University of Virginia Library

15. CHAPTER XV.

The incidents of the last chapter were, upon the whole, fortunate.
They cured Mrs. Mitten of sending delicacies to her son, cured William
of his complaints for many months, improved his style when
speaking of his Preceptor, brought him out in suitable apparel for
his place and associates, and sprung all the energies of his mother to
reconcile herself to his lot. When so much is said, the reader need
not be told that Captain Thompson was also a great gainer by them.
Things now went on more smoothly than they had for years. William
soon stood a head and shoulders above any member of his class.
The Georgians began to brag on him, the Carolinians to emulate him.
He began to mingle in the active sports of his fellows, to be cheerful,
if not forward, in sharing his part in providing fuel and making fires.
His new clothes, to be sure, did not quite reach him before he “blossomed,”
for he kept the changes of his first supply as long out of
sight as possible; but he was far from being in full bloom when “the
fruits of home industry reached him. Immediately upon their arrival,
he appeared in the handy work of Mrs. Thurlow and Mrs. Figgs,
and Brace's lips were closed to all further sarcasm upon his dress.
In short, he followed his uncle's advice as well as he could, and
forthwith began to experience the practical benefits of it. His new
clothes “scratched him mightily at first, but he had got use to
them,” as he wrote to his mother; but he thanked her for them.
The change in his dress was not much more remarkable than the
change in his physical constitution.

From a weakly, puny, cowering, retiring, say-nothing boy, he became
a muscular, active, sprightly, vigorous youth, who was nearly a
match for any of his age, in running, jumping, wrestling, and the
active sports of the school; and for loud clamoring at bull-pen, and
town-ball, he had no superior. There was but one South Carolinian
in the school who could throw him down, and that one was Andrew
Govan; there was not one in the school who could match him in
running. From fifty lips the exclamation would come: “Did you
ever see a fellow come out of the kinks as Bill Mitten has?” By
the time it came to his turn to make fires in the Academy, (one of
the duties of every student,) he was as prompt and skillful in this
work as most of his associates. Sweeping out the Academy (another
duty) of course was easy. Beyond all this, there was nothing remarkable
in his history until the annual examination and exhibition

came on. These exercises continued for several days, and they were
attended by multitudes—more, by many, than usually attend our
College Commencements in these days. The order was as follows:
First, the examination of all the classes; which was invariably conducted
by the visitors, except when they declined the task, and this
rarely occurred. Then speaking, for which prizes were awarded.
And lastly, the performance of one or two dramatic pieces, usually a
comedy and farce: but these were discontinued after the first and
only public exhibition in which William Mitten took part, and the
reading of compositions was substituted for them. The speakers
were divided into three classes, according to their age and advancement;
the first class being composed generally of the oldest students
in the school; the second, of those next in years; and the third, of
the youngest, excluding those in the elementary studies. This arrangement
was not always observed, however. Sometimes the larger
and less advanced were put in the first class, and the smaller and more
advanced, in the second class. William's age flung him in the lowest,
though his advancement would have entitled him to a place in
the second. The examination approached, and William wrote pressingly
to his mother and uncle to attend. They did so, and reached
Newby's the day before the exercises commenced. William recognized
them at the fence, and ran out to meet them. Neither of them
knew him, till he greeted them, any more than if they had never
seen him. His fine face was there, a little tanned, but that was all
of William Mitten that was left. He had grown like a weed, and
developed as we have said. The Captain looked at him in triumph—
the mother in tears. Mr. Newby was soon at the chaise and introduced
to Mrs. M. Five or six ladies were standing at his door, observing
the new comers.

“I fear, Mr. Newby,” said Captain Thompson, “that you will
not be able to accommodate us.”

“Oh, very easy, if you can rough it a little for a few days.”

“Why, where will you put us? Your house seems full already.”

“Oh, we've plenty of houses, as you see.”

“But those are the students' houses; what are you going to do with
them?”

“Oh, we cotton them upon such occasions as this, if necessary.”

“Cotton them?”

“Yes; put 'em all in one hole and ram them tight together. However,
I don't think that will be necessary. We've two large rooms
in the house, in one of which we will put the ladies, and in the other
the gentlemen.”

“Well, that will answer very well,” said the Captain. “Do you
take charge of Mrs. Mitten, and William and Tom and I will attend
to the horses and baggage.”

“Why, this is a new horse, Tom,” said William, as he sprung to
unsaddle a horse which Tom had led up. “Whose is he?”

“He's Mas' David's. He say if you do well while he's up here,
he gwine to give him to you. He's a tip top hos.”

“Well, I've got him safe,” said Bill. “What's his name?”

“He name Snap Draggum.” (Snap Dragon.)

“Here, Tom,” said the Captain, “take this trunk in the house—”

“I'll take it,” uncle, said William.

“You can't carry it, my son; it's pretty heavy.”

Let me try it,” said Bill; so saying, he flung it on his shoulder,
and marched off with it, with perfect ease.

“Look ya-a-nder!” exclaimed Tom, as he moved off. “Bless de
Lor', Mas' William done got a man 'ready.”

The Captain saw him near the door with his burden without a totter,
then turned, wiped his eyes twice, and was just blowing his nose
the third time, when William leaped the fence, to assist Tom in leading
the horses to the horse lot.

“Why, Bill,” said the Captain, “I never saw a boy improve as
you have in all my life.”

The ladies gathered at Mr. Newby's were all of the first respectability.
They soon made Mrs. Mitten easy, and before they parted, several
of them and Mrs. Mitten promised to interchange visits most
certainly “if ever they came our way.” (They never came our way.)

The night shut in and the woods were vocal in all directions with
rehearsals of speeches and parts of plays. A very comfortable supper
was provided for the guests, (increased by several, after the Captain's
arrival) the mattresses were spread, all laid down, the gentlemen
talked till twelve, the ladies till two, and all was hush—save
here and there “the bubbling cry of some strong” snorer “in his agony.”
They were all, of necessity, up betimes the next morning,
when they declared generally that they had “had a most delightful
night's rest.” Thus passed a wonderful night for Mrs. Mitten.

The next morning exhibited a complete metamorphosis of the students.
It was easy now to distinguish the sons of the Patricians
from those of the Plebs, though turkey-red and indigo-blue predominated
largely over nankeen and gingham still.

From seven o'clock till nine, people of all ranks, ages, sexes and
sizes, might be seen wending their way to the school house, or rather

to the area in front of it—for the examination was conducted under
the stately oaks of the campus. Some of the first men of the two
States were there. At nine the examination commenced. The students,
with very few exceptions, acquitted themselves admirably. In
all the studies of his class, William distinguished himself. On this day
an incident occurred which was absolutely luxurious to all who disliked
Brace. The reader need hardly be told that however bright in
wit, or ingenious in teazing Brace might be, he was not very bright in
his studies. He was in one of the Virgil classes, and he had caught
from a student, given to spouting poetry aloud, whenever he had any
in store to spout, the four first lines of Dryden's translation of the
second book of the ænead. Doctor John Casey was conducting the
examination, flanked on his right and left with an imposing row of
dignitaries. “Begin,” said the Doctor to Ned, who was at one extreme
of the class in more senses than one, “at the second book of
the ænead, and read the Latin first.” Ned did so to the extent of
six or eight lines.

“Now translate.”

Ned proceeded:

A roar of laughter burst from every one—loudest from the boys;
for two reasons, first, because they gloried in Brace's mortification;
and second, because they wished the company to understand from
this token that they were thoroughly versed in the poetry of all languages
under the sun.

“Give us the translation in prose, if you please,” said the Doctor.

Ned continued:

The laugh was repeated, but the Doctor had no occasion to repeat
his request; for Ned had exhausted his stock of poetry. His debut
was doubly unfortunate; for besides exposing him to ridicule, it left
him wholly in the dark as to how much of the Latin his version had
covered. So he began his literal translation two lines back of what
he had already rendered; and Dryden would have been amazed to
discover how he had butchered the Mantuan Bard, according to
Brace's translation.

This day and the next were consumed in like manner. On the
third day the speaking commenced.

A stage of rough plank was erected adjoining the school-house.

On this sat the Judges, of whom William H. Crawford, John C. Calhoun,
and William W. Bibb were three. These hardly ever failed
to attend the public exercises of Dr. Waddel's school. The two first
had been his pupils, and the reader will excuse the digression, to
learn that the first wife of the Doctor was the sister of the second.

In front of the stage, large logs were laid parallel to each other on
which planks were placed at convenient distances apart, for seats.
The whole was covered over with a bush-arbor. It was but a scant
provision for the throng that attended upon this occasion; but what
provision could accommodate all, when the number fell little, if any,
short of two thousand people? The ladies, several hundreds in number,
occupied all the seats.

Without going through the details of the exercises, suffice it to
say that Mitten took the premium in his class by the award of the
judges, approved of by every man, woman and student present at the
exhibition. He had a part in both the dramatic pieces; and here
he acquitted himself, if possible, with more credit than in declamation.
When Mr. Calhoun, with a few complimentary words, presented
him the prize, the whole assembly applauded loudly and cordially.
One pretty little girl, beautifully dressed, quite forgot herself,
and kept on clapping after everybody else had done, till her
mother, laughing most heartily, stopped her. “Mitten, Mitten,
Mitten!” was on every lip. All the ladies, old and young, wanted
to kiss him; all the little girls fell in love with him. A thousand
compliments saluted the ear of Mrs. Mitten from lips that she knew
not. Through Captain Thompson, she had been made acquainted
with Doctor Waddel, before the exercises commenced, and through
him, with most of the gentlemen who sat as judges, and her acquaintance
was still farther extended by the sojourners at Mr. Newby's;
but now everybody sought an introduction to her, and everybody
congratulated her upon the performance of her son.

Most of the judges waited upon her, and all of them had something
flattering to say of William, or to him in her presence, for he
was always at her side.

“Master Mitten,” said Mr. Crawford, “I am proud to claim you
as a Georgian. Cultivate your brilliant talents as a duty and an
honor to the State that gave you birth.”

“Master Mitten,” said Mr. Calhoun, “the United States have an
interest in you; and should I live to see you in the prime of life, I
shall be sorely disappointed if I do not see you the admiration of
them all.”

As for Captain Thompson, he was in danger of going off by explosion.
He had been filling up with joy, from the first sight of
Bill, to the close of the exhibition; and now to find him so far surpassing
his most sanguine expectations in everything, to see him
standing at the head of his classes in scholarship, and declamation,
and ahead of the whole school in dramatic talent, to hear him applauded
by all, and specially by Messrs. Crawford and Calhoun, and
(though last not least,) to see his sister almost in transports, was
really perilous to the good Captain. He had tried to quench the
volcano that was in him with rain; that is to say, he had cried six
times, twice secretly, and four times publicly; but this gave him
only momentary relief. Besides, the fire kept kindling all the time,
and he could not keep crying all the time. Whithersoever he cast
his eyes he saw something to inflame his ecstacy, and what would
have been the consequence it were hard to tell, had not David Ramsay
sauntered near him just at the critical moment—“Why, David,
my young pilot, how do you do?” said the Captain. “Come here,
my son, and let me introduce you to Mrs. Mitten, my sister, mother
of William. Anna, this is David Ramsay, of whom you heard me
speak!” “How do you do, Master Ramsay?” said Mrs. Mitten,
smiling almost to a laugh. “I am very familiar with your name, for
my brother could talk of no one else for some time after his return
from his first visit to this place.”

“I remember Captain Thompson very well; but I cannot call to
mind anything that I said or did to make him remember me.”

Here the Captain was a little at fault, but he soon rallied, and replied:

“It was your prompt courtesy to us as strangers, David, the coincidence
of our names, but most of all, your connections, who are
known to all, that impressed you so permanently upon my memory.
I no sooner asked if Mr. Waddel was at home than you answered in
the affirmative, sprang to the door, invited me in, and brought Mr.
Waddel out to see me. This was but common politeness, to be sure,
but I did not see any of your playmates offer to do the same thing.
But for your kindness I might have had to knock long at the door,
and sit long in the cold parlor, before Mr. Waddel would have come
to my relief.”

This interview was an admirable safety valve to the Captain. It
set his thoughts to running back to times and incidents, well calculated
to relieve him from over-pressure of joy.

The conversation with young Ramsay was but just ended, when

Doctor Hay stepped up and greeted the Captain and his sister with a
fervor which showed plainly that time had not abated his friendship
for them in the least. The greeting was returned with equal
warmth. The Doctor expressed his regret that he had been detained
by professional business at home until the last day of the exhibition;
but added, that he had been amply compensated for his trouble in
coming, by the rich entertainment he had just enjoyed—“An entertainment,
Mrs. Mitten,” continued he, “to which your son was
the largest contributor. I deem myself fortunate in having my son
in the close connection of class-mate and room-mate with him.”

Mrs. Mitten returned the compliment, by repeating what she said
upon hearing that her son had fallen into the same room and class
with the Doctor's son, only changing the terms of the compliment so
far as to accommodate it to the Doctor's ear.

“And now,” continued Dr. Hay, “you must tarry with me to-morrow
night on your way home. Let us go over to Petersburg this
afternoon, stay there to-night, take an early start in the morning, and
(barring accidents) we will reach my house by dinner time or a
little after. There rest until the next morning, when, if I can't
prevail on you to stay louger, I will give you an early breakfast, and
set you on your way in time to get home, without traveling much in
the heat of the day.”

The invitation was cordially accepted, and as soon as one of William's
small trunks could be packed with selections from his wardrobe
for the summer vacation, and Mrs. Mitten could renew her invitations
and promises to the few ladies who had not left, and return her
thanksgiving to Mr. and Mrs. Newby for their kindness to her son,
and their hospitality to herself, and kiss Miss Thompson because
she bore the family name and both knew they must be related,
though neither could tell how, and give each of the house servants a
quarter of a dollar apiece for being willing to do for her all that Tom
did, and a dollar to the wash-woman for extra services, and a half
dollar (sent) to the ostler for fear that he might be disappointed and
her brother forget him—Mrs. Mitten was ready to depart.

While all this was transacting, the chaise was at the fence, Doctor
Hay was sitting in his sulky, Gilbert was mounted on his father's
horse, Silverheels, William on Snap-dragon, and Captain Thompson
at the door getting comfortable fast.

The Captain escorted his sister to the chaise, she took her seat,
the Captain took his, and off went the happiest company that ever
moved from Willington. Nothing of interest occurred on the way

to Petersburg; for Mrs. Mitten, having to send back for her veil just
as she reached Dr. Waddel's, was not even attended with inconvenience,
as she declared that she could not think of passing by Mr.
Waddel's door without lighting and bidding him good-bye, and
thanking him for his kindness to her son. These little duties consumed
exactly the time needful for recovering the veil. It gave the
Captain, too, an opportunity of charging William and Tom to notice
well the road, so that either of them might find it without difficulty
on their return. Doctor Hay's servant, Quash, went back for the
missing article, and strange to say, found it readily. The dusk of
the evening found the company at Mrs. Ragland's, in Petersburg.

The reader will naturally enquire where the immense throng which
attended Dr. Waddel's exhibitions found accommodation. We answer,
at all the house within six or seven miles of Willington, and
at the four villages of Lisbon, Petersburg, Vienna, and Richard.
The three first were tolerably thrifty little villages at the time of
which we are speaking. Petersburg was quite an active, busy,
commercial little town. It was situated in the fork of the Savannah
and Broad Rivers, and contained some eight or ten stores, with the
usual supplement of grog-shops, and the very unusual supplement of
a billiard-table. Notwithstanding these last, the citizens of the place
were generally remarkable for their refinement, respectability, intelligence
and hospitality. The dwelling houses far outnumbered the
stores and shops. It was separated from Lisbon by Broad River,
and from Vienna by the Savannah. Lisbon we believe could never
boast of more than two stores and a groggery, and as many dwellings.
Vienna surpassed Lisbon in everything, but exactly how far, and in
what we are not able to say, except in John Glover's house and store,
which had no match in Lisbon. The road leading to Willington
from Vienna ascended a hill, about a mile from the latter place, which
was crowned with Richmond. This town was very compactly built.
It consisted of one dwelling house, one doctor's shop, one kitchen,
one stable, one corn-crib, and one smoke-house. Its white population
consisted of Doctor Thomas Casey, his wife, one or two children, and
Warler (or Waller) Beckly, a student of medicine.

Neither of the four towns surpassed this in hospitality. Doctor
Casey's house was open to all, and his heart was as open as his
house—so was his wife's. It was a great resort of the beaux and
belles of the neighboring villages; here they were always made welcome
and happy. In these villages, the remotest of which was not
over seven miles from Willington, was ample entertainment for all

who attended the Exhibition, and could not procure it elsewhere.

Captain Thompson and Mrs. Mitten spent a happy night at Doctor
Hay's, and were at home the next day by five in the afternoon. As
they stopped at Mrs. M.'s door, the Captain inquired of William
how he liked Snap-dragon.

“Oh! I am delighted with him, Uncle. I think he's the finest
horse I ever saw.”

“Well, he's yours, my son. So you see if your Uncle scolds when
you do ill, he rewards handsomely when you do well.”

“Oh! thank you, thank you, Uncle, a thousand times. You never
will find me doing ill again, I promise you. I am so glad that you
sent me to Mr. Waddel's I am so glad that you would not allow me
to leave there when I wanted to—you have been, you are a father to
me, and the very best of fath—”

“Well, that'll do, my son—you paid me for him before I gave him
to you. Remember your pledges, as often as you ride him!”

Alas! Captain, where was your usual forecast when you made this
present?