John B. Magruder

“ If Major King should come to call, however, she could feel confident that he would not betray the presence of this vindictive feeling, for, despite her disapproval of his tone and manner in general, she felt that she could count upon his possessing a spirit of courtesy, a hidden germ of which she had rarely found wanting in a Southern man’s breast.
Margaret mentioned, at breakfast next morning, the fact of her having met Major King, and inquired of her friends if they knew him. The two gentlemen were silent, and Mrs. Gaston replied by a simple negative. ”

“ Have some. I’m sure he ought to be good to me,” she said, critically peering into the box from which Margaret had just helped herself, and selecting a plump chocolate drop; “I certainly spoil him sufficiently. Still, there isn’t very much one can do for a man like that. He has such frugal habits, it’s quite baffling. But tell me what you think of him, after a second encounter.”
“Why, nothing more than I thought before, except that he has a beautiful hand.”
“Margaret, you are never disappointing,” said Cousin Eugenia, warmly. ”

“ I used to feel much as you do, before I went out into the world.”
“I should think a knowledge of the world would make one more fastidious instead of less so,” said Margaret, sturdily.
“I think you are wrong in that. One learns to take things as they come, and loses the notion of having all things exactly to one’s taste.”
“But surely such flagrant impoliteness as Mr. Gaston’s would be condemned anywhere,” said Margaret. “You should have seen his treatment of Major King.”
She then proceeded to give a spirited account of that episode, to her cousin’s manifest interest and amusement. ”

“ She war mighty pretty little thing, wid yaller hair en great big sof’ blue eyes, en a little han’ ez sof’ en white ez snow. I was mos’ feared to ketch hold on it, wid my ole black paw, but she would shake han’s wid me, en she ’lowed maybe t’wor dat whippin’ what make her husman sich a good man, en Mars’ Rawjer he look at her fit to eat her up. She bin use ter gin out to de han’s, arter she come, but Aun’ Kitty she tote de smoke-’us key.”
As Margaret rose to take leave, the old man rose also. ”

“ I have magnified my own people persistently, in talking to you, and depreciated yours. You mustn’t take me as a specimen of Southern courtesy. Wait till you see my father. I’m a degenerate daughter.”
“I hope I may see him some time. Knowing you has made me wish to know your people better. If I ask you, some day, to let me come and make their acquaintance, what will you say?”
“Come, and welcome,” said Margaret, heartily; and then, as a consciousness of the warmth of her tone dawned upon her, she added: “We are a hospitable race, you know, and hold it a sacred duty to entertain strangers. ”

“ Shortly before leaving, an acquaintance of General Reardon’s came up, to whom Margaret was presented. He was a Major King, a Southern man, as Margaret somehow divined at a glance, and a resident of Washington, as it soon appeared. Before the party separated, he inquired where Miss Trevennon was staying, and asked her permission to call upon her. Margaret yielded the permission, of course, but with a strange feeling of reluctance; she saw that, though a familiar type of Southern man, he was not a favorable one. ”

“ Magruder, whose headquarters were at Houston, and who commanded not only the whole of Texas but nominally New Mexico and Arizona besides, was keeping rather more than two thirds of his forces for the defence of Galveston and the line of the Sabine, while the remainder were distributed on the Rio Grande, at Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and Indianola; he had not 2,000 men together anywhere, nor could even Kirby Smith have concentrated 20,000 at any single point without giving up all the rest of the vast territory confided to his care. ”

“ Vere, had informed his cousin. It was, therefore, with a tone of injured gentleness, that he said:
“Margaret, you surprise and grieve me inexpressibly by such words as those. I can only account for them by the possibility of some [266] one’s having given you false ideas about me. There are always people to do these things, unfortunately,” he went on, with a little sigh of patient resignation ”

“ Sometime it animate me very strong, en make me tower high ’bove de world; but den agin, sometime de very las’ bit on it takes to flight, [22] en ef you b’lieve me, missis, I ain’ got no more religion den de palm o’ your han’!”
“The greatest saints have complained of that, Uncle Mose,” said Margaret; “it is one of the devil’s strongest temptations.”
“What, ole Sat’n, missis? Talk to me ’bout ole Sat’n! Don’t I know him? ”

“ Margaret burst into a peal of laughter.
“What makes you think they’ll grow up to [180] be Yankees, Amy?” she said. “Did anybody ever tell you so?”
“No, Auntie Mard’rit, but they’re so awful bad; and if they’re that bad when they’re little, I bet they will grow up to be Yankees.”
At this point Mrs. Guion entered, and Margaret related the story to her with great zest.
“How do you suppose they got hold of such an idea?” she said.
“I can’t imagine,” said Mrs. Guion, “I’m sure they never got it from me. Alan will insist that they did, as he considers me a most bigoted rebel. ”

“ Mrs. Gaston said to her cousin one [28] morning, as the latter sat beside her couch in the little dressing-room where the invalid was taking her breakfast. “It will be brighter for you when the season fairly opens; but I purposely begged you to come now, so that we might have time to make acquaintance while we are quiet. I wish Louis would come home, but there’s never any counting on him, he’s so frightfully busy all the time. I never saw a man work so hard in my life.”
Margaret looked a little puzzled: “I thought you told me——” she began,
“That he is well off? So he is. ”

“ Yes, missis; he bin put he han’s on de top en res’ he chin on ’em, en when I bin had ter git out’n de ole place, de bin gin it ter me fur a sort o’ memorandum.”
“You were mighty fond of your old master, weren’t you, Uncle Mose?” asked Margaret.
“Ah, dat’s a fac’, missis—dat’s a fac’. Ole mars’r war mighty good to us. De wor three hund’rd on us, en he wor de mars’r, en we had ter know it. He done bin gin he niggers mighty good chance, ole mars’r is. Ebery man bin had he pig en he chickens, en ole mars’r he buy de young chickens en de eggs, en pay us de market price fur ’em. Yes, missis.” ”

“ He could not be blind to the fact that he had offended Margaret, whose conduct during the evening had really puzzled him as much as his had puzzled her. How could she bear to be pleasant and civil to a man like that? It made him angry to think of the fellow’s daring [106] even to speak to her, and he assured himself that he had been perfectly right to pursue a course which would free her from such an obnoxious intrusion in future. ”

“ Of course, I should not venture to criticise a decision of yours, but when Eugenia urged you so, the other day, to stay a month longer, do you know, I almost held my breath to hear what you would say? And your positive refusal quite cut me. It’s rather hard on a man, to learn that his education is to be cut short at one fell blow like that; and I am in horrible fear of retrogression.”
“Oh, don’t laugh at me, Mr. Gaston,” said Margaret, rather confusedly. ”

“ Margaret, to try to banish the remembrance of his trouble, turned him around to the window and called his attention to the children next door, who were running about the back yard in the rain and apparently enjoying it immensely. Ethel and Amy had joined them at the window, the latter standing on tip-toe to look.
“That’s Jack and Cora,” she said, still grasping her doll with one arm, while she held on to the window-ledge with the other. “Oh, Auntie Mard’rit, they’re such awful bad children. They don’t mind their mamma nor nuthin’. You jes’ ought to see how bad they are. ”

“ Gaston. “He was driving with Lord Waring.”
[145] Margaret felt a little throb of gratification, as her cousin made this announcement, of which she was deeply ashamed the next instant. “I am getting the most horrid ideas into my head,” she said to herself; “what a little snob I should have felt myself two months ago, to be filled with vulgar elation at the thought of Alan Decourcy being seen driving with a lord! It’s perfectly humiliating!” ”

“ His tone of conscious rectitude and the reproachful sadness of the eyes he turned upon her, made Margaret so indignant and angry that she said, with some heat:
“We are playing a farce, Alan, and it had better come to an end. I am perfectly willing to accord you all the credit you deserve. You are a charming man of the world,” she added, falling into a lighter tone, “and I admire your manners immensely. I am perfectly willing [269] to continue to be on good terms with you, but there must be certain limitations to our friendship. ”

“ It has been with me, during all my wanderings to and fro—if not the definite hope, at least an appreciation of the fact that my sweet cousin was endowed, more than any woman whom I had known, with all the attributes and qualities a man could desire in his companion for life. I cannot, even yet, quite abandon the hope that I may yet induce you to accept my devotion.”
Margaret might have borne the rest, but this word galled her.
“Devotion!” she said mockingly, with a little scornful laugh. “Oh, Alan!”
“What do you mean? Why should you speak to me in that tone? It is unfair, Margaret. ”

“ I read somewhere the other day, that it was one of the few really historical families in America, and I have no desire to speak disrespectfully of them, only I do think they [31] make an unnecessary amount of fuss with themselves. Oh! I must tell you about my first interview with Mr. Alexander M. Gaston. You know who he is!”
“Really, I do not,” said Margaret, lifting her eyebrows with a deprecating smile.
“Well, you are green! but, however, it’s unnecessary to enlighten you now, except to say that he is Edward’s uncle, and the head of the great house of Gaston. ”

“ Gaston, and regarded Margaret with a broad stare. Alan, of course, spoke also, but for some reason Margaret avoided doing more than just glancing at him as she passed on toward the staircase.
“And so Mrs. Vere already has your cousin in her toils!” said Mrs. Gaston, as they were approaching the dressing-room.
“Was that Mrs. Vere?” said Margaret. “Who is she?”
“Oh, she’s one of the most noted of the married belles!” said Mrs. Gaston. “If Mr. Decourcy were not a man of the world and well able to take care of himself, it might be well for you to warn him. As it is, I feel no anxiety about him.” ”

“ Isn’t it a fine thing to think how he worked over it, while all the time he was studying hard at his profession too.”
“So Gaston is lucky enough to have won your approbation, in one quarter, at least, though he does come under your ban in [161] another,” said Decourcy. “You are exacting, Margaret, and severe in your ideals: I foresee that I shall be afraid of you. It would be interesting to make the acquaintance of the lucky man who is destined to command your entire approval, and win your fair hand.”
Margaret laughed brightly:
“Cousin Eugenia says I shall never marry,” she answered ”

“ They stood some time by the railing, the group of four,—Miller talking in a desultory way to Dallas, while Noel spoke, in animated, if somewhat halting Italian, to the young wife. There was quite a strong breeze blowing; and some dark ribbons, which tied her fur collar, fluttered and sounded on the air. She held to the rail with both little smooth-gloved hands; and her heavy cloth dress clung close about her, [Pg 20] and was blown backward in strong, swaying folds. ”

“ De did’n have no plates en knives to eat with. No missis; but what dem niggers want long o’ plates en knives? De ain’ got no right to complain cause de ain’ eat offn chany. De needn’t think ole mars’r gwine let em come sit down at his table long o’ him, ’kus he worn’ gwine do it, en he did’n do it. No, missis.”
The old man’s tone was one of vehement indorsement [16] of his master’s policy, that there could be no mistaking.
“Did you marry one of your own master’s slaves, Uncle Mose?” asked Margaret, presently.
“No, missis,” Uncle Mose responded blandly; “I marry a gal whar ’long to one Mr. ”

“ I would have been more just to you.”
“There has been no story told,” said Margaret. “If there were any stories to tell, they have been kept from me. Do not let us pursue this topic, Alan, and when we drop it now, let it be forever. It is quite out of the question that we can ever be more to each other than we are now.”
“As you have said it,” he replied, “my only course is a silent acquiescence. ”

“ Following up the rear-guard, General Magruder came upon it in force at Savage Station. The Second Corps and Franklin’s division under W. F. Smith of the Sixth, under General Sumner, were posted there to cover the retreat. Magruder planned battling with his own six brigades against their front, two brigades of Huger’s division to come on the enemy’s left down the Williamsburg road, Jackson’s twelve or fifteen brigades to attack their right. But when Magruder thought his arrangements complete, he received a message from General Huger “that his brigades would be withdrawn.” ”

“ She had reason to hope that he would use his great position to great ends, for the residuum of all her turbid and agitating thoughts about him was an admiration for the man in his attitude toward the world, no matter how much she still resented his attitude toward herself. That this last was so, there needed no stronger proof than her eager resolution to get away from Kingdon Hall—out of the country, if possible—before the arrival of the man whose place her husband had once taken, and who, in another sense, was now to take his. ”