Читать книгу Who Would Have Thought It? - María Ruiz de Burton - Страница 15

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That night, whilst Jemima was paring apples to make her celebrated apple-sauce (which brought such a good price in the Boston market), the doctor—that is, young Norval-proposed and was accepted. He did not fall on his knees again, because Jemima was so surrounded with apple-peelings that there was no place near her where her lover could have rested his knees.

The match was a very brilliant one for Jemima Sprig. The marriage took place as soon as young Norval received his diploma. The young husband took upon himself the duty of ameliorating the fortunes of all his new family. Old Mr. Sprig had many more acres and more cattle added to his farm, and his son Abe plenty of hands to help him with the farming. Lavinia went to live with her sister, and attended school, being then only eight years of age. Isaac was two years younger than Lavinia; but very soon he also was sent to school, and when he was old enough to learn a "trade," as he disliked New England, he was sent to New York to study law: that he didn't like, either. He was placed as a clerk in the banking-house of Sinclair & Co., but there he had a difficulty with another clerk, and became dissatisfied. Then Dr. Norval got for him an appointment in the Treasury Department in Washington, where he remained until the occurrence which Isaac called an "awful scrape," and which has led me to say so much of the Sprig family.

Isaac's penchant for gallantry was the cause now, as it often had been before, of his being in trouble. Isaac had the audacity to admire a lady of the demimonde whom a distinguished member of Congress also admired. One night when he, the Hon. Le Grand Gunn, was visiting the fair Lucinda, Isaac and his friend Julius Cæsar Cackle, who were boarders of the house, went into the parlor and made themselves at home. To make matters more aggravating to the Hon. M. C., Isaac absorbed the attention, smiles, and sweet glances of the charming Lucinda, until the infuriated Gunn rushed out of the house in a rage. Lucinda laughed aloud while the Hon. was yet within hearing, whereupon that gentleman, forgetful of his distinguished public position, came back to ask, in a very insulting manner, if Sprig had laughed at him. 'Sprig colored with anger, but said he had not; whereupon Mr. Gunn, shaking his finger at him, said,

"You had better not."

"I did not laugh, but you are certainly laughable," said Isaac, "and I think you will make me laugh if you don't go soon."

The Hon. ordered Sprig out of the house, and Sprig told him to go himself; and from words they soon came to blows, and had a most ignominious fist-fight in the presence of the quadroon belle. Sprig came out victorious. Cackle had to go for a hack to convey Mr. Le Grand Gunn to his lodgings, as the Hon. gentleman was not able to walk, because he could not see out of his swollen eyes. His bloody nose, lacerated to a large size, gave Lucinda great desire to laugh, but that inclination this time she held in check until the distinguished politician was well out of hearing

The Hon. Gunn, of course, swore vengeance on the audacious clerk, and as as the state of his swollen visage permitted, he went to a friend of his who had great influence with the cabinet just formed, to request that the two clerks should be dismissed.

"What have they done? I know those two young men, and I think them efficient and well-deserving," said the influential friend.

"Well deserving of h-!" roared Mr. Gunn. "This is what they have done, at least one did, whilst the other laughed and never came to my rescue," said the Hon., showing his friend a black eye, which he still kept bandaged under pretext of neuralgia in the left side of his face.

The influential gentleman laughed, but promised that the clerks should be dismissed forthwith.

"You needn't say anything about my black eye. They are both Breckinridge Democrats; that is enough, I should think," said Mr. Gunn.

Plenty," replied his friend, making a memorandum of the case.

That afternoon Sprig and Cackle received their dismissals.

Dr. Norval found great difficulty in having his brother-in-law reinstated. In fact, it could not be done. Sprig was a Democrat, and so was the doctor. All that the doctor succeeded in doing was to get Isaac a place in the Post-Office Department. Six months earlier, the doctor could have obtained anything in Washington; six months later, he could have obtained nothing. Now, however, the public opinion was in that transition-state when no one could truly say to which side it would incline, like the waters of the sea just before the tide changes, said to be stationary for a moment, to flow soon in the opposite direction. The American people had been educated to believe that every man had a right to his opinion, and, at the breaking out of the rebellion, individuals were courteously asked their sentiments. Even officers of the army were consulted before giving them orders which might conflict with their sentiments; should these be in favor of the South, they were asked if they objected to do so and so. An officer of the army got a letter from one of General Scott's staff-officers in which this passage occurs: "The general would like you to take command of —, but he wishes first to ascertain your sentiments. If you are for the South, let me know it frankly; but I sincerely hope you are not, as the general thinks highly of you, and believes you are in every respect fitted to take the position of," etc.

Politicians, therefore, were out of humor with each other, but, as yet, they had not begun to teach the masses intolerance. As for persecution, it was a thing of abhorrence to the American mind. The political leaders, of course, saw that a change was on the eve of arriving; but the people still spoke of liberty in all sincerity. The door was not shut and bolted for Isaac; it was yet left ajar, and he slipped into his clerkship at the Post-Office.

His friend Cackle was already there, and his pleasure at seeing Isaac seemed so genuine that the easy-tempered, forgiving Isaac soon forgot that the Cackles had not offered to help him in his distress.

But Sprig and Cackle had to content themselves with very humble positions compared to those they had occupied before. They were placed in the deadletter department, and the salary wasn't large. But Isaac had plenty of cash. The doctor's purse was at his disposal, and Isaac often dipped his fingers into it.

One morning, as Sprig and Cackle were busy opening "dead letters," Julius said,

"Here, Isaac, you who have a turn for romance, and a hankering after foreigners and their yarns, you'll like to read this, I know." And, so saying, Cackle threw a roll of paper to him.

Sprig caught the roll of paper as it fell, and, opening it, saw that it was a manuscript written in bold, clear hand, with the following heading:

"Account given by Doña Maria Teresa Almenara de Medina, on her death-bed, of the manner in which she was captured by the Apache Indians in Sonora, in December, 1846, and then traded off to the Indians of the Colorado River."

Then, at the bottom of the last page, it said,

"I certify on honor that the above is a correct copy, faithfully transcribed from the stenographic original. I wrote as Doña Teresa spoke.

"ADRIAN LEBRUN.

"SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., December, 1857."

Sprig read a page, then said to Cackle,–

"Where is the envelope of this manuscript? It is very interesting."

"I knew you would think so. I don't know where the envelope is; it was stamped 'dead,' and I pitched it off with the others."

"Let us look for it; I want to know to whom it was addressed," said Isaac. And both friends searched for the envelope, but in vain. Isaac was very much disappointed at this, but Cackle consoled him, saying,

"What is it to you to whom it is addressed? Take it and read it, if you

like." And as he was told that many clerks took home "dead papers," Isaac did not see any objection to his taking the interesting manuscript.