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lEx ICibrtfi 
 
 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 ^ * 'Fort nlemu ^m/iercuim, oj^ Je Mtrnnatans 
 
 When you leave, please leave this book 
 
 Because it has been said 
 "Sver'ihing comes t' him who waits 
 
 Except a loaned book." 
 
 Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Sf-ymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/louisakirkbridetOOtheb 
 
LOUISA KIRKBRIDE AND HER TWO UAUGHrERS. 
 
 Paji* 406, 
 
LOUISA KIEKBEIDE; 
 
 A TjlLE OF 1(ew Y0I)K. 
 
 BY 
 
 Rev. a. J. Thebaud, S. J, 
 
 ILLUSTRATED, 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 PETER F. COLLIEE, PUBLISHER. 
 1879. 
 
,T34 
 
 Ll 
 
 2 
 
 COPrBIGUT, 
 
 1879, 
 By Pbtkr F. Collleb 
 
 Now York: J. J. Llttlo Ss Co., Printers, 
 10 to ao Astoi- Fluco. 
 
PEEFAOE. 
 
 Why is it that novels, unless altogether meaningless and 
 dull, invariably attract so many readers ? When they are 
 cleverly written, books, not only on theology and religion, 
 but likewise on history, science, or travels, cannot compete 
 with them in that regard. It is not sufficient to assign as 
 the chief cause of it the general lowering of intellect so re- 
 markable in our age ; since men of an acute mind often read 
 them with pleasure and perhaps profit. The main reason 
 may be that there is something extremely attractive in the 
 description of human life ; and this is the object of most 
 modern novels. Their authors, moreover, often attempt to 
 foster social and political reform, and occasionally great 
 questions are treated under the alluring form of a tale. Of- 
 ten, it is true, these philosophical considerations are rather 
 flights of fancy than sober and useful discussions. Some- 
 times, however, social good may be effected by an apologue, 
 a fable, a complicated story, a novel, in fine. Every one 
 knows that Charles Dickens acquired a great deal of his 
 fame by endeavoring to bring on the correction of some 
 social abuses ; and Mr. Victor Hugo, in the last twenty 
 years or more, has published a large number of political 
 pamphlets, for the instruction of the French, under the 
 form of huge, pompous romances. 
 
 Many recent novel-writers, however, chiefly in France, do 
 not aim at so lofty a goal ; their highly spiced pages culti- 
 vate only V art pour V art^ as they say. They do not keep 
 in view principles of morality, religious philosophy, or true 
 aesthetics ; they strive merely to allure the fancy and taste 
 
 3 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 of tlieir readers, too often at the expense of what is most 
 respectable and necessary in human society. 
 
 There is no need of stating, in so many terms, what the 
 reader of these pages is to ex23ect with regard to these vari- 
 ous points. This is not, certainly, a novel having for its 
 only object V art 2)our Tart, although in the mind of the 
 T\Titer, art ought not to be discarded ; far from it. This is 
 an American work of fiction describing human life in the 
 city of Xew York. It is also a serious book, very serious 
 indeed, and aims at the reformation of abuses. Within 
 these few years, all Americans, without almost any excep- 
 tion — let it be said to their honor — have been most loud and 
 emphatic in thek denunciation of the many social evils that 
 have crept into the commonwealth, and appear to threaten 
 it with dissolution. Some even have gone so far as openly 
 to despair, and see scarcely any possibility of coming back 
 to the former path of virtue. Many in Europe gloat over 
 this sudden destruction of our boasted fabric, and do not 
 fail to revive the assertions of those who had "foretold" it 
 many years ago. 
 
 The writer is far from believing that the evil is irrepara- 
 ble ; and he hopes that the people will show their usual 
 good sense and firmness of purpose by taking strong mea- 
 sures of reformation ; and that those who, after God, have 
 in their hands the destiny of the country, will not wait too 
 long before applying the proper remedies, such as lay within 
 the legislative and executive dej^artments of the govern- 
 ment. His humble individual effort consists merely in 
 pointing out some of the excesses which already have caused 
 much mischief, and would cause more if not promptly 
 stopped. "Well-meaning journalists and publicists of every 
 degree have, before this, raised their voice, and proved that 
 public opinion is sound and firm in this patriotic purpose 
 of reform. The writer confines himself to one or two warn- 
 ings of great importance in his eyes. He does not treat of 
 political coiTuption, leaving this subject to other men better 
 able to handle it. The open warning he gives to the peo- 
 ple is against tliat insatiable thii-st for gold, that mania ah 
 
PREFACE. 5 
 
 auro^ far more fatal than the well-known mania a potu. 
 Should he succeed in inducing people to take heed to it, 
 and frown down every attempt at a further spreading of 
 this baneful evil, he T^ill consider his labors well rewarded. 
 There is another abuse of which he speaks more indirectly, 
 which, however, cannot but be adverted to by the reader, 
 as its evil consequences run through the whole story. It is 
 the want of proper strictness in domestic education, which 
 leaves very often mere boys, and nearly always young men, 
 perfectly independent in their conduct and associations. 
 The sad story of young Frederick Kirkbride is not often 
 enacted in this country with the same momentous results ; 
 still, the domestic life of many excellent people is too often 
 imbittered by the misconduct of their children, chiefly of 
 their boys. 
 
 Some less thoughtful readers may fancy that this volume 
 is, in the main, a common picture drawn for the glorification 
 of Irish Catholics in North America. To think so would be 
 a ridiculous mistake. In describing New York life, the 
 Irish Catholics cannot be set aside, as they are quite an 
 integrant part of it. But they are not the chief attraction 
 of the story. The Anglo-American lady, whose name forms 
 the book's title, is far ahead of the 0' Byrnes in this regard ; 
 her husband, Ralph S. Kirkbride is an American merchant 
 whom no Irish or other merchant can surpass in honor, 
 integrity, or skill. Many of the other noble characters have 
 not a drop of Irish blood in their veins ; whilst, on the con- 
 trary, there is a certain Mr. O'Tee, an Irish broker, who is 
 not altogether a model of all Christian virtues. The fact is 
 that the writer never had any idea of exalting one nation 
 above the others. His great object was to describe Ameri- 
 can life in New York, and to warn the people of this coun- 
 try against some social dangers which all must admit are 
 only too real, and might be the cause of untold calamities. 
 The commercial and financial depression of the country for 
 several years past, is, perhaps, more the effect of the unnatu- 
 ral speculations described in this book than of all the other 
 causes which are generally given out as an explanation. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface, 3 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 A Hard Winter, 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 A Christian Woman, 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 A Beginning of Hostilities, 47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Plot Thickens, 70 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Father and Son in the Mansion, 89 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Mother and Son in their Appropriate Characters, . • . . . 101 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Family in the Cottage, 108 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 A Religious Controversy of a New Kind, 119 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The First Law Chapter of the Book, 130 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 A Young Man always needs a Guide, 137 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Ups and Downs in Fred's Path, 152 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Training up of a Detective not always Pleasant, • . • * 166 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Both Frederick and Con intent on the Prosecution of Vice, . . 177 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 A Short Episode of Importance for the Sequel of the Story, . . . 185 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 A Catastrophe, 191 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 A New Deal of Cards all Around, 206 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Mr. Cornelius O'Byme's First Operations as a Detective, . . . 239 
 
 7 
 
8 TABLE OF CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. P^GE 
 
 Mr. Frederick visits his Mother, and begins to operate in Wall Street on 
 
 a Large Scale, 250 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Doings and Sayings of Two Stock Gamblers. — Preparations for a Great 
 
 Day. — Bearing of Law and Morality on it, 270 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Just the Day Before, 291 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Black Friday and the Crash, 303 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 A Sad End of Great Hopes, 337 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Sorrow and Consolation, 354 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Domestic Details of a more Soothing Nature, 365 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 A New Turn in Domestic Affairs and a Stir at Police Headquarters, . 376 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 A New Fiendish Assault, 391 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 An Irish Dinner, 409 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 The Last Victory over a Persistent E^dl, 422 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 A First Gleam of Sunshine, 435 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 A Short Chapter on Religion, Domestic Feelings, and Law, . . . 452 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Photographs of Ernst Bauer and Dr. McElheran.— Two Figures very 
 
 Unlike, 464 
 
 CHAPTER XXXn. 
 Continuation of the Same Subject, 482 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 Interview between Mrs. Louisa Kirkbride and her " Two Daughters," 
 
 followed by a Lively Dinner, 496 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 Mrs. L. Kirkbride fully discloses her Plans, 509 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 The End.— All is Well that Ends WeU, 518 
 
-Louisa Kirkbride. 
 
 CHAPTEH I. 
 
 A HAED WIKTEE. 
 
 Patpjck O'Btexe was bom on a very small farm in 
 the neigliborliood of Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ire- 
 land. His ancestors before Mm had tilled the same soil, 
 and lived and died on the same spot. The clan, it is true, 
 did not originally belong to Wexford, but had from time 
 immemorial occupied the adjoining county, Wicklow. At 
 what precise epoch an offshoot of the O' Byrnes struck its 
 roots so far south, on the banks of the Slaney, it would be 
 idle now to inquire. Certain it is, however, that for many 
 ages they had been known in that neighborhood. It is 
 asserted, moreover, on good authority, that Patrick's grand- 
 father belonged to that noble band of unfortunate men who, 
 driven to desperation in 1798 by a perfidious government, 
 were forced to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen, and 
 fought with such a fearless energy at New Ross and Vine- 
 gar HiU. The old man perished with thousands of others 
 on this last field ; but all the details of the battle were 
 faithfuUy treasured up in the memory of his son, who in 
 his turn transmitted them to our friend Patrick. It was 
 the great event in the history of this humble family ; Pat- 
 rick could have wTitten a full narrative of the whole cam- 
 paign. 
 
10 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Though this deed of daring had given the poor 0' Byrnes 
 a sort of celebrity among the surrounding population, it 
 had not improved their worldly prospects. They had suf- 
 fered in consequence of it in more than one way. Their 
 farm had been still more reduced by confiscation. Yet 
 they considered themselves lucky not to have lost the 
 whole of it. From that time, however, they grew poorer 
 and poorer, until, chiefly in consequence of the great famine 
 of 1846, they foresaw that they, like so many others in Ire- 
 land, would have to leave their native country. They 
 hoped, however, against hope, and contrived, by extraordi- 
 nary shifts, to put off their departure for a few years. At 
 last, unable to pay their heavy arrears, they were cruelly 
 evicted by a soulless agent, and thrown on the wide world 
 without means, deprived even of any prospect of earning 
 their livelihood in their dear country. 
 
 At the time when they were thus mercilessly obliged to 
 leave the only spot they knew and loved on earth — a spot 
 occupied by their sept for so many ages, endeared to them 
 by the memory of deep sorrows entwined with days of rural 
 bliss — the family consisted of the father, Patrick, a man of 
 sixty, old and worn out by labor and privations of all sorts ; 
 the mother, Honorah, a few years younger than her hus- 
 band, but whose delicate health was fatally injured by ex- 
 posure consequent on a winter eviction ; Julia, a girl of 
 nineteen, her mother's consolation ; and Con, a young man 
 of eighteen, the last and the only survivor of five boys who 
 had called Honorah theu* mother. 
 
 The reader will not expect us to enter into the homely 
 domestic details which preceded and accomj^anied their 
 departure from Ireland. It is their future x>osition in 
 America which alone can interest us ; and, to sum uj) in a 
 few words what it is proper for us to know of their last 
 days in the old country, we have merely to say that Provi- 
 dence came to their help in the moment of their greatest 
 distress. An honest merchant of Waterford, who had for- 
 merly dealt with the family, and received the produce of 
 their farm for several years, but had subsequently fallen 
 
A EABD WINTER. H 
 
 into bankruptcy, hearing of their position when his own 
 affairs were gradually assuming a more favorable aspect, 
 sent them at once thirty-five pounds sterling, a large part 
 of his own indebtedness to them. Thus were they enabled 
 to take shipiDing in Waterford for Liverpool, and thence 
 to cross the Atlantic and land in New York. Here they 
 finally arrived with just money enough to live a few weeks, 
 and look about them for a position. 
 
 The time of their arrival in America appeared propitious 
 for their future prospects. After more than four years of 
 bloodshed, the horrible civil war of 1861 had just ended 
 in the total subjection of the South. Though the whole 
 country still suffered deeply from such a protracted strife, 
 yet strangers at least were welcome to replace those whom 
 the war had cut off, and to enable the young and vigorous 
 country to spring up into life again, and to resume the in- 
 terrupted course of her gigantic enterprises. There was no 
 fear that the insane war-cry of the former Nativists or 
 Know-Nothings should again assail and pursue the lately 
 landed Irishman ; and for a long time, it was to be hoped, 
 his activity and desire of being useful would be encouraged 
 by all classes of society, with the exception, perhaps, of a 
 handful of irreconcilable fanatics. 
 
 It was fortunate, therefore, for the 0' Byrnes, that they 
 reached New York early in the spring of 186-. They did 
 not meet with any difficulty in finding work for a living. 
 There was, indeed, no great demonstration of welcome at 
 their arrival ; but at least no one ill-treated or abused them ; 
 they were not brutally refused the permission to earn their 
 bread ; they were not told insolently to go back to their 
 desolate homes, and leave America to Americans. This was 
 all they asked ; and thus their expectations, not being too 
 sanguine, were easily satisfied. 
 
 Soon they even found friends from the old country to 
 initiate them into the ways of their new abode. Especially 
 they found the road leading to the temple of their God, and 
 were deeply consoled by the facility with which they could 
 fulfill their duties of religion. Thus their simple hearts, 
 
12 LOUISA KIRKBBIDE, 
 
 broken at first by the tearing away from all that was dear 
 to them, began gradually to revive and expand under the 
 sweet emotions of religion and friendship. 
 
 This friendship was simply that of an oldish man by the 
 name of John Doyle. He was about sixty- five years of age, 
 a widower, whose children, already grown up, were settled 
 around him. He was independent of them, being a porter 
 in a wholesale house on Beaver Street. Doyle had emi- 
 grated long ago from the South of Ireland, and had now 
 been many years with his present employers, whose confi- 
 dence he enjoyed. Patrick 0' Byrne met him accidentally, 
 and through his good offices obtained rooms in an old but 
 still decent house in James Street, where his new friend 
 boarded. 
 
 Thus heaven appeared to smile on the poor family ; and 
 to complete their happiness the father and the son had, also 
 through Doyle, found an employment likely to be steady 
 with one of the largest contractors for the city works. Mrs. 
 Honorah 0' Byrne, though delicate and suffering, during 
 summer, from a hacking cough, could yet take care of 
 the plain rooms in which they lodged, and, with the help 
 of Julia, attend to all the wants of her husband and son. 
 The church was very near, and is well known to our read- 
 ers ; there they all met on Sundays to thank God. Julia, 
 always a good and pious girl, was to be found there for 
 about half an hour every morning. 
 
 The reader may say that this is a strange novel, unlike 
 most of those that are published ; as it contains only things 
 which everybody knows happen every day around us. 
 But he must believe that this is a real history ; and conse- 
 quently must be like everything we see every day. 
 
 The end of the summer passed happily in such fortunate 
 circumstances, and the autumn, with its milder weather, 
 acted favorably on the health of the good mother, who 
 seemed to revive, and for whom there appeared to be now a 
 possibility of final recovery. 
 
 At the beginning of November, 186-, great disclosures 
 of unheard-of rascalities startled the citizens of New York. 
 
A HARD WINTEB. 13 
 
 The public works of the city had been, for many contractors, 
 the occasion of stealing on a large scale. Worse doings of 
 the kind have since rendered the people more callous to 
 robberies, which they appear now to consider as unavoida- 
 ble. But at the time the sensation was tremendous ; the 
 papers came out in flaming indignation. '' The golden age 
 of innocence and fair dealing must inevitably come back," 
 they said ; "we cannot be imposed upon any longer ; and 
 the first thing the authorities have to do is to discharge 
 instantly all those thievish contractors." They were dis- 
 charged; all public improvements were stopped at once, 
 and among the immense number of sufferers thereby, the 
 O' Byrnes claim our exclusive attention. 
 
 Patrick and Con were now idle. Mr. Doyle, their friend, 
 could not see anything for them to do in the large ware- 
 houses of the neighborhood, which had all their full com- 
 plement of men. He first advised tliem to go round the 
 city and apply at every store. But, everywhere, the same 
 answer greeted them. There were so many applicants for 
 positions of that kind, that the merchants, even if they 
 could have employed more men, replied to all, indiscrimi- 
 nately, " We don't want anybody." 
 
 Meanwhile, the family had been merely supported by 
 their labor during the summer and autumn ; there was the 
 doctor's bill to pay for Mrs. O' Byrne, besides the rent of 
 two rooms and provisions and clothing. On the very day 
 of the suspension of work, after receiving their money, and 
 paying out what they owed, a few dollars were all that 
 remained to them in the world. 
 
 In a few days winter set in, much earlier than usual. 
 The blast already raged with fury in the streets where 
 Patrick 0' Byrne and his son rambled the whole day long ; 
 and they invariably returned home every evening with the 
 same result of their wanderings — no work. 
 
 Landlords in New York are not much given to softness 
 of heart ; they say they have to protect themselves. The 
 family saw at once the impending ruin ; they must leave 
 their rooms, without any prospect of finding any others. 
 
14 LOUISA EIBEBPdDE. 
 
 To make matters worse, tlie poor mother's hacking cough 
 had returned ; she had to save coal, and the room was no 
 longer warm enough for her weak lungs. She had to re- 
 main with Julia during the day, when her husband and son 
 went tramping through the streets in search of work. It 
 was December in good earnest ; and those only who have 
 suffered from it can say what winter is in the wealthiest 
 cities of the North. 
 
 The sky was overcast and of a grayish color ; the air 
 biting ; the wind savage, and evidently determined to sweep 
 away all obstacles and reign supreme. A snow, as thin as 
 dust, was driven fiercely in the faces of the few pedestrians 
 who had to leave home ; the ground, akeady frozen hard, 
 was everywhere covered vath. a thick white pall, on which the 
 feet scarcely made an impression, so hard pressed was it by 
 the wind when it reached the ground. The streets were 
 almost deserted ; and the few horses in the desolate thor- 
 oughfares shook their heads mournfully, and snorted at 
 times, as if to cheer themselves up and keep up their be- 
 numbed spirits. Wherever you crossed a street, the blast 
 struck you like a sledge-hammer ; its icy breath burned 
 your skin, as travelers report of the simoom of Africa. 
 Then, you had to keep your cloak or overcoat close around 
 your body, to prevent the wind from stripping you, or at 
 least to keep all the articles of your dress from flapping 
 wildly in your wake, and dragging you behind when you 
 wanted to make a step forward. Then, instead of a smooth 
 it)ad, you found hillocks of hard white snow heaped up on 
 your path by the fury of the tempest, as if the city sur- 
 veyor had never intended to make level sidewalks or estab- 
 lish regular grades for the convenience of bustling citizens. 
 What sad confusion in the best-regulated cities ! All order, 
 symmetry, neatness, has disappeared, and the wild liuiTy- 
 ing to and fro of cold feet is in keeping with the universal 
 disorder of the elements. 
 
 Now picture to yourself, in the midst of the howling 
 storm, not the rich man, well protected and warmly clad, 
 supposing he knows how to steady his feet, and keep his 
 
A EABD WINTER. I5 
 
 broadcloth and furs in position, but a couple of poor forlorn 
 outcasts, covered with wornout, tattered jean, coming from 
 a cold and desolate home, and walking at random through 
 unknown streets, looking for employment, and seeming to 
 long for the charity of the benevolent, when they meet only 
 with cold and unsympathetic faces. They have break- 
 fasted on a hard crust and a glass of water ; they are sure 
 of the same fare when they return home late in the even- 
 ing. Their limbs are chilled and almost numb ; yet they 
 tramp on, scarcely hoping for good luck after so many 
 failures. Their humble and prayerful request is every- 
 where met with the same negative answer. 
 
 Oh ! did they not believe in God, what fearful, despairing 
 thoughts would rankle in their bosoms ! Would they not 
 think that the whole world was purposely arrayed against 
 them, though they had done nothing to deserve hate? 
 Would they not consider Heaven, Xature, Society, as a 
 triple alliance of bitter foes against whom they would be 
 justified in waging war ? What are, in such a state of mind 
 as this, robbery, murder, suicide, but a proper retaliation, 
 or an always open escape from the decree of a most unjust 
 and cruel fate ? 
 
 But not even a shadow of these fierce temptations could 
 overcast the serene temper of these two heroic souls. They 
 would die rather than blaspheme their God or despair of 
 Heaven. They had left in their desolate home two price- 
 less jewels of virtue and purity. They knew that Honorah 
 and her daughter prayed for them ; and this thought alone 
 could steady their faltering steps, and enable them to hope 
 against hope. 
 
 H it were not for such virtue as this, how could God in 
 heaven look down upon the earth with complacency ? Would 
 not His justice destroy the wicked, in case it was not ar- 
 rested by the spectacle of such an evident heroism of faith 
 and hope ? And is it not true that the Church of Christ has 
 at all times contained thousands upon thousands of people 
 whose purity of heart and greatness of soul could transport 
 in raptures the angels themselves ? 
 
16 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Nevertheless, when at night the father and son met the 
 mother and her daughter without any good news to pre- 
 vent them from despairing, the four together appeared to 
 be overwhelmed with unutterable misery. When they left 
 Ireland, they thought they could never meet with a worse 
 fate ; and the New World, so bright soon after their land- 
 ing, was now overcast with clouds more threatening still, 
 and the tempest was fiercer, because there could be no hope 
 of any other place of refuge. 
 
 Yet they soon fell on their knees, and joined in their 
 usual prayers, and, as the Church had taught them never 
 to change the formula, there were always the usual acts of 
 thanksgiving, which came indeed from the heart, however 
 incredulous the world may be when told of it in such ex- 
 treme circumstances. 
 
 Early every morning they were somewhat cheered by 
 well-known steps. Good Mr. Doyle showed himself a 
 friend, indeed ; but what could he do ? His children, all 
 married, with their little families growing around them, 
 had to be very economical, owing to the public distress 
 which was already felt through the whole city, and which 
 had considerably lowered their wages. He could not, indi- 
 vidually, on his own slender means, take charge of four 
 persons. It was indeed a distressing situation ! Every 
 night O' Byrne and his son came home, almost famished, to 
 find scarcely a dry crust of bread, saved from the only daily 
 meal of the two devoted women ! 
 
 Their doom was apparently sealed : there was no more 
 coal or bread in the house. The fury of the blast had to 
 be met by stuffing the windows and the chinks of the door 
 with all the rags which now composed the wardrobe of the 
 family. They had received notice from the landlord, the 
 day before, that, in a week's time, new lodgers would come 
 to take their place. "Where could they go? Mr. Doyle 
 had collected some few dollars among those of his coun- 
 trymen whom he knew, and, adding his own mite, had 
 placed the whole in the hands of his dejected friends. 
 The only and last resort he could suggest was the work- 
 
A HARD WINTEB. 17 
 
 house. Terrible prospect, indeed, for honest and honorable 
 people ! 
 
 Toward the end of this terrible week, which was to be 
 their last in James Street, Mr. Doyle, who had, as usual, 
 made an appearance in the morning, came again late in the 
 afternoon. This time he seemed to smile as he had not 
 done for a long time, and he immediately said that the day 
 following might, perhaps, bring an unexpected change. 
 
 '' God be praised ! " exclaimed poor 0' Byrne. 
 
 ''Of course," replied his friend ; ''but the thing is not 
 done yet. It may fail completely ; still, there is a chance. 
 Before, however, I explain myself, here is at least a two- 
 dollar bill ; there is no mistake about it. One of those 
 friends to whom I applied for your collection lately, had 
 nothing to give ; but he promised. This is the fulfillment 
 of his word — more than any other gave at the time. It will 
 keep you afloat a couple of days. In addition to this, I 
 want to take my supper with you, and probably your lar- 
 der is not very well stocked. Here is another dollar to pay 
 for my share of the supper. Julia, my dear, go to the 
 nearest store ; buy for us whatever does not require much 
 cooking ; for I am sure the appetites of all of us are pretty 
 sharp, and can scarcely bear a long delay. Mine, I must 
 say, is almost voracious. Go quick, and come back quicker. 
 Now for the other business. 
 
 "The head of our firm, Mr. R. Kirkbride, lives on Madison 
 Avenue, near the beginning of the Central Park. He occu- 
 pies a very fine house at the corner of the block. The 
 whole block belongs to him ; but there is no other house on 
 it except his own. Down in the lot, however, at the other 
 extremity, near Fifth Avenue, an old rickety shanty had 
 been put up, long ago, before Mr. Kirkbride bought the 
 property, and he allowed the Irish family who occupied it 
 to remain. Now they are gone ; they left it yesterday. 
 Mr. Kirkbride certainly intends to pull down the shanty, 
 and there is the rub. But I know him well ; if you, Mr. 
 O' Byrne, go right away to him, to-morrow morning, and 
 can convince him that he will save your family from de- 
 2 
 
18 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 stniction, by allowing you to occupy tlie shanty, at least 
 during winter, lie will find it liard to refuse, and he may 
 very well agree to it, in spite of his precious son." 
 
 ''There Avill be no difiiculty," interposed Mr. O' Byrne, 
 ''if you come with me, Mr. Doyle." 
 
 "That is precisely," replied the good man, "what it is 
 better not to do. I know what I say, and we must not 
 think of it." 
 
 "Then it will be hard," said his friend. " What coun- 
 tryman is Mr. Kirkbride ? " 
 
 "From the North of Ireland," said Mr. Doyle; "his 
 father brought him here when he was already a young 
 man." 
 
 "Then we are lost," blurted out poor O' Byrne. 
 
 "Not at all," replied his friend. "I have remarked that 
 he feels kindly for County Wexford ; I never could ascer- 
 tain the reason, but it's a fact. Tell him it's your county, 
 and he'll listen to you." 
 
 "Let us pray," said Mr. 0' Byrne, " that it may turn out 
 well ; but I have very little hope." 
 
 "Don't say so, and go with confidence," replied Doyle ; 
 "yet I must tell you that in his house you will find only 
 himself and his wife friendly to you ; all the others, boy and 
 servants, are devils with respect to Ireland. But Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride is a real angel, although not a Catholic ; and if you 
 once get into the shanty, Mrs. O' Byrne will be treated by 
 her as by a Sister of Charity." 
 
 "What must I do to find him, and why not go to his 
 office when he comes down to-morrow ?" asked Patrick. 
 
 "If you came to his office," said Doyle, "he would see 
 immediately that I have managed the whole affair ; that 
 might, and would most probably, spoil it. But be to-mor- 
 row at nine o'clock on Madison Avenue — here on this paper 
 is the number of the house — wait there until he comes out 
 to get into his carriage ; for owing to the malice of the ser- 
 vants, you must not ring the bell and ask to see him. He 
 will certainly come out before half -past nine." 
 
 Just at this moment Julia was coming back from the 
 
A HARD WINTER. 19 
 
 store with bread, ham, and eggs ; a few minutes after, tlie 
 friends were around the table, the poor O' Byrne family 
 making the first real meal in four or five days. 
 
 After giving more precise instructions to his friend, Mr. 
 Doyle left them alone and withdrew for the night. 
 
 At the time appointed next morning, 0' Byrne was at his 
 post. Poor Julia had spent the greater part of the night 
 repairing and cleaning the best clothes he had, and his ap- 
 pearance was that of a respectable workman. He had to 
 wait nearly twenty-five minutes, walking up and down the 
 avenue, never losing sight of the blessed door out of which 
 was to come his salvation or his doom. 
 
 The carriage had been waiting a quarter of an hour, when 
 Mr. Kirkbride came out : a man of fifty or fifty-five, well set, 
 already stout, with a full, clear-cut, determined face, bluish- 
 gray eyes, beaming vvdth benevolence when they smiled, but 
 otherwise keen and piercing. There is no need of mention- 
 ing his attire, which was that of a merchant prince dressing 
 in good taste. O' Byrne stepped up to him, and pointing 
 with his hand to the shanty, just visible from the carriage, 
 ''I understand," said he, "that this cottage is now unoccu- 
 pied ; it would be, sir, an act of great charity on your j)art, 
 if you let me have it for the winter only." 
 
 ''This shanty^ my friend," said the merchant prince, 
 "shall not be there to-morrow ; men are coming this after- 
 noon to jjull it down." 
 
 Poor 0' Byrne's face was as pale as a sheet. 
 
 "Then, sir," he exclaimed, "my only prospect for myself 
 and family is the workhouse, and honest people, as I hope 
 we are, never come out of it but to go to the Potter's Field." 
 
 Mr. Kirkbride looked up keenly in 0' Byrne's face. 
 
 "You are an Irishman, I suppose," said he ; "from what 
 part of Ireland V 
 
 "From County Wexford, sir." 
 
 "From what place there \ " 
 
 "From the neighborhood of Enniscorthy, sir." 
 
 "Do you know Vinegar Hill ? " said Mr. Kirkbride. 
 
 This simple word gave a fearful shock to O' Byrne. To 
 
20 LOUISA KIREBRIDE, 
 
 the load of actual miseries, over which he had been brooding 
 for more than a month, was added the weight of painful 
 memories, kept fresh in his mind by what he had learned 
 from his father. Patrick only half succeeded in stilling a 
 deep sob, and tears filled his eyes, as he said : 
 
 ^'My grandfather was killed there, sir, and his son, my 
 OT\Ti father, was with him, and told me all." 
 
 ''Calm yourself, my dear friend," said Mr. Kirkbride, 
 kindly, ' ' and come to my office at two o' clock this after- 
 noon." 
 
 At the same time he told John, his footman, to go for one 
 of his business cards, and to call Mrs. Kirkbride to him for 
 a moment. She came, but remained inside, and her husband 
 said aloud : 
 
 ''Louisa, my dear, when the men come this afternoon, to 
 pull down the shanty, send them away ; they must wait at 
 least until to-morrow." 
 
 "And a little longer, I hope," said a sweet, motherly voice, 
 as Mrs. Kirkbride slowly closed the door. The card was 
 handed pertly by the servant to 0' Byrne, and the carriage 
 drove off toward the city. 
 
 Writing down, as we do, a simple and true story, and not 
 a sensational novel, we must clear at once the apparent mys- 
 tery contained in the last conversation. Why was Mr. Kirk- 
 bride so interested in Vinegar Hill and the County of Wex- 
 ford ? The story Avill be soon told. His grandfatlier, living 
 in County Down, was, at the end of the last century, a very 
 active member of the United Irishmen. He had been before 
 deeply interested in the "volunteer movement," but be- 
 longed to that branch of it which acknowledged such men as 
 Grattan and the Bishop of Derry as their leaders. They 
 wanted their rights restored to the Catholics, and could not 
 think of a union of Irishmen which should leave out the Mi- 
 lesian Celts. They were the first Irish Protestants who showed 
 true liberality ; and had it not been for the Orange Lodges, 
 which were started soon after, there is no doubt that a com- 
 plete unanimity of feeling would have finally prevailed in 
 poor Ireland. Hence, when the rebellion of ' 98 began, a great 
 
A HABD WINTER, 21 
 
 number of Irish Protestants of the JN'orth looked to the South 
 for help, and expected to receive it from the Catholics. They 
 were not deceived ; for, although the movement began there 
 late, on account of the complete prostration of the country, 
 although the same movement was very little prepared in the 
 South by underhanded conspiracies and plots, yet wdien the 
 people of that part of the country were finally driven to des- 
 peration by the British Government, the rising was almost 
 universal, and truly heroic. All the details of the short 
 struggle are well known, and would be out of place in these 
 pages ; but what concerns us deeply is that the grandfather 
 of Mr. Kirkbride, himself one of the United Irishmen, had 
 gone to County Wexford at the time of the insurrection, and 
 witnessed the heroism of the people. When he returned to 
 the North, after the failure of the attempt, he had become 
 much more than before an enthusiastic advocate of justice for 
 the Irish Catholics, and preached it openly to all he met, chief- 
 ly in his native County Down. He became, in consequence, 
 obnoxious to the party that prevailed all over the island, 
 lost a great part of his property, and his son, the father of 
 Mr. Kirkbride, after having married, and educated, at least 
 partly, his children, thought he had better realize what re- 
 mained of his property, and come to the IS'ew World. He 
 settled in New York, increased his wealth, and left enough 
 to his son, the gentleman w^e know already, to become one 
 of the merchant princes of the largest city on the continent. 
 
 But the memories of ' 98 were always fresh in the minds 
 of all the members of the family. Mr. Ralph S. Kirkbride 
 in particular had gathered all the books which narrated 
 anything connected with the struggle ; they occupied a 
 conspicuous part of his library ; he often read them and 
 spoke of those times. Vinegar HiU, especially, was a spot 
 sacred to him on account of all he had heard from his 
 father. Doyle himself did not know so much, because, as 
 Mr. Kirkbride knew him to be a native of Tipperary, he 
 never thought proper to talk to him about matters on which 
 he thought him poorly informed. 
 
 Exactly at two o'clock, 0' Byrne was in the warehouse on 
 
22 LOUISA EIBKBRIDE. 
 
 Beaver Street. He merely touched his hat to Doyle, who 
 was busy on the sidewalk, and walked into the office where 
 Mr. Kirkbride was seated alone. This gentleman recog- 
 nized his visitor, motioned him to a seat, and said: "My 
 dear friend, I wished to speak with you of Vinegar Hill, 
 but the very word produces on you such an impression, 
 that I do not know how to begin." 
 
 "Excuse me, sir," said 0' Byrne, "but this morning the 
 question, being quite unexpected, revived so many painful 
 recollections, that I could not help it. Now I am more 
 quiet, and can tell you all I know, since you are good 
 enough to feel an interest in it." 
 
 Then a succession of questions and answers followed, 
 which filled Mr. Kirkbride with sympathy for poor O' Byrne. 
 After having inquired how many they were in the family ; 
 what he could do himself ; if he was a gardener as well as 
 a farmer — "because, you know, I am a Commissioner of the 
 Central Park, and can furnish you with work there if you 
 are competent," — he dismissed him, saying: "Come to- 
 morrow morning, and do the best you can." 
 
 O' Byrne was going away in great glee, and had already 
 reached the door, when he was called back and made to sit 
 down again. 
 
 "I am afraid," said the gentleman, "that I have been 
 carried away by my feelings ; I cannot let you go without 
 asking you if you can refer to any reliable person ; I am 
 inclined to believe you, but what you said may be all false. 
 Tell me : whom do you know here in New York?" 
 
 The only person whom 0' Byrne could refer to was Doyle ; 
 he had to come out with the name. The good Tipj)erary 
 man was suddenly called before his employer, and rebuked 
 for not having done precisely what he had thought best not 
 to do. Yet, in our opinion, he had been perfectly right ; 
 had he spoken first for his friend, the thing most probably 
 would have miscarried. 
 
 "Well, Doyle," said Mr. Kirkbride, in conclusion, "to 
 punish you for your carelessness about your friend, I want 
 you to attend yourself to the removal of the family to-mor- 
 

 
 pm\\ J 
 
 
 
 
 THE KIRKBRIDE FAMILY AT UlNNER, 
 
A HARD WINTER, 23 
 
 row morning. I will see that somebody takes your place in 
 the store." 
 
 There was Joy that evening in the poor apartment of the 
 O' Byrnes. Doyle was there as on the previous evening, 
 and after a hearty supper, he thought he would have com- 
 mitted a heavy sin had he not ordered, at his own expense, 
 whatever was needed to brew some good Irish punch. All 
 rejoiced, even Mrs. 0' Byrne, who, however, could not taste 
 of the bererage ; in the last few days her illness had so 
 much increased that they would evidently have trouble in 
 removing her so far up town the following day. 
 
 But what happened in Mr. Kirkbride's dining-room when 
 he returned home ? This deserves consideration. 
 
 The apartment was large, wainscoted with English oak ; 
 the walls above of a light buff color ; gTaceful arabesques 
 running down along all the angles and corners ; the ceiling 
 ornamented in its contour with fruits, flowers, and birds, 
 and in the centre with a lively group of "putti," as they 
 say in Italy, emerging from light- tinted clouds, and playing 
 with doves and Indian blue sparrows. Bituminous coal, 
 from Liverpool, was burning brightly in the grate, and 
 spread a gentle heat through the room. At one corner an 
 open door communicated vnX\\ a small conservatory, where 
 many plants, but chiefly tuberoses, taken a month before 
 from the garden, were in full bloom, and filled the apart- 
 ment with the sweetest fragrance. 
 
 The table was served for three : Mr. Kirkbride at the 
 head, reserved in presence of the servants, looked every 
 inch the master of the house ; his wife sat opposite, dressed 
 neatly in simple black for the loss of a child who had died 
 a short time before ; all that could be seen in her was defer- 
 ence to her husband, and a heart-felt enjoyment of his com- 
 pany ; on her left, a young man about twenty, their only 
 son and child since the death of their little girl, appeared 
 tired, and looked as if his mind was a hundred miles away ; 
 his name was Frederick. 
 
 The lady bowed her head at first, evidently in silent 
 prayer ; the gentleman remaining meanwhile in a respect- 
 
24 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 ful position, whilst the young man, leaning back in his 
 chair, appeared to study artistically the group of children 
 pictured above. The light came from a large chandelier, in 
 which the gas burned brightly. 
 
 During the meal, Mr. Kirkbride spoke almost all the 
 time, his Avife occasionally interposing a word or two. He 
 described the distress that began to prevail in the city. 
 The applications for work were so incessant at the store 
 that most of Doyle's time as porter was employed in send- 
 ing them gently away. *'Our Republican masters," said 
 Mr. Kirkbride— he was himself a Democrat— ''have thought 
 they were doing wonders in stopping all the public works, 
 because, forsooth, of the misdeeds of one or two rascally 
 contractors ; and they have let loose famine and desolation 
 upon us. But you, my dear," he added, ''are you also 
 pestered with beggars ? " 
 
 "Not enough to my taste," replied the lady. "From 
 Forty-second Street up here Madison Avenue is a desert, 
 and the poor go mostly, I suppose, to more crowded thor- 
 oughfares. To-day, however, I have had a very strange 
 adventure which I must relate to you. You have spoken 
 long enough during dinner, I must now have my turn. 
 
 "About twelve o'clock, I was seeing a friend to the door ; 
 she was not yet down the stoop, when a wild little girl, ten 
 or twelve years old, ran up, pushed against me, and ex- 
 claimed : ' Let me in, marm, I am hungry, and my mother 
 is sick.' She had on a very short and tattered petticoat, 
 no stockings, and a pair of old shoes, much too large for 
 her feet. I felt compassion for her, took her down to the 
 kitchen, told Fanny the scullion to go with her to the 
 lower bath-room and wash her well with warm water and 
 soap, as her poor little legs were as black as soot. Fanny 
 at first demurred, 'She was not going,' she said, 'to do 
 any such office for a low Irish girl.' I had not thought of 
 that, and asked the child her name: 'Jemima Hep' orth,' 
 she said : so she was an American or English, and there was 
 no difficulty to have myself obeyed. I ran up stairs for an 
 old dress of our poor Janet's " — this was the name of her 
 
A HARD WINTER. 25 
 
 little dead dangliter — ''and bronglit it down just as Fanny 
 was hastily finishing her distasteful task. But when I told 
 the servant girl to take off the child's old rags, and destroy 
 them, the little vixen screamed, and would not allow it, at 
 least until she had taken what was in the pockets. Then I 
 remarked that under the old ragged petticoat there was a 
 huge pouch full of all kinds of small articles, evidently 
 stolen ; some few ten-cent silver pieces, many twenty-five or 
 fifty-cent shinplasters, small pocket - knives and scissors, 
 nice little combs, and, if you please, a big ring which ap- 
 peared to be gold, with many similar objects, which I kept, 
 of course, and which you will see. The little rascal pre- 
 tended at first that she had found them in the streets ; she 
 said afterward that they had been given her by little girls 
 or boys ; but she insisted on having them restored to her. 
 I replied that I would give them only to her mother ; so she 
 had better tell her to come and speak with me. But to 
 oblige her to go I had to threaten her with a whipping from 
 Fanny, and then she ran away. I intend to speak seri- 
 ously to the mother when she comes," was the innocent 
 conclusion of the excellent Mrs. Kirkbride's story. 
 
 Her husband could not help laughing. ''Wait for her ! " 
 said he; "do you not see that the child merely acts on 
 the promptings of her mother, who must live handsomely on 
 her thefts ? You are very simple, Mrs. Kirkbride ! " 
 
 This natural exclamation brought an ugly grin to Fred- 
 erick's face. He appeared highly pleased at the gentle 
 rebuke his mother had received ; and a similar but yet 
 more ugly grin appeared on the faces of the servants 
 around the table. Mr. Kirkbride immediately noticed his 
 oversight, and bowing to his wife, who was meanwhile all 
 suffused wath very unusual blushes, " I must correct myself, 
 my dear Louisa," he said, "since it is far more honorable 
 to be ten times imposed upon by miserable wretches, than 
 once to refuse relief in a real case of need. To-morrow all 
 the stealings of the little girl must be sent with a note to 
 the nearest police station." All was perfectly still in the 
 room, and the grins had disappeared. 
 
26 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Meanwhile, tlie dessert had just been placed on the table, 
 and the servants withdrew. 
 
 " Now, dear Lou, I have news for you that will give you 
 pleasure." 
 
 He always called his wife so when he wished to delight 
 her, and the servants were not there ; and no expression 
 was sweeter to the heart of the lady, to whom it recalled so 
 vividly the first days of their wedded life. 
 
 "You mean, dear Ralph," she said, "that the shanty is 
 not to be destroyed? " 
 
 " Not for this^\inter," replied Mr. Kirkbride ; " a respect- 
 able family, I think, is coming to occupy it to-morrow." 
 
 "Are they Irish \ " 
 
 " They are ; and although you liked those that left the 
 other day, I am sure that you will like the new occupants 
 better still." 
 
 "It's too bad ! " ejaculated Frederick. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " said his father. 
 
 "I mean," replied the son, " that I relied on your pro- 
 mise that the shanty would directly disappear, and you 
 disappoint me." 
 
 " I promised you," said Mr. Kirkbride, "because I really 
 intended to do so ; but I see that it must yet stand for the 
 sake of charity." 
 
 "Charity is a very fine word, but not, in my opinion, 
 when it is coupled with the Irish," said Frederick. 
 
 "You forget," dryly interposed his father, "that I am 
 myself an Irishman." 
 
 The son bit his lips, and blurted out almost indistinctly, 
 " Oh, I spoke of Irish Catholics." 
 
 "What objection have you to them?" said the father. 
 "I have none." 
 
 "They are despised by everybody," replied the hopeful 
 son. " Only imagine, that a couple of weeks ago, a friend 
 of mine, (;oming out of this house and looking at the shanty, 
 asked me : ' How much a month does your father receive 
 for the Tint f ' What could I answer ? ' ' 
 
 "That friend, my son, was a blackguard, who insulted 
 
A HARD WINTER. 27 
 
 your father, and you ouglit to liave resented it. I wonder, 
 besides, that you have no more wit ; you might have an- 
 swered him that I was just looking for a collector of the 
 rint^ and on apiDlication to me, he might be appointed, then 
 he would know." 
 
 ''Oh, had I said that, he would have cut me." 
 
 '' Why did you not cut him first ? I have remarked, lately, 
 that you select your friends very poorly. I must look more 
 closely to those connections, for this is a very serious affair. 
 Look here, Frederick, next year you will be of age ; I have 
 already tried to acquaint you with my business, and in my 
 fond dreams, years ago, I thought I would make a partner 
 of you when you became of age ; I am now afraid to do it, 
 mainly on account of your friends." 
 
 " My friends, sir," said Frederick, insolently, to his father, 
 '' are all honorable and most gentlemanly. I greatly prefer 
 their society to that of the low Irish." 
 
 At this moment the poor mother tried to allay the storm. 
 
 ''What objection," she said, "my dear Freddy, have 
 you to consent to what pleases both your father and my- 
 self ? For all this results from the coming of that new 
 family. It is your father's right to admit them or not ; he 
 has made up his mind, and you ought to think that he has 
 good reasons for it. Now, be a good boy, as you were not 
 long ago, when everything was so pleasant in the house." 
 
 Frederick was cooling down, and he had time to perceive 
 his own imprudence. So he appeared for a moment to hesi- 
 tate. 
 
 "Well, Freddy," added the mother, "tell your father 
 that you are sorry for what has happened, and that you 
 wiU willingly submit to his good pleasure." 
 
 The young man, although much against the grain, saw 
 it was the only thing he had to do. He stood up, therefore, 
 and, bowing slightly to his father, merely said: "Excuse 
 me, father, if I have spoken too warmly ; that miserable hut 
 ought not to bring on a misunderstanding between you and 
 me. Let it stand and be occupied as formerly ; I will not 
 think of the affair any more." He was going to leave the 
 
28 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 room, when Mr. Kirkbride, without trying to stop him, 
 said: 
 
 " You will do well, Fred, to reflect on some of my words, 
 because they really express my mind." 
 
 When Frederick had left, the father, drawing near to his 
 wife, took her hand gently, and said, in a very subdued 
 voice : 
 
 " Tell me, Lou-Lou, what is all that fuss about the Irish ? " 
 Mr. Kirkbride, like a great many other fathers of families, 
 was perfectly ignorant of many things that happened, or 
 were said, in his house. 
 
 ''Well, my dearest Ralph," said the lady, '^in the last 
 two or three years Fred has shown an uncommon animosity 
 against them. He did not dare to say a word before you, 
 because he knew you were an Irishman and had a partiality 
 for Ireland ; but he spoke unreservedly to me, because he 
 thought my case was different. Born in New York, of an 
 English family, I was brought up, I may say, in the hatred, 
 or, at least, contempt of the Irish. Mr. Brewster, my father, 
 and my dearest mother, had seen scarcely more than one or 
 two of them in their whole life ; for then the Irish were not 
 numerous in this city, and, in the neighborhood of Bleecker 
 Street where we lived, at that time the head-quarters of 
 fashion, it was not easy to find an Irishman, either in the 
 shops, or in respectable houses. So I knew them not, and 
 must confess it to you, despised them. I have seen, during 
 the last few years, a great many of them, and found them 
 so different from what I had thought, that I took a real liking 
 for some of them. This was the case particularly for the 
 family that occupied the shanty so long a time. Yet I can- 
 not deny that there is yet in me something of the old leaven, 
 and that the very name of Irish is, to a certain extent, dis- 
 tasteful to me. You promise me, dear husband, that the 
 coming family will be better yet than the last ; it is difficult 
 for me to believe it, because I thought the Dolans, who 
 lived here so long, were a rare exception in that race. But 
 we shall see, and I sincerely hope it will be as you say. 
 
 *^ Meanwhile, Freddy knew my weakness, and influenced 
 
A HARD WINTEB. 29 
 
 me so mucli that I have not for a long time admitted a 
 single Irish servant in the house. You know that you 
 leave their choice entirely to me, except that of your foot- 
 man, which you reserve to yourself. Well, I must confess 
 that John is, after all, the most honest of our domestics, 
 and that I have no great confidence in many of my selec- 
 tions. Most of them have no religion whatever, which is a 
 very ugly thing in poor people, and if some of them occa- 
 sionally are Methodists or Baptists, I confess that I cannot 
 understand anything in their religion. It would be absurd 
 in me to try to influence them, yet I feel it a great draw- 
 back not to be able to say a good word to any of them. 
 Dr. Dixon, of Trinity Chapel, for whose advice I must have 
 a thorough respect, told me several times that it is the duty 
 of the master or mistress of a house to see to the spiritual 
 welfare of the servants, and I always replied to him that I 
 could not see how to fulfill such a Christian duty. Had we 
 Irish people here, I would not try, indeed, to make them 
 Episcopalians, but from what I saw of the Dolans, it would 
 be much more easy to have a common understanding, and 
 that would be a source of delight to me. 
 
 ''As to the motley group we have here, there is only one 
 thing, religiously speaking, in which they are unanimous, 
 and that is, to hate and despise the Irish. They all have 
 that kind of religion, your footman John as well as the 
 others. Xow, dear Kalph, you are fully enlightened with 
 respect to the question you put to me, ' What is all that 
 fuss about the Irish ? ' " 
 
 Mr. Kirkbride looked serious, and said, "This must be 
 attended to ; you will, I hox)e, some of these days, allow 
 me to advise you on the subject of the choice of servants ; 
 several of them must be dismissed." Saying this he kissed 
 his wife affectionately, and left her to go out to his club. 
 
 In James Street, Doyle had not been idle. He had pro- 
 cured the key of the shanty, by sending a boy all the way 
 up to Madison Avenue, with a note (written by a friend) for 
 Mr. Kirkbride. He had spoken to a carpenter, who was to 
 
30 LOUISA KIRKBEIDE. 
 
 be on the spot exactly at seven o'clock on the following 
 day, with his tools and a cart-load of lumber, to make the 
 most urgent repaii's in the poor dwelling ; he had gone to 
 Oak Street police station, and obtained from the captain, 
 a friend of his, the promise that a carriage should be sent 
 the following day to convey Mrs. O'Byrne to her new home, 
 on the excellent plea, that if the city did not pay such a 
 triHe, it would have to pay much more for the relief of the 
 poor woman. He had spoken to a few friends who were 
 idle, and could employ their time in charity, and had made 
 them promise to be at the shanty the next day, to make 
 everything cozy and comfortable before the poor invalid 
 arrived. It was only after all this had been done that he 
 went to the apartment of the O' Byrnes and took his supper 
 and his punch with the family as we have already related. 
 
 The following day was stormy ; snow began to fall early 
 in the morning, so that when Doyle with the carpenter 
 arrived at the place, it lay an inch deep on the ground. 
 Still, the other friends were on the spot in due time ; they 
 all came from the side of Fifth Avenue, which was then 
 a desert in that neighborhood. The whole forenoon was 
 consumed in repairing the shanty, though it contained only 
 two rooms, with a kind of out -building for a kitchen. 
 Stoves were already put up, and the interior arrangements 
 were going on favorably, when Doyle returned to James 
 Street and sent for the carriage. 
 
 The good man appeared deeply anxious ; Mrs. O'Byrne 
 had not yet been so sick as she then was ; her husband had 
 remained all the morning in her room, and Julia had enough 
 to do to help her mother. Was it safe to remove the poor 
 woman? On looking out of the window Doyle saw Dr. 
 O'Donnell, whom he knew well, passing on the street; he 
 called him, and having acquainted him in a few words with 
 the case, asked his opinion. The doctor, after a few mo- 
 ments of observation, merely said: ''The trip will be hard 
 on her ; but she will be so much the better out of this 
 wretched neighborhood, that removing her is, after all, the 
 most expedient. Only be careful of her on the way." 
 
A HARD WINTER. 31 
 
 Both 0' Byrne and Doyle then wrapped np the sick 
 woman in blankets and coverlets ; and took her down stairs. 
 Con, who had gone before T\i.th a mattress, had spread it in 
 the roomy carriage ; and poor Mrs. 0' Byrne was placed on 
 it, propped np with a few pillows. Jnlia, mindful of the 
 doctor's injunctions, stretched herself in the body of the 
 vehicle near her mother, ready at any moment to cover her 
 with the blankets, and to warm her up \^ith her embraces 
 and the sweet breath of her lips. 0' Byrne occupied the 
 only corner which was free, and the carriage finally started. 
 
 The snow, meanwhile, had fallen to the depth of eight or 
 ten inches. In the lower part of the city it disappeared 
 nearly as soon as it fell ; but when the carriage arrived 
 above Fortieth Street, where the buildings along Fifth 
 Avenue began to be few and far between, it was a real im- 
 pediment in the way, and a sleigh would have been the 
 proper thing. The wind blew furiously from the north- 
 west. The horses, having it in front, could scarcely stand 
 it ; they shook their heads up and down, and from their 
 bodies, but chiefly from their nostrils, clouds of steam 
 arose, to freeze in the air, and fall as sleet. A keen cold 
 penetrated everywhere, and those inside of the carriage 
 could not but feel it. Julia, after having used all the blan- 
 kets and coverlets, had to take her own shawl from her 
 shoulders to wrap up her mother's feet, which she felt were 
 growing cold. It was high time to reach the spot. A 
 couple of miles more of such traveling as this would have 
 been fatal to the poor, uncomplaining invalid. 
 
 This was, however, the critical moment for Mrs. O' Byrne ; 
 for she had to be taken out of the carriage and brought 
 down, along a narrow path, to the bottom of the lot, more 
 than twelve feet deep at that place. She could not but be 
 exposed to the keen air. Julia, as a last resort, divested 
 herself of all the clothing she could decently spare to add 
 to her mother's ^Taps, and thus the precious burden was 
 carried to the bed prepared for it in the inner room of the 
 shanty. 
 
 During the protracted operation just described, there were 
 
32 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 eyes in the mansion of tlie Kirkbrides which witnessed it, 
 and gave occasion to an incident, not without importance. 
 Two servant girls — Fanny was one of them — were cleaning 
 a room, and from a window they could see what was pass- 
 ing along Fifth Avenue. 
 
 ''I declare," said Miss Fanny, "those dirty Irish are 
 coming. Look, look, Yictorina, what a procession of them, 
 pouring down that bank ! " 
 
 "Is not that a bed with sick people in it ? " replied Miss 
 V. "They are surely bringing pestilence with them." 
 
 "Oh, see that girl," said the first of these would-be 
 ladies. "I swear she's only half dressed." ... 
 
 We cannot continue to relate the conversation, which was 
 taking a lively turn. But Mrs. Kirkbride, who was in the 
 next room, heard it, and blushed for her sex, and made up 
 her mind to follow her husband's advice about her servants. 
 She also thought of going down to the shanty as soon as 
 the new family would have rested awhile. Her husband 
 had told her that the old woman was delicate, but not that 
 she was so sick. The case evidently required her presence 
 as soon as she could go becomingly. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 A CHEISTIAiq^ WOMAN. 
 
 Whe]^ Mrs. Kirkbride thought the newly arrived family 
 had had time to settle and compose themselves, she went on 
 her errand of charity. She found in the first room 0' Byrne 
 and his son warming themselves at a small stove. They 
 both stood up and bowed, evidently surprised at her coming. 
 
 ^' There is somebody sick here," she said ; ''I would like 
 to see her." 
 
 The old man opened the door, which was half closed, and 
 ushered her into the inner room. Julia was seated on an 
 old trunk near her mother ; and the patient appeared quite 
 startled by the coming of such a visitor. 
 
 ''Do not fear," said Mrs. Kirkbride, ''I am only your 
 neighbor, and I merely wish to know how you are, and if I 
 can do anything for you." 
 
 ''You are too good, madam," replied the sick woman, 
 coughing. "I feel very much fatigued, and I suppose I 
 must think rather of my soul than of my body." 
 
 These few words were sufficient to determine a convulsive 
 cough which really frightened the lady. The face of the 
 poor woman was emaciated ; her gray hair hung loosely 
 from under the clean white cap which her daughter had 
 tied under her chin ; except a deep flush on both cheeks, 
 her skin was whiter than the cap itself ; but, chiefly, the 
 distortion of the features caused by a choking amounting 
 almost to suffocation, really seemed to foretell a speedy 
 death. Mrs. Kirkbride, full of deep sympathy, forbade the 
 old woman to try to speak any more, and seating herseK on 
 3 33 
 
34 LOUISA KIBEBRIBE. 
 
 the trunk near Julia, drew from her pocket a small memo- 
 randum-book, out of which she tore a leaf, and began to 
 write a few words with a pencil ; then folding the leaf, she 
 wrote a short address on the outside. 
 
 ' ' Can the young man I saw in the other room go for the 
 doctor ? " she inquired of Julia. 
 
 "Yes, madam," she replied ; ''he is my brother, andean 
 find out the place, if you tell him." 
 
 As Con could read, and had tramped the city so long, 
 looking for work, and as he used his tongue so well when 
 there was question of his mother, no more trusty messenger 
 could have been found. He was immediately dispatched, 
 and the lady, almost frightened to death, withdrew to her 
 apartment, where the physician would first call on her. 
 
 He was soon there, and she exclaimed, as soon as she saw 
 him: '' My dear Doctor Dillon, I want you badly. There 
 is an old woman down in the shanty who came to-day ^\ith 
 her family, and I am afraid she is dying. Go quick, and 
 come back directly to tell me what you think of her." 
 
 After about twenty minutes the physician had examined 
 the case, given to Mrs. O' Byrne something which he had 
 brought with him, after a question or two put to Con in his 
 own house, and was back in Mrs. Kirkbride's parlor. 
 
 ''Calm yourself, madam," he said; "there is no danger 
 of immediate death ; the case is certainly serious, but not 
 so bad as that. The lungs are not seriously injured ; with 
 that cough she could yet live twenty years. The worst of 
 it is that she has suffered great privations, and there is fear 
 of complete exhaustion." 
 
 The good doctor did not say that there was real danger 
 of typhoid fever ; he knew that a single sporadic case can- 
 not, as many foolish people believe, bring on contagion, and 
 so he did very well not to speak of it. 
 
 " I know, madam," he added, "that you have some good 
 port wine ; send her a bottle. I told the girl how to give 
 it. Tell your cook, also, to make for her some good French 
 houillon, such as you give me when I come to dine ; it is 
 much better than our much-vaunted beef-tea. The old 
 
A CHRISTIAN WOMAN. 35 
 
 woman has an excellent nurse in her daughter, and that is 
 a great point. I will come back to-morrow. 
 
 ''!N'ow that I have finished my explanation, and that you 
 are no more, I hope, in a flutter, please tell me how it is 
 that you have lately become so much attached to Irish peo- 
 ple. The Dolans, whom I also visited when they were sick, 
 are scarcely gone, and now you bring in the O' Byrnes, and 
 after them, I suppose, we shall have the 0' Shaughnesseys. 
 When I knew Miss Brewster, long ago, before she was mar- 
 ried, she was not so well inclined to that race ; how is this ? " 
 
 ''My dear doctor," replied the lady, laughing, "I do not 
 know how it is myself. "We must do good, you know, to 
 everybody, and the fact is that I find the Irish much more 
 religious than any other people of the same class. Would 
 you believe, that when I went to see the old woman, before 
 I sent for you, and I inquired what I could do for her, she 
 merely replied that ' she supposed she must think rather of 
 her soul than of her body.' Now this is truly Christian, 
 doctor ; is it not ? If any of my servants are very sick, they 
 never speak thus ; and I like the poor chiefly when they 
 have truly religious feelings with which I can sympathize." 
 
 ''These are very good reasons, my dear madam," said 
 the doctor, "and I wiU not try to bring you back to your 
 first way of thinking. I have just spoken wdth all those 
 you have here ; and I think they are, aU of them, worthy 
 people." 
 
 Our readers can see that the doctor was a very old friend 
 of Mrs. Kirkbride. 
 
 "I have you there," replied the lady. "I see that you 
 are an Irishman yourself. I^ow that I think of it, your name 
 is Irish." 
 
 "It is," said Dr. Dillon, " and I have never made a secret 
 of it." 
 
 "Excellent," said the lady ; "I will tell it to Dr. Dixon. 
 He does not imagine, good man, that he has an Irishman in 
 his congregation." 
 
 "Oh, he knows it," said Dr. Dillon ; "and there are sev- 
 eral others besides, who do not speak of it so openly as I do. 
 
36 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 But seriously, my dear madam, do you not see tliat half 
 tlie world in this country is Irish ? If I were to show it to 
 you, beginning by your o\vn husband, you would be really 
 astonished." 
 
 The lady could not but open her eyes. Dr. DiUon, reit- 
 erating his statements, and congratulating her on having 
 such good people as the O' Byrnes under her protection, 
 withdrew. 
 
 These were good words on the part of the doctor, which 
 could not but stimulate the charity, already so active, of 
 Mrs. Kirkbride. She had to send the wine first, but could 
 not employ any of the common servants of the house, for 
 fear that something unpleasant should happen. Fortu- 
 nately, there was in the mansion a little girl, fourteen years 
 old, by the name of Eosa, whom the lady always employed 
 when she had some message to send to the Dolans. The 
 poor child, constantly living in the kitchen, heard all that 
 the servants said of the Irish, particularly of those who 
 occupied the shanty, and as she had occasion often to see 
 the latter, she wondered, and opened wide her large blue 
 eyes, comparing what she heard with what she saw. Mrs. 
 Kirkbride gave her the bottle of wine, and told her to call 
 O' Byrne and his son to her. They soon came, and were 
 greatly surprised to hear her say that, as she intended to visit 
 them occasionally, they must find at least some chairs and 
 other things she might want in their cottage. Tliere were 
 plenty of such things useless in her house, and they had better 
 take them and carry them away. So, from the lower apart- 
 ments of the mansion, they took what could handsomely 
 furnish their hut, besides some necessary articles of linen, 
 of which the family were greatly in want. The servants, who 
 witnessed these proceedings, could scarcely believe their 
 eyes, as the like had never happened to the Dolans, who, in 
 fact, had never needed it. 
 
 Thus the day closed most happily, and the lady retired at 
 night with the glad consciousness of having done something 
 which made others fortunate, without impoverishing herself . 
 She did not think of another advantage, which she could not 
 
A CHRISTIAN WOMAN. 37 
 
 yet even suspect. The 0' Byrnes were already devoted to 
 her, and if twenty ruffians had come at night to attack Mr. 
 Kirkbride's house, the father and son alone would have 
 beaten back the scoundrels, or perished in the attempt. 
 
 The following day, between nine and ten o'clock, Mrs. 
 Kirkbride went to see how the old woman had spent the 
 night. On such occasions, she always followed a clean little 
 path in the lot itself, which had been arranged in the time 
 of the Dolans. She found the door of the shanty half open, 
 and hearing no noise whatever, she looked cautiously inside, 
 and saw that 0' Byrne, his son, and his daughter were on 
 their knees, turned toward the inner room, and evidently 
 engaged in prayer. 
 
 What did it mean ? Was the old woman, after all, dead ? 
 She entered without knocking, and Julia, who was nearest 
 the outside door, hearing somebody coming, turned round, 
 saw her, and stood up. 
 
 ''What is the matter ?" said Mrs. Kirkbride. 
 
 ''The priest is with my mother," answered the girl. 
 
 " May I stay ? " replied the lady. 
 
 "Certainly, madam," answered Julia, and taking a chair, 
 she placed it near the open inside door, and offered it to the 
 lady, thinking she would sit on it. But she knelt, like the 
 others, leaning on the back of the chair. The priest, a ven- 
 erable man, with white flowing hair, and a white stole around 
 his neck, was kneeling also before a small table covered with 
 a clean napkin ; two candles were burning in small candle- 
 sticks, and a crucifix stood between them. The clergy- 
 man had just heard the confession of Mrs. O' Byrne, and 
 was beginning the communion service. He was at the time 
 saying some prayers in Latin, which Mrs. Kirkbride could 
 not understand, and when he got up to extend his hand over 
 the sick woman, and then address her, the lady saw that there 
 was also on the table a small silver vessel, placed on a very 
 clean piece of muslin and lace. She understood directly that 
 this vessel contained the Holy Eucharist. She herself firmly 
 believed in the real presence of our Lord, and the many 
 prayer books, edited by good Dr. Dixon, of Trinity Chapel, 
 
38 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 mostly pilfered from French. Cattiolic authors, translated 
 into English, were in Mrs. Kirkbride's possession, and she 
 used them with great devotion whenever she was induced 
 by the well-meaning director of her conscience to partake 
 of the Sacrament. So she was not exactly a stranger here. 
 
 The priest said a very few words to the sick woman : 
 " She was stretched on a bed of sickness and suffering, as 
 our Saviour had been stretched on the cross ; but He, the 
 Son of God, was refused any, even the least, consolation 
 from His Father, who appeared to have altogether aban- 
 doned Him. She, in her distress, was blessed with, the 
 presence of the Divine Redeemer, who came to bring her 
 much more than consolation — the sweet effusion of his love 
 and tenderness. He had pardoned his enemies on the cross ; 
 she most certainly would not even remember whatever in- 
 jury she might have received at any time from any one. 
 He, the author of life, was going to give her the sure pledge 
 of life eternal, which. He himself said, was to eat his flesh 
 and to drink his blood." 
 
 The lady saw a few big tears running down the cheeks of 
 the poor patient, and the ceremony was soon over. 
 
 The clergyman, having wrapped up his things, drew near 
 to Mrs. O' Byrne's bedside, and told her, with visible sympa- 
 thy, that he did not think the danger near enough to re- 
 quire Extreme Unction ; he would come to visit her the fol- 
 lowing day. Then, taking his hat and cane, he prepared to 
 depart. In passing through the outer room he was sur- 
 prised to see Mrs. Kirkbride, whom he knew by sight, with- 
 out ever having said a word to her. He merely bowed to 
 her, shook old O' Byrne's hand, smiled to Julia and Con, 
 and went his way up the bank to Fifth Avenue. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was nearly bewildered ; she never ex- 
 pected to see anything of the kind that morning, and 
 wanted absolutely to speak with Mrs. O' Byrne. 
 
 '' Are you in a great hurry, madam ? " said Julia. 
 
 " Not exactly," she answered. 
 
 ''Then," replied Julia, "please sit down a moment in 
 this room, until my mother has finished her thanksgiving 
 
A CHRISTIAN WOMAN. 39 
 
 to God. She does not like to be disturbed after commu- 
 nion. There are people who don't care for it, and talk and 
 chat directly after receiving ; my mother is not such a one. 
 In a quarter of an hour she will be free to talk with you." 
 
 "You are both quite right," replied the lady ; ''it was 
 very thoughtlessly that I asked to see her directly. I will 
 wait and talk with you first." 
 
 0' Byrne and his sen had already left the shanty ; and 
 the door between the two rooms was closed. 
 
 "Tell me, child," said Mrs. Kirkbride, "your conversa- 
 tion is not that of a girl brought up in the streets. Have 
 you received any education ? " 
 
 "Well, madam, I learned to write and cipher in our 
 village school, and then I spent eighteen months in the con- 
 vent of the Sisters of St. Bridget, at Enniscorthy." 
 
 " Enniscorthy ! " said the lady ; "1 have heard my hus- 
 band speak often of that place ; in what part of Ireland is 
 it?" 
 
 " In County Wexford, madam." 
 
 " Oh, I see how you came here, and indeed I am glad of 
 it. What did you learn in that convent ? " 
 
 "The usual branches, madam, grammar, geography, and 
 arithmetic ; and, besides, sewing, embroidery, and house- 
 keeping." 
 
 "I see the proofs of your housekeeping; you have al- 
 ready arranged these two miserable rooms so neatly ; but 
 I would like to look at some specimens of your sewing and 
 embroidery." 
 
 "Most of it, madam, was left or sold in Ireland, before 
 we started ; but I have yet a few pieces that I brought with 
 me." 
 
 Tlien Julia went to the trunk on which Mrs. Kirkbride 
 had sat the day before, and brought for her inspection a 
 handkerchief bordered with Mechlin point, a cap wdth pro- 
 fuse embroidery, which she had made for her mother, who 
 never put it on her head, and several square pieces of silk 
 with religious emblems and mottoes. 
 
 "Really!" said Mrs. Kirkbride, "this is not bad; the 
 
40 LOUISA KIRKBHIDE. 
 
 fashion of it would not well suit this country, but the sew- 
 ing and embroidery could scarcely be better ;" and then, 
 laughing, she said, ''Will you make me a few handker- 
 chiefs some of these days? I will direct you as to the 
 fashion of this country." 
 
 ''Oh, madam," said poor Julia, "if I could fill your 
 presses with linen of my own making, I would be too hap- 
 py, after what you have done for my mother ! " 
 
 At this moment the old lady in the other room was heard 
 coughing. 
 
 ' ' I think, ' ' remarked the girl, ' ' we can go to see her now. ' ' 
 
 A rocking-chair, brought the day before from the man- 
 sion, was in the room ; Julia placed it at the head of the 
 bed and the lady sat in it. 
 
 "I am glad," she said, "your cough is not so bad as 
 yesterday ; can you talk a few minutes with me ? " 
 
 "With great pleasure," answered Mrs. 0' Byrne ; "the 
 doctor you had the kindness to send me, madam, has given 
 me some powders that have soothed the cough a great deal ; 
 and your excellent wine has done me also a deal of good. 
 Please believe we are all very thankful for such favors, 
 which we were far from expecting, after all we have expe- 
 rienced." 
 
 " You are not with enemies, be convinced of it," said 
 Mrs. Klrkbride ; "but as I have some curiosity, I wish to 
 know how you have so soon treated me with the ceremony 
 I witnessed, and which certainly I did not expect." 
 
 " The thing is very simple," replied Mrs. O' Byrne. " You 
 were kind enough to send me a doctor for the body, and my 
 husband went out last night for the doctor of the soul." 
 
 " And if I had not come, and sent you Dr. Dillon ? " 
 
 "Then we would have had only the priest, this morning, 
 and that is, after all, the most important." 
 
 "But all this preparation in your room, so new to me ; 
 these candlesticks and the crucifix, did you bring them from 
 Ireland \ You seem to have brought nothing else." 
 
 "These, madam, were brought by neighbors, early this 
 morning." 
 
A CHRISTIAN WOMAN. 41 
 
 '' I thought I was your only neighbor." 
 
 *' We would not be foolish enough to call you so, madam. 
 At any rate, we have many others, it seems ; for my hus- 
 band, last night, after the doctor had come and gone, had a 
 great deal of trouble to keep them in the other room ; they 
 all wanted to come into this, and the doctor had forbidden 
 it." 
 
 "This is very strange to me," said the lady. '^ Gene- 
 rally, other people in your condition, who are sick and poor, 
 are not visited by many friends." 
 
 "All the Irish are," said Mrs. O' Byrne. "We all, thank 
 God ! help each other." 
 
 "You are, indeed, a remarkable people!" said Mrs. 
 Kirkbride, and she fell to musing and reflecting. 
 
 At this moment Julia, who was in the other room during 
 the conversation, came in with a large pitcher full of French 
 'bouillon^ which Rosa had just brought in from the big 
 house ; there was also a small tray, with a few teacups and 
 spoons on it. 
 
 " Yery good," said the lady ; "I ordered this from the 
 cook on the doctor's prescription. Let me taste it first." 
 She had some fears that the cook had not strictly followed 
 her orders, but she said nothing about it. " It is just right ; 
 take a good cupful of it, Mrs. 0' Byrne ; it wiU do you good, 
 so Dr. Dillon assured me." 
 
 Mrs. O' Byrne was overpowered by the extreme kindness 
 of her visitor. 
 
 " Indeed, madam," she exclaimed, "I do not know what 
 we can do to express our gratitude. It is so different from 
 our previous experience ! " 
 
 "First, drink a good cupful of the broth; and, after- 
 ward tell me what you mean by that experience; it is the 
 second time you speak of it." 
 
 Julia raised her mother in the bed, propped her up with 
 some pillows, and gave her the cup. Mrs. 0' Byrne sipped 
 the broth at first, and then, with evident relish, drank the 
 whole. 
 
 " I think I can now talk with you, madam," she said, "it 
 
42 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 is SO strengthening ! Indeed, we did not, in Ireland, ex- 
 perience anything of the kind. Yon see, madam, the rich 
 there do not deal with poor people as yon do here. They 
 never see them ; but send them their agents. These are 
 very harsh men, who oblige the farmers to pay their rent, 
 even when they have nothing. It was thus we were evicted." 
 
 ''What do you mean by that wordT' said Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, who never had heard it. 
 
 ''It means, that they carry you, if you are sick, out of 
 your house, put you along the ditch outside, and pull 
 down the house with crowbars. These men who do this are 
 called the crow-brigade. This happened to us ; and, as it 
 rained at the time, and I was already delicate, I there got 
 that cough which you have heard." 
 
 "But this is incredible," said Mrs. Kirkbride. "How 
 long had you been in that house and on that farm ? " 
 
 "I had been there since my marriage, and my husband 
 was born there ; and his ancestors before him had lived 
 there for I don't know how many ages." 
 
 " Were there many other cases of this kind?" 
 
 "Plenty, madam, all over the country." 
 
 "But you speak of many ages; had the ancestors of 
 your husband always been farmers, and subject to paying 
 those rents?" 
 
 "They had always been farmers, but they formerly owned 
 the land, which was taken from them by the Protestants. 
 I beg your pardon, madam, but so they all say in the old 
 country." 
 
 "How could that be ? " said the lady, who began to doubt 
 the correctness of those statements. "If the ancestors of 
 your husband owned the land, they must have had papers 
 — deeds, as we call them ; what became of those deeds? " 
 
 " This is the right question," said Mrs. O' Byrne, " and I 
 can now put it to you fairly. You see, madam, I am a 
 Fitzgerald, and my husband is an O' Byrne. I do not know 
 myself the history of those times ; but Father O'Leary, our 
 parish priest, who knows it well, explained it to me one 
 day, so that I could not forget it. He said, that, if our 
 
A CHBISTIAN WOMAN. 43 
 
 papers — our deeds as you say — had not been destroyed un- 
 justly, I could prove my ancestry as far back as twenty gen- 
 erations, because the Fitzgeralds came with Strongbow. As 
 to my husband, who belongs to the old Irish, he could prove 
 it, for, I do not know how long, but more than twice as long 
 as I could." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride did not know what to think of it all ; the 
 old woman must be crazy, she thought, or the priest had 
 imposed upon her, so she only said: ''This is passing 
 strange ; but tell me, Mrs. 0' Byrne, how do you look on 
 those who, you say, took the land from your ancestors, 
 and on those who thrust you out of house and home ? Can 
 you forgive them ? " 
 
 "It is hard, madam," said the old woman, who almost 
 began to cry, ' ' yet we have to forgive if we wish to be for- 
 given ; and as you were here a short time ago, you heard 
 the priest tell me ' not even to remember any injury that I 
 may have received from any one at any time.' I will tell 
 you how we can do it, and it is again from Father O'Leary 
 that I heard it. The one who came this morning is evi- 
 dently not an Irishman, although I have the greatest respect 
 for him, and he did a great deal of good to my soul. Father 
 O'Leary used to say : 'When you think of the past, don't 
 dot the ^'s and cross the f s ; I mean,' he added, ' don't put 
 proper names to the remembrances that come back to you. 
 Don' t say. Cursed be that agent, Nelson, for instance, that 
 evicted me ; but you can say, in general : Bad men have 
 ill-treated me ; turn their hearts, O my God, that they may 
 repent of their misdeeds ! ' This, madam, I can say from 
 my heart, and I even fondly imagine, that if I were rich 
 and they became poor, I would relieve their miseries for the 
 Saviour who died for me." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride' s eyes were becoming dim, and even wet ; 
 so she said: "Dear Mrs. 0' Byrne, I have made you talk 
 too long ; so good-by, till I see you again." 
 
 Going home she fell into a brown study. Her self-com- 
 munings may be summed up in this way : "If half of what 
 she told me is true, there is more virtue in that shanty than 
 
44 LOUISA KIBEBRIDE. 
 
 I imagined there was in the whole world. I shall ask Mr. 
 Kirkbride what to believe of it." Then she tried to banish 
 all those thoughts from her mind. 
 
 She spent the morning as nsnal. Some friends came to 
 see her, and they spoke of what was going on in the world 
 of fashion. Early in the afternoon she went to pay a few 
 visits, and while passing through Broadway, she thought of 
 her new friend, Julia. The poor giii, she said, has nothing ; 
 she must not appear like a scullion when she goes out. So 
 she bought her a nice little bonnet, one that suited her con- 
 dition. She had remarked that, whenever Julia left the hut 
 to go into the lot, she put her shawl over her head ; that 
 won't do, she said, it must remain on her shoulders. Her 
 face is very pretty, she added, though pale ; there must be 
 something to set it off better ; and she purchased a pair 
 of earrings, cheap ones, but tasty and nice. Several other 
 little things, which she thought would please her, were con- 
 tributed by the milliner and the jeweler. She will pay me 
 that, she said, in making my handkerchiefs, and she laughed 
 outright at the thought. 
 
 Before five o'clock Mr. Kirkbride came home, and went 
 directly to his wife's room. A box had arrived from Eng- 
 land for her, that day ; he had it passed through the 
 custom-house immediately, as he knew she was expecting 
 it somewhat anxiously. The box would be at their house 
 early in the evening. 
 
 ^' Happy to see you earlier than usual," she said, ''and if 
 you are not in too great a hurry, please sit dowm, as I have 
 a few questions to ask you which make me more anxious 
 than the box." 
 
 Then she related to him, briefly, the visit she had paid to 
 the 0' Byrnes in the morning, the strange things she had 
 seen there, and something more in detail of the long con- 
 versation she had with the old woman. 
 
 '' Can it be true," she said, '' that the poor Irish we see in 
 the streets were formerly owners of the lands they now till for 
 their masters, and that, if their deeds had not been destroyed, 
 they could trace their ancestry so far back as she stated ? " 
 
A CHRISTIAN WOMAN. 45 
 
 '' She did not state enongli," answered the husband ; '' if 
 she is a Fitzgerald she was right for herself ; she could go 
 up to the twelfth century ; but as to her husband, some of 
 their genealogists would have traced back his ancestry to 
 GoHier himself, one of the sons of Japhet. This is certainly 
 ridiculous ; but without the least exaggeration, it could 
 have been, in that case, traced back more than two thou- 
 sand years." 
 
 *'But how were those deeds destroyed?" said the lady. 
 
 ''That is a long story," he replied. "I will point out to 
 you some books of my library that will explain the matter 
 to you, if you have time to read them." 
 
 "But is it true, also, that in our very times, poor farmers 
 having such back claims are 'evicted' — I think that is the 
 word — in the circumstances she mentioned?" 
 
 " It is but too true," replied the husband ; "I only hope 
 that the next administration in England shall change all 
 that." 
 
 "I am ashamed of my country," exclaimed good Mrs. 
 Kirkbride ; "I would never have suspected anything of the 
 kind!" 
 
 "Do not say so, Mrs. Kirkbride," said the husband, some- 
 what dryly ; ' ' you ought not so ardently to espouse a cause 
 which is not your own." 
 
 " But is it not the cause of humanity ? " said the lady. 
 
 "You are right there, my dear Louisa," he replied; 
 ' ' only I meant to say that these people, having certainly 
 heavy grievances to complain of — grievances that ought to 
 disappear, if possible, directly — are not very wise in their 
 projects and in their aspirations — witness the Fenians, who 
 are now making fools of themselves — and we ought not to 
 encourage them in their foolishness." 
 
 "I assure you, my dear Ralph," replied the lady, "that 
 I have perceived no projects and aspirations of the kind in 
 the people of the shanty ; they even forgive the past from 
 their hearts, and their priests require it of them, as I have 
 heard it with my own ears this morning, without my 
 presence being even suspected by the clergyman. But we 
 
46 LOUISA EIREBRLDE, 
 
 have spoken enongli of it ; I understand now the whole of 
 it. I will not encourage them in anything wrong, I assure 
 you, but I admire them." And she pouted a little. 
 
 At dinner Mr. Kuivbride appeared kinder and more affec- 
 tionate even than usual ; for at bottom he shared in all his 
 wife's feelings ; only he was more cool and less impulsive. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 A BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 
 
 While this was taking place between the master and 
 mistress of the house, something of a very different nature 
 was going on below staii^s. We are already slightly ac- 
 quainted with a few of the servants of this house. We 
 have heard of Fanny, and Yictorina, and good little Rosa, 
 and ^'honest" John, the footman, as he was called by Mrs. 
 Kirkbride herself. We have now to review the whole list 
 of the men servants, as the doings of this night were to 
 be confined to the men. They were natives of different 
 countries : England, France, Switzerland, and the United 
 States. But in describing them we must anticipate a mis- 
 conception, natural enough in a thoughtless reader. Un- 
 reflecting people might think that these men were true rep- 
 resentatives of the various nations among whom they were 
 born. It would be a great mistake. There are a great 
 many French people very different from our Mr. Jean 
 Frangois ; many English having nothing at all in common 
 with Bully George, or "honest" John; more than one 
 Yankee who would feel insulted to be compared with mas- 
 ter Johnny Clarke ; and not a few Swiss people, particu- 
 larly, who would justly object to be represented by Schwitz. 
 Nobody, therefore, will, we hope, lay it to our door that 
 we have intended to make of all Europeans and Americans 
 a set of ill-mannered desperadoes. The queer combination 
 of those whom we have to describe came from the evident 
 incompetency of good Mrs. Kirkbride in making her list of 
 servants. She was more good-hearted than discriminative ; 
 
 47 
 
48 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 more charitable than appreciative; and the result was ^'a 
 motley collection of servants," as she herself called it. We 
 have to describe what we find in our way. 
 
 During dinner up stairs, mysterious signs passed from 
 one servant to the other whenever any one had occasion to 
 go down to the kitchen. The cook, a Frenchman by the 
 name of Jean Frangois, appeared to be the soul of the 
 whole affair, and it was evident that he would have a great 
 deal to say at the meeting that w^as going to take place. 
 The object of these mysterious signs was to appoint the time 
 and place of this meeting. At ten o'clock, when their ser- 
 vices would not be any more required by the family, there 
 being no reception and no opera that evening, they were all 
 to meet in Mr. Jean Frangois's room, under the mansard 
 roof, the largest apartment that could be found ; and they, 
 in due time, were all faithful to the appointment. The 
 Frenchman had been cook in a Paris restaurant when the 
 revolution of '48 broke out, and he had been a constant fre- 
 quenter of one of the most violent clubs of the French cap- 
 ital. He consequently knew all the slang of the period, 
 and could make an admirable speech, half English, half 
 French. 
 
 The butler of the house was a burly *'Hinglishman," six 
 feet two inches high, with the face of a true bull-dog, and an 
 ample chin coming down on the folds of a thick white cra- 
 vat. His name was George — " Bully George." 
 
 The porter, who opened the front door in visiting hours, 
 was a Swiss, who had also, in 1848, fought among the ^' corps 
 francs" against the men of the Sunderbund, and afterward 
 found a refuge in New York, when his country became 
 ungrateful and would not acknowledge his sei^ices. He 
 dressed neatly, wore white gloves and white stockings, was 
 known under the name of Schwitz, and spoke a language 
 which was neither English nor German, and still less French. 
 
 We know something of the footman, ^' honest " John, but 
 we have not yet had occasion to say that he was likewise 
 groom ; and a splendid groom he made ; he could ride 
 and lead horses admirably, so that few well-trained jockeys 
 
A BEGINNmQ OF HOSTILITIES. 49 
 
 could do better. He was, of course, English, well built, 
 quite different in type from the butler, and he spoke far 
 better English than the rest of the company. 
 
 Finally, there was in the house a kind of grown young 
 man, lank and bony, with a cunning pair of eyes, and a 
 ready tongue. He had been first an errand boy, and could 
 be called now a "man of all work," employed whenever 
 skill was required rather than bodily strength. He was 
 called Clarke, and refused to answer to his Christian name, 
 Johnny. Everybody will directly say that he was what is 
 called an English- Yankee. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was certainly right to speak of her "mot- 
 ley group of servants." All these gentlemen met in the 
 appointed room at ten o' clock (Mr. Schwitz had been kindly 
 replaced at the door by Miss Yictorina). Mr. Jean Fran- 
 cois was the first to open his mouth. He thought Mr. 
 John — " honest " John — ought to take the chair. The gen- 
 tleman did not object in the least, and everybody acqui- 
 esced. Thus Mr. John stood up in front of the only arm- 
 chair in the room, and briefly stated the object of the meet- 
 ing. There had been an Irish family living for a long time in 
 the shanty, but as it was in it before the mansion was built, 
 they, the servants, could not object, although it was certainly 
 grating on their feelings. That family had left ; but when 
 they thought they would not be exposed to such an annoy- 
 ance any more, another was introduced, and they had yet 
 to endure the hateful sight. The Kirkbride family appeared 
 to be more infatuated with this new brood than with the 
 former one, always excepting Mr. Frederick, who had the 
 good sense not to share in the infatuation. Was it possi- 
 ble to get rid of the annoyance ? What means could be 
 taken to oblige those Irish people to leave ? This was the 
 great object which brought them together ; any gentleman 
 who had some proposition to make was free to rise and 
 speak, and, after all had been heard, the majority would 
 decide. 
 
 It was clear, from this speech, that the O' Byrnes had a 
 truly formidable opponent in "honest" John. 
 4 
 
50 LOUISA EIHEBRIDE. 
 
 Mr. Jean Francois stood up directly, and spoke with a 
 great deal of earnestness. Everybody saw that he was full 
 of his subject, and that he would come to the point with- 
 out rambling right or left. The fact is, he thought him- 
 self again au club de la rue Mouffetard. "Gentlemen," 
 said he, ' ' those d — d Irish ought not to be allowed to en- 
 cumber the land of liberie ; in all my visits to the numerous 
 clubs of Paris, I nevair could see one of them. I have un- 
 derstood that they always refused to Join the Bepziblique 
 democratlque et sociale. They are made to eat their pota- 
 toes en robe de cliambre^ and know nothing of pommes de 
 terref rites y 
 
 Here Mr. Jean Frangois was interrupted by Mr. Clarke, 
 who said, in sufficiently good English : ''Why did you, sir, 
 send to the old woman such good bouillon^ this very morn- 
 ing % I have heard from Fanny that it was some of the best 
 she ever tasted." 
 
 ''In the cuisine^ sir," retorted Jean Francois, "I am not 
 on the cJiamp de bataille ; I am there un artiste^ and must 
 show what I can do, chiefly when I suspect that madame " — 
 as he could never pronounce Kirlibride^ the lady had no 
 other name for him — "would taste of it first, and reprimand 
 me if it was not well made. But, sacredie^ I am for des 
 mesures mgoureuses against those d — d Irish ; we must, 
 the first night the family is out, go en corps ^ erect une bar- 
 ricade in front of the chantee, break all the window^s with 
 paving stones, enter boldly a main armee in i\ieforteresse, 
 and send adrift all of them along Fifth Avenue, to go where 
 they choose, provided they nevair come again pour nous 
 ennuyer^ 
 
 Mr. Jean Frangois here sat down, sure that everybody in 
 the room would be in favor of his mesures mgoureuses. 
 But * ' honest " John, at least, was not. He merely remarked 
 that if they followed this plan, the first thing they would 
 have to do in consequence, woukl be to look for other 
 quarters, as the boss would certainly not keep them in his 
 house, and he would, besides, most certainly, hand them 
 over to the police, whilst, at the same time, he would repair 
 
A BEaiNNING OF HOSTILITIES. 51 
 
 the shanty and bring back the hated 0' Byrnes. This would 
 not do. Who would be the next speaker ? 
 
 Mr. Schwitz presented himself boldly. Did we give his 
 speech verhatlm, assuredly none of our readers would get 
 at the meaning of it. He was, however, sufficiently well 
 understood by the majority of his auditors, who were used 
 to his gibberish. He merely said that having belonged 
 to the Swiss/' corps francs," he was against all Catholics, 
 and he knew the Irish were Catholics ; hence he . detested 
 them. In spite of the objections raised against the propo- 
 sition of Mr. Jean Frangois, he was in favor of something 
 of the sort, although in a somewhat different way. He 
 thought they ought all to go boldly during the day, when 
 there were only women in the house, to the hated shanty, 
 demolish it as the "corps francs" used to raze the Swiss 
 "chalets" belonging to the partisans of the Sunderbund 
 in the country, and chase the Irish women along Fifth 
 Avenue. If Monsieur Kirkbride, on his return, should find 
 fault with it, at least the shanty would not be there any 
 more ; and they could find situations as good in many 
 houses of the city, where they would be gladly received, 
 precisely on account of the way they would have treated 
 the Irish. Should the i^olice interfere, the worst would be 
 that they should have to pay damages, and he was quite 
 ready to give his own share. 
 
 This plan was certainly more practicable than the French- 
 man's; yet it did not meet the approval of the worthy 
 president of the meeting. In general, all those plans of 
 European revolutionists appear wild to the more sober Eng- 
 lishman or Yankee, even when these approve of the object. 
 Hence not only "honest" John said that "this would 
 scarcely be better than the proposition of Mr. Jean Fran- 
 cois," but the two men who had not yet spoken, "Bully" 
 George and Mr. Clarke, both shook their heads and ap- 
 peared to coincide with their worthy i^resident. 
 
 The butler, George, was the first of the remaining two to 
 stand up. A long speech could not be expected from him, 
 as he had scarcely ever in his life used any other than 
 
52 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 monosyllabic language. He was great when providing the 
 house with good things. No man in JN'ew York could bet- 
 ter select a solid and juicy round of beef, half a dozen most 
 tender steaks, a brace of "perfumed" snipe or woodcock, 
 a well-cured ham, or a dozen or so of delicate quails or par- 
 tridges. As to wines and liquors, there was not his equal 
 in the country, although he was a better judge of Spanish 
 and Portuguese brands than of the French, which he used 
 to say were wishy-washy. But for all these most important 
 functions of his office, there was no need of many words, no 
 more than for his equally useful attendance at dinner, when 
 he appeared in all his dignity, vnXh. well-nigh the majesty of 
 a prince and the self-importance of a general of militia. 
 
 Our readers, therefore, cannot expect a long speech from 
 him ; but what he said was to the purpose and most flatter- 
 ing to ''honest" John. ''The men who spoke," he said, 
 " did not know this country. Mr. John knew it better ; let 
 him give his plan, and he, for one, was ready for it." Al- 
 most monosyllabic and quite sensible. 
 
 " That is the very thing," said Mr. Clarke, in conchision. 
 *'I am sure that what John shall concoct will be good and 
 to the point, and if he sprinkles something pungent and fun- 
 ny all over the dish, I will readily devour my share of it." 
 
 These sensible and witty reflections left Mr. John master 
 of the situation ; he had the majority on his side, and what- 
 ever he was pleased to dictate would find at least several 
 pairs of hands ready to execute it. 
 
 Without giving his very words, we will sketch his plan 
 somewhat in extenso. 
 
 Their object was not to apply the torch of the incendiary to 
 destroy property, to rob, plunder, kill, or even maim any- 
 body in the world. All these things are punishable in this 
 country with death, prison, or fine. Their intention was 
 merely to force those Irish people to leave the place without 
 fail. The best means, in his opinion, was to frighten them so 
 effectually that they could not think of remaining ; and, as 
 he knew them well, he was certain, that, if once they be- 
 came persuaded that the honor of their girl was in danger, 
 
A BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 53 
 
 they would not stay twenty-four liours in the shanty. 
 Therefore, they must spirit away the young creature for a 
 short time, without doing anything which might send tliem 
 to the penitentiary, in case they were discovered, and yet 
 so as to impress her with the wholesome fear that, if she 
 escaped them this time, she would not another night. 
 
 It was important, consequently, that they should not be 
 known, nor any of them caught, even if they failed. They 
 must surely do it at night, next time the family would go 
 to the opera, and during their absence. 
 
 A disguise was absolutely necessary ; each man ought to 
 procure one. They would leave the house one by one, 
 as soon as the family had left. None of them should go 
 through the lot from the mansion to the shanty, so as not 
 to leave their foot-prints on the snow. The attack ought to 
 be made from Fifth Avenue, when the bells in the city 
 would strike ten ; a low whistle would be heard ; then all 
 would begin ; three of them would have previously come 
 down the path and taken their stand in front of the outside 
 door ; the two others would remain near the back window 
 of the women's bedroom. At the signal, they would act 
 simultaneously ; the three men in front would pry open the 
 door, which was secured only by an old and rusty lock ; 
 enter, if possible, without great noise, secure the two men 
 sleeping there, and tie their hands and feet with small ropes, 
 procured beforehand. The two other men, opening the back 
 window, would enter the women's bedroom, lay hold of the 
 girl and carry her away, without minding the screams of 
 the old woman, who would be still quite sick. Then, if 
 they were not pursued, there was an old, abandoned shanty, 
 in a sunken lot, a few blocks away ; there they would carry 
 her, dinning into her ears, meanwhile, projects that would 
 not quite please her ; and, after having kept her a short 
 time a prisoner, allow her to escape, as if it was through her 
 own good luck. 
 
 The deed done, they should all return secretly to the 
 house, and be at their place on the return of the family, aU 
 of them greatly surprised at the outrage. 
 
54 LOUISA KTRKBETDE. 
 
 Should the plan miscarry, and one of them be caught — 
 Mr. John did not think two could be — this one should re- 
 fuse absolutely to speak, when brought before the police, 
 and they should all swear previously not to betray each 
 other. The punishment could scarcely exceed six months 
 of jail, and '' honest " John had political friends who would 
 see to the shortening of it. He thought, even, that by giving 
 **bail," the trial might be delayed and never take place, as 
 people would soon forget those " d — d Irish." 
 
 It was clear, from the whole plan, that none of them 
 should have any arms ; neither pistols, nor dirks. The 
 three men intended for the front room could carry short 
 clubs, like those of the police, in case they found the two 
 men awake. 
 
 Finally, to be more sure of success, not one of them 
 ought to open his lips to any female servant of the family, 
 although all of them would greatly approve of it, if they 
 knew. It was much better that even on the night of the 
 affair, the female servants should not have remarked the 
 absence of the men, and be able to swear at any trial which 
 might take place, that they had not been aware of anybody 
 leaving the house that night. 
 
 At last "honest " John announced that the first day the 
 family would go to the opera, all of them should meet 
 again, directly after dinner, in Mr. Jean Francois's room, 
 to take the required oath and receive the last instruc- 
 tions. 
 
 At this, Mr. Jean Frangois stood up, and begged to be 
 heard before the meeting broke up : "This plan," said he, 
 "seems to me treacherous, and scarcely to be accepted by 
 des liommes Wlionneur.'''' Here Mr. Schwitz appeared to 
 nod approvingly. "The majority, however, consenting, I 
 consider myself bound. But I must remark that, on all 
 opera nights, I am very busy preparing les pates fr olds and 
 les volailles glacees^ for the supper of the family ; and from 
 the arrangements of Mr. John himself — thus he pronounced 
 the name — I must remain at my post. I give you ma parole 
 d^honneur that I will not betray you." This last phrase 
 
A BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 55 
 
 was delivered with much emphasis, and a sublime raising 
 of his hand toward heaven. 
 
 " Mr. Jean Francois," said '' honest" John, ^' is perfectly 
 right; we must dispense with his services" — and, in fact, 
 the worthy president was heartily glad of it ; — " two men 
 will do against the two Irishmen." 
 
 '' I alone can do for four of them," bawled out ''Bully" 
 George. 
 
 "Yery well," concluded Mr. John, ''let Mr. Jean Fran- 
 cois keep his word and hold his tongue, and everything is 
 sure to succeed." And the meeting broke up. 
 
 During the few days that followed, everything went on 
 as usual in the Kirkbride family. The gentleman had 
 found work for Mr. 0' Byrne in the Central Park; and 
 although the old man was not such a skillful gardener as to 
 command high wages, he considered his position as vastly 
 improved. Con was too young to be paid as a workman 
 under the Park Commission ; but every morning he went 
 to the west side, where heavy works had been going on for 
 some time in the neighborhood of Eighth and IS^inth Ave- 
 nues, and he always found some contractor or other who 
 wanted him, and gave him his six shillings for the day. 
 
 Mrs. 0' Byrne astonished Dr. Dillon by her rapid recov- 
 ery. The threatened typhoid fever had not come, at least 
 in its bad form, and a few doses of quinine, with the excel- 
 lent wine and broth from Mrs. Kirkbride, had sufficed to 
 ward off the danger. She was yet unable to leave her bed, 
 and feeble ; the physician nevertheless was greatly sur- 
 prised. " Those Irish people," he said one day to his lady 
 friend, " have wonderful constitutions; they recover, when 
 all others in this country would sink. After all, it is not so 
 very astonishing," he added, " they are altogether untainted 
 with vice." And Mrs. Kirkbride opened wide her sweet, 
 innocent eyes. 
 
 *' I am glad," she said, "doctor, you tell me so." 
 
 Meanwhile, a great attraction was announced at the opera. 
 A new prima donna was to appear in Norma. We could 
 not ascertain her name, as our documents do not give it ; 
 
56 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 but it was said that since Jenny Lind, New York had never 
 heard such a ''Casta Diva" as would be sung. Of course, 
 the Kirkbride family prepared to go with all their fashiona- 
 ble neighbors. After a lighter dinner than usual, they left, 
 and the servants could play "high life below stairs." 
 
 The men, however, were intent on another game. The 
 four worthies that we know met this time in "honest" 
 John's room ; Mr. Jean Frangois being very busy in the 
 kitchen. The honorable president reminded his three com- 
 panions of the details he had laid down. George and 
 Schwitz were to deal with the two Irishmen in front, he and 
 Clarke would attend to the women on the other side ; ten 
 o'clock, and a low whistle w^ould give the precise signal. 
 They all left one after another, and the women servants 
 who, this time, had heard nothing of the project, thought 
 they were somewhere in the house, or had gone where they 
 usually went on such occasions. They were merely ram- 
 bling in the neighborhood waiting for the appointed mo- 
 ment. 
 
 There was a bright moonlight that evening; would it 
 be in their favor or not ? The sequel would show ; even 
 " honest" John had not thought of it. 
 
 The time came at last, and they were all faithfully near 
 the spot, no one else being within sight, a very favorable 
 occurrence. George and Schwitz crawled slowly down the 
 bank and stood ready at their post ; John and Clarke went 
 down also on their side noiselessly. 
 
 How did matters stand in the shanty ? Three of the in- 
 mates were sound asleep ; but Con had not yet closed his 
 eyes, although he had worked hard during the day along 
 Eighth Avenue. He had met with some difficulty on the 
 part of the contractor, who pretended that he had been a long 
 time idle, and wanted to cut him down to fifty cents ; he had 
 to bring witnesses to prove that all his time had been well 
 employed, and the quarrel had made him nervous, so that 
 he could not sleep. The moon was shining brightly in his 
 room through the solitary window, and he could see every 
 object outside. He heard somebody walking; — "Bully" 
 
A BEaiNNING OF HOSTILITIES. 57 
 
 George had a heavy step. This made him fretful ; he got 
 out of bed, looked slyly through the window, and saw two 
 men with their backs toward him. His suspicions being 
 aroused, he went quickly to a corner of the room where he 
 found a good black-thorn shiUelah. We forgot to say, pre- 
 viously, that this simple weapon was among the Irish furni- 
 ture which, on the day of their removal, he carted away 
 with Doyle from James Street to their actual home. He 
 never thought, poor boy, of using it in this country, where 
 he had been told it was unknown ; but he brought it from 
 Ireland as a relic of the old country, where he had a great 
 reputation in his village for using it well. He clinched it, 
 therefore, and went near the door. All this was done in 
 about a quarter of a minute. 
 
 At this moment the bells of the city were striking ten. 
 A whistle was heard, and the door of the shanty was burst 
 open. George was the first to come in club in hand ; but 
 he could see nothing in the room, as the moon he had been 
 looking at had blinded him. Con saw him perfectly well, 
 struck him hard on the head, and stretched him on the 
 ground at the first blow. Then all was confusion in the 
 shanty. 
 
 Schwitz was not abashed by the sight of his apparently 
 lifeless companion. He had seen worse scenes than this in the 
 glorious days of the ''corps francs," and he was inspirited 
 by the sight of the stove blazing in the room. All along he 
 had intended to carry on the warfare in a way at variance 
 with "honest" John's peaceful programme, and the sight of 
 fire put his mind in a blaze ; "he would knock down the 
 stove and burn the shanty ! " He bounced into the room, 
 and tried to get at the red-hot cast-iron machine. Old Mr. 
 0' Byrne, who had jumped out of bed, seized upon a wooden 
 chair, and met him on his way. Schwitz gave him a blow 
 of his club on the arm — he could not reach the head— and 
 incapacitated him for the moment. Con, who was really 
 frightened at the sight of George apparently dead, could 
 not use his shillelah with the same energy, and Schwitz, 
 who was well up in sword exercise, could parry his blows. 
 
58 LOUISA KIBKBBIDE. 
 
 Mean while lie was getting nearer the stove, and Con finally 
 perceived liis intention. Then it was almost a life-and- 
 death struggle. The two yonng men were equally strong 
 and active. Schwitz was nnscrupulons, Con animated by 
 the love of family and friends ; both wxre sure to succeed. 
 At this moment the father came to the rescue of his son ; 
 both holding the chair in front at arm's length — a sure 
 defense, as the enemy's club could not reach them — they 
 pushed him back toward the door, whither Schwitz was 
 finally driven. Afraid of stumbling over the prostrate body 
 of George, he turned round. This was Con's opportunity. 
 Grasping his shillelah \vith both hands, he applied it to the 
 enemy's rear, where he could break no bones, wdth such 
 force, that Schwitz fairly screeched, bounded out of the 
 room, and ran for dear life, disappearing in Madison Avenue. 
 Meanwhile John and Clarke had not been idle. At the 
 very instant that the door was pushed open in front, the 
 first of the two villains, raising the lower sash of the 
 women's bedroom, let Clarke in noiselessly, and directed 
 him first to bar the inner door with a strong stick he had 
 procured. The young man did it in a moment, so that no- 
 body could come from inside to the rescue of the w^omen ; 
 then taking a cold chisel and a small hammer he had in his 
 pocket, he unfastened both sashes of the window in a trice, 
 and John jumped in. This woke up Mrs. 0' Byrne and 
 Julia, who, suddenly aware that there were strangers in the 
 room, clasped each other in their arms, and began to cry 
 aloud: "Who's there?" 
 
 ''Friends," said John ; "we will not hurt you." 
 The two scamps w^anted to carry off Julia and leave the 
 old woman ; but they could not take one without the other, 
 and both would have been too heavy a load. Tliis was a 
 real difficulty which detained them some time, as they acted 
 first without discrimination, and were almost in the dark, 
 coming, as they did, from the bright moonlight. The poor 
 women, at last aware of their intention, screamed aloud, 
 and called Patrick and Con, who were busy enough in the' 
 other room. The delay thus occasioned would have lasted 
 
A BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 59 
 
 at least as long as tlie struggle we have described, if Jolin 
 had not seen the importance of more coolness and order in 
 the operation, and said to his friend : "Unfasten the arms 
 of the old hag ; I will manage the girl." 
 
 "Why not invert the arrangement?" remarked Mr. 
 Clarke, who wished to have/i^T^, and so far had found none. 
 
 "Very well," replied John ; and not minding the screams 
 of the poor creatures, they proceeded more coolly in their 
 villainy, and succeeded in separating Julia from her mother. 
 Just then the girl swooned away, and they met with no 
 more resistance on her part. One of the scoundrels took 
 her under the arms, the other by the feet, and thus they 
 dragged her through the window. Mrs. 0' Byrne, in a per- 
 fect frenzy of grief, jumped from the bed, and, as Clarke 
 was the last to go out, she caught him by the legs ; but he, 
 active and muscular as a young Yankee of eighteen, dis- 
 engaged one leg, gave her a brutal kick, and left her on the 
 floor of the bedroom. Then they could carry their burden 
 along Fifth Avenue, toward the north. Strange to say, 
 nobody appeared near the shanty during all this abomina- 
 ble outrage, neither policeman nor citizen ; a circumstance 
 which emboldened the two scoundrels not a little. 
 
 They were already a block or two on their way, when the 
 scampering off of Schwitz on the other side left the shanty 
 in the gloom of silence and horror. Mrs. 0' Byrne could yet 
 cry out for Patrick and Con, who both ran at once to her 
 door ; but they found they could not come in without 
 breaking it down. Con preferred to run round to the win- 
 dow, jump into the bedroom, unbar the door, and with his 
 father carry the old lady to the empty bed in the outer 
 room. ' ' Father, ' ' cried the young Irishman, ' ' I must go for 
 Julia, and I promise you I shall bring her back if I have to 
 kill the villains." He had first to dress, then to look at the 
 supposed corpse of George, and to his relief, he found out 
 that he certainly breathed, and that his skull had not been 
 broken. In fumbling around the prostrate bully, he saw some 
 rope peeping out of one of his pockets ! We know what that 
 was intended for. ' ' Father, ' ' Con cried out, ' ' the man lives, 
 
60 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 and may soon wake np ; while I go for sister, tie the fellow 
 mth these ropes, and wait with him until I come back." 
 Then poor Mr. O'Byrne, who had hitherto appeared terror- 
 stricken on account of his wife and daughter, revived. He 
 knew how to make a strong knot, as he had often hung up 
 his hogs previous to cutting them down and putting them in 
 the brine. So Mr. George was soon tightly bound, hand and 
 foot. 
 
 Con had already put on the most necessary apparel, and 
 was soon on the causeway of Fifth Avenue. In that place 
 it was then merely a causeway. The two villains carrying 
 Julia were still quite visible in the strong moonlight ; and 
 near the shanty Con met with two policemen, who, stationed 
 just at the entrance of the Park, several blocks south of the 
 place, had lazily listened to the various screams and noises 
 heard in that quarter, and finally started in the proper 
 direction. ^' Come up with me, my men," said Con, ''to the 
 rescue of my sister ! Come and help me ! " The men were 
 really well-intentioned, although at first they appeared half 
 asleep, and they at once started on a run behind the young 
 man ; one of them was an Irish father of a family. 
 
 Con was a great racer ; and in the extreme excitement 
 which nerved him, the fatigue of the previous day and of 
 the evening could not be felt. He immediately distanced 
 his two companions, and it was evident from the start that 
 those he pursued would soon be overtaken. Nothing was 
 seen on the road but his lithe body, aud the black-thorn 
 weapon he flourished. At least the ravishers of Julia could 
 not see anything else. The two scamps had already re- 
 marked him, and the poor girl being very heavy in her 
 swoon, they felt they could not escape their pursuer. John 
 was speaking of throwing the girl on the side of the road 
 and escaping. Clarke at first opposed it. 
 
 * ' Stay here with her, ' ' he said ; ' ' I will go and meet him." 
 
 ''Don't you see that infernal stick? And you have 
 nothing," replied his companion. 
 
 " I will make it fly from his grasp," said the other, "and 
 grapple with the fellow." 
 
A BEGINNma OF HOSTILITIES. 61 
 
 He was evidently intent on having Ms fun. At this mo- 
 ment they both stopped, and John, more keen-sighted than 
 his friend, perceived the policemen running far behind the 
 young Irishman. "You will not have done with Paddy," 
 he remarked, ''before the police are on you with their 
 clubs; I tell you we must run." Clarke looked, and was 
 convinced. So the two ruffians threw the girl roughly on 
 the snow and fled, leaving Fifth Avenue to their left, and 
 disappearing behind heaps of rubbish, old shanties, and 
 ruined walls of blackened frame houses. 
 
 Con soon reached his sister, and stretching himself on the 
 ground, raised her gently on his lap, and began softly to 
 chafe her face and hands, which were cold and benumbed. 
 This at once revived her ; she opened her eyes, and seeing 
 herself in the arms of such a friend, melted away and burst 
 into tears. 
 
 '' Do not fear, dear Julia," said her brother ; '' I am with 
 you, and I will not let you go." 
 
 '' Where are they ? " lowly murmured the girl. 
 
 ''You mean those two scoundrels?" he replied. "They 
 have fled at the sight of my shillelah ; it will be of service 
 yet, that little stick." 
 
 At this moment the policemen arrived, and on seeing the 
 young woman, appeared extremely interested in her case. 
 The youngest said directly, " I must run after the fellows ; 
 I know what direction they took. You, Pat Ahern, stay 
 with the young people ; they will want you, and you must 
 go to the house right away ; Til soon be with you," and he 
 disappeared, running to the east of the avenue. 
 
 Julia had fully come to herself, but she could not walk 
 yet, frightened as she had been. The old policeman, Ahern, 
 took off his overcoat, twisted it, and giving one side of it to 
 Con, he caught the other, and Julia, seated between them, 
 was carried gently toward the shanty, where they finally 
 arrived. 
 
 They found the rope-bound ruffian awake and in his 
 senses, but he had refused to say a word to Mr. O' Byrne, 
 confining all his exertions to a violent wriggling on the 
 
62 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE, 
 
 ground, in the hope of extricating his hands or feet. He 
 continued doggedly silent when Ahern spoke to him, and 
 it was evidently useless to put him questions. All present 
 were perfectly ignorant of the fact that he belonged to the 
 mansion, and was a servant of Mr. Kirkbride's. The motive 
 of the outrage was, consequently, unknown, and the poor 
 people indulged in the wildest conjectures on the subject. 
 
 In course of time the young policeman arrived alone ; he 
 had not been able to have a sight of the fleeing birds, and 
 none of those he met could enlighten him on the subject. 
 Mr. John and Mr. Clarke were, in fact, too cunning for him. 
 The policemen had, therefore, nothing more to do than to 
 untie "Bully" George's legs, place him between them, and 
 walk him to the nearest police station. 
 
 Of Mrs. O' Byrne we have only to say that the struggle 
 had nearly exhausted her ; her cough had come back, and 
 she looked the picture of death, as long as her daughter 
 had not returned. When the lost one arrived and threw 
 herself in her arms, her copious tears in embracing Julia 
 relieved her heart and banished all anxiety from her mind. 
 
 But what of the inmates of the mansion during all those 
 sad occurrences % They could not hear much of what was 
 passing at the shanty, on account of the distance — a full 
 block — and because of the ominous silence preserved during 
 the longest part of the struggle. Some very high words, 
 however, and chiefly the wild screech of Mr. Schwitz, had 
 penetrated through the closed windows and curtains, and 
 had reached their ears. Miss Victorina, always on the 
 lookout, was startled by the scream of the porter, and, 
 from the corner of the room where she was, she rushed to 
 the window fronting on the empty lot, drew aside the cur- 
 tain, and turned her eyes toward the shanty ; but Schwitz 
 had already run across in front of the window, and it was 
 only after turning her head around that she could see for 
 an instant a human form running wildly on Madison 
 Avenue and disappearing instanter behind the next house. 
 
 She flew down to the kitchen, whither all the other girls 
 of the establishment appeared to be running. They were 
 
A BEGINNINQ OF HOSTILITIES. 63 
 
 all going to see Mr. Jean Frangois, and learn from Mm if 
 he knew what was the matter. ^'How can I?" he said 
 with dignity, "mon souper is not j^t pret. Go and look 
 yourselves." The women, however, were afraid, and did 
 not dare to leave the room, where the cook appeared ex- 
 tremely busy, went from one side to the other for his spices 
 and condiments, and, meeting the girls in his way, pushed 
 them rudely aside, as if he had altogether forgotten his 
 usual gallantry. 
 
 This gave time and opportunity to the scamps to return 
 slyly and unperceived. The first was Schwitz himself, who 
 took his usual position in a small room near the door, 
 standing and supporting his person on a chan*, afraid of 
 even attempting to sit down ; and a few instants after the 
 bell rang, and Miss Victorina, running up to open it, was 
 greatly surprised to see Mr. Schwitz at his post, and asked 
 him wildly where he had been, and if he knew what had 
 happened outside. " Where have I been ? " he said ; ''what 
 has happened ? I have not left this room, where, I confess, 
 I fell asleep." At least, this was the meaning of his gib- 
 berish ; and Miss Victorina went to repeat the strange story 
 in the kitchen. "Honest" John himself came down a few 
 minutes later from his room, where, of course, he had also 
 enjoyed a pleasant and refreshing sleep of more than half 
 an hour — so deep, in fact, that when he was asked by the 
 girls if he had heard the screech, he could say in all con- 
 science that he had not, as we know that he was, at the 
 very time, several blocks north of the place. In due time 
 Mr. Clarke came lazily down, yawning and rubbing his 
 eyes, and trying to have his fun vdth Miss Victorina, or 
 Miss Fanny, as we are aware that he could not have it 
 with another. 
 
 However, the game was well played, and had it not been 
 for the real and ominous absence of George, everything 
 would have been well enough, all things considered. Quiet 
 was thus becoming restored all around, when poor little 
 Rosa came in, all in a flutter. She had dared to go out in 
 the lot ; she had seen that everything was not right in the 
 
64 LOUISA KIBEBRIDE. 
 
 shanty, and after several cantious advances and stops, had 
 finally knocked at the door, and found all the people awake, 
 and they had told her, in a few words, the substance of all 
 that had happened. This, of course, was terrible news for 
 all the domestics of the mansion. No one could imagine 
 that, being so near, they could have all been so ignorant of 
 such a daring outrage. Mr. John chiefly was deeply con- 
 cerned for the misfortunes of the Irish family. ''After 
 all," he said, " the accident of theb bn"th in Ireland is not 
 a crime on their part ; they could not help it. Humanity 
 required that some one of the house should go to ask if 
 anything could be done for them. He would himself volun- 
 teer, and Mr. Kirkbride, on coming back, would but approve 
 of such an act." Thus he went ; it was a bold step to a 
 certain extent, as Con might recognize in him one of the 
 two scoundrels who had tried to carry away his sister. 
 But Mr. John banished away this fear ; he had been seen 
 at too great a distance, and we know he was then under a 
 complete disguise. On reaching the shanty he expressed 
 his surprise that none of its inmates had gone to the 
 house during the fray to call for help ; all the servants of 
 the family would have rushed to their aid. If anything 
 could be done for them, they had only to speak and they 
 would be served. Mr. O' Byrne, who recognized in the per- 
 son Mr. Kirkbride' s footman, thanked him sincerely. "No 
 extensive damage had been done to the cottage," he said; 
 "they could very well repair it themselves the following 
 morning ; they needed nothing personally, and would all 
 spend the night together in the front room." 
 
 There is no need of saying that the family, on returning, 
 just at midnight, were as much pained as surprised at the 
 news they received. It was too late for any of them to go 
 to the shanty, and "honest" John did not fail to report the 
 very reassuring wordg of Mr. 0' Byrne which he heard 
 when he went on his "errand of mercy." Mrs. Kirkbride, 
 however, could not be satisfied with this ; she took Rosa 
 apart, and told her to go very early the following day to the 
 cottage, and tell the young Irishman to call on Dr. Dillon 
 
A BEGINNTNG OF HOSTILITIES. 65 
 
 between eight and nine, and request Mm to visit the old 
 lady immediately, and report the state of the case to Mr. 
 Kirkbride, if she herself could not be seen. Rosa promised 
 to do it, and all retired. 
 
 The absence of George had been remarked at supper, and 
 Mr. John had been ordered to replace him for the evening. 
 
 This gentleman, during the night, was far from easy. The 
 following morning the real state of George's case would be 
 known. Would he hold his tongue, as he had promised? 
 This was rather an embarrassing question, and something 
 must be done to prevent a wrong turn in the whole busi- 
 ness. After discussing in his mind, and rejecting several 
 plans, he finally adopted the one which appeared to him 
 the best, and could close his eyes in sleep for a couple of 
 hours. 
 
 Exactly at nine o'clock, as he had been directed to do the 
 previous night, he was in his master' s room, helping him to 
 dress. 
 
 ''A^Tiat is your opinion, John," said the gentleman, 
 '' about last night's outrage ? Who could have done it ? " 
 
 ''Really, sir, it is as much of a puzzle to me as to you," 
 answered the honest servant ; ''and what is more astonish- 
 ing is what I have just learned, that George was with the 
 outsiders who broke into the shanty and attacked the peo- 
 ple there." 
 
 " George ! " exclaimed Mr. Kirkbride. 
 
 " Yes," said John ; "he was caught by the police, and is 
 in the station house preparatory to his examination and 
 commitment by the magistrate this morning." 
 
 "Had you an idea before that he would do such a 
 thing?" 
 
 "Not in the least, sir ; he knew, I suppose, I am not the 
 person to approve of such a foolish business." 
 
 "How did you learn that he was in the hands of the po- 
 lice?" 
 
 " From himself ; I just received, five minutes ago, a slip 
 of paper asking me to go bail for him until his trial." 
 
 " You will do no such thing, I suppose, John ?" 
 5 
 
66 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 ''I will put it to you, sir, in black and white, and you 
 will tell me what I can do : We are from the same country, 
 nay, more, the same county, in England ; he has done me 
 some very good turns in my life ; one of them was that he 
 introduced me to your notice, sir, if you remember, and it 
 is owing to him I am here. The foolish fellow, I suppose, 
 has been carried away by his antipathy against the Irish, 
 which is great indeed, and to my knowledge he has good 
 reasons for it. I do not believe that he intended to rob or 
 kill, but only to vent his temper. I am sure that he will 
 stand his trial, and I risk nothing. Must he remain in jail 
 several months on suspicion ? For he may not be guilty, 
 after all. I think, taking all in all, it would be shameful in 
 me to refuse him — after all he has done for me — a kind of 
 formality which is refused by nobody in our days, even for 
 greater criminals." 
 
 ''Well, John," said Mr. Kirkbride, ''you may do what 
 you please ; the reasons you give me may convince you ; 
 but if he is let out on bail, he shall not come here on leaving 
 the magistrate's court. You will have the goodness to pack 
 up all his things as soon as I am dressed, and send him word 
 that he will find the amount of his wages in the hands of 
 my attorney, Mr. N. Wilson, near the Exchange, in Wall 
 Street ; and you will please be my butler until I have found 
 somebody to take his place." 
 
 Mr. John had gained a great point, a very great point. 
 
 Dr. Dillon, about the same time that this conversation 
 took place, was in the shanty, attending to Mrs. 0' Byrne, 
 and receiving from the poor family all the details of the 
 outrage. He then went to the house, and found at the door 
 Miss Victorina, who cried out to him : "Welcome, doctor ; 
 our porter is very sick, and wants to see you directl3^" 
 The fact was Mr. Schwitz had passed such a night of tor- 
 ment that he thought he would surely die ; the pain went 
 to the very marrow of his bones. The doctor had to make 
 an examination ; he thought that really the os coccygis 
 might have been exfoliated. 
 
A BEGINNma OF HOSTILITIES. 67 
 
 '^How did you receive this ?" he said. 
 
 '*I fell off last night fi-om the stoop, and my back 
 touched something very hard on the ground," answered 
 the veracious porter. 
 
 '' Humph I " ejaculated Dr. Dillon, " I must see to this," 
 and he left the patient's bedroom. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, besides the late hour at which she re- 
 tired the previous night, had scarcely been able to close her 
 eyes ; the doctor could not see her, and called on her hus- 
 band. 
 
 '' There is," said he, ''a very strange case in your house," 
 an(^ he related the visit he had just paid to Sch^atz ; he 
 could not believe the story of his fall, the injury could not 
 have been so great ; he had a strong suspicion that he had 
 received the blow administered by Con's shillelah (for the 
 latter had just related to him the whole story), and he com- 
 municated his suspicion to Mr. Ku^kbride. 
 
 ''We will know the truth, directly," exclaimed this gen- 
 tleman, and he sent for Con, who came in a moment, and 
 was ushered into the sufferer's room. As soon as he saw 
 Schwitz, "Sure enough," he said, ''this is the man who 
 tried to bum our shanty by knocking down the stove ! " 
 
 "Do you confess it ? " said Mr. Kirkbride to the ruffian, 
 who, without giving any answer, merely covered his face 
 ^\\t\\ the bedclothes. The truth was plain enough. 
 
 Mr. Kirkbride' s mind was soon made up. He begged of 
 the physician to allay the man's actual pain by the usual 
 anaesthetics, and directly ordered a carriage to convey him 
 with his effects to Bellevue Hospital, after he had paid him 
 his wages. 
 
 "IN'ow, Con," he said, "you have something to do. Go 
 with your father to the nearest police station, or rather, 
 magistrate, and lodge your complaint against both fellows. 
 The district attorney will have to take cognizance of the 
 affair, and we will know the whole truth." 
 
 The physician, meanwhile, had written a short note to the 
 lady of the house, to assure her that nothing extremely bad 
 would follow for Mrs. 0' Byrne from the night's doings; 
 
68 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 her full recovery would only be delayed a week or so ; and 
 he left. 
 
 Mr. O' Byrne and his son followed the advice they had 
 received, and went directly to the station house, where, un- 
 der the guidance of Mr. Ahern, they found the proper ma- 
 gistrate, lodged their complaint in due form, and the case 
 entered into its first legal stage. 
 
 John went later, at the time appointed for the court to 
 open, was present at the first proceedings, and, at the pro- 
 per moment stepped in, swore that he j^ossessed real estate 
 to the value of at least twenty thousand dollars — this was 
 true, and we may learn later how he came into possession 
 of such a handsome property — went bail in five thousand 
 dollars surety for George, and left the court in the com- 
 pany of his friend, who was soon in a lodging-house where 
 he had not been unknown in former times. God only knew 
 when the trial would come on ; the sickness of Mr. Schwitz, 
 and several other reasons, might delay the interesting cere- 
 mony for a good many months. As to the bully's head, 
 after the first hour of insensibility, nothing remained of the 
 ''accident" except an occasional slight headache. The 
 skulls of your Englishmen of the true Scandinavian type 
 are of such compact thickness, that nothing but a sledge- 
 hammer can break them. 
 
 On the same day Mr. and Mrs. Kirkbride had a little 
 chat about the servants. George and Schwitz were dis- 
 charged ; this was thought to be sufiicient among the men 
 for the present. Mrs. Kirkbride remembered the conver- 
 sation between the two girls on the arrival of the O' Byrne 
 family. Fanny had been the most shameless of the two ; 
 she was immediately replaced by a simple but good Irish 
 girl recommended by the Dolans, with the usual name of 
 Bridget. Yictorina would be let off this time with a sharp 
 reprimand. The gentleman took upon himself to replace 
 the butler and porter. This very day, during business 
 hours, he took some information on the subject of several 
 applicants who had come to him lately with good recom- 
 mendations from friends. He selected for butler a North-of- 
 
A BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. . 69 
 
 Ireland man, not a Catholic, but a great anti- Orangeman, 
 by the name of Andrew McTryst ; and his new porter was 
 to be a sprightly Frenchman, called Jacques Duret, a Catho- 
 lic of the usual mild type in that class of people, but a 
 genial fellow, who was sure to be alternately a bosom friend 
 of Mr. Jean Frangois, and then a most bitter enemy of the 
 same artist en cuisine. In the new combination of the 
 ''domesticity" of the house, there was certainly a great 
 change, and "honest" John would have to go out of the 
 Kirkbride mansion to find a suflacient number of fanatic 
 haters of the Irish. 
 
 ^his set him on reflecting — a mental occupation to which 
 he had been much addicted all his life, unfortunately, not 
 always for good purposes. His hatred of the C Byrnes was 
 more intense than ever ; to his old grudges was added the 
 bitterness of the last failure ; for it was a complete failure. 
 He must, of course, revenge himself, and that before long. 
 He thought directly of George, who was free, and who 
 would be without occupation for some time at least. He 
 thought, also, of Mr. Frederick, into whose good graces he 
 had not, up to this time, sufficiently endeavored to make 
 his way. He had still in his hands bright elements of 
 future success, and he instantly set to work on the noble 
 task of destroying, root and branch, a whole family of 
 Paddies. 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS. 
 
 Theee days after the events last related, Mr. John was 
 fully prepared to begin ; and it was with George that his 
 ingenuity was to be first employed. He easily found some 
 pretext to be absent from the house a couple of hours 
 during the day ; and he was soon seated with his friend, in 
 the back room of a common boarding-house situated in the 
 northern part of Greenwich Street. 
 
 ''Well, George," he said, ''have you recovered entirely 
 from that dizziness of the other night ? " 
 
 "Yes," replied his friend ; " I am the same man again." 
 
 "I suppose you don't intend," suggested John, "to be 
 satisfied with things as they are, and to accept your whip- 
 ping as meekly as a lamb ? " 
 
 " If I only knew," said George, " how to revenge myself, 
 without falling again into the hands of the police, before 
 this first affair has been settled by the law ! " 
 
 "Oh, you may consider it as settled by the law. You 
 are out on bail, you know, and I will see to it that the trial 
 never comes on. I have put your case in the hands of a 
 good lawyer, and he tells me there is no great danger of 
 your being tried at all." 
 
 " If it is so," cried out George, " tell me your plan, if you 
 have any, and, provided I do not appear more than you, I 
 will work heartily for it." 
 
 "That is the right way to talk," retorted John. "Hear 
 me, now. You know that we both are not alone of our way 
 of thinking about the Irish. If the Paddies are as plenty 
 
 70 
 
THE PLOT THICKENS. 71 
 
 as blackberries in New York, good Englishmen and Scotch- 
 men of our stamp are not a rarity in the same place. You 
 said, the other day, that you could whip four Irishmen, and 
 you certainly can ; the blow you received was a surprise. 
 Now, there are many men around as good as you ; we have 
 only to find them. In the very place where that rascally 
 boy, who struck you, works every day, there are large gangs 
 of men who would be heartily pleased if our common enemy 
 received his deserts. Why would you not employ your 
 leisure moments in going to see them, becoming acquainted 
 with many of them, and talking with them in private ? I 
 have an excellent plan, which could not fail this time, as 
 the scoundrelly Irish would not be prepared for a large 
 number of opponents." 
 
 "I already know," said George, ''a number of those 
 men you speak of. When I was butler in your house, the 
 mistress could not be satisfied with the butter, eggs, and 
 poultry of the market ; she said most of it was ' moldy ; ' 
 she sent me around the west side of the Park, where 
 there are many gardeners and some small farmers, with 
 chickens, cows, and pigs. The d — d Irish, with their goats, 
 are not the only ones, I tell you. I have many friends 
 among them, and among the laborers along the avenues. 
 But I told you already, I do not want to appear more 
 than you, and if the thing fails I wish to have as fine a 
 chance of not being found out as you always have." 
 
 *' Your chance in this last affair would have been as good 
 as mine, had you not been struck at the very beginning. 
 It was a sad accident ; but in my new plan, although we 
 start the whole affair, in the sequel we shall have no part. 
 As our object will be to strike first at the 0' Byrnes, our 
 new friends, at a distance, will understand that we must 
 stand aside at the start. Later on we will promise to join 
 them in the more distant localities ; for my plot, to engage 
 a greater number of participators, will be a universal one 
 against all the Irish of the neighborhood. From what you 
 just told me, I see that you are the man to start the busi- 
 ness in the quarter known to you. I have myself many 
 
72 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 friends in all the big houses of the surrounding district ; I 
 will work among them for the common object ; they are no 
 more friendly to the Irish than we are, and we can set a 
 fine ball rolling." 
 
 '^That will do," said George; ''but what must I tell 
 them?" 
 
 "" You must tell them that by combining our efforts, we 
 can wipe out all the Irish shanties that are in their midst. 
 They can be fired without danger if the following strict 
 rules are kept : first, to do it at night, on foggy days, when 
 the lamps burn dimly, and the darkness is the greatest ; 
 secondly, to go in troops of twenty men, masked and dis- 
 guised, armed with clubs — no pistols ; that number will be 
 sufficient to overpower the inmates, men and women, gag 
 them, tie their hands behind their backs, and send them 
 adrift ; then with a few quarts of kerosene and some shav- 
 ings, the huts will not last long ; thirdly, to reduce the 
 operations for one night to half a dozen shanties, and with- 
 draw quietly, as soon as the police is fully aroused ; 
 fourthly, to have a few sentinels posted in places most ad- 
 vantageous for each night's performance, ready to give the 
 alarm when policemen appear in force. By strictly follow- 
 ing these four rules, and employing, say, two troops of 
 twenty the same night, but in different localities, twelve of 
 those detestable nests of outlaws can disappear each night ; 
 and repeating the operation several times during what re- 
 mains of the winter, we shall make a great number of them 
 disappear, and the respectable neighbors themselves will 
 not consent to the rebuilding of a single one of them. The 
 last arrangements can be so made out, that the O' Byrnes 
 will be among those who shall first be wiped out." 
 
 The ruffian explained at length all the details of the 
 various operations, showed the perfect security of the in- 
 cendiaries, and left George fully resolved to begin the very 
 next day, by visiting his former friends of the west side. 
 
 The reader may, perhaps, think that Mr. John was this 
 time a mere dreamer, and seemed to have lost his senses ; 
 but it would be very erroneous to believe so. The i)lan in 
 
THE PLOT THICKENS. 73 
 
 these United States would certainly be one which would 
 suggest itself to every rascal intent on mischief, and its 
 feasibility and probability of success could not be contested. 
 There is surely no country in the world where fires so often 
 occur ; and a good percentage of them, perhaps as much as 
 one half, are the work of the incendiary. Formerly it was 
 the boys allowed to "run with with the machine," and 
 help the firemen, who purposely set houses on fire to have 
 the pleasure of '^running " at night ; very often the owners 
 themselves of the buildings are guilty of this crime, merely 
 for the sake of pocketing the insurance ; of tener, probably, 
 it is the work of secret enemies, who think it very sweet to 
 take their revenge with a pail of kerosene oil and a handful 
 of shavings. And as to the extraordinary boldness of firing 
 several buildings on the same night, and doing it in troops 
 of twenty men at a time, the details of Mr. John's plan 
 showed that he had taken his measures so prudently that 
 very little fear could be entertained of a sleepy police, or of 
 enraged citizens ; the chief necessary precaution consisted 
 in dispersing in time, and his sentinels on guard would see 
 to this, and establish among the active agents a sense of 
 perfect security. Every one who knows the country must 
 acknowledge that if he was bold in this last case, he was 
 likewise able and prudent. All this was certainly true be- 
 fore the actual fire department was organized. 
 
 When he reached home after his conversation with 
 George, John found at the door of the house Mr. Frede- 
 rick, who was just returning from a ride, and who threw 
 him the reins of his horse, saying : ''Take him to the sta- 
 ble, John ; you will oblige me." 
 
 " With great pleasure, sir," answered the ready footman ; 
 and, while John was arranging the reins, and covering with 
 a blanket the sweating animal, his young master was con- 
 descending enough this day to add : ''It was very noble in 
 you, John, to act as you did toward George ; and if you find 
 yourself in any difficulty on that account, apply to me." 
 
 "Thank you very much, sir," said the servant. "I hope 
 I will not need your help ; but I am glad you approve of 
 
74 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 my conduct ; a man that is a man ouglit always to take tlie 
 side of his friends against his enemies." 
 
 ''That is also my motto, John," said Mr. Fred, ''and in 
 this case your enemies happen not to be my friends." 
 
 "Glad to hear it," retorted the " honest" footman, "and 
 if I can do something to serve you in that line, you will find 
 me always ready." 
 
 "You may, one of these days," replied Mr. Fred ; and, 
 handing the servant a five-dollar bill, the young gentleman 
 entered the house. 
 
 It is sad, very sad, to contemplate plots thickening against 
 really honest people, and see them left alone in the midst 
 of ravening wolves. This is, perhaps, the feeling expe- 
 rienced by the reader, at this moment, in perusing these 
 pages. Yet it must be said that the 0' Byrnes were not left 
 altogether without friends. 
 
 The day after the attack on the shanty, early in the 
 evening, Mr. Doyle, who had heard the particulars from 
 Mr. Kirkbride himself during the day, was with the family 
 for the first time since the day of their removal, and there 
 could be no other subject of conversation than the events 
 of the previous night. After all the narratives of Con, and 
 of Julia, and of Mrs. 0' Byrne, and of the old man himself, 
 had been heard by their old friend, he said very deliber- 
 ately : ' ' The attack came certainly from the servants of the 
 house ; two of them have been captured ; the two others 
 who do not ajDpear to be even suspected, must have come 
 from the same place, and I am sure that John, the footman, 
 was one of them. I know him, and he is not the man to 
 be satisfied with this attempt ; he will concoct other plans, 
 and engage other servants of the neighborhood in the plot. 
 That is sure, in my opinion ; I must say that Mr. Kirkbride 
 does not think so. He is fully persuaded that John had 
 nothing to do with it ; he said that a hundred little circum- 
 stances convinced him of it, and I am sure tliat it is his 
 candid ojjinion; hence he will not discharge him, and we 
 may expect trouble from the fellow. As he has failed egre- 
 giously in his first attempt, he will next time call to his 
 
THE PLOT THICKENS. 75 
 
 help people from outside, and lie will have at his command 
 many servants and other people of the neighborhood. We 
 must see to this, and have our party also." 
 
 ^' Party ! " exclaimed Mr. O' Byrne ; '^ how can we form a 
 party ? I dislike the very word." 
 
 ''We cannot help it," said Mr. Doyle; ''those fiends 
 plot against us, and we must unite ; we must even procure 
 firearms, if necessary, and after a few of those rascals have 
 been laid on the ground, then we may have peace." 
 
 ''1 shall never consent to this," said Mr. O' Byrne. "I 
 would prefer a great deal to leave this place, although the 
 gentleman and his lady are so kind to us, and go anywhere, 
 even with the certainty of starving, rather than openly 
 engage in a street fight with bullies." 
 
 Mr. Doyle wanted to be allowed to explain his reasons, 
 and Con was very anxious to hear them. The good man, 
 who had lived a long time in New York, had seen many 
 queer things in his life, chiefly when Nativism and Know- 
 nothingism were rampant ; he had Joined many Irish asso- 
 ciations started with great justice, on the ground of self-de- 
 fense, and at the time he was speaking with the O' Byrnes 
 he was deep in the Fenian plots of the period. We are 
 sorry to say it, and Ave should much rather not have to re- 
 cord it, but it was so. Thus there was something of the 
 " blood and raw bones" composition in his character. 
 
 But of all the people in the cabin. Con was the only one 
 that wished to listen to his reasons, and if the young man 
 had been allowed that privilege, it is very likely that he 
 would have become an ardent supporter of Mr. Doyle's 
 plan. But the two women and stern Mr. 0' Byrne refused 
 absolutely to listen, and said that they would, the follow- 
 ing morning, very sincerely thank Mr. and Mrs. Kirkbride, 
 acquaint them with their real position, and look for other 
 quarters. 
 
 " Which you will not find," exclaimed Mr. Doyle ; "but 
 since you are so stubborn, let us try at least to make such 
 arrangements for your security that they will meet with the 
 promptings of your conscience." 
 
76 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 " Yery well,'' replied tlie old man, ^'let us all sleep qui- 
 etly on the subject, and to-morrow evening you will please 
 come again, Mr. Doyle, and we will speak coolly and pru- 
 dently." 
 
 So it was agreed and carried out. 
 
 The follomng day, tlie friend of the house was again in 
 his chair near the stove, and, not to tke our readers by 
 giving the whole conversation, it was finally resolved to 
 apply to a dozen or so of strong and active young Irishmen 
 living in the neighborhood — who were all indignant at what 
 had taken place — and to form them into a kind of "mu- 
 tual aid society," to repel any attack that should be in- 
 tended, and support each other in case of need. The great 
 difficulty was to invent a means of calling them together in 
 case of a sudden invasion of the 0' Byrne's premises. Pro- 
 vidence easily furnished that means ; when they were in 
 the act of discussing several plans, a bugle was heard, which 
 occasionally played in the evenings, and all the neighbors 
 knew it was young Thomas O'Neill, who was indulging in 
 his usual recreation. Tom had, a few years before, made 
 all the campaigns of the Union ; he played in the band of 
 the 6-th New York Volunteer Regiment, and after his re- 
 turn from the war, he liked to recall former memories by 
 rehearsing the old tunes which had led so many gallant sol- 
 diers to battle. As soon as the people in the shanty heard 
 the first notes of the bugle, "That is it," said Con, who 
 had already become acquainted with Tom; "he will play 
 ' Patrick' s Day ' for us, as a signal, and everybody will un- 
 derstand the meaning if he repeats each line of the music 
 twice." All agreed it was the "very thing." In a few 
 days a couple of dozens of neighbors had formally given 
 their word as members of the "mutual aid society," and 
 events could be waited for with patience. 
 
 Meanwhile, George and John had not been idle in the fur- 
 thering of their plan ; and several fierce anti-Irish partisans 
 seconded them admirably. 
 
 It was in this conjuncture of interesting circumstances 
 
THE PLOT THICKENS. 77 
 
 that Mr. Frederick felt the need of help from John as he 
 had given him to understand a few days before, and called 
 him to the stable under the pretext of looking at one of the 
 horses. John, as groom, had there a room of his own, and 
 both entered it. 
 
 '^ To-morrow," said the young man, ^'I will want your 
 help badly, and I am sure you shall give it heartily." 
 
 ''You are not mistaken there, sir," said John ; " I will do 
 for you anything that is possible." 
 
 ''Well, listen to me, and I shall handsomely reward 
 you. I am dabbling in stocks ; until this time I used some- 
 body to appear in my place ; I must now do it boldly, but 
 you must keep the thing most secret. Lately I went 
 into it pretty deep; there is money I have to replace." 
 He did not say that it was his father's money. "To- 
 morrow shall decide if I can replace it or not. There is 
 among the brokers a detestable Irishman, whom I have to 
 treat as a friend, although I loathe him. I know he pays 
 me in the same coin, and I am sorry to say that I am al- 
 most in his clutches. To-morrow is to be a great and excit- 
 ing day at the stock exchange ; if that Irish rascal is there, 
 I fear he will floor me ; if he is absent, I know that I shall 
 floor him. The object of my speaking with you is to keep 
 him out. I have a plan of my own, and you are needed for 
 its execution. To-moiTow I will take Mr. O'Tee — that is 
 his name — in my carriage to my lawyer's, where we have 
 some business to transact. It is already agreed between us 
 that afterward we will both go to the exchange in my car- 
 riage. You shall be the groom, and you will take from the 
 stable what horses you choose. When we come down from 
 the lawyer's office, mj friend, of course, will enter first, 
 and just when I am about to get in myself, I will remember 
 that I have forgotten to sign some checks left in the law- 
 yer's hands for use on that day. Can you not manage, 
 meanwhile, to have the horses run away with him, and to 
 dispose everything so that the fellow may not be able to bid 
 for stocks that day?" And Mr. Frederick waited, evi- 
 dently with deep anxiety, for John's answer. 
 
78 LOUISA XntKBRIDE. 
 
 ' ' If there is some damage done to the carriage, will that 
 signify ? " said the worthy footman. 
 
 '' Not in the least," did Mr. Fred ejaculate, with manifest 
 relief ; " only try not to break yonr own bones." 
 
 "I have no fear of that," replied the sldllful Jockey, and 
 he was going out of the room, when his gentlemanly friend 
 called him back, and inquired kindly if he had himself 
 some business on hand with respect to the 0' Byrnes ; and, 
 hearing that something would shortly '' turnup," only they 
 wanted funds to gain over a few '^wavering" friends, Mr. 
 Frederick, with an open, generous, and free manner, took 
 out his pocket-book, and handed over to the admiring John 
 a good solid hundred-dollar bill. 
 
 The day following, when the coast was clear at the man- 
 sion, and Mr. Kirkbride had gone early to his ofSce, John 
 selected two fiery horses, whom, Avith a single touch of his 
 whip applied on a certain spot, he could render almost furi- 
 ous ; and young Mr. Frederick, after a last word of encour- 
 agement to the valet, took his seat in the vehicle, and both 
 were in a very short time at the residence of Mr. O'Tee, 
 who was found waiting. The two gentlemen on their way 
 to the lawyer's office appeared in the best spirits, and were 
 evidently used to each other's company; the conversation 
 was extremely pleasant and animated ; and even in the 
 lawyer's office, when they reached it, their business trans- 
 actions appeared extremely cordial and good-natured. The 
 place was far from Wall Street, up town in fact ; Mr. Fred- 
 erick did not wish that his own agent should be too near 
 Mr. Wilson, his father's attorney. It was Just at the lower 
 end of Sixth Avenue, where some stray third-class lawyers 
 can be found, or at least were yet found at the time. The 
 law business being concluded, every particle of the pro- 
 gramme arranged beforehand by Mr. Frederick was car- 
 ried through, and Mr. O'Tee was quite Avilling to wait in 
 the carriage until his friend had gone and come back. 
 Here John' s skill was to be tested. 
 
 At the moment his young master left, he perceived a 
 heavy wagon coming down on him led by mules, which 
 
THE PLOT THICKENS. 79 
 
 would have to pass between his own carriage and a Sixth 
 Avenue car running up at the time in a direction contrary 
 to that of the wagon. Being on the east side of the avenue 
 and coming from a transverse street just at the end of it, 
 on the same side, there was nothing strange that the heads 
 of his horses should be turned north, although Wall Street, 
 where he was going afterward, was certainly south. Just 
 when both the wagon and the horse-car came to be in a line 
 with his coach, he saw his horses prick up their ears at the 
 sight of the mules, and this was the favorable instant. 
 Gently tightening the reins as if to check his horses, he gave 
 them at the same time a slight touch of the whip on the 
 spot he knew, and directly the animals, throwing back their 
 legs as for a kick, started furiously, with head erect, mane 
 flowing, eyes full of fire and fury. On the sidewalk there 
 was a sudden outcry from the pedestrians who witnessed the 
 first pranks of the runaways. This gave new speed to the 
 animals, who galloped wildly to the north. The drivers of 
 all the vehicles in front, turning their heads and seeing the 
 danger, whipped their horses to get out of the way ; there was 
 soon a terrible turmoil and confusion all along the avenue ; 
 but no one dared to interpose any obstacle to the infuriated 
 animals. On they went ; on they flew ; at every crosswalk 
 met in the way, the carriage bounded and several times 
 appeared about to turn over ; but it was well built, and 
 again fell plump on the bed of the road. Poor Mr. O' Tee, 
 alone inside, threw himself on the forward seat, and knock- 
 ing against the glass repeatedly, evidently wanted John to 
 check the horses ; John did not mind him, but, shrugging 
 his shoulders, appeared to mean that he could not, the reins 
 would rather break. He stood up himself on the driver's 
 bench, reins in hand, cool and collected, steadily keeping 
 his equilibrium whenever there was a jerk, and watching 
 events. All the people on the sidewalk stopped and looked 
 at him. " A fine fellow," they seemed to say, ''who knows 
 his business." 
 
 The noble steeds, kept up in their wildness by the univer- 
 sal agitation all around, pulled at the reins, foamed at the 
 
80 LOUISA EIREBRIDE. 
 
 mouth, drew fire from the pavement at every step, keeping 
 time, however, each with the other, and galloping in perfect 
 unison. On they went, on they flew ; Twentieth Street is 
 already left behind ; twice at every block the carriage is fu- 
 riously jerked ; will it always fall so gracefully on its level 
 axle ? Many a man on the sidewalk asks himself that ques- 
 tion ; but the answer shall not be known for a quarter of 
 an hour. Poor Mr. O'Tee, wilder than ever, finally breaks 
 the glass in front, and cries out to John : ' ' Can' t you stop ? ' ' 
 
 ^^No!" answers John, who again resumes his coolness 
 and self-possession. 
 
 Thirtieth Street is already far behind, and up to this, 
 by a kind of miracle, all the vehicles and wagons in front 
 have been able to get out of the way. Will it always be 
 so ? Will it continue to be so until the Park is reached ? 
 Then there is hope for poor Mr. 0' Tee. 
 
 Unfortunately, at the corner of Forty-fourth Street a long 
 wagon is standing transversely, the back on the curbstone, 
 the horses with the body of the cart across the avenue. 
 The driver is in the store at the corner, where he has 
 brought in some house furniture. He knows nothing of 
 the excitement on the street until the danger is near. Then 
 he runs out, he flies to his team, but too late ! The wild 
 horses, seeing the obstacle, try to turn it by jumping on the 
 sidewalk itself — for there was a horse-car on the track in 
 the middle of the avenue. John, never losing his self-pos- 
 session, has jumped on the sidewalk, has been stunned for 
 a moment, but can soon stand on his feet. The wheel of 
 the carriage has struck against the curbstone, the carriage 
 itself is dashed on the sidewalk. In a moment John is at 
 the horses' heads, preventing them from dragging the broken 
 coach any farther, and several men from the corner store 
 are there in an instant to help the poor Mr. O'Tee, all bleed- 
 ing and bruised, buried under a mass of shapeless debris. 
 A mattress was procured on which he was gently placed, 
 and, with poles j)assed under, men carried him across the 
 avenue to a druggist's store on the west side, a few doors 
 from the corner. Several physicians of the neighborhood 
 
THE PLOT THIGKEN8. 81 
 
 were quickly on tlie spot ; they examined the patient, who 
 complained chiefly of one of his arms and one of his legs. 
 They soon found that the right arm was fractured above 
 the elbow, and the left leg badly sprained ; the blood came 
 only from his hands, with which he had broken the front 
 panes of glass. 
 
 Mr. O'Tee, at his own request, was placed in a hack called 
 dn for the purpose, and conveyed to his residence, which, 
 happily, was very near, on the east side, toward Fifth Ave- 
 nue. John, meanwhile, had found out that his horses were 
 uninjured ; he was himseK safe and sound ; all around con- 
 gratulated him on his coolness ; if the gentleman inside had 
 not been killed outright, it was owing to his presence of 
 mind, which made him forget the shock he had received, and 
 stop the horses. In the midst of these sincere congratula- 
 tions, he proudly stepped out, reins in hand, walking his 
 sweating runaways till he had them housed in their stable 
 on Madison Avenue. The whole affair had succeeded admi- 
 rably, and he was sure that Mr. Fred's friendship was for- 
 ever secured. 
 
 This young sprig of aristocracy was, in fact, at this mo- 
 ment, in the delights of ecstasy. He had seen the splendid 
 start of his steeds. From the windows of the lawyer's ofiice 
 he had witnessed the whole scene — of course expressing a 
 great deal of surprise, disappointment, and all that, crying 
 wildly at the awkwardness of John, who had allowed his 
 horses to run away, but inwardly thanking his stars that 
 he had such an intelligent valet, and perfectly sure now 
 that the end of the race would be as lucky to him as 
 the beginning. Having signed his checks, he hired a cab, 
 and was at the stock exchange in time to take part in its 
 operations from the very beginning. He took it for granted 
 that Mr. O'Tee would not be in his way that day, at least, 
 and it was for him a great stroke of good fortune. The 
 broker's feelings toward Mr. Frederick were exactly as the 
 young gentleman had described them to John, and he had 
 the immense advantage of knowing perfectly the inside cards 
 of his antagonist. There is no need of detailing the cunning 
 6 
 
82 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE, 
 
 tricks by which he had managed to find this out. A leading 
 member of the exchange, he could give to the operations of 
 the day almost the turn he wished, and his intention was 
 certainly to floor Mr. Frederick, as he had himself expressed 
 it, by loading him with stock of a kind which he could 
 scarcely carry, and obliging him to pay at the end of the 
 day very heavy balances, for which he was totally unpre- 
 pared. The ruin of the young scamp was certain, in the 
 opinion of the broker, when they both left his residence that 
 morning, and now, on a bed of suffering, he was racked be- 
 sides by the thought that his enemy would not suffer any- 
 thing from him that day. 
 
 Young Kirkbride could play his cards in safety ; and as 
 the object was of immense importance to him, he played, 
 for once, skillfully. When business time was over, he had 
 made such profits that his margin enabled him to redeem 
 the bonds belonging to his father, which he had dared to 
 pledge ; and if he was not rich himself afc the end of his 
 operations, at least ruin did no more stare him in the face. 
 Hence, when he returned home, with the bonds in his pocket, 
 ready to be replaced where he had taken them, he would 
 have openly embraced ^'honest" John if he had met him 
 on his way. 
 
 The following day all the morning papers contained de- 
 scriptions of the ''accident" that had happened to the 
 broker, and they were all more or less laudatory of Mr. 
 Kirkbride' s groom, who had saved the life of a gentleman 
 so well and favorably known on the stock exchange and in 
 society. Mr. John was reaping an exuberant harvest of 
 glory. 
 
 This could not but encourage him in the prosecution of 
 his other plans, and to this important concern of ours we 
 must turn our eyes, after a rapid glance at the actual state 
 of the O' Byrne family. 
 
 The old lady was really convalescent, as good Dr. Dillon 
 had predicted ; Julia, having altogether recovered from 
 her fright, was as buoyant, active, and happy as she had 
 
THE PLOT THICKENS. 83 
 
 ever been in her life ; she had received the gifts first pur- 
 chased by Mrs. Kirkbride, and many others bought in con- 
 sequence of that " horrible night." Con worked every day 
 on Eighth Avenue, and went often in the evening to see 
 his friend Tom O'Neill, who ^.mused him by his tales of 
 the war along the Potomac and the Mississippi. Old Mr. 
 ^O' Byrne worked hard in the Park, and sometimes received, 
 late in the evening, a visit from Mr. Doyle, w^ho was very 
 active in the formation of his ''mutual aid society," but 
 never dared to open his mouth about that hobby of Fenian- 
 ism, of which his old friend would not hear any more. 
 They all thanked God sincerely for their actual peace and 
 happiness ; yet many others in their place would, no doubt, 
 have complained of many things, for they were not exactly 
 in the perfect enjoyment of the goods of this life. The 
 winter, which had been severe so early, continued hard 
 throughout. Snow-storms succeeded each other with a dis- 
 heartening perseverance ; and every snow-storm around 
 their shanty brought with it an additional trouble, and 
 sometimes additional suffering. The level of their floor 
 was at least twelve feet under the bed of the surrounding 
 streets, and invariably the eddies of the wind, with cruel 
 persistence, whirled to their hole all the drifts accumulated 
 irregularly in a large circle around them. At times, in the 
 morning, their shanty was literally buried in the snow ; and 
 the old man and his son had to get up earlier than they 
 would have wished, and, after a hasty prayer to God, at it 
 they went, ojDening roads, clearing away the snow, heaping 
 it up at a distance, and rendering the exit from the cottage 
 at least possible for the women during the day. 
 
 The wind was very cold and annoying to the family. 
 They had replaced the sashes of the window in Mrs. 
 O' Byrne's bedroom, and Con had taken his first lesson in 
 the intricacies of ropes and weights as applied to ih^ as- 
 cending and descending parts of the frame. But the poor 
 people were not long in ascertaining that such a piece of 
 carpentering is not the best to exclude cold air from any 
 room. They could not think of pasting slips of paper or of 
 
84 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE, 
 
 rags, as they had often entirely to opsn the windows on ac- 
 count of the smoke ; for the top of their chimney was ex- 
 actly on a level with the next avenue, and the wind sweep- 
 ing along that interminable street took a kind of pleasure 
 in getting in by the top of the flue, and filling their rooms 
 with smoke and soot. In the big house precautions were 
 better taken against all those accidents ; but it is fated that 
 the poor, even when they enjoy the necessaries of life, must 
 be subjected to a thousand annoyances and sufferings al- 
 together unknown to those who happen to have money. 
 These were the monotonous details of the life of the Irish 
 family. Happy, however, if something far worse had not 
 been at that very moment in store for them. 
 
 A gloomy night of February, during a thav/, when the 
 whole city of New York was enveloped in the folds of a 
 sheet of vapor, as thick as the thickest cloud, was the time 
 determined upon by the concocter of the whole contrivance. 
 Twenty men coming from the north side — nobody was ever 
 able afterward to ascertain where they had met together — 
 with black masks on their faces, each with a club in his 
 right hand, one of them carrying a tin vessel of the capacity 
 of a gallon, and another a sack full of shavings, appeared 
 suddenly at the door of the shanty, and the two foremost 
 tried to push it in quietly. Mr. Doyle happened that night 
 to be with his friends, and was just standing, his back 
 against the door. In his previous arrangements he had 
 prepared with Con a number of strong bars of wood, which 
 could in a moment be placed in heavy sockets of wood like- 
 wise, nailed by him on both sides of the door, and one of 
 those bars happened fortunately to be within the reach of 
 his hand. He did not yield to the pressure of the men who 
 wanted to come in without knocking ; but crying out, '^ Who 
 is there?" he placed the bar in its sockets. Con, looking 
 slyly at the window, saw a number of men, and saying in 
 a low tone, ^'They have come, the bandits!" he slipped 
 away to the bedroom of his mother, was in a moment out 
 of the window, and creeping up along the bank unper- 
 ceived by the ruffians, who were all grouped in front of 
 
THE PLOT THICKENS. 85 
 
 the shanty, he ran to give the alarm to Tom, only a block 
 distant. 
 
 But before the bngle could sound, the bandits — since 
 Con had thus called them — openly asked admittance, and 
 were openly refused by Mr. O' Byrne and Mr. Doyle. They 
 pushed at the door ; but it was solid, and an additional bar 
 had been adjusted by Mr. Doyle. Their clubs could not 
 break it ; they had made no provision for such a circum- 
 stance, which they could scarcely foresee ; and they ap- 
 peared to be baffled at least momentarily. 
 
 The bugle at this moment sounded ; but not knowing the 
 meaning of it, they did not mind it in the least, nor did 
 they think of running away. Neither ' ' honest ' ' John nor 
 George was with them, of course, and they appeared no- 
 vices in such a surprise party. One of them, however, re- 
 membered the window of the bedroom ; half of the whole 
 number followed him, and, breaking by force both sashes, 
 they were soon in the interior of the cottage. The two poor 
 women threw themselves in one of the corners of the front 
 room ; Mr. O' Byrne and Mr. Doyle, their back to the door, 
 armed themselves with the wooden bars, and stood side to 
 side with the hard weapons in their hands. The ruffians 
 outside followed the first who had entered, and the whole 
 troop of bandits, with their clubs, filled both rooms of the 
 cottage, and stood compact in front of the two Irishmen. 
 Doyle was the first to strike, and with a single blow, well 
 applied to the outstretched arms of two enemies, he disabled 
 them at once. 0' Byrne, following his example, nearly broke 
 the shoulder blade of another, and the first scream of the 
 evening came from the wounded ruffian, but could not be 
 heard outside of the cottage. Here a confused melee ensued ; 
 the invaders struck each other oftener than they could reach 
 the Irishmen ; they had received positive orders not to kill, 
 but merely to tie the hands of their victims, send them 
 adrift, and burn the shanty. This, their number enabled 
 them at last to execute. Mr. O' Byrne and Mr. Doyle, 
 overpowered, were strongly bound with cords ; the same 
 was done to the women, and the four together were brought 
 
86 LOUISA KIEEBBIDE. 
 
 outside by the door, now open, and told to run for their 
 life. 
 
 But at this moment the tables were turned by the sudden 
 coming in of more than a dozen members of the "mutual 
 aid association," led by Con and Tom, and accompanied 
 by two policemen, one of whom was our friend Ahern, who, 
 since the first outrage, was keeping a better lookout on the 
 avenue. We cannot describe in detail the short conflict 
 which followed, and which ended by the securing of four 
 of the bandits and the binding of them with the very cords 
 they had brought. But the best operation of the night was 
 the seizure of the bold man to whom the gallon of kerosene 
 had been intrusted. He was in the very act of pouring the 
 fluid on some shavings near the red-hot stove, when Con 
 and Ahern came suddenly upon him ; the former was pro- 
 vided with a pail of water, found in a corner of the shanty ; 
 the latter, with his club, first stunned the incendiary, pre- 
 paratory to securing his hands with a rather scientific knot. 
 Their companions ran away at once and disappeared. Mean- 
 while Doyle and old 0' Byrne, with the two women, had 
 been freed by Tom O'JSTeill, and all together congratulated 
 themselves on the success of the plan suggested by the 
 old friend of the family. The masks were torn from the 
 faces of the five secured ruflians, who refused obstinately to 
 speak ; but none of them could be recognized by any of the 
 Irishmen ; they were evidently not living in the neighbor- 
 hood. The two policemen, calling to their help four mem- 
 bers of the ''mutual aid society," carried their prisoners to 
 the police station, where they were lodged for the night. 
 
 Until the arrival of Con and Tom, with their friendly 
 troop, there had been scarcely any noise in the attack and 
 rescue we have recorded ; but from the moment when two 
 hostile bodies of men had been pitching at each other in 
 the open lot, the whole block was in an uproar, and the 
 inmates of the Kirkbride mansion could not but become 
 aware thai a conflic^t was going on under their back win- 
 dows. The whole family was at home, all the servants at 
 their duty, and chiefly "honest" John was, that night, 
 
THE PLOT THICKENS. 87 
 
 particularly obedient to the orders of his master. Mr. 
 Frederick, who had been secretly led by him to believe 
 that ''there might be some fun this evening," was un- 
 usually quiet and collected, probably waiting for "coming 
 events." 
 
 ^ When the noise finally became too loud not to be noticed, 
 Mr. Kirkbride told his footman to go out and inquire what 
 was the matter. He went and came back almost imme- 
 diately, reporting that the Irish shanty was full of men in 
 great agitation, that other men w^ere running wildly with 
 black masks on their faces, but he could not tell w^hat was 
 the cause of all the disturbance. Mr. Kirkbride, greatly 
 surprised, took out of a small drawer a common Derringer 
 pistol, which he often carried on his person for self-preser- 
 vation, and left the house. He went straight to the cottage, 
 out of which the two policemen, at that very moment, were 
 leading the incendiary, and he inquired of them what had 
 the prisoner been doing : "Nothing less, sir, than trying to 
 set the cottage on fire," replied Ahern. And going in, the 
 gentleman smelt the kerosene without mistake, saw the 
 black mixture of coal and water spread on the floor, and 
 pressed with his foot a sack which had been left, and which 
 was found to be full of shavings. This is serious, he 
 thought, and addressing the policemen, he said : "I thank 
 you, officers, for your vigilance ; please tell your captain 
 that I would be very much obliged to him, if he came to 
 my house to-morrow morning between nine and ten. I 
 must speak with him as soon as possible, and I might not 
 find him at the station house, if I went there. I will wait 
 for him. Good night, gentlemen, take good care of your 
 prisoner." 
 
 Then, the poor Irish family being left alone, he sent Con 
 to the mansion with the order that his footman, his butler, 
 and the porter should come directly to the shanty, with old 
 blankets, nails, hammers, etc. ; and when they arrived, he 
 directed them to nail a couple of old blankets on the open- 
 ing of the bedroom window, which had been hopelessly 
 destroyed; he made them set to rights everything left in 
 
88 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 disorder, and lie did not leave the place before the 0' Byrnes 
 were at least protected from the hard frost during the night. 
 Our readers may imagine with what cordiality John obeyed 
 these orders of his master. 
 
 The following morning, the police captain came as desired, 
 and promised to employ two good detectives to ferret out the 
 leaders of the late plot — Mr. Kirkbride taking upon himself 
 the whole expense — and a new legal case was opened ; but 
 this time it was not between the O' Byrnes and the two 
 former ruffians. It was between Mr. Ralph S. Kirkbride 
 and the late incendiaries, or rather from the State against 
 them, on the complaint of the aforesaid gentleman. 
 
 There is no need of mentioning that, the following day, 
 carpenters and glaziers came to the shanty, repaired the 
 damage of the previous evening, and made the poor dwell- 
 ing more comfortable, and less exposed to cold and smoke 
 than it had ever been before. This was the result of the 
 visit of the gentleman who had never entered it before, and 
 would certainly not have done so this time, had not the 
 attempt of the banditti called him to it. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 FATHEE AND 80]^- IN THE MANSION. 
 
 In all his commercial and speculative enterprises, Mr. 
 Kirkbride had been remarkably successful in life. From 
 Ms father he had received the leadership in a growing im- 
 porting concern, and his skill and attention to business had 
 made his house one of the first in New York, a city which 
 was, even in the time of his youth, the chief emporium of 
 the whole country. Philadelpliia, w^hich for a long time 
 had overshadowed it, could no more compete with the more 
 favorably situated Empire City ; and the great w^ork of De 
 Witt Clinton, the canal which connected the Hudson Eiver 
 with the lakes, had secured apparently forever her su- 
 premacy, by placing under her almost supreme control the 
 commerce of the ever-growing West. 
 
 From the merchants and banks of the great city he 
 could command illimited credit, and everybody knows how 
 much this favors extensive and lucrative operations. His 
 honesty, integrity, and fairness attracted toward his com- 
 mercial centre the most important houses, not only of New 
 York, but, it may be said, of the whole United States. The 
 war of 1861 had, it is true, deprived him of a large income 
 which his dealings with the South formerly secured him. 
 But it was hoped at that time that the Southern States 
 would soon be reconstructed^ and become again a source of 
 prosperity for the North. 
 
 To the large business transactions of his firm, he had 
 lately added extensive speculations in real estate. His 
 father, before dying, had warned him against embracing too 
 
90 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 mucli, and going, for tlie sake of an immediate profit, out of 
 the regular line of his commerce ; and, until a few years be- 
 fore the beginning of this story, he had strictly followed the 
 paternal advice. Seeing, however, occasionally in his own 
 hands large amounts of which he could dispose as he wished 
 without any injury to his commercial enterprises, he began 
 to invest in real estate ; yet, from the beginning, he proposed 
 never to gamble^ but to purchase, in order to Jceep until large 
 profits could be realized merely by the natural growth of 
 the city. By this simple process, he had added immensely 
 to his wealth. He was admirably seconded in these opera- 
 tions by an agent, Mr. W. Croft, whose interest he secured 
 by a good percentage, and of whose honesty he was per- 
 fectly sure, the more so because he always kept a sharp 
 look on this branch of his business transactions. 
 
 Inside of his splendid dwelling he could also promise him- 
 self real hai3piness. From what we know of Mrs. Kirkbride, 
 the reader of these pages is aware that he could not have 
 found a better wife in the whole city. The few words we 
 have said of her scarcely give a faint idea of her matchless 
 virtues ; when all is told, at the end of this story, we shall 
 be enabled to appreciate her to her full value. Her hus- 
 band, for whom she had no secret, loved her tenderly, and 
 found in that affection his best treasure, as it was heartfelt, 
 and did not please only his eyes or his palate like the gild- 
 ing of his apartments or the viands of his table. 
 
 This alone would be high praise for him, since very few 
 are the men who appreciate moral goodness, even in their 
 nearest relatives ; they are generally captivated by the 
 senses, and not entranced by the simple, naked beauty of 
 pure virtue. Mr. Kirkbride was a true man, not only gen- 
 erous-minded and noble-hearted, but a sound appreciator of 
 what is true and false, detesting vice even when it glitters, 
 and always the ready friend of real goodness, even under 
 the most humble garb. His conduct toward the O' Byrne 
 family is a sure proof of it ; how could he not have admired 
 his wife, when he knew her so thoroughly ? 
 
 For many years, that happiness of the domestic ckcle 
 
FATHER AND SON IN THE MANSION 91 
 
 appeared secured to him for his whole life. Mrs. Kirkbride 
 had given him ^yq beautiful children whom he could mold 
 as he pleased — at least, thus he fancied — he was a ^\ise and 
 good father ; they would surely follow his lead. But four 
 of them had been snatched away by grim Death before our 
 story began ; the last one, a charming little girl, a few 
 months before. Mr. Frederick, the first-born, was the only 
 one remaining. All the hope of the family was concentrated 
 in that young scamp. We call him so, because we know 
 him already much better than his father did, although, as 
 we have seen, he had himself some faint notion of the 
 moral ugliness of his boy, and this was already a worm 
 gnaTvang at his heart. 
 
 The father had done for his son all that a man could do. 
 The boy, when a child, had received instruction from an 
 intelligent governess in the house ; he had been sent later 
 to a fashionable academy ; then to a renowned grammar 
 school in Xew York, and he had finally graduated with 
 honors at Yale. The father, himself, had taken him in 
 hand, to initiate him in regular business, and he intended 
 from the first to make him a partner as soon as he would be 
 of age. 
 
 The moral training of Freddy would have been considered 
 by all fashionable New-Yorkers as on a par with the rest of 
 his education. At the knees of his mother he had been 
 taught to pray, and when a young boy he seemed inclined 
 to piety, as understood in the Episcopalian church. He reg- 
 ularly followed his mother to divine service every Sunday, 
 and frequently saw his father kneel, with the rest of the fam- 
 ily, in the well-known pew. At Sunday school he was for 
 a long time a regular attendant, and had partaken of the 
 sacrament with his mother on several occasions. If later, 
 during the time he went to the grammar school, he appeared 
 more lukewarm, and often found some pretext for not going 
 to church on Sundays ; if, chiefly during the four years he 
 was a student at Yale, he never entered a church in IS'ew 
 Haven, and all along vacation he did his best to go to Trinity 
 Chapel as seldom as he could — had he not constantly before 
 
92 LOUISA KIRKBRIBE. 
 
 liis eyes the moral uprightness of his father, to whom he 
 then looked up, more than to his mother, as an example 
 which he ought to have felt proud to imitate ? His father 
 respected religion outwardly, but in fact he had none, and 
 was too busy to attend to religious concerns, even when 
 there was question of his immortal soul. This was true, 
 and Freddy was sure to follow, in that respect, the lead of 
 his father rather than that of his mother. But was not the 
 conduct of Mr. Kirkbride, as a husband, as a father, as a 
 business man, as a citizen, all that could be desired 1 And 
 if the son had copied it faithfully, would he not have sat- 
 isfied all the requirements of modern society, nay, of what 
 is called a truly moral community 1 
 
 Unfortunately, Mr. Frederick was not so inclined. He 
 inwardly despised the Christian admonitions of his mother, 
 although, so far, he never spoke roughly to her ; and when 
 earnestly requested to fulfill some religious duty formerly 
 dear to him, he merely answered that he was no more a 
 baby. As to his father's dignified bearing, he felt a kind of 
 awe for it, and was cunning enough to understand that all 
 his future prospects in life depended on securing his good 
 will, and, consequently, in appearing to chime in with his 
 projects and arrangements ; but in his heart of hearts he 
 said to himself ''that the life actually led by his father 
 could not suit a young man." He was not, after all, a poor 
 wretch of a boy, obliged to deny himself everything in order 
 to open his way to a competency. The road to wealth and 
 consequent enjoyment had been opened by a '' icliole line of 
 ancestors^'' — he would scarcely admit the chief claim to it 
 in his father himself. He would be, therefore, a fool to plod 
 along as if he was a hod-carrier, reserving rest and enjoy- 
 ment for the last years of his life, when he would have lost 
 the keen sense required for golden pleasure. Youth was 
 the time for a broad sail on the ocean of sensual adventure 
 and keenly felt excitement ; and as he could launch on it 
 directly, and without waiting for wind and tide, he was fully 
 determined not to lose the best part of life, but to begin in 
 right earnest at the first opportune moment. He would re- 
 
FATHER AND SON IN THE MANSION 93 
 
 spect exterior appearances, since his father required it ; he 
 would be at his desk every day, or nearly so ; he would 
 employ his time in the counting-house in the way best cal- 
 culated to please so unreasonable a father ; it was a great 
 sacrifice of his dearest inclinations, but he had yet to do it 
 for a short time. Meanwhile, underhand he could snatch 
 many hidden pleasures, and these were the most precious, 
 as nothing is so enticing as the mere sight of the "forbid- 
 den fruit." This was the whole of his philosophy, and we 
 must say that he had been gradually brought to adopt it 
 by the sight of what he already knew of the world, and by 
 the influence of several friends further advanced than he 
 was in the theory, but having less opportunities at their 
 command, as they had not before them the prospect of re- 
 ceiving without effort as large a fortune as was sure to fall 
 to his lot. His friends^ consequently, were not the best 
 advisers he could have, yet he was ah^eady, we may say, a 
 slave to them. His actual means of enjoying his dreams on 
 the spot were far from being commensurate with his aspira- 
 tions. His father gave him one hundred and twenty-five 
 dollars a month — $1,500 a year — for pocket money, and he 
 had several horses and a carriage at his disposal ; but his 
 father insisted that during business hours he should be, at 
 least most of the time, at the counting-house, except when 
 he obtained permission to absent himself for a full day, as 
 he had done lately, to our knowledge, for a very worthy pur- 
 pose. 
 
 We have lately seen that Mr. Kirkbride was not altogether 
 without anxiety with respect to his son. Having all along 
 determined to make him a partner in the firm when he would 
 reach his twenty-second year, he now hesitated. The chief 
 cause of this hesitation was what he had heard, and what he 
 himself suspected, of the habitual intercourse of his son with 
 young spendthrifts and sharpers. Should the thing be really 
 as he was told, he would certainly delay the introduction of 
 Frederick into the concern, and oblige him to give better 
 and surer proofs of steadiness and industry. This he was 
 determined to know, and, as we have seen, he had promised 
 
94 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE, 
 
 his son a talk about it after fuller investigations. Among 
 tliose friends of the young man, there was one particularly 
 whom Mr. Kirkbride disliked above all, and he had warned 
 his son against him by name. It was Mr. James Friskey. 
 This gentleman was at the time acquiring great notori- 
 ety in jS'ew York. His inHuence on Mr. Frederick, as on 
 many others, was extremely baneful, and we cannot entu^ely 
 avoid the mention of his name. Well, Mr. Kirkbride had 
 heard most positively that his son was one of the numerous 
 acquaintances and admirers of Mr. Friskey, and, moreover, 
 that he gambled at the stock exchange, and he had most 
 positively forbidden him the one and the other. This was 
 to be ascertained directly, and for this purpose he called 
 him to his room one evening, soon after dinner, a very short 
 time later than the adventure on Sixth Avenue. 
 
 "My son," said the father, as soon as they were both 
 seated, '' we must have a serious conversation together. 
 Not long ago, you may remember, I advised you to reflect 
 seriously on some few words I said on your acquaintances. 
 You pretended they were all ' honorable and gentlemanly 
 young men,' and you spoke rather warmly on the subject. 
 I attach an extreme importance to this, because, as you are 
 aware, I have all along intended to start you in business 
 with me, in a few months from this ; and the question of 
 your friends is of such a nature that my project would 
 have to be delayed, to my great sorrow, if I was not per- 
 fectly satisfied on this point. My other partners have also 
 the right to speak on the subject, and I would not, for the 
 whole workl, see them hesitate to receive my own son into 
 the firm, when I propose to them your admission. Self- 
 respect absolutely requires of me, that my proposal should 
 not suffer the least difficulty. You understand this, I sup- 
 pose, Fred?" 
 
 "Perfectly, father," replied the hopeful young man; 
 "and I would remark at first, that; if your partners have 
 eyes, they ought to see how steady I am at my post, except 
 very rarely and for very good reasons : and what pains I 
 really take to be useful, and to acquaint myself with every 
 
FATHER AND SOW IN TEE MANSION 95 
 
 branch of the business. In fact, I cannot but take a deep 
 interest in it, since my whole prospect in life is deeply in- 
 volved in it, independently of your will and pleasure, so 
 clearly expressed and so strongly and efficiently impressed 
 upon me." 
 
 *'I admit," said Mr. Kirkbride, "that lately your con- 
 duct in that respect has been more satisfactory to me and 
 to those gentlemen. Not long ago they remarked it with 
 satisfaction ; and it really filled my heart with pleasure to 
 hear them speak of it. I was inwardly glad of the slight 
 altercation we had in the presence of your mother, since it 
 is really from that day that there has been a remarkable 
 change in you. But that change has not been unalloyed, 
 Fred. Explain to me, please, that strange affair of which 
 the papers spoke, when one of my carriages was broken 
 with a ' broker ' in it. I did not yet ask you, because I 
 wanted to hear what people said of it. You were not in the 
 carriage, and the papers spoke only of John in connection 
 with the accident ; but when I asked the fellow how it was 
 that he was driving Mr. O'Tee, he said he was ' driving you, 
 but fortunately you were not in when the horses ran away.' 
 How does it happen that you have any relations with a 
 broker — and I object positively to Mr. O'Tee in particular ; 
 and why did you, after the accident, take a hack and go to 
 the stock exchange, where you spent a good part of the 
 day ? You did not ask me leave of absence for such a pur- 
 pose, but you openly defied my positive commands." 
 
 Frederick was rather stunned by these abrupt questions 
 from his father. Yet he was not altogether unprepared ; 
 only he had expected to be called to give some explanations 
 of the kind, directly after the day the papers were so loud 
 in their praises of John. The joy of his success at the ex- 
 change on that day had been somewhat impaired by the 
 expectation of questions from the "old gentleman," and 
 he had been heartily glad to see day after day pass without 
 a word from him on the subject. Now that he thought the 
 thing had blown over, he was called up to give categorical 
 answers to some pretty ugly questions. Yet he was not 
 
96 LOUISA KIBKBBIDE. 
 
 altogether unprepared ; and his splendid talent for plausi- 
 bility and self-command in deceit was to be tested severely 
 and come out triumphant. 
 
 "I acknowledge, father," he said, '^that I have diso- 
 beyed you, but not to such an extent as I suppose you be- 
 lieve ; and I promise you I shall not do so a second time. 
 I have already been punished enough by the anxiety it has 
 caused me, and I do not intend to expose myself again to 
 such a torment. These are the simple facts in the case : 
 you give me fifteen hundred dollars to spend yearly ; I 
 thought, when you made me that allowance, that it was 
 scarcely enough, but to my great surprise, when the year 
 was out I found I had spent only a thousand. The question 
 was. What should I do with the remaining five hundred ? 
 Happening to meet Mr. O'Tee, whom I scarcely knew, he 
 spoke so eloquently of the immediate profit to be made at 
 the exchange by a shrewd man in a very short time — al- 
 though he seemed to consider five hundred dollars a very 
 trifling sum — that, partly carried away by his babble, partly 
 also, I confess, yielding to the temptation of looking at the 
 inside of the exchange on a day of excitement, I made up my 
 mind to venture the five hundred on stocks, and I arranged 
 the affair with Mr. O'Tee, so that I could have his advice if 
 I wanted it. I ought not to have done so after your pro- 
 hibition, but the temptation w^as too strong. The accident, 
 which you know from the papers, happened ; and ought to 
 have deterred me from going on with my project ; but the 
 pretext I had given you — I am now very sorry for it — obliged 
 me to be absent a great part of the day, and I thought I 
 might as well have a look at the thing." 
 
 "You do not mean to say, sir," directly interposed his 
 father, "that it was the first time you went there for the 
 purpose of bidding? I understand you are not such a 
 novice in stock operations." 
 
 "I can solemnly assure you, father," instantly replied 
 Frederick, "that I have never been there during business 
 hours, except on that unfortunate day." And this was 
 certainly true. 
 
FATHER AND SON IN THE MANSION. 97 
 
 *' And how far did you carry on your ventures 1 " 
 
 ^'I was so lucky, sir, that I made fifteen hundred on 
 my five ; it was a day of unusual excitement. I stopped 
 there." 
 
 ''And what proofs can you give me of these very strange 
 statements ? They conflict with several things I heard." 
 
 " My only proof is the only bank book I ever had in my 
 life, and which I got on that day. Please wait a moment 
 for me." 
 
 And Frederick went directly to his own room and 
 brought back a bank book certifying that on the very day 
 of those occurrences, he had deposited fifteen hundred 
 dollars subject to his call. But the young gallows-bird did 
 not state that he kept, in a much more secret place, another 
 record of financial operations, which would have related a 
 very different story. The idea of making this division of 
 his precious business transactions, had occurred to him on 
 leaving the exchange on the day of his success. Something 
 told him not to have inscribed on the same page the result 
 of his skill at bidding apart on the starting stake of five 
 hundred dollars he had previously put in his pocket, and 
 the large innings on other stocks by which he had been 
 enabled to replace his father's bonds. He had even taken 
 the precaution to use two different banks for the purpose. 
 
 To Mr. Kirkbride, who could not but imagine that this 
 was all unpremeditated, the readiness and appropriateness 
 of the answer appeared striking. He could no more be so 
 confident in his interrogations. '' I will see," he said, ''how 
 it is that my infoimation could have been so wide of the 
 mark. Still, Fred, you have done what I forbade you, 
 although you appear sorry for it now. Be sure it is most 
 important for your future prospects not to engage in specu- 
 lations of any kind." 
 
 "But, father," Fred put in, with a kno^\^ng smile, "if I 
 do not, I will not follow your example closely ; you specu- 
 late yourself on real estate." 
 
 "When you will be of my age, Fred," replied Mr. Kirk- 
 bride, "if you are in the same circumstances in which I am, 
 7 
 
98 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 yon can do so, attending to all the pecnliarities I explained 
 to you. If I speculate, cash in hand, I never gamble ; but 
 a young man ought not to believe he can do what I presume 
 to do ; he would soon be gambling at a furious rate, and it 
 is on that account I forbid it to you again most positively. 
 
 ''I have now, my son, another question to put to you, 
 which I hope will be as satisfactorily answered as the hrst. 
 I already see that you have not followed my general advice 
 about your friends, since you have engaged in pecuniary 
 transactions with a man of the character of O'Tee. But I 
 hear that the particular injunction I laid on you, never to 
 have anything to do with Mr. Friskey, has been entirely 
 neglected. How is that ? " 
 
 "Be sure, father," replied the son, ''that Mr. O'Tee has 
 never been one of my friends. I allowed myself to be 
 caught once by his talk ; but I had already resolved, before 
 this conversation, to have nothing more to do with him ; the 
 anxiety consequent upon my success at the exchange, when 
 I became really nervous by the fear of being found out by 
 you, and of not meeting the indulgence I now experience 
 from your kindness, has cured me entirely of that inclina- 
 tion if I ever felt it." The reader sees that Mr. Frederick 
 was occasionally moved by deep feelings of hlial affection 
 or dread. ''With respect to Mr. Jas. Friskey, what you 
 have heard of his case is a gross exaggeration, as in the pre- 
 vious one of the stock exchange. Since you spoke to me 
 of him, I never met him but two or three times — let me see 
 . . . it was only twice ; once on the sidewalk of Broad 
 Street, where we spoke of quite indifferent things for four 
 or five minutes ; the other time was at a representation of 
 the Grand Duchess^ where we happened to sit very near 
 each other, and we really indulged in a rather long talk, 
 but, I assure you, all concerning the actresses, and not at 
 all about money." 
 
 "This again, Fred," said his father, "does not tally with 
 what I have heard. I will examine the affair more care- 
 fully, and meanys^hile I must believe you. But, I repeat it 
 again, you have been wrong to have any kind of inter- 
 
FATHER AND SON IN THE MANSION. 99 
 
 course, were it only twice, with such a man as young Fris- 
 key ; I consider him the most dangerous character in ^ew 
 York, owing to the vicious influence he exerts on young 
 people ; and you must absolutely shun him. My partners 
 are strongly of the same opinion. They would seriously 
 object to you, were you known as a friend, nay, as an ac- 
 quaintance of this young adventurer." 
 
 "I will strictly follow your injunctions," said Frederick, 
 who thought he could then leave the room. He was about to 
 do so, when his father added : " Stop a moment ; I have not 
 quite finished," and he began writing for a couple of min- 
 utes. " Here," said he, "is the address of three charitable 
 institutions well known to your mother. You will please, 
 to-morrow morning, draw the fifteen hundred dollars you 
 have in your possession. Make three equal parts of it, 
 and give one to each of these establishments. You will, of 
 course, bring me the receipt of the treasurers ; those gen- 
 tlemen are not unknown to me, as they are the usual dis- 
 pensers of Mrs. Kirkbride's charities. You will do well to 
 burn the bank book after it has been balanced, in order not 
 to have about you anything calling back to your mind this 
 first transaction of yours. Be sure it is a great service I 
 render you in putting temptation out of your way. Your 
 allowance, as you confessed to me, is more than you want ; 
 but use it entire for your own needs, and do not apply any 
 part of it to gambling again." 
 
 Mr. Frederick took the paper of addresses from the hand 
 of his father, bowed to him, and the following day he 
 strictly "followed his injunctions." It was, however, far 
 from pleasant to deprive himself of a little sum acquired 
 with such sudden and precocious skill. His other balances 
 did not amount to anything, and as he would be obliged to 
 stop operating in Wall Street for some time to come, and 
 show great zeal at the counting-house, his dreams of a bril- 
 liant life would have to be postponed — a prosj^ect dreary 
 enough, with the tastes he had lately acquired. What 
 reason could he give to O'Tee, to whom he had sent a note 
 of condolence on his mishap? What apology could he 
 
100 LOUISA EIREBRIDE. 
 
 make to Mr. Friskey, whom lie had been in the habit of 
 seeing almost daily ? Perplexing questions ! 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Kirkbride, whom we have left alone, had 
 fallen, directly after Frederick went away, into a very 
 brown study indeed. My information, he said to himself, 
 came from shrewd and observant people ; yet, if my son is 
 in the least truthful, they were most strangely mistaken. 
 If they were not, my son is ... He did not dare to 
 finish the phrase in his mind. Had he done so, it would 
 undoubtedly have been . . . My son is a deep-dyed liar 
 and scoundrel. It is not very pleasant for a father to use 
 such words as these, even in his mind, with respect to his 
 own son, chiefly when that son is the only one left to per- 
 petuate the family. Hence, Mr. Kirkbride was far from 
 happy at this moment. We must leave him to continue 
 his investigations, in order to see if, in her happy ignorance 
 of all this, good Mrs. Kirkbride herself had not her o\vn 
 troubles about her boy, and did not, about the same time, 
 come to learn something equally unpalatable to her. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MOTHEE A]^D SON IN THEIE APPEOPKIATE CHAEACTEES. 
 
 Feedeeick's mother had* an intimate friend, worthy of 
 her, in a certain Mrs. Kingsley, a devotee, likewise, of Dr. 
 Dixon's. In the crowd of fashionable ladies who made 
 frequent visits to the house on Madison Avenue, few en- 
 joyed, to the same degree, the familiarity and deep-felt 
 friendship of Mrs. Kirkbride. The fact is that the pecu- 
 liarities of her character made it extremely difficult for her 
 to expand her heart freely unless she found a congenial 
 soul. She was naturally too shy. Always exact to sacri- 
 fice scrupulously her tastes to the conventionalities of life, 
 never, consequently, offending any one by obtruding her 
 inward and almost irresistible leanings toward the simpli- 
 city of strict though unaffected virtue, she reserved, how- 
 ever, all the sweetness of her pure affection for the few 
 female friends similarly inclined. They alone knew her 
 thoroughly ; all the others liked her company, admired the 
 refined elegance of her manners, the liveliness of her talk, the 
 perfect naturalness of all her person ; but they never could 
 be the witnesses of that bloom of innocence and simple can- 
 dor which formed the peculiar character of that sweet lady. 
 
 For a few, and Mrs. Kingsley was one of the most favored, 
 she had no secret to keep, no restraint to put on any of her 
 feelings. She showed herself to them what she was in the 
 eyes of God. But Mrs. Kingsley was a great deal more 
 observant and keen than Frederick's mother ; and although 
 this peculiarity of her temper made her occasionally far less 
 cliaritable and sweet natured than her friend, yet she was 
 
 101 
 
102 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 not a tale-bearer and a gossiping story-monger, as is too 
 often the case with sharp-sighted women. She had a con- 
 science, and considered slander as a heinous sin, and re- 
 proved herself severely when her inclination to be hard 
 on other people warped her judgment and sharpened her 
 tongue. Mrs. Kirkbride received a formal visit from her 
 about this time, and the very first words showed clearly that 
 the thing was serious. 
 
 '^My dear friend," she said, ''I hope you will not blame 
 me for what I am going to tell you, but we know each other 
 so well that we can speak in all sincerity, and you must be 
 persuaded that I have no motive but that of sincere friend- 
 ship ; I would not open my lips on the subject to any one 
 but you. Please watch your son ; I am afraid he will give 
 you trouble." 
 
 Poor Mrs. Kirkbride, whose heart was already full of a 
 motherly anxiety for the unworthy young scamp, began to 
 turn red, and tremble all over. ^' My dear Mrs. Kingsley," 
 she exclaimed, ''what is the terrible news you bring me? 
 Speak out, and break my heart, if it must be so ; I know that 
 you are a friend, and that you would not pain me uselessly." 
 
 ''I have boys also," said her visitor, ''and I know how 
 difficult it is to keep them in the right path ; but if any of 
 them was acting as your son does, I should feel really 
 thankful to you if you came to open my eyes on the subject. 
 This is what I have to tell you : My husband's business, 
 as you know, consists only in the administration of his real 
 estate. He owns several dwelling-houses in the respectable 
 quarters of the city. Being unwilling to trust agents, and 
 having, besides, nothing else to do, he rents them, and col- 
 lects the money himself. A month ago he received applica- 
 tion for a nice suite of apartments in a house in Fifty-ninth 
 Street, not far from the entrance to the Park, A single 
 lady, with a female servant, wished to have them, the rent 
 did not offer any difficulty, and as to her moral character, 
 she had references. She was young and pretty ; said she 
 was an artist, and painted flowers and birds. Everything 
 appeared so respectable and regular that my husband did 
 
MOTHER AND SON. 103 
 
 not even suspect anything was wrong. He says he has often 
 to be very particular in those transactions, as the morality 
 of the people is not what it was twenty years ago ; but in 
 this case he could not suppose anything was not perfectly 
 right. Imagine his surprise when, a couple of weeks after 
 the lady had come in, the very respectable and Christian 
 family who occupy the remainder of the house, declared to 
 my husband that they would have to leave if the other occu- 
 pant was allowed to stay. Often in the afternoon a young 
 man, unknown to them, drove to the door in a barouche or a 
 sleigh, according to the weather, took the young lady out, 
 and they returned sometimes late in the evening, to have a 
 supper, probably, to which other young men were evidently 
 invited or allowed to come freely. Occasionally these even- 
 ing parties were prolonged pretty late in the night, and the 
 noise, at times boisterous, reached their own apartments and 
 annoyed them. They had young daughters, and they could 
 not remain, to their great regret, as the jjlace and the neigh- 
 borhood suited them. My husband begged of them to have 
 patience for a few days, and he would try to find out Avho 
 that young man might be. He finally ascertained that it 
 was your own son, and he told me the whole story that I 
 might report it to you." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was struck, as if with a dagger ; her face 
 changed color every moment ; and she was, at first, per- 
 fectly unable to say a word. Finally, recovering herself a 
 moment : 
 
 "The story is very ugly," she said. "Yet, my dear Mrs. 
 Kingsley, it seems to me scarcely credible ; the young lady, 
 with her talent, can very well support herself ; and in such 
 cases the prospect of marriage alone can attract a young 
 woman." 
 
 ' ' Here you are mistaken, ' ' replied her friend. ' ' My hus- 
 band has ascertained positively that the young person is 
 not an artist, or does not live on art. She receives scarcely 
 any visit during the whole day, and is most of the time at 
 her piano, yet does not give any music lessons. Mr. Kings- 
 ley is so fully persuaded of the justice of the complaint, 
 
104 LOUISA EIRKBEIDE. 
 
 that, yesterday, he gave notice to his single lodger to quit 
 within a week, and he is sure that she is entirely supported 
 by your son, who must spend a good deal of money on her." 
 
 ''But his allowance is so small that he cannot do it," 
 retorted poor Mrs. Kirkbride. 
 
 "So much the worse!" exclaimed Mrs. Kingsley, who, 
 shortly after, left her friend overwhelmed with sorrow and 
 shame. 
 
 Left alone, she found herself in a sea of perplexity. Her 
 conscience told her to immediately acquaint her husband 
 with all these particulars ; and, had she done so, this story 
 would have taken a sudden turn quite different from the 
 one we shall have to relate. Mr. Kirkbride would have 
 been fully enlightened on the conduct of his son, and 
 known the worst at once ; then he would not have hesitated 
 a moment to take severe and decisive measures. But the 
 love of her son, yet deep in her heart, and her complete 
 ignorance of the scene of duplicity acted so lately by the 
 miserable young man with his father, made the lenient mo- 
 ther incline to have first a conversation with Frederick, and 
 then reveal the whole to his father or not, according to cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 Very opportunely, the day after, the young man came to 
 lunch with her at two o'clock. He had brought a message 
 from Mr. Kirkbride, and his conduct had been so exem- 
 plary for the last few days, that he had been told he need 
 not come back to the counting-house, and might keep com- 
 pany to his mother in a little expedition a few miles out of 
 New York, of which she had been speaking for at least a 
 week. They, therefore, lunched together, and started di- 
 rectly after in an open carriage, as the afternoon was mild 
 and very pleasant. 
 
 The conversation began from almost the very door ; the 
 driver — " honest ' ' John himself — took them for a few blocks 
 through Fifty-ninth Street, and Mrs. Kirkbnde could not 
 contain herself any longer ; but, in a low voice, on account 
 of John, she said, with evident emotion : 
 
 " Is it possible, Fred, that, so near the house where your 
 
MOTHER AND SON. 105 
 
 mother spends nearly her whole life, there is another woman 
 that engrosses your attention, and, I am afraid, corrupts 
 your heart?" 
 
 ''What do you mean, mother?" replied Fred, in a voice 
 lower still. 
 
 " You ought to understand me, my son, since you so often 
 drive through this very street for very unholy purposes." 
 
 ''Do you mean, mother, the visits I sometimes pay to 
 Miss De Witt, who, in fact, lives very near this spot?" 
 
 " I do not know her name, sir, nor do I wish to know it ; 
 but I should like to hear from you how you find the money 
 that you spend on her." 
 
 "Indeed, my dear mother," repKed the truthful young 
 heir, with a perfect look of injured innocence ; " there are 
 some very bad tongues in the world. Miss De Witt is 
 above low calumny; she supports herself, and doesn't need 
 my help." 
 
 ' ' How does she dispose of her pictures, if nobody goes to 
 buy them?" 
 
 "She disposes of them as real artists do; she does not 
 need to convert her rooms into a shop ; but, every two or 
 three months, she sends them to retail dealers, who appre- 
 ciate them enough to pay handsomely for them. Some- 
 times, a few friends she has take from her the choice bits. 
 You remember the pair of doves, that I brought home three 
 months ago, and that you admired so much ? They are from 
 her. I was flush of money at the time, and made her con- 
 sent to receive thirty dollars for them. Unfortunately, I 
 cannot patronize her as often as I would wish." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was perfectly silenced by these very nat- 
 ural explanations, and she had herself remarked to her 
 friend, that the young lady might support herself by her 
 art. There was, however, something very improper in those 
 frequent visits of young men to a young lady, which baffled 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, and which she could not reconcile with her 
 ideas of decency. 
 
 "How is it, Freddy, that you go so often to see her?" 
 said she. "Have you any intention of marrying her ?" 
 
106 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 "Bless you, no! mother," he replied; "I am too young 
 to think of it, and am not settled in life — you know that 
 yourself. But, evidently, mother, you are not acquainted 
 with the present ways of New York ; most of the young 
 men who go to see her like me, are artists like her, and 
 thus form a kind of brotherhood whose centre she deserves 
 to be. I do not know how I have been admitted among 
 them ; perhaps not my actual, but my prospective wealth, 
 opened for me a door which otherwise would have been 
 closed. Of the degrading views of such a society, which 
 some of your friends have suggested, believe me, mother, 
 there is actually no reality. The conversation there is al- 
 ways refined, and, if some of us were to feel inclined to 
 rather free talk, the presence of the lady is enough to close 
 his lips and restrain his tongue. Now you know as much 
 of it as I do. I hope, mother, that, after this explanation, 
 you will not imagine that Miss De Witt is my mistress, and 
 that I steal the money on which she lives ; for, I am very 
 sorry to say so, this was at the bottom of your first insinu- 
 ations, and if I did not know the simplicity and goodness 
 of my dear mother's heart, I should really feel indignant 
 that I had been suspected of such things. My indignation 
 I reserve for your friends — for you I can have only feelings 
 of love." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride would have cried with joy and tender- 
 ness had she not been in an open carriage, and dreaded that 
 John might hear anything of what w^as said. Yet as she 
 had not, for a long time, seen her soon so visibly moved by 
 what she thought to be respect and filial piety toward her, 
 she made up her mind to improve the opportunity, and 
 relieve herself of a heavy burden which had long weighed 
 heavily on her. 
 
 "You see, my dear Freddy," she said, "a Christian 
 mother knows that religion is the only thing which can 
 refrain a young man from running wild, and when she sees 
 no devotional feeling of any kind in her children, she dreads 
 the natural consequences, and fears every day to discover 
 disgraceful excesses. I am truly glad that my suspicions 
 
MOTHER AND SON. 
 
 107 
 
 were imfonnded ; but I shall never rest happy until I see 
 my son again give some proof of that sense of religion which 
 was so keen in his youth, and which I had fostered with 
 such motherly care." 
 
 ''Mother," earnestly retorted the dutiful son, ''I had 
 really thought of it before this conversation. My father 
 may have told you that lately I have been more sedate than 
 before, and more attentive to my duties at the counting- 
 desk. Lately I have reflected much on the importance of a 
 serious life, chiefly since I am so soon going to be of age ; 
 and I am glad to announce to you that I intend henceforth 
 to accompany you to church on Sundays, as I did for- 
 merly." 
 
 ''God be praised ! " exclaimed the excellent mother, and 
 she could not retain her tears ; only she kept from sobbing 
 aloud, and none but her son could perceive how her eyes 
 and cheeks were wet. 
 
 Of course the wretched boy was merely playing a comedy. 
 He was so much afmid that his father should know his de- 
 portment in Fifty-ninth Street, that he had fully deter- 
 mined to turn hypocrite, and spend an hour each Sunday 
 in Trinity Chapel for the apparent purpose of prayer. 
 
 Thus in the splendid mansion of the Kirkbrides there 
 were the seeds of deep trouble and perplexity, for all the 
 members of the family. Vice and deceit had crept in 
 through the unbridled passions of a young man, and the 
 most worthy of fathers and mothers had to bear the conse- 
 quences of it all. They were soon to see their happiness 
 totally marred by fears, anxieties, and the anticipation of 
 the future destruction of all their hopes — in the father, by 
 the probable downfall of his house — in the mother, by the 
 moral loss of her only son. 
 
CHAPTER VIL 
 
 THE FAMILY I:N^ THE COTTAGE. 
 
 The winter being nearly over, and the weather occasion- 
 ally very pleasant, the shanty in the sunken lot appeared 
 less dismal ; nay, on bright days looked almost picturesque 
 and attractive. On some mornings, when a wreath of gray 
 smoke arose from the single chimney, and went straight up 
 through the blue atmosphere ; when the sun, already rising 
 earlier, struck the clean glass of the only window in front 
 with dazzling rays of white light ; when the humble path 
 leading to the mansion, and so well known to Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, already showed two slender lines of green turf, moist 
 with dew, and profusely sprinkled with minute diamonds, 
 a man tired of the bustle of crowded streets would have 
 imagined he should be sure of finding happiness in this 
 unpretentious dwelling. 
 
 Yet these poor quarters were, after all, very diflPerent from 
 the numerous lofty, luxurious rooms and halls of the proud 
 palace in their immediate neighborhood. If any of the 
 million inhabitants of New York had been given the choice 
 of accepting the ownership of the one or the other, the man 
 preferring the shanty would have been declared a fool by 
 the nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred 
 and ninety-nine others. Still, it must be confessed that 
 Julia had introduced into the place neatness and order. In 
 the outer room had been ranged to the best advantage the 
 greater part of the furniture sent by Mrs. Kirkbride : the 
 stove nearly in the middle of the apartment ; a lounge 
 along one of the sides, pushed into a corner ; a small press 
 
 108 
 
THE FAMILY IN THE COTTAGE. 109 
 
 in another angle, just opposite to the lonnge ; a table large 
 enough for the whole family to dine with one or two friends, 
 and several chairs of various patterns and sizes. The only 
 window which gave light to the room was shaded by a cur- 
 tain of white muslin, with a greenish border. Julia took 
 good care to have it always look clean and fresh, although 
 God knows it was not new. In Mrs. 0' Byrne's bedroom, a 
 small table, at the head of the bed, covered with a white 
 napkin, an arm-chair with which we are already acquainted, 
 and a few religious prints good Mr. Doyle had given to the 
 family, formed the whole convenience and adornment. On 
 the same side of the shanty a small dark room, just large 
 enough to contain a bed and a chair, the walls and floor 
 perfectly clean but bare, if we except a crucifix, hung to a 
 nail by Con, was the little place where Julia retired at night 
 when her mother did not want her. With the lounge, two 
 chairs, and a mattress. Con made himself a bed every even- 
 ing in the outer room ; and it was there his father was 
 asleep with him when George and Schwitz made that raid 
 whose consequences are not yet fully developed at this 
 stage of our story. This is the background of the land- 
 scape, where we must see our friends moving and acting. 
 
 At the very end of February, the day had been so fine 
 that Mrs. 0' Byrne had dared for the first time to leave her 
 cottage with her daughter, and take a walk in the adjoin- 
 ing Park. She had spoken of it several times to her hus- 
 band, who would not be surprised to find her absent when 
 he came, and thus she protracted her ramble till late in the 
 evening. She felt delighted with the green lawns and the 
 budding shrubs, with the early soft song of a few blue- 
 birds already arrived from the south, and with the well- 
 known shrill notes of a little wren who dwelt evidently in 
 that part of the grounds, since she had been heard a few 
 days before around the shanty, where, perhaps, she would 
 build her nest when spring came. 
 
 Mr. 0' Byrne, at five o'clock, left his work in the Park, and 
 at the very entrance met his son, who was coming from 
 farther up Eighth Avenue. They walked together to the 
 
110 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 shanty, and not finding tlie women in, they had to wait 
 for them. When they entered, nothing was alive in the 
 house except a kettle of water, which was singing shrilly on 
 the stove. The old man sat on a chair and lit his pipe ; 
 Con stretched himself on the lounge. 
 
 " So I am glad to hear, sonny, that your boss has been 
 rather kind to you to-day ; we must make hay while the sun 
 shines." 
 
 '' Yes, father ; besides my six shillings, he gave me, with 
 a kind of smile, a good-sized plug of tobacco, which I don't 
 use, but which will please Mr. Doyle next time he comes." 
 
 ' ' And your companions — are they becoming more socia- 
 ble?" 
 
 ^'Do you know, father, the Sassanaghs are the same, and 
 there' s very little good feeling spent on both sides. But the 
 Irish seem to be more fond of me than ever since the day I 
 gave the signal to Tom O'Neill ; and I have found other fel- 
 lows, Germans, I think, who appear very desirous of becom- 
 ing acquainted with me, which Avas not the case before. You 
 see, when we work we don't talk, but at midday we have 
 an hour's rest, and I used, after taking my dinner, which 
 scarcely lasted fifteen minutes, to stretch myself on the 
 ground and sleep. Now I cannot do so any more. They 
 crowd around me ; and, in fact, I prefer to talk with them, 
 because I thus become acquainted with the country ; and it 
 is indeed a queer country, so different from Ireland." 
 
 "Very well," said Mr. O' Byrne, ''let me hear first what 
 the Irish say, just to know if they belong to the right 
 stock." 
 
 ''As to that," Con replied, "they are all Fenians, like 
 Mr. Doyle. It seems, father, very few are of your way of 
 thinking." 
 
 "Fenians ! " exclaimed the old man ; " I hope they do not 
 try to make one of you ? " 
 
 "They have tried for some time ; but as I knew it would 
 not please you, I always turned the affair into a joke ; and 
 you know that with the Irish a good joke is sure to make 
 them laugh, and stop their tongue ; so they do not annoy 
 
THE FAMILY IN THE COTTAGE. HI 
 
 me any longer with their urgent requests, and we continue 
 to be very friendly — particularly since tlie formation of our 
 ^mutual aid society,' to which most of them belong." 
 
 ^'With their Fenianism," said the old gentleman, "do 
 they continue at least to be Christians in this strange coun- 
 try ? You know the young men here better than I do." 
 
 ''Of this, father, I am sure," replied Con. "They seem 
 to be as firm as in the old country. There is no fear that 
 any one of them will turn Protestant. They all live in the 
 neighborhood of some church, where most of them go, I 
 am certain, on Sundays. As to any more precise informa- 
 tion, I have nothing to say, as I follow the advice you have 
 often given me, not to spy into the conduct of others, and to 
 be always persuaded that they are all right, when I have no 
 proof to the contrary." 
 
 "That's right," said Mr. O' Byrne, "and this is enough 
 with regard to our countrymen ; but I am more afraid for 
 you of the other men who work with you. I am particu- 
 larly anxious to hear what those Germans, who seem to 
 have taken a liking for you, said and did in the intercourse 
 you had with them." 
 
 "They said more than they did, father," replied the son, 
 ' ' and, indeed, they puzzle me a great deal more than the 
 Irish. If they are sincere, they are our great friends ; but 
 if they are knaves, then, indeed, God help us ! Most of them 
 came to this country in 1848, or shortly after, and Germany 
 shipped to America her exiles when famished Ireland was 
 compelled to send us adrift. The way I became acquainted 
 with them was this : When I had just finished swallowing 
 my dinner, a few days ago, one of them came near me, sat 
 down, and said : ' Is it true you were one of those who were 
 attacked in a shanty the other night V — ' Yes,' said I ; ' and 
 it was a treacherous attack.' — 'It was,' he replied, 'and 
 those wretched Orangemen have no right to ill-treat the 
 poor ; but you have answered them in the proper way.' 
 ' We are ready for others, if they come again,' said I, ' for 
 although we are poor, we have strong arms and stout hearts.' 
 ' That is the way to talk,' he said, ' but the poor must com- 
 
112 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 bine, if they wish to obtain their rights. The laws of soci- 
 ety have been made for the benefit of rich knaves, and a 
 great many things have to be changed before we can live in 
 peace.' I was going to answer, when he drew from his 
 pocket a small printed page, and left me. I saw him go to 
 a group of other Germans, to whom he spoke, and I had 
 scarcely read his paper — which I confess I did not under- 
 stand—when the bell rang for work. 
 
 ' ' The day after, at dinner time, two others, with the first, 
 came to me and began to talk. I was anxious, from the 
 start, to know how far I could trust them, so I said, ' You 
 speak of combining, without knowing who I am, and I am 
 as ignorant of you as you are of me. You are not aware, 
 perhaps, that I am a Catholic, and maybe you are yourselves 
 Protestants.' — 'Your words, my friend,' said one of them — 
 not the one who first spoke to me — ' show, indeed, that you 
 do not know us. Religion is not concerned in the least in 
 our projects ; each one can follow his own conscience, and 
 we welcome the sincere Catholic as well as any other.' — ' I 
 am glad of that,' I replied, ' for if it had been an obstacle, 
 there would be an end of it.' — ' You may be perfectly easy 
 on that account,' the same man said ; ' we find, in this coun- 
 try, the majority of the poor are of your religion, and it is 
 for the poor that we work, whatever may be their creed.' 
 This was all right and fair, was it not, father ? " 
 
 '' Certainly, my son," answered the old man ; '4t is good 
 that our holy religion should not be interfered with in any 
 case whatever ; but those people seem to have no religion 
 at all ; and I always suspect men of that stamp. Was this 
 the whole conversation on that day ? " 
 
 ''It was, or nearly so; and in parting they gave me a 
 small pamphlet which I have kept. Here it is ; they made 
 me promise to go, next Sunday evening, to a certain place 
 in Greenwich Street, where they have their usual talk and 
 arrangements." 
 
 Then the father and son began to look at the pamphlet ; 
 Con undertook to read it ; but they could not make much 
 more of it than he had of the page given him the first day. 
 
THE FAMILY IN THE COTTAGE. 113 
 
 They had just gone through nearly half of it, when the 
 voice of Julia was heard at the door. 
 
 Con stood up, opened the cottage, and gave his hand to 
 his mother, whom the young girl supported on the other 
 side. The old lady appeared smiling between her two chil- 
 dren, and the first thing she did was to take off her hood 
 and ask for a seat, as she felt a little fatigued. ''Here, 
 mother," said Con, and he led her to the lounge and helped 
 his sister to lay her gently on the old piece of furniture, 
 to prop her head up with a couple of pillows, and cover her 
 with Julia's shawl. 
 
 ''Now, mother, rest yourself," said the good girl, all in a 
 flurry ; " I must be up and prepare the supper ; father and 
 Con must have a dreadful appetite." And she brought out 
 the tea things from the old press ; the water was boiling 
 gently ; a cup of warm tea could be ready in two minutes. 
 Con brought the table to the middle of the floor ; a clean 
 napkin was spread on it, and we need not mention in detail 
 the various pieces of crockery, belonging formerly to the 
 great house, and destined to be used that evening by poorer 
 but evidently happier people. Eggs sent that day for the 
 sick old lady by one of the neighbors, sweet butter by an- 
 other good woman who had a couple of cows, fresh cheese 
 of goat's milk which came from another quarter, and, 
 flnally, some slices of cold meat and bread purchased from 
 the earnings of the family, were to be the bill of fare, ac- 
 companied this time with tender family affection, and a 
 heartfelt joy, such as is not to be found at the end of the 
 long lists of good things furnished in the best eating- 
 houses. 
 
 When everything was ready, Mrs. 0' Byrne wanted to 
 rise. "No, mother," said Con, "you must be really tired 
 by so long a walk. You will eat as you are, and talk with 
 us." Then he went to his mother's room, took the small 
 table we already know so well, placed it at her side, and 
 Julia brought from the table in the middle of the room 
 what she knew her mother liked. Then all, after a word 
 of prayer to God, began to satisfy a traly keen appetite. 
 8 
 
114 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 ''Now, mother, " said tlie good son, ''let us not be in too 
 great a hurry ; your first walk must have been interesting 
 to you. Tell us what you think of it, and how you feel 
 after it. Supper here must not be as my dinner every day, 
 a gulping down wdthout a word to any one." 
 
 "You are right there, and it is what I like," answered 
 Mrs. O' Byrne ; " but since I came, you have already talked 
 enough, and not allowed your father to say a word." 
 
 Julia burst into a laugh which became contagious, and, 
 strange to say, was indulged in by the very culprit, who 
 appeared without shame. 
 
 "Don't be too hard on him, Honor ah," said Mr. 0' Byrne ; 
 "the boy is so full of many things he has done lately, that 
 he cannot contain himself, and must out on every occasion. 
 Yet I cannot say that I am much displeased with him, and 
 I am certainly of his opinion ; I am as anxious as he is him- 
 self to hear from you how you feel after your excursion." 
 
 "Oh, I feel perfectly happy at this moment," said the 
 good mother, "because I have enjoyed such a pleasant walk 
 with my dear Julia, and I find on returning such a husband 
 and such a son." 
 
 "But have you had any adventures by the way ?" asked 
 the old man. 
 
 "Plenty," she said, "and very pleasant ones. First, it 
 was for me a grand adventure to have the freedom of such 
 beautiful grounds. At home, when we can look through a 
 strong iron gate at the inside of some great lord' s park, we 
 gape and think there is nothing in the world like it. But 
 no one except the intimate friends of the rich family can 
 walk inside and examine everything at leisure. Here, at 
 our own door, we have an immense pleasure domain, which 
 belongs to us if it belongs to anybody. As it was the first 
 time I ever saw it, I could not contain myself, and I must 
 have said many foolish things, which Julia, I am afraid, 
 will be wicked enough to report to you. I felt I was reviv- 
 ing, the air was so mild, the gentle wind so full of sweet 
 odors without any apparent cause, since there were not yet 
 any flowers, or very few ; and everything we saw was so 
 
THE FAMILY IN THE COTTAGE. 115 
 
 agreeable to the eyes, that often we stopped and seated our- 
 selves on the numerous benches placed all around, merely 
 to look at the cattle, at the sheep, chiefly at the swans on 
 the Jake, and at the beautiful horses, driving people richer 
 than we are, but not so happy, I am sure. How is it, Mr. 
 O' Byrne, that you, who haj^pen to spend all your days in 
 that splendid garden, scarcely ever told me anything of its 
 beauty V And the old lady looked at him to hear what he 
 would say; she expected a frank acknowledgment of his 
 dullness of feeling and appreciation. 
 
 ''The truth is," answered Mr. 0' Byrne, ''that my eyes 
 are not so keen as yours, because, I suppose, I have to do 
 something more than looking ; but, Honorah, my dear, I 
 knew that the place was beautiful, only what good would it 
 have done you, when you were sick, to excite in you a wish 
 which you could not satisfy ? This was my chief reason 
 for saying very little of the Park." A very good one, no 
 doubt, showing more real, refined feeling in Mr. O' Byrne 
 than there is in many rich people. 
 
 "So far," continued the old man, "we have heard no 
 adventures, only a description of what we knew already. 
 It seems to me you could not be so long in the Park with- 
 out meeting some one, and falling in with something more 
 than ordinary." 
 
 "We did," replied the old lady. "We met with a very 
 nice young gentleman, but as he talked chiefly to Julia, she 
 will have to relate the story to you." 
 
 " Oh no ! " exclaimed the young girl, blushing ; " I should 
 prefer you, mother, would tell it." 
 
 " It will come much better from your lips, my girl," said 
 the father. " And as you have been nearly dumb the whole 
 evening, it is your turn to speak." 
 
 "Well," she replied, "since it must be so, I have to 
 make the best of a bad bargain. We were walking on a 
 narrow path separated from a wide drive by a couple of 
 feet of green turf, when on came a young man alone in a 
 light carriage drawn by a high-spirited pony. The young 
 man had a small whip, which he flourished occasionally, and 
 
116 LOUISA KIEKBBIBE. 
 
 when near ns the whip escaped from his hand, I suppose, 
 unintentionally. It fell at my feet, and I took it np. The 
 young gentleman had checked his horse, and in receiving 
 the little thing from me, he took my hand and said : ' It is 
 your mother that has the hood on?' — 'Yes, sir,' I replied. 
 — 'When did you come from Ireland!' — 'A few months 
 ago, sir.' — 'From what county ? ' — ' Wexford, sir.' — 'Bless 
 me ! ' he exclaimed, ' this is a coincidence ; I am also from 
 that county ; my name is McElheran, what is yours % ' — 
 '0' Byrne, sir.' — 'Are you related to that young Con 
 O' Byrne of whom the papers spoke lately, who treated so 
 handsomely those masked ruffians ? " — ' He is my brother, 
 sir.' — ' Better still,' he said ; 'be sure we are friends and no 
 strangers. Could I do anything for you % Do you know 
 the Park ? ' — ' It is the first time we came here,' I replied ; 
 'my mother has been sick, it is her first walk.' — 'In fact,' 
 he said, ' she looks fatigued ; she must take some refresh- 
 ment.' — 'If, at least, she could find a good glass of cool 
 water?' I said. — 'I see,' he rejDlied, 'that you know little 
 of the place ; I am sorry I have a horse with me, but do what 
 I will tell you. Follow the path ycu are in ; you will soon 
 meet with some policeman ; ask him to take you to the 
 Casino ; I suppose you have not thought of money on leav- 
 ing home, ' and he drew from his waistcoat a small porte- 
 monnaie. 'Here,' he said, 'is enough to procure lemonade 
 or soda-water and a couple of oranges. But wait a moment. 
 That hood of your mother's will make some people laugh ; 
 don' t mind it, and sip your soda-water. But whenever you 
 come here, she must have a nicer hood ; I like the thing 
 myself, just as it is ; but all are not Irish in this place. 
 Here is money enough to buy some light white woolen stuff, 
 with green ribbon to trim it ; try to find some one who will 
 tell you how to do it for this country, and don't forget a 
 green bow on the top of it. Then everybody wiU know 
 who she is, and no one will laugh.' " 
 
 Here Con burst out laughing, himself, and could scarcely 
 be understood, when he said : 
 
 "Julia, you must consult that young gentleman himseK, 
 
FIRST MEETING OF McELHERAN AND JULIA O BYRNE. 
 
THE FAMILY IF THE COTTAGE. II7 
 
 when yon make the liood ; lie can snrelj give yon first-rate 
 advice." 
 
 "Hnsh, yon ill-mannered boy," said the old lady, "and 
 listen to the end of the story, which is the best part of it." 
 
 " There is no other end of the story, mother," said Julia ; 
 "he directly whipped up his horse, and drove off." 
 
 "Is your memory so short," replied the old lady; "or 
 why are you so shy in presence of your father and brother ? 
 I tell you, you must tell the end of it ? " 
 
 "I cannot, mother," said Julia, all covered with blushes. 
 
 "Yery well," remarked Mrs. 0' Byrne, "I Tvill finish it 
 myself: 'My dear Miss O' Byrne,' he added, in conclusion, 
 ' the hood and the drink, and all that, is for your mother ; 
 if I were on foot, I would give you something for yourself 
 alone— a hearty kiss, in the fashion of the old country.' 
 And he directly drove off and left us." 
 
 "I am certain," remarked old Mr. 0' Byrne, "that Julia 
 ■v^ill agree with me, in saying that this young man was 
 surely an Irishman. I know of no McElherans in County 
 Wexford ; but every one is aware how poor Ireland is 
 mixed up, and, I am sure, that the gentleman is what he 
 said he is. But, my dear Honorah, you must have had 
 some adventure in that Kaiseenough" (Casino), with a 
 strong aspiration on the last syllable, "or whatever name 
 you may give to the place ? " 
 
 "We had," said the old lady ; "but of no great conse- 
 quence. We found in it a very large room, with many 
 tables, at which four or more persons might be seated. 
 We chose a small one, and a colored boy came to ask us 
 what we wanted. ' Some soda-water,' Julia replied. ' With 
 what syrup?' said the boy. This was a puzzle ; but Julia 
 did not lose her presence of mind. ' Of whatever kind you 
 wish,' she said ; and several persons around, who heard 
 it, tittered a little. All appeared in admiration of my 
 hood ; but everything and everybody was good-natured ; 
 not a word was said which might be unpleasant ; and, after 
 drinking that soda-water, which was, in fact, very refresh- 
 ing, Julia bought a couple of oranges, which we intended 
 
118 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 to enjoy in our ramble. We left the place at the very time 
 that a great many persons were coming in carriages, and I 
 was glad to escape, for everybody looked at me with a great 
 deal of curiosity. In my mind, the conclusion of all that 
 happened to us, is this : The country is a queer one ; ex- 
 tremely pleasant on one side ; full of excellent people ready 
 to show every sort of kindness, so that even the poor are 
 treated with a great deal of consideration ; on the other 
 side, there are, evidently, wicked people in it, who will 
 attack you without any reason, drive you away from your 
 house, and burn it over your head — worse than in the old 
 country. This, indeed, passes my comprehension ; but we 
 have always God with us, and with Him we are safe." 
 
 The supper had now been finished for some time. Julia 
 had removed everything from the table ; and, strange to say, 
 no one proposed to make a glass of punch. Mr. O' Byrne, 
 rather slow in his movements, was just finishing the pipe he 
 had lighted at the end of the meal. Shortly after they all 
 retired full of contentment, or rather of happiness. Con, 
 who had enjoyed the evening as well as the old people, said 
 very sensibly that he preferred a great deal to have a talk of 
 this kind rather than the boisterous conversation of public 
 saloons, where those who worked with him spent a good 
 part of their nights. Nay, more, any sensible man who 
 should have been left by Almighty God at liberty to choose 
 between the life in the mansion and that in the shanty, 
 would surely have preferred the second to the first. 
 
 Just when Julia was helping her mother to bed, the old 
 lady said to her : "To-day, child, I have tried my strength ; 
 to-morrow I must, since I can, go to mass to thank God for 
 his great goodness. You know the way, daughter, and you 
 can come with me ! " 
 
 ''With great pleasure," answered Julia ; and that night 
 there was peace, joy, and sound repose in the dilapidated 
 cottage. 
 
CHAPTER Yin. 
 
 A EELIGIOUS CONTEOVEESY OF A NEW KIND. 
 
 Aftee a quiet and starry night, the sun rose as bright as 
 on the previous day. Just when its rays struck the win- 
 dow of the cottage, the little wren the two women had 
 heard in the Park raised her clarion voice from the highest 
 peak of the shanty's roof. She had probably never yet 
 dared to come so near an inhabited dwelling. But the uni- 
 versal repose all around invited her ; and we do not doubt 
 that, even in case Julia had suddenly appeared at the door, 
 she won Id not have thought of flying away. Everybody, 
 however, had been up in the house for a long time. The 
 men had breakfasted, and were gone ; the two women were 
 dressing and preparing to go out. When they appeared at 
 the door the bird had just finished her song, and her little 
 wdngs were still fluttering with evident glee. She then stood 
 motionless for a moment ; but instead of flying away, she 
 came down and alighted a few feet from Julia, rubbed her 
 little body on the glittering turf, and rising up, went to rest on 
 the highest top of the mansion, where she began to sing again. 
 
 Mrs. O' Byrne and her daughter walked all the way to the 
 church of St. John the Evangelist, the nearest to them at 
 the time, went to confession, and received holy communion. 
 Then, having finished their prayers, they went back home ; 
 and after taking a cup of coffee, the girl expressed the wish 
 to pay a visit to Mrs. Kirkbride, and ask her about the 
 fashion of a hood. 
 
 She therefore put on aU the finery she had received from 
 the lady — the bonnet, the earrings, and other little trinkets 
 of that sort. The walk of the previous afternoon, and, we 
 
 119 
 
120 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 may say, the holy feelings excited in her by the dev^otions 
 of the morning, gave a flush to her cheeks, a modesty to 
 her eyes, and a gracefulness to all her person, precisely of 
 the kind to please Mrs. Kirkbride. There is a sort of free- 
 masonry in true virtue, as well as — we are sorry to say — in 
 vice ; but of a very different kind : the purest affection is 
 directly engendered, if it did not exist before ; and two 
 minds, or rather two hearts, merely looking at each other 
 through the purified senses, are ready to unite in holy love, 
 and to open themselves unreservedly to each other. 
 
 This was certainly the feeling which arose in the lady of 
 the mansion at the sight of Julia, who, as soon as an- 
 nounced by the porter, was directed to walk up stairs to her 
 room, where she was alone. Seated in an arm-chair near a 
 little table covered with wool and silk, and pieces of stuff 
 at which she was working, as soon as she saw Julia coming 
 in with happiness depicted in her features, she arose, took 
 another arm-chair, and placed it so near her own that the 
 two together formed a double one. Then placing her in it 
 with a gentle pressure, she sat down herself, looked more 
 closely at the girl, and exclaimed : 
 
 ** Where have you been, dear child — I have not seen you 
 for so long a time ? " 
 
 '^ I was afraid, madam," she replied, *'of disturbing you 
 by calling so soon after all the trouble you had on our ac- 
 count. But if I did not come, be sure my heart was wdth 
 you." 
 
 ^' I believe it," the lady retorted ; *' but another time do 
 not be afraid of disturbing me ; you will always be welcome 
 in this room, where I find more cares than pleasures, chiefly 
 when I am alone." 
 
 *' I hope, madam, you have only slight cares, which God 
 will enable you to bear easily." 
 
 *' It is easy for you to say so, child, but the reality is often 
 more heavy than you think. I have God, as you say, to 
 help me, and an excellent husband, besides ; yet I may have 
 occasionally as much trouble as your whole family had from 
 the wicked people who twice attacked you." 
 
A RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY OF A NEW KIND. 121 
 
 "I am very sorry to hear it," exclaimed Julia, ''and I 
 will pray to God for you, more heartily still than before, 
 and very soon, I hope, after your trouble, there will be as 
 much joy for you as there is among us, chiefly owing to 
 you, after God." And the innocent girlish face then as- 
 sumed such an expression of sympathy and love, that good 
 Mrs. Kirkbride threw her arms around her, pressed her to 
 her bosom, and actually shed tears. There was a moment 
 of silence during which you could hear only the beating of 
 two hearts in unison ; and the poor afflicted mother of the 
 wretched Frederick found as much consolation with Julia 
 on her bosom, as if she had been one of her departed 
 daughters grown to her age, and as beautiful and as good 
 as she was. 
 
 Improbable as this scene may appear to those superfi- 
 cial observers of the world who think there is no virtue nor 
 genuine feeling at all left in it, and who judge of all abso- 
 lutely by the great majority of fashionable people, it seems 
 very natural to those who have known Mrs. Kirkbride, the 
 most unworldly of great ladies, the most simple in her man- 
 ners, and unartificial in her ways. 
 
 After this outburst of feeling had lasted a minute or two, 
 the lady came to herself and said : "I suppose, child, you 
 came because you are in need of something ; what can I do 
 for you?" And Julia related to her, at length, what had 
 taken place in the Park the day before, the scene with the 
 young Irishman — without, of course, mentioning what he 
 said of the kiss — and finished her tale with the request that 
 she would be kind enough to show her how to make a 
 ''fashionable" hood. She had brought her mother's old 
 one well brushed, and ironed, and cleaned, but for all that 
 old and certainly "unfashionable." 
 
 The lady could not help smiling at first, and then laugh- 
 ing outright. 
 
 "So, I see," she said, "you want to introduce a new 
 fashion ; but I tell you this one will not take." 
 
 "That is far from my intention, madam," replied Julia ; 
 " but you see the hood is the head-dress of Irish women ; 
 
122 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 my mother would not, for anything in the world, put a bon- 
 net on her head ; and the question is merely to give to a 
 new hood I am going to make for her such a shape that it 
 shall not appear too strange in this country." 
 
 ^'I understand now," said Mrs. Kirkbride ; and at her 
 suggestion, it was agreed that the new one should not come 
 down so far, by at least one half, on the shoulders behind, 
 that in front it should not shade the whole face under its 
 ample folds, that a slight turn should be given to it on the 
 sides, so as to show a few of the mother's venerable gray 
 curls. As to the trimming with green ribbon, and a green 
 bow on the top of it, the lady said that green could not be 
 fashionable because nobody in this country wanted to be 
 "green," and the joke was too easily suggested by such an 
 accumulation of greenness on the head. However, as it was 
 the national color of Ireland, it would do very well in the 
 eyes of Irish people, and she had heard from Dr. Dillon 
 that this country is full of them. She did not advise her, 
 nevertheless, to put too much of it ; but a little of it, taste- 
 fully arranged, might do very well. 
 
 We had to enter into all those details, because dress is 
 always a very important question for ladies, and there may 
 be some ladies among our readers. After the conclusion of 
 the conversation on the subject, Mrs. Kirkbride embraced 
 Julia tenderly, and told her she intended to go see Mrs. 
 O' Byrne, before going shopping in the afternoon, as she 
 wished to judge with her own eyes of the real progress of 
 her recovery. 
 
 The old lady was really made much happier by the con- 
 descension of her benefactress, and extra care was taken by 
 Julia to make the ''reception" room look more tidy and 
 comfortable than ever. The mother and daughter took 
 their dinner alone, and a little before two o'clock Mrs. 
 Kirkbride was seen walking along her usual little path, 
 and a minute after she was seated in the rocking-chair 
 near the lounge, where Mrs. 0' Byrne and Julia took their 
 place. 
 
 ''I heard this morning, from your daughter," said the 
 
A RELIGIOUS C0NTR0VEB8Y OF A NEW KIND. 123 
 
 lady, " that you were up, and I have come to see how you 
 look after all your sickness and trouble." 
 
 "It is very kind of you, madam," replied the old woman ; 
 " if I am alive, I owe it to you after God. I ought, indeed, 
 to have gone before this to thank you ; but in the old coun- 
 try we are not used to visit ladies like you ; and when we 
 find a friend among them — which is not often the case — they 
 are quite satisfied if our heart is grateful." 
 
 "It seems that you took a long walk yesterday ; did you 
 derive any benefit from it?" said Mrs. Kirkbride, rather 
 abruptly. 
 
 " A great deal, madam ; and I felt so strong this morning 
 that I could walk to the church with Julia, where I went 
 to thank God and to receive holy communion." 
 
 " Did you 1 " ejaculated the lady ; "you are very happy, 
 in my oinnion, to always find your churches open, and to 
 have the priceless boon of the Holy Eucharist always ready 
 for you when you wish it. It is not so with us, and Dr. 
 Dixon thinks, as I do, that it would be much better for us 
 to follow your example in that regard. If I wish to thank 
 God, or to ask any favor from Him, I cannot think of going 
 to church, if it is not Sunday ; and as to holy communion, 
 I would be thought very singular by the other members of 
 our congregation, should I receive it oftener than once a 
 month, and it must ahvays be on Sunday ; during the week 
 we have only our rooms to pray in ; and it has always 
 shocked me to think that such being the case, deprived as 
 we are of the House of God for six days out of seven, we 
 cannot devote the smallest apartment of our large houses 
 exclusively to prayer and thanksgiving ; nay, even to ex- 
 pose to view anywhere in our dwellings any religious object 
 calling God to our mind, is thought to be odd, queer, even 
 shocking and improper. I hope, however, that the efforts 
 of some good priests of God among us mil soon change all 
 that, and give to our worship something of the cheerful- 
 ness of yours." 
 
 "You cannot imagine, madam," replied Mrs. O' Byrne, 
 "how glad I am to hear from you, that you have in your 
 
124 LOUISA KIRKBEIBE. 
 
 midst 'some good priests of God.' If that is the case, we 
 are absolutely one in religion, and there cannot be the least 
 difference between us." 
 
 This artless expression of the good old lady, uttered in 
 all simplicity and good faith, produced a strong impression 
 on Mrs. Kirkbride. 
 
 ''Indeed," she exclaimed, " we have priests, ordained by 
 bishops, and in full orders, and empowered to admit us to 
 the reception of the Sacraments of the Church." 
 
 "Then, madam," cried out Mrs. 0' Byrne, "there can be 
 no distinction whatever between us ; and, in that case, why 
 should you not use, for your spiritual benefit, our churches 
 and our clergymen, always open, and always accessible, 
 since you confess, yourself, that it is not the same for you 
 six days out of seven % Julia would be so proud to go with 
 you to the church of St. John the Evangelist, one of these 
 fine mornings." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, at first, doubted if the old woman was not 
 using a figure of speech called "irony" by the rhetoricians, 
 and this would not have pleased her ; but the tone of voice, 
 the expression of the face, were so natural and simple, that 
 she dismissed such a doubt, and saw that Mrs. O' Byrne in 
 her simplicity could not admit " priests " — real priests, mind 
 — of two different kinds in the same church of God, and com- 
 pletely separated in their acts of worship by an impassable 
 gulf. By-and-by, she, Mrs. Kirkbride, might be brought to 
 the same persuasion, and open her eyes on her previous blind- 
 ness, which did not allow her to perceive the impossibility of 
 such extremes meeting at all ; but, at this stage of our story, 
 she was fully persuaded that there could be real 'priests 
 of God ' in the Episcopalian, as there are in the Catholic, 
 Church. So she only smiled, and replied to Mrs. O'Byrne : 
 
 "I think it is better for us not to discuss this point; 
 we might not understand each other. But, my dear Mrs. 
 O'Byrne, there is something you must tell me — and I am 
 sure you can. I have no doubt that you prayed for me this 
 morning. Please tell me, what you asked of our Lord in 
 my behalf?" 
 
A RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY OF A NEW KIND, 125 
 
 '^Indeed, madam," exclaimed the old woman, ''you are 
 right in thinking I prayed for you this morning. It would 
 be very ungrateful in me not to do so. I cannot do any- 
 thing but pray in return for all your favors, and to this you 
 are better entitled than any other person I have ever known, 
 with the exception of my husband and children. But this 
 morning, in the church, I thought less of them than of you. 
 In fact, all I have to ask for them is nearly limited to tem- 
 poral blessings, as I would be unreasonable to wish them 
 much better morally than* they are. I ought to be satisfied 
 if they continue the same." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was deeply moved, and thought that this 
 poor family was not, after all, altogether wretched. She 
 wished to have a few more details on the subject. 
 
 " Glad to hear it," she said. '' And, indeed, I know that 
 it could not be otherwise, with respect to your daughter. 
 Your husband, also, is, no doubt, a worthy man ; all I see 
 or hear of him is in his favor ; but, if your son does not 
 give you any trouble, he must be an exception to the or- 
 dinary run of Irish boys, at least, from what I understand 
 from others." 
 
 " Exception or not, madam, I bless Almighty God every 
 day that I have such a son as Con. We could just give 
 him a little smattering of education, such as Julia also 
 received ; yet he can do much more than read and write, 
 and has sense enough to be already a man in his thoughts. 
 He lives altogether for the family, and takes the greatest 
 interest in all our concerns. He has no pleasures to enjoy, 
 the poor boy, but what he finds in our company every night 
 after his hard day's work ; and yet he is always cheerful 
 and a good companion. His father and myself know that he 
 is strongly attached to us, and would give his life to pro- 
 tect us from harm. As to Julia, it is one of my greatest 
 pleasures to see the care he takes of her, whenever she 
 needs it. And all this, madam, is, I trust, secured, and 
 will not change, because he is sincerely devoted to the 
 practice of his religion. Could I wish anything better, even 
 if we were wealthy ? " 
 
126 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Mrs. 0' Byrne was not aware that everything she said, 
 stirred np in the heart of hearts of the lady feelings as pain- 
 ful as they were keen. JS'ot that envy could enter that pure 
 soul ; not that tlie picture of family happiness, drawn by 
 these simple words, could be gall and wormwood for that 
 eminently charitable and sweet lady. On the contrary, her 
 affection for this family increased in proportion, as she 
 found all the members of it worthy of her esteem. But the 
 fearful sense of her own domestic woes could not but be 
 extremely acute when she compared what she knew of her 
 boy with what Mrs. 0' Byrne was relating of her son. She, 
 however, dismissed, the best way she could, this painful im- 
 pression. 
 
 '* You keep me on thorns, my dear Mrs. 0' Byrne," she 
 said; ''you had promised to tell me what you asked of 
 God for me this morning, and I suppose you have quite for- 
 gotten your promise by this time, and I will never know 
 what passed in your mind concerning me when you were 
 communing with your Saviour in that church of St. John 
 the Evangelist, as you call it." 
 
 " Never a bit, madam, I have not forgotten it," answered 
 the old woman, " and I come to it presently. Perhaps you 
 will blame me, for neglecting to ask for you a greater share 
 of this world's goods. I confess this did not even present 
 itself to my mind. I know that the more you have, the 
 more you will be able to give to the poor, and I prefer a 
 great deal to see the good things of this world in your 
 hands rather than in those of people who have no sense of 
 humanity, nor of religion. But greater riches would not 
 make you more happy, and so I did not even think of ask- 
 ing for that. The first thing I asked may appear to you 
 strange, and you may think me presumptuous and over- 
 confident ; but I suppose you want me to be candid, and I 
 must not conceal anything from you. You see, madam, it 
 is so great a comfort to be sure of the road you tread on, 
 and that you are on the right path leading to heaven ! This 
 comfort I have, thank God ; and this morning I did not 
 think you had it. Since then I have been quite happy to 
 
A RELIGIOUS CONTROVEnSY OF A NEW KIND. 127 
 
 hear that the case is not exactly what I thought. I then 
 imagined that you were what we call a ' Protestant ; ' one 
 of the good sort, certainly, for whom we can only have feel- 
 ings of respect and gratitude, but yet who have not, to sup- 
 port them, the strong prop of the true faith, and do not 
 enjoy what we, poor people, certainly have, the firm con- 
 viction that we are the children of God, and on the right 
 way to a happy eternity. I asked this for you, madam, 
 first and foremost ; because it is the greatest blessing of this 
 life, and prepares us for the far greater blessings of heaven. 
 I asked the same for your husband and your son, because, 
 had you alone the true faith, your heart could not but 
 grieve to see those so nearly related to you following a path 
 completely different and leading God knows where. You 
 see, madam, I am a very poor and insignificant woman ; yet 
 I have a soul, and that soul feels sometimes very keenly. 
 If I was practicing my religion alone in this cottage, and 
 my Julia here, and my husband and son now absent, had 
 no religion at all, or a religion altogether different from 
 mine, I would be, I am sure, one of the most unhappy 
 women on earth, thinking night and day that those most 
 dear to me had neither my faith, nor my hope, nor the in- 
 estimable blessing of true charity ; and if that is the case 
 for me it must be the case for you ; and I cannot believe 
 that yoa would be able to feel perfectly contented in the 
 midst of a family divided on such an important subject, as 
 that of God and the soul. This, therefore, was the first 
 thing that I begged of God this morning to grant you ; and 
 if it depended on me you would not remain an hour with- 
 out it." 
 
 Poor Mrs. Kirkbride was at one and the same time fear- 
 fully tormented and sweetly moved by the words of the 
 old woman. Every syllable told on her ; and in her present 
 disposition of mind she realized the smallest details of the 
 picture. She could not but join her personal desires with 
 those of Mrs. O' Byrne, expressed with such simplicity and 
 such force. But what made her really sad was the thought 
 that it would require a real miracle of grace to bring not 
 
128 LOUISA KIBKBBIDE. 
 
 only her wretclied son to such a change as the prayer of the 
 old woman supposed, but even her own dear, excellent, and 
 loving husband. She would have openly shed tears, if Julia 
 had been alone ; for the floodgates of confiding sympathy 
 had already been opened once in their meeting of the morn- 
 ing, and for Mrs. Kirkbride it would have been only a con- 
 tinuation of the same scene ; but the presence of the old 
 woman, although certainly not annoying to her feelings, 
 was nevertheless a bar to an unreserved outpouring of the 
 heart, and she made an effort to show insensibility when, in 
 fact, her whole soul was, as it were, convulsed mth the deep- 
 est emotions. 
 
 ''What did you ask after this, Mrs. O' Byrne ? I am cu- 
 rious to know," she said, apparently unmoved. 
 
 "I have already said, madam," she replied, "that I did 
 not pray for the increase of your wealth ; but I begged of 
 God to enable you always to keep your own, and not to be 
 deprived of it by the machinations of your enemies. We 
 poor folks have been subject all our life to secret or open 
 attacks in the old country, and then in this one, and you 
 know, madam, quite lately. I have always prayed ardently 
 for God to protect us in our insignificant temporal interests ; 
 and he has always done so in the end. You have yourself 
 witnessed how the bold designs of those who came unawares 
 upon us, and for no reasons that we can see, have been sig- 
 nally defeated, so that we have scarcely suffered from them. 
 As your family is much more important than ours, I have 
 no doubt that plots have been, and are perhaps now, con- 
 cocted against you for the ruin of your house. I have, this 
 morning, prayed to God, that those wicked plans may be 
 ultimately defeated, even in case they appear at first suc- 
 cessful, as it has certainly taken place for us on more than 
 one occasion. Of this wish of mine, madam, you may be 
 sure that it is sincere. I cannot fight for you ; my husband 
 and my son would most willingly do it, if they were placed 
 in a position to do so ; but most probably they will never 
 be able, except by their wish, which is as sincere as mine." 
 
 "I thank you most heartily, my dear Mrs. O'Byrne," 
 said Mrs. Kirkbride, "and I beg of you to continue praying 
 
A RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY OF A NEW KIND. 129 
 
 for US. ' God,' says Scripture, ' listens to tlie prayers of the 
 humble of heart,' and I have confidence in them myself." 
 
 At this moment, Bridget — the new female servant of all 
 work — came from the mansion. She wanted Julia to go 
 and help her for a short time — this the good Miss O' Byrne 
 had already done more than once — as a note had arrived 
 from Mr. Kirkbride that he would have several strangers 
 to dine with him that day. Julia went directly, and Mrs. 
 0' Byrne, left alone with the lady, said : 
 
 '' I am glad the girl is gone : I was going to send her out 
 a moment. I have only a word to say to complete the story 
 of my prayers for you this morning, and I prefer my 
 daughter to be absent. I know, madam, that you have no 
 one to take the place of what Julia is to me, and that the 
 death of your last daughter has been the cause of a great 
 sorrow to you. I may be mistaken, but you appear to me 
 young enough not to despair. I have certainly begged of 
 my God this morning to open in your bosom another germ 
 of gladness and joy, that shall grow in your arms and feast 
 your eyes again with the sight of another child like the one 
 you lost." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride did not expect anything of the kind from 
 an old withered Irish woman, such as people think gene- 
 rally inaccessible to what is graceful and refined ; yet it is 
 precisely thoughts of that sort which often fill the mind 
 and heart of "old withered Irish women." The lady was 
 for a instant bewildered, and could not keep from bursting 
 into tears. It was like a well-spring of hidden water opened 
 in April by a sudden morning shower. Big tears coursed 
 down her cheeks ; with both her hands she seized Mrs. 
 O' Byrne's right arm. 
 
 " You really thought this morning before God," she said, 
 '' of all that could make me happy. But I am afraid God 
 will not listen to this last prayer. I thank you, however, 
 for it, and you have done a great deal more for the consola- 
 tion of my soul than all the trifles I have done for you could 
 ever be worth." With these words she rose up and left the 
 cottage to go back to her mansion. 
 9 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE FIEST LAW CHAPTER OF THE BOOK. 
 
 Mr. Kirkbride entertained that day at dinner two of his 
 friends and a professional gentleman of whom a word must 
 be said, as he is not to be, by any means, a stranger to our 
 story. This was no less a person than the District Attorney 
 of ISew York. Several times already he had been in official 
 relation with Mr. Kirkbride, when the latter, as our readers 
 will remember, had made himself a party in the prosecution 
 of the masked ruffians who had been on the point of setting 
 on fire the shanty of the 0' Byrnes. The gentleman had 
 come to examine the locality of the outrage, and see whom 
 he could summon on the side of the State. After dinner, 
 when they had ascertained that old Mr. O' Byrne and Con 
 had come home from work, they walked to the cottage, and 
 heard on the spot all the details of the occurrence. The 
 sight of Con, so young, lithe in his movements, sprightly 
 in his bearing, and graphic in his descriptions, interested 
 the prosecuting legal officer, who had seen him once before, 
 when, in the company of his father, he had denounced the 
 first outrage and lodged his complaint against ''Bully" 
 George and Mr. Schwitz. At that time the gentleman had 
 taken very little notice of him, and thus his case had re- 
 mained in abeyance, and had not advanced one step since 
 the denunciation. George was out on bail, and Schwitz, at 
 last fully recovered from his painful wound, was kept in 
 the Bellevue Penitentiary, where he had naturally been 
 transferred from the Bellevue Hospital. 
 
 ''How is it, my lad," said the district attorney to Con, 
 
 130 
 
THE FIRST LAW CHAPTER OF THE BOOK. 131 
 
 *' that you never came to see me since the district judge 
 committed those two fellows, and you made your first 
 ' deposition ' with me ? " 
 
 " I did not know, sir," replied Con with simplicity, " that 
 it was proper for me to move again until the time had come 
 for me to be called." 
 
 "I see, my friend," subjoined the legal officer, ''that 
 you imagine that w^e have no case but yours, and that it is 
 altogether useless to refresh our memory. Well, it is time 
 indeed to look into your affair, since I have to investigate 
 this one placed in my hands by Mr. Kirkbride. Both will 
 now move rapidly, I assure you ; and if the jury listens to 
 my advice, after all I have seen and heard of both cases to- 
 day, it will go pretty hard first with those two low scoun- 
 drels w^ho made the first raid, and then with that strange 
 party of masked incendiaries of which our detectives have 
 not yet been able to make mach. We know nothing as 
 yet of the prime mover in the affair, and there w^as certainly 
 a cunning rascal at the bottom of the w^hole plot ; he de- 
 serves indeed to be looked to, if only he can be found." 
 
 Our readers, w^ho have the privilege of knowing a great 
 deal more than the district attorney, are fully aware to 
 whom the word '' prime mover " referred. '' Honest" John 
 was, in fact, present at the time the legal gentleman uttered 
 the phrase. His master had ordered him to come with the 
 rest of the company, in order to open for inspection the 
 stable and his o^oi apartments there, as the district attor- 
 ney wished to examine closely all the surroundings of the 
 shanty. John's feelings may have been a little ruffled on 
 the occasion, but he was very careful not to show it ; on the 
 contrary he appeared very lively and seemed to take a pro- 
 found interest in all the proceedings of the day, even sug- 
 gesting many points unnoticed by the honorable company, 
 for the elucidation of which he could not but feel a deep 
 concern. Thus he remarked that, in the first attack, all the 
 servants of the house, except the two fellows who had been 
 caged, had certainly, to the knowledge of all, remained at 
 their post the whole time, and none of them were aware of 
 
132 LOUISA EIRKBRIBE. 
 
 anything until nearly the end of it, just a few minutes be- 
 fore he himself went to the cottage to assure the good peo- 
 ple there of their united sympathy, and their readiness to 
 oblige them should there be any need of it. As to the 
 second affair it was evidently an outside one ; no one could 
 imagine w^hat was the purpose, and how such a conspiracy 
 could have been entered into. He, in fact, spoke so much 
 and so well that the district attorney, who was fully as 
 keen as his office required, began to entertain some suspi- 
 cion ; so that the first moment he found himself alone with 
 Mr. Kirkbride, he inquired w^ho this servant was, and if he 
 might not have been concerned covertly, if not openly, in 
 any of the two outrages, if not in both. The gentleman 
 appealed to on the subject unhesitatingly said that John 
 could not be suspected of anything of the kind. All the 
 circumstances of both occurrences, and the doings or say- 
 ings of the man during the whole time they lasted, conclu- 
 sively showed that he had nothing to do with them. Mr. 
 Kirkbride was certainly a very wdse and prudent man ; but 
 on some, perhaps on many occasions, he relied too much on 
 his wisdom and prudence. The best men are occasionally 
 liable to fall into such mistakes. 
 
 To look into all the details of both trials would detain us 
 far too long ; and never having studied for the legal profes- 
 sion, we might be puzzled to reproduce not only the suc- 
 cessive steps of the legal procedure, but particularly the 
 complex terminology so well known to, and so glibly used 
 by, experienced lawyers. We will, therefore, confine our- 
 selves to giving the general results of both trials, as these 
 results are important to the sequence of our tale. 
 
 In the first of them absolutely nothing could be known of 
 the two ruffians who had carried Julia away. As Mr. Kirk- 
 bride all the time insisted that they could not have belonged 
 to his house, the detectives were put on many wrong scents 
 which baffled all their skill, and of course could not bring 
 forward anything substantial. Of the two well-proved 
 criminals, Mr. George, who ''grandly" surrendered him- 
 self, and was thus as good as his word, could not be con- 
 
THE FIRST LAW CHAPTER OF THE BOOK. 133 
 
 victed of a great offense, as he had been stunned by the 
 shillelagh of Con before he had fully entered the shanty. 
 His lawyer, paid by John, proved to his own satisfaction, 
 that it was merely a visit of pleasure, or rather courtesy, 
 he was attempting that beautiful moonlight night, and if he 
 had been allowed to go through with it, the bewildered 
 O' Byrnes, who believed him to be an enemy, would have 
 found him to be a fast friend. The jury did not come to 
 quite the same benevolent conclusion ; still they thought 
 he had been almost punished enough by the blow which, 
 according to the lawyer, " came very near costing him his 
 life;" a real conspiracy, besides, between him and the 
 other burglars could not be legally established, as he de- 
 nied it obstinately, and Schwitz would not speak. Thus 
 they convicted George of a slight misdemeanor ; the judge 
 sentenced him to a month in the Tombs, and we have no 
 doubt, that to this day, the faithful records of this cele- 
 brated institution contain his name in full, as having par- 
 taken of the " hospitality of the house." 
 
 As to Schwitz, the result of the trial bore a completely 
 different aspect. It is true, the positive testimony of Mr. 
 O' Byrne and of Con, that all his movements and the di- 
 rection of his onsets, showed, on his part, an intention of 
 knocking down the stove and burning the shanty, rebutted, 
 apparently, to a certain extent, by the annoying cross-exam- 
 ination of the adverse advocate, was not fully admitted 
 by the jury as a positive evidence, and the judge him- 
 self almost discarded it in his charge ; consequently Mr. 
 Schwitz was not convicted of intended arson ; yet his evi- 
 dent hostile assaults, the blow inflicted on the ann of Mr. 
 O' Byrne, and his complete inability to assign any motive 
 for invading the shanty, and to show the least provocation 
 on the part of those he had attacked, made his case much 
 worse than that of George, and the conclusion of the dis- 
 trict attorney, that it was evidently a case of *' burglary 
 and assault with intent to kill," was insisted upon by the 
 judge in his charge, and fully admitted by the jury. Thus 
 he received for his reward a sentence of ten years in Sing Sing. 
 
134 LOUISA KIRKBItlDE. 
 
 This rather stunned *^ honest" John. Could Mr. Schmtz 
 remain "ten years" in that delightful establishment with- 
 out opening his lips and revealing the whole plot ? \Yould 
 he even consent to be manacled, sit in the cars between two 
 policemen armed with revolvers, and be whisked away in 
 less than sixty minutes toward that rural retreat on the 
 banks of the Hudson, without asking at least to have an 
 important conversation with the New York police ? These 
 were rather puzzling questions to John, who was sure of 
 George, because George knew he would only render his case 
 worse by blabbing, and, besides, he was an Englishman who 
 would not betray another Englishman ; but that nonde- 
 script Switzer was a totally different personage. He must 
 absolutely be seen in private and spoken to. "Honest'"' 
 John found means of reaching his cell — we never could find 
 how — and he had with him an interesting conversation. 
 John's lawyer had promised to find a pretext for bringing 
 Schwitz out of the Tombs to the City Hall on a "habeas 
 corpus," before he was taken to Sing Sing; and on the 
 way some friends he had spoken to were sure to rescue him 
 and restore him to sweet liberty. There is no need of ex- 
 plaining at length the way in which it was done. This sort 
 of thing has been formerly done repeatedly. "Honest" 
 John's plan succeeded this time better than his craft had 
 done so far, and Mr. Sch^\'itz, after escaping, found himself 
 free again, and a secret boarder in some low den of Green- 
 wich Street, well known to him before. But this time he 
 was an outlaw, his photograph was in the rogue' s gallery, 
 and he had to keep a sharp lookout in order to enjoy the 
 doubtful "freedom" promised him by his friend. We 
 must leave him temporarily in such pleasant quarters. 
 
 The trial of the "masked ruffians" took up much more 
 time. There were five prisoners ; a most prominent one, 
 who had been caught by the police in the act of pouring 
 kerosene oil on burning shavings ; the four others only be- 
 longed to the attacking party, and could not be convicted 
 of anything individually, except of having entered into a 
 kind of "conspiracy " and begun to carry it out. 
 
THE FIRST LAW CHAPTER OF THE BOOK. 135 
 
 The detectives, as we just saw a few pages back, had 
 been quite unable to reach the head of the plot. The pris- 
 oners, interrogated apart, had not revealed anything impor- 
 tant, and even could not do it. They confessed "man- 
 fully" that they were daily annoyed by the ugly sight of 
 those Irish shanties, so numerous then in the neighborhood 
 of the Central Park. It was a nuisance ; everybody that 
 they knew pronounced it a nuisance ; every respectable 
 person in the city would be glad of their complete extinc- 
 tion. But since the city authorities did not move in the 
 matter, although often called upon to do so by many daily 
 papers, they had undertaken the patriotic task of bringing 
 about what everybody wished. They did not intend to do 
 any bodily hann to any person ; hence they did not carry 
 any firearms, only clubs with which to gently influence the 
 inmates of the shanties, and make them consent to be 
 bound with cords and sent adrift, when their dwellings 
 were emptied. Nothing else could be found against them ; 
 and they were so fully convinced they were right, that they 
 would do it again if at liberty to do so. They did not know 
 of any one who had formed a plot and induced them to join 
 in it. The plan had been gradually developed by general 
 talking, and they did not know of any one issuing the 
 orders which they obeyed ; each band had a leader whom 
 they had chosen themselves ; he was one of them, no more 
 nor less guilty than any of them. 
 
 This is all that could be drawn from their lips, either in 
 conversation with policemen, or in the direct interrogatory 
 by the district attorney. They were not vagabonds and 
 jailbirds ; they never had had any dealings with the police 
 before ; their calling was humble, but not dishonorable, and 
 their previous social record could in no way tell against 
 them. 
 
 The verdict of the jury imposed on the magistrate the 
 duty of sentencing each of the four ordinary prisoners to 
 six months' imprisonment, and the man who had been 
 found kindling a fire to six years in Clinton. 
 
 But several times during both trials the district attorney 
 
136 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 had occasion to remark tlie self-possession, straightforward- 
 ness, and conscientious way of giving evidence displayed by 
 young Con 0' Byrne. After it was all over, he spoke to 
 him and to his father ; was surprised to hear that all his 
 prospect in life was to be a common laborer ; said it should 
 not be so ; and promised to see to the boy, and find for him 
 an opening where his talent and honesty should have fuller 
 scope. In a few days we may hear of what was to come of 
 these benevolent intentions. 
 
PATRICK O'bYRNES ADVICE TO CUtN. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 A YOUNG MAN ALWAYS NEEDS A GUIDE. 
 
 Meanwhile Con did not fail to go, on the Sunday wMch 
 immediately followed the events just recorded, to the meet- 
 ing in Greenwich Street, where his new German friends had 
 invited him to be present. When he returned it was pretty 
 late, and he found all the family in bed. He could not, 
 therefore, communicate directly to his father all he had 
 seen and heard, and the next morning they were in too 
 great a hurry preparing to go to work. But on the evening 
 of this Monday they met again on their return near the en- 
 trance to the Park, and the old gentleman told his son they 
 might as well sit down on a bench there and have their talk. 
 For he did not know what Con had to say, and it might be 
 better not to say it in the presence of his sister. 
 
 ''Very well," said the son ; "I hope that mother will not 
 be too anxious on account of our delay ; and I will make 
 the story as short as I can. When I left home I went 
 directly to the house of the first young man I had met, who 
 had given me his address. I remarked that it was a large 
 boarding-house, full of Dutch people, nearly all men, evi- 
 dently bachelors or widowers. I had at first some difBlculty 
 in making myself understood in English ; for they all spoke 
 only German, and they did not appear much inclined to be 
 sociable. I tell you, father, that when we were living in 
 James Street with Mr. Doyle, in a house full of Irish peo- 
 ple, the conduct of the boarders was a very different affair. 
 You see well on such occasions the difference of nationali- 
 ties ; and I confess I am not ashamed of my own. How- 
 
 137 
 
138 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 ever, I found at last the young man I was looking for, and 
 we started. 
 
 '' On the way he told me : ' I am glad you came ; you will 
 be this evening the representative of Ireland.' — 'What do 
 you mean?' I said. — 'We form,' he replied, ' the Universal 
 Republic, and every part of the world has its representa- 
 tives in our assemblies. As you will be the first Irishman 
 to join our society, we have prepared an Irish flag, and 
 you will take your place just under it.' — ' You go too fast,' 
 I said. ' I love the flag ; but it is agreed among us, that I 
 go this evening only to see and judge for myself. I have 
 not yet joined your society, and cannot be a member until 
 I know more ; consequently, I cannot be the representative 
 of Ireland among you.' " 
 
 "Well said, Con, my boy," ejaculated the old man. ''I 
 hope you persevered until the end in that determination ?" 
 
 ''I did," said the boy ; ''and, I confess, I had a great 
 deal of trouble to gain my point ; he was so urgent the 
 whole way. 
 
 "When we reached the place, he showed me into a very 
 large room, already full of people. . Remarking that near 
 the door was a crowd, evidently composed of visitors and 
 outsiders, I sat right down among them. 'Come along,' 
 my companion said ; ' this is not the place for you. See 
 yonder that bright green standard, with the harp and sham- 
 rock; there is a seat for you, and you must take it.' — 'I 
 shall not,' I replied; 'and you know my reasons; here 
 is my place ; ' and, seeing my determination, the man left 
 me. Then I could look leisurely, examine everything for 
 myself. All around the hall there were flags, I suppose 
 of all possible nations. They were, each of them, sur- 
 rounded by groups of men, who, I imagine, belonged to 
 the nations represented by the flags. Our beautiful Irish 
 standard was there, sure enough, with nobody under it. I 
 remarked several large inscriptions. At the end of the hall, 
 just in front of me, was written : ' Universal, Social, and 
 Democratic Republic' On one side of the room : ' Liberty, 
 Fraternity, Equality ; ' on the other side : ' Let the poor 
 
A YOUNG MAN ALWAYS NEEDS A GUIDE. 139 
 
 and oppressed come to ns.' This was very fine, indeed, and 
 promising. The men that I saw were evidently come from 
 many quarters ; they were not all Germans, as I had sup- 
 posed, from those who had brought me ; there were certainly 
 many Frenchmen, with a good many Hungarians, as I took 
 them to be, with their Kossuth hats ; some Poles, Italians, 
 English, and may be a few Spaniards and Portuguese, 
 though I could never make out exactly who they were. 
 
 " When the time for opening the meeting had arrived, a 
 tall, lank, sallow individual, with thick mustaches and long 
 hair, arose. I was afraid the whole proceedings would be 
 carried on in German or French, but soon found out that 
 this one spoke English well. He said a word of this at the 
 very beginning, and stated that, as there was not yet in 
 existence a universal language for the Universal Republic, 
 and this was an English-speaking country, the association 
 had decided that, in all their public assemblies and discus- 
 sions, the English tongue would be used ; only, after the 
 business of the day had been transacted, speakers would 
 address the meeting in other languages, particularly Ger- 
 man and French, for the benefit of those who were not 
 sufficiently acquainted with the idiom of the country. This 
 relieved me, and I concluded to stay ; for I was already 
 thinking of going away, which I would have done, if I had 
 found myself unable to understand the speakers. 
 
 ''The first one had, evidently, taken for his text the 
 inscription on the wall to the left of the hall : ' Let the 
 poor and oppressed come to us ; ' and he showed — what is 
 probably the fact — that, in all countries, there is a fright- 
 ful social tyranny carried on by the strong against the 
 weak. At least, his descriptions tallied so well with what I 
 knew of Ireland, that, I confess, several passages brought 
 tears to my eyes, and, if my former companion had not 
 asked me too soon to become Erin's representative on the 
 occasion, I would have been strongly tempted to go and 
 take my seat under the green flag. 
 
 "The next orator developed the inscription written at 
 the end of the room : ' Universal Social and Democratic Re- 
 
140 LOUISA EIBEBBIDE. 
 
 public' If what the man said is true, the society of which 
 I was invited to become a member is spread over the whole 
 earth, and, as he expressed it himself, extends farther than 
 the old Catholic Church, of which, by-the-by, he did not 
 speak very badly. The project is to establish in each na- 
 tion a particular republic, framed on the general pattern, 
 and to connect all those democratic states by a strict, indi- 
 visible, and supreme government ; for they seem all op- 
 posed to a federal union, such as exists in this country. 
 The speaker spoke at length on the inconveniences of this 
 kind of administration, as can be seen in the doings at 
 Washington ; and I must say I was sometimes completely 
 in the dark with respect to what he said, and could not 
 understand him in the least. The whole, however, struck 
 me as a very grand project, beneficial, no doubt, to man- 
 kind, if the real object was the amelioration of all condi- 
 tions and the spread of peace and harmony on the earth. 
 
 '' The third speaker commented on the celebrated motto : 
 * Liberty, Fraternity, Equality ; ' and he said, indeed, some 
 very fine things, with others which appeared to me quite 
 rash, chiefly when he spoke of equality. He went so far as 
 to say that every state where the least inequality exists is 
 bad, and that every one has a right to destroy it ; that the 
 distinction of rich and poor classes is a monstrosity, and 
 that the poor have at all times the right — as he expressed 
 it — ' of rectifying the unjust distinction,' which meant, I 
 suppose, that the poor can rob the rich without scruple of 
 conscience ; and many other phrases of the same import, 
 which invariably were loudly applauded by the whole as- 
 semblage. Until that time, I had been almost under a 
 spell, and felt not only a deep interest in, but also a strong 
 leaning to what was said. But the ideas advocated by the 
 last speaker horrified me, because I saw they were opposed 
 to all the teachings of our holy religion." 
 
 Here O' Byrne interrupted his son: ''That horror you 
 felt, my dear Con," he said, ''was but natural to a Chris- 
 tian ; but I can show you, I think, that of many other 
 things which took you by surprise and obtained your ap- 
 
A YOUNG MAN ALWAYS NEEDS A GUIDE. 141 
 
 probation, there is a great deal to be said. But before I 
 make my remarks, finish your report of the meeting, and I 
 will speak after you." 
 
 ''My report of the meeting is ended," said Con, "because 
 I did not stay after this third speech ; I saw the beginning 
 of a great excitement, and I remarked that several men 
 stood on their feet at once, desirous of addressing the as- 
 semblage, and I immediately perceived that many wanted 
 to speak in German, French, perhaps Turkish or Congo ; I 
 did not like to be present in such a Babel, and I slipped 
 away unperceived, as I was near the door." 
 
 "You did very well. Con," said his father; "you had 
 heard enough, and there was no need of hearing more to 
 know what those people are about. I wall tell you my 
 mind, and I am sure that you will agree with me. With 
 respect to the first speech, on the inscription, ' Let the poor,' 
 etc., you did not tell me precisely what the speaker said, 
 but from your expressions, I conclude that you were very 
 near falling in with him. Now, my dear boy, as I am sure 
 that the ' orator' — as I think you called him — is not a great 
 expounder of the Gospel, I have no doubt he said many 
 absurd things which appeared fine to you, because you are 
 still young. I know that it is our divine Saviour who first 
 said, ' Come to me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, 
 and I will refresh you.' Those nice speakers want to im- 
 prove on the Gospel, of which they know nothing, and they 
 give it a completely false turn. Our Lord Jesus Christ 
 wants all the poor and the oppressed to come to him, not 
 to put arms in their hands, and to make them rich and 
 happy in this life by the right of insurrection, as they call 
 it ; but he relieves them by his grace, giving them the 
 strength to carry their heavy burdens without murmuring 
 and rebelling. He was poor himself and remained poor ; 
 his apostles were like him; his first disciples, instead of 
 hankering after wealth and worldly happiness, brought all 
 they possessed to the feet of the apostles, to give it in 
 charity. Thus our divine Lord renders tolerable the pov- 
 erty of the many by the willing charity of the few ; and, if 
 
142 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 all are not relieved, if tlie ills of this life cannot be alto- 
 gether corrected, he gives to the most miserable among men 
 the priceless gift of patience and submission. This is the 
 true spirit of the Gospel, and the meaning of the words of 
 our Saviour. Thus have I heard them expounded very 
 often by our priests long ago, when the wounds of poor 
 Ireland were far worse than they are now, and seemed in- 
 curable — and when a rash word uttered by the lips of our 
 spiritual guides would have made of us all real devils in 
 daring and execution. Our priests were animated A\ith a 
 very different spuit from that of your ' orator ; ' because 
 they knew the true religion of Christ, being themselves par- 
 takers in the sufferings and humiliations of their Master. 
 
 *'The expounders of the new Gospel call to them the 
 poor and the oppressed with a widely different intention. 
 Instead of pouring wine and oil into their wounds as the 
 good Samaritan did, they infuse into their festering sores 
 poison and fire to inflame their passions, and inoculate them 
 with madness. How can they hope to heal the sick by such 
 a process ? They never will, not only establish harmony 
 and peace on earth, as they say, but even cure mankind of 
 the least of its evils. That inequality against which they 
 protest, not only would not disappear under their rule, but 
 would become worse by subjecting the immense mass of 
 equally miserable men to the power of a few oppressive, 
 irresponsible leaders. This is what they want, as the good 
 and holy prior of the Augustinians of New Ross proved to 
 me, the last time he came to preach in Enniscorthy, where 
 I went to hear him. For I would not have found that out 
 without him. 
 
 ''And these few words of the venerable father explain 
 perfectly the meaning of the second speech you heard last 
 night, my dear son, on that inscription about the ' Univer- 
 sal Republic' They want all their republican states to be 
 ruled, not by the mild principles of a federal union as in 
 this country ; but by the strong will and arm of a central- 
 ized power. This is what you did not fully understand, 
 Con, my boy, and what — as you said — you were ' completely 
 
A YOUNG MAN ALWAYS NEEDS A GUIDE. 143 
 
 in the dark' about. The fact is, they do not wish to ex- 
 plain their full meaning to their infatuated hearers, because 
 every one would recoil at the idea of being slavishly bound 
 hands and feet by a hard master, and obliged to submit to 
 the most inflexible and crushing iron rule. This is what 
 the French first called the ' Universal Social and Democratic 
 Republic,' which is now to be proclaimed wherever there 
 will be found a sufficient number of fools ready to submit 
 to it humbly, accepting as the boon of true liberty what is 
 in truth the most frightful slavery which has ever been 
 seen on earth. The pamphlet which you were reading for 
 me, when your mother and Julia came from their walk a 
 few days ago, does not state this clearly, because it is writ- 
 ten for the multitude, which they intend to catch as in a 
 net, but they have books where the project is sufficiently 
 unveiled to apprise mankind of their intention. This was 
 positively stated to me by the same Augustinian father ; 
 and I believe it fully now after what you saw and heard in 
 Greenwich Street. 
 
 ' ' That the assertion is not exaggerated, is proved beyond 
 doubt by the interpretation the last of the three speakers 
 you heard at the meeting gave of the grand inscription of 
 ' Liberty, Fraternity, Equality.' Chiefly the comments on 
 this last word show that those men set at defiance all 
 human and divine laws known to mankind, and want to 
 replace them by a new code, which certainly cannot come 
 from heaven, but must be derived from a very different 
 quarter. And it seems clear to me that this new code can- 
 not be successfully introduced without the most frightful 
 despotism, coming in the wake of the demon of anarchy. 
 For anarchy must step in first to destroy all the principles 
 of family and property ; and as anarchy cannot rule long 
 anywhere, it will have to be mastered by the most complete 
 and crushing despotism. Imagine, Con, the fine result of 
 this doctiine : according to them, the possession of wealth 
 is a crime, as according to others poverty is a crime ; any 
 one owning more than others ought to be deprived of the 
 surplus, that all may be equal. We thus have a right, if 
 
144 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 we are the strongest, to go, armed to the teeth, to the rich 
 mansion of Mr. Kirkbricle, turn him out into the street 
 with his family, and occupy his house in his place ; and, ac- 
 cording to their doctrine, the previous benevolence of the 
 gentleman and his lady is not to be taken into account in 
 the least, as that benevolence was a mere retailing to others 
 a small portion of what they owed entirely to all. What 
 do you say to this, Con, my boy ? " 
 
 '' I say," replied the son, " that those who uphold these 
 doctrines are monsters, and that if there is any danger of 
 their being carried into execution, I will denounce them to 
 Mr. Kirkbride, and form a strong guard of honest people, 
 including my friends of the 'mutual aid society,' to pro- 
 tect his house against all those cut- throats. I'll make them 
 run again before my shillelah." 
 
 ''That's just the way to talk," replied Mr. 0' Byrne. 
 " But, my son, you may expect that some of these days the 
 young German who first spoke to you, and introduced you 
 to the meeting yesterday, will again come and ask your 
 opinion of what you have seen and heard. What will you 
 answer? I do not advise you to speak as openly as you 
 did just now ; for in that case you would soon have to leave 
 your work on Eighth Avenue. You must dismiss the whole 
 subject with fair words ; can you find some to humbug 
 them?" 
 
 "Well," answered Con, "I will have to reflect during 
 the night, as it is important to have something well pre- 
 pared." 
 
 "Suppose," said the father, "that we 'prepare' it now: 
 can you not say that a simple laborer like you, a boy of 
 eighteen or nineteen, cannot fitly represent Ireland in their 
 grand meetings; and that they must rather invite some 
 more prominent Irishman living in New York, and known 
 to the whole community?" 
 
 "That's it," answered Con, "and I have a name to give 
 them. I heard from Mr. Doyle, that there are in New 
 York, plenty Irish people of consideration, and among them 
 a most respectable and universally known character. His 
 
A YOUNG MAN ALWAYS NEEDS A GUIDE. 145 
 
 name is Mr. diaries 0' Cannon. He belongs, Doyle told 
 me, to the O' Cannons of old Ireland. Everybody can speak 
 of him publicly, as he is so well known. I will invite my 
 German friend to pay him a polite visit, as he is a well-bred 
 and refined gentleman, and if he accepts., the new organiza- 
 tion will receive a great help, and directly see a number of 
 Irishmen running to be enrolled." 
 
 ''Capital ! " exclaimed Mr. 0' Byrne, laughing ; '' I wish 
 the young German would be gullible enough to swallow the 
 bait; there would be fun coming." Then the father and 
 son ended their talk, and, of course, when Con spoke of it 
 to the German the following day, the young man did not 
 consent "to swallow the bait," and was only debating 
 within himself if the Irish boy was speaking seriously or 
 laughing at him ; but the innocent look of Con persuaded 
 the German that there was no insult intended, and our 
 friend was henceforth allowed to apply himself to his work 
 without further molestation. 
 
 Thus, between the Irish father and son, the most per- 
 fect harmony continued to exist. Snares were laid in the 
 path of the young man, and, had he been left alone, he 
 would undoubtedly have become the victim of unprinci- 
 pled men intent on gaining their selfish ends, by the help of 
 unwary young people ready to accept as gold everything 
 that glitters. But his affection and respect for his father 
 saved him from such a misfortune. Sad, indeed, is the lot 
 of a young man led astray at the very beginning of his 
 career, and thrown for the remainder of a long life into the 
 whirlpool of bad passions. 0' Byrne was just the man to 
 direct his son. Although he had received no education 
 whatever, and did not even know how to read, he had a 
 stock of natural good sense, which his deep feeling of re- 
 ligion kept from swerving to the right or left ; he had, be- 
 sides, a strong and retentive memory, which enabled him 
 to remember the sensible remarks made before him by men 
 of learning and integrity. He often stated from whom he 
 had heard such or such a thing, which cleared up some 
 doubtful question. We have just seen how he had kept in 
 
146 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 his mind and heart the solid words of a religious on the 
 designs of the Socialist sect of our days. The old man had 
 thus, we may say, a whole library stored in his extraordi- 
 nary memory. Con, who had not read much, and who had 
 yet lifctle experience of the world, willingly acknowledged 
 the superiority of his father in that respect, and always 
 submitted to his decision, often, however, trying to obtain 
 some modification of it, when he felt it rather hard to be 
 bound by such strict rules ; and the indulgent father, in the 
 true spirit of an Irishman, made the thing as easy as he 
 could consistently with the principle itself, which he never 
 surrendered. This mutual action and reaction of these two 
 unsophisticated minds, constituted a strong bond of recipro- 
 cal attraction which no exterior influence could sunder ; and 
 thus there was between them, as we said at the beginning 
 of these reflections, ''the most perfect harmony," sufficient 
 to produce real happiness, based on subordination and kind 
 feelings. How different was the ''pretended harmony" 
 existing at this time between Mr. Frederick and his father, 
 of which the natural course of events mil soon bring us to 
 speak ? A slight incident, which happened just a little after 
 the long conversation we had to record, obliges us to delay 
 it for a short time. This incident was a note which Con re- 
 ceived from the mail carrier — the first he had ever received 
 in his life. Being completely innocent of the mysteries of 
 envelopes and note paper, in trying to unseal it, he tore it 
 in two ; still, by replacing the pieces in their proper po- 
 sition, he contrived to read it. It was from the district 
 attorney, who requested Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne to come to 
 his office on the following day, as he had something of im- 
 portance to communicate. 
 
 "Evidently, Con," said Mr. 0' Byrne, "he wants to speak 
 to you about that 'opening,' as he called it, meaning, I sup- 
 pose, a situation different from mere labor, or a trade, which 
 he was good enough to try to find for you." 
 
 " It must be that," replied the young man. " And, I beg 
 of you, father, to come with me, as I might be led to accept 
 what I ought not." 
 
A YOUNG MAN ALWAYS NEEDS A GUIDE. 147 
 
 " I will go with you," assented the old gentleman ; " for, 
 althougli this district attorney is, I am sure, an honest 
 man wishing you well, my dear boy, he is not a Catholic 
 father as I am. We shall go together." 
 
 At the appointed time, they were both in the elegant 
 oflBlce. 
 
 '' I think," said the attorney, "I have found a place that 
 will just suit you, young man ; and, if my Judgment of you 
 is correct, it will be only a step to carry you farther up. I 
 
 have spoken to Mr. M , our chief of police, and in a 
 
 month's time there will be a vacancy, which he has promised 
 me for Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne. This month will be required 
 to improve your knowledge in writing, reading of manu- 
 script, and general acquaintance with men and things. There 
 are plenty day and night free-schools in the neighborhood 
 of the City Hall Park. I will write to two of our best 
 teachers, who will take an interest in pushing you in the 
 branches most important to you ; and I have no doubt that, 
 at the end of the month, you will be fully competent, at 
 least, for a beginning. You must, therefore, leave your 
 work in Eighth Avenue, and come to live down town, as it 
 would be very difficult for you to go and come so often 
 between this place and your parents' cottage." 
 
 Con did not say a word ; and reajly he could not, as he 
 was perfectly bewildered, and felt no possibiJity of under- 
 standing what was proposed to him. Mr. O' Byrne, there- 
 fore, spoke first, and apologizing for his son, who was yet 
 young and newly arrived in this country, he said : " Please 
 allow me, sir, to ask you if you want to make of him a 
 policeman." 
 
 ''Not exactly," answered the gentleman; "he will be 
 trained to be a detective on a large scale, and will not have 
 the drudgery of beats and regular hours in station houses ; 
 his post will be in the office of the police headquarters, and 
 he will be there subject to the requirements of the chief 
 alone." 
 
 This explanation was rather puzzling to Mr. 0' Byrne, 
 who, never having heard anything of police organizations, 
 
148 LOUISA KntKBRIDE. 
 
 could scarcely understand a word of it. After a moment's 
 reflection, however, lie said : ''My son and myself, sir, are 
 perfectly indifferent to the detail of the work, provided it 
 be honest. All we are concerned about is this : Will he be 
 obliged to spend all his time with bad people, and to dive 
 into all the dens and bad resorts of the city ? This would 
 not improve the morals of a young man, although I hope 
 that, whatever position he occupies, he will remain faithful 
 to his religion, in which he will always find a wholesome 
 check and restraint." 
 
 The district attorney respectfully bowed to the old man, 
 when he had heard him through. ''I see, my dear sir," he 
 said, '' that your ideas are very different from those of other 
 people. Was I to offer to any youngster in New York the 
 place I keep in reserve for your son, neither the young chap 
 nor his father would stop at any scruple of the kind you 
 allude to. I honor you for it ; and consider it my duty to 
 speak to you candidly and honestly. Your son will meet with 
 temptations in his way — there are some in all possible posi- 
 tions. These temptations will be of two kinds : money and 
 lust — I will speak plainly to you. The first — ^money — he 
 will be tempted to accumulate either by meddling with 
 politics and trying through it to rise in office ; or, secondly, 
 by receiving bribes frpm criminals, who often try thus to 
 escape from justice. The second temptation I need not 
 expose to you in detail, as, being an old man, you under- 
 stand the delicate position of a young detective who comes 
 to know the weak moral characters of many females, and 
 can easily influence them or fall under their influence." 
 And the district attorney stopped a moment. 
 
 "What do you say to this. Con?" inquired O' Byrne of 
 his son. 
 
 "Of the first way of making money," he answered, "I 
 confess I understand very little. You know, father, that 
 we are both perfectly ignorant of politics in this country. 
 Mr. Doyle made me go with him for my 'declaration of 
 intention' — I think that's what they call it — and I there 
 learned that I could not have a vote before five years. I 
 
A YOUNG MAN ALWAYS NEEDS A GUIDE. 149 
 
 am glad of it, because really I would not know how to vote, 
 and I might make a bad blunder, which would not be after- 
 ward pleasant to me. So I do not believe that I can make 
 much money by politics, since I have no vote, and I intend 
 to tell it to everybody. As to the second way — receiving 
 bribes from criminals — this really is worse than robbery. 
 I do not see how anybody can imagine I could be guilty of 
 such crime. Any one who should tell me so, I would knock 
 down ; and you know, father, that there is no danger of 
 this being a temptation for me." 
 
 ^'You are right. Con," interposed the father; "I do not 
 object to the proffered situation for such a reason, as I 
 know that you are above anything of the kind. But what 
 do you say of the other danger alluded to by the gentle- 
 man ; the influence that a fine girl may have over you ? " 
 
 '' To be candid with you, father," replied the young man, 
 *^I do not know how many fine girls I may meet in that 
 position, and consequently cannot say how far I might be 
 tempted to yield ; you know more of my disposition than 
 myself, and if you think that it would be too difiicult for 
 me to keep the commandments of God, we will both thank 
 the gentleman for his kind intentions toward us, and beg 
 of him to give the situation to a more virtuous man. I can 
 say, however, that if there is question of offending unblush- 
 ingly against morality, and destroying the reputation of 
 poor defenseless females, you know, father, that I am not 
 capable of such baseness. I know too well from Julia — my 
 sister, sir," turning to the district attorney — ''what are the 
 deep feelings of good girls in that regard, and with the help 
 of God I shall always respect them. As to the disreputa- 
 ble females I have heard people speak of, I would abomi- 
 nate them, and I could not think of finding any pleasure 
 in their company. You know, father, that I am yet too 
 young to think of marriage ; but until that time comes and 
 allows me to entwine my whole life around that of an affec- 
 tionate wife, I hope my religion will enable me to resist 
 temptation, or to rise pretty soon, if ever I fall." 
 
 The district attorney was delighted. He had not been 
 
150 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 brought up in strict principles of religion, but he had nat- 
 urally a deep sense of morality, and, wherever he found 
 true virtue, he was the more disposed to admire it, as he 
 was obliged to spend most of his time in prosecuting guilt 
 and vice. He could not but exclaim, addressing old Mr. 
 0' Byrne : ''Sir, you must give us this young man; it is 
 precisely men of this stamp that we want as custodians of 
 public virtue and ardent foes of iniquity. Would to God 
 we had more of this kind ! Society would not be, as it is, 
 going to ruin." 
 
 "I will consent," replied the old man, "provided my 
 son will not be altogether in bad company. You say that 
 it will be too difficult for him to come and go so often be- 
 tween this place and our poor dwelling, and that he must 
 reside down town. Would James Street be too far from 
 the place where he will have to spend most of his time ? " 
 
 " Not in the least," replied the district attorney. 
 
 "Very well," concluded Mr. 0' Byrne. 
 
 "Con, my friend, you will get accommodations, I am 
 sure, with Mr. Doyle ; he will find you lodgings and board 
 in his own quarters, and with him you will be safe." The 
 day after Con ceased to go to Eighth Avenue to work, and 
 he found once more a genial companion and guide in the 
 old friend of the family. Our readers, nevertheless, ought 
 not to conclude, that at the end of the month, when he was 
 duly installed in his new office, he was already a great and 
 rich man. He was merely " being trained " for a detective, 
 as Mr. District Attorney had expressed it. He was, in fact, 
 only a small clerk in that department of the police ; had to 
 study hard to prepare himself for a higher position, as he 
 knew so little of New York and of the institutions, laws, 
 customs, vices of the country, all of which must necessarily 
 be known in his new profession. His salary just enabled 
 him to pay his lodging and board with Mr. Doyle, and 
 keep himself in decent clothes. He had yet a great deal to 
 do to obtain, to conquer by main force, in order to be in 
 what is called an independent and comfortable situation. 
 The three other members of the family depended still en- 
 
A YOUNG MAN ALWAYS NEEDS A GUIDE, 151 
 
 tirely on tlie exertions of the old and respectable father ; 
 so that, for tlie time being, and for some time after, tlie 
 family could not be better off than it had been since they 
 took possession of the shanty. Con would no more be ex- 
 posed to the temptations he had met with when working 
 along Eighth Avenue ; but he was to find in his path many 
 other snares of a character quite different, but far more en- 
 ticing. We must leave him in his preparations for the 
 promised office, studying hard under the direction of two 
 able young men, to whom he had been strongly recom- 
 mended by the district attorney, and invariably going 
 home every Saturday evening to spend the Sunday with 
 his parents and sister. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 UPS A^B DOWNS Ij^ feed's PATH. 
 
 Whilst everything goes on so pleasantly in the poor fam- 
 ily, it is proper to inquire how matters are in the other. 
 The best way to get an exact account of it, is to enter for a 
 short time into the quiet and comfortable office of Ralph S. 
 Kirkbride & Co., in Beaver Street. In those rooms some of 
 the heaviest commercial o]3erations of the city were occa- 
 sionally transacted. There never was, of course, a crowd of 
 customers ; for nearly all the business was carried on by 
 correspondence. Early every day a large number of letters, 
 which had been brought by the previous evening' s or by that 
 morning's mail, and were piled in perfect order on a side 
 bureau kept for that purpose, gave occupation enough to 
 the corresponding secretary of the firm. 
 
 When Frederick arrived, a very few minutes after ten, 
 the young gentleman who had the care of this department 
 of the house had not yet appeared, contrary to his custom. 
 Frederick sat at his own desk, opened it, and prepared to 
 go seriously to work. He seemed to be in high spirits. All 
 his previous depression and ennui seemed to have left no 
 trace on his truly handsome features. He looked entirely 
 as if he had his whole heart engaged in his occupation. 
 
 Mr. T. Bland, one of the partners of the concern, came to 
 the young gentleman with a smiling face, and placed in his 
 hands a note which had Just been brought by an express- 
 messenger. It announced that the corresponding secretary 
 of the firm, who had declared for several days previous, 
 
 152 
 
UPS AND DOWNS IN FRED'S PATE. 153 
 
 whilst attending to his duty, that he felt nnnsnaUy depressed 
 and exhausted, had been pronounced by his physician as 
 laboring under an attack of typhoid fever, yet in its incipi- 
 ent stage, but which might become extremely serious, and 
 would certainly detain him for several weeks. 
 
 "Mr. Frederick," said Mr. Bland, "your father has not 
 yet come, but he soon -^vill ; he may propose to you to take 
 the place of our correspondiag secretary ; as I do not see 
 what other choice can be made. I tell it to you beforehand, 
 that you may reflect a moment and see what answer you 
 can give. I wish sincerely you could take it upon yourself 
 to accept." And Frederick, perusing the note, fell into a 
 serious mood of reflection and consideration. 
 
 Mr. Kirkbride soon came in, was informed of the illness 
 of one of theu' most important employes, and immediately 
 called Frederick to his private office. 
 
 "Tell me candidly," Fred, he said, "can you take tem- 
 porary charge of our correspondence ?" 
 
 "I wish I could, father," answered the young man, "and 
 you can know better than myself if I am competent ; it is a 
 very important office in the establishment." 
 
 "With that of bookkeeper, it is the most important ; but 
 from what I have seen of your private notes lately I think 
 you can discharge the office. For you made me happy the 
 other day by showing me your manuscript observations on 
 our trade. You are going deeply, and in a sensible manner, 
 into all the particulars which make a successful merchant. 
 Your geographical statistics, and general remarks on the di- 
 versified products of various countries ; your intimate knowl- 
 edge of banking and exchange ; your sound estimate of the 
 numerous causes which may influence the market ; chiefly 
 your spirit of enterprise in opening new avenues to our 
 commerce, so well expressed in the memoir you showed me 
 on the subject, inspire me \vith a just pride on your ac- 
 count, provided you continue steadily in the same path. 
 After all, the office of corresponding secretary chiefly re- 
 quires a knowledge of general statistics, and the art of 
 writing in polite and simple terms. Good breeding and the 
 
154 LOUISA KIHEBBIDE. 
 
 education yoii have received, will make you as competent 
 in this ]ast branch as the young man who kept our corre- 
 spondence. I advise you to take the position until the sick 
 man comes back ; and you know that should you find any 
 difficulty in your way, you can always apply to me." 
 
 ''I am very thankful, father, for your good opinion of 
 me," replied Frederick, ''and I will take my place at the 
 vacant desk." 
 
 This short conversation proves that Mr. Frederick had 
 been lately exemplary in his conduct at the counting-house ; 
 and as he was gifted with superior talent, he was in a fair 
 way of becoming not only well acquainted with his father's 
 business, but also quite useful to the house, and in course 
 of time a solid member of the firm. Hence Mr. Bland and 
 the other partners always smiled when they met him ; and 
 their opinion of the young man was quite changed of late. 
 He himself appeared elated and in good spirits, everything 
 succeeded so well, according to his wishes ! After dinner, 
 that day, he told John to prepare a light wagon for a ride 
 on the avenue ; he wanted exercise and rest from tedious 
 labor. His father, who heard of it at table, approved of it 
 highly, although the young man could always do so with- 
 out asking, and without a word of inquiry from either of 
 Ms parents. The days were longer and the spring in its 
 early bloom ; the moon was to rise when darkness began ; 
 and he promised himself not to come back home before 
 midnight, at the earliest. 
 
 John had taken the best pony in the stable, sat proudly 
 in front holding the reins, and Frederick, alone on a seat 
 made for two, jorepared to enjoy the mild air of the even- 
 ing, and to meet with any adventure chance might throw 
 in his way. He soon entered the Park, and the spider 
 wheels of his wagon flew on the well-graveled road. Light- 
 ing an Havana, he nodded right and left to many friends he 
 met ; but for some time did not see anything which might 
 promise an adventure. Darkness was coming on, and the 
 moon Just on the point of rising, when suddenly a light 
 wagon like his own, but with no driver except the single 
 
UFS AND DOWNS IN FRED'S PATH. 155 
 
 man seated in it, coming from an opposite direction, stopped, 
 and a voice was heard addressing Frederick. 
 
 "Is tliat you ?" cried out in response this young gentle- 
 man. 
 
 " Surely you thought me dead, and were glad of it," re- 
 plied the other. 
 
 "Not in the least, Mr. O'Tee," answered Frederick. "I 
 wrote you a note, and expected, before visiting you, a word 
 of acknowledgment, which never came." 
 
 Our readers understand that this sudden apparition was 
 nothing else than our former friend, the Irish broker, who, 
 having recovered from his long illness, could again enjoy 
 the sweetness of life and health. Mr. Frederick could not 
 escape him this time ; he left his own vehicle to the care of 
 John, telling him where he had to go and wait for him. 
 Then taking the vacant seat in Mr. O' Tee's wagon, he was 
 reajdy for an interesting conversation ; after having, how- 
 ever, taken the precaution to cover his head and almost 
 his whole face with the hood of a bumoose he had lately 
 taken a fancy to wear on his evening rides. His most inti- 
 mate acquaintances could not recognize him under this 
 African disguise. 
 
 "Do you know, sir," said Mr. O'Tee, "that I have been 
 on the point of suing you for heavy damages after that 
 prepared accident on Sixth Avenue ? ' ' 
 
 "What do you mean, sir, by prepared accident?" an- 
 swered Frederick. 
 
 "I mean that it was a conspiracy between you and your 
 valet, to put me out of your way, and jjerhaps kill me." 
 
 "I pity you if you think so, sir," replied Frederick, with 
 a great deal of assurance; "for then it would show very 
 little judgment on your part. How can you imagine, sir, 
 that I could conspire for such a purpose, not with my valet 
 —which would be absurd enough — but with my father's 
 valet ? I have no servant of my own. If you think me bad 
 enough to murder you, how can you suppose me such a 
 fool as to put myself for the remainder of my life in the 
 hands of a mere servant, who could denounce me at any 
 
156 LOUISA KIBKBEIBE. 
 
 time, if I fell out witli him, and perhaps send me to the 
 penitentiary for life. Do you think that I cannot see the 
 consequences of my acts ? If you have sense, sir, you will 
 easily conclude from all the circumstances, which cannot 
 yet have escaped your memory, that it was simply an acci- 
 dent. If, however, you arrive at a different conclusion, you 
 are at liberty to sue me for any damages you choose to ask, 
 and make a fool of yourself." 
 
 The reader sees and knows already that Mr. Frederick 
 could assume the tone of injured innocence ; and Mr. O'Tee 
 was fairly taken in, although not much given to sentimen- 
 talism, and to the appreciation of noble feelings in others, 
 as he was not conscious of possessing a heavy stock of them 
 himself. 
 
 ''Let it be an accident," he said; "it was certainly a 
 lucky one for you, and it made me lose a good stake I had 
 in hand." 
 
 "I do not see things precisely in the same light," said 
 Frederick. "I made a good day of it without you; I 
 do not think I should have been a loser had you been 
 present." 
 
 "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion on the sub- 
 ject," replied Mr. O'Tee. "I have my own, which suffices 
 for me ; but in a couple of days we will meet again at the 
 exchange ; I will take good care to be present, and then 
 we shall see at least about that trifle in 'Reading' which 
 remains still between you and me." 
 
 "What do you mean?" ejaculated Frederick ; "all our 
 accounts are settled until we open new ones." 
 
 "Have you forgotten, sir," replied Mr. O'Tee, "that lit- 
 tle affair of four months ago, in which you were bear for 
 the time, and I was bull? It was a slight speculation of a 
 very unusual term, in which we meant to try our sldll in 
 shooting at a long range." 
 
 In fact, the young Kirkbride heir had quite forgotten it. 
 It is seldom, if ever, that gamblers on the exchange specu- 
 late at four months distance ; they want quicker returns. 
 But on that day, in a kind of frolic, they wished to see 
 
UPS AND DOWN'S IN FEED'S PATH. 157 
 
 which of them both would be the most lucky or skillful on 
 an interminable chance of one hundred and twenty days. 
 Frederick, precisely on account of the length of time, had 
 first let the matter slip from his memory, relying on his mem- 
 orandum book, where he had inscribed it in a blotted corner. 
 Then the excitement of the various circumstances we have 
 described had secured a permanent forgetfulness; and he had 
 never thought of going through the pages of his memoran- 
 dums to see if all his accounts with Mr. O'Tee were settled. 
 He firmly and fondly imagined they were until his friend 
 brought the unlucky fact to his recollection. What was he 
 to do ? True it was only a trifle^ in which, should he be the 
 loser, the margin he would have to pay could not exceed 
 two thousand dollars ; yet, in his present circumstances, 
 this sum was more than he had. Hence the awakening of 
 his memory was a real blow. He soon, however, recovered 
 himself and assured Mr. O'Tee that he was prepared for 
 the encounter. The conversation, after this, fell on the 
 occurrences of the time, and could have no real interest for 
 our readers. Frederick begged of his friend to drive in the 
 direction where he was sure to find John ; and after a hearty 
 shake of the hand the two financial antagonists separated. 
 Thus the end of the drive was not so pleasant to Frederick 
 as the beginning. 
 
 When he reached home he fell to musing on his position. 
 Had not his father obliged him to give in charity the fifteen 
 hundred dollars he had made honestly at the exchange, he 
 could have gone through the new trial without difficulty. 
 Had he thought during these four months of the probable 
 result of his speculation in ' Reading,' he might have made 
 preparations to meet his loss on the fast-coming day. He 
 had less than a week to provide for the emergency, and 
 did not know what he had best do. He could not think of 
 again abstracting a couple of bonds from his father ; this 
 would be too perilous in the position in which he was. He 
 had lately brought his expenses within the limits of his 
 fifteen hundred a year, but, of course, could not have saved 
 a penny. He had, in fact, no other resource left but to pay 
 
158 LOUISA KIBKBRIjDE. 
 
 a friendly visit to Mr. James Friskey, in spite of the abso- 
 lute prohibition of his father ; and he would have to appear 
 again for a day at the exchange, in the teeth of the same 
 prohibition. His immaculate conduct at the counting-room 
 might suffer deeply from these two transactions, and leave 
 all his previous hypocritical efforts unrewarded. This was 
 rather an awkward position, which kept him awake the 
 whole night. 
 
 A couple of days after he saw no possibility of avoiding 
 an interview with Mr. Friskey. This young gentleman was 
 at the beginning of his brilliant career ; he had already, we 
 may say, the management of the Dunkirk Railroad ; but he 
 had not yet thought of connecting the Offenbach Opera 
 House with it. Mr. Fredrick supposed that a walk to the 
 office of a public railroad could not excite the suspicions of 
 the most severe Argus intent on spying him. He went 
 boldly, therefore, early one afternoon, to that active estab- 
 lishment, and, sending his card, was directly admitted into 
 the luxurious quarters of his friend and boon companion. 
 
 *'Is it you, Fred?" exclaimed Mr. Friskey. ''Where 
 have you been lately ? I have not seen you for an age ! I 
 thought you dead, and am glad you are • not ! What 
 brought you here 1 Do you want shares in Dunkirk ? " It 
 was a rapid fusillade of pressing questions. We do not 
 intend to give in extenso the interesting conversation be- 
 tween the two friends ; yet, quoted verhatim^ it would again 
 show the brilliant talent of invention displayed by Mr. 
 Frederick on such occasions. The improbability, nay, seem- 
 ing absurdity of Fred's being badly in want of two thousand 
 dollars on a given day, was explained so naturally, that 
 Mr. Friskey did not even utter a single expression of sur- 
 prise ; but drawing his check instantly, he presented it to his 
 friend, who had, meanwhile, wTitten a due acknowledgment. 
 
 Young Kirkbride, looldng over the paper, was surprised 
 to see that it was to be cashed in the very bank with which 
 his father dealt ; but for many reasons he could not make 
 a single observation on the subject, and preferred, on the 
 whole, to trust to chance. He took good care not to pre- 
 
UPS AND DOWNS IN FRED'S PATH. 159 
 
 sent the check before the very day he needed it ; but after 
 doing so he was prepared to meet his loss at the exchange, 
 becanse, from the turn lately taken by the ' Reading ' 
 stock he was sure to lose. By paying great attention to 
 dress himself as differently as possible from his usual 
 way, by placing himself in an obscure part of the build- 
 ing, by letting the stock follow its own way and never 
 trying to influence the ups and downs, he thought he suc- 
 ceeded in avoiding observation , and at the end he paid ac- 
 curately his marginal loss, which left in his hands two or 
 three hundred dollars of the money lent him by Friskey. 
 He was sure that the knowledge of all this adroit manage- 
 ment would never reach his father, nor any of the gentle- 
 men of the firm ; but he was sadly mistaken. 
 
 How did it happen ? In a very simple way. Frederick, 
 in drawing the money on the check, begged of the teller to 
 give him four five-hundred-dollar bills, and this gentleman 
 complied. Then the young man added, in an apparently 
 careless manner: ''You understand, Mr. Teller, that this 
 does not belong to the Kirkbride firm, but is my private 
 business?" 
 
 ''I understand it perfectly," replied the bank officer; 
 and on that account he did not place the check, after stamp- 
 ing it, among the papers of the firm, but, precisely on ac- 
 count of young Kirkbride' s remark, he did not place it 
 either among the papers of James Friskey, but he threw it 
 in the heap of miscellaneous checks which belonged to no 
 customers, and were to be sorted by a special clerk. When 
 it came to the hands of the young man having charge of 
 this department, he was struck, not by the well-known sig- 
 nature of Mr. Friskey — he did not even see it, owing to his 
 preoccupation — but by a peculiar formation of the F, in the 
 inditing of the check to Mr. F. Kirkbride. It looked to him 
 like a well-formed R. By a most strange and fatal mistake 
 he placed it among the papers of Ralph S. Kirkbride & Co., 
 and charged the amount to the firm as paid to it by the bank. 
 Thus the object of Frederick's remark to the teller was 
 completely defeated, though the teller kept the check. 
 
160 LOUISA KIRKBBIDE. 
 
 In due course of time, the matter came to the hands of 
 the bookkeeper of the Kirkbride establishment, who di- 
 rectly saw a discrepancy between the amount charged by 
 the bank to his house and the sum on his own books. It 
 happened that this gentleman was at the time engaged in 
 strange operations, of which we shall have shortly to speak, 
 not to his great advantage ; and, without saying a word to 
 any one, he obtained permission to absent himself for half 
 an hour, and ran to the bank, where he asked the teller how 
 such a mistake could have originated ; and, reference being 
 made to the checks lately received by the establishment, the 
 awkward state of affairs was instantly discovered, and it was 
 found that Mr. Frederick had, a few days before, received 
 two thousand dollars on a check signed by Mr. James Fris- 
 key. This was a godsend to the honest bookkeeper, who 
 was aware that Mr. Frederick was looking sharply into his 
 own doings, and thought he now had an excellent occasion 
 of turning the tables on the young gentleman, and perhaps 
 of excluding him entirely from the office he had lately en- 
 tered into, which gave him the means of controlling, to a great 
 extent, the general accounts of the iirm, and consequently 
 of finding out his own deficiencies. He therefore said to the 
 teller of the bank : ' ' There' s a mistake in your books, which 
 has caused one in ours ; this error must be corrected regu- 
 larly, and I must have as a voucher, for my own justifica- 
 tion, the check which has caused it ; it will come back to 
 you when the rectification takes place." 
 
 The teller had to comply, and merely observed: *'Mr. 
 Frederick Kirkbride will, I hope, explain everything to the 
 satisfaction of his father ; it is — he told me it was — a private 
 business of his own, and the stamped check goes to the 
 account of Mr. Friskey, and to no one else." 
 
 ^'Of course it does," replied the delighted bookkeeper ; 
 "it will soon come back to you." 
 
 And running directly to his own counting-room, he placed 
 the unfortunate check among the other vouchers, and car- 
 ried it directly to Mr. Kirkbride himself, remarking to him : 
 ''A strange error has been made at the bank, and among 
 
UPS AND DOWNS IN FRED'S PATH. 161 
 
 our checks this one was sent us, and charged to our house. 
 But the teller says Mr. Frederick can explain the error ; 
 and the explanation, of course, must be given to you, not 
 to me." 
 
 Our readers are now acquainted with the extraordinary 
 web of unveiled mysteries which had suddenly involved 
 Frederick as in a net, and left him scarcely any chance of 
 clearing himself up. 
 
 To render the position of this interesting young gentle- 
 man more perplexing, his father had heard that very morn- 
 ing, on his way to the office, that his son had been seen at 
 the exchange a few days before. It was, it is true, a mere 
 rumor, which could be traced to no unexceptionable source ; 
 yet it was believed by a great number of persons ; and one 
 of the New York daily papers, in referring to the first ap- 
 pearance there of the celebrated broker, Mr. O'Tee, since the 
 day of his accident, had mentioned mysteriously the pres- 
 ence, likewise, of a ''young gentleman well known in fash- 
 ionable circles, whom Mr. O'Tee had quietly bled without 
 any noise being made about it." There was food for deep 
 reflection in these untoward circumstances, and Mr. Ralph 
 S. Kirkbride's ease of mind could not but be deeply dis- 
 turbed by them. He was worrying and fretting the whole 
 day. His son's behavior for the last three months had 
 been so satisfactory, that all his former hopes concerning 
 the stability of his house had revived, and appeared almost 
 unshakable. His intention was to introduce him as a part- 
 ner in the firm the following month. He had thrown out 
 several hints of it to the gentlemen interested in the con- 
 cern, and they all had appeared pleased at the prospect 
 and ready to give their ^\dlling consent. But the terrible 
 discoveries of the day threw a black pall over all his pro- 
 jects. His orders had been openly infringed ; and the ex- 
 emplary conduct of his son rendered the case far worse, 
 because it showed the young man under the colors of a 
 deep-dyed hypocrite. These reflections threw Mr. Kirk- 
 bride into a harassing anxiety. For a long time before he 
 had occasionally suffered from agitations of mind, which 
 11 
 
162 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 reacted on his bodily frame, and often interfered witli liis 
 former regular circulation of the blood. He had consulted 
 some of the ablest physicians of New York, who invariably 
 told him that he wanted rest, and ought chiefly to avoid 
 anything that might disturb his moral equilibrium. Since 
 the revival of all his hopes by his son's apparent reforma- 
 tion, many of those alarming symptoms had disappeared, 
 and the worst of them had diminished in a remarkable de- 
 gree. He now foresaw that they would come back, and 
 probably oblige him to leave the city for a long time, at 
 the very moment that his business and the solid founding 
 of his house most particularly required his presence. He 
 could not stay long in that state of perplexity ; and made 
 up his mind to go over the whole affair with his son that 
 very evening. Before going out, therefore, he told him not 
 to absent himself, as he wished to talk with him after din- 
 ner. For Frederick this was a word of warning, vv^hich 
 called forth all his cleverness ; unfortunately, although 
 ignorant of all his father knew, he foresaw that it would 
 go hard with him, and he would find it difficult again to 
 throw dust in the eyes of the old gentleman. At dinner, 
 however, he appeared unconcerned and perfectly natural, 
 and used, with his mother, several little conversational 
 quibbles, which highly pleased the good lady, as it was not 
 often that her son was so jjleasant and amiable. He might 
 not have been so witty and charming, had he known the 
 whole extent of his father's knowledge. He had been aware 
 of some fuss at the office, but did not know the signature of 
 Mr. Friskey had been seen by Mr. Kirkbride. 
 
 Time for serious talking at last came, and the father and 
 son sat alone in that same room. Mr. Kirkbride with anxi- 
 ety visible in all his features, said: ^'Sir, it is extremely 
 painful for a father to be obliged to distrust his son, chiefly 
 at the very moment that he thought he had good reasons to 
 be satisfied with him. My highest expectations are again 
 dashed to the ground ; they had revived lately, and I 
 fondly imagined I was now sure of you, when your open 
 disregard of my most positive injunctions, and the reckless 
 
 I 
 
UPS AND DOWNS m FRED'S PATH. 153 
 
 breaking of your most solemn promises, throw me again 
 into all my former perplexities, only rendered worse by the 
 visible determination on your part never to enter into my 
 views, but to follow the wretched inclination you seem to 
 have for rashness and folly, not to use worse terms, which 
 might be more appropriate." And here he stopped. 
 
 "My dear father," remarked the edifying young man, 
 * * I am sorry to have so deeply offended you, but the ex- 
 pressions you make use of, although of deep import, are so 
 vague that I do not see what ansAver to make, as it is very 
 possible your information was not altogether reliable." 
 
 "Did you not lately get, sir," the father replied, "two 
 thousand dollars on a check, signed by Mr. Jas. Friskey ? 
 I have seen it with my o\\ti eyes." 
 
 This was a terrible blow for the young scamp, who saw 
 he had to be very careful in his answers. ^ ' I confess I did, 
 father," said Frederick; "and this certainly authorizes 
 you to accuse me of breaking my promises ; yet if all the 
 circumstances were known to you, you might be indulgent 
 yet another time, as I remember with gratitude you have 
 been once already." 
 
 "When I was indulgent with you, sir," retorted the 
 deeply wounded father, " I had not from you the solemn 
 engagement you took at the time never to have any more 
 dealings with Mr. Friskey, and you assured me, that when 
 you saAv him before, there was no question of money. This 
 you cannot repeat this time. And how is it also that many 
 people assert they saw you lately at the exchange in open 
 gambling with Mr. O'Tee? Have you anything to say in 
 extenuation of this open disregard of my orders ?" 
 
 "Dear father," answered the young man, the very pic- 
 ture of contrition and humility, ' ' you have certainly reason 
 to be displeased with me ; yet it is precisely this second 
 fault of mine which explains the first, and renders me much 
 less guilty than I appear to be, and than you think. You 
 will not believe me, perhaps, still, it is a fact, when I say 
 that my late appearance at the exchange was merely a 
 finishing up an old affair with O'Tee, anterior to my conver- 
 
164 LOUISA KIHEBRIDE. 
 
 sation with yon and tlie solemn engagement I took. It was 
 a bet of four months standing, which came to be decided 
 two or three days ago. I must speak plainly, and relate 
 things very painful to me, and surely not less so to you ; 
 but had you left with me the fifteen hundred dollars you 
 directed me to give in charity, I could have met this last 
 loss without applying to Mr. Friskey, and even, most prob- 
 ably, without going to the exchange. As I was situated I 
 could not refrain from either. Mr. Friskey was thrown 
 accidentally in my way ; I said a word ; he gave me his 
 check, and I thought I should not cause you any pain, 
 hoping that nothing of this would come to your knowl- 
 edge." 
 
 ^'Yet," interrupted the father, ^^it was really to me 
 rather than to any friend of yours — and such a friend ! — 
 that you had to apply in your difficulty. Had you openly 
 stated this old engagement of yours with O'Tee, I would 
 have seen to it myself. You have disobeyed me and broken 
 your word ; this is all I can say ; and as I am unable to 
 trust you any more, you will please state in detail, on paper, 
 all the circumstances you have just related in brief, that I 
 may see if you do not even now swerve from the truth." 
 
 ''I shall do it, directly, father," replied the son, ''and 
 to-morrow you will have my written statement of the whole 
 affair." 
 
 This ended the conversation, which left Mr. Kirkbride 
 almost as anxious as he was before, yet opened before his 
 eyes a gleam of hope that things were not, perhaps, so bad 
 as he thought, and that his son might not be guilty of such 
 deep hypocrisy as he had imagined. 
 
 Frederick's ''written statement" was handed to him the 
 following day. For once this young gentleman had nearly 
 spoken the truth as to exterior facts ; and from secret in- 
 quiries the father made through an intimate friend, he 
 found out that the gambling between his son and O'Tee 
 was all confined to a transaction four months old, a very 
 unusual affair in the exchange, and that the sum he received 
 from Mr. Friskey was just about the requisite amount to 
 
UPS AND DOWNS IN FRED'S PATH. 165 
 
 settle for Ms loss. Still, the father's nerves had been un- 
 strung by all this agitation ; his former disposition to apo- 
 plexy had returned. As his deep anxiety could not be so 
 immediately subdued, and as, in spite of all his efforts to 
 revive his trust in his son, he always saw great danger in 
 completing his intended arrangements at the young man's 
 majority, the source of the disease remained permanent, 
 and his former health and buoyancy appeared to have de- 
 parted from him for a long time. 
 
 Meanwhile, Frederick, who had not lost any of his offices 
 in the counting-room, and began again to work with a re- 
 newed ardor, took good care to pay a flying visit to the 
 bank, as he was yet ignorant of the precise way in which 
 his father had learned his fault, and there he was put in 
 possession by the sorrowing teller of all the circumstances 
 of the case. He heard, vaih. a great deal of suppressed in- 
 dignation, of the officiousness of the bookkeeper, who had 
 been the cause of all the mischief. This was additional 
 fuel to the burning zeal with which he was just at the time 
 laboring to discover what he had suspected for some time ; 
 namely, the loose way the young accountant kept his books. 
 We will, by-and-by, be edified with the result of his hard 
 work on that subject. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE TRAININO UP OF A DETECTIVE NOT ALWAYS PLEASANT. 
 
 Unknown to the outside world, the gloom of blasted 
 prosperity became every day darker, in one of the most 
 justly respected and apparently successful families of 'New 
 York. Either in the offices of the firm, or in the gorgeous 
 mansion of the head of the concern, distrust and anxiety 
 prevailed. In Beaver Street, Frederick, if very active, nev- 
 ertheless ajDpeared somewhat uneasy. His intended victim, 
 the bookkeeper, was even more so. Mr. T. Bland's face was 
 rather cold than smiling ; there was no longer anything genial 
 in the atmosphere of the place. In Madison Avenue, dinner 
 was usually taken almost in silence ; directly after, Mr. 
 Kirkbride ran to his club ; the poor lady could not explain 
 to herself the altered demeanor of both husband and son. 
 
 In the cottage, on the contrary, the former peace and hap- 
 piness continued to flourish. The two women felt most con- 
 tented after their former troubles. If old Mr. 0' Byrne now 
 missed his son, and could not have his evening talk with 
 him, he made the sacrifice of this comfort with pleasure, 
 because he knew that his boy's future success, in life re- 
 quired it ; and he felt no anxiety for his actual behavior, 
 having such good proof of his steadiness, and relying on 
 Mr. Doyle as an adviser. He was not, moreover, to be 
 altogether absent for a long time, and he knew that he 
 would see him every week. 
 
 In fact, the first Saturday after his removal to James 
 Street, the young man went in the evening to the place 
 where all his affections centered. There is no need of men- 
 
 1G6 
 
TEE THAmiNG UP OF A DETECTIVE. 167 
 
 tioning with what ardor he embraced his mother and Julia, 
 and shook the hand of his worthy father ; there is no need 
 of recording the fact that, the following day, he was at 
 chnrch with all of them ; there is no need, even, of taking a 
 strict account of all the jokes he perpetrated at dinner, and 
 the slight hints he gave to his sister, that he was afraid she 
 was taking advantage of his absence to emancipate herself, 
 now that she was not restrained by his supervision. But, 
 on the evening of that Sunday, particularly, when Mr. 
 Doyle, who had been duly invited to a supper, which was 
 to be above the common run of Sunday meals, came in his 
 fine clothes, with his smiling countenance and good-natured 
 phiz, the man who should have said that there was more 
 happiness in any of the sumptuous palaces bordering on 
 both sides of Fifth Avenue, from Washington Square to the 
 end of it in the northern wilderness, than in this sunken- 
 down and wretched-looking shanty, would have uttered a lie 
 as palpable as that of the greatest liar in Christendom ; or, 
 to come to a more definite point, as the biggest and the most 
 successful untruth that ever came forth from the lips of Mr. 
 Frederick. How all the previous misfortunes were forgot- 
 ten ! How the future appeared bright and enticing ! How 
 the present moment was rich Avith emotion, a flow of soul 
 and heartfelt joy ! Let old Gyges come out of his un- 
 known sepulcher, somewhere in Lydia, with his magical 
 ring in the proper position ; let him enter, mysteriously, 
 one after another, all the dwellings of Gotham, rich, poor, or 
 midway between the two extremes ; at the end of his un- 
 perceived travels, he would solemnly declare that nowhere 
 had he seen such expansion of happy feelings, nor witnessed 
 such unmistakable contentedness and heartfelt pleasure, as 
 in this poor dwelling lent by charity to a family of outcasts 
 landed a few months before, in all the forlorn misery of 
 pauper emigrants, on the soil of rich America. 
 
 Yet they were not left to their simple and genuine enjoy- 
 ments. Without being aware of it, they still had numer- 
 ous enemies plotting in the dark against them. John's 
 hatred of the Irish had not abated in the least since his 
 
168 LOUISA EIBKBBIDE. 
 
 want of success, and of all Irislimen in the world our friend 
 Con was certainly the one lie detested most. The knowl- 
 edge of the influential position this young man was in the 
 way of obtaining in the police of the city, rendered him at 
 times furious. For, on account of many misdeeds, not yet 
 known to any one, he had an instinctive dread of all police 
 officers. But when the dress of such was on the back of a 
 true Milesian, the disgust he experienced at the mere sight, 
 nay, at the thought, was unconquerable, and he felt neces- 
 sarily drawn to plot and agitate against what he consid- 
 ered the greatest social evil designed for his ruin. AYhat 
 could he do to satisfy his hunger and thirst of revenge % 
 Evidently he must have an interview on the subject with 
 Mr. Schwitz, whom we have left, not long since, in the full 
 enjoyment of his outlawry. If, in the great city of New 
 York, there were men in secret or open revolt against the 
 guardians of public safety, Mr. Schwitz was certainly one 
 of them, and none surpassed him in dark and furious an- 
 tagonism to peace and order. 
 
 John had a great deal of difficulty in finding him ; for 
 the Swiss ruffian had often to shift his quarters. He knew 
 that he was a " spotted " man, and that at any moment he 
 could be pounced upon, clubbed, manacled, and carried by 
 force to be immured between the strong walls of a peniten- 
 tiary. At last the "honest" footman found him in the 
 purlieus of Greene Street ; and hoi\i friends could speak to 
 each other in confidence. 
 
 " You must be thankful to me, Schwitz," said Mr. John, 
 *' for the cleverness of your rescue. It has cost me a gi'eat 
 deal of trouble and money ; but I regret neither the one nor 
 the other, since the issue has been so happy. How do you 
 enjoy your dearly bought liberty V 
 
 "It is rather a queer liberty," replied Mr. Schwitz, in a 
 language which we must translate into intelligible English, 
 "that obliges me to hide myself, and to change my lodg- 
 ings oftener than once a week. Yet, I confess, I prefer it 
 to a dungeon. At this moment, however, you find me 
 rather in a quandary, and I am glad you came ; the money 
 
THE TRAmiNG UP OF A DETECTIVE. 169 
 
 yon gave me on the day of my escape is jnsfc ont ; I cannot 
 engage in any work nor earn my living ; so that you must 
 help me, or I will have to take some desperate resolution. 
 I will not call on you any more after this, as I intend to use 
 the means you will give me to escape from this prison of a 
 city, and go where I will not have to fear the police." 
 
 " I shall certainly help you to the best of my ability," 
 generously said John, "but you must not think yet of leav- 
 ing New York ; by-and-by you will do so, and there will 
 be an end of all your trouble. But would you like to go 
 without paying back in good coin that scoundrelly Irish 
 boy who is the cause of all our misfortunes ? There is a 
 fine prospect of reaching him now ; and if we do not use 
 the opportunity we have, he may overreach us one of these 
 days, for he is going to be a policeman, or rather a detec- 
 tive of the worst sort, and, should we fall into his clutches, 
 he would not spare us." 
 
 "What do you mean ? " inquired the outlaw. 
 
 " I mean," answered his friend, " that some great gentle- 
 men have taken the young scamp in hand, and they are 
 now training him to be a blood-hound in our pursuit." 
 
 Mr. Schwitz had not yet heard this piece of news, and it 
 revived all his fury against poor Con ; for, to the memory of 
 past wrongs, as he thought, was added the fear of future 
 injuries. 
 
 "What can be done to prevent the Irish son 
 
 from doing us further harm ? " he exclaimed. 
 
 "Something very simple," observed John. "He has 
 left the shanty, and now lives with his friend, J. Boyle, in 
 James Street. There are not many Swiss and English peo- 
 ple in that quarter, it is true ; but at least his house there 
 is not in open view of the Kirkbrides ; and in the crowded 
 neighborhood some of our friends could very well meet 
 without being perceived, and administer to the young fel- 
 low a dose of something which would effectually prevent 
 him from ever becoming a detective." 
 
 " I understand," replied Mr. Schwitz, who now knew per- 
 fectly the dark and underhand ways of committing crime 
 
170 LOUISA KLREBRLDE. 
 
 in populous districts. ^'But," lie added, ^'I liave no com- 
 panion to help me ; I could not join with anybody on account 
 of my foreign accent." He meant that his unintelligible 
 jargon had prevented him from becoming the open asso- 
 ciate of robbers and cut-throats, and he could not earn his 
 living by preying on society. ''You must find, John, what 
 I cannot find myself." 
 
 ''I will," exclaimed the generous individual, who gave 
 Mr. Schwitz some loose change he had in his pocket, and 
 agreed with him for another meeting where the outlaw 
 would see some of his new friends and arrange everything 
 with them for the intended assault. Then they separated. 
 
 In going home, however, John reflected seriously on the 
 subject, and saw that perhaps he had promised more than 
 he could accomplish. In seeking an interview with the 
 Swiss, he thought he would find him in full association 
 vdth many other criminals in the same position ; and that 
 Schmtz himself would make all necessary arrangements 
 without John having to appear at all. But now, owing to 
 that barbarous gibberish of his friend's, he had remained 
 positively isolated in the midst of so many elements of dis- 
 order, and had not thought even of making up to a simple 
 pickpocket. He, John, must undertake a new combination 
 of free-blades, when he had imagined that Schwitz was in 
 happy intercourse with a battalion of them. His first thought 
 was directed toward "Bully" George ; but he foresaw that 
 this gentleman, scarcely out of the meshes of the law — he 
 had just finished his month in the Tombs — would be very 
 shy of placing himself within reach of sheriffs and consta- 
 bles. It is the invariable feeling of Englishmen of his class, 
 and after all there might be a worse inclination in the breast 
 of such people. The numerous willing instruments that 
 John and George had found for the second attack on the 
 shanty, would scarcely be amenable to reason after the 
 complete failure of the attemjot and the judicial punish- 
 ment of fiVQ of them. The "honest" footman could not 
 think of moving a foot in that direction. In fact, he was 
 not himself actually connected with any classes of outlaws ; 
 
THE TBAmma up of a detective. 171 
 
 George neither ; and Schwitz, who ought to be, in fact, was 
 not, merely owing to his lingo. What could he do ? For he 
 was determined to play some bad trick on the object of his 
 hatred. 
 
 He had to examine attentively the elements flourishing 
 around him in the Kirkbride mansion, and try to find there 
 sombody who might be at least a dumb figure in the com- 
 pany of Schwitz, who could, of course, alone kill a man 
 defenseless and unaware. He could see no one but young 
 Clarke ; the new man lately introduced by Mr. Kirkbride 
 had steadily refused to make any other acquaintance with 
 John than that of fellow servants living in the same house. 
 But Clarke, he knew, would never enter into a project 
 whose end was blood. He looked for fun, and nothing else. 
 Being himself a New-Yorker, he had many friends, and 
 could find plenty young fellows of his class to help him. 
 In that direction alone John saw the possibility of arranging 
 a plot which should not miscarry. The plan he drew out 
 for himself was to find three or four young scamps who 
 would, for the sake of mischievous fun, combine to attack a 
 young man in the dark ; while another, the only one of the 
 gang having murderous intentions, should carry out the pro- 
 gramme. We will not detail his conversation with Clarke, 
 who was, in fact, pining for something new. John made him 
 believe that it was merely a question of scaring to death 
 that detestable Irishman who had formerly defeated their 
 plans, and giving him a good drubbing in his new quarters 
 in James Street. The "young English Yankee " soon found 
 three other boon companions ready for mischief and fun. 
 It was agreed that Clarke would go "on the sly" to exam- 
 ine the neighborhood of Mr. Doyle's residence, in order to 
 determine on the best plan of attack. He went the follow- 
 ing evening, and was highly delighted with the precious 
 things he there discovered. The dwelling of Mr. Doyle and 
 Con was very near a corner of Cherry or Water Street — our 
 documents were not very precise. In the next street, at the 
 very comer of James, there was in the basement a low 
 dancing-house of the kind so common in the district ; three 
 
172 LOUISA KIRKBUIBE, 
 
 of the young gentlemen would engage in that health-giving 
 exercise, whilst the other, placed as a sentinel on the side- 
 walk of James Street, w^ould wait for the coming of the 
 young Irishman. As soon as he should perceive him, he 
 would give the signal, and all four together, with Schwitz, 
 would come out, apparently in high dispute, all armed with 
 strong sticks or heavy canes, belaboring each other without 
 breaking any bones, until, having poor Con in their midst, 
 they would fall on him, and of course if anything happened, 
 it would have been accident. John took good care to go to 
 Greene Street the morning of the day appointed for the 
 meeting, told Schwitz of the nice arrangements agreed upon, 
 insisted on the necessity of not speaking at the evening 
 meeting of any other intention but of a pleasant rumpus, 
 during which Con should receive his deserts. The best 
 part of the project, in the opinion of "honest" John, was 
 that he would not have to appear at all, since he furnished 
 such abundant help to his friend. 
 
 This abominable plan was carried out to the letter ; but 
 the providence of God again defeated its v/ickedness. When 
 young Con found himself in the midst of those five devils, 
 he instantly recognized his enemy, Schwitz. Having no- 
 thing, not even his shillelah, to protect himself, he called 
 out openly and repeatedly for the police and help, and saw 
 directly that he had more to fear from one than from all 
 the others. Consequently he confronted him alone, parry- 
 ing his blows with his arms — and, we know, he was great at 
 parrying. The skill of Schwitz consisted merely in striking 
 hard, and directing his knocks at the head of his antago- 
 nist ; but the hand or arm of Con was always in the way of 
 the weapon. The object of the young man was not only to 
 protect his life, but, if possible, to seize the hard stick and 
 wrench it from the hand of his enemy. Unfortunately, the 
 rage which animated the would-be murderer gave to his 
 strokes such a rapidity and violence, that Con was unable 
 to effect his purpose. He continued to call for help, and 
 many spectators already crowded on the oj^posite sidewalk, 
 unwilling to mix up in the fray. Clarke, with his three 
 
THE TBAINING UP OF A DETECTIVE. 173 
 
 friends, struck Con only on tlie calf of the legs, and when 
 they saw the fury of their chief, they gradually relented, 
 as evidently the intentions of Schwitz went much farther 
 than their own. 
 
 Mr. Doyle, accustomed to the noise of many brawls in 
 the neighborhood, did not move at first from his seat in 
 the next building ; but at last, recognizing the voice of his 
 young friend, he ran to the window, and, seeing him in 
 such a desperate position, ran down to the street, and 
 reached it just at the moment when two policemen were 
 finally coming from another quarter. At the sight of the 
 guardians of public order, Clarke and his three companions, 
 throwing away their canes, flew together, like four geese, 
 up the street in the direction of Chatham Square. One of 
 the policemen followed them, and succeeded in capturing 
 one of the young scapegraces. At the same moment that 
 they ran, Schwitz, gathering together all his fury and his 
 strength, seized his stick with both hands, and let fly on 
 Con' s arm a final blow, which broke it between the elbow 
 and the wrist. Then, taking to his heels, he ran in the 
 direction of the river, the policeman after him. A fine 
 literary artist would here have the occasion of drawing a 
 splendid picture of a chase which, in fact, was full of inci- 
 dents and hair-breadth escapes ; but we are a mere narrator 
 of events, and do not pretend to vmte anything false. We 
 will merely state, therefore, in a few words, that the outlaw, 
 reaching East River at the foot of James Street, saw at the 
 wharf a skiff floating with a pair of oars in it, as if placed 
 there by himself or by an associate. To jump into it, untie 
 the rope, and give a violent kick to the wooden wharf, was 
 the work of a moment. The public ofiicer reached the river 
 when Mr. Schwitz, already oars in hand, was plying them 
 vigorously, and trying to hide his skiff between or behind 
 the shipping. A couple of inoffensive bullets were dis- 
 charged from the policeman's revolver, who at last got a 
 boat himself and started in pursuit. But Schwitz was run- 
 ning for his life, and his pursuer was following on account 
 of his trade. Consequently, it is not surprising that the 
 
174 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 outlaw succeeded in escaping, and found Mmself tlie fol- 
 lo^\dng night safely ensconced in Ms pleasant retreat of 
 Greene Street. 
 
 We liave merely to state, with respect to him, that the 
 positive declaration of Con apprised the police of New 
 York that one of the most noted criminals was yet at large 
 in the city, although they thought he had left it long before, 
 as he had never been seen since his escape. His appear- 
 ance so far down town only served to put the detectives 
 on a wrong scent, as from that day they looked for him in 
 this quarter, and not where alone he could be found. 
 
 As to Clarke's captured friend, he was induced by a kind 
 of cunning and moral force to declare who had enticed him 
 to join in that affray. The young "English Yankee" was, 
 therefore, brought to the Tombs, and in consequence per- 
 manently discharged from the employ of the Kirkbride 
 family. 
 
 Our readers will not be surprised to hear that he refused 
 doggedly to betray the head of the plot ; and, as both Clarke 
 and his captured friend, interrogated apart and in every pos- 
 sible way, asserted that they looked on the thing as simply 
 a piece of fun, and Con himself, in his declaration, exon- 
 erated them from anything very culpable, they were only 
 condemned to three months on the Island. 
 
 Our young friend, at first carried by Mr. Doyle to his 
 own apartments, had his wound dressed by our old acquaint- 
 ance. Dr. O'Donnell, who pronounced it to be a simple frac- 
 ture, requiring a month and a half of rest. The numerous 
 bruises on the arms and legs would disappear long before 
 the expiration of that term. From James Street he was con- 
 veyed the following day to the Sisters' Hospital, where Mr. 
 R. Kirkbride sent a note, in which he required that good 
 care should be taken of the young man, and he took all the 
 expense on himself. The gentleman was quite surprised to 
 find that there still was hostility between his servants and 
 the O' Byrne family ; but the idea that "honest " John could 
 have anything to do with it did not even occur as a suspi- 
 cion to his mind. So far, therefore, this remarkable indi- 
 
THE TRAINING UP OF A DETECTIVE. 175 
 
 vidual continued to be a growing argument for atheists 
 against the all-supervising providence of Grod. We will see 
 Mm rise higher still in the scale of prosperity. 
 
 The vile scenes we have Just described as happening in 
 the midst of respectable Christian people may appear unin- 
 telligible to some of our readers, even to those who think 
 they know New York best. They will undoubtedly say : 
 *' How could a man as estimable as Mr. Doyle most certainly 
 was, consent to dwell in such a corrupt and degraded neigh- 
 borhood as this ? How could he bring a young man to live 
 with him there ? The Fourth Ward is known throughout the 
 city as a polluted district, where lewdness and low debauch- 
 ery reign supreme. The existence of those vile dancing- 
 houses is sufficient to drive away any man who respects 
 himself. This we cannot understand." We will feel hap- 
 py if we can enlighten those candid inquirers. Let them 
 know, therefore, that in that ''degraded" and ''polluted" 
 and "corrupt" neighborhood, are to be found numbers of 
 excellent, most moral and pious people, of Milesian origin. 
 In fact, the great mass of the inhabitants dwelling in that 
 "loathsome" quarter of the city is composed of families 
 living most quietly, holily, and piously. They know and 
 visit each other, and completely ignore the disreputable dens 
 erected in their midst. Do the refined people of the upper 
 wards imagine that the numerous Irishmen and Irishwo- 
 men, who form the main population of that " degraded " dis- 
 trict, are the chief support of the wretched establishments of 
 prostitution and vice, where discordant orchestras are heard 
 every evening and night ? Let them be undeceived, if they 
 believe so. The cheapness of rent is the great inducement 
 for many Christian families to dwell in contiguity with sin ; 
 but sin remains unknown to them ; or, if they are aware of 
 its presence, they turn their back on it, know their way to 
 the church, and never pollute their feet by walking down the 
 steps leading to those loathsome cellars. Often, during the 
 late hours of the evening, is the minister of Christ called 
 upon to assist some dying Christian of Cherry Street, and 
 he wonders at the purity of those souls unfolded to him by 
 
176 LOUISA EIBKBRIDE. 
 
 confession ; and lie cannofc restrain his tears in performing 
 the most solemn rites of religion to send to heaven unsnllied 
 spirits in the midst of depravity ; and it is with tenderness 
 that he pronounces the harmonious hopes and promises of 
 his ritual, at the same time that he hears, unwillingly, the 
 jarring notes of low revelry trying to mock him from under 
 the ground. 
 
 It ought to be known now, by the reports of the police, if 
 they are impartial, that the frequenters of these abominable 
 haunts of vice are mostly strangers to the district, and com- 
 pletely to the Irish race ; that they are generally sailors or 
 cosmopolitan debauchees, whose only intent is to buy cheap 
 pleasures after having been unwillingly deprived of them 
 for months and years together ; and that many of them are 
 actually strangers to the country itself, coming, as they do, 
 from the shores of Scandinavia or of England. These few 
 words were required to meet a general misapprehension on 
 the subject. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 BOTH FEEDEEICK A:N^D CON INTENT ON THE PROSECUTION 
 
 OF VICE. 
 
 Our friend Con is in the tender hands of the Sisters of 
 Charity, and he has scarcely felt the pain attendant on the 
 first surgical operation by which the bones of his forearm 
 were set. After this first moment of suffering, his position 
 in that hospital, on a nice bed, with good food, careful at- 
 tendance, and the visits of his relatives and friends, was 
 more comfortable than anything he had ever experienced in 
 his life. The only trouble was idleness, to which he had 
 never been accustomed. Having plenty of leisure time, and 
 no active occupation whatever, he had to fall back on day- 
 dreaming, or rather thinking ; car que faire en ztn gite d 
 moins que Vonne songef as Lafontaine exquisitely says. 
 There was no better object of reflection for him than the 
 varied history of his family during the last three or four 
 months ; and he could not but see that there must have been 
 an arch-plotter at the bottom of all their troubles. From 
 reflection to action the passage was now impossible ; but at 
 least he could form projects for the prosecution of vice in 
 New York, which time will shortly develop. 
 
 As to Frederick, strange to say, he was engaged in the 
 same very praiseworthy object of bringing the guilty to 
 punishment. Of course our readers need not be informed 
 that he had had absolutely nothing to do with the last mur- 
 derous assault planned and partially executed by his for- 
 mer friend "honest" John and his associates. The young 
 gentleman kept aloof from his father's footman, more 
 12 177 
 
178 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE, 
 
 strictly tlian ever, since the day of his nocturnal ride in the 
 Park. He had not needed him for carrying on his schemes 
 after that night, and he had taken most particular care not 
 to let him know any of his doings with the broker, O'Tee, 
 and the genial James Friskey. John, on his part, kept his 
 dignity, and had not given his young master the least ink- 
 ling of his last plot. It is, moreover, very probable that, had 
 he done so, Frederick would have reproved him for his 
 wickedness, and perhaps denounced him to Mr. Kkkbride. 
 For Frederick had of late become extremely moral and ex- 
 emplary in his conduct. He labored assiduously at his 
 desk, and kept on the lookout for breakers and sand- 
 banks. He was particularly attentive to the doings of the 
 bookkeeper. In the papers of his temjDorary office as corre- 
 sponding secretary of the house, he found most valuable in- 
 dications on the former indebtedness of several customers 
 of long standing ; and comparing the general amounts of 
 many large transactions with the various quarterly balances 
 of the firm drawn by the luckless bookkeeper, he became 
 convinced that there were some very important discrepan- 
 cies. Having written an abstract of his observations, he 
 asked an interview of his father at the mansion, after din- 
 ner, and easily obtained it. The remarks that he made, and 
 the facts which he produced from his memorandum, consid- 
 erably shook the confidence Mr. Kirkbride had felt in the 
 accountant. But it was important not to act on mere sur- 
 mises and conjectures ; positive proofs were required before 
 coming to a decision on the subject. Frederick promised 
 these proofs if he were allowed to inspect the books of the 
 house. It would be a long work, tedious and intricate ; 
 but the young gentleman would sacrifice his evenings and 
 nights to the good of the firm. In order not to give a hint 
 to the bookkeeper of the suspicions entertained against 
 him — for they might be unfounded — it was agreed that 
 double keys of his office should be furnished to Mr. Fred- 
 erick, who would come back to the counting-house after 
 dinner, and closet himself until midnight, unknown to every 
 officer and employee of the house. During a whole month 
 
FBEDERICK AND CON PURSUING THE GUILTY. I79 
 
 did the young gentleman deny himself any amusement in 
 the evening ; and all this, after all, only to satisfy the crav- 
 ings of two passions : revenge against an enemy, and hypo- 
 crisy, to recover the good graces of his father. 
 
 The result was a most telling exposure of misdeeds on the 
 part of the bookkeeper, extending to several years past, 
 and which would have certainly continued for several years 
 more, if not arrested by Frederick's timely discovery. The 
 young man was proved to be a defaulter to the amount of 
 forty thousand dollars, at least, and in the way of increas- 
 ing his defalcations to an amount which could not be fore- 
 seen. His cleverness and sagacity in drawing his accounts 
 was remarked at the time as extremely ingenious, and al- 
 most defeating the possibility of detection. We cannot, in 
 these pages, enter into all the details, which would be, no 
 doubt, of immense interest to all the worshipers of ledgers 
 and account-books. But, writing as we do, for general 
 readers, who, after all, do not care much for this interesting 
 line of useful knowledge, we pass them over. 
 
 Frederick had rendered such a service to the firai by this 
 discovery, and had showed such a spirit of abnegation to 
 attain this success, that his previous misdeeds appeared to 
 be entirely forgotten. Mr. T. Bland and the other mem- 
 bers of the firm were lavish in their expressions of esteem, 
 nay, of admu^ation ; and Mr. Kirkbride himself, although 
 not yet entirely cured of his mistrust, began to see his 
 hopes revive of finding in his son a worthy successor to his 
 name and respectability. To give, however, a clear insight 
 into the interior feelings of the gentleman, and show how 
 he was still a prey to deep-seated anxiety, it is enough to 
 mention that it was only at this time that he heard by 
 chance of the discovery previously made by his wife of the 
 connection of his son with the young lady, the pretended 
 artist in flowers and birds. Having thought proper to 
 speak about it to Mrs. Kirkbride, and reprove her most 
 gently for not having acquainted him with the affair, he 
 found with surprise that the lady had been led to believe 
 her son's unblushing tale, when it was a matter of public 
 
180 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 notoriety that the woman was a very loose character, and 
 could be visited only by young men of very bad habits. 
 Was Frederick still a visitor of the pretended artist ? Did 
 he continue to spend money on her, as he had certainly 
 done before ? After all possible inquiries on the subject, 
 Mr. Kirkbride could not obtain any positive information, 
 and still remained under the load of uncertainty and doubt. 
 
 Such was his uncomfortable state of mind, when the ar- 
 rival of two large clippers, which had been sent on new 
 ventures, suggested by young Kirkbride, in the memoir we 
 have previously mentioned, and which came back ^\ii\\ splen- 
 did success, opened out a trade which was sure to become 
 one of the most valuable enterprises of the house. Mr. T. 
 Bland became so enthusiastic on the subject, that, after 
 several secret interviews with the other members of the firm, 
 they agreed to go in a body to the mansion of their head, 
 and ask of him to realize the intention he had formerly ex- 
 pressed on several occasions, to introduce his worthy son 
 into the firm, at his majority. The time had expired a 
 couple of weeks before, and the services the young gen- 
 tleman had rendered to the house required that no more 
 delay should be allowed to defer the happiness of all con- 
 cerned. It is useless to add that Mr. Kirkbride gave his 
 consent, and a great dinner the following week inaugurated 
 the happy event. 
 
 The wear and tear produced by all these incidents on Mr. 
 Kirkbride' s frame, required imperiously, according to the 
 unanimous verdict of the physicians, a period of rest and 
 interruption of business. He had to leave New York be- 
 fore the usual time. His son had taken his seat at the 
 board of the house before the father left, and appeared 
 worthy of his new position. Yet, at Long Branch, where 
 Mr. Kirkbride went, mental quiet coukl not return, and he 
 was several times threatened with serious attacks of illness. 
 He imagined a thousand possible circumstances, in which 
 his son found himself involved, and conjectured that the 
 young man, now freed from his personal control, would re- 
 turn to his former habits and renew his intercourse with his 
 
FREDEBICK AN'D COIi PUJRSUmG THE GUILTY. 181 
 
 friends O'Tee and Friskey. N^othing could be more inju- 
 rious to Lis health, and more opposed to his full recovery. 
 After having thus struggled several weeks, unable to enjoy 
 any pleasure, he came back to find out, to his satisfaction, 
 that all his racking suspicions were perfectly unfounded, 
 and all reports were unanimous that Mr. Frederick was a 
 true ''merchant." 
 
 Con O' Byrne, meanwhile, had left the hospital, and re- 
 sumed his occupations at the police headquarters. He 
 began to be initiated in all the intricacies of plans and 
 incidents, which form the constant, daily mental work of 
 detectives, and he soon saw that in his own personal expe- 
 rience he had a fine field, where he could experiment and 
 obtain skill in his profession. The theoretical lessons im- 
 parted to him every day, found so natural an application in 
 the vicissitudes of his family since they had gone to live up 
 town, that he meditated seriously on the various incidents so 
 deeply impressed in his mind. We know that he had had 
 plenty of time to reflect on the subject, during his stay in 
 the Sisters' Hospital. It was clear to his mind, that all the 
 attacks, either on the shanty, or on his own person, lately, 
 came from the same arch-plotter, and that this great mis- 
 chief-brewer was neither Bully George nor Schwitz. He 
 had never heard of young Yankee Clarke, before the last 
 attempt on his life, scarcely knew him by sight as an in- 
 mate of the mansion, and had not yet the least idea that he 
 was one of those who had tried to spirit away his sister. 
 But he had remarked him attentively during the affray in 
 James Street ; saw that he was not a murderer nor a ruffian, 
 but merely a young empty-brained rascal looking for fun. 
 He made up his mind to have an interview with him, and 
 thought that he might, through him, unravel the mystery 
 of his own family afflictions. He went, therefore, to Black- 
 well's Island, and easily obtained access to the cell of young 
 Clarke. 
 
 As soon as he was seated in front of him : 
 
 " You know me, I suppose, young man," he said ; "but 
 I beg of you to believe, that I am not your enemy ; and, it 
 
182 LOUISA KIBEBRIDE. 
 
 is very possible, that this interview may be the occasion of 
 procuring your liberty more than a month before your time 
 has expired." 
 
 " If you do this," answered the young man, '' I shall call 
 you my dear friend, for I am heartily tired of this place." 
 
 "I may be able to do it," replied Con, ''if you answer 
 honestly a few questions that I will put to you." 
 
 ''And what are those questions \ " asked the young scape- 
 grace. 
 
 "The first is this : Did you not find yourself, lately, in 
 the company of men much worse than you, and intent on 
 real murder, when you thought only of amusement ?" 
 
 "That is very possible," said Clarke ; "and I certainly 
 did not intend to kill you when we fell on you in James 
 Street." 
 
 ''The fellow that has escaped," observed Con, " Schwitz 
 — for we know him, beyond a doubt — would not have spared 
 my life, if I had not parried his blows ; but even he was 
 not, I am sure, the man who had concocted the various at- 
 tacks on our cottage, on the honor of my sister, and even on 
 my life. There is a greater villain than Schwitz, and you 
 must know him ; tell me if you do ? " 
 
 "I am not an informer," said young Clarke, "and I will 
 not answer such a direct question." 
 
 "I appreciate your feelings," said Con, "and I belong 
 myself to a race which has always felt an instinctive hor- 
 ror for informers and spies ; but timely information given 
 against scoundrels who have no respect themselves for the 
 feelings and rights of others,- and make cat's-paws of more 
 honest fellows like yourself, is not, after all, the contemptible 
 proceeding justly reprobated in the case of paid informers 
 and spies. I do not come to engage you in a detestable 
 office, and to tell you, ' Go prowling about, meddle with 
 what does not concern you, try to ferret out the secrets of 
 families, and I will give you so much for each revelation 
 obtained through treachery and deceit.' If I did you would 
 do right to slap me in the face and send me about my 
 business. But the case is this : there's a villain somewhere 
 
FREDERICK AND CON PURSUING THE GUILTY. 183 
 
 in Mr. Kirkbride' s house ; he has already done a great 
 amount of mischief through sheer villainy ; without ai3- 
 pearing prominently, he has induced others to engage in 
 nefarious designs justly punished by society. He has 
 placed you in a very ugly position, by giving you as an 
 associate to a would-be assassin. Had I not come up man- 
 fully at your trial, and testified that you had no other inten- 
 tion but fun, you might have been sent to the penitentiary 
 for five or ten years, and come out of it a broken-down man 
 unable to engage in any respectable avocation. The man 
 who is guilty of such proceedings is a pest to society, and 
 ought to meet his just deserts chiefly at the hands of those 
 who have suffered from him." 
 
 ''What you say is true in great part," said the young 
 Yankee ; "during the seven w^eeks that I have been kept 
 in this vile place, I have reflected seriously on the subject, 
 and I have made up my mind never again to become the 
 tool of a designing scoundrel. I jjromise you I never will 
 again attempt anything against your sister, for I was 
 one of the two who carried her away. I did not intend 
 to blast her character and do her permanent injury ; it 
 w^as only, on my part, a freak of waggery, but not on the 
 part of my companion ; I see it now. In the attack on 
 yourself, likewise, 1 soon became aware that I had allied 
 myself with a murderer, and I directly recoiled from such 
 a crime. I will be more prudent, and these two affairs have 
 taught me a useful lesson. But why would you induce me 
 to give names ? Is it your intention to have the fellow ap- 
 prehended, brought to court, and produce me to testify 
 against him ? I can do no such thing. It must be enough 
 for you that I give you the assurance of not placing myself 
 again in the foolish position of a cat's-paw and a tool." 
 
 ''You misjudge me, sir," Con replied ; "I do not intend 
 to prosecute the villain for the past, and to bring you for- 
 ward as a witness against him ; but I wish to protect my- 
 self against him for the future ; for this I must know his 
 name. I give you my word of honor that I will not use that 
 knowledge publicly." 
 
184 LOUISA KIRKBBIBE. 
 
 '^ You will not," Clarke said, ''even acquaint Mr. Kirk- 
 bride with all these facts % " 
 
 "I will not," promised young 0' Byrne. ''The only 
 thing I will do, will be to keep my eyes open on the fellow, 
 and have him punished for every future villainy of which 
 he shall be guilty ; but I won't come back on his past mis- 
 deeds." 
 
 "And if, with these provisos," added Clarke, "I give 
 you his name, you will restore me to liberty % " 
 
 "Before to-morrow morning," answered Con. 
 
 "Very well," concluded the young man ; " it is John the 
 footman who has managed the whole from the beginning ; 
 and if you keep your eyes upon him, you will, no doubt, 
 soon find him engaged in some new intrigue ; but you must 
 be sharp, for he is a cunning fox, and knows how to com- 
 bine his plans." 
 
 This was the end of the conversation, and the following 
 day Mr. Clarke was again free to move in his own native 
 city, and on the lookout for a new situation. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A SHOET EPISODE OF IMPORTAl^CE FOE THE SEQUEL OF 
 
 THE STOET. 
 
 Meanwhile, the lieat of snmmer had come. Not only the 
 rich had all left the city — they had not waited for Jnly — but 
 the middle classes, nay, the people en masse were leaving 
 home to go wherever they thought a breath of cool air and a 
 sight of green fields could be procured. Mr. Kirkbride had 
 been kept in the city much longer than he intended by the 
 freaks of his son. Freaks or no, however, he had to go, since 
 no one of his standing can think of remaining at home in 
 August. But, fortunately, things were more hopeful now. 
 Although he was not perfectly convinced of the thorough 
 conversion of Mr. Frederick, still the young man seemed 
 really to have turned over a new leaf. He was fairly a 
 partner of the firm, and surely this must have produced a 
 change in him. Every three months he would draw his 
 dividends ; would not, consequently, depend for his amuse- 
 ments on the trifle of pocket-money given him by his father ; 
 would naturally acquire the habits of a man of business ; 
 and as he really had a mind, he would understand that the 
 object of a large income is not to squander it in trifles. 
 
 The physicians Mr. Kirkbride consulted advised him to 
 spend a month in the Adirondacks, to live as much as pos- 
 sible in the open air, to fish for trout in the numerous 
 brooks of the country, tramp it on foot through glens and 
 mountains, fowl or hunt, if he could, through the maze of 
 the wild forests of Essex County. He made up his mind 
 to go alone with '* honest" John, and leave his wife and 
 
 185 
 
186 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Frederick in Saratoga, where he would first spend a week 
 with them. In case of emergency, Fred could run to 
 Essex County, and be with him in a day or two. All his 
 preparations were already made, and the family were to 
 start the following day, when, on the last visit he paid to 
 his counting-room in the morning preceding his departure, 
 he received a call which soon became more important than 
 he at first thought. 
 
 A gentleman of middle age, thick-set and with the fea- 
 tures of a Teuton, sent in his card as Mr. Ernst Bauer, and 
 was admitted into his private office. Being in a hurry, just 
 as Mr. Kirkbride was, we will not give the whole dialogue 
 that ensued, but merely state the general run of the con- 
 versation. Mr. Ernst Bauer was a lawyer, arrived in New 
 York a few months before from one of the inland counties 
 of the State. He occupied an office in Wall Street, where 
 he attended not only to law business but chiefly to a general 
 agency in real estate. He had heard that Mr. Kirkbride 
 gave his attention to real estate, when the speculation was 
 clear and sure. He placed on the table before him a map 
 lately printed showing all the details of a plot of ground con- 
 taining more than three full blocks, situated between Eighth 
 and Ninth Avenues west of the Central Park, toward its 
 northern part. The position was wild in the extreme, as at 
 the time no improvements — as they call them — had been 
 carried out in that part of the island ; but the attention of 
 the great merchant was called to the fact that the Common 
 Council of the city was on the point of ordering contracts 
 on a large scale with a view to bringing this interesting 
 locality into a presentable shape for the speculator and the 
 builder. In a few years the property would increase ten- 
 fold in value, and the proposition Mr. E. Bauer was to 
 make to Mr. R. Kirkbride would include actual conditions 
 much lower than actual value. The estate belonged to two 
 minors who had just come of age ; and, intending to engage 
 in a very lucrative business, they wished to sell their prop- 
 erty for cash ; and thus all they asked was a paid-down sum 
 of one hundred thousand dollars. They well knew that if 
 
A SHORT EPISODE OF IMPORTANCE. 187 
 
 they could wait a few years, and if they sold their lots 
 piecemeal, they would receive a far greater sum ; but their 
 arrangements were made to start in business directly, and 
 the sum they required was precisely what they wanted. 
 
 Mr. Kirkbride remarked that for such a transaction as 
 this he would wish to have a few days, and all his prepara- 
 tions being made to start the day after in the evening, he 
 could not do it, to his great regret. 
 
 Mr. Bauer replied that a single day was enough to con- 
 clude the bargain. Knowing that at this time of the year all 
 merchants were on the wing, he had had the "search " made 
 and "certified" by the county clerk; and he thereupon 
 placed upon the table a bundle of papers of satisfactory 
 appearance. Nothing more was required than to appoint 
 an hour for signing the deed and placing it on record. His 
 clients would be satisfied with Mr. Kirkbride' s check even 
 after bank hours. 
 
 The merchant was astonished at the rapidity of execution 
 intended by Mr. Bauer ; but this gentleman observed that, 
 if Mr. Kirkbride did not close a bargain which would in a 
 few years put millions in his pocket, he could soon find 
 another who would, although he confessed that, to meet 
 buyers ready to pay one hundred thousand on the spot was 
 not without some difficulty. He would leave him all the 
 papers, and would call again at two o'clock to have an 
 answer. 
 
 As soon as he was off, Mr. Kirkbride ran to his attorney, 
 and asked his advice. The legal gentleman perused in 
 silence and with great attention everything placed in his 
 hands, and inquired for the name of the agent who had 
 made the proposal ; the card was shown him. He had 
 heard of the gentleman lately arrived in New York ; his 
 reputation was that of a pushing man, but not a sharper ; 
 he appeared to be engaged in regular business, not in 
 swindling, an occupation far from unfrequent among men 
 of that class. The certified search was all right ; and there 
 was no incumbrance on the property, except an insignificant 
 judgment for a couple of thousand, which could be deducted 
 
188 LOUISA KIREBRIBE, 
 
 in tlie check. The estate itself was not unknown among 
 lawyers doing business in real estate ; lie had heard of it, 
 and the name of the owners mentioned in the papers — tl[ie 
 Messrs. Yan Buskirk — was correct. The only thing of im- 
 portance in the material transaction would be to be sure of 
 their identity when they came to sign ; and he could give 
 Mr. Kirkbride a note of introduction to a gentleman per- 
 fectly well acquainted with the Messrs. Van Buskirk. 
 
 The merchant, in great glee, ran from the office of his 
 attorney to the gentleman in question, whom he found at 
 his desk ; and although, until that day, personally unknown 
 to each other, they were perfectly well acquainted by mu- 
 tual repute. The gentleman was quite willing to go to Mr. 
 Kirkbride' s office at any time before five, and meet his 
 young friends, if they should be there. He knew that they 
 possessed this property, and was a little surprised that 
 they let it go so cheap. 
 
 There appeared to be no more difficulty, and the highly 
 pleased merchant considered this ''speculation" in real 
 estate the most fortunate he had ever met with. Mr. Ernst 
 Bauer was back at two o'clock, as he had promised, and 
 now it is important to give precisely the terms of the dia- 
 logue which ensued. 
 
 "Everything is satisfactory," said Mr. Kirkbride, "and 
 I have just sent word to my agent, Mr. W. Croft, who A\ill 
 finish the transaction with you." 
 
 " This is not precisely my view of the matter," said Mr. 
 Bauer ; "if it were so, my profits in this affair would be 
 very slight indeed ; I would have my percentage from my 
 clients and everything would be said. I forgot to tell you, 
 sir, this morning, that to get the full advantage of this 
 affair, you must allow me to be your agent for this i:>articu- 
 lar piece of property. I am an honorable man, w^ell known 
 in New York, and perfectly competent to act as agent. I 
 have yet my fortune to make ; and I intend to make it hon- 
 estly. So I have calculated, that when you dispose, later on, 
 of these lots, my lawful percentage as your agent, will put, 
 perhaps, fifty thousand dollars honestly into my pocket; 
 
A SHORT EPISODE OF IMPORTANCE. 189 
 
 and I do not see why Mr. W. Croft, who has not been keen 
 enough to bring this transaction to your notice, should 
 receive this amount. I have, su^, the confidence of my 
 clients ; they will not conclude this affair without my con- 
 sent ; and I shall not give it unless you make me your 
 agent for this particular piece of property." 
 
 The thing looked queer to Mr. Kirkbride, that a man 
 should oblige him to take him as his agent. Yet the rea- 
 sons assigned were so natural and solid, that he could raise 
 no objection, and he consequently gave orders, when Mr. 
 W. Croft should come, to tell him it was a mistake, and he 
 was not wanted. 
 
 Four o'clock was the hour named for the conclusion of 
 the affair ; the gentleman who had so willingly consented 
 to introduce Mr. Kirkbride to the two young owners of the 
 property, arrived as soon as he was wanted. But he had 
 reflected on the foolishness of his friends in selling such a 
 valuable piece of land at such a price ; and after a hasty 
 introduction, for which alone he had come, he contrived to 
 slip into the hand of one of the young men a paper, on 
 which he had written some words of warning, and then 
 hastily departed under the pretext that he could not stay. 
 Thus he was completely ignorant of the end of the affair, 
 and thought it would miscarry through his representations. 
 
 His paper was read by the young man to whom he had 
 given it, and passed slyly to the other ; but no effect was 
 produced by the warning. They had already made all their 
 arrangements to start with their money by the next steamer 
 for Europe, and there engage in some speculation, or per- 
 haps merely spend in pleasure what had come to them 
 without effort on their part. Our documents on the subject 
 are not clear. 
 
 The deed being signed and left with Mr. Kirkbride, this 
 gentleman wrote, besides his check, an acknowledgment of 
 trust in Mr. Ernst Bauer, for the peculiar affair in ques- 
 tion ; and gave him, as agent, the papers to be recorded. 
 But, as he was particularly prudent and careful, he had 
 previously told Frederick — without acquainting him with 
 
190 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE, 
 
 the business at all — to follow Mr. E. Bauer to the county 
 clerk's office, see if he would deposit there the papers he 
 had given him, and, in order not to excite any suspicion, 
 call himself for some documents previously left in the office. 
 
 Mr. E. Bauer soon remarked that he was followed. Con- 
 sequently he was very particular to go straight to the re- 
 cording office, and leave with the clerk the papers he had 
 brought ; then he made room for Frederick, to whom he 
 bowed respectfully and passed on. But after walking 
 around four or five blocks, he returned to the same place, 
 told the young clerk that some mistake had been made in 
 the deed which required correction ; and promising to bring 
 it back the following day, thrust it into his pocket and 
 took it home. Of course the clerk soon forgot all about 
 this quasi-legerdemain transaction. Clerks in recording 
 offices are mere machines ; they receive or give papers as 
 they are brought or called for, provided the fee is paid on 
 giving them back. Mr. Ernst Bauer's motive will appear 
 in the sequel of this eventful story. 
 
 When Frederick returned to Beaver Street, his father was 
 still there. He heard with pleasure that the papers had 
 been left in proper hands ; and as he was full of inward 
 joy, he asked his son to ride home with him : they would 
 have a pleasant talk on the way. The young gentleman was 
 precisely very desirous of a conversation with his father. 
 He suspected there was something serious in the case of 
 these papers ; and thought that the secret would come out 
 before they reached home. But Mr. Kirkbride, who cer- 
 tainly did his best to acquaint his son Avith all the affairs 
 of the firm, particularly now that he was a partner, had 
 never yet opened his mouth to him concerning his private 
 and personal speculations ; as he thought that to do so 
 might yet be a temptation for him. Therefore, he said 
 nothing of this ; but was extremely amiable, and there ap- 
 peared to be at last perfect harmony between both. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A CATASTROPHE. 
 
 At the very time appointed for their departure, the fam- 
 ily left for the north. It was high time for Mr. Kirkbride 
 to go. So much anxiety and head-work had brought back 
 the worst features of his old Ulness. Dr. Dillon, who visited 
 him daily, had repeatedly told him, every time he saw him 
 during the last fortnight, that perfect rest of mind, and the 
 continuous exercise of a country life, were absolutely neces- 
 sary to restore to his system an equable circulation of the 
 blood, and prevent it from rushing to the head. That was 
 the great danger to be guarded against. Yet, supposing, 
 as he hoped, that it was still time, Mr. Kirkbride would do 
 well to write his will, before leaving the city. The gentle- 
 man assured the doctor that he had already done so. 
 
 Thus they went away ; and it was with great surprise 
 Con heard from Julia, the next time he saw her, that, after 
 remaining a week in Saratoga with his wife and son, Mr. 
 Kirkbride intended to go farther north, into a real wilder- 
 ness, alone with John, where he would spend a full month ; 
 and the doctor was afraid he would come back a corpse. 
 "Very possible," said young Con to himself, thinking more 
 of the villainy of the footman than of the inroads of the 
 disease. "I must see to it," he added, in a soliloquy. He 
 could not think of giving, by letter, a warning to Mr. Kirk- 
 bride himself, who most probably would not mind it ; and 
 he had besides given his word of honor not to intimate to 
 the gentleman anything of the past conduct of his footman. 
 
 191 
 
192 LOUISA EIREBRIDE. 
 
 Thus all lie had to do was to appoint a watch over the fel- 
 low. What means should he take for such an object ? He 
 could not leave ^KTew York himself, and none of his friends, 
 the detectives, could be employed for such an affair, as Con 
 was unable to dispose of any funds for this purpose. Provi- 
 dence, as usual, came to help him out of his difficulty. Our 
 readers remember old Ahern, the policeman, who was so 
 useful in the rescue of Julia. Since that time the O' Byrnes 
 and the Aherns had often visited each other, and Con was 
 a particular friend of Jimmy Ahern, son of the policeman, 
 a fine young fellow of seventeen, good chiefly at fishing, 
 who boasted openly that he could challenge five men to- 
 gether at MacComb' s Dam, where he often went, and that 
 he was always sure to catch more fish than his five antago- 
 nists. He had heard of the fine trout swimming at large in 
 the clear streams of the Adirondacks, and he had once told 
 Con, that having never been there, he felt a great desire of 
 spending a few weeks in summer in that country. The inn- 
 keeper at MacComb' s Dam had told him he could easily 
 pay all his expenses by the fish he would pack in ice and 
 dispatch to JSTew York. This was said long before Mr. 
 Kirkbride's intended trip was even mooted, but Con re- 
 membered it as soon as he heard of it. He went, therefore, 
 straight to Jimmy, and without acquainting him with the 
 previous misdeeds of John, merely said that he had reason 
 to fear the fellow might injure his master in that wilderness 
 where they would be often alone. Should young Ahern go 
 there to fish, he would at the same time keep an eye on the 
 footman, and he might render to the family a service which 
 was sure to be amply rewarded. All this chimed in admi- 
 rably with the anxious desires of the young man, who only 
 asked to be informed at what hotel Mr. Kirkbride lodged 
 at Saratoga, and on what day he was to start for the north. 
 Precise information on the subject was furnished by Julia, 
 and just at the moment that John was taking his master's 
 valise, at Saratoga, to go to the raih^oad depot, he saw a 
 young fellow with a small carpet-bag in hand planted at the 
 door of the hotel, who followed him shortly after and took 
 
A CATA8TB0PHE. 193 
 
 a seat a few steps behind Mm in the cars. John, however, 
 was far from suspecting that he would be, during the fol- 
 lowing month, closely followed by the same shadow. The 
 way Jimmy did it all along was this : At Whitehall, where 
 they left the cars for the boat ; and at Ticonderoga, where 
 they left the boat to take a carriage ; and at all the stop- 
 ping places, Jimmy, without ever asking a question, loitered 
 in the various inns where they stopped and easily heard 
 from several servants that the gentleman' s baggage was to 
 be directed to such and such a place ; then the young Irish- 
 man fell back, took his own means of reaching the indicated 
 spot, either on horseback or on foot, and he always arrived 
 before the party left for another locality. Thus he finally 
 became a lodger with them in the last rural inn designed 
 for the residence of the gentleman. John was at last an- 
 noyed by the constant appearance of the detested Milesian ; 
 but Mr. Kirkbride did not even remark it. The instruc- 
 tions for future emergencies given by Con to Jimmy were 
 merely : not to get into a private quarrel with the footman ; 
 if fortunate enough to fall into conversation with Mr. Kirk- 
 bride, either in the inn or on some fishing excursion, not to 
 mention to the gentleman any of his suspicions on the sub- 
 ject of John, as he was not to be mentally disturbed in the 
 least ; only to keep his eyes on the footman, and at the first 
 open misdeed pounce upon him, and openly show his proofs, 
 if he had any to give ; if not, to be very chary of any out- 
 break. All these instructions were full of good sense, and 
 Jimmy was always faithful to them ; so that John, in spite 
 of the annoyance he felt, never found a motive of open 
 quarrel with the young man who evidently was spying 
 him. This kept him in check ; and it was, indeed, a salu- 
 tary restraint. 
 
 After a few days of rambles in the neighborhood, of fish- 
 ing in the many brooks around, and of rest in the rural 
 cottage dignified with the name of "hotel," Mr. Kirkbride 
 began to feel a great change for the better, and gave him- 
 self with less restraint to the simple pleasures of his new sit- 
 uation. Meanwhile, Jimmy had already acquired a repu- 
 13 
 
194 LOUISA KIBKBBIDE. 
 
 tation for success in fishing, as he brought home every day 
 a large number of splendid trout. 
 
 " Young man," said Mr. Kirkbride to him one day, ^'you 
 must give me a lesson in fishing." 
 
 *'With great pleasure," answered Jimmy; ''but you 
 must come with me to a very wild spot which I have dis- 
 covered lately." 
 
 The project was agreed upon, and, after a night of sound 
 sleep, they left the inn early the following day, for the 
 lonely recess in the woods, where the young Irishman had 
 been so successful two days before. It was at the end of a 
 glen, surrounded by woods on all sides, a very solitude in 
 the midst of a wild country ; nothing was heard but the 
 chirping of crickets and the singing of birds ; if, however, 
 you lay down at full length on the grass, and listened atten- 
 tively, you could be lulled to sleep by the indistinct but 
 harmonious buzzing of myriads of insects which filled the 
 air and the bushes around. 
 
 '' Here it is," exclaimed Jimmy; ''there is nothing like it 
 in the neighborhood of MacComb's Dam, and I think there 
 are more fish in this stream than pass every day under the 
 arches of the High Bridge." 
 
 " So you are a NeAv- Yorker ! " laughingly exclaimed Mr. 
 Kirkbride. 
 
 " Beg your pardon, sir," replied the young man, "I was 
 born in Connaught, but have been transplanted by the mis- 
 fortunes of my country on the muddy banks of the Harlem 
 Kiver." 
 
 "Glad to hear you are an Irishman," remarked the gen- 
 tleman ; " I have a whole tribe of them near my house in 
 Madison Avenue." 
 
 " I know it, sir," said Jimmy. "Cornelius 0' Byrne, with 
 whom I know you are acquainted, is a great friend of mine ; 
 I have sent, sometimes, to the family, suckers from the Har- 
 lem River ; I intend to send them one of these days trout 
 from the streams of the Adirondacks ; they will not com- 
 plain of the change, I am sure." 
 
 These pleasant allusions put Mr. Kirkbride quite at ease. 
 
A CATASTROPHE. 195 
 
 "WTieii first he came to the lonely spot, he remarked the 
 wildness of the surroundings, and thought it the very place 
 for a murderer to kill his victim, so that he looked on John 
 as a real protection in case of any bad design lurking in the 
 mind of a young fellow with whom he had made, perhaps, 
 too free. But he directly became perfectly sure of his new 
 acquaintance, and would have intrusted all the money and 
 valuables he had brought with him to the keeping of the 
 young man. 
 
 ^' John," he exclaimed, ''I am at home here ; go to the 
 inn and see that my dinner is prepared for two ; and if you 
 have anything to do in the neighborhood, you may take the 
 advantage of it, as I do not want you." ''Honest" John 
 bit his lips, and departed. 
 
 The morning was spent most pleasantly by Mr. Kirk- 
 bride, who declared he was now a fisherman, and knew all 
 the tricks of the trade ; a large basket Jimmy had brought 
 with him was filled to repletion with the finny "beauties." 
 Jimmy asserted that it was Mr. Kirkbride who had caught 
 them all, and insisted that they should be sent by the next 
 express to Saratoga, where the gentle lady would admire 
 her husband' s skill in fishing. 
 
 "Very well for this time," said the gentleman, "but as I 
 know, young man, that your purse is not so well filled as 
 mine, you will allow me, when we return, to tell the inn- 
 keeper to address to me your bill of expenses at the end of 
 our happy sojourn in this place. On this condition alone 
 do I accept your gift, for which you may be sure I will feel 
 thankful to you." 
 
 James Ahern could not object much to this arrangement, 
 and the consequence was that John was nearly superseded 
 by Jimmy, and had very poor i:>rospects of succeeding, if 
 he had entertained any dark projects at all. 
 
 Other expeditions of the kind succeeded each other the 
 following days, and the health of the merchant improved 
 rapidly. He often received, of course, letters from his wife, 
 which at first amused him hugely, owing to the naitete with 
 which the lady related many very strange anecdotes which 
 
196 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 formed the staple of conversation at Saratoga. He would 
 have been highly pleased to get a missive of this kind every- 
 day. Unfortunately, there was no post office nearer the inn 
 than ten miles, and the mail was brought only twice a week 
 on horseback. But it was a compensation to receive two or 
 three letters at once. 
 
 After a while, however, Mrs. Kirkbride's communications 
 became less exuberant with sprightliness, and there appeared 
 some embarrassment in her way of writing. Before leaving 
 Saratoga, he had earnestly begged of his wife to keep her 
 eyes open on Frederick, and to state plainly in her letters 
 whatever unpleasant, or, chiefly, whatever bad feature she 
 might discover in the young man' s conduct. ' ' Do not be 
 afraid to disturb my quiet of mind," he had said. ''Any- 
 thing I might merely suspect, without any positive state- 
 ment of yours, would be much more likely to injure my 
 health. I would directly imagine a thousand things worse 
 than the truth, and it might kill me." Yet, in spite of this, 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was really unwilling to relate what she had 
 lately discovered, through fear of striking her husband to 
 the heart. He saw something of the kind in one of her 
 communications, and he wrote her directly a pretty long 
 letter, in which he stated his suspicions, and added : "Have 
 no fear of me, most dear Louisa. I am now strong, and can 
 bear a shock ; my health is, I think, completely restored, 
 owing to the open air of the country, the nice rambles, and 
 fishing excursions, but especially the company of a young 
 Irishman, who revives me by his talk, and fills my basket 
 with his fish ; it was from him, in fact, that you received 
 those I sent you a few days ago. If Frederick's conduct is 
 bad, I must know it. Be sure it is most important for you, 
 for me, and even for the poor miserable boy. I enjoin upon 
 you to declare the whole truth." 
 
 This letter received an answer most pointed and crushing, 
 for the heart of the good lady was deeply wounded, and in 
 writing the truth she could not but express it in feeling 
 terms. Without giving the very words, we will briefly re- 
 late the facts. Our readers know that all the great Saratoga 
 
A CATASTROPHE. 197 
 
 hotels are snrronnded by luxurious cottages, rented to fam- 
 ilies during the season. Among those which embellished 
 the gardens of the vast public palace where the Kirkbride 
 family resided, there was one smaller, but much more beau- 
 tiful, comfortable, and better kept than any other. It was 
 occupied by a young lady, who had with her only a female 
 servant. The eyes of all the inhabitants of the hotel were, 
 of course, from the first, directed on the nymph' s dwelling 
 in this small paradise. Everybody remarked her beauty, 
 the perfect good taste of her attire, and the refined air of 
 her manners. Who she was no one could tell. Several 
 young men appeared to be acquainted with her, and among 
 others, Frederick Kirkbride, but none of them satisfactorily 
 answered the question often addressed to them : "Do you 
 know who she is ? " They saluted her when they met her, 
 sometimes sat with her on some of the seats scattered in the 
 open grounds, and whenever there was a Jiop in the evening, 
 many young bloods contended for her hand in the dance. 
 Yet she had neither husband, nor father, nor brother known 
 to any one. This could not but excite suspicion ; still, her 
 whole conduct was so becoming and lady-like that for a 
 whole fortnight scandalous tongues could not wag on her 
 account. 
 
 But at last she began to give suppers after the balls, and 
 her cottage was alive until the following morning with many 
 of the young men residing at the hotel. This conduct could 
 not be excused, and the lookout kept on her by many keen 
 eyes was sharper and severer than before. Finally, all Sara- 
 toga became acquainted with her history. She belonged, 
 in truth, to the demi-monde, and it was at Frederick's ex- 
 pense that she led such a life of costly pleasure. Yet she 
 was not the lady artist whom the same young gentleman 
 visited formerly ; his taste now aimed much higher, but his 
 purse had also to be depleted more thoroughly. Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride was the last to know all these circumstances, and she 
 would have, perhaps, remained in happy ignorance of them, 
 had not something happened which she could not but hear, 
 even in her seclusion. Mr. James Friskey, then in the 
 
198 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 height of Ms prosperity, paid a flying visit to Saratoga, and 
 nearly the whole time he was there remained in the com- 
 pany of Frederick, and spent the only evening of his sojonrn 
 at the Springs among the golden society of the mysterious 
 cottage. Concealment was no longer possible ; the poor 
 lady herself heard of the notoriety of her son. It was 
 shortly after this she received the letter from her husband 
 mentioned above, and before answering it she wished to 
 know what her son could say. In a short conversation she 
 had with him, she learned from his very lips, ''that it was 
 true he loved the young lady, but did not intend to marry 
 her ; he was a young man, and must amuse himself after 
 his hard labors at the desk. The money he spent was law- 
 fully earned ; it was the dividend he had received before 
 leaving New York, as partner of the firm. As to the pub- 
 lic appearance of Mr. Friskey with him, he could not help 
 it ; that young gentleman had come unbidden by him ; he 
 could not repel his advances, and had to extend to him the 
 common courtesies of life." 
 
 This was the substance of the news Mr. Kirkbride re- 
 ceived. His first impulse was to leave the Adirondacks 
 and return to Saratoga ; happy had he done so ! But on 
 second reflection he thought this would be equivalent to an 
 exposure of his private family difliculties. He must remain 
 some longer time in the country and leave it only at the 
 time previously appointed. But he had to take immediate 
 measures to alter the will he had placed in the hands of his 
 attorney before leaving New York. He sent John directly 
 for the nearest lawyer of some reputation in the neighbor- 
 hood, and made up his mind, at the suggestion of this gen- 
 tleman, to execute only a codicil, which would, in fact, 
 change the whole will. This he did the day after he re- 
 ceived the last letter from his wife. " Honest " John could 
 not but enjoy the privileges of a valet, and heard many 
 words which revealed to a man, as acute as he was, the state 
 of the whole case ; but he could not help the cause of Mr. 
 Frederick, and saw his master, after the drawing up of the 
 paper, place it in a letter to his attorney, and put it in a 
 
A CATASTROPHE. 199 
 
 pocket nearest to his heart. The mail had, nnfortnnately, 
 gone the evening previous, and he had to wait three full 
 days before he could send the package. 
 
 Meanwhile he was a prey to the most painful anxiety of 
 mind ; all the rest he enjoyed before had fled ; his former 
 malady, which he thought almost cured, returned instantly ; 
 and he saw that to prevent a sudden attack he ought to try 
 again the open air, and the amusing company of James 
 Ahern. This he did the very morning after his interview 
 with the lawyer. He requested John to bring with him to 
 the woods the most interesting novel w^hich had lately ap- 
 peared, together with some doses of his usual medicines, to 
 regulate the circulation of the blood ; and the three started 
 together for the open country. 
 
 It was already the beginning of September, and for the 
 last three weeks scarcely a few drops of rain had fallen. The 
 ground was parched, vegetation drooi3ing ; the shrubs and 
 smaller plants let their half- withered blossoms fall mourn- 
 fully on the dried stems ; the large trees no longer wore 
 the bright green livery of the summer, the color of the 
 leaves had changed to a dtill metallic brown. The birds 
 were either absent or remained silent and motionless on the 
 withering twigs. The atmosphere was heavy with thick 
 dry vapors ; the heat, at ten o' clock, was already intense, 
 and the melancholy stillness of all nature seemed to pre- 
 sage a storm. 
 
 Mr. Kirkbride, however, went out with his footman and 
 Jimmy. John appeared reserved, and kept on his dignity ; 
 and the young Irishman tried in vain to revive the spirits of 
 the gentleman. Dejected and melancholy, Mr. Kirkbride 
 complained of a dull headache ; but he thought that along 
 the stream he would find some air stirring, and a compara- 
 tive freshness which might do him good. The lines were 
 carelessly thrown into the water ; but the trout, as inactive as 
 the rest of animated nature, did not mind the bait, and with 
 all his skill young Ahem could scarcely obtain one or two 
 unsuccessful bites. After an hour or so of sad depression 
 
200 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 of spirits and a dull want of activity, Mr. Kirkbride told 
 James Ahern that if he went to some better locality he 
 might be more lucky ; meanwhile he would himself try to 
 read, and after an hour more they might go back to the inn. 
 The novel the footman had brought was a French one of 
 the modern school — Mr. Kirkbride could read French cur- 
 rently. To tell the truth, it was the story of a courtezan. 
 ' With all possible accomplishments, the noted young wo- 
 man led a life of shame in the company of a young spend- 
 thrift. She was endowed with all imaginable virtues ; and 
 the only weakness which she could be reproached with was, 
 in fact, the necessary background to bring forward all her 
 admirable qualities. The wealth of California thrown at her 
 feet was scarcely worthy of her, and the young man who 
 spent his fortune to amuse all her caprices was but too 
 happy to be thought worthy of ruining himself for such a 
 divine being.' 
 
 At the moment the gentleman was reading this stuff, the 
 thought of his wife's last letter could not but come back to 
 his mind. It was a fearful and fatal instant. With disgust 
 and horror, throwing the book into the water, he fell down, 
 struck with hemiplegy, and remained panting on the ground, 
 his face distorted, his chest heaving, the whole right side 
 paralyzed, at the mercy of ''honest" John, who stood ob- 
 serving him a few feet distant. The rascally valet knew 
 some of the symptoms of the frightful disease, and under- 
 stood the whole case at once. Aware of the sudden uncon- 
 sciousness produced by a fit of such fatal power as this, he 
 fumbled in his master's pockets, took away the letter he 
 had seen him place there ; and, hurriedly transferring to his 
 own pocket several handfuls of bank bills he found on his 
 person, he left him for a moment, ran in the direction James 
 Ahern had taken, and calling him lustily, he brought him 
 to the spot, and told him in a few words the terrible acci- 
 dent which had just happened. Two other men, brought in 
 due time from the inn, made a hand-barrow of some branches 
 of trees, and with the help of John and James, the unfortu- 
 nate gentleman was carried home and placed on his bed. 
 
DEATH OF RALPH b. KIRKBRIDE, 
 
A CATASTROPHE. 201 
 
 A messenger, sent directly to the nearest physician, several 
 miles distant, brought one who arrived just four hours after 
 the attack, too late to be of any service ; and in spite of 
 bleeding and calomel applied dutifully by the doctor, it 
 was clear that in a few days at most, Mr. Kirkbride would 
 be a corpse. 
 
 James Ahem had no idea of apoplexy, and his first 
 thought was that John, left alone with Mr. Kirkbride, had 
 dealt him a blow intended to produce immediate uncon- 
 sciousness and ultimately death. He reproached himself 
 bitterly for having obeyed the gentleman and abandoned 
 him in the woods. Had not the footman at least abstracted 
 something important from the person of his master ? But 
 the young Irishman could think only of money and valua- 
 bles, and he saw the gold watch and chain still hanging 
 around Mr. Kirkbride' s neck, and several costly rings still 
 glittering on his fingers. He could not accuse John of theft ; 
 but he might have inflicted a murderous blow for some pur- 
 pose of his own, and perhaps, horrible to relate, to forward 
 the dark designs of Mr. Frederick, of whom he had heard 
 from Con. He thought it, therefore, his duty to take the 
 doctor apart and ask him mysteriously if the dangerous 
 state of the gentleman could not be the result of some 
 assault from the servant, as he knew the fellow might be 
 suspected of an attack of some kind. But the physician 
 immediately set at rest this supposition, and even rebuked 
 the young man for suspicions which he thought could not 
 be explained but by a secret grudge against a fellow ser- 
 vant. On breaking up the private conference with Jimmy, 
 the physician said aloud, so as to be overheard by John 
 himself : "- No, sir ! I am confident the servant has done his 
 duty to his master ; he has helped to transfer him quietly 
 here and to call me as soon as practicable ; he could do 
 nothing more." 
 
 ''Honest" John had here a fine opportunity of estab- 
 lishing his rightful claim to the title originally given him 
 by the mistress of the house, and the look he cast on the 
 young Irishman was such that Mr. Ahern thought it pru- 
 
202 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 dent for himself to disappear and return, crestfallen, to New 
 York. The footman was, therefore, left alone to send a 
 hasty dispatch to Mr. Frederick, and to receive this young 
 gentleman when he arrived, two days later, a fuU twenty- 
 four hours before the broken-hearted wife could be there 
 herself. 
 
 The unfortunate merchant was breathing yet, but sink- 
 ing rapidly, when Mrs. Kirkbride came to impress burning 
 kisses on his cheeks, and to bathe with her tears his face 
 and his hands. We turn away from her a moment, to 
 listen to the private conversation between the new ^'head 
 of the house" and the valet. It took place just a couple of 
 hours after Frederick had arrived. He had already had 
 time to take possession of everything he found in the rooms 
 of his father, and, among other things, to throw a glance on 
 all the letters of his mother, including the last, which he 
 perused entire. As soon as this first operation was accom- 
 plished, the young "heir" called to a private room of the 
 hotel the lucky footman, elated at the time by the knowl- 
 edge that he held a document which made him, in fact, 
 "master of the situation." The young gentleman, as yet, 
 knew nothing of this, and he had determined within him- 
 self to act as the head of the house, not to inspire too high 
 aspirations in the mind of his servant, but to continue to 
 keep him as his tool in an inferior capacity. 
 
 "Well, John," said Frederick, "as you alone were pres- 
 ent at the sad accident which befell my poor father, please 
 tell me the whole story, as I cannot but take a deep interest 
 in everything concerning him ; the sudden news has pro- 
 foundly saddened me ; and my disconsolate mother is com- 
 ing, and must hear from me everything connected with the 
 mournful event." 
 
 "The affair is soon told," answered John. "Your father 
 was doing first-rate, and was fast recovering his health, 
 when he received a letter from your mother, which directly 
 produced an awful change in him. He sent me right away 
 for the nearest lawyer, and, when the gentleman had ar- 
 rived, they sat at work together for a couple of hours. I 
 
A CATASTROPHE. 203 
 
 am not an eavesdropper ; but, in the comings in and goings 
 out, I could not help hearing many things ; and, to tell you 
 the simple truth, in as many words, I am confident that the 
 coming of the lawyer was either for your father to write a 
 new will, or, at least, to change the one he had made be- 
 fore, so as to deprive you of the most part, if not the whole, 
 he first intended to leave you. This I know for a certainty. 
 The day after this important event, your father expressed a 
 wish to go fishing, as usual, and took with him myself and 
 a spy of an Irishman, who, fortunately, was not present 
 when the accident happened to Mr. Kirkbride. The acci- 
 dent was merely this : he was reading a French novel at the 
 time ; suddenly he threw it into the water, and fell pros- 
 trate on the ground, unconscious, and panting for breath. 
 We transferred him to his bed, and I called the nearest 
 doctor, who will be able to explain the whole affair to you 
 better than myself." 
 
 ''This story seems very strange to me," remarked Mr. 
 Frederick. "Had my father written another will, it would 
 certainly be found among his papers in his room, and it is 
 not there." 
 
 ''Certainly it is not there," retorted ''honest" John; 
 "yet it exists. But perhaps you will suspect me of foul 
 practice, as that fool of an Irishman did, who imagined I 
 had given a blow to Mr. Kirkbride, but to whom the doctor 
 answered so well that he had to fly, and probably he is still 
 running at this time." 
 
 Mr. Frederick, in a high state of interior excitement, 
 which he did his best not to show, sternly addressed to 
 John these few words : 
 
 "As you were alone acquainted with all these circum- 
 stances, I must hold you responsible for the existence of 
 that legal instrument." 
 
 "I see," replied John, "that I must speak plainly to 
 you. I have that new will or whatever it is ; I took it 
 from the pocket of your father directly after the acci- 
 dent, through fear that it might drop on the ground and 
 be lost. I know that it takes away a good part of, if not 
 
204 LOUISA KntKBRLDE, 
 
 all, his property from you, and, if you are not amenable 
 to sense, I shall see that it is deposited in the hands of the 
 person to whom it is addressed, namely, your father's 
 attorney." 
 
 This was a blow to Frederick, whose passions were sud- 
 denly fearfully excited, and who might have shot the foot- 
 man on the spot, had he not checked himself from indulging 
 in such a fit of madness. 
 
 '' What do you mean by ^amenable to sense' ?" said the 
 young scamp to the footman. 
 
 *'I mean," replied John, ''that you will secure me a 
 respectable position in your house when you are at the 
 head of it, and not ask me to wear again the livery of a 
 footman." 
 
 '' It was precisely, my dear fellow, what I intended to 
 do," said the young gentleman; ''you were my father's 
 footman, but I know that your talent is far above that em- 
 ployment. When I have a house, you will find yourself in 
 a very respectable and comfortable position, I assure you. 
 As my confidential agent you will have many opportunities 
 of bettering your condition, and leading a gloriously happy 
 life.'' 
 
 "We understand each other," said "honest" John. 
 "Do not forget what you have just said, or I should be 
 obliged to remind you of it in a very disagreeable way. 
 Here is the document destined to make you a happy and 
 rich man," and he handed to Mr. Frederick the fatal 
 package. 
 
 Nobody knew of its existence besides John, except the 
 lawyer who had drawn up the codicil ; but the affairs of 
 the family would be settled by the Surrogate of New York, 
 and no lawyer of Essex County would be called upon to 
 give his testimony in the matter. It was, however, an ugly 
 circumstance which prompted Mr. Frederick not to destroy 
 the package, as he first intended, but to open it, examine 
 it, ponder over it, and see what it was best to do. We will 
 become acquainted, later on, with whatever the wisdom and 
 the honesty of the young gentleman shall prompt him to 
 
A CATASTBOPEE. 205 
 
 invent and execute for the glory of the Kirkbride house 
 now intrusted to his care. 
 
 Five days exactly after the apoplectic fit, the most honor- 
 able but too worldly-wise merchant breathed his last, and 
 the body was transferred to New York, where it was to be 
 honored with splendid and mournful obsequies. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A NEW DEAL OF CAEDS ALL AEOUND. 
 
 At the inn in the Adirondacks, after a full day given to 
 the overwhelming grief of Mrs. Kirkbride, preparations were 
 made for departure. A temporary coffin, the best that 
 could be found in the village near by, was procured ; the 
 things belonging to the deceased were packed up, and two 
 roomy double carriages were hired for the voyage as far as 
 Ticonderoga. In the first of these, the coffin was laid on the 
 front seat, and John occupied alone the back seat. The 
 lady wished, indeed, to occupy it, but was very properly 
 prevented by her son. She sat, therefore, in the second 
 carriage with Frederick. 
 
 She tried first to engage in conversation with him, as she 
 thought the solemn occasion might have already made an 
 impression on the young man. But although he never 
 made an unpleasant remark, and never appeared to be 
 wearied by her words, she soon perceived that whatever 
 she might say would be perfectly useless, or rather w^orse 
 than silence. She consequently left off talking to him, and 
 during the whole trip no other attempt was made on her 
 part, and, if they ever talked, it was only on account of 
 some trifling incident on the way. 
 
 , Left to her own thoughts, poor Mrs. Kirkbride was soon 
 plunged in the most melancholy reflections. The first 
 that presented themselves had merely for their object 
 the heavy stroke that had just fallen on her. What a 
 deep grief she felt for the death — alas ! so sudden — of her 
 
 20G 
 
A liEW DEAL OF CABDS ALL ABOUND. 207 
 
 dear husband ! They had been married nearly thirty years, 
 and during that long period of time there had never been 
 any serious disturbance between them. She knew that he 
 loved her dearly ; and if he did, it was certainly because he 
 was fully aware that she was entirely attached to him. He 
 had never refused her anything for which she had ex- 
 pressed the slightest wish. It is true that, for herself, 
 she limited her requests to the most simple requirements, 
 and it was not from her that he could fear to be ruined 
 by the love of finery. But her charities went far beyond 
 those of the most wealthy and benevolent women of the 
 city. K'othing, almost, has been said of it in these pages, 
 because we have nearly limited our narrative to what ap- 
 peared to the eyes of all, and Mrs. Kirkbride shrunk from 
 anything that would look like ostentation, chiefly in alms- 
 giving. But the fact was that there was scarcely any char- 
 itable institution connected with the Episcopal Church in 
 New York to which she was not a most liberal contributor ; 
 and she did not confine her benevolence to her own denomi- 
 nation, as the reader by this time is fully aware. Her hus- 
 band never — absolutely never — found fault with her on this 
 account ; and whenever she applied to him for such pur- 
 poses as these, not only he did not refuse, but he always 
 consented with the best possible grace, and had always 
 something pleasant to say to her. This came back to her 
 mind at this moment, and floods of tears, full of tenderness 
 toward him, ran from her eyes at the mere remembrance. 
 She knew well that this would most probably not have been 
 the case, at least to the same extent, had she been united 
 in marriage to any other rich merchant in New York. 
 
 This brought her to think of all the other excellent quali- 
 ties of her late husband ; his consideration and respect for 
 her ; his attention to his family ; his regular hours and faith- 
 fulness to duty ; his reputation abroad for true honor and 
 highmindedness, which was certainly reflected on her, and 
 accompanied her wherever she went. She had always loved 
 him on account of these great traits of his character ; at this 
 moment she loved him tenfold more, because she had lost 
 
208 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 him ! Oh ! how she wept during that slow ride between the 
 Adirondacks and Ticonderoga ! 
 
 During her whole life, never before had she met with a 
 great misfortune. In fact, with the exception of her deep 
 anxiety, during the last year or two, with regard to her son, 
 she had scarcely been touched by an adverse fate. She had 
 lost, it is true, four beautiful children, and as a tender 
 mother she had keenly felt her separation from them ; but 
 she was a Christian mother, and as they all died very young, 
 and they had been baptized with the true rites of Chris- 
 tian baptism, she knew they were happy in heaven. In the 
 present case, she did not dare to look too distinctly on aU 
 the circumstances of that dreadful blow inflicted by grim 
 death. Would the virtues of her husband open for him 
 the gates of heaven ? The strict injunctions of the decalogue 
 are not concerned only with the duties of a father, of a hus- 
 band, of a citizen, of a man, in fine, in all his relations to- 
 ward his fellow creatures. The three first and most solemn 
 precepts of the law of God regard the duties of the creature 
 toward his Creator ; and the poor lady could not think of 
 it without shuddering. She knew that her husband, what- 
 ever might have been the cause, had totally neglected during 
 his life these most important commandments, and had not 
 had time to repent at his death. What a torture for the 
 loving heart of this pious lady ! She tried to ward off the 
 thought of it ; she tried in vain. She remembered the infi- 
 nite mercy of God, and many words of Holy Scripture came 
 to her memory to assuage her grief ; but the question always 
 came back to her mind, to renew her fears. Can a sin be 
 washed away which has not been repented and atoned for ? 
 What a load of misery oppressed her at these reflections, 
 which she had at last to discard, because there was no sat- 
 isfactory answer to that fearful question ! 
 
 It would be impossible to relate in detail all that passed 
 through her racked brain, during that ride as far as Lake 
 Champlain, then on the boat to Whitehall, and finally on 
 the cars to New York. The mournful train finally arrived, 
 on the evening of the second day, at the mansion on Madi- 
 
A NEW DEAL OF CARDS ALL AROUND. 209 
 
 son Avenue, and Mrs. Kirkbride retired directly to her 
 room, where everything contributed rather to increase than 
 to moderate her grief. 
 
 It must be said that Frederick acted most properly from 
 that moment. He understood that he must appear as the 
 head of the family, and took gracefully, if mournfully, 
 his position. He began to direct all the preparations for 
 the funeral, which was to take place at the beginning 
 of the following week. In the absence of other near rela- 
 tives, Mr. T. Bland came to help the young master of the 
 house ; but it is equally true that the inevitable Mr. 
 Brown took upon himself, at their request, the great bulk 
 of the details. This gave more time to Frederick to show 
 some attention to his mother. He often went to her room 
 and tried to console her by giving her a hope that he would 
 turn out at last a true son. Whenever intimate friends 
 came to see the lady of the house in her bereavement, he 
 always received them first, and he never brought them up 
 to her apartments, except after having first learned from 
 her if she wished it. Many other marks of consideration 
 showed that he knew at least the conventionalities of life. 
 
 On the solemn day of the obsequies Trinity Chapel was 
 filled with the most respectable and rich merchants of New 
 York. But of the relatives of the deceased few, indeed, were 
 to be seen. The time has passed when in the United States 
 families were so numerous that at weddings, funerals, re- 
 unions of any kind, often one hundred or more near rela- 
 tives assembled before the altar of a church, or around a 
 flower-loaded rosewood coffin, or in the mansion at the hos- 
 pitable board. When wedded couples had never less than 
 six and occasionally could boast of no less than twelve chil- 
 dren, then, indeed, the number of cousins reminded you of 
 the old Celtic clans. In our days one or two is the common 
 average of the offspring of the rich ; and at this rate their 
 lineage is rather on the road to extinction than to any 
 remarkable increase. We cannot be surprised, therefore, 
 that on that day, besides the disconsolate lady and her 
 son, seated in the first pew, the eye of an observer could 
 14 
 
210 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 remark only a few very distant relatives, and scarcely a 
 couple of first cousins. But the friends were extremely nu- 
 merous, as Mr. Kirkbride justly enjoyed a high reputation 
 for integrity, honor, and skill, which success had crowned 
 during his life by the very ample fortune he left after 
 him. The Rev. Dr. Dixon performed the ceremonies with 
 his usual stately decorum, and read the service with feel- 
 ing and appropriate gravity. When he came to the dis- 
 course which has become, in our days, an absolutely neces- 
 sary appendage of such a mournful event, he spoke of the 
 deceased with a just appreciation of his worth, not only as 
 a man but as a Christian, addressed some affectionate and 
 moving words of religious consolation to the sorrowful wife, 
 and did not forget the necessary advice to the young gentle- 
 man, who could not do better at the threshold of a brilliant 
 mercantile career than follow the exanijple of his respected 
 father. 
 
 A solemn dirge concluded the service ; and all that re- 
 mained of Mr. Ralph S. Kirkbride was carried to Green- 
 wood, where an imposing monument was to be raised in 
 that immense necropolis, to the memory of an excellent 
 husband, an exemplary father, and an irreproachable citizen 
 and merchant. 
 
 It was a few weeks only after the solemn funeral that the 
 ceremony took place of opening the will and last testament 
 of Mr. Ralph S. Kirkbride. Besides the wife and son of 
 the deceased, there were present his few near relatives, the 
 Surrogate of New York, who was to admit the instrument to 
 probate, some friends of the family, among whom appeared 
 conspicuously the partners of the firm, and finally the attor- 
 ney who had brought the will and was to read it. The seal 
 at first was offered for inspection to i\\e judge and after- 
 ward broken ; the paper had been written and signed a 
 few months previously, and no objection could be raised as 
 to any of the usual formalities. 
 
 It gave first to Mrs. Kirkbride, his dear and devoted wife, 
 the property in fee simple of the house on Madison Avenue 
 with the lots on which it had been constructed; the remainder 
 
A NEW DEAL OF CABDS ALL AROUND. 211 
 
 of the block was evidently not comprised in this item. 
 The same lady was declared to be sole owner of the furni- 
 ture, valuables, carriages and horses, and in general of 
 everything the house and outbuildings contained except the 
 library. Finally an annuity was to be paid her out of the 
 first income of the remaining estate, amounting to twenty 
 thousand dollars a year. 
 
 Legacies were then given to many persons, including 
 nearly all the relatives, even distant, of the gentleman. 
 Kone of the servants were forgotten, and John, among 
 others, received five hundred dollars, besides a part of his 
 master's wardrobe. 
 
 The shanty and its occupants were not mentioned in the 
 will ; Mr. Kirkbride evidently left them to the kind protec- 
 tion of his wife, who would certainly not forget them. Mr. 
 Cornelius 0' Byrne, however, had not been left out, and a 
 gold watch and chain was given him, with a number of 
 books intended to forward his education in the particular 
 career opened out to him. The works assigned to him were 
 all the most valuable that had been written on the United 
 States, its government, productions, commerce, etc., on the 
 State of New York, with most reliable statistics on every 
 question, finally, on the great city of New York, its estab- 
 lishments, courts of law, internal regulations and police, 
 educational and medical schools, etc. Mr. Kirkbride had 
 also particularly remembered that our friend Con was an 
 Irishman ; and a good number of reliable works on Ireland, 
 her history, past glories, and actual state, on Wexford 
 County particularly, going into many topographical details, 
 were given to the young man as a special mark of the 
 ''esteem" of the deceased merchant, "for his integrity, 
 courage, and devotedness to duty." 
 
 At last, the remainder of the real estate, of the personal 
 property, of the stocks and bonds, belonging to Mr. Kalph 
 S. Kirkbride, was given over to his son, Frederick, now of 
 age, and already a partner in the general firm ; the whole 
 of it, however, reversible to the mother, in case of the son 
 dying before her without issue. 
 
212 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 The executors of the Tvdll were declared to be Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, and Mr. T. Bland, already known to us. 
 
 The Surrogate of New York received the instrument, and 
 promised that in a short time he would have decided on its 
 contents. In fact, there was not the least probability of 
 any objection being raised against it ; and from this day, 
 Mr. Frederick Kirkbride was considered as the head of the 
 house, and the o^vner of property amounting to more than 
 a million dollars, in real estate, stocks and bonds, besides 
 the first interest in the great commercial house. Was it not 
 enough to turn the head of a young man already crazy ? 
 
 Until that day he had lived with his mother ; but soon 
 after he begged of her to give him an interview after din- 
 ner ; and being taken by her directly to her room, he sat 
 down, at a respectful distance from her arm-chair, and the 
 following conversation took place. 
 
 *'I am very sorry, my dear mother, that I must hence- 
 forward cease living with you ; but you must see yourself 
 that it is not left to my will, and it becomes the conse- 
 quence of our altered circumstances." 
 
 ''What do you mean, Fred?" replied the lady; "the 
 only altered circumstance that I see is our common misfor- 
 tune in having lost, you a father, and I a dear husband ; and 
 this, instead of separating us, ought to knit us closer to each 
 other. How could I live alone in this big house? " 
 
 " Do you not see, mother," interposed the young gentle- 
 man, ' ' that I am master of nothing in it, except the books, 
 which I willingly leave you ; and that I must have my own 
 establishment? This was evidently my excellent father's 
 object in disposing of this house as he did. Do not be- 
 lieve, dear mother, that I repine at it, and feel aggrieved 
 that it was not left to me ; if it had been, I should most 
 willingly have given it to you. But evidently my father, 
 by this arrangement, intended to suggest that I should be- 
 gin an establishment somewhere else. Why, I have not 
 even a horse to ride at my own pleasure ! " 
 
 "What is it that you say, my son?" exclaimed the 
 astonished mother, "don't you see that everything I have 
 
A NEW DEAL OF CARDS ALL AROUND. 213 
 
 is yours, and you can use the horses, carriages, and every- 
 thing else as you like, much more freely, indeed, than dur- 
 ing your lather's lifetime V 
 
 "No, mother," said the son, "I should be afraid of in- 
 conveniencing you, and you must feel yourself that I could 
 not act freely in taking such liberties every day with things 
 altogether out of my possession. This place, besides, is 
 too far from the centre of our business ; I must live farther 
 down town, in order to be more ready to answer every call 
 for me in Beaver Street." 
 
 "These are not your true reasons," exclaimed the poor 
 lady ; ' ' your father could very well attend to his business 
 from this house, which he himseK built ; and you, a young 
 man, can very well do as he did, without neglecting what 
 he never neglected." 
 
 "I assure you, dear mother," interposed Mr. Frederick, 
 with a great deal of feeling and earnestness, "that these 
 are my ' true reasons,' and I would not for the world give 
 you any false ones. Thus my mind is made up, and I have 
 already engaged apartments in the Great Central Hotel, 
 until I can make other arrangements." 
 
 Thus ended the conversation, which was equivalent to 
 the stroke of a dagger for the heart of Mrs. Kirkbride. She 
 understood perfectly how^ her son would be more " free" in 
 that new place, and how also he would find himself nearer 
 to his "business" there. From that day forth Frederick 
 had given orders to prepare a suite of splendid rooms in the 
 G. C. H., and it is in that gorgeous palace that we shall 
 henceforth meet him most of the time. "Honest" John 
 was to go with him as his "confidential agent," and he 
 engaged for his new footman a pompous young fiunky, 
 likewise from cockneydom. 
 
 Whilst mother and son are thus placed in " altered cir- 
 cumstances," we must turn our eyes toward the O' Byrnes, 
 who have been too long forgotten. Our friend Con also be- 
 gins, from this day forth, to take the lead in the family, 
 and our first business is with him. James Ahern, scarcely 
 
214 LOUISA KIBKBBIDE. 
 
 returned from the north, had gone to acquaint him with the 
 last news, and had given him positive information of the 
 circumstances related above. Con 0' Byrne was satisfied 
 that he had served a good purpose in keeping watch, during 
 a full month, on John ; it was only a pity that he was ab- 
 sent when Mr. Kirkbride fell into a fit. He had no doubt 
 that the valet, either at that moment, or later, in the inn, 
 had taken possession of property belonging to Mr. Kirk- 
 bride, or of some important papers. But it could not be 
 helped. Even had Ahern been present at the time of the 
 apoplectic attack, John might have carried out his purpose 
 afterward, during the full day he remained A\dth his uncon- 
 scious master. Con, however, kept in his mind all the par- 
 ticulars of the case, and thought that something might turn 
 up later on. He had heard, even, of a lawyer's visit. 
 
 The whole O' Byrne family was struck dumb by the sud- 
 den demise of their benefactor ; and together with the hope 
 that his wife would be able to continue her protection, came 
 instinctively the dread of the young heir coming into pos- 
 session and driving them out. When Mr. Kirkbride' s will 
 became known, this persuasion remained settled among 
 them, and they expected, at every moment, to receive a 
 summons to that effect. A visit, however, that the young 
 man and his sister paid to the lady directly after, at first 
 quieted their alarm. 
 
 Con and Julia went together to the mansion, and the lady 
 received them in her room. The young man expressed his 
 gratitude for the kind remembrance of Mr. Kirkbride in his 
 will, and he said, ' ' that this would be a new motive for 
 him to increase in devotedness. Their hopes, however, 
 were centred in her ; and they were not blind to the fact, 
 that her son was not their friend. If they must leave the 
 place where they had been so hospitably received, it would 
 be proper to let them know right away, as they would have 
 more time before winter to establish their quarters in - some 
 other locality." 
 
 '" What do you mean, young man '\ " exclaimed Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride. ' ' I know that your cottage is now the property of 
 
A JSTEW DEAL OF CARDS ALL AROUND. 215 
 
 my son ; but I am, I hope, as much mistress there, as he is 
 himself master in this house, which is my property. I am, 
 at least, as much mistress as during the life of my husband, 
 and it will certainly be sufficient for me to tell my son that 
 I want you and cannot do without you, for him not to think 
 of sending you away. Dismiss from your mind anything 
 of that kind, my dear friend, for, from the expressions of 
 my husband in his will, I can give you that title. Go home 
 now, and calm the fears of your respectable parents, but 
 leave Julia with me, as I wish to speak to her in private." 
 
 Con withdrew, and from that moment the O' Byrnes 
 thought they would remain undisturbed in their cottage, 
 and did not think of looking elsewhere and making pre- 
 paration for a change. Thus the fine weather of the Fall 
 was passing away ; for the month of October had already 
 arrived, and was fast gliding away, when this took place. 
 Frederick, the reader must know, had not yet left his mo- 
 ther's house, as his apartments in the hotel were not quite 
 ready. 
 
 ''Dear child," exclaimed Mrs. Kirkbrideto Julia, as soon 
 as Con had left; "I should indeed have supported much 
 better my bereavement, had you been with me in that 
 dreary north, where I had no one on whose true sympathy 
 I could surely rely. A thought has occupied my mind for 
 some time, and I must communicate it to you. I would 
 feel much more happy here if I had you altogether with 
 me. Could you not come and occupy some of these empty 
 apartments ? Be sure I would not consider you as a servant, 
 but as a friend ; you would have a title as little menial as 
 possible, and a room near mine. What do you say to this. 
 Miss Julia O' Byrne?" The lady pronounced these last 
 words with an arch smile much more expressive than the 
 words themselves. 
 
 "Be sure, madam," answered Julia, "that I would with 
 great pleasure come to live with you, even as a servant, 
 could I leave my mother alone ; but I put it to you, as you 
 have so true an idea of Christian duty, could you advise me 
 to do it on any consideration ? " 
 
216 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 *'I see wifcli regret," replied the lady, '^liat you are 
 right ; but I insist upon this, that every day, in the evening, 
 when you have done for your mother what you are bound 
 in duty to do, you will come to spend the night mth me. 
 I have a good reason, on account of my widowhood, not to 
 receive any company this winter : my son will have enough 
 to do outside, not to trouble me inside of the house ; I 
 want you for the long evenings and nights of that season. 
 I think I can ' advise ' you to consent as a thing altogether 
 consistent with your duty to your parent." 
 
 " I feel honored, madam, by your proposal," said Julia ; 
 *'and I do not see much difficulty in the way, provided I 
 am allowed to leave your house in the morning as early as 
 I think proper. I cannot, however, give my positive con- 
 sent without first speaking to my mother." 
 
 Of course Mrs. O' Byrne willingly consented, and from 
 that day forth Julia occupied at night the room nearest to 
 the lady's sleeping apartment. Often, after having worked 
 and talked together until past ten o'clock, when Julia re- 
 tired to say her prayers, Mrs. Kirkbride entered the little 
 room with her, and knelt and prayed with a great deal of 
 devotion, and a real heartfelt pleasure. The lady had, 
 first, tried to keep Julia in her own room during her own 
 prayers, but, as the girl steadily refused, saying that she 
 had particular devotions, sometimes of the rosary, some- 
 times of the scapular, to comply with, Mrs. Kirkbride, 
 to end the contest, had to give way, led also, perhaps, a 
 little by natural curiosity to know what that " rosary" and 
 that "scapular" meant. So she was at first surprised that 
 the girl had so many paters and aves to say ; but she came 
 at last to relish them, with the reflection that, at least, the 
 Lord's Prayer becomes perfectly well known, and a Chris- 
 tian cannot say it often enough ; as to the Hail Mary, which 
 at first seemed to her a little "outlandish," as she was not 
 used to it, it appeared to her, finally, beautiful in its sim- 
 l^licity, full of meaning, and exuberant with spiritual con- 
 lation. 
 
 "If my poor husband," she said, "had known it, and 
 
A NEW DEAL OF CARDS ALL ABOUND. 217 
 
 repeated, before dying, the last prayer, ' Holy Mary, mo- 
 ther of God, pray for us sinners now, and at tlie hour of 
 our death. Amen,' I should now experience a great con- 
 solation in the thought that he might really have been 
 helped, at his last moments, by the prayers of holy Mary." 
 
 But what most excited her wonder in Julia's night 
 prayers was what the girl called the ''examen of con- 
 science;" at that time she remained perfectly silent, and 
 after some moments spent in reflection, resumed her devo- 
 tions. 
 
 ''What occupies you," said the lady one day, ''when 
 you do not say anything, but remain there like a statue, 
 without moving a muscle ? " 
 
 "I examine my conscience," replied the girl. 
 
 "Could you not examine it aloud?" said the lady. 
 
 "Then, madam, you will know my sins." 
 
 "What of that ?" observed Mrs. Kirkbride ; "they can- 
 not be very grievous, and perhaps I also will some day ex- 
 amine my conscience before you, when I have learned how 
 to do it ; then you will 7i7iow my sins, but I hope you will 
 not speak of them to any one." 
 
 Julia laughed outright, and said, "Well, madam, since 
 you msh it, I will do it to-night ; " and the good lady was 
 a great deal surprised that the girl entered into so many 
 details, looking into her own heart to know if she had, during 
 the day, said any unpleasant word, entertained any unchari- 
 table thought, failed in duty to her parents, been distracted 
 in her prayers, and reproaching herself chiefly for not ex- 
 amining her conscience strictly enough before going to con- 
 fession. 
 
 " Indeed ! " Mrs. Kirkbride said to herself ; "a Catholic 
 must know himself perfectly well, when he has done this 
 during twenty years. I was always puzzled when, reading 
 my prayers in the books of Dr. Dixon, I found some direc- 
 tions about the examen of conscience, and was exhorted 
 to find out and bewail my sins, but nobody had ever taught 
 me how to do it. Julia has given me a good lesson which 
 I must not forget." 
 
218 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 The affection of the good lady for the girl increased daily, 
 and as she had made no mention of wages for the help she 
 received, she took occasion from it to load her young friend 
 with presents of every kind, money, muslin, cloth, what- 
 ever you wish, except silk, which Julia never would touch, 
 saying that her mother would not approve of it. But this 
 happy state of affairs could not continue forever. 
 
 When Frederick Kirkbride was finally settled in his 
 gorgeous apartments in the Great Central Hotel, he began 
 seriously to discuss within himself what was to be his line 
 of conduct. It was an examen of conscience very different 
 from the one spoken of a moment ago. The young gentle- 
 man was not a fool, as our readers must have known before 
 this time. What he wanted was to make, as surely as 
 human ability can, a rapid fortune, spending at the same 
 time a good part of it in luxurious living. If he found, 
 after strict investigation, that the way adopted by his father 
 was the best, he would follow it, throwing all his activity 
 and keen faculties of mind in the pursuit. Should he, on 
 the contrary, become persuaded that gambling in stocks, 
 gold, etc., where his inclinations certainly led him, was 
 preferable, he would soon cease to be a merchant, and be- 
 come the king of the exchange and the talk of the whole 
 country. Hence, having yet made no choice, he was very 
 careful at first to fulfill his daily duties at the counting- 
 room in Beaver Street, where, not satisfied with the routine 
 of the business, and the strict adherence to his position as 
 chief partner in the firm, he looked closely and attentively 
 into the previous operations of his father, which he could 
 perfectly well understand from the account books left in 
 his possession. The result of a couple of weeks of scrutiny 
 was this: His father had made the greatest part of his 
 fortune by speculating in real estate, which was quite inde- 
 pendent of his income as a merchant. In this last capacity, 
 the net revenue he derived for his share from his commer- 
 cial enterprises, although the capital of the firm was large, 
 scarcely amounted, in less prosperous years, to twenty thou- 
 sand dollars ; in the most profitable ones, it had gone some- 
 
A J!fEW DEAL OF CARDS ALL AROUND. gig 
 
 times as liigh as fifty ; but this very seldom ; the average 
 might be said to be thirty-five. This Frederick Kirkbride 
 considered as a very unprofitable expenditure of mental 
 labor ; certainly, he could not, with his tastes, live on it. 
 Comparing what the cottage at Saratoga had cost him, be- 
 sides his own personal expenses there, with what would be 
 the amount of his expenses in a long winter season in New 
 York, he saw directly that he could not live a whole year on 
 fifteen thousand, the residue of the thirty-five, as he had to 
 give twenty to his mother. He must, therefore, speculate ; 
 the only question was, what was the best ; the slipshod 
 process of pouncing here and there on pieces of property 
 whose value would rise in the course of the next five 
 years, or the rapid and actual profit on large margins in- 
 scribed on your memorandum book in the course of a few 
 hours at the stock exchange? The answer was ah^eady 
 plain enough to Frederick's understanding. But the fixed- 
 ness of his determination was suddenly secured by a slight 
 incident which happened to him at his hotel, toward the 
 end of these investigations. He suddenly learned, one even- 
 ing, that his friend, Mr. James Friskey, had just taken up 
 apartments like himself in the same gorgeous palace, and 
 that he could be found on the same fit)or, but in another 
 part of the building. There was no need any more of con- 
 cealing his real feelings with respect to the gentleman ; he 
 could go to him openly, without the fear of an angry father 
 restraining him ; and, as he had been obKged to appear on 
 several occasions averse to friendly communications with 
 this remarkable young gentleman, his clear duty was to 
 pay him the first visit, and to go to his rooms, where he was 
 just receiving his friends. The apartment was full ; Fred- 
 erick had to push his way through ; but as soon as young 
 Friskey saw him, 
 
 "Come along," he said. ''Most happy to see you, at 
 last ; and, as I have just learned that you live here, I hope 
 we will see each other oftener than heretofore." 
 
 "As often now as you wish," responded our friend; 
 "and, indeed, I am glad to be so near you." 
 
220 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 It were useless to relate at length tlie conversation which 
 followed ; quibs, repartees, frivolous honmots^ are not much 
 in our line, and the story we relate is too serious to be in- 
 terlarded with jibes and witticisms. But when Mr. Friskey 
 saw that the greater number of his visitors had gone, he in- 
 timated a desire of a private conversation with Frederick, 
 whereupon the rest withdrew. 
 
 "What are you going to do, Freddy?" said the then 
 glorious director of Dunkirk. "I understand that your 
 governor is dead, and you are at the head of his firm. So 
 you are going to be a merchant ? How many thousand do 
 you get out of that concern ? " 
 
 *'I am not yet perfectly sure," answered Mr. Frederick, 
 '^ but I suppose it is not as much as you get from your opera- 
 tions?" 
 
 "I suppose not," replied Mr. Friskey; '*but, seriously, 
 do you not see, Freddy, that with your capital you could 
 cut a more glorious figure than I will ever be able to do ? I 
 began, you know, with nothing." 
 
 ''I know it," said Freddy, "but all have not your skill 
 and keen scent for turns ; with my greenness, I might lose 
 everything I have in a couple of weeks." 
 
 "You are mistaken there, dear friend," said the great 
 speculator, with unction, "you have a remarkable talent for 
 the 'profession,' and be sure a large capital in hand, such 
 as you have, is the surest means of succeeding and heaping 
 up, in a trice, an immense fortune." 
 
 " Your capital " and "a large capital in hand " had pen- 
 etrated deep into the reasoning faculties of young Kirk- 
 bride ; they were irretrievably blinded, and Mr. Friskey 
 could boast that he had made that day one of the most re- 
 markable conquests of his whole baneful career. 
 
 Frederick Kirkbride' s mind was now made up. He did 
 not, however, wish to become immediately the talk of the 
 whole city, by throwing up his position as a merchant, and 
 obtaining directly a seat at the Gold Board. He appeared 
 to have made no change in his way of life, continued every 
 day faithful in his ofiice, was constantly a fresh subject of 
 
A NEW DEAL OF CARDS ALL AROUND. 221 
 
 admiration to Mr. T. Bland, and even visited his mother 
 oftener than he had done previously. He intended to enter 
 upon his new life gracefully and becomingly, but he, in fact, 
 began directly that new life, studied attentively the various 
 up and down movements of shares, and ventured occasionally 
 on some fancy stock less known to the generality of dealers. 
 
 Meanwhile he did not intend to leave his '^confidential 
 agent," John, in complete inactivity. It was time, he 
 thought, to test the real ability of this new gentleman. 
 Calling him to his room, the evening of the last day of Oc- 
 tober, he said to him : "I have so far scarcely wanted you, 
 John ; the fact is, my plans were not yet fully mature, and 
 shall not be for a short time. Then, I think, I will often need 
 your services. But, meanwhile, there is a job for you which 
 you will undertake with pleasure, I am sure. You have 
 not said a word to me lately of your ' friends, ' the Irish of 
 the shanty back of mother's house ; I thought you would 
 push me to manifest something of my tender-heartedness 
 for them. Do you not know that I can dislodge them, if I 
 wish it, to-morrow ! " 
 
 ''I knew it, sir," said the new '^ confidential agent;" 
 *'but I did not like to 'push' you to it, as you say, on ac- 
 count of Mrs. Kirkbride. I was afraid you would not like 
 it yourself." 
 
 ''As to that," replied the fair-minded young gentleman, 
 "you were right in thinking that I would not unnecessarily 
 cause pain to my dear mother ; but she is surely amenable 
 to reason and sense, and I have many things to say to her 
 on my side. Give, to-morrow, to that brood, a fair summons 
 to decamp in five days ; it is more than they deserve." 
 
 " You make me happy, sir, by saddling this first job upon 
 me," observed the worthy John. 
 
 "You understand, John," said Mr. Kirkbride, in conclu- 
 sion, ' ' that the thing is to be done cleverly, and with due 
 decorum ; I shall want the premises in five days from to- 
 morrow morning ; this is all you have to say." 
 
 Mr. John understood perfectly well the meaning of his 
 employer, and prepared to do " the job " with " cleverness" 
 
222 LOUISA kirkbhide. 
 
 and ^'decorum." The following morning, therefore, dress- 
 ing himself with punctiliousness, and even spruceness, he 
 took the Madison Avenue line of stages, and was soon in 
 front of the residence where he had so long acted as foot- 
 man. He could not resist the temptation of showing his 
 fine clothes to his old associates, stopped a moment at the 
 house, and called on the old butler who had replaced ''Bul- 
 ly" George, and had been kept by Mrs. Kirkbride when, 
 after the death of her husband, she made new arrangements 
 in her house, dismissing some now useless servants and 
 introducing only a new Irish chambermaid in the place of 
 Miss Yictorina. The new butler was surprised to see his 
 old acquaintance dressed in neat citizen's clothes, without 
 any mark of livery. 
 
 "Have you left," said he, "the service of young Mr. 
 Kirkbride?" 
 
 "His service, yes," answered John, "not his employ; I 
 am now his "confidential agent." 
 
 "Glad to hear," exclaimed the butler. "Do you come 
 on business? " 
 
 "Yes, responded John. "I come to free you from the 
 sight of those Irish boors in the shanty ; in five days' time 
 they shall not trouble you any more, as I bring them fair 
 and precise summons." 
 
 The remainder of the conversation need not be detailed, 
 but at the end of it John walked with great dignity across 
 the inside of the grounds, and was soon at the door of the 
 cottage. Knocking with great gravity and assurance, he was 
 admitted inside, and found only old Mrs. O' Byrne, who in- 
 vited him to sit down and say what he had to say. Mr. 
 John declined to sit down, but remaining on his feet he 
 stated with great dignity and emphasis "that in five days 
 precisely Mr. Frederick Kirkbride, owner of the premises, 
 would want them, and hoped that by that time the family 
 would have removed to other quarters." And, without 
 w^aiting for a rei^ly, he suddenly withdrew and left the old 
 lady to her reflections. 
 
 Meanwhile the news of the errand on which Master John 
 
A NEW DEAL OF CARDS ALL ABOUND, 223 
 
 had come, spread rapidly througli the Kirkbride mansion, 
 and Bridget soon carried it to the lady herself, who could 
 not believe it at all, but declared that the insolent ex-foot- 
 man had merely done it to scare the 0' Byrnes, and intended 
 it as a nice joke worthy of his coarseness and bitter nature. 
 She, however, left her room directly and ran to the cottage, 
 where she found poor Mrs. 0' Byrne all bewildered and 
 ready to cry. John had already left. 
 
 ''Do not believe a word of it, my dear Mrs. O' Byrne," 
 said the lady ; " my son will certainly make that impudent 
 varlet pay dear for his trick." And after some more ob- 
 servations of the kind, to the effect that Freddy would un- 
 doubtedly have spoken of it to her first, etc., etc., she left 
 the shanty, where the old woman felt more comfortable after 
 the assurances of Mrs. Kirkbride. 
 
 The evening soon came ; Mr. 0' Byrne, hearing from his 
 wife what had happened, believed firmly that there was no 
 hoax in the affair ; and. Con having precisely come with Mr. 
 Doyle to spend an hour or so with the family in the even- 
 ing, they all agreed that such was really the determination of 
 the young master, and the best they had to do was to look 
 immediately for other quarters. Con was not rich, although 
 he was beginning to earn some money ; old Mr. 0' Byrne 
 had regularly spent for the support of the family the wages 
 he received for his labor in the Park. Yet their condition 
 was not so forlorn as when they first came to the shanty. 
 Could they immediately find a suitable residence in the 
 neighborhood, there might not be great harm in the whole 
 business ; but if they did not find a place exactly in three 
 days to remove to it on the fourth, which was to be the fifth 
 from the summons. Con was positive that they might suffer 
 again from the weather, at the very moment that Mrs. 
 0' Byrne's cough was coming back, as is generally the case 
 in apparently-cured incipient consumption. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mrs. Kirkbride had dispatched a note to her 
 son, who expected it, and came in the evening with a calm 
 and smiling countenance. 
 
 "1 hope, my dear son," said the lady, "that you will 
 
224 ' LOUISA KIBKBBIDE. 
 
 properly reprimand your man, Jolin, for the trick he played 
 this morning on poor Mrs. 0' Byrne, by requesting the fami- 
 ly, in your name, to vacate their cottage within five days. 
 He had fairly scared the old lady, and I had a great deal of 
 trouble to quiet her." 
 
 ''It was not a trick, mother," replied the young gentle- 
 man ; "he merely carried a message from me." 
 
 "So you want them to leave wdthin five days ? But do 
 you know, my son, that I want them to stay longer V 
 
 "I am sorry, mother," the son said, quietly; "but I 
 have promised a friend who w^ishes to look at the ground, 
 with a view to purchase it, that next w^eek there will remain 
 no nuisance on it, and consequently the 0' Byrnes have to 
 leave." 
 
 "Do you begin so early to sell your father's real estate ? " 
 remarked Mrs. Kirkbride, with a great deal of surprise. 
 " I thought that, at least, before disposing of w^hat is so near 
 my own house, you would inquire of me if these new neigh- 
 bors would be agreeable to me." 
 
 "I quite forgot this, mother," replied the young gentle- 
 man ; " but the bargain is not yet concluded, and before it is, 
 I promise you that you shall know the name of the pur- 
 chaser ; but meanwhile the O' Byrnes must go." 
 
 "Thus you deprive me, sir," observed the poor mother, 
 "of the help I was receiving from Julia, who will certainly 
 not come to spend the evenings with me after they have 
 gone." 
 
 "Thus, madam, you attach the utmost importance to the 
 society of a girl without education," exclaimed Frederick; 
 "by-and-by, no respectable people will come to knock at 
 your door, and visit you." 
 
 " I can select my friends without your advice, sir," ejacu- 
 lated Mrs. Kirkbride with a great deal of suppressed feel- 
 ing ; "and I see that my suspicions were correct, and that 
 you have no heart, even for your mother. Your next step, 
 I suppose, will be to oblige me to leave my house." And 
 saying this, the lady left the dining-room, where they were 
 talking, and retired to her apartment, nearly heart-broken. 
 
A NEW DEAL OF CARDS ALL AROUND. 225 
 
 Julia came, as usual, a short time after, and it was with 
 tears in her eyes that the lady confessed her mistake, and 
 told the girl that really her parents must go. She hoped, 
 however, that they could find a better house in the neigh- 
 borhood, and she would herself pay the rent for them, as 
 she considered herself bound in duty to do, since it was for 
 her they had remained in the shanty so late in the season. 
 Julia went directly back to the cottage to announce this 
 unwelcome piece of news to her parents, and she found 
 there her brother and Mr. Doyle, w^ho had just arrived. 
 "I see," remarked the young man, "that this English 
 bully, John, is intent on pursuing us as far as his enmity 
 can go. I have failed in my endeavors, lately, to discover 
 his last wicked plot ; I hope, however, that with the help 
 of God, I will be more lucky another time, and that I will 
 finally succeed in unearthing his deep-laid schemes, and 
 securing for him his deserts. But meanwhile we must look 
 for other quarters." Mr. Doyle proposed first to take back 
 the family to James Street ; but Con would not hear of it, 
 as Dr. O'Donnell had declared it was a great good fortune 
 for Mrs. O' Byrne to have moved up town, in spite of the 
 real danger which attended her first removal. Julia, be- 
 sides, could not be of any more use to Mrs. Kirkbride, if 
 they went to James Street, and the family wished to show 
 their gratitude to the lady. It was, therefore, agreed that 
 Con would obtain permission to absent himself a couple of 
 days from the police headquarters and look for a convenient 
 locality. They could not expect to find apartments suited 
 to their purse and rank in life on the east side of Fifth 
 Avenue ; and so Cornelius O' Byrne wandered the first day 
 through the wilderness of the west side of Central Park in 
 search of a house not too far removed from the Kirkbride 
 mansion, and yet decent enough for Christian people to 
 dwell in. His search appeared at first to be perfectly fruit- 
 less. At the time of our story, this part of Manhattan 
 Island, situated near the finest pleasure grounds of the 
 whole continent, presented the spectacle of the utmost con- 
 fusion and wildness. Clumps of green trees in the midst of 
 
226 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 arid bowlders of every size ; thickets of underbrush growing 
 without order in marshy and swampy grounds ; large spaces 
 covered only with broken rocks, scarcely relieved by the 
 green of a few blades of grass ; hills of clay or sand and 
 gravel, rising from a dead level of dry soil ; here and there 
 a shanty or an old rickety frame house, painted long ago, 
 but now of an altogether indistinct color ; with goats, a few 
 pigs, and some badly kept cattle roaming at large, as un- 
 kempt camels in the deserts of the Orient ; finally, the only 
 regular lines visible in the universal confusion, were the 
 roads called Eighth, Mnth, and Tenth Avenues, scarcely 
 deserving such high-sounding names ; and the faintly per- 
 ceptible lines of broad flags destined to form the future 
 sidewalks of the cross-streets, were the only indications 
 remaining on the surface of the soil to show that surveyors 
 had passed there, and had fixed the outlines of those splen- 
 did maps hung up in all the real-estate offices of the city. 
 
 In this wilderness our young friend wandered the whole 
 day, and wherever he applied, he found that either shanty 
 or house was occupied, or if untenanted, the premises were 
 totally unfit for the habitation of human beings. On the 
 second day, the prospect at first appeared as unpromising 
 as the day before ; but finally, before evening, an old, yet 
 clean, small frame house was discovered on Sixty-ninth 
 Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. It was unoc- 
 cupied, and could be made comfortable ; the owner was 
 willing to rent it for $400 a year, but the whole of the fol- 
 lowing day was required to empty it of some old furniture, 
 and to clean it of a great deal of rubbish, so that the 
 O' Byrne family could not move into it before the last day 
 assigned to them by Frederick and his " confidential agent." 
 
 Everybody is aware that consumption is an insidious and 
 incurable disease ; although sometimes its progress seems 
 to be arrested for several years before the last and fatal 
 symptoms finally show themselves. In this case the begin- 
 ning of every winter invariably brings on a recurrence of 
 the usual signs : coughs, night-sweats, feverish flush, etc. 
 November had already arrived, and, even in her former 
 
A JN^BW DUAL OF CARDS ALL AROUND. 227 
 
 quarters, Mrs. 0' Byrne felt the inconvenience of chilly 
 nights and foggy days. In her transfer to the new resi- 
 dence of the family, much would depend on the wigather, 
 and when the day came it turned out to be one of the worst 
 that could be expected. The day previous it rained occa- 
 sionally, and a thick fog made the following night ex- 
 tremely unpleasant and dangerous to people suffering from 
 the lungs ; but on the morning of the last day it fairly 
 poured, and it was clear that the pouring would last at least 
 until evening. It was, therefore, nearly a repetition of the 
 former removal from James Street, and in spite of all possi- 
 ble precautions, carriage, blankets, loving arms, and sweet 
 attentions, when poor Mrs. O' Byrne reached her new dwell- 
 ing to be put directly to bed, all her former hacking cough, 
 with the dry heat of the skin, and the intense headache, 
 had openly come to rack her frame and jeopardize her life. 
 But after the first night, when the following day came with 
 a keen north wind, and a piercing blast, that new house 
 which had appeared really comfortable at first, turned out 
 to be almost the worst that could be chosen, on account of 
 the dampness, closeness, and attending unhealthiness of 
 small apartments closed for several months previously, and 
 scarcely open for a few hours before occupation ; the fires 
 that had been lit had not had time to penetrate with their 
 gentle heat the old wainscoting and cold plastering of the 
 rooms soaked, as it were, in wet vapor and unhealthy mi- 
 asmas. The following morning the poor patient appeared 
 to be exhausted and almost dying, and when Dr. Dillon 
 arrived he pronounced it an attack of pneumonia superin- 
 duced on lungs already affected with tubercular disease. 
 In his opinion there was scarcely any hope to save her life. 
 In spite of all science could do the symptoms were not 
 relieved ; and the clergyman was called in the afternoon of 
 the second day to administer the last rites of religion. 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, hearing of it, directly ordered her carriage, 
 and arrived just after the man of God had departed, and 
 left the poor patient calm in her mind but tortured in her 
 body. No need of depicting the terrible affliction of the 
 
228 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 lady, wlio could not lielp thinking almost aloud that her 
 son had killed the good old woman, and that the death of 
 so good a person could not but bring misfortune on the last 
 and unworthy scion of her house. When she was admitted 
 for a moment to the bedside, she seemed to ask her pardon 
 by the tears flowing from her eyes, and the tender words 
 which a woman alone can utter, and a woman alone can 
 appreciate. Mrs. 0' Byrne affectionately offered her hand 
 and merely said a word which her complete prostration 
 scarcely allowed her to finish. " I thank you, madam, sin- 
 cerely, for your kind attention, and all you have done for 
 us ; if God receives me be sure I will pray for you and 
 yours^^^ — with an evident emphasis on the last word. The 
 doctor had recommended the most complete rest ; so the 
 lady withdrew to her house ; and her son did well not to 
 show himself in her presence during a whole week ; she 
 would have openly upbraided him as a murderer. 
 
 Meanwhile, Con and Julia remained in the house where 
 they intended to spend the night. They were present with 
 their old father when, shortly before daybreak, Mrs. 0' Byrne 
 passed gently away, and left in their hands only a corpse, 
 but the corpse of a Fitzgerald worthy of respect as de- 
 scended from a long line of Christian ancestors. A very 
 simple funeral took place on the third day ; and an obscure 
 grave in Calvary Cemetery received the remains which there 
 await the day of resurrection. 
 
 Thus all the good or bad actors figuring on the stage of 
 this story have taken positions far in advance of, and very 
 different from those they had at the beginning. It is pro- 
 perly *^ a new deal of cards all around."" 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 ME. COENELIUS o'bYRNE's FIEST OPEEATIONS AS A 
 DETECTIVE. 
 
 In the midst of his multifarious occupations, Cornelius 
 0' Byrne had found time to reflect on all the details of the 
 history of his family in the New World. The smallest par- 
 ticulars of the incidents which have been so far related, and 
 many besides which have been left out, were deeply en- 
 graved in his memory, because his fond domestic affection 
 gave more interest in his heart of hearts to whatever had 
 any reference to his parents and to Julia than to all other 
 facts, even those connected with his new functions. He had 
 received lately a formal appointment to fill a vacancy in the 
 famous corps of New York detectives. It is said that ''new 
 brooms always sweep clean;" but, besides the profound 
 truth of this homely adage, there was in Con the voice of a 
 conscience always urging him to do his duty. 
 
 All the circumstances of the various plots which have 
 been unfolded before the reader's eyes pointed, in his opin- 
 ion, to a single designer. This designer, he knew from 
 Clarke, was one of the inmates of the Kirkbride mansion ; 
 and, after reviewing them all in his mind, one after the 
 other, he felt sure that John must have been primarily the 
 man, even in the late outrage. In the last affair, it is true, 
 the eviction from the cottage — the most cruel, in his opinion, 
 because it had evidently caused the death of his mother — 
 there could be no doubt that Mr. Frederick Kirkbride was 
 in conspiracy with John. Was it so in the previous affairs ? 
 He could not say, and he would scarcely have dared to be- 
 lieve that it was truly so in all of them, at least. 
 
 229 
 
230 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 This being supposed, he could not but reflect that if, as a 
 Christian, he was bound to forgive what was done or at- 
 tempted against himself, he could in safe conscience unre- 
 servedly follow his inclination to pursue those who had 
 persecuted his mother and his sister, and who were evidently 
 intent on going on in their wicked course. He was, more- 
 over, convinced that they were villains, and as his profes- 
 sion made it a duty for him to look after villainy and crime, 
 to unearth them, in whatever spot they might lurk and hide 
 themselves, and to hand them over to the tender mercies of 
 human justice, he made up his mind to follow out, in all 
 the intricacies of their knavery, these two precious indi- 
 viduals. 
 
 Nevertheless, as he was extremely prudent for his age, 
 and after all he felt a kind of fear that he might fall into a 
 mistake in this case, whatever might be in appearance the 
 certainty of his inductions, he thought he would begin with 
 making assurance doubly sure, by obtaining the testimony 
 of some one who had taken some part, however small, in 
 those incidents. There were several of them, in the house 
 and out of it, and he thought that, by offering them some 
 inducement, of such a nature as to act on the low feelings 
 of these people, he would surely acquire the proof that his 
 suspicions were not unfounded. As soon as his first footing 
 in his new path was perfectly secured, and he had no fear 
 of committing a fatal blunder at the start, he would develop 
 his plans, and vigorously counteract the nefarious plots of 
 these two associates in mischief. He was sure that, as they 
 lodged in a public house, although it was a palace, he could 
 easily enough succeed in placing before the public what had 
 been so far concealed in the minds of two pernicious plot- 
 ters. We must leave him arranging his plans to the best 
 of his ability, and turn our eyes, for a moment, in another 
 direction. 
 
 On the same day, about this time, Mr. K. Kirkbride's 
 former attorney received two short notes, which the course 
 of our story requires us to mention. The former was from 
 the widow, and ran thus : 
 
(( 
 
 MR. CORNELIUS 0' BYRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 231 
 
 "Maj)ison Avenue, Nov. — , 186-. 
 
 My dear Mr. Wilsox : — In my new position, I shall 
 occasionally require legal advice, and the little property I 
 own will want a better supervisor than I can be. Would 
 you please have the kindness to come and see me for this 
 purpose ? You will greatly oblige, 
 ''Yours, respectfully, 
 
 "Louisa Kirkbride." 
 
 The other note came from a very different quarter, and 
 we copy it verbatim^ like the first : 
 
 " Great Central Hotel, Nov. — , 186-. 
 "Sir; — Please hand over to Mr. Dio Reckoning the pa- 
 pers my lamented father placed in your hands, and an 
 abstract of the state of his affairs at the moment of his 
 death. I know how satisfied he always expressed himself 
 with the services you rendered him ; and you will please 
 believe that for this I am, as I ought to be, personally 
 thankful. 
 
 "Respectfully, youys, 
 
 ' ' Frederick Kirkbride. ' ' 
 
 Though Mr. Wilson waited patiently for the coming of 
 Mr. D. Reckoning, he did not postpone his visit to the 
 lady, but was with her that very evening. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride felt the inconvenience of occupying alone 
 so large a building, which obliged her to keep a more ex- 
 pensive establishment than she wished to have. She pre- 
 ferred to rent it and go to live in a smaller house, where 
 three or four servants would sufiice. She desired it to be 
 near the Park, not far from her actual residence ; not in 
 Madison nor Fifth Avenue, but near either of them, in 
 some of the streets lately laid out. She also gave the attor- 
 ney directions to see that her annuity should be paid regu- 
 larly. 
 
 " I am not afraid," she said, " that Frederick will ever be 
 unfaithful to this obligation ; but with the administration 
 
232 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 of SO large a fortune, I know that he will find himself in a 
 sea of business and trouble, and he might not be always 
 ready at the time I shall want my money. This would in- 
 convenience me a great deal, as I am always nervous if I 
 cannot be punctual and prompt in all my payments." 
 
 "Would it be presumptuous in me, madam," said the 
 gentleman, "to inquire how Mr. Kirkbride made up his 
 mind to leave such a complicated business and such an 
 amount of property to a very young man, without any con- 
 trol whatever?" 
 
 "My husband," replied the lady, "had always a great 
 idea of the ability of his son, and he thought he might be- 
 come a great merchant. Had he lived longer he might have 
 modified his will ; but you know the circumstances of his 
 demise, which have left me forlorn and desolate." 
 
 "Are you sure, madam," retorted the attorney, " that he 
 left no other will, or at least no codicil whatever ? " 
 
 "If he had he would have sent it to you, I suppose," 
 Mrs. Kirkbride said, innocently ; "all his other papers are 
 in the hands of my son, and I have with me only the letters 
 I received from him during his life." 
 
 The lady did not offer to show the gentleman any of 
 them, particularly the last ; and the attorney thought it 
 would not have been proper in him to ask to have a look 
 at these letters. 
 
 The second note received by the attorney will appear 
 natural enough to the reader, if he reflects that young Kirk- 
 bride could not but dislike a man who, for all he knew, 
 must have become acquainted with some at least of the trou- 
 bles he had occasioned to his father during his life. Had 
 he not, moreover, in his own possession, a parcel directed 
 to that gentleman, which a wretched servant had placed in 
 his hands, instead of sending it to its address ? He had not 
 yet dared to destroy it, as he was sure to do before long ; 
 but he had slyly opened the package, and he knew the con- 
 tents of the pai)er, which left the whole control of the fami- 
 ly property to his mother, until his marriage with a person 
 approved of by her. If he could have blotted out, not alone 
 
MR. CORNELIUS 0' BYRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 233 
 
 the existence, but the memory even, of that detested ' ' at- 
 torney," he would have been free from an intolerable moral 
 burden which he had to bear. He had, therefore, chosen 
 a new legal adviser, and from the respectability and real 
 integrity of the gentleman selected by his father, he had 
 fallen to the intriguing ability of a third-rate lawyer, by 
 the name of Dio Reckoning. 
 
 The visit of the two legal gentlemen was short and pointed. 
 The accounts were all ready, and had been so for a week 
 before ; they were made out with punctuality and fairness ; 
 and Mr. D. Reckoning had to sign a receipt in full. Thus 
 all the traditional information treasured up in the memory 
 of the first attorney was lost to the second, who did not 
 even ask for it ; was lost, consequently, to Frederick Kirk- 
 bride, who did not know what to make of several state- 
 ments mentioned in his father's accounts. There was, in 
 particular, a sum of one hundred thousand dollars paid by 
 Mr. R. Kirkbride the very day he left for Saratoga, men- 
 tioned in his account book with merely the name Ernst 
 Bauer written in pencil. What did it mean ? Mr. E. Bauer's 
 office could be found in the directory, but how could he be 
 approached and asked the object of this heavy payment ? 
 Was the payment really made to him ? The check returned 
 from the bank was in favor of two names unknown to the 
 directory. These were puzzling questions ; and several 
 others were raised by the books of the late merchant on 
 which his former attorney might have thrown light ; but 
 the idea of going to that source of information was not to be 
 thought of, and Mr. F. Kirkbride preferred to remain unin- 
 formed. 
 
 Every one can see that all was not rose-colored in the 
 splendid apartments of the Great Central Hotel. But there 
 was, on the other ide, a great activity displayed at police 
 headquarters, to which our attention must be directed for 
 a moment. Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne had begun to mature 
 his plans ; but he soon found that they would be neces- 
 sarily incomplete, unless he called to his help not only some 
 more skillful man, but chiefly one who should have at his 
 
234 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 disposal more means than lie possessed. Money is the 
 sinew, not only of war, but likewise of police administration, 
 and he had none or very little of it. He had, it is true, 
 already engaged two able and willing associates : our former 
 friend Mr. James Ahem, and another young Irishman by 
 the name of Kyran Talty. To the first Mr. 0' Byrne said: 
 "You are well known to that rascally John, and when- 
 ever you meet him in that big hotel, if he comes in by 
 one door you must immediately go out by another ; and do 
 it so quick that he does not even see you ; but young Kirk- 
 bride knows you as little as any man you meet in the street. 
 Try to find out whom he habitually receives, how he spends 
 his evenings, and, if possible, what are his projects, his in- 
 tended victims, and his ready tools in his infamous plots. 
 This, at first sight, looks like a detestable office ; but in our 
 w^orld it is often the only means of securing the peace and 
 happiness of worthy people ; and if not undertaken and 
 done, society will be at the mercy of rogues and of villains. 
 As to you, Talty, follow John, who does not know you ; 
 he will take you to places less refined than the great hotel, 
 the opera house, and the splendid boudoirs of gilded beau- 
 ties ; you may find him occasionally visiting escaped con- 
 victs, gamblers, and rascally stock-brokers ; wherever he 
 leads you, go, if you can enter without exciting his suspi- 
 cions ; but he is keen as well as unscrupulous. So be prudent, 
 and keep your mouth shut, your eyes and your ears open." 
 But with all this, Cornelius 0' Byrne felt that he must 
 soar higher and communicate what he knew and what he 
 wished to the district attorney, who always continued to be 
 friendly, after having opened for him this new position. 
 He went, therefore, to his office, and related briefly what we 
 know already, more in detail. The legal officer saw the im- 
 portance of some circumstances which 0' Byrne had not and 
 could not follow out strictly enough. Some one must be 
 sent north. The lawyer who had been called by Mr. Kirk- 
 bride a few days before his death, must be applied to ; and 
 a note from the District Attorney of New York was sure to 
 bring him out. The note was carried by a detective. 
 
MR, G0IINELIU8 a BYRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 235 
 
 The gentleman was courteous to the person sent to him ; 
 but he would not discover by word of mouth what he knew ; 
 he merely wrote it in a confidential letter to the district 
 attorney. This officer, therefore, heard that, a few days be- 
 fore the attack which had carried away Mr. Kirkbride, this 
 gentleman had expressed the intention of changing his 
 will, then in the hands of his attorney in New York ; that 
 he had written and executed a codicil, making radical alter- 
 ations in that legal instrument. The lawyer could not say 
 why the paper had not been sent to New York ; the mail 
 left the place only twice a week ; but the gentleman could 
 have dispatched an express -messenger to the nearest post 
 office. As he had not done so, was it a proof that he had 
 again changed his mind after drawing up the paper ; and, 
 perhaps, destroyed it ? The lawyer could not say. In dic- 
 tating and executing the codicil, the gentleman appeared a 
 prey to violent contending emotions, but was perfectly sane. 
 Thus the letter concluded. The district attorney saw the 
 impossibility of fixing the crime legally on those he really 
 suspected. At any rate, if the paper came by improper 
 means into the possession of Mr. F. Kirkbride, this young 
 man could as easily destroy it as conceal it, and he had 
 probably done so. The only thing worth attempting was to 
 follow him closely, and discover if he would not be guilty 
 of some new villainy, after having committed a first one of 
 that importance, in case he had done it. 
 
 Thus, without knowing it, Mr. Frederick was ''the ob- 
 served of many observers;" but, owing to his happy ig- 
 norance, he moved in his new gilded sphere with all the 
 freedom of a young man who could hold up his head un- 
 blushingly before the whole world. 
 
 He had already, as we saw, commenced his operations at 
 the exchange, without, however, creating any noise or at- 
 tracting any attention ; so that his partners in Beaver Street 
 continued to pay him their unfeigned respects as the head 
 of the firm. The life of a merchant, nevertheless, became 
 more and more uncongenial to his tastes ; and he made up 
 his mind soon to make a swoop upon the big hive in Wall 
 
236 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE, 
 
 Street, and to commence his operations by a bold stroke 
 against his former '' friend," O'Tee, against whom he al- 
 ways kept a grudge. To be more sure of success, he needed 
 to know beforehand what cards O'Tee was playing, and 
 there was no better means to do it than by employing 
 ''honest'' John, whom O'Tee knew only as a former jockey 
 and footman, and whom he could not suspect of possessing 
 any ability for gambling in stocks ; nay, even for knowing 
 the game. He thought the fellow was idle, and came to 
 the stock exchange to spend an hour or two every day as 
 many others did. Day after day, therefore, the "confiden- 
 tial agent" of Mr. F. Kirkbride was in the building; not 
 too near Mr. O' Tee's well-known place, yet near enough to 
 follow his operations, and have an inkling, at least, of what 
 he was about. The theoretical lessons he received every 
 evening from his employer were fast making an adept of 
 him ; and everybody knows, we suppose, that in that pro- 
 fession, when natural acuteness and talent is joined to base- 
 ness and roguery, the progress is rapid, and the success 
 certain. John had positive instructions never to bet him- 
 self, except on an insignificant amount of small shares, 
 always within his means, so that his master woul'd never be 
 bound to become his security. His ofiice was to observe 
 and report ; and he so faithfully acquitted himself of his 
 duty, that in a little more than eight days 0' Tee's strong and 
 weak points were perfectly well known to Frederick, who 
 finally made up his mind to appear openly on the gambling 
 stage, and astonish the city of New York by his brilliant 
 operations. He had lately sold several parcels of valuable 
 real estate, and had at his command a large amount of 
 money which he intended to use to overwhelm his victim. 
 It was the first time that he himself put in practice the new 
 theory, which soon after was so brilliantly carried into ex- 
 ecution by Mr. James Friskey, and known as the "art of 
 cornering," by which a sudden and unexpected monopoly 
 is at once created in any given line of shares, stocks, gold, 
 etc., by which one or more victims, nay, in the end, the 
 whole community of capitalists and merchants, are at the 
 
MR. CORNELIUS 0' BYRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 237 
 
 mercy of a few successful gamblers ; and ruin seems to 
 have in a moment overtaken a prosperous and happy peo- 
 ple. This is no exaggeration, and ^vill soon be better ex- 
 plained. 
 
 The comer in which Mr. O'Tee found himself, at two 
 o'clock in the afternoon of a certain day, was so tight, that 
 the poor man, in a few hours, not only lost all his gains of 
 the last five months, but beheld ^vith horror the prospect 
 of finding himself in a week or two indebted to an amount 
 far beyond his means. In fact, bankruptcy stared him in 
 the face ; and if he had not, in spite of his long degeneracy, 
 still kept something of the buoyancy of an Irishman, he 
 might have gone to take a hearty last dinner, and blow out 
 his brains at the end of it. We may assure our readers 
 that he did not feel in the least inclined to do so ; but he 
 felt strongly disposed to challenge Mr. Frederick ; and had 
 he met him again in that lonely road in the Park, late in 
 the evening, as we had the pleasure of meeting him and 
 hearing his animated conversation A\'ith his "friend," he 
 would have, at the very least, attempted to give him a 
 sound but very ungentlemanly thrashing. 
 
 The success of young Kirkbride was so overwhelming 
 that all the morning papers of the following day spoke of 
 it ; and when he came as usual to his oflBce in Beaver Street, 
 his partners, Mr. T. Bland chiefly, did not really know how 
 to receive him. Were they to congratulate him on his tri- 
 umph, or to remonstrate with him on this new line of busi- 
 ness in which he was already becoming so notorious ? 
 
 But this whirling and guilty world is too exciting for our 
 taste, if it is not for that of our readers ; and it is with 
 heartfelt pleasure that we are summoned to a very differ- 
 ent scene enacted in a very different part of the city ; for 
 we cannot leave the O' Byrne family so long in the dark. 
 We have lately spoken only of our friend Con. What be- 
 came of his father and sister since the death of the old 
 woman ? We are sure that all those who take the trouble 
 of perusing these pages have already several times asked 
 themselves this question. But the answer ought to have 
 
238 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 presented itseK naturally to the mind of all those who were 
 prompted to ask the question. Julia, having no more her 
 mother to care for, could do nothing better than to go and 
 live with Mrs. Kirkbride ; old Mr. O' Byrne naturally was 
 attracted down town by his son and his constant friend 
 Mr. Doyle ; so that a new disposition of parties could have 
 been made by our readers without the necessity of our tell- 
 ing it ; and the miserable frame house which it was so diffi- 
 cult to find, is yet "to let;" and anyone can occupy it 
 who is willing to pay yearl}^ four hundred dollars or less. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, in a month's time after her interview Avith 
 her new attorney, had left Madison Avenue, and occupied 
 a much smaller house, but comfortable, pleasant, and a 
 great deal more to her taste. She had with her Julia, 
 Bridget, an Irish chambermaid, and the little Rosa, who was 
 growing to be a plump and nice girl of sixteen. The lady 
 had dismissed all her other servants, except her coachman. 
 We will, by-and-by, know the ways of this house ; but 
 James Street ought not to be neglected, as there are three 
 fine men in it, such that few, perhaps, of like worth could 
 be found in the Great Central Hotel. 
 
 They were, one evening, in Mr. Doyle's largest room; 
 this gentleman and the elder 0' Byrne smoking their pipes, 
 and young Con seated gravely as became his situation. 
 Mr. Doyle continued to be employed in Beaver Street ; the 
 new head of the firm not having thought proper to remove 
 him from an establishment in which he took but a mode- 
 rate interest. 
 
 "AVell, Con," said old O'Byrne to his son, '' do you find 
 in your place the dangers which I anticipated, and for 
 which I was afraid to let you enter it ?" 
 
 " Not exactly," answered the son ; "you were chiefly con- 
 cerned, dear father, about the bad conij^any I might meet, 
 chiefly bad women living in bad houses ; this is not in my 
 department. The training the district attorney directed 
 me to receive, fits me for catching larger fish. I have to 
 look after important rogues; swindlers on a large scale; 
 defaulters in public and private establishments ; all those 
 
MR. CORNELIUS 0' BYRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 339 
 
 men who want to make a rapid fortune by filling their cof- 
 fers with the property of others, either the property of rich 
 merchants, as burglars do ; or that of the firms which em- 
 ploy them as clerks, bookkeepers, etc. ; or of the Govern- 
 ment itself, as any rascal who has obtained by intrigue an 
 office which he looks upon as a sure means of soon becom- 
 ing rich at the public expense. I begin to take a deep in- 
 terest in my avocation ; as it opens before my eyes views of 
 which I was before perfectly ignorant, and which show me 
 the world as an immense swindling concern in which nearly 
 every one is only intent on robbing everybody else. This, 
 I confess, is not a great danger and strong temptation for 
 me, as I perceive that not a single one of them is in truth 
 more happy, even after he has fully succeeded ; and inde- 
 pendently of religion — which, thank God, I still continue to 
 practice, and ever shall if God spares me — independently, I 
 say, of the precepts of religion, which teU me plainly not to 
 steal, I become every day more convinced that the best way 
 for a man to live contented is to acquire a competency by 
 fair means, and avoid all the tricks forbidden by the sev- 
 enth commandment. 
 
 ''Astonished at some of my late discoveries, which have 
 proved to me that in this country there is not a single class 
 of men proof against the thirst for gold ; that even some of 
 the first men in the state run unblushingly the race of cor- 
 ruption, and rob the public coffers as if they were common 
 property ; I inquired lately of the district attorney — who, 
 although not a Catholic, has all the strictness of one in the 
 matter of honesty — if it had always been so, and if in 
 the time of Washington and his compeers, the same was 
 practiced by public men, as well as by private merchants, 
 manufacturers, clerks, etc. He told me most positively, 
 No ! He said that at all times there have been men intent on 
 making money at the expense of others, as covetousness is 
 a common perverse inclination of human nature ; but that 
 it is only a few years back that the disease has spread 
 among all classes and tainted even those who ought to set 
 the people the example of integrity. ' I was glad to hear it,' 
 
240 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 I said, ' because, had it been otherwise, had it been so from 
 the beginning of this republic, it would be a proof that it is 
 possible for a* state to last in the midst of universal corrup- 
 tion ; and then scarcely a hope of a change for the better 
 could be entertained, as scarcely anybody would perceive 
 the importance of it ; but in the contrary case, the evil 
 w^ould soon become so flagrant that there would finally be 
 a general outcry against a state of things which supposed 
 each one to be set against all the others.' The gentleman 
 was good enough to tell me that I had uttered a profound 
 saying ; but I replied that it was only a very simple and 
 rational view of the matter." 
 
 "I am very glad. Con," said the father, ''that you are 
 not even tempted either against the sixth commandment, or 
 against the seventh ; but be sure, my boy, that it is your 
 religion that preserves you. The district attorney, as you 
 call the gentleman that is in the way of making you, may 
 be a man of honesty, ' although not a Catholic,' as you say, 
 but I maintain that there are mighty few of that sort, and 
 that whoever does not examine his conscience at night is a 
 poor observer of the Decalogue even if he be a Catholic." 
 
 "You are right there, father," exclaimed Con; "fori 
 know some Catholics who are not much more scrupulous 
 than others with regard to the seventh precept ; but as they 
 never go to confession, it is easy to conclude that they 
 never examine their conscience ; and I put it to both of you, 
 What good can it do them if they don' t do what they know 
 they ought to do ? They may belong to the true religion 
 by 'faith,' but they do not belong to it by 'good works ;' 
 and as we are not Protestants, thank God ! ' good works ' 
 for us are as important for salvation as ' faith.' " 
 
 This remark tickled good Mr. Doyle, who laughed out- 
 right and said : ' I will keep in my memory. Con, the dis- 
 tinction between ' faith ' and ' good works ' in the way you 
 have put it ; and whenever I repeat it I am sure to ' bring 
 down the house.' But in what you have said besides, I 
 wonder at one thing : that you have not spoken of politics. 
 I thought you would remark that the great swindlers and 
 
MR. CORNELIUS 0' BYRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 241 
 
 robbers are all of them republicans, bnt that true demo- 
 crats keep brightly on the line of honor." 
 
 ''I see," replied Con, *'that you are still riding your 
 hobby, Mr. Doyle. I see great rogues in both parties ; I 
 must say, however, that lately the republican side has the 
 best of it in point of roguery ; and if they continue the way 
 they go, they will break down not only the Government but 
 society itself. Hence, be sure, my dear sir, that when I 
 have a vote, I shall not cast it for any of them, and I have 
 no doubt that I will find plenty democrats of integrity to 
 vote for." 
 
 " Hurrah ! " cried out Mr. Doyle ; "I knew that you be- 
 longed to the old stock, and that you would not stain your 
 name and country with any bad associations. But, in con- 
 clusion, I must say that I agree perfectly well with your 
 father and with you ; the important thing is to remain truly 
 religious ; then the practice of the Decalogue is sure to 
 follow, and with it a sounder integrity than that of the 
 mere philosopher." 
 
 At this stage of the conversation, somebody knocked at 
 the door, and the call being answered, our Mend, young 
 Kyran Talty, entered, and said that he wished to see Mr. 
 Cornelius C Byrne in private. This young gentleman went 
 out, therefore, and the two old cronies, shortly after this, 
 said their prayers and went to bed. 
 
 At the door of the house James Ahern was standing, wait- 
 ing for his two friends, who soon joined him, when they all 
 went up James Street to Chatham, thence to the police 
 station house at the Park, where, being well known, they 
 were allowed to enter a private room and have a talk to- 
 gether. 
 
 For several days the two young Irishmen had been very 
 busy following the instructions of Cornelius O' Byrne. 
 Ahern had found Aladdin's palace ; Talty, a rogue's den ; 
 and as the real state of things had been perfectly ascer- 
 tained only late that evening, they both came to report 
 without losing a moment. 
 16 
 
242 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 Ahern, who was enjoined to look after Mr. Frederick, 
 had very soon fonnd that, except the rather short time he 
 kept in the company of some friends at the Great Central 
 Hotel, his evenings, and even nights, were often passed in- 
 side of a splendid house far up town. Looking in the Elite 
 
 Directory he saw there the names of two ladies : Mrs. M , 
 
 and Miss A ; nothing more. In rambling around the 
 
 block, during the day, he entered into conversation with a 
 coachman — evidently a Milesian — who was attending to his 
 duty in the private stables of a gentleman living near by ; 
 and he learned from him that those two ladies were well 
 known in the neighborhood, although they were said to 
 visit nobody. The old one was called the aunt of the young 
 one, who was, indeed, one of the most beautiful and refined 
 persons of the city. They were foreigners, either from Italy 
 or Spain — so people pretended, at least — and most people 
 in the neighborhood thought they were very rich in their 
 own country, and had come to spend their money in the 
 New World. Others, few in number, laughed at this inno- 
 cent belief — they were bad tongues surely. According to 
 them, those two females, the young one chiefly, possessed 
 nothing except refinement and beauty ; yet they lived in 
 splendor, but in perfect seclusion. All the expenses of the 
 house, which must be very large, were borne, according to 
 the same slanderous tongues, by a young gentleman well 
 known in the city ; but the honest Milesian would not tell 
 the name, as he was sure it was all calumny. 
 
 Of course. Ahem had his own opinion on the subject, and 
 came to report it to his friend Con. He had taken informa- 
 tion from other neighbors, and ascertained that the cost of 
 supporting such an establishment must be enormous. There 
 were, at least, ten servants in the house ; half a dozen very 
 fine horses ; carriages of every description, and most costly. 
 Often, late dinners were given to a large company ; but that 
 company was mixed and nondescript. It was not, there- 
 fore, a rich family establishment with its open connections 
 with the outside world ; its regular lists of friends and ac- 
 quaintances invited aboveboard to its receptions and soirees, 
 
MR. CORNELIUS 0' BYRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 243 
 
 managed by an economical mistress of tlie house, limiting the 
 sum total of her expenses to the known revenue of her hus- 
 band. It was another Psyche's palace, but not maintained 
 by the fantastical fairy funds. A young man' s revenue had 
 to suffice for all this extravagance. 
 
 When Ahern had finished his statement : 
 
 "What you have done, Jim, amounts to nothing," said 
 Con. ' ' Mr. Frederick Kirkbride can do with his money what 
 he pleases, provided he does not employ it for such crimes 
 as society punishes. You will do well to keep this to your- 
 self, and not to speak of it to anybody." 
 
 "But I thought," interrupted Ahern, "that you would, 
 at least, let his mother know, that she might interpose her 
 authority." 
 
 "Tut, tut, man," ejaculated Con. "The poor lady has 
 as much power over the young scamp as you or I. Turn 
 your observations in another direction, and try to find what 
 the young man discusses with his friends in the Great 
 Central Hotel ; his palace up town will furnish you nothing 
 worthy of your trouble ; and, I repeat my injunction, not to 
 say a word of it to anybody." 
 
 Mr. Ahern was not very much elated with the result of 
 his three or four days' labors, and promised himself to limit 
 his future peregrinations to a narrower circle. As to our 
 friend Con, he merely exclaimed in his own mind, without 
 letting anybody hear it : 
 
 "And it is for this, that Frederick abandons his mother 
 to contempt and neglect ! He lavishes the wealth amassed 
 by his father on a strumpet, and does not care for the 
 mother who nursed him and brought him up ! " 
 
 We have seen Aladdin's palace without even looking at 
 it ; let us attend to the rogue's den, which may turn out in 
 fact to be more interesting. 
 
 Talty reported to Con, that he had found John engaged 
 in two nice little operations ; the first, at the stock ex- 
 change, the second, in a lair of ruffians in Greene Street. 
 This was a more promising field for the keen detective. 
 At the stock exchange, where John appeared to be an idle 
 
244 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 frequenter, Talty was sure tliat tlie fellow was spotting an 
 Irish broker by the name of O'Tee, the same who had lost 
 so heavily on a late occasion ; and as the man who had 
 profited by his loss was Mr. Kirkbride, Talty was sure that 
 John was a tool engaged for that nefarious object. Corne- 
 lius 0' Byrne saw at once that the foolish Irish bird, not 
 having been altogether plucked on the first occasion, the 
 two worthy plotters were still preparing to finish him up. 
 
 ''Look here," said Con ; ''I would like, indeed, to oblige 
 O'Tee, as against Frederick and John, although I have a 
 poor regard for an Irishman who turns gambler ; but I can 
 do nothing in the matter, since the occupation of the two 
 parties is, though contrary to morality, tolerated by so- 
 ciety ; and, as both are engaged in a tricky trade, let each 
 of them protect himself against the tricks of the other. If, 
 however, you like, friend Talty, to warn O'Tee of his dan- 
 ger, you can do so at your own peril ; and, if John is treated 
 properly on that occasion, provided his bones are not alto- 
 gether smashed, I do not see that the friends of right and 
 good morals ought to be very much concerned about it. 
 Now let us hear about the 'lair in Greene Street.' " 
 
 Then the young Irishman related that, happening to 
 pass accidentally in that interesting district, he espied John, 
 who entered slyly one of the many low public houses in the 
 neighborhood. He followed him shortly after, and saw him 
 already in the company of another. Sitting down at some 
 distance, he called for a drink and the papers of the day, 
 and soon appeared to be deeply interested in their contents. 
 Then the conversation between the two friends became more 
 animated, and he heard several times the words " Irish girl," 
 and the number and street of a house which corresponded 
 exactly with the house where Julia lived vdth. Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride. John's companion was a low-browed rufiian, whose 
 language was not evidently very refined and grammatical, 
 since Talty could never understand a word of what he said, 
 and several other peculiarities of the man, which he men- 
 tioned, convinced Con that it was no other than Schwitz, 
 the outlaw. When they separated, they agreed to meet on 
 
MR, CORNELIUS 0' BYRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 245 
 
 a certain day, at dusk, in a lonely place in the northern 
 part of the city — not for an attack, to which the stranger 
 seemed to be strongly disinclined, but for a final discussion 
 of the matter. Talty was sure that John gave money to the 
 other in going away. 
 
 "You are indeed a jewel ! " exclaimed Con. "I must be 
 vdth you at that other meeting, and I hope we shall spot 
 and cage two villains." 
 
 But, meanwhile, Mr. Talty went to pay a private visit of 
 his own to Mr. O' Tee, and introduced himself in rather a 
 characteristic way : ' ' You are an Irishman, sir, are you 
 not?" 
 
 " I think I am, sir ; what do you want of me ? " 
 
 " I want nothing of you, as I am not a stock gambler, but 
 for the sake of old Ireland, which you ought to love, I come 
 to warn you of a danger." 
 
 O'Tee did not know first if he ought to resent what he 
 considered an altogether insolent and insulting tone, or listen 
 without anger to so strange a visitor ; but after a moment, 
 reflecting on the queer ways of some of his countrymen, he 
 forced himself to smile, and said : "The interest you take 
 in me, sir, by coming to Svarn me of a danger,' is little in 
 keeping with your speech ; however, talk on ; I am listen- 
 ing." 
 
 "Have you remarked," inquired our young friend, "a 
 fellow, formerly a footman in Mr. Kirkbride's house, who 
 now goes regularly to the exchange, and sits in your neigh- 
 borhood ? ' ' 
 
 "I have," said Mr. O'Tee, "but what danger can I fear 
 from him?" 
 
 "He spots you, sir, and spies you out ; he is more keen 
 than you think, and knows all the inside of your game, to 
 report it to his master, who has already plucked you, and 
 intends to pluck you of your other feathers." 
 
 " Is that possible ? " ejaculated Mr. O'Tee. 
 
 "It is a fact," sternly replied young Talty. "I have 
 told you all I had to communicate, and so good-by." 
 
 O'Tee was bewildered, reflected on all he had previously 
 
246 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 observed of the conduct of the ex-footman, and finally be- 
 came convinced of the truth of this warning. He took 
 immediate measures to prevent further mischief on the part 
 of John. There was no question of a challenge here ; it was 
 merely to be a caning. He procured, therefore, a strong 
 but light rattan, and next time he went to the exchange he 
 took it, in appearance carelessly, instead of the little tiny 
 switch which it was then the fashion for young men to 
 carry. He occasionally glanced at John, without seeming to 
 notice him ; and only took care to manage his business so as 
 to throw the detestable spy altogether out of the right track ; 
 and when the heat of business was over, he went out first, 
 and waited patiently outside for the appearance of the fellow. 
 
 One can easily imagine what took place in the street. A 
 ring was soon formed around the broker and his victim, who, 
 being naturally a coward, and having no means of defense 
 except his fists, received such an effective thrashing that 
 when O'Tee left him alone, some of the bystanders had to 
 carry him to a hack, by which he was taken to the Great 
 Central Hotel. He had to spend more than a week in his 
 bed, under the care of a surgeon, for the cure of a number 
 of long and narrow blisters, raised all over his body by 
 0' Tee's rattan. 
 
 The only drawback to this affair, in the eyes of Mr. Cor- 
 nelius O' Byrne, was that it postponed the interview between 
 John and Schwitz ; and Talty had to be again on the watch, 
 after John's recovery, to find out when the two ruffians 
 would meet again. 
 
 But Mr. O'Tee was not satisfied with the heavy whipping 
 infiicted on John ; he saw clearly that his greatest enemy 
 was the master, and not the valet ; he remembered acutely 
 the trick played on him in Sixth Avenue, and the conse- 
 quent loss he had sustained at the exchange on that occa- 
 sion ; he was keenly alive to his present precarious situation. 
 Our readers remember that, when he was lately plucked so 
 cruelly, he foresaw that, in consequence of his actual loss, 
 he would, in a couj^le of weeks, find himself short in several 
 heavy contracts, and ruin stared him in the face. A late 
 
MB. CORNELIUS O'BTRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 247 
 
 turn in the funds had somewhat modified his apprehensions. 
 He might yet weather the storm, if he used much caution 
 and prudence ; but, in the present excited state of his feel- 
 ings, he desired not only to save himself, but to turn the 
 scales on his enemy, and make him bleed copiously. He 
 had friends, many ; he went directly to see them, and detailed 
 what he knew of the infamous tricks of his antagonist. Mr. 
 F. Kirkbride was a common enemy, whom all had interest 
 to put down, since, not satisfied with the enormous chance 
 his large capital gave him, he resorted to low cunning and 
 treachery to scatter ruin around, and deprive of a living 
 men who had a right to the fruit of their industry and skill. 
 To-day the young rich merchant was intent on the destruc- 
 tion of O'Tee alone; as soon as he had finished him, he 
 would turn his murderous attentions on another. All must 
 club together to prevent him from doing mischief. 
 
 Thus the excited O'Tee succeeded in gathering the ele- 
 ments of a furious storm around the devoted head of Fred- 
 erick, who did not suspect it in the least, and thought, on 
 the contrary, that his wealth would not only procure him 
 consideration at the exchange, as well as everywhere else, 
 but also secure him from outside annoyance, and allow him 
 to carry on his plots without opposition and in complete 
 security. 
 
 O'Tee was keen, as we are already aware. If he did not 
 know the actual plans of his antagonist, he had previously 
 studied his method of warfare, and this was already a great 
 advantage. But the best of it was that, among the friends 
 whose sympathy he had enlisted, there were two or three of 
 the most skillful gamblers in funds to be found in the city. 
 A young man, endowed only with keenness and assurance 
 on account of his wealth, stood a poor chance of succeeding 
 against such a bright combination of financial talent. 
 
 The consequence was that a few days later, after they had 
 skillfully arranged their means of attack and defense, when 
 the tug of war between Trojans and Greeks — that is, be- 
 tween bulls and bears — took place in earnest, Frederick, at 
 the end of the day, remained a splendid example of extra- 
 
248 LOUISA KntKBRIDE. 
 
 ordinary reverses of fortune, and had to register in his 
 memorandum book a beautiful, long list of margins he 
 would have to pay. He could bear it well, as he was yet 
 rich ; but, together with palaces up towTi, high living at 
 the Great Central Hotel, his negative revenues at the Board 
 could not but tell on his aggregate wealth, and even sour 
 his temper to a remarkable degree. 
 
 When he returned to his hotel, he found John, who was 
 beginning to walk for the first time since his mishap, and 
 told him to follow him to his room. *' You are a fine fel- 
 low, indeed," he began to say, *'to give me such correct 
 intimation of 0' Tee's game, the last time you went to the 
 exchange ! According to you, I would find him weak on 
 several stocks which you named, and it turned out to be 
 precisely the reverse when I commenced acting on your 
 suggestions. This set me all wrong at the very beginning 
 of the game, and the result is a loss, which I have not yet 
 ascertained, but which must be heavy. Of what service 
 can you be to me as an ' agent,' if you open traps for me to 
 fall into?" 
 
 "Thus you attribute your losses to me, sir," replied John 
 with a great deal of warmth. "The information I gave is 
 now more than a week old, and things may have changed 
 in the interval. Is it because my faithfulness to you has 
 stretched me on a bed for seven long days, that you are angry 
 against me ! If you do not want me any more, say so, and 
 we will come to a settlement." 
 
 Frederick perceived that his acrimony had carried him a 
 a little too far ; and wishing to soothe the feelings of his 
 "agent," he said with more calm: "I want you again, 
 friend John ; but try to be more exact next time, as it is not 
 pleasant to be plucked as I was to-day. Can you go again 
 to-morrow to your place of observation ? " 
 
 "Yes; catch me there again, after the salute I have re- 
 ceived! Don't you see that I would be only thrashed a 
 second time ? You must have some new plan to propose 
 that I can accept, or I must remain quiet here and attend to 
 my own business." 
 
MR. C0BNELIU8 0' BYRNE AS A DETECTIVE. 249 
 
 Frederick was scarcely prepared to open a new ''plan," 
 as lie had not thought of it ; he, therefore, merely told John 
 that he would think of it, and he might himself see what 
 was best to be done ; their collected wisdom would certainly 
 invent something worth trying. 
 
 But after a night of feverish excitement, the reception he 
 met Avith at the counting-house the following day was not 
 much calculated to cool down his temper and restore him 
 to his former tranquillity. The public papers were full of 
 details, in their money articles, of what had transpired the 
 day before on the great financial stage in Wall Street. The 
 bewildered partners of Mr. F. Kirkbride arrived long before 
 him, and had time to hold a consultation together on what 
 was best to be done ; so that when the young gentleman 
 came in, as soon as he was seated in his private office, they 
 all went in a body, Mr. T. Bland at their head, to state 
 plainly their sorrow at his persistence in a course incompati- 
 ble with his duties as a merchant ; and they proposed, in 
 conclusion, either that he should buy their share at a proper 
 value or state what he thought his own part of the busi- 
 ness amounted to. 
 
 The young gentleman did not expect, it is true, to listen 
 so soon to such plain and unmistakable language ; but he 
 himself during the night, had examined attentively many 
 questions connected with this great one of the firm in Beaver 
 Street, and he had concluded to give up his share in the 
 concern, in order to increase the bulk of capital available 
 for great stock operations. The fatal words of Mr. James 
 Friskey on the subject were deeply imprinted in his mind ; 
 and he had no doubt that he would soon recover from his 
 late loss, which was merely, in his opinion, "the result of 
 an accident." He, therefore, accepted the proposal of these 
 gentlemen, and told them that in a few days he would state 
 his terms ; they might reflect on their own. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MR. FREDERICK VISITS HIS MOTHER, AND BEGII^S TO OPERATE 
 I]S- WALL STREET OX A LARGE SCALE. 
 
 Surprising as it may seem in the midst of so many trou- 
 blesome affairs, Frederick thought of his mother, whom for 
 a long time he had altogether neglected. He reflected, by 
 chance, that the first term of her annuity was due, or rather 
 had been already some days due. Perhaps, also, he even 
 went so far as to blush inwardly at the thought of what 
 people would say when they heard that he did not visit so 
 worthy a lady and such an excellent parent. So he finally 
 acknowledged to himself that he had very good reasons to 
 go and inspect how her new quarters looked. 
 
 In fact, we ourselves, who take a much greater interest in 
 her than her wretched son, know nothing as yet of a spot 
 much more attractive, certainly in our estimation, than 
 the haunts we have been lately compelled to visit, to wit, 
 the Great Central Hotel, the stock exchange, the '^lair in 
 Greene Street," etc. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride's worthy attorney had selected for her a 
 building of no very imposing appearance, yet decent, and 
 in a most respectable part of the city — the exact position 
 has been stated above. The interior was handsomely fitted 
 up, as the best part of the furniture had been taken up 
 there from Madison Avenue. A green plot of grass, and a 
 few nice flowering shrubs took the place of a garden behind 
 the house. In a corner of the plot a very small emi)ty con- 
 servatory, left by the previous occupant of the place, was 
 tilled with the choicest plants of the former mansion. Mrs. 
 
 250 
 
MR. FREDEEICK OPERATES IN WALL STREET. 251 
 
 Kirkbride had a great fondness for flowers. On one side of 
 the building, a small gore of ground, taken from the next 
 lot, for some reason or other, by one of the previous owners, 
 contained a very small but neat stable where just one horse 
 and a carriage could find place. 
 
 There the lady we know already so well spent her days 
 of widowhood, her heart sorely wounded still by her pre- 
 vious loss, and by the present neglect and the blameworthy 
 conduct of her only son. A few intimate friends visited 
 her ; the lady who had given her the first intimation of the 
 immoral behavior of Frederick, Mrs. Kingsley ; the well- 
 meaning Dr. Dixon, who considered Mrs. Kirkbride as one 
 of the most interesting members of his flock ; but chiefly, 
 the excellent Dr. Dillon, who came frequently to spend an 
 hour or so in the afternoon. The lady herself, in her weeds, 
 was dispensed from appearing in the world, and chiefly 
 from keeping an open house and sending invitations to re- 
 ceptions and parties. Her small interior world was, in fact, 
 composed of three Irish girls and sweet litle Rosa ; for the 
 dull -looking Englishman who attended to the horse and 
 the grounds, could scarcely be said to live in the house ; he 
 found his quarters on the top of the stable, and indeed 
 inconvenienced nobody, going to the kitchen only for his 
 meals, and always good humoredly ready for a ride, when 
 the lady wanted to drive in the Park. 
 
 The interior of the house and the life of its inmates was 
 simple and pleasant ; never was a harsh word heard there ; 
 every one was cheerful though occupied from morning to 
 night. Julia spent most of her time in Mrs. Kirkbride' s 
 apartment, sewing and embroidering a number of handker- 
 chiefs, caps, body linen, etc.; the chambermaid had plenty 
 to do to keep the house in order ; Bridget was promoted to 
 the office of cook ; and as to little Eosa, she did all the 
 light work that was to be done. The three Irish girls lived 
 in the house almost as if they had been in a convent ; they 
 said their prayers together, and often Mrs. Kirkbride came 
 with them, bringing the little girl, who never objected, sweet 
 child, to anything her mistress asked of her. On Sundays 
 
252 LOUISA KinKBRIDE. 
 
 the Irish part of the house went to the nearest Catholic 
 church, where they had clubbed together to rent a pew ; and 
 as there Avere two unoccupied seats in it, whenever the lady- 
 found it too inconvenient to go in her little carriage as far 
 as Trinity, she never failed to take Rosa with her and go to 
 fill the empty seats in her servants' pew. Thus she heard 
 both priest and parson, and we will not attempt to excuse 
 her, either in the eyes of her Episcopalian coreligionists or 
 of some strict and severe children of the true church ; we 
 merely relate a fact consonant with the gentleness of her 
 disposition ; and we fervently hope, vdth all good Chris- 
 tians, that God will reward her charity, and, in course of 
 time, bring her entirely within the precincts of His true 
 fold. To complete the sketch of the quiet life led in this 
 house, we will only mention, that occasionally Julia went 
 on Sunday evenings to James Street, in the small carriage. 
 Bridget generally went with her, and they invariably took 
 with them a basket of delicacies that Mrs. Kirkbride sent 
 to old Mr. 0' Byrne. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs on week-days and Sundays, 
 in that quiet, unpretending building, near the Central Park, 
 when Frederick Kirkbride, ordering out his splendid ba- 
 rouche, with two of his finest horses, told his coachman to 
 drive him on to the address he had himself written on a 
 card. In due time the carriage stopped at the proper place, 
 and the bell was answered by Rosa, who generally opened 
 the door to the few visitors who came. 
 
 ^^ Is it you, Rosetta, my darling ? How you have grown ! 
 Is your mistress in? Tell her I want to see her." By these 
 rapid questions Mr. Frederick showed that he could yet 
 thaw in the presence of a sweet and lovely object. But the 
 moment of genuine feeling was short, and being ushered 
 into the parlor, his face soon resumed the harsh lines to 
 which it was generally accustomed ; the features became 
 worse, even, when the young man perceived that his mo- 
 ther did not invite him to her room, but came down her- 
 self to the parlor. 
 
 " Good day, my dear mother," he forced himself to say ; 
 
MR. FREDERICK OPERATES IN WALL STREET. 253 
 
 ^^you think, perhaps, I have forgotten you; but, believe 
 me, since I saw you last I had scarcely a moment unoccu- 
 pied by business of importance." 
 
 " I might say, my dear son," replied the lady, " that you 
 have at least time to take your meals, and you might have 
 come to share some of mine ; but I know how useless it 
 would be to ask anything of you ; you have always so 
 many good reasons to give in refusal ; I hope you succeed 
 in your business since you give to it such an unrelenting 
 attention," 
 
 " Yes, mother; and I just come to bring you my check 
 for your annuity, which, I am sorry to say, had escaped my 
 thoughts when it fell due three or four days ago." 
 
 *'I am happy that you thought of it even so soon, my 
 dear Freddy," observed the mother; ''but I did receive 
 the money yesterday, so that I cannot receive your check." 
 
 *'How is that?" exclaimed Mr. F. Kirkbride. 
 
 ''Well, my attorney got it from yours the day it was due, 
 and so I have it." 
 
 The young man blushed deeply, and remarked to his 
 mother : "I really did not expect that our attorneys would 
 meddle with such an affair ; would it not be more proper to 
 do it quietly between ourselves ? " 
 
 "You see, Freddy," answered the lady, "my attorney, 
 who is the same gentleman who did so well by your late 
 father, has very little to do in the administration of my 
 business, so that I could not decently take away from him 
 the collection of any money due me. It takes away, be- 
 sides, that care from you ; and I really thought you would 
 not have any objection to it, were it only on that score." 
 
 The young man appeared vexed, as he saw there was 
 really want of confidence in him on the part of his mother ; 
 but he said nothing more on this subject ; and after asking 
 how Mrs. Kirkbride found herseK in her new establishment 
 — which he, however, thought on too poor a scale with re- 
 spect to her revenue — after inquiring at what time of the 
 day he should come whenever he wished to dine with her — 
 expressing great surprise that she had returned to the old 
 
254 LOUISA KIBEBItlDE. 
 
 ways of the country, and dined at two — after several other 
 questions of less importance, lie left, feeling a void in his 
 heart, and deep-seated there a kind of instinctive repug- 
 nance for the house and its inmates, not excluding — the 
 miserable young man ! — his own mother. 
 
 When he reached the Great Central Hotel, he found Mr. 
 John waiting impatiently for him, and he directly admitted 
 him to his private room. 
 
 *' Have you reflected, sir," the honest confidential agent 
 inquired, ' ' on the new plan you were to suggest for my 
 occupation ? I am most anxious to be useful to you, and 
 begin to grow tired of having nothing to do the whole day 
 long." 
 
 "Well, John," answered the young gentleman, ''I have 
 had scarcely any time as yet to mature a plan worthy of 
 your ability ; and the only thing I could suggest would be 
 to follow up 0' Tee, or some of the blood-hounds he put on 
 my track on that abominable day. You could do it with- 
 out going regularly to the stock exchange, and thus expos- 
 ing your precious person to such treatment as you lately 
 received." 
 
 '^I repeat to you, sir," exclaimed Mr. John, ''that I can 
 have nothing to do with O'Tee and his blood-hounds, as 
 you call them ; but 1 have myself something to propose 
 which might turn out to be of great importance to you. I 
 heard you state that you found in the books of your father, 
 that he paid one hundred thousand dollars on the very day 
 he started for Saratoga, and that the mention of it in his 
 books is accompanied with a pencil mark giving merely the 
 name of Ernst Bauer ; I know the office of the man, and I 
 know, moreover, that it is he whom you followed on that day 
 to the county clerk's office, to see if he deposited in it a 
 paper handed him by your father. Do you not see that 
 something may result from circumstances that point to 
 good prospects for the filling of your purse, and the success 
 of your further undertakings ? " 
 
 "You are a bright fellow, John," exclaimed Mr. Kirk- 
 bride ; and the two compeers arranged together the details 
 
MR. FREDERICK OPERATES IN WALL STREET. 255 
 
 of an nndonbtedly legitimate piece of business, whicli conld 
 at least be tried, if it did not nltimately succeed. Without 
 entering into the details of the operation, it will be enough 
 to say that John went with his best of smiles to the office 
 of Mr. Ernst Bauer. The gentleman was very busy with a 
 great many papers on his desk. To the question if he did 
 not remember that, on such day of the previous August, he 
 had received a paper from the hands of the late Mr. R. 
 Kirkbride, to deposit with the county clerk, he resolutely 
 answered no. To the further question if he had not been 
 some way connected with the payment of a large sum by 
 the same gentleman, he showed his teeth, and with the 
 most emphatic negative, pointed to the door, and John had 
 nothing better to do than follow the hint. 
 
 The report of this, to Mr. F. Kirkbride, convinced him 
 that Mr. Ernst Bauer had pocketed the sum of money, 
 and the first thing to do, was to try to recover it. He went 
 first himself to the county clerk's office ; but the clerk of 
 last August was no more there, and after hunting up, for 
 several days, the old officer, he finally found the gentleman 
 now retired into private life, consequently, of a most bland 
 and conciliatory disposition, but who could not, for the life 
 of him, remember anything of the transaction. In vain did 
 Mr. Kirkbride tell him that he himself had brought a paper 
 directly after Mr. Ernst Bauer ; he stated the nature of the 
 paper he had handed him, the very words used in present- 
 ing it, the courteous reply he was happy enough to receive, 
 everything, in fact, which could call to the remembrance of 
 the ex-clerk the previous appearance of Mr. E. Bauer with 
 his own paper. Nothing could refresh the memory of the 
 gentleman. 
 
 ^'You see, sir," he said, deliberately, after having heard 
 all Mr. F. Kirkbride had to say, ''that a clerk at the county 
 court office, receives calls of that kind from morning to 
 night, and is not expected to tax his memory with the re- 
 membrance of all those who come to him, precisely because 
 they leave papers which are, in fact, the only thing to look 
 after. If Mr. E. Bauer, since thus you caU him, left with 
 
256 LOUISA EIBKBRIDE, 
 
 me any document on that day, it must have passed through 
 the office for record, or any other usual purpose ; the clerk 
 now in office can tell you how many documents of that kind 
 were left on that precise day, and thus you may find what 
 you want. As to all the details you give me, I have, I 
 think, a faint recollection of them, and certainly remember 
 your face. But those very details personal to you, were 
 precisely calculated to make me forget entirely the gentle- 
 man who had come just before you." 
 
 Nothing more was to be expected, and Mr. Kirkbride 
 withdrew. There is no need of mentioning that another 
 visit Mr. Kirkbride paid directly to the office, in order to 
 have the books inspected for the enumeration of documents 
 left on that day, did not lead to any satisfactory result, and 
 the young gentleman had only to go home and confer again 
 with his '' confidential agent." 
 
 " I am sure, John," he said, ^'that Bauer is a thief, and 
 has in his possession my one hundred thousand dollars; 
 if you could obtain them from him, or procure the proofs 
 for his conviction, I would willingly let you have one-fourth 
 of it, namely, twenty-five thousand." 
 
 This was heaping burning coals on the already consuming 
 fire of covetousness, natural to the soul of a valet. John's 
 ingrained cowardice could thus be changed into unreflect- 
 ing boldness ; and, judging of Mr. E. Bauer from himself, 
 he thought that by presenting him, in a lonely place, the 
 filled barrels of a six-shooter, he could easily bring him to 
 terms. He, therefore, for a few days, studied the habits of 
 his intended victim, and finding out that he would meet 
 him alone, late in the evening, in a certain lane up town, 
 through which he used to pass regularly every night, he 
 got a revolver, loaded it, and stood up at the required time, 
 in a most solitary and dimly lighted spot. Sure enough 
 the lawyer soon appeared, and John, facing him boldly, ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 '' You remember my visit a few days ago at your office ; 
 you denied any knowledge of the large sum intrusted to 
 you by Mr. Kirkbride ; I know you have it ; you are a dead 
 
MB. FREDERICK OPERATES IN WALL STREET. 357 
 
 man unless you promise and give me security to return it to 
 its lawful owner." 
 
 Mr. Bauer did not answer a word to that rather long 
 speech ; but he was a man of nerve, and looking at the 
 weapon, dimly visible in John's hand, he suddenly, with a 
 rapidity for which his antagonist was not prepared, struck 
 him sharply with his stick on the fingers, more distract by 
 their whiteness than anything else around : the blow went 
 home so perfectly that the pistol fell, and John was at the 
 mercy of Mr. Bauer. This gentleman simply said : 
 
 "I could kill you with your own weapon ; the best would 
 be, perhaps, to place you in the hands of the police, but 
 you must first receive your deserts." 
 
 And with the heavy stick he always canied, and which 
 had already so w^ell served him, he gave him a severe 
 thrashing, far more thorough than the one administered 
 by Mr. O'Tee, and left him writhing and bawling on the 
 ground. The pitiful cries of the poor valet attracted a 
 couple of police officers, who asked him what was the mat- 
 ter ; and hearing from him that he had been attacked and 
 beaten by a lawyer, whom he well knew to be a thief, they 
 told him to prosecute him before the courts ; but, find- 
 ing on the ground the six-shooter, and hearing that the 
 lawyer had struck him only after he had threatened to kill 
 him, they advised poor John to go quietly home and use the 
 law instead of such ugly weapons. A hack was called, he 
 was placed in it, all bruised, and perhaps, with some bones 
 broken ; and the Great Central Hotel received, for the second 
 time, the prostrate and bleeding form of the once proud and 
 once constantly-successful arch-plotter. 
 
 Mr. F. Kirkbride could have no more hopes of thus in- 
 creasing his funds and procuring a "large capital for bold 
 operations in stocks," according to the theory of Mr. Fris- 
 key ; he, therefore, the following day, met his partners of 
 Beaver Street, and, for a good round sum of several hun- 
 dred thousand dollars, gave up all his interest in the con- 
 cern, which henceforth took the name of T. Bland & Co. 
 
 As soon as John was able to stand on his feet, he was 
 17 
 
258 LOUISA KIRKBBIDE. 
 
 desired by Mr. F. Kirkbride to come to his room for an 
 important conference likely to produce very beneficial re- 
 sults for both. John came sulkily and took his seat with 
 evident signs of bad humor. He told his employer plainly 
 that he had reflected on his situation and prospects, and 
 had come to the determination to leave his actual position 
 unless he received a higher remuneration. When he con- 
 sented to become ^'confidental agent" to the gentleman, he 
 was rather ''green," and agreed to receive a thousand dol- 
 lars salary, with all his expenses paid at the Great Central ; 
 but experience had demonstrated to him that with the pal- 
 try sum of one thousand, he could scarcely keep himself 
 in decent clothes and enjoy some cheap pleasures. He 
 wished, besides, to be able to deposit something in a bank 
 for a "rainy day," and had calculated that five thousand 
 dollars would scarcely be equivalent to his troubles and his 
 needs. Frederick, of course, could not think, at first, of 
 complying with such an extravagant proposition, and ap- 
 peared rather willing to let his "confidential agent" go. 
 John, hearing this, bristled up, spoke in obscure terms, stiU, 
 of the "immense service" he had rendered Mr. Kirkbride, 
 and hinted that to keep his tongue from talking, a pretty 
 large sum would be required. Being desired to tell what 
 was the "immense service" he spoke of, and of what his 
 tongue could speak, he came out plainly with the old affair 
 of the package directed to his father's former attorney. 
 "And what can you do with that?" said young Kirkbride, 
 sharply. "Who told you, first, that the jmckage has not 
 been handed to its address ? and secondly, who had a right 
 to open this package after the death of my father, if not 
 myself?" 
 
 "That can be easily ascertained," retorted John. "The 
 attorney can be applied to ; and the Surrogate of New York 
 might say if, legally, you could keep that package in your 
 hands." This was rather sharp and telling in the mouth of 
 an ex-footman ; but the "ex-footman" had now, for a long 
 time, studied shrewdness and cunning at the daily school of 
 his master, and had become very proficient in these accom- 
 
MM. FREDERICK OPERATES IN WALL STREET. 259 
 
 plisliments. So that, in spite of the rage which inwardly 
 consumed Frederick, this young gentleman had to appear 
 cool and pleasant, and come down gradually to the require- 
 ments of the case. John was henceforth to receive fiY^ 
 thousand dollars ; had he asked a sum equivalent to the 
 annuity of the mother, he might have obtained it without 
 much more difficulty. 
 
 But Mr. Kirkbride had now the right to speak of what 
 was to be the subject of the "conference," which, in few 
 words, amounted to this : In a late interview with Mr. Fris- 
 key, who was then at the height of his glory, Mr. Frede- 
 rick had learned, secretly, that "great things " would short- 
 ly happen at the exchange ; but to prepare for a sharp 
 blow, a great deal more must be known of the private 
 "slates" of several strong-backed brokers and heavy deal- 
 ers. The young gentleman took a list from his waistcoat 
 pocket, from which, with his pencil, he erased several names. 
 "You can have no objection, friend John," he said, "to 
 look after these few gentlemen ; there are only half a dozen ; 
 none of them has been yet subject to your inspection. I 
 don't think that a single one of them knows you in the 
 least ; with prudent management you have nothing to fear 
 like the previous unpleasantness with that rascally O'Tee; 
 be plucky, and in a week or so, bring me positive news of 
 sucJi and sucli a character." And he detailed the precise 
 things he wished his "confidential agent" to find out. 
 
 John looked at first rather contemptuously at the list ; but 
 the reading of a couple of names soon brought smiles to his 
 face ; and, folding the list, which he inclosed in a small 
 pocket-book, he said that he would willingly attend to the 
 business. 
 
 There is no need of saying here that Mr. Frederick, when 
 he reached his room, took the mysterious packet he had 
 kept in existence to this day, opened and read it again, and 
 saying to himself, "It is better to destroy entirely such a 
 paper," he threw it on the grate, where some Liverpool 
 coal was burning brightly, and in a few moments some black 
 cinders, turning red, flew up the chimney and disappeared. 
 
260 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Meanwhile, as lie was now well, and in high spirits, John 
 thought of his private friend of Greene Street, whom he had 
 not been able to see for so long a time, owing to his double 
 mishap. He had not forgotton the ''Irish girl" against 
 whom he always kept a grudge, or rather through whom 
 he wished to punish his old enemy, our friend Con ; and, 
 as his purse was now better filled than ever, he thought he 
 would surely bring his friend, the outlaw, to the proper 
 pitch of boldness, and thus have his revenge on that de- 
 tested Irish family. 
 
 Mr. K. Talty, on his side had not been altogether idle 
 during the protracted illness of the rascally valet. He had 
 visited several times the low public house in Greene Street, 
 and without raising the least suspicion in the mind of any 
 one, he had learned that John was well known in the estab- 
 ment ; most of its visitors had spoken openly of both beat- 
 ings he had received, and if some laughed at the occurrences, 
 the majority seemed to sympathize with him and to call for 
 the day when he would be seen again in that interesting 
 locality. Of the "low-browed ruffian" he had espied in 
 conference with John nobody would speak ; all appeared 
 either to know nothing of him, or to be under the spell of a 
 secret they wished to keep ; but the most important result 
 of his visits was that he could easily know the exact day 
 when John would come back and cheer up his friends by 
 his gentlemanly appearance and dress. This he finally ascer- 
 tained, and was present at the entrance of the scoundrel. 
 Most of those at the time in the room came to shake hands 
 with him, and congratulate him on his recovery ; and after 
 receiving many compliments of the sort, he could proceed 
 to business, and went to sit near the " low-browed ruffian " 
 at one of the small tables. Unfortunately, the number of 
 people had prevented Talty from occupying a seat in their 
 neighborhood, and he could not overhear a single word of 
 their conversation ; but, at the end of it he remarked that 
 they were going to leave the room together ; and shifting 
 his position so as to be on their way to the door, he was 
 glad to see them part from each other with a shake of the 
 
MR. FREDERICK OPERATES m WALL STREET. 261 
 
 hand, and to hear John mention the place and the time when 
 they were to act. (The place was Mrs. Kirkbride's house, 
 and the time nine o'clock in the evening.) This was all 
 Talty wished to know, and he went directly to report it to 
 our friend Cornelius 0' Byrne. 
 
 The plan adopted by the two scoundrels, of which our 
 friend was totally ignorant, can be briefly told, and mainly 
 consisted of the following well-concocted piece of rascality, 
 in which John almost surpassed himself : A third associate 
 was to be secured ; they were to go together to a livery 
 stable in the neighborhood of Mrs. Kirkbride's house, and 
 hire a carriage with two horses. Schwitz, as driver, was to 
 lead his two friends to the lady's residence ; John, perfectly 
 disguised and alighting alone, was to call for Miss Julia 
 O'Byme, announcing that ''a sudden accident to her father 
 required her immediate attendance doA\Ti town ; she would 
 find Mr. Doyle in the carriage waiting for her ; no change 
 of dress was necessary." The girl would certainly go out : 
 John follomng her would push her inside, close the door be- 
 hind, and place her between himself and the other associate. 
 A scream or two was to be expected, but Schwitz, whipping 
 his horses at the same time, would drown her cries ; and 
 the rest of the project would be easily carried out. There 
 were at the time along the Harlem Eiver infamous dens 
 where a girl could be kept, outraged, or killed without 
 anybody knowing it, and the papers of the period occa- 
 sionally contained long stories of abductions of the kind, 
 discovered much later by a half-sleepy police. "^ This was 
 the abominable plan proposed — let us hear of its execution. 
 
 Cornelius 0' Byrne, altogether unacquainted with all 
 the details just given, thought the two ruffians would go 
 alone and on foot to the place of meeting. Arming himself 
 with a good revolver and Talty with a club, he imagined 
 that they would both certainly secure the two rascals. 
 They started, therefore, in time to be on the spot at the 
 appointed moment, and even before nine o'clock in the 
 
 * This is an actual fact ; the New York Herald for nearly a month related 
 well-authenticated stories of the kind, though this was previous to 1860. 
 
262 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 evening. But after the meeting in Greene Street, John re- 
 flected that it would be a little too late to go with their 
 victim so far as the Harlem River, and return before mid- 
 night, when Frederick had made an appointment with him 
 at the Great Central Hotel. Consequently, he sent word to 
 Schwdtz to anticipate the time by half an hour ; and, when 
 young Cornelius with Talty arrived at the house, they heard 
 a female scream, and saw a carriage starting nearly at full 
 gallop. Con understood in a moment that he was late, and 
 had only one way of stopping the ruffians ; drawing his 
 revolver he shot one of the horses in the left hind leg. The 
 animal in an instant reared, kicked, and fell ; both O' Byrne 
 and Talty running at full speed to overtake the scoundrels. 
 Unfortunately, these were alive to their danger ; Schwitz 
 had already come down from his seat at the report of the 
 pistol and the wounding of one of his animals ; and being 
 an outlaw, he was not slow in taking his flight through a 
 cross-street just at hand. John and his associate, opening 
 at once both doors of the carriage at the moment it was 
 going to be overturned by the kicking of the wounded 
 horse, likewise saw their danger, and took s\\iftly to their 
 heels; and young O' Byrne, with his friend, knowing that 
 Julia was in the vehicle, ran first, of course, to her help ; 
 so that the three scoundrels were soon out of danger. 
 Talty had very properly gone to hold the sound horse 
 and keep him from running away ; Cornelius extricated his 
 sister from the wrecked carriage, and found with joy that 
 she was nearly unhurt. After she had been safely taken 
 back to the house, attention was paid to the carriage, 
 and some police officers coming at the time, said that it 
 belonged to the nearest livery establishment, where the 
 owner declared that he knew nothing of those who had hired 
 it ; but the language of the ''gentleman " who called for it 
 was so correct and respectable that he could not suspect any 
 improper purpose, and was perfectly satisfied that it was all 
 right. Cornelius O' Byrne simply referred him to a magistrate 
 to ascertain who should pay the damage, and gave his card. 
 When Julia was taken to the house by her brother, Mrs. 
 
MB. FREDEBIGK OPERATES ZiY WALL STREET. 263 
 
 Kirkbride and Rosa were in the parlor, awaiting, with great 
 anxiety, the end of the affair. The matter was soon ex- 
 plained satisfactorily to the lady, who only wondered at the 
 boldness of the villains, and pressed to her heart the yet 
 fluttering and frightened girl. But Rosa clung to her with 
 such tenacity, and gave her such signs of deep affection, 
 that Mrs. Kirkbride herself was surprised at it, and could 
 scarcely understand it. The child had always been ex- 
 tremely docile, and even affectionate to her mistress, but had 
 never given proofs of great warmth of soul until that mo- 
 ment. The reason of it was very simple, though astonishing 
 to the lady. She was now sixteen, when the heart is awak- 
 ened to tender feelings ; and since Julia came to the house, 
 finding herself often with her, she had imbibed, unawares, 
 the sweetness of her ever-flowing kindness, and begun to 
 consider her as a sweet and dearly beloved sister. We know 
 nothing as yet of her history ; but as Julia heard it in de- 
 tail a few evenings before, from Mrs. Kirkbride herself, 
 when they were both working and talking together alone, 
 it is proper that we should learn something of it. 
 
 During the flrst ten years of her wedded life, the lady 
 went several times, with her husband, to England. In one 
 of those trills, a man of the name of Carty, living in Lon- 
 don, came several times to see Mr. Kirkbride on business, 
 and always brought with him a little girl, his daughter, then 
 four or five years old. This was Rosa. On one occasion, 
 when Mr. Kirkbride was absent for a moment, the lady be- 
 gan to talk with Carty, and asked him if he had no woman 
 to take care of the child, and he answered, no ; his wife was 
 dead, he did not intend to marry again ; when he was 
 at his work, the little girl remained alone at home, and used 
 to go to the room oC a good old Irish granny, living on the 
 same floor, but whenever he went out for any other purpose 
 than work, he took her with him, to give her air and exer- 
 cise. The lady became interested in the child, and as she 
 then had herself a little girl just two years old — the one 
 whose death was mentioned at the beginning of this story — 
 she wished to have Rosa to be a companion and playmate 
 
264 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE, 
 
 of her Janet. She, at the time, attributed the sulkiness 
 and indocility of her boy, Frederick, to the fact that he had 
 been brought up alone with a nurse, whom he soon learned 
 to beat and ill-treat. Carty was at first unwilling to give 
 up his child, chiefly because he would thus soon lose her 
 entirely by her going to America ; but, finally, the very sin- 
 cere promises Mrs. Kirkbride made prevailed on the father 
 to part with her ; and, on giving her, he said, with tears in 
 his eyes : '' She is the very picture of her mother, who died 
 on giving her birth, twelve months after our marriage." 
 No mention was made of religion during those negotiations, 
 so that Mrs. Kirkbride brought her up as an Episcopalian. 
 Yet she was surprised, whenever at night she told the child 
 to say her prayers, to see her fall on her knees, sign herself 
 in the name of the blessed Trinity, then join her hands and 
 recite the Lord's Prayer and the beginning of the Hail 
 Mary, which she had not yet learned entirely. The lady 
 attributed this, perhaps with justice, to the old Irish gran- 
 ny ; but she never prevented Rosa from continuing the 
 practice ; and ever after the little girl crossed herself when- 
 ever she began to pray, which simple act, on several occa- 
 sions, highly scandalized some of the worshipers in Trinity 
 Chapel ; not the majority of them, however. 
 
 Rosa, therefore, spent her infancy with Janet, in Mrs. 
 Kirkbride' s nursery ; and as both children considered them- 
 selves as sisters, Rosa, hearing her little companion call the 
 lady mamma, she soon began to do the same ; and, instead 
 of being restrained, the lady kissed her every time she did 
 so. There was, however, before long an end of it ; for Mr. 
 Kirkbride, hearing one day that word from her lips ad- 
 dressed to his wife, looked serious, forbade the continuance 
 of it as highly improper, and commanded the lady in very 
 positive terms to have the child severely punished, that 
 she might not do it again. Poor Mrs. Kirkbride almost 
 shed tears ; but as she was an obedient wife, on that very 
 evening she did herself what she was commanded to do by 
 another in the intention of her husband, and she did it with 
 as much severity as she could muster, which was very little. 
 
MB. FREDEBICK OPEBATES IN WALL 8TBEET. <2Q5 
 
 The child, however, unused to this, was all bathed in tears, 
 so that the lady, taking Rosa on her bosom, began to con- 
 sole her, saying: ''Kiss me, darling, bnt don't call me 
 mamma any more, since papa says so ; yet I shall be your 
 mamma in affection, if not in name." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride herself related all this to Julia, and added, 
 ''This is the only time that Rosa w^as ever punished in my 
 house — and, poor child, she did not, indeed, deserve any 
 punishment." She shared with Janet the first teachings of 
 the lady, and it is from her that she learned reading and 
 writing ; but when the daughter of the house was placed 
 under a governess, Rosa, at the positive command of Mr. 
 Kirkbride, w^as directly applied to the work of a servant, 
 although of the lightest and most appropriate kind. Hence 
 her education was very limited when the first burst of a 
 genuine feeling of love was called out by the ruffianly at- 
 tempt on her dear friend Julia. 
 
 On returning home, Cornelius 0' Byrne was reflecting on 
 the course he had better pursue toward John. His first 
 impulse was to have him arrested that very evening at the 
 Great Central, but, on reflection, he changed his mind. He 
 could scarcely prove the identity of the ruffians he had 
 stopped with those Talty had heard and seen in Greene 
 Street. None of the three had been recognized by the tw^o 
 Irishmen; the hour was not exactly the one appointed. 
 Julia, herself, in her fright, had distinguished the features 
 of nobody, and could not swear it was John w^ho took her 
 to the carriage. Had Con been sure that Schwitz was one 
 of the scoundrels, he would certainly have acted in the case, 
 and tried to secure his apprehension, but he only suspected 
 it was he, from the general description of Talty ; and Talty, 
 who had seen him in the public house, knew nothing of 
 him, and had not even heard of the previous outrage in 
 w^hich he w^as concerned. So Cornelius 0' Byrne thought it 
 was better to let John alone for this time, and keep his 
 eyes upon him for a better occasion. There is no need of 
 saying that it would have been useless, for some time, at 
 least, to look for him in Greene Street. 
 
266 LOUISA KIBKBRILE. 
 
 But as the young Irishinaii liad found out by the several 
 reports of Talty, that the public house, many tmies men- 
 tioned, was evidently the resort of a gang of ruffians, he 
 thought it his duty to call on the district attorney, inform 
 him of this, and ask him what it was proper to do with re- 
 spect to it. The gentleman received him very courteously, 
 heard with interest the details of the last affair, and con- 
 gratulated him on his activity, and, after aU, success in the 
 rescue of his sister. He approved his abstention with re- 
 spect to the arrest of John, and agreed with him on the 
 importance of watching the movements of the rascal. ' ' But, 
 my friend," he added, ''do not go to Greene Street for him 
 before a couple of weeks ; after that time is over, you will 
 do well to send your friend again — Talty, you call him ? — to 
 that locality. But since you told me before, that the same 
 John was, for more than a month, a frequenter of the stock 
 exchange, see if he is not engaged in laying a train for the 
 great explosion soon expected by men who know New York 
 well, and by which a great number of people may be ruined 
 for ever, through the skiUful machinations of a pack of 
 swindlers. 
 
 "You may know already, from your own observations, 
 that the great public malady is now the thkst for gold. 
 Almost everybody wants to make his fortune without any 
 labor, bodily or mental, and most of them think that the 
 best way is to gamble in stocks, or in gold. Hence a great 
 public establishment, started at first with the intention of 
 accommodating men engaged in lawful business, has turned 
 out to be the worst gambling hell on earth. And not satis- 
 fied with giving it openly that character, they first prepare 
 their game by rascality, so that when they come to throw 
 their bait, the gudgeons are already in the net, so artfully 
 have the meshes been previously woven around them. 
 
 "In all 'gambling hells,' since thus I must call them, 
 there are some rules of honor, which are followed by their 
 habitual frequenters ; they trust to chance and skill, in 
 playing their cards, but they would consider it disgraceful 
 to use base means to discover their antagonist's game, and 
 
MR. FREDEBICK OPERATES IN WALL STREET. 267 
 
 they would call robbery, as it is in fact, the success ob- 
 tained by such vile means. But at the stock exchange, 
 and chiefly preparatory to its operation, they consider it 
 fair to entrap beforehand, those whom they mean to 
 ^ pluck,' as they say, and the besotted public, instead of 
 opening their eyes to such swindling aboveboard, run in 
 crowds to be caught^ because they imagine that they have 
 well arranged their own plans, and that they will them- 
 selves catc7i others. Nothing is, in fact, so contemptible 
 and detestable in the whole world, and it all comes from 
 the blind fury with which men, in our day, wish to accumu- 
 late wealth, by means fair or foul, as they happen to meet 
 it in their way." 
 
 "I know something of it already," replied our young 
 friend. "And I am really astonished that a country like 
 this, which is sure to offer not only a fine competency to 
 all, but real and solid wealth to those who are truly intelli- 
 gent and industrious, should have already become the dwell- 
 ing place of maniacs, intent on impossible schemes ; since, 
 with the view they all take of it, it is clear that the great 
 majority must be plucked and reduced to penury." 
 
 "You have used the proper word, my friend," interposed 
 the district attorney; "they are renRj maniacs, but their 
 craziness has not yet fully appeared, and, before long, we 
 will all witness an example of it, which shall astonish even 
 you. iS'ow, your duty is to look, with those in whom you 
 confide, after the doings of that Mr. John. Ascertain if he 
 is on the side of Friskey, or not ; what direction the ideas 
 of his employer, young Mr. Kirkbride, are taking — that 
 fellow will before long disgrace his father and his name — 
 and, if possible, on what day the great blow is to be struck, 
 since it must surely come soon. In elucidating these in- 
 teresting questions, your friends and yourself may find open 
 rascality at work, a rascality condemned even by our very 
 loose laws. Then you will have a fair occasion to pounce 
 upon the rascal and give him a taste of the penitentiary." 
 
 " There is a difficulty in the way," here remarked Corne- 
 lius 0' Byrne. " It is to ascertain what the law forbids, and 
 
268 LOUISA KIREBBIDE. 
 
 wliat it does not. I am not a lawyer, you know, sir ; my 
 education is very limited, although, owing to your kind 
 advice, and to the means you opened out for me, I am far 
 ahead of the position I occupied a year ago." 
 
 *'You are right there," said his interlocutor. ^'Your 
 remarks are always just, and to the point. You would 
 make a first-rate lawyer, if you were given an opportunity. 
 Could you arrange it, without interfering with your duty, 
 to come and spend an hour, every evening, in my office ? I 
 always go back to it, for an hour or so, after my dinner ; I 
 would willingly undertake to put you on the road, and to 
 give you a friendly push as far as you can go." 
 
 Cornelius O' Byrne thanked the gentleman very warmly, 
 and said he would speak to the chief of police, on whom 
 alone it depended ; and he would be forever grateful to both, 
 if the thing could be arranged. Whilst he was saying this, 
 the district attorney was writing rapidly on a sheet of note 
 paper. He soon stopped, folded it, and gave it to our 
 young friend ; it was a warm recommendation to induce the 
 chief of police to grant the prayer of the petitioner. The 
 affair could not but succeed, and it was soon arranged to 
 the satisfaction of all parties. 
 
 During this time, John was actively engaged in the work 
 assigned to him by his employer ; and we shall soon learn 
 to what effect, and for what purj)ose. Mr. Frederick, hav- 
 ing absolutely nothing to do but to amuse himself, since he 
 had given up his partnership in the commercial house of 
 Beaver Street, thought he could do nothing better than try 
 his hand at stock gambling, now that he had so large a 
 capital at his command. When he first went there, after 
 his losses in his contest with O' Tee, he was the cynosure of 
 every eye ; and, had he not been fully impressed with his 
 own importance and wealth, he would have easily remarked, 
 at this present time, that the former combination against 
 him subsisted in all its strength, and had been increased 
 even by the accession of new members. He was ^'a fat 
 bird to pluck," and many keen-scented vultures flocked to 
 attack the prey. The new and powerful body of ^ ' dealers ' ' 
 
MR. FREDERICK OPERATES IN WALL STREET, 269 
 
 with which he had joined himself, and with whom he in- 
 tended to act, was not yet prepared to begin, and would per- 
 haps delay their operations more than a month. During all 
 this time, Frederick was to find himself alone in the midst 
 of '' wolves " and " eagles ;" his well-filled purse being the 
 very thing that attracted them ; and soon enough the fray 
 began in good earnest. As it was not with Mr. O'Tee alone 
 that he had to deal — far from it — he could not know any- 
 thing of the games played against him by so many hands ; 
 and even his old antagonist, Mr. O'Tee, had changed his 
 cards since the last dealing. Finally, friend John had no 
 opportunity of spying the new combination of strokes di- 
 rected at the young millionaire's money bag. Hence, day 
 day after day, Mr. Kirkbride lost much more than he won. 
 But, infatuated as he was, he went deeper and deeper into 
 disastrous operations, and constantly increased the stakes, 
 which he lost almost as constantly. Everybody knows that 
 such is the habitual course of gambling; yet nobody is 
 ever made wiser by the experience ; and the bait, after 
 many unfortunate attempts, is always as alluring as it was 
 at the very first venture. 
 
 We must, for a while, let the young gentleman lose both 
 his money and his temper, and look out for what the next 
 chapter is to bring. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 DOINGS AND SAYINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLEES — PEEPA- 
 EATIONS FOE A GEEAT DAY — BEAEING OF LAW AND 
 MOEALITY ON IT. 
 
 As long as Mr. Frederick Kirkbride gambled on his own 
 hook in the stock exchange, he bore his losses with equa- 
 nimity, sure that when his numerous friends would join in 
 the fray, he would repair these losses by the immense gains 
 his association with the Friskey interest would secure him. 
 He had promised that he would procure for them most in- 
 teresting information on the cards — as they say — of their 
 adversaries, and would thus give great help to their plan of 
 operations. Meanwhile, however, his purse was becoming 
 fearfully depleted. During the whole of this contest with 
 O'Tee and his abettors, it was seldom, indeed, that the 
 young stock gambler could inscribe a victory on his memo- 
 randum book. He had, almost every evening, to pay heavy 
 margins; but as ''his capital was large," he did not first 
 appear to mind it much. His money bag was exactly like 
 one of those capacious Heidelberg tuns on which the usual 
 draught of forty gallons or so of pure neckar does not ap- 
 pear to make any impression, and which are left tight- 
 covered, without examination as to how far the depleting 
 process has gone, in the firm persuasion that it might be 
 continued for months together without any great diminu- 
 tion in the total quantity. But alas ! if some provident 
 overseer of the great baronial cellars, curious to know the 
 real state of the case, lifts up the immense cover, he shud- 
 ders at the sight of the dim and prodigious vacuum, pro- 
 
 270 
 
DOINGS AND 8A TINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLERS 271 
 
 duced by days of indiscriminate tapping. So it was exactly, 
 when Mr. Frederick, on a day of leisure, took upon himself 
 the extra labor of an arithmetical calculation, adding the 
 daily sums he had lost, subtracting the insignificant gains 
 he had made, and drawing the final amount, which left the 
 capital with which he had started far from being so large 
 as when he began his operations. He consoled himself, 
 however, by the reflection that the time was fast approach- 
 ing, when the Great Friskey Combination w^as not only to 
 restore the former plumpness of his purse, and to defray 
 at once the very large expenses of his costly establishment 
 up town ; but also to show directly afterward an astound- 
 ing increase of wealth, casting far into the shade the insig- 
 nificant results of mere commercial enterprises. 
 
 We have just seen that young Mr. Kirkbride had pro- 
 mised to the aforesaid comhination a substantial help by 
 discovering some of the cards, at least, of their adversaries. 
 Mr. Friskey and his associates attached great importance 
 to this promise. They had not exacted from Mr. Frederick 
 the surrendering to them of any part of his capital, which 
 was all left him as a basis for his immense future profits. 
 They had not contributed themselves any capital at all, but 
 merely profited by the immense credit of the corporations 
 which they ruled. But if they left thus the young gentle- 
 man free to make as much of his money as he could, they 
 relied on his assistance for information. We know that 
 this peculiarity of the contract on the part of Mr. Frede- 
 rick was to be executed by his '' confidential agent." The 
 reader remembers that when the first list of half a dozen 
 names was handed over to Mr. John, he smiled on reading 
 two or three of them, and showed directly a great willing- 
 ness to go through the desired inquiries. The first thing 
 that must interest us is with respect to the meaning of that 
 smile. This was but the natural result of the surprising 
 fact to him, at least, that those two or three names were 
 those of personal friends. By the words '' personal friends," 
 we mean that Mr. John had had dealings with them in 
 money matters ; for he was himself a '' capitalist " to a cer- 
 
272 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 tain extent. As early as the time when he was footman to 
 Mr. Ralph Kirkbride, we have seen that he owned real 
 estate to the amount of twenty thousand dollars ; so that 
 he could become security for the bail of ''Bully" George. 
 During the entire month that he frequented the stock ex- 
 change to "spy" on Mr. O'Tee, he occasionally ventured 
 to gamble on a limited scale in some favorite stocks, al- 
 though his young "employer" had warned him that he 
 must never call on him as a security in his losses. Mr. 
 John had, therefore, become acquainted with several specu- 
 lators in that way of making money ; and we may be sure 
 that these men were not mostly doing a regular and lawful 
 business of brokerage, but were rather hovering on the dim 
 and vague line which, in those fantastic regions, divides 
 the lawful from the unlawful, Mr. John smiled, therefore, 
 when he read those names, because a sudden bright thought 
 struck his mind that he could use the gamblers of both 
 sides for his own personal advantage, and derive profit from 
 the distinguished man whose "confidential agent" he was, 
 as well as from the opposite "combination." On visiting 
 two of them particularly, he was gradually drawn to un- 
 bosom himself entirely, and openly declare the mission he 
 had been sent on. This was an immense advantage con- 
 ferred on those two gentlemen, and Mr. John had before- 
 hand bargained to be handsomely paid for the benefit ac- 
 cruing to them. On the second list handed him by young 
 Mr. Kirkbride, he found two other "gentlemen" likewise 
 of his acquaintance, and made with them equally advan- 
 tageous "contracts." What he brought them was not so 
 much a detail of the plans of the Friskey combination, of 
 which his " employer " had not told him a single word, as 
 the not despicable opportunity of throwing dust into the 
 eyes of their adversaries, the Friskey men — by making them 
 believe wrong information, and showing in appearance cards 
 the very reverse of those they had in hand. Thus Mr. 
 John was in anticipation filling his purse from both sides ; 
 and indulging in the very pleasant occupation of playing 
 false to his " master," always supposed to be an " enemy ; " 
 
D0ING8 AND SAYINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLERS 273 
 
 as we know that latterly the relations between the two wor- 
 thy companions had not been of the most amicable kind. 
 The recent grievances of the "confidential agent" were 
 fearfully increased by the too apparent wealth of the yoang 
 gambler. To see him with such immense means of gratifica- 
 tion either for gambling purposes or for sensual indulgence ; 
 to know what sums he could venture on a single throw at 
 the exchange, and what life he led during the long winter 
 nights in his Aladdin's palace, was a double dagger for the 
 envious heart of the valet ; and he would have willingly, 
 without any personal benefit, destroyed an apparent pros- 
 perity which he fully witnessed in his master, without, we 
 may say, being able to share in it in the least. Envy is a 
 terrible passion, natural to all valets, and to such as Mr. 
 John in particular. 
 
 Meanwhile, he frequently called on Mr. Frederick to re- 
 port progress, and as he had a very glib tongue, he inter- 
 ested deeply and amused hugely the young gentleman, by 
 the long tales he either wove in v/hole cloth, or merely em- 
 broidered at pleasure, on a real bottom. The young gen- 
 tleman, meanwhile, took notes, relying altogether on the 
 information of his confidential agent, and was from it pre- 
 paring a memoir which was to be, in his opinion, of im- 
 mense service to the Great Friskey Combination Cause. 
 
 The reader must not, however, imagine that the whole 
 time of Mr. John was employed in these very interesting 
 operations. He had begun again to visit Greene Street, 
 and this refined locality must open to our view a new pros- 
 pect of wonders. Young Talty, in his previous investiga- 
 tions, had been so totally taken up by the single a-parte of 
 John and Schwitz, that he knew really nothing of the mys- 
 teries of this public house. In his subsequent visits to it, 
 he became suddenly aware that all those who daily congre- 
 gated around its tables, were not attracted solely by the 
 pleasure of drinking, smoking, or reading the papers, but 
 that each small group of two or three persons formed a 
 dramatic nucleus^ involving sometimes all the intricacies 
 18 
 
274 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE, 
 
 of a high-wrought comedy, or the deeply-moving changes 
 of an obscure and unknown tragedy. To speak in more 
 intelligible terms, the place was a resort of burglars, ad- 
 venturers, relatively-innocent pickpockets, or deep-dyed 
 plotters against the fortunes, and sometimes the lives of 
 their fellow men. The lirst inkling Mr. Talty got of it sent 
 a thrill of awe through his nerves ; but he tried to keep 
 them quiet when he saw that Mr. John was a general favor- 
 ite in this place ; sure as he was to find him in nice associa- 
 tions. But he saw directly he could scarcely ever hope of 
 unraveling any of these mysteries of iniquity, were he to 
 remain alone, sipping his glass or reading the papers. His 
 eyes rested several times on a man, a total stranger to him, 
 but who manifested evident signs of his origin ; he was, in 
 fact, an unworthy Irishman. Talty thought of becoming- 
 acquainted with him, and soon found means to communi- 
 cate with him privately. The case was as he thought : 
 poverty had brought him into crime ; but his soul was not 
 yet seared to every feeling of remorse. Finally, by means 
 which we will not attempt to describe, Talty learned from 
 him that two of those gangs of burglars were going shortly 
 to operate on two places already well known to us : one was 
 the counting-room of T. Bland & Co., in Beaver Street ; the 
 other, the former Kirkbride mansion on Madison Avenue. 
 A rich family had rented it from the lady who owned it, 
 and had been already living there for several months. Both 
 establishments were, in all their interior details, perfectly 
 well known to Mr. John ; and he was surely at the head of 
 the intended projects. So Mr. Talty suspected ; although 
 his new friend had not the least idea of it, so careful was 
 Mr. John of never taking, in all his plots, a perilous posi- 
 tion. The double secret was instantly revealed to Mr. Cor- 
 nelius O' Byrne, who directly took measures to defeat both 
 plans, and, if possible, capture the guilty ]3lotters ; happy 
 would he be if the cunning originator of them could be dis- 
 covered. 
 
 Few are aware of the number and audacity of burglars 
 in the United States. The ''trade" must have enriched a 
 
DOINGS AND SAYINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLERS. 275 
 
 great many scoundrels, since despite the numerous dangers 
 of the ""profession," so many bold adventurers have rushed 
 and are still rushing into those nightly expeditions. Seve- 
 ral have been captured, no doubt ; and Sing Sing, and Au- 
 burn, and Denamara, and other strong castles keep within 
 their walls interesting specimens of the most proficient in 
 this profitable business. Yet how many have always been, 
 and are yet at large, intent on increasing the circle of their 
 operations ; some with the object of entering afterward 
 into "reputable" pursuits ; others, with the sole motive of 
 living "luxuriously" on others' gains ! Mr. John had not 
 yet become a ' ' millionaire ' ' by the numerous expeditions he 
 had for some time directed; yet his "share" had brought 
 him a handsome competence from the twenty-thousand-dol- 
 lar house which, when a footman, he had purchased, to the 
 every-day increasing small sums he was then accumulating 
 in the bank, with the intention of operating on a still more 
 extensive scale, when the great day of battle between the 
 bulls and the bears of Wall Street would take place. For, 
 acting as the "confidential agent" of Mr. Frederick, he had 
 his own organ to grind, and he expected to draw from its 
 pipes lively tunes, when it would be time to come to real 
 music. 
 
 He did not derive, however, any percentage from the 
 two well -planned operations of Beaver Street and Madison 
 Avenue ; there is no need of entering into the details of 
 attack and defense, on the night when both occurrences 
 took place. Mr. O' Byrne had wisely arranged his own 
 plans ; the burglars wera surprised, and saw themselves 
 blown up by their own petards when they arrived on the 
 field ; the clubs of policemen were astir ; they had, in both 
 places, to take to their heels ; three of the less nimble, were 
 captured between the two places ; but Mr. John was not of 
 them ; and in the summary trial which soon after took place 
 and consigned the three obscure individuals to a somewhat 
 long period of seclusion, nothing was elicited which could 
 bring him into the clutches of the law. Every one, how- 
 ever, admitted that these operations, though nipped in the 
 
276 LOTUS A KIREBRIDE. 
 
 bud, indicated a perfect knowledge of both localities ; and 
 the best means of explaining all the circumstances was to 
 suppose that a former servant of Mr. R. Kirkbride was at 
 the bottom of both plots. Thus suspicion, and merely sus- 
 picion, rested on our interesting villain, who, henceforth, 
 became a worthy subject of observation for the police of ^ew 
 York. Something, after all, may come out of this partial 
 discovery. 
 
 Whilst the ''confidential agent" was thus dabbling in 
 crime severely punished by society whenever it is found 
 out, the "employer" was deeply engaged in a conspu^acy 
 of another sort. It was nothing else than the project of sub- 
 verting all the existing commercial and even social relations 
 in a great part of the country, by fundamentally disturbing 
 the currency, which regulates among men the chief opera- 
 tions of commerce, and, we may say, the hierarchical ranks 
 of society, at least in the United States. It was the now 
 openly avowed design, formed by a few conspirators, of 
 impoverishing suddenly an immense number of influential 
 families, in order to throw millions upon millions into the 
 coffers of a few lucky operators. The events resulting in 
 Black Friday^ as it was called, proved it abundantly ; and 
 the recent history of the country, in the few years just 
 elapsed, confirmed fearfully a truth which all by this time 
 must acknowledge. AVhat we have named the "Great 
 Friskey Combination," had no other object. 
 
 Ahern, who previously, as we saw, was intrusted by Mr. 
 Cornelius O' Byrne with the duty of following the steps 
 of Mr. Frederick, soon became aware that a dangerous plot 
 was on foot, and he communicated to the young detective 
 many details which proved it clearly enough. There were 
 men, and many of them spending their lives in the Great 
 Central Hotel or around it, who were concocting plans far 
 worse than open burglaries ; since besides impoverishing a 
 great number for the profit of a few keen plotters, they cor- 
 rupted the whole nation by inoculating it with a fearful 
 malady, which could be called mania ah auro, far worse 
 
DOmOS AND SAYINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLERS. 277 
 
 tlian tlie celebrated mania a potu. Mr. C. 0' Byrne, tlie 
 very evening of the day lie received this information, begged 
 of the district attorney to grant him a private interview, 
 instead of giving him his usual lesson on the JS'ew York 
 Code and Statutes. They both entered a very small room 
 back of the general office, and the young Irishman detailed 
 the various indications of a near financial explosion, which 
 might involve the whole country in distress, if not in ruin. 
 
 "The affair, itself," replied the legal officer, "is per- 
 fectly well kno^^Ti in this city, and many shrewd merchants 
 and speculators are already trimming their sails against the 
 impending storm. But the personal details you convey me 
 are not generally so well known. Your view of the matter 
 is quite correct, and the men who bring on, by their plots, 
 such extensive and destructive calamities^ are greater crimi- 
 nals than pickpockets, and even than burglars operating 
 on the largest scale ; but our laws, unfortunately, are not 
 framed to meet such exigencies, and society is left, without 
 remedy, to the tender mercies of sharpers.-' 
 
 "But why is it," inquired the young Irishman, " that in 
 this country, where there is such a great need of it, preven- 
 tive laws have not yet been framed to protect society ? It 
 seems to me that legislators in the United States are keen 
 enough to see the importance of severe measures in that 
 regard." 
 
 "There are, my dear friend," replied the gentleman, 
 "great difficulties in the way, which everyone feels, and 
 is afraid of removing, although all see clearly that they 
 ought to be removed, previous to any legal enactments be- 
 ing passed on the subject. The great one, in my opinion, is 
 the very small quantity of coin, which necessitates an im- 
 mense amount of paper to satisfy the financial needs of the 
 country, and paper necessarily encourages wild specula- 
 tion. The almost only thing a legislator can do, is to make 
 it penal to engage in stock jobbing, except for bona fide 
 transactions, and with the stocks openly on hand. As it is, 
 any one can gamble in such paper without having in his 
 possession a single share, provided he pays his reputed loss 
 
278 LOUISA KIBEBBIDE. 
 
 when he loses ; and certainly, at least, such a check as the 
 one just mentioned, ought to be imposed on all before they 
 set their foot inside of the exchange. Such a measure, how- 
 ever, would not, in my opinion, cure entirely the evil ; the 
 real remedy is to deal much more in specie than we do, and 
 for this we must have more coin. The Spaniards formerl}^ 
 went too far in wishing to keep for themselves alone the 
 produce of their mines in Peru ; we go to the other extreme 
 in letting all the gold of the West go to Europe, without 
 keeping at least our share of it. France has already re- 
 cuperated materially from her losses and defeats, on ac- 
 count of her enormous amount of the precious metals. We 
 are yet weak from our civil war, because we attempt to live 
 on paper." 
 
 "I have read lately," Con remarked, ''that it is against 
 sound financiering to require a larger amount of the precious 
 metals than operators absolutely need in this country." 
 
 "So it is said," replied the district attorney, ''yet it is 
 an undoubted fact that Europeans would shudder to enter 
 into such vast operations as are carried on in this country on 
 so slender a basis of hard coin. All European nations have 
 an immensely greater amount of it than we have, and I at- 
 tribute to this fact their comparative freedom from financial 
 convulsions. They all draw largely, chiefly France, on the 
 products of the mines of California, Australia, and South 
 Africa, discovered so opportunely in these latter times. 
 The United States alone appear not to care much for this 
 commodity. They allow even the produce of their o^^^l 
 rich mines in the West to be carried to England or other 
 countries, and they keep but a small amount of it, just to 
 say that they too have coin. Nothing, in my opinion, con- 
 tributes so much to increase the fever of gambling as the 
 facility of transacting the largest operations without seeing 
 coin or handling it. This, at least, is what I firmly believe." 
 
 "But," observed our young friend, "could not the oper- 
 ators in paper be required to follow the laws of morality ? " 
 
 "No human legislator, my friend," answered the gentle- 
 man, "can propose to himself to reform all the abuses op- 
 
DOINGS AND SAYINGS OF TWO STOCE GAMBLERS, 279 
 
 posed to the law of God, and to uphold strictly all the laws 
 of divine morality. A superhuman lawgiver alone could 
 undertake such a task. Often what is most hurtful to so- 
 ciety, ought to be left alone, because the cure of the evil is 
 above the ability of mere man. Conscience is beyond the 
 reach of all temporal rulers, and the pretension of using 
 purely human power for enforcing the divine law unless it 
 is based on a spiritual authority, which we have not, would 
 open the door to the most frightful despotism yet estab- 
 lished among men. Hence only one statesman ever pro- 
 posed, in this country, the upholding of a 'higher law,' 
 and we all know what was the consequence of it : a fearful 
 civil war of five years, ending in the almost complete ruin 
 of the South, with no higher morality in the North, nay, 
 quite the reverse. And if a ' great iniquity ' was redressed, 
 as I firmly believe it was, the race that profited by it was 
 scarcely benefited in the end, as if God intended to im- 
 press on the mind of all men to leave to himself the vindica- 
 tion of the 'higher law.' Your church, friend O' Byrne, 
 was ever the only power on earth that claimed openly such 
 a privilege, but at the same time, she claimed infallibility, 
 which no human lawgiver can do. I admire the Catholic 
 Church for it, as after all, she referred everything to God 
 himself ; but our Washington legislators could never think 
 of doing the same ; and the best they have to contrive, is to 
 give us as sound a code of 'lower law,' as they can give. 
 
 "Therefore, my friend, the state cannot be called upon 
 to stop in their career all these mad consj^irators against 
 the peace and good order of society. Wise men have only 
 to wait for events and repair the injury as soon as it is in- 
 flicted, sure, meanwhile that the men guilty of such crimi- 
 nal conduct A\dll be the first to suffer by it, and will become 
 afterward examples of the unerring justice of heaven even 
 in the affairs of the present life. Your friend, however, 
 will do well to continue his observations ; because those 
 infatuated operators on 'change may break loose from every 
 restraint, and go openly in the end against the statutes of 
 the state as well as against the laws of God." 
 
280 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Thus Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne was receiving solid lessons 
 on law and political morality ; and all Americans were not at 
 the time, and are not yet, thank God, imbued with princi- 
 ples destructive of order and justice. We only hope that 
 the same school of jurisconsults may long continue to exist 
 in the country. 
 
 But in spite of the warning of good men, of the glaring 
 uncertainty of all wild chances, of the clear consequences to 
 society at large of such a degrading passion, the mania for 
 making a fortune in a week was raging worse than ever. 
 Every day the stock exchange was becoming more offen- 
 sively a picture of pandemonium. Men, habitually shrewd 
 and cool, appeared, during '^ business hours," raving ma- 
 niacs ; the passion of gold-hunting had, perhaps, never be- 
 fore appeared in a more disgusting form. 
 
 In the midst of that crazy crowd Mr. Frederick stood up 
 every day, wilder than any man ; and at every bid sure 
 that this time he was making a lucky throw, to be soon 
 sadly disappointed, at least in the great majority of cases. 
 The moment of acting determined upon by the great Fris- 
 key combination, was, unfortunately for him — so he thought 
 — unaccountably delayed again and again. At last, how- 
 ever, he was called secretly for his report on those men who 
 were to be the chief object of attack when the great day 
 should arrive. He went with the notes taken by himself 
 on the information furnished by his confidential agent. 
 The gentlemen who formed the '^committee of arrange- 
 ments" — if we may call it so — were really amazed by the 
 statements made by Mr. Kirkbride, which conflicted with 
 all the information they had received from other quarters. 
 They asked of the young gentleman if he was sure of his 
 agent. He replied that it would be impossible to find a 
 better one. His man was intelligent, persuasive, shrewd, 
 and active. Interrogated as to whether his integrity could 
 be trusted, he replied that his own personal interest was 
 certainly to tell the truth and not to deceive those who em- 
 ployed him. 
 
 The result of this first conference was that a new delay 
 
DOINGS AND SAYINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLERS 281 
 
 of a few days was determined upon to decide wliicb. report 
 should be accepted as trustworthy ; and Mr. Frederick, 
 made uneasy by the hesitation of his confederates, called 
 John to his room, where they had first rather a stormy dis- 
 cussion, which finally ended in the firm conviction on the 
 part of Mr. Kirkbride that John had told the truth, and 
 that to follow an adverse information would end in defeat. 
 It would require long details to relate in extenso the skill- 
 ful manoeuvring of the '^confidential agent." Yet it is 
 with regret that we suppress this interesting and animated 
 discussion between two such blades in point of cunning and 
 deceit ; as, undoubtedly, Mr. John never perhaps in his life 
 displayed such splendid talents as he did on that occasion. 
 On the appointed day Mr. Kirkbride met again the gen- 
 tlemen who had first received his report. They were more 
 convinced than ever of the incorrectness of his first state- 
 ments, and of the truth of their other information. Yet 
 Mr. Frederick would not give up the cause of his valet ; he 
 was sure of what he had affirmed, and any other policy, at 
 least with respect to the adversaries reported by John, 
 would surely end in defeat and heavy loss. Thus the 
 worthy confederates separated. 
 
 When this unfortunate disagreement was reported to Mr. 
 Friskey, this young prime mover of the whole plan became 
 a prey to perplexity, a state of mind quite unusual with 
 him. In his opinion, Mr. Kirkbride was certainly wrong — 
 he had too many reasons to believe the counter reports — 
 hence the statements of the young gentleman were to be 
 considered as perfectly worthless. Yet he stuck to them 
 through sheer infatuation for his agent ; and to tell him 
 plainly that no reliance could be had on his report, would 
 certainly offend him, which Mr. Friskey himself would not 
 dare to do to a man enjoying such a "large capital." There 
 was something worse even in the fact that they did not 
 know how far the "confidential agent" had spoken of 
 their own secrets. Mr. Frederick had never said a word of 
 the care he had taken to keep John in the dark on the sub- 
 
282 LOUISA EIBKBRIDE. 
 
 ject, and to give liim only orders about prying into tlie 
 secrets of others. They, on their side, did not dare to put 
 the question to him, through fear of giving him greater of- 
 fense. After weighing carefully the conflicting motives of 
 their future conduct on the subject, the leaders of the 
 party — since we must use the name — agreed to appear ex- 
 teriorly not to have lost confidence in Mr. Kirkbride, and 
 to let him persuade himself that he still belonged to them 
 and would profit by their now well-settled policy ; but, in 
 fact, to abstain from allowing him to peer into it, through 
 apprehension of being betrayed, and to throw him even mid 
 of their track by several hints and innuendoes calculated, 
 in their opinion, to delude their adversaries by first deluding 
 him. Thus Mr. Kirkbride was not, after all, to share in 
 their luck, although he was always confident that he would. 
 He was, in fact, in great danger of losing again on both 
 sides, and this time irretrievably. Such was the result of 
 the confidence he had reposed in his worthy tool, of whom 
 he had made, we may say, an associate. 
 
 But was Mr. John, meanwhile, thriving on his policy ? A 
 word on the subject cannot be useless. He had certainly 
 received some bonus from those he promised to help by his 
 treachery. But he all along persuaded himself that he 
 would likewise enjoy the benefit of the great combination, 
 by becoming acquainted with their intentions, and playing 
 his cards accordingly. From the start, he had tried to pen- 
 etrate into the secrets of the party of his employer, but 
 had not received the least clew which could guide him. In 
 the long, animated and decisive discussion he had with his 
 employer, although successful in the end in convincing the 
 young gentleman of his faithfulness, although doing his 
 best, during the protracted conversation, to obtain a word 
 which could enlighten him, he had absolutely heard no- 
 thing. Mr. Frederick had made up his mind to keep all the 
 advantage of what he knew to himself, and not to allow his 
 *' valet " to enter into partnership on any account. In fact, 
 the young gentleman knew very little, since the real policy 
 of the party had been determined on only at the last mo- 
 
DOINGS AND 8A TINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLERS. 283 
 
 ment, and was purposely kept away from him. This poli- 
 cy — the reader knows it already — was to establish a tight 
 corner in gold ; we will speak of it by-and-by. Young Mr. 
 Kirkbride could not betray this to his "confidential agent," 
 since he himself knew yet absolutely nothing of it. Thus 
 the ''valet," as well as the ''master," had to grope their 
 way in the dark. This did not please in the least Mr. John, 
 who knew he knew nothing ; but it did not disturb the 
 equanimity of Mr. Frederick, who thought he knew a great 
 deal. John, therefore, remained a prey to anxiety and dis- 
 appointment. He often went to the stock exchange, where 
 he witnessed the antics of his employer, and was stung to 
 the quick by the sharpest fangs of envy, merely because he 
 saw him jouer gros jeu. He had to content himself with 
 very small ventures indeed in comparison with those of his 
 master ; and, worse than all, his ventures, such as they were, 
 were oftener unsuccessful than the reverse. The honus^ in 
 fact, he had received for his betrayal, was soon eaten up by 
 his losses, and several other savings, that he had kept in 
 bank for this solemn occasion, were fast in the act of going 
 in the same direction. It is not, therefore, a matter of sur- 
 prise that he was occasionally gnashing his teeth, and curs- 
 ing inwardly the want of confidence of his employer, to 
 which, of course, he attributed mainly his ill-luck. 
 
 About this time, Mr. F. Kirkbride received successively, 
 on the same day, the visits of two gentlemen already known 
 to us, and did not recover thereby much of his former confi- 
 dence, which in these days was beginning to grow rather 
 weak. The first was none else than Mr. W. Wilson, the for- 
 mer attorney of his father, and the present manager of the 
 afl:*airs of his mother. This gentleman had really grown un- 
 easy for his client, in whom he took, with justice, the liveliest 
 interest. He had heard, from a perfectly reliable source, that 
 the young man not only had sold his whole interest in the 
 commercial establishment of Beaver Street — a public fact well 
 known to all New York — ^but likewise that he was fast sell- 
 ing the very valuable real estate left by his father ; and all 
 
284 LOUISA KIBEBRIDE. 
 
 this to gamble in stocks and gold. Where would be, be- 
 fore long, the security for the annuity he had to pay to his 
 mother ? Would the lady be shortly reduced to the posses- 
 sion and rental of the house in Madison. Avenue? It was 
 his duty to have a conversation on the subject with the son. 
 He went, therefore, to see him, after writing him a note to 
 be sure he would find him ; and Mr. Frederick, not yet re- 
 duced to the last shifts of insolvent debtors — fully per- 
 suaded, on the contrary, except in some few gloomy mo- 
 ments, that he was on the eve of becoming one of the 
 wealthiest men of the country — did not attempt to dodge 
 the visit of the gentleman, and waited for him in his bril- 
 liant rooms of the Great Central Hotel. 
 
 ''I come, sir," said Mr. Wilson, '^to have a delicate con- 
 versation with you ; and I hope you will excuse me, as the 
 interest that brings me to you is precisely that of your own 
 mother. It is, in fact, with regard to the annuity that you 
 owe her." 
 
 "What is your pleasure?" suggested Mr. Frederick. 
 "Not only I owe it, but I pay it." 
 
 This was perfectly true. Several terms of it had already 
 followed each other, after the first one of which we spoke, 
 and the payments had always been promptly met by Mr. D. 
 Reckoning, the attorney of the young man. 
 
 "I do not come to speak of the past," said Mr. Wilson ; 
 "this has been so far perfectly correct; but I wish to see 
 the future secured permanently, so that the lady may never 
 have, on that score, the least anxiety." 
 
 "Would you pretend to say that my mother is afraid, 
 and that she sends you on that account?" replied, gruffly, 
 the young man ; "this I would deny, as I know her better 
 than you." 
 
 ' ' I have not intended to give you the least hint to that 
 effect," retorted the astonished attorney. "Your mother 
 knows nothing of the step I take ; it all originated with 
 me ; but I have to see to it, as she has confided all her in- 
 terests to my keeping." 
 
 "And do you not think I take as great an interest in 
 
DOINGS AND SAYINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLERS 285 
 
 her as you do ? " exclaimed, with yet more earnestness, the 
 injured innocent. 
 
 ''I hope it is so, sir," replied rather mildly the gentle- 
 man. "But law does not take much account of sentiment. 
 All I know is that the will of your father imposes upon 
 you, the inheritor of the bulk of his wealth, the duty of 
 paying a certain sum to his wife ; and, according to this 
 will, that sum is to be taken, before anything else, from the 
 revenue of the property left by him. But, from what I hear, 
 and from what I know, that property, solid and tangible 
 when he left it, is becoming every day more and more a 
 mere shadow in the shape of stocks, which are to-day in 
 your desk, and may be transferred to-morrow to the desk 
 of another." 
 
 "Do you come to give me a lesson, sir?" said here, ab- 
 ruptly, the young man. ' ' If you bring with you the threat 
 of law, accomplish your threat and sue me. I do not see, 
 indeed, for what motive, and with what prospect ; but as I 
 have no time to spare for such an absurd discussion, you 
 will please allow me to dress for an important call I have to 
 make." 
 
 Mr. Wilson, of course, withdrew instantly. All that re- 
 mained for him to do, was directly to have a conversation 
 on the subject with Mrs. Kirkbride, without whose consent 
 he could not undertake to call the young man before the 
 surrogate. He did so ; although suspecting beforehand 
 that the lady would never consent to such a step. 
 
 "My dear, sir," she said in conclusion, "if am reduced to 
 live on my proi)erty of Madison Avenue, I can manage, I 
 think, to obtain from it a crust of bread and a cup of water 
 for me and those two dear girls, who, I know, shall never 
 leave me ; I mean Julia and Rosa ; with them I can be happy, 
 until they find husbands worthy of them. My heart bleeds, 
 however, to see poor Freddy so fatally infatuated. He has 
 not come to see me for a long time ; I must go, one of these 
 days, to pay him a visit ; but you may be sure that I will 
 not say a word of the annuity ; it will be only to bring him 
 to his senses, before he has completely ruined himself." 
 
286 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 After the departure of Mr. Wilson, Mr. Kirkbride did 
 not dress to pay any call, important or not ; he waited for 
 the visit of his own attorney, who had A\T.itten likewise to 
 be admitted to his presence ; and the interval of time was 
 spent by the young man in a very restless manner. The 
 plain truth he had just heard stung him to the quick ; he 
 had occasionally felt himself that he was in great danger of 
 losing the wealth he had inherited from his father ; but the 
 thing had never presented itself to his mind with the vivid- 
 ness of the expressions used by his first visitor. The idea 
 of his own skill and shrewdness, which was paramount in 
 his mind at the beginning of his stock operations, was be- 
 ginning to give way to a feeling of uncertainty and doubt. 
 The heavy losses he had already met with were rude facts 
 which he could not drive away from his memory ; and his 
 intellect was yet strong enough to see that it would not 
 take a long time of such an adverse fortune to reduce fear- 
 fully the ''large capital" on which he had first relied for 
 success in stock gambling. Intent as he was on becoming 
 suddenly rich, he understood perfectly well that he could 
 not obtain his object without heavy risks which might leave 
 him suddenly poor at the end of those great operations 
 which had been for so long a time already the ardent aim 
 of all his desires. This made him, therefore, ''restless," 
 perfectly so. Was it more prudent to abandon all his pro- 
 jects, and turn merchant again ? For very shame he dis- 
 missed summarily the idea from his thoughts. Would it 
 be better to reduce himself to the kind of real-estate specu- 
 lations in which his father had jiretty well succeeded in the 
 long run 1 Then he would have to wait years and years 
 before he could enjoy life, as he understood it. He had 
 already openly scouted the mean imagination of such a 
 dull kind of business ; he could not possibly reconcile him- 
 self to the idea of coming back to it after such a brilliant 
 opening of a golden career. After all, what he had done was 
 mere skirmishing ; and he was alone at it. When the real 
 fray would begin it would be a very different affair ; he 
 would belong to a powerful organization bent on carrying 
 
DOINGS AND SAYINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLERS. 287 
 
 eTerything by force, and sure of success. The only policy 
 worthy of him was to go on ; and should he fail, there 
 would be an end of it ; he would not have to plod inglori- 
 ously in the obscure and tiresome paths of ordinary human 
 life for which he had never had the least taste, and which 
 he could not be brought to accept willingly. 
 
 Such was the run of his thoughts when Mr. Dio Reckon- 
 ing was announced and introduced into his apartments. So 
 far only a word has been said of this gentleman, who, how- 
 ever, represents a large class of men in the iS'ew World. 
 The whole extent of his mental, and, we may say, moral 
 idiosyncrasy was limited Tvithin a circle well defined and 
 perfectly intelligible to the senses : money was the sole key 
 to that interior kingdom of Mr. D. Reckoning. "What will 
 it bring to my purse \ ' ' was probably a question the gentle- 
 man asked of himself fifty times a day. He adored wealth 
 and worshiped dollars. The future for him was not the 
 eternal hereafter of the Christian, nor the hazy spiritual 
 existence of the Platonist philosopher : it was merely the 
 time when Mr. Reckoning would be a rich man. Yet the gen- 
 tleman was a moral man ; he had a reputation of integrity ; 
 he could boast, like the sprightly Frenchman, devoid of all 
 religious feeling, that he never in his life had been guilty 
 of having tue ni 7)ole. With respect to those who intrusted 
 their interests to his hands, and made him their attorney, 
 he rendered them full justice, after having first consulted 
 his own advantage. The day Mr. F. Kirkbride placed in 
 his hands the care of his law business and the material 
 agency of his real estate, had been one of the proudest of 
 his life. The wealth of the young gentleman, which would 
 probably continue to increase, as it had constantly during 
 his father's life, promised him large and numerous fees and 
 percentages. The "hen with the golden eggs" had fallen 
 to his lot ; he had only to improve well his opportunity, 
 and he would become rich himself. The beginning of his 
 business in this line had been extremely prosperous ; numer- 
 ous sales of property had brought to his purse rich dues 
 derived from his agency. But in the midst of this prospe- 
 
288 LOXTISA KIREBJRLDE. 
 
 rity lie saw with dismay that there would soon be an end of 
 it. Mr. Kirkbride always sold, and never bought. It was 
 not what he had first fondly imagined ; he thought that it 
 would be like an endless chain, with a beginning, indeed, 
 but no termination ; and strange to say, the termination of 
 his hopes was already visible enough at no great distance. 
 For this reason he trembled for himself, and on this account 
 he trembled for his rich client. What was the young gen- 
 tleman about? Evidently he had made up his mind to 
 invest all his real estate in stocks, in order to gamble on a 
 large scale. It was proper to open his eyes and show him 
 he was running rapidly on to his ruin. 
 
 When the two gentlemen were seated, Mr. Dio Reckon- 
 ing took from his pocket a pretty large number of papers, 
 having reference to some law transactions, and several 
 heavy transfers of property just effected. Thus he placed 
 in the hands of Mr. Kirkbride some heavy checks and other 
 tokens of wealth, which the young man received eagerly, 
 and transferred to his private safe. Then the legal adviser 
 added, handing to his employer a last paper written by 
 himself: "I have taken the liberty, sir, to make a state- 
 ment of all the transactions passed under your orders, since 
 I have had the honor of taking charge of your affairs. You 
 will find here the complete list of all the parcels of real 
 estate you were possessed of when I became your agent, 
 the precise epoch at which many of them were sold, with 
 the price they brought, and the list of those which yet 
 remain to you, with their estimated value." 
 
 "Would you be kind enough," inquired Mr. Kirkbride, 
 "to tell me with what intention you took that trouble, and 
 what you want me to do with this paper ? " 
 
 "I thought, sir," he replied, "that, in the midst of the 
 many things which absorb your mind, you may be drawn 
 away from the consideration of such an important affair 
 as your actual real estate. It is rapidly diminishing, as 
 you may perceive by the help of this short expose, and 
 it is my duty to call your attention to it, that you may 
 not suddenly express great surprise at finding that it has 
 
DOINGS AND SAYINGS OF TWO STOCK GAMBLERS. 289 
 
 finally been entirely absorbed, and been replaced merely by 
 paper." 
 
 ^'I thank you, sir, for yonr foresight," said with a smile 
 the yonng gentleman, ''but it was perfectly useless, as I 
 know by heart what you have taken the trouble of writing. 
 I am not ignorant of the state of my affairs ; and I will 
 never express any surprise at finding all my real estate 
 gone, since it was precisely my intention to order you, at 
 this meeting, to finish with it, and dispose, during the 
 course of this week, of whatever may remain to me in that 
 shape." 
 
 The worthy attorney was struck dumb by such positive 
 language ; but after a moment of silence, his self-interest 
 prompted him to say some words of remonstrance against 
 such reckless behavior. "Believe me, sk," he said, ''it is 
 only the interest I take in you which emboldens me to ad- 
 dress you a word or two of expostulation. In my business 
 career I have remarked that invariably those who contented 
 themselves with money in hand, ended by losing their all, 
 and that, consequently, real estate is needed as a founda- 
 tion of wealth. It is to the individual what coin is to the 
 banker ; and it is, in my opinion, as imprudent for a man to 
 deal all the time in paper without possessing any tangible 
 property, as it would be for a banking company to start in 
 business without coin or something equivalent to it, sup- 
 posing that the laws allowed it." 
 
 ' ' It may be your opinion, sir, ' ' replied the young gentle- 
 man, ' ' and you may think you have experience on your 
 side, but I know facts which openly contradict your opinion ; 
 and as to your comparison, I admit no parity between the 
 two cases." 
 
 Mr. D. Reckoning did not see yet that it was useless for 
 him to sx)eak, and he was bold enough to add : "There may 
 have been some adventurers who, even without any capital, 
 not to speak of real estate, have built up a kind of fortune 
 by wild speculations which, in the end, turned out gainful ; 
 but these men were invariably, at the beginning at least, 
 swindlers ; and of this kind of people there can be, of 
 19 
 
290 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 course, no question between us." Evidently Mr. Reckon- 
 ing was becoming a *' moral man," and the tho light of it 
 brought in the danger of turning Mr. Frederick's stomach, 
 who was shrewd enough to understand perfectly well the 
 man and his motive in thus speaking. 
 
 " It may be as you say," the young man added, to put an 
 end to the conversation; "have the goodness, however, to 
 do as I tell you. Bring me the proceeds of the sale infal- 
 libly before next Thursday." 
 
 Mr. Dio Reckoning had nothing else to do but to leave 
 the room ; and Mr. F. Kirkbride then really began to dress 
 for his going out. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 JUST THE DAY BEFOEE. 
 
 Meanwhile, the managers of the Great Friskey Combi- 
 nation Cause were slyly and insidiously working to make 
 it as sure as fate, when the hour would come for unmasking 
 suddenly their batteries. The day of action was drawing 
 near ; and they labored with the industry of beavers at the 
 near approach of winter. Those intrusted with the full secret 
 had been, as we know, preparing, for a long time, such per- 
 fect measures of success that they might be absolutely sure 
 of it beforehand. Not only there was not to be any fear of 
 failure for the main purpose ; but they intended to carry out 
 the whole plan, to its full extent and in all its details. 
 
 It was but very lately that the policy of ^' cornering gold" 
 had been secretly announced to the rank and file of the 
 conspirators — a more appropriate expression could not be 
 found. But the leaders (very few in number, in fact scarcely 
 half a dozen) had almost from the beginning fully made up 
 their minds to adopt this policy. They were sure they 
 could, and that it would directly make them immensely 
 rich. In no other country in the world, at least among 
 prosperous and civilized nations, could such a project as 
 this be entertained by men, sane in mind. The only case 
 history can furnish was that of the ancient despots of Asia 
 or Africa, some of whom actually monopolized all the pre- 
 cious metals of their country. But as to modern times, 
 who could, for instance, undertake to ''corner gold" in 
 France, in England, in Germany ? A hundred or more of 
 the richest capitalists in each of those countries might try 
 
 291 
 
292 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 it in vain, even shonld you suppose that they would com- 
 bine together not only all their actual means, but likewise 
 all their credit. In the United States alone, could a few 
 individuals, without personal wealth, and having only at 
 their command the credit of a few corporations, rich in 
 paper, undertake to appropriate to themselves the totality 
 almost of coin in circulation, in order to raise suddenly its 
 nominal value, by creating a fearful void of it in the whole 
 country, and then to sell it at once at an immense pre- 
 mium and profit. With such a possibility before our eyes, 
 we fear that the opinion of the district attorney of New 
 York, whom we heard lately speaking on the subject, is, 
 after all, too true ; and that a new proof of it, of which he 
 had no idea at the time, was going to be divulged to the 
 public for the ruin of many and the enlightenment of those 
 who would consent to open their eyes. That profound 
 thinker based his opinion simply on the necessity of having 
 a strong metallic basis for large commercial and ind ustrial 
 enterprises, and for avoiding the periodical financial crises 
 which are the material bane of this country. He showed that 
 everywhere, except in the United States, the precious metals 
 were eagerly attracted, bought even at a large premium, 
 hoarded up, if you choose to call it so, and left apparently 
 inoperative in the immense vaults of national banks, or those 
 of rich capitalists : and he did not share in the infatuation 
 of the pretended political economists who appear horrified 
 whenever a single metallic dollar remains out of general 
 circulation. Yet the deep-reflecting gentleman was never led 
 to think that another danger, and a still more fearful one, 
 would result from the possibility of a few unprincipled ad- 
 venturers clubbing together to create a total famine of gold, 
 and to show at once the naked poverty of a great country, 
 in appearance on the top rung of the ladder of wealth. He 
 did not think of such a possibility. 
 
 Mr. James Friskey, and his compeers, had a more prac- 
 tical idea of the real weakness of the financial system of 
 this country. He knew that a few men could ''rake up," 
 at a single draw, all its scattered coin ; as the lucky gam- 
 
JUST THE DAY BEFORE. 293 
 
 biers do the stakes heaped up on the tapis verd, around 
 which winners and losers are seated, with flaming eyes and 
 gaping mouths. Yet Mr. Friskey was not personally rich, 
 nor indeed, any of those associated with him, but he was 
 backed by the enormous power of an inflated corporation — 
 the '* Dunkirk" Railroad — whose capital Avas at the time 
 constantly rising and growing in bulk. This was chiefly 
 owing to the infatuation of Englishmen, who had been led 
 to believe, on the other side of the water, that untold profits 
 would be infallibly derived from this second line of com- 
 munication between New York and the Great West. It 
 is always the same gold mania which blinds even the 
 shrewdest people, and depletes their purses when they 
 think only of filling them. 
 
 Under various pretexts, therefore, the leaders of the 
 Great Friskey Combination had been already, for some 
 length of time, buying gold right and left and accumu- 
 lating it in their capacious coffers for further use. The 
 premium had been gradually rising without any apparent 
 cause. The writers of money-articles in the various daily 
 papers had wisely explained the whole subject a great many 
 times ; each one of them had his system to prove conclu- 
 sively that gold must rise. Some attributed it to permanent 
 or temporary causes existing in this country ; the wrong 
 system adopted by the secretary of the treasury ; the play 
 of parties at Washington ; the favor injudiciously granted 
 to national banks, etc. Others saw in it the effect of foreign 
 influence ; it was, according to a few, the Bank of France, 
 which was strengthening itself ; this was denied in the ma- 
 jority of newspapers, and the cause, if you believed them, 
 was rather the Bank of England, which at this time was 
 raising its interest at the rate of one per cent, a month. 
 Finally some anomalous geniuses went as far as China to 
 explain the strange phenomenon ; it is well known that a 
 large quantity of hard silver is required for the trade with 
 the Celestial Empire, and gold, they said, was required to 
 buy silver. 
 
 These were some of the wild speculations afloat, all of 
 
294 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 them very wide of the mark. The only sensible writer of 
 the period, was an unknown young man, attached to an 
 unknown paper of Washington County, IN". Y., called, we 
 believe, the Washington Bugle, He affirmed, that hav- 
 ing perused all his ''exchanges," he could not be satisfied 
 with their dogmatic assertions, nor fully admit any of their 
 theories. He could see only one adequate cause for the 
 very strange fact of the steady rise in gold : there were 
 persons hoarding it up. Was it for future speculations ? 
 for political effect ? for mere gambling purposes ? He could 
 not say ; but he strongly advised all his readers not to part 
 with the gold coin they had in their possession. The re- 
 sult was that a dozen or so of intelligent farmers of Wash- 
 ington County kept the fair eagles, or half-eagles, they had 
 accumulated since the war began, and which they were in- 
 clined to sell at the present price. They continued to hold 
 them, securely tied up in old stockings, or under double 
 key in their clothes-presses. This could not much affect 
 the operations of the Great Friskey Combination. Gold 
 continued to become every day scarcer; the New York 
 merchants who could not carry on their commercial opera- 
 tions without it, either for duties to the Government, or to 
 buy exchange on London, were beginning to bitterly com- 
 plain of their situation, and to call on the administration 
 at Washington to sell, at a reasonable price, a few of the 
 many millions in gold kept in their reserve. The secretary 
 of the treasury could not see the necessity of it, and the 
 gold-famine, instead of diminishing, increased fearfully. 
 Several bankruptcies had already taken place, but they were 
 considered of little account, as none of them, individually, 
 yet reached the sum of one hundred thousand dollars. In 
 periods of excitement of this intense nature, merchants of 
 such low degree, and, more still, those of smaller figures, 
 are contemptuously passed over, and scarcely mentioned in 
 the numerous periodicals of the day. People seem to think 
 that this small fry do not deserve the pity of the pub- 
 lic, and that they can, without the least compunction, be 
 let fall into their deserved obscurity. The heads of such 
 
JUST THE DAY BEFORE. 295 
 
 insignificant families can as well remain all their lives petty 
 clerks in establishments not their own, without the possi- 
 bility of ever rising above want, as boast of an independent 
 position in which they may increase their capital and se- 
 cure for their children an education, a competency, and a 
 respectable position in society. Such is the world. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Frederick, and his worthy '' confidential 
 agent," continued to bid in the stock exchange, and al- 
 though the first, of these two gentlemen, in constant inter- 
 course with the leaders of the Friskey party, occasionally 
 received from some of them secret advice, which gave him 
 a push on the winning side, and revived his drooping hopes ; 
 yet the grand total, even for him, was a constantly descend- 
 ing scale of his former ''large capital." As to Mr. John, 
 he was growing furious and almost desperate ; he could not 
 say a word to his employer without grumbling ; and occa- 
 sionally intimated to him that "there must be an end of 
 this secrecy under which he was kept, or he would come 
 out not to the advantage of a certain young heir, too proud 
 of a position he did not deserve." A crisis was evidently 
 approaching. 
 
 It was in these ominous circumstances that Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride thought of fulfilling at last the intention she had ex- 
 pressed to Mr. Wilson, of paying a visit to her son. She 
 thought, first, of going in her little carriage, with a single 
 pony, to the great Central Hotel, and of falling suddenly 
 on the young man unprepared for the interview, and un- 
 aware of her purpose. But she soon dismissed the idea ; 
 it would most probably produce a bad effect on him ; the 
 weeds she continued to wear, her humble equipage, the 
 surroundings of the immense modern caravansary, where 
 her son lived in splendor, would not, in the least, she rea- 
 sonably thought, render what she had to say effective. She 
 made up her mind to send him a note, such that he would 
 surely come to her. • 
 
 "My dear Son," she wrote, "I have not seen you for 
 an age ; yet I have a great deal to say to you. Could you 
 
296 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 not come to dine with me? Your great objection, the last 
 time I saw you, was my hour, two o'clock in the afternoon ; 
 I will postpone it to five o'clock. Can you come to-morrow, 
 Tuesday ? Please answer by the bearer. 
 
 ^' Your loving mother, 
 
 ''L. KiRKBEIDE." 
 
 This note was carried on Monday evening by a boy of the 
 neighborhood, the son of a widow whom the lady frequently 
 helped. Mr. Frederick was in his room when it came. He 
 was surprised on reading it. ''Was she going to speak to 
 him of the annuity ? Had Wilson put it into her head?" 
 These two questions were of a nature to excite his curi- 
 osity, and he answered directly that '' he would go." 
 
 The dinner had been prepared with some elegance, to 
 please the son, who was, however, astonished that his mother 
 had only Rosa to help at table. He, however, behaved de- 
 cently, but waited with impatience for the end of the meal, 
 when he would be alone with her. That moment arrived, 
 and both of them withdrew to the lady's room. 
 
 "I have been lately troubled, my dear Freddy," she said, 
 "by the thought that you are actually alone in the world, 
 with nobody to advise you. It is a sad position for a young 
 man, chiefly when he has at his command large means, and 
 may fall into the hands of sharpers. On this account, I 
 have called you to-day, to know whether, by putting both 
 our heads together, yours and mine, we cannot see more 
 clearly into the state of your affairs than you can alone. A 
 woman, I admit, is generally considered incapable of at- 
 tending to business, particularly business of importance ; 
 but a mother is not what is properly called a woman. The 
 interest she naturally takes in her son prompts her to 
 greater exertions, and she may, through maternal love, find 
 the solution of difficulties which a man would often be un- 
 able to reach." 
 
 The sftn was astonished to hear such simple words, but, 
 for all that, so true and telling. 
 
 *'I am not, mother, entirely without advisers," he re- 
 
JUST THE DAY BEFOBE. 297 
 
 marked, '^and, on the contrary, I rely on friends, without 
 whose help I might experience real difficulties. I am confi- 
 dent that, with their aid, everything will turn out well." 
 
 "I put it to you, Freddy," interposed the mother, "would 
 the advice of your father, if yet alive, chime in with that of 
 those you call your friends ? You knew well what was the 
 firm conviction of Mr. Kirkbride'with respect to business, 
 and he tried, I know, to give a proper direction to your 
 conduct. Have you sacredly followed his injunctions, and, 
 in what you pursue, are you acting on his wise sugges- 
 tions?" 
 
 The mother expected an answer, which was not coming 
 from the son ; she therefore added : 
 
 " Speak candidly to me, my dear Fred ; I am your best 
 friend, and those to whom you give the name may be false 
 to it, and deceive you." 
 
 '^ Mother," he said, "I do not think they deceive me, as 
 it would not be their interest to do so, and I am sure that 
 as they fare, so Tvi.ll I. Xo one who knows them can im- 
 agine they are fated to fail." 
 
 "That is to say," interposed, eagerly, the lady, "their 
 gambling cards are well played, and will turn out trumps." 
 
 "Who put that in your head, mother?" hurriedly re- 
 plied the wretched young man ; "who told you that I have 
 become a mere gambler ? " 
 
 "To speak the truth," she replied, with a most heavy 
 heart, " everybody that speaks of you calls you so ; they 
 all say that you are merely gambling in stocks. Was this 
 the advice of your father ? and do you call friends those 
 who induce you to adopt such a profession?" 
 
 "Mother," he exclaimed, blushing, "those who speak 
 thus do not know what they say. They have no idea of 
 what business is in this country. The contemptible slow 
 dealings of a former age are, with reason, set aside by the 
 living business men of this ; and the fools, who have no 
 eyes to see, revenge themselves by giving opprobrious names 
 to what is above their ken." 
 
 "I hope, son," interrupted the lady, with excited feel- 
 
298 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 ings, ''that, in speaking of 'slow dealings' and of 'fools,' 
 your mind did not revert to your father, to whom, how- 
 ever, in the meaning you attach to those words, they fully 
 apply. I must tell you, sir, that you are going to your 
 complete ruin, in pretending to have more wisdom than 
 those who were your natural guides. My heart bleeds for 
 you, because I am your mother ; but my heart suffers still 
 more, perhaps, for the reputation of your father, whom 
 you may disgrace. If the house he placed his pride in 
 building up, totters to its ruin, and falls, the name of the 
 Kirkbrides shall be dishonored, and the family ended with 
 discredit." 
 
 Wretched Frederick felt the force of these eloquent 
 words, and as, in his gloomy moments, the same ideas had 
 passed rapidly through his heated brain, he inwardly felt 
 that ^\dsdom required of him to retrace his steps. For a 
 short moment, he was on the point of falling at his mo- 
 ther's feet, revealing to her all his secrets, and the real situ- 
 ation of his affairs, and of submitting to her guidance alone, 
 determined to abide by her decision. But, in this case, 
 only shreds of his previous fortune would remain, to attest 
 forever his folly. Scarcely any honorable way would be 
 opened to him to rise and retrieve something of his former 
 position. How could he show his face in society ? Where 
 would he turn to meet with the approval of any one ? If a 
 single religious feeling had remained in his heart ; if he had 
 been susceptible of the least pious emotion, the thought of 
 deserving the approval of his conscience and his God, the 
 desire of atoning for so many misdeeds, might have sup- 
 ported him in this hour of temptation, and given him the 
 strength to rise, like the prodigal son, and exclaim ^:)^C(?a^)^/ 
 but nothing of the kind could be of avail in his position ; 
 his soul was seared to every emotion above the wretched 
 world in which he had moved, and was moving at the 
 time. 
 
 On the other side, the moment was fast approaching when 
 he knew that a great blow was to be struck by those he 
 called his friends ; there remained but a couple of days, he 
 
JUST THE DAY BEFORE. 299 
 
 thouglit, before that epoch arrived ; and he was yet sure — 
 at least, in times of elated feelings and worldly aspiration — 
 that success would smile on him, and repair all the late 
 injuries of fortune. He did not, therefore, fall at the feet 
 of his mother. He, on the contrary, took a proud attitude, 
 and replied, although with some hesitation: "I did not 
 think of my father, madam, when I spoke as I did. I am 
 pretty sure that, if he had found himself in my position, he 
 would have acted as I do, since, really, there is but one 
 way open for me. I am confident, mother," he said, with 
 a more conciliating expression, ''that in a week or so you 
 •will not blame me ; and that, at least, you will not fear the 
 disgrace of which you said what, I confess, I did not expect 
 from you." 
 And wdth these words he left the room of his mother. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne, acting on the recom- 
 mendation of the district attorney, was not idle in his in- 
 vestigations. Ahern, following closely the goings in and 
 out of Mr. F. Kirkbride, had found out his connection with 
 the Friskey clique, and, as the stock exchange was becom- 
 ing every day more excited, and the merchants' complaints 
 grew each moment louder, young O' Byrne became con- 
 vinced of a conspiracy to withdraw gold from circulation, 
 long before any stock gambler of the strength of Mr. Fred- 
 erick could suspect the idea of " cornering gold." He had 
 heard from Boyle, who was, of course, always porter in 
 the house of T. Bland & Co., that these gentlemen, who 
 had never before experienced any difiiculty in their com- 
 mercial operations, and always found at their disposal any 
 amount they required of coin for either "duties" or "ex- 
 change," were now fairly "nonplused," and had been lit- 
 erally on the point of "suspending" — the most dreadful 
 situation, indeed, for an honorable and strong house. Mr. 
 Cornelius 0' Byrne, anxious to know the extent of the evil, 
 had employed several young Irishmen of his acquaintance, 
 intelligent, active, personally friendly, and desirous of being 
 useful to him, to make inquiries in many other large houses, 
 
300 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 and, with prudence and discretion, they had obtained de- 
 tailed infonnation which presented the case in a much 
 stronger light than any newspaper then alive, as the art of 
 "interviewing" had so far scarcely been attempted, much 
 less had it grown to the proportions it afterward attained. 
 In fact, the situation in New York had become as desperate 
 as that described by Macaulay, in England, at the end of the 
 seventeenth century, under the administration of Somers 
 and Montague, when the old coin had been called in by 
 the Government, on account of its loss in weight, and the 
 new coin could not be put in circulation in the proportion 
 required for the commercial affairs of the kingdom. ' ' There 
 were, indeed, some hammered pieces," he says, "which had 
 escaped mutilation, and sixpences, not clipped within the 
 innermost ring, were still current. This old money and the 
 new money together made up a scanty stock of silver, which, 
 with the help of some gold, was to carry the nation through 
 the summer. The manufacturers generally continued, 
 though with extreme difficulty, to pay their workmen in 
 coin. The upper classes seemed to have lived, to a great 
 extent on credit. Even an opulent man seldom had the 
 means of discharging the weekly bills of his baker and 
 butcher. A promissory note, however, subscribed by such 
 a man, was readily taken in the district where his means 
 and character were well known." 
 
 The difficulty experienced by the merchants of New York 
 was, it is true, very different from that which puzzled those 
 of England at the end of the seventeenth century. There 
 was no question of buying bread or meat. The New World, 
 for these universal needs, was blessed with bits of paper, 
 called "fractional currency," representing nothing, yet ac- 
 cepted, with a great deal of good nature, by all citizens 
 alike, because they knew that if such "currency" was 
 repudiated, society would come to a dead lock, and men 
 would be compelled " to exchange a mat for a hatchet," as 
 Macaulay says, ' ' and a pair of moccasins for a piece of veni- 
 son," that is to say, would, in fact, have returned to a state 
 of semi-barbarism. The difficulty at the time in New York 
 
JUST THE DA Y BEFORE. 301 
 
 was of a much more appalling character, because it could 
 not be turned by a flank movement, and passed over by a 
 simple system of small exchanges. There was question of 
 the existence of all large commercial or manufacturing 
 houses, which cannot live vdthout the precious metals, and 
 would have to close their doors or go into bankruptcy, being 
 unable to pay the enormous premium artificially imposed 
 by the wicked manoeuvres of a set of gamblers. It was a 
 real ''conspiracy" against the prosperity of the whole 
 country, and the individual fortunes of many respectable 
 and useful families of citizens, without whose extensive 
 operations a iDeople cannot be a great nation. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne took this view of it, and went 
 openly to denounce it again to the district attorney, taking 
 with him two papers he had written, on one of which were 
 the names of numerous merchants in danger of failure by 
 the gigantic swindle, and on the other the names of a few 
 adventurers clubbed together by the irrepressible lust for 
 unlawful gain. 
 
 The district attorney admired his activity, his just ideas 
 of morality, his uprightness and desire of promoting the 
 public good ; but, after a few moments' reflection, he began 
 to write on a foolscap sheet of paper a number of indica- 
 tions of statutes, enactments, laws, until that day elaborated 
 in the various legislatures of the State of New York, for 
 the protection of society, and, handing it to the young Irish- 
 man, "Here you have," he said, "the materials of a good 
 lesson in law. Go back to my office ; peruse the various 
 texts referred to in this paper : they are, I am afraid, all the 
 restraints our legislators have imposed on the rapacity of 
 sharpers ; and I doubt if you will find a single one author- 
 izing a prosecution from me. Imagine my position if I 
 summoned Mr. Friskey, Mr. J. G., and all the others, to 
 appear before any court, and answer your charges, speci- 
 fied as strongly as you and I could. See what your testi- 
 mony would come to, and what your good sense will tell 
 you on the subject. In my opinion, the only thing which 
 could be done would be to publish openly aU those details, 
 
302 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 and let public opinion rise in anger against such reckless- 
 ness. But, should YOU do so, yoxi may be sure that none 
 of the ' organs of public opinion, ' as they are called, will 
 take your view of the subject, which I think is the right 
 view. All these journalists have their own ax to grind, 
 and their personal views on all subjects. Many of them 
 will publish ludicrous accounts of your endeavors, and 
 make you appear ridiculous in the eyes of the public ; 
 others will merely say that these denunciations concern the 
 law authorities, and not editors of newspapers, who might 
 be prosecuted for libel, etc. The best, in my opinion, 
 friend 0' Byrne, is to keep this to yourself, and continue to 
 inquire, because some of those men, in their frenzy, may 
 become openly guilty of theft or violence." 
 
 Thus the stock gamblers were at liberty to go on in their 
 mad career. The ever-growing excitement of the exchange 
 was daily the subject of long comments in the public jour- 
 nals, and gold continued rising steadily. But at last the 
 moment had arrived for the Great Friskey Combination to 
 strike their last blow, and the word was passed around by 
 the leaders to be prepared for the day ; this was to be the 
 memorable one destined to be kept in remembrance for a 
 long time in the annals of New York as " Black Friday." 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 BLACK FRIDAY AIS^D THE CRASH. 
 
 If the *' conspirators" — as they liave been called — had 
 made up their mind to enrich themselves suddenly by a 
 '* corner in gold," and had leisurely prepared themselves 
 for the great occasion, the public of New York, even those 
 who thought themselves the best posted on the all-impor- 
 tant subject of finance, were, in fact, blissfully ignorant of 
 the smallest detail of the scheme. This is what any one 
 can read in the money -article of one of the most prominent 
 New York papers, just three days before the dreadful ex- 
 plosion : On Tuesday, September 21st, it was thought in 
 Wall Street, that "the bear movement in gold and stocks 
 had withdrawn a great deal of money from circulation ; and 
 the plans of the cliques not being consummated as yet, the 
 money is not returned, but still kept out of the market, to 
 help the cliques in obtaining stocks as cheaply as possible." 
 There are in this statement as many mistakes as words ; 
 and thus the poor victims to be fleeced were indulging in 
 fancies as wide of the mark as heaven is distant from the 
 earth. First, the great cause of the "famine in gold" was 
 attributed to the poor hears who were precisely the victims 
 of it. Secondly, the money was said to be withdrawn mo- 
 mentarily, only because the 'plans of the cliques " were 
 not yet consummated ; as soon as this happened it would 
 come back wdth a rush. Thirdly, stocTcs only were supposed 
 to be the gi-eat object of speculation, gold was a mere in- 
 cident—the very reverse of truth. Fourthly, these plans 
 belonged to cliques^ two at least, we suppose ; when the 
 
 303 
 
304 LOUISA KIBKBHIDE. 
 
 fact was that there was but one clique, which has been so 
 far called the Friskey Combination. The word clique being 
 shorter, and certainly more appropriate, will be henceforth 
 used exclusively. It is ominous to see such a crowd of 
 financiers in the city of New York, thus fatally deceived 
 on the eve of a universal crash. Why, the young editor of 
 the Washington County Bugle had more wisdom in his 
 single head than all those veterans of the stock exchange. 
 
 But the fatality of the deception was increased by the 
 firm persuasion that ''the Secretary of the Treasury was to 
 purchase two millions of bonds on Wednesday, September 
 22d, and one million more on Thursday, the 23d ; and thus 
 the local market of New York city would receive a contri- 
 bution of three millions in gold before Friday." This, of 
 course, was thought amply sufiicient to ward off all dan- 
 ger of a crash ; since the difficulty was supposed to be but 
 slight, and to come only from a ' ' temporary movement of 
 the bears." They, therefore, put ' ' that flattering unction to 
 their soul," that by Friday, at the very latest, everything 
 would be "as merry as a marriage bell." 
 
 Meanwhile, the '' bears " were selling stocks in great quan- 
 tities, and consequently stocks fell, to the great chagrin of 
 the ''bulls," as everybody thought. Nobody saw that by 
 the very fall of stocks gold was rising, and this was just 
 the trump card of the "bulls," namely, of the Friskey 
 Combination, or rather of the "clique," as we have just 
 promised to call it henceforth. The " clique " was admira- 
 bly successful during this Tuesday, 21st day of September. 
 At the end of it, the New York Central stock had fallen 
 from 202| to 198{. The Erie had positively tumbled down 
 from 89 1 to 38 J. Pacific Mail from 78.;^ to 75. Mr. Frede- 
 rick, who had, of course, grounded his hopes for the day on 
 the Erie stock, must have lost dreadfully ; but he did not 
 acquaint anybody with the extent of his operations. 
 
 On the following day, Wednesday, September 22d, the 
 delusion continued. Wall Street thought only of stocks, 
 and scarcely bestowed a thought on gold. Just forty-eight 
 hours before the impending doom for many, arrived, and no 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND TEE CRASH. 305 
 
 one appeared even to suspect in what shape the scourge 
 would come. So far the clique had kept its secret all to 
 itself ; and neither Mr. Frederick nor his confidential 
 agent were more enlightened on the subject than the most 
 obtuse-minded stock broker of the whole establishment. 
 The fluctuations of the N. Y. Central and Erie were fright- 
 ful. At one time, the first of these stocks, which had 
 opened in the morning at 195^, fell to 176 — a fall of about 
 ten per cent. — horrible indeed to contemplate ! When the 
 enormous amount of shares that changed hands during 
 those dreadful hours is considered, the loss that must have 
 been incurred by a large number of operators, is almost 
 beyond all calculation. At least we will neither attempt to 
 perform the arithmetical operation required, nor inflict it on 
 the reader. 
 
 These fitful, incomprehensible, and fatal fluctuations in 
 N. Y. Central particularly, were encouraged by the wildest 
 rumors. The supporters of Erie wished evidently to revenge 
 themselves for the extraordinary losses of the day previous, 
 and did not stop at the most palpable fabrications, which 
 their gullible victims swallowed with evident relish. Thus, 
 at one time, Mr. Vanderbilt, the great manager of the Cen- 
 tral Railroad, had died suddenly of disease of the heart. 
 The corporation, deprived of its able administration, would 
 soon fall to pieces, and could never find a new head able 
 to cope in ability with Jas. Friskey, of the ''Dunkirk" 
 line of railway. Soon, however, the news was found to be 
 " too good to be true." Mr. Vanderbilt was acknowledged 
 to be yet alive, nay, in full vigor and activity. He had posi- 
 tively been seen by several travelers, that very morning, on 
 his way to Albany, where he was going to obtain from the 
 State Legislature the "consolidation" of the Central with 
 the Hudson River R.R. It was a well-known scheme of his 
 own, which he had not yet been able to carry through. 
 The financial enemies of Mr. Vanderbilt and of his enter- 
 prises were sure that he would no more succeed this time 
 than before. In fact a good number of the stockholders of 
 the Central had always been opposed to its '' consolidation " 
 20 
 
306 LOTUS A KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 with the Hudson River Railway. !N"o man under the influence 
 of the Friskey interest could ever imagine that this arduous 
 undertaking of Mr. Vanderbilt could ever overcome the nu- 
 merous obstacles that lay in its way. Thus the stock of the 
 Central went down, down, down. All the other branches of 
 the vast enterprises of the celebrated " Commodore," as he 
 was still called, went down likewise, though not with such 
 frightful rapidity. The Harlem from 145 fell to 140 ; and 
 the Hudson River from 170 to 166. 
 
 Thus was a great part of Wednesday, September 22d, 
 passed in the weakening, or rather the threatened destruc- 
 tion of large railroad enterprises which had been under- 
 taken and so far successfully carried through for a widely 
 different object. 
 
 The latter part of this same day, however, a new feature 
 suddenly appeared which took everybody by surprise. It 
 was unaccountably reported that a terrible fight was going 
 on in the Gold Room between the bears and the bulls. This 
 time it was a question of gold, not of stocks. The bears all 
 at once emboldened by some local advantage — the nature of 
 which we did not care to ascertain in the numerous papers 
 which all the actual details are taken from — attacked the 
 bulls with fury, so that gold fell to 137|. The ''innocent 
 bulls" were supposed to have been almost disheartened by 
 the success of their enemies, and this all the people of 
 Gotham believed implicitly on the evening of that event- 
 ful day. But the broad daylight experience of the two 
 following days completely proved the fallacy of that sup- 
 position. The "bulls," or rather the "clique," was not dis- 
 heartened. Far from it ! It was, in fact, a part of their plan 
 which it is proper to briefly explain. Their great object — 
 known tons at this time, but then unknown — was to "cor- 
 ner gold," that is to monopolize it, so as to be able to put on 
 it the price they wished, and thus become immediately rich 
 in a moment. In their long x^reparations, previously de- 
 scribed, and on the last two days when stocks tumbled down 
 with such rapidity, they had purchased, in fact, absolutely 
 all the gold contained in the various banking institutions of 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE CRASH. 307 
 
 the city, amounting to about 820,000,000. This is a fact 
 which was fully ascertained after the crash. But there was 
 still left a pretty large quantity of the precious metal remain- 
 ing loose, as it were ; that is, out of the banks' possession, 
 and mainly in the hands of the poor bears, who had acquired 
 a pretty large amount of it by selling, selling, selling stock as 
 detailed in the operations of yesterday, September 21st. 
 This share the ' ' clique ' ' wanted to lay their hands on ; and 
 they succeeded in inducing the very green bears to attack 
 them on the spur of the moment, in their visible policy of 
 raising the price of gold. The bears all at once appeared on 
 the field intent to lower it. The "bulls," or the " clique," 
 submitted to an apparent whipping, allowed the price to fall 
 suddenly as low as 137|, after having kept it at a much 
 higher range. The bears appeared triumphant, when the 
 " clique " bought all the gold at that price, and thus finally 
 they had attained the great object of their wishes ; they had 
 in their possession all the precious metal the State of New 
 York possessed, or at least they knew they would surely 
 have it during the afternoon of the following day, Thursday 
 the 23d, and be thus ready for their swoop of the next Fri- 
 day. The operation brought the attention of everybody 
 on the Gold Room, but very few if any had yet any inkling 
 of what was to follow. 
 
 In the afternoon of the same day, the 22d, the gross clear- 
 ances at the Gold Exchange Bank were $98,392,000. To 
 understand the full meaning of this, the reader must be 
 informed that those clearances indicate the amount of 
 financial operations gone through during the day. Now, 
 it is well ascertained that for all the needs of legitimate 
 business in New York, at that time, $2,000,000 of gold 
 daily were amply sufficient. There were, therefore, more 
 than $96,000,000 of gold actually used for mere gambling. 
 Rather, the gold was not, in fact, used, and never changed 
 hands. The whole operation consisted in transfers on 
 memorandum books, and payments or receipts of ' ' mar- 
 gins," according as there had been a loss or a gain for the 
 holder. 
 
308 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 On Wednesday, September 23d, the excitement began 
 early to run liigh at the gold room. The stock exchange 
 seemed to be rather deserted, though the bears were still so 
 infatuated that they ultimately thought only of stocks and 
 carried on their operations in view of this. There was soon 
 in the day, ''a shouting mass of brokers wedged in the gold 
 room." The gold dials were anxiously consulted every 
 moment, as the fluctuations were consecutively announced 
 by the bell. The bears had commenced in earnest again, 
 following their fatal plan of the day before. They sold, 
 sold, sold, and the "clique" bought, bought, bought, until 
 gold finally reached 141 J. Here, there was a short lull; 
 and it is proper to take advantage of it for considering a 
 moment how far Mr. Frederick was succeeding in his opera- 
 tions. This young gentleman was just in the midst of the 
 already mentioned "shouting mass of brokers." A fine 
 position, indeed, for the son and heir of Ealph S. Kirk- 
 bride ! Were he one of the " shouting brokers," we would 
 not be surprised, though our documents say positively 
 nothing on the subject. At any rate, he was operating 
 largely on his fast decreasing "large capital." The im- 
 portant question is to know what direction he gave to his 
 operations, in fact, what was the only direction he could 
 give to them. He shared, of course, with the general pub- 
 lic the universal delusion, that stocks were trumps, and 
 gold only an incident ; and he was one of those who sold, 
 sold, sold in the gold room, that is, he loaded himself with 
 stocks. He may have thought that he was becoming richer, 
 but if he did, it was an egregious mistake. As soon as 
 "the turn" would come — and it was very soon to come — 
 when the eyes of all would be opened, and the policy of the 
 "clique" should finally be unmasked, he would find him- 
 self with a mass of dex)reciated currency, with no gold to 
 sell, and thus he would not be able to act with the clique, 
 whose critical moment would have arrived. How could he 
 then shout his quotations rapidly, on a rising scale, and 
 triumph with them in the defeat, or rather discomfiture of 
 the bears. He would be himself one of the most miserable 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE CRASH. 309 
 
 bears of the whole pack, and to buy gold, which then 
 wonld be trumps, he would have to part with his rag- cur- 
 rency at such a rate that this wretched money would fairly 
 melt in his hands, and disappear like "the shadow of a 
 dream." 
 
 Nay, this dreadful picture represents him under false col- 
 ors, and greatly exaggerates his real position and attitude. 
 The reader ought to remember that all these wretched men 
 did not deal, in their operations, with real money — paper or 
 coin — but staked on the wheel of fortune immense amounts, 
 of which they did not possess one hundreth part. The 
 losses and gains were to be adjusted only by the "mar- 
 gins;" and these margins could not be ascertained but 
 after the conflict. Was there no danger for Mr. Frederick to 
 find himself in the end stripped of every penny he was still 
 the owner of ? All these reflections passed rapidly before 
 his mind, for he was not a booby, and his life, so far, has 
 furnished us many proofs that he was capable of judging 
 accurately of actual and prospective chances. How bitter 
 must have been his regret to have given up the solid estab- 
 lishment in Beaver Street to enter on such a wild career of 
 folly ! Oh ! if he could then have retraced his steps ! But 
 it was too late, he had to empty the sickening cup to the 
 dregs. 
 
 What still increased his terrible disapi3ointment was to 
 perceive with a kind of stolid surprise the small figure he 
 cut in the midst of this gigantic pandemonium. One of the 
 great motives which had enticed him from the beginning to 
 follow this great highway to fortune, was the importance 
 he thought it would give him in the eyes of all the inhabi- 
 tants of New York, nay, perhaps of the whole country. 
 The papers would speak of him every day, and record with 
 full details, his lucky throws on the field of chance. What 
 a glorious life he had pictured to himself ! How different 
 from the plodding tramp of the counting-room ! But this 
 bright anticipation had also vanished. Elbowed, crowded 
 in, jammed, in fact, crushed, in the midst of a "shouting 
 mass of brokers," he was not greater than any of them. 
 
310 LOUISA KIBKBItlDE, 
 
 Owing to the leveling customs lately introduced, the poorest 
 of them could make as fine a show as the richest. Every 
 one could bid on hundreds of thousands, when he was in 
 reality the owner of only a few hundreds. Mr. Frederick, 
 for instance, was there no greater man than our old friend, 
 O'Tee, of whom we will soon have occasion to say a few 
 words. This is not enough. Foolish " honest John " could 
 bid as high as his former ''employer," if he only could en- 
 tirely divest himself of the groveling spirit of a valet that 
 he once was. Was it not a humiliating thought for the 
 proud heir of the Kirkbrides, for the supercilious sprig of 
 aristocracy ? 
 
 Yes ; with all his talent for aping great manners and high 
 dealings, Mr. John, present, of course, in the noisy crowd, 
 was completely bewildered by all he saw and heard. He 
 had not yet assumed, and could not yet assume the sub- 
 lime contempt for "the fixed nature of things" which was 
 the happy characteristic of the great ''shouting mass of 
 brokers." These men knew that without any capital they 
 could bid for millions. John had a semi-intuitive idea of 
 it : but it was not yet perfectly clear in his mind ; and so 
 he could not heartily "shout" with all the others. He 
 confined himself to insignificant bids which gave him an 
 altogether ridiculous position in the dignified assembly. 
 It is said that on several occasions on that momentous 22d 
 of September, he heard some of his neighbors, right and 
 left, laugh, or at least giggle audibly, when they heard him 
 utter such pitiful ejaculations, and, apparently unable, in 
 his arithmetical vocabulary, to go beyond three figures at a 
 time. The poor man, nevertheless, although so modest in 
 his aspirations, was fairly bursting with rage, because he 
 was sharp enough to perceive that he would most probably 
 leave the room in the afternoon as bare of money as he was 
 when he set out from England many years before. The 
 reader will have a further occasion to witness his behavior 
 the following day and the next. 
 
 Meanwhile the public weal or woe requires more our at- 
 tention than even Mr. Frederick or his confidential agent. 
 
BLACK PBIDAT AND THE CBASH. 311 
 
 What of the merchants of New York, at noon, on that 
 Wednesday, September 22d? The reader is aware that 
 they had long before bitterly complained of the high 
 price of gold. As during the last few days, this price had 
 still fearfully increased, there could not be a great deal of 
 satisfaction among them. Yet, to the surprise of all, on 
 the morning of this day, as well as the day previous, a 
 certain number of them appeared rather to like it. This is 
 at least what we read in the papers of that period : ' ' Many 
 of them wished for a hiirh price of gold, as they thought it 
 beneficial to their trade." How it was so we did not care 
 to inquire ; but it seems it was a fact. 
 
 On the afternoon of that Wednesday, however, there was 
 a sudden change. The rise was suddenly so unprecedented 
 that it appeared to be, probably, ''too much of a good 
 thing," and a howl was heard from the wholesale houses 
 in the lower part of the city, which began to indicate some 
 sore sjjot on the commercial body. They wrote singly at 
 first, then in groups of a few, then in large numbers, to the 
 Secretary of the Treasury at Washington, Mr. Boutwell, 
 begging him to sell some of the Government gold at New 
 York for the relief of the mercantile conmiunity. Mr. 
 Boutwell answered, it seems, by telegraph, that he could 
 not go in his gold sales farther than the amount prescribed 
 to him by Congress, which was not at the time sitting, and 
 from which he could not, on the spur of the moment, obtain 
 abUl. 
 
 The distress of the merchants became, suddenly, so press- 
 ing that they telegraphed, and telegraphed again, urging on 
 the secretary reasons that must appear strange to a cool 
 reader, so many years after the time. The burden of their 
 song was that the Congress of the United States, at its next 
 sitting, would never complain of the excellent secretary, as 
 he would merely have concluded a bargain much to the ad- 
 vantage of the Government, that could never expect at its 
 gold sales a premium so high as at this moment. The high- 
 minded secretary had to reply that the Government could 
 not become a speculator on money, and thus the curtain 
 
312 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 fell on the stage of the gold room on Wednesday after- 
 noon. 
 
 Early the next morning, Thursday, September 23d, the 
 whole city was highly excited. Wall Street itself was alive 
 long before the hour of opening at the exchange. The 
 wildest rumors were current, and nobody could know what 
 to believe or disbelieve. One thing, however, was now cer- 
 tain : the contest would be carried on for gold, and scarcely 
 anybody afterward spoke of stocks. The great secret of 
 the ''clique" was not yet out, however. That there could 
 be a corner in gold was not even suspected by the crowd. 
 If a few began to have a vague idea of it, they did not dare 
 to express their suspicions for fear of being taken for fools. 
 It was the next day only that the eyes of the most simple 
 would be open. Consequently, to the last moment of the 
 22d of September, Mr. Frederick had been loading himself 
 with stocks, and he looked, this morning, the very picture 
 of bewilderment when he saw that stocks were altogether 
 discarded, and seemed to have no more value than the rags 
 you might pick up in the street. He, therefore, began to 
 buy gold, as, in fact, he could do nothing else. But for 
 what object, and what could he do next with his gold, 
 passed altogether his comprehension. 
 
 The hour for opening finally came, and the crowd of the 
 previous afternoon in the gold room rushed in pell-mell, in 
 the wildest confusion, and with the most discordant cries. 
 " The great glittering golden calf," says a paper of the day, 
 "the idol of thousands, the cause of sleepless nights, bad 
 temper, and anxiety, was raised on high not far from the 
 towering spire of Trinity Church." Look on those worship- 
 ers, the prey of the basest passions, the slaves of the lowest 
 appetites. Where on earth can you find such a medley of 
 low physiognomies, and ill-bred faces ? See their bold atti- 
 tudes, their frantic gestures, their flaming eyes and gaping 
 mouths. Hear their wild cries, their vulgar taunts, their 
 forced laughter. Is it for scenes such as these that the 
 splendid edifice of the Exchange had been raised to com- 
 merce and enterprise ? And is this assemblage a fair type 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE CRASH. 313 
 
 of the sober-minded, cautious, well-bred, and respectable 
 American people ? It would be almost blasphemy to pre- 
 tend it. 
 
 But we must attend to "business." At the very begin- 
 ning of the day a rumor is spread, that ' ' an announcement 
 had come from the Treasury at Washington, promising that 
 the November gold interest would be paid in anticipation." 
 Mr. Boutwell had refused the evening previous to come to 
 the relief of the merchants. All knew it ; but this was 
 thought to be a so^d to render the distress less grievous. 
 Was it not again a trick of the "bulls," that is, of the 
 clique, to induce the poor "bears " to finish selling the last 
 gold they had ? This is the only inference which can be 
 drawn from actual facts, since no such "announcement" 
 ever came from Washington on that day. But from this 
 moment the activity of men buying and selling was such 
 that nothing of the kind had ever been witnessed ; and the 
 actors on this great stage must have considered themselves 
 as participating in a mighty event, up to this unprece- 
 dented, and never, perhaps, to be reproduced. If any of 
 them thought so, they were no prophets, and did not fore- 
 see the mightier events of the following day. It began to 
 be rumored that the gold already accumulated by the 
 " clique " could not be less than twenty millions of dollars. 
 These bold calculators were yet below the mark, as the 
 sequel proved. But the despairing bears thought they 
 could draw some comfort and hope from this piece of news. 
 "The bulls," they thought, "would surely break down 
 under the fearful weight of so much heavy metal. The 
 way they were acting was such that each operation requir- 
 ing a larger one to keep it up, they were, in fact, building 
 a pyramid, with its culminating point on the ground, and 
 its ever-enlarging basis high up in the air." The simile 
 was perfect, and gave much courage to the depressed party. 
 The clique, however, did not appear to mind it much, since 
 they continued to buy gold. But as this was, in fact, 
 merely a preparation for the following day, it would be 
 useless to enlarge on this day's operations; the various 
 
314 LOUISA EIBEBBIDE. 
 
 quotations of gold, therefore, and the total amount of deal- 
 ings on Thursday, had better be omitted altogether, to come 
 to the last tussle, the remembrance of which must be kept, 
 for all future time, as one of the most remarkable proofs 
 ever given of the folly of men and the vanity of their hopes. 
 It is good for the enlightenment of mankind to place be- 
 fore the eyes of all the picture of the excesses to which 
 a usually sober-minded people can rush when under the 
 sway of a wild and uncontrollable passion. 
 
 At an early hour on Friday, September 24th, the whole 
 city was alive. All the horse-cars running down from the 
 northern end of Manhattan Island were crowded, or rather, 
 crammed, not only by mechanics coming from Harlem and 
 Yorkville, to work doAvn toAvn, but by well-dressed people, 
 who usually rode every day the same way, but much later. 
 In anticipation of the mighty events which everybody ex- 
 pected, they had breakfasted, some of them, two hours 
 before their ordinary time, in order to be able to reach the 
 exchange before it was completely blocked. Many mer- 
 chants, who, from time immemorial, had always been seen 
 going directly to their stores or offices, appeared to have 
 forgotten the place where they invariably stopped, and 
 rode farther down, as far at least as Wall Street, to have 
 a peep at this celebrated locality, or a chat with some 
 friendly broker, who was supposed to be posted up as to 
 what was going to happen. As to the brokers themselves, 
 there were only two places, on that day, at which they could 
 be found, and this was the vicinity of Trinity Church, or the 
 junction of Beaver and Pearl streets. Those whose offices 
 were farther removed from both spots, had deserted them 
 long before eight o'clock, taking, of course, with them their 
 papers, orders, etc. The exchange was the cynosure of all 
 eyes, the Mecca of all aspirations, the El Dorado of all loco- 
 motion. To think, at half-past eight o'clock, of entering it, 
 was as vain as to imagine that heaven could be reached in 
 a balloon, or God propitiated by a prayer to Mammon. • 
 
 Before nine, all the streets around the great Temple of 
 Plutus were literally jammed by people eager to hear the 
 
BLACK FBIDAT AND THE CBASH, 315 
 
 news, in order to profit by it. But wliat they learned was 
 mighty little, and sometimes worse than nothing, for their 
 purpose. This was positively what they all got for their 
 pains. Imagine, gentle reader, the whole expanse of Wall 
 Street, from Broadway to Pearl, of Broad Street, from 
 Beaver to Xassau, of Exchange Place, from New Street to 
 Wall, of iS'ew Street itself, of Pine, of Cedar, etc., packed 
 with people of the upper classes of society, all anxious to 
 mingle in the fray, that is, to bid in order to win, of course ; 
 all button-holing their neighbors to receive some welcome 
 and useful information ; yet all in the end completely un- 
 successful, and as wise as when they began. Did ever the 
 world see such an immense number of fools, intent on wor- 
 shiping Mammon, and receiving nothing but a slap on the 
 face from the sportive god ? Will our grandchildren profit 
 by this lesson ? Have even those who received it personally 
 at that time, profited in the least by it ? 
 
 But we are ourselves privileged jDersons. Where others 
 cannot go, we may enter freely, examine attentively, re- 
 flect leisurely, and report to others most accurately. By a 
 little magic operation we are at once inside of the building. 
 The "shouting mass of brokers," of the previous day, is 
 again there, full of life and high spirits. Yesterday you 
 did not imagine that the hall could contain more people 
 than it did, yet to-day there are a good many hundred 
 more, only each of them occupies a much smaller space, 
 and it is in consequence more discomposed mentally, and 
 distressed physically. Yet they do not appear to mind it 
 much, so intent are they on the worship) of the god, that 
 is, on their admiration for gold, on their entire self-sacrifice 
 for acquiring the possession of such an incomparable boon. 
 
 Finally, to use the language of one of the most accurate 
 papers of the day, "The gates of the Pandemonium were 
 opened, the lines were regularly drawn in order of battle, 
 men were almost wild with excitement. A mighty crisis 
 was at hand. At a quarter-past nine o' clock, the financial 
 scene-shifters had every thing in readiness, while the mem- 
 bers of the orchestra in the gold room began to tune up 
 
316 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 their instruments with alacrity. A sturdy broker, with an 
 eye glittering like a diamond, and not on unfriendly terms 
 with the clique, started the ball by bidding 150 foe five 
 
 MILLIONS OF GOLD." 
 
 This was on the part of the clique the final and fatal un- 
 masking of their batteries. They had opened*" a corner in 
 gold," and they were going to push the whole community 
 into that corner. As a skillful general, keeping his artillery 
 unseen, sends to the front only light infantry, and posts on 
 the flanks some squadrons of cavalry, until the enemy, 
 completely deceived, arrives in serried ranks, sure of dis- 
 persing in a moment these light troops, and of winning the 
 day. But all at once the horsemen, on both sides, with- 
 draw, as if by magic ; the light infantry to the lively tunes 
 of its brass bands, also retires to the right and left, and 
 suddenly two or three hundred huge, ugly cast-iron or steel 
 tubes send forth from their deep-toned throats, large red- 
 hot balls, myriads of smaller half-melted cones of metal, 
 and an indefinite milky way of small bullets, each of them 
 able to kill its man. What a fearful havoc all these sud- 
 denly make in the serried ranks of the enemy, so handsome 
 and orderly, and apparently invincible a moment ago ! The 
 battle-field is instantly covered with corpses or mutilated 
 and writhing bodies, and the whole adverse army melts 
 away in a moment under the streaming fire of those innu- 
 merable engines of death. Thus, at last, the great Friskey 
 secret had come out to throw dismay among the Wall Street 
 bears, or rather to impoverish at once, by a bold stroke, the 
 whole commercial and financial community. 
 
 A "sturdy broker, not on unfriendly terms with the 
 clique, had started the ball by bidding one hundred and 
 fifty for five millions of gold." The very clear and simple 
 meaning of this phrase was that this noble exchange was 
 merely an auction room, in which a broker, the agent of 
 the clique, was selling gold to any citizen who needed it. 
 But the sale was to take place on extraordinary condi- 
 tions : The entire amount of gold previously possessed by 
 all the wealthy men and monetary institutions of the city or 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE CEASE. 317 
 
 State of New York, was in the hands of the clique whose 
 agent this broker was, he whose ' ' eyes were glittering like 
 diamonds." Any one who wished to have some little share 
 of it, to bring to his field a tiny rivulet from the main 
 stream, to quench his thirst in a small tumbler filled from 
 the gushing torrent of the health-giving waters, must bid 
 for it ; and the bidding must start from the point despoti- 
 cally assigned by this ''sturdy broker," namely, 150 in cur- 
 rency for 100 in gold. We know that yesterday, at the 
 end of a long struggle in the gold room, the price was 141 J. 
 Why is it that suddenly, without anything extraordinary 
 having happened during the night ; no great national loss, 
 no sensible falling do^\Ti of real estate or personal property, 
 the starting price is 150? Tell us, Mr. Auctioneer; we 
 want light. Had there been need of any explanation, the 
 auctioneer would have probably answered in this way, or 
 ''something to this effect" : "The case is very different to- 
 day, gentlemen, from what it was yesterday. Yesterday 
 none of you knew that there was a corner in gold. The 
 price was rising steadily according to the usual custom of 
 the exchange. Our preparations were not yet fully com- 
 pleted. We could not, without a reason, oblige you to 
 jump at once from 141J to 150. To-day we can speak 
 openly. We tell you there is a corner in gold. We are the 
 happy possessors of it. None of you can get gold except 
 from us. In the name of those who have the exclusive right 
 of distributing it to you, I say 150 is the price to start from ; 
 and this being an auction room, I say 150, 150, 150, who 
 says 155?" . . . Such would have been the plain lan- 
 guage of the sturdy broker with eyes glittering like dia- 
 monds, had there been any need of it, and had the broker 
 wished to speak plainly the truth. But there was no need 
 of it, because the previous evening, during a great part of 
 the night, and the whole early morning, the rumor had 
 spread throughout the whole city that there was a corner 
 in gold ; everybody knew this on Friday morning, Septem- 
 ber 24th ; and it would have been perfectly useless on the 
 part of the broker to explain it to the noble company in the 
 
318 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 gold room. He, therefore, said nothing of it, having, in fact, 
 no time to lose ; but he kept on repeating '' 150, 150, . . . 
 who says 155?" 
 
 Whilst this remarkable catastrophe — to nse the language 
 of tragic writers — was taking place in the gold room, it is 
 proper to inquire what was occurring at the same time at 
 the stock exchange ? With all our industry we cannot find 
 a word on the subject. If, on that eventful day — 24th Sep- 
 tember — there was a stock exchange at all in New York, 
 the fact at least is not recorded. Nobody heard of it, no- 
 body spoke of it, nobody, surely, ever thought of going 
 to see what people were doing in it. Nevertheless, in spite 
 of this, the reader may be sure that stocks fell, even with- 
 out a stock exchange at all. People know that whenever 
 gold rises, stocks fall sympatlietlcally^ as authors of physi- 
 ology say often of our bodily organs. It is easy to conjec- 
 ture, from all this, how Mr. Frederick felt in the midst of 
 those untoward circumstances. 
 
 This young gentleman had been remarked yesterday as 
 considerably puzzled by the extraordinary change which 
 took place in the afternoon. The whole financial ability of 
 New York had been suddenly transferred to the gold room. 
 Stocks were now good for nothing, or at least they were 
 poorly appreciated, and on this account, probably, fell ra- 
 pidly. Yet Mr. Frederick was loaded with them, and he 
 had not as yet bestowed any of his attention on gold. He 
 timidly began to purchase it, not knowing for what object, 
 and consequently without system, and thus very timidly 
 indeed. When he went back home to the Great Central 
 Hotel, he found that immense caravansary of fashion and 
 travel all in an uproar, and his puzzle was very suddenly 
 and very rudely explained. Everybody was acquainted 
 before him with the "corner in gold." What was the 
 meaning of all this ? It was manifest that his bosom friend, 
 Mr. James Friskey, had played him false ; and yet he had 
 been all along tlie main prop of his hopes. What a terri- 
 ble discovery ! He must have an interview with him. 
 
 For at least a fortnight he had found it impossible to 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND TEE CRASH, 319 
 
 engage in any conversation with Mm. The reader knows 
 the reason, which was, unfortunately, entirely hidden from 
 Mr. Frederick. It was only by the strictest measures of se- 
 crecy that Mr. Friskey had played his cards so well ; and, at 
 this moment, he was in ecstasy at the success of his plans ; 
 for now he considered them as completely successful with- 
 out a peradventure. It was, therefore, very natural in him 
 to avoid, as much as possible, any long talk with young Kirk- 
 bride. Whenever he met him he was in a great hurry, could 
 not engage at present in conversation, must be off to this or 
 that place, etc. He had, however, always some good word 
 to utter, and some pleasant joke to crack. He occasionally 
 said, '' Hope, my friend, hope, everything is going on well ; " 
 and this was so far encouraging. But he never gave any 
 direction to his friend, and left him, as completely in the 
 lurch as he was before. Mr. Frederick, consequently, was 
 bent on seeing him this time, and inquired eagerly where he 
 could see him. Nobody could give him any information on 
 this most important subject. He sent his flunky of a valet 
 — the English servant who had replaced Mr. John as his 
 footman — to every part of the establishment where he was 
 likely to be, but could get no news of the whereabouts of 
 the young financier. He went himself to the head clerk of 
 the hotel, who "knew that Mr. Friskey was out, but could 
 not say at what time of the night he would return to his 
 apartments." Having, finally, personally applied to the pro- 
 prietor of the establishment, this gentleman, always cour- 
 teous and desirous of gratifying his customers, told Mr. 
 Frederick that, for several days, he had not seen Mr. Friskey 
 except occasionally at table. He knew that the gentleman 
 was always very busy and on the move. The best thing Mr. 
 Frederick had to do was to write a note to him, which 
 would be given him as soon as he came home. He pledged 
 himself to see to it. The note must have been certainly 
 placed in the hands of the gentleman to whom it was ad- 
 dressed, but Mr. Frederick received no answer. 
 
 Tlius, having spent a most wretched and entirely sleepless 
 night, he scarcely knew what determination to take, and 
 
320 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 finally made up his mind, almost at random, to convert all 
 his cuiTency into gold, as soon as it would be possible the 
 following morning. When he was Just stretching himself 
 on his bed to invite sleep, and endeavoring to forget his 
 cares, his footman came to tell him that Mr. John was at the 
 door demanding admittance. 
 
 "Tell him," said the irritable young man, "that I am 
 not in, and shall not return to-night. On this you must 
 insist, and see that he goes away." 
 
 John, in fact, was in as great trouble as his " employer." 
 A word on the subject can be, to a certain extent, instructive, 
 and will not detain us long. 
 
 He had not, on the previous afternoon, dared to continue 
 bidding on the small scale which at first excited the tit- 
 tering laughter of his neighbors. He was, in fact, used 
 up, and had not a penny he could call his own. He had 
 consequently been growing desperate and gloomy in the 
 midst of the passionate crowd which surrounded him. Many 
 projects were rapidly passing through his burning brain. 
 Mr. Frederick was the main object of these schemes ; but 
 there were also plans of a still darker nature in which the 
 young gentleman could not be concerned. The sequel of 
 this story will naturally develop some of them. The first 
 thing he intended to do, when he left the exchange, was to 
 see his " employer," reproach him with being the cause of 
 his actual forlorn condition, and require from him more 
 exorbitant promises of a higher salary. Before doing this, 
 however, he must see some friends of quite a different class, 
 with whom the reader has been already acquainted in their 
 dark dens and recesses. Some new plan was on foot which 
 required his immediate attention. This explains why he 
 went so late to knock at the door of his former master. 
 We know how he was received. He did not insist on being 
 admitted so late in the night ; but he would surely demand 
 and obtain an interview in the evening of the following day. 
 When the morning of the 24th came, Mr. Frederick was in 
 such low spirits and so fearfully depressed, that it was with 
 great difficulty that he got out of bed and dressed negli- 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE CRASH. 321 
 
 gently. He went forthwitli to take some breakfast, which 
 he could scarcely touch, and then for the first time remarked 
 that there were very few persons around him at the table. 
 Inquiring the cause from a waiter, he was greatly surprised 
 to hear that nearly all the inmates of the hotel had taken, 
 long before, their first meal, and that, if he wished to go to 
 the exchange he would find himself late. He was evidently 
 becoming dull and listless. This roused him up, and he 
 started to go down town. But the reader is already ac- 
 quainted ^\dth the state of affairs in Wall Street ; and it was 
 very near nine o'clock when Mr. Frederick reached the 
 outer edge of the crowd in the open air such as it has been 
 described. He, for a moment, despaired of ever entering 
 *' the sacred precincts," and was going to give up the at- 
 tempt and go home despondingly, when he reflected that 
 this was his last chance. He had not made arrangements 
 with any broker, as it was very late the night before that 
 he had made up his mind what policy to follow ; and 
 thus he had personally to attend to his own affairs, and be 
 at the headquarters of the solemn business, that is, inside 
 of the gold room. How he could ever arrive at the outside 
 wall ; how he could enter the blocked and really invisible 
 doors ; how he could find room for himself in the closely 
 packed interior, is a mystery which it would be as impossi- 
 ble for us to explain, as it is for an unsophisticated crowd of 
 simple people to understand how a common street wizard 
 could introduce into a small bottle the figure of a man which 
 fills it entirely, whilst the neck of the bottle is not large 
 enough to let the arm or the leg of the figure pass through. 
 
 He at last succeeded ; but it was after half- past ten 
 o'clock that he found himself in a position where bidding 
 was possible. We fear it was too late to change to advan- 
 tage his currency into gold. To judge of it, we must come 
 back to the first bidding of the ' ' sturdy broker with eyes 
 flaming like diamonds." He had said, the reader remem- 
 bers, "150 for five millions of gold ! 150, 150, 150, who says 
 155?" 
 
 The bears tried at first to struggle, and to prevent any- 
 21 
 
322 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 body from going it at 155. It was a matter of life and death 
 for them. They had sold all their gold. They did not ex- 
 pect to see any of it coming from the Treasury at Washing- 
 ton, after the positive refusals of Mr. Bout well the previ- 
 ous afternoon. If once a single bid were made by any one 
 in the crowd, there would be such an excitement among 
 them, that they would all bite fearfully, and bid, and bid 
 again, and raise, and raise the price, and thus fill the purse 
 of the clique by the universal depletion of the purses of the 
 whole community. To be convinced that this fear was not 
 exaggerated, any one has only to remember what he wit- 
 nessed in his boyhood, when he was fishing for frogs or 
 minnows. The great difficulty was to get the first one to 
 bite ; but as soon as this happened, the pond, if there was 
 question of frogs, the river if there was question of fish, 
 was directly fairly alive with the innumerable foolish ba- 
 trachians or small fry, every one of them trying his best to 
 be caught first. The bears, however, could not long delay 
 the fatal moment. Some one unaccountably pronounced 
 the magic number, 155 ; then there was no more any limit 
 ascertainable where the foolish gulls would stop. Here the 
 papers of the day positively mentioned that the scene could 
 not be described. There were "gesticulations," "out- 
 cries," "yells," "frantic stamping of feet;" "perspira- 
 tion ran from all those wild foreheads, and coursed down 
 along those Avan and unkempt faces ; " "the nervous excite- 
 ment was frightful," and "the massive edifice appeared to 
 shake as if there had been an earthquake, caused by the 
 bubbling up of vapor in the interior regions." It looked 
 as if it might be feared, indeed, that at least half the num- 
 ber of those present would turn out madmen before the 
 sitting was over. 
 
 When Mr. Frederick arrived, gold had reached 160, and 
 was soon to go up much higher. Was there any great 
 chance for him of at once making his fortune by converting 
 his fast-falling currency into a metallic standard of value 
 going up so fast? The pro})ability of it we leave to the 
 reader to calculate. The fate of an individual, however, 
 
BLACK FBIDAY AND THE CRASH. 323 
 
 seems of no account when compared with the desperate 
 condition of the whole city of New York, which could not 
 but be frightfully agitated by all the circumstances just 
 described. The present pale sketch of it cannot give any 
 idea of the reality as it then was, and as it soon became 
 known to all the citizens. Extras were certainly published 
 at every moment, but they were not such faithful conveyers 
 of the news as the magic photography of those who had 
 seen something of it, and described it to others by their 
 gestures, their looks, their attitude, and deep -meaning 
 words. The fact is, that toward noon, the whole commerce 
 of the greatest emporium of North America was suddenly 
 suspended, as no one could think of buying and selling, on 
 that day, anything but gold. This remarkable feature of 
 the whole phenomenon deserves to be studied somewhat at 
 leisure. 
 
 As if there had been an interchange of opinion on the 
 subject among the merchants of New York, toward noon, 
 all, on a sudden, left their places of business to go to the 
 exchange, if they could. Each of them left his counting- 
 room to the care of a few clerks and employees, and went 
 for the purpose of looking for news. It is to be hoped that 
 they reflected deeply on the subject, on their way down and 
 back again ; and that they afterward communicated their 
 reflections to their children for their great future benefit. 
 The immense prosperity of New York has certainly been 
 mainly promoted by the development of her foreign and 
 domestic trade. It is her admirable situation for it, joined 
 with the activity, honesty, and skill of her inhabitants, 
 which has raised her to her proud position. At the epoch 
 which we endeavor to describe, an effort was being made to 
 open for her a new way of building up immense fortunes, 
 namely, gambling at the stock exchange. There could not 
 be a better occasion to compare both ways of making money 
 than the present one. The reader has seen under what 
 light Mr. Frederick, a young gentleman of great activity 
 and mind, had considered the present question, and for 
 what motive he had decided to abandon commerce and take 
 
324 LOUISA ELREBRIDE. 
 
 to stock gambling as Ms profession. There will be always 
 some danger that other young men may be induced to take 
 the same false step for the same reasons, or for some other 
 analogous to them. Now is the time to reach a fair solu- 
 tion of the question. We are glad, therefore, to see the 
 merchants of New York leaving their counting-rooms and 
 treading their way toward the brilliant Temple of Plutus. 
 It would have been better still, had they taken their boys 
 vdt\\ them to give them an eyesight of the Pandemonium 
 itself. Few of them, however, could reach it, and thus 
 they were reduced to hear what was said in the crowd 
 about the great events transpiring inside of the public 
 edifice. 
 
 But, as the whole city was entirely absorbed by these 
 mighty operations, and trade itself, either wholesale or re- 
 tail, was entirely suspended, it was proper, it seems, not to 
 leave the citizens at the mercy of rumor, and to give them 
 all a chance of receiving official communications from the 
 exchange. An enterprising body of men, consequently, had 
 in an hour or two established communication by telegraph 
 between the all-absorbing centre, and various points in the 
 city. In those blessed spots dials had been placed exactly 
 on the pattern of the great dial mentioned before, which 
 everybody in the interior of the exchange consulted con- 
 stantly to know the ups and downs of the game. By this 
 very simple contrivance, the whole city of New York may 
 be said to have been converted into a huge gambling hell. 
 We have not read, it is true, in any paper of the day, that 
 any one could bid by telegraph from any of these points 
 in the city itself ; and an ordinary inquirer may be at lib- 
 erty to believe that those numerous dials had been erected 
 solely to satisfy the curiosity of New-Yorkers. AYe are 
 not, nevertheless, perfectly satisfied on this point, and it 
 would appear to us very strange that such trouble should 
 have been taken for the erection of so many precious little 
 machines for the sole view of gratifying idle curiosity. 
 Every one can form his judgment on the subject. But, at 
 any rate, this curiosity itself was the natural offspring of a 
 
BLACK FBIDAY AND THE CRASH. 325 
 
 deep gambling inclination ; and it can be believed, without 
 great fear of error, that the eyes which looked on those 
 dials — there were everywhere great crowds around them — 
 were in reality inflamed with the fire of the gambling 
 mania ; and we have no doubt that they also ' ' glittered 
 like diamonds," after the fashion of the well-known 
 " sturdy broker, not unfriendly to the clique." 
 
 All the previous details, which are historic, mind you, 
 which are not drawn from fancy, but can be read in all the 
 papers of that ominous Friday, ^Aith many others of great 
 import likewdse, but necessarily omitted for the sake of 
 brevity ; all these details absolutely demonstrate the re- 
 mark, made anteriorly, that, since the beginning of the 
 world, nothing of the kind had ever taken place anywhere 
 on earth. The former ancient worship of Mammon by the 
 Oriental idolaters of Phoenicia, was a mere childish affair 
 compared to this ; the avidity of the Jews for money, al- 
 though proverbial enough, and confidently relied upon by 
 all writers of history or romance, was a dull sentiment in 
 comparison with this astounding madness ; the supposed 
 greed of monopolists all over the world — intent, it is said, 
 on accumulating in their wareliouses the total amount of 
 some particular kind of goods or merchandise in order to 
 make everybody pay dearly for it — is only a private affair, 
 a dealing with individuals, consequently successive, and, re- 
 quiring a long time, has absolutely nothing to do with this 
 huge boiling caldron, bubbling up and gushing forth, and 
 pouring over the whole surface of Manhattan Island the 
 loathsome stream of avarice and greed. But it is time to 
 record some of its doings in detail, and not to stop at mere 
 generalities. 
 
 From 160 the price of gold had been going up to 165, 170, 
 180 at last ; everybody expected it would reach 200 before 
 the evening. It was seldom that any bid was confined 
 within the limits of a single million. We have seen that 
 the '^ sturdy broker" started with one of fiYe millions; 
 many afterward reached much higher. And it must have 
 been so, since it was calculated later that "the amount of 
 
326 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 gold bought and sold on Black Friday alone exceeded 
 $800,000,000. Think of this ? This was " calculated later 
 on ;" for Registrar Mersereau found it impossible on that 
 day to keep his index of accounts without much additional 
 clerical labor, and he could not make it known publicly ex- 
 cept several days afterward. The fluctuations of the mar- 
 ket alone, on this day, occupied twelve folio columns of the 
 big index. 
 
 The enormous sum of 800,000,000 of dollars, indicating 
 the operations of the day, had no other metallic basis than 
 30,000,000 at most. It is easy to judge from this that cash 
 could not be thought of in the settling of accounts and 
 adjusting the losses and gains. Nothing can prove more 
 conclusively than those figures that the whole affair was a 
 throw of dice, and could not receive a more appropriate 
 name than gambling. Meanwhile, the Friskey clique was 
 piling up mountains of profits. What would be the num- 
 ber of their victims at the end of the day ? Failures, sus- 
 pensions, bankruptcies, which could not yet be calculated, 
 would follow, as certain as fate. Of this mass of losing men 
 only two or three can interest the reader, and the final de- 
 cision for them will not be long delayed. It is, however, 
 still hanging in the balance, and the last word on the sub- 
 ject cannot yet be said. There is, for instance, Mr. Frede- 
 rick, who began very late to sell his currency for gold. But 
 he bought at 160, and it is now on the way to 180. The 
 young gentleman may consequently save a good part of his 
 capital ; and if gold reaches 200, as everybody expects, he 
 may not be, after all, a great loser, in spite of his former 
 heavy losses on stocks. Early in the afternoon, therefore, 
 the young gentleman was highly elated, and his former 
 great friend, James Friskey, grew hugely in his estimation. 
 Let him enjoy his luck for a few moments longer. 
 
 Meanwhile, however, an immense cry of distress arose 
 from all the New-Yorkers who had not been deprived of 
 their senses. Ruin was staring in the face all classes of 
 society, and there could be no relief except from the Wash- 
 ington Government. Mr. Boutwell had steadily refused, 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE CRASH. 327 
 
 the previous day, to listen to all applications of this kind. 
 They continued to pour in upon him, and their number 
 increased every moment. He answered them all, that his 
 hands were bound by the law. He could not throw on the 
 market but the amount of gold Congress had authorized 
 him to sell. To do more, under his own responsibility, was 
 altogether beyond his power. It seemed, therefore, that the 
 clique's interest was sure to win, and to build up an im- 
 mense edifice of wealth on the ruins of the private fortunes 
 of thousands. But finally those who had written so frequent- 
 ly to the Secretary of the Treasury turned at last toward 
 the President of the United States, and, after urgent solici- 
 tations, the Chief Magistrate of the Union, unable to engage 
 Mr. Boutwell to act officially, in his capacity of guardian of 
 the treasury, took, at last, the responsibility upon himself. 
 He simply wrote to the secretary: "Sell four millions of 
 gold to-morrow, and buy four millions bonds ; it is abso- 
 lutely necessary to break ' that corner.' " 
 
 As soon as the news reached Xew York, there was a uni- 
 versal stampede on the part of those who had loaded them- 
 selves with gold, and this highly esteemed commodity went 
 do^Ti more rapidly than it had gone up during the fore- 
 noon. It was soon at 135. This could not have happened 
 if the clique had been able to buy these new ' ' four mil- 
 lions." But they found it absolutely impossible. They had 
 gathered all their strength to rake up the twenty or thirty 
 millions of coin contained in the vaults of the public money- 
 institutions of the State. They could not perform the same 
 operation on the small additional lump sent on from Wash- 
 ington. Thus all their scheme failed just at the moment it 
 appeared to have succeeded, and New York was instantly 
 relieved by an indifferent dribbling, dropping from the pub- 
 lic vaults of the Caj)itol. 
 
 The sketch just drawn out is simply the result of com- 
 bining together all the apparent and visible causes and inci- 
 dents of the great explosion known as Black Friday. There 
 was, subsequently, an investigation before Congress, where 
 it was attempted to unravel the mysteries of this gTeat affair. 
 
328 LOUISA KIUKBRIDE. 
 
 But, after all, what could the committee appointed by Con- 
 gress find out about the object of its investigation 1 Nothing 
 but what the witnesses examined by the committee chose to 
 tell. According to the rule of such inquiries, it is admit- 
 ted that no witness on the stand and under oath is obliged 
 to answer anything which might criminate himself. With 
 such a rule as this, it is better still to rely on the apparent 
 and visible causes of the whole affair, than on the testimony 
 of the most unexceptionable witnesses. It has been thought, 
 therefore, useless to look into the "authentic reports" of 
 this renowned investigation. For the same reason, like- 
 wise, there is no need of inquiring how many suspensions, 
 failures, bankruptcies, were the consequence of Black Fri- 
 day. Many of them could not be ascertained but long 
 after ; and, moreover, they have scarcely any bearing on 
 the present purpose, with the exception of the personages 
 whose biography the reader is perusing, and to whom he 
 will be presently brought back. 
 
 A single item, however, illustrating some of the private 
 transactions of Black Friday, is culled from the papers of 
 the epoch, and deserves to be kept for posterity : " Sm. G. 
 M. & Co.'s transactions on Friday, September 24th, as made 
 up by the clearing committee of the gold exchange, from 
 tickets in the hands of dealers, amounted to a total sum of 
 gold bought by the firm on tJiat day, $20,650,000, and of 
 gold sold or loaned by the same firm, $7,499,000, leaving 
 them long^ $13,151,000." This was one of the firms con- 
 nected with the clique, and the simple exhibit thereof gives 
 a curious insight into its operations on that momentous 
 day. If all their dealings had been confined to this firm, 
 they would have been, in the end, heavy losers ; but they 
 may have redeemed themselves in some other quarters. 
 The interesting question, however, how far the clique was 
 successful, remains to this day an insoluble question, at 
 least for us. 
 
 But we know more of the transactions of some indivi- 
 duals in whom the reader naturally takes greater interest. 
 What of Mr. O'Tee, for instance? The determination of 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE CBASH. 339 
 
 Ids fate on that day was foreshadowed many pages back ; 
 and it was formally announced that it would be forever de- 
 cided. It is time to redeem this promise. Mr. O'Tee had 
 been an early antagonist of Mr. Frederick. The passes at 
 arms between these two gentlemen have not been forgotten 
 by the reader ; and, in general, everybody must remem- 
 ber it, the former was more successful than the latter. In 
 the skirmishes between both of them, which occurred in 
 anticipation of the great day, Mr. O'Tee had found a large 
 following, among the Wall Street brokers, to combine 
 against the preposterousness of the heir of the Kirkbrides, 
 and this unfortunate young man had often seen some 
 slice or other of his ' ' large capital ' ' gobbled up by the 
 greedy worshipers of shares and stocks. Mr. O'Tee had 
 thus been provided — besides his previous windfalls — with 
 the means of carrying on a prosperous warfare against his 
 chief antagonist and some other ' ' players at the game of 
 chance." There was no time for mentioning it in the gen- 
 eral narrative of the great manoeuvres on the field of battle 
 during the memorable days of the 21st, 22d, and 23d of Sep- 
 tember. But the operations of Mr. O'Tee in stocks were 
 occasionally splendid, sometimes less lucky, on the whole 
 profitable, during those three memorable engagements be- 
 tween the opposite camps on the stage of the exchange. 
 
 Unfortunately, he was, no more than Mr. Frederick, in 
 the secret of the powerful clique. He stuck all the time to 
 stocks, because stocks had been the dream of his youth, 
 the god of his manhood, and he thought they were to be 
 the felicity of his old age. He had, therefore, fallen into 
 the fatal mistake of Mr. Frederick, and loaded himself with 
 stocks, with an always increasing avidity, until, as the 
 reader remembers, ''the whole activity of the stock ex- 
 change was suddenly transferred to the gold room," during 
 the afternoon of Wednesday, we believe. This was, for him, 
 a great puzzle, an inconceivable puzzle. He was so much 
 bewildered that he did not leave his well-known seat, and 
 remained one of the few fast friends of railroad shares on 
 the almost empty benches of the stock exchange. He took 
 
330 LOUISA EmEBRLDE. 
 
 some information, but could learn only that there were 
 some strange doings in the gold room. IsTo one knew what 
 it meant. At the closing of the board, he merely went 
 in the neighborhood of the new shrine erected to the 
 ''golden calf ; " but the operations for the day were just 
 being closed. ''The excitement had been great between the 
 bulls and bears, and promised to be still greater the follow- 
 ing day." This is all he could learn. He therefore went 
 home, and began to reflect. Was it safe to buy gold at 
 this moment ? And then, what to do with it ? It was just 
 the reflection which had puzzled Mr. Frederick earlier in 
 the day, which he was trying to unravel at the Great Cen- 
 tral Hotel at this very moment, and which was to occupy 
 his mind the whole of the follo^dng Thursday. 
 
 Mr. O'Tee was still more timid than Mr. Frederick, al- 
 though we know that this young gentleman sinned deeply 
 by timidity on that occasion. He — O'Tee — only made up 
 his mind not to move — that is, not to bite at the gold — 
 until he positively knew what was at the bottom of this 
 extraordinary change in the great temple of wealth. He 
 had in his possession something tangible, a large amount of 
 stocks and shares. These splendidly engraved papers rep- 
 resented the value of railroads in open existence and full 
 activity. He knew, or thought he knew, all the mysteries 
 of their goings up and down. He had studied these en- 
 trancing operations all his life. He had, on the contrary, 
 ever been persuaded that gold was good chiefly for mer- 
 chants ; and very seldom, indeed, had he handled it in the 
 long list of his transactions during so many years of active 
 life in Wall Street. Therefore, he would not touch gold. 
 
 He felt, no doubt, instinctively, that, since gold was going 
 up, stocks were going down. But he thought this would not 
 last long, and things would return to their long-accustomed 
 channels. Besides, he might deal in gold. He might do so 
 the following morning, but before doing it, he must know 
 the mystery involved in the singular affair at the gold room. 
 On this last reflection he went to bed and tried to sleep. 
 
 On Thursday morning he was early at the exchange ; 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE CRASH. 33I 
 
 went this time to the centre of all attractions — the stock ex- 
 change, in fact, was deserted — and unable, by asking, to 
 obtain any information on the mighty subject, he remained 
 a passive spectator of the furious contest between the bulls 
 and bears. The excitement was already intense. There is 
 no need of describing, again, the scene he witnessed. But 
 it is important to know the way his thoughts were run- 
 ning. He had never been associated with the clique^ but 
 was in frequent communication with many of the bears. 
 He heard from some of these that their system of operation 
 was sure to win. By selling their gold, as they did furi- 
 ously, they were loading with it the bulls who would soon 
 break down under the crushing weight. O'Tee became con- 
 vinced that this was true. ^N'either he, nor any of his 
 friends, knew yet anything of the ''comer in gold," and 
 thus they went on in their mad career, completely infatu- 
 ated by their idea. The Irish broker had no gold to sell, 
 and thus he avoided the fatal mistake of the bears, who 
 were positively helping on the bulls in their projects. But 
 he made a blunder as fatal to himself, by not buying gold, 
 and keeping in his hand a depreciating paper which would 
 soon be almost valueless. In this he acted perfectly up 
 to his native leaning, without knowing it. For, being by 
 nature an Irishman, he was by nature a blunderer. It has 
 been said repeatedly, that if there are twenty ways of doing 
 anything in a simple and reasonable manner, and but one 
 way of doing it awkwardly, the true Irishman will invaria- 
 bly choose this last one. There were not twenty ways of 
 protecting himself in this present affair, but there was at 
 least one, so clear and urgent, that Mr. Frederick had seen 
 it, and had commenced somewhat early to buy gokl, al- 
 though very timidly. Mr. O'Tee, however, during the 
 whole of this fatal Thursday, had not the least inkling of 
 it. He was waiting for "a turn " in the policy of the bears 
 to join them in the fray ; and the reader knows that this 
 ''turn " came only when the news arrived from Washing- 
 ton of the sale by the Government of four millions of gold. 
 It was too late to save Mr. O'Tee. 
 
332 LOUISA KLRKBRIDE, 
 
 His inactivity continued to the end; and it was just a 
 couple of hours before the news came from Washington 
 that he saw his mistake, and, to correct it quicker, he went 
 to the opposite extreme, and fell into a worse blunder by 
 the impulsive wish of correcting the first. He just sold, at 
 once, all his stocks for gold, when gold was at its highest, 
 and scarcely an hour before it began to tumble down, as we 
 know it did. The blundering Irish broker having operated 
 by margins, and not in cash, he found himself in the end 
 as penniless as was "honest " John. To preclude the neces- 
 sity of mentioning any more his name, it mil suffice to say a 
 few words of his interesting career after Black Friday. He 
 was a broker, but at all times he had very few customers, 
 who all sank with him on that memorable occasion. For a 
 long while previously, his chief transactions had been on 
 his own account. He might, therefore, continue to specu- 
 late, and employ his unexceptionable ability in retrieving his 
 fortune. He tried it, but having had bad luck, his first ven- 
 tures deprived him even of some collateral security he had, 
 by hook and crook, obtained. He was forced, completely, 
 to abandon his proud position at the stock exchange, and 
 leave unoccupied by his precious person the well-known 
 place where he had been so long conspicuous. After having 
 tried several occupations, each of them marked by a lower 
 step on the financial ladder, he had finally to come to 
 the last shift of men of his stamp. He opened an intelli- 
 gence office in some of the lower wards of the city. If any 
 of our readers were absolutely idle, and reduced to lose 
 their time in some bootless inquiry or other, they might 
 find him, at this very moment, occasionally receiving a 
 single dollar from an Irish or German servant, after having 
 succeeded in finding him a place. 
 
 Mr. Jolm, on Black Friday, was invisible in the gold 
 room, where it was, in fact, absolutely useless for him to go. 
 But he was very busy with some friends of his own, not 
 unknown to us. His purse being dry, he wished, anyhow, 
 to open for it some stray stream of wealth, which the laws 
 of the country, however, did not permit him to bring in the 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND TEE CRASH. 333 
 
 direction he liked. The next chapter will give us an ink- 
 ling of it, after that hot interview with Mr. Frederick, 
 which he had made np his mind, the xjrevious night, to ob- 
 tain for this very evening. But this interview, and the fate 
 of Mr. Frederick himself, must be delayed for a moment, 
 and reserved for the next chapter. The remainder of this 
 must be occupied by some serious reflections on this black 
 day, the remembrance of which must be kept in the memory 
 of all future Americans. Some readers, in perusing the nar- 
 rative, may haye thought that we considered it altogether in 
 a flimsy and ludicrous point of view ; that our intention was 
 to make people laugh at it, and at best, to assign to it the 
 simple task given to comedy in the old dramatic adage: 
 ridendo corriglt mores. This was not the adequate idea we 
 wished to give of it. IN'o doubt, it is proper to show to the 
 multitude, that often in thek furious activity and most 
 earnest endeavors, there is something extremely ludicrous, 
 which comedy and satire may use to produce a wholesome 
 effect. But on the present occasion, we would not rest on 
 such a secondary and low aim. The truth must be said in 
 its simplicity and force, so as to strike the listener, and ex- 
 cite his deep attention without acting in the least on his 
 risible organs. 
 
 As of all unholy passions, so it can be said of the inordi- 
 nate pursuit of gold, that it deprives man of his reason, 
 closes his eyes to every rational prospect, deafens his ears 
 to the most forcible advice, and makes of him a puppet, 
 moved at random by violent jerks which cannot be called 
 life. Eemember the details sketched in the previous narra- 
 tive. They were not drawn from fancy ; but they merely 
 embodied the chief news of the day. They did not come up 
 even to the naked truth ; because, on such mighty subjects, 
 the naked truth is positively unattainable by the narrator, 
 particularly if he were not present, and only transcribes 
 from faithful records the varying fortunes of the frantic 
 story. The sketches contained in the papers of that day 
 are far more highly colored and piquantly spiced than our 
 own pale record ; because they were made on the spot, and 
 
334 LOUISA KntEBRLDE. 
 
 directly after the occurrence of the events. But the narra- 
 tive just given out "wdll suJfice for all practical purposes. 
 Let every one remember it, and say if the people of New 
 York were not then crazy. 
 
 Look at this favored country, with every possible means 
 for all of reaching a most enviable position in life, or at least 
 a comfortable situation, or most undoubtedly a competency. 
 All careers are open, all reasonable aspkations can be ful- 
 filled. Have you great talent ? you can reach a high round 
 of the ladder. Is your ability ordinary ? you are sure, at 
 least, of the necessaries of life, with some of its super- 
 fluities. "No pent-up Utica confines our powers: The 
 whole continent is ours." Not to indulge in exaggeration, 
 see in concreto the population of this country. 
 
 Setting aside the lately arrived immigrants, or those 
 who, born in foreign regions, could not adapt themselves to 
 this one ; disregarding also the wretched small minority of 
 the indigenous population, who, deprived apparently of all 
 sense, rush into fatal excesses, and perish before they reach 
 manhood ; say whether the great mass of the people ought 
 not to be content, each class in its own sphere. 
 
 Until lately it had been so ; and the Americans boasted 
 with justice that they inhabited a prosperous land where 
 every one might be happy. Look at all our cities, they 
 could say ; not alone the largest, as New York and Phila- 
 delphia, but all those which contain a population of thirty 
 thousand and upwards, and count the great merchants, 
 manufacturers, rich capitalists they contain. See also the 
 immense multitude of retailers, petty dealers, jobbers, etc., 
 mentioned in the several directories of those cities, all 
 enjoying the advantages of a prosperous trade. Pass in 
 review the numberless army of skilled workmen and of 
 agriculturists in the country. Without carrying on the 
 catalogue to the length it might reach, say if, anywhere in 
 Europe, except perhaps in a part of England, anything of 
 the kind can be witnessed. Have you not besides the almost 
 limitless country of the Far West, where millions of home- 
 steads can yet be carved out ? How many legitimate enter- 
 
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE CRASH. 335 
 
 prises can be put on foot and started on without touching 
 what is illegitimate and problematical ? Mind that we only 
 insist on mere worldly considerations, and do not say a word 
 of conscience and duty, of morality and holy feelings, of 
 God and religion. 
 
 Yet it was in the midst of such circumstances as these 
 that an absurd mania had seized on a part of this happy 
 people. A number of them wished to suddenly become 
 immensely rich, without labor, without almost any effort, 
 by the mere magic of gambling ; as if anything healthy and 
 leading to happiness for the nation, and for each individual 
 composing it, could be the result of madness and folly. 
 Nothing, in fact, could come out of it, except ruin and 
 desolation. The thing even could not be attempted with- 
 out at once depriving all the victims of this delusion, of 
 their conscience, of then- moral nature, nay, of their simple 
 good sense, and rational faculties. 
 
 On this account, the events of that deplorable day can be 
 made profitable to men actually living and to theu' children 
 ''to the fourth generation," by showing in vivid, although 
 true colors, the depth of the abyss illumined a moment by 
 the glare of this phantasmagoria. Remember well, all of 
 you who have been present at the solemn affair, or at least 
 who have lived at the time, and read some faithful account 
 of it, that prosperity and real wealth cannot possibly be 
 solidly amassed and built up by discordant cries and wild 
 speculations. Reflect chiefly ui)on this old adage, whose 
 very words, however, we do not remember : that " whatever 
 comes at the sound of the flute goes away at the beating of 
 the drum." But, since you are yet Christians, or at least 
 most of you, to their honor, profess to be, ponder deeply on 
 the solemn words of David : '' Nisi Dominus cud ificaverit 
 domum in vanzim laboraverunt qui cedificant eam^ The 
 meaning of which is simply this : Whenever any nation, 
 people, or simple individual goes openly counter to all the 
 divine laws, in endeavoring to pile up a mountain of gold, 
 the prize, even supposing it to have reached his hands, will 
 leave in them only ashes, as they report it of the "ax)ples 
 
336 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 of Sodom," culled still to-day on the shores of the Dead 
 Sea. 
 
 But to conclude, look a moment at the gloomy and fa- 
 thomless gulf into which so many victims were at once 
 precipitated on the dark evening of Black Friday. Count, 
 if you can, the number of total failures, irretrievable bank- 
 ruptcies, discomfitures amounting to ruin, which followed 
 it, and were recorded in newspapers all along the fatal year 
 that commenced on this day. How many families were 
 suddenly made poor ! How many houses were left entirely 
 desolate ! The country itself was shaken to its centre ; and 
 this mad gambling was undoubtedly one of the main causes 
 which brought on this long prostration in commercial and 
 manufacturing enterprises which is not over yet at the 
 present moment. If the authors of this national misfor- 
 tune had reflected on it before entering upon their plot, 
 they would have recoiled with horror at the awful pros- 
 pect. For they were not monsters, and did not wish to do 
 evil for evil's sake. Most of them were among the first to 
 be punished for it ; and the just retribution awarded them 
 must be forever kept in remembrance to prevent even the 
 possibility of its repetition. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A SAD END OF GEEAT HOPES. 
 
 The dispersion of the immense mass of people gathered 
 in the neighborhood of the Exchange, during the evening 
 of that eventful Friday, was fortunately unattended by any 
 accident of importance. The fact is that it took place lei- 
 surely and gloomily. The only news current among them 
 was the sudden and astounding fall of gold; and every 
 word uttered by the President of the United States, and 
 telegraphed to New York by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
 was repeated by so many thousand lips, that if each utter- 
 ance had been suddenly autographed, or photographed, or 
 copied in whatever way you wish, many large volumes 
 would have suddenly appeared for circulation, and might 
 have been considered as powerful and extremely useful 
 remembrancers of that solemn occasion. 
 
 The citizens retired with sober steps, each one talking 
 with his neighbor in a subdued voice; and all appeared very 
 anxious to know what would be the consequences of all this 
 to the country at large, and to the merchants of New York 
 in particular. Each of them saw very clearly that the crisis 
 of the day was not ended, and that if the ''corner in gold " 
 had been broken, the happy possession of that much- 
 coveted metal might not be so easy to acquire as many of 
 them would wish. No one had yet spoken, since the war 
 with the South, of the resumption of specie payments ; but 
 everybody felt instinctively that this day would not act 
 favorably to bring it on soon. 
 
 22 337 
 
338 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Mr. Frederick Kirkbride, in the midst of that crowd, 
 retired from the field of battle perfectly bewildered. He 
 threw himself into a hack and ordered the driver to take 
 him to the Great Central Hotel. Arrived there, he flew 
 hurriedly to his rooms, commanded his footman not to 
 admit anybody, and stretching himself at length on a sofa, 
 he tried to collect his thoughts and render to himself an 
 approximate account of the state of his affairs. Would a 
 few thousands remain in his hands after he had settled all 
 his transactions of the last few days ? It was very doubt- 
 ful. At any rate, he was a ruined man ; and not only he 
 could not think of beginning a new career and turning, as 
 they say, a new leaf, but it was not even possible for him to 
 appear again at the stock exchange. All the late predic- 
 tions of his poor mother were fulfilled ; he had disgraced 
 his name, brought dishonor on his family, and had nothing 
 else to do but . . . die. As to those former dreams of 
 a brilliant life, of untold wealth placing at his command all 
 possible sensual enjoyments, how their memory was turned 
 into a harsh and pitiless mockery ! On whom could he look 
 now without the certainty that they would laugh at him ? 
 Could he be cruel enough to throw himself on the mercy of 
 his mother, who was carried down in his own ruin, and 
 would have nothing to live upon except the paltry revenue 
 of a single house ? Had his bitterest enemy come at this 
 moment and plunged a dagger into his heart, he would have 
 welcomed the stroke of death given by another's hand ; for 
 the wretched young man would willingly have embraced 
 what he thought to be annihilation, provided it had not 
 devolved on him to procure it by his own act. The cour- 
 age of the suicide is real cowardice, since it is, after all, 
 shrinldng from the noble effort of acknowledging previous 
 wrong-doing and retrieving the past ; yet this last resource of 
 blind despair is often above the resolution of the enervated 
 pleasure-seeker, who during life never had the manliness to 
 restrain his bad passions, and prefer duty to bodily enjoy- 
 ment. Thus was the soul of the worthless young man 
 tortured and racked, when suddenly a violent altercation 
 
A SAD END OF GREAT HOPES. 339 
 
 was heard at the door, and the voice of his footman, raised 
 to a high pitch, ordered away some stranger who wanted 
 instant admission. But the stranger resisted the command, 
 and with a blow striking down the valet, pushed open the 
 door and stood fiercely in the presence of F. Kirkbride. 
 It was no one else but John himself, and the following rapid 
 dialogue dii^ectly took place : 
 
 " I did not call you ; go away instantly." 
 
 *'I shall not." 
 
 " What do you want, sirrah ? " 
 
 ''You are richer than me, even after this day: I want 
 my share of what you have." 
 
 ' ' You shall have your wages, and I do not want you any 
 more." 
 
 ''You speak of wages — I request my share." 
 
 " Share of what ? You are a fool." 
 
 " We shall see who is the gTeater fool. If you refuse 
 what I ask, you ^vill abide by the consequences." 
 
 "What consequences, you idiot?" 
 
 " The consequences of your keeping that will to yourself. 
 I shall certainly denounce you." 
 
 "Do what you please, scoundrel, but leave me; such a 
 one as you cannot hurt me." 
 
 "We shall see ; I give you three days to comply," and 
 John ran away. 
 
 Our readers can perceive that the ex-valet was desperate. 
 He had, in fact, lost the few days previous all he had ; he 
 was not now worth a penny. He knew that his "em- 
 ployer" had likewise lost largely, but he thought that be- 
 ing so excessively rich a year or so before, he owned yet 
 a good round sum, the half of which he unblushingly 
 claimed to start in life again, and become, in course of time, 
 richer than his "master." He was sure that the secret he 
 possessed would bring down Mr. Frederick to grant him 
 what he proudly asked, and thus he stood now on a per- 
 fect footing of equality with the once proud heir of the 
 Kirkbrides. The position of both was well defined ; they 
 were now sworn enemies. 
 
340 LOUISA KIBEBRIDE. 
 
 John, however, in his ruin had another resource denied 
 to his antagonist ; he was, as we know, a burglar as well as 
 a villain ; and from the splendid apartments of the Great 
 Central Hotel, he took hurriedly his seat in a horse-car, 
 and was soon in the neighborhood of Greene Street. The 
 well-known public house was crowded with people, all 
 eagerly discussing the various features of the stock ex- 
 change briefly related in the evening papers. The ex-foot- 
 man entered the large room of the establishment without 
 appearing to recognize any one, and slyly passed into an 
 inner and smaller apartment, where he was soon engaged 
 with the ''outlaw." Schwitz appeared more determined 
 in his villainy than ever, and from the animated conversa- 
 tion which took place between the two friends, it was mani- 
 fest that some great event was being prepared of a nature 
 requiring to be watched over by the guardians of the city. 
 In fact, young Talty w^as actually on the watch, and, al- 
 though he remained at the time in the large room, and did 
 not even witness from a distance the interview between 
 John and Schwitz, he that very night learned from the sure 
 intelligence he had had time to secure among some of the 
 inmates, that a project was on foot which would surely en- 
 rich a good number of the frequenters of the place. 
 
 Nothing else, if you please, was in the wind, but to 
 ''burglarize" one of the richest banks in the city. If we 
 were to enumerate all the financial establishments which 
 have been the prey of the "brotherhood " — for it is a kind 
 of San-hermandad — the list alone would fill several of our 
 pages ; and, in almost all instances, the highest skill, yea, 
 the perfection of "science " was brought in aid of robbery. 
 In Europe, in general, burglars and counterfeiters are not 
 "scientific" men; you do not find among them great 
 chemists, perfect engravers, most ingenious locksmiths, 
 admirable compounders of explosive substances, nothing 
 deserving the name of science ; everything in such a noble 
 way of procuring wealth, is carried out in the Old World in 
 the most clumsy manner ; burglars know only the crowbar 
 and the chisel ; chemists, if there are any among them, 
 
A SAD END OF GREAT HOPES, 341 
 
 have never thoroughly studied the latest discoveries as to 
 the best proportion to be used of fulminating mercury and 
 chlorate of potash ; engravers produce ridiculous specimens 
 of art which can deceive only simpletons ; pretended lock- 
 smiths know absolutely nothing of the ''science of combi- 
 nation," etc., etc.; but in the United States, men eminent in 
 all branches of mechanical and chemical art, think it some- 
 times more profitable to have their sure percentage in all 
 good burglaries, than to live simply on their skill in regular 
 and legitimate business. Hence often, bank officers, even, 
 cannot detect the difference between a good bill and a bad 
 one ; and as to combination locks, the very artists who have 
 invented them or who make them to perfection, are, occa- 
 sionally, in partnership with well-organized bands of public 
 robbers. How could it be otherwise, since not unfrequently 
 the police officers themselves receive their share in some 
 heavy operations. A strange form, indeed, of the passion 
 called auTi sacra fames ! We must not, consequently, be 
 surprised that in the year of grace, 186-, Mr. John, Mr. 
 Schwitz, and ten other ingenious, bold, and most skillful 
 gentlemen-burglars formed the plan of transferring to their 
 own coffers the specie and bills contained in the safes of 
 one of the richest banks in TN'ew York. It was to be done 
 on the ''masked plan ; " that is, the operators had agreed 
 to wear masks, and go boldly to a strong institution where 
 it was known that, in the spare apartments of the building, 
 lived and slept a couple of respectable families, w^hose heads 
 were, at the same time, high officers in the establishment. 
 They could enter easily with the best tools produced by the 
 skill of locksmiths, bind and gag all the inmates, oblige, 
 with revolver in hand, the head of the house to furnish the 
 keys ; they could then open the safes and choose the heavi- 
 est and at the same time lightest coin or currency, and de- 
 part in peace, leaving the inmates to themselves, with mana- 
 cles on their hands and feet, and closely-fitting gags on 
 their mouths, to be thus discovered in the morning when 
 the large outside door of the institution would be opened 
 by the astonished porter. 
 
342 LOUISA KIREBRIBE. 
 
 This plan, it is kno^\Ti, lias admirably succeeded in seve- 
 ral instances, and in tlie year 1873, in particular, in the 
 suburbs of the delightful village called Waterford, in Al- 
 bany County. It would have surely succeeded, likewise, in 
 the instance we now record, had not Mr. Ahern got wind of 
 the project just in time, from Talty. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne, informed of it, communicated 
 instantly and secretly with the bank authorities, agreed 
 with them to allow the ingenious contrivers of the plot to 
 partially succeed so far as the binding and gagging of the 
 inmates went ; and to fall on them in the midst of their 
 admirable operation, so as to catch them all as in a net. 
 They had time to prepare, as the affair would not take 
 place before several days had elapsed. 
 
 A dozen athletic men of the force were chosen by Mr. 
 O' Byrne, who was to be their leader ; they were all intro- 
 duced secretly at dusk, on the day appointed, into a lower 
 room of the basement, central with respect to the whole 
 building, and having three doors by which the men could 
 come up in squads of four, at the required moment. The 
 signal was to be given by one of the gagged men, who could 
 easily with his tied hands pull the twine attached to a 
 small bell in the room below. We relate the whole fact 
 directly, to have done with it. 
 
 Between one and two in the morning the burglars came, 
 all sure of success, everything had been so nicely combined. 
 They entered, closed the door, went straight to the various 
 rooms where they knew they would find their intended vic- 
 tims, who, as the best luck could have it, were found appa- 
 rently fast asleep. To seize them — men and women — bind 
 their hands and feet, gag them, and order them to keep 
 quiet under pain of death, was the work of a moment. 
 Then the leader of the band coming to the gentleman at the 
 head of the house, in fact, the cashier of the establishment, 
 bade him hand over the keys, or perish if he refused. He 
 showed at the same time a revolver, which he appeared de- 
 termined to use in case of non-compliance. A subdued light 
 
A SAB END OF GREAT HOPES. 343 
 
 kept always during night in the building allowed every one 
 to see sufficiently for acting. 
 
 At this very instant, the signal was given below with- 
 out any of the burglars hearing the bell. Mr. Cornelius 
 O' Byrne, leading the best squad of his men, came up first, 
 and walked straight to the masked ruffian, who held the 
 weapon almost at the head of the cashier. 
 
 " Give up your pistol or you shall die," he said. 
 
 '' !N'ot for you," answered the ruffian, who appeared ready 
 to use his weapon. Then a report came from the revolver 
 of young O' Byrne, and a bullet having lodged in the side 
 of the burglar, his arm dropped instantly, and his body fell 
 heavily on the floor. 
 
 No other firearm was discharged ; the reason of it could 
 never be ascertained. It was probably the effect of sur- 
 prise on the side of the ruffians ; and the policemen wished 
 to secure their men alive. A short struggle, therefore, en- 
 sued, a hand-to-hand conflict, in which the guardians of 
 the city, having their clubs, easily mastered their oppo- 
 nents. But, some confusion was unavoidable, as it was a 
 fight of twelve against twelve ; and unfortunately for future 
 peace three of the robbers escaped, among them the ''out- 
 law." 
 
 When all was finished, the first thing done by Mr. Cor- 
 nelius O' Byrne was to attend to the wounded man ; and to 
 his great surprise, in tearing away his mask, he recognized 
 the features of John, and understood the meaning of his 
 words when ordered to give up his weapon : ' ' Not for you." 
 The wretched man was enraged to see that the young Irish- 
 man, against whom he had sworn eternal enmity, had his 
 turn of revenge— so he thought — and this humiliation, after 
 having had, for so long a time, an apparent superiority, 
 was the real cause of the fierce courage he showed at the 
 moment, so little in keeping with his base life, and his well- 
 known character as a poltroon. 
 
 A stretcher was instantly made ; the wounded man was 
 placed on it ; two policemen carried him out to be sent in- 
 stantly to Bellevue Hospital, and the other captured rob- 
 
344 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 bers, each one manacled and in the hands of an officer, were 
 securely lodged that very night in the Tombs. 
 
 The doctor made an examination of the wounded pris- 
 oner, as soon as he reached the island. He directly saw 
 that the wound would prove fatal, and told him so ; the bul- 
 let could never be extracted, and it is probable that inter- 
 nal hemorrhage was already taking place. 
 
 "If you have," said the surgeon, *'any declaration to 
 make, there is no time to lose." John had ; and he stated 
 that he wished a magistrate should receive from him a 
 "very important communication." Notice of it was di- 
 rectly sent to the usual legal officer, and, after dressing 
 the wound, the doctor left the wretched man to his o\vn 
 thoughts. They were, indeed, far from pleasant. After 
 having so long succeeded in all his guilty undertakings, 
 after having stained his soul with so many crimes, and, with 
 the hope of greater prosperity, continued in them to the 
 last moment, he was suddenly told his life was nearly ended, 
 and he would never rise from the bed on which he was 
 writhing in pain. Should he, even by a miracle, in which 
 he did not believe, be restored to health, it would be merely 
 as a criminal fated to spend long years in durance, without 
 money sufficient to bribe lawyers and keepers, nay, without 
 a penny to render his life in jail more endurable. In his 
 memory, racked by a thousand horrible fancies, there was 
 not a single past event of his life which could bring rest 
 to his tortured imagination ; and of all the men that he 
 knew, and with whom he had had any dealings, there was 
 not a single one whom he did not detest or despise ; from 
 no one could he expect the consolation of friendship or 
 even the sympathy of common humanity. To come to this 
 end, therefore, had he plotted all his life, used wretched 
 instruments of open crime or of guilty pleasure, and often 
 congratulated himself on the invariable success of whatever 
 he undertook. He never had any feeling of religion what- 
 ever ; and, at this moment, religion alone could have con- 
 soled him, and offered, to his true repentance, the hope of 
 the forgiveness of God, and the prospect of a better life, if 
 
A SAD END OF GREAT HOPES. 345 
 
 he was yet spared. All around Ms bed many men were, 
 like Mm, stretched in angmsh and agony ; and some among 
 them had, no more than he, any hope of recovery. Yet not 
 a single one, except himself, appeared altogether miserable. 
 Several received the consolations of religion from Catholic 
 priests, whose sight raised in his stomach the savor of bile. 
 He soon perceived that even tender-hearted women came to 
 speak gently to some of his companions in misery. None 
 approached his bed at first, and he thought himself an out- 
 cast among mankind, and the object of universal detesta- 
 tion ; when finally a female in the dress of a Sister came 
 near him, and asked him, with a subdued voice, sweeter 
 than usual, because tempered with the Irish brogue, "If he 
 would be plazed to listen to her." A taste of bitterness 
 more acrid than gall rose instantly to his throat, and with 
 flaming eyes he answered : "Go your way ! " Had it not 
 been an Irish voice, he might have listened. 
 
 These were the feelings which agitated the breast of the 
 ex-valet, when the magistrate who was to receive his ante- 
 mortem declaration came, and sat near his bed. 
 
 Determined, it appears, to remain a villain to his last 
 breath, he dared to declare to the gentleman who began 
 writing his deposition, ' ' that, aware of his dangerous situ- 
 ation, and the probability of his death, he thought right, 
 solely that justice might be done, to declare that he had 
 been formerly the accidental instrument and witness of a 
 highly criminal transaction, which his conscience obliged 
 him now to denounce." This was his hypocritical pream- 
 ble, when he had, at this moment, no other motive than 
 revenge, and when his conscience told him he was originally 
 as guilty as his former young master. Then all the circum- 
 stances of the death of Mr. R. Kirkbride were related in 
 detail, with the finding in his pocket of a package directed 
 to Mr. Wilson, his attorney, in New York. This package, 
 John said, he thought his duty to hand over to the son, that 
 "he might transmit it to its address." But, as it soon 
 leaked out that the paper was nothing else but a change of 
 Ms •v\lll, by which the property of the dying gentleman, 
 
346 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 instead of being devised to his son, would go in bulk to Ms 
 wife, yet living, the young ''heir " thought fit to keep it to 
 himself, and thus inherit what had been willed to his mother. 
 The name of the attorney who had written the instrument, 
 under the dictation of Mr. R. Kirkbride, was given by the 
 ''deponent," so that his ante-mortem testimony might be 
 fully corroborated. It is useless to add, that the magistrate 
 who took the deposition of John, directly sent it to the 
 District Attorney of New York. 
 
 This gentleman, before acting, as it was his duty in the 
 case, called Mr. Cornelius O'Bryne, that he might commu- 
 nicate the sad news to Mrs. Kirkbride ; and the young 
 Irishman instantly went to see his sister, in order that she 
 might give the first intimation of it to the lady. Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride was alone in her room when Julia entered, and she 
 heard at first, with composure, what the girl had to say. 
 
 "They cannot, I hope, do anything to Frederick," she 
 remarked, "as even in the supposition he is guilty, I am 
 the only person injured, and I will certainly not prosecute 
 him. His conscience must render him miserable enough, 
 and I cannot think of revenging myself on him for such a 
 thing as money. If the poor yoimg man only opened his 
 eyes and came back at last to the practice of religion, which 
 alone can for him repair the past, I would, with joy, forget 
 all his former misdeedjs and treat him again as my dear son. 
 I am sure nothing of importance will come out of this new 
 turn of affairs." 
 
 "But, madam," rejoined Julia, "my brother told me that 
 it is a criminal offense, and the prosecuting attorney will 
 have to arrest him under warrant and bring him to trial, even 
 should you not move in the matter. These are the expres- 
 sions my brother used, and although I scarcely understand 
 them all, the result, at least, is clear to me, that his guilt will 
 become public, and he will, in open day, be taken to jail." 
 
 " God forbid,' ' exclaimed the lady. " I must go directly 
 to see that gentleman, and you will come with me, Julia." 
 
 A carriage was soon procured, and Mrs. Kirkbride went 
 far down town, where she had not appeared for many 
 
A SAD END OF GREAT HOPES. 347 
 
 months. The office of the district attorney was reached, 
 and the name of the lady visitor being given, she was in- 
 stantly admitted. 
 
 *' What has my boy done ? " she said, ''that you should 
 prosecute him without my consent ? I have been the only 
 one to suffer, in case he has really done what he is accused 
 of, and his accuser is a miserable wretch, whose testimony 
 no honest man can trust." 
 
 " It may be as you say, madam," replied the district at- 
 torney, ''and I hope that the innocence of your son will come 
 out on this trial ; but if the respectable lawyer employed 
 by your husband to change his will, and to whom I have 
 just written this morning, confirms the declaration of the 
 wretched dying burglar, there will be a strong presumption 
 against your son, and it wiU be my duty to act upon it." 
 
 " But who has been injured besides myself to require his 
 punishment ? If I forgive him, who shall appear against 
 him?" 
 
 " I will, myself, madam," retorted the State prosecutor, 
 "and it shall be my duty to do my best to have him con- 
 victed. If he is guilty, he has committed a crime, not only 
 against you, but against society, and no consideration can 
 prevent me from acting in the matter." 
 
 The lady was deeply pained ; she had yet no idea of the 
 real losses of her son, and thought that he might still re- 
 trieve the past, repent of his errors, and have enough left to 
 begin again a useful career. In case of such an event, he 
 might keep himself whatever remained of the property of 
 his father, even after he had appropriated it to himself un- 
 justly, by depriving her of the control she was entitled to 
 over it. These were her thoughts — thoughts worthy of her, 
 far above those of ordinary mothers, yet unfounded, in 
 fact, because the ruin of the spendthrift was total and irre- 
 trievable. She was, therefore, in fact, contending with the 
 district attorney against her own just rights, and this officer, 
 who was, like her, ignorant of the exact situation of the 
 son, thought proper to give her an advice to which he would 
 condescend to lend his aid, as far as his duty would allow. 
 
348 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 ''Consider, madam," lie said, ''that your son, who, I 
 understand, lately lost largely in stock gambling, may be 
 still unjustly possessed of a large amount of property be- 
 longing, in fact, to you, and which the law must wrest from 
 his grasp to return it to the proper owner, yourself." 
 
 "Suppose," eagerly resumed the lady, "he freely gives 
 it back of his own accord, with satisfactory pledges of a 
 future praiseworthy life, would you insist on publishing to 
 the world his former guilt, and immuring him in a prison 
 without hope of reformation ? " 
 
 "Well, madam," remarked the astonished magistrate, 
 " see him directly, and ascertain how matters stand. Mean- 
 while, I am not bound to act to-day ; I will not move until 
 I receive an answer from the north. I may even postpone 
 still further my action, after that answer arrives, to give 
 time for further and better developments." 
 
 The worthy gentleman, after this, helped Mrs. Kirkbride, 
 who was almost paralyzed with emotion, to rise, as she was 
 preparing to leave. But hearing her give some directions to 
 Miss 0' Byrne, as she called her, he kindly inquired if the 
 young lady was the sister of Cornelius his friend — so he en- 
 titled him — who was, he knew, waiting in the antechamber 
 for the result of the interview. On an affirmative answer 
 being given, Mr. 0' Byrne was called in for a moment, and 
 he received, with sensible pleasure, the direction not to ex- 
 ecute the orders he had already in his hands for the arrest 
 of the young man, until further notice ; but to take cogni- 
 zance of the turn of affairs, and prevent, if possible, the 
 lady from being imposed upon by her son. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, this time, did not feel any delicacy or 
 fear in the idea of going to the apartments of her son at the 
 Great Central Hotel ; and, leaving Julia to go home on the 
 horse-car line, she directed the driver to take her to a place 
 of which she had always had an unaccountable dread, and 
 which she was going to visit for the first time in her life. 
 
 But, as all this took place several days after the crash, 
 before listening to the conversation of the mother and son, 
 we must know the mental vicissitudes through which the 
 
A SAD END OF GREAT HOPES. 349 
 
 young man had passed, since his return to the hotel. After 
 the anxious thoughts in which we last left him, he had 
 spent a sleepless night in the burning heat of a high fever. 
 At daybreak the following day he arose, and, seated at his 
 desk, he summoned to his side by a hasty note Mr. Dio 
 Reckoning, with whom he wished to have a last conversa- 
 tion. He then j)enned another short letter to the "ladies" 
 of his establishment up towTi, expressing his heartful regret 
 at his future inability to bear the expenses of the house, 
 and hinted at the possibility of everything being sold there 
 shortly. 
 
 This accomplished, he felt that a far higher duty called 
 upon him to write to his mother, or rather to go and ask 
 her forgiveness for the past ; but false shame detained him, 
 and, having drunk a cup of strong coffee, he called his car- 
 riage to the door, and drove through the Park in a kind of ex- 
 hausted condition of body and mind. Where he was going, 
 what he would do, in fact, why he lived yet, and how long 
 he would still live, were puzzling questions which he could 
 not answer. At the entrance to the Park, he saw a squad 
 of policemen standing idle and talking together, and at the 
 sight he involuntarily shuddered, as if he thought they had 
 a warrant against him, and were on the point of arresting 
 him and lodging him with common felons in the Tombs. 
 The few riders, or promenaders, he met in the splendid in- 
 closure, were unknown to him, and he felt glad of it ; for, 
 since his fall, it was one of the greatest tortures for his 
 nerves to meet people who had known him in his pros- 
 perity. But, after what had now happened, they did not 
 appear eager to notice him, to bow, or even nod to him ; 
 some actually grinned at him — so, at least, he supposed — 
 and appeared pleased at his misfortune. He did not dare 
 to be the first to recognize a former acquaintance, through 
 fear of being openly disowned, or, at least, coldly disre- 
 garded ; he once received a gruff answer to his polite greet- 
 ing. One or two accosted him with a bluntness which savored 
 of savageness, and spoke of his ill-luck with a broad laugh : 
 ''Would not he do better next time, ha, ha ? " They meant, 
 
350 LOUISA EinKBRIDE. 
 
 perhaps, to be jolly ; they were, in fact, thrusting a sharp 
 blade through his frame. 
 
 These were the chief occurrences of his ramble, and he 
 returned to his apartments more fatigued and dispirited 
 than when he went out. He found Mr. Dio Eeckoning 
 waiting for him. This gentleman wore a very solemn air, 
 and had brought with him a huge mass of papers — as the 
 note that called him had requested. His accounts were 
 ready, and had been easy to make up, since not a shred of 
 real estate remained to Mr. Frederick, except his splendid 
 establishment up town, which even was mortgaged to its 
 full value, and had been already advertised for sale. The 
 percentage due Mr. D. Reckoning for his ''benevolent" 
 aid in the business transactions of Mr. F. Kirkbride, very 
 nearly balanced the money in hand belonging to the same 
 gentleman, and thus a paltry check for a thousand dollars 
 or so was all the " attorney" had to hand over. Mr. Frede- 
 rick knew that, in the two or three banks which he used 
 for his deposits — we know how early he began to employ 
 more than one — he would find some light balances to his 
 credit, so that if the whole of his actual fortune reached 
 the figure of ten thousand, he could consider himself as 
 more lucky than he deserved. With this amount in hand, 
 he might think of instantly leaving New York and retiring 
 to some distant city, where, with his great business ability, 
 he might continue to live on, and perhaps, ultimately pros- 
 per. For he clung to life more than he had first imagined, 
 and the dream of the superhuman career he had formerly 
 indulged in, having suddenly vanished, he might fall back 
 on a much more reduced plan. This occupied his mind 
 for several days, during which he kept his room, taking his 
 meals in it. 
 
 These were the gloomy, yet, at last, sufficiently reasonable 
 thoughts which passed through his mind, day and night, 
 for nearly a week, and which were beginning to take a 
 shape when the carriage of his mother drove up to the 
 hotel, on its return from the office of the district attorney. 
 Mr. F. Kirkbride was fairly bewildered when he received her 
 
A SAB END OF GREAT HOPES. 351 
 
 in his most private room and closed tlie door. He felt he 
 had once more faDed in his duty in not paying her the first 
 visit after his misfortune, and had scarcely the courage 
 to ask her how she was. 
 
 ''I am sufficiently well, my son," she answered ; ^'but I 
 am afraid you yourself, are not well. A little more than a 
 week ago, you told me that before this I would see my mis- 
 take and approve of the line of conduct you were following, 
 and I come to ask you what reason I have to do so." 
 
 "Mother," he said, " you were right, and I was mistaken. 
 I must acknowledge to you my folly; I am now a ruined man.' ' 
 
 "Do you only mean," she said, " that you have lost the 
 greater part of the wealth left by your father, and not been 
 guilty of anything punishable by the laws \ " 
 
 "This is certainly my meaning," he replied; "I am not 
 aware that anything so disgraceful as a criminal process at 
 law can be entered upon against me." 
 
 "Yet, my son," she remarked, with tears in her eyes, 
 "the district attorney thinks he can prosecute you." 
 
 "The district attorney ! " exclaimed the wretched young 
 man, blushing deeply and almost shaking with fear ; "on 
 whose deposition, and for what crime ? ' ' 
 
 " On the deposition of the former footman of your father, 
 and for a crime which I cannot name," rejoined the lady. 
 
 This was a terrible revelation to the guilty son ! Feeling 
 a disgust for the reading even of a newspaper, he had not 
 opened one since Black Friday, and did not know anything 
 of the attempted burglary and the apprehension of John. 
 The threat of speaking out in "three days," uttered by the 
 valet, had escaped his memory, as, at the time, the young 
 man did not think the fellow would do so, and more than 
 three days had elapsed since that threat. 
 
 " How did you come to hear this, mother?" he said, with 
 scarcely breath enough to utter the phrase. 
 
 "The district attorney called me to his office," she di- 
 rectly answered; "he intended first to arrest you before 
 speaking to me, and I had a great deal of trouble to induce 
 him to postpone his action." 
 
352 LOUISA KntKBRLDE. 
 
 ^'When does lie intend to send tlie constable?" ejacu- 
 lated the downcast wretch. 
 
 "He says," she replied, ^'the matter may be arranged, 
 without a criminal prosecution, if a notable part of the for- 
 mer wealth of your father remains to be disposed of accord- 
 ing to the altered will of my husband." 
 
 ''Let him, therefore, prosecute me," retorted her son, 
 ''since no notable part, in fact, nothing, remains." 
 
 And, in saying this, the unfortunate young man fell 
 heavily on the floor. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride called the footman to her assistance, and 
 with his help her son was carried to his bed, where he soon 
 revived. The servant being dismissed, the lady threw her- 
 self on the prostrate form of Frederick. 
 
 "Forgive me," she said ; "I could not help telling you 
 this, and it was only for your good I spoke. Oh, my dear 
 Frederick, if at least at this moment you would come back 
 to reason and to your God, I am sure that a great part of the 
 past evil could be corrected, and we might yet enjoy happy 
 days." 
 
 "No, mother," he exclaimed in a kind of frantic rage, 
 "it cannot be ; leave me alone, and do not look upon me 
 any more ; I am a wretch, I am undone, there is no hope ! " 
 
 The admirable mother would have remained the whole 
 night with her son ; and her tears, her tender words, her 
 motherly embraces, might have soothed down the excited 
 feelings of the young man, and brought him to better senti- 
 ments. But the violent storm which had been raging in his 
 heart for so many days, again arising, rendered still more 
 violent by this last discovery, burst forth at once with a 
 vehemence which could not be subdued even by the en- 
 treaties of a mother. She really feared that he would die in 
 a paroxysm of passion. A physician living in the hotel was 
 instantly summoned, who, after receiving from Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride a slight though veiled account of the cause, told her 
 she must by all means leave him, and not come back before 
 he would let her know it was safe. She, therefore, went 
 back ta her carriage to her home plunged in sorrow, and 
 
LAST MEETING OF FREDERICK AND HIS MOTHER. 
 
A SAD END OF GREAT HOPES. 353 
 
 almost refusing to be comforted even by the tender attentions 
 of Rosa and Julia. The physician, left alone with the young 
 man, brought him gradually to his senses ; and after admin- 
 istering an opiate which he thought sufficient to put him 
 to sleep, ordered the footman to watch his master until day- 
 light, and departed. 
 
 But the "opiate" could not conjure the nervous frenzy of 
 the patient. Recovering, after half an hour, sufficient con- 
 sciousness, he dismissed his servant, declaring he wished to 
 be left alone ; and during the whole night nothing further 
 was heard by the footman, who stretched himself on a lounge 
 in the next room. 
 
 When the morning arrived the greatest peace reigned all 
 around ; this was a very pleasing symptom after the fearful 
 excitement of the previous evening : but ten o'clock having 
 struck without any change, the servant entered the room 
 cautiously, and found his young master in a sleep from which 
 there could be no awakening — he was dead. 
 
 What was the real cause of his demise 1 Was it a sudden 
 fit of nervous apoplexy ? A total collapse of the system ? A 
 breaking of the heart ? or some subtle poison taken by him 
 when left alone during the night ? An inquest, held on the 
 following day, could not determine with certainty, No 
 organic lesion was visible, and the physicians were puzzled. 
 A witness testified that, some time before, Mr. F. Kirkbride 
 showed him a very small vial which he playfully said, ' ' could 
 put a man out of trouble and no one would be the wiser." 
 No druggist's name appeared on the vial, and it might have 
 been only a joke ; yet the witness had heard that there are 
 really poisons which leave no traces discernible by the 
 physician or the chemist. 
 
 In concluding this chapter we mil simply mention that 
 John had already died in Bellevue Hospital ; and a post- 
 mortem examination showed that the ball which killed him 
 had lodged in the lower part of the spine, after cutting an 
 artery which determined a fatal interior hemorrhage. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 SOEROW AND CONSOLATIO]^. 
 
 When the lifeless body of young Kirkbride was unex- 
 pectedly found in his bed, the first concern of the proprie- 
 tor of the establishment, as soon as the news reached him, 
 was to enjoin on all the servants acquainted with the fact 
 the most profound secrecy. They were not to say a word 
 of it, either in the house or out of it ; and to keep the door 
 locked. His only reason for this injunction was not to dis- 
 turb his customers. A death in the house is always an un- 
 pleasant affair ; but a death in the actual circumstances 
 is, for most people, something terrible. He knew that if a 
 great number of men, in our age, do not bestow the least 
 thought on the demise of any one, and consequently cannot 
 be much affected, one way or another, by the news of it, 
 there is always a certain number of the male population 
 who take it to heart, and become nervous on the subject. 
 As to the women of fashionable society, many are ready to 
 fall into hysterics, at the barest mention of death. 
 
 Fortunately for the proprietor of the Great Central Hotel, 
 it was on a Sunday morning that the fact occurred, and the 
 day is rather queerly kept, in our time, by the mass of the 
 non-Catholic population. The former habit of a great num- 
 ber of citizens spending a considerable part of the day in 
 church is now gone forever. The majority of fashionable 
 people waste it now in bed. As few of them, comparatively, 
 ever condescend to enter the precincts of an edifice devoted 
 to the worship of God, and as, however, the custom has 
 not yet been introduced of devoting it to business of any 
 
 354 
 
SORROW AND CONSOLATION. 355 
 
 kind — and it is very fortunate for the nation that it is so — 
 there is no better way to beguile the lazy hours in their 
 slow pace than by contriving to be half-conscious on a soft 
 couch, in the dark corner of a luxurious room, with heavy 
 curtains at the windows, and no gas or lamp burning in- 
 side. 
 
 It was, therefore, at a late hour, that the rumor began to 
 spread in the establishment, that an accident had hap- 
 pened during the night. All, of course, knew Mr. Fred- 
 erick, but nobody then boasted of it, and those of the 
 inmates who had mostly contributed to his fall by their 
 baneful advice, appeared to have known him less than any 
 other. The body was left, consequently, to its fate, in the 
 gloomy room, and although every one knew that there 
 would soon be a coroner's inquest in the hotel, they were 
 very careful not to ask the time when it would take place ; 
 and it would have been very hard to say who would be 
 the willing witnesses among so large a number of former 
 friends, who could be called to give their testimony. Many 
 of them would have been glad to be far away, or at least 
 in a different quarter of the city. Some went so far as to 
 think of moving away suddenly, and going to take their 
 rooms in some other establishment. Only a very few did 
 it, however, through fear of exciting public attention. But 
 the whole hotel wore an air of solemnity, which rendered 
 this Sunday a peculiar one in the house. 
 
 At the breakfast table, a much smaller number of people 
 than usual took their seats. The conversation was only 
 carried on in whispers, from one neighbor to the other, and 
 never became general. Such was the outside aspect of 
 affairs, on that day, in the spacious, but apparently empty 
 apartments of the Great Central Hotel of New York. 
 
 But if everything appeared to be, within its precincts, 
 lifeless and without animation of any kind, it was very dif- 
 ferent at the police headquarters. The news of the sudden 
 death of young Kirkbride reached the place very soon after 
 it had been first discovered, and the captain on duty called 
 directly to his private office Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne, who 
 
356 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 had just arrived from down town. He imparted to him the 
 sad news, and directed him to have it conveyed to the mo- 
 ther of the unfortunate young man, before she heard of it 
 through the usual channels of publicity. Meanwhile, all 
 the officers and the simple policemen knew it already, and 
 were canvassing together the probable consequences of it. 
 For several days things had happened in New York which 
 were calculated to stir them up, and rouse them from their 
 usual apathy and good-natured nonchalance. The fearful 
 excitement of Black Friday, when the peace and good 
 order of the city had, in the opinion of many, been threat- 
 ened with the greatest dangers and commotions ; the bur- 
 glary of the following night, and the public highway rob- 
 beries, which were expected to become of common occur- 
 rence ; the ante-mortem declaration of John, at Bellevue 
 Hospital, which was to bring disgrace on the name of Kirk- 
 bride ; finally, the inexplicable death of the young man him- 
 self, forming a fit climax to that pyramid of horrors : there 
 was in all these circumstances an uncommon concatenation 
 of events just of a nature to excite and convulse the feelings 
 of policemen, or they would have, indeed, been apathetic. 
 
 After hearing what the captain on duty had to say, Mr. 
 Cornelius O' Byrne, throwing himself into a cab, ordered 
 the driver to whip his horses as hard as the ordinances 
 of the city and the imperious will of Mr. Bergh allowed, 
 and the vehicle flew rapidly along one of the avenues run- 
 ning north. The young man felt instinctively that the lady 
 to whom he was conveying such a fearful report might 
 die on first hearing it, after all the misfortunes which had 
 already fallen on her. He knew her virtues, but he knew 
 likewise her acute feelings. Had not her heart been al- 
 ready nearly broken by so many domestic events of the 
 darkest hue? Was not this last shock destined to sever 
 the sole link which kept her attached to this earth? In 
 one sense, certainly, it was the best thing which could have 
 happened, since, had Frederick continued to live, he was 
 doomed to the cell of a felon and to the disgrace of a scamp. 
 But would the gentle mother take this view of the case, and 
 
SORROW AWB CONSOLATION, 357 
 
 thank God that at least the name of her former husband 
 had not suffered this last dishonor ? Would any of these 
 considerations so much as present themselves to her mind \ 
 Would she not, at this moment, be swayed only by her 
 motherly affection for the last of her children? Then, 
 indeed, it was a terrible thing to think of it for young 
 O' Byrne! For, like all the members of his family, he felt 
 such a veneration, such a respectful but tender affection 
 for the lady, that he w^ould willingly have given his life to 
 save hers. He was in the midst of these reflections when 
 the carriage stopped at Mrs. Kirkbride's house, and the 
 young man alighted. 
 
 The lady had not been able to sleep during the night, or, 
 rather, she had been fearfully agitated, and all the details 
 of the sad events of the two or three previous days had 
 haunted her imagination in spite of all her efforts to take 
 rest. When the carriage arrived she was dressing with the 
 intention of going back to her son. The evening previous 
 the physician had prevailed on her to leave him and go 
 home. She repented of having done so, and made up her 
 mind to remain with him till his full recovery or his death. 
 This, at that time, was Just settled in her head. 
 
 Julia, informed of the sad news by her brother, entered 
 the room of Mrs. Kirkbride, and, with assumed simplicity, 
 told her that there was no need of being in a hurry this 
 Sunday morning, as a report had Just arrived that jDer- 
 mitted her to stay some time longer. 
 
 ''What report? what news?" exclaimed the poor mo- 
 ther; "has something happened to my son during the 
 night?" 
 
 ''Yes," answered the girl; "the doctor who was with 
 him a long time last evening, says he must not be dis- 
 turbed." 
 
 " I won't listen to that doctor any more," said the lady ; 
 "my presence cannot do him any harm ; it is not what the 
 physician calls 'to disturb him,' I hope." 
 
 "You remember, madam," Julia remarked, "he said 
 that your presence produced too much effect on his nerves." 
 
358 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 "But," replied the lady, ''Frederick has had time to be- 
 come calm." 
 
 "Please stay, madam," interposed Julia; "your pres- 
 ence could not do him any good." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " ejaculated the mother. " Is he 
 dead?" 
 
 "If not yet," replied Julia, "it is the same as if he 
 was." 
 
 " Speak clearly, girl," said Mrs. Kirkbride, out of breath 
 and nearly suffocated by bursting sobs ; and, unable to 
 stand, she sat down or rather threw herself down on a low 
 rocking-chair. Julia instantly stretched herself on the 
 carpet near her ; and as she had been used lately to a great 
 deal of simple and almost infantine familiarity with her, 
 she placed her head on the heaving bosom of the lady, and 
 began to whisper softly : " No, no, it is not true what you 
 said yesterday on coming back home, that soon you would 
 not be a mother any more ; you are still, you are still ; for 
 I have made up my mind to be your daughter, and you 
 will, I hope, allow me to be called so." 
 
 "Oh! oh!" sobbed aloud the poor lady, who saw at 
 once the meaning of the good girl ; "so my Freddy is gone 
 to God with all his sins on him. Oh, my heart shall break, 
 my heart shall break ! " 
 
 Julia jumped up, rang the bell, and Rosa, coming in 
 instantly, was sent in great haste for Dr. Dillon, by her. 
 Then she had scarcely time to go baciv again to her post 
 and stretch herself again on the carpet, when Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride fainted outright, and fell into the arms of the Irish 
 girl. 
 
 Julia unloosened her dress, chafed her temples, and 
 placing her own lips on those of the lady, revived by the 
 gentle warmth of her breath, the drooping courage of her 
 mistress. She opened her eyes, threw around Julia' s waist 
 her inert and hanging arms, and from her eyes streamed a 
 flood of tears, which Julia with deep sympathy allowed to 
 flow, without moving, to run and bathe her face, her neck, 
 her bosom. To see them both clasped in each other's arms, 
 
SORROW AND CONSOLATION. 359 
 
 breathing together, weeping together, and moved by the 
 same inward feelings of grief, sympathy and holy affection, 
 who could have imagined that the elder one, of proud and 
 haughty lineage, hard to move and almost inaccessible to 
 pity, had been reared in affluence and had spent a great 
 part of her life in the enjoyment of almost unbounded 
 wealth ; whilst the younger one, descended from an impul- 
 sive race, with the memory of a long train of wrongs un- 
 atoned for, had been cradled and rocked by poverty and 
 want, reared in indigence, and pursued, during her youth, 
 by an unaccountable and undeserved hatred and fury ? 
 The holy feeling of religion, although not yet complete in 
 both, had joined what the events of a thousand years 
 seemed to have severed and separated forever. There they 
 were, on that car^oet, in that room, the real and true picture 
 of a deeply afflicted mother and of a sincerely sympathizing 
 daughter. It was a new and miraculous birth ; Louisa 
 Kirkbride had become the mother of Julia O' Byrne. 
 
 They had had time to recover their senses and compose 
 themselves, when Dr. Dillon came. He was, we know, an 
 intimate friend of the lady, with whom he had been ac- 
 quainted from her youth. He had been often let into the 
 secrets of the family, and having lately frequently visited 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, he knew the excessive grief she felt on 
 account of her son. It was Julia, who, at the door, first 
 announced to him the death of the wretched young man as 
 the cause of the sudden extreme affliction of the mother. 
 When he entered the room of the lady, she rose from the 
 lounge where Julia had x)laced her ; but the doctor, obliging 
 her to resume her easy position necessary to the physical 
 weakness consequent upon her previous excitement, took 
 his seat in an arm-chair near the head of the lounge, felt 
 her pulse, asked a few questions, and then said : 
 
 " Julia and Rosa will nurse you, and this will be nothing, 
 I hojje." 
 
 "- The wound is too deep there," said the lady placing her 
 hand on her heart, ^ ' to be so easil y healed up. I shall, doctor, 
 carry it to my grave; and nothing shall ever be able to 
 
360 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 efface from my memory the terrible domestic events I have 
 passed through." 
 
 "Patience, in this case," replied Dr. Dillon, "is the 
 remedy prescribed by Horace." 
 
 "Who is Horace? " said the lady, " and of what patience 
 does he speak ?" 
 
 "He was a pagan poet, madam," replied the physician, 
 "and the patience he recommended was not, consequently, 
 Christian patience." 
 
 " His remedy, therefore," observed Mrs. Kirkbride, was 
 a mere sham, and could not charm the evil." 
 
 "You are about right there," the good doctor replied; 
 "and as I am nearly of your opinion, I would advise you 
 to call in our mutual friend. Dr. Dixon." 
 
 ^' It was my first thought, doctor," said the lady, "for it 
 was not I who called you ; it was Julia, when I fainted ; 
 but as soon as I woke up from the trance I thanked her for 
 it ; for I am always happy to see you." 
 
 After chatting together for a few moments longer, the 
 physician got up to leave the room, and promising to return 
 in a short time, he left a few ordinary prescriptions, and 
 went away. 
 
 As soon as Julia came back, the lady directed her to send 
 right off for the widow's son who generally went on her 
 errands, and began to write the note he was to carry. The 
 direction of the note struck the girl, who after having given 
 it to the boy, went to her own apartment, took a book 
 which she often used herself, and went back to Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride's room. 
 
 "You have always allowed me, madam," . . . 
 
 "Call me mother, at least to-day, Julia," exclaimed the 
 lady, interrupting her. "It did me so much good to hear 
 you say you would be my daughter ; it was but half an 
 hour ago, and now I am only madam ! " 
 
 The heart of Julia swelled in her bosom when she heard 
 these words; she pushed a low folding stool near the 
 lounge, and seating on it, placed sweetly her hand in that 
 
SORROW AND CONSOLATION. 361 
 
 of the lady, and said with the most perfect simplicity and 
 good taste : 
 
 ' ' Dear mother, your loving daughter wants to ask you 
 why you sent for Dr. Dixon. Do you expect to receive any 
 religious consolation from him ? He is an excellent man, 
 I have no doubt ; still, he will administer to you but cold 
 comfort. Here in this book you will find more relief for 
 your soul than in all the fine sentences of any minister," 
 and she gave the lady the book she had brought. It was a 
 small poorly printed volume, with the title, we think, of 
 "Devotions for Afflicted Souls." It was translated from 
 the French, but unabridged, as were not the pretended 
 " translations" edited by the good rector of Trinity ; and 
 the little book had not been emasculated by suppressions 
 and cuttings off ; so that all the sweet belief of the Catho- 
 lic Church was there ex]3ressed and warmly poured forth, 
 without being frozen by the blast of cold mistrust and 
 symmetrized sentiment. 
 
 *'Well, dear child," said Mrs. Kirkbride, ''I will read 
 your book with profit, I hope ; but I must receive Dr. 
 Dixon well, when he comes, as he has always been a good 
 friend to me. Leave me alone ; I am anxious to read what 
 you brought me," and, kissing the girl, she dismissed her. 
 
 The first paragraphs of the volume appeared dry and al- 
 most unnatural, as the translator was not a great master of 
 English. But, when the lady became used to the Frenchi- 
 fied style, the substance of the things and the beauty of the 
 thoughts struck her ; and the more she read, the more she 
 felt it went to her heart ; so that after a while sweet tears 
 began to moisten her eyelids, and drop down one after ano- 
 ther, and bespatter the pages of the book with large circles 
 of warm dew. She could not resume her work with the 
 needle, as she had first intended to do, and spent a great part 
 of the forenoon, reading on, reading on, allowing herself 
 scarcely a moment to breathe at the end of each chapter. 
 
 She was yet enjoying that refreshing consolation always 
 brought on by holy tears, when Dr. Dixon was announced. 
 
362 LOUISA kirkbhibe. 
 
 He liad started directly on receiving the note, as he had 
 just done preaching for that Sunday at Trinity, and had 
 heard from one of his parishioners the great news of the 
 day — the death of young Kirkbride at the Great Central 
 Hotel. He was immediately received by the lady, who laid 
 her book down, wiped away a few remaining drops from 
 her eyes, and said, with evident emotion ; 
 
 * ' It was proper, doctor, in this my affliction, that I should 
 call you to my side, to hear the words of comfort which the 
 true minister of God always keeps in reserve for the af- 
 flicted." 
 
 "All I can tell you, dear madam," replied the Eev. 
 doctor, ' ' you know already. Holy Scripture has long ago 
 reminded you that ^ in the midst of life we are in death,' 
 and that ' whom God loveth he chastiseth.' " 
 
 The fact was, that so seldom at that time was the good 
 man called to the ''house of sorrow," and so accustomed 
 were then the members of his flock to attend to their own 
 souls without his help, that he had scarcely any experience 
 in the way of dealing with " afflicted souls," and he could 
 only inflict on them texts of Scripture which, as he justly 
 observed, "they knew as well as himself." Yet the Rev. 
 gentleman was certainly a " pious man," and tried his best 
 to fulfill his duty as "pastor of souls ;" but Protestantism 
 has, by its doctrines of individualism, and the denial of 
 " secondary mediators," so much dried up every stream of 
 brotherly sympathy, that those even who endeavor to es- 
 cape from its cold embrace, to retrace their steps to the 
 bosom of their true mother, and decline taking the name of 
 Protestants, do not know how to do it, and cannot enter 
 into the wide company of the children of God, to either 
 partake of the joys of other souls, or to see their sorrows 
 assuaged by the contemplation of those of others. Thus, 
 probably, the good doctor himself felt when the lady pre- 
 sented to him the little book she had been reading. He 
 was x)iizzled, when glancing on its pages, he remarked that 
 deep and tender words of commiseration were put succes- 
 sively — in the mouth of Our Blessed Lady, of St. Joseph, 
 
SORROW AND CONSOLATION. 363 
 
 of St. John, who stood at the foot of the cross, of the mar- 
 tyrs of God who had died by the rack, by fire, or the teeth 
 of wild beasts ; on the lips of more modern Christians who 
 had been afflicted in a thousand ways, ''being really chas- 
 tised because they were loved." Thus the numerous "de- 
 votions" contained in this little book were, in fact, all of 
 one kind ; they were only the sighs and sobs of those who 
 had followed the Lamb, and walked in the footsteps of 
 Christ to Calvary, to console their living afflicted brethren 
 by the sweetness they had derived from the wounds of the 
 Saviour. 
 
 " I never saw this little book before, my dear madam," Dr. 
 Dixon said, returning the volume. " If I ever gave an edi- 
 tion of it, as I have done of other French devotional works, 
 I would take the liberty of making several changes, which 
 would adapt the volume to the needs of modern Christians." 
 
 "What changes would you suggest ? " rejoined the lady. 
 
 " Oh, a great many," he said ; "as there are many facts 
 that criticism could attack, and which could be, with ad- 
 vantage, replaced with texts of Holy Scripture." 
 
 "For me," retorted Mrs. Kirkbride, "I do not see what 
 better consolation can be offered to those who, like me, 
 shed tears, than the remembrance of the multitudes that 
 have suffered before us, and taught us how to sanctify our 
 afflictions." 
 
 The doctor then saw that he could never do so well him- 
 self for the object he had been called to effect, as these 
 "Catholic Devotions" could, with all their unaffected sim- 
 plicity ; nay, with — may we not say precisely, on account 
 of — their want of criticism. He, therefore, spoke gently 
 and quietly for a few moments with Mrs. Kirkbride, and 
 promising her that he would officiate at the funeral of her 
 unfortunate son, he soon withdrew. It was wisely arranged 
 that the burial service should be performed with as much 
 secrecy and modesty as possible. 
 
 When the reverend gentleman had left, Mrs. Kirkbride 
 called Julia to her room, and said, sadly and feelingly : 
 
 "It was as you said, dear daughter; your little book is 
 
364 LOUISA EIREBIIIDE. 
 
 more powerful than Dr. Dixon could be; lie has left me 
 cold, when your ' Devotions ' had already warmed my heart. 
 But what am I to do ; I cannot say. My religion has been 
 to me, through life, such a source of good and happiness, 
 that it would be really ungrateful in me to change it ; and 
 yet I am, and for a long time have been, instinctively at- 
 tracted toward yours. I am really puzzled." 
 
 ^'God forbid, madam," exclaimed Julia, "that I should 
 tempt you to change your religion ! It is not your genuine 
 religious feelings that are to be changed. See how you 
 always agreed fully with my poor mother, when she lived, 
 and with me, whenever I spoke to you of my faith. You 
 protested one day, to my mother, that you were a ' Catho- 
 lic,' and so you are, and have been. But what you have to 
 reject, is only the paltry show of Episcopalianism, as it is 
 called, which does not give you true Sacraments, nor true 
 priests, nor true intercessors in heaven. AH these things 
 you need, you look for, you even long for ; and it is only 
 the Catholic Church that can give them to you." 
 
 ''You may be right, child," suggested, with a sigh, Mrs. 
 Kirkbride. "But the thing is more difficult than you 
 imagine. By-and-by, however, we will think of it, and, I 
 promise you, it will be before long. Meanwhile, my soul 
 is distracted ; I want sleep ; give me that potion left by Dr. 
 Dillon ; he said that, when I should feel the need of rest, 
 by taking it I would find rest." 
 
 It was brought to her ; she swallowed it ; and walking, 
 with the help of Julia, to her bed in the next room, she was 
 soon fast asleep. 
 
CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 DOMESTIC DETAILS OF A MOKE SOOTHING NATURE. 
 
 When Julia went down, she fonnd Rosa reading a letter 
 tlie postman had just brought her. It came from England, 
 and it was from her father. We know yet very little of 
 Rosa ; and, as she is not destined to be a cipher in this 
 story, the reader will, no doubt, be glad that there is actu- 
 ally a fair occasion to know something more of her. Being 
 much younger than Julia, and having never been tried by 
 so sad an experience of life, her temper was much more 
 gay, and her feelings much more buoyant. Perhaps this 
 came in part from her mother, whose blood coursed in her 
 veins, though she had never known her. But the most 
 visible cause of it was Mrs. Kirkbride herself. Having been 
 given over to her charge when she was a mere infant, she 
 called her mother at first ; and, although she was chided, 
 nay, jjunished for it, she could not drive the idea from her 
 head that she had a true mother in that lady. Even, after 
 little Janet died, and when, at the request of Mr. Kirkbride, 
 she was placed among the servants, she received so many 
 tokens of affection from her dear mistress, that she thought 
 more of her than of anybody else in the world. It is not 
 surprising, therefore, that, having her sweet figure con- 
 stantly under her eyes and in her imagination, she natu- 
 rally copied it to the best of her incipient ability, and, for 
 instance, tried to reflect in herself much more the unaffected 
 graces of the lady than the coarse manners of Miss Fanny, 
 or the pretentious airs of Miss Yictorina. The reader, we 
 suppose, has not yet forgotten them. 
 
 365 
 
366 LOUISA EIBKBRIDE. 
 
 Eosa, consequently, was, from the start, a sweet and gay 
 little thing, and grew up gradually sweeter and gayer. 
 Whenever her mistress sent her on an errand, she was 
 remarked everywhere for her affectionate disposition and 
 simple and artless demeanor. There was, also, something 
 so ladylike and refined in her deportment, that, although 
 she never wore a silk dress, she was sometimes taken by 
 the friends of the Kirkbride family, who had never seen 
 her before, for a true young relative of the lady. It gave 
 occasion, sometimes, to laughable mistakes, and Rosa was 
 invariably the first to find out the mistake, and the one to 
 laugh most heartily at it. 
 
 She occupied in the new house, after they left Madison 
 Avenue, a very small room by herself in the basement, and 
 thus she was nearer to the yard, which, we know, had been 
 transformed into a little garden. Every morning in spring 
 and summer, after having said her prayers, she cut a few of 
 the newly ox')en blossoms hanging on the twigs of the exotics 
 planted there, and carried them up to the room of Mrs. 
 Kirkbride, who had then just risen and was dressing in 
 the little cabinet near her bedroom. She received as a re- 
 w^ard sometimes a kiss, sometimes only a smile, but always 
 accompanied with some kind word or other. She had her- 
 self always some remark to make on the flowers she brought, 
 and there was invariably wit and humor, as well as simpli- 
 city and affection, in every word she uttered. 
 
 But what about the terrible events that have been nar- 
 rated ? Did she feel them as keenly as the other inmates 
 of the house ? Did they exert on her temper a depressing 
 effect, so as to render her as unhappy as two very worthy 
 female friends that we know ? By no means ; and the reader 
 must not conclude from this that she was insensible, in fact, 
 thick-vskinned. The poor child never had any idea of the 
 extent of the terrible misfortunes which had fallen on Mrs. 
 Kirkbride. She had been apprised formerly of the cliief 
 circumstances of the catastrophe in the Adirondacks, and 
 she had shared in the grief of her mistress. But every mar- 
 ried woman can expect to lose her husband at some time or 
 
DOMESTIC DETAILS OF A MORE SOOTHmO NATURE. 367 
 
 other ; and Rosa did not imagine that her mistress had any 
 peculiar reason for feeling his loss all her life. The break- 
 ing np of the household of the family in Madison Avenue 
 had at first produced some depressing effect on her temper. 
 But after a while she was very well pleased with the change. 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, with her annuity, was yet rich ; and the 
 absence of the former servants in the big house pleased her 
 mightily. She had Julia besides Mrs. Kirkbride, and this 
 was enough. The wretched doings of young Mr. Frederick 
 could not affect her as deeply as Miss 0' Byrne, because she 
 was not like her the confidante of her mistress, and knew 
 very little of the deep injuries inflicted on the mother by 
 the son. It is true that at last, when the crash came, she 
 became acquainted with many of the damnable freaks of 
 the young man, and she was sadly affected by all she heard 
 of the losses of the young gambler, which would ultimately 
 recoil on the lady, and reduce her very low indeed in life. 
 But beyond this, she knew nothing, and had not even heard 
 of the disgrace brought on the house by the crimes of the 
 only son and heir. As everybody treated her yet like a 
 little girl, nothing of what went directly to the heart was 
 intimated to her. So she was always the same gay little 
 creature, when she received the letter we mentioned. We 
 remember poor Carty, who had formerly given his little 
 daughter to Mrs. Kirkbride. For a long time after the day 
 on which the child left England for the United States, he 
 wrote once a month to the lady to inquire after his child, 
 whom he really loved. But when the little girl grew up, 
 and began to scribble herself, and to send letters of a few 
 lines to her father, the good man, perceiving how she was 
 contented and really happy, ceased to be so anxious about 
 her ; until many affairs which engrossed his mind made him 
 almost forget Rosa ; and lately the young girl — for she was 
 now a young girl — had expressed the fear that her dear papa 
 was dead, since he had not written for more than a year. 
 
 But now a large package had come to her address, and 
 together with a letter for herself, there was a big one for the 
 lady. Julia, we said, found her reading it, and on her face 
 
368 LOUISA EIBKBRIDE. 
 
 you could see sudden clianges of feeling, as tlie words of 
 her father excited in her joy, or a little anxiety, or sur- 
 prise, or what not ; her cheeks were alternately white or 
 red, or both together. 
 
 "See, Julia," she exclaimed, "what my father wrote to 
 me ; read yourself, and you will be pleased." 
 
 Julia was lately so familiar with her younger friend that 
 she did not offer any objection, and read the following 
 words : 
 
 "My deae Rosa : — I have lately neglected you, and you 
 must have been surprised at my silence ; but I cannot delay 
 any longer, as I have many things of importance to com- 
 municate CO you. I had for a long time almost laid aside 
 the practice of my religion ; and even before you left me, I 
 was far from being a fervent Christian. On this account I 
 did not mention anything on the subject to the lady who 
 took you from me, and who appears to have been a true 
 mother for you. But lately some missionaries, real men of 
 God, preached in St. George's Church a course of evening 
 sermons lasting three weeks. I went to hear them at first 
 through curiosity ; but finally they opened my eyes, and I 
 am now, what I ought to have been all the time, a practical 
 Catholic. 
 
 "Now, my dear child, you must know that you have 
 been baptized in the Holy Catholic Church. Your mother, 
 a most pious, affectionate, and, I may say, holy woman, 
 when she saw herself dying, after having brought you, her 
 first child, to light, made me promise most solemnly to 
 bring you up in the practice of the true religion. I did it 
 as long as you remained with me ; but when I thought it 
 advantageous to yourself to give you up to another, I did 
 not, through false shame, impose any condition to that 
 effect. I hope it is not too late, and I beg of you to give 
 the inclosed letter to the lady who took charge of you. 
 
 "Remember, dearest Rosa, that your mother, now in 
 heaven, wants you to be what she was herself, a sincere 
 Catholic. Oh, if you had known her! How you would 
 
DOMESTIC DETAILS OF A MORE SOOTHING NATURE. 369 
 
 have loved her ! You cannot know and love her in another 
 life without practicing the religion she practiced herself. 
 I hope, therefore, that as soon as you receive this, you will 
 place yourself in the hands of a good Catholic clergyman of 
 your neighborhood to be instructed ; and to obviate all 
 difficulty, I inclose a certificate of your baptism, which I 
 have just obtained from the very priest who performed the 
 ceremony, and who lives still in the same parish. I am sure 
 that the lady with whom you are, will not object, when she 
 knows all those circumstances. I repeat them in the letter 
 which you will yourself give her. 
 
 ''I have moreover to inform you, my darling child, that 
 your name is not Carty, but MacCarthy. I do not know 
 really what possessed me when I changed my name ; as if 
 I ought to be ashamed of being directly known as an Irish- 
 man. Your mother was an O'Brien; and both names go 
 so well together that all Munster people, and others too, 
 will embrace you when they know it. 
 
 ^ ' Now, my dearest, answer me directly ; and tell me that 
 you are glad yourself to become acquainted at once with 
 so many strange things. You will fill my heart with joy, 
 and receive from me a thousand blessings. 
 " Your loving father, 
 
 *'T. McCaethy." 
 
 As soon as Julia had finished reading she looked at Rosa, 
 who returned her look with an arch smile. 
 
 *'Now, what wiU you do ?" said the first. 
 
 " I leave it to you to find out," answered the second. 
 
 ''Then I know how it will be," remarked the first. 
 
 ''And how will it be ? " said the second. 
 
 "It will be so that you shall not go any more to Trinity 
 Chapel," affirmed Julia. 
 
 "Certainly not," Rosa assented, and both were directly 
 locked in each other's arms. 
 
 This first burst of emotion over, Rosa said to her friend : 
 "I am so glad that after all I am an Irish girl ; I felt it all 
 along. You see, Julia, when we lived in the great house in 
 24 
 
370 LOUISA KIRKBRLDE. 
 
 Madison Avenue, there were at the time many servants, 
 all of different tongues and countries. Frenchmen, Swiss, 
 English, Americans ; there was not a single one of them to 
 whom I could open myself. But whenever Mrs. Kirkbride 
 sent me to the shanty, either when the Dolan family lived 
 in it or afterward, when you arrived, I found myself quite 
 at home with the people there. Since we came to reside in 
 this house you have been my good angel ; I could scarcely 
 live without you. My happiness chiefly has been to go 
 often to church with you on Sundays ; the words of the old 
 priest that used to preach went to my heart ; and the silence 
 and piety of the packed congregation often moved me to 
 tears. When, on the contrary, Mrs. Kirkbride took me to 
 Trinity Chapel, although you know that my heart is wdth 
 the lady as with you, and I consider her almost as my 
 mother, yet in that heavily ornamented and gloomy edifice I 
 could never persuade myself that I was in the house of God. 
 The sight of the well-dressed and demure people produced 
 on me the effect of a tea-drinking party, and the pompous 
 and solemn-looking minister could not inspire me with any 
 feelings but those of awe and fear. I confess I could not 
 explain to myself the cause of the difference, until I received 
 to-day this letter. Whatever pleases you must please me, 
 and whatever grates on your feelings must grate on mine. 
 In fact, we are two sisters ; and it would be very strange 
 that having the same blood in our veins we should differ in 
 inclination and aims. From what I have just told you, you 
 may infer what I intend to tell Mrs. Kirkbride when, after 
 she has read the letter of my father, she asks me Avhat I 
 propose to do. I have no doubt: that she will tenderly 
 embrace me and tell me I am right ; and I will tell you 
 what we must do to establish complete religious unity in 
 the house : we must carry her bodily, if necessary, to our 
 church on Sundays, and not allow her to go any more to 
 Trinity Chapel." And the girl burst out in a good fit of 
 well-meaning laughter in uttering the last i)hrase. 
 
 ^' You joke," said Julia, "in giving me that piece of ad- 
 vice. For my part, I would not move a finger to induce the 
 
DOMESTIC DETAILS OF A MORE SOOTHING NATURE. 371 
 
 good lady to any step not perfectly in keeping with lier 
 own will ; but I am sure that, without using any other 
 effort than coaxing, we shall bring her to it, as she is per- 
 fectly in accord with our holy faith, and has at bottom no 
 other religion than we have. The last step will consist for 
 her in asking instruction from the venerable man of God 
 who assisted my mother at her death ; and to begin with it, 
 you will do well to come with me to mass to-morrow morn- 
 ing, and speak to the clergyman, according to the direction 
 of your father, in order that he may teach you your reli- 
 gious duties, and prepare you for your first communion." 
 
 They had just finished talking, when the bell was heard at 
 the door, and, on opening it, Julia found her brother, look- 
 ing sad and serious, and asking to see her privately for a 
 moment. ''I come to tell you, my dear sister," he said, 
 *' that Mrs. Kirkbride is going to be reduced to real pov- 
 erty. The fate of her miserable son was in the hands of 
 the district attorney, who was going to prosecute him crim- 
 inally when he died, just in time to escape infamy. But, 
 from what I hear, he had already gone through the whole 
 wealth of his father ; so that the widowed mother cannot 
 expect to receive a penny of her annuity. She will be re- 
 duced to live on the rent of her house in Madison Avenue, 
 which could not be touched by Mr. Frederick. She will 
 have, consequently, to leave even her present quarters, and 
 take lodgings in some out-of-the-way place. I do not think 
 that she will be able to keep a single servant with her, and 
 to pay wages to anybody. Of course, I do not come to ask 
 you to communicate to her this sad news, as she will soon 
 hear it from her attorney ; but my object is merely to give 
 you time to reflect on wiiat your own interest requires of 
 you, and, as soon as you have decided, you will let me 
 know, and I will do my best to forward your views." 
 
 "So, Con, my friend," answered Julia, "what you come 
 to tell me amounts to this : ' As long as your staying with 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was useful to you, and offered you a better 
 position than you could find elsewhere, you did well to stay 
 with her ; but, now that she will be scarcely able to give 
 
372 LOUISA KIREBRLDE. 
 
 you food and clothing, and that, in the isolation she will be 
 reduced to, you cannot expect to find a husband, your 
 interest is to leave the old woman to her sad fate, although, 
 in the time of her prosperity, she treated with such kind- 
 ness our whole family, but chiefly our poor mother. She 
 cannot be any more useful to us, so we had better drop her 
 at once, and allow her to retire into some obscure corner, to 
 die of want, and out of the pale of human society.' This 
 is your meaning, my dear brother, and I wonder at it. I 
 thought you could never come so low, in point of self- 
 ishness, and that, at least, you would always have sense 
 enough to see that such a temptation can have no effect 
 whatever on me. I love Mrs. Kirkbride. I just promised 
 her yesterday to remain her daughter all her life, and I 
 intend to keep my promise." 
 
 ''Julia," said Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne, blushing, ''I recog- 
 nize you at these words, and I beg of you to believe that 
 my object was not so much to tempt you, as to see how 
 you would take it, and what declaration it would draw 
 from you. I rejoice that you show yourself such a thor- 
 ough Munster girl in impulsiveness and affection. Know, 
 moreover, that you have the approval of our father, to 
 whom I communicated the object of this visit to you. ' I 
 shall not,' he said, 'acknowledge any more Julia for my 
 daughter, if she is base enough to leave such a good lady, 
 to whom we are so much indebted, alone. But I know,' 
 he added, ' that there is nothing of the kind to fear from 
 her, and that she will show herself worthy of her race and 
 country. ' But, my dear Julia, this noble determination on 
 your part does not prevent you from examining attentively 
 what it will cost you. You will have no society whatever, 
 the whole day long, and your occupations will be so inces- 
 sant and heavy that you will not be even able to enjoy the 
 society of dear Mrs. Kirkbride, except by chance and for a 
 few moments. And, as you rightly said, you must give up 
 the idea of ever finding a husband, and forming for your- 
 self a quiet home, which is the great aspiration of girls in 
 your position. But God will bless your sacrifice, and you 
 
DOMESTIC DETAILS OF A MORE SOOTHING NATURE. 373 
 
 are strong enongh to look at the prospect coolly, and un- 
 derstand the case perfectly beforehand." 
 
 " You make it, however, really worse than it is," rejoined 
 the sister, "for I will not remain alone with the lady. 
 Rosa will certainly share with me the trouble and labor. 
 We are already agreed on the subject, so that you need not 
 be afraid that I will have more to do than I can." 
 
 "^Yho is that Rosa?" inquired Mr. O' Byrne ; ''is she 
 the little girl who used formerly to come to the shanty on 
 errands from Mrs. Kirkbride ? ' ' 
 
 "The same," answered Julia, " but no longer a little girl. 
 In a year more or so she A\all be able to become your wife, 
 and you might, indeed, make a worse choice," added Julia 
 with an arch smile. 
 
 "iS'onsense, sister," exclaimed Mr. O'Byrne ; "you know 
 that I shall never marry any one but an Irish girl, and this 
 one is, I think, English, or something of the kind." 
 
 "Nonsense, Mr. Con," rejoined the sister; "this one is as 
 much Irish as you and I ; her father is a MacCarthy and 
 her mother w^as an O'Brien." 
 
 "Gracious heavens," exclaimed Mr. O'Byrne, bursting 
 with laughter, "if the young lady suits me and I suit her, 
 our children will have in their veins some of the blood of 
 all our former Munster kings. Indeed you astonish me, 
 sissy." 
 
 "Hold your tongue," said Julia, with a subdued voice ; 
 " I hear her coming." 
 
 In fact, Rosa, perfectly unaware that her friend was 
 engaged with her brother, was, at that moment, coming doAvn 
 the stairs with a light foot and a lighter heart, singing and 
 tossing her head as if keeping time with the tune ; and 
 when she reached the door of the room, she turned the 
 knob without knocking, and pushed in the door as if it were 
 her own apartment ; and her thoughts were so intent on 
 what occupied her mind, that she did not see anybody in 
 the room but Julia. So she went straight to her, clasped 
 her in her arms, and exclaimed : 
 
 "It is just as I told you ; Mrs. Kirkbride read the letter 
 
374 LOUISA KIRKBRIBE. 
 
 with pleasure, and not only leaves me free to do what I 
 please, but moreover says that I am a happy girl, and she 
 herself would like to have no more difficulty to take the 
 same step. She was in bed and just awake when ..." 
 
 At that very moment her eye caught sight of Con ; she 
 appeared dumbfounded, blushed deeply, stopped speaking, 
 and, making a courtesy to the young man, was about to 
 withdraw, when Julia detained her, obliged her to sit down, 
 and told her there could be no more secret for her brother 
 than for herself. In fact she began to relate to Con the 
 substance of the letter lately received by Rosa, and the hap- 
 piness the girl felt at the idea of having been baptized 
 a Catholic at her birth, and of going in a few days to 
 be instructed for communion. 
 
 Rosa seemed passive during all this time. She knew the 
 young man well by sight, but never had an opportunity of 
 speaking to him. She kept her eyes down, her tongue still, 
 her body immovable, and, for the first time in her life, a 
 sweet and innocent feeling of gentle warmth around the 
 heart spread itself gently through her whole person, in the 
 presence of the brother of her friend Julia. 
 
 When Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne went home that day, he 
 reflected seriously on the strange occurrences which had just 
 taken place, and at first seemed to entertain something like 
 a desire to see the prophecy of his sister fulfilled. ''Pshaw," 
 he exclaimed at last, ''she is sweet and nice, but she is yet 
 a little girl, and the thought of it is almost ludicrous. I 
 am glad, however, that my sister has such a friend in the 
 house. With Mrs. Kirkbride and Rosa, she will not be 
 left desolate in her sacrifice, and my father and myself will 
 be able to visit them, and not find them in tears, I hope." 
 And with such hope Mr. C. O' Byrne felt a great deal less 
 depressed in spirits than when he first started to go and see 
 his sister. 
 
 On that very day, however, the dwelling of Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride became a "house of sorrow." The coroner's inquest 
 on the remains of Mr. Frederick at the G. C. Hotel having 
 been gone through, ending in a kind of incomprehensible 
 
DOMESTIC DETAILS OF A MOBE SOOTHING NATURE. 375 
 
 verdict, the coffin was removed to the place which the 
 young man had never visited but twice in his life ; and a 
 couple of days later the funeral took place without scarcely 
 any ceremony. No invitations were issued, but only a 
 notice in the papers ; a few friends of the family met in 
 Trinity Chapel, where Dr. Dixon, following his innate sense 
 of propriety and taste, contented himself with performing 
 the Episcopalian service, without adding a word of his own ; 
 and thus, after less than half an hour of mournful singing 
 and cold prayers, consigning "dust to dust, and ashes to 
 ashes," the body was taken to Greenwood, followed by a 
 few carriages, and placed alongside of the remains, already 
 moldering, of his father. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 A NEW TUEN IIS- DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, AND A STIE AT POLICE 
 HEADQUAETEES. 
 
 A FEW days of rest and complete retirement enabled Mrs. 
 Kirkbride at last to look calmly at her situation ; and, dis- 
 patching a note to Mr. Wilson, she requested the gentle- 
 man to come and render her an unvarnished account of her 
 prospects. The first outlook was far from encouraging. 
 The worthy attorney had not had time to become ac- 
 quainted with any details. As, by the will of Mr. E. Kirk- 
 bride, all the property reverted to his wife in case the son 
 died without issue, everything had been transferred, or was 
 in the act of being transferred, to the widow. Most of the 
 papers, documents, accounts in banks, private accounts, 
 etc., had already been placed in the hands of Mr. Wilson. 
 Large files of papers, which had belonged to the father, and 
 had never been thoroughly examined by the son, came in, 
 likewise, and it would take several months, and the employ- 
 ment of one or two accountants, to sift everything, and 
 come to an exact understanding of the situation. All Mr. 
 Wilson could say was, that all the ostensible property left 
 by the father — interest in the commercial house, bonds and 
 mortgages, real estate, personal property, etc. — had been 
 disposed of and reduced to paper by Mr. Frederick. Dur- 
 ing a year and a half that he had been gambling, the greatest 
 part of it had been lost ; on the celebrated Black Friday, 
 which had occurred about three weeks before, the ruin had 
 been comx)lete ; and it was doubtful whether a few thousand 
 dollars would remain. The young man had been heard to 
 
 370 
 
THE •■ LUNELY BRICK HOUbE ANU IRISH VILLAGE. 
 
A NEW TURN IN DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 377 
 
 say, after the crash., that he thought he might rely on a tri- 
 fle of ten or twelve thousand ; and we remember that before 
 his guilt with respect to the will of his father had been de- 
 nounced, and was on the point of being investigated in a 
 criminal prosecution, he had, for a moment, felt inclined to 
 leave New York for parts unknown, and begin life again in 
 some other place, where he might retrieve his fortune, under 
 a false name, and in a more safe manner. The young man 
 had, in general, a first view of things which could be relied 
 upon, so that Mr. Wilson thought the lady might expect 
 that, after a total winding up of the affairs of her son, the 
 sum of ten thousand dollars would, in all probability, come 
 to her. This, in fact, amounted to nothing, as Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, relying on her annuity — which had always been reg- 
 ularly paid — had gone on with her expenses and charities as 
 usual, and would want at least that sum to settle her own 
 affairs. It was, therefore, a complete wreck, and she must 
 immediately trim her sails, and reduce herself to the lowest 
 spread of canvas. 
 
 Her actual establishment, simple as it was, must be di- 
 rectly broken up ; all her servants dismissed ; her single 
 pony and carriage sold ; the furniture of the house, which 
 had come primitively from the old mansion, disjjosed of at 
 auction ; and she must try to live on the simple rent of the 
 only piece of property left her, namely, the house in Madi- 
 son Avenue. 
 
 The lady, with most admirable courage, undertook the 
 painful task required of her by the circumstances ; and, 
 with the friendly help of Mr. Wilson, a few rooms were 
 engaged in a neat but ordinary brick house, in the neigh- 
 borhood of Eighth Avenue, west of the Park, not far from 
 Eighty-fifth Street. It was a wild district as yet, where 
 new houses of the kind were still very rare, and appeared 
 lost in the midst of old frame buildings, cottages, shanties 
 of every description — old rookeries, in fact — where dwelt, 
 in general, people of the most heterogeneous character. 
 All her servants were paid and dismissed, with kind words ; 
 but, as we know, Julia and Rosa stuck to her, and declared 
 
378 LOUISA KIRKBBIDE. 
 
 that what would be good for her would be more than good 
 for them. 
 
 To have a complete understanding of her new position, 
 the house itself and the neighborhood must be known ; and 
 few New-Yorkers, even, saw it at the time, and can form a 
 right idea of it. The whole space between the Central Park 
 and the old Bloomingdale Road was a wilderness of rocks, 
 briers, stunted trees, and dilapidated dwellings. The long 
 causeways graced by the names of Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth 
 Avenues, and the cross streets running from the Park to 
 the North River, inclosed, in the form of long parallelo- 
 grams, large sunken plots of ground, showing still some- 
 thing of tlie primitive state of the i-sland, and enabling the 
 forlorn geologist to study at leisure the aboriginal forma- 
 tions of old Manhattan. There, at the foot of a huge bowl- 
 der — which the ''glacier theory" taught us, in our green 
 youth, to consider an "erratic block," deposited at random 
 by immense icebergs floating at last in the just-open ocean — 
 the eye of a close observer could scarcely distinguish from 
 the gray lichens covering the rocks, unartistic and primi- 
 tive cottages, gray likewise, and never rising to a second 
 story. These were called shanties. Sometimes they were 
 found in groups of three or four ; sometimes they were 
 scattered singly and unsymmetrically in some indentation 
 of hillocks or bowlders. That families could live in such 
 diminutive attempts at architecture appeared at first prob- 
 lematical ; but if, by chance, a door happened suddenly to 
 open, and you saw coming, in succession, an old man, with 
 his granny, followed by youths of both sexes, and infants 
 of every size, from the crawling baby to the straight boy or 
 girl of five, such was their number, and so unexpected their 
 appearance, that the phenomenon looked as miraculous and 
 inexplicable as the power of the street magician, who can 
 draw out of a common hat or cap dozens of coats, and 
 handkerchiefs, and boots, and a whole string of miscellane- 
 ous articles, fitted to furnish a good-sized apartment. 
 
 In that part of Manhattan Island, the cottages or shanties, 
 as they are called, contain mostly the Milesian population. 
 
A SEW TUBN IN DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 379 
 
 Hence the surroundings are all alike, because the people, 
 being clannish, copy each other, and present scarcely any 
 variety. There is likewise a great sameness in their per- 
 sonal character and exterior appearance ; they are gay and 
 unrestrained in their movements, simple in their habits, and 
 incapable of disguising their interior feelings. If poorly 
 clad, what you see of their bodies shows comeliness of form 
 and attractiveness of gestures ; the girls, chiefly with their 
 long-hanging tresses of hair, their oval or round figure, 
 beaming eyes, and soft smiling lips, tell you that the human 
 form is always born beautiful and lovely wherever the laws 
 of God are kept, and vice does not creep in to turn the face 
 of an angel into that of an imp. 
 
 Wherever you do not see the shanty, but the old dingy 
 frame house, or dilapidated stone dwelling, you find in 
 general a completely different sort of people. As they 
 belong to every race except the Irish, you cannot describe 
 them in a few touches of the pencil ; they are as various as 
 the mammiferous families can be, from the huge cetacea of 
 the ocean to the ugly and screaming bats of the night air. 
 You may study the political and social geography of the 
 whole globe by going round the space inclosed in the 
 designated district : Scotch, Dutch, Hungarians, Poles, 
 Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, Finns, the whole catalogue 
 would require the long end of one of our pages ; for New 
 York is indeed a public caravansary, where people of every 
 nation come to dwell during a night, and depart often be- 
 fore the next appearance of the sun. 
 
 In the midst of such an ugly kaleidoscope of dissolving 
 views, a dwelling of a better appearance, but still far from 
 stately or fashionable, had been selected by Mr. Wilson to 
 be the last refuge of Mrs. Kirkbride ; and only the lower 
 apartments had been rented by him, the upper part being 
 occupied by an unobtrusive and well-behaved French fam- 
 ily. In the neighboring five or six blocks, more than twenty 
 Irish shanties were thickly scattered, which had earned for 
 the locality the name of " Irish village." Thus the lady 
 had fallen entirely into the hands of a clan ; and as God 
 
380 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 mercifully would have it, they were mostly from County 
 Wexford, for which her late husband had such an undis- 
 guised affection. She could study there the manners of 
 Enniscorthy and New Ross, and soon her whole soul would 
 be entranced by feelings congenial to her sweet and loving 
 nature. 
 
 But before this would happen, she was to pass through a 
 period most trying and painful for a person accustomed all 
 her life to affluence. Our readers are fully aware of her 
 elevation above a miserly spirit, and of her Christian 
 detachment from purely worldly advantages. She never 
 gloated in her life over sensuous enjoyments, and lived in 
 the greatest simplicity in the midst of all jpossible luxurious 
 surroundings. It was not for her that our Lord said, " Woe 
 to the rich ; ' ' and the spirit which formerly animated the 
 Elizabeths of Hungary and the Blanches of Castile, filled 
 likewise the true heart of Louisa Kirkbride, even long be- 
 fore she became initiated in tlie full doctrines of the Gospel 
 and received her last inspirations from the true Bride, the 
 Church of Christ. Yet, in spite of all this, it is hard, very 
 hard, for a person who never knew want to become ac- 
 quainted with it, who never required personal efforts of any 
 kind for every convenient and useful need, to be reduced 
 to depend on herself for a multitude of things which always 
 before dozens of servants were ready to furnish. Such was 
 her position, when she came with Julia and Rosa to occupy 
 a suit of four or five rooms in a new brick house of two 
 stories, lost in a thick agglomeration of Irish shanties. 
 Over her head lived a young French couple Avith a lovely 
 boy of four years by the name of Arthur Froment. At 
 least nothing could be expected from above and around but 
 smiles, courtesies, and simple-hearted affection. Inside of 
 the newly occupied apartments, Rosa had charge of the 
 kitchen. She had received her culinary instruction merely 
 by looking at Monsieur Jean Frangois, the former maitre 
 de cuisine in the Kirkbride mansion. This gentleman had 
 left the family several years before, and flourished now in 
 a flashy restaurant down town, where he had not to contend 
 
A NEW TUBN IN DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 381 
 
 any more with Mr. John or Yankee Clarke, but with a 
 host of more annoying customers who could never become 
 reconciled with his high-spiced ragouts. Rosa had highly 
 profited by the mute lessons of this artiste ; but we must 
 say that the hints of Mrs. Kirkbride, who often went down 
 to the kitchen and directed her, had more to do with prac- 
 tical accuracy in the art of broiling, stewing, and roasting, 
 than the remembrance of the more artificial mixings of the 
 French disciple of Ilonsieur Car erne. 
 
 In the new arrangements, Julia having the heavy work of 
 the house to perform — sweeping, cleaning, washing, to- 
 gether with attending at the door — it left her few moments 
 of leisure, and nearly fulfilled the gloomy predictions of her 
 brother Cornelius. She was, however, far from gloomy in 
 disposition, and whenever her dear old father came with 
 Mr. Boyle, which happened frequently on Sunday after- 
 noons, they invariably found her "idle," and ready to 
 entertain them with her laughable stories of their new life 
 and surroundings. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, finally, had more to do than one could 
 expect ; since on her devolved the duty of repairing the 
 linen, making it anew, attending to the dresses and woolen 
 and cotton goods of the house, besides supervising the 
 whole establishment ; and often enough chiding poor Rosa 
 when the coffee was badly roasted, and the meat over or 
 underdone. Whenever the lady scolded Rosa, Rosa was 
 on the point of throwing herself on the neck of the lady to 
 kiss her. This was always the disciplinary effect of the 
 punishment. 
 
 The greatest affliction of Mrs. Kirkbride, in her new situa- 
 tion, was that of foreseeing that with her slender means she 
 would no longer be able to scatter her charities among her 
 poorer neighbors. She had not now the means of support- 
 ing widows and orphans, paying doctors and the druggists 
 for the sick, and procuring wet-nurses for orphaned infants, 
 or placing watchful attendants around the bed of the dy- 
 ing. She would soon find, however, that there is still a 
 holier charity than the one procured by money; and that her 
 
382 LOUISA KntKBBIDE. 
 
 simple visits and words of encouragement, lier personal help 
 added to tliat of lier two ''daughters," as she called them, 
 would do wonders in her new position. All her lowly neigh- 
 bors already respected and loved her on account of what 
 they had heard of her generosity when she was rich and 
 her house prosperous. They were now full of enthusiastic 
 admiration for the unostentatious courage with which she 
 supported the heavy afflictions they knew had fallen on her. 
 Whenever she went out they all looked on her with interest 
 and sympathy, and had she heard the blessings they softly 
 and reverently pronounced, she would have understood 
 better still than she did, the true catholic meaning of the 
 "communion of saints." 
 
 But was her apparently calm and dignified demeanor the 
 effect of an untroubled soul and satisfied mind ? How could 
 it be thus so soon after the terrible ordeals she had passed 
 through ? Often during the night, her restless imagination 
 brought back the remembrance of her dead husband and of 
 her wretched son ; and burning tears of grief moistened 
 her pillow. 
 
 Julia, the following morning, understood the inward 
 struggle of the previous night, but she did not content her- 
 self with smoothing away the mere testimony of it ; she felt 
 moreover a deeper sympathy for her suffering ''mother," 
 and redoubled, during the day, her attention to her comfort 
 and consolation. This was the even tenor of the life to 
 which Louisa Kirkbride had been finally reduced. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne meanwhile was fairly launched 
 on a sea of activity and prosperous advancement. His suc- 
 cess in suppressing some heavy burglaries, and defeating 
 thievisli projects on such a large scale, had spread his 
 reputation over the whole city. Yet he was not satisfied 
 with himself ; three of the twelve burglars in the last at- 
 tack on a rich bank, had escaped ; and he knew that the 
 nest had not been altogether destroyed, nor the brood 
 entirely crushed. He kept his eyes open on the low house 
 in Greene Street, and made up his mind to discover the 
 
A STIR AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS. 383 
 
 whole ramification of rascality, which, from that centre, 
 radiated over a great part of the city. He had two great 
 objects in view : one, the good of the citizens by laying 
 bare the evil until this time unknoT\Ti, and showing to the 
 authorities of the city how crime can be prevented ; the 
 other, his own good and improvement, by gaining an inti- 
 mate knowledge of law such as it is, and of the best 
 direction to be given to legal studies. And in this he 
 was not working for himself alone, but in fact for the whole 
 community. 
 
 Whoever looks impartially on the legal profession in the 
 United States, and in Xew York in particular, must be 
 struck with the fact of the immense gain the state has de- 
 rived from eminent lawyers of every degree. We will not 
 attempt to give a list of them, and to show how in every 
 branch of legislation and administration, the most useful 
 qualities of real statesmen have been conspicuous in the 
 first ranks of the profession. Ability, uprightness, large 
 views, sound and ingenious investigations, have been the 
 characteristics of many gentlemen who were, at the same 
 time, great American citizens and sound lawyers. Who- 
 ever would deny this, has no knowledge whatever of the 
 real state of the case, we may say, all over the Union, but 
 particularly in the North, and in the great centres of popu- 
 lation, wealth, and culture. Among these a number of 
 men either born in Ireland, or of Irish parentage, have al- 
 ways obtained most honorable positions. As the more we 
 advance the more the religious feeling of the peox-)le in gen- 
 eral goes on diminishing, and threatens to disappear en- 
 tirely, the only hope almost that remains for the moral 
 safety of the Eepublic is in the number, influence, science, 
 and sound views of those who have made law their chief 
 study and profession. A real Christian spirit, universally 
 spread, would certainly be far preferable ; but in its unfor- 
 tunate absence, at least the falling back on good laws, and 
 on their execution, seems to be the only possible safeguard 
 against an ever-growing demoralization. In this, to its 
 honor it must be said, the Irish race in America has at aU 
 
384 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 times, but chiefly of late, presented a brilliant galaxy of 
 talent and soundness in moral principles. At least they 
 have walked on a par with many Americans. 
 
 There is no doubt that, on the other side, many legislators 
 and able lawyers in the country have little idea of the sa- 
 credness of their profession. Law stands so intimately con- 
 nected A\dth morality, that loose views of the first cannot 
 but operate disastrously on the second. Hence the pagan 
 principles, we may say, that unfortunately ah'eady prevail, 
 and every day spread more and more among all classes of 
 society, exert the most baneful influence on those even who 
 have, to a great degree, the safe-keeping of the morals of 
 the people. They soon become inoculated with the same 
 alarming germs of corruption ; and either when we con- 
 sider the sound financial interests of the nation, the great 
 principles of justice which ought to regulate the mutual re- 
 lations of citizens in money matters, the fairness, and up- 
 rightness, required for safe-guarding the rights of the poor 
 and the helpless ; or, when we come to higher interests still, 
 namely, those of the family, and the relations between 
 wives and husbands, fathers and sons, the all -important 
 concerns of Christian marriage, which is, in fact, the corner- 
 stone of human society itself — the deep-reflecting man, the 
 close observer of the by-play of passions among men, can- 
 not but shudder when he sees that some of those even who 
 ought by their profession to be the guardians of tliese most 
 sacred rights, entertain of them, at most, very loose no- 
 tions altogether unworthy of even morally inclined pagans. 
 Hence the numerous enactments which disgrace the codes 
 of many States on the subject of the acquisition and trans- 
 fer of property, and which often appear to have been made 
 purposely to enable swindlers, on a large scale, to obtain 
 their greedy ends by the very help of legislation ; so that 
 cunning, deceit, subtle designs on the x^urse of others, be- 
 come almost synonymous with a thorough knowledge of the 
 law. But the many legislative acts, concocted in corrupt 
 assemblies, to loosen the marriage ties, and render easy the 
 breaking asunder of the most imjoortant obligations, are 
 
A STIR AT POLICE HEADQUAHTBBS. 385 
 
 still more disgraceful and fatal to tlie morality and happi- 
 ness of the nation. 
 
 And in all cities belonging to those States in which so de- 
 leterious a legislation rules, you can find crowds of men, 
 decorated with the titles of attorneys and counselors at 
 law, who have no other object in view than to enable their 
 "clients" to trample under foot the most divine prescrip- 
 tions of human conscience and of strict moral law, in order 
 to accomplish the end of their bad passions. And "the 
 press," which ought to be armed with the scourge of Justice 
 against these pests of society, often only shows signs of 
 sycophancy, and of a fawning spirit, when there is question 
 of those "distinguished lawyers" who only profess to ob- 
 tain divorces without cause, and to separate, on the most 
 flimsy pretext, those whom God united, and whom the 
 safety of society requires to remain faithful to their sacred 
 obligations. 
 
 When marital relations are thus openly broken with the 
 aid of the law for mere trifles, we ought not to be surprised 
 that paternal and maternal rights are frequently considered 
 as of no account, because, thus it pleases accommodating 
 lawyers and corrupt Judges : and children are not seldom 
 taken away violently from their rightful guardians to be 
 given up to proselytizing societies which are of course sup- 
 posed to be animated with more parental feelings than those 
 who have given them birth. And all this takes place in a 
 highly civilized society which boasts of its enlightenment 
 and culture. 
 
 Against such enormous evils, it behooves all true lovers 
 of their country to club together, and solemnly reiterate the 
 great principles of right against those who would substitute 
 in its place mifjM ; and we say once more that many lawyers 
 of note have been, and are at this moment, engaged in the 
 holy work of resuscitating the almost dead conscience of a 
 great number of blind people. Among them Mr. Cornelius 
 O' Byrne was already taking an active place. But as the 
 study of law did not yet absorb all his attention, and as he 
 was still actively working with the defenders of order in the 
 25 
 
386 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 city, it is proper to state here briefly what efforts he was 
 then making in the fultiUment of this holy mission ; we 
 must see in him a faithful detective before we look at him 
 as a great lawyer. 
 
 Schwitz, with two of his companions, had escaped when 
 nine other burglars were caught with John at their head. 
 The outlaw was more enraged than ever, and had now no 
 other prospect but to revenge himself more furiously on 
 society than he ever did, and to succeed at last in destroying 
 the happiness of the 0' Byrnes by inflicting an indelible stain 
 on the honor of the '' daughter of the house." One of the 
 two companions that escaped with him was no other than 
 Mr. George, ''the Bully." We have lost sight of him for a 
 long time, but he now comes again before us, and his unex- 
 pected appearance must be accompanied with a brief state- 
 ment of his obscure history, since he left "the Tombs " after 
 a month' s confinement. He had been persuaded that his brief 
 punishment would make a martyr of him, and that many 
 great families of New York would vie with each other to 
 have him for their butler, on account of the proof his con- 
 viction gave of his intense hatred of the Irish ; but he soon 
 found out his mistake. No " great family " even of those 
 who looked on the Irish as contemptible and detestable, 
 would consent to receive him after hearing from his lips an 
 account of his display of courage against tlie hated race. 
 
 He never could, after this, find anything like the com- 
 fortable position he had enjoyed in the Kirkbride family, 
 and he had a great deal of trouble to meet with a much 
 inferior situation in a fanatic Orangeman's house, wherein 
 he became the man of all work. By feeding his anti-Irish 
 passion in his new master's company, he gradually felt less 
 acutely the loss of his personal advantages, and at last 
 became blindly persuaded that revenge was sweeter still 
 than the well -filled paunch, and the solemn-looking dress 
 necessarily belonging to a butler of high degree. Worse 
 still, the poor wages he received could scarcely supply his 
 wants, and becoming by degrees seedy and vile-looking, he 
 at the same time grew almost desperate, and could screw up 
 
A STIR AT POLICE HEADqUARTERS. 387 
 
 Ms courage so far as to ^'assist" in a burglary from the 
 success of wMcli lie expected to fill his pockets, and satisfy 
 at last his most urgent needs. For this worthy ending of 
 his aspirations he almost unexpectedly found the very 
 appropriate company of his former friend, Mr. Schwitz, 
 for whom he now felt greater inclination than for the 
 "dashing" John, who he knew must despise him. Conse- 
 quently in the great drama of shop-lifting of which we have 
 already given an account, he stood rather nearer to Schwitz 
 than to John, and thus he was enabled to escape with the 
 former, while the latter received his "quietus" at the hand 
 of Cornelius 0' Byrne. 
 
 We must not, therefore, be surprised that George had 
 become of late a daily frequenter of the low public house in 
 Greene Street, that resort of thieves and cut- throats, which 
 also, after the failure of the burglary, remained the main stay 
 of the hopes of the "outlaw." But besides George, "the 
 Bully," Schwitz found a host of helpmates in the gloomy 
 recesses of the large establishment ; and the universal agita- 
 tion, that reigned supreme in it, could not but attract the 
 attention of the friends of Con, who continued occasion- 
 ally to visit the place. They reported to their chief that 
 something unusual was brewing, and that the police had 
 not yet attached sufficient importance to the establishment, 
 and to others probably of the same kind, which must infal- 
 libly flourish in many by-lanes and obscure streets of the 
 large city. 
 
 Until that epoch, the police of New York had been 
 groping their way in the dark, occasionally catching a 
 malefactor or two, but never understanding the spread of 
 the evil and the importance of an^esting it in its incipient 
 stage. It was a "crusade," which was being organized 
 against the peace of society ; and the numerous " European 
 exiles," thrown on the shores of America by the incessant 
 revolutions of the Old World, were bringing with them, 
 into the New, elements of disorder anteriorly unknown, 
 and which could not but be baneful in their effects on 
 
388 LOUISA KIBKBEIDE. 
 
 society at large. The chief feature of the evil was a wide- 
 spread organization, to which the police had not until then 
 been obliged to turn their attention. Crime formerly was, 
 we may say, individual, and if a few pickpockets or bur- 
 glars clubbed together to reach more effectively the object of 
 their greedy siDeculations, the number engaged in each of 
 those criminal organizations was so small, and they were 
 each and all so completely disconnected, that search after 
 them was only, in fact, a search after individuals, and all 
 the traditions of the police, and the aims of the best detec- 
 tive officers had no other object than to pounce on a bold 
 thief, or, at most, on a small band of a few obscure house- 
 breakers or shop-lifters. But the wide-spread spirit of as- 
 sociation and universal organization fostered in Europe by 
 more than a hundred years of secret plots against govern- 
 ments and political or religious institutions, had penetrated 
 into a lower stratum of society, and had engaged the atten- 
 tion of thieves and cut-throats. In the estimation of all 
 men, real power could be found only in numbers, and even 
 the gros sous of the French Republic of '93 — so numerous 
 yet in the currency circulation of France, in our boyhood — 
 representing a modern Hercules with his bunch of big sticks, 
 surrounded with the legend. Union et force ^ preached to 
 all eyes the all-important subject of association for any 
 kind of purpose, good, bad, or indifferent. Large societies 
 of thieves and burglars began, therefore, to start up from 
 under the ground, and the New World received from the 
 Old the more than dubious advantage of this modern en- 
 lightenment and progress. 
 
 The oldest members of the New York police opened their 
 eyes, when Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne detailed to them the 
 very serious proofs of the existence of several fully organ- 
 ized bands of conspirators against society, whose numerous 
 ramifications all came to centre in the dark apartments of 
 the public house in Greene Street, by this time well known 
 to our readers. This young gentleman had, in the very 
 first days of his life in New York, been initiated into the 
 political and social plots which then began to flourish in 
 poor Gotham, previously, indeed, innocent of crime on a 
 
A STIR AT POLICE HEADqUARTERS. 389 
 
 large scale ; and we all remember his first acquintance with 
 German and other foreign radicals, in Greenwich Street, 
 where he was induced to pay them a visit which sufficiently 
 enlightened him on their projects. He had not then, it is 
 true, fallen unawares on a nest of robbers and highwaymen ; 
 it was merely an assemblage of social desperadoes engaged 
 in the "reformation" of the whole political and social 
 order ; but it is easy to see that when the mania of organiz- 
 ing goes down so low in the ranks of civil life, it must soon 
 even penetrate into the dark recesses of open crime and re- 
 bellion against the laws. 
 
 To give our readers — especially the ladies who will cer- 
 tainly never have an occasion of poking their noses into 
 such nice gatherings of gentlemen — an idea of the whole 
 gigantic scheme, we mil briefly state a few particulars of 
 their general operations. The details of the entire system, 
 in all its branches, would require a book larger in bulk 
 and more heavy in substance, than the volume we are 
 writing. The organization included a good many depart- 
 ments of the various gangs of operators. These were, 
 to mention only a few of them, chiefly burglars, counter- 
 feiters, incendiaries, assassins. The first were subdivided 
 into bank, store, and church burglars. We remember (be- 
 ing a clergyman) that this last interesting branch of in- 
 dustrious people ransacked, in one single summer, all the 
 churches of the towns and villages, situated on both banks 
 of the Hudson, from the I^an'ows to Troy — this is historic — 
 and from mere memory, we could give, if time and space al- 
 lowed, extremely curious instances of their skill and success. 
 
 The second class — the counterfeiters — made, about this 
 time, gigantic strides in the noble art of imitating signa- 
 tures, manufacturing all the kinds of special paper used in 
 banking or commerce, and reproducing to perfection all the 
 "bills" which in America take the place of money. The 
 then celebrated "Thompson's Detector" could not any more 
 be a safe guide, since even the best bank officers were com- 
 pletely at a loss to distinguish the counterfeit paper from 
 the "genuine;" and, on many occasions, new plates had 
 to be engraved and the old ones destroyed to meet this new 
 
390 LOUISA ELREBRIDE. 
 
 emergency. The progress of science had been, a short time 
 previous, so rapid, that all the secrets of chemistry, engrav- 
 ing, and calligraphy had reached tlie class of men formerly 
 considered the most contemptible and low, namely, the 
 mean adepts of counterfeiting in all its branches. 
 
 With respect to incendiarism, there is no need of enlarging 
 on the subject, since we have already shown on a previ- 
 ous occasion that the United States have always been the 
 great field of house -burnings, and that no country in the 
 world can compete with them in this respect ; but at this 
 time of our story, incendiarism, which had a lull since the 
 breaking out of the civil war with the South in 1861, a lull 
 attributed by many — the reader may judge how far it was 
 true — to the sudden enlisting of the great majority of those 
 engaged in firing public edifices and private dwellings, 
 for the mere pleasure of putting, afterward, the fire out, 
 began to blaze forth again in renewed vigor, preparatory to 
 the immense conflagrations at Chicago, Boston, and other 
 places, which occurred soon after. Our intention is not to 
 slander the people at large and to pretend that the ma- 
 jority of those who enlisted during the war were of the 
 incendiary class. Nothing would be more false ; and any 
 one who witnessed the solemn events of those days knows 
 that true patriotism and a real desire of keeping the whole 
 country together and preventing its breaking in two was 
 the main spring of the enthusiasm that then prevailed. But 
 that a great number of the idle young men who were con- 
 spicuous in the midst of bona fide firemen, whenever a con- 
 flagration took place before 1861, suddenly disappeared at 
 the breaking out of the war, was certainly remarked at the 
 time by many observers. But their total number formed 
 an inappreciable minority of the soldiers of the Union ; and 
 what is here written is a simple conjecture that must be 
 taken for what it is worth. 
 
 These few details of the principal occurrences which at the 
 time suddenly stirred up to activity the great body of New 
 York policemen, were necessary for the elucidation of the 
 main narrative of our story, which will be resumed in the 
 next chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XXYL 
 
 A NEW FIENDISH ASSAULT. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne had proved to the police au- 
 thorities of New York the importance or rather absolute 
 necessity of organizing the force with such overwhelming 
 efficiency as to meet the enormous contingencies of the case. 
 From this out, the detective art became a science. Each 
 man was not left, as before, to his own ability and private 
 skill. General principles were adopted, which were to gov- 
 ern all those who acted under the supervision of the chief 
 of police. The work of statistics began in good earnest. 
 Lists of houses of bad repute, of suspected drinking saloons, 
 of low places of meeting for what began then to be called 
 ^'the dangerous classes," were duly written out on the most 
 reliable information which could be obtained. The men 
 themselves were divided into squads better organized than 
 heretofore. Their activity in pursuit of crime was not only 
 increased by the prospect of the pecuniary reward now and 
 then offered by one interested in the discovery of a culprit ; 
 but a more complete hierarchy of places, well salaried by 
 the treasury of the city, afforded to each individual detec- 
 tive a powerful motive of exertion. 
 
 In the numerous intimations given to Mr. 0' Byrne by his 
 agents, and which became the origin of his more extended 
 views, a few words were heard and repeated to him as com- 
 ing from Greene Street, which interested him deeply as a 
 brother and friend ; and which being intimately connected 
 with this story, require some attention, though they do not 
 occupy a prominent place in the great general events we are 
 
 391 
 
392 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 recording. They are altogether of an individual character, 
 and only refer to poor Julia, on whose ruin two villains, 
 whom vindictive justice had not reached, were still intent, 
 though several of their former friends had been already 
 taken off by a violent death. Schwitz and George had 
 plotted the crime ; Ahem heard a word of it and reported 
 it directly to Cornelius. At that moment, Schwitz was not 
 yet surely known by anybody as an outlaw, and he had 
 admirably kept his incognito ; still from indications which 
 we cannot specify the rumor became current at police head- 
 quarters that the ''escaped convict" who had eluded the 
 pursuit of policemen at the foot of James Street was at large 
 in quite a different quarter of the city. 
 
 O' Byrne, in possession of some positive information on 
 the dangers which yet surrounded his sister, went straight 
 to the new house of Mrs. Kirkbride ; and when he reached 
 it, he found the lady and Julia absent, and Rosa alone in 
 the house. At the sight of the young man, her face, at 
 first pale and almost inexpressive, became suddenly ani- 
 mated and suffused with a glowing tint. She begged of Mr. 
 C Byrne to sit down, as Julia would soon come back with 
 Mrs. Kirkbride ; and having herself nothing to do in the 
 kitchen, as it was the afternoon, she took her seat on a 
 small lounge opposite the chair occupied by Mr. O' Byrne. 
 
 ''Miss McCarthy," said the young detective, "are you 
 not afraid to remain alone in this solitary house, when it 
 would be so easy for bad-minded people to attack you ? " 
 
 "Indeed, sir," she replied, "it is the first time the 
 thought comes to my mind. I have never yet imagined 
 that any one could come to harm me. But, in fact, I am 
 not alone. Mrs. Froment is up stairs with her little boy, 
 and we are on such friendly terms, that whenever I am by 
 myself in the aftemocm, and I wish it, I can go and knock 
 at her door, sure to be admitted instantly, and to have a 
 pleasant chat with her." 
 
 "Oh, I see," said O'Byrne, "and I am glad of it. But 
 even when you are all in the house, do you not feel lone- 
 some in this strange building, in the midst of so many shan- 
 
A j^EW FIENDISH ASSAULT. 393 
 
 ties, full of unknoT^Ti people ; what kind of life do you lead 
 here ? Tell me the truth." 
 
 "The most happy we have ever led yet, sir," replied 
 Rosa with animation ; ''at least so it is with me. All the 
 shanties are full, not of 'unknown people,' but of Irish peo- 
 ple ; and I am proud and glad to be an Irish girl, although 
 I have learned it so late." 
 
 "What do you find in them so attractive ? " inquired the 
 young man, probably to throw a doubt in her way and see 
 how she would come out of it. 
 
 "I suppose you joke, Mr. 0' Byrne," said Rosa laughing, 
 "in asking me such a question. But if it is in any way 
 serious, I leave it to yourself to say, sir ; among what other 
 'strange and unkno\\Ti people,' would you find what we 
 have found here ? We had scarcely arrived, when the peo- 
 ple of the shanties looked at us with interest ; we became 
 aware directly that we were in the midst of friends ; they 
 appeared a little shy, at first, and used their looks more 
 than their tongues ; but so soon as the first spell was 
 broken, and a question or two had been asked of them, it 
 would have done you good to see the way they showed 
 their sympathy and kind-hearted disposition. One of them 
 wanted Mrs. Kirkbride to receive, every morning, a warm 
 cupfull of her goat's milk, which she sent by her little girl ; 
 because, as she said, ' It would warm up her blood and make 
 her ruddy again; pale though she appeared to be.' An- 
 other, who had just half a dozen hens, gave us notice that, 
 every day, we should receive three of their eggs, laid the 
 night before, ' as the eggs in the stores were, half of them, 
 stale, etc., etc' Mrs. Kirkbride had to go round all the 
 shanties to talk with the grannies and the young mothers, 
 and tell them they would oblige her if they gave her their 
 affection, and kept for themselves the few things they had 
 in their poor abodes. She was only sorry she could not do 
 for them what she had been so glad to do, until that time, 
 for the people of her former neighborhood. ' We know it, 
 madam, we know it,' they all exclaimed, 'and you have 
 not fallen in with ungrateful people.' This, Mr. 0' Byrne, 
 
394 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 is the kind of ' unknown ' neighbors who dwell in the shan- 
 ties all around." 
 
 "I see, my dear, by the way yon speak," remarked the 
 young policeman, " that you belong indeed to the old stock. 
 But how do you get on in the study of your catechism ; for 
 I know that you are now engaged in that dry, very dry 
 occupation?" 
 
 ''This occupation, Mr. 0' Byrne," she replied, ''maybe 
 ' dry ' to other people ; it is not so to me ; and I am always 
 happy when I am at leisure and can study the little book, 
 which the good father so kindly explains every time I go to 
 see him. Precisely what makes me feel more keenly my 
 happiness here, than anywhere else I have been, is the ex- 
 quisite consolation of belonging now to the flock of Christ, 
 and having the hope of partaking, before long, in all the 
 sweetness of the sacraments. Are you a Christian to call 
 this a very 'dry occupation' V 
 
 There was, in the tone of Rosa, something almost re- 
 proachful addressed to a visitor. It looked as if the gui 
 had been really offended, at the supposed possibility of her 
 finding her new religion burdensome and unpleasant. The 
 young man felt it, and owed her an apology. Her long 
 tresses of hair, hanging loose on the shoulders, as usual, 
 fell on the side of the lounge near which O' Byrne was 
 seated. He slightly passed his hand over them, and touch- 
 ing, rather than holding, a large braid : 
 
 "I see, my dear Miss Rosa," he said, "that your soul is 
 as sensitive as your hair is soft. Pardon me, if I have 
 offended you. I did not certainly intend it, and was only 
 guilty of speaking slightingly in tone, when, in point of 
 fact, religion is very dear to me, as I know that it is most 
 dear to you. Please tell me, that you have now forgotten 
 what I said, and will never remember it." 
 
 Rosa, at these words, turned crimson, and her face was 
 instantly suffused with blushes. The words she had heard 
 could scarcely explain the cause of it. So, we leave to the 
 reader the task of explaining it himself. As for the young 
 man, it was almost a revelation, and he took then a much 
 
A NEW FIEI^DISH ASSAULT. 395 
 
 deeper interest in her than ever before. There was some- 
 thing far profounder than he had at first imagined in that 
 young girl, whom he had seen when a child, and whom 
 he had thought all along of an infantine character. A vivid 
 imagination, an impulsive heart, and a most pure and re- 
 fined soul, dwelt in the slender person of Eosa McCarthy ; 
 and Cornelius 0' Byrne felt it, for the first time. 
 
 There is no telling how both would have expressed their 
 emotion, when suddenly Mrs. Kirkbride and Julia returned. 
 They entered with a pass-key, and were behind the back of 
 the "guilty" before these perceived it, and were fully 
 aware of their awkward situation. Cornelius was the first 
 to recover his self-composure. He apologized to Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride for having entered during her absence, and told Julia, 
 with a laugh, that it was for her he came, and for no one 
 else. Rosa, all blushing, had already left the room and re- 
 turned to the kitchen, waiting for Mrs. Kirkbride to ask 
 her an explanation. 
 
 The young man, left alone with his sister, began a serious 
 conversation with her. The dangers which had followed her 
 everywhere, were now as threatening as they had ever been. 
 Several bad men had swoni to encompass her ruin. She 
 would be protected as effectually as the police of the city 
 could do it, and orders had already been given to the officers 
 of the neighborhood to watch her house, and keep a sharp 
 lookout on strangers around. But the place was still a 
 wilderness, and the men intrusted with its care were few 
 and far between. Julia ought to be extremely prudent ; 
 when visiting the Park during the day, with a companion 
 or two, even, she ought never go out of open places, nor 
 enter any thicket and close shrubbery. Her safety required 
 that she should never leave the house after dark ; and, if 
 any strangers should knock for admission, late in the even- 
 ing, she ought never to open the door, Tvithout ascertain- 
 ing first, from the inclosed area, what they wished and who 
 they were. 
 
 Poor Julia was sadly agitated by this unwelcome news. 
 She had been so firmly persuaded of her perfect security in 
 
396 LOUISA EIREBRIDE. 
 
 the midst of so many kind friends as they had met around 
 their new abode, that it was really discouraging to be told 
 there were still lurking enemies, intent on mischief and 
 crime. She, however, promised her brother to follow strictly 
 his advice, leaving the rest to God, who never had disap- 
 pointed her. After the departure of Cornelius, she ac- 
 quainted Mrs. Kirkbride with the purport of his visit, and 
 greatly astonished the lady by telling her they were not yet 
 perfectly safe in their obscurity, and among so many sin- 
 cerely devoted neighbors. 
 
 Meanwhile, ''Bully" George, who had known, in all its 
 details, the whole district, when he was butler in the Kirk- 
 bride mansion on Madison Avenue, because he had then be- 
 come acquainted with all the Orangemen dwelling around ; 
 paid a sly visit to his old friends, whom he had not seen 
 since the day he enrolled them for the attack on the old 
 shanty. Many refused to have any intercourse with him, 
 after the trouble he had brought some of them in ; but a 
 certain number pressed yet his hand eagerly, were proud of 
 their former acquaintance with him, and some few of these 
 fast friends could give him important information on the 
 habits of the three ''women" living in the lonely "brick 
 house." During the day, all the dwellers in the surround- 
 ing shanties were as sure a protection for them as if all the 
 men had been so many fierce watch-dogs. At night, a single 
 alarm from the house would suddenly bring the whole clan 
 to the rescue. If Mr. George wished to have his little re- 
 venge, the best time he could choose was in the afternoon, 
 when the " tall Irish girl" went often to the Park with the 
 "widow." In some lonely walk of the vast inclosure, and 
 chiefly in the thickly planted arhorehcm^ as it is called, 
 there might be a chance for a "pleasant " encounter. 
 
 These "wise counsels" were duly treasured up in the heart 
 of hearts of the "bully," and a short conversation with the 
 outlaw settled the preliminaries. From the day following, 
 the two friends were seen walking together every afternoon, 
 in the designated part of the inclosure ; but, for three days 
 
A IfEW FIENDISH ASSAULT. 397 
 
 consecutively, they could not even obtain a sight of the 
 two females. Julia had been warned, and, for that length 
 of time, refused even to go out. 
 
 The fourth day, however, there was no possibility of 
 withstanding the temptation. The weather was splendid, 
 the air oppressively hot inside of the "brick house," and 
 Mrs. Kirkbride declared that it was killing, as well as ab- 
 surd, to remain without exercise, when there was yet so 
 much cool shade in the Park. Thus the "mother and 
 daughter" went out, and enjoyed for a great part of the 
 afternoon the balmy and perfumed air of the large district 
 west of the old and new reservoirs. They could not have 
 certainly chosen a safer spot. The walks had been only 
 lately laid out, few trees planted. The original ground had 
 been lirst bare, and to give it directly a pleasant aspect, 
 only clover and grass had been sown broadcast on its ma- 
 nured surface, and presented to the delighted eye the green- 
 sward of a vast meadow, running north and south, and 
 reaching, at the west, the walls of the Park. The outlaw 
 and his friend, highly pleased at first, when they saw their 
 victims come at last, were almost despairing of any success 
 at the sight of the ladies, after a walk of more than two 
 hours, taking their departure toward the gate at Eighty- 
 fifth Street. 
 
 "What does it mean?" said the outlaw with an oath. 
 
 "It means," replied his friend, "that we are going now 
 to have, at least, a chance." 
 
 And the fellow was right. He knew well the peculiarities 
 of the neighborhood which he had tramped so often in 
 search of fowls, butter, and eggs, for his former mistress, 
 and he saw with pleasure that Mrs. Kirkbride, instead of 
 simply following Eighth Avenue, which would have brought 
 them nearly to her door, took to the right, and engaged 
 herself with Julia in the intricacies of the wild ground in 
 the direction of Ninth and Tenth Avenues and the Bloom- 
 Ingdale Road. The lady, in fact, wished to go visit a friend, 
 along that old winding thoroughfare, before going home for 
 the evening. This was just the proper moment for the two 
 
398 LOUISA KIREBRIBE. 
 
 scoundrels. They eagerly left the Park, where they had 
 remained following their victims with their eyes, and at a 
 quick step both soon gained upon the two females, who were 
 walking quite leisurely. A step more, they would be upon 
 them ; and, no car being visible on the Eighth Avenue, no 
 policeman in sight, no traveler in the neighborhood, they 
 felt sure of their prey, and pounced upon them in a sunken 
 lot, covered with briers, stunted shrubs, and ruins of old 
 buildings, the very place for the execution of a devilish plot. 
 
 As agreed previously between them, George, who had no 
 grudge personally against Julia, but thought he had a seri- 
 ous one against his former mistress, was to overpower her, 
 throw her on the ground, rob her of the jewels and money 
 he thought she still possessed, and leave her to her fate, 
 after threatening her with death if she revealed his name. 
 Schwitz did not think of jewels and money, but wished 
 only to revenge himself of the ruin brought on him, he 
 imagined, by his enemy, Cornelius, in the most sensible 
 manner for a brother, namely, by destroying the honor of 
 his sister. The two fiends had already effected the separa- 
 tion of the ladies, and, without attaching any importance 
 to their screams, seized them violently, and proceeded to 
 execute their abominable purpose. 
 
 Providence, however, was watching over imperiled virtue ; 
 and although neither on Eighth or Ninth Avenue, nor in 
 the neighboring streets, there was anybody ready to bring 
 help to innocence, and defeat such a horrible crime, the old 
 Bloomingdale Road had, from the beginning of the attack, 
 offered to the looker-on a speck unperceived by the villains, 
 who looked in every direction but this one. A small car- 
 riage, led by a spirited pony, and containing two i:)ersons — 
 young men, evidently — was going south along the old thor- 
 oughfare, when the two scoundrels started on a run after 
 their victims. The driver stopped his horse a moment, 
 looked at the strange scene, and, perceiving two ladies pur- 
 sued evidently by two villains, gave the proper direction to 
 his vehicle, in spite of the unlevel ground and broken roads, 
 and was in the proximity of the place, when the ruffians. 
 
A NEW FIENDISH ASSAULT. 399 
 
 unaware of it, had already their hands on Mrs. Kirkbride 
 and Julia. This last young lady was the first to perceive 
 their deliverer, and, recognizing him at once, she ex- 
 claimed : "Help us, Mr. McElheran, help us ! " It was, in 
 fact, no one else but the young gentleman mth whom we 
 are akeady acquainted. 
 
 "Bally" George was the first to abandon the lady ; he 
 had, in fact, less courage and was less advanced in despera- 
 tion than his companion. Neither of them, fortunately, 
 had brought firearms, expecting to meet only two inoffen- 
 sive women, and George was already running away when 
 the two young gentlemen jumped out of their wagon, and 
 came to the rescue. Schwitz being yet clinched with Julia, 
 McElheran and his friend ran on him, and they were on the 
 point of seizing him when the outlaw, unwillingly leaving 
 his victim, stood up bold and defiant, threatening to strike 
 on the head with a heavy stone he held in his hand, any 
 one who should touch him. 
 
 "Devir," said coolly McElheran to his friend, "attend 
 to the ladies, and let me deal Avith this scoundrel." 
 
 He had in his pocket a Derringer pistol, without which 
 he seldom traveled in this neighborhood, and showing it to 
 Schwitz, he said : 
 
 "Throw that stone down or I will make you do it." 
 
 The outlaw saw the determination of the young man, and 
 did not dare to raise his arm. He had made uj) his mind, 
 however, not to be taken without a stout resistance, as he 
 knew the fate which awaited him. He kept, therefore, his 
 clumsy weapon, but with his hand down, and said : 
 
 " Let me go and I shall not strike." 
 
 "I will see that you shall not strike, but I shall not let 
 you go," responded McElheran. 
 
 Goaded to madness, Schwitz raised his arm to hurl the 
 stone, but the young gentleman, sure of his aim, leveled 
 his small weapon and the ball going at once through the 
 hand of the outlaw, the stone fell heavily on the ground, 
 and Schwitz was afterward easily overpowered, bound with 
 his own long neckerchief, which he wore in the fashion of 
 
400 LOUISA KntKBRIDE. 
 
 a sailor, and obliged to walk back to the nearest gate of 
 the Central Park, where, generally, police officers could be 
 found. The first one they met easily recognized the out- 
 law, whose photograph was one of the most conspicuous in 
 the rogues' gallery, and who had been lately the great talk 
 of the guardians of order ; and with many thanks to his 
 captor he secured the prize, which was faithfully lodged, a 
 couple of hours afterward, in the never-forgotten apartment 
 in the Tombs Schwitz had formerly occupied. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride could not think any more of visiting just 
 now her friends on the Bloomingdale Eoad ; so that the 
 whole party on foot, Mr. McElheran leading his pony by 
 the bridle, took the direction of the lonely ''brick house," 
 where Rosa was still perfectly ignorant of what had hap- 
 pened. Judge of her surprise when she saw two strange gen- 
 tlemen and an empty wagon coming to the door in company 
 with Mrs. Kirkbride and Julia. The noise was such and so 
 unusual that the Froments up stairs — the gentleman had just 
 returned from the city — heard it in spite of themselves, put 
 their heads over the top of the banisters, and Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, perceiving her friends with little Arthur, begged of 
 them all to come down to her parlor and hear the wonder- 
 ful story. There, in that small room, cozy and nice, cer- 
 tainly, but not over large, you had the most numerous 
 party that had yet been seen in it since the coming of 
 the three females. Our former friend, Mr. McElheran, had 
 heard with sorrow, in their walk home, of the death of old 
 Mrs. 0' Byrne ; but he knew by common report that young 
 O' Byrne was the terror of evil doers all over the city, and 
 the family to which he belonged was worthy of his respect. 
 Julia chiefly, whom he had rescued so opportunely, all red 
 from the excitement of tlie recent struggle and the sudden 
 and pleasant reaction from her alarm and despair, appeared 
 to him far more lovely yet than she had looked at their 
 first meeting in the Park, when he dropped his whip, the 
 rogue, to have an occasion of pressing her hand in his own, 
 and of giving her some direction about the hood of her 
 mother. But how had she come from the palatial mansion 
 
A NEW FIENDISH ASSAULT. 401 
 
 she then lived in, to the unpretending house and wild 
 neighborhood where she now resided ? He heard, with a 
 great deal of interest, the narrative of it, veiled certainly, 
 and scarcely clear enough to be perfectly understood ; and 
 becoming aware for the first time that the gentle lady whose 
 daughter Julia seemed to be, was, in fact, the mother of 
 young Kirkbride, whose sad fate was known to all ]N'ew 
 York as that of one of the most deplorable victims of 
 ''Black Friday," he could not but feel a deep sympathy 
 for both. 
 
 After the late fright of the party, the attack of the two 
 villains, and the providential rescue had been briefly nar- 
 rated to the wondering Rosa, and to Mr. and Mrs. Froment, 
 young McElheran had to relate how he found himself so 
 unexpectedly on the scene. He lived in the neighborhood 
 of Manhattanville, where he practiced medicine, less for a 
 living, as he possessed a handsome competency, than for 
 an honorable occupation, and for the desire of being useful 
 to the poor. On that day, some business or other called 
 him to Xew York ; and his friend, young Devir, lately 
 arrived from Europe, having dined with him, they both 
 started in his small carriage along the Bloomingdale Road. 
 The rest is known to our readers ; but Mrs. Kirkbride, in 
 expressing her heartfelt thanks, could not but remark that 
 all the circumstances showed the acting iDart of a Power 
 superior to that of man. Even the apparently accidental 
 presence of the young stranger from Europe had been neces- 
 sary to the success of the affair. Mr. McElheran alone 
 would not have been able to put an end so soon and so effec- 
 tually to the intended crime ; the hour of the mutual meet- 
 ing had evidently been arranged beforehand by a kind provi- 
 dence ; and all present had to be grateful to God. But she 
 understood well that the secondary agents who are instru- 
 mental in doing good, deserve all the merit of their disin- 
 terested action, chiefly as they are the willing, as well as 
 necessary means, used by our Father in Heaven for the 
 fulfillment of his kind designs. She Avould, therefore, be 
 ever grateful to the two young gentlemen, whom she de- 
 2G 
 
402 LOUISA KntEBRIDE. 
 
 lighted to call lier and Julia's saviors, and whenever they 
 hapiDened to pass near her poor house, she hoped they would 
 stop at it, if it were only for an instant, and do the inmates 
 the honor of a visit. 
 
 Dr. McElheran replied, in a few words, that he would not 
 fail to profit frequently by the indulgence of the lady, and 
 as Mr. Devir, his friend, could not so often have the oppor- 
 tunity of doing so, he himself would, in a few days, arrange 
 in his own house, a little meeting of all present, and hoped 
 that all would be there, on that day, with Miss Julia's 
 brother, whom he knew by reputation, but not yet person- 
 ally. He was himself a bachelor, and could not promise 
 them the fare of a prince ; still, joy and happiness would 
 reign for a few hours around his board, and there would be 
 henceforth a greater intimacy between so many new friends. 
 
 At this moment, Rosa, who had, at a sign from Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, left the room a few moments before, appeared loaded 
 with things which she was bringing from below ; a little 
 side table, which stood near one of the windows of the small 
 parlor, was soon groaning under all sorts of refreshments, 
 and with smiles and good words the simple rites of an im- 
 provised hospitality were calculated to render more firm 
 and lasting the scarcely formed ties of their new friendship. 
 
 When McElheran raised to his lips the small glass which 
 contained a few drops of bright liquid, he could not help 
 seeing the girl who held the tray ; but he did not even 
 know her name. The lady perceived it, and said : 
 
 *'This is Miss Eosa McCarthy, doctor, my second daugh- 
 ter (Julia was the first) ; she is a countrywoman of yours ; 
 for, as good luck would have it, I have, after having lost 
 everything else, found Irish children." 
 
 '' It is, madam, the old story," replied young McElheran ; 
 ^*we Irish always end by conquering our conquerors; but 
 nobody can be surprised at it, in this case ; these two young 
 ladies are made for you, as you are yourself made for them. 
 So, having drunk the first glass in your honor, allow me to 
 pour out and drink a second one in honor of your daugh- 
 ters, as you are pleased to call them." 
 

 A NEW FIENDISH ASSAULT, 403 
 
 Little Arthur Froment, evidently annoyed at not being 
 noticed and petted, went at this very instant, with a big 
 apple which his two hands could scarcely hold, and offered 
 it sans ceremonie to the lion of the day. 
 
 ''And you, little imp, are you an Irish boy too?" said 
 the young doctor, laughing. 
 
 I am sorry for your mistake," interposed the lady, 
 
 but it is my fault — everything has been done to-day 
 against all possible rules ; but better late than never. Al- 
 low me, sir, to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Froment, the parents 
 of the child ; they are from France, and very kind neigh- 
 bors to us ; in fact, we live all together and form but one 
 family." 
 
 " So you are French, my lad," exclaimed McElheran, tak- 
 ing Arthur in his arms and kissing him ; " will you not one 
 day help us to whip the English in spite of Mrs. Kirkbricle ? " 
 
 ''I will, I will," shouted Arthur; "but we must spare 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, she gives me candy and apples." 
 
 When McElheran and Devir left, all in the room were 
 splitting with laughter ; and the house had never before 
 been in such an uproar. 
 
 This was the evening of July 1st — we have been lately out 
 of date — and after the usual calm had been restored to the 
 house, as the time of retiring had arrived, Mrs. Kirkbride 
 with her two young companions said prayers. From the 
 day they came to live in this house, it had been found too 
 inconvenient, and, in fact, "unbecoming" to have their 
 prayers apart, and they agreed to say them together. Julia 
 found no difficulty in persuading ' ' her mother ' ' to use the 
 Catholic prayer book, and the lady, who had been lately 
 reading the "Lives of the Saints," found great comfort 
 in reciting the "Litany." She had been acquainted all 
 her life with the names — the mere names — of St. Paul, St. 
 James, St. Andrew, St. John, St. Philip, and several other 
 apostles ; but she knew nothing, absolutely nothing, not 
 only of Saints Fabian and Sebastian, Cosmas and Damian, 
 without speaking of St. Dominic, St. Francis, St. Bernard, 
 
404 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 etc. , bnt also she completely ignored the galaxy of holy 
 women whose virtues have perfumed the annals of the 
 Christian Church, namely, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Agatha, 
 St. Lucy, St. Agnes, St. Cecily, to speak only of a few. 
 I^ow, however, as she had read their lives, she found a real 
 delight in reciting their names every evening, and hearing 
 "her daughters " answer : " Pray for us." 
 
 But this night, after prayers were ended, she said to 
 Julia and Rosa : ' ' We would be, indeed, ungrateful were 
 we to forget to thank God publicly for our deliverance to- 
 day. We must all go to church together, to-morrow morn- 
 
 ing." 
 
 The reader must know that the lady having no more any 
 carriage of her own, could not go any longer to Trinity ; 
 and so she accompanied her two young friends to the near- 
 est Catholic church, that of St. Laurence, on the other side 
 of the Park, where she had continued, up to this day, to 
 carry her American prayer book. 
 
 *' We are glad of it, madam," Julia replied ; "to-morrow, 
 the second of July, the day of the Visitation of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary, has been assigned by the clergyman whose in- 
 structions Rosa receives, for the day of her first commu- 
 nion. Rosa, it is true, laughed so much, this afternoon, 
 that she hesitated, and before we came to prayers she told 
 me it would perhaps be better to put it off for another day. 
 I answered she was becoming too scrupulous ; she could 
 cry, if she chose, for an hour this evening, before going to 
 bed, to atone for her unusual levity ; but she must at least 
 go to church to-morrow and refer the case to the clergy- 
 man : and that I myself would go with her, and intended 
 to receive with her, if the priest allowed it. We are, there- 
 fore, delighted, madam, to have you present at the cere- 
 mony ; and we all will offer our prayers in thanksgiving for 
 the great favor we have to-day received. I, more than any 
 other, ought to be grateful, and if no one else come, I will 
 certainly go." 
 
 This was the arrangement decided upon ; and we cannot 
 say if Rosa spent an hour that night crying and bewailing 
 
A NEW FIENDISH ASSAULT. 405 
 
 according to the wise direction of Julia ; but we know that 
 before starting the following day Mrs. Kirkbride called 
 Julia to her room : 
 
 ''I would like," she said, "to follow closely what is 
 going to take place for Kosa, when she makes her first com- 
 munion ; and my prayer book hardly can be a safe guide 
 for an occasion such as this ; find me one, Julia, with all 
 possible details, that I may understand something at least 
 of what is going to take place." 
 
 One was easily procured where all the different parts of 
 the "Sacrifice of the Mass" were explained at length, to- 
 gether with the usual "Exercises for Holy Communion;" 
 and the party started very early indeed, in order to have a 
 talk with the clergyman, before Mass began. This talk was 
 nothing else than confession, to call it by its right name ; 
 and when Julia and Rosa came out one after another, it was 
 evident that the priest had overruled Miss McCarthy's scru- 
 ples, since, after going back to kneel near the lady, she 
 opened her book at the " Devotions for Holy Communion." 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was surprised, as it was a week-day, to see 
 so many people in the church; and there was in fact quite a 
 respectable congregation ; but when on returning home she 
 asked an explanation, her surprise was still greater on hear- 
 ing the two reasons to explain the number of people. First 
 it was a "feast day," and secondly, a good many of Rosa's 
 female friends in the neighboring shanties, knowing be- 
 forehand that she would receive her first communion this 
 day, had agreed together to accompany her to the holy table. 
 
 "You see, madam," said Julia, "that we are a clannish 
 people." 
 
 " I fully understand it now," replied Mrs. Kirkbride. 
 
 But what is it that, during the services she had read in 
 the book of her young friend, made on her good heart a 
 stronger impression than she had imagined ever could hap- 
 pen ? Dr. Dixon had done his best to explain to her the 
 meaning of the dogma of the real presence of Christ in the 
 Holy Eucharist, but he had merely puzzled the good lady, be- 
 cause in his anxiety to avoid "superstition " and all that, he 
 
406 LOUISA KIREBRIDE, 
 
 added things of liis own, refrained from using the neces- 
 sary word '^transubstantiation," and found on his lips no 
 glowing words of ecstasy to celebrate the love of an incarnate 
 God coming to dwell in the bosom of His creature. But the 
 "Devotions for Holy Communion," contained in the book 
 given her by Julia, spoke very differently, and the excel- 
 lent lady understood, at once, that if Christ were present in 
 the Sacrament, and if a human being received him really, 
 the warm expressions, the burning desire, the glowing thank- 
 fulness, the real ecstasy must be exactly as the book had it. 
 
 Thus as soon as they reached home, the lady, holding the 
 two girls by the hand, led them silently to her room, and 
 tenderly kissing both of them, with tears in her eyes, she 
 merely said : 
 
 ''You are happy indeed, children, for you have Christ 
 with you ; and I really now for the lirst time doubt if I ever 
 received Him in my life." 
 
 When the news reached police headquarters that Schwitz 
 the outlaw had been finally caught again, and was now 
 safely lodged in the Tombs, there was a stir among the guar- 
 dians of the city such as had not been seen for a long time. 
 Revelations were expected from him, and means were imme- 
 diately taken to obtain them. The old system for this ob- 
 ject prevailed still, and Mr. 0' Byrne, who had several times 
 expressed his dislike of it, was not consulted even in the pres- 
 ent case. This system was called that of '' stool pigeons." 
 Whenever a malefactor of some importance had been caught, 
 he was placed alone in a cell, and then a suj)posed prisoner 
 was given him as a companion, who soon induced him to 
 talk freely, as to a friend, and disclose many plots, unknown 
 to the police, and the names and abodes of several guilty 
 accomplices. This was the degrading office of the "stool 
 pigeon." If the first did not succeed, a second one was 
 sent, and then another, until at last the jailbird sang out, 
 and furnished unconsciously the evidence required for fur- 
 ther police schemes and discoveries. Mr. O' Byrne, when 
 first informed of this custom in the training of his profes- 
 
A iVE'TF FIENDISH ASSAULT. 407 
 
 sion, openly spoke of the practice as degrading, and said lie 
 would never give in to it. To send spies in public places 
 wliere tlie conspirators against society arrange their crimi- 
 nal plans, was sufficiently to be deplored, yet as a necessary 
 measure, it could not be avoided. But to feign friendship, 
 and lay an ambush to take confidence prisoner, when it 
 ought always to be free, was more than the soul of an hon- 
 est man could allow. This was his first natural feeling in 
 which he constantly persevered. But as we already said, he 
 was not consulted in the matter, and several '' stool pigeons" 
 having been dispatched successively to the cell of Schwitz, 
 his whole history, from his first escape by the means of the 
 bribes of John, to his last capture under the Derringer of 
 McElheran, became known to the police. This included a 
 space of time of nearly two years, during which the outlaw 
 had been connected more or less with all the most extensive 
 and outrageous developments of crime in New York. 
 
 These revelations, arranged and put in racy style by a 
 skillful journalist, formed a good-sized manuscript pamphlet, 
 written at the request and expense of tlie chief of police, 
 who wished to have it kept in the archives of his depart- 
 ment. No copy, of course, was furnished to the newspa- 
 pers ; and the writer himself promised faithfully not to 
 reveal anything of it to the public. But the police authori- 
 ties were directly struck, when reading it, at the correctness 
 of the surmises and positive discoveries made previously by 
 Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne. So that he justly became hence- 
 forth a more important man in their eyes, and was subse- 
 quently consulted on all matters of consequence. This 
 very coincidence, however, of the revelations obtained by 
 ''stool pigeons" and of those he had himself obtained by 
 his youthful informers, confirmed him in his dislike for the 
 practice of stool-2ngeonlsm^ if we may be allowed to coin a 
 word ; and he argued that as the same knowledge could be 
 acquired by the simple method he had used, there was no 
 need of having recourse to so degrading a j)rocess as the 
 police authorities had resorted to in the case of Schwitz. 
 
 But whatever means had been employed, the chief dan- 
 
408 LOUISA EIBKBRIDE. 
 
 gers incurred by the city were now known, and a number 
 of criminals were quietly called upon to surrender, and 
 carried without noise to the large establishment of Centre 
 Street. The several trials which followed scarcely pertain 
 to our subject, and are better passed over, with the simple 
 remark, that Schwitz was not bound only to begin again 
 the term of his previous sentence, but ten years additional 
 were justly imposed on him for his last dastardly outrage. 
 His whole life, in fact, was to be spent within the walls of 
 Sing Sing. 
 
 George, unfortunately, could not be found by the poKce 
 officers ; he was not one of those who could sleep easy, after 
 such an escape as that of the Bloomingdale Road. He knew 
 that Mrs. Kirkbride had recognized him ; he was sure to be 
 pursued to death by O' Byrne ; he did not, therefore, return 
 to his old haunts, but took a northwesterly direction, where 
 we may find him later, not very far from Spuyten Duy vil 
 Creek. 
 
 Mr. O' Byrne, meanwhile, having now secured the confi- 
 dence of his chiefs, labored incessantly for the good of the 
 city, and defeated, with conspicuous success, several plun- 
 dering schemes. He was just in the flush of victory, when 
 the day arrived for the pleasant meeting arranged by Dr. 
 McElheran. 
 
CHAPTER XXYII. 
 
 AN lEISH DINNER. 
 
 When going south from the village of Manhattanville to 
 the city, the traveler, who follows the Bloomingdale Road, 
 ascends first a steep hill lined on both sides by cottages, 
 mansions, and perhaps an old farmhouse. Soon the high 
 plateau is reached, and the roadway runs nearly level and 
 parallel to the North River, there visible and quite near. 
 The Boulevard did not then exist ; and the whole landscape 
 had a venerable air usual in an old country, and suggesting 
 the idea of rest and comfort. A residence to the left direct- 
 ly struck the beholder by its stately appearance, although 
 only of wood, and rather antiquated, if there still, at the 
 present moment. The late rapid strides in modern improve- 
 ment in that part of the island, leave us some doubt on the 
 subject. 
 
 Extensive grounds around the house had been laid out 
 before the present refined taste for gardening prevailed ; 
 but the want of gracefulness in landscape was compensated 
 by the numerous shade trees, planted more than twenty 
 years back, and revealing now, in summer, all the vigor and 
 freshness of their youth. The mansion itself was roomy — 
 too large, in fact, for a bachelor ; but Mr. McElheran was a 
 naturalist as well as a physician. All the collections he 
 had made in the old country, and all those he gathered, 
 since he came to live in this, could be spread to the best 
 advantage before the friends who visited him. A small con- 
 servatory, opening into the very parlor, filled the apartment 
 with perfume ; and the gentle murmur of a small stream of 
 
 409 
 
410 LOUISA KLRKBRIDE. 
 
 water falling from a bronze pipe into the midst of a grace- 
 ful little marble basin, gave to a lialf dozen canary birds, 
 suspended in their tiny cages, an irrepressible eagerness 
 to drown its feeble noise by the voluble melody of their 
 throats. But except this harmonious contest, everything 
 around breathed silence and stillness. The mansion, built 
 at a distance from the road, scarcely allowed the creaking 
 of the carriage wheels and the stamping of horses to reach 
 the inner apartments. The abundant means possessed by 
 Mr. McElheran, had enabled him to rent this pleasant re- 
 treat, much too large for a bachelor, but suitable to his taste 
 for a country life, and to his secret hankering after ample 
 room for exercise and meditation. His object had never 
 been to make money ; otherwise, he would have resided in 
 the city, and multiplied indefinitely his capital by specula- 
 tion. His attraction led him toward a life of refined ease 
 and scientific investigations. Hence, if the surroundings of 
 his residence w^ere iDromotive of the first, many of its rooms 
 were devoted to the second. He possessed a collection of 
 objects of natural history, chiefly relating to the medical 
 art, which would have been considered large everywhere 
 for a young man of his age ; and his library was select and 
 well furnished with scientific books. His means, we have 
 said, were abundant ; yet he could not be considered a rich 
 man in such a city as New York ; and being provident as 
 well as liberal, lie at least sustained a great part of his ex- 
 pense by the practice of his profession. In his neighbor- 
 hood a great number of respectable families dwelt, to whom 
 he soon became known, and who gave him their confidence, 
 and intrusted their health to his care ; but he, moreover, 
 never refused to visit the poor and needy, among Avhom he 
 was considered as a benefactor and a friend. 
 
 In such circumstances, it appears surprising that he w^as 
 not yet married, being nearly thirty years of age ; and he 
 had only to declare his choice to be sure of not meeting with 
 a refusal ; but he had long before determined in his mind 
 to require of his future wife two conditions not so easy to 
 find, toward the north end of the Bloomingdale Iload, as one 
 
A]^ IRISH DINNER, 411 
 
 would imagine. The first was that she should be Irish — thor- 
 oughly so ; the second, that her virtue should have been tried, 
 actually tried, so as not to leave any doubt of its being solid. 
 Now, very few Irish families above the lowest class lived at 
 that time in the neighborhood of Manhattanville, and those 
 young ladies whom he knew there, excellent certainly, most 
 pious, and respectable, had never passed through any moral 
 trial such as he required. They had been quietly brought 
 up in decent families, educated in convents, and were, at the 
 time, taken into good society under their mothers' wings. 
 He wanted a great deal more. 
 
 This, we are sure, will make Mr. McElheran appear a very 
 strange young man in the eyes of many of our readers ; but 
 he was a full-blooded Irishman ; and people know that such 
 creatures are often eccentric, and there is no accounting for 
 theu" taste. His first meeting with good old Mrs. O' Byrne 
 and Julia has already furnished us a strong proof of it. 
 
 These remarks were necessary for us to fully understand 
 what is to follow ; and we can proceed to the pleasant task 
 of narrating the particularities of the afternoon in July 
 which was to gather in Mr. McElheran' s country house so 
 many new friends, all of them, without exception, distin- 
 guished by the best qualities of mind and heart. 
 
 Two carriages had been sent to the house of Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, in one of which the three ladies took their seats with 
 Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne, and in the other only the gay and 
 happy French family. They came together thundering in 
 front of the house, where the young doctor with his friend 
 Devir were awaiting them. Mrs. Kirkbride was first ad- 
 mitted in, and placed in the best arm-chair of the parlor ; 
 Mr. and Mrs. Froment, leading little Arthur by the hand, fol- 
 lowed her ; and directly after them, Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne, 
 giving his arm to his sister, presented her to Mr. McElheran, 
 who willingly took charge of her. Thus, little Rosa, who 
 was just coming the last from the carriage, did not appear 
 to be displeased to find the arm of Mr. 0' Byrne at last un- 
 occupied, and clung to it all blushing as if she had been a 
 child just turned out of the nursery. Devir had remained 
 
412 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 in the house talking to Mrs. Kirkbride who was delighted 
 with the ride, and in gleeful anticipation of a most pleasant 
 afternoon. 
 
 On a table in the centre of the room, were several illus- 
 trated works, all relating to Ireland — the lakes of Killarney 
 were there, and the noble ruins of Cashel, the Giant Cause- 
 way, and the few remains of the seven churches of holy Ar- 
 ran ; Dublin and its harbor. Limerick with the broad Shan- 
 non, Cork with its cove, and finally Galway with the view 
 of the vast ocean. Mrs. Kirkbride opened her eyes when 
 she saw there were so many things in that little island. She 
 asked what bust adorned the marble mantelpiece, and the 
 young doctor answered : ' ' O' Connell' s, of course, madam ; ' ' 
 and many questions and answers of this kind were put and 
 returned. The canaries were, at the time, singing furiously 
 in the little conservatory ; McElheran appeared annoyed, 
 went in a hurry to shut the door, and directly a few sweet 
 notes were heard from a bird, until that moment unper- 
 ceived, perched gloomily in a cage in a corner of the parlor. 
 McElheran stepped up in front ; the bird sprang quickly 
 from perch to perch, and being no longer Jealous of the 
 deafening song of the yellow strangers, she whistled har- 
 moniously her own tune, and the ears of all were enchanted 
 almost as if it had been the warble of the nightingale ; it 
 was an Irish thrush. 
 
 ''Doctor," said Mrs. Kirkbride, ''I see a harp there, not 
 far from the piano ; can you play on it ? " 
 
 "Very poorly, madam," he answered ; ''it is the instru- 
 ment on which my late mother used to play. I have brought 
 it to this country, and would not dare to give you a speci- 
 men of my want of skill; but one of your 'daughters,' 
 madam, may be able ; I do not know — I merely inquire." 
 
 At these words Julia blushed deeply and appeared to be 
 moved to the inmost recess of her heart. She tried to hide 
 herself behind her brother, who stood near her at the time ; 
 but unfeeling Con would not enter into her attempt at con- 
 cealment. He, on the contrary, made room to bring her 
 forward, and said that " she might have forgotten, but for- 
 
AN IRISH DINNER, 413 
 
 merly she knew how to play on that instrument." There 
 was no possibility of denying it. Poor Julia, however, 
 tried to be excused: "She learned it," she said, "when 
 she was a child in the convent at Enniscorthy ; she prac- 
 ticed it afterward for a while when she returned home ; but 
 when their misfortunes began — a long time ago — she could 
 not think of doing it any more. Her fingers had not touched 
 chords of that sort for nearly eight years." 
 
 "You will do your best, Julia," said Mr. 0' Byrne; 
 "everybody is friendly here, and I am sure everybody will 
 be pleased." 
 
 Then, standing up, the young woman received the harp, 
 which McElheran placed gracefully and affectionately in 
 her hands. She tuned it, and it was a hard job, as it had 
 not been used for a long time ; but the young doctor helped 
 her in a brotherly way, which calmed her nerves and made 
 her more composed and able to fulfill her part. When after 
 a short prelude, her fingers became again accustomed to the 
 wide compass of the numerous strings, the melody of her 
 voice began gently to enter into the full harmony, and 
 gradually swelling higher and higher, the music filled the 
 room with such tender and heart moving sounds, that long 
 before she stopped, tears were flowing from, or at least 
 moistening the eyes of, all in the room. 
 
 McElheran ran to thank her. " Was it possible that she 
 had not touched a harp for eight years ? " 
 
 " It is sure," said Con ; "yet I never heard her play and 
 sing so well ; how is it, Julia ? It is a puzzle, even to me." 
 
 Julia said she could scarcely explain it ; but she sup- 
 posed that when she played formerly in her family she was 
 merely a child, had had no experience of life, and had 
 passed through no trial worth naming. But after so many 
 vicissitudes, she felt what she did not feel formerly, and 
 could not help giving a great deal more expression to the 
 words and the music. 
 
 "Come to kiss me, child," exclaimed at that moment 
 Mrs. Kirkbride ; "others have praised you, I must scold 
 you. Why did you not tell me before you were a musician I 
 
414 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Wliat happy times we would have had ! If I were as rich 
 as formerly I would buy a harp this very day for you." 
 
 "Madam," interposed the doctor, "she shall have this 
 one ; I will send it to your house before night, till you can 
 procure another for her ; this being an heirloom from a dear 
 mother I cannot give away." 
 
 Such was the animated conversation going on when a 
 waiter dressed in a green coat with white breeches and 
 stockings announced that dinner was ready ; and thus all 
 voices were hushed, and all passed into the next room, Mr. 
 McElheran with Mrs. Kirkbride first. 
 
 There was no clergyman to bless the table. McElheran 
 hesitated about doing so : he would have invited Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, but he knew she was not a Catholic — the only Pro- 
 testant, in fact, in the room. Mr. Froment and his lady were 
 French, and nobody else could understand their henedicite ; 
 so, turning his eyes round, they fell on Julia ; the idea, how- 
 ever, of inviting her seemed queer. Julia understood at 
 once his dilemma : 
 
 "With us," she said, "Mrs. Kirkbride blesses the table. 
 She knows the Catholic blessing," and thus the trouble for 
 all was speedily removed. 
 
 "Before we begin our meal," said the doctor, as soon as 
 they were seated, "I must inform everybody present of 
 what they can expect. In this house, there can be nothing 
 else but Irish dinners, Irish dishes, seasonings, beverages, etc. 
 The novelty, at least, will be pleasant, I hope, to those who 
 are not accustomed to it. And this is not only from choice, 
 but from real necessity. When I left Ireland to come to 
 America, immediately after the death of my father, all the 
 servants who were young people preferred to remain in the 
 old country ; I paid them off, and they found occupations 
 somewhere else. But the cook of the house was a respecta- 
 ble, aged Keny woman, by the name of Mrs. O' Sullivan. 
 She had been with us ever since she became a widow after 
 only two years of marriage ; and she had sworn that she 
 would never go to any other house but that of the McElhe- 
 rans. I had, therefore, to take her with me, and bring her 
 
AN IRISH DmNEK 415 
 
 to this country. She has been so long nsed to her ways 
 that it would be not only ridiculous but absurd in me to try 
 to change her. You will not, however, I hope, be altogether 
 displeased with her cooking ; otherwise I would not have 
 invited you, or I would have engaged another cook for the 
 day, at the risk of fearfully raising good Mrs. O' Sullivan' s 
 temper. 
 
 At that moment, a big, stout Irish waiter, in green, brought 
 in an enormous dish overflowing with all the richness of an 
 Irish stew, by which all tastes could be satisfied, since all 
 kinds of meat used in civilized life — lamb, beef, bacon, 
 chicken, etc. — were pleasantly mixed up, boiled do^vn to 
 the desired point, and smoking, piping hot. Just as it came 
 from the kitchen. There is no need of mentioning the rows 
 of potatoes round this dish, and all those that followed. 
 
 It is not our purpose to detail what particular piece each 
 one asked and got ; but the English lady, who was first 
 served, receiving on her plate the wing of a young fowl, so 
 tender that the flesh came off from the bone of itself, de- 
 clared that Mrs. Froment ought to have the other wing of 
 the same chick, to remind her of the delicate and juicy frogs 
 of her country, which she herself once in her life had tasted, 
 in her first trip to France with her husband ; and everybody 
 laughed, and Mrs. Froment felt quite willing to have the 
 ^'ing. 
 
 But, of course, the stew was merely to introduce the roast, 
 and it came in just at this moment. It was not English 
 beef, our readers may be assured, but really and literally 
 a quarter of Irish lamb, just fresh from the mountains of 
 Kerry, and, on this account, cooked by Mrs. 0' Sullivan with 
 more than usual care. That nobody may be disinclined to 
 beheve it was so, it is well to state the particulars, and then 
 hear Mr. McElheran speaking on the subject. It was just 
 at the time the English Government, seemingly inclined to 
 render justice to the ^'sister isle," had established a line of 
 steamers from Galway. We know that it lasted a month 
 or two. The young doctor availed himself of the circum- 
 stance to engage the steward of one of those steamers to 
 
416 LOUISA KIREBRIDE, 
 
 bring liim two white lambs, dropped three months before on 
 the mountains of Kerry ; they were to frisk away thek lives 
 on the grounds of the doctor, who had just prepared a fine 
 greensward for them, back of the house. But, during the 
 passage over, one of the lambs, frightened by a sailor, got 
 one of its legs fast in some ship-tackle, and the bone, as 
 brittle as glass, was broken. The steward thought he could 
 set it, and the result was a distorted limb, which gave the 
 poor little thing a most ludicrous and unnatural appear- 
 ance. " This is the plain reason why we are now going to 
 feast on this nice and tender quarter of lamb," said the 
 young doctor, who, with his carving-knife, was at the mo- 
 ment showing his skill in comparative anatomy. He had 
 already placed two miniature chops on a plate, and adding 
 to them a juicy slice of the hind quarter, he ordered the 
 waiter to take the plate to Miss Rosa McCarthy, who, he 
 said, '' being the most lamb-like person of the whole party, 
 has a right to be served the first." Miss Rosa replied that 
 the story had completely taken away her appetite, and she 
 pushed the plate to her neighbor, Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne, 
 who, having stronger nerves, made two mouthfuls of the 
 whole, after having first presented in exchange to the young 
 lady the tiny body of an Irish sparrow — perhaps one of the 
 numerous Twit-Twat family — which, with a dozen others, 
 lay on a small dish before liim. 
 
 But, directly after the lamb, came the great feature of 
 the day, in point of dishes, namely, a huge chicken pie, 
 crowned with a bright green garland of shamrock, whose 
 seed had been imported from Ireland. When Mr. McElhe- 
 ran took away the crust, a bright wreath of smoke rose up, 
 and, spreading through the whole room, perfumed tlie air 
 so that the fragrance from the plants of the conservatory 
 was no more felt, but in its place a luscious blending of 
 aromatics struck the olfactory nerves of the guests. Mrs. 
 0' Sullivan had exerted all her culinary skill in the pro- 
 duction of this masterpiece. The crust, at the same time 
 brittle, sweet, and juicy, lined interiorly with a coating 
 of rich paste, contained, if we may say so, all the treasures 
 
AJ^ IBISH nmNER. 417 
 
 of the animal and vegetable worlds : shallots from Ascalon, 
 globular and tender mushrooms, product of a night on the 
 borders of groves in sweet France, cloves and cinnamon from 
 the spicy islands of the antipodes, formed the embalming 
 bed in which were wrapped up the limbs of spring chickens 
 and doves just taken from their nests. 
 
 ''Perhaps," said Mr. McElheran, "people will laugh at 
 us for calling this an Irish dish, when everything, except the 
 outside decoration, comes from foreign and distant lands ; 
 but the skill with which every ingredient is mixed up is, 
 beyond question, Irish ; nay, more, only cooks of the old 
 stock, as Mrs. O' Sullivan certainly is, can succeed in mak- 
 ing a thorough -going chicken pie." And, placing rapidly 
 on the plates of all the rich contents of the huge circular 
 tower of paste and crust, that each one might receive it 
 piping hot and tasty, Mr. McElheran looked around with 
 satisfaction and just pride, when he saw how his guests 
 showed their appreciation of his Milesian culslniere. 
 
 Irish "beverages" were in the "bill of fare," and we 
 could not yet speak of this part of the programme. We 
 thought that a few words at the end would be sufficient, as 
 we did not wish to shock too outrageously the feelings of 
 the numerous temperance men and lady "crusaders" of 
 our age. Before the guests removed from the table, a small 
 tumbler was offered to each, which even the ladies did not 
 dare refuse. As we were not of the party, and did not taste 
 of it, we cannot say exactly what the tumblers contained ; 
 we are told only that smoke arose from the glass, indicating 
 that it was not a cold "beverage ; " some lemon peel floated 
 on the surface, and each one stirred the contents with a 
 small silver spoon ; finally, as foolish Devir rose up, after 
 having said nothing during the whole dinner, he uncon- 
 sciously mumbled the words "mountain dew." Our read- 
 ers may form their conclusions from these particulars ; we 
 give them as they occurred. 
 
 Grace having been devoutly said by the same good lady 
 who had first blessed the table, Mr. Devir took the ladies 
 out to visit the conservatory and the grounds, and Mr. 
 27 
 
418 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 McElheran remained for a short time at table with his new 
 friend, Mr. 0' Byrne, smoking their cigars and sipping some 
 drops of bright-colored liquid out of very tiny glasses. 
 
 "My dear friend," said the doctor, "please tell me what 
 were exactly those ' vicissitudes ' of which your sister spoke 
 after her song. She said something to me, the other day, 
 after the attack of that villain, Schwitz, of the 'vicissi- 
 tudes ' of the Kirkbride family, with which I was slightly 
 acquainted before ; and I admire the grateful spirit which 
 induced her to remain with such an excellent lady reduced 
 to poverty after living in affluence ; but of her own ' vicissi- 
 tudes ' I know absolutely nothing, and I would like to get 
 some information on the subject, if there be no reason for 
 you and your family to make a secret of them." 
 
 "There is," replied O' Byrne, "no secret whatever for us 
 to keep ; and for you, an Irishman like ourselves, a word 
 will be sufficient to acquaint you with all. My father and 
 mother, after having fought against want, several years, 
 on their small farm, in the County Wexford, were finally 
 evicted under the most barbarous circumstances. I was a 
 mere boy at the time, and Julia was the angel of the family ; 
 what she suffered interiorly we never knew, as she tried 
 always to appear cheerful ; but the few words of explana- 
 tion she gave us to-day, after playing, revealed to me, as 
 well as to you, the inward storms of grief she had then to 
 encounter. Since we landed in this country, we have been 
 pursued by the unrelenting hatred of low enemies ; tliree 
 times an attempt has been made to carry Julia away forci- 
 bly for the worst purposes ; and you have been lier savior 
 at the last ; the death of her mother, too, for whom alone 
 she appeared to live, must have made a most painful im- 
 pression on her. This is, in general, the explanation that 
 can be given of the phrase which puzzled you. The fact is, 
 that, as you know, many of our countrywomen are sorely 
 tempted and tried ; but few to the extent of Julia. You 
 can understand now, sir, what she said of the development 
 given to her interior feelings by all she has passed through." 
 
 "I am extremely thankful, my friend," said the young 
 
AN IRISH DmNER. 419 
 
 doctor, '^for the information yon have conveyed to me. 
 But have yon not your old father, who is also her father ? 
 How is it that not a word is said by yon of him ? I hope 
 the old gentleman is properly cared for." 
 
 "All we can do is done for him, I assure you," replied 
 young 0' Byrne ; "but if you meant to ask why Julia does 
 not seem to extend to him her personal care, the answer is 
 simple and easy ; our father would not consent to it ; he is 
 not too old to work, and he supports himself honoi-ably ; 
 he lives with an old friend, whose society is congenial to 
 him ; and he would have himself chased away Julia from 
 his house, and forced her to live with Mrs. Kirkbride out 
 of pure gratitude for the excellent lady, if Julia had pro- 
 posed to abandon her and go back to him ; but the girl was 
 too sensible to think of it, as she knew that her father was 
 in want of nothing, and that Mrs. Kirkbride could scarcely 
 do without her." 
 
 "And how had she contracted so deep an obligation 
 toward the lady?" inquired Mr. McElheran. 
 
 "Because," replied his young friend, "when all of ns 
 were left penniless and starving in the cold streets of New 
 York, Mrs. Kirkbride, although English, and a Protestant, 
 took us in, attended personally to our mother, then in a 
 dying condition, and did all that charity could do to relieve 
 us and make us happy. As long as she was rich, she did 
 everything for us that she could do. Was not this a good 
 reason for Julia to stay with her when she became poor, 
 and was even unable to give wages to a single servant V 
 
 "I understand now the whole," said Mr. McElheran, 
 "and I see why Mrs. Kirkbride calls her ' daughter.' These 
 are proofs, indeed, of a soul formed in adversity, and raised 
 forever above any ordinary temptation in life. I thank 
 you, Mr. O' Byrne, and I admire your sister, for whom be- 
 fore I felt only esteem ; she is a true lady, and is fit for any 
 position in life. But it is time we should go to meet our 
 company; meanwhile this is to your sister;" and McEl- 
 heran emptied the last glass of liquor he had just before 
 filled to the brim. 
 
420 LOUISA KIBEBRIDE. 
 
 When they reached the party, they found a gay assem- 
 blage. Mrs. Kirkbride, with Mr. and Mrs. Froment and 
 little Arthur, were seated on a wooden bench placed in 
 front of the greensward back of the house, as mentioned 
 before. Young Devir had just freed the white lamb that 
 was tied to a low picket in the ground by a long silk cord, 
 and had placed it on the lap of Rosa, who was seated on the 
 border of the lawn. Rosa, petting the mild creature, ex- 
 claimed suddenly, when she perceived Mr. O' Byrne coming 
 up at that moment with the young doctor : 
 
 ^'See, barbarous man, what you have been doing; you 
 have devoured at a mouthful two ribs such as those of this 
 innocent animal ; are you not ashamed of yourself ?" 
 
 "Not in the least," replied Con laughing, " or you ought 
 to blush yourself. Miss Rosa, for having devoured a Avhole 
 Irish sparrow which I myself put on your plate." 
 
 There was a roar from all present, and poor Rosa did not 
 know whether she ought to laugh or be angry. 
 
 The quarrel, of course, could not be put an end to with- 
 out extraordinary means on the part of Mr. Cornelius 
 O' Byrne. Taking, therefore, by the hand, Rosa, who did 
 not let the lamb go, he led both to the feet of Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, and placing them near the gentle lady : 
 
 " Madam," said he, " here is one of your daughters steal- 
 ing Mr. McElheran' s lamb ; she intends to carry it off with 
 her when she goes back home with you ; will you become 
 an accomplice in the theft? " 
 
 The lady laughed and exclaimed : 
 
 *'I would willingly, if there was grass enough for the 
 lamb in our poor lot ; but the dear creature would starve, 
 and had better stay where it is now." 
 
 Before separating, the guests returned a moment to the 
 parlor ; there was no mention made of the harp ; but Ma- 
 dame Froment, at the request of all, seating herself at the 
 piano, gave with rapidity and entrain some brilliant varia- 
 tions on French popular airs ; and when she had finished 
 and was going to leave her seat, little Arthur expressed 
 emphatically his dissatisfaction that the best "French popu- 
 
AN IRISH DINNER. 421 
 
 lar air" in Ms estimation had not been played : "Mamma," 
 lie said, "play Malbrouck to please little Arthur." 
 
 All laughed and called, of course, for Malbrouck, Then 
 the lady, keeping the theme always in view, and bringing 
 back its simple notes at every phrase, poured out such a 
 flood of French wit and humor that the audience, without 
 knowing a word of the legendary song, cried out with laugh- 
 ter : "Hurra, hurra, we shall sjjlit if it continues." 
 
 That evening, McElheran, left alone in his large house, 
 fell into a brown study. " She is the very one I wished to 
 find," he said to himself, "and I must have her. But 
 what will my relations say ? They will all refuse to have 
 any more intercourse with me, as they have threatened, 
 since the girl has not a red cent. But what is that to me ? 
 If they continue any length of time as foolish as that, when 
 they know her, I do not care for them. Yet Julia must 
 know it before our marriage. . . . Indeed I am a fool ! 
 Will she consent to marry me % This is the question which 
 must first be answered. There are deep thoughts in the 
 mind and deeper feelings in the heart of that girl. Will 
 she ever consent to marry any one at all % I would not 
 wonder at even her brother not being able to give an answer 
 to this question. May God dispose her to listen to me, and 
 I will be a happy man." 
 
CHAPTER XXYIIL 
 
 THE LAST VICTORY OVER A PERSISTETTT EVIL. 
 
 The tMeves' den in Greene Street had been effectually 
 shaken when John was mortally wounded at the time of the 
 attempted burglary, and was finally broken up by the reve- 
 lations of Schwitz after his capture. It then became an 
 affair of importance to O' Byrne to find out what had be- 
 come of those of its inmates who had not fallen into the 
 hands of the police on either of those two occasions. The 
 reader remembers that in the fight with McElheran, George 
 had escaped in a northwesterly direction toward the end of 
 Manhattan Island. Young Ahern and his associates had a 
 great deal of trouble, groping their way in the dark, to find 
 out the clue of the new schemes of the gang. Mr. Doyle 
 was finally instrumental in placing them on the right track. 
 We have lost sight of him and of old Mr. O' Byrne for a 
 long time. It is proper we should become acquainted with 
 their present mode of life, if it is but for a moment. 
 
 With them there was scarcely anything stirring and of 
 much importance. Mr. Doyle every morning went to the 
 counting-house in Beaver Street, where he continued to be 
 a faithful porter, and came back in the evening to his lodg- 
 ings in James Street. Mr. O' Byrne likewise, after spending 
 the day in a wholesale manufacturing establishment down 
 town, came back to meet his friend every evening. They 
 both took their supper, enjoyed their talk and their pipe, 
 and, after having devoutly said their prayers, went to bed. 
 
 One day a friend of both, who lived in Cherry Street, not 
 far from the foot of Catharine, came to gossip with them, 
 
 422 
 
THE LAST VICTORY OVER A PERSISTENT EVIL, 423 
 
 and casually mentioned a new feature in Water Street, in 
 Ms immediate neighborhood. One of the worst dancing 
 houses of that interesting locality had experienced lately a 
 sudden transformation. All the girls had disappeared to 
 go no one knew where ; and the establishment had been in- 
 teriorly rearranged in quite a different fashion. The halls 
 below had been turned into gambling hells, and the rooms 
 above into what we might call "committee rooms." Many 
 dark characters previously unknown in the neighborhood, 
 were to be met with frequently in that house. Sometimes, 
 they stopped and gambled for an hour or so in the ' ' res- 
 taurant " below, then went up stairs. Sometimes, they 
 proceeded straight up to the upper rooms, whose shutters 
 were always half closed and doors guarded ; so that no- 
 body knew what was going on in the place. People thought 
 it was something much worse than when there was so 
 much noise and music, and when the girls danced with the 
 sailors. 
 
 This conversation was communicated to Con the next time 
 he went to see his father. He saw in it, at once, a new nest 
 of sharpers and burglars ; and, as good luck would have it, 
 he did not intrust any ordinary police officer with the care 
 of ferreting out the secret doings of the place, but he 
 thought of giving the job to his young friend Ahern, who 
 had had nothing to do for some time. After his first visit, 
 Ahern came back full of glee and good humor ; all the in- 
 mates of the new house were the former Jiabitues of Greene 
 Street ; it was, as if the foraier establishment had been sud- 
 denly transplanted to Water Street. Bully George, how- 
 ever, did not show himself. 
 
 After a few evenings of a sly intercourse, Ahern learned 
 to his surprise that this new establishment was secretly 
 connected with a number of small houses, shanties, old 
 rookeries, situated along Harlem Kiver and Spuyten Duyvil 
 Creek, which serv^ed to store away stolen goods ; to get in- 
 formation from the country chiefly of the arrival in town of 
 rich and green country people ready for fleecing ; and like- 
 wise, it was hinted, to keep in durance some poor unfortu- 
 
424 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 nate yonng women, objects of the passion of these vil- 
 lains. This was a sudden ray of light for Mr. C. O' Byrne. 
 Several respectable females had lately disappeared, no one 
 knew how ; and it was to one of those infamous places that 
 his own sister was going to be conveyed lately when he 
 stopped the carriage by shooting one of the horses. Soon 
 he learned that the two little steamers " Sylvan Bell" and 
 "Sylvan Chimes" furnished, unknown even to their propri- 
 etors and crews, easy means of traveling to the scoundrels, 
 who otherwise could not have kept so far down town their 
 general place of meeting. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne thought the matter important 
 enough to be investigated by himself, and the following day, 
 accompanied by young Devir, whom he often met since the 
 pleasant day passed in McElheran's house, and whom he 
 chose for a companion on account of his being perfectly 
 unknown to all, in consequence of his recent arrival from 
 Europe, he took a seat on the '' Sylvan Bell," and soon was 
 on his way north, along the beautiful banks of the East 
 River. 
 
 He had thoroughly disguised himself, was dressed as a 
 common sailor, and had his face set off with false musta- 
 ches and whiskers. He lirst easily remarked the miscella- 
 neous character of the passengers on board ; and he had no 
 doubt from the outset that several of them must be liahltues 
 of the new den in Water Street. His suspicions were con- 
 firmed as soon as they reached Astoria, above Hell Gate. 
 Two of them left the steamer at the landing connected with 
 Ward's Island, crossed the river in a boat, and being 
 scarcely landed at the village, threw themselves into a skiff 
 evidently kept there for them, and rowing farther along the 
 shore, finally landed at a lonely spot near an old shanty, 
 half concealed behind trees and shrubs. All this could be 
 observed from the deck of the little steamer. Farther on, 
 the same happened to another of the dark passengers ; and 
 when they reached the landing of the " Sylvan Bell" near 
 Third Avenue bridge in Ilarlem, a few men took their seats 
 with him and Devir in a still smaller steamboat which was 
 
THE LAST VICTORY OVER A PERSISTENT EVIL. 4Qo 
 
 to convey tliem to High Bridge, where this line of traveling 
 ended. Having arrived at this last destination, Mr. 0' Byrne 
 and his friend entered a common-looking little hotel, where 
 the other passengers likewise stopped ; and he could not 
 but be surprised at seeing three of them go straight to a 
 man seated at a small table, apparently waiting for them. 
 This last one was nobody else than George himself, whom 
 O' Byrne easily recognized, although the features of the 
 man were much changed for the worse, since he knew him 
 in the Kii^kbride mansion. His face was much harsher and 
 thinner, and had the appearance of a desperado's ; his 
 clothes were mean and soiled ; his whole person ill-looking 
 and repulsive. Yet it Avas the same English bully so fat 
 and sleek when butler of a rich family. The party that 
 joined him was soon engaged with him in serious conversa- 
 tion whose purport could not be even imagined ; but the 
 four friends, after drinking copiously, lighted cigars and 
 left, and 0' Byrne thought it would be imprudent for him 
 to follow them. He had seen enough, during that trip, to 
 know that he had not fallen on a mare's nest, and scarcely 
 had he returned to the city when he called in Ahern and 
 directed him to go the following day to the High Bridge 
 hotel, and try to ascertain from a few honest peojole, living 
 there, something more of the habits of Mr. George, of whom 
 he gave Ahern a detailed description. 
 
 But at the very moment he was in the act of talking 
 with his young friend, and instructing him on his mission, 
 George and his associates were likewise taking their mea- 
 sures for quite a different scheme. After leaving High 
 Bridge, which they crossed on foot, they found a common 
 wagon waiting for them on the top of the hill along Ninth 
 Avenue, which can be easily reached on foot from the 
 bridge. Then taking their direction south as fast as their 
 two heavy horses could carry them, they were soon in the 
 neighborhood of the street where Mrs. Kirkbride lived with 
 her two "daughters." George and one of his associates 
 here left the wagon, which continued its way to the city 
 with the other men ; the two scoundrels, crossing from 
 
426 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 Tenth to Eighth Avenue, were soon in front of the honse 
 which they intended to explore. They soon ascertained 
 that it would be easy to enter it during night-time without 
 even awakening the inmates, and to carry off whom they 
 chose. Being emboldened by the perfect solitude of the 
 surroundings, they went so far as to knock at the door. 
 Eosa came unsuspiciously to open it ; but, at the sight of 
 those two villainous faces, she closed it hastily and refused 
 to open it again when they knocked a second time. 
 
 ^' Don't be scared, girl," exclaimed George from the 
 street ; "we merely came to inquire if you know Mr. 
 McCook who lives in the neighborhood.- ' 
 
 Eosa answered from behind the door that she did not 
 know anybody of that name, and sure enough there was 
 no McCook around for a great distance. The poor girl was 
 thoroughly frightened, as she was then alone in the house, 
 and the two ruffians might have forced open the door and 
 done to her what they pleased. But they had iound out 
 what they wished and left without further injury. The 
 face of George, so well known to Eosa formerly, appeared 
 so different in his new garb that the young giii did not re- 
 cognize him ; only the voice seemed to her not altogether 
 unknown ; she had certainly heard it before. 
 
 The day after, O' Byrne took with him in a buggy his 
 young friend Ahern and drove to Mrs. Kirkbride's house, 
 from which place Ahern was to go alone along Ninth Ave- 
 nue to High Bridge. The first object of both was to ascer- 
 tain how far the house could be made secure against a night 
 attack; for, with his usual good sense, 0' Byrne felt that 
 George would not leave his former mistress and the two 
 girls living with her quiet in their lonely house. Their 
 arrival was timely, as they found Mrc. Kirkbride and her 
 female friends thoroughly alarmed by the report of Eosa, 
 which was repeated in extenso to them. 
 
 "You did not recognize one, at least, of your two visi- 
 tors?" asked 0' Byrne. 
 
 " JSTo," replied Eosa. " I was too much scared ; the voice 
 of one of them, however, was familiar to me." 
 
THE LAST VICTORY OVER A PERSISTENT EVIL. 427 
 
 ^'Do you not think," observed the yonng man, ''that it 
 was the voice of your former friend George ? " 
 
 '' Good gracious ! " exclaimed the girl, " you have said 
 it, Mr. 0' Byrne ; it was he ! " 
 
 Nothing more was needed to show the importance of 
 taking active measures. The capture of George must be 
 made, and, consequently, he must be allowed to go on with 
 his base scheme. 0' Byrne dispatched Ahern quick on his 
 particular mission, made him take a horse, to go and re- 
 turn sooner, and said he would wait for him. 
 
 Our friend, idle now, for a couple of hours at least, had a 
 great deal to say to his sister, but more yet to Eosa. He 
 wished to ascertain her pluck, and see if she could be relied 
 upon in a moment of danger. Profiting by half an hour of 
 private interview, which a temporary absence of Julia gave 
 him, "What would you do. Miss McCarthy," he said, "if 
 two or three of those ruffians came at night, and entered the 
 house?" 
 
 "First," she replied, "I would try not to allow them to 
 enter the house." 
 
 "That would be the safest plan, indeed," he said ; "but 
 how could you do this ? " 
 
 "You are a nice young man, with your 'could,'" she 
 retorted ; "as we did not expect you to-day, we had already 
 arranged our plans for to-night ; for they may come as soon 
 as that, and it is not likely they will delay much longer. 
 See, first, our barricades." 
 
 And the spirited girl showed him that all the exterior 
 wdndows of the house had been tightly nailed and reen- 
 forced inside by strong wooden bars ; the door, also, was to 
 be barricaded at night with several strong beams ready 
 made and prepared for the occasion. All these things she 
 had procured, early in the morning, from the neighbors in 
 the shanties around, who, without being asked, eagerly 
 promised their help, and said unanimously that they would 
 keep watch every night until the coming of the scoundrels. 
 
 "You are a jewel, my dear Miss McCarthy," exclaimed 
 O' Byrne ; "I see that my help is scarcely needed. Happy 
 
428 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 will be the man whom you will accept for your husband ; he 
 will have a plucky wife, and, what is better, a virtuous one, 
 too. But, believe me, you ought not to make too much of 
 a stir among the neighbors, in anticipation of the coming of 
 the rascals. I want to catch that Mr. George ; and we could 
 not catch him if he were scared away. Please let me direct 
 the proceedings ; there will be no need of your appearing ; 
 and if a revolver has to be used, it will be without any peril 
 to the ordinary inmates of the house." 
 
 "Do what you please, Mr. 0' Byrne," replied Rosa, who 
 had deeply blushed when he spoke of her future happy 
 husband, but who had not appeared in the least displeased 
 at the suggestion. It was a good omen for the young man, 
 who had almost made up his mind to speak that day, and 
 waited only for a quieter occasion. On the present one, he 
 contented himself with taking her slender hand, pressing it 
 gently, and raising it to his lips. 
 
 He was just doing this, when Julia entered, without 
 knocking, and looked daggers at him for being so bold in 
 her absence. '-' I will not leave you alone any more," she 
 said, ''since you are so naughty, my dear brother." 
 
 O' Byrne, instead of answering her, simply asked E-osa 
 what she thought of the primness of her friend. ''Oh, 
 Julia," she said, "is always strict and motherly for a lit- 
 tle girl like me and a little boy like you." And they all 
 laughed. 
 
 When Ahern returned, he communicated to his friend all 
 he had learned. George lived in the neighborhood of High 
 Bridge ever since the day of the capture of Schwitz. He 
 occupied a wretched, rickety frame-house, not far from 
 Spuyten Duyvil Creek, and was in constant intercourse 
 with several men, who often came from the lower part of 
 the city. He himself had not been absent for a single day 
 since he came to live there ; but there was evidently some- 
 thing brewing, which no one could state distinctly. O' Byrne 
 knew enough from all this, and he directly tasked his inge- 
 nuity for the protection of his dearest friends on earth, and 
 for the capture, punishment, and utter dispersion of the 
 
TEE LAST VICTORY OVER A PERSISTENT EVIL. 429 
 
 guilty crew among wliom George held such a distinguislied 
 position. 
 
 After reflecting on all the circumstances, he concluded as 
 Rosa did before him, that they would make their attempt 
 the ensuing night, and that at least four of them would 
 probably come, armed with revolvers, or at least with clubs. 
 There might even be eight of them for all he knew, and this 
 might bring on a kind of pitched battle. He had to take 
 his measures against the worse supposition. He directly 
 dispatched Ahern to headquarters with a note, calling for 
 four young police officers, whom he named. They were to 
 come singly to the house, beginning at six in the afternoon, 
 the last at seven ; each one was to follow a direction dif- 
 ferent from the others : the first one, the Park ; the second. 
 Eighth, the two others. Ninth and Tenth avenues; they 
 should bring their revolvers with them, besides their clubs. 
 His messenger havmg been dispatched — of course he would 
 himself come back and be the fifth — O' Byrne set to prepar- 
 ing the house. The inmates must all leave it ; Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride would go away quietly soon after dinner to her friends 
 on the Bloomingdale Road ; Julia and Rosa would leave 
 after her, each separately, and meet three blocks off, at the 
 house of a quiet family well known 'to them. 
 
 All these had already left when Mr. Froment arrived at 
 five o'clock. 0' Byrne saw him privately, and disclosing to 
 him the state of affairs, persuaded him, with some difficulty, 
 to take his family out, as he often did after their dinner, 
 but not to return for the night. He could go to the house 
 of a relative living down town, and he might apply to police 
 headquarters early the following morning to know the re- 
 sult. 
 
 All this was done admirably well, and none of the neigh- 
 bors even knew that there had been any stir in the house. 
 After his tea, which he took alone, 0' Byrne went to some 
 of the surrounding shanties and spoke to the young people 
 whom Rosa had already enrolled ; told them to remain 
 quiet that night, without, however, going to sleep, and to 
 wait for the signal he would give them, probably between 
 
430 LOUISA EIBKBRIDE. 
 
 one and two in tlie morning, perhaps as early as eleven ; 
 this signal was to be a shrill whistle, repeated thi'ee times. 
 Directly on hearing it they all should leave their shanties, 
 armed with strong sticks, surround the house, and seize 
 forcibly upon any one who might try to escape. 
 
 All these i)reliminary measures being taken, night came 
 slowly on ; — it was midsummer — a single light was put up 
 in the hall, at the entrance of the house, as was done every 
 evening by the family ; it was a kerosene lamp ; gas had 
 not yet been introduced in the house, owing to the poverty 
 of the inmates, who were satisfied with oil and candles. 
 
 The ruffians were so sure that nothing of their plans was 
 known that they did not send any scout to examine before- 
 hand if everything was right. They did not in the least 
 doubt that at their arrival they would find only three 
 females in the house, whom they could overpower in a mo- 
 ment. Hence, although they took their revolvers with them, 
 with powder and balls, they did not load and prime them, 
 thinking that if any emergency arose, they would have 
 time to do it. George w^as fully persuaded that four men 
 would be more than enough ; he selected, therefore, only 
 three of his companions — those whom 0' Byrne had seen 
 in conversation with him at the High Bridge hotel. 
 
 It is important, meanwhile, to know beforehand what 
 plan of campaign 0' Byrne adopted and what disposition 
 he made of his 1^.YQ men in the interior of the house. First, 
 he left the barricades at the windows and the main door as 
 Eosa had arranged them ; they suited him admirably. But 
 he removed the bars from the basement door, leaving only 
 the ordinary lock shut, as usual. He placed near this en- 
 trance the strongest of his men, an athletic fellow, five feet 
 ten, with orders to let the burglars enter in any number 
 they came, but to close the door after the last one, and see 
 that none of them should escape back through it. There 
 was just close to this door a high press, behind which the 
 man could hide himself. O' Byrne placed another of his 
 men, revolver in hand, close to the main outside door of the 
 house, which was to remain shut and barricaded ; he sta- 
 
THE LAST VICTORY OVER A PERSISTENT EVIL. 431 
 
 tioned a third one at the head of the stairs, near the apart- 
 ments of the Froment family, to prevent any of the ruffians, 
 if reduced to it, from reaching the roof. 
 
 Thus the young leader remained free himself with two 
 of his men ; and as the bedroom of the two girls was just 
 back of the kitchen in the basement ; it Avas there the ruf- 
 fians would probably go first. In this room Ahem, quite a 
 young man still, almost a boy, was ensconced, with the 
 direction to answer the first questions of the scoundrels in 
 a female's voice as much as he could. Then the rest was 
 left to the providence of God and their strong arms and 
 wills. 
 
 As could be easily foreseen, nothing happened until one 
 o'clock; the house and neighborhood were buried in the 
 deepest silence and the quietest solitude. But soon after 
 this time, footsteps were heard coming down the area; they 
 did not intend, evidently, to try the main door ; they went 
 straight to the trap set for them. With a simple skeleton 
 key, George himself opened and entered the room, followed 
 in close order by his three companions, and as no one came 
 after this, the policeman behind the door concluded there 
 would be only four of them, yet he left the door open 
 and did well. The four scoundrels rushed to the bedroom, 
 which they thought they would find unclosed, but it was 
 not ; George tried his key, it would not do ; he shook the 
 door, which resisted. A soft voice was heard : 
 
 " Who is there ? " 
 
 '^ A friend in distress," was the answer. 
 
 *' I cannot help you," rejoined the sweet voice. 
 
 ''You shall," responded with fury " Bully" George, who, 
 with a heavy kick and strong push would have broken the 
 panel, if, at this moment, there had not been a complete 
 change of scene. The first policeman closed the basement 
 door, put his back to it, and held his revolver in his hand, 
 primed ; 0' Byrne and two of his men darted down the nar- 
 row staircase and jumped into the midst of the astounded 
 ruffians ; Ahem came out of the bedroom in too strange an 
 attire to be a female. At the same moment a whistle arose 
 
432 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE, 
 
 tliree times from the main door, and the house was soon 
 surrounded with a troop of young fellows ready for the fray. 
 Mr. O' Byrne evidently, like a good general, had brought 
 to bear on the threatened spot three times the forces that 
 he needed. There could be no resistance on the part of 
 the rascals ; not a drop of blood was shed ; the whole crew 
 were secured, and tied with strong ropes procured before- 
 hand, and without waiting for the morning, leaving only 
 Ahern to take charge of the building, Mr. O' Byrne marched 
 his three prisoners to Houston Street, where they spent the 
 remainder of the night in the station house, previous to 
 theu' removal to the Tombs the following day. 
 
 Whilst these rapid movements of a small squad of the 
 police force were taking place in the north, a larger but 
 quieter operation was carried on in the south. The chief 
 of police, who had already beforehand become acquainted 
 from the reports of O' Byrne with the dangerous character 
 of the house in Water Street, combined with the action of 
 the young detective a descent in sufficient force on this vile 
 establishment. At eleven o'clock of that night a whole 
 company of men in blue left the headquarters in Mulberry 
 Street, marched in good order along that unpoetical and 
 rather winding thoroughfare, crossed Chatham, entered 
 into gloomy Koosevelt, and backing along Water Street, 
 came finally in view of the object of their attack, which was 
 perfectly unexpected by the inmates. They were all caught 
 as in a net, and more than twenty of the most suspicious of 
 the crew were shortly afterward immured in the non-distant 
 and very silent Tombs, to appear shortly before the court 
 and answer for their misdeeds. We will merely mention 
 the ultimate fate of George, as we are in no way concerned 
 about any of his actual associates. He was sent to Sing Sing, 
 where he met his former friend Schwitz. But the two jail- 
 birds got, before long, to hate each other heartily. The 
 superintendent of the establishment had to i)lace them as 
 far apart as could be ; and up to the day of this present 
 writing, they cannot look at each other without gnashing 
 
THE LAST VICTORY OVER A PERSISTENT EVIL. 433 
 
 tlieir teeth and clinching their fists. We take leave of them 
 forever, sure that our readers will be heartily glad of it. 
 
 When Mrs. Kirkbride came back to her apartments with 
 Julia and Kosa, they united in thanking God for their 
 deliverance, and hoped this would be the last time the rage 
 of men would be directed against them. The poverty to 
 which they were often really reduced, would be welcome 
 were they left in peace. Yet, at times, the lady found her- 
 self sorely pinched simply to meet the most necessary ex- 
 pense of her reduced household. She had literally nothing 
 to depend upon but the revenue of her house in Madison 
 Avenue. This, at first sight, appeared a pretty round sum, 
 and we will not deny that many a family living in the dark 
 alleys of the Sixth Ward would have considered it a hand- 
 some competence. Yet, for a person used all her life to 
 affluence and even luxury, to pay a close attention to the 
 most minute details of expense in order not to exceed her 
 income, to labor personally from early morning till night to 
 make up for the want of servants ; to calculate closely what 
 could be given in charity to her poor neighbors ; to curtail 
 for this object the least superfluity at table, in the ward- 
 robe, the larder, and pantry, or, rather, to dispense alto- 
 gether with things of this nature, and be reduced to the 
 most common fare and dress ; all this, and many other 
 things incidental to a sudden fall from the top round of 
 the social ladder to the low level of working, scheming, 
 drudging humanity, is a hard trial indeed which we would 
 not wish for our enemies if we listened to the promptings 
 of Christian charity. 
 
 Beyond all these considerations, the lady thought of the 
 prospective future of her two "daughters." She loved 
 them so purely and ardently, that, had she a fortune to dis- 
 pose of at her demise, she would leave it entire to them. 
 But not only she could not promise herself to reward them 
 in the future, she could not even give them a penny of 
 what men call " wages ; " she could only furnish them with 
 a share of her meagre fare and poor wardrobe. As to a 
 maniage i)ortion, it would have been as easy to think of 
 28 
 
434 LOUISA KIRKBEIDE. 
 
 placing at their feet tlie revenues of a dukedom. Wlio 
 would ever ask tliem for wives, except forlorn, rough, un- 
 educated mechanics or laborers, with whom it would be 
 their fate to drudge all the remainder of their lives, after 
 having experienced the stint of poverty with her % This 
 appeared cruel on her part : to keep them from bettering 
 their condition by gaining a livelihood which would create 
 for them a purse at least for future contingencies. She 
 had not, of course, any idea of what was taking place in 
 the mind of McElheran and Cornelius. She had not even 
 remarked the tete-d-tete of this young gentleman with Rosa 
 in her kitchen, and thus she had not asked of the girl the 
 explanation she expected would have to be given. All 
 these reflections, which often presented themselves to Mrs. 
 Kirkbride in her leisure moments, tormented her mind more 
 than she suffered from actual want. Her only resource on 
 those occasions was to raise her eyes toward heaven and 
 hope that God would provide for what she was absolutely 
 unable to do herself. 
 
CHAPTEE XXIX. 
 
 A FIEST GLEAM OF SUI^SHINE. 
 
 Such were the painful reflections of the lady, a few days 
 after the last attemjjt of Bully George, and her own and 
 daughters' quick return to their lonesome house. She was, 
 at the time — during the latter part of the afternoon — work- 
 ing at a dress for one of her good girls, when suddenly a 
 knock was heard at the door, and, on it being opened, Mr. 
 Wilson appeared, and was directly introduced into the 
 apai-tment of Mrs. Kirkbride. 
 
 This gentleman had not been idle lately, though nothing 
 has been said of him for a long while. Last time his name 
 was mentioned, he was just receiving all the papers of the 
 late Ralph S. Kirkbride and of his son Frederick. There 
 was an immense pile of bundles ; and as the last son and 
 heir had disposed of the property the way we know, it was 
 perfectly useless to examine them all in detail. Still, as 
 something of importance might yet be found untouched by 
 the young spendthrift, it was necessary to go through them 
 all carefully. Two accountants had been employed for this 
 purpose, and Mr. Wilson had superintended their opera- 
 tions. He came to announce the result of the search. 
 
 ''Madam," he said, "there is a gleam of possible sun- 
 shine, which struck me quite recently in looking over the 
 papers of your late husband. A very handsome property 
 may yet fall to you ; but it is only a wild chance. Allow 
 me, however, to ask of you if Mr. Kirkbride ever spoke, in 
 your presence, of a transaction in real estate which he must 
 have concluded the day he left with you for Saratoga, pre- 
 vious to his trip north in the Adirondacks." 
 
 435 
 
436 LOUISA KIBKBItlDE, 
 
 *'He did not, sir," replied Mrs. Kirkbride ; ''but as lie 
 never in liis life consulted me on such subjects, nor made 
 me acquainted with the state of his affairs, he might very 
 well have purchased land to the value of a million without 
 saying a word of it to me. What did you find, my dear 
 Mr. Wilson ? But if it be only a ' wild chance,' to excite my 
 appetite and then leave me hungry, I would prefer you to 
 keep it to yourself." 
 
 Then the worthy attorney explained the subject more at 
 length. He had found first, in the private account books of 
 the gentleman, the mention of a disbursement of one hun- 
 dred thousand dollars, with a pencil mark giving the name 
 of Mr. Ernst Bauer. We remember how Mr. Frederick had 
 stumbled on the same item, and what was the result of the 
 inquiry Mr. John thought proper to make on the subject. 
 Mr. Wilson was not to be caught in the same trap. For he 
 knew a great deal more than Mr. Frederick. Mr. Kirkbride 
 had consulted him on this very purchase, and in almost ad- 
 vising him not to conclude it in a hurry, he had expressed 
 his opinion of Mr. Ernst Bauer, whom he knew only from 
 hearsay. The friend to whom he had then referred, had 
 placed some obstacle in the way, he knew it. He thus was 
 fully persuaded that Mr. Kirkbride had gone north without 
 concluding the bargain. Hence he did not make any inquiry 
 about this piece of property on his first glance at the state 
 of the family's affairs, when the papers were left in his 
 hands. The reading of the item in the private accounts of 
 the gentleman was the first thing to startle him, and to give 
 a new direction to his thoughts. We remember that he 
 employed two young men to examine the large quantity of 
 memorandums, files of accounts, receipts, etc., which came 
 into his hands. Young Frederick had never attemjDted it ; 
 he did not, for very good reasons, wish to acquaint any one 
 with certain family secrets, as some other copy of a certain 
 codicil might be found in those papers. He had himself 
 "too much to do" to pursue the full investigation per- 
 sonally. 
 
 The two young accountants employed by Mr. Wilson 
 
A FIBST GLEAM OF SUNSHINE. 437 
 
 had been two months and more, at their task, when one of 
 them found a manuscrii)t memorandum, written by Mr. 
 Kirkbride, the very day he left for Saratoga. The docu- 
 ment stated that "the amount disbursed on that day — 
 §100,000 — was the purchase price of a valuable property in 
 Ninth Avenue, bought from Messrs. T. & D. Van Buskirk ; 
 the special agent being, for this affair, Mr. Ernst Bauer, with 
 whom the deeds were left to be immediately recorded." 
 
 This document threw at once a flood of light on a very 
 dark transaction ; and Mr. Wilson saw, at a glance, that 
 information could not be easily obtained from Mr. Bauer. 
 It was soon ascertained that the deed had not been re- 
 corded ; and it was a puzzling question to know how to 
 proceed about it. The Messrs. Van Buskirk, with whom 
 Mr. Wilson was not personally acquainted, had left directly 
 for Europe, after receiving that large sum of money ; and 
 he had never heard of them afterward. 
 
 The first thing he thought proper to do was to pay a visit 
 to Mrs. Kirkbride, which, as we just have seen, did not in- 
 crease his knowledge on the subject. His next step was to 
 go to the district attorney's office. The gentleman, after 
 hearing the chief details he had to communicate, merely 
 said : "My partner, sir, Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne, is the proper 
 person to direct you as a lawyer in the investigation of the 
 matter ; if, later on, a criminal prosecution is to follow, I 
 wall act as district attorney on his suit. But Mr. O'Byrn^ 
 is perfectly well acquainted with the lady, your client, and 
 will take a deep interest in it. Please call on him in the 
 next room." 
 
 This being the first time that the young gentleman ap- 
 peared in the capacity of a lawyer, it is proper to state the 
 circumstances of it with some detail. It was the week pre- 
 vious to this interview, that the district attorney had given 
 him a "partnership," although he had not yet finished his 
 law studies. Cornelius had, at the same time, intimated to 
 the chief of police that he could not act as a detective 
 much longer, and to his great regret, this last gentleman 
 had promised to find a substitute for him, in a month's time. 
 
438 LOUISA KIREBRLDE. 
 
 The European readers of tins volume — if ever it comes 
 into the hands of any — may be surprised by this quick pro- 
 motion in the professional hierarchy ; but it is not the lirst 
 example young America has furnished of it. Many other 
 cases, more surprising than this, might be cited, were there 
 space and time. AYith regard to this case, however, it may 
 be said that there was no imprudence whatever in the haste 
 of the prosecuting officer of the State of New York. He 
 knew what he was doing, and was not deceived in his an- 
 ticipations. 
 
 Mr. Wilson found Mr. O' Byrne engaged in study. He 
 had before him the best authors on English common law, 
 which had attracted his attention from the first, and which 
 his new partner, the director of his studies, had advised 
 him to possess thoroughly before anything else. The New 
 York Code was on a side table, and occasionally he consulted 
 it, chiefly to see how modern lawyers have often found the 
 means of deviating from the great and sure legal sources. 
 As soon as he perceived his visitor, he closed his books, 
 begged of Mr. Wilson to be seated, and asked him, with 
 unaffected simplicity, what was his pleasure. 
 
 The worthy attorney detailed at length what he knew of 
 the case in hand ; and when young O' Byrne understood 
 there was question of restoring to Mrs. Kirkbride a large 
 property, he showed the interest he took in the matter by 
 placing his chair in so close proximity to that of his visitor 
 that they could hear each other in a low whisper. 
 
 Cornelius had never before heard of Ernst Bauer ; but 
 when he learned that he bore the title of a lawyer, although 
 he dealt almost exclusively in the agency of real estate, and 
 that in the present case he had certainly received from Mr. 
 Kirkbride an important legal document which it was his 
 duty to have placed directly on record — a duty which he 
 had not yet fulfilled after so long a time had intervened — he 
 could not but conclude that they had to do with a sharper. 
 
 ''But what could be his motive?" said Mr. Wilson; 
 "if he intends to appropriate to himself a fine piece of real 
 estate purchased by another, he cannot prove that he is the 
 
A FIRST GLEAM OF SUNSHINE. 439 
 
 owner of it unless lie forges a deed in his own favor, and in 
 the present case he will not certainly succeed. Meanwhile 
 he has to pay all the assessments, which must be heavy, in 
 order that the property may not be sold by the city ; so that 
 he actually bleeds for others, who will not thank him for 
 his generosity. I cannot really understand what the man 
 means, and I thought for a moment that a single conversa- 
 tion might open his eyes and induce him to turn over the 
 paper to me. But I would not act on this first impression, 
 before seeing the gentleman intrusted with the prosecution 
 of crime, who referred me to you, as a good judge of what 
 ought to be done in the matter." 
 
 "You did well, sir," replied the young lawyer, "not to 
 pay a visit so soon to Mr. Ernst Bauer. I do not know 
 him ; in fact, up to this time I had never heard his name ; 
 but I am sure that he is pursuing a deep scheme ; and 
 therefore you would not have thus had from him any satisfac- 
 tion. Have you not remarked that, at the present moment, 
 thousands of men in the city of New York, and we may say 
 millions in the United States, have no other way of living 
 but the pursuit of plans to transfer the property of others to 
 themselves ; or at least, if they can live handsomely without 
 having recourse to these shifts, they have no scruples what- 
 ever to increase their means by wholesale plundering when 
 it falls in their way and can be done legally f I say legally, 
 sir ; remark it well ; for these men are all ' respecters of 
 law ; ' and many sharpers have actually made legal studies 
 for no other purpose than to follow out their greedy and 
 unjust ends, without a stain, on what they call their honor, 
 or at least without the possibility of incurring the punish- 
 ment usually inflicted on thieving. 
 
 "The farther we go, the more the number of such men 
 increases ; and they are found not only in the obscure 
 walks of life ; but even many occupy high positions of trust 
 in the community, and fill offices which formerly insured 
 the honesty of those who held them, on account of the sure 
 dishonor which falls on such prevaricators. To-day, the 
 only disgrace which most men appear to fear is to be treated 
 
440 LOUISA KIRKBEIBE. 
 
 as simpletons, if they do not profit by their positions to en- 
 rich themselves by the foulest means, and transfer to their 
 coffers the money of the State or that of their neighbors. 
 
 '' To come to the case in point, Mr. Ernst Bauer may have 
 on several occasions already succeeded in legally becoming 
 master of what he had been merely agent ; and he may 
 have, in the present case, thought of likewise succeeding, 
 and thus gradually becoming a millionaire ; for such is now 
 the common ambition. If forgery be required for such an 
 object, these men will not scruple at it much, provided the 
 crime is so well contrived that it cannot be brought to their 
 door, or at least that it is rendered doubtful for a jury. 
 Thus, Mr. Bauer may be now in expectation of giving in 
 full security the last finishing stroke to his scheme, and of 
 being able to bring by-and-by to the county clerk for record 
 a legal document, making him the owner of an estate worth 
 perhaps more than a million. 
 
 ' * You did very well, therefore, not to apply to him first. 
 Had you done so, I cannot pretend to say how you would 
 have been received ; but there are parallel cases, where the 
 man acting on the side of right received a bullet in his 
 head ; and the case being duly tried before a jury of twelve 
 honorable men, the murderer was found to have acted in 
 self-defense." 
 
 Mr. Wilson could not but fully coincide with the views 
 of the young lawyer, and only inquired what measure Mr. 
 O' Byrne thought the most prudent to take. 
 
 ^'The first thing to be done," he said, *' is to ascertain 
 what has become of the two young gentlemen who sold the 
 property to Mr. Kirkbride. You know some friends of 
 theirs, and it is a very favorable circumstance. They went 
 to Europe ; please find out what they are doing there, and 
 when you know for certain where a letter can reach them, 
 write to them directly to inform them of the disappearance 
 of the deed. Still, this is to be done very prudently. They 
 are yet, in fact, legal owners of the estate, although they 
 have received one hundred thousand dollars for it. Should 
 they not be honest men, they could declare that they have 
 
A FIRST GLEAM OF SUNSHINE. 44I 
 
 not disposed of it. Mr. Bauer Tnight then write to them 
 himself, and promise them one hundred thousand dollars 
 more provided tliey executed a deed in his favor. This is 
 the most unpleasant aspect of the affau\ Mr. Bauer has in 
 his possession the only paper which proves that the owner- 
 ship belongs really to the Kirkbride family ; and the diffi- 
 culty is to obtain that paper from him. Your letter, there- 
 fore, to those gentlemen, must be full of reserve and pru- 
 dence until they show by their answer whether they are 
 honest or not. Meanwhile, as I belong still to the police 
 of New York, on my informing the chief of all the circum- 
 stances of the affair, he Tvill easily obtain from a magistrate 
 an injunction on the keeper of records, to prevent him from 
 legalizing the transfer of the property to any other than to 
 Mrs. Kirkbride." 
 
 Thus, Mr. 0' Byrne showed what progress he had made, 
 in a short time, not alone in legal studies, but likewise 
 in sound business management and prudent circumspec- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Wilson was soon informed by some friends well ac- 
 quainted with the Yan Busk irks that they were at Cairo, 
 in Egypt, with a fair prospect of becoming rich in the ser- 
 vice of the Khedive. Our readers remember, that when 
 they left New York to go to the old continent, they had 
 informed nobody of their real intention. Some imagined 
 that they wished to establish themselves for life in Eng- 
 land or Scotland, as so many other Americans do or try 
 to do. They were yet unmarried, and they might fall on 
 some heiresses in quest of husbands ; as people know that 
 young ladies, even of quality, are fond either of a mili- 
 tary dress or a foreign name. Others believed that the 
 young men were not prompted by such lofty thoughts ; 
 but wanted merely to spend their money to advantage, by 
 going where luxuries of every kind can be obtained at a com- 
 paratively small cost. These imagined that the two bro- 
 thers were going directly to Paris, where so many American 
 young bloods shine, for a short time, on the boulevards or 
 at the opera. Finally, men of a less lively imagination as- 
 
442 LOUISA KLRKBRIDE. 
 
 serted that the Messrs. Yan Buskirks wished to employ the 
 money they had just received in some hicrative specula- 
 tion ; they were known to be shrewd and calculating ; and 
 some men of a cool mind who, in their position, would have 
 done the same, thought that they wisely preferred the slow 
 but sure way of succeeding in.lif e common to Europe, rather 
 than the impetuous and rash American fashion of staking 
 all on a single bold stroke, and becoming, at once, very 
 rich or hopeless bankrupts. All these wise interpreters 
 of others' designs were T\Tong, for once, and the young 
 Van Buskirks did not intend to stop in England, Scot- 
 land, France, or any other European state, but to proceed 
 straight to Egypt, where the young Khedive was known to 
 be fond of Europeans, and was, at the time, already adopt- 
 ing the policy he has thus far pursued with some success, 
 of introducing on the banks of the Nile all the modern im- 
 provements in science, art, legislation, etc., for his own 
 advantage and that of his surroundings, but not in the 
 least for the benefit of his degraded subjects. A few Ameri- 
 cans had already won favor with the Egyptian ruler, and 
 were, among others, making of Cairo a city, in many re- 
 spects, as brilliant and corrupt as most of the European or 
 American great cities. 
 
 The two Van Buskirks wished to open a trade with the 
 interior of Africa, whereto very few men had yet penetrated ; 
 where Speke, Grant, and Baker had already spoken of 
 going, Livingstone being still on the banks of the Zambezi. 
 When they reached Cairo, the Khedive received them with 
 kindness ; they were thought to be the happy possessors of 
 a much larger sum of money than had really fallen to their 
 lot ; but by husbanding their means with prudence and a 
 happy discrimination, they could, without fear of discove- 
 ry, encourage the common delusion, and profit by the large 
 credit it gave them. 
 
 In less than a year after their arrival — which brings us 
 just to the present stage of our story — they were firmly 
 established, and could consider themselves as having suc- 
 ceeded. To them Mr. Wilson wrote, as soon as he had 
 
A FIRST GLEAM OF SUNSHINE, 443 
 
 ascertained these facts, and his letter was penned in the 
 judicious manner suggested by Mr. 0' Byrne. The answer 
 could not be expected before three or four months, and, 
 during this interval, several events occurred of vital import 
 to some of our dramatis personce^ which deserve to be 
 mentioned ; the first in weight, for the sequel of our history, 
 being Mr. McElheran, whom we left in great perplexity as 
 to his intended marriage with Julia. 
 
 The chief cause of his apprehension has not been thor- 
 oughly explained, and must be stated in full to show the 
 real difficulty in the way. The McElheran family had ex- 
 tensive connections in the South of Ireland. Few, among 
 the people of the old race, had so well succeeded in saving 
 from the universal wreck some remnant of their former 
 wealth. To state in detail the causes of their success in this 
 regard would caiTy us too far, and it will be sufficient to 
 assert that they could not blush at the means they had 
 taken, and had never been guilty of surrendering to English 
 oppression a tittle even of their national or religious princi- 
 ples. They had always strongly remained Irishmen and 
 Catholics ; still a branch of this numerous sept had never 
 fallen under the load of oppressive pauperism so well 
 known to our readers, having always enjoyed, not only a 
 competency, but even what, in Ireland, could be considered 
 a wealthy position. The father of the young gentleman 
 whom we already know so well had, at his death, left him 
 a pretty large estate, not far from Cork, and the whole 
 "clan" — we may call them so — looked up to him as to a 
 future most influential man in Munster, destined to bring 
 back for the family something of its pristine splendor. We 
 know well that the clannish spirit is not dead among Irish- 
 men, and always instantly revives as soon as some circum- 
 stance favors its reappearance. But, in the case of young 
 McElheran, when he became the head of the family, the mat- 
 ter took directly a very serious turn. His numerous relatives 
 declared that he must marry a rich heiress, in order to in- 
 crease his future efficiency by increasing his wealth, and 
 
444 LOUISA KIREBBIDE. 
 
 placing himself directly among the most powerful citizens 
 of the County Cork. 
 
 No one, certainly, can object to marrying a rich heiress, 
 provided one can be found suitable to his taste ; but McEl- 
 heran, as we know, had queer and strict notions about mar- 
 riage, and had already made up his mind to take, as his 
 partner for life, only a young woman strongly Irish in feel- 
 ing, and with a heart and soul formed by the buffetings of 
 adversity and a severe experience of life. His relatives 
 could not understand his peculiarity on the subject, and 
 openly declared that, in case he disregarded their views, 
 they would all cut him^ have nothing to do with his wife, 
 and, consequently, with himself. It was on account of this 
 strange persecution that he left his own country, and came 
 to New York. But, even in the New World, they did not 
 leave him quiet, and shortly after his arrival and settlement 
 at Manhattanville he heard with surprise that there had 
 been a meeting of the whole family, directly after he left 
 Cork, and all had agreed about keeping their eyes upon him. 
 They naturally felt indignant that he had left his country, 
 where they could not any more share in the consideration 
 his wealth gave him, and they would willingly have perse- 
 cuted him so fiercely, in his new position, as to oblige him 
 to come back. In the impossibility of doing so, they ap- 
 pointed several members of the family, who had emigrated 
 before him, as watchmen over his proceedings, chiefly with 
 respect to marriage, and soon enough he understood that, 
 although he wished to keep up, in America, relations of 
 friendship with the members of the sept, he could not do so 
 unless he did what they wished, namely, married a rich 
 American girl, if he did not take as his partner some distant 
 relative in America. These proceedings on their part may 
 appear strange, yet they are easily understood by any one 
 who is sufficiently acquainted with the leanings of the 
 race ; a partial apologist might And considerations of a high 
 order to vindicate them, and give them the appearance, at 
 least, of honorable motives and just requirements ; we prefer 
 to condemn them openly, and say that such men ought to 
 
A FIRST GLEAM OF SUNSHINE. 445 
 
 blusli at introducing their selfishness in matters of blood 
 relationship, and at changing family affection into petty 
 causes of strife. 
 
 McElheran, well informed of all those circumstances, felt, 
 personally, very little disturbed by them. He was deter- 
 mined to pursue the even tenor of his way, and follow what 
 appeared to him right and proper with respect to his own 
 prospects in life. He did not intend to surrender so easily 
 the principles that guided him, and was determined to make 
 Julia his wife, in spite of what his relatives might think 
 and do. He would marry the girl of his choice, and leave 
 to his relations the care of deciding for themselves if they 
 would continue friendly or not ; delighted in the first case, 
 indifferent in the second. But he conceived that Julia, if 
 she listened to the proposals he intended directly to make 
 to her, had a right to know what would be the consequence 
 of their union, and he did not for a moment think of keep- 
 ing this a secret from her. These were his intentions when 
 he made up his mind to go to Mrs. Kirkbride's house and 
 see the young lady. 
 
 He found her full of cheerfulness and glee, when he 
 reached the place, as she had just seen her brother the day 
 previous, who had detailed to her all the consequences of 
 the late raid on the den of Water Street, and the wild lairs 
 along the Spuyten Duyvil Creek. She could expect hence- 
 forth to be left free from annoyance, and share in quiet the 
 privations to which her new *' mother" had to submit. She 
 would continue to live, indeed, poorly, but really to enjoy 
 the intense gratification of constant intercourse with such 
 a sweet lady as Mrs. Kirkbride was, and such a cheerful 
 companion as Rosa McCarthy. She received, therefore, 
 Mr. McElheran, with joy depicted in her countenance ; but 
 as she had never indulged the thought that the gentleman 
 might consider her in a more tender light than that of a 
 casual and recent acquaintance, she could not show on her 
 face the flush and amiable confusion which appeared on the 
 cheeks of Rosa every time she saw Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne 
 and conversed with him. Julia only felt deeply thankful 
 
446 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 for the immense service Mr. McElheran had lately rendered 
 her ; she ^YOuld have considered herself a fool if any other 
 thought had presented itself to her mind. 
 
 After seating themselves and extending to each other the 
 compliments of the day, the young gentleman, seeing the 
 harp of his mother in a corner of the little parlor, inquired, 
 ■with a sweet smile, if Miss O' Byrne had "practiced" on 
 the instrument since he had sent it. 
 
 ''How could I not?" she eagerly replied. "After hav- 
 ing remained so long deprived of such joy, it was impossible 
 for me, as soon as the harp arrived, not to take it up ^vith 
 ardor, and rehearse with glee all the old 'airs' I used to 
 play at Enniscorthy ; and I have found time since to study 
 some of the music you sent with it, although this has been 
 a much harder task. I had well-nigh forgotten all the les- 
 sons in music-reading the good nuns of the convent for- 
 merly gave me ; but I begin to be a student again." And, 
 at the request of her visitor, she spread out one of the 
 leaves she had already studied several times, and began a 
 theme at once melancholy and weird, patriotic and tender. 
 It was a " Cantata" on the rock of Cashel, in which all the 
 old sweet memories of the holy jolace were reviewed, to end 
 in the fearful description of its final ruin. McElheran was 
 entranced ; he had heard the music several times, as it was 
 a favorite air with his mother ; but he had never felt the 
 transport which the rendering of Julia excited in his breast. 
 The playing of the girl was far more perfect, this time, than 
 the first day she used the harp in his presence ; all the 
 artistic beauties of the composition were rendered with the 
 utmost care ; not a note was lost ; not a single expressive 
 sign was omitted ; yet the play of the fingers was as free 
 and un trammeled, as if Julia had merely followed her own 
 inspirations. At the end, McElhenm could not contain 
 himself. 
 
 "Miss Julia," he said, "I know your history, and I ad- 
 mire you. Would you allow me to say much more ; for 
 my heart is now swayed by an emotion far superior to 
 admii^ation alone ; all the sweet and holy feelings that can 
 
A FIRST GLEAM OF SUNSHINE. 447 
 
 embalm the soul of man have been for some time, but are 
 chiefly now so ardent in me, that I cannot possibly refrain 
 from expressing them before you." 
 
 If the earth had opened to receive her, Julia could not 
 have been more surprised and awed. As soon as she felt 
 able to say a word: "I hope, sir," she exclaimed, ^'that 
 you do not intend to take advantage of a poor girl, full of 
 gratitude for her savior, but unable to see between us the 
 possibility of any other tie but that of sincere friendship, if 
 you are good enough to conceive such a feeling for me. 
 You know that I am poor, related to poor and uneducated 
 people, a servant, in fact, and a servant without wages in 
 this house, having only for prospect to remain faithful to 
 a lady whom I have sworn never to forsake. In such cir- 
 cumstances, what can be the object of your declaration?" 
 
 ''Forgive me. Miss 0' Byrne," exclaimed McElheran. 
 *' Evidently you have not understood my meaning. I never 
 intended to take Mrs. Kirkbride from you ; if you are poor, 
 as you say, I am rich enough for both, as our aspirations 
 will never rise above my actual position. Should you ever 
 reciprocate my feeling, your family shall be mine, and, 
 educated or not, shall be in my eyes respectable and hon- 
 orable enough. I hope that now you see better what I 
 meant." 
 
 The sense of security was altogether restored to the heart 
 of Miss 0' Byrne ; but she could scarcely express an opinion 
 in the midst of her actual excitement. McElheran saw that 
 he ought to give her time ; and, rising to depart, he merely 
 said: 
 
 "Not a word of what I have said will I ever retract ; it 
 is the sincere expression of my inmost thoughts ; if it does 
 not altogether displease you, allow me to give you a pledge 
 of my sincerity merely by pressing your hand." 
 
 Julia could not refuse it ; and the young man, taking it 
 to his lips, said in parting : 
 
 "My happiness shall be complete, if you make no objec- 
 tion to my seeing your father and brother this very even- 
 ing. Nobody else will be acquainted with our secret," 
 
448 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE, 
 
 As Julia, in lier state of bewilderment, did not say a 
 word in answer, the young gentleman departed full of joy ; 
 yet he had found no opportunity of explaining the very 
 probable opposition of his own family. 
 
 Julia, left alone, could scarcely explain to herself the 
 motives of the interview which had just taken place. In 
 her life so humble, so full of vicissitudes, so constantly 
 occux)ied, the tender feeling, called love among men, could 
 not find room. She never had had any time, and never felt 
 the least inclination to examine who, among the young men 
 she occasionally met, showed her any attention, and thus 
 appeared to be attracted toward her. . Her own heart was 
 too full of deep love for her parents, and latterly for Mrs. 
 Kirkbride, to furnish any vacant room for another senti- 
 ment. Thus, although now over twenty, there had been in 
 her inmost consciousness no awakening — we will not say of 
 the senses ; but even of the imagination. When her sense 
 of duty told her that all her attention and care must be 
 devoted to those God had given to her friendly charge, any 
 other feeling would have appeared to her a kind of sacri- 
 lege, as an attempt to divert a stream of pure love, coming 
 from on high and directed by religion, toward lower grounds 
 and selfish sensuality. This regarded her owni heart. As to 
 those of others, she could not imagine that young men, look- 
 ing at her in her menial occupations, and never seeing her 
 join in parties, even of her own class, could think of her, 
 except as of a low slave to self-imposed duty, and destined 
 to remain an old maid, respectably but obscurely engaged in 
 taking care of others. That a gentleman, chiefly of the 
 resjjectability of Mr. McElheran, should think of making 
 her his wife, had never entered into her mind ; and now, 
 even that she had heard him speak so explicitly on the 
 subject, she felt still inclined to think that it was a dream, 
 a delusion, and a snare. Consequently, she had remained 
 completely passive, not only under the unexpected attack 
 of such a "declaration" as she justly called it; but the 
 warm pressing of her hand, and carrying it to his lips, did 
 
A FIB ST GLEAM OF SUNSHINE. 449 
 
 not awaken in her any feeling but that of surprise and awe. 
 After he had left her, and she could reflect on the whole 
 affair, the only thing she thought she could do was to wait 
 for the communication he was going to make to her father 
 and brother, determined not to say a word herself, but to 
 await events. 
 
 Young McElheran did not delay ; but from Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride' s house he went directly to the district attorney's 
 office, where he knew he would find Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne ; 
 and as soon as they found themselves alone, he aston- 
 ished his young friend by relating to him what had hap- 
 pened, and stating his determination to obtain the hand of 
 Julia. 
 
 ''Come with me," he said, "to your father's, who must 
 be now home from his work, and oblige me by urging on 
 him his acceptance of my suit, as he scarcely has ever seen 
 me before." 
 
 Young 0' Byrne consented, and on the way to James 
 Street, McElheran acquainted him with the strange disposi- 
 tion of his own relatives, and begged of him to communi- 
 cate this news to Julia. 
 
 "Be sure to insist," he said, "that this ought not to 
 create any difficulty ; the opposition does not come from 
 my father and mother, who are now dead, but from some- 
 what distant relations ; it is the opposition of a clan, and we 
 do not any more live under clanship. I would certainly 
 like to see them all pleased with my marriage, but should 
 they persist in their unreasonable project, let them cut me^ 
 I will have myself to cut them, and I make very little of 
 this mutual cutting of each other." 
 
 In the homely apartment of old Mr. 0' Byrne, McElheran 
 took a seat, and waited until Con had explained to the old 
 gentleman the object of this visit. "All the young gentle- 
 man wished was that the father of the young lady would 
 not object to the addresses he proposed to pay her. She 
 would, of course, herself decide in a case which concerned 
 her above any one else." 
 29 
 
450 LOUISA EIUKBRIDE. 
 
 The venerable Mr. O' Byrne had just finished his pipe 
 when he was applied to by such a strange proposition. 
 
 ''If Julia was a little girl," he said, "I would insist on 
 imposing myself conditions on her, and there are two which 
 I consider all-imiDortant and not on any account to be set 
 aside. The first regards the practice of religion on the part 
 of the bridegroom : how far, that is to say, he is a x)ractical 
 Catholic ; and the second has reference to Mrs. Kirkbride, 
 who ought not to be forgotten in this transaction. Julia 
 has sworn to take care of her, and she must be faithful to 
 her oath, even if married. But I will not myself ask any 
 answer from the gentleman on these two subjects, as I am 
 perfectly sure that Julia herself a^oLI attend to them, and not 
 neglect to have both objects secured, in case she consents 
 to the match. In that case, both you, sir, and my good 
 girl, will have my blessing. Con here, told me something 
 of you which pleased me ; he brought me, also, from the 
 party to which you invited him, a nice little shell he did 
 not scruple to steal from you. You had got it, it seems, 
 from some of the streams of Kerry, but the Suire and the 
 Barrow are full of them, and the sight of the gray common- 
 looking little thing brings to my memory a thousand dear 
 recollections. Here it is, sir ; I hope you will not oblige 
 me to restore Con's theft, seeing it does so much good to an 
 old man like me." And he showed an ordinary helix elon- 
 gata^ less than an inch long and not quite half an inch 
 broad at the mouth. 
 
 McElheran was delighted. "Since you are a naturalist, 
 my dear sir," he said, "I will send you all the duplicates I 
 have of shells and fossils from the South of Ireland. You 
 shall receive them, as soon as a carpenter can make a press 
 which will just fit the mantelpiece of your room ; you can 
 have them all the time under your eyes, and you will thus 
 imagine that you are yet rambling along the brooks and 
 streams of the County Wexford." 
 
 Everything liaving succeeded to his satisfaction, the 
 young gentleman returned home, after having begged again 
 of Cornelius 0' Byrne to let his sister know immediately 
 
A FIRST GLEAM OF SUNSHINE. 451 
 
 the fulfillment of his promise with respect to this visit, 
 and the strange peculiarity of the unaccountable opposition 
 of his own relatives. He intended to pay a visit to Miss 
 Julia in a few days, when she would have had time to re- 
 flect on the proposal, and be able to return an answer, " on 
 which," he said, " his future worldly happiness depended 
 entirely." 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 A SHOET CHAPTEE ON EELIGION, DOMESTIC FEELINGS, 
 
 AND LAW. 
 
 '^ Julia," said Mrs. Kirkbride, one of those fine morn- 
 ings in July, ' ' I have received an invitation to assist at a 
 * commencement ' in a convent in Eighty -first Street, and I 
 am curious to visit at least one of those establishments, 
 perfectly unknown to me. It seems some of the good peo- 
 ple of the shanties around went to see ' the mother ' lately, 
 and told her not to fail to invite me. We will go, when 
 Rosa prepares the dinner. It may bring back jour cheer- 
 fulness, for you have appeared very gloomy these last few 
 days. What ails you, child ? Do you keep any secret from 
 me?" 
 
 "Never, madam," the young woman answered, ''when 
 it is something of any importance, and it has taken a shape. 
 But when there is question of a trifle, and the affair is yet 
 an improbable puzzle, it would be foolish in me to trouble 
 you with the story. By-and-by, you will know all, and I 
 hope I will laugh as heartily as I have seemed dejected 
 and sad. Let us go by all means to the convent ; it will do 
 good to both of us, I am sure." 
 
 They crossed the Park, which was in all its glory. Hun- 
 dreds of birds, either rearing their young in the bushes, or 
 flying about with their numerous progeny, made the place 
 a large concert garden. The little wren, they had seen a 
 year or so before, near their former mansion, was not 
 there, it is true ; she had remained faithful to her old quar- 
 ters. But there were birds enough of all kinds, from the 
 
 452 
 
RELIGION, DOMESTIC FEELINGS, AND LAW. 453 
 
 stately robin to the frisky sparrow, to make the ladies for- 
 get their former little friend. They remarked, particularly, 
 the sprightly yellow goldfinches of this country, with their 
 jet-black heads and golden wings, and the rather lazy cat- 
 birds, mewing unperceived under the thick foliage of the 
 dwarf shrubs in the arboretum. Thus thek hearts were 
 prepared by music to enjoy the treat they were going to feast 
 upon, and in this frame of mind they soon found them- 
 selves in front of a large pile of brick, unpretending in 
 its architecture, certainly, but roomy for all that, and this 
 is the main point. When they entered, the lady was sur- 
 prised to meet at once with so many children with their 
 mothers, in a place which, at that time, was still in the 
 midst of an almost deserted district. 
 
 "We must spare our readers details which they all know. 
 Many of them have undoubtedly visited this very building, 
 on an occasion like this. Those who have not, have seen the 
 same repeated so often in other convents that the descrip- 
 tion of it would appear to them almost tame and stale. But 
 to Mrs. Kirkbride everything Avas new, unexpected, charm- 
 ing. She had often been present at such " solemnities" as 
 this in prim Episcopalian establishments. In the days of 
 her prosperity she patronized many of them, and when she 
 assisted at any public exhibition of the kind, she thought 
 nothing in the world could compare vdt\\ such a disjDlay of 
 charity, religion, and true piety. Here the object was ap- 
 parently the same : to educate poor girls, and bring them up 
 in the fear and love of God. But all the details differed ; 
 and if what she saw to-day was more homely and simple, it 
 harmonized better with the tenderness of her heart and the 
 simplicity of her disposition. The number, too, of those who 
 were taken in hand by the Catholic Church amazed her. 
 In Episcopalian charitable houses, she saw often a dozen or 
 two of forlorn pupils, surrounded by a rich display of ladies 
 in silk and satin ; and, at every moment, the beholder was 
 reminded that Episcopalianism is, after all, a small affair, 
 although certainly dazzling and brilliant. Here you had a 
 crowd, even in a newly formed house ; and you could not 
 
454 LOUISA KIRKBRIBE, 
 
 but remember that it was connected with a Cliiirch, univer- 
 sal in its geographical extension, as well as in its aspirations 
 and aims. At her side was seated a middle-aged lady, a 
 baby in her arms, and two little girls occupied a chair near 
 her. Mrs. Ku^kbride felt a strong desire of talking with 
 that person ; but, of course, it might be improper, as they 
 were not acquainted, and she communicated her thoughts 
 to Julia. '' Pshaw ! " replied this young lady, " our neigh- 
 bor is evidently a countrywoman of mine ; there is no need 
 of standing on ceremony." And, taking on her own lap 
 the two little girls, she motioned to Mrs. Kirkbride to suit 
 herself with the vacant chau^, and, of course, not to fear to 
 talk, as she would be surely responded to. There was no 
 need, in fact, of asking questions, as the '' mother of the 
 baby" began herself, and inquired of Mrs. Kirkbride how 
 she was pleased with the display. There was soon an active 
 conversation going on between both, and the widow lady, 
 before long, was astonished to find that she was no stran- 
 ger in the place, and the majority of the visitors knew her 
 perfectly well, as a good number of them came from the 
 shanties around her house. Lo and behold ! the one to 
 whom she first spoke was, in fact, her nearest neighbor but 
 one. She had not at first recognized her, on account of the 
 unusual display of finery on her person ; but now she be- 
 gan to perceive, with surprise and pleasure, the faces of 
 all those seated around her coming out of their holiday 
 dresses, and showing the familiar features of some of her 
 best friends. 
 
 She was puzzled. ''What does it mean?" she said to 
 herself. "I inhabit a new world ; God has brought me, by 
 adversity, into the midst of a people whom I only begin to 
 know. Where are the guests to whom I gave such good 
 dinners in Madison Avenue % Where is the world Avhich 
 was exclusively my world for so many years % If any of 
 them met me now, would they look at me and consent to 
 exchange a word of conversation \ What are they to me 
 to-day % They know my misfortunes ; and they are so 
 much accustomed to regard respectability as a part of re- 
 
nELIGION, DOMESTIC FEELINGS, AND LAW. 455 
 
 ligion, that their rery religion has dug an abyss between 
 them and me. 'Let the dead bnry their dead.' With the 
 exception of a few — two or three, perhaps — whom I am 
 sorry not to see any more, all the rest do not deserve a sin- 
 gle regret from me. Of all of them, Mrs. Kingsley alone, 
 with one or two others, would appreciate the spectacle I 
 now enjoy. These two or three have, all their life, felt in- 
 wardly the touch of holy charity. If they found them- 
 selves, on a sudden, in the midst of this moving scene, they 
 would conclude at once, as I do, that they had never yet 
 looked on the simple but entrancing aspect of true charity. 
 All the others would turn uj) their noses at it, because they 
 cannot have any real conception of this heavenly virtue. 
 And it is all the fault of their education and surroundings. 
 For the intention of many of them is excellent, and in their 
 best moments they follow the promptings of their hearts. 
 But fashion has spoiled them, and thrown a veil over their 
 eyes, so that they cannot see that there is actually in exist- 
 ence a great Motlier, whose arms embrace the whole world, 
 and who alone has the secret of the true love of Christ. I 
 feel it now for the first time ; for what I contemplate is not 
 limited to this day and this place. It is repeated every day 
 and everywhere, because the Catholic church is coextensive 
 with the world. Julia was right when she told me one day 
 that the inward religious feelings that God gave me cannot 
 be satisfied with Episcoj)alianism, which has not the true 
 sacraments and the true priesthood to give unto me. The 
 good girl might have added that its sphere is almost imper- 
 ceptible on the face of this earth, whilst that of the Catholic 
 church embraces its whole extent. Episcopalianism is, no 
 doubt, wealthy and brilliant. What of it, if the result of its 
 action is almost nothing, and if in it the works of Chris- 
 tian love must be performed by a jeweled hand and in a 
 perfumed atmosphere ? 
 
 "IIow different are the surroundings of the universal 
 church which reigns supreme in this simjjle but holy house ! 
 I see some few of these cloistered women with their black and 
 white dresses. These are the real dispensers of true Chris- 
 
456 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 tian charity, which must have no other jewel than self- 
 sacrifice, no other perfume than jpurity. They are called 
 Sisters of Mercy, and that they are. Are not these numer- 
 ous children with their cotton gowns, as lovely and beauti- 
 ful as those of the rich, covered with silk and gold ? Dress 
 them all alike ; which are those who will show finer limbs 
 and give evidence of more holy souls ? Where in the world 
 of fashion will I find better girls than Julia and Eosa, and 
 more true gentlemen than that McElheran who appeared 
 once among us and saved Julia and me ? 
 
 "And the simple melody, coming from so many throats 
 used to singing in concert, did I hear it before I came here ? 
 and have my eyes anywhere else been moistened with tears 
 and my heart embalmed with holy emotions ? " 
 
 These and many others were the reflections suggested to 
 Mrs. Kirkbride by what she saw and heard that day ; and 
 the simple conclusion she drew was this : ''I must finally 
 have a talk with the clergyman whom I saw at the death- 
 bed of poor Mrs. O' Byrne. He will instruct me ; for I am 
 yet in great need of instruction ; and I am sure I will receive 
 more comfort from him than I ever had from the good rec- 
 tor of Trinity." And on her leaving the convent, she took 
 a turn out of the usual way home, and saw for a moment 
 the gentleman whom she had mentioned in her thoughts. 
 He received her without surprise, and heard from her lips 
 the statement of her purpose in coming, without showing 
 any sign of satisfied astonishment. "I expected it," he 
 merely said ; "I knew that the prayers of that excellent 
 Mrs. O' Byrne, now in heaven, would bring you to the bosom 
 of the true church. You must now, madam, be fully per- 
 suaded that if, when Protestantism first arose, the Catholic 
 Church had been as corrupt as her enemies pretended, she 
 would have melted away all at once, and nothing, at this 
 moment, would remain of her. You see, on the contrary, 
 that she is still as active, as successful, and as pure as 
 becometh the true Bride of Christ." 
 
 '* Of this," interposed the lady, '^ I have never had any 
 doubt ; for I belonged to a branch of the Anglican Church 
 
RELIGION, DOMESTIC FEELINGS, AND LAW. 457 
 
 which did not wish to repudiate the Catholic stem. We 
 called ourselves Catholics, you know," she added, smiling. 
 
 ^'I am aware of it, madam," replied the old clergyman. 
 *'But in adopting that name, your branch of Catholicity 
 accused the Church of great shortcomings when the so- 
 called Reformation took place. And you will soon be per- 
 suaded that it was not so. But your object, I am sure, is 
 not to unravel the mazes of long-forgotten controversies. 
 You spoke yourself of instruction ; and to instruction I 
 shall confine myself. My only object in speaking as I did, 
 was to insinuate to you that you have, at this moment, the 
 happiness of asking admittance into the intimate circle, 
 unceasingly surrounding the true Bride of Christ. Into her 
 holy company you will soon be introduced ; and to make 
 your happiness loerfect, you must be at once fully iDer- 
 suaded that she has always been the only Bride of the 
 Saviour ; all pure, spotless, and having on her lips the 
 words of truth. Whoever says the contrary, is not, 'in 
 the truth,' as St. John has it. Love her ardently from 
 this very moment ; and your love shall never be disap- 
 pointed." 
 
 To begin, he handed over to Mrs. Kirkbride a Catholic 
 catechism rather larger than usual, and the Life of Christy 
 by a French author (Be Ligny), translated into English. 
 He directed her what prayers to say morning and night ; 
 and made her adopt a strict line of conduct for the employ- 
 ment of her time. 
 
 During the absence of Mrs. Kirkbride and Julia, Mr. Cor- 
 nelius O' Byrne called at the house; he had something of 
 importance to communicate to his sister. Kosa was alone 
 in the kitchen with little Arthur. This young gentleman 
 had taken a great fancy to her. His mother often allowed 
 him to go do^Ti, and he was useful in more than one way ; 
 he was often employed shelling peas or paring the apples 
 for dumplings ; and we know already that the little rogue 
 was very fond of Mrs. Kirkbride' s apples. Mr. 0' Byrne, 
 unwilling to stay alone in the parlor, or to take the time of 
 Miss McCarthy, when she had so much to do, went down 
 
458 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 likewise, and began talking wifch little Arthur, who climbed 
 on his knees. ' ' Whom do you like best, ' ' inquired 0' Byrne ; 
 '' E-osa here or your mamma above ? " 
 
 ''When I am here," replied Arthur, "IlikeEosa best, 
 and when I am home, mamma." 
 
 " So your heart is already divided, my little friend," ob- 
 served Con, "and your affections are as changeable as the 
 rooms you are in." 
 
 It is doubtful if Arthur understood this remark ; but he 
 showed that he was not a fool by saying : ' ' Mamma is 
 always Avith me when I am not here, and I love her when- 
 ever I am with her ; she does not forbid me to love Rosa 
 when I come down." 
 
 "I see," said O'Byrne, "you love those with whom you 
 are — and it w^ould be a good rule for all people, after all — 
 you understand. Miss McCarthy, what the little fellow says ; 
 and if this is also your disposition, you must love me very 
 little, since I come to see you so seldom, and you never 
 come to see me. I am myself somewhat differently consti- 
 tuted ; and I often ardently love those I do not see, because 
 I think of them. Do you never think of me when I am 
 absent, Miss Eosa?" 
 
 Rosa blushed, and said with an arch smile : "If you were 
 my confessor, Mr. O'Byrne, I would answer your question, 
 because it might be a sin to think often of a nice young 
 man like you ; but I can candidly state to you that I am 
 so far of the opinion of little Arthur, as to be very well 
 pleased when I see you ; and in this sense I will say that I 
 love you whenever you come to see us." 
 
 " But I will require a little more of you, my dear Rosa," 
 said O'Byrne, "and oblige you to love me in a sense some- 
 what different, although as innocent certainly. I will want 
 you to think of me when I am not with you, and to help 
 you to it " — he said in her ear : " send the boy to his mother 
 for a moment." And as soon as Arthur had gone, Con 
 took from his pocket a small box, which he opened, and 
 showed her a beautiful lady's watch and chain, and a taste- 
 ful ring, with a small diamond. "To-day," he said, " I am 
 
BELIGION, DOMESTIC FEELINGS, AND LAW. 459 
 
 stingy, and will allow yon to take only one of these ; have 
 the goodness to choose, and let me see what pleases you best." 
 
 Eosa, surprised as well as delighted, did not hesitate a 
 moment ; but taking the ring, she placed it on her finger, 
 which it fitted admirably. " Did you take the measure of 
 it ? " she asked. 
 
 "Yes," he replied, "and of the chain also." And say- 
 ing this, he put around her neck the chain and watch, 
 throwing, at the same time, the pasteboard box into the 
 fire of the range, which blazed ux) fiercely. 
 
 "Oh, my stew," Rosa exclaimed, "it will be spoiled; 
 Mrs. Kirkbride will scold me." 
 
 "And to pacify her, you will kiss her, you little rogue, 
 and you do not even thank me." 
 
 Whether Rosa paid attention to this remark of Mr. 
 0' Byrne, we cannot say precisely, but we are inclined to 
 think she did not ; for at that moment, the door of the 
 kitchen opened, and Mrs. Kirkbride with Julia entered the 
 room. The lady wanted to see first, on coming, how far the 
 dinner was ready. 
 
 Let our readers ponder over this tableau : a stew on the 
 range spoiled past redemption ; the cook, red with shame 
 and unable to utter a word ; around her neck over her 
 kitchen neglige^ a splendid gold watch and chain, and worse 
 than all, a beautiful diamond ring on one of her fingers ; all 
 this the work of Mephistopheles O' Byrne, who was in a 
 corner of the room bursting with laughter. 
 
 Julia understood at once the situation ; and as she had 
 previously asserted that nothing would please her more, 
 she was of course delighted. But all this was a puzzle to 
 poor Mrs. Kirkbride, to whom an explanation was due; 
 but when Julia took her apart and told her that her brother 
 Cornelius intended to marry Rosa, she laughed outright, 
 and said : ' ' Who would have thought it ? The girl certainly 
 could not find a better man ; and I myself intend to give 
 her a portion on her wedding day, happy if I can find it ; 
 but, unfortunately, there is not much probability of it." 
 
 After this aparte conversation, she ran to Rosa, who was 
 
460 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 yet bewildered in the midst of her saucepans and kitchen 
 utensils, and telling her with a smile that Julia would re- 
 pair the disorder of the range, and that she might go to her 
 room, and put aside those fine things for a better day, she 
 herself left the scene for her own apartment. 
 
 Dinner was soon ready ; instead of the stew, Julia had 
 improvised a dish of her own fashion — cold meat chopped 
 fine and fried with onions and potatoes. The lady sent a 
 word to Mr. O' Byrne, begging him to stay and take his 
 share of pot luck. He did stay, and found his cover pre- 
 pared in front of the lady — the place of honor, if you 
 please. All were in great glee, except poor Rosa, who had 
 to wait on the party, and made many laughable mistakes. 
 When told by her mistress to take the first plate of soup to 
 Mr. 0' Byrne, she received it from her hand, and placed it 
 back before her, as if she was the first to be served. A^Tien 
 the young man himself called for water and presented to 
 her his empty tumbler, she brought a pitcher of ale that 
 was on a side-table, lest he might want something more sub- 
 stantial than water. Poor distressed Miss McCarthy was a 
 happy girl when, finally, dinner was over, and she had only 
 to clean the dishes. 
 
 Before leaving the house Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne took his 
 sister apart and related to her the conversation he had lately 
 had with McElheran. Both his father and himself were 
 delighted with the match, but what answer will she herself 
 give to the proposal ? Julia replied first that she had never 
 yet thought of marriage, and this required serious reflec- 
 tion ; she would, however, say that of all the young men 
 she had ever known, Mr. McElheran had made the deepest 
 impression on her ; she found nothing to object to in his 
 person, and as he had protested that he did not intend to 
 separate her from Mrs. Kkkbride, who should continue to 
 be "her mother," she certainly felt disposed to consent, 
 particularly as her father and brother liked it. She only 
 was puzzled to know how Mr. McElheran had thought of 
 her. 
 
 Then the happy brother told her the qualities which in 
 
RELIGION, DOMESTIC FEELINGS, AND LAW. 461 
 
 her had attracted Mr. McElheran' s attention, and how she 
 was the first person he had met with who satisfied his chief 
 aspirations. But he did not conceal from her the stern 
 opposition which might be expected from all the relatives 
 of the young gentleman. In all probability, their marriage 
 would be the cause of an alienation which would last a long 
 time, if not forever. 
 
 ''In such a case," exclaimed Julia, " how can Mr. McEl- 
 heran hope to be happy with me ? He would by the mar- 
 riage lose all intercourse with his numerous friends, and 
 would, on our side, find only you. Con, and our poor old 
 father. I really cannot consent to place him in such a false 
 position. Please tell him. Con, that I will give my full con- 
 sent to the match when he has obtained from them a change 
 of determination. Xever before." And in spite of all her 
 brother could say, she continued firm in her resolve, and 
 declared she could not, for his own sake, act differently ; 
 and it would be for her a very humiliating position as a 
 wife to bear constantly in her mind the thought that she 
 had brought division in the family. 
 
 Young 0' Byrne had to take this answer to his friend, who 
 appeared thoroughly dejected at the news. He did not see 
 the possibility of his relatives changing their mind, as there 
 was no reason for expecting that Julia would ever be rich. 
 He did not, however, give up all hope of bringing the young 
 girl to a different determination. His love for her was too 
 deep to give way so soon and be succeeded by another 
 love. He would rather never maiTy. 
 
 The chief of police, after hearing all the details commu- 
 nicated to him by Cornelius O' Byrne with respect to the 
 dark schemes naturally attributed to Mr. Ernst Bauer in 
 his dealings with the projoerty of the late Mr. Kirkbride, was 
 first of opinion to place the affair in the hands of the dis- 
 trict attorney, and to begin directly a criminal prosecution 
 against the unfaithful agent. But Mr. 0' Byrne objecting 
 to this, and promising him shortly a full statement of his 
 reasons to the contrary, he finally consented to content him- 
 
462 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 self temporarily with an injunction served on the keeper of 
 records, preventing him from registering any deed, which 
 would convey the x>roperty of the Yan BuskMvs to any- 
 body but Mrs. Kirkbride. This measure once taken, Mr. 
 Wilson could wait without fear for the answer he was to re- 
 ceive from Cairo in Egypt. 
 
 A few days later on, Cornelius sent word to his chief that 
 he was ready for the proposed interview. 
 
 "I have been at pains," he said, '* to ascertain the posi- 
 tion of Mr. Ernst Bauer in the world of Wall Street, and I 
 see that he is considered as a shrewd man, but that nothing 
 can be said against his integrity ; and shrewdness is not a 
 fault — far from it — in the opinion of people in our day. He 
 knows law thoroughly ; and is one of a numerous class of 
 men who would use their knowledge of it for the perpetra- 
 tion of many things which are real crimes against society, 
 provided they could shelter themselves behind some legal 
 quibble, and thus hope to prove their innocence. People 
 say that he is rapidly growing rich, nobody knows precisely 
 how ; for he came to New York, not long ago, without capi- 
 tal, is never intrusted with any legal case that brings money 
 to a lawyer, and must make his profits out of his agency 
 cases. But he is so well acquainted with the letter of the 
 statutes that it would require a skillful legist, indeed, to 
 convict him of prevarication, even when it is clear that he 
 must be prevaricating." 
 
 ''The district attorney," interposed here the chief of po- 
 lice, ''is a deep Jurisconsult, and he knows the statutes as 
 well, at least, as Mr. Ernst Bauer. It seems to me that he 
 could easily have him convicted, if he is in the least guilty 
 of fraud." 
 
 "Not so easily as you imagine, sir," replied the young 
 lawyer. "For the simple reason that the letter of the law 
 is a mere text, susceptible often of various interpretations ; 
 and a skillful rogue can often find one favorable to his 
 cause. You see, sir, that, unfortunately, law and morality 
 have been long ago separated as two distinct fields. It is, 
 indeed, supposed that the legislator has consulted the moral 
 
RELIGION, DOMESTIC FEELINGS, AND LAW. 463 
 
 law in enacting his decrees ; but, in interpreting them, the 
 precise letter is supposed to suffice, and morality must be 
 discarded as wanting in precision and incapable of giving a 
 safe basis to a judgment. The fact is, that the human 
 lawgiver, as well as the human judge, feel secretly their 
 shortcomings as to the declaration of what is binding in 
 conscience ; they instinctively know that conscience is above 
 their province, although the power itself of the lawgiver 
 comes from on high ; and thus they must fall back on a 
 dead text, which may be fairly quoted in favor of right, 
 but can also be interpreted against it ; and thus, by throw- 
 ing dust in the eyes of all, Mr. Ernst Bauer has as much 
 chance of being acquitted as the district attorney, with 
 justice on his side, can presume to hope for convicting 
 him. I am sure that, with all the circumstantial evidence 
 we can bring in proof of his guilt, he will be able to show 
 his perfect innocence ; and retaliate on us afterward, per- 
 haps, and sue us for damages, on account of an unjust 
 prosecution. This will be probably the result of hasty 
 proceedings ; with a little patience, we may be able to at- 
 tack him with a better hope of success. Why, sir, at this 
 moment, we cannot prove conclusively that he has ever 
 received the deed, which we know he keeps in his posses- 
 sion unrecorded, and, therefore, of no legal value, for secret 
 purposes of his own. When the letters we expect from 
 Cairo arrive, we will have better ground to act against him ; 
 and, with the injunction we have obtained, can afford to 
 wait patiently, as no harm can come from delay." 
 
 '' Very well, Mr. 0' Byrne," said the chief of police ; " do 
 what you think proper on the subject. You will always 
 find me ready, when the time comes." 
 
 Thus the reader sees that law is rather a slippery business ; 
 that it is not enough to have right on your side ; you must 
 also have strong proofs of it ; and, with a cunning adver- 
 sary, you are not, even in this last case, proof against de- 
 feat and loss. 
 
CHAPTEH XXXI. 
 
 PHOTOGEAPHS OF ERNST BAUER AND DR. McELHEEAN. 
 TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 
 
 Since the time of the imprudent attack of John with his 
 revolver, Mr. Ernst Bauer had grown more and more confi- 
 dent that he would ultimately get into the lawful posses- 
 sion of an immensely valuable estate in the upper part of 
 the island. This gentleman was not precisely the immacu- 
 late agent he pretended to be. It is an honorable and a 
 useful profession, that of a man who takes charge of a large 
 estate in place and lieu of the owner, because he is compe- 
 tent to do so in point of legal knowledge and skillful indus- 
 try. Not only the proprietor is relieved from great trouble, 
 but the business is done better and at a far smaller risk ; 
 and all this is certainly worthy of its reward. But when 
 the agent is a knave, the agency becomes often a meatis of 
 defrauding the owner of his property, and this is what 
 must be called downright stealing. 
 
 Now, the words of John on the occasion alluded to had 
 persuaded Mr. Ernst Bauer that aU the proof which could 
 be brought of his having in his possession a most valuable 
 deed belonging to another, consisted either in a simple me- 
 morandum^ found in the papers of the late Mr. Kirkbride, 
 stating his disbursement of one hundred thousand dollars 
 on the day of the transaction ; or, better still, a simple 
 knowledge from memory, or vague rumor to the same effect. 
 The purchaser of the property had left New York so sud- 
 denly and so soon after the signature of the deed, and was 
 so firmly convinced that the document had been recorded, 
 
 4G4 
 
TWO FIGURES VERT UNLIKE. 465 
 
 that, at the same time that he had not then any leisure for 
 taking the proper measures, he did not, in fact, see the 
 necessity of it, for securing to his heirs this property in 
 case of his death. In his estimation, even should he die, 
 the record was there to pass it to his son. Yet that very 
 son, after the demise of the father, had no other legal means 
 of coming into the possession of his right than to send his 
 valet to Bauer threatening him with a bullet to bring him to 
 sense. Bauer, therefore, had done right to keep the deed 
 to himself. He could, if it became necessary, change in 
 the document the name of Mr. Kirkbride into his own, and 
 thus do away with the greatest difficulty. Yet this might 
 bring him into the meshes of the law, and he could wait a 
 little longer to take this step. 
 
 At the death of young Kirkbride, he had taken pains 
 to ascertain w^hat disposition was made of the property 
 and reversible rights the young man left after him. He 
 then learned that everything went to the widowed mother, 
 who had chosen for her attorney a Mr. W. Wilson, well 
 known in New York for steady habits, integrity of charac- 
 ter, and unimpeachable morality. Mr. Bauer could not im- 
 agine that Mr. Wilson would ever find anything more pre- 
 cise than the son had previously found in the papers of the 
 elder Kirkbride. Thus he was sure that if the worthy attor- 
 ney might have some suspicion of the affair — chiefly as he 
 knew that Mr. Ralph Kirkbride had an interview with him 
 previous to the transaction ; still, it could not possibly 
 amount to anything more than a suspicion ; and he was 
 confirmed in this belief by the absolute silence of Mr. Wil- 
 son, who, after several months, had neither written to him 
 nor asked of him an interview. Mr. Bauer's hopes, conse- 
 quently, grew brighter, and he flattered himself that the 
 good luck which had, several years previous, brought him 
 a piece of property worth fifteen thousand dollars, would 
 this time bring him, perhaps, more than a million. It was, 
 in fact, a lucky chance which first induced him to make a 
 system of what will appear, to many people, a ridiculous 
 imagination. 
 30 
 
466 LOUISA KIEKBRLDE. 
 
 Mr. Ernst Bauer had not been six months in New York, 
 where he established himself from the interior of the State, 
 when his services were required by an old gentleman, just 
 on the eve of a trip to Europe. There was then question of 
 a small property in real estate for which the gentleman had 
 paid fifteen thousand dollars. He left the deed with Mr. 
 Bauer as his agent, in order to have it recorded, and sailed 
 the same evening in one of the steamers, which was lost in 
 that very voyage without any news of the circumstances 
 ever reaching this country. The old gentleman had no 
 family, scarcely any friend ; Mr. E. Bauer by chance had 
 not yet given in the deed to be recorded, when the loss of 
 the vessel, first feared and suspected, was finally admitted 
 by all. The deed was recorded later, but with the name of 
 Mr. E. Bauer beautifully 'v\Titten in the place and in lieu of 
 that of the old gentleman. 
 
 The lucky rascal concluded it would be easy, in such a 
 city as New York, to find other cases of this Idnd : some 
 old man, just at the moment of starting for a distant 
 country, chiefly if sick and threatened with death, with few 
 relatives and these kept at a distance, might as easily make 
 him heir to hundreds of thousands as to fifteen, and a sys- 
 tem was adopted by him which we have seen carried out in 
 the case of Mr. Kirkbride. But, when almost all circum- 
 stances appeared to have brought him success a second 
 time, the very enormous prospective amount of the property 
 made him persuaded that extreme caution was required. 
 The former owners, the Van Buskirks, were well known to 
 a great number of respectable Knickerbocker families in 
 New York. The purpose for which they went abroad, un- 
 known at first, gradually leaked out, and at this moment 
 it began to be currently reported that they were at Cairo, 
 in Egypt, where the paltry sum — one hundred thousand 
 dollars — they got for a property worth three or four times 
 the amount, and enormously larger in prospect, enabled 
 them to start in business and gain i\\e favor of the Khedive. 
 All this rendered the case curious, extraordinary, romantic. 
 But to whom had they sold that property for one hundred 
 
TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 467 
 
 thonsand dollars ? Some former friends of the Van Bus- 
 kirks had already reason to think it was to the late Mr. 
 Ealph Kirkbride, who could very well afford to pay the 
 amount, cash down. If Mr. Bauer went too fast, the pub- 
 lic records of the city would attribute the same payment to 
 himself ; and people would naturally inquire how he could 
 have made it. Nothing, besides, would be so easy to the 
 friends of the Yan Buskirks, as to write to them and ascer- 
 tain with whom they had concluded the bargain. 
 
 Thus Mr. E. Bauer saw very well that even in case Mr. 
 Wilson could not bring proofs against him at the present 
 time, it would be possible to procure those proofs in a few 
 months, and that caution was absolutely required. He 
 must himself write to the Yan Buskirks, and give a new 
 turn to the affair. We would be happy indeed to be able 
 to present the text itself of the epistle to our readers. It 
 being impossible for us to do so, we are reduced to the 
 necessity of giving only the substance. 
 
 A Mr. S. Rotli was supposed to be the writer. He ac- 
 quainted the two young gentlemen with the fact of Mr. Ralph 
 Kirkbride' s sudden death, a fact which might have happy 
 consequences for them. The price paid by the purchaser 
 for their property was ridiculously low and unfair ; any 
 Supreme Court judge of note in the country would declare 
 the bargain null and void, as there was no other compen- 
 sation supposed than the price paid. All honest men in 
 their conscience could but apjjrove of such decision. At 
 least the young gentlemen would be sure of receiving the 
 same sum again in addition to what had been paid by Mr. 
 Kirkbride, and the property would be cheap for the pur- 
 chaser. Fortunately for them, Mr. S. Roth knew that the 
 deed signed by them had never yet been recorded, and, 
 legally, they were still owners of the property. What pro- 
 posal could they make to the writer of this letter ? He was 
 awaiting their pleasure, and would accommodate them to 
 the best of his ability. 
 
 Such a piece of news conveyed in such "honest" and 
 plain-spoken language as this was well calculated to tickle 
 
468 LOUISA EIBEBBIDE. 
 
 and please those who were to receive it, unless they were 
 of stern integrity and altogether above greed and covetous- 
 ness. It came to their hands in Egypt some time before Mr. 
 Wilson wrote, and the first impression it i^roduced on them 
 was one of gratification and hope. 
 
 When they disposed of their joint property, they knew 
 the price was not adeqnate to its abstract value, and that 
 if they conld have waited for the payment, and accepted 
 conditions different from those their actual interests re- 
 quired, a much larger amount would, in course of time, 
 have come into their hands. They were likewise aware 
 that the value of the property was constantly increasing, 
 and that, had they kept it to throw it on the market two 
 or three years later, they might naturally expect much 
 more than double the price they received. But none of these 
 conditions agreed with their actual projects. They needed 
 ready cash, and to find in an instant the sum of one hundred 
 thousand was a consideration far superior to any other, 
 which rendered acceptable and even welcome the apparent 
 insufficiency of the sum for the land they conveyed to the 
 purchaser. 
 
 But on the receipt of the pretended Mr. S. Roth's letter, 
 the matter assumed, in their mind, a different shape, and 
 they were not very far from considering themselves the 
 victims of a sharper. Their position in Cairo was most 
 promising, and was entirely due to the money they brought. 
 Still, could they suddenly add to their capital the sum men- 
 tioned by their unknown correspondent, it would be very 
 favorable to the happy issue of their first ventures on the 
 trade with Central Africa ; and certainly the remark of Mr. 
 Roth, that any able judge in the country would consider 
 their contract with Mr. R. Kirkbride as null and void, did 
 not ai)pear to them incredible and improbable as it would 
 to us. It was certainly worth trying, and without injustice 
 they could at least ask of the representatives of the first 
 purchaser an indemnity, which they would leave to the de- 
 cision of an impartial magistrate. Should the heirs of Mr. 
 Kirkbride refuse to come to a compromise, then they might, 
 
TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 469 
 
 without dishonor, apply for a judicial revision of the first 
 bargain, and ask for the declaration of its nullity. 
 
 It was in this sense they answered the letter of Mr. Roth. 
 Mr. Ernst Bauer, of course, received it, and was only half 
 pleased when he read it. Rogues think that all other men 
 are rogues of the same fashion, and thus Mr. Bauer had no 
 doubt, when he wrote, that the Messrs. Yan Buskirk, be- 
 ing apprised that their former deed had not been recorded, 
 would immediately jump at the conclusion that being yet 
 legal owners of the contested property, they could convey 
 it to any party that gave them an additional sum of one 
 hundred thousand. But in their answer they appeared to 
 regard the rights of the first purchaser, and to give him 
 at least the benefit of a kind of preemption clause. 
 
 Mr. Ernst Bauer was almost sorry to have written at all. 
 The Messrs. Van Buskirk would certainly now communi- 
 cate with some of their friends in New York, and public 
 attention would be called to the property in question. 
 True, no one would think of him personally, since the name 
 of the pretended S. Roth would lead to mystification and 
 deception, yet inquirers might come to think of him, since 
 young Kirkbride had certainly conceived the idea of his 
 being involved in the affair, when he sent his valet to 
 threaten and to bluster on the subject. This was altogether 
 disagreeable ; he foresaw the possibility of having to give 
 up the prize he thought he was going to secure ; and if 
 anything had taken possession of his soul it was the hope 
 of easily coming into possession of prospective enormous 
 wealth. How many sleepless nights would be the result of 
 his foolish letter-writing I He was so sure, however, when 
 he penned his epistle, that the answer would be the means 
 of acquiring in a proper manner a legal title which he had 
 not before seen the possibility of gaining, except through 
 the dangerous means of forgery, that he did not for a mo- 
 ment doubt that he was acting wisely and securely. But 
 now the squeamishness of conscience of those two young 
 men might jeopardize the whole plan, and lay prostrate on 
 the ground all his fairest hopes. Another letter was evi- 
 
470 LOUISA KIBEBRIDE. 
 
 dently needed to repair tlie evil, and give a proper turn to 
 the ideas of the two Yan Buskirks. 
 
 He, consequently, wrote again to correct, he said, a mis- 
 apprehension produced by his iirst communication. Mr. R. 
 Kirkbride, in fact, left no heir, since his son died soon after 
 him without issue, and after having gone through the 
 wealth of his father ; the widow lived yet, it was true, but 
 would be unable to promise them anything, having only 
 just enough to live comfortably. No harm would come to 
 the family nor to anybody else if they were disposed to 
 consider themselves owners of an estate for which they had, 
 in truth, received no equivalent, and which still legally be- 
 longed to them, since no record could be found of the former 
 contract. Should they enter into these views he — Mr. Roth 
 — wo aid, directly on the receipt of their answer, find a gen- 
 tleman competent to secure to them the amount he had men- 
 tioned in his first letter. They might appoint from Cairo, a 
 lawyer in New York, who could attend to this business for 
 them, and see that the proper deeds were drawn and their 
 interests secured. 
 
 There is no telling the effect this would have produced 
 on the Messrs. Yan Buskirk had they not received in the 
 interval between the two letters of Mr. " Roth," a very 
 different statement which, we already know, was sent 
 them by Mr. Wilson, Mrs. Kirkbride' s attorney. They 
 heard with surprise that their deed with the widow's hus- 
 band had been placed in the hands of an agent — whom 
 Mr. Wilson did not name — that this agent had not car- 
 ried the legal document to the hall of records, and, evi- 
 dently, was pursuing a criminal scheme to deprive the 
 widow of her right to this property. They were politely 
 requested to be kind enough to testify in their answer that 
 they had transferred it to Mr. Kirkbride for the sum of a 
 hundred thousand, which they had received, and in this 
 way do an act of justice, and enable the lawful owner to 
 assert her claims. This was the substance of Mr. Wilson's 
 letter. 
 
 This, in the eyes of the two young men, threw a flood of 
 
TWO FIGURES VERT UNLIKE. 471 
 
 light on the whole transaction ; they at once saw that Mr. 
 '' Roth " was a sharper who wished to make them accom- 
 plices in his guilty schemes ; they, therefore, entered di- 
 rectly into communication with the attorney of the lady, 
 without vouchsafing an answer to Mr. ''Roth's" second 
 letter. 
 
 They merely stated to Mr. Wilson that one of them would 
 have occasion to cross over to the United States, "early 
 next year,*' and he would then set everything right ; ac- 
 knowledging, as they were requested to do, that they had 
 sold their property in New York to Mr. Ralph Ku^kbride 
 for a sum, however, which they had heard since was not 
 proportional to its value. Everything, they hoped, would 
 be rectified in a personal interview. They did not mention 
 anything relative to their unknown correspondent, so that 
 when Mr. Wilson received the answer, he was puzzled to 
 know on what grounds they could intimate the insufficiency 
 of the price accepted by them with a full knowledge of 
 all the circumstances. He was, moreover, annoyed by the 
 delay intimated in their letter; "early next year" was a 
 period still far distant, and Mrs. Kirkbride had a right to 
 have this affair settled immediately. He made up his mind 
 consequently, to open negotiations with Mr. Ernst Bauer, 
 and called directly on Mrs. Kirkbride and Mr. Cornelius 
 O' Byrne to concert with them the measures most calculated 
 to insure prompt success. 
 
 The great point gained in these lengthy transactions was 
 the certainty of the sale, in spite of the intimation to the 
 contrary which Mr. Wilson had received on the subject. 
 It was evident that Mr. Ernst Bauer, whom Mr. Wilson 
 then understood had been chosen agent for this particular 
 affair, was in possession of the coveted deed ; and the only 
 thing to be discussed between him and young 0' Byrne was 
 as to the best means of wresting it from the grasping hand 
 of the sharper. Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne was destined to 
 show his ability on this occasion. 
 
 In the presence of Mrs. Kirkbride, therefore, the two 
 friends of the lady had an interesting conversation on the 
 
472 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 subject. After the worthy attorney had explained to the 
 young lawyer all the circumstances he knew, as they have 
 been briefly related, O' Byrne expressed his conviction that 
 not only E. Bauer had the deed in his possession, but that he 
 it was who had^ratten to Messrs. Van Buskirk. " No one 
 else in New York," he said, "had any interest to communi- 
 cate with these gentlemen for that purpose. No one, even, 
 would think of it. Mr. Wilson could remember that in look- 
 ing for information on the present residence of the young 
 men, most of their former intimate friends had altogether 
 forgotten them. They left behind them no near relatives to 
 keep up a correspondence ; so that no one appeared to know 
 what had become of them. It was, at the last moment, and 
 when further inquiries were going to be given up, that, casu- 
 ally, some one remembered a rumor, sj)read at their depar- 
 ture, among many conjectures, that they intended to settle 
 in Egypt ; and lastly a short paragraph of a correspondent 
 of some New York paper, adverted to their residence at 
 Cairo, where they had become successful merchants. 
 
 Mr. Ernst Bauer, on the contrary, had a great interest 
 to look after them and write to them. Evidently the docu- 
 ment he possessed, and had never recorded, could be of no 
 use to him unless he altered it and put his own name instead 
 of that of Mr. E.. Kirkbride. He must have been afraid 
 of coming to this determination ; his only resource then 
 was to try to obtain another deed of sale from Messrs. Yan 
 Buskirk to himself, or some tool of his, for a large considera- 
 tion ; and the temptation evidently had produced an im- 
 pression on the two young gentlemen, since they spoke of 
 insufficiency of price, and new arrangements to be entered 
 into, satisfactory to both parties, etc. . . . ''The best policy 
 to be followed in my opinion," added in conclusion young 
 O' Byrne, ''is to go boldly to the rascal; and if he denies 
 the possession of the paper, to threaten him with a criminal 
 prosecution, supporting the menace with the positive asser- 
 tion of all the just-mentioned circumstances, which I con- 
 sider as certain and not to be doubted ; and in case my pre- 
 visions are right, he will be scared into giving back the 
 
TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 473 
 
 paper on conditions that will secure Mm from an infamous 
 prosecution. Nothing more would I promise him." 
 
 Mr. Wilson, although not altogether sharing in the firm 
 conviction of his friend, agreed that it might be the best 
 way open to them, and they therefore decided to carry out 
 their project the following day. 
 
 Meanwhile, McElheran, unable to find rest and enjoy life 
 in his rural retreat, determined to make a personal effort to 
 conquer the resistance of Julia. C. 0' Byrne had told him 
 she would never give way unless his own relatives altered 
 their deteimination. He must see hoAv far this was true ; 
 and he thought that the love which burned in his heart 
 would speak so eloquently through his lips that she would 
 not be able to resist. To succeed more surely he made up 
 his mind to attack her unawares, and overwhelm her, when 
 she least expected it. He knew that latterly she was, if 
 possible, more given than ever before to the practices of 
 her religion, and that, every morning, she went to the 
 church of St. Laurence, often alone and always at the same 
 hour. One morning, he took an open carriage with two 
 horses, arrived at the church, when the service at which 
 Julia assisted was half through, and when she came out, 
 she unexpectedly found him at the door, evidently waiting 
 for her, and inviting her to go home in his carriage. 
 
 To refuse would be to show a distrust which Julia never 
 felt ; and, with the greatest good nature, she took her seat 
 near him, and they were soon in the Park. 
 
 "I am sure, Miss 0' Byrne," he began, " that your brother, 
 with the best intention in the world, left you under a false 
 impression, when, at my request, he informed you of the 
 opposition of my relatives to my ever marrying any one but 
 a rich heiress. You thought, no doubt, that they had some 
 kind of right to dictate to me their conditions, when they 
 have not a shadow of authority in the matter. I am sure 
 that, were my parents alive, they would, with the greatest 
 pleasure, consent to our union as soon as they became 
 acquainted with you ; but these people, who would assume 
 
474 LOUISA KIBEBMIDE. 
 
 over me parental rights without even a pretense to tliem, 
 are moved by motives which no honorable person can ap- 
 prove. They speak of the influence of the family, but they 
 think only of their own presumed influence. But what is 
 most absurd, is that they continue to harp on the subject, 
 when my removal to this country, which I intend to adopt 
 as my own, does not leave them even a shadow of hope that 
 my union with the richest possible heiress could in the least 
 help their ridiculous pretensions. In going counter to their 
 schemes, we violate no obligation whatever, and, at the 
 same time, we give them a useful lesson. I am confident 
 that, after we are married, they will change their tone, and 
 no longer stand up so firmly for their injured respectability ; 
 they will soon come round, and ask nothing better than to 
 resume their friendly relations with us, which we will then 
 grant or refuse, as we think proper." 
 
 ''My brother, dear Mr. McElheran," Julia replied, ''did 
 not, it is true, give to the case the strong light you put it 
 in ; but my reasons for delay — for I spoke only of delay — 
 remain, nevertheless, the same. If it was perfectly sure 
 that, the thing being done, they would not continue to keep 
 aloof, I would at once agree with you, and leave you to 
 decide on the time and circumstances that should suit you. 
 But should they remain obstinate in their determination, a 
 state of affairs would follow which I am sure you yourself 
 would deprecate. During your whole life, a complete es- 
 trangement between you and your people would be the con- 
 sequence of a hasty step ; and you know how, in our country, 
 we look on such mutual positions between relatives and 
 friends, Not only half the sweetness of life is taken away, 
 which consists in a large family intercourse, but, in the 
 opinion of Irish people, a positive disgrace is attached to it, 
 as if a great crime had been committed which was the cause 
 of such an unnatural situation. As for myself, I must con- 
 fess that my happiness, to which you certainly look, would 
 be highly compromised and interfered with by the con- 
 stant thought that I had been the cause of this false posi- 
 tion. My idea of marriage is, that not only the two persons 
 
TWO FIGURES VERT UNLIKE. 475 
 
 more intimately connected enter into tMs bond, bnt also the 
 families to which the principals belong, must come together 
 in a closer nnion ; and, if they are separated instead of 
 being Joined together, marriage has lost half its pleasant- 
 ness. Try, therefore, my friend, to overcome the opposi- 
 tion of your kinsmen, and I will directly give my hand to 
 you." 
 
 ''Your reflections, Julia," insisted McElheran, ''increase 
 my affection for you, because they show the loftiness of your 
 thoughts ; but allow me, however, to observe that they sup- 
 pose a system of society which has now given way every- 
 where else, and is rapidly disappearing in our own dear 
 island. Clanship has ceased to exist, and it was chiefly 
 owing to clanship that these sentiments justly prevailed. 
 If the McElheran and the 0' Byrne septs were now what 
 they once were, it might be proper and just to oblige the 
 individuals to sacrifice their own feeling to the firmly fixed 
 resolutions of the clans ; but the whole of this state of 
 things is gone, to my regret and yours, certainly ; and so- 
 ciety, as constituted in our days, offers us the larger inter- 
 course of mankind in general, advantageously replacing 
 that of simple tribes. We will not want friends, in the big 
 city of New York, even should all the McElherans, without 
 a single exception, refuse to smile on our happy union." 
 
 "I am not altogether sure," replied Julia, "that it is 
 thoroughly as you say. There are still in existence more 
 tribal affinities and discrepancies than most people imagine. 
 All my life I have felt it, and always unexpectedly met 
 with the fierce opposition of natural enemies, and, thank 
 God, also the deep affection of clannish friends. You, 
 yourself, know this well, Mr. McElheran." 
 
 "Yes," he replied with a smile; "still there are great 
 and happy exceptions to what, dear Julia, your heart ex- 
 presses so well. Are you not, every day, reposing on the 
 bosom of one of those ' national enemies ' of whom you just 
 spoke ? Do you not call yourself the daughter of one of 
 them 1 and justly so. I admire, for my part, the deep in- 
 timacy that has grown up between you, a pure Milesian, 
 
476 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 and the dear lady, whose life-blood is, to the last drop, 
 Anglo-Norman. You would not consent to marry the son 
 of a king, if he obliged you to separate from her ; and you 
 are right. Admit, therefore, sweet disputant, that there 
 are noble exceptions to your strict tribal theory, and that 
 the intercourse of mankind is larger and happier than that 
 of the restricted fellowship of the first remove from the 
 family." 
 
 "I shall admit it," said Julia, with a hearty laugh, 
 "when all mankind will have attained to the loving sweet- 
 ness of my second dear 'mother.' Then we shall have the 
 millennium : the ocean turned into buttermilk, the rivers 
 into streams of honey, the venomous snakes into harmless 
 pets, the swords into pruning hooks, and . . . you know 
 the rest." 
 
 At this moment, McElheran could not but join heartily 
 in the laugh. 
 
 "I thought," he said, " that in this conversation I would 
 be more eloquent than you, but I see that I have to take 
 lessons from you. I know, however, that when love speaks 
 to your heart, as it speaks to mine, you will share all my 
 opinions, and will say that the opposition of all the fools in 
 the world cannot stand in the way of two hearts, melting at 
 once into one, and sharing in the same feelings, belief, and 
 hope." 
 
 At this moment, the carriage reached the entrance to 
 Mrs. Kirkbride's house, and Kosa, opening the door, was 
 surprised to see Julia coming from mass in a carriage with 
 Mr. McElheran. 
 
 ''Has there been a marriage in St. Laurence's Church, 
 this morning ? " boldly asked the little vixen, who seemed 
 to be in the best of humor. 
 
 "It would not be proper in me to answer this question," 
 said McElheran ; "but I hope you will soon inform us of 
 your own ; then the day will be a merry one, I ween, and 
 we will be able to tease you, without fearing a repartee 
 from a modest young bride like yourself." 
 
 Rosa saw that she had been somewhat indiscreet ; she 
 
TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE 477 
 
 blushed, and begged, however, Mr. McElheran to come in, 
 as Mrs. Kirkbride had just expressed a desire of having a 
 conversation with him, the lirst time he came to the door. 
 
 The lady received our young friend in her room, where 
 she was busily working near a small table covered with un- 
 finished dresses and the materials necessary for her work. 
 As soon as the gentleman was seated, she began in her 
 usual simple way ; 
 
 ''During the short time I have known you, sir, I have 
 remarked that you are one of those true gentlemen with 
 whom one can be bold without fear. You are a physician, 
 and I need you, not for myself, thank God, nor for the two 
 excellent girls who live with me, but for some of the people 
 around. I cannot do so much for the poor as I did when 
 I was rich ; yet, at least, I can visit them and relieve them 
 with words of consolation and the trifles I can bring them. 
 Julia helps me admirably in this, and I am sure that the 
 good child likes it, and would make an excellent Sister of 
 Mercy. Perhaps it is the happy lot God destines for her, 
 and she is so religiously inclined, that I have no doubt she 
 thinks of it, although she never has said a word of it to me, 
 probably through fear of paining me. She does not know, 
 poor child, that I would not thwart her inclination in the 
 least, if it leant that way. I would willingly give her to 
 God, although I would sadly miss her. But here I am ram- 
 bling like an old woman that I am, and this has nothing 
 to do with what I intended to say. In our visits to the 
 shanties of the neighborhood we often meet with cases of 
 sickness, and, sometimes, of serious sickness. Many of those 
 afflicted with them cannot afford to pay for a doctor, and 
 have to rely on the city physicians, who are, most of them, 
 far from' belonging to the 'order of charity.' Fortunately, 
 thus far, I have had a good man to help me. Dr. Dillon — 
 perhaps you have heard of him V^ Here McElheran nodded 
 assent. ' ' Well, dear Dr. Dillon, who is considerably older 
 than I am, has done a great deal for the poor in his life, but 
 he is becoming infirm, and sometimes can scarcely go out. 
 There is work, besides, for two doctors rather than for one, 
 
478 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 and I have thought that, in yonr leisure moments, you 
 would not object to answer our calls for help, when we have 
 an occasion to call." 
 
 "Indeed, madam, you make me happy by your pro- 
 posal," interposed eagerly the young physician. "In my 
 immediate neighborhood I already do what you ask me, 
 and I can extend my visits farther. I am altogether at 
 your service, and from this day out you will do me plea- 
 sure by sending for me as often as you have occasion to 
 do so." 
 
 "Thank you, most sincerely," replied the lady ; "but in 
 this case, you must become more intimately acquainted 
 with good Dr. Dillon. Do you know him personally ? " 
 
 " I have not that honor," said McElheran, "but I have 
 heard of him, and would feel indeed happy to become per- 
 sonally associated with him in the good work you propose." 
 
 "Admirable ! " exclaimed Mrs. Kirkbride ; "please come 
 to-morrow to dine with us at five o'clock. I cannot pro- 
 mise you as good fare as that which we enjoyed in your 
 house ; but our meal will be seasoned by friendship and 
 the holy feeling of charity for our neighbor. You will be 
 pleased, I am sure, to know Dr. Dillon, who, by-the-by, is 
 an Irishman like yourself, although not a Catholic, but I 
 am sure that the prayers of the good Catholics whom he 
 has attended all his life, will secure for him, in the end, a 
 blessing greater than health and worldly prosperity." 
 
 It was with a feeling aldn to reverence that Mr. McElheran 
 left the good lady. What she had said of Julia thinking 
 of becoming a nun had surprised him ; as he thought that 
 the intimacy existing between the two women required 
 more openness of heart on the part of Julia. He had a fine 
 opportunity to put her a few questions on the subject, the 
 first time they met alone. 
 
 We will not give the details of the dinner, as the conver- 
 sation which took place is for us of a far greater import- 
 ance. Mrs. Kirkbride was seated at table alone with the 
 two doctors ; Julia waited on them, and Rosa remained in 
 the kitchen. She had to bestow her undivided attention to 
 
TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 479 
 
 the dishes, as she wished to give the two gentlemen a 
 sample of her ability. The fare of the day, far superior to 
 the usual diet of the house, was yet poor enough, and it 
 would have required all the skill of a French cook to please 
 a fastidious epicurean taste with it, such as it was. Poor 
 Rosa certainly did her best, and nobody thought of com- 
 plaining when he was served. But the talking was to be 
 the chief business, and Dr. Dillon, to his honor, did the 
 most of it. When he saw near him on the empty part of 
 the table the diagram of the neighborhood drawn by Mrs. 
 Kirkbride and Julia both together, and the dots marking 
 the various houses which were to be occasionally visited, he 
 said to his new young friend, toward whom he pushed the 
 paper : 
 
 "This, sir, explains at once the whole situation. As 
 there are not yet any numbers painted on the strange 
 medley of dwellings along these awkward streets, the lady 
 has done well to draw this sketch, truly eloquent in its 
 simplicity. You will remark, doctor, that the dots indicat- 
 ing the places where it will be our duty to go, are all, or 
 nearly all, in the interior of the lots, very few along the 
 streets and avenues, in fact they nearly all indicate the 
 place of shanties, as such architectural monstrosities are 
 called ; and there is no need of telling you that the dwellers 
 in them are Milesian Celts like yourself, Dr. McElheran, 
 with a few stray Strongbownians like me." 
 
 There was, of course, a laugh in which the speaker alone 
 did not appear to join, for Julia herself was convulsed. 
 
 "You may laugh," continued Dr. Dillon, "but I am se- 
 rious. How is it, madam" — looking at the lady — "that 
 all your charity now is directed to Papists ? Why do you 
 not at least go after some of the Episcopalians of the neigh- 
 borhood, having all your life been such a devoted Episco- 
 palian yourself ? But I hear that you are taking a bad 
 turn ; and this diagram confirms what I have heard. If I 
 was not such a good-natured man as I am, I would have 
 long ago refused to tender my services to your dear pets, 
 or I would at least have imposed the condition that your 
 
480 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 former co-religionists and mine should not altogether be 
 forgotten." 
 
 This was said with such seriousness, not to use the word 
 savageness, that Mr. McElheran at first was scarcely able to 
 see a joke in it. But as the lady and Julia burst into laugh- 
 ter more than ever, he directly understood something of the 
 situation, which Mrs. Kirkbride fully explained, as soon as 
 she was able to speak. 
 
 "You are always the same man, Dr. Dillon," she said, 
 ''and you will never stop teasing me; but to explain the 
 thing better to our new friend, I beg of you, as you are far 
 better acquainted with the neighborhood than I am myself, 
 to dot with your pencil all the Episcopalian houses of the 
 district, and I will not only consent to you and Dr. McEl- 
 heran visiting them ; but I will do the same with Julia every 
 day in the year." 
 
 Dr. Dillon looked all the time serious, and with his eyes 
 intent on the diagram, he followed with his pencil all the 
 avenues and streets, and, at last, making a rapid lunge with 
 his pointer, he described a monstrously large dot on the spot 
 indicating the house of Mrs. Kirkbride. 
 
 '' Indeed," he said, "I see my mistake ; yours is the only 
 Episcopalian house that I know in this neighborhood ; and 
 I might as well add that all the others, as far as my knowl- 
 edge extends, are neither Episcopalian nor Catholic, but 
 belong, in fact, to the broad church whose teaching is that 
 charity, being a low feeling, requires a craven spirit to ask 
 it, and to their houses we will not be called. I am glad, 
 however, that there is yet a house of my persuasion, since 
 I hope, madam, that I can still call you an Episcopalian." 
 
 ''Even in such a case," replied Mrs. Kirkbride, "your 
 spiritual kingdom, doctor, would be of small extent, since, 
 either above in the apartments of Mr. Froment, or here, 
 with my two girls alone, independent of myself, it may be 
 said, that the Catholic Church has completely invaded this 
 house." 
 
 "I see it," rejoined Dr. Dillon, "and the phenomenon is 
 remarkable enough, not only here, but in many other places 
 
TWO FIGURES VERT UNLIKE, 481 
 
 besides. So that if we wish to continue to be charitable, we 
 must extend our charity to the Catholics, who are, after all, 
 interesting objects of it. Thus, Dr. McElheran, I do not 
 know if you will come to the same conclusion with me, but 
 I am determined to have a copy of this diagram — dots and 
 all — made for myself, and as often as I can go out, I will 
 never refuse to attend to Mrs. Kirkbride's sick-calls." 
 
 Dr. McElheran had seldom been so well pleased, in all 
 his life. He heartily shook hands with Dr. Dillon, and said 
 that, being young and healthy, he hoped that the greater 
 number of calls would fall to his share, and chiefly in bad 
 weather and at night Dr. Dillon should be left quiet, in his 
 house or bed, and the messenger always directed to his 
 dwelling, on the Bloom ingdale Eoad. This arrangement, 
 suiting all parties, was decided upon as the best ; and soon 
 the young physician began to know all the particularities 
 of the "Irish village," clustering around the "lonesome 
 brick house," as it was first called, but which every one 
 declared was now a misnomer, as nothing could be "lone- 
 some" with Mrs. Kirkbride in the centre, and a whole clan 
 in the circumference. 
 
 When the two new friends had left the house, Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride, full still of unusual glee, said to Julia: "This excel- 
 lent old Dr. Dillon deserves a reward for his past services, 
 suitable to his character and temper of mind. Please, child, 
 procure a piece of parchment, on which you will inscribe, 
 in your best handwTiting, and the most pleasant and witty 
 way, a diploma in regular form, making him Head Physi- 
 cian for life of the delightful district, comjjrised between 
 the Bloomingdale Road on the west, and the Central Park 
 on the east. This will be for him an agreeable surprise on 
 which he will comment, you may be sure, with more than 
 his ordinary humor." Kosa, who was present, said it was 
 the very thing, and she would willingly be the messenger 
 to take it to him in person, as soon as it would be finished. 
 31 
 
CHAPTER XXXIL 
 
 CONTINUATION OF THE SAME SUBJECT. 
 
 Whilst the dinner party of Mrs. Kirkbride was going on 
 in the wilderness of the West Side, Mr. Ernst Bauer was 
 engaged in a brown study in his Wall Street office. The 
 answer to his second letter to Cau'o ought to have "come 
 to hand" much sooner ; what was the cause of the delay ? 
 Everybody knows how uneasy a rogue feels, when he fears 
 that his schemes are about to be frustrated. He had so 
 long flattered himself with the delicious thought that by 
 degrees a mine of wealth was going to fall into his lap, that 
 the very idea of non-success could not fail to be more bitter 
 than wormwood. His first epistle to the Messrs. Yan Bus- 
 kirk, though prudent, guarded, and in proper form, had 
 been to him the cause of much anxiety. He saw now that 
 he had failed to mention in it several considerations well 
 calculated to make them catch at the bait more promptly, 
 and that it was, in fact, too short to cover the whole ground 
 and satisfy them on every point. But his second letter had 
 fully corrected the blunder ; there could be no reason for 
 them to postpone attending directly to the business. He 
 did not see that anything essential was omitted in it ; and 
 every word of it must have satisfied their squeamishness 
 and conscientious scruples, and all that. Consequently, 
 when he wrote it, and after he had sent it, and now at 
 this very moment, he was sure, that as soon as it would be 
 received at Cairo, it would bring from the gentlemen to 
 whom it was addressed a prompt answer, which by good 
 management would secure him the prize he coveted. But 
 
 482 
 
TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 483 
 
 no answer arrived ; two, three, four months had passed, and 
 nothing had come. What could be the cause of it ? a puz- 
 zling question to a sanguine man ! But the very evening 
 of the dinner, of which Mr. Bauer knew nothing, of course, 
 another letter was brought by the carrier, of a very differ- 
 ent import, and from a very different source. It was a city 
 letter ; it came from the office of the district attorney. Mr. 
 Ernst Bauer was politely requested to call at that office, 
 next evening at eight o'clock; the note was signed by C. 
 0' Byrne. What could it be ? A guilty conscience is always 
 afraid ; and the first impression it made on Mr. Bauer was 
 rather a painful one. He soon, however, recovered from it. 
 If a criminal prosecution was intended, it could not take 
 that shape. Some trifling aflPair, probably, was at the bot- 
 tom of it ; and he dismissed the thought from his mind, 
 already agitated enough by his anxiety about Cairo. The 
 following day, he was punctual, at eight o'clock, to the 
 request contained in the note ; and he was at first surprised, 
 startled would be a better expression, by finding that Mr. 
 O' Byrne was not alone, but that Mr. W. Wilson — whom he 
 knew very well — was likewise in the office. He was begged 
 to be seated, and Mr. C. 0' Byrne began directly a very in- 
 teresting conversation : " Please infoim us, sir, of what you 
 have done wdth the conveyance intrusted to you, at the end 
 of August, last year, by Mr. Ralph Kirkbride, to be taken in 
 his name to the office of record ? " 
 
 "Your question, sir," anwered Mr. Bauer, "is a puzzle 
 to me. Of which Mr. Kirkbride do you speak ? I am not 
 acquainted with any person of that name." 
 
 *' Perhaps not now," replied Mr. 0' Byrne, "since the 
 gentleman is dead ; but you were then acquainted with him 
 so far as to become his agent." 
 
 "In August of last year," asserted positively Mr. E. 
 Bauer, "I did not become the agent of any person of the 
 name of Kirkbride." 
 
 " I am sorry to be obliged to contradict you," interposed 
 Mr. Wilson, "but at the time mentioned, Mr. Kirkbride, 
 having purchased, through your instrumentality, a very 
 
484 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 valuable property, appointed you liis agent for that affair, 
 at your urgent request, instead of Mr. W. Croft, Ms habitual 
 agent for his real estate." 
 
 "If this is the only thing you wished to ask of me," re- 
 torted, vehemently, Mr. Ernst Bauer, " I beg of you to allow 
 me to withdraw, as I know absolutely nothing of it ;" and 
 the gentleman was already taking his hat to leave the office. 
 
 "Please sit down again quietly," interposed Mr. C. 
 O' Byrne ; "I have some more questions to put to you." 
 
 "I want to know first," replied Mr. Bauer, "what right 
 you have to put questions to me at all ; who are you V 
 
 "This inquiry is right," answered Mr. 0' Byrne; "this 
 gentleman is Mr. W. Wilson, Mrs. Kirkbride's attorney, 
 and I am the deputy district attorney : that is to say : Mr. 
 Wilson having applied to this officer to institute proceed- 
 ings in a criminal action, if required, to restore to Mrs. 
 Kirkbride a property belonging to her, of which she is 
 unjustly deprived, the district attorney has constituted 
 me his deputy to make the preliminary inquiries : and 
 as you are, at least, a participator in the affair, our first 
 inquiry must refer to you. We are, therefore, authorized 
 to put you questions ; and please answer for me this second 
 one: "Had not your letters to the Messrs. Van Buskirk 
 in Cairo, Egypt, some reference to the real estate purchased 
 through you for Mr. Kirkbride, and now rightfully belong- 
 ing to his widow ? ' ' 
 
 This was a startling and unexpected query, and Mr. E. 
 Bauer was at first staggered by it. How did his questioners 
 know that the Van Buskirks existed at all ? Had they like- 
 wise written to them, and received an answer implicating 
 him ? He was at first decidedly confused in his thoughts ; 
 but he soon regained his coolness, and as it is usual for 
 rogues, preferred a lie to the truth." " Your knowledge, 
 gentlemen," he answered, "extends farther than mine; 
 I have no coiTespondence with Egypt, and would not be 
 able even to repeat the strange proper name you have just 
 pronounced : Van Barkers ! what do you mean ? ' ' 
 
 "You know the name as well as we do," replied Mr. 
 
TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 485 
 
 O' Byrne. ''They are the very gentlemen from whom you 
 got a fee for selling their property to Mr. Kirkbride ; and 
 since you do not want to give us the information we ask of 
 you, you ^vill have to be tried as a criminal for it." 
 
 '' I defy you ! " he exclaimed, and left the room. 
 
 When he reached his office in Wall Street, he was in a 
 high state of excitement : not that he was afraid of a prose- 
 cution such as he was threatened with. He knew w^ell that 
 the laws, such as they are made, could scarcely reach him 
 and inflict on him any punishment. Of what could he be 
 accused? Of not having given in to be recorded a legal 
 document intrusted to him, and for the delivery of which 
 there is no term fixed in the law ? And what if he answered 
 that he had lost it ? Could they even prove that he had 
 ever received it ? He did not see how they could even give 
 any proof of this. To speak of prosecuting him, therefore, 
 was a foolish threat ; and he would have been a child to 
 be moved to fear on this account. But what struck him to 
 the quick was the total loss of the bright hope that had so 
 long allured him, of becoming the happy possessor of such 
 valuable real estate. This to him was more bitter than 
 gall ; he would not be a millionaire as soon as he expected ! 
 Would he be even reimbursed for the taxes and assessments 
 he had, so far, regularly paid ? In his own judgment, his 
 adversaries would be simpletons and fools to come to him 
 with the money. He could, it is true, revenge himself by 
 keeping the document, and delaying the settlement of the 
 affair. But as no answer had arrived to his second letter to 
 the Yan Buskirks, it seemed very probable that those gentle- 
 men had preferred entering into negotiations with the attor- 
 ney of Mrs. Kirkbride rather than follow his suggestions. 
 He would, consequently, fail in this grand scheme ; after 
 having so long hoped he would succeed. The interior feel- 
 ings of Mr. Ernst Bauer were far from pleasant ; yet he did 
 not see what he could do to change the situation, and re- 
 store his fallen hopes. 
 
 For a couple of days, he had to chew the bitter cud of 
 these reflections, which were still as bitter and galling as at 
 
486 LOUISA KIBKBRIDE. 
 
 the first moment, when he received a note from the district 
 attorney, requesting him to come to his office, that evening. 
 
 He went armed with a revolver, in case anybody proposed 
 to arrest him ; and was surprised to find the prosecuting 
 officer alone. 
 
 "Mr. Bauer," said the gentleman, "you refused, the 
 other day, to answer two questions which my deputy ad- 
 dressed to you ; we could call you before a court and oblige 
 you to answer them ; but we know that the case is such 
 that we could not extort from you the document you keep, 
 nor send you to the penitentiary where you have richly 
 deserved to go. On our side, we could well wait for 
 the arrival of one of the Messrs. Yan Buskirk, who vn:otQ 
 lately, he would be in New York early next year. He 
 would certainly sign another deed in the place of the one 
 you have. But this would delay several months the fulfill- 
 ment of justice, and inconvenience considerably the o^vner 
 of the property, who is otherwise poor. We make you this 
 proposal, giving you the choice of the alternative : either 
 simply return to Mr. Wilson the paper which we know you 
 have ; and there will be no fuss made ; or expect directly 
 a summons from me ; not so much to send you to jail as to 
 let the whole of the city of New York know that you have 
 attempted to rob a widow, and do not deserve the confidence 
 of honest people." 
 
 "Sir?" . . . exclaimed Mr. Bauer, who was boiling with 
 rage. 
 
 But the gentleman would not allow him to proceed, and 
 merely said : " You have heard me. Take your choice, and 
 declare it to me in writing as soon as you have made up 
 your mind." And he left Mr. Bauer alone in the office. 
 
 A couple of days after the dinner of the two physicians 
 with Mrs. Kirkbride, Dr. McElheran, going down one fore- 
 noon to the city, stopped at the door of Dr. Dillon, whom 
 he found at home. We have not yet become acquainted 
 with the private life of this worthy gentleman, and the happy 
 thought of the young Irish ^^hysician to have a moment's 
 
TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 487 
 
 talk with his new friend may reveal to us something of in- 
 terest. There are still in this miserable world souls worthy 
 of being known and appreciated, but remaining all their 
 earthly life hidden and in obscurity. Such was the inte- 
 rior spirit of Dr. Dillon, full of charity and geniality, 
 yet restricted in his sphere and destined apparently never 
 to be honored by society as he deserved. He had never 
 married, nobody could say why ; yet he was beloved by all 
 the ladies with whom he became acquainted ; and his good- 
 ness of heart would, even in his old days, have bound to 
 him for better and for worse any rich widow to whom he 
 would have proposed marriage. All those he went to see 
 inwardly thought he had some object of that kind in visit- 
 ing them. His well-bred Joviality attracted them so power- 
 fully that no other visitor ever pleased them as much as good 
 old Dr. Dillon. There is no need of assuring our readers that 
 his intercourse with them was always redolent with good 
 taste as well as with reserve and modesty ; and some of them 
 went so far as to express openly their surprise that after 
 the longest tete-d-tite mtQT\\ew with him, they never obtained 
 more than a slight pressing of his hand when he left ; and 
 there was never any change in his tone, in his smile, in his 
 smallest gesture. He was evidently a very mysterious man, 
 although, in appearance, plain-spoken and talkative. 
 
 When yoimg McElheran arrived, he was in his library, 
 but, at the sight of his visitor, he closed his books, and his 
 face bore instantly his usual genial smile. 
 
 ''You come just in time," he said ; '' I was thinking of 
 you." 
 
 ''lam glad of it," replied McElheran; "and I want in- 
 stantly to know for what purpose I came in time." 
 
 "For talking," he said, "of the future projects of Mrs. 
 Kirkbride ; for you do not imagine, I suppose, that in call- 
 ing us to dinner, the other day, she had only in view what 
 she said about our medical visits to her poor." 
 
 "What other project could she have?" inquired McEl- 
 heran. "You know her better than I, and I could not 
 imagine anything else." 
 
488 LOUISA KIRKBJRIDE. 
 
 ''"Well," remarked the old doctor, "when she was rich, 
 she annually distributed a large amount of money, and thus 
 did a great deal of good to the poor. She has now scarcely a 
 penny to give ; and I wonder how she can live with her two 
 girls. Her plans must consequently take quite a different 
 direction ; and what direction could they take, now chiefly 
 that she is a Catholic, but that of conventual life and works 
 of mercy through religious associations ? You will see that, 
 in less than ten years, she will be at the head of a convent, 
 an abbess, if you please ; and Julia will be the directress 
 of her novices." 
 
 ''You are joking, doctor," exclaimed McElheran, who 
 remembered the words Mrs. Kirkbride had said about Julia 
 becoming a Sister of Mercy. "You are joking, doctor; 
 and I do not see how Julia must necessarily be a nun ; she 
 would do much better, in my opinion, as a mother of a 
 family, and the wife of a man whom she would make 
 happy. Mrs. Kirkbride, besides, is not, as far as I know, a 
 Catholic ; I all along understood that she was an Episco- 
 palian. You said so yourself, the other day." 
 
 " Episcopalian fiddlesticks ! " exclaimed, in laughing, the 
 old doctor. "I tell you that she will never have anything 
 more to do with Trinity Chapel and Dr. Dixon. I do not 
 profess to know how far she has gone, and whether she has 
 actually joined the Catholic Church ; but I am sure that, if 
 she has not yet, she will not be long before doing it, and 
 that she has already projects about convents and all that." 
 
 "I see," remarked McElheran, " a great difficulty in her 
 way, suggested even by yourself. As she is too poor to 
 give alms, how can she establish a convent ? It takes money 
 for that." 
 
 "Nonsense!" replied Dr. Dillon. "Three women join 
 together ; they soon have a dozen more applying for admis- 
 sion. They all work, night and day, and can not only sup- 
 port themselves, but also support the poor ; the rich soon 
 come to their aid ; and, in the twinkle of an eye, you have 
 a convent. But they must be Catholics to succeed well." 
 
 "But, doctor," remarked McElheran, "since you know 
 
rVvO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 489 
 
 SO well what Mrs. Kirkbride intends to do, you must know 
 likewise what views she has with respect to ourselves ; for 
 it seems you suppose that she entertains views of that 
 kind." 
 
 '* Certainly," replied Dr. Dillon. "What she wishes to 
 make of you, I cannot say. If you were of my age, and 
 remained a bachelor, I would put you in the same category 
 with myself ; but, at any moment you can slip through her 
 fingers, and, instead of becoming a monk, you would marry 
 one of her girls ; that little vixen of Rosa, for instance, 
 whom Mrs. Kirkbride will find a great difficulty to train to 
 a conventual life." 
 
 ''Indeed, doctor," said McElheran, ''you are a terrible 
 joker, and you wish evidently to amuse me. If you do not 
 know what Mrs. Kirkbride intends to do with me, because 
 I may slip through her fingers ; hov^r can she hope to make 
 a monk of you, since you are not even a Catholic ? " 
 
 " Oh," he exclaimed, " she intends first to make a Catho- 
 lic of me." 
 
 "And will she succeed?" inquired the young physician. 
 
 "It is very possible she may," said Dr. Dillon. "You 
 see, my dear friend, I have passed all my life with ladies, 
 many of them very attractive and good ; I not only never 
 felt inclined to marry any of them, but, even to place my- 
 self under the influence of any one, with the exception of 
 Mrs. Kirkbride. She has always exerted over me a fascina- 
 tion which I cannot explain. She is all purity and good- 
 ness; and, with her, my thoughts could not wander to 
 anything unworthy of her ; but w^ere she to tell me, ' Dr. 
 Dillon, go and drown yourself,' I would be sorely tempted 
 to commit suicide. So that be sure that, if the projects of 
 Mrs. Kirkbride are really such as I think they are, it is 
 very likely that I will end my life not only a Catholic like 
 you, but even a monk of the severest cast, just to please 
 her." 
 
 "But this is all nonsense, doctor," observed McElheran. 
 "You are not a machine, and you have a will of your 
 
490 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 *'It may be so," replied Mr. Dillon. "But tliere is in 
 the heart of that woman such a treasure of goodness and 
 virtue, that I am altogether at her command, and always 
 glad to do her bidding." 
 
 Dr. Dillon may have presented the actual projects of Mrs. 
 Kirkbride in too definite a shape, and attributed to her per- 
 sonal plans of which the good lady did not even think. Yet 
 something unusual habitually floated in her imagination 
 which certainly was not altogether opposed to what the 
 good doctor thought, and of which the sequel will give us 
 the real scope. McElheran left Dr. Dillon with a hearty 
 shake of the hand, and whipped his horse vrith fury toward 
 Mrs. Kirkbride' s house. He wished to ascertain something 
 positive about those supposed intentions of Julia with re- 
 spect to a nunnery, which annoyed him a great deal more 
 than he was pleased to confess to any one. 
 
 When he reached the place, he found Mrs. Kirkbride 
 absent, and Rosa being in the kitchen, he could enjoy 
 a tete-a-tete with Julia, in the parlor. He was somewhat 
 ruffled in his temper, but the placid face of the excellent 
 girl soon restored his usual tranquillity. 
 
 "The other day," he said, "when I came to dine with 
 Dr. Dillon, I did not find an oi^portunity to meet you alone, 
 although I wished it ; but I am glad to be more lucky to- 
 day. I thought, dear Julia, that your intimacy with the 
 lady of the house was such that you had no secret whatever 
 for her, and that everything of importance which happened 
 to you, and chiefly your plans for the future, Avere alto- 
 gether in her possession. How is it that Mrs. Kirkbride 
 imagines — let me be plain with you — that your wishes are 
 to become a Sister of Mercy \ Had you ever such an inten- 
 tion, my dear, and did I place myself between you and God ? 
 I would not for anything in the world, turn you away from 
 what we Catholics call ' the better part,' although it would 
 indeed render my life sad and dreary ; and I wish you to be 
 explicit on the subject, in order that I may know directly 
 my fate, and shape my projects accordingly." 
 
 "This is indeed plain talldng," rei)lied Julia, *^and I 
 
TWO FIGURES VERT UNLIKE. 491 
 
 tliank yon for it. Mrs. Kirkbride knows certainly all my 
 thonglits, when they are fully formed, and when they have 
 taken a definite shape ; and I would be very ungrateful to 
 act otherwise. But I do not think it worth w^hile to trouble 
 her with every little ripple which disturbs for a moment the 
 smooth surface of our waters. I have not yet said a word to 
 her of what happened between you and me, because, on ac- 
 count of the difficulty which exists for the fulfillment of 
 your desire, the accomplishment of it is yet very problem- 
 atical, in my eyes. If ever there is more probability of suc- 
 cess, she will be the first to know it. As to what she may 
 have said of my desire to be a Sister of Mercy, it is not from 
 any word of mine that she has conjectured it. But it may 
 be that, as she is on the point of being received in our 
 Holy Church, she may herself entertain the idea of a reli- 
 gious life, and she may think that, in such a case as this, I 
 would follow her ; and indeed, had I made no other engage- 
 ment, I would certainly do so. But this, after all, is only 
 a dream. I never yet thought of forming projects of life for 
 myself. During the life of my dear mother, I could not do 
 so in conscience, as my cares were due to her ; since her 
 death Mrs. Kirkbride has replaced my mother ; and it was 
 the wish of my father himself, as w^ell as the promptings of 
 my own heart, which placed me in the position where you 
 found me ; and you know that we Catholics call this the 
 will of God, which it is our duty to do always. In these few 
 words of explanation, you have, my dear sir, everthing that I 
 know about it. My life is in the hand of God, and what I 
 shall be depends entirely on his Holy Providence." 
 
 At this moment, McElheran would have tenderly em- 
 braced Julia, had he not considered her as too holy a person 
 to be treated with familiarity. He looked on her with a real 
 reverence, and contented himself with taking her hand and 
 kissing it. 
 
 ^' I thank you from my heart," he said, "for speaking as 
 clearly as you did. The conclusion of the whole is that you 
 are kept in suspense by these foolish relatives of mine. 
 I intend directly to bring them to their senses ; and then I 
 
492 LOUISA KIJRKBRIDE. 
 
 shall possess yon. You are too precious a treasure to escape 
 me ; I must have you at every possible sacrifice ; unless, 
 indeed, God wants yoii entirely for Himself, and He has a 
 better right to you than I can have." 
 
 Saying this, he left the room, and was soon on his way to 
 the city. 
 
 Mr. Ernst Bauer had had time to come to a decision on 
 the proposal made him so coolly by the district attorney ; 
 but it must be said that it was a hard task to decide. What 
 a frightful alternative, after all his pleasant dreams ! Either 
 to be denounced to the world as a thief intending to defraud 
 a poor widow, or to renounce the alluring hope of at once 
 enriching himself, and of becoming one of the great real- 
 estate owners of New York ! Yet the alternative was plain ; 
 the district attorney had spoken the language of reason, 
 and had not treated him like a child, by threatening him 
 with the i)enitentiary, where he could not send him. If, by 
 choosing the second part of the proposal, Mr. Bauer could 
 have flattered himself with grasping the coveted prize, he 
 might desx^ise public opinion, and not care in the least what 
 men might think of him. Being then a millionaire, he would 
 consider himself as above the contempt of honest men, sure 
 as he would be of having many admirers among the wor- 
 shipers of Mammon, who naturally fall at the feet of a 
 scoundrel when he is ''clad in purple and fine linen," and 
 can give grand dinners out of his ill-gotten profits. But he 
 was sensible enough to know that this could not be the case 
 with him. If lie did not give back the document he pos- 
 sessed, it would remain a mere piece of x>aper in his hands ; 
 and, even though the real owner of the property could not 
 come to her own directly, and would have to await the ar- 
 rival of one of the Yan Buskirks, Mr. E. Bauer could not 
 derive any substantial benefit from it, and would have to 
 be satisfied with the paltry result of mean revenge. Mean- 
 while, the sums he had already paid for assessments and 
 taxes, which were not as yet balanced by any revenue, 
 would be a dead loss for him, and indeed be too dear a price 
 
TWO FIGURES VERT UNLIKE. 493 
 
 for the satisfaction lie might feel in doing an injury to the 
 lady. On the other side, should he lay aside false shame, 
 and declare openly he could find the deed they were look- 
 ing for, and give it at last to be recorded, not only he could 
 claim reimbursement for what he had paid, but perhaps he 
 might obtain a fine bonus for placing his adversaries in im- 
 mediate possession of their rights. 
 
 These were the thoughts which formed the elements of his 
 decision. But, to arrive at a peaceful state of mind on the 
 subject, he had to wade, long days and nights, through the 
 mire of bitter feelings, rendered more acute by the uncer- 
 tainty of many mysteries which he could not account for. 
 How were the district attorney and his deputy in possession 
 of secrets which he thought had remained concealed in his 
 own breast ? How did they know so positively that he had 
 been the agent of Mr. Kirkbride, and had, on this account, 
 received the deed which was the cause of so much trouble ? 
 How did they learn that he had written to the Yan Bus- 
 kirks, and how could they speak so positively of it ? He 
 had been, therefore, wrong in supposing that no one, except 
 himself, could know more on the subject than young Frede- 
 rick KMvbride and John, his valet, had ever been acquainted 
 with. He compared in his mind the attitude of that vulgar 
 ruffian, revolver in hand, on that lonely road at night, with 
 the coolness of the magistrate, who had no other weapon 
 but his commanding voice, and he was obliged to confess 
 that he had, at last, found his master. 
 
 He knew that, if he delayed too long, a summons would 
 come, which would give publicity to the whole affair. He 
 did not wait for it, and penned the following short and 
 rather obscure note: ''Sir — According to your request, I 
 am prepared to give to your questions answers which may 
 perhaps satisfy you. Please appoint a place and time of 
 meeting. Yours, respectfully, Ernst Bauer." 
 
 A response to this note was immediately dispatched, de- 
 signating eight o'clock p.m. as the time, and the district 
 attorney's office as the place, where Mr. Ernst Bauer would 
 do well to appear. He was faithful to the summons, but 
 
494 LOUISA KUtKBRIDE. 
 
 was somewhat surprised to find, instead of the prosecuting 
 officer, only his deputy, Mr. C. O' Byrne, and Mr. AY. Wil- 
 son, waiting for him in the appointed room. Mr. 0' Byrne 
 spoke first. 
 
 '^I understand, sir, that you bring us the deed intrusted 
 to you by Mr. Kirkbride ? " 
 
 " I may find it for you," replied Mr. Bauer, ''if some pre- 
 vious agreement is entered into between you and me." 
 
 ''And what is the previous agreement which you would 
 propose ?'•' answered the first gentleman. 
 
 "First," said Mr. Bauer, " it is but just that, on the de- 
 livery of the deed, the paid assessments and taxes should 
 be immediately refunded." 
 
 "If I were alone concerned in this trcfnsaction," replied 
 O' Byrne, "I would not consent to it, to punish you for 
 your want of integrity ; but Mr. Wilson, here, has the inte- 
 rests of Mrs. Kirkbride in charge. Let him answer you." 
 
 "We have not," said that gentleman, "any feeling of 
 revenge for the evil intended us, and we are not public prose- 
 cutors of bad intentions. The property, besides, must bear 
 its own charges. I promise that, on the delivery of the 
 deed, with the proper vouchers for what has been paid 
 in assessments and taxes, a check will be given for the 
 amount." 
 
 "This must satisfy you, sir," remarked Mr. O' Byrne. 
 "And, in my opinion, it is more than you could expect, 
 and than you would grant yourself, if our situations were 
 exchanged." 
 
 "Yet," interposed Mr. Bauer, "the proposed agreement 
 should include a further clause : ' That, on account of the 
 care taken of the property, and, as compensation for the 
 loss of a valuable prospective agency, twenty-five thousand 
 dollars be handed on the same day of delivery, to the per- 
 son who will return the deed.' " 
 
 "Twenty-five thousand fiddlesticks!" exclaimed Mr. C. 
 O' Byrne. "This would be 'compounding felony,' and I 
 will never be guilty of such a crime. You shall not have a 
 penny of compensation^ sir ; I answer this, in the name of 
 
TWO FIGURES VERY UNLIKE. 495 
 
 the district attorney, and independently of what Mr. W. 
 Wilson himself would do, if legal authority had not inter- 
 posed. His consent to your iirst condition is too good for 
 you ; you shall not have the benefit of the second." 
 
 This firmness set Mr. Ernst Bauer a thinking. That 
 young deputy spoke not only as having authority, but 
 likeAvise as possessing an intimate knowledge of the whole 
 affair. The piercing eye of Mr. 0' Byrne appeared to him 
 penetrating into the inmost recesses of his guilty heart, 
 and he was cowed down by the superiority which plain 
 honesty always enjoys over cunning and vile scheming. He 
 asked, however, for one day's delay to reflect on the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 *'Not a moment more," exclaimed the young deputy dis- 
 trict attorney. ' ' I suppose you have the papers with you ; 
 lay them on this table. Mr. Wilson is ready to give you 
 his check for the amount of your vouchers ; and, as it is 
 proper there should be as many witnesses to the transaction 
 as can be, the district attorney himself will be present 
 directly, so that there can be no more imposition and de- 
 ceit." 
 
 The thing was done as dictated by Mr. C. 0' Byrne ; and 
 this very night, he, with Mr. Wilson, threw himself into a 
 hack and went to apprise Mrs. Kirkbride that she was no 
 more reduced to penury, but could follow the promptings 
 of her heart in distributing charity around her. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 IlfTEEESTINa INTEEVIEW BETWEEN" MES. LOUISA KIEKBEIDE 
 AND HI 
 DINNEE 
 
 AND HEE ''two DAUGHTEES," FOLLOWED BY A LIVELY 
 
 The reader must render to himself a complete account of 
 the total change effected in the worldly prosjDects of our 
 most venerable lady, by the news unexpectedly brought her 
 by O' Byrne and Wilson. The ownership of three large 
 blocks, besides a considerable gore of land, situated in a 
 still forlorn district, it is true, but on the point of rising 
 immensely in value, suddenly made of Mrs. Kirkbride a 
 rich woman again. Her position, therefore, was instantly 
 reversed. What she could not do yesterday, she is fully 
 able to do to-day. But as far as her action was synony- 
 mous with almsgiving, the meaning, therefore, is that, yes- 
 terday, she had nothing to give away ; and, to-day, she can 
 dispense her gifts liberally. By disposing directly of a 
 small slice of her new jDroperty — the gore, for instance, out 
 of three blocks — she would have a round sum in hand to 
 begin with, at once. By waiting some time, before dis- 
 posing of a part of the remainder, she would receive such 
 high prices for every parcel of it, that all her benevolent 
 intentions, whatever they might be, would find ample means 
 for their fulfillment. There is no concealing the fact, there- 
 fore, that this was a most complete revolution in her cir- 
 cumstances. The reader may be at first staggered, and 
 scarcely able to form a just conception of it. But he must 
 be brought to it, and understand well all the consequences, 
 for the lady, of the news conveyed to her by her two 
 
 49G 
 
THE TWO DAUGHTERS. 497 
 
 friends. It was the same as telling her: ^'Yesterday, you 
 were little ' Red Hood,' living in a hut, with scarcely bread 
 enough to satisfy your hunger. But a good fairy has in- 
 terposed ; you are now a princess, and we come to take you 
 to the royal palace prepared for you." And, as her heart 
 was burning with an ardent desire — not to enjoy personally 
 the usual advantages of wealth, and voraciously devour the 
 feast spread before her — but to feed the hungry, to clothe 
 the naked, to console the afflicted, etc., she threw herself, 
 at once, into the run of her new position, and began to act 
 in a completely different manner from what she did the 
 previous day. This the reader must understand fully, not 
 to be bewildered by what he is going presently to see. 
 
 The change, besides, was brought on so naturally, though 
 suddenly, that it made no noise whatever ; and people might 
 be induced to believe that it was an affair of legerdemain, 
 which explains nothing, but bewilders completely. Some, 
 in consequence, may imagine that this denouement gives 
 more than one can expect ; but in this they are mistaken. 
 All the steps taken, without any noise, have been well 
 marked to show the natural and simple progress of those 
 extraordinary events. Who can find fault with any of the 
 details previously given ? They were, in fact, the outcom- 
 ing incidents of a true story, though the gentle current of 
 the stream remained almost unperceived ; and as in ordinary 
 life the facts of to-day are so naturally the sequel of those 
 of yesterday, that no one has time and inclination to look 
 for the link ; still the link exists, and wdll soon be per- 
 ceived if any one takes the trouble of looking curiously for 
 it ; so it was in this case, and it is proper to look at it. 
 
 See how the natural cunning of a rascal brought to the 
 late Mr. Kirkbride the proposal of a heavy purchase, Just 
 at the moment he was starting for the north. See how 
 easily, and by what apparently artless means, the gentle- 
 man was induced to conclude the bargain. Pay strict at- 
 tention to the shrewdness of the rogue, very natural in a 
 rogue certainly, by which he so nearly succeeded in appro- 
 priating to himself what did not belong to him. As to the 
 32 
 
498 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 various circumstances by wliicli the intended tlieft was not 
 discovered by yonng Frederick, wlio could not thus lose this 
 last piece of property on Black Friday, everybody must ad- 
 mit that things of the kind have happened before, and will 
 still happen, in the course of time. The same may be said 
 of the way in which the cunning of a knave was overreached 
 by the good sense and firmness of two honest men ; and 
 thus every detail is proved to have taken place as naturally 
 as one's heart could desire. 
 
 People may think that this is said here only to satisfy 
 hypercritics, who have always some reason or other to find 
 fault with the works of fiction, which they condescend to 
 read. But there is a far better motive for saying it before 
 resuming the thread of the narrative. It is the more highly 
 important view of impressing the reader with the idea of 
 the invisible workings of Divine Providence, when he con- 
 templates the remarkable occurrences recorded in this most 
 truthful story. Who can then refuse to admit the great 
 truth that God interferes in human affairs, and leads every- 
 thing to a good end, in spite of devils and bad men? 
 God does not always use his thunder in order to punish 
 evil and reduce to impotency the wicked who do not believe 
 in him. He often despises them too much to make so much 
 fuss about them ; and as the giant Goliath was killed by a 
 small pebble from the sling of David, so the cunning Ernst 
 Bauer saw his admirable plans defeated by the bold lan- 
 guage of a simple and scarcely educated youth. There is 
 not a single circumstance of the eventful story which does 
 not show the finger of God. We have, indeed, in the whole 
 narrative, a perfect exemplification of what St. Paul says 
 when he asserts that God knows how to draw good from evil. 
 
 Was there, in fact, a fitter object on earth for God him- 
 self to exert his power than on the gentle lady, who at this 
 moment feels the deepest gratitude for the unexpected 
 change in her position? Although she had not the happi- 
 ness of being born in the bosom, and brought up on the 
 knees of mother Church, she was precisely at this moment 
 hastening to her embrace, and giving herself up altogether 
 
THE TWO DAUGHTERS. 499 
 
 to her direction. And the very way her return to affluence 
 was effected, was in accordance with the gentleness of her 
 disposition. A word has just been said of the thunder of 
 God. Not for her was it to belch forth canister and grape ; 
 though God occasionally uses these means of destruction. 
 But had he wished to do so, on this occasion, she would 
 have deprecated, ^^ith tears in her eyes, and sobs in her 
 bosom, the fearful necessity. She would have let down her 
 head or rather fallen on her knees to ask, as the greatest 
 favor, forgiveness for her enemies. Fortunately, there was 
 nothing of the kind intended by the Providence of God at 
 this moment. If Mr. Ernst Bauer was obliged to restore to 
 her what she had a right to, he was not, on this account, 
 reduced to penury and want. He had yet more than he 
 deserved of the goods of this world. In fact, the thorough 
 revolution in the circumstances of the lady had happened 
 without any commotion whatever ; and although she was 
 on the eve of a completely different state of life, nobody 
 had been disturbed in his just and fair aspirations. 
 
 These reflections were necessary to link the past part of 
 our story with what is just going to be described ; and, to 
 begin, it happened that the day on which Mr. Wilson and 
 Mr. C. O' Byrne came to give the good news to Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride was the first of October. The lady knew that Julia 
 and Rosa had gone to church that afternoon, and were pre- 
 paring to go to Mass the following morning, and receive 
 holy communion, as it was to be the festival of the Holy 
 Angels. When the two gentlemen had departed, she called 
 the girls together to her room and told them : 
 
 '*! will go with you to church, to-morrow morning, my 
 dear children ; and although I cannot yet share in all your 
 happiness, since, for very good reasons, my baptism and re- 
 ception into the church have been delayed, still I will pray 
 with you, and I beg of you to pray to God ardently for 
 some object of my own which I intend to communicate to 
 you when we return." 
 
 The three prayed, therefore, most fervently this morning 
 of the Holy Angels ; and when they came back home and 
 
500 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 had taken their simple breakfast, Julia and Rosa were 
 most curious to know what Mrs. Kirkbride had to say. 
 She took them to her room, and began to talk : 
 
 ' ' The visit I received last evening, my dear children, was 
 to announce to me that I am again rich, and I am glad of it 
 for your sakes principally, as you have a right to have a 
 share in my good luck. Yet it disturbs my plans some- 
 what — for I had plans, I assure you — and to know how far 
 I can carry them out, I must know from you what you in- 
 tend to do when I am able again to have servants, and you 
 yourselves are placed in an independent position. What 
 will you do, Eosa, since I understand that you are soon to 
 marry ; when is it that you leave me ? " 
 
 "Indeed, madam," exclaimed the girl, "your question 
 astonishes me. Do you want to get rid of me ? Have I done 
 anything to displease you ? It would break my heart if it 
 were so." 
 
 "Nothing of the kind, my dear child," replied Mrs. 
 Kirkbride ; " but when you are married you do not intend, 
 I suppose, to cook my meals any more ; and I must replace 
 you, you see. I will be happy, indeed, if I can find another 
 little cook as good as you." 
 
 "To tell you the truth," ejaculated Eosa, "all this was 
 already arranged between my future husband and myself. 
 As the Froment family are to leave next month — they an- 
 nounced it to you lately, and you were afraid of not finding 
 lodgers as good as they are — Mr. Cornelius O'B^n^ne has 
 already pre-engaged their apartments when they leave. I 
 am to cook both for you and my husband until some other 
 arrangement can be made ; and in any event, I am not to 
 quit your house and your service. It would kill me, my 
 dear madam, to live far from you. Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne 
 knows this my thought and fully approves it. He says that 
 you are my mother, and he will be proud to have you for 
 his mother-in-law ; and although many young married men 
 do not like to live under the same roof with their mother- 
 in-law, and perhaps the greater number of girls like mar- 
 riage so much chiefly because it frees them from the con- 
 
THE TWO DAUGHTERS. 501 
 
 trol of their motlier, it cannot be so with yon. Yon are 
 more necessary to us than we have ever been to yon ; rich 
 or poor it is the same ; we must live together or there can 
 be no happiness for ns, for me at least." And saying this, 
 the good child, with tears in her eyes, threw herself on the 
 neck of the lady and sobbed aloud. 
 
 " I am happy, indeed, to hear you, my dear child," said 
 Mrs. Kirkbride, ' ' and I see, with great pleasure, that my 
 plans need only be modified, not given up." 
 
 ''What were those plans ? do tell us," exclaimed Eosa, 
 all full of joy. 
 
 "Not before Julia has spoken," replied Mrs. Kirkbride. 
 
 "You know already, madam, what I have to say," re- 
 plied the girl. " You have adopted me for your daughter, 
 and I must remain so, unless you discard me ; and this, in- 
 deed, would be for me a sorrowful blow." 
 
 " But you must have some projects of your own, child," 
 observed the lady, "and now that I am no longer poor, 
 should you even leave me to follow them, I cannot blame 
 you, and will continue to love you dearly and be thankful 
 to you for your great kindness to me." 
 
 "Whatever may be my own projects," interposed Julia, 
 "they must necessarily be so shaped as not to separate me 
 from you ; what Rosa just said is also my determination. 
 I intend to continue to live with you as long as you permit 
 me to do so. 
 
 "Tliank God, the matter is as I wished," exclaimed with 
 joy Mrs. Kirkbride; "my plans can be fairly carried out, 
 and better, perhaps, than I intended. Please listen now to 
 them, my dear children, and tell me if you approve them." 
 
 Then the lady began to speak at length of a project she 
 had entertained for several months, and almost matured in 
 her interior communications with God. It was not exactly 
 what Dr. Dillon supposed, but it came, after all, to the 
 same, as far, at least, as the people of the neighborhood 
 were concerned. It was nothing else than to supply the 
 numerous colony around her with all the means which reli- 
 f^ion confers for this life and the next, and which the Church 
 
502 LOUISA KmKBRIDE. 
 
 knows a great deal better how to secure than what is called 
 civilization. 
 
 She intended first to establish schools for the giiis of the 
 neighborhood on the West Side, who were almost entirely 
 neglected, and of course she was to be their school-mistress 
 with Julia ; she was to have the poor attended during sick- 
 ness by her own physicians, for she had two at her dis- 
 posal, and the keen old gentleman, Dr. Dillon, had rightly 
 suspected it ; she wanted all the difficulties among her 
 neighbors to be settled by arbitration ; a good and honest 
 lawyer was needed for this purpose, and she hojDed to se- 
 cure the services of Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne. In her first 
 plan, no money was supposed to be at her disposal, and she 
 thought it possible to do without it, but now that she was 
 going to have some means of her o\vn, they would be a 
 greater help, and she might destine the real estate coming 
 to her as the ground plan of an establishment which was 
 perhaps to exist after her, and which would be at the 
 same time religious, industrial, educational, and benevolent. 
 " Irish village " was to profit by all these projects ; and the 
 advantages of the place attracting other people, she figured 
 to herself a large town starting up into existence, in the 
 wilds of the West Side of the Central Park, and giving to 
 the bewildered citizens of all races, swarming all around, 
 the idea of what a single soul full of love and deep religion 
 can do for other peo2:)le. 
 
 "Now," said Mrs. Kirkbride, in conclusion, "I will soon 
 be able to begin, with the help of both of you, on one side, 
 and of Mr. McElheran and Dr. Dillon on the other ; but in 
 order to be more precise about my projects, I must have 
 a private conversation with Julia. Go, therefore, to the 
 kitchen, Rosa, since you wish to continue to be our cook ; 
 and for our dinner, to-day, spend double the usual amount, 
 for we must have a kind of feast to celebrate the inaugura- 
 tion of the new era." 
 
 As soon as Julia was alone : 
 
 "Tell me," said the lady, "what you intend to do, with- 
 out leaving the house, and with the understanding that we 
 
THE TWO DAUGHTERS. 503 
 
 are not to be separated. I suppose you do not intend to 
 marry ; do you wish to enter a nunnery as soon as God 
 leaves you free to do it ? " 
 
 Then the giii could not remain silent any longer. She 
 related to the lady what had taken place between her and 
 Dr. McElheran ; what was the real obstacle to their mar- 
 riage, and the great improbability of the foolish relations of 
 the young doctor ever giving way and consentiog to his 
 union with a poor girl. 
 
 "This suits me admirably," exclaimed Mrs. Kirkbride ; 
 "when I have settled on you, as I intended, one-third of 
 the property, you will be an heiress, for I understand that 
 by merely keeping it, for a few years, it will be worth mil- 
 lions. Thus you can marry Mr. McElheran. With one- 
 third of it I shall have enough for all my projects ; the 
 second third will thus be the marriage portion of Mrs. Julia 
 McElheran, and the last one will enable Mrs. Rosa 0' Byrne 
 to tyrannize over Mr. Cornelius, as titled ladies do over 
 their untitled husbands. It will be all around an admira- 
 ble arrangement. And I see the possibility of giving to the 
 whole such a shape that we will all live together and form a 
 vast establishment, where the majority will be Irish. Who 
 knows whether I will not, by and by, be adopted by one of 
 your clans, and no objections be made to me, on account of 
 my English origin ? " 
 
 When Mrs. Kirkbride had finished this plain statement, 
 she told Julia to go to her usual occupations, until dinner 
 time, and she herself withdrew to her room. But she had 
 scarcely reached it, when Rosa came up, in a great hurry, 
 and full of mischievous glee, to tell her that Dr. Dillon was 
 below, who wished to see her for a moment. 
 
 "Would she not do well to keep him for dinner, after 
 which, the diploma, that Julia had already indited, could 
 be delivered to him with great ceremony ? " 
 
 "jN'othing could be better than this arrangement," said 
 the lady. " Send him up immediately." 
 
 It turned out that the good old doctor had merely called 
 to say, that one of the iDatients of Mrs. Kirkbride would 
 
504 LOUISA KIBKBRIBE. 
 
 want, in the afternoon, the care of one of her '^ daughters." 
 It was usual for him to do so, when charity required it. 
 
 "Julia herself will certainly go," replied the lady, on 
 receiving the address of the sick woman. "But I wish you 
 to dine with us, to-day, at one o'clock. It is an early hour ; 
 I know, however, that your stomach is always ready. There 
 is yet plenty of time for you to attend to any business you 
 may have on hand ; but do not fail to bring Mr. McElheran 
 with you. Should he be inconvenienced, on account of the 
 impossibility for him to eat dinner so early, tell him he 
 will not be required to dine, unless he wishes ; but I want 
 his presence with yours." 
 
 This was sure to bring back the old doctor, by exciting 
 his curiosity. His mind went through a maze of conjec- 
 tures, which it is useless for us to detail. He knew nothing 
 of tlie happy change in the affairs of Mrs. Kirkbride ; and it 
 was not yet her intention to let anybody know it, excei^t 
 her two girls. We must, consequently, let him undertake 
 in his imagination the absolutely impossible task of finding 
 out what his lady friend kept in store for him. He came 
 back in time, with Mr. McElheran, whom he tried on the 
 way to enlighten with a thousand sux^positions as to what 
 they were going to hear. When they arrived, however, 
 they neither heard nor saw anything extraordinary, and, 
 after waiting a few minutes, they were introdaced into the 
 little dining-room, in the basement, near the kitchen. 
 
 As the door between the two rooms was open, they could 
 occasionally have a peep at Rosa, who was very busy with 
 her dishes ; still more than once she herself stole a glance or 
 two in the direction of the dining-room ; and every time 
 her eyes fell on Dr. Dillon, she smiled mischievously, as 
 much as to say : "I have you ! " 
 
 The dinner was certainly a very different affair from the 
 one the two gentlemen had partaken of, a week or two pre- 
 vious. Not only had Rosa spent double the usual allow- 
 ance, according to the direction of the lady, but not being 
 bound by the strict bonds of religious obedience, she had 
 gone far beyond the assigned limit. The lady herself was 
 
THE TWO DAUGHTERS, 505 
 
 astonished, after a while, to see so many dishes coming to 
 the table, brought in by Julia. But she would have, by 
 and by, a good reason to give to her guests ; and so she did 
 not intend to scold Rosa too much afterward. But during 
 the meal, as nothing could be said yet of the object of the 
 meeting, which was to be a surprise, the eyes of Dr. Dillon 
 opened larger and larger every minute, and his tongue 
 burned to ask what was the motive of this extravagance. 
 The lady gave no explanation ; she scarcely knew herself 
 what to think of it ; and, on one occasion, turning her head 
 toward the kitchen, at a moment when Hosa was peeping 
 slyly out of it, the eyes of both met each other, and that 
 little minx could not contain herself, but fairly burst out 
 into laughter. A moment came, finally, when it was no 
 more possible for the lady to remain mute. At the dessert, 
 together with some nice fruit, a small dish of confectionery 
 attracted directly the attention of all. It had been made 
 by Rosa, who used for it the greatest part of the sugar in 
 the house. Each piece represented some part of the human 
 body, such as surgeons are very fond of keeping in their 
 possession, and occasionally scrutinizing and dissecting: 
 hands with all the fingers ; feet with all the toes ; eyes, and 
 ears, and noses, etc., etc. Dr. Dillon took one of the last, 
 and said that, if the confectioner had intended to represent 
 his own, he or she had completely failed as an artist, al- 
 though he or she may have succeeded as a pastry-cook. 
 The nostrils of that nose were far more expanded than his 
 own ; but he confessed, after breaking a part of it and tast- 
 ing it, that he could not boast of any such sweetness in his 
 composition. 
 
 Here, undoubtedly, a few words of explanation were ab- 
 solutely required, and Mrs. Kirkbride had to come out at 
 last. Without revealing the precise object for which she 
 had called the two gentlemen, she said that " they had been 
 invited for some particular reason, connected with their 
 profession as surgeons and physicians ; and it was pro- 
 bably for this reason, that the cook had taken the liberty 
 of preparing this strange medley. She had no idea what- 
 
506 LOUISA KIRKBRIBE. 
 
 ever that it was to come on her table. The thing had been 
 done without her knowing it. She hoped that her dear 
 guests would take it in good part, as intended to honor a 
 profession so absolutely needed by mankind, and so honor- 
 ably carried on by the two gentlemen present." Dr. Dillon 
 nodded his assent, and Dr. McElheran appeared more dumb- 
 founded than ever. 
 
 At last the meal was over, the cloth was removed, two 
 wine-glasses and a bottle were left alone on the table ; and 
 after a Avhile Rosa, having hastily changed her dress, brought 
 out the memorable parchment. But, before unrolling it, 
 she said that some previous explanation was due, and then 
 she would read it. We will not give the exact words of 
 the speech, but merely the substance. Until lately. Dr. 
 Dillon had been frequently employed in giving his gratu- 
 itous services to the poor and sick of the neighborhood. 
 For a great many years he had done so, without ever refus- 
 ing his help, under any pretext whatever. How many dis- 
 consolate beings had been rescued from the grave, or, at 
 least, had seen their last days of life lengthened and ren- 
 dered more tolerable by the kind care of the good doctor ? 
 Who could say the good he had done? They who had 
 witnessed it could not but bless him for it. Mrs. Kirkbride 
 considered everything the doctor had done in that line as 
 done to herself. She could not reward him for it, and, in 
 fact, no earthly reward could recompense him for so many 
 acts of pure charity. But, at this moment, when, owing to 
 his advanced age, he was no longer able to do as much as 
 formerly, and when another friend of the poor had volun- 
 teered to replace him — at least in all hard cases, difficult to 
 attend to — Mrs. Kirkbride had thought fit to express her 
 personal gratitude by some honorable token, which the 
 excellent doctor could keep in his possession, and proudly 
 show to his intimate friends. It was in the form of a di- 
 ploma^ but not for the purpose of conferring on him any 
 degree, as she was not the head of any faculty or scientilic 
 association. It was merely a short and very inadequate 
 expression of what she felt for a i)ersonal friend of such 
 
THE TWO DAUQETERS. 507 
 
 long standing, and for a thorough Christian, as she had, all 
 her Hfe, known him to be. 
 
 After these few words, or something to tJils effect^ as 
 witnesses are wont to say when called to testify before 
 a court, Eosa advanced gracefully in front of Dr. Dillon, 
 unrolled the parchment, and without laughing a single 
 time — a feat very remarkable, and scarcely to be expected 
 from her — she read the diploma, and handed it to the 
 recipient. 
 
 The good doctor was fairly taken in, for this w^as a turn 
 of affau-s with which none of his conjectures tallied. He 
 was completely taken by surprise, but, at the same time, 
 felt most deeply grateful for so delicate a mark of attention 
 on the part of the lady. He even went so far as to shed 
 tears of joy and tenderness at the recollection of the many 
 acts of kindness done him by Mrs. Kirkbride. At this in- 
 stant, his eyes happening to fall on Eosa, "I would like to 
 laugh with you," he said, ''but I cannot at present. Keep 
 your wit for another day, my dear Miss McCarthy ; I must, 
 on this occasion, seriously tell my old lady friend that this 
 simple token of her regard is of more value in my eyes than 
 any amount of money she may have formerly given me. 
 All the trouble I ever took in trying to do her will is far 
 more than comjoensated by this proof of her consideration 
 for me ; and this parchment will indeed be far more pre- 
 cious than the one I formerly received at the beginning of 
 my professional career. My friend here, Mr. McElheran," 
 he added, 'S\ill feel it when, later on, he is the happy re- 
 cipient of a favor like this." 
 
 This gentleman, of course, concluded the ceremony by 
 simply saying that he thanked the lady of the house for 
 having desired his presence on such an auspicious occasion. 
 It would certainly give him more alacrity in the perform- 
 ance of the duties he had lately bound himself to fulfill. 
 Nothing could give him more activity in his endeavors to do 
 good than to see his friend, Dr. Dillon, so honorably re- 
 warded by the lady of the house ; and he was glad to have 
 this occasion to assure her that the obligation he lately had 
 
508 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 assumed he considered as being, if possible, still more bind- 
 ing now tlian ever before. 
 
 Such was the happy termination of this little fite, which 
 nevertheless gave not to the natural curiosity of good old 
 Dr. Dillon the satisfaction he expected. Let us, however, 
 be patient ; before long, the mystery of all these proceedings 
 will be entirely unraveled. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 MES. L. KIEKBEIDE FULLY DISCLOSES HEE PLANS. 
 
 The lady had manifested, in lier last interview with, her 
 two daughters, the satisfaction she experienced that, by 
 becoming rich again, her plans would have to be "modified," 
 but not "given up." Her fears, before she spoke to Julia 
 and Rosa, were that the two excellent girls, being now able 
 to marry, would leave her, since, according to Scripture, the 
 new wife has to ' ' abandon father and mother, and follow 
 her husband." Without them she would have found her- 
 self in a forlorn condition, even with plenty of money in her 
 purse. She would have had to look around and find some 
 other girls to help her carry her benevolent intentions into 
 effect. But she was sure she would never be able to find 
 two others like her "two daughters." Yet, at the begin- 
 ning of an imdertaking such as was the one she had in 
 view it was extremely important that everything should go 
 on in tip-top order, and with new hands it was to be feared 
 it could not be so. 
 
 She was, therefore, delighted when she heard of the deter- 
 mination of both her "children ; " and she began to mature 
 her plans, modified certainly, but to their own advantage, be- 
 cause she had now means at her command to execute them 
 on a generous scale. She thought, and thought, and thought 
 which was the best way to found an establishment, at once 
 industrial, educational, charitable^ and religious. She, of 
 course, addressed herself to God in prayer, begging of him 
 to enlighten her, and strengthen her, and purify her inten- 
 tions, so that everything would redound to his glory and the 
 
 509 
 
510 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE, 
 
 good of her fellow creatures. Her projects took very soon a 
 definite shape, although she never ^ut anything in writing. 
 They were all arranged in her head, and we must leave them 
 there for a moment. 
 
 The following morning, Mr. Wilson came to inform her of 
 the result of his investigations, and was introduced to Mrs. 
 Kkkbride : " The property was all right; there would be 
 three entire blocks between Eighth and Ninth Avenues: 
 there was a gore separated from the rest facing Tenth Ave- 
 nue ; Mr. Wilson wanted the consent of the lady to sell it, 
 in order to pay the expenses of the transaction, the assess- 
 ments and taxes which were to be refunded to Mr. E. Bauer, 
 and, moreover, to place in the hands of the lady a snug little 
 sum to supply what the revenue of her house on Madison 
 Avenue could not furnish. He had found a buyer who was 
 ready to give a comparatively large price, as the position, in 
 the neighborhood of the Bloomingdale Road and Manhattan- 
 ville, was precisely what he wanted for a lucrative manu- 
 facturing establishment." All this happened at a time of 
 great inflation^ as they say, in this country. 
 
 The lady approved altogether the idea of Mr. Wilson and 
 intrusted this gentleman with the care of making directly 
 the division of the property. One third of it was to remain 
 in her own name, and it was to be the central part ; one third 
 was to be conveyed directly to Miss Julia O' Byrne, wlio 
 was thus to be turned into an heiress ready for a matrimo- 
 nial alliance with any heir of good repute ; the remainder 
 was to be the share of Miss Rosa McCarthy, w^ho was like- 
 wise to be left free in the choice of a husband. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was not satisfied with these liberal arrange- 
 ments, which literally made Mr. Wilson open wide his eyes. 
 She made him draw on a sheet of paper the diagram of her 
 portion, which was to be the great centre of all her institu- 
 tions. On this, her block, along Eighth Avenue, she gave im- 
 mediate orders for the erection of a modest, but roomy, brick 
 house for herself ; no extravagance ; everything ordinary, 
 but tasteful ; a few rooms, an ordinary-size parlor full of the 
 light from the east, and facing on the Park ; and in the base- 
 
ME8. KIREBRIDE FULLY DISCLOSES HER PLANS 511 
 
 ment a small kitchen with a dining-room of the same dimen- 
 sion. On the same line of the avenue, the northern corner 
 of the block remaining to her was destined for a chnrch, as 
 soon as the Archbishop would have approved her plans and 
 promised a clergyman ; the southern corner on the same 
 line was to be the place of her schools. 
 
 She likewise directed Mr. Wilson to indicate on the dia- 
 gram of this central block a separate spot along Ninth 
 Avenue going down one hundred feet in the block, and to 
 divide it into two equal parts ; the northern one to be deeded 
 to Miss Julia 0' Byrne besides her above-mentioned portion ; 
 on the condition that her future husband should erect his 
 house thereon, and have in it a room to be used as a dispen- 
 sary for the poor ; the same disposition was to be made of 
 the southern half of the line along Ninth Avenue in favor of 
 Dr. Dillon, who was likewise to give a part of his bachelor's 
 apartments, constructed at his own expense, for the use of 
 the diseased and suffering poor. That side of her central 
 block was consequently to be devoted to the relief of suffer- 
 ing humanity. 
 
 Mr. Wilson was more astonished than ever, and waited 
 for what was coming next. Mrs. Kirkbride wished him to 
 
 indicate on the same diagram along the line of Eighty 
 
 Street, looking south, a square of one hundred feet to be 
 conveyed by deed to Miss Rosa McCarthy, besides her por- 
 tion, on condition that her future husband should erect 
 thereon a house where he should manage to have an out- 
 side office to give consultations on law to all the neighbors 
 threatened with lawsuits. 
 
 ''I suppose, madam," exclaimed here Mr. Wilson, '^that 
 on the diagram I can draw a square corresponding to this 
 last one, but fronting north, to be conveyed to myself on 
 condition that there will be a real-estate office in a house 
 built by me for the convenience of those who wish to buy 
 and sell without fear of imposition." 
 
 "I am sorry, sir," replied Mrs. Kirkbride, '^that this 
 cannot be done, for several reasons ; the first is that I am 
 decidedly opposed to encouraging speculation of any sort 
 
512 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 in my new establishment, and everybody knows that in our 
 days real estate is a great object of speculation, or rather of 
 gambling, of which I am sick ; the second reason is that the 
 very place where you would have your square is necessary 
 as well as all the other parts of the block, except those you 
 have drawn on the map. All this must be marked out as a 
 common garden, of a queer shape, to be sure, but belonging 
 by right to all the occupants of the various establishments 
 above mentioned. In all and every one of the houses there 
 must be doors leading to this common garden, which we 
 will call, if you please, ' Our People's Garden.' The people 
 of all the shanties around will have the privilege of coming 
 to rest under the shade, with their children, including the 
 babies, provided they behave themselves, whenever they 
 feel tired of walking amidst the promiscuous crowds of the 
 great New York Central Park." By these remarks Mrs. 
 Kirkbride concluded her instructions to Mr. Wilson, who 
 left her to execute them. 
 
 All these arrangements supposed that the persons who 
 should have to build those houses would consent to the 
 great scheme. But Mrs. Kirkbride was very cunning, as 
 Dr. Dillon had already remarked. She knew that Julia 
 would "force" her "future husband" to consent; and 
 likewise Posa McCarthy. Dr. Dillon was the only one who 
 might object, but the lady likewise kneAV that he was her 
 humble cavallere serviente^ and thus she contented herself 
 with writing to him a note to this effect : "He was to come 
 into possession of a plot of ground on one of her blocks, on 
 the condition of building thereon, at his own expense, a 
 house where he should have a dispensary, etc. etc." 
 
 When the good doctor received the note, McElheran was 
 with him — he used of late to go to see him every day. 
 After having read the contents, he passed it to his young 
 friend : 
 
 "Read this," he said ; " the thing is not quite so bad as 
 I conjectured. I imagined that I was fated to become a 
 monk of the most austere kind to please Mrs. Kirkbride ; 
 
MRS. KIRKBRIDE FULLY BISGLOSES HER PLANS. 513 
 
 there is only a qiiestion of becoming a physician at her ser- 
 vice. Have you received a dispatch of this kind, my dear 
 Mac?" 
 
 " ISTot unless the messenger has just taken it to my house 
 during my absence," replied the young doctor. "I must 
 leave you," he continued, '' to go to see her. She must be 
 in great glee forming such jDrojects and distributing her 
 orders." Saying this, he left the house, jumped into his 
 buggy, and was soon at the well-known brick house. 
 
 Mrs. Kirkbride was delighted to see him. 
 
 ''Did you receive my message?" she exclaimed. 
 
 ''I have not had yet that honor, madam," he replied, 
 ''but I have read the one you disj)atched to Dr, Dillon." 
 
 " You did ! " she cried out, bursting ^vith laughter ; ''and 
 how does he take it ? " 
 
 "As he ought, madam," he said, "for nobody can resist 
 you ; and I come precisely to know my fate from you." 
 
 "Julia can tell you, doctor, better than I can myself," 
 replied Mrs. Kirdbride. " She is now an heii^ess, and your 
 relatives cannot object to anything you j^ropose with re- 
 spect to her." 
 
 At this moment, Julia answered the bell which Mrs. 
 KLirkbride had just rung, and entered the room. The lady, 
 pushing her gently toward McElheran, withdrew instanter. 
 By a strange and almost unaccountable accident — it must 
 have been an accident — the girl could not keep her footing 
 under the friendly imj^ulse given her by her "mother," 
 and was going to fall, when very opportunely McElheran 
 rushing toward her and opening his arms, received her be- 
 fore she quite fell down, and found himseK alone, standing 
 in the middle of the room with Julia in his arms. What 
 was said by both of them, after the first moment of emo- 
 tion, could scarcely be repeated in a high-toned novel, 
 as it would be thought too simple and commonplace by 
 ordinary readers. We heard only two short phrases which 
 scarcely deserve to be recorded, but which we must give 
 for the sake of accuracy : 
 
 " You are mine now, and I am yours," said, gently, McEl- 
 33 
 
514 LOUISA KntKBRIDB. 
 
 heran. In a still lower tone, Jnlia replied : " We both be- 
 long to God, who evidently unites us." 
 
 When the young doctor left the house, it was to go di- 
 rectly to an architect of his acquaintance, to whom he gave 
 the plan, as he had the means, of a rather stately building. 
 The position was admu'ably suited for something of a high 
 order, as the corner of the block which his house was to 
 occupy. Just looked over an angle of Manhattan Square, 
 where the city authorities already thought of erecting 
 splendid buildings to contain the large collections of natu- 
 ral history belonging to New York. The house of Mrs. 
 Kirkbride, on Eighth Avenue, was to be an unpretending 
 edifice of brick, of small dimensions, and modest but taste- 
 ful appearance. The residence of McElheran was to be the 
 palace of a Dal Cassian chieftain, of which his whole clan 
 should be proud, reduced at last to admire, without com- 
 plaining or even grumbling, as Scandinavians alone have a 
 right to do. Over the main entrance, Erin was to be carved 
 in white marble, not weeping any more, nor drawing from 
 her harp melancholy notes, but her feet resting on a cloud, 
 her hands raised up running on the chords of the instru- 
 ment, her head erect, and her lips open, evidently intoning 
 a pean of triumph. The interior was to correspond : marble 
 stairs and bronze banisters of a chaste design ; lofty ceil- 
 ings decorated with elegant frescoes ; airy rooms full of 
 light, and painted in subdued colors ; everywhere the harp, 
 the shamrock, green meadows, and the red banner of the 
 North ; specimens of all the curiosities of the island placed 
 on tables in the halls, under glass covers ; other details 
 without number, which it would be too long for us to 
 go through. These were the general features which Mr. 
 McElheran suggested to the artist whom he had chosen to 
 carry out his plans. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne, meanwhile, was acquainted Avith 
 the change in the position of Mrs. Kirkbride, by a note from 
 Rosa ; and he went directly to hear the particulars. He 
 was most happy to consent to the benevolent designs of the 
 lady, and to become, for his countrymen of the West Side, 
 
MRS. KIBKBRIBE FULLY DISCLOSES HER PLANS. 515 
 
 a legal adviser and a friend. But he found a startling 
 omission in the ideas of Mrs. Kirkbride : slie had not 
 thought of his father ! Was the venerable Patrick O' Byrne 
 to remain out of the colony ? He wished to have directly 
 an interview with the lady on the subject. As soon as he 
 opened his lips in a kind of complaining tone : 
 
 '' I have not been so thoughtless, my dear sir," exclaimed 
 Mrs. Kirkbride; ''but I have not thought proper to give 
 orders to Mr. Wilson with respect to what I intend to do in 
 the matter, because, being an American, he cannot imagine 
 that a shanty can be made nice ; he would not have under- 
 stood me. I have written to Mr. Doyle, our former porter 
 in Beaver Street, to come here this afternoon, and he may 
 be here at any moment, and he will much better understand 
 what I mean to do for your father than Mr. Wilson could." 
 
 At that moment the bell was rung, and Mr. Doyle ar- 
 rived. After a few words of introduction, Mrs. Kirkbride 
 told him : 
 
 "I want a shanty to be built in a snug corner of 'Our 
 People's Garden,' and you know, Mr. Doyle, much better 
 than any other man on earth, who can be the best carpenter 
 to put it up. Mr. Patrick 0' Byrne is to occupy it, and 
 it must be, in consequence, convenient and nice. The 
 old gentleman will have the care of the grounds ; he can 
 choose any companion he likes to help him, and he will find 
 his meals in your own apartments, Mr. Cornelius ; and Rosa, 
 I am sure, will know well how to serve him to his taste. 
 These are my projects with respect to him, and I have no 
 doubt that he will accept." 
 
 "I am sure of it," exclaimed here Mr. Doyle, "and he 
 will exchange with pleasure our quarters of James Street 
 for a nice shanty on these grounds. But I must protest 
 that I ought not to be left in the cold ; and since my old 
 friend is at liberty to choose some companion to help him 
 I am sure he will not refuse me. I am tired of my drudgery 
 in Beaver Street, although those gentlemen, Mr. T. Bland 
 in particular, are always kind to me ; but it is time for me to 
 retire. I have savings in bank which Mrs. Kirkbride can 
 
516 LOUISA KIRKBRIDE. 
 
 use in her benevolent projects ; all I ask is to be admitted 
 into the liappy colony that is to be founded." 
 
 Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne declared that everything was as it 
 should be ; he accepted with real joy all his part of the bar- 
 gain ; would have a decent brick house built on his "hun- 
 dred-foot square" along Eighty Street, and give with 
 
 pleasure his leisure moments to his countrymen in their 
 legal difficulties. 
 
 But old Dr. Dillon had not yet been heard from, except 
 in a general Avay, through his friend McElheran. Besides 
 the wholesale acceptance of the proposal, he had something 
 of importance to communicate secretly to Mrs. Kirkbride, 
 and having written a note to her, he obtained an interview 
 in her room that very evening. 
 
 " Madam," he said, '' you have done me honor in choos- 
 ing me for the part assigned me in your plans. I am an 
 old bachelor, and you offer to my old age an honorable 
 asylum for which I must be thankful. The savings of my 
 whole life do not amount to much ; still t\iQj can be useful 
 in the general working of your ideas, and you are most 
 welcome to them. But I confess that there is a point that 
 puzzles me, and which I can scarcely reconcile with your 
 usual prudence and consideration. The colony of which 
 you are going to be the foundress is eminently a Catholic 
 colony, and you know that I am not a Catholic ; and I have 
 never said a word to you intimating the least inclination to 
 a change in this regard. Will it not jar, madam, with the 
 unity of your plans to have one of the pillars of your new 
 establisliment naturally excluded from the church you in- 
 tend to build ? Will it not be a bad example for the com- 
 mon people of the neighborhood to see one of the doctors 
 chosen by their benefactress, belonging to a different church 
 organization and unamenable to the church laws accepted 
 by them ? How do you intend, madam, to obviate this dif- 
 ficulty T' 
 
 "Dr. Dillon," replied the lady, "is always the same 
 witty and amusing man that I have known all my life. 
 Whenever he wishes to joke he is always most serious ; 
 
MnS. KIRKBBIDE FULLY DISCLOSES HER PLANS. 517 
 
 and he presents you with a tremendous difficulty, when the 
 only way to get over it is to smile at his wit and tell him : 
 ' I know what you are about.' In the present case, I will 
 merely say that your presence, doctor, will not jar with us, 
 and there will not be a Protestant physician in a Catholic 
 colony, because, in heart, you are no more a Protestant 
 than I am ; and I advise you on the day I will be received 
 into the Church — which is to be shortly — to present your- 
 self for admission and accompany me to the altar, in order 
 to receive baptism with me." 
 
 " This is too bad," exclaimed the doctor ; " I expected to 
 have some fun, and I am paid off just at the beginning of 
 my bargaining. I do not know how you have found me 
 out so easily, since I have never said a word before, to 
 you, showing in the least, what was in my mind. I have 
 read a great deal about religion, and, in point of argument, 
 the Catholic Church, to say the least, is not behind her ad- 
 versaries ; but I have seen still more than I have read, and 
 I am determined to go back to the bosom of the mother 
 that my ancestors had abandoned for no very good motives, 
 I am afraid. And, to be candid with you, the same gentle- 
 man whom you consult has been also my adviser and friend 
 for more than two months. Let it be agreed among our- 
 selves that the day of your baptism shall be the day of 
 mine ; but this ought to l)e kept a secret to avoid the an- 
 noyance of questions by third parties, who always want more 
 exact information, precisely because they are not entitled 
 to any." 
 
 "lam not surprised," observed Mrs. Kirkbride, "since 
 I knew it would be so, and your secret is safe in my bosom. 
 Thank you, doctor, for your ready adoption of a project to 
 which nothing appeared to attract you ; for, all those who 
 will form our colony were so naturally brought to it that 
 they could not avoid joining it, except you, doctor. You 
 alone come to it sideways, if I may use the expression ; 
 yet, on this very account, most straightforwardly and gen 
 erously. God bless you, or rather God bless us all ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 THE EIS-D. — ALL IS WELL THAT EIS^DS WELL. 
 
 The news had spread around all the cottages of the neigh- 
 borhood ; and there was in them something that stirred their 
 inmates. It was nothing definite, it is true ; a mere rumor, 
 in fact; stU], everybody felt that a happy occurrence was 
 imminent. There was joy in the air; and the immediate 
 future was going to reveal things altogether unexpected. 
 The main burden of it was " the English lady " — her x)roper 
 name was too hard for those simple lips — was going to be 
 rich again, and she would do for the neighborhood some- 
 thing equivalent to what she did formerly, in another local- 
 ity. The good people did not fancy that it would be much 
 better still, because this time directed by Catholic ideas ; 
 ''what she did formerly" was enough for them. They did 
 not dare to apply for news to any inmates of Mrs. Kirk- 
 bride's household ; it might have been indelicate ; but when- 
 ever Mrs. Froment, who was on the eve of her removal, 
 appeared out of the house, she was surrounded by two or 
 three gossix)ing grannies who thought she knew everything 
 and would communicate what she knew. But the French 
 lady was no more acquainted with the truth of the rumor 
 than any other outsider. She had bowed politely to Mrs. 
 Kirkbride, the last time she saw her, and expressed her 
 pleasure at the good news current in the neighborhood ; 
 and the lady had merely thanked Mrs. Froment without 
 entering into any details. 
 
 But Celtic ingenuity, and we may add curiosity, could 
 not be thus for a long time baffled ; and the old dame who, 
 
 518 
 
ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 519 
 
 with her daughters, had so pleasantly entertained Mrs. 
 Kirkbride, at the exhibition in the convent of Eighty-first 
 Street, contrived a plan which was sure to succeed. She 
 sent the eldest of her daughters to have a chat with Kosa in 
 the kitchen ; and to open the conversation, the girl carried 
 a dozen fresh eggs with a nice little cupful of goat' s milk. 
 
 ''Mother hopes," said the child, "that the recent good 
 luck of your mistress will not prevent her from accepting 
 again a trifling show of good will, which mother used to 
 offer her occasionally." 
 
 "Quite the reverse," answered Rosa; "good luck opens 
 the heart and makes it friendly, and my excellent mistress 
 is yet more tender-hearted for all those living around her 
 since this happy occurrence than she has ever been before." 
 
 " Is she going back to live in her old house in Madison 
 Avenue?" 
 
 "No, indeed," answered Rosa, with surprise ; " she will 
 reside not far from here, and you will continue to be her 
 neighbors." 
 
 " Thank God for it," exclaimed the child ; " and will she 
 be as rich as she was then ? " 
 
 "I cannot say how it will be exactly," answered Rosa; 
 "but she will be able to do more than she did at that time, 
 because she will have nobody to oppose her will, and she 
 will be able to dispose of her property as she likes, and this 
 she could never do before." 
 
 " And you and Miss Julia will continue to live with her ? ' ' 
 inquired again the young girl. 
 
 "Of course," said Miss McCarthy; "and many others 
 besides ; doctors to take care of the sick ; lawyers to see 
 that everybody enjoys his rights, and schools, and a church, 
 and beautiful grounds to sit and talk in the shade, and I do 
 not know what else." 
 
 "I hope that you do not intend to joke with me, Miss 
 Rosa?" said the child. 
 
 "Joke with you!" replied she; "what would be my 
 object ? I tell you what I have heard, and I have reason to 
 believe that in a few months all this will be a reality." 
 
520 LOUISA EIRKBRIDE. 
 
 As soon as the news spread in the shanties, with many 
 more details never given out by Kosa, a sndden impulse was 
 communicated to the whole population ; and the wise people 
 spoke of nothing else, in the evening of that day, than to 
 improvise :\,fete to celebrate the happy news. Immediately 
 a number of mammas A\dth babies in their arms and small 
 children led by the hand, declared themselves ready to go, 
 if some one promised to be the spokeswoman ; and it was 
 not difficult to find one ; several, in fact, spoke at once, and 
 claimed the honor. They soon defiled in procession along 
 the street, and turning in a body at the nearest corner of 
 Eighth Avenue, they reached the house at the moment when 
 Mrs. Kirkbride and both her '' daughters" had finished 
 their tea. The house was too small to contain the whole 
 number ; many were left outside on the avenue ; but their 
 known presence gave more confidence to the bold woman 
 who had been unanimously designated to speak first. 
 
 ''A few, or rather all of your neighbors, madam," she 
 said, ' ' feel great pleasure in congratulating you on account 
 of the good news they have just heard. Since the first day 
 you came to live among us, we took a deep interest in you : 
 but the misfortune that brought you to this wilderness 
 made us sad, and almost the only thing we could do was to 
 sympathize in our hearts with you. We can rejoice to-day 
 and openly give vent to our sincere feelings, since by doing 
 so we can but increase your joy : and what makes our hap- 
 piness perfect is to know that you will continue to live 
 among us, and do not propose to go back to more fashion- 
 able quarters." 
 
 ''My dear neighbors," exclaimed the lady, ''more fashion- 
 able quarters could not make me more happy. It is but 
 just that where I have found rest, there I should do the 
 little amount of good which God will enable me to do. But 
 I see around more friends than I ever became acquainted 
 with ; allow me to go out with you all ; we will have our 
 meeting in the open air." 
 
 So saying, she went out of the house, followed by those 
 who had been able to enter, and when outside, she was 
 
ALL IS WELL THAT E^^DS WELL. 521 
 
 surprised tliat people were actually flocking from all sides 
 around toward the spot where she stood. The feeling that 
 had first made impression on her heart in the convent of 
 Eighty-first Street, when she found she was known to so 
 great a number of peojDle that she had never before re- 
 marked, became then almost overwhelming. All that mul- 
 titude of persons who began to surround her, api^eared to 
 forai in truth her family. The fearful sense of isolation in 
 the world, which had well-nigh overpowered her, after the 
 death of her husband and son, when she felt the need of 
 some prop to support her in her anguish, and found, to her 
 great relief, the friendly aid of Julia and Rosa ; the feeling 
 of despondency, produced by a deep sense of helplessness 
 in the loss of all those on whom she had previously relied, 
 gave way to the contrary conviction of strength, coming 
 from outside, and engendered by the look of s^Tupathetic 
 faces all turned toward her witli beaming eyes, and open 
 lips ready to kiss, and open arms ready to embrace. Yes, 
 she had friends, or rather she saw a large number of newly 
 found relatives claiming kindred with her, if not of blood, 
 at least of feeling. 
 
 '' It is not good for man to be alone," so the first page of 
 the Bible says ; but toward the end of the divine record, 
 the tongue of the Redeemer uttered a much deeper saying : 
 ''This I command you, that you love each other" (John 
 XV. 17) ; and, at this moment, the heart of Mrs. Kirkbride 
 felt the sweetness of this ''commandment." Who could 
 speak to her of isolation, of despondency, of helplessness ? 
 She was actually supported by a multitude ; and this sup- 
 port could not be any more taken away from her. A hus- 
 band may die, a son may perish or abandon you ; the 
 brotherhood in which the Christian soul enters cannot be 
 dissolved, and the happiness the thought of this imparts to 
 the soul is as imperishable as the Gospel itself of Christ. 
 These were the feelings, produced in the heart of the lady, 
 by the sight of so many friends. She had to go through 
 the long lines of mothers and children, to say a word to 
 each, to pat the cheeks of the little girls, to smile on those 
 
522 LOUISA ELREBIIIDE. 
 
 in their teens, and to receive from all assurances of everlast- 
 ing gratitude. 
 
 When, finally, they all left, one gi'oup after another, her 
 own " brick house " did not appear to her any more "lone- 
 ly" and '^ deserted;" but after these had gone bodily 
 away, it seemed to her that the souls of all her visitors lin- 
 gered still in her company, and filled the space she moved 
 in with serried phalanxes of living and loving spirits. Such 
 is the effect produced on an elevated mind and a pure heart 
 by the ennobling thoughts infallibly engendered by the 
 Christian religion. 
 
 "Children," said Mrs. Kirkbride to Julia and Eosa, after 
 they were left alone, "you have more countrywomen in the 
 neighborhood than I thought, even after all the experience 
 I imagined I had acquired. Dr. Dillon was very right in 
 telling me that the country is full of them ; this neighbor- 
 hood, particularly, swarms with them ; when our establish- 
 ments are in full sway, the only thing I fear is they will be 
 too small." 
 
 "Then, madam," observed Rosa, "we must find co-ope- 
 rators to help us to enlarge them ; I intend, for my part, to 
 have plenty of people around me, in twenty years, to make 
 them have their share with me in the affair." 
 
 "How your imagination runs away with you!" said 
 Julia, laughing. "We must think more of the present 
 time than of the future, for it is clear we have a great deal 
 to do actually without thinking of what our children Avill 
 do after us. And it is proper to begin as soon as possible, 
 since everything is now settled and agreed upon among us." 
 
 Their prayers that evening were said with hearts full of 
 joy, and the dreams of Rosa were so enticing, that Julia 
 woke up several times during the night at the bustle she 
 made. 
 
 Soon builders and carpenters and laborers were engaged 
 all over the block on whicli centred so many hopes. The 
 house of Mrs. Kirkbride would be finished in two montlis, 
 as it was to be a modest building ; those of Mr. Cornelius 
 
ALL 18 WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 523 
 
 0' Byrne and of Dr. Dillon would require three ; but the 
 palatial mansion of McElheran could not be finished in less 
 than six or nine. 
 
 So a temporary change of programme was agreed upon. 
 The happy union of Julia and Rosa with the two young 
 gentlemen would take place shortly, on the same day. 
 After this, until the completion of all the buildings, Mr. 
 O' Byrne and his wife would occupy the apartments of the 
 Froments, and McElheran would continue to live in his 
 house on the Bloomingdale Road. Christmas Day was to 
 bring in the happy inauguration of these interesting events. 
 The anniversary of the birth of the Saviour would be, at the 
 same time, the occasion of the spiritual birth in the Church 
 of two hearts already for a long time devoted to Christ. 
 Mrs. Kirkbride and Dr. Dillon were to be baptized on that 
 day. 
 
 All these ceremonies took place at an early Mass on 
 Christmas Day, and there is no need of telling our readers 
 that the cradle of Christ was piously surrounded in spirit 
 by all the participants in those holy rites who, all to- 
 gether, sealed by holy communion their mutual loves and 
 the supereminent love of God in their heart. No written 
 details could give an idea of the interior delights experienced 
 by all ; and on this account they are better omitted. Still, 
 there were circumstances which must be mentioned, as they 
 were peculiar to the actors in this moving drama. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius O' Byrne saw around him, in the crowd that 
 filled the church, not only his early friends of the '' mutual 
 aid society " with O'Neill at their head, but likewise no less 
 personages than the District Attorney of New York and the 
 Chief of Police with a host of eminent lights of the legal 
 profession. Mr. McElheran performed a still greater won- 
 der by bringing as willing witnesses to his union with Julia 
 all the members of the McElheran clan living at the time 
 in New York. Not a single one was missed, and the fol- 
 lowing day one of them wrote, in the name of all the 
 others, to the large number of their relatives in Ireland, 
 that they could in no way object to the step taken by the 
 
524 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 young chieftain in nniting himself to a noble heiress of the 
 O' Byrne sept. They had had, moreover, ocular demon- 
 stration of the future respectability of the family, by going 
 all together, a few days before, to examine the building 
 starting up near the corner of Manhattan Square. Already 
 the bas-relief of Erin was in position, and w^ould speak to 
 future generations of the love entertained by the inmates of 
 the building for their own dear country. 
 
 Of all the former friends of Dr. Dillon, hardly any one 
 could be seen in the church behind him ; only several old 
 ladies, belonging, evidently, to the Episcopalian persuasion, 
 opened their eyes more perhaps than modesty would allow. 
 The doctor used afterward to say that they went there with 
 the firm conviction that they would witness his marriage 
 ■with Mrs. Kirkbride. "God forgive me," he added, "but 
 I am afraid there was in their hearts some jealous feel- 
 ing lingering, because, in the time of our intimate acquaint- 
 ance, I had not proposed to them as several of them thought 
 I should." This is the only revenge the good doctor ever 
 took of the very cutting remarks made by several of them 
 on the step he had on that day taken. 
 
 As to Mrs. Kirkbride, finally, the whole church, we may 
 say, was filled with her friends ; they had come from every 
 quarter, mostly Milesians, to be sure, yet of other races 
 likewise. French, like the Froments, English, like Mr. Wil- 
 son, Americans, like T. Bland ; but, of course, the great 
 mass came from shanties, either around her former resi- 
 dence in Madison Avenue, or in the neighborhood of the 
 " lonely brick house." 
 
 On the evening of the same day, this last spot was evi- 
 dently stirred up with a most unusual commotion. The 
 night happened to be calm and not too cold, as is becoming 
 on such day as this — the birth of an Infant Saviour ; a few 
 inches of snow covered the ground, crisp and hard, to make 
 the walk easy, and shed a gentle light in the air ; some few 
 bluish tomtits and a stray wren or two, not yet gone south, 
 had twittered the whole day long in the bare bushes along 
 the road, and were quietly sleeping under the eaves of the 
 
ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL. Q25 
 
 shanties : the blue vault of the heavens above was brilliant 
 with the brightest stars of the firmament : Orion and its 
 belt shining with three diamonds, purer than the famed 
 ones of Golconda ; Sirius, just rising in the east, and daz- 
 zling the eyes with a splendor superior to that of Venus ; 
 several planets also, chiefly Jupiter, with his white silvery 
 lustre ; the incessant sparkling of innumerable twinkling 
 orbs spread at random overhead, as the white sand border- 
 ing the shores of the ocean shines under the feet of the 
 traveler ; this spectacle, so often seen and never enough 
 admired, had been evidently designed by Almighty God to 
 grace with its splendor the happiness of the day. Dressed 
 in their best attire, men, women, children poured forth from 
 every habitation, cottage, or recess ; their ringing voices 
 were heard in the stillness of the night ; their gambols were 
 seen in the dimness of the twilight. They thought, they 
 felt, they spoke only of one thing — the ceremonies of the 
 previous morning and the joys of the present night. They 
 surrounded the "lonely brick house" near Eighth Avenue, 
 and the inmates inside were suddenly surprised by the gen- 
 tle murmur of many voices, swelling at last in a univer- 
 sal burst of hurraing joy. A bugle was heard at the same 
 moment ; it was once more that of Tom O'Neill giving out 
 "Patrick's Day," as in that other famous night. Of the 
 company assembled in the house, Cornelius 0' Byrne was 
 the first to hear and distinguish the tune. Suddenly, all the 
 windows and the only door of the house were thrown wide 
 open, and inside and outside there was a mixing up of all 
 ranks, all ages, all tempers. Mrs. Kirkbride, in her most 
 prosperous days, had never seen nor felt anything of the 
 kind. Had they been French, they would all have danced 
 around an improvised bonfire. They had, at least, this 
 last token of exuberance of feeling. All the urchins of the 
 large party had collected, on their way down, the logs, the 
 brushwood, the broken barrels that had fallen in their way. 
 They threw the whole into a heap ; soon the blaze rose up 
 to heaven, and the brilliancy of the firmament was eclipsed 
 by that of the raging fire. 
 
526 LOUISA KntKBniJDE. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius 0' Byrne, from the entrance to the house, 
 where he was yet lingering, saw around in the strongly 
 reflected light, the eager and happy faces of many hundred 
 of his countr^Tiien, who had come to celebrate his own hap- 
 piness and that of people dear to him. He felt inspired 
 by the occasion, and rushing along through the crowd, he 
 perceived in front of the bonfire a huge bowlder of gray 
 granite, such as dot frequently the surface of Manhattan 
 Island ; and placing himself on the top of it, he became at 
 once the cynosure of all eyes, and could himself distinctly 
 discern the numerous groups of people by whom he was 
 surrounded. The red light threw out in bold relief the 
 dress, the features, the attitude, of old men bent with age, 
 of women and men in the prime of life, of boys and chil- 
 dren moving around and heaping fuel on the fire. The first 
 tones of his deep voice brought on universal silence, and, 
 in the stillness of the night naught was heard, save the 
 crackling of the brushwood — a prey to the flames — and the 
 rushing of the air lifting up the blaze high in the atmo- 
 sphere. 
 
 " Friends," he exclaimed, " I thank you in my name and 
 in the name of all those whom you have wished to honor. 
 In coming you have been influenced, perhaps unconsciously, 
 by noble and profound motives ; and your presence alone, 
 in the actual circumstances, is creditable to you. It is vir- 
 tue itself, in the person of a venerable lady, that you have 
 come to acknowledge and admire ; and as to the others, it 
 is the happiness of several of your countrymen that you 
 wanted to share in. All honor to you for such sentiments 
 as these ; they are worthy of your race, and shall bring 
 down on you the blessing of God. 
 
 " But the first thing I wish you to reflect upon, on this 
 glorious night, is the thankfulness you ought to experience 
 for the great nation that has offered you an asylum. It is 
 owing to most liberal laws and fairness of disposition on the 
 part of the great mass of citizens that you are allowed to 
 enjoy the priceless boons which are now your lot. In no 
 part of your own beloved country could you find the ad- 
 
ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 527 
 
 vantages that surround you here, and, after God, you ought 
 to thank for it those who have established on this conti- 
 nent the reign of peace, based on the possession of equal 
 rights. See how, if you have still some enemies to contend 
 with and some dark schemes to defeat, it is, after all, easy 
 for you to overcome these few obstacles, sure to be helped 
 and applauded by the great majority in the vindication of 
 what is dear to you. 
 
 ''Let me tell you, further, my friends, w^hat is the best 
 way to show your gratitude and your true appreciation 
 of what has been done for you. It is to practice all the 
 virtues w^hich are the support of the State, and to set by 
 your lives an example to all, so as to prevent, if possible, 
 corruption from gaining more ground, and public morality 
 from becoming a wTeck. It is undeniable that immense 
 evils are beginning to spread, wdiich, if not checked, are 
 destined to change common contentment into universal 
 desolation. Honor, law, virtue, are all trampled under foot 
 by men w^ho ought, by their position, to be patterns to 
 others ; and the insane thirst for gold, obtained by the 
 foulest means, threatens to destroy the last principles of 
 the moral law. The safe constitution of the Government 
 shall not stand long, as soon as virtue disappears, and the 
 time may shortly come w^hen true liberty may be replaced 
 by real tyranny, and almost unanimity of feeling, such as 
 it form^erly w^as, may come to be superseded by gaunt 
 anarchy. 
 
 "All adopted citizens, once become freemen in this Re- 
 public, ought to oppose themselves as a w^all of brass to 
 those destructive tendencies, and help to preserve the State 
 by the preservation of virtue and of social order. Do this, 
 my friends, and you wiU have shown yourselves grateful 
 to your adopted country. 
 
 "You will not be alone in this holy warfare on the side 
 of justice and morality. See how you meet friends where- 
 ever you show yourselves the defenders of virtue. Directly, 
 on all sides, helpers come to you ; and your national ene- 
 mies find men and women of their ow^n race opposed to 
 
528 LOUISA KIREBRIDE. 
 
 tlieir schemes, and stanch supporters of your rights. I3 
 not the private history of each one of you a tangible proof 
 of this ? The whole of mine is certainly an irrefragable 
 argument of its truth. 
 
 ' ' I know, from your beaming eyes and the firmness of 
 your lips, that such is, at this moment, your determination. 
 Means will shortly be furnished you to strengthen by com- 
 bination your individual resolves. The most respectable 
 lady, who, under the inspkation of God, has become a joy- 
 ful centre for you, will soon make her designs public, and 
 call you all to a participation in her benevolence. When 
 the day comes — and it must be shortly — means will be placed 
 in your hands by which you must inevitably conquer. I 
 must say for my own part, that I shall be too happy to 
 help in so great and good a cause." 
 
 At the conclusion of this short speech, a hurra went up 
 to heaven such as could wake up all the surrounding in- 
 habitants of other races ; and in group after group the 
 friendly visitors left the ground for their quiet homes, and 
 soon peace and quiet reigned all around and in the ''lonely 
 brick house " not far from Eighth Avenue. 
 
 THE END.