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Trumps: A Novel, a novel by George William Curtis |
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Chapter 65. The Will Of The People |
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_ CHAPTER LXV. THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE General Belch's office was in the lower part of Nassau Street. At the outer door there was a modest slip of a tin sign, "Arcularius Belch, Attorney and Counselor." The room itself was dingy and forlorn. There was no carpet on the floor; the windows were very dirty, and slats were broken out of the blinds--the chairs did not match--there was a wooden book-case, with a few fat law-books lounging upon the shelves; the table was a chaos of pamphlets, printed forms, newspapers, and files of letters, with a huge inkstand, inky pens, and a great wooden sand-box. Upon each side of the chimney, the grate in which was piled with crushed pieces of waste paper, and the bars of which were discolored with tobacco juice, stood two large spittoons, the only unsoiled articles in the office. This was the place in which General Belch did business. It had the atmosphere of Law. But, above all, it was the spot where, with one leg swinging over the edge of the table and one hand waving in earnest gesticulation, General Belch could say to every body who came, and especially to his poorer fellow-citizens, "I ask no office; I am content with my moderate practice. It is enough for me, in this glorious country, to be a friend of the people." As he said this--or only implied it in saying something else--the broken slats, the dirty windows, the uncarpeted floor, the universal untidiness, whispered in the mind of the hearer, "Amen!" His residence, however, somewhat atoned for the discomfort of his office. Not unfrequently he entertained his friends sumptuously; and whenever any of the representatives of his party, who acted in Congress as his private agents, had succeeded--as on one occasion, already commemorated, the Hon. Mr. Ele had--in putting a finer edge upon a favorite axe, General Belch entertained a select circle who agreed with him in his political philosophy, and were particular friends of the people and of the popular institutions of their country. Abel Newt, in response to the General's note, had already called at that gentleman's office, and had received overtures from him, who offered him Mr. Bodley's seat in Congress, upon condition that he was able to see things from particular points of view. "Mr. Watkins Bodley, it seems," said General Belch, "and I regret to say it, is in straitened pecuniary circumstances. I understand he will feel that he owes it to his family to resign before the next session. There will be a vacancy; and I am glad to say that the party is just now in a happy state of harmony, and that my influence will secure your nomination. But come up to-night and talk it over. I have asked Ele and Slugby, and a few others--friends of course--and I hope Mr. Bat will drop in. You know Aquila Bat?" "By reputation," replied Abel. "He is a very quiet man, but very shrewd. He gives great dignity and weight to the party. A tremendous lawyer Bat is. I suppose he is at the very head of the profession in this country. You'll come?" Abel was most happy to accept. He was happy to go any where for distraction. For the rooms in Grand Street had become inconceivably gloomy. There were no more little parties there: the last one was given in honor of Mrs. Sligo Moultrie--before her marriage. The elegant youth of the town gradually fell off from frequenting Abel's rooms, for he always proposed cards, and the stakes were enormous; which was a depressing circumstance to young gentlemen who mainly depended upon the paternal purse. Such young gentlemen as Zephyr Wetherley, who was for a long time devoted to young Mrs. Mellish Whitloe, and sent her the loveliest fans, and buttons, and little trinkets, which he selected at Marquand's. But when the year came round the bill was inclosed to Mr. Wetherley, senior, who, after a short and warm interview with his son Zephyr, inclosed it in turn to Whitloe himself; who smiled, and paid it, and advised his wife to buy her own jewelry in future. It was not pleasant for young Wetherley, and his friends in a similar situation, to sit down to a night at cards with such a desperate player as Abel Newt. Besides, his rooms had lost that air of voluptuous elegance which was formerly so unique. The furniture was worn out, and not replaced. The decanters and bottles were no longer kept in a pretty side-board, but stood boldly out, ready for instant service; and whenever one of the old set of men happened in, he was very likely to find a gentleman--whose toilet was suspiciously fine, whose gold looked like gilt--who made himself entirely at home with Abel and his rooms, and whose conversation indicated that his familiar haunts were race-courses, bar-rooms, and gambling-houses. It was unanimously decreed that Abel Newt had lost tone. His dress was gradually becoming flashy. Younger sisters, who had heard their elders--who were married now--speak of the fascinating Mr. Newt, perceived that the fascinating Mr. Newt was a little too familiar when he flirted, and that his breath was offensive with spirituous fumes. He was noisy in the gentlemen's dressing-room. The stories he told there were of such a character, and he told them so loudly, that more than once some husband, whose wife was in the neighboring room, had remonstrated with him. Sligo Moultrie, during one of the winters that he passed in the city after his marriage, had a fierce quarrel with Abel for that very reason. They would have come to blows but that their friends parted them. Mr. Moultrie sent a friend with a note the following morning, and Mr. Newt acknowledged that he had been rude. In the evening, at General Belch's, Abel was presented to all the guests. Mr. Ele was happy to remember a previous occasion upon which he had had the honor, etc. Mr. Enos Slugby (Chairman of our Ward Committee, whispered Belch, audibly, as he introduced him) was very glad to know a gentleman who bore so distinguished a name. Every body had a little compliment, to which Abel bowed and smiled politely, while he observed that the residence was much more comfortable than the office of General Belch. They went into the dining-room and sat down to what Mr. Slugby called "a Champagne supper." They ate birds and oysters, and drank wine. Then they ate jellies, blanc mange, and ice-cream. Then they ate nuts and fruit, and drank coffee. Then every thing was removed, and fresh decanters, fresh glasses, and a box of cigars were placed upon the table, and the servants were told that they need not come until summoned. At this point a dry, grave, thin, little old man opened the door. General Belch rose and rushed forward. "My dear Mr. Bat, I am very happy. Sit here, Sir. Gentlemen, you all know Mr. Bat." The company was silent for a moment, and bowed. Abel looked up and saw a man who seemed to be made of parchment, and his complexion, of the hue of dried apples, suggested that he was usually kept in a warm green satchel. After a little more murmuring of talk around the table, General Belch said, in a louder voice, "Gentlemen, we have a new friend among us, and a little business to settle to-night. Suppose we talk it over." There was a general filling of glasses and a hum of assent. "I learn," said the General, whiffing the smoke from his mouth, "that our worthy friend and able representative, Watkins Bodley, is about resigning, in consequence of private embarrassments. Of course he must have a successor." Every body poured out smoke and looked at the speaker, except Mr. Bat, who seemed to be undergoing a little more drying up, and looked at a picture of General Jackson, which hung upon the wall. "That successor, I need not say, of course," continued General Belch, "must be a good man and a faithful adherent of the party. He must be the consistent enemy of a purse-proud aristocracy." "He must, indeed," said Mr. Enos Slugby, whisking a little of the ash from his cigar off an embroidered shirt-bosom, in doing which the flash from a diamond ring upon his finger dazzled Abel, who had turned as he spoke. "He must espouse the immortal cause of popular rights, and be willing to spend and be spent for the people." "That's it," said Mr. William Condor, whose sinecure under government was not worth less than twenty thousand a year. "He must always uphold the honor of the glorious flag of our country." "Excuse me, General Belch, but I can not control my feelings; I must propose three cheers," interrupted Alderman MacDennis O'Rourke; and the three cheers were heartily given. "And this candidate must be equally the foe of class legislation and the friend of State rights." Here Mr. Bat moved his head, as if he were assenting to a remark of his friend General Jackson. "And I surely need not add that it would be the first and most sacred point of honor with this candidate to serve his party in every thing, to be the unswerving advocate of all its measures, and implicitly obedient to all its behests," said General Belch. "Which behests are to be learned by him from the authorized leaders of the party," said Mr. Enos Slugby. "Certainly," said half of the gentlemen. "Of course," said the other half. During the remarks that General Belch had been making his eyes were fixed upon Abel Newt, who understood that this was a political examination, in which the questions asked included the answers that were to be given. When the General had ended, the company sat intently smoking for some time, and filling and emptying their glasses. "Mr. Bat," said General Belch, "what is your view?" Mr. Bat removed his eyes from General Jackson's portrait, and cleared his throat. "I think," he said, closing his eyes, and rubbing his fingers along his eyebrows, "that the party holding to the only constitutional policy is to be supported at all hazards, and I think the great party to which we belong is that party. Our principles are all true, and our measures are all just. Speculative persons and dreamers talk about independent political action. But politics always beget parties. Governments are always managed by parties, and parties are always managed by--" The dried-apple complexion at this point assumed an ashy hue, as if something very indiscreet had been almost uttered. Mr. Bat's eyes opened and saw Abel's fixed upon him with a peculiar intelligence. The whole party looked a little alarmed at Mr. Bat, and apprehensively at the new-comer. Mr. Ele frowned at General Belch, "What does he mean?" But Abel relieved the embarrassment by quietly completing Mr. Bat's sentence-- --"by the managers." His black eyes glittered around the table, and Mr. Ele remembered a remark of General Belch's about Mr. Newt's riding upon the shoulders of his fellow-laborers. "Exactly, by the managers," said every body. "And now," said General Belch, cheerfully, "whom had we better propose to our fellow-citizens as a proper candidate for their suffrages to succeed the Honorable Mr. Bodley?" He leaned back and puffed. Mr. Ele, who had had a little previous conversation with the host, here rose and said, that, if he might venture, he would say, although it was an entirely unpremeditated thing, which had, in fact, only struck him while he had been sitting at that hospitable board, but had impressed him so forcibly that he could not resist speaking--if he might venture, he would say that he knew a most able and highly accomplished gentleman--in fact, it had occurred to him that there was then present a gentleman who would be precisely the man whom they might present to the people as a candidate suitable in every way. General Belch looked at Abel, and said, "Mr. Ele, whom do you mean?" "I refer to Mr. Abel Newt," responded the Honorable Mr. Ele. The company looked as companies which have been prepared for a surprise always look when the surprise comes. "Is Mr. Newt sound in the faith?" asked Mr. William Condor, smiling. "I answer for him," replied Mr. Ele. "For instance, Mr. Newt," said Mr. Enos Slugby, who was interested in General Belch's little plans, "you have no doubt that Congress ought to pass the grant to purchase the land for Fort Arnold, which has been offered to it by the company of which our friend General Belch is counsel?" "None at all," replied Abel. "I should work for it as hard as I could." This was not unnatural, because General Belch had promised him an interest in the sale. "Really, then," said Mr. William Condor, who was also a proprietor, "I do not see that a better candidate could possibly be offered to our fellow-citizens. The General Committee meet to-morrow night. They will call the primaries, and the Convention will meet next week. I think we all understand each other. We know the best men in our districts to go to the Convention. The thing seems to me to be very plain." "Very," said the others, smoking. "Shall it be Abel Newt?" said Mr. Condor. "Ay!" answered the chorus. "I propose the health of the Honorable Abel Newt, whom I cordially welcome as a colleague," said Mr. Ele. Bumpers were drained. It was past midnight, and the gentlemen rose. They came to Abel and shook his hand; then they swarmed into the hall and put on their hats and coats. "Stay, Newt," whispered Belch, and Abel lingered. The Honorable B.J. Ele also lingered, as if he would like to be the last out of the house; for although this distinguished statesman did not care to do otherwise than as General Belch commanded, he was anxious to be the General's chief butler, while the remark about riding on his companions' shoulders and the personal impression Abel had made upon him, had seriously alarmed him. While he was busily looking at the portrait of General Jackson, General Belch stepped up to him and put out his hand. "Good-night, my dear Ele! Thank you! thank you! These things will not be forgotten. Good-night! good-night!" And he backed the Honorable B. Jawley Ele out of the room into the hall. "This is your coat, I think," said he, taking up a garment and helping Mr. Ele to get it on. "Ah, you luxurious dog! you're a pretty friend of the people, with such a splendid coat as this. Good-night! good-night!" he added, helping his guest toward the door. "Hallo, Condor!" he shouted up the street. "Here's Ele--don't leave him behind; wait for him!" He put him put of the door. "There, my dear fellow, Condor's waiting for you! Good-night! Ten thousand thanks! A pretty friend of the people, hey? Oh, you cunning dog! Good-night!" General Belch closed the door and returned to the drawing-room. Abel Newt was sitting with one leg over the back of the chair, and a tumbler of brandy before him, smoking. "God!" said Abel, laughing, as the General returned, "I wouldn't treat a dog as you do that man." "My dear Mr. Representative," returned Belch, "you, as a legislator and public man, ought to know that Order is Heaven's first law." _ |
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