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<v Speaker 1>This is section thirty one of the Gilded Age. This

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>Chapter thirty one. She the gracious lady, Yet no pains

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<v Speaker 1>did spare to do him ease or do him remedy

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<v Speaker 1>many restoratives of Virtue's rare and costly cordials. She did

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<v Speaker 1>apply to mitigate his stubborn malady. Spencer's fairy Queen's Mister

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<v Speaker 1>Henry Brierly was exceedingly busy in New York, so he

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<v Speaker 1>wrote Colonel Sellers, but he would drop everything and go

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<v Speaker 1>to Washington. The Colonel believed that Harry was the prince

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<v Speaker 1>of lobbyists, a little too sanguine maybe, and given to speculation,

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<v Speaker 1>but then he knew everybody. The Columbus River navigation scheme

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<v Speaker 1>was got through almost entirely by his aid. He was

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<v Speaker 1>needed now to help through another scheme, a benevolent scheme

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<v Speaker 1>in which Colonel Sellars, through the Hawkinses, had a deep interest.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't care, you know, he wrote to Harry so

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<v Speaker 1>much about the Negroes. But if the government will buy

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<v Speaker 1>this land, it will set up the Hawkins family make

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<v Speaker 1>Laura an heiress, and I shouldn't wonder if pariahs Sellars

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<v Speaker 1>would set up his carriage again. Dilworthy looks at it different,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, He's all for philanthropy, for benefiting the colored race.

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<v Speaker 1>This old Balsam was in the interior, used to be

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<v Speaker 1>the Reverend Orson Balsam of Iowa. He's made the riffle

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<v Speaker 1>on the engine, great engine pacificator and land dealer. Ballum's

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<v Speaker 1>got the engine to himself. And I suppose that Senator

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<v Speaker 1>Doolworthy feels that there is nothing left him but the

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<v Speaker 1>colored man. I do reckon. He is the best friend

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<v Speaker 1>the colored man has got in Washington. Though Harry was

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<v Speaker 1>in a hurry to reach Washington, he stopped in Philadelphia

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<v Speaker 1>and prolonged his visit day after day, greatly to the

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<v Speaker 1>detriment of his business, both in New York and Washington.

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<v Speaker 1>The society at the Boltons might have been a valid

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<v Speaker 1>excuse for neglecting business much more important than his. Philip

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<v Speaker 1>was there. He was a partner with mister Bolton now

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<v Speaker 1>in the new coal venture, concerning which there was much

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<v Speaker 1>to be arranged in preparation for the spring work, and

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<v Speaker 1>Philip lingered week after week in the hospitable house Alice

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<v Speaker 1>was making a winter visit. Ruth only went to town

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<v Speaker 1>twice a week to attend lectures, and the household was

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<v Speaker 1>quite to mister Bolton's taste, for he liked the cheer

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<v Speaker 1>of company and something going on evenings. Harry was cordially

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<v Speaker 1>asked to bring his traveling bag there, and he did

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<v Speaker 1>not need urging to do so. Not even the thought

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<v Speaker 1>of seeing Laura at the capital made him restless. In

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<v Speaker 1>the society of the two young ladies, two birds in

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<v Speaker 1>hand are worth one in the bush. Certainly Philip was

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<v Speaker 1>at home. He sometimes wished he were not so much

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<v Speaker 1>so he felt that too much or not enough was

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<v Speaker 1>taken for great. Ruth had met him when he first

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<v Speaker 1>came with a cordial frankness, and her manner continued entirely unrestrained.

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<v Speaker 1>She neither sought his company nor avoided it, and this

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<v Speaker 1>perfectly level treatment irritated him more than any other could

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<v Speaker 1>have done. It was impossible to advance much in love

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<v Speaker 1>making with one who offered no obstacles, had no concealments

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<v Speaker 1>and no embarrassments, and whom any approach to sentimentality would

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<v Speaker 1>be quite likely to set into a fit of laughter.

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<v Speaker 1>Why phil she would say, what puts you in the dumps?

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<v Speaker 1>To day? You are as solemn as the upper bench

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<v Speaker 1>and meeting. I shall have to call Alice to raise

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<v Speaker 1>your spirits. My presence seems to depress you. It's not

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<v Speaker 1>your presence, but your absence when you are present, began

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<v Speaker 1>Philip dolefully, with the idea that he was saying a

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<v Speaker 1>rather deep thing. But you don't understand me. No, I

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<v Speaker 1>confess I cannot. If you really are so low as

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<v Speaker 1>to think I am absent when I am present, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a frightful case of aberration. I shall ask Father to

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<v Speaker 1>bring out doctor Jackson. Does Alice appear to be present

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<v Speaker 1>when she is absent? Alice has some human feeling anyway.

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<v Speaker 1>She cares for something besides musty books and dry bones.

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<v Speaker 1>I think, Ruth, when I die, said Philip, intending to

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<v Speaker 1>be very grim and sarcastic. I'll leave you my skeleton.

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<v Speaker 1>You might like that. It might be more cheerful than

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<v Speaker 1>you are at times. Ruth replied with a laugh. But

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<v Speaker 1>you mustn't do it without consulting Alice. She might not

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<v Speaker 1>like it. I don't know why you should bring Alice

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<v Speaker 1>up on every occasion. Do you think I am in

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<v Speaker 1>love with her? Bless you? No, it never entered my head,

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<v Speaker 1>are you The thought of Philip's sterling in love is

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<v Speaker 1>too comical. I thought you were only in love with

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<v Speaker 1>the ilium coal mine, which you and father talk about

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<v Speaker 1>half the time. This is a specimen of Philip's wooing.

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<v Speaker 1>Confound the girl, He would say to himself, why does

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<v Speaker 1>she never tease Harry and that young Shepley who comes here?

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<v Speaker 1>How differently Alice treated him? She at least never mocked him,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was a relief to talk with one who

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<v Speaker 1>had some sympathy with him. And he did talk to

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<v Speaker 1>her by the hour about Ruth. The blundering fellow poured

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<v Speaker 1>all his doubts and anxieties into her ear, as if

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<v Speaker 1>she had been the impassive occupant of one of those

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<v Speaker 1>little wooden confessionals in the cathedral on Logan Square has

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<v Speaker 1>a confessor if she is young and pretty, any feeling,

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<v Speaker 1>does it mend the matter by calling her your sister?

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<v Speaker 1>Philip called Alice his good sister and talked to her

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<v Speaker 1>about love and marriage, meaning Ruth, as if sisters could,

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<v Speaker 1>by no possibility have any personal concern in such things.

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<v Speaker 1>Did Ruth ever speak of him? Did she think Ruth

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<v Speaker 1>cared for him? Did Ruth care for anybody at fall Kill?

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<v Speaker 1>Did she care for anything except her profession? And so on?

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<v Speaker 1>Alice was loyal to Ruth, and if she knew anything,

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<v Speaker 1>she did not betray her friend. She did not at

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<v Speaker 1>any rate give Philip too much encouragement. What woman, under

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<v Speaker 1>the circumstances would I can tell you one thing, Philip,

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<v Speaker 1>She said, if ever Ruth Bolton loves, it will be

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<v Speaker 1>with her whole soul, in a depth of passion that

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<v Speaker 1>will sweep everything before it and surprise even herself, a

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<v Speaker 1>remark that did not much console Philip, who imagined that

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<v Speaker 1>only some grand heroism could unlock the sweetness of such

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<v Speaker 1>a heart. And Philip feared that he wasn't a hero.

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<v Speaker 1>He did not know out of what materials a woman

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<v Speaker 1>can construct a hero when she is in the creative mood.

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<v Speaker 1>Harry skipped into this society with his usual lightness and gaiety.

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<v Speaker 1>His good nature was inexhaustible, and though he liked to

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<v Speaker 1>relate his own exploits, he had little tact in adapting

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<v Speaker 1>himself to the tastes of his hearers. He was not

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<v Speaker 1>long in finding out that Alice liked to hear about Philip,

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<v Speaker 1>and Harry launched out into the career of his friend

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<v Speaker 1>the West with a prodigality of invention that would have

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<v Speaker 1>astonished the chief actor. He was the most generous fellow

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<v Speaker 1>in the world, and picturesque conversation was the one thing

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<v Speaker 1>in which he never was bankrupt. With mister Bolton, he

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<v Speaker 1>was the serious man of business, enjoying the confidence of

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<v Speaker 1>many of the moneyed men in New York whom mister

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<v Speaker 1>Bolton knew, and engaged with them in railway schemes and

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<v Speaker 1>government contracts. Philip, who had so long known Harry, never

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<v Speaker 1>could make up his mind that Harry did not himself

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<v Speaker 1>believe that he was a chief actor in all these

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<v Speaker 1>large operations of which he talked so much. Harry did

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<v Speaker 1>not neglect to endeavor to make himself agreeable to Missus

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<v Speaker 1>Bolton by paying great attention to the children, and by

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<v Speaker 1>professing the warmest interest in the friend's faith. It always

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to him the most peaceful religion. He thought it

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<v Speaker 1>must be much easier to live by an internal light

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<v Speaker 1>than by a lot of outward rules. He had a

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<v Speaker 1>Quaker aunt in Providence, of whom Missus Bolton constantly reminded him.

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<v Speaker 1>He insisted upon going with Missus Bolton and the children

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<v Speaker 1>to the friend's meeting on first day when Ruth and

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<v Speaker 1>Alice and Philip World's people went to a church in town,

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<v Speaker 1>and he sat through the hour of silence with his

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<v Speaker 1>hat on in most exemplary patience. In short, this amazing

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<v Speaker 1>actor succeeded so well with Missus Bolton that she said

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<v Speaker 1>to Philip one day, thy friend Henry Brierly appears to

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<v Speaker 1>be a very worldly minded young man. Does he believe

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<v Speaker 1>in anything? Oh? Yes, said Philip, laughing. He believes in

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<v Speaker 1>more things than any other person I ever saw. To Ruth,

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<v Speaker 1>Harry seemed to be very congenial. He was never moody

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<v Speaker 1>for one thing, but lent himself with alacrity to whatever

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<v Speaker 1>his fancy was. He was gay or grave, as the

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<v Speaker 1>need might be. No one apparently could enter more fully

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<v Speaker 1>into her plans for an independent career. My father said

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<v Speaker 1>Harry was bred a physician and practiced a little before

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<v Speaker 1>he went into Wall Street. I always had a leaning

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<v Speaker 1>to the study. There was a skeleton hanging in the

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<v Speaker 1>closet of my father's study when I was a boy

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<v Speaker 1>that I used to dress up in old clothes. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I got quite familiar with the human frame, you must have, said, Philip.

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<v Speaker 1>Was that where you learned to play the bones? He

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<v Speaker 1>is a master of those musical instruments, Ruth. He plays

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<v Speaker 1>well enough to go on the stage. Philip hates science

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<v Speaker 1>of any kind and steady application, retorted Harry. He didn't

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<v Speaker 1>fancy Philip's banter. And when the latter had gone out,

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<v Speaker 1>and Ruth asked, why don't you take up medicine, mister Brierly,

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<v Speaker 1>Harry said, I have it in mind. I believe I

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<v Speaker 1>would begin attending lectures this winter if it weren't for

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<v Speaker 1>being wanted in Washington. But medicine is particularly women's province,

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<v Speaker 1>Why so, asked Ruth, rather amused, Well, the treatment of

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<v Speaker 1>disease is a good deal in matter or sympathy. A

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<v Speaker 1>woman's intuition is better than a man's. Nobody knows anything, really,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, and a woman can guess a good deal

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<v Speaker 1>nearer than a man. You are very complimentary to my sex,

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<v Speaker 1>but said Harry, frankly, I should want to choose my doctor.

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<v Speaker 1>An ugly woman would ruin me. The disease would be

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<v Speaker 1>sure to strike in and kill me at sight of her.

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<v Speaker 1>I think a pretty physician with engaging manners would coax

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<v Speaker 1>a fellow to live through almost anything. I am afraid

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<v Speaker 1>you are a scoffer, mister Brierly. On the contrary, I

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<v Speaker 1>am quite sincere. Wasn't it old what's his name? That

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<v Speaker 1>said only the beautiful is useful? Whether Ruth was anything

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<v Speaker 1>more than diverted with Harry's company, Philip could not determine.

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<v Speaker 1>He scorned at any rate to advance his own interest

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<v Speaker 1>by any disparaging communications about Harry, both because he could

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<v Speaker 1>not help liking the fellow himself, and because he may

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<v Speaker 1>have known that he could not more surely create a

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<v Speaker 1>sympathy for him in Ruth's mind. That Ruth was in

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<v Speaker 1>no danger of any serious impression, he felt pretty sure,

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<v Speaker 1>felt certain of it when he reflected upon her severe

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<v Speaker 1>occupation with her profession. Hang it, he would say to himself.

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<v Speaker 1>She is nothing but pure intellect anyway, And he only

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<v Speaker 1>felt uncertain of it when she was in one of

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<v Speaker 1>her moods of raillery, with mocking mischief in her eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>At such times she seemed to prefer Harry's society to his.

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<v Speaker 1>When Philip was miserable about this. He always took refuge

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<v Speaker 1>with Alice, who was never moody and who generally laughed

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<v Speaker 1>him out of his sentimental nonsense. He felt at his

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<v Speaker 1>ease with Alice and was never in want of something

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about, and he could not account for the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that he was so often dull with Ruth, with whom,

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<v Speaker 1>of all persons in the world, he wanted to appear

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<v Speaker 1>at his best. Harry was entirely satisfied with his own situation,

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<v Speaker 1>a bird of passage as all was at its ease,

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<v Speaker 1>having no house to build, no responsibility. He talked freely

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<v Speaker 1>with Philip about Ruth. An all mighty fine girl, he said,

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<v Speaker 1>But what the deuce she wanted to study medicine for

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<v Speaker 1>he couldn't see. There was a concert one night at

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<v Speaker 1>the Musical Fund Hall, and the four had arranged to

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<v Speaker 1>go in and return by the Germantown cars. It was

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<v Speaker 1>Philip's plan, who had engaged the seats and promised himself

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<v Speaker 1>an evening with Ruth, walking with her, sitting by her

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<v Speaker 1>in the hall, and enjoying the feeling of protecting that

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<v Speaker 1>a man always has of a woman in a public place.

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<v Speaker 1>He was fond of music too, in a sympathetic way.

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<v Speaker 1>At least he knew that Ruth's delight in it would

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<v Speaker 1>be enough for him. Perhaps he meant to take advantage

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<v Speaker 1>of the occasion to say some very serious things. His

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<v Speaker 1>love for Ruth was no secret to Missus Bolton, and

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<v Speaker 1>he felt almost sure that he should have no opposition

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<v Speaker 1>in the family. Missus Bolton had been cautious in what

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<v Speaker 1>she said, but Philip inferred everything from her reply to

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<v Speaker 1>his his own questions. One day, has thee ever spoken

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<v Speaker 1>thy mind to Ruth? Why shouldn't he speak his mind

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<v Speaker 1>and end his doubts? Ruth had been more tricky than

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<v Speaker 1>usual that day, and in a flow of spirits quite inconsistent,

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<v Speaker 1>it would seem in a young lady devoted to grave studies.

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<v Speaker 1>Had Ruth the premonition of Philip's intention in his manner?

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<v Speaker 1>It may be, for when the girls came downstairs ready

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<v Speaker 1>to walk to the cars, and met Philip and Harry

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<v Speaker 1>in the hall, Ruth said, laughing, the two tallest must

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<v Speaker 1>walk together, And before Philip knew how it happened, Ruth

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<v Speaker 1>had taken Harry's arm, and his evening was spoiled. He

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<v Speaker 1>had too much politeness and good sense and kindness to

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<v Speaker 1>show in his manner that he was hit. So he

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<v Speaker 1>said to Harry, that's your disadvantage in being short. And

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<v Speaker 1>he gave Alice no reason to feel during the evening

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<v Speaker 1>that she would not have been his first choice for

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<v Speaker 1>the excursion. But he was none the less chagrined and

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<v Speaker 1>not a little angry at the turn the affair. The

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<v Speaker 1>hall was crowded with the fashion of the town. The

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<v Speaker 1>concert was one of those fragmentary drearinesses that people endure

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<v Speaker 1>because they are fashionable tours de force on the piano

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<v Speaker 1>and fragments from operas which have no meaning without the setting,

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<v Speaker 1>with weary pauses of waiting. In between, there is the

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<v Speaker 1>comic basso, who is so amusing and on such familiar

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<v Speaker 1>terms with the audience and always sings. The barber, the

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<v Speaker 1>attitudinizing tenor with his languishing Oh Summer Night. The soprano

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<v Speaker 1>with her Batti batti, who warbles and trills and runs

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<v Speaker 1>and fetches her breath and ends with a noble scream

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<v Speaker 1>that brings down the tempest of applause, in the midst

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<v Speaker 1>of which she backs off the stage, smiling and bowing.

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<v Speaker 1>It was this sort of concert, and Philip was thinking

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<v Speaker 1>that it was the most stupid one he had ever

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<v Speaker 1>sat through, when just as the soprano was in the

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<v Speaker 1>midst of that touching ballot coming through the rye. The

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<v Speaker 1>soprano always sings coming through the rye on an encore,

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<v Speaker 1>the black Swan used to make it irresistible, Philip remembered

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<v Speaker 1>with her arch if a body kiss a body, there

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<v Speaker 1>was a cry of fire. The hall is long and narrow,

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<v Speaker 1>and there is only one place of egress. Instantly the

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<v Speaker 1>audience was on its feet, and a rush began for

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<v Speaker 1>the door. Men shouted, women screamed, and panic seized the

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<v Speaker 1>swaying mass. A second's thought would have convinced everyone that

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<v Speaker 1>getting out was impossible, and that the only effect of

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<v Speaker 1>a rush would be to crash people to death. But

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<v Speaker 1>a second's thought was not given. A few cried, Sit down,

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<v Speaker 1>sit down, but the mass was turned towards the door.

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<v Speaker 1>Women were down and trampled on in the aisles, and

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<v Speaker 1>stout men utterly lost to self control, were mounting the

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<v Speaker 1>benches as if to run a race over the mass

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<v Speaker 1>to the entrance. Philip, who had forced the girls to

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<v Speaker 1>keep their seats, saw in a flash the new danger,

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<v Speaker 1>and sprang to avert it. In a second more those

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<v Speaker 1>infuriated men would be over the benches and crushing rooms

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<v Speaker 1>and alice under their boots. He leaped upon the bench

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<v Speaker 1>in front of them and struck out before him with

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<v Speaker 1>all his might, felling one man who was rushing on him,

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<v Speaker 1>and checking for an instant the movement, or rather parting

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<v Speaker 1>it and causing it to flow on either side of him.

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<v Speaker 1>But it was only for an instant. The pressure behind

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<v Speaker 1>was too great, and the next Philip was dashed backwards

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<v Speaker 1>over the seat. And yet that instant of arrest had

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<v Speaker 1>probably saved the girls. For as Philip fell, the orchestra

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<v Speaker 1>struck up Yankee Doodle in the liveliest manner. The familiar

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<v Speaker 1>tune caught the ear of the mass, which paused in wonder,

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<v Speaker 1>and gave the conductor's voice a chance to be heard.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a false alarm. The tumult was over in a minute,

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<v Speaker 1>and the next laughter was heard, and not a few said,

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<v Speaker 1>I knew it wasn't anything. What fools people are at

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<v Speaker 1>such a time. The concert was over, However, a good

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<v Speaker 1>many people were hurt, some of them seriously, and among

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<v Speaker 1>them Philip's sterling was found bent across the seat, insensible,

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<v Speaker 1>with his left arm hanging limp, and a bleeding wound

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<v Speaker 1>on his head. When he was carried into the air,

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<v Speaker 1>he revived and said it was nothing. A surgeon was called,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was thought best to drive at once to

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<v Speaker 1>the Bolton's, a surgeon supporting Philip, who did not speak

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<v Speaker 1>the whole way. His arm was set and his head dressed,

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<v Speaker 1>and the surgeon said he would come round all right

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<v Speaker 1>in his mind. By morning. He was very weak. Alice,

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<v Speaker 1>who was not much frightened while the panic lasted in

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<v Speaker 1>the hall, was very much unnerved by seeing Philip so

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<v Speaker 1>pale and bloody. Ruth assisted the surgeon with the utmost coolness,

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<v Speaker 1>and with skillful hands, helped to dress Philip's wounds. And

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<v Speaker 1>there was a certain intentness and fierce energy in what

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<v Speaker 1>she did that might have revealed something to Philip if

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<v Speaker 1>he had been in his senses. But he was not,

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<v Speaker 1>or he would not have murmured. Let Alice do it.

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<v Speaker 1>She is not too tall. It was Ruth's first case.

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<v Speaker 1>End of chapter three thirty one