Macaria

by Augusta J. Evans

  CHAPTER XX

  A CANDIDATE FOR THE LEGISLATURE

  "Don't you know that even granite millstones finally grind themselves intoimpalpable powder? You give yourself no rest, Aubrey, and human machinerywears rapidly. Simply for this reason, I sent for you to come and take acup of tea with me."

  "I have been too much engaged of late to spare an evening to merely socialclaims. A man whose life rests at his feet to be lifted to some fittingpedestal, has little leisure for the luxury of friendly visiting."

  The two were in Eric Mitchell's pleasant library. Russell sat in anarm-chair, and the master of the house reclined on a lounge drawn near thehearth. The mellow glow of the lamp, the flash and crackle of the fire, thecareless, lazy posture of the invalid, all betokened quiet comfort, savethe dark fixed face, and erect, restless figure of the guest.

  "But, Aubrey, you have not asked my opinion of your speech."

  "I was not aware that you heard it."

  "Of course not, but I read it; and let me tell you, it was a great speech,a masterly argument, that will make a lasting impression upon the people.It has greatly changed the vote of this county already."

  "You mistake appearances; the seed fell in good soil, but party spiritcame, as fowls of the air, and devoured it."

  "At any rate, it produced a profound impression on public opinion, andstartled some of our political patriarchs."

  "No, a mere transitory effect; they have folded their arms and gone tosleep again. I am, of course, gratified by your favourable appreciation ofmy effort, but I differ with you as to its result. The surging waves ofNorthern faction and fanaticism already break ominously against ourtime-honoured constitutional dykes, and if the South would strengthen herbulwarks, there is no time to be slept or wrangled away."

  As he spoke, Russell's eye fell upon a large oval vase on the mantelpiecefilled with rare exotics, whose graceful tendrils were tastefully disposedinto a perfumed fringe. Rising, he looked carefully at the brilliant hues,and said, as he bent to inhale their fragrance--

  "Where did you grow such flowers at this season?"

  "Irene brings them almost every day from the greenhouse on the hill. Shetakes a peculiar pleasure in arranging them in my vases. I think she stooda half-hour yesterday twining and bending those stems the way she wantedthem to hang. They are so brittle that I snap the blossoms off, but in herhands they seem pliable enough."

  Russell withdrew the fingers which had wandered caressingly amid thedelicate leaves, and, reseating himself, took a book from his pocket.

  He drew his chair nearer the lamp and began to read aloud. Nearly ahalf-hour passed thus, when the library door was opened hastily, and Irenecame in, dressed magnificently in party costume. She stood a moment,irresolute and surprised, with her eyes fixed on Russell's, then both bowedsilently, and she came to the fire.

  "How are you, Uncle Eric? You look flushed, feverish." She laid her cold,pearly hand on his forehead, and stood at his side.

  "Tolerably comfortable, thanks to Mr. Aubrey, who has made me almost forgetmy headache. You will be fashionably late at the party to-night."

  "Yes! as usual; but for a better reason than because I wish to befashionable. I wanted to know how you were, and as father was not quiteready, I came in advance, and sent the carriage back for him and Hugh. Iwas not aware that you were in Mr. Aubrey's hands for the evening. You werereading, I believe. Pardon my intrusion, and do not let me interrupt you."

  She stood still a moment, listening.

  "Good night, Uncle Eric; the carriage is coming. I believe I should knowthe tramp of those horses amid a regiment of cavalry."

  "Why need you hurry off? Let your father come in."

  "I will spare him that trouble. Good night, Mr. Aubrey."

  She turned to leave the room, but, in gathering her cloak around her,dropped her fan. Russell stooped to pick it up, and, as he restored it,their hands met. His brow flushed, but not even the pale pearly glow of asea-shell crept to her cheek. Again she raised her eyes to his, and ahaughty, dazzling smile flashed over her face as she inclined her head.

  "Thank you, sir."

  There was a brief silence, broken by Eric, when the sound of the carriagehad died away.

  "Irene is the only perfectly beautiful woman I ever saw; and yet, Aubrey,it makes me sad to watch her countenance."

  "Whenever I see her I cannot avoid recalling an old Scandinavian myth; sherealizes so fully my ideal Iduna, standing at the portals of Valhalla,offering apples of immortality."

  He returned at once to his book and read several pages, occasionallypausing to call attention to some special passage; finally he rose, andtook his hat.

  "It is early yet, Aubrey; don't go."

  "Thank you; I must fulfil another engagement."

  "A word before you leave; will you be a candidate for the legislature?"

  "Yes; I was waited upon by a committee to-day, and my name will beannounced to-morrow. Good night."

  Slowly he walked back to town, and once upon the main street, took a newpair of gloves from his pocket, fitted them carefully, and directed hissteps to the elegant residence, whose approach was well-nigh blocked upwith carriages. This was the second time that he had been invited by theHendersons, and he had almost determined to decline as formerly, butsomething in Irene's chill manner changed his resolution. He knew, fromvarious circumstances, that the social edict against him was being revokedin fashionable circles; that because he had risen without its permission,aid, or countenance, and in defiance of its sneers, the world was beginningto court him. A gloomy scowl sat on his stern lips as he mounted the stepsof the mansion from which his meek and suffering mother had borne bundlesof plain work, or delicate masses of embroidery, for the mother anddaughter who passed her in the street with a supercilious stare._Beau-monde_ suddenly awoke to the recollection that, "after all, Mrs.Aubrey belonged to one of the wealthiest and first families in the state."At first Russell had proudly repelled all overtures, but gradually he waspossessed by a desire to rule in the very circle which had so long excludedhis family. Most fully he appreciated his position and the motives whichactuated the social autocrats of W----; he was no longer the poor disgracedclerk, but the talented young lawyer, and prospective heir of Mr.Campbell's wealth. Bitterly, bitterly came memories of early trial, and nowthe haughtiness of Irene's manner stung him as nothing else could possiblyhave done. He was at a loss to comprehend this change in one who had daredso much in order to assist his family, and proud defiance arose in hisheart. It was ten o'clock, the fete was at its height; the sound of music,the shimmer of jewels and rustle of costly silks mingled with the hum ofconversation, and the tread of dancing feet as Russell deposited hat andovercoat in the dressing-room and entered the blazing parlours. Thequadrille had just ended, and gay groups chattered in the centre of theroom; among these, Maria Henderson, leaning on Hugh's arm, and GraceHarris, who had been dancing with Louis Henderson. As Russell crossed thefloor to speak to the host and hostess, all eyes turned upon him, and asudden hush fell on the merry dancers.

  "Coaxed at last within the pale of civilization! how did you contrive it,Louis?" asked Maria.

  "Oh! he declined when I invited him; but I believe father saw him afterwardand renewed the request. Do observe him talking to mother; he is aspolished as if he had spent his life at court."

  "He is a man whom I never fancied; but that two hours' speech of his wascertainly the finest effort I ever listened to. Caesar's ambition wasmoderate in comparison with Aubrey's; and, somehow, even against my will, Ican't help admiring him, he is so coolly independent," said Hugh, eyeinghim curiously.

  "I heard father say that the Democrats intend to send him to thelegislature next term, and the opposition are bothered to match him fully.By the way, they speak of Mr. Huntingdon for their candidate. But herecomes your hero, Miss Maria." As he spoke, Charlie Harris drew back a fewsteps, and suffered Russell to speak to the young lady of the house. Irenestood not far off, talking to the Governor of the state,
who chanced to beon a brief visit to W----, and quite near her, Judge Harris and her fatherwere in earnest conversation. Astonished at the sudden apparition, her eyesfollowed him as he bowed to the member of the central group; and as sheheard the deep, rich voice above the buzz of small talk she waited to seeif he would notice her. Soon Governor G---- gave her his arm for apromenade, and she found herself, ere long, very near Maria, who wasapproaching with Russell. He was saying something, at which she laugheddelightedly; just then his eye fell on Irene; there was no token ofrecognition on the part of either; but the Governor, in passing, put outhis hand to shake Russell's, and asked for Mr. Campbell. Again and againthey met during the ensuing hour, but no greeting was exchanged; then hedisappeared. As Irene leaned against the window-frame in the crowdedsupper-room, she heard Charlie Harris gaily bantering Maria on the eventsof the evening.

  "What have you done with Aubrey? I will challenge him before to-morrowmorning, for cutting me out of my schottische with his prosy chat."

  "Oh! he left a half-hour ago; excused himself to mother, on the plea ofstarting off to court at daybreak. He is perfectly fascinating; don't youthink so, Grace? Such eyes and lips; and such a forehead!"

  Once more in his own room at the quiet boarding-house, Russell lighted thegas-burner over a small desk, and sat down to a mass of papers. Theapartment was cold; the fire had long since died out; the hearth lookedashy and desolate. The measured tones of the watchman on the town-towerrecalled him, finally, from his work; he took off his watch and wound itup. It wanted but three hours to dawn, but he heeded it not; the sight ofthe massive old watch brought vividly back the boyish days of sorrow, andhe sat thinking of that morning of shame, when Irene came close to him,nestling her soft little hand in his, and from some long-silent, dark,chill chamber of memory leaped sweet, silvery, childish echoes--

  "Oh, Russell! if I could only help you!"

  Since his return from Europe he had accustomed himself to think of her asHugh's wife; but he found it daily more difficult to realize that she couldwillingly give her hand to her heedless, self-indulgent cousin; and now thealteration in her manner toward him perplexed and grieved him. Did shesuspect the truth, and fear that he might presume on her charity in bygoneyears? To his proud spirit this was a suggestion singularly insulting, andhe had resolved to show her in future that he claimed not even a nod ofrecognition. Instead of avoiding her, as formerly, he would seek occasionsto exhibit an indifference which he little thought that her womanly heartwould rightly interpret. He had found it more difficult than he supposed tokeep his attention chained to Maria's and Grace's gay nonsense; to preventhis eyes from wandering to the face whose image was enshrined in his lonelyheart, and now, with complex feelings of tenderness and angry defiance, hesought his pillow for a short respite before the journey that waited butfor daylight.

  For a few weeks all W---- was astir with interest in the impendingelection: newspaper columns teemed with caustic articles, and Huntingdonand Aubrey clubs vilified each other with the usual acrimony of suchoccasions. Mr. Campbell's influence was extensive, but the Huntingdonsupporters were powerful, and the result seemed doubtful until the weekprevious to the election, when Russell, who had as yet taken no activepart, accepted the challenge of his opponent to a public discussion. Themeeting was held in front of the court-house, the massive stone stepsserving as a temporary rostrum. The night was dark and cloudy, but hugebonfires, blazing barrels of pitch, threw a lurid glare over the broadstreet, now converted into a surging sea of human heads.

  Surrounded by a committee of select friends, Mr. Huntingdon sat, confidentof success; and when the hiss of rockets ceased, he came forward, andaddressed the assembly in an hour's speech. As a warm and rather prominentpolitician, he was habituated to the task, and bursts of applause from hisown party frequently attested the effect of his easy, graceful style, andpungent irony. Blinded by personal hate, and hurried on by the excitementof the hour, he neglected the cautious policy which had hitherto beenobserved, and finally launched into a fierce philippic against hisantagonist--holding up for derision the melancholy fate of his father, andsneeringly denouncing the "audacious pretensions of a political neophyte."

  Groans and hisses greeted this unexpected peroration, and many of his ownfriends bit their lips, and bent their brows in angry surprise, as he tookhis seat amid an uproar which would have been respectable even in the daysof the builders of Babel. Russell was sitting on the upper step, with hishead leaning on his hand, and his eyes fixed on the mass of upturned, eagerfaces, listening patiently to the lengthy address, expecting just what hewas destined to hear. At the mention of his family misfortunes he liftedhis head, rose, and advancing a few steps, took off his hat, and stoodconfronting the speaker in full view of the excited crowd. And there thered light, flaring over his features, showed a calm, stern, self-reliantman, who felt that he had nothing to blush for in the past or to dread infuture. When the tirade ended, when the tumult ceased and silence fell uponthe audience, he turned and fixed his deep, glowing eyes full on the faceof his opponent for one moment, smiling haughtily; then, as Mr. Huntingdonquailed before his withering gaze, he crossed his arms over his chest, andaddressed the meeting.

  He came, he said, to discuss questions of grave import to the State, notthe pedigree or antecedents of his antagonist, with which, he supposed, thepublic had no concern. Briefly he stated the issues dividing the people ofthe State; warned the opposition of the probable results of their policy,if triumphant; and, with resistless eloquence, pleaded for a firmmaintenance of the principles of his own party. He was, he averred, noalarmist, but he proclaimed that the people slept upon the thin heavingcrust of a volcano, which would inevitably soon burst forth; and the periodwas rapidly approaching when the Southern States, unless united and on thealert, would lie bound at the feet of an insolent and rapacious Northernfaction. He demanded that, through the legislatures, the States shouldappeal to Congress for certain restrictions and guarantees, which, ifdenied, would justify extreme measures on the part of the people. The man'smarvellous magnetism was never more triumphantly attested; the mass, whohad listened in profound silence to every syllable which had passed hislips, now vented their enthusiasm in prolonged and vociferous applause.

  As he descended the steps and disappeared amid the shouts of the crowd,Judge Harris turned to Mr. Huntingdon and said, with ill-concealedannoyance--

  "You have lost your election by your confounded imprudence."

  The judge walked off, pondering a heavy bet which he had relative to theresult.

  By sunrise on the day of the election the roads leading to town werecrowded with voters making their way to the polls. The drinking-saloonswere full to overflowing; the side-walks thronged with reeling groups asthe day advanced. Because the Huntingdon side bribed freely, the Aubreypartisans felt that they must, from necessity, follow the disgracefulprecedent. Not a lady showed her face upon the street; drinking, wrangling,fighting was the order of the day. Windows were smashed, buggiesoverturned, and the police exercised to the utmost. Accompanied by a fewfriends, Mr. Huntingdon rode from poll to poll, encouraging his supporters,and drawing heavily upon his purse, while Russell remained quietly in hisoffice, well assured of the result. At five o'clock, when the town pollsclosed, Russell's votes showed a majority of two hundred and forty-four.Couriers came in constantly from country precincts, with equally favourableaccounts, and at ten o'clock it was ascertained, beyond doubt, that he waselected. Irene and her uncle rode down to learn the truth, and, not knowingwhere to find Mr. Huntingdon, stopped the carriage at the corner of themain street, and waited a few moments. Very soon a rocket whizzed throughthe air, a band of music struck up before Russell's office, and a number ofhis adherents insisted that he should show himself on the balcony. A crowdimmediately collected opposite, cheering the successful candidate, andcalling for a speech. He came out, and, in a few happy, dignified words,thanked them for the honour conferred, and pledged himself to guard mostfaithfully the interests committed to his ke
eping. After the noisyconstituents had retired, he stood talking to some friends, when he chancedto recognize the fiery horses across the street. The carriage-top wasthrown back, and by the neighbouring gaslight he saw Irene's white faceturned toward him, then the horses sprang off. Mr. Campbell noticed,without understanding, the sudden start, and bitter though triumphant smilethat crossed his face in the midst of pleasant gratulations.

  "Go home, Andrew. I know now what I came to learn."

  Irene sank back and folded her mantle closer around her.

  "Don't you think, Irene, that Aubrey deserves to succeed?"

  "Yes."

  Her dreary tone disconcerted him, and he offered no further comment, littlesuspecting that her hands were pressed hard against her heart, and that hervoiceless sorrow, was: "Henceforth we must be still more estranged; a widergulf, from this night, divides us."