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<v Speaker 1>The Gilded Age, section thirty four. This LibriVox recording is

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<v Speaker 1>in the public domain. The Gilded Age, A Tale of

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<v Speaker 1>Today by Mark Twain and C. D. Warner, Chapter thirty four.

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<v Speaker 1>When Laura had been in Washington three months, she was

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<v Speaker 1>still the same person in one respect that she was

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<v Speaker 1>when she arrived there. That is to say, she still

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<v Speaker 1>bore the name of Laura Hawkins. Otherwise she was perceptibly changed.

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<v Speaker 1>She had arrived in a state of grievous uncertainty as

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<v Speaker 1>to what manner of woman she was physically and intellectually

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<v Speaker 1>as compared with Eastern women. She was well satisfied now

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<v Speaker 1>that her beauty was confessed, her mind a grade above

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<v Speaker 1>the average, and her powers of fascination rather extraordinary. So

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<v Speaker 1>she was at ease upon those points. When she arrived

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<v Speaker 1>she was possessed of habits of economy, and not possessed

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<v Speaker 1>of money. Now she dressed elaborately, gave but little thought

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<v Speaker 1>to the cost of things, and was very well fortified financially.

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<v Speaker 1>She kept her mother and Washington freely supplied with money,

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<v Speaker 1>and did the same by Colonel Sellers, who always insisted

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<v Speaker 1>upon giving his note for loans with interest. He was

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<v Speaker 1>rigid upon that she must take interest. And one of

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<v Speaker 1>the colonel's greatest satisfactions was to go over his accounts

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<v Speaker 1>and note what a handsome sum this accruing interest amounted to,

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<v Speaker 1>and what a comfortable, though modest support it would yield

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<v Speaker 1>Laura in case reverses should overtake her. In truth, he

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<v Speaker 1>could not help feeling that he was an efficient shield

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<v Speaker 1>for her against poverty, and so if her expensive ways

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<v Speaker 1>ever troubled him for a brief moment, he presently dismissed

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<v Speaker 1>the thought and said to himself, let her go on.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if she loses everything, she is still safe. This

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<v Speaker 1>interest will always afford her a good, easy income. Laura

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<v Speaker 1>was on excellent terms with a great many members of Congress,

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<v Speaker 1>and there was an undercurrent of suspicion in some quarters

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<v Speaker 1>that she was one of that detested class known as lobbyists.

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<v Speaker 1>But what bell could escape slander in such a city.

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<v Speaker 1>Fair minded people declined to condemn her on mere suspicion,

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<v Speaker 1>and so the injurious talk made no very damaging headway.

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<v Speaker 1>She was very gay now and very celebrated, and she

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<v Speaker 1>might well expect to be assailed by many kinds of gossip.

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<v Speaker 1>She was growing used to celebrity, and could already sit

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<v Speaker 1>calm and seemingly unconscious under the fire of fifty lorgnettes

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<v Speaker 1>in the theater, or even overhear the low voice that

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<v Speaker 1>she as she passed along the street without betraying annoyance.

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<v Speaker 1>The whole air was full of a vague, vast scheme

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<v Speaker 1>which was to eventuate in filling Laura's pockets with millions

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<v Speaker 1>of dollars. Some had one idea of the scheme, and

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<v Speaker 1>some another, but nobody had any exact knowledge upon the subject.

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<v Speaker 1>All that any one felt sure about was that Laura's

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<v Speaker 1>landed estates were princely in value and extent, and that

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<v Speaker 1>the government was anxious to get hold of them for

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<v Speaker 1>public purposes, and that Laura was willing to make the sale,

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<v Speaker 1>but not at all anxious about the matter, and not

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<v Speaker 1>at all in a hurry. It was whispered that Senator

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<v Speaker 1>Dilworthy was a stumbling block in the way of an

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<v Speaker 1>immediate sale, because he was resolved that the government should

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<v Speaker 1>not have the lands, except with the understanding that they

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<v Speaker 1>should be devoted to the uplifting of the Negro race.

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<v Speaker 1>Laura did not care what they were devoted to. It

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<v Speaker 1>was said a world of very different gossip to the contrary. Notwithstanding,

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<v Speaker 1>but there were several other heirs, and they would be

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<v Speaker 1>guided entirely by the Senator's wishes. And finally, many people

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<v Speaker 1>averred that while it would be easy to sell the

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<v Speaker 1>lands to the government for the benefit of the negro

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<v Speaker 1>by resorting to the usual methods of influencing votes, Senator

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<v Speaker 1>Dilworthy was unwilling to have so noble a charity sullied

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<v Speaker 1>by any taint of corruption. He was resolved that not

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<v Speaker 1>a vote should be bought. Nobody could get anything definite

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<v Speaker 1>from Laura about these matters, and so gossip had to

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<v Speaker 1>feed itself, chiefly upon guesses. But the effect of it

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<v Speaker 1>all was that Laura was considered to be very wealthy,

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<v Speaker 1>and likely to be vastly more so in a little while. Consequently,

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<v Speaker 1>she was much courted and as much envied. Her wealth

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<v Speaker 1>attracted many suitors. Perhaps they came to worship her riches,

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<v Speaker 1>but they remained to worship her. Some of the noblest

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<v Speaker 1>men of the time succumb to her fascinations. She frowned

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<v Speaker 1>upon no lover when he made his first advances, but

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<v Speaker 1>by and by when she was hopelessly enthralled he learned

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<v Speaker 1>from her own lips that she had formed a resolution

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<v Speaker 1>never to marry. Then he would go away hating and

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<v Speaker 1>cursing the whole sex, and she would calmly add his

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<v Speaker 1>scalp to her string, while she mused upon the bitter

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<v Speaker 1>day that Colonel Selby trampled her love and her pride

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<v Speaker 1>in the dust. In time, it came to be said

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<v Speaker 1>that her way was paved with broken hearts. Poor Washington

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<v Speaker 1>gradually woke up to the fact that he, too was

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<v Speaker 1>an intellectual marvel, as well as his gifted sister. He

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<v Speaker 1>could not conceive how it had come about. It did

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<v Speaker 1>not occur to him that the gossip about his family's

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<v Speaker 1>great wealth had anything to do with it. He could

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<v Speaker 1>not account for it by any process of reasoning, and

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<v Speaker 1>was simply obliged to accept the fact and give up

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<v Speaker 1>trying to solve the riddle. He found himself dragged into

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<v Speaker 1>society and courted, wondered at, and envied very much, as

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<v Speaker 1>if he were one of those foreign barbers who flit

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<v Speaker 1>over here now and then with a self conferred title

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<v Speaker 1>of nobility, and marry some rich fool's absurd daughter, sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>at a dinner party or reception he would find himself

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<v Speaker 1>the center of interest and feel unutterably uncomfortable in the discovery.

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<v Speaker 1>Being obliged to say something, he would mind his brain

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<v Speaker 1>and put in a blast, And when the smoke and

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<v Speaker 1>flying debris had cleared away, the result would be what

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to him but a poor little intellectual clod of

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<v Speaker 1>dirt or two. And then he would be astonished to

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<v Speaker 1>see everybody as lost in admiration as if he had

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<v Speaker 1>brought up a ton or two of virgin gold. Every

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<v Speaker 1>remark he made delighted his hearers and compelled their applause.

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<v Speaker 1>He overheard people say he was exceedingly bright. They were

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<v Speaker 1>chiefly mammas and marriageable young ladies. He found that some

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<v Speaker 1>of his good things were being repeated about the town.

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<v Speaker 1>Whenever he heard of an instance of this kind, he

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<v Speaker 1>would keep that particular remark in mind and analyze it

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<v Speaker 1>at home in private. At first he could not see

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<v Speaker 1>that the remark was anything better than a parrot might originate.

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<v Speaker 1>But by and by he began to feel that perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>he underrated his powers. And after that he used to

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<v Speaker 1>analyze his good things with a deal of comfort, and

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<v Speaker 1>find in them a brilliancy which would have been unapparent

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<v Speaker 1>to him in earlier days, and then he would make

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<v Speaker 1>a note of that good thing and say it again

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<v Speaker 1>the first time he found himself in a new company.

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<v Speaker 1>Presently he had saved up quite a repertoire of brilliancies,

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<v Speaker 1>and after that he confined himself to repeating these, and

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<v Speaker 1>ceased to originate any more lest he might injure his

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<v Speaker 1>reputation by an unlucky effort. He was constantly having young

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<v Speaker 1>ladies thrust upon his notice at receptions or left upon

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<v Speaker 1>his hands at parties, and in time he began to

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<v Speaker 1>feel that he was being deliberately persecuted in this way,

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<v Speaker 1>and after that he could not enjoy society because of

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<v Speaker 1>his constant dread of these female ambushes and surprises. He

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<v Speaker 1>was distressed to find that nearly every time he showed

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<v Speaker 1>a young lady of polite attention, he was straightway reported

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<v Speaker 1>to be engaged to her. And as some of these

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<v Speaker 1>reports got into the newspapers, occasionally he had to keep

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<v Speaker 1>writing to Louise that they were lies, and she must

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<v Speaker 1>believe in him and not mind them or allow them

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<v Speaker 1>to grieve her. Washington was as much in the dark

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<v Speaker 1>as anybody with regard to the great wealth that was

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<v Speaker 1>hovering in the air and seemingly on the point of

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<v Speaker 1>tumbling into the family pocket. Laura would give him no satisfaction.

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<v Speaker 1>All she would say was wait, be patient, you will see.

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<v Speaker 1>But will it be soon? Laura? It will not be

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<v Speaker 1>very long, I think, But what makes you think so?

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<v Speaker 1>I have reasons and good ones. Just wait and be patient.

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<v Speaker 1>But is it going to be as much as people

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<v Speaker 1>say it is? What do they say it is? Oh?

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<v Speaker 1>Ever so much? Millions? Yes, it will be a great sum.

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<v Speaker 1>But how great, Laura? Will it be millions? Yes, you

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<v Speaker 1>may call it that. Yes, it will be millions. There

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<v Speaker 1>Now does that satisfy you? Splendid? I can wait. I

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<v Speaker 1>can wait patiently, ever so patiently. Once I was near

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<v Speaker 1>selling the land for twenty thousand dollars, once for thirty

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<v Speaker 1>thousand dollars, once after that for seven thousand dollars, and

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<v Speaker 1>once for forty thousand dollars. But something always told me

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<v Speaker 1>not to do it. What a fool I would have

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<v Speaker 1>been to sell it for such a beggarly trifle. It

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<v Speaker 1>is the land that's to bring the money, isn't it, Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>You can tell me that much, can't you. Yes, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't mind saying that much. It is the land. But mind,

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<v Speaker 1>don't ever hint that you got it from me. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>mention me in the matter at all. Washington, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>I won't millions, isn't it splendid. I mean to look

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<v Speaker 1>around for a building lot, a lot with fine ornamental

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<v Speaker 1>shrubbery and all that sort of thing. I will do

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<v Speaker 1>it to day. And I might as well see an

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<v Speaker 1>architect too, and get him to go to work at

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<v Speaker 1>a plan for a house. I don't intend to spare

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<v Speaker 1>any expense. I mean to have the noblest house that

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<v Speaker 1>money can build. Then, after a pause, he did not

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<v Speaker 1>notice Laura's smiles. Laura, would you lay the main hall

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<v Speaker 1>in in caustic tiles or just in fancy patterns of hardwood?

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<v Speaker 1>Laura laughed, a good old fashioned laugh that had more

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<v Speaker 1>of her former natural self about it than any sound

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<v Speaker 1>that ha issued from her mouth in many weeks. And

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<v Speaker 1>she said, you don't change, Washington. You still begin to

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<v Speaker 1>squander a fortune right and left the instant you hear

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<v Speaker 1>of it in the distance, you never wait till the

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<v Speaker 1>foremost dollar of it arrives within a hundred miles of you.

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<v Speaker 1>And she kissed her brother good bye, and left him

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<v Speaker 1>weltering in his dreams, so to speak. He got up

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<v Speaker 1>and walked the floor feverishly during two hours, and when

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<v Speaker 1>he sat down he had married Louise, built a house,

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<v Speaker 1>reared a family, married them off, spent upwards of eight

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<v Speaker 1>hundred thousand dollars on mere luxuries, and died worth twelve millions.

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<v Speaker 1>End of chapter thirty four.