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Файл:Satanstoe; or, The Littlepage Manuscripts
.pdf
SATANSTOE; OR, THE LITTLEPAGE MANUSCRIPTS
manly person, open disposition, and uncommon frankness
had created in his mistress’s own bosom. There was certainly
a charm in Guert’s habitual manner of underrating himself,
that inclined all who heard him to his side; and, for myself,
I will confess I early became his friend in all that matter, and
so continued to the last.
Bulstrode and I left the house together, walking arm and
arm to his quarters, leaving Dirck with the ladies.
«This is a charming family», said my companion, as we left
the door; «and I feel proud of being able to claim some affi nity to it, though it is not so near as I trust it may one day become».
I started, almost twitching my arm away from that of
the Major’s, turning half round, at the same instant, to look
him in the face. Bulstrode smiled, but preserved his own selfpossession, in the stoical manner common to men of fashion
and easy manners, pursuing the discourse.
«I see that my frankness has occasioned you some little surprise», he added; «but the truth is the truth; and I hold it to
be unmanly for a gentleman who has made up his mind to
become the suitor of a lady, to make any secret of his intentions; – is not that your own way of thinking, Mr. Littlepage?»
«Certainly, as respects the lady; and possibly, as respects
her family; but not as respects all the world».
«I take your distinction, which may be a good one, in ordinary cases; though, in the instance of Anneke Mordaunt,
it may be merciful to let wandering young men, like yourself, Corny, comprehend the real state of the case. I very well
understand your own particular relation to the family of
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
the Mordaunts; but others may approach it with different and
more interested views».
«Am I to understand, Mr. Bulstrode, that Miss Mordaunt is
your betrothed?»
«Oh! by no means; for she has not yet made up her mind to
accept me. You are to understand, however, that I have proposed to Herman Mordaunt, with my father’s knowledge and
approbation, and that the affair is in petto. You can judge for
yourself of the probable termination, being a better judge, as
a looker-on, than I, as a party interested, of Anneke’s manner of viewing my suit».
«You will remember I have not seen you together these
ten months, until this morning; and I presume you do not
wish me to suppose you have been waiting all that time for
an answer».
«As I consider you an ami de famille, Corny, there is no
reason why there should not be a fair statement of things laid
before you, for that affair of the lion will ever render you half
a Mordaunt, yourself. I had proposed to Anneke, when you
fi rst saw me, and got the usual lady-like answer that the dear
creature was too young to think of contracting herself, which
was certainly truer then than now; that I had friends at home
who ought to be consulted, that time must be given, or the answer would necessarily be ‘no’, and all the usual substance of
such replies, in the preliminary state of a negotiation».
«And there the matter has stood ever since?»
«By no means, my dear fellow; as far from that as possible.
I heard Herman Mordaunt, for he did most of the talking on
that side, with the patience of a saint, observed how proper it
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SATANSTOE; OR, THE LITTLEPAGE MANUSCRIPTS
all was, and stated my intention to lay every thing before my
father, and then advance to the assault anew, reinforced by his
consent, and authority to offer settlements».
«All of which you got, by return of vessel, on writing
home?» I added, unable to imagine how any man could hesitate about receiving Anneke Mordaunt for a daughter-in-law.
«Why, not exactly by return of vessel, though Sir Harry is
much too well-bred to neglect answering a letter. I never knew
him to do such a thing in his life; no, not when I have pushed
him a little closely on the subject of my allowance having been
out before the quarter was up, as will sometimes happen at
college, you know, Corny. To tell you the truth, my dear boy,
Sir Harry’s consent did not come by return of vessel, though
an answer did. It is a confounded distance across the Atlantic,
and it takes time to argue a question, when the parties are ‘a
thousand leagues asunder.’«
«Argue! – What argument could be required to convince
Sir Harry Bulstrode of the propriety of your getting Anneke
Mordaunt for a wife, if you could?»
«Quite plain and sincere, upon my honour! – But, I love you
for the simplicity of your character, Corny, and so shall view
all favourably. If I could! Well, we shall know at the end of
the approaching campaign, when you and I come back from
our trip to Quebec».
«You have not answered my question, in the mean time,
concerning Sir Harry Bulstrode».
«I beg Sir Harry’s and your pardon. What argument could
be required to convince my father? – Why, you have never
been at home, Littlepage, and cannot easily understand, there-
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
fore, what the feeling is precisely in relation to the colonies –
much depends on that, you know».
«I trust the mother loves her children, as I am certain
the children love their mother».
«Yes, you are all loyal; – I will say that for you, though
Albany is not exactly Bath, or New York, Westminster. I suppose you know, Littlepage, that the church upon the hill, yonder, which is called St. Peter’s, though a very good church, and
a very respectable church, with a very reputable congregation,
is not exactly Westminster Abbey, or even St. James’s?»
«I believe I understand you, sir; and so Sir Harry proved
obstinate?»
«As the devil! – It took no less than three letters, the last of
which was pretty bold, to get him round, which I did at last,
and his consent, in due form, has been handed in to Herman
Mordaunt. I contended, with some advantages in the affair, or
I never should have prevailed. But, you will see how it was.
Sir Harry is gouty and asthmatic both, and no great things of
a life, at the best, and every acre he has on earth is entailed; just
making the whole thing a question of time».
«All of which you communicated, of course, to Anneke and
Herman Mordaunt?»
«If I did I’ll be hanged! No, no; Master Corny, I am not
so green as that would imply. You provincials are as thinskinned as raisons de Fontainbleau, and are not to be touched
so rudely. I do not believe Anneke would marry the Duke of
Norfolk himself, if the family raised the least scruple about
receiving her».
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SATANSTOE; OR, THE LITTLEPAGE MANUSCRIPTS
«And would not Anneke be right, in acting under so respectable a feeling?»
«Why, you know she would only marry the duke, and not
his mother, and aunts, and uncles. I cannot see the necessity of a young woman’s making herself uncomfortable on that
account. But, we have not come to that yet for I would wish
you to understand, Littlepage, that I am not accepted, No,
no! justice to Anneke demands that I should say this much.
She knows of Sir Harry’s consent, however, and that is a good
deal in my favour, you must allow. I suppose her great objection will be to quitting her father, who has no other child,
and on him it will bear a little hard; and, then, it is likely she
will say something about a change of country, for you Americans are all great sticklers for living in your own region».
«I do not see how you can justly accuse us of that, since it
is universally admitted among us that everything is better at
home than it is in the colonies».
«I really think, Corny», rejoined Bulstrode, smiling goodnaturedly, «were you to pay the old island a visit, now, you
yourself would confess that some things are».
«I to visit! – I am at a loss to imagine why I am named
as one disposed to deny it. Had it been Guert Ten Eyck, now,
or ever Dirck Follock, one might imagine such a thing,-but I,
who come from English blood, and who have an English-born
grandfather, at this moment, alive and well at Satanstoe, am
not to be included among the disaffected to England».
Bulstrode pressed my arm, and his conversation took
a more confi dential air, as it proceeded. «I believe you are right,
Corny», he said; «the colony is loyal enough, Heaven knows;
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
yet I fi nd these Dutch look on us red-coats more coldly than
the people of English blood, below. Should it be ascribed to
the phlegm of their manners, or to some ancient grudge connected with the conquest of their colony?»
«Hardly the last, I should think, since the colony was traded
away, under the fi nal arrangement, in exchange for a possession the Dutch now hold in South America. There is nothing
strange, however; in the descendants of the people of Holland
preferring the Dutch to the English».
«I assure you, Littlepage, the coldness with which we are regarded by the Albanians has been spoken of among us; though
most of the leading families treat us well, and aid us all they
can. They should remember that we are here to fi ght, their
battles, and to prevent the French from overrunning them».
«To that they would probably answer that the French
would not molest them, but for their quarrel with England.
Here we must part, Mr. Bulstrode, as I have business to attend
to. I will add one word, however, before we separate, and that
is, that King George II. has not more loyal subjects in his dominions, than those who dwell in his American provinces».
Bulstrode smiled, nodded in assent, waved his hand, and
we parted.
I had plenty of occupation for the remainder of that day.
Yaap arrived with his ‘brigade of sleighs’ about noon, and
I went in search of Guert, in whose company I repaired once
more to the offi ce of the contractor. Horses, harness, sleighs,
provisions and all were taken at high prices, and I was paid
for the whole in Spanish gold; joes and half-joes being quite
as much in use among us in that day as the coin of the realm.
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SATANSTOE; OR, THE LITTLEPAGE MANUSCRIPTS
Spanish silver has always formed our smaller currency, such
a thing as an English shilling, or a sixpence, being quite
a stranger among us. Pieces of eight, or dollars, are our commonest coin, it is true, but we make good use of the half-joe in
all heavy transactions. I have seen two or three Bank of England notes in my day, but they are of very rare occurrence in
the colonies. There have been colony bills among us, but they
are not favourites, most of our transactions being carried on by
means of the Spanish gold and Spanish silver, that fi nd their
way up from the islands and the Spanish main. The war of
which I am now writing, however, brought a great many guineas among us, most of the troops being paid in that species of
coin; but the contractors, in general, found it easier to command the half-joe than the guinea. Of the former, when all
our sales were made, Dirck and myself had, between us, no less
than one hundred and eleven, or eight hundred and eightyeight dollars in value.
I found Guert just as ready and just as friendly on this occasion, as he had been on the previous day. Not only were all our
effects disposed of, but all our negroes were hired to the army
for the campaign, Yaap excepted. The boys went off with their
teams towards the north that same afternoon, in high spirits,
as ready for a frolic as any white youths in the colony. I permitted Yaap to go on with his sleigh, to be absent for a few
days, but he was to return and join us before we proceeded in
quest of the ‘Patent,’ after the breaking up of the winter.
It was late in the afternoon before everything was settled,
when Guert invited me to take a turn with him on the river in his own sleigh. By this time I had ascertained that my
287
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
new friend was a young man of very handsome property,
without father or mother, and that he lived in as good style as
was common for the simple habits of those around him. Our
principal families in New York were somewhat remarkable
for the abundance of their plate, table-linen, and other household effects of the latter character, while here and there one
was to be found that possessed some good pictures. The latter,
I have reason to think, however, were rare, though occasionally the work of a master did fi nd its way to America, particularly
from Holland and Flanders. Guert kept bachelor’s hall, in a respectable house, that had its gable to the street, as usual, and
which was of no great size; but everything about it proved that
his old black housekeeper had been trained under a regime of
thorough neatness; for that matter, everything around Albany
wore the appearance of being periodically scoured. The streets
themselves could not undergo that process with snow on
the ground; but once beneath a roof, and everything that had
the character of dirt was banished. In this particular Guert’s
bachelor residence was as faultless as if it had a mistress at its
head, and that mistress were Mary Wallace.
«If she ever consent to have me», said Guert, actually sighing as he spoke, and glancing his eyes round the very pretty little parlour I had just been praising, on the occasion of the visit
I fi rst made to his residence that afternoon; «if she ever consent to have me, Corny, I shall have to build a new house. This
is now a hundred years old, and though it was thought a great
affair in its day, it is not half good enough for Mary Wallace.
My dear fellow, how I; envy you that invitation to breakfast
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SATANSTOE; OR, THE LITTLEPAGE MANUSCRIPTS
this morning! what a favourite you must be with Herman
Mordaunt!»
«We are very good friends, Guert», – for, with the freedom of our colony manners, we had already dropped into
the familiarity of calling each other ‘Corny’ and ‘Guert’ –»
we are very good friends, Guert», I answered, «and, I have
some reason to think, Herman Mordaunt does not dislike me.
It was in my power to be of a trifl ing service to Miss Anneke,
last spring, and the whole family is disposed to remember it».
«So I can see, at a glance; even Anneke remembers it. I have
heard the whole story from Mary Wallace; it was about a lion.
I would give half of what I am worth, to see Mary Wallace in
the paws of a lion, or any other wild beast; just to let her see
that Guert Ten Eyck has a heart, as well as Corny Littlepage.
But, Corny my boy, there is one thing you must do; you are in
such favour, that it will be easy for you to effect it; though
I might try in vain, for ever».
«I will do anything that is proper, to oblige you, Guert, for
you have a claim on me for services rendered by yourself».
«Pshaw! – Say nothing of such matters; I am never happier
than when buying or selling a horse; and, in helping you to
get off your old cattle, why, I did the King no harm, and you
some good. But, it was about horses I was thinking. You must
know, Littlepage, there is not a young man, or an old man,
within twenty miles of Albany, that drives such a pair of beasts
as myself».
«You surely do not wish me to sell these horses to Mary
Wallace, Guert!» I rejoined, laughing.
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
«Ay, my lad; and this house, and the old farm, and two
or three stores along the river; and all I have, provided you
can sell me with them. As the ladies have no present use for
horses, however, Herman Mordaunt having brought up with
him a very good pair, that came near running over you and
me, Corny; so there is no need of any sale; but I should like to
drive Mary and Anneke a turn of a few miles, with that team of
mine, and in my own sleigh!»
«That cannot prove such a diffi cult affair; young ladies,
ordinarily, consenting readily enough to be diverted with
a sleigh-ride».
«The off-one carries himself more like a colonel, at
the head of his regiment, than like an ignorant horse!»
«I will propose the matter to Herman Mordaunt, or to Anneke, herself, if you desire it».
«And the near-one has the movement of a lady in a minuet, when you rein him in a little. I drove those cattle, Corny,
across the pine-plains, to Schenectady, in one hour and twenty-six minutes; – sixteen miles, as the crow fl ies – and nearer
sixty, if you follow all the turnings of the fi fty roads».
«Well, what am I to do? tell this to the ladies, or beg them to
name a day?»
«Name a day! – I wish it had come to that. Corny, with my
whole soul. They are two beauties!»
«Yes, I think everybody will admit that», I answered innocently; «yet, very different in their charms».
«Oh! not a bit more alike than is just necessary for a good
match. I call one Jack, and the other Moses. I never knew
an animal that was named ‘Jack,’ who would not do his work.
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