Speaker 1: This is section nine of The Gilded Age. This LibriVox
Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. The Gilded Age, A
Speaker 1: Tale of to Day by Mark Twain and C. D. Warner,
Speaker 1: Chapter nine. Washington dreamed his way along the street, his
Speaker 1: fancy flitting from grain to hogs, from hogs to banks,
Speaker 1: from banks to Eyewater, from Eyewater to Tennessee Land, and
Speaker 1: lingering but a feverish moment upon each of these fascinations.
Speaker 1: He was conscious of but one outward thing to wit
Speaker 1: the General, and he was really not vividly conscious of him.
Speaker 1: Arrived at the finest dwelling in the town. They entered
Speaker 1: it and were at home. Washington was introduced to missus Boswell,
Speaker 1: and his imagination was on the point of flitting into
Speaker 1: the vapory realms of speculation again when a lovely girl
Speaker 1: of sixteen or seventeen came in. This vision swept Washington's
Speaker 1: mind clear of its chaos of glittering rubbish in an instant.
Speaker 1: Beauty had fascinated him before many times. He had been
Speaker 1: in love, even for weeks at a time, with the
Speaker 1: same object, but his heart had never suffered so sudden
Speaker 1: and so fierce an assault as this within his recollection.
Speaker 1: Louise Boswell occupied his mind and drifted among his multiplication tables.
Speaker 1: All the afternoon. He was constantly catching himself in a reverie,
Speaker 1: reveries made up of recalling how she looked when she
Speaker 1: first burst upon him, how her voice thrilled him when
Speaker 1: she first spoke, how charmed the very air seemed by
Speaker 1: her presence, blissful. As the afternoon was delivered up to
Speaker 1: such a revel as this, it seemed an eternity, So
Speaker 1: impatient was he to see the girl again. Other afternoons
Speaker 1: like it followed. Washington plunged into this love affair as
Speaker 1: he plunged into everything else, upon impulse and without reflection.
Speaker 1: As the days went by, it seemed plain that he
Speaker 1: was growing in favor with Louise, not sweepingly so, but
Speaker 1: yet perceptibly he fancied. His attentions to her troubled her
Speaker 1: father and mother a little, and they warned Louise, without
Speaker 1: stating particulars or making allusions to any special person, that
Speaker 1: a girl was sure to make a mistake who allowed
Speaker 1: herself to marry anybody but a man who could support
Speaker 1: her well. Some instinct taught Washington that his present lack
Speaker 1: of money would be an obstruction, though possibly not a
Speaker 1: bar to his hopes and straightway, his poverty became a
Speaker 1: torture to him, which cast all his former sufferings under
Speaker 1: that into the shade. He longed for riches now as
Speaker 1: he had never longed for them before. He had been
Speaker 1: once or twice to dine with Colonel Sellers, and had
Speaker 1: been discouraged to note that the colonel's bill of fare
Speaker 1: was falling off, both in quantity and quality, a sign
Speaker 1: he feared that the lacking ingredient in the eye water
Speaker 1: still remained undiscovered, though Sellers always explained that these changes
Speaker 1: in the family diet had been ordered by the doctor,
Speaker 1: or suggested by some new scientific work the Colonel had
Speaker 1: stumbled upon. But it always turned out that the lacking
Speaker 1: ingredient was still lacking, though it always appeared at the
Speaker 1: same time that the Colonel was right on its heels.
Speaker 1: Every time the Colonel came into the real estate office,
Speaker 1: Washington's heart bounded and his eyes lighted with hope. But
Speaker 1: it always turned out that the Colonel was merely on
Speaker 1: the scent of some vast undefined land speculation, although he
Speaker 1: was customarily able to say that he was nearer to
Speaker 1: the all necessary ingredient than ever, and could almost name
Speaker 1: the hour when success would dawn, And then Washington's heart
Speaker 1: would sink again, and a sigh would tell when it
Speaker 1: touched bottom. About this time a letter came saying that
Speaker 1: Judge Hawkins had been ailing for a fortnight and was
Speaker 1: now considered to be seriously ill. It was thought best
Speaker 1: that Washington should come home. The news filled him with grief,
Speaker 1: for he loved and honored his father. The Boswells were
Speaker 1: touched by the youth's sorrow, and even the General unbent
Speaker 1: and said encouraging things to him. There was balm in this.
Speaker 1: But when Louise bade him good bye and shook his
Speaker 1: hand and said, don't be cast down. It will all
Speaker 1: come out right. I know it will all come out right,
Speaker 1: it seemed a blessed thing to be in misfortune. And
Speaker 1: the tears that welled up to his eyes were the
Speaker 1: messengers of an adoring and grateful heart. And when the
Speaker 1: girls saw them, and answering tears came into her own eyes,
Speaker 1: Washington could hardly contain the excess of happiness that poured
Speaker 1: into the cavities of his breast that were so lately
Speaker 1: stored to the roof with grief. All the way home,
Speaker 1: he nursed his woe and exalted it. He pictured himself
Speaker 1: as she must be, picturing him, a noble, struggling young spirit,
Speaker 1: persecuted by a misfortune, but bravely and patiently waiting in
Speaker 1: the shadow of a dread calamity, and preparing to meet
Speaker 1: the blow as became one who was all too used
Speaker 1: to hard fortune and the pitiless buffetings of fate. These
Speaker 1: thoughts made him weep, and weep more broken heartedly than ever,
Speaker 1: and he wished that she could see his sufferings now.
Speaker 1: There was nothing significant in the fact that Louise, dreamy
Speaker 1: and distraught, stood at her bedroom bureau that night, scribbling
Speaker 1: Washington here and there over a sheet of paper. But
Speaker 1: there was something significant in the fact that she scratched
Speaker 1: the word out every time she wrote, examined the erasure
Speaker 1: critically to see if anybody could guess at what the
Speaker 1: word had been, then buried it under a maze of
Speaker 1: obliterating lines, and finally, as if still unsatisfied, burned the paper.
Speaker 1: When Washington reached home, he recognized at once how serious
Speaker 1: his father's case was. The darkened room, the labored breathing
Speaker 1: and occasional moanings of the patient. The tip toeing of
Speaker 1: the attendants, and their whispered consultations were full of sad meaning.
Speaker 1: For three or four nights, Missus Hawkins and Laura had
Speaker 1: been watching by the bedside. Clay had arrived, preceding Washington
Speaker 1: by one day, and he was now added to the
Speaker 1: core of watchers. Mister Hawkins would have none but these three,
Speaker 1: though neighborly assistance was offered by old friends. From this
Speaker 1: time forth, three hour watches were instituted, and day and
Speaker 1: night the watchers kept their vigils by degrees. Laura and
Speaker 1: her mother began to show where, but neither of them
Speaker 1: would yield a minute of their tasks to Clay. He
Speaker 1: ventured once to let the midnight hour pass without calling Laura,
Speaker 1: but he ventured no more. There was that about her
Speaker 1: rebuke when he tried to explain, that taught him that
Speaker 1: to let her sleep when she might be ministering to
Speaker 1: her father's needs was to rob her of moments that
Speaker 1: were priceless in her eyes. He perceived that she regarded
Speaker 1: it as a privilege to watch, not a burden, And
Speaker 1: he had noticed also that when midnight struck, the patient
Speaker 1: turned his eyes toward the door with an expectancy in them,
Speaker 1: which presently grew into a longing, but brightened into contentment
Speaker 1: as soon as the door opened and Laura appeared. And
Speaker 1: he did not need Laura's rebuke. When he heard his
Speaker 1: father say, Clay is good, and you are tired, poor child,
Speaker 1: But I wanted you so. Clay is not good. Father,
Speaker 1: he did not call me. I would not have treated him,
Speaker 1: So how could you do it? Clay? Clay begged forgiveness
Speaker 1: and promised not to break faith again. And as he
Speaker 1: betook him to his bed, he said to himself, it's
Speaker 1: a steadfast little soul whoever thinks he is doing the
Speaker 1: duchess of kindness by intimating that she is not sufficient
Speaker 1: for any understanding she puts her hand to makes a mistake.
Speaker 1: And if I did not know it before, I know
Speaker 1: now that there are surer ways of pleasing her than
Speaker 1: by trying to lighten her labor, when that labor consists
Speaker 1: in wearing herself out for the sake of a person
Speaker 1: she loves. A week drifted by, and all the while
Speaker 1: the patient sank lower and lower. The night drew on.
Speaker 1: That was to end all suspense. It was a wintry one.
Speaker 1: The darkness gathered, the snow was falling, The wind wailed
Speaker 1: plaintively about the house, or shook it with fitful gusts.
Speaker 1: The doctor had paid his last visit and gone away
Speaker 1: with that dismal remark to the nearest friend of the
Speaker 1: family that he believed there was nothing more that he
Speaker 1: could do, a remark which is always overheard by some one,
Speaker 1: it is not meant for, and strikes a lingering, half
Speaker 1: conscious hope dead with a withering shock. The medicine files
Speaker 1: had been removed from the bedside and put out of sight,
Speaker 1: and all things made orderly and meet for the solemn
Speaker 1: event that was impending. The patient, with closed eyes, lay
Speaker 1: scarcely breathing. The watchers sat by and wiped the gathering
Speaker 1: dapths from his forehead, while the silent tears flowed down
Speaker 1: their faces. The deep hush was only interrupted by sobs
Speaker 1: from the children grouped about the bed. After a time,
Speaker 1: it was toward midnight. Now mister Hawkins roused out of
Speaker 1: a doze, looked about him, and was evidently trying to speak. Instantly,
Speaker 1: Laura lifted his head, and in a failing voice, he
Speaker 1: said while something of the old light shone in his eyes. Wife, children,
Speaker 1: come nearer, nearer the darkness grows. Let me see you
Speaker 1: all once more. The group closed together at the bedside,
Speaker 1: and their tears and sobs came. Now without restraint. I
Speaker 1: am leaving you in cruel poverty. I have been so foolish,
Speaker 1: so short sighted. But courage, A better day is is coming.
Speaker 1: Never lose sight of the Tennessee land. Be wary. There
Speaker 1: is wealth stored up for you there, wealth that is boundless.
Speaker 1: The children shall hold up their heads with the best
Speaker 1: in the land. Yet, where are the papers? Have you
Speaker 1: got the papers? Safe? Show them? Show them to me.
Speaker 1: Under his strong excitement, his voice had gathered power, and
Speaker 1: his last sentences were spoken with scarcely a perceptible halt
Speaker 1: or hindrance. With an effort, he had raised himself almost
Speaker 1: without assistance, to a sitting posture. But now the fire
Speaker 1: faded out of his eyes, and he fell back, exhausted.
Speaker 1: The papers were brought and held before him, and the
Speaker 1: answering smile that flitted across his face showed that he
Speaker 1: was satisfied. He closed his eyes, and the signs of
Speaker 1: approaching dissolution multiplied. Rapidly. He lay almost motionless for a
Speaker 1: little while, then suddenly partly raised his head and looked
Speaker 1: about him as one who peers into a dim, uncertain light.
Speaker 1: He muttered, gone, no, I see you still it is.
Speaker 1: It is over, but you are safe. Safe the ten
Speaker 1: the voice died out in a whisper. The sentence was
Speaker 1: never finished. The emaciated fingers began to pick at the coverlet,
Speaker 1: a fatal sign. After a time, there were no sounds
Speaker 1: but the cries of the mourners within the gusty turmoil
Speaker 1: of the wind. Without Laura had bent down and kissed
Speaker 1: her father's lips as the spirit left the body, but
Speaker 1: she did not sob or utter any ejaculation. Her tears
Speaker 1: flowed silently. Then she closed the dead eyes and crossed
Speaker 1: the hands upon the breast. After a season, she kissed
Speaker 1: the forehead reverently, drew the sheet up over the face,
Speaker 1: and then walked apart and sat down with the look
Speaker 1: of one who is done with life and has no
Speaker 1: further interest in its joys and sorrows, its hopes, or
Speaker 1: its ambitions. Clay buried his face in the coverlet of
Speaker 1: the bed. When the other children and the mother realized
Speaker 1: that death was indeed calm. At last, they threw themselves
Speaker 1: into each other's arms and gave way to a frenzy
Speaker 1: of grief. End of Chapter nine,