WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>This is section ten of A Gilded Age. This LibriVox

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<v Speaker 1>recording is in the public domain. The Gilded Age, A

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<v Speaker 1>Tale of to Day by Mark Twain and C. D. Warner,

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<v Speaker 1>Chapter ten. Only two or three days had elapsed since

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<v Speaker 1>the funeral when something happened which was to change the

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<v Speaker 1>drift of Laura's life somewhat and influence in a greater

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<v Speaker 1>or lesser degree, the formation of her character. Major Lackland

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<v Speaker 1>had once been a man of note in the state,

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<v Speaker 1>a man of extraordinary natural ability and as extraordinary learning.

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<v Speaker 1>He had been universally trusted and honored in his day,

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<v Speaker 1>but had finally fallen into misfortune. While serving his third

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<v Speaker 1>term in Congress, and while upon the point of being

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<v Speaker 1>elevated to the Senate, which was considered the submit of

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<v Speaker 1>earthly aggrandizement in those days, he had yielded to temptation

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<v Speaker 1>when in distress for money wherewith to save his estate,

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<v Speaker 1>and so his vote. His crime was discovered, and his

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<v Speaker 1>fall followed instantly. Nothing could reinstate him in the confidence

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<v Speaker 1>of the people. His ruin was irretrievable, his disgrace complete.

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<v Speaker 1>All doors were closed against him, all men avoided him.

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<v Speaker 1>After years of skulking, retirement and dissipation. Death had relieved

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<v Speaker 1>him of his troubles at last, and his funeral followed

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<v Speaker 1>close upon that of mister Hawkins. He died as he

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<v Speaker 1>had latterly lived, wholly alone and friendless. He had no relatives,

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<v Speaker 1>or if he had, they did not acknowledge him. The

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<v Speaker 1>coroner's jury found certain memoranda upon his body and about

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<v Speaker 1>the premises, which revealed a fact not suspected by the

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<v Speaker 1>villagers before, viz. That Laura was not the child of

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<v Speaker 1>mister and Missus Hawkins. The gossips were soon at work.

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<v Speaker 1>They were but little hampered by the fact that the

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<v Speaker 1>memoranda referred to trade nothing but the bare circumstance that

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<v Speaker 1>Laura's real parents were unknown, and stopped there So far

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<v Speaker 1>from being hampered by this, the gossips seemed to gain

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<v Speaker 1>all the more freedom from it. They supplied all the

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<v Speaker 1>missing information themselves. They filled up all the blanks. The

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<v Speaker 1>town soon teemed with histories of Laura's origin and secret history.

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<v Speaker 1>No two versions precisely alike, but all elaborate, exhaustive, mysterious

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<v Speaker 1>and interesting, and all agreeing in one vital particular to

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<v Speaker 1>wit that there was a suspicious cloud about her birth,

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<v Speaker 1>not to say a disreputable one. Laura began to encounter

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<v Speaker 1>cold looks, averted eyes, and peculiar nods and gestures which

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<v Speaker 1>perplexed her beyond measure. But presently the pervading gossip found

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<v Speaker 1>its way to her, and she understood them. Then her

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<v Speaker 1>pride was stung. She was astonished and at first incredules.

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<v Speaker 1>She was about to ask her mother if there was

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<v Speaker 1>any truth in these reports, but upon second thought, held

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<v Speaker 1>her peace. She soon gathered that Major Lachlan's memoranda seemed

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<v Speaker 1>to refer to letters which had passed between himself and

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<v Speaker 1>Judge Hawkins. She shaped her course without difficulty the day

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<v Speaker 1>that that hint reached her. That night, she sat in

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<v Speaker 1>her room till all was still, and then she stole

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<v Speaker 1>into the garret and began a search. She rummaged long

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<v Speaker 1>among boxes of musty papers relating to business matters of

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<v Speaker 1>no interest to her, But at last she found several

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<v Speaker 1>bundles of letters. One bundle was marked private, and in

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<v Speaker 1>that she found what she wanted. She selected six or

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<v Speaker 1>eight letters from the package and began to devour their contents,

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<v Speaker 1>heedless of the cold. By the dates these letters were

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<v Speaker 1>from five to seven years old. They were all from

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<v Speaker 1>Major Lachland to mister Hawkins. The substance of them was

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<v Speaker 1>that some one in the eaves had been inquiring of

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<v Speaker 1>Major Lackland about a lost child and its parents, and

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<v Speaker 1>that it was conjectured that the child might be Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Evidently some of the letters were missing, for the name

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<v Speaker 1>of the inquirer was not mentioned. There was a casual

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<v Speaker 1>reference to this handsome, featured, aristocratic gentleman, as if the

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<v Speaker 1>reader and the writer were accustomed to speak of him

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<v Speaker 1>and knew who was meant. In one letter, the Major

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<v Speaker 1>said he agreed with mister Hawkins that the inquirer seemed

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<v Speaker 1>not altogether on the wrong track, but he also agreed

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<v Speaker 1>that it would be best to keep quiet until more

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<v Speaker 1>convincing developments were forthcoming. Another letter said that the poor

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<v Speaker 1>soul broke completely down when he saw Laura's picture and

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<v Speaker 1>declared it must be she Still Another said, he seems

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<v Speaker 1>entirely alone in the world, and his heart is so

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<v Speaker 1>wrapped up in this thing that I believe that if

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<v Speaker 1>it proved a false hope, it would kill him. I

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<v Speaker 1>have persuaded him to wait a little while and go west.

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<v Speaker 1>When I go. Another letter had this paragraph in it.

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<v Speaker 1>He is better one day and worse the next, and

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<v Speaker 1>is out of his mind a good deal of the time.

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<v Speaker 1>Lately his case has developed a something which is a

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<v Speaker 1>wonder to the hired nurses, but which will not be

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<v Speaker 1>much of a marvel to you if you have read

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<v Speaker 1>medical philosophy much. It is this His lost memory returns

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<v Speaker 1>to him when he is delirious, and goes away again

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<v Speaker 1>when he is himself. Just as old Canada Joe used

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<v Speaker 1>to talk the French patois of his boyhood in the

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<v Speaker 1>delirium of typhus fever, though he could not do it

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<v Speaker 1>when his mind was clear. Now this poor gentleman's memory

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<v Speaker 1>has always broken down. Before he reached the explosion of

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<v Speaker 1>the steamer, he could only remember starting up the river

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<v Speaker 1>with his wife and child, and he had an idea

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<v Speaker 1>that there was a race, but he was not certain.

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<v Speaker 1>He could not name the boat he was on. There

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<v Speaker 1>was a dead blank of a month or more that

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<v Speaker 1>supplied not an item to his recollection. It was not

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<v Speaker 1>for me to assist him, of course, But now in

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<v Speaker 1>his delirium, it all comes out the names of the boats.

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<v Speaker 1>Every incident of the explosion and likewise the details of

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<v Speaker 1>his astonishing escape, that is up to where, just as

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<v Speaker 1>a yawl boat was approaching him, he was clinging to

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<v Speaker 1>the starboard wheel of the burning wreck at the time

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<v Speaker 1>a falling timber struck him on the head. But I

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<v Speaker 1>will write out his wonderful escape in full tomorrow or

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<v Speaker 1>next day. Of course, the physicians will not let me

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<v Speaker 1>tell him now that our Laura is indeed his child.

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<v Speaker 1>That must come later, when his health is thoroughly restored.

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<v Speaker 1>His case is not considered dangerous at all. He will

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<v Speaker 1>recover presently, the doctors say. But they insist that he

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<v Speaker 1>must travel a little when he gets well. They recommend

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<v Speaker 1>a short sea voyage, and they say he can be

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<v Speaker 1>persuaded to try it if we continue to keep him

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<v Speaker 1>in ignorance and promise to let him see l as

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<v Speaker 1>soon as he returns the letter that bore the last

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<v Speaker 1>date of all this clause. It is the most unaccountable

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<v Speaker 1>thing in the world. The mystery remains as impenetrable as ever.

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<v Speaker 1>I have hunted high and low for him, and inquired

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<v Speaker 1>of everybody, but in vain all trace of him ends

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<v Speaker 1>at that hotel in New York. I never have seen

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<v Speaker 1>or heard of him, since up to this day he

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<v Speaker 1>could hardly have sailed, for his name does not appear

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<v Speaker 1>upon the books of any shipping office in New York,

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<v Speaker 1>or Boston or Baltimore. How fortunate it seems now that

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<v Speaker 1>we kept this thing to ourselves. Laura still has a

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<v Speaker 1>father in you, and it is better for her that

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<v Speaker 1>we drop this subject here forever. That was all random

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<v Speaker 1>remarks here and there, being pieced together, gave Laura a

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<v Speaker 1>vague impression of a man of fine presence, about forty

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<v Speaker 1>three or forty five years of age, with dark hair

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<v Speaker 1>and eyes, and a slight limp in his walk. It

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<v Speaker 1>was not stated which lake was defective, and this indistinct

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<v Speaker 1>shadow represented her father. She made an exhaustive search for

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<v Speaker 1>the missing letters, but found none. They had probably been burned,

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<v Speaker 1>and she doubted not that the ones she had ferreted

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<v Speaker 1>out would have shared the same fate if mister Hawkins

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<v Speaker 1>had not been a dreamer, a void of method, whose

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<v Speaker 1>mind was perhaps in a state of conflagration over some

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<v Speaker 1>bright new speculation when he received them. She sat long

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<v Speaker 1>with the letters in her lap, thinking and unconsciously freezing.

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<v Speaker 1>She felt like a lost person who has traveled down

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<v Speaker 1>a long lane in good hope of escape, and just

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<v Speaker 1>as the night descends, finds his progress barred by a

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<v Speaker 1>bridgeless river, whose further shore, if it has one, is

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<v Speaker 1>lost in the darkness. If she could only have found

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<v Speaker 1>these letters a month sooner, that was her thought. But

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<v Speaker 1>now the dead had carried their secrets with them, a

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<v Speaker 1>dreary melancholy settled down upon her, an undefined sense of

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<v Speaker 1>injury crept into her heart. She grew very miserable. She

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<v Speaker 1>had just reached the romantic age, the age when there

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<v Speaker 1>is a sad sweetness, a dismal comfort to a girl

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<v Speaker 1>to find out that there is a mystery connected with

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<v Speaker 1>her birth which no other piece of good luck can afford.

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<v Speaker 1>She had more than her rightful share of practical good sense,

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<v Speaker 1>but still she was human, And to be human is

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<v Speaker 1>to have one's little modicum of romance secreted away in

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<v Speaker 1>one's composition. One never ceases to make a hero of

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<v Speaker 1>one's self in private during life, but only alters the

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<v Speaker 1>style of his heroism from time to time, as the

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<v Speaker 1>drifting years belittle certain gods of his admiration and raise

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<v Speaker 1>up others in their stead that seem greater. The recent

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<v Speaker 1>wearing days and nights of watching, and the wasting grief

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<v Speaker 1>that had possessed her, combined with the profound depression that

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<v Speaker 1>naturally came with the reaction of idleness, made Laura peculiarly

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<v Speaker 1>susceptible at this time to romantic impression. She was a

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<v Speaker 1>heroine now with a mysterious father somewhere. She could not

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<v Speaker 1>really tell whether she wanted to find him and spoil

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<v Speaker 1>it all or not. But still all the traditions of

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<v Speaker 1>romance pointed to the making the attempt as the usual

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<v Speaker 1>and necessary course to follow. Therefore, she would some day

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<v Speaker 1>begin the search when opportunity should offer. Now a former

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<v Speaker 1>thought struck her, she would speak to Missus Hawkins, And

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<v Speaker 1>naturally enough, Missus Hawkins appeared on the stage. At that moment.

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<v Speaker 1>She said she knew all she knew that Laura had

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<v Speaker 1>discovered the secret that mister Hawkins, the elder children, Colonel Sellars,

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<v Speaker 1>and herself had kept so long and so faithfully. And

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<v Speaker 1>she cried and said that now that troubles had begun,

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<v Speaker 1>they would never end. Her daughter's love would wean itself

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<v Speaker 1>away from her, and her heart would break. Her grief

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<v Speaker 1>so wrought upon Laura that the girl almost forgot her

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<v Speaker 1>own troubles for the moment in her compassion for her

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<v Speaker 1>mother's distress. Finally, Missus Hawkins said, speak to me, child,

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<v Speaker 1>Do not forsake me, Forget all this miserable talk. Say

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<v Speaker 1>I am your mother. I have loved you so long,

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<v Speaker 1>and there is no other. I am your mother in

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<v Speaker 1>the sight of God, and nothing shall ever take you

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<v Speaker 1>from me. All barriers fell before this appeal. Laura put

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<v Speaker 1>her arms about her mother's neck and said, you are

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<v Speaker 1>my mother and always shall be. We will be as

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<v Speaker 1>we have always been, and neither this foolish talk, nor

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<v Speaker 1>any other thing shall part us or make us less

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<v Speaker 1>to each other than we are this hour there was

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<v Speaker 1>no longer any sense of separation or estrangement between them. Indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>their love seemed more perfect now than it had ever

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<v Speaker 1>been before. By and by they went down stairs and

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<v Speaker 1>sat by the fire and talked long and earnestly about

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<v Speaker 1>Laura's history and the letters. But it transpired that Missus

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<v Speaker 1>Hawkins had never known of this correspondence between her husband

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<v Speaker 1>and Major Lackland. With his usual conceer sideration for his wife,

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<v Speaker 1>mister Hawkins had shielded her from the worry the matter

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<v Speaker 1>would have caused her. Laura went to bed at last

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<v Speaker 1>with a mind that had gained largely in tranquility and

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<v Speaker 1>had lost correspondingly in morbid romantic exultation. She was pensive

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<v Speaker 1>the next day and subdued, but that was not matter

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<v Speaker 1>for remark, for she did not differ from the mournful

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<v Speaker 1>friends about her in that respect. Clay and Washington were

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<v Speaker 1>the same loving and admiring brothers now that they had

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<v Speaker 1>always been. The great secret was new to some of

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<v Speaker 1>the younger children, but their love suffered no change under

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<v Speaker 1>the wonderful revelation. It is barely possible that things might

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<v Speaker 1>have presently settled down into their old rot and the

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<v Speaker 1>mystery have lost the bulk of its romantic sublimity in

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<v Speaker 1>Laura's eyes, if the village gossips could have quieted down.

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<v Speaker 1>But they could not quiet down, and they did not.

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<v Speaker 1>Day after day they called at the house, ostensibly upon

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<v Speaker 1>visits of condolence, and they pumped away at the mother

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<v Speaker 1>and the children, without seeming to know that their questionings

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<v Speaker 1>were in bad taste. They meant no harm. They only

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to know. Villagers always want to know. The family

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<v Speaker 1>fought shy of the questionings, and of course that was

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<v Speaker 1>high testimony. If the duchess was respectably born, why didn't

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<v Speaker 1>they come out and prove it? Why did they stick

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<v Speaker 1>to that poor thin story about picking her up out

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<v Speaker 1>of a steamship explosion. Under this ceaseless persecution, Laura's morbid

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<v Speaker 1>self communing was renewed. At night. The day's contribution of detraction, innuendo,

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<v Speaker 1>and malicious conjecture would be canvassed in her mind, and

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<v Speaker 1>then she would drift into a course of thinking. As

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<v Speaker 1>her thoughts ran on, the indignant tears would spring to

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<v Speaker 1>her eyes, and she would spit out fierce little ejaculations

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<v Speaker 1>at intervals. But finally she would grow calmer and say

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<v Speaker 1>some comforting, disdainful thing, something like, but who are they animals?

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<v Speaker 1>What are their opinions? To me? Let them talk? I

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<v Speaker 1>will not stoop to be affected by it. I could

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<v Speaker 1>hate blank blank nonsense, nobody I care for, or in

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<v Speaker 1>any way respect is changed toward me. I fancy. She

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<v Speaker 1>may have supposed she was thinking of many individuals, but

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<v Speaker 1>it was not so. She was thinking of only one,

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<v Speaker 1>and her heart warmed somewhat too. The while. One day

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<v Speaker 1>a friend overheard a conversation like this, and naturally came

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<v Speaker 1>and told her all about it. Ned. They say, you

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<v Speaker 1>don't go there any more? How is that? Well, I don't,

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<v Speaker 1>But I tell you it's not because I don't want to,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's not because I think it is any matter

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<v Speaker 1>who her father was or who he wasn't either, It's

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<v Speaker 1>only on account of this talk talk talk. I think

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<v Speaker 1>she is a fine girl every way, and so would

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<v Speaker 1>you if you knew her as well as I do.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know how it is. When a girl once

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<v Speaker 1>gets talked about, it's all up with her. The world

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<v Speaker 1>won't ever let her alone after that. The only comment

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<v Speaker 1>Laura made upon this revelation was, then it appears that

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<v Speaker 1>if this trouble had not occurred, I could have had

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<v Speaker 1>the happiness of mister ned Thurston's serious attentions. He is

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<v Speaker 1>well favored in person, and well liked too, I believe,

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<v Speaker 1>and comes of one of the first families of the village.

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<v Speaker 1>He is prosperous too. I hear has been a doctor

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<v Speaker 1>a year now and has had two patients, no three,

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<v Speaker 1>I think, yes, it was three. I attended their funerals. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>other people have hoped and been disappointed. I am not

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<v Speaker 1>alone in that I wish you could stay to dinner, Maria.

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<v Speaker 1>We are going to have sausages, and besides, I wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to talk to you about Hawkeye and make you promise

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<v Speaker 1>to come and see us when we are settled there.

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<v Speaker 1>But Maria could not stay. She had come to mingle

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<v Speaker 1>romantic tears with Laura's over the lover's defection, and had

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<v Speaker 1>found herself dealing with a heart that could not rise

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<v Speaker 1>to an appreciation of affliction because its interest was all

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<v Speaker 1>centered in sausages. But as soon as was gone, Laura

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<v Speaker 1>stamped her expressive foot and said, the coward are all

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<v Speaker 1>books lies? I thought he would fly to the front

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<v Speaker 1>and be brave and noble, and stand up for me

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<v Speaker 1>against all the world, and defy my enemies. And wither

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<v Speaker 1>these gossips with his scorn, poor crawling thing let him go.

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<v Speaker 1>I do begin to despise this world. She lapsed into thought,

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<v Speaker 1>and presently she said, if the time ever comes and

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<v Speaker 1>I get a chance, oh I'll She could not find

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<v Speaker 1>a word that was strong enough. Perhaps by and by

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<v Speaker 1>she said, well, I am glad of it. I am

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<v Speaker 1>glad of it. I never cared anything for him anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>And then with small consistency she cried a little and

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<v Speaker 1>patted her foot more indignantly than ever. End of Chapter

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<v Speaker 1>ten