it? Have you?" 
 
 "Plenty upstairs in my chest; and if I hadn't I 
 could give him a note."
 
 ii4 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "No notes in this matter, please!" said Dolly, rais- 
 ing her hand authoritatively. "You'll pay him cash. 
 And don't say that the hour's too late to go to him. 
 Thee knows as well as I do that Hamilton writes until 
 long past dawn. His house is just around the corner, 
 his study's on the ground floor, so you've merely to 
 tap on the window and he'll open the door himself." 
 
 Burr, obedient, but just a little nettled, was now 
 on his way upstairs to the "second floor front." But 
 over the banisters he could not resist throwing this 
 slightly sneering sally: 
 
 "It seems to me, Dolly, that you have rather an 
 intimate knowledge of Sandy's habits." 
 
 "Perhaps I have; but that's none of your business," 
 snapped Dolly. "'Tis no occasion for insinuations 
 from you, if thee please. You seem to forget that 
 I know his wife and his daughter, Angelica, as well 
 as I know myself. And if I didn't, they're good 
 habits Hamilton's are far better than thine, let 
 me tell thee ! He at least had the good grace to put 
 the Jumel woman once and for all in her proper place. 
 To be sure, 'twas his wife made him do it, but I'll 
 give him credit for the act just the same!" 
 
 "Fie! Fie! Dolly," exclaimed Burr, pausing on the 
 stairway, "why dig up that silly old scandal? If it 
 ever occurred at all, it happened ages ago when she 
 was the young and inexperienced Mrs. Croix." 
 
 "Inexperienced! That hussey! My eye and Betty 
 Martin! As I live, Ronnie Burr, that woman, from 
 the day when, as a child, she sold flowers on the 
 Providence docks, has embraced the entire Army 
 and Navy, to say nothing of what she's done to
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE 115 
 
 the Diplomatic Corps ! In those days, Mistress 
 Sparkle tells me, she was mixed up in so many divorce 
 suits they called her the 'Intervention of Providence' ! 
 No wonder Betsy Hamilton put her foot down hard. 
 I'd have skun her alive if I'd been in her shoes. But 
 don't you stop to talk scandal. Run along and get 
 your money, and just thank God that there's one 
 woman left alive who dares to give you good advice 
 and see that you carry it out, too !" 
 
 Two minutes later when he came downstairs, his 
 notes in his hands, an entire change had swept over 
 Dolly. She was leaning back in the arm chair as 
 Burr approached, and instantly he saw that she was 
 crying. The tears were running down her cheeks. 
 He started to say something sympathetic, but she 
 lifted her hand and stopped him. 
 
 "Don't say anything. Don't notice it. I'm just 
 nervous, that's all," she explained as she dried her 
 eyes. "And for nights and nights I've been having 
 such horrible dreams." 
 
 "Dreams!" echoed Burr. "Why, what have bad 
 dreams to do with a dear woman like you, who 
 hasn't got a care in her head?" 
 
 "Hasn't, eh?" sniffed Dolly, resenting the re- 
 mark. "Then all I've to say is that if they're not 
 in my head, there must be a goodly crowd of them 
 perching on top of my Quaker bonnet. There's 
 always the four of us involved in these dreams you 
 and Hamilton, the Jumel woman and me they never 
 get anywhere; half the time Jf can't remember what 
 we did when I awake but there's always the same 
 horrible feeling when I open my eyes, and the same
 
 n6 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 terrible conviction that it's all coming true. Last night 
 it was worse than ever. But for once neither Ham- 
 ilton nor Madam Jumel were there. There was 
 only thee and I, Ronnie. Sit down for a minute. I 
 must tell thee this. Hamilton can wait for his money 
 for another ten minutes." 
 
 He sat down, pulled his chair towards her and 
 began to stroke her hand, which lay on the arm of 
 the chair. 
 
 "Was I with you in this last bad dream?" he asked 
 as gently as though putting the question to some little 
 child. "Were we together?" 
 
 "No," she sobbed. "That was the worst of it. 
 We seemed to be worlds and worlds apart. I could 
 see myself so clearly I I had grown older not 
 actually old, you know, but at least ten or twelve years 
 older than I am now it was in Washington, at the 
 White House." 
 
 "Were you alone there? Who was with you?" he 
 asked almost jealously. 
 
 "There was no one, except a few old servants 
 slaves of my Father's, I suppose. I remember they 
 were all very old and negroes. I don't know whether 
 I was married or single. In fact, I know scarcely 
 anything, except that there was a war going on we 
 were fighting the English I could see Sir Anthony 
 Merrys everywhere," she smiled, "and the report was 
 that they were moving on the White House and were 
 going to burn it down, and there I stood, with the old 
 slaves, in front of Mr. Washington's picture I could 
 see Gilbert Stuart's signature on it as clearly as I can 
 see thy face now, Ronnie and there I was with both
 
 MR. BURR ST4YS OUT LATE 117 
 
 my hands trying frantically to tear it down, while 
 within my bodice securely pinned and making me 
 feel stout and most uncomfortable for all that nestled 
 'gainst my breast the Declaration of Independence." 
 
 "And where was I all this time?" said Burr softly, 
 almost as though he feared to arouse Dolly from 
 another dream. 
 
 "No, thee was not with me, because I called to 
 thee, remembering even in my dream that thee had 
 always promised that at my call thee would come to 
 me from the ends of the earth. But you couldn't 
 come that's all there is about it, Ronnie; you were 
 thousands and thousands of miles away in some for- 
 eign land, moving from place to place, it seemed, 
 feted like a prince at one moment, then penniless, a 
 fugitive, hunted, alone, always going on, on, on and 
 always away from the things you loved! Once but 
 that would make thee laugh, Ronnie, and it might 
 make thee furious! I'll tell thee, though, when I've 
 finished my first dream. Well, at last we got a knife 
 and I cut the picture out of the frame, and the slaves 
 carried it away to safety. Then the English came 
 droves of 'em from all directions at once and after 
 eating up all my pies and my peach preserves, the 
 scoundrels burnt the White House down about their 
 heads. I saw the flames shooting heavenward from a 
 long way off in the country somewhere where I was try- 
 ing to beg a bed. For I was a fugitive and all alone, just 
 like thee, Ronnie and that seemed to make another 
 bond between us! But all the time too my heart was 
 aching for some one who was away at the front 
 fighting the British somewhere. I don't know who
 
 u8 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 it was couldn't see him even in my mind's eye. It 
 may have been another you, Ronnie but whoever 
 he was I was preposterously fond of the man! Then 
 I remember a woman threw me out of her farm house 
 and then for years and years and years, it seemed, 
 I stood on a hill-top watching myself grow older and 
 older till I was just a happy pippin-cheeked old lady 
 with many dear good friends surrounding me, and 
 walking always in the paths of peace. Then almost 
 at the end of all, Ronnie, when I was so old that I had 
 almost lost my sense of humor, something happened 
 which made me almost laugh myself back into my 
 youth." 
 
 "That sounds cheerful. Tell us the joke, Dolly," 
 said Burr rather sardonically. "So far your dreams, 
 my dear, have been decidedly glum." 
 
 "Well, first I must go back to my dream of thee 
 again. Somehow at length the two seemed to merge 
 into each other," exclaimed Dolly, who, by this time, 
 was once more as merry as a cricket. "The first laugh 
 thy dream gave me was once when I called to thee 
 and thee was in the streets of London. And what do 
 thee imagine thee was doing, Ronnie Burr?" 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "Thee was peddling false teeth for sixpenny apiece 
 to try and scrape enough money together to pay thy 
 passage back to America." 
 
 "Well, at least my trade was honest and my in- 
 tention seaworthy!" laughed Burr. "But the joke 
 at the other end of the dream now: tell me that. 
 'Twill have to be a whopper of a joke to beat this one, 
 Dolly."
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE 119 
 
 "Oh, but it is a whopper though not of my mak- 
 ing!" cried Dolly. " 'Twas just one of those dreams 
 which will come to a woman when she's got an Irish 
 sense of humor which she's not ashamed to use either 
 waking or sleeping!" 
 
 "Sure you hadn't one eye open when you dreamed 
 this, Dolly?" said he skeptically, "I begin to sus- 
 pect this joke must be a rough one on A. Burr." 
 
 "Yes and no," replied Dolly, slyly mimicking 
 Madison's tone. "I myself should consider 'twas 
 rather rough on thee, but I dare swear that there's 
 at least one other woman who wouldn't agree with 
 me at all. But this I promise thee, I dreamed it. 
 That I'll swear! Promise you won't be angry now?" 
 
 "Angry! What nonsense, girl. Why should you 
 and I quarrel about a dream?" 
 
 "And thee won't say I told it to thee for spite, or 
 anything small? For really, Ronnie, I warn thee, 'tis 
 a trifle vexatious." 
 
 "On with the story, woman, or your friend Mr. 
 Hamilton won't be paid till he's had his breakfast," 
 laughed Burr. 
 
 "Well, here goes, then!" cried Dolly. "And don't 
 forget that thee implored me to tell thee. Otherwise, 
 I'd have dropped the subject. Well" and she paused 
 aggravatingly to draw a long breath "after I'd seen 
 thee selling spurious teeth through the streets of Lon- 
 don, I saw thee once more. This was when I was up 
 on the hill-top watching myself develop into a grand 
 and fat old lady. This time you were an octogen- 
 arian, Ronnie: thee must have been every day and 
 night of eighty. But thee were well favored still,
 
 120 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 a handsome devil yet! Thee had the same sweet 
 smile though for all I know to the contrary," she 
 laughed, "thee may have been wearing a set of thy 
 own false teeth. Anyhow, the same sweet smile was 
 there, and the same hellish way with all women." 
 
 "How did you know that? What women were 
 there? You haven't filled in your picture, Dolly." 
 
 "Wait a moment, Ronnie Burr: don't anticipate: it 
 might humble your pride," replied Dolly with the air 
 of a seeress. "I speak of that which I heard and saw 
 in my dream and I'll tell thee accordingly if thee'll 
 have patience. How do I know you still had charms 
 for the fair? That was simple enough! There you 
 stood on the porch of a great old mansion somewhere 
 in the woods outside New York: a clergyman stood in 
 front of you, the Holy Book in his hands, and hanging 
 on the arm of thee was thy bride to be. For 'twas 
 thy latest wedding day, Ronnie Burr, and not a soul 
 was there, not even myself, to forbid the banns!" 
 
 "But the bride wasn't it you, Dolly dear the 
 little old lady from the top of the hill?" 
 
 "Ah ! no, Ronnie !" she answered softly. "My good 
 man, whoever he was, had gone home years before. 
 But I stood true to his memory all the way down the 
 hill side." Then changing her tone completely she 
 said: 
 
 "The woman beside thee was Madam Jumel." 
 
 "Good God!" cried Burr, turning white and spring- 
 ing to his feet. "Dolly, you've carried this fairy tale 
 too far! There's a limit to even my endurance. You 
 must be mad not merely dreaming!" 
 
 "Ronnie Burr," and Dolly held both hands up, "be-
 
 MR. BURR STAYS OUT LATE 121 
 
 fore God and as I hope to some day marry the man 
 I love best I swear to you that I dreamed all that 
 I am telling thee and more!" 
 
 "More!" laughed Burr, who by this time had re- 
 covered himself. "Of course, after such an oath as 
 that no suitor for your hand could dare to doubt you. 
 And damme, Dolly, that is the worst of it if you'll 
 pardon me for using an oath before you, for the first 
 time in my life I do believe that you dreamed every 
 word you say. Well, what happened then? I suppose 
 you're going to tell me, of course, that we lived happy 
 ever after or at least as long as Old Father Time 
 would allow!" 
 
 "Nothing of the sort you didn't," laughed 
 Dolly. "No respectable honeymoon could have been 
 shorter. Thee quarreled over money matters in less 
 than three months time, and she got a divorce and 
 resumed her former name. But, meantime, on the 
 day of your marriage, as soon as the news got abroad, 
 one old woman brought suit for breach of promise, 
 and a young one named thee as her child's father." 
 
 "Poor things! That was the custom I inspired in 
 them early in life. You seem to have made me go 
 through a great deal, Dolly in thy dreams! Thank 
 God it's no worse, though. Even at eighty it would 
 seem I am still able to give a fairly good account of 
 myself." 
 
 " 'Rakish to his latest day' would be a good epitaph 
 for thee if all I've dreamed ever comes true," laughed 
 Dolly. "Now trot along to Hamilton's, for 'tis after 
 three, and even an owl like him will be going to bed. 
 I'm so glad we've had this talk, Ronnie" and she
 
 122 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 put her hand on his arm as though to hold him for a 
 minute "changes are coming quickly to all of us. With 
 Congress closed now, and the quick move to Washing- 
 ton coming we'll be scattered in all directions. God 
 knows when we'll have another chance like this. And 
 don't forget the dreams, Ronnie, whenever thee begins 
 again to set thy heart on Mexico. Remember my 
 dreams come true, Ronnie Burr, for I was born with a 
 cawl." 
 
 "Were you? You never told me that before. It's 
 the luckiest thing in the world. Cawls, they say, have 
 been worn in extreme youth by all the world's greatest 
 sooth-sayers." 
 
 "Then I must be a sooth-sayer as well as a dreamer 
 of dreams! But remember, without my cawl I could 
 always read Ronnie Burr like a book. Be nice to 
 Hamilton: speak him fair and don't be sarcastic. Just 
 think that you're boys again together and make it up. 
 Good night, Ronnie! Good luck to your meeting!"
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 COLONEL AARON BURR PAYS A DEBT AND AN EARLY 
 MORNING CALL ON MR. ALEXANDER HAMILTON 
 
 Oh, East is East, and West is West and 
 
 Never the twain shall meet, 
 Till Earth and Sky stand presently at 
 
 God's great Judgment Seat. 
 But there is neither East nor West, 
 
 Border, nor Breed nor Birth, 
 When two strong men stand face to face 
 
 Though they come from the ends of the Earth. 
 
 KIPLING "Ballad of East and West." 
 
 IT HAPPENED just as Dolly had predicted. 
 When Burr reached Hamilton's house the win- 
 dow of the study was still alight, although it was 
 very near to daybreak. Burr tapped gently on the 
 window and almost immediately up flew the 
 blind and there stood Hamilton. Of all the living men 
 on earth, at that moment, Burr was the very last whom 
 Hamilton expected to see. His face showed his 
 sheer amazement. Then it broke into smiles of in- 
 credulous surprise. He raised the sash. 
 
 "Good Heavens, man," exclaimed Hamilton, as they 
 shook hands across the window-ledge. "Burr, of all 
 men! To be out at such an unseemly hour. What are 
 you doing? Is it a case of early rising or just going to 
 bed? In the old days you used to be proficient at both. 
 
 123
 
 124 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 At headquarters and even before that when you were 
 policing Westchester County, I never knew your equal 
 for going to bed late and for getting up early. I could 
 do it once, but I can't any more." He gave a sigh and 
 a shrug of the shoulder. "I'm afraid I'm getting 
 old, Burr. Can't stand things as I used to do. Come 
 in, have a smoke and a glass of wine. I know you're 
 the most abstemious brute in the world, with the ex- 
 ception of myself, but we must both have a glass this 
 morning. Seems to me it's the least I can do for 
 you," he laughed, "as I couldn't vanquish you and 
 Jefferson. Come in. It'll be good to have a chat. 
 I'm as tired as the Devil, and yet I haven't felt so 
 absolutely awake in years." 
 
 He left the window, unlocked the front door and 
 Burr followed him into the study. 
 
 It was a rather bare room an office in reality 
 with a long table covered with papers running down 
 the center of it. "And now that you're here," said 
 Hamilton, lightly, but with a good deal of curiosity in 
 his tone, "What's it all about?" 
 
 "I don't wonder at your asking," laughed Burr. 
 "'Tis rather an unseemly hour for a morning call even 
 between old friends. As a matter of fact, I've come 
 on business and also to offer an apology. I've come to 
 pay an old debt." 
 
 "An old debt?" echoed Hamilton in surprise. "I 
 don't remember " 
 
 "Oh yes you do," interrupted Burr, "think, my dear 
 fellow. I owe you six hundred dollars. Surely you 
 remember that." 
 
 As he spoke he drew the notes from his pocket and
 
 COLONEL BURR PAYS A DEBT 125 
 
 laid them on the table. "It's been abominably careless 
 of me. But then, you know my reputation for never 
 paying my debts!" 
 
 "On the contrary," replied Hamilton, "I have 
 always thought of you, Burr, as the most liberal, open- 
 handed man I know." 
 
 "Liberal ! Ah, yes, perhaps I am. Open-handed 
 too, possibly, in my own way but never to my cred- 
 itors. Any one of them will tell you that. But this 
 was a matter between friends, and if it hadn't gone 
 completely out of my mind till yesterday I should 
 have paid you long since. Don't you remember, it 
 was one day about two years ago. I came galloping 
 up to the Grange in no end of a hurry. I was riding 
 to Albany and had forgotten my wallet. You and 
 Betsy were sitting under the trees. I held you up 
 like another Dick Turpin. Asked you if you'd lend 
 me six hundred dollars." 
 
 "Of course," said Hamilton, "now that you speak 
 of it I remember the circumstance perfectly, but I still 
 protest none the less that I had forgotten about the 
 matter. You know," laughed Hamilton, "that was 
 why General Washington chose me for the first Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury. He told me that he knew 
 no man who could take such good care of other 
 people's money and so little of his own. But what 
 will you drink, Burr? Here's port and some rather 
 good Burgundy. Just a wee little glass between us 
 two almost total abstainers ! to show each other that 
 we bear no grudges for the political and other scars 
 which we have given each other in the past." 
 
 "First take my money," laughed Burr, "and then,
 
 126 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 though it's against my principles, I'll take your wine. 
 Just a drop of Burgundy. Thank you." 
 
 Hamilton filled the glasses and they toasted each 
 other. Then Hamilton lighted his church-warden pipe 
 and Burr lit a long cigar. They sat down by the 
 fire-place and Hamilton said: 
 
 "Strarige, I had a feeling that someone was going 
 to call on me to-night. But I never dreamed it would 
 be you, Burr. Don't let's talk politics now. I expect 
 for the moment you're as heartily sick of them as I. 
 It's been a great victory for you and Jefferson. You 
 can't expect me to congratulate you under all the cir- 
 cumstances, but frankly, as far as you're concerned, 
 I do wish you every prosperity and success. Tell me 
 about Theodosia and the youngster. How's the little 
 chap coming on?" 
 
 Burr's face lightened instantly. He leaned forward 
 and there was a look of real enthusiasm in his eyes as 
 he exclaimed, "Little Grampillo ! That's what I call 
 him. Ah, Hamilton, by gad, sir, I never knew the 
 joys of a grandfather could be so great until I set 
 my eyes on Theodosia's baby boy. He's such a 
 brave little devil, too not three yet and as 
 strong as a young Hercules. Plucky, too ! Why, 
 only the other day, down on their place, when I was 
 there, a goat was running about the meadow and tried 
 to butt Grampillo. Did he run or cry? Not a bit of 
 it, sir. The child had a stick in his hand, and raising 
 it he smashed the goat like a young Goliath. That 
 goat respects Grampillo now. They salute each other 
 like old warriors when they pass. Each keeps their 
 distance. Yes, Hamilton, that child has given me a
 
 "WE MAY HAVE BOTH BEEN RAKES IN OUR DAY. BURR. BUT AS FATHERS. BY GAD! SIR. NO 
 ONE CAN SHAKE A STICK AT US"
 
 COLONEL BURR PAYS A DEBT 127 
 
 different view of life. I love every child I pass in the 
 streets the better for Grampillo's sake. It breaks 
 my heart to have him and Theodosia so far away, 
 but it gives me something to look forward to. I count 
 the days now like a school-boy till I'm free to go to 
 them. You see it's my first experience of a boy in 
 the family. My first wife's children, the Prevost 
 boys, fine lads as they were, were half grown when 
 I married. And after all, a girl is very different. 
 I don't believe any father was ever closer to a daugh- 
 ter than I to Theodosia, but after all, a girl can never 
 quite take the place of a son. Therefore, now, I feel 
 that, perhaps without deserving it, I'm enjoying all 
 the delights of fatherhood at second hand. And by 
 the way, how's your baby boy? He must be nearly 
 a year old, isn't he?" 
 
 "Just a year," said Hamilton, and he gave a sigh. 
 "Have you seen Betsy lately? Perhaps she's told you. 
 We have christened him Philip. Somehow it seemed 
 the only thing to do to call him Philip now that my 
 first-born's gone. It will be just a year to-morrow 
 since he died, poor, poor Philip!" said Hamilton, and 
 the tears stood in his eyes. "Poor foolish lad just 
 twenty-one and with all his life before him. Ohl if 
 he'd only let me know, Burr if he'd only taken me 
 into his confidence about that damnable duel. Two 
 silly youngsters to fight about a play actress whom 
 neither of them even knew. Poor thing! she was 
 in no sense to blame. But oh, the folly of it all! 
 It's made my Betsy an old woman an old woman, 
 Burr, and though I may not show it to the world, it's 
 almost been the death of me. I shall never be the
 
 128 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 same man again. Ah! if he had only told me. He 
 came into the breakfast room that morning and he 
 kissed me something which he hadn't done in years! 
 If I hadn't been a fool I might have suspected that 
 something was amiss. Angelica did. She has a 
 wonderful divining power, that child of mine. Of all 
 my children she, the only girl, is closest to me of all. 
 She understands me best; she seems to know my very 
 thoughts before I speak them, and of all of us she 
 was the only one who foresaw tragedy that morning 
 when he walked out to his death. 'Good-bye, dad,' 
 he said to me, laughingly, 'take care of yourself. I 
 may be home for dinner, but I'm not quite sure. 
 Don't wait for me.' That was all, but Angelica, de- 
 vined. She knew that he was dead, hours before they 
 had brought his body back to us. She has a power, that 
 child, which to me seems almost uncanny. But don't 
 let's talk tragedy. Tell me of Theodosia," he went 
 on more cheerfully, "there's a wonderful girl, that 
 daughter of yours, Burr. I'm so glad young Alston 
 has made her happy. If ever a woman deserved a 
 fine husband, she's the one. A remarkable woman, 
 Theodosia, a brilliant mind! To my thinking, Burr 
 And I've never hesitated to say so, except in the pres- 
 ence of my own dear family she's the only really 
 educated woman in America. And it's your splendid* 
 training and care of her that's responsible for that. 
 We may have both been rakes in our day, Burr," he 
 laughed, "but as fathers, by gad! Sir, no one can shake 
 a stick at us." 
 
 "I shall always thank that six hundred dollars for 
 bringing you here to-night," he continued. "It's done
 
 COLONEL BURR PAYS A DEBT 129 
 
 me a very good turn. I was in the doldrums, fearfully 
 blue ; and then for once, I had been drinking to-night. 
 You see, I had this big dinner on; Merry and a num- 
 ber of the Federalists. Under the circumstances it 
 was scarcely a joyful function, as you can readily un- 
 derstand. But it's over now, thank God! I can wash 
 my hands of the whole business. I think I shall turn 
 farmer. After all when you come to think it over 
 that 's the only life. I've given the best of my life to 
 my country, and I've really taken for my services al- 
 most less than a living wage. I started penniless; and 
 if I died to-morrow, Burr, except for the Grange, which 
 I own outright, by Jove, I don't think that I'd have 
 more than enough money to pay for my funeral expen- 
 ses. We've always been spendthrifts, you and I, 
 haven't we? Our motives may have been different and 
 assuredly our politics always have, but we've both 
 worked for this dear old beehive, the United States, 
 not on account of the honey that was there, but for the 
 sake of the bees that were in it." 
 
 Thus spoke the great Hamilton on the morning 
 after the day when, by the defeat of the Federalist 
 party and the triumphs of the Republicans headed 
 by Jefferson and Burr, he had received the bitterest 
 blow of his life. 
 
 Burr, ever quick to sympathize with friend or foe 
 in trouble, was profoundly touched. Hamilton had 
 had no need to speak for Burr to realize the bitterness 
 of his condition. 
 
 It was long past dawn, the sunlight was streaming 
 through the window, cocks were acrow and milkmen 
 astir as Burr finally rose to go. The two men shook
 
 130 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 hands and Hamilton with one arm resting affectionately 
 on Burr's shoulder, escorted him to the door. 
 
 "I'm afraid you'll be losing me as a country neigh- 
 bor soon," said Burr as he walked along the 
 hall. "I'm thinking of selling Richmond Hill. I never 
 realized what a huge and lonely place it is until Theo- 
 dosia married and went away. It's too big for me now 
 and I've no heart to put in it. John Jacob Astor, the 
 fur man, has been negotiating with me to buy it for 
 some time. But he's a great haggler. Still if I can 
 bring him to time and he'll pay my price, I shall sell." 
 
 "If you do," said Hamilton, "be sure and send me 
 some of your melon seeds before Astor takes posses- 
 sion. Those were glorious melons you sent us last 
 year, and, now that I'm going to turn gardener, I 
 shall try to raise some myself. A garden, it seems to 
 me, ought to be a great refuge for a disappointed 
 politician. So don't forget! Send me some melon 
 seeds." 
 
 That was their parting. At the corner, Burr turned 
 and seeing Hamilton still standing in the doorway, 
 pale and heavy-eyed, he smiled and waved his hand. 
 Two school-boys, after some night's merry lark, could 
 not have parted in more friendly spirit. 
 
 When Burr reached home again Dolly, looking as 
 fresh and as fragrant as the day itself, sat awaiting 
 him at her own little breakfast table. 
 
 "Here's a letter for you," she exclaimed, as he 
 dropped into his chair and took a long draught of 
 coffee. "Looks important. Quite a document by 
 the size of it. Read it first and then tell me all about 
 Hamilton."
 
 COLONEL BURR PAYS A DEBT 131 
 
 "May I read it here?" asked Burr, as he started 
 to tear the letter open. 
 
 "Most certainly. Why stand on ceremony with 
 your landlady? Read away, man, and let's hope it's 
 good news." 
 
 It was a short note from one of his political lieuten- 
 ants in New York, and there was an enclosure in Alex- 
 ander Hamilton's handwriting. Burr knew it well, 
 that handwriting! But as he read the script his face 
 went white; his lips compressed into one thin stern 
 line. 
 
 "What's the matter?" said Dolly, seeing his change 
 of countenance. "No bad news, I hope?" 
 
 "Bad or good, it's news right enough!" said Burr 
 with a bitter sneer. "It's a little document from my 
 friend, Mr. Hamilton, the same Mr. Hamilton who 
 greeted me so affectionately not two hours ago ! It's 
 not written to me, but was sent to New York for pri- 
 vate circulation among my friends and enemies alike, 
 anywhere, in fact, where it could do me political harm. 
 Read for yourself, my dear; it's public property. A 
 little eulogy for private circulation from my friend 
 who calls me Cataline." 
 
 . . . "Another subject. Jefferson or Burr? The 
 former beyond a doubt. The latter in my judgment 
 has no principle, public or private; could be bound by 
 no agreement; will listen to no monitor but his am- 
 bition; and for this purpose will use the worst portion 
 of the community as a ladder to climb to permanent 
 power, and an instrument to crush the better part. He 
 is bankrupt beyond redemption, except by the resources
 
 132 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 that grow out of war and disorder; or by a sale to a 
 foreign power, or by great peculation. War with 
 Great Britain would be the immediate instrument. He 
 is sanguine enough to hope everything, daring enough 
 to attempt everything, wicked enough to scruple noth- 
 ing. From the elevation of such a man may Heaven 
 preserve the country. 
 
 "The truth is with great apparent coldness, he is the 
 most sanguine man in the world. He thinks everything 
 possible to adventure and perseverance; and though 
 I believe he will fail, I think it almost certain he will 
 attempt usurpation and the attempt will involve great 
 mischief. He is far more cunning than wise; far more 
 dexterous than able. If Burr really ever said, as has 
 frequently been quoted, that 'great souls do not much 
 regard the minor moralities,' he uttered as deadly a 
 falsehood as ever fell from lips. Great souls, indeed, 
 know no minor morals. To them all morals are great, 
 august, controlling. They know no degrees in right 
 and wrong. He (Burr) is a man of extreme and ir- 
 regular ambition. He is selfish to a degree which ex- 
 cludes all social affections and furthermore, though 
 temperate in the use of wine he is, in other respects, 
 decidely profligate. In a word he is a man who, on all 
 hands, is acknowledged to be a complete Cataline. You 
 may communicate this and my former letter to discreet 
 and confidential friends. . . . 
 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON."
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 LADY MERRY DAMNS HER HAIRDRESSER AND HOLDS 
 THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC RESPONSIBLE 
 
 "No scandal about Queen Elizabeth, I hope." 
 
 R. B. SHERIDAN "The Critic." 
 
 "With doubler tongue than thine, thou serpent, 
 Never adder stung!" 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "Midsummer Nights Dream/' 
 
 "Sir, would she give you so much of her lips 
 As her tongue, she oft bestows on me, 
 You'd have enough." . 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "Othello" 
 
 The tongue is a fire ! 
 
 As you may know, my dear, 
 The tongue is a fire ! 
 
 TENNYSON "The Grandmother." 
 
 THE good citizens of Philadelphia, enraged as 
 they were at being robbed of the honors of the 
 Capital, still had no intention of allowing Mr. 
 Jefferson and the new Administration to take their leave 
 without giving them a fitting farewell. Consequently 
 balls, routs, dinners and receptions followed fast and 
 furiously on each other's heels. The assembly ball 
 which was given by the citizens in honor of Mr. Jeff- 
 erson was to take place at the tavern, next door to Dolly 
 
 133
 
 134 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Todd's on the Wednesday night following the election. 
 But for more reasons than one Dolly, though beset by 
 invitations, had determined not to go. In the first 
 place her ankle was still paining her or at least, so 
 she said! In the second, she had just remembered 
 again, of a sudden, that she was a widow and a 
 Quaker one at that. Furthermore, her heart, though 
 she would not admit it even to herself, was sick within 
 her with dread of some coming tragedy between Burr 
 and Hamilton. 
 
 Then, too, she had her own future to think about 
 without bandying words or twirling her heels at silly 
 receptions or foolish dances. In a word, just at this 
 moment, Dolly, as far as the Irish percentage of her 
 nature would allow her, was taking rather a serious 
 view of life. The Hamilton letter, which she had 
 read that morning at the breakfast table, had proved 
 almost as great a shock to her as it had to Burr. 
 The unnecessary malignity of it had aroused all the 
 fires of indignation in her loyal nature and, once or 
 twice, out of pure pity during the last three days it 
 had been as much as she could do to keep herself 
 from throwing her arms around Ronnie Burr's neck 
 and ordering him to marry her out of hand. 
 
 Meanwhile what she was thinking and saying 
 to herself, in her Irish way, of Hamilton and Madam 
 Jumel would have filled a copious volume and been 
 quite unprintable! 
 
 Exactly how Dolly managed to involve Madam 
 Jumel in the affair could only be explained by her own 
 peculiar course of feminine reasoning. She hated the 
 woman with a cordial hate and she had persuaded
 
 THE LADY DAMNS HER HAIRDRESSER 135 
 
 herself that the famous beauty was moving heaven 
 and earth to make Burr the means of wreaking her 
 vengeance upon Hamilton. Then again, something 
 else had occurred which gave Dolly considerable food 
 for thought. Sir Anthony's long expected and greatly 
 dreaded spouse had arrived from England, and in less 
 than half an hour after her advent in the Todd man- 
 sion had more than justified, by her temper and tongue, 
 all the things which Beau Pinckney, her husband, and 
 the balance of the world had said against her. Arro- 
 gant, ignorant, supercilious and as ugly as any woman 
 could ever hope to be who had crossed the meridian 
 line of fifty with an embittered mind, Lady Merry had 
 the one solitary grace to recommend her in the person 
 of her sister, the Honorable Ena Farrar, as sweet, 
 wholesome and pretty a girl as had ever taken packet 
 from London-town to cross the broad seas and tempt 
 fate and mankind in general on the shores of the 
 sixteen States. 
 
 Ena and Dolly had become fast friends from the 
 moment they first set eyes on each other and, true to 
 her promise to Pinckney, Dolly was aiding and abetting 
 their impetuous courtship at every turn. 
 
 It was just after dinner and most of Mrs. Todd's 
 guests were resting preparatory to the ball when Dolly 
 ran into Pinckney as he was going upstairs to dress. 
 
 "Pinckney, my dear boy, just a word in thy ear," 
 she exclaimed, "and thee mustn't breathe a breath of it ! 
 Listen ! I've a vastly interesting plot on foot in which 
 thee must be my fellow conspirator. Perhaps Sally 
 McKean may be able to assist me too. I shall try her, 
 but then she's so desperately in love, poor soul ! And
 
 136 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 experience has taught a wise widow like me that one 
 can never rely on one's women friends when they 
 chance to be in the throes of love. Now this is what 
 I want you to do for me Pinckney and it's to be done, 
 mind thee, in thy most diplomatic and artful way. I'm 
 very anxious to meet Madam Jumel." 
 
 "What!" exclaimed Pinckney incredulously, "Do I 
 hear aright, Dolly? You sworn old foes who have ig- 
 nored the existence of each other in season and out 
 for all these years! Why the millenium must have 
 come to pass!" 
 
 "Stop thy palaver and listen to me," said Dolly. 
 "It's a serious matter. I'm not doing this for fun, so a 
 truce to thy levity. I've heard that the French woman 
 is extremely superstitous. She dotes on sooth-sayers, 
 fortune-tellers, and the like and 'tis one of her passions 
 to have her future read in the lines of her hand. I want 
 thee to circulate a report, or to tell her thyself for 
 you're a liar Pinckney whom I am sure could arise to 
 so great an occasion that I am a sort of a clairvoy- 
 ant, a fortune-teller, a hand-reader if thee will, and that 
 I possess marvelous powers of peering into the future. 
 If thee baits the trap properly, Pinckney, I know the 
 mouse will nibble. Tell her, of course, that I don't 
 do these things for money but merely to assuage the 
 curiosity and anxiety of my intimate friends. In a 
 word Pinckney, I want thee, indirectly, to persuade her 
 to come to my house, secretly if she pleases, of course; 
 in fact, I prefer it so. But I want her here where we 
 can face each other and speak as we may, woman to 
 woman. 'Tis no silly farce I'm plotting, Pinckney, but 
 a grim and earnest matter of great moment to more
 
 THE LADY DAMNS HER HAIRDRESSER 137 
 
 than one of us. Now run along and flirt with Ena! 
 She's a dear girl and I'm quite sure she's waiting for 
 thee at the top of the stairs." 
 
 So saying Dolly flew towards the kitchen intent on 
 some domestic matter. But in spite of her warning that 
 Ena was awaiting him, Pinckney still loitered in the 
 drawing room. Presently he pulled the bell rope and 
 Jennings, Dolly's colored butler, appeared in answer 
 to his summons. 
 
 "Announce me to Colonel Burr," said Pinckney. 
 
 "Yes, Sir," said Jennings, "but I doubt if you can see 
 him just now. He's awaiting a call from Mr. Alexan- 
 der Hamilton at any moment." 
 
 Pinckney gave a slight start of surprise. "Before 
 he arrives then quickly. Say to Colonel Burr that I 
 have word for him from the President." 
 
 Just at that moment Ena came down the stairs. She 
 was in evening dress and looked radiant. Pinckney 
 rushed to her and offered her a dance card. 
 
 "Why, 'tis already written on," she exclaimed as she 
 looked at it. 
 
 "Oh, yes. That was just a little suggestion of 
 mine," he explained. "Merely to indicate what dances 
 I should like to have this evening." 
 
 "Quadrille! cotillion! reel! two waltzes! Good 
 Heavens, Sir! Why you've usurped me!" 
 
 "Nothing of the sort," said he brazenly, "I've only 
 stolen half the list." 
 
 "But my sister, Lady Merry. She'll be furious. She's 
 certain to object." 
 
 "Then we'll omit the quadrille. That we'll sit out
 
 138 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 so that you may see, with your own lovely eyes, what a 
 modish assembly looks like among our savages." 
 
 "Savages, indeed!" cried Ena resentfully. "I won't 
 allow you to belittle your nation, Sir. 'Tis most charm- 
 ing, in fact, I'm quite mad about Philadelphia. I've 
 never spent three happier days in my life." 
 
 "So glad! so charmed!" said Pinckney. 'Tis a relief 
 to hear from those ruby lips that we're not quite so 
 red as we're painted!" 
 
 "Fal Lai Sir! You're too humble by far! I'm 
 hoping we stay on a long time." 
 
 "If I have my way you assuredly shall," volunteered 
 Pinckney. Then assuming a confidential tone. "But 
 now! Whisper! Between us! Such a joke. I must 
 tell you even if you won't quite understand. 'Tis side 
 splitting!" 
 
 "Really? Pray tell me," said Ena with eagerness. 
 
 " 'Tis about Mrs. Todd, the best friend I've got in 
 the world and she's yours too, believe me ! To put 
 the matter in a nutshell 'tis like this. There's a famous 
 beauty here in Philadelphia, an international creature, 
 rich, brilliant, charming. Quite our nearest approach 
 to Madam De Stael. She and Mrs. Todd have never 
 met though mind you, that, although a landlady, 
 Mrs. Todd's position socially is second to none. But 
 they've just hated each other cordially at a distance as 
 women will do sometimes now-a-days. Now here's the 
 joke. For weeks Betty Jumel has been imploring me 
 to devise some means by which she could accidentally 
 meet Mrs. Todd. Knowing Dolly as I do, I told her 
 the case was hopeless, impossible, one can't convince an 
 Irish woman against her will. But to-night, mark
 
 139 
 
 you, listen to this! Dolly Todd comes to me and 
 broaches the same subject only vice versa, of course. 
 She proposed that I should tell Betty that she is a 
 sooth-sayer, a fortune-teller. Something of that sort 
 you know, anything in fact that would induce her to 
 come here under cover. I'm dying to know what it's 
 all about. There's something interesting on foot and 
 in that sort of thing, you know, Beau Pinckney doesn't 
 like to be out of it. I shall bring matters to a head 
 this very night. We'll watch the fun, you and I, eh?" 
 
 Suddenly from a bedroom upstairs there came a 
 strenuous British shriek of "Ena!" 
 
 The next moment, as though suddenly ejected from a 
 gun, poor old Sir Anthony came hobbling down the 
 stairs. 
 
 "Ena!" he grunted with a quiver of fear, "I think 
 dear Angle's wanting you." 
 
 Ena flew and Pinckney, bowing to the British minis- 
 ter, went towards him, carrying the dance card in his 
 hand. "May I have Miss Ferrer for these dances, Sir? 
 I have just been selecting one or two." 
 
 "You'll have to ask Lady Merry about that. I'm a 
 government official, Sir, I never interfere in the affairs 
 of my family." 
 
 "I'll go at once, Sir," said Pinckney. He started 
 towards the stairway. 
 
 "No, no, not now. She's furious. I'll break it to 
 her later," whispered Ena over the banisters. 
 
 At that moment Burr came down the stairs. He, 
 too, was in evening dress but he looked worried and 
 perturbed. He bowed to Pinckney rather coldly. 
 "What word from next door?" he asked.
 
 1 40 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Pinckney drew close to him so that Sir Anthony, 
 standing by the fireplace, might not hear. "Mr. Jeffer- 
 son, Sir, is rather anxious about this article in the Even- 
 ing Post" He drew a paper from his pocket. 
 
 "What's it about?" asked Burr. 
 
 "It's an account of a dinner party given last Monday 
 night at Mr. Alexander Hamilton's." 
 
 "Oh, yes, I've seen that," replied Burr in a lighter 
 tone, "and I'm to see Mr. Hamilton presently, also. 
 Tell Mr. Jefferson he need have no concern. Hamilton 
 and I will reach an understanding." Then turning to 
 Sir Anthony he asked, "You were at this dinner at 
 Mr. Hamilton's, I believe?" 
 
 "Yes. Three days ago, you mean. Oh, yes, I was 
 there." 
 
 "Large party?" asked Burr. 
 
 "Fairly so," answered Sir Anthony. "Twenty gen- 
 tlemen or more. I was bored to death though." 
 
 "I'm sorry to hear that," said Burr sarcastically, 
 then added with a slight change of manner and tone, 
 "Mrs. Todd's name was mentioned I hear?" 
 
 "In a way, yes," said Merry. "Something was said 
 about her. It was after we had drunk the toast to the 
 new President. Mr. Hamilton proposed 'the first 
 lady of the land.' As we stood with glasses raised, 
 some wag asked: 'But who is she? Mrs. Madison or 
 Mrs. Burr?' 'Comes to the same thing,' replied Ham- 
 ilton,' so one glass may serve for both !' Let's drink 
 'Dolly Todd.' " 
 
 "Was he drunk, this man Hamilton?" said Burr in- 
 dignantly. 
 
 "No. I should scarcely call him drunk merely cheer-
 
 THE LADY DAMNS HER HAIRDRESSER 141 
 
 ful, like the rest of us. But, good God! man!" cried 
 Sir Anthony, suddenly waxing serious. "That isn't 
 printed?" 
 
 "Oh, no," replied Burr with a withering smile. "It's 
 merely talked of by most of the twenty gentlemen 
 and the lackeys who served them. When it comes to 
 print, Mr. Hamilton sticks to politics. There he's al- 
 ways been safe with me. If you will Mr. Pinckney," 
 and with a slight wave of his hand Burr asked him to 
 read the article. 
 
 Pinckney unfolded the newspaper and read: "The 
 report that Mr. Hamilton will oppose James Madison's 
 appointment as Secretary of State grew out of the 
 gossip at a recent dinner party at Mr. Hamilton's. 
 Someone questioned the host as to Madison's fitness 
 for the office " 
 
 "That's true," exclaimed Merry. "That's quite 
 true. I did that." 
 
 Burr rose to his feet and gazed at Merry sternly. 
 "It was you," he said. 
 
 "Yes, 'twas I," exclaimed Merry in a slightly apol- 
 ogetic tone. "I asked him, quite naturally, 'twas 
 just after the toast to Mrs. Todd, what he thought 
 of Madison as Secretary of State." 
 
 "And he answered as they have it there?" asked 
 Burr. 
 
 Pinckney handed the paper to Merry who walked to 
 the firelight and adjusted his glasses. He scanned the 
 article carefully before he spoke a word. Pinckney 
 meanwhile, had bowed himself out and had gone up- 
 stairs. 
 
 There was a banjo lying on the spinnet a banjo
 
 142 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 which Col. Burr had never seen before. He looked at 
 it smilingly then picked it up and strummed a chord or 
 two. 
 
 "It's perfectly true," corroborated Sir Anthony, 
 turning to Burr once more. "Not a word exaggerated. 
 'Tis precisely what Mr. Hamilton said." He looked 
 at the paper again and quoted: " 'That he looks upon 
 Mr. Burr to be a dangerous man?' ' 
 
 "The others heard of course?" said Burr, still plunk- 
 ing on the banjo. 
 
 "Good God ! yes. And they were all attention too, 
 believe me. Fearing he misunderstood I said: 'But, 'tis 
 Madison who's to be Secretary of State.' Whereupon 
 Mr. Hamilton, looked me squarely in the eye and re- 
 peated, quite measuredly, 'Yes and I look upon Mr. 
 Burr to be a dangerous man.' ' 
 
 Burr laid the banjo down on the spinnet. 
 
 "Word for word," he said, turning to Merry, "as 
 they have it here." 
 
 "But, good God! man, how'd they come by the 
 story?" 
 
 "The Post," said Burr. 
 
 "But I don't understand," said Sir Anthony vaguely. 
 
 "I will explain, Sir, said Burr. "The Post has al- 
 ways been Mr. Hamilton's mouthpiece." 
 
 "Indeed. I'm glad to learn that. I must send this 
 article at once to London." 
 
 "What for?" exclaimed Burr. 
 
 "Why don't you see," purred Merry, enthusiastic- 
 ally, " 'tis splendid for us, couldn't be better man; it 
 will assure you the loan you seek when my people 
 read between the lines."
 
 THE LAD Y DAMNS PIER HAIRDRESSER 1 43 
 
 "Read what?" asked Burr quickly. "Read what 
 between the lines?" 
 
 "Why, my dear fellow, can't you see your ad- 
 mitted influence with Madison." 
 
 Just for an instant Burr's eyes blazed, then throwing 
 his head back he burst out laughing. 
 
 "I assure you I have no more influence with him than 
 you have." 
 
 "Directly no, perhaps," continued Merry as though 
 explaining some simple puzzle to a rather obtuse child. 
 "But here, as in the courts of Europe, there's always 
 a power behind the throne. And then, if this clever 
 landlady becomes Mrs. Madison " 
 
 "If you please," interrupted Burr sternly. "No 
 lady's name in this affair." 
 
 "No name, of course," continued Merry smiling. 
 "But with diplomats, a mere hint, the slightest sug- 
 gestion " 
 
 "No, sir," suddenly thundered Burr decisively. "Not 
 by hint, intimation, nor inuendo not for a world of 
 Mexico's!" 
 
 "Oh, but my dear man," insisted Merry, "You must 
 listen to reason, 'Great ventures can't stop " 
 
 "There's no point here of small morals, Sir," in 
 terrupted Burr, "but abuse of privilege with a charm- 
 ing woman whom I hope soon to make Mrs. Burr." 
 
 Sir Anthony, at last realizing his faux pas, bowed 
 in dismay. Fortunately at that moment there came a 
 diversion. For once, in a way, Lady Merry did her 
 husband a good turn. There was a shriek of "Don't 
 jab me!" from above and down the stairs, as though 
 pursued by the Devil himself, came a distraught hair
 
 144 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 dresser. "Pardon, Madam, pardon!" he shouted as 
 he ran. "I forgot ze powder but you shall have it 
 queek, queek," and he vanished down the hall. 
 
 "Oh, Tony," cried Ena, running down the stairs, 
 "for Heavens sake go up to Angie! She's beyond 
 words to-night." 
 
 "What's the trouble with Angie now?" asked Sir 
 Anthony as though usually she were as placid as the 
 Lake of Como. 
 
 "Trouble!" cried Ena, "It isn't trouble; it's just An- 
 gie; that's all." 
 
 "Yes, I know, but who's she rowing now. Dear me ! 
 I hope its not poor Mrs. Todd." 
 
 "For the moment, no," said Ena. "This time it's 
 the coiffeur. He forgot to bring hair powder and 
 now Angie is telling him what she thinks of the Amer- 
 ican Republic." 
 
 There was a swirl of skirts, a general fuss and bustle, 
 and down the stairs came Lady Merry herself. 
 
 "He'd better be quick about it, if he knows what's 
 good for him. You a hairdresser indeed!" she cried 
 turning, furiously on the coiffeur who had just returned 
 with the missing powder-box in his hand. 
 
 "Oh, oui, Madam. I am ze hairdresser sertain- 
 ment! I have even dressed ze hair of ze great Gen- 
 eral Washington." 
 
 Lady Merry threw up her hands. 
 
 "There they go again!" she cried. "Now don't you 
 throw that damnable man in my face ! He's dressed 
 General Washington's hair, has he? Seems to me 
 for any and every complaint in this country there's 
 that one answer General Washington! I tell Mrs.
 
 THE LAD Y DAMNS HER HAIRDRESSER 1 45 
 
 Todd's cook the roast is over done and her excuse is 
 'General Washington has dined here.' I say the 
 Madiera's muddy but" and the good lady tilted her 
 nose heavenward " 'General Washington didn't find 
 it so.' They bring me a pint of water for a bath and 
 when I ask for more 'Twas always plenty for the 
 General.' The beds are hard beyond endurance but 
 General Washington has slept in them. Till finally I 
 told them plump, that I'm not dining with General 
 Washington, nor drinking with him, nor sleep " 
 
 "Good heavens, Angie !" cried Sir Anthony. 
 
 "Well, in short General Washington isn't paying my 
 score. Pretty place to bring me, an English noble- 
 woman accustomed to my bath regular every Saturday 
 night!" 
 
 "But, my dear, 'tis the best the town affords," ex- 
 postulated Sir Anthony. "We were in great good for- 
 tune to get rooms here. So pray be your usual tactful 
 self with our hostess, Mistress Todd." 
 
 "What," cried Lady Merry, sneeringly, as she 
 plumped herself down upon the couch. "This land- 
 lady! I'm supposed to be civil to her?" 
 
 "She'll soon be the first lady in the land my dear," 
 exclaimed Ena in a soothing tone. "Mr. Pinckney 
 says " 
 
 "Quite true," said Sir Anthony nodding his head, 
 "and so they said at Mr. Hamilton's dinner table." 
 
 "Well if you ask my opinion," began Lady Merry 
 again. 
 
 "But we don't my dear, we don't, I assure you!" in- 
 terrupted Sir Anthony with all due speed. 
 
 "Well, anyhow, just to see how she'd take it I told
 
 146 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 her plump and plain what was hinted at at Mr. Ham- 
 ilton's table." said Lady Merry. 
 
 "What'd she answer, my dear?" asked Merry curi- 
 ously. "You mean to say you asked her whether she 
 was going to be Mrs. Madison or Mrs. Burr?" 
 
 "Certainly, I asked her. Paying guests have some 
 perquisites surely. But she ignored the question. How- 1 
 ever, in my opinion, 'tis pounds to pickles she takes the 
 rake." 
 
 "What, the Vice President!" exclaimed Ena despair- 
 ingly. "Oh, I hope not. Mr. Pinckney tells me he's 
 such an inconstant man. But hadn't we better be mak- 
 ing ready for the ball, Angie dear?" 
 
 "There's no hurry," said Sir Anthony, " 'Tis only 
 next door." 
 
 "What time does this war dance begin?" asked 
 Lady Merry. 
 
 "It's not a war dance Angie dear, it's a ball," ex- 
 claimed Ena, "In honor of the new President, Mr. 
 Jefferson. The quadrille to start at nine o'clock." 
 
 "Quadrille ! " sniffed Lady Merry. "That's all you'll 
 dance with the yokels." 
 
 "On the contrary, Angie dear, I'm already engaged 
 for two waltzes with Mr. Pinckney." 
 
 "Mr. Pinckney! Seems to me your very social on 
 such short acquaintance with that popinjay." 
 
 "Angie why do you speak so of these people on 
 such short acquaintance. 'Tis grossly bad manners to 
 say the least. You'd better take care or they'll be 
 sending us all three to Coventry on your account." 
 
 "I have always said what I like, my dear," re- 
 marked Lady Merry with emphasis.
 
 THE LADY DAMNS HER HAIRDRESSER 147 
 
 "Why if you'd talked like this in Madrid or Peters- 
 burg they'd have sent us packing and quite right too," 
 continued Ena. 
 
 "I never said such things in Spain or Russia," an- 
 swered Lady Merry, tossing her head. "I had no 
 occasion to." 
 
 "You mean you couldn't," said Ena cattily, "You 
 didn't speak the language well enough." 
 
 "I'll speak language you never heard before," cried 
 the dowager angrily, "if that asinine Yankee keeps 
 hanging around you!" 
 
 "The Marquis D'Yrujo and Miss McKean," an- 
 nounced Jennings. 
 
 "Careful," whispered Sir Anthony to his wife, 
 "she's his fiancee. Don't let us get embroiled with 
 Spain just now my dear." 
 
 "Oh, indeed," said Lady Merry, tossing her head. 
 
 Introductions ensued and then Sally, turning to Jen- 
 nings said: "Appaise Mrs. Todd that we are here." 
 
 Lady Merry meanwhile had been making a careful 
 inspection of Miss McKean through her lorgnettes. 
 "So this is the future Marquise, eh?" Then turning 
 to D'Yrujo she asked brusquely, "How'd that happen?" 
 
 D'Yrujo laughed, gave a sweeping bow, and with 
 a gesture towards Sally exclaimed gallantly, "That's 
 my answer, Ma'am." 
 
 Lady Merry turned and surveyed Sally once more 
 from top to toe. The inspection scarcely seemed to 
 agree with her. "Really," she exclaimed, "How in- 
 teresting! I must write Peggy this very day My 
 cousin Lady Peggy Hastings, you know," she explained 
 to Sally. "You may not know it, the Marquis was head
 
 148 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 over heels to marry her. But he wanted too much. 
 He came too high." 
 
 "How interesting!" smiled Sally seating herself on 
 the couch. "Pray Madame convey my compliments to 
 the lady." 
 
 "There's no need to," snapped the dowager, "she's 
 in luck, my dear, though she does not know it. Poor 
 dear! she'd have died in this awful country." 
 
 "You have lately arrived, I believe?" put in the 
 Marquis, with a laudable desire to maintain the peace. 
 
 "By the last ship," snapped Lady Merry. 
 
 "Good crossing?" 
 
 "Only seven weeks from London worse luck! 
 When I saw what I'd come to I wished it had been 
 seven years. What on earth keeps you here, Mar- 
 quis?" 
 
 "The interests of my King," D'Yrujo said. 
 
 "Oh, indeed," said Lady Merry, as she dropped her- 
 self into a large armchair. "That's news to me. I 
 didn't think the Yankees had left him any!" 
 
 "What about Mexico?" said the Marquise with sig- 
 nificance. 
 
 "Mrs. Todd will be here directly Ma'am," said Jen- 
 nings. 
 
 "If you're looking for lodgings, Miss McKean, I 
 fear you'll be disappointed," Lady Merry remarked 
 to Sally, "the house is full, we're packed in here like 
 sheep already." 
 
 "Pray don't worry on our account, Madam," smiled 
 Sally with frigid cordiality. "The Marquis and I are 
 merely calling on Mrs. Todd."
 
 THE LAD Y DAMNS HER HAIRDRESSER 1 49 
 
 "You know her?" and Lady Merry looked much sur- 
 prised. 
 
 "She's my dearest friend," said Sally with warmth, 
 "and as for the Marquis, he fairly dotes on her. I'm 
 almost jealous when she's about." 
 
 "Well!" cried Lady Merry, tossing her head, "You 
 are mixing!" 
 
 Just at that moment in came Dolly. She was dressed 
 in a new black satin gown and her Quaker cap and 
 kerchief made her look even more bewitching than 
 usual. 
 
 "Ah, Marquis, how-d'ye-do!" she held her hand 
 out and he kissed it with considerable ardor. Then 
 Dolly kissed Sally McKean. 
 
 "Has the coiffeur returned Ma'am?" suddenly bel- 
 lowed Lady Merry. 
 
 "The servant will bring thee word, Madam." 
 
 "Fancy!" shouted the dowager at the top of her 
 voice. "After being jabbed and pulled for hours by a 
 yokel hairdresser recommended by you Ma'am, 
 though I swear he learned his trade in a stable to find 
 he's brought no powder!" 
 
 " 'Tis little used here, now-a-days, Ma'am, said 
 Dolly, as though it were a matter of very little con- 
 sequence. 
 
 "Indeed? Since when I'd like to know?" 
 
 "It went out with the English Ma'am ! Except for 
 the middle-aged," cooed Dolly, "The gentlemen com- 
 plained that it soiled their coats." 
 
 "Really!" and Lady Merry raised her lorgnettes and 
 fixed them on Dolly's rather obviously rosy cheeks. 
 "I notice they don't object to rouge!"
 
 150 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Dolly turned to Sally with a smile in her eyes, "Yes 
 and no!" she answered. "Marquis, I suppose 
 thee'll be leaving us for Washington soon?" 
 
 "And you too," said he with significance, "at least 
 so we hear." 
 
 "Too bad, isn't it, there's no lady in the President's 
 family," remarked Lady Merry, "Seems so peculiar, of 
 course I don't mean " 
 
 "Mr. Jefferson's a widower, Ma'am," explained 
 Dolly. 
 
 "And the Vice President?" enquired the dowager. 
 
 "Mr. Burr has no wife at least, not of his own. 
 He's a widower too." 
 
 "There's so many here widowers. How'd that 
 happen? Don't they ever take second wives? Of 
 course, in Mr. Burr's case, 'tis easy understood, you've 
 made him so comfortable here, and my husband too." 
 
 Ena looked furious; the others disconcerted, but 
 Dolly smiled serenely on. 
 
 "That's just what Sir Anthony said, Lady Merry, 
 'he hadn't been so contented in years.' ' 
 
 "He warned me such accommodations were scarce 
 and dreaded my coming." 
 
 "Quite true !" concurred Dolly, "so he kept saying all 
 the time, Lady Merry." 
 
 "Ah!" said the dowager. Then in a most con- 
 descending tone she exclaimed, "My good woman, 
 don't bother with my title. Since I understand they're 
 taboo here, I'll forego being Lady. Call me plain 
 Mrs." 
 
 "Just be thy own natural self, Ma'am, if it makes 
 thee feel more comfortable."
 
 THE LADY DAMNS HER HAIRDRESSER 1 5 1 
 
 "The coiffeur, Madam, with the powder, he es here," 
 said Clotilde. 
 
 "May I have a word with you, Sir Anthony?" asked 
 D'Yrujo, and the two men, chatting confidentially, 
 strolled out into the hall. 
 
 The dowager rose and headed for her bedroom. 
 
 "Oh, dear!" said Dolly with mock regret, "and just 
 as we are all getting cozy too!" 
 
 "I'm as sorry as you are," retorted the dowager, 
 "Believe me, I haven't said half that is in my mind." 
 
 When the others had gone, Ena came quickly to 
 Dolly and grasped her by both hands. "Dear Mrs. 
 Todd, please forgive Angie. She's not half as bad as 
 this at times. Just at present, I must admit, she's un- 
 bearable." 
 
 "Don't worry, my dear," laughed Dolly, "I was 
 born for both war and repartee. We can take care of 
 each other I think without sparing cither's feelings. 
 She's a new experience, thy sister. I must ask my dear 
 friend Mistress Sparkle into tea; they'd dote on each 
 other! Won't it be fun! Sally you must come and 
 watch the fur fly. We'll have it on the first nice rainy 
 day and, Ena dear, you must come too." 
 
 "Thank you," said Ena as she kissed Dolly, "I'd do 
 anything in the world for you, dear Mrs. Todd." 
 
 And she ran upstairs to assist with the hairdressing. 
 
 "Quite a handful, Lady Merry, isn't she?" laughed 
 Sally when she and Dolly were alone. 
 
 "Quite," said Dolly, letting her anger now blaze up 
 for the first time. "She can't find things pleasant 
 enough to say to me." 
 
 "Ah! yes. I notice she didn't say them, though I
 
 152 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 must say Dolly she didn't succeed in putting you out." 
 
 "Put me out!" exclaimed Dolly, "I'd like to see her. 
 She'd go out herself first. I'd turn her out now only I 
 owe for this frock." 
 
 " 'Tis certainly smartish," said Sally, as she carefully 
 inspected the gown, "but why all this finery? You're 
 not going to the ball, to-night?" 
 
 "No, but surely one can dress for one's own pleasure ! 
 Besides," she added with a smile which might have 
 meant anything. "Mr. Madison will be calling on his 
 way to the dance, 'bout something particular." 
 
 "Oh, yes, of course," enjoined Sally, quite ignoring 
 the smile. "He's sure to be at the dance to-night. His 
 old flame, Kitty Floyd, is to be at the party." 
 
 "O o oh! So that's the something particular," 
 exclaimed Dolly in surprise. "But what of her par- 
 son, the chap who played on the forte-pianer?" 
 
 "Oh, Heavens! she jilted him long ago." 
 
 "Laws, 'tis a habit with her!" exclaimed Dolly. "If 
 she keeps on at this rate no man will be safe on Long 
 Island. D'ye suppose she's come for another look at 
 Mr. Madison?" 
 
 "You never can tell," answered Sally, sagely, "as a 
 Cabinet Minister, she'll probably find him better look- 
 ing." 
 
 "Yes," said Dolly dubiously, "and while she's at 
 hand to console him, I suppose he thinks to hurry me to 
 an answer." 
 
 "Tell me," asked Sally waxing confidential, "tell 
 me, will you marry him?" 
 
 "I've half a mind to." 
 
 "Only half, where's the other half?"
 
 THE LADY DAMNS HER HAIRDRESSER 153 
 
 "Second floor front," said Dolly. 
 
 "But, good Heavens, Dolly," cried Sally in conster- 
 nation, "you don't mean to tell me that you're thinking 
 of marrying Mr. Burr?" 
 
 Dolly leaned back in the arm chair before answering 
 her. Her eyes were fixed pensively upon the fire. 
 "One thinks a lot of things, Sally, when the day's 
 long!" 
 
 "Why, Dolly at that rate 'twould be sheer madness, 
 my dear. Why they say that half the women he 
 meets " 
 
 "Please, Sally! Don't tell a woman she mustn't 
 love a man because other women love him. Compe- 
 tition is the life of trade my dear. But remember this," 
 she added seriously. "Whatever I think of Mr. Burr 
 I'll take precious good care he does'nt know it. Are 
 you very much in love, Sally?" 
 
 "Why, yes, I suppose so," answered the girl 
 rather dubiously. "At least that is to say eh I ad- 
 mire the Marquis immensely; I respect him; I like 
 him, very much. He's nice looking, his manners are 
 charming " 
 
 " That's the man for you to marry Sally ! He'll make 
 you comfortable. Do you know what love really is, 
 dear?" 
 
 "Why, yes, I guess so," said Sally. 
 
 "No you don't, lucky for thee ! Just keep on 'guess- 
 ing.' When you really do know you'll wish you didn't." 
 
 D'Yrujo and Sir Anthony entered the room. Lady 
 Merry and Ena, cloaked and veiled, came down 
 the stairs. All the members of the party who were 
 going to the ball began to draw on gloves.
 
 154 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Lady Merry, if you'll allow me," said Dolly with 
 her most bewitching smile, "Your gown is gorgeous!" 
 
 "D'ye hear that, Ena? I said 'twas good enough. 
 Haven't had it on my back since my thirtieth birthday." 
 
 "Gracious!" said Dolly, "how well it's worn!"
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 DOLLY TURNS TO COLONEL BURR FOR GOOD ADVICE 
 
 AND CLOTILDE, HER MAID, LETS A MOST 
 
 IMPORTANT CAT OUT OF THE BAG 
 
 O masters, lords and rulers in all lands, 
 How will the future reckon with this man? 
 How answer his brute question in that hour 
 When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the world? 
 How will it be with kingdoms and with kings 
 With those who shaped him to the thing he is 
 When this dumb Terror shall reply to God, 
 After the silence of the centuries? 
 
 EDWIN MARKHAM "The Man with the Hoe." 
 
 I am but mad north-northwest: when the wind is southerly, I 
 know a hawk from a handsaw. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "Hamlet." 
 
 AS SOON as the guests had departed for the ball, 
 Dolly threw herself in the arm chair before 
 the fire and fell into a revery. But it did not 
 last long. Presently she was startled to hear the sound 
 of a banjo; someone was playing the opening strains of 
 "Oh, Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young 
 Charms" someone who seemed to be in the room 
 with her. Dolly peered around the corner of the high- 
 back chair and saw, to her amazement, Burr in evening 
 dress standing by the spinnet plunking on the banjo. 
 "Well?" laughed Burr, as he caught her eye. 
 
 155
 
 156 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Well?" echoed Dolly and then added: "Laws! how 
 you startled me." 
 
 "Tell me," said Burr. 
 
 "Tell thee what?" said Dolly. 
 
 "Has Jim Madison asked you?" 
 
 "What makes thee think so?" asked Dolly sparring 
 for time. 
 
 For answer, Burr held up the banjo. 
 
 "Nonsense," said Dolly. 
 
 "I dote on the banjo," exclaimed Burr and promptly 
 began to play again. 
 
 "Nonsense," said Dolly. " 'Twas left here by a 
 former lodger; I fetched it from the attic to help make 
 conversation if Mr. Madison should chance to call. 
 But I never knew that thee could " 
 
 "Heaven forbid that I couldn't do anything that Jim 
 Madison does !" cried Burr. He replaced the banjo on 
 the spinnet and then came towards her. "Own up, 
 Dolly. Did he make love?" 
 
 "Umph yes and no. " 
 
 "That's like him. You have answered?" 
 
 "No " 
 
 "Ah!" said Burr with great relief. 
 
 "And yes," added Dolly. 
 
 "That's like you born diplomat!" 
 
 "Laws," protested Dolly, "should I jump down a 
 man's throat the moment he opens his mouth to speak 
 of marriage?" 
 
 "No, of course not," said Burr in an encouraging 
 tone. 
 
 "I told him I needed time " 
 
 "Quite right," interjected Burr.
 
 DOLLY TURNS TO COLONEL BURR 157 
 
 "To think it over " 
 
 "By all means, he must be reasonable." 
 
 "So he was, most reasonable," cried Dolly, "he said 
 he'd wait a year for me or for ever-- " 
 
 "I never knew him to be so impulsive," said Burr 
 with mock surprise. 
 
 "I told him he might call again when Congress ad- 
 journs." 
 
 "I've never known you so deliberate." 
 
 "Why," said Dolly in alarm, "does it threaten a 
 long session?" 
 
 "Until to-morrow." 
 
 "Laws! to " 
 
 "To-morrow they adjourn to reassemble in Wash- 
 ington for the inauguration. Didn't he tell you that?" 
 
 "Well, yes in a way. That is he a mentioned 
 Washington but " 
 
 "Omitted the Deceived you, eh? What's hap- 
 pened the man? He's become human and on his first 
 meeting with you how shocking!" And Burr helped 
 himself to a pinch of snuff. 
 
 "Oh, dear no. You're wrong there," protested 
 Dolly, "we've met before." 
 
 "Then he deceived me as well as you," said Burr. 
 
 " 'Twas only by chance, quite informal. My heel 
 slipped on the icy pavement and Mr. Madison set me 
 on my feet." 
 
 "And you promptly took him off his, eh? Oh, 
 Woman ! Woman ! " 
 
 "Don't worry," and Dolly nodded reassuringly, "he 
 can take care of himself." 
 
 "He'll have to," said Burr seriously, "And if he
 
 158 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 doesn't make you marry him, I'll make you marry me." 
 
 Dolly leaned back in the chair and challenged the 
 man with her eyes. "Oh! so you threaten me?" 
 
 "Threaten? Dear me, no! Preposterous!" cried 
 Burr. "I've paid my debt of gratitude to Madison. 
 I've brought him here, I've sung his praises and now 
 you must choose between us." 
 
 Dolly rose to her feet. 
 
 "You are asking me to marry you?" she asked with 
 deliberation. 
 
 " 'Tisn't the first time," said Burr airily. 
 
 Through the windows the sound of the sleigh bells 
 could be heard and, very faintly, the strains of the tav- 
 ern's orchestra playing a waltz in the ball-room next 
 door. 
 
 Dolly looked in the mirror before she replied. 
 
 "No, that's true, but I've never taken thee serious." 
 
 "You do now," said Burr with emphasis. "You 
 looked in the mirror. That convicts you. 'Tis the first 
 thing a woman does after a proposal." 
 
 Dolly threw her head back and laughed aloud. "A 
 proposal from you? Oh, dear dear! I'm disap- 
 pointed in thee, Ronnie Burr, so disappointed!" 
 
 "Disappointed? Why?" 
 
 "I've always counted thee friend, a good friend," 
 said Dolly. Then dropping into her Irish brogue she 
 added, "and now you ask me to marry you. Go long 
 with you, Ronnie Burr!" 
 
 She waved her hand as though she would dismiss 
 him without further words but Burr was quick to take 
 possesion of it. He held it tight in both of his.
 
 159 
 
 "Not 'till you answer. Which is it to be Dolly? 
 Madison or me?" 
 
 There was a pause; Dolly drew away from him, 
 but he still held her hand tightly. "Ask me to-mor- 
 
 row." 
 
 "To-morrow may be Jemmy's" cried Burr. "To- 
 night is mine." 
 
 "Very well, then." She turned and faced him. 
 "Since you will have it. Sit down. Now advise me." 
 
 "Advise?" asked Burr, bewildered. 
 
 "As a friend now, how would thee advise as my 
 best friend." 
 
 "Oh, hang it! that isn't fair Dolly," protested Burr, 
 "You put me on my honor." 
 
 "It has never failed me, Ronnie," she said with a 
 smile. "Come now, between Mr. Burr and Mr. Mad- 
 ison, whom had I better take?" 
 
 Burr seemed to be weighing the matter for the mo- 
 ment; then he said rather doubtfully. "Both have their 
 points." 
 
 " 'Tis that that troubles me!" Dolly replied. 
 
 "You've known Burr longer," said Burr. 
 
 "Yes, but I know Madison better. Burr's a man of 
 mystery. No one really knows him no one ever will 
 least of all his wife." 
 
 "Sounds very pleasing, Dolly," said Burr coaxingly. 
 " 'Vice President and Mrs. Burr.' " 
 
 " 'Secretary of State and Mrs. Madison/ " echoed 
 Dolly laughingly while she mimicked Burr's exact tone. 
 
 "Ah! but pardon me," he said quickly. "It won't 
 be said that fashion."
 
 160 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "No, why not?" demanded Dolly with a touch of 
 indignation. 
 
 Burr took another pinch of snuff and smiled. 
 
 " 'Twill be said t'other way about, my dear. 'Mrs. 
 Madison and the Secretary.' ' 
 
 "Oh! so that's what you call singing his praises?" 
 
 "Yes," nodded Burr. 
 
 "Same tune as 'Buck up Jemmy,' as you said when 
 you slapped him on the back the other day?" 
 
 "Yes to you. You're clever, Dolly, ambitious." 
 
 Dolly sat down again and threw out her hands in a 
 gesture as though to protest. 
 
 "I know you best of them all," cried Burr. "The 
 most adorable, but the most ambitious woman in these 
 sixteen states. 
 
 "Then, of the honors that you name," said Dolly 
 with a view of keeping him from his point. "Which 
 title would you advise me to accept?" 
 
 "There's a better one, Dolly," parried Burr. He 
 was leaning over the chair. 
 
 "A better," echoed Dolly, "Laws ! tell me it. Surely 
 not 'President and Mrs. Jef ' " 
 
 "No, "laughed Burr. "Better than that even!" Then 
 he leaned towards her and whispered. "Empress of 
 Mexico!" 
 
 "Laws!" laughed Dolly, springing to her feet again, 
 "Still buzzing that bee in your bonnet. Even since I've 
 known you, Ronnie your head has run on Mexico." 
 
 "More than ever!" corroborated Burr. 
 
 "What, now now that you're Vice President?" 
 
 "Because of that," said Burr. 
 
 He led her to the couch and they both sat down.
 
 DOLLY TURNS TO COLONEL BURR 161 
 
 "The thought of four years a possible eight of 
 conspicuous insignificance appals me and against that 
 desert of ennui an empire to be had for the taking 
 an empire did I say? Why, Dolly, you and I we'd 
 make it Paradise." 
 
 "Go on like this," laughed Dolly, "and I'll be mar- 
 rying you just to keep you out of mischief and Mex- 
 ico." 
 
 "Patience, Ma'am," he said more seriously. "Wait." 
 
 "And the prize you've just let go? The Presidential 
 prize for eight years at most?" 
 
 "Eight years " repeated Burr ruthfully. "Why, 
 Dolly I shall be fifty! For a man of that age there 
 are no prizes only consolations." 
 
 "Mr. Madison may feel the same," said Dolly, mis- 
 chievously, "Tho' I believe he is a bit younger." 
 
 "Humph!" said Burr. "And I brought him here! 
 What a joke on me!" 
 
 "Joke?" asked Dolly. 
 
 "Yes," said Burr turning his foot, "If the tilt of 
 your French heel should change my destiny." 
 
 "Why not," asked Dolly quickly tilting her nose. 
 " 'Twas the tilt of Cleopatra's nose changed Caesar's." 
 
 "But you married to Madison with his 'yes and 
 no!' Oh, it's too absurd, preposterous!" 
 
 "He'll say yes or no if I marry him, rest assured," 
 she declared, "and between ourselves, Ronnie don't 
 say I told thee ! But he's worth twenty of thee." 
 
 "Quite true," nodded Burr. "I believe you. But 
 not for you. I'm your man, Dolly!" 
 
 He came close to her and looked down with grim
 
 162 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 determination in his face though his lips smiled, "And 
 you know it." 
 
 She rose and pushed him gently away from her. 
 
 "I want none of thee," she cried, "I've always told 
 thee so, Ronnie Burr." 
 
 "I never took you serious," said Burr. 
 
 "The conceit of the man!" cried Dolly as though 
 talking to herself. " 'My man' indeed ! the imperti- 
 nence!" 
 
 Burr was close behind her now, speaking over her 
 shoulder with his whole heart in his eyes. 
 
 "Yes Dolly, your man. He who knows you best of 
 all ; understands you to the full ; who sees beneath that 
 prim Quaker kerchief a heart in rhythm with his own; 
 a spirit gay and daring which would droop like a caged 
 bird with prosy, timid Jemmy." 
 
 "Timid!" cried Dolly. "I'd question that of any 
 man who plays the banjo. But listen, Ronnie, I am 
 
 serious now." 
 
 She turned and faced him. Burr took a half step 
 backward. 
 
 "With him I should have peace, calm, the assurance 
 of a love constant and absolute. With you unceasing 
 doubt and shame of rivalry, the torture of jeal- 
 ousy " 
 
 "Never," cried Burr earnestly. "Never, I can swear 
 to that!" 
 
 "Shure you can," said Dolly with a touch of her 
 brogue, "with all the practice you've had! And the 
 others you swore it to; they believed you, didn't they?" 
 
 "I hope so."
 
 DOLLY TURNS TO COLONEL BURR 163 
 
 "And now you expect a wise widow like me, to 
 be equally foolish?" 
 
 "No," cried Burr, "There's the irony! The one 
 woman with whom I really mean it, won't believe me." 
 
 "Faith," she smiled, and her voice took on a ten- 
 derer tone, "you're always so honest with me, Ronnie, 
 'tis a marvel to myself that I ever disbelieve you." 
 
 "Beg pardon, Madam," said Clotilde, in the door- 
 way, "but someone brings a letter for Monsieur Burr." 
 
 The band at the tavern, at that moment, was play- 
 ing 'Robin Adair.' Dolly never heard that song in the 
 after years without associating it with this one hour 
 and man. 
 
 "Take it to my room," said Burr. 
 
 "Pardon me, Monsieur, but ze man he say, I must 
 give it right into your very hands." 
 
 Burr took the letter and Dolly, walking to the spin- 
 net, sat down and began to strum "Robin Adair" in 
 time with the band next door. 
 
 "May I?" said Burr and motioned to the letter. 
 
 "Why, of course," said Dolly. 
 
 From the spinnet, Dolly watched him and noted in- 
 stantly, as he read, the serious expression which settled 
 on his face. Once he looked up and made a gesture in 
 her direction as though he were about to show her the 
 letter, then as quickly, he changed his mind. He stood 
 wrapped in thought for several moments, finally Clo- 
 tilde, who was waiting said: 
 
 "Monsieur, the messenger waits." 
 
 "There is no answer," said Burr. 
 
 Clotilde started to go and Burr called after her, 
 "Remember say distinctly No answer."
 
 1 64 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Again he fell into a brown study, seeming to forget 
 for the moment that Dolly was there. It was she at 
 last who broke the silence. 
 
 "She'll be heartbroken, poor thing!" said Dolly 
 while her fingers wandered lazily up and down the 
 keys. " 'Tis the crudest of answers 'there's no an- 
 swer' ! Will she be at the dance?" 
 
 "Who?" asked Burr, suddenly. 
 
 Dolly jumped to her feet, closed the spinnet with 
 a bang, and then pounded in rage upon the cover. 
 
 "Who?" echoed Dolly, furious now. "My eye and 
 Betty Martin ! Who d'ye think?" 
 
 She strove to leave the room but Burr intercepted 
 her. He held the envelope up to her face. 
 
 "Look, Dolly, don't be foolish! Why should you 
 be jealous? Is that a lady's script?" 
 
 "Huh! And it's little I'd care whether she's lady 
 or " 
 
 Burr was in smiles again. "I wonder, sometimes," 
 he said sentimentally, "if you really care as little as 
 you pretend?" 
 
 "Sometimes, I wonder too," said Dolly. 
 
 He took her hands again. 
 
 "Then put away all question," he said earnestly. 
 "I'll justify your faith. I love you, I adore you, I'd 
 stake my life for you. I want you to believe that, to- 
 night Dolly dear; as you never have before." 
 
 "Why," snapped Dolly, "just because Madison's 
 calling?" 
 
 Burr shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "Perhaps," he said. 
 
 "Ah, you fear he might persuade me, eh?"
 
 DOLLY TURNS TO COLONEL BURR 165 
 
 "No, Dolly; what I fear is that you might persuade 
 yourself. Never till this moment did I realize what 
 a woman's love could mean to me." 
 
 "You've turned forty, Ronnie. Love comes hard at 
 that age," she laughed. "Go 'long to the dance! She'll 
 be waiting for thee." 
 
 Burr sighed and turned towards the door. Seeing 
 that she had hurt him, Dolly turned quickly and said 
 laughingly, "Save one for me!" 
 
 "All everyone if you like," he said as he turned 
 towards her. 
 
 "No, just one. The first waltz, so she can't have 
 it." 
 
 "Will you wait up, dear, 'till I return?" 
 
 "Not likely," said Dolly. "I gave up that habit 
 long ago." 
 
 "I shan't be long," he said almost pleadingly, "and 
 there's something, something I may want to tell you." 
 
 While he was speaking Clotilde had re-entered the 
 room. She seemed agitated and her hands were tremb- 
 ling but Dolly, whose back was towards her, did not 
 notice either her presence or her distress. 
 
 "What is it you may want to tell me?" she asked. 
 
 Burr started to speak, hesitated, then turned towards 
 Dolly and abruptly said, "Good night." 
 
 Dolly, from the window-seat, watched him pass 
 down the street on his way to the ball, but in a mo- 
 ment Clotilde was beside her. 
 
 "Madam!" she cried excitedly. 
 
 "Yes? What?" 
 
 "That letter was from "
 
 i66 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "How dare you, girl," said Dolly sternly, "how often 
 have I told you " 
 
 "Oui, Oui, but this time I must tell you ! They have 
 quarreled, they have quarreled!" 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 "Monsieur Burr and Monsieur Hamilton." 
 
 "Oh, laws!" said Dolly lightly, "They always do." 
 
 "But not like this, Madam, nevare before this way. 
 Marie she say " 
 
 "Haven't I forbidden thee ever to repeat Marie's 
 chatter?" 
 
 "Oui, Madam, but this time," Clotilde was wring- 
 ing her hands now. 
 
 Dolly dismissed her with a gesture, but before the 
 girl had reached the door her mistress's curiosity had 
 won the day. 
 
 "What did she say?" asked Dolly more gently. 
 "What is all this nonsense Marie's been telling thee?" 
 
 "They are to fight, Madam." 
 
 "Fight ! You mean a duel ?" cried Dolly thoroughly 
 aroused now. 
 
 "Oui, Madam," said Clotilde in a half whisper, 
 "and 'tis about a lady." 
 
 "Where did you learn all this?" 
 
 "Marie, she hear it at Madam Jumel's." 
 
 "Have you spoken to anyone?' 
 
 Clotilde burst out crying. 
 
 "Oh, no, Madam, not to one living soul except " 
 
 "Answer me. Go on." 
 
 "Except, Alixe, Mr. Burr's young man. I only ask 
 him " 
 
 "And he told you it was all nonsense, of course."
 
 DOLLY TURNS TO COLONEL BURR 167 
 
 "Oh, oui, Madam, oui, Madam!" 
 
 "Certainly. A lot of kitchen gossip !" 
 
 "But all the zame, Madam, though he say it's a lie 
 he slapped my face and then he say to me, he say, 'If 
 I tell Madam one word, he's going to cut my tongue 
 out.' " 
 
 "Ah, he said that did he?" 
 
 "Oui, Madam, but of coursee; I tell you queek." 
 
 Jennings appeared at the door. 
 
 "Mr. Madison," he announced. 
 
 "Laws!" cried Dolly, "I can't see him now. Tell 
 him I'm not at home. Wait!" as Jennings was start- 
 ing. "Yes, I am. Show him in." 
 
 Then turning quickly to Clotilde, Dolly gave her 
 orders. 
 
 "Go next door, at once. Have Mr. Burr called from 
 the ball-room. Tell him Mrs. Todd will wait up until 
 he returns."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN AND MRS. TODD 
 NO LONGER TAKES BOARDERS 
 
 Her feet beneath her petticoat, 
 Like little mice, stole in and out, 
 
 As if they feared the light: 
 But oh! she dances such a way! 
 No sun upon an Easter day 
 
 Is half so fine a sight. 
 SIR JOHN SUCKLING "Ballad upon a Wedding." 
 
 She is beautiful and therefore to be wooed; 
 She is a woman and therefore to be won. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "Henry VI." 
 
 This is my lady! She will never know 
 
 How my heart breaks because my heart is hers; 
 
 I am the nightingale, she was the rose ! 
 
 Oh give me leave to sing to her, fair sirs ! 
 
 RICHARD LE GALLIENNE "Monody." 
 
 OOD evening," said Dolly as Madison ad- 
 vanced, all smiles and bows to greet her. 
 "I thought thee wasn't to call 'till Con- 
 gress had adjourned." 
 
 "I'm not to blame, Ma,am. 'Tis not my fault I do 
 assure you. I come on behalf of Mr. Jefferson to 
 urge you to the dance." 
 
 "He knows I'm still in mourning." 
 "Oh, too bad! Awkward, isn't it?" said Madison 
 sympathetically. 
 
 168
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN 169 
 
 "Yes, indeed," sighed Dolly, "Oh, I assure you be- 
 ing a widow isn't all cakes and ale!" 
 
 "There now! That's the very mood we hoped to 
 find you in," said Madison exultantly. 
 
 "What do you mean? A lonely mood?" asked 
 Dolly. 
 
 "Yes and no. Not exactly a lonely mood at 
 that. Rebellious, is what Mr. Jefferson called it. So 
 that perhaps you would welcome a little diversion and 
 give him chance to add his persuasion to mine. You 
 may not have heard of it, Ma'am, but I assure you 
 'tis true, none the less, Mr. Jefferson is most anxious 
 that his administration should be graced by a very 
 clever serious woman." 
 
 "Meaning me, of course?" laughed Dolly. "Ah, 
 but I protest! I'm not a serious woman. Don't be 
 deceived by my Quaker cap, Sir. If I didn't keep it tied 
 very tight it wouldn't set straight. 'Tis only fair to 
 warn thee. I wouldn't deceive a man like thee for 
 worlds. Thee knows me so little, Sir scarcely three 
 days, remember!" 
 
 "Except by reputation," declared Madison. 
 
 "Drat reputation!" exclaimed Dolly, snapping her 
 fingers. "What's the good of it except to get you into 
 trouble and give your friends something to talk about. 
 Besides reputation is rarely, if ever, true. Now you've 
 a reputation for being timid, Sir and yet here you are 
 ready, nay eager, to marry a woman you might never 
 have known if her foot hadn't slipped! As for my- 
 self, I wouldn't marry a saint on his reputation." 
 
 "That's a comfort, Ma'am, 'cause I couldn't live up 
 to mine."
 
 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Heaven forbid you try!" exclaimed Dolly, " 'twould 
 keep me fretting over my own imperfections. But tell 
 me, Sir, why this great concern of Mr. Jefferson in my 
 answer to you?" 
 
 "To be candid, Ma'am, Mr. Jefferson fears that a 
 Cabinet made up of widowers and bachelors might 
 prove unpopular. I am the youngest among them, you 
 see, and Mr. Jefferson has as much as intimated that 
 if I can't find a wife, I had better decline the state 
 portfolio." 
 
 "Well, I'd given no thought to marrying a portfolio 
 of any quality. But, Sir, if a wife is all that is wanting 
 to complete Mr. Jefferson's Cabinet," she rose to her 
 feet and smiled at him, "go ask Miss Floyd." 
 
 Madison, so disconcerted he could scarcely gasp, 
 merely blinked at her as she continued: 
 
 "She's to be at the dance to-night, I hear, and now 
 that she's heard more than enough of the forte-planner, 
 she may give ear to the banjo. I wish thee luck, Sir." 
 
 Madison recovered himself. His face was one 
 broad smile. 
 
 "Dare I hope or believe, Ma'am," he asked her 
 eagerly, "that you're just a wee little bit 'er " 
 
 "Jealous?' 5 prompted Dolly, "me? Oh, no, Sir! not 
 in the least! But if thee thinks thee can court me for 
 campaign purposes as a part of Mr. Jefferson's polit- 
 ical policy or a piece of furniture for the State Depart- 
 ment " 
 
 "But, my dear lady!" protested Madison. 
 
 "Go find Miss Floyd, Sir!" cried Dolly. "She's en- 
 titled to another chance anyway. She's come all the 
 way from Long Island for no other purpose and you
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN 171 
 
 must own, Sir, that I, at best, was no better than a sec- 
 ond choice. You'll see her at her best to-night soft 
 lights and music; dancing and flashing eyes and 
 who knows? once thee has her in thy arms again!" 
 
 As she spoke Dolly walked to the spinnet and sitting 
 down began to play. 
 
 "Never, Ma'am!" protested Madison, profoundly 
 agitated. 
 
 "But you will to-night in the waltz; and to that 
 music!" 
 
 She rose from the spinnet and threw open the big 
 bow window. The chill night air blew in, bellow- 
 ing out the curtains and clinking merrily the crys- 
 tals on the chandeliers. With it came the sound of the 
 music. They were playing a waltz, soft and alluring. 
 
 "And to that music," Dolly went on, "listen to it! 
 Just come from France, the most ravishing tune this 
 season. I dare swear they're dancing to it in all the 
 capitols of Europe now." 
 
 "Alas!" cried Madison, "But I fear me, my poor 
 clumsy heels aren't up to that." 
 
 "Never fear! the tune will carry you along, once 
 you get it well in mind. Here, try it on the banjo. That 
 will help." 
 
 He took the instrument from her and began to 
 twang on it. Dolly sat down at the spinnet again. 
 
 "Give me D please," said Madison tuning up. 
 
 "Dost thee play by note or ear?" asked Dolly. 
 
 "Yes and no." 
 
 "D D you said, Sir?" asked Dolly impatiently, 
 but as a matter of fact the beginning of her question 
 had sounded far more like an oath.
 
 172 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "If you please," said Madison seating himself, and 
 strumming away for dear life. 
 
 "As for the dance, itself, it's very simple, Sir." She 
 rose from the spinnet and with one hand lifted her 
 skirt just high enough to afford a temporary glimpse 
 of a pair of fetching black silk stockings. 
 
 "Something between a highland fling and a pigeon 
 wing. Goes like this you see one two three one 
 two three ! Once you're in the swing of it your 
 heels fairly fly!" 
 
 Madison watched her swirl about the room with open 
 admiration; his crossed leg kept time to the rhythm of 
 the waltz. 
 
 "One arm about thy partner, so " cried Dolly, 
 continuing to illustrate. " 'Tis sometimes done with 
 both; and if the floor be slippery take care thee 
 holds her tight!" 
 
 "Let me try it, Ma'am," cried Madison, springing 
 to his feet. "I'm quite sure I could learn with you for 
 teacher. 
 
 "By all means!" cried Dolly and she allowed him to 
 draw her towards him. Then Madison started to put 
 his arm about her; but she quickly drew away. 
 
 "No need of that, Sir. I'm only your instructor; I'm 
 not Miss Floyd." 
 
 "Yes, I know, but 'hold her tight' you said." 
 
 "// the floor be slippery, that's what I said," ex- 
 claimed Dolly. "Come on now! One two three 
 One two three ! " 
 
 There was a warning cough from up stairs some- 
 where and Colonel Burr appeared on the upper land- 
 ing. He had evidently returned from the ball and en-
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN 173 
 
 tered the house by way of the servants' entrance, for 
 he was now dressed in riding clothes. A cloak was 
 slung across one arm and in his hand he carried a riding 
 whip. "Beg pardon for interrupting you," exclaimed 
 Burr over the banister, "but " 
 
 Both Madison and Dolly stopped dancing suddenly. 
 It would be hard to say which was the more em- 
 barrassed. 
 
 "Thee must have left the ball very early," exclaimed 
 Dolly as she pulled herself together. 
 
 "Yes," smiled Burr. "Evidently just in time!" 
 
 "Mrs. Todd was just showing me " Madison 
 
 began to explain. 
 
 "Yes," started Burr still smiling, "Your first steps 
 in diplomacy though Mr. Jefferson tells me you may 
 decline the State portfolio ! 
 
 "Yes and no," said Madison. 
 
 "Because your appointment is opposed?" questioned 
 Burr. 
 
 Madison, with a look, tried to make Burr change the 
 subject; but Dolly caught the glance of the eye. 
 
 "Opposed!" she exclaimed, "by whom, pray?" 
 
 "Mr. Hamilton, chiefly," replied Madison, much 
 averse to discussing the subject. 
 
 "What," said Dolly suspicious in a moment. "When 
 did this happen? The day Colonel Burr brought you 
 here?" 
 
 "My few words in Congress on Burr's behalf en- 
 raged Hamilton it seems," continued Madison. "He 
 has threatened to harrass the Administration if I'm 
 made State Secretary." 
 
 "Ah!" exclaimed Dolly, "and that is why you de-
 
 174 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 clined the post, not because you can't find a lady for 
 the State Department. You haven't been frank with 
 me Mr. Madison." 
 
 "I'm sure, Ma'am, if you understood," protested 
 Madison. 
 
 "I quite understand," responded Dolly. 
 
 "My acceptance," continued Madison, "as Mr. Burr 
 well knows might embarrass others." 
 
 "My dear Madison give yourself no uneasiness on 
 that score," said Burr with meaning. "Mr. Hamilton, 
 I promise you will give us no trouble." 
 
 "If I felt sure of that I might reconsider," wav- 
 ered Madison. 
 
 "Reconsider?" echoed Dolly contemptuously. 
 "Nothing of the sort, Sir. Tell him straight you'll 
 take the post." 
 
 "So I will, "answered Madison with firmness. 
 Then, faltering as ever, he murmured weakly, "to- 
 morrow." 
 
 "Not to-morrow, Sir; to-night," said Dolly decis- 
 ively. 
 
 "At the ball?" asked Madison. 
 
 "The moment you see him and no matter where 
 and before you waltz with Miss Floyd." 
 
 "Yes and no," repeated Madison as though at a 
 loss for anything better to say. 
 
 This last remark was too much for Dolly's sense 
 of humor. She burst out laughing. 
 
 "Mr. Madison," she remarked, "life's done so much 
 for thee! Thy ancestry gave thee a fine head, thy 
 college gave thee learning, the nation's given thee 
 honors, Mr. Jefferson offers thee this post of power.
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN 175 
 
 Now this thee should do for thyself. For Heaven's 
 sake buck up man and learn to say yes or no!" 
 
 "On some points one can't always make sure," said 
 Madison ponderingly. 
 
 "Then make a guess; and trust to luck," cried 
 Dolly. " 'Tis an even chance always 'twixt yes and 
 no. Now I'm going to make a bargain with thee Mr. 
 Madison. When thee makes up thy mind to leave off 
 one or t'other, I'll " 
 
 Madison looked at her expectantly; Burr looked 
 quite prepared to hear the worst. 
 
 "Leave off rouge," concluded Dolly. 
 
 "Agreed!" cried Madison and by way of sealing the 
 bond he kissed her hand. 
 
 "Good," cried Dolly, "now away with thee man to 
 the ball and do thy damndest for Miss Floyd!" 
 Dolly, as a courteous hostess walked with Madison as 
 far as the front door leaving Burr to himself in the 
 drawing room. 
 
 "What a woman can make of a man!" he exclaimed. 
 Throwing his cloak and riding-whip on the table, Burr 
 strolled across to the spinnet. He sat down and 
 began to strum. Evidently Madison and Dolly, on 
 their way to the door, had found fresh matters to dis- 
 cuss for Dolly was gone some little time. Even when 
 the door slammed to she did not return immediately. 
 But that fact did not seem in the least to disturb Colo- 
 nel Burr. Knowing the sex as well as he did there 
 was a suspicion in his mind that Dolly was listening to 
 him play the spinnet and thoroughly amazed that he 
 possessed an accomplishment of which she had not 
 known before. So to double her amazement Colonel
 
 176 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Burr began to sing. He had a rather high but ex- 
 tremely resonant baritone voice and these were the 
 lines he sang : 
 
 "There was a time, I need not name, 
 
 Since it will ne'er forgotten be, 
 When all our feelings were the same 
 
 As still my soul hath been to thee. 
 And from that hour, when first thy tongue 
 
 Confess'd a love which equall'd mine, 
 Tho' many a grief my heart hath wrung, 
 
 Unknown, and thus unfelt by thine. 
 
 As he finished the verse, Burr glanced significantly 
 towards the hallway but Dolly gave no sign of return- 
 ing. Still as the door stood open he knew quite well 
 she must have heard him. So, with a little smile to 
 himself, he began to sing again, a little louder now: 
 
 "None, none have sunk so deep as this 
 
 To think how all thy love hath flown : 
 Transient as every faithless kiss 
 
 But transient in thy breast alone. 
 And yet my heart some solace knew ; 
 
 When late I heard thy lips declare, 
 In accents once imagined true, 
 
 Remembrance of the days that were." 
 
 Dolly entered presently with an air of rather obvious 
 disconcern. 
 
 "What a pretty song, Ronnie. Since when did thee 
 turn tenor? Never heard thee sing before and I 
 didn't know thee played the spinnet. Laws ! You'll be 
 strumming the forte-planner next, like Miss Floyd's 
 jilted parson. But 'tis a pretty song, Ronnie. Where 
 did you pick it up?" 
 
 "Oh, but there's another verse," smiled Burr as he 
 rose from the spinnet, "a much prettier one too. To
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN. 177 
 
 my mind it scans better. Shall I sing it to you?" He 
 picked up the banjo and began to strum an accompani- 
 ment. This time as he sang, he looked Dolly full in 
 the eye while his face wore a melancholy smile. 
 
 "Yes, My adored, but most unkind, 
 
 Though thou wilt never love again, 
 To me 'tis doubly sweet to find 
 
 Remembrance of that love remain. 
 Yes ! 'Tis a glorious thought to me 
 
 Nor longer shall my soul repine, 
 What ere thou art, or ere shalt be, 
 
 Thou hast been dearly, solely mine." 
 
 As he sang the last few lines, Dolly turned away 
 from him and walked to the fireplace. As he finished 
 and laid the banjo down, she stood with her arm lean- 
 ing on the mantle-piece with her face hidden from him. 
 Burr surmised, however, that the little ballad and his 
 rendering of it had reduced her to tears. 
 
 "Pretty little song, isn't it?" said he when he saw 
 that she had no intention of referring to it further. 
 
 "Yes, quite. Is it extemporary? Don't tell me, 
 Ronnie, you've turned poet too ! Musician composer 
 singer" and Dolly began to reckon off upon her 
 fingers "banjoist poet. Laws! What a list of ac- 
 complishments ! You've been hiding your lights under 
 a bushel, Ronnie; and there's enough of 'em to almost 
 make a torch procession! I'd no idea you were so 
 clever!" 
 
 "Yes, but my small accomplishments like my small 
 vices, Dolly, I always strive to keep hidden from my 
 friends. But on one point you are wrong. I'm no poet. 
 I didn't write that song tho' I thoroughly agree with its 
 sentiments. Pretty little trifle isn't it?"
 
 178 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Yes, charming, but rather hard on the lady, don't 
 you think?" said Dolly. "Who taught it thee? To 
 whom did thee first sing it Madam Jumel?" 
 
 "Oh, dear no!" laughed Burr, "why Betty'd boxed 
 my ears if I had ! But I heard it at her house the other 
 night for the first time. Young Tom Moore sang it, 
 tho' it's not his either. 'Twas written by some young 
 Lord Tom-noddy-or-something Byron, I think his 
 name is. Moore, who's poetical cock-of-the-roost him- 
 self was magnanimous enough to declare he's the com- 
 ing man. He taught me another one of Byron's too, 
 called, 'When We Two Parted.' I'll sing it to you 
 some day, Dolly. But not to-night, 'tis too sad." 
 
 "And so you learned this song at Madam Jumel's 
 the other night especially for my benefit, eh? 'Twas a 
 pretty attention, Ronnie, and it's a prety song. But I 
 consider it damned impertinent of you to sing it to me, 
 all the same! 'Tis almost as bad as your 'my man.' 
 You're far too sure of yourself, Mr. Burr!" 
 
 Burr shrugged his shoulders and sighed. 
 
 "See what a woman can make of a man!" he ex- 
 claimed half apologetically. 
 
 "Yes," laughed Dolly, now in good humor again. 
 "Plenty tried their hands on you and a nice cup of 
 tea they've made of it this time." She threw the "this 
 time" at him with a sudden fierceness which made Burr 
 start. 
 
 "What do you mean by 'this time?' " asked Burr in 
 consternation. 
 
 "Just what I say ! And you know well enough what 
 I mean." 
 
 "No I don't. What "
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN 179 
 
 "You're going to fight Hamilton." 
 
 "Good God! Ma'am," cried Burr taken completely 
 by surprise, "who told you that?" 
 
 "Thank you," said Dolly calmly, "I was afraid you'd 
 deny it." 
 
 "You shouldn't know you mustn't know it's " 
 
 "Yes, but I do." 
 
 "Who told you?" he demanded sternly. "Was it 
 Pinckney?" 
 
 "Beau Pinckney?" echoed Dolly. 
 
 "Yes, Beau Pinckney. I've known for some time 
 that he was put here to spy on me," exclaimed Burr as 
 he walked excitedly up and down the room. 
 
 "Laws !" laughed Dolly sarcastically. "See how you 
 magnify things. You think yourself so clever. But 
 put you at table with a pretty woman and some wine 
 and the rest of the world dissolves you're in the 
 clouds but your soul's secret goes below stairs with 
 every empty bottle and change of plate." 
 
 "I'll deny what you've heard" questioned Burr. 
 
 "Why why should you deny it?" asked Dolly. 
 
 "So that you may say I denied it," he exclaimed ex- 
 citedly. "Don't you see, Dolly. Can't you compre- 
 hend? You must know nothing of all this." 
 
 "Why? why? what am I in this quarrel between 
 thee and Hamilton?" 
 
 "Nothing! nothing! nothing at all, only " and 
 he began to speak lightly again, "he's determined to 
 destroy me and " 
 
 "So you always said," exclaimed Dolly, "and he of 
 you. You've been at each other's throats from the time 
 you were boys with Washington."
 
 i8o THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Whom he set against me and, later, damn him ! 
 denied me troops at the very gates of Quebec with 
 Canada all but won." 
 
 "But no duel!" exclaimed Dolly. 
 
 "He fought me for Governor," said Burr bitterly, 
 as he sat on the arm of the couch with clenched hands, 
 "he 'kept me from the Embassy of France though the 
 Senate had three times ordered my appointment." 
 
 "But, still no duel!" 
 
 "He kept me from the Presidency," continued Burr 
 heedless of Dolly's interruptions. 
 
 "That was politics. And still no duel I" 
 
 "Yes. 'Till now when he has turned the careless 
 chatter of his own dinner table to destroy me." 
 
 "Destroy?" cried Dolly contemptuously as she turned 
 and faced him, "destroy? What can a man like Ham- 
 ilton do to destroy a man like you?" 
 
 Burr opened his snuff-box and took a pinch. He 
 was calm now. 
 
 "He says I'm a dangerous man." 
 
 "And that's the reason for a duel, eh?" cried Dolly. 
 "Why if it were, you'd have to fight half the men in 
 the United States and all the women! He's always 
 called you dangerous. That isn't the reason." 
 
 "It's what we've agreed to name the reason." 
 
 "Ah," said Dolly, divining his thought. "To whom 
 did he say it? Where?" 
 
 "He let the words fall here and there wherever he 
 thought they would serve his purpose. That I could 
 ignore. I could at least pretend not to know. So in 
 order that I must know he proclaims it. How? In a 
 letter, a private letter "
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN 181 
 
 "A private letter?" echoed Dolly. 
 
 "Yes," exclaimed Burr, "but designed for the public 
 through the press, beautifully designed as only he 
 could. You ought to know Dolly. I showed you one 
 of these epistles of his the other day. What a wonder- 
 ful man! What a genius!" cried Burr in sarcastic ad- 
 miration. "Lord ! if he had really been my friend the 
 two of us might have swept the world together. The 
 worst of it is, I've always been fond of him in spite 
 of everything. That you know, Dolly. Even now I'm 
 giving him every chance, I've only asked that he deny 
 or acknowledge." 
 
 "And he refused?" questioned Dolly. 
 
 "No, he quibbles, he falters, he evades. Yes if I 
 will specify the instance, the particular occasion or the 
 word " 
 
 "Well then why don't you specify it? That should 
 be simple enough." 
 
 "Oh, no, that's the trap!" and Burr shook his head, 
 "the ingenious, crafty, deadly trap, to trick me to the 
 issue: to dare me or drive me to avow for him." 
 
 "Then Hamilton knows the occasion you have in 
 mind?" 
 
 "As well as I. But he dare not proclaim it, save at 
 every sacrifice of chivalry, manhood, honor " 
 
 "Ah!" a great light came into Dolly's face; she 
 clasped her hands together "A woman, of course. I 
 knew it! Who is she?" 
 
 "No, no, Dolly! You're wrong. You're jumping 
 at conclusions. Hear me out!" 
 
 "The truth, who is she?" insisted Dolly thrusting 
 all explanations aside. "Back of all the quarrels 'tween
 
 1 82 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 you two there's always been a she. 'Bove all the high- 
 sounding phrases of politics and principles, there's 
 always been for knowing ears the rustle of a petticoat. 
 You've endured much from each other in public life; 
 it's been give and take, in fairness, restraint and rea- 
 son, and now, at the top of your careers only one 
 thing could bring you two to the pistol point and she's 
 a " 
 
 "Dolly! Dolly!" cried Burr, trying to silence her. 
 
 "Oh, I can't say the word 'cause I'm a Quaker, 
 damn it! But it's twice too good for the hussy and 
 you don't dare deny it. The woman who would bring 
 you two men to seek each other's life well, it's only 
 because she's tired of one of you and she doesn't know 
 which. And as you and Hamilton are equally uncer- 
 tain, you fight!" 
 
 "That is sure," said Burr grimly, "it must end for 
 one of us." 
 
 "Yes," cried Dolly, "and which ever remains be- 
 hind will wish he had been the other." 
 
 There were tears in her eyes, she was quivering with 
 excitement, 
 
 "And just then when you asked me to be your wife, 
 you knew all this?" 
 
 "Yes," said Burr. 
 
 "And with my word pledged to you, you would in- 
 volve me in this scandal, perhaps tragedy?" 
 
 Burr paused a moment before answering. "Yes," 
 he said again. 
 
 "Oh, Ronnie," she exclaimed with a break in her 
 voice, "was that fair or honest or decent?" 
 
 "No. It wasn't perhaps," said Burr in a matter of
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN 183 
 
 fact tone. Then he added tensely, "But I want you, 
 Dolly, I want you!" 
 
 She turned from him and walked disconsolately 
 away. "Yes thee wanted to make sure of me before 
 thee left on this awful errand so that if thee returned, 
 well whatever had happened, thee knew I'd keep my 
 word." 
 
 He went to her and took her hand again. 
 
 "Yes," he said, "and if I didn't return you'd keep 
 me here." He beat his hand upon his heart, "No mat- 
 ter who called you wife." 
 
 With both her hands she pushed the man away 
 from her, then with disdain and sorrow in her voice 
 she cried: 
 
 "You're without shame or conscience, without fear 
 of God or man!" 
 
 "True," said Burr. "That much I love you!" 
 
 "Then," cried Dolly, bursting into tears, "Then you 
 will not do this mad thing this wicked, stupid, silly, 
 
 "Wait, wait!" cried Burr, "Listen to me, 
 Dolly - " 
 
 "Yes, that's what it is, Ronnie Burr, a blunder, a 
 blunder that shames you you who have always called 
 blunder worse than sin; and Lord! how they'll laugh 
 at you!" 
 
 She threw her head back and laughed, though the 
 tears were still in her eyes. 
 
 "Laugh? Who'll laugh?" cried Burr indignantly. 
 
 "Everyone" and Dolly faced him again "every- 
 one to see you go to the Devil just as they have always 
 predicted just for a petticoat!"
 
 1 84 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "And so I would, Dolly, any day, for the woman 
 I loved." 
 
 "Yes, and take her to the Devil with you any day! 
 But only for one day; and then you'd be coming back 
 for another!" 
 
 She folded her arms and defied him. 
 
 "You shan't do so with me." 
 
 Burr, overcome, started to take her in his arms, 
 
 "Good God ! Dolly dear, can't you see " he began 
 
 pleadingly. 
 
 "Ah," cried Dolly exultantly, "I knew it! Now 
 we've the truth. I'm the quarrel between you two!" 
 
 "No, no, on my oath!" denied Burr. 
 
 "That for your oath !" and she snapped her fingers in 
 his face. " 'Gainst your every tone and look just now! 
 And when I damned the woman you didn't dare defend 
 her lest you betray yourself as just now. Even without 
 that I'd have guessed it. Madison opposed for office 
 because 'Burr's a dangerous man.' Who could doubt 
 what that means? And that much you love me, Ron- 
 nie Burr! You'd make that love a by-word and a 
 scandal and every finger point at me." 
 
 "Oh, no," said Burr, grimly, "not when I've done 
 with Mr. Hamilton." 
 
 "You shall not, you shall not!" she cried, "I forbid 
 you!" 
 
 "There's no turning back now, Dolly," said Burr 
 quietly, "not even for your sake. I must meet him." 
 
 "Meet him, yes, but with no harm to him." 
 
 "Why, Dolly, its impossible," smiled Burr. "I 
 should be the laughing stock!" 
 
 "Why?" demanded Dolly, "You've fought before
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN 185 
 
 and left your man unhurt foretold the very button 
 you'd shoot from off his coat satisfied your honor 
 with a mere show of your skill. And so you'll do 
 now!" 
 
 "It is impossible." 
 
 "Then I'm done with you," she cried vehemently. 
 
 "Oh, Dolly, Dolly!" 
 
 "Done with you, Sir. Do you hear?" 
 
 She went to the desk, snatched a sheet of paper and 
 began to write. 
 
 Burr stood there watching her regretfully, but with 
 great tenderness in his eyes. 
 
 "And you'll take Madison ? He came for his answer 
 to-night?" 
 
 "He went away without it," answered Dolly, still 
 writing, "when by accident I learned of this quarrel to- 
 night, I made believe to be jealous to avoid that answer. 
 I told him he must wait until he'd seen his old flame, 
 Miss Floyd. But now he shall have his answer. This 
 is it " 
 
 She sealed the note and rising pulled the bell-rope, 
 but before it could be answered, Burr intercepted her. 
 
 Gently, but with firmness, he took the letter from 
 her hand. 
 
 "You don't love him," he said. 
 
 Dolly looked at Burr but made no reply. The sheer 
 dominance of the man held her as under a spell. 
 
 Clotilde opened the door. 
 
 "Madam?" she said questioning. 
 
 Before Dolly could speak, Burr turned quickly. 
 
 "Tell my man to make ready, I'm leaving at once," 
 he said.
 
 He turned to Dolly again, as Clotilda ran up the 
 stairs and he tore the note to pieces. 
 
 "You don't love him," he repeated. 
 
 "But I will, when you're gone," exclaimed Dolly 
 quickly rallying. "I shall when you're not near me. 
 When you are here," she passed her hand across her 
 brow as though to dispel some charm "I'm little 
 better than the other women whom you can make do as 
 you bid them." 
 
 "And if I do as you bid?" he asked eagerly. 
 
 "Why why in that case," answered Dolly in a 
 troubled tone, "thee can come back for thy answer." 
 
 "Ah-ha!" laughed Burr, joyously, "I shall be back 
 within the week." 
 
 "You will shoot to miss?" she questioned radiantly. 
 
 "Of course." 
 
 "At no risk to thyself, though." 
 
 "Word of honor," cried Burr, "wish me God- 
 speed." 
 
 "And a speedy return," cried Dolly, "if thee 
 doesn't fail me." 
 
 Burr moved as if to kiss her but she drew away. 
 
 "Fail you!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, "Fail you, 
 and lose all chance of you? Why, I'd rather he'd kill 
 me." 
 
 "So would I," said Dolly with fervor. 
 
 He kissed her hand, bowed low and departed. 
 
 The waltz music from the tavern still came floating 
 through the window. She rang the bell to summon Clo- 
 tilde and then went to her favorite seat by the fire- 
 place. The maid came in and with the candle-snuffer, 
 began to extinguish the many lights.
 
 COLONEL BURR TURNS MUSICIAN 187 
 
 "No. Leave these few. I'll read awhile," said Dolly 
 as Clotilde approached the table, " 'till the music 
 stops." 
 
 Clotilde placed the banjo upright in the corner, set 
 right the anti-macassors and closed the spinnet. 
 
 " 'Tis gay to-night, over there," she said to her mis- 
 tress, "at ze ball. Ah! It must be lovely to be at ze 
 ball!" 
 
 "Very," said Dolly briefly and she opened her book. 
 
 "Madam," said Clotilde. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Now that ze Congress go away there will be rooms 
 free for new lodgers. Colonel Burr's room, ze second 
 floor front " 
 
 "No, no," cried Dolly promptly interrupting her, 
 "on no account! If any person should apply you may 
 say that Mrs. Todd no longer takes boarders."
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER AND MUTUAL CON* 
 
 FIDENCES ARE EXCHANGED IN "THE SECOND 
 
 FLOOR FRONT" 
 
 You and I must pull a crow ! 
 
 BUTLER "Hudibras." 
 
 Could I come near your beauty with my nails, 
 I'd set the Ten Commandments on your face. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "King Henry VI" 
 
 Oh ! would I were dead now, 
 Or up in my bed now, 
 To cover my head now, 
 
 And have a good cry! 
 
 HOOD "A Tale of Errata." 
 
 BUT who could read on such a night? Certainly 
 not Dolly. "Clarissa Harlowe" the novel 
 which she handled listlessly still held its charm 
 for her in fact she had only that day borrowed the 
 book from Sally McKean. But to-night life was too 
 full of reality of romance and tears, glamor and 
 waltz-music for any woman of Dolly Todd's temper- 
 ament to sit down and solace herself with the pages 
 of a novel. So, by degrees, half unconsciously, 
 "Clarissa Harlowe" slipped to the floor, and equally 
 unconsciously, Dolly laid vigorous hold of the poker 
 
 188
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 189 
 
 in the novel's stead. She was not fully aware of what 
 she did: but once the poker was within her grasp she 
 gave full play to a habit of hers which in times of 
 stress or unusual excitement she had exercised since her 
 childhood. Dolly Todd began to talk to herself. 
 
 "Just for five minutes!" exclaimed Dolly as she 
 shook the poker ominously to and fro. "If I only had 
 her here face to face man to man! No, I don't 
 mean that!" she interrupted herself. "That's what 
 Burr's always saying. Woman to woman I mean. I'd 
 show her! I'd teach her! I'd " 
 
 The drawing room door opened and Clotilde entered 
 without knocking. 
 
 "Oh, Madam!" she exclaimed. "Eet has just come, 
 this note. O, Madam, pray excuse me, but I'm so 
 excite. I " 
 
 "Hold your tongue, Clotilde!" said Dolly snatching 
 the note off the salver. "I told thee to say there were 
 no rooms to rent. That I no longer kept board- 
 ers " 
 
 "Bien oui, Madam. But eef you had seen the woman 
 who had brought this note. It has put me all aflutter. 
 I am so surprised: so amazed! " 
 
 But Dolly was not listening. The note which Clo- 
 tilde had handed to her was addressed in a woman's 
 handwriting on scented note paper. Dolly sniffed at 
 it suspiciously. Then tore it open. After that Clo- 
 tilde might as well have talked or explained to the 
 high winds of heaven. Her mistress was thoroughly 
 engrossed. 
 
 The note ran: 
 
 "Having heard by chance of Mrs. Todd's marvel-
 
 190 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 ous powers of divination and her wonderful gift of 
 reading the future in the palm of the hand, a woman, 
 a stranger to Mrs. Todd, and who is leaving Phila- 
 delphia early in the morning so far presumes upon 
 Mrs. Todd's good nature as to ask nay, to beg of 
 her, that she will grant to this woman who is in great 
 mental stress and sore perturbation of mind an in- 
 terview to-night. The supplient can only hope that 
 this request may be taken in the spirit in which it is 
 made. It is the plea of a woman who is suffering to 
 a woman who has suffered. Should Mrs. Todd find it 
 in the goodness of her heart to grant this interview the 
 supplient promises, to save embarrassment to both 
 Mrs. Todd and herself, to remain veiled and incognito 
 throughout the meeting unless at any time Mrs. Todd 
 should denote her desire to meet the stranger face to 
 face. In any case and no matter what the reading 
 of the hand may result in if Mrs. Todd should deign 
 to grant this interview the writer will remain her grate- 
 ful debtor for life. In case Mrs. Todd should find it 
 in her heart to comply a word of assent to the mes- 
 senger who bears this note, will bring the grateful 
 supplient to Mrs. Todd's residence in ten minutes' 
 time." 
 
 There was no signature. Dolly read the note 
 through twice before she raised her head. 
 
 "Pinckney's work!" she exclaimed triumphantly to 
 herself. "The mouse has nibbled at the very first bit 
 of cheese !" Then rather sternly she asked of Clotilde, 
 "Who brought this note?" 
 
 "That ees just eet, Madam; that is what I want to 
 tell you; that is what make me so excite! She had a
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 191 
 
 veil on and a great beeg cloak, but for all zat she was 
 my sistair, Madam, I know the people of my family! 
 Therefore although she does not speak I know Ma- 
 rie! Eet was Marie, Madam: Before God! 'er face 
 was 'idden, Madam : but those feet ! They 'ave been in 
 our family for years!" 
 
 "Be quiet, Clotilde! I want no explanations nor 
 family foot notes!" exclaimed Dolly, laughing in spite 
 of herself. 
 
 She fully realized that the moment of her heart's 
 desire was approaching and she could afford to be 
 lenient even with Clotilde. 
 
 "Tell the messenger, whoever she is, that Mrs. Todd 
 presents her compliments and will be charmed to re- 
 ceive her visitor as soon as convenient." 
 
 "When you have given the message, Clotilde," she 
 added authoratively, "light all the candles in the second 
 floor front. Then go to bed. I don't want to see or 
 hear of you again till breakfast time. You under- 
 stand!" 
 
 "Bien oui, Madam," said Clotilde, and quite reluct- 
 antly to herself, withdrew. 
 
 Dolly's first instinct was to fly to her mirror, her 
 second to apply to her cheeks just the least little addi- 
 tional smudge of rouge. 
 
 "Dear old Beau Pinckney!" she exclaimed. "He's 
 a friend worth having. He assuredly lost no time. 
 And now that she's coming, what am I to say to her? 
 It's a waiting game I shall have to play. As the play 
 actresses say, 'I must dissemble!' But before she 
 leaves this roof," and Dolly, back in her arm chair by 
 now again, grasped her old friend the poker as though
 
 i 9 2 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 to seek endorsement, "She'll have heard the truth for 
 once in her life the hussy! I'll teach her what it 
 means to try and make a catspaw of a friend of mine! 
 'Tis an occasion that calls for the reinforcement of 
 every drop of Irish blood that flows in thy veins, Dolly 
 Todd. For half an hour forget you're half a Quaker ! 
 Treat the hussy as though you were Irish all the way 
 through!" 
 
 She threw the poker down, cast one fleeting glance 
 in the mantle-piece mirror and then straightened her- 
 self for action. Already there had been a knock and 
 Clotilde's voice, quick to rise to any state occasion 
 could be heard jabbering at the front door. 
 
 "If you will tell me where I will find Mrs. Todd, I 
 will go to her unannounced," said a clear high voice 
 with just the least trace of a foreign accent. 
 
 A moment later a tall figure closely veiled in yards 
 and yards of black chiffon entered the room and closed 
 the door behind her. She was enveloped in a long 
 sable coat, she wore the hoop skirt of the period, and 
 from the mesh of veiling which almost concealed her 
 great mass of reddish-gold hair, two jewelled hair 
 pins glistened like stars. 
 
 "She was bored at the ball, so she's come to me for 
 diversion," said Dolly to herself, as she advanced to 
 greet her. "Well, I'll do my best to prove interest- 
 ing!" 
 
 But aloud in her most cordial way she exclaimed, 
 "Madam, I am most honored to meet thee !" 
 
 However, the stranger was not to be offset with so 
 formal a greeting. First she courtesied low and even 
 hating her as she did, Dolly had to concede the marvel-
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 193 
 
 ous distinction of the woman, then, as Dolly graciously 
 extended her hand, the stranger seized it in both of hers 
 and raising it to her lips, kissed it. If it had been the 
 hand of the Pope and she a devout Catholic the strang- 
 er could not have performed the ceremony with greater 
 discretion nor more inate grace. The charm of the 
 action completely disarmed Dolly for the moment: 
 and, though she never would have admitted it, it flat- 
 tered her too. 
 
 "At least," she conceded, "the hussy's got good man- 
 ners!" 
 
 "Remember Mrs. Todd," said the veiled woman, 
 "whether your reading of my hand brings me bad news 
 or fair; whether by your clairvoyance you raise my 
 hopes or dash them to the ground, I shall remember 
 always the debt I owe you for this audience to-night. 
 You see before you a woman in sore perplexity, in 
 deep distress. There are a hundred questions that I 
 would put to you when once you have read my hand: 
 but until then I will say no more I am entirely at 
 your service. We are quite alone here I suppose?" 
 She glanced about the room a little apprehensively. 
 "There is no danger, of course, of our being inter- 
 rupted?" 
 
 "I'm not so sure of that," said Dolly, "my guests 
 are likely to remain late at the ball. But there's no 
 telling! Perhaps 'twould be wiser if we went up- 
 stairs. Fortunately I have a room there which has just 
 been vacated my second floor front." 
 
 As Dolly spoke the last words, the woman gave a 
 little start. Dolly noticed it and smiled inwardly. 
 "It's quite a bit of luck," she explained. "The gen-
 
 i 9 4 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 tleman who occupied it had to leave for New York 
 scarce half an hour ago. His hurry was so great he 
 did not even stop to pack his clothes, so if you find his 
 room a trifle disarranged I pray thee to excuse it. 
 'Twill answer our purpose I feel sure and provide us 
 with that privacy which we both desire. This way 
 Madam!" 
 
 She led the way upstairs and into the second floor 
 front, the door of which stood open. 
 
 It was a large room but almost bare of furniture 
 the room unquestionably of a soldier and of a man of 
 simple habit. There was a military air to it which 
 there was no gainsaying. In one corner of the room 
 stood a small iron cot with a single pillow; across it's 
 foot lay a military blanket folded in army fashion. 
 There was a bureau, a long table covered with writing 
 materials, a chest of drawers and on the wall close to 
 the bed there hung two pictures, handsomely but very 
 simply framed. One was a water color of Madam 
 Prevost in the days when Aaron Burr was still her 
 suitor; the other painting, of a much later date, of 
 course, was a picture of their daughter, Theodosia, as 
 a very young girl. Attached to the bottom of this 
 picture evidently pinned there by its owner temporar- 
 ily, until he could obtain a frame which was worthy of 
 it, was a sketch, in pen and ink of a boy of three. In 
 one corner of this sketch was scrawled his initials, 
 "A. B." and underneath it in pencil had been written, 
 "This is Grampillo as his 'Grampa' remembers him." 
 A couple of easy chairs and a military chest which might 
 have contained anything explosive from a gross of
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 195 
 
 horse pistols to a very small cannon, completed the 
 rooms accoutrements. 
 
 That the stranger took in every detail of the room 
 with a single glance was entirely apparent to Dolly. 
 Lighted candles in many sconces gave the room a 
 cheery aspect in spite of its bareness; and there was 
 a sea coal fire burning on the hearth. As Dolly fol- 
 lowed her guest into the room she drew the door to 
 quickly and quite noiselessly turned the key in the 
 lock. 
 
 "Now, Madam, I am at thy service," said Dolly in 
 a courteous, yet distinctly businesslike tone. 
 
 Clearing a space on the writing table, she drew for- 
 ward two straight backed chairs and motioned to her 
 guest to sit down. But her guest had no intention of 
 doing anything of the sort, for the moment. With a 
 swift sweep of one arm she threw aside her sable cloak 
 and tossed it across the foot of Burr's cot. Then with 
 an equally quick movement, she unwound the veil from 
 about her head and threw it from her. 
 
 "Mrs. Todd will you ever forgive me for this ruse?" 
 she cried, "I am Madam Jumel. Stop ! Please let me 
 explain" and she raised her hand to beg for silence 
 as Dolly, speechless with amazement at this sudden 
 change of front, vainly strove to speak. 
 
 "Let me tell you the truth; then we can under- 
 stand each other better for understand each other, 
 we must! I came here in all seriousness to have 
 you read my hand. In a way I am a superstitious 
 woman but that was not my real reason for coming 
 here to-night. I wanted to meet you. I wanted to 
 know you. But of that I will speak further, pres-
 
 196 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 ently. Something you said just now has changed all 
 my plans. It has frightened the very soul of me. 
 Before I offer any further explanation or apology, tell 
 me this Madam, and remember I have the right to 
 know. You spoke of a lodger of yours having left 
 hastily for New York to-night. I infer that you meant 
 Mr. Burr. Am I right?" 
 
 "By what right, Madam, do you ask me that ques- 
 tion? You say that you have a right," cried Dolly 
 now rallying from her astonishment for the first time. 
 
 "The right I claim is the right of any woman to 
 save the man she loves from death," said Madam 
 Jumel with calmness. 
 
 "What!" exclaimed Dolly, "You come here to my 
 house and proclaim that you love Colonel Burr as much 
 as all that. Really, Madam, your enthusiasm " 
 
 "Stop! Don't dare to misunderstand me, Mrs. 
 Todd. This is no time for you and I to bandy words or 
 quibble at cross-purposes. Besides remember it be- 
 hooves us both to keep our heads. Big things are afoot 
 and we both you and I, whether we will or not are 
 much concerned in them. As for my loving Burr; 
 that's all nonsense and you know it. Burr and I, my 
 dear woman, kissed and parted before I was nineteen. 
 I was ousted once and for all from his vagrant affec- 
 tions by the beautiful Miss Moncrieffe. But I was a bride 
 for the first time just then and took nothing very seri- 
 ously I fear. Life held so much for the poor flower girl 
 of Providence that from the hour she became Mrs. 
 Croix nothing else really mattered. But at least Mrs. 
 Todd, let's be true to scandal even if we both dodge 
 facts. From what little you know of me either for
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 197 
 
 good or evil, I had thought that you would have given 
 me credit for the one great love of my life. You know 
 whom I love: you know full well! If you don't I will 
 tell you, for Madam I assure you it is one of the few 
 scandals brought against my name which I never have 
 denied. The man I love the man whom I intend to 
 save from Burr's bullet at any cost, is Alexander Ham- 
 ilton and you know it, Mrs. Todd!" 
 
 She rose and stood confronting Dolly; each looked 
 the other fairly in the eyes and Dolly for her part 
 could read nothing but the truth there. 
 
 "Answer me this, and then I shall have much to tell 
 you," said Madam Jumel. "Why did Burr leave in 
 such a hurry for New York to-night? For weeks and 
 weeks, alone, single handed I have striven to keep 
 these men apart. Often, knowing your influence with 
 Burr I was on the point of coming to you to enlist your 
 aid. But I was afraid you would misunderstand me 
 as you have now. Burr gave me his word only this 
 morning that he would wait and start for New York 
 with me to-morrow; there was to be a conference when 
 we reached there and friends of both men had agreed 
 to bring about an amicable adjustment. I closed my 
 house, I moved to the Inn for the night expecting to 
 leave with all my household at dawn. Why has he 
 left without a word? Why has he gone Mrs. Todd?" 
 
 The woman was beside herself with nervousness. 
 She sank into a chair. Her lovely face was as pale 
 as death and her jewelled fingers shook. 
 
 "Mark you!' she cried vehemently, "If this flight of 
 his means that he has gone to kill Hamilton, then if
 
 198 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 he fulfills his purpose, I will kill him with my own 
 hand." 
 
 "He won't kill Hamilton, have no fear!" cried 
 Dolly, touched to the heart by the woman's fright. 
 "Let me tell thee something. It may comfort thee. I 
 have Burr's word of honor that, though they meet, 
 Hamilton shall go scot free." 
 
 Madam Jumel leaned forward eagerly. 
 
 "Burr told you that?" 
 
 "He gave me his word," declared Dolly, "scarce 
 two hours ago." 
 
 "And you, in return? What did you promise him?" 
 queried the French woman knowingly. "But I beg 
 your pardon, that's none of my affair. Still I can guess. 
 In any case" and she seized Dolly's hand passion- 
 ately "I thank you from the bottom of my soul." 
 
 "There is nothing to thank me for," said Dolly. 
 
 "Ah, yes there is!" protested Madam Jumel. "Our 
 motives are different, but we are working to the same 
 end. I am trying to curb Burr to save Hamilton. 
 You are trying to curb Burr to save him from 
 himself. In history, of course, we'll both of us be up 
 to our eyes in this scandal if it ever comes off and, as 
 always happens, the world will never hear the truth 
 of it. But after all, what matter! You and I from 
 this moment my dear, understand each other for all 
 time. And that is a good deal for one woman to say 
 to another in these days. But I mean it!" 
 
 Betty Jumel leaned forward and kissed Dolly on the 
 cheek. Then like a couple of good sportsmen they 
 shook hands. After that each of them made a dab at 
 their eyes with their kerchiefs and then began to laugh.
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 199 
 
 "What fools we are!" exclaimed Betty Jumel, "to 
 be sitting here worrying our hearts out and ruining 
 our eyes about two men both vastly able to take care 
 of themselves! And now while I think of it," she 
 added, growing confidential once more, "since you've 
 accused me so outspokenly of loving Burr I must tell 
 you a delicious joke on the man. He's worried to death 
 about it, 'pon honor! Burr, though one would not 
 think it, is prodigiously superstitious. The other day 
 in the course of his wanderings in the country some- 
 where he ran across an old gypsy hag. She told him 
 his fortune: it upset him exceedingly. Then he came 
 to my house and told it to me. Such a joke! And 
 what do you think she said, my dear? She told him 
 that when he was in his eightieth year he would marry 
 a woman whom she described most particularly. And 
 he declared that the description fits me to a T. The 
 cheek of the man and at that age too!" 
 
 "I should like to consult that old hag myself," 
 laughed Dolly, "I wonder what she would have to say 
 of my future." 
 
 "Oh, something equally ridiculous you may be sure 
 my dear," said Betty. "But of course it would be just 
 like Burr to spoil all my plans for to-night by his sud- 
 den flight. You have no idea what a denouement I had 
 arranged for our first meeting. Believe me I am 
 speaking truth when I say I have been longing to know 
 you for ages. I hate women as a rule and they loathe 
 me almost invariably though nowadays since I mar- 
 ried Monsieur Jumel most of them are afraid to show 
 it. But you were different quite, quite different! 
 Your merry face and your laughing eyes used to fas-
 
 200 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 cinate me when I sometimes saw you at market. There 
 was a saucy way about you which showed me at a 
 single glance just why all the men were so easily en- 
 slaved. For months and months I kept saying to my- 
 self, 'I really must meet Mrs. Todd.' First I tried 
 Burr, but he was adamant, a sheer stone wall! You 
 know how loath Burr is to bring his women friends to- 
 gether keeps them as far apart as though he feared 
 each of them had a catching fever which they might 
 exchange, whereas the very worse that the poor dears 
 would think of doing would be to compare notes! So 
 when Burr wouldn't introduce us and led me to infer 
 that you detested the ground I walked on I decided to 
 go to an extreme in order to destroy that elusion of 
 yours. Finally as a last resort, I called in dear old 
 Beau Pinckney ! Such a nice boy Pinckney ! Don't you 
 think so? And such good manners too! Well even 
 Pinckney hemmed and hawed and pawed the air and 
 seemed to arrive nowhere at all in bringing our meet- 
 ing to pass. So to-night at the ball when he happened 
 by accident to speak of your occult powers I suddenly 
 decided to take the matter into my own hands. I wrote 
 you that note, knowing your kind heart could never say 
 the writer nay and well, here we are, chatting away 
 for dear life like two old friends as happy as grigs! 
 or at least, I am, my dear. You may be bored to 
 death but you certainly don't look it." 
 
 "Never enjoyed an evening more!" cried Dolly with 
 fervor, "But aren't you hungry? I never went to a 
 ball in my life from which I didn't come home half 
 starved." 
 
 "To tell you the truth, I've been praying that you'd
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 201 
 
 ask me that question for the last quarter of an hour," 
 laughed Betty. "I'm not hungry, my dear: I'm fam- 
 ished. We were packing all day so I had no dinner." 
 
 "Clotilde's gone to bed," said Dolly, "But I know 
 where there's a chicken and, considering all the worry 
 he's caused us to-night, I think we should be justified 
 in appropriating one of Ronnie Burr's bottles of Ma- 
 deira. He's such an abstainer: 'tis lost on him any- 
 way!" 
 
 She hurried away to fetch the supper and in her 
 absence her guest made quite a remarkable change in 
 her appearance. 
 
 "I could not stand that damnable thing another mo- 
 ment," she exclaimed as Dolly returned laden with 
 good fare. As she spoke she pointed to the door of 
 Burr's open cupboard on one of the hooks of which 
 was now suspended her hoop skirt. "At home like 
 you, I never wear 'em. They're an abomination to my 
 mind and if ever you get to the White House, Mrs. 
 Todd I hope that you'll put your foot down hard on 
 'em at once. They ruin a woman's figure: and make 
 her look much more like a fool than Nature intended. 
 So let 'Down with the crinolines !' be your war cry." 
 
 "Mr. Jefferson will endorse that," laughed Dolly. 
 "He loathes all these imported fashions, and swears 
 he's going to abolish them all. As long as he leaves me 
 my rouge, I won't quarrel with him. But I'm so glad 
 you made yourself comfortable. You'd better let me 
 lend you a dressing gown for you will have to stay the 
 night. It's snowing hard outside; you'd be lost in the 
 drifts between here and the tavern. To say nothing 
 to what would befall that ravishing frock!"
 
 202 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "What! Sleep here in Burr's room without him!" 
 exclaimed Madam Jumel. "Why 'twould be playing 
 Hamlet minus the Dane ! You are thrusting an honor 
 upon me unto which I was not born. Still it's a snowy 
 night. I've half a mind to take you at your word. In 
 fact, to speak truth, you couldn't get rid of me now. 
 I'm just beginning to feel talkative ! Do you mind if I 
 undo my hair?" 
 
 As she spoke she pulled the jewelled hairpins out 
 and tossed them on the table. Her hair fell about her 
 like a glory in a reddish golden shower. It reached to 
 her knees and the beauty of it made Dolly exclaim in 
 admiration. 
 
 "Yes; I always did have pretty hair '."Betty exclaimed 
 casually. "It was one of the few bequests my dear 
 mother left me. That and the papers which proclaimed 
 my birth were almost all she had to leave, poor soul ! 
 She died when I was born, you know in a fearful 
 storm at sea. My mother's name was Capet, Eliza 
 Capet, and she was a passenger on a French frigate 
 which sailed from Brent for the island of St. Croix. 
 Hamilton's island oddly enough ! He had been born on 
 Nevis to be sure; but at the time of my birth he was a 
 lad, a clerk in his uncle's shop at St. Croix. And here," 
 she explained, "is another link in that strange chain 
 which in so many ways has tethered our lives. That 
 awful storm in which I was born was in truth the worst 
 tornado which St. Croix had known in many years. 
 That storm which saw my birth laid the foundation of 
 Hamilton's career. A lad of fourteen this tornado 
 had impressed him enormously. He wrote a descrip- 
 tion of its horrors which was subsequently published in
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 203 
 
 a St. Christopher newspaper. The Governor of the 
 island was so impressed with it that he offered to send 
 the lad to college and in due course young Hamilton 
 was sent to New York to attend King's College. As 
 for poor little me, the orphaned waif after laying 
 up his ship at St. Croix for repairs the Captain of the 
 frigate brought me to America. He lived in a little 
 cottage half way between Providence and Newport. 
 But as soon as I was old enough to walk he put 
 me to board with an old lady, a Mrs. Thompson, 
 at Providence. She was very poor but a gentle- 
 woman, remarkably well educated for her station. 
 She taught me French and sent me to the school. She 
 and the captain of the frigate were the only ones who 
 knew my story. When I was old enough she told me 
 who I was. I was about fourteen then and for some 
 time before that, to make money, I had been selling 
 flowers down on the docks after school in the after- 
 noons." 
 
 Madam Jumel paused for a moment, sighed and 
 shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 "You can imagine the rest! Mrs. Thompson knew 
 nothing. She thought I was at play with the school 
 girls. But from the moment she told me who I was 
 I had one definite object to pursue. My one purpose 
 was to earn money enough to take me to my Father. 
 That he would acknowledge me, I, knowing what I did 
 from my mother's papers, never had a moment's 
 doubt. To earn that money I sold all I had all! 
 I stopped at nothing! But France was farther away 
 in those days than it is now when a packet thinks noth- 
 ing of making the passage in seven weeks. I began
 
 204 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 to despair of ever earning enough money for my fare. 
 Then one lucky day I met Colonel Croix. It was on 
 the docks; he bought some of my violets and I flirted 
 with him shamelessly. He was an English officer well 
 past fifty but good looking still. He told me that he 
 was taking boat that night down the Sound for New 
 York and from there he was to sail for home for 
 England. England ! The mere thought set my blood 
 on fire. My geography had told me England lay but 
 twenty-four miles from France! The man was cap- 
 tivated with me and I knew it. Oh! I spare you 
 nothing, you see ; I was a very wise child ! He begged 
 me to go with him as his compagnon de voyage. But 
 I snapped my fingers at him. I laughed in his kindly 
 seered old face. He pleaded with me but I would not 
 listen. Finally I pointed to the Roman Catholic 
 Church which stood on the corner and told him flat 
 footed that if he wanted to take Eliza Bowen Capet 
 to England, he would have to take me to the priest first 
 and make me Mrs. Croix. Well, to cut a long story, 
 he succumbed. We were married that very hour. 
 I went home, secured my mother's papers, kissed Mrs. 
 Thompson, said I wouldn't be home for supper and 
 slipped on board the sailing ship. On reaching New 
 York we found we had missed the English packet. 
 There would be no other sailing for several weeks. 
 Croix treated me like a princess. He showered jewels 
 and pretty frocks upon me. We lodged at the best 
 hotel and as soon as my new outfit had been secured, 
 Colonel Croix took me to his old friend Lady Sterling. 
 She was the most powerful personage in New York 
 at that day and she took me to her heart at once.
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 205 
 
 Sounds like a fairy story, does it not, Mrs. Todd? 
 But I'm telling you truths. Rumor with its thousand 
 tongues has never told the truth either as to my mar- 
 riage or if you choose to call it so ! my infamy. 
 And after all, again like Hamilton! See how our 
 lives perpetually, although so far apart, seem to inter- 
 twine I was a love child: a bastard: I had my way 
 to make. Could you blame me for wrenching from 
 the world a living? It was my right, my due; whether 
 it was or not, I took it. Less than a week from the 
 day Betty Capet sold her last violet on the Providence 
 docks Mrs. Croix, a woman not nineteen as yet, was 
 the new toast of New York Town. They flocked to 
 my feet, beaux and belles alike, for my sponsor, Lady 
 Sterling, was a woman of great position. Dear old 
 Mr. Benjamin Franklin, always my friend since, Pat- 
 rick Henry, Andrew Jackson, Gouverneur Morris 
 all those men who two or three years later at my Wall 
 Street home were to make that famous little coterie 
 which set all the dear women by the ears all of these 
 men I met there for the first time. Burr was there 
 too, of course such an Adonis in those days, my dear! 
 And, as I said before, we flirted desperately for a day 
 or two, and then one night at a ball at Lady Sterling's 
 I lost eyes for everyone else. At last I saw the great 
 Hamilton. We were not introduced in fact it was 
 years later, in my Wall Street home, that I finally 
 met him: he told me then, half laughingly, that he 
 had avoided me scrupulously for years ! But that 
 night I saw him. That was enough ! From that mo- 
 ment, for me, he was The One Man! He looked 
 scarcely more than a schoolboy in his radiant gaiety.
 
 206 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 It makes me heart-sick when I think of him as I saw 
 him on the street only yesterday, pale, heavy-eyed 
 and sombre! Then he was the very embodiment of 
 gaiety and grace and youth. Well, in six weeks' time 
 my husband and I set sail for England, and in spite of 
 my great purpose, from which I had never verged, it 
 quite broke my heart to go. Shortly after we reached 
 London, Colonel Croix died suddenly. As soon as 
 possible I went to Paris. There with the aid of letters 
 which the Marquis de Lafayette had given me in New 
 York, I soon made friends. Eventually I achieved my 
 purpose. I met my Father. His kindness to me 
 exceeded my wildest dreams. Before I left his 
 house that day I was a rich woman in my own right. 
 The money which Colonel Croix had left me, I turned 
 over to his maiden sisters. I had never used a penny 
 of it. My father not only treated me as a daughter, 
 but as a confidante. He entrusted me with a mission 
 for him which it was necessary for me to return to 
 America to fulfil. So back to New York came the 
 now famous Mrs. Croix!" continued Madam Jumel. 
 
 She leaned back in her chair and began to comb her 
 hair with one of Dolly's ivory backed brushes. 
 
 " She was a widow now, so the women liked her 
 even less. You know how it is, Mrs. Todd! Then, 
 too, her Parisian success had preceded her. She rented 
 a charming little house on Wall Street and began to 
 entertain. At first a few of her women acquaintances 
 came, but for some reason they soon dropped off 
 though," added Madam Jumel in parenthesis, "I 
 was always exceedingly nice to them even when they 
 most bored me. But the men came in droves! So
 
 MRS. TODD HAS A LADY CALLER 207 
 
 it really didn't matter. That made the women more 
 furious, of course. They couldn't say bad enough 
 things about poor Mrs. Croix. They raked up all her 
 flower girl indiscretions and served them up piping hot. 
 Whatever she had, or had not done, wasn't shouted 
 from the roof tops, it was bellowed from the steeples. 
 They even called her "The Intervention of Provi- 
 dence," as that old harradan Mistress Sparkle is so 
 fond of relating to this day. But they couldn't crush 
 Betty Croix! Then one night it was dear old Mr. 
 Franklin who brought him, God bless his heart! the 
 Great Hamilton came to call on Mrs. Croix. After 
 that for six short, glorious, happy months, nothing 
 else mattered in the world!"
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 MADAM JUMEL PLAYS TRUMPS AND WINS A FRIEND 
 
 Owning her weakness, 
 
 Her evil behavior, 
 And leaving, with meakness, 
 
 Her sins to her Saviour. 
 
 HOOD "The Bridge of Sighs." 
 
 When Psyche's friend becomes her lover, 
 How sweetly these conditions blend ! 
 But oh ! what anguish to discover 
 Her lover has become her friend! 
 
 MARY AINGE DEVERE. 
 
 ERE you ever really in love?" asked 
 Madam Jumel, breaking in on her 
 narrative somewhat abruptly. 
 Dolly smiled reminiscently. "That's just what I 
 asked Sally McKean t'other day," she answered. 
 "She told me she 'guessed' she had been! Well, since 
 you ask me so flat-footedly, I 'guess' I have been too. 
 At all events, I've been married." 
 
 "So have I," echoed Madam Jumel, "twice, but 
 that's got nothing to do with it! The reason I asked 
 you is because I am wondering if, clever as you are 
 and warm as I know your heart to be, you can really 
 appreciate the depth of my love for Hamilton." 
 
 "Oh, yes, I think I can," said Dolly. "I've been 
 loved like that once or twice myself." 
 
 208
 
 MADAM JUMEL PLAYS TRUMPS 209 
 
 "Ah! But that was man's love. A woman's is so 
 different when she really worships; and I worshipped 
 Hamilton. I was a fool, but I did! Well, as I said, 
 for six months our liason ran as smoothly as the 
 summer sea. Not a ripple to disturb the peace of it. 
 Ours was a mental union, far more than a physical 
 one." 
 
 "I can realize that. That's what Colonel Burr 
 always says: 'All that is physical passes: only mental 
 love remains.' ' 
 
 "Well, coming from Burr I should take that sen- 
 timent with a grain of salt!" returned Madam Jumel, 
 rather tartly. "At the same time, he speaks truth. 
 As a matter of fact, to be just to Burr! I never 
 knew him to lie. But to return to Hamilton men- 
 tally, and also in a political sense, I know that I was 
 of the utmost use to him. I'm a reader of character, 
 a student of men. He thinks he is both; but he is 
 neither his geese are invariably swans." 
 
 "Yes, I have noticed that too," said Dolly. "Both 
 he and Burr are much too enthusiastic about their 
 friends and too rabid against their enemies. To me, 
 though, there is always this distinction between them 
 in both their likes and dislikes. Hamilton is only 
 Royalist, while Burr's patrician." 
 
 "That is a distinction with a difference!" replied 
 Madam Jumel. 
 
 "Don't thee think it's getting a little chilly?" asked 
 Dolly. And as she put the question she stepped into 
 Burr's big cupboard and emerged bearing a long black 
 velvet dressing-gown, faced and cuffed with crimson 
 silk. She held it while Betty slipped her lovely arms
 
 210 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 inside of it. Then, picking up the sable cloak, she 
 wrapped it around her own shoulders. 
 
 "Speaking of patricians," she laughed, "I envy thee 
 this glorious coat. Sable and I have never rubbed 
 shoulders before." 
 
 Madam Jumel snugly ensconced in Burr's dressing- 
 gown sat down. "Ah, here's treasure trove!" she ex- 
 claimed as she pulled from out of its pocket two black 
 cheroots and several West Indian paper cigars. "I'll 
 dare you to smoke one of these paper cigars, Quaker 
 though you are." She handed Dolly one of those 
 inventions of the Devil, known in these latter days as a 
 cigarette. 
 
 "No thanks. 'Tis not virtue but nausea makes me 
 decline ! But let me light thine for thee. As for my 
 being a Quaker, Colonel Burr declares I'm only an 
 intermittent one. He's always accusing me of for- 
 saking my 'thee's' and 'thou's' at a moment's notice. 
 But let's get back to Hamilton!" 
 
 "Well, there's not much more to tell. He came 
 to me one fine morning and in his suavest and most 
 businesslike tone told me that we could see no more 
 of each other. I asked him why and he answered, 
 'My wife won't have it. She's put her foot down. 
 There's an end on it.' 
 
 "After all, you couldn't blame Betsy, could you?" 
 exclaimed Dolly, rather undiplomatically, but wishing 
 to be staunch to an old friend. 
 
 "Blame her? Certainly not. Why should I? She 
 was perfectly within her rights. But after all, you 
 must remember, Mrs. Todd, this affair of ours was no 
 common liason; it was a Grand Passion!"
 
 MADAM JUMEL PLAYS TRUMPS 211 
 
 "Well, after all, poor Betsy's always of an illogical 
 turn of mind," exclaimed Dolly. "Perhaps she didn't 
 stop to note the difference." 
 
 "Now, you're getting catty!" laughed Madam Ju- 
 mel. "But since I've started, hear me out." 
 
 "Hear thee out? Laws, woman! I'm dying for 
 the denouement! What did thee say to Hamilton?" 
 
 "I said nothing," answered Madam Jumel. "He 
 had an uncommonly pretty ruffle on that morning. I 
 straightened it for him, patted him on the cheek and 
 then told him to run home and be a good little boy. 
 He was furious his dignity was damaged his feel- 
 ings hurt. If he had had his wish I would have 
 thrown a fit of hysterics or given him up in a speech 
 as wordy and as ponderous as his own 'Washington's 
 Farewell.' But, thank God ! Betty Jumel knows when 
 to rely on her sense of humor ! From that day to this 
 Hamilton and I have never spoken not so much as 
 a 'how-de-do !' When we meet in public I bow se- 
 renely like a well-bred Jacobite. He returns my salu- 
 tation in his best Tory manner. But as for those 
 Schuylers! Whew! my dear," and she gave a whistle. 
 "From the moment the break came, they let loose 
 their dogs of war on poor Mrs. Croix. Betsy Schuy- 
 ler has loyal kinsmen and they're fighters too with 
 their tongues! All that society had said and done to 
 Mrs. Croix before was as the rain-drop before the 
 storm the trickle before the Niagara ! And still 
 Mrs. Croix smiled and smiled and was a villain still 
 and gave charming parties to which all the men came 
 tumbling! But at last she grew tired. The persecution 
 became monotonous it bored her so she went abroad
 
 212 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 once more and after a year in her Father's court, she 
 returned to America as the wife of that gallant old 
 gentleman, Monsieur Jumel. And as Madam Jumel, 
 oh, what a change had come over your countrymen, 
 my dear! and country-women too for that matter! 
 But you know all that story. 'Twas Lady Washington, 
 herself, who championed my cause. At Sir George's 
 inauguration, I was the third lady to bow before him. 
 The Livingstons, who had always been friendly to 
 me probably because they hated the Schuylers so 
 violently ! became more intimate than ever. The Clin- 
 tons accepted me, and even over here in dear old 
 prudish, hide-bound, sincere Philadelphia the Chews, 
 the Cadwalladers, the McKeans, and even dear old 
 Mistress Sparkle don't hesitate to come to my tea- 
 fights and say 'How-de-do'. What more could the 
 poor little Providence flower-girl ask, even if she does 
 happen to be the daughter of an Emperor?" 
 
 "An Emperor!" cried Dolly, quite forgetting her 
 manners in her curiosity. 
 
 "Yes. I said an Emperor." And Madam Jumel 
 raised her head proudly. "I took it for granted that 
 you knew my story, Mrs. Todd. I am the child of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte. Within a year all Europe will 
 be at his feet. Italy is his already Spain may capitu-* 
 late to him at any moment. Within a year, mark 
 my words, Madam!" and she rose to her feet, look- 
 ing for all the world, in Burr's velvet dressing-gown, 
 with her hair astream, like some prophetess of old. 
 "His star is in the ascendent now and is ever rising. 
 Within a year my father will have been proclaimed 
 the hereditary Emperor of France. Can you wonder,
 
 MADAM JUMEL PLAYS TRUMPS 213 
 
 Madam, that, bar-sinister or not, I am proud of my 
 birth? Indeed, I glory in it! As Emperor I can love 
 my sire no more than I would have done had I been 
 with him in the days when he was the 'Little Corporal'. 
 My love for him is akin to Hamilton's great love for 
 his mother, Rachel Lavine. Love-children, both of 
 us playthings of chance, if you will! there has al- 
 ways been, betwen Hamilton and me that one great 
 bond of sympathy. We glory in our illegitimacy." 
 
 Dolly was still what was there that any listener 
 could reply to such a speech? She gazed in open-eyed 
 admiration at Madam Jumel, down whose cheeks 
 the tears were coursing. Dolly had tears in her own 
 eyes too. 
 
 'You're a very big woman, Madam Jumel," said 
 Dolly very humbly. "I honor you, Madam." 
 
 "Honor me," echoed Madam Jumel, unbelievingly. 
 "Ah, no, you can scarcely say that not after all that 
 I have told you!" 
 
 "It is in spite of all you've told me that I do. 
 More than that, Madam, I want to own that I have 
 grievously misjudged thee. I have maligned thee 
 both in spirit and by word of mouth. Dolly Todd is 
 not the woman to cavil when she finds she's wrong. 
 I beg your pardon, Madam. I've hated thee hon- 
 estly and with all my heart. It's not two hours ago 
 that I should have delighted to break thy head with 
 that poker I held in my hands down-stairs. But, now 
 that I know thee, I'm going to prove just as good a 
 friend as I have been an enemy. And it's not because 
 you're going to be an Emperor's daughter and it's not be-
 
 214 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 cause you were a flower-girl once. It's because it's 
 thee Betty Jumel just because it's you!" 
 
 "Well, at least, I'm glad, Mrs. Todd, that you've 
 found I'm not as black as I'm painted because as 
 you know I never use rouge!" And with a laugh she 
 patted Dolly jokingly on her carmined cheek. "Now 
 let's talk of something else. This has been an odd 
 meeting when one comes to think of it. We started 
 almost in hysterics, ready to fly at each other's throats' 
 in a fairly polite way. And what for, pray? Two 
 men, who are vastly better able to take care of them- 
 selves than we are to look after them, in all probability. 
 And here you are, listening to me tell of the perfidy of 
 the one while I sit robed, most becomingly, in the 
 dressing-gown of the other! Wouldn't Burr laugh his 
 head off if he knew?" 
 
 "He would most assuredly," echoed Dolly. "But 
 I doubt in my soul, if Hamilton would. I fear me 
 his sense of dignity would be affronted." 
 
 "That's true," corroborated Madam Jumel. "Dear 
 Alec always did lack a sense of humor! But all the 
 same you mustn't disparage him to me," she added, 
 half seriously, "I still love him and I always will, 
 better than any man alive, for he's the greatest man 
 in the world, next to my Father." 
 
 "Here's a question I would ask thee, to go back 
 to the quarrel of our two friends," said Dolly. "Sup- 
 posing, should the worst come to the worst and the 
 duel become inevitable, could it be prevented if we 
 were to warn Pinckney to noise the news abroad in 
 the New York newspapers?" 
 
 "Good Heavens, no!" cried Madam Jumel, throw-
 
 MADAM JUMEL PLAYS TRUMPS 215 
 
 ing up her hands. "Why they're the worst of all 
 for duels, the newspapers. Ah! my dear, if you only 
 knew the New York rags as I do. To begin with, each 
 has his own organ Hamilton finances the Evening 
 Post, consequently, Coleman, the editor, swears by 
 him. Burr, to hit back at him, owns the Morning 
 Chronicle with Peter and young Washington Irving 
 as its editors. Naturally they're going to stand by 
 Burr. Then there's DeWitt Clinton with that rag of 
 his, the American Citizen, and that scurrilous dog 
 Chetham in charge of it. Why, Coleman of the 
 Evening Post just killed Captain Thompson, the har- 
 bor master. They say it was some commercial row, 
 but from all that I can gather it would seem that it 
 was merely a dull day for news and somebody had to 
 get up and kill someone to fill the paper. Believe me, 
 'tis their habit, my dear. When there is no news at 
 hand the editors make it with duels! If they can't 
 make their contributors like "Old Subscriber" and 
 "Verbum Sap" fight, they'll go out and kill each 
 other. Anything for news ! Oh, no, Mrs. Todd, take 
 my advice when it comes to newspapers. Let sleeping 
 dogs lie!" 
 
 "Well, since that's your opinion, I'll abide by it. 
 You know New York far better than I. And now 
 Ah! I caught you you're yawning! no wonder, 
 it's almost dawn." Dolly walked to the window 
 and looked out towards the tavern. "The lights are 
 out next door. The last of the revelers must have 
 gone to bed. Even dear Lady Merry upstairs must 
 have stopped disparaging poor America for the mo- 
 ment! May I bring you an extra counterpane? The
 
 2i 6 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 fire's down to its embers, you may find the room 
 chilly." 
 
 "What! me chilly? And wrapped up in Burr's 
 clothes? Not a bit of it! I shall sleep like a cricket 
 and be as merry as a grig in my dreams now that you 
 and I have settled the affairs of all the nation." 
 
 She was sitting on the edge of the cot] beginning to 
 disrobe. In a moment or two when Dolly, who hospita- 
 bly had flown in search of a hot-water bottle, returned 
 Madam Jumel was in roars of laughter. With one 
 tiny closed fist she was beating on the mattress of the 
 bed and each blow, as she delivered it made her wince, 
 As Dolly entered she exclaimed: 
 
 "Well, here's an end to Burr's chances for ever and 
 aye. What! Me marry a man who sleeps on a bed 
 as hard as that? Not for all the Burrs in America!"
 
 "WKLL HERE'S AN END TO BURR'S CHANCES FOR EVER AND AYE. WHAT! ME MARRY 
 MAN WHO SLEEPS ON A BED AS HARD AS THAT? NOT FOR ALL THE BURRS IN AMERICA'
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 COLONEL BURR AND MR. HAMILTON AGAIN MEET 
 IN THE EARLY MORNING 
 
 So when a great man dies, 
 For years beyond our ken, 
 The light he leaves behind him lies 
 Upon the paths of men. 
 
 LONGFELLOW. 
 
 Who tracked the steps of glory to the grave. 
 
 BYRON. 
 
 IT WAS at the annual banquet of the Society of 
 the Cincinnati, of which Hamilton was President 
 and Burr one of the most prominent members, 
 that the two men met in public life for the last time. In 
 spite of all the gossip, in and out of the newspapers, no 
 one outside of their individual seconds had the least 
 idea that a duel between Burr and Hamilton was 
 imminent. 
 
 At the dinner each of them seemed to have laid him- 
 self out to lull any suspicion which may* have been 
 lurking in the public mind. Before the banquet started 
 both of them stood chatting, not to each other, but 
 to mutual friends, in a group of five or six awaiting 
 the summons to dinner, in the smoking room. Neither 
 man addressed any direct remark to the other but there 
 
 217
 
 2i 8 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 was nothing in their bearing to denote that they were 
 not still on the most friendly terms. Hamilton, who 
 was known to have been ill for some time, looked un- 
 usually pale and haggard. There were dark circles 
 under his eyes, but, as though to avert suspicion from 
 his appearance, his spirits seemed unusually high. 
 Troup, Morris and Pendleton, his closest friends, all 
 remarked weeks afterwards that they never, had re- 
 membered seeing Hamilton in a more reckless and 
 brilliant mood. 
 
 Burr, on the other hand, was more quiet than his 
 wont. He drank nothing during the dinner, while 
 Hamilton, quite unlike his custom, quaffed bumper 
 after bumper of wine. His was, by far, the harder 
 part to play, for as Chairman, or rather President, 
 the whole responsibility of the dinner lay upon his 
 shoulders. He met the ordeal gallantly, almost with 
 bravado. His speech, which was entirely impromptu, 
 scintillated with wit. Hamilton was on his mettle; 
 never had he appeared in public to greater advantage. 
 
 Presently, as the feast wore on, there were cries 
 from all parts of the table, of "The Drum! The 
 Drum!" This was an old war song which Hamilton 
 had sung in his boyhood days at Washington's head- 
 quarters with his two closest chums, Lafayette and 
 young John Laurens. Originally, they had sung this 
 song as a trio, but after Laurens had come to his 
 untimely death and Lafayette had returned to France, 
 Hamilton had continued to sing it as a solo for old 
 time's sake, when old cronies gathered around a camp- 
 fire or some such general rendezvous as the banquet 
 was this night.
 
 COL. BURR MEETS MR. HAMILTON 219 
 
 It was the only song that Hamilton had ever been 
 heard to sing, and to-night, in spite of all the urging, 
 he seemed strangely averse to singing it. But the 
 banqueters had made up their minds that they would 
 have "The Drum" and nothing else. There was no 
 gain-saying them. So, finally, exclaiming laughingly, 
 "Very well, then, you shall have it!" Hamilton mount- 
 ed his chair and with one buckled foot upon the table 
 and his wine glass held high in hand, he sang the old 
 ditty for the last time. 
 
 THE DRUM. 
 
 "Kiss me good-by, my dear!" he said; 
 "When I come back we will be wed." 
 Crying, she kissed him, "Good-by, Ned !" 
 And the soldier followed the drum, 
 
 The drum, 
 The echoing, echoing drum. 
 
 Rataplan ! Rataplan ! Rataplan ! 
 Follow me, follow me, each true man; 
 Living or dying, strike while you can ! 
 
 And the soldiers followed the drum, 
 The drum, 
 
 The echoing, echoing drum. 
 
 Proudly and firmly march off the men ; 
 Who had a sweetheart thought of her then; 
 Tears were coming, but brave lips smiled when, 
 
 The soldiers followed the drum, 
 The drum, 
 
 The echoing, echoing drum. 
 
 While he was singing, Burr, from his seat near the 
 center of the table, sat leaning his face upon his hands 
 with his eyes fixed upon Hamilton's face. He was 
 the only man present who, when the song was finished, 
 did not join in the wild salvos of applause. While the 
 other guests were applauding and demanding a repeti-
 
 220 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 tion, Burr summoned one of the waiters and called 
 for a fresh cigar. 
 
 During the week following both men were en- 
 grossed in settling their business affairs. Each in his 
 own peculiar way was putting his house in order. The 
 night before the duel took place Hamilton dined at 
 the Grange with his family. Afterwards, for a short 
 time, he attended a ball at the house of one of his 
 oldest Tory friends. The Livingstons were all there, 
 Lady Kitty Duer, most of his old friends of the New 
 York fashionable set, in fact. And among them, look- 
 ing lovelier and more radiant than ever, was Madam 
 Jumel. 
 
 It happened by chance that in the opening quad- 
 rille, the only dance in which Hamilton took part 
 that night, Madam Jumel and a young French count 
 were his opposite partners. Once, during the course 
 of the dance, his hand touched Madam Jumel's, but 
 beyond the usual courtly bow, neither of them gave 
 the slightest signs of recognition; not a word passed 
 between them. Immediately afterwards Hamilton 
 made his excuses and disappeared. 
 
 On his return home, his daughter Angelica, his two 
 elder sons and his wife were awaiting him. At his 
 request Angelica played to him on the piano-forte. 
 In the course of half an hour both women kissed him 
 good-night and at once retired. For a time he sat 
 chatting with his boys and then they, having both 
 kissed him good-night, went to bed also. His will 
 he had already executed, so he was free to devote the 
 hours of this final night to writing personal letters
 
 COL. BURR MEETS MR. HAMILTON 221 
 
 to his friends. In the one which he wrote to his family 
 there occurred this passage: 
 
 "Should it happen that there is not enough money 
 for the payment of my debts, I entreat my dear child- 
 ren, if they or any of them should ever be able, to 
 make up the deficiency. I, without any hesitation, 
 commit to their delicacy a wish which is dictated by 
 my own, though conscious that I have too far sacri- 
 ficed the interests of my family to public avocations 
 and, on this account, have the less claim to burden my 
 children, yet I trust in their magnanimity to appreciate 
 as they ought this, my request. In so unfavorable 
 an event of things the support of their dear Mother 
 with the most respectful and tender attention, is a 
 duty all the sacredness of which they will feel. Prob- 
 ably her own patrimonial resources will preserve her 
 from indigence, but in all situations they are charged 
 to bear in mind that she has been to them the most 
 devoted and the best of mothers." 
 
 In the paper which he prepared as an explanation 
 of his participation in the duel, Hamilton admitted that 
 he shrank from the coming interview. His duty to 
 his religion, his family and his creditors forbade it. 
 He should hazard much and could gain nothing by 
 it. He was conscious of no ill-will to Colonel Burr 
 apart from political opposition, which he hoped had 
 proceeded always from pure and upright motives, but 
 there were difficulties, intrinsic and artificial, in the 
 way of an accommodation which has seemed insuper- 
 able; intrinsic because he really had been very severe 
 upon Colonel Burr; artificial because Colonel Burr had 
 demanded too much and in a manner that precluded
 
 222 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 a peaceful discussion of the difficulty. "As well," 
 Hamilton concluded, "because it is possible that I 
 may have injured Colonel Burr, however convinced 
 myself that my opinions and declarations have been 
 well founded, as from my general principles and tem- 
 per in relation to similar affairs, I have resolved, 
 if our interview is conducted in the usual maner, and it 
 pleases God to give me the opportunity, to reserve and 
 throw away my first fire, and I have thoughts even 
 of reserving my second fire, and thus giving a double 
 opportunity to Colonel Burr to pause and reflect." 
 
 Burr, meanwhile, had spent the entire day and 
 evening alone in his library at Richmond Hill. In 
 the letter which he wrote to his son-in-law, Joseph 
 Alston, he said: 
 
 "If it should be my lot to fall, yet I shall live 
 in you and your son. I commit to you all that 
 is most dear to me my reputation and my daughter. 
 Your talents and your attachment will be the guardi- 
 an of the one your kindness and your generosity 
 of the other. Let me entreat you to stimulate and 
 aid Theodosia in the cultivation of her mind. It is 
 indispensable to her happiness and essential to yours. 
 It is also of the utmost importance to your son. She 
 would presently acquire a critical knowledge of Latin, 
 English and all branches of natural philosophy. All 
 this would be poured into your son. If you should 
 differ with me as to the importance of this measure, 
 suffer me to ask it of you as a last favor. She will 
 richly compensate your trouble." 
 
 In his letter to Theodosia, his daughter, Burr, after 
 particularly enjoining her to burn all letters of his
 
 COL. BURR MEETS MR. HAMILTON 223 
 
 which had been written by women and all such as, if 
 by accident made public would injure any person, 
 concluded with these words: 
 
 "I am indebted to you, my dearest Theodosia, for 
 a very great portion of the happiness which I have 
 enjoyed in this life. You have completely satisfied 
 all that my heart and affections had hoped or even 
 wished. With a little more perseverance, determina- 
 tion and industry you will obtain all that my ambition 
 or vanity had fondly imagined. Let your son have 
 occasion to be proud that he had a mother. Adieu, 
 Adieu." 
 
 Burr did not go to bed at all that night. Just as 
 the dawn was coming, as was so often his custom in 
 his old military days, he threw himself upon a couch 
 in his library and instantly fell asleep. An hour 
 later his staunch old friend, John Swartwout, entered 
 the room and found him sleeping as peacefully as a 
 child. He awoke him and told him that all was in 
 readiness. Van Ness, who was to be his second, and 
 his friend, Matthew L. Davis, arrived. The fouf 
 of them proceeded in silence to the river's bank where 
 a boat awaited them. 
 
 The spot chosen for the duelling ground was about 
 two miles and a half above the city of Hoboken 
 almost directly opposite what is now West Forty- 
 Second Street. At this point the heights reached to an 
 elevation of at least a hundred and fifty feet above the 
 Hudson. These heights rose steep and sheer and 
 were covered with small trees and bushes. Under the 
 heights at a point some half mile from where they 
 began there was a grassy ledge about six feet wide and
 
 224 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 eleven paces long. This was the spot on which, five 
 years before, Aaron Burr had met John B. Church, 
 Hamilton's brother-in-law. It was also the spot on 
 which, only a short year before, Hamilton's son, Phil- 
 ip, his first born, had been killed in mortal combat with 
 young George J. Eacker. 
 
 The pistols used in the duel between Burr and 
 Hamilton that day were the same which had been used 
 by Church and Burr in their duel. Naturally Burr 
 knew the spot well, and when the boat grated upon 
 the shore, he was the first to leap out. In his hand 
 he carried a small axe with which he at once began to 
 attack the undergrowth, which in the course of the 
 past year since the last duel had been fought there, 
 had made the approach to the duelling ground almost 
 impassable. Burr was still chopping away lustily with 
 his axe when Hamilton's barge hove in sight. 
 
 There was a heavy swell on the river and Nathaniel 
 Pendleton, Hamilton's second, had been so desperately 
 sea-sick on the passage up the river that Hamilton, per- 
 force, had had to hold his head. With Hamilton in 
 the barge was a life-long friend of both men, 
 Dr. William Hosack. A mist lay over the river presag- 
 ing a hot and glaring Summer's day. After the usual 
 salutations had been exchanged, ten full paces were 
 measured off, and a Spanish milled dollar was tossed 
 for the choice of positions. Hamilton won the toss, 
 and much against his second's protest, chose the west 
 station, which placed his back to the cliff and put the 
 sun full in his eyes. Again the Spanish dollar was 
 tossed and once more Hamilton won. This time it 
 was his second's right to call the word "Fire!"
 
 COL. BURR MEETS MR. HAMILTON 225 
 
 While the preparations were proceeding, Hamilton, 
 deadly pale and looking as though he had just arisen 
 from a sick-bed, stood chatting with Dr. Hosack. 
 Burr, meanwhile, sat on a stone nonchalantly smoking 
 a cigar. 
 
 The pistols were loaded; the principals took their 
 places Hamilton, looking over the river towards 
 the city, and Burr, facing the heights. Pendleton 
 then explained to the principals the rules which had 
 been agreed upon with regard to firing. After the 
 word "Present" had been spoken, each was at liberty 
 to fire as soon as he pleased. 
 
 The seconds withdrew out of range. At this mo- 
 ment old Dr. Hosack suddenly threw up his hands 
 and rushed towards the river. He had left his case 
 of surgical instruments in Hamilton's boat. 
 
 By the time, puffing and gasping, he returned, there 
 was desperate work for him to do. 
 
 "Are you ready?" cried Pendleton. 
 
 Both answered "Yes." 
 
 There was a moment's pause. 
 
 "Fire!" came from Pendleton's lips. 
 
 Burr raised his pistol and took aim. At that instant, 
 Hamilton seemed to step a trifle forward. Eurr 
 fired. Hamilton sprang upon his toes with a con- 
 vulsive movement. His pistol went off and dropped 
 from his hands as he reeled towards the heights, then 
 fell forward upon his face and remained motionless. 
 
 The ball from his discharged pistol struck the 
 branch of a tree seven feet above the head of his 
 antagonist and four feet wide from him. Burr, hear- 
 ing the ping of the bullet, looked up and saw where it
 
 226 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 had severed a twig, then turning hastily, he saw Ham- 
 ilton falling. He sprang towards him with an ex- 
 pression of horror and pain upon his face, but before 
 Burr could reach Hamilton, Pendleton had the stricken 
 man in his arms, and as Dr. Hosack, Mr. Davis and 
 the boatman, at the sound of the pistols came hurrying 
 up the rocks, Van Ness, with rare presence of mind, 
 seized Burr and started to drag him away. In his 
 hand, Van Ness carried a huge cotton umbrella such 
 as in those days was used to shield one from the mid- 
 day sun. He opened it and thrust it over Burr's head 
 in order to shield him from observation. Without 
 a word being spoken he hurried Burr down the rocks 
 and into the waiting boat, which was immediately 
 rowed swiftly back to Richmond Hill where Burr's 
 old friend, Swartwout, was awaiting him. 
 
 Pendelton, meanwhile, was holding the stricken 
 Hamilton in his arms. As Dr. Hosack rushed up 
 he found Hamilton with the ashy hue of death already 
 on his face but perfectly conscious. 
 
 "This wound is mortal, Doctor," gasped the stricken 
 man and sank into a swoon. 
 
 Ripping his clothes apart, Dr. Hosack discovered 
 that the ball had entered the right side and had pene- 
 trated the stomach. A single glance proved to 
 the Doctor that Hamilton had diagnosed his own case 
 correctely. Unconscious they carried him down the 
 rocks, placed him as tenderly as possible in the boat 
 and set off for the city. The fresh breeze from the 
 river and the doctor's restoratives revived Hamilton 
 in a short time. His eyes wandered from right to 
 left without fixing upon any object. Finally he spoke.
 
 COL. BURR MEETS MR. HAMILTON 227 
 
 "I cannot see," he said, "my vision is indistinct." 
 
 Presently his pulse quickened, his breathing became 
 more regular, his sight cleared. After a time his eyes 
 happened to light upon the case of pistols. The pistol 
 which he had used was lying on the outside of the 
 case. 
 
 "Take care of that pistol," he said, in quite a strong 
 voice, "it's still cocked and undischarged. It may go 
 off and do harm." 
 
 He strove, half unsuccessfully, to turn his head 
 towards Pendleton, to whom he said: 
 
 "You know that I did not intend to fire at him." 
 
 After that he lay quite calmly until the boat had 
 almost reached the wharf. Then he said, in a weaker 
 voice : 
 
 "Send for Mrs. Hamilton at once. Let my con- 
 dition be broken to her gradually but give her hope. 
 Do not alarm her." As they neared the wharf he 
 saw his old friend, Mr. Bayard, standing there in 
 great agitation. In some unaccountable way this old 
 friend seemed to have already divined the tragedy. 
 Pendleton called to him, 
 
 "Get a cot ready, quick, man! We've a man here 
 desperately ill." 
 
 At that instant Mr. Bayard, recognizing the form 
 of Hamilton as he lay on the bottom of the boat, 
 threw up his hands and burst into tears. 
 
 It was then but a few minutes after seven. Mr. 
 Bayard's house, to which they carried Hamilton, stood 
 close to the river's bank, in Greenwich, a spot which 
 now corresponds to the foot of Desbrosses Street. Mrs.
 
 228 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Hamilton and the seven children were summoned with 
 all speed. 
 
 For a day, until in fact it became evident that there 
 was no chance of recovery, Mrs. Hamilton and the 
 doctors and nurses were the only persons admitted to 
 his room. He lingered for thirty-one hours in fearful 
 agony. The duel was fought on Wednesday morning. 
 At two o'clock on the following day, Hamilton died. 
 An hour before his death, while he was still conscious, 
 the Hamilton children were admitted to the room. 
 Angelica, his oldest daughter and his favorite child, 
 after one glance at her father in his agony, went raving 
 mad and had to be carried from the room. She lived 
 to be seventy-six but never again knew a sane moment. 
 
 The fate of this young girl was even more terrible 
 than the tragic fate which befell Aaron Burr's daugh- 
 ter, Theodosia, a few years later on. Burr, at that 
 time, had recently returned from Europe, poor and 
 generally discredited, but indomitable still. He had 
 succeeded in re-establishing himself in New York as 
 a fairly successful lawyer when word came to him 
 from the Alston estate in Carolina of the sudden death 
 of his little grandson, Aaron Burr. This idolized 
 child, whom his grandfather, if fate had favored him, 
 had destined to be the heir presumptive to the throne 
 of that Mexico which he never was to win, had died 
 of pneumonia in his eleventh year. 
 
 Crushed by his grief Burr sent word to Theodosia 
 to come to him at once. She took ship from Charles- 
 ton Harbor on The Patriot, and that ship was never 
 heard of again. 
 
 By nine o'clock on the morning of the duel, the news
 
 COL. BURR MEETS MR. HAMILTON 229 
 
 of the tragedy had begun to be noised about the city. 
 Bulletins soon appeared in front of the newspaper 
 offices and the Tontine Coffee House. Never had 
 New York with its sixty thousand inhabitants been 
 so stunned and shocked by a piece of news. 
 
 Hamilton's death on the following day only served 
 to increase the angry furore. Duelling from that day 
 to this, in all the northern states at least, has been 
 placed under a ban. 
 
 Hamilton's funeral two days after his death was 
 the most memorable event in the history of the city. 
 Not even at the death of Washington had there been 
 so universal a display of grief. 
 
 The funeral cortege, which marched from the Bay- 
 ard residence to Trinity Church, comprised all the 
 magnates of the city, and representatives of every 
 corporate body of men followed behind his bier. 
 Gouverneur Morris, on a platform erected in front 
 of Trinity Church, with the four young sons of the 
 dead man standing beside him, delivered a brief 
 oration. 
 
 Almost the only able man in New York who was not 
 present at Hamilton's funeral was Aaron Burr. 
 
 Proceeding direct from the duelling ground to his 
 home at Richmond Hill, Burr, seeing only his old 
 friend Swartwout, Van Ness and the two Irvings, 
 Peter and Washington, calmly awaited the subsidence 
 of the hub-hub. For the first day after his return he 
 remained closeted in his bedroom, refusing himself 
 to all. When he emerged he was the same indomitable 
 Burr. He offered no explanation and would listen 
 to no reproaches. He maintained then and until the day
 
 2 3 o THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 of his death, that Hamilton had fired at him. To 
 Dolly Todd, to Madam Jumel and to perhaps one 
 other person, exclusive of his daughter, Theodosia, 
 he subsequently spoke in detail of the tragedy, but to 
 no one else. To the world he presented his usual 
 serene and buoyant calm. 
 
 For eleven days he awaited the consequences of 
 his act in his home at Richmond Hill. The news- 
 papers shrieked aloud for vengeance on him. The 
 Coroner's jury found him guilty of murder, but the 
 hub-hub was too violent at the outset; at such a pace it 
 could not last; and before Hamilton's body had been 
 in its grave a week, there were many, even in Hamil- 
 ton's strongest strong-hold, New York City, who began 
 to regard the matter in a fairer light and with more 
 leniency towards Colonel Burr. 
 
 At the end of eleven days, Burr, accompanied by 
 the ever-faithful Swartwout, took barge for Perth 
 Amboy, where he was closeted for many hours with 
 his old friend Commodore Truxton. To him he con- 
 fided all his plans with regard to his coming conquest 
 in Mexico. He told him of Sir Anthony Merry's 
 promise of many English ships. Finding Truxton 
 enthusiastic, Burr started forth on that quest, the 
 maddest in all history, that conquest of Mexico which 
 was never to be. 
 
 Meanwhile, in spite of all his new schemes and wild 
 enthusiasms, he had found time to write two letters 
 one was addressed to Dolly Todd the other to Ma- 
 dam Jumel.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIVES A DINNER PARTY BUT LOSES 
 Two OF His GUESTS 
 
 "This famed metropolis where fancy sees 
 Squares in morasses, obelisks in trees, 
 Which travelling fools and gazetteers adorn 
 With shrines unbuilt and heroes yet unborn." 
 
 THOMAS MOORE. 
 
 MEANWHILE, at the inaugural ceremonies 
 at Washington, Mr. Jefferson had fulfilled 
 his word. He had created his first sensa- 
 tion by riding unattended on his old brown mare, 
 tying her securely to the palings of the White House 
 fence and walking in sans buckles, sans ruffles, or any 
 other folderols and calmly accepting the oath of office. 
 'Twas a wonder which would have lasted Washing- 
 ton for the conventional nine days were it not that 
 the citizens of that burg were at the moment so fear- 
 fully engrossed in their own affairs. To find a 
 decent spot to sleep in, that was the main point! not 
 with the ordinary sojourner within the city's absent 
 gates alone but with the diplomats, the soldiers, the 
 politicians, and all their good ladies as well. Never 
 was a would-be city in so dire a municipal mess. 
 
 When some visiting Frenchman renamed the newly 
 christened Washington "the city of magnificent 
 
 231
 
 232 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 distances," he spoke not only truthfully but well within 
 the mark. Of hotel or tavern accommodations there 
 were practically none. The private houses, even to the 
 Presidential mansion itself, were in a state of crude 
 and damnably uncomfortable incompleteness. 
 
 Dolly Todd's first glimpse of the interior of the 
 White House caused that good lady and fine housewife 
 to throw up her hands in unholy consternation. Her 
 first sight was of the great drawing-room where 
 nearly all the furniture of state had been installed 
 and a few historical paintings hung on the walls. As 
 for the furniture itself, it might have been so many 
 mid-day ghosts for all that you could see of its original 
 material. Billows of white sheets, counterpanes, 
 pillow-slips, dish-towels, all newly laundered and 
 flaring white enveloped it everywhere. Across the 
 red cushioned chair of state, where Lady Washington, 
 upon a dais, had been wont to hold her royal-like re- 
 ceptions, was thrown a suit of President Jefferson's 
 newly washed red-flannel underwear. The clash of 
 the two shades of red was far too glaring for Dolly's 
 artistic eye. 
 
 She snatched the underclothes as a child from a 
 roaring furnace, and turned to grasp indignantly at 
 the bell-rope which was not there. Then, rushing to 
 the ante-room, she banged on the walls with her knuck- 
 les, until two old slaves of Mr. Jefferson's came scur- 
 rying, breathless and helter-skelter, from the room 
 which should have been the laundry but was not. 
 Upon explanation being demanded the servants offered 
 what was a perfectly reasonable excuse. 'Twas at Mr. 
 Jefferson's own orders that they had used the drawing-
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIVES A DINNER 233 
 
 room as a drying-room. There was no help for it. 
 Buckets and laundry tubs had yet to be installed. 
 There was not a bell-rope in the entire mansion. 
 'Twas lucky when sufficient wood could be obtained to 
 keep the President's own hearth alight. Even the 
 very stairs had not, as yet, been completed, and the 
 upper floors could only be reached by the aid of a 
 step-ladder. 
 
 This was the spectacle which faced Mrs. Todd 
 when she arrived in Washington to witness the inaug- 
 uration and to spend a few quiet restful weeks with 
 members of her mother's family. What was true of 
 the White House's incompleteness was equally true 
 of almost every mansion in Washington, only in larger 
 case. However, the very incongruity and unusualness 
 of it all brought to the situation something of the 
 charm of an indefinitely prolonged picnic. From Pres- 
 ident to bootblack all citizens were much in the same 
 boat, so after all what did it matter! 
 
 Never had an embryo city a more exquisite rural 
 setting. Violets, in great wild profusion, blossomed by 
 the doorsteps; those harbingers of spring crocuses 
 never sown by man, had already bloomed and faded 
 in glorious blazes all about the newly reared mansions 
 To step into the wild woods one had only to walk 
 thirty paces from one's own back door, and yet, after 
 the first few weeks of sheer discomfiture, Dolly loved 
 it all heartily. 'Twas a new world and certainly a new 
 point of view for her. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson's daughters had come from Monti- 
 cello for the inaugural ceremonies but, like the dutiful 
 wives they were, the new city in its forest form held
 
 234 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 little lure for them, so they hurried home again to 
 their expectant husbands. After that scarcely a day 
 passed which did not bring to Mrs. Todd some urgent 
 message from the White House. 
 
 To-day it was "Mr. Jefferson's compliments to Mrs. 
 Todd, and won't she please come over at her earliest 
 convenience to see if the new dining-room curtains 
 match." To-morrow it would be "Mr. Jefferson 
 has just mastered a new aria on the fiddle and won't 
 Mrs. Todd please come with Mr. Madison and see 
 if it affronts their ears." It was a wedding march he 
 had been practicing on for weeks, but Dolly, when she 
 heard it, put her hands to her ears and exclaimed, 
 " 'Twould make a splendid dirge for a funeral!" 
 
 Madison, meanwhile, was playing, perforce, a wait- 
 ing game. He had no choice, poor devil! Dolly, 
 enjoying her freedom from household care, showed 
 not the slightest sign of comforting or dismissing 
 him by either word of his favorite formula "yes 
 or no." Of the duel and its tragic outcome she 
 spoke to no one, further than to indulge in the usual 
 commonplace remarks upon such an event. When 
 the news first reached her she closeted herself in her 
 bedroom and saw no one, not even her hostess, 
 for a full thirty-six hours. Then, just at tea-time, 
 she descended to the drawing-room smiling, bright, 
 beaming and seemingly care-free in fact just the same 
 old Dolly Todd. Friends, respecting her pluck, and 
 perhaps realizing her heart-break, ceased gossiping 
 of the duel when she drew near. 
 
 In the course of a few days a letter reached her 
 from New York. It was addressed in a woman's
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIFES A DINNER 235 
 
 handwriting. Whatever its contents, it seemed to af- 
 ford her genuine comfort, for her old-time gayety 
 only fully reasserted itself after its arrival. She still, 
 however, was a sedulous watcher of the New York 
 mail, but though many letters reached her from many 
 points, none bore the hand-writing of Aaron Burr. 
 
 Time went along. By midsummer under Dolly's 
 clever direction the Presidential mansion had taken 
 on most of the attributes and many of the appurte- 
 nances of a livable abode. Mr. Jefferson, grunting and 
 bemoaning the fate which kept him in Washington 
 while his heart and all his enthusiasms were far away 
 at his beloved Monticello, finally decided that it was 
 high time for some official function to take place. 
 Accordingly he issued his invitations for his first state 
 dinner. 
 
 The guests consisted mainly of the ambassadors and 
 ministers from foreign courts. At his urgent request, 
 Dolly had consented to do the honors for him. Late 
 in the afternoon, Dolly, dressed for the evening func- 
 tion and enveloped in a huge Paisley shawl which she 
 had borrowed from her aunt, walked down Pennsyl- 
 vania Avenue towards the White House accompanied 
 by that ever faithful watchdog, Jemmy Madison. A 
 carriage stood in front of the White House door; two 
 trunks on the front seat almost obscured the colored 
 driver from view. 
 
 As Dclly and Madison mounted the steps a young 
 man jumped hurriedly from the carriage and rushed 
 towards them with outstretched hands. It was Pinck- 
 ney, home from the South, where he had been for the 
 last two months on one of President Jefferson's secret
 
 236 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 missions. Once indoors, Dolly, with a thousand mat- 
 ters to cope with, hurried to the kitchen, leaving Pinck- 
 ney and Madison alone in the reception room. 
 
 "Just arrived from Richmond!" gasped Pinckney as 
 he strove to recover his breath. Then turning to the 
 servant he exclaimed, "The rest of my luggage will 
 follow in a few moments. It's all marked Professor 
 Columbini. Have it sent directly to my rooms." 
 
 While Pinckney went to wash his hands, Madison 
 turned to De Vaux, the butler, and asked. "The usual 
 time the dinner, I suppose?" 
 
 "No sir, an hour later, by Mrs. Todd's orders. 
 It's on account of the lights, Sir. Mrs. Todd thought 
 the ladies would prefer " 
 
 "Ah yes, quite so, I understand," said Madison. 
 "I hope all goes well?" 
 
 "Perfectly, Sir," responded De Vaux, "thanks to 
 Mrs. Todd's splendid taste. And Mr. Jefferson has 
 ordered the best from Monticello silver, linen, wines, 
 supplies his Paris chef. 'Twill be a proper party, 
 Sir." 
 
 " 'Twill be more than party," said Madison, turn- 
 ing to Dolly, who entered at that moment, " 'twill be 
 a parade, with all the powers of Europe looking on. 
 From their view-point of complicated etiquette of 
 ranks and titles dear me! I'm worried as to how 
 they'll take it." 
 
 He spoke almost apprehensively, but Dolly, buoyant 
 as ever, soon cleared the air. 
 
 "But there's to be none of that," she exclaimed. 
 "The President doesn't mince words on this matter.
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIFES A DINNER 237 
 
 He simply proclaims equality and by the most rigid 
 code." 
 
 Then striking an attitude and marking off her sen- 
 tences as she spoke them in a pompous tone, by tapping 
 her fingers with her fan, she quoted: 
 
 "This is the Nation's House. Where no man is 
 to be marked inferior to any other. Every guest at 
 my table the equal of every other. The principle of 
 our Society, like that of the Government, is the equality 
 of the individuals composing it. And to maintain 
 that principle and prevent the growth of social 
 inequality " 
 
 "My dear girl," laughed Madison, "you have it 
 by heart." 
 
 "Well, why not?" exclaimed Dolly, " 'tis the 
 Declaration of Independence over again only, as I 
 once told Mr. Jefferson, it's not so polite." 
 
 "Ah, but to enforce it ! There's the rub !" and Mad- 
 ison made a gesture indicative of cautious despair. 
 
 " But why not?" said Dolly reassuringly. "Laws! 
 man, they're all diplomats " 
 
 Madison shook his head dubiously. "Yes 
 and " 
 
 "Ah, take care!" cried Dolly, warningly. "Re- 
 member our compact." 
 
 Madison checked himself and smiled. 
 
 "Yes. That's the trouble, they are diplomats. 
 Oh, dear, oh, dear!" 
 
 Dolly burst out laughing. 
 
 "Yes," she exclaimed, "Sally tells me quoting her 
 husband D'Yrujo, I suppose that they're going to 
 show us clod-hoppers with our Yankee notions a thing
 
 238 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 or two! Tell me," she added in a more serious tone, 
 "who goes in with him?" 
 
 "That's just it, my dear," exclaimed Madison, "he's 
 not 'going in'." 
 
 "What!" cried Dolly aghast. 
 
 "No. He'll not appear 'till company's at table 
 ^just as has always been the custom at Monticello." 
 
 "But won't he receive them here when they arrive?" 
 
 "No, my dear," and Madison shook his head. "He 
 says 'twould make it too formal. He does not wish 
 to make it so much an affair of state." 
 
 "But who's to receive them, then not me?" 
 
 "Yes, my dear, you. At least so he requests." 
 
 "But me! Alone!" 
 
 "Those are his orders. He hopes to create a di- 
 version thereby and obviate the awkward issue which 
 might arise if he took anyone in particular in. 'Twill 
 avoid any show of preference to any one nation or 
 another and it will also impose peaceably, my dear, 
 the code which he is determined to advocate." 
 
 "It's all very fine to advocate 'his code'," cried Dolly 
 indignantly, "but it's another thing to do it, just the 
 same, least of all to-day. Why, this is the first formal 
 entertainment of his regime the first time that for- 
 eign ambassadors have dined here." 
 
 "Precisely," exclaimed Madison persuasively, "that's 
 just his point. 'Twill set the precedent, this dinner; 
 that's his argument. 'Twill establish for all time the 
 etiquette which rules the White House." 
 
 "Oh, no," said Dolly decisively. "Not when we 
 move in!" 
 
 A gleam of hope came into Madison's face, he
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIVES A DINNER 239 
 
 leaned toward her eagerly, but Dolly turned her head 
 and the subject at the same time. 
 
 "You're disturbed, Jemmy. What's the matter? 
 My coiffeur?" and she adjusted her head-dress. 
 
 " 'Tis most becoming. A work of art!" said Mad- 
 ison abstractedly. 
 
 "And the robe?" asked Dolly. 
 
 "Ravissante! Work of art." 
 
 "And," said Dolly, coming tantalizingly near to him, 
 "how's my color?" 
 
 "Work of art, too," laughed Madison, but Dolly 
 protested. 
 
 "Rouge, after my promise to you? Never, Sir! 
 
 I've compromised on rose powder. See " She 
 
 leaned her cheek forward and he promptly kissed her. 
 
 "There!" cried Dolly laughingly. "I've been wait- 
 ing for that. 'Tis the first in the White House." 
 
 "Oh, no, my dear," corrected Madison. "Remem- 
 ber President and Mrs. Adams were here for three 
 weeks." 
 
 "They never kissed in that time not those New 
 England icicles!" 
 
 She made as though about to kiss him in return, but 
 Madison, to her surprise, edged away and looked 
 about uneasily. 
 
 "Be careful, my dear. Remember we're not yet at 
 home." 
 
 "But, we are, Jemmy, we are!" cried Dolly enthusi- 
 astically. "Mr. Jefferson's only temporarily in pos- 
 session. When he goes out, we're coming in." 
 
 She paused and looked about her, at the walls, the 
 paintings, the quaint old red furniture. "There's some-
 
 2 4 o THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 thing about the place, Jemmy, once you get here, you'd 
 like to stay on." 
 
 "We'll have the freedom of it for four years, at 
 least, Dolly," exclaimed Madison. 
 
 "Yes, Jem," said Dolly with feeling, "and every man 
 who comes here within that time must go away thy 
 friend." 
 
 "With Heaven's help!" echoed Madison soberly. 
 
 "Sure!" replied Dolly, with a slight touch of her 
 brogue, "but we won't rely entirely on outsiders." 
 
 "You'll need all your wits to-day." 
 
 "Why? This dinner? I'm not worrying about it." 
 
 "Well, I fear, of course, there'll be complications. 
 Merry, Pichon and others, I presume each will expect 
 the President to take in his lady." 
 
 "Well, then some of them are bound to be disap- 
 pointed," laughed Dolly. "But, my eye! It will 
 create a diversion." 
 
 "Oh, yes," nodded Madison. " 'Twill be a diplo- 
 matic diversion. If Sir Anthony has his way he will 
 make it a quarrel." 
 
 "Let him," said Dolly. 
 
 "What! Let him! Let him make it a quarrel that 
 might mean the peace of nations." 
 
 "Hang the peace of nations, Jem!" cried Dolly, 
 snapping her fingers. "It means your peace of mind. 
 I know what they're saying, for all you keep it from 
 me you dearest and gentlest of men!" 
 
 "Who told you? Sally D'Yrujo wife?" 
 
 Dolly nodded her head. "Just what she thinks I 
 ought to know. The talk of these diplomats. That 
 no matter what mischief Burr may be up to "
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIVES A DINNER 241 
 
 'Tis treason, the President says," interrupted 
 Madison. 
 
 "Whatever it is even treason," continued Dolly, 
 "Sir Anthony counts on you to shut your eyes to it." 
 
 "Would you have me shut my eyes?" asked 
 Madison. 
 
 "I'd hate harm to come to Burr, Jim." 
 
 "Dolly," cried Madison in alarm. "Is there in your 
 heart any thought of love for him?" 
 
 "I'd put away all thought of him when I gave you my 
 word." 
 
 "Was there ever?" began Madison, but she inter- 
 rupted him. 
 
 "You have all my love, Jim or I wouldn't have 
 promised to be your wife. When he was about me 
 well don't ever try to follow the twists and turns of 
 a woman's heart, Jim 'specially when she's young 
 and a widow don't question a woman ever." She 
 grasped his hand fervidly and squeezed it. "If she 
 loves you, there's nothing to tell and if she doesn't 
 love you, shure, she'll tell you nothing!" 
 
 At that moment Pinckney came from the President's 
 room. 
 
 "The President begs your attendance, Ma'am," he 
 said, addressing Dolly. 
 
 "Where is he, in his study?" 
 
 "No. He's in the dining-room placing the guests. 
 There's an unexpected arrival whom he does not know 
 quite where to seat." 
 
 "Does he like the man?" asked Dolly. 
 
 "Well," smiled Pinckney, "I should scarcely dare 
 to say that. On the whole, I fancy not."
 
 242 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "How opportune!" exclaimed Dolly, as she with- 
 drew. "In that case we'll place him next Mrs. Merry." 
 
 "And don't forget to put me next Miss Ferrar." 
 
 "Are you very much in love?" asked Dolly. 
 
 "Yes," he said dejectedly. 
 
 "Have you asked her?" inquired Dolly. 
 
 " 'Yes and no,' ' quoted Pinckney, and he 
 smiled. 
 
 "Then buck up and do, man! There's no time to 
 lose," exclaimed Dolly, as she hurried away. 
 
 As the door closed behind Dolly, Madison turned 
 to Pinckney and asked eagerly, "What news?" 
 
 "The Vice President's returned." 
 
 Madison gave a low whistle of surprise. "Are you 
 quite sure?" he asked doubtingly. 
 
 "Positive, Sir. Captain Gadsby of the Secret Ser- 
 vice has just sent in his report. President's sent to 
 invite Mr. Burr to dine." 
 
 "But I thought you had left him at Richmond," said 
 Madison. 
 
 "So I did, Sir, but that was a week since. He was 
 with General Wilkinson, Mr. Clay and Andrew 
 Jackson." 
 
 Pinckney summoned De Vaux. 
 
 "When did the Vice President arrive?" he asked 
 
 "Soon after you, Mr. Gadsby said, Sir," answered 
 De Vaux. "He went straight to the British Legation. 
 He was hardly in before an attache ran to fetch the 
 Marquis D'Yrujo. As the Marquis stepped to his 
 coach, his lady flew down the steps, remonstrating 
 with him. There were some sharp words and tears 
 on the pavement. The Marquis turned back."
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIFES A DINNER 243 
 
 "Gadsby learned this himself?" asked Pinckney. 
 
 "He saw Mr. Burr arrive. The rest he obtained 
 from the Embassy coachman at the tavern." 
 
 "What do you make of it his return?" asked Mad- 
 ison, as the door closed behind De Vaux. 
 
 "He has learned of his danger here," said Pinckney. 
 
 "You mean this is mere bravado?" asked Madison. 
 
 "Ah, no, Sir!" Pinckney shrugged his shoulders and 
 shook his head. "Bravado, ah; no, Sir! Mr. Burr 
 right or wrong he fights. After the duel he remained 
 in New York for days. Nearly a fortnight. He went 
 freely in public; showed himself everywhere, till all 
 clamor ended. Then Merry and D'Yrujo joined him 
 at Perth Amboy." 
 
 "Yes, that was prearranged, we know," said 
 Madison. 
 
 "He was constantly with them," continued Pinckney. 
 "Not a sign of secrecy, though gossip was then busy 
 with his plans." 
 
 "That's what puzzles us, his audacity!" exclaimed 
 Madison. 
 
 " 'Tis marvelous, Sir," assented Pinckney. "At 
 every point of his journey he enlisted men, gathered 
 arms, bought supplies, had boats built. Every need 
 iof the expedition was attended to all openly all 
 above board." 
 
 "With English money?" said Madison. 
 
 "No trace of it, Sir. So Gallatin says." 
 
 "Two hundred thousand pounds Merry asked his 
 Government," said Madison. "We've proof in his 
 own handwriting." 
 
 Pinckney looked dubious.
 
 244 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "In the present scarcity of gold," he said, "could 
 such import escape notice?" 
 
 "Then how did he get his money? Where did it 
 come from?" queried Madison. 
 
 "He sold his farms in Broadway to Astor, the rich 
 fur merchant. That was published, Sir." 
 
 "Merely to blind us," exclaimed Madison. "Is all 
 that in your report?" 
 
 "Everything, day by day, for three long months, 
 from town to town." 
 
 "And you?" smiled Madison. "Always the Italian 
 showman, I suppose?" 
 
 Pinckney nodded his head, smiled, and drawing a 
 show-bill from his pocket, began to recite: "Professor 
 Columbini, with his unrivalled array of Wax Works. 
 Great Presentations of Historical Incidents and Cele- 
 brated Chara " He checked himself suddenly. 
 
 "Pardon, Sir, I " 
 
 "Quite excusable," laughed Madison. "It's become 
 a habit, I see." 
 
 He took the show-bill and looked at it with curiosity. 
 
 "You took every precaution, I hope?" 
 
 "Indeed, Sir," answered Pinckney emphatically, "I 
 even asked at every inn for macaroni. And where 
 the dish was strange I explained its mysteries." 
 
 There was a twinkle in Madison's eye as he 
 remarked : 
 
 "You certainly went to great lengths. And Burr 
 never suspected?" 
 
 "Took precious good care, Sir, to keep out of his 
 sight. On one occasion 'twas Nashville he brought 
 some ladies to view the figures. Fortunately I caught
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIFES A DINNER 245 
 
 a glimpse of him as he approached. I left the lec- 
 ture instantly to my assistant, who intimated to the 
 audience that Professor Columbini had suddenly suc- 
 cumbed to Southern hospitality, and was unwell." 
 
 "That was prudent," said Madison approvingly. 
 
 "So it proved, Sir. Our most popular group of Wax 
 Works represented Burr and Hamilton in the duel. 
 Unknown to us and unperceived, some local wag had 
 pinned a large placard close to this exhibit on which 
 was printed in large letters, to be easily read: 
 
 "'Oh, Burr! oh, Burr! what hast thou done? 
 Thou hast shooted dead great Hamilton. 
 You hid behind a bunch of thistle 
 And shooted him dead with a great hoss pistol.' 
 
 Burr laughed with the rest at sight of it, but after he 
 had taken the ladies home he returned in towering 
 rage. He ordered the group of the duel instantly 
 destroyed. And he saw that it was done, too. He 
 threatened that if his order was not instantly obeyed, 
 he himself would melt the figures into macaroni and 
 stand by while the Professor made a meal of it!" 
 
 "He'd have been equal to that threat, too," smiled 
 Madison. 
 
 "But not I, Sir. I never cared for macaroni. So 
 the group was destroyed, greatly to the show's adver- 
 tisement. Though Burr's presence in a town, by itself, 
 drew crowds from all surrounding parts, as on a holi- 
 day. Professor Columbini's visit therefore seemed but 
 a part of the general show. 'Twas easy to note his 
 associations. We could pick up talk of his plans 
 ahead in the streets, in the taverns, at the fairs. This
 
 246 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 way we were able to gauge, too, as we used to do in 
 Paris, the public temper." 
 
 "Was it friendly?" asked Madison. 
 
 "For Burr? An ovation, Sir ! That's the only word 
 for it. Everywhere honors and affection. He was 
 courted by the gentry. Adored by the mob. The 
 finest companies entertained him. 'Twas one long suc- 
 cession of dinners, receptions, dances, routs. In Ken- 
 tucky he was the guest of Henry Clay and his lady. 
 From Nashville, Andrew Jackson took him down the 
 river in his private barge. On land, always a military 
 escort supplied by General Wilkinson, chief of the 
 army. South and West so everywhere!" 
 
 "And they who used to idolize Hamilton!" 
 exclaimed Madison. 
 
 "And they lament his fate, Sir," answered Pinck- 
 ney. "Quite as profoundly as we do here but merely 
 as the unhappy issue of an honorable encounter wherein 
 he had an equal chance with his opponent. Nowhere 
 was there resentment against Colonel Burr because of 
 that affair. In the South the duel is still the social code. 
 Here it's a custom, there a habit! like breathing or 
 love-making and, that a lady figured in the quarrel, 
 as they believe " 
 
 "Who?" interrupted Madison eagerly. "Tell me, 
 who do they say?" 
 
 "Nom-de-nom!" And Pinckney laughed. "Her 
 name is legion. Every lady the two men ever knew 
 and more they didn't share the romance. Which of 
 course only adds glamor to Colonel Burr and his 
 imperial venture,"
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIFES A DINNER 247 
 
 "Imperial venture?" sniffed Madison. "Treason's 
 the President's word!" 
 
 "You'll never convince the South and West of that, 
 Sir." 
 
 "What do they think he's after Clay, Jackson and 
 the rest?" inquired Madison impatiently. 
 
 "Mexico." 
 
 "Only Mexico?" asked Madison skeptically. 
 
 "And anything else Spanish within reach." 
 
 "They owned that?" 
 
 "Yes, Sir. And bless him for it," answered Pinck- 
 ney. "They hate Spain with a a well, its a kind 
 of a monoinsanity. They talk every day like Fourth 
 of July. They have her next door in Louisiana, the 
 Floridas, all along the Mississippi. To drive her off 
 they'd jump at any scheme. That's what Burr counts 
 on. 
 
 "Take Mexico and then his new Republic," 
 exclaimed Madison. "Clay must see that, and above 
 all, Jackson." 
 
 "No notion of it, Sir. I told 'em as the President 
 directed my errand in their country what I'd seen 
 and heard of Burr's plans the rumors here the 
 President's alarm." 
 
 "That Clay knew already," said Madison. 
 
 "Yes, and he smiled." 
 
 "But what did he think of Merry and of D'Yrujo?" 
 
 "At that he roared with laughter. He said he was 
 astonished Mr. Jefferson didn't see the humor of it." 
 
 "Humor!" exclaimed Madison. "What humor?" 
 
 "Why, the idea of Colonel Burr playing Spain
 
 248 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 'gainst England. To get funds from one or both for 
 his enterprise." 
 
 "Ah, yes. I begin to see," said Madison. 
 
 "He pledges England the freedom of the Gulf 
 when he's driven out Spain. And promises Spain let 
 
 me see " and Pinckney reflected for a moment. 
 
 "What does he promise Spain?" 
 
 Madison burst out laughing. "No matter, Sir; I've 
 small humor myself, but that I can appreciate." 
 
 " 'Tis funny, Sir," said Pinckney. 
 
 "Yes." Then suddenly turning sober, Madison 
 exclaimed: "Amazing funny that Burr could make Clay 
 swallow that yarn. And Mr. Jackson, was he hilari- 
 ous also?" 
 
 "On the contrary, Sir," declared Pinckney excitedly. 
 "The mere hint that he, or his people, were disloyal I 
 Well, Sir, Mr. Clay heard me through, but Jackson 
 tonnerres! tonnerres!" 
 
 "Yes, he has language," Madison concurred. 
 
 "And a hickory-stick, Sir with which he bade me 
 tell President, in terms I wouldn't dare repeat, that 
 he mustn't think the South and West sick of the Repub- 
 lic just because the spindle-shanked, hollow-chested, 
 doe-faced, doodles of the East " 
 
 The murmur of the arriving guests was heard in 
 the corridor. Madison checked Pinckney in his story. 
 
 "You've done good work, Sir," he said. "Present 
 your account of expenses; I'll approve." 
 
 "Thank you, Sir," laughed Pinckney. "But 'tis I 
 who owe the Government." 
 
 "How so?" asked Madison.
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIFES A DINNER 249 
 
 "The Wax Works show. Very profitable. Enor- 
 mous attendance. And all because of Mr. Burr!" 
 
 " 'Twas always so with that man," exclaimed Madi- 
 son to Dolly, who had just returned. "He always could 
 make everyone's fortune but his own." 
 
 "The President's just told me, Jemmy," said Dolly 
 coolly "that Burr's returned. He's just had word from 
 him. He's not coming to dinner after all. He had 
 a previous engagement, so unfortunately I could not 
 place him next to Mrs. Merry! Later possibly, he 
 tells the President, he may drop in. In time for the 
 ice-cream and public reception." 
 
 "The guests, Madam !" exclaimed De Vaux. Then, 
 in a louder and his most official voice, announced: 
 
 "The Minister from the Netherlands and his lady." 
 
 "So glad you've arrived!" exclaimed Dolly, as she 
 greeted them. "The President will be so relieved ! He 
 feared the storm might keep you away." 
 
 "So," remarked Vrou Van Berckel, who looked like 
 an overfed apple dumpling, wrapped up in crimson 
 silk. 
 
 "Bad driving to-day, Mynheer?" queried Madison 
 by way of breaking the ice. 
 
 "Yes, but fine fishing," said Van Berckel, who was 
 assuredly a cheerful soul. "This morning I catch," 
 and he measured off in pantomime the length of the 
 fish. 
 
 "Charge d'Affaires for France and Madam Pi- 
 chon." 
 
 "So glad you've arrived!" exclaimed Dolly, as she 
 bowed to Pichon and kissed his six weeks' bride, 
 Sophia. "President will be so relieved! He feared the
 
 250 THE FIRST LADY IN, THE LAND 
 
 storm might detain you. And your robe, my dear!" 
 she exclaimed, turning to the child bride again. " 'Tis 
 from Paris?" 
 
 "Yes," nodded Sophia. "And Treasury duties. A 
 hundred dollars," and with her jewelled hand she in- 
 dicated her extremely decollete waist. "For next to 
 nothing!" 
 
 "Never mind, dear," whispered Dolly to Sophia, 
 behind her fan. "When the President catches a 
 glimpse of you he'll make 'em refund it." 
 
 Pichon was in a distinctly surly mood, as Dolly was 
 quick to divine. 
 
 "Whom have you here?" he exclaimed churlishly, 
 as he raised his lorgnettes and scornfully surveyed a 
 bust of Louis XVI, which stood upon a revolving 
 pedestal. 
 
 "Your former King, Sir, Louis XVI," answered 
 Madison. "A friend of America always. He helped 
 us to freedom. Don't you recognize him?" 
 
 "Only this way," exclaimed Pichon superciliously. 
 !And he turned the pedestal so that his former mon- 
 arch's face was towards the wall. 
 
 "He gave America this copy, Sir," retorted Madi- 
 son, as he revolved the figure into its former position. 
 
 "He gave France the original," sneered Pichon. 
 "That was quite enough!" 
 
 "Sir Anthony Merry and his ladies!" shouted De 
 tVaux. 
 
 "What! That man dining here?" said Pichon in 
 astonishment to Madison. 
 
 "Why not, Sir? He's the English Minister," smiled 
 Madison blandly.
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIFES A DINNER 251 
 
 "But, my dear Sir, France and England are at 
 war." 
 
 "Let us forget it during dinner," exclaimed Dolly, 
 with her most ravishing smile. "Madame Pichon is 
 looking charming." 
 
 "Yes, very nice, very pretty, quite sweet ! But then 
 one requires some compensation for an existence in 
 this place. Every night I ask my Heaven what have I 
 done that I must live in such a Hell." 
 
 "Courage, my dear Sir. This weather won't last," 
 laughed Dolly. 
 
 "Will anything last here?" inquired Pichon, in a 
 tone of utter hopelessness. 
 
 "Your Mr. Napoleon says so, Sir. He declares 
 that the Providence that takes such care of children, 
 blind folks and inebriated men will always look after 
 these United States." She turned to the Merrys with 
 her hand outstretched. 
 
 "So glad you've arrived! President will be so 
 relieved! Feared storm might keep you away!" 
 
 Then sotto voce to Ena she exclaimed, "Hope you 
 won't mind, dear, but I had to place you at table next 
 Mr. Pinckney." 
 
 "You're a dear, Ma'am," whispered Ena, as she 
 squeezed her hand. 
 
 "Ah! so it seems you've the run of the cellar, here, 
 Mrs. Dodd," shouted Lady Merry, as she gazed at 
 Dolly through her lorgnettes. 
 
 "May we count on your indulgence?" queried Dolly 
 sweetly. 
 
 "Oh, but you won't need to, probably. Entertain- 
 ing's long been a business with you, Ma'am. I've just
 
 252 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 been telling Vrou Van Berckel about your house in 
 Philadelphia. So well ordered! Quite unlike a pub- 
 lic inn!" 
 
 "Yes, as a rule I could choose my company. Have 
 you seen the stuffed birds, Ma'am?" asked Dolly. 
 
 "Yes, thank you, and the portraits, too," retorted 
 Lady Merry. "After seeing them both, I find I prefer 
 the birds." 
 
 "Tell that to the President, Ma'am," laughed Dolly. 
 "You'll be friends at once." 
 
 "Oh, indeed!" sniffed that lady, as she turned her 
 lorgnettes on Washington's portrait above the man- 
 tlepiece. "Is this the gentleman we dine with? Mr. 
 Jefferings?" 
 
 "That is General Washington, Ma'am," exclaimed 
 Dolly. "Painted by Gilbert Stuart." 
 
 "Oh, is it, though?" said Lady Merry with a spite- 
 ful laugh. "Still, they all look pretty much alike, at 
 a running glance, I heard our English officers say." 
 
 "Perhaps," suggested Dolly. "They only saw the 
 General at a running glance." 
 
 Lady Merry recoiled and looked slightly 
 disconcerted. 
 
 "Well, on a second look, I must admit he looks 
 like a bit of a gentleman." 
 
 "Quite a bit, Ma'am exactly six-foot-three." 
 
 "Had he much family?" asked Lady Merry, as 
 though taking the town census. 
 
 "No children at all," answered Dolly. 
 
 "Oh, poor man!" Then Lady Merry added in a 
 half whisper: "Tell me. How'd that happen?"
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIVES A DINNER 253 
 
 To which Dolly in an equally confidential tone 
 replied: 
 
 "We believe, Ma'am, Posterity left him childless in 
 order that his Country might call him Father." 
 . "Oh, that's how it was, eh?" said Lady Merry, as 
 though suddenly enlightened. "What extraordinary 
 interference in one's family affairs!" 
 
 The D'Yrujo's were announced at that moment. 
 But before Dolly could greet them, Sally had fore- 
 stalled her. 
 
 "So glad you've arrived," she exclaimed as she 
 saluted Dolly formally, the while she quietly winked 
 one eye. "The President will be so relieved! We 
 feared storm might detain us! And your robe, my 
 dear! Ravissement!" 
 
 "Traitor!" cried Dolly, as she pinched her arm. 
 "You see, Marquis," she added, turning to D'Yrujo. 
 "Your wife has all my state secrets." 
 
 "Well, as exchange is no robbery," laughed D'Yrujo, 
 "perhaps she'll give you mine in return." 
 
 "What is it?" said Dolly, as she drew Sally to one 
 side. 
 
 Sally's voice sank to a whisper as she said: "My 
 dear, what do you think! Burr has returned!" 
 
 "Yes, so they tell me," answered Dolly lightly. 
 Then as Madison approached she added quickly: "No, 
 no, you're mistaken. This isn't my gown from Paris. 
 Mr. Madison didn't wish me to wear it." 
 
 "Why not? Is he afraid of pneumonia?" 
 
 "No," interrupted Madison, who had overheard. 
 
 'Tis much worse, the newspapers. They proclaim 
 we must all patronize home industries."
 
 254 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "So on their account," laughed Dolly, "I'm to have 
 it made over. It didn't fit anyway." 
 
 The lorgnette of Lady Merry was now focused on 
 a white marble bust of a woman. 
 
 "This might be you, Mrs. Rodd," she said point- 
 edly, as Dolly happened to pass her. 
 
 "On the contrary, Ma'am. 'Twas a much more 
 important person Marie Antoinette!" 
 
 "Fancy! She here? How strange! We'd heard 
 that this Mr. Jefferings of yours, when Minister to 
 France, watched them chop the poor thing's head 
 off and never as much as blew his nose. How'd that 
 happen?" 
 
 "Mr. Jefferson, as I remember it, was not in France 
 on that occasion, Ma'am. Besides if he had been he's 
 far too polite to express his emotion in so perfunctory 
 a manner." 
 
 "Oh, how-de-do, Mrs. Van Berckel," cried Lady 
 Merry, suddenly turning around. "You poor thing! 
 You here, too? I haven't seen you since Madrid. 
 How'd that happen?" 
 
 "Mynheer was promoted," said Vrou Van Berckel 
 cautiously, for she had been strictly forbidden by her 
 husband to hold converse with Lady Merry. 
 
 "Promoted here, from Madrid? God bless my soul ! 
 How ironical ! Fancy planting a capitol in this God- 
 forsaken spot. Fairly reeks of ague and alligators 
 and things. 'Tis all one's life's worth to put foot out 
 of doors. I say, do you suppose it's some deep game 
 to kill us all off? Where's your legation?" 
 
 "In a kind of a house," answered Vrou Van Berckel 
 dubiously.
 
 MR. JEFFERSON GIVES A DINNER 255 
 
 "Like ours, I suppose. A hut!" said Lady Merry. 
 
 But here Van Berckel hurried to the rescue of his 
 wife and took the reins of conversation into his own 
 hands. 
 
 "Our legation is in de most beautiful street of the 
 city, Madam." He waved his hand in a way to in- 
 dicate a spacious vista. "We have statues, fountains, 
 sunken gardens, collonades! In a word, it is magni- 
 fique!" 
 
 "In God's name, where is this place?" cried Lady 
 Merry, all attention. 
 
 "Veil, as yet, I must confess, Ma'am, it is only on the 
 map." 
 
 "On the map?" shouted Lady Merry indignantly. 
 "Good God, man, our Legation has a pump on the 
 map but not on the premises. Fancy, not even a 
 pump! We file to the river for our weekly tub like 
 Indians." 
 
 "Our house is most convenient," insisted Van 
 Berckel. "Excellent duck shooting in de back-yard. 
 Such snipe ! such partridges ! and on Friday, when the 
 river's high, we can catch our dinner right from the 
 parlor window!" 
 
 "How jolly!" exclaimed Ena, who was trying fran- 
 tically to keep her elder sister within bounds. 
 
 "Yes, for a shooting-box or a fish market, but not 
 for a Capitol," snapped Lady Merry. 
 
 "Of course et es not yet," pursued Van Berckel. 
 "But ven et es vonce, we shall have efery adwantage." 
 
 "What, pray?" 
 
 "Veil, for one thing, dere are de best oysters in 
 Washington I effer eat."
 
 256 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Dear me ! oysters and diplomats," said Lady Merry 
 rising. "Seems to me they'd prove indigestible." 
 
 "Veil, Madam, it seems to me that a good diplo- 
 ,mat can learn something from a good oyster." 
 
 "How'd you get here to-night? By carnage or 
 boat? I'll swear our horses swam. These avenues 
 aren't streets. They're real canals." 
 
 But without answering her last question the Van 
 Berckels had decamped to the adjoining room. 
 
 "That's the worst of being a diplomat's wife. We're 
 tongue-tied," exclaimed Lady Merry to another Minis- 
 ter's wife, whom she had never met. "I suppose you've 
 heard all about this Mrs. Hodd," she continued. "Lord 
 knows, it's no secret! We lived in her house in Phila- 
 delphia, you know, as paying guests, of course. She 
 would have married Mr. Burr, only for the duel with 
 Mr. Hamilton. 'Twas on her account he fought him. 
 Now she's going to take this Mr. Madison to stop 
 vicious tongues." 
 
 "Dinner is served," announced De Vaux.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 COLONEL BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES TO ASCERTAIN 
 IF A CERTAIN WIDOW is STILL UNMARRIED 
 
 From the desert I come to thee 
 
 On a stallion shod with fire; 
 And the winds are left behind 
 
 In the speed of my desire. 
 
 BAYARD TAYLOR "Bedouin Song" 
 
 "That it should come to this!" 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "Hamlet" 
 
 Was it for this we met to part like this; 
 Was it for this we loved to lose this way; 
 Can this be April reddening into May? 
 And will the woods grow green and never miss 
 Beneath their boughs the murmur of our bliss, 
 The happy children of a summer day; 
 Was it for this we loved to lose this way; 
 Was it for this we met to part like this ! 
 
 RICHARD LE GALLIENNE. 
 
 THERE was a general movement among the 
 company towards the door. 
 
 "See, I go first," said Lady Merry to her 
 husband. Then turning to Sally D'Yrujo, she remarked 
 condescendingly, "Seeing you're Spanish, I suppose my 
 husband'll take you in." 
 
 "Honored, I'm sure!" said Sally. 
 "After President and me, of course," added Lady 
 Merry. 
 
 257
 
 258 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Thanks so much!" said Sally. 
 
 "I'm famished. What do you suppose we'll get 
 here?" asked Lady Merry, turning to Vrou Van 
 Berckel. 
 
 "Dinner," said that cautious lady. 
 
 "Barbecue, I suppose?" continue Lady Merry. 
 
 "So?" replied Vrou Van Berckel. 
 
 Her husband suddenly seized the good Vrou's arm, 
 and led her away. 
 
 "De less you say to dot English bullfinch vhile we 
 are here, my dear, the more I von't say to you vhen 
 ve get home." 
 
 "But I only say 'so!' " expostulated the good Vrou. 
 
 "Dot's a 'so' too much," said Van Berckel. 
 
 Dolly came sailing down the room. 
 
 "Dinner's announced, good people," she exclaimed. 
 "What are we waiting for?" 
 
 "Our host," snapped Lady Merry, and she tossed 
 her head. 
 
 "But Mr. Jefferson always meets his company at 
 table," explained Dolly, as though teaching a hard les- 
 son to some simple child. 
 
 "We are dining with the President. Not with Mr. 
 Jefferson." 
 
 "He makes no formality of his office," persisted 
 Dolly. 
 
 "Well, we do of ours," said Sir Anthony, with 
 emphasis. 
 
 "This dinner," said Pichon, backing Merry up, "is 
 a formality." 
 
 "Certainly," corroborated Lady Merry. " 'Tis not 
 a pleasure merely."
 
 COL. BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES 259 
 
 "Good people," and still Dolly smiled serenely, "you 
 will find the only formality here is informality. Mr. 
 Jefferson wants every guest at his table to feel the 
 equal of every other." 
 
 "Yes. Once at his table perhaps," exclaimed 
 D'Yrujo, in his most Spanish manner. "But the ques- 
 tion still is, Who goes first?" 
 
 "No one," said Dolly firmly. 
 
 "What! Do you mean we go pele-melef" 
 
 Dolly nodded her head. 
 
 " 'Tis the custom of our country, to which the Presi- 
 dent adheres. Gentlemen en-masse give place to ladies 
 en-masse in passing from one apartment to another." 
 
 "But the English ladies might come at the end of 
 the mass," said Sir Anthony. 
 
 "Our ladies would have to at the English court!" 
 replied Dolly. 
 
 "But, my good woman," burst out Lady Merry, with 
 rising temper, "if only to avoid a polite riot, some one 
 must go first." 
 
 Again Dolly nodded assent and made a graceful 
 gesture towards the dining-room. 
 
 "Whoever happens nearest the door." 
 
 "Or has the sharpest elbows," snorted Lady Merry. 
 
 "Or the rudest manners," added Pichon supercili- 
 ously. 
 
 "But dear people," exclaimed Dolly soothingly, 
 and as though surprised beyond measure, "we're such 
 a small party 1 So few of us ! Do let's be agreeable ! " 
 
 Pichon, in particular, was furious now. "It might 
 happen," he exclaimed, as though loath to imagine such 
 a possibility, "that Holland go before France."
 
 26o THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "True, indeed," laughed Dolly. "Or a Charge 
 d'Affaires before a Minister Plenipotentiary." 
 
 She looked at the English Ambassador, and smiled. 
 
 "Good Gad!" said Sir Anthony. 
 
 "Or yet again," went on Dolly cajolingly, "an un- 
 titled Minister before a titled Ambassador." She 
 nodded towards D'Yrujo. 
 
 "Santa Maria!" said the Spanish Ambassador not 
 entirely to himself. 
 
 "As you see," continued Dolly, as though consider- 
 ing the matter now fully settled, "Mr. Jefferson ignores 
 all courtly forms as foreign to our people and to our 
 institutions." 
 
 "We should have been apprised," exclaimed Sir 
 Anthony pompously. "Mr. Jefferson knows quite well 
 what he's about. Pretensive ignorance only aggravates 
 the offense. He was for many years the Minister at 
 the court of Louis XVI," and as he spoke the French 
 monarch's name the English Ambassador glared blight- 
 ingly at Pichon, "when France was still a polite nation. 
 I am sure he must have learned there the amenities of 
 diplomatic rank." 
 
 "Yes," broke in Lady Merry, and she glared at 
 Dolly. "And failing that, then Mr. Madison is Min- 
 ister of Foreign Affairs " 
 
 "Foreign affairs only, Lady Merry," corrected Dolly 
 gently. "His domestic affairs Mr. Jefferson orders 
 himself." 
 
 Then something happened which made the good 
 diplomats gasp and rub their eyes. A negro cook, in 
 the white cap and apron of his calling suddenly
 
 COL. BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES 261 
 
 appeared in the doorway where De Vaux was wont 
 to stand. 
 
 "Beg pardon, Ma'am," he exclaimed, addressing 
 Dolly, "but Mr. Jefferson's bid me to tell you all the 
 dinner's getting cold." 
 
 "That's from headquarters ! When the cook speaks 
 'twas best we all obey. That is if we want any din- 
 ner," exclaimed Dolly, as she moved towards the door. 
 
 "The cook Mr. Jefferson had in Paris," exclaimed 
 Van Berckel, suddenly recognizing an old gastronomic 
 friend. " Ach ! mine friends, you don't know what you 
 miss ! I dine on him before." 
 
 At that moment from the dining-room there came 
 the frantic tones of a fiddle played violently. Pinckney 
 came rushing in. 
 
 "He's in a towering rage," he whispered to Dolly. 
 "Says he doesn't care how they come so long as they 
 come in quickly. If they don't come at once, they'll 
 go without. He says tell them that straight." 
 
 "Lord!" cried Dolly, now in real alarm. " 'Twould 
 spoil everything." 
 
 She pulled herself together, and, turning to the irate 
 guests, once more she said: 
 
 "Dear friends, the President's first solicitude is the 
 satisfaction of his guests. He begs you to compose 
 the matter for yourselves as to who goes first, sec- 
 ond, or last if only you're content." 
 
 D'Yrujo, ever gallant, was the first to succumb. 
 "I'm agreeable," he smiled, and offered his arm to 
 Dolly. 
 
 "Admirable!" cried Pichon. And he, too, proffered 
 his arm to Mrs. Todd.
 
 262 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Perfectly reasonable," said Sir Anthony, as he fol- 
 lowed the lead of Spain and France. 
 
 "But, gentlemen!" cried Dolly, in mock dismay, "you 
 embarrass me. I can't go in with all Europe." 
 
 "Spain goes first," said D'Yrujo. 
 
 "By what right?" demanded Merry. 
 
 "By the right of discovery, Sir," said the Spaniard. 
 "This dinner really began in the caravels of Colum- 
 bus built by Spanish gold " 
 
 "Vich they took from Holland," cried Van Berck- 
 el, and he nodded his head emphatically, as though to 
 corroborate his assertion. 
 
 "On the contrary," exclaimed Merry, "this dinner 
 began in the English sloop, the Mayflower." 
 
 "I beg your pardon," contradicted Pichon. "It was 
 in the French warships at Yorktown !" 
 
 "My eye on your boats, gentlemen!" laughed Dolly. 
 "Burn 'em all, or we'll never get to dinner." 
 
 "Please don't wait on me!" said Merry, as he turned 
 away. 
 
 "Nor me!" said D'Yrujo, following his example. 
 
 "I cannot eat, either!" said Pichon. 
 
 At a frantic sign of appeal from Dolly, Sally and 
 Sophia tried persuasion on their husbands. Then Mad- 
 ison, who had been silent until now, stepped into the 
 breach. 
 
 "I beg of you, gentlemen!" he appealed. 
 
 "We are not gentlemen we are Governments!" 
 cried Pichon excitedly. 
 
 "There'd have been one less, Sir," exclaimed Merry 
 to the Frenchman, "had I known you dined here 
 to-day."
 
 COL. BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES 263 
 
 " 'Tis not I who dines here," Pichon proclaimed 
 expressively. "It is thirty million Frenchmen!" 
 
 "Let us go in then before dey do," exclaimed Van 
 Berckel, and he pushed his good wife towards the door 
 of the dining-room. "Dere won't even be leavings, 
 after thirty million Frenchmen!" 
 
 "Mynheer," called Sir Anthony rebukingly, "I am 
 surprised at you. Holland has always maintained her 
 diplomatic dignities small as she is!" 
 
 "Yes," replied Van Berckel, seriously. "And small 
 as she is, Sir, Holland's too big for such a quarrel 
 with such a hostess!" 
 
 By this time most of the guests had moved towards 
 the dining-room. The Merrys only held their ground. 
 Above the hub-hub there could still be heard Mr. Jef- 
 ferson's violin playing madly. Poor Madison looked 
 utterly disconcerted. Dolly, in spite of the contigency, 
 was still all smiles. 
 
 "Lord ! Now you've set 'em fighting among them- 
 selves," cried Madison to Dolly. 
 
 "The very thing, let 'em fight! Harder the better 
 like the Kilkenny cats." 
 
 "But my dear!" said Madison in alarm. 
 
 " 'Tis just what we want. 'Tis just what the Presi- 
 dent planned." 
 
 "This disturbance?" 
 
 "No. Not this disturbance, this diversion. This 
 diplomatic diversion," explained Dolly. "Why, listen 
 to them wrangling there. It's working to a miracle!" 
 
 "But the President can't guess," cried Madison. 
 
 "Never mind him, for once in your life," cried
 
 264 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Dolly. "This is our affair. Yours and mine, now that 
 we're in it." 
 
 "But there's no way out," cried Madison, in dismay. 
 
 "He'll find one," said Dolly reassuringly. 
 
 Pinckney appeared at the door. He raised his hand 
 as though to quell the tumult. 
 
 "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "the President 
 awaits you at table. He begs Mrs. Todd to show the 
 way." 
 
 Dolly smiled and crossed to Lady Merry with 
 intention. 
 
 "Shall we go?" she asked with deference. 
 
 Lady Merry succumbed. The murmurs turned to 
 chatter; the sneers to laughter. Under the joint lead- 
 ership of Dolly and Lady Merry, they had almost 
 reached the dining-room door when Merry, who alone 
 had remained adamant, called, at the top of his voice, 
 the one word, "Angela!" 
 
 At first Lady Merry did not hear him, so he raised 
 his tone. 
 
 "Lady Merry!" he bellowed. 
 
 "Yes, my dear," she said, turning around, but show- 
 ing no disposition to come towards him. 
 
 "You're not going in, Angela?" cried Merry aghast. 
 
 "Why not, dear? I'm so hungry," she protested. 
 
 "Remain. I command you," he cried in a low stern 
 tone, and he gazed at her with wrath. 
 
 The chatter had died away now. All the other guests 
 had taken their places in the dining-room. De Vaux 
 appeared at the door. 
 
 "Pardon, Sir," he said to Sir Anthony. 
 
 "Well?" said the Englishman.
 
 COL. BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES 265 
 
 "The President's at table, Sir." 
 
 "Close that door," cried Merry with an indignant 
 gesture. 
 
 "What now, my dear?" said Lady Merry, now thor- 
 oughly agitated. "What are you going to do?" 
 
 "My carriage!" He opened the door and sum- 
 moned the servant. 
 
 "Yes, and a pretty figure we cut waiting for it here !" 
 cried Lady Merry. 
 
 "All the better ! Give the savages their lesson. By 
 Gad!" he exploded, "that was the last straw. His 
 Majesty preceded by Dolly Todd, my landlady, pele- 
 mele and en-masse!" 
 
 "It seems to me they're very free with their nasty 
 French words over here, my dear," said Lady Merry 
 ingratiatingly, as though to stroke her husband down. 
 
 "They'll pay for it. I'll smash their tuppenny repub- 
 lic. All Europe saw this tumult " 
 
 "And shared it with us. Don't forget that," she 
 replied. 
 
 "England shares nothing with any nation," he pro- 
 tested angrily. "This slight was aimed at us alone and 
 singly. And yet you, my wife, would have gone in!" 
 
 "I'm hungry," snapped Lady Merry. "Nothing 
 since breakfast but a cup of coffee." She fanned her- 
 self nervously as she walked up and down. "Then 
 bumped and jolted till my bones cracked to get here. 
 And now no dinner!" 
 
 "There are more important things than dinner," 
 said Six Anthony, as though he would raise his wife to 
 higher things.
 
 266 THE FIRST. LADY IN. THE LAND 
 
 "Not when you haven't got it!" said she with 
 conviction. 
 
 "Would his Majesty have dined under such 
 circumstances?" 
 
 "Bah ! 'Twould take more than that to keep King 
 George from his dinner. I know his appetite I've 
 seen him eat!" She pulled the bell-rope angrily. "Why 
 don't they answer? Why don't that carriage come?" 
 
 "Come. Let's walk," said Merry. 
 
 "Through these streets? Why, we'd drown, man." 
 
 "Well, we can't stop here." 
 
 "But to leave without some reason or excuse," 
 exclaimed Lady Merry. "Don't you think " 
 
 "Well, say you've a headache." 
 
 "So I have from hunger." 
 
 "Then you can faint," suggested Merry. 
 
 "Never did such a thing in my life," said his spouse 
 indignantly. "Went out of fashion before my time." 
 
 "Fashion or no," declared Merry. "You'll faint 
 now when I tell you." 
 
 "It's impossible. I'm in hoops, man. Fancy! Flat 
 on my back in hoops!" She threw up her hands in 
 despair. 
 
 "Very well, very well," sputtered Sir Anthony. 
 "You've taken cold. You've taken cold." 
 
 "Now you talk sense." 
 
 "Then be good enough to sneeze." He walked to 
 the door and threw it open. "Here, near the door, so 
 they'll hear you." 
 
 Lady Merry made a frantic effort to sneeze, but 
 her attempt did not please Sir Anthony.
 
 COL. BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES 267 
 
 "I said sneeze, Madam, not sniffle. There! now, 
 that's better; that's the sort of thing!" 
 
 Lady Merry stood with her hands upon her hips 
 sniffing the air frantically. 
 
 "I won't answer for my stays, Anthony, but I'll do 
 my best for you." 
 
 "For me?" cried Merry, waxing wroth again. "I'm 
 not asking you to sneeze for me, Madam. You're 
 sneezing for his Majesty, King George!" And he 
 handed her his snuff-box. 
 
 She helped herself copiously and achieved the 
 desired result. 
 
 "Well. There! Kerchou! Kerchou! There's for 
 King George!" 
 
 "God save him!" said Sir Anthony. And his soul 
 seemed more at rest. 
 
 "And my stays!" added Lady Merry, as she patted 
 herself frantically in the region of her abdomen. 
 
 "There, now! Two of 'em broke. I knew it! You 
 might have anticipated this." 
 
 But Sir Anthony's thought had soared above whale- 
 bone. An idea had found its way into his lumbering 
 mind. 
 
 "If only I could have anticipated this stroke of 
 luck," he said. "By Gad, it's a godsend! This gives 
 me free hand to act with Burr. England wants merely 
 an excuse for war. This Mrs. Todd and her dinner 
 party will provide the cause." 
 
 "Clever man!" cried Lady Merry, now satisfied to 
 have sacrificed her whalebones in so good a cause. She 
 sneezed again quite naturally and with ease this time, 
 for the snuff was now getting in its work.
 
 268 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 De Vaux entered with a silver tray on which were 
 two silver goblets, a bottle of champagne and an allur- 
 ing plate of cakes. 
 
 "The President's compliments!" said De Vaux, as 
 he poured out the wine. 
 
 "Tell the President we are taking leave," said 
 Merry. 
 
 "Yes, Sir," said De Vaux, and bowed himself out. 
 
 Lady Merry grabbed a silver goblet eagerly. She 
 gulped its contents down. Then in ecstasy she rolled 
 her eyes. 
 
 "Tony!" she suddenly exclaimed. 
 
 "What's the matter?" 
 
 "My word!" said Lady Merry, and she drained the 
 goblet dry. 
 
 "What is it? What's the matter?" said Merry, 
 quite alarmed. 
 
 "Champagne, my dear! That's the matter. These 
 beggars are drinking champagne. Take some. It's 
 splendid." She offered him the other goblet, but he 
 refused it haughtily, so she promptly made away with 
 its contents. Merry picked up the half empty bottle 
 and surveyed the label. 
 
 "Cuvee '99. Two guineas the bottle. So that's 
 their Jeff ersonian simplicity! The hypocrites!" 
 
 "Well, at all events, there's no hypocrisy about their 
 champagne," cried Lady Merry, as she took another 
 long sip. "I've had worse in St. James's Palace. Tony," 
 she added, more seriously, "I wonder if we're not doing 
 these people an injustice?" 
 
 "What!" he exclaimed indignantly.
 
 COL. BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES 269 
 
 "Well, my dear man, they can't be such yokels with 
 this in their cellars." 
 
 She started to fill her glass again. 
 
 "Angela!" he thundered. 
 
 And in her fright, poor Lady Merry almost dropped 
 the bottle. 
 
 "How can you take hospitality from these people?" 
 
 "My dear, I never hate people so much that I can't 
 drink their champagne." She lifted her glass and 
 gazed at it lovingly as a preliminary to another sip; 
 but Sir Anthony snatched it from her hand. 
 
 "I forbid you," he cried. 
 
 "Then let's go!" exclaimed Lady Merry, furious 
 once more. 
 
 A servant entered. 
 
 "Your coach is not at hand, Sir, but if you'll have 
 the Vice President's, 'tis at your service." 
 
 "Mr. Burr's!" said Merry, in astonishment. 
 
 "Yes, sir. He has just entered. His carriage is still 
 at the door." 
 
 Dolly came rushing in. 
 
 "Oh, I'm so sorry," she exclaimed. "Can't we pre- 
 vail on you to take dinner? We're just at the roast." 
 
 "Sorry," said Merry coldly, "but Lady Merry's been 
 taken with an ague." 
 
 "Yes," smiled Dolly; "we heard it in the dining- 
 room. She's thrown a chill on the entire party. I'm 
 so sorry." 
 
 "The Vice President," announced the servant. 
 
 Dolly started, as Burr entered. 
 
 "Ah!" said Lady Merry, quick to see her chance.
 
 270 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "Here comes consolation for you. I'm sure Mr. Burr 
 .will restore all your good spirits." 
 
 Burr bowed to all three. Dolly greeted him 
 smilingly. 
 
 "Sorry you're the first to go," said Burr, turning to 
 Lady Merry. 
 
 "Yes. Too bad, isn't it? Since we didn't go first!" 
 
 "Ah, I see!" said Burr, comprehending the situation. 
 Then, turning to Merry, he added: "Mr. Jefferson's 
 table is his shrine. Hospitality's his second religion. 
 You might better far have distured his devotions than 
 his dinner. You have sacrificed an empire for a cere- 
 mony!" 
 
 "Mr. Madison will join you at the door, Sir, with 
 Miss Farrar," said Dolly. 
 
 Sir Anthony bowed, and Lady Merry, as she swept 
 from the room, gave Dolly a very cold and chilly, 
 "Good evening, Mrs. Todd." 
 
 Quick as a flash Burr closed the door behind them. 
 Standing with his back against it, he exclaimed 
 fervently : 
 
 "Thank Heaven, it's still Dolly Todd!" 
 
 Dolly and Burr gazed at each other in silence a 
 moment. 
 
 "Why are you here?" she said at last, coldly. 
 
 "To see you. Only for that I've come over five hun- 
 dred miles." 
 
 "But you're in danger, grave danger! Don't you 
 know it?" she exclaimed. 
 
 "Poof!" and he snapped his fingers. "I had to see 
 you, come what may." 
 
 "You know I'm going to marry Jim?"
 
 COL. BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES 271 
 
 "Only by hearsay. In the wilds where I've been, 
 news is slow and most uncertain. Somewhere I heard 
 vaguely you were to marry Madison. I turned back 
 instantly and have ridden night and day to make sure 
 it wasn't true though in my heart I never for a 
 moment believed it." 
 
 Dolly was silent for a moment, looking at the man 
 from head to foot. 
 
 "I told you," she said at length, "to come for your 
 answer after you met Hamilton and Ronnie! You 
 had given me your word of honor." 
 
 "And meant to keep it," Burr cried emphatically. 
 "What happened was accident. 'Fore God it was " 
 
 Dolly gave a little gasp of relief, almost of 
 delight. 
 
 "Hamilton's half-step forward. An untrue bullet. 
 Some fiendish mischance caused his death. Surely you 
 never doubted that, Dolly?" 
 
 There was no doubting the man's sincerity. To 
 hear him did her heart good. 
 
 "No. Ronnie," she said in an exultant tone and 
 with a look which was almost tender. "I knew you 
 wouldn't fail me willingly or deliberately." 
 
 "How could I?" cried Burr excitedly. "Think what 
 it meant to me ! Knowing it would take you from me. 
 Good God! When I saw what had happened, the 
 earth fell from under my feet my courage left me 
 for the first time in my life I almost swooned. Not 
 because I'd killed Hamilton in fair fight, but because 
 I knew our compact what it meant. And that, by this 
 mischance, I had lost you. I'm not a coward, Dolly, 
 but after that I could not dare to face you."
 
 272 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "And so," exclaimed Dolly with bitterness, "you 
 went headlong with madness into this folly in Mexico, 
 to your certain ruin." 
 
 "It was for you, Dolly; only for you," cried Burr. 
 
 "For me?" She looked at him questioningly and 
 almost smiled. 
 
 "Yes. Can't you see? It was my only chance a 
 stroke quick and desperate to take you with me into 
 a new life. And I thought you'd wait." 
 
 "So I did," answered Dolly. "I waited months." 
 
 Burr moved towards her. But as he did so, she drew 
 away. 
 
 "Waited to answer him. Waited until I felt sure 
 of myself. Waited till I knew I loved him." Dolly 
 raised her head and looked Burr squarely in the eyes. 
 "Waited till I was certain of it," she repeated, as Burr 
 recoiled as from the lashing of a whip. "Though I 
 knew it the moment you were no longer near me. 
 
 While you were still here " She shrugged her 
 
 shoulders doubtfully and passed her hand across her 
 eyes as though recovering from a daze. "While you 
 were still here" and she shook her head "well, I 
 wasn't certain. I didn't know." 
 
 "Ah, but you can't shut out the truth," he cried 
 exultantly. "I'm your man, Dolly; you belong with 
 me, and you know it." 
 
 "It isn't true," she cried, still facing him. "And if 
 it were truth" she turned from him ever so slightly 
 "then to the end of time, Ronnie, with God's help, I 
 should lie." 
 
 Burr turned to her with a provoking smile. "See 
 how you bertay yourself," he exclaimed. Then chang-
 
 COL. BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES 273 
 
 ing his tone suddenly, he added : "Come with me, Dolly. 
 You must come with me. Without you everything I've 
 dreamed and fought for is nothing." He snapped his 
 fingers. "It isn't worth that! It was for you I meant 
 it all for you I risked all all for you!" 
 
 For a moment the old charm of the man seemed to 
 entrance and hold her. Then with an effort, for the 
 last time Dolly shook aside his spell. Recovering her- 
 self, she said sneeringly: 
 
 "See the old Adam in you! 'The woman she 
 tempted me.' You of all men, Ronnie Burr! to 
 blame it on a woman. Ha ha ha !" 
 
 "You laugh at me?" cried Burr, cut to the quick. 
 "You think I'm not in earnest?" 
 
 "Of course I laugh at you, man. You wouldn't have 
 me take you serious, and in the same breath urge me 
 to shame. To play treason to this truest of men. And 
 I shouldn't laugh at you, eh? Why, if I didn't laugh 
 I'd weep for you, Ronnie Burr weep for the very 
 shame on you! What's come over you, man?" 
 
 Burr lowered his eyes before he answered. 
 
 "The dread of life without you without hope of 
 you. Dolly, I can't let you go." 
 
 He strode towards the bell-rope and pulled it vio- 
 lently. He was all alertness now, and his eyes were 
 flashing again. He was the old-time Burr. 
 
 "And Jim must know it," he cried. 
 
 "You dare to speak to him? To tell him of your 
 feelings?" cried Dolly in alarm. 
 
 "Exactly. That's what I intend to do. To tell Jim 
 Madison word for word what I've told you." 
 
 "Disturb his life as you have mine? Confirm suspi-
 
 274 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 cion that gossip has already started. Take care, Ron- 
 nie Burr!" she cautioned. "Jemmy Madison might 
 stand by you in your peril 'gainst his conscience, but 
 not 'gainst his jealousy. Beware how you deal with 
 this timid man!" 
 
 "You don't love him. And you'll never be his," he 
 answered flauntingly. "You confessed as much the 
 night I kept you from giving him his answer. You 
 owned that you didn't love him when I took from your 
 hand and destroyed the message that would have 
 brought him to you at the very moment I was leaving 
 to meet Hamilton." 
 
 Dolly gave him a long look, and there was pity as 
 well as disappointment in her eyes. 
 
 "Was that the heart you saw beneath the Quaker 
 kerchief? You you who claimed to understand me 
 best of all. Ah ! Ronnie, listen. What I wrote to Jim 
 Madison that night, when you were leaving to fight 
 Hamilton because of me, was No!" 
 
 Burr started. 
 
 "No ! I answered him while you were near me. 
 The message you snatched from me with the audacity 
 that only a foolish and silly woman could pardon, told 
 him Nol" 
 
 As she spoke the door opened. Madison came in. 
 
 "Very well then," cried Burr, threateningly. "And 
 so you'll tell him now." 
 
 Madison came forward. The two men shook 
 hands. 
 
 "Why, Burr!" exclaimed Madison, looking his aston- 
 ishment, "we thought you in the far South." 
 
 "I turned back instantly when I heard that Mrs.
 
 COL. BURR RIDES MANY LEAGUES 275 
 
 Todd was to marry you. Jim, you won her promise 
 in my absence. You knew I loved her you've always 
 known it." 
 
 Madison looked startled. 
 
 "With a love that passes your understanding," Burr 
 went on. "Now I've come to make a demand. Release 
 her from her promise, now that I'm here on equal 
 ground with you." Burr turned and looked at Dolly 
 intently. "Leave her free to choose between us." 
 
 Madison, completely stunned, went straight to Dolly. 
 
 "Is that your wish?" he asked. 
 
 "I have given you my word, Jim," said Dolly, with- 
 out lowering her eyes. "Hold me to it if you will." 
 
 "Tell me if you love him," Madison persisted. 
 
 "I'll tell you nothing," said Dolly in a calm and even 
 voice, "till you've made your answer." 
 
 As she spoke, she made a slight movement towards 
 Burr. 
 
 "Dolly!" cried Madison. 
 
 "Am I free to choose?" she asked him. 
 
 "Dolly, dear!" cried Madison despairingly, "It's of 
 your happiness I'm thinking. How shall I?" 
 
 "For once in your life, man, answer 'yes' or 'no.' " 
 
 There was an instant's pause. Then she added, 
 before his lips had framed his answer: 
 
 "Do you hold me to my word, Jim?" 
 
 "Yes yes yes 'gainst twenty Burrs!" he cried. 
 " 'Gainst twenty Burrs I'll hold you to it!" 
 
 "You'd better!" she cried exultantly, as she threw 
 her arms about his neck, " 'cause I'd have married you 
 anyway." 
 
 With his right arm still surrounding Dolly, Madi-
 
 276 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 son turned on Burr, who, white as a sheet, stood there 
 with clenched hands. 
 
 "They were right, Sir," he exclaimed with formality 
 and coldness, "who called you a 'dangerous man.' ' 
 
 "Come, dear," said Dolly intervening, "we must 
 hurry. The President will be playing his fiddle to his 
 callers. The ice-cream is getting cold." She turned 
 and looked at Burr with a glance in which there were 
 both a sneer and a smile. 
 
 "He dangerous?" she laughed, and she threw back 
 her head. "Why, my eye and Betty Martin ! Jim, he's 
 not the least bit dangerous!"
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE AND MANY OLD FRIENDS 
 
 DANCE TO IT IN DIVERS WAYS WHILE MR. 
 
 JEFFERSON PLAYS THE FIDDLE 
 
 Hanging and wiving goes by destiny. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE "Merchant of Venice." 
 
 They named thee before me, 
 
 A knell to mine ear 
 A shudder passed o'er me 
 
 Why wer't thou so dear? 
 If I should meet thee, 
 
 After long years, 
 How should I greet thee; 
 
 In silence and tears. 
 
 LORD BYRON. 
 
 I saw two clouds at morning, 
 
 Tinged with the rising sun: 
 And in the dawn they floated on, 
 
 And mingled into one. 
 
 J. G. C. BRAINERD. 
 
 BY the desire of both, Dolly's marriage to Madi- 
 son was a very quiet affair. It took place at 
 Hairwood, Virginia, at the home of Mrs. 
 George Steptoe Washington, and so eager were the 
 bride and groom to return to Washington to com- 
 plete the arrangement of Jemmy Madison's new house, 
 which, for elegance and general comfort, already 
 far outshone the glories of the Executive Mansion 
 
 277
 
 278 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 that they returned to the Capitol as fast as their some- 
 what lumbering coach would carry them. 
 
 Two nights after their return the Madisons issued 
 informal invitations for their housewarming. It was 
 to be a sort of easy-going, come-one-come-all affair, and 
 was to include everybody from the President to the 
 Congressmen, and from Sir Anthony Merry to the 
 Turkish Ambassador with his inevitable pipe. 
 
 The status of Aaron Burr in Washington, mean- 
 while, had been going from bad to worse. Jefferson, 
 inflamed by the many stories which had been brought 
 to him by letter and by word of mouth from points in 
 the South and West, no longer hesitated to denounce 
 the Vice President publicly as a traitor. At Richmond, 
 a Court of Inquiry was then sitting upon his case, and 
 at any moment it was expected that Burr might be 
 indicted for treason. 
 
 Dolly, who had been giving the final decorative 
 touches to her drawing-room, had gone upstairs to 
 dress for the housewarming, and Madison was sitting 
 enjoying his first pipe in the library when Pinckney was 
 announced with a message from the White House. 
 
 "There's been post from England, Sir," said he, as 
 Madison motioned for him to sit down. "President 
 will send it over as soon as he has made some memor- 
 andum for his consideration." 
 
 "Is it anything immediate?" asked Madison. 
 
 "Yes, Sir. I rather fancy it is. It relates to Sir 
 Anthony Merry, but, as he's to be of your company 
 this evening, President thought it would be wiser to 
 lay the matter over till to-morrow." 
 
 "What are they crying in the streets out there?"
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 279 
 
 asked Madison, walking to one of the open windows. 
 
 "It's an issue extraordinary of the National 
 Gazette," said Pinckney. "They print a rumor that 
 the court at Richmond has refused to indict Mr. Burr 
 for treason." 
 
 "How absurd!" said Madison, a trifle perturbed. 
 "Surely the President would have had first informa- 
 tion." 
 
 "Mr. Jefferson suspects a trick in this report," 
 exclaimed Pinckney. "The Gazette is friendly to Burr, 
 as we know. This rumor may propose to give him 
 time to get away." 
 
 "I wish he'd take the hint," said Madison. "It would 
 save us no end of trouble, if he did. 'Twill be a nasty 
 business with the British Minister involved." 
 
 He walked up and down the room nervously. 
 
 "I think you'll find, Sir," interrupted Pinckney, "the 
 correspondence that's come from England will dispose 
 of any trouble from that quarter." 
 
 But Dolly's entrance put an end to further discussion. 
 
 "Evening!" said Dolly, who was looking radiant in 
 her bridal toggery. "Will President be over to-night? 
 He told me this afternoon he might come." 
 
 "He was intending to, Ma'am, until this report as 
 to Mr. Burr " 
 
 "What report? What is it good or bad?" she 
 questioned eagerly. 
 
 "Nothing certain, my dear," answered Madison. 
 "A mere newspaper rumor, they're crying in the streets. 
 The rumor favors him, they say. But doubtless we'll 
 have word, one way or the other, some time to-night." 
 
 "And people coming in for some music, and maybe
 
 280 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 a reel to-night!" she said regretfully. "Poor Ronnie 
 Burr! Oh, no! We must turn 'em away." 
 
 "Why, but Tonight's affair's to be quite informal, 
 my dear, isn't it?" said Madison. 
 
 "Informal, yes. But music and dancing! at such 
 a time? When his life may be in danger! Ah! No. 
 They'll understand our feelings. They know he's an 
 old friend." 
 
 "No! No!" contradicted Madison. "You're 
 wrong Dolly, to make any change of plan. It couldn't 
 have 'happened better. There must be no sign of 
 alarm anywhere in the Government. On the contrary 
 we must make the bravest show possible to reassure 
 the people." 
 
 "Besides, it may come to nothing," exclaimed Pinck- 
 ney as though to substantiate Madison's plea. "At 
 the tavern, the gamesters are betting three to one this 
 street rumor is true and that Mr. Burr will not come 
 to court for treason." 
 
 "Betting on such a matter," exclaimed Dolly.' "Ah, 
 it's wicked! sinful! but Lord! / hope they win." 
 
 "My dear child!" exposulated Madison. 
 
 "Well. Don't you?" cried Dolly, turning on him. 
 
 At that instant, Jennings opened the door. 
 
 "The Vice President, Ma'am!" he announced. 
 
 All three of them started with surprise but Dolly 
 was persistent. 
 
 "Don't you?" she repeated coming closer to Madi- 
 son. "Yes or no?" 
 
 Madison smiled and touched her cheek, meanwhile, 
 nodding to Jennings that the guest might enter.
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 281 
 
 "This time I'll compromise on rose powder," he 
 said. 
 
 Burr entered dashingly. Debonnair, buoyant, 
 dressed in the height of fashion, his figure trim as ever, 
 a smile on his lips, and his usual air of reckless un- 
 concern. He bowed to all, then turning to Dolly, he 
 asked gayly: 
 
 "Are you at home to me, Mrs. Madison?" 
 
 "At home?" echoed Dolly, "what an absurd ques- 
 tion ! Why of course, we're at home to thee, Ronnie 
 Burr." 
 
 "That's kind," he answered as he handed his cloak 
 and hat to Jennings. "Over the way, there," and he 
 crooked his head towards the White House "Presi- 
 dent wouldn't receive me." 
 
 "I fancy he must be unusually engaged just now," 
 explained Madison somewhat apologetic. 
 
 "Yes. That I saw, as his door opened," laughed 
 Burr. "He was being shaved. I went to him only 
 'cause of this street rumor. Knew he'd be torn with 
 anxiety so I flew to reassure him at first hand, that I 
 had been indicted." 
 
 Pinckney looked startled; Madison amazed. Dolly 
 showed her feelings only by the nervous way in which 
 she clasped and unclasped her hands. 
 
 "Why, we've heard no word!" cried Madison in 
 astonishment. 
 
 "I have two hours since," said Burr with a smile, 
 and speaking as though of some most casual matter. 
 "Your courier rides bad horses. Still" he added 
 gayly and with nonchalence "as my news is not offi-
 
 282 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 cial, with your consent, I see no reason to deny myself 
 a very charming evening." 
 
 "We shall be charmed," said Dolly, and Madison, 
 just a trifle less enthusiastically perhaps, echoed 
 her sentiment. Pinckney turned to go. 
 
 "Use my study. You can write undisturbed there," 
 said Madison. 
 
 As Pinckney passed Burr that gentleman bowed in 
 a rather knowing way and exclaimed, in excellent Ital- 
 ian: 
 
 "Good evening, Signer Columbini. I trust you've 
 quite recovered." 
 
 Pinckney completely staggered beat a hasty retreat. 
 
 "Ha Ha!" laughed Burr, as he rubbed his hands 
 and turned to Madison. "There's the making of a 
 fine detective in that young man with a few more years' 
 experience of disguises and Wax Works. His Italian 
 dialect is excellent though and down South they tell me 
 that he fairly dotes on macaroni. I called on him one 
 evening but he wasn't well. I was sorry for I thought, 
 perchance, he might have told me some home news. 
 One does long for news, away in the country! I 
 was helpful to him, too. Sent crowds to his exhibition 
 everywhere to help the Government get its money 
 back!" 
 
 Then Burr grew serious for the first time. 
 
 "What a blunder! he cried, turning to Madison. 
 
 "Blunder?" echoed Madison. 
 
 "Yes. Blunder. To stop me when I had all but 
 Mexico!" 
 
 "Only Mexico?" asked Madison quizzically. 
 
 "Of course," answered Burr.
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 283 
 
 "And to keep for yourself?" 
 
 "I wanted it 'bove everything," Burr replied. 
 
 "Even at the cost of war?" pursued Madison. 
 
 Burr cast a meaning glance at Dolly. 
 
 "What's a war when you really want something?" 
 he cried. 
 
 "You take the matter lightly, Sir," said Madison. 
 
 "And why not?" said Burr rising and adopting an 
 equally stern tone. "This preposterous charge of trea- 
 son will fall to pieces under the first attack of truth 
 and common-sense. No one ever named me fool and 
 I'm not choosing to face a file of soldiers, blindfolded, 
 with Tom Jefferson so eager to count 'One two 
 three !' Throughout this venture I've had the sup- 
 port of Randolph, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson. Let 
 me ask you. Would they point a way to treason?" 
 
 "President says you fooled them," said Madison. 
 
 "What? All three of them?" cried Burr. "Impos- 
 sible! What the Devil does he think I am?" 
 
 "That's just what he thinks the Devil," laughed 
 Dolly. 
 
 "From the President, Sir. The foreign post," said 
 Jennings bringing in letters. 
 
 "If you'll excuse me I'll glance through these 'till 
 the company arrives." Madison bowed to Burr and 
 retired. 
 
 The moment the door shut, Dolly exclaimed, "That's 
 why President wouldn't receive you." 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked Burr perplexed. 
 
 "You've blundered. That's what I mean," cried 
 Dolly. "Sir Anthony's correspondence with his Gov- 
 ernment proves that. They have all of it. President
 
 284 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 told me not an hour ago. It is there" and she pointed 
 towards Madison's study "now in Jim's hands. Ex- 
 cept what Mr. Jefferson withholds because my name 
 is used." 
 
 "Your name?" echoed Burr in amazement. 
 
 "My name," repeated Dolly quickly. "Sir An- 
 thony wrote 'what ever your plans you need fear no 
 diplomatic embarrassment since Mr. Burr rules the 
 State Department here through his favor with the 
 Secretary's lady.' ' 
 
 Burr looked furious. He sprang to his feet. 
 
 "What shall I do with him?" he cried. 
 
 Dolly rose too, as though to close the argument. 
 
 "Let him go in peace my Quaker father bids!" 
 
 "Not your Irish mother though?" exclaimed Burr. 
 
 "'Skin 'em alive!' she says," cried Dolly with a 
 sudden flare-up of all that was Irish in her. "And you 
 too, Ronnie Burr, if this matter becomes public!" 
 
 "In that case," said Burr with conviction. "I'd de- 
 serve to be shot." 
 
 "That's the President's opinion precisely!" 
 
 "Sir Anthony Merry and his ladies," announced Jen- 
 nings. 
 
 "Show 'em to the music-room," ordered Dolly. 
 
 "No. Please," said Burr, then turning to Jen- 
 nings, "Show Sir Anthony here." 
 
 Dolly turned to go. 
 
 "You will return? Please," pleaded Burr. 
 
 "When I've greeted Lady Merry," said Dolly. 
 
 "Please do" he repeated earnestly "there's one 
 question. Something I must ask you. Something I 
 meant to speak of when last we met."
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 285 
 
 "I will return," said Dolly. And she bowed and 
 greeted Sir Anthony who was entering. 
 
 "I rather anticipated I'd find you here," said Merry 
 who would have shaken hands with Burr had not that 
 gentleman rather pointedly held his hands behind his 
 back. 
 
 "There's post to-day from England. But no reply 
 to our matter." 
 
 "Naturally not," answered Burr brusquely. "Your 
 letters never reached them, Sir." 
 
 "What!" exclaimed Merry in amazement. 
 
 "Mr. Jefferson has them," said Burr measuring his 
 words. "How did they come by your correspondence, 
 Sir?" 
 
 "If they've got 'em they must have stolen 'em of 
 
 course." 
 
 "That's absurd," said Burr sternly. 
 
 "How else then?" cried Merry. Then with a laugh 
 he exclaimed : "Well, let 'em use 'em if they dare. By 
 Gad!" and he thumped his fist exultantly on the table 
 "they shall use 'em or I will." 
 
 Madison entered from the study and at sight of him 
 Sir Anthony cried at the top of his lungs : 
 
 "Mr. Secretary. I demand an immediate audience 
 with the President." 
 
 "He's had a very trying day, Sir," said Madison. 
 "If you'll tell me the purpose of this interview per- 
 haps- 
 
 " 'Tis to receive from his hands all my correspond- 
 ence that relates to Mr. Burr." 
 
 "To what end?" asked Madison. 
 
 "That's for me to determine," said Merry decisively.
 
 286 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "You see," went on Madison rather evasively 
 "the President prefers to keep this a family quarrel 
 without foreign entanglements." 
 
 "You evade the issue," cried Merry in his most im- 
 perious tone. "Do one of two things, Sir. Give me 
 an immediate audience or my passports." 
 
 "Since you insist," said Madison and he gave a 
 slight bow which was full of meaning. But Merry 
 would see none of it. 
 
 "And in your own interests, Mr. Madison," he cried. 
 "You'll insist upon my rights." 
 
 Madison caught the thrust and resented it. He 
 dropped the diplomat and instantly became the man. 
 Walking close up to Merry he looked him in the 
 eye and said. "If it's only a question of 'my rights,' 
 I'll promise you'll get them, Sir." 
 
 "What do you intend to do?" said Burr, when Mad- 
 ison had started for the White House. "If the Presi- 
 dent grants your demands, surely you intend no public 
 use for these letters?" 
 
 "Why not?" smiled Merry. "If my King's interests 
 require it." 
 
 "Even though it involves a woman's name?" cried 
 Burr contemptuously. 
 
 "My dear Sir," laughed Merry. "I've frequently 
 heard you say yourself that 'great ventures can't stop 
 for small morals.' ' 
 
 While he was speaking Dolly had entered the room. 
 Both men were so excited that they had not noticed her. 
 Each of them started as, in her quietest tone, she broke 
 into their conversation. 
 
 "Small morals? Sir Anthony to make war on a
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 287 
 
 woman?" said she with an intonation of surprise. 
 "And that, too, in the secret way that leaves her de- 
 fenseless! 'Small morals' to stamp upon her name 
 in the records of State a slur and suspicion that time 
 will only deepen. You think that's 'small morals,' Sir? 
 I venture to doubt that the First Gentleman of Europe, 
 as you call your King, will countenance such diplo- 
 macy." 
 
 She turned away in disgust. Burr was at the Eng- 
 lishman's throat. 
 
 "Damn you!" he cried. "I forbade you. Pledged 
 you not to mention, not by name nor hint. You shall 
 answer to me." 
 
 "At your service, Sir," cried Merry. 
 
 Dolly turned quickly. 
 
 "No! No!" She looked appealing at Burr. "You 
 forget yourself!" 
 
 Madison returned hurriedly. There was a look of 
 grim determination on his face. 
 
 Burr at a nod from Dolly retired almost instantly 
 into the music-room. Dolly had divined that for Sir 
 Anthony there were some very serious matters afoot. 
 
 "Here's your reply, Sir Anthony," said Madison as 
 he handed the Englishman a document. 
 
 Merry read the superscription and threw the packet 
 on the table. 
 
 " 'Sir Anthony Merry.' He omits my official titles. 
 I'll not accept it." he declared. 
 
 "I fancy the contents will explain, Sir," said Madison 
 calmly. 
 
 "I demand audience," cried Merry imperiously. 
 
 Madison bowed.
 
 288 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "The President, I am sure, will receive you at your 
 earliest convenience, in audience-of-leave." 
 
 "But I've asked no such audience, Sir?" cried Merry 
 taken thoroughly aback. 
 
 "The President anticipates that you will be eager to 
 hasten your departure now that you have resigned as 
 his Majesty's Minister." 
 
 Merry began to see a great, but most unpleasant 
 light. 
 
 "I'm not aware that his Majesty's received any such' 
 resignation." 
 
 Madison bowed for the third time. 
 
 "Then I regret to say, Sir, that his Majesty must 
 have anticipated too." 
 
 "By what assurance do you speak for the King?" 
 cried Merry furiously. 
 
 "By the King's assurance," replied Madison firmly, 
 "that he is unwilling to be represented by a gentleman 
 who so lightly appreciates the hospitality of a friendly 
 nation and mistakes tolerance for timidity." 
 
 Turning to Pinckney, Madison picked up the packe$ 
 from the table and exclaimed in his most official tone : 
 
 "Please see this taken to the British Legation for 
 Sir Anthony Merry." 
 
 Pinckney started for the door but the Englishman 
 intercepted him. 
 
 "Well, of course," he exclaimed excitedly. "When 
 an envoy's letters to his Government are stolen " 
 
 "No such thing could happen here," said Madison 
 sternly. 
 
 "Rubbish!" cried Merry. "My correspondence to 
 the King is in your possession thanks to this gentle-
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 289 
 
 man" pointing to Pinckney, who with clenched hands 
 looked as if he were about to knock the Englishman 
 down. 
 
 "But," resumed Madison blandly. "That corre- 
 spondence came to us from England, Sir. Through 
 Minister Monroe." 
 
 Sir Anthony gasped. His face turned purple. 
 
 "How'd he come by it?" he cried incredulously. 
 
 "From the King, himself, Sir," said Madison. "To 
 show that all is well between us. That he treats with 
 us in good faith. And that so, too, shall your success- 
 or Lord Erskine." 
 
 "I can't believe my ears," spluttered Merry. "It 
 isn't true. It can't be." 
 
 "Believe your eyes then, Sir. Mr. Pinckney will 
 fetch the correspondence." 
 
 Again Pinckney started to go. Again the English- 
 man barred his way, but this time his attitude had 
 changed. 
 
 "Your word is sufficient," he remarked to Madison. 
 Then to Pinckney, "I beg your pardon, Sir. Though," 
 and he turned to Madison snappishly once more, "I 
 believe Mr. Jefferson's people quite capable of what I 
 suspected." 
 
 Lady Merry, quickly followed by Ena, entered just 
 in time to over-hear her husband's last speech. 
 
 "Then it's true, Tony, what they're saying in there?" 
 she asked in alarm. 
 
 Sir Anthony nodded his head grimly. "Gossiping 
 already!" he added. 
 
 "They say we're going home?"
 
 290 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 Again Merry too overcome to speak, nodded his 
 head. 
 
 "Thank God!" cried Lady Merry fervently. "Oh, 
 thank God!" 
 
 "Angela!" cried Sir Anthony reprovingly. 
 
 Lady Merry sank into a chair, sobbing. 
 
 "Yes. Thank God! And I say it again Tony 
 whether you like it or not. "Thank God we're going! 
 Though it be in disgrace in chains anything any- 
 way just so we leave this cruel, this brutish country!" 
 
 For once Lady Merry was speechless. Sobs were 
 choking her. Sir Anthony patted her shoulder sooth- 
 ingly. Ena with a handkerchief and smelling salts 
 strove vainly to restore her. In all the months that she 
 had known him, Dolly Madison never had felt, for this 
 stupid, blundering, but still sincere Englishman, so real 
 a respect as in that moment when, in the face of his 
 wife's grief and of a withering blow to his own pride, 
 he pulled his shoulders back, lifted his head and, turn- 
 ing to Madison, said: 
 
 "Sir ! You will pardon Lady Merry's outburst. She 
 is unstrung. She " 
 
 But Dolly stepped into the breach. 
 
 "We quite understand, Sir Anthony," she said as 
 she patted his hand. "Some things here must have 
 been a great trial to Lady Merry. Our ways are not 
 quite your ways. And I'm sure as time goes on and we 
 all gain wisdom as well as charity looking back on these 
 little differences, we'll all be sorry everyone of us!" 
 
 Lady Merry revived suddenly. 
 
 "Sorry?" she shrieked. "Sorry to leave this damn- 
 able country and these yahoos? Sorry, indeed!
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 291 
 
 Paugh!" She sprang to her feet. "Come Ena. Let's 
 get away from here. We must go and pack." 
 
 Ena was crying. Her trembling hands took Dolly's 
 and raised one of them to her lips. 
 
 "Au voir, Madam!" she murmured while her lips 
 quivered. 
 
 "Au voir! Indeed!" shrieked Lady Merry. "Say 
 good-bye at once and have an end of it. We shall 
 leave for New York by the first chaise. When does 
 the next packet sail?" 
 
 Ena, still trembling, held on to Dolly's hand. 
 
 "Listen, Angle," she said, turning to her sister. 
 "Please listen, dear! I said 'Au voir,' purposely. Be- 
 cause I did not mean 'good-bye.' ' 
 
 "Well what did you mean then?" demanded Lady 
 Merry. "We leave here to-morrow morning, by God's 
 grace!" 
 
 "That is what I'm trying to tell you, dear. I've 
 promised Mr. Pinckney to remain." 
 
 "Yes." interpolated Dolly. "And 'till they're mar- 
 ried Ena is to be my guest." 
 
 "Ena!" shrieked her sister wildly. "Are you mad? 
 Have you lost your head?" 
 
 "It's gone with the rest of me," sobbed Ena. 
 
 "How'd that happen ? You poor child ! " asked Lady 
 Merry, now waxing almost sympathetic. 
 
 But at sight of poor Pinckney standing by, she sud- 
 denly grew vicious again. 
 
 "And for him that poppinjay?" 
 
 "Don't Angie. Please don't," cried Ena pleadingly. 
 "He's not one of the things you were going to say.
 
 292 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 And if he were all of them 'twould make no difference. 
 I love him." 
 
 She went to Pinckney and laid her hand upon his 
 arm. 
 
 Dolly, meanwhile, was beaming sympathy upon them 
 both. 
 
 "Never!" cried Lady Merry, as she strove to move 
 Ena from Pinckney's side. "Leave you here with 
 that?" 
 
 " 'Twould not be for long, Lady Merry," inter- 
 posed Dolly quickly. "You may not have heard but 
 Mr. Pinckney goes to our London Legation as First 
 Secretary the moment your husband's successor ar- 
 
 rives." 
 
 "There'll be no successor!" shouted Lady Merry. 
 
 "Yes, dear, there will," said Merry gently. "Lord 
 Erskine has been already named." 
 
 "But his wife's American!" cried Lady Merry. 
 
 "Yes. An old friend," corroborated Dolly. "Miss 
 Cadwalader of Philadelphia." 
 
 "I see! I understand at last!" said Lady Merry. 
 Then, turning to her husband she exclaimed indignant- 
 ly, "And you you you fool you idiot! See how 
 you've played into the hands of these " 
 
 "Hush! Angela. Please, they'll hear you," cried 
 Ena, trying to soothe her. 
 
 "Let them," said Dolly calmly as she went to Lady 
 Merry's side. "I'm sure Lady Merry's tired of being 
 diplomatic of stifling her feelings choosing her 
 words! Say what you like Ma'am for once in your 
 life. 'Twill do you good!" 
 
 "Thank you, Ma'am," said Lady Merry through
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 293 
 
 her tears. "That's the first kindness I've known here 
 except our passports. For these we're indebted to 
 you, Sir" and she turned on Burr viciously. "And I 
 forgive you everything. My only hope is that you'll 
 live to be hanged!" 
 
 Burr smiled, bowed and offered his arm in his most 
 grandiose way. "Until then Ma'am at your service!" 
 
 Lady Merry took his arm, grudgingly to be sure 
 but still she took it; and swept from the room. 
 
 Pinckney at a sign from Sir Anthony followed with 
 Ena on his arm. Just at the door Sir Anthony, with 
 a return of gallantry, turned to Dolly and bowing ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 "Sans Rancune!" 
 
 "Not the least," smiled Dolly and she held her hand 
 out. " 'Twas all in the day's work. And before you 
 leave, Sir, you and Lady Merry must honor us at 
 dinner." 
 
 Madison looked disconcerted but Sir Anthony quick- 
 ly relieved his fears. 
 
 "Thanks, Madam" and he smiled with some mean- 
 ing "but there won't be time I anticipate." 
 
 And again he bowed most courteously and took his 
 leave. 
 
 " 'Twas kind of you to ask them to dinner," said 
 Madison. "But my dear girl, suppose they'd ac- 
 cepted?" 
 
 "I anticipated they wouldn't," replied Dolly serenely. 
 
 Turning to Jennings at the door, she said: "Send 
 word to the President that Sir Anthony and Lady 
 Merry have taken leave. And say that Mrs. Madison 
 begs that he'll bring his fiddle."
 
 294 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "But my dear girl!" exclaimed Madison looking at 
 his watch. "He'll be in bed." 
 
 "Then he'll get up again," retorted Dolly with assur- 
 ance. "Insomnia will attack him I feel sure as soon as 
 he hears Sir Anthony's gone." Then she added ques- 
 tioningly, "And he's gone for good, hasn't he Jim?" 
 
 "Yes and " wavered Madison. 
 
 But Dolly looked up suddenly with a glance of cau- 
 tion. 
 
 "Wait, dear, you didn't give me time to finish," 
 laughed Madison. " 'And be damned to him' was what 
 I was going to say." 
 
 "Adorable man!" laughed Dolly and she kissed him 
 on the lips. 
 
 Burr, standing in the far window, turned just at that 
 moment. Madison looked startled, almost embar- 
 rassed. 
 
 "Don't mind, Jim," exclaimed Dolly lightly. " 'Tis 
 only the Vice President!" 
 
 Burr, not to be outdone, rose gayly to the rebuff. 
 
 "Ah!" he exclaimed with comic horror and a tragic 
 gesture. "To see what I've missed!" 
 
 "Yes," answered Dolly, nodding at him, smilingly. 
 "And by only one vote!" 
 
 " 'Twas yours, Madam," said Burr, bowing humbly. 
 "The situation is closed." 
 
 Off in the music-room the musicians had started 
 playing. 
 
 "That reel! You remember it?" And Burr, now 
 gay again looked questioningly at Dolly. 
 
 "Yes," she replied, smilingly. "You and I swung
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 295 
 
 down the line to that many a time in dear old Phil- 
 adelphia!" 
 
 " 'Tis not too late to repeat it, I hope," said he, 
 proffering his arm. 
 
 "What say you, Ma'am?" 
 
 Dolly took a step forward, as though to accept his 
 offer; but Madison stopped her in something like alarm. 
 
 "Your ankle. Do you think it's up to it, dear?" he 
 said in a tone which carried persuasion. 
 
 Dolly looked from one man to the other. Just for 
 a second she seemed wavering towards Burr. Then, 
 in a matter of fact way, she exclaimed: 
 
 "Well to tell you the truth, Jim, it's never been itself 
 since that slip on the ice." 
 
 "A gentleman to see you, Sir, on urgent business," 
 announced Jennings. 
 
 "Good girl!" said Madison under his breath as he 
 hurried away. 
 
 "Sorry I can't dance with you, Ronnie," smiled Dolly 
 when they were alone, "but I wouldn't hurt my ankle 
 or Jim's feelings for the world." 
 
 "Well, since the dance is forbidden us, I must be 
 going," remarked Burr rather testily. "We were 
 never good wall-flowers, Dolly, either of us. But 
 while I'm still here while we are alone just this 
 one question. The other day you told me that you 
 waited waited But I wrote you a letter. I swear 
 to God I did!" 
 
 "Yes. So I heard," said Dolly. "But I never re- 
 ceived it." 
 
 "Then how did you hear of it?" said Burr, lapsing 
 into his legal manner.
 
 296 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 "That is very simple," replied Dolly airily. "Betty 
 Jumel wrote to me about it. She was very fair to 
 you, Ronnie fair as few women would have been un- 
 der the same circumstances. Broken-hearted as she 
 was at poor Hamilton's death she admitted to me that 
 you had good cause and what's more, she believes 
 as I do, that you did not mean to kill him. She told me 
 that you'd written to her and that, in your letter, you 
 had mentioned that you'd written to me. But, as I 
 said before Ronnie, I waited waited." 
 
 "Good God! Dolly! This is news!" cried Burr 
 aghast with astonishment. "How came Betty Jumel 
 to write to you?" 
 
 "Why not?" said Dolly. "She and I are old friends 
 and loyal ones too!" 
 
 "Since when, pray?" demanded Burr. " 'Twas cer- 
 tainly not in my day." 
 
 "Ah! Ronnie" and Dolly sighed profoundly 
 "'In your day!' That seems so long ago! Some- 
 times in life a day an hour, even twenty minutes 
 makes a lifetime 1 I say again, Betty Jumel and I are 
 old and tried friends." 
 
 "But when, and where, in Heaven's name did you 
 meet her? You certainly did not know her the night 
 I left Philadelphia to meet Hamilton." 
 
 "That was the cause of it Ronnie your sudden 
 flight," continued Dolly calmly. "She came to my 
 house within the hour, after you'd gone. We became 
 friends almost instantly. I'm a good judge of women, 
 Ronnie. I liked her amazingly. Why did you never 
 introduce me to her before? Think of the good times 
 we've missed ! She was charming such distinction and
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 297 
 
 such wit, too ! We chatted for hours. Used your sec- 
 ond floor front too, Ronnie and by none of your 
 leave ! We sat by your fire we drank your Madiera. 
 Finally, I loaned her your dressing-gown and she stole 
 one of your paper cigars. In fact we marauded you, 
 Ronnie You'd have laughed to have seen us. While 
 as for you and poor Hamilton, why we fairly picked 
 your bones and didn't spare ourselves in the bargain, 
 either! I never had more fun in my life, Ronnie, 
 though our meeting started in tears and tremors for 
 the two of you. But our woman's common-sense soon 
 asserted itself. We speedily looked at you both as you 
 were and as you are ! She even slept in your bed, 
 Ronnie. And believe me, she criticized it roundly! 
 And by the way, in that letter she wrote me, she put 
 a post-script which, when ever I saw you again I was 
 to deliver. She wrote that she was going abroad for 
 years but for you not to worry 'cause she'd be back 
 again in loads of time and she'd bring the wedding- 
 cake along to fulfill that prophecy of the old hag." 
 
 "The old hag's?" exclaimed Burr in a puzzled tone. 
 
 "Of course I don't know what she meant, Ronnie," 
 said Dolly innocently. "She merely mentioned to me 
 that you had told her seems to be as I recollect it, it 
 must have been the day after the night you brought 
 me that poem from Mr. Thomas Moore and by the 
 way, Ronnie, since his return home, I hear that your 
 friend Mr. Moore has been writing some very nasty 
 poems about his friends who entertained him so lav- 
 ishly here. And he an Irishman too ! But that's an- 
 other matter! As I was saying, Ronnie, Betty wrote 
 me, you had told her that once, during your wander-
 
 298 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 ings in the country you'd had your fortune told by an 
 old hag and that the old hag told you " 
 
 "Stop, Dolly, stop!" said Burr angrily. "Whatever 
 I told her I swear I never mentioned your name. That 
 dream of yours somehow it got hold of me. I 
 couldn't shake it off it haunted me. I had to speak 
 to some one, so I spoke to her. But your name Ah! 
 no Dolly, never never!" 
 
 "I know that, Ronnie," said Dolly with conviction. 
 "That's why I'm talking to thee. That's why you're 
 still a guest in my house. No, Ronnie, whatever else 
 they say of thee all the females who knew you must 
 admit you never told tales on a woman!" 
 
 Then, with far more tenderness she added, "I'm 
 sorry I told you that dream, Ronnie; don't let it worry 
 thee. Surely we've both got troubles enough God 
 knows! in our real lives." 
 
 Madison entered the room hurriedly. His face was 
 pale. He looked nervous and perturbed. A moment 
 later, Jennings came to the door. 
 
 "Captain Gadsby, Sir," he announced to Madison. 
 "He enquires for Colonel Burr." 
 
 "Gadsby!" said Burr in astonishment. 
 
 "He's the Marshal of the District," said Madison 
 quietly. 
 
 "Ah ! Of course," said Burr as he straightened him- 
 self, then added gayly: "I see. That means my ar- 
 rest. And it also means, Madam," and he turned to 
 Dolly and bowed gallantly, "that I lose my reel with 
 you." 
 
 "Is he alone?" he inquired, turning to Jennings.
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 299 
 
 "There's some army with him, sir at least six or 
 eight." 
 
 Dolly shuddered and turned away. Burr laughed 
 more gayly than ever. 
 
 "Ah! I see. The President honors me. 'Tis to 
 be done with pomp and circumstance according to my 
 rank!" 
 
 He crossed to the window and looked out as though 
 to catch a glimpse of his prospective guards. 
 
 "Show the Captain into my study," said Madison. 
 
 But Dolly was before him swiftly. 
 
 "Stop! If you please, Jim!" Then to Jennings: 
 
 "Call Colonel Burr's carriage. Beg Captain Gadsby 
 to drive in it to Colonel Burr's house. Colonel Burr 
 will receive him there." She turned to Madison again 
 now furiously. " 'Twill not be under your roof this 
 arrest Jim. You must be mad, mad," and she 
 motioned towards the ball-room "seems to me the 
 President might have thought of that." 
 
 "Break up Mrs. Madison's party!" said Burr sin- 
 cerely. "Ah! no, believe me. I'm sorry that I even 
 came to this happy home to-night." 
 
 "Good God, man!" cried Madison and he put his 
 arm on the shoulder of his old-time friend. "You had 
 only to run straight." 
 
 "No no Jemmy!" exclaimed Burr, interrupting 
 him. "No moralizing if you please. In return I 
 promise to make no excuses. You know I've always 
 hated them. In all of this my one regret is " 
 
 But it was Dolly interrupted now. Her eyes were 
 full of tears. 
 
 I'm glad you had one" she said tenderly. "We both
 
 300 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 know you would have borne your honors bravely. Now 
 we both want you to do as well with the losses, Ron- 
 nie." 
 
 Jennings appeared again. 
 
 "The Marshall will do as you bid, Madam," he re- 
 ported. "But the soldiers must remain here." 
 
 "Give 'em some refreshment then," cried Dolly an- 
 grily. 
 
 "Ale, or wine, Ma'am?" 
 
 "Lemonade. Nothing stronger," she snapped. "Or 
 the newspapers will be saying, Jim, you plyed 'em with 
 drink to help Colonel Burr escape." 
 
 "Yes," said Madison, again nervous. "Perhaps it 
 would be better if I reassured the Marshal." 
 
 "And the Army!" called Burr after him. "For 
 God's sake don't forget the Army -six or eight!" 
 
 As Madison left, Burr turned to Dolly. 
 
 "I'll wager Jefferson's peering out of the White 
 House now to see me fly down Pennsylvania Avenue 
 pursued by his Army. That man has no sense of 
 humor!" he laughed. 
 
 "Where was yours in all this?" cried Dolly sternly. 
 
 Burr turned to her as though demanding an explana- 
 tion. 
 
 "Your sense of humor. That's what I said," she 
 exclaimed impatiently. "That sense of humor that 
 found something of fun in every fierce tirade against 
 you that laughed down mountains of abuse raised by 
 your enemies! That glorious sense of humor, man, 
 that so often saved you from the tragedy of your fol- 
 lies Where was it when you set about this ridiculous 
 enterprise?"
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 301 
 
 "Ah! Madam, I pray you! At least, not ridicu- 
 lous." 
 
 "Yes. Ridiculous," insisted Dolly with flashing eyes. 
 "Most absurd and fantastic, since Don Quixote and 
 the wind-mills. You" she continued mockingly "the 
 careless, cynical Burr, who played with high politics as 
 a child plays with toys who let the Presidency go with 
 a jest when a sober word would have won it for you 
 who never took anything serious but his love affairs. 
 The beau, the gallant, the heart-breaking Burr." She 
 struck a tone and gesture of mock-heroics and fairly 
 jeered at him. "Suddenly bent on the conquest of 
 Mexico and the throne of the Montezumas. Aaron I ! 
 Indeed ! Paugh ! And you don't see the humor of it. 
 Ha! Ha!" 
 
 "Well. Of course, now that you put it that way," 
 laughed Burr, in his old gay manner. "Yet" and his 
 tone changed suddenly and took on an earnest note 
 "yet you and I, Dolly we'd have made it Paradise. 
 It's a land of sun and color; carefree, romantic." He 
 took a step towards her, eagerly, but as he did so, she 
 drew, almost imperceptibly, away. "And there I 
 planned or dreamed a life, splendid and dazzling, 
 to blind you to everything in the world, except me 
 to make you forget all the world but me." 
 
 "Yes," interrupted Dolly, "Including the world's 
 esteem and good report." 
 
 "There you come again to small morals! I gave no 
 single thought to them nor to anything but you." 
 
 u Ah! Ronnie," she cried brokenly. "Don't let me 
 believe that / brought you to this. Think what a mem-
 
 302 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 ory ! That from so great a love such wretchedness and 
 shame should come to you." 
 
 Burr winced. The man was touched. There was no 
 mistaking it. For the one time in her life, Dolly saw 
 tears in those wonderful black eyes. His voice trem- 
 bled when he spoke again. 
 
 1 "Your solicitude for me, dear lady your anxiety, 
 so frank and sincere, touches me profoundly. More 
 than I can tell you more than you'd believe. I'm 
 called a vain man and perhaps justly! And yet, 
 curious enough, there have been so few persons in this 
 world for whose good opinion and affections I ever 
 gave a second thought. Even now in this moment 
 of crisis and disaster, I can think of but you ! Come 
 what may, I know you will think of me always with 
 that perfect understanding that lifts gentle woman- 
 hood to the plane of angels. And if Fate's forbid! 
 It should come to the worst " 
 
 "It must not! It shan't and won't," cried Dolly 
 positively. "I've Jim's promise." 
 
 Burr laughed once more and his manner took on 
 something of his old cynical gayety. 
 
 "Well, if it does, my friends shall have due notice 
 of time and place. And I promise that, as the show- 
 man says 'a great concourse of company, much gayety 
 and a rare sight.' A Vice President shot for getting 
 bored with his office! Oh! but dear lady" he was 
 serious now for he saw her tears "I beg your par- 
 don," he went on tenderly. "But how could I know 
 you'd take me serious. You never have. Forgive me 
 I implore you. And yet in candor those tears that 
 glisten in your eyes I'd rather have won than the
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 303 
 
 jewelled crown of Mexico. Au-voir, dear lady!" 
 Then in a lower tone he whispered. 'Till we meet 
 again; may God Almighty bless you!" 
 
 He moved as if to take her in his arms, but Dolly 
 evaded him. 
 
 "Good-bye," she said abruptly and held her hand 
 out with a gesture of dismissal. 
 
 Burr took a step backwards. 
 
 "You don't mean that?" he challenged. 
 
 "Yes, I do," and she looked him coldly, steadily in 
 the eye. "It's good-bye!" 
 
 Burr bowed profoundly and he kissed her hand. 
 
 "I'll wait word from you, dear lady after that 
 trial in Richmond." 
 
 "No no!" she cried. "Believe me, it's the end. 
 It's best for both of us. Good-bye! God bless you!" 
 
 Then as the door slammed to behind him, she put 
 her hands to her face and sobbed. 
 
 "You poor great splendid wretched man !" 
 
 Her desk stood in the corner. She ran to it and 
 hurriedly unlocked one of it's smaller drawers. From 
 it she took an old-fashioned japanned box and opening 
 it walked to the fire-place and kneeling down scattered 
 it's contents on the fire. They were only old letters, a 
 few pressed flowers, some trinkets, a tarnished shoul- 
 der-strap, which he had given her as a relic of his 
 young days at Quebec, two or three poems of his, and 
 a tiny volume of the Lyrics of Tom Moore. 
 
 But as the flames flared up, devouring them, she 
 sobbed her heart out, as all women will, for old love's 
 sake, until Millenium Day.
 
 3 o 4 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 The fire was still crackling merrily when Madison 
 came in and, seeing her condition, took her in his arms. 
 
 "Jim," she said, snuggling closer to him. 
 
 "Why. What's wrong here?" he questioned as 
 though he hadn't the remotest idea what it was all 
 about. 
 
 "Nothing, old man, it's over! It's nothing now." 
 She looked at the fire, which had smouldered down 
 and Madison in his turn looked at her. 
 
 "Tears !" he exclaimed as he kissed her cheek. "He 
 doesn't deserve one of them!" 
 
 "I know it. So I weep for him." 
 
 "That's the Quaker of you," joked Madison ten- 
 derly. 
 
 "No," and Dolly shook her head "it's just the wo- 
 man. Rogues have always got our pity since the world 
 began." 
 
 "Poor devil! He'll need it," cried Madison, then 
 stopped to listen. "You hear? The mob's jeering 
 him, and Oh! My God! They're playing the 
 Rogue's March." 
 
 Dolly sank to the sofa with a little cry, and Madison, 
 crossing the room, shut down the window hurriedly. 
 
 When the noise was silenced, Dolly, pale as a sheet, 
 jumed to her feet. "Jim!" she cried, hysterically. 
 "This is awful. It's all coming true." 
 
 "True? What, darling?" asked Madison. 
 
 "My dream !" cried Dolly, excitedly. "That was the 
 way it started. I'd almost forgotten but I remember it 
 distinctly now. I never told him when I described my 
 dream to him, nor even when I spoke of it to you,
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 305 
 
 just as I evaded telling of poor Theodosia's end, and 
 the fate of the little boy. But that was the beginning 
 of my dream, Jim. It started with the sound of the 
 Rogue's March, and poor Burr tramping down this 
 very street! Then, if you remember, I told you I was 
 in Washington, before the General's picture, with the 
 Declaration of Independence hidden in my bodice" 
 she spoke as in a daze now, almost as a person talking 
 in her sleep "and I called to him to come to me but he 
 was thousands and thousands of miles away, Jim. 
 Feted one day hounded the next " 
 
 "Hush! Hush! Dolly," said Madison. "Don't 
 let's talk about it. It's only a dream." 
 
 "Only a dream, Jim, Yes," she answered ominously. 
 "But a dream that's coming true in every word." 
 
 She roused herself and looked at him quite calmly. 
 
 All of a sudden Madison jumped to his feet. If a 
 bee had suddenly attacked him he could have shown 
 no less alacrity nor more dismay. 
 
 "My God, Dolly!" he exclaimed. "If it does come 
 true there'll be war with England. They'll burn the 
 White House " 
 
 Dolly was quite herself now as she turned to him 
 and placing her arms about his neck cried: 
 
 "What do we care, Jim? They can build us another 
 one. There are lots of things about this one I don't 
 like." 
 
 "But the consequences, my dear. Think of the con- 
 sequences!" 
 
 "Damn the consequences!" said Dolly as she kissed 
 him. "Don't think at all, Jim. It's monstrous bad for
 
 306 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 you. Just remember this, dear. There was one thing 
 that I never mentioned to thee just as I skipped some 
 incidents when I told my dream to poor Ronnie Burr." 
 
 "What was it, dear," asked Madison eagerly. 
 
 "It was this," replied Dolly. "Remember when I 
 told thee Burr was too far away to answer. There was 
 someone whom I searched for whose face I couldn't 
 see whose name I didn't know who was fighting for 
 me and all the nation somewhere at the front. 'Twas 
 then I lied to you, Jim, for the first, but," she added 
 cautiously "probably not for the only time. I knew 
 who the man was always. He was the President of the 
 United States, Jim. The Master of the White House. 
 The fellow, who later in my dream, I saw going down 
 the long hill, with the apple-cheeked and fat old lady 
 who was none other than myself. In other words, 
 Jim, he was my man and deep down in my heart both 
 in and out of my dreams I always knew it!" 
 
 "You mean that it was me?" said Madison. 
 
 "You're a diviner, Jim!" she cried. "How'd you 
 ever guess it?" 
 
 Out in the ball-room a lone fiddle began to play a 
 medley. First there was a strain of "Believe me ", 
 then a snatch of "Robin Adair." 
 
 "Laws!" cried Dolly, starting up. "There's Mr. 
 Jefferson. I know it's he by the way he flats on that 
 second bar." 
 
 The music changed again. "He's perfectly happy 
 now," she smiled. "He's playing a hymn. Yet they 
 call him atheist!" 
 
 Unconsciously her lips half-spoke the words of the 
 melody :
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 307 
 
 "A few more years shall roll, 
 
 A few more seasons come 
 And we shall be with those that rest, 
 
 Asleep within the tomb. 
 Then oh ! my Lord prepare 
 
 My. soul for that great day 
 Oh ! " 
 
 Dolly stopped singing abruptly. She turned to 
 Madison. 
 
 "That was dear mother's favorite hymn," she said, 
 "though father wouldn't let her sing it on First Day 
 'cause it was Episcopal. Dear mother ! I never wanted 
 her more than I do to-night." 
 
 There were tears in her eyes again. 
 
 "There was always one cure for everything with her. 
 No matter whether it was a cut finger or a sorry heart. 
 'No matter, dear,' she'd say,^'nothing really matters 
 in this world P I wish I could believe that while I'm 
 still alive!" 
 
 Dolly snatched up her rouge box and just to prove 
 her complete conquest of her husband, forced him to 
 put a dab on each of her cheeks. Meanwhile she dried 
 her eyes and powdered her nose. 
 
 "Just a word more about Burr, Jim," she exclaimed. 
 "President can wait for us just a moment. We've got 
 to wait for him for four years." 
 
 "Poor devil!" said Madison. "Let's forget Burr, 
 Dolly. He hasn't a friend in the world not one." 
 
 "Oh, yes he has!" cried Mrs. Madison all on fire 
 again. "I'm his friend." 
 
 "Why why Dolly!" exclaimed Madison, now 
 wishing that he hadn't brought the subject up again. 
 
 "I wish him well," she continued. "Whatever
 
 308 THE FIRST LADY IN THE LAND 
 
 wrong he's done. I don't care a rap. And so I'm his 
 friend. And so you must be, Jim, just as / must be 
 because, after all is said and done, Jemmy, he's the best 
 friend we ever had. Why, man, he brought you to 
 me, and Laws! shouldn't I be grateful for that?" 
 
 "He was merely an agent of Providence or Fate 
 my dear," said Madison with half a smile. 
 
 "Whose ever agent he was, he did his work devilish 
 well," exclaimed Dolly. "And when every man's hand 
 is turned against him, mine will reach out to him in 
 thanks. Why but for him man, I might have been a 
 spindley, shriveled, Philadelphia widow, taking lodgers 
 for a living on South Fourth Street instead of the nice 
 apple-cheeked, fat old lady whose going down the hill 
 along with you, later on. Don't wince, Jimmy. It's 
 the truth I'm telling you. And you, if it hadn't been 
 for him, would be a crusty, rheumatic old bachelor, 
 mooning over that Long Island hussy who jilted you 
 for a parson and his forte-pianner !" 
 
 "And 'gainst such great works," exclaimed Madison 
 quizzingly. "He only tried to tear down an empire!" 
 
 "But he raised up one for us, Jim. Don't forget 
 that. Out of his very evil, good has come to you and 
 me. Over the ruins of his career you step to higher 
 things." 
 
 "But, my dear," exclaimed Madison reprovingly. 
 "Such thoughts!" 
 
 "Yes yes I know," interrupted Dolly. "They're 
 wicked, and silly and worldly and and very, very 
 human. But after all I'm only a woman, Jimmy, and 
 you're my husband and an "
 
 FATE SETS THE PACE 309 
 
 "And after you the Deluge!" laughed Madison 
 as he kissed her. "As the French King said." 
 
 "He didn't say it first, Jim," retorted Dolly. " 'Twas 
 Noah's wife once she had him safe inside the Ark." 
 
 FINIS.
 
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