“Now for my own affairs again. You no doubt
recollect, Randolph, those days of incipient bachelorism,
as you and Lamar considered them, when
I was living secluded from female society; I was
not then an unobservant spectator, as you supposed;
I studied the female character much and deeply;
it is true, that I had given myself up to a future
life of single blessedness; not from selfishness, or
suspicion, or parsimony, or fear, but from a supposed
knowledge of my own individuality, I never
expected to find a lady endowed with all the rich
and varied characteristics which my imagination
had taught me to look for, at the same time that
she should possess youth, beauty, and accomplishments.
I thought such a one as I might worship,
could only be formed by the two (almost) impossibilities
of youth and experience.

“Such a one I have found, Randolph; one
whose whole life in detail could furnish me with
subjects for pleasing study and admiration; one
whose interest would never flag; whose mind is
constantly increasing in its rich and simple stores;
whose deep knowledge of the world has neither
tinctured her with incurable melancholy, cynicism,
nor pride; who is as simple and unaffected as a
child of nature, whose beauty is of such vision-like
influence, that you breathe in an exhilarating atmosphere
as long as you are within its spell. Her
presence illumines a room, not for me only—every
one smiles when she smiles, and listens when she
speaks. She carries with her an indescribable

[figure description] Page 078.[end figure description]

charm; the young and the old alike seek her
society. To the old and the sanctimonious she is
agreeable without the affectation of piety or prudery;
to the young she is charming without wit,
gayety, or vanity. It is not sympathy alone, for
we can deeply sympathize with those that suffer,
without receiving as much as we give, and without
in any measure enjoying their society.

“There are a few of these rare and gifted individuals
scattered over the world, like brilliant stars
in a dark night; but they are often overclouded
with storms and vicissitudes. I do not assert that
these are actually necessary to their full development;
but certain I am that they are a constant
attendant upon their sometimes brilliant career.
The captivating charm in these persons is not
eccentricity, either real or affected; nor in displays
of learning or superior wisdom; nor in wit and
novelty; nor in beauty and genius. It seems to
me to consist in bland, ingenuous benevolence, intuitive
perception of propriety, and the engaging
sadness of deep and painful experience, untinctured
with the evils which a knowledge of human depravity
too often engenders. I know that every
ardent lover imagines his mistress to be just such a
character; but before I would class them as such,
the impression must be universal; there must be
no room for argument; these good qualities must
charm all hearts into acquiescence—not reason
them into conviction, or dazzle them into the acknowledgment
by brilliant sallies of genius. Such

[figure description] Page 079.[end figure description]

a gentle and admirable being, I say, I had found:
nay, more, I had worshipped, in the permitted human
worship of the heart. But now, Randolph, I
am neither contented nor happy. I have a longing
and eager desire to hear what this experience
has been that has developed those very qualities
which I most admire. It would be strange and
anomalous, would it not, if I were to quarrel with
the means by which this great good, in my eyes,
has been brought about? But so it is; we often
are willing to pluck the delicious fruit, and quarrel
with the thorns upon which it grew. This is quite
natural. All men love to pluck the roses without
the thorns; to gather up the good things of this life
without the accompanying and antithetical evils in
which they are uniformly found imbedded. The
soul of man seems to have been constructed for
another sphere of existence. It seems to scorn the
schooling of contrasts by which all things are
effected here; and not to desire the knowledge of
good and evil in the only way in which nature has
made that knowledge admissible. We would reap
the knowledge, it is true; but we would reject the
pains and experience of which it is born.

“I am just now in that predicament. I desire
to possess a peerless and princely jewel; yet I
dread to dive down into those regions in which
only it is to be found; but I have embarked upon
the current, and I must now sink or swim.

“But apart from personal considerations, is it
man's singular destiny, that all sensations should

[figure description] Page 080.[end figure description]

be born of contrasts? That all pleasures should
be born of pains, and that our ideas should be but
the combined representatives of these? It is a
curious matter of study, to ascertain of how much
pain our pleasures are composed, and how essential
are the former to the very existence of the
latter. These rich capacities produced by the
various combinations of contrasts, are peculiar to
the human animal, so far as I have observed; and
may account in some measure for the fact, that
man is capable of suffering more exquisite and a
longer duration of pain, than any of his fellow
animals. How much of this acute sensibility is
owing to the combination of the soul with our organizations,
is another curious subject of study,
which I merely hint at for your especial benefit;
investigate these subjects, Randoph, and enlighten
the world upon them.

“You see I begin with love and murder and end
with metaphysics, but you must not quarrel with
the desultory manner in which I write, if you wish
really to follow the current of our thoughts and
feelings, for is it not a fact that men, at our age at
least, think and act in this desultory train? Take
one of your conversations with a friend, for instance,
and think over the course which it pursued,
and you will be surprised at the first glance to
perceive how little connexion there is apparently
between the subjects of it; yet if you have been
the leader in that conversation, take a second view

[figure description] Page 081.[end figure description]

and see the little secret vein or connexion in your
own mind; you will find the most opposite subjects
connected together, by a chain which you will
seldom find on paper, either in fact or described.
How many ludicrous ideas will sometimes force
themselves upon us on the most solemn occasions!
How natural it is to see an urchin labouring to
suppress a laugh at a funeral or at church! And
how often have you yourself been just ready to
burst into merriment in the middle of the most
pathetic scenes of tragic representation, not owing
to the defects of the actor, but to that secret current
of the thoughts over which one has no control.
I recollect once going to hear a funeral sermon,
deeply impressed with the solemnity of the occasion,
and of course profoundly engaged in the subject
of the eloquent speaker: but all at once, like
a flash of electricity, the idea rushed through my
mind, of Samson racing down three hundred
foxes. I thought of the dead, and his virtues; of
our loss, the sad occasion for which we had assembled;
but all would not do; I could see Samson
running after Reynard too distinctly; so that I
was forced to feign sudden illness, and leave the
church for fear of disgracing myself. Now there
was no impious feeling in all this. I had never
in my life thought of that subject before; I surmised
some figurative meaning in the text, but the
ludicrous was too palpable for me.

“These secret currents of the thoughts are

[figure description] Page 082.[end figure description]

inexplicable, at least at our time of day; perhaps age
and long drilling may put the other powers more
completely under the command of the will; until
then you must allow me to write as I think.

CHAPTER VII.

B. Randolph to V. Chevillere.
“High Hills of the Santee, 18—.

[figure description] Page 083.[end figure description]

“The change in Virginia's deportment has been
to me a curious subject of study and reflection. I
dare not say that it has been entirely disinterested
study, but perhaps it was none the less close and
minute on that account. We are apt to investigate
those engines which operate upon ourselves
very philosophically. But before I go any farther,
permit me to correct an error into which I fear
I have led you, because I had honestly fallen into
it myself. I stated to you that my sickness had
cast out devils for me, and that I was altogether a
changed and reformed man. It is no such thing;
I feel the devil of mischief and fun in me even
now. It was nothing more than a natural depression
of animal spirits, consequent upon the low
state of my stomach and pulsations. The doctor
was my priest on the occasion. He subdued the
old Adam in me for a time, by the assistance of
his lancet and the whole vegetable and mineral
kingdom, worked up into shot and bullets vulgarly
called pills, by the aid of which these same doctors,
I believe, often do a deal of execution; at all

[figure description] Page 084.[end figure description]

events this disciple fleeced me of a goodly quantity
of the flesh upon my ribs; none of his shot
happened to be mortal; but, nevertheless, I would
advise you to keep out of the reach of their magazines.
The muzzle of a pill-box is as terrible to
me now, as the mysterious dark hole in the end of
a forty-two-pounder; and a blister-plaster as awful
as an army with banners. As for cupping-glasses
and scarificators, they are neither more nor less
than instruments of torture, borrowed from the
Spanish inquisition. But above all, deliver me
from the point of a seton-needle! Did you ever
see a cruel boy string fish on a stick before they
were dead? He runs the stick through the gills,
tearing and torturing as it goes; so do these disciples
of Esculapius; they seize a piece of your
skin, no matter how scarce the article may be,—
no matter if your lips do not cover your teeth, and
the bones of your nose look white through the attenuated
sheath! Away goes this surgical bayonet
through a handful of it, armed with a piece of gum
elastic, which is left sticking there, the sensation on
the back of your neck being as if the ramrod of a
small swivel had been shot through it; and there
you must sit, or stand, or lie, with this huge thing
all the while poking your head forward, as if you
had a pillory on your back.

“Although there is not so great a change in me
as I had supposed, the change in Virginia is none
the less certain. She is as dignified towards me
now as a princess; nevertheless there is a

[figure description] Page 085.[end figure description]

trembling nervousness about it, which charms me indescribably.
I know you will exclaim here, `Vain
fellow!' I am not vain; but as humble and fearful
as a bride of two hours' standing. Half the
time I am doubtful of the cause of this new reserve,
and set it down as decidedly unfavourable
to my views, until I detect a little thrill in her
voice, or tremulousness in the fingers as they meet
mine, or touch the piano; and even that I set down,
sometimes, as nothing more than sympathy for my
forlorn condition, especially if there is a mirror
near, and I happen to get a peep of my shaved
cranium and sharp visage. And then, again, I
consider it nothing more than the natural reserve
of the woman, as she throws off the playful air of
the school-girl; and that too, perhaps, from having
discovered, during my illness, that she could no
longer, in justice to myself, treat me as a playmate.
But all these doubts and difficulties will be solved
in two hours. I have requested her to accompany
me in a walk around the lawn and garden, and I
intimated to her that I had something very particular
to say. This was ill advised, I know, but the
truth is, I was attempting at that very time to
broach the subject, and, as with all other bashful
boobies, my tongue clove to the roof of my mouth.
I certainly have some fear of disturbing my pleasant
dreams of the present reckoning; but I am
committed now, and there is no retracting. I shall
leave this letter open, that I may communicate to

[figure description] Page 086.[end figure description]

you the result; no doubt you can anticipate now
more truly what it will be than I can. Until this
crisis in my affairs is over, farewell.

B. Randoiph to V. Chevillere.
(In continuation.)

“I have deferred the closing of this letter a day
longer than I intended when I penned the above.
The fact is, I was not so much in the humour for
writing as I expected. I was compelled to order
your horse and take my first ride, and you may be
sure that I did not restrain his mettle. What
would you argue from this? That I was successful?
or defeated? I should suppose neither, from
that circumstance alone, say you,—as you would
be apt to ride down your impetuosity in either
case.

“But the time at length arrived,—the long looked-for,
hoped-for time! and lo! when it did come, I
would have put it back again, if I could have done
so with credit; but no, I must now go onward;
so I plucked up my wavering courage, and prepared
for a formal introduction. This, you know,
is at all times, and under the most favourable circumstances,
but an awkward business; but it is
especially so if the lady possesses a keen sense of
the ludicrous, has a lurking devil of ridicule in her

[figure description] Page 087.[end figure description]

eye, and if the person about to address her has
often felt the smart of her keen satire.

“In the present instance, there seemed a hundred
little smothered devils of fun, and wrath, and frolic
peeping from the corners of her eyes; not that
her deportment was different from that placid
serenity which has of late sat so modestly upon
her brow; unless, indeed, it was that there might
have been discovered greater efforts than usual to
produce this result. We sauntered down the
lawn, until we came to the clump of pride of India
trees, amid which is situated a summer-house, covered
with vines; you no doubt recollect the place;
here we were seated.

“`Miss Virginia,' said I, in the formal style in
which a lawyer says, `may it please the court,'—
`Miss Virginia, when I first set out from home
upon a southern expedition at this strange season
of the year, my only object was to see whether
the original of that miniature, about which you
have heard so much, was as lovely as it represented
her. I expected to see a beautiful little girl
of thirteen, and hoped at some future day to make
her my wife; nay, if I must make a true confession,
I hoped to make some impression on her
youthful and gentle susceptibilities, before she could
see any more attractive admirer, and then leave
her to mature until my return. In all these expectations
I have been disappointed, except with
regard to the personal qualities, which I found of
a much more dangerous character than I had

[figure description] Page 088.[end figure description]

calculated upon; but Miss Virginia Chevillere is not
one to whom I would address compliments upon
her beauty, except in the regular course of my
narrative. During the progress of these discoveries
I was taken ill, and within the same time a
great change has come over Miss Chevillere.'

“`A great change,' said she, suddenly turning
full upon me, a deep blush suffusing her face; `in
what respect, sir?'

“`Does Miss Virginia ask that question seriously?
'

“`Never was one more seriously propounded.'

“`The change has been from hilarity to calm
placidity, as it regards externals.'

“`You astonish me!'

“`And you astonish me.'

“A laugh ensued, which afforded a favourable
opportunity, and I continued:

“`After my recovery, I found that I had rivals;
that it was more difficult than ever to tell upon
what ground I stood;' she smiled, while I continued:
`I have now only to offer Miss Chevillere a
skeleton of a hand,' holding out my anatomy, `but
it is an honest one, and is at her disposal, backed
by as warm and ardent an attachment as ever a
man was laughed and fretted into; will you accept
it for better for worse?'

“She hung down her head a moment upon the
ends of her fingers, seeming to struggle, I know
not with what; then suddenly placing her hand in

[figure description] Page 089.[end figure description]

mine, she said, `I will be as candid and as honest
as yourself,—you have left me no alternative.'

“But I pass over those delightful passages,
which no human eye shall ever fathom; they are
my own treasures for future retrospection.

“Yet I may give you some hints of our subsequent
conversation, towards the end of the time
spent in the arbour.

“`But, Mr. Randolph, you acknowledge that
you have entertained two distinct opinions since
your arrival at Salem; suppose you should have a
third, and a fourth?'

“`My changes of opinion,' said I, `have in both
instances taken their cue from your own changes
in deportment; but to tell you the truth, I should
be contented with either set of manners, or with
either opinion of them.'

“`Pshaw!' she replied, `you flatter; I thought
we understood each other too plainly for you to
offer such compliments.'

“`I would not offend you for the world, dearest
Virginia, nor would I have you to believe that I
pretend not to have studied the change. All that
I meant to convey was, that I was pleased and delighted
with Virginia Chevillere when I saw her
the lively school-girl, but far more so when I saw
her the reflecting and considerate young lady; and
that I would have been quite contented with the

[figure description] Page 090.[end figure description]

former if I had never known the latter; nay more,
I will tell you the cause of the change!' Here
she put her little hand over my mouth.

“`No, no, no!' said she, `for fear you might
tell the true one, and surely you shall never find
out my secrets for the world, lest I become afraid
of you!'

“`Well,' said I, `I am satisfied with the result;
you may keep your own secrets for the present,
but remember a time is coming, and that soon,
when there will be no secrets between us.'

“`Hah! are you there?' replied she; `then I
must see all those letters you have been writing to
my cousin and his friend; indeed, now I think of
it, I must see them before—'

“There she stopped, not knowing how to finish
the sentence, and immediately started up and attempted
to run towards the house; I caught her,
and, with gentle violence, compelled her to resume
her seat.

“`Before when?' said I.

“`Before the great day,' she answered, laughing.

“`What, the day of judgment?'

“`Yes, truly, the day of judgment.'

“`But tell me truly, Virginia, how very, very
soon shall that happy day come?'

“`One year from next Christmas day.'

“`Phew!' whistled I, `a year and a half! Come,
say a week and a half.'

“`Why, sir, you have not asked my aunt's consent,
nor my cousin's, nor my guardian's.'

[figure description] Page 091.[end figure description]

“`Come, then,' said I, `let us to the house; it
shall soon be done.'

“When we were seated in your mother's private
parlour, the old lady looked first at me, and then
at Virginia. The latter sat with her cheeks flushed,
biting the fingers of her gloves into bits, with side-long
glances at me, and a malicious smile upon her
face. I was meanwhile pulling all the fur off my
hat with one hand, and drumming on the crown
with the other. Virginia could bear this no longer,
but, bursting into a sprightly laugh, flew out of the
room.

“`Ah!' said your mother, `I see it all; you
need not pain yourself, Mr. Randolph, in breaking
the subject. Believe me that a woman's vigilance
does not often sleep in these matters.'

“`Ah then, dear madam, say that your judgment
approves of your son's partiality in my favour.
'

“`My son's! I thought it was my niece's.'

“`Indeed, madam, I mean both, if I dare say
so.'

“`Mr. Randolph, you have my cheerful consent;
trust me, I have not observed you carelessly,
since your visit to us, to say nothing of the unbounded
confidence which I place in Victor's
judgment of his associates and school-fellows. To
tell you the truth, he long ago revealed to me his
ardent desire that you and Virginia should become
acquainted, and his conviction that you were exactly
suited to each other.'

[figure description] Page 092.[end figure description]

“`Do then, dear madam, urge an early day for
our nuptials; your niece's most extravagant notions
of the length of human life render the request
necessary.'

“`My dear sir!' she replied, `you have not yet
consulted your own relations and friends; even if
you had, you would not be married to-night?'

“`Madam, I would, if I had my own way,
especially as I have unfortunately no mother and
father to consult.'

“`There will then be nothing to prevent your
removing to South Carolina.'

“`You forget, madam, that we Virginians are
the most bigoted people in the world about our
own country.'

“`You would not separate my adopted daughter
from her widowed mother?'

“`By no means—I would take the mother with
the daughter.'

“`Have you a home already prepared?'

“`I have, madam, the home of my fathers.'

“`I fear it will be more difficult to remove you
than I had supposed. Virginia and I have managed
this business badly. We should have held you
in suspense until you had renounced your country.
But perhaps it is as well thus; forced renunciations
are generally unhappy.'

“I need not repeat to you, dear Chevillere, every
word that passed between us; suffice it, therefore,
to inform you, that I am to tear myself away, in a
few days, to the Old Dominion, to prepare for my

[figure description] Page 093.[end figure description]

nuptials, which will occur immediately on my return;
and this, whether you shall have repaired
hither or not. Indeed, you need not be surprised
to see Mr. and Mrs. Randolph in New-York before
Christmas.

CHAPTER VIII. V. Chevillere to B. Randolph.
“New-York, 18—.
“Dear Friend,

[figure description] Page 094.[end figure description]

“I AM inexpressibly sad. Every thing goes
wrong. The bright hopes and brilliant anticipations
with which we came to this city have vanished!
Yesterday morning at sunrise, Lamar and
I were on the ground (in Jersey) before our antagonists
were anywhere to be found. As had
been agreed upon, I was to furnish the arms for
the unnatural occasion. Lamar, though not in
bravado, was desperately calm and savage; I
could see from his hurried steps, compressed lips,
and flashing eyes, that he was in no condition to
do well even the wretched business for which we
had come. I thought too, while his present humour
lasted, that there was no possibility of succeeding in
my deeply cherished hopes of a compromise. To
hint directly at a reconciliation would have been
to thwart it; I thought the only plan, therefore,
would be to urge upon him coolness and deliberation
for his own sake.

“`Lamar,' said I, `do you think yourself in good

[figure description] Page 095.[end figure description]

condition and feelings to act with entire self-possession?
'

“`Never in better! My eye is clear, heart
cheerful, and hand steady! I could knock a mosquito's
eye out this morning, at twenty steps.'

“What a singular thing it is, Randolph, that the
mind of a firm and courageous man, when about
to engage in a personal affair of this kind, seems
always to be narrowed down or concentrated to
the direction of the lead in its passage from the
pistol, and all his ideas seem to run upon straight
lines, and steady aims, and that even under an aspect
of levity!

“How is it, that one can throw aside all the
momentous considerations which press upon a bystander?
that the profoundest melancholy does not
overwhelm him? Why not throw the thoughts one
hour ahead and see himself—perhaps weltering in
gore—eyes half closed—tongue thick and motionless—
feet and hands cold—pulsations feeble, and
altogether in a condition which would call forth
our tenderest sympathies for a stranger found in
this condition by the way side. Perhaps if the
thoughts of combatants could be thus carried forward
for an hour, their imaginations might show
them their antagonists in this condition. No enmity
could be so bitter, that they would not feel
sympathy for one thus situated. And herein lies
the strangeness and inconsistency of the duellist.
An antagonist once wounded, and we are all sympathy
for those very sufferings which we ourselves

[figure description] Page 096.[end figure description]

have inflicted; none was extended while it would
have availed any thing, but no sooner is it unavailable,
than it is showered upon the dying adversary!
What wretched mockery is this? To
thrust one over a precipice only to pick him up
and lament over him! To fire a house, and then
seek to extinguish it with tears! To put out a
man's eyes, and then ask him to look upon you with
forgiveness! To shoot a neighbour through the
heart, and then kneel and pray for his pardon before
he dies!

“How much like the child with his toy is all
this, when he, in the folly of the moment, destroys
some invaluable relic, which millions could not
restore. So it is with us `children of a larger
growth,' when we go out upon the field to sport
with human life, as if it was a thing to be restored
when once destroyed.

“The truth is this, and the position will be sustained
by the facts which I am going to relate: no
man who goes on such an errand, realizes in his
own mind what it is he is about to do or to suffer.
Let such a one vividly realize to his own mind his
antagonist, stretched out on a litter, just ready to
be borne from the field, a ball having passed across
the bridge of the nose and knocked out both eyes,
and horribly deformed his face, without producing
death! Would he not call upon the rocks and
mountains to crush him for a monster, before he
would touch a hair-trigger? But I am, as is usual

[figure description] Page 097.[end figure description]

with letter writers and reviewers, giving you the
reflections before the facts.

“We soon discovered the other party approaching
the spot. When they were within about fifty
yards of us they halted and held a council, as we
did likewise, to arrange all the awful particulars.
I could see their earnest gestures, as they stood,
partly hid by the bushes, dripping with morning
dew. The time having nearly arrived, one of
their number separated from the rest and approached
us.

“This movement roused me from a very disagreeable
revery, into which I had thoughtlessly or
thoughtfully glided, while Lamar stood talking to
the surgeon and Damon (who, by-the-by, has just
returned from Albany). I suppose that the cause
of my so far forgetting myself as to indulge in this
habitual mood, was the latter personage calling my
mind vividly to the consequences of our present
undertaking, by some of his plain, downright mode
of speaking to the surgeon. However, I immediately
recollected my individual responsibility, and
hastened to meet the plenipotentiary of the other
party, who, I found, was young Hazlehurst. He
looked pale and haggard, as if he had been endeavouring
to keep away the intruding imps of the
night by the more genial spirits of the bottle; he
was any thing but calm, though he assumed to
be so.

“The idea of a compromise still forced itself

[figure description] Page 098.[end figure description]

upon me; I therefore urged it upon him by all the
considerations in my power. I told him that I had
often observed the skill of both; that they were
both `dead shots,' and undoubtedly what the world
is wont to call men of courage. Making but little
impression, I determined to assail him upon a more
tender point, namely, the delicate subject of his
sister's concern in this matter. I begged him to
recollect that it would give her an unenviable notoriety,
if one of these young men should be killed.
I seemed here to touch his home feelings, if not
his judgment and his principles, and he returned to
advocate a reconciliation, while I pursued the same
course with Lamar.

“It was all to no purpose; for when we met
again upon middle ground, it appeared that each
of the principals had singularly enough construed
our overtures into a demand of apology from the
opposite party. Each now urged that the time had
arrived. The ground had already been measured
off (twenty paces). Our next business was to cast
lots for choice of position and `the word.' Hazlehurst
won the privilege, if it could be so called, of
giving the word `fire,' and the choice of position
fell to me.

“As seconds, we proceeded to load the pistols;
not, however, before I had spent my logic in vain
upon the parties. The task being finished, they
took their positions, appearing calm and composed
to the hasty eye, although a fierce commotion of
subdued elements was going on within. They

[figure description] Page 099.[end figure description]

looked, however, as report generally says, `calm
and steady.'

“Hazlehurst took his position, and all things
being in readiness, his hoarse and evidently excited
voice began in slow, measured, and distinct
articulation, `Ready! aim! fire! One! two!
three!'

“Both pistols were discharged almost at the
same instant, and for a moment I could not see
through the smoke what injury had been done and
received. In another moment Lamar and Arthur
were visible, unhurt, and both singularly staring at
Hazlehurst and me. For my life I could not, at
first, see into this,—the first impression was that
they had both been shot, and were still able to
stand, yet unable to move. In this belief I hastened
to Lamar, who said, as I came up,

“`And were they really and truly charged?'

“`Upon honour they were,' said I, `and exactly
in the same manner in which you and Arthur have
been practising; for I showed Hazlehurst the
charge when he took his away some days ago, and
I saw him to-day, when we picked up the pistols
indiscriminately, load his exactly as I had previously
shown him.'

“`There must have been some magic in this
business,' said Lamar; `I never carried a steadier
hand up and down a line in my life.'

“By this time each party had again withdrawn
to themselves, when I asked Lamar my

[figure description] Page 100.[end figure description]

instructions, as I saw young Hazlehurst again coming to
meet me, as might have been expected. `Another
fire, of course,' said Lamar. Hazlehurst's instructions
were the same; accordingly, we again went
through the same preliminaries, and something in
addition,—for Lamar proposed, and Arthur agreed
to it, through us, that they should both see the pistols
loaded.

Accordingly we again collected, like a sociable
little coterie, and proceeded to load. Just as I had
done my part, Lamar found some fault with the
manner in which I placed the percussion cap, and
hastily seized the pistol, somewhat contrary to the
usages in such cases; as no one objected, however,
I surrendered it to him. In letting down the cock
to a half-cock, it slipped through his fingers and
exploded, bursting the barrel and wounding him
dreadfully in the hand and the side of the head just
above the right ear, by which he was prostrated in
an instant, covered with blood and powder. We
all thought him dead, as soon as we saw him fall.
Arthur, in particular, knelt down beside him, and
called upon him by all the endearing titles of old
school-fellowship. The surgeon used such means
as were at hand, and soon succeeded in restoring
animation. As soon as he became sensible, Arthur
took his hand and held it between his own during
the whole time we were getting a rude litter ready
to bear him to the carriage, and they were completely
reconciled. We bore him to the carriage

[figure description] Page 101.[end figure description]

and thence by slow marches to the ferry on the
Hudson, from which place we safely removed him
into the room in which I write.

“He seems now to be doing well; though his
hand is dreadfully torn, and a deep and large scar
will be left on the side of his head as long as he
lives. We agreed, before we left the ground, to
keep the whole business secret, except so much as
related to the bursting of a pistol in Lamar's hand.

“Damon would have been quite amusing, as
usual, if the occasion had not been unsuited to merriment;
however, after Lamar was safely placed
in bed, as Arthur insisted on staying with him, I
agreed to accompany Damon to the theatre, as it
was to be his last night in the city.

“Accordingly, after tea, he called for me, and we
walked over to the old Park Theatre, taking box
seats on this occasion. You must know, by-the-by,
that I do not find the pit in these theatres the
resort of the literati, and critics, and authors. This,
I suppose, is owing somewhat to the character of
our people, the nature of our institutions, and the
low price of admittance.

“As we entered, the pit were calling loudly upon
the orchestra for our national air, if it may be so
called, of Hail Columbia. The band, most of whom
were foreigners, were engaged upon some piece of
music more to their own tastes, I suppose; for the
yelling and stamping became excessive before they
yielded to the voice of the mob, which they were
at length compelled to do. It was a benefit night,

[figure description] Page 102.[end figure description]

and the house was full; many persons standing up
in the rear of the boxes. Damon and I were
lucky enough to procure seats; which we had
scarcely taken, when a little billet was dropped
into my hat, which I held between my knees. I
picked it up hastily, supposing it belonged to some
gentleman behind me; but was astonished to see it
directed to me. I tore it open, and read these
words:—

“`You know now who the widow is. Beware
of her, beware!'

“`(Signed) Neither a Friend nor an Enemy.'

“I had almost forgotten a similar communication
received before. I looked round to see who
could have dropped it there. Every countenance
was gentlemanly and calm, forbidding at a glance
all suspicion. I crushed it into my pocket, and
endeavoured to forget it in seeing Damon so
amusingly amused.

“After Hail Columbia had been played to their
hearts' content, the mob became calm, and the curtain
rose. The play, fortunately, was a home-production;
and, as good luck would have it, a Kentuckian
was the principal character.

“It was a prize-comedy, the hero of which,
Colonel Nimrod Wildfire, of Kentucky, quite captivated
Damon's heart. He entered into the spirit
of the plot with great interest; and, as men unpractised
in the ways of the refined world generally

[figure description] Page 103.[end figure description]

do, he realized it so vividly as at times to forget
that it was not a real scene. When the colonel
was rounding off his periods in favour of old Kentuck,
Damon would slap down his hand upon his
knee and exclaim, `Hurrah for old Kentuck!'

“`This,' said he to me, `is worth a million of
your Italian fiddle-faddles. There, at the opera, a
man, if he should happen to go to sleep, would be
sure to dream that he had fallen foul of a strange
hen-roost, or was riding to the devil in a rail-road
car of live-stock. But here, a man could a'most
dream he was in old Kentuck, with his eyes open.'

“`Then you like your countryman the colonel?'

“`You may say that, neighbour; but between
you and me and that pillar there, though he's a
plagued clever fellow, yet' (lowering his voice to a
whisper) `he spins rather longer yarns than I'm a
thinkin he does at home.'

“`The sin of a traveller,' said I.

“`Right again, neighbour; and I, for one, don't
blame him for it. Double and twist me! if I don't
feel myself very much moved, now and then, to spin
a yarn or two about old Kentuck, when I see these
etarnal mountebank-dandies, knowing so little
about sich a fine country, and sich whole-souled
fellows.'

“`But, Damon,' said I, when the curtain fell upon
the first act; `I have always thought that your
boasting-men never act?'

“`I don't understand you,' said he.

[figure description] Page 104.[end figure description]

“`I mean that bullying, swaggering fellows never
fight; or, in other words, `barking dogs seldom
bite.”

“`Oh, ho! I understand you now! you suppose
because my countryman there on the stage spins
a pretty good yarn, and tells a good story of himself,
and what he can do, that he won't fight. But
there, neighbour, I rather suppose that you might
be mistaken a little; for it depends upon the company
a man keeps what sort of yarns he spins.
Now if the colonel there and I should happen to
fall out about any trifle, he knowing that I was
from old Kentuck and I knowing as much of him,
why there would only be a word and a blow between
us, all in good nature; but that Mrs. Trollope
that he is feedin on soft corn don't know nothing;
Kentuck'l give her a lesson.'

“The first piece being concluded, the afterpiece
now came on, `Paul Pry.' Damon relapsed into a
brown study for some minutes, until he caught a
glimpse of Paul's peculiarities,—which were suddenly
interrupted by his usual slap on the knee,
like the fall of a sledge-hammer. `That fellow,'
exclaimed he, `must be a real Yankee! yes, he's a
Yankee, I see it! I see it! them's the sort o' chaps
they have in Yankee town; no such chaps in old
Kentuck, except among the old wives.'

“`How is that, Damon; I thought that every
neighbourhood had a Paul Pry?'

“`That may be, hereabouts; but you see we

[figure description] Page 105.[end figure description]

have a cure for such complaints as that chap seems
to be troubled with.'

“`And what may that be, Damon?'

“`A knock down and drag out.'

“`That, to be sure, is a very summary remedy;
but are you sure it would cure it?'

“`As sure as that I'm settin here; just let that
chap or the likes of him travel into old Kentuck,
and run his nose into other people's business after
that fashion, and I'll agree to be hornswoggled if
he don't be apt to catch it in his bread-basket.
Jist suppose, now, that Mr. Pry was to git a
sneezer between his two lookin eyes when he's
runnin his nose about after that fashion! he
wouldn't intrude again soon in the same premises.
Paul wouldn't be apt to intrude at a regular hand-round
in old Kentuck. But what makes you
laugh?'

“`I was laughing at your new doctrine of social
order.'

“`Lord, sir, I havn't told you half the good that
comes of regulating the people by the five rules.'

“`Five rules! what are they?'

“`These marrowbones!' (holding up his clenched
fist.)

“`Well, let's have it; what other good do they
do, besides what you have already stated?'

“`They make people polite to one another, and
keep them from calling names.'

“`Calling names!' said I.

“`Yes, calling names; no longer than to-day, I

[figure description] Page 106.[end figure description]

was coming down this very street the theatre
stands on, at a place they call `the square,' and I
heard two fellers talking as if their dander was
up a little; so I walked up and leaned against a
lamp-post close by, to listen and see if any fun
was going to come of it; presently one of 'em
called the other a liar. Now, thinks I, we'll see
some sport; so I rolled up my sleeves, and held
my arms both stretched out to keep back the
crowd. `Don't press on 'em, gentlemen,' said I;
`fair play, fair play!' and what do you think it all
came to?'

“`Nothing, I suppose.'

“`Right; instead of knocking the fellow on his
sconce, he stood quietly with his hands in his pockets,
and says, `Oh hush! Do tell now!' I stared
at them to see if they had tails and walked on all-fours,
and the crowd stared at me like fools, as if
there wasn't two fellers there to be stared at sure
enough, without putting old Kentuck out of countenance.
'

“`But you did not interfere any further?'

“`Only to ask the man who stood next to me if
he had seen a man call another a liar before, without
being knocked down. `I never saw anybody
knocked down in my life,' said he, `except by the
watchman.' `I'm hornswoggled,' said I, `If I an't
glad I'm goin away to-morrow, for I should be
spiled here in a short time;' and then they all set
up a horselaugh at me, instead of laughing at the
two cowards who stood by.'

[figure description] Page 107.[end figure description]

“`Well,' continued I, `are there any other advantages
of the knocking-down system?'

“`O, yes,' said he, `hundreds; it makes the blood
circulate, like runnin in the mountains keeps up
the blood of the bucks.'

“`But here,' said I, `there is no necessity for
such a stimulus; because the difficulties of getting
meat and bread where there is such a crowd, are
sufficient to make the blood circulate.'

“`Ah, that's true,' said Damon, rather sadly; `it
may suit some stomachs to live in this crowd; but
curse me if it don't make my breath short jist to
think of it; and that ain't the worst of it: I am
told that there is as hard scufflin among the dead
here for a little elbow-room, as among the living.'

“`Yes, you have been rightly informed. The
living begin to push the dead out of their quiet
resting-places; insomuch, that a man who died
here forty years ago, and paid two hundred dollars
for the ground to be buried in (if he is cognoscent
of such things in another state), finds his bones
scattered with those of the dogs and horses of his
generation.'

“`Oh, I'm off,' said Damon, `this would never
do for me. I don't like to be crowded,—living or
dead; Lord! when I get into one of our long open
forest ranges again, I rather expect that I shall
snort like a wild beast, when he first snuffs a
stranger.'

“`You see no advantages, then,' said I, `to

[figure description] Page 108.[end figure description]

compensate for these various inconveniences of a
crowded city?'

“`None; do you?'

“`Some; for instance, the society of a large
city, and the amusements; as the theatre.'

“`The theatre!' exclaimed he, in surprise;
`would you put this clamjamfry against a deer
drive, or a fox-chase, or a 'coon hunt? Why, I
wish I may be perlequed through a saw-mill, if I
would'nt rather go to a country-wedding, any day,
than come to this place. Why, here it's all make-believe;
it's all sham; but out in old Kentuck we
have the real things which you pretend here; like
we do scarecrows to a corn-field.'

“Much of this dialogue passed between the acts
and scenes; though when Damon becomes interested,
he pursues his discourse independently of
performers and audience too. After the conclusion
of the performance, I walked with him to his
lodgings, and took leave of him with real regret;
whether we shall ever meet with him again,
Heaven only knows; I, for one, will be glad to
see him at any time, and in any company; I have
learned to estimate our rude western yeomanry
more justly since I have become intimate with
Damon; the acquaintance was doubtless commenced
in the waywardness of our old college
mischief, but it has ended in our all respecting
Damon for his good qualities, and looking upon his
foibles rather as sources of amusement than as
unpardonable faults. There are, doubtless, as

[figure description] Page 109.[end figure description]

many accomplished gentlemen in the state of
Kentucky, as in any other in the Union, but it is
equally certain that wilder regions of the state
produce many such characters as our friend. I
have seen many polished gentlemen of our sister
state; and with the exception of those who come
from the large towns of Lexington, Louisville, &c.,
there is about them a wild romantic turn, analogous
to their native scenes, which renders them,
in our older settlements, unique, but by no means
disgusting or disagreeable. This tinge is particularly
observable when contrasted with the
blunted and worn-out societies of our large northern
and eastern cities.

“Lamar we found doing extremely well as to
his wounds, and sleeping soundly. If he continues
thus, I shall soon put an end to this cruel suspense,
which tears my tranquillity to pieces, and strikes
at the root of every enjoyment;—you understand
me.

“Present me most affectionately to my mother
and cousin; I read your letters with great interest,
I assure you; you cannot be too minute; all, all
will be interesting to yours, most sincerely,

CHAPTER IX. Victor Chevillere to B. Randolph.
Oaklands, 18—.
“Dear Friend,

[figure description] Page 110.[end figure description]

“I left Lamar in the city of New-York, under
the hands of an experienced surgeon, doing well
as to his bodily wounds, and on such a footing with
his rival as becomes them both, as gentlemen and
old acquaintances. As soon as I had obtained
from the surgeon so much of the foregoing information
as was professional, I took my passage on board
one of the Albany steamboats. About eight o'clock
of the same day, which at this season of the year
is just after dark, the sky was clear, serene, and
beautiful, save along the western horizon, where a
long veil of purple drapery interposed between the
land and the sky, as the sun sank to rest in quietness
and beauty, while the moon and the stars at
the opposite point of the compass were just beginning
to shed their paler rays over the magnificent
scenery of the Hudson. Our boat glided over the
scarcely rippled surface of the noble river, until
the little bell of the engineer, or of some one in
command, was heard in the quiet scene, as a signal

[figure description] Page 111.[end figure description]

for the engine to cease its ponderous movements,
while the captain at the same moment was heard
to cry out, `Passenger for Oaklands.' A boat was
speedily manned and lowered from the stern, containing
the said passenger and a small travelling
trunk. It was none other than your old chum and
humble servant.

“In a very few moments I was left standing on
the banks of the river, and the boat was speedily
moving out of sight. I looked all around me, to
see in what direction the lights from the mansion
were visible, but all was darkness amid the trees
in the direction of the land. The surface of the
river was still, but no such serenity reigned within
my own bosom. Not that I have no taste for tranquil
scenes; it was just such a one as I love to
dwell upon; but I was approaching a house, the
owner of which was secretly hostile to the objects
of my visit; all the rest of the family, save one,
were strangers to me, and that one was last seen
under circumstances of doubt and mystery, painful
and impressive to the heart of one who has been
always charged, and perhaps justly, with fastidiousness
as to female purity and refinement.

“Leaving my small trunk hid in a boat-house
which I found upon the banks of the river, I began
leisurely to ascend a gravelled walk, which was
skirted on each side by a row of huge forest trees,
each of which, as its black outlines stood forward
from the darker regions of others behind, looked
like a gigantic bastion of the citadel at the head of

[figure description] Page 112.[end figure description]

the lawn, to guard against such intruders as I began
to fear I might be considered by some of the
garrison. Although I had yet some eight or nine
hundred yards to attain the level at the end of
the lawn where the house stood, the dogs began to
warn the inmates of my approach; and as I ascended
a little mound, more steep in its ascent than
the rest of the walk, the mansion presented itself,
dimly seen by the doubtful rays of the rising moon.
The size and structure of the edifice I could partly
discern from the lights within, as well as from the
gleam without. It seemed to be a two-story frame
building, painted white, with the longest side facing
the river, and a wing or smaller building at each
end; in the centre of the main building was a portico,
surrounded at the top by a heavy balustrade.
The trees and shrubbery, as I approached, became
thicker on each side of the avenue, opening into
something like a half circle in front of the house
with the convex towards me. Within this area
there were also trees and shrubbery, but the former
were smaller and of a different kind, and the latter
more tastefully arranged than that interspersed
between the trees along the avenue.

“I did not present myself immediately in this
area to sound my bugle and summon the castle,
but wound round one of the wings to reconnoitre
the premises. I had a reason for this movement.
As I stood among the trees on one side of the avenue,
waiting till some one should chain up the
dogs, a gentle sound at intervals vibrated through

[figure description] Page 113.[end figure description]

the still air, in delightful unison with the scene, the
occasion, and my own feelings. There was pathos
in the touch of every string, as its tones died
away amid the serenity of the night.

“I skirted round among the trees to the other
side of the wing from which the sounds seemed to
proceed. There was no light in the window, but
I could see the gentle songstress as she sat in the
casement, the features of her face being just enough
discernible in the rich and silvery tints of the queen
of night, as her horizontal beams fell amid the
boughs of the trees, to give employment to the
imagination. I could discern her loosened ringlets,
as they fell over a polished forehead and temples,
and occasionally caught the lustre of the eye, as
she turned her face (under the full rays of the
moon) towards the thick grove in which I stood.
The song ended,—and by some strange operation
of the mind, I began to think of a favourite
air which I sometimes play, and which I had given
her in score; the thought had scarcely passed
through my mind, before she touched the identical
melody in her peculiarly soft and `moonlight' style.
Was it not strange? Yet I do not see why we
should so consider these things, occurring so often
as they do. I call to mind my having once adverted
suddenly in thought, and without any visible
cause, to a friend whom I had not seen for years.
But a few minutes afterward I met the identical
person, and that too in a city five hundred miles
from the spot where we had met before. Is there

[figure description] Page 114.[end figure description]

some secret connexion or intercommunication of
the mind which we know not of, except by its
effects? Is the German theory a mere whim?
But waving these inquiries, the fact that the same
ideas were passing through my mind and that of
this beautiful and melancholy being, produced novel
and delightful emotions. There must have been
congeniality of thought, if not of feeling. I could
hear the servants scolding and beating the watchful
guardians of the night, as they still, from time
to time, growled forth their knowledge of my presence.
I nevertheless maintained my position
against one of the venerable oaks, until the air was
ended; she touched the guitar no more that night,
but leaning her head on her hand, she gazed on
the captivating scene in what seemed profound
sadness.

“`Now,' thought I, `the plain flute in my pocket
(which I always carry with me in my travelling
expeditions) will be in place; and the rest of the
family in the apartments fronting the river are not
likely to hear my soft tones;' (and I made them
more soft than usual,) as I attempted to imitate a
distant, dying echo of the air she had just been
playing.

“The effect was instantaneous; she started
from her sad revery, with her head erect, in the
most expressive attitude of listening. I ceased
instantly when these effects were visible. She
soon seemed to think it a delusion, and, holding her
hand to her forehead for a few moments, resumed

[figure description] Page 115.[end figure description]

her former position. I waited to assure myself
that I had not aroused any other members of the
family.

“After remaining in that position for a few moments,
she began in a kind of thoughtful abstracted
mood to sigh over the same air. When she had
finished it, I again softly breathed the echo upon
the instrument. For an instant only she started
to her feet,—looked out of the window,—held her
hand to her head again for some time, as if trying
to ascertain whether she were dreaming or awake.
I thought now that I had practised upon her feelings
long enough; I therefore replaced the instrument,
and walked round to the main entrance of
the building, where I held the knocker some little
time in my hand before I could summon resolution
for the attack. My knock was soon followed by
the sound of footsteps, and when a servant opened
the door, I announced myself as Mr. Chevillere of
South Carolina. He left me seated but a few moments,
before he returned with Mr. Brumley. The
latter was more polite and hospitable in his manner
than I had expected, and invited me into the parlour,
where his wife, the mother of Miss St. Clair,
was sitting at her work-stand, in a very domestic,
and, to me, pleasing fashion.

“She arose upon the introduction, and held out
her hand in southern style, giving me altogether
one of the most smiling and benignant welcomes
I have received for some time. It immediately
carried me back to relatives and the scenes of

[figure description] Page 116.[end figure description]

home. In addition to this, it was inexpressibly
soothing to me on another account! It said
plainly that I had been well reported to her by
some one, and that one, I was sure, was not her
husband. A servant was despatched for Miss
Frances; in the mean time, the good lady made me
quite at home in a few moments; during which,
as I have above intimated, I found her and her
daughter were of one counsel. Such things are
easily discovered without much of the world's
tact.

“Mrs. Brumley, formerly Mrs. St. Clair, is about
the middle height, and apparently about thirty-five
years of age, though she may be much older.
Her hair is light brown, and her eyes are like her
daughter's, blue; she is really handsome in feature
and expression; the latter especially charmed me.
With women of her age, there is generally an expression
of suppressed suffering,—partly subdued
misanthropy,—disappointment,—bigotry or fanaticism.
How seldom do we see cheerful matrons of
the middle age? But Mrs. Brumley was not only
cheerful,—she was simple, unaffected, intelligent,
and benevolent.

“The younger lady entered. I could not exactly
determine whether she was alarmed or embarrassed,
but she was evidently labouring under
some excitement. She was in more simple attire
than I had seen her wear before. There was
something of the home look both in her dress and
manners which I had never observed, and which

[figure description] Page 117.[end figure description]

was inexpressibly delightful to me. And the half-mourning
dress sets off fair hair and a fair complexion
to the best advantage. In addition to all
these things, a young lady appears different at home
and in the world. Upon her deportment in the
latter respect it depends whether that difference
redounds to her advantage. Has she been simple
and unaffected in the world? home will make her
simplicity more captivating. But if she has been
abroad in a holyday suit of manners and deformed
with affectation, as is too often the case with very
youthful females, the change made by home will
be painful to the beholder, because this holyday
suit must be thrown aside. It will not pass current
in that market. Even the servants would comment
upon such an assumption, and the lady would be
subjected to the mortification of being laughed at
and criticised by her own attendants.

“No such change was visible here; Frances
was evidently at home, in every sense of that delightful
word. Permit me to make another observation
here: the estimation in which one is held
by the persons around them, especially the servants,
is no bad criterion. When I see the servants
of a family pay unasked homage, and that peculiar
touching devotion which comes from the heart, my
own follows spontaneously. I would not lack the
love of my servants for any earthly consideration.
I can truly say that I never did lack it; and, contemptible
as it may appear to the proud and

[figure description] Page 118.[end figure description]

supercilious, it has afforded me many an hour of self-congratulation.

“These were the first things that I looked for,
nor was I disappointed. Every heart seemed to
dictate the actions and services rendered to Frances
St. Clair. Mrs. Brumley, after ascertaining
that I had already supped, found some business
out of the room, whence her husband had been
previously called by one of the servants. We
were thus left alone within less than half an hour
after I had entered the house. I arose and seated
myself beside her, and presuming to take her hand,
was going to introduce the subject of my visit,
perhaps too suddenly, when she said, permitting
me still to retain her hand, `Ah! Mr. Chevillere,
a mental illusion concerning yourself greatly
alarmed me to-night. Is it not strange that a
thought or occurrence will sometimes recall the
image of a friend, but a few moments before that
friend himself appears?'

“`I am too happy,' said I, `to know that I sometimes
dwell in your thoughts during absence, to
ask the how or the wherefore; but I hope the illusion
was not wholly unpleasant?'

“`Do you perform on the flute, Mr. Chevillere?'

“`Imperfectly.'

“`Do you play the little air which you gave
me?'

“`As well as I play any thing.'

“`Then my illusion was still more strange than
I before thought it. Ah! I see you smile! perhaps

[figure description] Page 119.[end figure description]

you have been practising upon my superstition;
but I thought of that. Ah! you smile again; so
you did play that air under my window! Still
there was something strange about it, for I had
but a few moments before touched it on the
guitar.'

“`Ah, dear lady, I was so happy as to hear it;
and I am so unhappy as to rob you of that slender
hold for your superstition also; but I will give
you a better one: at the very moment you touched
that air, I was leaning against one of those old oak-trees
of the grove behind the house, and that identical
piece of music floated as distinctly through
my mind, as if it had been played in the air immediately
over my head!'

“She was brilliantly beautiful for a moment, as
a new train of thought suddenly illumined her eye.
She then said, in an absent manner,—

“`It was strange!'

“`It was more than strange!' said I.

“`What, was it more than strange?' she eagerly
demanded.

“`It was delightful to me.'

“Her head dropped, while she blushed at the
idea of my reading her thoughts; `I shall fear you
in future!'

“`Not for the world, dear lady. Surely it is no
cause of fear that delightful thoughts will sometimes
be spontaneously felt between us; when I
say delightful, I speak for myself alone; they may
be very disagreeable to you. Of that I do not

[figure description] Page 120.[end figure description]

pretend to speak at the present moment, further
than to acknowledge that I draw the most happy
presages from these simultaneous bursts of thought
and feeling, which you must often have observed;
nay, further, it is a kind of congeniality which I
have thought until lately had no existence except
in romances. Perhaps it is presuming too far to
say so with regard to the impulses of the heart;
but certainly you will admit the fact with regard
to most subjects.'

“`I shall not express my opinion just now, because
my mind and feelings have been too painfully
engaged since I saw you, to lengthen the
conversation in that direction which I see plainly
you are disposed to give it.'

“`Ha!' said I, `you too sometimes read thoughts.
But may I presume to ask what that painful employment
has been?'

“`I have been committing to paper a brief and
plain narration of those circumstances of my life
which I promised to relate to you. I preferred
this course, because my feelings have become so
irritable of late on the subject, that I should merely
tantalize you if I attempted to relate them. Besides,
in a painful and full confession (which you
will find much of this to be), it conduces to truth,
and an unvarnished statement of facts, to record
them in the closet. It then seems that if we set
down aught in extenuation, we lie to the great
Searcher of hearts himself.' She then presented
to me a roll of manuscript.

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