Speaker 1: This is section twenty three of The Gilded Age. This
Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Gilded Age,
Speaker 1: A Tale of to Day by Mark Twain and C. D. Warner,
Speaker 1: Chapter twenty three. Oh see ye not Yon narrow roads,
Speaker 1: so thick, beset with thorns and briars. That is the
Speaker 1: path of righteousness, though after it but few inquires. And
Speaker 1: see ye not Yon braid braid road that lies across
Speaker 1: the lily leaven. That is the path of wickedness, though
Speaker 1: some call it the road to heaven. Thomas the rhymer.
Speaker 1: Philip and Harry reached New York in very different states
Speaker 1: of mind. Harry was buoyant. He found a letter from
Speaker 1: Colonel Sellars urging him to go to Washington and confer
Speaker 1: with Senator Dilworthy. The petition was in his hands. It
Speaker 1: had been signed by everybody of any importance in Missouri,
Speaker 1: and would be presented immediately. I should go on myself,
Speaker 1: wrote the Colonel. But I am engaged in the invention
Speaker 1: of a process for lighting such a city as Saint
Speaker 1: Louis by means of water. Just attach my machine to
Speaker 1: the water pipes anywhere, and the decomposition of the fluid begins,
Speaker 1: and you will have floods of light for the mere
Speaker 1: cost of the machine. I've nearly got the lighting part,
Speaker 1: but I want to attach to it a heating, cooking, washing,
Speaker 1: and ironing apparatus. It's going to be the great thing.
Speaker 1: But we'd better keep this appropriation going while I am
Speaker 1: perfecting it. Harry took letters to several congressmen from his
Speaker 1: uncle and from mister duff Brown, each of whom had
Speaker 1: an extensive acquaintance in both houses, where they were well
Speaker 1: known as men engaged in large private operations for the
Speaker 1: public good, and men besides, who, in the slang of
Speaker 1: the day, understood the virtues of addition, division, and silence.
Speaker 1: Senator Dilworthy introduced the petition into the Senate with the
Speaker 1: remark that he knew personally the signers of it, that
Speaker 1: they were men interested, it was true, in the improvement
Speaker 1: of the country. But he believed without any selfish motive,
Speaker 1: and that so far as he knew, the signers were loyal.
Speaker 1: It pleased him to see upon the role the names
Speaker 1: of many colored citizens. And it must rejoice every friend
Speaker 1: of humanity to know that this lately emancipated race were
Speaker 1: intelligently taking part in the development of the resources of
Speaker 1: their native land. He moved the reference of the petition
Speaker 1: to the proper Committee. Senator Dilworthy introduced his young friend
Speaker 1: to influential members as a person who was very well
Speaker 1: informed about the salt Lick extension of the Pacific, and
Speaker 1: was one of the engineers who had made a careful
Speaker 1: survey of Columbus River, and left him to exhibit his
Speaker 1: maps and plans, and to show the connection between the
Speaker 1: public treasury, the city of Napoleon, and legislation for the
Speaker 1: benefit of the whole country. Harry was the guest of
Speaker 1: Senator Dilworthy. There was scarcely any good movement in which
Speaker 1: the Senator was not interested. His house was open to
Speaker 1: all the laborers in the field of total abstinence, and
Speaker 1: much of his time was taken up in attending the
Speaker 1: meetings of this cause. He had a Bible class in
Speaker 1: the Sunday School of the Church, which he attended, and
Speaker 1: he suggested to Harry that he might take a class
Speaker 1: during the time he remained in Washington. Mister Washington Hawkins
Speaker 1: had a class. Harry asked the Senator if there was
Speaker 1: a class of young ladies for him to teach and
Speaker 1: after that the Senator did not press the subject. Philip,
Speaker 1: if the truth must be told, was not well satisfied
Speaker 1: with his Western prospects, nor altogether with the people he
Speaker 1: had fallen in with. The railroad contractors held out large
Speaker 1: but rather indefinite promises. Opportunities for a fortune, he did
Speaker 1: not doubt existed in Missouri. But for himself he saw
Speaker 1: no better means for livelihood than the mastery of the
Speaker 1: profession he had rather thoughtlessly entered upon during the summer.
Speaker 1: He had made considerable practical advance in the science of engineering.
Speaker 1: He had been diligent, and made himself to a certain
Speaker 1: extent necessary to the work he was engaged on. The
Speaker 1: contractors called him into their consultations frequently as to the
Speaker 1: character of the country he had been over, and the
Speaker 1: cost of constructing the road, the nature of the work,
Speaker 1: et cetera. Still, Philip felt that if he was going
Speaker 1: to make either reputation or money as an engineer, he
Speaker 1: had a great deal of hard study before him, and
Speaker 1: it is to his credit that he did not shrink
Speaker 1: from it. While Harry was in Washington, dancing attendance upon
Speaker 1: the National legislature and making the acquaintance of the vast
Speaker 1: lobby that encircled it. Philip devoted himself day and night,
Speaker 1: with an energy and a concentration he was capable of,
Speaker 1: to the learning and theory of his profession, and to
Speaker 1: the science of railroad building. He wrote some papers at
Speaker 1: this time for the Plow, the loom and the Anvil,
Speaker 1: upon the strength of thad Materials, and especially upon bridge building,
Speaker 1: which attracted considerable attention, and were copied into the English
Speaker 1: Practical Magazine. They served, at any rate, to raise Philip
Speaker 1: in the opinion of his friends. The contractors, for practical
Speaker 1: men have a certain superstitious estimation of ability with the pen,
Speaker 1: and though they may a little despise the talent, they
Speaker 1: are quite ready to make use of it. Philip sent
Speaker 1: copies of his performances to Ruth's father and to other
Speaker 1: gentlemen whose good opinion he coveted, But he did not
Speaker 1: rest upon his laurels. Indeed, so diligently had he applied
Speaker 1: himself that when it came time for him to return
Speaker 1: to the West, he felt himself, at least in the theory,
Speaker 1: competent to take charge of a division in the field.
Speaker 1: End of Chapter twenty three