The Honorable Peter Stirling and What People Thought of Him
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CHAPTER XXIX.
IN THE MEANTIME.
In spite of nine months' hard work on the two Commissions, it is not tobe supposed that Peter's time was thus entirely monopolized. If onespends but seven hours of the twenty-four in sleep, and but two more onmeals, there is considerable remaining time, and even so slow a workeras Peter found spare hours not merely for society and saloons, but forwhat else he chose to undertake.
Socially he had an evening with Miss De Voe, just before she left thecity for the summer; a dinner with Mr. Pell, who seemed to have taken aliking to Peter; a call on Lispenard; another on Le Grand; and a familymeal at the Rivingtons, where he was made much of in return for his aidto Ray.
In the saloons he worked hard over the coming primary, and spentevenings as well on doorsteps in the district, talking over objects andcandidates. In the same cause, he saw much of Costell, Green, Gallagher,Schlurger and many other party men of greater or less note in the city'spolitics. He had become a recognized quantity in the control of thedistrict, and the various ward factions tried hard to gain his support.When the primary met, the proceedings, if exciting, were never for amoment doubtful, for Gallagher, Peter, Moriarty and Blunkers had beenable to agree on both programme and candidates. An attempt had been madeto "turn down" Schlurger, but Peter had opposed it, and had carried hispoint, to the great gratitude of the silent, honest German. What wasmore important to him, this had all been done without exciting hardfeelings.
"Stirling's a reasonable fellow," Gallagher told Costell, not knowinghow much Peter was seeing of the big leader, "and he isn't dead set oncarrying his own schemes. We've never had so little talk of mutiny andsulking as we have had this paring. Moriarty and Blunkers swear by him.It's queer. They've always been on opposite sides till now."
When the weather became pleasant, Peter took up his "angle"' visitingsagain, though not with quite the former regularity. Yet he rarely let aweek pass without having spent a couple of evenings there. Thespontaneous welcome accorded him was payment enough for the time, letalone the pleasure and enjoyment he derived from the imps. There waslittle that could raise Peter in their estimation, but they understoodvery well that he had become a man of vast importance, as it seemed tothem. They had sharp little minds and ears, and had caught what the"district" said and thought of Peter.
"Cheese it, the cop, Tim," cried an urchin one evening to another, whowas about to "play ball."
"Cheese it yerself. He won't dare tech me," shouted Tim, "so long asMister Peter's here."
That speech alone showed the magnitude of his position in their eyes.He was now not merely, "friends wid de perlice;" he was held in fear bythat awesome body!
"If I was as big as him," said one, "I'd fire all the peelers."
"Wouldn't that be dandy!" cried another.
He won their hearts still further by something he did in midsummer.Blunkers had asked him to attend what brilliant posters throughout thatpart of the city announced as:
HO FOR THE SEA-SHORE!
SIXTH ANNUAL
CLAM BAKE
OF THE
PATRICK N. BLUNKERS'S ASSOCIATION.
When Peter asked, he found that it was to consist of a barge party(tickets fifty cents) to a bit of sand not far away from the city, withmusic, clams, bathing and dancing included in the price of the ticket,and unlimited beer for those who could afford that beverage.
"The beer just pays for it," Blunkers explained. "I don't give um whiskycause some ---- cusses don't drink like as dey orter." Then catching alook in Peter's face, he laughed rather shamefacedly. "I forgits," heexplained. "Yer see I'm so da--" he checked himself--"I swears widoutknowin' it."
"I shall be very glad to go," said Peter.
"Dat's bully," said Blunkers. Then he added anxiously: "Dere's somethin'else, too, since yer goin'. Ginerally some feller makes a speech. Yerwouldn't want to do it dis time, would yer?"
"What do they talk about?"
"Just what dey--" Blunkers swallowed a word, nearly choking in so doing,and ended "please."
"Yes. I shall be glad to talk, if you don't mind my taking a dullsubject?"
"Yer just talk what yer want. We'll listen."
After Peter had thought it over for a day, he went to Blunkers's ginpalace.
"Look here," he said. "Would it be possible to hire one more barge, andtake the children free? I'll pay for the boat, and for the extra food,if they won't be in the way."
"I'm damned if yer do," shouted Blunkers. "Yer don't pay for nothinks,but der childers shall go, or my name ain't Blunkers."
And go they did, Blunkers making no secret of the fact that it wasPeter's idea. So every child who went, nearly wild with delight, feltthat the sail, the sand, the sea, and the big feed, was all owed toPeter.
It was rather an amusing experience to Peter. He found many of his partyfriends in the district, not excluding such men as Gallagher, Kennedyand others of the more prominent rank. He made himself very pleasant tothose whom he knew, chatting with them on the trip down. He went intothe water with the men and boys, and though there were many goodswimmers, Peter's country and river training made it possible for him togive even the "wharf rats," a point or two in the way of water feats.Then came the regulation clam-bake, after which Peter talked about thetenement-house question for twenty minutes. The speech was verydifferent from what they expected, and rather disappointed them all.However, he won back their good opinions in closing, for he ended with avery pleasant "thank you," to Blunkers, so neatly worded, and containingsuch a thoroughly apt local joke, that it put all in a good humor, andgave them something to tell their neighbors, on their return home. Theadvantage of seldom joking is that people remember the joke, and it getsrepeated. Peter almost got the reputation of a wit on that one joke,merely because it came after a serious harangue, and happened to bequotable. Blunkers was so pleased with the end of the speech that he gotPeter to write it out, and to this day the "thank you" part of theaddress, in Peter's neat handwriting, handsomely framed, is to be seenin Blunkers's saloon.
Peter also did a little writing this summer. He had gone to see three orfour of the reporters, whom he had met in "the case," to get them towrite up the Food and Tenement subjects, wishing thereby to stir uppublic feeling. He was successful to a certain degree, and they notmerely wrote articles themselves, but printed three or four which Peterwrote. In two cases, he was introduced to "staff" writers, and evenwrote an editorial, for which he was paid fifteen dollars. This moneywas all he received for the time spent, but he was not working forshekels. All the men told him to let them know when he had more"stories" for them, and promised him assistance when the reports shouldgo in to the legislature.
Peter visited his mother as usual during August. Before going, he calledon Dr. Plumb, and after an evening with him, went to two tenements inthe district. As the result of these calls, he carried three childrenwith him when he went home. Rather pale, thin little waifs. It is aserious matter to charge any one with so grave a crime as changling, butPeter laid himself open to it, for when he came back, after two weeks,he returned very different children to the parents. The fact that theydid not prosecute for the substitution only proves how little the reallypoor care for their offspring.
But this was not his only summering. He spent four days with theCostells, as well as two afternoons later, thoroughly enjoying, notmerely the long, silent drives over the country behind the fast horses,but the pottering round the flower-garden with Mrs. Costell. He had beenreading up a little on flowers and gardening, and he was glad to swaphis theoretical for her practical knowledge. Candor compels thestatement that he enjoyed the long hours stretched on the turf, orsitting idly on the veranda, puffing Mr. Costell's good Havanas.
Twice Mr. Bohlmann stopped at Peter's office of a Saturday and took himout to stay over Sunday at his villa in one of the Oranges. The familyall liked Peter and did not hesitate to show it. Mr. Bohlmann told him:
"I sbend about dree dousand a year on law und law-ba
bers. Misder Dummerid does for me, but ven he does nod any longer it do, I gifts id you."
On the second visit Mrs. Bohlmann said:
"I tell my good man that with all the law-business he has, he must get alawyer for a son-in-law."
Peter had not heard Mrs. Bohlmann say to her husband the evening before,as they were prinking for dinner:
"Have you told Mr. Stirling about your law business?"
Nor Mr. Bohlmann's prompt:
"Yah. I dells him der last dime."
Yet Peter wondered if there were any connection between the twostatements. He liked the two girls. They were nice-looking, sweet,sincere women. He knew that Mr. Bohlmann was ranked as a millionairealready, and was growing richer fast. Yet--Peter needed no blank walls.
During this summer, Peter had a little more law practice. A small grocerin one of the tenements came to him about a row with his landlord. Peterheard him through, and then said: "I don't see that you have any case;but if you will leave it to me to do as I think best, I'll try if I cando something," and the man agreeing, Peter went to see the landlord, aretail tobacconist up-town.
"I don't think my client has any legal grounds," he told the landlord,"but he thinks that he has, and the case does seem a little hard. Suchmaterial repairs could not have been foreseen when the lease was made."
The tobacconist was rather obstinate at first. Finally he said, "I'lltell you what I'll do. I'll contribute one hundred dollars towards therepairs, if you'll make a tenant named Podds in the same building payhis rent; or dispossess him if he doesn't, so that it shan't cost meanything."
Peter agreed, and went to see the tenant in arrears. He found that theman had a bad rheumatism and consequently was unable to work. The wifewas doing what she could, and even the children had been sent on thestreets to sell papers, or by other means, to earn what they could. Theyalso owed a doctor and the above-mentioned grocer. Peter went back tothe landlord and told him the story.
"Yes," he said, "it's a hard case, I know, but, Mr. Stirling, I owe amortgage on the place, and the interest falls due in September. I'm outfour months' rent, and really can't afford any more." So Peter tookthirty-two dollars from his "Trustee" fund, and sent it to thetobacconist. "I have deducted eight dollars for collection," he wrote.Then he saw his first client, and told him of his landlord's concession.
"How much do I owe you?" inquired the grocer.
"The Podds tell me they owe you sixteen dollars."
"Yes. I shan't get it."
"My fee is twenty-five. Mark off their bill and give me the balance."
The grocer smiled cheerfully. He had charged the Podds roundly fortheir credit, taking his chance of pay, and now got it paid in anequivalent of cash. He gave the nine dollars with alacrity.
Peter took it upstairs and gave it to Mrs. Podds. "If things look upwith you later," he said, "you can pay it back. If not, don't troubleabout it. Ill look in in a couple of weeks to see how things are going."
When this somewhat complicated matter was ended, he wrote about it tohis mother:
"Many such cases would bankrupt me. As it is, my fund is dwindling faster than I like to see, though every lessening of it means a lessening of real trouble to some one. I should like to tell Miss De Voe what good her money has done already, but fear she would not understand why I told her. It has enabled me to do so much that otherwise I could not have afforded. There is only one hundred and seventy-six dollars left. Most of it though, is merely loaned and perhaps will be repaid. Anyway, I shall have nearly six hundred dollars for my work as secretary of the Food Commission, and I shall give half of it to this fund."