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<v Speaker 1>This is section twenty three 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 twenty three. Oh see ye not Yon narrow roads,

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<v Speaker 1>so thick, beset with thorns and briars. That is the

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<v Speaker 1>path of righteousness, though after it but few inquires. And

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<v Speaker 1>see ye not Yon braid braid road that lies across

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<v Speaker 1>the lily leaven. That is the path of wickedness, though

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<v Speaker 1>some call it the road to heaven. Thomas the rhymer.

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<v Speaker 1>Philip and Harry reached New York in very different states

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<v Speaker 1>of mind. Harry was buoyant. He found a letter from

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<v Speaker 1>Colonel Sellars urging him to go to Washington and confer

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<v Speaker 1>with Senator Dilworthy. The petition was in his hands. It

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<v Speaker 1>had been signed by everybody of any importance in Missouri,

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<v Speaker 1>and would be presented immediately. I should go on myself,

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<v Speaker 1>wrote the Colonel. But I am engaged in the invention

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<v Speaker 1>of a process for lighting such a city as Saint

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<v Speaker 1>Louis by means of water. Just attach my machine to

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<v Speaker 1>the water pipes anywhere, and the decomposition of the fluid begins,

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<v Speaker 1>and you will have floods of light for the mere

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<v Speaker 1>cost of the machine. I've nearly got the lighting part,

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<v Speaker 1>but I want to attach to it a heating, cooking, washing,

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<v Speaker 1>and ironing apparatus. It's going to be the great thing.

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<v Speaker 1>But we'd better keep this appropriation going while I am

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<v Speaker 1>perfecting it. Harry took letters to several congressmen from his

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<v Speaker 1>uncle and from mister duff Brown, each of whom had

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<v Speaker 1>an extensive acquaintance in both houses, where they were well

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<v Speaker 1>known as men engaged in large private operations for the

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<v Speaker 1>public good, and men besides, who, in the slang of

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<v Speaker 1>the day, understood the virtues of addition, division, and silence.

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<v Speaker 1>Senator Dilworthy introduced the petition into the Senate with the

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<v Speaker 1>remark that he knew personally the signers of it, that

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<v Speaker 1>they were men interested, it was true, in the improvement

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<v Speaker 1>of the country. But he believed without any selfish motive,

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<v Speaker 1>and that so far as he knew, the signers were loyal.

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<v Speaker 1>It pleased him to see upon the role the names

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<v Speaker 1>of many colored citizens. And it must rejoice every friend

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<v Speaker 1>of humanity to know that this lately emancipated race were

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<v Speaker 1>intelligently taking part in the development of the resources of

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<v Speaker 1>their native land. He moved the reference of the petition

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<v Speaker 1>to the proper Committee. Senator Dilworthy introduced his young friend

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<v Speaker 1>to influential members as a person who was very well

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<v Speaker 1>informed about the salt Lick extension of the Pacific, and

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<v Speaker 1>was one of the engineers who had made a careful

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<v Speaker 1>survey of Columbus River, and left him to exhibit his

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<v Speaker 1>maps and plans, and to show the connection between the

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<v Speaker 1>public treasury, the city of Napoleon, and legislation for the

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<v Speaker 1>benefit of the whole country. Harry was the guest of

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<v Speaker 1>Senator Dilworthy. There was scarcely any good movement in which

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<v Speaker 1>the Senator was not interested. His house was open to

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<v Speaker 1>all the laborers in the field of total abstinence, and

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<v Speaker 1>much of his time was taken up in attending the

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<v Speaker 1>meetings of this cause. He had a Bible class in

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<v Speaker 1>the Sunday School of the Church, which he attended, and

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<v Speaker 1>he suggested to Harry that he might take a class

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<v Speaker 1>during the time he remained in Washington. Mister Washington Hawkins

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<v Speaker 1>had a class. Harry asked the Senator if there was

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<v Speaker 1>a class of young ladies for him to teach and

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<v Speaker 1>after that the Senator did not press the subject. Philip,

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<v Speaker 1>if the truth must be told, was not well satisfied

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<v Speaker 1>with his Western prospects, nor altogether with the people he

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<v Speaker 1>had fallen in with. The railroad contractors held out large

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<v Speaker 1>but rather indefinite promises. Opportunities for a fortune, he did

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<v Speaker 1>not doubt existed in Missouri. But for himself he saw

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<v Speaker 1>no better means for livelihood than the mastery of the

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<v Speaker 1>profession he had rather thoughtlessly entered upon during the summer.

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<v Speaker 1>He had made considerable practical advance in the science of engineering.

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<v Speaker 1>He had been diligent, and made himself to a certain

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<v Speaker 1>extent necessary to the work he was engaged on. The

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<v Speaker 1>contractors called him into their consultations frequently as to the

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<v Speaker 1>character of the country he had been over, and the

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<v Speaker 1>cost of constructing the road, the nature of the work,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera. Still, Philip felt that if he was going

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<v Speaker 1>to make either reputation or money as an engineer, he

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<v Speaker 1>had a great deal of hard study before him, and

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<v Speaker 1>it is to his credit that he did not shrink

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<v Speaker 1>from it. While Harry was in Washington, dancing attendance upon

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<v Speaker 1>the National legislature and making the acquaintance of the vast

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<v Speaker 1>lobby that encircled it. Philip devoted himself day and night,

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<v Speaker 1>with an energy and a concentration he was capable of,

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<v Speaker 1>to the learning and theory of his profession, and to

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<v Speaker 1>the science of railroad building. He wrote some papers at

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<v Speaker 1>this time for the Plow, the loom and the Anvil,

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<v Speaker 1>upon the strength of thad Materials, and especially upon bridge building,

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<v Speaker 1>which attracted considerable attention, and were copied into the English

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<v Speaker 1>Practical Magazine. They served, at any rate, to raise Philip

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<v Speaker 1>in the opinion of his friends. The contractors, for practical

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<v Speaker 1>men have a certain superstitious estimation of ability with the pen,

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<v Speaker 1>and though they may a little despise the talent, they

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<v Speaker 1>are quite ready to make use of it. Philip sent

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<v Speaker 1>copies of his performances to Ruth's father and to other

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<v Speaker 1>gentlemen whose good opinion he coveted, But he did not

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<v Speaker 1>rest upon his laurels. Indeed, so diligently had he applied

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<v Speaker 1>himself that when it came time for him to return

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<v Speaker 1>to the West, he felt himself, at least in the theory,

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<v Speaker 1>competent to take charge of a division in the field.

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<v Speaker 1>End of Chapter twenty three