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 MAKION
 
 M A E I N. 
 
 BY 
 
 MANHATTAN 
 
 ONLY AUTHORISED EDITION 
 
 IX THEEE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 SAUNDEES, OTLEY, AND CO., 
 
 66, BEOOK STEEET, W. 
 
 18G4. 
 
 [All rights resei-ved.'\
 
 LONDON' : 
 BRADBURY AND EVANS, PKINTERS, WHITEFfilAJElS.
 
 
 I ^zhmk t|fis gflok 
 
 % JAMES GORDON BENNETT, Esq., 
 
 4 PROPRIETOR AND EDITOR OF THE *' NEW YORK HERALD," 
 
 Who has carved for himseK a record in Journalism that 
 
 twill last as long as newspapers are published — ^because 
 he first told me that I had those peculiar imaginative 
 '^ qualities that would enable me to write a successful 
 
 novel. This will test his sagacity. Long years ago, he 
 asserted in the most positive manner that I had qualifi- 
 cations that would give me marked success as a novelist. 
 I laughed at him, because I did not believe him. He 
 asked me if I had read many of the great novels, and 
 when I replied in the negative, he gave me money to 
 purchase novels wi'ittten by Scott, Bulwer, and others. I 
 read their works, but I did not write a novel then, though 
 I thought much of what Mr. Bennett had said. Since 
 then I have done more than write for the daily bread and 
 butter for my family, and have found leisure to write this 
 novel, which may, or may not, verify the predictions of 
 Mi\ Bennett. 
 
 MANHATTAN. 
 
 Washington's Birth-day, 
 Ft^ruary 22nd, 1864. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/marion01scov
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 PAGE 
 THE LNTEODUCTION 1 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA A^■T) HER PEOPLE — MARRIAGE OF HENRY 
 MONCK TO MLSS VAN HAGEN — MONCK's CORNEP^ — 
 COUNTRY FEVER — BIRTH OF MARION MONCK . . 8 
 
 CHAPTEE in. 
 
 YOUNG MONCK's BOYHOOD — JACK BIRD AND MR. NEGRO 
 
 BLACK — ^WILD TURKEY HUNTING, AND FISHING . .18 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 JIARION's EDUCATION — DEATH OF GRANDMOTHER — AUNTS 
 ARRIVAL AT MONCK's CORNERS— THE STORE — NEGRO 
 CUSTOMERS ........ 25 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 PARTING FROM HOilE ANT) FROM PARENTS — HIS STAY IN 
 
 CHARLESTON — ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK . . .33 
 
 CHAPTEE \T:. 
 
 MARION MONCK IN NEW YORK — PRESENTS HIS LETTER OF 
 INTRODUCTION — PROCURES A SITUATION WITH GRAN- 
 VILLE AND NORDHEIM — HOME OF MR. NORDHEIM IN 
 BOND STREET —THE CH^iRACTER OF THE WIFE . . 39
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE VII 
 
 MR. MONCK MOVES TO BOND STREET, AND RESIDES WITH 
 MR. NORDHEIM — THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIA- 
 TION — HOW TO LEARN LANGUAGES . . . .55 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 THE BUSINESS EXCURSION OE MR. NORDHEIM — BIRTH-PLACE 
 
 OF CLARA NORRIS — HER ADVENT INTO NEW YORK . 65 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE FIRST YEAR OVER— DINNER AT MR. GRANVILLE's — 
 
 THE FAMILY OF MR. GRANVILLE — COLONEL MAC NEIL . 84 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 COLONEL WILLIAM MAC NEIL — DUEL OF MR. GRAHAM AND 
 
 COLONEL BARTON ....... 97 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 COWS AND MOCKING-BIRDS IN SOUTH CAROLINA THE 
 
 FRENCH COFFEE HOUSE IN WARREN STREET, AND ITS 
 VISITORS 102 
 
 CHAPTEE Xn. 
 
 THE HOME OF A KEPT MISTRESS— THE OPINION OF A WIFE 
 
 OF HER husband's FOLLIES 110 
 
 CHAPTEE Xni. 
 
 THE MARRIAGE OF THOMAS GRANVILLE — GENERAL JACK- 
 SON — THE PARTY FROM NEW YORK . . . .121 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 THE SUPPER AT THE CITY HOTEL— THE COUNT FALSECHINSKI 130
 
 CONTENTS. IX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 THE COUNT GETS A PLACE 144 
 
 CHAPTEE XYI. 
 
 TOM Granville's extravagance — Washington hall 
 
 AN EVENING AT A FARO BANK . . . .152 
 
 CHAPTER XYII. 
 
 PRIME, WARD, AND KING TEACHING FRENCH — THE THOU- 
 SAND DOLLAR BILL — THE PARK THEATRE . . .172 
 
 CHAPTER xyni. 
 
 A MARRIAGE ARRANGED — DEPARTURE OF WALTER GRAN- 
 VILLE — DEATH OF MRS. PITT GRANVILLE . . . 184 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE CHOLERA— SUMMER— CHANGES . ". . .196 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE C05IMERC1AL SUCCESS OF MARION MONCK — THE COUNT 
 FALSECHINSKI SPECULATES AND MAKES MONEY IN 
 STOCKS — THE BARGAIN OF MR. GRANVILLE WITH MR. 
 NORDHEIM — MARION IS NINETEEN YEARS OLD — MRS. 
 NORDHEIM PROPOSES A PARTY THE IRISH ADVEN- 
 TURER, JOHN o'dOEMALL — ANECDOTE OF HIS ARRIVAL 
 IN NEW YORK 202 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MRS. NORDHEIM GIVES A PARTY — MARION MONCK IS NINE- 
 TEEN YEARS OLD — JOHN o'dOEMALL— JAMES G. BEN- 
 NETT AT A PARTY — HENRY W. CEDAR — MRS. WOODRUFF 
 
 ^MARION AND ISABELLA GRANA'ILLE — AN OFFER ANT) 
 
 AN ACCEPTANCE — SECRECY ENJOINED — AN ANECDOTE 
 
 OF THE author's *' FIRST LOVE" . . . .215
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 THE EVENING PARTY COMES OFF AT MRS. NORDHEIM's — 
 THE GUESTS — MR. BENNETT's CONVERSATION — MR. AND 
 MRS. PARKER AND NIECE JULIA — OLD JOHN GRASPER, 
 THE MILLIONAIRE— COL. MAC NEIL AND MISS IRENE 
 GRASPER — MR. BENNETT'S FAMILY AND BIRTH-PLACE IN 
 SCOTLAND — COL. MAC NEIL OFFERS HIS HAND TO MISS 
 GRASPER, IS ACCEPTED BY HER, AND REJECTED BY HER 
 FATHER — " NO MAN IS RICH ENOUGH TO SUPPORT TWO 
 
 FAMILIES " MRS. WOODRUFF's RESIDENCE — HER 
 
 HORSES AND CARRIAGES— HER PEW IN GRACE CHURCH, 
 AND HER PIETY— THE COUNT FALSECHINSKI AT THE 
 PARTY — HE OFFERS TO GO TO CHURCH — THE PARTY 
 BREAKS UP . . 226 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIII. 
 
 MISS NORRIS AND HER TEACHER OF LANGUAGES— SHE 
 THREATENS MR. NORDHEIM — GIVES THE COUNT A 
 FEARFUL HISTORY OF THE ANTECEDENTS OF MRS. 
 WOODRUFF — THE VALUE OF MR. CEDAR's NOTE OR 
 DRAFT UPON HIS PUBLISHERS — DR. CARNOCHAN — THE 
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GERMAN AND A DUTCHMAN . 248 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIY. 
 
 HARRISON STREET — COLONEL MAC NEIL's PRIVATE HOME — 
 A BREAKFAST SCENE WITH \V^LLY AND PATSY — THE 
 COLONEL SETTLES A HOUSE ON HIS CHILDREN, AND 
 PLACES TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS IN THE SAVINGS 
 BANK FOR THEM — REDEEMING TRAITS IN A FASHION- 
 ABLE BAD man's character 256 
 
 CHAPTEE XXV. 
 
 the ITALIAN OPERA HOUSE IN CHURCH STREET THE 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE SUBSCRIBERS — MR. NORDHEIM A 
 DIRECTOR A TRAGEDY NIGHT — MR. NORDHEIM IN-
 
 CONTENTS. XI 
 
 PAGE 
 SULTS A LADY IX THE DRESS CIRCLE — HIS SPECTACLES 
 
 DRIVEN INTO HIS EYES BY A BROTHER HIS REMOVAL 
 
 TO THE CITY HOSPITAL — FRANCIS GAILLARD OF SOUTH 
 CAROLINA — ilR. GRANVILLE DISSOLVES THE FIRM OF 
 GRANVILLE AND NORDHEIM — THE NOTICE — LIST OF • 
 THE DAILY NEWSPAPERS — THE DAYS THAT THE WIFE 
 OF MR. NORDHEIM SPENT AT THE HOSPITAL WITH HER 
 DYING HUSBAND — NORDHEIM's WILL— HIS DEATH AND 
 FUNERAL ........ 264 
 
 CHAPTEE XXYI. 
 
 NEW STREET THIRTY YEARS AGO— THE STORE OF MR. JOHN 
 O'DOEMALL HIS BUSINESS — THE DEBT OF THREE HUN- 
 DRED AND FOUR DOLLARS AND SEVENTY- TWO CENTS, 
 AND HOW IT WAS LIQUIDATED — MR. GRAN^VILLE's IN- 
 STRUCTIONS — THE STORY OF THE IRISffVS^OSIAN, AND 
 HOW o'dOEMALL VICTIMIZED HER OUT OF SEVENTY TWO 
 dollars' worth OF SHIRTS, AND RUINED HER SISTER 
 AND HUSBAND— A BAD CHARACTER .... 279 
 
 CHAPTER XXYn. 
 
 INCREASED BUSINESS OF MR. GRANVILLE — MRS. TOM GRAN- 
 VILLE BECOMES HIS HOUSEKEEPER — THE LATTER DIS- 
 COVERS THE ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN MARION MONCK 
 AND HER NIECE — COMMUNICATES IT TO MPvS. NORD- 
 HEIM— DISAPPOINTMENT AND STERN RESOLVE . . 290
 
 MAEION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Introduction. 
 
 Holland has sent to our shores many of her 
 best citizens. She has the merit also of having 
 commenced two hundred and forty years ago, 
 and some of the best famihes in New York are 
 of the Necler Didtch stock. The country is over- 
 stocked with Hoch Deutschers of more recent im- 
 portation. 
 
 Not many years ago I made a visit to Holland. 
 I resided for some months in Delft, the capital 
 of Delftland in the province of Holland. Having 
 business at the Royal Academy, where I was 
 having various models made, I endeavoured to 
 procure a residence in a private family. Through 
 the exertions of Professor Lipkins I succeeded; 
 and, the second day after my arrival, found my- 
 self installed into a quiet country villa about
 
 2 MAEION. 
 
 half a mile from tlie city. It was located upon 
 the bank of the canal that connects Delft with 
 the Hague. My host, whose name was Van 
 Hagen, was a man of great age, and his vromv 
 was but little younger. They had no children, but 
 occupied this beautiful villa alone. It had a 
 large and well cultivated garden attached to it, 
 and its neatness and luxuries still leave a pleasing 
 impression upon my mind. 
 
 Over the gate was a motto; but whether it 
 was indicative of the mind of the owner, or his 
 coat of arms, or indicated the character of the 
 place, I never inquired. It was in gold letters, 
 or made of brass, gilded, Lust en Rust — or, 
 Hope and Repose. 
 
 It was a pleasant morning's walk from my 
 host's country villa into the city of Delft, and 
 the sudden transition from the tranquiUty of the 
 country to the busy hum of men was very 
 striking. The canals, with their numerous draw- 
 bridges in the heart of the city, lined with Treck- 
 schuiyts of all sorts and sizes, gave a relief from 
 country quietness. 
 
 The first meal of which I partook at my new 
 home was a solitary one. Everything was neat, 
 and the victuals well cooked. I had a silver
 
 MARION. 3 
 
 fork by my side, and the tablecloth was of snowy 
 whiteness, and in the room in which I dined 
 was a glass China cupboard, and every article 
 within it bore shining testimony of its having 
 received a due proportion of diurnal care. After 
 my meal was finished I was joined by my aged 
 host and his worthy lady. They had dined pre- 
 vious to my arrival. He addressed me in Eng- 
 lish, somewhat to my surprise, and remarked — 
 '' You are an American/' I replied that I was, 
 and he added, " Had you not been, I should not 
 have consented to entertain you even at the 
 request of my old friend the Professor of the 
 Koyal Academy/' 
 
 '^ You seem to be partial to Americans, and I 
 certainly feel thankful that you are so, for Delft is 
 a gloomy place, while here I am already at home. 
 But why are you so friendly to America ?'' I asked. 
 
 He replied, " I once thought of going to Ame- 
 rica. My brother went out there many years 
 ago, with a young wife. It was during the time 
 that the French occupied Holland, and our king 
 was then Louis, the brother of Napoleon. He 
 was ambitious to restore the fallen fortunes of 
 our house, for we are one of the oldest families 
 in Holland; and some day when we visit the 
 
 b2
 
 •* MARION. 
 
 city, I will show you a mouument in the ' ould 
 kirk' at Delft of one of our name, who was 
 buried in 1562, and was a famous scholar in 
 his day. Now, my young friend, all of our old 
 race are in America except myself. Had my 
 brother not died, I should have sold my property 
 here, and followed him over the sea. I am not 
 rich, but in comfortable circumstances, and as 
 a director appointed by the government to keep 
 the dams and roads in repair I receive a hand- 
 some fixed salary, and am content to live and 
 die where my ancestors, for five hundred years 
 before me, have lived and died.'' 
 
 I listened to the old gentleman's remarks with 
 the very deepest interest, and after he had con- 
 cluded I asked, " What part of America did your 
 brother and his wife go to ? " 
 
 " To Charleston, in the southern part of Ame- 
 rica," replied the old gentleman with great sim- 
 plicity. 
 
 " To Charleston in South Carolina, you pro- 
 bably mean." 
 
 ^' Yes, that was the place." 
 
 "You heard from your brother frequently, I 
 presume, before he died?" I asked. 
 
 "Yes, frequently, until somewhere about the
 
 MARION. ?> 
 
 time that AVaterloo was fought. That was — 
 when ? '^ 
 
 '^n 1815/^ I added. 
 
 "Yes. Soon after then I got a letter from 
 him. He had been very successful in business, 
 and had acquired considerable property as a mer- 
 chant. He owned a plantation and negroes, but 
 he wrote me that his health was failing. He had 
 two children, both girls. Not long after I re- 
 ceived the letter in which he stated he was sick, I 
 got another from my brother's widow. She wrote 
 that he was dead.'' 
 
 " Was that the last you heard from your rela- 
 tives in Charleston?" I asked. 
 
 " Xo. I received a letter occasionally for several 
 years, describing the growth of my two nieces, 
 one of whom was named Margaret, and the other 
 ^lary, who was some years younger than her sis- 
 ter, and was not born until the year in which my 
 brother died. For twenty years I have not heard 
 a word or received a line from any of them. I 
 wrote frequently, but no reply came, and I sup- 
 pose they are all dead.'' 
 
 When I parted from the venerable Van Hagen, 
 I told him that very probably I should at some 
 future day, after my return to America, visit
 
 O MAKION. 
 
 Charleston— and in such an event I would dili- 
 gently seek out any of his race or name, and if I 
 ascertained that any were living, I agreed to write 
 and inform him fully in reference to what so 
 nearly concerned his family love. 
 
 Years passed away before I found myself in a 
 position to redeem my promise. I had occasion 
 to go to Charleston, and while there had rooms 
 at the Charleston Hotel, kept then, and I believe 
 now, by a most excellent landlord of the name of 
 Mixer. 
 
 With his assistance I obtained a clue to the 
 locality where I would probably find the relatives 
 of my ancient Dutch friend. I was obliged to 
 undertake a short journey into the country, and 
 to reside for some time in a spot that at certain 
 periods of the year is a modern Garden of Eden. 
 Fruits and flowers flourish in the most luxuriant 
 manner. Game is abundant, and the rivers and 
 creeks are stocked with fish ready to bite at the 
 most insignificant bait. 
 
 I returned to Charleston, and immediately 
 devoted my time for several days in writing 
 a letter to the aged Van Hagen in Delft, Hol- 
 land. I enclosed the letter to William S. 
 CampbeU, Esq., the United States Consul at
 
 MARION. 7 
 
 Rotterdam^ a city only one hour distant from 
 Delft. 
 
 After despatching my formidable document, I 
 left for the North. I had not been in New York 
 a great while when I received a private letter 
 from Consul Campbell, informing me that old 
 Adam Van Hagen was dead, and had not received 
 my letter. 
 
 Luckily I kept a copy of the letter I had sent 
 to Holland. I determined to re-write it in a 
 book form. A faithful narrative required me to 
 embrace the adventures of one of the descend- 
 ants, whose spirit of enterprise led him to New 
 York. As a consequence, I had to bring in other 
 names, and use many other matters of interest 
 indirectly connected with one of the family. 
 
 I will now relate in a regular manner what I 
 have to say. But in order to do so with spirit, I 
 will commence a new chapter.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 [this chaptee was weittex eeeoee the otjtbeeae: 
 m 1861.] 
 
 South Carolina and her People — Marriage of Henry Monek 
 to Miss Yan Hagen — Monck's Corners — Country Fever 
 — Birth of Marion Monek. 
 
 South Carolina was the State in whicli the 
 descendant of the old Holland Van Hagen was 
 born^ and who is also the principal hero of this 
 narrative. The State, as her leading sons affec« 
 tionately designate her, in Congress, and else- 
 where, has ever been regarded as the most aris- 
 tocratic State in the Federal Confederacy, and 
 her sons and daughters as the very elite of the 
 great American population. Even the F.F.V., or 
 " first families of Virginia," by general consent, 
 back down gracefully and give place to an old 
 South Carolina family. In the North, Southern 
 travellers who can assert with truth that they are 
 South Carolinian, hold their heads at a more lofty 
 elevation; and their right to do so is never dis- 
 puted. Northern people cave without a murmur 
 to South Carolina pre-eminence.
 
 MARION. 9 
 
 The actual opinion of a genuine South Caro- 
 linian of his State, and of himself or herself, is not 
 put on for show, while travelling, or while con- 
 versing upon the subject. They honestly beHeve 
 -what has the appearance of being egotistically 
 asserted; and the humiliating idea that South 
 Carolina is not the genteel and the most powerful 
 State in the Union, if not the only State of any 
 account, and her population the most enlightened, 
 most wealthy, most happy, most prosperous, and 
 the best educated, is never entertained for an 
 instant in the breast or brain of a genuine South 
 Carolinian. 
 
 South Carolinans are a singular and an exclu- 
 sive sort of aristocracy. They believe in their 
 own institutions of all kinds, and have a holy 
 horror of Northerners in general. It is true that 
 this Japanese sort of exclusiveness is not so in- 
 tense as it was a few years ago. Yankee pedlers. 
 Northern merchants and storekeepers have emi- 
 grated into South Carolina, made fortunes, and in 
 many instances made alliances by marriage with 
 some of the best blood in the state. Both parties 
 have gained by these marriages. Families of two 
 or three hundred years^ standing, but broken 
 down, so far as finances Avere concerned, have been
 
 10 MARION. 
 
 married into by men of business habits, literary- 
 merit, or property qualifications, and the happy 
 result has been a much healthier progeny, intel- 
 lectually and physically, than when the descen- 
 dants of the old families married with each other 
 exclusively. Such marriages have done a great 
 deal also to soften the prejudices of South Caro- 
 lina against the people of the more northern 
 States. 
 
 South Carolina may be said to be divided into 
 three parts — the upper, the middle, and the lower 
 division. In the latter are to be found the largest 
 planters, and those who own the greatest quantity 
 of slaves. These planters reside near the banks 
 of the Cooper and Ashley rivers, both of which 
 pass Charleston on each side, and then unite and 
 pass onward to the sea. 
 
 It was on the banks of the Cooper river that 
 my principal character was born. 
 
 I have already mentioned that in the early part 
 of the century, a Dutch gentleman and his wife 
 emigrated from Delft, in Holland, to Charleston, 
 South Carolina. Delft, already alluded to in the 
 introductory chapter, was famous many years ago 
 for its crockery. The city is located about midway 
 between the Hague and the city of Rotterdam.
 
 MAEIOX. 11 
 
 Martin Van Hagen, as well as his brother Adam, 
 was born in an old house stretched upon the 
 mainland, and directly opposite to the old church 
 in which William, Prince of Orange, was as- 
 sassinated. 
 
 When Martin and his wife decided to try the 
 United States, they took passsge in an American 
 ship at Rotterdam, bound directly for Charleston. 
 They reached their destination in safety. Ere 
 they had been ashore a month, Mr. Van Hagen, 
 who had cash capital, had engaged in mercantile 
 business, and he had also secured a small wooden 
 dwelling-house on the corner of King and Warren 
 streets. The building is still standing. In this 
 house the family resided several years, and their 
 affairs prospered. They were blessed with two 
 daughters — one named jM^rgaret and the other 
 Mary. A considerable interval elapsed between 
 the birth of the eldest and the youngest. Shortly 
 after the birth of jNIary the father died, and left a 
 widow and two children. 
 
 They continued to reside in the old house long 
 after the father's death, but before the eldest 
 reached the age of sixteen, she married a young 
 American of the name of Henry Monck, and 
 shortly after his marriage he conveyed his bride
 
 1^ MARION. 
 
 to his own home on Cooper river, in the parish 
 of St. John Berkley, not far distant from the 
 celebrated Monck's Corners, a name derived from 
 his ancestors, one of whom emigrated from Eng- 
 land at a very early period of the history of South 
 Carolina. The Henry Monck who emigrated to 
 South Carolina was the second son of that Eng- 
 lish Admiral Monck, who, in 1640, fought the 
 great battle that lasted three days with the Dutch 
 Admiral de Ruyter in the time of Charles the 
 Second. It was under permission of the Admiral 
 Monck that Vandervelde, the great marine 
 painter, plied between the fleets, so that he was 
 enabled to represent every movement of the ships, 
 and every material circumstance of the action 
 with astonishing minuteness and truth. But to 
 return to young Monck. When he married Miss 
 Van Hagen he was not twenty-two years of age. 
 His father died when he was very young, and by 
 some rascality of his guardian^ before he became 
 of age he "was robbed of nearly every negro that 
 he had inherited at his father's death. When he 
 married he was only the owner of two negroes, a 
 dwelling-house, and about three hundred and 
 sixty acres of land. This quantity of paternal 
 acres would have been a great property if located
 
 MARION. 13 
 
 in some parts of the Union, but at Monck^s Cor- 
 ners, where land in those days was as reasonably- 
 cheap as " seven-pence '' an acre, the value of the 
 land only amounted to about forty-seven dollars. 
 
 The dwelling-house was large and commodious, 
 with a wide hall through it, and a spacious piazza 
 in front. All the out-buildings were good. The 
 store contaiued about five hundred dollars' worth 
 of merchandise, of a suitable and assorted char- 
 acter for that region, so that the young couple 
 started on their marriage career under very 
 favourable auspices. The lands owned by Henry 
 Monck bordered on Cooper river, and he had only 
 to seat himself in a boat, and it would float down 
 with the ebb tide to Charleston city, about thirty 
 miles distant by water. The state road passed 
 his door, and a drive of twenty-eight miles would 
 take him to Charleston by land. 
 
 It was very easy, under such circumstances, to 
 replenish the stock of goods in his store when- 
 ever it was called for. The young couple were 
 also blessed with health, and though poor white 
 people, yet they had no reason to envy their 
 more prosperous neighbours, the rich rice 
 planters of Cooper river. It frequently happens 
 in the state of South Carolina that those who
 
 14 MARION. 
 
 appear to be most rich are in reality the most 
 poor ; while, on the contrary, those who are com- 
 paratively poor, but out of debt, are the most 
 independent. Our agricultural readers will be 
 somewhat astonished with the information that 
 rich lands, teeming with luxuriant vegetation, 
 located both by land and water within thirty 
 miles of the queen city of the south, should ever 
 have been at so low a figure as twelve and a half 
 cents the acre. Yet such has been the fact; 
 and even now, fifty-four years later, rich lands, 
 capable, by proper attention, of producing as valu- 
 able crops as are made on the best land on Long 
 Island, and valued at five hundred dollars the 
 acre, can be bought for one dollar and fifty cents 
 to two dollars an acre, with a dwelling-house 
 upon them. But Northern farmers, although 
 well aware that rich lands are to be had in South 
 Carolina at a very low figure, refuse to emigrate 
 to South Carolina as they do to Virginia, because 
 of, not slavery, but the country fever. It is 
 worse than yellow fever, African fever, or any 
 other fever but itself. It is a scourge — a terrible 
 scourge, and woe to the Northerner or South- 
 erner who places himself in the way of country 
 fever. If he takes it, and escapes with his life.
 
 3tIAEI0N. 16 
 
 it breaks his constitution for ever. Our readers 
 have got so far in this tale as where Henry 
 Monck carried his bride up to Moncks Corners. 
 They were married in December, and at that 
 season the country in the neighbourhood of 
 Charleston is a paradise. The bride was de- 
 lighted with her new home, and all went on 
 pleasantly and prosperously with the new couple 
 until the month of August of the year succeed- 
 ing their marriage. AVhen May came, Henrv 
 told his wife of the danger that she would incur 
 by residing on their place in the summer months, 
 and proposed that they should go into the pine 
 lands some ten miles distant, and there erect a 
 log cabin for their residence in the summer 
 nights. He told her that he did not fear the 
 country fever, and that she might escape it if she 
 would go to the Pine region before sundown and 
 spend the night there, returning to the planta- 
 tion and store in the morning, after the dew 
 had been driven off the grass by the rays of the 
 sun. 
 
 So they aiTanged matters, and for weeks 
 and months until far into the summer they left 
 their dwelling before sunset to go to the log hut 
 in the Pine region, and there escaped the danger
 
 16 MAEIOX. 
 
 of the miasma worse than that of the Pontine 
 Marshes. Mrs. Monck enjoyed excellent health, 
 and could scarcely credit the horrible but truth- 
 ful stories she heard related of the immediate 
 effects of the country fever. When told of Mr. 
 Smith, who had accidentally been caught out at 
 night, and slept in the woods — which sleep was 
 succeeded by that which knows no waking — it 
 seemed to her a dream. When told that to sleep 
 there, unless a large fire was kept burning all 
 night, was certain death, she could not credit it ; 
 and finally, as the summer passed into autumn, 
 and it became necessary to use extra exertions 
 to get in the crops of their small farm, which was 
 cultivated by her husband and the only two old 
 negroes, Phillis and Toney, that remained out of 
 the wreck of his property — she found it so incon- 
 venient to go to and fro night and morning 
 between the two places, that she told her hus- 
 band she did not believe there was any danger, 
 and refused to leave her dwelling to go any more 
 to their log cabin' in the pine woods. He begged 
 her to wait until the '' black frost '^ came, the 
 only sure remedy or preventative of South Ca- 
 rolina country fever. No. Before September 
 closed she had it, and though it ran nine davs
 
 MAEION. 17 
 
 before it was broken,, yet slie recovered^ after 
 months of suffering. 
 
 On the second of December, ISllv, a year after 
 their marriage, Mrs. Monck gave birth to a son. 
 
 She had visited with her husband the grave of 
 General Marion, in St. Stephen's parish, had 
 been over the grounds where he had fought his 
 battles, and she insisted that her child should 
 be baptised in Biggin Church, famous in revolu- 
 tionary history, and that he should be named 
 after the hero of whom she had heard so much ; 
 and so the boy was baptised by the Eev. Mr. 
 Howe as 
 
 ''Marion Moxck." 
 
 He was an only child, and father, mother, and 
 son vegetated at Monck's Corners, with more or 
 less prosperity every year, until Marion had 
 reached his eighth year. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 YouEg Monck's Boyhood — Jack Bird and Mr. Negro Black 
 — Wild Turkey Hunting and Fishing. 
 
 When Marion Monck was eight years old, like 
 other Southern boys, he was capable of playing 
 almost the game in life ^of a man. He could 
 hunt, fish, ride a horse, or drive a team, and 
 was a great favourite, not only of his own rela- 
 tions, but of many of their neighbours. Some 
 of these became Marion's instructors in all 
 manly arts. The name of one of these men 
 was Jack Bird. He w^as a fine specimen of a 
 man. His age was over sixty, and he stood six 
 feet and a half without boots, and his frame was 
 well proportioned. He could neither read nor 
 w^rite, but he could secure more wild turkeys and 
 deer in twenty-four hours than any other man in 
 South Carolina. Jack was a fair specimen of 
 many poor white people. His den or cabin was 
 in the pine woods, some three miles from the 
 Santee canal, and there he kept his wife and 
 eleven children, all growing up in the ways of
 
 l^IARION. 19 
 
 old Jack. Jack Bird owned no cows^ or hogs, 
 or poultry. T^'hy should he ? His neigh- 
 bours on Cooper river owned large herds, and — 
 ■well. Jack could steal as many as he needed 
 for home consumption, or as he could safely 
 seU. 
 
 Marion had always been an immense favourite 
 of Jack^s, and although the position in life of Mr. 
 Monck was several degrees above that of Jack 
 Bird, yet the latter did not envy or injure him, 
 and would have gone some distance out of his 
 way to have done Mr. Z\Ionck or his wife a service. 
 The mother repaid Jack for all his kindness to her 
 son by giving him choice bits of tobacco occasion- 
 ally out of the store, and he frequently returned 
 the compliment by leaving her a fat wild turkey, 
 a brace of v,ild ducks, or, when these Avere scarce, 
 a dozen pigeons, partridges, or robinsl Whoever 
 else Jack Bird plundered was of no consequence 
 — he left the denizens of Monck's Corners un- 
 molested, and they were grateful whenever occa- 
 sion offered. 
 
 Charleston people frequently visited Monck^s 
 Corners to have a hunt, and Jack was always the 
 pioneer on such occasions ; but woe to any un- 
 lucky favourite penknife, pencilcase, or fish-hook
 
 20 MAEIOX. 
 
 that fell in his way ! It Avas sure to be missing if 
 it took the fancy of six-foot Jack. 
 
 Jack had trained Marion until he had become 
 one of the best wild turkey hunters in the parish. 
 He could discover, with little trouble, where the 
 wild turkeys came to feed. He would then prepare 
 a hiding-place in the neighbom-hood, and fix a 
 gun loaded, so as to command a reach of ten or 
 twenty feet in a trench by the side of a log. 
 This trench he would bait [with corn, and then 
 trail the corn off in several directions to places 
 where the wild turkeys would be likely to see it. 
 A day or two only would pass vrhen ^Marion 
 would discover that the turkeys had found the 
 trench and had ate the corn. This he would 
 refill, and so do every morning for a week, until 
 the turkeys had made a regular business of 
 crowding the trench. Then Marion would select 
 a particular morning, go early to his hide, and 
 conceal himself, with the barrels of his duck gun 
 loaded with buck-shot, bearing directly upon the 
 track. By-and-bye he hears a noise — one, two, 
 twelve, twenty, fifty wild but unsuspecting turkeys 
 arrive — they jump over, and on, and around each 
 other, to get at the corn. IMarion quietly pulls 
 one, and then the other trigger — bang, bans: !
 
 MARION. 21 
 
 Some turkeys get off, but nearly all remain. 
 Twenty-eight are dead^ and Marion goes liome 
 for a negro — Toney, and the one-horse cart, to 
 convey his spoils home. 
 
 Another especial friend of Marion Monck's was 
 Negro Black. His original name was John Black; 
 but, besides being a poor white man, a hunter and 
 day labourer, he added to his slender income by 
 catching negroes. Hence his nick-name of Negro 
 Black, by which he was known, not only through- 
 out St. John Berkeley, but by many planters in 
 other sections who had runaway negroes to catch. 
 Lifce Jack Bird, he had a wife and eight or ten 
 white-headed children. jMr. Black had one 
 source of revenue, and it was always a sure and 
 profitable one. It arose from successfully hunt- 
 ing wild cats. When a prowling wild cat made 
 the fact apparent that he was in the neighbour- 
 hood, by catching up chickens or small pigs, the 
 planter upon whose premises the animal had made 
 a demonstration was seen to dispatch a summons 
 to Mr. Negro Black. 
 
 It is a very curious fact, in respect to the habits 
 of a wild cat, that when he approaches a plan- 
 tation, or rather the dwellings on a plantation, 
 where his designs lay, whether it be to catch
 
 22 MARION. 
 
 poultry, chickens, or pigs, lie goes to work in a 
 regular, scientific, business manner. The cat 
 exhibits no greediness. If he lights upon an old 
 sow that has a litter of eleven or more nice little 
 delicate pigs, wild kitty commences with using up 
 one a day; and no inducement of appetite can 
 force him to increase the quantity. If no dis- 
 covery is made by the owner of the poor old sow, 
 at the end of the eleventh day she is pigless. 
 The instant the overseer discovered by the regu- 
 larity of the thefts that a wild cat was about, he 
 sent for Negro Black. Perhaps it took one, two, 
 or three days, but Negro Black was a sure cofkn 
 for the cat. He and his dog Victor never failed. 
 The cat was a doomed cat, and Mr. Negro Black 
 received the skin and 10 dollars as his fee for the 
 operation. Negro Black had a jealousy of Jack 
 Bird, and he maintained that the mode Jack had 
 of catching wild turkeys, by a hide, was deliberate 
 murder. It gave the turkeys no shovr; and he 
 taught Marion another method. At a certain 
 season, when the wild tui-keys got scattered, he 
 would go into the woods with Marion, and pile up 
 a lot of brush wood. 
 
 " Get behind that with your gun, pull the brush- 
 wood over you, and use the whistle.-"
 
 MARION. 23 
 
 It was many days before Marion succeeded in 
 shooting a solitary wild turkey, and, even before 
 that event took place, Negro Black^s patience 
 became quite exhausted ; for while Marion^ s gun 
 was idle, and not a wild turkey would come nigh 
 him in answer to his whistle, Negro Black would 
 be off in a different part of the woods, and kill 
 several. At last he broke out — 
 
 " Why you no whistle as I do, when you go for 
 catch wild turkey ? Take your whistle and blow 
 leetle bit — turkey hear him — wait — no blow again 
 until you hear turkey answer — then blow a leetle 
 harder — wait — turkey answer again — then blow 
 one soft, slow blow, and don^t blow any more. 
 Wait — turkey come by-and-bye sure — den pop 
 him. Turkey like young girl. If young man 
 want take young girl for his wife, he give one call 
 — little girl don^t answer — it no use. Young 
 man hab patience and wait. By-and-bye little 
 girl make reply. Youug man call again — wait 
 until the young girl come, like turkey, and say, 
 ' Vm yours.^ '^ 
 
 Another, and a third mode of killing wild tur- 
 keys, taught Marion by his hunter teachers, was 
 to watch in the woods to hear where they roosted. 
 He would hear a turkey fly at sundown, and very 
 soon would trace a flock. If it was moonhght
 
 24 MARION. 
 
 Marion would go for his gun, and four or fiv^e 
 turkeys would be his reward. Or if it was very 
 dark, he Avould wait patiently for the first ghm- 
 mering of daylight, and then pop off a few tur- 
 keys before they had left the " turkey roost.^"* 
 
 Marion's two friends were fishermen as well 
 as hunters; and where in the world is there 
 such sport with the finny tribes as at Monck's 
 Corners ? Hours, day and night, Marion used 
 to spend on the banks of the Biggin creek, or on 
 the side of the old Santee canal. Sometimes 
 with a small dip net he would catch one, two, or 
 four shad, as they dashed up to the waste way of 
 the canal ; and in the months of February, March, 
 April and May, with the hook and line, in Biggin 
 creek, he would catch trout of the size of eleven 
 pounds, rock-fish, perch, brise, catfish, and mullet, 
 by the million. Oh, such sport as he had in these 
 well-filled waters. Every fish that belongs to salt 
 or fresh water is caught in the Biggin creek, or 
 Santee canal, when the tide is running in or out. 
 Thousands of nights could Marion have been 
 found with his dip net on the bank of the Biggin 
 creek, the whole scene made as light as day by 
 the " light wood '' bonfires, and sometimes he 
 and his companions would be thus engaged, with 
 more or less luck, until daybreak.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ^Marion's Education — Death, of Grandmother — Aunt's arri- 
 val at Monck's Corners — The Store — Xegro Customers. 
 
 VrniLE ]\Iarion Monck, by violent exercise, 
 was developing his physical po\rers, liis mental 
 were neglected, so far as education was concerned, 
 during these years of child and boyhood, or until 
 he was over ten years of age. At that time he 
 had . not acquired the first letter of the alphabet. 
 His grandmother came up from Charleston occa- 
 sionally to spend a few days, but our youth never 
 returned to town with her. About this period, 
 the grandmother, who had come over from 
 Holland with her husband, died in the city of 
 Charleston. Her remains were taken to Monck's 
 Corners for interment. So soon as her affairs 
 were settled, the eldest daughter left Charleston 
 and went to Monck^s Corners to reside per- 
 manently with her sister, Mrs. Monck. This 
 event had a very important bearing upon the 
 education of Marion. She was a very intelHgent
 
 26 MARION. 
 
 lady, had read, many books, and possessed a 
 very general knowledge of what it was now 
 highly important that young Monck should 
 know/ 
 
 The aunt found in her nephew a well developed 
 handsome boy, capable of leading in any manly 
 enterprise, and accomplished in all manly sports. 
 In place of A B C, he knew the number of every 
 fish hook ; if he had no knowledge of grammar, 
 he could ride a horse, and join in a deer hunt; 
 if he had no knowledge of geography, he knew 
 every spot where game could be scared up ; and 
 for arithmetic, he could catch fish and game to 
 an extent that even David could not have 
 counted. 
 
 In a word, he could ride, di'ive, hunt, fish, or 
 swim equal to any man in St. John^s parish, of 
 thrice his age. He was intelligent, could talk 
 well on many and most subjects, his informa- 
 tion having been derived from conversation with 
 others. His aunt, who regarded a good educa- 
 tion as everything in life, became very much 
 alarmed at finding a nephew ten years of age who 
 could neither read nor write. She determined to 
 remedy what she regarded as a degrading evil. 
 Marion felt that it would at least be convenient
 
 MAEIOX. 27 
 
 to read at last, and willingly became a prompt 
 pupil to his aunt. His progress was very rapid, 
 for he had an iron memory. The ABC was 
 soon acquired, and night and day did he devote to 
 learning, until he could read anything, wrote a 
 plain hand, could " do " any sum in DabolFs 
 arithmetic, and had Murray's grammar by heart. 
 Moore's geography was soon mastered, and 
 Marion had acquired at least as good a founda- 
 tion in useful and necessary learning as is given 
 in the district schools of the North. It is need- 
 less to add that he had acquired from his mother 
 and aunt the Dutch language, and as his teach- 
 ings from the aunt were partly in that language, 
 lie could read and speak it as well as he could 
 English. His father devoted most of his time to 
 the plantation, and to raising horses, cattle and 
 hogs. His mother superintended the household 
 matters, and also attended to the store. When 
 Marion was able to write and reckon, he became 
 of vast sernce to his mother, and spent a great 
 portion of his time in the store, and when cus- 
 tomers were rare he had a book in his hand. He 
 literally lepa^ned it by heart, and what " he knew, 
 he knew." 
 
 He continued thus until he was nearlv four-
 
 28 
 
 MARION. 
 
 teen years old. The store was quite an. affair. 
 The stock of goods was limited, and articles were 
 bought in Charleston once a month, or ordered 
 by letter. The maze consisted of coarse dry 
 goods, bacon, coffee, sugar, rice, whiskey, 
 tobacco, pipes, cigars, crockery, soap, lead, butter, 
 spices, tin buckets, and coarse wooden ware. 
 
 The customers were, in part, the poor white 
 folks; and, second, the negroes from the adjoining 
 plantations. Fifteen thousand negroes, at least, 
 looked to that store for their little luxuries, and 
 the happiness that this store conferred can hardly 
 be realized. Here, sometimes, the slave would 
 come at midnight, having travelled ten miles, 
 with ten more to go before he got back again to 
 his home, and perhaps he would have walked all 
 the distance to get a ^^ fourpence ^^ worth of 
 tobacco for his little bag of corn. When he got 
 it,° he was a happy fellow. Sometimes forty or 
 fifty would come together, and then some care 
 and caution had to be exercised, for with such a 
 force in the store at one time the temptation to 
 steal was too great to be resisted. Each took his 
 turn, while the rest remained outside. Marion 
 became quite a favourite Avith these negroes, and 
 it was really a pleasure to him to get up and wait
 
 MAEION. ■ 29 
 
 upon a tired customer, even for tlie most trivial 
 article. The pay was in corn. Sometimes the 
 negro had received money for his corn, and then 
 he had cash. If it was a bill of five or ten 
 dollars, the slave asked it to be changed into 
 silver, and when that was done, he knew what he 
 was about, and trade commenced. " How much 
 for dat tin biggin ? '' 
 " Sevenpence.^' 
 
 " I tax um," and the quarter would be handed 
 in by the purchaser, and then change given. 
 Trade would then commence again. 
 " How much you ax for dat spider? " 
 " Quarter dollar." 
 
 " Quatah dollah. I gib tenpence for him." 
 ^' Take it." Pay and take change again, 
 "Gib me one and ninepence worth of tobacco." 
 And so trade goes on, paying for every article 
 as he buys it, from a dollar^s worth of homespun 
 to a cent cigar, and perhaps he goes to the planta- 
 tion where he belongs loaded with small things ; 
 and no father of a family, or patroness of 
 Stewart in New York, ever enjoyed spending 
 money so much as these slaves. If it was corn 
 he brought to trade with, then he had it measured. 
 Suppose it was two bushels. The price has been
 
 30 MAEION. 
 
 seventy-five cents, and never varies in the negro 
 trade if. corn is worth in Charleston only fifty 
 cents or a dollar. Then he pays for his goods 
 with corn — a peck, four quarts, two quarts, as 
 the case or price may be of the article bought, 
 and never makes a blunder. 
 
 Now and then two negroes are in partnership, 
 or some negro who could not come has sent his 
 corn by a friend. The bearer of the corn for 
 another gets what is wanted, and never mixes it 
 up with his own transactions. How it is done, 
 no bookkeeper in a bank could tell. Sometimes 
 in financial transactions the red corncob is used 
 as a matter of security. One negro owes another. 
 They deposit a red corncob in the hands of a 
 third party as an evidence of money loaned or a 
 debt due. The person who receives this corncob 
 never gives it up until the debt is paid or can- 
 celled, and then it is done in the presence of the 
 two parties interested. It is a sort of red-corn- 
 cob bond and mortgage, and the parties can^t get 
 over it. It is rarely set aside, even by poor 
 white people. 
 
 . The attachment of the negroes to this store 
 was wonderful. It was what they looked forward 
 to, when they had cash or corn, as a great bless-
 
 MARION. 31 
 
 ing in their existence. As an evidence of this, 
 when Marion was about twelve years old, the 
 family were woke up about two o'clock one 
 morning, by a bright blaze. The store was on 
 fire — and in less than two hours, being built of 
 pitch pine, it was in ashes. Five thousand 
 negroes were on the ground before it finished 
 burning, and then came sympathy and anxiety 
 for it to be rebuilt. The negroes for two weeks 
 poured in from all quarters at odd hours which 
 were their own. Carpenters from all the planta- 
 tions volunteered. Others went into the woods 
 with axes, and cut down trees, and hewed them 
 into their proper size. 
 
 Before two weeks had passed the store was 
 rebuilt again, twice its former size ; and when it 
 would have cost, under ordinary circumstances, 
 four hundred dollars to rebuild it, it did not cost 
 Mr. Monck fifty dollars — and then it was for 
 nails, and things the negroes could not furnish. 
 When it was ready to receive goods, Mr. Monck 
 went to Charleston and bought them, and when 
 the store was re-opened again, there was as 
 general a rejoicing among fifteen thousand 
 negroes and negresses, young and old, as if each 
 one had had an individual interest in the aff'air.
 
 32 MARION. 
 
 It was a " want." They missed it. It was their 
 place of resort for luxury and comfort, and they 
 could not get along without it. The dark lover, 
 when he was about to Aved a darkey bride, could 
 get the rings at the store, and a bottle of cologne, 
 a comb, papers of pins, or any little article that, 
 when purchased, gave more real happiness than a 
 thousand dollar shawl in other circles of society.
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 Parting from Home and from Parents — His stay in 
 Charleston — Arrival in Xew York. 
 
 To leave a loved liome^ loved parents, loved 
 friends, and long-loved associations, at the age of 
 fourteen, to wander forth into the great world 
 ■with the design of acquiring an education, a live- 
 lihood, a profession, a fortune, or any other of the 
 thousand and one objects of human ambition, is 
 a serious matter. Long and earnestly had Marion 
 Monck communed with himself, and dreamed by 
 day as well as by night of his future. His mind 
 was made up to leave home. Young as he was, 
 he knew and felt that his father, his family, and 
 himself could only hold a second-rate position in 
 white society. He could not rank or associate on 
 an equality vrith the rich planter, and he was 
 somewhat in advance of the poor white class. He 
 was occupying a sort of mongrel white rank, be- 
 twixt and between the two white extremes. 
 Marion felt within himself that he had talent and 
 
 VOL. I, D
 
 84 MARION. 
 
 genius, and it urged liim on to seek a larger 
 field. 
 
 At last lie gained the consent of his parents 
 that he should leave home, and seek an occupa- 
 tion elsewhere, where he could see and learn more 
 of the world. Worthy Mr. Monck wished his son 
 to seek employment with some merchant in 
 Charleston, as he honestly thought that Marion's 
 experience in the store at Monck^s Corners would 
 have been a good preparatory^ school for a mer- 
 chant's counting-room. Marion promised that 
 in six months he would come back and see them 
 — perhaps sooner. The mother packed his trunk, 
 placing a Bible in a flannel shirt carefully, gave 
 her son a few crying kisses, and Mr. Monck drove 
 off with him en route for Charleston. On their 
 arrival at their destination ]Mr. ^lonck found 
 quarters for IMarion with a friend, and the same 
 day started on his return home. 
 
 Charleston was then, is now, and will be fifty 
 years hence, the same Charleston. The quicksand 
 bar is still there, shifting and changing about — 
 the old houses grow a little older — the mass of 
 the old wooden tenements gets thicker and more 
 impervious every year — the bell to call in the 
 negroes rings at a quarter to nine, and the drum
 
 :^rA^JOX. 35 
 
 beats at tlie guard-house at a quarter to ten, to 
 say that all negroes out after that hour \^'ithout a 
 pass from their masters, if they are slaves, or from 
 their guardians, if they are free, will be locked up 
 in the guard-house for the night, and taken 
 before the Mayor in the morning. The yellow 
 fever makes its appearance every two or three 
 years, just when the Charleston people, because it 
 has missed a year, have begun to indulge the 
 hope that it will keep away five years, and give 
 their favourite city a chance to loom up in the 
 commercial world. But no — it seems almost hope- 
 less j and the dread of yellow fever is like an in- 
 cubus upon the city, and it is doubtful whether it 
 will ever be taken off. 
 
 For more than a week !Marion Monck roamed 
 about Charleston, seeking employment in some 
 commercial business. Perhaps it was lucky for 
 liim that he found no vacancy. Xo one wanted 
 a clerk of his size, shape, or make. One beautiful 
 morning he wandered down about the wharves, 
 and was admiring a stately ship. She was load- 
 ing for New York. The idea flashed across his 
 mind whether his chances would not be better in 
 New York than in Charleston. He answered it 
 by going on board and ascertaining the price of 
 
 D 2
 
 36 MARION. 
 
 pnssage. It Ttas -within his means, and would 
 still leave him something in his pocket to keep 
 afloat a few days in New York. The ship was to 
 sail the next day. Her name was the Saluda, 
 and her commander was the man who had traded 
 so long between Charleston and New York, that 
 in the latter place he is known by no other name 
 than the Charleston " Eerry.^^ Long ago he left 
 the ship line, and has built and commanded every 
 steamer that has voyaged from Charleston to New 
 York. May he command steamers between the 
 two cities for a thousand years more ! 
 
 Marion returned from Adger's wharf to the 
 house where he boarded, and announced to the 
 worthy Mrs. Ferguson, the landlady, that he had 
 half made up his mind to put out for New York 
 the next day. 
 
 " Who do you know there, young Monck ? '' 
 was her immediate question. 
 
 ^'Nobody.^^ 
 
 " Indeed ! And pray how will you get along 
 without being acquainted with anybody or some- 
 body?^' 
 
 Marion reflected, and replied, "Well, I have 
 had no success to my wishes in this town, where 
 I do know a great many people ; who knows but
 
 MAEION. 87 
 
 that I may find a situation among those who 
 donH know me or that I don't know ? ^' 
 
 And quick as lightning the idea made him 
 decide to go to Kew York; and he told the 
 worthy lady, in the most flat-footed and decided 
 manner that he should embark for Xew York in 
 the good ship Saluda, Captain Berry, the next 
 day. 
 
 " Well, my brave boy, if you will go, I will give 
 you one letter that may be of service to you. I 
 have a niece in New York who is married to a 
 merchant there. She is a Charlestonian, named 
 Bessy Nordheim, and will give a helping hand, if 
 need be, to a South Carolina boy. 
 
 Marion expressed his thanks, and immediately 
 retm-ned to the ship and paid his passage. That 
 night his landlady wrote the letter, and he placed 
 it carefully in his trunk. The next morning, 
 bright and early, he and his trunk were on board 
 the Saluda, and before meridian the ship had 
 passed over the bar, bound to New York. 
 
 It is useless to give a description of a sea voy- 
 age of eight clays' duration. Marion was in- 
 tensely sea-sick for two days, and it did him more 
 good than fifty boxes of BrandretVs pills would 
 have done. On the afternoon of the eighth day.
 
 38 MARION. 
 
 the ship Saluda was moored alongside the dock iu 
 Burling Slip, and Marion hired a cartman, and 
 with his trunk proceeded to a boarding-house in 
 Liberty Street, near Greenwich, to which he had 
 been recommended by a fellow-passenger. It 
 was nearly dark when he got fairly established in 
 his [^room, and after he had taken a boarding- 
 house tea, he did the most sensible thing a young 
 stranger who made his first visit could do at 
 night, viz., he went to bed.
 
 CHAPTER ^'I. 
 
 Marion Monek in Xew York — Presents his Letter of Intro- 
 duction — Procures a situation with. Granville and Xord- 
 heim — Home of Mr. Xordheim, in Bond Street — The 
 character of the Wife. 
 
 T\'hen IMarion arose fi'om his bed on the morn- 
 ing after his arrival, his head was so confused by 
 the multiplicity of noises which he had listened 
 to from long before daybreak, that he could with 
 difficulty comprehend where he really was. But 
 at last his lonesome position, in a strange city, 
 broke with full force upon his mind. He thought 
 of his distant home and loving parents, and cried. 
 He could not help it. He was in a great city, 
 without one solitary friend. By-and-bye he 
 dressed himself, descended to the breakfast-room, 
 and after drinking a cup of strong coffee, felt 
 decidedly better, and much more energetic than 
 he had felt since he left Monck^s Corners. 
 
 The landlady cautioned him aorainst srettins: 
 lost, as soon as Marion told her that he had never
 
 40 MARION. 
 
 been in the city before, and lie started out to try 
 his fortune in Ifsiew York. He wandered about 
 until dinner-time^ staring at the million of novel- 
 ties that his eye encountered, and then he re- 
 turned home, and went at once to his trunk to 
 get the letter of introduction that his Charleston 
 landlady had given him. He had hardly looked 
 at the address before, but now he regarded it as 
 of some importance. It was directed to a house 
 in Bond Street, and he found his way np there, 
 and before five o'clock in the afternoon he had 
 presented the letter of introduction to the lady to 
 whom it was addressed. She received him in a 
 very cordial manner, insisted that he should stay 
 to tea, and become acquainted vrith her husband, 
 Mr. Nordheim, who, she said, had resided in 
 Charleston some time, and who was engaged in a 
 large business in Broad Street. Marion felt that 
 there was a hope, and so he did as Mrs. Nordheim 
 wished. 
 
 It was nearly half-past seven before the hus- 
 band came home, and then the wife introduced 
 Marion, and showed the letter from her Charles- 
 ton relative. Mr. Nordheim was very cordial, 
 and joined his wife when she insisted that Marion 
 should t:'.ke tea with them and spend the evening.
 
 t 
 
 MARION. 41 
 
 It was not long before Marion discovered tliat 
 Ferdinand Nordheim was an Israelite. 
 
 Conversation turned upon Marion^s prospects ; 
 and when lie stated that he was anxious to get a 
 situation in a counting-room or store, Mr. Nord- 
 heim observed that the firm of Granville and 
 Nordheim, of which he was a partner, wanted a 
 clerk. ''1 leave these matters to my partner,^^ 
 said he ; " but in this case, if you will meet me 
 at my store at ten o'clock to-morrow morning, 
 I will make you acquainted with my partner, 
 Mr. Granville, and I dare say some arrangement 
 satisfactory to you may be made. I will tell him 
 how I became acquainted with you, and your 
 own rather prepossessing appearance must do the ^ 
 rest. If he is willing to engage you in our ser- 
 vice, I shall make no objection ; on the contrary, 
 I will willingly employ you.-" 
 
 The heart of Marion beat quick — and after the 
 evening meal was concluded, Mr. Nordheim, that 
 there might be no mistake, wrote down the ad- 
 dress, '' Granville and Nordheim, corner of Broad 
 and Garden Street,^' and Marion took his leave. 
 
 At precisely ten o'clock he was in the counting- 
 room of Mr. Nordheim. That gentleman intro- 
 duced him to Mr. Granville, wdth such expla-
 
 t 
 
 42 MAKION. 
 
 nations as were necessaiy, and [Mr. Granville led 
 the way into Lis private office. After cross- 
 questioning Marion for some time, lie appeared 
 to be quite satisfied as to his capability, and 
 observed " It will take some time before you can 
 be of much service, but you look as though you 
 would try and learn fast ; and although it is not 
 customary with heavy houses to pay any salary 
 for two or three years — (Marion was all aghast) — 
 don^t be alarmed ; in your case, under the cir- 
 cumstances, we will vary from the custom, and 
 give you a salary the first year. What will it 
 cost you to live here ? ^' 
 
 Marion had no idea. Supposed he could board 
 for one or two dollars a week. 
 
 Mr. Granville smiled. 
 
 " Probably four or five dollars will be nearer 
 the mark. However, we will make an engage- 
 ment with 3'Ou for four years, and give you two 
 hundred and fifty dollars the first year, three 
 hundred dollars the second, four hundred dollars 
 the third, and five hundred dollars the fourth 
 year. After that your services will be worth 
 whatever you choose to make them, if you get a 
 thorough knowledge of the business meanwhile. 
 Are you satisfied ? "
 
 MARION. 43 
 
 " Perfectly^ and am very thankful/^ said poor 
 Marion, 
 
 " Very well — then come with meJ' And he 
 left his private office for the general counting- 
 room, where seven or eight clerks seemed to be 
 very busy. He addressed an elderly clerk : 
 
 '^ Mr. Wilson, this young gentleman will come 
 into our office to-morrow. His name is Marion 
 Monck. You must try and make something of 
 him.'' 
 
 Mr. Wilson bowed, and after having given 
 some instruction to Marion as to the hour next 
 day when he would be expected, went on writing 
 his books. Marion quietly took his departure, 
 and went at once to his room, and "wrote a letter 
 to his father and mother. The next day he was 
 regularly installed as a clerk with Granville and 
 Nordheim. 
 
 Mr. Wilson, the bookkeeper, explained to him 
 his duties, and stated that as he was the junior 
 clerk, it would be necessary for him to commence 
 at the bottom of the ladder, and work his way up. 
 He was obliged to open the store, put the books 
 in the safe at night, lock it up, and give the key 
 to the bookkeeper, and stay and see the porter 
 shut up the store at night. He was also post-
 
 44 MARION. 
 
 office clerk, had to go with letters to the office, 
 and bring all letters in Box 910 to the office of 
 Granville and Nordheim. Marion went through 
 the first day with real satisfaction to himself and 
 his employers. His modest willingness to do 
 anything that he was called npon to do, had 
 already secured to him the good feeling of the 
 bookkeeper and the other clerks. 
 
 The store was closed before dark the first day. 
 In fact, such was the usual habit, except on 
 'Vpacket nights," and then it was kept open until 
 ten or eleven o'clock. Marion received the keys 
 from the porter, and proceeded to his home, 
 No. 119, Liberty Street. He told his success to 
 the landlady, !Mrs. Birch, and she congratulated 
 him warmly, adding, " You owe much to the lady 
 who received you so kindly, and who was the 
 means of procuring you the place. I have known 
 young lads wait months to get a situation, and 
 then not so good a one as you have secured in 
 two days. Have you been up town to thank the 
 kind lady in Bond Street ? '' 
 
 Marion replied that he had not. 
 
 " Then you ought to go at once. Gratitude 
 costs but little in your case/^ 
 
 These few words set Marion to thinking. He
 
 MARION. • 45 
 
 was merely a clerk. Was it right to go and pay 
 a visit at the private residence of his employer ? 
 " Well," thought Marion, '^ she asked me kindly 
 to call when I got fixed in a place. I am fixed, 
 and through her kindness. I will go up and see 
 and thank her to-night." An hour afterwards he 
 was on the steps of a large three-story hrick house 
 in Bond Street, and had pulled the bell-knoh. A 
 negro woman came to the door and opened it. 
 
 " Is Mr. Nordheim at home ? " 
 
 " No — Massa hain t come in yet. Missis is in." 
 
 " Go and tell her Marion Monck would like to 
 see her." 
 
 In a moment Mrs. Nordheim herself came out 
 of the parlour, and taking Marion by the hand, 
 led him hack into it, and placed him by her side 
 on a luxurious sofa. 
 
 "Well, what luck, Marion ?" 
 
 " Thanks to you, dear lady, I am engaged for 
 four years by your husband^s firm — but has he 
 not told you ? " 
 
 " He — my husband— no. I have not seen him 
 since morning. Sometimes I do not see him for 
 two or three days and nights together" — and 
 noticing Marion's look of astonishment, she added, 
 " He has so n:iuch to do at times, and frequently
 
 40 MARION. 
 
 has to visit neighbouring cities on business : but 
 never mind him. I am so glad you have come 
 up to-night. I want to talk to you about Charles- 
 ton — about your home and parents, and South 
 CaroHna matters generally. But you must have 
 some tea" — and she jumped up, and pulled the 
 bell. It was answered by another negro girl, who 
 took the order. 
 
 Marion again thanked her for being the means 
 of getting him a place, and told her that she did 
 not know how happy it had made him — that but 
 for her he should have had a wretched, anxious 
 time of it. " And you must tell me how to show 
 my gratitude," he added. 
 
 Again she took both of his hands in her own 
 delicate white ones, and pressed them closely. 
 " Say no more about it. I need just such a friend 
 as you will be, and if you are grateful, as you say, 
 you will be able to do a thousand kindnesses for 
 me. You must come here as often as you can. 
 I am sadly in want of a beau; and as you are so 
 young, and from my own State too, I am sure 
 Mr. Nordheim will not be jealous of you, and 
 will let me go out with you for an escort when- 
 ever I please. It is very rare now that he goes 
 out with me himself.'^
 
 MARION. 47 
 
 The ice Tras broken, and before the tea was 
 served they were chatting as familiarly as a 
 couple of children — and, in truth, they were 
 both children. 
 
 " How old are you, Marion ? ^' she asked. 
 
 " I was fourteen last second of December, and 
 it is April now, Mrs. Nordheim.^' 
 
 "There, stop — don^t call me Mrs. Xordheim — 
 say Bessy, and I shall like it and you a great 
 deal better."' 
 
 Marion laughed, and added, "AYell, Bessy, 
 how old are you ? " 
 
 " Guess." 
 
 "I cannot. You are married, and " 
 
 "Very well. I am just two years older than 
 your most venerable self, Master Marion. I am 
 but sixteen now — ^just old enough to be your 
 loving elder sister." And with one hand pressed 
 around Marion, with the other she parted the 
 dark brown hair on his white forehead, and 
 pressed it with a pure, loving kiss. "Now, that 
 christens you my brother," she playfully added. 
 " And this," said Marion, throwing one arm 
 fondly about her neck, and putting his lips to 
 hers, " makes you my loved sister." 
 
 The blood rushed to the face of the young
 
 48 ZMAPvION. 
 
 wife, and slowly disengaging herself, she sprang 
 up and said, " Now for tea;" and they sat down 
 to the well-served table. 
 
 " Take Mr. Nordheim's seat, opposite me," 
 said the lady. 
 
 Marion complied. 
 
 " Have you no sister, Marion ? " 
 
 '* None — and no brother either. I am an only 
 child.^^ 
 
 " And that is my case precisely, and now we 
 will be brother and sister to each other. I will 
 love you and you shall love me, and Mr. Nord- 
 
 heim " She stopped. "Well, Mr. Nordheim 
 
 don't trouble me with any of his doings, and I 
 don't see why I should bother him with telling 
 that I have adopted a brother ; — so, dear Marion, 
 when Mr. Nordheim is at home, you must call 
 me ' Madam,' and be as respectful to my lady- 
 ship as if I were Queen of England. But you 
 won't be much troubled with this formality on 
 his account. Now drink another cup of tea. I 
 suppose your clerkship is very anxious to know 
 how I came to marry Mr. Nordheim, and all 
 about it ? '' 
 
 Marion smiled, and looked anxiously at the 
 beautiful creature opposite to him. She took her
 
 Lands, and flung back from each side of lier face 
 the masses of dark, beautiful curls that partly 
 concealed her features, and completely covered 
 her snow-white neck and shoulders. 
 
 " I look more like a wild girl than a dignified 
 wife, I suppose. Xo matter. Mr. Xordheim was 
 pleased with my chit of a face, and my long dark 
 hair. I was very poor — dependent upon my aunt, 
 and I was tired of it. True, Mr. Xordheim was 
 an Israelite, but my aunt, like a good prudent 
 woman as she is, before she consented — no, before 
 she sold me, that is the right word — made Mr. 
 Xordheim settle two thousand dollars a year upon 
 me for life ; and I feel independent, at least, if I 
 don't love him. As he don't beat me, I am as 
 comfortably off, or more so, than I was when 
 dependent upon my aunt. I believe he behaved 
 handsomely to my aunt — that is, he gave her 
 one thousand dollars the day we were married. 
 TThy, what are you looking at me so earnestly 
 for, Marion ? I married Mr. Xordheim, became 
 his wife, and he brought me on to this big 
 house. The furniture is elegant, is it not? But 
 you have not seen it all yet. Xow, have you 
 finished your tea ? Then let us go back to the 
 sofa." 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 ^0 MAEION. 
 
 Marion went witli her and took a seat _by her side. 
 
 " What do you think of all I have told you/' 
 she pleasantly inquired. 
 
 " Why, what should I think, except that you 
 have done what pleased you, and I hope you will 
 be very happy.'' 
 
 Eessy Nordheim drew a long sigh, and then 
 made Marion tell her all his history, his plans and 
 prospects. 
 
 " I don't like your being in that boarding- 
 house. Why it would be much more We 
 
 have plenty of room in this house. Why should 
 you not come here ? I will speak to Mr. Nord- 
 heim about it, but not just yet." 
 
 A key was heard turning in the door, and she 
 jumped up and flew towards the hall. It was her 
 husband. 
 
 " Here is your new clerk, come to thank you 
 and me for his situation, Ferdinand." 
 
 Mr. Nordheim entered the parlour, and, with- 
 out further notice of his wife, commenced talking 
 to Marion. " I hope to find you very attentive 
 to business. I have a great many things of my 
 own to attend to, independent of the firm, and I 
 hope I shall find you ready to lend me a hand 
 when I need it."
 
 MARION. 51 
 
 " Certainly/^ replied Marion. " Anything that 
 I can do for you it will give me great pleasure to 
 do. I owe you my situation.^^ 
 
 Mrs. Nordheim had taken a seat, and listened, 
 but said nothing. 
 
 " Where are you boarding ? " he asked. 
 
 " At 119, Liberty Street.'' 
 
 Mr. N. made a note of it, and carefully placed 
 it in his pocket-book. " I may want to find you 
 at night. Are you busy evenings ? " 
 
 " No, sir. I have nothing to do." 
 
 " Very good. I will call at your boarding- 
 house, and some time it may be necessary for 
 you to do some writing for me up here at my 
 house. In such cases Mrs. Nordheim will have a 
 room fixed up for you, and you can stay all night. 
 I will explain the necessity to your landlady when 
 I call at the house." 
 
 Marion rose to take his leave, and as he ap- 
 proached Mrs. Nordheim and took her hand, he 
 felt a gentle detention and pressure, and a glance 
 of those beautiful soft eyes, which said, as plainly 
 as if they could have talked, " Don't forget your 
 sister Bessy." Mr. Nordheim did not extend his 
 hand, but accompanied Marion to the door, and 
 kindly bade him good night. He had made up 
 
 SVOMU
 
 52 MAFtlOX. 
 
 liis mind that the handsome intelligent boy 
 should be made useful to him in more ways than 
 one. 
 
 When he returned to the parlour, he said, some- 
 what surlily, " That boy owes his place to me. 
 I only hope he will be grateful. He is a stranger 
 here, and I must go to his boarding-house and 
 see if he is ^comfortable. It is my duty to do so, 
 Mrs. Nordheim." 
 
 " It is very kind of you ; but I suppose board- 
 ing-houses are not very comfortable." 
 
 " You ought to know ; " — and Mr. Nordheim 
 sneered very severely. " I believe your excellent, 
 but somewhat sharp aunt, Mrs. Ferguson, was 
 engaged in keeping a house of that kind when 
 I was so fortunate as to be struck with your silly 
 face." 
 
 Bessy's eyes were flashing fire under their long 
 dark lashes. 
 
 ^'^ Now, madam, I do not expect that my young 
 friend will be very comfortable at his present 
 location. You heard me say to him that I shall 
 probably require his services up here occasionally 
 to do some private writing for me, and that I 
 should require you to fix a room for him. Now 
 madam, let me tell you that it is' my intention, if
 
 he is not comfortable where he is^ to ask him to 
 come up here and make it his home altogether; 
 and let me add decidedly, madam, that I expect 
 you will submit to my wishes in this respect, and 
 make no opposition to them. You have objected 
 to my bringing any of my relatives to this house. 
 He is not a relative, but a young boy that will be 
 useful to me, and I prefer to have him in the same 
 house with me. Don't say a word, madam — I 
 u'lll have it so." And Mr. Nordheim, who had 
 worked himself into quite a passion, in order to 
 silence any objections that he took it for granted 
 his wife would make, bade her good night, went 
 into the hall, seized his hat, and then passed out 
 into the street. 
 
 "What a world ! Could Mr. Nordheim have 
 looked back into the parlour, and have seen that 
 elegant form, with one foot pressed forward, her 
 figure erect, her eyes sparkling with excitement, 
 as she flung back the long curling tresses which 
 she had allowed to cover and conceal her de- 
 lighted face while he was talking with her, he 
 might have thought that his determined purpose 
 was not so obnoxious to his girlish wife as he 
 imagined. She burst out into a merry, happ\' 
 laugh as she heard the street door close, and ex
 
 64 MARION. 
 
 claimed, " Dcur, dear Marion ! I shall have a 
 brother with me after all. Who would have 
 thought that Mr. Nordheim himself would insist 
 upon his l)eing liere, when I hardly dared to ask 
 it ! " Slie Avas as innocent and pure as an un- 
 born babe, and it was a sister's love she thought 
 she felt for the handsome l)oy.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Mr. Monck moves to Bon'l Street, and resides with Mr. 
 Nordheim — The Mercantile Library Association — IIow 
 to learn Languages. 
 
 The new clerk improved in Lis capacity for 
 general usefulness every week, but he had been 
 nearly a month at his new place before Mr. 
 Nordheim carried out the idea expressed to his 
 wife. lie then called on Mrs. Birch, in Liberty 
 Street, and apparently was not satisfied with the 
 place selected for Marion. He informed the 
 landlady that it would be more convenient to 
 have Marion at his own residence. He paid her 
 bill, and when he returned to the office of Gran- 
 ville and Nordheim he informed Marion of what 
 he had done, and told him to hire a cart, and 
 remove his baggage to Bond Street that night. 
 It was Saturday. 
 
 "Here is a note, Marion, that I wish you to 
 deliver to Mrs. Nordheim. It informs her that I 
 am obliged to go to Philadelphia this evening, 
 and may not return until the middle of next
 
 5f> MARION. 
 
 v;eek. I wish you to take good care of matters 
 at luy Louse. If anything is needed, get the 
 monej' from Mrs. Nordheim and procure it. If 
 she 'O'ishes to go anywhere — to church — to any 
 place of amusement — you will go with her. In 
 this note to her, I have written my wishes as I 
 have verbally stated them to you; I hope you 
 will be pleased with your new liome.'^ 
 
 He bowed and left the office before Marion had 
 any time to make any comment. As soon as the 
 store was closed that evening, he engaged a hack 
 and went to Liberty Street, bade his landlady good- 
 bye, and with his trunk proceeded to Bond Street. 
 
 The hackman had carried his trunk into the 
 hall before Mrs. Nordheim made her appearance. 
 She seemed a little surprised at the trunk, but 
 when Marion had shaken hands with her, and 
 she read her husband^s note, her features as- 
 sumed a different appearance, and were covered 
 with rosy blushes. 
 
 " How beautiful you do look, Bessy ! ^' was the 
 involuntary exclamation of Marion as he was led 
 by her into the parlour. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Truant, give an account of your- 
 self; why have you kept away from here a long 
 month?''
 
 MAEIOX. 57 
 
 Marion said he did not see liow he could come 
 v.'ith any propriety — as Mr. Nordheim had told 
 him weeks ago that he was to come — until 
 the latter directed him to do so^ as definitely as 
 he had that day. 
 
 '^ And now that you have come, I am going to 
 make the most of you, brother dear. Mr. Nord- 
 heim writes that you are to escort me wherever I 
 want to go, and be my protector while he is gone. 
 Good. I am very much obliged to my husband. 
 Next. I am to fix up your room in the most 
 comfortable manner, and not to fail to treat you 
 with the utmost kindness — you see, sir, I quote 
 from the note. In the first place, I fancy that I 
 have already made your room very cosy, as I had 
 a hint this morning from my lord and master 
 that you would probably come; and as for treat- 
 ing you with kindness, why, you ungrateful 
 brother, after such a long absence, and such 
 sisterly kindness, have you no reward to offer 
 me?^^ — and, as she put her pretty pouting red 
 lips in close proximity to Marion's, he could do 
 no less than put his arms around her, draw her 
 close to his breast, and press the lips to his own. 
 
 "There, dear Marion, that will do; and now I 
 will go and superintend the making-tea depart-
 
 Oo MARION. 
 
 ment, and you shall have a supper such as I dare 
 say you need." 
 
 Had Marion Monck and Bessy Nordheim 
 really been brother and sister^ it is not probable 
 that they would have exhibited a stronger attach- 
 ment for each other. The next day was Sunday. 
 Marion accompanied her to church, and almost 
 every night he went with her to some place of 
 amusement, or called with her upon some of her 
 extremely limited circle of acquaintances. Mr. 
 Nordheim did not come to his home for a week, 
 and during his absence Marion had made himself 
 completely at home, and his attention to the 
 duties of the store were from very early in the 
 morning until sometimes a late hour at night. 
 Mr. Wilson, the book-keeper, had promoted him 
 to copying letters, and to making duplicates of 
 letters and invoices. As Marion wrote a neat 
 mercantile hand, it was no great hardship. 
 Marion also found work at the dwelling-house of 
 Mr. Nordheim. That gentleman was, as I have 
 stated, an Israelite, and had inherited a large 
 property from his father, who had died about two 
 years previously at Amsterdam in Holland. 
 When he discovered that Marion could read and 
 write Dutch, he was overjoyed, and Marion for
 
 montLs worked several hours at night in copying 
 important papers in that language of a private 
 nature for Mr. Nordheim. The latter bought a 
 nice desk, and had it placed in Marion^s room. 
 Frequently Mrs. Nordheim would sit and chat 
 with him_, while hard at his work. She was as 
 fascinating in her conversation as she was beauti- 
 ful and attractive in her appearance, although she 
 did not seem to be aware of it. Marion regarded 
 her as a sister, and treated her as he would a 
 sister. Sometimes if her magnificent hair had 
 been carefully arranged, he would pull out the 
 combs and fastenings, throw it loose over her, 
 and comb it with the finger of one hand, while he 
 continued writing with the other. Bessy would 
 call him her teasing brother, and then, selecting one 
 of her combs, would carefully comb his hair with- 
 out preventing his writing. Did a thought of 
 wrong cross their minds ? Xo. She had been 
 isolated first in her aunt's boarding-house, and 
 secondly in the cold home of her husband. She 
 placed Marion on the footing of a brother. He 
 had brought the first sunshine to her cheerless 
 home. She had something to pet, fondle and 
 caress. She never thought it wrong, never 
 analysed her feelings, and hardly took the trouble
 
 CO 
 
 MAEION. 
 
 to control or conceal them before Mr. Nordheim. 
 Marion was in a new home — he who had been 
 petted all his life, and Bessy w^as the only one 
 who brought love and home — or home love, back 
 again to his mind. He appeared to regard her 
 affectionate kindness and caresses as he would 
 those of his aunt or his mother. He was too 
 young to dream or think of love. Both were 
 happy, for both were innocent in thought or 
 word as well as deed. 
 
 Mr. Nordheim was a man whose age must have 
 been nearly forty years. He was of small' 
 stature, with dark, piercing, oriental sort of eyes, 
 and a nose that clearly told his Hebrew origin. 
 He spoke English with great purity, and one 
 could hardly have imagined that Dutch had been 
 the language of his boyhood. He was short- 
 sighted, and wore a pair of gold spectacles. His 
 habits were very irregular, although it was many 
 months before Marion discovered that he was one 
 of the worst of libertines, and that his frequent 
 journeyings to other places for business purposes, 
 and also his frequent absence for the same 
 reasons, were not so. On the contrary, he was 
 off in the country, or anywhere else where he 
 could carry on his numerous intrigues without
 
 MARION. Gl 
 
 discovery. As he was the principal capitalist, his 
 partner, Granville, if he knew Nordheim's weak- 
 ness, did not notice it in any manner. 
 
 Marion Monck had not been in the cdlinting- 
 room of Granville and Nordheim over two 
 months_, before Mr. Wilson, the book-keeper, 
 asked him how he was off for books. 
 
 '^ Books ! " replied Marion. " I have no book, 
 save one, and that is a Dutch Bible, which my 
 mother placed in my trunk when I left home/' 
 
 Mr. AYilson smiled. He probably remembered 
 his own mother having made for him, when a 
 boy (perhaps fifty years before this) a similar 
 provision. 
 
 "That is a valuable book, no question of that/' 
 said 'Mr. Wilson ; " but. Master Marion, what I 
 meant is this, is there any one you know who is 
 the possessor of books, who will lend them to you 
 to read, otherwise you will have many an idle 
 hour hang heavy upon your hands? " 
 
 ]\Iarion said he knew no one who would lend 
 him books such as he desired. 
 
 " Mr. Nordheim has no books at home.^^ 
 
 '^ Then I propose that you should at once join 
 the Mercantile Library Association. It was 
 established for merchants' clerks, and when once
 
 62 MAEI.OX. 
 
 a member you ^ill liave access to any book or 
 paper that you need.'^ 
 
 Marion asked the expense of joining, and when 
 told that it was only the small sum of two dollars 
 per annum, agreed to go with Mr. Wilson and be 
 made a member that very night. 
 
 The counting-room was closed before six 
 o'clock, and ^Marion did not go home, but went 
 to get his tea with Mr. "Wilson, at Clark and 
 Brown's eating-house, in Maiden Lane, where 
 Mr. Wilson, with many other Englishmen, 
 boarded, and took his meals when and where 
 he pleased. They each had a cup of tea and hot 
 muffins, and after these were despatched, they 
 proceeded to Chff Street, where the Mercantile 
 Library Association occupied the first floor of 
 number eighty-two. It was then poor, and in 
 its infancy. Not long after, it was removed to 
 a building in Beekman Street — Clinton Hall. 
 Since then it has been removed to the old Opera 
 House, in Astor Place. 
 
 But to return to the visit to the Mercantile 
 Library Association. Mr. Wilson introduced 
 Marion to the Treasurer, Librarian, and one or 
 two of the Directors, and, after he had paid the 
 fees, received a certificate of membership.
 
 MARION. 63 
 
 '•' Is there any particular book you desire ? ^' 
 asked the librarian. 
 
 " Yes/' replied Marion, and he named a French 
 work by Voltaire. 
 
 It was given him, with a catalogue, and the 
 last report of the Association. 
 
 As ^Fr. Wilson and Marion went out into the 
 street, Wilson remarked, "Why, Marion, the 
 book you selected is printed in the French lan- 
 guage. Do you understand it ? '' 
 
 " Not a word," was the reply. 
 
 "You may think it queer, Mr. Wilson, but 
 I will read that book before I return it. The 
 fact is, Mr. Wilson, I will read French, Spanish, 
 and German before I am two years older. I 
 understand Netherland Dutch now as well as 
 English. I will learn a language after my own 
 method, or rather one taught me by aunt, who 
 taught me low Dutch/' 
 
 " What is the method ? ^' inquired Wilson. 
 
 " In the first place, I can repeat the New Tes- 
 tament almost word for word from beginning to 
 to end. I have read it so often, and got so many 
 lessons from it in former years to oblige a very 
 excellent mother. You comprehend that part.'' 
 
 " Very well."
 
 C4 MARION. 
 
 ^' Within three days I have been to the Bible 
 Society, and they gave me, for a trifling sum, 
 a New Testament in French. I shall read that 
 in French until I have it almost by heart. By 
 the time I am through, or before I have been at 
 it a few hours, I shall understand, perhaps, a 
 thousand French words, and the mode of placing 
 them without having to refer to a Frendi 
 Grammar or Dictionary/' 
 
 " That is very clear,'' remarked Wilson. 
 
 ^' Now I shall get a dictionary and grammar, 
 read the work b}^ Voltaire, and what words I 
 cannot acquire rapidly in the New Testament, I 
 shall get out of the dictionary. It will not be 
 long before I have mastered the French, and the 
 Spanish and German will follow." 
 
 "But how will you learn the pronunciation of 
 the language ? " 
 
 "By placing myself where I can hear one or 
 the other spoken incessantly. But we are up to 
 Broadway, and I must bid you good-night, and 
 hurry up to Bond Street.'^
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Business Excursion of Mr. Nordheim — Birth-place of 
 Clara Norris — Her Advent into Xew York. 
 
 It lias already been meutionecl that Mr. Nord- 
 heim made frequent excursions to neighbouring 
 cities. He gave out that these frequent trips were 
 for commercial purposes. His partner, Mr. Gran- 
 ville, did not contradict such announcements, and 
 his family were unable to do so. 
 
 October had arrived, and Marion Monck had 
 been livino; at the residence of Mr. ISTordheim 
 more than four months, when the latter informed 
 him that the next morning he should leave for a 
 distant State, and would not probably return for 
 some weeks. Mrs. Nordheim was in the parlour 
 engaged upon some embroidery when her husband 
 made this business sort of announcement, and, as 
 nsual, she made no comment upon it. Turning 
 to his wife, he said, '' Of course, my love, if you 
 want money, you can send word to the office by 
 Marion in the usual manner, and he will bring it 
 up to you.^^ This was said in a very sarcastic 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 66 MARION. 
 
 manner, and a slight bend of the magnificent 
 head of the young wife was the only reply. Soon 
 after he left the house to go to Pat Hearns', or 
 some other equally well known '' Hell/^ or a worse 
 place. 
 
 The carrying out of our story requires that the 
 reader should be carried out of New York^ and 
 taken to one of the most northern counties of 
 the state of New Jersey. It is again evening, 
 and only two days later than when Mr. Nordheim 
 told Marion that he was to make a business excur- 
 sion the next morning. It was night, the tallow 
 candles were lit, and in the bar-room of a country 
 inn in Sussex county was the well-dressed Nord- 
 heim. Several rough-looking countrymen were 
 loitering about the bar-room, and two were en- 
 gaged in playing dominoes at a pine table in the 
 corner of the room. A young and rather pretty 
 girl was behind the bar, waiting upon such cus- 
 tomers as required a glass of cider, or the more 
 potent cider brandy. Mr. Nordheim was smoking 
 a cigar, and seated near the fire-place, in which a 
 wood fire was burning, for the weather in October 
 in a village two thousand feet above the level of 
 the sea was intensely cold. The girl was evidently 
 about fifteen years of age, but fully developed.
 
 MARION. 6 / 
 
 Every now and then she cast an anxious glance 
 towards Mr. Nordheim, and as his eyes caught 
 her own she would suddenly drop them and blush, 
 scarcely conscious why. Mr. Nordheim was evi- 
 dently an object of curiosity to her, and the con- 
 trast between his elegance and the rough customers 
 in the room made her wonder what his business 
 could be there. Presently another person entered 
 the room, and as he stepped into the bar he said, 
 sternly, " Susan, go into the kitchen and help 
 your mother get supper." 
 
 "Have you ordered a fire in my room? ^^ de- 
 manded ^Ir. Xordheim of the new comer, who 
 was evidently the landlord. 
 
 "I have just finished making it myself, and 
 your supper will be ready presently,^^ was the 
 reply. 
 
 "Thank you/^ was the reply of Xordheim, and 
 he continued to puff away at his cigar. Soon 
 after Mr. Nordheim obtained supper and then 
 retired to his room. He found a good fire blazing 
 upon the hearth, and almost at once the girl called 
 Susan made her appearance with a candle, which 
 she placed upon the table. 
 
 "Any thing else, sir ? '' she asked. 
 
 " Xo, my dear— stay, yes — there is — I want to
 
 68 MARION. 
 
 ask you a fe^y questions. Are you acquainted 
 with a young lady in this neighbourhood whose 
 name is Clara Norris ? Sit down, Susan." 
 
 Susan took a seat before she replied, in a very 
 low tone of voice, '' Oh, yes, sir ; I know her 
 very well.'' 
 
 "Indeed. Here, Susan, is a little something 
 to spend when I am gone." He placed in her 
 hands half a dollar, patted her cheeks pleasantly 
 — " and now tell me all about Clara. Is she very 
 beautiful ? Is she as pretty as you are ? " 
 
 Susan simpered and replied, " Oh, yes ; a thou- 
 sand times prettier. Everybody calls her the 
 Sussex Lily, and indeed, sir, she is the sweetest 
 girl in this region." 
 
 " How old is Clara, should you think ? " asked 
 Mr. Nordheim. 
 
 " I know precisely. She is just one month 
 younger than me, and I shall be fifteen next 
 month. Do you know her, sir?'' and Susan 
 paused to hear the answer. 
 
 " No, not exactly ; that is to say, I have not yet 
 seen her. I became acquainted with her father 
 last summer, and I have heard him speak of Clara 
 so frequently that I was almost tempted to say I 
 know her, but I do not.'-'
 
 MARION. 69 
 
 " Oh, she is a charming girl. You will like her 
 very much. She is not at all like me. Her hair 
 is light auburn, and very long, and when she 
 wears it in ringlets it is pretty. She has a beau- 
 tiful figure, and her cheeks are as red as roses, 
 and her skin is as white as snow.'^ 
 
 "Why, Susan, you are quite eloquent in your 
 description,^^ said Mr. Nordheim, and he con- 
 tinued, " Is Miss Clara comfortable in her 
 home ? ^' 
 
 *' Oh, no, indeed, sir. Her father is a drunkard, 
 and her mother is not much better; in fact, 
 worse, some say, but I don^t know anything about 
 it. I see poor Clara every Sunday at church, 
 and she looks very unhappy. I don't know how 
 she stands it. I wouldn't. If my father licked 
 me as her'n does her, I'd run off and go to York ; 
 but I must go and help get supper for the other 
 boarders." 
 
 "Stay one moment, Susan,-" and as the girl 
 stopped he slid his arm around her. '' Oh, don't, 
 sir — what — will — " but a half-dozen kisses in suc- 
 cession stifled her voice, and when Mr. Nordheim 
 placed in her hand another silver half-dollar, 
 Susan wiped her mouth, smoothed her ruffled 
 hair, and promised Mr. Nordheim that she would
 
 70 MAEIOX. 
 
 come back as soon as supper was over to see if lie 
 wanted anything. Any of her country beaux 
 might have fiddled round Susan six months be- 
 fore her lips would have given one kiss. Girls 
 like the man, be he old or youngs that impudently 
 takes what he wants without trifling or beating 
 around the bush. She had left the room but an 
 instant when her father made his appearance. 
 ^' Well, Van Ness, what is it? ^' asked Nordheim. 
 
 " Did you send a message by the stage-driver 
 to old Bill Norris, up the road, that you wished 
 to see him ? ^^ 
 
 " I did. Has he come? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; he is down in the bar-room.^' 
 
 '^Yan Ness, have you any really good liquor, 
 any wine fit to drink ? That cider brandy is vile 
 stufi".^^ 
 
 " Yes, sir, as good as any gentleman need have, 
 I don^t care who or what he is. I have got the 
 best French brandy ; but it comes at two dollars 
 the bottle/' 
 
 '^ Bring it along if it was five dollars, and here, 
 by the way, is a five-dollar gold piece, and if you 
 have a bottle of champagne, bring that up also, 
 and never mind the change. Old Norris may 
 prefer some other drink besides brandy or wine.''
 
 MARION. 71 
 
 "Not he^ sir; lie will never leave this room as 
 long as there is another drop of that French 
 brandy in the bottle." 
 
 " Show him up at once, and then put some 
 more wood on the fire." 
 
 A few moments more and the heavy boots of 
 Bill Norris approached the door. '^ Come in," 
 exclaimed Nordheim, and the old drunkard en- 
 tered. " Take a seat, Xorris. I am glad to see 
 you. I told you at Dover last summer I would 
 come and see you before Christmas day." 
 
 " So you have. I like to see a man who sticks 
 to his word. It looks like business." 
 
 " True, Mr. iSTorris : but here is some liquor I 
 have ordered. It is no use talking with dry 
 tongues. Here is champagne, and here is French 
 brandy, ^^'hich will you try ? " 
 
 "Oh, give me the brandy. I don^t want any 
 new-fangled stuff down my throat," and he 
 helped himself to a stiff glass of raw brandy, and 
 drank it off at a gulp. It did not even make the 
 old toper wink. " Prime !" he exclaimed. "Now 
 I will take another with a little water into it," 
 and he helped himself while Mr. Nordheim 
 knocked off the neck of the bottle of champagne, 
 and as he poured it foaming into the glass
 
 73 MARION. 
 
 tumbler he said, "Now, Norris, I want you to 
 drink witli me to the health of that young girl 
 we talked so much about at Dover. Here is 
 Clara's health." Old Bill Norris again emptied 
 his glass and took a seat, and turning his face 
 full upon Mr. Nordheim, said, "So, so, mister, 
 yer hain't got off that notion, eh ? " 
 
 " No, indeed ; the more I hear of her the more 
 anxious am I to come to some understanding 
 with you in regard to her future welfare. Where 
 is she now ? " 
 
 " At hum, or was there half an hour ago." 
 "Bill, can anyone overhear our conversation?" 
 "No, I reckon not." Bill opened the door 
 and looked into the entry to see that the coast 
 was clear. 
 
 " When you see my darter, if as how j^ou likes 
 her, and she takes a kind of liking to you, what 
 do you intend to do with her ? Do ye mean to 
 marry her ? That's the pint." 
 
 "Mr. Norris, we will talk of that presently. 
 Meanwhile, I want to inquire kindly of you 
 whether five hundred dollars, if given to you by 
 som.e kind friend, would really be of any service 
 to you?" remarked Mr. Nordheim in a whis- 
 per.
 
 MARION. 73 
 
 " What ? Just say that over again," and Bill 
 was on his feet. 
 
 "Keep perfectly calm, Mr. Norris. I have 
 five hundred dollars that I can get by driving up 
 to the Sussex Bank after nine o^clock to-morrow 
 morning, and I could give it to you without 
 feelinsr the loss." 
 
 o 
 
 " Five hundred dollars ! Sussex Bank bills 1 
 and " 
 
 " Stop one moment more. I am anxious to do 
 that for you to-morrow. I am anxious to do 
 more than that for Clara, if you aid me in the 
 matter. I want to take her away from here, 
 however, and you will lose her services. Of 
 course I expect to pay you for that loss." 
 
 '^ That's fair. Five hundred dollars ! Of course 
 ril let her go for that. She will never bring 
 me anything like that. Five hundred dollars ! 
 Whew ! What a sum. Why, it will buy a good- 
 sized house and farm, won't it ? But you hain't 
 told me one thing. What do you want to do 
 with the girl ? Marry her ? " 
 
 " Mr. Norris, you know it would be imprudent 
 to do so now. What I may do when I have sent 
 her to school, I cannot tell. I shall take her to 
 New York, place her with a rich aunt, and she
 
 74 MARION. 
 
 will be taken good care of. What can I do 
 more ? '' 
 
 " That is all on the square. I don't see what 
 you can do fairer, Mister. What am I to do ? '' 
 
 " Go home very soon. Talk the matter over 
 quietly to your wife. Get her consent. In the 
 morning I will be up at your house, and have a 
 talk with Clara, if she consents to go Avith me, 
 and the matter is fairly understood among you. 
 She goes to Dover in the stage with me to-morrow 
 evening, and I will hand you and your wife five 
 hundred dollars before we leave.^' 
 
 '' It's a bargain. Shake hands upon it. You 
 are a gentleman, and do up your business brown. 
 I will go now.'' 
 
 " Take some more brandy." 
 
 "Not a drop," and Mr. Norris left — he was 
 really sober ; the five hundred dollar proposition 
 had fairly neutralised the effects of the strong 
 potions of alcohol which he had drank. 
 
 He had hardly got down stairs before a light 
 step came up them, and Susan came in, shutting 
 the door behind her. " I came up to see if you 
 needed anything," she observed. 
 
 " Yes, Susy, come here," and he pulled her 
 towards him.
 
 MAEION. 75 
 
 Don't — don't — I- 
 
 " All I want, Susy, is to liear more about your 
 friend Clara. Kiss me, now, and then tell me, 
 has she any beaux ? '' 
 
 "You kiss me so hard I dont like it. No; 
 Clara hasn't got any fellows. She is too proud 
 for that. Xone up here are good enough for 
 her/^ 
 
 TVhen Mr. Xordheim was alone, he lit another 
 cigar and then went do\s-n to the bar-room. Bill 
 Xorris had grone. The room was crowded. Mr. 
 Xordheim had an object — it was to make popu- 
 larity. Time after time did he treat every man in 
 the room, until all but himself were drunk — 
 roarinor country drunk — and then he went to bed. 
 How Httle his elegant wife dreamed of the nature 
 of her husband's commercial negotiations ! 
 
 The next day opened bright and beautiful. It 
 was much warmer, and Mr. Xordheim rose early. 
 He had ordered a horse and buggy to be ready for 
 his use immediately after breakfast. It came as 
 he had drank his last cup of coffee. He settled 
 his bin, paid for a day's use of the horse and 
 buggy, observing that he might not return. The 
 carpet bag was placed in the buggy, and after 
 a few inquiries as to his route to the house of
 
 76 MARION. 
 
 Mr. Norris, he bade his host '^ good morning/' 
 and started on the main road. He had to drive 
 a distance of two miles. He occasionally stopped 
 to gaze on the woods and the water. The forests 
 were covered with colours as variegated as the 
 rainbow, and he passed two long sheets of water 
 that he could not but stop to admire. Between 
 the two first lakes stood a cottage embowered in a 
 grove of large drooping willows, and not far ofr 
 was a long row of poplars. He inquired what 
 place that was. " Poplar Farm/' was the reply, 
 and he drove on. He had nearly reached the 
 head of the second lake, and was coming in sight 
 of the third, when he noticed a log-cabin that 
 seemed hardly capable of holding up itself. It 
 was large, but everything about the spot looked 
 poverty-struck and desolate. He was passing on 
 hj it, when out started a man that he recognized 
 as Bill Norris. 
 
 " Hallo ! What, you was a going by, eh ? That 
 won't do.'' 
 
 " Have you a place to put my horse, Norris ?" 
 
 '* Yes j I got a little snuggery down under the 
 hill. Drive around the road a little way, and I 
 will come and help you unhitch." 
 
 Mr. Nordheim complied, and when the horse
 
 MAKIOX. 77 
 
 ■was put in tlie miserable apology for a stall, 
 Nordheim asked if tlie mother had. been spoken 
 with. 
 
 *' Yes ; and she is ■willin\ She thinks it the 
 best thing that can be done/^ 
 
 '^ And Clara — does she know anything of what 
 is proposed ?'' said Nordheim, anxiously. 
 
 " I rather think the old woman had something 
 to say to her about it, but I don^t know. Women 
 folks can't keep a secret ; you understand.^' 
 
 Nordheim felt relieved. Half his work was 
 done. The two now reached the log-cabin. Norris 
 entered first, but no sooner had Nordheim fol- 
 lowed over the door- sill than he actually started 
 back with astonishment. Never had his eyes 
 been placed upon such a vision of female loveliness. 
 He could not speak. She was dressed in rags, 
 but there was a form, a complexion, a skin that 
 rags could not hide. She had been trying to do 
 up her splendid hair, but lacking combs and ma- 
 terial, it had fallen like a golden cloud over her 
 shoulders and reached nearly to her knees. Nord- 
 heim jumped towards her, took her hand, and 
 observed, " This is Clara — I need no more of an 
 introduction. Don't be scared on my account;'^ 
 and then, with the grace of a man of the world.
 
 / « MARION. 
 
 he placed all at their ease by talking of their 
 future. There was a little boy and a little girl, 
 brother and sister of Clara. To one he gave a 
 pearl-handled knife, and to the other a gold 
 pencil-case. " Now then, Mrs. Norris, I am 
 going to dine with you ; and here is some money 
 to buy any article you need. I suppose Mr. 
 Norris will go and get it for you." She took 
 the money. ^^ Miss Clara, as I was riding up, I 
 could not help admiring the mountain in front of 
 ns. There must be a beautiful view of the lake 
 from the top of it. Suppose you "accompany me, 
 and point out all that is to be seen," requested 
 Mr. Nordheim, kindly. 
 
 '' Get your bonnet and go with the gentleman," 
 came from the mother's mouth. 
 
 " I am in no hurry," observed Nordheim. 
 " Take your own time, Clara." This he said so 
 kindly that the poor girl burst into tears. A few 
 moments after he was following her up the side of 
 the mountain. " Clara," called Mr. Xordheim. 
 She stopped, and he took her hand in his own. 
 ^' Don't let us go too far and get tired. Here 
 seems to be a nice quiet place, where we can take 
 a seat and talk over certain matters." Clara 
 seated herself by his side. He still kept her hand.
 
 :marion. 79 
 
 " Clara, will you answer me a few questions 
 lionestlv and truly ? " 
 
 '' I will/^ 
 
 " Are you happy here ? Do your parents treat 
 you kindly?" 
 
 " No — I am miserable^ and they treat me 
 horribly." 
 
 " Would you like to leave here/' he asked, 
 kindly. 
 
 " With all my heart ! But my poor parents ! " 
 
 '' Clara, suppose I say that I will give your 
 parents the sum of five hundred dollars to-night, 
 to make them comfortable. Will you then place 
 yourself under my charge ? " 
 
 "WiU I? Try me. But what am I to 
 do? " 
 
 " This is all, Clara, if you will make me your 
 husband to-night — that is, you will treat me 
 in every way as if I were your husband." 
 
 " But will you marry me to-night ? " said the 
 girl, who was covered with blushes. " Speak 
 plain," she continued. " I know what you mean. 
 You will not marry me, but you wish me to be- 
 come your mistress; you have money, and you 
 would buy me ! Xow repeat the offer," said 
 Clara, determinedlv.
 
 80 MARION. 
 
 '' Yes, Clara, tliat is it. I will take you from 
 here to New York as speedily as possible. To- 
 morrow morning we will start. Then I will get 
 you handsome clothes — I will procure you a home 
 • — I will get you teachers, and I will make a lady 
 of you.'* 
 
 Clara smiled, and said, '' Listen to me Mr. 
 Nordheim. There is no need of words. I am a 
 decided girl. I am as pure as ice — but I can't 
 lead such a life. I want to see my father com- 
 fortable. If you do what you promise, then I 
 will be true to you till death. If you deceive 
 me, or do not make good your promises, woe be 
 on your head ! Now let us return to our humble 
 home." 
 
 " Stay a moment, Clara. If you are anxious 
 to go, why not start to-day ?'' 
 
 " No — I will not move until I see my mother 
 and father in possession of the price you have 
 agreed to pay for me.*' 
 
 " And then " 
 
 " I am yours, body and soul, and I do not care 
 what you do with me.*' 
 
 " I have the money ready. See, here it is, in 
 Sussex Bank bills. Count it." 
 
 He handed her the money. Clara did count it.
 
 MARION. 81 
 
 and tlien^ slowly drawing her hand across her 
 face, she asked — 
 
 " And when you give that to my parents ? " 
 
 " Then, Clara, I expect you to regard yourself 
 as mine. We will stay here to-night, or we will 
 go to Dover, just as you decide. Now shall we 
 return home ? " 
 
 " Be it as you wish — I have no choice,^^ said 
 Clara, mournfully. 
 
 Nordheim attempted to embrace her. 
 
 '' No, no ! " she exclaimed, while pushing him 
 aside. " Not now. Pay the sum to my parents, 
 and then I am yours altogether." 
 
 Not a word was spoken until they reached the 
 log-house. Clara took a seat. , 
 
 '' Well ? " said the father. 
 
 " Everything is pleasantly arranged, and Clara 
 and myself have decided to leave for New York 
 city either to-night or to-morrow morning. .But 
 I have something for you.'^ 
 
 He took out of his pocket-book a roll of bills, 
 and laid it upon the table, Clara jumped up 
 and seized the money. She selected from the 
 roll five fifty-dollar bills, and placed them in one 
 pile. "Father, take the money;" and then an 
 equal amount she handed to her other parent, 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 b-ri MARION. 
 
 adding, '^ Mother, take this. God bless you 
 both ! " 
 
 They each took the money. Then she kissed 
 her mother, and afterwards her father, crying as 
 if her heart were broken. When she had found 
 voice, she said, " Now you have money, spend it 
 v» isely. Father, don't drink any more ; and when 
 you think of doing it, think of poor me, and 
 perhaps at what an awful cost I earned the 
 money.^^ Then turning to Mr. Nordheim, she 
 added, almost hysterically, " Come, sir, you have 
 not yet decided whether you will stay here to- 
 night or go to Dover. Follow me — up this 
 ladder." 
 
 She was followed up by the exquisite New 
 Yorker in astonishment. As he reached the 
 floor of the open garret he exclaimed, "Why, 
 Clara, ichere do i/ou sleep ? '^ 
 
 " There ! " she exclaimed, pointing to a pile of 
 rags in a corner of the garret; and she ran to- 
 wards it, and loosing her hair, so as almost to 
 cover her entire figure, she flung herself upon the 
 rags, and said, " Well, what do you think now ? 
 My parents have no other." 
 
 He went to her, calmed her excitement, and 
 kindly coaxed her to descend the stairs. " We
 
 MARION. 83 
 
 will start for Dover in a few minutes. Fix up 
 Clara the best you can/' said he kindly to her 
 mother. 
 
 Clara did not cry any more. She spoke kindly 
 to her mother^ and helped her to spread the table 
 with a few eatables. An hour later she took her 
 seat in the buggy beside Mr. Xordheim. That 
 same evening they reached Dover, after a few 
 hours' drive. They Avere just in time to catch 
 the mail stage for Xew York via Newark. The 
 next night at about ten o'clock the two reached 
 a private house in the upper part of the city, 
 where Mr. Nordheim seemed to be perfectly at 
 home. 
 
 Such was one of the business transactions of 
 Mr. Nordheim. It was the opening history of a 
 beautiful girl, who in after years made a sensation 
 as the haughtiest as well as most magnificent 
 courtezan that ever walked the streets of New 
 York.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The first year over — Dinner at Mr. Granville's — The 
 Family of Mr. Granville— Colonel Mac Keil. 
 
 Life in a counting-room during the period of 
 junior clerkship is without much of interest. The 
 routine is about the same from day to day. A 
 year had now elapsed since Marion arrived in 
 New York, and he had become quite expert in 
 his clerical duties. He was a favourite with Mr. 
 Granville ; he continued to reside at the residence 
 of Mr. Kordheim, in Bond Street, and oftentimes 
 was of great service to that partner. Young 
 Monck was a hard student, and rarely retired to 
 bed before twelve o'clock at night. He could 
 read French well, and availed himself of every 
 opportunity of speaking it. This was the more 
 easy, as the business of Granville and Nordheim 
 v;as principally a foreign commission business. 
 They received consignments of vessels and cargoes 
 from many ports in the Mediterranean, and wine 
 and assorted cargoes from Cette and Marseilles 
 were regular. By such means Marion becaUiC
 
 MARION. 85 
 
 acquainted witli Frencli captains and French pas- 
 sengers that brought letters of introduction to ths 
 firm, and he used to show them the hospitaUties 
 of the city. His progress in pronouncing French 
 was extremely rapid from these facilities^ so that 
 at the expiration of his first year in New York he 
 was a fair French scholar. The foundation was 
 laid, and by practice he improved until he could 
 write, read, or speak French equal to a Frencli- 
 man. Mrs. Nordheim was his fellow student in 
 French, and her progress was equally rapid with 
 Marion; for Mr. Nordheim spoke French well, 
 and when she expressed a wish to that effect, he 
 would converse with her in that language. Fre- 
 quently Marion would take part in their con- 
 versation. 
 
 It was a very curious fact, that for some months 
 Mr. Nordheim had not found occasion to be 
 absent from the city, and he was much more kind 
 and sociable at his home than before Marion came 
 there. He was absent almost every night, but no 
 curiosity was ever expressed by his wife or Marion 
 as to the cause of such a-bsence. 
 
 Marion had had very few opportunities of 
 knowing much of Mr. Granville or his family. 
 The intercourse between them was only at the
 
 86 MARION. 
 
 counting-house; and altliough Mr. Granville ap- 
 peared to be pleased with the attention, which 
 Marion showed to his business, yet he rarely 
 noticed him save to give orders or instructions. 
 Marion had observed to Mr. Nordheim that Mr. 
 Granville did not seem to be aware that he Avas 
 in existence, save in the office. 
 
 ''^ Never mind, Marion/' was the reply. ''An 
 old merchant like Mr. Granville does not waste 
 much time on the youngest clerk in his employ. 
 Wait.'' 
 
 He took his advice. Precisely one year from 
 the day he entered the office, Mr. Granville in the 
 morning called him into his private office, and 
 somewhat abruptly remarked, 
 
 '' It is a year that you have been with me." 
 
 Marion was astonished. He could not con- 
 ceive that the haughty merchant by any means 
 should stoop to remember such a fact. He did not 
 know the man, and he replied, '^ Yes, sir." 
 
 *' Then to-morrow your salary will begin at 
 three hundred dollars." 
 
 Marion bowed and added, '' I have not drawn 
 my salary of two hundred and fifty dollars. There 
 is nearly one hundred and fifty dollars due me
 
 MAEION. 87 
 
 "Howisthat?'-' 
 
 " I have been living witli Mr. Nordheim, and 
 he has not said anything to me about what he 
 should charge_, and I did not think it would be 
 right to draw under such circumstances.^' 
 
 " Go and call in Mr. Wilson.'' 
 
 It was done. 
 
 '' Wilson, fill up a cheque and bring it to me to 
 sign for the balance due on this young man's 
 salary up to date. In the coming year it will be 
 three hundred dollars. Now, Mr. Monck, I have 
 nothing to do with my partner taking you to his 
 house. I understand that you speak and write 
 low Dutch, and he has made you useful to him to 
 a greater amount than ruj board he would charge. 
 Make your mind easy on that score. He will 
 make no charge against you ; or, if he does, give 
 the account to me, and I will pay it out of my 
 own pocket.'' 
 
 By this time Mr. Wilson had brought the 
 cheque. It was for one hundred and sixty-five 
 dollars, and Mr. Granville signed it. As he 
 handed it to Marion, he laughingly said, "You 
 will i^e quite rich. What Avill you do with so 
 much money, eh ? " 
 
 *' Send it to my parents, sir," replied Marion.
 
 88 MARIOX. 
 
 "Very right and proper; and now, sir, will 
 you do me tlie favour to come and dine with, me 
 to-day at five o'clock ? I wish to make you ac- 
 quainted with my family ; and you will meet at 
 my table one or more of my friends worth know- 
 ing. You know where my residence is, I sup- 
 pose; and be before the hour rather than later, 
 whenever you are invited out to dine." 
 
 "I shall be pleased to dine with yoa, sir, and 
 will not be later than the hoar." 
 
 Before we present Marion at this dinner with 
 his senior employer, it will be interesting to the 
 reader to learn something of Mr. Granville. 
 "William Pitt Granville was the grandson of a man 
 who was once speaker of the English House of 
 Commons. He had been educated commercially 
 in one of those extensive commercial firms in 
 England, whose business connection extended 
 over the world. The firm had sent Mr. Granville 
 to New York to attend to some special business, 
 and his keen eye saw an opening in New York, 
 and he wrote home to that efi'ect. The London 
 firm of Prescott, Grote and Co., had a correspon- 
 dent named Nordheim, who had a son that he 
 was anxious to place in business in some American 
 port. The London firm saw that they could
 
 MARION. 89 
 
 benefit these parties^ besides their own firm, and 
 the result was that old Nordheim agreed to put 
 fifty-thousand dollars in cash in the firm for his 
 son j and young Nordheim in less than six months 
 became the partner of Mr. Granville. Mr. Gran- 
 ville was the business man ; his energy was un- 
 ceasing. Connections and agencies were made in 
 every part of Europe ; and what with Mr. Nord- 
 heim^s cash capital, and the facilities extended by 
 the London firm and the elder Nordheim, business 
 rolled in upon the New York firm from every 
 quarter, and their profits in a short time were 
 more than double their original capital. 
 
 Mr. Nordheim, as we have before observed, was 
 not much of a business man, and Mr. Granville 
 persuaded him to go to Charleston, S. C, to pro- 
 cure shipments of rice and cotton to New York 
 and to his father^s house in Amsterdam. As he 
 had money to advance on all such shipments, he 
 was very successful in procuring them, and his 
 sojourn in Charleston was of great benefit to all 
 parties. It was while residing at Charleston that 
 he became fascinated with Elizabeth Ferguson, 
 and married her, as has been detailed in a former 
 chapter. 
 
 To return to Mr. Granville. He was English
 
 •90 MARION. 
 
 in his appearance, habits, mode of thinking, and 
 in every other way. He believed that this was a 
 great country to make money in, but that Eng- 
 land was the only country worth belonging to; 
 and he would never take out papers to become an 
 American citizen. " British I was born, and a 
 Briton I will die,^' was a favourite expression. 
 He was six feet in height, and well-proportioned. 
 His forehead was very high, and his head almost 
 bald. He was fifty years of age when Marion 
 joined him. His nose was curved like the beak 
 of an eagle, and he felt much flattered when told 
 that this feature very much resembled that of the 
 great Duke of Wellington. It was true, too. He 
 had married in England, and brought over witli 
 him, when he decided to remove to America, a 
 wife and two children, the one a girl named 
 Isabella, and the other a boy named Walter. His 
 residence was in a house which is still standing in 
 State Street, fronting the Battery. At that time 
 it was the residence of some of the most prominent 
 merchants that New York has produced. It was 
 a venerable double house, painted yellow, with a 
 door in the centre, and an old-fashioned stoop 
 supported by two wooden pillars, with red stone 
 steps on each side, leading up to the doorway. It
 
 MAKIOX. ^ 91 
 
 had a large, spacious hall, four times the size of 
 a hall in a modern house. On the right "was a 
 large reception room or parlour, and on the left 
 was another of equal dimensions. In the rear of 
 the hall was a dining-room, with large bav win- 
 dows, extending nearly the width of the house, 
 and overlooking a large yard, which was filled 
 with plants and shrubbery of every description. 
 The view from the front parlours, or from any 
 room in the front part of the house, was magnifi- 
 cent beyond comparison. The windows overlooked 
 the Battery and the bay, and the view in the 
 summer season was unsurpassed in the world. 
 There was nothing to equal it in New York. Mr. 
 Granville had good taste. 
 
 Besides his wife and children, Mr. Granville 
 had a younger brother residing in the old English 
 mansion. This brother Thomas was as eccentric 
 a being as ever drew breath ; and we shall have 
 much more to say of him as our story pro- 
 gresses. 
 
 Mrs. Gran^-ille and Thomas were the only per- 
 sons in the dining-room when Marion arrived. 
 It was to them that Mr. Granville introduced 
 Mr. Monck. 
 
 Mrs. Granville appeared to be about forty
 
 92 
 
 MARION, 
 
 years of age. She was very small in size, and 
 extremely pale. She looked as though a good 
 strong gust of wind from the Battery would blow 
 her away. She put out her hand to Marion, and 
 kindly greeted him, saying, 
 
 " I have heard of you often from my husband, 
 and expected you would have visited us before 
 this ; I am glad to see you now, and I trust you 
 will come and see us as often as you have 
 leisure." 
 
 Poor Mrs. Granville, her days were numbered ! 
 Marion soon learned that her seclusion arose from 
 the fact that she was dying of consumption. 
 
 " I shall be most happy to continue the 
 acquaintance, believe me, IMrs. Granville ; for I 
 know very few families in the city.^^ 
 
 " Here comes Isa — mv daui>:hter, this is Marion 
 Monck.^^ 
 
 And a beautiful girl sprang forward and gave 
 her hand to Marion. 
 
 " O, I have seen Marion a hundred times when 
 I have skipped in and out of the office, but I am 
 so glad Pa has brought him here. I am sure we 
 shall be excellent friends." 
 
 A moment after Walter, the son, came in. He 
 was a handsome lad, of about ^Marion's age, but
 
 MARION. 1)3 
 
 extremely reserved. He had already become 
 acquainted with Marion, having seen him many 
 times at the office. A gentleman came in just 
 before the family rose to go to the dining-room. 
 Mr. Granville introduced him to Marion as 
 — ''Colonel Mac Neil, a very old and valued 
 friend." 
 
 The Colonel, in a very gentlemanly manner, 
 expressed great gratification at meeting Marion. 
 Soon after the party that had assembled in the 
 parlour adjourned to the large dining-room. 
 Covers were placed for seven, and when all had 
 taken their seats dinner was served in a very 
 simple manner, and Marion felt completely at his 
 ease. His seat was directly opposite to Isabella 
 Granville, and before he had received a dozen of 
 her laughing glances, poor Marion began to feel 
 that he was getting in love. 
 
 " Bell," as her Pa called her, was a sweet little 
 creature, very girlish in form and figure. Her 
 eyes were black, and she had a profusion of soft 
 black hair, which was partly taken up on the back 
 of her head, and the front portion was arranged 
 in curls. Her mouth was small and pretty. She 
 was ready to fall in love with anybody that there 
 was a spark of romance about. Although only
 
 y4 MARION. 
 
 fourteen, she had had two lovers since she was 
 twelve. One was a "West Point cadet, and the 
 other an nnfledged midshipman ; but her father, 
 kind and gentle as he appeared, was a stern, 
 despotic man in his own house, and most fully 
 imbued with the English ideas of marriage. He 
 considered children as merely a means of extend- 
 ing " connections," and deemed it his duty to 
 select a suitable husband for his daughter, and a 
 proper match for his son, where settlements could 
 be made on both sides. He detested cadets and 
 midshipmen, lawyers, doctors and clergymen. He 
 had his own views for "Bell." Mr. Granville 
 was a merchant, in the true meaning of the 
 Avord, and he looked upon every man outside of 
 the commercial profession as not belonging to his 
 world, and as a nobody. He believed in the 
 English nobility, noble blood, and all that sort of 
 thing. He also thought that there might be a 
 nobility in the United States ; but if there was 
 any, that no class could justly lay claim to it 
 except the commercial class. A great merchant 
 was an object of profound respect : the President 
 of the United States he regarded as the principal 
 Custom House officer in the nation, and he had a 
 contempt for all Government officers, high or low.
 
 MARION. 95 
 
 He deemed them a pack of useless suckers. 
 There was one class of the world that he re- 
 spected next to merchants — they were actresses 
 and actors. A. celebrated English actress was a 
 Mrs. Granville, a century ago. He was descended 
 from her. This was the clue to the secret, that 
 there was no actor or actress, from Kean the 
 elder to Yandenhoff, and Ellen Tree to Mrs. 
 AYilson and Miss Sheriff, that he did not invite 
 to his house. James and Henry AYallack were 
 his intimate friends. Hackett found a banker in 
 him when he needed one. In a word, no actor 
 or actress came to this country from England 
 without a letter of introduction to Mr. Granville. 
 That was his weakness, if he had any. 
 
 When the ladies retired from the dinner-table 
 Walter Granville went with them, and the con- 
 versation continued until a late hour. Marion 
 was delighted. Mr. Granville treated him as if 
 he had been the richest merchant in the city, 
 conversed with him, drew him out, made him at 
 his ease, and yet not one word was said about the 
 store, his own position, or business. The shop 
 was sunk in the house of Mr. Granville. It was 
 nearly ten o^clock when Marion took his leave, 
 and when he reached Bond Street Mrs. Nordheim
 
 96 MARION. 
 
 made him tell her all the events of the dinner, 
 and particularly all that Colonel Mac Neil had 
 said. But Colonel Mac Neil is too important a 
 person to bring in at the close of a chapter.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Colonel William Mac Xeil— Duel of Mr. Graham and 
 Colonel Barton. 
 
 " BessY; pray tell me something about Colonel 
 Mac Neil, whom I met at the dinner at Mr. 
 Granville's yesterdav/' exclaimed Marion, at 
 their early breakfast next morning, to Mrs.Nord- 
 heim. " I am sure you know something of his 
 previous history." 
 
 '' Not so much, perhaps, as you may imagine. 
 What I do know, I obtained from Mr. Nordheim. 
 The fact is, the Colonel is a very gallant man, 
 and regards himself as quite a lady-killer. He 
 made love to me before I had been in New York 
 three weeks. I rather astonished him by repeat- 
 ing some of his love speeches before him at din- 
 ner, when Mr. Nordheim was present. The 
 gallant Colonel did not make any more sweet 
 speeches to me, I can assure you. Mr. Nordheim 
 was excessively pleased with my tact, as he called 
 it, and in gratitude, I suppose, for its display, 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 :maeion. 
 
 told me somewhat of my gallant gentleman's 
 antecedents. The Colonel is Scotch, and of a 
 very good family. He must have been born 
 somewhere about the year 1800^ and I have heard 
 him say he was only fourteen years old when his 
 father, who commanded a regiment of High- 
 landers at Waterloo, was slain. The young Mac 
 afterwards emigrated to Canada with his mother, 
 who married a second husband, and ten years 
 ago came to this city. He w^as about twenty-one 
 years of age, and had about ten thousand pounds 
 sterling in money. By Mr. Granville's advice 
 he formed a partnership here and went into the 
 wine business with a Mr. Gillespie, who had no 
 capital, but great experience. Colonel Mac Neil 
 is a dashing, fashionable man about town. He 
 goes into the best society, boards at the City 
 Hotel, is a manager at the City Assembly balls, 
 and, though he has made some seductions — and 
 one of his victims he keeps as a mistress in very 
 good style, and has had two children by her — yet 
 he is well received wherever he goes, and he is 
 engaged to be married to the wealthy and accom- 
 plished Miss Grasper." 
 
 " If he spends money in so princely a manner, 
 I should think he would need to marrv an heiress,
 
 MARION. 99 
 
 unless his business is a source of great profit," 
 remarked Marion. 
 
 " ]\Ir. Nordheim saj's unless the Colonel mar- 
 ries money, that his high-flown game will soon be 
 up ; that he gambles tremendously at Washington 
 Hall every night. He is a good hand at cards, 
 I dare say ; and it may be that his luck and skill 
 as a gambler is the secret of his having so much 
 money to carry on the war with. You know 
 what a noise he made some years ago as a 
 second in a duel." 
 
 " No ; I do not. Never heard of it." 
 "It was a sad affair. By the way, Marion, 
 I do not wish to prejudice you against Colonel 
 Mac Neil. He is a great friend of both Mr. 
 Granville and of my husband. He is a perfect 
 man of the world, and when you are a few years 
 older, it will be in his power to be of great ser- 
 vice to you. I recommend you to cultivate an 
 intimacy with him, and receive any advances of 
 a friendly nature on his part with cordiality." 
 
 " Thank you. I will not forget your advice. 
 But about the duel?'" asked Marion. 
 
 " I had nearly forgot it. A Mr. Graham, con- 
 nected with the Daily Courier, had some diffi- 
 culty with Mr. Barton, who is more famous as 
 
 H 2
 
 100 MARION. 
 
 the husband of Cora Livingston, a daughter of the 
 great Edward Livingston, than by any other act 
 of his life. It led to a demand for satisfaction on 
 the part of Barton. Graham accepted the chal- 
 lenge. Barton, who was intimate with Colonel 
 Mac Neil, requested him to act as his second. 
 The principals met, and Mac NeiFs advice to 
 Barton saved his life and killed Graham.'^ 
 
 " What was the advice ? '' 
 
 " Don^t aim. Barton, but raise your pistol to 
 a dead level with your stomach, and fire at the 
 word.^^ 
 
 " Mac Neil must be a very cool sort of person 
 on such occasions ? '^ 
 
 " It is much easier for the seconds to be cool 
 than it is for the principals, I should suppose. 
 This affair, and the noise about it, made Mac 
 Neil quite a hero among the girls ; and all the 
 young bloods about town, if they get into a 
 quarrel when drunk, go to consult Mac Neil 
 about their honour when they are sober. Keep 
 on the right side of Colonel Mac Neil, Marion. 
 I feel that he will be of use to you some day. 
 I did think that Mr. Granville had an idea in his 
 head to marry pretty Isa to Mac Neil. I don't 
 think so now. Why, Marion, how you wince ! ^'
 
 MARION. lOl 
 
 "I? — nonsense! "What difference would it 
 make to me ? But why would not Mr. Granville 
 marry Bell to Mac ? '' 
 
 " Because Mac is getting on too fast for !Mr. 
 Granville. He wants Bell to marry a man who 
 has got money and a steady business. Don^t you 
 begin life by falling in love with that little face. 
 She is the most arrant little coquette in existence, 
 and don^t know her own mind ten minutes. Or if 
 you do choose to get up a flirtation with her, 
 don't make it serious, for she will marry, at ten 
 minutes' notice, any man 'Pa' chooses, and he 
 will not choose you. Another prudent reason for 
 not falling in love with Isabella is this — Mr. 
 Granville would make short work with your 
 clerkship if it was to get to his ears. Prenez 
 garde'' 
 
 Marion laughed, and thanked Mrs. Nordheim 
 for the information she had given him, and then 
 hurried down to the office.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Cows and Mocking-Birds in South Carolina— The French 
 Coffee House in "Warren Street, and its Visitors. 
 
 Nearly a year had gone by since the close of 
 the last chapter, and two yenYS since the arrival 
 of Marion in New York. Not a week had passed 
 without his writing a letter to his parents, or re- 
 ceiving one from them, and every now and- then 
 he would get some present from home, to remind 
 him that he was not forgotten. He had remitted 
 one hundred and sixty dollars to his father. The 
 latter acknowledged its receipt, and while he 
 thanked his son for sending it, declined to use it 
 for his own purpose. 
 
 *' We have no need of it, my son, but I have 
 placed it where it will groiv^ in other words, cows 
 are worth here at present only eight dollars. I 
 have bought and branded M. M. twenty cows, and 
 have registered them in the parish as yours. 
 Pour or five years hence my son will be quite a 
 cattle proprietor. I have taken to Charleston
 
 MARION. 103 
 
 four cages^ eacli containing a valuable mocking- 
 bird : they will be sent to you by the first 
 sbip.'^ 
 
 The ship arrived, and Marion gave one of the 
 birds to Wilson, the book-keeper_, one to Mrs. 
 Nordheim, one to Isabella Granville, and the 
 fourth — Mr. Nordheim oflPered to buy it. Marion 
 refused to sell it, but begged Mr. Nordheim to 
 accept it, adding — 
 
 " I have already given one to 3Irs. Nord- 
 heim." 
 
 " I am aware of that,- Marion, but I wish you 
 to procure the handsomest cage you can find. 
 Put m}^ bird in it. I will give you the address to 
 which I wish it taken, and you shall accompany 
 it with a note from me. I have to ask an addi- 
 tional favour. You need not mention the cir- 
 cumstance of the bird, or any part of this con- 
 versation, or to whom I have given the bird." 
 
 " Certainly not, if you do not wish it." 
 
 As the office was closing that night, Marion 
 asked Mr. Wilson if he would go and take a cup 
 of coff'ee with him. The ofi'er was accepted, and 
 they strolled off to No. 9, Warren Street. At 
 that time there was a French coffee-house there, 
 kept by a sleepy-looking Frenchman named Blinn.
 
 104 MAEION. 
 
 ^ When Mr. Wilson and ^Marion liad taken their 
 seats at one of the small tables, Marion ordered 
 coffee and omelettes for two from Blinn himself, 
 who attended to all orders. The order was given 
 in French. Mr. Wilson remarked it. 
 
 '^ Yes, I must confess, that such is my anxiety 
 to perfect myself in French, that I come here 
 every chance I get to practise. There are some 
 very remarkable men, Mr. Wilson, visit this place 
 daily. Fitz Green Halleck, the poet, who has 
 rooms at 45^ down the street; Charles Fenno 
 Hoffman, and several others. I have become well 
 acquainted with Mr. Halleck, and have been to 
 his rooms at Mr. Martinets, where he has roomed 
 for fifteen years. I like him very much. With 
 Mr. Hoffman I am not so well acquainted. He 
 must be preparing himself for death or the mad- 
 house." 
 
 " Why do you think so ? " 
 
 " Because I have seen him drink, at one sitting, 
 and that not once, but a hundred times, four or 
 five cups of this French coffee, as strong as lye. 
 But that is not all ; he places a large lump of 
 sugar in a tea-spoon, puts it across the top of his 
 cup over the coffee, then pours over it a wine glass 
 of Kirchwasser, and burns it, the sugar melting
 
 MAPJOX. 105 
 
 and running into the coffee. It is a devil's dose, 
 is it not? '' 
 
 " Yes, I should think so, if old Lucifer ever 
 stimulates. I should think a few such cups of 
 coffee, with the burnt sugar and Kirchwasser, 
 would waken the old chap up.-*^ 
 
 " While we are waiting for our omelette, I pro- 
 pose to read you a letter from my father.'''' And 
 Marion read the letter about cows and mocking- 
 birds. 
 
 '^ Cows are cheap in South Carolina, are they 
 not?" 
 
 " Extremely so. But it costs nothing to keep 
 them. If my father does as he says (and I never 
 knew him do otherwise), I may own a hundred 
 cows before five years are over." 
 
 " It will cost some money and fodder to keep 
 such a stock in the winter," observed Mr. Wil^ 
 son. 
 
 "Not a cent. Those cows will go off in the 
 woods, and perhaps not be seen until next spring. 
 Then father will hunt them up, for they will run 
 with his stock. They will be found with calves ; 
 all the bull calves will be selected, fattened, and 
 sent to Charleston, where they will bring seven 
 dollars each. The heifer calves will be branded
 
 106 MARION. 
 
 M. M., and turned adrift again with their mothers 
 and the bulls." 
 
 "How do you manage to keep them out of 
 your neighbour's land ? Do they break down 
 fences ? ^^ 
 
 " Fences ! Fences are somewhat rare in the 
 great swamps and forests in South Carolina. Our 
 neighbours do as we do with their cattle, and they 
 feed themselves from one end of the year to the 
 other. We only keep up a few cows for milking 
 purposes. Why, we raise hogs and colts in the 
 same manner. What do you think of Mr. 
 Nordheim's asking me for a mocking-bird 
 extra, eh?" 
 
 " I think he intended to give it to his mis- 
 tress." 
 
 " His mistress ! " and Marion jumped up ; 
 '' mistress ! what, does he keep a mistress ? " 
 
 "^ mistress. By the Lord Harry I don^t 
 think he keeps a mistress ; I think it more likely 
 that he keeps three or four. You seem perfectly 
 astonished." 
 
 " I am, and can hardly credit it. His wife 
 knows nothing of it." 
 
 " I dare say not. At least I should presume it 
 would not be a very frequent or agreeable subject
 
 MARION. 107 
 
 of conversation in the family circle between man 
 and wife. Don't you remember about four months 
 ago asking me about a beautiful girl with light 
 hair that called to get some money ? " 
 
 "Very well. She was a beauty, I do re- 
 member.^' 
 
 " That was one of the mistresses of our worthy 
 Mr. i^Tordheim, and she occupies a handsome two- 
 story house in Broome Street, not far from 
 Hudson. Nordheim has had her about a year. 
 He picked her up somewhere in the country, 
 and pays house-rent, furniture bills, &c., for 
 her.^' 
 
 " It is a shame and a sin," said Marion. 
 
 " Not at all. Nordheim is rich, and the firm 
 is coining money. He can aflFord it ; and if a man 
 can't do what he pleases with his own money, 
 what is the world coming to in a financial point 
 of view ? I dare say you will see the lady with 
 youi' own eyes, for I judge that the junior partner 
 intends that you shall carry the bird up to Miss 
 Korris, for that is her name. Don't those birds 
 cost your father some money ? I would not take 
 twenty dollars for the bird you gave me. I have 
 him hung up in Clark and Brown's bar-room, and 
 the chap goes it with a perfect looseness."
 
 108 MARION. 
 
 " NOj they are as thick at ]Monck's Corners as 
 robins are here in the Spring. They build nests 
 all about our house^ and as soon as they are 
 hatched^ we take the nest and put it into a cage. 
 The old birds follow, and then they feed the 
 young birds in the cage until they are able to fly. 
 Then we have to be careful — for the old birds, 
 when they find their young old enough to fly, 
 and unable to get out, go into the woods and 
 select some poisonous berries, which they ad- 
 minister, and kill the little birds, if not pre- 
 vented.^' 
 
 " That is queer, and bad in a financial point of 
 view. It is getting late, and I must go,'' said 
 "Wilson. 
 
 Marion was extremely embarrassed when he 
 reached Bond Street. He had made a discovery 
 in reference to Mr. Nordheim that he would 
 prefer not to have made. He felt guilty him^self, 
 and when Mrs. Nordheim asked him what the 
 matter was, or if anything unpleasant had hap- 
 pened, he tried to laugh it off, and only made 
 matters worse. Finall}', he concluded that, come 
 what would, he would keep the secret ; and Mrs. 
 Nordheim remarked, " Very well, Marion, you 
 have made a discovery of some kind that afl'ects
 
 MARION. 109 
 
 me^ and you will not tell me what it is. That is 
 not brotherly. I am the best friend you have in 
 the world, and you ought to trust me as such.'" 
 
 When each retired for the night, there was a 
 certain degree of coldness. Marion felt that he 
 must regain her confidence at any cost.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Home of a Kept ilistress — The Opiuion of a Wife of 
 her Husband's Follies. 
 
 True to his word, the next morning Mr. 
 Nordheim, who Avas absent from breakfast at his 
 own house, met !Marion at the office, and handed 
 him a note. It was addressed to " Miss C. Norris, 
 No. 591, Broome Street.'' 
 
 "Did you get the cage as I wished? '' he asked. 
 
 " I did, sir,'' replied Marion. 
 
 " Take the porter and go with it and the bird 
 to the number where this note is addressed. 
 Send him off when you reach there, and deliver 
 the note yourself to the lady with, the bird and 
 cage," said Mr. Nordheim. 
 
 Not many hours elapsed before Marion was at 
 the residence designated. He inquired for the 
 lady, and a negro girl received the bird-cage, and 
 asked Marion into the parlour. He handed the 
 note to the girl, and bade her take it up to her 
 mistress with the cage and bird. While she was
 
 MAEIOX. Ill 
 
 doing this errand, lie had time to look around the 
 parlour. It was luxuriously furnished, a double 
 parlour, with mahogany doors between, which 
 were furnished precisely alike. The walls were 
 covered with paintings, that at a glance ^Marion 
 knew to be by the old masters. The carpets were 
 so thick that you hardly heard your own footstep. 
 In both the front and back parlours were centre 
 tables of black Egyptian marble, and they Avere 
 covered with books, bound in the most costh^ 
 style of binding. Sofas, lounges, and ottomans 
 were in every part of the parlour, and covered with 
 the most costly blue velvet. Marion had no time 
 for further examination, for the girl returned and 
 said, "Missus wants you to come up-stairs." 
 Marion followed her, and was shown into a sleep- 
 ing. room extending the whole width of the house 
 on the front part of the second story. His eye 
 rested upon the same beautiful face that he had 
 seen once before, and he recognized her at once. 
 There was a splendid bedstead in the room, but 
 the lady was dressed in a rich silk dressing-gown, 
 and reclined upon a lounge near one of the win- 
 dows. She raised her head as Marion entered. 
 In her hand she held the note, and by her side 
 upon the floor was the cage and bird.
 
 112 MARIOX. 
 
 " Oh, it is you, Mr. INlarion ; you do not know 
 how very glad I am to see you. Mr. Nordheim 
 has often spoke of you, and I have to thank you 
 for this charming "present. There, don't say a 
 word. I know all about it. Come and sit down 
 by me. Do you know that I had to threaten 
 Mr. Nordheim before he would consent that you 
 should come up here ? ^^ 
 
 Marion bowed and took the seat. 
 
 " I have not had my breakfast. Do ring that 
 bell, and you must take a cup of coffee with 
 me.^^ 
 
 Marion was about to decline, but the impetuous 
 girl declared he should. The negress came in, 
 and she ordered a double breakfast. She gazed 
 at Marion. 
 
 " How old are you ? '^ 
 
 " I shall be seventeen before many months are 
 over.'^ 
 
 " You are handsome and good, and I shall like 
 you very much. There, don't blush and look 
 foolish. ^vVait until you hear me through. You 
 know my relations with Mr. Nordheim. There — 
 don't say a word — that is enough. Mr. Nordheim 
 is kind — very kind — yet he is very jealous. There 
 are things that I need — must have — I crave them.
 
 MARION. 113 
 
 I -\vill have them. I crave knowledge. I read — 
 read — read everything that I can get hold of. 
 You see what a quantity of books I have got^' 
 (the room was littered up with books). "1 have 
 read them all. Mr. Nordheim says that you are 
 learning different languages. Is that so ? " 
 
 " YeS; madam, I am learning languages." 
 
 " How many have you acquired ? '' 
 
 " Two — Dutch and French. I am now learn- 
 ing German. I mean to learn more before I 
 have finished/^ observed ^Marion in reply. 
 
 " That is capital. I am crazy to learn French, 
 German, Spanish, and Italian. Now, tell me, 
 how do you manage ? " 
 
 Marion related to her his mode of learning a 
 language. 
 
 " You have given me a new idea, and I shall 
 not lose it. But now answer me another ques- 
 tion. I cannot go about to coffee-houses and 
 French places. How can I acquire the pronun- 
 ciation? I know — don't talk. I must have a 
 teacher. Now you can find me a proper person, 
 who can teach me French, German or Spanish. I 
 know you can. Nordheim says so, and he is 
 wilHng that I shall have one of your selection. 
 Why, Marion, you are handsome 1 What a fool 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 MAFJOX. 
 
 Nordheim is, to be sure. He might with reason 
 be ten times more jealous of you than any man 
 lie has ever brought here yet." 
 
 Marion looked confused. 
 
 "You need not be afraid of me, Marion. I 
 know your position at the home of Mr. Nordheim. 
 I will not mention the name of that lady — it is 
 too pure for my lips. I hope she is happy. There 
 — don^t say anything. You can serve me in 
 many ways. Will you? That is enough. I fre- 
 quently need money. Nordheim will always give 
 it to you, or I will write a note to you when I 
 want any special favour. Now about the teacher. 
 Will you find one for me ? Some oldish man who 
 is poor." Marion promised that he would do so. 
 " Find one, if you can, who can teach me several 
 languages— a German, Pole, or Russian. I un- 
 derstand those people speak three or four lan- 
 guages equally well. Did you notice my piano in 
 the rear parlour? If I was dressed and down 
 stairs I wonld play and sing to you. Nordheim 
 has had me taught the piano, and to sing— also 
 to play on the guitar an accompaniment to myself 
 when I sing. Oh, what pleasure ! I should not 
 have been allowed to learn that, but I could have 
 a woman to teach me those accomplishments.
 
 MARION. 115 
 
 Pshaw ! what am I talking about. You don't 
 understand such restraints/' said Miss Norris. 
 Marion did, though. He was wiser than she 
 thought. '' What delight that bird will give me ! 
 What shall I call him ? Oh, I know— Marion. 
 That's a good name. I want you to get me a 
 quantity of books — will you? You say ^Yes.^ 
 I will send you a list in a note, and you must get 
 the money from Mr. Nordheim. Look, here is 
 my hand-writing. What do you think of it? 
 * Neat and lady-like,' you say ? Will you believe 
 me when I tell you that when Nordheim — when 
 I became acquainted with him, I could not write 
 my own name ? I have cause to be grateful to 
 him for some things, if not for others. Now I 
 know you are anxious to get off to that horrible 
 office. Here is the breakfast. Help me to de- 
 vour that, and then you may go. Not till then." 
 She poured out a cup of coffee, made him eat 
 some nice toast, and when he had finished said, 
 " Now you may go, Marion, but have mercy upon 
 my mania to learn French, and get me a teacher 
 suitable to my circumstances." Marion pro- 
 mised, and soon after took his leave. The reader 
 who remembers chapter eighth of this book will 
 
 not need to be reminded that the country girl, 
 
 I 2
 
 116 MAEION. 
 
 Clara Norris, ivho eighteen months previous had 
 been brought by Mr. Nordheim to the city, and 
 who was then innocent and ignorant, was now 
 the luxuriously located, and the well read and 
 somewhat literary kept-mistress. Nordheim had 
 bestowed upon her every accomplishment that he 
 could, consistently with his jealousy of male 
 teachers. Miss Norris had led a life of seclusion, 
 and devoted herself to study and to reading. 
 Her mind was maturing for the most deadly 
 purposes. She was armed with beauty, and 
 needed but the sharper weapons which the mind's 
 accomplishment would give her, to make her 
 vengeance felt whenever she should repay upon 
 man the injury she had received from his sex. 
 Marion reflected well upon his position as he 
 walked from Bond Street down Hudson, and 
 when he reached St. John's Park one of the gates 
 was open, and he passed in and took a seat in an 
 arbour. There he remained over an hour, en- 
 deavouring to satisfy his own conscience as to 
 what was right and proper for him to do under 
 the peculiar circumstance in which he was 
 placed. " I am living in the house with the pure 
 wife of my employer. She is like a sister to me, 
 and here I am forced by her husband to be a
 
 MARION. 117 
 
 sort of platonic friend to his mistress ! Now 
 mind, Marion INIonck. Do what is right. You 
 are obliged to do what your employer civilly asks 
 you to do, but as the only person affected is the 
 wife — and situated as I am, in the house with 
 her, I will not lose her confidence, come what 
 will. If she acts upon what I shall tell her, why 
 then, there will be a pretty general smash up and 
 breaking of things, and I must take my chance.^^ 
 He found Mr. Nordheim at the office. The latter 
 quietly enquired if he delivered the bird and note, 
 and when answered in the affirmative, made no 
 further comment. 
 
 Mr. Wilson, the book-keeper, nodded to Marion, 
 and whispered, '' Been up in Broome Street, eh ? 
 Expensive in a financial point of view, eh ? '' 
 ]Marion smiled and went at his work. When 
 evening came he hurried home, and although 
 anxious, yet as he opened the door of the tea- 
 room in a cheerful manner, he caught the atten- 
 tion of Mrs. Nordheim, who congratulated him 
 in being in so good spirits. " I am, dear Bessy, 
 and I will tell you why." 
 
 She gazed into his face a moment, and then 
 said, " Tell me why.'' 
 
 " Because I am placed in an awkward situation.
 
 118 MARION. 
 
 I have not shown that confidence in you that 
 I ought to have done. Come what will, after 
 tea I want jou. to go up in my room. I have 
 some writing to do, and when we get up there 
 you shall know all." She smiled. Tea was soon 
 over, and Marion went to his room. He was 
 soon followed by Mrs. Nordheim. " Now be 
 seated, Bessy, and I will tell you all that I have 
 kept from you. It may make trouble, but you 
 shall never say I concealed anything from you, 
 in any way or shape, or look coldly upon me as 
 you did last night." Marion took her hand and 
 told her all. Every thing that Nordheim — her 
 husband — had said and done, and all about the 
 beautiful mistress and her well-furnished home. 
 She never spoke a word. ""Well, Bessy, what is 
 the matter ? Why don't you say something ? 
 Are you angry with me ? " 
 
 " No, no. God bless you, Marion. You have 
 made me very, very happy by what you have told 
 me. I could not bear the thought that my loved 
 brother — my Marion, my friend, that I would 
 trust with life, could be a traitor and keep back 
 any secrets from me. No — angry ? No. Why 
 should I be with you? But I should have been 
 outraged if you had not told me. So they would
 
 MAEIOX. 119 
 
 get Tou into the meshes of that lady, would 
 tliey?^' 
 
 Marion was astonished, and asked, " Well, 
 Bessy ; it don^t seem to annoy you at all, what I 
 have told you ? " 
 
 She smiled. " Brother mine, I have known it 
 all along. All I cared about was your learning 
 what I already knew, and keeping it a secret from 
 me that you did know it. As for that girl — or 
 Mr. Xordheim, I don't care the weight of a 
 feather what they do. Did I love him, I might 
 feel different. I married him to obtain two 
 thousand dollai's a year. It is settled upon me, 
 and as long as I act right it cannot be altered. 
 Let him do as he pleases. Keep as many women 
 as he pleases. Seduce as many girls as he 
 chooses, or corrupt as many married women as 
 he sees fit. It is none of my business so long as 
 he don't sport them in my face, or bring them 
 into my house. Xow that perfect confidence is 
 restored between you and me, I rather like the 
 idea that Mr. Nordheim should have selected you 
 to get books and language teachers for Miss 
 Clara. It will be extremely funny for us to 
 know how my moral husband progresses. But 
 Marion, mind you " What she was going to say
 
 120 MARION. 
 
 — whether to caution Marion against being en- 
 trapped in the golden hair of Miss Clara, it is not 
 our province to reckon. 
 
 "Dear Bessy, I imagined you would be out- 
 rageously angry with Mr. Nordheim and the 
 lady, and that at least you would get a divorce 
 or do something very dreadful. I am agreeably 
 disappointed.^^ 
 
 " Marion, you need not have had any such 
 fears. He is not worth the trouble. Go to 
 work at your desk. It is nearly twelve o^ clock, 
 and I must go to bed, for I am weary and tired. 
 Good night, ]Marion; you have shown that you 
 are a dear good brother, and I will never be angry 
 again with you a moment. So she told you that 
 you were very handsome? She is a fool, and 
 ought to know that you are merely a child. ^^ 
 
 She left the room, and he went to work with 
 his pen.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Marriage of Thomas Granville — General Jackson — 
 The Party from Xew York. 
 
 There was a gay party assembled in an old- 
 fasliioned dwelling in the city of Baltimore,, on 
 Christmas- eve^ IS — . The building was in the 
 old portion of the monumental city^ and was 
 known as " the Castle.'^ Eew of our readers 
 that have visited that city, but what will remem- 
 ber it. The rooms were spacious and crowded 
 with guests, who comprised some of the oldest 
 and best families in ^Maryland. There was more 
 beauty in that assembly than had been gathered 
 together for many years. Washington, the capi- 
 tal, had sent down several guests, among whom 
 was the venerable President, whose slight figure 
 and stern military aspect made all who ap- 
 proached him pause with respect and reverence. 
 It was General Jackson. Several senators and 
 members of the House of Representatives had 
 come down with him.
 
 122 MARION. 
 
 There had been a wedding at five o'clock that 
 afternoon in the Cathedral, and Archbisop Eccle- 
 ston had performed the ceremony which made 
 Thomas Granville the husband of Catherine 
 Pinckney. The venerable edifice was crowded 
 "with spectators who had been invited to the wed- 
 ding, for Granville had troops of friends, a.nd the 
 beautiful and accomplished bride had been the 
 belle of Baltimore. She had refused scores of 
 ofPers, for she had long given her heart to Tom. 
 To be refused by Kate Pinckney was a part of a 
 Baltimore young man's education. His education 
 was not deemed complete unless he had offered 
 his hand and been refused by Kate. The more 
 intimate friends had been invited to a large 
 evening party at the Castle, given by the vener- 
 able grandmother of the bride, whose age was 
 nearly ninety, and yet she was as gay and as 
 lively as any one of the youngest in that gay 
 party. She was the widow of one of the signers of 
 the Declaration of Independence, but had outlived 
 her worthy husband half a century. She was 
 rich, and although eccentric, and at times very 
 penurious, yet when a favorite grandchild mar- 
 ried, she spared no pains or expense to make a 
 brilliant display. A daughter had married one
 
 MAEIOX. 1.23 
 
 of the most gallant of our commoclores in the last 
 war^ and from this marriage came seven lovely 
 girls and two sons. It was one of those beau- 
 tiful girls whose marriage had taken place that 
 day. 
 
 All the other sisters were present, and their 
 names were somewhat remarkable. The mother 
 had named the younger daughters after leading 
 men. There was Miss Madison Pinckney, next 
 to Kate in years ; then came Miss Monroe Pinck- 
 ney. Clay Pinckney, and Calhoun Pinckney. 
 The sisters, from the eldest, Kate, to the youngest, 
 Calhoun Pinckney, were not less celebrated for 
 their beauty than their superior education and 
 accomplishments. Their father, when alive, had 
 been a devoted friend of General Jackson, and 
 the mother w^as not less so after his death. 
 Hence the presence of the President on this 
 occasion. He was in good spirits, and seemed as 
 happy as though no cares of State, no United 
 States Bank, or no disunion troubles preyed upon 
 his mind. He even danced a reel with the 
 venerable old dame, whose age lacked but five 
 years of reaching a century. The President of- 
 fered his congratulations to the bride and her 
 husband Avith a hearty good-will, and observed to 
 the bridegroom,
 
 134 IVIARION. 
 
 ''Tom, I understand that you are about to 
 engaere in mercantile business in New York. I 
 Lope you v/ill be successful; but merchandising 
 is but a species of gambling, and should you not 
 succeed, come and see me/' 
 
 Tom had visited Washington — he had told 
 stories and anecdotes, sung songs at the Presi- 
 dent's fireside, and made many a gloomy, anxious 
 hour pass merrily to the old hero, with whom he 
 became a great favourite. "Come and see me" 
 meant worlds when it came from Andrew Jack- 
 son's lips ; and when, not many years after, Tom 
 did go and see the old man at the White House, 
 he made him dine with him ; and when Tom felt 
 almost discouraged at his future prospects being 
 so gloomy, and was about leaving after the dinner. 
 General Jackson told him to wait a moment. 
 Tom complied, and walked to one of the windows 
 that overlooked the Potomac. The President 
 touched his elbow. 
 
 ''Tom, that recitation you gave after dinner, 
 which you say is from a play of our friend Howard 
 Payne, was very good — very capital. Appropriate 
 to you, Tom, eh ? Pronounce it again here. I 
 like it." 
 
 Tom repeated :
 
 MARION. 125 
 
 " I can believe that beauty such as thine 
 May possess a thousand fascinating snares to lure the 
 "Wavering and confound the -weak ; but, -u-hat is his 
 Honour, that a sigh can shake, or his virtue, that a 
 Tear can move ? Truth, valour, justice, constancy 
 Of soul, these are the attributes of manly natures. 
 Be woman ne'er so beauteous, man was born for 
 Nohler purposes than to he her slave.^' 
 
 " So he Avas, Tom — so lie was. You and Kate 
 
 liave parted. Very bad — d d bad. But, cheer 
 
 up. What do 3'ou intend to do ? Brother won't 
 lielp you, eb ? " 
 
 " No, General, be will not. I believe I am 
 abandoned by all — bave got no friends. Don't 
 know wbat I shall do, unless I turn actor.''' 
 
 " You would make a first-rate actor, Tom, but 
 wait awbile. You are wild, Tom — everybody says 
 so — I tbink so myself. But you must keep 
 straigbt with me. Have you any money ? " 
 
 " No, General, not fifty cents." 
 
 " I will give you tbirty dollars — lend it to you. 
 To-morrow I will send your name into the Senate 
 for confirmation as consul to the second city in 
 France. Here is the money to get out of this 
 place witb. Come and see me before you go 
 abroad. You will bave plenty of friends as soon 
 as your appointment is in the Globe. Good-bye.''^
 
 126 MARION. 
 
 But we are getting in advance of our narrative. 
 Our readers must return from this little digres- 
 sion to the wedding party and supper. All the 
 Granville family were there, except Mrs. Pitt 
 Granville. Mr. W. Pitt Granville, his son Wal- 
 ter, and his daughter Isabel, had come on from 
 New York to be present at the wedding. Isabel 
 was one of the six bridesmaids of Aunt Kate — 
 her sisters and Miss Benson making the other 
 five. Walter was making the best use of his 
 time with Miss Madison Pinckney, with whom it 
 may not be out of place to mention that he was 
 desperately in love — and these young people were 
 actually engaged to be married. This was a secret 
 kept from the elder Granville, who would have 
 murdered his son in cold blood if he had sus- 
 pected such a thing for an instant. Miss Mar- 
 garet Benson, a daughter of Colonel Benson, had 
 come on with the party from New York, as a 
 friend of Isabella and her Aunt Kate. She acted 
 as one of the bridesmaids, as before stated. 
 
 Tom had six chosen friends from New York 
 who acted as his groomsmen. The first was 
 Colonel W. Mac Neil; the others were Doctor 
 Carnochan, a young surgeon who at- that period 
 had but little else to do than attend weddings, or
 
 MARION. 127 
 
 any other amusing affair, though now the leading 
 surgeon of the country, if not of the world. A 
 third was an Englishman of good family, a Mr. 
 Sidney Herbert Cedar, who wrote tales for maga- 
 zines, and gained by ^' hook or crook a living." 
 The fourth was Mr. Francis Popinjay, who lived 
 off his wits and his wife's allowance from out of a 
 bankrupt estate swindled out of the Government 
 by a notorious tea importer. The fifth was a 
 character well known in New York as Colonel Le 
 Grand Peacock, and the sixth was Walter Gran- 
 ville, Tom's nephew. 
 
 All the New York visitors were putting up at 
 Barnum^s Hotel, and late at night, when the 
 party at the Castle was broken up, another 
 elegant repast was spread by direction of Mr. 
 Granville, under Barnum's superintendence. 
 Some of the guests kept it up until dayhght, in 
 the long dining-room of the hotel. 
 
 It was decided that immediately after the wed- 
 ding, the bridal party should return to New York, 
 and then the bride and groom should go to house- 
 keeping at once, in a house prepared by Mr. W. 
 P, Granville, and there spend their honeymoon. 
 We ought here to mention, that the engagement 
 between Thomas Granville and Kate Pinckney
 
 128 MAP.IOX. 
 
 had been of some duration. It would have been 
 still longer^ bad not Mr. Granville senior opened 
 a negotiation with the venerable grandmother of 
 the bride. Mr. W. Pitt Granville agreed that 
 immediately after the -wedding he would take 
 Tom into the firm of Granville and Nordheim_, 
 and give him an interest in the business ; and the 
 rehct of the signer of the Declaration, who was 
 a shrewd business woman in her way, agreed to 
 place 25,000 dollars in the concern for Tom, if he 
 kept steady and devoted to business one year. 
 This proved a prudent and safe clause. 
 
 The elder Granville was delighted with the 
 wedding. He saw hope for his favorite brother, 
 " Master Tom,^' as he called him, and he never 
 dreamed that Tom would sport with such brilliant 
 prospects or pursue a course that would dash his 
 hopes to the ground. The elder Granville con- 
 fessed to Colonel Mac Neil that he had never 
 witnessed a bridal that opened with such brilliant 
 prospects as that of his brother. Tom was 
 gifted, clever, and amiable, and although some- 
 what eccentric, and extremely lazy, yet Mr. 
 Granville concluded that when he became the 
 husband of the brilliant, beautiful, and well- 
 descended Kate Pinckney — one who brought
 
 MARION. 129 
 
 money to him, and a powerful connexion — one 
 who actually worshipped the very ground which 
 Tom trod upon, and whom Tom professed to love 
 deeply and devotedly in return, they would be 
 happy. These were hopeful prospects for the 
 new beginners in married life; and what would 
 have been the fate of any one of the brilliant 
 crowd at that wedding, if he or she had prophe- 
 sied that ere one year had passed, Tom would 
 have left business and his brother, separated from 
 his wife, so recently a bride, and that in that 
 space of time she would have applied for a 
 divorce, and that ere two years had passed, it 
 would have been granted by the Legislature of 
 Maryland. Such is life, under the most happy 
 auspices. 
 
 The morning after the wedding, all of the party 
 that had come on from New York returned 
 thither with the bride and groom; and as soon as 
 thev arrived in that city, Mr. and Mrs. Tom 
 Granville left for Niagara Falls. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Supper at the City Hotel — The Count False chinski. 
 
 Marion did not go to Baltimore to attend 
 the wedding of Thomas Granville, although the 
 latter gave him a cordial invitation to do so. 
 His opinion of Tom >was not very flattering to 
 that gentleman in a business point of view. He 
 thought that Tom was gifted, could tell a good 
 story, and sing a song very prettily ; but in all 
 other respects he regarded him as a very light 
 and silly fellow. He had a good excuse for 
 not accepting the invitation to the wedding. In 
 the first place the elder Granville would not have 
 allowed Marion to leave the counting-room when 
 he himself was absent. He was now seventeen 
 years of age, almost fully developed in stature, 
 and his features possessed a dignity that made 
 him appear older than he really was. Two years 
 and a half in the counting-room had made quite 
 a change in the South Carolina boy. He had 
 been promoted step by step for his devotion to
 
 MARION-. 131 
 
 business, and now lie ranked next to Mr. "Wilson, 
 the head clerk or book-keeper. Marion entered 
 vessels and goods at the Custom House when 
 ther came consigned to the firm ; he made sales 
 of merchandize, purchased produce for foreign 
 orders, and chartered vessels when needed. He 
 also wrote most of the domestic business letters 
 of the firm, and not a few foreign ones. He had 
 assisted Mr. Wilson so often with his books, that 
 he told Marion, as a great mark of his esteem and 
 respect, " Marion, if I were to die, the best thing 
 the firm could do, in a financial point of view, 
 would be to put you in my place. You can keep 
 the books as well as I can." 
 
 Mr. Nordheim did not go to the wedding. He 
 was obliged to remain and sign cheques and papers 
 during the absence of ]Mr. Gramille. Marion, 
 since his interview with Miss Norris, had received 
 several notes from her, giving him commissions 
 to purchase books, papers, journals, and many 
 other things. He had frequently taken them up 
 to her himself, and sometimes sent a note, with 
 the article ordered, by the porter. Mr. Nord- 
 heim had frequently given him money to pay for 
 such orders, and sometimes two hundred dollars 
 were called for in one sum. He never refused a 
 
 K 2
 
 132 MARION. 
 
 demand from that quarter, and thanked Marion 
 for relieving him of trouble and bother. He was 
 really grateful. 
 
 Marion had made several attempts to procure 
 a proper person as teacher of languages to Miss 
 Norris, but the summer and autumn had passed 
 since the request was made, and he had been 
 unsuccessful. He almost despaired of finding 
 one, and he wrote an apologetic note to that 
 effect. The reply was, '^ Don't give it up. I 
 will wait." 
 
 After the return of Mr. Granville from the 
 wedding at Baltimore, Marion was relieved from 
 many duties that became his while Mr. Granville 
 was absent, and he found more leisure to attend 
 to his own studies and amusements. About a 
 month after the marriage, he was invited by 
 Colonel Mac Neil to pay him a visit at his room 
 in the City Hotel, and to meet a few friends. 
 Marion accepted the invitation, and at nine 
 o^ clock TKis at the place designated. The colonel 
 had invited a dozen people to a supper which was 
 arranged to come off in his own parlour, for he 
 had a handsome suite of rooms in the City 
 Hotel, which was then kept by Chester Jennings, 
 and was the principal hotel in New York. It
 
 MARION. 133 
 
 was here that all the great balls and famous 
 dinners came off, and it was at the City Hotel 
 that strangers of any note stopped when they 
 came to the city. 
 
 The supper was truly a recherche affair, and did 
 credit to the colonel's good taste in ordering it. 
 It is a secret that few men possess, but Colonel 
 Mac Xeil was an old traveller. There were pre- 
 sent at it several bloods and fast young men of 
 the town, and they drank, sang, and seemed to 
 enjoy themselves amazingly. Dr. Carnochan was 
 at the table, and so was Mr. Cedar, the story 
 writer ; and to these gentlemen Marion was 
 formally presented. There was a Mr. Wolcott, a 
 son of an ex- Governor of Connecticut, a foreign 
 Count with an unpronounceable name, and an 
 Irish gentleman, that I\Iac introduced to Marion 
 as Mr. John O'Doemall. After the supper had 
 been disposed of, the colonel introduced cards, 
 and parties were made up in different parts of 
 the room. Marion was seated near the foreiorn 
 Count, and as he noticed that he did not seem 
 disposed to join himself to any of the parties at 
 the card tables, he determined to form a more 
 intimate acquaintance, and asked — 
 
 '^ Count, do you not intend to play ? "
 
 134 ]MAKION. 
 
 ''No, sare/' 
 
 " I believe I was introduced to you in a some- 
 what informal manner by our host, but your 
 name escaped me. May I ask you to repeat it? " 
 
 "The Count Adolphus Falsechinski, at your 
 service, sare/' 
 
 "Count, I am really pleased to make your 
 acquaintance ; " and Marion opened upon him in 
 French. The Count spoke it like a French 
 native. Dutch — low Dutch came next. That 
 the Count was at home in, and you could not 
 doubt but that he had lived in the Netherlands 
 from boyhood. The Count was equally pleased 
 to find some one who could speak Netherland 
 Dutch, as it was a somewhat rare accomplishment 
 in New York. 
 
 " Pray, sir Count, are you a Dutch Count ? " 
 
 " No sare, I am a Polish nobleman. I left my 
 own country after the late revolution." 
 
 "Then you speak other languages — perhaps 
 better, if that were possible, than you do Dutch, 
 French, or English.^' 
 
 " Sare, I speak the English, the French, the 
 German, the Russian, the Danish, the Spanish, 
 the Italian, the Portuguese, the Holland Dutch, 
 and of course the language of my own beautiful
 
 MARION. 135 
 
 loved country, which is Polish. I am also a good 
 Greek as well as Latin scholar, and having 
 resided in Greece some time, I speak the modern 
 Greek.^' 
 
 Marion bowed to the Count with the most 
 profound respect, and the thought came to him 
 that it was extremely unfortunate that the Count 
 was not poor, as he would be just the person to 
 engage as language teacher to Miss Norris. He 
 took a good look at the Count, and examined his 
 dress. He wore ichitt pantaloons. It was Jan- 
 uary, and the night was bitter cold ; but Counts 
 and other distinguished foreigners are permitted 
 to do queer things. Still Marion would not have 
 been much less surprised had the Count wore no 
 unmentionables at all. The coat was a military 
 arrangement, and buttoned close up to the throat. 
 Although it was warm in the room, yet the coat 
 clasped its owner closely, and showed no signs of 
 unbuttoning. Conversation commenced again, 
 and Marion devoted himself to the Count until 
 the party broke up. Occasionally he watched the 
 luck of the players, and particularly the Colonel. 
 He could not exactly tell who was the winner, 
 until he heard the Count remark, 
 
 " Ahj what a happy dog ! The Colonel Mac
 
 136 MARION. 
 
 Neil has won three thousand dollars this evening;. 
 It will pay for many suppers." 
 
 As the guests of the Colonel were passing 
 through the hall of the hotel, Marion found 
 himself walking by the side of the handsome 
 CJount. 
 
 *' Do you go up or down town? " he asked. 
 
 '" Up/' replied the Count. 
 
 " And as I am going the same way, suppose we 
 keep each other company ? " 
 
 " It will give me the very greatest of pleasure 
 to do so/* said the Count ; and so they walked 
 up Broadway. It was a bitter cold night. Marion 
 wore a thick overcoat, but before the two pedes- 
 trians had got as far as Canal Street, he was 
 almost perished. The Count had no cloak or 
 overcoat, but he did not seem to feel the cold. 
 Marion chatted away about the parties with 
 whom they had spent the evening, and the Count 
 gave him a great quantity of very useful informa- 
 tion. He was quite indignant that the young 
 blades who lost their money should have been so 
 green as to lose it to Colonel Mac Neil. 
 
 *' I am sure, Count, from some of your remarks, 
 that you understand 'bluff* better or as well as 
 any gentleman who was in that parlour. How
 
 MARION. 137 
 
 comes itj then, that you did not play and win 
 some money yourself ? '' 
 
 The Count replied that tliere were many 
 reasons, and some day perhaps Marion would 
 be convinced that one reason alone was enough 
 to prevent his playing. 
 
 The wind blew down Broadway so cold and so 
 piercing, and withal so wild and fierce, that 
 Marion remarked it could not have long left the 
 region of the frozen North, where icebergs 
 abounded. On, on they went up Broadway. 
 Prince and Houston Streets were passed, and 
 when they came to the corner of Bond Street, 
 Marion stopped, remarking, 
 
 " Well, Count, we must part here, for I turn 
 up this street to the Bowery.-" 
 
 ^^ So do 1/' answered the Count. 
 
 The weather seemed to become more intensely 
 cold. They reached the residence of Mr. Nord- 
 heim. Again Marion stopped — so did the Count. 
 " At last I am home,^^ said the former. '^ How 
 much farther are you going, Count ? '^ demanded 
 Marion. 
 
 " Me ? — well, I really don't know. I shall 
 walk down town again, and if I do not find some 
 place open that keeps open all night, I shall have
 
 138 MARION. 
 
 to keep walking, unless I get so very cold as to 
 make it necessary for me to warm my toes in the 
 watch-house/^ 
 
 Marion was thunderstruck. "Count, I wish 
 you to come in. I have a good fire in my room. 
 It is too cold to talk out here.^^ 
 
 The Count declined. 
 
 " Pshaw ! no nonsense with me — you don^t 
 know me. You can rest yourself a few moments, 
 and then if you wish to go, you shall. It is near 
 two o'clock.^' 
 
 The Count followed Marion into the house, 
 and with little noise they ascended to his room. 
 There was a cheerful fire in the grate. Candles 
 were on the table ready to be lighted, and in 
 addition there was a light supper waiting for 
 Marion. 
 
 " Seat yourself. Count, and be at home."'^ 
 
 The Count drew a chair to the fire, gave a 
 slight shiver, and remarked, as though he had 
 just found it out, " It is quite cool to-night/' 
 
 '• Decidedly," said Marion, who had got off his 
 overcoat, and had taken a seat in a cosy cushioned 
 rocking chair. "Now, Count, I want you to deal 
 frankly with me. I am of the opinion that you 
 have no room to go to to-night.^'
 
 iMARION. 139 
 
 " You are perfectly correct. Such is the fact." 
 
 '' Excuse me, Count ; I do not wish to pry into 
 your affairs ; but when a gentlemanly person Uke 
 yourself makes such an admission, it is high 
 time that some friend should find out what it 
 means/' 
 
 " You are right. You noticed that I ate very 
 heartily to-night at the supper ? " 
 
 " I did — and wondered at it.'' 
 
 '•' This night food passed my lips for the first 
 time in three days.' 
 
 " Count, Count, this is too bad ! "' and Marion 
 looked at the supper. The Count understood it. 
 
 '^No, no. I have ate enough for three days 
 more." 
 
 " How is it that I find you in such company, 
 and without a home to go to ? '^ 
 
 " Simply this, that I have kept up appearances 
 to the last. Colonel Mac Niel knew me under 
 other circumstances. He knows that I can 
 handle cards better than he can. He knows 
 that I am too poor to play. He invited me to- 
 night, with the understanding that if he was 
 beat by any of his rich opponents, I was to take 
 his place, he was to furnish me with means, and 
 my share of the plunder would have been what-
 
 140 MARION. 
 
 ever he chose to give me. He was lucky all the 
 evening, and my services were not needed. I 
 was too proud to even tell the person whose 
 supper I had eaten, that I had not a cent, or a 
 place to lay my head to-night. Had I done so, 
 I dare say he would have handed me a five, as 
 he would have done to a beggar, but would never 
 have met me as an equal again.^' 
 
 " Count, do you know that you cannot get out 
 of this room to-night ? ^' 
 
 The Count insisted that he would go — that he 
 was sure that he should be a trouble, and made a 
 thousand apologies. 
 
 ^' I would cheerfully let you have money to- 
 night. Count, but no hotel is open, and I really 
 have business for you to do in the morning." 
 
 " Business . for me!" the Count repeated, as 
 though anything for him to do was an utter, and 
 very absurd idea. He had lost all hope. 
 
 ^'Yes. Business — occupation. Something that 
 will employ your time, and that will give you an 
 income that will support you like a gentleman, 
 as I believe you are. Yonder is a large double 
 bed — you have got to occupy one side, I the other .^' 
 
 The Count would not — he would sit by the fire. 
 But no — Marion would not consent to anything
 
 MARION. 141 
 
 but that the Count should immediately undress 
 and go to bed. The Count was in despair. He 
 would not undress — he would lie down upon the 
 carpet, but he would not trespass so much upon 
 the kindness of Mr. Monck. Marion became 
 really angry^ and the Count saw that it was so. 
 He rose from his seat, and with quiet dignity said, 
 
 "Be it so. But you might have spared me 
 from showing my disgrace."" As he said this he 
 slowly unbuttoned his coat and removed it from 
 his body, and burst into tears. 
 
 So did Marion. "My poor Count, is it possible ! ^^ 
 
 The Count was vestless and shirtless. Isot a 
 rag covered him but that old military coat and 
 the close-fitting military stock. He quietly took 
 off the pair of white pantaloons and his boots. 
 He had not even a pair of stockings. 
 
 "Do not be angry with me, Mr. Monck. This 
 is not my seeking — you made me do it;"' and as 
 Marion continued silent, he added, " I ought not 
 to have come here, and then I should not have 
 been exposed.*^ 
 
 "Exposed !^^ repeated Marion. "Why, Count, 
 you don't know me. Thank God, you are not 
 far from my size. Now, Count, I want you to 
 oblige me;^' and he opened a bureau, and took
 
 142 MARION. 
 
 from it two pair of thick woollen under shirts. 
 "Put them on, Count." Two pair of woollen 
 drawers. " Put them on.'' A pair of thick socks, 
 and last, a fine linen shirt were laid across the 
 chair. "All must go on." 
 
 The Count consented. 
 
 "Now these pantaloons — this vest, Count. 
 Last, not least, this coat. Here is a new stock. 
 Now Count, don't stop yet — I am master here. 
 Put on this cloak — I never wear it. Now Count, 
 you can take all these things off, and go to bed 
 as soon as you please, but all will have to go on 
 in the morning ; and to relieve your mind of all 
 obligation, let me say this — that before to-morrow 
 night I mean that you shall have employment. 
 Then, if you choose, you can pay me.'' 
 
 The Count was leaning his head on a chair, 
 crying. He could bear up with the thermometer at 
 twenty degrees below zero, but the kindness of a 
 heart that beat at ninety in the shade melted him. 
 He was like a child. " Don't laugh at me. Count," 
 continued Marion, who delicately wished to spare 
 the Count's feelings, "but I have done you the 
 most gross injustice; and I beg your pardon a 
 million of times." 
 
 " You, Mr. Monck ? Why, in what manner?"
 
 MAEION. 143 
 
 " Tell me, County you really wore those white 
 pants this cold January night because you had no 
 other ?^^ 
 
 " Certainly : but they were respectable, and no 
 one would notice them at a party." 
 
 "Why, Count, I think a hundred thousand 
 times more of you than I did before I knew all 
 this. I did you gross injustice about those pants. 
 I never for a moment dreamed of the real state 
 of the case. I supposed you were a stuck-up 
 foreigner, that wanted to come some new dodge 
 over us unsophisticated Yankees, and out-do us ; 
 and that you had put on those white pants to 
 astonish the crowd. You did astonish me. Some 
 day. Count, you will tell me how all this has come 
 about. Not to-night. Now lef s to bed, and get 
 a good though short night's sleep, for it is after 
 three o'clock." 
 
 Both slept better than usual — the one with the 
 sweet consciousness that he had performed a good 
 action ; the other, that he had found a true friend 
 and some comfort in his dreary walk. What 
 passed in the morning in that room must be left 
 to another chapter.
 
 CHAPTEK XV. 
 
 The Count gets a Place. 
 
 The sun was pouring his most brilliant beams 
 into the room of Marion Monck when he awoke 
 the morning after the supper at the City Hotel. 
 He heard breathing near him, and as he turned 
 his eyes to the spot from whence the curious noise 
 proceeded, he saw the pale face of the Count. He 
 was buried in deep sleep. Marion then recalled 
 all the circumstances of the past night. He im- 
 mediately arose, dressed himself without making 
 any noise, and descended to the breakfast-room. 
 There he found Mrs. Nordheim, who received 
 him very cordially, and then inquired, " Who in 
 the world, Marion, did you bring home with you 
 last night ? You were out very late." Marion 
 took her hand and commenced an apology. She 
 interrupted him. " Stop all that. I do not need 
 any explanation. I have the most unbounded 
 confidence in you, Marion, and am perfectly satis- 
 fied that when you do anything out of the usual
 
 ^ MAEIOX. 145 
 
 course of things, it is capable of being properly 
 explained/' 
 
 " But I must tell you the whole story/' 
 
 Mrs. Nordheim listened with the most profound 
 attention until Marion came to the part where 
 he had to tell of the Count's real destitution, and 
 then she cried in sympathy. 
 
 " Poor fellow ! and to bear up so bravel}-, too ! 
 We must do something for him. What can be 
 done? '' 
 
 " Leave it to me, dear Bessy. I have a plan 
 m my head, but have no time to detail it to you 
 now." 
 
 " Don't attempt it. Go up and call the Count 
 down to breakfast. I have a nice one aU ready, 
 and it needs but an extra plate, or he can take 
 Mr. Nordheim's place. He did not come home 
 last night, and I suppose he will breakfast down 
 town to-day, or in — Broome Street. Never mind." 
 
 Half an hour later the Count was seated at the 
 breakfast-table. He was a fine-looking fellow, 
 about Marion's size, and the clothes he had 
 received made him look much better than he 
 did in the white pants the night previous. His 
 moustache and imperial were properly arranged, 
 his hair carefully combed, and he was altogether 
 
 VOL. I, L
 
 146 MAKION. 
 
 a different person. His conversation was amus- 
 ing, and Bessy Nordheim was much pleased with 
 him. Breakfast was over. 
 
 " Now, Count, I expect you to go down with 
 me, and, as I am late, I must hurry you. 
 Marion sent the girl up for his cloak as well 
 as overcoat, and after the Count had flung the 
 cloak over his person, they left for Broad Street. 
 
 Mr. Nordheim was already at the store, and 
 alone in his private ofiice. Marion entered, 
 passed the usual compliments of the day, and, 
 after closing the door, asked Mr. Nordheim if he 
 could have a few moments^ private conversation 
 with him. 
 
 *' Unquestionably, Marion. Is there anything 
 the matter at the house ? ^' said he, somewhat 
 startled. 
 
 "Nothing, except that I took a guest there 
 last night, entirely unauthorised." 
 
 '' Is that all ? " and Mr. Nordheim looked list- 
 lessly out of the window. Marion continued, and 
 did not stop until he had given in detail all that 
 could operate favourably for the Count, adding, 
 " You know, sir. Miss Clara has been very anxious 
 for a person to teach her languages. I think 
 this is the very man, if it meets your approval."
 
 MAEION. 147 
 
 Mr. Nordheim Tras ^ide awake. " You have 
 said nothing to the person about Miss Norris ? ■" 
 
 " Not a word." 
 
 " Nor to her about the Count ? " 
 
 *' How coukl I ? I have not seen her.'-' 
 
 " True^ true. "Where is the person ? " 
 
 " Seated in the front oflBce." 
 
 " Stay where you are. I will go and have a 
 look at him." 
 
 Marion reruained. Mr. Nordheim was absent 
 but an instant, and then he returned and resumed 
 his seat, and reflected a moment. 
 
 " What do you propose to do in the matter, 
 Marion ? He seems a very nice person. Is he 
 capable, think you ? " 
 
 " I have no doubt about that, and I think 
 that he is in such need that he will be very 
 faithful to you, sir, if you pay him pretty liberally 
 for his services." 
 
 "Indeed. You may be right. Suppose you 
 engage him, then. Hire him for the office." 
 
 " For the office ? " repeated Marion in surprise. 
 
 '' Yes, sir. Engage his services at fifty dollars 
 a month, to copy, translate, or do any work 
 required about the counting-room, and make 
 one of the conditions that he shall teach Miss 
 
 L 2
 
 148 MARION. 
 
 Norris any language that she wishes to learn. 
 I suppose he can support himself very well on 
 six hundred dollars a year, and I will have it 
 charged to my private account. I will speak to 
 Mr. Granville about the matter, and you can tell 
 Mr. Wilson to give him a desk and find some- 
 thing for him to do. Draw a cheque for fifty 
 dollars, and give it him in advance, and take his 
 receipt. When this is done, you had better take 
 him up to Miss Norris. No. Go up yourself, 
 and see what she thinks of it, and if she agrees, 
 the Count can go to give her the first lesson to- 
 morrow." 
 
 Mr. Nordheim was a prudent man ; if he paid 
 for teaching he meant to make the most of the 
 teacher. 
 
 *' When you get things fixed, Marion, you can 
 let me know." 
 
 What the junior partner said to the senior, 
 rests with them. Marion informed Mr. Wilson 
 that the Count Falsechinski was to be a clerk 
 from that date, and then introduced them to each 
 other, first telling Mr. Wilson all about the Count, 
 and after he had asked the Count if six hundred 
 dollars a year would keep him afloat, the Count 
 could not contain his joy. He was almost annoy-
 
 IMARIOX. 149 
 
 ing in his expressions of gratitude. ^' Keep calm, 
 Count, and wait here until I return." 
 
 Marion "went at once to the residence of ^liss 
 Norris, informed her of his success, and told her 
 that now she could learn ten languages, if it 
 pleased her to do so. He informed her of all that 
 had passed. " Poor fellow. I know I shall like 
 him, and you may tell Mr. Nordheim that I thank 
 him very much. "When will he come up ? " 
 
 '' To-morrow." 
 
 " Oh, no. Send him up this afternoon." 
 
 Marion returned to the office, where he found 
 the Count already at work translating some 
 im-oices. 
 
 " Count, I have some other work for you to do. 
 The junior partner, Mr. Nordheim, has a relative 
 that he wishes to be taught French and other 
 languages, if she wishes it. You Avill go there 
 this afternoon. I will give you a note, and you 
 can commence your instructions immediately." 
 
 " I like that very much, indeed." 
 
 *' You will devote all the time necessary to the 
 young lady, and purchase such books as she may 
 need. You will get the money from me. Here 
 is a receipt for you to sign for your first 
 montVs wages, and here is fifty dollars ; and I
 
 150 MAEION. 
 
 also recommend you to get a boarding-house 
 without any delay /^ 
 
 The Count promised to do any and every thing. 
 Marion gave him a letter to the lady at No. 591, 
 Broome Street, and he delivered it that day, and 
 then returned to the office. Mr. Wilson did not 
 like the new arrangement. He was intensely 
 Enghsh, and h^ted fore ignei^s, particularly if they 
 had moustaches. 
 
 " I will make that fellow do more work than he 
 ever did before, but I am sorry he is coming into 
 the office. I don^t mind his teaching the young 
 woman, although that is very bad, in a financial 
 point of view.^' 
 
 The Count selected a boarding-place in John 
 Street before night, and gave Marion a very pres- 
 sing invitation to come and see him. The latter 
 promised to do so the very first opportunity. 
 
 " Mr. Monck, I have no words that can express 
 my gratitude to you. Last night I was almost in 
 despair. I meditated suicide. I met you — I 
 found rest — clothes — food — an income and a 
 home, and a bright prospect of independence. 
 What can I db for you ? What can I say ? " 
 
 " Say nothing at all. Count. Go to work with 
 a good will. Teach that young lady all that you
 
 MARION. 151 
 
 know in languages. Be faithful in that quarter, 
 for your income of six hundred dollars is more 
 for what is expected of you there, than for office 
 work/' 
 
 '^I know that already, Mr. Monck; and rest 
 assured I will teach as no teacher ever taught 
 pupil before, and I will do all that can be found 
 for me to do at the office. God bless you, I say, 
 again and again.'*
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Tom Granville's Extravagance — Washington Hall, and an 
 Evening at a Faro Bank. 
 
 Agreeably to the engagement made between 
 old Mrs. Chase and Mr. Pitt Granville^ Thomas 
 became a partner of the firm a month after his 
 marriage. Mr. Nordheim agreed to it, on one 
 condition, that his share of the profits was to con- 
 tinue the same, viz., one half. It was a generous 
 act on Mr. Granville's part, to relinquish his own 
 half share or any portion of it to his brother, but 
 he did so — to what extent was only known to the 
 brothers. The style of the firm remained 
 unchanged. We have already stated that Mr. 
 Granville had rented a house and furnished it 
 previous to the marriage of his brother. To this 
 house, which was located in Chambers Street, the 
 new married couple removed on their return from 
 Baltimore. The house was crowded with visitors, 
 for Tom invited every body that he had ever 
 known, to come and see him, and he gave a dinner
 
 MAEIOX. 153 
 
 party eveiy day of the ^veek, and before March 
 had given two large parties at night, and the 
 doings got into the newspapers. Mrs. Thomas 
 Granville became the talk of the town. Tom 
 himself attended to business for about a month, 
 and then he neglected to come to the oflSce until 
 one or two o'clock in the afternoon. His brother 
 remonstrated, and plainly told him that such 
 neglect would be ruinous ; and Tom, to show how 
 he appreciated such brotherly advice, did not 
 come down at all, except it was to draw money. 
 Luckily for the house of Granville and Xordheim, 
 the partnership, so far as Tom was concerned, was 
 a matter between him and his brother. No 
 notice was publicly made, nor was it intended to 
 be until the grandmother of Mr. Tom Granville 
 paid the twenty-five thousand dollars. The way 
 that Tom was going on — spending money at the 
 rate of ten thousand dollars a year — made it 
 pretty certain that the old lady would back out of 
 her promise, for it was not probable that Tom-'s 
 extravagance could long be kept from her. Still 
 the senior Granville determined to keep his 
 brother within bounds, and agreed to allow him 
 at the rate of two hundred dollars a month, and 
 no m.ore. January and February passed, and
 
 154 MAEION. 
 
 Tom rather increased than diminished his ex- 
 penses, for he told Mr. Granville on the first of 
 March, only two months after his marriage, that 
 he required a thousand dollars to pay off what he 
 already owed, and that if W. Pitt Granville would 
 let him have that amount, he would solemnly 
 promise after that to live within two hundred 
 dollars a month. Poor Tom. The elder Gran- 
 ville gave him the one thousand dollars, but Tom 
 was incurable. He flung away the money by the 
 handful, and did not use the one thousand dollars 
 to pay old claims, but spent it in new extrava- 
 gancies. 
 
 About a month after the one thousand dollars 
 had been advanced by one brother, and squan- 
 dered by the other, Tom called at the counting 
 room to make a fresh demand. It w^as evening. 
 The next was packet day, and this was called 
 packet night. In these days of steamers, the 
 word may not be understood by the reader. In 
 the days of sailing packets, nearly all the foreign 
 merchants kept their offices open the night before 
 a packet sailed for Liverpool, London, or Havre, 
 those being the ports to which regular foreign 
 packet lines were established. When Thomas 
 Granville reached the office, he found his brother
 
 MARION. 155 
 
 had left, and was not expected to return. Mr. 
 Nordheim was in the private office^ and as soon 
 as he became aware that young Granville was 
 there, he came out, and invited him to go in the 
 private room. Tom accepted. When they were 
 alone, Mr. Nordheim kindly inquired after his 
 handsome lady, adding — 
 
 " I think you are a very lucky man, Mr. Gran- 
 ville, in securing as a life partner so charming a 
 person.^^ 
 
 Tom said he was satisfied with his choice. 
 
 " I understand, Mr. Granville, that my partner 
 has given you an interest in his partnership, and 
 I was given to understand that you would take an 
 active part in the management of our business." 
 
 Tom replied : 
 
 "I believe something of the kind was talked 
 about, but I don't like business. I think it a 
 most infernal bore. My brother thinks I ought 
 to be down here at ten o'clock, but I find it 
 utterly out of the question. I never get up until 
 twelve, and it takes an hour before I get my 
 breakfast down, consequently it is after two 
 o'clock before I could possibly get to the office. My 
 brother found fault, and I gave up coming at all.-*' 
 
 " You do not appear to be as fond of commercial
 
 166 MARION, 
 
 business as my partner. He is always at his post 
 before nine o^ clock." 
 
 " He is, excuse me, a great fool for his pains. 
 No, I don't think business agrees with me, and I 
 shall cut it.'' 
 
 "You married a lady of some wealth, I 
 believe." 
 
 " Not a red cent, as yet. She has an old witch 
 of a grandmother who is as rich as black mud. 
 She is ninety-five, and ought to have died long 
 ago, but really she is so dried up and withered, 
 that I think she may outlive me. When she dies, 
 if the old fool will ever oblige her grandchildren 
 so much as to die, she will cut up well, and my 
 wife will get her slice." 
 
 "Meanwhile, Mr. Granville, how are you to 
 live ? I suppose my worthy partner allows you a 
 pretty liberal sum, eh ? " 
 
 " So, so ; but I am spending more, much more 
 than my allowance of two thousand four hundred 
 dollars, and I came here to-night on a beg — dis- 
 agreeable, is it not ? " 
 
 " Very, Mr. Granville. People say you are one 
 of the most fascinating dogs alive. Is that so ?" 
 
 " I am overrated, I fear. I never tried to be 
 very fascinating.''
 
 MARION. 157 
 
 " Now, Mr. Granville, if you were so disposed, 
 you could do me a great favour. I want to get 
 rid of a woman, and if you would exert your 
 fascinations in my favour, with a very beautiful 
 creature, and take her off my hands — get me clear 
 of her — I will not only be very grateful, but I 
 will, as my worthy man, Wilson, says, make it an 
 object to you in a financial point of view." 
 
 " Nothing will give me greater pleasure. Your 
 wife, I suppose ? " 
 
 " D it, no, man, not so bad as that comes 
 
 to. No. It is a very beautiful, but terrifically 
 expensive woman. In a word, I am tired of her. 
 I want to get her off my hands, and yet I will 
 not cut the connection myself, but if you can 
 gain her affection — get her to leave me, and run 
 off with you in such a way that she can have no 
 possible claim upon me — I will give you, as soon 
 as the work is finished, two thousand dollars. 
 More than that. If you consent to do what I 
 require, I will give you to-night five hundred 
 dollars to commence the war with." 
 
 " I will do it, as sure as my name is Thomas 
 Granville." 
 
 " You will have hard work. She has an easy 
 time of it and every comfort and luxury, and —
 
 158 MAEION. 
 
 and — I think she really loves me;'^ and Mr. 
 Nordheim stroked his whiskers with great satis- 
 faction. 
 
 '' How am I to get acquainted with her lady- 
 ship?'^ 
 
 " She has a Count Falsechinski^ who is a clerk 
 in this office, and who is also employed in teach- 
 ing her French. You must get him to take you 
 there, or Marion Monck, Do it any way you 
 can, except through me. She is very honourable. 
 Were I to introduce you, and you were to make 
 demonstrations, she would feel called upon to 
 inform me. That will not do. Is it a bargain ? 
 Will you undertake it ? '^ 
 
 '' With the greatest pleasure ; but I must have 
 some money immediately. I shall succeed. 
 Have no fear of that. Three months from this 
 I will claim the other fifteen hundred dollars — 
 perhaps sooner." 
 
 " I have not five hundred dollars with me; but 
 I will draw a cheque for the amount, and go with 
 you to the City Hotel, and Jennings will cash it 
 to-night. He has frequently accommodated me 
 in that manner after bank hours. 
 
 The cheque was drawn and signed, and then 
 these two conspirators left the office in company
 
 MARION. 159 
 
 for the City Hotel. Jennings caslied the cheque. 
 •'I am walking np Broadway, and will keep you 
 company, Granville, if you have no objection.'^ 
 Tom agreed, and on they passed until they came 
 to Chambers Street, when Tom invited his com- 
 panion to go home with him. This was what 
 Mr. Nordheim anxiously desired, and they 
 walked down Chambers Street to Tom^s resi- 
 dence. When they entered the parlour Mrs. 
 Granville was alone. She bowed to Mr. Nord- 
 heim, and then, in a very anxious manner, asked, 
 " Well, did you see your brother ? and with what 
 success ? '' 
 
 Tom placed a roll in her hand, and rephed, 
 " No, Pitt was out, but ]Mr. Nordheim advanced 
 me what I needed, and you can thank him for 
 relieving our pressing necessities.''^ 
 
 Kate Granville was somewhat surprised, and 
 she thanked Mr. Nordheim, although somewhat 
 coldly, for she had met him on several occasions, 
 and there was something in his manner that did 
 not please a virtuous wife. She was afraid of 
 him, and almost wished that Tom could have 
 procured the money somewhere else. But the 
 money must be had, and she took it and used it. 
 
 Tom made no stay at home. Other guests
 
 160 MARION. 
 
 came in, and lie left, apologizing to Mr. Nord- 
 heim, and saying he would return soon. He 
 called Kate out into the halL As soon as they 
 were alone, she said, 
 
 " No, no, Tom. I know what you want, but 
 I need every cent to pay what we must pay, or be 
 turned out of house and home, and be disgraced." 
 
 " Only a hundred, Kate. I must have it. 
 Why, woman, it is mine. I earned it — yes, 
 earned it. 
 
 " Tom, you will lose it at gambling. I know 
 you will ; you have no luck, and — but, here, take 
 it and go; I must get back into the parlour.^' 
 
 Tom got into the street, and with a hundred 
 dollars in his pocket. He turned around into 
 Warren Street, and into No. 9. 
 
 " Blinn, give me a glass of brandy and water. 
 Has the Count Falsechinski been here yet ? " 
 
 " No, Monsieur Granville. The Count has not 
 been here yet." 
 
 While Tom was sipping his brandy the Count 
 entered : '^ Ah, Count, I am glad to meet you. 
 What in the name of Lucifer has come over you ? 
 Have you discovered a gold mine, a new tailor, 
 or what is out ? " asked Tom Granville. 
 
 The Count smiled, and took a seat. In a
 
 MARIOX. 161 
 
 moment, an idea seemed to flash across Tom's 
 mind, for be asked, " Have you got employment 
 to teach French to a young lady — a Miss Clara 
 Norris — eh ? '^ 
 
 ^' And suppose I have, Mr. Tom Granville, have 
 you any objection to my making an honest 
 bving ! '' 
 
 " None in the world, Count, for I bke you very 
 much. I knew that this coffee-house is one of 
 your haunts, and that you came here every even- 
 ing. I had heard of a Count being employed in 
 my brother's office and that he taught French to 
 a very dear friend of my brother's partner, Mr. 
 Nordheim, but I did not know that you were 
 that Count. You remember your promise some 
 weeks ago ? " 
 
 " Name it, Mr. Granville." 
 
 " You promised that for a small sum you would 
 teach me how to play with the chances in my 
 favour against a Faro Bank." 
 
 " Excuse me, Mr. Granville — with the chances 
 not in your favour. Ten weeks ago, when I 
 made that promise, I was very poor. I needed 
 money, and I was aware that you were losing 
 money every night at a Faro Bank. I could 
 have saved you from losing, but you did not 
 
 VOL. L M
 
 162 MARION. 
 
 avail yourself of my offer. I am in different 
 circumstances to-night^ and I might decline your 
 offer^ but I will not. But I must do one thing 
 if I assist you to-night : I will dictate my terms. 
 First answer me this question : how much money 
 have you in your pocket to lose to-night ? Pre- 
 cisely^ tell me.'-' 
 
 " That is a queer question^ Count. But I will 
 answer it. One hundred dollars : no more^ or no 
 less.'' 
 
 '^ Now I will tell you what I will do. Give me 
 that money in my own hand. You can come 
 with me to Washington Hall — to the Faro Bank 
 room. I will play for you, with your money. If 
 I lose it, you are not to say a word. If I win, you 
 will follow me out, and I will pay you one-half of 
 the winnings." 
 
 " But, Count, that is rather severe. I put up 
 the money ; lose it, if it is lost ; and if it wins, 
 only get one half. Oh, no.'' 
 
 " Very well. Then I will not play for you. I 
 put up my experiences against you with your 
 money. It is worth more than your money if I 
 win, as you know. Say no more. Those are my 
 terms." 
 
 ^'TherC; Count, try it. Here, take the hun-
 
 MARION. 163 
 
 dred dollars ; but I will go witli you, and if I say 
 ' stop/ or ^' 
 
 " If you say one word to me, I will knock you 
 down." 
 
 '^ Why, Count, what is the matter with you ? '^ 
 
 "Nothing at all. E-emember, not a word to 
 me, for I will not only strike you, but I will deny 
 that I have received a cent from you, and call you 
 a liar; and, Mr. Tom Granville, the word of the 
 Count Adolph Falsechinski with money in his 
 pocket, will outweigh the oaths of Mr. Tom 
 Granville, penniless as you are now. Trust me 
 as a gentleman, and half the winnings are yours. 
 If we miss each other when we leave the gam- 
 bling table, I will come directly here. Do you 
 follow.'' 
 
 The Count had the hundred dollars, and the 
 conditions were arranged. Then the Count 
 ordered a strong cup of coflfee, and the pair left 
 the French coffee-house for Washington Hall, 
 then the headquarters of fashionable youn^- New 
 York. John Mariner kept it then. It has long 
 ago been torn down, and its site occupied ; by 
 Stewart's great dry-goods store. The Count and 
 Tom went into the bar-room. Several of their 
 acquaintances were there, and they all took a 
 
 M 2
 
 1G4 MARION. 
 
 drink at the Count^s expense. As Tom Gran- 
 ville kept near tlie Count, the latter whispered, 
 " Don^t come near me, or speak to me again, 
 until we meet at the French coffee-house. Don^t 
 go to the Faro table with me. Keep by your- 
 self.'^ 
 
 The Count shortly afterwards separated from 
 the party who had drank at his expense, and 
 quietly slipped into the great hall, and then 
 passed to the third floor, and, on the right hand 
 side, knocked at a green baize door. A question 
 was asked by some one inside. The Count 
 replied, and his answer appeared to be satis- 
 factory, for the door was opened just sufficiently 
 wide to admit him. When he had entered, the 
 door was closed and fastened. There were two 
 large rooms, separated only by large folding doors. 
 In one of the rooms were several tables, and 
 surrounding them were parties of two or more 
 engaged in card-playing. In the other room was 
 a long table. To this the Count approached. 
 Twenty more persons were seated about it. One 
 man, to whom the Count bowed, was dealing 
 from a small silver box. On the table before the 
 dealer, covering nearly the whole table, was a suit 
 of cards, commencing with the ace and ending
 
 MARION. 165 
 
 ■with the king. By the side of the dealer was a 
 man who acted as banker or treasurer. He had 
 a box filled with piles of white, red, and purple 
 chips. Each white chip was worth one dollar. 
 The reds were fives, and the purples twenty 
 dollars each. Another person sat close by the 
 cashier, with a little box filled with white and 
 black cheques on wires. As a card was dealt, he 
 moved a corresponding cheque in the little box. 
 This was the man who kept the game. The play 
 was running high ; piles of red chips were upon 
 the cards, and the luck seemed to favour the 
 bank, for the dealer raked pile after pile of the 
 red chips towards him, and then deliberately 
 restacked them in the mahogany box. Presently 
 Mr. GranviUe entered. The Count was still 
 standing up. He did not notice him. The play 
 went on. One, and then another, left the room 
 — had lost all. Their faces were haggard and 
 despairing. The Count smiled. He was not 
 ready to play yet. He was noticing one man, 
 behind whose seat he stood. He seemed scarcely 
 conscious of anything. He placed a pile of red 
 chips upon the ace; the cards were dealt. He 
 had lost. He rose from his seat, and, with horrid 
 curses and imprecations upon himself, cards, and
 
 166 MARION. 
 
 everything else, left the room. The Count took 
 the seat left vacant by this person, who had lost 
 fifteen hundred dollars in half an hour. 
 
 " Hand me a hundred dollars' worth of red 
 chips, if you please,'^ said the Count; and, as 
 they were delivered to him, he deliberately 
 counted twenty, and piled them up before him. 
 A new deal commenced. The Count placed a red 
 chip on the ace — another on the seven-spot. It 
 was some time before either turned up. He was 
 a winner. Meanwhile the Count had watched 
 other cards ; the king had been dealt out three 
 times, and the deuce-spot twice. He placed ten 
 red chips on the king and five on the deuce. The 
 king won. He had doubled ten red chips. The 
 deuce won. The Count then placed twenty red 
 chips upon the last deuce ; it was a bet, and won. 
 He looked at the game board — there was but one 
 five-spot in. All the rest had won for the bank. 
 The Count placed fifty red chips upon it, and 
 won. That deal was over, and the Count piled 
 up his winnings, but was perfectly cool. There 
 was no limit to the betting allowed at that faro 
 bank. If it bet fifty thousand dollars, it would 
 be good. 
 
 Another deal began. The Count scattered one
 
 MARION. 167 
 
 or t^Yo chips on different cards, and they won 
 andlost, until he noticed that but two aces, one 
 seven, and one ten, were left in the dealer's box. 
 He put down five piles, each, of twenty red chips, 
 on the ace, and won. He was paid in purple 
 chips. He left all the purple chips on the ace 
 again, and it won. There was but one turn 
 more, and the Count placed five hundred dollars 
 on it. It won. Another deal followed, and the 
 Count played heavier yet. When there was but 
 one ace left in the box, he placed fifteen hundred 
 dollars upon it. 
 
 " That is my last play to-night," said the Count 
 sternly. 
 
 The cards were dealt. 
 
 *^He has won," said Samuel. And so he 
 had. 
 
 " Pay me," said the Count ; and he received 
 from the smiling banker four thousand two hun- 
 dred dollars, and it was paid as pleasantly as 
 though he would not have cared if it had been 
 four hundred and twenty thousand dollars. 
 
 The Count placed the money about his person, 
 waited a few moments, looked at those who 
 continued to play, and then left the room and 
 descended to the bar-room. Several gentlemen.
 
 168 MARION. 
 
 who were broke, followed him, and begged a 
 small loan. 
 
 " No ; it is not my money/' said the Count. 
 
 In the bar-room he asked several up to drink. 
 Then Granville came up, expecting, of course, to 
 be invited. 
 
 '•' If you drink, let it be at your own expense, 
 Mr. Granville,'^ quietly observed the Count. 
 
 Tom took the hint and sheered off. After the 
 drinks had been settled for, the Count walked 
 slowly to the French coffee-house in Warren Street. 
 As he entered, he saw Tom Granville with a glass 
 of brandy before him. The Count took a seat 
 opposite to him. 
 
 "You are lucky to-night, Count," remarked 
 Tom Granville. 
 
 "I played my own game, sir," replied the 
 Count. 
 
 "You must have won a couple of thousand 
 dollars.'-' 
 
 Tom had sot so excited before the last deal, 
 that he had descended to the bar-room to get 
 cool, and Avas not present when the Count placed 
 fifteen hundred dollars on one card. 
 
 The Count placed roll after roll of money on 
 the table.
 
 MAEION. 169 
 
 " Hands off ! " he exclaimed, as Tom put oat a 
 hand to clutch some. 
 
 The Count then counted it, for there were three 
 bills of one thousand dollars each. 
 
 "Four thousand two hundred," said the Count. 
 
 Tom Granville ordered another glass of brandy. 
 
 "Four thousand two hundred,^^ repeated the 
 Count ; " and your share is twenty-one hundred 
 dollars ; ^' and he handed him the precise amount. 
 
 "Waiter, bring me a cup of coffee and a 
 cigar .^^ He lit the latter, and, turning his face 
 to Tom, quietly asked, " What was your meaning 
 to-night, when you asked if I was the Count 
 who was teaching French to Miss Norris ? " 
 
 " Oh, nothing in particular. Count, how can I 
 express my gratitude for this sum of money ? ^^ 
 
 "By saying no more about it. It is but a 
 trifle, Tom Granville." 
 
 "I suppose you will now play on your own 
 hook, and win a good deal more.'^ 
 
 " You never was more mistaken in your life. 
 I never play at faro when I have plenty of 
 money. I only play with my last dollar, or 
 when I have other people's money to lose or win 
 with. What do you want to know about !Miss 
 Norris ? "
 
 170 MAEIOX. 
 
 "I heai' she is very pretty. I should like 
 amazingh' to get acquainted with her," 
 
 The Count laid down his cigar, and gazed 
 into the face of Tom for a minute ere he replied, 
 " I will take you there.*^ 
 
 " When ? " asked Tom. 
 
 " Now — to-night. It is not late, and as you 
 are a good musician, we will have music, and a 
 gay time of it.'"' 
 
 At twelve that night, if Mr. Nordheim had 
 called upon Miss Xorris, he would have had the 
 pleasure of listening to a delicious concert. Clara 
 played the piano, the Count accompanied her 
 with the guitar, and Tom Granville, who would 
 have made money as a tenor singer in opera, 
 sang some of the sweetest songs in the Enghsh 
 language ; and in some fesv both the Count and 
 Clara joined. 
 
 The Count, from some hidden motive, told a 
 little anecdote, how Tom had lent him one hun- 
 dred dollars, and how he had employed it; and 
 added, "My share was twenty-one hundred dol- 
 lars, and ]Mr. Granville has an equal amount in 
 his pocket. I think, ^liss Clara, you ought to 
 teach him how to spend it.^^ 
 
 What was the object of the Count ?
 
 MARION. 171 
 
 Miss Norris regarded Tom as a flat, and she 
 determined to take the Count's advice. She led 
 Tom on so far as to promise that he would take 
 a private box and accompany her to the Park 
 Theatre the next evening. 
 
 The two gentlemen left the house together; 
 and as they came down town, the Count told 
 Tom that he had evidently made an impression 
 upon Miss Norris, and advised him to follow it 
 up. What was the Count driving at ? 
 
 The Count saw Tom safe at his own house^ 
 and saw him enter ; then he walked down to 
 his own rooms in John Street, and enjoyed a good, 
 night's repose.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Prime, Ward and King — Teacliing Frenck— The Thousand 
 Dollar Bill— The Park Theatre. 
 
 The morning following the successful gambling 
 operation of the Count at Washington Hall was 
 a dehcious April morning. Eight o'clock found 
 the Count Falsechinski at the counting-house of 
 his employers. Mr. Wilson had already arrived 
 and opened the safe. The Count volunteered to 
 assist him in transferring the massive ledger and 
 journal and other books of a great commercial 
 firm to the long mahogany desk occupied by the 
 book-keeper. 
 
 When the work was done, Mr. Wilson thanked 
 the Count, who asked, "What shall I commence 
 doing?" The Count wrote a hand that was 
 almost like copperplate. Wilson had become 
 aware of the fact. 
 
 " If you have no particular objection, Count, I 
 will get you to assist me in the books. You can 
 copy my day entries into the journal.^'
 
 3UEI0N. 173 
 
 Mr. Wilson showed him how it was to be done, 
 and the Count cheerfully went to work. The stock 
 of the Count advanced fifty per cent, that morn- 
 ing: inTVilson's mind. After some little time had 
 elapsed while working, the Count asked Mr. Wil- 
 son to name to him the most responsible private 
 bankers in the city. 
 
 " I have not much to deposit with them, but I 
 have this small amount that I should like to have 
 placed in safe hands, where it would be drawing 
 interest," and the Count laid down on the desk 
 two thousand dollars. He took out one hundred 
 dollars. " This I will keep. The two thousand 
 dollars I wish to keep at the bankers." 
 
 '•Prime, Ward and King, No. 42, Wall Street, 
 are the firmest bankers. I would recommend 
 them, but I am not certain that they will take 
 your account. Who could you get to go and 
 introduce you to them? "^ 
 
 " I know of no one," replied the Count. 
 "Then, Count, I will tell you what I will do. 
 Their book-keeper, Charles Christmas, is a particu- 
 lar friend of mine, and I flatter myself that my in- 
 troduction to him will be as good an opening as you 
 could have. I will vouch for you. Count. About 
 ten o'clock, if vou will go with me to that bank-
 
 174 MARION. 
 
 ing house, I will do the needful, and get an account 
 opened with you by that firm." 
 
 When Marion arrived, he was somewhat sur- 
 prised to see the Count and Mr. Wilson on such 
 familiar terms, and he was rather pleased than 
 otherwise. 
 
 The bankers alluded to, Prime, Ward and King, 
 were at that time regarded by the commercial 
 community here, and, in fact, in every city of the 
 Union, as the most solid house on this continent. 
 Their bills of exchange on London or Paris would 
 bring one per cent, higher than any commercial 
 firm. The partners of this celebrated house were 
 men of originality. The senior was old "Nat 
 Prime," as he was familiarly designated. He 
 started life in a humble capacity, and rose to be 
 the head of a great banking house. His resi- 
 dence for many years was at No. 1, Broadway, 
 now occupied as a hotel. '' Sam Ward," the 
 second partner, built a house on the corner of 
 Fourth street and Broadway, and added to it a 
 gallery of paintings, that was the wonder of the 
 people in that day. James Gore King, the junior 
 partner, was born in England, where his father, 
 Rufus King, was Ambassador from the United 
 States to Great Britain. He was named after
 
 :marion. 175 
 
 James Gore, a celebrated merchant. All these 
 partners died long ago. The Count and Mr. 
 Wilson went to the banking office of this firm. 
 Wilson introduced the Count to the book-keeper, 
 ■with a request that he willingly complied with. 
 In a word, the Count was introduced to Mr. 
 Ward, one of the partners, his account was re- 
 ceived, and he deposited two thousand dollars, 
 and wrote his signature upon the signature book. 
 He also received a bank book, on the leather cover 
 of which was printed " Prime, Ward and King in 
 account with" — and written underneath — '^the 
 Count Adolph Falsechinski ; " and inside he was 
 credited April fourth with two thousand dollars, 
 bearing interest at four per cent, per annum. 
 
 When this was all done, the Count took his 
 leave, but not until he had made a very favour- 
 able impression upon Mr. Ward, who begged to 
 serve him in any manner. The Count was a deep 
 planner, and knew the world. 
 
 In opening an account with Prime, Ward and 
 King, and getting one of their bank-books with 
 the name of Count Adolph Falsechinski upon it, 
 and a sum to his credit, he had procured a credit 
 — a consequence, an endorsement, backers, position 
 — that would be valuable in any part of the
 
 176 MAEION. 
 
 Union. There was no disputing it. It was 
 worth more than a reference, for either of the 
 partners would have said they knew nothing of 
 the Count. An authorised banking book, with a 
 credit of cash in with so respectable a firm, told 
 its own story. It was the best kind of a reference. 
 The Count had his opinion of it. It w^as near 
 twelve o'clock when all this was completed, and 
 the Count, instead of returning to the counting 
 house, parted from Mr. Wilson, and went to 
 Broome Street to give a Trench lesson to Miss 
 Norris. 
 
 He found Tom Granville already there. Miss 
 Norris received the lesson, which occupied nearly 
 two hours. Tom remained quiet until it was 
 finished, and then insisted that Clara should read 
 French with him an hour. Tom was a good 
 French scholar, for he had in early life resided 
 two years in France. 
 
 "By-and-bye. I will not, now. I want to scold 
 the Count for not coming earlier. I waited for 
 you two hours this morning.' ' 
 
 " I am sorry for that. Miss Clara. I will be 
 more punctual in future, but the fact is, I was 
 obliged to visit my bankers, Prime, Ward and King, 
 this morning,^' — here he displayed carelessly his
 
 MARION. 17 7 
 
 bank book, — " and I was detained talking with 
 Mr. Ward longer than I expected." 
 
 Tom opened his eyes, and even ]\Iiss Clara felt 
 a greater respect for her teacher. Here was more 
 mystery. A Count, and a book account with 
 Prime, Ward and King. 
 
 " Count, Mr. Granville has secured a private 
 box at the Park Theatre to-night. Shall we have 
 the pleasure of your company ? You will be 
 welcome.'"' 
 
 "What is the novelty ? W^hat is to be played ?^^ 
 
 " The opera of ^ La Somnambula.' Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wood and Mr. Brough, with his magnificent 
 bass, all appear in it.'^ 
 
 " I shall accept your invitation with pleasure. 
 I knew the Woods in London.'^ 
 
 " The deuce you did. Tell us all about them, 
 Count. Is Mrs. Wood his wife ? " 
 
 " To be sure she is ; but she was divorced from 
 her first husband, who was Lord Lennox. Lady 
 Lennox procured a divorce, and then married the 
 tenor Wood. Lord Lennox used to beat her, it 
 was said. I must go now, but will be here pre- 
 cisely at seven o'clock to accompany j^ou to the 
 theatre.^' 
 
 '' Mr. Granville,^^ said the fascinating Clara, 
 
 A'OL. I. If
 
 178 MARION. 
 
 after the Count had gone, " how much have you 
 left of the two thousand dollars you won last 
 night ? '' They say you are a terrible fellow to 
 spend money. I dare say you have spent it all.^^ 
 "No, I have not. I have had no chance. See, 
 here it is. Count it.^^ 
 
 Clara did as she was desired to do. She took 
 a thousand dollar bill. "Tom, I will be your 
 banker, and keep this for safety. You will squan- 
 der it. It will do you no real good. With me it 
 will be quite safe.^^ 
 
 Tom looked anxiously — 
 
 "What, afraid of me! Here, take your old 
 trash. What I proposed was for your own good, 
 and you know it well,^^ and the fair girl pouted 
 as though she was angry in earnest. 
 
 "My dear Miss Norris, you entirely mistook 
 me. Keep it, by all means. I have the most 
 perfect confidence in you. Indeed, I insist you 
 shall be my banker."'^ 
 
 " I will take good care of this money, if you 
 wish it ; but really, I had rather you would take it 
 back. 
 
 But no, Tom Granville would not consent to do 
 anything of the kind. 
 
 " Very well, then, I will keep it safe, and you
 
 3IAIII0N. 179 
 
 can have it whenever you Tvish. I should serve 
 YOU perfectly right if I never gave it back to you. 
 It was very wrong for you to kiss me. "What would 
 Mr. Nordheim say, if he knew it ? But to show 
 YOU that I forgive you, I will read French with 
 you an hour, and then I must go, for I expect 
 Mr. Kordheim, and he must not see you here/^ 
 
 Clara procured a book of French plays, and lay 
 down on the lounge. Tom drew an ottoman near 
 her head, and they read together. Tom was 
 completely lost. That reading finished him. 
 He was madly in love with Clara Isorris. She 
 saw it — her pride was gratified, and when he left 
 he was perfectly insane about her. Wife, brother, 
 business, all were forgotten. IN'o sooner had he 
 passed into the street than Clara took from her 
 bosom the thousand dollar bill. Then she walked 
 to a black walnut bm-eau, unlocked a small 
 drawer, and took from it a bank book. Outside 
 on the cover was marked, " The American Savings 
 Bank in account with Miss Clara Norris.^^ She 
 opened it, and read ofi" various srjns. Five- 
 dollars, ten, fifty, eight, twelve, thirty-two, fifty, 
 seventy-five, one hundred, two hundred. 
 
 "Very good. This is a changing world. We 
 do not know what may happen. Mr. Nordheim
 
 180 MARION. 
 
 thinks I am very extravagant. So I am : this 
 book says I have already squandered in that 
 Savings Bank eleven hundred dollars ;" and she 
 rang the bell. The coloured girl answered it. 
 
 " Cheeky, I am going out, to be gone an hour. 
 If Mr. Nordheim calls, say that if he will walk down 
 Eroadway to Stewart's dry goods store, he will 
 meet me coming up. 
 
 The lady went out. In less than an hour she 
 returned, and took the same book from her bosom. 
 Another one thousand dollars had been placed to 
 her credit ; and she carefully locked the book in 
 the drawer, and placed the key around her neck. 
 
 " Now I must dress for the opera to-night. 
 What will Nordheim say ? But Tom Granville is 
 brother to his partner. Surely he can't object to 
 my going with him — and if he does ? What a 
 fool Tom Granville is ! And yet I rather like 
 him. So I do my mocking-bird, Marion. But 
 that Count — heigho ! I wish I knew his history 
 — it must be a strange one." 
 
 There was a curious grouping of people in the old 
 Park Theatre that night. Stephen Price was the 
 manager, assisted by quiet Simpson. The Woods 
 were cramming the house every night, and the 
 treasury was overflowing. On this particular day
 
 MARION. 181 
 
 the Woods had dined with Mr. Granville at his 
 residence in State Street, for he had been very 
 kind to them, and was their banker. Colonel 
 Mac Neil was at the dinner, and one or two more. 
 Mr. Wood insisted upon placing a private box at 
 the disposal of Mr. Granville and his family, and 
 the offer was accepted. 
 
 Mr. Nordheim had also secured, a front bench 
 in the dress circle. He had invited Mrs. Tom 
 Granville and her sister Miss Madison Pinckney 
 to go with him. He knew that Walter Granville 
 loved the latter, and so, to have Mrs. Tom all to 
 himself, he invited Walter to go with him. 
 
 Mrs. Nordheim, the day previous, had expressed 
 a wish to hear the Woods, and Marion had been 
 able to secure three prominent seats — and he 
 invited his old friend Wilson to take tea in Bond 
 Street, and then go with Mrs. Nordheim and him- 
 self to the theatre. This was agreed to. 
 
 When the curtain rose that night, the pit, the 
 dress circle, and the galleries presented from the 
 foot-lights one sea of human heads, and they 
 were all in raptures with the performance. 
 Brough sang '^ My Boyhood's Home" as it never 
 has been sung since, and Mrs. Wood enchanted 
 the audience with " False One, I love Thee Still.'^
 
 182 . MARION. 
 
 When the curtain descended, people began to 
 look about them. Marion was the first to utter 
 an exclamation of surprise. The front seats 
 occupied by his party were directly opposite the 
 centre of the stage. A little to the left was Mr. 
 Nordheim, Mrs. Kate Granville, Walter Granville, 
 and Miss Madison Pinckney. On the right-hand 
 stage private box was Mr. Granville and his family, 
 including Colonel Mac Neil, and in the opposite 
 box was Mr. Thomas Granville, the Count False- 
 chinski, and Miss Clara Norris. Mr. Nordheim 
 smiled, and came around and spoke to his wife. 
 IMarion, when Mr. Nordheim had left, pointed 
 out Miss Norris to Mrs. Nordheim. The only 
 person who felt particularly foolish was Tom 
 Granville. Mr. Nordheim informed Mrs. Tom 
 who the lady was that Master Tom had chartered 
 a private box to accommodate. The eyes of the 
 brilliant Kate flashed fire. She felt humiliated 
 and disgraced, the more so, as Mr. Nordheim 
 expressed the deepest sympathy. Poor Kate! 
 Her love was fast changing to contempt; and 
 Tom was more confirmed in his mad love for the 
 beautiful woman by his side, as he noticed the 
 withering glances that were bestowed upon her 
 by those nearest and dearest to him. Isabella
 
 MARION. 183 
 
 Granville leaned on the front of the box^ a,nd 
 attracted universal admiration, Marion seemed 
 particularly struck with her loveliness^ and made 
 some very enthusiastic remarks in her favour to 
 Mrs. Nordheim. She sighed, and in a tone of 
 voice that was overheard by honest, tender- 
 hearted Wilson, remarked — 
 
 " Have a care, dear Marion : don't fall in love 
 with that trifler, or you will feel more sorrow 
 than you ever yet have known/' 
 
 Wilson seemed struck, by the sigh and the 
 remark, with a new idea, and he turned his eyes 
 from the one to the other, but he did not say 
 what he thought of it, even in '' a financial point 
 of view." 
 
 Walter Granville did the worst thing he could 
 have done. He tried to escape the observation of 
 his father, and yet not actually neglect the fair 
 Miss Pinckney by his side. It was of no use, for 
 the senior Granville had a pair of eagle eyes, and 
 his course was decided upon in his own mind. 
 
 At last the opera was finished. Tom and the 
 Count went to a supper party at a Broadway 
 salo on. The rest of those that we have grouped 
 together returned to their homes.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A Marriage Arranged — Departure of Walter Granville — 
 Death of Mrs. Pitt Grranville. 
 
 It is not our purpose to write a philosophical 
 work ; if that were the case, we might philoso- 
 phize upon the foolish but notorious fact, that a 
 ^majority of parents, especially those who are pos- 
 sessed of wealth and aristocratically descended, 
 or in position, deem it a parental right to inter- 
 fere in the marriages of their children, and if 
 these children happen to form any attachment, 
 ■-and the object of such attachment does not 
 iiappen to come up to the parents' standard of 
 the husband or wife they have arranged for their 
 child, they, or one of the parents, goes to work to 
 break it off. 
 
 Walter Granville was an only son. His father 
 was most anxious that he should tread his own 
 footprints, and be able to succeed him in business, 
 and to keep the name of Granville in the com- 
 mercial world for another century at least. The
 
 MARION. 185 
 
 father had given him a good education, and 
 "Master Walter ^^ had recently graduated at 
 Columbia College, with considerable credit to 
 himself. It was now the purpose of the father 
 to place his son in the counting-room, and to 
 have him settle down in life, as he termed it. 
 He had determined that Walter should marry at 
 once. True, he was not out of his teens, but 
 that fact was of no importance to the senior 
 Granville. He had a horror of Walter falling 
 in love with any young woman that he, the 
 father, did not deem a suitable connection. He 
 had been driven almost to madness for several 
 months, by having hints given him, that Walter 
 was in love, and engaged to Miss Madison Pinck- 
 ney. True, she was a very beautiful and a very 
 accomplished girl. That is all very well so far as 
 it goes, but to a mind like old Granville^ s, there 
 was nothing tangible either in beauty or accom- 
 plishments. He wished for his son^s wife, some- 
 thing more reliable. He could give a business 
 and settle money on his son, and in choosing a 
 wife for him, he wanted the other side of the 
 house to be able to do the same thing. He had 
 other objections to a marriage between Walter 
 and Miss Madison Pinckney. His brother had
 
 186 MARION. 
 
 married one of the sisters, and one of the family 
 was quite sufficient, as there was no money and 
 never might be any. It all depended upon the 
 caprice of a " mean, mad woman," as Tom desig- 
 nated the grandmother of his wife. 
 
 " If A¥alter will marry, I have a girl in view, 
 that he shall marry, and I will make him do it 
 at once, or know the reason why." Thus spoke 
 Pitt Granville to himself. The party that he 
 had fixed upon was Miss Margaret Benson, the 
 daughter of Colonel Benson, and one of the 
 bridesmaids at the wedding of Kate Pinckney. 
 
 Colonel Benson had served in the English 
 army, but he had married an American widow 
 lady of wealth, who owned a plantation and 
 several hundred negroes on Ashley Eiver, near 
 Charleston, South Carolina. He had resigned 
 his commission in the British service and settled 
 in New York, where he became a special partner 
 in a commercial firm largely engaged in the 
 English trade. The Colonel held some sort of 
 special agency for the British Government, which 
 gave him no small income. His wife had one 
 son by her first husband, whose name was Glen 
 Hammond. The latter was a wild harum-scarum 
 fellow, who was travelling in Europe. By Colonel
 
 MAEION. 187 
 
 Benson she had t\YO children^ a son and a 
 daughter. 
 
 The name of the son was Middleton Benson. 
 He was nearly of age, and was devoted to busi- 
 ness, being engaged as a clerk where his father 
 •was a special partner. The daughter Margaret 
 was a tall, dignified girl of eighteen years of age, 
 very haughty, and proud of her descent and her 
 position. She worshipped her father, and was not 
 likely to fall in love with any man, except such 
 a one as her father would approve. 
 
 Colonel Benson and Mr. Granville were on the 
 most intimate terms. If the latter had needed, 
 for any sudden emergency, half a hundred thou- 
 sand dollars, the Colonel would let him have it 
 any day before three o'clock. They dined, 
 supped, and made excursions together ; and 
 almost every evening, if one did not come to the 
 house of the other, that other was sure to know 
 the reason. The marriage of Walter and Mar- 
 garet had often been a topic of conversation 
 between these two fathers. But, while Walter 
 was at college, there was no need of being in a 
 hurry. But the public attentions of Walter to 
 Miss Pinckney at the Park Theatre had brought 
 matters to a climax, so far as Mr. Granville was
 
 188 MARION. 
 
 concerned, and the next morning he sent a note 
 to Colonel Benson, asking him to dine in State 
 Street that day. The result of that dinner was 
 that Mr. Granville agreed to place Walter in 
 business as soon as he was of age — to settle 
 immediately upon him real estate that should 
 produce two thousand dollars clear income, and 
 the Colonel agreed to give his daughter a house, 
 and furnish it, and settle upon her and her 
 children the income of thirty thousand dollars, 
 two thousand dollars a year addition ; and these 
 conditions were to be complied with at once, 
 and the marriage to take place without any 
 delay. 
 
 Both parents shook hands cordially when these 
 preliminaries had been arranged, and then they 
 agreed to drink an extra bottle of choice old 
 Madeira to the health and prosperity of the " to 
 be '' married couple. 
 
 The same evening Mr. Granville called Walter 
 to his room, and informed him of what he had 
 done to settle him for life. Walter listened, but 
 did not say a word until his father had amplified 
 and explained all the advantages of the match ; 
 he concluded, ^*^Now, Walter, I want to hear your 
 opinion/^
 
 MARION. 189 
 
 " My opinion or wishes seem to have been 
 little consulted.^^ 
 
 "You do not mean to say that you are not 
 pleased with the arrangement I have made for 
 you ? '' 
 
 "Has Margaret Benson been consulted? Is 
 she aware of the honour about to be conferred 
 on her ? " 
 
 " What in the world has she got to do with the 
 matter, so far as we are concerned ? Her father 
 will arrange with her. It is my duty to attend 
 to your welfare and happiness. Now, Walter, 
 speak out like a man. Don't have any foolish 
 modesty. Of course you authorize me to say 
 to Colonel Benson that you are delighted with 
 the prospect, and all that sort of thing, eh, 
 Walter ?^^ 
 
 "Father, I believe you love me. I do not think 
 you have anything nearer to your heart than my 
 happiness. Is it not so?" 
 
 " Of course it is, my boy. I love you better 
 than I do myself— and I flatter myself that if any 
 proof were wanting that I love and care for you, 
 this arrangement between Colonel Benson and 
 myself, made this afternoon, is enough to convince 
 you of the fact."
 
 190 MARION. 
 
 " Father, I cannot marry Margaret Benson — I 
 do not love her/^ 
 
 " Pooh, pooh! — is that all ? You will soon learn 
 to do so. You must marry her — I have given my 
 word.^^ 
 
 "There is still another reason. I love another, 
 and I have promised to marry that other." 
 
 " You have ! I think, Master Walter, that I 
 have one or two words to say about that. You 
 mean Madison Pinckney. She has not got a cent, 
 and is very extravagant, or will be so, if she ever 
 gets a chance. No, no, Walter; drop all such 
 nonsense. I will give you until to-morrow 
 before I go to dine with Colonel Benson to 
 think it over, and then I think you will do as 
 I wish." 
 
 "Father, let it be settled now. I cannot give 
 up Miss Pinckney, and I will not. My word is 
 given to her, and my affections also. If you do 
 not sanction my marriage with her, I must do 
 without it, or wait until you do. I will not marry 
 Miss Benson under any circumstances ; I do not 
 love her, nor could I have done so had my love 
 to Miss Pinckney never existed." 
 
 " Now, hear me, Walter Granville. From this 
 moment I disown you as entirely as if you had
 
 MARION. 191 
 
 never been born. Go out of this house for ever. 
 Go and marry Miss Pinckney to-morrow, if you 
 choose ; or go to the devil. You have disobeyed 
 your father, and I will disinherit you. You have 
 mortified me beyond measure. How can I look 
 Colonel Benson in the face? You need not go 
 penniless. Take this money." 
 
 Walter took it, and then flung it upon the 
 floor. 
 
 " Perish your money ! I want none of it, and I 
 will get out of the house before an hour. I 
 merely wish to bid my mother and my sister 
 good-bye ; and— farewell, sir. The day may come 
 when you will regret this harsh treatment." 
 
 "Never, sir. If you should change your mind, 
 and come back obedient to my wishes, you will 
 be my son once more. Until that day comes, I 
 cai'e not to see you again. Begone ! " 
 
 Walter Granville bowed and left the room. He 
 was not long in packing a trunk with clothing. 
 That done, he went to his mother, who was an 
 invalid. What passed between mother and son 
 is only known to them. Isabella was not at 
 home. An hour after a hack conveyed Walter 
 and his trunks to the City Hotel. He selected a 
 room, and then hurried up to Chambers Street to
 
 192 MARION. 
 
 liis Aunt Kate's. Madison Pinckney he felt 
 could sympathize with him. He found her 
 alone. 
 
 Walter had yet to learn another lesson. Madi- 
 son Pinckney was perfectly cool and very calm, 
 while Walter, whose mind was frenzied, narrated 
 all that had passed. At last Miss Madison 
 spoke. 
 
 "You are a silly boy, Walter. Quarrelled 
 with your father, and he has turned you out of 
 doors.^' 
 
 "It was for your sake, dearest Madison. I 
 could not marry Margaret Benson and continue 
 to love you.^' 
 
 " And pray, who wished that you should ? But, 
 Walter, you certainly have no idea that I am such 
 an immense simpleton as to dream of marrying 
 you, after you have been cut adrift by your father. 
 I would do nothing of the kind. We would starve 
 in six weeks. Love is very fine if you have money 
 or business enough to keep house and be com- 
 fortable. Now I advise you to forget me as quick 
 as possible, for if your father has fairly made up 
 his mind against me, and in favour of another 
 young lady as your wife, further words are useless. 
 He is not a man to change, and although as his
 
 MARION. 193 
 
 son, you are of some account in the world, 
 yet, cast off by him, I don^t know what you 
 will do.'' 
 
 " But, Madison,^' exclaimed poor Walter, who 
 was completely heart-broken, '^ your letters — your 
 caresses — your promise — your '' 
 
 "Do, for mercy^s sake, stop repeating that 
 lover's catalogue. I dare say I have been very 
 fooHsh, but I did not dream that your father 
 would oppose your marriage with me. Now be a 
 good boy. My advice is to go to your papa. Tell 
 him you have been to see me, and that you have 
 told me that you cannot marry me, and promise 
 your father that you will marry Miss Benson any 
 day that you are called upon to do so." 
 
 " My dream is over," exclaimed Walter. *' Past 
 — gone." 
 
 " That is right, Walter. Wake up, and get over 
 dreams as soon as possible. They are extremely 
 unhealthy, and make people nervous. Come and 
 see me as a friend any time that you have leisure. 
 I must say good-night, now," and she left the 
 room. Walter seized his hat and hurried back to 
 the City Hotel. He was enraged and mortified 
 at himself. He did not go home to State Street 
 again. That evening he met with a wild young 
 
 VOL, I.
 
 194 MARION. 
 
 fellow that he had known for some years — a 
 regular New York boy. 
 
 '^ Vm off to-morrow/^ said Charley King. 
 
 " Where to ? " inquired Walter. 
 
 " On board a whaler bound round the Horn.^' 
 
 " Could I get any berth aboard? " 
 
 " Certainly ; and the skipper would be glad to 
 get you. Have you got any money ? '' 
 
 " Plenty.'' 
 
 " Then let's have a regular night of it." 
 
 Walter agreed. They visited every drinking 
 place as long as any was open, and then returned 
 to Walter's room. The next day Walter had 
 shipped for a whaling voyage. The ship Dorothea 
 went to sea the next day, and it was many months 
 before Mr. Granville ascertained what had become 
 of his son. 
 
 Meanwhile Mrs. Granville became worse. The 
 loss of Walter preyed upon her mind, and her 
 strength failed daily. May arrived, and one 
 morning Mr. Granville did not come to the office. 
 It was whispered that Mrs. Granville was worse 
 — dying. Then a note came for Marion Monck to 
 come at once to State Street. When he arrived, 
 the servant said he had orders to show him up to 
 Mrs. Granville's sick room, where Mr. Granville
 
 MARION. 195 
 
 was. He entered the room. The proud mer- 
 chant was weeping and kneeling by the bed, with. 
 a hand of his wife in his. Isabella, too, was sob- 
 bing as though her heart would break. Marion 
 was about to retire from so sacred a scene, when 
 the eyes of the dying woman fell upon him. 
 " Come here, Marion,^' she whispered, ^' give me 
 your hand, and promise me that you will be a 
 faithful friend to my two children, and find the 
 lost one, and tell him his mother blessed him 
 before she died." Marion promised. "They will 
 need a true friend some day. Be a brother to my 
 poor Isabella. God bless you." Marion left the 
 room, but not the house. He remained in the 
 parlour. Some time elapsed, and then Mr. Gran- 
 ville came into the room, still sobbing. 
 
 " It is all over. She is dead. Close the office, 
 and then come back for further directions. Bring 
 Mr. Wilson down with you/' 
 
 o 2
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Cholera — Summer — Changes. 
 
 The funeral of Mrs. Pitt Granville was plain 
 and simple, and according to the English mode. 
 She was buried in a vault belonging to Mr. 
 Granville, in St. Thomases Churchyard. The 
 office was closed the day she died and the day the 
 funeral was celebrated. All the connections went 
 into deep mourning, and for a few days Mr. 
 Granville forgot his usual gaiety. The spring 
 months passed away, and then came the summer, 
 — that terrible summer, when the Asiatic cholera 
 made its first appearance in New York. What a 
 scattering of people when the fact became ap- 
 parent that the long-dreaded scourge was here ! 
 Mr. Granville took his daughter to the residence 
 of Colonel Benson after Mrs. Granville^s death, 
 and when the cholera broke out she was with 
 Colonel Benson and his daughter at Niagara 
 Falls. 
 
 Mr. Nordheim closed up his house in Bond
 
 MARION. 197 
 
 Street, and found a refuge for his wife at tlie 
 village of Woodbury, some twenty miles north 
 of New Haven, Connecticut. He did not remain 
 but a week with his wife, and then started off on 
 a tour of pleasure. Mrs. Tom Granville and her 
 sister went to Saratoga, while Tom accompanied 
 Clara Norris to her early home in Sussex County, 
 New Jersey. 
 
 Mr. Granville concluded not to leave the city, 
 and his example was followed by Mr. Wilson, 
 the Count Falsechinski, and Marion Monck. 
 Although the Count continued his lessons daily 
 to Miss Norris up to the day of her departure, 
 yet he had regarded them as a secondary affair. 
 Save when absent to give these lessons, he had 
 devoted every hour to business. He was at the 
 office early and late. At last he became so useful 
 to the book-keeper, that he made him his as- 
 sistant, and Mr. Granville ordered his salary to be 
 raised to eight hundred dollars per annum, and 
 to be paid by the house, and not out of Mr. 
 Nordheim^s private funds. Mr. Granville invited 
 Marion to take up his residence at his house in 
 State Street, to keep him company. 
 
 It would be a melancholy chapter if I were to 
 relate all that occurred in the city while the
 
 198 MARION. 
 
 cholera raged here. It did not make Marion 
 falter or flinch. At that time there was scarcely 
 a store in Broad Street except the one occupied 
 by Granville and Nordheim. The street was 
 filled with private residences and boarding-houses. 
 Opposite to Mr. Granville's store, at No. 24, was 
 a boarding-house. Marion counted in one day 
 nine coffins taken out of the one house, and that 
 very evening he felt convinced that he had the 
 cholera. Mr. Granville was alarmed, and made 
 him go to bed, and sent for funny old Doctor 
 Francis. He was shown into Marion's room. 
 There Marion lay groaning with the cholera. 
 The Doctor felt his pulse, asked some questions, 
 and Marion related how many coffins he had seen 
 brought out of No. 24, Broad Street. The Doctor 
 smiled, and ordered up a slice of bread. When 
 it came up, he made up two or three small pills 
 with it. Marion looked at his proceedings with 
 astonishment. 
 
 "Take these pills; they will cure you,'' said 
 the Doctor. 
 
 "AYhy, they are nothing but bread," said 
 Marion, and he jumped up in a rage at the idea 
 of the Doctor making fun of him. 
 
 "Why, the very sight of my pills has cured
 
 l^LLRION. 199 
 
 jou/' and the Doctor laughed heartily. Marion 
 commenced dressing, and he could not help 
 laughing also. It was catching. Mr. Granville 
 laughed, and so did the servant. "Nothing 
 serious is the matter -with you. You have no 
 cholera. You have seen so many coffins to-day 
 that your nerves have become excited, and you 
 fancied you had the cholera. It's lucky for you, 
 my boy, that I discovered the fact, or you might 
 have had it in earnest, and perhaps died with it,^^ 
 said Doctor Francis solemnly. 
 
 The Doctor descended to the parlour, accom- 
 panied by ^Marion !Monck and Mr. Granville. A 
 glass of old Maderia made Marion quite well, and 
 when the Doctor departed, he went part way 
 home with him. Many persons in the hands of 
 less sensible doctors died that summer with the 
 cholera, who had no more cholera at the com- 
 mencement than did Marion. The doctors treated 
 such cases as cholera, and they died of cholera. 
 
 "While the epidemic lasted, only once did 
 Marion leave the city, and then he obtained leave 
 of absence for a week, and he spent it at the 
 village where Mrs. Nordheim had gone. 
 
 There are some lovely villages in the State of 
 Connecticut, and none more so than the beautiful
 
 200 MARION. 
 
 town of Woodbury, in the county of Litchfield. 
 It is on the mail route between New Haven and 
 Litchfieldj and about fifteen miles south of the 
 latter town. The town extends three miles, with 
 houses prettily laid out along the whole line. 
 There are three places of public worship, and one, 
 the Episcopal, is located in the corner of a bury- 
 ing ground, that has been used as such for over 
 two centuries. At the south end of the burying- 
 ground is a neat, well-kept inn, with a large 
 garden that adjoins the burying-ground. It was 
 at this inn, or hotel, that Mrs. Nordheim had 
 obtained quarters during the prevalence of the 
 epidemic in New York. When Marion obtained 
 leave of absence for a week, he hurried up to 
 this town, and he was delighted with it. It was 
 such a contrast with a town in his own State of 
 South Carolina. In the village where he was 
 born there was not a school-house ; and, in fact, 
 not one within thirty miles. In this Connecticut 
 town there were no less than five district schools, 
 and one academy kept by one of the clergymen of 
 the aforesaid churches. Marion soon became ac- 
 quainted with the principal people. He attended 
 singing schools, went on fishing excursions, clam- 
 bered over rocks, bathed in the river, and almost
 
 MARION. 201 
 
 every day accompanied Mrs. Nordheim to spend 
 the afternoon or evening with some one of the 
 families with whom she had become acquainted. 
 
 The week of absence soon passed away, and he 
 returned to the city. Mrs. Nordheim continued 
 to reside at the village inn until the cheering 
 news reached there that the cholera had abated 
 in the great city. Arrangements were made for 
 her return, and one lovely October morning she 
 left the quiet country life to take her part again 
 in the city of New York. 
 
 One by one, family after family, returned to 
 New York, and about the close of November the 
 principal part of the absentees had returned, and 
 were as gay and devoted to worldly pleasures and 
 pursuits as though the Almighty had not sent 
 a destroying Angel into the city to remove by 
 sudden and horrid deaths a large portion of the 
 unthinking population.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Commercial Success of Marion Monck— The Count 
 Falsechinski Speculates and Makes Money in Stocks — 
 The Bargain of Mr. Granville with Mr. Nordheim — 
 Marion is nineteen years old — Mrs. Nordheim proposes a 
 Party — The Irish Adventurer, John O'Doemall — Anec- 
 dote of his Arrival in New York. 
 
 A YEAR passed away from the time when the 
 scattered and scared persons alluded to in our 
 story returned to the city after the cholera 
 summer. During that year few changes or oc- 
 currences took place worth noticing. The duties 
 of the counting-house of Granville and Nordheim 
 were carried on as usual, and their business in- 
 creased rapidly. Mr. Nordheim was absent from 
 the city, or engrossed with schemes of his own 
 personal pleasure. After the death of his wife, 
 and the departure of his son Walter, Mr. Gran- 
 ville seemed to lose a portion of that business 
 energy that so strongly characterised him. These 
 two facts flung a greater responsibility upon 
 Marion Monck, and Mr. Granville had already 
 entrusted him with a power of attorney to sign
 
 MARION. 203 
 
 the name of the firm. It was a great trust for so 
 young a man, as Marion was not quite nineteen 
 years old. But he was of the right metal, and 
 this confidence served as a more powerful in- 
 centive to renewed activity and devotion to the 
 business of his employers. 
 
 The Count Falsechinski, during the eighteen 
 months that followed the cholera summer was 
 not idle. He devoted his time to the duties of 
 the office, and by a careful economy had in- 
 creased his deposits with his bankers, Prime, 
 Ward, and King. He had become acquainted 
 with the difi'erent members of that distinguished 
 firm, and one of the partners made a suggestion 
 to the Count, in reference to taking an interest 
 in a purchase of stock which was to be "cor- 
 nered," which proved valuable; for the Count 
 availed himself of it to quite a large amount, at 
 least to four times his capital, his bankers making 
 the purchase, and retaining as a " margin " the 
 funds of the Count in their hands. One Decem- 
 ber morning, the Count received a note from his 
 bankers, requesting him to call at the banking- 
 house, No. 42, Wall Street, early in the morning, 
 and Mr. Ward surprised him by saying — 
 
 " Count, you are aware that our firm purchased
 
 204 MARION. 
 
 for your account teu thousand dollars' worth of 
 Morris Canal stock. It has advanced fifty per 
 cent, on the price we paid. Shall we sell it at 
 the Board to-day ? I think it has reached a high 
 limit. It may go higher, but you will make a 
 good thing of it at yesterday's quotations. "What 
 do you say ? '* 
 
 The Count had very little to say, except to 
 authorize the sale at the Board that day. His 
 orders were complied with. The stock had ad- 
 vanced still more, and when the Count's bank 
 book was wrote up and handed him next day, he 
 found that he had to his credit over eight thousand 
 dollars. This did not move him. He was the 
 same quiet, smiling, unobtrusive Count. He 
 attended in Broome Street, and gave his lessons 
 to Miss Norris regularly; and that young lady 
 was already an excellent Spanish and German 
 scholar, as well as French, which was the first 
 language he taught her. Frequently he met Tom 
 Granville at the residence of Miss Norris, but the 
 Count took very little notice of him on such 
 occasions, nor did the notorious fact that Tom 
 was perfectly fascinated with the beautiful and 
 accomplished girl seem to disturb the usual pla- 
 cidity of the Count. Occasionally, when he called
 
 :^iAEioN. 205 
 
 to give a lesson, he met Mr. Nordheim in tlie 
 house of Miss Norris, and he seemed pleased with 
 the progress that his protege had made. 
 
 Our readers will remember that Tom Granville 
 had made an arrangement with Mr. Nordheim to 
 take Miss Norris off his hands in a specified time. 
 He had signally failed ; for although it was quite 
 apparent that Clara liked Tom, yet her ambition 
 to learn, and the advantages she had in her pre- 
 sent relations with Mr. Nordheim, made her 
 decline in the most positive manner all overtures 
 to change, or make any arrangement with Master 
 Tom. Now and then, when Tom became clamor- 
 ous for funds, Clara would give him a few tens 
 from the amounts she received from Mr. Nord- 
 heim, but she never went to draw money from 
 the Savings Bank. She received Mr. Tom Gran- 
 ville's attentions without the slightest objection. 
 She allowed him to escort her to public places on 
 all occasions, and it would almost seem that she 
 was aware of the secret purpose of Mr. Nordheim, 
 but she kept her own counsel in this respect. 
 Tom occasionally spoke of his progress to Islv. 
 Nordheim. The latter merely smiled, with a iew 
 words, such as, " Well, Tom, more money, I sup- 
 pose.'^ Tom would leave with a hundred dollars
 
 206 iMARIOX. 
 
 in his pocket. He still kept house in Chambers 
 Street, but left his wife to get on as well as she 
 could j but when she needed advice, she found an 
 adviser in Mr. Nordheim, who was a regular 
 visitor in Chambers Street, and escorted Mrs. 
 Tom Granville to nearly every private party 
 which she attended. Many who had met them 
 frequently in public, thought that they were Mr. 
 and Mrs. Nordheim. 
 
 Meanwhile Marion Monck was residing in 
 Bond Street, where he had removed when Mrs. 
 Nordheim returned from the country after the 
 cholera. Marion and Bessy were like brother 
 and sister. 
 
 Another visitor now made his appearance in 
 Bond Street, and not a Sunday passed that he 
 did not dine at Mrs. Nordheim^s. This was no 
 less a personage than our serious, methodical old 
 book-keeper, Mr. Wilson. His attachment to 
 Marion, his sterling integrity and good sense, had 
 rendered Mr. Wilson a great favourite with Mrs. 
 Nordheim, and a welcome ^dsitor. He was a safe 
 man, and the lady felt that he was one of those 
 that could be relied upon in a case of emergency, 
 should such a case ever approach her home. The 
 Count Falsechinski was also a regular visitor at
 
 MARION. 307 
 
 Bond Street. He was accomplished, and helped 
 to wile away many an hour pleasantly that with- 
 out his music and animated conversation would 
 have been dull and cheerless. 
 
 December had arrived, and it was near the 
 anniversary of Marion^s birth-day. Mrs. Nord- 
 heim had determined to make some preparations 
 for the day when her " brother Marion '^ would 
 be nineteen years old. She had consulted with 
 the Count and with Mr. Wilson, as to what she 
 should do to make the occasion an agreeable one, 
 and to be remembered. They advised a party in 
 the evening, and this was decided upon. 
 
 " Marion,^^ said the lady, a few days before the 
 event was to happen, ^' I am going to give a small 
 party on the evening of your birth-day. I hope 
 the idea will please you.^^ 
 
 " Most unquestionably ; whatever you do, dear 
 Bessy, pleases me. I have a happy home, and 
 I ought to be very thankful to you. I wish 
 you would tell me how I can be sufficiently 
 grateful for all your goodness and kindness to 
 me.^' 
 
 " By telling me who to invite that you know, 
 and that I do not. See, here is the list of those 
 I have already invited.^'
 
 208 MARION. 
 
 Marion took the list, and carefully read over 
 the names. 
 
 " Why, you seem to be better acquainted with 
 the names of my friends, Bessy, than I am my- 
 self; and yet there is one name that is not on 
 the list, and I wish you would invite the person. 
 I have met him frequently, and he has behaved 
 with great civility to me. I know of no way to 
 return it except by inviting him here. I will 
 take the invitation when you have filled it up, 
 and deliver it myself. Here is the name/^ And 
 Marion wrote in pencil upon a slip of paper, 
 "JohnO'Doemall/' 
 
 The name was transferred to an envelope, and 
 in the course of the day Marion delivered it to the 
 party for whom it was intended. He found Mr. 
 O^Doemall in his room at the City Hotel, for this 
 Irish gentleman never stopped at any place except 
 it was the first-class hotel. 
 
 As Mr. O'Doemall will be frequently introduced 
 into this local history, it will perhaps be as well 
 that I should give a brief narrative of his career 
 from the time he reached our hospitable American 
 shore, until he makes his appearance as one of the 
 leading characters in our story. 
 
 Ireland never sent to the United States a more
 
 MAP.IOX. 209 
 
 perfect gentleman than John O^Doemall. He 
 claimed to be an Irish peer, but in disguise. He 
 spoke the Spanish language as ^rell as English, 
 ■was really handsome, very aristocratic in his bear- 
 ing, dressed -^vell, had the manners and used 
 fluently the language of an educated gentleman. 
 He was a fascinating lady-killer. He could dis- 
 course of beautiful scenery, Moorish palaces, the 
 Alhambra, Mount Zion, and the river Jordan, 
 life in Spain, in Germany, France, Holland, 
 Greece, and the East, including Jerusalem, Grand 
 Cairo, and ]Mecca. There could be no doubt but 
 that Mr. O^Doemall had been a very great tra- 
 veller. Exclaim suddenly " Jack — you. Jack ! '' 
 and !Mr. O'Doemall would jump up hastily and 
 reply, *' Ay, ay, my Lord ! ^' This was tried on 
 frequently by doubtful people, who had heard of 
 this peculiar trait in this original Irish character. 
 There seemed no possible way of accounting for 
 it, except by surmising that gentlemanly Jack 
 had been, at no very remote period, a valet to 
 some Irish or English peer, and had travelled 
 with the said peer in those countries which Mr. 
 O'Doemall could talk so learnedly about. This 
 was probably the true secret of the former occupa- 
 tion of the Irish adventurer. Doubtless he had
 
 SIO MARION. 
 
 committed some rascality that had parted him 
 from his noble patrou, and rendered it necessary 
 that he should try the American continent. He 
 landed from a Liverpool packet ship of the Black 
 Ball line, but as his name never appeared in the 
 list of cabin passengers, it was reasonably sup- 
 posed that he came in the steerage. Before he 
 had been in New York a week, he could have 
 been found at the City Hotel, located in a com- 
 fortable apartment, and perfectly at home. 
 
 One day at dinner his agreeable, gentlemanly 
 language made an impression upon a neighbour 
 at the table, who formed one of a group of gen- 
 tlemen that were sipping their wine together after 
 most of the other diners had left the table. This 
 gentleman invited John to take a glass of wine 
 with him, and finally to draw his chair nearer and 
 join the drinking party. John cheerfully accepted 
 the invite, and before another hour had passed he 
 had made a still more decided impression upon 
 the individual alluded to. The conversation 
 became general, and John was brilliant. One of 
 the party having made a statement that any- 
 body could earn a living in this country, was 
 asked by John O^Doemall the following ques- 
 tion:
 
 MAKION. 211 
 
 '^ How can a reduced Irish gentleman earn an 
 honourable living ? ^' 
 
 " Easily enough ; provided he is not too proud 
 to take any situation that offers." 
 
 " What position could I get ? " asked John. 
 
 *^ I have but one that I could offer you/' was 
 the reply. '^ I keep a hotel at West Point, and I 
 need a bar-keeper.'^ 
 
 " And if you think I would suit you I accept 
 the situation/' said O'Doemall. 
 
 The bargain was concluded, and Mr. O'Doemall 
 received a sufficient sum to pay his hotel bill. The 
 next day he left the city in company with his new 
 employer, and before the week had passed he was 
 concocting drinks for the pupils of Uncle Samuel's 
 great military establishment near the Highlands. 
 
 This worthy hotel proprietor had a young and 
 very beautiful sister. Of course it was not long 
 before Mr. O'Doemall became acquainted with this 
 sister, and also with the fact that she I. ad the 
 snug little sum of ten thousand dollars in her own 
 right, which sum would become hers the very day 
 she married. What arts so accomplished a tra- 
 veller as Mr. O'Doemall used with a simple 
 country girl to fascinate her, it is needless to 
 mention. They can be easily guessed. How 
 
 p 2
 
 312 MARION. 
 
 quietly and how adroitly everything was managed 
 was wonderful. Had a thunderbolt pitched into 
 the brain of tlie worthy landlord, he could not 
 have been more astonished than when, one after- 
 noon, just as he was preparing to take a siesta 
 after dinner, his bar-keeper requested a private 
 interview. Somewhat astonished at the request, 
 the landlord complied. When they were alone, 
 Mr. O'Doemall remarked — 
 
 " I believe, sir, I have been with you three 
 months ? Perfectly satisfied with my manner of 
 performing my duties ? '^ 
 
 " I have no particular fault to find, Jack/^ said 
 Mr. Cozzens. 
 
 " Well, sir, I shall leave you in the down boat 
 this evening, and shall take my wife with me.^^ 
 
 ^^ Your wife ! I didn^t know you had a wife ! 
 Where the devil have you kept her ? ^' 
 
 " I have only been married about a week, sir. 
 Perhaps you will have the kindness to read this 
 certificate. It slightly concerns you, and when 
 you are satisfied, I shall expect some sort of 
 arrangement in reference to the trifling sum of 
 about ten thousand dollars that you are trustee 
 for, and I will henceforth reheve you of the duties 
 of trusteeship."
 
 MARION. 213 
 
 ^^ Intri Sluing, d scoundrel!^' was tlie only 
 
 comment uttered by the landlord, as he read the 
 certificate. '' Bring your wife liere immediately.^^ 
 
 "With pleasure." 
 
 The girl came. But why prolong such a scene? 
 The brother^s horror — a woman^s faith. O'Doe- 
 mall secured her property, had it placed in his 
 wife's hands, and a fev,- days after the husband 
 and wife came to Xew York. Before six months, 
 O'Doemall had the whole sum in a bank in bis 
 own name. He had wheedled his poor wife into 
 giving him the money. He took a store down 
 town, and commenced business as a wine mer- 
 chant. Before a year had expired, the poor wife 
 died in giving birth to a child. O'Doemall was 
 all right. He had secured the money safe by 
 proper deeds and gifts, and was now a regular 
 boarder at the City Hotel, as more than a year 
 bad elapsed since the death of his wife. 
 
 Had Marion Monck been aware of these in- 
 teresting antecedents, I question whether Mr. 
 O'Doemall would have been invited to his quiet 
 home. !}Jarion knew nothing of them. He had 
 first met O'Doemall at the rooms of Colonel Mac 
 Tseil. He had been introduced to him as a mer- 
 chant of capital, and he had perceived that he was
 
 214 MARION. 
 
 an agreeable man of the world. Mr. Nordheim 
 also associated with and recognized him, and be- 
 sides Mr. O'Doemall had bought of the firm a 
 large bill of wines, and he had paid the cash for 
 them. With such and other collateral evidences 
 of respectability, what occasion had Marion to 
 hesitate about introducing him to his home circle? 
 He had none.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Mrs. Nordheim gives a Party — Marion Monck is nineteen, 
 years old — John O'Doemall — James G. Bennett at a 
 Party — Henry W. Cedar — Mrs. Woodruff— Marion and 
 Isabella Granville — An Offer and an Acceptance — Secrecy 
 enjoined — An anecdote ot the Author's "lirst love." 
 
 The eventfal day arrived. ^Marion IMonck was 
 nineteen years old. He did not make his ap- 
 pearance that day at the office of Granville and 
 Nordheim, except for an hour or two in the morn- 
 ing, and he returned to Bond Street to assist 
 Bessy Xordheim, in the event of her needing 
 sucli assistance. 
 
 "Bessy, I have invited more people without 
 TOur permission.*' 
 
 " Pshaw ! what do I care for that ? I have 
 invited a few more than I had on my list. But 
 we have room — plenty of room, and I shall have a 
 gay, happy time of it. Our party will be a regular 
 old-fashioned party, Marion. I will not have 
 one uncomfortable, if I can help it. But pray, 
 Marion whom have vou invited ? "
 
 216 MARION. 
 
 '' Firstj Mr. John O'Doemall ; but you know 
 all about that. Next, a person connected with 
 the press — with one of the daily papers. He 
 is a young Scotchman, and used to live in 
 Charleston." 
 
 ^' That alone, to a Charleston girl, is almost a 
 sufficient letter of introduction, without any other. 
 What is his name ? " 
 
 "Bennett — James Gordon Bennett. I was 
 introduced to him at Mrs. Coffin's, the large 
 boarding-house on the corner of Broadway and 
 Wall Street, opposite Trinity Church. I like him 
 very much. He is quiet, very intelligent, and 
 you will be pleased with him, Bessy." 
 
 " Very likely. " Who else have you invited ? '' 
 
 " Then I frequent Ned Windusfs ' Shakespere,' 
 near the Park Theatre. I have invited two friends 
 from that region, although I had previously met 
 them both at Colonel Mac Neil's room, at the 
 City Hotel. They help fill up, and are perhaps 
 as much my friends as many others that will be 
 here. One is a literary man, named Cedar. He 
 writes for the Weekly Mirror, and for some of 
 the monthly journals, and he also writes novels. 
 He promised me one, which I will give to you 
 when I get it. The other is a young doctor and
 
 MARION. 217 
 
 surgeon, named Carnoclian. He is also Southron, 
 like YOU, only born in Florida instead of South 
 Carolina. He has been quite a traveller in 
 getting surgical kno^yledge. He studied in Scot- 
 land three years — in Paris he walked the hospitals 
 four years, and was several years the favourite 
 pupil of one of the first surgeons in this city — 
 Doctor Mott." 
 
 " Then I suppose he has a large practice." 
 " In playing billiards, I dare say yes ; but as 
 for private practice, I do not, Bessy, believe he 
 has a solitaiy patient in Isew York. He is a 
 gay man — good looking — rather careless — has a 
 prospect of property, and — well, I think he lives 
 ofi" those prospects, and a few dollars he gets now 
 and then from a rich uncle." 
 
 "I like him already. He must be an original; 
 and when night comes, if your three friends come 
 also, I will try and make them at home, and that 
 is all I can do. Have you no curiosity to know 
 who I have invited ? " 
 
 " To be sure I have. Do I know them ? " 
 '^ Yes and no. You have observed the wealthy 
 widow lady that lives next door to us." 
 
 " Certainly — Mrs. Woodruff is the name on 
 the silver door-plate. I am glad she is to be
 
 218 MARION. 
 
 here. Do you know I have a great admiration 
 for her? She lives so quiet, no noise, sees few 
 friends, has her pet rabbits, parroquets and par- 
 rots, mocking-birds, canaries, and dogs Why, I 
 have tried to steal her beautiful fawn-coloured 
 Itahan greyhound half a dozen times, but I did 
 not like to be so unneighbourly.^^ 
 
 " I am glad that you are pleased with my in- 
 viting her, for you will share the responsibility of 
 the act with me to Mr. Nordheim. I do not 
 know how it is, but on one or two occasions 
 when I have mentioned the name of our lady-like 
 neighbour in his hearing, he has turned up his 
 nose one degree more, and then followed such a 
 curious expression upon his face, that I asked 
 him once if he knew any harm of Mrs. Wood- 
 ruff." 
 
 " Pray, what reply did he make ? " 
 
 "Nordheim said he did not know any harm of 
 her, on the contrary, that he believed she was 
 highly connected, and that her husband was a 
 man of great genius, and died wealthy, leaving 
 her a princely fortune and no children." 
 
 " She has some of the handsomest equipages in 
 town call at her door," observed Marion. 
 
 "That is true. We have occasionally spoken
 
 MARION. 219 
 
 when we liave met at the door ; and this morning 
 I boldly asked her to be present this evening, and 
 she accepted. In addition, I have invited Mr. 
 and Mrs. Parker and their beautiful niece Julia. 
 They live up the street, and called upon me and 
 Mr. Nordheim yesterday. They are immensely 
 rich, have retired from business, and are very 
 desirable people to know. Mrs. Parker prides 
 herself upon being one of the principal leaders of 
 fashion. She is only twenty-five years old, while 
 he is fifty if he is a day. The niece is but seven- 
 teen. But who is ringing away at that door-bell ? 
 Is there nobody to answer it ? Go, Marion, to 
 the door yourself." 
 
 Marion went and opened the door, and re- 
 turned, leading by the hand Isabella Granville. 
 The look of intense admiration with which Marion 
 gazed at the beautiful girl, whose hair fell over 
 her face, her cheeks red with excitement, and her 
 eyes dancing ^Yitb joy, was not lost upon Bessy 
 Nordheim. She was rather cool at first, but it 
 did not last long. 
 
 " I have come to help you, dear Mrs. Nordheim. 
 Papa said I might come, and I will do all in my 
 power to relieve you of your care about the 
 party," said Isabella.
 
 S20 MARION. 
 
 "Thank you_, Isa; but I must be at work, so I 
 "svill leave you and Marion to amuse each other/' 
 
 Mrs. Nordheim left the parlour to go and look 
 after the servants. Poor Marion. Isabella Gran- 
 ville took off her bonnet, then her shawl, and 
 then Marion seated himself by her side. They 
 chatted and laughed, and finally Isabella ad- 
 journed to the piano, played several favourite airs, 
 and sang the words. Marion stood by and drank 
 in every note. Isabella looked up at him, when 
 she had finished. "Isa.'^ It was all he said, 
 and then he took her hand in his, and led her 
 back to the sofa. He put his arm around her 
 waist, and again repeated, "Isa, I love you.'^ 
 She did not make any reply, but leaned her head 
 over on his shoulder. The perfume of her hair 
 almost took away his breath. He kissed her 
 forehead, and then, more bold, he pressed her 
 pouting, cherry-ripe lips — not once, but a dozen 
 times. 
 
 Mrs. Bessy Nordheim, where were you all this 
 while ? Down in the kitchen — the perspiration 
 pouring out of your face, as you gave hurried 
 directions about the baking and cooking arrange- 
 ments; and he for whom you were making all 
 these extra preparations, was only over your head,
 
 MARION'. 221 
 
 giving away his first, his puppy love, to a silly 
 little coquette, who did not know her own mind 
 five minutes. 
 jX] '' Isa, I love you. Do you love me in return ?^^ 
 
 " Oh, yes, very much indeed. I love you a 
 great deal more than I ever did Frank Clacksome, 
 or that stupid William Senless, although I did 
 love them once, but I don^t now. I have loved 
 you ever since — let me see — ever since my mother 
 died. But you must not tell anybody that I love 
 you," simpered Isabella. 
 
 " Of course, dear Isa, you will let me speak to 
 your father and " said Marion, earnestly. 
 
 '' Oh, no. Certainly not. The idea of such a 
 thing is perfectly frightful ! Why, he would lock 
 me up, beat me — I don't know what he wouldn^t 
 do. He would very likely make me marry Mid- 
 dleton Benson at an hour^s notice, as he tried to 
 make Walter marry his sister, and you know I 
 could not run away and go to sea, as Walter did. 
 Now don't look so cross, Marion," was Isabella's 
 reply. 
 
 Marion smiled, and told Isabella that he thought 
 she was alarmed without cause. '^ Why should 
 your father object to me? I am only nineteen, it 
 is true, but you are very young. We can wait.
 
 222 MARION. 
 
 dear Isa. However, I will do as you wish ; but 
 will you promise to marry me when your father 
 gives his consent ? '' 
 
 " To be sure I will. But then you are not to 
 ask him^ and not to say a word to a soul alive 
 until I tell you that you may. I will be very 
 angry if you do/^ observed Isabella. 
 
 Marion promised. All further conversation 
 was interrupted by the entrance of Mrs. Nord- 
 heim, who was too much excited by her culinary 
 troubles to give any heed or even to notice the 
 sheepish looks of the two young friends. She 
 called upon Isabella to go upstairs with her, and 
 Marion was alone. It was his first love. There 
 was a pretty face, his employer's daughter, and 
 imagination must do the rest. He thought Isabella 
 perfection itself; but he was only nineteen years 
 old, and as ignorant of the sort of partuer he had 
 been making love to as though he had never seen 
 her. Youth must love something. If it is not a 
 reality, it will be an ideality. I well remember 
 that my first love was a young girl that I first 
 saw in St. George's Church. I attended that 
 church in Beekman Street two years for no other 
 earthly or heavenly purpose except to see her 
 every Sunday. I did not know her name even.
 
 :siAiiioN. 333 
 
 Then I went to the East Indies — to Canton — was 
 gone a year. Eight months of that period I was 
 at sea^ and I walked the deck at night and in- 
 dulged in thoughts of her. I dreamed of her. All 
 my aspirations of future success in life were as- 
 sociated with her. When I returned, I hurried 
 to that church, for it was Sunday morning when 
 I landed from my Canton voyage. I found her 
 there. That Sunday I cultivated the sexton, and 
 ascertained her name, and where her parents 
 lived. It was opposite St. John's Park. There, 
 for weeks, after dark, I used to go and sit on the 
 stone foundation of the iron railing, and look at 
 the house that contained the object of my admira- 
 tion, and so four years passed. Then I com- 
 menced sending her anonymous but costly pre- 
 sents. I wrote her poetry, and used up another 
 year, but no hope dawned. I began to see day- 
 lio-ht. I had lent two hundred doUars to a 
 wretched cousin of my fair flame, and he agreed 
 to introduce me to the family. "^Mien?"' I 
 asked. *' One of the daughters is to be married 
 next week, and I will get you an invitation.'' 
 " Capital,'' I replied. " But what is the name of 
 the daughter that is to be married?" I asked, 
 with a shiver. " Susan," was the reply. The
 
 224 MAKION. 
 
 universe seemed to me to have capsized for about five 
 minutes. ^' Susan '^ was the name of the daughter 
 that I had so long loved, and that I had regarded 
 as my wife. She was to marry, and did marry, a 
 man named Wilson. I Lave hated that name 
 ever since. I contemplated having Susan arrested 
 for spiritual bigamy ; but was too much occupied 
 to commence proceedings. Then, again, as I had 
 never spoken a word to her in my life, it made it 
 so odd. 
 
 That was my first love — my puppy love — and it 
 was deep in the heart. Susan has children — ay, 
 grandchildren — now, but I never see her in the 
 street, meet her in church, but soft, pleasant 
 memories will steal over me of my long-tried love. 
 The only thing painful about it is that I did not 
 say something to Susan at the time. It was all 
 one side. I ought to have let her know some- 
 thing about it, and the chances are decidedly in 
 favour of the supposition that the abominable, 
 plodding "Wilson, that made my Susan Mrs. W., 
 would have been nowhere. 
 
 But to return to Marion Monck. He was 
 obhged to fall in love with somebody or some- 
 thing. He was honest as the day was long. He 
 would not commit a wrong. He liked Bessy
 
 MARION. 225 
 
 Nordheim. He never dreamed of loving her, 
 because she was his employer's wife ; and for 
 want of a better real to his ideal in soul, he fell in 
 love with Isabella Granville. She remained until 
 afternoon in Bond Street, and then Marion ac- 
 companied her home to State Street, where she 
 went to dress to return to the party that evening. 
 That party must commence another chapter.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The Evening Party comes off at Mrs. J^ordheim's — The 
 Guests — Mr. Bennett's Conversation — Mr. and Mrs. 
 Parker and niece Julia — Old John Grasper, the Mil- 
 lionaire — Col. Mac Neil and Miss Irene Grasper — Mr. 
 Bennett's Family, and Birth-place in Scotland — Col. 
 Mac Neil offers his hand to Miss Grasper, is accepted 
 by her, and rejected by her Father — ''No man is rich 
 enough to support two families" — Mrs. "Woodruff's Resi- 
 dence — Her horses and carriages — Her Pew in Grace 
 Church, and her Piety — The Count Falsechinski at the 
 Party — He offers to go to Church — The Party breaks up. 
 
 There was a vast difference between an even- 
 ing party thirty years ago, and now. In those 
 days, the hour in the evening when the guests 
 assembled at the hospitable mansion was much 
 earlier, and the hour when the party dissolved 
 was not later than midnight. The refreshments 
 were of a different order. Then there were the 
 solid, old-fashioned mahogany sideboards, filled 
 with good things, and covered with substan- 
 tial eatables and drinkables. There was choice 
 old Southside Madeira, that had been in cask 
 forty years. There was old cider for old-
 
 :maeion. 227 
 
 fashioned people, and quantities of cut glass 
 dishes overloaded with cracked hickory nuts. 
 Rhode Island Greenings and Spitzbergen apples 
 were piled up on famous large crockery open- 
 work dishes, and the young people could eat nuts 
 and do courting at the aforesaid sideboards. 
 Then the supper was a substantial supper, with 
 oysters done in every style, and cold turkey and 
 chicken, and knives and forks and plates, and 
 above all, room for all the guests to partake of 
 the good cheer in comfort. There was a room 
 for the supper. There was room for those who 
 danced, and room for those who played whist, or 
 wished to converse. 
 
 Those were good old days, but they have 
 changed for the worse. Few of our readers but 
 what know from personal experience the diffe- 
 rence between such a party as we have described, 
 and one in the modern times, when all is heart- 
 lessness, clap-trap and show. 
 
 Before eight o'clock on the evening of Marion 
 Monck's birthday, the two large parlours of Mr. 
 Nordheim's spacious residence in Bond Street 
 were pai'tly but not uncomfortably filled with the 
 persons to whom invitations had been sent. 
 There was not one missing. 
 
 q2
 
 22S' MARION. 
 
 Mr. Nordheim could act the gentleman when 
 he chose to do so, and on this occasion he spared 
 no pains to make every one feel at home. His 
 partner, William Pitt Granville, and Isabella, 
 were among the first to arrive ; and soon after, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tom Granville, acccompanied by- 
 Miss Madison Pinckney, were announced. Tom 
 had no sooner entered than he was hurried to the 
 piano by Miss Benson, who knew how delight- 
 fully Tom played upon that instrument. Colonel 
 Benson joined Pitt Granville, and with Colonel 
 Mac Neil and Mr. Cedar the author, a whist 
 party was made up. 
 
 Marion did the honours to a certain extent, for 
 as fast as those arrived to whom he had specially 
 given invitations, and who Avere personally un- 
 known to Mrs. Nordheim, he presented them by 
 name to the latter lady. Mr. Bennett and Mr. 
 "Wilson came in together, and after the former 
 had been presented to the hostess, he retired 
 quietly to an ottoman in a corner of the room, 
 and there remained until Mr. Wilson went and 
 took a seat by his side. 
 
 "1 suppose you will join the dancers pre- 
 sently,'^ said honest Wilson. 
 
 "No, indeed. I don't dance. I prefer look-
 
 SIARION. 229 
 
 ing on. It is very rare that I go out to a party, 
 and when I do I have my own way of enjoying 
 myself. As you seem to know most of the people 
 here, you will confer a great favour upon me if 
 you will tell me all about them. I am very fond 
 of studying characters, and I am much deceived 
 if you have not some originals here to-night. 
 Mrs. Nordheim is a beautiful woman — which is 
 her husband ? " asked Mr. Bennett. 
 
 "That Jewish-looking man talking with Mr. 
 Thomas Granville,^^ replied Mr. "Wilson. 
 
 " Fve seen him before. I conversed with his 
 lady a few moments about Charleston; I must 
 have seen him at the South," was INIr. Bennett^s 
 observation. 
 
 *' Yery likely : and Mr. Nordheim is a man, 
 that if you see him once, you are not likely to 
 forget him. He is not remarkable for his beauty, 
 but he is clever in a financial point of view," said 
 Wilson. 
 
 Here INIr. and Mrs. Parker and Miss Julia 
 Parker were announced, and soon after were cordi- 
 ally received by the host and hostess. The latter 
 introduced Marion, and he offered his arm to 
 conduct Miss Julia to a seat. Mrs. Parker and 
 her husband followed. Soon after, Mr. Nord-
 
 S50 MARION. 
 
 heim, accompanied by Mr. O'Doemall, introduced 
 him to Mrs. Parker^ and the husband went off 
 to find Mr. Granville, who was an old acquain- 
 tance. These parties are disposed of, and we 
 now return to Mr. Bennett and Mr. Wilson. 
 Mr. Bennett remarked, 
 
 "Those last arrivals seem to create quite a 
 sensation; who are they, Mr. Wilson?" 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Parker is as rich as Crcesus — retired 
 from all sorts of business, married a handsome 
 wife only one third as old as he is, and they live 
 up the street in princely style,^' y»'as the reply of 
 Mr. Wilson. 
 
 Their daughter is an elegant girl,^^ said Mr. 
 Bennett. 
 
 " She is only a niece, and the aunt is very 
 jealous of her. Do you see that nice young man 
 who is paying such devoted attention to Mrs. 
 Parker ?^' asked Mr. Wilson. 
 
 " Yes ; who is he ? ^^ asked Mr. Bennett. 
 
 Mr. Wilson rolled up his eyes as he replied, 
 "From all accounts, he is a hard case, in a finan- 
 cial point of view. I don't know much about 
 him. He is able to make the female sex believe 
 black is white, and — well, in a financial point of 
 view, he is said to be a regular Jeremy D idler.
 
 MAEION. 331 
 
 He goes on 'Change, and he gets into scciety 
 somewhere or other^ and no Englishman of any 
 account comes to this to^yn but what Mr. O^Do- 
 emall gets into his good graces. Why, man, I 
 don't beheve but what he owes every hotel in 
 town except the one where he resides. He comes 
 to our office occasionally, but I don't like him. 
 
 Mr. Bennett smiled, and observed, '•' He seems 
 to be making himself very agreeable to Mrs. 
 Parker." 
 
 " He make himself agreeable ! Why, sir, he 
 has already explained to her all about our 
 Saviour's tomb at Jerusalem, and promised her 
 a fragment of the rock which covered our Sa- 
 viour's sepulchre, which he has at his hotel, and 
 which he got from a monk when he was last in 
 the Holy Land. Ill bet two to one that she has 
 'already invited him to call to-morrow with it at 
 her residence," said Wilson. 
 
 " Do you suppose he has a piece of the rock ? " 
 "Eock be hanged. No; doubtful if he was 
 ever nearer Jerusalem than I have been. As 
 for the rock, he will smash a piece off the curb- 
 stone as he goes up to her house, and take it 
 along with him. He is a bad customer, in a 
 financial point of view, and if he once gets a
 
 233 MAKION. 
 
 foothold in the house of Mrs. Parker, she will 
 never get him out/^ said honest Wilson. 
 
 Mr. Bennett queried out of the book-keeper 
 the name and occupation of nearly every person 
 in that room, and then they left it together to 
 join the dancers, who were busily occupied on 
 the floor above. They had hardly procured seats 
 before Mr. Bennett was much struck by the 
 ;appearance of an elderly person who was watching 
 :the dancers. He asked Wilson who that was. 
 
 *' Old Grasper, the millionaire," was the reply. 
 
 In those days, thirty years ago, millionaires 
 -were very few and far between in the city of New 
 York. Now, they are as plenty as pickpockets 
 dn a great assemblage. Old John Grasper was 
 /considered about as rich as any other man, with 
 ^ne, or perhaps two exceptions. Astor could set 
 several numerals to the word millions. Old Xat 
 Prime, of the firm of Prime, Ward, and King, was 
 getting up rapidly towards a million, and would 
 have overreached it by the rise of city property 
 had he not died suddenly. Then there was 
 Stephen Whitney, who was running up on the 
 hundreds of thousands, but did not touch " mil- 
 lion." Thirty years ago Bobby Lennox, who 
 made his first property while a clerk to the
 
 ^lAEION. -SSS 
 
 Commissioners of the British Prison Ships, could 
 count up to three or four hundred thousand, and 
 John Grasper was not far behind the richest of 
 them (save Astor) in those days. He had re- 
 cently built him a house out of town, of granite, 
 and people wondered at such extravagance and 
 folly as to put up so costly a building way up 
 Broadway, above Prince Street. But old John 
 finished it, and in spite of opposition moved into 
 it from his brick house on the north-east corner, 
 where the Astor House now stands, and took a 
 position as one of the aristocratic families in New 
 York. He had two children — one a boy and the 
 other a girl, or rather, these children were a 
 voung man named Francis, who sported his 
 money around town as one of the exclusives, and 
 a fair girl named Irene, who, with her pecuniary 
 prospects so flattering, was acknowledged as one 
 of the elite and most fashionable young ladies 
 about town. Old Grasper had other children, 
 but they have no connection with this story, and 
 need not to be alluded to. Mr. Grasper was a 
 man of strict business habits. He had acquired 
 property in the fur trade, and he judiciously 
 invested it in real estate and bank stock. After 
 he retired from active commercial life he was
 
 234 MARION. 
 
 elected president of a city bank. The position 
 was a respectable one, and the income from this 
 office was well worth having by even one of the 
 richest citizens. 
 
 On the present occasion old Mr. Grasper was 
 watching every movement of his daughter Irene, 
 who was dancing with Colonel Mac Neil. His 
 eyes scarce wandered for a moment from them. 
 Mr. Bennett and Wilson took seats near him. 
 
 '^ So, that is old Grasper, who is so rich — the 
 millionaire, as you say, INIr. Wilson,^^ said Mr. 
 Bennett. 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Bennett ; and judging by the way 
 he is watching the attentions of Colonel Mac Neil 
 to his child, I should think something was broke. 
 He evidently don^t like Colonel Mac NeiPs sweet 
 demonstrations upon his daughter — it is bad in a 
 financial point of view ; for my own opinion of 
 Colonel Mac is that he is not worth a cent. 
 
 " He may be a good man, for all that. Scotch 
 — is he not ? ^' replied Mr. Bennett. 
 
 '' Yes, sir. He might be a good man, but 
 he is not in a financial or any other point of 
 view. He is a very immoral man. But you are 
 Scotch too, are you not ? '^ asked Mr. Wilson. 
 
 " I certainly was born in Scotland, and lived
 
 MARION. 235 
 
 there -antil I was sixteen, when I came to this 
 country, and have been here ever since. I am 
 from a different part of Scotland than where 
 this Mac Neil's race lived. My family were 
 Catholic Scotch, and believed in the Divine 
 rights of the Stuarts down to this day. My 
 mother was as strongly in favour of the Stuart 
 dynasty as were her ancestors before her, 
 although years had passed since there was the 
 remotest hope of any of that royal race ever 
 reigning again in Great Britain. But tell me 
 more about this Colonel Mac Neil. You say 
 that he is immoral. How so ? Gambles, I sup- 
 pose ? " asked Mr. Bennett. 
 
 ". Worse than that. He seduced, in Canada, a 
 virtuous young lady, named Jane McPherson. 
 She was a soldier's daughter. I have seen the 
 poor old father, McPherson. He came down to 
 New York to try and persuade his child to return 
 home. But no — she would not do it. She loves 
 Mac Neil too well. She lives very retired, and 
 has two children. Poor thing ! She hopes some 
 day that Mac Neil will make an honest woman 
 of her by marriage. There is no hope of that — 
 the Colonel must marry for money, and he will 
 do it, too, if he can."
 
 236 MARION. 
 
 While this conversation was being carried on^ 
 the object of it was deeply engrossed with Miss 
 Irene Grasper. They had finished dancing, and 
 Colonel Mac Neil conducted his fair partner to 
 one of the side rooms. They were alone. Irene 
 Grasper was a magnificent girl, stately in appear- 
 ance, with a profusion of light auburn locks ar- 
 ranged with great taste. Her cheeks were pale 
 — her eyes a mild blue. When she was seated 
 where few were likely to interrupt them^ Mac 
 Neil took one hand in his own, and in deep im- 
 passioned tones observed, 
 
 " You know, dear Irene, how devotedly — how 
 madly I have loved you. To-night I must know 
 from your own lips my fate. You must have 
 perceived how closely your father watched every 
 motion while we were dancing. Do you love me, 
 Irene ? " 
 
 " O, Colonel, how can you ask me such a 
 question? You know that I do. How could I 
 help it, although I have tried to do so ? '^ replied 
 the lady. 
 
 " Tried to help loving me, Irene ! What do 
 you mean by that sentence ? Why do you wish 
 not to love me ? ^^ asked Colonel Mac Neil. 
 
 " I do — God knows I do. O, Colonel, there
 
 MARION. 237 
 
 are so many stories told about you — so many 
 lies, perhaps scandal — and yet I am afraid almost 
 to dream of trusting my happiness in your 
 keeping." 
 
 " Do you confess that you love me, Irene ? " 
 asked Colonel Mac Xeil. 
 
 '* I do/^ replied the fair girl, her eyes swimming 
 in tears. 
 
 " And uill you authorize me to make that 
 statement to your father, when I ask him for 
 your hand, which I will do to-night ? '' said the 
 Colonel. 
 
 '^ O, do not ! He will not give his consent, 
 and I shall be more miserable than ever,^^ said 
 Irene. 
 
 " That, dear Irene, we shall see. There can 
 be no great harm in my asking. I owe it to my- 
 self — to my own self-respect. Why should he not 
 give his consent ? I am his equal, except per- 
 haps in point of wealth, and of that he may have 
 more than I." 
 
 What reply the young lady might have made is 
 not so certain, for just at that moment Mr. Gras- 
 per the millionaire made his appearance upon the 
 scene. Colonel Mac Neil arose. 
 
 " Be seated, sir; and you, Miss Irene, go and
 
 238 MAEION. 
 
 join your motlier. I would like to say a few 
 words to you, sir/^ observed Mr. Grasper. 
 
 Colonel Mac Neil rose and bowed to Miss 
 Irene as she left the room, and then re-seated 
 himself. 
 
 " I am waiting patiently to hear the Words you 
 mentioned that you wished to address to me," 
 said Colonel Mac Neil. 
 
 " Colonel Mac Neil, you have been very pointed 
 in your attentions to my daughter of late, and 
 especially to-night. I am a plain man, sir, and 
 should like to ask you what are your intentions 
 towards her ? " demanded old Mr. Grasper. 
 
 " Honourable, of course, sir. I would like to 
 see that person who dared say or hint otherwise ! " 
 said Colonel Mac Neil. 
 
 " O — ah — yes. That is all very well, sir. 
 Honourable — that means marriage. That is just 
 what I clont want. I had just as lief your inten- 
 tions were what you would call <^is -honourable. 
 It would suit me as well,''^ sternly observed Mr. 
 Grasper. 
 
 "Mr. Grasper, I thank you for opening the 
 way to a proposal I have to make. I love your 
 daughter. You need not sneer, sir. I love her 
 for herself alone. You may think I seek her
 
 MARION. 239 
 
 hand in honourable marriage because she is the 
 daughter of a wealthy man. It is false, sir ! I 
 care not for her money. She loves me, sir, and 
 will confess it with her own lips, if you will ask 
 her/' said the Colonel. 
 
 " Shan't do anything of the kind. I will not 
 consent to your marrying her under any circum- 
 stances. If you take her, curse me if I ever 
 give her, directly or indirectly, dead or alive, a 
 solitary cent to keep her or you from starv- 
 ing. Do I speak plain ? '' sternly observed Mr. 
 Grasper. 
 
 " Perfectly ; but really, Mr. Grasper, some ex- 
 planation is necessary. I have a good business. 
 I can support my wife. My position in society is 
 equal, to yours. By birth, I am at least your 
 equal. Pray, Mr. Grasper, give me some reason 
 for so extraordinary a refusal to my proposition. 
 I am no beggar ! '' 
 
 " Do you wish me to give you the reason — mv 
 real reason? " asked Mr. Grasper. 
 
 "^ I do, most respectfully,^-' replied Colonel ]\Iac 
 Neil. 
 
 " And, Mr. Mac Keil, if I do, and if it is satis- 
 factory, will you promise me, as a man of honour, 
 that you will go to my daughter, and sav to her
 
 240' MAEION. 
 
 that you relinquish her affections, and all claim 
 to her hand ? '^ asked Mr. Grasper. 
 
 ''I will, upon my honour. And now let me 
 hear, if you please, the reason," said the Colonel. 
 
 " Colonel Mac Neil, you may be doing a good 
 business — you may be making money — I care 
 not. I do not believe you or any other man is 
 doing a business sufficient to justify him in at- 
 tempting to support tic families." 
 
 Colonel Mac Neil was for a moment paralysed. 
 He was not prepared for this. " Stop one mo- 
 ment, sir — I am satisfied." 
 
 Mr. Grasper passed out of the room. 
 
 "What a fool I have been! Who, in the 
 fiend's name, could have told him that I kept a 
 mistress, and had two children by her ? That is 
 what he meant. Well, I am as proud as he is/^ 
 
 A moment after he joined Miss Grasper, and 
 addressed her as easily as though nothing had 
 happened. Ere he left her side, he said, 
 
 '^ Irene, we meet hereafter as strangers. Your 
 father has refused me your hand. I am satisfied, 
 and shall never claim it again. God bless you ! '' 
 And soon after he took his leave of Mrs. Nord- 
 heim, and left the house. 
 
 Mr. Bennett had noticed some of these pro-
 
 MARION. 241 
 
 ceedings, and when Colonel MacNeil took his 
 hasty departure, he gently nudged Mr. Wilson, 
 remarking, " My Scotch friend, the Colonel, seems 
 to have had a rebuff from some quarter.'^ 
 
 " Indeed he has. I overheard a few high words 
 between him and old Grasper a short time ago, 
 and I tliink the Colonel will haul off in that 
 quarter." 
 
 He communicated to Mr. Bennett the ''two 
 families to support " remark. The latter laughed, 
 and said he had not thought Mr. Grasper had so 
 much keen wit in his composition. 
 
 " It was not bad, was it ? " said Mr. Wilson. 
 
 Marion Monck was not idle for a moment. 
 He introduced such people to each other as he 
 thought would make agreeable acquaintances. 
 Such of his friends as were bashful he led up 
 to the prettiest girls, and made them select part- 
 ners for the dance. At last he approached Mr. 
 Bennett. 
 
 "Come, come, sir, this will not do. Why, you 
 are destroying Mr. Wilson's usefulness, and it 
 don't pay in a pecuniary point of view — eh, Mr. 
 Wilson ? What can you two have to say to each 
 other of so much interest? Mr. Wilson, you 
 must take down Mrs. Nordheim to supper to-night, 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 MARION. 
 
 and as to Mr. Bennett, I must trust Mm to take 
 charge of my sweet Isabella Granville. Consider 
 yourselves engaged, both Monsieurs, when the 
 proper time comes/^ and he passed on and joined 
 Mrs. Woodruff, who was seated alone. 
 
 "That Marion Monck is a noble fellow, Mr. 
 Bennett. What do you think of him ? You have 
 known him some time, he informs me." 
 
 '^ For some months. He came up to the edi- 
 torial rooms of the Courier to see Colonel Webb 
 one day, and I then had a short conversation with 
 him. I have since met him at my boarding- 
 house," was Mr. Bennett's reply. 
 
 " He will make a great merchant one of these 
 days, I am thiuking," added Mr. Wilson. 
 
 " I have my doubts about that. I do not think 
 he will make a great merchant, nor a small one, 
 either. He has talent of a high order, and fitted 
 for a higher sphere, or I am much mistaken," 
 observed Mr. Bennett. 
 
 " Higher sphere ! " repeated the indignant 
 Wilson; "what higher sphere is there in New 
 York, I should like to know ? " 
 
 " I don't wish to be rude, but I think to be an 
 editor requires a higher order of talent than it 
 does to make a successful shop-keeper, or — I beg
 
 MARION. 243 
 
 your pardon — a leading merchant. Young Monck, 
 I dare say, has never written a line in his life, yet 
 I think some day he will make a clever journalist. 
 He will^ if he can write as well as he talks — but 
 time makes strange changes.^' 
 
 Time proved it^ for what that editor prophesied 
 became true in after years, to a far greater ex- 
 tent than even he dreamed of at that early 
 period. 
 
 Marion was deeply engaged in conversation 
 with Mrs. Woodruff. She seemed grateful for 
 his attention. '^ I feel almost isolated here to- 
 night, knowing so few ; in fact, none except the 
 inmates of this house, by seeing you pass in and 
 out of the doors,^^ was her remark. 
 
 "You have resided next door to us over a 
 year, have you not ? I have always admired 
 that house — it is at least one-third deeper 
 than our house, and the yard is larger, and 
 very beautifully arranged with trees, plants, 
 and flowers. You must be fond of liowers, 
 madam ? " 
 
 ''Very, indeed. I love them. My husband 
 has been dead some years, and, but for my pets, 
 and my flowers, I should not know what to do,^^ 
 replied Mrs. Woodruff". 
 
 R 2
 
 244 MARION. 
 
 " Have you no relatives living "vvitli you ? " 
 asked Marion. 
 
 " Not one. I have done with them, and they 
 with me. Not a soul lives with me except my 
 servants and my live stock. I have many acquain- 
 tances who call upon me, but they are of the 
 highest character. Mr. Monck, I shall be most 
 happy to have you call and see me whenever it is 
 convenient. I am rarely out. If I have com- 
 pany, it need not discompose you. T shall have 
 a parlour for you, no matter how many may be in 
 the house. I never show one of my visitors into 
 the same parlour where there is another/' re- 
 marked Mrs. Woodruff, proudly. 
 
 Marion thought this was a queer sort of 
 woman; but as she was rich she had a right 
 to be as eccentric as she pleased. He answered, 
 that he should avail himself [of her kind invita- 
 tion. 
 
 " One word more. When you wish to ride, I 
 have a carriage and servants at your disposal. 
 My stable and carriage -house are in the rear of 
 my house in Bond Street. I hope you go to 
 church,^' was the word more of Mrs. W. 
 " Occasionally,^^ replied Marion. 
 "You ought to go every Sunday. Rehgion is
 
 MAEIOX. 245 
 
 an excellent thing for a young man or woman. 
 It keeps the minds of both occupied and out of 
 miscliief. Will you go to church with me next 
 Sunday ?'' 
 
 '^ What church ? " asked Marion. 
 
 " I own a pew in Grace Church, down Broad- 
 way, corner of Rector. We will ride down in 
 my own carriage. Dr. Wainwright is my pastor," 
 said Mrs. W. 
 
 "Nothing will give me more pleasure. Per- 
 haps Mrs. Nordheim " observed ^Marion 
 
 Monck. 
 
 " Stop, stop. I never ask women to go with 
 me anywhere. I shall be happy to have you go. 
 You will be obliged to return without me, as it is 
 sacrament Sunday. Who is that gentleman con- 
 versing with Mrs. Thomas Granville ? " said 
 Mrs. Woodruff. 
 
 "That? Why, that is the Count False- 
 chinski.^' 
 
 " Tell me all about him. I am anxious to 
 know his history .^^ 
 
 Marion complied with her request, and told 
 her all he knew of the Count, except one or two 
 matters that he had no right to tell. 
 
 "Thank you; thank you. Now, will you do
 
 246 MARION. 
 
 me one favour more ? Bring the Count here and 
 introduce him to me.'^ 
 
 Marion stepped across the room, and, after 
 talking a few moments to the eager Count, telling 
 him about the rich lady next door, and so forth, 
 he took his arm and brought him over. "Madam 
 Woodruff, allow me to present to you my noble 
 friend the Count Falsechinski. I will leave him 
 with you/^ 
 
 The Count became almost excruciatingly polite. 
 He bowed almost to his knees, and placed one 
 hand on his heart, while he declared that he was 
 perfectly overwhelmed with bhss at becoming 
 acquainted with so perfect a lady — that she re- 
 minded him of his sister (he was too polite to 
 say mother), the Princess Sophinski, the most 
 beautiful woman in Warsaw before the recent 
 revolution. All the extra touches were put on by 
 the Count. 
 
 " No more. No more, Count. I cannot bear 
 it. There — stop, and sit right down, or you will 
 hurt yourself.^' The Count took a seat by her 
 side. "There, that is right. You are a dear, 
 good Count, and we shall like each other much, 
 when we are better acquainted.'' 
 
 What passed after that between the two last-
 
 MARION. 247 
 
 named persons it is not necessary to recount. 
 Suffice it to say here that Mrs. Woodruff showed 
 the same anxiety about the piety of the Count, 
 and repeated the same invitation she had given to 
 Marion. 
 
 Here supper was announced, and the Count 
 offered his arm and escort. The other guests 
 were suitably arranged, and before ten o'clock all 
 were at the supper-table, and ere midnight the 
 regular occupants of the house were left in it 
 alone.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Miss Norris and her Teacher of Languages — She Threatens 
 Mr. Nordheim — Gives the Count a Fearful History of the 
 Antecedents of Mrs. "Woodruff — The Yalue of Mr. Cedar's 
 Note or Draft upon his Publishers — Doctor Carnochan — 
 The Difference between a German and a Dutchman. 
 
 Not many days after the party in Bond Street, 
 the Count Falsechinski called in Broome Street to 
 give a lesson in German to Miss Norris. He 
 found Tom Granville there. 
 
 '^ Tom/^ said Clara, " I ^ish to see the Count 
 alone this morning — so, be so obliging and take 
 yourself somewhere else. Money you cannot 
 get from me to-day, nor to-morrow, either — it 
 would do you no good. Go to your brother." 
 
 " But you have money of mine in — " com- 
 menced poor Tom. 
 
 " Stop — no more of that, or I will forbid you 
 the house. I do not owe you a dollar. You put 
 some in my hands, but you have drawn it all," 
 said Clara.
 
 MARION-. 249 
 
 " Surely I have not had — " again commenced 
 Tom. 
 
 ''Never mind whether you have had it or not. 
 I don't keep accounts. I have not got any of it, 
 and if you have not spent it, I have ; so there is 
 no more to be said about it. Now go, that is a 
 good boy," and she rose and gently pushed him 
 out of the room and locked the door. "Now, 
 Count, I have got rid of that poor foolish youth, 
 I wish to talk with you. You are a man. I un- 
 derstand you perfectly, and I tell you candidly, 
 I admire you very much. Hawks must not pick 
 out hawks^ eyes. So you were at the party at 
 Mrs. Nordheim's ? Never say a word until I 
 finish. Mr. Nordheim was all attention to Mrs. 
 Tom Granville. Don't shake your head. I know 
 better. But what do I care? As long as he 
 allows me what I need, he may do what else he 
 pleases ; and let the funds stop but a day, an hour, 
 aye, a quarter of a moment, and Mr. Nordheim 
 and me part company for ever. Tell me all that 
 you know about Mrs. Woodruff.'' 
 
 This was a subject upon which the Count wil- 
 lingly enlarged, and he gave a glowing descrip- 
 tion of the rich widow, her splendid mansion, 
 coach, servants in livery, and pew in Grace Church.
 
 250 MARION. 
 
 " Did Mr. Nordheim speak to her when she was 
 at the party of his wife ? '^ asked Miss Norris. 
 
 " I don^t think he did. No. I am sure he 
 did not." 
 
 " The arch-hypocrite ! Did Mrs. Woodruff 
 become personally acquainted with other persons 
 at the party besides you and my friend Marion ? '' 
 asked Miss Norris. 
 
 " Oh, yes, to be sure -, with many/' rephed the 
 Count. 
 
 '^Name them, every one, male and female,^' 
 said Clara. 
 
 '^ She talked with Miss Irene Grasper, with 
 Mrs. Parker, and her niece, Miss Julia, and she 
 was also introduced to Mr. Doemall, an Irish 
 gentleman. Some say he is a peer,^^ replied the 
 Count. 
 
 " Are those all ? " demanded Miss Norris. 
 
 '^ Upon my honour. Mademoiselle Norris, I 
 think those I have named are all," was the Count's 
 reply. 
 
 " Count, I like you. I wish you to steer clear 
 of the breakers. May I confide to you a secret 
 for your own good, not mine ? " asked Miss 
 Norris. 
 
 " You may," replied the Count.
 
 MAEION. 251 
 
 ^'You say Nordheim did not appear to know 
 that woman. He lied by his actions, and is worse 
 than I dreamed him to be, to introduce her to 
 his home/^ said Clara. 
 
 '' He did not invite her there. It was done 
 without the knowledge of Mr. Nordheim. I 
 know that to be a fact. I had it from Marion, 
 and he will not lie." 
 
 "That is true, and Nordheim is not quite 
 so black as I thought him to be. Count, listen 
 to me, but never repeat it. Use the knowledge 
 for your own purposes, but do not use it to save 
 others. Count, you know that I was bought 
 by Nordheim, and brought to this city. You do 
 not know, but now I will tell you, the first 
 week that I spent in New York, before this house 
 was ready for me, I spent in that luxurious man- 
 sion, now, as then, occupied by Mrs. Woodrufi*.'' 
 
 The Count did not trust himself to speak for 
 several moments. His eyes were busily engaged 
 upon the rich flowers of the tapestry cai'pet that 
 covered the floor. 
 
 '' That carpet cost four dollars a yard. Count. 
 You need not examine its texture more closely.^' 
 
 The Count smiled. 
 
 " Mademoiselle, I am too astounded to say
 
 252 MARION. 
 
 anything. What a game my lady Woodruff must 
 be playing ! " 
 
 '^ She is a fearful — a terrible female, Count. 
 It is real friendship for you that has made me 
 open your eyes. She is the more to be dreaded 
 because she moves in the very highest circles, and 
 spreads devastation wholesale. Count, for some 
 purpose, you are saving money with all a miser's 
 eagerness. Don't look so astonished. I know it. 
 A little bird tells me all that you do. I, too, am 
 saving money. For what purpose I know not, 
 but this I do know, the power of money. I will 
 never be poor again while there are gulls and 
 pigeons to be plucked. Use the information I 
 have given you. Show this pious lad}^ that you 
 at least know her, and make her pay — pay — 
 that's the word — if she uses you. As you regard 
 me, breathe not a word if you were to see your 
 best friend's wife going into those double hall 
 doors in Bond Street,'' said Clara. 
 
 " I thank you, Mademoiselle Clara, a million of 
 times. You shall see what you shall see before 
 the play is over. Now for the German lesson. 
 You will need but three or four more, and then 
 you will speak English, French, Spanish, and 
 German. The next shall be the Italian, eh V
 
 3IAKI0N. 253 
 
 ''Yes, Count. Italian next. Answer me one 
 question. Tell me what you think of the intrigue 
 between Mr. Kordheim and Mrs. Tom Granville. 
 Tell me honestly and truly. You are a man of 
 the world. Will that lady succumb to the infa- 
 mous man?^' 
 
 " No, Upon my soul. She is too clever — too 
 spirituelle. He pays her money — largely, too. 
 I know that. Five hundred — one thousand. But 
 — she takes it — is civil — goes with him all about. 
 But, lady — that Mrs. Granville loves her husband. 
 It is true, and she is honest.^^ 
 
 " A precious pup for a sensible woman to love, 
 and yet, poor Tom, he is a delightful harmless 
 fellow. I do not think Tom would hurt a chicken. 
 No ; not a fly. But he does not know the value 
 of money. I gave him fifty dollars one morning 
 last week, and what do you think he did that 
 evening ? Came to me for more. It is true, and 
 when I asked what on earth he had done with it, 
 he pulled from it a note of that precious scamp 
 Cedar^s for sixty dollars, and told me he had 
 made ten dollars by cashing it," said Clara. 
 
 "Mr. Cedar's note is not, then, worth much ?" 
 asked the alarmed Count. 
 
 " Not worth so much as the paper was before
 
 254 MARION. 
 
 he wrote his name upon it. Beware of that Eng 
 lish genius, Count," observed Miss Norris. 
 
 " I will take care of him, and thank you, too, 
 for had you not told me this, I should have given 
 him two hundred dollars for his draft upon his 
 publishers for two hundred and fifty,'^ said the 
 Count. 
 
 " And you would have lost every cent. I don't 
 think his publishers owe him a penny. Yet that 
 man would challenge you if you dared insinuate 
 that he was anything but an honourable man. 
 Count, is not this a very queer world ? " sarcas- 
 tically observed Miss Norris. 
 
 " The people in it are very queer — a very cu- 
 rious people. Mademoiselle, tell me about Doctor 
 Carnochan.-" 
 
 ^^ He is a young man of decided talent, and he 
 will one day rise to the very head of his profes- 
 sion, if he lives. He has it in him. At present 
 he is, from the force of circumstances, a wild, 
 dissipated, useless man, and his companions are 
 of the most worthless class. Does he want money 
 of you, too, Count ? '* asked Miss Norris. 
 
 " No. But it may be in my power to throw 
 some practice in his way,'' kindly added the 
 Count.
 
 MARION. 256 
 
 "Do so, if you can, Count. He will earn 
 more than the usual fee as compared with other 
 doctors. Tell me how Marion Monck gets on 
 with his languages/^ asked the lady. 
 
 " He has already mastered several of the most 
 difficult. His parents were Dutch^ so that it 
 came natural to him to acquire the German, 
 which is a sort of first cousin to low Dutch." 
 
 " What is the difference between German and 
 low Dutch?" asked Clara. 
 
 " The German, or Hoch Deutsch, is spoken all 
 through Germany. The Neder Deutsch, or Low 
 Dutch, is the language of the Hollanders, or the 
 Nederlanders, which, in English, is low-landers, 
 in contradistinction to the Hoch Deutsch or high 
 Germans — or rather high-land Dutchmen. Now^ 
 shall we proceed with your German lesson ? " 
 
 " With pleasure. Count," was her reply. 
 
 An hour afterward the Count sent a note from 
 the office to Mrs. Woodruff.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Harrison Street — Colonel Mac Neil's Private Home — A 
 Breakfast Scene "with Willy and Patsy — The Colonel 
 settles a House on his Children, and places Two Thousand 
 Dollars in the Savings Bank for them — Eedeeming Traits 
 
 [ in a Fashionable Bad Man's Character. 
 
 Such of our readers as are familiar with New 
 York, will remember a street in the lower part of 
 the town, running from Hudson Street to the 
 North river, named Harrison Street. As it was 
 known a hundred years ago by the same name, it 
 could not have been named after our General 
 Harrison, or more recently President Harrison, 
 but must have honoured; some English family. 
 Be this as it may, in this same street, at No. 27, 
 the first door from Greenwich Street, stands or 
 did stand a small two-story brick house. It 
 rented for three hundred dollars a year, and was 
 occupied by two families. The lower part, save a 
 back kitchen, was rented by a worthy butcher and 
 his small family, while the upper or second story 
 was occupied by a lady and her two children, one
 
 MARION. 257 
 
 a boy about five years of age, that liis mother 
 called William, and a little girl three 3'ears old, 
 with the pretty cognomen of Patsy. The front 
 room of the second story was plainly but comfort- 
 ably furnished as a parlour. The rear room 
 contained a bed, and between the two rooms was 
 a third small room in which was placed a trundle 
 bed for the children. It was a cold December 
 morning, only a week after the party at Mrs. 
 Nordheim^s house in Bond Street, when the bell 
 rang at No. 27. The mother of the two children 
 had just placed their and her simple breakfast 
 upon the table in the small back kitchen in the 
 basement, where she had a cooking stove and a 
 pantry. This also was a portion of her part of 
 the house, for which she paid an annual rent of 
 one hundred and twenty dollars. The bell rang 
 a second time. 
 
 " Go to the door, Willie ; who knows but it is 
 your papa ? It sounds like his ring.^' 
 
 The little boy was off like a rocket, and in a 
 moment afterward a heavy footstep was heard 
 descending the kitchen stairs. He entered the 
 room with the boy in his arms, and placed him on 
 his feet ; and then the lady flung herself into the 
 gentleman^s arms, uttering but one word, "Wil- 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 258 MARION. 
 
 liam ! ^' He gently displaced the lady, and then 
 took up the little girl, and kissed her fondly. 
 
 " I am just in time for breakfast, Jane, eh ? ^^ 
 and he took a seat. 
 
 " O "William, if we had but known you were 
 coming — we have not a breakfast fit for you to 
 eat,^^ observed Jane. 
 
 " Don't you and the children eat that break- 
 fast ? and if so, is it not good enough for me I " 
 asked Colonel Mac Neil. 
 
 "Don't be angry with me, William — I did not 
 mean anything. But you, who are so used to 
 li^dng at hotels, could hardly expect to enjoy such 
 a breakfast as this. But why have you kept away 
 so long ? '^ she asked. 
 
 "Business, Jane. Business, pleasure, every- 
 thing. But now let us have a nice breakfast. 
 Here is money — send out and get anything nice 
 that you can find,'' observed the Colonel. 
 
 " I will go myself, if you will mind the children 
 while I am gone. Colonel,'' she replied. 
 
 ^•'That I will do with pleasure; and he took a 
 child upon each knee, and kissed, caressed and 
 played alternately with them until the mother 
 returned. It was not long before the good 
 mother had a very choice breakfast smoking on
 
 MARION. 359 
 
 the table, and all partook of it. while the father, 
 for so he was, of those two children exerted him- 
 self to the utmost to make a pleasant time of it. 
 An hour elapsed before the happy family had 
 finished the meal. Then the gentleman, who was 
 no other than Colonel William Mac Neil, asked 
 if there was a fire up-stairs. Receiving a reply 
 in the affirmative, he continued: "Jane, send 
 Willy and Patsy up stairs — we will follow pre- 
 sently; but I have a few words to say to you 
 alone. ^' 
 
 The children went up stairs, little Willy lead- 
 ing by the hand the tottersome Patsy. When 
 they were gone, the Colonel drew out a cigar 
 from a rich shagreen cigar case, and deliberately 
 lit it. 
 
 " Come and sit down by me, Jane.^' 
 
 She complied in silence, her looks expressing 
 wonder as to what was to come next. 
 
 " Jane, I idolize those children. I wish to God 
 you were my legal wife, for you are a true-hearted, 
 loving woman. Don^t cry, darling, but listen to 
 me. You think I could legalise them, and marry 
 you. No, no — that is a dream ; it is too late — 
 my cursed pride will not let me do it. That is 
 not all j I must marry a woman who has money, 
 
 s 2
 
 560 MARION. 
 
 or be a disgraced bankrupt. Yet_, you nor those 
 two dear children shall ever want, or be dependent 
 even upon me. I am a rascal, Jane, so far as 
 you are concerned: I know it — I feel it. But, 
 thank God, I have placed you and those dear 
 ones so that you can never want. Are you lis- 
 tening?^-' said the Colonel, with emotion. 
 
 " Surely, Mac, I have not lost a word. Go on 
 — I hope you have nothing worse to tell me.''^ 
 she observed. 
 
 " Jane, I have saved up and withdrawn from 
 my business seven thousand dollars, and with it 
 I have purchased a house in Franklin Street near 
 Broadway. The lot is twenty-five feet by one 
 hundred ; and sixteen years hence, when Willy 
 is of age, that property will be double or treble 
 in value. I have deeded it to you, Jane 
 McPherson, in trust for Willy and Patsy. ' The 
 house is a good one, and now, rents for six hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars per annum, and has a good 
 tenant. That rent you must draw and live on, in 
 case I am unable to do anything more for you. 
 That is not all. Here are two thousand dollars 
 that I won in gambling some time ago. It is 
 but a partial return often times that amount that 
 I have lost at gambling. It is yours — take it to
 
 MARION. 261 
 
 a savings bank, and place it there at interest in 
 your own or in Willy^s name — your own is better, 
 and then you will have two sources of income/^ 
 
 The poor young mother was weeping. "O 
 Mac — dear j\Iac, why do you do this ? Are you 
 going away ! I don't want it ; you allow us all we 
 want ? ^' she exclaimed. 
 
 " Listen, Jane. When I signed that deed, I 
 had determined to offer myself that night to a 
 very wealthy young lady. I expected to be ac- 
 cepted, and I then determined to act honourably 
 by her ; and to do so I intended that deed as a 
 provision for you and my dear children, and then 
 to bid you farewell, and see you no more,^' said 
 the Colonel. 
 
 '^ O Mac, could you have the heart to do it ? 
 Could you part with those two little precious 
 ones, and never see them more ? O, it was a 
 cruel thought ! ^' said Jane. 
 
 "Be calm — I am. I have not yet done. I 
 offered myself to the girl, and she accepted me. 
 Don't start off in that manner. Then I saw her 
 father — one of the wealthiest men in the city. 
 He refused to countenance the marriage, and, 
 what was still more, situated as I am, he swore 
 before God that if his daughter married me, she
 
 262 MAPvION. 
 
 should never receive a cent. He had heard of 
 our affairs — of our children, Jane, and he said he 
 did not think I could support tico families. That 
 was quite enough for me, Jane. The affair is at 
 an end, and I shall probably never marry." 
 
 The mother flung herself into his arms, and 
 kissed the Colonel in the most fond manner. 
 
 " Hear me out, Jane, and know the worst. I 
 have secured you from want, and the deed is 
 iiTCvocable ; but Heaven only knows how soon I 
 may be a beggar. The affairs of my firm are in 
 a terrible state. My partner thinks that he can 
 carry the concern through. He is buying pro- 
 duce on credit, and shipping it to Europe, or any- 
 where else where he can get cash advances upon 
 the shipments. If those shipments turn out well, 
 we are safe, and shall keep afloat. If not — but 
 I don^t dare to think of it. This thought, though, 
 consoles me — come what will, you and "Willy and 
 Patsy are provided for," continued the Colonel 
 feelingly. 
 
 '^ But, dear !Mac, if this would serve you, I will 
 deed it back to you, and you could sell it again, 
 and also take the two thousand dollars," observed 
 Jane. 
 
 " You are an unselfish being, Jane : but no.
 
 MARION. 263 
 
 no. It would not be a drop in the bucket. Do 
 exactly as I have told you^ and I will continue to 
 give you what funds you need, just as though the 
 nine thousand dolkr provision had not been 
 made. If I am fortunate and get through my 
 own difficulties, you will have the interest every 
 year to add to the principal, and in a few years 
 you will have quite a little sum. Now kiss me^ 
 and then let us go up-stairs and join Willy and 
 Patsy. After all, there are some happy moments 
 for the most miserable, and I will come and 
 breakfast with you soon again,^^ said the Colonel. 
 " Dear Mac, it makes the children so happy. '^ 
 The haughty Colonel Mac Neil played ^and 
 romped with his children until dinner was ready, 
 and then he dined with them. Before evening he 
 was again at his hotel. 
 
 There are some redeeming traits in even the 
 most worldly of men. Afld this is a redeeming 
 chapter and shall stand by itself.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The Italian Opera House in Church Street — The Character 
 of the Subscribers — Mr. Js^ordheim a Director — A Tragedy 
 Kight — Mr. Nordheini insults a Lady in the Dress Circle 
 — His Spectacles Driven into his Eyes by a Brother — His 
 Removal to the City Hospital — Francis Gaillard of South 
 Carolina — Mr. Granville dissolves the Firm of Granville 
 and Nordheim — The IS^otice — List of the Daily News- 
 papers — The Days that the Wife of Mr, Xordheim spent 
 at the Hospital with her Dying Husband — Nordheim's 
 "Will — His Death and Funeral. 
 
 In the year 183 — , a company of persons, who 
 Tvould be extremely exclusive^ determined to put 
 up a building and open an Italian Opera House 
 in this city. To carry out their design, they 
 purchased sufficient ground on the corner of 
 Church and Leonard Streets, and proceeded to 
 put up a large and handsome building. When 
 this Opera House was finished, an arrangement 
 was made for a manager, and a regular stock 
 Italian Opera Company was established in Xew 
 York city. It was a mixed-up sort of concern. 
 At first it was a regular stock company. Then 
 private boxes were disposed of to particular fami-
 
 MARION. 265 
 
 lies for life, in order to raise money; and then 
 commenced a system of begging, borrowing, and 
 voluntary contributions, until all hands became 
 disgusted, and the building passed from the opera 
 people to the mortgagee, and he leased it for a 
 regular theatre to James Wallack, who opened it 
 under the title of the National Theatre. 
 
 But to return to the Italian crowd. The par- 
 ties who got up the Italian Opera were not the 
 old Knickerbocker stock inhabitants. They were 
 a parvenu population — people who had been suc- 
 cessful as brokers, merchants, stock gamblers, 
 real estate speculators, and other modes by which 
 fortunes are suddenly accumulated in this great 
 metropolis. Many of the parties had travelled in 
 Europe to acquire business, and form commercial 
 connexions. They had visited Paris and London, 
 and perceiving how aristocratic tlie Italian Opera 
 was in those cities, they considered that to 
 become interested in an Italian Opera in New 
 York would give them an aristocratic position. 
 These were the motives that actuated most of the 
 patrons of the early Italian Opera in New York. 
 It is needless to say that they paid dear for the 
 Italian whistle, and it got broken in a very short 
 period of time.
 
 266 MARION. 
 
 Among those who took a very active part 
 in the Italian Opera was Mr. Nordheim. He 
 spoke Italian fluently, and he was not only 
 allowed to spend his money in the enterprise 
 without stint, but he was also permitted to 
 take a very active part in the details. The 
 Finance Committee knew no more about Italian 
 than they did about Greek, and ^Ir. Nord- 
 heim translated between the false Italian Prince 
 and Princess actors, and their Wall Street 
 financiers. 
 
 The Italian Opera opened during the month 
 of the party at Mrs. Nordheim's, and Mr. Nord- 
 heim placed at his wife's disposal a private box, 
 and she filled it almost every night with some 
 of her friends. She was generally attended thither 
 by Mr. Wilson or Marion — sometimes by both. 
 The Count Talsechinski received tickets fre- 
 quently for Miss Norris and himself, and oc- 
 casionally Tom Granville made ^up a party for 
 one of the front seats in the dress circle. It 
 was April. The bill for that night was very 
 attractive. Mrs. Nordheim was in her pri- 
 vate box with a party. Marion Monck was 
 there also — and so was Isabella Granville. On 
 the right side of the dress circle, Miss Norris,
 
 MAEIOX. 267 
 
 with the Count and Tom Granville, occupied three 
 seats. 
 
 Shortly after the curtain rose, Mr. Nordheim 
 was seen to enter the dress circle by a door 
 directly opposite the centre of the building. He 
 took a seat on the third bench. Directly in front 
 of him was a gentleman, accompanied by a lady 
 of rare and surpassing beauty. It was noticed 
 by those in the neighbourhood that Mr. Nord- 
 heim endeavoured to attract the notice of the 
 beautiful woman who occupied the seat directly 
 in front of him. Once she turned her head 
 almost round, and gazed at him with an expres- 
 sion that denoted the most violent anger, and 
 then seemed absorbed with what was passing on 
 the stage. 
 
 I may have omitted to mention that Mr. 
 Nordheim was near-sighted, and wore gold spec- 
 tacles. He never was without them. Hundreds 
 who were present that eventful evening well 
 remember the fearful scream of agony which 
 rung through that Opera House, although the 
 extent of the tragedy in the dress circle was not 
 dreamed of that night. Again that lady turned 
 and looked indignantly at ^Ir. Nordheim, who 
 smiled and partly bowed. It was noticed that
 
 268 MARION. 
 
 the lady whispered to the gentleman witli her. 
 She quietly informed him of the conduct of the 
 person on the rear seat. 
 
 "Can you point him out to me distinctly?^' 
 whispered the brother — for so he proved to be. 
 
 " Yes, Frank ; he is seated directly behind 
 me, with his knees against the seat where I am 
 sitting.'^ 
 
 "Keep perfectly quiet, Emily — don't move;" 
 and as he said this he rose to his feet, turned 
 his back to the stage so as to face Nordheim, 
 and rapidly drew back his arm, and with all his 
 force struck his fist directly in Nordheim's right 
 eye. There was one terrific scream. The glass 
 had broken, and the force of the blow had driven 
 several of the particles into the right eye of the 
 unfortunate Nordheim. There was an instant 
 rush, and much confusion. The gentleman re- 
 mained perfectly calm, and did not move an inch. 
 Nordheim had fainted with the intense agony 
 from the pierced eyeball. Shouts arose from the 
 parterre^" Turn him out ! " The gallery re- 
 echoed " Turn him out ! '' Meanwhile, Marion 
 Monck, the Count, and some others of the ac- 
 quaintance of Mr. Nordheim, hurried to the 
 spot, just as he had been carried out of the
 
 MARION. 269 
 
 boxes. They all saw at once the nature of the 
 wound. Then the gentleman who had inflicted 
 it came out and explained what had occurred, 
 regretting that he had inflicted so terrible a 
 punishment. A carriage was procured. By this 
 time Pitt Granville had learned what had oc- 
 curred. " Take him at once to the New York 
 Hospital," was his peremptory order. Mr. Nord- 
 heim was with difficulty placed in the carriage. 
 His agony was fearful. 
 
 '^ Go and tell Mrs. Nordheim what has hap- 
 pened, and take her home, Marion. I will be 
 up there as soon as Nordheim is better or worse. 
 The hospital is the only place, for he needs im- 
 mediate surgical aid. Mr. Wilson, go with me.^^ 
 
 These sensible orders of Pitt Granville were 
 rapidly carried into execution, and the carriage 
 drove round to the hospital gate. Mr. Roberts, 
 the superintendent, was an old friend of Mr. 
 Granville, and luckily happened to be in the office. 
 A proper room was instantly arranged, and Mr. 
 Nordheim was taken into it. Then the leading 
 surgeons were sent for. They tried to extract 
 the broken pieces of glass, but only partially suc- 
 ceeded. Mr. Nordheim was a raving maniac.
 
 270 MARION. 
 
 But I must carry back my readers to the 
 Opera House. When Mrs. Nordheim had learned 
 the particulars of the accident, she refused to 
 go home, but left her party, and, with Marion, 
 went directly to the hospital inner gate, where 
 the little house of the gate-keeper is, and asked 
 permission to go in and see her husband. She 
 was refused, politely, but positively, and she at 
 once got into a carriage and w^ent home to Bond 
 Street. Soon after, a gentleman appeared at the 
 gate and asked permission to see one of the 
 officers of the hospital. He was shown inside to 
 Mr. Roberts. 
 
 " Here is my card, sir. I am the person who 
 struck the blow at the Opera." 
 
 Mr. Roberts took the card and read, " Francis 
 Gaillard, at Mrs. Mann's, No. 85, Broadway." 
 
 " The accident, sir, I fear, will terminate se- 
 riously, and I will use this card, as you may be 
 called upon to give some explanation. How did 
 it happen V '^ inquired Mr. Roberts. 
 
 The stranger, whose name was Gaillard, re- 
 plied, ''I am a South Carolinian, on a visit here 
 with my mother and sister. I took my sister to 
 the Italian Opera this evening. After the per- 
 formance had commenced, she told me that a
 
 IMAEION. VJ71 
 
 person on the seat behind her had insulted her, 
 and I at once struck him/' 
 
 '^Served the d libertine right/' was the 
 
 only comment m.ade by the indignant but honest 
 Mr. Roberts. 
 
 " I took my sister to Mrs. Mann's boarding- 
 house^ and came at once to give myself up in 
 case of need. Will it be necessary for me to do 
 anything more ? " 
 
 " No. Go home, as though nothing had hap- 
 pened. If he dies to-night, or within a few days, 
 a coroner's inquest will be held, and you will 
 have to be on hand; but it is a disgraceful affair, 
 and unless Nordheim dies immediately, it will be 
 hushed up. Good night.'' 
 
 " Thank you — grood night ; " and the stranger 
 Gaillard passed out of the hospital. 
 
 The Count conveyed the horrified Clara Norris 
 to Broome Street, and then left her, promising 
 to return as soon as he had paid a visit to the 
 hospital. He, too, was refused admission, but as 
 he was passing out of the gate he was overtaken 
 by Mr. Pitt Granville and Mr. Wilson. 
 
 "Count, go at once to Mr. Nordheim^ s, in 
 Bond Street, see Marion Monck, get the keys of 
 the store, and come directly to the City Hotel."
 
 272 MARION. 
 
 The Count went on his errand, and when Pitt 
 Granville and his book-keeper were walking 
 alone, the former said, abruptly, " Wilson, this 
 sort of thing has got to be stopped. I am tired 
 of it. Such proceedings by one of the members 
 of a mercantile firm are ruinous/' 
 
 '' I think so, sir. It will be known on 'Change 
 to-morrow, and even if Mr. Nordheim gets well, 
 I don't see hoAV he can explain it.'' 
 
 "Explain. There is no explanation needed. 
 I can put up with a great many things, but this 
 is a beastly concern altogether. Come what will, 
 I am not going to associate with him any more as 
 a partner." 
 
 " But how are you to end the partnership ? 
 You have no right to," asked Mr. Wilson. 
 
 " I know what you mean ; but, right or wrong, 
 you will see what course I shall pursue under the 
 present painful circumstances. Wait until I get 
 into the office." 
 
 They reached the City Hotel, and Mr. Granville 
 ordered whisky punch for himself and for Mr. 
 Wilson. They finished the first glass, and then 
 Mr. Granville ordered one more for himself, as 
 Mr. Wilson refused, and he requested him to go 
 and find Colonel Benson, and meet him at the
 
 MARION. 273 
 
 office as speedily as possible. Soon after tlie 
 Count and Marion joined him, and all proceeded 
 to the counting-house in Broad Street. It was 
 opened. Then Colonel Benson and Wilson 
 arrived. Books were got out of the safe. Ac- 
 counts were examined. The consultation was 
 held, and fiually Mr. Granville came out of his 
 private office with a paper in his hand. 
 
 " Marion, I want you to make several copies of 
 this. Take one to each of the following daily 
 papers : — 
 
 " The Daily Mercantile Advertiser, 
 
 Gazette, 
 
 Courier and Enquirer, 
 
 Journal of Commerce, 
 
 Standard, 
 
 Post, 
 
 Commercial, 
 
 Kew York American.^* 
 Marion complied. The next morning the fol- 
 lowing could have been read in either of the five 
 
 morning dailies : 
 
 "VJOIICE, — The co-partnership heretofore existing under 
 -L^ the firm of Granville and Xordheim is this day dis- 
 solved. The hquidation of the affairs of the late firm will 
 be attended to by the undersigned, who will continue to 
 carry on a General Commission Business under his own. 
 name. W. PITT GRAXYILLE, 
 
 At Xo. 31, Broad Street. 
 Kew Yoek, Ajiril 10, 183 — . 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 MARION. 
 
 When Marion returned from the publishing 
 offices of the morning journals, he found Mr. 
 Granville and Mr. Wilson in the main office. 
 The Count had left. So had Colonel Benson. 
 
 "Have you put those advertisements in the 
 morning papers ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. I was in time with all of them.'' 
 
 " When you go home tell Mrs. Nordheim what 
 I have found it necessary to do, with promptness, 
 to save the credit of this concern. She can ap- 
 point you or Mr. Wilson to act for her interest, 
 should he die. He may recover his senses enough 
 to make a will. If he does not, Mrs. Nordheim 
 has her settlement of two thousand dollars a year 
 to fall back upon, and one-third interest in his 
 property. He has been spending a fearful amount 
 of money lately, and Mr. Wilson thinks his 
 share of the profits is not only drawn out, but 
 also a large portion of his stock capital in the con- 
 cern. We shall know in a few days.-" 
 
 The Count Falsechinski, when he left the office, 
 although it was nearly midnight, went up to 
 Broome Street. He found Miss Norris waiting 
 for him. Tom Granville was there. 
 
 " Nordheim will die, or be insane for hfe,'' said 
 the Count.
 
 ]^IARION. 275 
 
 '' Is that your opinion, Count ? '' asked Tom, 
 who seemed pleased at the idea. 
 
 '' It is. The firm is dissolved bv Mr. Granville, 
 and notices to that effect -will appear in all the 
 daily papers to-morrow.-'^ 
 
 "Then good-bye, Ferdinand Nordheim. You 
 have been a source of good and a curse to me. 
 Now I will fight my own battles and play my own 
 game in life, for you are dead so far as I am con- 
 cerned in any event. Shall we make up a card 
 party to-night ? '^ 
 
 " Thank you. No. I must get home, for I 
 have much to do to-morrow. Are you walking 
 down town, Tom ? " 
 
 "Xo; he is not going down town these two 
 houi's yet/^ spoke Clara. 
 
 She showed the Count to the door, and then 
 returned. 
 
 " This is a funny business, all round, ain't it, 
 Clara?'' said Tom. 
 
 "Tom Granville, answer me one question. 
 You have stated to me your suspicions respect- 
 ing your wife and Nordheim. Answer me now, 
 as God will be your Judge: Do you, in 
 your inmost soul, believe that?" demanded 
 
 Clara. 
 
 T 2
 
 276 MARION. 
 
 " I do, solemnly/^ replied the husband Tom. 
 
 " Why do you not take steps to get a divorce 
 from your \vife, then, if you believe her guilty, 
 and faithless to your honour ? " asked Miss 
 Norris. 
 
 ''Never. I have loved that woman — perhaps 
 love her yet — but I will never take any steps to 
 get divorced from her/' replied good-natured Tom 
 Granville. 
 
 " Suppose she, however, should try to get 
 divorced from you. She could do it/^ said Miss 
 Norris. 
 
 " Let her so do. I will make no objection." 
 
 " Tom, do you believe I have been true to my 
 master — to Nordheim ? " asked Clara. 
 
 '^ I do. I know I can speak for myself, Clara," 
 said Tom. 
 
 " Tom, it is true. I have been as faithful to 
 that man as if I had been his wedded wife, but it 
 is all over now. He is no more to me than if he 
 was dead. His money is gone, even if he lives. 
 He has been fearfully extravagant. You say that 
 you will never live with your wife again ? '^ said 
 Clara. 
 
 " Never," replied Tom Granville. 
 
 Poor, easy, good-natured Tom Granville. Little
 
 MARION. 277 
 
 did you dream that you were signing tlie death- 
 Tvarrant for your future hopes of early domestic 
 happiness. 
 
 Leaving these worldly ones, our reader will 
 go with us to the hospital. Nordheim became 
 worse and worse. The next day his wife spent 
 several hours by his bedside. He did not recog- 
 nize her. Day after day she visited him, until 
 the inflammation, which had reached his brain, 
 became so certain of ending fatally that a 
 lawyer, Charles S. Spencer, was employed to 
 remain with him constantly, under the hope that 
 he might become sane for a few moments ere he 
 died. Two weeks after the accident, his wife 
 called, and found him, for the first time, perfectly 
 conscious of everything around him. His partner 
 was sent for. The lawyer asked the physician- 
 surgeon how long he might live. 
 
 " Until evening.'^ 
 
 Then occurred a painful scene — a death-bed 
 repentance. He dictated a will. It was short. 
 He left all to his wife. All — everything. Except 
 the furniture of the house in which Clara Xorris 
 lived — that he gave to her, and also five hundred 
 dollars. He signed articles dissolving the firm, 
 and authorizing his wife to close up the afi'airs as
 
 278 MARION. 
 
 best suited herself, and he made Mr. Granville 
 give a solemn promise that in case his half 
 interest in the concern should not leave a respect- 
 able sum for his wife, that he would give her 
 one -third interest in the future business, or take 
 into partnership any one she should designate. 
 Frank Gaillard was sent for. When he reached 
 the bed of the dying man he was much agitated, 
 and expressed the deepest regret for what had 
 occurred. 
 
 "Not a word more. You served me right. 
 Tell your sister that a dying man begs her 
 forgiveness.^' 
 
 Mr. Nordheim lingered on through the day ; 
 but just after sunset, when twilight was deepening 
 into dark over the trees and around the old 
 hospital windows, Nordheim sank into what 
 appeared a gentle sleep. Mr. Granville first 
 discovered that he was dead. Mrs. Nordheim 
 pressed her lips to the dead man, and was then 
 led out of the room. That night the coffin con- 
 taining his body was conveyed to Bond Street. 
 The succeeding day it was transferred to a 
 cemetery, and the troubles, the pleasures, the 
 rascalities, and the redeeming qualities of the 
 unfortunate Nordheim were over for ever.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 New Street thirty years ago — The store of Mr. Jolm 
 O'Doemall — His Business — The debt of three hundred 
 and four dollars and seventy two cents, and how it was 
 liquidated — Mr. Granville's Instructions — The Story of 
 the Irishwoman, and how O'Doemall victimized her out 
 of seventy-two dollars' worth of shirts, and ruined her 
 sister and husband — A Bad Character. 
 
 Between Broadway and Broad Street, run- 
 ning from WaU to Beaver, is a little narrow- 
 street called the New Street,, although it is one 
 of the oldest streets in the city. Thirty years 
 ago it seemed to be used for no other purpose 
 thrill for an alley to the two main streets of 
 Broadway or Broad. A sort of sewer ran through 
 it. Some of the houses on Broadway had stables 
 in the rear, facing on New Street. An occasional 
 dwelling house, occupied by French dry goods 
 importers on Broad, had a solid stone ware- 
 house on New Street. No. 20, New Street, was 
 used as a building of that description. The walls 
 were two feet thick, with smaU windows, closed 
 by two straight iron bars and an iron shutter. On
 
 280 MARION. 
 
 this store was a large sign, "John O^Doemall, Wine 
 Merchant/' There was an office in the rear on 
 the first floor. In it was one desk. The floor con- 
 tained eight, or perhaps ten, gin pipes, whiskey 
 puncheons, and a pile of champagne baskets. All 
 were empty. In the office was a plain table, and 
 upon it was a couple of wine glasses, two glass 
 tumblers, and some sample bottles. Mr. O'Doemall 
 is at his desk. He is seated in a cushioned arm- 
 chair, with one leg cocked over the desk, and is 
 engaged in reading the Courier and Enquirer. 
 
 A customer enters. Mr. O'Doemall drops his 
 leg, and removes the paper from his face. 
 
 '^Oh — ah, my friend Marion Monck. Good 
 morning. Really, I am quite happy to see you. 
 Sit down. Take a seat. Where is mj clerk ? 
 Here, Thomas." 
 
 But the aforesaid Thomas, the clerk, is an in- 
 visibility. 
 
 "I have called, Mr. O'Doemall, at the request 
 of Mr. Granville, to obtain some sort of a settle- 
 ment with you. Mr. Nordheim, unbeknown to 
 his partner at the time, sold you goods to the 
 extent of three hundred and four dollars, and 
 odd," said young INIonck. 
 
 " Exactly. Three hundred and four dollars and
 
 MARION. 281 
 
 seventy-two cents. I know the precise amount. 
 A mere trifle, which ought to have been paid 
 long ago, but I overlooked it. Surely, Mr. Gran- 
 ville would not send you to collect so small an 
 amount as that." 
 
 " He did so, and if it is not convenient for you 
 to pay the money, he would like to have you give 
 your note, adding the interest for ninety days, or 
 even four months." 
 
 *^ I forgot to ask you how Mrs. Nordheim is — 
 poor lady — great misfortune. Nordheim was a 
 good fellow. Queer. If Nordheim had lived, 
 he would never have been so mean as to send 
 for that pitiful sum. How do you know but what 
 I have a receipt for it ? In fact, I don^t think I 
 can pay that note. Nordheim owes me, let me 
 see, three hundred dollars at John Florence's, 
 two hundred and ten dollars one night in Broad- 
 way, and, d it, man, I could not think of 
 
 paying it at present. I must look up some of 
 Nordheim's I O U^s. I dare say they are in one 
 of my cast-off vest pockets," replied the impudent 
 O'Doemall. 
 
 " If you have any receipts from Mr. Nord- 
 heim, or any claim against him — note — due bill, 
 or positive evidence that Mr. Nordheim owed
 
 282 
 
 MARION. 
 
 you a dollar, Mr. Granville will allow it/' said 
 Monck. 
 
 " Of course he will. I knew he was an honour- 
 able man. I have them somewhere. That is a 
 beautiful daughter of Granville's, Isabella. You 
 are to marry her, I suppose ? Couldn't do better, 
 and I shall tell my friend Granville so,'' said 
 O'Doemall. 
 
 ^'Eeally, Mr. O'Doemall, I trust you will do 
 nothing so foolish. I have no idea— that is, I 
 
 am not engaged to her, and " said Monck, 
 
 embarrassed. 
 
 " I will speak to Gran, about it. You are a 
 first-rate match for his daughter. She is pretty, 
 and will have the rhino, eh !" said O'Doemall. 
 
 "Eeally, Mr. O'Doemall, I cannot converse 
 with you upon such a subject. I called to settle 
 an account. If you will not settle it, I will so 
 say to Mr. Granville when I return to the store." 
 
 '' Very well, sir. I could pay, I believe, twenty 
 such accounts, if I owed them. I believe W. 
 Pitt Granville is good, and you can say to him 
 that if he wants to borrow eight, or even as high 
 as twelve thousand, I can let him have it at ten 
 minutes' warning," said the audacious Irishman. 
 
 " I wiU mention the circumstance to Mr. Gran-
 
 MAEION. 283 
 
 ville, and I wish you good morning/' coolly ob- 
 served Monck. 
 
 '* Bye-bye. Drop in any time and take a glass 
 of wine/' said the indomitable O'Doemall. 
 
 " What an infernal scamp/' was Mr. Granville's 
 comment upon Marion's report. "Never mind, 
 Marion; I want you to call every day upon that 
 impudent fellow until you shame him into paying 
 it. Nordheim owe him ! He never owed any- 
 body in his life. He was uncommonly particular 
 in that regard/' continued Mr. Granville. 
 
 " I think it will be a waste of my time, but as 
 you wish it, I will call until I see there is no hope. 
 Shame him '. That will be a tiresome job/' was 
 Marion's comment upon the business. 
 
 The next day Marion went again to No. 20, 
 New Street, but at a later hom\ The clerk, 
 Thomas, was there, engaged playing marbles on 
 the store floor with another boy. 
 
 "Where is Mr. O'Doemall?" demanded Ma- 
 rion. 
 
 " Gone to dinner," replied the boy. 
 
 " Coming back soon ? " asked Marion. 
 
 "Immediately. Going to wait? Please tell 
 him, sir, when he comes, that I've gone home/' 
 and before Marion could express the least dissent
 
 284 MARION. 
 
 to a proposition that left the responsibility of the 
 store and its goods upon him, the boy was out of 
 sight as well as hearing. 
 
 *^I am in a fix. Suppose O'Doemall don't 
 come at all? But I will wait awhile^ anyhow." 
 
 Presently a very respectable-looking middle- 
 aged woman entered, and inquired for Mr. 
 O'Doemall. 
 
 "He is not in, madam, and will not be for 
 some time. I am waiting to see him about some 
 money." 
 
 "Oh; do you owe him any money, sir?" 
 asked the woman. 
 
 " No, indeed. But he owes me, or rather the 
 firm that I am a clerk with," replied ]Marion. 
 
 " And do you think he will pay you ? Do you 
 think he will pay me, or anybody else he owes ? " 
 
 Marion looked at the woman, who was in a 
 state of violent excitement. 
 
 '• Does he owe you much ?" he asked. 
 
 " Only seventy-two dollars, but it has ruined 
 me, and my husband goes out now to work at 
 days' work. But perhaps you, sir, can tell me 
 what I ought to do. Mr. O'Doemall served us a 
 dirty trick." 
 
 " If you will tell me how he incurred the debt.
 
 MARION. 385 
 
 with all the particulars, if I can give you good 
 advice, I will do so/' said Marion, who began to 
 be interested in the matter. 
 
 " It is a long story, but I will tell you all about 
 it. Well, sir, you must know that me and my 
 sister Mary used to do fine needle-work in the 
 old country. I married, and came to this country 
 with my husband, and he got a good situation. 
 Then he says to me, ^ Now, Bridget dear, I am 
 making a little money, and we have got a little 
 saved up, and as you and Mary can do fine work, 
 I think the best we can do is to take a little store 
 somewhere up town, and you can make and sill 
 shirts and sich like,and gentlemen's underclothing, 
 and I shall be able to send a good many hotel 
 people to buy of you.' Well we got a little store 
 just big enough to hold us and a few goods up in 
 Broadway, near Broome Street. We had not 
 been open a great many weeks, but was doing 
 uncommon well, when one evening, bad luck to 
 him, who should come in but Mr. O'Doemall. 
 * Ah,' said he, ^ fine nice store. Show me some of 
 your best shirts. I must patronize you, and I will 
 buy a dozen. I want the finest linen shirts.' I 
 showed him our best, and asked him two dollars 
 a piece. They would not do, but he said, ' You
 
 S86 MARION. 
 
 seem honest young women, and I will trust you 
 to make me a dozen of the finest linen shirts at 
 six dollars each. I must have them in a week; 
 and more than that, if you do them well, and suit 
 me, I will bring young Coster, Astor, Lord 
 Lennox, and some other fashionable young 
 fellows, my friends, and we will get you up a 
 first-rate business.' Oh, sir, that O'Doemall has 
 a tongue in his head, and he wagged it to some 
 purpose. He sent me and my sister Mary almost 
 crazy. We thought our fortunes were more than 
 made. We took our good cash, and went and 
 purchased the very finest linen to make this 
 dozen shirts, and we both worked night and day 
 until they were finished. One Saturday evening 
 he called for the shirts. They were all packed 
 up ever so nice. He winked and looked at every 
 one, and he talked all the while about his mag- 
 nificent room, and that he could not bear to stop 
 at a hotel, and I do not know what. I thought 
 he was a marquis at least. At last he says — 
 
 " ' Seventy-two dollars, eh ? That is cheap 
 enough. I have paid, in London, twenty guineas 
 for shirts not half as good. But you must send 
 them round to my house in Prince Street, it is 
 only a few doors.'
 
 MARION. 287 
 
 " I called my husband's little brother, Felix, and 
 he took the bundle. Then Mr. O'Doemall began 
 to feel in his pockets, and he took an old wood 
 cane and laid it upon a chair. He felt — felt — 
 I asked him if he had lost anything. He said no, 
 but that he had dressed for dinner, and left two 
 hundred dollars in his vest pocket. 
 
 " ' It will make no difference,' said he ; ' your 
 little boy can be trusted, I suppose ; and if so, I 
 will give the seventy -two dollars to him.' 
 
 " We told him to trust the boy — we did not 
 like to refuse to let the shirts go, but he went, 
 and the boy too. Presently the boy returned. 
 
 " ' I want to get the gentleman's cane.' 
 
 ^' ' Where are the shirts ? ' 
 
 " ' He is holding the shirts while I came back 
 for his cane."* 
 
 " The poor bo}^ went away again, but it was a 
 long time before he came back, and then it was 
 to tell us that he could not find Mr. O'Doemall. 
 We could not believe that so gentlemanly a per- 
 son would commit so cruel a wrong upon two 
 women just starting business in a new country. 
 But next day we found that he had never lived 
 in the house in Prince Street. It broke us up at 
 our little place. So great a loss disheartened us ;
 
 288 MARION. 
 
 we did not try to do any more. It \vas long 
 before I found out where he did business. I have 
 been several, times, but Mr. O'Doemall laughs at 
 me. Says he will pay me, but that I ought to 
 pay him for teaching me a lesson in not trusting. 
 Oh, I don't know v/hat to do. I am afraid we 
 will never get paid ; '' and here the poor woman 
 relieved herself by a flood of tears. 
 
 " What a rascal he must be, to be sure ? ^' 
 
 " But that ain^t all, sir. He got acquainted with 
 my poor sister Mary. She was a very beautiful 
 girl, sir, and she met him and took walks in St. 
 John^s Park with Mr. O'Doemall, and she has 
 never been herself since, and I fear, sir, she is 
 bewitched after him." 
 
 " Is it possible that such a man is allowed to 
 walk the streets ? '^ 
 
 " But I am not quite done yet. My husband 
 went to Mr. O'Doemall, and gave him a piece of 
 his mind. The very next day he was turned out 
 of his situation at the hotel, and I do beheve 
 that Mr. O'Doemall was the occasion of it. 
 Now he goes out to days' work, when he can get 
 anything to do. But here he comes, Mr. 
 O'Doemall.'' 
 
 " Aha, my sweetest plant from ould Ireland, is it
 
 MARION. 289 
 
 there you are ? '' laughingly exclaimed O'Doemall 
 — and then noticing Marion he added, 'Sind the 
 future husband of the delicious Miss Granville/' 
 "Mr. O'Doemall, good-by/' exclaimed the in- 
 dignant Marion as he left the store. That even- 
 ing he told Mr. Granville the story of the shirts, 
 and the claim of three hundred dollars was placed 
 in a lawyer's hands. Marion was told that he 
 need not call on the New Street wine merchant 
 any more.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Increased Business of Mr. Granville — Mrs. Tom Granville 
 becomes his Housekeeper — The latter discovers the en- 
 gagement between Marion Monck and her Niece — Com- 
 municates it to Mrs. Nordheim — Disappointment and 
 stern Resolve. 
 
 The dissolution of tlie firm of Granville and 
 Nordheim apparently had no effect upon their 
 extensive business. It was continued to the new 
 hou5e of W. Pitt Granville, who, if there was 
 any change, largely increased the business. Mr. 
 Granville devoted much more of his attention to 
 business than ever. He was at his office early in 
 the morning, and, except to go to his meals, never 
 left until ten o'clock at night. Some changes had 
 taken place at his home. Tom Granville had some 
 time previously left his house and home in Cham- 
 bers Street, to devote his whole time to Miss 
 Norris. As soon as it became evident to Mrs. 
 Thomas Granville that her husband had utterly 
 abandoned her, and had openly connected himself 
 with Miss Norris — which he did immediately
 
 MAEION. S91 
 
 after the deatli of !Mr. Nordheim — slie sent a note 
 to her brother-iu-laTT, Pitt Granville. He came 
 at once to Chambers Street. 
 
 " Tell me nothing, Kate, about Tom. I know 
 all. What do you intend to do ? '^ 
 
 '^It is useless my incurring the expense of 
 keeping house alone, I think. I have no one but 
 my sister, and she can take her departure for 
 Baltimore at any moment." 
 
 " Then give up the house at once ; sell off the 
 furniture to the best advantage, and come and 
 take charge of my house. Isabel is too young to 
 be burdened with a housekeeper's cares and 
 anxieties, and besides she needs looking after. 
 She is very inexperienced, and, as her aunt, you 
 are the proper person to take charge of her.-*^ 
 
 " This is really a proposition that I could not 
 have expected. I do not know how to thank 
 you." 
 
 There is no occasion for thanks — I am the 
 obliged party, and if you say you will come, Kate, 
 there is an end of it. Make your arrangements, 
 and come as quick as you can." 
 
 The result of this conversation was, that Mrs. 
 Kate Granville was installed as mistress in State 
 Street. Isabel liked her aunt, and was delighted 
 
 17 2
 
 292 MARIOX. 
 
 at her taking charge. To Mrs. Kate Granville it 
 was the most acceptable thing that could have 
 occurred. The scandal afloat in reference to her, 
 and the separation between Tom and herself 
 would be silenced, for certain!}' the world would 
 say there could be no blame attached to Mrs. Tom 
 Granville, if her husband's brother, a large and 
 extensive merchant, should receive lier at his 
 house; not only that, but take her to keep house, 
 and take the charge of his daughter. 
 
 Mrs. Kate Granville had not resided with her 
 brother-in-law but a few weeks, when her keen 
 eyes discovered that there was some sort of a 
 secret between her niece Isabel and Marion 
 Monck. Slie was satisfied that notes and letters 
 passed between the two young people. Marion 
 was a regular visitor at the house in State Street, 
 and was there a hundred times unsuspected, 
 because he was now the confidential clerk of Mr. 
 Granville, and it was necessary that he should see 
 him frequently. Sometimes Mr. Granville would 
 be confined to the house for a few days, by sick- 
 ness. Then Marion would be there half-a-dozen 
 times a day. He never came but Isabel contrived 
 to see and j^peak with him, if it was only for a 
 moment.
 
 MARION. 293 
 
 Aunt Kate determined to put an end to tins 
 in some manner, for slie was not certain her 
 brother would like the idea of an attachment 
 between Marion and Isabel. The former was 
 but a clerk, and although Mr. Granville seemed 
 to be very fond of him, yet she knew that being 
 fond of a youth as a clerk, and approving of 
 him for a son-in-law, were entirely different 
 matters. She took Isabel to task the first oppor- 
 tunity, and taxed her with being in love or 
 engaged to ^Marion Monk. The fair girl could 
 only reply to the charge on the instant with a 
 flood of tears. 
 
 "Don't deny it, Bella dear. There is no very 
 great crime, and you can tell Aunty all about 
 it — how it happened. ^^ 
 
 Thus coaxed, Isabel very soon took the advice, 
 and made Aunt Kate her confidant. At first the 
 sister-in-law concluded that it was her duty to 
 inform her brother of circumstances that so 
 nearly concerned his domestic happiness; but 
 when she listened to Bella^s pleadings, her 
 anxieties, and her confident assurances that if 
 Aunt did tell Papa, that he would turn her out 
 of doors as he had done her brother "Walter, and 
 not only that, but that he would discharge poor
 
 2d4: MARION. 
 
 Marion from his employ, and probably ruin liim 
 and his prospects for life, and all " for no good/"* 
 Aunt Kate hesitated. Then Isabel told her that 
 Marion was not to blame, and that it was her 
 persuasion that had made him conceal his attach- 
 ment from her father. Finally, Aunt Kate was 
 persuaded to keep silence so far as Mr. Granville 
 was concerned, provided Isabel would agree to 
 submit the correspondence between her lover and 
 herself to Aunt Kate^s inspection, and that no 
 further letters should be sent or received unless 
 she inspected them. Again, it was understood 
 that Marion should be informed that Kate knew 
 all about it, and that she would converse freely 
 with him upon the subject. Isabel affectionately 
 kissed her Aunt after all these preliminaries had 
 been settled upon, and she felt her mind much 
 relieved. She dreaded the anger of her father. 
 With Aunt Kate as her confidential adviser, 
 there was somebody to share with her the furious 
 anger of her father, whenever he was informed 
 of the attachment, should it be displeasing to 
 him, or should he have other matrimonial views 
 for her. 
 
 Mrs. Tom Granville, after Isabel left the parlour 
 in which this memorable explanation had oc-
 
 MAEIOX. _ 295 
 
 curred, did not feel at ease in her mind. ^' I 
 Lave consented to do wrong, but I have promised 
 Isabel not to interfere, and I ^yill not. If it 
 comes to Pitt Granyille's ears, as Isabel says, 
 the house would come trembling down, and there 
 would be a general smash up. Pitt has a fearful 
 temper when he gets a-going. There is poor 
 Walter, too — driven off to sea — never been heard 
 from, and his fpvther never allows his name to be 
 mentioned, and all because he chose to fall in 
 love with my sister Madison, and refused to 
 marry that proud, impudent hussy Mag Benson. 
 No ; Isabel may run off with this Marion IMonck 
 — I certainly will not interfere. But one thing 
 I will do, without delay — yes, this very morning. 
 This Marion has a warm friend in Widow Nord- 
 heim. Of course she is aware of his attach- 
 ment to Isabel, and she has great influence with 
 Granville. I will go and consult her about the 
 matter, and take her advice.^^ She rang the bell. 
 The servant answered it. 
 
 " Go tell Thomas the coachman that I wish to 
 go out in about an hour.-" 
 
 Aunt Kate went up to Isabella's room, and in- 
 formed her that she was obliged to go out for a 
 few hours, but would be home bv dinner-time.
 
 296 MAP.iox. 
 
 Isabel was surprised, but said nothing. She little 
 dreamed of the object that Aunt Kate had in 
 view. 
 
 If she had done so, Aunt Kate would not 
 have been permitted to go on such an errand ; 
 for with a keen instinct Isabel had partly dis- 
 covered a secret that Mrs. Nordheim supposed 
 was safe in her own bosom ; and on one occasion 
 the 3'oung miss had almost allowed jealousy to 
 get the better of her, and she came very near 
 charging Marion with loving Mrs. Nordheim 
 better than he did herself. 
 
 Mrs. Granville found IMrs. Nordheim at home. 
 She was dressed in deep mourning, and received 
 Mrs. Tom Granville with unusual courtesy. She 
 felt a deep sympathy for her. Both had lost 
 husbands — one by death, the other by the fasci- 
 nations of a beautiful but bad woman ; for Mrs. 
 Nordheim was not aware that there were two 
 sides to the story of Tom's separation from his 
 wife. She had heard that Tom had left his wife 
 to go and live with Miss Norris. 
 
 " I am very happy to see you, Mrs. Granville — 
 very, indeed ; and I cannot tell you how glad I 
 was to hear that yon had found a refuge from 
 your domestic difficulties in the house of the elder
 
 z^iARiox. 297 
 
 Mr. Granville. It is an arrangement that must 
 be very gratifying to all parties^ for my beautiful 
 friend Isabel is too young and inexperienced to 
 have charge of so extensive an establishment as 
 Mr. Granville's,, and you can relieve her of all 
 care and be a mother to her. Poor girl ! She 
 needs a mother, for I think Mr. Granville has an 
 extremely bad temper, although he can be so 
 pleased and smile so amiably in his out-door 
 intercourse.''^ 
 
 Mrs. Nordheim spoke with animation, and from 
 the heart. 
 
 ^'I really believe, Mrs. Nordheim, that you do 
 feel what you express; and you have never joined 
 in the lying scandal about me, although my name 
 was connected with your husband's. He was a 
 good friend, and assisted me. "What his ultimate 
 motives may have been, he can only settle with 
 his God. I could not do less than be grateful for 
 his kindness, which was bestowed upon many 
 occasions when I assure you I needed kindness. 
 But don't let us talk, Mrs. Nordheim, of what 
 gives me the horrors. I came up this morning 
 for an express purpose." 
 
 " Indeed ! Can I guess that purpose ? '^ 
 
 *' I presume you are aware of the relations that
 
 208 MARION. 
 
 exist between Marion Monck and my niece, Isabel 
 Granville?^' 
 
 Mrs. Nordheim sat rocking herself to and fro 
 in a well- cushioned chair, and when she caught 
 the last words, the chair ceased its motion, and 
 the occupant placed her hand for a moment upon 
 her heart, as if to discover that it beat. Her 
 breath caught for a moment, and her face was as 
 pale as death. It was but for a moment that she 
 hesitated, and then she asked, 
 
 " The relations between Marion and Isabella V^ 
 
 " Yes. I suppose Marion has told you that he 
 has long been attached to Isabel, that it is reci- 
 procated on her part, and that they are engaged 
 to be married. They are both fearful that their 
 views may conflict with those of my stern brother, 
 and they are both keeping the arrangement very 
 quiet. I coaxed it out of Isabel this morning, 
 and knowing how warmly you are attached to 
 Marion, I presumed of course that he had at least 
 informed you of it. Is it possible that he has 
 not done so ? " 
 
 Mrs. Nordheim broke out into a laugh that 
 actually surprised Mrs. Granville. 
 
 "Told me— me ! No, he did not tell me. Why, 
 it is the most comical thing I have heard of for
 
 MARION. 209 
 
 a long time ! Marion in love, and engaged to be 
 married to that little girl, Isabel Granville ! — ha, 
 ha, ha ! It is a good joke, is it not ? '' 
 
 Mrs. Tom Granville could not, or did not see 
 the joke ; and she replied that her niece was not 
 so very little ; on the contrary that she was a full- 
 grown young lady. 
 
 " O, my dear Mrs. Granville, I meant no harm. 
 To tell you the truth, your information has some- 
 what surprised me. Marion is not yet twent}^ 
 years old, and it is rather young to think of 
 getting married." 
 
 "It is indeed. But what can be done? I 
 thought I would come up and have an explana- 
 tion with you." 
 
 " You are very kind indeed, but I must decline 
 having anything to do with the matter. Marion 
 has not told me of it, and therefore I shall say 
 nothing. Your conversation shall go no further. 
 I will keep it in my own breast;" and she placed 
 her hand there for a moment, as if to press the 
 secret in, so that it would be safe. 
 
 These two ladies continued in conversation for 
 over an hour, upon almost every topic of the day. 
 Mrs. Nordheim took the lead, and Mrs. Tom 
 Granville wondered at such a flow of good spirits.
 
 300 MARION. 
 
 At last the visitor left. No sooner had the door 
 closed, than Mrs. Nordheim fell at full length 
 upon the floor, and rolled in agony. 
 
 " O, my God, preserve my reason ! I, that have 
 so long loved liim in secret ! I — that now all 
 obstacles to my dreams for years are removed ! 
 He — Marion — our Marion — my Marion — to go 
 and fall in love with that chit, simpleton, foolish, 
 nonsensical girl ! But I will not give way ! No, 
 no, no ! Courage, courage ! It is better as it is. 
 He nor no living soul shall know what I have 
 sufi'ered ! But it is over now, and if Marion 
 were to come home, I could receive him as calmly 
 as if he was my brother." 
 
 She rose and resumed her seat. The tears 
 silently poured down her cheeks, but after a 
 few moments she descended to the basement and 
 gave orders to the servants as calmly as if her 
 heart had never known aught but the most peace- 
 ful pulsations. Such is life ! 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 ERADBVRY AND EVAN?, PKINTF.RS, VVlIITEi RI.VRS.
 
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