the night that lizzie stevens arrived in philadelphia was the one decided upon for the marriage of emily garie and charles ellis; and whilst she was wandering so lonely through the streets of one part of the city, a scene of mirth and gaiety was transpiring in another, some of the actors in which would be made more happy by events that would be productive of great sorrow to her.
throughout that day bustle and confusion had reigned supreme in the house of mr. walters. caddy, who had been there since the break of day, had taken the domestic reins entirely from the hands of the mistress of the mansion, and usurped command herself. quiet esther was well satisfied to yield her full control of the domestic arrangements for the festivities, and caddy was nothing loath to assume them.
she entered upon the discharge of her self-imposed duties with such ardour as to leave no doubt upon the minds of the parties most interested but that they would be thoroughly performed, and with an alacrity too that positively appalled quiet esther's easy-going servants.
great doubts had been expressed as to whether caddy could successfully sustain the combined characters of chef de cuisine and bridesmaid, and a failure had been prophesied. she therefore felt it incumbent upon her to prove these prognostications unfounded, and demonstrate the practicability of the undertaking. on the whole, she went to work with energy, and seemed determined to establish the fact that her abilities were greatly underrated, and that a woman could accomplish more than one thing at a time when she set about it.
the feelings of all such persons about the establishment of mr. walters as were "constitutionally tired" received that day divers serious shocks at the hands of miss caddy—who seemed endowed with a singular faculty which enabled her to discover just what people did not want to do, and of setting them at it immediately.
for instance, jane, the fat girl, hated going upstairs excessively. caddy employed her in bringing down glass and china from a third-story pantry; and, moreover, only permitted her to bring a small quantity at a time, which rendered a number of trips strictly necessary, to the great aggravation and serious discomfort of the fat girl in question.
on the other hand, julia, the slim chambermaid, who would have been delighted with such employment, and who would have undoubtedly refreshed herself on each excursion upstairs with a lengthened gaze from the window, was condemned to the polishing of silver and dusting of plates and glass in an obscure back pantry, which contained but one window, and that commanding a prospect of a dead wall.
miss caddy felt in duty bound to inspect each cake, look over the wine, and (to the great discomfiture of the waiter) decant it herself, not liking to expose him to any unnecessary temptation. she felt, too, all the more inclined to assume the office of butler from the fact that, at a previous party of her sister's, she had detected this same gentleman with a bottle of the best sherry at his mouth, whilst he held his head thrown back in a most surprising manner, with a view, no doubt, of contemplating the ceiling more effectually from that position.
before night such was the increasing demand for help in the kitchen that caddy even kidnapped the nurse, and locked the brown baby and her sister in the bath-room, where there was no window in their reach, nor any other means at hand from which the slightest injury could result to them. here they were supplied with a tub half filled with water, and spent the time most delightfully in making boats of their shoes, and lading them with small pieces of soap, which they bit off from the cake for the occasion; then, coasting along to the small towns on the borders of the tub, they disposed of their cargoes to imaginary customers to immense advantage.
walters had declared the house uninhabitable, and had gone out for the day. esther and emily busied themselves in arranging the flowers in the drawing-room and hall, and hanging amidst the plants on the balcony little stained glass lamps; all of which caddy thought very well in its way, but which she was quite confident would be noticed much less by the guests than the supper—in which supposition she was undoubtedly correct.
kinch also lounged in two or three times during the day, to seek consolation at the hands of esther and emily. he was in deep distress of mind—in great perturbation. his tailor had promised to send home a vest the evening previous and had not fulfilled his agreement. after his first visit kinch entered the house in the most stealthy manner, for fear of being encountered by caddy; who, having met him in the hall during the morning, posted him off for twenty pounds of sugar, a ball of twine, and a stone jar, despite his declaration of pre-engagements, haste, and limited knowledge of the articles in question.
whilst lizzie stevens was tremblingly ringing the bell at the lodge of the hospital, busy hands were also pulling at that of mr. walters's dwelling. carriage after carriage rolled up, and deposited their loads of gay company, who skipped nimbly over the carpet that was laid down from the door to the curbstone. through the wide hall and up the stairway, flowers of various kinds mingled their fragrance and loaded the air with their rich perfume; and expressions of delight burst from the lips of the guests as they passed up the brilliantly-lighted stairway and thronged the spacious drawing-rooms. there were but few whites amongst them, and they particular friends. there was mrs. bird, who had travelled from warmouth to be present at the ceremony; mr. balch, the friend and legal adviser of the bride's father; father banks, who was to tie the happy knot; and there, too, was mrs. burrell, and that baby, now grown to a promising lad, and who would come to the wedding because charlie had sent him a regular invitation written like that sent his parents.
mr. and mrs. ellis were of course there,—the latter arrayed in a rich new silk made up expressly for the occasion—and the former almost hidden in his large easy chair. the poor old gentleman scarcely seemed able to comprehend the affair, and apparently laboured under the impression that it was another mob, and looked a little terrified at times when the laughter or conversation grew louder than usual.
the hour for the ceremony was fast approaching, and esther left the assembled guests and went up into emily garie's room to assist the young ladies in preparing the bride. they all besought her to be calm, not to agitate herself upon any consideration; and then bustled about her, and flurried themselves in the most ridiculous manner, with a view, no doubt, of tranquillizing her feelings more effectually.
"little em," soon to be mrs. ellis, was busily engaged in dressing; the toilet-table was covered with lighted candles, and all the gas-burners in the room were in full blaze, bringing everything out in bold relief.
"we are having quite an illumination; the glare almost blinds me," said
emily. "put out some of the candles."
"no, no, my dear," rejoined one of the young ladies engaged in dressing her; "we cannot sacrifice a candle. we don't need them to discern your charms, em; only to enable us to discover how to deck them to the best advantage. how sweet you look!"
emily gazed into the mirror; and from the blush that suffused her face and the look of complacency that followed, it was quite evident that she shared her friend's opinion. she did, indeed, look charming. there was a deeper colour than usual on her cheeks, and her eyes were illumined with a soft, tender light. her wavy brown hair was parted smoothly on the front, and gathered into a cluster of curls at the back. around her neck glistened a string of pearls, a present from mr. winston, who had just returned from south america. the pure white silk fitted to a nicety, and the tiny satin slippers seemed as if they were made upon her feet, and never intended to come off again. her costume was complete, with the exception of the veil and wreath, and esther opened the box that she supposed contained them, for the purpose of arranging them on the bride.
"where have you put the veil, my dear?" she asked, after raising the lid of the box, and discovering that they were not there.
"in the box, are they not?" answered one of the young ladies.
"no, they are not there," continued esther, as she turned over the various articles with which the tables were strewed. all in vain; the veil and wreath could be nowhere discovered.
"are you sure it came home?" asked one.
"of course," replied another; "i had it in my hand an hour ago."
then a thorough search was commenced, all the drawers ransacked, and everything turned over again and again; and just when they were about to abandon the search in despair, one of the party returned from the adjoining room, dragging along the brown baby, who had the veil wrapped about her chubby shoulders as a scarf, and the wreath ornamenting her round curly head. even good-natured esther was a little ruffled at this daring act of baby's, and hastily divested that young lady of her borrowed adornments, amidst the laughter of the group.
poor baby was quite astonished at the precipitate manner in which she was deprived of her finery, and was for a few moments quite overpowered by her loss; but, perceiving a drawer open in the toilet-table, she dried her eyes, and turned her attention in that direction, and in tossing its contents upon the floor amply solaced herself for the deprivation she had just undergone.
"caddy is a famous chief bridesmaid—hasn't been here to give the least assistance," observed esther; "she is not even dressed herself. i will ring, and ask where she can be—in the kitchen or supper-room i've no doubt. where is miss ellis?" she asked of the servant who came in answer her summons.
"downstairs, mem—the boy that brought the ice-cream kicked over a candy ornament, and miss ellis was very busy a shaking of him when i came up."
"do beg her to stop," rejoined esther, with a laugh, "and tell her i say she can shake him in the morning—we are waiting for her to dress now; and also tell mr. de younge to come here to the door—i want him."
kinch soon made his appearance, in accordance with esther's request, and fairly dazzled her with his costume. his blue coat was brazen with buttons, and his white cravat tied with choking exactness; spotless vest, black pants, and such patent leathers as you could have seen your face in with ease.
"how fine you look, kinch," said esther admiringly.
"yes," he answered; "the new vest came home—how do you like it?"
"oh, admirable! but, kinch, can't you go down, and implore caddy to come up and dress—time is slipping away very fast?"
"oh, i daren't," answered kinch, with a look of alarm—"i don't dare to go down now that i'm dressed. she'll want me to carry something up to the supper-room if i do—a pile of dishes, or something of the kind. i'd like to oblige you, mrs. walters, but it's worth my new suit to do it."
under these circumstances, kinch was excused; and a deputation, headed by mr. walters, was sent into the lower regions to wait upon caddy, who prevailed upon her to come up and dress, which she did, being all the while very red in the face, and highly indignant at being sent for so often.
"good gracious!" she exclaimed, "what a pucker you are all in!"
"why, caddy, it's time to be," replied esther—"it wants eight minutes of the hour."
"and that is just three minutes more than i should want for dressing if i was going to be married myself," rejoined she; and hastening away, she returned in an incredibly short time, all prepared for the ceremony.
charlie was very handsomely got up for the occasion. emily, esther, caddy—in fact, all of them—agreed that he never looked better in his life. "that is owing to me—all my doings," said kinch exultingly. "he wanted to order his suit of old forbes, who hasn't looked at a fashion-plate for the last ten years, and i wouldn't let him. i took him to my man, and see what he has made of him—turned him out looking like a bridegroom, instead of an old man of fifty! it's all owing to me," said the delighted kinch, who skipped about the entry until he upset a vase of flowers that stood on a bracket behind him; whereupon caddy ran and brought a towel, and made him take off his white gloves and wipe up the water, in spite of his protestations that the shape of his pantaloons would not bear the strain of stooping.
at last the hour arrived, and the bridal party descended to the drawing-room in appropriate order, and stood up before father banks. the ceremony was soon over, and emily was clasped in mrs. ellis's arms, who called her "daughter," and kissed her cheek with such warm affection that she no longer felt herself an orphan, and paid back with tears and embraces the endearments that were lavished upon her by her new relatives.
father banks took an early opportunity to give them each some good advice, and managed to draw them apart for that purpose. he told them how imperfect and faulty were all mankind—that married life was not all couleur de rose—that the trials and cares incident to matrimony fully equalled its pleasures; and besought them to bear with each other patiently, to be charitable to each other's faults—and a reasonable share of earthly happiness must be the result.
then came the supper. oh! such a supper!—such quantities of nice things as money and skill alone can bring together. there were turkeys innocent of a bone, into which you might plunge your knife to the very hilt without coming in contact with a splinter—turkeys from which cunning cooks had extracted every bone leaving the meat alone behind, with the skin not perceptibly broken. how brown and tempting they looked, their capacious bosoms giving rich promise of high-seasoned dressing within, and looking larger by comparison with the tiny reed-birds beside them, which lay cosily on the golden toast, looking as much as to say, "if you want something to remember for ever, come and give me a bite!"
then there were dishes of stewed terrapin, into which the initiated dipped at once, and to which they for some time gave their undivided attention, oblivious, apparently, of the fact that there was a dish of chicken-salad close beside them.
then there were oysters in every variety—silver dishes containing them stewed, their fragrant macey odour wafting itself upward, and causing watery sensations about the mouth. waiters were constantly rushing into the room, bringing dishes of them fried so richly brown, so smoking hot, that no man with a heart in his bosom could possibly refuse them. then there were glass dishes of them pickled, with little black spots of allspice floating on the pearly liquid that contained them. and lastly, oysters broiled, whose delicious flavour exceeds my powers of description—these, with ham and tongue, were the solid comforts. there were other things, however, to which one could turn when the appetite grew more dainty; there were jellies, blancmange, chocolate cream, biscuit glace, peach ice, vanilla ice, orange-water ice, brandy peaches, preserved strawberries and pines; not to say a word of towers of candy, bonbons, kisses, champagne, rhine wine, sparkling catawba, liquors, and a man in the corner making sherry cobblers of wondrous flavour, under the especial supervision of kinch; on the whole, it was an american supper, got up regardless of expense—and whoever has been to such an entertainment knows very well what an american supper is.
what a merry happy party it was—how they all seemed to enjoy themselves—and how they all laughed, when the bride essayed to cut the cake, and could not get the knife through the icing—and how the young girls put pieces away privately, that they might place them under their pillows to dream upon! what a happy time they had!
father banks enjoyed himself amazingly; he eat quantities of stewed terrapin, and declared it the best he ever tasted. he talked gravely to the old people—cheerfully and amusingly to the young; and was, in fact, having a most delightful time—when a servant whispered to him that there was a person in the entry who wished to see him immediately.
"oh dear!" he exclaimed to mr. balch, "i was just congratulating myself that i should have one uninterrupted evening, and you see the result—called off at this late hour."
father banks followed the servant from the room, and inquired of the messenger what was wanted.
"you must come to the hospital immediately, sir; the man with the typhus-fever—you saw him yesterday—he's dying; he says he must see you—that he has something important to confess. i'm to go for a magistrate as well."
"ah!" said father banks, "you need go no further, alderman balch is here—he is quite competent to receive his depositions."
"i'm heartily glad of it," replied the man, "it will save me another hunt. i had a hard time finding you. i've been to your house and two or three other places, and was at last sent here. i'll go back and report that you are coming and will bring a magistrate with you."
"very good," rejoined father banks, "do so. i will be there immediately." hastening back to the supper room, he discovered mr. balch in the act of helping himself to a brandy peach, and apprised him of the demand for his services.
"now, banks," said he, good-humouredly, "that is outrageous. why did you not let him go for some one else? it is too bad to drag me away just when the fun is about to commence." there was no alternative, however, and mr. balch prepared to follow the minister to the bedside of mccloskey.
when they arrived at the hospital, they found him fast sinking—the livid colour of his face, the sunken glassy eyes, the white lips, and the blue tint that surrounded the eyes and mouth told at once the fearful story. death had come. he was in full possession of his faculties, and told them all. how stevens had saved him from the gallows—and how he agreed to murder mr. garie—of his failure when the time of action arrived, and how, in consequence, stevens had committed the deed, and how he had paid him time after time to keep his secret.
"in my trunk there," said he, in a dying whisper,—"in my trunk is the will. i found it that night amongst his papers. i kept it to get money out of his children with when old stevens was gone. here," continued he, handing his key from beneath the pillow, "open my trunk and get it."
mr. balch eagerly unlocked the trunk, and there, sure enough, lay the long-sought-for and important document.
"i knew it would be found at last. i always told walters so; and now," said he, exultingly, "see my predictions are verified."
mccloskey seemed anxious to atone for the past by making an ample confession. he told them all he knew of mr. stevens's present circumstances—how his property was situated, and every detail necessary for their guidance. then his confession was sworn to and witnessed; and the dying man addressed himself to the affairs of the next world, and endeavoured to banish entirely from his mind all thoughts of this.
after a life passed in the exercise of every christian virtue—after a lengthened journey over its narrow stony pathway, whereon temptations have been met and triumphed over—where we have struggled with difficulties, and borne afflictions without murmur or complaint, cheering on the weary we have found sinking by the wayside, comforting and assisting the fallen, endeavouring humbly and faithfully to do our duty to god and humanity—even after a life thus passed, when we at last lie down to die the most faithful and best may well shrink and tremble when they approach the gloomy portals of death. at such an hour memory, more active than every other faculty, drags all the good and evil from the past and sets them in distinct array before us. then we discover how greatly the latter exceeds the former in our lives, and how little of our father's work we have accomplished after all our toils and struggles. 'tis then the most devoted servant of our common master feels compelled to cry, "mercy! o my father!—for justice i dare not ask."
if thus the christian passes away—what terror must fill the breast of one whose whole life has been a constant warfare upon the laws of god and man? how approaches he the bar of that awful judge, whose commands he has set at nought, and whose power he has so often contemned? with a fainting heart, and tongue powerless to crave the mercy his crimes cannot deserve!
mccloskey struggled long with death—died fearfully hard. the phantoms of his victims seemed to haunt him in his dying hour, interposing between him and god; and with distorted face, clenched hands, and gnashing teeth, he passed away to his long account.
from the bedside of the corpse mr. balch went—late as it was—to the office of the chief of police. there he learned, to his great satisfaction, that the governor was in town; and at an early hour the next morning he procured a requisition for the arrest of mr. stevens, which he put into the hands of the man with the keen grey eyes for the purpose of securing the criminal; and with the result of his efforts the reader is already acquainted.
