An Original Belle

by Edward Payson Roe

  IT is essential that we should go back several hours in our story.On the morning of the day that witnessed the departure of Strahanand his company Merwyn's legal adviser had arrived and had beencloseted for several hours with his client. Mr. Bodoin was extremelyconservative. Even in youth he had scarcely known any leaningstoward passion of any kind or what the world regards as folly. Histraining had developed and intensified natural characteristics,and now to preserve in security the property intrusted to hiscare through a stormy, unsettled period had become his controllingmotive. He looked upon the ups and downs of political men and measureswith what seemed to him a superior and philosophical indifference,and he was more than pleased to find in Merwyn, the son of his oldclient, a spirit so in accord with his own ideas.

  They had not been very long together on this fateful day before heremarked: "My dear young friend, it is exceedingly gratifying tofind that you are level-headed, like your father. He was a man,Willard, whom you do well to imitate. He secured what he wantedand had his own way, yet there was no nonsense about him. I washis intimate friend as well as legal adviser, and I know, perhaps,more of his life than any one else. Your mother, to-day, is thehandsomest woman of her years I ever saw, but when she was of yourage her beauty was startling, and she had almost as many slavesamong the first young men of the South as there were darkies on theplantation, yet your father quietly bore her away from them all.What is more, he so managed as to retain her respect and affectionto the last, at the same time never yielding an inch in his justrights or dignity, and he ever made Mrs. Merwyn feel that her justrights and dignity were equally sacred. Proud as your mother was,she had the sense to see that his course was the only proper one.Their marriage, my boy, always reminded me of an alliance betweentwo sovereign and alien powers. It was like a court love-matchabroad. Your father, a Northern man, saw the beautiful Southernheiress, and he sued as if he were a potentate from a foreign realm.Well-born and accustomed to wealth all his life, he matched herpride with a pride as great, and made his offer on his feet as ifhe were conferring as much as he should receive. That, in fact,was the only way to win a woman who had been bowed down to allher life. After marriage they lived together like two independentsovereigns, sometimes here, then in the city house, and, whenMrs. Merwyn so desired it, on the Southern plantation, or abroad.He always treated her as if she were a countess or a queen in herown right and paid the utmost deference to her Southern ideas, butnever for a moment permitted her to forget that he was her equal andhad the same right to his Northern views. In regard to financialmatters he looked after her interests as if he were her prime minister,instead of a husband wishing to avail himself of anything. In hisown affairs he consulted me constantly and together we planted hisinvestments on the bed-rock. These reminiscences will enable youto understand the pleasure with which I recognize in you the sametraits. Of course you know that the law gives you great power overyour property. If you were inclined to dissipation, or, what wouldbe little better in these times, were hot-headed and bent on takingpart in this losing fight of the South, I should have no end oftrouble."

  "You, also, are satisfied, then, that it will be a losing fight?"Merwyn had remarked.

  "Yes, even though the South achieves its independence. I am off atone side of all the turmoil, and my only aim is to keep my trustssafe, no matter who wins. I see things as they are up to date andnot as I might wish them to be if under the influence of passionor prejudice. The South may be recognized by foreign powers andbecome a separate state, although I regard this as very doubtful.In any event the great North and West, with the immense tides ofimmigration pouring in, will so preponderate as to be overshadowing.The Southern empire, of which Mrs. Merwyn dreams, would dwindlerather than grow. Human slavery, right or wrong, is contrary to thespirit of the age. But enough of this political discussion. I onlytouch upon it to influence your action. By the course you arepursuing you not only preserve all your Northern property, butyou will also enable me to retain for your mother and sisters theSouthern plantation. This would be impossible if you were seeking'the bubble, reputation, at the cannon's mouth' on either side.Whatever happens, there must still be law and government. Bothsides will soon get tired of this exhausting struggle, and thenthose who survive and have been wise will reap the advantage. Now,as to your own affairs, the legal formalities are nearly completed.If you return and spend the winter in New York I can put you inthe way of vastly increasing your property, and by such presenceand business activity you will disarm all criticism which yourmother's Southern relations may occasion."

  "Mamma will bitterly oppose my return."

  "I can only say that what I advise will greatly tend to conserveMrs. Merwyn's interests. If you prefer, we can manage it in thisway: after you have safely established your mother and sistersabroad I can write you a letter saying that your interests requireyour presence."

  And so it had been arranged, and the old lawyer sat down to dinnerwith Mrs. Merwyn, paying her the courtly deference which, while itgratified her pride, was accepted as a matter of course--as a partof her husband's legacy. He had soon afterwards taken his departure,leaving his young client in a most complacent and satisfactorymood.

  It may thus be seen that Merwyn was not an unnatural product ofthe influences which had until now guided his life and formed hischaracter. The reminiscences of his father's friend had greatlyincreased his sense of magnanimity in his intentions towardsMarian. In the overweening pride of youth he felt as if he werealmost regally born and royally endowed, and that a career wasopening before him in which he should prove his lofty superiorityto those whose heads were turned by the hurly-burly of the hour.Young as he was, he had the sense to be in accord with wise old age,that looked beyond the clouds and storm in which so many would bewrecked. Nay, even more, from those very wrecks he would gatherwealth.

  "The time and opportunity for cool heads," he smilingly assuredhimself, "is when men are parting with judgment and reason."

  Such was his spirit when he sought the presence of the girl whosesoul was keyed up to almost a passion of self-sacrifice. His mindbelittled the cause for which her idolized father was, at thatmoment, perilling his life, and to which her dearest friends hadconsecrated themselves. He was serene in congratulating himselfthat "little Strahan" had gone, and that the storm would preventthe presence of other interlopers.

  Although the room was lighted as usual, he had not waited manymoments before a slight chill fell upon his sanguine mood. The housewas so still, and the rain dripped and the wind sighed so dismallywithout, that a vague presentiment of evil began to assert itself.Heretofore he had found the apartment full of life and mirth, andhe could not help remembering that some who had been its guestsmight now be out in the storm. Would she think of this also?

  The parlor was scarcely in its usual pretty order, and no flowersgraced the table. Evidently no one was expected. "All the better,"he assured himself; "and her desolation will probably incline herthe more to listen to one who can bring golden gleams on such adreary night."

  A daily paper, with heavy headlines, lay on a chair near him. Theburden of these lines was DEFEAT, CARNAGE, DEATH.

  They increased the slight chill that was growing upon him, and madehim feel that possibly the story of his birth and greatness whichhe had hoped to tell might be swallowed up by this other storywhich fascinated him with its horror.

  A slight rustle caused him to look up, and Marian stood before him.Throwing aside the paper as if it were an evil spell, he rose,would have offered his hand had there been encouragement, but thegirl merely bowed and seated herself as she said: "Good-evening,Mr. Merwyn. You are brave to venture out in such a storm."

  Was there irony in the slight accent on the word "brave"? Howsingularly severe was her costume, also!--simple black, without anornament. Yet he admitted that he had never seen her in so effectivea dress, revealing, as it did, the ivory whiteness of her arms andneck.

  "There is only one reason why I should not come this evening,--youmay have hop
ed to escape all callers."

  "It matters little what one hopes in these times," she said, "forevents are taking place which set aside all hopes and expectations."

  In her bitter mood she was impatient to have the interview over, sothat she accomplished her purpose. Therefore she proposed, contraryto her custom with him, to employ the national tragedy, to whichhe was so indifferent, as one of her keenest weapons.

  "It is quite natural that you should feel so, Miss Vosburgh, inregard to such hopes as you have thus far entertained--"

  "Since they are the only hopes I know anything about, Mr. Merwyn,I am not indifferent to them. I suppose you were at the depot tosee your friend, Mr. Strahan, depart?" and the question was askedwith a steady, searching scrutiny that was a little embarrassing.

  Indeed, her whole aspect produced a perplexed, wondering admiration, forshe seemed breathing marble in her cold self-possession. He felt,however, that the explanation which he must give of his absencewhen so many were evincing patriotic good-will would enable him toimpress her with the fact that he had superior interests at stakein which she might have a share.

  Therefore he said, gravely, as if the reason were ample: "I shouldhave been at the depot, of course, had not my legal adviser comeup from town to-day and occupied me with very important business.Mr. Bodoin's time is valuable to him, and he presented, for myconsideration, questions of vital interest. I have reached thatage now when I must not only act for myself, but I also have verydelicate duties to perform towards my mother and sisters."

  "Mr. Strahan had a sad duty to perform towards his mother andsisters,--he said good-by to them."

  "A duty which I shall soon have to perform, also," Merwyn said.

  She looked at him inquiringly. Had he at last found his manhood,and did he intend to assert it? Had he abandoned his calculatingpolicy, and was he cherishing some loyal purpose? If this weretrue and she had any part in his decision, it would be a triumphindeed; and, while she felt that she could never respond to anysuch proposition as he had made through her mother, she could forgetthe past and give him her hand in friendly encouragement towardssuch a career as Lane and Strahan had chosen. She felt that it wouldbe well not to be over-hasty in showing resentment, but if possibleto let him reveal his plans and character fully. She listenedquietly, therefore, without show of approval or disapproval, as hebegan in reply to her questioning glance.

  "I am going to be frank with you this evening, Miss Vosburgh. Thetime has come when I should be so. Has not Mrs. Vosburgh told yousomething of the nature of my interview with her?"

  The young girl merely bowed.

  "Then you know how sincere and earnest I am in what--in what Ishall have to say."

  To his surprise he felt a nervous trepidation that he would nothave imagined possible in making his magnanimous offer. He foundthis humble American girl more difficult to approach than any otherwoman he had ever met.

  "Miss Vosburgh," he continued, hesitatingly, "when I first enteredthis room I did not understand your true worth and superiority,but a sense of these has been growing on me from that hour to this.Perhaps I was not as sincere as I--I--should have been, and youwere too clever not to know it. Will you listen to me patiently?"

  Again she bowed, and lower this time to conceal a slight smile oftriumph.

  Encouraged, he proceeded: "Now that I have learned to know you well,I wish you to know me better,--to know all about me. My father wasa Northern man with strong Northern traits; my mother, a Southernwoman with equally strong Southern traits. I have been educatedchiefly abroad. Is it strange, then, that I cannot feel exactly asyou do, or as some of your friends do?"

  "As we once agreed, Mr. Merwyn, each must choose his own coursefor life."

  "I am glad you have reminded me of that, for I am choosing for lifeand not for the next ten months or ten years. As I said, then, allthis present hurly-burly will soon pass away." Her face darkened,but in his embarrassment and preoccupation he did not perceive it."I have inherited a very large property, and my mother's affairsare such that I must act wisely, if not always as she would wish."

  "May I ask what Mrs. Merwyn would prefer?"

  "I am prepared to be perfectly frank about myself," he replied,hesitatingly, "but--"

  "Pardon me. It is immaterial."

  "I have a perfect right to judge and act for myself," resumedMerwyn, with some emphasis.

  "Thank you. I should remember that."

  The words were spoken in a low tone and almost as if in soliloquy,and her face seemed to grow colder and more impassive if possible.

  With something approaching dismay Merwyn had observed that theannouncement of his large fortune had had no softening influence onthe girl's manner, and he thought, "Truly, this is the most drearyand business-like wooing that I ever imagined!"

  But he had gone too far to recede, and his embarrassment wasbeginning to pass into something like indignation that he and allhe could offer were so little appreciated.

  Restraining this feeling, he went on, gravely and gently: "You onceintimated that I was young, Miss Vosburgh, yet the circumstancesand responsibilities of my lot have led me to think more, perhaps,than others of my age, and to look beyond the present hour. I regardthe property left me by my father as a trust, and I have learnedto-day that I can greatly increase and probably double it. It ismy intention, after taking my mother and sisters abroad, to returnto New York and to enter cautiously into business under the guidanceof my legal adviser, who is a man of great sagacity. Now, as youknow, I have said from the first that it is natural for you tofeel deeply in regard to the events of the day; but I look beyondall this turmoil, distraction, and passion, which will be astemporary as it is violent. I am thinking for you as truly as formyself. Pardon me for saying it; I am sure I am in a better conditionof mind to think for you than you are to judge for yourself.I can give you the highest social position, and make your futurea certainty. From causes I can well understand the passion of thehour has been swaying you--"

  She rose, and by an emphatic gesture stopped him, and there was afire in the blue eyes that had been so cold before. She appearedto have grown inches as she stood before him and said, in tonesof concentrated scorn: "You are indeed young, yet you speak thecalculating words of one so old as to have lost every impulse ofyouth. Do you know where my father is at this moment?"

  "No," he faltered.

  "He is taking part, at the risk of his life, in this temporaryhurly-burly, as you caricature it. It is he who is swaying me, andthe memory of the brave men whom you have met here and to whom youfancied yourself superior. Did not that honored father exist, orthose brave friends, I feel within my soul that I have womanhoodenough to recognize and feel my country's need in this supreme hourof her peril. You thoughtful beyond your years?--you think for me?What did you think of me the first evening you spent here? What wereyour thoughts as you came again and again? To what am I indebtedfor this honor, but the fact that you could only beguile a summer'sennui by a passing flirtation which would leave me you little caredwhere, after you had joined your aristocratic friends abroad? Nowyour plans have changed, and, after much deliberation, you havecome to lift me to the highest position! Never dream that I candescend to your position!"

  He was fairly trembling with anger and mortification, and she wasabout to leave the apartment.

  "Stay!" he said, passing his hand across his brow as if to brushaway confusion of mind; "I have not given you reason for suchcontempt, and it is most unreasonable."

  "Why is it unreasonable?" she asked, her scornful self-controlpassing into something like passion. "I will speak no more of theinsult of your earlier motives towards me, now that you think youcan afford to marry me. In your young egotism you may think a girlforgets and forgives such a thing easily if bribed by a fortune. Iwill let all that be as if it were not, and meet you on the groundof what is, at this present hour. I despise you because you haveno more mind or manhood--take it as you will--than to think thatthis struggle for national life and liberty
is a mere passing fracasof politicians. Do you think I will tamely permit you to call mynoble father little better than a fool? He has explained to me whatthis war means--he, of twice your age, and with a mind as largeas his manhood and courage. You have assumed to be his superior,also, as well as that of Mr. Lane and Mr. Strahan, who are aboutto peril life in the 'hurly-burly.' What are your paltry thousandsto me? Should I ever love, I will love a MAN; and had I your sexand half your inches, I should this hour be in Virginia, instead ofdefending those I love and honor against your implied aspersions.Had you your mother's sentiments I should at least respect you,although she has no right to be here enjoying the protection of agovernment that she would destroy."

  He was as pale as she had become flushed, and again he passed hishand over his brow confusedly and almost helplessly. "It is alllike a horrid dream," he muttered.

  "Mr. Merwyn, you have brought this on yourself," she said, morecalmly. "You have sought to wrong me in my own home. Your words andmanner have ever been an insult to the cause for which my fathermay die--O God!" she exclaimed, with a cry of agony--"for whichhe may now be dead! Go, go," she added, with a strong repellentgesture. "We have nothing in common: you measure everything withthe inch-rule of self."

  As if pierced to the very soul he sprung forward and seized her handwith almost crushing force, as he cried: "No, I measure everythinghereafter by the breadth of your woman's soul. You shall not castme off in contempt. If you do you are not a woman,--you are afanatic, worse than my mother;" and he rushed from the house likeone distraught.

  Panting, trembling, frightened by a volcanic outburst such as shehad never dreamed of, Marian sunk on a lounge, sobbing like a child.

  CHAPTER XVI.

  AWAKENED AT LAST.