Books: The Maid of Maiden Lane
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Amelia E. Barr >> The Maid of Maiden Lane
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"And yet, John, why?" asked Mrs. Moran. "Franklin has quite finished his
work; and has also seen the fruit of all his labours. Not many men are
so happy. I, for one, shall rejoice with him, and not weep for him."
"You are right, Ava. I must now tell you that Elder Semple died this
morning. He has been long sick, but the end came suddenly at last."
"The dear old man! He has been sick and sorrowful, ever since his wife
died. Were any of his sons present?"
"None of them. The two eldest have been long away. Neil was obliged to
leave New York when the Act forbidding Tory lawyers to practice was
passed. But he was not quite alone, his old friend Joris Van Heemskirk
was with him to the last moment. The love of these old men for each
other was a very beautiful thing."
"He was once rich. Did he lose everything in the war?"
"Very near all. His home was saved by Van Heemskirk, and he had a little
money 'enough to die wi'' he said one day to me; and then he continued,
'there's compensations, Doctor, in having naething to leave. My lads
will find no bone to quarrel over.' I met a messenger coming for me this
morning, and when I went to his bedside, he said, with a pleasant smile,
'I'll be awa' in an hour or twa now, Doctor; and then I'll hae no mair
worrying anent rebellion and democrats; I'll be under the dominion o'
the King o' kings and His throned Powers and Principalities; and after
a' this weary voting, and confiscations, and guillotining, it will be
Peace--Peace--Peace:'--and with that word on his lips, the 'flitting' as
he called it was accomplished."
"There is nothing to mourn in such a death, John."
"Indeed, no. It was just as he said 'a flitting.' And it was strange
that, standing watching what he so fitly called the 'flitting,' I
thought of some lines I have not consciously remembered for many years.
They reflect only the old Greek spirit, with its calm acceptance of
death and its untroubled resignation, but they seemed to me very
applicable to the elder's departure:
Not otherwise to the hall of Hades dim
He fares, than if some summer eventide
A Message, not unlooked for, came to him;
Bidding him rise up presently, and ride
Some few hours' journey, to a friendly home."
"There is nothing to fear in such a death."
"Nothing at all. Last week when Cornelia and I passed his house, he was
leaning on the garden gate, and he spoke pleasantly to her and told her
she was a 'bonnie lassie.' Where is Cornelia?"
"In her room. John, she went to Duyckinck's this morning for me, and
George Hyde met her again, and they took a walk together on the Battery.
It was near the noon hour when she returned."
"She told you about it?"
"Oh yes, and without inquiry."
"Very good. I must look after that young fellow." But he said the words
without much care, and Mrs. Moran was not satisfied.
"Then you do not disapprove the meeting, John?" she asked.
"Yes, I do. I disapprove of any young man meeting my daughter every time
she goes out. Cornelia is too young for lovers, and it is not desirable
that she should have attentions from young men who have no intentions. I
do not want her to be what is called a belle. Certainly not."
"But the young men do not think her too young to be loved. I can see
that Rem Van Ariens is very fond of her."
"Rem is a very fine young man. If Cornelia was old enough to marry, I
should make no objections to Rem. He has some money. He promises to be a
good lawyer. I like the family. It is as pure Dutch as any in the
country. There is no objection to Rem Van Ariens."
"And George Hyde?"
"Has too many objectionable qualities to be worth considering."
"Such as?"
"Well, Ava, I will only name one, and one for which he is not
responsible; but yet it would be insuperable, as far as I am concerned.
His father is an Englishman of the most pronounced type, and this young
man is quite like him. I want no Englishman in my family."
"My family are of English descent."
"Thoroughly Americanized. They are longer in this country than the
Washingtons."
"There have been many Dutch marriages among the Morans."
"That is a different thing. The Dutch, as a race, have every desirable
quality. The English are natural despots. Rem was quite right last
night. I saw and felt, as much as he did, the quiet but sovereign
arrogance of young Hyde. His calm assumption of superiority was in
reality insufferable. The young man's faults are racial; they are in the
blood. Cornelia shall not have anything to do with him. Why do you speak
of such disagreeable things, Ava?"
"It is well to look forward, John."
"No. It is time enough to meet annoyances when they arrive. But this is
one not even to be thought of--to tell the last truth, Ava, I dislike
his father, General Hyde, very much indeed."
"Why?"
"I cannot tell you 'why.' Yes, I will be honest and acknowledge that he
always gives me a sense of hostility. He arrogates himself too much.
When I was in the army, a good many were angry at General Washington,
for making so close a friend of him--but Washington has much of the same
exclusive air. I hope it is no treason to say that much, for a good deal
of dignity is permissible, even peremptory, when a man fills great
positions. As for the Hydes, father and son, I would prefer to hear no
more about them. When the youth was my guest, I was civil to him; but
Arenta. You know that I have never seen her."
"That is the truth. I had forgotten. Well, then, I went to her with the
news; and she rubbed her chin, and called to her man Govert, to get a
bow of crape and put it on the front door. 'It is moral, and proper, and
respectable, Arenta,' she said, 'and I advise you to do the same.' But
then she laughed and added, 'Shall I tell you, niece, what I think of
the great men I have met? They are disagreeable, conceited creatures;
and ought, all of them, to have died before they were born; and for my
part, I am satisfied not to have had the fate to marry one of them. As
for Benjamin Franklin,' she continued, 'he was a particularly great man,
and I am particularly grateful that I never saw him but once. I formed
my opinion of him then; for I only need to see a person once, to form an
opinion--and he is dead! Well, then, every one dies at their own time.'"
"My father says Congress goes into mourning for him."
"Does it?" asked Arenta, with indifference. "Aunt was beginning to tell
me something about him when he was in France, but I just put a stop to
talk like that, and said, 'Now, aunt, for a little of my own affairs.'
So I told her about George Berckel, and asked her if she thought I might
marry George; and she answered, 'If you are tired of easy days, Arenta,
go, and take a husband,' After a while I spoke to her about Lieutenant
Hyde, and she said, 'she had seen the little cockrel strutting about
Pearl Street.'"
"That was not a proper thing to say. Lieutenant Hyde carries himself in
the most distinguished manner."
"Well, then, that is exactly so; but Aunt Angelica has her own way of
saying things. She intended nothing unkind or disrespectful. She told me
that she had frequently danced with his father when she was a girl and a
beauty; and she added with a laugh, 'I can assure you, Arenta, that in
those days he was no saint; although he is now, I hear, the very pink of
propriety.'"
"Is not that as it should be, Arenta? We ought surely to grow better as
we grow older."
"That is not to be denied, Cornelia. Now I can tell you something worth
hearing about General Hyde."
"If it is anything wrong, or unkind, I will not listen to it, Arenta.
Have you forgotten that the good Sisters always forbid us to listen to
an evil report?"
"Then one must shut one's ears if one lives in New York. But, indeed, it
is nothing wrong--only something romantic and delightful, and quite as
good as a story book. Shall I tell you?"
"As you wish."
"As you wish."
"Then I would like to hear it."
"Listen! When Madame Hyde was Katherine Van Heemskirk, and younger than
you are, she had two lovers; one, Captain Dick Hyde, and the other a
young man called Neil Semple; and they fought a duel about her, and
nearly cut each other to pieces."
"Arenta!"
"Oh, it is the truth! It is the very truth, I assure you! And while Hyde
still lay between life and death, Miss Van Heemskirk married him; and as
soon as he was able, he carried her off at midnight to England; and
there they lived in a fine old house until the war. Then they came back
to New York, and Hyde went into the Continental army and did great
things, I suppose, for as we all knew, he was made a general. You should
have heard Aunt Angelica tell the story. She remembered the whole
affair. It was a delightful story to listen to, as we drank our
chocolate. And will you please only try to imagine it of Mrs. General
Hyde! A woman so lofty! So calm! So afar off from every impropriety that
you always feel it impossible in her presence to commit the least bit of
innocent folly. Will you imagine her as Katherine Van Heemskirk in a
short, quilted petticoat, with her hair hanging in two braids down her
back, running away at midnight with General Hyde!"
"He was her husband. She committed no fault."
"I was thinking of the quilted petticoat, and the two braids; for who
now dresses so extravagantly and so magnificently as Madame Hyde? She
has an Indian shawl that cost two hundred pounds. Aunt Angelica says
John Embree told her 'THAT much at the very least'--and as for the
General! is there any man in New York so proud, and so full of dignity--
and morality? He is in St. Paul's Chapel every Sunday, and when you see
him there, how could you imagine that he had fought half-a-dozen duels,
for half-a-dozen beauties?"
"Half-a-dozen duels! Oh, Arenta!"
"About that number--more or less--before and after the Van Heemskirk
incident. Look at him next Sunday, and then try and believe that he was
the topmost leader in all the fashionable follies, until he went to the
war. People say it is General Washington--"
"General Washington?"
"That has changed him so much. They have been a great deal together, and
I do believe the proprieties are catching. If evil is to be taken in bad
company, why not good in the presence of all that is moral and
respectable? At any rate, who is now more proper than General Hyde?
Indeed, as Aunt Angelica says, we must all pay our respects to the
Hydes, if we desire our own caps to set straight. Cornelia, shall I tell
you why you are working so close to the window this afternoon?"
"You are going to say something I would rather not hear, Arenta."
"Truth is wholesome, if not agreeable; and the truth is, you expect
Lieutenant Hyde to pass. But he will not do so. I saw him booted and
spurred, on a swift horse, going up the river road. He was bound for
Hyde Manor, I am sure. Now, Cornelia, you need not move your frame; for
no one will disturb you, and I wish to tell you some of my affairs."
"About your lovers?"
"Yes. I have met a certain French marquis, who is attached to the Count
de Moustier's embassy. I met him at intervals all last winter, and to-
day, I have a love letter from him--a real love letter--and he desires
to ask my father for my hand. I shall now have something to say to
Madame Kippon."
"But you would not marry a Frenchman? That is an impossible thought,
Arenta."
"No more so than an Englishman. In fact, Englishmen are not to be
thought of at all; while Frenchmen are the fashion. Just consider the
drawing-rooms of our great American ladies; they are full of French
nobles."
"But they are exiles, for the most part very poor, and devoted to the
idea of monarchy."
"Ah, but my Frenchman is different. He is rich, he is in the confidence
of the present French government, and he adores republican principles.
Indeed he wore at Lady Griffin's, last week, his red cap of Liberty, and
looked quite distinguished in it."
"I am astonished that Lady Griffin permitted such a spectacle. I am sure
it was a vulgar thing to do. Only the san-culottes, make such exhibition
of their private feelings."
"I think it was a very brave thing to do--and Lady Griffin, with her
English prejudices and aristocratic notions, had to tolerate it. He is
very tall and dark, and he was dressed in scarlet, with a long black
satin vest; and you may believe that the scarlet cap on his black
curling hair was very imposing."
"Imposing! How could it possibly be that? It is only associated with
mobs, and mob law--and guillotining."
"I shall not contradict you--though I could do so easily. I will say,
then, that it was very picturesque. He asked me to dance a minuet with
him, and when I did not refuse he was beside himself with pleasure and
gratitude. And after I had opened the way, several of the best ladies in
the town followed. After all, it was a matter of political opinion; and
it is against our American ideas to send any man to Jersey for his
politics. Mr. Jefferson was in red also."
"I wish to dance with Mr. Jefferson, but I now think of waiting till he
gets a new suit."
"I am sure that no one ever made a finer figure in a dance than I, in my
white satin and pearls, and the Marquis Athanase de Tounnerre in his
scarlet dress and Liberty cap. Every one regarded us. He tells me, to-
day, that the emotion I raised in his soul that hour has not been
stilled for a moment."
"Have you thought of your father? He would never consent to such a
marriage--and what will Rem say?"
"My father will storm, and speak words he should not speak; but I am not
afraid of words. Rem is more to be dreaded. He will not talk his anger
away. Yes, I should be afraid of Rem."
"But you have not really decided to accept the Marquis Tounnerre?"
"No. I have not quite decided. I like to stand between Yes and No. I
like to be entreated to marry, and then again, to be entreated NOT to
marry. I like to hesitate between the French and the Dutch. I am not in
the least sure on which side I shall finally range myself."
"Then do not decide in a hurry."
"Have I not told you I like to waver, and vacillate, and oscillate, and
make scruples? These are things a woman can do, both with privilege and
inclination. I think myself to be very clever in such ways."
"I would not care, nor dare, to venture--"
"You are a very baby yet. I am two years older than you. But indeed you
are progressing with some rapidity. What about George Hyde?"
"You said he had gone out of town."
"And I am glad of it. He will not now be insinuating himself with
violets, and compelling you to take walks with him on the Battery. Oh,
Cornelia! you see I am not to be put out of your confidence. Why did you
not tell me?"
"You have given me no opportunity; and, as you know all, why should I
say any more about it?"
"Cornelia, my dear companion, I fear you are inclined to concealment and
to reticence, qualities a young girl should not cultivate--I am now
speaking for dear Sister Maria Beroth--and I hope you will carefully
consider the advantages you will derive from cultivating a more open
disposition."
"You are making a mockery of the good Sisters; and I do not wish to hear
you commit such a great fault. Indeed, I would be pleased to return to
their peaceful care again."
"And wear the little linen cap and collar, and all the other
simplicities? Cornelia! Cornelia! You are as fond as I am of French
fashions and fripperies. Let us be honest, if we die for it. And you may
as well tell me all your little coquetries with George Hyde; for I shall
be sure to find them out. Now I am going home; for I must look after the
tea-table. But you will not be sorry, for it will leave you free to
think of--"
"Please, Arenta!"
"Very well. I will have 'considerations.' Good-bye!"
Then the door closed, and Cornelia was left alone. But the atmosphere of
the room was charged with Arenta's unrest, and a feeling of
disappointment was added to it. She suddenly realized that her lover's
absence from the city left a great vacancy. What were all the thousands
in its streets, if he was not there? She might now indeed remove her
frame from the window; if Hyde was an impossibility, there was no one
else she wished to see pass. And her heart told her the report was a
true one; she did not doubt for a moment Arenta's supposition, that he
had gone to Hyde Manor. But the thought made her lonely. Something, she
knew not what, had altered her life. She had a new strange happiness,
new hopes, new fears and new wishes; but they were not an unmixed
delight; for she was also aware of a vague trouble, a want that nothing
in her usual duties satisfied:--in a word, she had crossed the threshold
of womanhood and was no longer a girl,
"Singing alone in the morning of life,
In the happy morning of life, and May."
CHAPTER IV
THROWING THINGS INTO CONFUSION
Prudence declares that whenever a person is in that disagreeable
situation which compels him to ask "what shall I do?" that the wisest
answer is, "nothing." But such answer did not satisfy George Hyde. He
was too young, too sure of his own good fortune, too restless and
impulsive, to accept Prudence as a councillor. He might have considered,
that, hitherto, affairs had happened precisely as he wished them; and
that it would be good policy to trust to his future opportunities. But
he was so much in earnest, so honestly in love, that he felt his doubts
and anxieties could only be relieved by action. Sympathy, at least, he
must have; and he knew no man, to whom he would willingly talk of
Cornelia. The little jests and innuendoes sure to follow his confidence
would be intolerable if associated with a creature so pure and so
ingenuous.
"I will go to my mother!" he thought. And this resolution satisfied him
so well, that he carried it out at once. But it was after dark when he
reached the tall stone portals of Hyde Manor House. The ride, however,
had given him back his best self. For when we leave society and come
into the presence of Nature, we become children again; and the fictions
of thought and action assumed among men drop off like a garment. The
beauty of the pale green hills, and the flowing river, and the budding
trees, and the melody of birds singing as if they never would grow old,
were all but charming accessories and horizons to his constant pictures
of Cornelia. It was she who gave life and beauty to all he saw; for as a
rule, if men notice nature at all, it is ever through some painted
window of their own souls. Few indeed are those who hear--
"The Ancient Word,
That walked among the silent trees."
Yet Hyde was keenly conscious of some mystical sympathy between himself
and the lovely scenes through which he passed--conscious still more of
it when the sun had set and the moon rose--dim and inscrutable--over the
lonely way, and filled the narrow glen which was at the entrance to the
Manor House full of brooding power.
The great building loomed up dark and silent; there was but one light
visible. It was in his mother's usual sitting-room, and as soon as he
saw it, he began to whistle. She heard him afar off, and was at the door
to give him a welcome.
"Joris, my dear one, we were talking of you!" she cried, as he leaped
from the saddle to her arms. "So glad are we! Come in quickly! Such a
good surprise! It is our hearts' wish granted! Well, are you? Quite
well? Now, then, I am happy. Happy as can be! Look now, Richard!" she
called, as she flung the door open, and entered with the handsome,
smiling youth at her side.
In his way the father was just as much pleased. He pushed some papers he
had been busy with impatiently aside, and stood up with outstretched
hand to meet his son.
"Kate, my dear heart," he cried, "let us have something to eat. The boy
will be hungry as a hunter after his ride. And George, what brings you
home? We were just telling each other--your mother and I--that you were
in the height of the city's follies."
"Indeed, sir, there will be few follies for some days. Mr. Franklin is
dead, and the city goes into mourning."
"'Tis a fate that all must meet," said the General; "but death and
Franklin would look each other in the face as friends--He had a work to
do, he did it well, and it is finished. That is all. What other news do
you bring?"
"It is said that Mirabeau is arrested somewhere, for something. I did
not hear the particulars."
"Probably, for the very least of his crimes. Marat hates him; and Marat
represents the fury of the Revolution. The monster wished to erect eight
hundred gibbets, and hang Mirabeau first."
"And the deputies are returning to the Provinces, drunk with their own
importance. They have abolished titles, and coats of arms, and liveries;
and published a list of the names the nobles are to assume--as if people
did not know their own names. Mr. Hamilton says 'Revolution in France
has gone raving mad, and converted twenty-four millions of people into
savages.'"
"I hate the French!" said the General passionately. "It is a natural
instinct with me, just as tame animals are born with an antipathy to
wild beasts. If I thought I had one drop of French blood in me, I would
let it out with a dagger."
George winced a little. He remembered that the Morans were of French
extraction; and he answered--
"After all, father, we must judge people individually. Mere race is not
much."
"George Hyde! What are you saying? RACE is everything. It is the
strongest and deepest of all human feelings. Nothing conquers its
prejudices."
"Except love. I have heard, father, that Love never asks 'of what race
art thou?' or even 'whose son, or daughter, art thou?'"
"You have heard many foolish things, George; that is one of them. Men
and women marry out of their own nationality, AT THEIR PERIL. I took my
life in my hand for your mother's love."
"She was worthy of the peril."
"God knows it."
At this moment Mrs. Hyde entered the room, her fair face alight with
love. A servant carrying a tray full of good things to eat, followed
her; and it was delightful to watch her eager happiness as she arranged
meats, and sweetmeats, in tempting order for the hungry young man. He
thoroughly enjoyed this provision for his comfort; and as he ate, he
talked to his father of those things interesting to him, answering all
questions with that complaisant positiveness of youth which decides
everything at once, and without reservation. No one understood this
better than General Hyde, but it pleased him to draw out his son's
opinions; and it also pleased him to watch the pride of the fond mother,
who evidently considered her boy a paragon of youthful judgment.
"And pray," he asked, "what can you tell me about the seat of
government? Will New York be chosen?"
"I am sure it will be Philadelphia; and, indeed, I care not. It would,
however, amuse you to hear some of the opinions on the matter; for every
one hangs his judgment on the peg of his own little interests or
likings. Young De Witt says New York wants no government departments;
that she is far too busy a city, to endure government idlers hanging
around her best streets. Doctor Rush says the government is making our
city a sink of political vice. Mr. Wolcott says honesty is the fashion
in New York. Some of the clergy think Wall Street as wicked as the most
fashionable streets in Tyre and Sodom; and the street-singers--thanks to
Mr. Freneau--have each, and all, their little audiences on the subject.
As I came up Broadway, a man was shouting a rhyme advising the
Philadelphians to 'get ready their dishcloths and brooms, and begin
scouring their knockers, and scrubbing their rooms.' Perhaps the most
sensible thing on the subject came from one of the New England senators.
He thought the seat of government ought to be 'in some wilderness, where
there would be no social attractions, where members could go and attend
strictly to business.' Upon my word, sir, the opinions are endless in
number and variety; but, in truth, Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Morris are
arranging the matter. This is without doubt. There is to be some sort of
compromise with the Southern senators, who are promised the capital on
the Potomac, finally, if they no longer oppose the assumption of the
State debts. I hear that Mr. Jefferson has been brought to agree to this
understanding. And Mr. Morris doubtless thinks, if the government
offices are once opened in Philadelphia, they will remain there."
"And Joris, the ladies? What say they on the subject?" asked Mrs. Hyde.
"Indeed, mother, some of them are lamenting, and some looking forward to
the change. All are talking of the social deposition of the beautiful
Mrs. Bingham. 'She will have to abate herself a little before Mrs.
Washington,' I heard one lady say; while others declare, that her
association with our Republican Court will be harmonious and
advantageous; especially, as she is beloved in the home of the
President."
"OUR REPUBLICAN COURT! The definition is absurd!" said General Hyde,
with both scorn and temper. "A court pre-supposes both royalty and
nobility!"
"We have both of them intrinsically, father."
"In faith, George! you will find, that intrinsic qualities have no
social value. What people require is their external evidence."
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