"cornelius!" exclaimed captain passford, as a young man of nineteen was shown into the library of the magnificent dwelling of the millionnaire at bonnydale, on the hudson.
"cornelius passford, uncle horatio," replied the young man, as the captain rushed to him and extended his hand.
"i think there can be no mistake about it; and i should have been no more surprised if mr. jefferson davis had been ushered into my library at this moment," continued captain passford, still retaining the hand of his nephew. "i understood that you were a soldier in the confederate army."
"i was a soldier; but i am not one just now," replied the visitor, with some embarrassment in 16 his manner, though the circumstances were strange enough to account for it.
"how are your father and mother and miss gerty, corny?" asked the uncle of the visitor, giving the young man the name by which he was generally called both at home and in the family of his uncle.
"they were all very well when i left them," replied corny, looking on the floor, as though he was not altogether satisfied with himself.
"of course, you brought letters from your father and gerty?"
"no, sir; i brought no letters," replied corny, and, more than before, he looked as though he was not enjoying his present visit.
"no letters!" exclaimed captain passford, evidently surprised beyond measure at the apparent want of kindly feeling on the part of members of his brother's family in the south.
"not a letter, uncle horatio," answered corny, bracing himself up, as though he realized that he was not presenting a demeanor such as he thought the occasion required of him.
"this is very strange," added captain passford, with a cloud playing on his fine features.
17 "it is war between the north and the south, uncle horatio, and i suppose my father did not feel like writing any letters. gerty never writes any letters if she can help it," corny explained.
"but gerty used to write to florry about once a week."
"did she? i didn't know it. she never would write to me when i was away from home," said corny, who seemed to be very anxious not to say anything that was not consistent with the present situation, whatever it was.
"when i parted with my brother on board of the bellevite, both of us shed tears as we realized that war made enemies of us; but each of us promised to do all he could for the other in case of need. i am very sure that there was not the slightest unkind feeling between us. of course, i did not expect him to write me the war news, but i think he could have written a few lines without any allusion to the war," said captain passford, pained at this want of filial affection on the part of his brother.
at that moment the bell for tea rang, and the captain invited his nephew to the table with him. the host was saddened by the absence of news from 18 his brother, of any kindly expression from one who was of the same blood as himself. he was not quite satisfied with corny's manner, or with the little he seemed to be willing to say about the rest of the family. it was certainly very strange that the young man should be there at all, and his awkwardness and confusion made the visit seem still more singular.
it was possible that the young man had just arrived and was fatigued by the trials and perils of his trip, for he must have come by some roundabout way; and very likely he felt nervous and uneasy in the midst of people who were loyal to the government and the union. captain passford decided to say nothing more to his nephew at present as to the occasion and the manner of his visit to bonnydale, and during the evening meal he avoided all allusion to the war, so far as it was possible to do so. mrs. passford and florry received him very kindly, but following the example of the head of the family, they spoke only of domestic affairs, and of the relations of the two families as they had been before the war.
between the brothers homer and horatio passford, even from their early boyhood, a remarkably 19 strong fraternal affection had subsisted. both of them were high-toned men, and both of them had always been faithful in the discharge of every duty to god and man. each of them had a wife, a son and a daughter, and two happier families could not have been found on the face of the earth. they were not only devoted to each other, each within its own circle, but the two families were as nearly one as it was possible to be.
captain horatio had formerly been a shipmaster, and had accumulated an immense fortune. homer was less fortunate in this respect, and his tastes were somewhat different from those of his brother. he wanted to be a planter, and with the financial assistance of his brother, he went into the business of raising cotton near mobile, in alabama. but years before the war, he had paid off every dollar of his indebtedness to horatio, and had made a comfortable fortune besides. the two families had visited each other as much an possible, and the captain, with his little family, had been almost to the plantation in the bellevite, the magnificent steam-yacht of the northerner.
during the preceding winter, captain passford, his wife and son, had visited most of the islands of 20 the atlantic; but the health of miss florry was considerably impaired, and the doctors would not permit her to make this sea-voyage, but recommended her to keep quiet in some southern locality. she had therefore passed the winter at glenfield, which was the name of homer passford's plantation. on his return from this long cruise, the owner of the bellevite obtained his first news that war existed between the north and the south from the pilot. the three members of the family on board of the steamer were greatly distressed over the fact that florry was still at the home of her uncle in alabama, within the enemy's lines.
without going on shore, captain passford decided to arm his yacht, which was large enough for a man-of-war, and hasten to mobile bay to bring back his daughter. he was in doubt with regard to the political feeling of homer, but believed that he would still adhere to the government and the union. it was a part of his mission to bring his brother and his family to his own home at bonnydale. mrs. passford was sent on shore in a tug, and christy, the son, was to go with her; but the young man, just entering his 21 seventeenth year, protested against being left at home, and as the captain believed that a patriotic citizen ought to be willing to give his all, even his sons, to his country, the young man went with his father. the mother was as devoted to her country as the father, and terrible as was the ordeal, she consented to part with him for such a duty.
by an event fortunate for him, captain passford succeeded in obtaining an armament for his vessel, as well as an abundant supply of ammunition; and the vessel was refitted for the perilous service in which she was to be engaged. at nassau, christy made the acquaintance of a young man who proved to be of great service to the expedition, and the bellevite reached her destination in safety, though not without some rather exciting incidents.
captain passford found that his brother was sincerely and devotedly attached to the southern cause. they discussed the great question for hours upon hours, each striving to convert the other to his own views, but with no success on the part of either. homer passford was a religious man, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, and nothing less could be said of his northern brother. in a short time the owner of the bellevite 22 found that he had fallen into a "hornet's nest," for the planter did not believe that he ought to allow the steam-yacht to be taken to new york to become a part of the navy of the union. he declared his convictions to his brother, who was compelled to regard the planter as an enemy in spite of the relations subsisting between them. both of them placed their duty to their own country above every other consideration.
captain passford was obliged to get his daughter out of his brother's house by stealth, and to make his escape with the bellevite as best he could.
major lindley pierson, in command of fort gaines, at the entrance to mobile bay, had permitted the steamer to pass, having been deceived by his younger brother. he had been a frequent visitor at the mansion of homer passford, attracted there, it appeared, by the lovely daughter of the planter's brother, remaining there for the winter. perhaps on her account, perhaps with the fear that the bellevite was not what she had appeared to be, he had gone to the vicinity of glenfield to inquire into the mission of the steamer.
homer passford, acting upon his convictions, gave information which resulted in an attempt to 23 capture the bellevite. christy, not informed in regard to the plans of his father to depart at once in the steamer, was "taken by the enemy," and had some very stirring adventures in the bay. but the steamer escaped from the numerous enemies that awaited her, and christy got on board of her at the last minute. the bellevite ran the gantlet of the forts in a dense fog, and brought miss florry in safety to her home at bonnydale.
corny passford, whose unexpected arrival at bonnydale had excited the astonishment of his uncle, was a year older than christy, and had enlisted in the confederate service at the insistence of major pierson. without knowing anything in particular about the matter, his uncle believed, at his visit to glenfield, that corny was as earnestly devoted to the southern cause as his father, judging entirely from the fact that he had enlisted as a soldier.
corny had a good appetite, and a good supper was set before him. he ate like a hungry boy, and the fact that he was within the enemy's lines did not seem to have any influence upon him. his aunt helped him till he seemed to be filled to repletion, for she thought he must have been accustomed 24 of late only to the most indifferent fare. after supper, he followed his uncle back to the library; but he seemed less embarrassed than before.
"where is christy, uncle horatio?" asked corny, as he seated himself in the library. "i have not seen him yet; and as i was away at the fort when you went to glenfield, i did not see him then."
"i don't know where he is just now, though he is in or about the house most of the time," replied the captain. "are you still in the army, corny?"
"no, sir, i am here. i did not like the service very well, and i thought i should like the navy better. the reason why i did not like it as well as at first was because i was no longer in major pierson's battalion," replied corny, looking at his uncle as though he expected a question from him.
"then major pierson is no longer in the army?" added the captain.
"oh, yes, he is; but i think he was the maddest man in the army soon after you left."
"indeed! why was he so mad?"
"because he was removed from command of 25 fort gaines for letting you pass it in your steamer."
"then he is still in the service?" asked captain passford.
"yes, sir; he is a good officer, and he will make his way, if he was guilty of a blunder in letting the bellevite pass the fort."
"then you intend to be a sailor, corny?"
"yes, sir; in fact, i am a sailor now. i had been in your yacht so much that i knew something about the ropes, and i had no difficulty in getting transferred, as sailors were wanted more than soldiers," replied corny, who seemed to be studying the figures in the carpet.
"but if you went into the navy, how do you happen to be in new york?" asked captain passford.
"i suppose you remember the dauphine, which was fitting out when you were in mobile bay?" continued corny.
"i heard the name, and was told that she was one of the vessels that tried to prevent the escape of the bellevite."
"i was sent on board of her; but, in coming out of the bay, she was captured by a federal 26 vessel, and sent to new york. i hid myself when the crew were taken off, and came in her here," replied corny, still studying the carpet.
captain passford had not heard of the capture of the dauphine. he was not quite satisfied with the story of his nephew. but he was obliged to go to the city, and he handed the guest over to his wife and daughter. corny wanted to see christy, and mrs. passford had begun to be uneasy that he did not return at dark. corny went out to find him.
