Speaker 1: This is section twenty of The Gilded Age, A Tale
Speaker 1: of to Day. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Speaker 1: The Gilded Age, A Tale of to Day by Mark
Speaker 1: Twain and C. D. Warner, Chapter twenty. The visit of
Speaker 1: Senator Abner Dilworthy was an event in Hawkeye. When a senator,
Speaker 1: whose place is in Washington, moving among the great and
Speaker 1: guiding the destinies of the nation, condescends to mingle among
Speaker 1: the people, and except the hospitalities of such a place
Speaker 1: as Hawkeye, the honor is not considered a light one.
Speaker 1: All parties are flattered by it, and politics are forgotten
Speaker 1: in the presence of one so distinguished among his fellows.
Speaker 1: Senator Dilworthy, who was from a neighboring state, had been
Speaker 1: a Unionist in the darkest days of his country and
Speaker 1: had thriven by it. But was that any reason why
Speaker 1: Colonel Sellers, who had been a Confederate and had not
Speaker 1: thriven by it, should give him the cold shoulder. The
Speaker 1: Senator was the guests of his old friend General Boswell,
Speaker 1: but it almost appeared that he was indebted to Colonel
Speaker 1: Sellers for the unreserved hospitalities of the town. It was
Speaker 1: the large hearted colonel, who in a manner gave him
Speaker 1: the freedom of the city. You are known here, sir,
Speaker 1: said the colonel, and Hawkeye is proud of you. You
Speaker 1: will find every door open and a welcome at every hearthstone.
Speaker 1: I should insist upon your going to my house if
Speaker 1: you were not claimed by your older friend, General Boswell.
Speaker 1: But you will mingle with our people, and you will
Speaker 1: see here developments that will surprise you. The Colonel was
Speaker 1: so profuse in his hospitality that he must have made
Speaker 1: the impression upon himself that he had entertained the Senator
Speaker 1: at his own mansion during his stay. At any rate,
Speaker 1: he afterwards always spoke of him as his guest, and
Speaker 1: not seldom referred to the Senator's relish of certain viands
Speaker 1: on his table. He did, in fact press him to
Speaker 1: dine upon the morning of the day the Senator was
Speaker 1: going away. Senator Dilworthy was large and portly, though not tall,
Speaker 1: a pleasant spoken man, a popular man with the people.
Speaker 1: He took a lively interest in the town and all
Speaker 1: the surrounding country, and made many inquiries as to the
Speaker 1: progress of agriculture, of education, and of religion, and especially
Speaker 1: as to the condition of the emancipated race. Providence, he said,
Speaker 1: has placed them in our hands. And although you and
Speaker 1: I General might have chosen a different destiny for them
Speaker 1: under the Constitution, yet Providence knows best. You can't do
Speaker 1: much with them, interrupted, Colonel Sellers. They are a speculating race, sir,
Speaker 1: disinclined to work for white folks without security, planning how
Speaker 1: to live by only working for themselves. Idle, sir, there
Speaker 1: is my garden, just a ruin of weeds, nothing practical
Speaker 1: in him. There is some truth in your observation, Colonel,
Speaker 1: but you must educate them. You educate the Negro, and
Speaker 1: you make him more speculating than he was before. If
Speaker 1: he won't stick to any industry except for himself. Now,
Speaker 1: what will he do then? But Colonel, the Negro, when educated,
Speaker 1: will be more able to make his speculations fruitful. Never, sir, Never,
Speaker 1: he would only have a wider scope to injure himself.
Speaker 1: A negro has no grasp, sir. Now a white man
Speaker 1: can conceive great operations and carry them out. A nigro
Speaker 1: cat still, replied the Senator, granting that he might injure himself.
Speaker 1: In a worldly point of view, his elevation through education
Speaker 1: would multiply his chances for the hereafter, which is the
Speaker 1: important thing after all, Colonel, and no matter what the
Speaker 1: result is, we must fulfill our duty. By this being,
Speaker 1: I elevate his soul, promptly responded the Colonel. That's just it.
Speaker 1: You can't make his soul too immortal, But I wouldn't
Speaker 1: touch him himself. Yes, sir, make his sole immortal, but
Speaker 1: don't disturb the negro as he is. Of course. One
Speaker 1: of the entertainments offered the Senator was a public reception
Speaker 1: held in the court House, at which he made a
Speaker 1: speech to his fellow citizens. Colonel Sellars was master of ceremonies.
Speaker 1: He escorted the band from the City Hotel to General Boswell's.
Speaker 1: He marshaled the procession of Masons, of odd fellows, and
Speaker 1: of firemen, the good Templars, the Sons of Temperance, the
Speaker 1: Cadets of Temperance, the Daughters of Rebecca, the Sunday school children,
Speaker 1: and citizens generally, which followed the Senator to the court House.
Speaker 1: He bustled about the room long after every one else
Speaker 1: was seated, and loudly cried order in the dead silence
Speaker 1: which preceded the introduction of the Senator by General Boswell.
Speaker 1: The occasion was one to call out his finest powers
Speaker 1: of personal appearance, and one he long dwelt on with pleasure.
Speaker 1: This not being an edition of the Congressional Globe, it
Speaker 1: is impossible to give Senator Dilworthy's speech in full. He
Speaker 1: began somewhat as follows, Fellow citizens, It gives me great
Speaker 1: pleasure to thus meet and mingle with you, to lay
Speaker 1: aside for a moment the heavy duties of an official
Speaker 1: and burdensome station, and confer in familiar converse with my
Speaker 1: friends in your great state. The good opinion of my
Speaker 1: fellow citizens of all sections is the sweetest solace in
Speaker 1: all my anxieties. I look forward with longing to the
Speaker 1: time when I can lay aside the cares of office.
Speaker 1: Damn sight, shouted a tipsy fellow near the door. Cries
Speaker 1: of put him out, My friends, do not remove him.
Speaker 1: Let the misguided man stay. I see that he is
Speaker 1: a victim of that evil which is swallowing up public
Speaker 1: virtue and sapping the foundation of society. As I was saying,
Speaker 1: when I can lay down the case of office and
Speaker 1: retired to the suites of private life in some such
Speaker 1: sweet peaceful, intelligent, wide awake, and patriotic place as Hawkeye applause.
Speaker 1: I have traveled much, I have seen all parts of
Speaker 1: our glorious union. But I have never seen a lovelier
Speaker 1: village than yours, or one that has more signs of
Speaker 1: commercial and industrial and religious prosperity. More applause. The Senator
Speaker 1: then launched into a sketch of our great country and
Speaker 1: dwelt for an hour or more upon its prosperity and
Speaker 1: the dangers which threatened it. He then touched reverently upon
Speaker 1: the institutions of religion and upon the necessity of private
Speaker 1: purity if we were to have any public morality, I trust.
Speaker 1: He said that there are children within the sound of
Speaker 1: my voice, And after some remarks to them, the Senator
Speaker 1: closed with an apostrophe to the genius of American liberty,
Speaker 1: walking with a Sunday school in one hand and temperance
Speaker 1: in the other, up the glorified steps of the national capital.
Speaker 1: Colonel Sellers did not, of course, lose the opportunity to
Speaker 1: impress upon so influential a person as the Senator, the
Speaker 1: desirability of improving the navigation of Columbus River. He and
Speaker 1: mister Brierly took the Senator over to Napoleon and opened
Speaker 1: to him their plan. It was a plan that the
Speaker 1: Senator could understand without a great deal of explanation, for
Speaker 1: he seemed to be familiar with the like improvements elsewhere. When, however,
Speaker 1: they reached Stone's landing, the Senator looked about him and inquired,
Speaker 1: is this Napoleon? This is the nucleus? The nucleus, said
Speaker 1: the colonel, unrolling his map. Here is the depot, the church,
Speaker 1: the city hall, and so on. Ah, I see how
Speaker 1: far from here is Columbus River? Does that stream empty? That?
Speaker 1: Why that's Goose Run? There ain't no Columbus Thutin' it's
Speaker 1: over to Hawkeye, interrupted one of the citizens who had
Speaker 1: come out to stare at the strangers. A railroad come
Speaker 1: here last summer, but it hain't been here no more. Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: the colonel hastened to explain. In the old records, Columbus
Speaker 1: River is called Goose Run. You see how it sweeps
Speaker 1: round the town forty nine miles to the Missouri sloop
Speaker 1: navigation all the way pretty much drains this whole country.
Speaker 1: When it's improved, steamboats will run right up here. It's
Speaker 1: got to be enlarged, deepened. You see by the map
Speaker 1: Columbus River, this country must have water communication. You'll want
Speaker 1: a considerable appropriation, Colonel Sellers, I should say a million.
Speaker 1: Is that your figure? Mister Brierly, according to our surveys,
Speaker 1: said Harry, A million would do it. A million spent
Speaker 1: on the river would make Napoleon worth two millions at least.
Speaker 1: I see, nodded the Senator. But you'd better begin by
Speaker 1: asking only for two or three hundred thousand, the usual
Speaker 1: way you can begin to sell town lots on that appropriation.
Speaker 1: You know. The Senator himself, to do him justice, was
Speaker 1: not very much interested in the country or the stream,
Speaker 1: but he favored the appropriation, and he gave the colonel
Speaker 1: and mister Brierly to understand that he would endeavor to
Speaker 1: get it through Harry, who thought he was shrewd and
Speaker 1: understood Washington suggested an interest. But he saw that the
Speaker 1: Senator was wounded by the suggestion. You will offend me
Speaker 1: by repeating such an observation. He said, whatever I do
Speaker 1: will be for the public interest. It will require a
Speaker 1: portion of the appropriation for necessary expenses. And I am
Speaker 1: sorry to say that there are members who will have
Speaker 1: to be seen, but you can reckon upon my humble services.
Speaker 1: This aspect of the subject was not again alluded to.
Speaker 1: The Senator possess himself of the facts, not from his
Speaker 1: observation of the ground, but from the lips of Colonel Sellers,
Speaker 1: and laid the appropriation scheme away among his other plans
Speaker 1: for benefiting the public. It was on this visit also
Speaker 1: that the Senator made the acquaintance of mister Washington Hawkins,
Speaker 1: and was greatly taken with his innocence, his guileless manner,
Speaker 1: and perhaps with his ready adaptability to enter upon any
Speaker 1: plan proposed. Colonel Sellers was pleased to see this interest
Speaker 1: that Washington had awakened, especially since it was likely to
Speaker 1: further his expectations with regard to the Tennessee Lands. The
Speaker 1: Senator having remarked to the Colonel that he delighted to
Speaker 1: help any deserving young man when the promotion of a
Speaker 1: private advantage could, at the same time be made to
Speaker 1: contribute to the general good, and he did not doubt
Speaker 1: that this was an opportunity of that kind. The result
Speaker 1: of several conferences with Washington was that the Senator proposed
Speaker 1: that he should go to Washington with him and become
Speaker 1: his private secretary and the secretary of his committee, a
Speaker 1: proposal which was eagerly accepted. The Senator spent Sunday in
Speaker 1: Hawkeye and attended church. He cheered the heart of the
Speaker 1: worthy and zealous minister by an expression of his sympathy
Speaker 1: in his labors, and by many inquiries in regard to
Speaker 1: the religious state of the region. It was not a
Speaker 1: very promising state, and the good Man felt how much
Speaker 1: lighter his task would be if he had the aid
Speaker 1: of such a man as Senator Dilworthy. I am glad
Speaker 1: to see, my dear sir, said the Senator, that you
Speaker 1: give them the doctrines. It is owing to a neglect
Speaker 1: of the doctrines that there is such a fearful falling
Speaker 1: away in the country. I wish that we might have
Speaker 1: you in Washington as chaplain. Now in the Senate. The
Speaker 1: good Man could not but be a little flattered, and
Speaker 1: if sometimes thereafter in his discouraging work, he allowed the
Speaker 1: thought that he might perhaps be called to Washington as
Speaker 1: chaplain of the Senate to cheer him. Who can wonder
Speaker 1: The Senator's commendation at least did one service for him.
Speaker 1: It elevated him in the opinion of Hawkeye. Laura was
Speaker 1: at church alone that day, and mister Brierly walked home
Speaker 1: with her. A part of their way lay with that
Speaker 1: of General Boswell and Senator Dilworthy, and introductions were made.
Speaker 1: Laura had her own reasons for wishing to know the Senator,
Speaker 1: and the Senator was not a man who could be
Speaker 1: called indifferent to charms such as hers. That meek young
Speaker 1: lady so commended herself to him in the short walk
Speaker 1: that he announced his intentions of paying his respects to
Speaker 1: her the next day, an intention which Harry received glumly,
Speaker 1: and when the Senator was out of hearing, he called
Speaker 1: him an old fool. Fie said, Laura, I do believe
Speaker 1: you are jealous Harry. He is a very pleasant man,
Speaker 1: He said, you were a young man of great promise.
Speaker 1: The Senator did call next day, and the result of
Speaker 1: his visit was that he was confirmed in his impression
Speaker 1: that there was something about him very attractive to ladies.
Speaker 1: He saw Laura again and again during his stay, and
Speaker 1: he felt more and more the subtle influence of her
Speaker 1: feminine beauty, which every man felt who came near her.
Speaker 1: Harry was beside himself with rage while the senator remained
Speaker 1: in town. He declared that women were always ready to
Speaker 1: drop any man for higher game, and he attributed his
Speaker 1: own ill luck to the senator's appearance. The fellow was,
Speaker 1: in fact crazy about her beauty and ready to beat
Speaker 1: his brains out in chagrin. Perhaps Laura enjoyed his torment,
Speaker 1: but she soothed him with blandishments that increased his ardor.
Speaker 1: And she smiled to herself to think that he had,
Speaker 1: with all his protestations of love, never spoken of marriage.
Speaker 1: Probably the vivacious fellow never had thought of it at
Speaker 1: any rate. When he at length went away from Hawkeye,
Speaker 1: he was no nearer it, but there was no telling
Speaker 1: to what desperate lengths his passion might not carry him.
Speaker 1: Laura bade him good bye with tender regret, which, however,
Speaker 1: did not disturb her peace or interfere with her plans.
Speaker 1: The visit of Senator Dilworthy had become of more importance
Speaker 1: to her, and it by and by bore the fruit
Speaker 1: she longed for in an invitation to visit his family
Speaker 1: in the national capital during the winter session of Congress
Speaker 1: end of Chapter twenty